“The fools！” he said to himself. “Now those brutes will eat the rings along with the children and I‘ll never be able to get home again. What a selfish little boy that Digory is！ And the others are just as bad. If they want to throw away their own lives， that’s their business. But what about me？ They don‘t seem to think of that. No one thinks of me.”
Finally， when a whole crowd of animals came rushing towards him， he turned and ran for his life. And now anyone could see that the air of that young world was really doing the old gentleman good. In London he had been far too old to run： now， he ran at a speed which would have made him certain to win the hundred yards’ race at any Prep school in England. His coat.tails flying out behind him were a fine sight. But of course it was no use. Many of the animals behind him were swift ones； it was the first run they had ever taken in their lives and they were all longing to use their new muscles. “After him！ After him！” they shouted. “Perhaps he‘s that Neevil！ Tally.ho！ Tantivy！ Cut him off！ Round him up！ Keep it up！ Hurray！”
In a very few minutes some of them got ahead of him. They lined up in a row and barred his way. Others hemmed him in from behind. Wherever he looked he saw terrors. Antlers of great elks and the huge face of an elephant towered over him. Heavy， serious.minded bears and boars grunted behind him. Cool.looking leopards and panthers with sarcastic faces （as he thought） stared at him and waved their tails. What struck him most of all was the number of open mouths. The animals had really opened their mouths to pant； he thought they had opened their mouths to eat him.
Uncle Andrew stood trembling and swaying this way and that. He had never liked animals at the best of times， being usually rather afraid of them； and of course years of doing cruel experiments on animals had made him hate and fear them far more.
“Now， sir，” said the Bulldog in his business.like way， “are you animal， vegetable， or mineral？” That was what it really said； but all Uncle Andrew heard was “Gr.r.r.arrh.ow！”
中文阅读
当然这是狮子的声音。孩子们早就感到他能说话。然而当他真的开口讲话时，他们还是受到一个不小的、令人愉快的震惊。
从树林里走出来一些野人，如农牧之神潘恩，森林之神萨特，还有小矮人们。从河里面浮出来河神与他的女儿..水中仙女们。所有这些人、兽和飞鸟都在用各种不同的声音，或高或低，或粗或细，回答道：
“向你致敬，阿斯兰。我们听到了，我们乐意顺从。我们醒来了。我们要去爱。我们要思考。我们要交流。我们要知晓。”
“对不起，我们知道的还是不多。”一个喷着鼻息的声音说道。孩子们真的吓了一大跳，因为说话的是那匹拉车的马。
“好一个老草莓，”波利说，“我真高兴，它也被拣选出来，成为会说话的动物。”站在孩子们身旁的车夫说：“真想不到。尽管我一直都说那匹马通人性。”
“被造物们，我把生命赐给你们。”阿斯兰用喜乐而强有力的声音说道，“我将纳尼亚这片土地永远赐给你们。我赐给你们树林、果实、河流。我赐给你们星辰，还将我自己赐给你们。我没有拣选的那些哑巴野兽也是你们的。要温柔地对待它们，珍视它们，但不要退回到它们的生活方式，以免你们再也不能说话。因为你们是从它们中间拣选出来的，所以你们也能够退回到它们中间。一定不要这么做。”
“不，阿斯兰，我们决不，我们决不倒退。”大家异口同声地说。一只活泼的寒鸦用响亮的声音补充道：“绝不！”大伙儿的话音刚落，它就冒出这么一句，它的话在一片静寂中显得格外突出；或许你已经意识到那有多么糟糕..特别是在聚会时。
寒鸦感到无比尴尬，将头藏在了翅膀底下，好像它打瞌睡时的样子。其他的动物开始发出各种奇怪的声音，那是它们在哈哈大笑，当然在我们的世界里没有人听到过。一开始它们还尽量地克制着自己，但是阿斯兰说：
“欢笑吧，不要惧怕，被造物们。既然你们不再又哑又蠢，就没有必要那么严肃。我们用语言来主持正义，也用语言来开玩笑。”
于是它们都尽情地说笑起来。大家是如此地欢天喜地，就连寒鸦也再次鼓起勇气，栖息在拉车马的头上，即马的两耳之间。它一边拍打着翅膀，一边说：
“阿斯兰！阿斯兰！是我编了第一个笑话对吧？是不是所有的人都会知道是我编出了第一个笑话？”
“不，小朋友。”狮子回答说，“你并没有编出第一个笑话，你只是闹了第一个笑话。”于是众人笑得更起劲了，寒鸦也毫不在乎，跟着动物们一起放声大笑。马儿摇了一下脑袋，寒鸦失去了平衡，一头栽了下去，在落地之前，它才想起自己的翅膀（它们对翅膀还不熟悉）。
“好了，”阿斯兰说，“纳尼亚建立了。接下去，我们必须考虑如何保护它的安全。我要召集几个成员组成委员会。到我这里来，矮人首领，你河神，你橡树精灵，还有雄猫头鹰，再加上两只渡鸦和一头公象。我们要商谈一下。这个世界诞生还不到五个小时，一个邪灵就已经进来了。”
上面提到的那些动物走上前来，狮子带领它们往东边走去。其余的动物互相交谈起来，说着诸如此类的话：“他刚才说什么进入了这个世界？..一个鞋领..什么是鞋领？..不，他说的不是鞋领，说的是咸灵..嗯，那是什么？”
“听着，”迪戈里对波利说，“我也要跟着他去..我指的是阿斯兰，那头狮子。我有话要对他说。”
“你觉得我们可以这样做吗？”波利说，“我可不敢。”“我必须这样做。”迪戈里说，“这事跟我妈妈有关。如果有谁能赐给我有助于她健康的东西的话，那一定就是他了。”“我跟你一块儿去。”马夫说，“我喜欢他的样子。我不知道这些动物是否喜欢我们。我想跟老草莓说句话。”他们三个勇敢地迈步..或者说尽可能勇敢地..走向那群动物。动物们正忙着聊天和交友，直到三个人走近时，才注意到他们。它们没有听到远处安德鲁舅舅的叫声。安德鲁舅舅穿着扣紧的靴子，站在那儿哆嗦着喊叫（绝不敢放开嗓门）：
“迪戈里！回来！听我的话快点儿回来！我不准你再往前走一步。”他们走到了动物中间，所有的动物都停下谈话，凝视着他们。“喂？”雄河狸终于说道，“以阿斯兰的名义，这些是什么东西？”