So Nix Naught Nothing did as he was bid, and soon caught up the
Magician's daughter. But alas! they could not run very fast, so ere long
the Magician, who had once again taken a giant's form in order to have a
long stride, could be seen behind them. Nearer and nearer he came until
he was just going to seize Nix Naught Nothing, when the Magician's
daughter cried: "Put your fingers, since I have none, into my hair, take
my comb and throw it down." So Nix Naught Nothing did as he was bid,
and, lo and behold! out of every one of the comb-prongs there sprang up
a prickly briar, which grew so fast that the Magician found himself in
the middle of a thorn hedge! You may guess how angry and scratched he
was before he tore his way out. So Nix Naught Nothing and his sweetheart
had time for a good start; but the Magician's daughter could not run
fast because she had lost her toes on one foot! Therefore the Magician
in giant form soon caught them up, and he was just about to grip Nix
Naught Nothing when the Magician's daughter cried: "Put your fingers,
since I have none, to my breast. Take out my veil-dagger and throw it
down."
So he did as he was bid, and in a moment the dagger had grown to
thousands and thousands of sharp razors, criss-cross on the ground, and
the Magician giant was howling with pain as he trod among them. You may
guess how he danced and stumbled and how long it took for him to pick
his way through as if he were walking on eggs!
So Nix Naught Nothing and his sweetheart were nearly out of sight ere
the giant could start again; yet it wasn't long before he was like to
catch them up; for the Magician's daughter, you see, could not run fast
because she had lost her toes on one foot! She did what she could, but
it was no use. So just as the giant was reaching out a hand to lay hold
of Nix Naught Nothing she cried breathlessly:
"There's nothing left but the magic flask. Take it out and sprinkle some
of what it holds on the ground."
And Nix Naught Nothing did as he was bid; but in his hurry he nearly
emptied the flask altogether; and so the big, big wave of water which
instantly welled up, swept him off his feet, and would have carried him
away, had not the Magician's daughter's loosened veil caught him and
held him fast. But the wave grew, and grew, and grew behind them, until
it reached the giant's waist; then it grew and grew until it reached
his shoulders; and it grew and grew until it swept over his head: a
great big sea-wave full of little fishes and crabs and sea-snails and
all sorts of strange creatures.
So that was the last of the Magician giant. But the poor little
Magician's daughter was so weary that, after a time she couldn't move a
step further, and she said to her lover, "Yonder are lights burning. Go
and see if you can find a night's lodging: I will climb this tree by the
pool where I shall be safe, and by the time you return I shall be
rested."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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