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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..9cb2e6a --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #60162 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/60162) diff --git a/old/60162-0.txt b/old/60162-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index e1c0a41..0000000 --- a/old/60162-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,8014 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Solario the Tailor, by William Bowen - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world 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. If you are not located in the United States, you'll -have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using -this ebook. - - - -Title: Solario the Tailor - His Tales of the Magic Doublet - -Author: William Bowen - -Release Date: August 24, 2019 [EBook #60162] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SOLARIO THE TAILOR *** - - - - -Produced by Tim Lindell, David E. Brown, and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) - - - - - - - - - -SOLARIO THE TAILOR - -[Illustration: Mortimer the Executioner] - - -[Illustration: “Then I will begin,” said Solario, the Tailor, “the -story of----”] - - - - - SOLARIO THE TAILOR - - _HIS TALES OF THE MAGIC DOUBLET_ - - - BY - WILLIAM BOWEN - - - [Illustration] - - - New York - THE MACMILLAN COMPANY - 1922 - - _All rights reserved_ - - - - - PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - - - [Illustration] - - - COPYRIGHT, 1922, - BY THE MACMILLAN COMPANY. - - Set up and electrotyped. Published September, 1922. - - - - -[Illustration] - - - - -CONTENTS - - - THE FIRST NIGHT - - STORY OF THE OLD MAN IN THE SPANGLED COAT - - PAGE - - _The doublet with the missing button--The dark mansion in the - walled park--The tailor meets the tall black man and his fair - daughter--The Black Prince tells his story--Eight tailors who - could not sew on a single button--The tailor is visited by a - hideous old woman--The jolly mule driver and his - sing-song--Adventures in search of Alb the Unicorn--Solario - encounters Alb the Unicorn--The button is sewed on with the - unicorn’s hair--The Prince receives the tailor’s terms--The - magic doublet is suddenly produced_ 1 - - - THE SECOND NIGHT - - ALB THE UNICORN - - _Alb the Fortunate and the Princess Hyla--A tattered old beggar - comes to the goldsmith’s shop--The old man proposes a strange - bargain--The three black hairs in the yellow head--Alb wins the - promise of the Princess’s hand--A trifling incident disturbs - Alb’s mother--Unreasonable conduct of the goldsmith’s widow--The - merrymakers are suddenly sobered by the goldsmith’s son--The - Princess behaves in an amusing fashion--The Princess finds her - husband bewitched--Alb and the Princess visit the One-Armed - Sorcerer--The Old Man of Ice, The Laughing Nymph, and - the Great Horned Owl--The burning glass, the brass pin, and the - loop of thread--He hears thunder in a clear sky--He goes - down into the cave in Thunder Mountain--He pursues the - Man of Ice with the burning glass--He commences to make his - escape from the cave--He sails across the Great Sea--He finds a - child in a pool of the rock--The Laughing Nymph in the Three-Spire - Rock--He remembers the brass pin in time--The second - black hair is gone--The Great Horned Owl stands ready for the - loop of thread--The wrong hand and a desperate fall--Alb sees - in the river the reflection of a unicorn_ 31 - - - THE THIRD NIGHT - - THE SON OF THE TAILOR OF OOGH - - _The Prince receives the magic doublet--The Prince and his - daughter set forth for Oogh--A strange encounter at the wayside - well--The three blind ballad singers--The blind ballad singer - displays the Shears of Sharpness--The strange conduct of the people - of Oogh--The mansion in the ruined park--The solitary figure behind - the spider’s web--The Prince watches the people’s behavior - toward the boy--The man with the ball in the underground alley--The - Prince sets out for his encounter with Babadag the Tailor--Babadag - the Tailor, Goolk the Spider, and the eight tailors--The - three blind ballad singers once more--The magic doublet - protects the Prince against the Knitters of Eyebrows and against - Goolk the Spider--The Prince’s daughter has beguiled the Shears - of Sharpness from the ballad singers--A light flickers in the dark - shop--The Prince’s daughter is gone, and the Prince makes a dash - for liberty--Babadag the Tailor is conquered by his little son--The - governor, being released, beholds the Prince’s daughter--The - shearing of the Eyebrow--The skin of the Prince is black--The - doom of the city of Oogh--The tailor’s son follows him into the - burning city--The boy is found on the sill of his ruined home, - alive--The eight tailors stand before them in a row--They meet - the three blind ballad singers for the last time_ 73 - - - THE FOURTH NIGHT - - THE RAGPICKER AND THE PRINCESS - - _The Princess hears a voice from the waves beneath her window--The - Princess sees the shadow of an old woman--A midnight visit from - a one-armed old man--Alb, seeking the Princess, sits down by the - seashore--An interview with a talking seal--A sea journey on the - back of a seal--The village of storks--The feeding of the - storks--The Ragpicker frightens the men away with her bag--He - follows the Ragpicker down into the dark--She stirs a steaming - mixture with her long, hooked forefinger--The shadows of the - children--He loses his way in the dark--He hears the voice of the - seal again--He peeps into the sorcerer’s workshop--He lies in wait - with a bow and arrow--The Ragpicker releases the shadows in - the street--A singular commotion on the housetops--The Princess - is herself again, but--The King beholds his child and is - grieved--The seal introduces his liniment, guaranteed to cure in - all cases_ 126 - - - THE FIFTH NIGHT - - THE CITY OF DEAD LEAVES - - _The misfortunes of Tush the Apothecary--They find themselves - on an unknown shore--The startling effect of making a ring of - grass--They start upon a journey through the air--The orange tree - and the panther--They come upon the King’s brother in rags--A - dwarf clad in motley stands up to speak--Buffo the Fool leads - them to the palace--They find the King in a terrible state--The - Perfection Cream is rubbed into the itching palm--Tush the - Apothecary takes the people in hand--Paravaine has made her - choice--He finds himself rubbing his palms together--He cannot - find the ingredients for making the salve--Tush and his sister - are seized by the angry crowd--The genie in the whirlwind--The - pulling off of the genie’s ring_ 169 - - - THE SIXTH NIGHT - - THE ENCHANTED HIGHWAYMAN - - _A voice from nowhere bids the Prince stop--The Prince listens - to a curious discourse--The Prince, alone in the forest, hears - the bark of a dog--The prisoner inside the wasp’s nest--The dog - leaps upon him to devour him--The Prince, sitting on the ground, - looks up at a genie--The One-Armed Sorcerer appears from within - the wasp’s nest--The Highwayman and nine of his daughters appear - in proper person--He sees the Highwayman’s tenth daughter--The - genie breathes fire upon the witch’s hut--The One-Armed - Sorcerer performs upon a button--The genie flies away with the - witch--The Prince leads his beloved home--The magic doublet is - presented at the wedding_ 206 - - - - -[Illustration] - - - - -ILLUSTRATIONS - - - 1. “Then I will begin,” said Solario the Tailor, “the - story of----” _Frontispiece_ - - FACING PAGE - - 2. Solario was sitting on his worktable busily plying the needle 4 - - 3. The Unicorn stamped and gave a piercing neigh 20 - - 4. “There is something here,” said the old beggar, “which I wish - to buy” 36 - - 5. Mortimer the Executioner was being measured by Solario for - a suit 74 - - 6. “You are welcome, master peddler,” said Babadag 98 - - 7. “Beauty in tatters!” said Babadag the Tailor 110 - - 8. The shadow of a Ragpicker oozed in through the door 134 - - 9. The one-armed sorcerer plucked a feather from the stork 156 - - 10. The genie flew away with Tush and his sister 178 - - 11. The genie swung him back and forth and tossed him out to sea 204 - - 12. “I held my trusty blade on high and took from him his money” 212 - - - - -[Illustration] - - - - -TO BE READ FIRST - - -In the book called “The Enchanted Forest” it is related-- But I hope -that you have read that book, or at least that you sincerely intend to -do so as soon as you have time, but no matter; it is all about a Forest -Kingdom, and a Great Forest that was enchanted by a witch, an irritable -sort of person who-- Not that she was to be blamed altogether, in my -judgment, for she had been provoked to it by a page boy belonging to -the King of the Forest, and I am personally not surprised that this -young rogue was in consequence spirited away in the middle of the -night, no one knew whither. - -Another boy (quite a different sort) named Bilbo, son of one Bodad a -woodchopper, managed to disenchant the forest and destroy the witch, -and for this he was given, when he was old enough, the hand of the -King’s daughter, the Princess Dorobel; and in course of time there came -to them a little son, by name Bojohn. - -This Bojohn, with his friend Bodkin, a fisherman’s boy, afterward -discovered the lost page boy in a chamber beneath a forest pool, where -the witch had placed him for his punishment; and in this chamber, with -the page boy, was a company of enchanted men, also placed there by the -witch, at various times, each for some offense against her, and each -sitting there upright in a kind of cupboard in the wall, unable to -speak or move. These men, and the page boy too, Prince Bojohn and his -friend Bodkin set free, by means of a magical silver lamp. - -In the audience room of the King’s dwelling, a noble castle in the -midst of the forest, the entire court assembled to welcome the rescued -men on the night of their arrival; and the King, after making a speech -(which no power on earth could have prevented his doing), created the -rescued men, without bothering to ask whether they wanted it or no, an -order of knighthood, to be known as the Order of the Silver Lamp. This -done, he addressed the new knights,--but here I may as well turn back -to the book itself, which thus relates what then occurred: - -“We are all anxious,” said the King, “to hear your stories; they are, -I am sure, of the greatest interest. You, sir,” he said, addressing the -oldest of the Knights of the Silver Lamp, who wore a faded spangled -coat, of a period no one present could remember, “I beseech you to -recount to us the story of your life, and in particular the adventure -which brought you to so strange a pass.” - -“Willingly, sire,” said the ancient man, so readily that it was -apparent he had been waiting for this opportunity; and thereupon, with -a considerable rustling and a good deal of whispering and nodding of -heads, the assemblage composed itself to hear the story of the Old Man -in the Spangled Coat. - - - - -[Illustration: Bojohn and Bodkin] - - - - -_The Teller of Tales_ - -SOLARIO THE TAILOR - - -_His Audience_ - - PRINCE BOJOHN, _a boy, the King’s grandson_ - - BODKIN, _a fisherman’s boy, his friend_ - - THE PRINCESS DOROBEL, _Bojohn’s mother_ - - PRINCE BILBO, _her husband, Bojohn’s father_ - - THE KING and QUEEN _of the Great Forest, Bojohn’s - grandfather and grandmother, and the Princess Dorobel’s parents_ - - MORTIMER the EXECUTIONER - - THE ENCOURAGER of the INTERRUPTER - - - - -[Illustration] - - - - -THE FIRST NIGHT - -STORY OF THE OLD MAN IN THE SPANGLED COAT - - -You must know (began the old man) that I am a tailor, by name Solario. -In the reign of the good King Fortmain the Ninth-- - -_“Ah!” interrupted the King. “That was my great-grandfather. Bless my -soul, master tailor, you must have been imprisoned under the forest -pool nearly a hundred years ago. Hum! I dare say you know what you’re -talking about, but--”_ - -_“My dear,” said the Queen, “I’m quite sure that the ninth Fortmain -was your great-great-grandfather, and not your great-grandfather, -though of course I may be mistaken; but it seems to me that it was the -tenth Fortmain who was your great-grandfather, because the ninth had -an oldest son who married into the Stiffish family, if I recollect the -name correctly, or perhaps it was Standish, and at any rate he died -without any children while his father was alive, and the younger son -came into the--”_ - -_“Never mind, never mind,” said the King. “You mustn’t interrupt. Let -the man go on with his story.”_ - -You must know (began the old man again) that in the reign of the good -King Fortmain the Ninth, I practised my art as a tailor in the city of -Vernicroft, a thriving and busy city, located in a corner of the Great -Forest remote from-- - -_“Vernicroft!” said the King. “I don’t understand it. There’s no such -busy city now. There’s nothing but a little ruined hamlet away over at -the other side of the--”_ - -_“Well,” said the Queen, “perhaps at that time--”_ - -_“Don’t interrupt,” said the King. “Let the man go on.”_ - -You must know (began the old man again) that I had risen to a -considerable eminence in my profession. I do not pretend to say that -I was the very best tailor in the kingdom, for I am far too modest to -speak of my own merit; but the--er--the spangled coat in which you now -see me was a creation of my own brain, and at the time it was thought -to be--er--however, it speaks for itself. - -_“I think it’s a perfect sight,” whispered Bojohn to Bodkin._ - -It is true I was growing old, but I was very well satisfied; there -was no one dependent on me, my clients were numerous and rich, and I -enjoyed the respect due an artist and man of substance. I had saved a -good deal of money, for I had never squandered any in foolish gifts, -nor wasted any in ridiculous pleasures, nor--but I do not wish to boast. - -_“That’s a wonderful thing to brag about,” whispered Bodkin to Bojohn._ - -One morning, a balmy morning in spring, I was sitting cross-legged on -my worktable at the rear of my shop, busily plying the needle, when a -stranger, richly dressed, entered my open door from the street, and -approached me, bowing courteously. He was a handsome man, wearing a -short beard; and I remarked with surprise, by contrast with his beard, -that he was utterly without eyebrows. - -“Sir,” said he, “have I the pleasure of addressing the renowned -Solario, whose genius has caused our city to be envied wherever art is -prized?” - -I confessed that I was the person. - -“My master,” he went on, “is a nobleman, to whose ears the rumor of -your skill and taste has penetrated, although he lives in retirement -and hears not much of the outer world. I trust that you are at liberty -to undertake a piece of work for him?” - -I assured him that I was. - -“My master,” he proceeded, “is, I must warn you, unable to satisfy -himself, in the matter now in hand, with less than absolute perfection. -Already he has been disappointed in some eight other tailors, and he -has learned of your superlative excellence with much hope; and in order -that he may assure himself how well his report of you is justified, he -has commanded me to entrust to you a small commission; to wit, to sew -on this button.” - -I was greatly mortified at this lame conclusion of so promising a -speech; I suspected that the stranger was making game of me; but his -manner was so respectful that I held my peace, and watched him without -a word while he took from under his short blue velvet cloak a package, -and depositing it before me on my table proceeded to undo it. - -_“This old fellow talks like he was writing a composition,” whispered -Bodkin to Bojohn._ - -_“Oh, he’s a conceited pumpkin,” whispered Bojohn. “He loves to hear -himself talk, and I bet you he’s thinking we’re thinking we never heard -such fine language in our lives. That’s him, all over.”_ - - -_The Doublet with the Missing Button_ - -The package contained a doublet, of a material I had never seen before, -very thin and glossy, of a texture like that of wasp’s nest but very -tough. The doublet contained ten buttonholes, but only nine buttons; -one button, and one only, was missing. - -“I have here,” said my visitor coolly, “the missing button; and my -master will be obliged if you will sew it on.” - -[Illustration: Solario was sitting on his worktable busily plying the -needle] - -He produced the button, a large ivory one, which, with the garment, he -held up before me in his left hand. - -“Please to hold out your left hand,” said he. - -I did so, and with his own left hand he placed the garment and the -button in mine. - -“This doublet,” said he, “must not pass from one to another but by -the left hand. Please to remember that. And now, adieu. I will return -to-morrow. Meantime--” - -He laid on my table a small purse, and bowing with sober courtesy he -left the shop. - -I turned up the purse, and a number of gold coins fell out, enough to -pay for sewing on five hundred buttons. “Ah!” thought I. “At this rate -I can well afford to gratify my new client’s whimsies.” - -The next day the courteous stranger returned for the doublet. I -delivered it with my left hand into his own left hand, the button -being attached firmly in place. He thanked me, and departed; but on -the morning after, he reappeared, to my surprise, and as he came in he -smiled at me and shook his head at me waggishly. - -“Fie! master Solario!” said he. “How could you have treated me so? And -a mere button, too! Really, my good Solario!” - -He produced the doublet, and showed me that it lacked a button in the -same place as before. He held up in one hand the ivory button and in -the other a length of thread. I was perplexed. The thread had not -been cut, of that I was sure. It was the identical thread, and of the -identical length. - -“You will not blame my master,” said the stranger, “if he finds himself -a little aggrieved. He had scarcely put on the doublet yesterday when -the button came off in his hand. I was commanded to leave it with you -once more, together with this trifling honorarium.” - -So saying, he dropped a little purse on my table as before, and after -putting the garment and its button into my left hand with his own left -hand, bowed himself out. I turned up the purse in haste, and poured out -a number of gold coins, as before, but this time twice as many. I put -away the gold into my coffer, and sewed on the button once more, with -special care. - -I whipped the thread around itself under the button, sewed it through -the goods, doubled it back through the button, wound it and knotted -it and doubled it back, and altogether made such a job of it (however -painful to me as an artist) as was perfect for security. - -_“I don’t see,” interrupted the King, “what all this business about a -button has got to do with--”_ - -_“If your majesty will pardon me,” said the old tailor, “I have not yet -reached the end of my story.”_ - -_“I’m well aware of it,” said the King. “But still I don’t see--”_ - -_“My dear!” said the Queen, sweetly, and the old man went on with his -story._ - -Next morning the stranger returned for the doublet. I delivered it into -his left hand with my left, and he turned to go. At the door he looked -back at me smiling, and was about to bow himself out when he paused to -try the button with his fingers. A slight frown came over his face; he -pulled the button gently, and behold, there before my eyes,--I assure -you I saw it with these very eyes,--the button came off into his hand! - -He sighed, looked at me gravely, and held out the button in one hand -and the doublet in the other. - -“Alas, good master Solario!” said he. “You have not treated me very -well. The hopes I entertained for your profit are at an end. It remains -only for me to apologize for my intrusion, and for you to return to me -the money which I left with you.” - -This was too much. The idea of returning money which had once been -locked safely in my coffer was more than I could bear. I sprang down -from my table. “One moment!” I cried. “I beg of you! That I should not -be able to sew on a miserable button--it is too ridiculous! Let me see -your master myself, and prove to him what I can do! Take me to him at -once! Let him assign me any task whatever, and I swear to you--” - -“You wish to see my master?” said the stranger. - -“At once!” I cried. “Do not carry back to him a report of me so unjust! -I must see him myself!” - -“Be careful what you say,” said the stranger. “You may be sorry.” - -“Impossible!” said I. “Take me to him at once!” - -The stranger looked at me thoughtfully. “If I take you,” said he, -“swear that you will never blame me for what may happen.” - -“I swear it!” I cried. - -“You will remember that I warned you?” - -“On my own head be it! Let us go at once!” - -“Very well, then. The decision is yours, not mine; remember that. I -will return for you to-night, and you will then, if you are still of -the same mind, be ready to accompany me to my master.” - -He tucked the doublet with its button under his cloak, and in another -moment he was gone. - -That night, after dark, as I was putting up my shutters, a splendid -coach and pair, driven by a black man in a rich but somber livery, -stopped at my door, and the smiling stranger descended. I ran into the -shop and put on my best attire. Some time before, I had designed and -executed the coat in which you now see me; it had been much admired; I -put it on, and hastened out to the stranger, who bowed me politely into -the carriage. - -During our journey, my companion exerted himself to be agreeable; and -I, on my part, fairly unloosed the rein of conversation,--an art in -which, I confess, I had always taken the greatest pleasure. On this -occasion I surpassed myself; I drew upon the mysteries of our noble -craft for his entertainment; I was by turns humorous and grave; I was -at my best; it would not be too much to say that I sparkled; and in -short, when the carriage stopped, I realized that I had taken no note -of our route. - -We drew up in a street which was unfamiliar to me. As we alighted, I -observed before me a high wall, extending in either direction as far as -I could see; and immediately at hand a little door in the wall, toward -which my companion led me. He pulled a bell-rope, and we were at once -admitted by a second black man, in the livery I had already seen. I was -aware, in spite of the darkness, that we were in a garden, or rather -park, of immense dimensions. - - -_The Dark Mansion in the Walled Park_ - -I could see the dark outline of what appeared to be a great mansion. -There were no lights anywhere. The air was heavy with the perfume -of flowers, a cloying perfume, oppressively sweet. We came, after a -considerable walk, to the house. At my companion’s knock, a door was -opened by a servant, black like the other two. - -We entered a narrow hall, and at the end of this hall we reached a -door, which was opened by a fourth man-servant, black like the others; -and after ascending a flight of stairs, and traversing several spacious -apartments, we came to a pause in a small but elegant room, where my -companion left me. - -In a moment he returned, and beckoned me to come with him. He opened -a door, gently pushed me through, closed the door behind me, and left -me, as he advanced, blinking under the light of a hundred candles in -a room more superb than any I had ever seen. The colored tiles of the -floor, the thick rugs, the curious vases, the pictured tapestries on -the walls,--I took them all in at a glance; and I was aware at the -same time of an aroma like that of the flowers in the garden, but very -faint. - - -_The Tailor Meets the Tall Black Man and His Fair Daughter_ - -At one end of the apartment was a table, loaded with fruit and flowers -and wine. At the other end, on a divan, sat a tall and majestic man, -dressed in the most exquisite taste. His skin was ebony black. He -wore drooping black mustaches, and his hair was long and black; but -I observed that he was, like the Courteous Stranger, totally without -eyebrows. - -At his feet, on a cushion, sat a lady, young and beautiful, a lady -divinely beautiful, more beautiful than any I had ever seen or dreamed -of. Her complexion! it was all cream and roses. Her eyes! they were -blue of the blueness of violets, and they were merry and soft together. -Her hair!--I swear I can see her at this moment. Her hair was of the-- -But I must not allow myself to think of her. The black man and the -wonderful lady rose, and my companion presented me. - -“You are welcome, Solario,” said the tall black man, smiling -graciously. “You have wished to see me, as I hear, and to give me proof -of your skill. But we can converse better while we refresh ourselves. -You observe that the table is set for four. My daughter has, as you -see, already counted upon your company. I hope you will consent to -accept our poor hospitality.” - -We seated ourselves at the table. My host clapped his hands four times, -and four serving men entered, bearing the first course. They were -black, like the four I had already seen. They were without eyebrows, -and I seemed to remember the same defect in the other four. Eight men -servants, all black, and all without eyebrows! I was puzzled; and when -I looked from the fair face of the lady opposite me to the black face -of her father, I was completely mystified. As for my stranger, he -scarcely took his eyes from the damsel; and from the manner in which -she now and then returned his gaze, I could see that they were on a -footing of tenderness. - -When we were at the end of our repast, and were trifling with our -grapes and wine, my black host addressed himself directly to me. I -was in a mellow mood; I felt that I could scarcely have denied him -anything; and as for his daughter, if she had bade me run for her sake -to the ends of the-- Well, the wine was excellent; I sniffed in it the -same aroma I had noticed twice before; and I was in consequence of it -in that state of peace which in other circumstances would have preceded -slumber. My host leaned toward me in the friendliest attitude. - - -_The Black Prince Tells His Story_ - -“My dear Solario,” said he, “you are asking yourself, all this while, -who I am. I am a Prince, heir to the throne of the distant kingdom of -Wen. My skin was formerly white, like my daughter’s. It was changed, -as you see it now, by the power of an enemy, and I am awaiting here, -in exile, with my daughter and my friend, the release which day and -night I dream of. If you are not too weary, I will relate to you the -adventure which brought me here and changed my skin.” - -“With all my heart,” said I; whereupon, without further preamble, he -commenced - - -THE STORY OF THE BLACK PRINCE - -“Know, most excellent Solario,” he began, “that my father the King of -Wen called me to him one day, and sitting down with me addressed me as -follows. ‘My son,’ said he--” - -_“Is it a long story?” asked the King, yawning behind his hand._ - -_“It is very interesting,” said the old tailor._ - -_“Not what I asked,” said the King. “Is it long?”_ - -_“Well,--well--” said the old man._ - -_“Then we will hear it another time,” said the King. “Pray let us hear -what happened to you.”_ - -_The old man bowed, quite crestfallen, and proceeded with his story._ - -_“Oh, shucks,” said Bojohn to Bodkin._ - -When the Black Prince had concluded his own tale, he paused, and then -said to me: - -“Now, Solario, as to those circumstances of my misfortune which precede -the tale I have just told you, I will, if you consent, call on my good -friend here, who was personally concerned in them, to relate them to -you.” - -Whereupon he nodded to my companion, who at once commenced - -THE STORY OF THE COURTEOUS STRANGER - -“You must know,” he began, “that soon after my arrival at the city of--” - -_“What has this got to do with your being enchanted by the witch?” said -the King._ - -_“Well,” said Solario, “its bearing on what afterward happened to me is -perhaps a little indirect, but I assure your majesty that--”_ - -_“No, no,” said the King. “I never sit up late, and it’s getting on -toward my bedtime.”_ - -_The old man sighed._ - -When the Courteous Stranger had finished his story, the Black Prince -gazed at me for a moment. - -“Solario,” said he, “I will tell you the conclusion of the whole matter -in a word. To him who shall deliver me from this spell, I will give -five hundred thousand pieces of gold, of the money of your country. -And, Solario,” he said, bending toward me and pointing at me with his -finger, “I believe you are the man.” - -Visions of Solario the tailor as the richest man in Vernicroft flashed -before my eyes, and left me dizzy. - -“It is a matter of sewing on a button,” said the Prince. “I am allowed -nine tailors for the trial, on the principle that nine tailors are the -equivalent of one--ahem! I beg your pardon. Eight tailors have already -essayed it, and failed. You are the ninth.” - -“And what has become of the other eight?” I asked, with some misgiving. - -The Black Prince smiled. “You have already seen them,” said he. - -“I?” I exclaimed in amazement. - - -_Eight Tailors Who Could not Sew on a Single Button_ - -“Four of them served our table here to-night, and the other four you -have met between your shop and this room.” - -“The eight black servants?” I cried. - -“Precisely,” said the Prince. “I must tell you, that he who fails comes -himself under the spell, his skin changes to black, and he remains -here with me in my retirement. If you deliver me, you deliver also -these other eight. If you fail, you condemn yourself and all of us to -everlasting misery. You are our final hope. What do you say?” - -I was becoming almost lightheaded with the prospect of my reward. -Perhaps the wine had something to do with it; perhaps it was the -Prince’s daughter, who smiled upon me bewitchingly. - -“You have already seen my doublet,” said the Prince. “So long as -it remained intact, no harm could touch me. But my enemy, as I have -related to you, succeeded in detaching from it a single button, and -taking away the thread. Instantly all its virtue was gone; I was -helpless. To this mischance I owe all my misery; my happiness hangs on -a button. Take the doublet, Solario, and find the thread which will -withstand sorcery. Three months are allowed you. Here are the doublet -and the button; guard them as you would your life; and may you return -to receive my thanks and the fortune which awaits you.” - -With his left hand he placed the doublet and the button in my left -hand. The perfume of the wine seemed to grow heavier; I was very -drowsy; I tried to speak; I could not arouse myself; I was conscious of -the eager smile of the Prince’s daughter, and I knew no more. - -When I came to myself, I was in my bed behind the shop, and it was -morning. My first thought was that I had had an unusual dream, but -there on the pillow beside me lay the identical doublet and button, -and I found myself wearing the spangled coat of the evening before. I -jumped up and prepared my breakfast, but I could not eat. A desperate -case I had gotten myself into, indeed! Where on earth should I obtain a -thread which would withstand sorcery? And if I should fail--! I pushed -aside my food and buried my face in my hands. - -I heard the bell over my shop door tinkle, as if some customer were -coming in. I paid no attention. Why had I allowed this hopeless -enterprise to be thrust upon me? I was lost. - - -_The Tailor Is Visited by a Hideous Old Woman_ - -I heard a cackle of unpleasant laughter. I looked up quickly and saw, -sitting at the opposite side of my table, a little old woman, extremely -hideous of face, hook-nosed, toothless, and wrinkled, munching her gums -and watching me with little, malicious eyes. - -The ancient hag did not leave me long in doubt about her business. - -“Master tailor,” said she, “the fortune is yours if you will have it.” - -Her voice was like nothing so much as the crackling of dry wood in a -brisk fire. - -“Never mind what I know nor how I know it,” she went on, answering my -thought before I spoke. “What would you give to know where and how to -obtain the thread which will hold the button?” - -“Anything!” I cried. “That is, almost anything.” - -“Would you marry?” - -I thought of the adorable young lady whom I had seen the night before. - -“Willingly!” I said. “That is,--yes, I think--” - -“Then I will tell you the condition on which you may have the thread. -You must marry me.” - -I looked at the frightful old creature; then I laughed and laughed; I -could not help it. She arose in a great fury, grasped the crooked stick -which she bore with her, and hobbled toward the door. - -“You shall never find it!” she said. “No, never! You shall be a black -and penniless outcast! You shall wish you had never been born! You are -lost, lost, lost!” - -That terrible prospect sobered me. If this woman could by any chance -save me from such a fate, what price would be too great? - -“Come back,” I said, “I will think it over.” - -“Speak!” said she. “Will you, or will you not?” - -I looked at her. She was very old. She could not live long, at best. -She might not live until the wedding day. And if she should, a man of -my wealth and power could afterward find the means of mitigating the -horrors of such a marriage. - -“How do I know you can perform your promise?” I asked. - -“You need not perform yours until I have performed mine. Come, master -tailor, will you or will you not?” - -“I will,” said I. “On the day when I receive my fortune from the -Prince, I will marry you. Merciful powers!” - -“Good,” said she. “Now listen to me. The thread which will hold the -button is the single black hair in the tail of the white unicorn, Alb, -who feeds in the half-moon pasture of Korbi, by the river Tarn. Listen -carefully while I tell you what you must do.” - -She then gave me the most minute directions; and when she had finished, -she arose and hobbled to the door. - -“Stop!” I said. “Tell me who you are, and where you live, and when I -shall see you again.” - -She answered never a word; she was gone. - - -_The Jolly Mule Driver and His Sing-Song_ - -I wrote down all I could remember of her instructions, and went out -into the street to cool my burning head. As I stood before the door, I -heard a jingling of little bells, and a voice singing and shouting, and -saw, coming toward me down the street, a train of five or six mules, -driven by a short fellow in a leather jerkin, on foot, who was singing -raucously and shouting lustily to his animals. His face was gay and -humorous, and he cracked his whip merrily. - -“Good mules for hire!” he sang. “Good mules for hire! We’ll bring you -to your heart’s desire! We laugh at rain and snow and mire! We never -lag and never tire! We _thread_ our way through ice and fire! Good -mules for hire! Good mules for hire!” - -“Thread!” What did he mean by that word? I stared at him, and as he was -passing me he looked at me long and hard, and gave me a slow wink. - -A little while later, as I was ironing a piece of goods within doors, -the mule driver himself appeared in the shop. - -“At your service, master Solario!” he cried, gayly. “For a long journey -or a short one! If you’re thinking of going a journey, I’m your man! -Come, master Solario, the sun is shining, lock up the shop!” - -It seemed a curious piece of good fortune that this fellow should have -appeared almost on the heels of the old woman herself, and the long and -short of it was that I hired him for my journey, at so much per week. -He agreed to provide the necessary outfit, and we would depart that -night. - -My preparations were soon made. The notes I had made of the old -woman’s directions I sewed inside my vest. I placed in my strong box -the doublet and the button, and bestowed the box where it could not -be found during my absence. At midnight, my driver appeared. It was a -starry night. I locked the shop, and we mounted our mules. Preceded by -four other animals, packed with our outfit, we quietly moved down the -street, past the last houses, and into the forest. My search for the -white unicorn had begun. - - -_Adventures in Search of Alb the Unicorn_ - -From that night until we came in sight of the river Tarn, far beyond -the confines of the Forest Kingdom, the adventures we encountered were -numerous and fearful. We spent weeks on this perilous journey. In the -second week we came to a dark castle on the side of a mountain. We -crossed the drawbridge, which strangely happened to be down, though -it was late at night, and blew the horn which hung by the gate. But -perhaps it will be unnecessary to detail these adventures? - -_“Totally unnecessary,” said the King. “I can scarcely restrain my -impatience to know how the story ends.”_ - -There are several, however, of extraordinary interest, which you might -perhaps be pleased to hear: the adventure of the Roving Griffin, the -adventure of the Blind Giant, the adventure of Montesango’s Cave-- - -_“Yes, yes,” said Bojohn and Bodkin, in a loud whisper._ - -_“No,” said the King. “I must beg you to reserve these pleasures for -another occasion. I can’t sit up all night.”_ - -We reached at last, on a sunshiny morning, the top of a little hill, -from which we looked down on a narrow and shallow river, curved at this -point outward in a crescent, and beyond it we saw a meadow of some -two miles in depth, bounded at the rear by a high cliff, curved also -outward like a crescent, and reaching the river at the right hand and -the left of the meadow. The meadow thus enclosed resembled in shape a -half-moon. - -“Ah!” I cried. “The river Tarn and the half-moon pasture of Korbi!” - -I left my mule driver, and descended alone to the river. I found a -ford, and though the water reached my shoulders, I had no difficulty in -wading to the other side. I came there upon the pasture I had seen from -the hill. It was green with tall grass, and sprinkled with flowers. -I looked about fearfully, but the unicorn was not in sight. Creeping -cautiously, I made toward the high cliff at the further side of the -meadow. Just before I reached it, I stopped to consult my notes: - -“A circle of white stones on the side of the cliff, higher than a man’s -reach. In the center of the circle, a blood-red flower growing on a -long stem.” - - -_Solario Encounters Alb the Unicorn_ - -I walked along at the foot of the cliff, and after some ten minutes -descried above me the circle of white stones. The wall was perfectly -upright, but its surface was rugged enough to give promise of a -foothold. I turned my head, and at that instant saw, a short distance -away, farther down the line of the cliff, standing knee-deep in the -grass and flowers, a small horse, pure white, with a pure white mane -and tail, and a sharp-pointed horn in the middle of his forehead. - -[Illustration: The unicorn stamped and gave a piercing neigh] - -As he saw me, he stamped his hoof and threw his head high. I started -for the cliff; he made for the same point, as if to intercept me. I -knew that against that sharp horn I should be helpless; it was now a -matter of life and death. I ran with all my might; the unicorn came on -at a gallop; we approached the foot of the cliff together; his head was -down, and I could already in imagination feel his horn in my side; I -doubled my exertions; I reached the cliff, and leaped up on the rocks -just out of his reach, as he swept by me; I was safe. - -I clung to my perch panting, and then painfully climbed to the circle -of white stones. There, in its center, was the blood-red flower. The -unicorn was standing below, watching me. When he saw me bend toward the -flower, he stamped, shook his mane, and gave a long piercing neigh, -as a horse will when he is in pain. I plucked the flower at the root. -The unicorn’s excitement was extraordinary. He pranced and bounded, -shrieking in a manner almost human. I shivered at the thought of going -down to him, but it had to be done. I descended carefully, holding the -flower out in the unicorn’s view. His shrieks subsided into a moaning -cry. He shook his head up and down, as if under some strong command. I -reached the ground. - -I paused there for a moment, for I confess I was desperately afraid. -Little by little I advanced to him, holding out the flower. He pranced -and whined. I came within arm’s length of his head, and held the flower -before his mouth. With a quiver which shook his whole body, he seized -it in his teeth. I quickly ran to his tail, and searched there for the -single black hair, keeping well away from his heels. Covered by the -brush of white hair I found it. I seized it and gave it a mighty jerk. -Out it came into my hand. - -The unicorn trembled and tottered; and there in his place before my -eyes stood a handsome young man, clad in a suit of soft and exquisite -white leather. He fell on his knees before me and kissed my hand. - -“Thanks, brave deliverer!” he cried. “The enchantment is broken! I am -myself again! How glorious to be free!” - -I raised him from the ground, and led him to a convenient place, where -we sat down and conversed. I placed the precious black hair securely -in the lining of my vest. If I on my part was overjoyed, the young man -was positively beside himself. He laughed and cried by turns. I was of -course intensely curious as to the circumstances of his enchantment. -He willingly consented to relate them to me, and as soon as he had -composed himself a little he began - -THE STORY OF THE WHITE UNICORN - -“I was born,” said the young man, “in the Island Kingdom, far out in -the Great Sea, the only son of a rich--” - -_“Never mind, never mind,” interrupted the King; “not now, some other -time. It’s my bedtime. Get on with your own story. We’ve no time now to -listen to--”_ - -_“My dear,” said the Queen, sweetly, “perhaps if you’d--”_ - -_“Some other time,” said the King. “Not now, not now.”_ - -_“Oh, botheration,” said Bojohn to Bodkin. “He won’t let us hear -anything.”_ - -_“I think it’s too bad,” said Bodkin to Bojohn._ - -_The old man in the spangled coat sighed profoundly._ - -When the young man had finished his tale, the day was far advanced. I -wished to take him back with me to Vernicroft, but he was anxious to -return to the Island Kingdom without losing a moment; we crossed the -river together, and parted. I have never seen him since. - -We made good speed homeward; all our difficulties seemed to have -vanished. At first, I was saddened by the thought of my approaching -marriage to the hideous and hateful old hag; but a new thought began -to take possession of me, and grew stronger as we rode along from day -to day, and my heart soon became lighter. Master as I was of such a -key to power as lay secure within my vest, I could marry whom I chose. -Why should I marry the ugliest creature I had ever seen, when the most -beautiful might be mine for the asking? The more I thought of it, the -more indignant I became at the manner in which my easy good nature had -been imposed on at every hand; I had been grossly overreached; the -bargain was beyond measure unconscionable; the exquisite face of the -Prince’s daughter haunted me day and night-- And in short, when we -arrived at Vernicroft, my mind was made up; I would _not_ marry the old -woman, and I would exact from the Prince a reward far more suitable -than the one he had promised. - -It was just on the stroke of midnight when we reached my shop. I left -my driver on the sill, and procuring the necessary gold within, paid -him off and dismissed him. He was a merry fellow, and had served me -well, though I must say that I had never learned to like his way of -cooking beans. He bade me a gay farewell, and as I turned back into the -shop I looked over my shoulder, expecting to see him with his mules -on his way down the street. To my astonishment, there was positively -nothing in sight; the street was empty; in that moment the driver and -his animals had vanished. - -I entered the shop. The journey had cost me all the savings of my -lifetime. But what did it matter? I was about to become rich beyond all -my dreams. I lit my lamp and looked about me. There, beside my tailor’s -bench, sat the old woman herself. Her hands rested on the head of her -crooked stick, and her toothless jaws were working. - -“Well,” she said, “you have it?” - -“Yes,” said I, “I have it.” - -“Good,” said she. “The Prince’s friend has been here many times. He -will come to-morrow. I will return to claim you afterward. Good.” - -She rose, leaned on her stick, and nodding her head and grinning to -herself hobbled out of the shop. My resolution to save myself from this -outrageous creature became absolutely fixed. - - -_The Button Is Sewed on with the Unicorn’s Hair_ - -I drew out the black hair of the unicorn’s tail, and gave myself up to -the pleasant task of sewing on the button. It was soon done, and it was -well done. Nothing could be more secure. I placed the doublet under my -pillow and went to bed. - -In the morning I arose with a light heart. In order that the doublet -might be near me, I put it on; and during the day three accidents -proved its quality. First, a hot iron with which I was pressing my -spangled coat slipped from my right hand and came down squarely on my -left, and I felt no pain whatever. Next, a needle pricked my finger, -and I was aware of no inconvenience. And last, as I was standing in the -doorway, some wicked boys, with whom I was never a favorite, hurled a -stone at me, striking me violently on the temple; but its effect was no -more than that of a soft cushion. Undoubtedly the unicorn’s hair was -the authentic thread. - -At nightfall, after I had put up my shutters, I stored the doublet -secretly away, and was making ready to go to bed, when a knock sounded -at the door, and I admitted the Prince’s friend, smiling and gracious -as before. He looked inquiringly at me. I bowed and smiled. - -“Yes,” I said, “the work is done.” - -“The thread?” he cried. - -“I have it, never fear! The work is done.” - -He was in a state of great excitement. - -“Come!” he cried. “The carriage is at the door. Bring it with you. -Hurry!” - -In a moment I was in his carriage, with a bundle under my arm. We -stopped at the same place as before, and reached by the same route the -room where I had first seen the Prince and his daughter. They arose in -agitation as I came in, and at a joyful signal from my companion came -forward and grasped my hands. Truly the lady was more beautiful than I -had dreamed. - -“You have succeeded?” said the Prince. - -“I have!” said I. “Your deliverance is assured!” And I described the -accidents from which the doublet had protected me that day. - -“Let us sit down,” said the Prince; and when we were all seated, with -fruit and wine before us, he begged me to tell my story. - -I told as much as I thought fit, omitting any mention of the old woman. -The Prince desired to see the doublet. With my left hand I placed in -his left the package I had brought with me. He opened it and held up -the contents. Alas, it was not the doublet at all, but some indifferent -garment intended for another client! - -He looked at me in amazement. I was covered with confusion, and begged -him to overlook my carelessness. He listened coldly. - -“You will bring the doublet here to-morrow,” he said sternly. - -“That is understood,” I said. “Meanwhile,” I went on, fortifying -myself with another glass of the perfumed wine, “we may as well discuss -the question of my reward.” - -“That,” said the Prince, “is already settled.” - -“The case is altered,” I said. “If I had known what lay before me, -I could have made more fitting terms; but I was in the dark; the -dangers and exertions of my existence since then have changed the case -completely. I am sure that you do not wish to deal with me unjustly. -Think what my service means to you! In your place, I should think -nothing too precious for my deliverer.” - -A dark frown came over the Prince’s face. - -“What is it you demand?” said he. - - -_The Prince Receives the Tailor’s Terms_ - -“I demand nothing,” said I. “But if you wish to have the doublet and -be restored to yourself, your country, and your people, I shall ask -only three things: one million pieces of gold, this house, and your -daughter’s hand in marriage.” - -All three jumped to their feet. I sat calmly. At a look from the -Prince, his daughter and the Courteous Stranger sat down again. They -were both very pale. - -“These are your terms?” said the Prince. “You are resolved on this?” - -“Inflexibly,” I said. - -“Then we must consider,” said he. “When you bring the doublet to-morrow -you shall have my answer. For the present, let us dismiss the subject.” - -His command of himself was superb. He began to talk lightly on -indifferent subjects, and as he talked his voice became gradually more -distant, and I grew drowsy; I knew I was falling asleep. I remember -nothing more until I awoke the next morning in my own bed. - -To my surprise, the old woman did not appear at all on that day. On -the whole, the time passed pleasantly. I had no doubt the Prince would -accept my terms. I reveled in the happiness which was so soon to be -mine. - -At night, dressed in my spangled coat, and with a bundle under my arm, -I sat in the shop waiting for my stranger. I was too wise to take -with me the true doublet, and you may be sure the bundle contained a -substitute. It would be time enough to deliver the magic garment at the -wedding. It reposed meanwhile under lock and key, concealed beyond the -possibility of discovery. - -It was late when the stranger appeared. He conducted me to the Prince -and his daughter in chilly silence. The Prince was standing, and his -daughter sat on the divan, her chin in her hand. - -“You have brought the doublet?” said the Prince. - -“First,” I said, “do you accept the terms?” - -“I must see the doublet,” he said. - -With my left hand I placed the bundle in his left hand. He opened it. -When he saw its contents, he turned on me with a face like a thunder -cloud. - -“What!” said I. “Another accident? Well, it’s of no consequence. The -doublet is safe, perfectly safe. It will be placed in your hands--_at -the wedding_. Do you consent?” - - -_The Magic Doublet Is Suddenly Produced_ - -He clapped his hands. A door opened behind the divan, and--I could -scarcely believe my eyes--in hobbled, with her crooked stick, the -old woman whom I had pledged myself to marry. I was speechless with -astonishment. The Prince clapped his hands again. From other doors -entered the eight black tailors whom I had seen before. The ancient hag -approached the Prince, and drew forth from her dress the doublet which -I had left securely locked and hidden at home! I saw it closely; it -could be no other. With her left hand she laid it in the left hand of -the Prince. - -In an instant he had put it on. When he had buttoned the last button, a -startling change came over him and the eight black tailors. All their -faces grew a mottled blue, then red, and then the natural color of -healthy white skin. - -At the same time the room began to contract. The ceiling came slowly -down and stopped just above my head. The walls came slowly together, -and as they reached the Prince, his daughter, the Courteous Stranger, -and the eight tailors, gave way to them, so that all these persons -passed from view on the outer side, and I was left alone with the -hideous old woman, with the walls coming in upon us by degrees until I -thought we should be crushed. - -I became dizzy; I sank in terror upon the chair which stood beside me. -The walls came on from all four sides until the place wherein I sat was -no bigger than a cupboard, and there they stopped. I breathed a sigh of -relief, and attempted to rise. To my horror, I could not move. - -The old woman pointed a skinny finger at me and gave a loud and -angry laugh which sent a chill up and down my spine. She moved her -finger about in strange figures. She mumbled to herself a torrent of -meaningless words; and passing through the door which remained before -me in one wall of my cabinet, she left me, and closed the door behind -her. The closet began to rock; it seemed to rise, and in a moment I -knew that it was flying with me through space.... - -Thus, your majesty (said the old man in the spangled coat), I came to -be imprisoned in my cell beneath the Forest Pool. There I sat, unable -to move or speak, for nearly a hundred years, until the happy day when -I was delivered by the excellent Prince, your grandson; and for the -refuge which has been accorded me in your majesty’s castle I now tender -to your majesty my grateful thanks, and-- - -_“Eh? What? Did you say something?” exclaimed the King, waking up -from a sound slumber, and rubbing his eyes. “Oh, yes. I see. Very -interesting. Very interesting. Something about a button, wasn’t it? -Bless my soul, I’d no idea it was so late. It’s long past my bedtime. -I’m always late for breakfast when I stay up past my-- Mortimer, will -you see to it that the castle windows are locked for the night? My -dear, I think we will have bacon and eggs in the morning; and if it’s -at all possible, I’d like to have a piece of toast that isn’t burnt. -The audience is now over.”_ - - - - -[Illustration] - - - - -THE SECOND NIGHT - -ALB THE UNICORN - - -_Solario the Tailor was sitting at the open window of his room in the -northeast tower of the castle, looking out at the stars which glittered -in a clear sky over the Great Forest. He sighed, and rising wearily lit -the candles on his table; and at that moment there came a knock on his -door, and Bojohn and Bodkin entered, rather timidly._ - -_“If you please, sir--” said Bojohn._ - -_“Pray be seated,” said Solario, and they all sat down. “It’s a warm -evening,” said he._ - -_“We thought,” said Bojohn, “that you might perhaps be willing to tell -us one of the stories that you--”_ - -_“It’s very warm this evening, indeed,” said Solario. “Quite -oppressive.”_ - -_“If it wouldn’t be too much trouble,” said Bodkin, “we’d like you to -tell us about--”_ - -_“I don’t know when I’ve felt the heat so much,” said the old tailor. -“But then it’s the idleness. If there were only something to do, there -wouldn’t be so much time to think about the weather.”_ - -_“Last night, sir,” said Bojohn, “you were obliged to leave out some -parts of your story, and we thought--”_ - -_“If I only had a few good ells of cloth on my table, and a man -like--well, say like Mortimer the Executioner,--to exercise my art on, -I’d be the happiest man alive; but as it is, sitting here with nothing -to do--”_ - -_“There was one tale you mentioned,” said Bojohn, “about a--”_ - -_“It’s a very fine thing to be a Knight of the Silver Lamp,” said -Solario, “but there doesn’t seem to be much connected with it in the -nature of work. If I could only be employed in making a suit of clothes -for Mortimer the Executioner!_ There’s _a subject! The biggest man -I’ve ever seen in my life, and the hardest to fit! That would be an -undertaking worthy of my genius. Dear, dear!”_ - -_“I’ll speak to grandfather about it,” said Bojohn. “I’m sure he’ll let -you make a suit for Mortimer. But what we would like to know is--”_ - -_“We’d like to hear one of the stories,” began Bodkin again, “that the -King made you leave out last night when--”_ - -_“It made no difference to me, I assure you,” said Solario, stiffly. -“None whatever.”_ - -_“But if you would only tell us--” said Bodkin._ - -_“I do not wish to annoy any one with my dull tales,” said Solario. -“Far from it; far from it indeed, I assure you.”_ - -_“But there was one” said Bojohn, “about a griffin; what kind of a -griffin did you say it was?”_ - -_“I believe, if I remember correctly, it was a Roving Griffin; but his -majesty your grandfather--”_ - -_“Oh, never mind grandfather,” said Bojohn. “Tell us about the--”_ - -_“I’d rather hear the one about the giant,” said Bodkin._ - -_“You probably have reference to the Blind Giant,” said Solario. -“But--”_ - -_“Then there was one,” said Bojohn, “about some cave or other.”_ - -_“The Cave of Montesango,” said Solario. “I remember it only too well. -But I couldn’t tell you that; it would be too terrible. You wouldn’t be -able to sleep in your beds to-night.”_ - -_“Then tell us that one!” cried the two boys, together._ - -_“No,” said Solario. “The King would never approve if I--”_ - -_“Grandfather isn’t here now,” said Bojohn. “Please--”_ - -_“Perhaps,” said Solario, “I might tell you the story concerning the-- -But I fear it would bore you.”_ - -_“No! no!” cried the boys._ - -_“Then I might perhaps tell you the story of Alb the Unicorn, only--”_ - -_“Yes! yes! Tell us about the unicorn!”_ - -_“You are sure it will not weary you?”_ - -_“Not a bit!” said Bojohn._ - -_“Would you mind, sir,” said Bodkin, “leaving out the big words?”_ - -_“I shall willingly endeavor to gratify your reasonable predilection -for lucidity,” said Solario._ - -_“Sir?” said Bodkin._ - -_“Never mind,” said Bojohn. “Let him go on.”_ - -_“Ahem!” said the old man, clearing his throat. “I will give you as -much of it as I can remember, as it was told me by the young man -in the white leather suit while we were sitting in the half-moon -pasture of Korbi by the river Tarn, after I had delivered him from his -enchantment. You are sure it will not weary you?”_ - -_“Go on! Go on!”_ - -_“Then I will begin,” said Solario, settling himself back at his ease, -and folding his hands across his stomach,_ - - -“THE STORY OF ALB THE UNICORN.” - -You must know (said the young man to me) that I am called Alb the -Fortunate. I was born in the Island Kingdom, far out in the Great Sea, -the only son of a rich goldsmith. I lived with my parents, by whom I -was tenderly loved, in the principal city of that kingdom, in which -city, on a height overlooking the island, stood the castle of the King. - - -_Alb the Fortunate and the Princess Hyla_ - -My father, whose skill in his art had caused him to be valued highly -by the King, was a familiar figure at the castle, and I had there, -in company with my mother, become acquainted with the young Princess -Hyla, the King’s only child, a beautiful and amiable girl some two -years younger than myself. We were even permitted to play together in -the gardens of the castle, for the King was in no wise proud, but on -the contrary made a point of treating his subjects with a friendliness -which endeared him to them all. I need hardly tell you that from the -earliest moment I knew that I loved the little Princess. - -I grew thus in time to be twelve years old. Although my parents had -done for me all that love could devise and money could effect, I had -caused them much uneasiness. My disposition was unnaturally gloomy; I -scarcely ever smiled; my mind was filled with terrors, I knew not why; -I would sit for hours in moody silence; the games of other boys did not -amuse me; and I would find myself at times weeping bitterly, for no -reason whatever. - -All that my parents could do to divert me availed nothing; I continued -to be a misery to myself and to them. They feared for my health; -their wealth no longer gave them any pleasure; and an atmosphere of -gloom settled down upon their house. Sometimes my mother would look -mournfully into my eyes while she smoothed back the yellow hair from my -forehead; and I knew that she would willingly have given all that she -had to make me happy. - -On my twelfth birthday it chanced that I was in my father’s shop, -alone. My mother had gone into the back room, and my father was absent, -for the day, at the residence of a distant client. I had been trying -all that morning to find some occupation to amuse me, but without -success; I had finally given myself up to a restless and discontented -idleness; and at the moment I was examining in my hand, without -much interest, a long chain, of extremely fine gold and delicate -workmanship, which I had picked up from one of the cabinets in the -shop. I was in the act of placing it back in its case, wondering what I -should do next, when a strange figure entered the door from the street, -and approached me. - - -_A Tattered Old Beggar Comes to the Goldsmith’s Shop_ - -It was an old man, evidently a beggar, a huge man, fat and heavy, his -face covered by a gray beard which hung to his waist, and his eyes, -which were very bright, almost hidden by shaggy eyebrows,--the longest -eyebrows I had ever seen on any human being. A ragged tunic of brown, -belted around the middle, hung scantily to his knees; a battered felt -hat flapped over his forehead; and in his hand he carried, for a staff, -what seemed to be a yardstick, such as tailors use. From his belt hung -a pair of large shears, also of the sort used by tailors. A queer -tailor! thought I. - -“Good morning, master Melancholy,” said he, “have you a mind for trade -this morning?” - -The idea of this poor creature’s pretending to be a customer at such a -shop as ours was too absurd. I could not restrain a little toss of the -head. - -[Illustration: “There is something here,” said the old beggar, “which I -wish to buy”] - -“So?” said the old man. “Is that what you think? Nevertheless, there is -something here which I wish to buy.” He looked around the shop. “I wish -to buy a chain, a gold one; and I see none that pleases me so much as -the one you are holding behind your back. Will you sell it?” - -I was astonished that he should have discovered the chain, which I -could have sworn was hidden from his eyes. I drew it forth and held it -up. - -“Be so good as to let me see it,” said the old man; and at the same -time he took it from me, before I could snatch it away. - -“What may the price be, my young merchant?” said he. - -I was trembling with anxiety, but I thought it best to end the whole -matter by naming the price, which I found on the card which remained in -the cabinet. - -While I hesitated, the horrid creature gazed at me with his glittering -eyes through his tangled eyebrows, and ran his fingers down his beard -like a comb. - -“The price,” I said, “is four thousand gold florins. Now please give me -back the chain.” - -“The price is high,” said the old man, “but I will take it.” - -“Then give me the money,” said I. - -“Money?” said he, with an air of great surprise. “Money? But I have no -money.” - -“Then how are you going to buy the chain?” said I. “Give it back to me.” - -“I will buy it, nevertheless,” said he. “I will give you what is better -than money.” - -“What is that?” said I, suspiciously. - -“I will give you,” said he, “whatever you would like best in the world.” - -“Then give me back the chain.” - -“Think!” said he. “What would you like best in all the world, for your -very self?” - -“Nothing,” I said, ready to cry. “I want the chain back. If you don’t -give it to me,” I said, angrily, “I will call my mother.” - -“With all the pleasure in the world,” said the impudent old rascal. - -I was now ready to cry in good earnest. - - -_The Old Man Proposes a Strange Bargain_ - -“But I advise you to listen to me, my young friend,” went on the -dreadful creature. “You may make a wish, if you will; and if you don’t, -I will. If I keep the chain, you shall make the wish; if you keep the -chain, I will make it; but I warn you, if I make the wish, I shall wish -you harm! Such harm that you would rather be dead than alive! Come now, -will you sell me the chain for a wish?” - -“I can’t,” I said, “I can’t.” And I began to cry. - -“Then you would like to be crippled all your life? To find vipers in -your bed every night? To see the Princess run away from the sight of -you? To suffer a sharp pain in your ears, to have all your drink turn -to--” - -“No, no!” I cried. “Please don’t, please don’t!” - -“Then you had better sell me the chain. What would you like best in the -world?” - -“Oh, I want to be happy! I want to be happy! I’m so miserable!” - -“You really wish to be happy?” - -“Oh, yes! If I could only be happy, always happy!” - -“Think well. I can grant you that wish, if you really wish it.” - -“I wish I could be happy, always happy!” - -“The wish is granted. You shall be happy; after this day you shall be -nothing but happy, always. It is done. The chain is mine.” - -“Oh, please! If you will only wait one moment! Just one! I must call my -mother!” - -I ran to the door of the back room, and called my mother. She came at -once, alarmed by my outcry. Together we turned back into the shop, -toward the spot where I had left the old man. He was gone. - -I dragged my mother to the shop door, and we looked up and down the -street. There was no sign of him. I ran from one corner to the other. -He was nowhere in sight. I returned to my mother and threw myself on -her breast and wept. - -“The chain!” I sobbed. “It is gone!” - -While she tried to comfort me I told her the story. She wrung her -hands. “What will your father say?” - -That evening, when my father heard what had happened, he was very -angry. He was a kind man, but he scolded me so severely that I crept up -to bed weeping, without any supper. I had never been so miserable. I -cried myself to sleep. - -When I awoke in the morning, sunshine was streaming in through the -window. I sprang out of bed. A fat sparrow was hopping on the window -sill, and when he saw me he cocked his head at me in the jolliest -manner possible. I whistled to him, and laughed after him as he flew -away. - -While I was dressing, and humming a tune the while, I suddenly -remembered that I had gone to bed in tears for the loss of my father’s -golden chain; but I laughed as I thought of it, for the loss seemed -pitifully small, and my father’s anger over it was quite ridiculous. I -went on with my tune, and stood before the mirror with a hairbrush in -my hand. I began to brush my hair; and I cannot deny that as I looked -at its yellow and somewhat curly abundance I thought of the Princess -with complacency. - -Now it happened that the most serious work of my life, on which I had -then been engaged for more than six months, had been the training of my -hair to lie in a flat sweep backward from my forehead. I had devoted -much patient labor to this work; it required that I should wear on my -head all day a tight skullcap, and I even suffered to the extent of -wearing it in bed at night, when I could do so without my mother’s -knowledge. I now shook my hair from my forehead with a quick backward -toss of the head, in a manner which always made my father look at me in -alarm, and proceeded to brush it straight back with vigorous strokes of -the brush. - - -_The Three Black Hairs in the Yellow Head_ - -I was in the act of applying a small quantity of dry soap, when I -looked at my yellow head in the mirror a trifle more attentively. My -gaze became fixed; and as I held my head close to the glass I was -astonished to see there, among the yellow strands, three coarse black -hairs, very distinct, one in the middle and one on either side. - -They did not suit me very well, and I accordingly, with some trouble, -plucked each of them out by the root. - -Before leaving the room, I gave a final glance of satisfaction at -myself in the mirror, and a final touch of the brush to my hair. I -stopped suddenly, fixed with astonishment; the three long, coarse black -hairs, which I had but a few moments before plucked away, lay there as -before, one in the middle of my head and one on either side. - -I could not understand it in the least, but after all, what did it -matter? I could not allow myself to be bothered by such a trifle. I ran -downstairs singing merrily. - -At breakfast, I found myself prattling of a thousand things, and I -was surprised to remark the confusion with which my parents received -my sallies. In the midst of my talk, my mother whispered with sudden -excitement into my father’s ear; I did not hear what she said, but I -saw his eyebrows rise and heard him blow out his lips in a long-drawn -“O-oh!” as if a light had dawned on him. And after that they responded -gayly to my chatter, and we had altogether the merriest meal we had -ever had in our lives. - -After breakfast I accompanied my father to the castle, where I -sought out the Princess Hyla, and found her weeping beside one of the -fountains in the garden, because her ball had fallen into the water -which filled the wide marble basin. I laughed at her, for she did seem -comical enough. She stamped her foot angrily at me, but this only -made me laugh the more. I jumped into the pool and brought back the -ball. She looked at me as if in bewilderment, and cried, “What are you -laughing at? Are you crazy?” Far from being offended, I laughed more -merrily than before. - -The King was much pleased with my little service to the Princess, and -after our departure my father assured me that I had advanced markedly -in the King’s regard. Everything, in short, was going well. - -From that day, my unfailing spirits rejoiced my parents more and -more as time went by; their house rang with my merriment; my mother -became more youthful in appearance; and as I grew older I became known -throughout our city for the brightness of my face and the liveliness of -my talk, and I was everywhere in demand. It is true that the three long -black hairs continued in their places on my head, and my mother looked -at them at times, as it seemed to me, with uneasiness; but I laughed at -her; and although I sometimes plucked these hairs from my head, I did -so only for the amusement of seeing them reappear in their places as -before. - - -_Alb Wins the Promise of the Princess’s Hand_ - -When I was sixteen years of age, a circumstance befell which I was able -to turn to good account. The Princess Hyla one night unaccountably -disappeared. The King was strangely disturbed by this incident, -and though I could not quite understand the reason for so much -perturbation, I resolved to rescue the Princess and restore her to her -father’s arms, if I could. This I was able to do, in the course of a -very singular adventure, and in reward the King promised me her hand in -marriage. I will now relate to you, if you wish it, the adventure by -which I rescued the Princess from the strange fate which involved her; -it is the adventure, as I may call it, of - - -THE RAGPICKER AND THE PRINCESS - -It happened (said Alb the Fortunate) that the King, with his daughter, -sojourned for a time at his castle of Ventamere, beside the Great Sea; -and my father and myself, being lodged in the town hard by,-- - -_“On second thoughts,” said Solario, interrupting himself, “I will not -relate this tale just now. It is too long. It will be better to go on -with--”_ - -_“But we’d like to hear it now,” said Bojohn._ - -_“No,” said Solario, firmly, “it will be much better to tell it some -other time.”_ - -Thus (said Alb, when he had finished the story of his adventure), I -restored the Princess, with the assistance of the One-Armed Sorcerer -whom I have mentioned, and in gratitude the King took the One-Armed -Sorcerer to dwell with him in his castle in our own city, and promised -to me the hand of the Princess in marriage when I should come of age. -Truly things were going well with me. - - -_A Trifling Incident Disturbs Alb’s Mother_ - -Some two years later, when I was just past my eighteenth birthday, -an incident occurred in our household which caused my mother much -disturbance. My father died. He had left the house on horseback in -the morning, for a journey to the country on a matter pertaining to -his business. In the evening, after the shop was closed, a loud knock -brought my mother and myself to the door in haste. A crowd was gathered -at the entrance, and on a litter carried by two men lay my father’s -body; and in this manner he was borne into the shop. His horse had -thrown him and his neck was broken. - -My mother threw herself upon him and wailed. She tried to arouse him; -she talked to him as if he were alive; she even went so far as to try -to call him back to life. I was at first greatly astonished at her -behavior, and then it struck me as being excessively ridiculous. To -think of trying to call back the dead to life! It was highly amusing. I -felt a tide of merriment rising within me. I laughed. - -I have never seen on any human being’s face the look of horror which my -mother turned on me when she heard my laugh. She crouched away from me -in fear. Her sobbing ceased, and her eyes remained fixed on me; they -grew wider and wider; I began to wonder how long they could stare so -without winking. I glanced at the others in the room, and was surprised -to see that no one else even so much as smiled. It was useless to -remain longer in a company so dead to the brighter things of life. -I controlled my good humor and composed my features, and patted my -mother affectionately on the shoulder; but she recoiled from my touch; -and without appearing to take her inconsiderate behavior in ill part in -the least, I left the room. - - -_Unreasonable Conduct of the Goldsmith’s Widow_ - -It astonished me afterward to observe that my mother met my customary -gayety with coldness, for she had always seemed to take great pleasure -in it. She grew very gloomy indeed. I could not discover any reason for -it, but I did what I could to cheer her by my own liveliness. For some -reason or other, my father’s death appeared to have a depressing effect -on her. I made my jokes and sang my songs as usual, but she reached -such a state in a few months that she would scarcely speak to me, but -on the contrary spent most of her time in her room, alone. - -I noticed, in the course of time, a slight change in the manner of my -customers and friends. The former transacted their business briefly, -without an unnecessary word; and the latter appeared to avoid me, as if -they scarcely wished to know me any longer. It was very amusing. - -In less than a year after my father’s death, my mother died. It was -thought by some that my father’s death had something to do with her -decline, but how that could be I never could understand. - - -_The Merrymakers Are Suddenly Sobered_ - -The night of the day on which she died was the night fixed for a feast -at the house of one of my friends. After looking for a moment into the -room where she lay, I dressed myself carefully for the occasion, and -found myself thrilled with pleasant anticipation. - -A large and merry company met at table at my friend’s house; I talked -in my best manner; and whatever coldness I might have observed before -was dispelled in the general gayety. Toward the close of the banquet, -I chanced to remark across the table that my mother had that day died. -The effect of this remark was astonishing. As it passed from one to -another, silence fell upon the company. - -I wondered if I had made some blunder. I endeavored in vain to relieve -the awkwardness of the moment by changing the subject and commencing -a story with which I had never failed to provoke a laugh; but in this -case it provoked not so much as a smile; I was absolutely perplexed. -The party soon broke up in what appeared to be confusion, and I went -home to enjoy in my own room the recollection of those lugubrious faces. - -When I was twenty-one, I was married to the Princess, and thenceforth -the castle was my home. I sold the business which my father had left -me, and settled down to a life of unbounded bliss with my dear Hyla, -whom as a wife I found even more adorable than I had dreamed. - -I became the life of the castle. The faces of my new acquaintances -always brightened in my company; I was the only one in that glittering -society who never knew a dull or uneasy moment; my presence was like a -ray of sunshine in the court. - -I noticed after a while that the Princess, my wife, began to respond -to my constant gayety more carelessly; at times she would sit and look -at me wonderingly, I knew not why. - -One day she asked me to accompany her on a little excursion in the -city. She did not tell me where she meant to go, but I asked nothing; -it was enough to be with her. I could not conceal my surprise, however, -when she stopped our carriage at the entrance to the city’s poorest -quarter; but I had no doubt she had planned some pleasant diversion, -and I followed her, talking in my liveliest manner all the while. She -herself was quite silent. - -She led me from one hovel to another, for more than an hour. In one -we saw a sick child lying on a pallet of straw on a dirt floor, and -around him his mother and sisters and brothers, all weeping absurdly; I -rallied the mother on it in the pleasantest way possible, but she did -not take it in very good part. In another we found an old man, blind -and alone, without food and without wife or child, talking to himself -in a gibberish which was truly laughable; I tried, for sport, to talk -to him in the same sort of gibberish, but though it was excellent -sport, I saw that for some reason or other it did not amuse my wife, -so I led her away. In another place we saw a man who was evidently -overcome by wine, and who appeared to be in terror of certain vipers -and spiders which, as I ascertained, existed nowhere but in his own -imagination. This man was the prize of the whole collection; I amused -myself with him for a long time; and I was altogether so greatly -diverted that the Princess had some difficulty in dragging me away. - -On the way home, I commented on what we had seen with a drollery which -I had thought sufficient to draw a smile from a stone; but the Princess -was unmoved; she sat in stony silence, and when we reached the castle -she went at once to her room, and I saw her no more that day. - -Not long afterward, a beautiful boy was born to us; and in course of -time he grew to be the finest child of his age in the Island Kingdom; -there were many who said so, even to his mother. - -He was two years of age, when on a certain day in summer his mother -sent him into the gardens with a nurse, while she remained with me in -conversation in her room. Some half hour later, I was telling her an -amusing story, which I had recently heard, when the door burst open, -and a man-servant rushed into the room carrying our boy, dripping -wet, in his arms, and laid him in his mother’s lap. The child was -dead. The nurse had left him beside the same fountain pool from which -years before I had rescued his mother’s ball, and in her absence he -had fallen into the water. The Princess turned pale and screamed; she -clasped the child to her breast and rocked him back and forth; she -spoke to him as if he were still alive, and even tried to call him back -to life. - -I smiled at her delusion. I put my hand on her shoulder and shook her -gently. She looked up at me with streaming eyes, and saw the bright and -smiling look on my own face. - -“Come, my dear,” I said kindly, laughing quietly as I spoke, “there -is no use talking to him like that, you know. You must be reasonable. -The dear little fellow is dead, that is all. Surely there is nothing in -that to disturb you? Look at me. I’m not disturbed. I can’t understand -what you find in this to bother you. Come, let the good man take him -away to another room, and I will go on with the story I was telling -when we were interrupted.” - -She rose slowly, never taking her eyes from me, and hugging the child -closer backed away from me, and suddenly turned and fled from the room. -I smiled to myself at the whimsical nature of women. - -It was a long time before she would speak to me; and although I did -not permit this to ruffle me, I waited with some impatience for her -explanation. I was of course reluctant to blame her too much without -giving her an opportunity of explaining her conduct. I was accordingly -pleased when she took me aside one day and asked to speak with me in -private. She sat down before me in her room and looked me steadily in -the eyes. - - -_The Princess Finds Her Husband Bewitched_ - -“Alb,” said she, “this can go on no longer. You are bewitched.” - -I smiled indulgently. “I am not aware of it,” I said. - -“Tell me,” she said, earnestly, “what are those three black hairs in -your head?” - -“Oh, those! They are nothing. I found them there after the old beggar -had pretended to grant me a wish, long ago.” - -“What old beggar? Now I am learning something! Tell me about the old -beggar and the wish!” - -“What does it matter? He was a ragged old fellow, with shaggy eyebrows, -carrying a yardstick and tailor’s shears, and I sold him a fine gold -chain for a wish, and right angry my father was, too. But I was only -twelve years old, you know.” - -“Why have you never told me this before? What was the wish?” - -“The wish? Oh, I wished--I wished I might be perfectly happy, -always;--always happy;--a pretty good wish, I think.” - -“A terrible wish! A frightful wish! Tell me--tell me--have you ever -wept since you were twelve years old?” - -“Of course not. How absurd. There has never been anything for me to -weep about.” - -“That’s it! That’s it! That’s the curse! You can’t weep! You’ve got to -be cured of happiness! Cured of happiness!” - -This idea was so preposterous that I laughed loud and long; but while -I was still laughing she took me by the hand and led me into a distant -part of the castle, where I had never been before, until we came to the -foot of a narrow, winding stair in a tall tower. - -We climbed the stairs, and stopped at last, panting, on a little -landing before a door. The Princess knocked, and without waiting for -an answer opened the door and drew me in after her. We were in a -small, circular room, evidently at the very top of the tower, from the -windows of which I could see far across the city and beyond the distant -mountains to the Great Sea. - - -_Alb and the Princess Visit the One-Armed Sorcerer_ - -In the center of this room was a spinning wheel, and before this -spinning wheel was the One-Armed Sorcerer whom I had met in the -adventure which had gained me the Princess for my wife; a spare old -man, with bright blue eyes in a rosy face and long white hair and -beard, and clothed in a blue gown spangled with silver stars. He rose, -smiling at us kindly, and motioning us with his only hand (his left) to -sit down; and when we were seated, the Princess told him the story of -the old vagabond who had granted me a wish. - -He nodded understandingly, and the Princess said: “We have come to you -for help. Will you help him get rid of his curse?” - -I laughed merrily. “I’m pretty well satisfied as I am,” I said. “I -don’t wish to be cured of anything.” - -“And yet,” said the One-Armed Sorcerer, “you ought to want to be -cured. Your trouble is, that you can’t weep. Let me tell you something. -When people can weep, it’s because there’s some good in them. When they -can’t weep, it’s because all the good in them is frozen up hard. Nobody -can weep all the time, any more than anybody can be happy all the time, -unless it’s a bewitched creature like yourself. I’m not sure which -would be worse, to weep all the time or to be happy all the time; but -one thing I’m sure of, and that is that it’s best for us all to have a -little weeping and a little happiness, sometimes the one and sometimes -the other, woven together in all shades of light and dark; and if you -want to come out in a beautiful pattern at last, there’s no other way -to do it. Laugh and weep; weep and laugh; that’s the whole story, and a -fine story it is too, and well worth having a part in.” - -“Oh!” cried the Princess, who was now weeping softly, “will you help -him to have a part in it like the rest of us?” - -“I’m very comfortable as I am,” said I, smiling. - -“Do you know,” said the Princess, “how to cure him?” - -“I can tell him how to cure himself,” said the sorcerer. - -“Then please tell us at once!” said the Princess. - -“There is danger in it,” said the sorcerer. - -“Danger doesn’t bother me,” said I, beginning to take an interest. - -“Good,” said the sorcerer. “Then I will tell you. Have you ever heard -of the half-moon pasture of Korbi, by the river Tarn?” - -Neither of us had ever heard of it. - -“It lies far beyond the Great Sea. Would you like to make a journey -there?” - -“That would be jolly!” I cried. - -“The half-moon pasture of Korbi is the end of your journey, where you -will get rid of the third black hair, and be cured.” - -“What?” I cried in astonishment. - -“Yes, the third of the three black hairs in your head.” - -I had forgotten all about them. Certainly this was a knowing old -sorcerer. - - -_The Old Man of Ice, the Laughing Nymph, and the Great Horned Owl_ - -“I will tell you,” he went on, “what those three black hairs are. The -one on the left side of your head is the Old Man of Ice, who lives in -the Great Cave near the top of Thunder Mountain, in this very island. -The one on the right side of your head is the Laughing Nymph who lives -in the Three-Spire Rock on the farther shore of the Great Sea. The one -in the middle of your head is the Great Horned Owl, whose feathers are -scales so hard that no spear can pierce them, and who lives at the top -of the cliff at the far side of the half-moon pasture of Korbi. You -must not touch the Old Man of Ice. You must not laugh with the Laughing -Nymph. And you must not speak when you see the Great Horned Owl.” - -“I don’t like this very much,” said the Princess. - -“Nonsense, my dear,” said I. “It sounds very exciting.” - -“Do you know what a burning glass is?” went on the sorcerer. - -“Yes,” said I. - -He went to a chest beside the wall, and took from it a small, round, -thick piece of glass, and placed it in my left hand. - -“There is only one thing that can destroy the Old Man of Ice, and that -is a hot beam from the sun. Before you go into his cave, hold this -burning glass with your left hand up to the sun. The rays it catches -will remain in it for seven minutes, and no longer; and if you can then -within those seven minutes, holding the glass in your left hand, fix -those rays on the Old Man of Ice, he will be destroyed, and you will -get rid of the black hair on the left side of your head.” - -He went to his chest again, and returning put into my left hand a sharp -brass pin, some three inches in length. - -“With this pin,” he said, “you must make the Laughing Nymph weep. You -must plunge it, with your left hand, deep into her left arm, and while -she is weeping you must flee away; and thus you will get rid of the -black hair on the right side of your head. But if you laugh with her, -or remain until she stops weeping, you will never return.” - -He took from his spinning wheel a thread some yard and a half long, -and holding it in his teeth made fast a large loop at one end. He then -placed the thread in my left hand. - -“This loop,” he said, “you must throw over the head of the Great Horned -Owl with your left hand. When you have done so, he will follow you; you -must lead him into the river Tarn, and hold him there until he drowns; -and thus you will get rid of the black hair in the middle of your head, -and be cured forever. But the owl, though he is blind by day, has very -sharp ears. You must not let him hear your voice.” - - -_The Burning Glass, the Brass Pin, and the Loop of Thread_ - -He then gave me the most minute directions how to reach the Great -Cave, the Three-Spire Rock, and the half-moon pasture of Korbi; and -I thereupon placed in my pocket the burning glass, the pin, and the -thread, and drew the Princess after me to the door and down to my room, -where I immediately began my preparations for departure. - -That night I left. The Princess wept on my shoulder, but I laughed -gayly, and ridiculed her fears. - -“Don’t you feel sorry,” she said, “to leave me?” - -“Come, dearest,” I said, “you mustn’t begrudge me a little adventure. -Don’t be selfish.” - -She straightened herself up. “Yes,” she said, “I think you had better -go.” - -I did not understand this sudden change, but I kissed her and said: - -“Did you pack my white leather suit?” - -“Yes, it is in the saddlebag, and extra shoes. Be sure to change if you -get your feet wet.” - -I kissed my hand to her from the saddle and gave my horse the rein. I -was off upon my adventure. - -At the end of two days I came to the village which lies at the foot -of Thunder Mountain. It was a bright day, and the sun was hot. As I -trotted briskly through the village street, a child of three or four -years ran from the door of a house directly to the front of my horse -and under its feet; and in an instant the horse had knocked him down -and trampled over his body. I looked round, and heard the child cry out -in pain; but I was intent on what lay before me, and too happy in my -new career to be bothered with trifles, and I sped on rapidly, and was -soon well up the mountainside. - -I came to a place among the rocks and bushes where there was no longer -any trail, and there I tied my horse and left him. I kept in view, as I -climbed higher and higher, a great, gray rock, shaped like a dome and -as big as a house, which projected from the very top of the mountain. -Under this rock, as I knew, lay the cave of the Man of Ice. - -The higher I climbed, the steeper grew the ascent; trees became -fewer and at length there were none; I looked abroad and saw, beyond -the intervening mountains, the Great Sea afar off, wrinkling in the -sunshine. I came at last to a point so high that I was quite dizzy when -I looked down. Around me were only bowlders; there were not even any -bushes, nor birds nor squirrels; nothing but rocks and sunshine. - - -_He Hears Thunder in a Clear Sky_ - -I stopped suddenly and listened. A distant rumble of thunder came from -the top of the mountain. I was, as I may say, thunderstruck; for there -was not a cloud in the sky. As I mounted higher, the rolling of thunder -became louder and louder; and when I reached, as I did at last after -hours of toil, the dome-shaped rock at the top, thunder crashed all -about me with a deafening roar, although the sky remained as clear as -before. - -I halted at the foot of the great rock, and commenced the task of -finding the entrance to the cave. The surface of the rock seemed quite -unbroken; but I found at length, near the ground, a single crack, about -an inch in width. I inserted my fingers, but I could not budge it; and -remembering the directions given me by the sorcerer, I cried out, “In -the name of the sun! I command you, open!” - -The rock beneath the crack began to move, and before my astonished eyes -it fell slowly inward, leaving a gaping hole, just wide enough to admit -my body. - -I did not delay. I took the burning glass from my pocket and held it -up in my left hand to the sun, and when I thought it well filled with -the sun’s rays I crawled in through the hole. When I was inside, the -opening closed behind me, and I was in utter darkness. It was very -cold, and the noise of thunder was louder than before. I was surprised -to see at a little distance a single spot of light, which flickered -here and there as I crept on; but I soon observed that it came from the -burning glass which I was still holding in my left hand. - - -_He Goes Down into the Cave in Thunder Mountain_ - -I was aware that I was going downward. The farther I went, the louder -became the thunder. I must have descended thus for a minute or two, -when a gust of cold air swept my face, and, finding the floor level, I -stood up. The sound of thunder was now deafening, beyond anything I had -yet heard. - -As I stood there, a great mass of what appeared to be ice, larger than -my body, rolled past me and disappeared in the darkness. I jumped -aside, and walked on. In another moment a mass of ice like the first -fell at my side and rolled away; a rush of the bitterest cold air -accompanied it; and as it struck the ground a crash of thunder shook -the place, and its sound, as it rolled away into the dark, was the -sound of thunder rumbling afar off among the mountains. - -I now understood the origin of the thunder I had heard in the clear -sunlight outside. I pointed my burning glass upward, and I was able to -make out dimly, in the ceiling, great numbers of these bodies of ice, -hanging there like stalactites, but rounded at the bottom and very -slender at the top, so that they appeared to hang by little more than -a thread. As I stumbled on, one after another of these fell to the -ground with a crash and rolled away with a decreasing rumble. There -was no telling when one of them might fall on me, and I could only -trust to luck. There was nothing to do but to get forward as quickly as -possible; time was flying, and even if I should escape these thunder -stones, I had only three or four minutes of my seven left. I darted -blindly on, and the ice came crashing about me faster and faster, until -I thought my head would split with the noise. Once or twice I was -nearly struck. How I escaped I do not know, for it became certain that -the thunder stones were dropping closer and closer around me, as if -they were trying to halt me. And all the time the cold was becoming so -bitter that my feet and legs were already numb. - -I suddenly found myself walking on a slippery film of ice, and at that -moment I knew that I had cleared the chamber of thunder, and had left -that danger behind me; the noise abated to a distant rumbling. - -The ice on which I walked was very thin, and at every step it crackled -under me; and I could just make out the sound of the rushing beneath -it of a torrent of water. I stepped lightly and quickly, seeing -nothing but the blackness of night before me. I ran. The ice swayed -and crackled and ripped; and just as it gave way under me and my foot -plunged in the freezing water, I found myself again on the solid floor -of the cavern, and ran with all my might. I could see nothing of walls -or ceiling. I was lost in the dark. - -In another moment I was aware of a kind of vague paleness afar off -before me, and I ran in that direction. As I did so, the paleness, -whatever it was, moved swiftly to the right, and I changed my course -accordingly. It then moved to the left, and as fast as I changed my -course it moved also; evidently it was trying to avoid me. I gained -on it, and it seemed then to try to pass me on one side and get in my -rear; but I was too quick for it, and came up with it before it had -quite passed me. I came within ten feet of it, and saw what it was. - - -_He Pursues the Man of Ice with the Burning Glass_ - -It was the Man of Ice. He was running about like a cornered rat: a -perfectly formed old man, his face and head hairless, and his whole -body of solid ice. He ran jerkily; I could hear his joints crackle -as he ran; and he was almost transparent, and of a pale, greenish -brightness. His fingers were stiff and pointed, like icicles; and his -eyes were like little white marbles. - -When he found that he could not pass me, he ran back into the cave; but -we were evidently near its rear wall, and in a moment he was darting -back and forth against this wall, for all the world like a cornered -rat. I kept after him, and flashing the burning glass constantly in his -direction forced him at last into a corner. He turned upon me there, -and stretched out his long stiff fingers and made as if to spring upon -me. I knew that if he should touch me I should be lost; it must be now -or never; I turned the burning glass full upon him, and before he could -spring its little spot of light flickered upon the center of his breast. - -The change which came over him nearly caused me to drop the glass. -The top of his head melted away before my eyes and dripped down over -his ears; his eyes, his nose, his cheeks, his chin, turned one after -another to water and flowed down over his shoulders, and as I moved the -beam of sunlight lower and lower he slowly melted away from shoulder to -foot, and was no more than a wet spot on the floor. - - -_He Commences to Make His Escape from the Cave_ - -I turned swiftly to make my way out of the cave. As I did so the light -from my burning glass went out, and the cave was suddenly flooded with -pure sunlight, from what source I could not make out. I was in a vast, -vaulted chamber, which I did not remain to examine. I sped to a wide -opening which I saw before me, and passing through it came to the side -of a little brook bordered with golden-yellow flowers. I waded across -the brook; its water was as warm as milk. On the other side I entered -the thunder chamber, now well lit with sunshine, and there I paused in -amazement. It was in perfect silence. The air was mild and balmy. In -place of the terrible stones of ice, thick green vines clung to the -ceiling. I gave a shout of joy, and ran to a little opening which I -saw on the farther side. Through this I crawled, and on my hands and -knees ascended the passage down which I had first come, and arrived at -the entrance to the cave, now closed. “Open!” I shouted. “In the name -of the sun, I command you, open!” The rock fell outward, and I crawled -through into the light of day. - -I had gone quite a mile down the mountainside before I realized that -there was no sound of thunder; I looked up at the top of the mountain -and paused to listen; all was silent, sunny, and peaceful. I had -accomplished my first adventure with complete success. - -When I reached the village at the foot of the mountain, my first -thought was of the child whom my horse had injured earlier in the day. -I dismounted, and after a few moments’ inquiry found where he lived. I -was admitted to the house by his mother, who led me to an inner room, -where I beheld on a chair by a window an unusually charming little -fellow, with his left arm in a splint. I sat down before him and took -him on my lap and held him carefully in my arms. He took to me at once; -and I was pleased to feel, as his warm little body pressed close to me, -a decided warmth creep slowly and gently into my own heart. I forced -the mother, who was poor, to accept from me the only amends I could -make: a purse of gold from my belt, bestowed with a warm shake of the -hand. As I said good-by, I glanced at the mirror which hung upon the -wall. I went up to it, and looked more intently. The black hair which -had been on the left side of my head was gone. - -I pressed on the same night, and arrived in due time at the town of -Ventamere, on the shore of the Great Sea. I bought a boat, not too -large to be handled by a single man, and rigged with a single sail of a -charming orange color, somewhat patched with blue. - -Like all the islanders, I knew well how to manage a boat, and I could -see that my little bark was entirely sea-worthy. I provisioned her for -a long voyage, being mindful, of course, of the return. With a light -and favorable wind above and an ebbing tide, I set sail. - - -_He Sails Across the Great Sea_ - -As I cleared the bay and encountered the long, smooth roll of the -Great Sea, I thought, sitting with my hand on the tiller, of the dear -Princess whom I had left behind me. I remembered that I had charged her -with selfishness, and I began to doubt whether I had been altogether -just. For the first time within my memory, I felt a little uneasy on -the subject of my own conduct. However, this shadow lasted only a -moment. I sang as I sailed. - -The weather was superb, and the sea, under moderate winds, never rose -above a long and quiet swell. During the entire voyage there was -nothing more exciting than an occasional gull on easy wing circling -about the peak of my mast, and the flying fish now and then skimming -low across the surface of the sea. - -As I neared the far shore of the Great Sea, the green of the water -became a deep indigo, and I could not but rejoice in the lovely effect -amidst that expanse of rich color of the orange of my sail. I had held -the course prescribed by the sorcerer, and I knew that I should pick up -the Three-Spire Rock on sighting land. - -It came to pass as I expected. My faithful boat slipped, early of a -luminous evening, into the placid waters of a little bay. On either -hand a promontory of noble height jutted out into the sea, and from the -shallow water near the shore, against the inmost curve of the beach, -rose in three pinnacles a great, black rock, washed by a gentle and -surfless tide, and towering above as tall as the masts of a ship: the -Three-Spire Rock, beyond a doubt. - -I ran my boat almost up to the beach, the tide being at flood, and -anchored there. I put on my fine white leather suit, as being suitable -for the visit I had now to make, and waded ashore with a line which for -further security I made fast to a log partly imbedded in the sand. I -then climbed upon the shoreward side of the Three-Spire Rock, and began -my search for the Laughing Nymph. - -I examined every inch of that side of the rock as far as I could climb, -without finding any sign of an opening. I made my way slowly around -the rock to the seaward side, examining it carefully as I went, still -without success. I reached the outer side of the rock in despair. - -The light of day was fast waning, and I would soon be forced to give -up my search for the night. The water, which swelled and receded -noiselessly about the rock, became black and unfriendly. It was very -lonesome. Not a gull nor curlew nor sandpiper could be seen anywhere. -The place was too silent altogether. I pressed along the seaward face -of the rock. - -Before me, at a little distance, the tide had filled to the brim a sort -of bowl in the rock, open toward the bay, in which the water stood some -five or six feet deep. I came to this bowl and paused to select the -best way for clambering round it. I looked down into the still water -which filled it, and saw there a sight which almost made my heart stop -beating. - - -_He Finds a Child in a Pool of the Rock_ - -Floating there was the body of a drowned child. I gave a cry of pity -and stooped down to look at him. It was a naked boy of some two years, -exceedingly beautiful. I stooped lower and gazed into his upturned -face. It was the face of my own child. - -It could not be; I had myself seen him, with my own eyes, far from -here, in his mother’s arms, many months ago,--and yet, the longer I -gazed upon him, the more certainly I knew that it was my own child. I -could not be deceived. I leaned down closer and put my arms under him -and drew him up and folded him to my breast. He was cold and wet, but -beautiful beyond anything I had ever dreamed of him. I stood up, and -held his cheek against my own. It seemed to me I had never known until -this moment how dear he had been to me. I leaned, almost fainting, -against the face of the rock, and rested his fair round body in my arm -for a moment against a smooth shelf in the wall. His little shoulder -lightly touched the rock; and where it touched, a slight depression -seemed to appear, as if the rock had been a cushion. As I looked, the -depression grew deeper and wider; it deepened and widened until it -became a hollow vault, in which I could see nothing but darkness. - -Holding the fair boy close to my breast, I stepped into the dark vault, -and walked carefully forward toward the interior of the rock. In a -moment the passage made a turn to the right, and I found myself in a -brightly lighted room with a peaked ceiling, very lofty, whose floor -and walls were all of mother-of-pearl. In sconces on the walls were -hundreds of burning candles, and divans and chairs covered with the -richest silks were ranged beneath them. A door in the opposite wall -stood open, and I entered through this another room of the same kind, -with peaked ceiling, candles, mother-of-pearl, and all. As I stood in -this room I heard the tinkling of a musical instrument and the singing -of a voice. A door stood open opposite me as before, and through -this I entered a third room, precisely like the others, and stopped -in amazement. There, on a divan against the wall, under a blaze of -candles, sat my wife. - - -_The Laughing Nymph in the Three-Spired Rock_ - -She was singing gayly and accompanying her song upon a lute. When -she saw me she laughed merrily and bade me sit down beside her. I -remained standing where I was, doubting whether I had lost my senses, -and hugging the beautiful child to my breast. There was no mistake. -It was my wife indeed. I forgot for the moment the strangeness of the -encounter, and went to her and held out the child. - -“See!” I cried. “Have done with laughing! Your child! He is drowned! I -have brought him to you! See!” - -She looked at me with such merriment in her face as I had never seen -there before. She laughed again and again. I thought she would never -have done laughing. I was petrified with horror. - -“Stop!” I cried. “I must make you understand me! It is your child! Do -you understand? Can you look at him and laugh? For shame, for shame!” - -She calmed her laughter somewhat. - -“Why, what is there in that,” she said, “to make me weep? If you only -knew how ridiculous you look! Oh, dear!” And she went off into a peal -of laughter gayer than before. - -“Take him!” I said. “Look down at that little face, and smile again if -you dare!” And I laid him in her lap. - -She took him up carelessly and placed him out of her way on the divan. - -“Really,” she said, “you mustn’t expect to disturb me with these -things. I was singing a lovely new song when you came in. Listen!” And -she took the lute in her hands and began to sing a stave of her song. - -I felt a wave of anger rise within me. I rushed upon her blindly and -tore the lute from her hands and dashed it on the floor. I seized her -shoulders and shook her violently; and the more violently I shook her -the more she laughed. I bethought me of the pin which lay in my pocket, -and at the same time there flashed into my mind what the sorcerer had -said about the Laughing Nymph; I had quite forgotten them both. I -snatched the pin forth from my pocket with my left hand, and closing my -eyes plunged it deep into the left arm of the Laughing Nymph. - -She did not scream with pain, but her laughter instantly ceased. She -looked at me with surprise, as if she were now seeing me for the first -time. An expression of reproachful sorrow came over her face; tears -started into her eyes and rolled down her cheeks; and suddenly she -buried her face in her hands and wept bitterly. She arose, and threw -herself on her knees beside the child and called to him wildly, sobbing -as if her heart would break. - -I looked on for a moment with my brain in a whirl. A strong impulse of -love and pity moved me to put my arm around her and comfort her; but I -restrained myself, and in that moment I saw what it all meant; I left -the Laughing Nymph still weeping beside the child, and fled. - - -_The Second Black Hair Is Gone_ - -Outside, on the beach, under the stars, I collected my disordered wits. -I went to the little cabin in my boat, and gazed at myself in the -mirror which hung upon its wall. My eyes were unnaturally large and -hollow; my cheeks were pale; and the black hair which had been on the -right side of my head was gone. - -I gathered together such provisions as I could carry, and seeing that -the boat was well secured, I departed upon my third and last adventure. - -Many days I traveled. The sorcerer had given me my course with much -particularity, and there was no question of losing my way. My thoughts -were sad company, and yet I felt a kind of elation. I began to look -back on myself with horror, and to remember the sweetness of my -Princess with admiration and love. - -One morning I ascended a long wooded hill and stood upon its top. Below -me, at no great distance, lay a river, curved at this point outward -like a crescent. On its farther side stretched a field some two miles -deep, grown high with grass and flowers, and bounded at its rear by a -high cliff whose walls at either end met the river, enclosing the field -so that its shape, between them and the river, was roughly that of a -half-moon. It was, without a doubt, the pasture of Korbi, beside the -river Tarn. The time for my last adventure had arrived. - -I descended rapidly to the river, first leaving my pack in a safe -place, and waded across the stream; it came to my shoulders, but I had -no difficulty in reaching the other side. I pressed forward through the -tall grass to the foot of the cliff. I walked along its base until I -found above me on its face, somewhat higher than my reach, a circle of -white stones; and by this I knew that it was at this point that I must -climb. - -The ascent was excessively difficult. I mounted, with great pain, to -a point so high that I no longer dared look below; I fixed my eyes on -each crevice and cranny as they appeared above me, and tried to think -of nothing but my next step upward. I was nearing the top. I looked up, -and saw directly overhead a great bowlder which projected from the face -of the cliff, evidently at its very summit. This was the bowlder of -which the sorcerer had spoken as the abode of the Great Horned Owl. A -dozen more painful steps brought me to the under side of the bowlder. I -clung to the cliff with both hands, and without a sound crept along its -face until I was out from under the bowlder on its left side, and then -climbed noiselessly upward until I stood beside the bowlder so as to -look across its top. There I saw, at my right, the object of my search. - - -_The Great Horned Owl Stands Ready for the Loop of Thread_ - -The Great Horned Owl was standing motionless, his wide eyes staring -across the valley of the Tarn. I was thankful that in that bright light -of the sun he was blind. He did not turn his head in my direction, and -he was evidently unaware of my presence. His feathers, as I could see, -were flakes or scales of some shining metal. He looked harmless enough, -and I felt myself full of confidence. - -The hand which was nearest him was my right. Holding on to the cliff -with my left, I took from my pocket, with my right, the thread which -the sorcerer had given me, and cleared the loop so that I could drop it -over the creature’s head without tangling. I leaned across the bowlder -toward him, keeping very quiet, and brought my right hand with the loop -so close to him that I could have touched him. With that hand I held -the loop above his head and began to lower it. It came down closer and -closer; it reached the top of his head; I held my breath; my eyes were -fixed on his; I lowered the loop another inch or two, until it came -to his curved beak, without touching him; and I was about to drop it -over his neck,--when suddenly he flapped his wings and fluttered his -feathers all together; and all the little metal plates on his body -striking one another gave off a rattling discharge of sharp reports, so -violent that I thought the cliff was being blown to pieces. I jumped -with fright, and scarcely refrained from uttering a cry; but I held my -tongue, and dropped the loop around his neck. - -Instantly the metal feathers were still and the noise ceased, and the -owl turned his head slowly toward me and stared straight into my face; -and as he gazed at me, all at once it came to me that I had dropped -the noose with my right hand instead of my left. I was aghast at my -mistake. I tugged at the thread frantically, but the owl did not -budge. I began to grow dizzy. My arm tingled and grew numb. Everything -turned black before my eyes. I could not remember where I was. I -swayed and lost my balance; I felt myself falling; I clutched wildly -for support, but touched nothing; I felt myself falling through space, -falling, falling, as a person falls in a dream, for hours as it seemed, -sick and dizzy. Only once did I touch anything, and then I felt in my -knee a sharp pain, and was conscious that I was bleeding from a cut; -and then I knew no more. - -When I came to myself, I was standing at the foot of the cliff, where I -had commenced my ascent. I looked upward, and wondered that I was alive -after such a fall. As my eye traveled downward and rested on the circle -of white stones above me I noticed in their center a little splotch of -blood, evidently from my knee where it had been cut in my fall; and as -I continued to look, the splotch grew into a blood-red flower, waving -on a long stem. I felt a strange desire to take the flower in my teeth -and tear it. - - -_Alb Sees in the River the Reflection of a Unicorn_ - -I wondered whether anything had happened to the hair in the middle of -my head. I went to the river, and looked down at myself in a clear -pool near the bank. I was surprised to see there the reflection of a -small white horse’s head. I turned round, to see the animal which must -have been looking over my shoulder. No animal was there. I could not -understand it. I looked again at the surface of the water; the same -head met my gaze; a small white horse’s head, and in the center of it a -sharp, white horn. I looked behind me again, and again into the river. -I stood in the water, and saw there the full image of the little white -horse. It was myself. - -Thus (said the young man, sitting in the half-moon pasture of Korbi, by -the river Tarn), you know my story. I have kept count of the days since -my enchantment, and they now amount to two years; the age of my little -son when he was drowned. You have taken from me the third black hair, -and I shall now fly back to my beloved Princess, cured of the curse -of perpetual happiness, to spend with her the remainder of my days in -blessed light and shadow, peace and storm, laughter and tears. - - * * * * * - -_“I wonder,” said Bojohn thoughtfully, after a moment’s silence, “who -the old man was who gave him the curse in the first place.”_ - -_“Did Alb tell you,” said Bodkin, “who the old man was?”_ - -_“No,” said Solario; “I don’t believe he ever knew. But I happen to -know, myself, because it was revealed to me in the course of the story -which was told me by--”_ - -_“Tell us! Tell us!” cried the two boys._ - -_“No,” said Solario, “it is much too late, and I must now, if you will -permit me, bid you good night.”_ - - - - -[Illustration] - - - - -THE THIRD NIGHT - -THE SON OF THE TAILOR OF OOGH - - -_The King was engaged with the Master of the Wardrobe in a game -of chess in the throne room, and the Princess Dorobel (the King’s -daughter) and her husband Prince Bilbo were looking on._ - -_In the next room the Queen was at dominoes with the Second Lady in -Waiting, and Prince Bojohn (her grandson) and his friend Bodkin came -and stood behind their chairs._ - -_“Grandmother,” said Bojohn, “wouldn’t you like to hear a story?”_ - -_“Not now, my dear,” said the Queen, and she put down a double five, -smiling at the Lady in Waiting._ - -_“Come along, then,” said Bojohn to Bodkin. They went into the throne -room, and stood behind the King’s chair._ - -_“Grandfather,” said Bojohn, “wouldn’t you like to hear a story?”_ - -_“You made a fatal mistake in moving your knight,” said The King. “I -will now move my bishop and put you in check. So!”_ - -_“Grandfather!” said Bojohn. “Wouldn’t you like to--”_ - -_“Take your time, take your time,” said the King. “If you move out of -check, I’ll have you in three moves. See if I don’t!”_ - -_“Grandfather!” said Bojohn._ - -_“Ah!” said the King. “That’s different. Hum. Ha. I didn’t think you’d -do that. Plague take it, now I’ve got to think up something else.”_ - -_The Princess Dorobel placed her arm around the shoulder of Bojohn her -son. She was radiant in a white evening gown, and she wore pearls in -her hair._ - -_“Never mind, my dear,” said she,_ “I’d _like to hear a story.”_ - -_“And father too!” said Bojohn. “Come along, both of you!”_ - -_The Princess Dorobel put her arm in her husband’s, and hurried him -away after the two boys, who were already going out at the door._ - -_They followed the boys through dark halls and up a staircase into the -northeast tower, and stopped, all four, before the door of Solario’s -room. Prince Bojohn knocked, and a voice from within bade them enter._ - -[Illustration: Mortimer the Executioner was being measured by Solario -for a suit] - -_Mortimer the Executioner, seven feet tall and vast as a hogshead -around the middle, was standing in his shirt sleeves beside the table, -and before him stood Solario on a chair, measuring him with a tape. On -the table lay a pile of cloth, with shears, chalk, needles, thread, and -wax._ - -_Solario jumped down from his chair and bowed. He was plainly in high -good humor._ - -_“Be seated, be seated, I pray you,” he cried, bringing up chairs in a -hurry. “This is a great honor; a very great honor indeed. You see me -in the midst of my-- Pray be seated. Will you excuse me while I note -down the shoulder measurement?” He bent over the table, and jotted down -some figures in a book. “Mortimer,” said he, “you may go now. We will -continue our labors in the morning.”_ - -_Mortimer, in confusion, hastily put on his coat, which caused a couple -of white mice to jump from his pockets and run up his sleeves._ - -_“Don’t go,” said the Princess Dorobel. “We are about to ask our good -friend Solario for a story, and I am sure you would like to hear it.”_ - -_“Yes,” said Prince Bilbo, “we have come to hear another story, if you -will be good enough to--”_ - -_“The story of Montesango’s Cave!” cried both boys, together._ - -_“Or the Roving Griffin!” cried Bojohn._ - -_“Or the Blind Giant!” cried Bodkin._ - -_“If you will pardon me,” said Solario, “I think that it would please -Prince Bilbo and the Princess better, perhaps, to hear the story told -me by the Black Prince on the memorable night when--”_ - -_“Don’t forget,” said Bodkin, “we want to hear about the old man with -the shaggy eyebrows, who got the golden chain away from the goldsmith’s -son.”_ - -_“I will tell you,” said Solario, “about the old man and about the -Black Prince at the same time.”_ - -_“We know nothing,” said Prince Bilbo, “about any old man with shaggy -eyebrows.”_ - -_“I’ll tell you, father!” said Bojohn; and he told what he knew. “Now -then!” he said to Solario. “Please go on!”_ - -_Solario the tailor seated himself cross-legged on his table, and the -others drew up their chairs before him in a row._ - -_“Has the old man with the shaggy eyebrows,” said Prince Bilbo, -“something to do with the Black Prince?”_ - -_“Precisely, sir,” said Solario. “If you are ready, I will relate to -you the story which the Black Prince told me on the memorable night -when-- However. Are you ready?”_ - -_“Dear me!” said the Princess Dorobel. “This is very cozy, indeed.”_ - -_“Go on!” cried Bojohn; and Solario, picking up his shears and gazing -at them thoughtfully for a moment, began, in the following words,_ - - -THE STORY OF THE BLACK PRINCE - -You must know, most excellent Solario (said the Black Prince) that my -father, the King of Wen, called me to him one morning, and taking me -into his private cabinet, spoke to me as follows. - -“My son,” said he, “you are aware what anxiety I have suffered, -throughout my reign, regarding my city of Oogh, by reason of its -remoteness from my castle. I have, as you know, been unable to visit it -since my early youth. It is now some four years since I sent to that -city, to govern it in my stead, our friend Urban, so well-beloved among -us for his unfailing courtesy.” - - * * * * * - -_“Oh!” said Bojohn. “That must be the Courteous Stranger.” Solario -said, “Precisely.”_ - -“For many months,” continued my father, the King of Wen, “I have had -no word from him, and I fear that some misfortune has befallen him. I -design therefore, my son, to send you to the city of Oogh, to find out -what is wrong, and if necessary to lend him aid. It will be best for -you to enter the city without making yourself known. Your mission may -be dangerous, and I accordingly wish you to wear this doublet, which -will protect you against all harm so long as it remains intact. I know -of no power which can remove it from your person, or detach from it -even a single button; but I warn you to be careful, for any injury to -it will deprive it of all virtue, and the consequences to you in that -case might be serious. Take the doublet from me with your left hand, -and I will tell you how I came into possession of it.” - -Thereupon my father with his left hand placed the doublet in my left -hand, and commenced - - -THE STORY OF THE MAGIC DOUBLET - -“When I was a young man,” said my father,-- - -_“Please excuse me, Solario,” said Prince Bilbo; “don’t you think it -might be better to go on with the main story, without stopping to--”_ - -_“Really, I think it would,” said the Princess Dorobel._ - -_“Oh, mother!” said Bojohn._ - -_“If it is your pleasure,” said Solario, “I will omit the story of the -magic doublet for the present.”_ - -_“I really think it would be better,” said the Princess Dorobel._ - -_“Oh, shucks,” said Bojohn to Bodkin, in a whisper._ - -“This is the doublet,” said my father when he had finished his story, -“which, as I have told you, was made by the One-Armed Sorcerer with -his left hand. Prepare now for your journey, my son, and good fortune -attend you.” - -All that day I spent in preparation, and early on the next morning I -set forth for the city of Oogh. My daughter, the Princess Amadore, -implored me to take her with me. She was ever of an ardent and -adventurous spirit, and she would not listen to my objections on the -score of danger. She usually had her way with me, and I knew from the -first that there was no use in resisting her entreaties; and the upshot -of it was that I yielded, though much against my judgment. - - -_The Prince and His Daughter Set Forth for Oogh_ - -In due time we made our way to the city of Fadz on the seacoast, where -we took ship for Oogh; and for some two weeks we sailed the Great Sea -with favorable winds. At the end of that time we were blown out of our -course by storms, and took shelter in the Island Kingdom, at a port -called Ventamere, whence we visited the kingdom’s capital city, and -arrived there in time to witness, as the King’s guests, the marriage of -his daughter the Princess Hyla to one Alb, a goldsmith’s son, a youth -of exceedingly cheerful and engaging manners. This ceremony over, we -returned to Ventamere, and there took ship once more for Oogh. - -No further accident delayed us, and after a week we sighted that part -of the mainland which my father had described to me. At my direction we -were put ashore, my daughter and myself, at a point where, as I knew, I -should find the road to Oogh. - -Leaving orders for the ship to ride at a safe distance from shore -against our return, we turned our faces inland; but before going -further, I darkened my face, neck, and hands with walnut juice, -and dressed myself in patched and threadbare clothing. I put on my -magic doublet, but concealed it beneath a rude blue smock. I tried -to persuade my daughter to darken her face also, but she positively -refused to ruin her complexion, as she expressed it, and I now -regretted bitterly that I had brought her with me. I was able to -persuade her, however, to put on a coarse and tattered gown, but she -did it very unwillingly. I had provided myself with some trinkets of -silver, odds and ends of lace and silk, and children’s toys, and these -I now slung on my back in a pack. Thus, in the character of a peddler -and his daughter, we set forth upon the road to Oogh. - - -_A Strange Encounter at a Wayside Well_ - -Late in the afternoon we saw before us the roofs of the city, and -at the end of the road a gate in the city wall. At the same time we -perceived, in a clump of trees, a wayside well, and we were hastening -toward it, being tired and thirsty, when we heard a voice in that -direction, which was exclaiming angrily: - -“There! Take that! I hate you, I hate you! Oh, if I could never see you -again!” - -Hearing no reply to this outburst, and wondering who it was that could -take such language in silence, we hurried forward, and saw, standing -beside the well, under the trees, a boy and no one else; a boy of some -twelve years of age, dressed in a gorgeous robe of pale yellow silk; -a singularly beautiful boy, with great dark eyes and curly dark hair, -but a face extremely pallid and stained with tears; a face, in fact, -the saddest I had ever seen in a child. He was picking up from the wet -ground beside the well handfuls of mud, and spattering his silk robe -with it; and as we arrived he tore from his head a cap of spotless -white velvet and stamped it into the mud, crying out, “I won’t wear you -any more, I won’t! I hate you!” And then he burst into tears and flung -himself full length on his face in the mud, beating the ground with his -hands and muttering brokenly to himself. - -We paused in astonishment, but my daughter, recovering herself quickly, -ran to him and put her hand on his shoulder. He sat up, startled. He -rose to his feet timidly, and gazed at us with big round eyes, trying -to choke back his sobs. He was mud from head to foot, and his gorgeous -robe was ruined. - -My daughter coaxed him to tell her what was the matter, but he made no -answer; instead, he pulled off the ruined robe and flung it in the mud, -and standing in his shirt and breeches stamped upon it and burst into -tears again, and cried, “I won’t wear it! I want to be poor! I want to -be like the others! Oh, the wicked Eyebrow! Why can’t he be good like -the others? Oh, if I could only cut off the Eyebrow and make him poor -and good like the others!” - -My daughter took his hand and begged him to tell her his trouble, but -all he would say was, “He’s wicked, and I want him to be good like the -others! And to-night he’s going to give the Blind Bowler to Goolk the -Spider, and I can’t stop him, I can’t stop him!” And he broke into a -fresh storm of sobbing. - -My daughter shook her head at me pityingly. - -“We are very sorry, my lad,” said I, “and I ask you to trust us. We are -going into the city, and perhaps when you know us better you will tell -us all about it. We should like to help you. Will you come with us?” - -“What can a peddler do against the Eyebrow?” said the boy,--but he -dried his tears, and allowed my daughter to lead him forth by the hand -into the road. - -We could make nothing of the boy’s wild talk, but we went onward -without questioning him further, and drew near to the city in silence. -Beside the city gate, under the wall, a crowd of idle people were -gathered, and from the center of the group we could hear voices -singing together hoarsely. In a few minutes we were in the midst of the -crowd, and saw what it was the idlers were looking at. - - -_The Three Blind Ballad Singers_ - -Three blind men were singing a comic ballad in loud voices, and -prancing up and down in time, with such antics that the crowd -roared with delight. Each of the three held in his hand a sheaf of -papers,--ballads, undoubtedly, intended for sale to the onlookers. -Suddenly they stopped, each with a hand at his ear, and looked up at -the sky as if listening. - -“Is there a stranger here?” cried one of them. - -“A peddler and a maid!” shouted one of the crowd. “All tattered and -torn!” - -“With eyebrows?” cried the ballad singer. - -“Yes! yes!” said several of the crowd together. - -I did not like this sort of attention very well, and I was about to -draw my daughter away, when the ballad singers faced with one accord in -my direction and began to cry, “Buy our ballads! Ho, master Eyebrows! -Buy our ballads! Welcome to Oogh, master Eyebrows!” - -The faces and heads of these three fellows were covered with black -hair; but I now noticed that not one of them had the vestige of an -eyebrow; and I observed further that there was not an eyebrow amongst -all the crowd, with the exception only of the boy at my side; and as to -him, the people, when they saw him, suddenly fell silent, and backed -away from him with something like fear in their eyes. The boy observed -it, as I could see, and looked as if he were going to cry again. - -“What do we say, brothers,” shouted one of the ballad singers, “what do -we say to the damsel in the tattered gown? Shall one of us marry the -tattered damsel? Oh, yes, oh, yes! Tra la, tra la,--” - -He paused, as if waiting for a laugh; but the crowd did not laugh any -more, and my daughter was herself in fact the only one who seemed to be -amused. As for myself, I was beginning to be angry. - -“We’ll marry the Lady Tatters!” cried the blind man. “O-o-oh!” And -he burst into a loud song, in which the other two joined, all three -prancing up and down meanwhile in a ridiculous dance. So far as I can -recollect it, their song went something like this: - - “O Lady Tatters! O Lady Tatters! - We scorn the fellow who basely flatters, - But we can’t help saying that nobody matters - But you, fair lady, but you, but you! - Tra la, tra la, tra la, tra la, - We know that it’s generally customary - In cases like these to be shy and wary, - For often enough in matrimony - There’s plenty of gall mixed in with the honey, - How true that is! how true! how true! - Tra la, tra la, tra la, tra la, - But under existing circumstances - Every fellow must take some chances, - Refusing to bother concerning expenses - And other deplorable consequences, - Cheerfully scorning each friendly warning,-- - How few regard it! how few! how few! - Tra la, tra la, tra la, tra la, - O Lady Tatters! O Lady Tatters! - We’ve duly considered these difficult matters, - And now, without any reservation, - We’re ready to enter the marriage relation! - You’ve only to view our reliable faces - And gaze on our truly superlative graces, - To note that the suitors by whom you’re attended - Come really remarkably well recommended,-- - Buy it’s all in the point of view! How true! - It’s all in the point of view! - Tra la, tra la, tra la, tra la,--” - -“Silence, rogues!” I cried, out of all patience at their impudence, but -my daughter burst out laughing. It was ever her way to be amused rather -than annoyed. - -“Master Eyebrows!” shouted the first ballad singer. “Choose one of us -for the tattered damsel! What will you take for her? Speak.” - -“You shall have the Shears!” shouted the second ballad singer. - -“The Shears of Sharpness!” shouted the third. - -“See, Eyebrows!” cried the first. “The Shears of Sharpness!” - - -_The Blind Ballad Singer Displays the Shears of Sharpness_ - -He drew from under his gown a pair of tailor’s shears, and as he did so -the crowd fell back as if in alarm. He stepped toward the city wall, -and placed his hand on a flat iron bar, some two or three inches in -width, supporting an awning over a booth; and applying his shears to -it, he cut it through and through as if it had been paper. I gasped in -amazement; never had I seen a pair of shears like those. - -“The Shears for the lady!” cried the blind man. “Come, Eyebrows, -choose!” - -“Impudent rascal,” said I, “the lady is my daughter, and I foresee that -a good scourging is awaiting you. Come, Amadore!” - -“But buy our ballads!” cried the second ballad singer. “Buy our -ballads!” cried the others, and each of the three thrust toward me one -of his papers. - -I took them, and paying over a few coppers, moved on toward the city -gate. “Father!” said Amadore in my ear. “The boy is gone!” - -It was true. The boy had slipped away, and was gone. The idlers began -to laugh again, and I drew my daughter after me into the city. - -In a moment we were standing in a street of shops, and my daughter, -laughing again, begged me to read my ballads. I glanced at the sheets, -still angry, and was about to toss them away, when I observed that they -were blank, or nearly so, and I looked at them more closely. - -On the first were written these words, and nothing more: “Hurry. Hurry.” - -On the second I found these words only: “The Cobweb Room in the -Governor’s Palace.” - -On the third were these words only: “The Eyebrows of Babadag the -Tailor.” - -I stared at my daughter in perplexity; but she urged that these could -be no other than messages on behalf of our friend Urban, and that we -must find him without a moment’s delay. We walked on briskly, intending -to inquire our way to the governor’s palace. - - -_The Strange Conduct of the People of Oogh_ - -As we went on, we became aware of a general and oppressive stillness. -A few people were in the street, and some could be seen inside the -shops; but they conversed in low tones, and they seemed to be idle, -indifferent, and listless. Here and there a shopkeeper sat in a chair -before his shop, gazing blankly at the opposite wall. - -Of the first of these shopkeepers I inquired the direction of the -governor’s palace. The man started from his reverie, as if frightened, -rose from his chair, stared at me curiously, and without a word went -into his shop and closed the door. “Did you see?” said my daughter. “He -had no eyebrows.” - -At the next corner we came to an open market of stalls, and there -I repeated my inquiry. Instead of the usual bustle and clamor of a -market, there was the same silence, though the place was thronged -with people. I nudged my daughter in surprise, for among all these -people there was not an eyebrow. The venders were making no effort, -apparently, to sell their wares, and the customers were buying with an -air of indifference, as if the business bored them. I began to feel -depressed, and even my daughter was sober. - -The market man of whom I asked my direction looked anxiously about him -before answering, and then whispered hurriedly, “I’ve nothing to do -with it. Nothing. How do you come to be wearing eyebrows here?” - -Without answering him, I applied at two or three other stalls, but the -only result was a shaking of heads and a curious, wide gaze, as of -mild alarm. There was nothing to do but to search out unaided the most -pretentious house in the city; for such a house, undoubtedly, would be -the governor’s residence. - -We walked the streets for more than an hour; and everywhere was -the same silence, the same listlessness, the same apathy. “I don’t -believe,” said my daughter, “that these people have any wills of their -own at all.” - -“Certainly,” said I, “they have no eyebrows of their own, at least. -Except for the boy who ran away from us, I haven’t seen an eyebrow in -the city. It seems strange.” - - -_The Mansion in the Ruined Park_ - -We ascended a hill, and came to a park gate, at a point from which we -could see the entire city below us. Through the gate, across the park, -we saw a residence more imposing than any we had yet seen. The gate -hung wide open on broken hinges, and the park within was in a state of -ruin. - -“This must be it,” said my daughter. - -“It seems unlikely,” said I, “but we will soon know.” - -We made our way across the park, through tall weeds and tangled -brambles, and stood before a splendid but gloomy mansion. The door was -swinging open, and we entered. - -All was silent within. A sense of calamity seemed to pervade the place; -plainly it was deserted. We walked on through spacious apartments, and -everywhere was furniture of the richest description, but covered with -dust and hung with cobwebs. We stopped finally, far within, before a -door which appeared to lead outside. - -“It is no use,” said I. “Our friend is gone, if he was ever here, and -we must seek him elsewhere.” - -“No, no,” said my daughter. “We must find the Cobweb Room.” - -She led the way out into an open court green with moss and weeds, -in the center of which was a fountain with a dry and littered basin -beneath it. I stopped suddenly, and listened. “Hark!” said I. From a -distance came, or seemed to come, the voices of the three blind ballad -singers, shouting out some ribald ballad. My daughter smiled, and I -called out, “Urban!” The singing ceased, and there was no response to -my cry. “Come,” said my daughter, and led me around the dry fountain to -an alley of cypress trees which opened toward a section of the mansion -beyond the court. - -An open door at the end of this alley admitted us to a circular -chamber, very lofty, evidently an audience room, deserted like the -rest, on one side of which, on a daïs, stood a marble seat with arms, -covered with cobwebs. - -“Ah! Look!” said my daughter, and pointed to an open doorway on the -opposite side of the room. - - -_The Solitary Figure Behind the Spider’s Web_ - -The doorway was barred from top to bottom and from side to side with a -single monstrous spider’s web. We stood before it and looked through. -Seated beside a table in a little room with a high window barred -likewise with a cobweb was the figure of our friend, the governor of -Oogh. - -His head was resting mournfully on his hand, and he was staring -vacantly at the floor. His hair was long and powdered with dust; his -beard had grown to a great length; but he had no eyebrows. His hands -and clothing were white with dust, and there was around his neck, -in striking contrast, a gold chain, of very fine gold and delicate -workmanship. - -“Urban!” I cried. “We are here!” - -He did not move. I called his name again, but he seemed not to hear. -He did not move nor speak. I pushed briskly against the cobweb, but it -held like wire; I could not break through, though I dashed against it -with all my strength. I tried to cut it with a sharp knife which I wore -under my smock, but it was no use; the cobweb held, and the blade was -broken. - -We remained for a moment, peering in at our friend, uncertain what to -do. Who could have been the author of this witchery? I remembered the -name which had occurred on one of the ballad singers’ sheets. I gave -a last look at the silent and motionless figure within, and led my -daughter back to the court of the dry fountain. There she sat down on -the rim of the empty basin, and looked up at the sky as if listening. -A faint sound, as of singing at a distance, seemed to float down to us. - -“Just as I thought,” said my daughter. “It will be best for me to -remain here. I think some information will come to me here, if I wait. -Do you go down into the city, father, and seek what you may find there. -I will wait here until you return. Don’t be uneasy, father; I shall not -be lonesome.” And she laughed, as if at some joke. - -I did not understand her purpose, and I refused to leave her; but she -insisted, and I gave in at last. She always had her way. - -I left her, and set forth alone to obtain such information as I could. -I was passing out through the ruinous gateway into the street, when I -heard, or fancied I heard, from the direction of the house, the voices -of the three blind ballad singers, in one of their songs; but when I -stopped to listen I could hear them no longer, and I concluded that I -had been mistaken. - -I reached the market place, and stood for a moment behind an awning, -debating whether I might put a question regarding Babadag the Tailor. -I was still uncertain what to do, when a slight commotion among the -people attracted my notice. I looked out from my concealment, and saw, -approaching from the next corner, the boy whom I had found beside the -wayside well. - - -_The Prince Watches the People’s Behavior Toward the Boy_ - -His face was dark with a sort of settled gloom. He walked slowly, and -as he came on the people made way for him and stood whispering in -groups and glancing at him furtively over their shoulders. He paused -at one of the stalls and picking up some dates looked at the vender, -timidly and appealingly, as if about to speak; but the vender sidled -away from him toward the nearest group, and the boy put down the fruit, -sighed, and went on. - -He passed the place of my concealment, and by this time tears were -beginning to trickle down his cheeks. But he held his head proudly, and -looking neither to right nor to left passed out of sight around the -next corner. - -I followed him, hoping for some light upon the general mystery. I -followed him across the city, through many streets, wondering why -it was that a boy so gentle and so beautiful should seem to inspire -everywhere a kind of mild and listless aversion. At one place a child -ran up to him and tugged at his garments, and the boy’s face lighted -up with pleasure; but the child’s mother pulled her infant away in a -hurry, and the boy went on, more sadly than before. - -He came to a street in which, for the space of a single block, the -shops and houses were evidently deserted; and in the middle of this -block, before a shop with broken windows, deserted apparently like the -rest, the boy stopped, and pushing open the front door, went in. - -I came up quickly, and peeping in at the same door saw a vacant room -within, in which remnants of old merchandise were lying about in -disorder, and dirt and refuse lay everywhere on the floor. I went in -quietly and crossed the room to a door at the rear, and opening it on -a crack saw the boy stooping down in a paved yard. I heard the boy -speak, without hearing what he said, and saw him descend by some means -into the ground and disappear. - -I ran to the spot and knelt down beside an iron grating, some three -feet square, which I found there in the pavement. I heard from below a -rumble, succeeded by a clatter, and then there was silence. Laying down -my pack on the ground I pulled at the grating, and found that it rose -on hinges, like a trapdoor. I opened it, and saw beneath it a ladder. I -stepped on the top rung, and went down. - - -_The Man with the Ball in the Underground Alley_ - -At the bottom I found myself at one end of a dimly lighted room, very -long and very narrow, like an enclosed alley; and near by was the boy, -and beside him a grown man, both intent on something at the other end -of the room. The man was swinging in his right hand a large wooden -ball, and as I watched him he cried out, laughing cheerily: - -“Never mind, Figli! This time I’ll make a strike! Only forty-seven more -to make! Now watch!” - -He hurled the ball from him along the floor, and it rolled swiftly to -the far end of the room, where it crashed in among ten large wooden -bottles, standing upright on the floor. He was playing tenpins. - -“Oh!” cried the boy called Figli. “Only seven!” - -“Never mind, never mind,” said the Bowler, cheerfully, and ran up the -alley and set up the pins, and then ran back with the ball, in great -haste. As he came back, he appeared to look directly at me, but gave no -sign of having seen me. I scanned his face closely. He was blind. His -hair and beard were black, and he had no eyebrows. - -The boy flung out his hands as if in despair, and cried: - -“It’s no use! You can’t do it! Forty-seven strikes to make by midnight! -Oh, he’ll give you to Goolk the Spider! What shall I do? What shall I -do?” - -“Perhaps I can help you,” said I, coming forward. - -The boy sprang up, and the Blind Bowler wheeled round toward me. - -“Oh! it’s you,” said the boy named Figli. “What can a peddler do -against the Eyebrow?” - -“Who is it?” said the Blind Bowler. - -“It’s a stranger with eyebrows,” said Figli, “who was kind to me -to-day.” - -The Blind Bowler sent a ball spinning up the alley, and all the ten -pins fell down with a clatter. - -“A strike!” cried Figli, joyfully. - -“We’ll do it yet!” said the Bowler. “Only forty-six more! Never give -up! Keep everlastingly at it, that’s my motto!” And he ran after the -ball, set up the pins, and ran back, ready to throw again. - -“If he has eyebrows,” said he, panting and wiping his forehead, “he -must have a will of his own; and it must be a good will, or else he -wouldn’t have been kind to you.” - -He rolled the ball again, knocking down only six. - -“Better luck next time!” he cried, and darted up the alley. “Never say -die, and keep everlastingly at it, that’s the motto!” - -“My boy,” said I, “I beg you to trust me, and to tell me who you are, -and why--” - -“A strike!” cried the Blind Bowler. “Only forty-five to make by -midnight! Trust him, Figli! His voice is honest. I think he is the one -we have been waiting for. Trust him!” - -“It’s hard for me to tell you,” said the boy, “it’s too--” - -“I’ll tell you!” cried the Blind Bowler, running down the alley. “His -name is Figli Babadag. Does that tell you everything?” - -“No, nothing,” said I. - -“Eight down that time!” cried the Bowler. “Never say die! He’s the son -of Babadag the Tailor. Now do you know?” - -“No,” said I. - -“Then I must tell you,” said the Blind Bowler. “It is Babadag who rules -the city; don’t you know that? Master of black secrets is Babadag, and -lord of the Eyebrow; and his anger is terrible. He has put the golden -chain about the Governor’s neck and shut him up in the Cobweb Room. -He has drawn the wills from out of the brains of all our people, by -plucking out their eyebrows, so that in all the city there are but two -wills only, one bad and one good: the will of Babadag and the will of -his little son. Nine down that time! Never give up!” - -“Oh!” cried Figli. “I want my father to be good! I want him to be poor -and good like the others! If I could only make him good!” - -“Only one way to do that!” said the Blind Bowler, halfway down the -alley. “He is lord of the Eyebrow, and in the Eyebrow lies his power. -But the hairs of his eyebrows are no ordinary hairs; they are of the -family of gray snakes that live in the lake Siskratoum, and there is no -one to cut them, even if there were a blade sharp enough; and they must -be cut by the hand of love, and there is no one here that loves him, -but his son. There is not one but trembles at his name, and even at the -name of Figli his son;--there is scarcely one who dares brush against -the boy in the street, for fear of what power may lie in the eyebrows -of the boy, and for fear of his father’s malice.” - -“They won’t speak to me!” cried Figli. “They’re afraid of me! And I’ve -done them no harm! I only want to be friends with them!” - -“You see he’s all alone. He hates his riches; he wants to be poor and -simple, like the others.” - -“And what about yourself?” said I. - -“Ah!” cried the Blind Bowler. “Only six down that time! Not so easy, -when you’ve no eyes to see with! But keep everlastingly at it, that’s -the word! What did you say?” - -“What about yourself?” said I. - -“Oh, me! I helped the governor fight this Babadag, and we lost; and -for that the powerful one put out my eyes, and the eyes of my three -brothers as well, for nothing but because they were my brothers; three -ballad singers--” - -“Yes!” said I. “I have seen them.” - -“Ridiculous fellows, but no harm in them! And because it was my -pleasure in former times to play at bowling, old Babadag placed me -here, under my shop, to bowl a thousand strikes, if I could, by -midnight of this very day; and if not, to take my place in the web with -Goolk the Spider. Those ballad singers, my brothers, they would like -to help me if they could, and perhaps they will yet, who knows? Aha! -Another strike! I’ll do it yet!” - -“It’s no use,” said Figli. “The time’s too short. And I can’t save him. -Oh, if you could help us, peddler! But you mustn’t do my father any -harm!” - -“My boy,” said I, “I am a friend of the enchanted governor, and I will -do my best to help you. And perhaps the three blind ballad singers mean -to help too. I think they do. Will you take me to your father?” - -The boy started in alarm. “You are very brave, peddler,” said he. “What -do you say?” he asked of the Blind Bowler. - -“I say yes!” cried the Bowler. “There is hope in this stranger. I think -he’s the one we’ve been waiting for. My brothers have been on the -lookout for him. They’ll help too. Trust him!” - -“Do you know any stories?” said the boy. - -I smiled. “A few, I dare say,” said I. - -“My father is a lover of tales. It’s his one weakness. It will be safer -for you if you can amuse him with tales, and the longer they are the -better.” - -“The wine, if he offers you any,” said the Blind Bowler, “will be -drugged; that much is sure. Take care. And do not let yourself be -touched by Goolk the Spider.” - -“Come,” said I. “There is not a moment to be lost.” - - -_The Prince Sets Out for His Encounter with Babadag the Tailor_ - -I hastened to the ladder, followed by the boy, and we began to go up. -The tenpins fell down with a clatter, and as I reached the grating -overhead I heard the voice of the Blind Bowler from below, crying out -cheerily, “Four down! Never mind! Keep everlastingly at it!” - -In the paved yard I slung my pack on my back again, and followed the -boy into the street. It was beginning to grow dark, and I thought -anxiously of my daughter; but I could not go back to her yet. During -our walk the boy spoke only once, and then he said: - -“You must not do my father any harm. I love my father. I want him to be -good, like the others, but I should die--I should die!--if he came to -any harm.” - -I did not reply, but followed for half an hour through streets which -were now almost empty of people. We entered at last a street narrower -than the others, paved with cobblestones and without a sidewalk, -and stopped before a shop over whose door, by way of a sign, hung a -yardstick and a pair of shears. It seemed a mean enough abode for the -ruler of the city, but Figli, without hesitating, opened the door and -went in. The room inside was dark, but I could see a tailor’s bench and -implements, and a disorderly array of half-finished garments, covered -with dust. The boy opened a door at the rear, and I followed him along -a dark passage to another door, which Figli threw open to a flood of -light. - - -_Babadag the Tailor, Goolk the Spider, and the Eight Tailors_ - -We were standing in a magnificent apartment, paved with colored marble, -hung and spread with soft rugs, and lit with hundreds of tapers. At -the left, near the wall, was sitting an old man, and behind his chair, -from ceiling to floor, was a gigantic spider’s web, which glistened -like silver in the candlelight. In the center of this web was a great -green spider, with five or six small black spiders about him. Against -the opposite wall, on a tailor’s bench, eight men, totally without -eyebrows, were sitting cross-legged, each bending over a bowl held on -his knees, filled with what looked like shreds of hair, and engaged in -some kind of work with tiny knitting needles. - -The old man’s gross and heavy body was clothed in a gorgeous robe of -pale yellow silk, like that which the boy had thrown in the mud, but -embroidered with spider’s webs of spun gold, and studded with rubies -and amethysts. His face, a rather jovial face, was covered with gray -hair, which hung over his breast, and his eyes shone like sparks behind -a pair of the shaggiest eyebrows I had ever seen. He gazed at me -calmly, and held out a hand to his son. - -The boy went to him, and Babadag the Tailor put an arm about him and -said, with very obvious tenderness: - -“My boy, you are late. And your robe and hat! Where are they?” - -The boy threw himself on his knees beside his father, and cried, -“Oh, father! I couldn’t wear them any longer. I couldn’t! They’re -hateful! I don’t want to be dressed in silk! I want to be poor like the -others! I can’t wear them any longer, I can’t, I can’t!” - -[Illustration: “You are welcome, master peddler,” said Babadag] - -The old man smiled kindly. “Never mind, my son, never mind. I’ll not -scold you. We’ll think no more about it. Who is the visitor you have -brought with you?” - -“It’s a peddler,” said Figli, standing up. “I don’t know his name; a -peddler I met by chance, and I’d like you to buy me something from his -pack.” - -I stepped forward, made my bow, and dropped my pack to the floor. - -“You are welcome, master peddler,” said Babadag. - -The green spider gave a sharp twitch, which set the whole web quivering. - -“Quiet, Goolk!” said Babadag. - -The eight men on the tailor’s bench stopped their work, and said: -“Welcome, master peddler!” - -“Knit your brows!” said Babadag, angrily, and the eight men hurriedly -resumed their knitting. - -I opened my pack and began to take out some toys. - -“Presently, presently, peddler,” said Babadag, stopping me. “Your face -is dark, stranger. A little more, and it would have been black.” - -“Yes, very dark,” said the eight men, stopping their work again. - -“Knit your brows!” thundered Babadag. “Accursed dogs, be silent!--A -dark stranger, who wears eyebrows in the city of Oogh! A thing of -interest! I would gladly know who you are and what brings you here.” - -I was prepared with my story, and I answered promptly. - -“Magnificence,” said I, “I am a peddler, and my name is Nobbud -Bald-er-Dash. If the ear of graciousness will incline to me, I will -tell an amusing tale concerning myself, and at some length.” - -“A tale!” cried Babadag. “You must know, honest Bald-er-Dash, that I am -a lover of tales. A weakness! I confess it. Come! We will make a night -of it. Goolk,” said he, rising, “come hither!” - -The green spider sped down the web to the floor, and ran up the old -man’s yellow silk robe, and came to a stop on his breast, beside his -beard. - -“It is the hour of the evening repast,” continued Babadag, stroking the -spider with his finger, “and I invite you to sit down with me. A guest -who has a tale to tell! It is good fortune, no less! Come, Figli, my -son, we will listen to the excellent Bald-er-Dash while we dine.” - - -_The Prince Dines with Babadag the Tailor_ - -He pulled aside a curtain in the wall, and leaving the eight men at -their work, we passed, all three, into an open court, hung about with -lanterns of colored glass, and odorous with flowers. Under an awning -was a small table, set for two. It was now dark, and the lanterns shed -a soft glow on the silver and glass of the table. Servants appeared and -laid a place for myself, and the meal commenced. - -“You are wondering, Bald-er-Dash,” said Babadag, “who the eight men -are whom we have just left. They are tailors, known among us as the -Knitters of Eyebrows. They are knitting for me, out of the eyebrows -which my good people have been so kind as to give me, a garment known -as the Cloak of Wills, which will, when finished, complete the mastery -of the fortunate person who wears it. Try a little of this wine, my -good Bald-er-Dash; you will find it excellent.” - -I pretended to drink the wine, but I was able, while Babadag’s -attention was fixed on his plate, to spill a good deal of it on the -floor. - -“I am anxious to hear your story,” said the old man. “The singers who -sometimes entertain me at my meals are late to-day, and we will not -wait for them. Bald-er-Dash, my good fellow, let me hear your tale.” - -At this moment voices were heard from the shadows, and three men came -running toward the table, crying out boisterously. - -“Good news!” they were shouting. “We’re going to marry! She’s promised! -She’ll marry the one you choose, tra la! She’ll marry the one you -choose!” - - -_The Three Blind Ballad Singers Once More_ - -They began to sing, at the top of their voices. I started in surprise. -It was the three blind ballad singers. “O-o-oh!” they sang: - - “She wanted to marry us all, she said, - But that wouldn’t do, no never, - No never, no never, no, no! - From suitors a dozen, - Not counting a cousin - And two or three uncles or so, - She’d freely and frankly, firmly and fairly, - Flatly and finally fled! - For never a one could sing, not one, - Not a line, not a note, not a thing, not one, - And she, she said, if she must be wed, - A singer she’d have, or she’d have none, - For really she’d almost rather be dead - If she couldn’t be uninterruptedly fed - On an endless tonic - Of scales harmonic - In every possible key, - An infinite series, never finished, - Of chords with all the sevenths diminished, - And all the intervals less than minor,-- - Surely nothing could be diviner, - Nothing! nothing at all, said she: - And after breakfast a quaver hemi, - And after dinner a quaver demi, - And after supper a quaver semi, - And in between, for ever and ever, - Every possible kind of shake! - The fact of the matter is, you see, - She’d made up her mind, beyond mistake, - To offer her hand to one of we! - But which should it be? - Which one of the three? - And what of the two who would have to go? - What about them? she said; that’s it! - She didn’t approve the idea a bit. - Those other two she could never forget,-- - Just think of them out in the cold and wet! - Just think of their terrible, terrible woe! - She wanted to marry, and yet, and yet, - She’d never be happy, no never, - No never, no never, no, no!” - -“Silence, fools,” said Babadag, laughing. “We are about to listen to -a tale,--a tale from Bald-er-Dash the peddler. Will you proceed now, -excellent peddler?” - -“Willingly,” said I. - -At the sound of my voice, the three blind men cried out “Aha!” and -broke into a fresh song: - - “The peddler and the peddler’s maid, oh fair as milk was she, - And she promised on her honor she would marry one of three,--” - -“Silence, rascals!” said Babadag. - -I was becoming, all this while, more and more restless, for I had no -doubt that all this talk of marriage had reference to my own daughter. -I wondered bitterly what mischief she had been up to during my absence. - -“These rascals,” said Babadag, still laughing, “sometimes I am minded -to put them to death. I don’t know really why I let them live. Now -then, excellent one, let us hear the tale.” - -I bowed, and while the repast proceeded, and the three ballad singers -remained standing behind our chairs, I related to Babadag, as follows, - - -THE STORY OF NOBBUD BALD-ER-DASH THE PEDDLER - -“In the course of my wanderings,” I began, “I arrived one day at a -spring in the wilderness, beside which were encamped a company of--” - -_“I think,” said Solario, interrupting himself, “that I cannot -conscientiously repeat this story, because--”_ - -_“Oh, please!” said Bojohn. “We’d like to hear it.”_ - -_“No,” said. Solario, “I couldn’t, conscientiously, because there is -not a word of truth in the story, and I do not wish to tell anything -which is not strictly true.”_ - -During my tale (said the Prince) I pretended now and then to take a -sip of wine, and to grow drowsy, so that toward the end I seemed to -have difficulty in keeping awake. When I had concluded, Babadag laughed -and said, “I thank you, peddler. Never in my life have I heard such a -tissue of--er--amusing facts. Some more wine, peddler.” - -I pretended to sip the wine again, and let my head fall forward on my -breast, and roused myself as if with a great effort. - -“I am something,” said Babadag, appearing to take no notice of my -drowsiness, “of a teller of tales myself. I will tell you in return a -story, and when I have finished you shall tell me another, if you know -any, as you undoubtedly do.” - -Thereupon he commenced a long and detailed story; and I could see that -as he proceeded he was watching me from the corner of his eye. He had -not spun out his tale very far when my eyes closed and my head nodded; -and after an apparent effort to arouse myself I let my head fall -forward on the table and lie there motionless. - -Babadag instantly stopped, raised my head gently, and laying it back -against my chair shook me roughly, but with no effect. - -“Send in the accursed dogs,” said he in a fierce whisper. - -I was aware, in a moment, that the eight tailors were standing around -me. - -“The eyebrows!” said Babadag, and the tailors bent over me and began to -pluck at my eyebrows with instruments of some sort. - -“Oh, father, father,” said Figli, “please don’t!” - -“Be still, my son,” said Babadag. - - -_The Magic Doublet Protects the Prince Against the Knitters of Eyebrows -and Against Goolk the Spider_ - -I laughed inwardly, for I was sure that, under the protection of my -doublet, my eyebrows would reappear as fast as they could be plucked -out. And indeed, from the snort of rage given by Babadag, I soon knew -that my eyebrows were safe. I could hear the eight tailors whispering -together, as if in dismay. - -“Goolk!” said Babadag, in the same angry whisper, “sting me this false -peddler!” - -“No, no, father,” said Figli. “Not that, oh, please!” - -I shivered a little, for I confess that the thought of the spider was -horrifying to me. I waited anxiously, not daring to open my eyelids -even a trifle. I assure you it was all I could do to remain still. -There was silence, and in the midst of it I felt a tickling on my left -cheek, and then a kind of pin-prick there, and I knew that the spider -had stung me. - -“Back, Goolk!” said Babadag. “Now, false peddler that you are, be -no longer either a prince or a peddler, but a spider,--a black -spider!--and take your place with Goolk in the web! Change!” - -I felt no change, and I heard another snort of rage from Babadag. “Some -charm!” he muttered. “Some charm protects him! Let us see what charm -this lying stranger carries upon him.” - -I felt that my smock was being lifted from my breast, and I heard a -kind of gasp from Babadag. “The doublet!” he said. “It is plain! Off -with the doublet!” And immediately fingers were at my breast, trying to -unbutton the doublet. - -But they could not unbutton it. Not a button would come through its -hole. - -“Fetch me a pair of shears, rascals,” said Babadag, and in a moment I -knew that shears were snapping away at my doublet. But it was no use; -the blade would not cut, neither the thread of the buttons nor the -cloth; they held like iron at every point. I heard the shears drop to -the floor. - -“The Shears of Sharpness! Bring me the Shears of Sharpness!” said -Babadag. “Nothing else will cut this doublet.” - -I heard a chuckle, and the voice of one of the ballad singers said, -“The Shears of Sharpness, brothers!” And there was another chuckle. - -“What!” said Babadag. “You laugh, rascals? You dare to laugh?” - -“The Shears of Sharpness!” said the voice of one of the ballad singers. -“Where are the Shears of Sharpness, brothers?” And at this there was a -very considerable tittering. - -“Ask the fair lady, brother,” said the voice of another of the ballad -singers. - -“She knows! The wonderful lady!” said the voice of the third. - -“Ineffable scoundrels!” said Babadag. “Have you stolen my Shears?” - -“No, no! Only borrowed them! What harm in that?” said the ballad -singers. - -“Return them to me at once!” said Babadag. - -I could hear the ballad singers chuckling together again. “We would, we -would,” said one of them, “we meant to, but--” - -“But what, beast?” - -“She has them,” said one of the three. - -“The most wonderful of women,” said another. - -“She who swore she would marry one of us,” said the third. - - -_The Prince’s Daughter Has Beguiled the Shears of Sharpness from the -Ballad Singers_ - -My daughter! My own daughter! She had beguiled the Shears from these -foolish vagabonds! Or had they let her have the Shears for some purpose -of their own--to help their brother, say? I was quite bewildered. - -“Oh, that I should let such scoundrels live!” said Babadag, fiercely. -“Where is this woman?” - -“But she wouldn’t marry us unless we gave her the Shears,” said one of -the ballad singers. “No harm in that!” - -“No harm in that, surely!” said the other two. - -“Where is this woman?” said Babadag again. - -“We left her,” said one of the others, “by the dry fountain at the -governor’s palace.” - -“Accursed,” said Babadag, evidently addressing the eight tailors, “pick -up this peddler and follow me. We must find the Shears. You, imbeciles -that you are, I will deal with you afterward. Goolk, back to your web!” - -I could not see what became of Goolk, but I knew that the eight tailors -were lifting me from my chair, and I felt myself being borne away. - -“Oh, father!” cried Figli. “You mustn’t! Please let the poor man go, oh -please!” - -“My son,” said Babadag, in the voice of tenderness with which he always -addressed his son, “he is my enemy. I must have him in my power. -Accursed doublet!” - - -_A Light Flickers in the Dark Shop_ - -In a moment I was aware that we were in the street, and I opened my -eyelids a trifle. The moon was shining. I saw Babadag starting on -before, with the three ballad singers at his back. Behind, the eight -tailors were holding me in a sitting posture between them. I could -see the shop door, without moving my head, and as we started I beheld -Figli, coming from the door, in the act of stowing away something, I -could not see what, in the bosom of his shirt. The shop was dark, but -as Figli closed the door behind him I noticed, flickering from within, -a tiny flame of light which had not been there before. I remarked that -the boy’s face was very pale in the moonlight. - -We came, after a long journey through deserted streets, to the little -hill which led up to the governor’s palace. We entered the ruined park, -and crossed it to the mansion. Babadag opened the door, and the company -paused inside, listening. All was silent. I had an impulse to shout, -in order to warn my daughter; but I knew that that would be fatal, and -I continued to lie inert and speechless in the arms of the tailors. I -risked opening my eyes from time to time, and I saw that Babadag was -leading the way from room to room, all dark except for moonlight here -and there upon the floors, and that he came at last, followed by all -the others, into the court of the dry fountain; and there the eight -tailors laid me down on the ground. My heart almost stopped beating, -for fear that my daughter should be there. - -“Vile rascals,” said Babadag, “you have deceived me! There is no woman -here.” - -“Astonishing!” said one of the ballad singers. “Not here! Who would -have thought it?” - -“I doubt that she was ever here,” said Babadag. “Wait!” - -I saw him go off down the alley of cypress trees toward the Cobweb -Room, no doubt to assure himself that his prisoner was safe, or else -to seek the woman there. As soon as he was gone, I felt a hand on my -arm, and the voice of Figli whispered in my ear, “Are you awake?” and I -pressed his hand in answer. - - -_The Prince’s Daughter Is Gone, and the Prince Makes a Dash for Liberty_ - -The eight tailors were sitting on the rim of the fountain’s basin, -mopping their foreheads and panting, and the blind men were standing -near them. I measured with my eye the distance to the door from which -I had come, and gave a sudden spring toward it which carried me nearly -there; and I was off and away, before the eight tailors realized what -had happened. - -I scoured swiftly and silently through the dark rooms in all -directions, listening now and then for sounds of pursuit. But I heard -nothing, and I began to whisper my daughter’s name from time to time. -In a room far distant from the court, to which I presently came, I -found the door at the opposite side closed, which in that house of open -doors struck me as being odd. A broad band of moonlight lay across the -floor, and in the dim light I could see the furnishings of a kitchen. -I approached the opposite door and opened it cautiously, thinking to -go through; but I looked into a cupboard, hung with pots and pans, and -there on the floor of the cupboard was sitting my daughter, calmly -eating a fig. - -She looked up at me with a merry laugh, and sprang to her feet. - -“There are very good fig trees in the park,” said she. “Will you have -one of these? No? You’ve been gone a long time. I heard some people -going through the house, and I thought I had better wait in here. I’m -going to be married!” - -“Come,” said I, “we’ve no time for jesting.” - -“But it’s the best joke!” said my daughter. “When I think how I -played on those half-wits! I’ve never had such sport in my life! I -promised to marry one of them, if they’d choose which--do you remember -the three ballad singers?” - -[Illustration: “Beauty in tatters!” said Babadag the Tailor] - -“And you have the Shears of Sharpness,” said I. - -“How do you know that?” said she. “They’re simply mad! And I wouldn’t -promise them anything unless they gave me the Shears. And they did! -And I promised! And now you’ve got to get me out of it. Here are the -Shears. Take them.” - -“I suspect, my dear,” said I, taking the Shears from her, “that these -three imbeciles meant that you should have the Shears all the time, and -they’ve been making a bit of a fool of you. But there’s no time for -talking. Hurry!” - -I stepped quickly toward the door, and as I reached it it was blocked -by a huge dark figure. It was Babadag. - -“Not so fast, peddler,” said he; and then he saw my daughter, who was -standing in the band of moonlight, most fairylike and beautiful. He -brushed past me and stopped before her, gazing at her in astonishment -and admiration. - -“Beauty in tatters!” he said. “No wonder that even blind men are -conquered. You make me forget the Shears. Surely there is no woman in -Oogh so beautiful. Will you look on me kindly? I am powerful, and I -offer you a share of my power. It is Babadag who speaks.” - -He held out his hand to her, and she shrank away in horror. “No, no!” -she screamed. “Father!” - -Babadag turned swiftly, and at that moment I sprang upon him; but the -old man snatched forth a knife, and as I caught and held the arm which -was lifted to strike, a small dark figure darted in from the doorway -and flung something over the old man’s neck from behind. - - -_Babadag the Tailor Is Conquered by His Little Son_ - -The knife dropped from Babadag’s hand. He swayed, tottered, collapsed, -and fell full length on the floor, and lay motionless on his back in -the strip of moonlight. The little dark figure knelt beside him. It was -Figli. - -“Oh, father! Oh, father!” he cried. “I’m sorry, sorry! I had to do it! -I couldn’t let you kill him! It can’t go on any longer! The eyebrows -must be cut, father! It’s only to make you like the others! We’ll both -be happier, oh, indeed we will! It’s only because I love you, father!” - -“I didn’t think you would have done this, Figli, my son,” said the old -man, gently. “You have put me in the power of my enemy. Ah, Figli, my -son, my son!” - -“I know it, I know it,” sobbed the boy, “but the lady will give the -Shears to me, and I will cut the eyebrows myself, with my own hand. The -peddler will do you no harm. You’ll be glad, father, afterward, indeed -you will.” - -“Ah, my son, my son! I wouldn’t have thought it of you,” said the old -man, still gently. - -I knelt beside him, and found around his neck a noose of the slenderest -thread, extremely tough; and the end of this thread the boy was holding -in his hand. I took it from him and looked at him inquiringly. - -“Yes,” said the boy, “it was spun by Goolk the Spider, and there is no -will can stand against it, not even my father’s. It’s the thing that -made him first able to pluck out the eyebrows of the people. I stole it -as we left the shop to-night. You won’t do him any harm, will you?” - -I stood up, keeping the end of the thread in my hand. A patter of -running feet sounded from the next room, and the eight tailors crowded -in at the doorway. They rushed to their master, and wailed and wrung -their hands. One of them drew a pair of shears, and began to snip -away at the thread, but it was plain that no ordinary blade would cut -it, and the tailor gave it up, and the other seven wailed louder than -before. - -“Lift up this knave,” I said, “and follow me.” - -The eight tailors obeyed instantly, and our party started back to the -court of the dry fountain. I walked beside the body of Babadag, keeping -close hold of the thread. When we reached the court, the three ballad -singers were sitting calmly on the rim of the basin, singing softly to -themselves. My daughter, ever incorrigible, greeted them with an amused -laugh, and they crowded around her, each trying to elbow the others out -of the way. At my command, the eight tailors laid Babadag down on his -back in the dry basin. I then gave the end of the thread into the hand -of my daughter, and left them. - -I ran down the cypress alley to the deserted audience chamber. I looked -through the cobweb at Urban, and by the dim light of the high window -saw him sitting there motionless as stone, in the same attitude as -before. - -“I am here!” I cried, but he neither moved nor spoke. I applied the -Shears, and in a moment the cobweb was hanging in shreds, and I was -standing beside my friend. I tried to pull him up, but I could not -budge him. I lifted the golden chain from around his neck, and dropped -it to the floor. Immediately he raised his head, stretched his arms, -looked up at me as if awaking from a dream, and sprang to his feet. - -“Prince!” he cried, and threw his arms about me in a transport of joy. - -I calmed him, and when he had recovered himself he said, “What of -Babadag?” - -“He is in the court at this moment,” said I, “bound fast.” - -“Good news indeed!” he cried. “Let us go!” - - -_The Governor, Being Released, Beholds the Prince’s Daughter_ - -We sped back to the court, and when Urban beheld my daughter he -scattered the blind men right and left and clasped her hand in his. I -took from her the end of the thread and knelt in the basin beside the -huge body of Babadag, and gazed down into his eyes, glittering up at me -in the moonlight through their tangle of hair. I drew the Shears. - -“No, no!” cried the boy. “You must not! Give me the Shears! I must do -it, for you do not love him, and I do! Only the hand of love! Give me -the Shears!” - -“No time for talking!” I cried. “This is no child’s play. Work for -a man! And I trust no one but myself! Now for the shearing of the -Eyebrow!” - -The boy shrieked, as if in despair, and with a mighty snap of the -Shears I cut in among the hairs of Babadag’s left eyebrow. - - -_The Shearing of the Eyebrow_ - -A spout of yellow smoke shot upward from his eyebrow, and whirled and -spread outward in a cloud, thick, sickening, blinding, pierced with -wriggling pencils of light, as if tiny snakes had been set riotously -free. It covered us both, so that he was suddenly hidden from my sight. -I gasped and choked. My eyes smarted with pain. I snapped blindly away -at him through the smoke with my Shears, resolved not to be foiled. -There was a sharp crack, as of the snapping of a whip; the Shears had -cut,--alas, alas!--not the Eyebrow, but the thread around Babadag’s -neck! Instantly the Shears were wrenched from my hand, I did not know -how; and I felt them ripping through my smock, and I knew that some -injury had been done to my doublet. A terrible voice bellowed, “Hither, -accursed dogs, and bind me this peddler!” And the next moment I was -lying on my back, with the thread fastened securely about my neck; and -my strength was suddenly gone, and the smoke began to clear away. - -I saw the old man put his arm tenderly about his son, and heard him -say, “It’s all right now, my boy. I am not angry. You have put your -father in great danger, but not from malice; I know it well. Don’t be -grieved; we’ll laugh about it together, hereafter. All’s well again. -Come, Figli, my son. Rascals, follow me!” - -He stalked away with his son down the cypress alley, and the eight -tailors lifted me and bore me after, followed by my daughter and my -friend. I looked for the three blind ballad singers, but they were -gone. I was in terrible danger, and I bitterly regretted my haste in -refusing the Shears to the boy. - - -_The Prince before the Seat of Judgment_ - -In the circular audience chamber they laid me down upon the floor. -Babadag, grotesque and somber in the darkness, seated himself in the -marble armchair on the daïs; and at the same time I heard, or fancied -I heard, the voices of the ballad singers, afar off somewhere in the -palace, singing away at one of their songs. - -“Pluck out the hairs!” said Babadag. - -“No, no!” said Figli, lying on the step of the daïs at his father’s -feet. - -“Quick, scoundrels!” said Babadag; and the eight tailors, kneeling -around me, plucked out with tiny instruments all the hairs of my -eyebrows, by the roots. Then, at a sign from their master, they stood -me on my feet and removed the spider’s thread from around my neck. My -strength returned, and I found myself able to stand alone. - -“Gone is your power, maker of fables!” said Babadag. “The doublet is -worthless. See!” And he held up what appeared to be the thread of a -button. My smock was in strips, and the doublet was exposed to view. -One button was missing. What had become of it? Babadag exhibited only -the thread. - -“Dog of a peddler,” said he, “it is your due that I give you to Goolk -the Spider for his web.” - -“Spare him! Spare him!” said Figli, in a kind of moan, rocking himself -back and forth on the step of the daïs. - -“But Babadag is merciful,” went on the old man, “and loves a tale; -and never have I heard so amusing a tissue of lies as that tale of -Bald-er-Dash the Peddler. For that, and for the pleasure I shall have -in repeating that tale hereafter, I spare you. You are harmless. Go! -and as you have chosen to darken your skin with juices, let it be -darker still. Go! and be you henceforth as black as night. I will lead -you to the palace gate, and speed you, with your daughter and your -friend, on your journey away from Oogh. Return no more, peddler, for -the web awaits you, and Goolk the Spider longs for a brother.” - -He stepped down from his seat, and we others followed him in silence. -I was conscious of no will to resist him further. We came to the court -of the dry fountain, and there my daughter looked into my face in the -moonlight. She screamed. - -We followed mournfully through the dark rooms, and came out on the -steps before the palace; and there we saw a sight both terrible and -beautiful. - - -_The Doom of the City of Oogh_ - -The city was in flames. From every roof, as far as we could see, rose -sheets of fire, and sparks showered upward into a pall of black smoke; -and as we watched, new tongues of flame blazed up from quarters dark -before. The city was doomed. - -“Ah!” said Babadag with a groan. “My city, my city!” - -“What have I done? What have I done?” cried Figli, wringing his hands -in anguish. - -“You, my son? What have you to do with this?” said his father, never -taking his eyes from the burning city. - -“It’s my work!” cried the boy. “But I never dreamed of this! I set fire -to the shop, our shop, before I left,--to burn up all the black secrets -in my father’s house, and to kill Goolk the Spider, to kill him, kill -him, so that he would never get the Blind Bowler, nor any one else! So -that all the old riches and wickedness might be burned up forever! And -now, and now, I haven’t destroyed the Eyebrow, and I’ve burned up the -city! Oh, what shall I do? What shall I do?” - -“My son, my son,” said Babadag, quietly, never taking his eyes from the -burning city. - -I recalled now the spark of fire I had seen through the window as we -had left the tailor’s shop that night. - -The flames of the furnace below us shot higher and higher, and spread -wider and wider in every direction. - -“The Book of the Shavian Magic,” said Babadag, as if to himself. “That -must be saved.” - -He ran down the steps and started across the park. - -“Father! father! where are you going?” cried Figli, but his father paid -no attention. The boy sped after him, and we others followed. - - -_The Tailor’s Son Follows Him into the Burning City_ - -Out at the park gate and down the hill ran Babadag, and straight into -the blazing ruin which was once his city. Nothing could stop him. -Flames roared on both sides of him; sparks showered around him; walls -toppled behind him; smoke swallowed him; but he kept on. We paused in -terror; only his little boy continued to follow him, calling to him to -come back. - -A wall of flame shot out behind the running boy, and a house fell -crashing behind him into the street; and father and boy were no longer -to be seen. - -I turned away, and leaving the eight tailors wailing, I made my way -with my daughter and my friend back to the palace; and there, on the -palace steps, we sat all night long, watching the great fire burn -itself out. - -The sun rose on a city of smoking ruins; and with its first rays there -came plodding in through the park gate a blind man, who called aloud as -he reached the steps. It was the Blind Bowler. - -“I am here,” said I, “Figli’s friend; and my daughter too, and the -governor whom once you tried to help. What news?” - -“Ten strikes still lacking!” said the Blind Bowler. “But it makes no -difference now. Figli has saved me, and all the rest of us too. Come -with me.” - -He led us out into the street and down into the city, where the -homeless people were standing as if bewildered. We came into the street -where once had been the shop of Babadag the Tailor. It was there no -longer; but by some chance there yet remained the wall which held the -doorway, and above it the yardstick and the shears; and across the sill -lay Figli, on his face. - - -_The Boy Is Found on the Sill of His Ruined Home, Alive_ - -My daughter ran to him and put her arm about him. He was alive, and he -shook his head and moaned, “I want my father. I want my father.” - -“Yes,” said she, “your father. Is he--?” - -“In there,” he whispered. - -“Ah! He is--” - -“Under the wall. I saw it fall on him. He is in there.” - -“Oh, my poor boy!” - -“I killed him. And all I wanted was to make him good.” - -She put her arm under him and raised him, and he stood up. - -“Come with me, dear boy,” said she. - -“I can’t go away. I can’t leave him in there. Can’t you help me to see -him?” - -“Not now, but later, perhaps. Come with me now, and we will talk of him -together.” - -“He loved me, too. He did, didn’t he? And I killed him.” - -“Yes, he did, he did. But you mustn’t say that you--” - -“It wasn’t because I meant to harm him, was it? I wouldn’t have harmed -him, would I?” - -“No, no. It was just because you loved him, that was all.” - -“Yes, that was it. That was all it was.” - -He suffered her to lead him away, and he said nothing more, but -repeated to himself, once or twice, “That was all it was.” - -On my part, I spoke at length to the Blind Bowler, and gave him many -directions; and he, having received at my hands a purse of gold, for -use as I had instructed him, went his way; and we others then walked -slowly back to the palace, where we rested on the steps, waiting, and -Figli fell asleep with his head on my daughter’s shoulder. - -When the sun was high in the east, people began to come in at the park -gate, and the Blind Bowler, his first duty done, joined us on the -palace steps. More people came, and the park began to be filled with -them; they came before long in a steady stream, and at length the park -was crowded with a great multitude, from the steps to the gate. - -At a signal from myself, my party on the steps arose, and I addressed -the people of Oogh. I told them who I was, and how my skin had come to -be black; I told them that I was going away, and that their governor -was resolved to go with me; that I meant to leave a governor who would -help them rebuild their city, and lead them in the ways of goodness and -mercy; that the person whom I had selected for that office was the boy -known as Figli Babadag, whose soundness of heart was worth to them more -than the wisdom of years; and that such wisdom as was necessary would -be supplied by him who was called the Blind Bowler, a man who had known -how to be cheerful under affliction. And I asked them to say whether -they would have the boy Figli for their governor, and the Blind Bowler -for his aide. - -A shout of approval went up from the multitude. - -“And will you,” said I, turning to Figli, “lead these people in the -ways of goodness and mercy, and help them to forget?” - -“If you think I can,” said Figli, standing up very straight, “I will -try.” - -“And will you,” said I to the Blind Bowler, “keep faithfully at his -right hand, and never fail him?” - -“That I will!” said the Blind Bowler. “Keep everlastingly at it, that’s -the motto!” - -“The great King, my father,” said I, turning again to the people, -“will build your city ten times fairer than it was. I have given -directions for your help already, and food and shelter will soon be at -hand. Farewell! I leave you in the care of a blind man and a child! A -sound heart and a cheerful mind, my friends, are better than an army. -Farewell!” - -The multitude shouted back farewell, and my friend Urban and myself -each kissed Figli on the cheek; but my daughter kissed him on both -cheeks and hugged him to her heart; and then we went down the steps, -leaving the pale and beautiful boy and the blind man alone, and passed -out across the park through a lane opened in the crowd, down into the -city toward the city gate. - - -_The Eight Tailors Stand Before Them in a Row_ - -As we came to the last street corner before reaching the city wall, my -daughter pulled forth a handful of figs from her pocket and divided -them laughingly with Urban and myself; and at that moment a party of -eight men filed solemnly from around the corner, and came to a stop -before us in a row. It was the eight tailors. They bowed gravely, and -the first one of them said: - -“Excellency, we implore you to take pity upon us. Our master is gone, -our occupation is gone, we are friendless and alone; we can live no -longer in the city of Oogh.” - -“What do you wish me to do?” said I. - -“We beseech you to take us with you, to be your servants, your slaves, -anything. We can sew, we can knit, we can--” - -“But I am going into exile,” said I. “I am going to hide my hideous -face from the eyes of the world.” - -“Listen, most merciful one! It is known to us that the missing button -needs only to be sewn on the doublet by a tailor, with the proper -thread, in order that your skin may be white again. Nine tailors are -allowed for the trial, and here are eight!” - -“But I have neither the button nor the thread.” - -“No matter! We will search until we find them, or else turn black -ourselves in the trial. Have pity upon us, Prince!” - -“Oh, father,” said my daughter, “do let the poor things come along with -us.” - -“Very well,” said I, whereupon we walked on, and the eight tailors gave -a faint cheer and fell into line behind us. - - -_They Meet the Three Blind Ballad Singers for the Last Time_ - -As we passed through the city gate, a loud singing struck up just -outside the wall, and we beheld the three blind ballad singers, in -the midst of a dozen idlers, prancing up and down in their ridiculous -dance. They were shouting out one of their ballads, as follows: - - “The peddler came, the peddler went, the peddler lost his pack, - He came in honest walnut brown, he went away in black, - And ‘Oh!’ said the peddler, ‘I cannot come again, - For out of buttons ten, oh! only nine remain, - Only nine remain,’--” - -My daughter laughed aloud, and at the sound of her voice one of the -ballad singers cried out, “Ho! master blackface! Ballads or buttons, -what will you buy?” - -The idlers laughed, and the other two vagabonds sang out: - -“Ballads or buttons! Buy, master blackface! Ballads or buttons!” - -“What will you give for a button?” shouted the first, and he held up in -my view a large ivory button, the identical one, beyond a doubt, which -was missing from the doublet. - -“A fig for a button!” I said, and held out one of the figs in my hand. - -“A button for a fig! A bargain!” cried the first ballad singer, and -taking the fig from me placed the button in my hand. - -The idlers laughed at this nonsense, and we turned to go. - -“Farewell, farewell!” cried the first ballad singer. “What do we say to -the breaker of hearts who forgets her promise to marry?” The other two -laughed, and began to sing. - -We moved on down the road, followed by the tailors marching by fours, -and as we departed we heard behind us the voices of the blind ballad -singers for the last time, shouting out a song in this wise: - - “She said that she wanted to marry all three, - Fiddle-de-dee! Fiddle-de-dee! - And it broke her heart that it could not be, - But ‘Oh!’ said she, ‘you must all agree - On one who shall be the fortunate he, - For only one can I marry!’ - But oh! she would not wait to see, - And oh! she would not tarry, - For all that she said to the artless three - Was nothing but fiddle-de-dee, - Ah me! - Was nothing but fiddle-de-dee!” - - - - -[Illustration] - - - - -THE FOURTH NIGHT - -THE RAGPICKER AND THE PRINCESS - - -_The Queen said, “Domino!” very sweetly, and smiled at the Second Lady -in Waiting, who was much chagrined._ - -_“I don’t see how I could have been so stupid,” said the Second Lady in -Waiting._ - -_“Indeed, my dear,” said the Queen, kindly, “I don’t think you were -nearly so stupid as usual.”_ - -_At this moment the Princess Dorobel, with Prince Bilbo and their son -Bojohn, and the latter’s friend Bodkin, came in from the throne room, -and the Princess Dorobel, standing behind the Queen’s chair, said:_ - -_“Mother, we are going to hear a story, and Bojohn insists that you--”_ - -_“Yes, grandmother!” said Bojohn. “We are going to ask Solario for -another story, and you must come along too.”_ - -_“Dear me,” said the Queen. “I must put away the dominoes first.”_ - -_She stacked them neatly in the box, one by one, and when this was done -she rose, and Bojohn took her arm and led her through the throne room -where the King was engaged at chess with the Lord Chamberlain._ - -_“My dear,” said the Queen to the King, “you had better come with us. -We are going to--”_ - -_“It makes no difference to me,” said the King. “You can have the -bishop if you want him. But I’ve got your queen! How do you like that? -It’s your move! Go on, why don’t you move?”_ - -_“It’s no use, grandmother,” said Bojohn. “Come along.”_ - -_They left the King at his game, and proceeded to the room of Solario -the Tailor in the tower. They were admitted by Solario himself._ - -_In the center of the room stood Mortimer the Executioner. He was -wearing an unfinished garment without any sleeves, fastened together -with pins, and basted with white thread along the seams. He looked -extremely foolish._ - -_“Oh!” said Solario, covered with confusion. “Pray come in, come in! -Her majesty herself! This is indeed an honor! I will find more chairs -in the next room. I am overpowered by this honor. Pray be seated, your -majesty. Mortimer, the fitting is postponed. Pray be seated, your -majesty. I do not know when I have received the honor of such a visit. -Pray be seated. Mortimer, bring in some chairs. I beg your majesty to -take the other chair; it is far more comfortable. Mortimer, divest -yourself; divest yourself.”_ - -_Mortimer, red with embarrassment, took off the unfinished garment and -put on his old one. Solario ran from chair to chair, assisting each of -the party to a seat._ - -_“We have come for a story,” said Prince Bilbo, “and I hope that you -will be so good as to--”_ - -_“We want to hear about Montesango’s Cave!” cried Bojohn._ - -_“Or the Blind Giant!” said Bodkin._ - -_“I beg your pardon,” said Solario, “perhaps her majesty would deign -to--”_ - -_“Ask him for Montesango’s Cave, grandmother!” cried Bojohn._ - -_“Dear me,” said the Queen, “I hardly know what to-- It’s a very -pleasant room you have here, Solario; do you ever play dominoes here? -Dear me!”_ - -_“I’ll tell you what I should like,” said the Princess Dorobel. “I -should like to hear how the goldsmith’s son won the Princess. Bojohn -has been telling us about Alb and the Princess Hyla, and I understand -there is a story, a love story--you know I dearly like love stories.”_ - -_“It isn’t precisely a love story,” said Solario, “but if her majesty -will permit me, I will--”_ - -_“Dear me, yes,” said the Queen. “A very comfortable room it is, to be -sure.”_ - -_Solario, after receiving the Queen’s permission to be seated, sat -himself cross-legged on his table, and all of the others, Mortimer the -Executioner, Bodkin, Prince Bilbo, Bojohn, the Princess Dorobel, and -the Queen, drew up their chairs before him in a row._ - -_“I will relate to you, seeing that you wish it,” said Solario, “the -story told me by Alb, the goldsmith’s son, regarding the winning of the -Princess Hyla. Shall I proceed?”_ - -_“I wish I had brought my knitting,” said the Queen, “but never mind.”_ - -_Solario picked up his shears, and gazing at them thoughtfully for a -moment, cleared his throat._ - -_“This, then,” said he, “is the story told me by Alb, regarding_ - - -“THE RAGPICKER AND THE PRINCESS.” - -When I was sixteen years old (said Alb the Fortunate) and my dear -Princess Hyla fourteen, the King, her father, sojourned for a time at -his castle of Ventamere, beside the sea; and you may be sure that the -Princess was with him there, for he could never bear to be parted from -her for a single day. - -My father followed in the King’s train, and I, on my part, was not to -be left behind; and we lodged together, my father and myself, in the -town hard by the castle, where I saw the Princess every day, and daily -grew in favor with her father. - -The windows of the King’s castle looked out across the Great Sea, and -beneath the windows of the Princess’s room the tide washed up and down -against the wall. - -One evening, as it was growing dusk, and the moon was beginning to -tinge a wave here and there with silver, the Princess was leaning out -from her window and looking across the sea-- But what I am now to tell -you I did not know at the time, as you will understand, but only later. - -Night fell, and still the Princess leaned upon her hand and gazed -out across the sea. I do not know whether she was thinking of me, -but--However. In the town of Ventamere near by, where the shore curved -inward in a bay, lights began to glimmer, but the castle was dark, for -the King, intending to commence at daybreak his journey back to his -capital, was already a-bed. - - -_The Princess Hears a Voice from the Waves Beneath Her Window_ - -The Princess, beginning to be drowsy, reached out her hand to close -the casement of her window; and as she did so she heard a voice, a -melancholy voice, not loud, as of a young man singing to himself, -directly beneath her window. She started in astonishment and looked -down, but she could see no one. The moonlight glittered on the sea -to the very base of her wall; there was no foothold anywhere for a -human foot; but the voice rose nevertheless from just below her in the -restless waters, and it was singing a kind of lament, pausing once to -put in a few spoken words, in this wise: - - “O quivering seas that sever, - O quivering severing sea! - And I would I could sing forever - The sorrows that sleep in me,-- - The soundless sundering sorrows, - The shuddering secret sorrows, - The sorrows secret and soundless, - That sleep in the soul of me. - And O! the vain endeavor! - The silence and the pain! - The silence that now shall never - Sink into the sea again! - (That’s a very good line, though, - about silence sinking into the sea. - It sounds a good deal like real - poetry. Anyway--) - Of such would I sing forever, - And sighing forever sing, - But alas, I never was clever - At all that sort of thing, - And though I would chant forever - By quivering seas that sever - And severing seas that quiver - A ceaseless sorrowing song, - I cannot sing forever, - For that would be too long.” - -The Princess waited, and the voice began again. It seemed farther out -on the water now, as if the singer were moving out to sea. The words -appeared to her to be so strange that she never forgot them, and I am -able to repeat them to you precisely as she gave them to me afterward. - - “O weary the sea’s commotion, - And weary the sea tides’ fret, - The fretful tides of the ocean - How weary and how wet! - The humid hateful ocean - The hideous heedless ocean, - The ocean huge and humid, - That always will be wet! - (If I could only once get thoroughly - dry, just for a single day! It makes - me weary, the way they go on about a - life on the ocean wave. I only wish - _they_ had to live in it all the time.) - And O! for a seat on the settle - Beside the ingle nook! - And O! for the steaming kettle! - And O! for a human cook! - I hear, on the soft breeze sighing, - The sorrowful soft breeze dying, - I hear, as it sighs and rustles, - The music of bacon frying, - And O, I long to be free! - (If I could only get ashore on two - feet, for just one hour, I know where - I’d go. I know a good warm tavern - where--) - O dear! could I only be free! - For a diet of fish and mussels, - Of cold raw fish and mussels, - Did never agree with me.” - -The voice moved off across the sea, and died away in the distance. - -_“Dear me!” said the Queen. “What an extraordinary song! And so sad, -too.”_ - -_“Never mind, grandmother,” said Bojohn. “Please let him go on with his -story.”_ - -_“Yes, yes, of course,” said the Queen, “let the poor man go on with -his story. I wonder how he remembers all those words. I’m sure I never -could have remembered them. I’ve a very poor memory for songs, myself. -It’s different with the King; I declare he never forgets anything. I -remember there was a minstrel came to the castle once, and after he was -gone the King repeated word for word--_” - -_“Please, grandmother,” said Bojohn._ - -_“What is it, my dear?”_ - -_“Solario is waiting to go on with his story.”_ - -_“So he is,” said the Queen. “I think it’s a very pretty story indeed. -I wonder how it ends!”_ - -_“Go on!” cried Bojohn, and Solario proceeded._ - -The Princess lingered, hoping to hear the voice again, but it came no -more. She turned back into her room and lit the lamp which hung from -the center of the ceiling. She stood before her mirror, with the lamp -at her back, and as she raised her hand to unfasten the pearl necklace -which she wore, she glanced at the wall beside the mirror. Her shadow, -thrown by the lamp, stood upright against the wall. And at that moment -she saw something which caused her to stiffen with terror. - - -_The Princess Sees the Shadow of an Old Woman_ - -Through the crack of her closed door at the right of her shadow, -another shadow was oozing in and spreading itself out across the wall -toward her own. It took shape, and paused for a moment; it was the -shadow of a bent old woman, stooping under a heavy bag, and holding out -in one hand a kind of poker with a hook at the end. - -The Princess held her breath. The stooping shadow stole slowly along -the wall, and touched the Princess’s shadow with its poker. Instantly -the Princess’s shadow began to move toward the other, and the other -began to back away. The strange shadow reached the door and slipped -into the crack; the Princess’s shadow followed, and slipped into the -crack after it. They were gone, and only the blank surface of the wall -remained. - -The Princess tried to move, but she could not stir; she tried to cry -out, but she could not speak. She stood there in the lamplight before -her mirror, with one hand upraised as if to unfasten her necklace; the -minutes passed, and she did not move. She heard the splashing of the -tide outside; a clock struck the hour; there was no other sound. Hours -passed, and still she stood with hand raised to her neck, before the -mirror. She heard the clock strike twelve; and on the twelfth stroke -her door swung slowly open. - - -_A Midnight Visit from a One-Armed Old Man_ - -In the doorway stood an old man; a spare old man, with long white hair -and beard, and bright blue eyes in a rosy face. His blue gown, -spangled with silver stars, lacked one sleeve, the right; he had only -one arm, and that the left. The Princess felt somehow that she was glad -he had come. - -[Illustration: The shadow of a Ragpicker oozed in through the door] - -He stepped quickly to her side and smiling kindly took down her hand -from her neck. She felt a pleasant warmth at his touch, and she sighed -with relief. He kept her hand in his, and drew her toward the door. -She had no wish to resist him. She followed quietly, and together they -passed out of the room into the dark hall.... - -At daybreak, when the King was ready to depart, there was a great -to-do. The Princess was nowhere to be found. Her lamp was still -burning, and her bed had not been slept in. The King was beside -himself, and the castle was in a turmoil. Searchers were sent in every -direction, all the bells in the town were set to ringing, and cryers -went about the streets proclaiming a reward. - -My father and myself hastened to the castle, and I knelt before the -King and begged his special leave to seek the Princess on my own -account. I knew nothing, save that she had vanished in the night, but I -resolved that I would find her, and I did not doubt of my success. - -“Go,” said the King, “and good fortune attend you. If you bring her -back, no reward will I refuse you, even to the hand of my dear child -herself. Make haste, and do not return alone.” - - -_Alb, Seeking the Princess, Sits Down by the Seashore_ - -All that morning I ran about the town, seeking her in every quarter; -but nowhere was any trace of her to be found. I came back in the -afternoon to the seashore near the castle, there to ponder what I had -best do next. Trudging along a strip of sand under a bluff beside the -sea, I came to a large rock which rose up out of the water at the -beach’s edge, and climbing up on it I seated myself on a narrow shelf -and bared my head to the breeze. - -I had sat thus only a moment when I heard a voice from the other side -of the rock, a melancholy voice, not loud, as of a young man singing to -himself; and it was singing a mournful song, pausing now and then to -speak in ordinary tones. I remember the words very well, and they were -these. - - “I dream in my deep-sea cavern - Of many a bosky copse, - I dream of a cosy tavern - And a couple of mutton chops,-- - For even the storks have gruel, - And even the sheep have corn, - But me!--it is too, too cruel! - Alas, that I ever was born. - (It’s too cruel, that’s what it is. It isn’t - right. There’s no justice in it, and I’m - sick of it, that’s what I am.) - O sorrow too deep to utter! - O midnight hour of the soul! - If there only were bread and butter, - Or something warm in a bowl,-- - (I don’t care what. I’m so sick of raw - fish, I believe I could even stand stewed - rhubarb.) - O sea, so ceaselessly sloshing, - O emblem of peace and hope!-- - But it’s utterly useless for washing, - And O! how I yearn for soap. - I seek, in my cavern’s enclosure, - To talk with the fishes, but they, - Maintaining the strictest composure, - Have simply nothing to say. - Proud heart, you are left unheeded - Alone with your grief and your ache, - When all that is really needed - Is just a mere trifle of cake. - (Not fish cake. Not that. Chocolate - cake, three layers, with walnuts on top - and in between.) - Sing on, proud heart, though breaking - With every harmonious strain, - And physic be not worth the taking - For your description of pain, - Sing on, though it be not forever, - Forever and a day,-- - (Not that there’s any sense in adding - on a day to forever. It’s long enough, - in all conscience, without that. However--) - I wish I could sing forever - To pass the dull time away; - And could I be endlessly clever - And make me an endless song, - I would sing of my sorrow forever, - I would,--were it not so long.” - -The voice gave a great sigh, and the singing ceased. - -_“I used to make up little rhymes when I was a girl,” said the -Queen, “and very pretty little rhymes they were, too, or at least -your grandmother, Dorobel, used to say so. But dear me; I never could -remember verses, no matter how hard I tried; never.”_ - -_“Yes, yes, grandmother,” said Bojohn. “Go on, Solario.”_ - -_“Now the King was different; he could remember them, but he couldn’t -make them up; and I could make them up, but I couldn’t remember them! -Tee-hee-hee! Dear, dear! When I think of it!”_ - -_“Grandmother,” said Bojohn, “Solario is waiting to go on.”_ - -_“So he is,” said the Queen. “I never liked sad stories when I was a -girl, for they_ always _made me cry. But this one may turn out -better than I expect. I really think you’re doing very nicely, Solario. -I always say, that no matter how poorly one makes out, he ought to be -praised if he is doing his best.”_ - -_“Go on!” cried Bojohn; and Solario proceeded._ - -When the singing ceased (said Alb) I climbed noiselessly around the -rock to the other side, and looked down. - - -_An Interview with a Talking Seal_ - -A fat seal was lying below me on a ledge of the rock, just out of the -water. The creature raised his head, and gazed up at me with his big -soft eyes. - -“I could have sworn the voice was here,” said I, half aloud. - -“Are you speaking to me?” said the seal. - -I assure you I jumped in amazement. “What!” said I. “Was it you?” - -“Well,” said the seal, “there’s nobody else here, is there?” - -“Of all things!” said I. “A talking seal! I never heard of such a--” - -“I suppose I haven’t any right to talk. Just because I haven’t any -legs, and have to live in a horrible sealskin, I suppose I’m not even -to utter a word. Is that it? Oh, yes, I dare say; I suppose so.” - -“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to offend--” - -“I suppose not. Anyway, you’d better not stand there quarreling with me -all day if you ever expect to find the Princess.” - -“Oh! Do you know anything about her? Tell me, quick!” - -“Yes, I do. I know a little about her. I know where she is. The -Ragpicker’s shadow came last night and fetched away the Princess’s -shadow, because the Ragpicker needed the Princess’s shadow to protect -her against the people. Everybody is afraid of shadows,--I suppose you -know that. And then the One-Armed Sorcerer took away the Princess, and -what he’s going to do with her I don’t know. But you’d better find out. -Are you ready to go?” - -“Yes, yes! I’m ready! I’ll go anywhere! Tell me where!” - -“You talk brave enough. The question is, do you act as brave as you -talk? Do you mind getting half-drowned?” - -“No, no! I mind nothing! Tell me what I must do!” - -“Sounds very brave, indeed. Are you afraid of shadows?” - -“Of course not!” - -“Then you’re the only person in these parts who isn’t. Where you’re -going, they’re all afraid of shadows, and that’s how the Ragpicker -protects herself against the people; with shadows. And so you’re not -afraid of them. Well, well!” - -“I’m not afraid of anything! Tell me what to do!” - -“So! Pretty brave! All right, I’ll take you there myself. Take off your -coat and shoes.” - -I took off my shoes, stockings, and coat. - -The seal hunched himself down into the water, and lay there with his -head resting on the rock. - -“Now,” said he, “come down here and lie on my back, and hold on tight; -and don’t get in the way of my flippers.” - -I hesitated for a moment at the idea of lying down in the water on the -back of a seal, but I came down the rock and stretched myself out on -his back and clung to him with my arms and legs as well as I could. - - -_A Sea Journey on the Back of a Seal_ - -“Hold on tight,” said the seal, and darted off across the sea so -suddenly that I lost my grip and fell off into the water; but he swam -under me, and I was soon on his back once more, none the worse. - -“What’s the matter?” said the seal. “Haven’t you any strength? I -suppose I’ll have to go slower.” - -He glided slowly and smoothly over the long swells, and as soon as I -got used to it I found that it was really wonderful sport. We followed -the shore line quite around the island to its opposite side, and then -the seal made straight for the open sea. The shore faded away behind -us, and at last it was gone. - -Hours passed, and I grew stiff and cold. I slipped off the seal’s -back now and then, for the exercise of swimming. It was excessively -difficult to hold on to his slippery skin, and I ached so painfully -with the strain that I feared at last that I should have to let go for -good; and I was about to give up, when I saw afar off on the horizon -what looked like land. The seal swam faster. I took new courage, and -clung to him tighter. - -It was indeed land,--evidently an island; and as we came close to it I -could make out in its side a deep cove, backed with dark, woody hills -and flanked on either side by rocky cliffs. Fishing boats of all sizes -were moored in the cove, and a large village straggled up the hillside -behind. - -The seal glided into the smooth water between the cliffs, and slid up -against the sand of the beach at the foot of the village. It was just -twilight. - -I jumped to my feet and stretched my numb and aching limbs, gazing with -curiosity at the near-by houses. I turned round at the sound of the -seal’s voice. - -“Can you get me a custard pie?” said the seal. - -“What?” said I, in astonishment. - -“There’s a pastry cook in the village. I’ll wait for you here. Mince -pie’ll do, if they’re out of custard.” - -I hastened away into the village, without saying anything more. - - -_The Village of Storks_ - -It was a large village, and there were a good many streets; and -before I found the pastry cook’s shop I paused to look at the strange -collection of birds which adorned the housetops. On nearly every -chimney or ridgepole stood a stork, and on some were two or three, and -even more; young storks all of them, judging by their size. - -I noticed, as I passed the villagers in the street, that their faces -were very sad; and I thought it singular that although I saw many grown -people, I met no children, and heard no children’s voices. - -The pastry cook, when I found him, proved to have the saddest face of -all, and his wife looked as if she had been weeping; and there were -on the pastry cook’s housetop no less than five small storks. When -I mentioned that I wanted a custard pie for a seal, the pastry cook -handed over the pie to me without any appearance of surprise, and -without accepting any payment. - -I hurried back to the beach, and sat down before the seal and held the -custard pie while the hungry creature ate it. - -“Did you ever eat raw fish?” said he. - -“I should say not,” said I. - -“It’s awful,” said the seal. “It’s positively petrifying. You know I -wasn’t always a seal. Custard pie always used to do me more good than -anything else.” - -“Tell me who you are,” said I, “and who the Ragpicker is.” - -“There’s no time now,” said the seal. “You’d better be going. The -people here would like to kill the Ragpicker if they could, but they’re -afraid of the shadows; she’s afraid of the people, and the people are -afraid of the shadows; and she’s more afraid of the One-Armed Sorcerer -than anybody else, though between you and me I think she’s wrong about -it, because he seems to be a pretty decent sort of old chap, and I -rather believe he’d like to help her if she wasn’t afraid of him; but -of course you can’t help a person who’s afraid of you. All mixed up, -isn’t it?” - -“I don’t understand a word of it,” said I. - -“Brave people are always stupid,” said the seal, and with this he -wriggled himself off into the water, and I saw his head going back and -forth slowly from side to side across the cove. - -I turned and went into the village. It was now nearly dark. - -As I came toward the pastry cook’s shop again, the village cryer came -walking down the street, ringing a bell, and calling out, over and over -again, “Seven o’clock, and time for supper! Seven o’clock, and time for -supper!” - -As the cryer passed by, the storks flapped their wings and flew down -from the housetops, and took their stand in a row before their houses, -along the curbs; and wherever a stork stood before a house a woman came -out with a bowl in her hand. When I reached the pastry cook’s shop, the -pastry cook’s wife was kneeling on the sidewalk before the five little -storks, feeding them gruel out of a bowl with a long spoon. I observed -that all along the street women were feeding the storks in the same -way; but again I noticed that there were no children. - -I walked on, watching in every street the feeding of the storks, and -looking out for some sign of the Princess. I observed at last a gilded -wooden arm and hand holding a lantern, projecting from the front wall -of a house a little in advance; and before this house, at the curb, a -single stork was standing, and an old man, one-armed, wearing white -hair and beard and dressed in a blue gown with silver stars, was -sitting before the stork, feeding it with a long spoon from a bowl in -his lap. Around the stork’s neck hung a pearl necklace. - -Wondering whether I had ever seen that necklace before, I passed behind -the old man, and as I did so the stork fixed its eye on me and ruffled -its feathers in agitation. I had no sooner gone by than there was a -great fluttering among all the storks, and I observed, coming toward -me down the street, a bent old woman, stooping under a bulging bag and -holding out what appeared to be a poker with a hook at the end. She was -ragged and decrepit, and there was a gleam in her eye which seemed to -me to be more of terror than anything. - -She gazed intently at the stork with the necklace, and then passed on -down the street. All the storks, at sight of her, suddenly flew up on -to the housetops, and all the people, or nearly all, went hurriedly -indoors. As I turned to follow her with my eyes, I saw that the stork -with the necklace was perched up on the ridgepole, and that the old -one-armed man was gone. - - -_The Ragpicker Frightens the Men Away with Her Bag_ - -The Ragpicker had reached the next corner, and was about to turn into -the street at her right, when a dozen men came hurrying toward her in -a group, and she stopped and faced them. They were burly men, and they -were plainly angry; they carried cudgels, and one of them carried a -rope; they meant to do her harm, without a doubt. They advanced on her, -muttering dangerously together, and she stood stock still, waiting. -One of the men gave a shout, and they rushed upon her in a body; but -quick as a wink the old woman whisked her bag from her shoulder to the -ground, and began to open it; and at this the men fell back against -each other as if afraid; and as the old woman made again as if to open -the bag, the men hesitated, turned about, and actually took to their -heels and fled. - -The Ragpicker slung her bag upon her back again, turned the corner, and -disappeared. - -What could be in that bag, I wondered, to make those burly men afraid? - -I hurried to the corner, and saw the old woman plodding away toward -the end of the street. She did not look around, and I followed her -cautiously. She passed beyond the village houses and began to climb a -path which wound up the hillside among the rocks. - -Keeping carefully out of sight behind her, I saw her stop at last -beside a hut which leaned against the side of the hill, and go in at -its door. I stole up quietly. There were no windows in the hut, but I -thought I might be able to see inside through the roof, which was only -a thatch of straw. I could easily reach it from the side of the hill. -In a moment I was lying on the roof, and digging away the straw with my -fingers. - -I worked slowly and noiselessly, and after a time made a hole through -which I could look down into the hut. It was dark below, but I could -see the old woman stooping down over an opening in the floor, from -which she was just raising a trapdoor. She stepped down into the -opening and closed the door over her head. - -I lost no time in making a hole in the thatch big enough to admit -my body; and when I had done so I dropped to the floor, and stood -beside the trapdoor. I raised it cautiously and peered down. All was -dark below, but I could make out a flight of stone steps. I went down -without a sound. - - -_He Follows the Ragpicker Down Into the Dark_ - -At the bottom I got down on my hands and knees and crawled along, -touching the side of a wall at my right. The wall ended abruptly, and -feeling the ground before me I found that I was on the edge of open -space, and I could hear the rushing of water far below. My hand touched -the top of a ladder, and I went down it carefully; but after a moment -my foot dangled in space, and I nearly fell off; the ladder stopped -short, and I clung on desperately. I then climbed to the top again -and crawled along toward my left, feeling the edge with my hand until -I shortly touched the top of another ladder; and down this ladder, -fastened securely against the wall, I went more cautiously than before. - -The ladder was long, but I finally found myself on solid ground. -Following the wall to the left, I passed around a corner, and as I did -so I saw a light. - -It was a square patch of light, like the light of a small window, -afar off in the darkness. I went down on my hands and knees again -and crawled toward it. The ground was unbroken here, and I could now -scarcely hear the sound of water. I stopped at last directly beneath -the light, and touched a wall. I felt with my left hand what seemed to -be a closed door, and I got up slowly on my feet. I was looking into a -lighted room through a small square window, without glass, and crossed -with iron bars. - -A lamp was burning brightly in a bracket on a wall of the room. On the -earthen floor, near the center, the old Ragpicker was kneeling before a -brazier containing a brisk fire, over which hung an iron pot. Her bag -lay on the floor beside her, flat and limp; it was evidently empty. - - -_She Stirs a Steaming Mixture with Her Long Hooked Forefinger_ - -As I watched her, she arose from her knees and went to a door at the -rear, and made sure that it was closed tight. She then went to a great -heap of rubbish which was piled in one corner, and scratching with her -poker amongst the rags, bones, and old iron there, picked out carefully -a handful of bones, examining each one minutely. She then took from a -shelf a large bottle of some dark liquid, and with this and the bones -she returned to the fire. She poured the liquid into the iron pot and -dropped in the bones, one by one; and as she did so I observed a thing -which I had not discerned before, that what I had thought was a poker -held in her hand was in fact a long, black, stiff forefinger, hooked at -the end. There was no doubt about it; it was the first finger of her -right hand, as stiff as an iron rod, and about a foot and a half long. -She stuck it into the steaming pot and stirred the mixture with it, -muttering to herself words which I could not understand. - -Presently she stopped stirring, and sniffing the contents of the pot -nodded her head as if satisfied. She picked up from the ground an iron -ladle and a pewter bowl, and ladling the steaming liquid from the pot -into the bowl, drank it down, every drop. - -She put down the ladle and the bowl, and stood motionless, as if -waiting. A change began to come over her. Her back straightened; she -grew taller; the wrinkles left her face; her skin became fairer, her -eyes larger, her hair longer; and there before my eyes stood a young -and beautiful damsel, tall and erect, with dark eyes in a pale face, -and two thick braids of brown hair hanging to her waist. - -She held up her right hand and looked at it. The long black stiff -finger with the hook was still there. She screamed, and burying her -face on her left arm shook with sobs. In a moment she raised her head -and put away her hideous right hand behind her where she could not see -it. Her left hand she placed over her eyes, with a gesture of despair, -and as she remained standing in that attitude the hand over her eyes -grew old and withered; she began to shrink and stoop, and she moaned -to herself. It was plain that the effect of what she had drunk was -beginning to wear off. She shuddered, and gave a mournful cry; and in -another instant she was the old, bent Ragpicker again. - -I drew a long breath. I stood back, for fear that I might be seen, and -when I looked again the old woman was standing with her back toward -me, facing the closed door at the rear. I noticed now, what I had not -noticed before, that she cast no shadow in the lamplight on the floor. - -“Skag!” she cried. “Come hither!” - -A shadow oozed into the room through the crack of the door, and moved -upright across the floor toward the Ragpicker. It was the shadow of -a bent old woman, stooping under a bulky bag, and holding out what -appeared to be a poker, hooked at the end; the shadow of the old -Ragpicker herself. It stood still, not far from the door. - -“It’s no use, Skag,” said the old woman to her shadow. “I haven’t found -the right bone; but I _will_ find it, yet! I’ll find it yet! Bring in -the Princess’s shadow.” - -Her own shadow disappeared through the crack in the door, and returned -immediately, followed by another. I started, and almost cried out. It -was the shadow of a young girl, undoubtedly the Princess, and it stood -upright on the floor beside the other. - -“Ah!” said the old woman. “Now my shadows are complete. This one is -the best and most fearsome of all. Ah, how they fear the shadows! Lucky -for me, lucky for me! They’re not afraid of me, but they’re afraid of -shadows! This day they would have killed me, but for my bag of shadows. -We mustn’t lose them, Skag, we mustn’t lose them.” - -She paced about, growing more and more excited, and went on talking as -she walked. - -“We’re in danger, Skag, we’re in danger. The One-Armed Sorcerer is -working against us. He has brought the Princess herself here, to help -him against me. What can he mean to do? He means to take away my -shadows from me, Skag, it must be that. And he has brought the Princess -to help him. And what then? Death, Skag, death; a quick death, for -what will the people be afraid of then? We must stop it, Skag, we must -stop the sorcerer, and there is only one way. The Princess must be -destroyed! To-morrow morning, when the sun shines and the shadows can -be seen, I will seek her out and destroy her; and the shadows shall go -with me and protect me. Bring in the shadows, Skag.” - - -_The Shadows of the Children_ - -The old woman’s shadow disappeared through the crack again, and -immediately returned; and behind it came a shadow, and another, and -another; many shadows, all of children, and they moved upright across -the floor and stood before the Ragpicker. They were flat as paper and -black as ink; and the lamplight did not shine through them. They kept -on coming, and the room was soon full of them; hundreds, as it seemed, -hundreds of shadows of little children, some so small that they were -just beginning to walk. And the shadow of the Princess was the tallest -of all. - -The Ragpicker pointed at the Princess’s shadow with her long, black rod -of a finger, and said, “Into the bag!” - -She stooped to her bag and held it open at the floor, and the shadow of -the Princess moved to it, crouched, and went in. - -“In, all of you!” cried the old woman. - -All the shadows crowded around the mouth of the bag, and one after -another stooped and went in. There was none left but the shadow of the -old woman herself. She closed the bag, now bulging, and flinging it -over her shoulder she said to her own shadow, “Hither, Skag, and lie -down!” - -Her shadow moved close to her, and spread itself out on the ground with -its feet to hers, growing longer as it did so, so that it became no -more than an ordinary shadow cast by the lamplight on the floor. - -The old woman went to the lamp and blew out the light, and the room was -in darkness, except for the glimmer of the dying fire. - -I flattened myself on the ground as the door opened and the old woman -came forth with her bag on her back. I could scarcely see her, and in -an instant she had disappeared in the darkness. - - -_He Loses His Way in the Dark_ - -I waited a moment or two, and then crawled cautiously in the direction -I thought she had taken; but there was nothing but the blackness of -deep night all round me, and I could not be sure of my direction. I -looked behind me, and I could not see any longer the window I had just -left. I had come from the ladder easily enough, but it was plainly a -different matter to get back. I crawled on uncertainly, and stopped now -and then; I had gone by this time farther than I had come at first, but -I found no wall. I must have lost my way. I went on, and found myself -going down a slope. I knew that this could not be right, and I changed -my course a little; but I was still going down the slope, and I was -afraid that I would be utterly lost if I turned back. - -The sound of rushing water came to my ears now. The slope grew steeper, -and I crawled more cautiously. The sound of water became more distinct. -The ground was suddenly slimy, and before I knew it I was slipping down -a steep descent, unable to stop myself. I slid and slid, faster and -faster, clutching the slimy ground and rolling over and over; and as I -was fainting with dizziness I shot off into space, and came down with a -splash into a torrent of deep water. - -The stream hurled me away. I struggled against it, but it was too -swift. It was impossible to swim. I could do no more than keep my head -above water, and let the current fling me along into the darkness. -Tossed like a leaf, hurled against the walls of the stream, scratched -by the edges of rocks, bruised, bleeding, and half-drowned, I almost -lost consciousness, and scarcely knew anything more until I felt myself -lying on soft sand in shallow water. I looked up, and saw above me a -clear sky; the open sea was rolling toward me on a beach, and the moon -was glittering on the waves. - -I tottered to my feet. I was so weak and sore that I could hardly -stand. When I was able to move, I walked forward toward the ocean. The -stream which had brought me spread out and lost itself in the sand. -At my feet the breakers came rushing up, and a strip of beach lay at -my right hand and my left, enclosed at the back and sides by a high -cliff. There was no way out except by climbing the cliff. I shouted, -hoping that the seal might be out there in the water, but there was no -response. I made up my mind that I would have to climb the cliff. - -It was a cruel task, for the cliff was steep, and there was scarcely -any foothold but an occasional rock and bush; but I never once thought -of discouragement, and I stuck to it with all my might. My bare feet -and my hands were torn by the rocks, but I kept on, up and up, and in -time I stood on the top. I hastened away along the edge of the cliff, -and came after a long walk to a place where the cliff turned back -shoreward; and there I looked down, and saw the roofs of the village -straggling up its hillside behind the cove. - - -_He Hears the Voice of the Seal Again_ - -I lay down and put my head out over the edge of the cliff, and at that -moment there came to me from the still water of the cove a faint, sad -voice, singing: - - “O wonderful pancake batter! - O table and fork and plate! - I wonder whatever’s the matter, - That he keeps me waiting so late? - He said he was willing to serve us - Regardless of danger or pelf, - But I’m getting so dreadfully nervous - I really am scarcely myself. - O why does he loiter and linger - While I wait so sorry and sick? - Let him sever the Ragpicker’s finger - And do it almightily quick. - For then I shall sit at a table, - My napkin over my knees, - And tipple as long as I’m able, - And gobble as long as I please, - With plenty of good hot curry, - And plenty of custard pie,-- - If he only would hurry, hurry! - O why does he linger, why?” - -The voice stopped, and I rose to my feet and made off across the -moonlit fields. - -_“There used to be a baker at the castle,” said the Queen, “shortly -after I was married, who made up a great many very pretty songs. The -King used to say that he sang better than he baked. For my part, I was -very sorry to lose him. His niece was going to be married in one of our -villages, I forget which,--no, I believe it was a cousin; I am almost -sure it was his cousin, and I think it was the niece who was looking -after his mother while he was here, and she had to go and keep house -for the cousin after she was married, and that left his mother all -alone; so that he had to go back to his mother, and I always thought he -was such a good son to give up his place here at the castle in order -to take care of his poor old mother, and I’m sure very few would have -done it in his place; but I must say that the next baker was very much -better at gingerbread, though he never made up any songs, and I think -the King himself missed the first one a good deal afterward, though he -never would say so.”_ - -_“Go on!” cried Bojohn; and Solario proceeded._ - -I rose to my feet (said Alb) and made off across the fields. I found -a path which wound down to the village, and I was presently standing -in the street. All the storks were gone, probably within doors for the -night. - -I set forth briskly to find the house of the One-Armed Sorcerer. I -realized that the stork with the necklace was the Princess herself, -and I knew that if she was to be saved from the Ragpicker I must act -quickly. - -I remembered the gilded wooden arm and hand, holding a lantern, which -stood out from the one-armed man’s house, and it was only a matter of -time to find it. I found it sooner than I expected. A light was burning -dimly in the lantern, but the house was dark. There was no stork -upon the housetop. I tried the handle of the door quietly, and to my -surprise the door gave before me, and I pushed it open. - - -_He Peeps into the Sorcerer’s Workshop_ - -I found myself in a dark room, which I crossed quickly to a door at -the other side. This door I opened on a crack, and through the crack -I looked into a lighted room; a small room, evidently a workshop, -cluttered about with glass vessels of strange shapes, metal machines of -various sorts, wooden hoops curiously interlaced, charts of the skies, -and great, brass-bound books; and at one side of the room was a forge -and in the center a table. - -Before this table was standing the one-armed man whom I had already -seen. On the table, the stork with the necklace was lying on its side, -perfectly still, and as I looked the old man plucked a feather from -the stork’s wing and examined it carefully. He then cast it aside and -plucked another, this time from the back. This also he tossed away, -after examining it, and he then plucked a feather from the shoulder, -and holding it up to the light gave a cry of pleasure, and without -turning said, “Come in, Alb, I have been expecting you.” - -I stepped into the room, and the old man greeted me with a friendly -smile, and held up the feather. - -“Do you see this?” said he. - -I looked at it closely. At the point of the quill hung a single drop of -blood. - -The stork on the table stirred uneasily. The sorcerer stroked it gently -and said, “Sleep!” and the stork lay perfectly still again. - -“Wait a minute,” said the old man. “We must keep this drop from falling -off, and we must harden the point of the quill.” - -He produced from a closet a metal box, and out of this he took a small -glass tube, covered with frost. He held the drop of blood for a moment -inside the tube, and then put the tube away in its box. - -“Now,” said he, “the drop will not fall off.” - -He went to the forge, and blowing up the coals with a pair of bellows, -he held the point of the quill for a moment in the fire. - -“Now,” said he, “it is as hard as a pin.” - -[Illustration: The One-Armed Sorcerer plucked a feather from the -stork] - -“Sir,” said I, “will you tell me what this is for?” - -“To save the Ragpicker from herself,” said the sorcerer. - -“But it’s the Princess I have come to save,” said I. - -“It is the same thing,” said the old man. “If the Ragpicker is saved -from herself, everybody else is saved too. And this drop of blood from -the Princess’s heart will do it, and nothing else.” - -“I have seen the Ragpicker to-night, sir,” said I, “and I will tell you -about it.” - -“Sit down, my son,” said the old man, and when we were seated I told -him all that I had seen and heard in the Ragpicker’s cavern. - -The sorcerer shook his head and smiled. “And so she thinks I wish to -take away her shadows and let the people kill her! Well, well, it’s the -way of wickedness to see nothing but evil. Why should I wish her harm? -What I seek to do is to save her, not to destroy her; but she’ll never -believe that, because she can’t think straight. Anyway, in trying to do -evil she has provided me with the means of making her good.” - -“How has she done that?” said I. - -“If she hadn’t stolen the Princess’s shadow, I shouldn’t have brought -the Princess here; and if I hadn’t brought the Princess here, she -wouldn’t now be a stork; and if she hadn’t been turned to a stork I -couldn’t have gotten the drop of blood from her heart.” - -“Is it true,” said I, “that the Ragpicker protects herself with -shadows?” - -“Of course! What could protect her better? What else is there to fear, -but shadows? I confess I’m more than half afraid of them myself. We -all know we shouldn’t be, but we are, just the same. They’re perfectly -harmless, but they’re terrible. There’s nothing so real as shadows.” - -“But tell me,” said I, “how we are to save the Princess.” - -“All in good time,” said the sorcerer; “in the meantime, you must get a -little rest, for you have an important task to do in the morning.” - -I was tired out, in fact. The sorcerer left me, and I sat beside the -sleeping stork, watching it in silence for a long while, and then I -surrendered myself to drowsiness, and fell asleep. - -When I awoke, it was morning. The stork was gone, and the sorcerer’s -hand was on my shoulder. - -“Come,” said he, and placed in my hand a tiny bow of thin metal, with a -string of fine hair, and showed me how to use the stork’s feather as an -arrow to the bow. He then instructed me in what I had to do, and led me -out into the street. - -The stork which had been a Princess was standing on the curb before the -door, and all the other storks were in their places on the housetops. -The street was already busy; shops and houses were being opened for the -day and many people were outdoors. - - -_He Lies in Wait with a Bow and Arrow_ - -Carrying the stork’s feather and the bow, I went to the next corner, -round which on the evening before I had seen the Ragpicker turn up -toward her home. I passed this corner, and concealed myself in a -doorway just beyond. - -I had not long to wait. I had drawn my head back into the doorway for -a moment, and when I looked again the Ragpicker was standing at the -street crossing with her back toward me, gazing in the direction of -the stork which stood before the sorcerer’s door. On her back was her -bag, and in her left hand she carried a knife. The people in the street -stopped to watch her, muttering together. - -“Skag!” said she, “come in!” And she turned sidewise to her shadow, -which lay at a great length on the ground before her. It began to -shorten toward her, and kept shortening until it was no longer than -herself. “Stand up!” said she, and the shadow stood upright beside her, -a black, flat image of herself in outline, looking as if it had been -cut from stiff, black paper. - -The Ragpicker let down the bag from her shoulder and opened it on the -ground and said “Come out!” And at this all the people gave a cry of -terror and fled into their houses and shut the doors, and all the -storks on the housetops fluttered their feathers and flapped their -wings. - - -_The Ragpicker Releases the Shadows in the Street_ - -Out of the bag poured shadows; hundreds of them; all the shadows of -little children which I had seen go into the bag the night before; and -as they poured out, they ran about in the street as if bewildered. - -“Skag!” said the Ragpicker. “To the fore!” - -The old woman’s shadow hastened to the front of all the others and -raised its long poker finger, beckoning them to follow. They crowded -behind, and moved noiselessly up the street toward the stork at the -sorcerer’s door. The Ragpicker followed close behind, holding her knife -up in her left hand. The stork which was the Princess stood motionless -on the curb before the door. The sorcerer was not to be seen. - -Now was my time for action. I crept silently after the old woman, and -came up just behind her. I fitted the feather with its drop of blood to -the little bow, and as I approached the old woman so close that I might -have touched her, I aimed quickly at her back and let the arrow fly. -Straight into her back it darted, and stuck there fast. - -“Skag!” she screamed, but she said no more. - -Quick as a wink I plucked the feather from her back, and as I did so -she turned upon me with her knife uplifted. But she stood suddenly -still, her hand relaxed, and the knife fell to the ground. A change -came slowly over her. Her back straightened; she grew taller; the -wrinkles left her face; her skin became fairer, her eyes larger, her -hair longer; and there was standing before me in her place a beautiful -young damsel, tall and erect, with dark eyes in a pale face, and two -thick braids of brown hair hanging to her waist. - -She held up her right hand and looked at it, and gave a cry of joy. The -long, black, hooked finger was gone. Her two hands were the shapely -white hands of a young woman, without blemish. - -“Free!” she cried. “The enchantment is over! I am myself at last! Oh, -thanks, young man!” And she threw her arms around me and kissed me -soundly on the cheek. - -I released myself, awkwardly enough, and as I did so I saw all the -shadows up the street fall flat to the ground, as if they had been -knocked over by a ball; and they began to slip swiftly away in every -direction across the pavement. In an instant Skag, the old Ragpicker’s -shadow, lay at the young woman’s feet. She screamed and shrank away, -but in another instant the shadow’s shape was changed, and in its place -on the ground was the shadow of the young woman herself. She clapped -her hands with joy. - - -_A Singular Commotion on the Housetops_ - -The shadows of the children were climbing the walls of the houses; -and all of a sudden I heard a great clamor from the housetops, as of -hundreds of children crying out together. - -“We can’t get down! Oh, I’m falling! Help! I can’t hold on! Oh, Mother! -We can’t get down! I’m slipping! I’m going to fall! Hurry! Mother! Come -quick!” - -I looked up, and there on the housetops, where the storks had been, -children were clinging to the chimney pots, straddling the ridgepoles, -hanging on to the gables, big children and little children, boys and -girls, shrieking out at the top of their voices, and struggling to keep -from toppling off into the street. One tiny boy suddenly disappeared -down a chimney; a big girl lost her hold and rolled down the roof into -a wide leaden gutter, where she hung, half on and half off. Dozens of -boys and girls sat astride the ridgepoles, as if riding cockhorses. -The big boys began to shout with glee, but the little ones were crying -with fright; and at the hubbub all the doors flew open and all the -fathers and mothers ran out, and when they saw what it was, a mighty -shout went up, and it wasn’t a minute before a ladder stood against -every wall, and not more than two minutes before all the children were -safe on the ground, hugged up in their mothers’ and fathers’ arms, with -such laughing and weeping and cheering as never were, I am sure, in -this world before. - -“Oh, isn’t it wonderful!” cried the beautiful young woman. “I’m so -glad, so glad!” - -“The Princess!” I cried. “Look at the Princess!” - - -_The Princess Is Herself Again, but--_ - -She was her own lovely self again, and she was standing at the same -place on the curb before the sorcerer’s house, and the sorcerer himself -was standing beside her. The young woman and myself ran swiftly to her, -and I shouted a joyous greeting as I approached; but to my surprise, -she did not reply. - -She was standing perfectly motionless, with her eyes wide open, and one -hand raised to her neck as if about to unfasten her necklace. On her -shoulder, shown by the open neck of her dress, was a tiny spot of blood. - -The young woman kissed the sorcerer’s hand and thanked him. - -“But the Princess!” I cried. “What is the matter with the Princess?” - -The sorcerer shook his head sadly. “Somebody always has to pay for -these benefits,” said he, “and I’m afraid that when we plucked the -feather we took away something we cannot replace. She cannot move nor -speak. But I will set to work, and in time I will--” - -“Come!” said the young woman. “I will help her! We must take her home! -Come at once!” - -The sorcerer and myself lifted the Princess between us and carried her -down the street toward the cove. The village people and their children -followed us, and stood in a throng on the beach as we got into a boat -and hoisted a sail. - -“Good-bye!” shouted the people, and the sorcerer and myself waved our -hands, none too cheerfully; and at that moment we heard a kind of bark -from the water beside the boat, and a voice cried, “Sister!” It was the -seal. The young woman leaned down toward him and cried, “Brother!” - -“Is everything all right now?” said the seal. “What are you going to do -about me?” - -His sister raised the Princess and showed him the red mark on the -Princess’s shoulder, and told him about the plucking of the stork’s -feather. Then the seal’s sister said: - -“For once you have done a good deed, brother; and if you’ll do -another--you know the promise!--two good deeds!--you will be free too. -Go! and do not return until you have brought that which will cure the -Princess. The milk of the White Walrus who lives in the Far-Alone -Grotto on the Twelfth Ice Floe! Do you understand?” - -“It’s a pretty good trip,” said the seal, “and I’ll probably have to -fight the walruses. But if you say so, why I suppose-- When do you -think I’d better start?” - -“This instant!” cried his sister. “Off with you! And return to us at -the King’s castle at Ventamere.” - -“Oh, very well,” said the seal, and dived. He came up again at the -mouth of the cove, making off at a great rate for the open sea.... - -We reached the King’s castle at Ventamere in the evening, and pressed -straightway into the Grand Refectory, where the King was at supper with -his court. As we entered, the whole company sprang up, and my father -ran toward me. - - -_The King Beholds His Child and Is Grieved_ - -The sorcerer and myself, carrying the Princess, stood her on her feet -and supported her thus between us, and the seal’s sister stood beside -us. - -“My daughter!” cried the King, and rushing toward the Princess with -outstretched arms, stopped in amazement as she remained between us as -speechless and motionless as a statue. - -I whispered rapidly into my father’s ear, and the sorcerer, kneeling -before the King, began to explain. - -The King paid no attention to him, but placed a hand upon his -daughter’s arm and wept. - -“My poor child!” he said. “What shall we do now?” - -There was a movement at the door. A crowd of the castle people poured -into the room, and parting, opened a lane for a young man, a stranger, -who advanced rapidly from the door; a very fat young man, with a round, -pink face and round, blue eyes, who wore hanging from his shoulders -the skin and head of a seal. - -“Brother!” cried the seal’s sister. - -“Yes,” said the fat young man, “it’s me; and a pretty little time I’ve -had among the walruses, I can tell you;” and he bowed low at the same -time to the King. - -“Have you some business with us, young sir?” said the King. - -“Venison steak and hasty pudding,” said the fat young man, with his eye -on the supper table. “Oh; I beg your pardon. I am the milk man.” - -“Milk? We want no milk here,” said the King. - -“It’s for the Princess,” said the fat young man. “To be taken -externally. Good for lumbago, rheumatism, sprains, chilblains, -strawberry rash--” - -“What is this fellow talking about?” said the King, in exasperation. - -“Brother!” said the young woman, his sister, fixing him sternly with -her eye. - -“Rub a little on her shoulder,” said her brother. “Direct from the -White Walrus on the Twelfth Ice Floe, and the walruses nearly ate me -alive before I got it; but here it is. Excellent for all sorts of skin -and blood diseases, as well as--” - -“Brother!” said the young woman, sternly. - -“I beg your pardon,” said the fat young man; and with a very grand -manner he took out of his pocket an oyster shell, and pried it open -with a knife from the table. On the lower half of the shell was a -spoonful of white liquid. - - -_The Seal Introduces His Liniment, Guaranteed to Cure in All Cases_ - -“Very convenient milk bottle,” said he; and waving the King aside he -stepped up to the Princess and went on pompously, as if he were making -a speech: - -“I will now,” said he, “in the presence of the entire company, and -openly before you all, so that you may see that no deception is -practised upon you, apply a modicum of my liniment to the shoulder of -the young lady, at the point where I perceive a stain of red, rubbing -the same in gently thus, with a downward motion of the first two -fingers of the right hand, thus, and thus, and thus.” - -He poured the white liquid from the shell on to the red spot on the -Princess’s shoulder, and rubbed it in gently, talking all the while. - -“Now, ladies and gentlemen,” he went on, “I call your attention to the -effects of this lotion when properly applied. It is warranted to be -very efficacious in all cases of-- But see; she lowers her hand; she -moves her foot; she speaks; she--” - -“Father!” cried the Princess, and threw herself into her father’s arms. - -“Hurrah!” I shouted, and all the company cheered, until the rafters -rang again. - -“Let the castle people retire,” said the King, and he led the Princess -to the table, where he seated her at his right hand, wiping his eyes -and blowing his nose. When we were all at table, the sorcerer told -his tale, and not until he had heard it to the end would the King -permit the meal to proceed. I observed that the son of the assistant -carol singer was very attentive to the seal’s sister; and as for the -fat young man her brother,--during the repast, which lasted a full two -hours, he spoke not a word. - -At the end the King begged him to relate the story of his enchantment -and his sister’s, and he readily consented; whereupon he commenced, -without being asked a second time, - - -THE STORY OF THE TALKING SEAL AND HIS SISTER - -“You must know,” he began-- - -_“I am very sorry,” said the Princess Dorobel, interrupting, “but it is -Bojohn’s bedtime, and I fear we shall have to hear this story another -time.”_ - -_“Oh, mother!” said Bojohn. “I couldn’t go to sleep if I tried. Please -don’t--”_ - -_“No, my dear,” said the Princess Dorobel, “not to-night. Pray go on -with Alb’s story, Solario.”_ - -When the seal’s story was finished (said Alb), the King begged the -One-Armed Sorcerer to remain with him as his friend and adviser; and -this the sorcerer consented to do. - -“And now,” said the King, turning to me, “what reward shall be yours? I -will deny you nothing.” - -I knelt before him, and made my request boldly. I knew that my whole -future hung upon that moment. - -“The hand of my lady Princess,” said I, “if she is willing.” - -“What do you say, my dear?” said the King. - -The Princess said nothing, but turned red as a rose, and buried her -head on her father’s shoulder. She was mine! I took her hand in mine -and kissed it. - -“_That’s_ settled,” said the King. “And you, sir,” said he to the fat -young man, “what gift shall I bestow upon you?” - -“A little more of the custard pie, if you please,” said the fat young -man. - - - - -[Illustration] - - - - -THE FIFTH NIGHT - -THE CITY OF DEAD LEAVES - - -_Solario was sitting cross-legged on his worktable, and before him, in -a row, sat the Executioner, Bodkin, Bojohn, Prince Bilbo, the Princess -Dorobel, and the Queen._ - -_“This _time,” said Bojohn, “we want to hear the story of -Montesango’s Cave.”_ - -_Solario shook his head. “The story is too dreadful altogether,” said -he. “I fear you would lie awake all night if--”_ - -_“Then tell us about the Roving Griffin,” said Bodkin._ - -_“Or the Blind Giant,” said Bojohn._ - -_“I am very curious myself,” said the Princess Dorobel, “to hear the -story of the seal and his sister. What do you say, mother?”_ - -_“I remember very well,” said the Queen, dropping her knitting in her -lap, “I saw a seal once when I was a young girl, and a very curious -creature it was, too, I’m sure. I’ve never forgotten it, because I -was on my way to be married to your father,--of course he wasn’t -your father then, you know,--and I think the day I saw the seal was -the day your father was expected to meet us, or the day before, I -can’t be quite certain now, it’s so long ago; and we were waiting for -him by the seashore,--but no, we weren’t expecting him on that day, -because he had sent a messenger to say that he couldn’t start until -all the horses were shod, and the blacksmith was just getting over the -measles. I remember that messenger very well; a small, dark man with a -beard, by the name of--what was his name? Something like Manniko, or -Finnikin,--no, it was Tallboy. That was it. Tallboy. He didn’t stay -with the King very long after we were married, because his sister’s -youngest boy was taken down with the--”_ - -_“Grandmother!” said Bojohn. “Solario is waiting to go on.”_ - -_“Dear me,” said the Queen, “so he is. I’m glad I brought my knitting -with me to-night.”_ - -_“I am sure,” said Prince Bilbo, “we would all be glad to hear about -the seal and his sister.”_ - -_“Your will is my pleasure,” said Solario, very prettily, “and I will -therefore now commence the story of--”_ - -_Here there was a sharp cry from outside the room door._ - -_“Let me in!” piped up a voice, loud and sharp as a whistle._ - -_Mortimer the Executioner opened the door, and at first glance -there appeared to be no one there. But Bojohn cried out, “It’s the -Encourager!” And there, on the sill, was in fact the tiny figure of -the Encourager, no taller than a sparrow, carrying his umbrella folded -under his arm. He opened the umbrella, and leaping into the air floated -up with it to the Executioner’s shoulder, where, folding the umbrella -again, he stood bowing to the company._ - -_“Dear me,” said the Queen, “I believe it’s the Encourager of the -Interrupter.”_ - -_“If there’s anything going on,” piped up the Encourager, in his shrill -voice, “I don’t want to be left out!”_ - -_“Then sit down, Mortimer,” said Prince Bilbo, “and let the Encourager -hear the story too.”_ - -_The Executioner seated himself, and the Encourager sat down on the -Executioner’s shoulder and gazed solemnly at Solario with his beady -black eyes._ - -_“Ahem!” said Solario, clearing his throat and picking up his shears. -“I will now, with your majesty’s gracious permission, proceed with the -story as it was related to the assembled company at Ventamere by the -seal, and by Alb the Fortunate to myself. This, then, is_ - - -“THE STORY OF TUSH THE APOTHECARY, AND OF PARAVAINE HIS SISTER.” - -I must tell you (said the fat young man), that I am an apothecary, and -my name is Tush. - -_“We had a Lord Treasurer once,” interrupted the Queen, “whose name was -Filch. It seemed so odd.”_ - -My name is Tush; and this damsel, my sister, who was lately a -Ragpicker, is known as Paravaine. So much for that. I now proceed to -the catastrophe which begins my tale, and I hope you will pardon me if -I pause at times to wipe away a tear. - -We were left alone at an early age, my sister and myself, without kith -or kin, and we dwelt together in the city of our birth, the city of -Fadz--you have heard of Fadz? A seaport of the Kingdom of Wen, a city -of ships and conversation; and in that city we dwelt quietly together, -and there I kept my shop. - -My sister, as you may see by looking at her, was beautiful in the -highest degree; and I am bound to admit to you that she was not a -little vain of her beauty, and prized admiration above all things in -the world. Regarding myself, I may say that I was considered to be -quite handsome, though a trifle fat. - -In the art of inventing remedies I greatly excelled; and I would beyond -a doubt have succeeded in my profession, but that I was much given -to the making of songs and the tasting of rare dishes, and these two -occupations consumed the greater part of my days. My sister, on her -part, applied herself so diligently to the adornment of her lovely -person before the mirror, that she had scarcely time for anything else. -In consequence, my business and my house fell into neglect; and another -apothecary, a tuneless fellow in a neighboring street, who knew not -beef from mutton, took away all my trade. But such is the fate of your -true artist, the world over. - -I forgot, in the application necessary for the composition of songs, -the foolish moneys which I chanced to owe here and there, and at -length (so dead to the finer things of life is the coarse mind of -trade), I could find no one who was willing to trust us any longer, -even for the meanest knuckle of the least respectable portion of a pig. -I burn with indignation when I think of it,--but I proceed. - - -_The Misfortunes of Tush the Apothecary_ - -I soon found out what monsters in the shape of men--However. Certain -churls, men of no character, no elevation, no refinement,--forgive me; -I am not quite myself; these men, if I may call them men, to whom I -owed, I believe, some trifling sums of no account, came to my shop one -morning in a body, fifteen or so; and if you can believe a thing so -monstrous, they seized, they tore away, they loaded into oxcarts in the -street, in the broad light of day, all the goods of my shop and all the -furnishings of my house. I wept, I threatened, I raved; but all to no -purpose. They answered never so much as a word; they departed, and left -my sister and myself without so much as a chair to sit on, or one coin -to jingle against another. - -_“Now that,” said the Queen, “was going entirely too far. However did -they expect the poor man to sit down?”_ - -One thing I entreated them to spare me, my Perfection Cream, a salve -or ointment of my own invention, warranted to relieve in all cases of -affliction of the skin; a remedy which I had compounded many years -before, and had tried once or twice on myself with good results. -Of this, having never sold any, I had on hand, in little jars, a -quite considerable quantity. They left me this, with contempt; and -my sister, observing it, begged them to spare to her of her own -possessions one thing only, her mirror, a handglass backed with blue -enamel, with a long handle of the same; and this also they granted, not -without a jeer. - -We sat for a long time upon the barren floor; and then we rose, and -shaking the dust of the place from our feet, we departed, never to -return. In a pouch at my side I carried my Perfection Cream, and in her -hand my sister carried her blue mirror; and thus we went forth, to try -our fortunes in the world. - -We sought the wharves, designing to take ship for some distant clime; -and we found, in fact, a vessel loading for a voyage. The ship’s master -was sitting on a bale, directing the porters, and I addressed him -politely, explaining our case. He shrugged his shoulders and shook his -head; but he happened to turn around and catch sight of my sister, and -his manner changed. He jumped to his feet, bowed, and begged us to come -aboard. - -In effect, we sailed away. My heart was light again. The city faded -behind us, the sunlight sparkled on the waves; and I was none the less -happy because I had not the least idea where we were going. I composed -a song regarding life on the ocean wave, and sang it with ecstasy, -until my sister begged me to stop. - -The master of the ship treated us with distinguished courtesy; I could -not help contrasting his conduct with that of the cold-blooded men who -had-- But I resolved to think of them no more. I gave myself up to the -pleasures of the voyage. - - -_They Find Themselves on an Unknown Shore_ - -On the third day, when we were sailing offshore in a light breeze, my -sister came to me in tears. The master of the ship had demanded that -she marry him, as the price of our passage. I went to him at once, -and remonstrated with him patiently. It was no use. He was set upon -marrying my sister. We left the matter to Paravaine herself, and she -rejected the proposal with scorn. “You see!” said I, throwing up my -hands in despair. “Yes, I see,” said the mariner. “You wish to go -ashore. I will not detain you any longer.” The ship was brought in -closer to the shore, a boat was lowered, and my sister and myself (I -assure you the black-hearted scoundrel bowed to us politely to the -last)--my sister and myself were landed on a sandy beach, and the ship -sailed away. - -_“Now isn’t that a perfect shame,” said the Queen. “And such a nice -young man, too.”_ - -We stood for a time in silence, petrified with despair. A vast, -treeless plain stretched away beyond the beach, far as the eye could -see; there was no human habitation anywhere. Not an ounce of food nor -a copper coin did we have between us,--nothing but my Perfection Cream -and my sister’s blue mirror. We were at our wits’ end. - -“Let us sit down and think what we had better do,” said I, and I led -my sister to a brown rock embedded in the sand at no great distance. -It was a large rock, round and smooth, and we sat down with our backs -against it, gazing mournfully at the Great Sea, where it sparkled in -the sunlight. It was a beautiful sight, and I began to think up a new -song. - -_“I always used to say,” said the Queen, “that the sea was a very -pretty thing, but the King never could abide it. He used to get_ so -_sick! And he finally declared he would never put his foot on a boat as -long as he-- Dear me! I remember a sailor on one of our trips who had -a parrot that used to talk--Oh, dear! Such things as he did say! Oh, -dear! Oh, dear! When I think of them!”_ - -_“All right, grandmother,” said Bojohn. “Go on, Solario.”_ - -As we sat there (said the fat young man) with our backs against the -brown rock, I amused myself by plucking away idly certain blades of -long brown grass which fringed the lower portion of the rock near my -hand; and these blades I twined, scarce thinking what I did, into a -ring of a size to fit a finger. Instead of putting it on my own finger, -I took my sister’s hand and placed the ring, jestingly, on the first -finger of her right hand. - - -_The Startling Effect of Making a Ring of Grass_ - -No sooner was this done than a kind of groan came from the rock. The -sand on which we sat heaved and shuddered. It rose beneath us, and we -were lifted slowly into the air; and when we were higher than a man’s -height above the ground we were thrown off on to the beach, and we were -looking up at a monstrous creature in the shape of a man, who had risen -up under us from beneath the sand. He was chocolate brown in color, -and he towered above us full seven yards or more. The rock against -which we had been sitting was, as we now perceived, his head; he had -been lying, no doubt asleep, on his stomach under the sand, completely -covered except for his head. We had been sitting above his buried -shoulders, and leaning against the back of his head; and from this -head, all bald but for a fringe of hair at the bottom, I had plucked -the hairs which I had thought were grass. - -“A genie!” I cried, and pulled my sister to her feet in fright. - -The genie opened his mouth in a great yawn, and stretched his mighty -arms; and as he breathed out again, jets of flame shot from his -nostrils. He was bare, except for a wide cloth twisted around his -middle from waist to thigh, and in the waistband he wore a long, curved -scimitar, which flashed in the sun. He spread his hands out before him -and bowed low. - -“Were you asleep in the sand?” said my sister, recovering her wits -first. - -He bowed again. - -“What do you want with us?” said my sister, becoming bolder. - -“I await your commands,” said the genie, in a voice like the roaring of -a waterfall. - -“Oh!” said my sister. “Is it the ring of hair on my finger? Is that it?” - -He bowed again, extending his hands. - -“Then please! please! take us away from here!” cried my sister. - -“What is it you seek?” said the genie. - -“We seek the best thing in the world!” cried my sister. “Take us where -we may find it!” - -“What do you mean by the best thing in the world?” said I to my sister. - -“I don’t know,” said she; “but the genie ought to know, and he’ll take -us where we may find it. Won’t you?” said she, looking up at him. - -“Hearing is obedience!” said the genie, and little jets of fire spurted -from his nostrils. - -“Where will you take us?” said I. - -“I will take you where you may find the best thing in the world,” said -the genie. “And if you find it, it will be the best thing in the world -for me too, because it will release me from the power of the One-Armed -Sorcerer, who dwells in an island far out in the Great Sea. If you -don’t find it, it will be your own fault, and in that case,--beware!” - -“This sounds pretty doubtful,” said I. - -“No matter!” cried my sister. “We will find it. Take us there at once!” - - -_They Start Upon a Journey Through the Air_ - -The genie stooped down over us, and under his right arm he gathered me -up, and under his left arm he gathered up my sister. He stamped upon -the earth so that it shook, and leaped into the air; and in an instant -we were soaring over the treeless plain, and I was sick with dizziness. -Higher and higher we mounted, with the speed of an arrow; we seemed to -be flying straight into the face of the sun; I could no longer tell -which was sea and which was plain below. I closed my eyes. - -[Illustration: The genie flew away with Tush and his sister] - -It was a long time before I opened them again. We were lower, and I -could see the plain, flat and grassy, without a tree. The sun declined, -and still we kept our course; I thought we should soon be at the end of -the world; and still there were no trees anywhere on the plain below us. - -I ached in every limb; I cried out, but the genie did not hear me; and -when I was ready to faint with exhaustion his speed suddenly relaxed, -and I saw, at the edge of the horizon before me, what was, or seemed to -be, a city. And still there were no trees. - -Scarcely a moment passed before the city rose in plain view; and with -a swoop the genie descended upon the earth, and we were standing, -all three of us, before a gate in the city wall, and my sister was -arranging her hair before her mirror. - -A tall and muscular man stood beside the gate, as if on guard. He was -chocolate brown in color, and he was bare except for a wide cloth -twisted about his middle from waist to thigh, and in his right hand he -carried a scimitar, which flashed in the sunlight. I looked around for -the genie, but he was gone. - -“What city is this?” said I to the Guardian of the Gate. - -“It is the City of Dead Leaves,” said the man. “What do you seek in the -city?” - -“We are seeking,” said my sister, “the best thing in the world. We were -told that we would find it here.” - -“Ah!” said the Guardian, looking at my sister. “You are she who has -come to save the King’s brother. Come with me.” - -He led the way through the gate, and we found ourselves in an alley -of high walls, along which we followed him for some distance, coming -out upon an open plot of grass, surrounded by the same high walls in -a circle. As we approached it, I smelled a familiar fragrance, the -fragrance of orange blossoms; and I thought with some regret of the -groves upon our slopes at home. - - -_The Orange Tree and the Panther_ - -In the center of this plot was an orange tree. It was green with -foliage and white with blossoms; the odor was delicious. Under the -tree, prowling stealthily around it, was a panther. I drew back in -alarm. “Do not go too close,” said our guide. “It is death to touch the -tree.” - -I had no desire to approach that terrible beast, and we gave him a wide -berth as we proceeded around the rim of the grassplot to an opening in -the opposite wall. We passed through that opening into a city street; -a street of glass, as it seemed, for the front wall of every house was -made of glass; and within, in every case, was a kind of storeroom, -piled up with something which looked like dead leaves. In the greater -houses these rooms were piled quite full; in the meaner there were only -little mounds; but much or little, they appeared to be on exhibition, -as if in pride. - -“The treasures of our people,” said the Guardian of the Gate. “Dead -orange leaves. Our most precious possession. The wealth and station of -each citizen are gauged by his store of dead leaves. It is of course -only proper to put them where they may be seen. But come; the King’s -brother awaits us.” - -I nudged my sister. “The King’s brother!” I whispered. “Here is a -chance for you!” She smiled, and glanced into her mirror. - -We wound through many streets of glass, and I observed that besides -glass the houses contained no material but stone and metal; the absence -of wood was very noticeable. We turned down a mean street toward the -city wall, and came out upon a common, strewn with refuse of all kinds, -and bounded on the further side by the wall. A shelter of canvas leaned -against the wall, and beneath this shelter, on a pallet of straw, lay a -man in rags. He raised himself on his elbow and looked up at us. - -“The King’s brother,” said our guide, and I started back in surprise. - - -_They Come Upon the King’s Brother in Rags_ - -He was a young man, and very ugly, but not unpleasant to look at; -indeed, his ugliness had something honest and winning in it; and if he -had not been so ragged, he might have made a passable appearance. As it -was, I laughed to myself at the thought of such a fellow in connection -with my beautiful sister. - -The ugly young man stood up and bowed politely. - -“Is it the first stranger?” said he to the Guardian of the Gate. - -“It is,” said the Guardian. - -“I am content,” said the young man, casting on my sister a look of -admiration. - -“Fair lady,” he went on, dropping on one knee and taking her hand, “if -you are not pledged elsewhere, I beseech you to accept me as a suitor -for your hand. Stay; do not repulse me at my first word, but hear me -further, and take time to consider. I am the King’s younger brother; -and because I would not marry a lady of his choosing, he has cast me -out, swearing that I shall remain in this misery unless I shall marry -the first stranger who shall come to our gates. Oh, fortunate hour that -brought you here the first of all! I am poor; I do not possess a single -leaf; but I will devote myself to you loyally, and I do not think you -will regret it. I know, having seen you, that I cannot live without -you. Do not refuse me now, but at the end of a week give me your -answer.” - -He kissed her hand fervently, and arose. I confess that I liked this -young man, but of course I could not think of marrying my sister to one -so utterly forlorn. I answered for her. - -“In a week I will let you know,” said I, and drew my sister away. - -“Before you go,” said he, “let me give you a warning. Look at my hands.” - -He held out his palms, and I saw that they were covered with a rash, -red and angry-looking. He rubbed his palms together, as if to soothe an -irritation. - -“The itching palms!” said he. “I have handled the dead leaves all my -life; and because I have handled them my palms itch, itch, all day and -night, without ever a moment’s peace. I warn you not to touch the dead -leaves. The dead leaves of the orange tree; do not touch them.” - -“Very well,” said I, and with these words we left him. - -The Guardian of the Gate, leading us back into the city streets, turned -and said: - -“You have just had your first chance to gain the best thing in the -world. I will now give you your second. Be careful how you choose.” - -We entered a street of shops; and I now noticed that the people -were, each of them, rubbing their palms together, as if to soothe an -intolerable itching. - -I paused to look into one of the shops as we passed. The customers -within were handing over to the dealer, in return for his goods, -leaves, dead leaves, of the sort we had seen in the glass showrooms; -and whenever these dead leaves passed from hand to hand, I remarked -that the itching of the palm they touched became more exasperating, so -that the people were quite beside themselves, and could not keep quiet -on their feet; but the dealer nevertheless received the dead leaves -eagerly, and the others gave them up with reluctance. - -“These people are mad,” said I. - -We joined a great rout of people, all rubbing their hands, who were -pouring down a street in the direction of an open square; and when we -reached it, we saw in the center, on a platform above the heads of the -crowd, a man in a robe, who was evidently about to read from a paper -held in his hand. - -“Your second chance,” said the Guardian of the Gate. “I will leave you -to your choice. Be careful how you choose.” - -He turned away, and disappeared in the crowd. - -“Hear ye! Hear ye!” cried the man on the platform. “A message from -the King! Whereas the affliction of the itching palm has now become -so grievous that it can no longer be endured, the King now offers, to -such person as shall cure him, one-half of all the dead leaves in his -treasury! And to him also he promises one-half of all the dead leaves -belonging to each person whom he shall cure! The offer is open to all! -Be diligent! Thus saith the King!” - -The messenger got down, and immediately there arose near the platform a -commotion, with much laughter, and those in that neighborhood began to -cry out: - -“Way for the Lord Buffo! Make way for the wise Lord Buffo!” - - -_A Dwarf Clad in Motley Stands up to Speak_ - -A singular figure now mounted the platform, facing in our direction. -He was a dwarf, hunchbacked and thickset, with a very large head set -deep in his shoulders, and arms which hung to his knees. His clothing -was of squares of yellow and blue and green and orange, and on his head -he wore a paper crown, rimmed around at the top with little bells. -With his right hand he pulled up by a cord a small monkey, dressed in -all respects like himself; and in his other hand he held the long tail -feather of a cock. - -“The King’s Fool,” said one of the bystanders in my ear. - -The Fool waved the feather, and the crowd settled itself to listen. - -“Hear ye! Hear ye!” he cried, in a loud, harsh voice. - -At this the people shouted, “Go on, go on!” - -The monkey leaped up on to the dwarf’s shoulder, and the dwarf -proceeded, with the greatest gravity. - -“I, Buffo, chief counselor to his most gracious majesty, King Fatchaps, -do call upon you to hearken to the voice of Wisdom!” - -“Wisdom! That’s good!” laughed the crowd,--never ceasing to rub their -palms and dance up and down the while. - -“First I must tell you, my loyal subjects, that you are all mad. Do you -believe it?” - -“Yes! yes! Of course!” shouted the crowd, still laughing. - -“Give ear, and I will prove it to you! Thus! Answer me! Isn’t there -enough in our city for all, to feed you and clothe you and shelter you -and amuse you? Answer!” - -“True!” cried many persons in the throng. - -“Then why are there some among you who starve, and others who cast out -of their abundance to the dogs? Tell me that!” - -No one replied. - -“Because you are mad! With the itching palm! Look at you! You can’t -stand still on your feet! Rub, rub! Want in the midst of plenty! -Scratch, scratch! Some with too little and some with too much! Rub, -rub! And enough for everybody in reason! Scratch, scratch! All mad, all -mad! Rub, rub! Look at me--have I itching palms?” He held up his hands, -palms outward. - -“No!” exclaimed several in the crowd. - -“Tell me why! Tell me why! Because I touch not the dead leaves! Isn’t -it so?” - -No one answered. - -“Give ear, madmen, and I will reveal to you how to cure the itching -palm! Bring the dead orange leaves here to the square! Pile them up! -Burn them, burn them, burn them, every one! That’s it! Will you give up -the dead leaves?” - -“No!” roared the people as if with one voice. - -“Then farewell, madmen!” cried the Fool, and he jerked the monkey from -his shoulder and descended from the platform. - -The people, still rubbing their hands together and dancing, but -laughing withal, rapidly left the square, and my sister and myself -started to go; and as we started, the dwarf appeared before us with his -monkey, and cocked his eye up at us waggishly. - -“What, ho!” said the Fool. “Strangers, by the ears of a donkey! -Greeting, strangers, what do you among my mad subjects?” - -“To tell you the truth, my lord,” said I, making up my mind on the spur -of the moment, “I have come here with my sister from a distant land, to -cure the people and their King of the itching palm.” - -“How so?” said the hunchback, sharply. - -“With a little remedy of my own,” said I, tapping my pouch. - -“Bah!” said the Fool, jerking the monkey’s cord. “Go home, madman, you -are wasting your time.” - -“One moment!” I said. “Conduct me to the King, I beg you. You shall see -me prove my boast.” - -He looked up at me sidewise. “Pouf!” said he, snapping his fingers. -“Old Fatchaps is as big a fool as you are. Here; I’ll give you a -chance; there’s nobody here to help me. I ask you, will you help me? I -have a plan to gather the leaves together and burn them. With your help -I can do it, and we will save the people together. Will you help?” - -“Not I,” said I, laughing again. “The people would tear us both to -pieces.” - -“What does that matter?” said the Fool. - -“It matters to me,” said I. - -“Is that your choice?” said the Fool. “You have made your choice? Done, -then. Come with me. I will take you to the King; and you will wish that -I hadn’t. Oh, these fools! The time is coming when I must take the case -in hand myself, all alone; for I will tell you a secret; lend me your -ear.” He pulled my head down, and whispered fiercely in my ear. “I love -this people, and I will save them; whether they will or no. D’ye hear? -They are my people, and they must be saved! Whether they will or no! -And then what a bonfire! What a bonfire!” - -He jerked the monkey’s cord again, and made off swiftly. We followed -him, and my sister said to me, in a low voice, “Do you think he is mad?” - -“That,” said I, “is precisely what I do not know.” - - -_Buffo the Fool Leads Them to the Palace_ - -In a few moments we entered and crossed the grounds of an immense -palace, and Buffo the Fool opened the palace door without ceremony and -preceded us into a great hall, where he stopped and said: - -“I must have a good look at you first. Buffino, my mirror!” - -The monkey darted off down the hall and up the staircase. While he was -gone the Fool said to me: - -“You have seen the orange tree and the panther?” - -“Yes,” said I. - -“Do they worship the orange tree in your country?” - -“No, no,” said I. “Orange trees are the commonest of our possessions. -We have them by thousands. Their leaves are of no account.” - -“So?” said he, with a look which said that he did not believe it. “We -have no tree in all this city, nor anywhere in all this land, but a -single orange tree. No one knows how the seed came here. We worship -that tree; nothing else.” - -“A very pretty sentiment,” said I. “Nothing could be prettier.” - -“Hideous!” said he. “The leaves that drop from that tree and die are -the cause of all our evil. We fight over them, we steal them, we waste -our lives in getting them, and we suffer the agony of the itching palm -when they are ours. Will you help me destroy the panther that guards -the tree?” - -“Certainly not,” said I with a shiver. - -“You have made your choice,” said the Fool. “Buffino, give me the -mirror.” - -The monkey, who had now returned, handed to the dwarf a large mirror, -and the Fool held it up before my sister. - -Instead of the beautiful person of my sister appeared in the glass the -face and figure of an old woman, bent, ugly, and wrinkled. My sister -started back in dismay, and the dwarf held up the mirror before myself. -It showed me a gross, puffy face with three chins and pig’s eyes, -horribly repulsive. I shuddered. - -“Just as I thought,” said the Fool. “Tell me now, have you seen the -King’s brother?” - -“Yes,” said I. - -“Will you marry him?” said he to my sister. - -“Oh!” said she. “How could I? I can’t say. I’m--” - -“Just as I thought,” said the dwarf. “And you won’t help me cure my -people. What is it you came here to seek?” - -“We are seeking the best thing in the world,” said I. - -“And what is that?” - -“I don’t know; but we’ll certainly recognize it when we find it.” - -“Not you,” said the dwarf; “not until my mirror shows you fair and -comely; _then_ you’ll know it.” - -“How are we to get it to show us fair and comely?” said I. - -“One of you by saving a miserable outcast, and the other by saving a -whole people; then you’ll be fair and comely, inside and out, but not -until then.” - -“You talk in riddles, master Buffo,” said I. “Let us go to the King.” - -“Madman!” said the dwarf, and gave the mirror back to the monkey, who -scampered off with it and disappeared. - -We followed the Fool up the great staircase and into a distant wing -of the palace, and stopped at a door, on which the hunchback knocked. -Receiving no answer, he opened the door and led us in. “Your majesty!” -he cried. - - -_They Find the King in a Terrible State_ - -The King was pacing the floor, grinding and scratching his palms -together, and muttering angrily to himself. He was an enormous man with -a puffy, red face, a snub nose, and three chins, and he wheezed as he -walked. His hair stood up on end all over his head as if it was trying -to fly off. His fat legs went back and forth in a kind of tripping run, -and his fat hands rubbed and scratched and slapped each other in a -perfect frenzy. - -“What, what!” he cried, never halting for an instant. “What’s the -matter, what’s the matter?” - -“Stop a minute, King Fatchaps!” said the Fool. “Here’s a madman come to -cure your itching palms! Ha, ha!” - -“What do you say? What do you say?” said the King, dancing along, back -and forth. - -“It is true, your majesty,” said I. - -“You can cure me? What do you say? You’re an impostor! They’re all -impostors! Can you cure me? Why don’t you do it then?” - -“I understand,” said I, “that a reward is offered--” - -“Well, well? What of it?” said the King, wheezing and puffing. “Half of -my dead leaves! What of it?” - -“The fact is,” said I, “we should prefer gold or silver.” - -“Impudence!” cried the King. “Gold? Silver? What do you mean? I never -heard of them.” - -“He’ll take the leaves, never fear,” said the dwarf. “Oh, yes.” - -“Take ’em!” cried the King. “Who is the beautiful lady? Take ’em? Dead -leaves or nothing! Take ’em or leave ’em!” - -It was plain that a fortune of dead leaves was as good as any other, -if you only thought it so, and if these people thought it so, as they -evidently did, I might as well take it. - -“I am satisfied, your majesty,” said I, “and if you will hold out your -palm, I will work the cure.” - - -_The Perfection Cream Is Rubbed into the Itching Palm_ - -The King held out his left hand as he passed, and I trotted along -beside him, and drawing from my pouch one of my little jars, I applied -to the King’s palm, with my fingers, a small portion of my salve, -rubbing it in as well as I could; and then I ran around to his other -side, and did the same for his other hand. It was rather difficult, -considering that I had to trot along beside him as he tripped back and -forth across the carpet. - -“What, what, what! Bless my soul!” cried the King, stopping suddenly. -“It feels better!” - -I bowed and smiled, and Buffo the Fool said, “Mad, old Fatchaps! Both -of you mad!” - -“Speak when you’re spoken to!” said the King. “Who asked your opinion? -Pfoo! pfoo! I haven’t any breath left! Not another word out of you, -sir! I know when I’m cured! I’m no fool, I’m no fool!” - -“Oh, no, not at all!” said the Fool. - -“Here, you!” said the King. “Take this young man and his wife and feed -’em, and let ’em sleep in the palace. I’ll settle with ’em in the -morning, if the itching’s gone. I’m no fool.” - -“Not my wife,--my sister,” said I, bowing. - -“What do you say?” cried the King. “Oh, that’s different!” - -He bowed before my sister, and kissed her hand very respectfully. - -“Bless my soul! Beautiful as a moonbeam! What do you say? Where do you -come from, eh? The itching’s gone. But I’ll wait till morning. I’m no -fool. Be off with you, clown, and let ’em eat and sleep in the palace. -What do you say? He shall cure the whole city, and I’ll make ’em -give up half of all their dead leaves to him! In the morning, in the -morning! What do you say? Be off with you!” - -We hastily left him, and as we passed down the hall we saw him poke his -head out of the door and heard him call: - -“Ho! I’m cured! Where’s that confounded chamberlain? Send me the -chamberlain! What do you say? I’m cured!” And he banged the door shut -again. - -That night we dined sumptuously and slept in gorgeous apartments in the -palace. In the morning, being once more conducted by Buffo to the King, -we found him in a transport of happiness. The cure was perfect. He -kissed my sister’s hand, and threw his arms about me, and cried: - -“It’s yours! Half of my dead leaves, and I’ll make a Prince out of you! -Not a word! What do you say? Never woke up once last night! Get to work -and cure all my people. Where’s that confounded chamberlain? Get to -work, get to work!” - - -_Tush the Apothecary Takes the People in Hand_ - -The arrangements were soon made. I took my stand on the palace steps, -and all day long the people filed before me, and into each palm I -rubbed a little of my salve. It was a work of days, and all business -stopped until my task was done. At the end, the city was cured; never -were there in this world a people so beside themselves with joy. - -In the square where I had first met the King’s Fool the King caused -to be thrown up, with five hundred pairs of willing hands, a vat of -hardened mud in blocks, and into this vat his servants poured for me -a good full half of all the dead orange leaves in his treasury, and -on top of these, from each of those whom I had cured, one-half of his -store of leaves; so that when all was done the vat was just half full. -I was rich; richer than the King himself; and my Perfection Cream was -all gone. - -I hinted to the King that some kind of covering should be provided for -the vat, to protect my riches from the weather. - -“What, what?” said he, his face growing a trifle purple. “There’s no -rain at this time of year! What do you say? All in good time! I can’t -do everything in a minute!” - -Now it came to pass, as you may guess, that the King grew daily more -smitten with my sister’s beauty. Scarcely a day passed on which he did -not visit us in the splendid apartments in his palace which he had -given us for our own. His favors became more lavish as time went on; -they could have only one meaning. “You shall be Queen!” said I to my -sister, and she smiled knowingly. - -We were expecting, one evening, a visit from the King, when the Fool -entered our apartment, and behind him came, instead of the King, the -King’s ugly brother. I was startled, for I had forgotten him completely. - -He knelt beside my sister, and took her hand tenderly in his. - -“Dear lady,” he said, “I do not blame you that you have neglected -your promise. I have stolen here at great risk to lay myself again at -your feet. Surely a loyal heart must weigh with you more than rank or -riches. Ah, dear lady, say that you will be mine!” - -I confess that there was something about this young man which made me -like him better than before; but of course a match such as he proposed -was out of the question. - -My sister shook her head and drew away her hand. “I cannot, I cannot,” -she said. - -“Tell me,” he said, “do you think well of me--do you care for me a -little--do you think you can say you love me, ever so little?” - -“I do! I do!” cried my sister, to my amazement, hiding her face in her -hands. “I loved you on the first day I saw you! I can’t help it! I do!” - -“Ah, then,” said the young man, rising, while I on my part remained -speechless with astonishment, “what’s to hinder? You are mine!” - -“No, no,” said my sister, weeping, “it can never be.” - -“Is it because I am poor and friendless?” - -My sister said never a word. - -“Is it because you prize rank and wealth more than love?” - -Still my sister said nothing. - -The young man hesitated, and stooping to kiss her hand, he said, “I -have received my answer;” and with these words he strode mournfully to -the door. But she did not look up at him, and with a sigh of deep grief -he left us. - - -_Paravaine Has Made Her Choice_ - -“The wrong choice once more,” said the Fool, and he, too, went his way. - -My sister had hardly dried her eyes when there came a knock upon the -door behind her, and the King entered. She did not turn round, and the -King tripped in silently on his toes, putting a finger roguishly to -his lips and shaking all over with mirth; and coming up behind her he -placed his two fat hands over her eyes, wagging his eyebrows up and -down at me. - -“Guess who it is!” he cried, wheezing. “What do you say? It’s somebody -come a-wooing! Never mind who! Ha, ha, ha! Guess who it is, and -to-morrow you’ll be Queen! What do you say? Pouf! Pah! I’m all out of -breath. It’s somebody that wants you to be his Queen. Guess! The most -beautiful Queen in the whole--” - -He stopped suddenly. The King’s Fool and his monkey had slipped into -the room behind him and were standing before my sister, and the dwarf -was holding up his mirror before my sister’s face. - -“What, what, what!” cried the King in a rage, taking away his hands -from my sister’s eyes. “What do you mean? Out of my sight, Fool! Away! -Begone!” - -The dwarf held the mirror higher, shaking with laughter the while, and -my sister gazed into it. I saw her shudder and turn pale, and then she -screamed and buried her face in her hands. - -The King, staring likewise into the mirror, turned purple and remained -as if frozen with horror. He shook himself, and gave a choking gasp. - -“What’s this?” he cried. “It’s the--what a-- Take it away. She’s an old -woman! She’s a witch! What a-- I’m no fool, it’s a trick, I knew it -all the time! Take her away! She’s an old woman. You can’t play tricks -on me, I won’t have it, I won’t stand it. She’s a witch! I’m going. I -won’t stay. It’s a trick. I’m no fool!” - -With these words, puffing and wheezing, he trotted on his fat legs out -of the room. - -“No marriage yet,” said the Fool, looking at me queerly, and he ran -after the King, pulling his monkey along with him. - - -_He Finds Himself Rubbing His Palms Together_ - -That night, as I stood before my mirror, undressing, and comforting -myself with the thought of all the magnificence I had acquired and -would acquire with my dead orange leaves, I found myself rubbing the -palm of my right hand with the fingers of my left. I was aware of a -slight itching in the palm. - -At breakfast in the morning, I noticed that my sister, who was very -sober, would now and then scratch the palm of her right hand; but I -said nothing, and in the afternoon, without questioning her on the -subject of her love for the King’s brother, I prepared to visit the -King, to try if I could not bring him back to reason. I was ready to -leave, when my sister broke into my room, crying out frantically: - -“I can’t stand it, I can’t stand it! The itching in my palms! It won’t -stop for a moment! I can’t sit still! It’s growing worse and worse! Oh, -brother, cure it, cure it, or I shall go mad!” - -She walked up and down the room in a frenzy, rubbing her palms -together. I tried in vain to pacify her, and at length I left her and -betook myself to the King. - -On my way the itching of the night before returned, and this time I -felt it in both my hands. I knew that my sister and myself, in common -with the King and all his subjects, had been handling the dead leaves -freely since I had worked the cure, and I began to be uneasy. - -When I knocked at the King’s door the voice of the Fool said “Come in,” -and I found the King running with his tripping step up and down the -room, rubbing his hands, and beside him trotted the Fool and the monkey. - -“Imbecile!” cried the King, without stopping for an instant. “You -shall die the death! A trick, a trick! And half of my dead leaves gone -for nothing! A death in boiling oil! What do you say? Don’t answer me! -My hands, my hands! Worse than before! You shall suffer, you shall -suffer! A slow death! Why don’t you speak? What are you going to do?” - -“Ha, ha, ha!” laughed the Fool. “He’s been handling the dead leaves -again, and so have you all. It’ll be my turn soon! My turn soon!” - -“Patience, your majesty,” said I, rubbing my hands. “I will go to work -at once and prepare more of my salve. Have no fear. I will cure you -instantly. I am off to my work.” - - -_He Cannot Find the Ingredients for Making the Salve_ - -“Pouf! Pah!” said the King, angrily, and I ran from the room, to find -the ingredients necessary for my salve. But alas, they were not to be -found. I sent everywhere; the city was scoured; but it was no use; I -was in despair. Such simples as could be found I gathered together, and -of these I made a new remedy,--far different from my old, but it was -the best I could do. I tried it on myself, and felt an almost instant -relief. I shouted with joy. - -I returned to the King, and as I passed an open window in the great -hall I heard the muttering of many voices outside, and I saw a great -concourse of people in the palace grounds, all talking angrily, and all -rubbing their hands and dancing on their toes in anguish. They began -to shout my name, and I knew that if I should fall among them in their -present temper I should be lost. - -The King was trotting up and down as before, and the dwarf and the -monkey were running along beside him. - -“What, what?” he cried. “What now? No tricks! I’m no fool. What’s the -matter?” - -“If I cure you,” said I, holding up my box of ointment, “I must have -the rest of your leaves; and from every one I cure I must have the rest -of his; it is only just.” - -“Anything!” cried the King. “You can’t do it! It’s another trick! I’ll -give all the dead leaves in the city to anyone who can save me and my -people! It’s a trick! You can’t do it. What are you waiting for? Try -it! Oh, these hands! It’s no use! Hurry up!” - -I seized his hand, and running beside him I rubbed into his palm a -little of my new ointment; and running around to his other side I did -the same for his other hand. - -“See the madmen!” cried the Fool, clapping his hands in glee. - -“By the beard of my uncle!” cried the King. “I feel better! It’s going! -It’s gone! It’s all over! I’m cured! Oh, wonderful young man, come to -my arms! What do you say? I knew you could do it all the time. I’m -cured!” - -He grasped my arm and pulled me from the room, and down the stairway to -the front door. A great throng filled the grounds, from the door to the -gate; and commanding silence, the King announced in a loud voice that I -was ready with my cure, and that whoever wished to be cured should give -up the remainder of his dead leaves. - -There was a moment’s hesitation, but the anguish of their affliction -was too great; the people whispered together, doubtless remarking that -they would soon get back their leaves in trade; and at any rate they -began to file before me, and my healing work commenced; but not before -I had applied my salve, in sight of all, to my sister’s palms, and -given her immediate relief. - -All that day and the next and for several days the work continued, and -in each case the itching vanished at once; the city was cured again, -and my vat in the public square was filled to the brim, with all the -dead orange leaves that the people owned. The glory of my future was -beyond calculation; my sister, I resolved, should yet be Queen; and I -planned for myself such offices in the state as should give me power -even greater than the King’s. - -When I awoke in my bed on the following morning, I found that I was -rubbing my hands. - -I dressed hurriedly, and my sister came to me in tears. She was rubbing -her hands. - -We hurried to the King. He was running up and down, rubbing his hands. - -We fled from him and ran out upon the palace steps, not knowing where -next to go; and as we stood there, hesitating, the King’s brother -appeared before us, and spoke with excitement. - -“Beloved!” he cried. “We love each other--what more is needed? Quick, -it is not yet too late! Say that you love me--let me hear it again!” - -“Ah, yes, I do,” said my sister, and he threw his arm about her and -clasped her to his breast. - -“Come! I will save you!” he cried. “There is time, if we hurry. Will -you come with me now?” - -My sister drew back a little, still struggling within herself; and -while she hesitated, a commotion arose at the gate, and the young man -cried out, in a voice full of despair: - -“It is too late, too late!” - - -_Tush and His Sister are Seized by the Angry Crowd_ - -At the gate a throng of people were pressing in with angry shouts. They -made toward us, dancing and rubbing their hands. They surrounded us; -they crowded upon us to suffocation; the young man and myself tried -in vain to shield my sister; angry hands were laid upon her and upon -myself, and we were hustled away toward the gate. - -“Give us back our leaves! Kill them both! To the square!” shouted the -mob; and thrusting the King’s brother aside they pulled and pushed us -to the public square, and halted us beneath the vat which contained all -my wealth. - -A sudden outcry, followed by silence, drew my attention upward. There -above us, on the rim of the vat, stood the King’s Fool. He held a -lighted torch aloft in his hand. - -“Madmen!” he cried. “I am ready to cure you! All alone! Speak! Shall I -destroy the leaves?” - -“No, no!” shouted the crowd. “Stop him! Stop him!” - -“If you fire the leaves, we will kill these two!” shouted one of our -captors. - -“Oh!” said my sister at my side, pale with terror. “What shall we do? -Stop him! If the genie would only come and help us! I wish the genie -were here to help us!” - -“The time has come!” cried the Fool. “I must save you! Why will you all -be mad? I must save you from your madness! In with the torch!” - -He faced about toward the center of the vat, and swung his torch as -if about to toss it in; but at that instant a great wind swept across -the square with a roar, such a blast as I had never in my life known -before, and the King’s Fool tottered in it for a moment, and his torch -went out; and then, clutching at the air, he was blown headlong to the -ground in a heap. - -“The whirlwind! The whirlwind!” shouted the crowd in terror. “Fly! Fly -for your lives!” - -Far off across the housetops appeared a yellow cloud, and a saffron -gloom overspread the city. From the cloud to the ground revolved a -yellow funnel, as of dust-laden wind; and it was coming toward us with -the speed of lightning. - -The crowd dispersed madly, trampling one another, shrieking and -cursing, and in a twinkling they were gone. I seized my sister and -dragged her to the street corner, where I opened one half of a cellar -door and plunged down with her, closing the door over us, but peeping -out through a crack. We were just in time. - - -_The Genie in the Whirlwind_ - -The whirling funnel of wind and dust swept over the square; and in the -forefront of it, at a great height, flew the genie, his great mouth -open, and darts of fire flickering around his face. - -The square was empty, save for the crumpled body of the King’s Fool, -lying motionless beside the vat of dead leaves; and as I gazed at him -where he lay, I saw, moving toward him across the bare pavement, the -humped figure of his little monkey. - -The genie, far above, kept just ahead of the whirlwind; the yellow -funnel whirled after him directly across the vat and covered it and -passed; and as it passed, all the dead leaves surged up into it in a -furious gale, so that it was darkened with them; and the next moment -the whirlwind was gone, and the square lay quiet in the sunshine. - -“Come, Paravaine!” said I, and pulled my sister forth across the square. - -We came to the base of the vat, and on the ground beside it, left -there untouched by the storm, lay the King’s Fool on his side, graver -than he had ever been in his life; and huddled against his breast sat -his monkey, shivering, and looking up at us with eyes that seemed to -reproach us. - -We hurried toward the city gate. Many houses were in ruins, and the -streets were strewn with rubbish. People were running busily about, -gazing intently at the ground, and now and then one would stoop and -pick up something. I saw what it was they were doing; they were -searching for dead leaves, scattered by the whirlwind. - -“I can’t go!” said my sister, weeping. “I must see him first! Oh, my -love, my love!” - -“Too late now!” I cried. “Too late, too late!” - -I pulled her onward, knowing that death awaited us in that city; and -we came to the plot of grass where we had seen the sacred tree. It was -gone, and in the place where it had been was only a gaping hole. The -whirlwind had passed that way. On the ground beside the hole lay the -panther, its head on its paws. It watched us with sleepy eyes as we -fled by. - -In a moment we had reached the city gate and passed out. The Guardian -was standing there, his face clouded with a frown, and his scimitar -raised. - -“Why do you flee?” said he. - -“From the wrath of the people!” I cried. “Let us pass!” - -“You cannot pass,” said he. His scimitar glittered in the sun. - -“But we repent! We repent!” cried my sister. - -“Too late, too late!” said the Guardian. “See!” - -He pointed upward, and afar off in the sky appeared a black speck, -speeding toward us. - -“The genie!” I cried; and I had no sooner said it, than the earth -trembled, and before us on the ground towered the genie, breathing fire. - -“Save us from him!” I cried, turning to the Guardian, but he was gone. -We were alone with the genie. - - -_The Pulling Off of the Genie’s Ring_ - -“Off with the ring! That will send him away!” I cried to my sister, -and she tugged at the ring on her forefinger, to pull it off; but it -came unwillingly; and as she pulled, her finger lengthened; she tugged -harder, and as the ring came her finger stretched out longer and -longer; and when the ring was off and dropped on the ground, the first -finger of her right hand was more than a foot long,--a black, stiff -rod, hooked at the end like a poker. - -[Illustration: The genie swung him back and forth and tossed him out to -sea] - -The genie stooped, and gathered me under his right arm and my sister -under his left; and giving a stamp upon the ground which shook the -earth he mounted into the air.... - -Far out over the Great Sea, as the sun was setting, the genie drew -downward toward an island; and on a bluff of this island, overlooking -a cove in which fishing boats lay moored, he alighted and set us on -our feet. Over my sister’s head and back he passed his hand, speaking -strange words in his throat. She shriveled before my eyes; her face -became old and wrinkled and her body bent; and before I could speak -she was the hideous creature I had seen in the Fool’s glass, with a -forefinger like the poker of a ragpicker. - -“Paravaine!” I cried; but the genie turned her away toward a village -which showed itself at the back of the cove, and sent her off in that -direction; and when she had gone, he picked me up in his mighty hands, -and carrying me to the further edge of the bluff where it looked down -on the rolling surf, he swung me back and forth three or four times and -tossed me out to sea. - -I sank into the depths; I rose to the surface; and as my head came up -I looked for the genie. Far up in the evening sky flew what seemed a -tiny, black arrow. I cried aloud; and instead of a shriek there came -from my throat a bark. It was the bark of a seal. - - - - -[Illustration] - - - - -THE SIXTH NIGHT - -THE ENCHANTED HIGHWAYMAN - - -_Mortimer the Executioner, very grand and uncomfortable in his new -suit, placed a chair for the Queen before Solario’s worktable, and the -old tailor having seated himself cross-legged on the table, the entire -company sat down in a row, facing him._ - -_There were first the Executioner, with the tiny Encourager on his -shoulder; then Bodkin; then Bojohn; then his mother, the Princess -Dorobel, and his father, Prince Bilbo; and last, his grandmother, the -Queen._ - -_“Now then,” said Bojohn, “I hope we’re going to hear the story of -Montesango’s Cave at last.”_ - -_“If it please your majesty,” began Solario, addressing the -Queen,--but at this moment there came a loud knock at the door._ - -_Mortimer the Executioner hastened to open it, and there in the doorway -stood the King himself. Solario sprang down from his table, and all the -others rose._ - -_“Ah! your majesty!” cried Solario, bowing profoundly. “This is indeed -an honor!”_ - -_“I was told I would find you here,” said the King. “It seems that my -entire family deserts me in the evening, and I am obliged to climb the -worst stairs in the castle to-- But of course if you find my society -too--”_ - -_“My dear!” said the Queen. “We have been listening to Solario’s -stories, and you were so taken up with your chess that we thought you -wouldn’t care to--”_ - -_“Why not?” said the King. “But of course if you don’t want me to hear -the stories, I’ll--”_ - -_“Sit down, grandfather!” cried Bojohn. “He’s just going to begin.”_ - -_“Do sit down, my dear,” said the Queen. “Don’t you remember the story -he told us the first night?”_ - -_“Hum! Ha! I’m all out of breath with those plaguey stairs. Something -about a button, wasn’t it?”_ - -_“Perhaps,” said Prince Bilbo, “he’ll tell us to-night how the magic -doublet came to be--”_ - -_“Well,” said the King, “if it isn’t a long story-- Is it a long -story?”_ - -_“No, no, your majesty,” said Solario, bowing again, “it is quite -short.”_ - -_“Hum!” said the King. “If you’re sure it’s not a long story--Why -don’t you begin?” and he sat down in the Executioner’s chair._ - -_Solario took his place cross-legged on the table again, and the others -resumed their seats before him,--all except the Executioner, who stood, -with the Encourager on his shoulder, behind the King._ - -_“My dear,” said the Queen, “did you give the orders for locking the -castle for the night?”_ - -_“I believe I usually attend to that,” said the King. “Solario, -proceed.”_ - -_“If it is your pleasure,” said Solario, fingering his shears, “I will -now relate to you the story concerning the magic doublet, as it was -told to the Black Prince by his father the King of Wen, and by the -Black Prince to me. The King of Wen, having directed his son regarding -his mission to the City of Oogh, placed the doublet in his son’s left -hand, and thus commenced what I may call_ - - -“THE STORY OF THE ENCHANTED HIGHWAYMAN.” - -_“I thought,” interrupted Bojohn, “you were going to tell us the story -of the magic doublet.”_ - -_“I am about to do so,” said Solario. “As I was saying, the King of -Wen, placing the magic doublet in his son’s left hand, thus commenced_ - - -“THE STORY OF THE ENCHANTED HIGHWAYMAN.” - -When I was a young man (said the King of Wen), I left my father’s -castle one morning for a day’s hunting in the forest. Late in the -afternoon it chanced that I had wandered away from my attendants, and -being warm and weary I threw myself down upon the moss to rest. I had -lain there but a moment when I saw, not far off among the trees, a fine -buck, the only game I had come upon that day. I crept cautiously in his -direction, and soon came within easy bowshot of him; but just as I was -fitting my arrow to the string he tossed his head and trotted off into -the forest and disappeared. - -I made off after him as fast as I could, marking his trail by a -broken branch here and there and an occasional hoof-print in the damp -earth, and presently I found myself deep in a considerable thicket of -underwood, and from this thicket I came out, to my surprise, upon a -forest road. - - -_A Voice from Nowhere Bids the Prince Stop_ - -I stood for a moment looking up and down curiously. The deer was -nowhere to be seen. The road was arched in a charming manner by the -branches of the trees, and at no great distance lost itself in the -shadowy forest. I wondered that I had never heard of this road before, -and after pondering this for a moment I began to cross the road, -looking carefully for the deer’s tracks in the dust. I saw no trace of -him, and I was about to push into the forest on the other side, when -suddenly a voice, a low but clear voice, said distinctly in my ear, -“Stop!” - -I looked about me, but I could see no one. There was positively no -living creature near me,--unless I except a wasp which at the moment -was flying about my head, and which I struck away with my hand. - -I walked down the road some twenty paces, peering about for the person -who had spoken, and becoming more and more perplexed; and as I was -about to enter the forest the same voice, still low but quite distinct, -spoke again close into my ear: “Stop!” - -I stopped in bewilderment. The forest was silent as the sky; no -living creature, not even a bird, could I see anywhere; there was -nothing;--nothing, indeed, except the wasp which was still flying about -my head and which now began to annoy me exceedingly. - -I went on again, striking out at the wasp, and in a moment (I assure -you I began to doubt my senses), the same voice spoke again, this time -close into my left ear. - -“Stop! Just a moment!” it said. “Look, if you please! On your left -shoulder!” - -I craned my neck about, and there was nothing on my left shoulder -except the wasp. The wasp was there, indeed, and I made as if to brush -him off; but the voice said, “Don’t, if you please!” and I stayed my -hand. - -You may imagine that I was more astonished than ever. I gazed at the -wasp intently, and as I did so the voice began to murmur, in a kind of -rapid, buzzing drone, into my left ear. - -“Mercy on us!” I cried. “It’s the wasp that’s talking!” - -It was true, beyond a doubt. “Yes!” said the voice. “Please listen! If -you’d only be so good--I really wish you would!” - - -_The Prince Listens to a Curious Discourse_ - -I stood perfectly still in the roadway, and I know that my mouth hung -open as I listened. The wasp buzzed into my ear a kind of rapid, -droning song, so low that I had to strain my attention a little to -catch it all, and these were the words I heard: - - “I know it’s rude to speak to you, it’s something I but seldom do, - to speak before I’m spoken to, - Or buttonhole a stranger; - Excuse me if I do not pause to think just now of social laws, I can - not spare the time, because - I’m in the gravest danger; - In gravest danger, yes, it’s true, I’m sure I don’t know what I’ll - do, I’ll positively die if you - Refuse me your assistance; - Come, follow me without delay, I pray you do not say me nay, - it’s life or death,--and anyway - It’s scarcely any distance. - - “My lot is sad in the extreme, I really am not what I seem, - I once was held in high esteem - By every friend and neighbor: - A man entirely free of guile, who lived but in his children’s smile, - and kept them all in modest style - By hard and patient labor, - A man of pleasing manners who, whatever other men might do, - spoke seldom unless spoken to, - A practice much commended; - My trade in such a way I plied upon the highway far and wide - (I say it with a modest pride) - I scarcely once offended. - - “It used to be my pleasant way (it always made my work seem - play) to take the air from day to day,-- - Unless, of course,’twas raining,-- - Upon the road to watch and wait from early morn to rather late, - but always coming home by eight - (Such was my early training), - I used to watch and wait, I say, and when a trav’ler came my - way, which happened every other day - Unless too cold or sunny, - I never spoke a word, not I, I merely breathed a patient sigh, - and held my trusty blade on high - And took from him his money. - - “’Twas thus I kept my children ten, a decent, worthy citizen, - the happiest of mortal men - My humble sphere adorning, - The father of ten daughters fair who needed tons of clothes to - wear, and that was why I took the air - Upon the road each morning, - But oh, alas for them and me, it’s over now, as you may see, - and you are incontestably - Our only hope remaining; - And all our truly dreadful plight is just because one rainy night - I simply for a moment quite - Forgot my early training. - - “’Twas rainy and ’twas after eight, I knew that I was out too - late, but when your trade’s in such a state - You hardly know what cash is, - You cannot stop because you get your feet all muddy, cold and wet, - I knew I should be ill, and yet,-- - My children needed sashes. - I shivered with the wet and cold, I counted twenty times all told - I’d meant to have my shoes half-soled - And still they’d not been cobbled, - ‘I’ll certainly,’ I thought, ‘be sick,’--and then from out the darkness - thick an ancient woman with a stick - In fearsome silence hobbled. - -[Illustration: - - “I held my trusty blade on high - And took from him his money”] - - - “She was an ancient, crooked crone, an ugly thing of skin and - bone, she passed me silent as a stone - (I thought it rather funny), - But I could hear my children cry, ‘Oh, buy us ribbons, father, buy,’ - and stopping her, my blade on high, - I shouted, ‘Stand! Your money!’ - Ah, that was just where I did make a most unfortunate mistake, - for she with mirth began to shake - (It made my blood run colder), - And up she raised her crooked staff, she gave a most unearthly - laugh, a thing I did not like by half, - And touched me on the shoulder. - - “She stood, she looked me through and through, she said not even - ‘How d’ye do,’ she merely gave a laugh or two, - And munched her gums together: - A witch, a sorceress of the wood! I nearly fainted where I stood, - I really truly think you could - Have felled me with a feather. - A witch, as sure, as sure could be! You see what she has done to - me! And all because I carelessly - Forgot my early training. - From which you learn this lesson true, that it will never, never - do to speak before you’re spoken to - Or stay out when it’s raining.” - - -The voice stopped, and the wasp flew off, directly before my nose, as -if leading me away. - -_“Why, dear me!” interrupted the Queen. “I believe this wasp was -nothing more nor less than a Highwayman.”_ - -_“What I don’t understand is,” said the King, “how a Highwayman could -have learned to make up verses.”_ - -_“In the Forest of Wen, your majesty,” said Solario, “the Highwaymen -always talked in that fashion. It was their regular custom. I am told -that no Highwayman could get his certificate until he had passed an -examination in arithmetic, swordplay, and composition; and of course -composition included verse making.”_ - -_“Well,” said the King, “I don’t see what that had to do with making a -good Highwayman of him; but then I don’t pretend to understand these -notions about education. As far as I’m concerned, if I had to pass an -examination in arithmetic in order to be a King, I’d simply have to -look about for something else to do. I never could see the sense in -teaching a King arithmetic, and I don’t see the sense in teaching a -Highwayman how to make verses. I know it’s done in some places; it’s -gotten to be quite the thing, I understand that perfectly well; but I -don’t see any sense in it.”_ - -_“My dear,” said the Queen, “you mustn’t forget that a Highwayman has -to know a great deal more than a King. It’s so very much harder to be a -good Highwayman. But I don’t think I should like to be married to one.”_ - -_“This one was a widower, evidently,” said the King. “I know I -shouldn’t like to be a widower with ten daughters on my hands. I don’t -see how any human being could keep ten daughters in ribbons and--”_ - -_“When Dorobel was little,” said the Queen, “I always had the most -terrible time to make her remember that she mustn’t speak until she -was spoken to. I don’t wonder the poor man forgot it, when he was so -worried about sashes for his dear children,--and out so late at night, -and in the rain, too!”_ - -_“Why don’t you let the man go on with his story?” said the King. -“We’ll_ never _get to bed at this rate. Solario, be kind enough to -proceed.”_ - -The wasp flew off (said the King of Wen), directly before my nose, as -if leading me away; and I followed him down the road. - -We had gone about a mile, when the wasp turned off into the forest. I -hesitated a moment, but I was curious to know what this unfortunate -Highwayman intended, and I pushed on after him into a portion of -the forest which was wilder and gloomier than any I had yet seen. -The branches of the trees hung low, and the ground was thick with -underbrush; I had to part the bushes and branches with my hands in -order to get through. - -The wasp flew within a foot of my nose, and I kept on after him thus -for more than half an hour. He seemed to know the way, but for my part -I began to wonder whether I should ever be able to find my way back. -Suddenly he flew off, and I saw him no more. - - -_The Prince, Alone in the Forest, Hears the Bark of a Dog_ - -I was at this moment in an uncommonly thick part of the forest. The -trees were perhaps less close, but the underbrush was taller; so tall -that I could not see through. I stopped for a moment, and listened. All -was still. Not a bird twittered among the leaves overhead. I was vexed -that I had allowed myself to be drawn upon such a wild-goose chase, and -I decided that I had better begin to make my way back to the road; and -as I was considering this, I heard the bark of a dog. - -It was a single, sharp bark, and it stopped abruptly, as if a hand -had been clapped over the animal’s mouth. I listened again, but it -came no more. “What should a dog be doing here?” I thought; and full -of curiosity I pushed on through the underbrush in the direction of -the sound. In a moment I had broken through the tanglewood, and I was -standing at the edge of a clearing, in the midst of which was a little -house. - -It was a very tiny house indeed,--not much more, in fact, than a hut. -Its door was closed, and the window beside the door was barred with -shutters. I listened intently, thinking to hear again the bark of a -dog, but I heard nothing. Evidently the place was deserted. - -I crossed the open space before the door, and as I did so I noticed, -clinging to the trunk and lower branches of a tree at the side of the -clearing, what appeared to be a wasp’s nest; but an enormous wasp’s -nest, big enough, in all conscience, to contain a man if need be; a -wasp’s nest greater than I should have thought could exist in the -world. I looked at it curiously, and coming nearer I saw, crawling over -it, a number of wasps. I counted them, and there were eleven. - -They arose with one accord and flew in great agitation about my head; -and at the same time I heard a voice from inside the wasp’s nest,--the -voice of a human being, but not the one I had already heard; a voice -much stronger and louder. I put my ear against the wasp’s nest, and -from within came these words: - -“Don’t speak before you’re spoken to!” - -“Who is it?” I said. “Where are you?” - -“Beware the dog!” said the voice again. - -“But who--what--?” I began. - - -_The Prisoner Inside the Wasp’s Nest_ - -“I can’t get out! I’m imprisoned inside the wasp’s nest! Do as you’re -bid, and don’t speak before you’re spoken to. Beware the dog!” - -At this moment I heard the click of a latch, and I turned round in time -to see the door of the hut open. - -In the doorway was standing an old woman, and by her side a dog. She -was a hideous old crone, wrinkled and bent, with little, beady eyes -and a hooked nose and no teeth. She stood there munching her gums and -blinking her eyes at me, and I noticed that she wore about her neck a -string of what looked like ivory buttons, ten of them, white and flat. - -With her left hand she leaned on a crooked stick, and with her right -hand she held, by a leather thong, the biggest and fiercest-looking dog -I had ever seen in my life. His head came nearly to the old woman’s -shoulder. He was chocolate brown in color, and his skin was entirely -naked of hair, except for a patch of long wiry hair which fringed -his neck. He bared his sharp, white teeth at me and growled. I felt -decidedly uneasy. - -The eleven wasps were flying about my head in violent agitation. The -old woman said nothing, but continued to blink at me and munch her -gums. Suddenly the dog barked, and without a word the old woman flung -the thong from her hand. The dog gave a bound toward me and crouched -for a spring, growling and bristling. In another instant I knew that I -would be torn to pieces. I started back and cried out in alarm. - -“Call him off!” I shouted. “Stop him! Call him off!” - -At these words, a groan came from inside the wasps’ nest. At the same -time one of the eleven wasps, which were flying directly before my -face, dropped to the ground at my feet as if dead. I realized that I -had spoken before being spoken to, and one of the wasps--one of the -Highwayman’s daughters, in fact,--had suffered for my error. But the -worst consequence was now to come. - -The old woman shook her stick and danced up and down in hideous glee. - -“He’s spoken!” she cried. “Ha! ha! Spoken before he was spoken to! -He’s done for himself now! At him, dog, he’s helpless! Seize him, dog, -destroy him!” - - -_The Dog Leaps Upon Him to Devour Him_ - -Before I could turn, the dog was upon me. No man on earth could have -stood up under such an attack. With one leap he was upon my breast, -and bore me to the ground; and as I fell his sharp teeth sank into my -shoulder, and I nearly fainted with pain and terror. - -“A hair of the dog that bit you!” It was the voice from within the -wasp’s nest, and it was crying: “A hair of the dog that bit you!” - -My senses were slipping away, and I hardly knew what I did; but somehow -or other I put my hand on the beast’s neck, and plucked from it a long -hair; and as I did so the dog bounded away from me and stood cowering -and quivering, as if in fear. - -“At him!” screamed the witch--for it was a witch, beyond a doubt; and -she rushed upon the dog and began to beat him violently with her stick. -“At him again!” she screamed, but to my amazement the dog turned upon -her, snarling; and at that moment the voice came again from the wasp’s -nest, and it cried: - -“A ring of the hair! Make a ring of the hair for your finger!” - -I sat up and quickly wound about my finger, in a ring, the hair which I -had plucked from the dog’s neck. The effect of this was startling. The -witch shrieked, plainly in terror, and sprang away from the dog; and -the brute came to me and cringed before me on the ground and whined; -and behold, all the pain was gone from my shoulder. - -“Command him to be himself again!” cried the voice from the wasp’s nest. - -“Be yourself again!” I cried, not knowing what I said. - - -_The Prince, Sitting on the Ground, Looks Up at a Genie_ - -Instantly, in the flash of an eye, the dog was gone; and in his place -stood, towering above me full seven yards or more, a monstrous creature -in the shape of a man, chocolate brown in color, baldheaded except for -a fringe of long hair at the base of his skull, and bare except for a -cloth twisted about his middle, in which hung a gleaming scimitar. It -was a genie. He was panting with anger or some other strong emotion, -and as he panted jets of fire shot forth from his nostrils. His mighty -chest heaved, and I shrank back in alarm; but he spread out his hands -and bowed low before me. I remembered the ring of hair on my finger, -and grew bolder. - -The witch was creeping quietly away, stick in hand, toward the door of -her hut; but as she reached it the genie stooped and caught her in his -hand and held her fast. I sprang to my feet. - -“Set free your victims!” I cried to her. “The wasps and the prisoner -inside the nest! Release them! or by the power of the genie’s hair, I -will command him to destroy you!” - -She kicked and squirmed and shrieked, but all in vain. There was no -escaping from that terrible grasp. She grew quiet, and began to mutter -to herself. “I will count ten,” I cried, “and if at the tenth--” But -she did not wait for me to count. With one look up at the genie’s face -she waved her crooked stick in the air and began to pour out strange -words, and then, giving a despairing cry, she let the stick fall to -the ground; and as it touched the ground, there came from the wasp’s -nest--I assure you it was an extraordinary sight--I scarcely know how -to tell you, it all happened so quickly-- - - -_The One-Armed Sorcerer Appears from Within the Wasp’s Nest_ - -Well, the wasp’s nest opened from top to bottom, and inside it was -sitting a young man, who leaped down with a laugh and stood before me, -bowing. I noticed that he had but one arm, the left; his eyes were -blue, and his skin was fair and rosy; and he wore a long blue gown -spangled with silver stars. - -_The Highwayman and Nine of His Daughters Appear in Proper Person_ - -Almost at the same instant there were standing before me nine young -maidens, all of extraordinary beauty; and in their midst an elderly -man with a gray beard and a long thin face, and spindly legs. The -nine maidens were gazing at an object on the ground, and the elderly -man looked down at it also, and they all began to wring their hands -together and moan. - -“Oh!” said the elderly man, sniffling,-- - - “Just see what he has gone and done, he can’t deny it, he’s the - one, he ought to hide his head where none - Could ever look upon it, - He knew, he did, he surely knew, I told him it would never do - to speak before you’re spoken to, - And now he’s gone and done it.” - -“I warned him,” said the one-armed young man, “but he was frightened, -and he forgot.” - -“Oh, yes,” said the elderly man, wiping his tears away with the back of -his hand,-- - - “Oh, yes, it’s well enough to say it slipped his mind a bit to-day - and in an absent sort of way - He slew my darling daughter; - But that will hardly, hardly do, I really can’t agree with you, it’s - simply from my point of view - A case of plain manslaughter.” - -“Oh, sister! sister!” cried the nine maidens. “Isn’t it terrible? It’s -too terrible! It is terrible, isn’t it?” - -“Let me go!” screamed the witch, struggling in the hand of the genie. - - -_He Sees the Highwayman’s Tenth Daughter_ - -I pushed into the group around the elderly Highwayman, and there at -his feet I saw what made my heart stand still with grief and remorse. -On the ground was lying a maiden, far lovelier than any of the others; -and she was dead. Her eyes were closed, her face was pale, she did not -breathe; and her hair lay about her like a shower of gold. Alas, that -my carelessness had brought her to this sorrowful end! If she had only -lived! How I should have rejoiced to be her friend, and in the course -of time, perhaps, persuade her to smile upon me--Alas! alas! At that -moment, if she could but have cast one look upon me, I would have laid -at her feet all that I-- - -I knelt beside her and took her cold hand in mine. I stooped over her, -and in an excess of pity, and of more, far more than pity, I kissed her -softly on the lips. - -Oh, wonderful! Her eyelids quivered. A faint flush came into her -cheeks. Her eyes opened, and she looked straight into my own. She -smiled, and it was like the evening sky after rain. I put my arm -beneath her shoulder, and helped her to stand up. She rubbed her eyes -and swayed a little, and I kept my arm about her. We gazed at each -other, smiling. - -“Is it--?” said she. - -“It is, beloved!” I cried, and folded her, unresisting, to my heart. - -“Oh, isn’t it just too perfectly sweet?” cried her nine sisters, -clapping their hands and laughing merrily, all together. “It is sweet, -isn’t it? It’s love at first sight! It’s just the sweetest thing ever! -_Isn’t_ it just too sweet for _anything_, though?” - -But while they were still running on in this fashion, and the elderly -Highwayman was cheering faintly and the one-armed young man was -cheering lustily, a loud roar came from the genie, and we saw that the -witch had slipped from his grasp and was even now dashing in at the -door of the hut. She shut it behind her with a bang, and the one-armed -youth pounded against it in vain. - -“The stolen hair!” he cried. “The genie’s hair which she stole from me! -I must get it back! Don’t let her get away!” - - -_The Genie Breathes Fire Upon the Witch’s Hut_ - -The genie opened his great mouth and roared with anger; then he stooped -down over the hut, and I saw that he was breathing fire upon the roof -from his nostrils; and as the sparks caught in the dry thatch, he began -to walk around the hut, bending and breathing fire upon its roof from -place to place. In a few moments it was ablaze from end to end; the -walls caught; and as I held my fair lady trembling close beside me, -the house arose in flames, crackling and roaring, and showering sparks -upward into the twilight sky. - -“Oh!” said my fair one, clinging to my arm. “The poor witch! Save her! -She will be burned to death!” But the genie’s thunderous laugh was her -only answer. - -We watched until the fire was out, and there remained only a heap of -smoking ashes; and the witch was gone. - -“Oh, the poor thing!” said my beautiful lady. - -“Isn’t it terrible?” said her nine sisters, among themselves. “It’s -just too terrible for anything! It _is_ terrible, isn’t it? It’s simply -terrible, it is, isn’t it?” - -The one-armed youth stepped up to the ruin and appeared to be looking -among the ashes near what was once the door. He looked for a long time, -and then he suddenly straightened up and cried, “Ah!” - -He came toward us, and he was holding up in his hand what seemed to be -a necklace. - -“See!” he said, and I saw that it was a string of buttons, of large -flat buttons, eleven of them, threaded on what seemed to be a hair; the -same I had seen about the witch’s neck. - -“It is the genie’s hair,” said the young man, “the same that she stole -from me; and it was this hair which gave her power to turn my genie to -a dog and imprison me in the wasp’s nest. Now let me see these buttons; -I must look at them with care.” - -He examined each one minutely; and when he had examined them all, he -placed his finger on his lips and smiled knowingly; and while I held -the hair he broke it and slipped off the eleventh button, inviting -me to look at it closely. I looked and saw upon it, near the rim, a -crooked black line, much like the imprint of a tiny, crooked stick. - - -_The One-Armed Sorcerer Performs Upon a Button_ - -He threw the button upon the ground, laughing, and took from within -his gown a leather pouch, from which he sprinkled upon the button a -black powder; and then he began to speak, in a loud voice, words which -I could not understand, in the midst of which he picked up the button, -now crusted with black; and still repeating his strange words, he swung -his arm, and with a loud cry flung the button into the branches of the -nearest tree; and there, hanging on to a branch of the tree, trying -desperately to keep from toppling off, was the old witch herself. - -Instantly the young man took the threaded buttons from me and slipped -them off the hair; he wound the hair about his finger and cried,-- - -“Off with her! Off with her to the Forest Kingdom, far from here, -and see that she never comes back again! Off with her, I say, to the -Kingdom of the Great Forest!” - -At these words the genie strode over to the witch and-- - -_“Well, bless my soul,” interposed the King, “what business did he -have to send that witch here, I’d like to know? So_ that’s _how -she came to live in my Forest! A fine piece of work, I must say! A -pretty how-d’ye-do, to send their cast-off witches over here! What -business had he to--”_ - -_“Never mind, grandfather” said Bojohn, “do let him go on with his -story.”_ - -_“A fine piece of work!” said the King. “Of all the high-handed, -brazen-faced--”_ - -_“My dear!” said the Queen._ - -The genie strode over to the witch in three steps and plucked her down -with one hand. He then tucked her under his arm like a sack of corn, -and stood before the one-armed youth. - -“Stoop down!” said the young man. - -The genie bowed low, and the young man, to my surprise, reached up and -pulled from the back of his head, at the neck, ten long hairs, one by -one. - -“Away!” cried the one-armed youth. - - -_The Genie Flies Away With the Witch_ - -The genie stood up, and opening his great mouth in a silent laugh, -stamped upon the earth so that it shook, and leaped straight up. He -rose in the air in a wide curve; and before we could blink again he was -gone like an arrow over the treetops, with the witch under his arm, and -was no more than a speck in the evening sky. - -The young man tucked the ten hairs away inside his gown. - -“Now,” said he, “_she’s_ gone. And good riddance, too, I should say.” - -“Sir,” said I to him, “will you tell us who you are, and what brings -you here?” - -“I am a sorcerer,” said he, “and I dwell in an island far out in the -Great Sea. I am known there as the One-Armed Sorcerer. I came here, -with the genie whom I command by virtue of a ring of his hair, in order -to prove my skill against the witch. I undertook to release our good -friend the Highwayman and his ten fair daughters, but I am bound to say -that I managed it badly; so badly that the witch got the genie’s hair -away from me, and by means of that hair turned him into a dog and shut -me up inside the wasp’s nest. And all because I didn’t know the rule, -that you mustn’t speak before you’re spoken to.” - -“A pretty good rule,” said I, “but if everybody observed it, who would -ever talk?” - -“Well, anyway,” said the One-Armed Sorcerer, “here I have ten buttons, -and here I have ten threads from the genie’s head. I propose to make -you a doublet, sir; a magic doublet; and for the cloth, the wasp’s -nest will be the very thing. It will be a doublet worth having; and -to you, sir, who have so nobly preserved us all, I will present it -on--er--ahem!--on your wedding day.” - -“Hurrah!” piped up the elderly Highwayman, and the lady on my arm -blushed. - -“Oh, isn’t that sweet of him?” cried her nine sisters. “Isn’t it just -too sweet for anything? It’s really the sweetest thing, now isn’t it? -Too perfectly sweet for words, it is, really!” - -The One-Armed Sorcerer, stepping over to the wasp’s nest, pulled it -down from the tree without breaking it, and slung it on his back. - -“Come with me!” I cried. “You shall all return with me to my father’s -castle. Will you consent to that?” - -“Well,” said the elderly Highwayman,-- - - “Though anxious to accommodate, I fear it’s growing rather late, - I seldom stay out after eight--” - -“Oh, father!” cried his daughters, nine of them, together, “it would be -perfectly jolly!” - -“It would suit me to perfection,” said the One-Armed Sorcerer. - -“Oh, _won’t_ it be jolly? It _will_ be jolly, won’t it? Wouldn’t it be -perfectly jolly?” cried the nine young damsels, clapping their hands. - -“Will you come home with me?” I whispered to the fairest of the ten, -who had said nothing. - -“If you wish it,” she whispered, blushing again. - -“Oh, aren’t they just the dearest things?” cried her nine sisters. -“It’s love at first sight--oh, the dear things! Aren’t they just simply -too dear for anything? They _are_ perfectly dear, now, aren’t they? -Really now, aren’t they just too perfectly _dear_?” - - -_The Prince Leads His Beloved Home_ - -Well, the long and the short of it is, we reached my father’s castle -late that night, under a starry sky. The attendants whom I had left in -the forest had returned without me, and the castle was a-twitter with -anxiety. But when I led my fair lady into the great hall and presented -her to my father, the King, and her nine sisters and the elderly -Highwayman and the One-Armed Sorcerer stood bowing behind us, there was -joy, I can tell you, and the rafters rang again. - -My father, after a long look at the beautiful damsel at my side, and -then at me, gave a long, slow whistle, without making a sound, and -stooped and kissed her on both cheeks, nudging me with his elbow at the -same time. - -A cheer went up again, and my father took me aside and whispered in my -ear. - -“You rascal,” said he, “I never thought you had it in you to-- Really! -You don’t say so! You astonish me! A Highwayman’s daughter! Well, well, -think of that! Very original of you, my son; I’m sure I never would -have thought of such a thing at your age. She’s got a fine eye, my boy; -there’s a look in it I’ve seen in your mother’s eye; a will of her own, -you can’t fool me about that look,--yes, yes, very beautiful,--but a -will of her own, remember I told you. A Highwayman’s daughter! That’s -good. Highly original. Well, well, it might have been the Hangman’s -daughter--but remember what I told you about that look in the eye, I’ve -seen it before,--your mother used to--but she’s certainly beautiful all -the same--when does the wedding come off?” - - -_The Magic Doublet Is Presented at the Wedding_ - -We were married on the morning of the third day. Such feasting, such -dancing, such merriment,--and gifts innumerable; but the best gift of -all was a doublet, made with his left hand by the One-Armed Sorcerer -from the skin of the witch’s wasp’s nest, fastened by the witch’s ten -buttons sewed on with the genie’s hair; a doublet to preserve the -wearer from all harm. And this, as the wedding dinner was nearing its -end, the One-Armed Sorcerer, rising in his place, presented to me with -a pretty speech, for which I thanked him. - -“Sir,” said my father, addressing the One-Armed Sorcerer, “I invite -you to remain with me at my court, to instruct my son in the mystery -of handling a wife. Nobody but a sorcerer should undertake such a job. -Will you try it?” - -“Alas, your majesty,” said the One-Armed Sorcerer, “it is far beyond -my powers. And besides, I must return to my island home, on pressing -business.” - -“Very well, then,” said my father. He took my bride’s hand in his and -patted it, while she looked down in confusion. “My dear,” said he to -her, “you must persuade your sisters to remain here with us. And as for -your father, I design to appoint him Lord Treasurer of my kingdom. I -think a Highwayman ought to be a good man to take charge of my money. -Will you persuade him to accept that office?” - -“Oh!” cried the nine sisters, without giving my bride a chance to -speak. “That _would_ be jolly! Oh, _wouldn’t_ it be jolly? It _will_ -be just too perfectly jolly for anything, won’t it? But really, though, -_won’t_ it be jolly? Just too simply, perfectly, adorably _jolly_!” - -“Your majesty,” said my father-in-law the Highwayman, rising up on his -elderly legs,-- - - “Although I am not confident that I’m entirely competent, I thank - you for the compliment, - I thank you most sincerely; - I fear I am not very quick in matters of arithmetic, but often when - the answers stick - I get them,--very nearly; - And if at first I don’t succeed I try again, although indeed I - cannot say I always heed - Each wretched little fraction; - And anyway you must agree if one but knows his Rule of Three - there’s hardly any need to be - Acquainted with subtraction. - - “I do not wish to seem to boast, of all things I detest it most, - and yet I think I’d fill the post - Not very ill, not very: - From early youth I did betray, I’ve often heard my mother say, - a really rather taking way - In matters monetary; - A simple little rule or two I always try to keep in view, to do - what I am told to do, - And always speak politely, - And never make a saucy joke behind the backs of other folk, a rule - which I have seldom broke, - If I remember rightly. - - “My motto is a simple one, that happiness depends upon the consciousness - of duty done - (Unless it’s too unpleasant), - I value virtue more than wit, and as for riches, I admit I do not - value them a bit - (At least, not just at present), - I think, however, I should state, that though I don’t mind working - late, I like to be at home by eight, - When supper’s on the table; - And thus, in words of simple art, I thank you, Sir, with all my - heart, and promise I will do my part - (At least, as far as able).” - -[Illustration] - - - - -TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES: - - - Italicized text is surrounded by underscores: _italics_. - - Obvious typographical errors have been corrected. - - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Solario the Tailor, by William Bowen - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SOLARIO THE TAILOR *** - -***** This file should be named 60162-0.txt or 60162-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/6/0/1/6/60162/ - -Produced by Tim Lindell, David E. 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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. If you are not located in the United States, you'll -have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using -this ebook. - - - -Title: Solario the Tailor - His Tales of the Magic Doublet - -Author: William Bowen - -Release Date: August 24, 2019 [EBook #60162] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SOLARIO THE TAILOR *** - - - - -Produced by Tim Lindell, David E. Brown, and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) - - - - - - -</pre> - - - - -<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/cover.jpg" alt="" /></div> -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/i_end_paper.jpg" alt="" /></div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<h1>SOLARIO THE TAILOR</h1> - - - -<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/i_half_title.jpg" alt="" /></div> -<p class="caption">Mortimer the Executioner</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_0" id="Page_0"></a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/i_frontispiece.jpg" alt="" /></div> -<p class="caption">“Then I will begin,” said Solario, the Tailor, “the story of——”</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/i_title.jpg" alt="" /></div> -<hr class="tb" /> - -<div class="titlepage"> - -<p class="ph1">SOLARIO THE TAILOR</p> - -<p><span class="xlarge"><i>HIS TALES OF THE MAGIC DOUBLET</i></span></p> - -<p>BY<br /> -<span class="xlarge">WILLIAM BOWEN</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/i_titlelogo.jpg" alt="" /></div> - -<p><span class="antiqua">New York</span><br /> -<span class="xlarge">THE MACMILLAN COMPANY</span><br /> -1922<br /> -<br /> -<i>All rights reserved</i> -</p> -</div> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p class="center">PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA</p> - -<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/i_title_verso.jpg" alt="" /></div> - - -<p class="center"><span class="smcap">Copyright, 1922,<br /> -By</span> THE MACMILLAN COMPANY.<br /> -<br /> -Set up and electrotyped. Published September, 1922.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_v" id="Page_v">[v]</a></span> - - - -<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/i_v.jpg" alt="" /></div> - - - -<h2 class="nobreak">CONTENTS</h2></div> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="2" summary="table"> - -<tr><td colspan="2" align="center"><span class="xlarge">THE FIRST NIGHT</span></td></tr> - -<tr><td colspan="2" align="center">STORY OF THE OLD MAN IN THE SPANGLED COAT</td></tr> - - - -<tr><td> </td><td class="tdr">PAGE</td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdhi"><i>The doublet with the missing button—The dark mansion in the walled -park—The tailor meets the tall black man and his fair daughter—The -Black Prince tells his story—Eight tailors who could not -sew on a single button—The tailor is visited by a hideous old -woman—The jolly mule driver and his sing-song—Adventures -in search of Alb the Unicorn—Solario encounters Alb the Unicorn—The -button is sewed on with the unicorn’s hair—The -Prince receives the tailor’s terms—The magic doublet is suddenly -produced</i></td><td class="tdr" valign="bottom"><a href="#Page_1">1</a></td></tr> - - -<tr><td> </td></tr> - -<tr><td colspan="2" align="center"><span class="xlarge">THE SECOND NIGHT</span></td></tr> - -<tr><td colspan="2" align="center">ALB THE UNICORN</td></tr> - - - -<tr><td class="tdhi"><i>Alb the Fortunate and the Princess Hyla—A tattered old beggar comes -to the goldsmith’s shop—The old man proposes a strange bargain—The -three black hairs in the yellow head—Alb wins the promise -of the Princess’s hand—A trifling incident disturbs Alb’s mother—Unreasonable -conduct of the goldsmith’s widow—The merrymakers -are suddenly sobered by the goldsmith’s son—The Princess -behaves in an amusing fashion—The Princess finds her -husband bewitched—Alb and the Princess visit the One-Armed -Sorcerer—The Old Man of Ice, The Laughing Nymph, and -the Great Horned Owl—The burning glass, the brass pin, and the -loop of thread—He hears thunder in a clear sky—He goes -down into the cave in Thunder Mountain—He pursues the -Man of Ice with the burning glass—He commences to make his</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_vi" id="Page_vi">[vi]</a></span> -<i>escape from the cave—He sails across the Great Sea—He finds a -child in a pool of the rock—The Laughing Nymph in the Three-Spire -Rock—He remembers the brass pin in time—The second -black hair is gone—The Great Horned Owl stands ready for the -loop of thread—The wrong hand and a desperate fall—Alb sees -in the river the reflection of a unicorn</i></td><td class="tdr" valign="bottom"><a href="#Page_31">31</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td> </td></tr> - -<tr><td colspan="2" align="center"><span class="xlarge">THE THIRD NIGHT</span></td></tr> - -<tr><td colspan="2" align="center">THE SON OF THE TAILOR OF OOGH</td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdhi"><i>The Prince receives the magic doublet—The Prince and his daughter -set forth for Oogh—A strange encounter at the wayside well—The -three blind ballad singers—The blind ballad singer displays -the Shears of Sharpness—The strange conduct of the people of -Oogh—The mansion in the ruined park—The solitary figure behind -the spider’s web—The Prince watches the people’s behavior -toward the boy—The man with the ball in the underground alley—The -Prince sets out for his encounter with Babadag the Tailor—Babadag -the Tailor, Goolk the Spider, and the eight tailors—The -three blind ballad singers once more—The magic doublet -protects the Prince against the Knitters of Eyebrows and against -Goolk the Spider—The Prince’s daughter has beguiled the Shears -of Sharpness from the ballad singers—A light flickers in the dark -shop—The Prince’s daughter is gone, and the Prince makes a dash -for liberty—Babadag the Tailor is conquered by his little son—The -governor, being released, beholds the Prince’s daughter—The -shearing of the Eyebrow—The skin of the Prince is black—The -doom of the city of Oogh—The tailor’s son follows him into the -burning city—The boy is found on the sill of his ruined home, -alive—The eight tailors stand before them in a row—They meet -the three blind ballad singers for the last time</i></td><td class="tdr" valign="bottom"> <a href="#Page_73">73</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td> </td></tr> - -<tr><td colspan="2" align="center"><span class="xlarge">THE FOURTH NIGHT</span></td></tr> - -<tr><td colspan="2" align="center">THE RAGPICKER AND THE PRINCESS</td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdhi"><i>The Princess hears a voice from the waves beneath her window—The -Princess sees the shadow of an old woman—A midnight visit from -a one-armed old man—Alb, seeking the Princess, sits down by the -seashore—An interview with a talking seal—A sea journey on the -back of a seal—The village of storks—The feeding of the storks—The</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_vii" id="Page_vii">[vii]</a></span> -<i>Ragpicker frightens the men away with her bag—He follows -the Ragpicker down into the dark—She stirs a steaming mixture -with her long, hooked forefinger—The shadows of the children—He -loses his way in the dark—He hears the voice of the seal -again—He peeps into the sorcerer’s workshop—He lies in wait -with a bow and arrow—The Ragpicker releases the shadows in -the street—A singular commotion on the housetops—The Princess -is herself again, but—The King beholds his child and is grieved—The -seal introduces his liniment, guaranteed to cure in all cases</i></td><td class="tdr" valign="bottom"><a href="#Page_126">126</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td> </td></tr> - -<tr><td colspan="2" align="center"><span class="xlarge">THE FIFTH NIGHT</span></td></tr> - -<tr><td colspan="2" align="center">THE CITY OF DEAD LEAVES</td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdhi"><i>The misfortunes of Tush the Apothecary—They find themselves on an -unknown shore—The startling effect of making a ring of grass—They -start upon a journey through the air—The orange tree -and the panther—They come upon the King’s brother in rags—A -dwarf clad in motley stands up to speak—Buffo the Fool leads -them to the palace—They find the King in a terrible state—The -Perfection Cream is rubbed into the itching palm—Tush the -Apothecary takes the people in hand—Paravaine has made her -choice—He finds himself rubbing his palms together—He cannot -find the ingredients for making the salve—Tush and his sister -are seized by the angry crowd—The genie in the whirlwind—The -pulling off of the genie’s ring</i></td><td class="tdr" valign="bottom"><a href="#Page_169">169</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td> </td></tr> - -<tr><td colspan="2" align="center"><span class="xlarge">THE SIXTH NIGHT</span></td></tr> - -<tr><td colspan="2" align="center">THE ENCHANTED HIGHWAYMAN</td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdhi"><i>A voice from nowhere bids the Prince stop—The Prince listens to a -curious discourse—The Prince, alone in the forest, hears the bark -of a dog—The prisoner inside the wasp’s nest—The dog leaps -upon him to devour him—The Prince, sitting on the ground, looks -up at a genie—The One-Armed Sorcerer appears from within the -wasp’s nest—The Highwayman and nine of his daughters appear -in proper person—He sees the Highwayman’s tenth daughter—The -genie breathes fire upon the witch’s hut—The One-Armed -Sorcerer performs upon a button—The genie flies away with the -witch—The Prince leads his beloved home—The magic doublet is -presented at the wedding</i></td><td class="tdr" valign="bottom"><a href="#Page_206">206</a></td></tr> -</table> - - - - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_viii" id="Page_viii">[viii]</a></span></p> -<hr class="chap" /> - - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_ix" id="Page_ix">[ix]</a></span> - - -<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/i_ix.jpg" alt="" /></div> - - - - -<h2 class="nobreak">ILLUSTRATIONS</h2></div> - - -<table border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="2" summary="table"> - -<tr><td class="tdr">1.</td><td> “Then I will begin,” said Solario the Tailor, “the -story of——”</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_0"> <i>Frontispiece</i></a></td></tr> - -<tr><td> </td><td> </td><td class="tdr"><small>FACING PAGE</small></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdr">2.</td><td> Solario was sitting on his worktable busily plying the needle</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_4">4</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdr">3.</td><td> The Unicorn stamped and gave a piercing neigh</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_20">20</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdr">4.</td><td> “There is something here,” said the old beggar, “which I wish to buy”</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_36">36</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdr">5.</td><td> Mortimer the Executioner was being measured by Solario for a suit</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_74">74</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdr">6.</td><td> “You are welcome, master peddler,” said Babadag</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_98">98</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdr">7.</td><td> “Beauty in tatters!” said Babadag the Tailor</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_110">110</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdr">8.</td><td> The shadow of a Ragpicker oozed in through the door</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_134">134</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdr">9.</td><td> The one-armed sorcerer plucked a feather from the stork</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_156">156</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdr">10.</td><td> The genie flew away with Tush and his sister</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_178">178</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdr">11.</td><td> The genie swung him back and forth and tossed him out to sea</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_204">204</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdr">12.</td><td> “I held my trusty blade on high and took from him his money”</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_212">212</a></td></tr> -</table> - - - - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_x" id="Page_x">[x]</a></span></p> -<hr class="chap" /> - - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xi" id="Page_xi">[xi]</a></span> - - - -<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/i_xi.jpg" alt="" /></div> - - - - -<h2 class="nobreak">TO BE READ FIRST</h2></div> - - -<p class="drop-cap">IN the book called “The Enchanted Forest” it is related— But -I hope that you have read that book, or -at least that you sincerely intend to do so as soon as -you have time, but no matter; it is all about a Forest Kingdom, -and a Great Forest that was enchanted by a witch, an -irritable sort of person who— Not that she was to be -blamed altogether, in my judgment, for she had been provoked -to it by a page boy belonging to the King of the -Forest, and I am personally not surprised that this young<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xii" id="Page_xii">[xii]</a></span> -rogue was in consequence spirited away in the middle of the -night, no one knew whither.</p> - -<p>Another boy (quite a different sort) named Bilbo, son -of one Bodad a woodchopper, managed to disenchant the -forest and destroy the witch, and for this he was given, when -he was old enough, the hand of the King’s daughter, the -Princess Dorobel; and in course of time there came to them -a little son, by name Bojohn.</p> - -<p>This Bojohn, with his friend Bodkin, a fisherman’s boy, -afterward discovered the lost page boy in a chamber -beneath a forest pool, where the witch had placed him for -his punishment; and in this chamber, with the page boy, -was a company of enchanted men, also placed there by the -witch, at various times, each for some offense against her, -and each sitting there upright in a kind of cupboard in -the wall, unable to speak or move. These men, and the -page boy too, Prince Bojohn and his friend Bodkin set free, -by means of a magical silver lamp.</p> - -<p>In the audience room of the King’s dwelling, a noble -castle in the midst of the forest, the entire court assembled -to welcome the rescued men on the night of their arrival; -and the King, after making a speech (which no power on -earth could have prevented his doing), created the rescued -men, without bothering to ask whether they wanted it or -no, an order of knighthood, to be known as the Order of -the Silver Lamp. This done, he addressed the new knights,—but -here I may as well turn back to the book itself, -which thus relates what then occurred:</p> - -<p>“We are all anxious,” said the King, “to hear your<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xiii" id="Page_xiii">[xiii]</a></span> -stories; they are, I am sure, of the greatest interest. You, -sir,” he said, addressing the oldest of the Knights of the -Silver Lamp, who wore a faded spangled coat, of a period -no one present could remember, “I beseech you to recount -to us the story of your life, and in particular the adventure -which brought you to so strange a pass.”</p> - -<p>“Willingly, sire,” said the ancient man, so readily that -it was apparent he had been waiting for this opportunity; -and thereupon, with a considerable rustling and a good -deal of whispering and nodding of heads, the assemblage -composed itself to hear the story of the Old Man in the -Spangled Coat.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xiv" id="Page_xiv">[xiv]</a></span></p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xv" id="Page_xv">[xv]</a></span> - - - -<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/i_xv.jpg" alt="" /></div> - -<p class="caption">Bojohn and Bodkin</p></div> - - - - -<h2 class="nobreak"><i>The Teller of Tales</i><br /> - -SOLARIO THE TAILOR</h2> - -<hr class="tiny" /> - - -<p class="center"><i>His Audience</i></p> - -<div class="hangingindent"> -<blockquote> - -<p><span class="smcap">Prince Bojohn</span>, <i>a boy, the King’s grandson</i></p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Bodkin</span>, <i>a fisherman’s boy, his friend</i></p> - -<p><span class="smcap">The Princess Dorobel</span>, <i>Bojohn’s mother</i></p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Prince Bilbo</span>, <i>her husband, Bojohn’s father</i></p> - -<p><span class="smcap">The King</span> and <span class="smcap">Queen</span> <i>of the Great Forest, Bojohn’s grandfather and -grandmother, and the Princess Dorobel’s parents</i></p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Mortimer</span> the <span class="smcap">Executioner</span></p> - -<p><span class="smcap">The Encourager</span> of the <span class="smcap">Interrupter</span></p></blockquote> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[1]</a></span> - -<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/i_001.jpg" alt="" /></div> - - - -<h2 class="nobreak">THE FIRST NIGHT<br /> - -<small>STORY OF THE OLD MAN IN THE SPANGLED COAT</small></h2></div> - - -<p class="drop-cap">YOU must know (began the old man) that I am a -tailor, by name Solario. In the reign of the good -King Fortmain the Ninth—</p> - -<p><i>“Ah!” interrupted the King. “That was my great-grandfather. -Bless my soul, master tailor, you must have -been imprisoned under the forest pool nearly a hundred -years ago. Hum! I dare say you know what you’re -talking about, but—”</i></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[2]</a></span></p> - -<p><i>“My dear,” said the Queen, “I’m quite sure that the -ninth Fortmain was your great-great-grandfather, and not -your great-grandfather, though of course I may be mistaken; -but it seems to me that it was the tenth Fortmain -who was your great-grandfather, because the ninth had an -oldest son who married into the Stiffish family, if I recollect -the name correctly, or perhaps it was Standish, and at any -rate he died without any children while his father was alive, -and the younger son came into the—”</i></p> - -<p><i>“Never mind, never mind,” said the King. “You mustn’t -interrupt. Let the man go on with his story.”</i></p> - -<p>You must know (began the old man again) that in the -reign of the good King Fortmain the Ninth, I practised -my art as a tailor in the city of Vernicroft, a thriving and -busy city, located in a corner of the Great Forest remote -from—</p> - -<p><i>“Vernicroft!” said the King. “I don’t understand it. -There’s no such busy city now. There’s nothing but a -little ruined hamlet away over at the other side of the—”</i></p> - -<p><i>“Well,” said the Queen, “perhaps at that time—”</i></p> - -<p><i>“Don’t interrupt,” said the King. “Let the man go on.”</i></p> - -<p>You must know (began the old man again) that I had -risen to a considerable eminence in my profession. I do -not pretend to say that I was the very best tailor in the -kingdom, for I am far too modest to speak of my own -merit; but the—er—the spangled coat in which you now -see me was a creation of my own brain, and at the time -it was thought to be—er—however, it speaks for itself.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[3]</a></span><i>“I think it’s a perfect sight,” whispered Bojohn to -Bodkin.</i></p> - -<p>It is true I was growing old, but I was very well satisfied; -there was no one dependent on me, my clients were numerous -and rich, and I enjoyed the respect due an artist and -man of substance. I had saved a good deal of money, for -I had never squandered any in foolish gifts, nor wasted any -in ridiculous pleasures, nor—but I do not wish to boast.</p> - -<p><i>“That’s a wonderful thing to brag about,” whispered -Bodkin to Bojohn.</i></p> - -<p>One morning, a balmy morning in spring, I was sitting -cross-legged on my worktable at the rear of my shop, busily -plying the needle, when a stranger, richly dressed, entered -my open door from the street, and approached me, bowing -courteously. He was a handsome man, wearing a short -beard; and I remarked with surprise, by contrast with his -beard, that he was utterly without eyebrows.</p> - -<p>“Sir,” said he, “have I the pleasure of addressing the -renowned Solario, whose genius has caused our city to be -envied wherever art is prized?”</p> - -<p>I confessed that I was the person.</p> - -<p>“My master,” he went on, “is a nobleman, to whose -ears the rumor of your skill and taste has penetrated, although -he lives in retirement and hears not much of the -outer world. I trust that you are at liberty to undertake -a piece of work for him?”</p> - -<p>I assured him that I was.</p> - -<p>“My master,” he proceeded, “is, I must warn you, unable<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[4]</a></span> -to satisfy himself, in the matter now in hand, with less -than absolute perfection. Already he has been disappointed -in some eight other tailors, and he has learned of -your superlative excellence with much hope; and in order -that he may assure himself how well his report of you is -justified, he has commanded me to entrust to you a small -commission; to wit, to sew on this button.”</p> - -<p>I was greatly mortified at this lame conclusion of so -promising a speech; I suspected that the stranger was making -game of me; but his manner was so respectful that I -held my peace, and watched him without a word while he -took from under his short blue velvet cloak a package, and -depositing it before me on my table proceeded to undo it.</p> - -<p><i>“This old fellow talks like he was writing a composition,” -whispered Bodkin to Bojohn.</i></p> - -<p><i>“Oh, he’s a conceited pumpkin,” whispered Bojohn. -“He loves to hear himself talk, and I bet you he’s thinking -we’re thinking we never heard such fine language in our -lives. That’s him, all over.”</i></p> - - -<h3><i>The Doublet with the Missing Button</i></h3> - -<p>The package contained a doublet, of a material I had -never seen before, very thin and glossy, of a texture like -that of wasp’s nest but very tough. The doublet contained -ten buttonholes, but only nine buttons; one button, and -one only, was missing.</p> - -<p>“I have here,” said my visitor coolly, “the missing -button; and my master will be obliged if you will sew -it on.”</p> - - -<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/i_004fp.jpg" alt="" /></div> -<p class="caption">Solario was sitting on his worktable busily plying the needle</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[5]</a></span>He produced the button, a large ivory one, which, with -the garment, he held up before me in his left hand.</p> - -<p>“Please to hold out your left hand,” said he.</p> - -<p>I did so, and with his own left hand he placed the garment -and the button in mine.</p> - -<p>“This doublet,” said he, “must not pass from one to -another but by the left hand. Please to remember that. -And now, adieu. I will return to-morrow. Meantime—”</p> - -<p>He laid on my table a small purse, and bowing with -sober courtesy he left the shop.</p> - -<p>I turned up the purse, and a number of gold coins fell -out, enough to pay for sewing on five hundred buttons. -“Ah!” thought I. “At this rate I can well afford to gratify -my new client’s whimsies.”</p> - -<p>The next day the courteous stranger returned for the -doublet. I delivered it with my left hand into his own -left hand, the button being attached firmly in place. He -thanked me, and departed; but on the morning after, he -reappeared, to my surprise, and as he came in he smiled -at me and shook his head at me waggishly.</p> - -<p>“Fie! master Solario!” said he. “How could you have -treated me so? And a mere button, too! Really, my good -Solario!”</p> - -<p>He produced the doublet, and showed me that it lacked -a button in the same place as before. He held up in one -hand the ivory button and in the other a length of thread. -I was perplexed. The thread had not been cut, of that -I was sure. It was the identical thread, and of the -identical length.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[6]</a></span>“You will not blame my master,” said the stranger, “if -he finds himself a little aggrieved. He had scarcely put -on the doublet yesterday when the button came off in his -hand. I was commanded to leave it with you once more, -together with this trifling honorarium.”</p> - -<p>So saying, he dropped a little purse on my table as before, -and after putting the garment and its button into -my left hand with his own left hand, bowed himself out. -I turned up the purse in haste, and poured out a number -of gold coins, as before, but this time twice as many. I -put away the gold into my coffer, and sewed on the button -once more, with special care.</p> - -<p>I whipped the thread around itself under the button, -sewed it through the goods, doubled it back through the -button, wound it and knotted it and doubled it back, and -altogether made such a job of it (however painful to me -as an artist) as was perfect for security.</p> - -<p><i>“I don’t see,” interrupted the King, “what all this business -about a button has got to do with—”</i></p> - -<p><i>“If your majesty will pardon me,” said the old tailor, “I -have not yet reached the end of my story.”</i></p> - -<p><i>“I’m well aware of it,” said the King. “But still I don’t -see—”</i></p> - -<p><i>“My dear!” said the Queen, sweetly, and the old man -went on with his story.</i></p> - -<p>Next morning the stranger returned for the doublet. I -delivered it into his left hand with my left, and he turned -to go. At the door he looked back at me smiling, and -was about to bow himself out when he paused to try the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[7]</a></span> -button with his fingers. A slight frown came over his -face; he pulled the button gently, and behold, there before -my eyes,—I assure you I saw it with these very eyes,—the -button came off into his hand!</p> - -<p>He sighed, looked at me gravely, and held out the button -in one hand and the doublet in the other.</p> - -<p>“Alas, good master Solario!” said he. “You have not -treated me very well. The hopes I entertained for your -profit are at an end. It remains only for me to apologize -for my intrusion, and for you to return to me the money -which I left with you.”</p> - -<p>This was too much. The idea of returning money which -had once been locked safely in my coffer was more than -I could bear. I sprang down from my table. “One moment!” -I cried. “I beg of you! That I should not be -able to sew on a miserable button—it is too ridiculous! -Let me see your master myself, and prove to him what I -can do! Take me to him at once! Let him assign me -any task whatever, and I swear to you—”</p> - -<p>“You wish to see my master?” said the stranger.</p> - -<p>“At once!” I cried. “Do not carry back to him a report -of me so unjust! I must see him myself!”</p> - -<p>“Be careful what you say,” said the stranger. “You -may be sorry.”</p> - -<p>“Impossible!” said I. “Take me to him at once!”</p> - -<p>The stranger looked at me thoughtfully. “If I take -you,” said he, “swear that you will never blame me for -what may happen.”</p> - -<p>“I swear it!” I cried.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[8]</a></span>“You will remember that I warned you?”</p> - -<p>“On my own head be it! Let us go at once!”</p> - -<p>“Very well, then. The decision is yours, not mine; remember -that. I will return for you to-night, and you will -then, if you are still of the same mind, be ready to accompany -me to my master.”</p> - -<p>He tucked the doublet with its button under his cloak, -and in another moment he was gone.</p> - -<p>That night, after dark, as I was putting up my shutters, -a splendid coach and pair, driven by a black man in a rich -but somber livery, stopped at my door, and the smiling -stranger descended. I ran into the shop and put on my -best attire. Some time before, I had designed and executed -the coat in which you now see me; it had been much -admired; I put it on, and hastened out to the stranger, -who bowed me politely into the carriage.</p> - -<p>During our journey, my companion exerted himself to -be agreeable; and I, on my part, fairly unloosed the rein -of conversation,—an art in which, I confess, I had always -taken the greatest pleasure. On this occasion I surpassed -myself; I drew upon the mysteries of our noble craft for -his entertainment; I was by turns humorous and grave; -I was at my best; it would not be too much to say that -I sparkled; and in short, when the carriage stopped, I -realized that I had taken no note of our route.</p> - -<p>We drew up in a street which was unfamiliar to me. -As we alighted, I observed before me a high wall, extending -in either direction as far as I could see; and immediately -at hand a little door in the wall, toward which<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[9]</a></span> -my companion led me. He pulled a bell-rope, and we were -at once admitted by a second black man, in the livery I -had already seen. I was aware, in spite of the darkness, -that we were in a garden, or rather park, of immense -dimensions.</p> - - -<h3><i>The Dark Mansion in the Walled Park</i></h3> - -<p>I could see the dark outline of what appeared to be a -great mansion. There were no lights anywhere. The air -was heavy with the perfume of flowers, a cloying perfume, -oppressively sweet. We came, after a considerable walk, -to the house. At my companion’s knock, a door was -opened by a servant, black like the other two.</p> - -<p>We entered a narrow hall, and at the end of this hall -we reached a door, which was opened by a fourth man-servant, -black like the others; and after ascending a flight -of stairs, and traversing several spacious apartments, we -came to a pause in a small but elegant room, where my -companion left me.</p> - -<p>In a moment he returned, and beckoned me to come -with him. He opened a door, gently pushed me through, -closed the door behind me, and left me, as he advanced, -blinking under the light of a hundred candles in a room -more superb than any I had ever seen. The colored tiles -of the floor, the thick rugs, the curious vases, the pictured -tapestries on the walls,—I took them all in at a glance; -and I was aware at the same time of an aroma like that -of the flowers in the garden, but very faint.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[10]</a></span></p> - - -<h3><i>The Tailor Meets the Tall Black Man and His Fair -Daughter</i></h3> - -<p>At one end of the apartment was a table, loaded with -fruit and flowers and wine. At the other end, on a divan, -sat a tall and majestic man, dressed in the most exquisite -taste. His skin was ebony black. He wore drooping black -mustaches, and his hair was long and black; but I observed -that he was, like the Courteous Stranger, totally -without eyebrows.</p> - -<p>At his feet, on a cushion, sat a lady, young and beautiful, -a lady divinely beautiful, more beautiful than any I -had ever seen or dreamed of. Her complexion! it was -all cream and roses. Her eyes! they were blue of the blueness -of violets, and they were merry and soft together. -Her hair!—I swear I can see her at this moment. Her -hair was of the— But I must not allow myself to think -of her. The black man and the wonderful lady rose, -and my companion presented me.</p> - -<p>“You are welcome, Solario,” said the tall black man, -smiling graciously. “You have wished to see me, as I -hear, and to give me proof of your skill. But we can converse -better while we refresh ourselves. You observe that -the table is set for four. My daughter has, as you see, -already counted upon your company. I hope you will consent -to accept our poor hospitality.”</p> - -<p>We seated ourselves at the table. My host clapped his -hands four times, and four serving men entered, bearing -the first course. They were black, like the four I had already<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[11]</a></span> -seen. They were without eyebrows, and I seemed -to remember the same defect in the other four. Eight -men servants, all black, and all without eyebrows! I was -puzzled; and when I looked from the fair face of the lady -opposite me to the black face of her father, I was completely -mystified. As for my stranger, he scarcely took -his eyes from the damsel; and from the manner in which -she now and then returned his gaze, I could see that they -were on a footing of tenderness.</p> - -<p>When we were at the end of our repast, and were -trifling with our grapes and wine, my black host addressed -himself directly to me. I was in a mellow mood; I felt -that I could scarcely have denied him anything; and as for -his daughter, if she had bade me run for her sake to the -ends of the— Well, the wine was excellent; I sniffed -in it the same aroma I had noticed twice before; and I -was in consequence of it in that state of peace which in -other circumstances would have preceded slumber. My -host leaned toward me in the friendliest attitude.</p> - - -<h3><i>The Black Prince Tells His Story</i></h3> - -<p>“My dear Solario,” said he, “you are asking yourself, -all this while, who I am. I am a Prince, heir to the throne -of the distant kingdom of Wen. My skin was formerly -white, like my daughter’s. It was changed, as you see it -now, by the power of an enemy, and I am awaiting here, -in exile, with my daughter and my friend, the release which -day and night I dream of. If you are not too weary, I<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[12]</a></span> -will relate to you the adventure which brought me here -and changed my skin.”</p> - -<p>“With all my heart,” said I; whereupon, without further -preamble, he commenced</p> - - -<h4>THE STORY OF THE BLACK PRINCE</h4> - -<p>“Know, most excellent Solario,” he began, “that my -father the King of Wen called me to him one day, and -sitting down with me addressed me as follows. ‘My son,’ -said he—”</p> - -<p><i>“Is it a long story?” asked the King, yawning behind his -hand.</i></p> - -<p><i>“It is very interesting,” said the old tailor.</i></p> - -<p><i>“Not what I asked,” said the King. “Is it long?”</i></p> - -<p><i>“Well,—well—” said the old man.</i></p> - -<p><i>“Then we will hear it another time,” said the King. -“Pray let us hear what happened to you.”</i></p> - -<p><i>The old man bowed, quite crestfallen, and proceeded -with his story.</i></p> - -<p><i>“Oh, shucks,” said Bojohn to Bodkin.</i></p> - -<p>When the Black Prince had concluded his own tale, he -paused, and then said to me:</p> - -<p>“Now, Solario, as to those circumstances of my misfortune -which precede the tale I have just told you, I will, -if you consent, call on my good friend here, who was personally -concerned in them, to relate them to you.”</p> - -<p>Whereupon he nodded to my companion, who at once -commenced</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[13]</a></span></p> - -<h4>THE STORY OF THE COURTEOUS STRANGER</h4> - -<p>“You must know,” he began, “that soon after my arrival -at the city of—”</p> - -<p><i>“What has this got to do with your being enchanted by -the witch?” said the King.</i></p> - -<p><i>“Well,” said Solario, “its bearing on what afterward -happened to me is perhaps a little indirect, but I assure -your majesty that—”</i></p> - -<p><i>“No, no,” said the King. “I never sit up late, and it’s -getting on toward my bedtime.”</i></p> - -<p><i>The old man sighed.</i></p> - -<p>When the Courteous Stranger had finished his story, the -Black Prince gazed at me for a moment.</p> - -<p>“Solario,” said he, “I will tell you the conclusion of the -whole matter in a word. To him who shall deliver me from -this spell, I will give five hundred thousand pieces of gold, -of the money of your country. And, Solario,” he said, bending -toward me and pointing at me with his finger, “I believe -you are the man.”</p> - -<p>Visions of Solario the tailor as the richest man in Vernicroft -flashed before my eyes, and left me dizzy.</p> - -<p>“It is a matter of sewing on a button,” said the Prince. -“I am allowed nine tailors for the trial, on the principle -that nine tailors are the equivalent of one—ahem! I beg -your pardon. Eight tailors have already essayed it, and -failed. You are the ninth.”</p> - -<p>“And what has become of the other eight?” I asked, -with some misgiving.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[14]</a></span>The Black Prince smiled. “You have already seen -them,” said he.</p> - -<p>“I?” I exclaimed in amazement.</p> - - -<h3><i>Eight Tailors Who Could not Sew on a Single Button</i></h3> - -<p>“Four of them served our table here to-night, and the -other four you have met between your shop and this room.”</p> - -<p>“The eight black servants?” I cried.</p> - -<p>“Precisely,” said the Prince. “I must tell you, that he -who fails comes himself under the spell, his skin changes -to black, and he remains here with me in my retirement. -If you deliver me, you deliver also these other eight. If -you fail, you condemn yourself and all of us to everlasting -misery. You are our final hope. What do you say?”</p> - -<p>I was becoming almost lightheaded with the prospect -of my reward. Perhaps the wine had something to do -with it; perhaps it was the Prince’s daughter, who smiled -upon me bewitchingly.</p> - -<p>“You have already seen my doublet,” said the Prince. -“So long as it remained intact, no harm could touch me. -But my enemy, as I have related to you, succeeded in detaching -from it a single button, and taking away the thread. -Instantly all its virtue was gone; I was helpless. To this -mischance I owe all my misery; my happiness hangs on -a button. Take the doublet, Solario, and find the thread -which will withstand sorcery. Three months are allowed -you. Here are the doublet and the button; guard them -as you would your life; and may you return to receive my -thanks and the fortune which awaits you.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[15]</a></span>With his left hand he placed the doublet and the button -in my left hand. The perfume of the wine seemed to -grow heavier; I was very drowsy; I tried to speak; I could -not arouse myself; I was conscious of the eager smile of -the Prince’s daughter, and I knew no more.</p> - -<p>When I came to myself, I was in my bed behind the -shop, and it was morning. My first thought was that I -had had an unusual dream, but there on the pillow beside -me lay the identical doublet and button, and I found -myself wearing the spangled coat of the evening before. -I jumped up and prepared my breakfast, but I could not -eat. A desperate case I had gotten myself into, indeed! -Where on earth should I obtain a thread which would -withstand sorcery? And if I should fail—! I pushed -aside my food and buried my face in my hands.</p> - -<p>I heard the bell over my shop door tinkle, as if some -customer were coming in. I paid no attention. Why -had I allowed this hopeless enterprise to be thrust upon -me? I was lost.</p> - - -<h3><i>The Tailor Is Visited by a Hideous Old Woman</i></h3> - -<p>I heard a cackle of unpleasant laughter. I looked up -quickly and saw, sitting at the opposite side of my table, -a little old woman, extremely hideous of face, hook-nosed, -toothless, and wrinkled, munching her gums and watching -me with little, malicious eyes.</p> - -<p>The ancient hag did not leave me long in doubt about -her business.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[16]</a></span>“Master tailor,” said she, “the fortune is yours if you -will have it.”</p> - -<p>Her voice was like nothing so much as the crackling of -dry wood in a brisk fire.</p> - -<p>“Never mind what I know nor how I know it,” she went -on, answering my thought before I spoke. “What would -you give to know where and how to obtain the thread -which will hold the button?”</p> - -<p>“Anything!” I cried. “That is, almost anything.”</p> - -<p>“Would you marry?”</p> - -<p>I thought of the adorable young lady whom I had seen -the night before.</p> - -<p>“Willingly!” I said. “That is,—yes, I think—”</p> - -<p>“Then I will tell you the condition on which you may -have the thread. You must marry me.”</p> - -<p>I looked at the frightful old creature; then I laughed -and laughed; I could not help it. She arose in a great fury, -grasped the crooked stick which she bore with her, and -hobbled toward the door.</p> - -<p>“You shall never find it!” she said. “No, never! You -shall be a black and penniless outcast! You shall wish -you had never been born! You are lost, lost, lost!”</p> - -<p>That terrible prospect sobered me. If this woman could -by any chance save me from such a fate, what price would -be too great?</p> - -<p>“Come back,” I said, “I will think it over.”</p> - -<p>“Speak!” said she. “Will you, or will you not?”</p> - -<p>I looked at her. She was very old. She could not live -long, at best. She might not live until the wedding day.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[17]</a></span> -And if she should, a man of my wealth and power could -afterward find the means of mitigating the horrors of -such a marriage.</p> - -<p>“How do I know you can perform your promise?” I -asked.</p> - -<p>“You need not perform yours until I have performed -mine. Come, master tailor, will you or will you not?”</p> - -<p>“I will,” said I. “On the day when I receive my fortune -from the Prince, I will marry you. Merciful powers!”</p> - -<p>“Good,” said she. “Now listen to me. The thread -which will hold the button is the single black hair in the -tail of the white unicorn, Alb, who feeds in the half-moon -pasture of Korbi, by the river Tarn. Listen carefully while -I tell you what you must do.”</p> - -<p>She then gave me the most minute directions; and when -she had finished, she arose and hobbled to the door.</p> - -<p>“Stop!” I said. “Tell me who you are, and where you -live, and when I shall see you again.”</p> - -<p>She answered never a word; she was gone.</p> - - -<h3><i>The Jolly Mule Driver and His Sing-Song</i></h3> - -<p>I wrote down all I could remember of her instructions, -and went out into the street to cool my burning head. As -I stood before the door, I heard a jingling of little bells, -and a voice singing and shouting, and saw, coming toward -me down the street, a train of five or six mules, driven -by a short fellow in a leather jerkin, on foot, who was -singing raucously and shouting lustily to his animals. His<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[18]</a></span> -face was gay and humorous, and he cracked his whip -merrily.</p> - -<p>“Good mules for hire!” he sang. “Good mules for -hire! We’ll bring you to your heart’s desire! We laugh -at rain and snow and mire! We never lag and never tire! -We <i>thread</i> our way through ice and fire! Good mules for -hire! Good mules for hire!”</p> - -<p>“Thread!” What did he mean by that word? I stared -at him, and as he was passing me he looked at me long -and hard, and gave me a slow wink.</p> - -<p>A little while later, as I was ironing a piece of goods -within doors, the mule driver himself appeared in the shop.</p> - -<p>“At your service, master Solario!” he cried, gayly. “For -a long journey or a short one! If you’re thinking of -going a journey, I’m your man! Come, master Solario, -the sun is shining, lock up the shop!”</p> - -<p>It seemed a curious piece of good fortune that this fellow -should have appeared almost on the heels of the old -woman herself, and the long and short of it was that I -hired him for my journey, at so much per week. He agreed -to provide the necessary outfit, and we would depart that -night.</p> - -<p>My preparations were soon made. The notes I had -made of the old woman’s directions I sewed inside my vest. -I placed in my strong box the doublet and the button, and -bestowed the box where it could not be found during my -absence. At midnight, my driver appeared. It was a -starry night. I locked the shop, and we mounted our -mules. Preceded by four other animals, packed with our<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[19]</a></span> -outfit, we quietly moved down the street, past the last -houses, and into the forest. My search for the white -unicorn had begun.</p> - - -<h3><i>Adventures in Search of Alb the Unicorn</i></h3> - -<p>From that night until we came in sight of the river Tarn, -far beyond the confines of the Forest Kingdom, the adventures -we encountered were numerous and fearful. We -spent weeks on this perilous journey. In the second week -we came to a dark castle on the side of a mountain. We -crossed the drawbridge, which strangely happened to be -down, though it was late at night, and blew the horn which -hung by the gate. But perhaps it will be unnecessary to -detail these adventures?</p> - -<p><i>“Totally unnecessary,” said the King. “I can scarcely -restrain my impatience to know how the story ends.”</i></p> - -<p>There are several, however, of extraordinary interest, -which you might perhaps be pleased to hear: the adventure -of the Roving Griffin, the adventure of the Blind Giant, -the adventure of Montesango’s Cave—</p> - -<p><i>“Yes, yes,” said Bojohn and Bodkin, in a loud whisper.</i></p> - -<p><i>“No,” said the King. “I must beg you to reserve these -pleasures for another occasion. I can’t sit up all night.”</i></p> - -<p>We reached at last, on a sunshiny morning, the top of -a little hill, from which we looked down on a narrow and -shallow river, curved at this point outward in a crescent, -and beyond it we saw a meadow of some two miles in depth, -bounded at the rear by a high cliff, curved also outward<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[20]</a></span> -like a crescent, and reaching the river at the right hand -and the left of the meadow. The meadow thus enclosed -resembled in shape a half-moon.</p> - -<p>“Ah!” I cried. “The river Tarn and the half-moon -pasture of Korbi!”</p> - -<p>I left my mule driver, and descended alone to the river. -I found a ford, and though the water reached my shoulders, -I had no difficulty in wading to the other side. I came -there upon the pasture I had seen from the hill. It was -green with tall grass, and sprinkled with flowers. I looked -about fearfully, but the unicorn was not in sight. Creeping -cautiously, I made toward the high cliff at the further -side of the meadow. Just before I reached it, I -stopped to consult my notes:</p> - -<p>“A circle of white stones on the side of the cliff, higher -than a man’s reach. In the center of the circle, a blood-red -flower growing on a long stem.”</p> - - -<h3><i>Solario Encounters Alb the Unicorn</i></h3> - -<p>I walked along at the foot of the cliff, and after some ten -minutes descried above me the circle of white stones. The -wall was perfectly upright, but its surface was rugged -enough to give promise of a foothold. I turned my head, -and at that instant saw, a short distance away, farther -down the line of the cliff, standing knee-deep in the grass -and flowers, a small horse, pure white, with a pure white -mane and tail, and a sharp-pointed horn in the middle -of his forehead.</p> - - -<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/i_020fp.jpg" alt="" /></div> -<p class="caption">The unicorn stamped and gave a piercing neigh</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[21]</a></span>As he saw me, he stamped his hoof and threw his head -high. I started for the cliff; he made for the same point, -as if to intercept me. I knew that against that sharp horn -I should be helpless; it was now a matter of life and -death. I ran with all my might; the unicorn came on at -a gallop; we approached the foot of the cliff together; -his head was down, and I could already in imagination feel -his horn in my side; I doubled my exertions; I reached the -cliff, and leaped up on the rocks just out of his reach, -as he swept by me; I was safe.</p> - -<p>I clung to my perch panting, and then painfully climbed -to the circle of white stones. There, in its center, was the -blood-red flower. The unicorn was standing below, watching -me. When he saw me bend toward the flower, he -stamped, shook his mane, and gave a long piercing neigh, -as a horse will when he is in pain. I plucked the flower -at the root. The unicorn’s excitement was extraordinary. -He pranced and bounded, shrieking in a manner almost -human. I shivered at the thought of going down to him, -but it had to be done. I descended carefully, holding the -flower out in the unicorn’s view. His shrieks subsided -into a moaning cry. He shook his head up and down, as -if under some strong command. I reached the ground.</p> - -<p>I paused there for a moment, for I confess I was -desperately afraid. Little by little I advanced to him, -holding out the flower. He pranced and whined. I came -within arm’s length of his head, and held the flower before -his mouth. With a quiver which shook his whole -body, he seized it in his teeth. I quickly ran to his tail,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[22]</a></span> -and searched there for the single black hair, keeping well -away from his heels. Covered by the brush of white hair -I found it. I seized it and gave it a mighty jerk. Out -it came into my hand.</p> - -<p>The unicorn trembled and tottered; and there in his -place before my eyes stood a handsome young man, clad -in a suit of soft and exquisite white leather. He fell on -his knees before me and kissed my hand.</p> - -<p>“Thanks, brave deliverer!” he cried. “The enchantment -is broken! I am myself again! How glorious to -be free!”</p> - -<p>I raised him from the ground, and led him to a convenient -place, where we sat down and conversed. I placed -the precious black hair securely in the lining of my vest. -If I on my part was overjoyed, the young man was positively -beside himself. He laughed and cried by turns. -I was of course intensely curious as to the circumstances -of his enchantment. He willingly consented to relate them -to me, and as soon as he had composed himself a little he -began</p> - -<h4>THE STORY OF THE WHITE UNICORN</h4> - -<p>“I was born,” said the young man, “in the Island Kingdom, -far out in the Great Sea, the only son of a rich—”</p> - -<p><i>“Never mind, never mind,” interrupted the King; “not -now, some other time. It’s my bedtime. Get on with your -own story. We’ve no time now to listen to—”</i></p> - -<p><i>“My dear,” said the Queen, sweetly, “perhaps if -you’d—”</i></p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[23]</a></span><i>“Some other time,” said the King. “Not now, not now.”</i></p> - -<p><i>“Oh, botheration,” said Bojohn to Bodkin. “He won’t -let us hear anything.”</i></p> - -<p><i>“I think it’s too bad,” said Bodkin to Bojohn.</i></p> - -<p><i>The old man in the spangled coat sighed profoundly.</i></p> - -<p>When the young man had finished his tale, the day was -far advanced. I wished to take him back with me to -Vernicroft, but he was anxious to return to the Island Kingdom -without losing a moment; we crossed the river together, -and parted. I have never seen him since.</p> - -<p>We made good speed homeward; all our difficulties -seemed to have vanished. At first, I was saddened by -the thought of my approaching marriage to the hideous and -hateful old hag; but a new thought began to take possession -of me, and grew stronger as we rode along from day -to day, and my heart soon became lighter. Master as I -was of such a key to power as lay secure within my vest, -I could marry whom I chose. Why should I marry the -ugliest creature I had ever seen, when the most beautiful -might be mine for the asking? The more I thought of -it, the more indignant I became at the manner in which -my easy good nature had been imposed on at every hand; -I had been grossly overreached; the bargain was beyond -measure unconscionable; the exquisite face of the Prince’s -daughter haunted me day and night— And in short, -when we arrived at Vernicroft, my mind was made up; -I would <i>not</i> marry the old woman, and I would exact from -the Prince a reward far more suitable than the one he had -promised.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[24]</a></span>It was just on the stroke of midnight when we reached -my shop. I left my driver on the sill, and procuring the -necessary gold within, paid him off and dismissed him. He -was a merry fellow, and had served me well, though I -must say that I had never learned to like his way of cooking -beans. He bade me a gay farewell, and as I turned -back into the shop I looked over my shoulder, expecting -to see him with his mules on his way down the street. To -my astonishment, there was positively nothing in sight; -the street was empty; in that moment the driver and his -animals had vanished.</p> - -<p>I entered the shop. The journey had cost me all the -savings of my lifetime. But what did it matter? I was -about to become rich beyond all my dreams. I lit my -lamp and looked about me. There, beside my tailor’s -bench, sat the old woman herself. Her hands rested on -the head of her crooked stick, and her toothless jaws were -working.</p> - -<p>“Well,” she said, “you have it?”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” said I, “I have it.”</p> - -<p>“Good,” said she. “The Prince’s friend has been here -many times. He will come to-morrow. I will return to -claim you afterward. Good.”</p> - -<p>She rose, leaned on her stick, and nodding her head -and grinning to herself hobbled out of the shop. My resolution -to save myself from this outrageous creature became -absolutely fixed.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[25]</a></span></p> - - -<h3><i>The Button Is Sewed on with the Unicorn’s Hair</i></h3> - -<p>I drew out the black hair of the unicorn’s tail, and gave -myself up to the pleasant task of sewing on the button. -It was soon done, and it was well done. Nothing could -be more secure. I placed the doublet under my pillow -and went to bed.</p> - -<p>In the morning I arose with a light heart. In order -that the doublet might be near me, I put it on; and during -the day three accidents proved its quality. First, a hot iron -with which I was pressing my spangled coat slipped from -my right hand and came down squarely on my left, and -I felt no pain whatever. Next, a needle pricked my finger, -and I was aware of no inconvenience. And last, as I was -standing in the doorway, some wicked boys, with whom -I was never a favorite, hurled a stone at me, striking me -violently on the temple; but its effect was no more than that -of a soft cushion. Undoubtedly the unicorn’s hair was -the authentic thread.</p> - -<p>At nightfall, after I had put up my shutters, I stored -the doublet secretly away, and was making ready to go -to bed, when a knock sounded at the door, and I admitted -the Prince’s friend, smiling and gracious as before. He -looked inquiringly at me. I bowed and smiled.</p> - -<p>“Yes,” I said, “the work is done.”</p> - -<p>“The thread?” he cried.</p> - -<p>“I have it, never fear! The work is done.”</p> - -<p>He was in a state of great excitement.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[26]</a></span>“Come!” he cried. “The carriage is at the door. Bring -it with you. Hurry!”</p> - -<p>In a moment I was in his carriage, with a bundle under -my arm. We stopped at the same place as before, and -reached by the same route the room where I had first -seen the Prince and his daughter. They arose in agitation -as I came in, and at a joyful signal from my companion -came forward and grasped my hands. Truly the lady was -more beautiful than I had dreamed.</p> - -<p>“You have succeeded?” said the Prince.</p> - -<p>“I have!” said I. “Your deliverance is assured!” And -I described the accidents from which the doublet had protected -me that day.</p> - -<p>“Let us sit down,” said the Prince; and when we were -all seated, with fruit and wine before us, he begged me to -tell my story.</p> - -<p>I told as much as I thought fit, omitting any mention of -the old woman. The Prince desired to see the doublet. -With my left hand I placed in his left the package I had -brought with me. He opened it and held up the contents. -Alas, it was not the doublet at all, but some indifferent -garment intended for another client!</p> - -<p>He looked at me in amazement. I was covered with -confusion, and begged him to overlook my carelessness. -He listened coldly.</p> - -<p>“You will bring the doublet here to-morrow,” he said -sternly.</p> - -<p>“That is understood,” I said. “Meanwhile,” I went<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[27]</a></span> -on, fortifying myself with another glass of the perfumed -wine, “we may as well discuss the question of my reward.”</p> - -<p>“That,” said the Prince, “is already settled.”</p> - -<p>“The case is altered,” I said. “If I had known what -lay before me, I could have made more fitting terms; but -I was in the dark; the dangers and exertions of my existence -since then have changed the case completely. I -am sure that you do not wish to deal with me unjustly. -Think what my service means to you! In your place, -I should think nothing too precious for my deliverer.”</p> - -<p>A dark frown came over the Prince’s face.</p> - -<p>“What is it you demand?” said he.</p> - - -<h3><i>The Prince Receives the Tailor’s Terms</i></h3> - -<p>“I demand nothing,” said I. “But if you wish to have -the doublet and be restored to yourself, your country, and -your people, I shall ask only three things: one million pieces -of gold, this house, and your daughter’s hand in marriage.”</p> - -<p>All three jumped to their feet. I sat calmly. At a look -from the Prince, his daughter and the Courteous Stranger -sat down again. They were both very pale.</p> - -<p>“These are your terms?” said the Prince. “You are -resolved on this?”</p> - -<p>“Inflexibly,” I said.</p> - -<p>“Then we must consider,” said he. “When you bring -the doublet to-morrow you shall have my answer. For -the present, let us dismiss the subject.”</p> - -<p>His command of himself was superb. He began to talk<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[28]</a></span> -lightly on indifferent subjects, and as he talked his voice -became gradually more distant, and I grew drowsy; I -knew I was falling asleep. I remember nothing more until -I awoke the next morning in my own bed.</p> - -<p>To my surprise, the old woman did not appear at all -on that day. On the whole, the time passed pleasantly. -I had no doubt the Prince would accept my terms. I -reveled in the happiness which was so soon to be mine.</p> - -<p>At night, dressed in my spangled coat, and with a bundle -under my arm, I sat in the shop waiting for my stranger. -I was too wise to take with me the true doublet, and you -may be sure the bundle contained a substitute. It would -be time enough to deliver the magic garment at the wedding. -It reposed meanwhile under lock and key, concealed -beyond the possibility of discovery.</p> - -<p>It was late when the stranger appeared. He conducted -me to the Prince and his daughter in chilly silence. The -Prince was standing, and his daughter sat on the divan, -her chin in her hand.</p> - -<p>“You have brought the doublet?” said the Prince.</p> - -<p>“First,” I said, “do you accept the terms?”</p> - -<p>“I must see the doublet,” he said.</p> - -<p>With my left hand I placed the bundle in his left hand. -He opened it. When he saw its contents, he turned on me -with a face like a thunder cloud.</p> - -<p>“What!” said I. “Another accident? Well, it’s of no -consequence. The doublet is safe, perfectly safe. It will -be placed in your hands—<i>at the wedding</i>. Do you consent?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[29]</a></span></p> - -<h3><i>The Magic Doublet Is Suddenly Produced</i></h3> - -<p>He clapped his hands. A door opened behind the -divan, and—I could scarcely believe my eyes—in hobbled, -with her crooked stick, the old woman whom I had pledged -myself to marry. I was speechless with astonishment. -The Prince clapped his hands again. From other doors -entered the eight black tailors whom I had seen before. -The ancient hag approached the Prince, and drew forth -from her dress the doublet which I had left securely locked -and hidden at home! I saw it closely; it could be no other. -With her left hand she laid it in the left hand of the -Prince.</p> - -<p>In an instant he had put it on. When he had buttoned -the last button, a startling change came over him and the -eight black tailors. All their faces grew a mottled blue, -then red, and then the natural color of healthy white skin.</p> - -<p>At the same time the room began to contract. The ceiling -came slowly down and stopped just above my head. -The walls came slowly together, and as they reached the -Prince, his daughter, the Courteous Stranger, and the eight -tailors, gave way to them, so that all these persons passed -from view on the outer side, and I was left alone with -the hideous old woman, with the walls coming in upon -us by degrees until I thought we should be crushed.</p> - -<p>I became dizzy; I sank in terror upon the chair which -stood beside me. The walls came on from all four sides -until the place wherein I sat was no bigger than a cupboard, -and there they stopped. I breathed a sigh of relief,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[30]</a></span> -and attempted to rise. To my horror, I could not move.</p> - -<p>The old woman pointed a skinny finger at me and gave a -loud and angry laugh which sent a chill up and down my -spine. She moved her finger about in strange figures. She -mumbled to herself a torrent of meaningless words; and -passing through the door which remained before me in -one wall of my cabinet, she left me, and closed the door -behind her. The closet began to rock; it seemed to rise, -and in a moment I knew that it was flying with me through -space....</p> - -<p>Thus, your majesty (said the old man in the spangled -coat), I came to be imprisoned in my cell beneath the Forest -Pool. There I sat, unable to move or speak, for nearly -a hundred years, until the happy day when I was delivered -by the excellent Prince, your grandson; and for the refuge -which has been accorded me in your majesty’s castle I now -tender to your majesty my grateful thanks, and—</p> - -<p><i>“Eh? What? Did you say something?” exclaimed the -King, waking up from a sound slumber, and rubbing his -eyes. “Oh, yes. I see. Very interesting. Very interesting. -Something about a button, wasn’t it? Bless my soul, -I’d no idea it was so late. It’s long past my bedtime. -I’m always late for breakfast when I stay up past my— Mortimer, -will you see to it that the castle windows are -locked for the night? My dear, I think we will have bacon -and eggs in the morning; and if it’s at all possible, I’d -like to have a piece of toast that isn’t burnt. The audience -is now over.”</i></p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[31]</a></span> - - -<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/i_031.jpg" alt="" /></div> - - -<h2 class="nobreak">THE SECOND NIGHT<br /> - -<small>ALB THE UNICORN</small></h2></div> - - -<p class="drop-cap"><i>SOLARIO the Tailor was sitting at the open window -of his room in the northeast tower of the castle, looking -out at the stars which glittered in a clear sky -over the Great Forest. He sighed, and rising wearily lit -the candles on his table; and at that moment there came a -knock on his door, and Bojohn and Bodkin entered, rather -timidly.</i></p> - -<p><i>“If you please, sir—” said Bojohn.</i></p> - -<p><i>“Pray be seated,” said Solario, and they all sat down. -“It’s a warm evening,” said he.</i></p> - -<p><i>“We thought,” said Bojohn, “that you might perhaps -be willing to tell us one of the stories that you—”</i></p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[32]</a></span><i>“It’s very warm this evening, indeed,” said Solario. -“Quite oppressive.”</i></p> - -<p><i>“If it wouldn’t be too much trouble,” said Bodkin, “we’d -like you to tell us about—”</i></p> - -<p><i>“I don’t know when I’ve felt the heat so much,” said the -old tailor. “But then it’s the idleness. If there were only -something to do, there wouldn’t be so much time to think -about the weather.”</i></p> - -<p><i>“Last night, sir,” said Bojohn, “you were obliged to -leave out some parts of your story, and we thought—”</i></p> - -<p><i>“If I only had a few good ells of cloth on my table, and -a man like—well, say like Mortimer the Executioner,—to -exercise my art on, I’d be the happiest man alive; but as -it is, sitting here with nothing to do—”</i></p> - -<p><i>“There was one tale you mentioned,” said Bojohn, “about -a—”</i></p> - -<p><i>“It’s a very fine thing to be a Knight of the Silver Lamp,” -said Solario, “but there doesn’t seem to be much connected -with it in the nature of work. If I could only be employed -in making a suit of clothes for Mortimer the Executioner!</i> -There’s <i>a subject! The biggest man I’ve ever seen in my -life, and the hardest to fit! That would be an undertaking -worthy of my genius. Dear, dear!”</i></p> - -<p><i>“I’ll speak to grandfather about it,” said Bojohn. “I’m -sure he’ll let you make a suit for Mortimer. But what we -would like to know is—”</i></p> - -<p><i>“We’d like to hear one of the stories,” began Bodkin -again, “that the King made you leave out last night -when—”</i></p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[33]</a></span><i>“It made no difference to me, I assure you,” said Solario, -stiffly. “None whatever.”</i></p> - -<p><i>“But if you would only tell us—” said Bodkin.</i></p> - -<p><i>“I do not wish to annoy any one with my dull tales,” -said Solario. “Far from it; far from it indeed, I assure -you.”</i></p> - -<p><i>“But there was one” said Bojohn, “about a griffin; -what kind of a griffin did you say it was?”</i></p> - -<p><i>“I believe, if I remember correctly, it was a Roving -Griffin; but his majesty your grandfather—”</i></p> - -<p><i>“Oh, never mind grandfather,” said Bojohn. “Tell us -about the—”</i></p> - -<p><i>“I’d rather hear the one about the giant,” said Bodkin.</i></p> - -<p><i>“You probably have reference to the Blind Giant,” said -Solario. “But—”</i></p> - -<p><i>“Then there was one,” said Bojohn, “about some cave -or other.”</i></p> - -<p><i>“The Cave of Montesango,” said Solario. “I remember -it only too well. But I couldn’t tell you that; it would be -too terrible. You wouldn’t be able to sleep in your beds -to-night.”</i></p> - -<p><i>“Then tell us that one!” cried the two boys, together.</i></p> - -<p><i>“No,” said Solario. “The King would never approve -if I—”</i></p> - -<p><i>“Grandfather isn’t here now,” said Bojohn. “Please—”</i></p> - -<p><i>“Perhaps,” said Solario, “I might tell you the story concerning -the— But I fear it would bore you.”</i></p> - -<p><i>“No! no!” cried the boys.</i></p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[34]</a></span><i>“Then I might perhaps tell you the story of Alb the -Unicorn, only—”</i></p> - -<p><i>“Yes! yes! Tell us about the unicorn!”</i></p> - -<p><i>“You are sure it will not weary you?”</i></p> - -<p><i>“Not a bit!” said Bojohn.</i></p> - -<p><i>“Would you mind, sir,” said Bodkin, “leaving out the big -words?”</i></p> - -<p><i>“I shall willingly endeavor to gratify your reasonable -predilection for lucidity,” said Solario.</i></p> - -<p><i>“Sir?” said Bodkin.</i></p> - -<p><i>“Never mind,” said Bojohn. “Let him go on.”</i></p> - -<p><i>“Ahem!” said the old man, clearing his throat. “I will -give you as much of it as I can remember, as it was told me -by the young man in the white leather suit while we were -sitting in the half-moon pasture of Korbi by the river Tarn, -after I had delivered him from his enchantment. You are -sure it will not weary you?”</i></p> - -<p><i>“Go on! Go on!”</i></p> - -<p><i>“Then I will begin,” said Solario, settling himself back at -his ease, and folding his hands across his stomach,</i></p> - -<h4>“THE STORY OF ALB THE UNICORN.”</h4> - -<p>You must know (said the young man to me) that I am -called Alb the Fortunate. I was born in the Island Kingdom, -far out in the Great Sea, the only son of a rich goldsmith. -I lived with my parents, by whom I was tenderly -loved, in the principal city of that kingdom, in which city, -on a height overlooking the island, stood the castle of the -King.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[35]</a></span></p> - - -<h3><i>Alb the Fortunate and the Princess Hyla</i></h3> - -<p>My father, whose skill in his art had caused him to be -valued highly by the King, was a familiar figure at the castle, -and I had there, in company with my mother, become acquainted -with the young Princess Hyla, the King’s only -child, a beautiful and amiable girl some two years younger -than myself. We were even permitted to play together in -the gardens of the castle, for the King was in no wise proud, -but on the contrary made a point of treating his subjects with -a friendliness which endeared him to them all. I need -hardly tell you that from the earliest moment I knew that I -loved the little Princess.</p> - -<p>I grew thus in time to be twelve years old. Although my -parents had done for me all that love could devise and -money could effect, I had caused them much uneasiness. My -disposition was unnaturally gloomy; I scarcely ever smiled; -my mind was filled with terrors, I knew not why; I would sit -for hours in moody silence; the games of other boys did not -amuse me; and I would find myself at times weeping bitterly, -for no reason whatever.</p> - -<p>All that my parents could do to divert me availed nothing; -I continued to be a misery to myself and to them. They -feared for my health; their wealth no longer gave them any -pleasure; and an atmosphere of gloom settled down upon -their house. Sometimes my mother would look mournfully -into my eyes while she smoothed back the yellow hair -from my forehead; and I knew that she would willingly -have given all that she had to make me happy.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[36]</a></span>On my twelfth birthday it chanced that I was in my -father’s shop, alone. My mother had gone into the back -room, and my father was absent, for the day, at the residence -of a distant client. I had been trying all that morning to find -some occupation to amuse me, but without success; I had -finally given myself up to a restless and discontented idleness; -and at the moment I was examining in my hand, without -much interest, a long chain, of extremely fine gold and -delicate workmanship, which I had picked up from one of -the cabinets in the shop. I was in the act of placing it back -in its case, wondering what I should do next, when a strange -figure entered the door from the street, and approached me.</p> - - -<h3><i>A Tattered Old Beggar Comes to the Goldsmith’s Shop</i></h3> - -<p>It was an old man, evidently a beggar, a huge man, fat -and heavy, his face covered by a gray beard which hung to -his waist, and his eyes, which were very bright, almost -hidden by shaggy eyebrows,—the longest eyebrows I had -ever seen on any human being. A ragged tunic of brown, -belted around the middle, hung scantily to his knees; a battered -felt hat flapped over his forehead; and in his hand he -carried, for a staff, what seemed to be a yardstick, such as -tailors use. From his belt hung a pair of large shears, also -of the sort used by tailors. A queer tailor! thought I.</p> - -<p>“Good morning, master Melancholy,” said he, “have you -a mind for trade this morning?”</p> - -<p>The idea of this poor creature’s pretending to be a customer -at such a shop as ours was too absurd. I could not -restrain a little toss of the head.</p> - - -<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/i_036fp.jpg" alt="" /></div> -<p class="caption">“There is something here,” said the old beggar, “which I wish to buy”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[37]</a></span>“So?” said the old man. “Is that what you think? -Nevertheless, there is something here which I wish to buy.” -He looked around the shop. “I wish to buy a chain, a gold -one; and I see none that pleases me so much as the one you -are holding behind your back. Will you sell it?”</p> - -<p>I was astonished that he should have discovered the chain, -which I could have sworn was hidden from his eyes. I drew -it forth and held it up.</p> - -<p>“Be so good as to let me see it,” said the old man; and -at the same time he took it from me, before I could snatch -it away.</p> - -<p>“What may the price be, my young merchant?” said he.</p> - -<p>I was trembling with anxiety, but I thought it best to end -the whole matter by naming the price, which I found on the -card which remained in the cabinet.</p> - -<p>While I hesitated, the horrid creature gazed at me with -his glittering eyes through his tangled eyebrows, and ran his -fingers down his beard like a comb.</p> - -<p>“The price,” I said, “is four thousand gold florins. Now -please give me back the chain.”</p> - -<p>“The price is high,” said the old man, “but I will take it.”</p> - -<p>“Then give me the money,” said I.</p> - -<p>“Money?” said he, with an air of great surprise. -“Money? But I have no money.”</p> - -<p>“Then how are you going to buy the chain?” said I. -“Give it back to me.”</p> - -<p>“I will buy it, nevertheless,” said he. “I will give you -what is better than money.”</p> - -<p>“What is that?” said I, suspiciously.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[38]</a></span>“I will give you,” said he, “whatever you would like best -in the world.”</p> - -<p>“Then give me back the chain.”</p> - -<p>“Think!” said he. “What would you like best in all the -world, for your very self?”</p> - -<p>“Nothing,” I said, ready to cry. “I want the chain back. -If you don’t give it to me,” I said, angrily, “I will call my -mother.”</p> - -<p>“With all the pleasure in the world,” said the impudent -old rascal.</p> - -<p>I was now ready to cry in good earnest.</p> - - -<h3><i>The Old Man Proposes a Strange Bargain</i></h3> - -<p>“But I advise you to listen to me, my young friend,” went -on the dreadful creature. “You may make a wish, if you -will; and if you don’t, I will. If I keep the chain, you shall -make the wish; if you keep the chain, I will make it; but I -warn you, if I make the wish, I shall wish you harm! Such -harm that you would rather be dead than alive! Come -now, will you sell me the chain for a wish?”</p> - -<p>“I can’t,” I said, “I can’t.” And I began to cry.</p> - -<p>“Then you would like to be crippled all your life? To -find vipers in your bed every night? To see the Princess run -away from the sight of you? To suffer a sharp pain in your -ears, to have all your drink turn to—”</p> - -<p>“No, no!” I cried. “Please don’t, please don’t!”</p> - -<p>“Then you had better sell me the chain. What would you -like best in the world?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[39]</a></span>“Oh, I want to be happy! I want to be happy! I’m so -miserable!”</p> - -<p>“You really wish to be happy?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, yes! If I could only be happy, always happy!”</p> - -<p>“Think well. I can grant you that wish, if you really -wish it.”</p> - -<p>“I wish I could be happy, always happy!”</p> - -<p>“The wish is granted. You shall be happy; after this day -you shall be nothing but happy, always. It is done. The -chain is mine.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, please! If you will only wait one moment! Just -one! I must call my mother!”</p> - -<p>I ran to the door of the back room, and called my -mother. She came at once, alarmed by my outcry. Together -we turned back into the shop, toward the spot where -I had left the old man. He was gone.</p> - -<p>I dragged my mother to the shop door, and we looked up -and down the street. There was no sign of him. I ran from -one corner to the other. He was nowhere in sight. I -returned to my mother and threw myself on her breast and -wept.</p> - -<p>“The chain!” I sobbed. “It is gone!”</p> - -<p>While she tried to comfort me I told her the story. She -wrung her hands. “What will your father say?”</p> - -<p>That evening, when my father heard what had happened, -he was very angry. He was a kind man, but he -scolded me so severely that I crept up to bed weeping, without -any supper. I had never been so miserable. I cried myself -to sleep.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[40]</a></span>When I awoke in the morning, sunshine was streaming -in through the window. I sprang out of bed. A fat sparrow -was hopping on the window sill, and when he saw -me he cocked his head at me in the jolliest manner possible. -I whistled to him, and laughed after him as he flew -away.</p> - -<p>While I was dressing, and humming a tune the while, I -suddenly remembered that I had gone to bed in tears for the -loss of my father’s golden chain; but I laughed as I thought -of it, for the loss seemed pitifully small, and my father’s -anger over it was quite ridiculous. I went on with my tune, -and stood before the mirror with a hairbrush in my hand. -I began to brush my hair; and I cannot deny that as I looked -at its yellow and somewhat curly abundance I thought of -the Princess with complacency.</p> - -<p>Now it happened that the most serious work of my life, -on which I had then been engaged for more than six months, -had been the training of my hair to lie in a flat sweep backward -from my forehead. I had devoted much patient labor -to this work; it required that I should wear on my head all -day a tight skullcap, and I even suffered to the extent of -wearing it in bed at night, when I could do so without my -mother’s knowledge. I now shook my hair from my forehead -with a quick backward toss of the head, in a manner -which always made my father look at me in alarm, and -proceeded to brush it straight back with vigorous strokes -of the brush.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[41]</a></span></p> - - -<h3><i>The Three Black Hairs in the Yellow Head</i></h3> - -<p>I was in the act of applying a small quantity of dry soap, -when I looked at my yellow head in the mirror a trifle more -attentively. My gaze became fixed; and as I held my head -close to the glass I was astonished to see there, among the -yellow strands, three coarse black hairs, very distinct, one -in the middle and one on either side.</p> - -<p>They did not suit me very well, and I accordingly, with -some trouble, plucked each of them out by the root.</p> - -<p>Before leaving the room, I gave a final glance of satisfaction -at myself in the mirror, and a final touch of the brush -to my hair. I stopped suddenly, fixed with astonishment; -the three long, coarse black hairs, which I had but a few -moments before plucked away, lay there as before, one in -the middle of my head and one on either side.</p> - -<p>I could not understand it in the least, but after all, what -did it matter? I could not allow myself to be bothered by -such a trifle. I ran downstairs singing merrily.</p> - -<p>At breakfast, I found myself prattling of a thousand -things, and I was surprised to remark the confusion with -which my parents received my sallies. In the midst of my -talk, my mother whispered with sudden excitement into my -father’s ear; I did not hear what she said, but I saw his -eyebrows rise and heard him blow out his lips in a long-drawn -“O-oh!” as if a light had dawned on him. And -after that they responded gayly to my chatter, and we had -altogether the merriest meal we had ever had in our lives.</p> - -<p>After breakfast I accompanied my father to the castle,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[42]</a></span> -where I sought out the Princess Hyla, and found her weeping -beside one of the fountains in the garden, because her -ball had fallen into the water which filled the wide marble -basin. I laughed at her, for she did seem comical enough. -She stamped her foot angrily at me, but this only made me -laugh the more. I jumped into the pool and brought back -the ball. She looked at me as if in bewilderment, and cried, -“What are you laughing at? Are you crazy?” Far from being -offended, I laughed more merrily than before.</p> - -<p>The King was much pleased with my little service to the -Princess, and after our departure my father assured me -that I had advanced markedly in the King’s regard. Everything, -in short, was going well.</p> - -<p>From that day, my unfailing spirits rejoiced my parents -more and more as time went by; their house rang with my -merriment; my mother became more youthful in appearance; -and as I grew older I became known throughout our -city for the brightness of my face and the liveliness of my -talk, and I was everywhere in demand. It is true that the -three long black hairs continued in their places on my head, -and my mother looked at them at times, as it seemed to me, -with uneasiness; but I laughed at her; and although I sometimes -plucked these hairs from my head, I did so only for -the amusement of seeing them reappear in their places as -before.</p> - - -<h3><i>Alb Wins the Promise of the Princess’s Hand</i></h3> - -<p>When I was sixteen years of age, a circumstance befell -which I was able to turn to good account. The Princess<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[43]</a></span> -Hyla one night unaccountably disappeared. The King was -strangely disturbed by this incident, and though I could not -quite understand the reason for so much perturbation, I resolved -to rescue the Princess and restore her to her father’s -arms, if I could. This I was able to do, in the course of a -very singular adventure, and in reward the King promised -me her hand in marriage. I will now relate to you, if you -wish it, the adventure by which I rescued the Princess from -the strange fate which involved her; it is the adventure, as -I may call it, of</p> - -<h4>THE RAGPICKER AND THE PRINCESS</h4> - -<p>It happened (said Alb the Fortunate) that the King, with -his daughter, sojourned for a time at his castle of Ventamere, -beside the Great Sea; and my father and myself, being -lodged in the town hard by,—</p> - -<p><i>“On second thoughts,” said Solario, interrupting himself, -“I will not relate this tale just now. It is too long. It will -be better to go on with—”</i></p> - -<p><i>“But we’d like to hear it now,” said Bojohn.</i></p> - -<p><i>“No,” said Solario, firmly, “it will be much better to tell -it some other time.”</i></p> - -<p>Thus (said Alb, when he had finished the story of his -adventure), I restored the Princess, with the assistance of -the One-Armed Sorcerer whom I have mentioned, and in -gratitude the King took the One-Armed Sorcerer to dwell -with him in his castle in our own city, and promised to me -the hand of the Princess in marriage when I should come of -age. Truly things were going well with me.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[44]</a></span></p> - - -<h3><i>A Trifling Incident Disturbs Alb’s Mother</i></h3> - -<p>Some two years later, when I was just past my eighteenth -birthday, an incident occurred in our household which -caused my mother much disturbance. My father died. He -had left the house on horseback in the morning, for a -journey to the country on a matter pertaining to his business. -In the evening, after the shop was closed, a loud knock -brought my mother and myself to the door in haste. A -crowd was gathered at the entrance, and on a litter carried -by two men lay my father’s body; and in this manner he was -borne into the shop. His horse had thrown him and his -neck was broken.</p> - -<p>My mother threw herself upon him and wailed. She tried -to arouse him; she talked to him as if he were alive; she even -went so far as to try to call him back to life. I was at first -greatly astonished at her behavior, and then it struck me as -being excessively ridiculous. To think of trying to call -back the dead to life! It was highly amusing. I felt a tide -of merriment rising within me. I laughed.</p> - -<p>I have never seen on any human being’s face the look -of horror which my mother turned on me when she heard -my laugh. She crouched away from me in fear. Her sobbing -ceased, and her eyes remained fixed on me; they grew -wider and wider; I began to wonder how long they could -stare so without winking. I glanced at the others in the -room, and was surprised to see that no one else even so much -as smiled. It was useless to remain longer in a company so -dead to the brighter things of life. I controlled my good<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[45]</a></span> -humor and composed my features, and patted my mother -affectionately on the shoulder; but she recoiled from my -touch; and without appearing to take her inconsiderate behavior -in ill part in the least, I left the room.</p> - - -<h3><i>Unreasonable Conduct of the Goldsmith’s Widow</i></h3> - -<p>It astonished me afterward to observe that my mother -met my customary gayety with coldness, for she had always -seemed to take great pleasure in it. She grew very gloomy -indeed. I could not discover any reason for it, but I did -what I could to cheer her by my own liveliness. For some -reason or other, my father’s death appeared to have a depressing -effect on her. I made my jokes and sang my songs -as usual, but she reached such a state in a few months that -she would scarcely speak to me, but on the contrary spent -most of her time in her room, alone.</p> - -<p>I noticed, in the course of time, a slight change in the -manner of my customers and friends. The former transacted -their business briefly, without an unnecessary word; -and the latter appeared to avoid me, as if they scarcely -wished to know me any longer. It was very amusing.</p> - -<p>In less than a year after my father’s death, my mother -died. It was thought by some that my father’s death had -something to do with her decline, but how that could be I -never could understand.</p> - - -<h3><i>The Merrymakers Are Suddenly Sobered</i></h3> - -<p>The night of the day on which she died was the night -fixed for a feast at the house of one of my friends. After<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[46]</a></span> -looking for a moment into the room where she lay, I dressed -myself carefully for the occasion, and found myself thrilled -with pleasant anticipation.</p> - -<p>A large and merry company met at table at my friend’s -house; I talked in my best manner; and whatever coldness I -might have observed before was dispelled in the general -gayety. Toward the close of the banquet, I chanced to -remark across the table that my mother had that day died. -The effect of this remark was astonishing. As it passed -from one to another, silence fell upon the company.</p> - -<p>I wondered if I had made some blunder. I endeavored -in vain to relieve the awkwardness of the moment by changing -the subject and commencing a story with which I had -never failed to provoke a laugh; but in this case it provoked -not so much as a smile; I was absolutely perplexed. The -party soon broke up in what appeared to be confusion, -and I went home to enjoy in my own room the recollection -of those lugubrious faces.</p> - -<p>When I was twenty-one, I was married to the Princess, -and thenceforth the castle was my home. I sold the business -which my father had left me, and settled down to a life -of unbounded bliss with my dear Hyla, whom as a wife I -found even more adorable than I had dreamed.</p> - -<p>I became the life of the castle. The faces of my new -acquaintances always brightened in my company; I was the -only one in that glittering society who never knew a dull -or uneasy moment; my presence was like a ray of sunshine -in the court.</p> - -<p>I noticed after a while that the Princess, my wife, began<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[47]</a></span> -to respond to my constant gayety more carelessly; at times -she would sit and look at me wonderingly, I knew not why.</p> - -<p>One day she asked me to accompany her on a little excursion -in the city. She did not tell me where she meant to go, -but I asked nothing; it was enough to be with her. I could -not conceal my surprise, however, when she stopped our carriage -at the entrance to the city’s poorest quarter; but I -had no doubt she had planned some pleasant diversion, and -I followed her, talking in my liveliest manner all the while. -She herself was quite silent.</p> - -<p>She led me from one hovel to another, for more than an -hour. In one we saw a sick child lying on a pallet of straw -on a dirt floor, and around him his mother and sisters and -brothers, all weeping absurdly; I rallied the mother on it in -the pleasantest way possible, but she did not take it in very -good part. In another we found an old man, blind and -alone, without food and without wife or child, talking to -himself in a gibberish which was truly laughable; I tried, -for sport, to talk to him in the same sort of gibberish, but -though it was excellent sport, I saw that for some reason or -other it did not amuse my wife, so I led her away. In -another place we saw a man who was evidently overcome by -wine, and who appeared to be in terror of certain vipers -and spiders which, as I ascertained, existed nowhere but in -his own imagination. This man was the prize of the whole -collection; I amused myself with him for a long time; and -I was altogether so greatly diverted that the Princess had -some difficulty in dragging me away.</p> - -<p>On the way home, I commented on what we had seen with<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[48]</a></span> -a drollery which I had thought sufficient to draw a smile -from a stone; but the Princess was unmoved; she sat in -stony silence, and when we reached the castle she went at -once to her room, and I saw her no more that day.</p> - -<p>Not long afterward, a beautiful boy was born to us; and -in course of time he grew to be the finest child of his age -in the Island Kingdom; there were many who said so, even -to his mother.</p> - -<p>He was two years of age, when on a certain day in summer -his mother sent him into the gardens with a nurse, while -she remained with me in conversation in her room. Some -half hour later, I was telling her an amusing story, which -I had recently heard, when the door burst open, and a man-servant -rushed into the room carrying our boy, dripping -wet, in his arms, and laid him in his mother’s lap. The -child was dead. The nurse had left him beside the same -fountain pool from which years before I had rescued his -mother’s ball, and in her absence he had fallen into the -water. The Princess turned pale and screamed; she clasped -the child to her breast and rocked him back and forth; she -spoke to him as if he were still alive, and even tried to call -him back to life.</p> - -<p>I smiled at her delusion. I put my hand on her shoulder -and shook her gently. She looked up at me with streaming -eyes, and saw the bright and smiling look on my own face.</p> - -<p>“Come, my dear,” I said kindly, laughing quietly as I -spoke, “there is no use talking to him like that, you know. -You must be reasonable. The dear little fellow is dead, that -is all. Surely there is nothing in that to disturb you? Look<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[49]</a></span> -at me. I’m not disturbed. I can’t understand what you -find in this to bother you. Come, let the good man take him -away to another room, and I will go on with the story I was -telling when we were interrupted.”</p> - -<p>She rose slowly, never taking her eyes from me, and -hugging the child closer backed away from me, and suddenly -turned and fled from the room. I smiled to myself at -the whimsical nature of women.</p> - -<p>It was a long time before she would speak to me; and -although I did not permit this to ruffle me, I waited with -some impatience for her explanation. I was of course -reluctant to blame her too much without giving her an opportunity -of explaining her conduct. I was accordingly -pleased when she took me aside one day and asked to speak -with me in private. She sat down before me in her room -and looked me steadily in the eyes.</p> - - -<h3><i>The Princess Finds Her Husband Bewitched</i></h3> - -<p>“Alb,” said she, “this can go on no longer. You are bewitched.”</p> - -<p>I smiled indulgently. “I am not aware of it,” I said.</p> - -<p>“Tell me,” she said, earnestly, “what are those three -black hairs in your head?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, those! They are nothing. I found them there -after the old beggar had pretended to grant me a wish, -long ago.”</p> - -<p>“What old beggar? Now I am learning something! -Tell me about the old beggar and the wish!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[50]</a></span>“What does it matter? He was a ragged old fellow, -with shaggy eyebrows, carrying a yardstick and tailor’s -shears, and I sold him a fine gold chain for a wish, and -right angry my father was, too. But I was only twelve -years old, you know.”</p> - -<p>“Why have you never told me this before? What was -the wish?”</p> - -<p>“The wish? Oh, I wished—I wished I might be perfectly -happy, always;—always happy;—a pretty good wish, -I think.”</p> - -<p>“A terrible wish! A frightful wish! Tell me—tell me—have -you ever wept since you were twelve years old?”</p> - -<p>“Of course not. How absurd. There has never been -anything for me to weep about.”</p> - -<p>“That’s it! That’s it! That’s the curse! You can’t -weep! You’ve got to be cured of happiness! Cured of -happiness!”</p> - -<p>This idea was so preposterous that I laughed loud and -long; but while I was still laughing she took me by the -hand and led me into a distant part of the castle, where I -had never been before, until we came to the foot of a -narrow, winding stair in a tall tower.</p> - -<p>We climbed the stairs, and stopped at last, panting, on -a little landing before a door. The Princess knocked, and -without waiting for an answer opened the door and drew -me in after her. We were in a small, circular room, evidently -at the very top of the tower, from the windows -of which I could see far across the city and beyond the -distant mountains to the Great Sea.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[51]</a></span></p> - - -<h3><i>Alb and the Princess Visit the One-Armed Sorcerer</i></h3> - -<p>In the center of this room was a spinning wheel, and -before this spinning wheel was the One-Armed Sorcerer -whom I had met in the adventure which had gained me -the Princess for my wife; a spare old man, with bright blue -eyes in a rosy face and long white hair and beard, and -clothed in a blue gown spangled with silver stars. He -rose, smiling at us kindly, and motioning us with his only -hand (his left) to sit down; and when we were seated, -the Princess told him the story of the old vagabond who -had granted me a wish.</p> - -<p>He nodded understandingly, and the Princess said: “We -have come to you for help. Will you help him get rid -of his curse?”</p> - -<p>I laughed merrily. “I’m pretty well satisfied as I am,” I -said. “I don’t wish to be cured of anything.”</p> - -<p>“And yet,” said the One-Armed Sorcerer, “you ought to -want to be cured. Your trouble is, that you can’t weep. -Let me tell you something. When people can weep, it’s -because there’s some good in them. When they can’t -weep, it’s because all the good in them is frozen up hard. -Nobody can weep all the time, any more than anybody can -be happy all the time, unless it’s a bewitched creature like -yourself. I’m not sure which would be worse, to weep -all the time or to be happy all the time; but one thing I’m -sure of, and that is that it’s best for us all to have a little -weeping and a little happiness, sometimes the one and -sometimes the other, woven together in all shades of light<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[52]</a></span> -and dark; and if you want to come out in a beautiful pattern -at last, there’s no other way to do it. Laugh and -weep; weep and laugh; that’s the whole story, and a fine -story it is too, and well worth having a part in.”</p> - -<p>“Oh!” cried the Princess, who was now weeping softly, -“will you help him to have a part in it like the rest of us?”</p> - -<p>“I’m very comfortable as I am,” said I, smiling.</p> - -<p>“Do you know,” said the Princess, “how to cure him?”</p> - -<p>“I can tell him how to cure himself,” said the sorcerer.</p> - -<p>“Then please tell us at once!” said the Princess.</p> - -<p>“There is danger in it,” said the sorcerer.</p> - -<p>“Danger doesn’t bother me,” said I, beginning to take -an interest.</p> - -<p>“Good,” said the sorcerer. “Then I will tell you. Have -you ever heard of the half-moon pasture of Korbi, by the -river Tarn?”</p> - -<p>Neither of us had ever heard of it.</p> - -<p>“It lies far beyond the Great Sea. Would you like -to make a journey there?”</p> - -<p>“That would be jolly!” I cried.</p> - -<p>“The half-moon pasture of Korbi is the end of your -journey, where you will get rid of the third black hair, -and be cured.”</p> - -<p>“What?” I cried in astonishment.</p> - -<p>“Yes, the third of the three black hairs in your head.”</p> - -<p>I had forgotten all about them. Certainly this was a -knowing old sorcerer.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[53]</a></span></p> - - -<h3><i>The Old Man of Ice, the Laughing Nymph, and the -Great Horned Owl</i></h3> - -<p>“I will tell you,” he went on, “what those three black -hairs are. The one on the left side of your head is the -Old Man of Ice, who lives in the Great Cave near the top -of Thunder Mountain, in this very island. The one on the -right side of your head is the Laughing Nymph who lives -in the Three-Spire Rock on the farther shore of the Great -Sea. The one in the middle of your head is the Great -Horned Owl, whose feathers are scales so hard that no -spear can pierce them, and who lives at the top of the cliff -at the far side of the half-moon pasture of Korbi. You -must not touch the Old Man of Ice. You must not laugh -with the Laughing Nymph. And you must not speak when -you see the Great Horned Owl.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t like this very much,” said the Princess.</p> - -<p>“Nonsense, my dear,” said I. “It sounds very exciting.”</p> - -<p>“Do you know what a burning glass is?” went on the -sorcerer.</p> - -<p>“Yes,” said I.</p> - -<p>He went to a chest beside the wall, and took from it a -small, round, thick piece of glass, and placed it in my left -hand.</p> - -<p>“There is only one thing that can destroy the Old Man -of Ice, and that is a hot beam from the sun. Before you -go into his cave, hold this burning glass with your left -hand up to the sun. The rays it catches will remain in -it for seven minutes, and no longer; and if you can then<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[54]</a></span> -within those seven minutes, holding the glass in your left -hand, fix those rays on the Old Man of Ice, he will be -destroyed, and you will get rid of the black hair on the -left side of your head.”</p> - -<p>He went to his chest again, and returning put into my -left hand a sharp brass pin, some three inches in length.</p> - -<p>“With this pin,” he said, “you must make the Laughing -Nymph weep. You must plunge it, with your left -hand, deep into her left arm, and while she is weeping -you must flee away; and thus you will get rid of the black -hair on the right side of your head. But if you laugh -with her, or remain until she stops weeping, you will never -return.”</p> - -<p>He took from his spinning wheel a thread some yard -and a half long, and holding it in his teeth made fast a -large loop at one end. He then placed the thread in my -left hand.</p> - -<p>“This loop,” he said, “you must throw over the head -of the Great Horned Owl with your left hand. When -you have done so, he will follow you; you must lead him -into the river Tarn, and hold him there until he drowns; -and thus you will get rid of the black hair in the middle -of your head, and be cured forever. But the owl, though -he is blind by day, has very sharp ears. You must not -let him hear your voice.”</p> - - -<h3><i>The Burning Glass, the Brass Pin, and the Loop of Thread</i></h3> - -<p>He then gave me the most minute directions how to -reach the Great Cave, the Three-Spire Rock, and the half-moon<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[55]</a></span> -pasture of Korbi; and I thereupon placed in my pocket -the burning glass, the pin, and the thread, and drew the -Princess after me to the door and down to my room, where -I immediately began my preparations for departure.</p> - -<p>That night I left. The Princess wept on my shoulder, -but I laughed gayly, and ridiculed her fears.</p> - -<p>“Don’t you feel sorry,” she said, “to leave me?”</p> - -<p>“Come, dearest,” I said, “you mustn’t begrudge me a -little adventure. Don’t be selfish.”</p> - -<p>She straightened herself up. “Yes,” she said, “I think -you had better go.”</p> - -<p>I did not understand this sudden change, but I kissed -her and said:</p> - -<p>“Did you pack my white leather suit?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, it is in the saddlebag, and extra shoes. Be sure -to change if you get your feet wet.”</p> - -<p>I kissed my hand to her from the saddle and gave my -horse the rein. I was off upon my adventure.</p> - -<p>At the end of two days I came to the village which -lies at the foot of Thunder Mountain. It was a bright -day, and the sun was hot. As I trotted briskly through -the village street, a child of three or four years ran from -the door of a house directly to the front of my horse and -under its feet; and in an instant the horse had knocked -him down and trampled over his body. I looked round, -and heard the child cry out in pain; but I was intent on -what lay before me, and too happy in my new career to -be bothered with trifles, and I sped on rapidly, and was -soon well up the mountainside.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[56]</a></span>I came to a place among the rocks and bushes where -there was no longer any trail, and there I tied my horse -and left him. I kept in view, as I climbed higher and -higher, a great, gray rock, shaped like a dome and as big -as a house, which projected from the very top of the -mountain. Under this rock, as I knew, lay the cave of the -Man of Ice.</p> - -<p>The higher I climbed, the steeper grew the ascent; trees -became fewer and at length there were none; I looked -abroad and saw, beyond the intervening mountains, the -Great Sea afar off, wrinkling in the sunshine. I came at last -to a point so high that I was quite dizzy when I looked down. -Around me were only bowlders; there were not even any -bushes, nor birds nor squirrels; nothing but rocks and sunshine.</p> - - -<h3><i>He Hears Thunder in a Clear Sky</i></h3> - -<p>I stopped suddenly and listened. A distant rumble of -thunder came from the top of the mountain. I was, as -I may say, thunderstruck; for there was not a cloud in the -sky. As I mounted higher, the rolling of thunder became -louder and louder; and when I reached, as I did -at last after hours of toil, the dome-shaped rock at the -top, thunder crashed all about me with a deafening roar, -although the sky remained as clear as before.</p> - -<p>I halted at the foot of the great rock, and commenced -the task of finding the entrance to the cave. The surface -of the rock seemed quite unbroken; but I found at length, -near the ground, a single crack, about an inch in width.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[57]</a></span> -I inserted my fingers, but I could not budge it; and remembering -the directions given me by the sorcerer, I cried -out, “In the name of the sun! I command you, open!”</p> - -<p>The rock beneath the crack began to move, and before -my astonished eyes it fell slowly inward, leaving a -gaping hole, just wide enough to admit my body.</p> - -<p>I did not delay. I took the burning glass from my pocket -and held it up in my left hand to the sun, and when I -thought it well filled with the sun’s rays I crawled in -through the hole. When I was inside, the opening closed -behind me, and I was in utter darkness. It was very cold, -and the noise of thunder was louder than before. I -was surprised to see at a little distance a single spot of -light, which flickered here and there as I crept on; but I -soon observed that it came from the burning glass which -I was still holding in my left hand.</p> - - -<h3><i>He Goes Down into the Cave in Thunder Mountain</i></h3> - -<p>I was aware that I was going downward. The farther -I went, the louder became the thunder. I must have descended -thus for a minute or two, when a gust of cold -air swept my face, and, finding the floor level, I stood -up. The sound of thunder was now deafening, beyond -anything I had yet heard.</p> - -<p>As I stood there, a great mass of what appeared to -be ice, larger than my body, rolled past me and disappeared -in the darkness. I jumped aside, and walked on. -In another moment a mass of ice like the first fell at -my side and rolled away; a rush of the bitterest cold air<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[58]</a></span> -accompanied it; and as it struck the ground a crash of thunder -shook the place, and its sound, as it rolled away into -the dark, was the sound of thunder rumbling afar off among -the mountains.</p> - -<p>I now understood the origin of the thunder I had heard -in the clear sunlight outside. I pointed my burning glass -upward, and I was able to make out dimly, in the ceiling, -great numbers of these bodies of ice, hanging there like -stalactites, but rounded at the bottom and very slender -at the top, so that they appeared to hang by little more -than a thread. As I stumbled on, one after another of -these fell to the ground with a crash and rolled away -with a decreasing rumble. There was no telling when one -of them might fall on me, and I could only trust to luck. -There was nothing to do but to get forward as quickly -as possible; time was flying, and even if I should escape -these thunder stones, I had only three or four minutes of -my seven left. I darted blindly on, and the ice came crashing -about me faster and faster, until I thought my head -would split with the noise. Once or twice I was nearly -struck. How I escaped I do not know, for it became -certain that the thunder stones were dropping closer and -closer around me, as if they were trying to halt me. And -all the time the cold was becoming so bitter that my feet -and legs were already numb.</p> - -<p>I suddenly found myself walking on a slippery film of -ice, and at that moment I knew that I had cleared the -chamber of thunder, and had left that danger behind me; -the noise abated to a distant rumbling.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[59]</a></span>The ice on which I walked was very thin, and at every -step it crackled under me; and I could just make out the -sound of the rushing beneath it of a torrent of water. I -stepped lightly and quickly, seeing nothing but the blackness -of night before me. I ran. The ice swayed and -crackled and ripped; and just as it gave way under me -and my foot plunged in the freezing water, I found myself -again on the solid floor of the cavern, and ran with -all my might. I could see nothing of walls or ceiling. I -was lost in the dark.</p> - -<p>In another moment I was aware of a kind of vague paleness -afar off before me, and I ran in that direction. As I -did so, the paleness, whatever it was, moved swiftly to -the right, and I changed my course accordingly. It then -moved to the left, and as fast as I changed my course -it moved also; evidently it was trying to avoid me. I -gained on it, and it seemed then to try to pass me on one -side and get in my rear; but I was too quick for it, and -came up with it before it had quite passed me. I came -within ten feet of it, and saw what it was.</p> - - -<h3><i>He Pursues the Man of Ice with the Burning Glass</i></h3> - -<p>It was the Man of Ice. He was running about like a -cornered rat: a perfectly formed old man, his face and -head hairless, and his whole body of solid ice. He ran -jerkily; I could hear his joints crackle as he ran; and he -was almost transparent, and of a pale, greenish brightness. -His fingers were stiff and pointed, like icicles; and -his eyes were like little white marbles.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[60]</a></span>When he found that he could not pass me, he ran back -into the cave; but we were evidently near its rear wall, -and in a moment he was darting back and forth against -this wall, for all the world like a cornered rat. I kept after -him, and flashing the burning glass constantly in his direction -forced him at last into a corner. He turned upon -me there, and stretched out his long stiff fingers and made -as if to spring upon me. I knew that if he should touch -me I should be lost; it must be now or never; I turned the -burning glass full upon him, and before he could spring its -little spot of light flickered upon the center of his breast.</p> - -<p>The change which came over him nearly caused me to -drop the glass. The top of his head melted away before -my eyes and dripped down over his ears; his eyes, his -nose, his cheeks, his chin, turned one after another to -water and flowed down over his shoulders, and as I moved -the beam of sunlight lower and lower he slowly melted -away from shoulder to foot, and was no more than a wet -spot on the floor.</p> - - -<h3><i>He Commences to Make His Escape from the Cave</i></h3> - -<p>I turned swiftly to make my way out of the cave. As -I did so the light from my burning glass went out, and -the cave was suddenly flooded with pure sunlight, from -what source I could not make out. I was in a vast, vaulted -chamber, which I did not remain to examine. I sped to a -wide opening which I saw before me, and passing through -it came to the side of a little brook bordered with golden-yellow -flowers. I waded across the brook; its water was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[61]</a></span> -as warm as milk. On the other side I entered the thunder -chamber, now well lit with sunshine, and there I paused -in amazement. It was in perfect silence. The air was -mild and balmy. In place of the terrible stones of ice, -thick green vines clung to the ceiling. I gave a shout of -joy, and ran to a little opening which I saw on the farther -side. Through this I crawled, and on my hands and knees -ascended the passage down which I had first come, and -arrived at the entrance to the cave, now closed. “Open!” -I shouted. “In the name of the sun, I command you, -open!” The rock fell outward, and I crawled through -into the light of day.</p> - -<p>I had gone quite a mile down the mountainside before -I realized that there was no sound of thunder; I looked -up at the top of the mountain and paused to listen; all -was silent, sunny, and peaceful. I had accomplished my -first adventure with complete success.</p> - -<p>When I reached the village at the foot of the mountain, -my first thought was of the child whom my horse had injured -earlier in the day. I dismounted, and after a few -moments’ inquiry found where he lived. I was admitted -to the house by his mother, who led me to an inner room, -where I beheld on a chair by a window an unusually charming -little fellow, with his left arm in a splint. I sat down -before him and took him on my lap and held him carefully -in my arms. He took to me at once; and I was -pleased to feel, as his warm little body pressed close to -me, a decided warmth creep slowly and gently into my -own heart. I forced the mother, who was poor, to accept<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[62]</a></span> -from me the only amends I could make: a purse of gold -from my belt, bestowed with a warm shake of the hand. -As I said good-by, I glanced at the mirror which hung -upon the wall. I went up to it, and looked more intently. -The black hair which had been on the left side of my -head was gone.</p> - -<p>I pressed on the same night, and arrived in due time -at the town of Ventamere, on the shore of the Great Sea. -I bought a boat, not too large to be handled by a single -man, and rigged with a single sail of a charming orange -color, somewhat patched with blue.</p> - -<p>Like all the islanders, I knew well how to manage a -boat, and I could see that my little bark was entirely sea-worthy. -I provisioned her for a long voyage, being mindful, -of course, of the return. With a light and favorable -wind above and an ebbing tide, I set sail.</p> - - -<h3><i>He Sails Across the Great Sea</i></h3> - -<p>As I cleared the bay and encountered the long, smooth -roll of the Great Sea, I thought, sitting with my hand on -the tiller, of the dear Princess whom I had left behind -me. I remembered that I had charged her with selfishness, -and I began to doubt whether I had been altogether -just. For the first time within my memory, I felt a little -uneasy on the subject of my own conduct. However, this -shadow lasted only a moment. I sang as I sailed.</p> - -<p>The weather was superb, and the sea, under moderate -winds, never rose above a long and quiet swell. During -the entire voyage there was nothing more exciting than<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[63]</a></span> -an occasional gull on easy wing circling about the peak of -my mast, and the flying fish now and then skimming low -across the surface of the sea.</p> - -<p>As I neared the far shore of the Great Sea, the green -of the water became a deep indigo, and I could not but -rejoice in the lovely effect amidst that expanse of rich color -of the orange of my sail. I had held the course prescribed -by the sorcerer, and I knew that I should pick -up the Three-Spire Rock on sighting land.</p> - -<p>It came to pass as I expected. My faithful boat slipped, -early of a luminous evening, into the placid waters of a -little bay. On either hand a promontory of noble height -jutted out into the sea, and from the shallow water near -the shore, against the inmost curve of the beach, rose in -three pinnacles a great, black rock, washed by a gentle -and surfless tide, and towering above as tall as the masts -of a ship: the Three-Spire Rock, beyond a doubt.</p> - -<p>I ran my boat almost up to the beach, the tide being -at flood, and anchored there. I put on my fine white -leather suit, as being suitable for the visit I had now to -make, and waded ashore with a line which for further -security I made fast to a log partly imbedded in the sand. -I then climbed upon the shoreward side of the Three-Spire -Rock, and began my search for the Laughing Nymph.</p> - -<p>I examined every inch of that side of the rock as far -as I could climb, without finding any sign of an opening. -I made my way slowly around the rock to the seaward -side, examining it carefully as I went, still without success. -I reached the outer side of the rock in despair.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[64]</a></span>The light of day was fast waning, and I would soon be -forced to give up my search for the night. The water, -which swelled and receded noiselessly about the rock, became -black and unfriendly. It was very lonesome. Not -a gull nor curlew nor sandpiper could be seen anywhere. -The place was too silent altogether. I pressed along the -seaward face of the rock.</p> - -<p>Before me, at a little distance, the tide had filled to -the brim a sort of bowl in the rock, open toward the bay, -in which the water stood some five or six feet deep. I -came to this bowl and paused to select the best way for -clambering round it. I looked down into the still water -which filled it, and saw there a sight which almost made -my heart stop beating.</p> - - -<h3><i>He Finds a Child in a Pool of the Rock</i></h3> - -<p>Floating there was the body of a drowned child. I gave -a cry of pity and stooped down to look at him. It was -a naked boy of some two years, exceedingly beautiful. I -stooped lower and gazed into his upturned face. It was -the face of my own child.</p> - -<p>It could not be; I had myself seen him, with my own -eyes, far from here, in his mother’s arms, many months -ago,—and yet, the longer I gazed upon him, the more -certainly I knew that it was my own child. I could not -be deceived. I leaned down closer and put my arms under -him and drew him up and folded him to my breast. -He was cold and wet, but beautiful beyond anything I had -ever dreamed of him. I stood up, and held his cheek<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[65]</a></span> -against my own. It seemed to me I had never known -until this moment how dear he had been to me. I leaned, -almost fainting, against the face of the rock, and rested -his fair round body in my arm for a moment against a -smooth shelf in the wall. His little shoulder lightly touched -the rock; and where it touched, a slight depression seemed -to appear, as if the rock had been a cushion. As I looked, -the depression grew deeper and wider; it deepened and -widened until it became a hollow vault, in which I could -see nothing but darkness.</p> - -<p>Holding the fair boy close to my breast, I stepped into -the dark vault, and walked carefully forward toward the -interior of the rock. In a moment the passage made a -turn to the right, and I found myself in a brightly lighted -room with a peaked ceiling, very lofty, whose floor and -walls were all of mother-of-pearl. In sconces on the walls -were hundreds of burning candles, and divans and chairs -covered with the richest silks were ranged beneath them. -A door in the opposite wall stood open, and I entered -through this another room of the same kind, with peaked -ceiling, candles, mother-of-pearl, and all. As I stood in -this room I heard the tinkling of a musical instrument and -the singing of a voice. A door stood open opposite me -as before, and through this I entered a third room, precisely -like the others, and stopped in amazement. There, -on a divan against the wall, under a blaze of candles, sat -my wife.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[66]</a></span></p> - - -<h3><i>The Laughing Nymph in the Three-Spired Rock</i></h3> - -<p>She was singing gayly and accompanying her song upon -a lute. When she saw me she laughed merrily and bade -me sit down beside her. I remained standing where I was, -doubting whether I had lost my senses, and hugging the -beautiful child to my breast. There was no mistake. It -was my wife indeed. I forgot for the moment the strangeness -of the encounter, and went to her and held out the -child.</p> - -<p>“See!” I cried. “Have done with laughing! Your -child! He is drowned! I have brought him to you! -See!”</p> - -<p>She looked at me with such merriment in her face as -I had never seen there before. She laughed again and -again. I thought she would never have done laughing. -I was petrified with horror.</p> - -<p>“Stop!” I cried. “I must make you understand me! It -is your child! Do you understand? Can you look at him -and laugh? For shame, for shame!”</p> - -<p>She calmed her laughter somewhat.</p> - -<p>“Why, what is there in that,” she said, “to make me -weep? If you only knew how ridiculous you look! Oh, -dear!” And she went off into a peal of laughter gayer -than before.</p> - -<p>“Take him!” I said. “Look down at that little face, -and smile again if you dare!” And I laid him in her lap.</p> - -<p>She took him up carelessly and placed him out of her -way on the divan.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[67]</a></span>“Really,” she said, “you mustn’t expect to disturb me -with these things. I was singing a lovely new song when -you came in. Listen!” And she took the lute in her -hands and began to sing a stave of her song.</p> - -<p>I felt a wave of anger rise within me. I rushed upon -her blindly and tore the lute from her hands and dashed -it on the floor. I seized her shoulders and shook her -violently; and the more violently I shook her the more -she laughed. I bethought me of the pin which lay in -my pocket, and at the same time there flashed into my mind -what the sorcerer had said about the Laughing Nymph; -I had quite forgotten them both. I snatched the pin -forth from my pocket with my left hand, and closing my -eyes plunged it deep into the left arm of the Laughing -Nymph.</p> - -<p>She did not scream with pain, but her laughter instantly -ceased. She looked at me with surprise, as if she were -now seeing me for the first time. An expression of -reproachful sorrow came over her face; tears started -into her eyes and rolled down her cheeks; and suddenly -she buried her face in her hands and wept bitterly. -She arose, and threw herself on her knees beside the child -and called to him wildly, sobbing as if her heart would -break.</p> - -<p>I looked on for a moment with my brain in a whirl. A -strong impulse of love and pity moved me to put my arm -around her and comfort her; but I restrained myself, and -in that moment I saw what it all meant; I left the Laughing -Nymph still weeping beside the child, and fled.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[68]</a></span></p> - - -<h3><i>The Second Black Hair Is Gone</i></h3> - -<p>Outside, on the beach, under the stars, I collected my -disordered wits. I went to the little cabin in my boat, and -gazed at myself in the mirror which hung upon its wall. -My eyes were unnaturally large and hollow; my cheeks -were pale; and the black hair which had been on the right -side of my head was gone.</p> - -<p>I gathered together such provisions as I could carry, -and seeing that the boat was well secured, I departed -upon my third and last adventure.</p> - -<p>Many days I traveled. The sorcerer had given me my -course with much particularity, and there was no question -of losing my way. My thoughts were sad company, and -yet I felt a kind of elation. I began to look back on myself -with horror, and to remember the sweetness of my -Princess with admiration and love.</p> - -<p>One morning I ascended a long wooded hill and stood -upon its top. Below me, at no great distance, lay a river, -curved at this point outward like a crescent. On its farther -side stretched a field some two miles deep, grown high -with grass and flowers, and bounded at its rear by a high -cliff whose walls at either end met the river, enclosing the -field so that its shape, between them and the river, was -roughly that of a half-moon. It was, without a doubt, -the pasture of Korbi, beside the river Tarn. The time for -my last adventure had arrived.</p> - -<p>I descended rapidly to the river, first leaving my pack -in a safe place, and waded across the stream; it came to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[69]</a></span> -my shoulders, but I had no difficulty in reaching the other -side. I pressed forward through the tall grass to the -foot of the cliff. I walked along its base until I found -above me on its face, somewhat higher than my reach, a -circle of white stones; and by this I knew that it was at -this point that I must climb.</p> - -<p>The ascent was excessively difficult. I mounted, with -great pain, to a point so high that I no longer dared -look below; I fixed my eyes on each crevice and cranny -as they appeared above me, and tried to think of nothing -but my next step upward. I was nearing the top. I looked -up, and saw directly overhead a great bowlder which projected -from the face of the cliff, evidently at its very summit. -This was the bowlder of which the sorcerer had spoken -as the abode of the Great Horned Owl. A dozen more -painful steps brought me to the under side of the bowlder. -I clung to the cliff with both hands, and without a sound -crept along its face until I was out from under the bowlder -on its left side, and then climbed noiselessly upward until -I stood beside the bowlder so as to look across its top. -There I saw, at my right, the object of my search.</p> - - -<h3><i>The Great Horned Owl Stands Ready for the Loop of -Thread</i></h3> - -<p>The Great Horned Owl was standing motionless, his -wide eyes staring across the valley of the Tarn. I was -thankful that in that bright light of the sun he was blind. -He did not turn his head in my direction, and he was -evidently unaware of my presence. His feathers, as I<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[70]</a></span> -could see, were flakes or scales of some shining metal. -He looked harmless enough, and I felt myself full of confidence.</p> - -<p>The hand which was nearest him was my right. Holding -on to the cliff with my left, I took from my pocket, -with my right, the thread which the sorcerer had given me, -and cleared the loop so that I could drop it over the creature’s -head without tangling. I leaned across the bowlder -toward him, keeping very quiet, and brought my right -hand with the loop so close to him that I could have touched -him. With that hand I held the loop above his head and -began to lower it. It came down closer and closer; it -reached the top of his head; I held my breath; my eyes -were fixed on his; I lowered the loop another inch or two, -until it came to his curved beak, without touching him; -and I was about to drop it over his neck,—when suddenly -he flapped his wings and fluttered his feathers all together; -and all the little metal plates on his body striking one another -gave off a rattling discharge of sharp reports, so -violent that I thought the cliff was being blown to pieces. -I jumped with fright, and scarcely refrained from uttering -a cry; but I held my tongue, and dropped the loop around -his neck.</p> - -<p>Instantly the metal feathers were still and the noise -ceased, and the owl turned his head slowly toward me -and stared straight into my face; and as he gazed at me, -all at once it came to me that I had dropped the noose -with my right hand instead of my left. I was aghast at -my mistake. I tugged at the thread frantically, but the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[71]</a></span> -owl did not budge. I began to grow dizzy. My arm -tingled and grew numb. Everything turned black before -my eyes. I could not remember where I was. I swayed -and lost my balance; I felt myself falling; I clutched wildly -for support, but touched nothing; I felt myself falling -through space, falling, falling, as a person falls in a dream, -for hours as it seemed, sick and dizzy. Only once did I -touch anything, and then I felt in my knee a sharp pain, -and was conscious that I was bleeding from a cut; and then -I knew no more.</p> - -<p>When I came to myself, I was standing at the foot -of the cliff, where I had commenced my ascent. I looked -upward, and wondered that I was alive after such a fall. -As my eye traveled downward and rested on the circle -of white stones above me I noticed in their center a little -splotch of blood, evidently from my knee where it had -been cut in my fall; and as I continued to look, the splotch -grew into a blood-red flower, waving on a long stem. I -felt a strange desire to take the flower in my teeth and -tear it.</p> - - -<h3><i>Alb Sees in the River the Reflection of a Unicorn</i></h3> - -<p>I wondered whether anything had happened to the hair -in the middle of my head. I went to the river, and looked -down at myself in a clear pool near the bank. I was surprised -to see there the reflection of a small white horse’s -head. I turned round, to see the animal which must have -been looking over my shoulder. No animal was there. I -could not understand it. I looked again at the surface of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[72]</a></span> -water; the same head met my gaze; a small white horse’s -head, and in the center of it a sharp, white horn. I looked -behind me again, and again into the river. I stood in -the water, and saw there the full image of the little white -horse. It was myself.</p> - -<p>Thus (said the young man, sitting in the half-moon -pasture of Korbi, by the river Tarn), you know my story. -I have kept count of the days since my enchantment, and -they now amount to two years; the age of my little son -when he was drowned. You have taken from me the third -black hair, and I shall now fly back to my beloved Princess, -cured of the curse of perpetual happiness, to spend with -her the remainder of my days in blessed light and shadow, -peace and storm, laughter and tears.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p><i>“I wonder,” said Bojohn thoughtfully, after a moment’s -silence, “who the old man was who gave him the curse in -the first place.”</i></p> - -<p><i>“Did Alb tell you,” said Bodkin, “who the old man -was?”</i></p> - -<p><i>“No,” said Solario; “I don’t believe he ever knew. But I -happen to know, myself, because it was revealed to me in -the course of the story which was told me by—”</i></p> - -<p><i>“Tell us! Tell us!” cried the two boys.</i></p> - -<p><i>“No,” said Solario, “it is much too late, and I must -now, if you will permit me, bid you good night.”</i></p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[73]</a></span> - - - -<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/i_073.jpg" alt="" /></div> - - -<h2 class="nobreak">THE THIRD NIGHT<br /> - -<small>THE SON OF THE TAILOR OF OOGH</small></h2></div> - - -<p class="drop-cap"><i>THE King was engaged with the Master of the -Wardrobe in a game of chess in the throne room, -and the Princess Dorobel (the King’s daughter) -and her husband Prince Bilbo were looking on.</i></p> - -<p><i>In the next room the Queen was at dominoes with the -Second Lady in Waiting, and Prince Bojohn (her grandson) -and his friend Bodkin came and stood behind their -chairs.</i></p> - -<p><i>“Grandmother,” said Bojohn, “wouldn’t you like to -hear a story?”</i></p> - -<p><i>“Not now, my dear,” said the Queen, and she put down -a double five, smiling at the Lady in Waiting.</i></p> - -<p><i>“Come along, then,” said Bojohn to Bodkin. They went -into the throne room, and stood behind the King’s chair.</i></p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[74]</a></span><i>“Grandfather,” said Bojohn, “wouldn’t you like to hear -a story?”</i></p> - -<p><i>“You made a fatal mistake in moving your knight,” said -The King. “I will now move my bishop and put you in -check. So!”</i></p> - -<p><i>“Grandfather!” said Bojohn. “Wouldn’t you like -to—”</i></p> - -<p><i>“Take your time, take your time,” said the King. “If -you move out of check, I’ll have you in three moves. See -if I don’t!”</i></p> - -<p><i>“Grandfather!” said Bojohn.</i></p> - -<p><i>“Ah!” said the King. “That’s different. Hum. Ha. -I didn’t think you’d do that. Plague take it, now I’ve got -to think up something else.”</i></p> - -<p><i>The Princess Dorobel placed her arm around the shoulder -of Bojohn her son. She was radiant in a white evening -gown, and she wore pearls in her hair.</i></p> - -<p><i>“Never mind, my dear,” said she, “</i>I’d <i>like to hear a -story.”</i></p> - -<p><i>“And father too!” said Bojohn. “Come along, both -of you!”</i></p> - -<p><i>The Princess Dorobel put her arm in her husband’s, and -hurried him away after the two boys, who were already -going out at the door.</i></p> - -<p><i>They followed the boys through dark halls and up a -staircase into the northeast tower, and stopped, all four, -before the door of Solario’s room. Prince Bojohn knocked, -and a voice from within bade them enter.</i></p> - -<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/i_074fp.jpg" alt="" /></div> -<p class="caption">Mortimer the Executioner was being measured by Solario for a suit</p> - -<p><i>Mortimer the Executioner, seven feet tall and vast as a</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[75]</a></span> -<i>hogshead around the middle, was standing in his shirt -sleeves beside the table, and before him stood Solario on a -chair, measuring him with a tape. On the table lay a pile of -cloth, with shears, chalk, needles, thread, and wax.</i></p> - -<p><i>Solario jumped down from his chair and bowed. He was -plainly in high good humor.</i></p> - -<p><i>“Be seated, be seated, I pray you,” he cried, bringing up -chairs in a hurry. “This is a great honor; a very great -honor indeed. You see me in the midst of my— Pray -be seated. Will you excuse me while I note down the shoulder -measurement?” He bent over the table, and jotted -down some figures in a book. “Mortimer,” said he, “you -may go now. We will continue our labors in the morning.”</i></p> - -<p><i>Mortimer, in confusion, hastily put on his coat, which -caused a couple of white mice to jump from his pockets and -run up his sleeves.</i></p> - -<p><i>“Don’t go,” said the Princess Dorobel. “We are about -to ask our good friend Solario for a story, and I am sure -you would like to hear it.”</i></p> - -<p><i>“Yes,” said Prince Bilbo, “we have come to hear another -story, if you will be good enough to—”</i></p> - -<p><i>“The story of Montesango’s Cave!” cried both boys, -together.</i></p> - -<p><i>“Or the Roving Griffin!” cried Bojohn.</i></p> - -<p><i>“Or the Blind Giant!” cried Bodkin.</i></p> - -<p><i>“If you will pardon me,” said Solario, “I think that it -would please Prince Bilbo and the Princess better, perhaps, -to hear the story told me by the Black Prince on the memorable -night when—”</i></p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[76]</a></span><i>“Don’t forget,” said Bodkin, “we want to hear about -the old man with the shaggy eyebrows, who got the golden -chain away from the goldsmith’s son.”</i></p> - -<p><i>“I will tell you,” said Solario, “about the old man and -about the Black Prince at the same time.”</i></p> - -<p><i>“We know nothing,” said Prince Bilbo, “about any old -man with shaggy eyebrows.”</i></p> - -<p><i>“I’ll tell you, father!” said Bojohn; and he told what he -knew. “Now then!” he said to Solario. “Please go on!”</i></p> - -<p><i>Solario the tailor seated himself cross-legged on his table, -and the others drew up their chairs before him in a row.</i></p> - -<p><i>“Has the old man with the shaggy eyebrows,” said Prince -Bilbo, “something to do with the Black Prince?”</i></p> - -<p><i>“Precisely, sir,” said Solario. “If you are ready, I will -relate to you the story which the Black Prince told me on -the memorable night when— However. Are you ready?”</i></p> - -<p><i>“Dear me!” said the Princess Dorobel. “This is very -cozy, indeed.”</i></p> - -<p><i>“Go on!” cried Bojohn; and Solario, picking up his -shears and gazing at them thoughtfully for a moment, began, -in the following words,</i></p> - - -<h4>THE STORY OF THE BLACK PRINCE</h4> - -<p>You must know, most excellent Solario (said the Black -Prince) that my father, the King of Wen, called me to -him one morning, and taking me into his private cabinet, -spoke to me as follows.</p> - -<p>“My son,” said he, “you are aware what anxiety I have -suffered, throughout my reign, regarding my city of Oogh,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[77]</a></span> -by reason of its remoteness from my castle. I have, as -you know, been unable to visit it since my early youth. -It is now some four years since I sent to that city, to govern -it in my stead, our friend Urban, so well-beloved among -us for his unfailing courtesy.”</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p><i>“Oh!” said Bojohn. “That must be the Courteous -Stranger.” Solario said, “Precisely.”</i></p> - -<p>“For many months,” continued my father, the King of -Wen, “I have had no word from him, and I fear that some -misfortune has befallen him. I design therefore, my son, -to send you to the city of Oogh, to find out what is wrong, -and if necessary to lend him aid. It will be best for you -to enter the city without making yourself known. Your -mission may be dangerous, and I accordingly wish you to -wear this doublet, which will protect you against all harm -so long as it remains intact. I know of no power which -can remove it from your person, or detach from it even a -single button; but I warn you to be careful, for any injury -to it will deprive it of all virtue, and the consequences -to you in that case might be serious. Take the doublet -from me with your left hand, and I will tell you how I -came into possession of it.”</p> - -<p>Thereupon my father with his left hand placed the -doublet in my left hand, and commenced</p> - - -<h4>THE STORY OF THE MAGIC DOUBLET</h4> - -<p>“When I was a young man,” said my father,—</p> - -<p><i>“Please excuse me, Solario,” said Prince Bilbo; “don’t</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[78]</a></span> -<i>you think it might be better to go on with the main story, -without stopping to—”</i></p> - -<p><i>“Really, I think it would,” said the Princess Dorobel.</i></p> - -<p><i>“Oh, mother!” said Bojohn.</i></p> - -<p><i>“If it is your pleasure,” said Solario, “I will omit the -story of the magic doublet for the present.”</i></p> - -<p><i>“I really think it would be better,” said the Princess -Dorobel.</i></p> - -<p><i>“Oh, shucks,” said Bojohn to Bodkin, in a whisper.</i></p> - -<p>“This is the doublet,” said my father when he had finished -his story, “which, as I have told you, was made by -the One-Armed Sorcerer with his left hand. Prepare now -for your journey, my son, and good fortune attend you.”</p> - -<p>All that day I spent in preparation, and early on the next -morning I set forth for the city of Oogh. My daughter, -the Princess Amadore, implored me to take her with me. -She was ever of an ardent and adventurous spirit, and she -would not listen to my objections on the score of danger. -She usually had her way with me, and I knew from the -first that there was no use in resisting her entreaties; and -the upshot of it was that I yielded, though much against my -judgment.</p> - - -<h3><i>The Prince and His Daughter Set Forth for Oogh</i></h3> - -<p>In due time we made our way to the city of Fadz on the -seacoast, where we took ship for Oogh; and for some two -weeks we sailed the Great Sea with favorable winds. At -the end of that time we were blown out of our course by -storms, and took shelter in the Island Kingdom, at a port<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[79]</a></span> -called Ventamere, whence we visited the kingdom’s capital -city, and arrived there in time to witness, as the King’s -guests, the marriage of his daughter the Princess Hyla to -one Alb, a goldsmith’s son, a youth of exceedingly cheerful -and engaging manners. This ceremony over, we returned -to Ventamere, and there took ship once more for -Oogh.</p> - -<p>No further accident delayed us, and after a week we -sighted that part of the mainland which my father had -described to me. At my direction we were put ashore, my -daughter and myself, at a point where, as I knew, I should -find the road to Oogh.</p> - -<p>Leaving orders for the ship to ride at a safe distance -from shore against our return, we turned our faces inland; -but before going further, I darkened my face, neck, -and hands with walnut juice, and dressed myself in patched -and threadbare clothing. I put on my magic doublet, but -concealed it beneath a rude blue smock. I tried to persuade -my daughter to darken her face also, but she positively -refused to ruin her complexion, as she expressed it, -and I now regretted bitterly that I had brought her with -me. I was able to persuade her, however, to put on a -coarse and tattered gown, but she did it very unwillingly. -I had provided myself with some trinkets of silver, odds -and ends of lace and silk, and children’s toys, and these -I now slung on my back in a pack. Thus, in the character -of a peddler and his daughter, we set forth upon the road -to Oogh.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[80]</a></span></p> - - -<h3><i>A Strange Encounter at a Wayside Well</i></h3> - -<p>Late in the afternoon we saw before us the roofs of -the city, and at the end of the road a gate in the city wall. -At the same time we perceived, in a clump of trees, a wayside -well, and we were hastening toward it, being tired -and thirsty, when we heard a voice in that direction, which -was exclaiming angrily:</p> - -<p>“There! Take that! I hate you, I hate you! Oh, if -I could never see you again!”</p> - -<p>Hearing no reply to this outburst, and wondering who -it was that could take such language in silence, we hurried -forward, and saw, standing beside the well, under the trees, -a boy and no one else; a boy of some twelve years of age, -dressed in a gorgeous robe of pale yellow silk; a singularly -beautiful boy, with great dark eyes and curly dark hair, -but a face extremely pallid and stained with tears; a face, -in fact, the saddest I had ever seen in a child. He was -picking up from the wet ground beside the well handfuls -of mud, and spattering his silk robe with it; and as we -arrived he tore from his head a cap of spotless white -velvet and stamped it into the mud, crying out, “I won’t -wear you any more, I won’t! I hate you!” And then he -burst into tears and flung himself full length on his face -in the mud, beating the ground with his hands and muttering -brokenly to himself.</p> - -<p>We paused in astonishment, but my daughter, recovering -herself quickly, ran to him and put her hand on his -shoulder. He sat up, startled. He rose to his feet timidly,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[81]</a></span> -and gazed at us with big round eyes, trying to choke -back his sobs. He was mud from head to foot, and his -gorgeous robe was ruined.</p> - -<p>My daughter coaxed him to tell her what was the matter, -but he made no answer; instead, he pulled off the ruined -robe and flung it in the mud, and standing in his shirt and -breeches stamped upon it and burst into tears again, and -cried, “I won’t wear it! I want to be poor! I want to be -like the others! Oh, the wicked Eyebrow! Why can’t -he be good like the others? Oh, if I could only cut off -the Eyebrow and make him poor and good like the others!”</p> - -<p>My daughter took his hand and begged him to tell her -his trouble, but all he would say was, “He’s wicked, and -I want him to be good like the others! And to-night he’s -going to give the Blind Bowler to Goolk the Spider, and -I can’t stop him, I can’t stop him!” And he broke into a -fresh storm of sobbing.</p> - -<p>My daughter shook her head at me pityingly.</p> - -<p>“We are very sorry, my lad,” said I, “and I ask you -to trust us. We are going into the city, and perhaps when -you know us better you will tell us all about it. We should -like to help you. Will you come with us?”</p> - -<p>“What can a peddler do against the Eyebrow?” said -the boy,—but he dried his tears, and allowed my daughter to -lead him forth by the hand into the road.</p> - -<p>We could make nothing of the boy’s wild talk, but we -went onward without questioning him further, and drew -near to the city in silence. Beside the city gate, under the -wall, a crowd of idle people were gathered, and from the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[82]</a></span> -center of the group we could hear voices singing together -hoarsely. In a few minutes we were in the midst of the -crowd, and saw what it was the idlers were looking at.</p> - - -<h3><i>The Three Blind Ballad Singers</i></h3> - -<p>Three blind men were singing a comic ballad in loud -voices, and prancing up and down in time, with such antics -that the crowd roared with delight. Each of the three -held in his hand a sheaf of papers,—ballads, undoubtedly, -intended for sale to the onlookers. Suddenly they stopped, -each with a hand at his ear, and looked up at the sky as if -listening.</p> - -<p>“Is there a stranger here?” cried one of them.</p> - -<p>“A peddler and a maid!” shouted one of the crowd. -“All tattered and torn!”</p> - -<p>“With eyebrows?” cried the ballad singer.</p> - -<p>“Yes! yes!” said several of the crowd together.</p> - -<p>I did not like this sort of attention very well, and I -was about to draw my daughter away, when the ballad -singers faced with one accord in my direction and began -to cry, “Buy our ballads! Ho, master Eyebrows! Buy -our ballads! Welcome to Oogh, master Eyebrows!”</p> - -<p>The faces and heads of these three fellows were covered -with black hair; but I now noticed that not one of them -had the vestige of an eyebrow; and I observed further -that there was not an eyebrow amongst all the crowd, with -the exception only of the boy at my side; and as to him, -the people, when they saw him, suddenly fell silent, and -backed away from him with something like fear in their<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[83]</a></span> -eyes. The boy observed it, as I could see, and looked as -if he were going to cry again.</p> - -<p>“What do we say, brothers,” shouted one of the ballad -singers, “what do we say to the damsel in the tattered -gown? Shall one of us marry the tattered damsel? Oh, -yes, oh, yes! Tra la, tra la,—”</p> - -<p>He paused, as if waiting for a laugh; but the crowd -did not laugh any more, and my daughter was herself in -fact the only one who seemed to be amused. As for myself, -I was beginning to be angry.</p> - -<p>“We’ll marry the Lady Tatters!” cried the blind man. -“O-o-oh!” And he burst into a loud song, in which the -other two joined, all three prancing up and down meanwhile -in a ridiculous dance. So far as I can recollect it, -their song went something like this:</p> - - - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="indent2">“O Lady Tatters! O Lady Tatters!</div> -<div class="verse">We scorn the fellow who basely flatters,</div> -<div class="verse">But we can’t help saying that nobody matters</div> -<div class="indent1">But you, fair lady, but you, but you!</div> -<div class="indent1">Tra la, tra la, tra la, tra la,</div> -<div class="verse">We know that it’s generally customary</div> -<div class="verse">In cases like these to be shy and wary,</div> -<div class="verse">For often enough in matrimony</div> -<div class="verse">There’s plenty of gall mixed in with the honey,</div> -<div class="indent1">How true that is! how true! how true!</div> -<div class="indent1">Tra la, tra la, tra la, tra la,</div> -<div class="verse">But under existing circumstances</div> -<div class="verse">Every fellow must take some chances,</div> -<div class="verse">Refusing to bother concerning expenses</div> -<div class="verse">And other deplorable consequences,</div> -<div class="verse">Cheerfully scorning each friendly warning,—</div> -<div class="indent1">How few regard it! how few! how few!<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[84]</a></span></div> -<div class="indent1">Tra la, tra la, tra la, tra la,</div> -<div class="indent2">O Lady Tatters! O Lady Tatters!</div> -<div class="verse">We’ve duly considered these difficult matters,</div> -<div class="verse">And now, without any reservation,</div> -<div class="verse">We’re ready to enter the marriage relation!</div> -<div class="verse">You’ve only to view our reliable faces</div> -<div class="verse">And gaze on our truly superlative graces,</div> -<div class="verse">To note that the suitors by whom you’re attended</div> -<div class="verse">Come really remarkably well recommended,—</div> -<div class="indent1">Buy it’s all in the point of view! How true!</div> -<div class="indent2">It’s all in the point of view!</div> -<div class="indent1">Tra la, tra la, tra la, tra la,—”</div> -</div></div> - -<p>“Silence, rogues!” I cried, out of all patience at their -impudence, but my daughter burst out laughing. It was -ever her way to be amused rather than annoyed.</p> - -<p>“Master Eyebrows!” shouted the first ballad singer. -“Choose one of us for the tattered damsel! What will -you take for her? Speak.”</p> - -<p>“You shall have the Shears!” shouted the second ballad -singer.</p> - -<p>“The Shears of Sharpness!” shouted the third.</p> - -<p>“See, Eyebrows!” cried the first. “The Shears of Sharpness!”</p> - - -<h3><i>The Blind Ballad Singer Displays the Shears of Sharpness</i></h3> - -<p>He drew from under his gown a pair of tailor’s shears, -and as he did so the crowd fell back as if in alarm. He -stepped toward the city wall, and placed his hand on a -flat iron bar, some two or three inches in width, supporting<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[85]</a></span> -an awning over a booth; and applying his shears to it, -he cut it through and through as if it had been paper. I -gasped in amazement; never had I seen a pair of shears -like those.</p> - -<p>“The Shears for the lady!” cried the blind man. “Come, -Eyebrows, choose!”</p> - -<p>“Impudent rascal,” said I, “the lady is my daughter, -and I foresee that a good scourging is awaiting you. Come, -Amadore!”</p> - -<p>“But buy our ballads!” cried the second ballad singer. -“Buy our ballads!” cried the others, and each of the three -thrust toward me one of his papers.</p> - -<p>I took them, and paying over a few coppers, moved on -toward the city gate. “Father!” said Amadore in my -ear. “The boy is gone!”</p> - -<p>It was true. The boy had slipped away, and was gone. -The idlers began to laugh again, and I drew my daughter -after me into the city.</p> - -<p>In a moment we were standing in a street of shops, -and my daughter, laughing again, begged me to read my -ballads. I glanced at the sheets, still angry, and was -about to toss them away, when I observed that they were -blank, or nearly so, and I looked at them more closely.</p> - -<p>On the first were written these words, and nothing more: -“Hurry. Hurry.”</p> - -<p>On the second I found these words only: “The Cobweb -Room in the Governor’s Palace.”</p> - -<p>On the third were these words only: “The Eyebrows of -Babadag the Tailor.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[86]</a></span>I stared at my daughter in perplexity; but she urged -that these could be no other than messages on behalf of -our friend Urban, and that we must find him without a -moment’s delay. We walked on briskly, intending to inquire -our way to the governor’s palace.</p> - - -<h3><i>The Strange Conduct of the People of Oogh</i></h3> - -<p>As we went on, we became aware of a general and oppressive -stillness. A few people were in the street, and -some could be seen inside the shops; but they conversed in -low tones, and they seemed to be idle, indifferent, and -listless. Here and there a shopkeeper sat in a chair before -his shop, gazing blankly at the opposite wall.</p> - -<p>Of the first of these shopkeepers I inquired the direction -of the governor’s palace. The man started from his reverie, -as if frightened, rose from his chair, stared at me -curiously, and without a word went into his shop and closed -the door. “Did you see?” said my daughter. “He had -no eyebrows.”</p> - -<p>At the next corner we came to an open market of stalls, -and there I repeated my inquiry. Instead of the usual -bustle and clamor of a market, there was the same silence, -though the place was thronged with people. I nudged -my daughter in surprise, for among all these people there -was not an eyebrow. The venders were making no effort, -apparently, to sell their wares, and the customers were -buying with an air of indifference, as if the business bored -them. I began to feel depressed, and even my daughter -was sober.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[87]</a></span>The market man of whom I asked my direction looked -anxiously about him before answering, and then whispered -hurriedly, “I’ve nothing to do with it. Nothing. How do -you come to be wearing eyebrows here?”</p> - -<p>Without answering him, I applied at two or three other -stalls, but the only result was a shaking of heads and a -curious, wide gaze, as of mild alarm. There was nothing -to do but to search out unaided the most pretentious house -in the city; for such a house, undoubtedly, would be the -governor’s residence.</p> - -<p>We walked the streets for more than an hour; and everywhere -was the same silence, the same listlessness, the same -apathy. “I don’t believe,” said my daughter, “that these -people have any wills of their own at all.”</p> - -<p>“Certainly,” said I, “they have no eyebrows of their -own, at least. Except for the boy who ran away from us, -I haven’t seen an eyebrow in the city. It seems strange.”</p> - - -<h3><i>The Mansion in the Ruined Park</i></h3> - -<p>We ascended a hill, and came to a park gate, at a point -from which we could see the entire city below us. Through -the gate, across the park, we saw a residence more imposing -than any we had yet seen. The gate hung wide open -on broken hinges, and the park within was in a state of -ruin.</p> - -<p>“This must be it,” said my daughter.</p> - -<p>“It seems unlikely,” said I, “but we will soon know.”</p> - -<p>We made our way across the park, through tall weeds -and tangled brambles, and stood before a splendid but<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[88]</a></span> -gloomy mansion. The door was swinging open, and we -entered.</p> - -<p>All was silent within. A sense of calamity seemed to -pervade the place; plainly it was deserted. We walked -on through spacious apartments, and everywhere was -furniture of the richest description, but covered with dust -and hung with cobwebs. We stopped finally, far within, -before a door which appeared to lead outside.</p> - -<p>“It is no use,” said I. “Our friend is gone, if he was -ever here, and we must seek him elsewhere.”</p> - -<p>“No, no,” said my daughter. “We must find the Cobweb -Room.”</p> - -<p>She led the way out into an open court green with moss -and weeds, in the center of which was a fountain with a dry -and littered basin beneath it. I stopped suddenly, and -listened. “Hark!” said I. From a distance came, or -seemed to come, the voices of the three blind ballad singers, -shouting out some ribald ballad. My daughter smiled, and -I called out, “Urban!” The singing ceased, and there was -no response to my cry. “Come,” said my daughter, and -led me around the dry fountain to an alley of cypress trees -which opened toward a section of the mansion beyond the -court.</p> - -<p>An open door at the end of this alley admitted us to a -circular chamber, very lofty, evidently an audience room, -deserted like the rest, on one side of which, on a daïs, stood -a marble seat with arms, covered with cobwebs.</p> - -<p>“Ah! Look!” said my daughter, and pointed to an -open doorway on the opposite side of the room.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[89]</a></span></p> - - -<h3><i>The Solitary Figure Behind the Spider’s Web</i></h3> - -<p>The doorway was barred from top to bottom and from -side to side with a single monstrous spider’s web. We stood -before it and looked through. Seated beside a table in a -little room with a high window barred likewise with a cobweb -was the figure of our friend, the governor of Oogh.</p> - -<p>His head was resting mournfully on his hand, and he -was staring vacantly at the floor. His hair was long and -powdered with dust; his beard had grown to a great length; -but he had no eyebrows. His hands and clothing were -white with dust, and there was around his neck, in striking -contrast, a gold chain, of very fine gold and delicate workmanship.</p> - -<p>“Urban!” I cried. “We are here!”</p> - -<p>He did not move. I called his name again, but he seemed -not to hear. He did not move nor speak. I pushed briskly -against the cobweb, but it held like wire; I could not break -through, though I dashed against it with all my strength. -I tried to cut it with a sharp knife which I wore under my -smock, but it was no use; the cobweb held, and the blade -was broken.</p> - -<p>We remained for a moment, peering in at our friend, -uncertain what to do. Who could have been the author of -this witchery? I remembered the name which had occurred -on one of the ballad singers’ sheets. I gave a last look at -the silent and motionless figure within, and led my daughter -back to the court of the dry fountain. There she sat down -on the rim of the empty basin, and looked up at the sky<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[90]</a></span> -as if listening. A faint sound, as of singing at a distance, -seemed to float down to us.</p> - -<p>“Just as I thought,” said my daughter. “It will be best -for me to remain here. I think some information will -come to me here, if I wait. Do you go down into the city, -father, and seek what you may find there. I will wait -here until you return. Don’t be uneasy, father; I shall -not be lonesome.” And she laughed, as if at some joke.</p> - -<p>I did not understand her purpose, and I refused to -leave her; but she insisted, and I gave in at last. She always -had her way.</p> - -<p>I left her, and set forth alone to obtain such information -as I could. I was passing out through the ruinous gateway -into the street, when I heard, or fancied I heard, from the -direction of the house, the voices of the three blind ballad -singers, in one of their songs; but when I stopped to listen -I could hear them no longer, and I concluded that I had -been mistaken.</p> - -<p>I reached the market place, and stood for a moment -behind an awning, debating whether I might put a question -regarding Babadag the Tailor. I was still uncertain what -to do, when a slight commotion among the people attracted -my notice. I looked out from my concealment, and saw, -approaching from the next corner, the boy whom I had -found beside the wayside well.</p> - - -<h3><i>The Prince Watches the People’s Behavior Toward the Boy</i></h3> - -<p>His face was dark with a sort of settled gloom. He -walked slowly, and as he came on the people made way for<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[91]</a></span> -him and stood whispering in groups and glancing at him -furtively over their shoulders. He paused at one of the -stalls and picking up some dates looked at the vender, -timidly and appealingly, as if about to speak; but the vender -sidled away from him toward the nearest group, and the -boy put down the fruit, sighed, and went on.</p> - -<p>He passed the place of my concealment, and by this time -tears were beginning to trickle down his cheeks. But he -held his head proudly, and looking neither to right nor to -left passed out of sight around the next corner.</p> - -<p>I followed him, hoping for some light upon the general -mystery. I followed him across the city, through many -streets, wondering why it was that a boy so gentle and so -beautiful should seem to inspire everywhere a kind of mild -and listless aversion. At one place a child ran up to him -and tugged at his garments, and the boy’s face lighted up -with pleasure; but the child’s mother pulled her infant away -in a hurry, and the boy went on, more sadly than before.</p> - -<p>He came to a street in which, for the space of a single -block, the shops and houses were evidently deserted; and in -the middle of this block, before a shop with broken windows, -deserted apparently like the rest, the boy stopped, and pushing -open the front door, went in.</p> - -<p>I came up quickly, and peeping in at the same door saw a -vacant room within, in which remnants of old merchandise -were lying about in disorder, and dirt and refuse lay everywhere -on the floor. I went in quietly and crossed the room -to a door at the rear, and opening it on a crack saw the -boy stooping down in a paved yard. I heard the boy speak,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[92]</a></span> -without hearing what he said, and saw him descend by some -means into the ground and disappear.</p> - -<p>I ran to the spot and knelt down beside an iron grating, -some three feet square, which I found there in the pavement. -I heard from below a rumble, succeeded by a clatter, and -then there was silence. Laying down my pack on the -ground I pulled at the grating, and found that it rose on -hinges, like a trapdoor. I opened it, and saw beneath it a -ladder. I stepped on the top rung, and went down.</p> - - -<h3><i>The Man with the Ball in the Underground Alley</i></h3> - -<p>At the bottom I found myself at one end of a dimly -lighted room, very long and very narrow, like an enclosed -alley; and near by was the boy, and beside him a grown man, -both intent on something at the other end of the room. The -man was swinging in his right hand a large wooden ball, -and as I watched him he cried out, laughing cheerily:</p> - -<p>“Never mind, Figli! This time I’ll make a strike! Only -forty-seven more to make! Now watch!”</p> - -<p>He hurled the ball from him along the floor, and it -rolled swiftly to the far end of the room, where it crashed -in among ten large wooden bottles, standing upright on the -floor. He was playing tenpins.</p> - -<p>“Oh!” cried the boy called Figli. “Only seven!”</p> - -<p>“Never mind, never mind,” said the Bowler, cheerfully, -and ran up the alley and set up the pins, and then ran back -with the ball, in great haste. As he came back, he appeared -to look directly at me, but gave no sign of having seen me. I<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[93]</a></span> -scanned his face closely. He was blind. His hair and beard -were black, and he had no eyebrows.</p> - -<p>The boy flung out his hands as if in despair, and cried:</p> - -<p>“It’s no use! You can’t do it! Forty-seven strikes to -make by midnight! Oh, he’ll give you to Goolk the Spider! -What shall I do? What shall I do?”</p> - -<p>“Perhaps I can help you,” said I, coming forward.</p> - -<p>The boy sprang up, and the Blind Bowler wheeled round -toward me.</p> - -<p>“Oh! it’s you,” said the boy named Figli. “What can a -peddler do against the Eyebrow?”</p> - -<p>“Who is it?” said the Blind Bowler.</p> - -<p>“It’s a stranger with eyebrows,” said Figli, “who was -kind to me to-day.”</p> - -<p>The Blind Bowler sent a ball spinning up the alley, and -all the ten pins fell down with a clatter.</p> - -<p>“A strike!” cried Figli, joyfully.</p> - -<p>“We’ll do it yet!” said the Bowler. “Only forty-six -more! Never give up! Keep everlastingly at it, that’s my -motto!” And he ran after the ball, set up the pins, and -ran back, ready to throw again.</p> - -<p>“If he has eyebrows,” said he, panting and wiping his -forehead, “he must have a will of his own; and it must be a -good will, or else he wouldn’t have been kind to you.”</p> - -<p>He rolled the ball again, knocking down only six.</p> - -<p>“Better luck next time!” he cried, and darted up the alley. -“Never say die, and keep everlastingly at it, that’s the -motto!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[94]</a></span>“My boy,” said I, “I beg you to trust me, and to tell me -who you are, and why—”</p> - -<p>“A strike!” cried the Blind Bowler. “Only forty-five to -make by midnight! Trust him, Figli! His voice is honest. -I think he is the one we have been waiting for. Trust him!”</p> - -<p>“It’s hard for me to tell you,” said the boy, “it’s too—”</p> - -<p>“I’ll tell you!” cried the Blind Bowler, running down the -alley. “His name is Figli Babadag. Does that tell you -everything?”</p> - -<p>“No, nothing,” said I.</p> - -<p>“Eight down that time!” cried the Bowler. “Never say -die! He’s the son of Babadag the Tailor. Now do you -know?”</p> - -<p>“No,” said I.</p> - -<p>“Then I must tell you,” said the Blind Bowler. “It is -Babadag who rules the city; don’t you know that? Master -of black secrets is Babadag, and lord of the Eyebrow; and -his anger is terrible. He has put the golden chain about -the Governor’s neck and shut him up in the Cobweb Room. -He has drawn the wills from out of the brains of all our -people, by plucking out their eyebrows, so that in all the city -there are but two wills only, one bad and one good: the will -of Babadag and the will of his little son. Nine down that -time! Never give up!”</p> - -<p>“Oh!” cried Figli. “I want my father to be good! I -want him to be poor and good like the others! If I could -only make him good!”</p> - -<p>“Only one way to do that!” said the Blind Bowler, halfway -down the alley. “He is lord of the Eyebrow, and in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[95]</a></span> -the Eyebrow lies his power. But the hairs of his eyebrows -are no ordinary hairs; they are of the family of gray snakes -that live in the lake Siskratoum, and there is no one to cut -them, even if there were a blade sharp enough; and they -must be cut by the hand of love, and there is no one here -that loves him, but his son. There is not one but trembles -at his name, and even at the name of Figli his son;—there -is scarcely one who dares brush against the boy in the street, -for fear of what power may lie in the eyebrows of the boy, -and for fear of his father’s malice.”</p> - -<p>“They won’t speak to me!” cried Figli. “They’re afraid -of me! And I’ve done them no harm! I only want to be -friends with them!”</p> - -<p>“You see he’s all alone. He hates his riches; he wants -to be poor and simple, like the others.”</p> - -<p>“And what about yourself?” said I.</p> - -<p>“Ah!” cried the Blind Bowler. “Only six down that -time! Not so easy, when you’ve no eyes to see with! But -keep everlastingly at it, that’s the word! What did you -say?”</p> - -<p>“What about yourself?” said I.</p> - -<p>“Oh, me! I helped the governor fight this Babadag, -and we lost; and for that the powerful one put out my eyes, -and the eyes of my three brothers as well, for nothing but -because they were my brothers; three ballad singers—”</p> - -<p>“Yes!” said I. “I have seen them.”</p> - -<p>“Ridiculous fellows, but no harm in them! And because -it was my pleasure in former times to play at bowling, -old Babadag placed me here, under my shop, to bowl a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[96]</a></span> -thousand strikes, if I could, by midnight of this very day; -and if not, to take my place in the web with Goolk the -Spider. Those ballad singers, my brothers, they would like -to help me if they could, and perhaps they will yet, who -knows? Aha! Another strike! I’ll do it yet!”</p> - -<p>“It’s no use,” said Figli. “The time’s too short. And I -can’t save him. Oh, if you could help us, peddler! But you -mustn’t do my father any harm!”</p> - -<p>“My boy,” said I, “I am a friend of the enchanted governor, -and I will do my best to help you. And perhaps the -three blind ballad singers mean to help too. I think they -do. Will you take me to your father?”</p> - -<p>The boy started in alarm. “You are very brave, peddler,” -said he. “What do you say?” he asked of the Blind -Bowler.</p> - -<p>“I say yes!” cried the Bowler. “There is hope in this -stranger. I think he’s the one we’ve been waiting for. My -brothers have been on the lookout for him. They’ll help -too. Trust him!”</p> - -<p>“Do you know any stories?” said the boy.</p> - -<p>I smiled. “A few, I dare say,” said I.</p> - -<p>“My father is a lover of tales. It’s his one weakness. It -will be safer for you if you can amuse him with tales, and -the longer they are the better.”</p> - -<p>“The wine, if he offers you any,” said the Blind Bowler, -“will be drugged; that much is sure. Take care. And do -not let yourself be touched by Goolk the Spider.”</p> - -<p>“Come,” said I. “There is not a moment to be lost.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[97]</a></span></p> - -<h3><i>The Prince Sets Out for His Encounter with Babadag the -Tailor</i></h3> - -<p>I hastened to the ladder, followed by the boy, and we -began to go up. The tenpins fell down with a clatter, and -as I reached the grating overhead I heard the voice of the -Blind Bowler from below, crying out cheerily, “Four down! -Never mind! Keep everlastingly at it!”</p> - -<p>In the paved yard I slung my pack on my back again, -and followed the boy into the street. It was beginning to -grow dark, and I thought anxiously of my daughter; but I -could not go back to her yet. During our walk the boy -spoke only once, and then he said:</p> - -<p>“You must not do my father any harm. I love my father. -I want him to be good, like the others, but I should die—I -should die!—if he came to any harm.”</p> - -<p>I did not reply, but followed for half an hour through -streets which were now almost empty of people. We entered -at last a street narrower than the others, paved with cobblestones -and without a sidewalk, and stopped before a shop -over whose door, by way of a sign, hung a yardstick and -a pair of shears. It seemed a mean enough abode for the -ruler of the city, but Figli, without hesitating, opened the -door and went in. The room inside was dark, but I could -see a tailor’s bench and implements, and a disorderly array -of half-finished garments, covered with dust. The boy -opened a door at the rear, and I followed him along a dark -passage to another door, which Figli threw open to a flood -of light.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[98]</a></span></p> - - -<h3><i>Babadag the Tailor, Goolk the Spider, and the Eight Tailors</i></h3> - -<p>We were standing in a magnificent apartment, paved with -colored marble, hung and spread with soft rugs, and lit -with hundreds of tapers. At the left, near the wall, was -sitting an old man, and behind his chair, from ceiling to -floor, was a gigantic spider’s web, which glistened like silver -in the candlelight. In the center of this web was a great -green spider, with five or six small black spiders about him. -Against the opposite wall, on a tailor’s bench, eight men, -totally without eyebrows, were sitting cross-legged, each -bending over a bowl held on his knees, filled with what -looked like shreds of hair, and engaged in some kind of -work with tiny knitting needles.</p> - -<p>The old man’s gross and heavy body was clothed in a -gorgeous robe of pale yellow silk, like that which the boy -had thrown in the mud, but embroidered with spider’s webs -of spun gold, and studded with rubies and amethysts. His -face, a rather jovial face, was covered with gray hair, -which hung over his breast, and his eyes shone like sparks -behind a pair of the shaggiest eyebrows I had ever seen. -He gazed at me calmly, and held out a hand to his son.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/i_098fp.jpg" alt="" /></div> -<p class="caption">“You are welcome, master peddler,” said Babadag</p> - -<p>The boy went to him, and Babadag the Tailor put an arm -about him and said, with very obvious tenderness:</p> - -<p>“My boy, you are late. And your robe and hat! Where -are they?”</p> - -<p>The boy threw himself on his knees beside his father, and -cried, “Oh, father! I couldn’t wear them any longer. I -couldn’t! They’re hateful! I don’t want to be dressed in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[99]</a></span> -silk! I want to be poor like the others! I can’t wear them -any longer, I can’t, I can’t!”</p> - - - -<p>The old man smiled kindly. “Never mind, my son, never -mind. I’ll not scold you. We’ll think no more about it. -Who is the visitor you have brought with you?”</p> - -<p>“It’s a peddler,” said Figli, standing up. “I don’t know -his name; a peddler I met by chance, and I’d like you to buy -me something from his pack.”</p> - -<p>I stepped forward, made my bow, and dropped my pack -to the floor.</p> - -<p>“You are welcome, master peddler,” said Babadag.</p> - -<p>The green spider gave a sharp twitch, which set the whole -web quivering.</p> - -<p>“Quiet, Goolk!” said Babadag.</p> - -<p>The eight men on the tailor’s bench stopped their work, -and said: “Welcome, master peddler!”</p> - -<p>“Knit your brows!” said Babadag, angrily, and the eight -men hurriedly resumed their knitting.</p> - -<p>I opened my pack and began to take out some toys.</p> - -<p>“Presently, presently, peddler,” said Babadag, stopping -me. “Your face is dark, stranger. A little more, and it -would have been black.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, very dark,” said the eight men, stopping their work -again.</p> - -<p>“Knit your brows!” thundered Babadag. “Accursed -dogs, be silent!—A dark stranger, who wears eyebrows in -the city of Oogh! A thing of interest! I would gladly -know who you are and what brings you here.”</p> - -<p>I was prepared with my story, and I answered promptly.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[100]</a></span>“Magnificence,” said I, “I am a peddler, and my name is -Nobbud Bald-er-Dash. If the ear of graciousness will incline -to me, I will tell an amusing tale concerning myself, -and at some length.”</p> - -<p>“A tale!” cried Babadag. “You must know, honest Bald-er-Dash, -that I am a lover of tales. A weakness! I confess -it. Come! We will make a night of it. Goolk,” said -he, rising, “come hither!”</p> - -<p>The green spider sped down the web to the floor, and -ran up the old man’s yellow silk robe, and came to a stop -on his breast, beside his beard.</p> - -<p>“It is the hour of the evening repast,” continued Babadag, -stroking the spider with his finger, “and I invite you to sit -down with me. A guest who has a tale to tell! It is good -fortune, no less! Come, Figli, my son, we will listen to the -excellent Bald-er-Dash while we dine.”</p> - - -<h3><i>The Prince Dines with Babadag the Tailor</i></h3> - -<p>He pulled aside a curtain in the wall, and leaving the -eight men at their work, we passed, all three, into an open -court, hung about with lanterns of colored glass, and odorous -with flowers. Under an awning was a small table, set for -two. It was now dark, and the lanterns shed a soft glow on -the silver and glass of the table. Servants appeared and -laid a place for myself, and the meal commenced.</p> - -<p>“You are wondering, Bald-er-Dash,” said Babadag, -“who the eight men are whom we have just left. They -are tailors, known among us as the Knitters of Eyebrows. -They are knitting for me, out of the eyebrows which my<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[101]</a></span> -good people have been so kind as to give me, a garment -known as the Cloak of Wills, which will, when finished, -complete the mastery of the fortunate person who wears it. -Try a little of this wine, my good Bald-er-Dash; you will -find it excellent.”</p> - -<p>I pretended to drink the wine, but I was able, while -Babadag’s attention was fixed on his plate, to spill a good -deal of it on the floor.</p> - -<p>“I am anxious to hear your story,” said the old man. -“The singers who sometimes entertain me at my meals are -late to-day, and we will not wait for them. Bald-er-Dash, -my good fellow, let me hear your tale.”</p> - -<p>At this moment voices were heard from the shadows, -and three men came running toward the table, crying out -boisterously.</p> - -<p>“Good news!” they were shouting. “We’re going to -marry! She’s promised! She’ll marry the one you choose, -tra la! She’ll marry the one you choose!”</p> - - -<h3><i>The Three Blind Ballad Singers Once More</i></h3> - -<p>They began to sing, at the top of their voices. I started -in surprise. It was the three blind ballad singers. “O-o-oh!” -they sang:</p> - - - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - -<div class="verse">“She wanted to marry us all, she said,</div> -<div class="indent1">But that wouldn’t do, no never,</div> -<div class="indent2">No never, no never, no, no!</div> -<div class="indent3">From suitors a dozen,</div> -<div class="indent3">Not counting a cousin</div> -<div class="indent2">And two or three uncles or so,</div> -<div class="verse">She’d freely and frankly, firmly and fairly,</div> -<div class="indent3">Flatly and finally fled!<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[102]</a></span></div> -<div class="indent1">For never a one could sing, not one,</div> -<div class="indent1">Not a line, not a note, not a thing, not one,</div> -<div class="verse">And she, she said, if she must be wed,</div> -<div class="indent1">A singer she’d have, or she’d have none,</div> -<div class="verse">For really she’d almost rather be dead</div> -<div class="verse">If she couldn’t be uninterruptedly fed</div> -<div class="indent3">On an endless tonic</div> -<div class="indent3">Of scales harmonic</div> -<div class="indent2">In every possible key,</div> -<div class="indent3">An infinite series, never finished,</div> -<div class="indent2">Of chords with all the sevenths diminished,</div> -<div class="indent2">And all the intervals less than minor,—</div> -<div class="indent2">Surely nothing could be diviner,</div> -<div class="indent1">Nothing! nothing at all, said she:</div> -<div class="indent2">And after breakfast a quaver hemi,</div> -<div class="indent2">And after dinner a quaver demi,</div> -<div class="indent2">And after supper a quaver semi,</div> -<div class="indent1">And in between, for ever and ever,</div> -<div class="indent2">Every possible kind of shake!</div> -<div class="indent1">The fact of the matter is, you see,</div> -<div class="indent3">She’d made up her mind, beyond mistake,</div> -<div class="indent1">To offer her hand to one of we!</div> -<div class="indent4">But which should it be?</div> -<div class="indent4">Which one of the three?</div> -<div class="verse">And what of the two who would have to go?</div> -<div class="indent1">What about them? she said; that’s it!</div> -<div class="indent1">She didn’t approve the idea a bit.</div> -<div class="verse">Those other two she could never forget,—</div> -<div class="verse">Just think of them out in the cold and wet!</div> -<div class="verse">Just think of their terrible, terrible woe!</div> -<div class="verse">She wanted to marry, and yet, and yet,</div> -<div class="indent1">She’d never be happy, no never,</div> -<div class="indent2">No never, no never, no, no!”</div> -</div></div> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[103]</a></span>“Silence, fools,” said Babadag, laughing. “We are about -to listen to a tale,—a tale from Bald-er-Dash the peddler. -Will you proceed now, excellent peddler?”</p> - -<p>“Willingly,” said I.</p> - -<p>At the sound of my voice, the three blind men cried out -“Aha!” and broke into a fresh song:</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - -<div class="verse">“The peddler and the peddler’s maid, oh fair as milk was she,</div> -<div class="verse">And she promised on her honor she would marry one of three,—”</div> -</div></div> - -<p>“Silence, rascals!” said Babadag.</p> - -<p>I was becoming, all this while, more and more restless, -for I had no doubt that all this talk of marriage had reference -to my own daughter. I wondered bitterly what mischief -she had been up to during my absence.</p> - -<p>“These rascals,” said Babadag, still laughing, “sometimes -I am minded to put them to death. I don’t know really why -I let them live. Now then, excellent one, let us hear the -tale.”</p> - -<p>I bowed, and while the repast proceeded, and the three -ballad singers remained standing behind our chairs, I related -to Babadag, as follows,</p> - -<h4>THE STORY OF NOBBUD BALD-ER-DASH THE PEDDLER</h4> - -<p>“In the course of my wanderings,” I began, “I arrived -one day at a spring in the wilderness, beside which were encamped -a company of—”</p> - -<p><i>“I think,” said Solario, interrupting himself, “that I cannot -conscientiously repeat this story, because—”</i></p> - -<p><i>“Oh, please!” said Bojohn. “We’d like to hear it.”</i></p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[104]</a></span><i>“No,” said. Solario, “I couldn’t, conscientiously, because -there is not a word of truth in the story, and I do not wish to -tell anything which is not strictly true.”</i></p> - -<p>During my tale (said the Prince) I pretended now and -then to take a sip of wine, and to grow drowsy, so that -toward the end I seemed to have difficulty in keeping awake. -When I had concluded, Babadag laughed and said, “I thank -you, peddler. Never in my life have I heard such a tissue -of—er—amusing facts. Some more wine, peddler.”</p> - -<p>I pretended to sip the wine again, and let my head fall -forward on my breast, and roused myself as if with a great -effort.</p> - -<p>“I am something,” said Babadag, appearing to take no -notice of my drowsiness, “of a teller of tales myself. I -will tell you in return a story, and when I have finished -you shall tell me another, if you know any, as you undoubtedly -do.”</p> - -<p>Thereupon he commenced a long and detailed story; and -I could see that as he proceeded he was watching me from -the corner of his eye. He had not spun out his tale very far -when my eyes closed and my head nodded; and after an apparent -effort to arouse myself I let my head fall forward on -the table and lie there motionless.</p> - -<p>Babadag instantly stopped, raised my head gently, and -laying it back against my chair shook me roughly, but with -no effect.</p> - -<p>“Send in the accursed dogs,” said he in a fierce whisper.</p> - -<p>I was aware, in a moment, that the eight tailors were -standing around me.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[105]</a></span>“The eyebrows!” said Babadag, and the tailors bent over -me and began to pluck at my eyebrows with instruments -of some sort.</p> - -<p>“Oh, father, father,” said Figli, “please don’t!”</p> - -<p>“Be still, my son,” said Babadag.</p> - - -<h3><i>The Magic Doublet Protects the Prince Against the Knitters -of Eyebrows and Against Goolk the Spider</i></h3> - -<p>I laughed inwardly, for I was sure that, under the protection -of my doublet, my eyebrows would reappear as fast -as they could be plucked out. And indeed, from the snort -of rage given by Babadag, I soon knew that my eyebrows -were safe. I could hear the eight tailors whispering together, -as if in dismay.</p> - -<p>“Goolk!” said Babadag, in the same angry whisper, “sting -me this false peddler!”</p> - -<p>“No, no, father,” said Figli. “Not that, oh, please!”</p> - -<p>I shivered a little, for I confess that the thought of the -spider was horrifying to me. I waited anxiously, not daring -to open my eyelids even a trifle. I assure you it was all I -could do to remain still. There was silence, and in the midst -of it I felt a tickling on my left cheek, and then a kind of -pin-prick there, and I knew that the spider had stung me.</p> - -<p>“Back, Goolk!” said Babadag. “Now, false peddler that -you are, be no longer either a prince or a peddler, but a -spider,—a black spider!—and take your place with Goolk -in the web! Change!”</p> - -<p>I felt no change, and I heard another snort of rage from -Babadag. “Some charm!” he muttered. “Some charm<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[106]</a></span> -protects him! Let us see what charm this lying stranger carries -upon him.”</p> - -<p>I felt that my smock was being lifted from my breast, and -I heard a kind of gasp from Babadag. “The doublet!” he -said. “It is plain! Off with the doublet!” And immediately -fingers were at my breast, trying to unbutton the -doublet.</p> - -<p>But they could not unbutton it. Not a button would -come through its hole.</p> - -<p>“Fetch me a pair of shears, rascals,” said Babadag, and in -a moment I knew that shears were snapping away at my -doublet. But it was no use; the blade would not cut, neither -the thread of the buttons nor the cloth; they held like iron -at every point. I heard the shears drop to the floor.</p> - -<p>“The Shears of Sharpness! Bring me the Shears of -Sharpness!” said Babadag. “Nothing else will cut this -doublet.”</p> - -<p>I heard a chuckle, and the voice of one of the ballad -singers said, “The Shears of Sharpness, brothers!” And -there was another chuckle.</p> - -<p>“What!” said Babadag. “You laugh, rascals? You -dare to laugh?”</p> - -<p>“The Shears of Sharpness!” said the voice of one of the -ballad singers. “Where are the Shears of Sharpness, -brothers?” And at this there was a very considerable -tittering.</p> - -<p>“Ask the fair lady, brother,” said the voice of another of -the ballad singers.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[107]</a></span>“She knows! The wonderful lady!” said the voice of -the third.</p> - -<p>“Ineffable scoundrels!” said Babadag. “Have you stolen -my Shears?”</p> - -<p>“No, no! Only borrowed them! What harm in that?” -said the ballad singers.</p> - -<p>“Return them to me at once!” said Babadag.</p> - -<p>I could hear the ballad singers chuckling together again. -“We would, we would,” said one of them, “we meant to, -but—”</p> - -<p>“But what, beast?”</p> - -<p>“She has them,” said one of the three.</p> - -<p>“The most wonderful of women,” said another.</p> - -<p>“She who swore she would marry one of us,” said the -third.</p> - -<h3><i>The Prince’s Daughter Has Beguiled the Shears of Sharpness -from the Ballad Singers</i></h3> - -<p>My daughter! My own daughter! She had beguiled the -Shears from these foolish vagabonds! Or had they let her -have the Shears for some purpose of their own—to help -their brother, say? I was quite bewildered.</p> - -<p>“Oh, that I should let such scoundrels live!” said Babadag, -fiercely. “Where is this woman?”</p> - -<p>“But she wouldn’t marry us unless we gave her the -Shears,” said one of the ballad singers. “No harm in -that!”</p> - -<p>“No harm in that, surely!” said the other two.</p> - -<p>“Where is this woman?” said Babadag again.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[108]</a></span>“We left her,” said one of the others, “by the dry fountain -at the governor’s palace.”</p> - -<p>“Accursed,” said Babadag, evidently addressing the eight -tailors, “pick up this peddler and follow me. We must find -the Shears. You, imbeciles that you are, I will deal with -you afterward. Goolk, back to your web!”</p> - -<p>I could not see what became of Goolk, but I knew that -the eight tailors were lifting me from my chair, and I felt -myself being borne away.</p> - -<p>“Oh, father!” cried Figli. “You mustn’t! Please let -the poor man go, oh please!”</p> - -<p>“My son,” said Babadag, in the voice of tenderness with -which he always addressed his son, “he is my enemy. I -must have him in my power. Accursed doublet!”</p> - - -<h3><i>A Light Flickers in the Dark Shop</i></h3> - -<p>In a moment I was aware that we were in the street, and -I opened my eyelids a trifle. The moon was shining. I -saw Babadag starting on before, with the three ballad -singers at his back. Behind, the eight tailors were holding -me in a sitting posture between them. I could see the shop -door, without moving my head, and as we started I beheld -Figli, coming from the door, in the act of stowing away -something, I could not see what, in the bosom of his shirt. -The shop was dark, but as Figli closed the door behind him -I noticed, flickering from within, a tiny flame of light which -had not been there before. I remarked that the boy’s -face was very pale in the moonlight.</p> - -<p>We came, after a long journey through deserted streets,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[109]</a></span> -to the little hill which led up to the governor’s palace. We -entered the ruined park, and crossed it to the mansion. -Babadag opened the door, and the company paused inside, -listening. All was silent. I had an impulse to shout, in -order to warn my daughter; but I knew that that would -be fatal, and I continued to lie inert and speechless in the -arms of the tailors. I risked opening my eyes from time to -time, and I saw that Babadag was leading the way from -room to room, all dark except for moonlight here and there -upon the floors, and that he came at last, followed by all -the others, into the court of the dry fountain; and there the -eight tailors laid me down on the ground. My heart almost -stopped beating, for fear that my daughter should be there.</p> - -<p>“Vile rascals,” said Babadag, “you have deceived me! -There is no woman here.”</p> - -<p>“Astonishing!” said one of the ballad singers. “Not -here! Who would have thought it?”</p> - -<p>“I doubt that she was ever here,” said Babadag. “Wait!”</p> - -<p>I saw him go off down the alley of cypress trees toward -the Cobweb Room, no doubt to assure himself that his -prisoner was safe, or else to seek the woman there. As -soon as he was gone, I felt a hand on my arm, and the voice -of Figli whispered in my ear, “Are you awake?” and I -pressed his hand in answer.</p> - - -<h3><i>The Prince’s Daughter Is Gone, and the Prince Makes a -Dash for Liberty</i></h3> - -<p>The eight tailors were sitting on the rim of the fountain’s -basin, mopping their foreheads and panting, and the blind<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[110]</a></span> -men were standing near them. I measured with my eye -the distance to the door from which I had come, and gave -a sudden spring toward it which carried me nearly there; -and I was off and away, before the eight tailors realized -what had happened.</p> - -<p>I scoured swiftly and silently through the dark rooms in -all directions, listening now and then for sounds of pursuit. -But I heard nothing, and I began to whisper my daughter’s -name from time to time. In a room far distant from the -court, to which I presently came, I found the door at the -opposite side closed, which in that house of open doors -struck me as being odd. A broad band of moonlight lay -across the floor, and in the dim light I could see the furnishings -of a kitchen. I approached the opposite door and -opened it cautiously, thinking to go through; but I looked -into a cupboard, hung with pots and pans, and there on the -floor of the cupboard was sitting my daughter, calmly eating -a fig.</p> - -<p>She looked up at me with a merry laugh, and sprang to -her feet.</p> - -<p>“There are very good fig trees in the park,” said she. -“Will you have one of these? No? You’ve been gone a -long time. I heard some people going through the house, -and I thought I had better wait in here. I’m going to be -married!”</p> - -<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/i_110fp.jpg" alt="" /></div> -<p class="caption">“Beauty in tatters!” said Babadag the Tailor</p> - -<p>“Come,” said I, “we’ve no time for jesting.”</p> - -<p>“But it’s the best joke!” said my daughter. “When I -think how I played on those half-wits! I’ve never had -such sport in my life! I promised to marry one of them,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[111]</a></span> -if they’d choose which—do you remember the three ballad -singers?”</p> - - - -<p>“And you have the Shears of Sharpness,” said I.</p> - -<p>“How do you know that?” said she. “They’re simply -mad! And I wouldn’t promise them anything unless they -gave me the Shears. And they did! And I promised! -And now you’ve got to get me out of it. Here are the -Shears. Take them.”</p> - -<p>“I suspect, my dear,” said I, taking the Shears from her, -“that these three imbeciles meant that you should have the -Shears all the time, and they’ve been making a bit of a -fool of you. But there’s no time for talking. Hurry!”</p> - -<p>I stepped quickly toward the door, and as I reached it -it was blocked by a huge dark figure. It was Babadag.</p> - -<p>“Not so fast, peddler,” said he; and then he saw -my daughter, who was standing in the band of moonlight, -most fairylike and beautiful. He brushed past me and -stopped before her, gazing at her in astonishment and admiration.</p> - -<p>“Beauty in tatters!” he said. “No wonder that even -blind men are conquered. You make me forget the Shears. -Surely there is no woman in Oogh so beautiful. Will you -look on me kindly? I am powerful, and I offer you a share -of my power. It is Babadag who speaks.”</p> - -<p>He held out his hand to her, and she shrank away in -horror. “No, no!” she screamed. “Father!”</p> - -<p>Babadag turned swiftly, and at that moment I sprang -upon him; but the old man snatched forth a knife, and as -I caught and held the arm which was lifted to strike, a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[112]</a></span> -small dark figure darted in from the doorway and flung -something over the old man’s neck from behind.</p> - - -<h3><i>Babadag the Tailor Is Conquered by His Little Son</i></h3> - -<p>The knife dropped from Babadag’s hand. He swayed, -tottered, collapsed, and fell full length on the floor, and lay -motionless on his back in the strip of moonlight. The little -dark figure knelt beside him. It was Figli.</p> - -<p>“Oh, father! Oh, father!” he cried. “I’m sorry, sorry! -I had to do it! I couldn’t let you kill him! It can’t go -on any longer! The eyebrows must be cut, father! It’s -only to make you like the others! We’ll both be happier, oh, -indeed we will! It’s only because I love you, father!”</p> - -<p>“I didn’t think you would have done this, Figli, my son,” -said the old man, gently. “You have put me in the power -of my enemy. Ah, Figli, my son, my son!”</p> - -<p>“I know it, I know it,” sobbed the boy, “but the lady will -give the Shears to me, and I will cut the eyebrows myself, -with my own hand. The peddler will do you no harm. -You’ll be glad, father, afterward, indeed you will.”</p> - -<p>“Ah, my son, my son! I wouldn’t have thought it of -you,” said the old man, still gently.</p> - -<p>I knelt beside him, and found around his neck a noose of -the slenderest thread, extremely tough; and the end of this -thread the boy was holding in his hand. I took it from him -and looked at him inquiringly.</p> - -<p>“Yes,” said the boy, “it was spun by Goolk the Spider, -and there is no will can stand against it, not even my -father’s. It’s the thing that made him first able to pluck out<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[113]</a></span> -the eyebrows of the people. I stole it as we left the shop -to-night. You won’t do him any harm, will you?”</p> - -<p>I stood up, keeping the end of the thread in my hand. A -patter of running feet sounded from the next room, and -the eight tailors crowded in at the doorway. They rushed -to their master, and wailed and wrung their hands. One -of them drew a pair of shears, and began to snip away at -the thread, but it was plain that no ordinary blade would -cut it, and the tailor gave it up, and the other seven wailed -louder than before.</p> - -<p>“Lift up this knave,” I said, “and follow me.”</p> - -<p>The eight tailors obeyed instantly, and our party started -back to the court of the dry fountain. I walked beside -the body of Babadag, keeping close hold of the thread. -When we reached the court, the three ballad singers were -sitting calmly on the rim of the basin, singing softly to -themselves. My daughter, ever incorrigible, greeted them -with an amused laugh, and they crowded around her, each -trying to elbow the others out of the way. At my command, -the eight tailors laid Babadag down on his back in the dry -basin. I then gave the end of the thread into the hand -of my daughter, and left them.</p> - -<p>I ran down the cypress alley to the deserted audience -chamber. I looked through the cobweb at Urban, and by -the dim light of the high window saw him sitting there -motionless as stone, in the same attitude as before.</p> - -<p>“I am here!” I cried, but he neither moved nor spoke. -I applied the Shears, and in a moment the cobweb was -hanging in shreds, and I was standing beside my friend. I<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[114]</a></span> -tried to pull him up, but I could not budge him. I lifted -the golden chain from around his neck, and dropped it to -the floor. Immediately he raised his head, stretched his -arms, looked up at me as if awaking from a dream, and -sprang to his feet.</p> - -<p>“Prince!” he cried, and threw his arms about me in a -transport of joy.</p> - -<p>I calmed him, and when he had recovered himself he said, -“What of Babadag?”</p> - -<p>“He is in the court at this moment,” said I, “bound fast.”</p> - -<p>“Good news indeed!” he cried. “Let us go!”</p> - - -<h3><i>The Governor, Being Released, Beholds the Prince’s -Daughter</i></h3> - -<p>We sped back to the court, and when Urban beheld -my daughter he scattered the blind men right and left and -clasped her hand in his. I took from her the end of the -thread and knelt in the basin beside the huge body of -Babadag, and gazed down into his eyes, glittering up at me -in the moonlight through their tangle of hair. I drew the -Shears.</p> - -<p>“No, no!” cried the boy. “You must not! Give me the -Shears! I must do it, for you do not love him, and I do! -Only the hand of love! Give me the Shears!”</p> - -<p>“No time for talking!” I cried. “This is no child’s play. -Work for a man! And I trust no one but myself! Now -for the shearing of the Eyebrow!”</p> - -<p>The boy shrieked, as if in despair, and with a mighty snap<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[115]</a></span> -of the Shears I cut in among the hairs of Babadag’s left -eyebrow.</p> - - -<h3><i>The Shearing of the Eyebrow</i></h3> - -<p>A spout of yellow smoke shot upward from his eyebrow, -and whirled and spread outward in a cloud, thick, sickening, -blinding, pierced with wriggling pencils of light, as if tiny -snakes had been set riotously free. It covered us both, so -that he was suddenly hidden from my sight. I gasped -and choked. My eyes smarted with pain. I snapped blindly -away at him through the smoke with my Shears, resolved -not to be foiled. There was a sharp crack, as of the snapping -of a whip; the Shears had cut,—alas, alas!—not the -Eyebrow, but the thread around Babadag’s neck! Instantly -the Shears were wrenched from my hand, I did not know -how; and I felt them ripping through my smock, and I -knew that some injury had been done to my doublet. A -terrible voice bellowed, “Hither, accursed dogs, and bind -me this peddler!” And the next moment I was lying on -my back, with the thread fastened securely about my neck; -and my strength was suddenly gone, and the smoke began -to clear away.</p> - -<p>I saw the old man put his arm tenderly about his son, and -heard him say, “It’s all right now, my boy. I am not angry. -You have put your father in great danger, but not from -malice; I know it well. Don’t be grieved; we’ll laugh about -it together, hereafter. All’s well again. Come, Figli, my -son. Rascals, follow me!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[116]</a></span>He stalked away with his son down the cypress alley, -and the eight tailors lifted me and bore me after, followed -by my daughter and my friend. I looked for the three blind -ballad singers, but they were gone. I was in terrible danger, -and I bitterly regretted my haste in refusing the Shears -to the boy.</p> - - -<h3><i>The Prince before the Seat of Judgment</i></h3> - -<p>In the circular audience chamber they laid me down upon -the floor. Babadag, grotesque and somber in the darkness, -seated himself in the marble armchair on the daïs; and at -the same time I heard, or fancied I heard, the voices of the -ballad singers, afar off somewhere in the palace, singing -away at one of their songs.</p> - -<p>“Pluck out the hairs!” said Babadag.</p> - -<p>“No, no!” said Figli, lying on the step of the daïs at his -father’s feet.</p> - -<p>“Quick, scoundrels!” said Babadag; and the eight tailors, -kneeling around me, plucked out with tiny instruments all -the hairs of my eyebrows, by the roots. Then, at a sign -from their master, they stood me on my feet and removed -the spider’s thread from around my neck. My strength returned, -and I found myself able to stand alone.</p> - -<p>“Gone is your power, maker of fables!” said Babadag. -“The doublet is worthless. See!” And he held up what -appeared to be the thread of a button. My smock was in -strips, and the doublet was exposed to view. One button -was missing. What had become of it? Babadag exhibited -only the thread.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[117]</a></span>“Dog of a peddler,” said he, “it is your due that I give -you to Goolk the Spider for his web.”</p> - -<p>“Spare him! Spare him!” said Figli, in a kind of moan, -rocking himself back and forth on the step of the daïs.</p> - -<p>“But Babadag is merciful,” went on the old man, “and -loves a tale; and never have I heard so amusing a tissue of -lies as that tale of Bald-er-Dash the Peddler. For that, -and for the pleasure I shall have in repeating that tale -hereafter, I spare you. You are harmless. Go! and as you -have chosen to darken your skin with juices, let it be darker -still. Go! and be you henceforth as black as night. I will -lead you to the palace gate, and speed you, with your -daughter and your friend, on your journey away from -Oogh. Return no more, peddler, for the web awaits you, -and Goolk the Spider longs for a brother.”</p> - -<p>He stepped down from his seat, and we others followed -him in silence. I was conscious of no will to resist him -further. We came to the court of the dry fountain, and -there my daughter looked into my face in the moonlight. -She screamed.</p> - -<p>We followed mournfully through the dark rooms, and -came out on the steps before the palace; and there we saw -a sight both terrible and beautiful.</p> - - -<h3><i>The Doom of the City of Oogh</i></h3> - -<p>The city was in flames. From every roof, as far as we -could see, rose sheets of fire, and sparks showered upward -into a pall of black smoke; and as we watched, new tongues<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[118]</a></span> -of flame blazed up from quarters dark before. The city -was doomed.</p> - -<p>“Ah!” said Babadag with a groan. “My city, my city!”</p> - -<p>“What have I done? What have I done?” cried Figli, -wringing his hands in anguish.</p> - -<p>“You, my son? What have you to do with this?” said his -father, never taking his eyes from the burning city.</p> - -<p>“It’s my work!” cried the boy. “But I never dreamed -of this! I set fire to the shop, our shop, before I left,—to -burn up all the black secrets in my father’s house, and to -kill Goolk the Spider, to kill him, kill him, so that he would -never get the Blind Bowler, nor any one else! So that all -the old riches and wickedness might be burned up forever! -And now, and now, I haven’t destroyed the Eyebrow, and -I’ve burned up the city! Oh, what shall I do? What shall -I do?”</p> - -<p>“My son, my son,” said Babadag, quietly, never taking -his eyes from the burning city.</p> - -<p>I recalled now the spark of fire I had seen through the -window as we had left the tailor’s shop that night.</p> - -<p>The flames of the furnace below us shot higher and -higher, and spread wider and wider in every direction.</p> - -<p>“The Book of the Shavian Magic,” said Babadag, as if -to himself. “That must be saved.”</p> - -<p>He ran down the steps and started across the park.</p> - -<p>“Father! father! where are you going?” cried Figli, -but his father paid no attention. The boy sped after him, -and we others followed.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[119]</a></span></p> - - -<h3><i>The Tailor’s Son Follows Him into the Burning City</i></h3> - -<p>Out at the park gate and down the hill ran Babadag, and -straight into the blazing ruin which was once his city. -Nothing could stop him. Flames roared on both sides of -him; sparks showered around him; walls toppled behind -him; smoke swallowed him; but he kept on. We paused -in terror; only his little boy continued to follow him, calling -to him to come back.</p> - -<p>A wall of flame shot out behind the running boy, and a -house fell crashing behind him into the street; and father -and boy were no longer to be seen.</p> - -<p>I turned away, and leaving the eight tailors wailing, I -made my way with my daughter and my friend back to the -palace; and there, on the palace steps, we sat all night long, -watching the great fire burn itself out.</p> - -<p>The sun rose on a city of smoking ruins; and with its first -rays there came plodding in through the park gate a blind -man, who called aloud as he reached the steps. It was the -Blind Bowler.</p> - -<p>“I am here,” said I, “Figli’s friend; and my daughter too, -and the governor whom once you tried to help. What -news?”</p> - -<p>“Ten strikes still lacking!” said the Blind Bowler. “But -it makes no difference now. Figli has saved me, and all -the rest of us too. Come with me.”</p> - -<p>He led us out into the street and down into the city, -where the homeless people were standing as if bewildered. -We came into the street where once had been the shop of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[120]</a></span> -Babadag the Tailor. It was there no longer; but by some -chance there yet remained the wall which held the doorway, -and above it the yardstick and the shears; and across the -sill lay Figli, on his face.</p> - - -<h3><i>The Boy Is Found on the Sill of His Ruined Home, Alive</i></h3> - -<p>My daughter ran to him and put her arm about him. He -was alive, and he shook his head and moaned, “I want my -father. I want my father.”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” said she, “your father. Is he—?”</p> - -<p>“In there,” he whispered.</p> - -<p>“Ah! He is—”</p> - -<p>“Under the wall. I saw it fall on him. He is in there.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, my poor boy!”</p> - -<p>“I killed him. And all I wanted was to make him good.”</p> - -<p>She put her arm under him and raised him, and he stood -up.</p> - -<p>“Come with me, dear boy,” said she.</p> - -<p>“I can’t go away. I can’t leave him in there. Can’t you -help me to see him?”</p> - -<p>“Not now, but later, perhaps. Come with me now, and -we will talk of him together.”</p> - -<p>“He loved me, too. He did, didn’t he? And I killed -him.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, he did, he did. But you mustn’t say that you—”</p> - -<p>“It wasn’t because I meant to harm him, was it? I -wouldn’t have harmed him, would I?”</p> - -<p>“No, no. It was just because you loved him, that was -all.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[121]</a></span>“Yes, that was it. That was all it was.”</p> - -<p>He suffered her to lead him away, and he said nothing -more, but repeated to himself, once or twice, “That was -all it was.”</p> - -<p>On my part, I spoke at length to the Blind Bowler, and -gave him many directions; and he, having received at my -hands a purse of gold, for use as I had instructed him, went -his way; and we others then walked slowly back to the -palace, where we rested on the steps, waiting, and Figli fell -asleep with his head on my daughter’s shoulder.</p> - -<p>When the sun was high in the east, people began to -come in at the park gate, and the Blind Bowler, his first -duty done, joined us on the palace steps. More people -came, and the park began to be filled with them; they came -before long in a steady stream, and at length the park was -crowded with a great multitude, from the steps to the -gate.</p> - -<p>At a signal from myself, my party on the steps arose, and -I addressed the people of Oogh. I told them who I was, -and how my skin had come to be black; I told them that I -was going away, and that their governor was resolved to -go with me; that I meant to leave a governor who would -help them rebuild their city, and lead them in the ways of -goodness and mercy; that the person whom I had selected -for that office was the boy known as Figli Babadag, whose -soundness of heart was worth to them more than the wisdom -of years; and that such wisdom as was necessary would be -supplied by him who was called the Blind Bowler, a man -who had known how to be cheerful under affliction. And I<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[122]</a></span> -asked them to say whether they would have the boy Figli -for their governor, and the Blind Bowler for his aide.</p> - -<p>A shout of approval went up from the multitude.</p> - -<p>“And will you,” said I, turning to Figli, “lead these people -in the ways of goodness and mercy, and help them to -forget?”</p> - -<p>“If you think I can,” said Figli, standing up very straight, -“I will try.”</p> - -<p>“And will you,” said I to the Blind Bowler, “keep faithfully -at his right hand, and never fail him?”</p> - -<p>“That I will!” said the Blind Bowler. “Keep everlastingly -at it, that’s the motto!”</p> - -<p>“The great King, my father,” said I, turning again to the -people, “will build your city ten times fairer than it was. I -have given directions for your help already, and food and -shelter will soon be at hand. Farewell! I leave you in the -care of a blind man and a child! A sound heart and a cheerful -mind, my friends, are better than an army. Farewell!”</p> - -<p>The multitude shouted back farewell, and my friend -Urban and myself each kissed Figli on the cheek; but my -daughter kissed him on both cheeks and hugged him to her -heart; and then we went down the steps, leaving the pale -and beautiful boy and the blind man alone, and passed out -across the park through a lane opened in the crowd, down -into the city toward the city gate.</p> - - - - - - -<h3><i>The Eight Tailors Stand Before Them in a Row</i></h3> - -<p>As we came to the last street corner before reaching the -city wall, my daughter pulled forth a handful of figs from<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[123]</a></span> -her pocket and divided them laughingly with Urban and -myself; and at that moment a party of eight men filed -solemnly from around the corner, and came to a stop before -us in a row. It was the eight tailors. They bowed -gravely, and the first one of them said:</p> - -<p>“Excellency, we implore you to take pity upon us. Our -master is gone, our occupation is gone, we are friendless -and alone; we can live no longer in the city of Oogh.”</p> - -<p>“What do you wish me to do?” said I.</p> - -<p>“We beseech you to take us with you, to be your servants, -your slaves, anything. We can sew, we can knit, we -can—”</p> - -<p>“But I am going into exile,” said I. “I am going to hide -my hideous face from the eyes of the world.”</p> - -<p>“Listen, most merciful one! It is known to us that the -missing button needs only to be sewn on the doublet by a -tailor, with the proper thread, in order that your skin -may be white again. Nine tailors are allowed for the trial, -and here are eight!”</p> - -<p>“But I have neither the button nor the thread.”</p> - -<p>“No matter! We will search until we find them, or else -turn black ourselves in the trial. Have pity upon us, -Prince!”</p> - -<p>“Oh, father,” said my daughter, “do let the poor things -come along with us.”</p> - -<p>“Very well,” said I, whereupon we walked on, and the -eight tailors gave a faint cheer and fell into line behind us.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[124]</a></span></p> - -<h3><i>They Meet the Three Blind Ballad Singers for the Last -Time</i></h3> - -<p>As we passed through the city gate, a loud singing struck -up just outside the wall, and we beheld the three blind -ballad singers, in the midst of a dozen idlers, prancing up -and down in their ridiculous dance. They were shouting -out one of their ballads, as follows:</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - -<div class="verse">“The peddler came, the peddler went, the peddler lost his pack,</div> -<div class="verse">He came in honest walnut brown, he went away in black,</div> -<div class="indent1">And ‘Oh!’ said the peddler, ‘I cannot come again,</div> -<div class="indent1">For out of buttons ten, oh! only nine remain,</div> -<div class="indent9">Only nine remain,’—”</div> -</div></div> - -<p>My daughter laughed aloud, and at the sound of her -voice one of the ballad singers cried out, “Ho! master blackface! -Ballads or buttons, what will you buy?”</p> - -<p>The idlers laughed, and the other two vagabonds sang -out:</p> - -<p>“Ballads or buttons! Buy, master blackface! Ballads -or buttons!”</p> - -<p>“What will you give for a button?” shouted the first, and -he held up in my view a large ivory button, the identical -one, beyond a doubt, which was missing from the doublet.</p> - -<p>“A fig for a button!” I said, and held out one of the figs -in my hand.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[125]</a></span>“A button for a fig! A bargain!” cried the first ballad -singer, and taking the fig from me placed the button in -my hand.</p> - -<p>The idlers laughed at this nonsense, and we turned to go.</p> - -<p>“Farewell, farewell!” cried the first ballad singer. “What -do we say to the breaker of hearts who forgets her promise -to marry?” The other two laughed, and began to sing.</p> - -<p>We moved on down the road, followed by the tailors -marching by fours, and as we departed we heard behind us -the voices of the blind ballad singers for the last time, -shouting out a song in this wise:</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - -<div class="verse">“She said that she wanted to marry all three,</div> -<div class="indent4">Fiddle-de-dee! Fiddle-de-dee!</div> -<div class="verse">And it broke her heart that it could not be,</div> -<div class="verse">But ‘Oh!’ said she, ‘you must all agree</div> -<div class="verse">On one who shall be the fortunate he,</div> -<div class="indent4">For only one can I marry!’</div> -<div class="verse">But oh! she would not wait to see,</div> -<div class="indent4">And oh! she would not tarry,</div> -<div class="verse">For all that she said to the artless three</div> -<div class="indent4">Was nothing but fiddle-de-dee,</div> -<div class="indent9">Ah me!</div> -<div class="indent4">Was nothing but fiddle-de-dee!”</div> -</div></div> - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[126]</a></span> - - -<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/i_126.jpg" alt="" /></div> - - - - -<h2 class="nobreak">THE FOURTH NIGHT<br /> - -<small>THE RAGPICKER AND THE PRINCESS</small></h2></div> - - -<p class="drop-cap"><i>THE Queen said, “Domino!” very sweetly, and -smiled at the Second Lady in Waiting, who was -much chagrined.</i></p> - -<p><i>“I don’t see how I could have been so stupid,” said the -Second Lady in Waiting.</i></p> - -<p><i>“Indeed, my dear,” said the Queen, kindly, “I don’t think -you were nearly so stupid as usual.”</i></p> - -<p><i>At this moment the Princess Dorobel, with Prince Bilbo -and their son Bojohn, and the latter’s friend Bodkin, came -in from the throne room, and the Princess Dorobel, standing -behind the Queen’s chair, said:</i></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[127]</a></span><i>“Mother, we are going to hear a story, and Bojohn insists -that you—”</i></p> - -<p><i>“Yes, grandmother!” said Bojohn. “We are going to -ask Solario for another story, and you must come along -too.”</i></p> - -<p><i>“Dear me,” said the Queen. “I must put away the -dominoes first.”</i></p> - -<p><i>She stacked them neatly in the box, one by one, and when -this was done she rose, and Bojohn took her arm and led -her through the throne room where the King was engaged at -chess with the Lord Chamberlain.</i></p> - -<p><i>“My dear,” said the Queen to the King, “you had better -come with us. We are going to—”</i></p> - -<p><i>“It makes no difference to me,” said the King. “You can -have the bishop if you want him. But I’ve got your queen! -How do you like that? It’s your move! Go on, why don’t -you move?”</i></p> - -<p><i>“It’s no use, grandmother,” said Bojohn. “Come along.”</i></p> - -<p><i>They left the King at his game, and proceeded to the room -of Solario the Tailor in the tower. They were admitted by -Solario himself.</i></p> - -<p><i>In the center of the room stood Mortimer the Executioner. -He was wearing an unfinished garment without any -sleeves, fastened together with pins, and basted with white -thread along the seams. He looked extremely foolish.</i></p> - -<p><i>“Oh!” said Solario, covered with confusion. “Pray come -in, come in! Her majesty herself! This is indeed an honor! -I will find more chairs in the next room. I am overpowered -by this honor. Pray be seated, your majesty. Mortimer,</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[128]</a></span> -<i>the fitting is postponed. Pray be seated, your majesty. I do -not know when I have received the honor of such a visit. -Pray be seated. Mortimer, bring in some chairs. I beg -your majesty to take the other chair; it is far more comfortable. -Mortimer, divest yourself; divest yourself.”</i></p> - -<p><i>Mortimer, red with embarrassment, took off the unfinished -garment and put on his old one. Solario ran from chair to -chair, assisting each of the party to a seat.</i></p> - -<p><i>“We have come for a story,” said Prince Bilbo, “and I -hope that you will be so good as to—”</i></p> - -<p><i>“We want to hear about Montesango’s Cave!” cried -Bojohn.</i></p> - -<p><i>“Or the Blind Giant!” said Bodkin.</i></p> - -<p><i>“I beg your pardon,” said Solario, “perhaps her majesty -would deign to—”</i></p> - -<p><i>“Ask him for Montesango’s Cave, grandmother!” cried -Bojohn.</i></p> - -<p><i>“Dear me,” said the Queen, “I hardly know what to— It’s -a very pleasant room you have here, Solario; do you -ever play dominoes here? Dear me!”</i></p> - -<p><i>“I’ll tell you what I should like,” said the Princess Dorobel. -“I should like to hear how the goldsmith’s son won the -Princess. Bojohn has been telling us about Alb and the -Princess Hyla, and I understand there is a story, a love -story—you know I dearly like love stories.”</i></p> - -<p><i>“It isn’t precisely a love story,” said Solario, “but if her -majesty will permit me, I will—”</i></p> - -<p><i>“Dear me, yes,” said the Queen. “A very comfortable -room it is, to be sure.”</i></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[129]</a></span><i>Solario, after receiving the Queen’s permission to be -seated, sat himself cross-legged on his table, and all of the -others, Mortimer the Executioner, Bodkin, Prince Bilbo, -Bojohn, the Princess Dorobel, and the Queen, drew up their -chairs before him in a row.</i></p> - -<p><i>“I will relate to you, seeing that you wish it,” said Solario, -“the story told me by Alb, the goldsmith’s son, regarding -the winning of the Princess Hyla. Shall I proceed?”</i></p> - -<p><i>“I wish I had brought my knitting,” said the Queen, “but -never mind.”</i></p> - -<p><i>Solario picked up his shears, and gazing at them thoughtfully -for a moment, cleared his throat.</i></p> - -<p><i>“This, then,” said he, “is the story told me by Alb, regarding</i></p> - - -<h4>“THE RAGPICKER AND THE PRINCESS.”</h4> - -<p>When I was sixteen years old (said Alb the Fortunate) -and my dear Princess Hyla fourteen, the King, her father, -sojourned for a time at his castle of Ventamere, beside the -sea; and you may be sure that the Princess was with him -there, for he could never bear to be parted from her for a -single day.</p> - -<p>My father followed in the King’s train, and I, on my part, -was not to be left behind; and we lodged together, my -father and myself, in the town hard by the castle, where -I saw the Princess every day, and daily grew in favor with -her father.</p> - -<p>The windows of the King’s castle looked out across the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[130]</a></span> -Great Sea, and beneath the windows of the Princess’s room -the tide washed up and down against the wall.</p> - -<p>One evening, as it was growing dusk, and the moon was -beginning to tinge a wave here and there with silver, the -Princess was leaning out from her window and looking -across the sea— But what I am now to tell you I did not -know at the time, as you will understand, but only later.</p> - -<p>Night fell, and still the Princess leaned upon her hand -and gazed out across the sea. I do not know whether she -was thinking of me, but—However. In the town of Ventamere -near by, where the shore curved inward in a bay, -lights began to glimmer, but the castle was dark, for the -King, intending to commence at daybreak his journey back -to his capital, was already a-bed.</p> - - -<h3><i>The Princess Hears a Voice from the Waves Beneath Her -Window</i></h3> - -<p>The Princess, beginning to be drowsy, reached out her -hand to close the casement of her window; and as she did -so she heard a voice, a melancholy voice, not loud, as of -a young man singing to himself, directly beneath her window. -She started in astonishment and looked down, but -she could see no one. The moonlight glittered on the sea to -the very base of her wall; there was no foothold anywhere -for a human foot; but the voice rose nevertheless from just -below her in the restless waters, and it was singing a kind of -lament, pausing once to put in a few spoken words, in -this wise:</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[131]</a></span></p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - -<div class="verse">“O quivering seas that sever,</div> -<div class="indent1">O quivering severing sea!</div> -<div class="verse">And I would I could sing forever</div> -<div class="indent1">The sorrows that sleep in me,—</div> -<div class="indent2">The soundless sundering sorrows,</div> -<div class="indent2">The shuddering secret sorrows,</div> -<div class="indent2">The sorrows secret and soundless,</div> -<div class="indent1">That sleep in the soul of me.</div> -<div class="verse">And O! the vain endeavor!</div> -<div class="indent1">The silence and the pain!</div> -<div class="verse">The silence that now shall never</div> -<div class="indent1">Sink into the sea again!</div> -<div class="verse">(That’s a very good line, though,</div> -<div class="verse">about silence sinking into the sea.</div> -<div class="verse">It sounds a good deal like real</div> -<div class="verse">poetry. Anyway—)</div> -<div class="verse">Of such would I sing forever,</div> -<div class="indent1">And sighing forever sing,</div> -<div class="verse">But alas, I never was clever</div> -<div class="indent1">At all that sort of thing,</div> -<div class="verse">And though I would chant forever</div> -<div class="verse">By quivering seas that sever</div> -<div class="verse">And severing seas that quiver</div> -<div class="indent1">A ceaseless sorrowing song,</div> -<div class="verse">I cannot sing forever,</div> -<div class="indent1">For that would be too long.”</div> -</div></div> - -<p>The Princess waited, and the voice began again. It -seemed farther out on the water now, as if the singer were -moving out to sea. The words appeared to her to be so -strange that she never forgot them, and I am able to repeat -them to you precisely as she gave them to me afterward.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[132]</a></span></p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - -<div class="verse">“O weary the sea’s commotion,</div> -<div class="indent1">And weary the sea tides’ fret,</div> -<div class="verse">The fretful tides of the ocean</div> -<div class="indent1">How weary and how wet!</div> -<div class="indent2">The humid hateful ocean</div> -<div class="indent2">The hideous heedless ocean,</div> -<div class="indent2">The ocean huge and humid,</div> -<div class="indent1">That always will be wet!</div> -<div class="verse">(If I could only once get thoroughly</div> -<div class="verse">dry, just for a single day! It makes</div> -<div class="verse">me weary, the way they go on about a</div> -<div class="verse">life on the ocean wave. I only wish</div> -<div class="verse"><i>they</i> had to live in it all the time.)</div> -<div class="verse">And O! for a seat on the settle</div> -<div class="indent1">Beside the ingle nook!</div> -<div class="verse">And O! for the steaming kettle!</div> -<div class="indent1">And O! for a human cook!</div> -<div class="verse">I hear, on the soft breeze sighing,</div> -<div class="verse">The sorrowful soft breeze dying,</div> -<div class="indent1">I hear, as it sighs and rustles,</div> -<div class="verse">The music of bacon frying,</div> -<div class="indent1">And O, I long to be free!</div> -<div class="verse">(If I could only get ashore on two</div> -<div class="verse">feet, for just one hour, I know where</div> -<div class="verse">I’d go. I know a good warm tavern</div> -<div class="verse">where—)</div> -<div class="indent1">O dear! could I only be free!</div> -<div class="verse">For a diet of fish and mussels,</div> -<div class="verse">Of cold raw fish and mussels,</div> -<div class="indent1">Did never agree with me.”</div> -</div></div> - -<p>The voice moved off across the sea, and died away in the -distance.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[133]</a></span><i>“Dear me!” said the Queen. “What an extraordinary -song! And so sad, too.”</i></p> - -<p><i>“Never mind, grandmother,” said Bojohn. “Please let -him go on with his story.”</i></p> - -<p><i>“Yes, yes, of course,” said the Queen, “let the poor man -go on with his story. I wonder how he remembers all those -words. I’m sure I never could have remembered them. I’ve -a very poor memory for songs, myself. It’s different with -the King; I declare he never forgets anything. I remember -there was a minstrel came to the castle once, and after he was -gone the King repeated word for word—</i>”</p> - -<p><i>“Please, grandmother,” said Bojohn.</i></p> - -<p><i>“What is it, my dear?”</i></p> - -<p><i>“Solario is waiting to go on with his story.”</i></p> - -<p><i>“So he is,” said the Queen. “I think it’s a very pretty -story indeed. I wonder how it ends!”</i></p> - -<p><i>“Go on!” cried Bojohn, and Solario proceeded.</i></p> - -<p>The Princess lingered, hoping to hear the voice again, -but it came no more. She turned back into her room and lit -the lamp which hung from the center of the ceiling. She -stood before her mirror, with the lamp at her back, and as -she raised her hand to unfasten the pearl necklace which -she wore, she glanced at the wall beside the mirror. Her -shadow, thrown by the lamp, stood upright against the -wall. And at that moment she saw something which caused -her to stiffen with terror.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[134]</a></span></p> - -<h3><i>The Princess Sees the Shadow of an Old Woman</i></h3> - -<p>Through the crack of her closed door at the right of her -shadow, another shadow was oozing in and spreading itself -out across the wall toward her own. It took shape, and -paused for a moment; it was the shadow of a bent old -woman, stooping under a heavy bag, and holding out in -one hand a kind of poker with a hook at the end.</p> - -<p>The Princess held her breath. The stooping shadow -stole slowly along the wall, and touched the Princess’s -shadow with its poker. Instantly the Princess’s shadow began -to move toward the other, and the other began to back -away. The strange shadow reached the door and slipped -into the crack; the Princess’s shadow followed, and slipped -into the crack after it. They were gone, and only the -blank surface of the wall remained.</p> - -<p>The Princess tried to move, but she could not stir; she -tried to cry out, but she could not speak. She stood there -in the lamplight before her mirror, with one hand upraised -as if to unfasten her necklace; the minutes passed, and she -did not move. She heard the splashing of the tide outside; -a clock struck the hour; there was no other sound. Hours -passed, and still she stood with hand raised to her neck, -before the mirror. She heard the clock strike twelve; and -on the twelfth stroke her door swung slowly open.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/i_134fp.jpg" alt="" /></div> -<p class="caption">The shadow of a Ragpicker oozed in through the door</p> - - -<h3><i>A Midnight Visit from a One-Armed Old Man</i></h3> - -<p>In the doorway stood an old man; a spare old man, with -long white hair and beard, and bright blue eyes in a rosy<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[135]</a></span> -face. His blue gown, spangled with silver stars, lacked one -sleeve, the right; he had only one arm, and that the left. -The Princess felt somehow that she was glad he had come.</p> - - - -<p>He stepped quickly to her side and smiling kindly took -down her hand from her neck. She felt a pleasant warmth -at his touch, and she sighed with relief. He kept her -hand in his, and drew her toward the door. She had no -wish to resist him. She followed quietly, and together they -passed out of the room into the dark hall....</p> - -<p>At daybreak, when the King was ready to depart, there -was a great to-do. The Princess was nowhere to be found. -Her lamp was still burning, and her bed had not been slept -in. The King was beside himself, and the castle was in a -turmoil. Searchers were sent in every direction, all the bells -in the town were set to ringing, and cryers went about the -streets proclaiming a reward.</p> - -<p>My father and myself hastened to the castle, and I knelt -before the King and begged his special leave to seek the -Princess on my own account. I knew nothing, save that -she had vanished in the night, but I resolved that I would -find her, and I did not doubt of my success.</p> - -<p>“Go,” said the King, “and good fortune attend you. If -you bring her back, no reward will I refuse you, even to the -hand of my dear child herself. Make haste, and do not return -alone.”</p> - - -<h3><i>Alb, Seeking the Princess, Sits Down by the Seashore</i></h3> - -<p>All that morning I ran about the town, seeking her in -every quarter; but nowhere was any trace of her to be found.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[136]</a></span> -I came back in the afternoon to the seashore near the castle, -there to ponder what I had best do next. Trudging along a -strip of sand under a bluff beside the sea, I came to a large -rock which rose up out of the water at the beach’s edge, -and climbing up on it I seated myself on a narrow shelf and -bared my head to the breeze.</p> - -<p>I had sat thus only a moment when I heard a voice from -the other side of the rock, a melancholy voice, not loud, as -of a young man singing to himself; and it was singing a -mournful song, pausing now and then to speak in ordinary -tones. I remember the words very well, and they were -these.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - -<div class="verse">“I dream in my deep-sea cavern</div> -<div class="indent1">Of many a bosky copse,</div> -<div class="verse">I dream of a cosy tavern</div> -<div class="indent1">And a couple of mutton chops,—</div> -<div class="verse">For even the storks have gruel,</div> -<div class="indent1">And even the sheep have corn,</div> -<div class="verse">But me!—it is too, too cruel!</div> -<div class="indent1">Alas, that I ever was born.</div> -<div class="verse">(It’s too cruel, that’s what it is. It isn’t</div> -<div class="verse">right. There’s no justice in it, and I’m</div> -<div class="verse">sick of it, that’s what I am.)</div> -<div class="verse">O sorrow too deep to utter!</div> -<div class="indent1">O midnight hour of the soul!</div> -<div class="verse">If there only were bread and butter,</div> -<div class="indent1">Or something warm in a bowl,—</div> -<div class="verse">(I don’t care what. I’m so sick of raw</div> -<div class="verse">fish, I believe I could even stand stewed</div> -<div class="verse">rhubarb.)</div> -<div class="verse">O sea, so ceaselessly sloshing,</div> -<div class="indent1">O emblem of peace and hope!—<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[137]</a></span></div> -<div class="verse">But it’s utterly useless for washing,</div> -<div class="indent1">And O! how I yearn for soap.</div> -<div class="verse">I seek, in my cavern’s enclosure,</div> -<div class="indent1">To talk with the fishes, but they,</div> -<div class="verse">Maintaining the strictest composure,</div> -<div class="indent1">Have simply nothing to say.</div> -<div class="verse">Proud heart, you are left unheeded</div> -<div class="indent1">Alone with your grief and your ache,</div> -<div class="verse">When all that is really needed</div> -<div class="indent1">Is just a mere trifle of cake.</div> -<div class="verse">(Not fish cake. Not that. Chocolate</div> -<div class="verse">cake, three layers, with walnuts on top</div> -<div class="verse">and in between.)</div> -<div class="verse">Sing on, proud heart, though breaking</div> -<div class="indent1">With every harmonious strain,</div> -<div class="verse">And physic be not worth the taking</div> -<div class="indent1">For your description of pain,</div> -<div class="verse">Sing on, though it be not forever,</div> -<div class="indent1">Forever and a day,—</div> -<div class="verse">(Not that there’s any sense in adding</div> -<div class="verse">on a day to forever. It’s long enough,</div> -<div class="verse">in all conscience, without that. However—)</div> -<div class="verse">I wish I could sing forever</div> -<div class="indent1">To pass the dull time away;</div> -<div class="verse">And could I be endlessly clever</div> -<div class="indent1">And make me an endless song,</div> -<div class="verse">I would sing of my sorrow forever,</div> -<div class="indent1">I would,—were it not so long.”</div> -</div></div> - -<p>The voice gave a great sigh, and the singing ceased.</p> - -<p><i>“I used to make up little rhymes when I was a girl,” said -the Queen, “and very pretty little rhymes they were, too, or</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[138]</a></span> -<i>at least your grandmother, Dorobel, used to say so. But -dear me; I never could remember verses, no matter how -hard I tried; never.”</i></p> - -<p><i>“Yes, yes, grandmother,” said Bojohn. “Go on, Solario.”</i></p> - -<p><i>“Now the King was different; he could remember them, -but he couldn’t make them up; and I could make them up, -but I couldn’t remember them! Tee-hee-hee! Dear, dear! -When I think of it!”</i></p> - -<p><i>“Grandmother,” said Bojohn, “Solario is waiting to go -on.”</i></p> - -<p><i>“So he is,” said the Queen. “I never liked sad stories -when I was a girl, for they</i> always <i>made me cry. But this -one may turn out better than I expect. I really think you’re -doing very nicely, Solario. I always say, that no matter how -poorly one makes out, he ought to be praised if he is doing -his best.”</i></p> - -<p><i>“Go on!” cried Bojohn; and Solario proceeded.</i></p> - -<p>When the singing ceased (said Alb) I climbed noiselessly -around the rock to the other side, and looked down.</p> - - -<h3><i>An Interview with a Talking Seal</i></h3> - -<p>A fat seal was lying below me on a ledge of the rock, -just out of the water. The creature raised his head, and -gazed up at me with his big soft eyes.</p> - -<p>“I could have sworn the voice was here,” said I, half -aloud.</p> - -<p>“Are you speaking to me?” said the seal.</p> - -<p>I assure you I jumped in amazement. “What!” said I. -“Was it you?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[139]</a></span>“Well,” said the seal, “there’s nobody else here, is there?”</p> - -<p>“Of all things!” said I. “A talking seal! I never -heard of such a—”</p> - -<p>“I suppose I haven’t any right to talk. Just because I -haven’t any legs, and have to live in a horrible sealskin, I -suppose I’m not even to utter a word. Is that it? Oh, -yes, I dare say; I suppose so.”</p> - -<p>“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to offend—”</p> - -<p>“I suppose not. Anyway, you’d better not stand there -quarreling with me all day if you ever expect to find the -Princess.”</p> - -<p>“Oh! Do you know anything about her? Tell me, -quick!”</p> - -<p>“Yes, I do. I know a little about her. I know where -she is. The Ragpicker’s shadow came last night and -fetched away the Princess’s shadow, because the Ragpicker -needed the Princess’s shadow to protect her against the people. -Everybody is afraid of shadows,—I suppose you know -that. And then the One-Armed Sorcerer took away the -Princess, and what he’s going to do with her I don’t know. -But you’d better find out. Are you ready to go?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, yes! I’m ready! I’ll go anywhere! Tell me -where!”</p> - -<p>“You talk brave enough. The question is, do you act as -brave as you talk? Do you mind getting half-drowned?”</p> - -<p>“No, no! I mind nothing! Tell me what I must do!”</p> - -<p>“Sounds very brave, indeed. Are you afraid of -shadows?”</p> - -<p>“Of course not!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[140]</a></span>“Then you’re the only person in these parts who isn’t. -Where you’re going, they’re all afraid of shadows, and -that’s how the Ragpicker protects herself against the people; -with shadows. And so you’re not afraid of them. Well, -well!”</p> - -<p>“I’m not afraid of anything! Tell me what to do!”</p> - -<p>“So! Pretty brave! All right, I’ll take you there myself. -Take off your coat and shoes.”</p> - -<p>I took off my shoes, stockings, and coat.</p> - -<p>The seal hunched himself down into the water, and lay -there with his head resting on the rock.</p> - -<p>“Now,” said he, “come down here and lie on my back, -and hold on tight; and don’t get in the way of my flippers.”</p> - -<p>I hesitated for a moment at the idea of lying down in the -water on the back of a seal, but I came down the rock and -stretched myself out on his back and clung to him with my -arms and legs as well as I could.</p> - - -<h3><i>A Sea Journey on the Back of a Seal</i></h3> - -<p>“Hold on tight,” said the seal, and darted off across the -sea so suddenly that I lost my grip and fell off into the water; -but he swam under me, and I was soon on his back once -more, none the worse.</p> - -<p>“What’s the matter?” said the seal. “Haven’t you any -strength? I suppose I’ll have to go slower.”</p> - -<p>He glided slowly and smoothly over the long swells, and -as soon as I got used to it I found that it was really wonderful -sport. We followed the shore line quite around the -island to its opposite side, and then the seal made straight<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[141]</a></span> -for the open sea. The shore faded away behind us, and -at last it was gone.</p> - -<p>Hours passed, and I grew stiff and cold. I slipped off the -seal’s back now and then, for the exercise of swimming. It -was excessively difficult to hold on to his slippery skin, -and I ached so painfully with the strain that I feared at last -that I should have to let go for good; and I was about -to give up, when I saw afar off on the horizon what looked -like land. The seal swam faster. I took new courage, -and clung to him tighter.</p> - -<p>It was indeed land,—evidently an island; and as we came -close to it I could make out in its side a deep cove, backed -with dark, woody hills and flanked on either side by rocky -cliffs. Fishing boats of all sizes were moored in the cove, -and a large village straggled up the hillside behind.</p> - -<p>The seal glided into the smooth water between the -cliffs, and slid up against the sand of the beach at the foot -of the village. It was just twilight.</p> - -<p>I jumped to my feet and stretched my numb and aching -limbs, gazing with curiosity at the near-by houses. I turned -round at the sound of the seal’s voice.</p> - -<p>“Can you get me a custard pie?” said the seal.</p> - -<p>“What?” said I, in astonishment.</p> - -<p>“There’s a pastry cook in the village. I’ll wait for you -here. Mince pie’ll do, if they’re out of custard.”</p> - -<p>I hastened away into the village, without saying anything -more.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[142]</a></span></p> - -<h3><i>The Village of Storks</i></h3> - -<p>It was a large village, and there were a good many streets; -and before I found the pastry cook’s shop I paused to look -at the strange collection of birds which adorned the housetops. -On nearly every chimney or ridgepole stood a stork, -and on some were two or three, and even more; young -storks all of them, judging by their size.</p> - -<p>I noticed, as I passed the villagers in the street, that -their faces were very sad; and I thought it singular that although -I saw many grown people, I met no children, and -heard no children’s voices.</p> - -<p>The pastry cook, when I found him, proved to have -the saddest face of all, and his wife looked as if she had -been weeping; and there were on the pastry cook’s housetop -no less than five small storks. When I mentioned that I -wanted a custard pie for a seal, the pastry cook handed over -the pie to me without any appearance of surprise, and without -accepting any payment.</p> - -<p>I hurried back to the beach, and sat down before the -seal and held the custard pie while the hungry creature ate -it.</p> - -<p>“Did you ever eat raw fish?” said he.</p> - -<p>“I should say not,” said I.</p> - -<p>“It’s awful,” said the seal. “It’s positively petrifying. -You know I wasn’t always a seal. Custard pie always used -to do me more good than anything else.”</p> - -<p>“Tell me who you are,” said I, “and who the Ragpicker -is.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[143]</a></span>“There’s no time now,” said the seal. “You’d better be -going. The people here would like to kill the Ragpicker -if they could, but they’re afraid of the shadows; she’s -afraid of the people, and the people are afraid of the -shadows; and she’s more afraid of the One-Armed Sorcerer -than anybody else, though between you and me I think she’s -wrong about it, because he seems to be a pretty decent sort -of old chap, and I rather believe he’d like to help her if she -wasn’t afraid of him; but of course you can’t help a person -who’s afraid of you. All mixed up, isn’t it?”</p> - -<p>“I don’t understand a word of it,” said I.</p> - -<p>“Brave people are always stupid,” said the seal, and -with this he wriggled himself off into the water, and I saw -his head going back and forth slowly from side to side -across the cove.</p> - -<p>I turned and went into the village. It was now nearly -dark.</p> - -<p>As I came toward the pastry cook’s shop again, the -village cryer came walking down the street, ringing a bell, -and calling out, over and over again, “Seven o’clock, and -time for supper! Seven o’clock, and time for supper!”</p> - -<p>As the cryer passed by, the storks flapped their wings and -flew down from the housetops, and took their stand in a -row before their houses, along the curbs; and wherever a -stork stood before a house a woman came out with a bowl -in her hand. When I reached the pastry cook’s shop, the -pastry cook’s wife was kneeling on the sidewalk before the -five little storks, feeding them gruel out of a bowl with a -long spoon. I observed that all along the street women<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[144]</a></span> -were feeding the storks in the same way; but again I noticed -that there were no children.</p> - -<p>I walked on, watching in every street the feeding of the -storks, and looking out for some sign of the Princess. I -observed at last a gilded wooden arm and hand holding a -lantern, projecting from the front wall of a house a little in -advance; and before this house, at the curb, a single stork -was standing, and an old man, one-armed, wearing white -hair and beard and dressed in a blue gown with silver stars, -was sitting before the stork, feeding it with a long spoon -from a bowl in his lap. Around the stork’s neck hung a -pearl necklace.</p> - -<p>Wondering whether I had ever seen that necklace before, -I passed behind the old man, and as I did so the stork fixed -its eye on me and ruffled its feathers in agitation. I had no -sooner gone by than there was a great fluttering among all -the storks, and I observed, coming toward me down the -street, a bent old woman, stooping under a bulging bag -and holding out what appeared to be a poker with a hook -at the end. She was ragged and decrepit, and there was -a gleam in her eye which seemed to me to be more of terror -than anything.</p> - -<p>She gazed intently at the stork with the necklace, and -then passed on down the street. All the storks, at sight of -her, suddenly flew up on to the housetops, and all the people, -or nearly all, went hurriedly indoors. As I turned to follow -her with my eyes, I saw that the stork with the necklace was -perched up on the ridgepole, and that the old one-armed -man was gone.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[145]</a></span></p> - -<h3><i>The Ragpicker Frightens the Men Away with Her Bag</i></h3> - -<p>The Ragpicker had reached the next corner, and was -about to turn into the street at her right, when a dozen men -came hurrying toward her in a group, and she stopped and -faced them. They were burly men, and they were plainly -angry; they carried cudgels, and one of them carried a rope; -they meant to do her harm, without a doubt. They advanced -on her, muttering dangerously together, and she -stood stock still, waiting. One of the men gave a shout, -and they rushed upon her in a body; but quick as a wink -the old woman whisked her bag from her shoulder to the -ground, and began to open it; and at this the men fell back -against each other as if afraid; and as the old woman made -again as if to open the bag, the men hesitated, turned about, -and actually took to their heels and fled.</p> - -<p>The Ragpicker slung her bag upon her back again, turned -the corner, and disappeared.</p> - -<p>What could be in that bag, I wondered, to make those -burly men afraid?</p> - -<p>I hurried to the corner, and saw the old woman plodding -away toward the end of the street. She did not look -around, and I followed her cautiously. She passed beyond -the village houses and began to climb a path which wound -up the hillside among the rocks.</p> - -<p>Keeping carefully out of sight behind her, I saw her stop -at last beside a hut which leaned against the side of the hill, -and go in at its door. I stole up quietly. There were no -windows in the hut, but I thought I might be able to see<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[146]</a></span> -inside through the roof, which was only a thatch of straw. -I could easily reach it from the side of the hill. In a moment -I was lying on the roof, and digging away the straw with my -fingers.</p> - -<p>I worked slowly and noiselessly, and after a time made a -hole through which I could look down into the hut. It was -dark below, but I could see the old woman stooping down -over an opening in the floor, from which she was just -raising a trapdoor. She stepped down into the opening -and closed the door over her head.</p> - -<p>I lost no time in making a hole in the thatch big enough -to admit my body; and when I had done so I dropped to -the floor, and stood beside the trapdoor. I raised it cautiously -and peered down. All was dark below, but I could -make out a flight of stone steps. I went down without a -sound.</p> - - -<h3><i>He Follows the Ragpicker Down Into the Dark</i></h3> - -<p>At the bottom I got down on my hands and knees and -crawled along, touching the side of a wall at my right. The -wall ended abruptly, and feeling the ground before me I -found that I was on the edge of open space, and I could hear -the rushing of water far below. My hand touched the top of -a ladder, and I went down it carefully; but after a moment -my foot dangled in space, and I nearly fell off; the ladder -stopped short, and I clung on desperately. I then climbed -to the top again and crawled along toward my left, feeling -the edge with my hand until I shortly touched the top of -another ladder; and down this ladder, fastened securely -against the wall, I went more cautiously than before.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[147]</a></span>The ladder was long, but I finally found myself on solid -ground. Following the wall to the left, I passed around a -corner, and as I did so I saw a light.</p> - -<p>It was a square patch of light, like the light of a small -window, afar off in the darkness. I went down on my hands -and knees again and crawled toward it. The ground was -unbroken here, and I could now scarcely hear the sound of -water. I stopped at last directly beneath the light, and -touched a wall. I felt with my left hand what seemed to be -a closed door, and I got up slowly on my feet. I was looking -into a lighted room through a small square window, -without glass, and crossed with iron bars.</p> - -<p>A lamp was burning brightly in a bracket on a wall of the -room. On the earthen floor, near the center, the old Ragpicker -was kneeling before a brazier containing a brisk fire, -over which hung an iron pot. Her bag lay on the floor beside -her, flat and limp; it was evidently empty.</p> - - -<h3><i>She Stirs a Steaming Mixture with Her Long Hooked -Forefinger</i></h3> - -<p>As I watched her, she arose from her knees and went to a -door at the rear, and made sure that it was closed tight. She -then went to a great heap of rubbish which was piled in one -corner, and scratching with her poker amongst the rags, -bones, and old iron there, picked out carefully a handful of -bones, examining each one minutely. She then took from a -shelf a large bottle of some dark liquid, and with this and -the bones she returned to the fire. She poured the liquid -into the iron pot and dropped in the bones, one by one; and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[148]</a></span> -as she did so I observed a thing which I had not discerned -before, that what I had thought was a poker held in her -hand was in fact a long, black, stiff forefinger, hooked at the -end. There was no doubt about it; it was the first finger of -her right hand, as stiff as an iron rod, and about a foot and -a half long. She stuck it into the steaming pot and stirred -the mixture with it, muttering to herself words which I could -not understand.</p> - -<p>Presently she stopped stirring, and sniffing the contents -of the pot nodded her head as if satisfied. She picked up -from the ground an iron ladle and a pewter bowl, and -ladling the steaming liquid from the pot into the bowl, drank -it down, every drop.</p> - -<p>She put down the ladle and the bowl, and stood motionless, -as if waiting. A change began to come over her. -Her back straightened; she grew taller; the wrinkles left -her face; her skin became fairer, her eyes larger, her hair -longer; and there before my eyes stood a young and beautiful -damsel, tall and erect, with dark eyes in a pale face, -and two thick braids of brown hair hanging to her -waist.</p> - -<p>She held up her right hand and looked at it. The long -black stiff finger with the hook was still there. She screamed, -and burying her face on her left arm shook with sobs. In a -moment she raised her head and put away her hideous right -hand behind her where she could not see it. Her left hand -she placed over her eyes, with a gesture of despair, and -as she remained standing in that attitude the hand over her -eyes grew old and withered; she began to shrink and stoop,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[149]</a></span> -and she moaned to herself. It was plain that the effect of -what she had drunk was beginning to wear off. She shuddered, -and gave a mournful cry; and in another instant she -was the old, bent Ragpicker again.</p> - -<p>I drew a long breath. I stood back, for fear that I might -be seen, and when I looked again the old woman was standing -with her back toward me, facing the closed door at the -rear. I noticed now, what I had not noticed before, that she -cast no shadow in the lamplight on the floor.</p> - -<p>“Skag!” she cried. “Come hither!”</p> - -<p>A shadow oozed into the room through the crack of the -door, and moved upright across the floor toward the Ragpicker. -It was the shadow of a bent old woman, stooping -under a bulky bag, and holding out what appeared to be a -poker, hooked at the end; the shadow of the old Ragpicker -herself. It stood still, not far from the door.</p> - -<p>“It’s no use, Skag,” said the old woman to her shadow. -“I haven’t found the right bone; but I <i>will</i> find it, yet! I’ll -find it yet! Bring in the Princess’s shadow.”</p> - -<p>Her own shadow disappeared through the crack in the -door, and returned immediately, followed by another. I -started, and almost cried out. It was the shadow of a young -girl, undoubtedly the Princess, and it stood upright on the -floor beside the other.</p> - -<p>“Ah!” said the old woman. “Now my shadows are complete. -This one is the best and most fearsome of all. Ah, -how they fear the shadows! Lucky for me, lucky for me! -They’re not afraid of me, but they’re afraid of shadows! -This day they would have killed me, but for my bag of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[150]</a></span> -shadows. We mustn’t lose them, Skag, we mustn’t lose -them.”</p> - -<p>She paced about, growing more and more excited, and -went on talking as she walked.</p> - -<p>“We’re in danger, Skag, we’re in danger. The One-Armed -Sorcerer is working against us. He has brought the -Princess herself here, to help him against me. What can he -mean to do? He means to take away my shadows from me, -Skag, it must be that. And he has brought the Princess to -help him. And what then? Death, Skag, death; a quick -death, for what will the people be afraid of then? We must -stop it, Skag, we must stop the sorcerer, and there is only -one way. The Princess must be destroyed! To-morrow -morning, when the sun shines and the shadows can be seen, -I will seek her out and destroy her; and the shadows shall -go with me and protect me. Bring in the shadows, Skag.”</p> - - -<h3><i>The Shadows of the Children</i></h3> - -<p>The old woman’s shadow disappeared through the crack -again, and immediately returned; and behind it came a -shadow, and another, and another; many shadows, all of -children, and they moved upright across the floor and stood -before the Ragpicker. They were flat as paper and black -as ink; and the lamplight did not shine through them. They -kept on coming, and the room was soon full of them; hundreds, -as it seemed, hundreds of shadows of little children, -some so small that they were just beginning to walk. And -the shadow of the Princess was the tallest of all.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[151]</a></span>The Ragpicker pointed at the Princess’s shadow with her -long, black rod of a finger, and said, “Into the bag!”</p> - -<p>She stooped to her bag and held it open at the floor, and -the shadow of the Princess moved to it, crouched, and went -in.</p> - -<p>“In, all of you!” cried the old woman.</p> - -<p>All the shadows crowded around the mouth of the bag, -and one after another stooped and went in. There was none -left but the shadow of the old woman herself. She closed the -bag, now bulging, and flinging it over her shoulder she said -to her own shadow, “Hither, Skag, and lie down!”</p> - -<p>Her shadow moved close to her, and spread itself out on -the ground with its feet to hers, growing longer as it did so, -so that it became no more than an ordinary shadow cast by -the lamplight on the floor.</p> - -<p>The old woman went to the lamp and blew out the light, -and the room was in darkness, except for the glimmer of the -dying fire.</p> - -<p>I flattened myself on the ground as the door opened and -the old woman came forth with her bag on her back. I could -scarcely see her, and in an instant she had disappeared in the -darkness.</p> - - -<h3><i>He Loses His Way in the Dark</i></h3> - -<p>I waited a moment or two, and then crawled cautiously in -the direction I thought she had taken; but there was nothing -but the blackness of deep night all round me, and I could not -be sure of my direction. I looked behind me, and I could -not see any longer the window I had just left. I had come<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[152]</a></span> -from the ladder easily enough, but it was plainly a different -matter to get back. I crawled on uncertainly, and stopped -now and then; I had gone by this time farther than I had -come at first, but I found no wall. I must have lost my way. -I went on, and found myself going down a slope. I knew -that this could not be right, and I changed my course a little; -but I was still going down the slope, and I was afraid that I -would be utterly lost if I turned back.</p> - -<p>The sound of rushing water came to my ears now. The -slope grew steeper, and I crawled more cautiously. The -sound of water became more distinct. The ground was suddenly -slimy, and before I knew it I was slipping down a steep -descent, unable to stop myself. I slid and slid, faster and -faster, clutching the slimy ground and rolling over and over; -and as I was fainting with dizziness I shot off into space, -and came down with a splash into a torrent of deep water.</p> - -<p>The stream hurled me away. I struggled against it, but -it was too swift. It was impossible to swim. I could do no -more than keep my head above water, and let the current -fling me along into the darkness. Tossed like a leaf, hurled -against the walls of the stream, scratched by the edges of -rocks, bruised, bleeding, and half-drowned, I almost lost -consciousness, and scarcely knew anything more until I felt -myself lying on soft sand in shallow water. I looked up, and -saw above me a clear sky; the open sea was rolling toward -me on a beach, and the moon was glittering on the waves.</p> - -<p>I tottered to my feet. I was so weak and sore that I could -hardly stand. When I was able to move, I walked forward -toward the ocean. The stream which had brought me<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[153]</a></span> -spread out and lost itself in the sand. At my feet the breakers -came rushing up, and a strip of beach lay at my right -hand and my left, enclosed at the back and sides by a high -cliff. There was no way out except by climbing the cliff. I -shouted, hoping that the seal might be out there in the water, -but there was no response. I made up my mind that I would -have to climb the cliff.</p> - -<p>It was a cruel task, for the cliff was steep, and there was -scarcely any foothold but an occasional rock and bush; but I -never once thought of discouragement, and I stuck to it -with all my might. My bare feet and my hands were torn -by the rocks, but I kept on, up and up, and in time I stood -on the top. I hastened away along the edge of the cliff, and -came after a long walk to a place where the cliff turned back -shoreward; and there I looked down, and saw the roofs of -the village straggling up its hillside behind the cove.</p> - - -<h3><i>He Hears the Voice of the Seal Again</i></h3> - -<p>I lay down and put my head out over the edge of the cliff, -and at that moment there came to me from the still water -of the cove a faint, sad voice, singing:</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - -<div class="verse">“O wonderful pancake batter!</div> -<div class="indent1">O table and fork and plate!</div> -<div class="verse">I wonder whatever’s the matter,</div> -<div class="indent1">That he keeps me waiting so late?</div> -<div class="verse">He said he was willing to serve us</div> -<div class="indent1">Regardless of danger or pelf,</div> -<div class="verse">But I’m getting so dreadfully nervous</div> -<div class="indent1">I really am scarcely myself.</div> -<div class="verse">O why does he loiter and linger<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[154]</a></span></div> -<div class="indent1">While I wait so sorry and sick?</div> -<div class="verse">Let him sever the Ragpicker’s finger</div> -<div class="indent1">And do it almightily quick.</div> -<div class="verse">For then I shall sit at a table,</div> -<div class="indent1">My napkin over my knees,</div> -<div class="verse">And tipple as long as I’m able,</div> -<div class="indent1">And gobble as long as I please,</div> -<div class="verse">With plenty of good hot curry,</div> -<div class="indent1">And plenty of custard pie,—</div> -<div class="verse">If he only would hurry, hurry!</div> -<div class="indent1">O why does he linger, why?”</div> -</div></div> - -<p>The voice stopped, and I rose to my feet and made off -across the moonlit fields.</p> - -<p><i>“There used to be a baker at the castle,” said the Queen, -“shortly after I was married, who made up a great many -very pretty songs. The King used to say that he sang better -than he baked. For my part, I was very sorry to lose him. -His niece was going to be married in one of our villages, I -forget which,—no, I believe it was a cousin; I am almost -sure it was his cousin, and I think it was the niece who was -looking after his mother while he was here, and she had to -go and keep house for the cousin after she was married, and -that left his mother all alone; so that he had to go back to -his mother, and I always thought he was such a good son to -give up his place here at the castle in order to take care of -his poor old mother, and I’m sure very few would have done -it in his place; but I must say that the next baker was very -much better at gingerbread, though he never made up any</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[155]</a></span> -<i>songs, and I think the King himself missed the first one a -good deal afterward, though he never would say so.”</i></p> - -<p><i>“Go on!” cried Bojohn; and Solario proceeded.</i></p> - -<p>I rose to my feet (said Alb) and made off across the -fields. I found a path which wound down to the village, and -I was presently standing in the street. All the storks were -gone, probably within doors for the night.</p> - -<p>I set forth briskly to find the house of the One-Armed -Sorcerer. I realized that the stork with the necklace was the -Princess herself, and I knew that if she was to be saved from -the Ragpicker I must act quickly.</p> - -<p>I remembered the gilded wooden arm and hand, holding -a lantern, which stood out from the one-armed man’s house, -and it was only a matter of time to find it. I found it sooner -than I expected. A light was burning dimly in the lantern, -but the house was dark. There was no stork upon the housetop. -I tried the handle of the door quietly, and to my surprise -the door gave before me, and I pushed it open.</p> - - -<h3><i>He Peeps into the Sorcerer’s Workshop</i></h3> - -<p>I found myself in a dark room, which I crossed quickly to -a door at the other side. This door I opened on a crack, and -through the crack I looked into a lighted room; a small -room, evidently a workshop, cluttered about with glass vessels -of strange shapes, metal machines of various sorts, -wooden hoops curiously interlaced, charts of the skies, and -great, brass-bound books; and at one side of the room was a -forge and in the center a table.</p> - -<p>Before this table was standing the one-armed man whom<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[156]</a></span> -I had already seen. On the table, the stork with the necklace -was lying on its side, perfectly still, and as I looked the -old man plucked a feather from the stork’s wing and examined -it carefully. He then cast it aside and plucked -another, this time from the back. This also he tossed away, -after examining it, and he then plucked a feather from the -shoulder, and holding it up to the light gave a cry of pleasure, -and without turning said, “Come in, Alb, I have been -expecting you.”</p> - -<p>I stepped into the room, and the old man greeted me with -a friendly smile, and held up the feather.</p> - -<p>“Do you see this?” said he.</p> - -<p>I looked at it closely. At the point of the quill hung a -single drop of blood.</p> - -<p>The stork on the table stirred uneasily. The sorcerer -stroked it gently and said, “Sleep!” and the stork lay perfectly -still again.</p> - -<p>“Wait a minute,” said the old man. “We must keep this -drop from falling off, and we must harden the point of the -quill.”</p> - -<p>He produced from a closet a metal box, and out of this -he took a small glass tube, covered with frost. He held the -drop of blood for a moment inside the tube, and then put -the tube away in its box.</p> - -<p>“Now,” said he, “the drop will not fall off.”</p> - -<p>He went to the forge, and blowing up the coals with a -pair of bellows, he held the point of the quill for a moment -in the fire.</p> - -<p>“Now,” said he, “it is as hard as a pin.”</p> - -<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/i_156fp.jpg" alt="" /></div> -<p class="caption">The One-Armed Sorcerer plucked a feather from the stork</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[157]</a></span>“Sir,” said I, “will you tell me what this is for?”</p> - -<p>“To save the Ragpicker from herself,” said the sorcerer.</p> - -<p>“But it’s the Princess I have come to save,” said I.</p> - -<p>“It is the same thing,” said the old man. “If the Ragpicker -is saved from herself, everybody else is saved too. -And this drop of blood from the Princess’s heart will do it, -and nothing else.”</p> - -<p>“I have seen the Ragpicker to-night, sir,” said I, “and I -will tell you about it.”</p> - -<p>“Sit down, my son,” said the old man, and when we were -seated I told him all that I had seen and heard in the Ragpicker’s -cavern.</p> - -<p>The sorcerer shook his head and smiled. “And so she -thinks I wish to take away her shadows and let the people -kill her! Well, well, it’s the way of wickedness to see nothing -but evil. Why should I wish her harm? What I seek -to do is to save her, not to destroy her; but she’ll never believe -that, because she can’t think straight. Anyway, in trying -to do evil she has provided me with the means of making -her good.”</p> - -<p>“How has she done that?” said I.</p> - -<p>“If she hadn’t stolen the Princess’s shadow, I shouldn’t -have brought the Princess here; and if I hadn’t brought the -Princess here, she wouldn’t now be a stork; and if she hadn’t -been turned to a stork I couldn’t have gotten the drop of -blood from her heart.”</p> - -<p>“Is it true,” said I, “that the Ragpicker protects herself -with shadows?”</p> - -<p>“Of course! What could protect her better? What else<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[158]</a></span> -is there to fear, but shadows? I confess I’m more than half -afraid of them myself. We all know we shouldn’t be, but -we are, just the same. They’re perfectly harmless, but -they’re terrible. There’s nothing so real as shadows.”</p> - -<p>“But tell me,” said I, “how we are to save the Princess.”</p> - -<p>“All in good time,” said the sorcerer; “in the meantime, -you must get a little rest, for you have an important task to -do in the morning.”</p> - -<p>I was tired out, in fact. The sorcerer left me, and I sat -beside the sleeping stork, watching it in silence for a long -while, and then I surrendered myself to drowsiness, and fell -asleep.</p> - -<p>When I awoke, it was morning. The stork was gone, and -the sorcerer’s hand was on my shoulder.</p> - -<p>“Come,” said he, and placed in my hand a tiny bow of -thin metal, with a string of fine hair, and showed me how to -use the stork’s feather as an arrow to the bow. He then instructed -me in what I had to do, and led me out into the -street.</p> - -<p>The stork which had been a Princess was standing on the -curb before the door, and all the other storks were in their -places on the housetops. The street was already busy; shops -and houses were being opened for the day and many people -were outdoors.</p> - - -<h3><i>He Lies in Wait with a Bow and Arrow</i></h3> - -<p>Carrying the stork’s feather and the bow, I went to the -next corner, round which on the evening before I had seen<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[159]</a></span> -the Ragpicker turn up toward her home. I passed this -corner, and concealed myself in a doorway just beyond.</p> - -<p>I had not long to wait. I had drawn my head back into -the doorway for a moment, and when I looked again the -Ragpicker was standing at the street crossing with her back -toward me, gazing in the direction of the stork which stood -before the sorcerer’s door. On her back was her bag, and -in her left hand she carried a knife. The people in the street -stopped to watch her, muttering together.</p> - -<p>“Skag!” said she, “come in!” And she turned sidewise to -her shadow, which lay at a great length on the ground before -her. It began to shorten toward her, and kept shortening -until it was no longer than herself. “Stand up!” said -she, and the shadow stood upright beside her, a black, flat -image of herself in outline, looking as if it had been cut from -stiff, black paper.</p> - -<p>The Ragpicker let down the bag from her shoulder and -opened it on the ground and said “Come out!” And at this -all the people gave a cry of terror and fled into their houses -and shut the doors, and all the storks on the housetops fluttered -their feathers and flapped their wings.</p> - - -<h3><i>The Ragpicker Releases the Shadows in the Street</i></h3> - -<p>Out of the bag poured shadows; hundreds of them; all -the shadows of little children which I had seen go into the -bag the night before; and as they poured out, they ran -about in the street as if bewildered.</p> - -<p>“Skag!” said the Ragpicker. “To the fore!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[160]</a></span>The old woman’s shadow hastened to the front of all the -others and raised its long poker finger, beckoning them to -follow. They crowded behind, and moved noiselessly up the -street toward the stork at the sorcerer’s door. The Ragpicker -followed close behind, holding her knife up in her left -hand. The stork which was the Princess stood motionless -on the curb before the door. The sorcerer was not to be -seen.</p> - -<p>Now was my time for action. I crept silently after the -old woman, and came up just behind her. I fitted the feather -with its drop of blood to the little bow, and as I approached -the old woman so close that I might have touched her, I -aimed quickly at her back and let the arrow fly. Straight -into her back it darted, and stuck there fast.</p> - -<p>“Skag!” she screamed, but she said no more.</p> - -<p>Quick as a wink I plucked the feather from her back, and -as I did so she turned upon me with her knife uplifted. But -she stood suddenly still, her hand relaxed, and the knife fell -to the ground. A change came slowly over her. Her back -straightened; she grew taller; the wrinkles left her face; her -skin became fairer, her eyes larger, her hair longer; and -there was standing before me in her place a beautiful young -damsel, tall and erect, with dark eyes in a pale face, and two -thick braids of brown hair hanging to her waist.</p> - -<p>She held up her right hand and looked at it, and gave a -cry of joy. The long, black, hooked finger was gone. Her -two hands were the shapely white hands of a young woman, -without blemish.</p> - -<p>“Free!” she cried. “The enchantment is over! I am myself<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[161]</a></span> -at last! Oh, thanks, young man!” And she threw her -arms around me and kissed me soundly on the cheek.</p> - -<p>I released myself, awkwardly enough, and as I did so I -saw all the shadows up the street fall flat to the ground, as -if they had been knocked over by a ball; and they began to -slip swiftly away in every direction across the pavement. In -an instant Skag, the old Ragpicker’s shadow, lay at the -young woman’s feet. She screamed and shrank away, but -in another instant the shadow’s shape was changed, and in -its place on the ground was the shadow of the young woman -herself. She clapped her hands with joy.</p> - - -<h3><i>A Singular Commotion on the Housetops</i></h3> - -<p>The shadows of the children were climbing the walls of -the houses; and all of a sudden I heard a great clamor from -the housetops, as of hundreds of children crying out together.</p> - -<p>“We can’t get down! Oh, I’m falling! Help! I can’t -hold on! Oh, Mother! We can’t get down! I’m slipping! -I’m going to fall! Hurry! Mother! Come quick!”</p> - -<p>I looked up, and there on the housetops, where the storks -had been, children were clinging to the chimney pots, straddling -the ridgepoles, hanging on to the gables, big children -and little children, boys and girls, shrieking out at the top -of their voices, and struggling to keep from toppling off into -the street. One tiny boy suddenly disappeared down a chimney; -a big girl lost her hold and rolled down the roof into a -wide leaden gutter, where she hung, half on and half off. -Dozens of boys and girls sat astride the ridgepoles, as if<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[162]</a></span> -riding cockhorses. The big boys began to shout with glee, -but the little ones were crying with fright; and at the hubbub -all the doors flew open and all the fathers and mothers ran -out, and when they saw what it was, a mighty shout went up, -and it wasn’t a minute before a ladder stood against every -wall, and not more than two minutes before all the children -were safe on the ground, hugged up in their mothers’ and -fathers’ arms, with such laughing and weeping and cheering -as never were, I am sure, in this world before.</p> - -<p>“Oh, isn’t it wonderful!” cried the beautiful young -woman. “I’m so glad, so glad!”</p> - -<p>“The Princess!” I cried. “Look at the Princess!”</p> - - -<h3><i>The Princess Is Herself Again, but—</i></h3> - -<p>She was her own lovely self again, and she was standing -at the same place on the curb before the sorcerer’s house, -and the sorcerer himself was standing beside her. The -young woman and myself ran swiftly to her, and I shouted -a joyous greeting as I approached; but to my surprise, she -did not reply.</p> - -<p>She was standing perfectly motionless, with her eyes wide -open, and one hand raised to her neck as if about to unfasten -her necklace. On her shoulder, shown by the open -neck of her dress, was a tiny spot of blood.</p> - -<p>The young woman kissed the sorcerer’s hand and thanked -him.</p> - -<p>“But the Princess!” I cried. “What is the matter with -the Princess?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[163]</a></span>The sorcerer shook his head sadly. “Somebody always -has to pay for these benefits,” said he, “and I’m afraid that -when we plucked the feather we took away something we -cannot replace. She cannot move nor speak. But I will set -to work, and in time I will—”</p> - -<p>“Come!” said the young woman. “I will help her! We -must take her home! Come at once!”</p> - -<p>The sorcerer and myself lifted the Princess between us -and carried her down the street toward the cove. The village -people and their children followed us, and stood in a -throng on the beach as we got into a boat and hoisted a sail.</p> - -<p>“Good-bye!” shouted the people, and the sorcerer and -myself waved our hands, none too cheerfully; and at that -moment we heard a kind of bark from the water beside the -boat, and a voice cried, “Sister!” It was the seal. The -young woman leaned down toward him and cried, -“Brother!”</p> - -<p>“Is everything all right now?” said the seal. “What are -you going to do about me?”</p> - -<p>His sister raised the Princess and showed him the red -mark on the Princess’s shoulder, and told him about the -plucking of the stork’s feather. Then the seal’s sister said:</p> - -<p>“For once you have done a good deed, brother; and if -you’ll do another—you know the promise!—two good -deeds!—you will be free too. Go! and do not return until -you have brought that which will cure the Princess. The -milk of the White Walrus who lives in the Far-Alone -Grotto on the Twelfth Ice Floe! Do you understand?”</p> - -<p>“It’s a pretty good trip,” said the seal, “and I’ll probably<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[164]</a></span> -have to fight the walruses. But if you say so, why I suppose— When -do you think I’d better start?”</p> - -<p>“This instant!” cried his sister. “Off with you! And -return to us at the King’s castle at Ventamere.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, very well,” said the seal, and dived. He came up -again at the mouth of the cove, making off at a great rate for -the open sea....</p> - -<p>We reached the King’s castle at Ventamere in the evening, -and pressed straightway into the Grand Refectory, where -the King was at supper with his court. As we entered, the -whole company sprang up, and my father ran toward me.</p> - - -<h3><i>The King Beholds His Child and Is Grieved</i></h3> - -<p>The sorcerer and myself, carrying the Princess, stood her -on her feet and supported her thus between us, and the seal’s -sister stood beside us.</p> - -<p>“My daughter!” cried the King, and rushing toward the -Princess with outstretched arms, stopped in amazement as -she remained between us as speechless and motionless as a -statue.</p> - -<p>I whispered rapidly into my father’s ear, and the sorcerer, -kneeling before the King, began to explain.</p> - -<p>The King paid no attention to him, but placed a hand -upon his daughter’s arm and wept.</p> - -<p>“My poor child!” he said. “What shall we do now?”</p> - -<p>There was a movement at the door. A crowd of the castle -people poured into the room, and parting, opened a lane -for a young man, a stranger, who advanced rapidly from the -door; a very fat young man, with a round, pink face and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[165]</a></span> -round, blue eyes, who wore hanging from his shoulders the -skin and head of a seal.</p> - -<p>“Brother!” cried the seal’s sister.</p> - -<p>“Yes,” said the fat young man, “it’s me; and a pretty -little time I’ve had among the walruses, I can tell you;” and -he bowed low at the same time to the King.</p> - -<p>“Have you some business with us, young sir?” said the -King.</p> - -<p>“Venison steak and hasty pudding,” said the fat young -man, with his eye on the supper table. “Oh; I beg your pardon. -I am the milk man.”</p> - -<p>“Milk? We want no milk here,” said the King.</p> - -<p>“It’s for the Princess,” said the fat young man. “To be -taken externally. Good for lumbago, rheumatism, sprains, -chilblains, strawberry rash—”</p> - -<p>“What is this fellow talking about?” said the King, in -exasperation.</p> - -<p>“Brother!” said the young woman, his sister, fixing him -sternly with her eye.</p> - -<p>“Rub a little on her shoulder,” said her brother. “Direct -from the White Walrus on the Twelfth Ice Floe, and the -walruses nearly ate me alive before I got it; but here it is. -Excellent for all sorts of skin and blood diseases, as well -as—”</p> - -<p>“Brother!” said the young woman, sternly.</p> - -<p>“I beg your pardon,” said the fat young man; and with a -very grand manner he took out of his pocket an oyster shell, -and pried it open with a knife from the table. On the lower -half of the shell was a spoonful of white liquid.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[166]</a></span></p> - -<h3><i>The Seal Introduces His Liniment, Guaranteed to Cure in -All Cases</i></h3> - -<p>“Very convenient milk bottle,” said he; and waving the -King aside he stepped up to the Princess and went on pompously, -as if he were making a speech:</p> - -<p>“I will now,” said he, “in the presence of the entire company, -and openly before you all, so that you may see that no -deception is practised upon you, apply a modicum of my liniment -to the shoulder of the young lady, at the point where -I perceive a stain of red, rubbing the same in gently thus, -with a downward motion of the first two fingers of the right -hand, thus, and thus, and thus.”</p> - -<p>He poured the white liquid from the shell on to the red -spot on the Princess’s shoulder, and rubbed it in gently, talking -all the while.</p> - -<p>“Now, ladies and gentlemen,” he went on, “I call your attention -to the effects of this lotion when properly applied. -It is warranted to be very efficacious in all cases of— But -see; she lowers her hand; she moves her foot; she speaks; -she—”</p> - -<p>“Father!” cried the Princess, and threw herself into her -father’s arms.</p> - -<p>“Hurrah!” I shouted, and all the company cheered, until -the rafters rang again.</p> - -<p>“Let the castle people retire,” said the King, and he led -the Princess to the table, where he seated her at his right -hand, wiping his eyes and blowing his nose. When we were -all at table, the sorcerer told his tale, and not until he had<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[167]</a></span> -heard it to the end would the King permit the meal to proceed. -I observed that the son of the assistant carol singer -was very attentive to the seal’s sister; and as for the fat -young man her brother,—during the repast, which lasted a -full two hours, he spoke not a word.</p> - -<p>At the end the King begged him to relate the story of his -enchantment and his sister’s, and he readily consented; -whereupon he commenced, without being asked a second -time,</p> - -<h4>THE STORY OF THE TALKING SEAL AND HIS SISTER</h4> - -<p>“You must know,” he began—</p> - -<p><i>“I am very sorry,” said the Princess Dorobel, interrupting, -“but it is Bojohn’s bedtime, and I fear we shall have to -hear this story another time.”</i></p> - -<p><i>“Oh, mother!” said Bojohn. “I couldn’t go to sleep if I -tried. Please don’t—”</i></p> - -<p><i>“No, my dear,” said the Princess Dorobel, “not to-night. -Pray go on with Alb’s story, Solario.”</i></p> - -<p>When the seal’s story was finished (said Alb), the King -begged the One-Armed Sorcerer to remain with him as his -friend and adviser; and this the sorcerer consented to do.</p> - -<p>“And now,” said the King, turning to me, “what reward -shall be yours? I will deny you nothing.”</p> - -<p>I knelt before him, and made my request boldly. I knew -that my whole future hung upon that moment.</p> - -<p>“The hand of my lady Princess,” said I, “if she is willing.”</p> - -<p>“What do you say, my dear?” said the King.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[168]</a></span>The Princess said nothing, but turned red as a rose, and -buried her head on her father’s shoulder. She was mine! I -took her hand in mine and kissed it.</p> - -<p>“<i>That’s</i> settled,” said the King. “And you, sir,” said he -to the fat young man, “what gift shall I bestow upon you?”</p> - -<p>“A little more of the custard pie, if you please,” said the -fat young man.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[169]</a></span> - - -<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/i_169.jpg" alt="" /></div> - - -<h2 class="nobreak">THE FIFTH NIGHT<br /> - -<small>THE CITY OF DEAD LEAVES</small></h2></div> - - -<p class="drop-cap"><i>SOLARIO was sitting cross-legged on his worktable, -and before him, in a row, sat the Executioner, Bodkin, -Bojohn, Prince Bilbo, the Princess Dorobel, and -the Queen.</i></p> - -<p><i>“</i>This <i>time,” said Bojohn, “we want to hear the story of -Montesango’s Cave.”</i></p> - -<p><i>Solario shook his head. “The story is too dreadful altogether,” -said he. “I fear you would lie awake all night -if—”</i></p> - -<p><i>“Then tell us about the Roving Griffin,” said Bodkin.</i></p> - -<p><i>“Or the Blind Giant,” said Bojohn.</i></p> - -<p><i>“I am very curious myself,” said the Princess Dorobel, -“to hear the story of the seal and his sister. What do you -say, mother?”</i></p> - -<p><i>“I remember very well,” said the Queen, dropping her -knitting in her lap, “I saw a seal once when I was a young</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[170]</a></span> -<i>girl, and a very curious creature it was, too, I’m sure. I’ve -never forgotten it, because I was on my way to be married -to your father,—of course he wasn’t your father then, you -know,—and I think the day I saw the seal was the day your -father was expected to meet us, or the day before, I can’t -be quite certain now, it’s so long ago; and we were waiting -for him by the seashore,—but no, we weren’t expecting him -on that day, because he had sent a messenger to say that he -couldn’t start until all the horses were shod, and the blacksmith -was just getting over the measles. I remember that -messenger very well; a small, dark man with a beard, by the -name of—what was his name? Something like Manniko, -or Finnikin,—no, it was Tallboy. That was it. Tallboy. He -didn’t stay with the King very long after we were married, -because his sister’s youngest boy was taken down with -the—”</i></p> - -<p><i>“Grandmother!” said Bojohn. “Solario is waiting to -go on.”</i></p> - -<p><i>“Dear me,” said the Queen, “so he is. I’m glad I brought -my knitting with me to-night.”</i></p> - -<p><i>“I am sure,” said Prince Bilbo, “we would all be glad to -hear about the seal and his sister.”</i></p> - -<p><i>“Your will is my pleasure,” said Solario, very prettily, -“and I will therefore now commence the story of—”</i></p> - -<p><i>Here there was a sharp cry from outside the room door.</i></p> - -<p><i>“Let me in!” piped up a voice, loud and sharp as a -whistle.</i></p> - -<p><i>Mortimer the Executioner opened the door, and at first -glance there appeared to be no one there. But Bojohn cried</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[171]</a></span> -<i>out, “It’s the Encourager!” And there, on the sill, was in -fact the tiny figure of the Encourager, no taller than a sparrow, -carrying his umbrella folded under his arm. He opened -the umbrella, and leaping into the air floated up with it to -the Executioner’s shoulder, where, folding the umbrella -again, he stood bowing to the company.</i></p> - -<p><i>“Dear me,” said the Queen, “I believe it’s the Encourager -of the Interrupter.”</i></p> - -<p><i>“If there’s anything going on,” piped up the Encourager, -in his shrill voice, “I don’t want to be left out!”</i></p> - -<p><i>“Then sit down, Mortimer,” said Prince Bilbo, “and let -the Encourager hear the story too.”</i></p> - -<p><i>The Executioner seated himself, and the Encourager sat -down on the Executioner’s shoulder and gazed solemnly at -Solario with his beady black eyes.</i></p> - -<p><i>“Ahem!” said Solario, clearing his throat and picking up -his shears. “I will now, with your majesty’s gracious permission, -proceed with the story as it was related to the assembled -company at Ventamere by the seal, and by Alb the -Fortunate to myself. This, then, is</i></p> - - -<h4>“THE STORY OF TUSH THE APOTHECARY, AND OF -PARAVAINE HIS SISTER.”</h4> - -<p>I must tell you (said the fat young man), that I am an -apothecary, and my name is Tush.</p> - -<p><i>“We had a Lord Treasurer once,” interrupted the Queen, -“whose name was Filch. It seemed so odd.”</i></p> - -<p>My name is Tush; and this damsel, my sister, who was -lately a Ragpicker, is known as Paravaine. So much for<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[172]</a></span> -that. I now proceed to the catastrophe which begins my -tale, and I hope you will pardon me if I pause at times to -wipe away a tear.</p> - -<p>We were left alone at an early age, my sister and myself, -without kith or kin, and we dwelt together in the city of our -birth, the city of Fadz—you have heard of Fadz? A seaport -of the Kingdom of Wen, a city of ships and conversation; -and in that city we dwelt quietly together, and there I -kept my shop.</p> - -<p>My sister, as you may see by looking at her, was beautiful -in the highest degree; and I am bound to admit to you that -she was not a little vain of her beauty, and prized admiration -above all things in the world. Regarding myself, I may -say that I was considered to be quite handsome, though a -trifle fat.</p> - -<p>In the art of inventing remedies I greatly excelled; and I -would beyond a doubt have succeeded in my profession, but -that I was much given to the making of songs and the tasting -of rare dishes, and these two occupations consumed the -greater part of my days. My sister, on her part, applied herself -so diligently to the adornment of her lovely person before -the mirror, that she had scarcely time for anything else. -In consequence, my business and my house fell into neglect; -and another apothecary, a tuneless fellow in a neighboring -street, who knew not beef from mutton, took away all my -trade. But such is the fate of your true artist, the world -over.</p> - -<p>I forgot, in the application necessary for the composition -of songs, the foolish moneys which I chanced to owe here<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[173]</a></span> -and there, and at length (so dead to the finer things of life -is the coarse mind of trade), I could find no one who was -willing to trust us any longer, even for the meanest knuckle -of the least respectable portion of a pig. I burn with indignation -when I think of it,—but I proceed.</p> - - -<h3><i>The Misfortunes of Tush the Apothecary</i></h3> - -<p>I soon found out what monsters in the shape of men—However. -Certain churls, men of no character, no elevation, -no refinement,—forgive me; I am not quite myself; these -men, if I may call them men, to whom I owed, I believe, -some trifling sums of no account, came to my shop one morning -in a body, fifteen or so; and if you can believe a thing so -monstrous, they seized, they tore away, they loaded into -oxcarts in the street, in the broad light of day, all the goods -of my shop and all the furnishings of my house. I wept, I -threatened, I raved; but all to no purpose. They answered -never so much as a word; they departed, and left my sister -and myself without so much as a chair to sit on, or one coin -to jingle against another.</p> - -<p><i>“Now that,” said the Queen, “was going entirely too far. -However did they expect the poor man to sit down?”</i></p> - -<p>One thing I entreated them to spare me, my Perfection -Cream, a salve or ointment of my own invention, warranted -to relieve in all cases of affliction of the skin; a remedy -which I had compounded many years before, and had tried -once or twice on myself with good results. Of this, having -never sold any, I had on hand, in little jars, a quite considerable -quantity. They left me this, with contempt; and my sister,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[174]</a></span> -observing it, begged them to spare to her of her own -possessions one thing only, her mirror, a handglass backed -with blue enamel, with a long handle of the same; and this -also they granted, not without a jeer.</p> - -<p>We sat for a long time upon the barren floor; and then -we rose, and shaking the dust of the place from our feet, we -departed, never to return. In a pouch at my side I carried -my Perfection Cream, and in her hand my sister carried her -blue mirror; and thus we went forth, to try our fortunes in -the world.</p> - -<p>We sought the wharves, designing to take ship for some -distant clime; and we found, in fact, a vessel loading for a -voyage. The ship’s master was sitting on a bale, directing -the porters, and I addressed him politely, explaining our -case. He shrugged his shoulders and shook his head; but -he happened to turn around and catch sight of my sister, -and his manner changed. He jumped to his feet, bowed, and -begged us to come aboard.</p> - -<p>In effect, we sailed away. My heart was light again. The -city faded behind us, the sunlight sparkled on the waves; and -I was none the less happy because I had not the least idea -where we were going. I composed a song regarding life on -the ocean wave, and sang it with ecstasy, until my sister -begged me to stop.</p> - -<p>The master of the ship treated us with distinguished -courtesy; I could not help contrasting his conduct with that -of the cold-blooded men who had— But I resolved to -think of them no more. I gave myself up to the pleasures of -the voyage.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[175]</a></span></p> - -<h3><i>They Find Themselves on an Unknown Shore</i></h3> - -<p>On the third day, when we were sailing offshore in a light -breeze, my sister came to me in tears. The master of the -ship had demanded that she marry him, as the price of our -passage. I went to him at once, and remonstrated with him -patiently. It was no use. He was set upon marrying my -sister. We left the matter to Paravaine herself, and she rejected -the proposal with scorn. “You see!” said I, throwing -up my hands in despair. “Yes, I see,” said the mariner. -“You wish to go ashore. I will not detain you any longer.” -The ship was brought in closer to the shore, a boat was lowered, -and my sister and myself (I assure you the black-hearted -scoundrel bowed to us politely to the last)—my -sister and myself were landed on a sandy beach, and the ship -sailed away.</p> - -<p><i>“Now isn’t that a perfect shame,” said the Queen. “And -such a nice young man, too.”</i></p> - -<p>We stood for a time in silence, petrified with despair. A -vast, treeless plain stretched away beyond the beach, far as -the eye could see; there was no human habitation anywhere. -Not an ounce of food nor a copper coin did we have between -us,—nothing but my Perfection Cream and my sister’s blue -mirror. We were at our wits’ end.</p> - -<p>“Let us sit down and think what we had better do,” said -I, and I led my sister to a brown rock embedded in the sand -at no great distance. It was a large rock, round and smooth, -and we sat down with our backs against it, gazing mournfully<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[176]</a></span> -at the Great Sea, where it sparkled in the sunlight. It -was a beautiful sight, and I began to think up a new song.</p> - -<p><i>“I always used to say,” said the Queen, “that the sea was -a very pretty thing, but the King never could abide it. He -used to get</i> so <i>sick! And he finally declared he would never -put his foot on a boat as long as he— Dear me! I remember -a sailor on one of our trips who had a parrot that used to -talk—Oh, dear! Such things as he did say! Oh, dear! Oh, -dear! When I think of them!”</i></p> - -<p><i>“All right, grandmother,” said Bojohn. “Go on, Solario.”</i></p> - -<p>As we sat there (said the fat young man) with our backs -against the brown rock, I amused myself by plucking away -idly certain blades of long brown grass which fringed the -lower portion of the rock near my hand; and these blades -I twined, scarce thinking what I did, into a ring of a size to -fit a finger. Instead of putting it on my own finger, I took -my sister’s hand and placed the ring, jestingly, on the first -finger of her right hand.</p> - - -<h3><i>The Startling Effect of Making a Ring of Grass</i></h3> - -<p>No sooner was this done than a kind of groan came from -the rock. The sand on which we sat heaved and shuddered. -It rose beneath us, and we were lifted slowly into the air; -and when we were higher than a man’s height above the -ground we were thrown off on to the beach, and we were -looking up at a monstrous creature in the shape of a man, -who had risen up under us from beneath the sand. He was -chocolate brown in color, and he towered above us full seven<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[177]</a></span> -yards or more. The rock against which we had been sitting -was, as we now perceived, his head; he had been lying, no -doubt asleep, on his stomach under the sand, completely -covered except for his head. We had been sitting above his -buried shoulders, and leaning against the back of his head; -and from this head, all bald but for a fringe of hair at the -bottom, I had plucked the hairs which I had thought were -grass.</p> - -<p>“A genie!” I cried, and pulled my sister to her feet in -fright.</p> - -<p>The genie opened his mouth in a great yawn, and stretched -his mighty arms; and as he breathed out again, jets of flame -shot from his nostrils. He was bare, except for a wide cloth -twisted around his middle from waist to thigh, and in the -waistband he wore a long, curved scimitar, which flashed in -the sun. He spread his hands out before him and bowed low.</p> - -<p>“Were you asleep in the sand?” said my sister, recovering -her wits first.</p> - -<p>He bowed again.</p> - -<p>“What do you want with us?” said my sister, becoming -bolder.</p> - -<p>“I await your commands,” said the genie, in a voice like -the roaring of a waterfall.</p> - -<p>“Oh!” said my sister. “Is it the ring of hair on my finger? -Is that it?”</p> - -<p>He bowed again, extending his hands.</p> - -<p>“Then please! please! take us away from here!” cried -my sister.</p> - -<p>“What is it you seek?” said the genie.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[178]</a></span>“We seek the best thing in the world!” cried my sister. -“Take us where we may find it!”</p> - -<p>“What do you mean by the best thing in the world?” said -I to my sister.</p> - -<p>“I don’t know,” said she; “but the genie ought to know, -and he’ll take us where we may find it. Won’t you?” said -she, looking up at him.</p> - -<p>“Hearing is obedience!” said the genie, and little jets of -fire spurted from his nostrils.</p> - -<p>“Where will you take us?” said I.</p> - -<p>“I will take you where you may find the best thing in the -world,” said the genie. “And if you find it, it will be the best -thing in the world for me too, because it will release me from -the power of the One-Armed Sorcerer, who dwells in an -island far out in the Great Sea. If you don’t find it, it will -be your own fault, and in that case,—beware!”</p> - -<p>“This sounds pretty doubtful,” said I.</p> - -<p>“No matter!” cried my sister. “We will find it. Take us -there at once!”</p> - -<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/i_178fp.jpg" alt="" /></div> -<p class="caption">The genie flew away with Tush and his sister</p> - - -<h3><i>They Start Upon a Journey Through the Air</i></h3> - -<p>The genie stooped down over us, and under his right arm -he gathered me up, and under his left arm he gathered up -my sister. He stamped upon the earth so that it shook, and -leaped into the air; and in an instant we were soaring over -the treeless plain, and I was sick with dizziness. Higher and -higher we mounted, with the speed of an arrow; we seemed -to be flying straight into the face of the sun; I could no<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[179]</a></span> -longer tell which was sea and which was plain below. I -closed my eyes.</p> - - - -<p>It was a long time before I opened them again. We were -lower, and I could see the plain, flat and grassy, without a -tree. The sun declined, and still we kept our course; I -thought we should soon be at the end of the world; and -still there were no trees anywhere on the plain below us.</p> - -<p>I ached in every limb; I cried out, but the genie did not -hear me; and when I was ready to faint with exhaustion his -speed suddenly relaxed, and I saw, at the edge of the horizon -before me, what was, or seemed to be, a city. And still -there were no trees.</p> - -<p>Scarcely a moment passed before the city rose in plain -view; and with a swoop the genie descended upon the earth, -and we were standing, all three of us, before a gate in the -city wall, and my sister was arranging her hair before her -mirror.</p> - -<p>A tall and muscular man stood beside the gate, as if on -guard. He was chocolate brown in color, and he was bare -except for a wide cloth twisted about his middle from waist -to thigh, and in his right hand he carried a scimitar, which -flashed in the sunlight. I looked around for the genie, but -he was gone.</p> - -<p>“What city is this?” said I to the Guardian of the Gate.</p> - -<p>“It is the City of Dead Leaves,” said the man. “What -do you seek in the city?”</p> - -<p>“We are seeking,” said my sister, “the best thing in the -world. We were told that we would find it here.”</p> - -<p>“Ah!” said the Guardian, looking at my sister. “You are<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[180]</a></span> -she who has come to save the King’s brother. Come with -me.”</p> - -<p>He led the way through the gate, and we found ourselves -in an alley of high walls, along which we followed him for -some distance, coming out upon an open plot of grass, surrounded -by the same high walls in a circle. As we approached -it, I smelled a familiar fragrance, the fragrance of -orange blossoms; and I thought with some regret of the -groves upon our slopes at home.</p> - - -<h3><i>The Orange Tree and the Panther</i></h3> - -<p>In the center of this plot was an orange tree. It was green -with foliage and white with blossoms; the odor was delicious. -Under the tree, prowling stealthily around it, was -a panther. I drew back in alarm. “Do not go too close,” -said our guide. “It is death to touch the tree.”</p> - -<p>I had no desire to approach that terrible beast, and we -gave him a wide berth as we proceeded around the rim of -the grassplot to an opening in the opposite wall. We passed -through that opening into a city street; a street of glass, as -it seemed, for the front wall of every house was made of -glass; and within, in every case, was a kind of storeroom, -piled up with something which looked like dead leaves. In -the greater houses these rooms were piled quite full; in the -meaner there were only little mounds; but much or little, -they appeared to be on exhibition, as if in pride.</p> - -<p>“The treasures of our people,” said the Guardian of the -Gate. “Dead orange leaves. Our most precious possession. -The wealth and station of each citizen are gauged by his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[181]</a></span> -store of dead leaves. It is of course only proper to put them -where they may be seen. But come; the King’s brother -awaits us.”</p> - -<p>I nudged my sister. “The King’s brother!” I whispered. -“Here is a chance for you!” She smiled, and glanced into -her mirror.</p> - -<p>We wound through many streets of glass, and I observed -that besides glass the houses contained no material but stone -and metal; the absence of wood was very noticeable. We -turned down a mean street toward the city wall, and came -out upon a common, strewn with refuse of all kinds, and -bounded on the further side by the wall. A shelter of canvas -leaned against the wall, and beneath this shelter, on a pallet -of straw, lay a man in rags. He raised himself on his elbow -and looked up at us.</p> - -<p>“The King’s brother,” said our guide, and I started back -in surprise.</p> - - -<h3><i>They Come Upon the King’s Brother in Rags</i></h3> - -<p>He was a young man, and very ugly, but not unpleasant -to look at; indeed, his ugliness had something honest and -winning in it; and if he had not been so ragged, he might -have made a passable appearance. As it was, I laughed to -myself at the thought of such a fellow in connection with my -beautiful sister.</p> - -<p>The ugly young man stood up and bowed politely.</p> - -<p>“Is it the first stranger?” said he to the Guardian of the -Gate.</p> - -<p>“It is,” said the Guardian.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[182]</a></span>“I am content,” said the young man, casting on my sister -a look of admiration.</p> - -<p>“Fair lady,” he went on, dropping on one knee and taking -her hand, “if you are not pledged elsewhere, I beseech you -to accept me as a suitor for your hand. Stay; do not repulse -me at my first word, but hear me further, and take time to -consider. I am the King’s younger brother; and because I -would not marry a lady of his choosing, he has cast me out, -swearing that I shall remain in this misery unless I shall -marry the first stranger who shall come to our gates. Oh, -fortunate hour that brought you here the first of all! I am -poor; I do not possess a single leaf; but I will devote myself -to you loyally, and I do not think you will regret it. I know, -having seen you, that I cannot live without you. Do not -refuse me now, but at the end of a week give me your -answer.”</p> - -<p>He kissed her hand fervently, and arose. I confess that -I liked this young man, but of course I could not think of -marrying my sister to one so utterly forlorn. I answered -for her.</p> - -<p>“In a week I will let you know,” said I, and drew my -sister away.</p> - -<p>“Before you go,” said he, “let me give you a warning. -Look at my hands.”</p> - -<p>He held out his palms, and I saw that they were covered -with a rash, red and angry-looking. He rubbed his palms -together, as if to soothe an irritation.</p> - -<p>“The itching palms!” said he. “I have handled the dead -leaves all my life; and because I have handled them my<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[183]</a></span> -palms itch, itch, all day and night, without ever a moment’s -peace. I warn you not to touch the dead leaves. The dead -leaves of the orange tree; do not touch them.”</p> - -<p>“Very well,” said I, and with these words we left him.</p> - -<p>The Guardian of the Gate, leading us back into the city -streets, turned and said:</p> - -<p>“You have just had your first chance to gain the best -thing in the world. I will now give you your second. Be -careful how you choose.”</p> - -<p>We entered a street of shops; and I now noticed that the -people were, each of them, rubbing their palms together, as -if to soothe an intolerable itching.</p> - -<p>I paused to look into one of the shops as we passed. The -customers within were handing over to the dealer, in return -for his goods, leaves, dead leaves, of the sort we had seen -in the glass showrooms; and whenever these dead leaves -passed from hand to hand, I remarked that the itching of -the palm they touched became more exasperating, so that -the people were quite beside themselves, and could not keep -quiet on their feet; but the dealer nevertheless received the -dead leaves eagerly, and the others gave them up with reluctance.</p> - -<p>“These people are mad,” said I.</p> - -<p>We joined a great rout of people, all rubbing their hands, -who were pouring down a street in the direction of an open -square; and when we reached it, we saw in the center, on a -platform above the heads of the crowd, a man in a robe, -who was evidently about to read from a paper held in his -hand.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[184]</a></span>“Your second chance,” said the Guardian of the Gate. -“I will leave you to your choice. Be careful how you -choose.”</p> - -<p>He turned away, and disappeared in the crowd.</p> - -<p>“Hear ye! Hear ye!” cried the man on the platform. “A -message from the King! Whereas the affliction of the itching -palm has now become so grievous that it can no longer -be endured, the King now offers, to such person as shall -cure him, one-half of all the dead leaves in his treasury! -And to him also he promises one-half of all the dead leaves -belonging to each person whom he shall cure! The offer is -open to all! Be diligent! Thus saith the King!”</p> - -<p>The messenger got down, and immediately there arose -near the platform a commotion, with much laughter, and -those in that neighborhood began to cry out:</p> - -<p>“Way for the Lord Buffo! Make way for the wise Lord -Buffo!”</p> - - -<h3><i>A Dwarf Clad in Motley Stands up to Speak</i></h3> - -<p>A singular figure now mounted the platform, facing in -our direction. He was a dwarf, hunchbacked and thickset, -with a very large head set deep in his shoulders, and arms -which hung to his knees. His clothing was of squares of -yellow and blue and green and orange, and on his head he -wore a paper crown, rimmed around at the top with little -bells. With his right hand he pulled up by a cord a small -monkey, dressed in all respects like himself; and in his other -hand he held the long tail feather of a cock.</p> - -<p>“The King’s Fool,” said one of the bystanders in my ear.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[185]</a></span>The Fool waved the feather, and the crowd settled itself -to listen.</p> - -<p>“Hear ye! Hear ye!” he cried, in a loud, harsh voice.</p> - -<p>At this the people shouted, “Go on, go on!”</p> - -<p>The monkey leaped up on to the dwarf’s shoulder, and -the dwarf proceeded, with the greatest gravity.</p> - -<p>“I, Buffo, chief counselor to his most gracious majesty, -King Fatchaps, do call upon you to hearken to the voice -of Wisdom!”</p> - -<p>“Wisdom! That’s good!” laughed the crowd,—never -ceasing to rub their palms and dance up and down the while.</p> - -<p>“First I must tell you, my loyal subjects, that you are all -mad. Do you believe it?”</p> - -<p>“Yes! yes! Of course!” shouted the crowd, still laughing.</p> - -<p>“Give ear, and I will prove it to you! Thus! Answer -me! Isn’t there enough in our city for all, to feed you and -clothe you and shelter you and amuse you? Answer!”</p> - -<p>“True!” cried many persons in the throng.</p> - -<p>“Then why are there some among you who starve, and -others who cast out of their abundance to the dogs? Tell me -that!”</p> - -<p>No one replied.</p> - -<p>“Because you are mad! With the itching palm! Look -at you! You can’t stand still on your feet! Rub, rub! Want -in the midst of plenty! Scratch, scratch! Some with too little -and some with too much! Rub, rub! And enough for everybody -in reason! Scratch, scratch! All mad, all mad! Rub, -rub! Look at me—have I itching palms?” He held up his -hands, palms outward.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[186]</a></span>“No!” exclaimed several in the crowd.</p> - -<p>“Tell me why! Tell me why! Because I touch not the -dead leaves! Isn’t it so?”</p> - -<p>No one answered.</p> - -<p>“Give ear, madmen, and I will reveal to you how to cure -the itching palm! Bring the dead orange leaves here to the -square! Pile them up! Burn them, burn them, burn them, -every one! That’s it! Will you give up the dead leaves?”</p> - -<p>“No!” roared the people as if with one voice.</p> - -<p>“Then farewell, madmen!” cried the Fool, and he jerked -the monkey from his shoulder and descended from the platform.</p> - -<p>The people, still rubbing their hands together and dancing, -but laughing withal, rapidly left the square, and my -sister and myself started to go; and as we started, the dwarf -appeared before us with his monkey, and cocked his eye up -at us waggishly.</p> - -<p>“What, ho!” said the Fool. “Strangers, by the ears of a -donkey! Greeting, strangers, what do you among my mad -subjects?”</p> - -<p>“To tell you the truth, my lord,” said I, making up my -mind on the spur of the moment, “I have come here with my -sister from a distant land, to cure the people and their -King of the itching palm.”</p> - -<p>“How so?” said the hunchback, sharply.</p> - -<p>“With a little remedy of my own,” said I, tapping my -pouch.</p> - -<p>“Bah!” said the Fool, jerking the monkey’s cord. “Go -home, madman, you are wasting your time.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[187]</a></span>“One moment!” I said. “Conduct me to the King, I beg -you. You shall see me prove my boast.”</p> - -<p>He looked up at me sidewise. “Pouf!” said he, snapping -his fingers. “Old Fatchaps is as big a fool as you are. Here; -I’ll give you a chance; there’s nobody here to help me. I ask -you, will you help me? I have a plan to gather the leaves -together and burn them. With your help I can do it, and we -will save the people together. Will you help?”</p> - -<p>“Not I,” said I, laughing again. “The people would tear -us both to pieces.”</p> - -<p>“What does that matter?” said the Fool.</p> - -<p>“It matters to me,” said I.</p> - -<p>“Is that your choice?” said the Fool. “You have made -your choice? Done, then. Come with me. I will take you to -the King; and you will wish that I hadn’t. Oh, these fools! -The time is coming when I must take the case in hand myself, -all alone; for I will tell you a secret; lend me your ear.” -He pulled my head down, and whispered fiercely in my ear. -“I love this people, and I will save them; whether they will -or no. D’ye hear? They are my people, and they must be -saved! Whether they will or no! And then what a bonfire! -What a bonfire!”</p> - -<p>He jerked the monkey’s cord again, and made off swiftly. -We followed him, and my sister said to me, in a low voice, -“Do you think he is mad?”</p> - -<p>“That,” said I, “is precisely what I do not know.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[188]</a></span></p> - -<h3><i>Buffo the Fool Leads Them to the Palace</i></h3> - -<p>In a few moments we entered and crossed the grounds of -an immense palace, and Buffo the Fool opened the palace -door without ceremony and preceded us into a great hall, -where he stopped and said:</p> - -<p>“I must have a good look at you first. Buffino, my -mirror!”</p> - -<p>The monkey darted off down the hall and up the staircase. -While he was gone the Fool said to me:</p> - -<p>“You have seen the orange tree and the panther?”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” said I.</p> - -<p>“Do they worship the orange tree in your country?”</p> - -<p>“No, no,” said I. “Orange trees are the commonest of -our possessions. We have them by thousands. Their leaves -are of no account.”</p> - -<p>“So?” said he, with a look which said that he did not -believe it. “We have no tree in all this city, nor anywhere -in all this land, but a single orange tree. No one knows how -the seed came here. We worship that tree; nothing else.”</p> - -<p>“A very pretty sentiment,” said I. “Nothing could be -prettier.”</p> - -<p>“Hideous!” said he. “The leaves that drop from that -tree and die are the cause of all our evil. We fight over -them, we steal them, we waste our lives in getting them, and -we suffer the agony of the itching palm when they are ours. -Will you help me destroy the panther that guards the -tree?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[189]</a></span>“Certainly not,” said I with a shiver.</p> - -<p>“You have made your choice,” said the Fool. “Buffino, -give me the mirror.”</p> - -<p>The monkey, who had now returned, handed to the dwarf -a large mirror, and the Fool held it up before my sister.</p> - -<p>Instead of the beautiful person of my sister appeared in -the glass the face and figure of an old woman, bent, ugly, -and wrinkled. My sister started back in dismay, and the -dwarf held up the mirror before myself. It showed me a -gross, puffy face with three chins and pig’s eyes, horribly repulsive. -I shuddered.</p> - -<p>“Just as I thought,” said the Fool. “Tell me now, have -you seen the King’s brother?”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” said I.</p> - -<p>“Will you marry him?” said he to my sister.</p> - -<p>“Oh!” said she. “How could I? I can’t say. I’m—”</p> - -<p>“Just as I thought,” said the dwarf. “And you won’t -help me cure my people. What is it you came here to seek?”</p> - -<p>“We are seeking the best thing in the world,” said I.</p> - -<p>“And what is that?”</p> - -<p>“I don’t know; but we’ll certainly recognize it when we -find it.”</p> - -<p>“Not you,” said the dwarf; “not until my mirror shows -you fair and comely; <i>then</i> you’ll know it.”</p> - -<p>“How are we to get it to show us fair and comely?” -said I.</p> - -<p>“One of you by saving a miserable outcast, and the other -by saving a whole people; then you’ll be fair and comely, -inside and out, but not until then.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[190]</a></span>“You talk in riddles, master Buffo,” said I. “Let us go to -the King.”</p> - -<p>“Madman!” said the dwarf, and gave the mirror back to -the monkey, who scampered off with it and disappeared.</p> - -<p>We followed the Fool up the great staircase and into a -distant wing of the palace, and stopped at a door, on which -the hunchback knocked. Receiving no answer, he opened the -door and led us in. “Your majesty!” he cried.</p> - - -<h3><i>They Find the King in a Terrible State</i></h3> - -<p>The King was pacing the floor, grinding and scratching -his palms together, and muttering angrily to himself. He -was an enormous man with a puffy, red face, a snub nose, and -three chins, and he wheezed as he walked. His hair stood -up on end all over his head as if it was trying to fly off. His -fat legs went back and forth in a kind of tripping run, and -his fat hands rubbed and scratched and slapped each other -in a perfect frenzy.</p> - -<p>“What, what!” he cried, never halting for an instant. -“What’s the matter, what’s the matter?”</p> - -<p>“Stop a minute, King Fatchaps!” said the Fool. “Here’s -a madman come to cure your itching palms! Ha, ha!”</p> - -<p>“What do you say? What do you say?” said the King, -dancing along, back and forth.</p> - -<p>“It is true, your majesty,” said I.</p> - -<p>“You can cure me? What do you say? You’re an impostor! -They’re all impostors! Can you cure me? Why -don’t you do it then?”</p> - -<p>“I understand,” said I, “that a reward is offered—”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[191]</a></span>“Well, well? What of it?” said the King, wheezing and -puffing. “Half of my dead leaves! What of it?”</p> - -<p>“The fact is,” said I, “we should prefer gold or silver.”</p> - -<p>“Impudence!” cried the King. “Gold? Silver? What -do you mean? I never heard of them.”</p> - -<p>“He’ll take the leaves, never fear,” said the dwarf. “Oh, -yes.”</p> - -<p>“Take ’em!” cried the King. “Who is the beautiful lady? -Take ’em? Dead leaves or nothing! Take ’em or leave -’em!”</p> - -<p>It was plain that a fortune of dead leaves was as good as -any other, if you only thought it so, and if these people -thought it so, as they evidently did, I might as well take it.</p> - -<p>“I am satisfied, your majesty,” said I, “and if you will -hold out your palm, I will work the cure.”</p> - - -<h3><i>The Perfection Cream Is Rubbed into the Itching Palm</i></h3> - -<p>The King held out his left hand as he passed, and I trotted -along beside him, and drawing from my pouch one of -my little jars, I applied to the King’s palm, with my fingers, -a small portion of my salve, rubbing it in as well as I could; -and then I ran around to his other side, and did the same for -his other hand. It was rather difficult, considering that I had -to trot along beside him as he tripped back and forth across -the carpet.</p> - -<p>“What, what, what! Bless my soul!” cried the King, -stopping suddenly. “It feels better!”</p> - -<p>I bowed and smiled, and Buffo the Fool said, “Mad, old -Fatchaps! Both of you mad!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[192]</a></span>“Speak when you’re spoken to!” said the King. “Who -asked your opinion? Pfoo! pfoo! I haven’t any breath left! -Not another word out of you, sir! I know when I’m cured! -I’m no fool, I’m no fool!”</p> - -<p>“Oh, no, not at all!” said the Fool.</p> - -<p>“Here, you!” said the King. “Take this young man and -his wife and feed ’em, and let ’em sleep in the palace. I’ll -settle with ’em in the morning, if the itching’s gone. I’m no -fool.”</p> - -<p>“Not my wife,—my sister,” said I, bowing.</p> - -<p>“What do you say?” cried the King. “Oh, that’s different!”</p> - -<p>He bowed before my sister, and kissed her hand very -respectfully.</p> - -<p>“Bless my soul! Beautiful as a moonbeam! What do you -say? Where do you come from, eh? The itching’s gone. -But I’ll wait till morning. I’m no fool. Be off with you, -clown, and let ’em eat and sleep in the palace. What do you -say? He shall cure the whole city, and I’ll make ’em give -up half of all their dead leaves to him! In the morning, in -the morning! What do you say? Be off with you!”</p> - -<p>We hastily left him, and as we passed down the hall we -saw him poke his head out of the door and heard him call:</p> - -<p>“Ho! I’m cured! Where’s that confounded chamberlain? -Send me the chamberlain! What do you say? I’m -cured!” And he banged the door shut again.</p> - -<p>That night we dined sumptuously and slept in gorgeous -apartments in the palace. In the morning, being once more -conducted by Buffo to the King, we found him in a transport<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[193]</a></span> -of happiness. The cure was perfect. He kissed my sister’s -hand, and threw his arms about me, and cried:</p> - -<p>“It’s yours! Half of my dead leaves, and I’ll make a -Prince out of you! Not a word! What do you say? Never -woke up once last night! Get to work and cure all my people. -Where’s that confounded chamberlain? Get to work, -get to work!”</p> - - -<h3><i>Tush the Apothecary Takes the People in Hand</i></h3> - -<p>The arrangements were soon made. I took my stand on -the palace steps, and all day long the people filed before me, -and into each palm I rubbed a little of my salve. It was a -work of days, and all business stopped until my task was -done. At the end, the city was cured; never were there in -this world a people so beside themselves with joy.</p> - -<p>In the square where I had first met the King’s Fool the -King caused to be thrown up, with five hundred pairs of -willing hands, a vat of hardened mud in blocks, and into this -vat his servants poured for me a good full half of all the -dead orange leaves in his treasury, and on top of these, from -each of those whom I had cured, one-half of his store of -leaves; so that when all was done the vat was just half full. -I was rich; richer than the King himself; and my Perfection -Cream was all gone.</p> - -<p>I hinted to the King that some kind of covering should be -provided for the vat, to protect my riches from the weather.</p> - -<p>“What, what?” said he, his face growing a trifle purple. -“There’s no rain at this time of year! What do you say? -All in good time! I can’t do everything in a minute!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[194]</a></span>Now it came to pass, as you may guess, that the King -grew daily more smitten with my sister’s beauty. Scarcely -a day passed on which he did not visit us in the splendid -apartments in his palace which he had given us for our own. -His favors became more lavish as time went on; they could -have only one meaning. “You shall be Queen!” said I to -my sister, and she smiled knowingly.</p> - -<p>We were expecting, one evening, a visit from the King, -when the Fool entered our apartment, and behind him came, -instead of the King, the King’s ugly brother. I was startled, -for I had forgotten him completely.</p> - -<p>He knelt beside my sister, and took her hand tenderly -in his.</p> - -<p>“Dear lady,” he said, “I do not blame you that you have -neglected your promise. I have stolen here at great risk -to lay myself again at your feet. Surely a loyal heart must -weigh with you more than rank or riches. Ah, dear lady, -say that you will be mine!”</p> - -<p>I confess that there was something about this young man -which made me like him better than before; but of course -a match such as he proposed was out of the question.</p> - -<p>My sister shook her head and drew away her hand. “I -cannot, I cannot,” she said.</p> - -<p>“Tell me,” he said, “do you think well of me—do you -care for me a little—do you think you can say you love me, -ever so little?”</p> - -<p>“I do! I do!” cried my sister, to my amazement, hiding -her face in her hands. “I loved you on the first day I saw -you! I can’t help it! I do!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[195]</a></span>“Ah, then,” said the young man, rising, while I on my -part remained speechless with astonishment, “what’s to -hinder? You are mine!”</p> - -<p>“No, no,” said my sister, weeping, “it can never be.”</p> - -<p>“Is it because I am poor and friendless?”</p> - -<p>My sister said never a word.</p> - -<p>“Is it because you prize rank and wealth more than love?”</p> - -<p>Still my sister said nothing.</p> - -<p>The young man hesitated, and stooping to kiss her hand, -he said, “I have received my answer;” and with these words -he strode mournfully to the door. But she did not look up -at him, and with a sigh of deep grief he left us.</p> - - -<h3><i>Paravaine Has Made Her Choice</i></h3> - -<p>“The wrong choice once more,” said the Fool, and he, -too, went his way.</p> - -<p>My sister had hardly dried her eyes when there came a -knock upon the door behind her, and the King entered. She -did not turn round, and the King tripped in silently on his -toes, putting a finger roguishly to his lips and shaking all -over with mirth; and coming up behind her he placed his -two fat hands over her eyes, wagging his eyebrows up and -down at me.</p> - -<p>“Guess who it is!” he cried, wheezing. “What do you -say? It’s somebody come a-wooing! Never mind who! Ha, -ha, ha! Guess who it is, and to-morrow you’ll be Queen! -What do you say? Pouf! Pah! I’m all out of breath. It’s -somebody that wants you to be his Queen. Guess! The -most beautiful Queen in the whole—”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[196]</a></span>He stopped suddenly. The King’s Fool and his monkey -had slipped into the room behind him and were standing before -my sister, and the dwarf was holding up his mirror before -my sister’s face.</p> - -<p>“What, what, what!” cried the King in a rage, taking -away his hands from my sister’s eyes. “What do you mean? -Out of my sight, Fool! Away! Begone!”</p> - -<p>The dwarf held the mirror higher, shaking with laughter -the while, and my sister gazed into it. I saw her shudder and -turn pale, and then she screamed and buried her face in her -hands.</p> - -<p>The King, staring likewise into the mirror, turned purple -and remained as if frozen with horror. He shook himself, -and gave a choking gasp.</p> - -<p>“What’s this?” he cried. “It’s the—what a— Take it -away. She’s an old woman! She’s a witch! What a— I’m -no fool, it’s a trick, I knew it all the time! Take her -away! She’s an old woman. You can’t play tricks on me, I -won’t have it, I won’t stand it. She’s a witch! I’m going. -I won’t stay. It’s a trick. I’m no fool!”</p> - -<p>With these words, puffing and wheezing, he trotted on -his fat legs out of the room.</p> - -<p>“No marriage yet,” said the Fool, looking at me queerly, -and he ran after the King, pulling his monkey along with -him.</p> - - -<h3><i>He Finds Himself Rubbing His Palms Together</i></h3> - -<p>That night, as I stood before my mirror, undressing, and -comforting myself with the thought of all the magnificence<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[197]</a></span> -I had acquired and would acquire with my dead orange -leaves, I found myself rubbing the palm of my right hand -with the fingers of my left. I was aware of a slight itching -in the palm.</p> - -<p>At breakfast in the morning, I noticed that my sister, who -was very sober, would now and then scratch the palm of her -right hand; but I said nothing, and in the afternoon, without -questioning her on the subject of her love for the King’s -brother, I prepared to visit the King, to try if I could not -bring him back to reason. I was ready to leave, when my -sister broke into my room, crying out frantically:</p> - -<p>“I can’t stand it, I can’t stand it! The itching in my -palms! It won’t stop for a moment! I can’t sit still! It’s -growing worse and worse! Oh, brother, cure it, cure it, or -I shall go mad!”</p> - -<p>She walked up and down the room in a frenzy, rubbing -her palms together. I tried in vain to pacify her, and at -length I left her and betook myself to the King.</p> - -<p>On my way the itching of the night before returned, and -this time I felt it in both my hands. I knew that my sister -and myself, in common with the King and all his subjects, -had been handling the dead leaves freely since I had worked -the cure, and I began to be uneasy.</p> - -<p>When I knocked at the King’s door the voice of the Fool -said “Come in,” and I found the King running with his tripping -step up and down the room, rubbing his hands, and beside -him trotted the Fool and the monkey.</p> - -<p>“Imbecile!” cried the King, without stopping for an instant. -“You shall die the death! A trick, a trick! And<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[198]</a></span> -half of my dead leaves gone for nothing! A death in boiling -oil! What do you say? Don’t answer me! My hands, my -hands! Worse than before! You shall suffer, you shall -suffer! A slow death! Why don’t you speak? What are -you going to do?”</p> - -<p>“Ha, ha, ha!” laughed the Fool. “He’s been handling -the dead leaves again, and so have you all. It’ll be my turn -soon! My turn soon!”</p> - -<p>“Patience, your majesty,” said I, rubbing my hands. “I -will go to work at once and prepare more of my salve. Have -no fear. I will cure you instantly. I am off to my work.”</p> - - -<h3><i>He Cannot Find the Ingredients for Making the Salve</i></h3> - -<p>“Pouf! Pah!” said the King, angrily, and I ran from the -room, to find the ingredients necessary for my salve. But -alas, they were not to be found. I sent everywhere; the city -was scoured; but it was no use; I was in despair. Such simples -as could be found I gathered together, and of these I -made a new remedy,—far different from my old, but it was -the best I could do. I tried it on myself, and felt an almost -instant relief. I shouted with joy.</p> - -<p>I returned to the King, and as I passed an open window -in the great hall I heard the muttering of many voices outside, -and I saw a great concourse of people in the palace -grounds, all talking angrily, and all rubbing their hands and -dancing on their toes in anguish. They began to shout my -name, and I knew that if I should fall among them in their -present temper I should be lost.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[199]</a></span>The King was trotting up and down as before, and the -dwarf and the monkey were running along beside him.</p> - -<p>“What, what?” he cried. “What now? No tricks! I’m -no fool. What’s the matter?”</p> - -<p>“If I cure you,” said I, holding up my box of ointment, -“I must have the rest of your leaves; and from every one -I cure I must have the rest of his; it is only just.”</p> - -<p>“Anything!” cried the King. “You can’t do it! It’s another -trick! I’ll give all the dead leaves in the city to anyone -who can save me and my people! It’s a trick! You -can’t do it. What are you waiting for? Try it! Oh, these -hands! It’s no use! Hurry up!”</p> - -<p>I seized his hand, and running beside him I rubbed into -his palm a little of my new ointment; and running around -to his other side I did the same for his other hand.</p> - -<p>“See the madmen!” cried the Fool, clapping his hands -in glee.</p> - -<p>“By the beard of my uncle!” cried the King. “I feel better! -It’s going! It’s gone! It’s all over! I’m cured! Oh, -wonderful young man, come to my arms! What do you -say? I knew you could do it all the time. I’m cured!”</p> - -<p>He grasped my arm and pulled me from the room, and -down the stairway to the front door. A great throng filled -the grounds, from the door to the gate; and commanding -silence, the King announced in a loud voice that I was ready -with my cure, and that whoever wished to be cured should -give up the remainder of his dead leaves.</p> - -<p>There was a moment’s hesitation, but the anguish of their -affliction was too great; the people whispered together,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[200]</a></span> -doubtless remarking that they would soon get back their -leaves in trade; and at any rate they began to file before me, -and my healing work commenced; but not before I had applied -my salve, in sight of all, to my sister’s palms, and given -her immediate relief.</p> - -<p>All that day and the next and for several days the work -continued, and in each case the itching vanished at once; the -city was cured again, and my vat in the public square was -filled to the brim, with all the dead orange leaves that the -people owned. The glory of my future was beyond calculation; -my sister, I resolved, should yet be Queen; and I -planned for myself such offices in the state as should give -me power even greater than the King’s.</p> - -<p>When I awoke in my bed on the following morning, I -found that I was rubbing my hands.</p> - -<p>I dressed hurriedly, and my sister came to me in tears. -She was rubbing her hands.</p> - -<p>We hurried to the King. He was running up and down, -rubbing his hands.</p> - -<p>We fled from him and ran out upon the palace steps, not -knowing where next to go; and as we stood there, hesitating, -the King’s brother appeared before us, and spoke with excitement.</p> - -<p>“Beloved!” he cried. “We love each other—what more -is needed? Quick, it is not yet too late! Say that you love -me—let me hear it again!”</p> - -<p>“Ah, yes, I do,” said my sister, and he threw his arm -about her and clasped her to his breast.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[201]</a></span>“Come! I will save you!” he cried. “There is time, if -we hurry. Will you come with me now?”</p> - -<p>My sister drew back a little, still struggling within herself; -and while she hesitated, a commotion arose at the gate, -and the young man cried out, in a voice full of despair:</p> - -<p>“It is too late, too late!”</p> - - -<h3><i>Tush and His Sister are Seized by the Angry Crowd</i></h3> - -<p>At the gate a throng of people were pressing in with -angry shouts. They made toward us, dancing and rubbing -their hands. They surrounded us; they crowded upon us to -suffocation; the young man and myself tried in vain to shield -my sister; angry hands were laid upon her and upon myself, -and we were hustled away toward the gate.</p> - -<p>“Give us back our leaves! Kill them both! To the -square!” shouted the mob; and thrusting the King’s brother -aside they pulled and pushed us to the public square, and -halted us beneath the vat which contained all my wealth.</p> - -<p>A sudden outcry, followed by silence, drew my attention -upward. There above us, on the rim of the vat, stood the -King’s Fool. He held a lighted torch aloft in his hand.</p> - -<p>“Madmen!” he cried. “I am ready to cure you! All -alone! Speak! Shall I destroy the leaves?”</p> - -<p>“No, no!” shouted the crowd. “Stop him! Stop him!”</p> - -<p>“If you fire the leaves, we will kill these two!” shouted -one of our captors.</p> - -<p>“Oh!” said my sister at my side, pale with terror. “What -shall we do? Stop him! If the genie would only come and -help us! I wish the genie were here to help us!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[202]</a></span>“The time has come!” cried the Fool. “I must save you! -Why will you all be mad? I must save you from your madness! -In with the torch!”</p> - -<p>He faced about toward the center of the vat, and swung -his torch as if about to toss it in; but at that instant a great -wind swept across the square with a roar, such a blast as I -had never in my life known before, and the King’s Fool -tottered in it for a moment, and his torch went out; and then, -clutching at the air, he was blown headlong to the ground -in a heap.</p> - -<p>“The whirlwind! The whirlwind!” shouted the crowd in -terror. “Fly! Fly for your lives!”</p> - -<p>Far off across the housetops appeared a yellow cloud, and -a saffron gloom overspread the city. From the cloud to the -ground revolved a yellow funnel, as of dust-laden wind; and -it was coming toward us with the speed of lightning.</p> - -<p>The crowd dispersed madly, trampling one another, -shrieking and cursing, and in a twinkling they were gone. I -seized my sister and dragged her to the street corner, where -I opened one half of a cellar door and plunged down with -her, closing the door over us, but peeping out through a -crack. We were just in time.</p> - - -<h3><i>The Genie in the Whirlwind</i></h3> - -<p>The whirling funnel of wind and dust swept over the -square; and in the forefront of it, at a great height, flew the -genie, his great mouth open, and darts of fire flickering -around his face.</p> - -<p>The square was empty, save for the crumpled body of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[203]</a></span> -King’s Fool, lying motionless beside the vat of dead leaves; -and as I gazed at him where he lay, I saw, moving toward -him across the bare pavement, the humped figure of his -little monkey.</p> - -<p>The genie, far above, kept just ahead of the whirlwind; -the yellow funnel whirled after him directly across the vat -and covered it and passed; and as it passed, all the dead -leaves surged up into it in a furious gale, so that it was darkened -with them; and the next moment the whirlwind was -gone, and the square lay quiet in the sunshine.</p> - -<p>“Come, Paravaine!” said I, and pulled my sister forth -across the square.</p> - -<p>We came to the base of the vat, and on the ground beside -it, left there untouched by the storm, lay the King’s Fool on -his side, graver than he had ever been in his life; and huddled -against his breast sat his monkey, shivering, and looking -up at us with eyes that seemed to reproach us.</p> - -<p>We hurried toward the city gate. Many houses were in -ruins, and the streets were strewn with rubbish. People were -running busily about, gazing intently at the ground, and -now and then one would stoop and pick up something. I -saw what it was they were doing; they were searching for -dead leaves, scattered by the whirlwind.</p> - -<p>“I can’t go!” said my sister, weeping. “I must see him -first! Oh, my love, my love!”</p> - -<p>“Too late now!” I cried. “Too late, too late!”</p> - -<p>I pulled her onward, knowing that death awaited us in -that city; and we came to the plot of grass where we had -seen the sacred tree. It was gone, and in the place where<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[204]</a></span> -it had been was only a gaping hole. The whirlwind had -passed that way. On the ground beside the hole lay the -panther, its head on its paws. It watched us with sleepy -eyes as we fled by.</p> - -<p>In a moment we had reached the city gate and passed -out. The Guardian was standing there, his face clouded -with a frown, and his scimitar raised.</p> - -<p>“Why do you flee?” said he.</p> - -<p>“From the wrath of the people!” I cried. “Let us pass!”</p> - -<p>“You cannot pass,” said he. His scimitar glittered in the -sun.</p> - -<p>“But we repent! We repent!” cried my sister.</p> - -<p>“Too late, too late!” said the Guardian. “See!”</p> - -<p>He pointed upward, and afar off in the sky appeared a -black speck, speeding toward us.</p> - -<p>“The genie!” I cried; and I had no sooner said it, than -the earth trembled, and before us on the ground towered -the genie, breathing fire.</p> - -<p>“Save us from him!” I cried, turning to the Guardian, but -he was gone. We were alone with the genie.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/i_204fp.jpg" alt="" /></div> -<p class="caption">The genie swung him back and forth and tossed him out to sea</p> - - -<h3><i>The Pulling Off of the Genie’s Ring</i></h3> - -<p>“Off with the ring! That will send him away!” I cried -to my sister, and she tugged at the ring on her forefinger, -to pull it off; but it came unwillingly; and as she pulled, her -finger lengthened; she tugged harder, and as the ring came -her finger stretched out longer and longer; and when the -ring was off and dropped on the ground, the first finger of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[205]</a></span> -her right hand was more than a foot long,—a black, stiff -rod, hooked at the end like a poker.</p> - - - -<p>The genie stooped, and gathered me under his right arm -and my sister under his left; and giving a stamp upon the -ground which shook the earth he mounted into the air....</p> - -<p>Far out over the Great Sea, as the sun was setting, the -genie drew downward toward an island; and on a bluff of -this island, overlooking a cove in which fishing boats lay -moored, he alighted and set us on our feet. Over my sister’s -head and back he passed his hand, speaking strange words -in his throat. She shriveled before my eyes; her face became -old and wrinkled and her body bent; and before I could -speak she was the hideous creature I had seen in the Fool’s -glass, with a forefinger like the poker of a ragpicker.</p> - -<p>“Paravaine!” I cried; but the genie turned her away toward -a village which showed itself at the back of the cove, -and sent her off in that direction; and when she had gone, he -picked me up in his mighty hands, and carrying me to the -further edge of the bluff where it looked down on the rolling -surf, he swung me back and forth three or four times and -tossed me out to sea.</p> - -<p>I sank into the depths; I rose to the surface; and as my -head came up I looked for the genie. Far up in the evening -sky flew what seemed a tiny, black arrow. I cried aloud; -and instead of a shriek there came from my throat a bark. -It was the bark of a seal.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[206]</a></span> - - -<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/i_206.jpg" alt="" /></div> - - - -<h2 class="nobreak">THE SIXTH NIGHT<br /> - -<small>THE ENCHANTED HIGHWAYMAN</small></h2></div> - - -<p class="drop-cap"><i>MORTIMER the Executioner, very grand and uncomfortable -in his new suit, placed a chair for the -Queen before Solario’s worktable, and the old -tailor having seated himself cross-legged on the table, the -entire company sat down in a row, facing him.</i></p> - -<p><i>There were first the Executioner, with the tiny Encourager -on his shoulder; then Bodkin; then Bojohn; then his -mother, the Princess Dorobel, and his father, Prince Bilbo; -and last, his grandmother, the Queen.</i></p> - -<p><i>“Now then,” said Bojohn, “I hope we’re going to hear -the story of Montesango’s Cave at last.”</i></p> - -<p><i>“If it please your majesty,” began Solario, addressing the</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[207]</a></span> -<i>Queen,—but at this moment there came a loud knock at -the door.</i></p> - -<p><i>Mortimer the Executioner hastened to open it, and there -in the doorway stood the King himself. Solario sprang -down from his table, and all the others rose.</i></p> - -<p><i>“Ah! your majesty!” cried Solario, bowing profoundly. -“This is indeed an honor!”</i></p> - -<p><i>“I was told I would find you here,” said the King. “It -seems that my entire family deserts me in the evening, and -I am obliged to climb the worst stairs in the castle to— But -of course if you find my society too—”</i></p> - -<p><i>“My dear!” said the Queen. “We have been listening -to Solario’s stories, and you were so taken up with your -chess that we thought you wouldn’t care to—”</i></p> - -<p><i>“Why not?” said the King. “But of course if you don’t -want me to hear the stories, I’ll—”</i></p> - -<p><i>“Sit down, grandfather!” cried Bojohn. “He’s just going -to begin.”</i></p> - -<p><i>“Do sit down, my dear,” said the Queen. “Don’t you -remember the story he told us the first night?”</i></p> - -<p><i>“Hum! Ha! I’m all out of breath with those plaguey -stairs. Something about a button, wasn’t it?”</i></p> - -<p><i>“Perhaps,” said Prince Bilbo, “he’ll tell us to-night how -the magic doublet came to be—”</i></p> - -<p><i>“Well,” said the King, “if it isn’t a long story— Is it -a long story?”</i></p> - -<p><i>“No, no, your majesty,” said Solario, bowing again, “it is -quite short.”</i></p> - -<p><i>“Hum!” said the King. “If you’re sure it’s not a long</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[208]</a></span> -<i>story—Why don’t you begin?” and he sat down in the Executioner’s -chair.</i></p> - -<p><i>Solario took his place cross-legged on the table again, and -the others resumed their seats before him,—all except the -Executioner, who stood, with the Encourager on his -shoulder, behind the King.</i></p> - -<p><i>“My dear,” said the Queen, “did you give the orders for -locking the castle for the night?”</i></p> - -<p><i>“I believe I usually attend to that,” said the King. “Solario, -proceed.”</i></p> - -<p><i>“If it is your pleasure,” said Solario, fingering his shears, -“I will now relate to you the story concerning the magic -doublet, as it was told to the Black Prince by his father the -King of Wen, and by the Black Prince to me. The King of -Wen, having directed his son regarding his mission to the -City of Oogh, placed the doublet in his son’s left hand, and -thus commenced what I may call</i></p> - -<h4>“THE STORY OF THE ENCHANTED HIGHWAYMAN.”</h4> - -<p><i>“I thought,” interrupted Bojohn, “you were going to tell -us the story of the magic doublet.”</i></p> - -<p><i>“I am about to do so,” said Solario. “As I was saying, -the King of Wen, placing the magic doublet in his son’s left -hand, thus commenced</i></p> - -<h4>“THE STORY OF THE ENCHANTED HIGHWAYMAN.”</h4> - -<p>When I was a young man (said the King of Wen), I left -my father’s castle one morning for a day’s hunting in the -forest. Late in the afternoon it chanced that I had wandered<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[209]</a></span> -away from my attendants, and being warm and weary -I threw myself down upon the moss to rest. I had lain -there but a moment when I saw, not far off among the trees, -a fine buck, the only game I had come upon that day. I -crept cautiously in his direction, and soon came within easy -bowshot of him; but just as I was fitting my arrow to the -string he tossed his head and trotted off into the forest and -disappeared.</p> - -<p>I made off after him as fast as I could, marking his trail -by a broken branch here and there and an occasional hoof-print -in the damp earth, and presently I found myself deep -in a considerable thicket of underwood, and from this thicket -I came out, to my surprise, upon a forest road.</p> - - -<h3><i>A Voice from Nowhere Bids the Prince Stop</i></h3> - -<p>I stood for a moment looking up and down curiously. -The deer was nowhere to be seen. The road was arched -in a charming manner by the branches of the trees, and at no -great distance lost itself in the shadowy forest. I wondered -that I had never heard of this road before, and after pondering -this for a moment I began to cross the road, looking -carefully for the deer’s tracks in the dust. I saw no trace -of him, and I was about to push into the forest on the other -side, when suddenly a voice, a low but clear voice, said distinctly -in my ear, “Stop!”</p> - -<p>I looked about me, but I could see no one. There was -positively no living creature near me,—unless I except a -wasp which at the moment was flying about my head, and -which I struck away with my hand.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[210]</a></span>I walked down the road some twenty paces, peering about -for the person who had spoken, and becoming more and -more perplexed; and as I was about to enter the forest the -same voice, still low but quite distinct, spoke again close -into my ear: “Stop!”</p> - -<p>I stopped in bewilderment. The forest was silent as the -sky; no living creature, not even a bird, could I see anywhere; -there was nothing;—nothing, indeed, except the wasp -which was still flying about my head and which now began to -annoy me exceedingly.</p> - -<p>I went on again, striking out at the wasp, and in a moment -(I assure you I began to doubt my senses), the same voice -spoke again, this time close into my left ear.</p> - -<p>“Stop! Just a moment!” it said. “Look, if you please! -On your left shoulder!”</p> - -<p>I craned my neck about, and there was nothing on my left -shoulder except the wasp. The wasp was there, indeed, and -I made as if to brush him off; but the voice said, “Don’t, -if you please!” and I stayed my hand.</p> - -<p>You may imagine that I was more astonished than ever. -I gazed at the wasp intently, and as I did so the voice began -to murmur, in a kind of rapid, buzzing drone, into my left -ear.</p> - -<p>“Mercy on us!” I cried. “It’s the wasp that’s talking!”</p> - -<p>It was true, beyond a doubt. “Yes!” said the voice. -“Please listen! If you’d only be so good—I really wish you -would!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[211]</a></span></p> - -<h3><i>The Prince Listens to a Curious Discourse</i></h3> - -<p>I stood perfectly still in the roadway, and I know that -my mouth hung open as I listened. The wasp buzzed into -my ear a kind of rapid, droning song, so low that I had to -strain my attention a little to catch it all, and these were -the words I heard:</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“I know it’s rude to speak to you, it’s something I but seldom do,</div> -<div class="indent2">to speak before I’m spoken to,</div> -<div class="indent11">Or buttonhole a stranger;</div> -<div class="verse">Excuse me if I do not pause to think just now of social laws, I can</div> -<div class="indent2">not spare the time, because</div> -<div class="indent11">I’m in the gravest danger;</div> -<div class="verse">In gravest danger, yes, it’s true, I’m sure I don’t know what I’ll</div> -<div class="indent2">do, I’ll positively die if you</div> -<div class="indent11">Refuse me your assistance;</div> -<div class="verse">Come, follow me without delay, I pray you do not say me nay,</div> -<div class="indent2">it’s life or death,—and anyway</div> -<div class="indent11">It’s scarcely any distance.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“My lot is sad in the extreme, I really am not what I seem,</div> -<div class="indent2">I once was held in high esteem</div> -<div class="indent11">By every friend and neighbor:</div> -<div class="verse">A man entirely free of guile, who lived but in his children’s smile,</div> -<div class="indent2">and kept them all in modest style</div> -<div class="indent11">By hard and patient labor,</div> -<div class="verse">A man of pleasing manners who, whatever other men might do,</div> -<div class="indent2">spoke seldom unless spoken to,</div> -<div class="indent11">A practice much commended;</div> -<div class="verse">My trade in such a way I plied upon the highway far and wide</div> -<div class="indent2">(I say it with a modest pride)</div> -<div class="indent11">I scarcely once offended.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“It used to be my pleasant way (it always made my work seem<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[212]</a></span></div> -<div class="indent2">play) to take the air from day to day,—</div> -<div class="indent11">Unless, of course,’twas raining,—</div> -<div class="verse">Upon the road to watch and wait from early morn to rather late,</div> -<div class="indent2">but always coming home by eight</div> -<div class="indent11">(Such was my early training),</div> -<div class="verse">I used to watch and wait, I say, and when a trav’ler came my</div> -<div class="indent2">way, which happened every other day</div> -<div class="indent11">Unless too cold or sunny,</div> -<div class="verse">I never spoke a word, not I, I merely breathed a patient sigh,</div> -<div class="indent2">and held my trusty blade on high</div> -<div class="indent11">And took from him his money.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“’Twas thus I kept my children ten, a decent, worthy citizen,</div> -<div class="indent2">the happiest of mortal men</div> -<div class="indent11">My humble sphere adorning,</div> -<div class="verse">The father of ten daughters fair who needed tons of clothes to</div> -<div class="indent2">wear, and that was why I took the air</div> -<div class="indent11">Upon the road each morning,</div> -<div class="verse">But oh, alas for them and me, it’s over now, as you may see,</div> -<div class="indent2">and you are incontestably</div> -<div class="indent11">Our only hope remaining;</div> -<div class="verse">And all our truly dreadful plight is just because one rainy night</div> -<div class="indent2">I simply for a moment quite</div> -<div class="indent11">Forgot my early training.</div> -</div></div></div> - - - -<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/i_212fp.jpg" alt="" /></div> - - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse"><b>“I held my trusty blade on high</b></div> -<div class="verse"><b>And took from him his money”</b></div> -</div></div> - - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“’Twas rainy and ’twas after eight, I knew that I was out too</div> -<div class="indent2">late, but when your trade’s in such a state</div> -<div class="indent11">You hardly know what cash is,</div> -<div class="verse">You cannot stop because you get your feet all muddy, cold and wet,</div> -<div class="indent2">I knew I should be ill, and yet,—</div> -<div class="indent11">My children needed sashes.</div> -<div class="verse">I shivered with the wet and cold, I counted twenty times all told</div> -<div class="indent2">I’d meant to have my shoes half-soled</div> -<div class="indent11">And still they’d not been cobbled,</div> -<div class="verse">‘I’ll certainly,’ I thought, ‘be sick,’—and then from out the darkness<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[213]</a></span></div> -<div class="indent2">thick an ancient woman with a stick</div> -<div class="indent11">In fearsome silence hobbled.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“She was an ancient, crooked crone, an ugly thing of skin and</div> -<div class="indent2">bone, she passed me silent as a stone</div> -<div class="indent11">(I thought it rather funny),</div> -<div class="verse">But I could hear my children cry, ‘Oh, buy us ribbons, father, buy,’</div> -<div class="indent2">and stopping her, my blade on high,</div> -<div class="indent11">I shouted, ‘Stand! Your money!’</div> -<div class="verse">Ah, that was just where I did make a most unfortunate mistake,</div> -<div class="indent2">for she with mirth began to shake</div> -<div class="indent11">(It made my blood run colder),</div> -<div class="verse">And up she raised her crooked staff, she gave a most unearthly</div> -<div class="indent2">laugh, a thing I did not like by half,</div> -<div class="indent11">And touched me on the shoulder.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“She stood, she looked me through and through, she said not even</div> -<div class="indent2">‘How d’ye do,’ she merely gave a laugh or two,</div> -<div class="indent11">And munched her gums together:</div> -<div class="verse">A witch, a sorceress of the wood! I nearly fainted where I stood,</div> -<div class="indent2">I really truly think you could</div> -<div class="indent11">Have felled me with a feather.</div> -<div class="verse">A witch, as sure, as sure could be! You see what she has done to</div> -<div class="indent2">me! And all because I carelessly</div> -<div class="indent11">Forgot my early training.</div> -<div class="verse">From which you learn this lesson true, that it will never, never</div> -<div class="indent2">do to speak before you’re spoken to</div> -<div class="indent11">Or stay out when it’s raining.”</div> -</div></div></div> - -<p>The voice stopped, and the wasp flew off, directly before -my nose, as if leading me away.</p> - -<p><i>“Why, dear me!” interrupted the Queen. “I believe this -wasp was nothing more nor less than a Highwayman.”</i></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[214]</a></span><i>“What I don’t understand is,” said the King, “how a -Highwayman could have learned to make up verses.”</i></p> - -<p><i>“In the Forest of Wen, your majesty,” said Solario, “the -Highwaymen always talked in that fashion. It was their -regular custom. I am told that no Highwayman could get -his certificate until he had passed an examination in arithmetic, -swordplay, and composition; and of course composition -included verse making.”</i></p> - -<p><i>“Well,” said the King, “I don’t see what that had to do -with making a good Highwayman of him; but then I don’t -pretend to understand these notions about education. As -far as I’m concerned, if I had to pass an examination in -arithmetic in order to be a King, I’d simply have to look -about for something else to do. I never could see the sense -in teaching a King arithmetic, and I don’t see the sense in -teaching a Highwayman how to make verses. I know it’s -done in some places; it’s gotten to be quite the thing, I understand -that perfectly well; but I don’t see any sense in it.”</i></p> - -<p><i>“My dear,” said the Queen, “you mustn’t forget that a -Highwayman has to know a great deal more than a King. -It’s so very much harder to be a good Highwayman. But I -don’t think I should like to be married to one.”</i></p> - -<p><i>“This one was a widower, evidently,” said the King. “I -know I shouldn’t like to be a widower with ten daughters on -my hands. I don’t see how any human being could keep ten -daughters in ribbons and—”</i></p> - -<p><i>“When Dorobel was little,” said the Queen, “I always -had the most terrible time to make her remember that she -mustn’t speak until she was spoken to. I don’t wonder the</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">[215]</a></span> -<i>poor man forgot it, when he was so worried about sashes -for his dear children,—and out so late at night, and in the -rain, too!”</i></p> - -<p><i>“Why don’t you let the man go on with his story?” said -the King. “We’ll</i> never <i>get to bed at this rate. Solario, be -kind enough to proceed.”</i></p> - -<p>The wasp flew off (said the King of Wen), directly before -my nose, as if leading me away; and I followed him -down the road.</p> - -<p>We had gone about a mile, when the wasp turned off into -the forest. I hesitated a moment, but I was curious to -know what this unfortunate Highwayman intended, and I -pushed on after him into a portion of the forest which was -wilder and gloomier than any I had yet seen. The branches -of the trees hung low, and the ground was thick with underbrush; -I had to part the bushes and branches with my hands -in order to get through.</p> - -<p>The wasp flew within a foot of my nose, and I kept on -after him thus for more than half an hour. He seemed to -know the way, but for my part I began to wonder whether -I should ever be able to find my way back. Suddenly he flew -off, and I saw him no more.</p> - - -<h3><i>The Prince, Alone in the Forest, Hears the Bark of a Dog</i></h3> - -<p>I was at this moment in an uncommonly thick part of -the forest. The trees were perhaps less close, but the -underbrush was taller; so tall that I could not see through. -I stopped for a moment, and listened. All was still. Not a -bird twittered among the leaves overhead. I was vexed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">[216]</a></span> -that I had allowed myself to be drawn upon such a wild-goose -chase, and I decided that I had better begin to make -my way back to the road; and as I was considering this, I -heard the bark of a dog.</p> - -<p>It was a single, sharp bark, and it stopped abruptly, as -if a hand had been clapped over the animal’s mouth. I -listened again, but it came no more. “What should a dog -be doing here?” I thought; and full of curiosity I pushed -on through the underbrush in the direction of the sound. -In a moment I had broken through the tanglewood, and I -was standing at the edge of a clearing, in the midst of which -was a little house.</p> - -<p>It was a very tiny house indeed,—not much more, in fact, -than a hut. Its door was closed, and the window beside the -door was barred with shutters. I listened intently, thinking -to hear again the bark of a dog, but I heard nothing. Evidently -the place was deserted.</p> - -<p>I crossed the open space before the door, and as I did so -I noticed, clinging to the trunk and lower branches of a -tree at the side of the clearing, what appeared to be a wasp’s -nest; but an enormous wasp’s nest, big enough, in all conscience, -to contain a man if need be; a wasp’s nest greater -than I should have thought could exist in the world. I -looked at it curiously, and coming nearer I saw, crawling -over it, a number of wasps. I counted them, and there -were eleven.</p> - -<p>They arose with one accord and flew in great agitation -about my head; and at the same time I heard a voice from -inside the wasp’s nest,—the voice of a human being, but not<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">[217]</a></span> -the one I had already heard; a voice much stronger and -louder. I put my ear against the wasp’s nest, and from -within came these words:</p> - -<p>“Don’t speak before you’re spoken to!”</p> - -<p>“Who is it?” I said. “Where are you?”</p> - -<p>“Beware the dog!” said the voice again.</p> - -<p>“But who—what—?” I began.</p> - - -<h3><i>The Prisoner Inside the Wasp’s Nest</i></h3> - -<p>“I can’t get out! I’m imprisoned inside the wasp’s nest! -Do as you’re bid, and don’t speak before you’re spoken to. -Beware the dog!”</p> - -<p>At this moment I heard the click of a latch, and I turned -round in time to see the door of the hut open.</p> - -<p>In the doorway was standing an old woman, and by her -side a dog. She was a hideous old crone, wrinkled and -bent, with little, beady eyes and a hooked nose and no -teeth. She stood there munching her gums and blinking her -eyes at me, and I noticed that she wore about her neck a -string of what looked like ivory buttons, ten of them, -white and flat.</p> - -<p>With her left hand she leaned on a crooked stick, and -with her right hand she held, by a leather thong, the -biggest and fiercest-looking dog I had ever seen in my life. -His head came nearly to the old woman’s shoulder. He was -chocolate brown in color, and his skin was entirely naked -of hair, except for a patch of long wiry hair which fringed -his neck. He bared his sharp, white teeth at me and growled. -I felt decidedly uneasy.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">[218]</a></span>The eleven wasps were flying about my head in violent -agitation. The old woman said nothing, but continued to -blink at me and munch her gums. Suddenly the dog barked, -and without a word the old woman flung the thong from -her hand. The dog gave a bound toward me and crouched -for a spring, growling and bristling. In another instant I -knew that I would be torn to pieces. I started back and -cried out in alarm.</p> - -<p>“Call him off!” I shouted. “Stop him! Call him off!”</p> - -<p>At these words, a groan came from inside the wasps’ nest. -At the same time one of the eleven wasps, which were flying -directly before my face, dropped to the ground at my feet -as if dead. I realized that I had spoken before being spoken -to, and one of the wasps—one of the Highwayman’s daughters, -in fact,—had suffered for my error. But the worst consequence -was now to come.</p> - -<p>The old woman shook her stick and danced up and down -in hideous glee.</p> - -<p>“He’s spoken!” she cried. “Ha! ha! Spoken before he -was spoken to! He’s done for himself now! At him, dog, -he’s helpless! Seize him, dog, destroy him!”</p> - - -<h3><i>The Dog Leaps Upon Him to Devour Him</i></h3> - -<p>Before I could turn, the dog was upon me. No man on -earth could have stood up under such an attack. With one -leap he was upon my breast, and bore me to the ground; -and as I fell his sharp teeth sank into my shoulder, and I -nearly fainted with pain and terror.</p> - -<p>“A hair of the dog that bit you!” It was the voice from<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">[219]</a></span> -within the wasp’s nest, and it was crying: “A hair of the -dog that bit you!”</p> - -<p>My senses were slipping away, and I hardly knew what I -did; but somehow or other I put my hand on the beast’s -neck, and plucked from it a long hair; and as I did so the -dog bounded away from me and stood cowering and quivering, -as if in fear.</p> - -<p>“At him!” screamed the witch—for it was a witch, beyond -a doubt; and she rushed upon the dog and began to -beat him violently with her stick. “At him again!” she -screamed, but to my amazement the dog turned upon her, -snarling; and at that moment the voice came again from -the wasp’s nest, and it cried:</p> - -<p>“A ring of the hair! Make a ring of the hair for your -finger!”</p> - -<p>I sat up and quickly wound about my finger, in a ring, -the hair which I had plucked from the dog’s neck. The -effect of this was startling. The witch shrieked, plainly in -terror, and sprang away from the dog; and the brute came -to me and cringed before me on the ground and whined; and -behold, all the pain was gone from my shoulder.</p> - -<p>“Command him to be himself again!” cried the voice -from the wasp’s nest.</p> - -<p>“Be yourself again!” I cried, not knowing what I said.</p> - - -<h3><i>The Prince, Sitting on the Ground, Looks Up at a Genie</i></h3> - -<p>Instantly, in the flash of an eye, the dog was gone; and -in his place stood, towering above me full seven yards or -more, a monstrous creature in the shape of a man, chocolate<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">[220]</a></span> -brown in color, baldheaded except for a fringe of long hair -at the base of his skull, and bare except for a cloth twisted -about his middle, in which hung a gleaming scimitar. It was -a genie. He was panting with anger or some other strong -emotion, and as he panted jets of fire shot forth from his -nostrils. His mighty chest heaved, and I shrank back in -alarm; but he spread out his hands and bowed low before -me. I remembered the ring of hair on my finger, and grew -bolder.</p> - -<p>The witch was creeping quietly away, stick in hand, toward -the door of her hut; but as she reached it the genie -stooped and caught her in his hand and held her fast. I -sprang to my feet.</p> - -<p>“Set free your victims!” I cried to her. “The wasps and -the prisoner inside the nest! Release them! or by the power -of the genie’s hair, I will command him to destroy you!”</p> - -<p>She kicked and squirmed and shrieked, but all in vain. -There was no escaping from that terrible grasp. She grew -quiet, and began to mutter to herself. “I will count ten,” I -cried, “and if at the tenth—” But she did not wait for -me to count. With one look up at the genie’s face she waved -her crooked stick in the air and began to pour out strange -words, and then, giving a despairing cry, she let the stick -fall to the ground; and as it touched the ground, there came -from the wasp’s nest—I assure you it was an extraordinary -sight—I scarcely know how to tell you, it all happened so -quickly—</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">[221]</a></span></p> - -<h3><i>The One-Armed Sorcerer Appears from Within the Wasp’s -Nest</i></h3> - -<p>Well, the wasp’s nest opened from top to bottom, and -inside it was sitting a young man, who leaped down with a -laugh and stood before me, bowing. I noticed that he had -but one arm, the left; his eyes were blue, and his skin -was fair and rosy; and he wore a long blue gown spangled -with silver stars.</p> - -<h3><i>The Highwayman and Nine of His Daughters Appear in -Proper Person</i></h3> - -<p>Almost at the same instant there were standing before me -nine young maidens, all of extraordinary beauty; and in -their midst an elderly man with a gray beard and a long -thin face, and spindly legs. The nine maidens were gazing -at an object on the ground, and the elderly man looked down -at it also, and they all began to wring their hands together -and moan.</p> - -<p>“Oh!” said the elderly man, sniffling,—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - -<div class="verse">“Just see what he has gone and done, he can’t deny it, he’s the</div> -<div class="indent2">one, he ought to hide his head where none</div> -<div class="indent11">Could ever look upon it,</div> -<div class="verse">He knew, he did, he surely knew, I told him it would never do</div> -<div class="indent2">to speak before you’re spoken to,</div> -<div class="indent11">And now he’s gone and done it.”</div> -</div></div> - -<p>“I warned him,” said the one-armed young man, “but -he was frightened, and he forgot.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">[222]</a></span>“Oh, yes,” said the elderly man, wiping his tears away -with the back of his hand,—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - -<div class="verse"> -“Oh, yes, it’s well enough to say it slipped his mind a bit to-day</div> -<div class="indent2">and in an absent sort of way</div> -<div class="indent11">He slew my darling daughter;</div> -<div class="verse">But that will hardly, hardly do, I really can’t agree with you, it’s</div> -<div class="indent2">simply from my point of view</div> -<div class="indent11">A case of plain manslaughter.”</div> -</div></div> - -<p>“Oh, sister! sister!” cried the nine maidens. “Isn’t it -terrible? It’s too terrible! It is terrible, isn’t it?”</p> - -<p>“Let me go!” screamed the witch, struggling in the hand -of the genie.</p> - - -<h3><i>He Sees the Highwayman’s Tenth Daughter</i></h3> - -<p>I pushed into the group around the elderly Highwayman, -and there at his feet I saw what made my heart stand still -with grief and remorse. On the ground was lying a maiden, -far lovelier than any of the others; and she was dead. -Her eyes were closed, her face was pale, she did not breathe; -and her hair lay about her like a shower of gold. Alas, -that my carelessness had brought her to this sorrowful end! -If she had only lived! How I should have rejoiced to be -her friend, and in the course of time, perhaps, persuade -her to smile upon me—Alas! alas! At that moment, if she -could but have cast one look upon me, I would have laid at -her feet all that I—</p> - -<p>I knelt beside her and took her cold hand in mine. I -stooped over her, and in an excess of pity, and of more, far -more than pity, I kissed her softly on the lips.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">[223]</a></span>Oh, wonderful! Her eyelids quivered. A faint flush -came into her cheeks. Her eyes opened, and she looked -straight into my own. She smiled, and it was like the -evening sky after rain. I put my arm beneath her shoulder, -and helped her to stand up. She rubbed her eyes and swayed -a little, and I kept my arm about her. We gazed at each -other, smiling.</p> - -<p>“Is it—?” said she.</p> - -<p>“It is, beloved!” I cried, and folded her, unresisting, to -my heart.</p> - -<p>“Oh, isn’t it just too perfectly sweet?” cried her nine -sisters, clapping their hands and laughing merrily, all together. -“It is sweet, isn’t it? It’s love at first sight! It’s -just the sweetest thing ever! <i>Isn’t</i> it just too sweet for -<i>anything</i>, though?”</p> - -<p>But while they were still running on in this fashion, and -the elderly Highwayman was cheering faintly and the one-armed -young man was cheering lustily, a loud roar came -from the genie, and we saw that the witch had slipped from -his grasp and was even now dashing in at the door of the -hut. She shut it behind her with a bang, and the one-armed -youth pounded against it in vain.</p> - -<p>“The stolen hair!” he cried. “The genie’s hair which -she stole from me! I must get it back! Don’t let her -get away!”</p> - - -<h3><i>The Genie Breathes Fire Upon the Witch’s Hut</i></h3> - -<p>The genie opened his great mouth and roared with anger; -then he stooped down over the hut, and I saw that he was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">[224]</a></span> -breathing fire upon the roof from his nostrils; and as the -sparks caught in the dry thatch, he began to walk around -the hut, bending and breathing fire upon its roof from place -to place. In a few moments it was ablaze from end to end; -the walls caught; and as I held my fair lady trembling close -beside me, the house arose in flames, crackling and roaring, -and showering sparks upward into the twilight sky.</p> - -<p>“Oh!” said my fair one, clinging to my arm. “The poor -witch! Save her! She will be burned to death!” But the -genie’s thunderous laugh was her only answer.</p> - -<p>We watched until the fire was out, and there remained -only a heap of smoking ashes; and the witch was gone.</p> - -<p>“Oh, the poor thing!” said my beautiful lady.</p> - -<p>“Isn’t it terrible?” said her nine sisters, among themselves. -“It’s just too terrible for anything! It <i>is</i> terrible, -isn’t it? It’s simply terrible, it is, isn’t it?”</p> - -<p>The one-armed youth stepped up to the ruin and appeared -to be looking among the ashes near what was once the door. -He looked for a long time, and then he suddenly straightened -up and cried, “Ah!”</p> - -<p>He came toward us, and he was holding up in his hand -what seemed to be a necklace.</p> - -<p>“See!” he said, and I saw that it was a string of buttons, -of large flat buttons, eleven of them, threaded on -what seemed to be a hair; the same I had seen about the -witch’s neck.</p> - -<p>“It is the genie’s hair,” said the young man, “the same -that she stole from me; and it was this hair which gave -her power to turn my genie to a dog and imprison me in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">[225]</a></span> -the wasp’s nest. Now let me see these buttons; I must look -at them with care.”</p> - -<p>He examined each one minutely; and when he had examined -them all, he placed his finger on his lips and smiled -knowingly; and while I held the hair he broke it and slipped -off the eleventh button, inviting me to look at it closely. I -looked and saw upon it, near the rim, a crooked black line, -much like the imprint of a tiny, crooked stick.</p> - - -<h3><i>The One-Armed Sorcerer Performs Upon a Button</i></h3> - -<p>He threw the button upon the ground, laughing, and took -from within his gown a leather pouch, from which he -sprinkled upon the button a black powder; and then he -began to speak, in a loud voice, words which I could not -understand, in the midst of which he picked up the button, -now crusted with black; and still repeating his strange -words, he swung his arm, and with a loud cry flung the -button into the branches of the nearest tree; and there, -hanging on to a branch of the tree, trying desperately to -keep from toppling off, was the old witch herself.</p> - -<p>Instantly the young man took the threaded buttons from -me and slipped them off the hair; he wound the hair about -his finger and cried,—</p> - -<p>“Off with her! Off with her to the Forest Kingdom, -far from here, and see that she never comes back again! -Off with her, I say, to the Kingdom of the Great Forest!”</p> - -<p>At these words the genie strode over to the witch and—</p> - -<p><i>“Well, bless my soul,” interposed the King, “what business -did he have to send that witch here, I’d like to know? -So</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">[226]</a></span> that’s <i>how she came to live in my Forest! A fine piece of -work, I must say! A pretty how-d’ye-do, to send their cast-off -witches over here! What business had he to—”</i></p> - -<p><i>“Never mind, grandfather” said Bojohn, “do let him go -on with his story.”</i></p> - -<p><i>“A fine piece of work!” said the King. “Of all the high-handed, -brazen-faced—”</i></p> - -<p><i>“My dear!” said the Queen.</i></p> - -<p>The genie strode over to the witch in three steps and -plucked her down with one hand. He then tucked her under -his arm like a sack of corn, and stood before the one-armed -youth.</p> - -<p>“Stoop down!” said the young man.</p> - -<p>The genie bowed low, and the young man, to my surprise, -reached up and pulled from the back of his head, at -the neck, ten long hairs, one by one.</p> - -<p>“Away!” cried the one-armed youth.</p> - - -<h3><i>The Genie Flies Away With the Witch</i></h3> - -<p>The genie stood up, and opening his great mouth in a -silent laugh, stamped upon the earth so that it shook, and -leaped straight up. He rose in the air in a wide curve; -and before we could blink again he was gone like an arrow -over the treetops, with the witch under his arm, and was no -more than a speck in the evening sky.</p> - -<p>The young man tucked the ten hairs away inside his -gown.</p> - -<p>“Now,” said he, “<i>she’s</i> gone. And good riddance, too, -I should say.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">[227]</a></span>“Sir,” said I to him, “will you tell us who you are, and -what brings you here?”</p> - -<p>“I am a sorcerer,” said he, “and I dwell in an island far -out in the Great Sea. I am known there as the One-Armed -Sorcerer. I came here, with the genie whom I command by -virtue of a ring of his hair, in order to prove my skill against -the witch. I undertook to release our good friend the Highwayman -and his ten fair daughters, but I am bound to say -that I managed it badly; so badly that the witch got the -genie’s hair away from me, and by means of that hair turned -him into a dog and shut me up inside the wasp’s nest. And -all because I didn’t know the rule, that you mustn’t speak -before you’re spoken to.”</p> - -<p>“A pretty good rule,” said I, “but if everybody observed -it, who would ever talk?”</p> - -<p>“Well, anyway,” said the One-Armed Sorcerer, “here I -have ten buttons, and here I have ten threads from the -genie’s head. I propose to make you a doublet, sir; a -magic doublet; and for the cloth, the wasp’s nest will be -the very thing. It will be a doublet worth having; and to -you, sir, who have so nobly preserved us all, I will present -it on—er—ahem!—on your wedding day.”</p> - -<p>“Hurrah!” piped up the elderly Highwayman, and the -lady on my arm blushed.</p> - -<p>“Oh, isn’t that sweet of him?” cried her nine sisters. -“Isn’t it just too sweet for anything? It’s really the sweetest -thing, now isn’t it? Too perfectly sweet for words, -it is, really!”</p> - -<p>The One-Armed Sorcerer, stepping over to the wasp’s<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">[228]</a></span> -nest, pulled it down from the tree without breaking it, and -slung it on his back.</p> - -<p>“Come with me!” I cried. “You shall all return with me -to my father’s castle. Will you consent to that?”</p> - -<p>“Well,” said the elderly Highwayman,—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse">“Though anxious to accommodate, I fear it’s growing rather late,</div> -<div class="indent2">I seldom stay out after eight—”</div> -</div></div> - -<p>“Oh, father!” cried his daughters, nine of them, together, -“it would be perfectly jolly!”</p> - -<p>“It would suit me to perfection,” said the One-Armed -Sorcerer.</p> - -<p>“Oh, <i>won’t</i> it be jolly? It <i>will</i> be jolly, won’t it? -Wouldn’t it be perfectly jolly?” cried the nine young damsels, -clapping their hands.</p> - -<p>“Will you come home with me?” I whispered to the fairest -of the ten, who had said nothing.</p> - -<p>“If you wish it,” she whispered, blushing again.</p> - -<p>“Oh, aren’t they just the dearest things?” cried her nine -sisters. “It’s love at first sight—oh, the dear things! -Aren’t they just simply too dear for anything? They <i>are</i> -perfectly dear, now, aren’t they? Really now, aren’t they -just too perfectly <i>dear</i>?”</p> - - -<h3><i>The Prince Leads His Beloved Home</i></h3> - -<p>Well, the long and the short of it is, we reached my -father’s castle late that night, under a starry sky. The -attendants whom I had left in the forest had returned without -me, and the castle was a-twitter with anxiety. But<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">[229]</a></span> -when I led my fair lady into the great hall and presented -her to my father, the King, and her nine sisters and the -elderly Highwayman and the One-Armed Sorcerer stood -bowing behind us, there was joy, I can tell you, and the -rafters rang again.</p> - -<p>My father, after a long look at the beautiful damsel at -my side, and then at me, gave a long, slow whistle, without -making a sound, and stooped and kissed her on both cheeks, -nudging me with his elbow at the same time.</p> - -<p>A cheer went up again, and my father took me aside and -whispered in my ear.</p> - -<p>“You rascal,” said he, “I never thought you had it in you -to— Really! You don’t say so! You astonish me! A -Highwayman’s daughter! Well, well, think of that! Very -original of you, my son; I’m sure I never would have -thought of such a thing at your age. She’s got a fine eye, -my boy; there’s a look in it I’ve seen in your mother’s eye; -a will of her own, you can’t fool me about that look,—yes, -yes, very beautiful,—but a will of her own, remember I -told you. A Highwayman’s daughter! That’s good. -Highly original. Well, well, it might have been the Hangman’s -daughter—but remember what I told you about that -look in the eye, I’ve seen it before,—your mother used -to—but she’s certainly beautiful all the same—when does -the wedding come off?”</p> - - -<h3><i>The Magic Doublet Is Presented at the Wedding</i></h3> - -<p>We were married on the morning of the third day. Such -feasting, such dancing, such merriment,—and gifts innumerable;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">[230]</a></span> -but the best gift of all was a doublet, made with his -left hand by the One-Armed Sorcerer from the skin of the -witch’s wasp’s nest, fastened by the witch’s ten buttons sewed -on with the genie’s hair; a doublet to preserve the wearer -from all harm. And this, as the wedding dinner was nearing -its end, the One-Armed Sorcerer, rising in his place, presented -to me with a pretty speech, for which I thanked -him.</p> - -<p>“Sir,” said my father, addressing the One-Armed Sorcerer, -“I invite you to remain with me at my court, to instruct -my son in the mystery of handling a wife. Nobody -but a sorcerer should undertake such a job. Will you try -it?”</p> - -<p>“Alas, your majesty,” said the One-Armed Sorcerer, “it -is far beyond my powers. And besides, I must return to my -island home, on pressing business.”</p> - -<p>“Very well, then,” said my father. He took my bride’s -hand in his and patted it, while she looked down in confusion. -“My dear,” said he to her, “you must persuade -your sisters to remain here with us. And as for your father, -I design to appoint him Lord Treasurer of my kingdom. -I think a Highwayman ought to be a good man to take -charge of my money. Will you persuade him to accept that -office?”</p> - -<p>“Oh!” cried the nine sisters, without giving my bride a -chance to speak. “That <i>would</i> be jolly! Oh, <i>wouldn’t</i> it be -jolly? It <i>will</i> be just too perfectly jolly for anything, won’t -it? But really, though, <i>won’t</i> it be jolly? Just too simply, -perfectly, adorably <i>jolly</i>!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">[231]</a></span>“Your majesty,” said my father-in-law the Highwayman, -rising up on his elderly legs,—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“Although I am not confident that I’m entirely competent, I thank</div> -<div class="indent2">you for the compliment,</div> -<div class="indent11">I thank you most sincerely;</div> -<div class="verse">I fear I am not very quick in matters of arithmetic, but often when</div> -<div class="indent2">the answers stick</div> -<div class="indent11">I get them,—very nearly;</div> -<div class="verse">And if at first I don’t succeed I try again, although indeed I</div> -<div class="indent2">cannot say I always heed</div> -<div class="indent11">Each wretched little fraction;</div> -<div class="verse">And anyway you must agree if one but knows his Rule of Three</div> -<div class="indent2">there’s hardly any need to be</div> -<div class="indent11">Acquainted with subtraction.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“I do not wish to seem to boast, of all things I detest it most,</div> -<div class="indent2">and yet I think I’d fill the post</div> -<div class="indent11">Not very ill, not very:</div> -<div class="verse">From early youth I did betray, I’ve often heard my mother say,</div> -<div class="indent2">a really rather taking way</div> -<div class="indent11">In matters monetary;</div> -<div class="verse">A simple little rule or two I always try to keep in view, to do</div> -<div class="indent2">what I am told to do,</div> -<div class="indent11">And always speak politely,</div> -<div class="verse">And never make a saucy joke behind the backs of other folk, a rule</div> -<div class="indent2">which I have seldom broke,</div> -<div class="indent11">If I remember rightly.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“My motto is a simple one, that happiness depends upon the consciousness</div> -<div class="indent2">of duty done</div> -<div class="indent11">(Unless it’s too unpleasant),</div> -<div class="verse">I value virtue more than wit, and as for riches, I admit I do not<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">[232]</a></span></div> -<div class="indent2">value them a bit</div> -<div class="indent11">(At least, not just at present),</div> -<div class="verse">I think, however, I should state, that though I don’t mind working</div> -<div class="indent2">late, I like to be at home by eight,</div> -<div class="indent11">When supper’s on the table;</div> -<div class="verse">And thus, in words of simple art, I thank you, Sir, with all my</div> -<div class="indent2">heart, and promise I will do my part</div> -<div class="indent11">(At least, as far as able).”</div> -</div></div></div> - -<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/i_232.jpg" alt="" /></div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/i_end_paper.jpg" alt="" /></div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="transnote"> - -<p class="ph2">TRANSCRIBER’S NOTE:</p> - -<p>Obvious typographical errors have been corrected.</p> - -</div> - - - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Solario the Tailor, by William Bowen - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SOLARIO THE TAILOR *** - -***** This file should be named 60162-h.htm or 60162-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/6/0/1/6/60162/ - -Produced by Tim Lindell, David E. 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