The things she pointed at were dotted all over the level grass. They were certainly very like mushrooms， but far too big-the stalks about three feet high and the umbrellas about the same length from edge to edge. When she looked carefully she noticed too that the stalks joined the umbrellas not in the middle but at one side which gave an unbalanced look to them. And there was something-a sort of little bundle-lying on the grass at the foot of each stalk. In fact the longer she gazed at them the less like mushrooms they appeared. The umbrella part was not really round as she had thought at first. It was longer than it was broad， and it widened at one end. There were a great many of them， fifty or more.
The clock struck three.
Instantly a most extraordinar y thing happened. Each of the “mushrooms” suddenly turned upside-down. The little bundles which had lain at the bottom of the stalks were heads and bodies. The stalks themselves were legs. But not two legs to each body. Each body had a single thick leg right under it （not to one side like the leg of a one- legged man） and at the end of it， a single enormous foot-a broad-toed foot with the toes curling up a little so that it looked rather like a small canoe. She saw in a moment why they had looked like mushrooms. They had been lying flat on their backs each with its single leg straight up in the air and its enormous foot spread out above it. She learnedafterwards that this was their ordinary way of resting； for the foot kept off both rain and sun， and for a Monopod to lie under its own foot is almost as good as being in a tent.
“Oh， the funnies， the funnies，” cried Lucy， bursting into laughter. “Did you make them like that？”
“Yes， yes. I made the Duffers into Monopods，” said the Magician. He too was laughing till the tears ran down his cheeks. “But watch，” he added.
It was worth watching. Of course these little one-footed men couldn‘t walk or run as we do. They got about by jumping， like fleas or frogs. And what jumps they made！ -as if each big foot were a mass of springs. And with what a bounce they came down； that was what made the thumping noise which had so puzzled Lucy yesterday. For now they were jumping in all directions and calling out to one another， “Hey， lads！ We’re visible again.”
“Visible we are，” said one in a tasselled red cap who was obviously the Chief Monopod. “And what I say is， when chaps are visible， why， they can see one another.”
“Ah， there it is， there it is， Chief，” cried all the others. “There‘s the point. No one’s got a clearer head than you. You couldn‘t have made it plainer.”
“She caught the old man napping， that little girl did，” said the Chief Monopod. “We’ve beaten him this time.”
“Just what we were， going to say ourselves，” chimed the chorus. “You‘re going stronger than ever today， Chief. Keep it up， keep it up.”
“But do they dare to talk about you like that？” said Lucy. “They seemed to be so afraid of you yesterday. Don’t they know you might be listening？”
“That‘s one of the funny things about the Duffers，” said the Magician. “One minute they talk as if I ran everything and overheard everything and was extremely dangerous. The next moment they think they can take me in by tricks that a baby would see through-bless them！”
“Will they have to be turned back into their proper shapes？” askedLucy. “Oh， I do hope it wouldn’t be unkind to leave them as they are.
Do they really mind very much？ They seem pretty happy. I say-look at that jump. What were they like before？”
“Common little dwarfs，” said he. “Nothing like so nice as the sort you have in Narnia.”
“It would be a pity to change them back，” said Lucy. “They‘re so funny： and they’re rather nice. Do you think it would make any difference if I told them that？”
“I‘m sure it would-if you could get it into their heads.” “Will you come with me and try？”
“No， no. You’ll get on far better without me.”
“Thanks awfully for the lunch，” said Lucy and turned quickly away. She ran down the stairs which she had come up so nervously that morning and cannoned into Edmund at the bottom. All the others were there with him waiting， and Lucy‘s conscience smote her when she saw their anxious faces and realized how long she had forgotten them.
“It’s all right，” she shouted. “Everything‘s all right. The Magician’s a brick-and I‘ve seen him-Aslan.”
After that she went from them like the wind and out into thegarden. Here the earth was shaking with the jumps， and the air ringing with the shouts of the Monopods. Both were redoubled when they caught sight of her.
“Here she comes， here she comes，” they cried. “Three cheers for the little girl. Ah！ She put it across the old gentleman properly， she did.”
“And we’re extremely regrettable，” said the Chief Monopod， “that we can‘t give you the pleasure of seeing us as we were before we were uglified， for you wouldn’t believe the difference， and that‘s the truth， for there’s no denying we‘re mortal ugly now， so we won’t deceive you.” “Eh， that we are， Chief， that we are，” echoed the others， bouncinglike so many toy balloons. “You‘ve said it， you’ve said it.”
“But I don‘t think you are at all，” said Lucy， shouting to make herself heard. “I think you look very nice.”
“Hear her， hear her，” said the Monopods. “True for you， Missie. Very nice we look. You couldn’t find a handsomer lot.” They said thiswithout any surprise and did not seem to notice that they had changed their minds.
“She‘s a-saying，” remarked the Chief Monopod， “as how we looked very nice before we were uglified.”
“True for you， Chief， true for you，” chanted the others. “That’s what she says. We heard her ourselves.”
“I did not，” bawled Lucy. “I said you‘re very nice now.”
“So she did， so she did，” said the Chief Monopod， “said we were very nice then.”
“Hear ’em both， hear ‘em both，” said the Monopods. “There’s a pair for you. Always right. They couldn‘t have put it better.”
“But we’re saying just the opposite，” said Lucy， stamping her foot with impatience.
“So you are， to be sure， so you are，” said the Monopods. “Nothing like an opposite. Keep it up， both of you.”