_The Ninth Surprise_
THE WIZARD AND THE PRINCESS
Within the depths of the mountains which bordered the Valley of Mo tothe east lived a Wicked Wizard in a cavern of rubies. It was many, manyfeet below the surface of the earth and cut off entirely from the restof the world, save for one passage which led through dangerous cavesand tunnels to the top of the highest mountain. So that, in order toget out of his cavern, the Wizard was obliged to come to this mountaintop, and from there descend to the outside world.
The Wizard lived all alone; but he did not mind that, for his thoughtswere always on his books and studies, and he seldom showed himself onthe surface of the earth. But when he did go out every one laughed athim; for this powerful magician was no taller than my knee, and wasvery old and wrinkled, so that he looked comical indeed beside anordinary man.
The Wizard was nearly as sensitive as he was wicked, and was sorry hehad not grown as big as other people; so the laughter that alwaysgreeted him made him angry.
At last he determined to find some magical compound that would make himgrow bigger. He shut himself up in his cave and searched diligentlyamongst his books until, finally, he found a formula recommended bysome dead and gone magician as sure to make any one grow a foot eachday so long as the dose was taken. Most of the ingredients were quiteeasy to procure, being such as spiders' livers, kerosene oil and theteeth of canary birds, mixed together in a boiling caldron. But thelast item of the recipe was so unusual that it made the Wizard scratchhis head in perplexity.
It was the big toe of a young and beautiful princess.
The Wizard thought on the matter for three days, but nowhere could hethink of a young and beautiful princess who would willingly part withher big toe--even that he might grow to be as big as he wished.
Then, as such a thing was not to be come by honestly, the Wicked Wizardresolved to steal it. So he went through all the caves and passagesuntil he came to the mountain-top. Standing on the point of a rock heplaced one hand on his chin and the other on the back of his neck, andthen recited the following magical incantation:
"I wish to go To steal the big toe Of a princess I know, In order to grow Quite big. And so _I'll change, to a crow!"_
No sooner had he spoken the words than he changed into a Black Crow,and flew away into the Valley of Mo, where he hid himself in a talltree that grew near the King's palace.
That morning, as the Princess Truella was lying late in bed, with oneof her dainty pink feet sticking out from under the covers, in throughthe window fluttered a Black Crow, which picked off her big toe andimmediately flew away with it.
The Princess awoke with a scream and was horrified to find herbeautiful foot ruined by the loss of her biggest toe. When the King andQueen and the Princes and Princesses, having heard her outcry, camerunning in to see what was the matter, they were each and all veryindignant at the theft.
But, search as they might, nowhere could they find the audacious BlackCrow, nor the Princess' big toe, and the whole court was in despair.
Finally Timtom, who was now a Prince, suggested that Truella seekassistance from the kind sorceress Maetta, who had helped him out ofhis own difficulties. The Princess thought well of this idea, anddetermined to undertake a journey to the castle.
She whistled for her favorite Stork, and soon the great bird came toher side. It was pure white, and of an extraordinary size. When theStork had been saddled the Princess kissed her father and mother goodby and seated herself on the bird's back, when it instantly rose intothe air and flew away toward the castle of Maetta.
Traveling in this pleasant way, high in the air, the Princess crossedthe River of Needles and the deep gulf and the dangerous wood, and atlast was set down safe at the castle gates.
Maetta welcomed the pretty Princess very cordially and, on being toldof her misfortune, at once agreed to assist her. So the sorceressconsulted her Oracle, which told her truly anything she wanted to know,and then said to the Princess:
"Your toe is in the possession of the Wicked Wizard who lives in theruby cave under the mountains. In order to recover it you must goyourself to seek it; but I warn you that the Wizard will put everyobstacle in your path to prevent your finding the toe and taking itfrom him."
"Oh, dear!" exclaimed Truella, "I am afraid I shall never be able toget my toe from such a horrid man."
"Have courage, and trust in me," returned Maetta, "for I believe mypowers are stronger than his. I shall now furnish you the weapons youmust use to overcome him. Here is a magic umbrella, and in this basketwhich you must carry on your arm, you will find a lump of putty, aniron ball, a mirror, a package of chewing-gum and a magic veil, all ofwhich will be very useful. Here, also, is a winged dagger, with whichyou must protect yourself if the Wizard attempts to harm you. Withthese enchanted weapons and a brave heart I believe you will succeed.So kiss me, my child, and start on your journey."
Truella thanked the kind sorceress, and mounting the saddle of herStork flew away toward the high mountain in which dwelt the WickedWizard.
But the naughty man, by means of his black magic, saw her coming, andsent such a fierce wind to blow against her that it prevented the Storkfrom making any headway through the air. Therefore, in spite of hishuge wings and remarkable strength, the brave bird was unable to get aninch nearer the mountain.
When Truella saw this she put up the umbrella and held it in front ofthe Stork; whereupon, being shielded from the wind, he flew easily tothe mountain.
The Princess now dismounted and, looking into the hole at the top ofthe mountain, discovered a flight of stairs leading downward.
Taking her basket on her arm, as she had been directed, Truella walkedboldly down the steps until she came to a door. But then she shrankback in affright, for before the door was coiled a great serpent, notquite a mile long and fully as large around as a stick of wood. Thegirl knew she must manage in some way to overcome this terriblecreature, so when the serpent opened its mouth and raised its head tobite her, she reached within the basket, and finding the lump of putty,threw it quickly into the serpent's mouth. The creature snapped itsjaws together so suddenly that its teeth stuck fast in the putty, andthis made it so furious that it wriggled around until it had tieditself into a hard knot, and could wriggle no longer.
Seeing there was no further danger, the Princess passed the door andentered a large cave, which was but dimly lighted. While she paused toallow her eyes to become accustomed to the darkness, so she might seeher way, a faint rustling sound reached her ears, and a moment laterthere came toward her a hideous old woman, lean and bent, with wrinkledface and piercing black eyes. She had only one tooth, but that was ofenormous size, being nearly as large as the tusk of an elephant; and itcurved out of her mouth and down under her chin, where it ended in avery sharp point. Her finger-nails were a foot long, and they, also,were very sharp and strong.
"What are you doing here?" asked the old woman, in a harsh voice, whileshe moved her horrible fingers, as if about to scratch out Truella'seyes.
"I came to see the Wizard," said the Princess, calmly, "and if you willallow me to pass I shall give you, in return for the favor, somedelicious chewing-gum."
"Chewing-gum!" croaked the old woman, "what is that?"
"It is a dainty of which all ladies are very fond," replied Truella,taking the packet from her basket. "This is it."
The old woman hesitated a moment, and then said:
"Well, I'll try the chewing-gum and see what it is like; there will beplenty of time to scratch out your eyes afterwards."
She placed the gum in her mouth and tried to chew it, but when she shuther jaws together the great tusk went straight through her neck andcame out at the back. The old hag gave a scream and put up her hands topull out the tusk again, but so great was her excitement that in herhaste she scratched out both her own eyes, and could no longer seewhere the Princess was standing.
So Truella ran through the cave and came to, a door, on which sheknocke
d. Instantly it flew open, and before her she saw another cave,this time brightly lighted, but filled with knives and daggers, whichwere flying about in every direction. To enter this cave wasimpossible, for the Princess saw she would immediately be pierced bydozens of the sharp daggers. So she hesitated for a time, not knowinghow to proceed; but, chancing to remember her basket, she took from itthe iron ball, which she tossed into the center of the Cave of Daggers.At once the dangerous weapons began to strike against the ball, and assoon as they touched it they were broken and fell to the floor. In ashort time every one of the knives and daggers had been spoiled bycontact with the iron ball, and Truella passed safely through the caveand came to another long stairway leading downward. At the bottom ofthis she reached the third cave, and came upon a horrible monster.
It had the body of a zebra, the legs of a rhinoceros, the neck of agiraffe, the head of a bull dog, and three corrugated tails. Thismonster at once began to growl and run toward her, showing its terribleteeth and lashing its three tails. The Princess snatched the mirrorfrom her basket and, as the creature came near her, she held theglittering surface before its eyes. It gave one look into the mirrorand fell lifeless at her feet, being frightened to death by its ownreflection in the mirror.
Truella now walked through several more caves and descended a longflight of stairs, which brought her to another door, on which was asign that read:
"A. WIZARD, Esq., Office hours: From 10:45 until a quarter to 11."
The Princess, knowing that she had now reached the den of the Wizardwho had stolen her big toe, knocked boldly on the door.
"Come in!" called a voice.
Truella obeyed, and found herself in a large cave, the walls of whichwere lined with rubies. In each of the four corners were big electriclights, and these, shining upon the rubies, filled the cave with a deepred glow. The Wizard himself sat at his desk in one of the corners, andwhen the Princess entered he looked up and exclaimed:
"What! Is it you? Really, I did not expect to see you. How did youmanage to pass the guards I placed within the caves and passageways toprevent your coming here?"
"Oh, that was not difficult," answered Truella, "for you must know I amprotected by a power stronger than your own."
The Wizard was much annoyed at this reply, for he knew it was true, andthat only by cunning could he hope to oppose the pretty Princess.Still, he was resolved not to give up the big toe unless obliged to,for it was necessary to complete the magic compound.
"What do you want?" he asked, after a moment's thought.
"I want the toe you stole from me while I was asleep."
The Wizard knew it was useless to deny the theft, so he replied:
"Very well; take a chair, and I will see if I can find it."
But Truella feared the little man was deceiving her; so when he turnedhis back she took the magic veil from her basket and threw it over herhead. Immediately it began unfolding until it covered her completely,from head to foot.
The Wizard walked over to a cupboard, which he opened; and, whilepretending to search for the toe, he suddenly turned on a big faucetthat was concealed under a shelf. At once the thunder rolled, thelightning flashed, and from the arched ceiling of the cavern drops offire began to fall, coming thicker and thicker until a perfect showerof burning drops filled the room.
These fell hissing upon Truella's veil, but could not penetrate it, forthey all bounded off and were scattered upon the rocky floor, wherethey soon burned themselves out. Seeing this the Wizard gave a sigh ofdisappointment and turned off the faucet, when the fire-drops ceased tofall.
"Please excuse this little interruption," he said, as if he had notbeen the cause of it himself. "I'll find the toe in a few minutes. Imust have mislaid it somewhere."
But Truella suspected he was up to more mischief, and was on her guard.She saw him stealthily press a button, and in the same instant a deepgulf opened in the floor of the cave, half way between the Princess andthe Wizard.
Truella did not know what this meant, at first, unless it was toprevent her getting across the room to where her toe was; but soon shenoticed that the gulf was moving toward her, slowly, but steadily; and,as it extended across the cave from wall to wall, it would in time besure to reach the spot where she stood, when she would, of course, fallinto it.
When she saw her danger the Princess became frightened, and tried toescape through the door by which she had entered; but to her dismay shefound it locked. Then she turned to look at the Wizard. The little manhad perched himself upon a high stool, and was carelessly swinging hisfeet and laughing with glee at Truella's awful peril. He thought thatat last he had certainly found a way to destroy her. The poor Princessagain looked into the gulf, which was gradually getting nearer andnearer; and she shuddered at its vast depths.
A cold wind began to sweep up from the abyss, and she heard mockinglaughter and savage growls from below, as if evil spirits were eagerlywaiting to seize her.
Just as she was giving way to despair, and the gulf had crept veryclose to her feet, Truella thought of her winged dagger. She drew itfrom her bosom and, pointing it toward her enemy, said:
"Save me from the Wizard's art-- Fly until you reach his heart. Foil his power and set me free, This is my command to thee!"
In a flash the dagger flew from her hand and struck the Wizard full onhis breast. With a loud cry he fell forward into the gulf, which in thesame instant closed up with a crash. Then, when the rocks about her hadceased trembling from the shock, the door swung open, leaving thePrincess at liberty to go where she pleased.
She now searched the Wizard's cupboard until she found her toe, whichhad been safely hidden in a little ivory box. Truella stopped only longenough to put on her toe, and then she ran through the caves and up thestairways until she reached the top of the mountain again.
There she found her Stork patiently awaiting her and, having seatedherself on its back, she rode safely and triumphantly back to herfather's palace.
The King and Queen were delighted when she recounted to them thesuccess of her adventure, but they shuddered when they learned of thefearful dangers their sweet little daughter had encountered.
"It seems to me," said the good Queen, "that a big toe is scarcelyworth all the trouble you have had in recovering it."
"Perhaps not," replied the Princess, thoughtfully; "but a big toe isvery handy to have when you wish to dance; and, after all, I succeededin destroying the Wicked Wizard, which surely repays me for the trialsI have been forced to undergo."