第564章 The Horse And His Boy(154)

There was no mistaking it now. Ahead， and a little to their right， there was at last a slope： a slope downward and hummocks of rock on each side. The Horses were far too tired to speak but they swung round towards it and in a minute or two they were entering the gully. At first it was worse in there than it had been out in the open desert， for there was a breathless stuffiness between the rocky walls and less moonlight. The slope continued steeply downwards and the rocks on either hand rose to the height of cliffs. Then they began to meet vegetation.prickly cactus.like plants and coarse grass of the kind that would prick your fingers. Soon the horse.hoofs were falling on pebbles and stones instead of sand. Round every bend of the valley.and it had many bends.they looked eagerly forwater. The Horses were nearly at the end of their strength now， and Hwin， stumbling and panting； was lagging behind Bree. They were almost in despair before at last they came to a little muddiness and a tiny trickle of water through softer and better grass. And the trickle became a brook， and the brook became a stream with bushes on each side， and the stream became a river and there came （after more disappointments than I could possibly describe） a moment when Shasta， who had been in a kind of doze， suddenly realized that Bree had stopped， and found himself slipping off. Before them a little cataract of water poured into a broad pool： and both the Horses were already in the pool with their heads down， drinking， drinking， drinking. “O.o. oh，” said Shasta and plunged in.it was about up to his knees.and stooped his head right into the cataract. It was perhaps the loveliest moment in his life.