The Setting:
This reflection comes from a conversation between Aslan the Lion and Reepicheep the mouse near the end of Prince Caspian. Reepicheep the mouse is injured in battle. Lucy helps him by giving him a drop of her healing cordial. He rises and hails Aslan. Almost immediately, however, he realizes that his tail has been cut off.
The text:
(Prince Caspian, Chapter XV, “Aslan Makes a Door in the Air”)
“I am confounded,” said Reepicheep to Aslan. “I am completely out of countenance. I must crave your indulgence for appearing in this unseemly fashion.”
“It becomes you very well, Small One,” said Aslan.
“All the same, replied Reepicheep, “if anything could be done...Perhaps her Majesty?” and here he bowed to Lucy.
“But what do you want with a tail?” asked Aslan.
“Sir,” said the Mouse, “I can eat and sleep and die for my King without one. But a tail is the honour and glory of a Mouse.”
“I have sometimes wondered, friend,” said Aslan, “whether you do not think too much about your honour.”
Reflection:
This conversation, part of a larger post-battle scene, comes immediately after Reepicheep is healed from his wounds. Aslan does not deny Reepicheep’s request, but probes into the mouse’s motives for making such a request. In doing so, Aslan points out that Reepicheep’s primary reason for wanting his tail restored is to satisfy his own honor. In other words, Reepicheep’s vanity. In fact, Aslan says that the lack of the tail (and, I would think, the honor associated with it) is good for Reepicheep.
Aslan’s words are meant to challenge the value Reepicheep places on his self image. I guess a mouse’s tail is valued more than having a nice hair style or fashionable clothes. (Not being a Narnian mouse, I’m not sure, but I would think it would be comparable to one of our limbs.)
This conversation with Reepicheep comes in the middle of a scene in which Aslan makes Caspian the new king of Narnia. It’s worth comparing these two scenes.
More text:
“Welcome, Prince,” said Aslan. “Do you feel yourself sufficient to take up the Kingship of Narnia?”
“I—I don’t think I do, Sir,” said Caspian. “I’m only a kid.”
“Good,” said Aslan. “If you had felt yourself sufficient, it would have been a proof that you were not....”
And more reflection:
C.S. Lewis weaves these two examples together to demonstrate two ways to view oneself. Caspian felt himself unworthy for the task offered to him. He was competent, but not overconfident in his abilities. Reepicheep, however, highly valued his external appearance and honor.
This scene teaches us the valuable lesson that we should not be overconfident in ourselves, whether our outward appearance or our abilities, as they can be taken away from us. We must practice humility and put our confidence in the One who should be our “honour and glory.”
OK, so perhaps I am being a little hard on Reepicheep here; he is, after all, one of the favorite Narnia characters, and his tail is restored to him by Aslan, but not because of his honor. In fact, Reepicheep continues to be a great character in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, the next book in the series. I would think that this conversation with Aslan is one of the defining moments in his life in which he needed to reexamine his priorities and make decisions accordingly. When we have experiences like Reepicheep’s, how do we receive the lovingly-harsh words of Aslan? Do we deny that there is a problem, or do we use it as a time for growth in our lives? Let us each embrace every opportunity for growth in Christian maturity with humility.
I’ll say this – this reflection is a bit deeper than my 4th grade book report on Prince Caspian!
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