“Drink， Sire， and then you‘ll find you are able to eat，” said the topmost Mouse， and Tirian found that a little wooden cup was being held to his lips. It was only the size of an egg cup so that he had hardly tasted the wine in it before it was empty. But then the Mouse passed it down and the others refilled it and it was passed up again and Tirian emptied it a second time. In this way they went on till he had quite a good drink， which was all the better for coming in little doses， for that is more thirst.quenching than one long draught.
“Here is cheese， Sire，” said the first Mouse， “but not very much， for fear it would make you too thirsty.” And after the cheese they fed him with oatcakes and fresh butter， and then with some more wine.
“Now hand up the water，” said the first Mouse， “and I’llwash the King‘s face. There is blood on it.”
Then Tirian felt something like a tiny sponge dabbing his face， and it was most refreshing.
“Little friends，” said Tirian， “how can I thank you for all this？”
