Fantasy fiction; Oz (Imaginary place) -- Juvenile fiction
"I never thought of the window," panted Tattypoo feeling extremely
excited and fluttery. In the attic of Mombi's hut was a curious dormer
window, its two leaded panes opening out upon the slanting roof. One
pane was of blue glass and one of pink. Tattypoo had often consulted
the witch's window, when her subjects needed to know about the past or
the future. One look through the blue pane showed the person looking
out the past, and one look through the pink pane showed the future.
It was curious that Tattypoo had lived in the hut all these years and
never looked out the witch's window, but as I said a minute ago, she
was so happy and so busy she never thought of herself at all. And now,
it was largely to satisfy Agnes that she tip-toed over to the dormer
window. First she pushed back her cap ruffles and straightened her
specs.
"Well?" asked Agnes, pulling herself laboriously up on the sill. "What
do you see?" Instead of answering Tattypoo gave a terrible scream and
jumped right out the window. Yes, she did.
"Stop! Help! What are you doing!" shrieked the poor dragon, falling
half way out herself. But the good witch had disappeared, staff, cap,
spectacles and all. And in her desperate concern for her unfortunate
mistress, Agnes lost her balance and falling out the witch's window
disappeared as quickly and completely as Tattypoo. So of course, there
was no one to answer the door.
"Rap! Rap! Rap!" The knocker rose and fell. Then the latch was lifted
cautiously and in stepped a small boy. It was the Prince of the Ozure
Isles, for the blue gull had brought him straight to the good witch's
door.
"Tattypoo!" called Philador softly. "Where are you, Tattypoo?" But
there was no reply--only the rush of a black shape as the cat with two
tails scampered across the cottage floor and jumped out of the low
window.
CHAPTER 8
The Man in the Bottle
The firelight lit up the little cottage quite cheerfully and after
looking all over and even taking a candle end into the attic, Philador
curled up in a big easy chair to await the return of the good witch.
"She's probably out visiting a neighbor," decided the little Prince
sleepily. The chair was so comfortable, and Philador so drowsy from his
long fly through the night air, he soon fell fast asleep and dreamed he
had found his royal mother and saved his father's Kingdom. A soft thud
in his lap wakened him next morning and starting up in alarm he looked
straight into the green eyes of the cat with two tails.
"Well," sniffed the cat, transferring herself to the arm of the chair,
"since you are still here you may as well fetch me my breakfast."
"But where's Tattypoo?" cried Philador, rubbing his eyes and trying not
to show his astonishment at a two tailed cat.
"Gone!" announced the cat calmly washing her face.
"Gone!" exclaimed the little Prince jumping to his feet in great
distress. "Why, where has she gone?"
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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