by Chris Wright
"Are these his sheep," I asked, pointing to the flock they were looking after.
"These sheep are here as a picture of the Celestial City, for pilgrims to see on their way," one shepherd said. "The King's Son has rescued each of these sheep from danger, just as he rescued you. Now he is making sure they are cared for in safety."
"Is it far to the Celestial City?" I asked.
"And is the way safe?" Hopeful added.
The shepherd scratched his chin. "It's safe for those who love the King, but pilgrims who don't serve him faithfully can fall into danger."
"We're both tired. Is there anywhere for pilgrims to rest?" I asked, hiding a yawn.
"Of course there is," the shepherd replied. "The King wants us to do everything we can to help his servants as they pass over these mountains. Come with us, and we'll take good care of you."
The shepherds introduced themselves as Knowledge, Experience, Watchful, and Sincere, and led us to their tents where they gave us plenty of good, nourishing food.
"I can see how exhausted you are," Watchful said after the meal. "It's late, and I think it's time you were both in bed."
So the two of us slept comfortably, and I woke early in the morning feeling much less sore after my beatings in Doubting Castle. I wondered if one day some pilgrims would come here and kill Giant Despair and his wife, and destroy their home. I certainly hoped they would.
CHAPTER 34
Mount Caution
The next morning the shepherds asked us if we'd like to see some of the special sights on the mountains before we left. I thought this sounded good, so they led us up the first hill.
We soon came to a steep and rugged path that was hard to climb. It led to the top of a large rock on the edge of the hill, and when we looked down, we could see a valley far below.
"Do pilgrims ever fall over here?" Hopeful asked.
"Sometimes," the shepherds replied. "This is the Rock of Error. It's dangerous for pilgrims to climb onto this Rock without a guide."
"Why would anyone try to do that?" I asked.
"Because they think they'll have a better view. A different view," the shepherd called Experience explained. "But when they look over, the sight of the deep valley makes them unsteady and occasionally they fall."
Then the shepherds took us to another place, called Mount Caution. From it we could see people shuffling along in the valley far below, reaching out their hands as if to feel what was in front. I noticed that they kept bumping into rocks.
"Are they blind?" I asked.
Watchful told me they were. "Did you see a stile leading to By-Path Meadow, not far from here?" he asked.
I nodded.
"Well, over that stile there's a path to a castle where Giant Despair lives. Just before you get there, the Way of the King is rough and stony, and the giant's path in the meadow is soft and green. It looks safe, but it's a dangerous path to take."
"We found it," Hopeful said quietly. "And we used it."
Watchful nodded. "Then you'll know that if pilgrims take the easy path, Despair catches them and carries them to his prison in Doubting Castle. He beats them and sometimes makes them blind. Then he brings them down here, where they wander about in the valley unable to go on with their journey."
Hopeful looked at me, but said nothing. I realised that if we hadn't escaped from Doubting Castle, with the help of the Key of Promise, we might be down there now, stumbling into the rocks.
The shepherds started down the hill, on the side farthest from the Way of the King. We soon came to a spot that reminded me of the entrance to the Dark Valley. Huge black rocks rose high above the path on both sides, and we could only see a little distance down the narrow road because of a thick mist.
"This is another dangerous place," Knowledge explained, holding us back firmly. "From time to time pilgrims who walk over the mountains get lost here. That dark path leads into the country of the evil prince, and it can take pilgrims a long time to find their way out -- if they find it at all."
CHAPTER 35
Ignorance
As we reached the last of the hills, the shepherds told us it was called Mount Clear. We climbed to the top to look ahead, for the day was bright. A light shone in the far distance, dazzling my eyes.
"Do you see that light?" the shepherd called Sincere asked us. "That's the Celestial City. If your eyes are good you may be able to see its Gates."
But the light was brighter than the sun at midday, and the glory of that City was too great for human eyes to bear.
"I can only see something shining," I said, screwing up my eyes.
"It certainly is too bright for you," Sincere told me, "but we have a telescope called Faith, which will make it seem clearer."
I took the telescope, but the thought of the dangers we had just seen made me tremble, and my hands shook so much that I was unable to hold it steady.
Then Hopeful tried. "I think I can see something like large gates made of gold."
Experience let us both look for some time before taking the telescope back from us. He said it was time for us to continue our journey. "But before you leave," he added, "I have a warning to give you. When you have travelled a little farther, you may meet a man called the Flatterer. He will try to lead you out of the Way of the King by praising you, and saying wonderful things about you, but you must not listen to him."
Watchful then explained that we were close to a place called the Enchanted Ground, where the air made all pilgrims sleepy. "It's part of the evil prince's country. If his servants find you sleeping there, they'll try to carry you away," he warned us.
"We'll give you this map," Knowledge added, putting a sheet of paper into my hand. "All the places you have to pass through are marked on it, and if you look at it carefully you'll not lose your way."
I folded it up, tucked it into a pocket and forgot about it. As I walked out down the mountain path with Hopeful, we talked together about the sights the shepherds had shown us.
"If I could only have seen the Celestial City," I said. "I really wanted to see it."
"Well," Hopeful replied, "I'm sure I saw the Gates, and we know it's not far away now."
At the foot of the mountain we came to a twisting lane leading off the Way of the King. The signpost said the lane led to a place called Conceit, and a boy was running from there towards us.
"What sort of place is Conceit?" I asked him.
"It's a large town where I live, beyond the hills," the boy replied. "My name is Ignorance, and I've decided to go to the Celestial City."
"Do you think they'll let you in?" I asked in surprise, wondering why he had come from the wrong direction.
"Why not? They let everybody in."
I shook my head. "We have our Rolls of Faith to show that our names are already written in the Celestial City. Did the King give you anything?"
"No, but I can't see it will matter. I've lived a good life and I always try to help people. I even call to the King sometimes. You can follow the King in whatever way you like, and I'll follow him my way. All right? You have your faith and I have mine. I expect mine is just as good as yours."
"But," I said, "the King's pilgrims have to be welcomed in by his Son at the Wicket Gate, and go past the Cross. The King's Son says he is the only Way to start. Did you do that?"
"You needn't make such a fuss about it," Ignorance snapped. "I don't know where you've come from, but you were probably living near the Wicket Gate, so of course it was easy for you. Nobody in the town of Conceit ever thinks of starting there. In fact, I don't believe anybody knows this Wicket Gate you're talking about. We have a gentle pathway that saves us such a lot of trouble, and of course it makes our pilgrimage shorter."
I didn't know what to say, and as Ignorance stopped to gather some fruit, Hopeful looked at me and we moved off without him.
When Ignorance didn't run after us, Hopeful said, "Should we wait?"
"Ignorance isn't stupid," I said, "but he's unaware of his dangerous po
sition. He has a false faith in his own good behaviour, and refuses to believe differently. If he wants to know about the Way to the King, he'll soon catch us up. I'd like to help him if we can, but we mustn't let him stop us going."
CHAPTER 36
Little-Faith
We were just passing a track called Dead Man's Lane, when we saw a band of soldiers in the distance. They were clothed in dark armour that didn't shine like mine, and we guessed straight away that they belonged to the army of the evil prince.
"Do you think they'll hurt us?" Hopeful asked.
"I don't know," I said, "but let's not wait around to see."
So although we both felt frightened, we kept steadily on our way. As the soldiers drew near, I saw they had a prisoner with them, and I could see by his clothes he was one of the King's pilgrims. The soldiers stopped for a rest, although they took no notice of us.
The pilgrim hung down his head, as though ashamed to let us see his face. "My name is Turn-Away," he said quietly. "I loved the King once. I almost reached the Gates of the Celestial City, but one day I wandered from the straight path and met some servants of the evil prince who pretended to be kind to me."
"What happened?" I whispered, for I could see the soldiers looking at us.
"Well," the prisoner said, "I stayed with them, and of course I soon forgot the good King. I let my armour grow rusty, and my new clothes became dirty and ragged. I lost my Roll of Faith, and no one would ever have known I'd once served the King."
"Why are you a prisoner?" I asked, more loudly now, for the soldiers were no longer taking any notice.
"One day something reminded me of the Celestial City, and I began to feel sorry and wondered whether the King would forgive me. So I left my new friends and tried to find my way back to the straight path. The evil prince heard I'd gone, and sent these soldiers to look for me. I tried to defend myself with my sword, but it was too rusty to use. So here I am, bound with chains, and they're taking me back to the country of the evil prince."
At that moment the soldiers moved off, taking their prisoner with them. I was glad that the soldiers hadn't spoken to us, but I felt sorry for the pilgrim who seemed to be in great trouble.
"We must ask the King to rescue him," I said, and we fell to our knees and begged the King to send someone to release Turn-Away from the power of the evil prince.
"When I was at the House Beautiful, I read a story of a young pilgrim named Little-Faith from the town of Sincere," I said. "He was robbed not far from here, at the corner of Dead Man's Lane. I think the evil prince's servants come looking for pilgrims who are lazy, so we'll have to be careful."
"Tell me about Little-Faith," Hopeful said. "How was he robbed?"
"He was tired," I explained, "and he sat down on the grass to rest. Three brothers -- I think their names were Faint-Heart, Mistrust and Guilt -- were walking down Dead Man's Lane. They saw Little-Faith on the grass fast asleep, so they thought they'd steal his things. Before Little-Faith had time to wake up and get his sword, they beat him dreadfully. They took all the money out of his pockets, and then they thought they heard someone coming."
"Who was it?"
"There wasn't anyone really, but they knew they were doing wrong and they were frightened. There's a village called Good Confidence somewhere in these mountains, and one of the King's servants, Captain Great-Grace, lives there. The boys thought he was coming, so they ran away."
"And what happened to Little-Faith? Did he go on with his journey"
"He did, but he was always poor, because the three brothers had stolen his money. But they didn't take the precious things the King had given him. So although he was badly injured and had lost his money, he realised things could have been worse. But he was always short of food."
"He could have sold some of the things the King gave him," Hopeful said.
I shook my head. "The King's gifts are too precious to sell," I told him. "Everything the King gives us is given for a good reason."
CHAPTER 37
Caught in the Net
We were still talking about Little-Faith and his troubles, when we came to a place where the road divided into two. I looked back and saw that Ignorance was following, but every time we stopped, he stopped. Clearly, he did not intend to walk with us.
Ahead of us was a problem. Instead of one way being straight and narrow, and the other wide and going in the wrong direction, I couldn't decide which path was the right one. When I stood with Hopeful on one side of the road, the right-hand path seemed to be narrow as well as straight. But when we crossed over, the left-hand path looked the same.
"I don't know which is right," I said.
We spent a long time crossing the road from side to side, trying to work out which was the straighter of the two paths. Presently a man came up behind us. His face looked hard and unkind, but because he wore a white robe we thought he must be a pilgrim.
"Whatever's the matter?" he asked. "You look puzzled."
"Oh," I said, "we're going to the King's City, and we can't make out which of these paths is the one to take."
The man laughed. "Is that all? I'm going to the Celestial City myself. Follow me and I'll show you the way. What clever, sensible young pilgrims you must be, to be taking so much care to find the right path."
So we followed him. But instead of going towards the Celestial City, the path started to turn, more and more, until I realised we going back towards the Delectable Mountains.
"This path isn't the right one," I whispered to Hopeful.
Hopeful stopped at once. "Don't you think so?" he asked quietly.
I shook my head. "There are the Delectable Mountains, where we were this morning with the shepherds."
"What are we going to do?" Hopeful asked in alarm.
The answer was obvious. "We must go back."
At that moment the man turned. Before we had time to take another step, he flung a large net over us.
We fell to the ground, trapped and shouting for help, but the man only laughed as he walked away. As he went out of sight his white robe slipped from his shoulders, and I realised he was a servant of the evil prince who had dressed himself like a pilgrim, to deceive anyone who would listen to him.
We struggled hard to free ourselves, but the more we pulled at it, the tighter the net got. At last we lay still, wondering how we could have been so stupid.
"Do you think he was the Flatterer?" I said. "The shepherds told us not to listen to him."
Hopeful shook his head sadly. "And we never even looked at the map they gave us. If we had, we'd have known this is the wrong path."
"We're not good pilgrims," I said. "We've gone the wrong way so many times. If only the King will save us just this once, I promise I'll never do anything wrong again."
CHAPTER 38
Rescue
"We're not going to get out," Hopeful said, trying once again to untangle us from the heavy net. "Where's that man gone?"
"Perhaps he's gone to tell the evil prince about us," I said. "Then he'll send his soldiers to carry us off -- like Turn-Away."
Then, just when the sun was setting, we heard footsteps getting closer. I could feel Hopeful tremble, but only one man came in sight. I knew by his shining garments and gentle face he was one of the King's servants.
When he saw us, he stopped. "How did you get into this net?" he asked.
I took a deep breath. "We couldn't decide which road to take. Then a man with a white robe came up to us. He told us he was going to the Celestial City, so we followed him."
"It was the Flatterer," the man told us, confirming our own suspicion. Then he stooped down and tore a large hole in the net.
We were soon able to crawl out of it, and stood on the path before him, waiting for him to tell us what to do. His face seemed serious, and I remembered how Evangelist had looked at me in the same way, when he found me wandering amongst the terrifying rocks on Law Mountain before I reached the Wicket Gate.
The King's servant turned towa
rds the Way of the King, and told us to come after him. When we were once more in the right path, he stopped. "Where did you sleep last night?" he asked.
"On the Delectable Mountains with the shepherds," I said.
"Then where is your map of the Way?"
We hung down our heads, for we felt ashamed.
"Did you look at your map when you were unsure which way to go?"
"No," Hopeful whispered.
I added, "I forgot we had it."
"And what else did the shepherds say to you? Did they warn you about the Flatterer?"
"They told us not to listen to him."
"And yet you did listen. How was that?"
I looked at the ground. "He told us we were such clever and sensible pilgrims to be taking so much care to find the right path. I didn't think that man could be the Flatterer, he was so friendly."
The man laid his hands on our shoulders, and spoke gently. "You have been foolish," he said, "but I think you're sorry."
"We are sorry," I insisted, "and it was more my fault than Hopeful's."
"No," the King's servant said, "you were both wrong. If the King had not sent me to look for you, you might have been carried away by the soldiers of the evil prince."
"We're so thankful that you came," Hopeful said.
"I am glad to hear it," the man told him. "But although the King sends me to seek for lost pilgrims and to bring them back to the right path, he is not pleased with you, although he loves you so much."
"Will he forgive us?" I asked anxiously. "I've promised never to do anything wrong again."
"The King has already forgiven you," the King's servant said. "You may intend to keep your promise, but you will keep making mistakes on your journey. The King understands, and will forgive you every time you ask. You have been pilgrims for a long time now, and should have known better than to go your own way. So I hope you have learnt a lesson from all this."
"I know we have," I said. "It's not always easy to go the right way. Are you sure the King understands how difficult it is for us?"
"The King's Son was once a pilgrim himself," the servant told us. "He has not forgotten the dangers and difficulties of the Way."
CHAPTER 39
Unbelief
