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