CHAPTER 18
The Cleverness of Ervic
We must now return to Ervic the Skeezer, who, when he had set down thecopper kettle containing the three fishes at the gate of the lonelycottage, had asked, "What next?"
The goldfish stuck its head above the water in the kettle and said inits small but distinct voice:
"You are to lift the latch, open the door, and walk boldly into thecottage. Do not be afraid of anything you see, for however you seem tobe threatened with dangers, nothing can harm you. The cottage is thehome of a powerful Yookoohoo, named Reera the Red, who assumes allsorts of forms, sometimes changing her form several times in a day,according to her fancy. What her real form may be we do not know. Thisstrange creature cannot be bribed with treasure, or coaxed throughfriendship, or won by pity. She has never assisted anyone, or donewrong to anyone, that we know of. All her wonderful powers are usedfor her own selfish amusement. She will order you out of the house butyou must refuse to go. Remain and watch Reera closely and try to seewhat she uses to accomplish her transformations. If you can discoverthe secret whisper it to us and we will then tell you what to donext."
"That sounds easy," returned Ervic, who had listened carefully. "Butare you sure she will not hurt me, or try to transform me?"
"She may change your form," replied the goldfish, "but do not worry ifthat happens, for we can break that enchantment easily. You may besure that nothing will harm you, so you must not be frightened atanything you see or hear."
Now Ervic was as brave as any ordinary young man, and he knew thefishes who spoke to him were truthful and to be relied upon,nevertheless he experienced a strange sinking of the heart as hepicked up the kettle and approached the door of the cottage. His handtrembled as he raised the latch, but he was resolved to obey hisinstructions. He pushed the door open, took three strides into themiddle of the one room the cottage contained, and then stood still andlooked around him.
The sights that met his gaze were enough to frighten anyone who hadnot been properly warned. On the floor just before Ervic lay a greatcrocodile, its red eyes gleaming wickedly and its wide open mouthdisplaying rows of sharp teeth. Horned toads hopped about; each of thefour upper corners of the room was festooned with a thick cobweb, inthe center of which sat a spider as big around as a washbasin, andarmed with pincher-like claws; a red-and-green lizard was stretched atfull length on the window-sill and black rats darted in and out of theholes they had gnawed in the floor of the cottage.
But the most startling thing was a huge gray ape which sat upon abench and knitted. It wore a lace cap, such as old ladies wear, and alittle apron of lace, but no other clothing. Its eyes were bright andlooked as if coals were burning in them. The ape moved as naturally asan ordinary person might, and on Ervic's entrance stopped knitting andraised its head to look at him.
"Get out!" cried a sharp voice, seeming to come from the ape's mouth.
Ervic saw another bench, empty, just beyond him, so he stepped overthe crocodile, sat down upon the bench and carefully placed the kettlebeside him.
"Get out!" again cried the voice.
Ervic shook his head.
"No," said he, "I'm going to stay."
The spiders left their four corners, dropped to the floor and made arush toward the young Skeezer, circling around his legs with theirpinchers extended. Ervic paid no attention to them. An enormous blackrat ran up Ervic's body, passed around his shoulders and utteredpiercing squeals in his ears, but he did not wince. The green-and-redlizard, coming from the window-sill, approached Ervic and beganspitting a flaming fluid at him, but Ervic merely stared at thecreature and its flame did not touch him.
The crocodile raised its tail and, swinging around, swept Ervic offthe bench with a powerful blow. But the Skeezer managed to save thekettle from upsetting and he got up, shook off the horned toads thatwere crawling over him and resumed his seat on the bench.
All the creatures, after this first attack, remained motionless, as ifawaiting orders. The old gray ape knitted on, not looking toward Ervicnow, and the young Skeezer stolidly kept his seat. He expectedsomething else to happen, but nothing did. A full hour passed andErvic was growing nervous.
"What do you want?" the ape asked at last.
"Nothing," said Ervic.
"You may have that!" retorted the ape, and at this all the strangecreatures in the room broke into a chorus of cackling laughter.
Another long wait.
"Do you know who I am?" questioned the ape.
"You must be Reera the Red--the Yookoohoo," Ervic answered.
"Knowing so much, you must also know that I do not like strangers.Your presence here in my home annoys me. Do you not fear my anger?"
"No," said the young man.
"Do you intend to obey me, and leave this house?"
"No," replied Ervic, just as quietly as the Yookoohoo had spoken.
The ape knitted for a long time before resuming the conversation.
"Curiosity," it said, "has led to many a man's undoing. I suppose insome way you have learned that I do tricks of magic, and so throughcuriosity you have come here. You may have been told that I do notinjure anyone, so you are bold enough to disobey my commands to goaway. You imagine that you may witness some of the rites ofwitchcraft, and that they may amuse you. Have I spoken truly?"
"Well," remarked Ervic, who had been pondering on the strangecircumstances of his coming here, "you are right in some ways, but notin others. I am told that you work magic only for your own amusement.That seems to me very selfish. Few people understand magic. I'm toldthat you are the only real Yookoohoo in all Oz. Why don't you amuseothers as well as yourself?"
"What right have you to question my actions?"
"None at all."
"And you say you are not here to demand any favors of me?"
"For myself I want nothing from you."
"You are wise in that. I never grant favors."
"That doesn't worry me," declared Ervic.
"But you are curious? You hope to witness some of my magictransformations?"
"If you wish to perform any magic, go ahead," said Ervic. "It mayinterest me and it may not. If you'd rather go on with your knitting,it's all the same to me. I am in no hurry at all."
This may have puzzled Red Reera, but the face beneath the lace capcould show no expression, being covered with hair. Perhaps in all hercareer the Yookoohoo had never been visited by anyone who, like thisyoung man, asked for nothing, expected nothing, and had no reason forcoming except curiosity. This attitude practically disarmed the witchand she began to regard the Skeezer in a more friendly way. Sheknitted for some time, seemingly in deep thought, and then she aroseand walked to a big cupboard that stood against the wall of the room.When the cupboard door was opened Ervic could see a lot of drawersinside, and into one of these drawers--the second from thebottom--Reera thrust a hairy hand.
Until now Ervic could see over the bent form of the ape, but suddenlythe form, with its back to him, seemed to straighten up and blot outthe cupboard of drawers. The ape had changed to the form of a woman,dressed in the pretty Gillikin costume, and when she turned around hesaw that it was a young woman, whose face was quite attractive.
"Do you like me better this way?" Reera inquired with a smile.
"You _look_ better," he said calmly, "but I'm not sure I _like_ youany better."
She laughed, saying: "During the heat of the day I like to be an ape,for an ape doesn't wear any clothes to speak of. But if one hasgentlemen callers it is proper to dress up."
Ervic noticed her right hand was closed, as if she held something init. She shut the cupboard door, bent over the crocodile and in amoment the creature had changed to a red wolf. It was not pretty evennow, and the wolf crouched beside its mistress as a dog might havedone. Its teeth looked as dangerous as had those of the crocodile.
Next the Yookoohoo went about touching all the lizards and toads, andat her touch they became kittens. The rats she changed into chipmunks.Now the only h
orrid creatures remaining were the four great spiders,which hid themselves behind their thick webs.
"There!" Reera cried, "now my cottage presents a more comfortableappearance. I love the toads and lizards and rats, because most peoplehate them, but I would tire of them if they always remained the same.Sometimes I change their forms a dozen times a day."
"You are clever," said Ervic. "I did not hear you utter anyincantations or magic words. All you did was to touch the creatures."
"Oh, do you think so?" she replied. "Well, touch them yourself, if youlike, and see if you can change their forms."
"No," said the Skeezer, "I don't understand magic and if I did I wouldnot try to imitate your skill. You are a wonderful Yookoohoo, while Iam only a common Skeezer."
This confession seemed to please Reera, who liked to have herwitchcraft appreciated.
"Will you go away now?" she asked. "I prefer to be alone."
"I prefer to stay here," said Ervic.
"In another person's home, where you are not wanted?"
"Yes."
"Is not your curiosity yet satisfied?" demanded Reera, with a smile.
"I don't know. Is there anything else you can do?"
"Many things. But why should I exhibit my powers to a stranger?"
"I can think of no reason at all," he replied.
She looked at him curiously.
"You want no power for yourself, you say, and you're too stupid to beable to steal my secrets. This isn't a pretty cottage, while outsideare sunshine, broad prairies and beautiful wildflowers. Yet you insiston sitting on that bench and annoying me with your unwelcomepresence. What have you in that kettle?"
"Three fishes," he answered readily.
"Where did you get them?"
"I caught them in the Lake of the Skeezers."
"What do you intend to do with the fishes?"
"I shall carry them to the home of a friend of mine who has threechildren. The children will love to have the fishes for pets."
She came over to the bench and looked into the kettle, where the threefishes were swimming quietly in the water.
"They're pretty," said Reera. "Let me transform them into somethingelse."
"No," objected the Skeezer.
"I love to transform things; it's so interesting. And I've nevertransformed any fishes in all my life."
"Let them alone," said Ervic.
"What shapes would you prefer them to have? I can make them turtles,or cute little sea-horses; or I could make them piglets, or rabbits,or guinea-pigs; or, if you like I can make chickens of them, oreagles, or bluejays."
"Let them alone!" repeated Ervic.
"You're not a very pleasant visitor," laughed Red Reera. "Peopleaccuse _me_ of being cross and crabbed and unsociable, and they arequite right. If you had come here pleading and begging for favors, andhalf afraid of my Yookoohoo magic, I'd have abused you until you ranaway; but you're quite different from that. _You're_ the unsociableand crabbed and disagreeable one, and so I like you, and bear withyour grumpiness. It's time for my midday meal; are you hungry?"
"No," said Ervic, although he really desired food.
"Well, I am," Reera declared and clapped her hands together. Instantlya table appeared, spread with linen and bearing dishes of variousfoods, some smoking hot. There were two plates laid, one at each endof the table, and as soon as Reera seated herself all her creaturesgathered around her, as if they were accustomed to be fed when sheate. The wolf squatted at her right hand and the kittens and chipmunksgathered at her left.
"Come, Stranger, sit down and eat," she called cheerfully, "and whilewe're eating let us decide into what forms we shall change yourfishes."
"They're all right as they are," asserted Ervic, drawing up his benchto the table. "The fishes are beauties--one gold, one silver and onebronze. Nothing that has life is more lovely than a beautiful fish."
"What! Am _I_ not more lovely?" Reera asked, smiling at his seriousface.
"I don't object to you--for a Yookoohoo, you know," he said, helpinghimself to the food and eating with good appetite.
"And don't you consider a beautiful girl more lovely than a fish,however pretty the fish may be?"
"Well," replied Ervic, after a period of thought, "that might be. Ifyou transformed my three fish into three girls--girls who would beAdepts at Magic, you know they might please me as well as the fishdo. You won't do that of course, because you can't, with all yourskill. And, should you be able to do so, I fear my troubles would bemore than I could bear. They would not consent to be myslaves--especially if they were Adepts at Magic--and so they wouldcommand _me_ to obey _them_. No, Mistress Reera, let us not transformthe fishes at all."
The Skeezer had put his case with remarkable cleverness. He realizedthat if he appeared anxious for such a transformation the Yookoohoowould not perform it, yet he had skillfully suggested that they bemade Adepts at Magic.
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