THE KING AND THE WICKED FAIRY
On the morning following this event, the King of Gee-Whiz woke in great
good humor. "I declare, I never felt better in my life," said he to his
Private Secretary, "and I believe it is all due to those excellent
Waffles which the lady has made for me. I must have some more, and that
at once. Pray, tell her to get ready my breakfast, and to have not less
than two dozen Waffles at the least."
"Very good, your Majesty," said the Private Secretary, smiling, and very
glad that he had been able to find something so much to the King's
liking.
"And where are the Royal Hereditary Twins, this morning?" asked the
King. "They are, I suppose, perfectly happy?"
"Perfectly," replied the Private Secretary, "as indeed they ought to be.
I presume they are wandering somewhere about in the forest, as is their
custom. I need hardly say that they have already nearly exhausted their
three wishes."
"Well," said the King, "we need not fear they will wish anything
dangerous. But do you know, my dear Jiji, I have been feeling rather
nervous myself this morning."
"Why, your Majesty, what can be the trouble?"
"I can not call it exactly any trouble, for it is a mere uneasiness. The
truth is, I felt as though there were some one behind my bed all the
morning. Now, that can not possibly be the case."
"No, your Majesty," said the Private Secretary, "because I always sleep
across the door-mat myself, and it would be impossible for any one to
reach your Majesty's bedside without my knowing it. Permit me to suggest
that perhaps the royal Waffles--"
"No, no," exclaimed the King decidedly. "It is not in the least the
Waffles. It is nothing--only a dream, perhaps. Yet I wonder if any of
the Fairies can have got out of the valley. If I thought so, I would
have Jankow court-martialed, and perhaps beheaded. He is getting a
trifle too old for a good Dragon, anyhow."
"Impossible," said the kind-hearted Private Secretary. "I saw Jankow but
yesterday, and he is as wide-awake as ever."
"As for myself," replied the King, "I have not slept so well for a
hundred years, although I can not tell whether it is the Waffles or the
syrup."
"It was a fortunate thing, your Majesty, that you found the syrup so
easily," said the Private Secretary.
"Quite right," replied the King. "And since it is not yet quite
breakfast time, I think I shall just wander out into the woods and carry
my ax, in case I should find a syrup tree. Although I am King, I believe
in every man doing a little work for himself, you know."
So saying, the King stepped out into the edge of the great forest which
surrounded the palace, humming a tune to himself, for he felt very
contented that morning. He was not aware that at his side, hopping along
as he walked, was the little Black Wicked Fairy which had been summoned
by Zuzu's thoughtless message of the evening before. This Wicked Fairy,
when Zuzu had stooped over to find his Cricket, had merely slipped back
under a leaf and hidden himself, where he had stood laughing to himself
at the confusion of Lulu and Zuzu. It seems to be a peculiarity of
Wicked Fairies never to oblige any one if they can help doing so; and
that this is true may be seen from the acts of this Wicked Fairy in
regard to the Telephone.
No sooner had Zuzu and Lulu left the forest on the night before than the
Wicked Fairy followed them to their own house near the palace. He spied
upon all the surroundings, and soon discovered the sleeping apartments
of the King. He hopped over the form of the Private Secretary after the
latter had gone to sleep, and so hid himself behind the royal bedstead,
as the King had dimly felt was the case.
Now, it was not in the power of the Wicked Fairy actually to harm the
King or any other person, but only to encourage persons to do things
which would get them into trouble. Thus it was he who had suggested to
the King to take his ax and go out into the woods to find a syrup tree.
This was really the worst thing in the world the King could have done,
as was very soon to be shown; for it was far from the Fairy's intentions
that the King should cut into a real syrup tree.
As the King went on, with his gold ax over his shoulder, he was thinking
of a great many things which he ought to do, or wanted to do, or did not
want to do. By this time, the sun was shining brightly, so that the
shadow of the King appeared distinctly upon the ground. Now, you must
know that the shadow of a king is very much better and bigger than the
shadow of a common person. A king will not cause a shadow in the dark,
or at least very few kings will; but in a brilliant place, even if there
be intervening objects, the shadow of a king is very clear and distinct.
The King of Gee-Whiz was very proud of his shadow, for, being a trifle
vain, he thought himself a very handsome man, and that, indeed, he once
had been; which is the same thing, for a King.
Now, as he looked down at the ground, he saw his shadow moving along at
his side, keeping step with him regularly and looking, as it seemed to
him, very large and handsome. He stood for a time at an open space in
the forest, with his ax resting on a stump, looking with pride on his
shadow, which he thought was quite the most superior shadow he had ever
seen. When he made a motion, the shadow made the same. He raised his
hand to his head in royal salute, and the shadow did quite the same.
"Even a shadow has reverence for the King," said he, and he felt very
glad that he had been born a King, as the position carried with it many
advantages of a very obvious nature.
"I don't see what I could do without my shadow," said the King of
Gee-Whiz. "It and my faithful Private Secretary are my best friends and
companions, and without them I should be very lonesome; for not even a
King, I presume, could eat Waffles all the time. I am sure I should miss
my shadow above all things."
As the King of Gee-Whiz said this, he looked about him uneasily, with
something of the same feeling he had experienced when he thought some
one was behind his bed. There was good reason for this, for in both
cases the Wicked Fairy was directly at his elbow, although the King
could not see him.
"Well, well," said the King, "I will just draw me a jug of syrup, and I
am sure the exercise will do me good. Even a King must have physical
culture, or fall quite behind the times. Let me see. Ah, here is a tree
which looks precisely like a syrup tree."
So saying, he laid about him with his ax and cleared a little space so
that he could get at the trunk of the tree. It was then that the Wicked
Fairy whispered in his ear, although the King did not know it: "Cut into
that tree, the one with the big green leaves!"
The King of Gee-Whiz, not knowing that a Fairy was there, thought it was
his own voice he had heard. "Eh?" said he. "Ah, to be sure, this
certainly is the tree. So now for a little exercise, and some syrup for
my breakfast." So saying he swung his gold ax and cut deep into the
trunk of the tree the Fairy had shown him.
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