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CHAPTER TWENTY-SECOND The Queen of Plenta The
soldiers of Kwytoffle wanted to hang their
old master at once, for he had won their enmity by abusing them in many
ways;
but Prince Marvel would not let them do this. However,
they tied the false sorcerer to a post, and the captain gave
him a good whipping — one lash for each letter in the words
"grasshopper" and "June-bug." Kwytoffle
howled loudly for mercy, but no one
was at all sorry for him. Wul-Takim tied a rope
around the
impostor's neck, and when the party left the castle they journeyed all
through
the kingdom of Auriel, and at every town or city they came to the
reformed
thief would cry out to the populace: "Here is the terrible
sorcerer
Kwytoffle, who threatened to change you into grasshoppers and June-bugs. But you may see that he is a very common man,
with no powers of sorcery whatever!" And then the people would
laugh and
pelt mud at their former tyrant, and thank Prince Marvel for haying
exposed the
false and wicked creature. And they called the son
of their old
king back to his lawful throne, where he ruled wisely and well; and the
hoarded
wealth of Kwytoffle was divided among the people again, and soon the
country
became prosperous once more. This adventure was very
amusing to
the pretty High Ki of Twi. It afforded
them laughter for many days, and none of the party ever saw a
grasshopper or a June-bug
afterward without thinking of the terrible sorcerer Kwytoffle. They left that disgraced
person
grooming horses for his board in the stables of the new king, and
proceeded
upon their journey. Without further event
they reached
the splendid southern Kingdom of Plenta, which was the most
delightfully
situated of any dominion in the Enchanted Island of Yew.
It was ruled by a good and generous queen,
who welcomed the strangers to her palace and gave a series of gay
entertainments in their honor. King Terribus was
especially an
object of interest, for every one had heard his name and feared him and
his
fierce people. But when they beheld his
pleasant countenance and listened to his gentle voice they began to
regard him
with much love and respect; and really Terribus was worthy of their
friendship
since he had changed from a deformed monster into an ordinary man, and
had
forbidden his people ever again to rob and plunder their weaker
neighbors. But the most popular
personages
visiting at the court of the Queen of Plenta were the lovely High Ki of
Twi. Although beautiful girls abounded
in this kingdom, none could compare with the royal twins, and their
peculiar
condition only served to render them the more interesting. Two youths would approach
the High
Ki at the same time and invite them to dance, and in united voices they
would
accept the invitation and go whirling around the room with exactly the
same
steps, laughing at the same instant and enjoying the dance equally. But if one youth asked his partner a
question, both the twins would make answer, and that was sure to
confuse and
embarrass the youth. Still, the maids
managed very well to adapt themselves to the ways of people who were
singular, although
they sometimes became a little homesick for Twi, where they were like
all the
other people. The bald-headed Ki kept
watchful
eyes on their youthful rulers, and served them very cheerfully. But with all their travels and experiences,
the old men could never be convinced it was better to be singular than
double. Prince Marvel was the
real hero of
the party, and Nerle received much attention on account of his master's
popularity. He did not seem as unhappy
as usual, and when the prince inquired the reason, his esquire answered
that he
believed the excitement of their adventures was fast curing him of his
longing
for something he could not have. As for
the pleasure of suffering, he had had some experience of that, too, and
it was
not nearly so delightful as he had expected. Wul-Takim was not a
society man, so
he stayed around the royal stables and made friends with the grooms,
and traded
his big black horse for two bay ones and a gold neck-chain, and was
fairly
content with his lot. And so the party enjoyed
several
happy weeks at the court of the good Queen of Plenta, until one day the
terrible news arrived that carried them once more into exciting
adventures. |