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His Words
The below is from a post titled If You Are Thirsty, Come and Drink on Desiring God.org:
C. S. Lewis, The Chronicles of
Narnia, on Jill's thirst and search for water:
The birds had ceased singing and
there was perfect silence except for one small, persistent sound, which seemed
to come from a good distance away. She listened carefully, and felt almost sure
it was the sound of running water.
Jill got up and looked round her
very carefully. There was no sign of the lion; but there were so many trees
about that it might easily be quite close without her seeing it. . . . But her
thirst was very bad now, and she plucked up her courage to go and look for that
running water. . . .
The wood was so still that it was
not difficult to decide where the sound was coming from. It grew clearer every
moment and, sooner than she expected, she came to an open glade and saw the
stream, bright as glass, running across the turf a stone's throw away from her.
But although the sight of water made her feel ten times thirstier than before, she
didn't rush forward to drink. She stood as still as if she had been turned to
stone, with her mouth wide open. And she had a very good reason: Just on this
side of the stream lay the Lion. . . .
How long this lasted, she could
not be sure; it seemed like hours. And the thirst became so bad that she almost
felt she would not mind being eaten by the lion if only she could be sure of
getting a mouthful of water first.
"If you're thirsty, you may
drink." . . .
For a second she stared here and
there, wondering who had spoken. Then the voice said again,
"If you are thirsty, come
and drink." . . .
It was deeper, wilder, and
stronger; a sort of heavy, golden voice. . . .
"Are you thirsty?" said
the Lion.
"I'm dying of
thirst," said Jill.
"Then drink," said the
Lion.
"May I — could I — would you
mind going away while I do?" said Jill.
The Lion answered this only by a
look and a very low growl. . . . The delicious rippling noise of the stream was
driving her nearly frantic. . . .
"Do you eat girls?" she
asked fearfully.
"I have swallowed up girls
and boys, women and men, kings and emperors, cities and realms," said the
Lion. It didn't say this as if it were boasting, nor as if it were sorry, nor
as if it were angry. It just said it.
"I daren't come and
drink," said Jill.
"Then you will die of
thirst," said the Lion.
"Oh dear!" said Jill,
coming another step nearer. "I suppose I must go and look for another
stream then."
"There is no other
stream," said the Lion.
The Silver Chair,
(New York: Harper Collins, 1953), Kindle Edition, locations 219-238.
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