22. The Queen of Plenta
The soldiers of Kwytoffle wanted to hang their old master at once, forhe had won their enmity by abusing them in many ways; but Prince Marvelwould not let them do this. However, they tied the false sorcerer to apost, and the captain gave him a good whipping--one lash for eachletter in the words "grasshopper" and "June-bug." Kwytoffle howledloudly for mercy, but no one was at all sorry for him.
Wul-Takim tied a rope around the impostor's neck, and when the partyleft the castle they journeyed all through the kingdom of Auriel, andat every town or city they came to the reformed thief would cry out tothe populace:
"Here is the terrible sorcerer Kwytoffle, who threatened to change youinto grasshoppers and june-bugs. But you may see that he is a verycommon 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 wickedcreature.
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 wasdivided among the people again, and soon the country became prosperousonce more.
This adventure was very amusing to the pretty High Ki of Twi. Itafforded them laughter for many days, and none of the party ever saw agrasshopper or a june-bug afterward without thinking of the terriblesorcerer Kwytoffle.
They left that disgraced person grooming horses for his board in thestables of the new king, and proceeded upon their journey.
Without further event they reached the splendid southern Kingdom ofPlenta, which was the most delightfully situated of any dominion in theEnchanted Island of Yew. It was ruled by a good and generous queen,who welcomed the strangers to her palace and gave a series of gayentertainments in their honor.
King Terribus was especially an object of interest, for every one hadheard his name and feared him and his fierce people. But when theybeheld his pleasant countenance and listened to his gentle voice theybegan to regard him with much love and respect; and really Terribus wasworthy of their friendship since he had changed from a deformed monsterinto an ordinary man, and had forbidden his people ever again to roband plunder their weaker neighbors.
But the most popular personages visiting at the court of the Queen ofPlenta were the lovely High Ki of Twi. Although beautiful girlsabounded in this kingdom, none could compare with the royal twins, andtheir peculiar condition only served to render them the moreinteresting.
Two youths would approach the High Ki at the same time and invite themto dance, and in united voices they would accept the invitation and gowhirling around the room with exactly the same steps, laughing at thesame instant and enjoying the dance equally. But if one youth askedhis partner a question, both the twins would make answer, and that wassure to confuse and embarrass the youth. Still, the maids managed verywell to adapt themselves to the ways of people who were singular,although they sometimes became a little homesick for Twi, where theywere like all the other people.
The bald-headed Ki kept watchful eyes on their youthful rulers, andserved them very cheerfully. But with all their travels andexperiences, the old men could never be convinced it was better to besingular than double.
Prince Marvel was the real hero of the party, and Nerle received muchattention on account of his master's popularity. He did not seem asunhappy as usual, and when the prince inquired the reason, his esquireanswered that he believed the excitement of their adventures was fastcuring him of his longing for something he could not have. As for thepleasure of suffering, he had had some experience of that, too, and itwas not nearly so delightful as he had expected.
Wul-Takim was not a society man, so he stayed around the royal stablesand made friends with the grooms, and traded his big black horse fortwo 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 goodQueen of Plenta, until one day the terrible news arrived that carriedthem once more into exciting adventures.