COCO BOLO REX
"This way, please," said their guide, waving his hand toward a pair
of big glass doors, on each of which was painted a monogram--C. B.
R.--with a crown above it.
The two little maids pulled open the doors, and Margaret and Frances
walking through, found themselves looking down upon a beautiful lawn
with lots of little marble-topped tables scattered about it, at which
sat numbers of bright-colored little people, drinking tea and eating
ice-cream and lady-fingers.
Across the middle of the lawn ran a white pathway, at the far end of
which was a steep, green bank, forming a sort of raised platform.
On this platform, with two little page-boys behind him holding up
his scarlet cloak, was a fat little, red-cheeked gentleman with a
spiky gold crown on his head, walking to and fro, and every now and
then stopping to scoop up bubbles with a silver milk-strainer from a
fountain of aëro-plane water.
"The King," whispered the Admiral; and then, putting his hands to his
mouth, he shouted:
"King's Guests!"
At this, all the ladies and gentlemen jumped out of their chairs,
and turning to Margaret and Frances made a low bow, while the King,
himself, thrusting his milk-strainer into his pocket, ran and leaped
from the green bank, the two little boys who had hold of his cloak
flying out behind like the tail of a kite.
Up the garden ran the King, the two pages still flying out behind,
until he had come to where the children stood, when he stopped,
straightened his crown, and after casting a glance over his shoulder to
see if the pages had recovered their feet, he advanced with both hands
stretched out to welcome his guests.
"Delighted to see you, Ladies," said he, shaking hands with both of
them at once. "Most kind of you to come. What can I offer you by way
of refreshment? Here is everything you can think of; and if there's
anything you can't think of, you have only to express a wish for it and
I'll order it at once."
"Thank you very much," replied Margaret, "but we've had refreshment
already."
"And we're much obliged for the wreaths and slippers," added Frances.
"Not at all," responded the King. "Most condescending of you to wear
them. Do the slippers fit?"
"Perfectly, thank you."
"All right, then," unhooking his scarlet cloak and dropping it upon the
ground. "Come on, if you're ready. Race you to the other end!"
Away went the fat little King as hard as he could run, all down the
center pathway, and having such a good start he would certainly have
won had it not been for the aëro-plane bubbles the children had
swallowed. As it was, they took such immense steps that they caught the
King just as he reached the platform, on top of which they all jumped
in a row and flung themselves down on a three-seated throne, like a
high-backed church pew, except that it was decorated with gold knobs
and had a crown over the middle seat.
"Good!" cried the King, clapping his hands. "Everybody won! Distribute
the prizes!"
At this, all the court ladies and gentlemen came running, the ladies
in their wreaths and satin slippers skipping in pairs, weaving their
way among the chairs and tables, while the gentlemen, with great
agility, leap-frogged over the tops of the tables, all among the cups
and saucers, without upsetting one of them. They all jumped upon the
platform and ranged themselves about the throne, clapping their hands
with delight when the Court Crier advanced and deposited in the King's
lap a wooden box tied with white ribbon.
Having cut the ribbon, the King looked all over the box for a keyhole,
but could not find one; nor could he pry open the box with his
pocket-knife. It was very tantalizing.
He was bending over the box, looking for some way of opening it, when
Frances noticed a little knob at the back, and thinking that perhaps it
might be a spring, she leaned forward and pressed it with her finger.
She had guessed right. It was a spring; for the box-lid instantly flew
up, hitting the King such a crack under his nose that it made him
sneeze.
"Oh, I'm so sorry!" exclaimed Frances, clasping her hands.
"Not at all," replied His Majesty, very graciously, as he rubbed his
nose with the back of his hand; and then, slapping down the lid again,
he suddenly burst out laughing.
"Ha! Ha!" he cried, kicking up his feet. "Here's a game! Come here,
Admiral! Just come here and smell this box! Any gentleman who can tell
by the smell what is inside the box shall be allowed to fasten up his
stockings with brass-headed tacks."
All the gentlemen-courtiers crowded round at once, eager to compete
for the honor, when the Admiral, who had the first turn, stooped over
the box to smell it. This was the moment the King was waiting for. He
pressed the spring and _whack_ came the lid under the Admiral's nose,
causing him to jump into the air and turn a back-somersault right
over the heads of the courtiers--a pretty good jump for an admiral,
especially with one hand on his nose.
Margaret and Frances of course supposed that the courtiers, seeing what
had happened to the Admiral, would decline to smell the box. But, not
a bit of it: they did not take warning at all. They all came crowding
round, elbowing each other for the next turn, and one after another
they stooped to smell the box; one after another they received a crack
on the nose; and one after another they jumped backwards--the fat ones
about ten feet and the thin ones a foot or two further--and there they
all stood in a group holding their noses and gazing fixedly at the
Court Crier.
"Caddy! Caddy!" shouted the Court Crier.
Where he came from the children did not observe, but in an instant
there _was_ the caddy, box and all. The Court Crier immediately opened
the caddy-box, took out a clean handkerchief and clapped it over his
face.
"Boo-hoo!" he cried, just once, and then peeped round the edge of the
handkerchief to see if that was enough. Apparently, it was not quite
enough, for he covered his eyes again and boo-hooed once more, when,
perceiving that the Admiral and the courtiers had all let go their
noses again and were smiling away as usual, he threw the handkerchief
into the box, and holding out the skirts of his long cloak with a
finger and thumb of each hand, he went skipping round in a circle, the
bell about his neck going _clink-clank_ at every step.
"Good!" cried the King, clapping his hands. "Jump for joy!"
Thereupon all the courtiers took hands and jumped up and down and back
and forth, coming so close up to the throne that Margaret and Frances
and the King had to tuck up their feet for fear of having their toes
trodden on.
"Oh, bother!" exclaimed His Majesty. "I wish they wouldn't crowd so";
and so saying, he jumped up into the seat of his throne and shouted as
loud as he possibly could:
"DINNER!"
At this, the whole company of courtiers, gentlemen and ladies as
well, turned their backs on the throne, and led by the Court Crier,
they leaped off the platform, raced up the center pathway and rushed,
pell-mell, through the glass doors at the other end; when the Admiral,
who had followed close behind, slammed the doors and locked them.
Having done so, the Admiral came smiling back again, twirling the key
on his finger.
"What's that for?" asked Margaret. "Do you always lock the doors for
dinner?"
"There isn't any dinner," replied the King, slyly screwing up one eye.
"It's just a trick of mine to get rid of them whenever they crowd too
much."
"Do you do it often, then?" asked Margaret.
"Oh, yes. Two or three times a day sometimes."
"But, don't they ever learn?" cried Frances in surprise. "I shouldn't
have thought you could have played the same trick on them more than
once--or twice."
"Learn!" cried the King. "They never learn! They are the most
wooden-headed lot you ever saw. It isn't all fun, being a king," taking
off his crown and hanging it over one of the knobs on the back of the
throne, "not even a monarch of the Woods--especially the Hardwoods.
They _are_ such blockheads!"
The jovial little King looked almost melancholy, which, of course, was
against the laws of the Island, but he recovered again in a moment
when the Admiral tactfully poked him in the ribs with the door-key and
cried, "Cheer up, Rex!"
"Ha! Ha!" laughed the King. "No tickling! Come along, Ladies. Let's go
and see the dragon. We'll take the children with us."
"Oh, yes. Do!" cried Margaret, feeling that if the children went, too,
it must be perfectly safe. "How many children are there?"
"Six, I think," replied the King. "It is six isn't it, Admiral?"
"I believe it is," assented the Admiral. "Though I'm not quite sure
whether the carpenter has finished the last one yet."
"The carpenter!" cried both little girls, opening their eyes very wide.
"Certainly," replied the Admiral. "You didn't suppose it was a job for
the blacksmith, did you? But it's a long piece of work, even though the
last chip was the smallest of the lot. Coco bolo is such tough stuff,
you know, and of course the carpenter has to be extra particular in
turning out a Prince."
"Oh, so the little Princes are all made of coco bolo, too, are they?"
asked Margaret.
"Why, of course, they are," replied the King, rather surprised at the
question. "Chips from the old block, you know. There were six chips
left after I was finished, and the carpenter has been at work on them
ever since; though whether he has completed the last one yet, I don't
know. However, we'll soon see."
As he said this, the King popped his fingers into his mouth and blew a
shrill whistle. Immediately a door in the palace flew open and out came
six plump duchesses, with Roman noses and two corkscrew curls apiece,
dressed to look like nurses in mob caps and big white aprons, walking
one behind the other and each carrying a covered basket on her arm.
"Turn 'em out!" shouted the King; whereupon the six plump duchesses
turned their six baskets upside down and out fell six little boys,
dressed like Floating Island sailor-men, in cherry-colored blouses and
green and white striped bloomers. Some of them fell on their backs and
some on their heads and some on their noses and knees, but it seemed
to make no difference: they all jumped up at once and came running to
where Margaret and Frances and Coco Bolo Rex sat on the three-seated
throne waiting for them--skipping and frolicking and playing leap-frog
and cutting all sorts of capers.
"They've just been dosed," explained the King. "That's what makes them
so frisky."
"Dosed!" cried Margaret. "I didn't suppose dosing ever made anyone
frisky. What do you dose them with?"
"Caper sauce," replied the King. "Jolly little chips, aren't they?"
"They certainly are," cried Frances; and jumping down from her seat,
she ran forward and caught up the youngest, intending to give him a
good toss. She found him so heavy, however, that she changed her mind.
"Why! What a weight he is!" she exclaimed. "He's only about half as
tall as I am, but I believe he weighs as much."
"He's made of heavy stuff," explained the King. "But we'll soon mend
that. Come along, Chips, and I'll give you a treat."
Marching over to the aëro-plane fountain, the King drew the
milk-strainer from his pocket, and while the little Princes all stood
in a row with their mouths wide open, like young fly-catchers, he
fished out half-a-dozen bubbles and with the tip of his finger flipped
one down each throat in turn.
"Now," said he to Frances. "Try him again. You'll find him a good deal
lighter."
He was; the difference was surprising--very surprising indeed to
Frances. For, not expecting him to be so light all of a sudden, she
tossed the little Prince into the air, when, instead of coming down
again, he flew out of her hands; the wind got into his blouse and his
bloomers, puffing them out like balloons, and away he went, floating
along about ten feet from the ground.