Redy and Smaly watch the review of the troops: Smaly and the
Mother of the Crow discourse about soldiers: The Chief
Contractor distributes the food, and the Wigs pass through a
curious little door: The Soy powder makes the provisions
grow.
The Wigs now began to form themselves into a semicircle, the smallest
nearest the door, and the others standing behind them so that they could
see over their heads.
It was a half-holiday for Laptitza, the second daughter of the Prisoner,
and Papylick brought her in so that she could see the review of the
troops.
Laptitza was shown to a low chair in the midst of the semicircle formed
by the Wigs.
Laptitza was so beautiful that it would not have been possible to have
painted her portrait.
* * * * *
The soldiers arrived in Indian file, one behind the other.
"There are a hundred and two of them," announced the Chief Contractor,
looking furtively at Smaly. He shot this look through the eyeholes of
the mask which he had just slipped on and which appeared to be made in
two halves, for while one half expressed severe authority, the other
was all gentleness.
[Illustration: ONE HALF EXPRESSED SEVERE AUTHORITY, THE OTHER WAS ALL
GENTLENESS]
"One hundred and two," repeated Smaly in a perfectly expressionless
voice.
"My brother used to have only one hundred," said the Despoiler, "but I
made him understand that they could not possibly march until they had
one at the head and one at the tail, and that makes one hundred and
two." It was now the Despoiler's turn to look slyly at the two little
human beings and see how they took his remark.
* * * * *
The soldiers came on in a straight line towards the great door of the
kitchen. They had an extraordinarily complicated method of marching,
taking two steps in advance and then one backwards, and this was made
all the more difficult for them because discipline enjoined that each
man should place his feet accurately in the footsteps of the leader.
This man's feet, by an ingenious arrangement, left white marks in the
ground.
When the leading soldier arrived at the door, since it was not permitted
him to turn his back upon such an august assembly, he had to take his
departure marching backwards, and so had all those who followed after
him. From that moment there were two long lines of soldiers, one going
forwards, the other going backwards; but all the soldiers had their
noses, their chests, their knees, and their big toes pointing in the
same direction--the door of the kitchen.
When the review was over, the Chief Contractor was so pleased that he
decided that they must have a similar review every week. He had a fence
erected round the traces left by the soldiers' feet, so that they would
not be effaced, but could be used again each week.
Just as this was finished Smaly noticed that the eye of the Mother of
the Crow was regarding him steadfastly. Suddenly the eye winked as
though to signal him to approach. Smaly began to walk towards the eye;
but it occurred to him on reflection that it was towards the Mother of
the Crow herself that he ought to turn his steps, and not towards her
eye, which, after all, was merely hung in a locket round the neck of her
son. Therefore he turned and approached the oyster-shell, where the
Mother of the Crow was seated.
The Wigs were no longer taking any notice of him; they were eating
ices, and chatting together in their mellifluous voices. They had all
put on thick gloves, for the warmth of the fresh pastry of which their
hands were composed would have melted the ices.
[Illustration: HE DECIDED THAT THEY MUST HAVE A SIMILAR REVIEW EVERY
WEEK]
* * * * *
"None of them really knows what a soldier is," said the Mother of the
Crow in a low voice to Smaly.
"Oh," said Smaly; "but _you_ know, don't you?"
"Certainly I know. Soldiers are beings who cut up the meat that men like
you eat, who hack down big trees, who kill the beautiful horned animals
for food. You see I know perfectly well what a soldier is, and one can
always tell a real soldier because he carries big knives, axes, saws,
razors, and scythes."
"H'm! Not at all," contradicted Smaly with the air of one beginning a
lecture. "A soldier is a man who fights other soldiers."
"What?" asked the Mother of the Crow. "How is that possible when they
are both the same thing?"
"I assure you that it is so," replied Smaly.
The Mother of the Crow reflected; but catching sight of the Wigs, who
were putting the soldiers back in their boxes at the end of the
courtyard, she began again.
[Illustration: THEY HAD ALL PUT ON THICK GLOVES]
"He," she said, nodding her head towards the Chief Contractor, "has no
idea of what a soldier is. He has never seen one excepting in a painting
that a cousin sent him. It is a painting that represents a court in full
dress. There are several soldiers with knives standing round the cousin,
who is the President of the Republic of Pasenipus. They wear
breastplates of gold to prevent the blood of the animals they kill
soiling their fine coats. The Chief Contractor thought that these
breastplates must be eggs, and, as you see, these soldiers are just eggs
with legs. The Chief Contractor has had oxeye daisies fastened to their
heels, because in the picture there were golden daisies fastened to the
boots of the soldiers."
[Illustration: WIGS, WHO WERE PUTTING THE SOLDIERS BACK IN THEIR BOXES]
[Illustration: LAPTITZA AND PAPYLICK
_Page 59_]
[Illustration: PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF PASENIPUS]
"Those must have been spurs!" explained Smaly absently, his attention
being distracted by a curious rattling noise from afar off.
"I don't know what spurs are," admitted the Mother of the Crow; "but the
Chief Contractor doesn't even know what the shield is that each soldier
carries to protect his face from the horns of the animals. He doesn't
even know that soldiers carry knives," she added, "but has put in his
soldiers' hands flowers with long stalks. He doesn't know what a helmet
is, for he thought that soldiers must be a sort of bird with a plume on
their heads."
Smaly didn't mind. He had very much admired the feathered heads, and,
above all, he admired the shields, which were made of pearly shell-fish,
but before the review the Wigs had eaten the contents of these beautiful
shields lest the shell-fish should all have hidden their faces from
fright.
* * * * *
When the Wigs had placed the soldiers in the boxes the Young Stork and
Papylick came towards Smaly. The Stork took charge of the Mother of the
Crow to conduct her back to her house, which was in a cosy nook in a
great tree of coral.
Smaly and Redy now wished to go, but Papylick informed them that neither
the sun nor moon having yet set, it was not possible, and so the little
husband and wife sat down on their heels in the doorway of the kitchen.
The rattling sound had now come nearer, and the Chief Contractor
appeared in the public square surrounded by Wigs pushing wheelbarrows
and turning rattles.
[Illustration: TO CONDUCT HER BACK TO HER HOUSE, WHICH WAS IN A COSY
NOOK IN A GREAT TREE OF CORAL]
These Wigs laid the rattles in the wheelbarrows, and everything became
quiet once more.
Then the Chief Contractor advanced boldly into the full sunshine, and
the Wigs, who watched him put one foot in front of the other, prepared
also to advance.
The Chief Contractor had made a few changes in his costume. He still
wore his big ring and his box marked "Soy"; but a huge hat now covered
his head. Little shelves were hung all about his person, and on these
and on his hat were placed pots and jars, cakes and flagons. He had many
more than the Confectioner, who, after all, was only his lieutenant. He
carried a quiverful of ebony knives, and an urn from which stuck out
long bamboo spoons. His masks were slung from the end of a stick. He
touched his lips with his magic ring, then he agitated the castanets
which hung at his knee, and cried:
"Food, food! Come in by the door, come in by the door," and he shut his
mouth up again quickly with his left thumb.
"I don't see a door, or even a place for a door. There isn't anything,"
said Smaly to Papylick.
"There it is," said Redy, pointing towards a little door which stood in
the middle of the square. "There's no wall, but that is a door. See,
it's open," she added.
"But what's the good of that door," cried Smaly to the Chocolate Grub,
which had come up beside him and was waiting with the others to go and
get his provisions.
[Illustration: THE CONFECTIONER]
"I know nothing about doors," said the Grub sharply. "You must ask some
specialist in such matters; some one who knows about draughts and
opening and shutting. Some one, in fact, who looks like a doorkeeper,"
and the Grub withdrew proudly.
[Illustration: "NEVERTHELESS IT'S SO NARROW THAT ONLY ONE PERSON CAN GO
THROUGH AT A TIME"]
Smaly realized that he had been lacking in tact to mention the word
"door" to the Grub, who always pretended that he was not a doorkeeper.
Papylick explained to the two little people:
"If there weren't a door the people would simply tear the Chief
Contractor to bits to get at the food."
"But----" began Smaly.
"And anyway the door was open," said Redy.
"That's true," replied Papylick, "but nevertheless it's so narrow that
only one person can go through at a time."
[Illustration: THE SONG WENT ON]
And, indeed, each Wig was passing singly through the little door to
receive in his pot or pan a drop of gooseberry jam or a morsel of cake
or apple, or one or two cherry-stones.
The Chief Contractor served out his goods with his bamboo spoons. When
the Wigs were served they made their way in single file towards two
posts which stood in the square, and passed very carefully between them
so as not to spill any of their precious provisions.
And every one had received from the Contractor a little powder in a box
like a small snuff-box labelled "Soy."
* * * * *
Back in their kitchen the Wigs sprinkled a pinch of the Soy powder on
their crumbs of cake and spots of jam, and then taking hands danced
slowly round the table, singing, while the little crumbs of food began
to grow bigger and bigger. The fragments of cake became whole cakes, the
spots of jam swelled to marvellous jellies, and the cherry-stones became
baskets full of the most succulent fruits. When they had finished their
song they did not shut their mouths up again, thereby attaining two
excellent results--the song went on and on while they could eat their
dessert at their ease.
[Illustration]