"Then I will whisper it to you," said the Fairy Queen; "but you must not tell any one until you have reached the palace of the King, and then you may wish it out plain and strong; and I pray all the Fairies that obey me to help that wish to come true, for in that case I myself would always be very happy and contented." So then the Fairy Queen Zulena bent over and whispered in their ears the wish that was in her heart. "Now then," said Zuzu, "let us go to the mountain of the Wicked Fairy and find the King's shadow." "Very good," said the Queen, "that is excellent wisdom, and we shall all start at once." So once again they stepped into the Fairy coach, and the good Queen told the coachman to drive beyond the forest to the mountain where dwelt Gobo, the Wicked Fairy. The driver cracked his whip, the golden harness rattled and tinkled, and the wheels of the dainty coach began to whir as the steady buzz of the bumblebees in flight began. [Illustration] CHAPTER XXX THE QUEEN RECOVERS THE SHADOW "Ha! Gobo," cried the Fairy Queen as at last they drove up before the door of the cave in the mountain where the Wicked Fairy made his home, "we have come to question thee about thy evil deeds. Come hither, and confront thy Queen!" The Twins had not thought that the gentle Queen Zulena could be so stern, or that her eyes could flash as they did when she spoke these words. "Aye, aye, my Queen," sounded a hoarse voice from within the cave; and presently in obedience to the order of the Fairy Monarch there stepped into view from the darkness of the cave the Wicked Fairy Gobo, whose evil deeds have been recounted in our story. He trembled as he saw the sternness of the Queen, and began to stammer and make denials. "Who hath accused thee, Gobo? Yet now we know that well mightest thou be accused. Tell me, where hast thou hidden the shadow of the King, which thou hast stolen? Where, too, is the servant of the king, the White Cricket, such as was never found save in the royal gardens of our palace?" The Wicked Fairy fell upon his face on the ground, but even as he did so the Queen raised her hand. There came very plainly to their ears the chirp! chirp! of something hidden within the cave. "I may as well confess," said Gobo; "for that is the voice of the Cricket you hear. It is of no service to me, for a more unwilling Cricket I have never seen." "Bring it to me!" commanded the Queen, and sullenly Gobo did as he was bidden. "Here," said the Queen to Lulu, "is the White Cricket. Pray handle it softly, and let no harm befall it. As for you, Gobo, Wicked Fairy that thou art, lead us at once to the hiding-place of that other thing which thou hast stolen."