Adventure and adventurers -- Juvenile fiction; Fantasy fiction; Oz (Imaginary place) -- Juvenile fiction
With a gulp of relief, the Prince rolled over and sat up. A delicious
smell of coffee, bacon and rolls came floating upward and, glancing
over the edge of the sill, Reddy saw that he was in an enormous dining
hall. Far below the window stood the giant sideboard, covered with
serving dishes the size of bath tubs, and seated at a huge table in
the center of the room, two Giants were eating porridge with spoons
as large as snow shovels. They had golden crowns upon their heads,
and from the richness of their robes and the elegance of the whole
apartment, Reddy guessed, and quite rightly, that he was in the castle
of Immense City itself.
Waiting upon their Majesties, were four monstrous footmen, and all of
the Giants wore huge white wigs, the curls of which bounced and bobbed
when they walked in a truly comical fashion. Crouching in a corner of
the sill, and trusting that none of the Giants would notice him, the
hungry little boy watched the King and Queen toss off huge basins of
coffee, devour biscuits as big as boulders and pan cakes broad enough
to cover an ordinary sized table. In these immense surroundings,
Reddy felt so little, lost and lonely that all thought of finding and
rescuing the Hungry Tiger seemed hopeless. How was he even to reach
the floor, without breaking himself to bits? Therefore he listened
listlessly to the booming voices of the Big Wigs, and fervently wished
himself back with the Vegetable Man and Betsy Bobbin. But a cross
remark of the Giant King suddenly caught his attention and made him
prick up his ears.
"That kitten," growled the Big Wig in a fierce voice, frowning across
the table at the Queen, "that kitten must go! It kept me awake the
entire night with its miserable meowing."
"But what will Elma do," murmured the Queen gently. "Our daughter dotes
on the little creature."
"Let her find something else to dote on," puffed his Majesty
indignantly. "My castle is no place for stray cats. If it's here
to-morrow," continued the Giant, blowing his cheeks in and out
threateningly, "I'll throw it in the pond!" Snatching up his paper, the
King strode from the room, every curl in his wig expressing wrath and
determination.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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