L. Frank Baum (13 page)

Terribus and Wul-Takim soon restored order, and then they accompanied
the Ki and the Ki-Ki to the public square, where the people were
informed that their Supreme Highnesses, the High Ki, had been reunited
and would thereafter rule them with twin minds as well as twin bodies.
There was great rejoicing at this news, for every twin in Twi was glad
to have his troubles ended so easily and satisfactorily.

That night the ryls and knooks and other invisible friends of Prince
Marvel came and removed the dividing wall between the twin palaces of
the High Ki, repairing speedily all the damage that had been done. And
when our friends called upon the High Ki the next morning they found
the two maids again dressed exactly alike in yellow robes, with strings
of sparkling emeralds for ornament. And not even Prince Marvel could
now tell one of the High Ki from the other.

As for the maids themselves, it seemed difficult to imagine they had
ever existed apart for a single moment.

They were very pleasant and agreeable to their new friends, and when
they heard that Prince Marvel was about to leave them to seek new
adventures they said:

"Please take us with you! It seems to us that we ought to know
something of the big outside world from whence you came. If we see
other kingdoms and people we shall be better able to rule our own
wisely."

"That seems reasonable," answered Marvel, "and I shall be very glad to
have you accompany me. But who will rule the Land of Twi in your
absence?"

"The Ki-Ki shall be the rulers," answered the High Ki, "and we will
take the Ki with us."

"Then I will delay my departure until to-morrow morning," said the
prince, "in order that your Highnesses may have time to prepare for the
journey."

And then he went back to the palaces of the other rulers, where the Ki
expressed themselves greatly pleased at the idea of traveling, and the
new Ki-Ki were proud to learn they should rule for some time the Land
of Twi.

Wul-Takim also begged to join the party, and so also did King Terribus,
who had never before been outside of his own Kingdom of Spor; so Prince
Marvel willingly consented.

The fifty-eight reformed thieves, led by Gunder, returned to their
cave, where they were living comfortably on the treasure Prince Marvel
had given them; and the Gray Men and giants and dwarfs of Spor departed
for their own country.

In the morning Prince Marvel led his own gay cavalcade through the hole
in the hedge, and they rode merrily away in search of adventure.

By his side were the High Ki, mounted upon twin chestnut ponies that
had remarkably slender limbs and graceful, arched necks. The ponies
moved with exactly the same steps, and shook their manes and swished
their tails at exactly the same time. Behind the prince and the High
Ki were King Terribus, riding his great white charger, and Wul-Takim on
a stout horse of jet-black color. The two ancient Ki and Nerle, being
of lesser rank than the others, brought up the rear.

"When we return to our Land of Twi," said the High Ki, "we shall close
up for all time the hole you made in the hedge; for, if we are
different from the rest of the world, it is better that we remain in
seclusion."

"I think it is right you should do that," replied Prince Marvel. "Yet
I do not regret that I cut a hole in your hedge."

"It was the hedge that delayed us in coming more promptly to your
assistance," said Terribus; "for we had hard work to find the hole you
had made, and so lost much valuable time."

"All is well that ends well!" laughed the prince. "You certainly came
in good time to rescue us from our difficulties."

They turned into a path that led to Auriel, which Nerle had heard
spoken of as "the Kingdom of the Setting Sun."

Soon the landscape grew very pleasant to look upon, the meadows being
broad and green, with groups of handsome trees standing about. The
twilight of the Land of Twi was now replaced by bright sunshine, and in
the air was the freshness of the near-by sea.

At evening they came to a large farmhouse, where the owner welcomed
them hospitably and gave them the best his house afforded.

In answer to their questions about the Kingdom of Auriel, he shook his
head sadly and replied:

"It is a rich and beautiful country, but has fallen under great
misfortunes. For when the good king died, about two years ago, the
kingdom was seized by a fierce and cruel sorcerer, named Kwytoffle, who
rules the people with great severity, and makes them bring him all
their money and valuable possessions. So every one is now very poor
and unhappy, and that is a great pity in a country so fair and fertile."

"But why do not the people rebel?" asked Nerle.

"They dare not rebel," answered the farmer, "because they fear the
sorcery of Kwytoffle. If they do not obey him he threatens to change
them into grasshoppers and June-bugs."

"Has he ever changed any one into a grasshopper or a June-bug?" asked
Prince Marvel.

"No; but the people are too frightened to oppose him, and so he does
not get the opportunity. And he has an army of fierce soldiers, who
are accustomed to beat the people terribly if they do not carry every
bit of their wealth to the sorcerer. So there is no choice but to obey
him."

"We certainly ought to hang this wicked creature!" exclaimed Wul-Takim.

"I wish I had brought my Fool-Killer with me," sighed King Terribus;
"for I could have kept him quite busy in this kingdom."

"Can not something be done to rescue these poor people from their sad
fate?" asked the lovely High Ki, anxiously.

"We will make a call upon this Kwytoffle to-morrow," answered Prince
Marvel, "and see what the fellow is like."

"Alas! Alas!" wailed the good farmer, "you will all become
grasshoppers and June-bugs—every one of you!"

But none of the party seemed to fear that, and having passed the night
comfortably with the farmer they left his house and journeyed on into
the Kingdom of Auriel.

Before noon they came upon the edge of a forest, where a poor man was
chopping logs into firewood. Seeing Prince Marvel's party approach,
this man ran toward them waving his hands and shouting excitedly:

"Take the other path! Take the other path!"

"And why should we take the other path?" inquired the prince, reining
in his steed.

"Because this one leads to the castle of the great sorcerer,
Kwytoffle," answered the man.

"But there is where we wish to go," said Marvel.

"What! You wish to go there?" cried the man. "Then you will be robbed
and enslaved!"

"Not as long as we are able to fight," laughed the big Wul-Takim.

"If you resist the sorcerer, you will be turned into grasshoppers and
June-bugs," declared the man, staring at them in wonder.

"How do you know that?" asked Marvel.

"Kwytoffle says so. He promises to enchant every one who dares defy
his power."

"Has any one ever yet dared defy him?" asked Nerle.

"Certainly not!" said the man. "No one wishes to become a June-bug or
a grasshopper. No one dares defy him.".

"I am anxious to see this sorcerer," exclaimed King Terribus. "He
ought to prove an interesting person, for he is able to accomplish his
purposes by threats alone."

"Then let us ride on," said Marvel.

"Dear us! Dear us!" remonstrated the bald-headed Ki; "are we to become
grasshoppers, then?"

"We shall see," returned the prince, briefly.

"With your long legs," added the pretty pair of High Ki, laughingly,
"you ought to be able to jump farther than any other grasshopper in the
kingdom."

"Great Kika-koo!" cried the Ki, nervously, "what a fate! what a
terrible fate! And your Highnesses, I suppose, will become June-bugs,
and flutter your wings with noises like buzz-saws!"

Whatever their fears might be, none of Prince Marvel's party hesitated
to follow him along the path through the forest in search of the
sorcerer, and by and by they came upon a large clearing. In the middle
of this open space was a big building in such bad repair that its walls
were tumbling down in several places, and all around it the ground was
uncared for and littered with rubbish. A man was walking up and down
in front of this building, with his head bowed low; but when he heard
the sound of approaching horses' hoofs he looked up and stared for a
moment in amazement. Then, with a shout of rage, he rushed toward them
and caught Prince Marvel's horse by the bridle.

"How dare you!" he cried; "how dare you enter my forest?"

Marvel jerked his bridle from the man's grasp and said in return:

"Who are you?"

"Me! Who am I? Why, I am the great and powerful Kwytoffle! So
beware! Beware my sorcery!"

They all looked at the man curiously. He was short and very fat, and
had a face like a puff-ball, with little red eyes and scarcely any nose
at all. He wore a black gown with scarlet grasshoppers and june-bugs
embroidered upon the cloth; and his hat was high and peaked, with an
imitation grasshopper of extraordinary size perched upon its point. In
his right hand he carried a small black wand, and around his neck hung
a silver whistle on a silver cord.

Seeing that the strangers were gazing on him so earnestly, Kwytoffle
thought they were frightened; so he said again, in a big voice:

"Beware my vengeance!"

"Beware yourself!" retorted the prince. "For if you do not treat us
more respectfully, I shall have you flogged."

"What! Flog me!" shouted Kwytoffle, furiously. "For this I will turn
every one of you into grasshoppers—unless you at once give me all the
wealth you possess!"

"Poor man!" exclaimed Nerle; "I can see you are longing for that
flogging. Will you have it now?" and he raised his riding-whip above
his head.

Kwytoffle stumbled backward a few paces and blew shrilly upon his
silver whistle. Instantly a number of soldiers came running from the
building, others following quickly after them until fully a hundred
rough-looking warriors, armed with swords and axes, had formed in
battle array, facing the little party of Prince Marvel.

"Arrest these strangers!" commanded Kwytoffle, in a voice like a roar.
"Capture them and bind them securely, and then I will change them all
into grasshoppers!"

"All right," answered the captain of the soldiers; and then he turned
to his men and shouted: "Forward—double-quick—march!"

They came on with drawn swords; at first running, and then gradually
dropping into a walk, as they beheld Nerle, Wul-Takim, King Terribus
and Marvel standing quietly waiting to receive them, weapons in hand
and ready for battle. A few paces off the soldiers hesitated and
stopped altogether, and Kwytoffle yelled at the captain:

"Why don't you go on? Why don't you capture them? Why don't you fight
them?"

"Why, they have drawn their swords!" responded the captain,
reproachfully.

"Who cares?" roared the sorcerer.

"We care," said the captain, giving a shudder, as he looked upon the
strangers. "Their swords are sharp, and some of us would get hurt."

"You're cowards!" shrieked the enraged Kwytoffle. "I'll turn you all
into June-bugs!"

At this threat the soldiers dropped their swords and axes, and all fell
upon their knees, trembling visibly and imploring their cruel master
not to change them into june-bugs.

"Bah!" cried Nerle, scornfully; "why don't you fight? If we kill you,
then you will escape being June-bugs."

"The fact is," said the captain, woefully, "we simply can't fight. For
our swords are only tin, and our axes are made of wood, with
silver-paper pasted over them."

"But why is that?" asked Wul-Takim, while all the party showed their
surprise.

"Why, until now we have never had any need to fight," said the captain,
"for every one has quickly surrendered to us or run away the moment we
came near. But you people do not appear to be properly frightened, and
now, alas! since you have drawn upon us the great sorcerer's anger, we
shall all be transformed into June-bugs."

"Yes!" roared Kwytoffle, hopping up and down with anger, "you shall all
be June-bugs, and these strangers I will transform into grasshoppers!"

"Very well," said Prince Marvel, quietly; "you can do it now."

"I will! I will!" cried the sorcerer.

"Then why don't you begin?" inquired the prince.

"Why don't I begin? Why, I haven't got the enchantments with me,
that's why. Do you suppose we great magicians carry around
enchantments in our pockets?" returned the other, in a milder tone.

"Where do you keep your enchantments?" asked the prince.

"They're in my dwelling," snapped Kwytoffle, taking off his hat and
fanning his fat face with the brim.

"Then go and get them," said Marvel.

"Nonsense! If I went to get the enchantments you would all run away!"
retorted the sorcerer.

"Not so!" protested Nerle, who was beginning to be amused. "My
greatest longing in life is to become a grasshopper."

"Oh, yes! PLEASE let us be grasshoppers!" exclaimed the High Ki maids
in the same breath.

"We want to hop! We want to hop! Please—PLEASE let us hop!" implored
the bald-headed Ki, winking their left eyes at Wul-Takim.

"By all means let us become grasshoppers," said King Terribus, smiling;
and Wul-Takim added:

"I'm sure your soldiers would enjoy being June-bugs, for then they
wouldn't have to work. Isn't that so, boys?"

The bewildered soldiers looked at one another in perplexity, and the
still more bewildered sorcerer gazed on the speakers with staring eyes
and wide-open mouth.

"I insist," said Prince Marvel, "upon your turning us into grasshoppers
and your soldiers into June-bugs, as you promised. If you do not, then
I will flog you—as I promised."