A Stolen Parable

A Stolen Parable

The Dawn Treader was my favourite book for the longest time. It was the fifth book of the Chronicles of Narnia series, which my parents read to me before bed every night. They would read until I fell asleep, unlike most who read little picture books to their kids and just turn out the light. Dad did most of the reading. When I read it, I can still hear a combination of his voice and the brittish accent.

In The Dawn Treader, Eustace the whiney, bratty, in-serious-need-of-discipline cousin goes into a dragon's cave after watching the dragon die. He goes in to hide from the rain. He falls asleep on the dragon's treasure with greedy thoughts- only to awaken as a dragon himself.

In his dragonhood, he learned to be a help rather than a hinderance. He grew to hate his dragon-like reflection. He wanted out. One night, while he was hunting, he found Aslan. Or rather, for those who know Aslan, you never really find him. He just kinda makes himself blaringly obvious. So he made himself blaringly obvious to previously un-believing Eustace.

"Wash yourself." Aslan says to Eustace. So Eustace goes into the pool, and realizes that Aslan wants him to remove his dragoned skin. So he wades in, scratches and itches, peels and tears, until he's shed a layer of scales into the lake. He comes out of the water back to Aslan.

"You are not yet clean." Aslan says. So Eustace goes back, and he does it again. When he's done, he comes back out, and Aslan is still not satisfied. So The Lion goes up to him, and says that Eustace will not be able to undress from this form unless Aslan undresses him. So Eustace lets Aslan do what he wants to do.

And Aslan digs his claws into Eustace's stomach. He goes right through, and Eustace goes through the horrific pain of being torn in two. He feels The Lion's claws searing through to his very heart, splitting his thick skin down his middle. He roars and he howls, soundless out from lack of breath.

And then he wakes up, dressed, and fully human again. Aslan is gone, and it is morning. His dragon self is gone without a trace. From that day forward, Eustace began to be a better boy, and young man.

Looking back at these few chapters, I realize what was so important here. I see what slipped in unnoticed by my youthful self. The truth slipped in. To become whole again, you can't just deal with the surface, with what you see to be the problem. You have to find the core, dig out the infection, and work your way out from there. Tug up the weed at the roots, lest it grow back again.

And now I realize, this is what I had to do all along.