All the world’s wiseacres in arms against them
Shan’t detach my heart for a single moment
From the man-like beasts of the earthy stories–
Badger or Moly.
—C. S. Lewis, “Impenitence,” stanza 1
Lewis wrote the above lines in 1953 amidst the publication of the Narnia stories. In addition to “wiseacres,” the writer calls critics of his talking animal stories “killjoys” in another stanza. He, who loved real animals, also loved the stories in which they manifested human intelligence, will, and personality. This love is no doubt at least as old as Aesop and will likely go on to the end of this world.
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