The Enchanted Island of Yew
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L. Frank Baum >> The Enchanted Island of Yew
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9 The Enchanted Island of Yew
Whereon Prince Marvel Encountered the High Ki
of Twi and Other Surprising People
By L. Frank Baum
Author of "The Wizard of Oz,"
"The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus,"
"The Magical Monarch of Mo," Etc.
Contents
1. Once On a Time
2. The Enchanted Isle
3. The Fairy Bower
4. Prince Marvel
5. The King of Thieves
6. The Troubles of Nerle
7. The Gray Men
8. The Fool-Killer
9. The Royal Dragon of Spor
10. Prince Marvel Wins His Fight
11. The Cunning of King Terribus
12. The Gift of Beauty
13. The Hidden Kingdom of Twi
14. The Ki and The Ki-Ki
15. The High Ki of Twi
16. The Rebellion of The High Ki
17. The Separation of The High Ki
18. The Rescue of The High Ki
19. The Reunion of The High Ki
20. Kwytoffle, the Tyrant
21. The Wonderful Book of Magic
22. The Queen of Plenta
23. The Red Rogue of Dawna
24. The Enchanted Mirrors
25. The Adventurers Separate
26. The End of the Year
27. A Hundred Years Afterward
1. "Once on a Time"
I am going to tell a story, one of those tales of astonishing
adventures that happened years and years and years ago. Perhaps you
wonder why it is that so many stories are told of "once on a time",
and so few of these days in which we live; but that is easily explained.
In the old days, when the world was young, there were no automobiles
nor flying-machines to make one wonder; nor were there railway trains,
nor telephones, nor mechanical inventions of any sort to keep people
keyed up to a high pitch of excitement. Men and women lived simply and
quietly. They were Nature's children, and breathed fresh air into
their lungs instead of smoke and coal gas; and tramped through green
meadows and deep forests instead of riding in street cars; and went to
bed when it grew dark and rose with the sun--which is vastly different
from the present custom. Having no books to read they told their
adventures to one another and to their little ones; and the stories
were handed down from generation to generation and reverently believed.
Those who peopled the world in the old days, having nothing but their
hands to depend on, were to a certain extent helpless, and so the
fairies were sorry for them and ministered to their wants patiently
and frankly, often showing themselves to those they befriended.
So people knew fairies in those days, my dear, and loved them,
together with all the ryls and knooks and pixies and nymphs and other
beings that belong to the hordes of immortals. And a fairy tale was a
thing to be wondered at and spoken of in awed whispers; for no one
thought of doubting its truth.
To-day the fairies are shy; for so many curious inventions of men have
come into use that the wonders of Fairyland are somewhat tame beside
them, and even the boys and girls can not be so easily interested or
surprised as in the old days. So the sweet and gentle little
immortals perform their tasks unseen and unknown, and live mostly in
their own beautiful realms, where they are almost unthought of by our
busy, bustling world.
Yet when we come to story-telling the marvels of our own age shrink
into insignificance beside the brave deeds and absorbing experiences
of the days when fairies were better known; and so we go back to "once
on a time" for the tales that we most love--and that children have
ever loved since mankind knew that fairies exist.
2. The Enchanted Isle
Once there was an enchanted island in the middle of the sea. It was
called the Isle of Yew. And in it were five important kingdoms ruled
by men, and many woodland dells and forest glades and pleasant meadows
and grim mountains inhabited by fairies.
From the fairies some of the men had learned wonderful secrets, and
had become magicians and sorcerers, with powers so great that the
entire island was reputed to be one of enchantments. Who these men
were the common people did not always know; for while some were kings
and rulers, others lived quietly hidden away in forests or mountains,
and seldom or never showed themselves. Indeed, there were not so many
of these magicians as people thought, only it was so hard to tell them
from common folk that every stranger was regarded with a certain
amount of curiosity and fear.
The island was round--like a mince pie. And it was divided into four
quarters--also like a pie--except that there was a big place in the
center where the fifth kingdom, called Spor, lay in the midst of the
mountains. Spor was ruled by King Terribus, whom no one but his own
subjects had ever seen--and not many of them. For no one was allowed
to enter the Kingdom of Spor, and its king never left his palace. But
the people of Spor had a bad habit of rushing down from their
mountains and stealing the goods of the inhabitants of the other four
kingdoms, and carrying them home with them, without offering any
apologies whatever for such horrid conduct. Sometimes those they
robbed tried to fight them; but they were a terrible people,
consisting of giants with huge clubs, and dwarfs who threw flaming
darts, and the stern Gray Men of Spor, who were most frightful of all.
So, as a rule, every one fled before them, and the people were
thankful that the fierce warriors of Spor seldom came to rob them
oftener than once a year.
It was on this account that all who could afford the expense built
castles to live in, with stone walls so thick that even the giants of
Spor could not batter them down. And the children were not allowed to
stray far from home for fear some roving band of robbers might steal
them and make their parents pay large sums for their safe return.
Yet for all this the people of the Enchanted Isle of Yew were happy and
prosperous. No grass was greener, no forests more cool and delightful,
no skies more sunny, no sea more blue and rippling than theirs.
And the nations of the world envied them, but dared not attempt to
conquer an island abounding in enchantments.
3. The Fairy Bower
That part of the Enchanted Isle which was kissed by the rising sun was
called Dawna; the kingdom that was tinted rose and purple by the
setting sun was known as Auriel, and the southland, where fruits and
flowers abounded, was the kingdom of Plenta. Up at the north lay Heg,
the home of the great barons who feared not even the men of Spor; and
in the Kingdom of Heg our story opens.
Upon a beautiful plain stood the castle of the great Baron
Merd--renowned alike in war and peace, and second in importance only
to the King of Heg. It was a castle of vast extent, built with thick
walls and protected by strong gates. In front of it sloped a pretty
stretch of land with the sea glistening far beyond; and back of it,
but a short distance away, was the edge of the Forest of Lurla.
One fair summer day the custodian of the castle gates opened a wicket
and let down a draw-bridge, when out trooped three pretty girls with
baskets dangling on their arms. One of the maids walked in front of
her companions, as became the only daughter of the mighty Baron Merd.
She was named Seseley, and had yellow hair and red cheeks and big,
blue eyes. Behind her, merry and laughing, yet with a distinct
deference to the high station of their young lady, walked Berna and
Helda--dark brunettes with mischievous eyes and slender, lithe limbs.
Berna was the daughter of the chief archer, and Helda the niece of the
captain of the guard, and they were appointed play-fellows and
comrades of the fair Seseley.
Up the hill to the forest's edge ran the three, and then without
hesitation plunged into the shade of the ancient trees. There was no
sunlight now, but the air was cool and fragrant of nuts and mosses,
and the children skipped along the paths joyously and without fear.
To be sure, the Forest of Lurla was well known as the home of fairies,
but Seseley and her comrades feared nothing from such gentle creatures
and only longed for an interview with the powerful immortals whom they
had been taught to love as the tender guardians of mankind. Nymphs
there were in Lurla, as well, and crooked knooks, it was said; yet for
many years past no person could boast the favor of meeting any one of
the fairy creatures face to face.
So, gathering a few nuts here and a sweet forest flower there, the
three maidens walked farther and farther into the forest until they
came upon a clearing--formed like a circle--with mosses and ferns for
its carpet and great overhanging branches for its roof.
"How pretty!" cried Seseley, gaily. "Let us eat our luncheon in this
lovely banquet-hall!"
So Berna and Helda spread a cloth and brought from their baskets some
golden platters and a store of food. Yet there was little ceremony
over the meal, you may be sure, and within a short space all the
children had satisfied their appetites and were laughing and chatting
as merrily as if they were at home in the great castle. Indeed, it is
certain they were happier in their forest glade than when facing grim
walls of stone, and the three were in such gay spirits that whatever
one chanced to say the others promptly joined in laughing over.
Soon, however, they were startled to hear a silvery peal of laughter
answering their own, and turning to see whence the sound proceeded,
they found seated near them a creature so beautiful that at once the
three pairs of eyes opened to their widest extent, and three hearts
beat much faster than before.
"Well, I must say you DO stare!" exclaimed the newcomer, who was clothed
in soft floating robes of rose and pearl color, and whose eyes shone upon
them like two stars.
"Forgive our impertinence," answered the little Lady Seseley,
trying to appear dignified and unmoved; "but you must acknowledge
that you came among us uninvited, and--and you are certainly rather
odd in appearance."
Again the silvery laughter rang through the glade.
"Uninvited!" echoed the creature, clapping her hands together
delightedly; "uninvited to my own forest home! Why, my dear girls,
you are the uninvited ones--indeed you are--to thus come romping into
our fairy bower."
The children did not open their eyes any wider on hearing this speech,
for they could not; but their faces expressed their amazement fully,
while Helda gasped the words:
"A fairy bower! We are in a fairy bower!"
"Most certainly," was the reply. "And as for being odd in appearance,
let me ask how you could reasonably expect a fairy to appear as mortal
maidens do?"
"A fairy!" exclaimed Seseley. "Are you, then, a real fairy?"
"I regret to say I am," returned the other, more soberly, as she
patted a moss-bank with a silver-tipped wand.
Then for a moment there was silence, while the three girls sat very
still and stared at their immortal companion with evident curiosity.
Finally Seseley asked:
"Why do you regret being a fairy? I have always thought them the
happiest creatures in the world."
"Perhaps we ought to be happy," answered the fairy, gravely, "for we
have wonderful powers and do much to assist you helpless mortals. And
I suppose some of us really are happy. But, for my part, I am so
utterly tired of a fairy life that I would do anything to change it."
"That is strange," declared Berna. "You seem very young to be already
discontented with your lot."
Now at this the fairy burst into laughter again, and presently asked:
"How old do you think me?"
"About our own age," said Berna, after a glance at her and a
moment's reflection.
"Nonsense!" retorted the fairy, sharply. "These trees are hundreds of
years old, yet I remember when they were mere twigs. And I remember
when mortals first came to live upon this island, yes--and when this
island was first created and rose from the sea after a great
earthquake. I remember for many, many centuries, my dears. I have
grown tired of remembering--and of being a fairy continually, without
any change to brighten my life."
"To be sure!" said Seseley, with sympathy. "I never thought of fairy
life in that way before. It must get to be quite tiresome."
"And think of the centuries I must yet live!" exclaimed the fairy in
a dismal voice. "Isn't it an awful thing to look forward to?"
"It is, indeed," agreed Seseley.
"I'd be glad to exchange lives with you," said Helda, looking at the
fairy with intense admiration.
"But you can't do that," answered the little creature quickly.
"Mortals can't become fairies, you know--although I believe there was
once a mortal who was made immortal."
"But fairies can become anything they desire!" cried Berna.
"Oh, no, they can't. You are mistaken if you believe that," was the
reply. "I could change YOU into a fly, or a crocodile, or a bobolink,
if I wanted to; but fairies can't change themselves into anything else."
"How strange!" murmured Seseley, much impressed.
"But YOU can," cried the fairy, jumping up and coming toward them.
"You are mortals, and, by the laws that govern us, a mortal can change
a fairy into anything she pleases."
"Oh!" said Seseley, filled with amazement at the idea.
The fairy fell on her knees before the baron's daughter. "Please--please,
dear Seseley," she pleaded, "change me into a mortal!"
4. Prince Marvel
It is easy to imagine the astonishment of the three girls at
hearing this strange request. They gazed in a bewildered fashion
upon the kneeling fairy, and were at first unable to answer one word.
Then Seseley said--sadly, for she grieved to disappoint the
pretty creature:
"We are but mortal children, and have no powers of enchantment at all."
"Ah, that is true, so far as concerns yourselves," replied the fairy,
eagerly; "yet mortals may easily transform fairies into anything
they wish."
"If that is so, why have we never heard of this power before?"
asked Seseley.
"Because fairies, as a rule, are content with their lot, and do not
wish to appear in any form but their own. And, knowing that evil or
mischievous mortals can transform them at will, the fairies take great
care to remain invisible, so they can not be interfered with. Have
you ever," she asked, suddenly, "seen a fairy before?"
"Never," replied Seseley.
"Nor would you have seen me to-day, had I not known you were kind and
pure-hearted, or had I not resolved to ask you to exercise your powers
upon me."
"I must say," remarked Helda, boldly, "that you are foolish to wish to
become anything different from what you are."
"For you are very beautiful NOW," added Berna, admiringly.
"Beautiful!" retorted the fairy, with a little frown; "what does
beauty amount to, if one is to remain invisible?"
"Not much, that is true," agreed Berna, smoothing her own dark locks.
"And as for being foolish," continued the fairy, "I ought to be
allowed to act foolishly if I want to. For centuries past I have not
had a chance to do a single foolish thing."
"Poor dear!" said Helda, softly.
Seseley had listened silently to this conversation. Now she inquired:
"What do you wish to become?"
"A mortal!" answered the fairy, promptly.
"A girl, like ourselves?" questioned the baron's daughter.
"Perhaps," said the fairy, as if undecided.
"Then you would be likely to endure many privations," said Seseley,
gently. "For you would have neither father nor mother to befriend
you, nor any house to live in."
"And if you hired your services to some baron, you would be obliged to
wash dishes all day, or mend clothing, or herd cattle," said Berna.
"But I should travel all over the island," said the fairy, brightly,
"and that is what I long to do. I do not care to work."
"I fear a girl would not be allowed to travel alone," Seseley
remarked, after some further thought. "At least," she added, "I have
never heard of such a thing."
"No," said the fairy, rather bitterly, "your men are the ones that
roam abroad and have adventures of all kinds. Your women are poor,
weak creatures, I remember."
There was no denying this, so the three girls sat silent until
Seseley asked:
"Why do you wish to become a mortal?"
"To gain exciting experiences," answered the fairy. I'm tired of being
a humdrum fairy year in and year out. Of course, I do not wish to
become a mortal for all time, for that would get monotonous, too; but
to live a short while as the earth people do would amuse me very much."
"If you want variety, you should become a boy," said Helda, with a
laugh, "The life of a boy is one round of excitement."
"Then make me a boy!" exclaimed the fairy eagerly.
"A boy!" they all cried in consternation. And Seseley added:
"Why--you're a GIRL fairy, aren't you?"
"Well--yes; I suppose I am," answered the beautiful creature, smiling;
"but as you are going to change me anyway, I may as well become a boy
as a girl."
"Better!" declared Helda, clapping her hands; "for then you can do as
you please."
"But would it be right?" asked Seseley, with hesitation.
"Why not?" retorted the fairy. "I can see nothing wrong in being a
boy. Make me a tall, slender youth, with waving brown hair and dark
eyes. Then I shall be as unlike my own self as possible, and the
adventure will be all the more interesting. Yes; I like the idea of
being a boy very much indeed."
"But I don't know how to transform you; some one will have to show me
the way to do it," protested Seseley, who was getting worried over the
task set her.
"Oh, that will be easy enough," returned the little immortal. "Have
you a wand?"
"No."
"Then I'll loan you mine, for I shall not need it. And you must wave
it over my head three times and say: 'By my mortal powers I transform
you into a boy for the space of one year'."
"One year! Isn't that too long?"
"It's a very short time to one who has lived thousands of years
as a fairy."
"That is true," answered the baron's daughter.
"Now, I'll begin by doing a little transforming myself," said the
fairy, getting upon her feet again, "and you can watch and see how I
do it." She brushed a bit of moss from her gauzy skirts and continued:
"If I'm to become a boy I shall need a horse, you know. A handsome,
prancing steed, very fleet of foot."
A moment she stood motionless, as if listening. Then she uttered a
low but shrill whistle.
The three girls, filled with eager interest, watched her intently.
Presently a trampling of footsteps was heard through the brushwood,
and a beautiful deer burst from the forest and fearlessly ran to the
fairy. Without hesitation she waved her wand above the deer's head
and exclaimed:
"By all my fairy powers I command you to become a war-horse for the
period of one year."
Instantly the deer disappeared, and in its place was a handsome charger,
milk-white in color, with flowing mane and tail. Upon its back was a
saddle sparkling with brilliant gems sewn upon fine dressed leather.
The girls uttered cries of astonishment and delight, and the fairy said:
"You see, these transformations are not at all difficult. I must now
have a sword."
She plucked a twig from a near-by tree and cast it upon the ground at
her feet. Again she waved her wand--and the twig turned to a gleaming
sword, richly engraved, that seemed to the silent watchers to tremble
slightly in its sheath, as if its heart of steel throbbed with hopes
of battles to come.
"And now I must have shield and armor, said the fairy, gaily. "This
will make a shield,"--and she stripped a sheet of loose bark from a
tree-trunk,--"but for armor I must have something better. Will you
give me your cloak?"
This appeal was made to Seseley, and the baron's daughter drew her
white velvet cloak from her shoulders and handed it to the fairy. A
moment later it was transformed into a suit of glittering armor that
seemed fashioned of pure silver inlaid with gold, while the sheet of
bark at the same time became a handsome shield, with the figures of
three girls graven upon it. Seseley recognized the features as those of
herself and her comrades, and noted also that they appeared sitting at
the edge of a forest, the great trees showing plainly in the background.
"I shall be your champion, you see," laughed the fairy, gleefully,
"and maybe I shall be able to repay you for the loss of your cloak."
"I do not mind the cloak," returned the child, who had been greatly
interested in these strange transformations. "But it seems impossible
that a dainty little girl like you can ride this horse and carry these
heavy arms."
"I'll not be a girl much longer," said the little creature. "Here,
take my wand, and transform me into a noble youth!"
Again the pretty fairy kneeled before Seseley, her dainty, rounded
limbs of white and rose showing plainly through her gauzy attire. And
the baron's daughter was suddenly inspired to be brave, not wishing to
disappoint the venturous immortal. So she rose and took the magic
wand in her hand, waving it three times above the head of the fairy.
"By my powers as a mortal," she said, marveling even then at the
strange speech, "I command you to become a brave and gallant
youth--handsome, strong, fearless! And such shall you remain for the
space of one year.
As she ceased speaking the fairy was gone, and a slender youth, dark-eyed
and laughing, was holding her hand in his and kissing it gratefully.
"I thank you, most lovely maiden," he said, in a pleasant voice, "for
giving me a place in the world of mortals. I shall ride at once in
search of adventure, but my good sword is ever at your service."
With this he gracefully arose and began to buckle on his magnificent
armor and to fasten the sword to his belt.
Seseley drew a long, sighing breath of amazement at her own powers,
and turning to Berna and Helda she asked:
"Do I see aright? Is the little fairy really transformed to this youth?"
"It certainly seems so," returned Helda, who, being unabashed by the
marvels she had beheld, turned to gaze boldly upon the young knight.
"Do you still remember that a moment ago you were a fairy?" she inquired.
"Yes, indeed," said he, smiling; "and I am really a fairy now, being
but changed in outward form. But no one must know this save
yourselves, until the year has expired and I resume my true station.
Will you promise to guard my secret?"
"Oh, yes!" they exclaimed, in chorus. For they were delighted, as any
children might well be, at having so remarkable a secret to keep and
talk over among themselves.
"I must ask one more favor," continued the youth: "that you give me a
name; for in this island I believe all men bear names of some sort, to
distinguish them one from another."
"True," said Seseley, thoughtfully. "What were you called as a fairy?"
"That does not matter in the least," he answered, hastily. "I must
have an entirely new name."
"Suppose we call him the Silver Knight," suggested Berna, as she eyed
his glistening armor.
"Oh, no!--that is no name at all!" declared Helda. "We might better
call him Baron Strongarm."
"I do not like that, either," said the Lady Seseley, "for we do not
know whether his arm is strong or not. But he has been transformed in
a most astonishing and bewildering manner before our very eyes, and I
think the name of Prince Marvel would suit him very well."
"Excellent!" cried the youth, picking up his richly graven
shield. "The name seems fitting in every way. And for a year I shall
be known to all this island as Prince Marvel!"
5. The King of Thieves
Old Marshelm, the captain of the guard, was much surprised when he saw
the baron's daughter and her playmates approach her father's castle
escorted by a knight in glittering armor.
To be sure it was a rather small knight, but the horse he led by the
bridle was so stately and magnificent in appearance that old Marshelm,
who was an excellent judge of horses, at once decided the stranger
must be a personage of unusual importance.
As they came nearer the captain of the guard also observed the beauty
of the little knight's armor, and caught the glint of jewels set in
the handle of his sword; so he called his men about him and prepared
to receive the knight with the honors doubtless due his high rank.
But to the captain's disappointment the stranger showed no intention
of entering the castle. On the contrary, he kissed the little Lady
Seseley's hand respectfully, waved an adieu to the others, and then
mounted his charger and galloped away over the plains.
The drawbridge was let down to permit the three children to enter, and
the great Baron Merd came himself to question his daughter.
"Who was the little knight?" he asked.
"His name is Prince Marvel," answered Seseley, demurely.
"Prince Marvel?" exclaimed the Baron. "I have never heard of him.
Does he come from the Kingdom of Dawna, or that of Auriel, or Plenta?"
"That I do not know," said Seseley, with truth.
"Where did you meet him?" continued the baron.
"In the forest, my father, and he kindly escorted us home."
"Hm!" muttered the baron, thoughtfully. "Did he say what adventure
brought him to our Kingdom of Heg?"
"No, father. But he mentioned being in search of adventure."
"Oh, he'll find enough to busy him in this wild island, where every
man he meets would rather draw his sword than eat," returned the old
warrior, smiling. "How old may this Prince Marvel be?"
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