21. The Wonderful Book of Magic
Whatever their fears might be, none of Prince Marvel's party hesitatedto follow him along the path through the forest in search of thesorcerer, and by and by they came upon a large clearing. In the middleof this open space was a big building in such bad repair that its wallswere tumbling down in several places, and all around it the ground wasuncared for and littered with rubbish. A man was walking up and downin front of this building, with his head bowed low; but when he heardthe sound of approaching horses' hoofs he looked up and stared for amoment in amazement. Then, with a shout of rage, he rushed toward themand caught Prince Marvel's horse by the bridle.
"How dare you!" he cried; "how dare you enter my forest?"
Marvel jerked his bridle from the man's grasp and said in return:
"Who are you?"
"Me! Who am I? Why, I am the great and powerful Kwytoffle! Sobeware! Beware my sorcery!"
They all looked at the man curiously. He was short and very fat, andhad a face like a puff-ball, with little red eyes and scarcely any noseat all. He wore a black gown with scarlet grasshoppers and june-bugsembroidered upon the cloth; and his hat was high and peaked, with animitation grasshopper of extraordinary size perched upon its point. Inhis right hand he carried a small black wand, and around his neck hunga silver whistle on a silver cord.
Seeing that the strangers were gazing on him so earnestly, Kwytofflethought they were frightened; so he said again, in a big voice:
"Beware my vengeance!"
"Beware yourself!" retorted the prince. "For if you do not treat usmore respectfully, I shall have you flogged."
"What! Flog me!" shouted Kwytoffle, furiously. "For this I will turnevery one of you into grasshoppers--unless you at once give me all thewealth you possess!"
"Poor man!" exclaimed Nerle; "I can see you are longing for thatflogging. Will you have it now?" and he raised his riding-whip abovehis head.
Kwytoffle stumbled backward a few paces and blew shrilly upon hissilver whistle. Instantly a number of soldiers came running from thebuilding, others following quickly after them until fully a hundredrough-looking warriors, armed with swords and axes, had formed inbattle array, facing the little party of Prince Marvel.
"Arrest these strangers!" commanded Kwytoffle, in a voice like a roar."Capture them and bind them securely, and then I will change them allinto grasshoppers!"
"All right," answered the captain of the soldiers; and then he turnedto his men and shouted: "Forward--double-quick--march!"
They came on with drawn swords; at first running, and then graduallydropping into a walk, as they beheld Nerle, Wul-Takim, King Terribusand Marvel standing quietly waiting to receive them, weapons in handand ready for battle. A few paces off the soldiers hesitated andstopped altogether, and Kwytoffle yelled at the captain:
"Why don't you go on? Why don't you capture them? Why don't you fightthem?"
"Why, they have drawn their swords!" responded the captain,reproachfully.
"Who cares?" roared the sorcerer.
"We care," said the captain, giving a shudder, as he looked upon thestrangers. "Their swords are sharp, and some of us would get hurt."
"You're cowards!" shrieked the enraged Kwytoffle. "I'll turn you allinto June-bugs!"
At this threat the soldiers dropped their swords and axes, and all fellupon their knees, trembling visibly and imploring their cruel masternot to change them into june-bugs.
"Bah!" cried Nerle, scornfully; "why don't you fight? If we kill you,then you will escape being June-bugs."
"The fact is," said the captain, woefully, "we simply can't fight. Forour swords are only tin, and our axes are made of wood, withsilver-paper pasted over them."
"But why is that?" asked Wul-Takim, while all the party showed theirsurprise.
"Why, until now we have never had any need to fight," said the captain,"for every one has quickly surrendered to us or run away the moment wecame near. But you people do not appear to be properly frightened, andnow, alas! since you have drawn upon us the great sorcerer's anger, weshall all be transformed into June-bugs."
"Yes!" roared Kwytoffle, hopping up and down with anger, "you shall allbe June-bugs, and these strangers I will transform into grasshoppers!"
"Very well," said Prince Marvel, quietly; "you can do it now."
"I will! I will!" cried the sorcerer.
"Then why don't you begin?" inquired the prince.
"Why don't I begin? Why, I haven't got the enchantments with me,that's why. Do you suppose we great magicians carry aroundenchantments in our pockets?" returned the other, in a milder tone.
"Where do you keep your enchantments?" asked the prince.
"They're in my dwelling," snapped Kwytoffle, taking off his hat andfanning his fat face with the brim.
"Then go and get them," said Marvel.
"Nonsense! If I went to get the enchantments you would all run away!"retorted the sorcerer.
"Not so!" protested Nerle, who was beginning to be amused. "Mygreatest longing in life is to become a grasshopper."
"Oh, yes! PLEASE let us be grasshoppers!" exclaimed the High Ki maidsin the same breath.
"We want to hop! We want to hop! Please--PLEASE let us hop!" imploredthe bald-headed Ki, winking their left eyes at Wul-Takim.
"By all means let us become grasshoppers," said King Terribus, smiling;and Wul-Takim added:
"I'm sure your soldiers would enjoy being June-bugs, for then theywouldn't have to work. Isn't that so, boys?"
The bewildered soldiers looked at one another in perplexity, and thestill more bewildered sorcerer gazed on the speakers with staring eyesand wide-open mouth.
"I insist," said Prince Marvel, "upon your turning us into grasshoppersand your soldiers into June-bugs, as you promised. If you do not, thenI will flog you--as I promised."
"Very well," returned the sorcerer, with a desperate look upon hisface; "I'll go and find the enchantment."
"And we'll go with you," remarked the prince, pleasantly.
So the entire party accompanied Kwytoffle into the house, where theyentered a large room that was in a state of much disorder.
"Let me see," said the sorcerer, rubbing his ears, as if trying tothink; "I wonder if I put them in this cupboard. You see," heexplained, "no one has ever before dared me to transform him into aJune-bug or grasshopper, so I have almost forgotten where I keep mybook of enchantments. No, it's not in the cupboard," he continued,looking there; "but it surely must be in this chest."
It was not in the chest, either, and so the sorcerer continued to lookin all sorts of queer places for his book of enchantments, withoutfinding it. Whenever he paused in his search Prince Marvel would say,sternly:
"Go on! Find the book! Hunt it up. We are all anxious to becomegrasshoppers." And then Kwytoffle would set to work again, althoughbig drops of perspiration were now streaming down his face.
Finally he pulled an old book from underneath the pillow of his bed,and crying, "Here it is!" carried it to the window.
He turned a few leaves of the book and then said:
"How unfortunate! The compound I require to change you intograsshoppers must be mixed on the first day of September; and as thisis now the eighth day of September I must wait nearly a year before Ican work the enchantment."
"How about the June-bugs?" asked Nerle.
"Oh! Ah! The June-bug mixture can only be made at the dark o' themoon," said the sorcerer, pretending to read, "and that is three weeksfrom now."
"Let me read it," said Prince Marvel, suddenly snatching the book fromKwytoffle's hands. Then he turned to the title-page and read:
"'Lives of Famous Thieves and Impostors.' Why, this is not a book ofenchantments."
"That is what I suspected," said Terribus.
"No one but a sorcerer can read the enchantments in this book,"declared Kwytoffle; but he hung his head with a sheepish look, for heknew his deception had been well understood.
"Is your own history written in this volume?" inquired Marvel.
"No," answered the sorcerer.
"Then it ought to be," said the prince, "for you are no sorcerer atall, but merely a thief and an impostor!"