Page:The land of enchantment (1907, Cassell).djvu/23

 another standpoint, the lion was the king of beasts, the eagle the king of birds: would their shadows be truly royal? They thought not.

But the shadow must be clasped round what they could hold but could not grasp! A slippery eel? No. A red hot poker? Of course not. What could it be?

And then again, the eye-tooth of a jolliwog! "What was the jolliwog? An animal perhaps, or perhaps a fish; at any rate, they had never before heard of such a creature.

, not to lose valuable time, the maker of ghosts set to work to puzzle out by himself the second, third, and fourth lines, whilst the maker of shadows went to call upon the king. Sending in his card, he was at once admitted to the royal presence, when he frankly spoke of the intentions of his friend and himself, and how in the well-known charm for disenchanting the castle a royal shadow was a necessary part.

His Majesty's interest was at once aroused.

“You are heartily welcome to my shadow,” said he, “so far as my own feelings are concerned, but public opinion would not sanction the loss, I am quite sure.”

“Your Majesty's gracious words give me hope,” replied the maker of shadows; and then he made known an idea which was floating in his head. It was that he should make a shadow for the king in all respects like the real one. That when it was ready he should bring it with him, and at noon, when the real shadow was at its smallest, he should take that off very carefully and substitute for it the one he had prepared.

The king prudently asked to see some shadows as a proof of the artist's skill. So the next day a few samples were submitted for his inspection, with which he was so well pleased that the maker of shadows set to work at once on the new shadow, and when it was finished he brought it to the king.

So at mid-day the royal shadow was carefully put into a bottle and corked, and the new shadow so skilfully substituted that those who afterwards came to call, repeated “May your gracious Majesty's