"The prison is coming, the prison is coming." [Illustration: "A BAND OF OUR RATS WILL EACH MORNING COPIOUSLY WATER OUR FLEET"] There was no doubt about it; the Prisoner must have heard the enthusiastic shouts of the crowd, and in his mad rage was now bearing down upon the fleet. Some of the bravest Wigs managed to save a few ships, many more were weeping; but the largest number did not wait to see what was happening, but took to their heels. Soon Smaly and Redy were almost alone in their cauldron. The forest of sugar-canes was arriving, preceded by the little army of Rats with watering-cans. When the Prisoner was near enough to hear them, Smaly and Redy cried out: [Illustration: WIGS WERE BUSY WRITING THEIR NAMES] "Djorak, Djorak, stop a minute." When he heard real voices, human voices, Djorak paused. His rage fell from him like a cloak. "Djorak, Djorak." "Who calls my name?" asked the Prisoner in a husky voice, a voice which had not been used for many years. "It's Smaly and Redy who call you. We want to help you," added Redy. When he heard a woman's voice Djorak's thoughts flew to the three daughters he had lost, and his madness fell away from him. He drew nearer to the two little people by breaking the sugar-canes in front of him. They could now see him, and he could see them. The Rats lay down to rest, so no new sugar-canes sprang up to bar the way. "Will you save me?" demanded Djorak. "It will be the first thing we shall think of when we are allowed out of this cauldron." "Cauldron?" repeated the Prisoner. "Cauldron? And when will you be allowed out of it?" "When the sun goes down," cried Redy; "and we will give you back your daughters." In his profound joy Djorak all but lost consciousness. [Illustration: A RED FLAG] "But while we're waiting," remarked Smaly, "tell us how came it about that you were put in this prison." But Redy interrupted to say, "First let's agree on a place where we can all meet, and what sign we shall tell it by." So they arranged that the Prisoner should turn his prison in the direction of a red flag, which Smaly would tie to a tree near the frontier. THE PRISONER'S STORY "I was hurled into this country," said the Prisoner, "by the powerful breath of a Black Toad. At first I was not at all badly received. I was able to render several services to the Wigs, and was especially useful to them in building their walls of gingerbread. "Unfortunately, however, the Chief Contractor is a fool. Without his idiotic conceit this country would be happy and prosperous, but you have undoubtedly seen for yourself what a ridiculous creature he is. Only to give you one instance, I will tell you what happened that made him put me in this prison of sugar-canes.