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The Horse and His Boy
Written by C. S. Lewis
Illustrated by Pauline Baynes
Dedicated to David and Douglas Gresham
1954
It is the Golden Age of Narnia. King Peter is the High King and King Edmund and Queens Susan and Lucy sit by his side at Cair Paravel. Far south in the land of Calormen, a young boy named Shasta discovers he is not really the son of Arsheesh (who has claimed to be the boy's father for years) when a Tarkaan offers to buy Shasta. Shasta decides to runaway and finds that the Tarkaan's horse, Bree, can talk! Bree tells Shasta he was taken captive when he was a young foal in the land of Narnia, where all animals can talk and are treated equal to humans. Bree has hidden his true identity from the Tarkaan, for he is a cruel man. Shasta and Bree agree to leave together for Narnia. Along the way, they meet Aravis, a Tarkheena, and Whin, a talking horse. Aravis tells them she was to be married to Ahoshta, a man she had no desire to marry, and ran away with Whin. All four decide to travel together to Narnia, even though Shasta and Aravis dislike each other from the beginning. While passing through the city of Tashbaan, Shasta is mistaken for Prince Corin of Archeland. He is seperated from the others and is brought to a large palace where he meets King Edmund and Queen Susan of Narnia. They still think him to be the son of the King Lune of Archeland, an ally of Narnia. He learns the Narnians are there because Susan is being courted by Rabadash , the Prince of Calormen. Queen Susan has no intention of marrying Rabadash, and they decide to sneak away into the night for they know they will all be killed if Susan rejects Rabadash. Shasta escapes from the Narnians when the real Corin arrives. The two agree to tell no one of the secret misunderstanding. Shasta meets up with Bree, Whin and Aravis later. Aravis tells him she has dicovered Rabadash's plans to attack Archeland and Narnia. The four must race to Archeland to warn of the Calormen's invasion. They arrive in time and the forces of Archeland and Narnia deffeat Rabadash's army and Rabadash is taken captive.
Aslan appears and tries to be merciful to Rabadash, but he refuses Aslan's kindness. Aslan turns Rabadash into a donkey. King Lune and Corin tell Shasta that he is the long lost son of the King, and twin brother of Corin. His real name is Cor. He also finds out he is the true heir to the throne of Archeland because he was born before Corin. Aravis stays in Archeland and latter marries Cor,and becomes Queen. Bree and Whin continue on to Narnia and the four remain lifelong friends as a result of their mutual adventures!
