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+The Project Gutenberg eBook, The Surprising Adventures of the Magical
+Monarch of Mo and His People, by L. Frank Baum, Illustrated by Frank Ver
+Beck
+
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+
+
+
+Title: The Surprising Adventures of the Magical Monarch of Mo and His People
+
+
+Author: L. Frank Baum
+
+
+
+Release Date: July 10, 2005  [eBook #16259]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII)
+
+
+***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE SURPRISING ADVENTURES OF THE
+MAGICAL MONARCH OF MO AND HIS PEOPLE***
+
+
+E-text prepared by Michael Gray (Lost_Gamer@comcast.net)
+
+
+
+Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this
+      file which includes the original illustrations.
+      See 16259-h.htm or 16259-h.zip:
+      (https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/6/2/5/16259/16259-h/16259-h.htm)
+      or
+      (https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/6/2/5/16259/16259-h.zip)
+
+
+
+
+
+THE SURPRISING ADVENTURES OF THE MAGICAL MONARCH OF MO AND HIS PEOPLE
+
+by
+
+L. FRANK BAUM
+
+With pictures by Frank Ver Beck
+
+1903
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+To the Comrade of my
+boyhood days
+Dr. Henry Clay Baum
+
+
+
+TO THE READER
+
+This book has been written for children. I have no shame in
+acknowledging that I, who wrote it, am also a child; for since I can
+remember my eyes have always grown big at tales of the marvelous, and
+my heart is still accustomed to go pit-a-pat when I read of impossible
+adventures. It is the nature of children to scorn realities, which
+crowd into their lives all too quickly with advancing years. Childhood
+is the time for fables, for dreams, for joy.
+
+These stories are not true; they could no be true and be so marvelous.
+No one is expected to believe them; they were meant to excite laughter
+and to gladden the heart.
+
+Perhaps some of those big, grown-up people will poke fun of us--at you
+for reading these nonsense tales of the Magical Monarch, and at me for
+writing them. Never mind. Many of the big folk are still children--even
+as you and I. We cannot measure a child by a standard of size or age.
+The big folk who are children will be our comrades; the others we need
+not consider at all, for they are self-exiled from our domain.
+
+             L. FRANK BAUM.
+
+June, 1903.
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+
+THE FIRST SURPRISE
+The Beautiful Valley of Mo
+
+THE SECOND SURPRISE
+The Strange Adventures of the King's Head
+
+THE THIRD SURPRISE
+The Tramp Dog and the Monarch's Lost Temper
+
+THE FOURTH SURPRISE
+The Peculiar Pains of Fruit Cake Island
+
+THE FIFTH SURPRISE
+The Monarch Celebrates His Birthday
+
+THE SIXTH SURPRISE
+King Scowleyow and His Cast-Iron Man
+
+THE SEVENTH SURPRISE
+Timtom and the Princess Pattycake
+
+THE EIGHTH SURPRISE
+The Bravery of Prince Jollikin
+
+THE NINTH SURPRISE
+The Wizard and the Princess
+
+THE TENTH SURPRISE
+The Duchess Bredenbutta's Visit to Turvyland
+
+THE ELEVENTH SURPRISE
+Prince Fiddlecumdoo and the Giant
+
+THE TWELFTH SURPRISE
+The Land of the Civilized Monkeys
+
+THE THIRTEENTH SURPRISE
+The Stolen Plum-Pudding
+
+THE FOURTEENTH SURPRISE
+The Punishment of the Purple Dragon
+
+
+
+
+_The First Surprise_
+
+THE BEAUTIFUL VALLEY OF MO
+
+
+I dare say there are several questions you would like to ask at the
+very beginning of this history. First: Who is the Monarch of Mo? And
+why is he called the Magical Monarch? And where _is_ Mo, anyhow? And
+why have you never heard of it before? And can it be reached by a
+railroad or a trolley-car, or must one walk all the way?
+
+These questions I realize should be answered before we (that "we" means
+you and the book) can settle down for a comfortable reading of all the
+wonders and astonishing adventures I shall endeavor faithfully to
+relate.
+
+In the first place, the Monarch of Mo is a very pleasant personage
+holding the rank of King. He is not very tall, nor is he very short; he
+is midway between fat and lean; he is delightfully jolly when he is not
+sad, and seldom sad if he can possibly be jolly. How old he may be I
+have never dared to inquire; but when we realize that he is destined to
+live as long as the Valley of Mo exists we may reasonably suppose the
+Monarch of Mo is exactly as old as his native land. And no one in Mo
+has ever reckoned up the years to see how many they have been. So we
+will just say that the Monarch of Mo and the Valley of Mo are each a
+part of the other, and can not be separated.
+
+He is not called the Magical Monarch because he deals in magic--for he
+doesn't deal in magic. But he leads such a queer life in such a queer
+country that his history will surely seem magical to us who inhabit the
+civilized places of the world and think that anything we can not find a
+reason for must be due to magic. The life of the Monarch of Mo seems
+simple enough to him, you may be sure, for he knows no other existence.
+And our ways of living, could he know of them, would doubtless astonish
+him greatly.
+
+The land of Mo, which is ruled by the King we call the Magical Monarch,
+is often spoken of as the "Beautiful Valley." If they would only put it
+on the maps of our geographies and paint it pink or light green, and
+print a big round dot where the King's castle stands, it would be easy
+enough to point out to you its exact location. But I can not find the
+Valley of Mo in any geography I have examined; so I suspect the men who
+made these instructive books really know nothing about Mo, else it
+would surely be on the maps.
+
+Of one thing I am certain: that no other country included in the maps
+is so altogether delightful as the Beautiful Valley of Mo.
+
+The sun shines all the time, and its rays are perfumed. The people who
+live in the Valley do not sleep, because there is no night. Everything
+they can possibly need grows on the trees, so they have no use for
+money at all, and that saves them a deal of worry.
+
+There are no poor people in this quaint Valley. When a person desires a
+new hat he waits till one is ripe, and then picks it and wears it
+without asking anybody's permission. If a lady wishes a new ring, she
+examines carefully those upon the ring-tree, and when she finds one
+that fits her finger she picks it and wears it upon her hand. In this
+way they procure all they desire.
+
+There are two rivers in the Land of Mo, one of which flows milk of a
+very rich quality. Some of the islands in Milk River are made of
+excellent cheese, and the people are welcome to spade up this cheese
+whenever they wish to eat it. In the little pools near the bank, where
+the current does not flow swiftly, delicious cream rises to the top of
+the milk, and instead of water-lilies great strawberry leaves grow upon
+the surface, and the ripe, red berries lie dipping their noses into the
+cream, as if inviting you to come and eat them. The sand that forms the
+river bank is pure white sugar, and all kinds of candies and bonbons
+grow thick on the low bushes, so that any one may pluck them easily.
+
+These are only a few of the remarkable things that exist in the
+Beautiful Valley.
+
+The people are merry, light-hearted folk, who live in beautiful houses
+of pure crystal, where they can rest themselves and play their games
+and go in when it rains. For it rains in Mo as it does everywhere else,
+only it rains lemonade; and the lightning in the sky resembles the most
+beautiful fireworks; and the thunder is usually a chorus from the opera
+of Tannhauser.
+
+No one ever dies in this Valley, and the people are always young and
+beautiful. There is the King and a Queen, besides several princes and
+princesses. But it is not much use being a prince in Mo, because the
+King can not die; therefore a prince is a prince to the end of his
+days, and his days never end.
+
+Strange things occur in this strange land, as you may imagine; and
+while I relate some of these you will learn more of the peculiar
+features of the Beautiful Valley.
+
+
+
+_The Second Surprise_
+
+THE STRANGE ADVENTURES OF THE KING'S HEAD
+
+
+A good many years ago, the Magical Monarch of Mo became annoyed by the
+Purple Dragon, which came down from the mountains and ate up a patch of
+his best chocolate caramels just as they were getting ripe.
+
+So the King went out to the sword-tree and picked a long, sharp sword,
+and tied it to his belt and went away to the mountains to fight the
+Purple Dragon.
+
+The people all applauded him, saying one to another:
+
+"Our King is a good King. He will destroy this naughty Purple Dragon
+and we shall be able to eat the caramels ourselves."
+
+But the Dragon was not alone naughty; it was big, and fierce, and
+strong, and did not want to be destroyed at all.
+
+Therefore the King had a terrible fight with the Purple Dragon and cut
+it with his sword in several places, so that the raspberry juice which
+ran in its veins squirted all over the ground.
+
+It is always difficult to kill Dragons. They are by nature
+thick-skinned and tough, as doubtless every one has heard. Besides, you
+must not forget that this was a Purple Dragon, and all scientists who
+have studied deeply the character of Dragons say those of a purple
+color at the most disagreeable to fight with. So all the King's cutting
+and slashing had no effect upon the monster other than to make him
+angry. Forgetful of the respect due to a crowned King, the wicked
+Dragon presently opening wide its jaws and bit his Majesty's head clean
+off his body. Then he swallowed it.
+
+Of course the King realized it was useless to continue to fight after
+that, for he could not see where the Dragon was. So he turned and tried
+to find his way back to his people. But at every other step he would
+bump into a tree, which made the naughty Dragon laugh at him.
+Furthermore, he could not tell in which direction he was going, which
+is an unpleasant feeling under any circumstances.
+
+At last some of the people came to see if the King had succeeded in
+destroying the Dragon, and found their monarch running around in a
+circle, bumping into trees and rocks, but not getting a step nearer
+home. SO they took his hand and led him back to the palace, where every
+one was filled with sorrow at the sad sight of the headless King.
+Indeed, his devoted subjects, for the first time in their lives, came
+as near to weeping as an inhabitant of the Valley of Mo can.
+
+"Never mind," said the King, cheerfully; "I can get along very well
+without a head; and, as a matter of fact, the loss has its advantages.
+I shall not be obliged to brush my hair, or clean my teeth, or wash my
+ears. So do not grieve, I beg of you, but be happy and joyful as you
+were before." Which showed the King had a good heart; and, after all, a
+good heart is better than a head, any say.
+
+The people, hearing him speak out of his neck (for he had no mouth),
+immediately began to laugh, which in a short time led to their being as
+happy as ever.
+
+But the Queen was not contented.
+
+"My love," she said to him, "I can not kiss you any more, and that will
+break my heart."
+
+Thereupon the King sent word throughout the Valley that any one who
+could procure for him a new head should wed one of the princesses.
+
+The princesses were all exceedingly pretty girls, and so it was not
+long before one man made a very nice head out of candy and brought it
+to the King. It did not look exactly like the old head, but the efface
+was very sweet, nevertheless; so the King put it on and the Queen
+kissed it at once with much satisfaction.
+
+The young man had put a pair of glass eyes in the head, with which the
+King could see very well after he got used to them.
+
+According to the royal promise, the young man was now called into the
+palace and asked to take his pick of the princesses. There were all so
+sweet and lady-like that he had some trouble in making a choice; but at
+last he took the biggest, thinking that he would thus secure the
+greatest reward, and they were married amid great rejoicing.
+
+But, a few days afterward, the King was caught out in a rainstorm, and
+before he could get home his new head had melted in the great shower of
+lemonade that fell. Only the glass eyes were left, and these he put in
+his pocket and went sorrowfully to tell the Queen of his new
+misfortune.
+
+Then another young man who wanted to marry a princess made the King a
+head out of dough, sticking in it the glass eyes; and the King tried it
+on and found that it fitted very well. So the young man was given the
+next biggest princess.
+
+But the following day the sun chance to shine extremely hot, and when
+the King walked out it baked his dough head into bread, at which the
+monarch felt very light-headed. And when the birds saw the bread they
+flew down from the trees, perched upon the King's shoulder and quickly
+ate up his new head. All but the glass eyes.
+
+Again the good King was forced to go home to the Queen without a head,
+and the lady firmly declared that this time her husband must have a
+head warranted to last at least as long as the honeymoon of the young
+man who made it; which was not at all unreasonable under the
+circumstances.
+
+So a request was sent to all loyal subjects throughout the Valley
+asking them to find a head for their King that was neat and
+substantial.
+
+In the meantime the King had a rather hard time of it. When he wished
+to go any place he was obliged to hold out in front of him, between his
+thumbs and fingers, the glass eyes, that they might guide his
+footsteps. This, as you may imagine, made his Majesty look rather
+undignified, and dignity is very important to every royal personage.
+
+At last a wood-chopper in the mountains made a head out of wood and
+sent it to the King. It was neatly carved, besides being solid and
+durable; moreover, it fitted the monarch's neck to the T. So the King
+rummaged in his pocket and found the glass eyes, and when these were
+put in the new head the King announced his satisfaction.
+
+There was only one drawback--he couldn't smile, as the wooden face was
+too stiff; and it was funny to hear his Majesty laughing heartily while
+his face maintained a solemn expression. But the glass eyes twinkled
+merrily and every one knew that he was the same kind-hearted monarch of
+old, although he had become, of necessity, rather hard-headed.
+
+Then the King sent word to the wood-chopper to come to the palace and
+take his pick of the princesses, and preparations were at once begun
+for the wedding.
+
+But the wood-chopper, on his way to the court, unfortunately passed by
+the dwelling of the Purple Dragon and stopped to speak to the monster.
+
+Now it seems that when the Dragon had swallowed the King's head, the
+unusual meal made the beast ill. It was more accustomed to berries and
+caramels for dinner than to heads, and the sharp points of the King's
+crown (which was firmly fastened to the head) pricked the Dragon's
+stomach and made the creature miserable. After a few days of suffering
+the Dragon disgorged the head, and, not knowing what else to do with
+it, locked it up in a cupboard and put the key in its pocket.
+
+When the Dragon met the wood-chopper and learned he had made a new head
+for the King, and as a reward was to wed one of the princesses, the
+monster became very angry. It resolved to do a wicked thing; which will
+not surprise you when you remember the beast's purple color.
+
+"Step into my parlor and rest yourself," said the Dragon, politely.
+Wicked people are most polite when they mean mischief.
+
+"Thank you, I'll stop for a few minutes," replied the wood-chopper;
+"but I can not stay long, as I am expected at court."
+
+When he had entered the parlor the Dragon suddenly opened its mouth and
+snapped off the poor wood-chopper's head. Being warned by experience,
+however, it did not swallow the head, but placed it in the cupboard.
+Then the Dragon took from a shelf the King's head and glued it on the
+wood-chopper's neck.
+
+"Now," said the beast, with a cruel laugh, "you are the King! Go home
+and claim your wife and your kingdom."
+
+The poor wood-chopper was much amazed; for at first he did not really
+know which he was, the King or the wood-chopper.
+
+He looked in the mirror and, seeing the King, made a low bow. Then the
+King's head thought: "Who am I bowing to? There is no one greater than
+the King!" And so at once there began a conflict between the
+wood-chopper's heart and the King's head.
+
+The Dragon was mightily pleased at the result of its wicked stratagem,
+and having pushed the bewildered wood-chopper out of the castle,
+immediately sent him on his way to the court.
+
+When the poor man neared the town the people ran out and said: "Why,
+this is the King come back again. All hail, your Majesty!"
+
+"All nonsense!" returned the wood-chopper. "I am only a poor man with
+the King's head on my shoulders. You can easily see it isn't mine, for
+it's crooked; the Dragon didn't glue it on straight."
+
+"Where, then, is your own head?" they asked.
+
+"Locked up in the Dragon's cupboard," replied the poor fellow,
+beginning to weep.
+
+"Here," cried the King's head; "stop this. You mustn't cry out of my
+eyes! The King never weeps."
+
+"I beg pardon, your Majesty," said the wood-chopper, meekly, "I'll not
+do it again."
+
+"Well, see that you don't," returned the head more cheerfully.
+
+The people were greatly amazed at this, and took the wood-chopper to
+the palace, where all was soon explained.
+
+When the Queen saw the King's head she immediately kissed it; but the
+King rebuked her, saying she must kiss only him.
+
+"But it is your head," said the poor Queen.
+
+"Probably it is," replied the King; "but it is on another man. You must
+confine yourself to kissing my wooden head."
+
+"I'm sorry," sighed the Queen, "for I like to kiss the real head best."
+
+"And so you shall," said the King's head; "I don't approve your kissing
+that wooden head at all."
+
+The poor lady looked from one to the other in perplexity. Finally a
+happy thought occurred to her.
+
+"Why don't you trade heads?" she asked.
+
+"Just the thing!" cried the King; and, the wood-chopper consenting, the
+exchange was made, and the Monarch of Mo found himself in possession of
+his own head again, whereat he was so greatly pleased that he laughed
+long and merrily.
+
+The wood-chopper, however, did not even smile. He couldn't because of
+the wooden face. The head he had made for the King he now was compelled
+to wear himself.
+
+"Bring hither the princesses," commanded the King. "This good man shall
+choose his bride at once, for he has restored to me my own head."
+
+But when the princesses arrived and saw that the wood-chopper had a
+wooden head, they each and all refused to marry him, and begged so hard
+to escape that the King was in a quandary.
+
+"I promised him one of my daughters," he argued, "and a King never
+breaks his word."
+
+"But he hadn't a wooden head then," explained one of the girls.
+
+The King realized the truth of this. Indeed, when he came to look
+carefully at the wooden head, he did not blame his daughters for not
+wishing to marry it. Should he force one of them to consent, it was not
+unlikely she would call her husband a blockhead--a term almost certain
+to cause trouble in any family.
+
+After giving the matter deep thought, the King resolved to go to the
+Purple Dragon and oblige it to give up the wood-chopper's head.
+
+So all the fighting men in the kingdom were got together, and, having
+picked ripe swords off the sword-trees, they marched in a great body to
+the Dragon's castle.
+
+Now the Purple Dragon realized that if it attempted to fight all this
+army, it would perhaps be cut to pieces; so it retired within its
+castle and refused to come out.
+
+The wood-chopper was a brave man.
+
+"I'll go in and fight the Dragon alone," he said; and in he went. By
+this time the Dragon was both frightened and angry, and the moment it
+saw the man it rushed forward and made a snap at his head.
+
+The wooden head came off at once, and the Dragon's long, sharp teeth
+got stuck in the wood and would not come out again; so the monster was
+unable to do anything but flop its tail and groan.
+
+The wood-chopper now ran to the cupboard, took out his head and placed
+it upon his shoulders where it belonged. Then he proudly walked out of
+the castle and was greeted with loud shouts by the army, which carried
+him back in triumph to the King's palace.
+
+And, now that he wore his own head again, one of the prettiest of the
+young princesses willingly agreed to marry him; so the wedding ceremony
+was performed amidst great rejoicing.
+
+
+
+_The Third Surprise_
+
+THE TRAMP DOG AND THE MONARCH'S LOST TEMPER
+
+
+One day the Monarch of Mo, having nothing better to do, resolved to go
+hunting blackberries among the bushes that grew at the foot of the
+mountains.
+
+So he put on an old crown that would not get tarnished if it rained,
+and, having found a tin pail in the pantry, started off without telling
+any one where he was going.
+
+For some distance the path was a nice, smooth taffy, that was very
+agreeable to walk on; but as he got nearer the mountains the ground
+became gravelly, the stones being jackson-balls and gum-drops; so that
+his boots, which were a little green when he picked them, began to hurt
+his feet.
+
+But the King was not easily discouraged, and kept on until he found the
+blackberry bushes, when he immediately began to fill his pail, the
+berries being remarkably big and sweet.
+
+While thus occupied he heard a sound of footsteps coming down the
+mountain side, and presently a little dog ran out from the bushes and
+trotted up to him.
+
+Now there were no dogs at all in Mo, and the King had never seen a
+creature like this before; therefore he was greatly surprised, and
+said:
+
+"What are you, and where do you come from?"
+
+The dog also was surprised at this question, and looked suspiciously at
+the King's tin pail; for many times wicked boys had tied such a pail to
+the end of his tail. In fact, that was the reason he had run away from
+home and found his way, by accident, to the Valley of Mo.
+
+"My name is Prince," replied the gravely; "and I have come from a
+country beyond the mountains and the desert."
+
+"Indeed! are you in truth a prince?" exclaimed the monarch; "then you
+will be welcome in my kingdom, where we always treat nobility with
+proper respect. But why do you have four feet?"
+
+"Because six would be too many," replied the dog.
+
+"But I have only two," said the King.
+
+"I am sorry," said the dog, who was something of a wag, "because where
+I come from it is more fashionable to walk on four feet."
+
+"I like to be in the fashion," remarked the King, thoughtfully; "but
+what am I to do, having only two legs?"
+
+"Why, I suppose you could walk on your hands and feet," returned the
+dog with a laugh.
+
+"So I will," said the King, being pleased with the idea; "and you shall
+come to the palace with me and teach me all the fashions of the country
+from whence you came."
+
+The King got down on his hands and knees, and was delighted to find he
+could get along in this way very nicely.
+
+"How am I to carry my pail?" he asked.
+
+"In your mouth, of course," replied the dog. This suggestion seeming a
+happy one, the King took the pail in his mouth and they started back
+toward the palace. But when his Majesty came to the gum-drops and
+jackson-balls they hurt his hands and knees, so that he groaned aloud.
+But the dog only laughed. Finally they reached a place where it was
+quite muddy. Of course the mud was only jelly, but it hadn't dried up
+since the last rain. The dog jumped over the place nimbly enough, but
+when the King tried to do likewise he failed, and came down into the
+jelly with both hands and knees, and stuck fast.
+
+Now the monarch had a very good temper, which he carried in his vest
+pocket; but as he passed over the gum-drop pebbles on his hands and
+knees this temper dropped out of his pocket, and, having lost it, he
+became very angry at the dog for getting him into such a scrape.
+
+So he began to scold, and when he opened his mouth the pail dropped out
+and the berries were all spilled. This made the dog laugh more than
+ever, at which the King pulled himself out of the jelly, jumped to his
+feet, and began to chase the dog as fast as he could. Finally the dog
+climbed a tall tree where the King could not reach him, and when safe
+among the branches he looked down and said: "See how foolish a man
+becomes who tries to be in fashion rather than live as nature intended
+he should! You can no more be a dog than I can be a king; so hereafter,
+if you are wise, you will be content to walk on two legs."
+
+"There is much truth in what you say," replied the Monarch of Mo. "Come
+with me to the palace, and you shall be forgiven; indeed, we shall have
+a fine feast in honor of your arrival."
+
+So the dog climbed down from the tree and followed the King to the
+palace, where all the courtiers were astonished to see so queer an
+animal, and made a great favorite of him.
+
+After dinner the King invited the dog to take a walk around the grounds
+of the royal mansion, and they started out merrily enough. But the
+King's boots had begun to hurt him again; for, as they did not fit,
+being picked green, they had rubbed his toes until he had corns on
+them. So when they reached the porch in front of the palace the King
+asked:
+
+"My friend, what is good for corns?"
+
+"Tight boots," replied the dog, laughing; "but they are not very good
+for your feet."
+
+Now the King, not yet having found his lost temper, became exceedingly
+angry at this poor jest; so he rushed at the dog and gave it a
+tremendous kick.
+
+Up into the air like a ball flew the dog, while the King, having hurt
+his toe by the kick, sat down on the door-step and nursed his foot
+while he watched the dog go farther and farther up, until it seemed
+like a tiny speck against the blue of the sky.
+
+"I must have kicked harder than I thought," said the King, ruefully;
+"there he goes, out of sight, and I shall never see him again!"
+
+He now limped away into the back garden, where he picked a new pair of
+boots that would not hurt his feet; and while he was gone the dog began
+to fall down again. Of course he fell faster than he went up, and
+finally landed with a crash exactly on the King's door-step. But so
+great was the force of the fall and so hard the door-step that the poor
+dog was flattened out like a pancake, and could not move a bit.
+
+When the King came back he said:
+
+"Hullo! some kind friend has brought me a new door-mat as a present,"
+and he leaned down and stroked the soft hair with much pleasure. Then
+he wiped his feet on the new mat and went into the palace to tell the
+Queen.
+
+When her Majesty saw the nice, soft door-mat she declared it was too
+good to be left outside; so she brought it into the parlor and put it
+on the floor before the fire-place.
+
+The good King was sorry he had treated the dog so harshly, and for fear
+he might do some other dreadful thing he went back to the place where
+he had lost his temper and searched until he found it again, when he
+put it carefully away in his pocket where it would stay.
+
+Then he returned to the palace an entered the parlor; but as he passed
+the mat, his new boots were so clumsy, he stumbled against the edge and
+pushed the mat together into a roll.
+
+Immediately the dog gave a bark, got upon its legs and said:
+
+"Well, this is better! Now I can breathe again, but while I was so flat
+I could not draw a single breath."
+
+The monarch and his Queen were much surprised to find that what they
+had taken for a mat was only the dog, that had fallen so flat on their
+door-step; but they could not forbear laughing at his queer appearance.
+For, as the King had kicked the mat on the edge, the dog was more than
+six feet long, and no bigger around than a lead-pencil; which brought
+its font legs so far from its rear legs that it could scarcely turn
+around in the room without getting tangled up.
+
+"But it is better than being a door-mat," said the dog; and the King
+and Queen agreed with him in this.
+
+Then the King went away to tell the people he had found the dog again,
+and when he left the palace he slammed the front door behind him. The
+dog had started to follow the King out, so when the front door slammed
+it hit the poor animal so sharp a blow on the nose that it pushed his
+body together again; and, lo and behold! there was the dog in his
+natural shape, just as he was before the King kicked him.
+
+After this the dog and the King agreed very well; for the King was
+careful not to kick, since he had recovered his temper, and the dog
+took care not to say anything that would provoke the King to anger.
+
+And one day the dog saved the Kingdom and all the Valley of Mo from
+destruction, as I shall tell you another time.
+
+
+
+_The Fourth Surprise_
+
+THE PECULIAR PAINS OF FRUITCAKE ISLAND
+
+
+Prince Zingle, who was the eldest of all the princes of the Valley of
+Mo, at one time became much irritated because the King, his father,
+would not allow him to milk the cow with the golden horns. This cow was
+a great favorite with the King, because she gave as large a quantity of
+ice-cream at a milking as an ordinary cow does of milk, and in the warm
+days this was an agreeable luxury. The King liked to keep the cow with
+the golden horns for his own use and that of the Queen; so Prince
+Zingle thought he was being abused, having a great fondness for
+ice-cream himself.
+
+To be sure, there was the great fountain of ice-cream soda-water
+playing constantly in the courtyard, which was free to every one; but
+the Prince longed for what he could not have.
+
+Therefore, being filled with anger against his father, the King, he
+wandered away until he chanced to come near to the castle of the Purple
+Dragon.
+
+When the wicked monster saw the Prince, it decided that here was a
+splendid opportunity to make mischief; so it said, politely:
+
+"Good morning, King Zingle."
+
+"I am not a king--I am only a prince," replied Zingle.
+
+"What! not a king?" exclaimed the Dragon, as if surprised; "that is too
+bad."
+
+"I can never be a king while my father lives," continued the Prince,
+"and it is impossible for him to die. So what can I do?"
+
+"Since you ask my advice, I will tell you," answered the naughty
+Dragon. "Down near Rootbeer River, where the peanut trees grow, is a
+very deep hole in the ground. You must get the King to go and look into
+this hole, and while he is leaning over the edge, push him in. Of
+course, he will not die, for that, as you say, is impossible; but no
+one will know where to find him. So, your father being out of the way,
+you will be king in his place."
+
+"That is surely good advice," said the Prince, "and I will go and do it
+at once. Then the cow with the golden horns will be mine, and I shall
+become the Monarch of Mo."
+
+The Prince turned to go back to the palace, and as soon as he was out
+of sight, the horrid Dragon laughed to think what a fool it had made of
+the boy.
+
+When Zingle saw his father he called him aside and said:
+
+"Your Majesty, I have discovered something very funny at the bottom of
+the hole near the peanut trees. Come and see what it is."
+
+So the King went with the Prince, without suspecting his evil design,
+and while he leaned over the hole the Prince gave him a sudden push.
+The next moment down fell the Monarch of Mo--way to the bottom!
+
+Then Prince Zingle went back to the palace and began to milk the cow
+with the golden horns.
+
+Now when the King found himself at the bottom of the hole he at first
+did not know what to do; so he sat down and thought about it. Presently
+a happy idea came into his head. He knew if only he was at the other
+end of the hole, he would be at the top instead of the bottom, and
+could make his escape. So the King took hold of the hole, and exerting
+all his strength, turned the hole upside down. Being now at the top he
+stepped upon the ground and walked back to the palace, where he caught
+Prince Zingle milking the cow with the golden horns.
+
+"Oh, ho!" he said, "you wish to be King, do you? Well, we'll see about
+that!" Then he took the naughty Prince by the ear and led him into the
+palace, where he locked him up in a room from which he could not
+escape.
+
+The King now sat himself down in an easy chair and began to think on
+how he could best punish the Prince, but after an hour of deep thought
+he was unable to decide on anything that seemed a sufficient
+chastisement for so great an offense.
+
+At last he resolved to consult the Wise Donkey.
+
+The Wise Donkey lived in a pretty little house away at the end of the
+Valley, for he didn't like to mix with the gay life at the court. He
+had not always been wise, but at one time was a very stupid donkey
+indeed, and he acquired his wisdom in this way.
+
+One Friday afternoon, just as school was letting out, the stupid donkey
+strayed into the school-house, and the teachers and scholars were all
+so anxious to get home that they never noticed the donkey, but locked
+him up in the school-house and went away without knowing he was there.
+
+No one came into the building from Friday afternoon until Monday
+morning; so the donkey got very hungry, and certainly would have
+starved had he not chanced to taste of a geography that was sticking
+out from one of the desks.  The hungry donkey decided it was not so
+very bad, so he ate it all up. Then he ate an arithmetic, an algebra,
+and two first readers. After that he lay down and went to sleep; but
+becoming hungry again he awoke and commenced on the school library,
+which he completely devoured. This library comprised all the solid and
+substantial wisdom in the Valley of Mo, and when the janitor opened the
+school-house door on Monday morning, all the books of learning in the
+whole land had been eaten up by the stupid donkey.
+
+You can readily understand that after he had digested all this
+knowledge he became very wise, and thereafter the King and the people
+often consulted the Wise Donkey when their own intelligence was at
+fault.
+
+So now the monarch went to the donkey's house and told him of the
+Prince's wickedness, asking how he could best punish him.
+
+The Wise Donkey thought about the matter for a moment and then replied:
+
+"I do not know a worse punishment than a pain in the stomach. Among the
+books I ate in the school-house was a trigonometry, and before I had
+digested it I suffered very severe pains indeed."
+
+"But I can not feed the Prince a trigonometry," returned the King. "You
+ate the last one yourself."
+
+"True," answered the donkey; "but there are other things that cause
+pain in the stomach. You know there is a certain island in Rootbeer
+River that is made of fruit cake of a very rich quality. I advise you
+to put the Prince on this island and allow him nothing to eat except
+the fruit cake. Presently he will have violent pains in his stomach and
+will be punished as greatly as you could desire."
+
+The King was well pleased with this plan, and having thanked the donkey
+for his wise advice hurried back to the palace.
+
+Prince Zingle was now brought from his room and rowed in a boat to the
+Fruit Cake Island in Rootbeer River, where he was left without any way
+to escape. He knew how to swim, to be sure, but it was forbidden by law
+to swim in the Rootbeer, as many people came to this river to drink.
+
+"You shall stay here," said the King, sternly, "until you are sorry for
+your wickedness; and you shall have nothing to eat but fruit cake."
+
+The Prince laughed, because he thought the punishment was no punishment
+at all. When the King had rowed away in the boat and Zingle was left
+alone, he said to himself:
+
+"Why, this is delightful! I shall have a jolly time here, and can eat
+all the cake I want, without any one scolding me for being greedy."
+
+He broke off a large piece of the island where the raisins and citron
+were thickest, and commenced to eat it. But after a time he became
+tired of eating nothing but fruit cake, and longed for something to go
+with it. But the island did not contain a single thing except the cake
+of which it was composed.
+
+Presently Prince Zingle began to have a pain inside him. He paid no
+attention to it at first, thinking it would pass away; but instead it
+grew more severe, so that he began to cry out; but no one heard him.
+
+The pain steadily increased, and the Prince wept and rolled on the
+ground and began to feel exceeding sorry he had been so wicked. Finally
+he seized the telephone, which was connected with the palace, and
+called up the King.
+
+"Hullo!" said the King's voice, in reply; "what's wanted?"
+
+"I have a terrible pain," said the Prince, with a groan, "and I'm very
+sorry indeed that I pushed your Majesty down the hole. If you'll only
+take me off this dreadful island I'll be the best prince in all the
+Valley from this time forth!"
+
+So the King sent the boat and had the Prince brought back to the
+palace, where he forgave his naughty actions. Being a kind parent he
+next fed his suffering son a blossom from a medicine tree, which
+quickly relieved his pain and led him to appreciate the pleasure of
+repentance.
+
+
+
+_The Fifth Surprise_
+
+THE MONARCH CELEBRATES HIS BIRTHDAY
+
+
+There were great festivities in the Valley of Mo when the King had a
+birthday. The jolly monarch was born so many years ago that so every
+one had forgotten the date. One of the Wise Men said the King was born
+in February; another declared it was in May, and a third figured the
+great event happened in October. So the King issued a royal decree that
+he should have three birthdays every year, in order to be on the safe
+side; and whenever he happened to think of it he put in an odd birthday
+or two for luck. The King's birthdays came to be regarded as very
+joyful events, for on these occasions festivities of unusual
+magnificence were held, and everybody in the kingdom was invited to
+participate.
+
+On one occasion the King, suddenly recollecting he had not celebrated
+his birthday for several weeks, announced a royal festival on a most
+elaborate scale. The cream-puff crop was an unusually large one, and
+the bushes were hanging full of the delicious ripe puffs, which were
+highly prized by the people of Mo.
+
+So all the maidens got out their best dresses and brightest ribbons,
+and the young men carefully brushed their hair and polished their
+boots, and soon the streets leading to the palace were thronged with
+gay merry-makers.
+
+When the guests were all assembled a grand feast was served, in which
+the newly-picked cream puffs were an important item.
+
+Then the King stood up at the head of the table and ordered his ruby
+casket to be brought him, and when the people heard this they at once
+became quiet and attentive, for the Ruby Casket was one of the most
+curious things in the Valley. It was given the King many years before
+by the sorceress, Maetta, and whenever it was opened something was
+found in it that no living person had seen before.
+
+So the people, and even the King himself, always watched the opening of
+the Ruby Casket with much curiosity, for they never knew what would be
+disclosed.
+
+The King placed the casket on a small table before him, and then, after
+a solemn look at the expectant faces, he said, slowly:
+
+"Giggle-gaggle-goo!" which was the magic word that opened the box.
+
+At once the lid flew back, and the King peered within and exclaimed:
+"Ha!"
+
+This made the guests more excited than before, for they did not know
+what he was saying "ha!" about; and they held their breaths when the
+King put his thumb and finger into the box and drew out a little wooden
+man about as big as my finger. He wore a blue jacket and a red cap and
+held a little brass horn in his hand.
+
+The King stood the wooden man upon the table and then reached within
+the box and brought out another wooden man, dressed just the same as
+the other, and also holding a horn in his hand. This the King stood
+beside the first wooden man, and then took out another, and another,
+until ten little wooden men were standing in a row on the table,
+holding drums, and cymbals, and horns in their small, stiff hands.
+
+"I declare," said the King, when he had stood them all up, "it's a
+little German band. But what a shame it is they can not play."
+
+No sooner had the King uttered the word "play" than every little wooden
+man put his horn to his mouth, or beat his drum, or clashed his cymbal;
+and immediately they began to play such delicious music that all the
+people were delighted, and even the King clapped his hands in applause.
+
+Just then from out the casket leaped a tiny Baby Elephant, about as
+large as a mouse, and began capering about on its toes. It was dressed
+in short, fluffy skirts, like those worn by a ballet-dancer, and it
+danced so funnily that all who saw it roared with laughter.
+
+When the elephant stopped to rest, two pretty Green Frogs sprang from
+the casket and began to play leapfrog before the astonished guests, who
+had never before seen such a thing as a frog. The little green
+strangers jumped over each other quick as a flash, and finally one of
+them jumped down the other's throat. Then, as the Baby Elephant opened
+his mouth to yawn, the remaining frog jumped down the elephant's
+throat.
+
+The audience was so much amused at this feat that the Baby Elephant
+thought he would see what he could do to please them; so he stood on
+his head and gave a great jump, and disappeared down his own throat,
+leaving the musicians to play by themselves.
+
+Then all the young men caught the girls about their waists and began
+spinning around in a pretty dance of their own, and the fun continued
+until they were tired out.
+
+The King thanked the tiny wooden musicians and put them back in the
+Ruby Casket. He did not offer to take up a collection for them, there
+being no money of any kind in the Valley of Mo. The casket was then
+carried back to the royal treasury, where it was guarded with much care
+when not in use.
+
+Just then a young man approached the King, asking permission for the
+people to skate on the Crystal Lake, and his Majesty graciously
+consented.
+
+As it was never cold in the Kingdom of Mo there was, of course, no ice
+for skating. But the Crystal Lake was composed of sugar-syrup, and the
+sun had candied the surface of the lake, so it had become solid enough
+to skate on, and was, moreover, as smooth as glass.
+
+It was not often the King allowed skating there, for he feared some one
+might break through the crust; but as it was his birthday he could
+refuse the people nothing. So presently hundreds of the boys and girls
+were skating swiftly on the Crystal Lake and having rare sport; for it
+was just as good as ice, without being cold or damp.
+
+In the center there was one place where the crust was quite thin, and
+just as the merriment was at its height, crack! went the ice--or candy,
+rather--and down into the sugar-syrup sank the Princess Truella, and
+the Prince Jollikin, and the King's royal chamberlain, Nuphsed.
+
+Down and down they went until they reached the bottom of the lake; and
+there they stood, stuck fast in the syrup and unable to move a bit,
+while all the people gathered on the shore to look at them, the lake
+being as clear as the clearest water.
+
+Of course, this calamity put an end to further skating, and the King
+rushed around asking every one how he could get his daughter and his
+son and his royal chamberlain out of the mass. But no one could tell
+him.
+
+Finally the King consulted the Wise Donkey; and after he had thought
+the matter over and consulted his learning, the donkey advised his
+Majesty to fish for them.
+
+"Fish!" exclaimed the King; "how can we do that?"
+
+"Take a fish-line and put a sinker on it, to make it sink through the
+syrup. Then bait the end of the line with the thing that each one of
+them likes best. In that way you can catch hold of them and draw them
+out of the lake."
+
+"Well," said the King, "I'll try it, for of course you know what you
+are talking about."
+
+"Have you ever eaten a geography?" demanded the Wise Donkey.
+
+"No," said the King.
+
+"Well, I have," declared the donkey, haughtily; "and what I don't know
+about lakes and such things isn't in the geography."
+
+So the King went back to the Crystal Lake and got a strong fish-line,
+which he tied to the end of a long pole. Then he put a sinker on the
+end of the line and was ready for the bait.
+
+"What does the Princess Truella like best?" he asked the Queen.
+
+"I'm sure I do not know," replied the royal lady; "but you might try
+her with a kiss."
+
+So one of the nicest young men sent a kiss to the Princess, and the
+King tied it to the end of the line and put it in the lake. The sinker
+carried it down through the sugar-syrup until the kiss was just before
+the sweet, red lips of the pretty Princess. She took the kiss at once,
+as the Queen had guessed, and the King pulled up the line, with the
+Princess at the end of it, until he finally landed her on the shore.
+
+Then all the people shouted for joy and the Queen took the Princess
+Truella home to change her clothes, for they were very sticky.
+
+"What does the Prince Jollikin like best?" asked the King.
+
+"A laugh!" replied a dozen at once, for every one knew the Prince's
+failing.
+
+Then one of the girls laughed quite hard, and the King tied it to the
+end of the line and dropped it into the lake. The Prince caught the
+laugh at once, and was quickly drawn from the syrup and likewise sent
+home to change his clothes.
+
+Then the King looked around on the people and asked:
+
+"What does the Chamberlain Nuphsed like best?"
+
+But they were all silent, for Nuphsed liked so many things it was
+difficult to say which he liked best. So again the King was obliged to
+go to the Wise Donkey, in order to find out how he should bait the line
+to catch the royal chamberlain.
+
+The Wise Donkey happened to be busy that day over his own affairs and
+was annoyed at being consulted so frequently without receiving anything
+in return for his wisdom. But he pretended to consider the matter, as
+was his wont, and said:
+
+"I believe the royal chamberlain is fond of apples. Try to catch him
+with a red apple."
+
+At this the King and his people hunted all over the kingdom, and at
+last found a tree with one solitary red apple growing on a little
+branch nearly at the top. But unfortunately some one had sawed off the
+trunk of the tree, close up to the branches, and had carried it away
+and chopped it up for kindling wood. For this reason there was no way
+to climb the tree to secure the apple.
+
+While the King and the people were considering how they might get into
+the tree, Prince Thinkabit came up to them and asked what they wanted.
+
+"We want the apple," replied the King, "but some one has cut away the
+tree trunk, so that we can not climb up."
+
+Prince Thinkabit rubbed the top of his head a minute, to get his brain
+into good working order. It was a habit he had acquired. Then he walked
+to the bank of the river, which was near, and whistled three times.
+Immediately a school of fishes swam up to him, and one of the biggest
+cried out:
+
+"Good afternoon, Prince Thinkabit; what can we do for you?"
+
+"I wish to borrow a flying fish for a few minutes," replied the Prince.
+
+Scarcely had he spoken when a fish flew out of the river and perched
+upon his shoulder. Then he walked up to the tree and said to the fish:
+"Get me the apple."
+
+The flying fish at once flew into the tree and bit off the stem of the
+apple, which fell down and hit the King on the nose, for,
+unfortunately, he was standing exactly under it. Then the Prince
+thanked the flying fish and sent it back to the river, and the King,
+having first put a plaster over his nose, took the apple and started
+for the Crystal Lake, followed by all his people.
+
+But when the apple was fastened to the fish-line and let down through
+the syrup to the royal chamberlain, Nuphsed refused to touch it.
+
+"He doesn't like it," said the King, with a sigh; and he went again to
+the Wise Donkey.
+
+"Didn't he want the apple?" asked the donkey, as if surprised. But you
+must know he was not surprised at all, as he had planned to get the
+apple for himself.
+
+"No, indeed," replied the King. "We had an awful job to find the apple,
+too."
+
+"Where is it?" inquired the donkey.
+
+"Here," said the King, taking it out of his pocket.
+
+The donkey took the apple, looked at it thoughtfully for a moment, and
+then ate it up and smacked his lips, for he was especially fond of red
+apples.
+
+"What shall we do now?" asked the King.
+
+"I believe the thing Nuphsed likes best is a kind word. Bait the line
+with that, and you may catch him."
+
+So the King went again to the lake, and having put a kind word on the
+fish-line quickly succeeded in bringing the royal chamberlain to the
+shore in safety. You can well imagine poor Nuphsed was glad enough to
+be on dry land after his long immersion in the sugar-syrup.
+
+And now that all had been rescued from the Crystal Lake, the King put a
+rope around the broken crust and stuck up a sign that said "Danger!" so
+that no one else would fall in.
+
+After that the festivities began again, and as there were no further
+accidents the King's birthday ended very happily.
+
+
+
+_The Sixth Surprise_
+
+KING SCOWLEYOW AND HIS CAST-IRON MAN
+
+
+Across the mountains at the north of the Valley of Mo there reigned a
+wicked King named Scowleyow, whose people lived in caves and mines and
+dug iron and tin out of the rocks and melted them into bars. These bars
+they then carried away and sold for money.
+
+King Scowleyow hated the Monarch of Mo and all his people, because they
+lived so happily and cared nothing for money; and he would have sent
+his army into the Valley to destroy the merry people who dwelt there
+had he not been afraid of the sharp swords that grew on their trees,
+which they knew so well how to use against their foes.
+
+So King Scowleyow pondered for a long time how to destroy the Valley of
+Mo without getting hurt himself; and at last he hit on a plan he
+believed would succeed.
+
+He put all his mechanics to work and built a great man out of
+cast-iron, with machinery inside of him. When he was wound up the
+Cast-iron Man could roar, and roll his eyes, and gnash his teeth and
+march across the Valley, crushing trees and houses to the earth as he
+went. For the Cast-iron Man was as tall as a church and as heavy as
+iron could make him, and each of his feet was as big as a barn.
+
+It took a long time to build this man, as you may suppose; but King
+Scowleyow was so determined to ruin the pretty Valley of Mo that he
+made his men work night and day, and at last the Cast-iron Man was
+ready to be wound up and sent on his journey of destruction.
+
+They stood him on the top of the mountain, with his face toward the
+Beautiful Valley, and began to wind him up. It took a hundred men a
+whole week to do this; but at last he was tightly wound, and the wicked
+King Scowleyow stood ready to touch the spring that made him go.
+
+"One--two--three!" said the King, and touched the spring with his
+ringer.
+
+The Cast-iron Man gave so terrible a roar that he even frightened the
+men who had made him; and then he rolled his eyes till they flashed
+fire, and gnashed his teeth till the noise sounded like thunder.
+
+The next minute he raised one great foot and stepped forward, crushing
+fifty trees that stood in his path, and then away he went, striding
+down the mountain, destroying everything that stood in his way, and
+nearing with every step the Beautiful Valley of Mo.
+
+The King and his people were having a game of ball that day, and the
+dog was acting as umpire. Suddenly, just as Prince Jollikin had made a
+home run and everybody was applauding him, a terrible roaring noise
+sounded in their ears, and they heard a great crashing of trees on the
+mountain side and saw a monstrous man approaching the Valley.
+
+The people were so frightened they stood perfectly still, being unable
+to move through surprise and terror; but the dog ran with all his might
+toward the mountain to see what was the matter. Just as the dog reached
+the foot of the mountain the Cast-iron Man came tramping along and
+stepped into the Valley, where he ruined in one instant a large bed of
+lady-fingers and a whole patch of ripe pumpkin pies. Indeed, the entire
+Valley would soon have been destroyed had not the Cast-iron Man stubbed
+his toe against the dog and fallen flat on his face, where he lay
+roaring and gnashing his teeth, but unable to do any further harm.
+
+Presently the King and his people recovered from their fright and
+gathered around their prostrate foe, marveling at his great size and
+strength.
+
+"Had you not tripped him up," said the King to the dog, "this giant
+would certainly have destroyed my kingdom. Who do you suppose was so
+wicked as to send this monster to crush us?"
+
+"It must have been King Scowleyow," declared the dog, "for no one else
+would care to harm you, and the giant came from the direction of the
+wicked King's country."
+
+"Yes," replied the monarch, thoughtfully, "it must indeed have been
+Scowleyow; and it was a very unkind act, for we never harmed him in any
+way. But what shall we do with this great man? If he is left here he
+will scare all the children with his roarings, and none of the ladies
+will care to walk near this end of the Valley. He is so heavy that not
+all of us together could lift him, and even if we succeeded we have no
+place to put him where he would be out of the way."
+
+This was indeed true; so all the people sat down in a circle around the
+Cast-iron Man and thought upon the matter intently for the space of an
+hour.
+
+Then the monarch asked, solemnly, as became the importance of the
+occasion:
+
+"Has any one thought of a way to get rid of him?"
+
+The people shook their heads gravely and thought deeply for another
+hour. At the end of that time the dog suddenly laughed, and called out
+in a voice so loud that it startled them:
+
+"I have thought of a way!"
+
+"Good!" exclaimed the King. "Let us hear your plan."
+
+"You see," explained the dog, "the Cast-iron Man is now lying on his
+face. If we could only roll him over on to his back, and then raise him
+to his feet again, he would be turned around, and would march straight
+back to where he came from, and do us no further harm."
+
+"That is a capital idea," replied the King. "But how can we roll him
+over, or make him stand up?"
+
+That puzzled them all for a while, but by and by Prince Thinkabit, who
+was a very clever young man, announced his readiness to undertake the
+job.
+
+"First, bring me a feather," commanded the Prince.
+
+The royal chamberlain hunted around and soon found for him a long,
+fluffy feather. Taking this in his hand the Prince approached the
+Cast-iron Man and tickled him under the left arm with the end of the
+feather.
+
+"Ouch!" said the Cast-iron Man, giving a jump and rolling completely
+over, so that he lay on his back.
+
+"Hurrah!" cried the people, clapping their hands with joy at this
+successful stratagem; "the Prince is a very wise Prince, indeed!"
+
+Prince Thinkabit took off his hat and bowed politely to them in return
+for the compliment. Then he said:
+
+"Bring me a pin."
+
+So Nuphsed brought him a pin with a very sharp point, and the Prince
+took it and walked up to the Cast-iron Man, and gave him a sharp prod
+in the back with the point of the pin.
+
+"Ouch!" again yelled the Cast-iron Man, giving at the same time such a
+great jump that he leaped square on his feet. But now, to their joy,
+they saw he was facing the mountains instead of the Valley.
+
+As soon as the Cast-iron Man stood up the machinery began to work
+again, and he marched with great steps up the mountain side and over
+into the kingdom of the wicked Scowleyow, where he crushed the King and
+all his people, and laid waste the land wherever he went.
+
+And that was their punishment for being envious of the good people of
+Mo.
+
+As to the fate of the Cast-iron Man, he was wound up so tightly that he
+kept walking straight on until he reached the sea, where he stepped
+into the water, went down to the bottom, and stuck fast in the mud.
+
+And I have no doubt he is there to this day.
+
+
+
+_The Seventh Surprise_
+
+TIMTOM AND THE PRINCESS PATTYCAKE
+
+
+Now of all the monarch's daughters the most beautiful by far was the
+Princess Pattycake. The deep blue of her eyes made even the sky
+envious, and the moss roses blushed when they saw the delicate bloom on
+her cheeks. The long strands of her silken hair were brighter than
+sunbeams, while her ears were like two tiny pink shells from the
+seashore. Indeed, there was nothing in all the Valley so dainty and
+pretty as Princess Pattycake, and many young men would have loved her
+had they dared. But, alas! the Princess had a most terrible temper, and
+never was pleased with anything; so the young men, and even the old
+ones, were afraid to come near her.
+
+She scolded from morning till night; she stamped her pretty foot with
+rage when any one spoke to her; and if ever her brothers tried to
+reason with her she boxed their ears so soundly that they were glad to
+let her alone. Even the good Queen could not love Pattycake as she did
+her other children, and the King often sighed when he thought of the
+ugly disposition of his beautiful daughter. Of course no one cared very
+much for her society, and she sat in her room all day long, refusing to
+join the others in their sports and games, and becoming more moody and
+bad-tempered the older she grew.
+
+One day a young man came to the court to bring pickled peaches to his
+Majesty, the King. The youth's name was Timtom, and he lived so far
+away and came so seldom to court that never before had he seen the
+Princess Pattycake.
+
+When he looked into her sweet, blue eyes he loved her at once for her
+beauty, and being both brave and bold he went directly to the King and
+asked for Pattycake's hand in marriage.
+
+His Majesty was naturally surprised at so strange a request; so he said
+to the young man:
+
+"What does the Princess say? Does she love you?"
+
+"I do not know," replied Timtom, "for I have never spoken with her."
+
+"Well," said the King, much amazed at the ignorance and temerity of the
+youth, "go and speak to my daughter about the matter, and then come and
+tell me what she replies."
+
+Timtom went at once to the room where Princess Pattycake was moodily
+sitting, and said, boldly:
+
+"I should like to marry you."
+
+"What!" screamed the Princess, in a great rage; "marry me! Go away this
+instant, you impudent boy, or I shall throw my shoe at your head!"
+
+Timtom was both surprised and shocked at this outburst, but he realized
+that the Princess had a remarkably bad temper. Still he was not moved
+from his purpose, for she was so pretty he decided not to abandon the
+attempt to win her.
+
+"Do not be angry, for I love you," he pleaded, looking bravely into
+Pattycake's blue eyes.
+
+"Love me?" echoed the surprised Princess; "that is not possible! Every
+one else hates me."
+
+"They do not hate you," ventured Timtom; "it is your temper they hate."
+
+"But my temper and I are one," answered the Princess, harshly, as she
+stamped her foot.
+
+"Surely that is not so," returned the young man, "for certainly I love
+you, while your temper I do not like a bit. Don't you think you could
+love me?"
+
+"Perhaps I might, if you could cure my bad temper; but my temper will
+not allow me to love any one. In fact, I believe that unless you go
+away at once I shall be obliged to box your ears!"
+
+There seemed to be no help for her, so Timtom left the room sadly, and
+going to the King, told him what she had said.
+
+"Then that is the end of the matter," declared the King, "for no one
+can cure Pattycake of her bad temper."
+
+"I am resolved to try, nevertheless," replied Timtom, "and, if I
+succeed, you must give me the Princess in marriage."
+
+"I will, and my blessing into the bargain," answered the King,
+heartily.
+
+Then Timtom left the court, and went back to his father's house, where
+he thought on the problem for a week and a day. At the end of that time
+he was no nearer solving it than he was before; but his mother, who had
+noticed that her boy was in trouble, now came to him to ask the cause
+of his sad looks. Timtom told her all about the Princess Pattycake, and
+of his love for her, and the evil temper that would not be cured.
+
+His mother gave him her sympathy, and after some thought, said to him:
+"You must go to the sorceress Maetta and ask her assistance. She is a
+good lady, and a friend to all the King's family. I am quite sure she
+will aid you, if only you can find your way to the castle in which she
+lives."
+
+"Where is this castle?" asked Timtom, brightening up.
+
+"Away to the south, in the midst of a thick wood," answered his mother.
+
+"Then," said he, sturdily, "if this castle exists, I will surely find
+it, for to win Pattycake is my only hope of happiness."
+
+The next day he set out on his journey, filled with the hope of finding
+Maetta's castle and securing her assistance.
+
+Before he had gone very far a snow-storm began to rage. Now, the
+snow-storms in Mo are different from ours, for the snow is popcorn, and
+on this day it fell so thick and fast that poor Timtom had much
+difficulty in wading through it. He was obliged to stop frequently to
+rest, and ate a great deal of the popcorn that cumbered his path, for
+it was nicely buttered and salted.
+
+Finally, to his joy, it stopped snowing, and then he was able to walk
+along easily until he came to the River of Needles.
+
+When he looked on this river he was nearly discouraged, and could not
+think of a way to get across; for instead of water the river flowed a
+perfect stream of sharp, glittering needles.
+
+Sitting down on the bank, he was wondering what he should do when to
+his astonishment a small but sharp and disagreeable voice said to him:
+
+"Where are you going, stranger?"
+
+Timtom looked down between his feet and saw a black spider, which sat
+on a blade of grass and watched him curiously.
+
+"I am on my way to visit the sorceress Maetta," replied Timtom; "But I
+can not get across the River of Needles."
+
+"They are very sharp, and would make a thousand holes through you in an
+instant," remarked the spider, thoughtfully. "But perhaps I can help
+you. If you are willing to grant me a favor in return, I will gladly
+build a bridge, so you may cross the river in safety."
+
+"What is the favor?" he asked.
+
+"I have lost an eye, and you must ask the sorceress to give me a new
+one, for I can see but half as well as I could before."
+
+"I will gladly do this for you," said Timtom.
+
+"Very well; then I will build you a bridge," promised the spider; "but
+if you have not the eye with you when you return I shall destroy the
+bridge, and you will never be able to get home again."
+
+The young man agreed to this, for he was anxious to proceed. So the
+spider threw a web across the river, and then another, and another,
+until it had made a bridge of spider-web strong enough for Timtom to
+cross over.
+
+It bent and swayed when his weight was on the slender bridge, but it
+did not break, and after he was safe across he thanked the spider and
+renewed his promise to bring back the eye. Then he hurried away on his
+journey, for he had lost much time at the river.
+
+But, to his dismay, the young man shortly came to a deep gulf, that
+barred his way as completely as had the River of Needles. He peered
+down into it and saw it had no bottom, but opened away off at the other
+side of the world. Here was an obstacle which might well dishearten the
+boldest traveler, and Timtom was so grieved that he sat down on the
+brink and wept tears of disappointment.
+
+"What is troubling you?" asked a soft voice in his ear.
+
+Turning his head the youth saw a beautiful white bird sitting beside
+him.
+
+"I wish to visit the castle of the sorceress Maetta on very important
+business," he replied, "but I can not get over the gulf."
+
+"I could carry you over with ease," said the bird, "and shall gladly do
+so if, in return, you promise to grant me one favor."
+
+"What is the favor?" inquired Timtom.
+
+"I have forgotten my song, through having a sore throat for a long
+time," replied the bird. "So, try as I may, I can not sing a single
+note. If you will agree to bring me a new song from the sorceress I
+will take you over the gulf, and bring you back when you return. But
+unless you bring the song I shall not carry you over again."
+
+Timtom joyfully agreed to this bargain, and then, sitting on the bird's
+neck, he was borne safely across the deep gulf.
+
+After continuing his journey for an hour without further interruption
+he saw before him the edge of a great wood, and knew that in the midst
+of this forest of trees was the castle of Maetta.
+
+He thought then that his difficulties were all over, and tramped
+bravely on until he reached the wood. What, now, was the youth's horror
+on discovering on one side of his path a great lion, crouched ready to
+spring on any one who ventured to enter the wood, while on the other
+side was a monstrous tiger, likewise prepared to attack any intruder.
+The fierce beasts were growling terribly, and their eyes glowed like
+balls of fire.
+
+Timtom gladly would have turned back had such a thing been possible,
+for his heart was full of fear. But he remembered that without the
+bird's song and the spider's eye he could never reach home again. He
+also thought of the pretty face of Princess Pattycake, and this gave
+him courage. Resolving to perish, if need be, rather than fail in his
+adventure, the youth stepped boldly forward, and when he approached the
+snarling guardians of the forest he gave one bound and dashed into the
+wood.
+
+At the same moment the lion leaped at him from one side and the tiger
+from the other, and no doubt they would have devoured him had not
+Timtom's foot slipped just then and thrown him flat on the ground. The
+lion and the tiger therefore met in mid air, and each one thinking it
+had hold of Timtom, tried to tear him to pieces, with the result that
+in a few moments they had devoured each other instead of him.
+
+The youth now strode rapidly through the wood, and was getting along
+famously when he came to a high wall of jasper that completely blocked
+his way. It was smooth as glass, and Timtom saw no way of climbing over
+it.
+
+While he stood wondering how he might overcome this new obstacle a gray
+rabbit hopped out from the bushes and asked:
+
+"Where do you wish to go, stranger?"
+
+"To the castle of the sorceress Maetta," answered Timtom.
+
+"Well, perhaps I can assist you," said the rabbit. "I need a new tail
+badly, for my old one is merely a stump, and no use at all in fly-time.
+If you will be kind enough to get me a new tail from the sorceress
+Maetta--a long, nice, bushy tail--I will dig under the wall, and so
+make a passage for you to the other side."
+
+"I shall be pleased to return the favor by bringing you the tail,"
+declared Timtom, eagerly.
+
+"Very well; then you shall see how fast I can work," returned the
+rabbit. Immediately it began digging away with its little paws, and in
+a very short time had made a hole large enough for Timtom to crawl
+under the wall.
+
+"If you do not bring the tail," said the rabbit, in a warning voice, "I
+shall fill up the hole again, so that you will be unable to get back."
+
+"Oh, I shall bring the tail, never fear," answered the youth, and
+hurried away toward the castle of Maetta, which was now visible through
+the trees.
+
+The castle was built of pure, white marble, and was very big and
+beautiful. It stood in a lovely garden filled with blue roses and pink
+buttercups, where fountains of gold spouted showers of diamonds, and
+rubies, and emeralds, and amethysts, all of which sparkled in the sun
+so gorgeously that it made Timtom's eyes ache just to look at them.
+
+However, he had not come to admire these things, gorgeous and beautiful
+though they were, but to win the Princess Pattycake; so he walked to
+the entrance of the castle, and seeing no one about, entered the great
+door-way and passed through.
+
+He found himself in a passage-way covered with mother-of-pearl, where
+many electric lights were hidden in shells of most exquisite tintings.
+At the other end of the passage was a door studded with costly gems.
+
+Timtom walked up to this door and knocked on it. Immediately it swung
+open, and the youth found himself in a chamber entirely covered with
+diamonds. In the center was a large diamond throne, and on this sat
+Maetta, clothed in a pure white gown, with a crown of diamonds on her
+brow and in her hand a golden scepter tipped with one enormous diamond
+that glowed like a ball of fire. Above the throne was a diamond-covered
+chandelier, with hundreds of electric lights, and these made the Grand
+Chamber of Diamonds glitter so brightly that Timtom was nearly blinded,
+and had to shade his eyes with his hand.
+
+But after a few moments he grew accustomed to the brightness and
+advancing to the throne fell on his knees before the sorceress and
+begged her earnestly to grant him her assistance.
+
+Maetta was the most beautiful woman in all the world, but she was
+likewise gracious and kind. So she smiled sweetly on the youth, bidding
+him, in a voice like a silver bell, to arise from his knees and sit
+before her. Timtom obeyed and looked around for a chair, but could see
+none in the room. The lady made a motion with her scepter and instantly
+at his side appeared a splendid diamond chair, in which the young man
+seated himself, finding it remarkably comfortable.
+
+"Tell me what you desire," said the sorceress, in her sweet voice.
+
+"I love the Princess Pattycake," replied Timtom, without hesitation.
+"But she has so evil a disposition that she has refused to marry me
+unless I am able to cure her of her bad temper, which not only makes
+her miserable but ruins the pleasure of every one about her. So,
+knowing your power and the kindness of your heart, I have been bold
+enough to seek your castle, that I might crave your assistance, without
+which I can not hope to accomplish my purpose."
+
+Maetta waved her scepter thrice above her head, and a golden pill
+dropped at Timtom's feet.
+
+"Your request is granted," she said. "If you can induce the Princess to
+swallow this pill her evil temper will disappear, and I know she will
+love you dearly for having cured her. Take great care of it, for if it
+should be lost I can not give you another. Do you wish me to grant any
+other request before you return to the court?"
+
+Then Timtom remembered the rabbit, and the bird, and the spider, and
+told Maetta how he had promised to bring back a gift for each of them.
+
+So the kind sorceress gave him a nice, bushy tail for the rabbit, and a
+very pretty song for the bird, and a new, bright eye for the spider.
+These Timtom put in a little red box and placed the box carefully in
+his pocket. But the golden pill he tied into the corner of his
+handkerchief, for that was more precious than the rest.
+
+Having thanked the generous lady for her kindness and respectfully
+kissed the white hand she held out to him, Timtom left the Chamber of
+Diamonds and was soon proceeding joyfully on his homeward way.
+
+In a short time he reached the wall of jasper, but the rabbit was not
+to be seen. So, while he awaited its coming, he lay down to rest, and
+being tired by the long journey was soon fast asleep. And while he
+slept a Sly Fox stole out from the wood and discovered Timtom lying on
+the ground.
+
+"Oh, ho!" said the Sly Fox to himself, "this young man has been to
+visit the sorceress, and I'll warrant he has some fine gift from her in
+that little red box I see sticking out from his pocket. I must try to
+steal that box and see what is in it!"
+
+Then, while the youth slumbered, unconscious of danger, the Sly Fox
+carefully drew the little red box from his pocket, and, taking it in
+his mouth, ran off into the woods with it.
+
+Soon after this the rabbit came back, and when it saw Timtom lying
+asleep it awakened him and asked:
+
+"Where is my new tail?"
+
+"Oh, I have brought you a fine one," replied Timtom, with a smile. "It
+is in this little red box." But when he searched for the box he
+discovered it had been stolen.
+
+So great was his distress at the loss that the gray rabbit was sorry
+for him.
+
+"I shall never be able to get home again," he  moaned, weeping tears of
+despair, "for all the gifts Maetta gave me are now lost forever!"
+
+"Never mind," said the rabbit, "I shall allow you to go under the wall
+without giving me the tail, for I know you tried to keep your promise.
+I suppose I can make this stubby tail do a while longer, since it is
+the only one I ever possessed. But beware when you come to the bird and
+the spider, for they will not be so kind to you as I am. The bird has
+no heart at all, and the spider's heart is hard as a stone. Still I
+advise you to keep up your courage, for if you are brave and fearless
+you may succeed in getting home, after all. If you can not cross the
+gulf and the River of Needles, you are welcome to come back and live
+with me."
+
+Hearing this, Timtom dried his eyes and thanked the kind rabbit, after
+which he crawled under the wall and resumed his journey. He became more
+cheerful as he trudged along, for the golden pill was still safe in the
+corner of his handkerchief.
+
+When he came to the white bird and began to explain how it was he had
+lost the song and could not keep his promise, the bird became very
+angry and refused to listen to his excuses. Nor could he induce it to
+carry him again across the gulf.
+
+"I shall keep my word," declared the bird, stiffly; "for I warned you
+that if you returned without the song I should refuse to assist you
+further."
+
+Poor Timtom was at his wits' end to know what to do; so he sat down
+near the brink of the gulf and twirled his thumbs and tried to keep up
+his courage and think of some plan, while the white bird strutted
+around in a cold and stately manner.
+
+Now it seems that just about this time the Sly Fox reached his den and
+opened the little red box to see what was in it. The spider's eye,
+being small, rolled out into the moss and was lost. The fox thought he
+would put the bushy tail on himself and see if it would not add to his
+beauty, and while he did this the song escaped from the box and was
+blown by the wind directly to the spot where Timtom was sitting beside
+the gulf.
+
+He happened to hear the song coming, so he took off his hat and caught
+it, after which he called to the bird that he had found the song again.
+
+"Then I shall keep my promise," said the bird. "First, however, let me
+try the song and see if it is suited to my voice."
+
+So he tried the song and liked it fairly well.
+
+"It sounds something like a comic opera," said the bird, "but, after
+all, it will serve my purpose very nicely."
+
+A minute later Timtom rejoiced to find himself on the other side of the
+gulf, and so much nearer home. But when he came to the River of Needles
+there was more trouble in store for him, for the spider became so angry
+at the loss of its eye that it tore down the spider-web bridge, and
+refused to build another.
+
+This was indeed discouraging to the traveler, and he sat down beside
+the river and looked longingly at the farther shore. The spider paid no
+attention to him, but curled up and went to sleep, and the needles
+looked at him curiously out of their small eyes as they flowed by in an
+endless stream.
+
+After a time a wren came flying along, and when it noticed the look of
+despair on Timtom's face the little creature perched on his shoulder
+and asked:
+
+"What is your trouble, young man?"
+
+Timtom related his adventures to the sympathetic wren, and when he came
+to the loss of the spider's eye and the refusal of the spiteful
+creature to allow him to cross the bridge, the wren exclaimed, with
+every appearance of surprise:
+
+"A spider's eye, did you say? Why, I believe that is what I have here
+in my claw!"
+
+"Where?" cried Timtom, eagerly.
+
+The wren hopped into his lap, and carefully opening one of its tiny
+claws disclosed the identical spider's eye which Maetta had given him.
+
+"That is wonderful!" exclaimed Timtom, in amazement. "But where did you
+get it?"
+
+"I found it in the wood, hidden in the moss near the den of the Sly
+Fox. It is so bright and sparkling I thought I would take it home for
+my children to play with. But now, as you seem to want it so badly, I
+shall have much pleasure in restoring it to you."
+
+Timtom thanked the little wren most gratefully, and called to the
+spider to come and get its eye. When the spider tried the eye, and
+found that it fitted perfectly and was even brighter than the old one,
+it became very polite to the young man, and soon built the bridge
+again.
+
+Having passed over the glittering needles in safety Timtom pushed
+forward on his way, being urged to haste by the delays he had suffered.
+When he reached the place where he had encountered the snow-storm, he
+found the birds had eaten all the pop-corn, so he was able to proceed
+without interruption.
+
+At last he reached the Monarch of Mo's palace and demanded an audience
+with the Princess Pattycake. But the young lady, being in an especially
+bad temper that day, positively refused to see him.
+
+Having overcome so many obstacles, Timtom did not intend to be thwarted
+by a sulky girl, so he walked boldly to the room where the Princess sat
+alone, every one being afraid to go near her.
+
+"Good day, my dear Pattycake," he said pleasantly; "I have come to cure
+your bad temper."
+
+"I do not want to be cured!" cried the Princess, angrily. "Go away at
+once, or I shall hurt you!"
+
+"I shall not go away until you have promised to marry me," replied
+Timtom, firmly.
+
+At this Pattycake began to scream with rage, and threw her shoe
+straight at his head. Timtom dodged the shoe and paid no attention to
+the naughty action, but continued to look at the pretty Princess
+smilingly. Seeing this, Pattycake rushed forward and seizing him by his
+hair began to pull with all her strength. At the same time she opened
+her mouth to scream, and while it was open Timtom threw the golden pill
+down her throat.
+
+Immediately the Princess released his hair and sank at his feet sobbing
+and trembling, while she covered her pretty face with her hands to hide
+her blushes and shame.
+
+Timtom tenderly patted her bowed head, and tried to comfort her,
+saying:
+
+"Do not weep, sweetheart; for the bad temper has left you at last, and
+now every one will love you dearly."
+
+"Can you forgive me for having been so naughty?" asked Pattycake,
+looking up at him pleadingly from her sweet blue eyes.
+
+"I have forgiven you already," answered Timtom, promptly; "for it was
+not you, but the temper, that made you so naughty."
+
+The Princess Pattycake dried her tears and kissed Timtom, promising to
+marry him; and together they went to seek the King and Queen. Those
+good people were greatly delighted at the change in their daughter, and
+consented at once to the betrothal.
+
+A week later there was a great feast in the Valley of Mo, and much
+rejoicing among the people, for it was the wedding-day of Timtom and
+the Princess Pattycake.
+
+
+
+_The Eighth Surprise_
+
+THE BRAVERY OF PRINCE JOLLIKIN
+
+
+There is no country so delightful but that it suffers some
+disadvantages, and so it was with the Valley of Mo. At times the good
+people were obliged to leave their games and sports to defend
+themselves against a foe or some threatened disaster. But there was one
+danger they never suspected, which at last came upon them very
+suddenly.
+
+Away at the eastern end of the Valley was a rough plain, composed
+entirely of loaf sugar covered with boulders of rock candy which were
+piled up in great masses reaching nearly to the foot of the mountains,
+containing many caves and recesses.
+
+The people seldom came here, as there was nothing to tempt them, the
+rock candy being very hard and difficult to walk on.
+
+In one of the great hollows formed by the rock candy lived a monstrous
+Gigaboo, completely shut in by the walls of its cavern. It had been
+growing and growing for so many years that it had attained an enormous
+size.
+
+For fear you may not know what a Gigaboo is I shall describe this one.
+Its body was round, like that of a turtle, and on its back was a thick
+shell. From the center of the body rose a long neck, much like that of
+a goose, with a most horrible looking head perched on the top of it.
+This head was round as a ball, and had four mouths on the sides of it
+and seven eyes set in a circle and projecting several inches from the
+head. The Gigaboo walked on ten short but thick legs, and in front of
+its body were two long arms, tipped with claws like those of a lobster.
+So sharp and strong were these claws that the creature could pinch a
+tree in two easily. Its eyes were remarkably bright and glittering, one
+being red in color, another green, and the others yellow, blue, black,
+purple and crimson.
+
+It was a dreadful monster to see--only no one had yet seen it, for it
+had grown up in the confinement of its cave.
+
+But one day the Gigaboo became so big and strong that in turning around
+it broke down the walls of the cavern, and finding itself at liberty,
+the monster walked out into the lovely Valley of Mo to see how much
+evil it could do.
+
+The first thing the Gigaboo came to was a large orchard of preserved
+apricots, and after eating a great quantity of the preserves it
+wilfully cut off the trees with its sharp claws and utterly ruined
+them. Why the Gigaboo should have done this I can not tell; but
+scientists say these creatures are by nature destructive, and love to
+ruin everything they come across.
+
+One of the people, being in the neighborhood, came on the monster and
+witnessed its terrible deeds; whereupon he ran in great terror to tell
+the King that the Gigaboo was on them and ready to destroy the entire
+valley. Although no one had ever before seen a Gigaboo, or even heard
+of one, the news was so serious that in a short time the King and many
+of his people came to the place where the monster was, all having
+hastily armed themselves with swords and spears.
+
+But when they saw the Gigaboo they were afraid, and stood gazing at it
+in alarm, without knowing what to do or how to attack it.
+
+"Who among us can hope to conquer this great beast?" asked the King, in
+dismay. "Yet something must be done, or soon we shall not have a tree
+left standing in all the Valley of Mo." The people looked at one
+another in a frightened way, but no one volunteered his services or
+offered to advise the monarch what to do.
+
+At length Prince Jollikin, who had been watching the monster earnestly,
+stepped forward and offered to fight the Gigaboo alone.
+
+"In a matter of this kind," said he, "one man is as good as a dozen. So
+you will all stand back while I see where the beast can best be
+attacked."
+
+"Is your sword sharp?" asked his father, the King, anxiously.
+
+"It was the sharpest on the tree," replied the Prince. "If I fail to
+kill the monster, at least it can not kill me, although it may cause me
+some annoyance. At any rate, our trees must be saved, so I will do the
+best I can."
+
+With this manly speech he walked straight toward the Gigaboo, which,
+when it saw him approaching, raised and lowered its long neck and
+twirled its head around, so that all the seven eyes might get a glimpse
+of its enemy.
+
+Now you must remember, when you read what follows, that no inhabitant
+of the Valley of Mo can ever be killed by anything. If one is cut to
+pieces, the pieces still live; and, although this seems strange, you
+will find, if you ever go to this queer Valley, that it is true.
+Perhaps it was the knowledge of this fact that made Prince Jollikin so
+courageous.
+
+"If I can but manage to cut off that horrible head with my sword,"
+thought he, "the beast will surely die."
+
+So the Prince rushed forward and made a powerful stroke at its neck;
+but the blow fell short, and cut off, instead, one of the Gigaboo's ten
+legs. Quick as lightning the monster put out a claw and nipped the
+Prince's arm which held the sword, cutting it from its body. As the
+sword fell the Prince caught it in his other hand and struck again; but
+the blow fell on the beast's shell, and did no harm.
+
+The Gigaboo, now very angry, at once nipped off the Prince's left arm
+with one of its claws, and his head with the other. The arm fell on the
+ground and the head rolled down a little hill behind some bonbon
+bushes. The Prince, having lost both arms, and his head as well, now
+abandoned the fight and turned to run, knowing it would be folly to
+resist the monster further. But the Gigaboo gave chase, and so swiftly
+did its nine legs carry it that soon it overtook the Prince and nipped
+off both his legs.
+
+Then, its seven eyes flashing with anger, the Gigaboo turned toward the
+rest of the people, as if seeking a new enemy; but the brave Men of Mo,
+seeing the sad plight of their Prince and being afraid of the awful
+nippers on the beast's claws, decided to run away; which they did,
+uttering as they went loud cries of terror.
+
+But had they looked back they might not have gone so fast nor so far;
+for when the Gigaboo heard their cries it, in turn, became frightened,
+having been accustomed all its life to silence; so that it rushed back
+to its cavern of rock candy and hid itself among the boulders.
+
+When Prince Jollikin's head stopped rolling, he opened his eyes and
+looked about him, but could see no one; for the people and the Gigaboo
+had now gone. So, being unable to move, he decided to lie quiet for a
+time, and this was not a pleasant thing for an active young man like
+the Prince to do. To be sure, he could wiggle his ears a bit, and wink
+his eyes; but that was the extent of his powers. After a few minutes,
+because he had a cheerful disposition and wished to keep himself
+amused, he began to whistle a popular song; and then, becoming
+interested in the tune, he whistled it over again with variations.
+
+The Prince's left leg, lying a short distance away, heard his whistle,
+and, recognizing the variations, at once ran up to the head.
+
+"Well," said the Prince, "here is a part of me, at any rate. I wonder
+where the rest of me can be."
+
+Just then, hearing the sound of his voice, the right leg ran up to the
+head. "Where is my body?" asked the Prince.  But the legs did not know.
+
+"Pick up my head and place it on top of my legs," continued the Prince;
+"then, with my eyes and your feet, we can hunt around until we find the
+rest of me."
+
+Obeying this command, the legs took the head and started off; and
+perhaps you can imagine how funny the Prince's head looked perched on
+his legs, with neither body nor arms.
+
+After a careful search they found the body lying upon the ground at the
+foot of a shrimp-salad tree. But nothing more could be done without the
+arms; so they next searched for those, and, having discovered them, the
+legs kicked them to where the body lay.
+
+The arms now took the head from the legs and put the legs on the body
+where they belonged. Then the right arm stuck the left arm in its
+place, after which the left arm picked up the right arm and placed it
+also where it belonged. Then all that remained was for the Prince to
+place his head on his shoulders, and there he was--as good as new!
+
+He picked up his sword, and was feeling himself all over to see if he
+was put together right, when he chanced to look up and saw the Gigaboo
+again coming toward him. The beast had recovered from its fright, and,
+tempted by its former success, again ventured forth.
+
+But Prince Jollikin did not intend to be cut to pieces a second time.
+He quickly climbed a tree and hid himself among the branches.
+
+Presently the Gigaboo came to the tree and reached its head up to eat a
+cranberry tart. Quick as a flash the Prince swung his sword downward,
+and so true was his stroke that he cut off the monster's head with
+ease.
+
+Then the Gigaboo rolled over on its back and died, for wild and
+ferocious beasts may be killed in Mo as well as in other parts of the
+world. Having vanquished his enemy, Prince Jollikin climbed down from
+the tree and went to tell the people that the Gigaboo was dead.
+
+When they heard this joyful news they gave their Prince three cheers,
+and loved him better than ever for his bravery. The King was so pleased
+that he presented his son with a tin badge, set with diamonds, on the
+back of which was engraved the picture of a Gigaboo.
+
+Although Prince Jollikin was glad to be the hero of his nation, and
+enjoyed the triumph of having been able to conquer his ferocious enemy,
+he did not escape some inconvenience. For, as the result of his
+adventure, he found himself very stiff in the joints for several days
+after his fight with the Gigaboo.
+
+
+
+_The Ninth Surprise_
+
+THE WIZARD AND THE PRINCESS
+
+
+Within the depths of the mountains which bordered the Valley of Mo to
+the east lived a Wicked Wizard in a cavern of rubies. It was many, many
+feet below the surface of the earth and cut off entirely from the rest
+of the world, save for one passage which led through dangerous caves
+and tunnels to the top of the highest mountain. So that, in order to
+get out of his cavern, the Wizard was obliged to come to this mountain
+top, and from there descend to the outside world.
+
+The Wizard lived all alone; but he did not mind that, for his thoughts
+were always on his books and studies, and he seldom showed himself on
+the surface of the earth. But when he did go out every one laughed at
+him; for this powerful magician was no taller than my knee, and was
+very old and wrinkled, so that he looked comical indeed beside an
+ordinary man.
+
+The Wizard was nearly as sensitive as he was wicked, and was sorry he
+had not grown as big as other people; so the laughter that always
+greeted him made him angry.
+
+At last he determined to find some magical compound that would make him
+grow bigger. He shut himself up in his cave and searched diligently
+amongst his books until, finally, he found a formula recommended by
+some dead and gone magician as sure to make any one grow a foot each
+day so long as the dose was taken. Most of the ingredients were quite
+easy to procure, being such as spiders' livers, kerosene oil and the
+teeth of canary birds, mixed together in a boiling caldron. But the
+last item of the recipe was so unusual that it made the Wizard scratch
+his head in perplexity.
+
+It was the big toe of a young and beautiful princess.
+
+The Wizard thought on the matter for three days, but nowhere could he
+think of a young and beautiful princess who would willingly part with
+her big toe--even that he might grow to be as big as he wished.
+
+Then, as such a thing was not to be come by honestly, the Wicked Wizard
+resolved to steal it. So he went through all the caves and passages
+until he came to the mountain-top. Standing on the point of a rock he
+placed one hand on his chin and the other on the back of his neck, and
+then recited the following magical incantation:
+
+     "I wish to go
+     To steal the big toe
+     Of a princess I know,
+     In order to grow
+     Quite big. And so
+    _I'll change, to a crow!"_
+
+No sooner had he spoken the words than he changed into a Black Crow,
+and flew away into the Valley of Mo, where he hid himself in a tall
+tree that grew near the King's palace.
+
+That morning, as the Princess Truella was lying late in bed, with one
+of her dainty pink feet sticking out from under the covers, in through
+the window fluttered a Black Crow, which picked off her big toe and
+immediately flew away with it.
+
+The Princess awoke with a scream and was horrified to find her
+beautiful foot ruined by the loss of her biggest toe. When the King and
+Queen and the Princes and Princesses, having heard her outcry, came
+running in to see what was the matter, they were each and all very
+indignant at the theft.
+
+But, search as they might, nowhere could they find the audacious Black
+Crow, nor the Princess' big toe, and the whole court was in despair.
+
+Finally Timtom, who was now a Prince, suggested that Truella seek
+assistance from the kind sorceress Maetta, who had helped him out of
+his own difficulties. The Princess thought well of this idea, and
+determined to undertake a journey to the castle.
+
+She whistled for her favorite Stork, and soon the great bird came to
+her side. It was pure white, and of an extraordinary size. When the
+Stork had been saddled the Princess kissed her father and mother good
+by and seated herself on the bird's back, when it instantly rose into
+the air and flew away toward the castle of Maetta.
+
+Traveling in this pleasant way, high in the air, the Princess crossed
+the River of Needles and the deep gulf and the dangerous wood, and at
+last was set down safe at the castle gates.
+
+Maetta welcomed the pretty Princess very cordially and, on being told
+of her misfortune, at once agreed to assist her. So the sorceress
+consulted her Oracle, which told her truly anything she wanted to know,
+and then said to the Princess:
+
+"Your toe is in the possession of the Wicked Wizard who lives in the
+ruby cave under the mountains. In order to recover it you must go
+yourself to seek it; but I warn you that the Wizard will put every
+obstacle in your path to prevent your finding the toe and taking it
+from him."
+
+"Oh, dear!" exclaimed Truella, "I am afraid I shall never be able to
+get my toe from such a horrid man."
+
+"Have courage, and trust in me," returned Maetta, "for I believe my
+powers are stronger than his. I shall now furnish you the weapons you
+must use to overcome him. Here is a magic umbrella, and in this basket
+which you must carry on your arm, you will find a lump of putty, an
+iron ball, a mirror, a package of chewing-gum and a magic veil, all of
+which will be very useful. Here, also, is a winged dagger, with which
+you must protect yourself if the Wizard attempts to harm you. With
+these enchanted weapons and a brave heart I believe you will succeed.
+So kiss me, my child, and start on your journey."
+
+Truella thanked the kind sorceress, and mounting the saddle of her
+Stork flew away toward the high mountain in which dwelt the Wicked
+Wizard.
+
+But the naughty man, by means of his black magic, saw her coming, and
+sent such a fierce wind to blow against her that it prevented the Stork
+from making any headway through the air. Therefore, in spite of his
+huge wings and remarkable strength, the brave bird was unable to get an
+inch nearer the mountain.
+
+When Truella saw this she put up the umbrella and held it in front of
+the Stork; whereupon, being shielded from the wind, he flew easily to
+the mountain.
+
+The Princess now dismounted and, looking into the hole at the top of
+the mountain, discovered a flight of stairs leading downward.
+
+Taking her basket on her arm, as she had been directed, Truella walked
+boldly down the steps until she came to a door. But then she shrank
+back in affright, for before the door was coiled a great serpent, not
+quite a mile long and fully as large around as a stick of wood. The
+girl knew she must manage in some way to overcome this terrible
+creature, so when the serpent opened its mouth and raised its head to
+bite her, she reached within the basket, and finding the lump of putty,
+threw it quickly into the serpent's mouth. The creature snapped its
+jaws together so suddenly that its teeth stuck fast in the putty, and
+this made it so furious that it wriggled around until it had tied
+itself into a hard knot, and could wriggle no longer.
+
+Seeing there was no further danger, the Princess passed the door and
+entered a large cave, which was but dimly lighted. While she paused to
+allow her eyes to become accustomed to the darkness, so she might see
+her way, a faint rustling sound reached her ears, and a moment later
+there came toward her a hideous old woman, lean and bent, with wrinkled
+face and piercing black eyes. She had only one tooth, but that was of
+enormous size, being nearly as large as the tusk of an elephant; and it
+curved out of her mouth and down under her chin, where it ended in a
+very sharp point. Her finger-nails were a foot long, and they, also,
+were very sharp and strong.
+
+"What are you doing here?" asked the old woman, in a harsh voice, while
+she moved her horrible fingers, as if about to scratch out Truella's
+eyes.
+
+"I came to see the Wizard," said the Princess, calmly, "and if you will
+allow me to pass I shall give you, in return for the favor, some
+delicious chewing-gum."
+
+"Chewing-gum!" croaked the old woman, "what is that?"
+
+"It is a dainty of which all ladies are very fond," replied Truella,
+taking the packet from her basket. "This is it."
+
+The old woman hesitated a moment, and then said:
+
+"Well, I'll try the chewing-gum and see what it is like; there will be
+plenty of time to scratch out your eyes afterwards."
+
+She placed the gum in her mouth and tried to chew it, but when she shut
+her jaws together the great tusk went straight through her neck and
+came out at the back. The old hag gave a scream and put up her hands to
+pull out the tusk again, but so great was her excitement that in her
+haste she scratched out both her own eyes, and could no longer see
+where the Princess was standing.
+
+So Truella ran through the cave and came to, a door, on which she
+knocked. Instantly it flew open, and before her she saw another cave,
+this time brightly lighted, but filled with knives and daggers, which
+were flying about in every direction. To enter this cave was
+impossible, for the Princess saw she would immediately be pierced by
+dozens of the sharp daggers. So she hesitated for a time, not knowing
+how to proceed; but, chancing to remember her basket, she took from it
+the iron ball, which she tossed into the center of the Cave of Daggers.
+At once the dangerous weapons began to strike against the ball, and as
+soon as they touched it they were broken and fell to the floor. In a
+short time every one of the knives and daggers had been spoiled by
+contact with the iron ball, and Truella passed safely through the cave
+and came to another long stairway leading downward. At the bottom of
+this she reached the third cave, and came upon a horrible monster.
+
+It had the body of a zebra, the legs of a rhinoceros, the neck of a
+giraffe, the head of a bull dog, and three corrugated tails. This
+monster at once began to growl and run toward her, showing its terrible
+teeth and lashing its three tails. The Princess snatched the mirror
+from her basket and, as the creature came near her, she held the
+glittering surface before its eyes. It gave one look into the mirror
+and fell lifeless at her feet, being frightened to death by its own
+reflection in the mirror.
+
+Truella now walked through several more caves and descended a long
+flight of stairs, which brought her to another door, on which was a
+sign that read:
+
+  "A. WIZARD, Esq.,
+    Office hours:
+  From 10:45 until
+  a quarter to 11."
+
+The Princess, knowing that she had now reached the den of the Wizard
+who had stolen her big toe, knocked boldly on the door.
+
+"Come in!" called a voice.
+
+Truella obeyed, and found herself in a large cave, the walls of which
+were lined with rubies. In each of the four corners were big electric
+lights, and these, shining upon the rubies, filled the cave with a deep
+red glow. The Wizard himself sat at his desk in one of the corners, and
+when the Princess entered he looked up and exclaimed:
+
+"What! Is it you? Really, I did not expect to see you. How did you
+manage to pass the guards I placed within the caves and passageways to
+prevent your coming here?"
+
+"Oh, that was not difficult," answered Truella, "for you must know I am
+protected by a power stronger than your own."
+
+The Wizard was much annoyed at this reply, for he knew it was true, and
+that only by cunning could he hope to oppose the pretty Princess.
+Still, he was resolved not to give up the big toe unless obliged to,
+for it was necessary to complete the magic compound.
+
+"What do you want?" he asked, after a moment's thought.
+
+"I want the toe you stole from me while I was asleep."
+
+The Wizard knew it was useless to deny the theft, so he replied:
+
+"Very well; take a chair, and I will see if I can find it."
+
+But Truella feared the little man was deceiving her; so when he turned
+his back she took the magic veil from her basket and threw it over her
+head. Immediately it began unfolding until it covered her completely,
+from head to foot.
+
+The Wizard walked over to a cupboard, which he opened; and, while
+pretending to search for the toe, he suddenly turned on a big faucet
+that was concealed under a shelf. At once the thunder rolled, the
+lightning flashed, and from the arched ceiling of the cavern drops of
+fire began to fall, coming thicker and thicker until a perfect shower
+of burning drops filled the room.
+
+These fell hissing upon Truella's veil, but could not penetrate it, for
+they all bounded off and were scattered upon the rocky floor, where
+they soon burned themselves out. Seeing this the Wizard gave a sigh of
+disappointment and turned off the faucet, when the fire-drops ceased to
+fall.
+
+"Please excuse this little interruption," he said, as if he had not
+been the cause of it himself. "I'll find the toe in a few minutes. I
+must have mislaid it somewhere."
+
+But Truella suspected he was up to more mischief, and was on her guard.
+She saw him stealthily press a button, and in the same instant a deep
+gulf opened in the floor of the cave, half way between the Princess and
+the Wizard.
+
+Truella did not know what this meant, at first, unless it was to
+prevent her getting across the room to where her toe was; but soon she
+noticed that the gulf was moving toward her, slowly, but steadily; and,
+as it extended across the cave from wall to wall, it would in time be
+sure to reach the spot where she stood, when she would, of course, fall
+into it.
+
+When she saw her danger the Princess became frightened, and tried to
+escape through the door by which she had entered; but to her dismay she
+found it locked. Then she turned to look at the Wizard. The little man
+had perched himself upon a high stool, and was carelessly swinging his
+feet and laughing with glee at Truella's awful peril. He thought that
+at last he had certainly found a way to destroy her. The poor Princess
+again looked into the gulf, which was gradually getting nearer and
+nearer; and she shuddered at its vast depths.
+
+A cold wind began to sweep up from the abyss, and she heard mocking
+laughter and savage growls from below, as if evil spirits were eagerly
+waiting to seize her.
+
+Just as she was giving way to despair, and the gulf had crept very
+close to her feet, Truella thought of her winged dagger. She drew it
+from her bosom and, pointing it toward her enemy, said:
+
+   "Save me from the Wizard's art--
+   Fly until you reach his heart.
+   Foil his power and set me free,
+   This is my command to thee!"
+
+In a flash the dagger flew from her hand and struck the Wizard full on
+his breast. With a loud cry he fell forward into the gulf, which in the
+same instant closed up with a crash. Then, when the rocks about her had
+ceased trembling from the shock, the door swung open, leaving the
+Princess at liberty to go where she pleased.
+
+She now searched the Wizard's cupboard until she found her toe, which
+had been safely hidden in a little ivory box. Truella stopped only long
+enough to put on her toe, and then she ran through the caves and up the
+stairways until she reached the top of the mountain again.
+
+There she found her Stork patiently awaiting her and, having seated
+herself on its back, she rode safely and triumphantly back to her
+father's palace.
+
+The King and Queen were delighted when she recounted to them the
+success of her adventure, but they shuddered when they learned of the
+fearful dangers their sweet little daughter had encountered.
+
+"It seems to me," said the good Queen, "that a big toe is scarcely
+worth all the trouble you have had in recovering it."
+
+"Perhaps not," replied the Princess, thoughtfully; "but a big toe is
+very handy to have when you wish to dance; and, after all, I succeeded
+in destroying the Wicked Wizard, which surely repays me for the trials
+I have been forced to undergo."
+
+
+
+_The Tenth Surprise_
+
+THE DUCHESS BREDENBUTTA'S VISIT TO TURVYLAND
+
+
+The Duchess Bredenbutta was forty-seventh cousin to the Monarch of Mo
+and great-grandniece to the Queen; so you can readily see she was
+nearly related to the Princess Pattycake and had blue blood in her
+veins. She lived in a pretty house on the banks of Rootbeer River, and
+one of her favorite amusements was to row on the river in her boat,
+which, although rather small, was light as a cork.
+
+One day, as usual, the Duchess went for a row on the river, expecting
+to return home in about an hour; but after floating a long distance
+down the stream she fell asleep in the boat and did not awake until she
+felt a sudden shock.
+
+Then, sitting up and looking about her, she found, to her alarm, that
+the boat had drifted to the end of the Land of Mo, and was in the
+rapids leading to the Great Hole in the ground where the river
+disappeared from view. Becoming very much frightened, Bredenbutta
+looked for the oars of her boat, that she might row to the bank; but
+soon she discovered that the oars had fallen overboard and were lost,
+leaving her without any means of saving herself.
+
+The poor Duchess now began to cry out; but no one heard her. Gradually
+the boat came nearer and nearer to the Great Hole, now bumping against
+the rocks and now spinning around with the current, until at last it
+paused for an instant on the very brink of the chasm down which the
+river fell.
+
+The girl seized the sides of the boat in a firm grasp, and the next
+moment it plunged headlong into the Hole.
+
+After the shock was over Bredenbutta wiped the moisture from her eyes
+and looked to see where she was, and what had become of her. She found
+that she had landed in a very remarkable country, and for a time could
+do nothing but gaze in wonder on the strange sights that met her view.
+
+The trees were all growing on their top branches, with their roots high
+in the air; and the houses rested on the tops of their chimneys, the
+smoke going into the ground, and the doorsteps being at the tops of the
+buildings. A rabbit was flying around in the air, and a flock of
+skylarks walked on the ground, as if they belonged there.
+
+Bredenbutta rubbed her eyes, for at first the girl thought she must be
+dreaming; but when she looked again everything was in the same
+unnatural position.
+
+To add to her amazement she now saw a queer creature coming toward her.
+She might have taken him for a young man, only ho was just the reverse
+of any young man Bredenbutta had ever seen. He stood upon his hands,
+which were clad in boots, and used his feet as we use our hands,
+seeming to be very handy with his toes. His teeth were in his ears, and
+he ate with them and heard with his mouth. He also smelled with his
+eyes and saw out of his nose--which was all very curious. When he
+walked he ran, and when he ran he stood still. He spoke when he was
+silent and remained dumb when he had anything to say. In addition to
+this, he wept real tears when he was pleased, and laughed merrily
+whenever anything grieved him.
+
+It was no wonder the Duchess Bredenbutta stared in surprise when such
+an odd creature came up to her backward and looked at her solemnly from
+his pug nose.
+
+"Who are you?" asked Bredenbutta, as soon as she could find breath to
+speak.
+
+The young man kept quiet and answered: "My name is Upsydoun."
+
+"I think you are," laughed Bredenbutta.
+
+"You think I am what?" demanded the young man, the voice coming from
+his ear.
+
+"Up-side-down," she replied.
+
+At this retort the tears rolled down his cheeks with joy.
+
+"Why, it is _you_ who are up-side-down," he said; "how in the world
+did you get up here?"
+
+"Down here, you mean," corrected the Duchess, with dignity.
+
+"I mean nothing of the kind," he said, silently, while his nose
+twinkled with amusement; "this country is up, and not down."
+
+"What country is it?" inquired Bredenbutta, much perplexed by such an
+absurd statement.
+
+"Why, Turvyland, to be sure," was the answer.
+
+"Oh!" sighed Bredenbutta; but she was no wiser than before.
+
+"Now you are here," said Upsydoun, "you may come home with me and eat
+some dinner."
+
+"I shall be very glad to," answered the Duchess, who was really hungry.
+"Where do you live?"
+
+"Over there," replied Upsydoun, pointing to the south; "so stay where
+you are and follow me." Then he walked away on his hands in exactly the
+opposite direction from that he had indicated.
+
+Bredenbutta followed him, and shortly after encountered several other
+people, of just the same queer appearance as her conductor. They looked
+out of their noses at her in great surprise, and, without speaking,
+asked Upsydoun who she was.
+
+"The Duchess Bredenbutta," he silently answered, "I found her where the
+Rootbeer River bubbles up. Isn't she a queer-looking creature?"
+
+"She is, indeed," they all answered, in a still chorus, and then they
+followed the girl out of curiosity, as boys follow a band or a dancing
+bear. When they reached the house of Upsydoun more than a hundred
+inhabitants of Turvyland were at Bredenbutta's heels and Upsydoun's
+thumbs.
+
+She was welcomed very kindly, however, and the young man's mother
+kissed the Duchess with her left ear, an act which was considered a
+special mark of favor in Turvyland,
+
+"Would you like to stand up and rest yourself until dinner-time?" asked
+the lady when the girl had entered the parlor.
+
+"No, thank you," replied Bredenbutta, who was very tired. Being
+ignorant of their customs she did not know these people usually stood
+up when they slept or rested. Her answer seemed to satisfy Upsydoun's
+mother, who thought when she said "no" she meant "yes."
+
+"You really don't look equal to lying down," she remarked, pleasantly;
+"so you may stand until I call you to dinner, which will be in a long
+time." Then she excused herself and walked backward out of the window,
+which Bredenbutta noticed they all used instead of doors.
+
+"Dear me," said the Duchess, when she was left alone; "I am sure I
+shall never be able to understand these strange people. But I mean to
+sit down, anyway, and if it really is a long time before dinner, I
+shall probably starve in the meantime."
+
+She had not rested more than a few minutes, however, before the lady
+again put her foot through the window, and waving it invitingly toward
+her exclaimed: "Go away to dinner."
+
+"Go away!" replied the Duchess in dismay; "where shall I go to?"
+
+"Why, to me, of course," answered Upsydoun's mother, dumbly; but she
+winked her nose thoughtfully, as if she scarcely knew how to converse
+with her strange visitor. Surely Bredenbutta ought to know that when
+they said "go" in Turvyland, they meant "come."
+
+In spite of her uncertainty, she followed her hostess, and when they
+entered the dining-room the Duchess was shocked to see all the family
+stand on their heads on the chairs and pick up their knives and forks
+with their toes. She was more horrified, however, when they began to
+eat; for, contrary to all custom, these people placed their food in
+their ears. And they did it so calmly that she did not even
+remonstrate, remembering it must be their habit to eat in this way.
+
+She, herself, sat down in her chair in a proper manner, and began to
+eat with the fork in her hand; and when the people of Turvyland saw
+this, they all shed tears of merriment.
+
+Just then the youngest child of the family began laughing, and the
+mother rushed to it as fast as her hands could carry her, to see what
+was the matter. But the child had only put its foot into its pocket and
+could not get it out again. The mother soon managed to get it free, and
+then the child stopped laughing and began weeping as happily as any of
+the others.
+
+Bredenbutta was greatly bewildered at all this, but she ate heartily,
+nevertheless, and after having begged her in vain to stand on her head,
+as they did, the family let her alone, being surprised to see how well
+she could use her hands. After dinner Upsydoun's sister played on the
+piano with her toes, while the others indulged in a dance, whirling
+around on their thumbs in a manner truly marvelous, and seeming, by
+their tears, to enjoy themselves very much.
+
+As the dance ended a kitten came running into the room on its ears and
+the tip of its tail, and this looked so funny that Bredenbutta began
+laughing. But seeing she had frightened her kind friends, who wanted to
+send for a doctor, she refrained from laughing, and asked, gravely, if
+she could not find a way to return to the Valley of Mo.
+
+"The only possible way of getting down there," replied Upsydoun, "is to
+jump into the Rootbeer River; but that would be dangerous, and none of
+our people have ever tried it"
+
+"Any danger," said the Duchess, "I will gladly brave; for otherwise I
+shall be obliged to spend my entire life down here, among people whose
+ways are exactly opposite to my own. If you will kindly take me to the
+river I shall lose no time in making an effort to return home."
+
+They good-naturedly assented to this, and walked backward with her
+until they came to the place where the river bubbled up. It really did
+bubble _up_, Bredenbutta noticed, although she knew very well she had
+fallen _down_ the Great Hole. But, then, everything was topsyturvy in
+this strange land.
+
+The girl found her little boat, which had stranded on the beach, and
+having placed it where she could push it into the river, she turned to
+say good by to the queer people of Turvyland.
+
+"I am glad to see you go," said Upsydoun, without speaking, "for I like
+you. But you are a strange creature, and perhaps know what is best for
+you. Here are some oars for your boat, for I see you have none, and
+when you get down to your country you may need them."
+
+Bredenbutta joyfully accepted the oars, and placed them in her boat.
+Then the people of Turvyland all kissed her with their left ears and
+waved their toes in farewell, while the Duchess got into the boat and
+pushed it out into the river.
+
+Instantly she was in the midst of such a whirling of foam and rushing
+and roaring of rootbeer that she could neither see nor hear anything.
+Gasping for breath, the girl clung tightly to the sides of the boat,
+and in a few minutes it was all over, and the boat bobbed up in the
+Valley of Mo--just above the Great Hole. Bredenbutta then seized the
+oars and rowed hard until there was no danger of her falling in again,
+and soon she had passed the rapids and was rowing safely up the river
+to her own home.
+
+Of course the Duchess was very glad again to be among the people who
+acted in a natural manner, instead of the absurd fashion of her
+friends, the Turvylanders. She resolved that whenever she rowed her
+boat upon the river again, she would be careful to keep away from the
+Great Hole, for she realized that another visit to Upsydoun and his
+people would be very trying to her nerves.
+
+
+
+_The Eleventh Surprise_
+
+PRINCE FIDDLECUMDOO AND THE GIANT
+
+
+It happened, one morning, that the Monarch of Mo was not in his usual
+pleasant humor; and, of course, there was an excellent reason for this.
+
+At the back of his garden grew one tree that generally bore an abundant
+crop of animal-crackers, and although the King and his court, being
+surfeited with all the dainties of the land, did not care much for
+these edibles, the younger inhabitants of Mo were especially fond of
+them, and yelled with delight whenever the King divided the crop of his
+tree among them.
+
+A few days before the King had examined the tree and found the
+animal-crackers not quite ripe. Whereupon he had gone away and
+forgotten all about them. And, in his absence, they had ripened to a
+delicious light brown; and their forms had rounded out, so that they
+hung as thickly together as peas in a pod. As they swung from their
+stems, swaying backward and forward in the light breeze, they waited
+and waited for some one to come and pick them. But no one came near the
+tree, and the animals grew cross and restless in consequence.
+
+"I wonder when we shall be gathered," remarked a hippopotamus-cracker,
+with a yawn.
+
+"Oh, you wonder, do you?" mockingly replied a camel-cracker hanging
+near, "do you really expect any one to gather _you_, with your thick
+hide and clumsy legs? Why, the children would break their teeth on you
+at the first bite."
+
+"What!" screamed the hippopotamus, in much anger, "do you dare insult
+_me_, you humpbacked beast of burden?"
+
+"Now then--now then!" interrupted a wolf-cracker that hung from a stem
+just above them; "what's the use of fighting, when we are so soon to be
+eaten?"
+
+But the camel-cracker would not be appeased.
+
+"Thick-headed brute!" he yelled at the hippopotamus, angrily.
+
+"Hump-backed idiot!" shrieked the other.
+
+At this the camel swung himself fiercely on his branch, and bumped
+against the hippopotamus, knocking him off from the tree. The ground
+underneath was chocolate, and it was soft and sticky, not having dried
+since the last rain. So when the hippopotamus fell he sank half way
+into the ground, and his beautiful brown color was spattered with the
+muddy chocolate.
+
+At this vengeful deed on the part of the camel all the other animals
+became furious. A full-grown goat-cracker swung himself against the
+camel and knocked it, in turn, from its stem; and in falling on the
+ground it broke its hump off. Then a lion-cracker knocked the goat
+down, and an elephant knocked a cat down, and soon the whole tree was
+in a violent commotion. The animals fought with each other so
+desperately that before long the entire treeful of animal-crackers had
+fallen to the ground, where many lay broken and disfigured, and the
+remainder were sunk deep in the chocolate mud.
+
+So when the King, finally remembering his tree, came and looked on the
+sorry sight, it dampened his usual good spirits, and he heartily wished
+he had picked the quarrelsome crackers before they began to fight among
+themselves.
+
+While he stood thinking dismally on this, up came Prince Fiddlecumdoo
+and asked permission to go on a journey.
+
+"Where do you wish to go?" asked the King.
+
+"I am tired of this beautiful Valley," answered Fiddlecumdoo, "and as
+the bicycle tree beside the Crystal Lake is now hanging full of ripe
+wheels, I thought I would gather one and ride over into the next valley
+in search of adventure." You see, this Prince was the King's youngest
+son, and had been rather spoiled by petting, as youngest sons often
+are.
+
+"The next valley, my son, is inhabited by the giant Hartilaf," said the
+King, "and should you meet him he might do you an injury."
+
+"Oh, I am not afraid of Hartilaf," replied Fiddlecumdoo, boldly. "If he
+should not be pleasant to me, I could run away from him on my wheel."
+
+"I don't know about that," responded the King. "There may be bicycle
+trees in the next valley, as well as here; and it is always dangerous
+and foolish for any one to leave this Valley, where there is everything
+that heart could wish. Instead of running away in search of adventures,
+you would do better to remain at home and help your mother pick collar
+buttons and neckties for the family."
+
+"That is work," said Fiddlecumdoo, sulkily, "and I hate work."
+
+"Yet somebody has to pick the collar buttons," returned the King, "or
+we should be unable to keep our collars on."
+
+"Then let Jollikin help my mother. I am horribly tired of this stupid
+place, and shall not be happy until I have traveled around and seen
+something more of the world."
+
+"Well, well! go if you wish," answered the King, impatiently. "But take
+care of yourself, for when you are away from this Valley there will be
+no one to protect you from danger."
+
+"I can take care of myself," cried the Prince, "so do not worry about
+me," and he ran away quickly, before his father had time to change his
+mind and withdraw his consent.
+
+He selected the best and ripest bicycle on the tree, and, having
+mounted it, was soon speeding away along the path to the mountains.
+
+When he reached the far eastern part of Mo he came on a bush bearing a
+very good quality of violins, and this at once attracted Fiddlecumdoo,
+who was a most excellent violinist, being able to play correctly a
+great number of tunes. So he dismounted and selected from the bush a
+small violin that seemed to have a sweet tone. This he carried with
+him, under his arm, thinking if he became lonesome he could amuse
+himself with the music.
+
+Shortly after resuming his journey he came to the Maple Plains, a level
+stretch of country composed entirely of maple sugar. These plains were
+quite smooth, and very pleasant to ride on; but so swiftly did his
+bicycle carry him that he soon crossed the plains and came on a river
+of pure maple syrup, so wide and deep that he could neither leap nor
+swim it.
+
+Dismounting from his bicycle the Prince began looking for some means of
+crossing the river. No bridge was visible in either direction, and the
+bank was bare save for a few low bushes on which grew maple bonbons and
+maple caramels.
+
+But Prince Fiddlecumdoo did not mean to be turned back by so small a
+matter as a river, so he scooped a hole in the maple sand, and having
+filled it with syrup from the river, lighted a match and began boiling
+it. After it had boiled for a time the maple syrup became stringy, and
+the Prince quickly threw a string of it across the river. It hardened
+almost immediately, and on this simple bridge the Prince rode over the
+stream.
+
+Once on the other side he sped up the mountain and over the top into
+the next valley, where, he stopped and began to look about him.
+
+He could see no roads in any direction, but away down at the foot of
+the valley was a monstrous house, so big you could easily put a small
+village inside it, including the church. This, Fiddlecumdoo thought,
+must be where the giant lived; and, although he saw no one about the
+house, he decided to make a call and introduce himself to Mr. Hartilaf.
+So he rode slowly down the valley, playing on his violin as he went,
+that the music might announce his coming.
+
+The giant Hartilaf was lying on the sofa in his sitting-room, waiting
+for his wife to prepare the dinner; and he had nearly fallen asleep
+when the sound of Fiddlecumdoo's music fell on his ear. This was so
+unusual in his valley that the giant arose and went to the front door
+to see what caused it.
+
+The Prince had by this time nearly reached the house, and when the
+giant appeared he was somewhat startled, as he had not expected to see
+any one quite so big. But he took care not to show any fear, and,
+taking off his hat, he bowed politely to the giant and said:
+
+"This is Mr. Hartilaf, I suppose?"
+
+"That is my name," replied the giant, grinning at the small size of his
+visitor. "May I ask who you are?"
+
+"I am Prince Fiddlecumdoo, and I live in the next valley, which is
+called the Valley of Mo. Being determined to see something of the
+world, I am traveling for pleasure, and have just dropped in on you for
+a friendly call."
+
+"You are very welcome, I am sure," returned the giant. "If you will
+graciously step into my humble home I shall be glad to entertain you at
+dinner."
+
+Prince Fiddlecumdoo bowed low and accepted the invitation, but when he
+endeavored to enter the house he found the steps so big that even the
+first one was higher than his head, and he could not climb to the top
+of it.
+
+Seeing his difficulty the giant carefully picked him up with one finger
+and his thumb, and put him down on the palm of his other hand.
+
+"Do not leave my bicycle," said the Prince, "for should anything happen
+to it I could not get home again."
+
+So the giant put the bicycle in his vest pocket, and then he entered
+the house and walked to the kitchen, where his wife was engaged
+preparing the dinner.
+
+"Guess what I've found," said the giant to his wife, holding his hand
+doubled up so she could not see the Prince.
+
+"I'm sure I don't know," answered the woman.
+
+"But, guess!" pleaded the giant.
+
+"Go away and don't bother me," she replied, bending over the stewpan,
+"or you won't have any dinner to-day."
+
+The giant, however, was in a merry mood, and for a joke he suddenly
+opened his hand and dropped the Prince down his wife's neck.
+
+"Oh, oh!" she screamed, trying to get at the place where the Prince had
+fallen, which was near the small of her back. "What is it? I'm sure
+it's some horrible crocodile, or dragon, or something that will bite
+me!" And the poor woman lay down on the carpet and began to kick her
+heels against the floor in terror.
+
+The giant roared with laughter, but the Prince, now being able to crawl
+out, scrambled from the lady's neck, and, standing beside her head, he
+made a low bow and said:
+
+"Do not be afraid, Madam; it is only I. But I must say it was a very
+ungallant trick for your husband to play on you, to say nothing of my
+feelings in the matter."
+
+"So it was," she exclaimed, getting upon her feet again, and staring
+curiously at Fiddlecumdoo. "But tell me who you are and where you came
+from."
+
+The giant, having enjoyed his laugh, now introduced the Prince to his
+wife, and as dinner was ready to serve they sat down at the table
+together.
+
+Fiddlecumdoo got along very well at dinner, for the giant thoughtfully
+placed him on the top of the table, where he could walk around as he
+pleased. There being no knife nor fork small enough for him to use, the
+Prince took one of the giant's toothpicks, which was as big as a sword,
+and with this served himself from the various dishes that stood on the
+table.
+
+When the meal was over the giant lighted his pipe, the bowl of which
+was as big as a barrel, and asked Fiddlecumdoo if he would kindly favor
+them with some music.
+
+"Certainly," replied the Prince.
+
+"Please come into the kitchen," said the giantess, "for then I can
+listen to the music while I am washing the dishes."
+
+The prince did not like to refuse this request, although at home he was
+not allowed to enter his mother's kitchen; so the giant carried him in
+and placed him on a high shelf, where Fiddlecumdoo seated himself on a
+spool of thread and began to play his violin.
+
+The big people enjoyed the music very much at first, for the Prince was
+a capital player. But soon came a disagreeable interruption.
+
+About a month before the giant had caught several dancing-bears in the
+mountains, and, having brought them home, had made them into strings of
+sausages. These were hanging in graceful festoons from the beams of the
+kitchen ceiling, awaiting the time when they should be eaten.
+
+Now when the dancing-bear sausages heard the music of Fiddlecumdoo's
+violin, they could not resist dancing; for it is well known that
+sausages made from real dancing-bears can not remain quiet where there
+is music. The Prince was playing such a lively tune, that presently the
+strings of sausage broke away from the ceiling and fell clattering to
+the floor, where they danced about furiously. Not being able to see
+where they were going, they bumped against the giant and his wife,
+thumping them on their heads and backs, and pounding them so severely
+that the woman became frightened and hid under the table, while the
+giant started to run away.
+
+Seeing their plight, Fiddlecumdoo stopped playing, and at once the
+sausages fell to the floor and lay still.
+
+"That was strange," said the giant, as soon as he could catch his
+breath; "the bears evidently do not forget how to dance even after they
+are chopped up into sausage meat. I must beg you to abandon your
+concert for the present, but before you visit us again we shall have
+eaten the sausages, and then you may play to your heart's content."
+
+"Had I known they were so lively," remarked the giantess, as she
+crawled from beneath the table, "we should have eaten them before
+this."
+
+"That reminds me that I intended to have stewed polar bears for
+supper," continued the giant; "so I think I will walk over into Alaska
+and catch some."
+
+"Perhaps the Prince would prefer elephant pie," suggested the lady,
+"and in that case you might make a run into South America for
+elephants."
+
+"I have no choice in the matter," said the Prince, "never having eaten
+either. But is it not rather a long journey to Alaska or to South
+America?"
+
+"Not at all!" protested the giant. "I shall enjoy the walk, and can
+easily be back by sundown. Won't you come with me?" he asked the boy.
+But Fiddlecumdoo did not like the idea of so long a journey, and begged
+to be excused.
+
+The giantess brought her lord a great bag to put the polar bears in,
+and he prepared to start.
+
+"I leave you to amuse my wife during my absence," he said to the
+Prince. "Pray make yourself entirely at home, and use my castle as you
+would your own house, and if I have good luck you shall eat a delicious
+polar-bear stew for your supper."
+
+Then he slung the sack across his back and went away, whistling
+merrily. And so great were his strides that in less than a minute he
+was out of sight.
+
+"This is my busy day," said the giantess to Fiddlecumdoo, "and I fear I
+shall not be able to entertain you in a proper manner, for I must
+hasten to the laundry to wash the clothes. However, if you care to
+accompany me, we may converse together while I am doing my work."
+
+"I shall take great pleasure in visiting your laundry," he replied,
+"for never before have I been in such a place. And surely it will be
+more agreeable to watch you at your work than to spend the day alone in
+these great rooms."
+
+"Come along, then," she said, and picking him up she placed him in the
+pocket of her apron, for she knew he would be unable to walk down the
+flight of stairs that led to the laundry. He was very comfortable in
+the pocket, which was just deep enough to allow his head and shoulders
+to project from the top. Therefore he was able to see all that was
+going on while the lady was at work. He watched her wash and rinse the
+clothes, and was greatly interested in the operation, as it was all new
+to him.
+
+By and by the giantess brought an immense clothes-wringer from a shelf,
+and having fastened it to the side of the big wash tub began to wring
+out the clothes.
+
+Prince Fiddlecumdoo had never seen a clothes-wringer before, and so
+pleased was he with the novelty of it that he leaned far out of the
+pocket to watch it work. But, unfortunately, he lost his balance, and
+before he knew what had happened to him had fallen from the pocket and
+lay sprawling on one of the giant's shirts, which was just then passing
+through the wringer.
+
+The woman did not notice his fall, and the next instant he was drawn
+between the two great rollers, and came out on the other side as thin
+and flat as a sheet of paper.
+
+Then the giant's wife saw what she had done, and realizing how serious
+was the Prince's condition, the good lady was much grieved over the
+accident. She picked Fiddlecumdoo up and tried to stand him on his
+feet, but he was so thin that at the least draft he fluttered like a
+flag, while a puff of wind would blow him completely over.
+
+"Dear me!" exclaimed the woman, sorrowfully, "whatever can we do with
+you in that shape?"
+
+"I really do not know what will become of me," replied the Prince. "I
+am certainly no good in this condition. I can not even walk across the
+room without toppling over. Can not you manage to push me together
+again?" The giantess tried to do this, but the Prince was so sharp that
+his edges hurt her hands, and all she could do was to fold him up and
+carry him into the drawing-room, where she laid him carefully on the
+center-table.
+
+Just before sundown the giant returned from Alaska, bringing several
+fat polar-bears in his bag; and scarcely had he set foot within the
+house before he inquired after his guest, the Prince.
+
+"You will find him on the drawing-room table," said the giantess. "I
+accidently ran him through the clothes-wringer this afternoon, and the
+poor boy is as thin as a pie crust. So I folded him up and put him away
+until you returned."
+
+The giant immediately went to the table and unfolded Fiddlecumdoo,
+asking him how he felt.
+
+"Very miserable," answered the Prince, "for I can not move at all when
+I am folded up. Where is my bicycle?"
+
+The giant searched all his pockets, but could not find it.
+
+"I must have lost it on my journey to Alaska," he said.
+
+"Then how am I ever to get home again?" asked the Prince.
+
+"That is a puzzle," the giant responded, thoughtfully. "I do not see
+how you could ride on a bicycle even if you had one, and you certainly
+can not walk far in your present condition."
+
+"Not if the wind blows," acknowledged the Prince.
+
+"Couldn't you go edgewise?" asked the giant after a moment's
+reflection.
+
+"I might try," answered Fiddlecumdoo, hopefully.
+
+So the giant stood him up, and he tried to walk edgewise. But whenever
+a breath of wind struck him he fell over at once, and several times he
+got badly crumpled up, so that the giant had to smooth him out again
+with his hands.
+
+"This certainly will not do at all," declared the giant; "for not only
+are you getting wrinkled, but you are liable to be blown away;
+altogether. I have just thought of a plan to get you back into the
+Valley of Mo again, and when you are in your own country your friends
+may get you out of the scrape the best way they can."
+
+Hartilaf then made the Prince into a neat roll and tied a string around
+the middle, to hold it in place. Then he tucked the roll under his arm
+and carried it to the top of the mountain that stood between the two
+valleys. Placing the Prince carefully on the ground he started him
+rolling, and in a short time he had rolled down the mountain side into
+the Valley of Mo.
+
+At first the people were much frightened, not knowing what this strange
+thing could be that had come rolling into their midst. They stood
+around, curiously looking at the roll, but afraid to touch it, when
+suddenly Fiddlecumdoo began to cry out. And then, so fearful was the
+sound, they all ran away as fast as their legs could carry them.
+
+Prince Thinkabit, however, being more courageous than the rest, at last
+ventured to approach and cut the string that fastened the roll.
+Instantly it opened, and to their amazement the people saw what it was.
+
+"Upon my word, it is brother Fiddlecumdoo!" cried Prince Thinkabit.
+"The giant must have stepped on him."
+
+"No, indeed," said poor Fiddlecumdoo, "I've been run through a
+clothes-wringer, which is much worse than being stepped on."
+
+With many expressions of pity the kind people stood the Prince up and
+helped him to the palace, where the King was greatly shocked at his sad
+plight. Fiddlecumdoo was so broad that the only thing he could sit down
+on was the sofa, and he was so thin that when Princess Pattycake
+sneezed he was blown half way across the room.
+
+At dinner he could eat nothing that was not sliced as thin as a
+shaving, and so sad was his predicament that the King determined to ask
+the Wise Donkey what could be done to relieve his unfortunate son.
+
+After hearing all the particulars of the accident, the Donkey said:
+"Blow him up."
+
+"I did blow him up, for being so careless," replied the King; "but it
+didn't make him any thicker."
+
+"What I mean," explained the Donkey, "is to bore a hole in the top of
+his head, and blow air into him until he resumes his natural shape.
+Then, if he takes care of himself, he soon will be all right again."
+
+So the King returned to the palace and bored a hole in Fiddlecumdoo's
+head, and then pumped him full of air with a bicycle pump. When he had
+filled out into his natural shape they put a plug in the hole, and
+stopped it up; and after that Fiddlecumdoo could walk around as well as
+before his accident.
+
+His only danger now was that he might get punctured; and, indeed, his
+friends found him one day lying in the garden, all flattened out again,
+the Prince having pricked his finger on a rose-bush and thereby allowed
+his air to escape. But they inflated him once again, and afterward he
+was more careful of himself.
+
+Fiddlecumdoo had such a horror of being flat that, if his father ever
+wished to make him behave, he threatened to stick a pin into him, and
+that always had the desired effect.
+
+After several years, the Prince, being a hearty eater, filled up with
+solid flesh, and had no further use for the air-pump; but his
+experience had made him so nervous that he never again visited the
+giant Hartilaf, for fear of encountering another accident.
+
+
+
+_The Twelfth Surprise_
+
+THE LAND OF THE CIVILIZED MONKEYS
+
+
+I must now tell you of a very strange adventure that befell Prince
+Zingle, which, had it not turned out exactly as it did, might have
+resulted in making him a captive for life in a remarkable country.
+
+By consulting Smith's History of Prince Zingle you will notice that
+from boyhood he had a great passion for flying kites, and unlike other
+boys, he always undertook to make each kite larger than the last one.
+Therefore his kites grew in size, and became larger and larger, until
+at length the Prince made one twice as tall as himself.
+
+When it was finished he was very proud of this great kite, and took it
+out to a level place to see how well it would fly, being accompanied by
+many of the people of Mo, who took considerable interest in the
+Prince's amusement.
+
+There happened to be a strong south wind blowing and, fearing the kite
+might get away from him, Zingle tied the string around his waist. It
+flew beautifully at first, but pulled so hard the Prince could scarcely
+hold it.
+
+At last, when the string was all let out, there came a sudden gust of
+wind, and in an instant poor Zingle was drawn into the air as easily as
+an ordinary kite draws its tail. Up and up he soared, and the kite
+followed the wind and carried him over many countries until the
+strength died out of the air, when the kite slowly settled toward the
+earth and landed the Prince in the top of a tall tree.
+
+He now untied the string from his waist and fastened it to a branch of
+the tree, as he did not wish to lose the kite after all his bother in
+making it.
+
+Then he began to climb down to the ground, but on reaching the lower
+branches he was arrested by a most curious sight.
+
+Standing on the ground, and gazing up at him, were a dozen monkeys, all
+very neatly dressed and all evidently filled with surprise at the
+Prince's sudden appearance in the tree.
+
+"What a very queer animal!" exclaimed an old monkey, who wore a tall
+silk hat and had white kid gloves on his hands. Gold spectacles rested
+on his nose, and he pointed toward the Prince with a gold-headed cane.
+By his side was a little girl-monkey, dressed in pink skirts and a blue
+bonnet; and when she saw Zingle she clung to the old monkey's hand and
+seemed frightened.
+
+"Oh, grandpapa!" she cried; "take me back to mamma; I'm afraid the
+strange beast will bite me."
+
+Just then a big monkey, wearing a blue coat with brass buttons and
+swinging a short club in his hand, strutted up to them and said:
+
+"Don't be afraid, little one. The beast can't hurt you while I'm
+around!" And then he tipped his cap over his left ear and shook his
+club at the Prince, as if he did not know what fear meant.
+
+Two monkeys, who were dressed in red jackets and carried muskets in
+their hands, now came running up, and, having looked at Zingle with
+much interest, they called for some one to bring them a strong rope.
+
+"We will capture the brute and put him in the Zoo," said one of the
+soldier-monkeys.
+
+"What kind of animal is it?" asked the other.
+
+"I do not know. But some of our college professors can doubtless tell,
+and even if they can't they will give it some scientific name that will
+satisfy the people just as well."
+
+All this time Prince Zingle remained clinging to the branches of the
+tree. He could not understand a word of the monkey language, and
+therefore had no idea what they were talking about; but he judged from
+their actions that the monkeys were not friendly. When they brought a
+long and stout rope, and prepared to throw one end of it over his head,
+in order to capture him, he became angry and called out to them:
+
+"Stop--I command you! What is the meaning of this strange conduct? I am
+Prince Zingle, eldest son of the Monarch of Mo, and, since I have been
+blown into your country through an accident, I certainly deserve kind
+treatment at your hands."
+
+But this speech had no meaning in the ears of the monkeys, who said to
+each other:
+
+"Hear him bark! He jabbers away almost as if he could talk!"
+
+By this time a large crowd of monkeys had surrounded the tree, some
+being barefooted boy-monkeys, and some lady-monkeys dressed in silken
+gowns and gorgeous raiment of the latest mode, and others men-monkeys
+of all sorts and conditions. There were dandified monkeys and
+sober-looking business monkeys, as well as several who appeared to be
+politicians and officials of high degree.
+
+"Stand back, all of you!" shouted one of the soldiers. "We're going to
+capture this remarkable beast for the royal menagerie, and unless you
+stand out of the way he may show fight and bite some one."
+
+So they moved back to a safe distance, and the soldier-monkey prepared
+to throw a rope.
+
+"Stop!" cried Zingle, again; "do you take me for a thief, that you try
+to bind me? I am a prince of the royal blood, and unless you treat me
+respectfully I shall have my father, the King, march his army on you
+and destroy your whole country."
+
+"He barks louder," said the soldier. "Look out for him; he may be
+dangerous." The next moment he threw the rope and caught poor Zingle
+around his arms and body, so that he was helpless. Then the
+soldier-monkey pulled hard on the rope, and Prince Zingle fell out of
+the tree to the ground.
+
+At first the monkeys all pressed backward, as if frightened, but their
+soldiers cried out:
+
+"We've got him; he can't bite now."
+
+Then one of them approached the Prince and punched him with a stick,
+saying, "Stand up!"
+
+Zingle did not understand the words, but he resented being prodded with
+the stick, so he sprang up and rushed on the soldier, kicking the stick
+from his hands, his own arms being bound by the rope.
+
+The monkeys screamed and rushed in every direction, but the other
+soldier came behind the Prince and knocked him down with the butt of
+his gun. Then he tied his legs with another rope, and, seeing him thus
+bound, the crowd of monkeys, which had scattered and fallen over one
+another in their efforts to escape, came creeping timidly back, and
+looked on him with fear and trembling.
+
+"We've subdued him at last," remarked the soldier who had been kicked.
+"But he's a very fierce animal, and I shall take him to the Zoo and
+lock him in one of the strongest cages."
+
+So they led poor Zingle away to where the Royal Zoological Gardens were
+located, and there they put him into a big cage with iron bars, the
+door being fastened with two great padlocks.
+
+Before very long every monkey in the country learned that a strange
+beast had been captured and brought to the Zoo; and soon a large crowd
+had gathered before Zingle's cage to examine him.
+
+"Isn't he sweet!" said a lady-monkey who held a green parasol over her
+head and wore a purple veil on her face.
+
+"Sweet!" grunted a man-monkey standing beside her, "he's the ugliest
+looking brute I ever saw! Scarcely has any hair on him at all, and no
+tail, and very little chin. I wonder where on earth the creature came
+from?"
+
+"It may be one of those beings from whom our race is descended," said
+another onlooker.  "The professors say we evolved from some primitive
+creature of this sort."
+
+"Heaven forbid!" cried a dandy-monkey, whose collar was so high that it
+kept tipping his hat over his eyes. "If I thought such a creature as
+that was one of my forefathers, I should commit suicide at once."
+
+Zingle had been sitting on the floor of his cage and wondering what was
+to become of him in this strange country of monkeys, and now, to show
+his authority, one of the keepers took a long stick and began to poke
+the Prince to make him stand up.
+
+"Stop that!" shouted the angry captive, and catching hold of the stick
+he jerked it from the keeper's hand and struck him a sharp blow on the
+head with it.
+
+All the lady-monkeys screamed at this, and the men-monkeys exclaimed:
+
+"What an ugly disposition the beast has!"
+
+The children-monkeys began to throw peanuts between the bars of the
+cage, and Zingle, who had now become very hungry, picked them up and
+ate them. This act so pleased the little monkeys that they shouted with
+laughter.
+
+At last two solemn-looking monkeys with gray hair, and wearing long
+black coats and white neckties, came up to the cage, where they were
+greeted with much respect by the other monkeys.
+
+"So this is the strange animal," said one of the new-comers, putting on
+his spectacles and looking sharply at the captive; "do you recognize
+the species, Professor?"
+
+The other aged monkey also regarded the Prince critically before he
+answered:
+
+"I can not say I have ever seen a specimen of this genus before. But
+one of our text-books mentions an obscure animal called Homo
+Peculiaris, and I have no doubt this is one of that family. I shall
+write an article on the creature and claim he is a Homo, and without
+doubt the paper will create quite a stir in the scientific world."
+
+"See here," suddenly demanded Prince Zingle, standing up and shaking
+the bars of his cage, "are you going to give me anything to eat? Or do
+you expect me to live on peanuts forever?"
+
+Not knowing what he said, none of the monkeys paid any attention to
+this question. But one of the professor-monkeys appeared to listen
+attentively, and remarked    to friend: "There seems to be a smoothness
+and variety of sound in his speech that indicates that he possesses
+some sort of language. Had I time to study this brute, I might learn
+his method of communicating with his fellows. Indeed, there is a
+possibility that he may turn out to be the missing link."
+
+However, the professor not yet having learned his language, Prince
+Zingle was obliged to remain hungry. The monkeys threw several
+cocoanuts into the cage, but the prisoner did not know what kind of
+fruit these were; so, after several attempts to bite the hard shell, he
+decided they were not good to eat.
+
+Day after day now passed away, and, although crowds of monkeys came to
+examine Zingle in his cage, the poor Prince grew very pale and thin for
+lack of proper food, while the continuance of his unhappy imprisonment
+made him sad and melancholy.
+
+"Could I but escape and find my way back to my father's valley," he
+moaned, wearily, "I should be willing to fly small kites forever
+afterward."
+
+Often he begged them to let him go, but the monkeys gruffly commanded
+him to "stop his jabbering," and poked him with long sticks having
+sharp points; so that the Prince's life became one of great misery.
+
+At the end of about two weeks a happy relief came to Zingle, for then a
+baby hippopotamus was captured and brought to the Royal Zoo, and after
+this the monkeys left the Prince's cage and crowded around that of the
+new arrival.
+
+Finding himself thus deserted, Prince Zingle began to seek a means of
+escape from his confinement. His first attempt was to break the iron
+bars; but soon he found they were too big and strong. Then he shook the
+door with all his strength; but the big padlocks held firm, and could
+not be broken. Then the prisoner gave way to despair, and threw himself
+on the floor of the cage, weeping bitterly.
+
+Suddenly he heard a great shout from the direction of the cage where
+the baby hippopotamus was confined, and, rising to his feet, the Prince
+walked to the bars and attempted to look out and discover what was
+causing the excitement. To his astonishment he found he was able to
+thrust his head between two of the iron bars, having grown so thin
+through hunger and abuse, that he was much smaller than when the
+monkeys had first captured him. He realized at once that if his head
+would pass between the bars, his body could be made to do so, likewise.
+So he struggled bravely, and at last succeeded in squeezing his body
+between the bars and leaping safely to the ground.
+
+Finding himself at liberty, the Prince lost no time in running to the
+tree where he had left his kite. But on the way some of the boy-monkeys
+discovered him and raised a great cry, which soon brought hundreds of
+his enemies in pursuit.
+
+Zingle had a good start, however, and soon reached the tree. Quickly he
+climbed up the trunk and branches until he had gained the limb where
+the string of his kite was still fastened. Untying the cord, he wound
+it around his waist several times, and then, finding a strong north
+wind blowing, he skilfully tossed the kite into the air. At once it
+filled and mounted to the sky, lifting Zingle from the tree and
+carrying him with perfect ease.
+
+It was fortunate he got away at that moment, for several of the monkeys
+had scrambled up the tree after him, and were almost near enough to
+seize him by the legs when, to their surprise, he shot into the air.
+Indeed, so amazed were they by this remarkable escape of their prisoner
+that the monkeys remained staring into the air until Prince Zingle had
+become a little speck in the sky above them and finally disappeared.
+
+That was the last our Prince ever saw of the strange country of the
+monkeys, for the wind carried his kite straight back to the Valley of
+Mo. When Zingle found himself above his father's palace, he took out
+his pocket-knife and cut the string of the kite, and immediately fell
+head foremost into a pond of custard that lay in the back yard, where
+he dived through a floating island of whipped cream and disappeared
+from view.
+
+Nuphsed, who was sitting on the bank of the custard lake, was nearly
+frightened into fits by this sight; and he ran to tell the King that a
+new meteor had fallen and ruined one of his floating islands.
+
+Thereupon the monarch and several of his courtiers rushed out and found
+Prince Zingle swimming ashore; and the King was so delighted at seeing
+his lost son again that he clasped him joyfully in his arms.
+
+The next moment he regretted this act, for his best ermine robe was
+smeared its whole length with custard, and would need considerable
+cleaning before it would be fit to wear again.
+
+The Prince and the King soon changed their clothes, and then there was
+much rejoicing throughout the land. Of course the first thing Zingle
+asked for was something to eat, and before long he was sitting at a
+table heaped with all sorts of good things, plucked fresh from the
+trees.
+
+The people crowded around him, demanding the tale of his adventures,
+and their surprise was only equaled by their horror when they learned
+he had been captured by a band of monkeys, and shut up in a cage
+because he was thought to be a dangerous wild beast.
+
+Experience is said to be an excellent teacher, although a very cruel
+one. Prince Zingle had now seen enough of foreign countries to remain
+contented with his own beautiful Valley, and, although it was many
+years before he again attempted to fly a kite, it was noticed that,
+when he at last did indulge in that sport, the kite was of a very small
+size.
+
+
+
+_The Thirteenth Surprise_
+
+THE STOLEN PLUM-PUDDING
+
+
+The King's plum-pudding crop had for some time suffered from the
+devastations of a secret enemy. Each day, as he examined the vines, he
+found more and more of the plum-pudding missing, and finally the
+monarch called his Wise Men together and asked them what he should do.
+
+The Wise Men immediately shut their eyes and pondered so long over the
+problem that they fell fast asleep. While they slept still more of the
+plum-pudding was stolen. When they awoke the King was justly incensed,
+and told the Wise Men that unless they discovered the thief within
+three days he would give them no cake with their ice-cream.
+
+This terrible threat at last aroused them to action, and, after
+consulting together, they declared that in their opinion it was the Fox
+that had stolen the pudding.
+
+Hearing this, the King ordered out his soldiers, who soon captured the
+Fox and brought him to the palace, where the King sat in state,
+surrounded by his Wise Men.
+
+"So ho! Master Fox," exclaimed the King, "we have caught you at last."
+
+"So it seems," returned the Fox, calmly. "May I ask your Majesty why I
+am thus torn from my home, from my wife and children, and brought
+before you like any common criminal?"
+
+"You have stolen the plum-pudding," answered the King.
+
+"I beg your Majesty's pardon for contradicting you, but I have stolen
+nothing," declared the Fox. "I can easily prove my innocence. When was
+the plum-pudding taken?"
+
+"A great deal of it was taken this morning, while the Wise Men slept,"
+said the King.
+
+"Then I can not be the thief," replied the Fox, "as you will admit when
+you have heard my story."
+
+"Ah! Have you a story to tell?" inquired the King, who dearly loved to
+hear stories.
+
+"It is a short story, your Majesty; but it will prove clearly that I
+have not taken your pudding."
+
+"Then tell it," commanded the King. "It is far from my wish to condemn
+any one who is innocent."
+
+The Wise Men then placed themselves in comfortable positions, and the
+King crossed his legs and put his hands in his pockets, while the Fox
+sat before them on his haunches and spoke as follows:
+
+  THE FOX'S STORY.
+
+"It has been unusually damp in my den of late, so that both my family
+and myself have suffered much. First my wife became ill, and then I was
+afflicted with a bad cold, and in both cases it settled in our throats.
+Then my four children, who are all of an age, began to complain of sore
+throats, so that my den became a regular hospital.
+
+"We tried all the medicines we knew of, but they did no good at all. My
+wife finally begged me to go to consult Doctor Prairiedog, who lives in
+a hole in the ground away toward the south. So one morning I said good
+by to my family and ran swiftly to where the doctor lives.
+
+"Finding no one outside the hole to whom I might apply for admission I
+walked boldly in, and having followed a long, dark tunnel for some
+distance, I suddenly came to a door.
+
+"'Come in!' said a voice; so in I walked, and found myself in a very
+beautiful room, lighted by forty-eight fireflies, which sat in a row on
+a rail running all around the apartment. In the center of the room was
+a table, made of clay and painted in bright colors; and seated at this
+table, with his spectacles on his nose, was the famous Doctor
+Prairiedog, engaged in eating a dish of stewed snails.
+
+"'Good morning,' said the Doctor; 'will you have some breakfast?'
+
+"'No, thank you,' I replied, for the snails were not to my liking; 'I
+wish to procure some medicine for my children, who are suffering from
+sore throats.'
+
+"' How do you know their throats are sore?' inquired the Doctor.
+
+"'It hurts them to swallow,' I explained.
+
+"'Then tell them not to swallow,' said the Doctor, and went on eating.
+
+"'Sir!' I exclaimed, 'if they did not swallow, they would starve to
+death.'
+
+"'That is true,' remarked the Doctor; 'we must think of something
+else.' After a moment of silence he cried out: 'Ha! I have it! Go home
+and cut off their necks, after which you must turn them inside out and
+hang them on the bushes in the sun. When the necks are thoroughly cured
+in the sun, turn them right-side-out again and place them on your
+children's shoulders. Then they will find it does not hurt them to
+swallow.'
+
+"I thanked the great Doctor and returned home, where I did as he had
+told me. For the last three days the necks of not only my children but
+of my wife and myself, as well, have been hanging on the bushes to be
+cured; so we could not possibly have eaten your plum-pudding. Indeed,
+it was only an hour ago when I finished putting the neck on the last of
+my children, and at that moment your soldiers came and arrested me."
+
+When the Fox ceased speaking the King was silent for a while. Then he
+asked:
+
+"Were the necks all cured?"
+
+"Oh, yes," replied the fox; "the sun cured them nicely."
+
+"You see," remarked the King, turning to his Wise Men; "the Fox has
+proved his innocence. You were wrong, as usual, in accusing him. I
+shall now send him home with six baskets of cherry phosphate, as a
+reward for his honesty. If you have not discovered the thief by the
+time I return I shall keep my threat and stop your allowance of cake."
+
+Then the Wise Men fell a-trembling, and put their heads together,
+counseling with one another.
+
+When the King returned, they said: "Your Majesty, it must have been the
+Bullfrog."
+
+So the King sent his soldiers, who captured the Bullfrog and brought
+him to the palace.
+
+"Why have you stolen the plum-pudding?" demanded the King, in a stern
+voice.
+
+"I! Steal your plum-pudding!" exclaimed the Frog, indignantly. "Surely
+you must be mistaken! I am not at all fond of plum-pudding, and,
+besides, I have been very busy at home during the past week."
+
+"What have you been doing?" asked the King.
+
+"I will tell you, for then you will know I am innocent of this theft."
+
+So the Bullfrog squatted on a footstool, and, after blinking solemnly
+at the King and his Wise Men for a moment, spoke as follows:
+
+  THE FROG'S STORY.
+
+"Some time ago my wife and I hatched out twelve little tadpoles. They
+were the sweetest children parents ever looked on. Their heads were all
+very large and round, and their tails were long and feathery, while
+their skins were as black and shiny as could be. We were proud of them,
+my wife and I, and took great pains to train our children properly,
+that they might become respectable frogs, in time, and be a credit to
+us.
+
+"We lived in a snug little hole under the bank of the river, and in
+front of our dwelling was a large stone on which we could sit and watch
+the baby tadpoles grow. Although they loved best to lie in the mud at
+the bottom of the river, we knew that exercise is necessary to the
+proper development of a tadpole; so we decided to teach our youngsters
+to swim. We divided them into two lots, my wife training six of the
+children, while I took charge of the other six. We drilled them to swim
+in single file, in column of twos and in line of battle; but I must
+acknowledge they were quite stupid, being so young, and, unless we told
+them when to stop, they would keep on swimming until they bumped
+themselves into a bank or a stone.
+
+"One day, about a week ago, while teaching our children to swim, we
+started them all going in single file, one after the other. They swam
+in a straight line that was very pretty to see, and my wife and I sat
+on the flat stone and watched them with much pride. Unfortunately at
+that very moment a large fish swam into our neighborhood and lay on the
+bottom of the river to rest. It was one of those fishes that hold their
+great mouths wide open, and I was horrified when I saw the advancing
+line of tadpoles headed directly toward the gaping mouth of the monster
+fish. I croaked as loudly as I could for them to stop; but either they
+failed to hear me, or they would not obey. The next moment all the line
+of swimming tadpoles had entered the fish's mouth and were lost to our
+view.
+
+"Mrs. Frog threw herself into my arms with a cry or anguish,
+exclaiming:
+
+"'Oh, what shall we do? Our children are lost to us forever!'
+
+"'Do not despair,' I answered, although I was myself greatly
+frightened; 'we must try to prevent the fish from swimming away with
+our loved ones. If we can keep him here, some way may yet be found to
+rescue the children.'
+
+"Up to this time the big fish had remained motionless, but there was an
+expression of surprise in its round eyes, as if it did not know what to
+make of the lively inhabitants of its stomach.
+
+"Mrs. Frog thought for a moment, and then said:
+
+"'A short distance away is an old fish-line and hook, lying at the
+bottom of the river, where some boys lost it while fishing one day. If
+we could only--'
+
+"'Fetch it at once,' I interrupted. 'With its aid we shall endeavor to
+capture the fish.'
+
+"She hastened away, soon returning with the line, which had a large
+hook on one end. I tied the other end firmly about the flat stone, and
+then, advancing cautiously from behind, that the fish might not see me,
+I stuck the iron hook through its right gill.
+
+"The monster gave a sudden flop that sent me head over heels a yard
+away. Then it tried to swim down the stream. But the hook and line held
+fast, and soon the fish realized it was firmly caught, after which it
+wisely abandoned the struggle.
+
+"Mrs. Frog and I now sat down to watch the result, and the time of
+waiting was long and tedious. After several weary days, however, the
+great fish lay over on its side and expired, and soon after there
+hopped from its mouth the sweetest little green frog you ever laid eyes
+on. Another and another followed, until twelve of them stood beside us;
+and then my wife exclaimed:
+
+"'They are our children, the tadpoles! They have lost their tails and
+their legs have grown out, but they are our own little ones,
+nevertheless!'
+
+"Indeed, this was true; for tadpoles always become frogs when a few
+days old. The children told us they had been quite comfortable inside
+the great fish, but they were now hungry, for young frogs always have
+wonderful appetites. So Mrs. Frog and I set to work to feed them, and
+had just finished this pleasant task when your soldiers came to arrest
+me. I assure your Majesty this is the first time I have been out of the
+water for a week. And now, if you will permit me to depart, I will hop
+back home and see how the youngsters are growing."
+
+When the Bullfrog had ceased speaking the King turned toward the Wise
+Men and said, angrily:
+
+"It seems you are wrong again, for the Frog is innocent. Your boasted
+wisdom appears to me very like folly; but I will give you one more
+chance. If you fail to discover the culprit next time, I shall punish
+you far more severely than I at first promised."
+
+The King now gave the Bullfrog a present of a red silk necktie, and
+also sent a bottle of perfumery to Mrs. Frog. The soldiers at once
+released the prisoner, who joyfully hopped away toward the river.
+
+
+The Wise Men now rolled their eyes toward the ceiling and twirled their
+thumbs and thought as hard as they could. At last they told the King
+they had decided the Yellow Hen was undoubtedly responsible for the
+theft of the plum-pudding.
+
+So the King sent his soldiers, who searched throughout the Valley and
+at last captured the Yellow Hen and brought her into the royal
+presence.
+
+"My Wise Men say you have stolen my plum-pudding," said his Majesty.
+"If this is true, I am going to punish you severely."
+
+"But it is not true," answered the Yellow Hen; "for I have just
+returned from a long journey."
+
+"Where have you been?" inquired the King.
+
+"I will tell you," she replied; and, after rearranging a few of her
+feathers that the rough hands of the soldiers had mussed, the Yellow
+Hen spoke as follows:
+
+  THE YELLOW HEN'S STORY
+
+"All my life I have been accustomed to hatching out thirteen eggs; but
+the last time there were only twelve eggs in the nest when I got ready
+to set. Being experienced in these matters I knew it would never do to
+set on twelve eggs, so I asked the Red Rooster for his advice.
+
+"He considered the question carefully, and finally told me he had seen
+a very nice, large egg lying on the rocks near the sugar mountain.
+
+"'If you wish,' said he, 'I will get it for you.'
+
+"'I am very sorry to trouble you, yet certainly I need thirteen eggs,'
+I answered.
+
+"The Red Rooster is an accommodating fowl, so away he flew, and shortly
+returned with a large white egg under his wing. This egg I put with the
+other twelve, and then I set faithfully on my nest for three weeks, at
+the end of which time I hatched out my chickens.
+
+"Twelve of them were as yellow and fluffy as any mother could wish. But
+the one that came from the strange egg was black and awkward, and had a
+large bill and sharp claws. Still thinking he was one of my children,
+despite his deformity, I gave him as much care as any of them, and soon
+he outgrew the others and became very big and strong.
+
+"The Red Rooster shook his head, and said, bluntly:
+
+"'That chick will be a great trouble to you, for it looks to me
+strangely like one of our enemies, the Hawks.'
+
+"'What!' I exclaimed, reproachfully, 'do you think one of my darling
+children could possibly be a Hawk? I consider that remark almost an
+insult, Mr. Rooster!'
+
+"The Red Rooster said nothing more; but he kept away from my big, black
+chick, as if really afraid of it.
+
+"To my great grief this chick suddenly developed a very bad temper, and
+one day I was obliged to reprove it for grabbing the food away from its
+brothers. Suddenly it began screaming with anger, and the next moment
+it sprang on me, digging its sharp claws into my back.
+
+"While I struggled to free myself, he flew far up into the air,
+carrying me with him, and uttering loud cries that filled me with
+misgivings. For I now realized, when it was too late, that his voice
+sounded exactly like the cry of a Hawk!
+
+"Away and away he flew, over mountains, and valleys, and rivers, and
+lakes, until at last, as I looked down, I saw a man pointing a gun at
+us. A moment later he shot, and the black chick gave a scream of pain,
+at the same time releasing his hold of me; so that I fell over and over
+and finally fluttered to the ground.
+
+"Then I found I had escaped one danger only to encounter another, for
+as I reached the ground the man seized me and carried me under his arm
+to his home. Entering the house, he said to his wife:
+
+"'Here is a nice, fat hen for our breakfast.'
+
+"'Put her in the coop,' replied the woman. 'After supper I will cut off
+her head and pick the feathers from her body.'
+
+"This frightened me greatly, as you may suppose, and when the man
+placed me in the coop I nearly gave way to despair. But, finding myself
+alone, I plucked up courage and began looking for a way to escape. To
+my great joy I soon discovered that one of the slats of the coop was
+loose, and, having pushed it aside, I was not long in gaining my
+liberty.
+
+"Once free, I ran away from the place as fast as possible, but did not
+know in which direction to go, the country being so strange to me. So I
+fluttered on, half running and half flying, until I reached the place
+where an army of soldiers was encamped. If these men saw me I feared
+they would also wish to eat me for breakfast; so I crept into the mouth
+of a big cannon, thinking I should escape attention and be safe until
+morning. Soon I fell asleep, and so sound was my slumber that the next
+thing I heard was the conversation of some soldiers who stood beside
+the cannon.
+
+"'It is nearly sunrise,' said one. 'You must fire the salute. Is the
+cannon loaded?'
+
+"'Oh, yes,' answered the other. 'What shall I shoot at?'
+
+"' Fire into the air, for then you will not hurt any one,' said the
+first soldier.
+
+"By this time I was trembling with fear, and had decided to creep out
+of the cannon and take the chances of being caught, when, suddenly,
+'Bang!' went the big gun, and I shot into the air with a rush like that
+of a whirlwind.
+
+"The noise nearly deafened me, and my nerves were so shattered that for
+a time I was helpless. I felt myself go up and up into the air, until
+soon I was far above the clouds. Then I recovered my wits, and when I
+began to come down again I tried to fly. I knew the Valley of Mo must
+be somewhere to the west; so I flew in that direction until I found
+myself just over the Valley, when I allowed myself to flutter to the
+ground.
+
+"It seems my troubles were not yet over; for, before I had fully
+recovered my breath after this long flight, your soldiers seized me and
+brought me here.
+
+"I am accused of stealing your plum-pudding; but, in truth, your
+Majesty, I have been away from your kingdom for nine days, and am
+therefore wholly innocent."
+
+The Yellow Hen had scarce finished this story when the King flew into a
+violent rage at the deceptions of his Wise Men, and turning to his
+soldiers he ordered them to arrest the Wise Men and cast them into
+prison.
+
+Having given the unfortunate Hen a pair of gold earrings that fitted
+her ears and matched her complexion, the King sent her home with many
+apologies for having accused her wrongfully.
+
+Then his Majesty seated himself in an easy chair, and pondered how best
+to punish the foolish Wise Men.
+
+"I would rather have one really Wise Man," he said to himself, "than
+fifty of these, who pretend to be wise and are not."
+
+That gave him an idea; so the next morning he ordered the Wise Men
+taken to the royal kitchen, where all were run through the meat chopper
+until they were ground as fine as mincemeat. Having thoroughly mixed
+them, the King stirred in a handful of salt, and then made them into
+one man, which the cook baked in the oven until it was well done.
+
+"Now," said the King, "I have one Wise Man instead of several foolish
+ones. Perhaps he can tell me who stole the plum-pudding."
+
+"Certainly," replied the Wise Man. "That is quite easy. It was the
+Purple Dragon."
+
+"Good," cried the monarch; "I have discovered the truth at last!"
+
+And so he had, as you will find by reading the next surprise.
+
+
+
+_The Fourteenth Surprise_
+
+THE PUNISHMENT OF THE PURPLE DRAGON
+
+
+Scarcely had the King spoken when some of his soldiers came running
+with news that they had seen the Purple Dragon eating plum-pudding in
+the royal garden.
+
+"What did you do about it?" asked the monarch.
+
+"We did nothing," they answered; "for, had we interfered with its
+repast, the Dragon would probably have eaten us for dessert."
+
+"That is true," remarked the King. "Yet something must be done to
+protect us from this monster. For many years it has annoyed us by
+eating our choicest crops, and nothing we can do seems of any avail to
+save us from its ravages."
+
+"If we were able to destroy the Dragon," said Prince Thinkabit, "we
+should be doing our country the greatest possible service."
+
+"We have often tried to destroy it," replied the King, "but the beast
+always manages to get the best of the fight, having wonderful strength
+and great cunning. However, let us hold a council of war, and see what
+is suggested."
+
+So a council of war was called. The Wise Man, all the Princes and
+Noblemen, the Dog and the Wise Donkey being assembled to talk the
+matter over.
+
+"I advise that you build a high wall around the Dragon," said the Wise
+Man. "Then it will be unable to get out, and will starve to death."
+
+"It is strong enough to break down the wall," said the King.
+
+"I suggest you dig a great hole in the ground," remarked the Donkey.
+"Then the Dragon will fall into it and perish."
+
+"It is too clever to fall into the hole," said the King.
+
+"The best thing to do," declared Timtom, "is to cut off its legs; for
+then it could not walk into our gardens."
+
+"The scales on its legs are too hard and thick," said the King. "We
+have tried that, and failed."
+
+"We might take a red-hot iron, and put the Dragon's eyes out," ventured
+Prince Jollikin.
+
+"Its eyes are glass," replied the King with a sigh, "and the iron would
+have no effect on them."
+
+"Suppose we tie a tin can to its tail," suggested the Dog. "The
+rattling of the can would so frighten the Dragon that it would run out
+of the country."
+
+"Its tail is so long," answered the King, gloomily, "that the Dragon
+could not hear the can rattle."
+
+Then they all remained silent for a time, thinking so hard that their
+heads began to ache; but no one seemed able to think of the right thing
+to do.
+
+Finally the King himself made a proposition.
+
+"One thing we might attempt with some hope of success," said his
+Majesty. "Should it fail, we can not be worse off than we are at
+present. My idea is for us to go in a great body to the castle of the
+Dragon, and pull out its teeth with a pair of forceps. Having no teeth,
+the monster will be harmless to annoy us in any way; and, since we seem
+unable to kill it, I believe this is the best way out of our
+difficulty."
+
+The King's plan pleased every one, and met with shouts of approval. The
+council then adjourned, and all the members went to prepare for the
+fight with the Purple Dragon.
+
+First the blacksmith made a large pair of forceps, to pull the Dragon's
+teeth with. The handles of the forceps were so long that fifty men
+could take hold of them at one time. Then the people armed themselves
+with swords and spears and marched in a great body to the castle of the
+Purple Dragon.
+
+This remarkable beast, which for so long had kept the Valley of Mo in
+constant terror, was standing on the front porch of its castle when the
+army arrived. It looked at the crowd of people in surprise, and said:
+
+"Are you not weary with your attempts to destroy me? What selfish
+people you must be! Whenever I eat anything that belongs to you, there
+is a great row, and immediately you come here to fight me. These
+battles are unpleasant to all of us. The best thing for you to do is to
+return home and behave yourselves; for I am not in the least afraid of
+you."
+
+Neither the King nor his people replied to these taunts. They simply
+brought forward the big pair of forceps and reached them toward the
+Dragon.
+
+This movement astonished the monster, who, never having been to a
+dentist in his life, had no idea what the strange instrument was for.
+
+"Surely you can not think to hurt me with that iron thing," it called
+out, in derision. And then the Dragon laughed at the idea of any one
+attempting to injure it.
+
+But when the Dragon opened its mouth to laugh, the King opened the jaws
+of the forceps, quickly closing them again on one of the monster's
+front teeth.
+
+"Pull!" cried the King; and fifty men seized the handles of the forceps
+and began to pull with all their strength.
+
+But, pull as they might, the tooth would not come out, and this was the
+reason: The teeth of Dragons are different from ours, for they go
+through the jaw and are clinched on the other side. Therefore, no
+amount of pulling will draw them out.
+
+The King did not know this fact, but thought the tooth must have a long
+root; so he called again:
+
+"Pull! my brave men; pull!"
+
+And they pulled so hard that the Dragon was nearly pulled from the
+porch of its castle. To avoid this danger the cunning beast wound the
+end of its tail around a post of the porch, and tied a hard knot in it.
+
+"Pull!" shouted the King for the third time.
+
+Then a surprising thing happened. Any one who knows anything at all
+about Dragons is aware that these beasts stretch as easily as if made
+of india-rubber. Therefore the strong pulling of the fifty men resulted
+in the Dragon being pulled from its foothold, and, as its tail was
+fastened to the post, its body began to stretch out.
+
+The King and his people, thinking the tooth was being pulled, started
+down the hill, the forceps still clinging fast to the monster's big
+front tooth. And the farther they went the more Dragon's body stretched
+out.
+
+"Keep going!" cried the King; "we mustn't let go now!" And away marched
+the fifty men, and farther and farther stretched the body of the
+Dragon.
+
+Still holding fast to the forceps, the King and his army marched into
+the Valley, and away across it, and up the hills on the other side, not
+even stopping to take breath. When they came to the mountains and the
+forests, and could go no farther, they looked back; and behold! the
+Dragon had stretched out so far that it was now no bigger around than a
+fiddle-string!
+
+"What shall we do now?" asked the fifty men, who were perspiring with
+the long pull and the march across the Valley.
+
+"I'm sure I don't know," replied the panting King. "Let us tie this end
+of the beast around a tree. Then we can think what is best to be done."
+
+So they tied that end of the Dragon to a big tree, and sat down to
+rest, being filled with wonder that the mighty Purple Dragon was now no
+larger around than a piece of twine.
+
+"The wicked creature will never bother us again," said the King. "Yet
+it was only by accident we found a way to destroy it. The question now
+is, what shall we do with this long, thin Dragon? If we leave it here
+it will trip any one who stumbles against it."
+
+"I shall use it for fiddle-strings," said Prince Fiddlecumdoo, "for the
+crop failed this year, and I have none for my violin. Let us cut the
+Dragon up into the proper sizes, and store the strings in the royal
+warehouse for general use."
+
+The King and the people heartily approved this plan. So the Prince
+brought a pair of shears and cut the Dragon into equal lengths to use
+on his violin. Thus the wicked monster was made good use of at last,
+for the strings had an excellent tone.
+
+And that was not only the end of the Purple Dragon, but there were two
+other ends of him; one tied to a tree in the mountains and the other
+fastened to a post of the castle.
+
+That same day the Monarch of Mo gave a magnificent feast to all his
+people to celebrate the destruction of their greatest foe; and ever
+afterward the gardens of the Beautiful Valley were free from
+molestation.
+
+
+
+***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE SURPRISING ADVENTURES OF THE
+MAGICAL MONARCH OF MO AND HIS PEOPLE***
+
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