After this the Telmarine soldiers， firmly but without taunts or blows， were taken across the ford and all put under lock and key in the town of Beruna and given beef and beer. They made a great fuss about wading in the river， for they all hated and feared running water just as much as they hated and feared woods and animals. But in the end the nuisance was over： and then the nicest parts of that long day began.
Lucy， sitting close to Aslan and divinely comfortable， wondered what the trees were doing. At first she thought they were merely dancing； they were certainly going round slowly in two circles， one from left to right and the other from right to left. Then she noticed that they kept throwing something down in the centre of both circles. Sometimes she thought they were cutting off long strands of their hair； at other times it looked as if they were breaking off bits of their fingers-but， if so， they had plenty of fingers to spare and it did nothurt them. But whatever they were throwing down， when it reached
the ground， it became brushwood or dry sticks. Then three or four of the Red Dwarfs came forward with their tinder boxes and set light to the pile， which first crackled， and then blazed， and finally roared as a woodland bonfire on midsummer night ought to do. And everyone sat down in a wide circle round it.
Then Bacchus and Silenus and the Maenads began a dance， far wilder than the dance of the trees； not merely a dance for fun and beauty （though it was that too） but a magic dance of plenty， and where their hands touched， and where their feet fell， the feast came into existence-sides of roasted meat that filled the grove with delicious smell， and wheaten cakes and oaten cakes， honey and many-coloured sugars and cream as thick as porridge and as smooth as still water， peaches， nectarines， pomegranates， pears， grapes， straw-berries， raspberries pyramids and cataracts of fruit. Then， in great woodencups and bowls and mazers， wreathed with ivy， came the wines； dark， thick ones like syrups of mulberry juice， and clear red ones like red jellies liquefied， and yellow wines and green wines and yellow-green and greenish-yellow.
But for the tree people different fare was provided. When Lucy sawClodsley Shovel and his moles scuffling up the turf in various places （which Bacchus had pointed out to them） and realized that the trees were going to eat earth it gave her rather a shudder. But when she saw the earths that were actually brought to them she felt quite different. They began with a rich brown loam that looked almost exactly like chocolate； so like chocolate， in fact， that Edmund tried a piece of it， but he did not find it at all nice. When the rich loam had taken the edge off their hunger， the trees turned to an earth of the kind you see in Somerset， which is almost pink. They said it was lighter and sweeter. At the cheese stage they had a chalky soil， and then went on to delicate confections of the finest gravels powdered with choice silver sand. They drank very little wine， and it made the Hollies very talkative： for the most part they quenched their thirst with deep draughts of mingled dew and rain， flavoured with forest flowers and the airy taste of the thinnest clouds.
Thus Aslan feasted the Narnians till long after the sunset had died away， and the stars had come out： and the great fire， now hotter but less noisy， shone like a beacon in the dark woods， and the frightened Telmarines saw it from far away and wondered what it might mean. The best thing of all about this feast was that there was no breaking up or going away， but as the talk grew quieter and slower， one after another would begin to nod and finally drop off to sleep with feet towards the fire and good friends on either side， till at last there was silence all round the circle， and the chattering of water over stone at the Ford of Beruna could be heard once more. But all night Aslan and the Moon gazed upon each other with joyful and unblinking eyes.
Next day messengers （who were chiefly squirrels and birds） were sent all over the country with a proclamation to the scattered Telmarines-including， of course， the prisoners in Beruna. They weretold that Caspian was now King and that Narnia would henceforth belong to the Talking Beasts and the Dwarfs and Dryads and Fauns and other creatures quite as much as to the men. Any who chose to stay under the new conditions might do so； but for those who did not like the idea， Aslan would provide another home. Anyone who wished to go there must come to Aslan and the Kings at the Ford of Beruna by noon on the fifth day. You may imagine that this caused plenty of head-scratching among the Telmarines. Some of them， chiefly the
young ones， had， like Caspian， heard stories of the Old Days and weredelighted that they had come back. They were already making friends with the creatures. These all decided to stay in Narnia. But most of the older men， especially those who had been important under Miraz， were sulky and had no wish to live in a country where they could not rule the roost. “Live here with a lot of blooming performing animals！ No fear，” they said. “And ghosts too，” some added with a shudder. “That‘s what those there Dryads really are. It’s not canny.” They were also suspicious. “I don‘t trust ’em，” they said. “Not with that awful Lion and all. He won‘t keep his claws off us long， you’ll see.” But then they were equally suspicious of his offer to give them a new home. “Take us off to his den and eat us one by one most likely，” they muttered. And the more they talked to one another the sulkier and more suspicious they became. But on the appointed day more than half of them turned up.
