The Queen sat down to chat with her guests, who
noticed that Daylight was the only maiden now
seated beside Erma. The others had retired to
another part of the room, where they sat modestly
with entwined arms and did not intrude themselves
at all.
The Queen told the strangers all about this
beautiful land, which is one of the chief
residences of fairies who minister to the needs of
mankind. So many important fairies lived there
that, to avoid rivalry, they had elected as their
Ruler the only important personage in the country
who had no duties to mankind to perform and was,
in effect, a Private Citizen. This Ruler, or
Jinjin, as was his title, bore the name of Tititi-
Hoochoo, and the most singular thing about him was
that he had no heart. But instead of this he
possessed a high degree of Reason and Justice and
while he showed no mercy in his judgments he never
punished unjustly or without reason. To wrong-
doers Tititi-Hoochoo was as terrible as he was
heartless, but those who were innocent of evil had
nothing to fear from him.
All the Kings and Queens of this fairyland paid
reverence to Jinjin, for as they expected to be
obeyed by others they were willing to obey the one
in authority over them.
The inhabitants of the Land of Oz had heard many
tales of this fearfully just Jinjin, whose
punishments were always equal to the faults
committed. Polychrome also knew of him, although
this was the first time she had ever seen him face
to face.
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