THE QUEEN RECOVERS THE SHADOW

"Ha! Gobo," cried the Fairy Queen as at last they drove up before the door of the cave in the mountain where the Wicked Fairy made his home, "we have come to question thee about thy evil deeds. Come hither, and confront thy Queen!"

The Twins had not thought that the gentle Queen Zulena could be so stern, or that her eyes could flash as they did when she spoke these words.

"Aye, aye, my Queen," sounded a hoarse voice from within the cave; and presently in obedience to the order of the Fairy Monarch there stepped into view from the darkness of the cave the Wicked Fairy Gobo, whose evil deeds have been recounted in our story. He trembled as he saw the sternness of the Queen, and began to stammer and make denials.

"Who hath accused thee, Gobo? Yet now we know that well mightest thou be accused. Tell me, where hast thou hidden the shadow of the King, which thou hast stolen? Where, too, is the servant of the king, the White Cricket, such as was never found save in the royal gardens of our palace?"

The Wicked Fairy fell upon his face on the ground, but even as he did so the Queen raised her hand. There came very plainly to their ears the chirp! chirp! of something hidden within the cave.

"I may as well confess," said Gobo; "for that is the voice of the Cricket you hear. It is of no service to me, for a more unwilling Cricket I have never seen."

"Bring it to me!" commanded the Queen, and sullenly Gobo did as he was bidden.

"Here," said the Queen to Lulu, "is the White Cricket. Pray handle it softly, and let no harm befall it. As for you, Gobo, Wicked Fairy that thou art, lead us at once to the hiding-place of that other thing which thou hast stolen."Sullenly the Wicked Fairy walked ahead of them toward the edge of the wood, and threw open there a little gate. To their great surprise they saw, standing near the gate, leaning against a tree in a shady place, nothing less than the shadow of the King, just as the Wicked Fairy had stolen it more than a week before!

Of course it must be remembered that this was the shadow of the King stolen after he had taken the drink from the rubber tree, and when he was thrice his natural height and much distorted, in his dance high up in the air. It looked more like the shadow of some misshapen giant. As the Queen saw this, tears again came to her eyes. "It is not like him!" she said mournfully.

"'Tis as I tell thee, Queen Zulena," insisted Gobo, "for I took the shadow with my own hands, in the broad daylight, and I know whereof I speak. See, if thou wouldst prove it, look at the shape of his left forefinger, where the King wore the royal jewel of malazite and corazine, engraven by your Majesty's own Fairies."

"Ah! it is indeed true," said the Fairy Queen. "But how changed! My dears," and she whispered again to the Twins, "do not forget your wish and mine."

"And now, sirrah!" exclaimed the Queen, "Gobo, Bad Fairy that thou art, thou must bow before my power! I know not what punishment may be fit for thee."

The bad Fairy writhed in the dust and begged for mercy, promising anything that should be asked.

"First, we must have the shadow of his Majesty," said Zuzu.

"Willingly," cried Gobo, "willingly! though perhaps it may not fit him now."

"Never fear, Gobo," said the Queen Zulena, "we ourselves shall see to that. So fare ye well, wicked Gobo. One more such act as this, and our royal guards shall banish thee to our jail, and fill thy cave to the roof with stones. From this time your leave to go abroad is revoked for a thousand years. Here must you remain a prisoner!"

"I crave a thousand pardons, good Queen," begged Gobo, spreading out his arms in submission. "But spare me now, and I shall make amends by leading the life a Fairy should live under so wise and good a Queen as thou."

"Learn better in the time accorded thee, and ask no more," said the Queen sternly in reply.

"And now, my children," she continued as she turned again toward the Twins, "let us take the King's shadow in the coach, and return to the royal palace. I am sure that by careful labor I can restore this poor, dear shadow to its original shape."As she spoke she was about to step again into the coach, when all at once she turned toward the Enchanted Banjo, as though she had heard it speak.

"What is it, good Banjo?" she asked. "And why do you laugh as though you would split yourself? Is it anything you want to tell us?"

"I was just thinking, your Majesty," replied the Enchanted Banjo, "while we have all been talking about Wishing Wands and the like, about a funny thing of that sort that once happened within my own experience. I made up a song about it the other night, and if you care to hear it, I will sing it to you."

"Very well," said the Fairy Queen; and so the Banjo began, in a rich, full voice:

THE COME-ALL-YE OF PAT McGLORY

"Well," said Lulu, "it seems to me that Pat McGlory was not very bright, for he got nothing at all for his wishes."

"There are more persons like that than would at first be supposed by any one not in this business," said the Banjo.