7. The Great Battle Between Good and Evil
Ak listened gravely to the recital of Claus, stroking his beard thewhile with the slow, graceful motion that betokened deep thought. Henodded approvingly when Claus told how the Knooks and Fairies had savedhim from death, and frowned when he heard how the Awgwas had stolen thechildren's toys. At last he said:
"From the beginning I have approved the work you are doing among thechildren of men, and it annoys me that your good deeds should bethwarted by the Awgwas. We immortals have no connection whatever withthe evil creatures who have attacked you. Always have we avoided them,and they, in turn, have hitherto taken care not to cross our pathway.But in this matter I find they have interfered with one of our friends,and I will ask them to abandon their persecutions, as you are under ourprotection."
Claus thanked the Master Woodsman most gratefully and returned to hisValley, while Ak, who never delayed carrying out his promises, at oncetraveled to the mountains of the Awgwas.
There, standing on the bare rocks, he called on the King and his peopleto appear.
Instantly the place was filled with throngs of the scowling Awgwas, andtheir King, perching himself on a point of rock, demanded fiercely:
"Who dares call on us?"
"It is I, the Master Woodsman of the World," responded Ak.
"Here are no forests for you to claim," cried the King, angrily. "Weowe no allegiance to you, nor to any immortal!"
"That is true," replied Ak, calmly. "Yet you have ventured tointerfere with the actions of Claus, who dwells in the Laughing Valley,and is under our protection."
Many of the Awgwas began muttering at this speech, and their Kingturned threateningly on the Master Woodsman.
"You are set to rule the forests, but the plains and the valleys areours!" he shouted. "Keep to your own dark woods! We will do as weplease with Claus."
"You shall not harm our friend in any way!" replied Ak.
"Shall we not?" asked the King, impudently. "You will see! Our powersare vastly superior to those of mortals, and fully as great as those ofimmortals."
"It is your conceit that misleads you!" said Ak, sternly. "You are atransient race, passing from life into nothingness. We, who liveforever, pity but despise you. On earth you are scorned by all, and inHeaven you have no place! Even the mortals, after their earth life,enter another existence for all time, and so are your superiors. Howthen dare you, who are neither mortal nor immortal, refuse to obey mywish?"
The Awgwas sprang to their feet with menacing gestures, but their Kingmotioned them back.
"Never before," he cried to Ak, while his voice trembled with rage,"has an immortal declared himself the master of the Awgwas! Nevershall an immortal venture to interfere with our actions again! For wewill avenge your scornful words by killing your friend Claus withinthree days. Nor you, nor all the immortals can save him from ourwrath. We defy your powers! Begone, Master Woodsman of the World! Inthe country of the Awgwas you have no place."
"It is war!" declared Ak, with flashing eyes.
"It is war!" returned the King, savagely. "In three days your friendwill be dead."
The Master turned away and came to his Forest of Burzee, where hecalled a meeting of the immortals and told them of the defiance of theAwgwas and their purpose to kill Claus within three days.
The little folk listened to him quietly.
"What shall we do?" asked Ak.
"These creatures are of no benefit to the world," said the Prince ofthe Knooks; "we must destroy them."
"Their lives are devoted only to evil deeds," said the Prince of theRyls. "We must destroy them."
"They have no conscience, and endeavor to make all mortals as bad asthemselves," said the Queen of the Fairies. "We must destroy them."
"They have defied the great Ak, and threaten the life of our adoptedson," said beautiful Queen Zurline. "We must destroy them."
The Master Woodsman smiled.
"You speak well," said he. "These Awgwas we know to be a powerfulrace, and they will fight desperately; yet the outcome is certain. Forwe who live can never die, even though conquered by our enemies, whileevery Awgwa who is struck down is one foe the less to oppose us.Prepare, then, for battle, and let us resolve to show no mercy to thewicked!"
Thus arose that terrible war between the immortals and the spirits ofevil which is sung of in Fairyland to this very day.
The King Awgwa and his band determined to carry out the threat todestroy Claus. They now hated him for two reasons: he made childrenhappy and was a friend of the Master Woodsman. But since Ak's visitthey had reason to fear the opposition of the immortals, and theydreaded defeat. So the King sent swift messengers to all parts of theworld to summon every evil creature to his aid.
And on the third day after the declaration of war a mighty army was atthe command of the King Awgwa. There were three hundred AsiaticDragons, breathing fire that consumed everything it touched. Thesehated mankind and all good spirits. And there were the three-eyedGiants of Tatary, a host in themselves, who liked nothing better thanto fight. And next came the Black Demons from Patalonia, with greatspreading wings like those of a bat, which swept terror and miserythrough the world as they beat upon the air. And joined to these werethe Goozzle-Goblins, with long talons as sharp as swords, with whichthey clawed the flesh from their foes. Finally, every mountain Awgwain the world had come to participate in the great battle with theimmortals.
The King Awgwa looked around upon this vast army and his heart beathigh with wicked pride, for he believed he would surely triumph overhis gentle enemies, who had never before been known to fight. But theMaster Woodsman had not been idle. None of his people was used towarfare, yet now that they were called upon to face the hosts of evilthey willingly prepared for the fray.
Ak had commanded them to assemble in the Laughing Valley, where Claus,ignorant of the terrible battle that was to be waged on his account,was quietly making his toys.
Soon the entire Valley, from hill to hill, was filled with the littleimmortals. The Master Woodsman stood first, bearing a gleaming ax thatshone like burnished silver. Next came the Ryls, armed with sharpthorns from bramblebushes. Then the Knooks, bearing the spears theyused when they were forced to prod their savage beasts into submission.The Fairies, dressed in white gauze with rainbow-hued wings, boregolden wands, and the Wood-nymphs, in their uniforms of oak-leaf green,carried switches from ash trees as weapons.
Loud laughed the Awgwa King when he beheld the size and the arms of hisfoes. To be sure the mighty ax of the Woodsman was to be dreaded, butthe sweet-faced Nymphs and pretty Fairies, the gentle Ryls and crookedKnooks were such harmless folk that he almost felt shame at havingcalled such a terrible host to oppose them.
"Since these fools dare fight," he said to the leader of the TataryGiants, "I will overwhelm them with our evil powers!"
To begin the battle he poised a great stone in his left hand and castit full against the sturdy form of the Master Woodsman, who turned itaside with his ax. Then rushed the three-eyed Giants of Tatary uponthe Knooks, and the Goozzle-Goblins upon the Ryls, and thefirebreathing Dragons upon the sweet Fairies. Because the Nymphs wereAk's own people the band of Awgwas sought them out, thinking toovercome them with ease.
But it is the Law that while Evil, unopposed, may accomplish terribledeeds, the powers of Good can never be overthrown when opposed to Evil.Well had it been for the King Awgwa had he known the Law!
His ignorance cost him his existence, for one flash of the ax borne bythe Master Woodsman of the World cleft the wicked King in twain and ridthe earth of the vilest creature it contained.
Greatly marveled the Tatary Giants when the spears of the little Knookspierced their thick walls of flesh and sent them reeling to the groundwith howls of agony.
Woe came upon the sharp-taloned Goblins when the thorns of the Rylsreached their savage hearts and let their life-blood sprinkle all theplain. And afterward from every drop a thistle gre
w.
The Dragons paused astonished before the Fairy wands, from whencerushed a power that caused their fiery breaths to flow back onthemselves so that they shriveled away and died.
As for the Awgwas, they had scant time to realize how they weredestroyed, for the ash switches of the Nymphs bore a charm unknown toany Awgwa, and turned their foes into clods of earth at the slightesttouch!
When Ak leaned upon his gleaming ax and turned to look over the fieldof battle he saw the few Giants who were able to run disappearing overthe distant hills on their return to Tatary. The Goblins had perishedevery one, as had the terrible Dragons, while all that remained of thewicked Awgwas was a great number of earthen hillocks dotting the plain.
And now the immortals melted from the Valley like dew at sunrise, toresume their duties in the Forest, while Ak walked slowly andthoughtfully to the house of Claus and entered.
"You have many toys ready for the children," said the Woodsman, "andnow you may carry them across the plain to the dwellings and thevillages without fear."
"Will not the Awgwas harm me?" asked Claus, eagerly.
"The Awgwas," said Ak, "have perished!"
Now I will gladly have done with wicked spirits and with fighting andbloodshed. It was not from choice that I told of the Awgwas and theirallies, and of their great battle with the immortals. They were partof this history, and could not be avoided.