"Very sweet, your Majesty," said Zuzu, "and it is very nice with Waffles. I have eaten it often."
"But whence do you obtain this syrup?" asked the King.
"The best kind comes out of a tree," said Zuzu, who had often been with his uncle when he was making maple sugar.
"From a tree? Oh, I suppose you get it just as I do my palm wine when I wish, or my cocoanut milk. You cut a hole in the tree, and catch the juice in a cup?"
"It is something like that, your Majesty," replied Zuzu.
"Then, my dear," said the King, "take this little gold ax and run and catch me a cupful of syrup for my new Waffle."
Zuzu did as he was bid and soon came back with a cupful of very fair syrup. This the Widow at once spread upon the hot Waffle and offered it to the King.
"This syrup," said the King, touching his finger to the contents of the cup, "is most delicious. It is something we have had all along, but did not know it."
"Your Majesty," said the Widow Pickle anxiously, "I beg you will eat your Waffle while it is hot."
"Oh, very well," said the King wearily, "but surely you must know that I usually am very much more bored about eating things than any one can possibly be who has never been a King."
So saying, he took his royal golden knife and fork and cut off a morsel from the Waffle, which he placed in his royal mouth. As he did so, to their great surprise, he sat up straight, and a pleasant smile appeared upon his face. His cheek stuck out where the mouthful of Waffle lay; but the King did not act as though he intended to swallow it, although his smile showed that he was pleased.
"Is it good, your Majesty?" asked the Widow Pickle again anxiously.
The King nodded but did not speak. He motioned for a piece of paper, on which he wrote the word "Excellent."
"Then, why do you not eat it?" asked the Widow.
"I fear very much there may not be anything more so good," wrote the King.
At this, the Widow Pickle herself smiled happily.
"Oh, yes, there is, your Majesty," she cried. "I warn you that every bite of this Waffle is as good as the first one. Moreover, I a.s.sure you I can bake others quite as good, as many as you like."
Hearing this, the King at once ate the portion of Waffle, and, to the great joy of all, regained his voice; for of course no King ever speaks with his mouth even partly full.
"That," said the King, with a long breath, "was the most remarkable delicacy I ever ate in all my life. My dear madam, I am very much pleased that I have heard of it, very much pleased, I a.s.sure you.
Indeed, I welcome you to our Island."
[Ill.u.s.tration: The King was pleased]
"But hurry, your Majesty," cried the Widow Pickle, "or the Waffle will get cold!"
Whereupon the King, still smiling with comfort and joy, fell to, and presently the first Waffle was quite gone. Another followed, and yet another. "More!" cried the King, as though he were a little boy. So the Widow Pickle, very warm and very happy, baked Waffles until she quite forgot to count them any more.
"You may have a throne made for the lady also, Jiji," said the King carelessly to his Private Secretary, after a while, "for I have concluded neither to banish her nor behead her. She shall be made the Royal Waffle Baker, with a permanent salary."
The Widow Pickle was delighted, for although she had baked many a Waffle before, she had never done so with a gold Waffle-iron, and had never been so well rewarded for what to her seemed a very ordinary accomplishment.
Later, for the entertainment of Lulu and Zuzu, the Enchanted Banjo sang this little song, which, it said, contained a very helpful moral lesson:
IF YOU WERE A WAFFLE
You think that things go wrong If you should stub your toes; If, when you run along, You fall and b.u.mp your nose;
You sometimes wail and cry Because you may not wear The things that please your eye; You do not like your hair!
But-- Wouldn"t it be awful If you were a waffle?
Puckered, brown, and round and flat-- Would you only think of that!
If you were a waffle Wouldn"t it be awful?
Sometimes you sigh--you do, Because you are yourself!
What would you think if you Were on a pantry shelf?
If you were set away Because you had grown cold-- Left from but yesterday And now, alas! too old!
Oh-- Wouldn"t it be awful If you were a waffle?
Hot and brown, and made to wait On somebody"s breakfast plate-- If you were a waffle, Wouldn"t it be awful?
[Ill.u.s.tration: If you Were a Waffle]
[Ill.u.s.tration]
CHAPTER XIII
THE FAIRY TELEPHONE
The next morning, after the Widow Pickle and the Twins had finished their breakfast, they strolled for a short time through the palace grounds, upon the edge of which was the house which the King had given them as their new home. Presently, they came to the place beneath the trees where was situated the great throne of the King of Gee-Whiz. As the climate was warm, he always kept his throne out of doors, under the trees, where it was cooler than in the palace. Here they now found the King fast asleep under his umbrella; but just as they were about to speak to him, they saw the Private Secretary beckoning to them. They joined him and followed him to a little distance from the throne.
"We must be careful," said the Private Secretary, "not to disturb his Majesty when he is asleep. He will probably not waken until eleven thirty-five, at which time it will be desirable for the Royal Baker of the Waffles to be ready to prepare his breakfast. I suggest that a little promenade through our Island might now be found pleasant."
"Can"t mamma go with us?" asked Zuzu.
"That would be very nice," said the Private Secretary, "except for the reasons I have given. It will perhaps be the best and safest thing for your mamma to remain near the palace, lest the King should suddenly awake and be hungry."
So saying, the Private Secretary took Zuzu and Lulu each by the hand and they started out for a walk in the cool morning air.
Zuzu noticed that the Private Secretary carried under his arm some little sticks or wands, which shone as though they were made of gold and jewels.
"What are those little sticks that you are carrying, sir?" asked he.
"Those," said the Private Secretary, "are the Royal Wishing Wands which have been given to you by the King. He himself obtained them, some time ago from the Fairy Queen. You will find them very useful; for if there is anything in the world that you want, you can have it by simply rubbing this Wand three times and wishing clearly and distinctly. But you must remember that you have only three wishes in any one week; so I suggest that you exercise care."
As he spoke, the Private Secretary extended to each of the Twins one of the Royal Wishing Wands, and with great delight both began vigorously to rub the Wands and to say excitedly, "I wish! I wish!"
"Very well," said the Private Secretary, smiling. "What is it that you wish?"