“The very first tear he made was do deep that I thought it had gone right into my heart. And when he began pulling the skin off, it hurt worse than anything I’ve ever felt. The only thing that made me able to bear it was just the pleasure of feeling the stuff peel off. You know – if you’ve ever picked the scab of a sore place. It hurts like billy, oh, but it is such fun to see it coming away.” – C.S. Lewis, Voyage of the Dawn Treader
In Lewis’ tale, set in the fantastical world of Narnia, the boy Eustice has been transformed into a dragon by his greed. The change was unexpected and about as much welcome as when you burn your tongue on a hot cup of coffee or step into the shower before the water has warmed up.
After a series of events, Eustice finds himself in the presence of Aslan, the high king and true god of Narnia. In a way that only a lion can, Aslan begins to deliver the boy-dragon through a series of precise cuts with his razor-sharp claws.
The transformation is excruciating, but its effect is final. Eustice is once again a boy, delivered from the horrid reptilian body that once enveloped him.
This past weekend, I was invited to my own dragon-skin-shedding event.
