Peter kills Fenris Ulf the wolf

Peter Pevensie kills Fenris Ulf, the Captain of the White Witch's Secret Police, in a sudden wolf attack that erupts at Aslan's camp on the Hill of the Stone Table. This violent encounter is Peter's first battle and the moment he earns his spurs, leading directly to his knighthood as Sir Peter Fenris-Bane. The event transforms Peter from a hesitant elder brother into a proven warrior and establishes the immediate military threat posed by the Witch's forces.

The Attack and Peter's Response

Aslan had just shown Peter a far-off view of Cair Paravel, the castle where he is destined to be King, when the sound of Susan's horn shattered the evening calm. Peter ran back to the pavilion to find the Naiads and Dryads scattering in terror. Lucy was running toward him, her face white as paper. He then saw Susan scrambling up a tree, pursued by a huge grey beast. At first Peter thought it was a bear, then an enormous Alsatian, but he soon realized it was a wolf standing on its hind legs, its front paws against the trunk, snapping and snarling. Susan had only reached the second big branch, and one of her legs dangled inches above the wolf's teeth. She was about to faint and fall. Peter did not feel brave; he felt he was going to be sick. But that made no difference to what he had to do. He rushed straight at the monster and aimed a slash of his sword at its side. The wolf turned with lightning speed, its eyes flaming and its mouth wide open in a howl of anger. Because it was so angry that it had to howl, it did not seize Peter by the throat immediately. Peter had just enough time to duck and plunge his sword as hard as he could between the brute's forelegs into its heart. A horrible, confused moment followed, like something in a nightmare. He was tugging and pulling, the wolf seemed neither alive nor dead, its bared teeth knocked against his forehead, and everything was blood and heat and hair. A moment later the monster lay dead, and Peter drew his sword out and straightened his back, rubbing the sweat from his face.

Aftermath and Knighthood

Susan climbed down from the tree, and she and Peter embraced, both shaky, with kissing and crying on both sides. Aslan, who had observed the fight, approached Peter and told him he had forgotten to clean his sword. Peter blushed, seeing the bright blade smeared with the wolf's hair and blood. He stooped and wiped it clean on the grass, then dried it on his coat. Aslan then commanded Peter to hand him the sword and kneel. When Peter obeyed, Aslan struck him with the flat of the blade and said, "Rise up, Sir Peter Fenris-Bane. And, whatever happens, never forget to wipe your sword." Immediately after the knighting, Aslan spotted another wolf in the thickets and dispatched the Centaurs and Eagles to pursue it, recognizing that it would be fleeing to the White Witch and that this was the chance to find her and rescue Edmund.

Significance

Peter's killing of Fenris Ulf is the first act of direct, violent confrontation between the children and the Witch's forces. It proves Peter's courage and decisiveness under pressure, earning him the title "Fenris-Bane" and formal recognition as a knight. The event also triggers the rescue mission for Edmund, as Aslan uses the fleeing wolf to locate the Witch. Thematically, it marks Peter's transition from a boy who had been angry with his brother to a warrior-king who accepts responsibility for the battle ahead.