Have the gold crucible heated to a white,
seething heat, and then we'll dump the copper man
into it and melt him up."
"But, Your Majesty," protested Kaliko, who had
returned to the room after sending a hundred nomes
to search for the Oogaboo people, "you must
remember that Tik-Tok is a very curious and
interesting machine. It would be a shame to
deprive the world of such a clever contrivance."
"Say another word, and you'll go into the
furnace with him!" roared the King. "I'm getting
tired of you, Kaliko, and the first thing you know
I'll turn you into a potato and make Saratoga-
chips of you! The next to consider," he added more
mildly, "is the Shaggy Man. As he owns the Love
Magnet, I think I'll transform him into a dove,
and then we can practice shooting at him with Tik-
Tok's gun. Now, this is a very interesting
ceremony and I beg you all to watch me closely and
see that I've nothing up my sleeve."
He came out of his throne to stand before the
Shaggy Man, and then he waved his hands, palms
downward, in seven semicircles over his victim's
head, saying in a low but clear tone of voice the
magic wugwa:
"Adi, edi, idi, odi, udi, oo-i-oo!
Idu, ido, idi, ide, ida, woo!"
The effect of this well-known sorcery was
instantaneous. Instead of the Shaggy Man, a pretty
dove lay fluttering upon the floor, its wings
confined by tiny cords wound around them. Ruggedo
gave an order to Pang, who cut the cords with a
pair of scissors. Being freed, the dove quickly
flew upward and alighted on the shoulder of the
Rose Princess, who stroked it tenderly.
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