Eustace Scrubb and Jill Pole are students at Experiment House, a place
where many are bullied and bullies aren't punished. After a run-in with
some of the school bullies, Jill Pole hides behind a building where no
one can see her cry. But Eustace happens upon her, and they begin to
talk of a place quite different than Experiment House. A place Eustace
has visited before where animals talk and thinks are beautiful and full
of hope. Longing to go to such a place and leave the unhappiness of
Experiment House behind, Eustace and Jill begin pleading to go to the
other world.
And somehow, they get there! They soon learn they
have been summoned to Narnia by Aslan; for Aslan has a mission for
them. They are to rescue Prince Rilian, son of the aged king Caspian.
Rilian disappeared years before and no one has seen or heard from him
since.
So, with the help of Puddleglum, a Marsh-wiggle, Jill and
Eustace set off to fulfill their mission. But the journey is long and
hard, and soon the children forget their mission -- thinking only of the
comforts for which they long. Forgetting proves to be to their
detriment, and they find themselves on the menu for some giants' feast,
held captive underground, and enchanted by an evil queen. Soon they are
unsure if they will ever succeed in finding Prince Rilian -- or if
they'll ever see their world again.
*Cute. I like the parallels between the novel and Christian doctrines. Look forward to reading this with my children one day.
