Mrs. Beaver

I have mentioned that we have been reading Narnia out loud to the kids. We finished The Magician's Nephew and have moved on to The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. I was taking a turn doing the reading one night last week and began chuckling out loud during Chapter 10, when the Beavers and three of the children are scurrying to leave the dam to beat the White Witch to the stone table. Mrs. Beaver is rushing trying to get food ready to go, of all things, while Mr. Beaver is asking her why she's wasting time getting food ready, to which she reasons, "You didn't think we'd set out on a journey with nothing to eat, did you?" (Lewis, 101).

(Artwork by Pauline Baynes)

It is a long standing joke in our family that the women are obssessed with food--not with gorging on it, but with making sure we always have it available to us. We carry food in our purses and plan outings around the next time we (and the kids) will be needing to eat. We eat often, ha! You can imagine this scenario with my mom, sister and I in Beijing last Summer--get lost, eat, repeat. So this page-long conversation between Mrs. Beaver and the others got me chuckling. 

But then!!

"Well, I'm nearly ready now," answered Mrs. Beaver at last, allowing her husband to help her into her snow-boots. "I suppose the sewing machine is too heavy to bring?" 

"Yes. It is," said Mr. Beaver. "A great deal too heavy. And you don't think you'll be able to use it while we're on the run, I suppose?"

"I can't abide the thought of that Witch fiddling with it," said Mrs. Beaver, "and breaking it or stealing it, as likely as not." (pg. 102). 

Haaaaahahahahaha! This is SO ME!!! And guess where my sewing machine rode to Virginia? In the front seat of Casey's car. Because I couldn't bear the thought of those movers fiddling with it. 

In case you're curious, we did make it to Virginia last night. The trip was wonderful and covered in God's mercy. I'll share more soon, of course! 

If you have a minute and like this sort of thing, you should check out more of Pauline Baynes' illustrations. She is no longer living, but illustrated for both C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien and I really like her sketchy style. 

Cheers from Virginia!