Smaly and Redy are taken to see the Fleet: The Prisoner
arrives and the Wigs fly in terror: Smaly and Redy at last
have speech with the Prisoner.
At this moment a crowd of Wigs ran in at the door crying:
"The fleet has arrived, the fleet has arrived."
"The fleet?" asked Smaly. "I haven't seen any sea."
"There isn't any sea, or any water in the river," replied the Mother of
the Crow.
"Do you imagine," demanded the Young Stork, "that a nation like ours is
going to deprive itself of the splendid luxury of a fleet simply because
chance has decreed that the ocean should not come as far as its
frontiers?"
"Besides, a fleet's so ornamental," said the Mother of the Crow.
"Oh, you're there, are you?" said the Young Stork. "I have been asked to
beg you to assist at the grand inauguration ceremony of the fleet."
Smaly and Redy begged the Young Stork to allow them to accompany him.
The Stork, who was always charitably employed at the task of extracting
fish-bones from the back of the Despoiler, and so was accustomed to
doing kindnesses, promised to beg for this favour for them from the
Chief Contractor. Then the Stork departed, taking with him the Mother of
the Crow, huddled up in her oyster-shell.
[Illustration: EXTRACTING FISH-BONES FROM THE BACK OF THE DESPOILER]
* * * * *
After a quarter of an hour four more Wigs arrived in the kitchen;
dangling from a long stick, they bore a large copper cauldron.
[Illustration: THEY BORE A LARGE COPPER CAULDRON]
"It is permitted that you should assist at the ceremony," they announced
to Smaly and Redy. "Get into the pot."
Smaly and Redy climbed in, full of joy, and Smaly whispered low to his
little wife, "They are still afraid that the sun will melt us, and that
we shall cover their beautiful lawn with grease."
"Take this umbrella," continued the Wig who was the spokesman, offering
them a mushroom. "This will protect you from the hot rays of the sun;
and whatever you do don't lean over the edge of the cauldron."
Then they set off.
* * * * *
The fleet was already arranged upon a long platform painted blue. The
vessels were made of pink and white marzipan, and all had two masts of
cane and little silken flags. A funnel of gilt paper was placed in the
middle of each ship.
[Illustration: THE ADMIRAL WAS A TRITON]
"But there's no smoke coming out of the funnels," objected Smaly.
"I know, I know," replied the Chief Contractor impatiently, and turning
he ordered: "Admiral, put the smoke in place," and the Admiral at once
arranged a charming little puff of smoke made of cotton-wool at the top
of each of the forty funnels.
* * * * *
The Admiral was a Triton, whom the Wigs had made themselves. They had
set their heart on possessing this little animal; but since they had no
sea from which to catch one, they had done their best to model one from
an authentic picture.
The Triton was made of barley-sugar and almond paste.
[Illustration: THE WHITE DOLPHIN WITH PINK EYES]
The other personages who had arrived with the fleet were the White
Dolphin with pink eyes, and a young but very despondent Syren, a black
Sea-Dog, and a large Sea-Horse, which seemed almost mad; also an
extremely curious fish, which brought its own food in a glass jar.
All these creatures had asked nothing better than to leave the sea,
which had become unbearable for them during the past few years because
of the submarines. All of them were very happy at the chance of
obtaining employment in a country as solid and sweet as that of the
Wigs. Their business here would be to look after the fleet. Already they
knew all the ships quite well by sight, and that was all that was
needed.
* * * * *
The Chief Contractor placed over his face the "Master-Mask," and held
out his hand, which held one of the long bamboo spoons.
He announced in a solemn voice:
"We, the Chief Contractor and the Wigs, declare the fleet of our country
to consist of forty ships, here drawn up in line, and the Triton is
declared by us to be Admiral, Painter, Rope-maker, and Sugar-repairer.
So be it."
"So be it, and long live the marzipan fleet," cried all the citizens,
who had never seen the sea.
"Is there really no water anywhere?" asked Smaly a little indiscreetly.
The Chief Contractor leant towards Smaly, who was still sitting in his
cauldron, and whispered low in his ear:
"Tell the truth, do you really think that that fleet needs any water?"
[Illustration: AN EXTREMELY CURIOUS FISH]
"I am certain of it," replied Smaly imperturbably, leaning over the edge
of the cauldron towards the Chief Contractor, whereupon the Stork gently
pushed him back again.
The Chief Contractor was in a great state of consternation and stood
gazing from one to the other of the important officials of the Wig
Republic as though for assistance, while even the crowd began uneasily
to feel the effect of his dismay.
Suddenly the Chief Contractor noticed that the eye slung round the neck
of the Crow was winking at him to approach. He accordingly went towards
the Mother of the Crow, who spoke into his ear.
Beneath his mask the Chief Contractor's mouth began to smile. Quickly
putting on the mask of "Good-Humour," he announced:
"A band of our Rats will each morning copiously water our fleet, for,
believe me, no fleet is quite complete without water."
Here the Crow took two steps towards the Chief Contractor, and putting
on his ebony spectacles, whispered a few words to him. The Chief
Contractor thereupon added in a loud voice:
"They will not use the water of Soy."
Suddenly he perceived it was necessary to change the mask of
"Good-Humour" for that of "Anger," for several audacious Wigs were busy
writing their names upon the hulls of the white ships; but he had no
time to give vent to his just indignation, for upon all sides the
well-known cry arose:
"The prison is coming, the prison is coming."
[Illustration: "A BAND OF OUR RATS WILL EACH MORNING COPIOUSLY WATER OUR
FLEET"]
There was no doubt about it; the Prisoner must have heard the
enthusiastic shouts of the crowd, and in his mad rage was now bearing
down upon the fleet. Some of the bravest Wigs managed to save a few
ships, many more were weeping; but the largest number did not wait to
see what was happening, but took to their heels.
Soon Smaly and Redy were almost alone in their cauldron. The forest of
sugar-canes was arriving, preceded by the little army of Rats with
watering-cans.
When the Prisoner was near enough to hear them, Smaly and Redy cried
out:
[Illustration: WIGS WERE BUSY WRITING THEIR NAMES]
"Djorak, Djorak, stop a minute."
When he heard real voices, human voices, Djorak paused. His rage fell
from him like a cloak.
"Djorak, Djorak."
"Who calls my name?" asked the Prisoner in a husky voice, a voice which
had not been used for many years.
"It's Smaly and Redy who call you. We want to help you," added Redy.
When he heard a woman's voice Djorak's thoughts flew to the three
daughters he had lost, and his madness fell away from him. He drew
nearer to the two little people by breaking the sugar-canes in front of
him. They could now see him, and he could see them. The Rats lay down to
rest, so no new sugar-canes sprang up to bar the way.
"Will you save me?" demanded Djorak.
"It will be the first thing we shall think of when we are allowed out of
this cauldron."
"Cauldron?" repeated the Prisoner. "Cauldron? And when will you be
allowed out of it?"
"When the sun goes down," cried Redy; "and we will give you back your
daughters."
In his profound joy Djorak all but lost consciousness.
[Illustration: A RED FLAG]
"But while we're waiting," remarked Smaly, "tell us how came it about
that you were put in this prison."
But Redy interrupted to say, "First let's agree on a place where we can
all meet, and what sign we shall tell it by."
So they arranged that the Prisoner should turn his prison in the
direction of a red flag, which Smaly would tie to a tree near the
frontier.
THE PRISONER'S STORY
"I was hurled into this country," said the Prisoner, "by the powerful
breath of a Black Toad. At first I was not at all badly received. I was
able to render several services to the Wigs, and was especially useful
to them in building their walls of gingerbread.
"Unfortunately, however, the Chief Contractor is a fool. Without his
idiotic conceit this country would be happy and prosperous, but you have
undoubtedly seen for yourself what a ridiculous creature he is. Only to
give you one instance, I will tell you what happened that made him put
me in this prison of sugar-canes.
"One day some feather-headed person or other began describing a bridge
to him. The Chief Contractor insisted on having the nature of a bridge
fully explained to him, and next day he caused a canal to be dug right
across the middle of the country; but all the water that they poured
into it disappeared at once, for it soaked away through the soil of
sugar and flour.
"However, in spite of the fact that there was no water in the canal, he
caused the bridge of nougat to be built across it; the bridge which I
have destroyed a hundred times passing over it in my prison.
[Illustration: "I HAVE DESTROYED A HUNDRED TIMES PASSING OVER IT IN MY
PRISON"]
"It was forbidden under the most heavy penalties to cross the canal,
although it was dry, by any other means than by way of the bridge. I had
to conform to this stupid law, in spite of the fact that the nougat
cracked beneath my feet each time I crossed the bridge.
[Illustration: "I WAS CAUGHT STEPPING RIGHT OVER THEIR SILLY OLD DRY
CANAL WITH ONE STRIDE"]
"However, one evening I was caught stepping right over their silly old
dry canal with one stride.
[Illustration: THE MANUFACTURER OF CARDBOARD BOXES]
"The Despoiler's rage, although he hid it from me, was deep and
terrible. Doubtless that very evening my doom was agreed upon, for the
next morning when I awoke I was surrounded by this barrier of
sugar-canes," and the Prisoner wrung his hands and seemed in an impotent
rage. He went on jumping up and down, and gesticulating, for his madness
had caught him again.
Once more he began to break the sugar-canes in his frenzy.
At that moment Smaly and Redy saw the Despoiler pass by, followed by the
Young Stork, carrying a pair of nippers.
They were on their way to a secret meeting with the Manufacturer of
Cardboard Boxes.
The Despoiler seemed to be literally shaking with anger. The Young Stork
had been forced to tell him that he stood in urgent need of certain
repairs to his back, and the Despoiler, therefore, found himself in the
humiliating situation of having to make a purchase from the Manufacturer
of Cardboard Boxes.
It added to the Despoiler's vexation to have been seen by the two little
humans. He stopped and looked at the sun, of which only a small piece of
the rim was visible.
The Despoiler turned towards the Rats and, pointing to the cauldron,
called out angrily:
"Take that and run with it to the frontier and empty it out there."
And thus it was done.
[Illustration: THE PICNIC WHICH FOLLOWED WAS AN UNFORGETTABLE REPAST
_Page 177_]