This special Mother’s Day Podcast was written and directed by our talented podcasting team: Madison, Isabelle, and Aislinn. This episode is dedicated to all our wonderful moms.

The book’s point of view returns to Edmund. Edmund musters up the courage to ask the Witch for some Turkish Delight, but she refuses at first. Then, she realizes that Edmund could faint on the journey, so she orders the dwarf to bring him stale bread and water. She commands Maugrim to lead a pack of wolves to the Beavers’ house and kill anyone they find there. The Witch brings Edmund and the dwarf to the sledge and sets out herself to find the children. Edmund feels miserable—he is soaked to the skin and ignored by the Witch. Now that he is on the receiving end of the Witch’s cruelty, he realizes what she is really like. Unfortunately, it is too late for Edmund to do anything about it now.

As Edmund and the Witch ride through the snowy landscape, they see a merry little party of small animals enjoying a magnificent tea. The Witch demands to know where they got the feast. They explain that Father Christmas gave it to them. The Witch is infuriated and turns the small animals to stone. Edmund is horrified, but there is nothing he can do and they continue on.

As they travel, Edmund notices that it is becoming harder and harder for the sledge to move. He soon realizes why, as he can see snow melting in every direction. The sledge becomes lodged in a ditch, and the Witch, Edmund and the dwarf have to pull it out. After it gets stuck in another ditch, they know they cannot use the sledge anymore and must walk. The Witch becomes more and more agitated as they go on and the snow continues to thaw. Soon Edmund sees flowers and other signs of spring. Finally, the dwarf stops and announces that Aslan caused the season to change to spring. The Witch promises to kill the next person who mentions the name Aslan.

Chapter 12: Peter’s First Battle

While Edmund suffers on his journey with the Witch, the other children and the Beavers have a delightful time. They know that they can beat the Witch to the Stone Table, since her sledge has become useless, so they are able to relax and enjoy the beautiful signs of spring. That evening they reach the Stone Table—a strange, low, ancient table made of stone and carved with runes and symbols. Beyond it, the children can just barely glimpse the sea. To their left is a golden pavilion, and to their right, surrounded by good creatures of Narnia, is Aslan. The children are in awe of him. Aslan’s majestic face inspires reverence and fear. Eventually Peter approaches him, putting the others at ease. Aslan asks where Edmund is, and Mr. Beaver tells him that he has betrayed them and joined the White Witch. Aslan does not reply, but then Peter takes part of the blame, explaining that he was angry with Edmund and that this may have contributed to his treachery. Lucy begs Aslan to save Edmund, and Aslan tells her that he will do everything he can, but that it will not be easy.

Aslan orders the creatures around him to prepare a feast for the children. Then he leads Peter aside and shows him Cair Paravel, a castle on a peninsula where the children will live and reign. Aslan tells Peter that he will “be the High King over all the rest.” As they are talking, Peter and Aslan hear Susan’s horn, which Father Christmas gave her. She is supposed to blow the horn when she is in danger, as it will bring help. The other animals begin to run to help her, but Aslan stops them and waves Peter on.

Peter runs over and sees Susan climbing a tree, pursued by a huge wolf. She only gets as far as the first branch before she comes so close to fainting that she cannot go any higher. Peter knows that if she faints she will fall to danger. He rushes over and stabs the wolf in the heart with the sword that Father Christmas gave him. There is a short struggle, but in the end the wolf lies dead at Peter’s feet. Aslan sees another wolf dash into the thicket and sends his fastest animals after it, saying that the wolf will lead them to the Witch and to Edmund. He then knights Peter, after chastising him for forgetting to wipe his sword.

Look, Listen, Live.

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.

“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.

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.