Narnia, Chapter XI
Beauty and the Chronicles of Narnia, the Other
Chapter XI
*Sunwood, the Little*
Being the youngest and the littlest, Sunwood had a special place and was a great example of positivity in the family. Having not known any other home, he grew up in the woods totally at peace with the surroundings. Having nothing else to compare it to, his acceptance was complete, his observations fresh. In his very early childhood years, he was like any other kid…full of curiosity and learning about life in the physical. “Learn by doing” is an apt phrase for any stage of life, but especially so with children, because they haven’t had enough years lived yet to have experienced failure and disappointment, and so approach everything with a beginner’s mind, having no assumptions or preconceived notions about the outcome.
After windows had been installed in the cabin, and before intensive pick-up around the immediate area had been done, there were odds and ends of building materials lying around. The little guy was little, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t strong! He simply picked up a brick one day and threw it through the window, shattering glass everywhere. Naturally, being uncomprehending adults, Popsi Blui and the mom were mortified and confused, and angry! Popsi Blui yelled “What did you do that for?” Young Sunwood simply answered, “I wanted to see what would happen.”
Ah. The innocence of a child.
As they had no extra windows to replace the broken one, they simply stapled on plastic, which remained in place for the ensuing years.
As chainsaw cutting was an ongoing event all summer long, the tool was always at the ready to be used at every spare moment. Chainsaws require constant maintenance with sharpening and oiling the blades. So, unfortunately, an unattended can of motor oil was sitting there. Again, out of curiosity, Sunwood must have been in an experimental mode, and he gulped down a few swallows. Popsi Blui, not far away, freaked out and yelled to the mom, relating what he just seen happen.
Pandemonium! Fearing the worst, that Sunwood had just poisoned himself, and them, not having a telephone, they quickly made their way to the nearest neighbor, an older couple who lived at Porcupine Hill on the main road a mile and a half away. They called poison control, only to be reassuringly told that it was no big deal, and that the motor oil would pass easily through his system with no ill effects other than perhaps some diarrhea. Much relief ensued!
Sunwood, still a toddler, gave another cause for great concern when he simply wandered off one day. Frantically searching along the main path, they found one moccasin, but no Sunwood. He was, most unfortunately, wearing a green sweater which blended in with the leaves and brush. Calling and calling didn’t bring any results. After half an hour or so, they happened to look down a high hill, saw Aslan, and Sunwood! He was just playing around. He wasn’t talking yet, so they never found out what his thinking was. The worst scare parents can ever have, though, misplacing a child. They don’t recommend the experience.
Without early pre-school or daycare, or even regular doctor visits to check on growth patterns and such, the parents relied on living in nature to provide the necessary substance for growth, and home remedies to cure stomach aches. In this regard, both Sunwood and Beauty had a different kind of upbringing. Some areas were more challenging than others, but, for the most part, I think they have a generally positive attitude about their childhood, different though it was. As adults, both are comfortable being in nature and still visit the country as much as possible.
Sunwood and Beauty had an unusually close, sibling relationship which continues to this day. Their general temperaments were and are easy going. Beauty was always extremely protective of him growing up, again, probably because everyone always looked out for each other as a basic tenet of life in the near wilderness.
Like the song goes….
You, who are on the road
Must have a code you try to live by
And so become yourself
Because the past is just a goodbye
Teach your children well
Their father’s hell did slowly go by
Feed them on your dreams
The one they pick’s the one you’ll know by
Don’t you ever ask them why
If they told you, you would cry
So just look at them and sigh
And know they love you
And you, at tender years
Can’t know the fears your elders grew by
Help them with your youth
They seek the truth before they can die
Teach your parents well
Their children’s hell will slowly go by
And feed them on your dreams
The one they pick’s the one you’ll know by
Don’t you ever ask them why
If they told you, you would cry
So just look at them and sigh
And know they love you