The Lion， whose eyes never blinked， stared at the animals as hard as if he was going to burn them up with his mere stare. And gradually a change came over them. The smaller ones.the rabbits， moles and such.like.grew a good deal larger. The very big ones.you noticed it most with the elephants.grew a little smaller. Many animals sat up on their hind legs. Most put their heads on one side as if they were trying very hard to understand. The Lion opened his mouth， but no sound came from it； he was breathing out， a long， warm breath； it seemed to sway all the beasts as the wind sways a line of trees. Far overhead from beyond the veil of blue sky which hid them the stars sang again； a pure， cold， difficult music. Then there came a swift flash like fire （but it burnt nobody） either from the sky or from the Lion itself， and every drop of blood tingled in the children’s bodies， and the deepest， wildest voice they had ever heard was saying：
“Narnia， Narnia， Narnia， awake. Love. Think. Speak. Be walking trees. Be talking beasts. Be divine waters.”
The First Joke And Other Matters
It was of course the Lion‘s voice. The children had long felt sure that he could speak： yet it was a lovely and terrible shock when he did.
