“Ah， but once you were in my house，” said the Queen， “you might forget all about them. You would be enjoying yourself so much that you wouldn’t want the bother of going to fetch them. No. You must go back to your own country now and come to me another day， with them， you understand. It is no good coming without them.”
“But I don‘t even know the way back to my own country，” pleaded Edmund.
“That’s easy，” answered the Queen. “Do you see that lamp？” She pointed with her wand and Edmund turned and saw the same lamp- post under which Lucy had met the Faun. “Straight on， beyond that， is the way to the World of Men. And now look the other way” -here she pointed in the opposite direction- “and tell me if you can see two little hills rising above the trees.”
“I think I can，” said Edmund.
“Well， my house is between those two hills. So next time you come you have only to find the lamp-post and look for those two hills and walk through the wood till you reach my house. But remember-you must bring the others with you. I might have to be very angry with you if you came alone.”
“I‘ll do my best，” said Edmund.
“And， by the way，” said the Queen， “you needn’t tell them about me. It would be fun to keep it a secret between us two， wouldn‘t it？ Make it a surprise for them. Just bring them along to the two hills-a clever boy like you will easily think of some excuse for doing that-and when you come to my house you could just say， ’Let‘s see who lives here’， or something like that. I am sure that would be best. If your sister has met one of the Fauns， she may have heard strange stories about me- nasty stories that might make her afraid to come to me. Fauns will say anything， you know， and now-”
“Please， please，” said Edmund suddenly， “please couldn‘t I have justone piece of Turkish Delight to eat on the way home？”
“No， no，” said the Queen with a laugh， “you must wait till next time.” While she spoke， she signalled to the dwarf to drive on， but as the sledge swept away out of sight， the Queen waved to Edmund， calling out， “Next time！ Next time！ Don’t forget. Come soon.”
Edmund was still staring after the sledge when he heard someone calling his own name， and looking round he saw Lucy coming towards him from another part of the wood.
“Oh， Edmund！” she cried. “So you‘ve got in too！ Isn’t it wonderful， and now-”
“All right，” said Edmund， “I see you were right and it is a magicwardrobe after all. I‘ll say I’m sorry if you like. But where on earth have you been all this time？ I‘ve been looking for you everywhere.”
“If I’d known you had got in I‘d have waited for you，” said Lucy， who was too happy and excited to notice how snappishly Edmund spoke or how flushed and strange his face was. “I’ve been having lunch with dear Mr Tumnus， the Faun， and he‘s very well and the White Witch has done nothing to him for letting me go， so he thinks she can’t have found out and perhaps everything is going to be all right after all.”
“The White Witch？” said Edmund； “who‘s she？”
“She is a perfectly terrible person，” said Lucy. “She calls herself the Queen of Narnia though she has no right to be queen at all， and all the Fauns and Dryads and Naiads and Dwarfs and Animals-at least all the good ones-simply hate her. And she can turn people into stone anddo all kinds of horrible things. And she has made a magic so that it is always winter in Narnia-always winter， but it never gets to Christmas. And she drives about on a sledge， drawn by reindeer， with her wand in her hand and a crown on her head.”
Edmund was already feeling uncomfortable from having eaten too many sweets， and when he heard that the Lady he had made friends with was a dangerous witch he felt even more uncomfortable. But he still wanted to taste that Turkish Delight again more than he wanted anything else.
“Who told you all that stuff about the White Witch？” he asked. “Mr Tumnus， the Faun，” said Lucy.
“You can’t always believe what Fauns say，” said Edmund， trying to sound as if he knew far more about them than Lucy.
“Who said so？” asked Lucy.
“Everyone knows it，” said Edmund； “ask anybody you like. But it‘s pretty poor sport standing here in the snow. Let’s go home.”
“Yes， let‘s，” said Lucy. “Oh， Edmund， I am glad you’ve got in too. The others will have to believe in Narnia now that both of us have been there. What fun it will be！”
But Edmund secretly thought that it would not be as good fun for him as for her. He would have to admit that Lucy had been right， before all the others， and he felt sure the others would all be on the side of the Fauns and the animals； but he was already more than half on the side of the Witch. He did not know what he would say， or how he would keep his secret once they were all talking about Narnia.
