"If I run away, it'll be after me in a moment," thought Jill. "And if I go on, I shall run straight into its mouth." Anyway, she couldn't have moved if she had tried, and she couldn't take her eyes off it. 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."

They were the first words she had heard since Scrubb had spoken to her on the edge of the cliff. For a second she stared here and there, wondering who had spoken. Then the voice said again, "If you are thirsty, come and drink," and of course she remembered what Scrubb had said about animals talking in that other world, and realized that it was the lion speaking. Anyway, she had seen the lips move this time, and the voice was not like a man's. It was deeper, wilder, and stronger; a sort of heavy, golden voice. It did not make her any less frightened than she had been before, but it made her frightened in a rather a different way.

"Are you not 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. And as Jill gazed at its motionless bulk, she realized that she might as well have asked the whole mountain to move aside for her convenience.

i say, "You know me. i don't mind being in freefall. When things spin out of control, i find a joy in waiting to see how He'll work it all out. Sure, it can be scary, but it's also exhilarating, you know?"

She's always so calm when i get this way. "I know."

"It's like jumping out of a plane. You can really enjoy the feeling of flying if you don't sweat the landing. You know what i mean?"

"I know." It's been years. She knows what i mean.

"But this jumping out of a plane with a baby in my arms—it's too much—"

The delicious rippling noise of the stream was driving her nearly frantic.

"Will you promise not to—do anything to me, if I do come?" said Jill.

"I make no promise," said the Lion.

Jill was so thirsty now that, without noticing it, she had come a step nearer.

"Do you eat girls?" she said.

"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.

It's bedtime and we're reading The Fourth Wiseman. When we finish, the younger one, who has recently started reading everything from cereal boxes to copyright notices, says, "Read the Afterwords, Papa."

Yeah, "Afterwords." Cute, eh?

It's no big deal. A single page that tells the origin of the legend of a fourth magus. And then I'm caught offguard by a word i've refused even to think:

"...we can turn disappointment to good account..."

At first she thinks I'm laughing. Then she asks. "What's wrong with Papa?"

And then she joins me and we're both overwhelmed with brokenheartedness.

"I feel like a beggar."

"Yes," she says. "Keep it up."

"How do i reconcile begging with trusting?"

"Only your pride keeps you from that."

i suppose i have to make a distinction between feeling humbled and feeing humiliated.

"Maybe you should pull over," she says.
"You won't be able to see where you're driving."

"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 presence of subvalve and valvar pulmonary stenosis precludes an arterial switch operation for Drew. For now, his circulation seems reasonably balanced with an adequate amount of pulmonary blood flow. However, the natural history is for Drew's pulmonary stenosis to progress with time. Ultimately, Drew will require a Ratelli type operation that baffles the left ventricular outflow to the aorta.... We will plan on monitoring Drew carefully over the upcoming months for progression of his cyanosis."

—Dr. L., Pediatric Cardiologist