Prince Caspian Chapter 4 Summary

The Dwarf Tells of Prince Caspian

  • Time for some backstory.
  • Prince Caspian was raised by his uncle, Miraz. During his childhood, he heard all sorts of wonderful stories about Aslan, talking animals, and Old Narnia from his nurse.
  • One day, Caspian tries to share these tales with his uncle. Hearing this "nonsense" gets Miraz fuming mad (4.12). Poor Nurse is fired toot-sweet.
  • She's replaced by a tutor, one Dr. Cornelius. We have no idea what he received his PhD in, but he lets on that he knows all sorts of things about Narnia's history.
  • A few days later, Cornelius takes Caspian to the top of the Great Tower for some late night stargazing.
  • There, he gives Caspian the most interesting history lesson ever.
  • He tells the young prince about Old Narnia: fauns, centaurs, talking animals, walking trees, the High Kings and Queens and, of course, Aslan. Cornelius even lets on that he's a half-dwarf, making him twice as awesome in Caspian's eyes.
  • Cornelius cuts the lesson just when things get interesting (boo!), saying they should return before someone notices they're gone.