It's Your Fairy Tale, You KnowJackson, Elizabeth Rhodes
Science
It's Your Fairy Tale, You Know
Jackson, Elizabeth Rhodes
Boston (Mass.) -- Juvenile fiction; Boys -- Juvenile fiction; Fairy tales
Presently, the Witch went downstairs, and her daughter took that
opportunity to look through her mother’s bureau drawers; and after some
search, she found it.
“I’d better wait,” she thought, “till Mummer goes marketing. Then I’ll
put the key back again and say nothing about it.”
But she had no sooner gone downstairs, herself, than Wendell took the
key and unlocked the attic door. He took the precaution of locking it
again on the inside, so that there could be no intrusion while he was
searching for the Book. He chuckled to think how chagrined the Ugly
Stepsister would be when she went to look for the key and thought her
mother had changed its hiding-place.
The attic was a large unfinished room with peaked roof. It was only in
the middle that one could stand upright. There was some old furniture
and there were several trunks. Wendell tried the trunks first. One was
locked, with the key still in the lock, and opened easily. And there,
inside, among a store of pillow cases and towels, lay what was
undoubtedly the Magic Book. It was as easy as that!
The Book was about as large as Webster’s Unabridged. It was bound in
very dark, smooth leather, all worn and frayed at the corners, and
fastened with a heavy iron clasp. It did look heavy, just as the Pixie
had said, but Wendell seized it firmly, and attempted to lift it with an
energy that almost pulled his arms from their sockets. For the Book
didn’t lift a fraction of an inch. It might have been soldered to the
trunk.
“My! It _is_ weighty! He was right!” gasped the boy.
He tried again, and again; but the book must have weighed tons. There
was no lifting it.
Wendell considered the matter. There must be something he could do,--but
what? Of course, he could go home and tell the Pixie and get changed
into something strong,--a yoke of oxen, or an elephant. But this was
Saturday. The Pixie had done Monday’s fractions Friday night, and
probably wouldn’t be around again till Monday night. Well, well, what a
disappointment!
He sat down on the edge of the trunk and examined the volume. There was
no title on the cover. He undid the clasp and opened the Book at random.
Yes, this was undoubtedly it. The quaint old lettering showed it, the
long strange words. He spelled out what seemed a perfectly meaningless
sentence.
Whish-sh-sht! A prolonged rushing noise like a sky-rocket, and there
stood before him a strange and uncouth figure. It was a man somewhat
above average height, wearing a costume that Wendell thought was
oriental, though he had never seen anything like it before.
“Who are you?” faltered Wendell.
“I am the Slave of the Charm,” replied the stranger. “I have answered
your summons. What are your commands?”
“I don’t quite understand,” gasped Wendell. “Please explain.”
“You said the magic words that summon me,” repeated the apparition. “I
am here to do your bidding.”
“Oh, I see,” said Wendell. “Good work! Please take this Book home for
me.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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