“Thank you,” replied the girl. “I’m
right hungry, jus’ now.” She waited
until the snubnosed sextette had pranced haughtily
away, and then she came out, followed by all the pets,
and found her way to the servants’ quarters.
All the Blueskins assembled in the servants’
hall were amazed to see the pets of the Princesses
trailing after the strange little girl, but Trot took
her place next to Button-Bright at the table, and the
parrot perched upon her shoulder, while the peacock
stood upon one side of her chair, and the lamb upon
the other, and the cat and dog lay at her feet and
the blue rabbit climbed into her lap and cuddled down
there. Some of the Blueskins insisted that the
animals and birds must be put out of the room, but
Ghip-Ghisizzle said they could remain, as they were
the favored pets of the lovely Snubnosed Princesses.
Cap’n Bill was delighted to see his dear little
friend again, and so was Button-Bright, and now that
they were reunited—for a time, at least—they
paid little heed to the sour looks and taunting remarks
of the ugly Blueskins and ate heartily of the dinner,
which was really very good.
The meal was no sooner over than Ghip-Ghisizzle was
summoned to the chamber of his Majesty the Boolooroo,
but before he went away, he took Trot and Cap’n
Bill and Button-Bright into a small room and advised
them to stay there until he returned so that the servants
and soldiers would not molest them. “My
people seem to dislike strangers,” said the
Majordomo thoughtfully, “and that surprises me
because you are the first strangers they have ever
seen. I think they imagine you will become favorites
of the Boolooroo and of the Princesses, and that is
why they are jealous and hate you.”
“They needn’t worry ’bout that,”
replied Trot. “The Snubnoses hate me worse
than the people do.”
“I can’t imagine a bootblue becoming a
royal favorite,” grumbled Button-Bright.
“Or a necktie mixer,” added Cap’n
Bill.
“You don’t mix neckties; you’re
a nectar mixer,” said Ghip-Ghisizzle correcting
the sailor. “I’ll not be gone long,
for I’m no favorite of the Boolooroo, either,
so please stay quietly in this room until my return.”
The Majordomo found the Boolooroo in a bad temper.
He had finished his dinner, where his six daughters
had bitterly denounced Trot all through the meal and
implored their father to invent some new and terrible
punishment for her. Also, his wife, the Queen,
had made him angry by begging for gold to buy ribbons
with. Then, when he had retired to his own private
room, he decided to send for the umbrella he had stolen
from Button-Bright and test its magic powers.
But the umbrella, in his hands, proved just as common
as any other umbrella might be. He opened it
and closed it, and turned it this way and that, commanding
it to do all sorts of things, but of course the Magic
Umbrella would obey no one but a member of the family
that rightfully owned it. At last the Boolooroo
threw it down and stamped upon it and then kicked
it into a corner, where it rolled underneath a cabinet.
Then he sent for Ghip-Ghisizzle.
