I have been reading The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe to Claire and Natalie. They are both really enjoying it. Last night we reached the point where the Witch is going to kill Aslan. I was reading about how the crowd of Witch's supporters were kicking and hitting Aslan, and spitting at him, and jeering at him.
Claire: Hey! That's just what happened to Jesus!
Me: Yes, it is.
I continued reading. Claire let out little moans as she heard about Aslan being tied up, and dragged to the Stone Table, and mocked by the Witch. At the end of the chapter, she looked at me, horrified.
Claire: He didn't really DIE, did he?
Me: Yes, he did.
Claire (almost in tears): Ohhh.
Me: Claire, who did you just compare Aslan to?
Claire: Jesus.
Me: And what happened to Jesus?
Claire: He died.
Me: And then what happened?
Claire: Um, He rose from the dead.
Me: So...
Claire: But that's not going to happen to Aslan.
So I read the next chapter, where the Stone Table cracked and Aslan came back to life. Oh, Claire and Natalie were so happy!
After the chapter was over, and I was tucking the girls into bed, Claire pronounced, "The story of Aslan is just like the story of Jesus. Except Jesus was in the tomb for 3 days and Aslan was only on the Stone Table for a little while."
I am pretty impressed with Claire for recognizing the Story C.S. Lewis was telling, without knowing that authors do tell stories in such a way. And now I'm hopeful and excited for her to read other stories, and see that many of the best are, in their way, a retelling of the Story.
