“There, shining in the sunrise, larger than they had seen him before, shaking his mane (for it had apparently grown again) stood Aslan himself.”
The Resurrection
As we rejoice on this Easter Monday, we simply wish to share a familiar story. The following is an excerpt from chapter 15 of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis.
They walked to the eastern edge of the hill and looked down. The one big star had almost disappeared. The country looked dark gray, but beyond, at the very end of the world, the sea showed pale. The sky began to turn red.
…
The rising of the sun had made everything look so different – all colors and shadows were changed – that for a moment they didn’t see the important thing. Then they did. The Stone Table was broken into two pieces by a great crack that ran down it from end to end; and there was no Aslan.
…
“Oh, oh, oh!” cried the two girls, rushing back to the Table.
“Oh it’s too bad,” sobbed Lucy; “they might have left his body alone.”
“Who’s done it?” cried Susan. “What does it mean? It is more magic?”
“Yes!” said a great voice behind their backs. “It is more magic.” They looked round. There, shining in the sunrise, larger than they had seen him before, shaking his mane (for it had apparently grown again) stood Aslan himself.
…
“But what does it all mean?” asked Susan when they were somewhat calmer.
“It means,” said Aslan, “that though the Witch knew the Deep Magic, there is a magic deeper still which she did not know. Her knowledge goes back only to the dawn of time. But if she could have looked a little farther back, into the stillness and the darkness before Time dawned, she would have read there a different incantation. She would have known that when a willing victim who had committed no treachery was killed in a traitor’s stead, the Table would crack and Death itself would start working backward.”
…
“We have a long journey to go. You must ride on me.” And he crouched down and the children climbed onto his warm golden back… And with a great heave he rose underneath them and then shot off, faster than any horse could go, down hill and into the thick of the forest. That ride was perhaps the most wonderful thing that happened to them in Narnia.
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardobe by C.S. Lewis was first published in 1950 by Geoffrey Bles. It was the first book written in the Narnia series, which contains seven books in total.
Featured picture is from the cover of the 2007 edition by Harper Collins.
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