"This invention works better than I thought it would, after getting
that bump," John remarked, as they flew onward over the vast expanse of
rolling waves.
"It's a bit wobbly, though," said Chick. "Don't you notice it flops a
little sideways?"
"Yes," answered John, "and it seems to me the bird does not move so
swiftly as it did at first."
"Guess the 'lectricity's giving out," returned Chick, calmly. "If it
does, what'll happen?"
"We'll be drowned, I suppose," said John. "I don't understand
electricity, for the wisdom I derive from the magic Elixir dates far
back beyond the discovery of electric fluid."
"Your wisdom's bald-headed, I'm afraid," observed the child, smiling at
the solemn countenance of the gingerbread man. "But, say! Isn't that
another island over there?" Chick continued, after a look through one
of the little windows.
"It appears to be an island," replied John, also gazing through the
window.
Even as he spoke the bird gave a lurch and swooped downward toward the
sea, tipping at such an angle that Chick and the gingerbread man were
both tumbled off their seats. John's glass eyes had a look of fear in
them, but Chick laughed as merrily as if there was no danger at all,
and began pushing the electric buttons with great vigor, one after
another.
The result was that the flying-machine paused, righted itself, plunged
higher into the air, circled around a few times, and then sailed
rapidly toward the west. Chick scrambled back to the seat and threw
over the steering wheel in order to make the machine head directly
toward the island they had seen.
"If we can keep her going till we get to that island, I don't care what
happens afterward," said the child. "But if we're dumped in the sea I'm
afraid we can't swim far."
"I can't swim at all," John returned; "for in three strokes my
gingerbread would become soaked through and fall to pieces. And the
water would dilute the Elixir that I am mixed with and destroy all its
magic powers. By the way, what's the thing doing now?"
"It's getting more wobbly. But never mind. It's lots of fun, isn't it,
John Dough?"
[Illustration]
"Not exactly fun," said John, seriously; "but I will admit this voyage
is rather exciting."
Just then something snapped, and they heard a rapid whir of machinery
inside the bird, a squeak that sounded like a wail of despair, and
then a dull crash. The big machine trembled, ceased flopping its wings,
and remained poised in the air like an immense kite.
"It's all up," said Chick. "The thing's busted."
"What's going to happen?" asked John, anxiously.
"Wait and see," returned Chick, with a laugh.
"It's cruel to laugh when we are in such grave danger!" said John,
reproachfully.
"Shucks!" cried the child. "It might be my last laugh, and I'd be
foolish to miss it."
The bird was still floating, for its broad wings were rigidly spread
out to their fullest extent; but every moment the machine sailed nearer
to the sea, and although it was surely nearing the island, neither John
nor Chick could decide whether it would finally succeed in reaching the
shore or fall into the water.
Even the careless Cherub paused with bated breath to watch the final
catastrophe, and John, resigned to whatever fate might befall him,
nevertheless passed the most anxious moments of his brief lifetime.
The bird sailed down, rested upon the water a few feet from the shore,
and floated upon the surface.
Chick and John dared not open the door for fear of letting in the ocean
and so being drowned. Neither could they now see where they were, for
the green water pressed close against the little windows. So they sat
silently within the machine until there came a sudden jar and the bird
rolled over upon one side and lay still.
"We're saved!" cried the Cherub. For now one of the windows was raised
above the water and enabled them to see that the bird had drifted to
the shore of the island and was fast upon the beach.
Chick unfastened the door and crawled out; and then the child assisted
John to leap from the machine to the shore without even wetting his
feet. And it was indeed fortunate they acted so promptly, as no sooner
were they safely upon the island than a big wave dashed up, caught the
broken flying-machine in its grasp, and rolled it out to sea again,
where it quickly sank to the bottom and disappeared from their view
forever.
"That's all right," said the child. "I wouldn't care to ride in the
thing again, anyhow. Would you, John Dough?"
"No," answered the gingerbread man. "But what a shame it was to accuse
Imar of being a successful inventor! If the Kinglet of Phreex could
have watched our flight he would know that Imar hasn't solved the
flying-machine problem yet."
[Illustration: CHICK ASSISTS JOHN TO LAND]
"Still, it carried us away from two bad places," said Chick, "and
that's all we wanted of it. Come on, John Dough; let's go and explore
our island."
It did not take our adventurers long to discover they were in a really
remarkable place. Near the shore was a strip of land that at first
sight seemed thickly covered with grass; but when Chick examined it
closely it was found to be a mass of tiny trees set close together, and
each tree was full of small and tender green leaves. And, as the trees
were only an inch or two high, they really looked like grass from a
distance and proved to be soft and pleasant to walk upon.
But behind this green sward towered a forest so strange and magnificent
that both Chick and John Dough held their breaths in amazed awe as they
gazed upon it. For they beheld a confused group of the most gorgeous
plants imaginable, most of them having broad leaves as big as the sails
of a ship and of exceedingly vivid colorings. There were violet and
carmine leaves side by side with brilliant yellows and pinks, blues
and ambers, and among them great bunches of pure white leaves that in
fairness rivaled those of a lily. Some of the huge forest plants were
low and broad--no taller than an ordinary house--but many of them shot
up into the sky like spires and church steeples. And another strange
thing was the fact that they were all filled with clusters of flowers
of many beautiful shapes and designs. And the flowers were of various
tints of greens--running from a delicate pea-green through all the
different shades to bright emerald, and then to deep bottle-greens.
Yet the flowers were the only green colors in all the vast forest of
brilliant plants--which glowed so magnificently under the rays of the
sun that the eyes of our friends were fairly dazzled as they gazed.
"My!" gasped Chick. "Isn't it splendiferous, John Dough?"
"It is, indeed very gorgeous and beautiful," answered the gingerbread
man. "But has it occurred to you, little friend, that there may be
nothing for you to eat in all this wilderness of color."
"Eat?" exclaimed Chick. "Why, John Dough, I'm hungry this very minute!
I haven't had a bite to eat since I left the Palace of Romance, and now
you mention it, I'm half starved. But perhaps there isn't a smitch of
oatmeal or cream on all this island!"
"Couldn't you eat anything else?" asked John.
"Oh, I could, I suppose. But other food might make me ill, you know.
Incubator Babies have to be very careful of their diet."
"But if you don't eat you will die," said John; "so it will be best for
you to dine upon whatever you may find."
"There may be fruits in the forest," said Chick, thoughtfully; "but
it's such a queer forest that quite likely the fruits are poisonous."
"Still, you'd better try them," persisted the gingerbread man. "If you
don't you'll die; and if you are poisoned you'll die. But there is a
chance of your finding healthful fruits instead of poisonous ones. I
regret that in all my store of wisdom, derived from the Arabian Elixir,
there is no knowledge of such a forest or the fruits these gay plants
may bear."
"Well, you wait here till I come back," said Chick, more cheerfully.
"I'll explore and see what I can find. There's no need to worry until
the time comes, anyhow."
With that the little one waved a chubby hand toward John Dough, and
then ran into the forest and disappeared beneath the great purple and
orange colored leaves.
And now it occurred to the gingerbread man to make an examination of
himself and see what an extent of damage he had suffered since he had
come, hot and fresh, from Monsieur Jules' bakery.
[Illustration]
His lovely shirt-front was cracked in several places and speckled with
tiny black spots where the powder of the rocket had burned it. His
left shoulder was also blackened with burned powder, and he had lost
one of the lozenge buttons from his red vest. Also, one of his heels
was slightly crumbled, and there were three marks in his body where
the diamonds had been pressed into him, beside the lance-thrust of the
Blunderer.
These damages were not at all serious, however, and he was beginning
to congratulate himself upon his escape, when he discovered a curious
sensation in his nose. Raising his hand, he found that the extreme end
of his nose had been chipped off in some way during his escape from
the Palace of Romance, and this rather marred his personal appearance.
The discovery made him sigh regretfully; and when he looked around,
in the newly arrived sunlight, it seemed that his vision had become
in some way twisted and unnatural. He could not understand this at
first, and rose to his feet rather dazed and unhappy. Then an idea
occurred to him, and he felt of his glass eyes and found that one--the
left eye--had become loose in its socket and turned inward, making
him cross-eyed. He remedied this by turning it with his fingers until
it looked straight ahead again, and matched the other eye; but often
thereafter that left eye would get twisted and bother him until he
turned it straight again.
While he awaited Chick's return, John strolled to the edge of the
forest and sat down upon a big yellow mushroom that was strong enough
to bear his weight. It seemed to be a peaceful island, and the
gingerbread man was well pleased with his surroundings, having at that
time no idea of all the desperate adventures that were to befall him
before he saw the last of those brilliant shores.
From his feet the beach sloped gently to meet the waves of the blue
ocean, and on the sands were many shells of curious shapes and colors.
The breath of the wind was full of the fragrance of the flowers, and in
the forest plants many birds sang sweet songs.
As he watched the waves, the birds, and the flowers, John heard a
slight rustling sound, and turning his glass eyes downward saw at his
feet a small animal which sat upon its haunches and regarded him with
big and earnest eyes.
"Who are you?" asked the gingerbread man; "and what is your name?"
"My name is Pittypat, and I'm a rabbit," answered the animal. "But tell
me, please, who _you_ are, and what may be your name; for I have never
seen your like before."
"I am a gingerbread man, and my name is John Dough," he replied,
readily. And then, more anxiously, he asked: "Do you eat gingerbread,
friend Pittypat?"
"No, indeed," was the reply. "I prefer clover and sweet roots. But
please answer another question. How is that you understand my
language, and can talk to me?"
[Illustration]
"I cannot tell you that, I'm sure," said John, "unless it's the effect
of the Elixir. That seems to be responsible for almost everything, you
know."
The rabbit did not know, of course, and looked at its new acquaintance
in a puzzled sort of way.
"Are there any more like you on this island?" inquired John Dough.
"Oh, yes; there are lots of us!" exclaimed the rabbit. "But not so many
of us as there are Mifkets."
"And what is a Mifket?" asked John.
"A sort of creature that is neither an animal nor a man," answered
Pittypat. "And the Mifkets rule this island because they are bigger
and fiercer than we rabbits are. Also I know many squirrels and birds
and mice, and the Fairy King of the beavers--for I am well acquainted
here. But I do not like the Mifkets, and scamper away when they come
near. There is a bouncing brown bear, also, who lives on a hill yonder,
and once he claimed to be king of all the animals. But the Mifkets
found out that our bear is not nearly so dreadful as he seems; so they
refused to obey him, and now have a king of their own. For my part,
however, I like the brown bear best of all our inhabitants, for he has
a jolly nature and never hurts any one."
"But are there no men--no people like _me_ upon this island?" asked
John.
"No one like you, most surely," answered Pittypat, staring at the
gingerbread man with its big eyes. "But as for human creatures, there
are three who dwell with the Mifkets, near the other side of the
forest."
"Dear me!" sighed John; "I'm sorry to hear that. Who are the humans?"
"Well, one is the Princess, and the Princess is very beautiful and
lovely," answered Pittypat. "She isn't much bigger than the child I saw
here with you a few minutes ago; but our little Princess is beloved by
every creature on the island--except, perhaps, the Mifkets, who love
only themselves."
"Does the Princess live in a palace?" asked John.
"Oh, yes; a beautiful palace made by bending downward the big leaves of
the roi-tree and fastening the ends to the ground. One of the leaves
is left loose, for a doorway, and in the room thus formed the Princess
lives in great state and loneliness, and sleeps upon a bed of fragrant
mosses."
"Does she like gingerbread?" inquired John, after a thoughtful pause.
"I don't believe she knows what gingerbread is," the rabbit replied.
"But you may be sure the Princess will not harm you, however fond she
might be of gingerbread."
[Illustration: THE HOME OF THE PRINCESS]
"I'm glad to hear that," said John. "But your Princess is the only one
of the three human creatures you mentioned. Who are the others?"
"Her father and mother," said the rabbit. "The three landed here in a
small boat some years ago. They were shipwrecked, I suppose, and the
boat is still lying upon the north shore. But the terrible Mifkets
captured the father and mother of the Princess and made them slaves,
to wait upon them and obey their wishes; and as the little girl was
delicate and not very strong, they let her live by herself in the
palace of the roi-tree, and mocked her by calling her a Princess. If
she grows up to be strong I think they will make her a slave, too; but
she is so frail and weak that none of us rabbits believe she will live
very long."
"This is all very interesting," said John. "I'd really like to meet
these humans."
"Then come with me and I will guide your steps to where they are,"
promised the rabbit.
"I must wait until Chick comes back," said the gingerbread man, looking
toward the plant forest.
"Is Chick the child I saw going into the forest?" asked the rabbit.
"Yes," replied John. "It's an Incubator Baby and very jolly and kind.
Chick ought to be back in a few minutes."
"I'm rather nervous when children are around," declared the rabbit,
hesitating. "Are you sure Chick is kind?"
"Very," said John, with conviction; "so don't you worry, friend Rabbit."
At that moment the Cherub came running up with both hands full of
fruits, which were indeed odd in shape, but delicious in odor and
enticing in appearance.
"I won't starve, John Dough!" was the merry greeting. "The forest is
full of fruit plants, and I've eaten some already, and haven't been
poisoned. But where did you find this pretty rabbit? And how tame it
seems to be!"
"It's a friend of mine named Pittypat, and I've discovered I can speak
its language," replied John. "Also there's a Princess living near by,
and Pittypat has promised to guide us to her royal palace."
"All right!" exclaimed Chick, busily eating of the fruit. "Let's go
now."
John turned to the little animal beside him and said, in the rabbit
language: "We are ready to start, my friend."
"You'll have to meet the Mifkets, you know," said Pittypat, rather
fearfully.
"Never mind; we're not afraid," answered John, boldly; and Chick, who
as yet had heard nothing of the Mifkets, continued to munch the fruit
with perfect composure.
So the rabbit whisked around, lifted its big ears a moment, sniffed the
air, and then sprang away with long and graceful leaps along a tiny
path that led through the magnificent forest.
[Illustration]