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CHAPTER SIX

THE PEOPLE THAT LIVED IN HIDING

Now began the happiest ti when the dew lay on the grass he set off with the Badger and the tarfs, up through the forest to a high saddle in the mountains and down on to their sunny southern slopes where one looked across the green wolds of Archenland

"We will go first to the Three Bulgy Bears," said Trulade to an old hollow oak tree covered with moss, and Trufflehunter tapped with his paw three tiain and a woolly sort of voice froet up yet" But when he tapped the third time there was a noise like a small earthquake from inside and a sort of door opened and out ca their little eyes And when everything had been explained to the time because they were so sleepy) they said, just as Trufflehunter had said, that a son of Ada of Narnia and all kissed Caspian - very wet, snuffly kisses they were - and offered him some honey Caspian did not really want honey, without bread, at that tiht it polite to accept It took hiet unsticky

After that they went on till they ca tall beech trees and Trufflehunter called out, "Pattertwig! Pattertwig! Pattertwig!" and al down from branch to branch till he was just above their heads, canificent red squirrel that Caspian had ever seen He was far bigger than the ordinary duardens; indeed he was nearly the size of a terrier and the moment you looked in his face you saw that he could talk Indeed the difficulty was to get hi, for, like all squirrels, he was a chatterer He welcomed Caspian at once and asked if he would like a nut and Caspian said thanks, he would But as Pattertent bounding away to fetch it, Trufflehunter whispered in Caspian&039;s ear, "Don&039;t look Look the other way It&039;s very badto his store or to look as if you wanted to knohere it was" Then Pattertwig came back with the nut and Caspian ate it and after that Pattertwig asked if he could take any o nearly everywhere without setting foot to ground," he said Trufflehunter and the Dwarfs thought this a very good idea and gave Pattertwigtheht three nights ahead "And you&039;d better tell the three Bulgies too," added Truot to mention it to them"

Their next visit was to the Seven Brothers of Shuddering Wood Trumpkin led the way back to the saddle and then down eastward on the northern slope of therocks and fir trees They went very quietly and presently Caspian could feel the ground shake under his feet as if so down below Trumpkin went to a flat stone about the size of the top of a water-butt, and sta pause it wasunderneath, and there was a dark, round hole with a good deal of heat and stea out of it and in the middle of the hole the head of a Dwarf very like Tru talk here and the dwarf seey Bears had been, but in the end the whole party were invited to co a dark stairway into the earth, but when he caht of a furnace The whole place was a smithy A subterranean stream ran past on one side of it Tarfs were at the bellows, another was holding a piece of red-hot s, a fourth was hareasy cloth, were co forward to meet the visitors It took some time to satisfy them that Caspian was a friend and not an ene," and their gifts were noble - mail shirts and helmets and swords for Caspian and Truer could have had the same if he had liked, but he said he was a beast, he was, and if his claws and teeth could not keep his skin whole, it wasn&039;t worth keeping The workmanship of the arladly accepted the Dwarf-made sword instead of his ohich looked, in comparison, as feeble as a toy and as clumsy as a stick The seven brothers (ere all Red Dwarfs) pro Lawn

A little farther on, in a dry, rocky ravine they reached the cave of five Black Dwarfs They looked suspiciously at Caspian, but in the end the eldest of the" And the next oldest said, "Shall we go farther up for you, up to the crags? There&039;s an Ogre or two and a Hag that we could introduce you to, up there"

"Certainly not," said Caspian

"I should think not, indeed," said Trufflehunter "We want none of that sort on our side" Nikabrik disagreed with this, but Truave Caspian a shock to realize that the horrible creatures out of the old stories, as well as the nice ones, had some descendants in Narnia still

"We should not have Aslan for friend if we brought in that rabble," said Trufflehunter as they came away from the cave of the Black Dwarfs

"Oh, Aslan!" said Trumpkin, cheerily but contemptuously "What matters much more is that you wouldn&039;t have me"

"Do you believe in Aslan?" said Caspian to Nikabrik

"I&039;ll believe in anyone or anything," said Nikabrik, "that&039;ll batter these cursed Telmarine barbarians to pieces or drive the, Aslan or the White Witch, do you understand?"