The Horse and His Boy Quotes
>> Thursday, January 27, 2011
"Narnia," answered the horse. "The happy land of Narnia-Narnia of the heathery mountains and the thymy downs, Narnia of the many rivers, the plashing glens, the mossy caverns and the deep forests ringing with the hammers of the Dwarfs. Oh the sweet air of Narnia! An hour's life there is better than a thousand years in Calormen."
"My Tarkaan is on his way North to the great city, to Tashbaan itself and the court of the Tisroc -"
"I say," put in Shasta in rather a shocked voice, "oughtn't you to say `May he live for ever'?"
"Why?" asked the Horse. "I'm a free Narnian. And why should I talk slaves' and fools' talk? I don't want him to live for ever, and I know that he's not going to live for ever whether I want him to or not."
I suppose, like all humans, you won't eat natural food like grass and oats." "I can't."
"Ever tried?" "Yes, I have. I can't get it down at all. You couldn't either if you were me."
"You're rum little creatures, you humans," remarked Bree.
"I mustn't be seen," "she said. "My father doesn't know I'm here. I'm running away."
"My dear, how perfectly thrilling," said Lasaraleen. "I'm dying to hear all about it. Darling, you're sitting on my dress. Do you mind? That's better. It is a new one. Do you like it? I got it at-" "Oh, Las, do be serious," said Aravis. "Where is my father?"
"Didn't you know?" said Lasaraleen. "He's here, of course. He came to town yesterday and is asking about you everywhere. And to think of you and me being here together and his not knowing anything about it! It's the funniest thing I ever heard."
"Phew! It's not much fun with the curtains drawn. I want to see people. There's no point in having a new dress on if one's got to go about shut up like this." "I hope no one heard you when you shouted out to me like that," said Aravis. "No, no, of course, darling," said Lasraleen absentmindedly. "But you haven't even told me yet what you think of the dress."
"And anyone I catch talking about this young lady will be first beaten to death and then burned alive and after that be kept on bread and water for six weeks. There."
"If you were not my father, O ever-living Tisroc, " said the Prince, grinding his teeth, "I should say that was the word of a coward." "And if you were not my son, O most inflammable Rabadash," replied his father, "your life would be short and your death slow when you had said it."
"Good-bye," said Aravis, "and I thought your dresses lovely. And I think your house is lovely too. I'm sure you'll have a lovely life-though it wouldn't suit me."
"Gallop, Bree, gallop. Remember you're a war horse."
"After all," said Shasta, "this road is bound to get to somewhere."
"Child," said the Voice, "I am telling you your story, not hers. I tell no one any story but his own." "Who are you?" asked Shasta. "Myself," said the Voice, very deep and low so that the earth shook: and again "Myself", loud and clear and gay: and then the third time "Myself", whispered so softly you could hardly hear it, and yet it seemed to come from all round you as if the leaves rustled with it.
Shasta was dreadfully frightened. But it suddenly came into his head "If you funk this, you'll funk every battle all your life. Now or never."
"By attacking our castle of Anvard in time of peace without defiance sent, you have proved yourself no knight, but a traitor, and one rather to be whipped by the hangman than to be suffered to cross swords with any person of honour."
"It is very true," said Edmund. "But even a traitor may mend. I have known one who did." And he looked very thoughtful.
Aravis also had many quarrels (and, I'm afraid, even fights) with Cor, but they always made it up again: so that years later, when they were grown up, they were so used to quarrelling and making it up again that they got married so as to go on doing it more conveniently.
