The King of Gee-Whiz

by Emerson Hough

  So the coachman cracked his whip, the bumblebees again champed at theirbits and snorted, then broke into a gallop that fairly made the littlecoach fly up the main street to the Royal Court of the Fairy city ofAlmalena.

  The coach pulled up under the wide porte-cochere and as Zuzu and Luluarose from their seats there came out to meet them many servants whoaided them to alight and ushered them into the Royal Court of the FairyQueen Zulena. This was in the finest palace of gold and silver andjewels which can be imagined. Here presently they saw the Fairy Queen.

  She was a very beautiful queen, this ruler of the secret Valley of theFairies. This Zuzu and Lulu saw as she arose from her throne to meetthem. She seemed about as tall as Lulu, although it is hard to tell justhow tall any person is in the Fairy country, where measurements are notthe same as with us. She was robed in white and silver, and wore a crownof shining little diamonds which glittered beautifully. Her throne wasabout as tall as a library chair, and was placed on a little platformraised a distance above the floor. The arms of the throne were richlycarved and about the back and along the arms were set many great redstones which made a warm light. Around the foot of this throne fell thefolds of the Queen's garments, and as she rose and swept back these longrobes there stepped out, from recesses in the wall, one at each side ofthe throne, two pages, a boy and a girl, of the same height and size andexpression. Zuzu and Lulu looked at these in wonder and realized thatthey also were Twins. These twin pages carefully took up the robes ofthe Queen and stood at the edge of the platform. As Zuzu and Lulu gazedat these pages, to their great surprise they observed that they had hairof malazite blue and corazine green, just as they themselves had; onlyin the case of the pages, the boy, whose name they learned was Fofo, hadthe blue hair, and the girl, whose name was Fifi, had green, thesecolors being the reverse of those in their own case.

  The Queen stepped down from her beautiful throne and caught Lulu andZuzu in her arms. "My dear children!" said she. "My dear children, howglad I am to see you! And here, too, is my good Banjo, that used to playfor us long ago, before we lost it. Ah! I see these new friends of minehave the royal malazite and the corazine hair, and they are the imagesof yourselves, my dear pages, Fofo and Fifi! These are royal childrenwho have come to visit us, and I am sure all this is as much as anyFairy Queen could ask. I hope that my new friends will shake hands withthese my pages, and that you all will be very good friends."

  So the little pages stepped forward from the foot of the throne, Luluand Zuzu shook hands with Fofo and Fifi and soon they were very goodfriends.

  "Now," said the Fairy Queen, "we will have some cakes and tea, for Iknow you must be very weary from your long ride. And as you eat, I willhave some shadows dance on the palace wall for your entertainment. I amsure the Enchanted Banjo will play for the shadows, because they canalways dance very much better to the music of an Enchanted Banjo."

  So then the shadows began to dance on the wall for them, as the Banjoplayed:

  THE DANCE OF THE SHADOWS

  When the firelight flickers brightly Then we see upon the wall Shadows bowing all politely, Short and thin, and wide and tall; When the ruddy blaze is leaping And the red sparks glint and glance, Then with bows both low and sweeping Do the shadows start their dance.

  With a sway and a shift, and a leap and a lift, And a stride and a shuffle as they glide roundabout, And a stop and a swing, and a jump and a fling, And a twist and a twirling as they weave in and out.

  Thus they go in gay procession Down the wall and back again As though it were their profession To make mock of dancing men; They go swift, and swifter, wheeling In the figures made by chance, Darting from the floor to ceiling-- Thus the shadows have their dance.

  With a leap and a whirl and a twist and a twirl And a slide and a shuffle as they weave roundabout, And a swing and a hop, and a bow and a stop, And a shift and a nodding as they wind in and out.

  CHAPTER XXVI

  THE JOURNEY TO CANDY-TOWN

  After they had eaten all their fairy cakes and tea--which were not inthe least like anything they had ever tasted before, but were muchbetter than anything they had ever known--Zuzu and Lulu told the FairyQueen about their journey and how they had happened to undertake it.They told her what the Black Fairy had said to them, and how they hadtaken off the wooden leg of the Dragon, and how they had started downthe Golden Ladder. Neither Zuzu nor Lulu had heard of the King's losinghis shadow, but in some way the Fairy Queen had heard of this, and nowshe told them of it, to their great surprise.

  "This," said she, "was the work of the Wicked Fairy Gobo, whom I havewarned never to interfere in matters outside of his own home in yondermountain. Had you only telephoned to me by the White Cricket instead ofthe Black Cricket, all would have been well, for in that case I shouldhave sent the Bumblebee Express quite up to the top of the ladder foryou, and should have commanded the Dragon to let you pass; but at anyrate, here you are, my dears, and I think no one will be the worse offfor that, except the Wicked Fairy Gobo, who knew very much better thanto use the Fairy Telephone Line. Him I shall punish for this act in duetime. But we must not be angry or unhappy over these things. After youhave finished your supper, we will have a short sail upon the lake, andmake a visit to some of the floating islands."

  So they all went out sailing upon the Fairy lake, in a beautifulpale-green boat, which moved very gently through the water under theoars of a crew of Fairy dwarfs, who used oars made of wheaten straws,rowing so gently that the boat hardly made a ripple on the water. Theyhad also a sail of white silk, which was hoisted at the bow of the boat,and which was filled by a gentle wind that blew across the lake. TheQueen sat on the high seat at the stern of the boat, with Lulu and Zuzuat her feet. After some time they landed at the edge of one of thefloating islands, which the Twins were sure was one of the mostbeautiful places they had ever seen in all the world.

  As they moved from the shore they found themselves in a grove of trees,and a short distance ahead in this grove they saw gleaming the sides ofa sort of small temple, surrounded by a fence. To their great surprisethey found that this fence was built of red and white and blue rails,laid up like any rail fence; but that these rails were sticks of candyinstead of wood.

  "Come now, my children," said the Fairy Queen, "and let us be seated atyonder temple or kiosk, and have some more cakes and tea." So they allwent to a little table in the kiosk, and the Queen touched a tiny bell.Some very small Fairies brought cakes and tea of the finest sortimaginable, of which it seemed they could not eat so much as to injurethemselves, and which no matter how much they ate always tasted as goodas they had before.

  "Now," said the Queen, "I see that you still have the Royal WishingWands which the good King of Gee-Whiz has given to you. Why do you notwish for something, if there is anything you would like to have?"

  "Alas!" said Lulu, "we had but three wishes a week, and we have usedthem all up but two. We are saving those for some important occasion."

  "That is very nice of you," said the Queen, "but now let me assure youthat your Wishing Wands are meant for use in the kingdom of Gee-Whiz,and not in the kingdom of the Fairies. While you are with me you canhave anything you like as often as you like, by only wishing for it, ifI am not mistaken in thinking that my Fairies are able to do anything Iask of them."

  "I wish," said Zuzu, "that I had a sled that would run up hill."

  "A very good and sensible wish," said the Queen, "and one which iseasily granted. Here is your sled, with your name on it in nice redcolor, and with low sharp runners; and I assure you it will run up hilljust as well as down; which has never been the case in your country, andwhich is a great objection to all sleds used there."

  "Now," said Lulu, clapping her hands and jumping up and down, "we musthave some snow! But I wish it could be warm snow, for cold snow is notpleasant, and makes one's hands red."

  Again the Queen smiled and waved her wand and
lo! as she did so softsnow began to fall all about them, so that the ground was soon quitewhite. Almost afraid to test it, Lulu put her hand into the snow, butwithdrew it again with a cry of delight. To her great surprise the snowwas quite warm and nice.

  "I think you will find this sort of snow very comfortable," said theQueen.

  "I don't see how anything so cold as snow can be warm," said Zuzu, onlyhalf believing that this could be true.

  "You do not remember," said the Fairy Queen, "that this country is moreor less tropical, so that here snow might be expected to be warm."

  "At any rate," said Zuzu, "I find it very nice, and with a sled thatruns up hill, and snow that does not get cold, I don't see what more anyone could ask. I don't think I'll wish any more, because I can't thinkof anything to wish."

  "I know what I'd like!" cried Lulu.

  "And what is that, my dear?" asked the Queen.

  "I'd like a doll."

  "What sort of doll, my dear? We have many very fine ones."

  "I'd like a new doll--no, I wouldn't, because that would be leaving myold dolly, and I am sure I like my old dolly as much as I could any newone, yet I want a new one, too. Now, what can I do, when I want both anew doll and an old one?"

  "That is very easy," said the Queen. "I will get you a doll which isboth old and new." And again she waved her wand.

  Lulu looked down, and almost cried aloud; for there in her arms was abrand new doll, the finest she had ever seen, that could laugh and talkand eat, which was quite new, but which, to her great surprise, was alsoquite old! She felt free to love it quite as much as she liked, and soshe did love it very much. As she stood with the doll in her arms, toher great surprise the Enchanted Banjo began to play and the doll beganto sing, and the song it sang was called:

  I'M THE DOLLY YOU LOVE BEST

  With battered eyes and broken nose, With tattered ears and worn-out toes; With one pulled-out and stringy arm Where you have swung me to my harm, I am the dolly you love best, The doll that's dearer than the rest.

  Your own old dolly Whose smile is ever jolly, Who never sighed or cried when you would fling her at the wall; Your old, worn dolly, Your best-loved dolly,-- The dolly that you always thought the fairest one of all.

  I am the doll who heard you weep Because she would not go to sleep; I am the doll who helped you play At going calling every day; With frowsled hair, in tatters dressed; I am the dolly you love best.

  Your own old dolly Whose smile is ever jolly, Who never moaned or groaned when you would idly let her fall; Your old, old dolly, Your best, best dolly-- The dolly that you always thought the fairest one of all.

  The Dragon again reared and rattled its long body _Page110_]

  "I am very happy here, indeed," said Lulu, "and I can't think of anotherthing to wish. I feel a little thirsty from eating so much cake."

  The Queen smiled again. "There is no need to wish for a drink," saidshe, "for if you will only take a cup and step to the spring, I thinkyou will find that it is made of very good lemonade."

  So Lulu took her cup, stepped to the spring, and to her great surpriseshe dipped up a cup of what proved to be the very best lemonade she hadever tasted in all her life.

  "Now," said the Queen, "suppose we walk farther into the island, and seewhat we call our Candy Land."

  So they walked on deeper into the wood, and as they did so they lookedall about them, and behold! all the trees were Christmas trees, hungfull of shining things--toys and books and parcels, everything mostinviting in appearance. Not one Christmas tree was there, but hundreds,and every way they looked they saw still more Christmas trees, so manythey could hardly count them in a day, had they done nothing else butcount.

  "This," said the Queen, "is what we call the Christmas tree forest. Itis here that Santa Claus, one of my best friends, gets all the Christmastrees which he uses in the winter-time. They grow here in hundreds, andof just the right size. But that is only a part of what I was going toshow you."

  Now they came to a long row of houses like shops, in two rows like theshops in what is called an Arcade; but to their great surpriseeverything they saw here was made of candy. The houses, the people andeverything in the shops proved to be made of candy. There was nothing inthe world one could have thought of which was not there, and one mighthave furnished a large house from top to bottom; but every article wasmade of candy--candy rocking-chairs and tables and pianos, and knivesand forks, and everything else, so that Lulu and Zuzu hardly knew whatto do, it all seemed so strange to them.

  "These things are not so durable as though made of gold or gems," saidthe Fairy Queen, "because one is always tempted to eat off the arm of achair or to bite a piece out of the table or the clock. But you need notmind about that; bite all you please, for there are plenty more of thesethings. The good Candy Man will bring more, I am sure, for that is whywe have him here."

  So Lulu and Zuzu sat down in candy chairs at a candy table, and soonthere came up to them a quaint looking little man whom they knew to bethe Candy Man. He smiled and smiled as he approached. "You will excuseme, my good young friends," said he, "if I do not come and sit down withyou, but you see I am made of candy, and if I get too near the fire myface melts, so I have to be very careful. But if you see anything here,help yourselves, and I will get some more for you, if you like."

  As they looked at the Candy Man, the Twins observed to their surprisethat he had only one arm. "Oh! poor man," said Lulu, "you have only onearm. That's too bad. Will you tell us how you happened to lose yourarm? Did you fall down and break it?"

  "No," said the Candy Man, "I did not break it, but lost it; and yetthough I lost it, I still have it, so that though I miss it, I do notregret it."

  "Why, how can that be?" inquired Lulu.

  "Well, the truth is," said the Candy Man, "I ate it."

  "How awfully sad!" exclaimed Lulu.

  "Not in the least, my dear," the Candy Man said. "Such events are notunusual in this country. If you think I am badly off, you ought to seemy brother. Did you never hear the story about when he was a boy? Askthe Banjo."

  So the Banjo told them the story.

  THE CANDY BOY

  Oh, list to the tale of the Candy Boy-- The boy that turned to candy. He was his mamma's pride and joy, And sweet things were too handy. He ate and ate and ate and ate Mint sticks and peanut brittles-- Just candy, it is sad to state, Made all of this boy's victuals.

  One day he noticed that his hair In taffy drips was streaming, And that upon his fingers there Were bright red stripes a-gleaming. He bit his finger, and he found That it was flavored sweetly From having candy all around He'd turned to it completely!

  Oh, dear! Oh, dear! This tearful tale I really should not finish. He ate his arms without a wail At seeing them diminish. From eating so much candy, see How things resulted direly: That boy is no more here, for he Ate up himself entirely!

  "Is there anything more that you would like?" asked the Fairy Queenafter this entertaining story.

  "No," said Lulu, sighing and hugging tight her new-old doll. "I am sohappy and contented that I can not think of anything else to wish formyself; but I was just thinking how badly the poor King must be feelingall this time without his shadow, while here are we, to whom he gavethese Fairy Wishing Wands, having so good a time. I wish he could behappy and contented, too."

  "Ah, so do I," said the Fairy Queen Zulena. "I have wished that for manyyears."

  The Twins looked at her and for the first time they saw a shade ofsorrow cross her sweet face. "The truth is, my children," said the FairyQueen, "I have often wanted again to see the King. Once, very long ago,we were children here together in this country, until he fell partlyunder the influence of Wicked Fairies and began to care more for goldand jewels and the like than for anything else. It was the WickedFairies who changed his nature; but I
am always hoping that he will growto be a great and good king even yet, so that we may together rule overthe same land."

  "Why," said Zuzu, "that is precisely what the King has said to us verymany times!"

  The face of the Fairy Queen flushed a little at this, but she sighed."Alas, I think that can not be," she said. "True, I aid him as I can,and whenever he telephones to me for gold, I give it to him, becausecertainly we have more gold than we can use, and many gems as well; butI can not go up to the Island to meet him, and so can only telephone,which I do not find wholly satisfactory. Against certain Wicked Fairiesnot even I, the Queen, can prevail in all cases. Thus, I am sad to say,I could not even secure the King's shadow from the Wicked Fairy Gobo, ifit be true that he has taken it and hidden it at his cave in themountain. That could only be done by a good child who wished it veryhard, and who used the Wishing Wand which is proper for the Island ofGee-Whiz, where the shadow came from."

  "Ah!" cried Zuzu, "then that is precisely what I shall wish next." So herubbed his own Wishing Wand very hard, and besought that the King shouldhave back his shadow again, and never more lose it.

  "That," said the Queen, smiling now happily, "is very kind of you, and Iam sure if only we can find the shadow here in the valley, the WickedFairy will be obliged to let it go. It is quite likely that he has alsotaken the White Cricket of the King. If we could restore both of theseto the rightful owner, I should be very happy and contented myself."