"O-o-oh!" said Susan suddenly, and everyone asked her what was the matter.
    
    "I'm sitting against a tree," said Susan, "and look! It's getting light-over there."
    
    "By Jove, you're right," said Peter, "and look there-and there. It's trees all round. 
And this wet stuff is snow. Why, I do believe we've got into Lucy's wood after all."
    
    And now there was no mistaking it and all four children stood blinking in the 
daylight of a winter day. Behind them were coats hanging on pegs, in front of them were 
snow-covered trees.
    
    Peter turned at once to Lucy.
    
    "I apologize for not believing you," he said, "I'm sorry. Will you shake hands?"
    
    "Of course," said Lucy, and did.
    
    "And now," said Susan, "what do we do next?"
    
    "Do?" said Peter, "why, go and explore the wood, of course."
    
    "Ugh!" said Susan, stamping her feet, "it's pretty cold. What about putting on some 
of these coats?"
    
    "They're not ours," said Peter doubtfully.
    
    "I am sure nobody would mind," said Susan; "it isn't as if we wanted to take them out 
of the house; we shan't take them even out of the wardrobe."
    
    "I never thought of that, Su," said Peter. "Of course, now you put it that way, I 
see. No one could say you had bagged a coat as long as you leave it in the wardrobe where 
you found it. And I suppose this whole country is in the wardrobe."
    
    They immediately carried out Susan's very sensible plan. The coats were rather too 
big for them so that they came down to their heels and looked more like royal robes than 
coats when they had put them on. But they all felt a good deal warmer and each thought 
the others looked better in their new get-up and more suitable to the landscape.
    
    "We can pretend we are Arctic explorers," said Lucy.
    
    "This is going to be exciting enough without pretending," said Peter, as he began 
leading the way forward into the forest. There were heavy darkish clouds overhead and it 
looked as if there might be more snow before night.
    
    "I say," began Edmund presently, "oughtn't we to be bearing a bit more to the left, 
that is, if we are aiming for the lamp-post?" He had forgotten for the moment that he 
must pretend never to have been in the wood before. The moment the words were out of his 
mouth he realized that he had given himself away. Everyone stopped; everyone stared at 
him. Peter whistled.
    
    "So you really were here," he said, "that time Lu said she'd met you in here-and you 
made out she was telling lies."
    
    There was a dead silence. "Well, of all the poisonous little beasts-" said Peter, and 
shrugged his shoulders and said no more. There seemed, indeed, no more to say, and 
presently the four resumed their journey; but Edmund was saying to himself, "I'll pay you 
all out for this, you pack of stuck-up, selfsatisfied prigs."
    
    "Where are we going anyway?" said Susan, chiefly for the sake of changing the subject.
    
    "I think Lu ought to be the leader," said Peter; "goodness knows she deserves it. 
Where will you take us, Lu?"
    
    "What about going to see Mr Tumnus?" said Lucy. "He's the nice Faun I told you about."
    
    Everyone agreed to this and off they went walking briskly and stamping their feet. 
Lucy proved a good leader. At first she wondered whether she would be able to find the 
way, but she recognized an oddlooking tree on one place and a stump in another and 
brought them on to where the ground became uneven and into the little valley and at last 
to the very door of Mr Tumnus's cave. But there a terrible surprise awaited them.
    
    The door had been wrenched off its hinges and broken to bits. Inside, the cave was 
dark and cold and had the damp feel and smell of a place that had not been lived in for 
several days. Snow had drifted in from the doorway and was heaped on the floor, mixed 
with something black, which turned out to be the charred sticks and ashes from the fire. 
Someone had apparently flung it about the room and then stamped it out. The crockery lay 
smashed on the floor and the picture of the Faun's father had been slashed into shreds 
with a knife.
    
    "This is a pretty good wash-out," said Edmund; "not much good coming here."
    
    "What is this?" said Peter, stooping down. He had just noticed a piece of paper which 
had been nailed through the carpet to the floor.
    
    "Is there anything written on it?" asked Susan.
    
    "Yes, I think there is," answered Peter, "but I can't read it in this light. Let's 
get out into the open air."
    
    They all went out in the daylight and crowded round Peter as he read out the 
following words:
    
    The former occupant of these premises, the Faun Tumnus, is under arrest and awaiting 
his trial on a charge of High Treason against her Imperial Majesty Jadis, Queen of 
Narnia, Chatelaine of Cair Paravel, Empress of the Lone Islands, etc., also of comforting 
her said Majesty's enemies, harbouring spies and fraternizing with Humans.
    
    signed MAUGRIM, Captain of the Secret Police, LONG LIVE THE QUEEN