Oz 10: Rinkitink in Oz by L. Frank Baum
Section [1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20]
and tangled forests of Regos, except to_go to_the mines in_the mountain beyond, for many dangerous creatures lurked in_the wild jungles, and king Gos never knew, when he sent a messenger to_the mines, whether he_would reach there safely or not .

the charcoal- burner, however, knew the wild forest well, and especially this part of it lying between_the city and_his home . it was_the favorite haunt of_the ferocious beast Choggenmugger, dreaded by every dweller in_the island of Regos .Choggenmugger was so old that everyone thought it must_have been there since_the world was_made, and each year of_its life the huge scales that covered its body grew thicker and harder and its jaws grew wider and its teeth grew sharper and its appetite grew more keen than ever .

in former ages there had_been many dragons in Regos, but Choggenmugger was so fond of dragons that he had eaten all of_them long_ago . there had also been great serpents and crocodiles in_the forest marshes, but all had gone to feed the hunger of Choggenmugger . the people of Regos knew well there_was no use opposing the great beast, so when one unfortunately met with it he_gave himself up for lost .

all this Nikobob knew well, but fortune had always favored him in_his journey through_the forest, and although he had at times met many savage beasts and fought them with_his sharp ax, he had never to_this day encountered the terrible Choggenmugger . indeed, he_was not thinking of_the great beast at all as he walked along, but suddenly he heard acrashing of broken trees and felt atrembling of_the earth and saw the immense jaws of Choggenmugger opening before him . then Nikobob gave himself up for lost and_his heart almost ceased to beat .

he believed there_was no way of escape . no one ever dared oppose Choggenmugger . but Nikobob hated to die without showing the monster, in some way, that he_was eaten only under protest . so he raised his ax and brought it down upon_the red, protruding tongue of_the monster -- and cut it clean off !

for a moment the charcoal- burner scarcely believed what his eyes saw, for he_knew nothing of_the pearls he carried in_his pocket or the magic power they lent his arm . his success, however, encouraged him to strike again, and this_time the huge scaly jaw of Choggenmugger was severed in twain and_the beast howled in terrified rage .

Nikobob took off his coat, to_give himself more freedom of action, and then he earnestly renewed the attack . but now the ax seemed blunted by_the hard scales and made no impression upon them whatever . the creature advanced with glaring, wicked eyes, and Nikobob seized his coat under his arm and turned to flee .

that was foolish, for Choggenmugger could run like the wind . in a moment it overtook the charcoal- burner and snapped its four rows of sharp teeth together . but they_did_not touch Nikobob, because he still held the coat in_his grasp, close to_his body, and in_the coat pocket were Inga's shoes, and in_the points of_the shoes were the magic pearls .Finding himself uninjured, Nikobob put on_his coat, again seized his ax, and in a short time had chopped Choggenmugger into many small pieces -- a task that proved not_only easy but very agreeable .

" I_must_be the strongest man in all the world ! " thought the charcoal- burner, as he proudly resumed his way, " for Choggenmugger has_been the terror of Regos since_the world began, and I alone have_been_able to destroy the beast . yet it_is singular' that never before did I discover how powerful a man I_am ."

he met no further adventure and at midday reached a little clearing in_the forest where stood his humble cabin .

" great news ! I_have great news for_you," he shouted, as his wife and little daughter came to greet him ." king Gos has_been conquered by a boy prince from_the far island of Pingaree, and I_have this day -- unaided -- destroyed Choggenmugger by_the might of_my strong arm .

this_was, indeed, great news . they brought Nikobob into_the house and set him in an easy chair and made him tell everything he_knew about_the prince of Pingaree and_the fat king of Gilgad, as_well as_the details of_his wonderful fight with mighty Choggenmugger .

" and now, my daughter," said the charcoalburner, when all his news had_been related for at_least the third time, " here_is a pretty present I_have brought you from_the city ."

with_this he drew the shoes from_the pocket of_his coat and handed them to Zella, who gave him a dozen kisses in payment and was much pleased with her gift . the little girl had never worn shoes before, for her parents were too poor to_buy her such luxuries, so now the possession of_these, which were_not much worn, filled the child's heart with joy . she admired the red leather and_the graceful curl of_the pointed toes . when she tried them on her feet, they fitted as_well as_if made for her .

all the afternoon, as she helped her mother with_the housework, Zella thought of her pretty shoes . they seemed more important to her than_the coming to Regos of_the conquering prince of Pingaree, or even the death of Choggenmugger .

when Zella and her mother were_not working in_the cabin, cooking or sewing, they often searched the neighboring forest for honey which the wild bees cleverly hid in hollow trees . the day after Nikobob's return, as_they were starting out after honey, Zella decided to_put on her new shoes, as they_would keep the twigs that covered the ground from hurting her feet . she was used to_the twigs, of_course, but what_is the use of having nice, comfortable shoes, if_you_do_not wear them ?

so she danced along, very happily, followed by her mother, and presently they came to a tree in which_was a deep hollow .Zella thrust her hand and arm into_the space and found that_the tree was full of honey, so she began to dig it out with a wooden paddle . her mother, who held the pail, suddenly cried in warning:

" look out, Zella; the bees are coming ! " and then the good woman ran fast toward the house to escape .

Zella, however, had no more than time to_turn her head when a thick swarm of bees surrounded her, angry because they had caught her stealing their honey and intent on stinging the girl as a punishment . she knew her danger and expected to_be badly injured by_the multitude of stinging bees, but to her surprise the little creatures were unable to fly close enough to her to stick their dart- like stingers into her flesh . they swarmed about her in a dark cloud, and their angry buzzing was terrible to hear, yet the little girl remained unharmed .

when she realized this, Zella was no longer afraid but continued to ladle out the honey until she had secured all that was in_the tree . then she returned to_the cabin, where her mother was weeping and bemoaning the fate of her darling child, and_the good woman was greatly astonished to_find Zella had escaped injury .

again they went to_the woods to search for honey, and although the mother always ran away whenever the bees came near them, Zella paid no attention to_the creatures but kept at her work, so_that before supper time came the pails were again filled to overflowing with delicious honey .

" with_such good fortune as we_have_had this day," said her mother, " we_shall soon gather enough honey for_you to carry to queen Cor ." for_it seems the wicked queen was very fond of honey and it had_been Zella's custom to_go, once every year, to_the city of Coregos, to carry the queen a supply of sweet honey for her table . usually she had but one pail .

" but now," said Zella, " I_shall_be_able to carry two pailsful to_the queen, who_will, I_am_sure, give_me a good price for_it ."

" true," answered her mother, " and, as_the boy prince may take it into his head to conquer Coregos, as_well as Regos, i_think it best for_you to start on_your journey to queen Cor tomorrow morning . do_you not agree with me, Nikobob ? " she added, turning to her husband, the charcoal- burner, who was eating his supper .

"I agree with_you," he replied ." if Zella must go to_the city of Coregos, she may as_well start to- morrow morning ."

chapter Ten

the cunning of queen Cor

you_may_be_sure the queen of Coregos was not well pleased to_have king Gos and all his warriors living in her city after they had fled from their own . they were savage natured and quarrelsome men at all times, and their tempers had_not improved since their conquest by_the prince of Pingaree . moreover, they were eating up queen Cor's provisions and crowding the houses of her own people, who grumbled and complained until their queen was heartily tired .

" shame on you ! " she said to her husband, king Gos, " to_be driven out of your city by a boy, aroly-poly king and abilly goat ! why do_you not go back and fight them ? "

" no human can fight against the powers of magic," returned the king in a surly voice ." that boy is either a fairy or under the protection of fairies . we escaped with_our lives only because we were quick to run away; but, should we return to Regos, the same terrible power that burst open the city gates would crush us all to atoms ."

"Bah ! you_are a coward," cried the queen, tauntingly .

" I_am not a coward," said the big king ." I_have killed in battle scores of_my enemies; by_the might of_my sword and my good right arm I_have conquered many nations; all my life people have feared me . but no one would dare face the tremendous power of_the prince of Pingaree, boy though he_is . it would_not_be courage, it would_be folly, to attempt it ."

" then meet his power with cunning," suggested the queen ." take my advice, and steal over to Regos at night, when it_is dark, and capture or destroy the boy while he sleeps ."

" no weapon can touch his body," was_the answer ." he bears a charmed life and cannot_be injured ."

"Does the fat king possess magic powers, or the goat ? " inquired Cor .

" i_think not," said Gos ." we_could_not injure them, indeed, any more than we_could the boy, but they_did_not seem to_have any unusual strength, although the goat's head is harder than abattering- ram ."

" well," mused the queen, " there_is surely some way to conquer that slight boy . if_you_are afraid to undertake the job, I_shall go myself . by some stratagem I_shall manage to_make him my prisoner . he_will_not dare to defy a queen, and no magic can stand against a woman's cunning ."

" go ahead, if_you like," replied the king, with an evil grin, " and if_you_are hung up by_the thumbs or cast into a dungeon, it_will serve you right for thinking you_can succeed where a skilled warrior dares not make_the attempt ."

"I'm not afraid," answered the queen ." it_is only soldiers and bullies who_are cowards ."

in_spite of_this assertion, queen Cor was not so brave as she was cunning . for several_days she thought over this plan and_that, and tried to decide which_was most likely to succeed . she had never seen the boy prince but had heard so_many tales of him from_the defeated warriors, and especially from captain Buzzub, that she had learned to respect his power .

spurred on by_the knowledge that she_would never get rid of her unwelcome guests until prince Inga was overcome and Regos regained for king Gos, the queen of Coregos finally decided to trust to luck and her native wit to defeat a simple- minded boy, however powerful he_might_be .Inga could_not suspect what she was going to_do, because she did_not know herself . she intended to act boldly and trust to chance to win .

it_is evident that had the cunning queen known that Inga had lost all his magic, she_would not have devoted so_much time to_the simple matter of capturing him, but like all others she was impressed by_the marvelous exhibition of power he had shown in capturing Regos, and had no reason to_believe the boy was less powerful now .

one morning queen Cor boldly entered a boat, and, taking four men with her as an escort and bodyguard, was rowed across the narrow channel to Regos . prince Inga was sitting in_the palace playing checkers with king Rinkitink when a servant came to him, saying that queen Cor had arrived and desired an audience with_him .

with many misgivings lest the wicked queen discover that he had now lost his magic powers, the boy ordered her to_be admitted, and she soon entered the room and bowed low before him, in mock respect .

Cor was a big woman, almost as tall as king Gos . she had flashing black eyes and_the dark complexion you_see on gypsies . her temper, when irritated, was something dreadful, and her face wore an evil expression which she tried to_cover by smiling sweetly -- often when she meant the most mischief .

" I_have come," said she in a low voice, " to render homage to_the noble prince of Pingaree . I_am told that your highness is_the strongest person in_the_world, and invincible in battle, and therefore i_wish you to_become my friend, rather than my enemy ."

now Inga did_not know how to reply to_this speech . he disliked the appearance of_the woman and was afraid of her and he_was unused to deception and did_not know how to mask his

Section [1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20]