"Hello," said the royal necromancer, feeling very much annoyed as the Prince landed on the imaginary shore in front of his father's palace, "how on earth did you get back so soon? You should have stayed longer. You've missed seeing a lot of things." "I don't care if I did," said Frip, "for what I _did_ see was quite enough." And when he said that it seemed to him he could still hear the whoops of the invisible cannibals as they scrambled for the crumbs of the Gingerbread Man. "Oh, ho," said Wist the Wise, smiling cheerily, "then you don't care for imaginary islands, eh?" "No," said Frip, "I don't. That is, I don't except in story books." THE DANCING PEARL The Dancing Pearl was the name of a beautiful lady, and she danced every evening and Saturday afternoons in the palace of the Viceroy of Chow Chow. That is, she did until the Hermit of Hong carried her off by stealth one night to his cave in the mountains. Now the Hermit of Hong hated crowds and conversation, but he adored music and dancing, and after he had stolen the Dancing Pearl he just used to sit and bang the cymbals while he smoked his water pipe and watched the Dancing Pearl dance until it made his eyes swim. And he never gave a thought to the way the Viceroy must feel at being deprived of his dancing girl. But if the Hermit did not dwell upon the matter, the Viceroy did, and the minute he found the Dancing Pearl was gone, he went to see the celebrated Mongolian wizard, Hoo Hoo, who had his office on the main street of Chow Chow. But when he entered the wizard's office he was much disappointed to find that the wizard had just gotten married and that his wife would not let him take any case which had a lady in it. "I'm awfully sorry," said the wizard to the Viceroy, "but as you are a married man yourself, you can easily understand my position." "Of course, of course," replied the Viceroy, impatiently, "but that does not get me back my dancing girl, and I must have her back. There is no one like her. She is the poetry of motion and the soul of ecstasy. I'll give half my fortune to get her back." "Well, in that case," said Hoo Hoo, "I'll have to take the job, for the half of your fortune added to mine will make me a very rich man. But I can only do the work by proxy--that is, my apprentice will have to do it under my direction--for I positively will not hurt my wife's feelings, not even for the half of your fortune." Then he struck a gong and into the room walked a bright looking boy about eight years old with his pigtail neatly curled about his head. [Illustration: Floo the wizard at work.] "This," said the wizard, "is my apprentice, Floo. I'll put him on the case." "Not much," exclaimed the Viceroy. "Why, he is only a boy. You seem to think this affair of mine is mere child's play."