Rinkitink in Oz
you can't swim, and now you must carry me up the hill, because I can't
climb. Eh, Bilbil, isn't that reasonable?"
"Well, well, well," said the goat, surlily, "keep quiet and I'll carry
you. But you make me very tired, Rinkitink, with your ceaseless
chatter."
After making this protest Bilbil began walking up the hill, carrying the
fat King upon his back with no difficulty whatever.
Prince Inga and his father and all the men of Pingaree were much
astonished to overhear this dispute between King Rinkitink and his goat;
but they were too polite to make critical remarks in the presence of
their guests. King Kitticut walked beside the goat and the Prince
followed after, the men coming last with the boxes of sandalwood.
When they neared the palace, the Queen and her maidens came out to meet
them and the royal guest was escorted in state to the splendid throne
room of the palace. Here the boxes were opened and King Rinkitink
displayed all the beautiful silks and laces and jewelry with which they
were filled. Every one of the courtiers and ladies received a handsome
present, and the King and Queen had many rich gifts and Inga not a few.
Thus the time passed pleasantly until the Chamberlain announced that
dinner was served.
Bilbil the goat declared that he preferred eating of the sweet, rich
grass that grew abundantly in the palace grounds, and Rinkitink said
that the beast could never bear being shut up in a stable; so they
removed the saddle from his back and allowed him to wander wherever he
pleased.
During the dinner Inga divided his attention between admiring the pretty
gifts he had received and listening to the jolly sayings of the fat
King, who laughed when he was not eating and ate when he was not
laughing and seemed to enjoy himself immensely.
"For four days I have lived in that narrow boat," said he, "with no
other amusement than to watch the rowers and quarrel with Bilbil; so I
am very glad to be on land again with such friendly and agreeable
people."
"You do us great honor," said King Kitticut, with a polite bow.
"Not at all--not at all, my brother. This Pingaree must be a wonderful
island, for its pearls are the admiration of all the world; nor will I
deny the fact that my kingdom would be a poor one without the riches and
glory it derives from the trade in your pearls. So I have wished for
many years to come here to see you, but my people said: No! Stay at
home and behave yourself, or we'll know the reason why.'"
"Will they not miss Your Majesty from your palace at Gilgad?" inquired
Kitticut.
"I think not," answered Rinkitink. "You see, one of my clever subjects
has written a parchment entitled 'How to be Good,' and I believed it
would benefit me to study it, as I consider the accomplishment of being
good one of the fine arts. I had just scolded severely my Lord High
Chancellor for coming to breakfast without combing his eyebrows, and was
so sad and regretful at having hurt the poor man's feelings that I
decided to shut myself up in my own room and study the scroll until I
knew how to be good--hee, heek, keek, eek, eek!--to be good! Clever
idea, that, wasn't it? Mighty clever! And I issued a decree that no one
should enter my room, under pain of my royal displeasure, until I was
ready to come out. They're awfully afraid of my royal displeasure,
although not a bit afraid of me. Then I put the parchment in my pocket
and escaped through the back door to my boat--and here I am. Oo,
hoo-hoo, keek-eek! Imagine the fuss there would be in Gilgad if my
subjects knew where I am this very minute!"
"I would like to see that parchment," said the solemn-eyed Prince Inga,
"for if it indeed teaches one to be good it must be worth its weight in
pearls."
"Oh, it's a fine essay," said Rinkitink, "and beautifully written with a
goosequill. Listen to this: You'll enjoy it--tee, hee, hee!--enjoy it."
He took from his pocket a scroll of parchment tied with a black ribbon,
and having carefully unrolled it, he proceeded to read as follows:
"'A Good Man is One who is Never Bad.' How's that, eh? Fine thought,
what? 'Therefore, in order to be Good, you must avoid those Things which
are Evil.' Oh, hoo-hoo-hoo!--how clever! When I get back I shall make
the man who wrote that a royal hippolorum, for, beyond question, he is
the wisest man in my kingdom--as he has often told me himself." With
this, Rinkitink lay back in his chair and chuckled his queer chuckle
until he coughed, and coughed until he choked and choked until he
sneezed. And he wrinkled his face in such a jolly, droll way that few
could keep from laughing with him, and even the good Queen was forced to
titter behind her fan.
When Rinkitink had recovered from his fit of laughter and had wiped his
eyes upon a fine lace handkerchief, Prince Inga said to him:
"The parchment speaks truly."
"Yes, it is true beyond doubt," answered Rinkitink, "and if I could
persuade Bilbil to read it he would be a much better goat than he is
now. Here is another selection: 'To avoid saying Unpleasant Things,
always Speak Agreeably.' That would hit Bilbil, to a dot. And here is
one that applies to you, my Prince: 'Good Children are seldom punished,
for the reason that they deserve no punishment.' Now, I think that is
neatly put, and shows the author to be a deep thinker. But the advice
that has impressed me the most is in the following paragraph: 'You may
not find it as Pleasant to be Good as it is to be Bad, but Other People
will find it more Pleasant.' Haw-hoo-ho! keek-eek! 'Other people will
find it more pleasant!'--hee, hee, heek, keek!--'more pleasant.' Dear
me--dear me! Therein lies a noble incentive to be good, and whenever I
get time I'm surely going to try it."
Then he wiped his eyes again with the lace handkerchief and, suddenly
remembering his dinner, seized his knife and fork and began eating.
The Warriors from the North
CHAPTER 3
King Rinkitink was so much pleased with the Island of Pingaree that he
continued his stay day after day and week after week, eating good
dinners, talking with King Kitticut and sleeping. Once in a while he
would read from his scroll. "For," said he, "whenever I return home, my
subjects will be anxious to know if I have learned 'How to be Good,' and
I must not disappoint them."
The twenty rowers lived on the small end of the island, with the pearl
fishers, and seemed not to care whether they ever returned to the
Kingdom of Rinkitink or not. Bilbil the goat wandered over the grassy
slopes, or among the trees, and passed his days exactly as he pleased.
His master seldom cared to ride him. Bilbil was a rare curiosity to the
islanders, but since there was little pleasure in talking with the goat
they kept away from him. This pleased the creature, who seemed well
satisfied to be left to his own devices.
Once Prince Inga, wishing to be courteous, walked up to the goat and
said: "Good morning, Bilbil."
"It isn't a good morning," answered Bilbil grumpily. "It is cloudy and
damp, and looks like rain."
"I hope you are contented in our kingdom," continued the boy, politely
ignoring the other's harsh words.
"I'm not," said Bilbil. "I'm never contented; so it doesn't matter to me
whether I'm in your kingdom or in some other kingdom. Go away--will
you?"
"Certainly," answered the Prince, and after this rebuff he did not again
try to make friends with Bilbil.
Now that the King, his father, was so much occupied with his royal
guest, Inga was often left to amuse himself, for a boy could not be
allowed to take part in the conversation of two great monarchs. He
devoted himself to his studies, therefore, and day after day he climbed
into the branches of his favorite tree and sat for hours in his
"tree-top rest," reading his father's precious manuscripts and thinking
upon what he read.
You must not think that Inga was a mollycoddle or a prig, because he was
so solemn and studious. Being a King's son and heir to a throne, he
could not play with the other boys of Pingaree, and he lived so much in
the society of the King and Queen, and was so surrounded by the pomp and
dignity of a court, that he missed all the jolly times that boys usually
have. I have no doubt that had he been able to live as other boys do, he
would have been much like other boys; as it was, he was subdued by his
surroundings, and more grave and thoughtful than one of his years should
be.
Inga was in his tree one morning when, without warning, a great fog
enveloped the Island of Pingaree. The boy could scarcely see the tree
next to that in which he sat, but the leaves above him prevented the
dampness from wetting him, so he curled himself up in his seat and fell
fast asleep.
All that forenoon the fog continued. King Kitticut, who sat in his
palace talking with his merry visitor, ordered the candles lighted, that
they might be able to see one another. The good Queen, Inga's mother,
found it was too dark to work at her embroidery, so she called her
maidens together and told them wonderful stories of bygone days, in
order to pass away the dreary hours.
But soon after noon the weather changed. The dense fog rolled away like
a heavy cloud and suddenly the sun shot his bright rays over the island.
"Very good!" exclaimed King Kitticut. "We shall have a pleasant
afternoon, I am sure," and he blew out the candles.
Then he stood a moment motionless, as if turned to stone, for a terrible
cry from without the palace reached his ears--a cry so full of fear and
horror that the King's heart almost stopped beating. Immediately there
was a scurrying of feet as every one in the palace, filled with dismay,
rushed outside to see what had happened. Even fat little Rinkitink
sprang from his chair and followed his host and the others through the
arched vestibule.
After many years the worst fears of King Kitticut were realized.
Landing upon the beach, which was but a few steps from the palace
itself, were hundreds of boats, every one filled with a throng of fierce
warriors. They sprang upon the land with wild shouts of defiance and
rushed to the King's palace, waving aloft their swords and spears and
battle-axes.
King Kitticut, so completely surprised that he was bewildered, gazed at
the approaching host with terror and grief.
"They are the men of Regos and Coregos!" he groaned. "We are, indeed,
lost!"
Then he bethought himself, for the first time, of his wonderful pearls.
Turning quickly, he ran back into the palace and hastened to the hall
where the treasures were hidden. But the leader of the warriors had seen
the King enter the palace and bounded after him, thinking he meant to
escape. Just as the King had stooped to press the secret spring in the
tiles, the warrior seized him from the rear and threw him backward upon
the floor, at the same time shouting to his men to fetch ropes and bind
the prisoner. This they did very quickly and King Kitticut soon found
himself helplessly bound and in the power of his enemies. In this sad
condition he was lifted by the warriors and carried outside, when the
good King looked upon a sorry sight.
The Queen and her maidens, the officers and servants of the royal
household and all who had inhabited this end of the Island of Pingaree
had been seized by the invaders and bound with ropes. At once they began
carrying their victims to the boats, tossing them in as unceremoniously
as if they had been bales of merchandise.
The King looked around for his son Inga, but failed to find the boy
among the prisoners. Nor was the fat King, Rinkitink, to be seen
anywhere about.
The warriors were swarming over the palace like bees in a hive, seeking
anyone who might be in hiding, and after the search had been prolonged