Emerson Hough

“ Ate up himself entirely!
"Is there anything more that you would like?" asked the Fairy Queen after this entertaining story.
"No," said Lulu, sighing and hugging tight her new-old doll. "I am so happy and contented that I can not think of anything else to wish for myself; but I was just thinking how badly the poor King must be feeling all this time without his shadow, while here are we, to whom he gave these Fairy Wishing Wands, having so good a time. I wish he could be happy and contented, too."
"Ah, so do I," said the Fairy Queen Zulena. "I have wished that for many years." ”

“ Lulu bowed low before the King, and presented to him the White Cricket; which at once took its place under the shadow of the King. In a moment it had found a floating film of gossamer, the web of the Fairy spiders, and the King inclined his ear as he heard a voice far off chirping.
"That," said the King, "is the telephone to Fairy-land. And now a royal wish of our own: May the Fairies help a Monarch who wishes always to be wise and good. Zulena! Zulena!" ”

“ We get all our gold from them—when their pretty Queen, Zulena, is good enough to grant our wishes. Fairies! Why, they are as common as leaves upon the trees. Are there none in your country, my Princess?"
"None," said Lulu, "only I have always so much wished to see just one Fairy."
"If that is all you wish," said the King of Gee-Whiz, "there will not be the least trouble about it. We got this Enchanted Banjo from the Fairies, and I am sure it will be obliging enough to tell you about so common a place as Fairy-land. Won't you, Banjo?" ”

“ Now, over this dewy world of leaves and grass and boughs and ferns, which touch each other quite across the Island, you will see many little fine lines, finer than hairs, woven in and out. Sometimes you will see long floating films and sometimes braided nets. These are the webs of the spiders, which spin all the time without any one asking them to work. Now, these webs of the spiders are the lines of the Fairy Telephone, and they run from this Island quite over into the valley where the Fairies live. ”

“ The Fairy Valley is known to none of us of the royal household. Besides, you quite forget about the Dragon which guards the entrance to the Valley. Listen! It seems to me I hear the Dragon's voice at this moment."
They all stopped and listened, and, to be sure, they heard at that moment a low, hoarse, roaring sound come across the forest, sounding something like the bark of the sea-lion in the zoölogical gardens, so that any who have heard that will know very well how the voice of a Dragon sounds. For, as it seems, this is what Zuzu and Lulu heard. ”

“ He stood for a time at an open space in the forest, with his ax resting on a stump, looking with pride on his shadow, which he thought was quite the most superior shadow he had ever seen. When he made a motion, the shadow made the same. He raised his hand to his head in royal salute, and the shadow did quite the same. "Even a shadow has reverence for the King," said he, and he felt very glad that he had been born a King, as the position carried with it many advantages of a very obvious nature. ”

“ To their great surprise, as he spoke there stood at their feet a little Black Fairy, with pointed hat, who smiled and bowed.
82"Pray, who are you?" asked Zuzu.
"I am Gobo, a Fairy," he explained. "What was it that you wished, good sir?"
"We wish to see a Fairy," replied Lulu eagerly. "Are you a Fairy?"
"I am one sort of Fairy," replied the little one. "Unhappily, there are other kinds, as I must admit."
"But we wish to see the real ones, with white wings. We want to go to the Valley of the Fairies, where we may see the Queen herself and learn how the good Fairies live," said Lulu. ”

“ Were it not for me, they would get out of the Secret Valley and make trouble perhaps even now. I keep everybody in on one side and everybody out on the other. So I may say that I am still the support of this kingdom, although I am older than I once was."
"Oh, I see," cried Lulu. "That is why they telephone to the Fairies."
"Yes," growled the Dragon, "that is how they get around me. The new King has in some mysterious way discovered the use of the telephone. It makes me more than ever discontented with my place. ”

“ For over a thousand years I have not had a nap. There is nothing in the world can put me to sleep."
"Except one thing," said the Private Secretary, smiling.
The Dragon scowled at him. "What is the use of mocking me?" it said. "Of course, I know that the Enchanted Banjo might put me to sleep, but that plays only for the King; but not until that takes place does any person get by Jankow, the Royal Dragon."
"We quite trust you, Jankow," said the Private Secretary, "and I agree with you that you are a most excellent and satisfactory Dragon. ”

“ They watched the great ledge of the Mother of Gold heave and swell and sink and rise again, and saw the Fairies making these beautiful things, and saw flitting across the Valley beautiful birds with long tails, as long as one's arm, and with crests as long as one's hand, and with feathers which seemed of gold and pearl and green and blue ”

“ The Enchanted Banjo now looked perfectly happy.
"In this way, my friends," it remarked, "we shall soon be at the edge of the Valley of the Fairies. Had you stopped to climb down that Ladder, there is no telling how long it would have taken you. It might have been several years, and, indeed, for all I know, you might have been old persons by the time you got there, and so have had trouble about getting into the Valley; for every one knows that children are more loved by the Fairies than old people."
"How long will it take to get there now?" asked Lulu. ”

“ You will see that one has the Royal Hereditary malazite blue hair, while the other has the genuine and ancient corazine green hair. Moreover, as you will observe, they both bear the Royal Wishing Wands, which all must obey. It is the wish of his Majesty that they have a pleasant life upon our Island."
"Well, I hope they will have a better time than I have had," said the Dragon mournfully. "What self-respecting Dragon would ask a place like mine? I am forced to obey the King or he will close my mouth; and I am obliged to obey the Fairies in the valley below, else they will pinch my tail. ”

“ There are two just coming out of their holes; stupid things, who think of nothing but eating, and can travel scarcely faster than a turtle upon the land. A full-grown Waugog is as large as a church, and should we run against one at full speed, it would jar the boat very much. You will see, madam, that travel underneath the sea is not without interest."
"I should say not," said the Widow Pickle; "quite the opposite, indeed, and I am very glad to have my children thus improve their education."
"There is one thing I should like to ask," said Zuzu, "and I have often wondered about it." ”

“ Blue and green, madam, are our favorite colors."
"How strange!" exclaimed the Widow Pickle. And then she told of the manner in which the hair of her Twins had been permanently colored by some of her husband's Chemical Substances.
"That is very singular," said the little man. "All I can say is that if their hair is the real malazite blue and the correct corazine green, they could have anything they like in the Land of Gee-Whiz; for these are the Royal Hereditary Colors. But, really, I must be going. I rarely ever stay away more than an hour at a time." ”

“ Over this ledge or dam, a short distance out toward the wall of the valley, there flowed a broad river of clear water, white as crystal, which made a deep pool below the ledge of gold; and thrusting up through this sheet of falling water were points of rock which sparkled like diamonds, or gleamed dull and white like pearls; and such was the peculiar quality of this great ledge of seemingly living gold, that, as the water fell over it, it partly turned into a sort of vapor ”

“ The Crickets are simply telephoning from the Fairies to you, and it has been your own fault that you have not had messages from the Fairies before now. Only I should say you must remember to have a White Cricket for good Fairies. A Black Cricket will telephone only to bad Fairies. His Majesty, of course, has a fine White Cricket, which has always lived under his shadow; and it is with this that he telephones to the Fairy Valley."
"I wish I had a Cricket," said Zuzu. ”

“ The Fairy Queen allowed them to sit and look as long as they liked, and bade them take up all the pieces of gold and gems and jewels which they liked—all the diamonds and other precious stones. "This, my children," she said, "is where mortals get their gold and precious gems. These come from the Fairy Valley. Here it is that we secure all the gold required by the King whom you have left behind in the Island, and the gems in which the King and his friends delight. ”

“ The ruler of this golden valley was some sort of princess, and she was downright niggardly with her money, as some of these heiresses are, you know. She’d promise the king to bring him an apronful of gold if he’d give her a sacrifice to offer up, but he’d no way of providing an offering. For years no one had come in the line of a sacrifice, excepting ourselves. You can imagine the situation this created. The king wanted to sacrifice us, one or both, directly. The princess, who, by the way, was a regular ripper in her way, was quite gone on Sir Harry, and he on her as well. ”

“ Now when you have seen all you wish and when you feel that you will not need to come again—for no one but myself ever twice sees the vision of the Mother of Gold—we will go back and look at other things for a time ”

“ I didn’t mind being alone—that sort of thing—for you see I was alone on the island for so long. But the trouble was that I was followed all the time—have been for more than a year now—by that cursed king—that damned bounding rubber sovereign that I thought I’d left long ago! I’d go out into the sunshine, and there he’d be, walking and bounding and jumping along beside me, any way I’d look. He’d follow me like a—look! look! there he is now! See! ”

“ A black shadow was cast upon the floor by the strong sunlight which shone upon the figure of a leaning spectator.
“Look,” cried the King of Gee-Whiz. “He’s there! He’s there!” His eyes started in horror. He slipped and sank to the floor, rolling over into an utter insensibility.
The foreman put on his hat and stood looking down at him. “Sand, sunshine, and sheep-herdin’,” said he, “will do up any man in time. I’d ’a’ made a good cow-puncher out of this feller, too, if I’d got him in time.”
They turned over the King of Gee-Whiz gently, that he might rest more easily where he lay. ”

“ He was an oldish looking man, thin, and dressed in a long, flowing, black gown. He carried under one arm a large book, and under the other a basket of plaster-of-paris, with which he was accustomed to think he would some day make a cast of the footprints of some escaping criminal. On his nose he wore two pairs of spectacles, one for far looking and one for close looking, and in general he was a very wise-appearing man. The King at once explained to him the reasons for his summons to the palace, and at that the Court Detective became even more wise. ”

“ And I shall send him also my hope; and I shall send him the message which I have whispered in your ears."
193"But see the poor shadow, how badly it is bent," said Lulu. "It does not look in the least like the King as we know him."
"I shall hope to be able to straighten out the shadow," said the Queen. "It is only the Wicked Fairy who has destroyed its beauty for the time."
"But," asked Zuzu curiously, "why do you take so great an interest in the King of the Island of Gee-Whiz? ”

“ True, I aid him as I can, and whenever he telephones to me for gold, I give it to him, because certainly we have more gold than we can use, and many gems as well; but I can not go up to the Island to meet him, and so can only telephone, which I do not find wholly satisfactory. Against certain Wicked Fairies not even I, the Queen, can prevail in all cases. Thus, I am sad to say, I could not even secure the King's shadow from the Wicked Fairy Gobo, if it be true that he has taken it and hidden it at his cave in the mountain. ”

“ This man, now prisoner, had been presumptuous enough to make a stand against the lords of the earth! Arroyo City, confident that the Quivera foreman knew his business, asked few questions as it gathered about the wagon and gazed at the silent captive.
He was a singular-looking man, tall, lean, sinewy, with a high, thin nose and a square chin which seemed not in keeping with his calling. His left nostril was indented by a scar, which ran across his cheek, and one ear was notched well-nigh as deeply as that of a calf at a spring branding. ”

“ The face of the Queen was now very glad and happy.
207"Now," said the King, rising and again looking very handsome, and very stern as well as very kind at the same time, "we, the good Queen Zulena and I, shall rule this country together from our joint throne. We shall ever defend the secret of the Fairy Valley where lies the Mother of Gold. From this time on it shall be our greatest task to spread abroad content and happiness for all." ”

“ He commanded us to appear before him every day and make these bubbles—Sir Harry showed him how to do it with his pipe—every morning and afternoon.
“After he’d gone, Sir Harry and I looked at each other. ‘It’s death or bubbles,’ said he to me. I pointed out to him that it was either death or no bath. He was much shocked. Evidently the thing could not go on, for our soap was already very near exhausted. Sir Harry was a sad dog. Said he to me: ‘While there is soap there is life,’ meaning to say, you see, that while there was life there was hope, ha, ha!”
“Leave that out,” said the foreman. ”

“ And to tint all the leaves when they have to appear.
"Well, I never heard anything in the world like that," said the Widow Pickle. "An Enchanted Banjo, that can play by itself! Surely, this house is haunted, my children, 11since your poor father died! But what a situation for a lone widow to be in here in a great city, with blue- and green-haired Twins, an utter stranger, and an Enchanted Banjo, which plays by itself, and sings about the peculiar hair of my dear Twins! I always said that your poor dear father, although good, was not a practical man." ”

“ But since you have seen this vision of the Mother of Gold, you must not tell even the King where it is, for in that case some of his friends might make war upon us, and we should have to summon from under the earth many of these fierce warriors whose voices you have heard. For all the people who live under the earth fight to the last to conceal this gold from all the rest of the world ”

“ But, madam, tell me where can I get one of these Waffles to eat?"
"That," said the Widow Pickle, "is very easy, if you will but get me a Waffle-iron and permit me to build a fire here in front of the palace."
The King turned to the Private Secretary. "Jiji," said he, "get her a Waffle-iron at once. If there is no such thing, have it made by the royal smiths. Pray, madam, what is a Waffle-iron made of?"
54"Of iron, your Majesty."
"That is too bad," said the King. "We have no such precious metal as that. I suppose we shall have to make it out of gold. Do you mind if we make it of gold?" ”

“ But I was just thinking that a world without syrup is very singular indeed."
"Well, you will understand," said the King of Gee-Whiz, "we who live on this Island are not very different from Fairies. At least, we are dependent upon the Fairies for all we eat and wear and use. They are our work people, and we have to take what they give us and be thankful. Now, I suppose the Fairies have never considered that syrup was necessary for us."
Zuzu and Lulu listened with the greatest interest, and when the king spoke of Fairies they could not restrain themselves. ”

“ There was nothing in the world one could have thought of which was not there, and one might have furnished a large house 157from top to bottom; but every article was made of candy—candy rocking-chairs and tables and pianos, and knives and forks, and everything else, so that Lulu and Zuzu hardly knew what to do, it all seemed so strange to them.
"These things are not so durable as though made of gold or gems," said the Fairy Queen, "because one is always tempted to eat off the arm of a chair or to bite a piece out of the table or the clock. ”

“ Sir Harry was taking a bath in a wash-hand-basin——”
“What’s that?” asked the foreman.
“I reckon he means a wash-pan,” explained Billy Hudgens.
“At least, Sir Harry was making a deuce of a row with the soap, and he’d a wash-hand-basin quite full of bubbles. Just then the King of Gee-Whiz came by and chanced to notice the bubbles. You should have seen his expression!
“You must remember he’d never seen a bit of soap in all his life; no one who has been without it—like the king and myself—can tell what that means. He was completely infatuated with the bubbles. ”

“ And again she waved her wand.
Lulu looked down, and almost cried aloud; for there in her arms was a brand new doll, the finest she had ever seen, that could laugh and talk and eat, which was quite new, but which, to her great surprise, was also quite old! She felt free to love it quite as much as she liked, and so she did love it very much. As she stood with the doll in her arms, to her great surprise the Enchanted Banjo began to play and the doll began to sing, and the song it sang was called:
I'M THE DOLLY YOU LOVE BEST ”