Representatives from Ohio Operation Lifesaver and the Wheeling & Lake Erie Railroad visited our classroom last week to share a safety message.
Look, Listen, Live.
Friday: Chapter 9/10
Chapter 9: In the Witch’s House
Lewis shifts the story’s point of view to Edmund. Edmund left the Beavers’ house after the children had already devised the plan to meet Aslan at the Stone Table. During Edmund’s long walk through the ice and the snow, he works hard to convince himself that the Witch is on the right side and everyone else is wrong. He persuades himself by focusing on Turkish Delight. Edmund also thinks about the modern changes he will make in Narnia after he becomes a prince. When he reaches the White Witch’s castle he finds a courtyard filled with stone statues. The first one he sees is a lion, which he believes to be Aslan. He assumes that the Witch has already triumphed over Aslan and turned him to stone. Edmund enters the castle and encounters a wolf named Maugrim, the chief of the Witch’s Secret Police. The wolf fetches the Witch and Edmund tells her everything he heard at the Beavers’ house. The Witch is shaken by the news that Aslan is in Narnia. The Witch summons her servant, a dwarf, and commands him to prepare a sledge (a strong and heavy sled).
Chapter 10: The Spell Begins to Break
Susan, Peter, Lucy, and the Beavers quickly leave the house and travel to the Stone Table. It is a long walk over rough terrain, and the children are exhausted. Mr. Beaver leads them to a dry, earthy cave where they can rest for a few hours. They awaken to the sound of bells and assume that they are hearing the Witch in her sledge. Mr. Beaver darts up to the surface to see which way she is headed. A moment later, he calls down to them to come out, because it is not the Witch after all.
When the children exit the cave, they find that it is Father Christmas, or Santa Claus. Santa Claus explains that Christmas has finally arrived and that the Witch’s power is weakening. He gives everyone a gift. Santa Claus gives Mrs. Beaver a new sewing machine and tells Mr. Beaver that his dam has been mended. Santa Claus then gives gifts to the children, but they are tools, not toys. Peter receives a sword and a red shield with a gold lion emblazoned on it to defend himself in battle. Santa Claus gives Susan a bow and arrow “to be used in time of greatest need,” as he does not intend her to fight in battles. He also presents her with a horn that she can blow that will help save her from danger. Santa Claus offers Lucy a dagger that is also to be used in time of greatest need. When Lucy protests that she is brave enough to fight in battle, Santa Claus gravely tells her, “Battles are ugly when women fight.” He also gives Lucy a bottle of magic cordial and explains that a few drops of will heal any injury or ailment. Then Santa Claus gives them all marvelous food and tea and dashes off to bring Christmas to more people, animals, and creatures.
Thursday: Chapter 8
Mr. Beaver confirms that Tumnus was taken away by the Secret Police, who are under the control of the White Witch. He assumes that Tumnus has been turned to stone. The children are horrified and want to rescue Tumnus, but Mr. Beaver tells them that there is nothing they can do except go to Aslan The children beg to hear more about Aslan, and they feel the same sensation as when his name was first mentioned. Mr. Beaver tells them that Aslan is the King of Narnia, and that he is the rightful King, as opposed to the Witch who is masquerading as Queen. Aslan is not in Narnia often, the beaver says, but when he is, he makes everything right. Susan asks if Aslan is a man, and Mr. Beaver tells her, quite sternly, that he is not a man but a lion—the king of beasts. When the children express trepidation about meeting a lion, Mr. Beaver tells them that they are supposed to be nervous, as no one with any sense would feel completely fearless when meeting Aslan. Despite this, Mr. Beaver says that Aslan is good.
“Don’t you know who is the King of Beasts? Aslan is a lion—the Lion, the great Lion.”
The children are to meet Aslan the next day at a place called the Stone Table. They need to fulfill a prophecy—when the four thrones at Cair Paravel are occupied by four “Sons of Adam and Daughters of Eve,” it will end bad times in Narnia. He tells them that the Queen has twisted this prophecy into a justification for her reign. She says that she is human and the rightful heir to the throne. She is not really human, however, but half giant and half Jinn. She is descended on one side from Lilith, an apocryphal and mythological figure who was said to be the original wife of Adam.
Suddenly they all notice that Edmund is missing. The children are distraught and want to form a search party, but Mr. Beaver tells them that this is unnecessary. He joined the White Witch, explains Mr. Beaver, as there was a look in his eye that branded him a traitor. No one remembers how much Edmund heard of the plan to meet Aslan. This is crucial, because the less Edmund tells the Witch the better. The children cannot afford to wait at the Beaver’s home. They immediately begin their journey to the Stone Table on routes the Witch would not expect them to take. They hope that the Witch will not catch them before they can reach Aslan.
Independent Project for the Family
This one is for G4 and G3: Visit the Fort Island park in Fairlawn. Be sure to take your camera because you’ll need a picture of yourself at the base of the glacier mound in order to claim this free point. At the base of the mound there is an informational plaque with diagrams showing how the mound was formed. That’s where your picture must be taken.
Along the paths leading too and from the mound, are additional informational plaques. Be sure to take a moment o read each of these as the contain a wealth of information about glaciers and the history of Fort Island.
Here’s a little info about the park:
Fort Island/Griffiths Park is located at 413 Trunko Road
The Fort Island area mounds have been a special place for nearby residents for generations. Tales abound of arrowheads, of mythical battles, of silvery, whispering trees. Ancient glaciers left their marks of kame and kettle, wandering stream and shallow lake which helped to shape the landscapes. The mounds we call Fort Island and Beech Island, small hills of material left by the glaciers, rose above the water and were protected and isolated from the surrounding forest by the wetland, Ancient peoples, Paleo and Archaic Indians, left few traces. Later Woodland Indians lived nearby and harvested the rich resources of the area. Much about Fort Island’s history remains a mystery, perhaps it was used as a sacred place marked by a palisade for humans and their spirits. Later, European-Americans came to farm, the stream was dredged and the swamp drained. The peat floor of the area protected it from housing development but in 1970 the extension of Interstate 77 threatened to slice through the center of the mounds. The community rallied and the area was placed on the National Register of Historical Place in 1971. Fort Island became a Fairlawn City Park in 1991.