RINKITINK IN OZ
Wherein is recorded the Perilous Quest of Prince Inga of Pingaree and King Rinkitink in the Magical Isles that lie beyond the Borderland of Oz
Introducing this Story
Here is a story with a boy hero, and a boy of whom you have never before heard. There are girls in the story, too, including our old friend Dorothy, and some of the characters wander a good way from the Land of Oz before they all assemble in the Emerald City to take part in Ozma's banquet. Indeed, I think you will find this story quite different from the other histories of Oz, but I hope you will not like it the less on that account. If I am permitted to write another Oz book it will tell of some thrilling adventures encountered by Dorothy, Betsy Bobbin, Trot and the Patchwork Girl right in the Land of Oz, and how they discovered some amazing creatures that never could have existed outside a fairy-land. I have an idea that about the time you are reading this story of Rinkitink I shall be writing that story of Adventures in Oz. Don't fail to write me often and give me your advice and suggestions, which I always appreciate. I get a good many letters from my readers, but every one is a joy to me and I answer them as soon as I can find time to do so. "OZCOT" at HOLLYWOOD in CALIFORNIA, 1916. L. FRANK BAUM Royal Historian of Oz
CHAPTER 1
THE PRINCE OF PINGAREE
If you have a map of the Land of Oz handy, you will find that the
great Nonestic Ocean washes the shores of the Kingdom of Rinkitink,
between which and the Land of Oz lies a strip of the country of the Nome
King and a Sandy Desert. The Kingdom of Rinkitink isn't very big and
lies close to the ocean, all the houses and the King's palace being built
near the shore. The people live much upon the water, boating and
fishing, and the wealth of Rinkitink is gained from trading along the
coast and with the islands nearest it.
Four days' journey by boat to the north of Rinkitink is the
Island of Pingaree, and as our story begins here I must tell you
something about this island. At the north end of Pingaree, where it is
widest, the land is a mile from shore to shore, but at the south end it
is scarcely half a mile broad; thus, although Pingaree is four miles
long, from north to south, it cannot be called a very big island. It is
exceedingly pretty, however, and to the gulls who approach it from the
sea it must resemble a huge, green wedge lying upon the waters, for its
grass and trees give it the color of an emerald.
The grass came to the edge of the sloping shores; the beautiful
trees occupied all the central portion of Pingaree, forming a continuous
grove where the branches met high overhead and there was just space
beneath them for the cozy houses of the inhabitants. These houses were
scattered everywhere throughout the island, so that there was no town or
city, unless the whole island might be called a city. The canopy of
leaves, high overhead, formed a shelter from sun and rain, and the
dwellers in the grove could all look past the straight tree trunks and
across the grassy slopes to the purple waters of the Nonestic Ocean.
At the big end of the island, at the north, stood the royal
palace of King Kitticut, the lord and ruler of Pingaree. It was a
beautiful palace, built entirely of snow-white marble and capped by domes
of burnished gold, for the King was exceedingly wealthy. All along the
coast of Pingaree were found the largest and finest pearls in the whole
world.
These pearls grew within the shells of big oysters, and the
people raked the oysters from their watery beds, sought out the milky
pearls and carried them dutifully to their King. Therefore, once every
year, His Majesty was able to send six of his boats, with sixty rowers
and many sacks of the valuable pearls, to the Kingdom of Rinkitink, where
there was a city called Gilgad in which King Rinkitink's palace stood on
a rocky headland and served, with its high towers, as a light-house to
guide sailors to the harbor. In Gilgad the pearls from Pingaree were
purchased by the King's treasurer, and the boats went back to the island
laden with stores of rich merchandise and such supplies of food as the
people and the royal family of Pingaree needed.
The Pingaree people never visited any other land but that of
Rinkitink, and so there were few other lands that knew there was such an
island. To the southwest was an island called the Isle of Phreex, where
the inhabitants had no use for pearls. And far north of Pingaree--six
days' journey by boat, it was said--were twin islands named Regos and
Coregos, inhabited by a fierce and warlike people.
Many years before this story really begins, ten big boatloads of
those fierce warriors of Regos and Coregos visited Pingaree, landing
suddenly upon the north end of the island. There they began to plunder
and conquer, as was their custom, but the people of Pingaree, although
neither so big nor so strong as their foes, were able to defeat them and
drive them all back to the sea, where a great storm overtook the raiders
from Regos and Coregos and destroyed them and their boats, not a single
warrior returning to his own country.
This defeat of the enemy seemed the more wonderful because the
pearl-fishers of Pingaree were mild and peaceful in disposition and
seldom quarreled even among themselves. Their only weapons were their
oyster rakes; yet the fact remains that they drove their fierce enemies
from Regos and Coregos from their shores.
King Kitticut was only a boy when this remarkable battle was
fought, and now his hair was gray; but he remembered the day well, and
during the years that followed his one constant fear was of another
invasion of his enemies. He feared they might send a more numerous army
to his island, both for conquest and revenge, in which case there could
be little hope of successfully opposing them.
This anxiety on the part of King Kitticut led him to keep a sharp
lookout for strange boats, one of his men patrolling the beach
constantly, but he was too wise to allow any fear to make him or his
subjects unhappy. He was a good King and lived very contentedly in his
fine palace with his fair Queen Garee and their one child, Prince Inga.
The wealth of Pingaree increased year by year; and the happiness
of the people increased, too. Perhaps there was no place outside the
land of Oz where contentment and peace were more manifest than on this
pretty island, hidden in the bosom of the Nonestic Ocean. Had these
conditions remained undisturbed, there would have been no need to speak
of Pingaree in this story.
Prince Inga, the heir to all the riches and the kingship of
Pingaree, grew up surrounded by every luxury; but he was a manly little
fellow, although somewhat grave and thoughtful, and he could never bear
to be idle a single minute. He knew where the finest oysters lay hidden
along the coast and was as successful in finding pearls as any of the men
of the island, although he was so slight and small. He had a little boat
of his own and a rake for dragging up the oysters, and he was very proud
indeed when he could carry a big white pearl to his father.
There was no school upon the island, as the people of Pingaree
were far removed from the state of civilization that gives our modern
children such advantages as schools and learned professors, but the King
owned several manuscript books, the pages being made of sheepskin. Being
a man of intelligence, he was able to teach his son something of reading,
writing and arithmetic.
When studying his lessons, Prince Inga used to go into the grove
near his father's palace and climb into the branches of a tall tree,
where he had built a platform with a comfortable seat to rest upon, all
hidden by the canopy of leaves. There, with no one to disturb him, he
would pore over the sheepskin on which were written the queer characters
of the Pingarese language.
King Kitticut was very proud of his little son, as well he might
be, and he soon felt a high respect for Inga's judgment and thought that
he was worthy to be taken into the confidence of his father in many
matters of state. He taught the boy the needs of the people and how to
rule them justly, for some day he knew that Inga would be King in his
place. One day, he called his son to his side and said to him:
"Our island now seems peaceful enough, Inga, and we are happy and
prosperous, but I cannot forget those terrible people of Regos and
Coregos. My constant fear is that they will send a fleet of boats to
search for those of their race whom we defeated many years ago and whom
the sea afterwards destroyed. If the warriors come in great numbers, we
may be unable to oppose them, for my people are little trained to
fighting at best; they surely would cause us much injury and suffering."
"Are we, then, less powerful than in my grandfather's day?" asked
Prince Inga.
The King shook his head thoughtfully.
"It is not that," said he. "That you may fully understand that
marvelous battle, I must confide to you a great secret. I have in my
possession three Magic Talismans which I have ever guarded with utmost
care, keeping the knowledge of their existence from anyone else. But
lest I should die and the secret be lost, I have decided to tell you what
these talismans are and where they are hidden. Come with me, my son."
He led the way through the rooms of the palace until they came to
the great banquet hall. There, stopping in the center of the room, he
stooped down and touched a hidden spring in the tiled floor. At once,
one of the tiles sank downward, and the King reached within the cavity
and drew out a silken bag.
This bag he proceeded to open, showing Inga that it contained
three great pearls, each one as big around as a marble. One had a blue
tint, and one was of a delicate rose color, but the third was pure white.
"These three pearls," said the King, speaking in a solemn,
impressive voice, "are the most wonderful the world has ever known. They
were gifts to one of my ancestors from the Mermaid Queen, a powerful
fairy whom he once had the good fortune to rescue from her enemies. In
gratitude for this favor, she presented him with these pearls. Each of
the three possesses an astonishing power, and whoever is their owner may
count himself a fortunate man. This one having the blue tint will give
to the person who carries it a strength so great that no power can resist
him. The one with the pink glow will protect its owner from all dangers
that may threaten him, no matter from what source they may come. The
third pearl--this one of pure white--can speak, and its words are always
wise and helpful."
"What is this, my father!" exclaimed the Prince, amazed; "Do you
tell me that a pearl can speak? It sounds impossible."
"Your doubt is due to your ignorance of fairy powers," returned
the King gravely. "Listen, my son, and you will know that I speak the
truth."
He held the white pearl to Inga's ear, and the Prince heard a
small voice say distinctly: "Your father is right. Never question the
truth of what you fail to understand, for the world is filled with
wonders."
"I crave your pardon, dear father," said the Prince, "for clearly
I heard the pearl speak, and its words were full of wisdom."
"The powers of the other pearls are even greater," resumed the
King. "Were I poor in all else, these gems would make me richer than any
other monarch the world holds."
"I believe that," replied Inga, looking at the beautiful pearls
with much awe. "But tell me, my father, why do you fear the warriors of
Regos and Coregos when these marvelous powers are yours?"
"The powers are mine only while I have the pearls upon my
person," answered King Kitticut, "and I dare not carry them constantly
for fear they might be lost. Therefore, I keep them safely hidden in
this recess. My only danger lies in the chance that my watchmen might
fail to discover the approach of our enemies and allow the warrior
invaders to seize me before I could secure the pearls. I should, in that
case, be quite powerless to resist. My father owned the magic pearls at
the time of the Great Fight of which you have so often heard, and the
pink pearl protected him from harm while the blue pearl enabled him and
his people to drive away the enemy. Often I have suspected that the
destroying storm was caused by the fairy mermaids, but that is a matter
of which I have no proof."
"I have often wondered how we managed to win that battle,"
remarked Inga thoughtfully. "But the pearls will assist us in case the
warriors come again, will they not?"
"They are as powerful as ever," declared the King. "Really, my
son, I have little to fear from any foe. But lest I die and the secret
be lost to the next King, I have now given it into your keeping. Remember
that these pearls are the rightful heritage of all Kings of Pingaree. If
at any time I should be taken from you, Inga, guard this treasure well,
and do not forget where it is hidden."
"I shall not forget," said Inga.
Then the King returned the pearls to their hiding place, and the
boy went to his own room to ponder upon the wonderful secret his father
had that day confided to his care.
CHAPTER 2
THE COMING OF KING RINKITINK
A few days after this, on a bright and sunny morning when the
breeze blew soft and sweet from the ocean and the trees waved their
leaf-laden branches, the Royal Watchman, whose duty it was to patrol the
shore, came running to the King with news that a strange boat was
approaching the island.
At first, the King was sore afraid and made a step toward the
hidden pearls, but the next moment he reflected that one boat, even if
filled with enemies, would be powerless to injure him, so he curbed his
fear and went down to the beach to discover who the strangers might be.
Many of the men of Pingaree assembled there also, and Prince Inga
followed his father. Arriving at the water's edge, they all stood gazing
eagerly at the oncoming boat.
It was quite a big boat, they observed, and covered with a canopy
of purple silk embroidered with gold. It was rowed by twenty men, ten on
each side. As it came nearer, Inga could see that in the stern, seated
upon a high, cushioned chair of state, was a little man who was so very
fat that he was nearly as broad as he was high. This man was dressed in
a loose silken robe of purple that fell in folds to his feet, while upon
his head was a cap of white velvet curiously worked with golden threads
and having a circle of diamonds sewn around the band. At the opposite
end of the boat stood an oddly shaped cage, and several large boxes of
sandalwood were piled near the center of the craft.
As the boat approached the shore, the fat little man got upon his
feet and bowed several times in the direction of those who had assembled
to greet him, and as he bowed he flour-ished his white cap in an
energetic manner. His face was round as an apple and nearly as rosy.
When he stopped bowing, he smiled in such a sweet and happy way that Inga
thought he must be a very jolly fellow.
The prow of the boat grounded on the beach, stopping its speed so
suddenly that the little man was caught unawares and nearly toppled
headlong into the sea. But he managed to catch hold of the chair with
one hand and the hair of one of his rowers with the other, and so
steadied himself. Then, again waving his jeweled cap around his head, he
cried in a merry voice:
"Well, here I am at last!"
"So I perceive," responded King Kitticut, bowing with much
dignity.
The fat man glanced at all the sober faces before him and burst
into a rollicking laugh. Perhaps I should say it was half laughter and
half a chuckle of merriment, for the sounds he emitted were quaint and
droll and tempted every hearer to laugh with him.
"Heh, heh--ho, ho, ho!" he roared. "Didn't expect me, I see.
Keek-eek-eek-eek! This is funny--it's really funny. Didn't know I was
coming, did you? Hoo, hoo, hoo, hoo! This is certainly amusing. But I'm
here, just the same."
"Hush up!" said a deep, growling voice. "You're making yourself
ridiculous."
Everyone looked to see where this voice came from; but none could
guess who had uttered the words of rebuke. The rowers of the boat were
solemn and silent, and certainly no one on the shore had spoken. But the
little man did not seem astonished in the least, or even annoyed.
King Kitticut now addressed the stranger, saying courteously:
"You are welcome to the Kingdom of Pingaree. Perhaps you will
deign to come ashore and at your convenience inform us whom we have the
honor of receiving as a guest."
"Thanks, I will," returned the little fat man, waddling from his
place in the boat and stepping, with some difficulty, upon the sandy
beach. "I am King Rinkitink, of the City of Gilgad in the Kingdom of
Rinkitink, and I have come to Pingaree to see for myself the monarch who
sends to my city so many beautiful pearls. I have long wished to visit
this island; and so, as I said before, here I am!"
"I am pleased to welcome you," said King Kitticut. "But why has
Your Majesty so few attendants? Is it not dangerous for the King of a
great country to make distant journeys in one frail boat, and with but
twenty men?"
"Oh, I suppose so," answered King Rinkitink with a laugh. "But
what else could I do? My subjects would not allow me to go anywhere at
all, if they knew it. So I just ran away."
"Ran away?" exclaimed King Kitticut in surprise.
"Funny, isn't it? Heh, heh, heh--woo, hoo!" laughed Rinkitink,
and this is as near as I can spell with letters the jolly sounds of his
laughter. "Fancy a King running away from his own people--hoo,
hoo--keek, eek, eek, eek! But I had to, don't you see!"
"Why?" asked the other King.
"They're afraid I'll get into mischief. They don't trust me.
Keek-eek-eek--Oh, dear me! Don't trust their own King. Funny, isn't
it?"
"No harm can come to you on this island," said Kitticut,
pretending not to notice the odd ways of his guest. "And whenever it
pleases you to return to your own country, I will send with you a fitting
escort of my own people. In the meantime, pray accompany me to my
palace, where everything shall be done to make you comfortable and happy."
"Much obliged," answered Rinkitink, tipping his white cap over
his ear and heartily shaking the hand of his brother monarch. "I'm sure
you can make me comfortable if you've plenty to eat. And as for being
happy--ha, ha, ha, ha!--why, that's my trouble. I'm TOO happy. But
stop! I've brought you some presents in those boxes. Please order your
men to carry them up to the palace."
"Certainly," answered King Kitticut, well pleased, and at once he
gave his men the proper orders.
"And, by the way," continued the fat little King, "let them also
take my goat from his cage."
"A goat!" exclaimed the King of Pingaree.
"Exactly, my goat Bilbil. I always ride him wherever I go, for
I'm not at all fond of walking, being a trifle stout--eh, Kitticut?--a
trifle stout! Hoo, hoo, hoo--keek, eek!"
The Pingaree people started to lift the big cage out of the boat,
but just then a gruff voice cried: "Be careful, you villains!" and as the
words seemed to come from the goat's mouth, the men were so astonished
that they dropped the cage upon the sand with a sudden jar.
"There! I told you so!" cried the voice angrily. "You've rubbed
the skin off my left knee. Why on earth didn't you handle me gently?"
"There, there, Bilbil," said King Rinkitink soothingly; "don't
scold, my boy. Remember that these are strangers, and we their guests."
Then he turned to Kitticut and remarked: "You have no talking goats on
your island, I suppose."
"We have no goats at all," replied the King; "nor have we any
animals of any sort who are able to talk."
"I wish my animal couldn't talk, either," said Rinkitink, winking
comically at Inga and then looking toward the cage. "He is very cross at
times, and indulges in language that is not respectful. I thought, at
first, it would be fine to have a talking goat with whom I could converse
as I rode about my city on his back; but--keek-eek-eek-eek!--the rascal
treats me as if I were a chimney sweep instead of a King. Heh, heh, he,
keek, eek! A chimney sweep--hoo, hoo, hoo!--and me a King! Funny, isn't
it?" This last was addressed to Prince Inga, whom he chucked familiarly
under the chin, to the boy's great embarrassment.
"Why do you not ride a horse?" asked King Kitticut.
"I can't climb upon his back, being rather stout; that's why.
Kee, kee, keek, eek!--rather stout--hoo, hoo, hoo!" He paused to wipe
the tears of merriment from his eyes and then added: "But I can get on
and off Bilbil's back with ease."
He now opened the cage, and the goat deliberately walked out and
looked about him in a sulky manner. One of the rowers brought from the
goat a saddle made of red velvet and beautifully embroidered with silver
thistles, which he fastened upon the goat's back. The fat King put his
leg over the saddle and seated himself comfortably, saying:
"Lead on, my noble host, and we will follow."
"What! Up that steep hill?" cried the goat. "Get off my back at
once, Rinkitink, or I won't budge a step."
"But--consider, Bilbil," remonstrated the King. "How am I to get
up that hill unless I ride?"
"Walk!" growled Bilbil.
"But I'm too fat. Really, Bilbil, I'm surprised at you. Haven't
I brought you all this distance so you may see something of the world and
enjoy life? And now you are so ungrateful as to refuse to carry me!
Turn about is fair play, my boy. The boat carried you to this shore
because you can't swim, and now you must carry me up the hill because I
can't climb. Eh, Bilbil, isn't that reasonable?"
"Well, well, well," said the goat surlily, "keep quiet and I'll
carry you. But you make me very tired, Rinkitink, with your ceaseless
chatter."
After making this protest, Bilbil began walking up the hill,
carrying the fat King upon his back with no difficulty whatever.
Prince Inga and his father and all the men of Pingaree were much
astonished to overhear this dispute between King Rinkitink and his goat;
but they were too polite to make critical remarks in the presence of
their guests. King Kitticut walked beside the goat, and the Prince
followed after, the men coming last with the boxes of sandalwood.
When they neared the palace, the Queen and her maidens came out
to meet them, and the royal guest was escorted in state to the splendid
throne room of the palace. Here the boxes were opened, and King
Rinkitink displayed all the beautiful silks and laces and jewelry with
which they were filled. Every one of the courtiers and ladies received a
handsome present, and the King and Queen had many rich gifts and Inga not
a few. Thus the time passed pleasantly until the Chamberlain announced
that dinner was served.
Bilbil the goat declared that he preferred eating of the sweet,
rich grass that grew abundantly in the palace grounds, and Rinkitink said
that the beast could never bear being shut up in a stable; so they
removed the saddle from his back and allowed him to wander wherever he
pleased.
During the dinner, Inga divided his attention between admiring
the pretty gifts he had received and listening to the jolly sayings of
the fat King, who laughed when he was not eating and ate when he was not
laughing and seemed to enjoy himself immensely.
"For four days I have lived in that narrow boat," said he, "with
no other amusement than to watch the rowers and quarrel with Bilbil; so I
am very glad to be on land again with such friendly and agreeable people."
"You do us great honor," said King Kitticut with a polite bow.
"Not at all--not at all, my brother. This Pingaree must be a
wonderful island, for its pearls are the admiration of all the world; nor
will I deny the fact that my kingdom would be a poor one without the
riches and glory it derives from the trade in your pearls. So I have
wished for many years to come here to see you, but my people said: 'No!
Stay at home and behave yourself, or we'll know the reason why.' "
"Will they not miss Your Majesty from your palace at Gilgad?"
inquired Kitticut.
"I think not," answered Rinkitink. "You see, one of my clever
subjects has written a parchment entitled 'How to be Good,' and I
believed it would benefit me to study it, as I consider the
accomplishment of being good one of the fine arts. I had just scolded
severely my Lord High Chancellor for coming to breakfast without combing
his eyebrows, and was so sad and regretful at having hurt the poor man's
feelings that I decided to shut myself up in my own room and study the
scroll until I knew how to be good--hee, heek, keek, eek, eek!--to be
good! Clever idea, that, wasn't it? Mighty clever! And I issued a
decree that no one should enter my room, under pain of my royal
displeasure, until I was ready to come out. They're awfully afraid of my
royal displeasure, although not a bit afraid of me. Then I put the
parchment in my pocket and escaped through the back door to my boat--and
here I am. Oo, hoo-hoo, keek-eek! Imagine the fuss there would be in
Gilgad if my subjects knew where I am this very minute!"
"I would like to see that parchment," said the solemn-eyed Prince
Inga, "for if it indeed teaches one to be good, it must be worth its
weight in pearls."
"Oh, it's a fine essay," said Rinkitink, "and beautifully written
with a goose quill. Listen to this: You'll enjoy it--tee, hee,
hee!--enjoy it."
He took from his pocket a scroll of parchment tied with a black
ribbon, and having carefully unrolled it, he proceeded to read as
follows:
"'A Good Man is One who is Never Bad.' How's that, eh? Fine
thought, what? 'Therefore, in order to be Good, you must avoid those
Things which are Evil.' Oh, hoo-hoo-hoo!--how clever! When I get back,
I shall make the man who wrote that a royal hippolorum, for beyond
question he is the wisest man in my kingdom--as he has often told me
himself." With this, Rinkitink lay back in his chair and chuckled his
queer chuckle until he coughed, and coughed until he choked, and choked
until he sneezed. And he wrinkled his face in such a jolly, droll way
that few could keep from laughing with him, and even the good Queen was
forced to titter behind her fan.
When Rinkitink had recovered from his fit of laughter and had
wiped his eyes upon a fine lace handkerchief, Prince Inga said to him:
"The parchment speaks truly."
"Yes, it is true beyond doubt," answered Rinkitink, "and if I
could persuade Bilbil to read it, he would be a much better goat than he
is now. Here is another selection: 'To avoid saying Unpleasant Things,
always Speak Agreeably.' That would hit Bilbil, to a dot. And here is
one that applies to you, my Prince: 'Good Children are seldom punished,
for the reason that they deserve no punishment.' Now, I think that is
neatly put, and shows the author to be a deep thinker. But the advice
that has impressed me the most is in the following paragraph: 'You may
not find it as Pleasant to be Good as it is to be Bad, but Other People
will find it more Pleasant.' Haw-hoo-ho! keek-eek! 'Other people will
find it more pleasant!'--hee, hee, heek, keek!--'more pleasant.' Dear
me--dear me! Therein lies a noble incentive to be good, and whenever I
get time, I'm surely going to try it."
Then he wiped his eyes again with the lace handkerchief and,
suddenly remembering his dinner, seized his knife and fork and began
eating.
CHAPTER 3
THE WARRIORS FROM THE NORTH
King Rinkitink was so much pleased with the Island of Pingaree
that he continued his stay day after day and week after week, eating good
dinners, talking with King Kitticut, and sleeping. Once in a while he
would read from his scroll. "For," said he, "whenever I return home, my
subjects will be anxious to know if I have learned 'How to Be Good,' and
I must not disappoint them."
The twenty rowers lived on the small end of the island with the
pearl fishers and seemed not to care whether they ever returned to the
Kingdom of Rinkitink or not. Bilbil the goat wandered over the grassy
slopes or among the trees and passed his days exactly as he pleased. His
master seldom cared to ride him. Bilbil was a rare curiosity to the
islanders, but since there was little pleasure in talking with the goat,
they kept away from him. This pleased the creature, who seemed well
satisfied to be left to his own devices.
Once Prince Inga, wishing to be courteous, walked up to the goat
and said: "Good morning, Bilbil."
"It isn't a good morning," answered Bilbil grumpily. "It is
cloudy and damp and looks like rain."
"I hope you are contented in our kingdom," continued the boy,
politely ignoring the other's harsh words.
"I'm not," said Bilbil. "I'm never contented, so it doesn't
matter to me whether I'm in your kingdom or in some other kingdom. Go
away, will you?"
"Certainly," answered the Prince, and after this rebuff he did
not again try to make friends with Bilbil.
Now that the King, his father, was so much occupied with his
royal guest, Inga was often left to amuse himself, for a boy could not be
allowed to take part in the conversation of two great monarchs. He
devoted himself to his studies, therefore, and day after day he climbed
into the branches of his favorite tree and sat for hours in his "tree-top
rest" reading his father's precious manuscripts and thinking upon what he
read.
You must not think that Inga was a mollycoddle or a prig because
he was so solemn and studious. Being a King's son and heir to the
throne, he could not play with the other boys of Pingaree, and he lived
so much in the society of the King and Queen and was so surrounded by the
pomp and dignity of a court that he missed all the jolly times that boys
usually have. I have no doubt that had he been able to live as other
boys do, he would have been much like other boys; as it was, he was
subdued by his surroundings and more grave and thoughtful than one of his
years should be.
Inga was in his tree one morning when, without warning, a great
fog enveloped the Island of Pingaree. The boy could scarcely see the
tree next to that in which he sat, but the leaves above him prevented the
dampness from wetting him, so he curled himself up in his seat and fell
fast asleep.
All that forenoon the fog continued. King Kitticut, who sat in
his palace talking with his merry visitor, ordered the candles lighted,
that they might be able to see one another. The good Queen, Inga's
mother, found it was too dark to work at her embroidery, so she called
her maidens together and told them wonderful stories of bygone days in
order to pass away the dreary hours.
But soon after noon, the weather changed. The dense fog rolled
away like a heavy cloud, and suddenly the sun shot his bright rays over
the island.
"Very good!" exclaimed King Kitticut. "We shall have a pleasant
afternoon, I am sure," and he blew out the candles.
Then he stood a moment motionless, as if turned to stone, for a
terrible cry from without the palace reached his ears--a cry so full of
fear and horror that the King's heart almost stopped beating. Immediately
there was a scurrying of feet as everyone in the palace, filled with
dismay, rushed outside to see what had happened. Even fat little
Rinkitink sprang from his chair and followed his host and the others
through the arched vestibule.
After many years, the worst fears of King Kitticut were realized.
Landing upon the beach, which was but a few steps from the palace
itself, were hundreds of boats, every one filled with a throng of fierce
warriors. They sprang upon the land with wild shouts of defiance and
rushed to the King's palace, waving aloft their swords and spears and
battleaxes.
King Kitticut, so completely surprised that he was bewildered,
gazed at the approaching host with terror and grief.
"They are the men of Regos and Coregos!" he groaned. "We are
indeed lost!"
Then he bethought himself, for the first time, of his wonderful
pearls. Turning quickly, he ran back into the palace and hastened to the
hall where the treasures were hidden. But the leader of the warriors had
seen the King enter the palace and bounded after him, thinking he meant
to escape. Just as the King had stooped to press the secret spring in
the tiles, the warrior seized him from the rear and threw him backward
upon the floor, at the same time shouting to his men to fetch ropes and
bind the prisoner. This they did very quickly, and King Kitticut soon
found himself helplessly bound and in the power of his enemies. In this
sad condition he was lifted by the warriors and carried outside, where
the good King looked upon a sorry sight.
The Queen and her maidens, the officers and servants of the royal
household, and all who inhabited this end of the Island of Pingaree had
been seized by the invaders and bound with ropes. At once they began
carrying their victims to the boats, tossing them in as unceremoniously
as if they had been bales of merchandise.
The King looked around for his son Inga, but failed to find the
boy among the prisoners. Nor was the fat King, Rinkitink, to be seen
anywhere about.
The warriors were swarming over the palace like bees in a hive,
seeking anyone who might be in hiding, and after the search had been
prolonged for some time, the leader asked impatiently: "Do you find
anyone else?"
"No," his men told him. "We have captured them all."
"Then," commanded the leader, "remove everything of value from
the palace and tear down the walls and towers so that not one stone
remains upon another!"
While the warriors were busy with this task, we will return to
the boy Prince, who, when the fog lifted and the sun came out, wakened
from his sleep and began to climb down from his perch in the tree. But
the terrifying cries of the people, mingled with the shouts of the rude
warriors, caused him to pause and listen eagerly.
Then he climbed rapidly up the tree, far above his platform, to
the topmost swaying branches. This tree, which Inga called his own, was
somewhat taller than the other trees that surrounded it, and when he had
reached the top he pressed aside the leaves and saw a great fleet of
boats upon the shore--strange boats with banners that he had never seen
before. Turning to look upon his father's palace, he found it surrounded
by a horde of enemies. Then Inga knew the truth: that the island had
been invaded by the barbaric warriors from the north. He grew so faint
from the terror of it all that he might have fallen had he not wound his
arms around a limb and clung fast until the dizzy feeling had passed
away. Then with his sash he bound himself to the limb and again ventured
to look out through the leaves.
The warriors were now engaged in carrying King Kitticut and Queen
Garee and all their other captives down to the boats, where they were
thrown in and chained one to another. It was a dreadful sight for the
Prince to witness, but he sat very still, concealed from the sight of
anyone below by the bower of leafy branches around him. Inga knew very
well that he could do nothing to help his beloved parents, and that if he
came down he would only be forced to share their cruel fate.
Now a procession of the Northmen passed between the boats and the
palace, bearing the rich furniture, splendid draperies and rare ornaments
of which the royal palace had been robbed, together with such food and
other plunder as they could lay their hands upon. After this, the men of
Regos and Coregos threw ropes around the marble domes and towers and
hundreds of warriors tugged at these ropes until the domes and towers
toppled and fell in ruins upon the ground. Then the walls themselves
were torn down, till little remained of the beautiful palace but a vast
heap of white marble blocks tumbled and scattered upon the ground.
Prince Inga wept bitter tears of grief as he watched the ruin of
his home; yet he was powerless to avert the destruction. When the palace
had been demolished, some of the warriors entered their boats and rowed
along the coast of the island, while others marched in a great body down
the length of the island itself. They were so numerous that they formed
a line stretching from shore to shore, and they destroyed every house
they came to and took every inhabitant prisoner.
The pearl fishers who lived at the lower end of the island tried
to escape in their boats, but they were soon overtaken and made prisoners
like the others. Nor was there any attempt to resist the foe, for the
sharp spears and pikes and swords of the invaders terrified the hearts of
the defenseless people of Pingaree, whose sole weapons were their oyster
rakes.
When night fell, the whole of the Island of Pingaree had been
conquered by the men of the North, and all its people were slaves of the
conquerors. Next morning the men of Regos and Coregos, being capable of
no further mischief, departed from the scene of their triumph, carrying
their prisoners with them and taking also every boat to be found upon the
island. Many of the boats they had filled with rich plunder, with pearls
and silks and velvets, with silver and gold ornaments and all the
treasure that had made Pingaree famed as one of the richest kingdoms in
the world. And the hundreds of slaves they had captured would be set to
work in the mines of Regos and the grain fields of Coregos.
So complete was the victory of the Northmen that it is no wonder
the warriors sang songs of triumph as they hastened back to their homes.
Great rewards were awaiting them when they showed the haughty King of
Regos and the terrible Queen of Coregos the results of their ocean raid
and conquest.
CHAPTER 4
THE DESERTED ISLAND
All through that terrible night, Prince Inga remained hidden in
his tree. In the morning, he watched the great fleet of boats depart for
their own country, carrying his parents and his countrymen with them as
well as everything of value the Island of Pingaree had contained.
Sad indeed were the boy's thoughts when the last of the boats had
become a mere speck in the distance, but Inga did not dare leave his
perch of safety until all of the craft of the invaders had disappeared
beyond the horizon. Then he came down, very slowly and carefully, for he
was weak from hunger and the long and weary watch, as he had been in the
tree for twenty-four hours without food.
The sun shone upon the beautiful green isle as brilliantly as if
no ruthless invader had passed and laid it in ruins. The birds still
chirped among the trees, and the butterflies darted from flower to flower
as happily as when the land was filled with a prosperous and contented
people.
Inga feared that only he was left of all his nation. Perhaps he
might be obliged to pass his life there alone. He would not starve, for
the sea would give him oysters and fish, and the trees fruit; yet the
life that confronted him was far from enticing.
The boy's first act was to walk over to where the palace had stood
and search the ruins until he found some scraps of food that had been
overlooked by the enemy. He sat upon a block of marble and ate of this,
and tears filled his eyes as he gazed upon the desolation around him.
But Inga tried to bear up bravely, and having satisfied his hunger, he
walked over to the well, intending to draw a bucket of drinking water.
Fortunately, this well had been overlooked by the invaders, and
the bucket was still fastened to the chain that wound around a stout
wooden windlass. Inga took hold of the crank and began letting the
bucket down into the well, when suddenly he was startled by a muffled
voice crying out:
"Be careful up there!"
The sound and the words seemed to indicate that the voice came
from the bottom of the well, so Inga looked down. Nothing could be seen
on account of the darkness.
"Who are you?" he shouted.
"It's I--Rinkitink," came the answer, and the depths of the well
echoed: "Tink-i-tini-i-tink!" in a ghostly manner.
"Are you in the well?" asked the boy, greatly surprised.
"Yes, and nearly drowned. I fell in while running from those
terrible warriors, and I've been standing in this damp hole ever since,
with my head just above the water. It's lucky the well was no deeper,
for had my head been under water instead of above it--hoo, hoo, hoo,
keek, eek!--under instead of over, you know--why, then, I wouldn't be
talking to you now! Ha, hoo, hee!" And the well dismally echoed: "Ha,
hoo, hee!" which you must imagine was a laugh half merry and half sad.
"I'm awfully sorry," cried the boy in answer. "I wonder you have
the heart to laugh at all. But how am I to get you out?"
"I've been considering that all night," said Rinkitink, "and I
believe the best plan will be for you to let down the bucket to me, and
I'll hold fast to it while you wind up the chain and so draw me to the top."
"I will try to do that," replied Inga, and he let the bucket down
very carefully until he heard the King call out:
"I've got it! Now pull me up--slowly, my boy, slowly--so I won't
rub against the rough sides."
Inga began winding up the chain, but King Rinkitink was so fat
that he was very heavy, and by the time the boy had managed to pull him
halfway up the well, his strength was gone. He clung to the crank as
long as possible, but suddenly it slipped from his grasp, and the next
minute he heard Rinkitink fall "plump!" into the water again.
"That's too bad!" called Inga, in real distress, "But you were so
heavy I couldn't help it."
"Dear me!" gasped the King from the darkness below as he
sputtered and coughed to get the water out of his mouth. "Why didn't you
tell me you were going to let go?"
"I hadn't time," said Inga sorrowfully.
"Well, I'm not suffering from thirst," declared the King, "for
there's enough water inside me to float all the boats of Regos and
Coregos--or at least it feels that way. But never mind! So long as I'm
not actually drowned, what does it matter?"
"What shall we do next?" asked the boy anxiously.
"Call someone to help you," was the reply.
"There is no one on the island but myself," said the boy,
"excepting you," he added as an afterthought.
"I'm not on it--more's the pity!--but IN it," responded Rinkitink.
"Are the warriors all gone?"
"Yes," said Inga, "and they have taken my father and mother and
all our people to be their slaves," he added, trying in vain to repress a
sob.
"So--so!" said Rinkitink softly; and then he paused a moment, as
if in thought. Finally, he said: "There are worse things than slavery,
but I never imagined a well could be one of them. Tell me, Inga, could
you let down some food to me? I'm nearly starved, and if you could
manage to send me down some food I'd be WELL fed--hoo, hoo, heek, keek,
eek!--well fed. Do you see the joke, Inga?"
"Do not ask me to enjoy a joke just now, Your Majesty," begged
Inga in a sad voice, "but if you will be patient, I will try to find
something for you to eat."
He ran back to the ruins of the palace and began searching for
bits of food with which to satisfy the hunger of the King, when to his
surprise he observed the goat Bilbil wandering among the marble blocks.
"What!" cried Inga. "Didn't the warriors get you, either?"
"If they had," calmly replied Bilbil, "I shouldn't be here."
"But how did you escape?" asked the boy.
"Easily enough. I kept my mouth shut and stayed away from the
rascals," said the goat. "I knew that the soldiers would not care for a
skinny old beast like me, for to the eye of a stranger I seem good for
nothing. Had they known I could talk and that my head contained more
wisdom than a hundred of their own noodles, I might not have escaped so
easily."
"Perhaps you are right," said the boy.
"I suppose they got the old man?" carelessly remarked Bilbil.
"What old man?"
"Rinkitink."
"Oh, no! His Majesty is at the bottom of the well," said Inga,
"and I don't know how to get him out again."
"Then let him stay there," suggested the goat.
"That would be cruel. I am sure, Bilbil, that you are fond of
the good King, your master, and do not mean what you say. Together let
us find some way to save poor King Rinkitink. He is a very jolly
companion and has a heart exceedingly kind and gentle."
"Oh, well, the old boy isn't so bad, taken altogether," admitted
Bilbil, speaking in a more friendly tone. "But his bad jokes and fat
laughter tire me dreadfully at times."
Prince Inga now ran back to the well, the goat following more
leisurely.
"Here's Bilbil!" shouted the boy to the King. "The enemy didn't
get him, it seems."
"That's lucky for the enemy," said Rinkitink. "But it's lucky
for me, too, for perhaps the beast can assist me out of this hole. If
you can let a rope down the well, I am sure that you and Bilbil, pulling
together, will be able to drag me to the earth's surface."
"Be patient, and we will make the attempt," replied Inga
encouragingly, and he ran to search the ruins for a rope. Presently he
found one that had been used by the warriors in toppling over the towers,
which in their haste they had neglected to remove, and with some
difficulty he untied the knots and carried the rope to the mouth of the
well.
Bilbil had lain down to sleep, and the refrain of a merry song
came in muffled tones from the well, proving that Rinkitink was making a
patient endeavor to amuse himself.
"I've found a rope!" Inga called down to him, and then the boy
proceeded to make a loop in one end of the rope for the King to put his
arms through, and the other end he placed over the drum of the windlass.
He now aroused Bilbil and fastened the rope firmly around the goat's
shoulders.
"Are you ready?" asked the boy, leaning over the well.
"I am," replied the King.
"And I am not," growled the goat, "for I have not yet had my nap
out. Old Rinki will be safe enough in the well until I've slept an hour
or two longer."
"But it is damp in the well," protested the boy, "and King
Rinkitink may catch the rheumatism, so that he will have to ride upon
your back wherever he goes."
Hearing this, Bilbil jumped up at once.
"Let's get him out," he said earnestly.
"Hold fast!" shouted Inga to the King. Then he seized the rope
and helped Bilbil to pull. They soon found the task more difficult than
they had supposed. Once or twice the King's weight threatened to drag
both the boy and the goat into the well to keep Rinkitink company. But
they pulled sturdily, being aware of this danger, and at last the King
popped out of the hole and fell sprawling full length upon the ground.
For a time, he lay panting and breathing hard to get his breath
back, while Inga and Bilbil were likewise worn out from their long strain
at the rope; so the three rested quietly upon the grass and looked at one
another in silence.
Finally, Bilbil said to the King:
"I'm surprised at you. Why were you so foolish as to fall down
that well? Don't you know it's a dangerous thing to do? You might have
broken your neck in the fall, or been drowned in the water."
"Bilbil," replied the King solemnly, "you're a goat. Do you
imagine I fell down the well on purpose?"
"I imagine nothing," retorted Bilbil. "I only know you were there."
"There? Heh-heh-heek-keek-eek! To be sure I was there," laughed
Rinkitink. "There in a dark hole, where there was no light; there in a
watery well, where the wetness soaked me through and
through--keek-eek-eek-eek--through and through!"
"How did it happen?" inquired Inga.
"I was running away from the enemy," explained the King, "and I
was carelessly looking over my shoulder at the same time to see if they
were chasing me. So I did not see the well, but stepped into it and
found myself tumbling down to the bottom. I struck the water very neatly
and began struggling to keep myself from drowning, but presently I found
that when I stood upon my feet on the bottom of the well, that my chin
was just above the water. So I stood still and yelled for help, but no
one heard me."
"If the warriors had heard you," said Bilbil, "they would have
pulled you out and carried you away to be a slave. Then you would have
been obliged to work for a living, and that would be a new experience."
"Work!" exclaimed Rinkitink. "Me work? Hoo, hoo, heek-keek-eek!
How absurd! I'm so stout--not to say chubby--not to say fat--that I can
hardly walk, and I couldn't earn my salt at hard work. So I'm glad the
enemy did not find me, Bilbil. How many others escaped?"
"That I do not know," replied the boy, "for I have not yet had
time to visit the other parts of the island. When you have rested and
satisfied your royal hunger, it might be well for us to look around and
see what the thieving warriors of Regos and Coregos have left us."
"An excellent idea," declared Rinkitink. "I am somewhat feeble
from my long confinement in the well, but I can ride upon Bilbil's back,
and we may as well start at once."
Hearing this, Bilbil cast a surly glance at his master, but said
nothing since it was really the goat's business to carry King Rinkitink
wherever he desired to go.
They first searched the ruins of the palace, and where the
kitchen had once been they found a small quantity of food that had been
half hidden by a block of marble. This they carefully placed in a sack
to preserve it for future use, the little fat King having first eaten as
much as he cared for. This consumed some time, for Rinkitink had been
exceedingly hungry and liked to eat in a leisurely manner. When he had
finished the meal, he straddled Bilbil's back and set out to explore the
island, Prince Inga walking by his side.
They found on every hand ruin and desolation. The houses of the
people had been pilfered of all valuables and then torn down or burned.
Not a boat had been left upon the shore, nor was there a single person,
man or woman or child, remaining upon the island, save themselves. The
only inhabitants of Pingaree now consisted of a fat little King, a boy
and a goat.
Even Rinkitink, merry-hearted as he was, found it hard to laugh
in the face of this mighty disaster. Even the goat, contrary to its
usual habit, refrained from saying anything disagreeable. As for the
poor boy whose home was now a wilderness, the tears came often to his
eyes as he marked the ruin of his dearly loved island.
When at nightfall they reached the lower end of Pingaree and
found it swept as bare as the rest, Inga's grief was almost more than he
could bear. Everything had been swept from him--parents, home and
country--in so brief a time that his bewilderment was equal to his
sorrow.
Since no house remained standing in which they might sleep, the
three wanderers crept beneath the overhanging branches of a cassa tree
and curled themselves up as comfortably as possible. So tired and
exhausted were they by the day's anxieties and griefs that their troubles
soon faded into the mists of dreamland. Beast and King and boy slumbered
peacefully together until wakened by the singing of the birds which
greeted the dawn of a new day.
CHAPTER 5
THE THREE PEARLS
When King Rinkitink and Prince Inga had bathed themselves in the
sea and eaten a simple breakfast, they began wondering what they could do
to improve their condition.
"The poor people of Gilgad," said Rinkitink cheerfully, "are
little likely ever again to behold their King in the flesh, for my boat
and my rowers are gone with everything else. Let us face the fact that
we are imprisoned for life upon this island, and that our lives will be
short unless we can secure more to eat than is in this small sack."
"I'll not starve, for I can eat grass," remarked the goat in a
pleasant tone--or a tone as pleasant as Bilbil could assume.
"True, quite true," said the King. Then he seemed thoughtful for
a moment, and turning to Inga he asked: "Do you think, Prince, that if
the worst comes, we could eat Bilbil?"
The goat gave a groan and cast a reproachful look at his master
as he said: "Monster! Would you, indeed, eat your old friend and
servant?"
"Not if I can help it, Bilbil," answered the King pleasantly.
"You would make a remarkably tough morsel, and my teeth are not as good
as they once were."
While this talk was in progress, Inga suddenly remembered the
three pearls which his father had hidden under the tiled floor of the
banquet hall. Without doubt, King Kitticut had been so suddenly
surprised by the invaders that he had found no opportunity to get the
pearls, for otherwise the fierce warriors would have been defeated and
driven out of Pingaree. So they must still be in their hiding place, and
Inga believed they would prove of great assistance to him and his
comrades in this hour of need. But the palace was a mass of ruins;
perhaps he would be unable now to find the place where the pearls were
hidden.
He said nothing of this to Rinkitink, remembering that his father
had charged him to preserve the secret of the pearls and of their magic
powers. Nevertheless, the thought of securing the wonderful treasures of
his ancestors gave the boy new hope.
He stood up and said to the King: "Let us return to the other end
of Pingaree. It is more pleasant than here in spite of the desolation of
my father's palace. And there, if anywhere, we shall discover a way out
of our difficulties."
This suggestion met with Rinkitink's approval, and the little
party at once started upon the return journey. As there was no occasion
to delay upon the way, they reached the big end of the island about the
middle of the day, and at once began searching the ruins of the palace.
They found, to their satisfaction, that one room at the bottom of
a tower was still habitable, although the roof was broken in and the
place was somewhat littered with stones. The King was, as he said, too
fat to do any hard work, so he sat down on a block of marble and watched
Inga clear the room of its rubbish. This done, the boy hunted through
the ruins until he discovered a stool and an amrchair that had not been
broken beyond use. Some bedding and a mattress were also found, so that
by nightfall the little room had been made quite comfortable.
The following morning, while Rinkitink was still sound asleep and
Bilbil was busily cropping the dewy grass that edged the shore, Prince
Inga began to search the tumbled heaps of marble for the place where the
royal banquet hall had been. After climbing over the ruins for some
time, he reached a flat place which he recognized by means of the tiled
flooring and the broken furniture scattered about to be the great hall he
was seeking. But in the center of the floor, directly over the spot
where the pearls were hidden, lay several large and heavy blocks of
marble which had been torn from the dismantled walls.
This unfortunate discovery for a time discouraged the boy, who
realized how helpless he was to remove such vast obstacles; but it was so
important to secure the pearls that he dared not give way to despair
until every human effort had been made. So he sat down to think over the
matter with great care.
Meantime, Rinkitink had risen from his bed and walked out upon
the lawn, where he found Bilbil reclining at ease upon the greensward.
"Where is Inga?" asked Rinkitink, rubbing his eyes with his
knuckles because their vision was blurred with too much sleep.
"Don't ask me," said the goat, chewing with much satisfaction a
cud of sweet grasses.
"Bilbil," said the King, squatting down beside the goat and
resting his fat chin upon his hands and his elbows on his knees, "allow
me to confide to you the fact that I am bored and need amusement. My
good friend Kitticut has been kidnapped by the barbarians and taken from
me, so there is no one to converse with me intelligently. I am the King
and you are the goat. Suppose you tell me a story."
"Suppose I don't," said Bilbil with a scowl, for a goat's face is
very expressive.
"If you refuse, I shall be more unhappy than ever, and I know
your disposition is too sweet to permit that. Tell me a story, Bilbil."
The goat looked at him with an expression of scorn. Said he:
"One would think you are but four years old, Rinkitink! But there--I
will do as you command. Listen carefully, and the story may do you some
good--although I doubt if you understand the moral."
"I am sure the story will do me good," declared the King, whose
eyes were twinkling.
"Once on a time," began the goat.
"When was that, Bilbil?" asked the King gently.
"Don't interrupt; it is impolite. Once on a time there was a
King with a hollow inside his head, where most people have their brains,
and--"
"Is this a true story, Bilbil?"
"And the King with a hollow head could chatter words which had no
sense, and laugh in a brainless manner at senseless things. That part of
the story is true enough, Rinkitink."
"Then proceed with the tale, sweet Bilbil. Yet it is hard to
believe than any King could be brainless--unless, indeed, he proved it by
owning a talking goat."
Bilbil stared at him a full minute in silence. Then he resumed
his story:
"This empty-headed man was a King by accident, having been born
to that high station. Also, the King was empty-headed by the same
chance, being born without brains."
"Poor fellow!" quoth the King. "Did he own a talking goat?"
"He did," answered Bilbil.
"Then he was wrong to have been born at all. Cheek-eek-eek-eek,
oo, hoo!" chuckled Rinkitink, his fat body shaking with merriment. "But
it's hard to prevent oneself from being born; there's no chance for
protest, eh, Bilbil?"
"Who is telling this story, I'd like to know," demanded the goat
with anger.
"Ask someone with brains, my boy; I'm sure I can't tell," replied
the King, bursting into one of his merry fits of laughter.
Bilbil rose to his hoofs and walked away in a dignified manner,
leaving Rinkitink chuckling anew at the sour expression of the animal's
face.
"Oh, Bilbil, you'll be the death of me some day--I'm sure you
will!" gasped the King, taking out his lace handkerchief to wipe his
eyes; for, as he often did, he had laughed till the tears came.
Bilbil was deeply vexed and would not even turn his head to look
at his master. To escape from Rinkitink, he wandered among he ruins of
the palace, where he came upon Prince Inga.
"Good morning, Bilbil," said the boy. "I was just going to find
you, that I might consult you upon an important matter. If you will
kindly turn back with me, I am sure your good judgment will be of great
assistance."
The angry goat was quite mollified by the respectful tone in
which he was addressed, but he immediately asked:
"Are you also going to consult that empty-headed King over
yonder?"
"I am sorry to hear you speak of your kind master in such a way,"
said the boy gravely. "All men are deserving of respect, being the
highest of living creatures, and Kings deserve respect more than others,
for they are set to rule over many people."
"Nevertheless," said Bilbil with conviction, "Rinkitink's head is
certainly empty of brains."
"That I am unwilling to believe," insisted Inga. "But anyway,
his heart is kind and gentle, and that is better than being wise. He is
merry in spite of misfortunes that would cause others to weep, and he
never speaks harsh words that wound the feelings of his friends."
"Still," growled Bilbil, "he is--"
"Let us forget everything but his good nature, which puts new
heart into us when we are sad," advised the boy.
"But he is--"
"Come with me, please," interrupted Inga, "for the matter of
which I wish to speak is very important."
Bilbil followed him, although the boy still heard the goat
muttering that the King had no brains. Rinkitink, seeing them turn into
the ruins, also followed, and upon joining them asked for his breakfast.
Inga opened the sack of food, and while he and the King ate of
it, the boy said:
"If I could find a way to remove some of the blocks of marble
which have fallen in the banquet hall, I think I could find means for us
to escape from this barren island."
"Then," mumbled Rinkitink with his mouth full, "let us remove the
blocks of marble."
"But how?" inquired Prince Inga. "They are very heavy."
"Ah, how indeed?" returned the King, smacking his lips
contentedly. "That is a serious question. But--I have it! Let us see
what my famous parchment says about it." He wiped his fingers upon a
napkin, and then, taking the scroll from a pocket inside his embroidered
blouse, he unrolled it and read the following words: "'Never step on
another man's toes.'"
The goat gave a snort of contempt; Inga was silent; the King
looked from one to the other inquiringly.
"That's the idea, exactly!" declared Rinkitink.
"To be sure," said Bilbil scornfully, "it tells us exactly how to
move the blocks of marble."
"Oh, does it?" responded the King, and then for a moment he
rubbed the top of his bald head in a perplexed manner. The next moment
he burst into a peal of joyous laughter. The goat looked at Inga and
sighed.
"What did I tell you?" asked the creature. "Was I right, or was
I wrong?"
"This scroll," said Rinkitink, "is indeed a masterpiece. Its
advice is of tremendous value. 'Never step on another man's toes.' Let
us think this over. The inference is that we should step upon our own
toes, which were given us for that purpose. Therefore, if I stepped upon
another man's toes, I would be the other man. Hoo, hoo, hoo!--the other
man--hee, hee, heek-keek-eek! Funny, isn't it?"
"Didn't I say--" began Bilbil.
"No matter what you said, my boy," roared the King. "No fool
could have figured that out as nicely as I did."
"We still have to decide on how to remove the blocks of marble,"
suggested Inga anxiously.
"Fasten a rope to them, and pull," said Bilbil. "Don't pay any
more attention to Rinkitink, for he is no wiser than the man who wrote
that brainless scroll. Just get the rope, and we'll fasten Rinkitink to
one end of it for a weight, and I'll help you pull."
"Thank you, Bilbil," replied the boy. "I'll get the rope at
once."
Bilbil found it difficult to climb over the ruins to the floor of
the banquet hall, but there are few places a goat cannot get to when it
makes the attempt, so Bilbil succeeded at last, and even fat little
Rinkitink finally joined them, though much out of breath.
Inga fastened one end of the rope around a block of marble and
then made a loop at the other end to go over Bilbil's head. When all was
ready, the boy seized the rope and helped the goat to pull; yet, strain
as they might, the huge block would not stir from its place. Seeing this,
King Rinkitink came forward and lent his assistance, the weight of his
body forcing the heavy marble to slide several feet from where it had
lain.
But it was hard work, and all were obliged to take a long rest
before undertaking the removal of the next block.
"Admit, Bilbil," said the King, "that I am of some use in the
world."
"Your weight was of considerable help," acknowledged the goat,
"but if your head were as well filled as your stomach, the task would be
still easier."
When Inga went to fasten the rope a second time, he was rejoiced
to discover that by moving one more block of marble he could uncover the
tile with the secret spring. So the three pulled with renewed energy,
and to their joy the block moved and rolled upon its side, leaving Inga
free to remove the treasure when he pleased.
But the boy had no intention of allowing Bilbil and the King to
share the secret of the royal treasures of Pingaree; so, although both
the goat and its master demanded to know why the marble blocks had been
moved and how it would benefit them, Inga begged them to wait until the
next morning, when he hoped to be able to satisfy them that their hard
work had not been in vain.
Having little confidence in this promise of a mere boy, the goat
grumbled and the King laughed; but Inga paid no heed to their ridicule
and set himself to work rigging up a fishing rod with line and hook.
During the afternoon, he waded out to some rocks near the shore and
fished patiently until he had captured enough yellow perch for their
supper and breakfast.
"Ah," said Rinkitink, looking at the fine catch when Inga
returned to the shore, "these will taste delicious when they are cooked;
but do you know how to cook them?"
"No," was the reply. "I have often caught fish, but never cooked
them. Perhaps Your Majesty understands cooking."
"Cooking and majesty are two different things," laughed the
little King. "I could not cook a fish to save me from starvation."
"For my part," said Bilbil, "I never eat fish, but I can tell you
how to cook them, for I have often watched the palace cooks at their
work." And so, with the goat's assistance, the boy and the King managed
to prepare the fish and cook them, after which they were eaten with good
appetite.
That night, after Rinkitink and Bilbil were both fast asleep,
Inga stole quietly through the moonlight to the desolate banquet hall.
There, kneeling down, he touched the secret spring as his father had
instructed him to do, and to his joy the tile sank downward and disclosed
the opening. You may imagine how the boy's heart throbbed with
excitement as he slowly thrust his hand into the cavity and felt around
to see if the precious pearls were still there. In a moment, his fingers
touched the silken bags, and without pausing to close the recess, he
pressed the treasure against his breast and ran out into the moonlight to
examine it. When he reached a bright place, he started to open the bag,
but he observed Bilbil lying asleep upon the grass nearby. So, trembling
with the fear of discovery, he ran to another place, and when he paused
he heard Rinkitink snoring lustily. Again he fled and made his way to the
seashore, where he squatted under a bank and began to untie the cords
that fastened the mouth of the bag. But now another fear assailed him.
"If the pearls should slip from my hand," he thought, "and roll
into the water, they might be lost to me forever. I must find some safer
place."
Here and there he wandered, still clasping the silken bag in both
hands, and finally he went to the grove and climbed into the tall tree
where he had made his platform and seat. But here it was pitch dark, so
he found he must wait patiently until morning before he dared touch the
pearls. During those hours of waiting, he had time for reflection and
reproached himself for being so frightened by the possession of his
father's treasures.
"These pearls have belonged to our family for generations," he
mused, "yet no one has ever lost them. If I use ordinary care, I am sure
I need have no fears for their safety."
When the dawn came and he could see plainly, Inga opened the bag
and took out the Blue Pearl. There was no possibility of his being
observed by others, so he took time to examine it wonderingly, saying to
himself: "This will give me strength."
Taking off his right shoe, he placed the Blue Pearl within it,
far up in the pointed toe. Then he tore a piece from his handkerchief
and stuffed it into the shoe to hold the pearl in place. Inga's shoes
were long and pointed, as were all the shoes worn in Pingaree, and the
points curled upward so that there was quite a vacant space beyond the
place where the boy's toes reached when the shoe was upon his foot.
After he had put on the shoe and laced it up, he opened the bag
and took out the Pink Pearl. "This will protect me from danger," said
Inga, and, removing the shoe from his left foot, he carefully placed the
pearl in the hollow toe. This, also, he secured in place by means of a
strip torn from his handkerchief.
Having put on the second shoe and laced it up, the boy drew from
the silken bag the third pearl--that which was pure white--and, holding
it up to his ear, asked: "Will you advise me what to do in this, my hour
of misfortune?"
Clearly the small voice of the pearl made answer: "I advise you
to go the Islands of Regos and Coregos, where you may liberate your
parents from slavery."
"How could I do that?" exclaimed Prince Inga, amazed at receiving
such advice.
"Tonight," spoke the voice of the pearl, "there will be a storm,
and in the morning a boat will strand upon the shore. Take this boat and
row to Regos and Coregos."
"How can I, a weak boy, pull the boat so far?" he inquired,
doubting the possibility.
"The Blue Pearl will give you strength," was the reply.
"But I may be shipwrecked and drowned before I ever reach Regos
and Coregos," protested the boy.
"The Pink Pearl will protect you from harm," murmured the voice,
soft and low but very distinct.
"Then I shall act as you advise me," declared Inga, speaking
firmly because this promise gave him courage, and as he removed the pearl
from his ear, it whispered:
"The wise and fearless are sure to win success."
Restoring the White Pearl to the depths of the silken bag, Inga
fastened it securely around his neck and buttoned his waist above it to
hide the treasure from all prying eyes. Then he slowly climbed down from
the tree and returned to the room where King Rinkitink still slept.
The goat was browsing upon the grass, but looked cross and surly.
When the boy said good morning as he passed, Bilbil made no response
whatsoever. As Inga entered the room, the King awoke and asked:
"What is that mysterious secret of yours? I've been dreaming
about it, and I haven't got my breath yet from tugging at those heavy
blocks. Tell me the secret."
"A secret told is no longer a secret," replied Inga with a laugh.
"Besides, this is a family secret which it is proper I should keep to
myself. But I may tell you one thing, at least: We are going to leave
this island tomorrow morning."
The King seemed puzzled by this statement.
"I'm not much of a swimmer," said he, "and, though I'm fat enough
to float upon the surface of the water, I'd only bob around and get
nowhere at all."
"We shall not swim, but ride comfortably in a boat," promised
Inga.
"There isn't a boat on this island!" declared Rinkitink, looking
upon the boy with wonder.
"True," said Inga. "But one will come to us in the morning." He
spoke positively, for he had perfect faith in the promise of the White
Pearl; but Rinkitink, knowing nothing of the three marvelous jewels,
began to fear that the little Prince had lost his mind through grief and
misfortune.
For this reason, the King did not question the boy further, but
tried to cheer him by telling him witty stories. He laughed at all the
stories himself, in his merry, rollicking way, and Inga joined freely in
the laughter because his heart had been lightened by the prospect of
rescuing his dear parents. Not since the fierce warriors had descended
upon Pingaree had the boy been so hopeful and happy.
With Rinkitink riding upon Bilbil's back, the three made a tour
of the island and found in the central part some bushes and trees bearing
ripe fruit. They gathered this freely, for--aside from the fish which
Inga caught--it was the only food they now had, and the less they had,
the bigger Rinkitink's appetite seemed to grow.
"I am never more happy," said he with a sigh, "than when I am
eating."
Toward evening, the sky became overcast, and soon a great storm
began to rage. Prince Inga and King Rinkitink took refuge within the
shelter of the room they had fitted, and there Bilbil joined them. The
goat and the King were somewhat disturbed by the violence of the storm,
but Inga did not mind it, being pleased at this evidence that the White
Pearl might be relied upon.
All night the wind shrieked around the island; thunder rolled,
lightning flashed, and rain came down in torrents. But with morning the
storm abated, and when the sun arose no sign of the tempest remained save
a few fallen trees.
CHAPTER 6
THE MAGIC BOAT
Prince Inga was up with the sun and, accompanied by Bilbil, began
walking along the shore in search of the boat which the White Pearl had
promised him. Never for an instant did he doubt that he would find it,
and before he had walked any great distance a dark object at the water's
edge caught his eye.
"It is the boat, Bilbil!" he cried joyfully, and running down to
it, he found it was, indeed, a large and roomy boat. Although stranded
upon the beach, it was in perfect order and had suffered in no way from
the storm.
Inga stood for some moments gazing upon the handsome craft and
wondering where it could have come from. Certainly it was unlike any
boat he had ever seen. On the outside it was painted a lustrous black,
without any other color to relieve it; but all the inside of the boat was
lined with pure silver, polished so highly that the surface resembled a
mirror and glinted brilliantly in the rays of the sun. The seats had
white velvet cushions upon them, and the cushions were splendidly
embroidered with threads of gold. At one end, beneath the broad seat,
was a small barrel with silver hoops, which the boy found was filled with
fresh, sweet water. A great chest of sandalwood, bound and ornamented
with silver, stood in the other end of the boat. Inga raised the lid and
discovered the chest filled with sea-biscuits, cakes, tinned meats and
ripe, juicy melons; enough good and wholesome food to last the party a
long time.
Lying upon the bottom of the boat were two shining oars, and
overhead, but rolled back now, was a canopy of silver cloth to ward off
the heat of the sun.
It is no wonder the boy was delighted with the appearance of this
beautiful boat; but on reflection, he feared it was too large for him to
row any great distance. Unless, indeed, the Blue Pearl gave him unusual
strength.
While he was considering this matter, King Rinkitink came
waddling up to him and said:
"Well, well, well, my Prince, your words have come true! Here is
the boat, for a certainty, yet how it came here--and how you knew it
would come to us--are puzzles that mystify me. I do not question our
good fortune, however, and my heart is bubbling with joy, for in this
boat I will return at once to my City of Gilgad, from which I have
remained absent altogether too long."
"I do not wish to go to Gilgad," said Inga.
"That is too bad, my friend, for you would be very welcome. But
you may remain upon this island, if you wish," continued Rinkitink, "and
when I get home, I will send some of my people to rescue you."
"It is my boat, Your Majesty," said Inga quietly.
"May be, may be," was the careless answer, "but I am King of a
great country, while you are a boy Prince without any kingdom to speak
of. Therefore, being of greater importance than you, it is just and right
that I take your boat and return to my own country in it."
"I am sorry to differ from Your Majesty's views," said Inga, "but
instead of going to Gilgad, I consider it of greater importance that we
go to the islands of Regos and Coregos."
"Hey? What!" cried the astounded King. "To Regos and Coregos!
To become slaves of the barbarians like the King, your father? No, no,
my boy! Your Uncle Rinki may have an empty noodle, as Bilbil claims, but
he is far too wise to put his head in the lion's mouth. It's no fun to
be a slave."
"The people of Regos and Coregos will not enslave us," declared
Inga. "On the contrary, it is my intention to set free my dear parents,
as well as all my people, and to bring them back again to Pingaree."
"Cheek-eek-eek-eek-eek! How funny!" chuckled Rinkitink, winking
at the goat, which scowled in return. "Your audacity takes my breath
away, Inga, but the adventure has its charm, I must confess. Were I not
so fat, I'd agree to your plan at once, and could probably conquer that
horde of fierce warriors without any assistance at all--any at all--eh,
Bilbil? But I grieve to say that I am fat and not in good fighting trim.
As for your determination to do what I admit I can't do, Inga, I fear you
forget that you are only a boy, and rather small at that."
"No, I do not forget that," was Inga's reply.
"Then please consider that you and I and Bilbil are not strong
enough, as an army, to conquer a powerful nation of skilled warriors. We
could attempt it, of course, but you are too young to die, while I am too
old. Come with me to my City of Gilgad, where you will be greatly
honored. I'll have my professors teach you how to be good. Eh? What do
you say?"
Inga was a little embarrassed how to reply to these arguments,
which he knew King Rinkitink considered were wise; so, after a period of
thought, he said: "I will make a bargain with Your Majesty, for I do not
wish to fail in respect to so worthy a man and so great a King as
yourself. This boat is mine, as I have said, and in my father's absence
you have become my guest; therefore, I claim that I am entitled to some
consideration as well as you."
"No doubt of it," agreed Rinkitink. "What is the bargain you
propose, Inga?"
"Let us both get into the boat, and you shall first try to row us
to Gilgad. If you succeed, I will accompany you right willingly; but
should you fail, I will then row the boat to Regos, and you must come
with me without further protest."
"A fair and just bargain!" cried the King, highly pleased. "Yet,
although I am a man of mighty deeds, I do not relish the prospect of
rowing so big a boat all the way to Gilgad. But I will do my best and
abide by the result."
The matter being thus peaceably settled, they prepared to embark.
A further supply of fruits was placed in the boat, and Inga also raked up
a quantity of the delicious oysters that abounded on the coast of
Pingaree but which he had before been unable to reach for lack of a boat.
This was done at the suggestion of the ever-hungry Rinkitink, and when
the oysters had been stowed in their shells behind the water barrel and a
plentiful supply of grass brought aboard for Bilbil, they decided they
were ready to start on their voyage.
It proved no easy task to get Bilbil into the boat, for he was a
remarkably clumsy goat, and once, when Rinkitink gave him a push, he
tumbled into the water and nearly drowned before they could get him out
again. But there was no thought of leaving the quaint animal behind.
His power of speech made him seem almost human in the eyes of the boy,
and the fat King was so accustomed to his surly companion that nothing
could have induced him to part with him. Finally, Bilbil fell sprawling
into the bottom of the boat, and Inga helped him to get to the front end,
where there was enough space for him to lie down.
Rinkitink now took his seat in the silver-lined craft, and the
boy came last, pushing off the boat as he sprang aboard so that it
floated freely upon the water.
"Well, here we go for Gilgad!" exclaimed the King, picking up the
oars and placing them in the row-locks. Then he began to row as hard as
he could, singing at the same time an odd sort of a song that ran like
this:
"The way to Gilgad isn't bad
For a stout old King and a brave young lad,
For a cross old goat with a dripping coat,
And a silver boat in which to float.
So our hearts are merry, light and glad
As we speed away to fair Gilgad!"
"Don't, Rinkitink; please don't! It makes me seasick," growled
Bilbil.
Rinkitink stopped rowing, for by this time he was all out of
breath, and his round face was covered with big drops of perspiration.
And when he looked over his shoulder, he found to his dismay that the
boat had scarcely moved a foot from its former position.
Inga said nothing and appeared not to notice the King's failure.
So now Rinkitink, with a serious look on his fat, red face, took off his
purple robe and rolled up the sleeves of his tunic and tried again.
However, he succeeded no better than before, and when he heard
Bilbil give a gruff laugh and saw a smile upon the boy Prince's face,
Rinkitink suddenly dropped the oars and began shouting with laughter at
his own defeat. As he wiped his brow with a yellow silk handkerchief, he
sang in a merry voice:
"A sailor bold am I, I hold,
But boldness will not row a boat,
So I confess I'm in distress
And just as useless as the goat."
"Please leave me out of your verses," said Bilbil with a snort of
anger.
"When I make a fool of myself, Bilbil, I'm a goat," replied
Rinkitink.
"Not so," insisted Bilbil. "Nothing could make you a member of
my superior race."
"Superior? Why, Bilbil, a goat is but a beast, while I am a
King!"
"I claim that superiority lies in intelligence," said the goat.
Rinkitink paid no attention to this remark, but turning to Inga,
he said: "We may as well get back to the shore, for the boat is too heavy
to row to Gilgad or anywhere else. Indeed, it will be hard for us to
reach land again."
"Let me take the oars," suggested Inga. "You must not forget our
bargain."
"No, indeed," answered Rinkitink. "If you can row us to Regos,
or to any other place, I will go with you without protest."
So the King took Inga's place in the stern of the boat, and the
boy grasped the oars and commenced to row. And now, to the great wonder
of Rinkitink--and even to Inga's surprise--the oars became as light as
feathers as soon as the Prince took hold of them. In an instant, the
boat began to glide rapidly through the water, and, seeing this, the boy
turned its prow toward the north. He did not know exactly where Regos
and Coregos were located, but he did know that the islands lay to the
north of Pingaree, so he decided to trust to luck and the guidance of the
pearls to carry him to them.
Gradually, the Island of Pingaree became smaller to their view as
the boat sped onward, until at the end of an hour they had lost sight of
it altogether and were wholly surrounded by the purple waters of the
Nonestic Ocean.
Prince Inga did not tire from the labor of rowing; indeed, it
seemed to him no labor at all. Once he stopped long enough to place the
poles of the canopy in the holes that had been made for them in the edges
of the boat, and to spread the canopy of silver over the poles, for
Rinkitink had complained of the sun's heat. But the canopy shut out the
hot rays and rendered the interior of the boat cool and pleasant.
"This is a glorious ride!" cried Rinkitink as he lay back in the
shade. "I find it a decided relief to be away from that dismal island of
Pingaree."
"It may be a relief for a short time," said Bilbil, "but you are
going to the land of your enemies, who will probably stick your fat body
full of spears and arrows."
"Oh, I hope not!" exclaimed Inga, distressed at the thought.
"Never mind," said the King calmly, "a man can die but once, you
know, and when the enemy kills me, I shall beg him to kill Bilbil also,
that we may remain together in death as in life."
"They may be cannibals, in which case they will roast and eat
us," suggested Bilbil, who wished to terrify his master.
"Who knows?" answered Rinkitink with a shudder. "But cheer up,
Bilbil; they may not kill us after all, or even capture us; so let us not
borrow trouble. Do not look so cross, my sprightly quadruped, and I will
sing to amuse you."
"Your song would make me more cross than ever," grumbled the
goat.
"Quite impossible, dear Bilbil. You couldn't be more surly if
you tried. So here is a famous song for you."
While the boy rowed steadily on and the boat rushed fast over the
water, the jolly King, who never could be sad or serious for many minutes
at a time, lay back on his embroidered cushions and sang as follows:
"A merry maiden went to sea--
Sing too-ral-oo-ral-i-do!
She sat upon the Captain's knee
And looked around the sea to see
What she could see, but she couldn't see me--
Sing too-ral-oo-ral-i-do!"
"How do you like that, Bilbil?"
"I don't like it," complained the goat. "It reminds me of the
alligator that tried to whistle."
"Did he succeed, Bilbil?" asked the King.
"He whistled as well as you sing."
"Ha, ha, ha, ha, heek, keek, eek!" chuckled the King. "He must
have whistled most exquisitely, eh, my friend?"
"I am not your friend," returned the goat, wagging his ears in a
surly manner.
"I am yours, however," was the King's cheery reply, "and to prove
it, I'll sing you another verse."
"Don't, I beg of you!"
But the King sang as follows:
"The wind blew off the maiden's shoe--
Sing too-ral-oo-ral-i-do!
And the shoe flew high to the sky so blue
And the maiden knew 'twas a new shoe, too;
But she couldn't pursue the shoe, 'tis true--
Sing too-ral-oo-ral-i-do!
"Isn't that sweet, my pretty goat?"
"Sweet, do you ask?" retorted Bilbil. "I consider it as sweet as
candy made from mustard and vinegar."
"But not as sweet as your disposition, I admit. Ah, Bilbil, your
temper would put honey itself to shame."
"Do not quarrel, I beg of you," pleaded Inga. "Are we not sad
enough already?"
"But this is a jolly quarrel," said the King, "and it is the way
Bilbil and I often amuse ourselves. Listen, now, to the last verse of
all:
"The maid who shied her shoe now cried--
Sing too-ral-oo-ral-i-do!
Her tears were fried for the Captain's bride
Who ate with pride her sobs, beside,
And gently sighed, 'I'm satisfied'--
Sing too-ral-oo-ral-i-do!"
"Worse and worse!" grumbled Bilbil with much scorn. "I am glad
that is the last verse, for another of the same king might cause me to
faint."
"I fear you have no ear for music," said the King.
"I have heard no music, as yet," declared the goat. "You must
have a strong imagination, King Rinkitink, if you consider your songs
music. Do you remember the story of the bear that hired out for a
nursemaid?"
"I do not recall it just now," said Rinkitink with a wink at Inga.
"Well, the bear tried to sing a lullaby to put the baby to sleep."
"And then?" said the King.
"The bear was highly pleased with its own voice, but the baby was
nearly frightened to death."
"Heh, heh, heh, heh, whoo, hoo, hoo! You are a merry rogue,
Bilbil," laughed the King, "a merry rogue in spite of your gloomy
features. However, if I have not amused you, I have at least pleased
myself, for I am exceedingly fond of a good song. So let us say no more
about it."
All this time the boy Prince was rowing the boat. He was not in
the least tired, for the oars he held seemed to move of their own accord.
He paid little heed to the conversation of Rinkitink and the goat, but
busied his thoughts with plans of what he should do when he reached the
islands of Regos and Coregos and confronted his enemies. When the others
finally became silent, Inga inquired:
"Can you fight, King Rinkitink?"
"I have never tried," was the answer. "In time of danger, I have
found it much easier to run away than to face the foe."
"But COULD you fight?" asked the boy.
"I might try, if there was no chance to escape by running. Have
you a proper weapon for me to fight with?"
"I have no weapon at all," confessed Inga.
"Then let us use argument and persuasion instead of fighting.
For instance, if we could persuade the warriors of Regos to lie down and
let me step on them, they would be crushed with ease."
Prince Inga had expected little support from the King, so he was
not discouraged by this answer. After all, he reflected, a conquest by
battle would be out of the question, yet the White Pearl would not have
advised him to go to Regos and Coregos had the mission been a hopeless
one. It seemed to him on further reflection that he must rely upon
circumstances to determine his actions when he reached the islands of the
barbarians.
By this time, Inga felt perfect confidence in the Magic Pearls.
It was the White Pearl that had given him the boat, and the Blue Pearl
had given him the strength to row it. He believed that the Pink Pearl
would protect him from any danger that might arise; so his anxiety was
not for himself, but for his companions. King Rinkitink and the goat had
no magic to protect them, so Inga resolved to do all in his power to keep
them from harm.
For three days and three nights the boat with the silver lining
sped swiftly over the ocean. On the morning of the fourth day, so
quickly had they traveled, Inga saw before him the shores of the two
great islands of Regos and Coregos.
"The pearls have guided me aright!" he whispered to himself.
"Now, if I am wise and cautious and brave, I believe I shall be able to
rescue my father and mother and my people."
CHAPTER 7
THE TWIN ISLANDS
The Island of Regos was ten miles wide and forty miles long, and
it was ruled by a big and powerful King named Gos. Near to the shores
were green and fertile fields, but farther back from the sea were rugged
hills and mountains, so rocky that nothing would grow there. But in these
mountains were mines of gold and silver which the slaves of the King were
forced to work, being confined in dark, underground passages for that
purpose. In the course of time, huge caverns had been hollowed out by
the slaves, in which they lived and slept, never seeing the light of day.
Cruel overseers with whips stood over these poor people, who had been
captured in many countries by the raiding parties of King Gos, and the
overseers were quite willing to lash the slaves with their whips if they
faltered a moment in their work.
Between the green shores and the mountains were forests of thick,
tangled trees, between which narrow paths had been cut to lead up to the
caves of the mines. It was on the level green meadows, not far from the
ocean, that the great City of Regos had been built wherein was located
the palace of the King. This city was inhabited by thousands of the
fierce warriors of Gos, who frequently took to their boats and spread
over the sea to the neighboring islands to conquer and pillage as they
had done at Pingaree. When they were not absent on one of these
expeditions, the City of Regos swarmed with them, and so became a
dangerous place for any peaceful person to live in, for the warriors were
as lawless as their King.
The Island of Coregos lay close behind the Island of Regos; so
close, indeed, that one might have thrown a stone from one shore to
another. But Coregos was only half the size of Regos, and instead of
being mountainous, it was a rich and pleasant country covered with fields
of grain. The fields of Coregos furnished food for the warriors and
citizens of both countries, while the mines of Regos made them all rich.
Coregos was ruled by Queen Cor, who was wedded to King Gos; but
so stern and cruel was the nature of this Queen that the people could not
decide which of their sovereigns they dreaded most.
Queen Cor lived in her own City of Coregos, which lay on the side
of the island facing Regos, and her slaves, who were mostly women, were
made to plow the land and to plant and harvest the grain.
From Regos to Coregos stretched a bridge of boats, set close
together, with planks laid across their edges for people to walk upon.
In this way, it was easy to pass from one island to the other, and in
times of danger the bridge could be quickly removed.
The native inhabitants of Regos and Coregos consisted of the
warriors, who did nothing but fight and ravage, and the trembling
servants who waited on them. King Gos and Queen Cor were at war with all
the rest of the world. Other islanders hated and feared them, for their
slaves were badly treated and absolutely no mercy was shown to the weak
or ill.
When the boats that had gone to Pingaree returned loaded with
rich plunder and a host of captives, there was much rejoicing in Regos
and Coregos, and the King and Queen gave a fine feast to the warriors who
had accomplished so great a conquest. This feast was set for the
warriors in the grounds of King Gos's palace, while with them in the
great throne room all the captains and leaders of the fighting men were
assembled with King Gos and Queen Cor, who had come from her island to
attend the ceremony. Then all the goods that had been stolen from the
King of Pingaree were divided according to rank, the King and Queen
taking half, the captains a quarter, and the rest being divided amongst
the warriors.
The day following the feast, King Gos sent King Kitticut and all
the men of Pingaree to work in his mines under the mountains, having
first chained them all together so they could not escape. The gentle
Queen of Pingaree and all her women, together with the captured children,
were given to Queen Cor, who set them to work in her grain fields.
Then the rulers and warriors of these dreadful islands thought
they had done forever with Pingaree. Despoiled of all its wealth, its
houses torn down, its boats captured, and all its people enslaved, what
likelihood was there that they might ever again hear of the desolated
islands? So the people of Regos and Coregos were surprised and puzzled
when one morning they observed approaching their shores from the
direction of the south a black boat containing a boy, a fat man, and a
goat. The warriors asked one another who these could be and where they
had come from. No one ever came to those islands of their own accord,
that was certain.
Prince Inga guided his boat to the south end of the Island of
Regos, which was the landing place nearest to the city, and when the
warriors saw this action, they went down to the shore to meet him, being
led by a big captain named Buzzub.
"Those people surely mean us no good," said Rinkitink uneasily to
the boy. "Without doubt, they intend to capture us and make us their
slaves."
"Do not fear, sir," answered Inga in a calm voice. "Stay quietly
in the boat with Bilbil until I have spoken with these men."
He stopped the boat a dozen feet from the shore, and standing up
in his place, made a grave bow to the multitude confronting him. Said
the big Captain Buzzub in a gruff voice: "Well, little one, who may you
be? And how dare you come, uninvited and all alone, to the Island of
Regos?"
"I am Inga, Prince of Pingaree," returned the boy, "and I have
come here to free my parents and my people, whom you have wrongfully
enslaved."
When they heard this bold speech, a mighty laugh arose from the
band of warriors, and when it had subsided, the captain said: "You love
to jest, my baby Prince, and the joke is fairly good. But why did you
willingly thrust your head into the lion's mouth? When you were free,
why did you not stay free? We did not know we had left a single person
in Pingaree! But since you managed to escape us then, it is really kind
of you to come here of your own free will to be our slave. Who is the
funny fat person with you?"
"It is His Majesty, King Rinkitink, of the great City of Gilgad.
He has accompanied me to see that you render full restitution for all you
have stolen from Pingaree."
"Better yet!" laughed Buzzub. "He will make a fine slave for
Queen Cor, who loves to tickle fat men and see them jump."
King Rinkitink was filled with horror when he heard this, but the
Prince answered as boldly as before, saying: "We are not to be frightened
by bluster, believe me; nor are we so weak as you imagine. We have magic
powers so great and terrible that no host of warriors can possibly
withstand us, and therefore I call upon you to surrender your city and
your island to us, before we crush you with our mighty powers."
The boy spoke very gravely and earnestly, but his words only
aroused another shout of laughter. So while the men of Regos were
laughing, Inga drove the boat well up onto the sandy beach and leaped
out. He also helped Rinkitink out, and when the goat ha
d unaided sprung to the sands, the King got upon Bilbil's back, trembling
a little internally, but striving to look as brave as possible.
There was a bunch of coarse hair between the goat's ears, and this
Inga clutched firmly in his left hand. The boy knew the Pink Pearl would
protect not only himself, but all whom he touched, from any harm, and as
Rinkitink was astride the goat and Inga had his hand upon the animal, the
three could not be injured by anything the warriors could do. But
Captain Buzzub did not know this, and the little group of three seemed so
weak and ridiculous that he believed their capture would be easy. So he
turned to his men and with a wave of his hand said: "Seize the
intruders!"
Instantly, two or three of the warriors stepped forward to obey,
but to their amazement they could not reach any of the three; their hands
were arrested as if by an invisible wall of iron. Without paying any
attention to these attempts at capture, Inga advanced slowly, and the
goat kept pace with him. And when Rinkitink saw that he was safe from
harm, he gave one of his big, merry laughs, and it startled the warriors
and made them nervous. Captain Buzzub's eyes grew big with surprise as
the three steadily advanced and forced his men backwards; nor was he free
from terror himself at the magic that protected these strange visitors.
As for the warriors, they presently became terror stricken and fled in a
panic up the slope toward the city, and Buzzub was obliged to chase after
them and shout threats of punishment before he could halt them and form
them into a line of battle.
All the men of Regos bore spears and bows and arrows, and some of
the officers had swords and battleaxes; so Buzzub ordered them to stand
their ground and shoot and slay the strangers as they approached. This
they tried to do. Inga being in advance, the warriors sent a flight of
sharp arrows straight at the boy's breast, while others cast their long
spears at him.
It seemed to Rinkitink that the little Prince must surely perish
as he stood facing this hail of murderous missiles; but the power of the
Pink Pearl did not desert him, and when the arrows and spears had reached
to within an inch of his body, they bounded back again and fell
harmlessly at his feet. Nor were Rinkitink or Bilbil injured in the
least, although they stood close beside Inga.
Buzzub stood for a moment looking upon the boy in silent wonder.
Then, recovering himself, he shouted in a loud voice: "Once again! All
together, my men. No one shall ever defy our might and live!"
Again, a flight of arrows and spears sped toward the three, and
since many more of the warriors of Regos had by this time joined their
fellows, the air was for a moment darkened by the deadly shafts. But
again, all fell harmless before the power of the Pink Pearl, and Bilbil,
who had been growing very angry at the attempts to injure him and his
party, suddenly made a bolt forward, casting off Inga's hold, and butted
into the line of warriors, who were standing amazed at their failure to
conquer.
Taken by surprise at the goat's attack, a dozen big warriors
tumbled in a heap, yelling with fear, and their comrades, not knowing
what had happened but imagining that their foes were attacking them,
turned about and ran to the city as hard as they could go. Bilbil, still
angry, had just time to catch the big captain as he turned to follow his
men, and Buzzub first sprawled headlong upon the ground, then rolled over
two or three times, and finally jumped up and ran yelling after his
defeated warriors.
This butting on the part of the goat was very hard upon King
Rinkitink, who nearly fell off Bilbil's back at the shock of encounter;
but the little fat King wound his arms around the goat's neck and shut
his eyes and clung on with all his might. It was not until he heard Inga
say triumphantly "We have won the fight without striking a blow!" that
Rinkitink dared open his eyes again. Then he saw the warriors rushing
into the City of Regos and barring the heavy gates, and he was very much
relieved at the sight.
"Without striking a blow!" said Bilbil indignantly. "That is not
quite true, Prince Inga. You did not fight, I admit, but I struck a
couple of times to good purpose, and I claim to have conquered the
cowardly warriors unaided."
"You and I together, Bilbil," said Rinkitink mildly. "But the
next time you make a charge, please warn me in time so that I may
dismount and give you all the credit for the attack."
There being no one now to oppose their advance, the three walked
to the gates of the city, which had been closed against them. The gates
were of iron and heavily barred, and upon the top of the high walls of
the city a host of the warriors now appeared with arrows and spears and
other weapons. For Buzzub had gone straight to the palace of King Gos
and reported his defeat, relating the powerful magic of the boy, the fat
King and the goat, and had asked what to do next.
The big captain still trembled with fear, but King Gos did not
believe in magic and called Buzzub a coward and a weakling. At once, the
King took command of his men personally, and he ordered the walls manned
with warriors and instructed them to shoot to kill if any of the three
strangers approached the gates.
Of course, neither Rinkitink nor Bilbil knew how they had been
protected from harm, and so at first they were inclined to resent the
boy's command that the three must always keep together and touch one
another at all times. But when Inga explained that his magic would not
otherwise save them from injury, they agreed to obey, for they had now
seen enough to convince them that the Prince was really protected by some
invisible power.
As they came before the gates, another shower of arrows and
spears descended upon them, and, as before, not a single missile touched
their bodies. King Gos, who was upon the wall, was greatly amazed and
somewhat worried, but he depended upon the strength of his gates and
commanded his men to continue shooting until all their weapons were gone.
Inga let them shoot as much as they wished, while he stood before
the great gates and examined them carefully.
"Perhaps Bilbil can batter down the gates," suggested Rinkitink.
"No," replied the goat, "my head is hard, but not harder than
iron."
"Then," returned the King, "let us stay outside; especially as we
can't get in."
But Inga was not at all sure they could not get in. The gates
opened inward, and three heavy bars were held in place by means of stout
staples riveted to the sheets of steel. The boy had been told that the
power of the Blue Pearl would enable him to accomplish any feat of
strength, and he believed that this was true.
The warriors, under the direction of King Gos, continued to hurl
arrows and darts and spears and axes and huge stones upon the invaders,
all without avail. The ground below was thickly covered with weapons,
yet not one of the three before the gates had been injured in the
slightest manner. When everything had been cast that was available and
not a single weapon of any sort remained at hand, the amazed warriors saw
the boy put his shoulder against the gates and burst asunder the huge
staples that held the bars in place. A thousand of their men could not
have accomplished this feat, yet the small, slight boy did it with
seeming ease. The gates burst open, and Inga advanced into the city
street and called upon King Gos to surrender.
But Gos was now as badly frightened as were his warriors. He and
his men were accustomed to war and pillage, and they had carried terror
into many countries, but here were a small boy, a fat man and a goat who
could not be injured by all his skill in warfare, his numerous army and
thousands of death-dealing weapons. Moreover, they not only defied King
Gos's entire army, but they had broken in the huge gates of the city as
easily as if they had been made of paper, and such an exhibition of
enormous strength made the wicked King fear for his life.
Like all bullies and marauders, Gos was a coward at heart, and
now a panic seized him, and he turned and fled before the calm advance of
Prince Inga of Pingaree. The warriors were like their master, and having
thrown all their weapons over the wall and being helpless to oppose the
strangers, they all swarmed after Gos, who abandoned his city and crossed
the bridge of boats to the island of Coregos. There was a desperate
struggle among these cowardly warriors to get over the bridge, and many
were pushed into the water and obliged to swim; but finally every
fighting man of Regos had gained the shore of Coregos, and they tore away
the bridge of boats and drew them up on their own side, hoping the
stretch of open water would prevent the magic invaders from following
them.
The humble citizens and serving people of Regos, who had been
terrified and abused by the rough warriors all their lives, were not only
greatly astonished by this sudden conquest of their masters, but greatly
delighted. As the King and the army fled to Coregos, the people embraced
one another and danced for very joy, and then they turned to see what the
conquerors of Regos were like.
CHAPTER 8
RINKITINK MAKES A GREAT MISTAKE
The fat King rode his goat through the streets of the conquered
city, and the boy Prince walked proudly beside him, while all the people
bent their heads humbly to their new masters, whom they were prepared to
serve in the same manner they had King Gos.
Not a warrior remained in all Regos to oppose the triumphant
three; the bridge of boats had been destroyed; Inga and his companions
were free from danger--for a time, at least.
The jolly little King appreciated this fact and rejoiced that he
had escaped all injury during the battle. How it had all happened he
could not tell, or even guess, but he was content in being safe and free
to take possession of the enemy's city. So as they passed through the
lines of respectful civilians on their way to the palace, the King tipped
his crown back on his bald head and folded his arms and sang in his best
voice the following lines:
"Oh, here comes the army of King Rinkitink!
It isn't a big one, perhaps you may think,
But it scattered the warriors quicker than a wink--
Rink-i-tink, tink-i-tink, tink!
Our Bilbil's a hero and so is his King;
Our foemen have vanished like birds on the wing;
I guess that as fighters we're quite the real thing--
Rink-i-tink, tink-i-tink, tink!"
"Why don't you give a little credit to Inga?" inquired the goat.
"If I remember aright, he did a little of the conquering himself."
"So he did," responded the King, "and that's the reason I'm
sounding our own praise, Bilbil. Those who do the least often shout the
loudest and so get the most glory. Inga did so much that there is danger
of his becoming more important than we are, and so we'd best say nothing
about him."
When they reached the palace, which was an immense building, Inga
took formal possession and ordered the majordomo to show them the finest
rooms the building contained. There were many pleasant apartments, but
Rinkitink proposed to Inga that they share one of the largest bedrooms
together.
"For," said he, "we are not sure that old Gos will not return and
try to recapture his city, and you must remember that I have no magic to
protect me. In any danger, were I alone, I might be easily killed or
captured, while if you are by my side you can save me from injury."
The boy realized the wisdom of this plan and selected a fine, big
bedroom on the second floor of the palace, in which he ordered two golden
beds placed and prepared for King Rinkitink and himself. Bilbil was given
a suite of rooms on the other side of the palace, where servants brought
the goat fresh-cut grass to eat and made him a soft bed to lie upon.
That evening, the boy Prince and the fat King dined in great
state in the lofty-domed dining hall of the palace, where forty servants
waited upon them. The royal chef, anxious to win the favor of the
conquerors of Regos, prepared his finest and most savory dishes for them,
which Rinkitink ate with much appetite and found so delicious that he
ordered the royal chef brought into the banquet hall and presented him
with a gilt button which the King cut from his own jacket.
"You are welcome to it," said he to the chef, "because I have
eaten so much that I cannot use that lower button at all."
Rinkitink was mightily pleased to live in a comfortable palace
again and to dine at a well-spread table. His joy grew every moment, so
that he came in time to be as merry and cheery as before Pingaree was
despoiled. And although he had been much frightened during Inga's
defiance of the army of King Gos, he now began to turn the matter into a
joke.
"Why, my boy," said he, "you whipped the big, black-bearded King
exactly as if he were a schoolboy, even though you used no warlike weapon
at all upon him. He was cowed through fear of your magic, and that
reminds me to demand from you an explanation. How did you do it, Inga?
And where did the wonderful magic come from?"
Perhaps it would have been wise for the Prince to have explained
about the magic pearls, but at that moment he was not inclined to do so.
Instead, he replied: "Be patient, Your Majesty. The secret is not my
own, so please do not ask me to divulge it. Is it not enough, for the
present, that the magic saved you from death today?"
"Do not think me ungrateful," answered the King earnestly. "A
million spears fell on me from the wall, and several stones as big as
mountains, yet none of them hurt me!"
"The stones were not as big as mountains, sire," said the Prince
with a smile. "They were, indeed, no larger than your head."
"Are you sure about that?" asked Rinkitink.
"Quite sure, Your Majesty."
"How deceptive those things are!" sighed the King. "This
argument reminds me of the story of Tom Tick, which my father used to
tell."
"I have never heard that story," Inga answered.
"Well, as he told it, it ran like this:
When Tom walked out, the sky to spy,
A naughty gnat flew in his eye;
But Tom knew not it was a gnat--
He thought, at first, it was a cat.
"And then it felt so very big
He thought it surely was a pig
Till, standing still to hear it grunt,
He cried: 'Why, it's an ELEPHUNT!'
"But when the gnat flew out again
And Tom was free from all his pain,
He said: 'There flew into my eye
A leetle, teenty-tiny fly.'"
"Indeed," said Inga, laughing, "the gnat was much like your
stones that seemed as big as mountains."
After their dinner, they inspected the palace, which was filled
with valuable goods stolen by King Gos from many nations. But the day's
events had tired them, and they retired early to their big sleeping
apartment.
"In the morning," said the boy to Rinkitink as he was undressing
for bed, "I shall begin the search for my father and mother and the
people of Pingaree. And when they are found and rescued, we will all go
home again and be as happy as we were before."
They carefully bolted the door of their room that no one might
enter and then got into their beds, where Rinkitink fell asleep in an
instant. The boy lay awake for a while thinking over the day's
adventures, but presently he fell sound asleep also, and so weary was he
that nothing disturbed his slumber until he awakened next morning with a
ray of sunshine in his eyes, which had crept into the room through the
open window by King Rinkitink's bed.
Resolving to begin the search for his parents without any
unnecessary delay, Inga at once got out of bed and began to dress
himself, while Rinkitink, in the other bed, was still sleeping
peacefully. But when the boy had put on both his stockings and began
looking for his shoes, he could find but one of them. The left shoe,
that containing the Pink Pearl, was missing.
Filled with anxiety at this discovery, Inga searched through the
entire room, looking underneath the beds and divans and chairs and behind
the draperies and in the corners and every other possible place a shoe
might be. He tried the door and found it still bolted; so, with growing
uneasiness, the boy was forced to admit that the precious shoe was not in
the room.
With a throbbing heart he aroused his companion.
"King Rinkitink," said he, "do you know what has become of my
left shoe?"
"Your shoe!" exclaimed the King, giving a yawn and rubbing his
eyes to get the sleep out of them. "Have you lost a shoe?"
"Yes," said Inga. "I have searched everywhere in the room and
cannot find it."
"But why bother me about such a small thing?" inquired Rinkitink.
"A shoe is only a shoe, and you can easily get another one. But, stay!
Perhaps it was your shoe which I threw at the cat last night."
"The cat!" cried Inga. "What do you mean?"
"Why, in the night," explained Rinkitink, sitting up and
beginning to dress himself, "I was wakened by the mewing of a cat that
sat upon a wall of the palace just outside my window. As the noise
disturbed me, I reached out in the dark and caught up something and threw
it at the cat to frighten the creature away. I did not know what it was
that I threw, and I was too sleepy to care; but probably it was your
shoe, since it is now missing."
"Then," said the boy in a despairing tone of voice, "your
carelessness has ruined me as well as yourself, King Rinkitink, for in
that shoe was concealed the magic power which protected us from danger."
The King's face became very serious when he heard this, and he
uttered a low whistle of surprise and regret.
"Why on earth did you not warn me of this?" he demanded. "And
why did you keep such a precious power in an old shoe? And why didn't
you put the shoe under a pillow? You were very wrong, my lad, in not
confiding to me, your faithful friend, the secret, for in that case the
shoe would not now be lost."
To all this Inga had no answer. He sat on the side of his bed
with hanging head, utterly disconsolate, and seeing this, Rinkitink had
pity for his sorrow.
"Come!" cried the King, "Let us go out at once and look for the
shoe which I threw at the cat. It must even now be lying in the yard of
the palace."
This suggestion roused the boy to action. He at once threw open
the door and in his stocking feet rushed down the staircase, closely
followed by Rinkitink. But although they looked on both sides of the
palace wall and in every possible crack and corner where a shoe might be,
they failed to find it.
After a half hour's careful search, the boy said sorrowfully:
"Someone must have passed by as we slept and taken the precious shoe, not
knowing its value. To us, King Rinkitink, this will be a dreadful
misfortune, for we are surrounded by dangers from which we have now no
protection. Luckily, I have the other shoe left, within which is the
magic power that gives me strength, so all is not lost."
Then he told Rinkitink, in a few words, the secret of the
wonderful pearls, and how he had recovered them from the ruins and hidden
them in his shoes, and how they had enabled him to drive King Gos and his
men from Regos and capture the city. The King was much astonished, and
when the story was concluded, he said to Inga: "What did you do with the
other shoe?"
"Why, I left it in our bedroom," replied the boy.
"Then I advise you to get it at once," continued Rinkitink, "for
we can ill afford to lose the second shoe as well as the one I threw at
the cat."
"You are right!" cried Inga, and they hastened back to their
bedchamber.
On entering the room, they found an old woman sweeping and
raising a great deal of dust.
"Where is my shoe?" asked the Prince anxiously.
The old woman stopped sweeping and looked at him in a stupid way,
for she was not very intelligent.
"Do you mean the one odd shoe that was lying on the floor when I
came in?" she finally asked.
"Yes--yes!" answered the boy. "Where is it? Tell me where it
is!"
"Why, I threw it on the dust-heap outside the back gate," said
she, "for, it being but a single shoe with no mate, it can be of no use
to anyone."
"Show us the way to the dust-heap at once!" commanded the boy
sternly, for he was greatly frightened by this mew misfortune which
threatened him.
The old woman hobbled away, and they followed her, constantly
urging her to hasten; but when they reached the dust-heap, no shoe was to
be seen.
"This is terrible!" wailed the young Prince, ready to weep at his
loss. "We are now absolutely ruined and at the mercy of our enemies. Nor
shall I be able to liberate my dear father and mother."
"Well," replied Rinkitink, leaning against an old barrel and
looking quite solemn, "the thing is certainly unlucky any way we look at
it. I suppose someone has passed along here and, seeing the shoe upon the
dust-heap, has carried it away. But no one could know the magic power
the shoe contains, and so will not use it against us. I believe, Inga,
we must now depend upon our wits to get us out of the scrape we are in."
With saddened hearts, they returned to the palace, and entering a
small room where no one could observe them or overhear them, the boy took
the White Pearl from its silken bag and held it to his ear, asking: "What
shall I do now?"
"Tell no one of your loss," answered the Voice of the Pearl. "If
your enemies do not know that you are powerless, they will fear you as
much as ever. Keep your secret, be patient, and fear not!"
Inga heeded this advice and also warned Rinkitink to say nothing
to anyone of the loss of the shoes and the powers they contained. He
sent for the shoemaker of King Gos, who soon brought him a new pair of
red leather shoes that fitted him quite well. When these had been put
upon his feet, the Prince, accompanied by the King, started to walk
through the city.
Wherever they went, the people bowed low to the conqueror,
although a few, remembering Inga's terrible strength, ran away in fear
and trembling. They had been used to severe masters and did not yet know
how they would be treated by King Gos's successor. There being no
occasion for the boy to exercise the powers he had displayed the previous
day, his present helplessness was not suspected by any of the citizens of
Regos, who still considered him a wonderful magician.
Inga did not dare to fight his way to the mines at present, nor
could he try to conquer the Island of Coregos, where his mother was
enslaved; so he set about the regulation of the City of Regos, and having
established himself with great state in the royal palace, he began to
govern the people by kindness, having consideration for the most humble.
The King of Regos and his followers sent spies across to the
island they had abandoned in their flight, and these spies returned with
the news that the terrible boy conqueror was still occupying the city.
Therefore, none of them ventured to go back to Regos, but continued to
live upon the neighboring island of Coregos, where they passed the days
in fear and trembling and sought to plot and plan ways how they might
overcome the Prince of Pingaree and the fat King of Gilgad.
CHAPTER 9
A PRESENT FOR ZELLA
Now it so happened that on the morning of that same day when the
Prince of Pingaree suffered the loss of his priceless shoes, there
chanced to pass along the road that wound beside the royal palace a poor
charcoal-burner named Nikobob, who was about to return to his home in the
forest.
Nikobob carried an ax and a bundle of torches over his shoulder,
and he walked with his eyes to the ground, being deep in thought as to
the strange manner in which the powerful King Gos and his city had been
conquered by a boy Prince who had come from Pingaree.
Suddenly, the charcoal-burner espied a shoe lying upon the ground
just beyond the high wall of the palace and directly in his path. He
picked it up, and, seeing it was a pretty shoe although much too small
for his own foot, he put it in his pocket.
Soon after, on turning a corner of the wall, Nikobob came to a
dust-heap where, lying amidst a mass of rubbish, was another shoe--the
mate to the one he had before found. This also he placed in his pocket,
saying to himself: "I have now a fine pair of shoes for my daughter
Zella, who will be much pleased to find I have brought her a present from
the city."
And while the charcoal-burner turned into the forest and trudged
along the path toward his home, Inga and Rinkitink were still searching
for the missing shoes. Of course, they could not know that Nikobob had
found them, nor did the honest man think he had taken anything more than
a pair of cast-off shoes which nobody wanted.
Nikobob had several miles to travel through the forest before he
could reach the little log cabin where his wife, as well as his little
daughter Zella, awaited his return, but he was used to long walks and
tramped along the path whistling cheerfully to beguile the time.
Few people, as I said before, ever passed through the dark and
tangled forests of Regos except to go to the mines in the mountain
beyond, for many dangerous creatures lurked in the wild jungles, and King
Gos never knew, when he sent a messenger to the mines, whether he would
reach there safely or not.
The charcoal-burner, however, knew the wild forest well, and
especially this part of it lying between the city and his home. It was
the favorite haunt of the ferocious beast Choggenmugger, dreaded by every
dweller in the Island of Regos. Choggenmugger was so old that everyone
thought it must have been there since the world was made, and each year
of its life the huge scales that covered its body grew thicker and
harder, and its jaws grew wider, and its teeth grew sharper, and its
appetite grew more keen than ever.
In former ages, there had been many dragons in Regos, but
Choggenmugger was so fond of dragons, that he had eaten all of them long
ago. There had also been great serpents and crocodiles in the forest
marshes, but all had gone to feed the hunger of Choggenmugger. The people
of Regos knew well there was no use opposing the Great Beast, so when one
unfortunately met with it, he gave himself up for lost.
All this Nikobob knew well, but fortune had always favored him in
his journeys through the forest, and although he had at times met many
savage beasts and fought them with his sharp ax, he had never to this day
encountered the terrible Choggenmugger. Indeed, he was not thinking of
the Great Beast at all as he walked along, but suddenly he heard a
crashing of broken trees and felt a trembling of the earth and saw the
immense jaws of Choggenmugger opening before him. Then Nikobob gave
himself up for lost, and his heart almost ceased to beat.
He believed there was no way of escape. No one ever dared oppose
Choggenmugger. But Nikobob hated to die without showing the monster in
some way that he was eaten under protest. So he raised his ax and
brought it down upon the red, protruding tongue of the monster--and cut
it clean off!
For a moment, the charcoal-burner scarcely believed what his eyes
saw, for he knew nothing of the pearls he carried in his pocket or the
magic power they lent his arm. His success, however, encouraged him to
strike again, and this time the huge, scaly jaw of Choggenmugger was
severed in twain, and the beast howled in terrified rage.
Nikobob took off his coat to give himself more freedom of action,
and then he earnestly renewed the attack. But now the ax seemed blunted
by the hard scales and made no impression upon them whatever. The
creature advanced with glaring, wicked eyes, and Nikobob seized his coat
under his arm and turned to flee.
That was foolish, for Choggenmugger could run like the wind. In
a moment, it overtook the charcoal-burner and snapped its four rows of
sharp teeth together. But they did not touch Nikobob because he still
held the coat in his grasp, close to his body, and in the coat pocket
were Inga's shoes, and in the points of the shoes were the magic pearls.
Finding himself uninjured, Nikobob put on his coat, again seized his ax,
and in a short time had chopped Choggenmugger into many small pieces--a
task that proved not only easy, but very agreeable.
"I must be the strongest man in all the world!" thought the
charcoal-burner as he proudly resumed his way, "For Choggenmugger has
been the terror of Regos since the world began, and I alone have been
able to destroy the beast. Yet it is singular that never before did I
discover how powerful a man I am."
He met no further adventure, and at midday reached a little
clearing in the forest where stood his humble cabin.
"Great news! I have great news for you," he shouted as his wife
and little daughter came to greet him. "King Gos has been conquered by a
boy Prince from the Island of Pingaree, and I have this day--unaided--
destroyed Choggenmugger by the might of my strong arm."
This was indeed great news. They brought Nikobob into the house
and set him in an easy chair and made him tell everything he knew about
the Prince of Pingaree and the fat King of Gilgad, as well as the details
of his wonderful fight with mighty Choggenmugger.
"And now, my daughter," said the charcoal-burner when all his
news had been related for at least the third time, "here is a pretty
present I have brought you from the city."
With this, he drew the shoes from the pocket of his coat and
handed them to Zella, who gave him a dozen kisses in payment and was much
pleased with her gift. The little girl had never worn shoes before, for
her parents were too poor to buy her such luxuries, so now the possession
of these, which were not much worn, filled the child's heart with joy.
She admired the red leather and the graceful curl of the pointed toes.
When she tried them on her feet, they fitted as well as if made for her.
All the afternoon as she helped her mother with the housework,
Zella thought of her pretty shoes. They seemed more important to her
than the coming to Regos of the conquering Prince of Pingaree, or even
the death of Choggenmugger.
When Zella and her mother were not working in the cabin, cooking
or sewing, they often searched the neighboring forest for honey which the
wild bees cleverly hid in hollow trees. The day after Nikobob's return,
as they were starting out after honey, Zella decided to put on her new
shoes, as they would keep the twigs that covered the ground from hurting
her feet. She was used to the twigs, of course, but what is the use of
having nice, comfortable shoes if you do not wear them?
So she danced along, very happily, followed by her mother, and
presently they came to a tree in which was a deep hollow. Zella thrust
her hand and arm into the space and found that the tree was full of
honey, so she began to dig it out with a wooden paddle. Her mother, who
held the pail, suddenly cried in warning: "Look out, Zella, the bees are
coming!" and then the good woman ran fast toward the house to escape.
Zella, however, had no more than time to turn her head when a
thick swarm of bees surrounded her, angry because they had caught her
stealing their honey and intent on stinging the girl as a punishment. She
knew her danger and expected to be badly injured by the multitude of
stinging bees, but to her surprise the little creatures were unable to
fly close enough to her to stick their dart-like stingers into her flesh.
They swarmed about her in a dark cloud, and their angry buzzing was
terrible to hear, yet the little girl remained unharmed.
When she realized this, Zella was no longer afraid, but continued
to ladle out the honey until she had secured all that was in the tree.
Then she returned to the cabin, where her mother was weeping and
bemoaning the fate of her darling child, and the good woman was greatly
astonished to find Zella had escaped injury.
Again they went to the woods to search for honey, and although
the mother always ran away whenever the bees came near them, Zella paid
no attention to the creatures, but kept at her work, so that before
suppertime came the pails were again filled to overflowing with delicious
honey.
"With such good fortune as we have had this day," said her
mother, "we shall soon gather enough honey for you to carry to Queen
Cor." For it seems the wicked Queen was very fond of honey, and it had
been Zella's custom to go, once every year, to the City of Coregos to
carry the Queen a supply of sweet honey for her table. Usually, she had
but one pail.
"But now," said Zella, "I shall be able to carry two pailsful to
the Queen, who will, I am sure, give me a good price for it."
"True," answered her mother, "and as the boy Prince may take it
into his head to conquer Coregos as well as Regos, I think it best for
you to start on your journey to Queen Cor tomorrow morning. Do you not
agree with me, Nikobob?" she added, turning to her husband, the
charcoal-burner, who was eating his supper.
"I agree with you," he replied. "If Zella must go to the City of
Coregos, she may as well start tomorrow morning."
CHAPTER 10
THE CUNNING OF QUEEN COR
You may be sure the Queen of Coregos was not well pleased to have
King Gos and all his warriors living in her city after they had fled from
their own. They were savage natured and quarrelsome men at all times,
and their tempers had not improved since their conquest by the Prince of
Pingaree. Moreover, they were eating up Queen Cor's provisions and
crowding the houses of her own people, who grumbled and complained until
their Queen was heartily tired.
"Shame on you!" she said to her husband, King Gos, "To be driven
out of your city by a boy, a roly-poly King and a billy goat! Why do you
not go back and fight them?"
"No hum