Jill Pole, a young English girl, is crying behind the gym at her school, Experiment House, because she has been bullied. Eustace Scrubb, a boy from the same school, runs into her and clumsily attempts to comfort her. Jill is initially irritated, but she realizes that Eustace is trying to help. When she remarks that he has become a lot friendlier than he used to be, Eustace confesses that he was changed by some of his recent experiences. He tells Jill that he has been to a strange, magical land over the holidays, where he had adventures and met someone he calls Aslan.

Jill is intrigued, so the two children perform an invocation asking Aslan to bring them back to that strange land. However, they are interrupted by a bullying schoolmate calling out to Jill. While running away to hide, Jill and Eustace open a door on the school grounds and are shocked to find that it leads to a much brighter, sunnier place. They cross over and find themselves on top of a huge cliff. Eustace tries to drag Jill away from the cliff, but wanting to show off, she resists, and in the struggle, Eustace falls over the edge of the cliff.