King Frank
| The Cabby | |
|---|---|
| Narnia character | |
| Race | Human |
| Nation | English |
| Title | King |
| Birthplace | England, Earth |
| Major character in | |
| Nelly | |
|---|---|
| Narnia character | |
| Race | Human |
| Nation | English |
| Title | Queen |
| Birthplace | England, Earth |
| Major character in | |
King Frank and Queen Helen, also known as the "Cabby" and "Nellie", were the first rulers of Narnia in the Chronicles of Narnia. The The Magician's Nephew says little of their history, except that the Cabby and Nelly were both country folk, and lived in London only from economic necessity. Taking place in or about 1900, Frank drove a horse-drawn carriage while Helen kept house.
The Cabby's last fare almost proved the end of his life, for it was none other than Jadis, Empress of Charn, accompanied by her bumbling squire, Andrew Ketterley. Jadis seems to have "hired" his cab after robbing a jewellery store. Exactly what transpired in the cab is unclear, but Jadis hijacked the cab and drove the horse so hard that the cab was utterly destroyed. When the Cabby finally caught up with the cab, it was a total shambles, and Jadis was astride the horse and was whipping the horse into a dangerous frenzy. The Cabby prevailed upon the police constables at the scene to allow him to try to calm the horse, but Jadis demanded that he keep his hands off her "royal charger." Frank apparently paid her little heed, even when she wrenched off a bar from a lamp-post and started to attack three constables with it. Frank's first and only concern was for his horse—and thus he still had contact with the horse when Digory Kirke grabbed hold of Jadis and then used his yellow ring to take Jadis to the Wood between the Worlds. In this way, Digory, Polly Plummer, Jadis, Uncle Andrew, the horse, and Frank himself came into that Wood.
They did not stay in the Wood long. Jadis, severely weakened by being in the Wood, could not direct the horse any longer. Strawberry is immediately calmed, and he goes into another pool to drink. The others follow and, with everyone in contact with one another, Digory used a green ring to bring them to the world that this pool represented—which was Narnia, but Narnia when it is formless and empty.
Of the party that were now landed in Narnia, The Cabby was the only one who had complete command of himself (although this was partly because he didn't realize that they were in a different world and seemed to think that they had, instead, fallen down a hole of some sort). He urged everyone to remain calm, and suggested that they ought to "pass the time" by singing a hymn. This he proceeded to do, choosing Come Ye Thankful People, Come, but only the two children joined in. He later broke off singing when Aslan began to sing his own song of creation—a song that Frank liked, to the point of chiding the others for talking when he wanted to listen. Only the children and the horse enjoyed the song as much as he.
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