lean with extreme hunger and thirst who seemed to have died but a few moments before （for he was still warm）， and an empty water-skin， and a child， still living. ‘Doubtless，’ said I， ‘these unfortunates have escaped from the wreck of a great ship， but by the admirable designs of the gods， the elder has starved himself to keep the child alive and has perished in sight of land.’ Accordingly， remembering how the gods never fail to reward those who befriend the destitute， and beingmoved by compassion （for your servant is a man of tender heart）-” “Leave out all these idle words in your own praise，” interrupted theTarkaan. “It is enough to know that you took the child-and have had ten times the worth of his daily bread out of him in labour， as anyone can see. And now tell me at once what price you put on him， for I am wearied with your loquacity.”
“You yourself have wisely said，” answered Arsheesh， “that the boy‘s labour has been to me of inestimable value. This must be taken into account in fixing the price. For if I sell the boy I must undoubtedly either buy or hire another to do his work.”
“I’ll give you fifteen crescents for him，” said the Tarkaan.
“Fifteen！” cried Arsheesh in a voice that was something between a whine and a scream. “Fifteen！ For the prop of my old age and the delight of my eyes！ Do not mock my grey beard， Tarkaan though you be. My price is seventy.”
At this point Shasta got up and tiptoed away. He had heard all he wanted， for he had often listened when men were bargaining in the village and knew how it was done. He was quite certain that Arsheesh would sell him in the end for something much more than fifteen crescents and much less than seventy， but that he and the Tarkaan would take hours in getting to an agreement.
You must not imagine that Shasta felt at all as you and I would feel if we had just overheard our parents talking about selling us for slaves. For one thing， his life was already little better than slavery； for all he knew， the lordly stranger on the great horse might be kinder to him than Arsheesh. For another， the story about his own discovery in the boat had filled him with excitement and with a sense of relief. He hadoften been uneasy because， try as he might， he had never been able to love the fisherman， and he knew that a boy ought to love his father. And now， apparently， he was no relation to Arsheesh at all. That took a great weight off his mind. “Why， I might be anyone！” he thought. “I might be the son of a Tarkaan myself-or the son of the Tisroc （may he live for ever） or of a god！”
He was standing out in the grassy place before the cottage while he thought these things. Twilight was coming on apace and a star or two was already out， but the remains of the sunset could still be seen in the west. Not far away the stranger‘s horse， loosely tied to an iron ring in the wall of the donkey’s stable， was grazing. Shasta strolled over to it and patted its neck. It went on tearing up the grass and took no notice of him.
Then another thought came into Shasta‘s mind. “I wonder what sort of a man that Tarkaan is，” he said out loud. “It would be splendid if he was kind. Some of the slaves in a great lord’s house have next to nothing to do. They wear lovely clothes and eat meat every day. Perhaps he‘d take me to the wars and I’d save his life in a battle and then he‘d set me free and adopt me as his son and give me a palace and a chariot and a suit of armour. But then he might be a horrid cruel man. He might send me to work on the fields in chains. I wish I knew. How can I know？ I bet this horse knows， if only he could tell me.”
The Horse had lifted its head. Shasta stroked its smooth-as-satin nose and said， “I wish you could talk， old fellow.”
And then for a second he thought he was dreaming， for quite distinctly， though in a low voice， the Horse said， “But I can.”
Shasta stared into its great eyes and his own grew almost as big， with astonishment.
“How ever did you learn to talk？”
“Hush！ Not so loud，” replied the Horse. “Where I come from， nearly all the animals talk.”
“Wherever is that？” asked Shasta.
“Narnia，” answered the Horse. “The happy land of Narnia-Narnia of the heathery mountains and the thymy downs， Narnia of the many rivers， the plashing glens， the mossy caverns and the deep forestsringing with the hammers of the Dwarfs. Oh， the sweet air of Narnia！ An hour’s life there is better than a thousand years in Calormen.” It ended with a whinny that sounded very like a sigh.
“How did you get here？” said Shasta.
“Kidnapped，” said the Horse. “Or stolen， or captured-whichever you like to call it. I was only a foal at the time. My mother warned me not to range the Southern slopes， into Archenland and beyond， but I wouldn‘t heed her. And by the Lion’s Mane I have paid for my folly. All these years I have been a slave to humans， hiding my true nature and pretending to be dumb and witless like their horses.”
“Why didn‘t you tell them who you were？”
“Not such a fool， that’s why. If they‘d once found out I could talk they would have made a show of me at fairs and guarded me more carefully than ever. My last chance of escape would have been gone.”
“And why-” began Shasta， but the Horse interrupted him.
“Now look，” it said， “we mustn’t waste time on idle questions. You want to know about my master the Tarkaan Anradin. Well， he‘s bad. Not too bad to me， for a war-horse costs too much to be treated very badly. But you’d better be lying dead tonight than go to be a human slave in his house tomorrow.”
“Then I‘d better run away，” said Shasta， turning very pale.
“Yes， you had，” said the Horse. “But why not run away with me？” “Are you going to run away too？” said Shasta.
