the next moment he was surprised to see an ugly old woman coming toward him. she was dressed in a purple satin gown with gold birds embroidered upon it, her bony fingers sparkled with rings, a long chain of pearls was around her neck, and he knew by the crown on her head that it was the queen-mother herself.
“i have heard that you were very wise,” she said, peering at him. “if that is true, why don’t you get out of this dark hole?”
“ah, i could,” he moaned, shaking his head sadly, “but my charms are all in the cave. i have there a key that will unlock any door, a mantle that will make the[pg 55] wearer invisible to mortal eyes, a root that will cure any disease, a piece of money that the one who carries it will never have an empty pocket, and there, too, is the famous pearl that will make the woman who wears it seem the most beautiful woman in the world.” the old woman crept closer to him.
“what did you say about a pearl?” she whispered breathlessly.
“ah, it is a pearl fit for a queen,” he said, pursing up his lips. “it is big as the egg of a swan, shaped like a perfect pear and white as a dragon’s tooth. the woman who wears it hung around her neck all men will adore. she will always be young, always the loveliest lady that was ever seen.” the eyes of the queen glittered greedily.
“where is that pearl, wizard?” she[pg 56] asked, grasping his arm so tightly that her claw-like fingers dug into his flesh. but the wizard only smiled.
“the wise man tells not all he knows,” he answered. she caught him by the shoulders and shook him fiercely.
“speak! speak!” she commanded. “tell me where you keep this priceless pearl or i will have your tongue torn out by the roots.”
“that would be a pity,” he said calmly. “then the pearl would never be found, and no woman would have the glory of being the most beautiful woman in the world.” the old woman screwed up her wrinkled face and tapped her foot impatiently on the stone floor. then she said with a cunning leer:
“if that pearl were mine—so great is the power of beauty—i would rule the[pg 57] land in place of my step-son the king. then would you be my chief counsellor and next to me in authority, which surely would be better than spending all your years in a dark dungeon where no one will ever hear of your wisdom. you could live in my palace and have many servants to wait upon you, and if i were the most beautiful woman, you could become the richest man in the kingdom. it would be a sad thing for the pearl to crumble away and never be worn by a woman, and also for the great cave man to die a wretched death—perhaps of hunger—in this dirty hole.”
“if i were only free i could bring you the pearl,” the wizard answered. “no one save me can ever get it, for it is watched by a dragon with eyes that are always open and teeth that are sharp and cruel.”[pg 58] the queen looked at the door she had just unlocked.
“i have the key,” she said thoughtfully, “but there is not only the jailer without, but many guards that you must pass.”
“you have much gold,” he suggested, “and yet that pearl is worth more to a woman than all the gold and jewels of the earth. it will bring her everything her heart desires.” she shook her head.
“i cannot buy all the guards,” she told him. “some of them are old and faithful servants of the king. you must find some other way.”
“you speak of ways as if they were easy to find,” he grumbled, and his heart again felt heavy in his breast.
“they should be—for a wise man,” she tauntingly replied. “surely you must have left your wits in the cave too. but i[pg 59] must be off. the king gives a banquet to-night in honor of his bride, who is called the fairest creature of the flowery kingdom. and she likes that better than the name of queen.”
“stay,” cried the wizard quickly. “the way is found. know you the weed with the purple flower that has crimson dots on its petals—a weed with glossy, pointed leaves that grows by every wayside and sends out a strange perfume after the sun goes down?” the queen nodded. “well, squeeze the juice from the stem of this weed. a few drops of that in the wine to-night and all the castle will fall into sleep so deep that though i rode away on a prancing steed no one would hear me. see that my keepers drink of that wine. then open my door, unloose my chains and leave the rest to me.” the old woman[pg 60] cackled in her thin, shrill voice. suddenly she stopped and looked at him suspiciously.
“but you will return?” she questioned. “you will bring that precious pearl to me? if you stayed away you would be searched for in every corner of the land. you could not escape my vengeance. no matter how clever you were, the officers of the king would one day find you—even as they found you this time—and when you were caught your head would be brought back to court. remember my words, cave man, if you play me false.”
“only let me get out, and if i do not return you are welcome to the head of the wisest man in the kingdom,” he told her. “but you must give me seven days—three to go, three to come back, and one day to persuade the dragon to give me the pearl,[pg 61] for he is a jealous monster and ugly when he is roused. it will not be an easy matter to get him to give me his treasure, and no one can steal it from him.
“after the sun has set on the seventh day i will stand before you. wearing my magic mantle, i will slip by the soldiers and the guards like a puff of wind, and no one will see me pass, no one hear my footsteps. and because this time i will have all my charms with me, no man can harm me. and i will bring you the greatest gift that was ever given to a woman.”
still chuckling to herself, the old woman unlocked the door of the little cell and slipped away. when she had gone the wizard laughed until his chains rattled. then he lay down on the hard floor and fell into a peaceful sleep.
that night the banquet in the king’s[pg 62] palace was a merry affair, and when the rejoicing was at its height the queen-mother came in and said:
“let us send wine to all the servants and to the jailers and even to the guards without, that they may all drink to the health of the lovely queen.”
“good! good!” cried the king, as he raised his cup on high. “every one in the whole city shall have food and drink to-night. let it be given freely to all.”
but the eyes of many were already so heavy that they forgot to cheer his words, and soon one by one they fell over as they sat eating and rolled upon the floor. at last even the king was overcome, and went fast asleep in his great carved chair with his crown awry. and all of the servants, having had much wine, lay at their posts like dead men.
[pg 63]when all was still the queen-mother ran to the prison, and taking the keys from the waist of the sleeping jailer, unlocked the wizard’s cell. he was expecting her, and he cried impatiently:
“you were long in coming. the people everywhere will soon be astir, and they will capture me and bring me again to the king if they meet me on my way to the cave.” (for he did not want her to know that he was going straight to the haunted forest.) while he talked she had unfastened his chains with trembling hands.
“go! go!” she entreated. “there is not a moment to be lost. even now the fireflies are putting out their lights and waiting for the dawn. see, here is gold to pay for your journey and food to last you for a week. hurry back to me with the wonderful pearl, and when i am the[pg 64] most beautiful woman in the land you shall be the greatest man.”
“when i return you shall be in truth the fairest woman men ever looked upon,” he promised solemnly. then he wrapped his cloak about him and bowed himself from her presence.
when he was out of sight of the old lady he laughed to himself, and ran like a shadow through the sleeping town. on and on he went, over the fertile plain of sweet flags and through the long fields of waving rice, never once stopping to get his breath until he stood on the bank of the river. there he found a boat fastened to the shore, and soon he was rowing up the stream with all his might.
but not yet was he safe. because so many people throughout the country[pg 65] knew the cave man and hated him, he was in constant fear of being seen. in the daytime he hid in the tall rushes on the river bank and slept, and all the night he plied his oars with feverish zeal, until his hands were blistered and his back about to break. once a party of fishermen came so close to the reedy shore where he lay trembling that he could hear every word they said. and what he heard did not make him any more comfortable.
“the king has offered a great price for the head of the cave man,” said one, “and men are hunting all over the island for him. even if he were a needle they would find him. on the night of the great banquet he cast a spell on the court and caused every one to fall asleep. then he opened his prison door and ran away. now the king will know no peace until he[pg 66] is dead. and whoever brings his head to the city will be a rich man for life.”
“i wish i could be the lucky one,” said another. “i’ve been looking in every boat to-day for him.” it seemed to the frightened cave man they must hear his heart beating, so near he was, and perhaps they would had they not been so busy talking. when at last they went away he did not dare to move for a long time, and that night he rowed harder and faster than ever.
when the morning of the sixth day dawned he cried aloud for joy, for in the dim light he saw the familiar shadows of napatantutu. when he had come nearer, even within the shade of the great trees and the overhanging vines, he leaped out of the boat, and as soon as his feet had touched the ground, started toward the[pg 67] home of the dragon. he had thrown away his cloak, his food, his gold, for he no longer had need of them. once more he was to be free.
in the wood all was silent and lone. not even a bird was stirring as he sped over the cool, wet grass. the daylight had not yet crept through the thick leaves, and once he stumbled over a dead log and rolled headlong into a muddy hole. the only light he saw came from a frog who had filled himself with fireflies, and they now shone through his round stomach like a shaded lamp as he slept under a sheltering bush.
the darkness was just stealing away when he came to the big hollow tree and knocked twice.
“alas, most powerful one, i am here again,” he cried, as the dragon writhed[pg 68] slowly out. “it is quite as bad to be a wise man as a pretty woman—one is stupid, the other useless. a fox is a far finer creature than either of them, so make me a fox again, o mightiest of living things, and this time will i be content for the thousand years to pass.”
“will you never be satisfied?” snorted the dragon. “you are not willing to be what nature made you and you don’t like anything i do for you. still, as you have not yet been chased by a dog, i must grant your wish. but the next time you get into trouble you needn’t come to me—remember that!” and a moment later a gray fox ran past the hollow tree and with mighty leaps and bounds went crashing through the thicket.
