|
Main
- books.jibble.org
My Books
- IRC Hacks
Misc. Articles
- Meaning of Jibble
- M4 Su Doku
- Computer Scrapbooking
- Setting up Java
- Bootable Java
- Cookies in Java
- Dynamic Graphs
- Social Shakespeare
External Links
- Paul Mutton
- Jibble Photo Gallery
- Jibble Forums
- Google Landmarks
- Jibble Shop
- Free Books
- Intershot Ltd
|
books.jibble.org
Previous Page
| Next Page
Page 37
"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 to-day?"
"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."
Previous Page
| Next Page
|
|