"I don't want to be inquisitive," said Mr. Tumnus, "but should I be right in thinking that you are a Daughter of Eve?"

Meg shook her head. "No, I'm the daughter of Peter and Lois. My name's Meg Griffin."

"But are you a human?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm a human. And you're a satyr, aren't you?"

"I'm a faun," said Tumnus. "Common mistake."

"Where did you get that hat?" Meg asked him.

Tumnus reached up and lifted Meg's hat from his head. "Funny thing. It just fell from the sky and landed right on my head."

"I think that's my hat," Meg said. "It must have fallen through the washing machine like I did."

Mr. Tumnus visibly stiffened. "You fell through a portal in a washing machine? Do you mean to tell me that you come from another world?"

"Yeah, I guess so," she said. "And if you'll excuse me, I really ought to be getting back there, if I can find the way…"

"My dear girl," the faun interrupted, "you can't possibly think of rushing off so quickly! You simply must come to my house and have a spot of tea before you leave!"

Meg hesitated, looking into the faun's earnest face. Why was she in such a hurry? It wasn't like there was anything she had to be in time for. As long as she was here, she might as well stay and look around for a while. "Okay, sure," she said. "Why not?"

Mr. Tumnus held out his arm. Meg took hold of it and he led her through the woods to a little cave in the side of a hill. "It's no Cair Paravel, but it's nice and cozy," he said.

Inside, Mr. Tumnus's cave looked just like an ordinary house. There was a little table in the middle of the living room, laid with tea and cakes. "Sit anywhere you like, Daughter of Eve," he said kindly.

Meg plopped down onto a big chair. It was the comfiest chair she'd ever sat in. "Why do you keep calling me Daughter of Eve?" she asked. "I already told you, my mom's name is Lois."

"That's just what we call all human women in Narnia," said Tumnus. "Because of Adam and Eve, you know. The first two humans?"

"Oh, right," said Meg, although she wondered how creatures from another world would have heard of Adam and Eve.

Tumnus sat down in a chair opposite her and poured her a cup of the tea. "Here you go."

Meg didn't really think she liked tea, but she accepted it, to be polite. However, when she took a sip, she was surprised to discover that it tasted wonderful. And the cakes were exquisite too. They were topped with sugar.

Mr. Tumnus took out a set of pipes and began to play a tune that made Meg want to cry and laugh and dance and go to sleep all at the same time. She leaned back in her chair, feeling fantastic.

And then suddenly Mr. Tumnus stopped playing. Meg sat up. "What's the matter?"

Mr. Tumnus didn't speak. He seemed to be undergoing some struggle within himself.

Suddenly, he jumped up and snatched Meg's cup of tea out of her hand. "What did you do that for?" Meg cried.

"You mustn't drink any more of that tea!" Mr. Tumnus exclaimed. "It's drugged."

"I don't understand," said Meg. "What's going on?"

Mr. Tumnus was crying now. "I'm so sorry," he sobbed. "I've done a terrible, terrible thing!"

"Oh yeah? What was that?"

"I pretended to be your friend, and asked you to tea. I was going to wait until you were asleep, and then hand you over to the White Witch!"

"Who's the White Witch?" asked Meg.

"She rules Narnia with an iron fist. She's cast a spell over the land that makes it winter all the time, and if anybody does something she doesn't like, she turns them into a stone statue. She told me that if I ever met anybody who came from another world, I was to bring them to her."

"But why?" said Meg.

Mr. Tumnus shrugged sadly. "I suppose she's got her reasons. Don't ask me to fathom the way a witch's mind works. But I can't possibly give you up to her now. I'm going to help you escape!"

Meg stood up, but all of a sudden, she felt very weak. She could hardly walk. "I don't know if I can make it," she gasped.

"I should never have given you that tea," Tumnus sighed. "Come on. I'll help you as best I can."

He put his arm around her, and together the pair of them limped outside into the snow.

"We've got to move quietly," Tumnus whispered. "The witch has spies everywhere."

Meg wanted to lie down and go to sleep, but she kept putting one foot down in front of the other. She moved along step by weary step, with Tumnus guiding her.

After what seemed like hours, they reached the spot where she had first met him. Mr. Tumnus let go of her, and Meg found she could stand unaided now. "I think the effects of the poison are wearing off," she said.

"Thank goodness you only had a very little of that drugged tea," said Mr. Tumnus. "Can you ever forgive me for what I meant to do to you?"

"Well, you had a change of heart before you did me any real harm," said Meg. "So, yeah, I forgive you."

"I hope the queen doesn't find out I let you get away," said Mr. Tumnus.

"How would she find out? No one else even knows I was here."

"Let's hope so," the faun said nervously. "Let's hope that's true. She has ways of finding things out."

"I think you'll be okay," said Meg. "Thanks for saving me."

Mr. Tumnus handed her back her hat. "Forgot to give this back to you. Farewell, Daughter of Eve!"

"Bye, Mr. Tumnus!" said Meg. "And good luck!"

She could see a bright light ahead of her. She ran toward it. The snowflakes started coming down thicker than ever, filling her vision so that all she could see was white. Without warning, the ground gave way in front of her, and Meg found herself falling again.

When she landed, she was lying on the floor back in the laundry room, in front of the washing machine.