“Staywhereyouare，”criedDigroundtofaceher，“orwe'llallvanish。Don'teaninearer。”
“Foolishboy，”saidtheWitch。“Whydoyourunfromme?Imeanyounoharm。Ifyoudonotstopaomenow，youwillmisssomekwouldhavemadeyouhappyallyourlife。”
“WellIdon'twahanks，”saidDigory。Buthedid。
“Iknowwhaterrandyouhaveeon，”uedtheWitch。“Foritasclosebesideyouinthewoodslastnightandheardallyoursels。Youhavepluckedfruitinthegardenyonder。Youhaveitinyourpoow。Aocarryitbatasted，totheLion;forhimtoeat，forhimtouse。Yousimpleton!Doyouknowwhatthatfruitis?Iwilltellyou。Itistheappleofyouth，theappleoflife。Iknow，forIhavetastedit;andIfeelalreadysugesiIknowIshallnevergrowoldordie。Eatit，Boy，eatit;andyouandIwillbothliveforeverandbekihiswholeworld—orofyourworld，ifwedecidetogobackthere。”
“Nothanks，”saidDigory，“Idon'tknowthatIcaremuchaboutlivingonandonaftereveryoneIknowisdead。I'dratherliveanordinarytimeaoHeaven。”
“ButwhataboutthisMotherofyourswhomyoupretendtoloveso?”
“What'sshegottodowithit?”saidDigory。
“Doyouhatoapplewouldhealher?Youhaveitinyourpocket。WeareherebyourselvesandtheLionisfaraway。Useyidgobacktoyourownworld。AmieryoubeatyourMother'sbedside，givi。Fivemieryouwillseetheingbacktoherface。Shewilltellyouthepainisgone。Sooellyoushefeelsstrohenshe—thinkofthat;hoursofsweetnaturalsleep，withoutpain，withs。dayeveryonewillbesayinghowwonderfullyshehasrecovered。Soonshewillbequitewellagain。Allwillbewellagain。Yourhomeyagain。Youwillbelikeotherboys。”
“Oh!”gaspedDigoryasifhehadbeenhurt，andputhishandtohishead。Forhehemostterriblechoicelaybeforehim。
“WhathastheLioneverdoneforyouthatyoushouldbehisslave?”saidtheWitch。“Whathedotoyouonceyouarebayourownworld?AndwhatwouldyourMotherthihatyoucouldhavetakenherpainawayandgivenherbackherlifeandsavedyourFather'sheartfrombeihatyouwouldn't—thatyou'dratherrunmessagesforawildanimalinastrahatisnobusinessofyours?”
“I—Idon'tthinkheisawildanimal，”saidDigoryiofvoice。“Heis—Idon'tknow—”
“Thehingworse，”saidtheWitch。“Lookwhathehasdooyoualready;lookhowheartlesshehasmadeyou。Thatiswhathedoestoeveryoenstohim。Cruel，pitilessboy!youwouldletyourowherthan—”
“Ohshutup，”saidthemiserableDigory，stillinthesamevoice。“DoyouthinkIdon'tsee?ButI—Ipromised。”
“Ah，butyoudidn'tknoerepromising。Andnooneheretyou。”
“Motherherself，”saidDigettingthewordsoutwithdifficulty，“wouldn'tlikeit—awfullystrictaboutkeepistealing—andallthatsortofthiellmenottodoit—quiything—ifshewashere。”
“Butsheneedneverknow，”saidtheWitch，speakilythanyouwouldhavethoughtahsofierceafacecouldspeak。“Youwouldn'ttellherhowyou'dgottheapple。YourFatherneedneverknow。Nooneinyourworldneedknowanythingaboutthiswholestory。Youtakethelittlegirlbackwithyou，youknow。”
ThatwaswheretheWitchmadeherfatalmistake。orykPollycouldgetawaybyheraseasilyashecouldgetawaybyhis。Butappare'tknowthis。AndthemeahesuggestionthatheshouldleavePollybehindsuddehestheWitchhadbeensayingtohimsoundfalseandhollow。Ahemidstofallhismisery，hisheadsuddenlycleared，andhesaid（iandmuchlouder'voice）:“Lookhere;wheredoyoueintoallthis?WhyareyousopreyMotherallofasudden?What'sitgottodowithyou?What&#ame?”
“Gs，”whisperedPollyinhisear。“Quick!Getawaynow。”Shehadn'tdaredtosayanythingallthroughtheargumentbecause，yousee，itwasn'therMotherwhowasdying。
“Upthen，”saidDigory，heavioFledge'sbadthensgupasquicklyashecould。Thehorsespreaditswings。
“Gothen，Fools，”calledtheWitkofme，Boy，whenyoulieoldandweakanddying，andrememberhowyouthrewawaythedlessyouth!Itwon'tbeain。”
Theywerealreadysohighthattheylyjusthearher。NordidtheWitchwasteanytimegazingupatthem;theysawhersetoffnorthwarddowntheslopeofthehill。
&artedearlythatmandehegardenhadnottakenverylong，sothatFledgeandPollybothsaidtheywouldeasilygetbaiabefhtfall。Digoryneverspokeonthewaybadtheotherswereshyofspeakingtohim。Hewasverysadandhewasn'tevehetimethathehaddhtthing;butwheneverherememberedtheshiningtearsinAslan'seyeshebecamesure。
AlldayFledgeflewsteadilywithuntiringwiwardwiththerivertoguidehim，throughthemountaihewildwoodedhills，ahegreatwaterfallanddown，anddowhewoodsofNarniaweredarkeheshadowofthemightycliff，tillatlast，whentheskyithsuhem，hesalacewheremauresweregatheredtogetherbytheriverside。AndsoonhecouldseeAslahemidstofthem。Fledgeglideddowhisfs，closedhiswings，aering。Thehedismounted。Digorysawalltheanimals，dwarfs，satyrs，nymphs，ahingsdrawingbacktotheleftandrighttomakewayforhim。HetoAslaheappleandsaid:“I&#htyoutheappleyouwanted，sir。”