Stories of heroes, battles, and risk-takers inspire us.

This is one of the reasons in my weekly newsletter I share a story of strength every week… hearing a story of someone’s feat of strength and courage helps us get off the couch and get into action.

This week’s story is about the tension we all feel to drift to cowardice right when opportunity calls out to us.

And who better to help us understand this feeling than C.S. Lewis, in one of his characters in the Voyage of the Dawn Treader.

This is the story of Pittencream, the Narnian sailor who flakes at the finish line.

At the final leg of their journey, the crew of the Dawn Treader had a choice.

They could stay on Ramandu’s island, or they could continue on to the end of the world.

To stay meant comfort, regular food, and safety… but they would forego the opportunity to tell the story to their descendants of how they made it to end of the world.

To leave meant discomfort, irregular (if any) food, and potential danger… but they would give their descendants the story of how they made it to the end of the world, which would be etched in their country’s lore forever.

The entire crew made the second choice to leave, and they embraced uncertainty with the potential reward of glory.

But one man made the choice to stay and selected comfort. That man’s name was Pittencream.

Lewis gives Pittencream only a paragraph of airtime. But this paragraph probably changed my life.

Here are three lessons that I’ve taken away from Pittencream, the flaky sailor.

1) Forgetfulness begets flakiness

Pittencream was with the crew the entire voyage. This means he had endured every danger during the entire journey.

• He helped fight off a massive sea serpent that nearly crushed the boat.

• He sailed into the midst of a felt darkness that contained his actual nightmares.

• He endured weeks of howling storms that threatened to sink the ship.

It’s painful to watch a man forget all of these deliverances at once… it’s as if all of a sudden he has no framework to think through how to deal with risk and uncertainty… when he just went through so many dangers.

But isn’t this what happens when we meet trials and temptations? Don’t we forget that God has already delivered us from so much?

Pittencream flakes because he forgets.

2) Flakiness begets regret

Pittencream was adamant about not going. That is until he watched the rest of the crew sign up to go to the end of the world.

He was soon left by himself. It’s only then that he changed his mind… but he was too late.

King Caspian refused to allow him to come. Pittencream had made his bed, and he had to lie in it.

After the crew left, Pittencream’s time on the island was unpleasant. The other people on the island didn’t want anything to do with him. He found the food not as enjoyable when he only ate it by himself.

But the worst part was what happened after the crew returned.

Pittencream deserted the crew on the way home because he couldn’t live with his decision. He then lives on an island and starts telling people how he actually did go to the end of the world… and as Lewis puts it:

“… he [Pittencream] told wonderful stories about his adventures at the End of the World, until at last he came to believe them himself”

Pittencream regrets because he flaked.

3) Fear begets imaginary monsters

So what happened when the crew sailed to the World’s End?

Did they encounter a more vile sea serpent? Did they sail through even thicker darkness with worst nightmares? Did they endure lashing storms for months on end?

Not exactly. In fact… to use a punny cliche, the Dawn Treader experienced “smooth sailing”.

The crew sailed through crystal clear water and arrived at the sweet water covered with flowers, signaling they had made it to the outer border of Aslan’s country.

Honestly, after the build up of Pittencream’s dramatic decision to stay, the End of the World was kind of a let down. He dreamed up imaginary monsters that didn’t really exist.

Pittencream fears because he let in imaginary monsters.

The Lesson from Pittencream

This story reminds us that there’s always going to be an obstacle, excuse, and fears to prevent you from taking the next step.

Pittencream could have remembered his experiences enduring hardships. He could have told true stories about the End of the World. He could have enjoyed the smooth sailing with his fellow sailors.

But he let fear paralyze him.

And as Caspian puts it, here’s what Pittencream traded in for an empty hand full of fear. 

“Do you think that the privilege of seeing the last things is to be bought for a song? Why, every man that comes with us shall bequeath the title of Dawn Treader to all his descendants…”

– King Caspian