The Horse And His Boy

A flashback follows Shasta out of the north gate of the hermitage, where he runs through a densely forested area, covered with flies and sweating profusely. Before long, he hears the horns of a hunting party and comes into the presence of about 20 men with horses. One, whom he perceives the be most important of them, is startled to see him and calls out, “Corin! My son! And on foot, and in rags! What—” (165) Shasta knows this must be King Lune and warns him that Rabadash and 200 horsemen are en route to attack Anvard. Lune believes him and commands that Shasta be given a horse to ride with the hunting party.

While more accustomed to the saddle now, Shasta has no experience in guiding or encouraging speed from his horse. He falls behind the riders and finds himself engulfed in a heavy fog. Eventually, his horse slows to a walk. They come to a crossroads in the fog and Shasta does not know which road to take. After he has started down one road, he hears riders stop at the crossroads and someone addresses them. The soldiers are told that, once they storm the castle, they are to slay every male in Anvard, after which they can split all the treasures, property, and women. From that point they will go on to Narnia, where they will not kill anyone unless necessary. After these instructions, the riders head up the opposite road to the castle. Not knowing what else to do and uncertain of the way back to the hermit’s lodge, Shasta continues up the road he has chosen, which leads him high into the mountain in the chilly, misty darkness.

He begins to feel tremendously unlucky and sorry for himself, since all others (the Narnians, Archenlanders, talking horses and Aravis) have avoided danger and are not alone and lost. He realizes that someone is walking alongside him on the mountain trail. Shasta has no notion of who is beside him, fearing it may be a giant. Finally, he calls out, “Who are you?” (174). The two enter a cryptic conversation, with Shasta trying to figure out who is beside him while the stranger gives vague hints, saying he has wanted to speak to Shasta for a long time, that he is not a giant or a ghoul.

At last, the stranger identifies himself as the lion who had chased Shasta and the others several times. He says he was also the cat who comforted Shasta at the tombs and the lion who drove away the jackals. As Shasta comes to understand the divinity of the lion, he is filled with awe. The darkness around them is slowly transformed to light so that Shasta sees the lion, larger than his horse (who apparently cannot see the lion) and glorious in his appearance. At the site of the lion, Shasta dismounts and bows before him. The lion touches his tongue to Shasta’s forehead before disappearing, leaving Shasta and his horse in a beautiful mountaintop meadow.

Left alone on the mountaintop, Shasta wonders if he dreamed the entire encounter until he sees the lion’s paw print. The huge indentation fills with water, which Shasta drinks and then uses to wash his face and hair and is refreshed.

Judging from the mountains he sees around him, Shasta realizes he is in Narnia, having crossed over at night when he walked with the lion. Soon he is addressed by a talking hedgehog. As he tells the hedgehog his story, they are joined by other talking creatures. Shasta is concerned that someone must go to Cair Paravel, the capital of Narnia, to tell the king that Anvard has been besieged by Calormenes. This is heard by a talking stag, who immediately dashes away to call the Narnians to the aid of King Lune.

The next morning, just after breakfast, an entourage of soldiers, giants, and warrior beasts arrive at the dwarves’ home, sounding trumpets. Shasta recognizes King Edmund, whom he had seen in Tashbaan. Along with him is Edmund’s younger sister, Queen Lucy, described as, “a fair-haired lady with a very merry face who wore a helmet and a mail shirt and a bow across her shoulder and a quiver of arrows at her side” (189).

Also with them is Prince Corin. The column stops to rest and eat before descending to Anvard. The Narnians explain that Chervy, the stag, had been waiting for them when they arrived at Cair Paravel and told them of Rabadash’s plans. The Narnians marvel at the similarity between Shasta and Corin.

Corin gets in a fight with a dwarf who had been commanded by Edmund to prevent Corin from marching into battle with the others at Anvard. The dwarf twists his ankle and cannot go forward. When Edmund is momentarily distracted, Corin takes the dwarf’s armor and horse for Shasta. Corin is eager for the two of them to enter the battle at Anvard.

Corin and Shasta ride at the rear of the column, behind the giants, to prevent Edmund and Lucy from seeing them. Shasta tells his story to Corin. Corin teaches him how to use reins to guide his horse. In the daylight, Shasta sees just how steep the mountain trails he had ridden in the darkness were. Shasta observes, “I was quite safe. That is why the Lion kept on my left. He was between me and the edge all the time” (196). When the boys see eagles soaring above them, Corin explains that they sense there is about to be a battle. Shasta is as reluctant as Corin is eager.

When they draw close to Anvard’s castle, the column forms a broad, single line with different assignments. The soldiers hear a battering ram below as Calormenes try to smash open the castle gate with a huge fallen tree. The Narnian trumpet sounds and the battle line charges down the hill. The Calormenes get back on their horses and charge out to meet them. Shasta, terribly frightened, summons his courage and charges with the others. Soon he is disarmed and knocked from his horse to the ground beneath the raging horses. He has no idea what is happening above him.

Lewis shifts the description at this point back to the hermit’s clear pool, where the hermit can see the battle and is describing what he sees to Aravis and the talking horses. The hermit describes the Calormenes felling the tree and attacking the castle. He describes the surprise arrival of the Narnians with the big cats attacking the horses of the dismounted Calormenes and the giants attacking from the other side. He tells of Corin slaying a soldier and the gallant helplessness of Shasta, who disappears. As the battle plays out, the Calormenes are quickly surrounded and defeated. Rabadash and Edmund engage in a sword fight at the base of the castle. Rabadash climbs onto a mounting block and tries to leap down on Edmund, only to have the back of his chain mail shirt catch on a hook in the castle wall. The victorious soldiers gather around, laughing at the ridiculous sight of the squirming Rabadash.

King Lune takes Rabadash into his custody, ridiculing him for making an unprovoked attack on a peaceable neighboring kingdom without warning. Corin brings Shasta before his father. After chastising Corin for entering the battle against his wishes, Lune hugs Shasta and presents the two boys side-by-side to the great applause of the Archenlanders.

Lewis shifts the focus back to Aravis and the talking horses. The hermit tells them the Calormenes have been defeated and Shasta is unharmed. Hwin announces she is ready to travel to Narnia, though Bree seeks to delay their return. He is embarrassed about the condition of his tail, which was cut to make him look like a packhorse in Tashbaan. Aravis and Hwin accuse him of being vain.

The three launch into a discussion of whether Aslan, the God of Narnia, is actually a lion. Bree insists that he is not, that the lion legend is used only to denote the lordly qualities of Aslan. While he is speaking, the lion Aslan leaps silently into the compound and comes up behind Bree as the others watch in awe. Aslan tickles Bree with his whiskers then demands that Bree touch him to confirm that he is real. Aslan then turns his attention to Aravis, explaining that the ten scratches he gave her were exactly the number of lashes her servant girl received as the result of Aravis’s plot to escape. Before he leaves, Aslan tells them they will soon have another visitor.

Half an hour later, an official cadre sounds a trumpet outside the gate, announcing “His Royal Highness Prince Cor of Archenland” (217). Led by an entourage of officials, Shasta enters the hermitage, dressed as a prince. He apologizes to Aravis for his appearance, saying his old clothes have been burned. From now on, he must be called Cor because he is the twin brother of Corin and the son of King Lune of Archenland.

Cor reveals that, when he was just an infant, a centaur had prophesied he would one day save Archenland from its greatest danger. A traitor among King Lune’s servants heard the prophecy and arranged to have Cor kidnapped. Cor was spirited away on a boat and never found. When Cor warned King Lune of the Calormenes’ invasion, it was the fulfillment of the centaur’s prophesy.

Cor has come to Aravis to extend King Lune’s invitation to her to become a lady in the court, since Cor’s mother is deceased and there are no other women at Anvard. She accepts the invitation. The next day the original four travelers are to set out for Anvard. Bree and Hwin are treated as human equals and are not to be ridden.

King Lune welcomes Aravis into the court graciously. She tells him the story of how Cor rushed a lion to save her life. Lune greets Hwin and Bree with equal courtesy. Queen Lucy comes out of the castle and embraces Aravis, having set up quarters for her within the castle with everything she will need.

After lunch, the time arises for the Archenlanders and Narnians to decide what they should do with Rabadash, whom they are holding captive. They decide to send him back to Tashbaan with the caveat that he never again attack the northern countries. They bring him before the court and treat him with dignity. When they spell out their intentions, Rabadash responds with venomous disrespect, challenging any of them to a fight. Corin asks for permission to box him. King Lune quiets his courtiers and tells them not to allow Rabadash to provoke them. Lune once again makes his offer of freedom to Rabadash, who curses them, invoking the name of Tash, the Calormen god.

Everyone in the court suddenly rises in silence as Aslan enters the room, pacing between the royals and Rabadash. Aslan counsels Rabadash to abandon his pride and accept the terms he has been offered. Rabadash calls Aslan a demon and taunts him. Aslan cautions Rabadash again. As Rabadash continues to heap threats and insults upon Aslan and the court, the others begin to laugh. As they watch, Rabadash is slowly transformed into a donkey who can no longer speak but only bray. Aslan tells Rabadash he will remain a donkey until he appears in the temple of Tash in Tashbaan at a religious ceremony. He is warned that, should he ever go further than 10 miles from the temple, he will once again turn into a donkey and never become a man again. Instantly, Aslan disappears from the gathering.

Though the Archenlanders treat him well, Rabadash is an ungrateful donkey. Lewis departs from the chronology of the story to tell of Rabadash’s future, saying, “And here, to get him out of the way, I’d better finish off the story of Rabadash” (237). Rabadash is restored to human form and eventually becomes the Tisroc after his father’s death. Since he never travels far from the temple, “During his reign, and to his face, he was Rabadash the Peacemaker, but after his death and behind his back he was called Rabadash the Ridiculous” (237).

After dealing with Rabadash, King Lune holds a great feast in which Cor and Aravis learn many of the legends of Archenland. Cor discovers he will become the next king of Archenland since he is the elder of the twins. His brother Corin is pleased because he did not want to be king. Lewis closes the book with a prophetic series of vignettes that foretell the lives of the characters. Cor becomes king and marries Aravis. Their son, Ram, becomes the most famous king of Archenland. Corin becomes a renowned warrior and boxer. Bree and Hwin return to Narnia, marry other talking horses, and live for many years.