“So I do,” answered Bree. “But when I speak of the Lion of cour I mean Aslan, the great deliverer of Narnia who drove away the Witd the Winter. All Narnians swear by him.”
“But is he a lion?”
“No, no, of cour not,” said Bree in a rather shocked voice.
“All the stories about him in Tashbaan say he is,” replied Aravis. “And if he isn’t a lion why do you call him a lion?”
“Well, you’d hardly uand that at ye,” said Bree. “And I was only a little foal when I left so I don’t quite fully uand it mylf.”
（Bree was standing with his back to the green wall while he said this, and the other two were fag him. He was talking in rather a superior toh his eyes half shut; that was why he didhe ged expression in the faces of Hwin and Aravis. They had good reason to have open mouths and staring eyes; becau while Bree spoke they saw an enormous lion leap up from outside and balalf oop of the green wall; only it was a brighter yellow and it was bigger and more beautiful and more alarming than any lion they had ever en. And at o jumped down ihe wall and began approag Bree from behind. It made no noi at all. And Hwin and Aravis couldn’t make any noi themlves, no more than if they were frozen.）
“No doubt,” tinued Bree, “when they speak of him as a Lion they only mean he’s as strong as a lion or （to our enemies, of cour） as fierce as a lion. Or something of that kind. Even a little girl like you, Aravis, must e that it would be quite absurd to suppo he is a real lion. I would be disrespectful. If he was a lion he’d have to be a Beast just like the rest of us. Why！”（and here Bree began to laugh）“If he was a lion he’d have four paws, and a tail, and Whiskers！ ... Aie, ooh, hoo-hoo！ Help！”
For just as he said the word Whiskers one of Aslan’s had actually tickled his ear. Bree shot away like an arrow to the other side of the enclosure and there turhe wall was too high for him to jump and he could fly no farther. Aravis and Hwin both started back. There was about a d of inten silence.
Then Hwin, though shaking all ave a stratle neigh, and trotted across to the Lion.
“Plea,” she said, “you’re so beautiful. You may eat me if you like. I’d sooner be eaten by you than fed by anyone el.”