"KIMBO, THE GIANT"
"The Queen of the Dolls!" cried all the children with delight.
"My, how I should like to meet her!" exclaimed one flaxen-haired little
maiden, who formed a part of the circle.
The little girl beside the Vagabond declared she would have her mamma
write to the Queen that night and ask Santa Claus to take the letter to
her the next time he came around.
There was a loud outburst of merry laughter that was joined in by His
Highness the Vagabond himself.
The mirth soon subsided, and before they had hardly time to engage in
much general talk about the "Queen of the Dolls," five of the boys came
hurrying from the well, bearing the old oaken bucket, dripping and cool.
When the general thirst was quenched, the Vagabond cast a smile upon the
upturned face of his sweet little friend, who so honored his side by her
presence, as he thus went on with his tale.
"The white-winged dove had scarcely passed out of sight before the two
children beheld a strange object moving up and down along the distant
horizon; and so rapid was its approach that it was not long before they
could distinguish the outlines of a gigantic personage.
"He seemed to be leaping over great fields, fully a mile at a stride, in
his frantic effort to get to the throne. Turning to watch the
approaching figure, the Queen cried aloud:
"'Oh, children, look quickly! Kimbo the Giant is coming with all his
might!'
Illustration: _"He seemed to be leaping over great fields fully a mile
at a stride."_
"And before the amazed children could say a word, the wondrous Kimbo
cleared the factories of Santa Claus and Taffy River with a mighty
bound, and in another instant stood before them.
"The giant was so tall that his ponderous chin was level with the floor
of the golden throne; and you can well imagine their surprise, not a
little of which was tinged with fear, when they saw his massive
features.
"The children sank back in affright; but when the Queen assured them
that the Giant was as kind as any doll down in the village, they
ventured to turn with a shudder and look into his partly opened mouth.
It appeared to them like a hole in the mountain near Harpers Ferry where
the people once dug out coal.
"As he uttered a few words of respect to the Queen, accompanied with a
low bow, the sound which came from his partly opened lips was like the
deep, growling rumble of distant thunder and shook the very throne on
which they were standing.
"His eyes were larger than saucers; and the great veins in his glaring
eye-balls seemed like blood-red cords swollen and ready to burst. His
ears, each ornamented with an earring as big as a wagon-tire, were as
long as Maud's little arm; and never a pumpkin grew longer or larger
than Kimbo's great nose.
"His neck was as thick as the trunk of the largest tree that grew down
by the Shenandoah River, and just about as wrinkled and rough as its
bark; while his broad shoulders were far wider than the entire throne of
the Queen.
"His eyebrows resembled great patches of grass more than eyebrows, and
his massive jaws, supporting a wrinkled chin, looked as if they might
take a bite out of the very rock in the side of the mountain and not
mind it in the least.
"On the top of his head he wore a peculiar kind of rig intended no doubt
for a hat, which was bound firmly in place by strands of his coarse
black hair, as thick and perhaps as strong as a hawser. On closer
inspection, however, this hat proved to be a kind of settee, for its
entire side was an upholstered seat with strong arms and deep cushions.
"The Queen stepped toward the edge of the throne and invited the
children for a ride on the Giant's head.
"As they were all ready to get aboard, the Giant lowered his head until
the settee was level with the floor of the throne and they were not
tardy in getting comfortably seated. In another moment they were off on
the journey.
"They started away at such a rapid pace that the children could hardly
breathe; so the Queen cautioned the Giant to go more slowly, and he
slackened his pace to the speed of a railroad train. The Queen informed
them that he was then only walking, and that they need not be alarmed in
the least as the Giant was sure-footed and would not stumble or fall.
"Onward they went like the wind, past the foot of Cake Mountain with its
towering sides and dome of rich, brown crusted cake; on up through the
Ice Cream Valley, where, with a mighty roar, the Honey Springs gushed
from the ground. Thence over the Ginger Bread Hills and past field after
field filled with pie plants, in which an army of brownies were
gathering hot pies and sprinkling them with sugar.
"They passed through great groves of cocoanut trees from the tops of
which shouting bands of wild monkeys threw cocoanut shells after them;
thence through vineyards of ripening grapes and orchards of oranges and
lemons, and arrived at last at the border of a most beautiful lake that,
with its wild, wonderful surroundings, presented the grandest scene they
had ever beheld.
"The great Kimbo backed cautiously up to a towering rock, one side of
which presented a straight cliff toward the lake; and when they had
stepped from their high perch on the Giant's head to the smooth level
top of the great rock, the Queen bade them pause for a moment to look
about over the beautiful scene that now lay beneath and before them.
"Stretching away in the distance, almost as far as the eye could see,
lay a marvellous lake that, in its fitful, frolicsome mood, resembled
some rolling sea of crimson and gold and piled its great billows,
glistening in the sunlight, with a resounding crash upon the pebbly
shore.
"Far off to the right, and many thousands of feet higher than the rock
on which they were standing, a stream came tumbling down from the crown
of a tall mountain, and churning its waters into endless foam, fell into
a deep and distant valley.
"Pointing away with her pretty hand, the Queen said to the children:
"'Behold, darlings, the famous Butter-milk Falls of which you have heard
so much! The stream, as you see, does not enter into this lake, but
falls from the top of Cheese Mountain and then wanders away through a
sandy valley where it sinks into the ground.'
"For a moment the children gazed upon it; then Arthur exclaimed with
some satisfaction:
"I'm glad it doesn't empty here for I never did like butter-milk.'
"The Queen and the children laughed heartily at the very thought.
"As they stood laughing upon the rock, they beheld at no great distance
a wild, noisy cataract, where a beautiful, wide, golden stream leaped
from a high rock, and whirling its never-ceasing torrent into endless
eddies of a thousand different dyes, plunged into the lake that lay
before them.
"'Look, Maud!' exclaimed Arthur. 'Look! Look! The beautiful falls!'
"The children asked of the Queen its name and she replied:
"'That, my darlings, is the end of Taffy River and those are the Stick
Candy Falls. Here Taffy River pours its delicious stream over the rocks
into Lake Fudge that you see lying before you. Now,' she continued, 'we
will walk over and inspect Stick Candy Falls, after which we will return
to this rock, for I consider this the finest viewpoint anywhere along
the shore of the lake.'
"The Queen did not have to assist the children in their descent from the
rock. With a merry bound they ran down the path ahead of her, delighted
with the prospect of visiting the Falls which appeared so beautiful.
"Around them on all sides, grew sweet-scented flowers that, at any other
time, might have caused the children to stay their steps, for they were
fond of wild flowers indeed; but on this particular occasion all the
blossoms of the woodland would not have tempted them, for the sound of
the roaring cataract grew louder and louder as they drew near.
"The path descended into a little glen, the rocky sides of which hid the
cataract from view; and the children stopped to look back upon the spot
from which they had just come. There towered the tall rock with its one
steep side facing the lake. The great Giant, Kimbo, sat on the ground at
its base leaning against the cliff, his head drooped heavily forward
almost between his drawn up knees.
Illustration: _"The children stopped to look back upon the spot from
which they had just come."_
"As they drew near to where the angry river made its desperate leap, the
children were frightened, for the wind caused by the cataract came
roaring about their ears, bearing mist and spray that for a time almost
blinded them. They passed around this danger point and came to a more
sheltered spot, where they paused to view the falls.
"As they stood there they noticed that a path led far in behind the
falling stream, and that the ledge over which this wonder of nature
poured its wealth of golden beauty was a peculiar rock crystal, quite
similar to that which ornamented the beautiful glen through which they
had passed before entering the Enchanted Cave.
"Arthur's inquisitive nature was awake and ready. He proceeded to test
the tall ledge with the blade of his pen knife, when, as he placed a
shattered bit of the rock to his lips, he shouted aloud to his sister:
"'Oh, Maudie, this ledge of rock is Rock Candy!' Then placing the
remaining piece in his mouth, he rushed into the arms of the Queen to
tell her of his surprising discovery.
"Long formations of varying sizes and color were hanging everywhere; and
the children understood at a glance that this was the place where Santa
Claus gets all the stick candy with which he is so generous at Christmas
time. The sticks hung wherever a crevice or crack appeared in the ledge,
and no sooner was one broken off than another began to form in its place
at once.
"As they stepped forward to get a better view behind the falling
torrent, they could see dozens of busy brownies breaking off the sticks
and carefully packing them in long paper boxes, which others were
carrying to the store house that stood on the towering brink above.
"The Queen led them beyond the group of busy workers, when, looking up
at the ledge over which the cataract hung like a graceful veil, they saw
the following lines carved deep in the rock far above their heads. They
paused and with some difficulty, read these lines.
"'Sweet Taffy River, with its eddies wild,
Comes dancing onward like a playful child,
Till from this towering ledge, with face aglow,
It bounds, delighted, to Lake Fudge below.'
"They returned then to the high rock, and the children were surprised to
see a great army of dolls moving rapidly toward the lake. The dolls were
romping and chatting as they hurried along, but all seemed to have the
same purpose in view for they were headed toward a certain point on the
shore.
"Both Arthur and Maud were nearly crazy to join them, but the Queen
wanted to go up on the high rock again, and, as the will of the Queen
was the law of the land, up the high rock they went.
"They paused for a moment to look down on the great Kimbo, and laughed
merrily when they saw he was still fast asleep.
"'Don't disturb him,' said the Queen in a low tone, as she assisted the
children up the path to the top of the rock.
"Shout after shout arose from the crowd of dolls gathered upon the
shore; and as their merry voices shook the air and resounded far over
the lake, Maud inquired of the Queen the cause of their presence and the
unusual tumult they were raising.
"The Queen was standing still, looking far over the lake. It was some
moments before she replied, for the commotion seemed somewhat unusual.
Glancing toward Maud, she said, sweetly:
"'These, darlings, are all the dolls from the Village of Hide and Seek.
They have come down to the shore and are anxiously waiting to be taken
over in their ferry-boat to the Island of Dreams that lies in the centre
of this beautiful lake.'
"Pointing toward the location of the strange island, she continued:
"'Wait a few moments and you will see!' she said, casting another hasty
glance far over the tide.
"The children peered in the direction toward which the Queen pointed,
and beheld far in the distance the dim outlines of an island low down on
the very edge of the horizon. As they stood there they felt a drowsy
sensation creep over them and, like the great Kimbo, they too would have
fallen asleep had it not been for the sudden appearance of a
strange-looking boat that was coming rapidly across the foam toward the
shore.
"As it drew into plain view the tumult of the dolls on the strand
ceased. The children noticed, to their great amazement, that twelve
dolphins were swimming in tandem through the tide and drawing the barque
after them; while astride the back of each dolphin sat a beautiful
mermaid to guide their course through the foam. With much skill as well
as grace, they swang their magnificent craft to a carefully selected
landing on the shore of the lake, while all the dolls scampered
clamorously aboard, and the boat was soon away on its journey.
"Little Maud danced up and down on the big rock in a perfect spasm of
delight, at the same time exclaiming as loud as she could:
"'Oh, Queen, can't we go, too? Can't we go, too?'
"Little Arthur looked up at the Queen disappointed when he saw that the
barque was leaving the shore without taking them along.
"'Well, darlings,' said the Queen, 'if you wish, you too may go to the
Island of Dreams.'
"She looked down upon them with a sweet, winning smile.
"Nothing in the world could have pleased them so well, for they hoped to
meet all the dolls from the village over there. The Queen blew a little
gold whistle that hung from a chain about her neck, and the massive head
of the great Kimbo instantly appeared above the level of the rock, and
he stood rubbing his sleepy eyes with the back of his hand, that seemed
larger than the prize ham of a county fair.
"'Kimbo, my boy,' said the Queen, 'tell the mermaids to send a boat for
us.'
"Then she turned to watch the doll boat that was fast disappearing in
the distance.
"A broad smile swept over the Giant's good-natured face. He stamped his
great foot on the ground, and woe to the rocks that were beneath it. The
drowsiness left his leg, that, like himself, had fallen asleep, and as
his foot came down with a mighty bang the earth all around the big rock
trembled as if from an earthquake.
"Glancing into the faces of the children, he winked his big, sleepy eye
with a sound like the clapping of hands that caused both of the children
to laugh in his face. Then he turned slowly about and repeated the
Queen's request in thunderous tones.
"There was an instant pause of the dolphins in the distance; then a
bright gleam of sunlight flashed from their tails as they lifted them
from the lake in sportive glee. The shrill voice of an answering mermaid
came from far over the waves; then they continued their journey and were
soon lost to sight.
"The Queen turned to the children with a bright smile upon her pretty
face and, giving each of them a sweet kiss, she said softly:
"'It won't take them long, dear ones. It won't take them long. We shall
have to wait but a few moments.'
"So now, while the beautiful Queen with the children are waiting on top
of the rock for a boat to come for them, we will wait here under this
tree for a fresh drink of water, that the dear ones gathered about me
may keep comfortable and cool."
The Vagabond cast a smile over the excited and anxious faces in the
circle, as he brushed the sweat from his brow and ceased speaking.
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