Chapter VIII.
THE ROYAL RECEPTION.
As for the king and Princess Fluff, they returned to the palace and dressed themselves in some of their prettiest garments, telling Jikki to have two ponies saddled and ready for them to ride upon.
“We really must have some toys,” said Meg, with decision; “and now that we are rich, there is no reason why we can’t buy what we want.”
“That’s true,” answered Bud. “The old king hadn’t anything to play with. Poor old man! I wonder what he did to amuse himself.”
They mounted their ponies, and, followed by the chief counselor and the lord high purse-bearer in one of the state carriages, and a guard of soldiers for escort, they rode down the streets of the city on a pleasure-jaunt, amid the shouts of the loyal populace.
By and by Bud saw a toy-shop in one of the streets, and he and Fluff slipped down from their ponies and went inside to examine the toys. It was a well-stocked shop, and there were rows upon rows of beautiful dolls on the shelves, which attracted Margaret’s attention at once.
“Oh, Bud,” she exclaimed, “I must have one of these dollies!”
“Take your choice,” said her brother, calmly, although his own heart was beating with delight at the sight of all the toys arranged before him.
“I don’t know which to choose,” sighed the little princess, looking from one doll to another with longing and indecision.
“We’ll take ’em all,” declared Bud.
“All! What—all these rows of dollies?” she gasped.
“Why not?” asked the king. Then he turned to the men who kept the shop and said:
“Call in that old fellow who carries the money.”
When the lord high purse-bearer appeared, Bud said to him:
“Pay the man for all these dolls; and for this—and this—and this—and this!” and he began picking out the prettiest toys in all the shop, in the most reckless way you can imagine.
“‘WE’LL TAKE ’EM ALL,’ DECLARED BUD.”
The soldiers loaded the carriage down with Meg’s dolls, and a big cart was filled with Bud’s toys. Then the purse-bearer paid the bill, although he sighed deeply several times while counting out the money. But the new king paid no attention to old Tillydib; and when the treasures were all secured the children mounted their ponies and rode joyfully back to the palace, followed in a procession by the carriage filled with dolls, and the cart loaded with toys, while Tullydub and Tillydib, being unable to ride in the carriage, trotted along at the rear on foot.
Bud had the toys and dolls all carried upstairs into a big room, and then he ordered everybody to keep out while he and Fluff arranged their playthings around the room and upon the tables and chairs, besides littering the floor so that they could hardly find a clear place large enough for some of their romping games.
“After all,” he said to his sister, “it’s a good thing to be a king!”
“Or even a princess,” added Meg, busily dressing and arranging her dolls.
They made Jikki bring their dinner to them in the “play-room,” as Bud called it; but neither of the children could spare much time to eat, their treasures being all so new and delightful.
Soon after dusk, while Jikki was lighting the candles, the chief counselor came to the door to say that the king must be ready to attend the royal reception in five minutes.
“I won’t,” said Bud. “I just won’t.”
“But you must, your Majesty!” declared old Tullydub.
“Am I not the king?” demanded Bud, looking up from where he was arranging an army of wooden soldiers.
“Certainly, your Majesty,” was the reply.
“And isn’t the king’s will the law?” continued Bud.
“Certainly, your Majesty!”
“Well, if that is so, just understand that I won’t come. Go away and let me alone!”
“But the people expect your Majesty to attend the royal reception,” protested old Tullydub, greatly astonished. “It is the usual custom, you know; and they would be greatly disappointed if your Majesty did not appear.”
“I don’t care,” said Bud. “You get out of here and let me alone!”
“But, your Majesty—”
The king threw a toy cannon at his chief counselor, and the old man ducked to escape it, and then quickly closed the door.
“Bud,” said the princess, softly, “you were just saying it’s great fun to be a king.”
“So it is,” he answered promptly.
“THE KING THREW A TOY CANNON AT HIS CHIEF COUNSELOR.”
“But father used to tell us,” continued the girl, trying a red hat on a brown-haired doll, “that people in this world always have to pay for any good thing they get.”
“What do you mean?” said Bud, with surprise.
“I mean if you’re going to be the king, and wear fine clothes, and eat lovely dinners, and live in a palace, and have countless servants, and all the playthings you want, and your own way in everything and with everybody—then you ought to be willing to pay for all these pleasures.”
“How? But how can I pay for them?” demanded Bud, staring at her.
“By attending the royal receptions, and doing all the disagreeable things the king is expected to do,” she answered.
Bud thought about it for a minute. Then he got up, walked over to his sister, and kissed her.
“I b’lieve you’re right, Fluff,” he said, with a sigh. “I’ll go to that reception to-night, and take it as I would take a dose of medicine.”
“Of course you will!” returned Fluff, looking up at him brightly; “and I’ll go with you! The dolls can wait til to-morrow. Have Jikki brush your hair, and I’ll get my maids to dress me!”
Old Tullydub was wondering how he might best explain the king’s absence to the throng of courtiers gathered to attend the royal reception, when, to his surprise and relief, his Majesty entered the room, accompanied by the Princess Fluff. The king wore a velvet suit trimmed with gold lace, and at his side hung the beautiful jeweled sword. Meg was dressed in a soft white silken gown, and looked as sweet and fair as a lily.
The courtiers and their ladies, who were all wearing their most handsome and becoming apparel, received their little king with great respect, and several of the wealthiest and most noble among them came up to Bud to converse with him.
But the king did not know what to say to these great personages, and so the royal reception began to be a very stupid affair.
Fluff saw that all the people were standing in stiff rows and looking at one another uneasily, so she went to Bud and whispered to him.
“Is there a band of musicians in the palace?” the king inquired of Tellydeb, who stood near.
“Yes, your Majesty.”
“Send for them, then,” commanded Bud.
Presently the musicians appeared, and the king ordered them to play a waltz. But the chief counselor rushed up and exclaimed:
“Oh, your Majesty! This is against all rule and custom!”
“Silence!” said Bud, angrily. “I’ll make the rules and customs in this kingdom hereafter. We’re going to have a dance.”
“But it’s so dreadful—so unconventional, your Majesty! It’s so—what shall I call it?”
“Here! I’ve had enough of this,” declared Bud. “You go and stand in that corner, with your face to the wall, till I tell you to sit down,” he added, remembering a time when his father, the ferryman, had inflicted a like punishment upon him.
Somewhat to his surprise, Tullydub at once obeyed the command, and then Bud made his first speech to the people.
“We’re going to have a dance,” he said; “so pitch in and have a good time. If there’s anything you want, ask for it. You’re all welcome to stay as long as you please and go home when you get ready.”
This seemed to please the company, for every one applauded the king’s speech. Then the musicians began to play, and the people were soon dancing and enjoying themselves greatly.
Princess Fluff had a good many partners that evening, but Bud did not care to dance—he preferred to look on; and, after a time, he brought old Tullydub out of his corner, and made the chief counselor promise to be good and not annoy him again.
“But it is my duty to counsel the king,” protested the old man, solemnly.
“When I want your advice I’ll ask for it,” said Bud.
While Tullydub stood beside the throne, looking somewhat sulky and disagreeable, the door opened and Aunt Rivette entered the reception-room. She was clothed in a handsome gown of bright-green velvet, trimmed with red and yellow flowers, and the wings stuck out from the folds at her back in a way that was truly wonderful.
Aunt Rivette seemed in an amiable mood. She smiled and curtsied to all the people, who stopped dancing to stare at her, and she even fluttered her wings once or twice to show that she was proud of being unlike all the others present.
“ONE SCREAMED ‘MURDER!’ AND THE OTHER ‘HELP!’”
Bud had to laugh at her, she looked so funny; and then a mischievous thought came to him, and he commanded old Tullydub to dance with her.
“But I don’t dance, your Majesty!” exclaimed the horrified chief counselor.
“Try it; I’m sure you can dance,” returned Bud. “If you don’t know how, it’s time you learned.”
So the poor man was forced to place his arm about Aunt Rivette’s waist and to whirl her around in a waltz. The old woman knew as little about dancing as did Tullydub, and they were exceedingly awkward, bumping into every one they came near. Presently Aunt Rivette’s feet slipped, and she would have tumbled upon the floor with the chief counselor had she not begun to flutter her wings wildly.
So, instead of falling, she rose gradually into the air, carrying Tullydub with her; for they clung to each other in terror, and one screamed “Murder!” and the other “Help!” in their loudest voices.
Bud laughed until the tears stood in his eyes; but Aunt Rivette, after bumping both her own head and that of the chief counselor against the ceiling several times, finally managed to control the action of her wings and to descend to the floor again.
As soon as he was released, old Tullydub fled from the room; and Aunt Rivette, vowing she would dance no more, seated herself beside Bud and watched the revel until nearly midnight, when the couriers and their ladies dispersed to their own homes declaring that they had never enjoyed a more delightful evening.
“JIKKI HAD TO DESCEND THE STAIRS CAUTIOUSLY.”
Chapter IX.
JIKKI HAS A WISH GRANTED.
Next morning Aunt Rivette summoned Jikki to her room, and said:
“Take these shoes and clean and polish them; and carry down this tray of breakfast dishes; and send this hat to the milliner to have the feathers curled; and return this cloak to the Princess Fluff, with my compliments, and say I’m much obliged for the loan of it.”
Poor Jikki hardly knew how to manage so many orders. He took the shoes in his left hand, and the tray of dishes he balanced upon the other upraised palm. But the hat and cloak were too many for him. So Aunt Rivette, calling him “a stupid idiot,”—probably because he had no more hands,—set the plumed hat upon Jikki’s head and spread the cloak over his shoulders, and ordered him to make haste away.
Jikki was glad enough to go, for the fluttering of Aunt Rivette’s wings made him nervous; but he had to descend the stairs cautiously, for the hat was tipped nearly over his eyes, and if he stumbled he would be sure to spill the tray of dishes.
He reached the first landing of the broad stairs in safety, but at the second landing the hat joggled forward so that he could see nothing at all, and one of the shoes dropped from his hand.
“Dear me!” sighed the old man; “I wonder what I shall do now? If I pick up the shoe I shall drop the dishes; and I can’t set down this tray because I’m blinded by this terrible hat! Dear—dear! If I’m to be at the beck and call of that old woman, and serve the new king at the same time, I shall have my hands full. My hands, in fact, are full now. I really wish I had half a dozen servants to wait on me!”
Jikki knew nothing at all about the magic power of the cloak that fell from his shoulders; so his astonishment was profound when some one seized the shoe from his left hand and some one else removed the tray from his right hand, and still another person snatched the plumed hat from his head.
But then he saw, bowing and smirking before him, six young men, who looked as much alike as peas in the same pod, and all of whom wore very neat and handsome liveries of wine-color, with silver buttons on their coats.
Jikki blinked and stared at these people, and rubbed his eyes to make sure he was awake.
“Who are you?” he managed to ask.
“We are your half a dozen servants, sir,” answered the young men, speaking all together and bowing again.
Jikki gasped and raised his hands with sudden amazement as he gazed in wonder upon the row of six smart servants.
“But—what—are you doing here?” he stammered.
“We are here to wait upon you, sir, as is our duty,” they answered respectfully.
Jikki rubbed his left ear, as was his custom when perplexed; and then he thought it all over. And the more he thought the more perplexed he became.
“I don’t understand!” he finally said, in a weak voice.
“‘YOU WISHED FOR US, AND HERE WE ARE,’ DECLARED THE SIX.”
“You wished for us, and here we are,” declared the six, once more bowing low before him.
“I know,” said Jikki. “But I’ve often wished for many other things—and never got a single one of the wishes before!”
The young men did not attempt to explain this curious fact. They stood in a straight row before their master, as if awaiting his orders. One held the shoe Jikki had dropped, another its mate, still another the plumed hat, and a fourth the tray of dishes.
“You see,” remarked Jikki, shaking his head sadly at the six, “I’m only a servant myself.”
“You are our master, sir!” announced the young men, their voices blended into one.
“I wish,” said Jikki, solemnly, “you were all back where you came from!” And then he paused to see if his wish also would be fulfilled. But no; the magic cloak conferred the fulfilment of but one wish upon its wearer, and the half a dozen servants remained standing rigidly before him.
Jikki arose with a sigh.
“Come downstairs to my private room,” he said, “and we’ll talk the matter over.”
So they descended the grand stairway to the main hall of the grand palace, Jikki going first and his servants following at a respectful distance. Just off the hall Jikki had a pleasant room where he could sit when not employed, and into this he led the six.
After all, he considered, it would not be a bad thing to have half a dozen servants; they would save his old legs from many a tiresome errand. But just as they reached the hall a new thought struck him and he turned suddenly upon his followers:
“See here!” he exclaimed. “How much wages do you fellows expect?”
“We expect no wages at all, sir,” they answered.
“What! nothing at all!” Jikki was so startled that he scarcely had strength remaining to stagger into his private room and sink into a chair.
“No wages! Six servants, and no wages to pay!” he muttered. “Why, it’s wonderful—marvelous—astounding!”
Then he thought to himself: “I’ll try ’em, and see if they’ll really work.” And aloud he asked:
“How can I tell you apart—one from another?”
Each servant raised his right arm and pointed to a silver badge upon his left breast; and then Jikki discovered that they were all numbered, from “one” up to “six.”
“Ah! very good!” said Jikki. “Now, number six, take this shoe into the boot-room, and clean and polish it.”
Number six bowed and glided from the room as swiftly and silently as if he were obeying a command of the King of Noland.
“Number five,” continued Jikki, “take this tray to the kitchen.” Number five obeyed instantly, and Jikki chuckled with delight.
“Number two, take this to the milliner in Royal Street, and have the feathers curled.”
Number two bowed and departed almost before the words had left Jikki’s mouth; and then the king’s valet regarded the remaining three in some perplexity.
“Half a dozen servants is almost too many,” he thought. “It will keep me busy to keep them busy. I should have wished for only one—or two at the most.”
Just then he remembered something.
“Number four,” said he, “go after number two and tell the milliner that the hat belongs to Madam Rivette, the king’s aunt.”
And a few moments later, when the remaining two servants, standing upright before him, had begun to make him nervous, Jikki cried out:
“Number three, take this other shoe down to the boot-room and tell number six to clean and polish it also.”
This left but one of the six unoccupied, and Jikki was wondering what to do with him when a bell rang.
“That’s the king’s bell,” said Jikki.
“I am not the king’s servant; I am here only to wait upon you,” said number one, without moving to answer the bell.
“Then I must go myself,” sighed the valet, and rushed away to obey the king’s summons.
Scarcely had he disappeared when Tollydob, the lord high general, entered the room and said in a gruff voice:
“Where is Jikki? Where’s that rascal Jikki?”
Number one, standing stiffly at one end of the room, made no reply.
“Answer me, you scoundrel!” roared the old general. “Where’s Jikki?”
Still number one stood silent, and this so enraged old Tollydob that he raised his cane and aimed a furious blow at the young man. The cane seemed to pass directly through the fellow, and it struck the wall behind so forcibly that it split into two parts.
This amazed Tollydob. He stared a moment at the silent servant, and then turned his back upon him and sat down in Jikki’s chair. Here his eyes fell upon the magic cloak, which the king’s valet had thrown down.
Tollydob, attracted by the gorgeous coloring and soft texture of the garment, picked up the cloak and threw it over his shoulders; and then he walked to a mirror and began admiring his reflection.
While thus engaged, Jikki returned, and the valet was so startled at seeing the lord high general that he never noticed the cloak at all.
“His Majesty has asked to see your Highness,” said Jikki; “and I was about to go in search of you.”
“I’ll go to the king at once,” answered Tollydob, and as he walked away Jikki suddenly noticed that he was wearing the cloak. “Oho!” thought the valet, “he has gone off with the Princess Fluff’s pretty cloak; but when he returns from the king’s chamber I’ll get it again and send number one to carry it to its rightful owner.”
Chapter X.
THE COUNSELORS WEAR THE MAGIC CLOAK.
When Tollydob, still wearing the magic cloak, had bowed before the king, Bud asked:
“How many men are there in the royal army, general?”
“Seven thousand seven hundred and seventy-seven, may it please your gracious Majesty,” returned Tollydob—“that is, without counting myself.”
“And do they obey your orders promptly?” inquired Bud, who felt a little doubt on this point.
“Yes, indeed!” answered the general, proudly. “They are terribly afraid of my anger.”
“And yet you’re a very small man to command so large an army,” said the king.
The lord high general flushed with shame; for, although he was both old and fat, he was so short of stature that he stood but a trifle taller than Bud himself. And, like all short men, he was very sensitive about his height.
“I’m a terrible fighter, your Majesty,” declared Tollydob, earnestly; “and when I’m on horseback my small size is little noticed. Nevertheless,” he added, with a sigh, “it is a good thing to be tall. I wish I were ten feet high.”
No sooner were the words spoken than Bud gave a cry of astonishment; for the general’s head shot suddenly upward until his gorgeous hat struck the ceiling and was jammed down tightly over the startled man’s eyes and nose.
The room was just ten feet high, and Tollydob was now ten feet tall; but for a time the old general could not think what had happened to him, and Bud, observing for the first time that Tollydob wore the magic cloak, began to shriek with laughter at the comical result of the old man’s wish.
Hearing the king laugh, the general tore the hat from his head and looked at himself in mingled terror and admiration.
From being a very small man he had suddenly become a giant, and the change was so great that Tollydob might well be amazed.
“‘I WISH I WERE TEN FEET HIGH.’”
“What has happened, your Majesty?” he asked in a trembling voice.
“Why, don’t you see, you were wearing my sister’s magic cloak,” said Bud, still laughing at the big man’s woeful face; “and it grants to every wearer the fulfillment of one wish.”
“Only one?” inquired poor Tollydob. “I’d like to be a little smaller, I confess.”
“It can’t be helped now,” said Bud. “You wished to be ten feet tall, and there you are! And there you’ll have to stay, Tollydob, whether you like it or not. But I’m very proud of you. You must be the greatest general in all the world, you know!”
Tollydob brightened up at this, and tried to sit down in a chair: but it crushed to pieces under his weight; so he sighed and remained standing. Then he threw the magic cloak upon the floor, with a little shudder at its fairy powers, and said:
“If I’d only known, I might have become just six feet tall instead of ten!”
“Never mind,” said Bud, consolingly. “If we ever have a war, you will strike terror into the ranks of the enemy, and every one in Noland will admire you immensely. Hereafter you will be not only the lord high general, but the lord very high general.”
So Tollydob went away to show himself to the chief counselor; and he had to stoop very low to pass through the doorway.
When Jikki saw the gigantic man coming out of the king’s chamber, he gave a scream and fled in terror; and, strange to say, this effect was very agreeable to the lord high general, who loved to make people fear him.
Bud ran to tell Fluff of the curious thing that had happened to his general; and so it was that when the lord high executioner entered the palace there was no one around to receive him. He made his way into the king’s chamber, and there he found the magic cloak lying upon the floor.
“I’ve seen the Princess Fluff wearing this,” thought the lord high executioner; “so it must belong to her. I’ll take it to her rooms, for it is far too pretty to be lying around in this careless way, and Jikki ought to be scolded for allowing it.”
So Tellydeb picked up the cloak and laid it over his arm; then he admired the bright hues that ran through the fabric, and presently his curiosity got the better of him; he decided to try it on and see how he would look in it.
While thus employed the sound of a girl’s sweet laughter fell upon Tellydeb’s ears, seeming to come from a far distance.
“The princess must be in the royal gardens,” he said to himself. “I’ll go there and find her.”
So the lord high executioner walked through the great hall, still wearing the cloak, and finally came to the back of the palace and passed a doorway leading into the gardens. All was quiet here, save for the song of the birds as they fluttered among the trees; but at the other end of the garden Tellydeb caught a glimpse of a white gown, which he suspected might be that of the little princess.
He walked along the paths slowly, enjoying the scent of the flowers and the peacefulness of the scene; for the lord high executioner was a gentle-natured man and delighted in beautiful sights.
After a time he reached a fruit-orchard, and saw hanging far up in a big tree a fine red apple. Tellydeb paused and looked at this longingly.
“I wish I could reach that apple!” he said, with a sigh, as he extended his arm upward.
Instantly the arm stretched toward the apple, which was at least forty feet away from the lord high executioner; and while the astonished man eyed his elongated arm in surprise, the hand clutched the apple, plucked it, and drew it back to him; and there he stood—the apple in his hand, and his arm apparently the same as it had been before he accomplished the wonderful feat.
“‘I WISH I COULD REACH THAT APPLE!’ HE SAID, WITH A SIGH, AS HE EXTENDED HIS ARM UPWARD.”
For a moment the counselor was overcome with fear. The cloak dropped unnoticed from his shoulders and fell upon the graveled walk, while Tellydeb sank upon a bench and shivered.
“It—it was like magic!” he murmured. “I but reached out my hand—so—it went nearly to the top of the tree, and—”
Here he gave a cry of wonder, for again his arm stretched the distance and touched the topmost branches of the tree. He drew it back hastily, and turned to see if any one had observed him. But this part of the garden was deserted, so the old man eagerly tested his new accomplishment.
He plucked a rose from a bush a dozen yards to the right, and having smelled its odor he placed it in a vase that stood twenty feet to his left. Then he noted a fountain far across a hedge, and reaching the distance easily, dipped his hand in the splashing water. It was all very amazing, this sudden power to reach a great distance, and the lord high executioner was so pleased with the faculty that when he discovered old Jikki standing in the palace doorway, he laughingly fetched him a box on the ear that sent the valet scampering away to his room in amazed terror.
Said Tellydeb to himself: “Now I’ll go home and show my wife what a surprising gift I have acquired.”
So he left the garden; and not long afterward old Tallydab, the lord high steward, came walking down the path, followed by his little dog Ruffles. I am not certain whether it was because his coat was so shaggy or his temper so uncertain that Tallydab’s dog was named Ruffles; but the name fitted well both the looks and the disposition of the tiny animal. Nevertheless, the lord high steward was very fond of his dog, which followed him everywhere except to the king’s council-chamber; and often the old man would tell Ruffles his troubles and worries, and talk to the dog just as one would to a person.
To-day, as they came slowly down the garden-walk, Tallydab noticed a splendid cloak lying upon the path.
“How very beautiful!” he exclaimed, as he stooped to pick it up. “I have never seen anything like this since the Princess Fluff first rode into Nole beside her brother the king. Isn’t it a lovely cloak, Ruffles?”
The dog gave a subdued yelp and wagged his stubby tail.
“How do I look in it, Ruffles?” continued the lord high steward, wrapping the folds of the magic cloak about him; “how do I look in such gorgeous apparel?”
The dog stopped wagging its tail and looked up at its master earnestly.
“How do I look?” again said Tallydab. “I declare, I wish you could talk!”
“You look perfectly ridiculous,” replied the dog, in a rather harsh voice.
The lord high steward jumped nearly three feet in the air, so startled was he by Ruffles’s reply. Then he bent down, a hand on each knee, and regarded the dog curiously.
“I thought, at first, you had spoken!” said he.
“What caused you to change your mind?” asked Ruffles, peevishly. “I did speak—I am speaking. Can’t you believe it?”
The lord high steward drew a deep sigh of conviction.
“‘YOU LOOK PERFECTLY RIDICULOUS!’ REPLIED THE DOG.”
“I believe it!” he made answer. “I have always declared you were a wonderful dog, and now you prove I am right. Why, you are the only dog I ever heard of who could talk!”
“Except in fairy tales,” said Ruffles, calmly. “Don’t forget the fairy tales.”
“I don’t forget,” replied Tallydab. “But this isn’t a fairy tale, Ruffles. It’s real life in the kingdom of Noland.”
“To be sure,” answered Ruffles. “But see here, my dear master: now that I am, at last, able to talk, please allow me to ask you for something decent to eat. I’d like a good meal for once, just to see what it is like.”
“A good meal!” exclaimed the steward. “Why, my friend, don’t I give you a big bone every day?”
“You do,” said the dog; “and I nearly break my teeth on it, trying to crack it to get a little marrow. Whatever induces people to give their dogs bones instead of meat?”
“Why, I thought you liked bones!” protested Tallydab, sitting on the bench and looking at his dog in astonishment.
“Well, I don’t. I prefer something to eat—something good and wholesome, such as you eat yourself,” growled Ruffles.
The lord high steward gave a laugh.
“‘WHY, I THOUGHT YOU LIKED BONES!’ PROTESTED TALLYDAB, SITTING ON THE BENCH AND LOOKING AT HIS DOG IN ASTONISHMENT.”
“Why,” said he, “don’t you remember that old Mother Hubbard?”
“Ah! that was a fairy tale,” interrupted Ruffles, impatiently. “And there wasn’t even a bone in her cupboard, after all. Don’t mention Mother Hubbard to me, if you want to retain my friendship.”
“And that reminds me,” resumed the steward with a scowl, “that a few minutes ago you said I looked ridiculous in this lovely cloak.”
“You do!” said Ruffles, with a sniff. “It is a girl’s cloak, and not fit for a wrinkled old man like you.”
“I believe you are right,” answered Tallydab, with a sigh; and he removed the cloak from his shoulders and hung it over the back of the garden seat. “In regard to the meat that you so long for,” he added, “if you will follow me to the royal kitchen I will see that you have all you desire.”
“Spoken like a good friend!” exclaimed the dog. “Let us go at once.”
So they passed down the garden to the kitchen door, and the magic cloak, which had wrought such wonderful things that day, still remained neglectfully cast aside.
It was growing dusk when old Tillydib, the lord high purse-bearer, stole into the garden and sat upon the bench to smoke his pipe in peace. All the afternoon he had been worried by people with bills for this thing or that, and the royal purse was very light indeed when Tillydib had at last managed to escape to the garden.
“If this keeps up,” he reflected, “there will be no money left; and then I’m sure I don’t know what will become of us all!”
The air was chilly. The old counselor shivered a little, and noting the cloak that lay over the back of the seat, drew it about his shoulders.
“It will be five months,” he muttered half aloud, “before we can tax the people for more money; and before five months are up the king and his counselors may all starve to death—even in this splendid palace! Heigh-ho! I wish the royal purse would always remain full, no matter how much money I drew from it!”
The big purse, which had lain lightly on his knee, now slid off and pulled heavily upon the golden chain which the old man wore around his neck to fasten the purse to him securely.
Aroused from his anxious thoughts, Tillydib lifted the purse to his lap again, and was astonished to feel its weight. He opened the clasp and saw that the huge sack was actually running over with gold pieces.
“‘I WISH THE ROYAL PURSE WOULD ALWAYS REMAIN FULL, NO MATTER HOW MUCH MONEY I DREW FROM IT!’”
“Now, where on earth did all this wealth come from?” he exclaimed, shaking his head in a puzzled way. “I’ll go at once and pay some of the creditors who are waiting for me.”
So he ran to the royal treasury, which was a front room in the palace, and began paying every one who presented an account. He expected presently to empty the purse; but no matter how heavily he drew upon the contents, it remained ever as full as in the beginning.
“It must be,” thought the old man, when the last bill had been paid, “that my idle wish has in some mysterious way been granted.”
But he did not know he owed his good fortune to the magic cloak, which he still wore.
As he was leaving the room, he met the king and Princess Fluff, who were just come from dinner; and the girl exclaimed:
“Why, there is my cloak! Where did you get it, Tillydib?”
“I found it in the garden,” answered the lord high purse-bearer; “but take it, if it is yours. And here is something to repay you for the loan of it;” and he poured into her hands a heap of glittering gold.
“Oh, thank you!” cried Fluff; and taking the precious cloak she dropped the gold into it and carried it to her room.
“I’ll never lend it again unless it is really necessary,” she said to herself. “It was very careless of Aunt Rivette to leave my fairy cloak in the garden.”
And then after carefully folding it and wrapping it up she locked it in a drawer, and hid the key where no one but herself could find it.
“THIS WAS THE MOMENT QUAVO HAD EAGERLY AWAITED.”
Chapter XI.
THE WITCH-QUEEN.
It is not very far from the kingdom of Noland to the kingdom of Ix. If you followed the steps of Quavo the minstrel, you would climb the sides of a steep mountain-range, and go down on the other side, and cross a broad and swift river, and pick your way through a dark forest. You would then have reached the land of Ix and would find an easy path into the big city.
But even before one came to the city he would see the high marble towers of Queen Zixi’s magnificent palace, and pause to wonder at its beauty.
Quavo the minstrel had been playing his harp in the city of Nole, and his eyes were sharp; so he had seen many things to gossip and sing about, and therefore never doubted he would be warmly welcomed by Queen Zixi.
He reached the marble palace about dusk, one evening, and was bidden to the feast which was about to be served.
A long table ran down the length of the lofty hall built in the center of the palace; and this table was covered with gold and silver platters bearing many kinds of meats and fruits and vegetables, while tall, ornamented stands contained sweets and delicacies to tickle the palate.
At the head of the table, on a jeweled throne, sat Queen Zixi herself, a vision of radiant beauty and charming grace.
Her hair was yellow as spun gold, and her wondrous eyes raven black in hue. Her skin was fair as a lily, save where her cheek was faintly tinted with a flush of rose-color.
Dainty and lovely, indeed, was the Queen of Ix in appearance; yet none of her lords or attendants cast more than a passing glance upon her beauty. For they were used to seeing her thus.
There were graybeards at her table this evening who could remember the queen’s rare beauty since they were boys; ay, and who had been told by their fathers and grandfathers of Queen Zixi’s loveliness when they also were mere children. In fact, no one in Ix had ever heard of the time when the land was not ruled by this same queen, or when she was not in appearance as young and fair as she was to-day. Which easily proves she was not an ordinary person at all.
And I may as well tell you here that Queen Zixi, despite the fact that she looked to be no more than sixteen, was in reality six hundred and eighty-three years of age, and had prolonged her life in this extraordinary way by means of the arts of witchcraft.
I do not mean by this that she was an evil person. She had always ruled her kingdom wisely and liberally, and the people of Ix made no manner of complaint against their queen. If there were a war, she led her armies in person, clad in golden mail and helmet; and in years of peace she taught them to sow and reap grain, and to fashion many useful articles of metal, and to build strong and substantial houses. Nor were her taxes ever more than the people could bear.