Mr. Beaver had brought the Griffins back to his house. Now they were eating dinner with him and his wife Mrs. Beaver.

"So, you said you were friends with Mr. Tumnus," said Meg. "How is he doing?"

Mr. Beaver shook his head sadly. "Ah, that's bad. That's a very, very bad business. The White Witch found out about him helping you, Meg, an' she had 'er wolves come an' arrest him. Probably she's turned him into stone now."

"And she might be turnin' Stewie into stone this very moment!" Lois exclaimed. "An' we're just sittin' here eating." She stood up from the table. "I still don't see why we can't just go over to her castle an' bust some heads. I have a black belt in tae jitsu, and Pee-tah has lots of experience in fighting, too, because he's always gettin' into fights with that giant chicken, an' he wins every time!"

"I already told yer, you've got no 'ope of beating that witch in a fight," said Mr. Beaver. "You'd be no match for her magic."

"Well, maybe we could negotiate with her," Peter suggested. "I'm a good negotiator."

FLASHBACK

Peter is sitting at a tollbooth.

TOLLBOOTH ATTENDANT: That'll be $1.50.

PETER: That's too much.

ATTENDANT: Excuse me?

PETER: It's too much. I'm givin' ya 75 cents.

ATTENDANT: Sir, this is a tollbooth. Everyone pays $1.50.

PETER: Okay, 80 cents. But that's the best I can do.

COP: What seems to be the problem?

ATTENDANT: He doesn't want to pay the toll.

COP: Sir, everyone has to pay the toll.

PETER: I understand that, officer, and I'm perfectly willing to pay. I'm just tryin' to reach a reasonable and workable compromise for all parties involved.

COP: Okay, pal, you just got yourself a $225 dollar ticket for obstruction of traffic.

PETER: I'll give ya $125. Take it or leave it.

END OF FLASHBACK

"You can't negotiate with the White Witch either," said Mrs. Beaver. "You've got no idea wot yer dealing with 'ere. Lissen, that witch's an absolute tyrant. My 'usband an' I are the last two beavers left in all of Narnia because she killed all the others, and when the two of us die, there won't be no beavers left. She terrifies everyone in Narnia into doin' 'er bidding, but there are some creatures, almost as evil as her, that do her will voluntarily, so yer never know 'oo ter trust, an' ya don't dare get too friendly with strangers."

"That's terrible," said Peter. "How did she come to take over this country?"

Mr. Beaver told them the whole sad story. "It wasn't always like this. Once upon a time, Narnia was a warm, friendly place. We 'ad a king then, good King Gale, ninth in descent from Frank the first of all kings. But one day a foreigner appeared from out of nowhere, an' 'e killed the old king. Few days later, the Witch showed up, an' she put a spell on the land that made it winter all the time."

"Well, that doesn't sound too bad," said Chris. "If it's always winter, then that's sorta like Christmas every day, right?"

"Ah, but it never gets to Christmas," Mrs. Beaver said sorrowfully. "Our calendar just goes from January to May, an' then it starts over again with January. Never December!"

"What happened to the guy who murdered the king?" Brian asked.

"Well, no one really knows," said Mr. Beaver. "After 'e killed King Gale, 'e vanished as quickly as 'e'd appeared, an' nothin' more was ever seen of 'im. No one ever knew 'is name, so we just took to callin' 'im 'The Stranger.' They say he wore Narnia-style clothes, but 'e acted like 'e was uncomfortable in 'em, as though he were used to wearin' diff'rent duds. An' 'e didn't understand some of our customs right away, like 'ow our money worked. Funny thing, though. I never saw 'im meself, but I've talked to others who did, an' they said they thought the Stranger was a real stranger, if y'know wot I mean."

There was a pause. Finally, Lois said, "No, we don't. What do ya mean?"

Mr. Beaver leaned forward. "The whisper goin' around is that the Stranger came from another world outside of Narnia, maybe even the same world you all came from!"

"I hope you're not thinkin' we had anything to do with the king's murder!" Peter exclaimed. "None of us ever set eyes on Narnia until a few days ago!"

Mr. Beaver patted his hand. "Calm down, old chap, I wasn't accusin' you an' yer family of anythin', not a bit of it! I can tell yore an honest bunch just by lookin' at ya! I was only sayin' the rumor is that the Stranger came from the same world as yew."

"Well, that's real interestin'," said Lois, "but I wanna get back to talkin' about how we're gonna save Stewie."

"There's only one person who can save yore son," said Mr. Beaver, "an' that's Aslan."

"Aslan?" Meg repeated. She had never heard that name before, but it sounded strangely familiar, almost as if it were the name of a friend she had known long ago.

"Aye," said Mrs. Beaver. "Aslan is the great Lion who made the world, hundreds an' hundreds of years ago."

Brian made a scoffing noise. Mrs. Beaver glared at him. "Did I say something funny?"

"I'm sorry, but this just sounds like a bunch of religious mumbo-jumbo to me," said Brian. "If this Aslan guy created your world hundreds of years ago, how could he still be around now?"

"You mustn't talk about Aslan like that," Mr. Beaver said sternly. "It ain't lucky fer one thing, an' it's all nonsense fer another. Aslan is Aslan, the Lord of all Narnia, an' the King of Beasts."

"You said he was a lion?" said Lois. "I don't mind tellin' ya, I'm a little nervous about meetin' a lion."

"An' so ye should be," said Mrs. Beaver. "If'n there's anyone who can appear before Aslan without their knees knockin', they're either braver'n most or just plain silly. 'E's not a tame lion, y'know. But if yore pure of heart, you needn't be afraid of him."

"An' he can help us find Stewie?" said Peter.

"That's right, son of Adam," said Mr. Beaver. "An' my wife an' I can take ye to him. He'll be at the Stone Table, which is down the river, a good step from 'ere."