The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

by C. S. Lewis

Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy Pevensie are evacuated from London in 1940 to escape the Blitz, and sent to live with an old professor (named in a later book as Digory Kirke) at a large house in the English countryside.

Soon after arriving, the children are exploring the house when Lucy enters a wardrobe that leads her into snowy woodland with a lamp-post. Lucy meets Tumnus, a faun who befriends her and informs her that she is in the land of Narnia. He invites her to have tea with him at his cave. Eventually, he reveals that he is in the pay of the White Witch, a ruler who has kept Narnia frozen in a perpetual winter and who has given out orders that any human found in Narnia is to be captured and handed over to her. Tumnus then repents and realises that he cannot hand Lucy over to the Witch. He guides Lucy back to the lamp-post. Once there, she returns to her own world by re-entering the wardrobe, and finds that only a few seconds have passed there during her absence. None of her siblings believe her story about Narnia; upon inspection, the back of the wardrobe appears solid and leads nowhere.

Lucy enters the wardrobe again, and it again leads her into Narnia. This time, Edmund follows Lucy and also enters Narnia, but is unable to find his sister. Upon arriving in Narnia, Edmund encounters a great lady on a reindeer-drawn sleigh. She introduces herself as the Queen of Narnia, and plies him with sweet Turkish Delight. She is keen to find out as much as possible about Edmund, and is particularly interested in the fact that he has a brother and two sisters. She promises to reward Edmund with more Turkish Delight if he brings his brother and sisters to her house, and also promises to make him a prince and eventually King of Narnia. She then departs and when Edmund reaches the lamp-post, Lucy catches up with him. During their conversation about Narnia, Lucy tells Edmund that she has been to visit Tumnus the faun, and that the White Witch has done nothing to him for letting her go on her first visit. When Lucy describes the White Witch, Edmund realises that the Witch is no other than the lady he has just made friends with, but he remains quiet about his meeting with her. When they return to their own world, however, Edmund decides to make out that Lucy has been telling lies about the country in the wardrobe, much to her dismay. Peter is angry with Edmund for his supposed encouragement and jeering towards Lucy over her "imaginary" country, and quickly agrees with Susan that they need to speak to the professor, as they fear that Lucy is going mad. The professor, however, suggests that Lucy's story may well be true – particularly as Peter and Susan have always seen her as the more honest sibling, and it is perfectly obvious in the professor's opinion that Lucy is not mad.

Soon afterwards, all four children enter Narnia together while hiding in the wardrobe from the housekeeper, Mrs. Macready, who was giving a tour of the house to some visitors. Lucy leads the group to Tumnus's cave, only to find that it has been ransacked and that the faun is under arrest on a charge of treason against the Queen of Narnia (the White Witch), as mentioned in a notice signed by Maugrim, chief of the White Witch's secret police. The children are befriended by Mr Beaver, a talking animal who takes them to his home. He informs them that Tumnus was last seen heading northwards – in the direction of the White Witch's castle – after being arrested by the secret police. His exact fate is unknown, but few people who have been taken into the castle have ever come out again: the courtyard, stairway and hall are reportedly full of statues of Narnians she has turned to stone. Mr and Mrs Beaver tell the children about a prophecy that the Witch's tyranny will end when "two Sons of Adam and two Daughters of Eve" sit on the four thrones of Cair Paravel, and that Narnia's true ruler – the great lion Aslan – is at last arriving in Narnia, and they will be meeting him tomorrow at the Stone Table.

Edmund slips away to the Witch's castle. In the courtyard, he is surprised by the many statues of Narnians the Witch has turned to stone. He next encounters Maugrim, who allows him to enter the castle. The Witch is furious that Edmund has come alone, and is angrier still to learn that Aslan – her enemy – has arrived in Narnia. She prepares to head to the Stone Table with Edmund in tow and her dwarf driving the sledge. She also orders Maugrim to take with him the swiftest of his wolves and kill Edmund's siblings and the beavers, and to head to the Stone Table if the children and beavers are already gone.

Meanwhile, the children and the beavers notice Edmund's absence, and Mr Beaver is quick to reach the conclusion that Edmund had gone to the White Witch. They prepare for a long journey with the other children to meet Aslan. After walking for several miles, they finally enter a hiding place in order to get some sleep. They are greeted the next morning by Father Christmas, who had been kept out of Narnia by the Witch's magic – this is the first major sign that the Witch's power is crumbling. By the time they have reached the Stone Table to meet Aslan, the snow has melted and winter has ended.

Maugrim then approaches the camp and attempts to attack Susan, but is killed by Peter. Aslan sends a rescue party for Edmund; it arrives just in time to save him from the Witch, who had decided to kill him. The Witch parleys with Aslan, invoking the "Deep Magic from the Dawn of Time" which gives her the right to kill Edmund for his treason. Aslan then speaks to the Witch alone, and on his return he announces that the Witch has renounced her claim on Edmund's life. Aslan and his followers then move the encampment on into the nearby forest.

That evening, Susan and Lucy follow Aslan, who leads them to the Stone Table. They watch from a distance as the Witch puts Aslan to death – as they had agreed in their pact to spare Edmund. After the Witch and her followers depart to prepare for battle against Aslan's followers, Susan and Lucy remain with Aslan's body. In the morning, the girls find the Stone Table broken and Aslan restored to life. Aslan explains that the "Deeper Magic from before the Dawn of Time" has the power to reverse death if a willing victim takes the place of a traitor. Aslan takes the girls to the Witch's castle and revives the Narnians that the Witch had turned to stone, including Tumnus and a giant named Rumblebuffin. They join the Narnian forces battling the Witch's army. The Narnian army prevails, and Aslan kills the Witch. The Pevensie children are then crowned kings and queens of Narnia at Cair Paravel.

After a long and happy reign, the Pevensies, now adults, go on a hunt for the White Stag who is said to grant the wishes of those who catch it. The four arrive at the lamp-post and, having forgotten about it, unintentionally return through the wardrobe when they were looking for new adventures. When they return to England, they are children again, with no time having passed since their departure. They tell the story to the professor, who believes them and reassures the children that they will return to Narnia one day when they least expect it.