Part 29 (1/2)
After they had eaten all they could and the servants had been sent away, Trot related her adventures, telling how with the a.s.sistance of the billygoat she had turned the tables on the wicked Boolooroo. Then she gave Rosalie back her magic ring, thanking the kind Witch for all she had done for them. ”And now,” said she, ”I want to say to Ghip-'Sizzle that jus' as soon as we can find b.u.t.ton-Bright's umbrel we're going to fly home again. I'll always be Queen of Sky Island, but the Pink and Blue Countries must each have a Ruler. I think I'll make 'Sizzle the Boolooroo of the Blues, but I want you to promise me, Ghip, that you'll destroy the Great Knife and its frame and clean up the room and turn it into a skating rink an' never patch anyone as long as you rule the Blueskins.”
Ghip-Ghisizzle was overjoyed at the prospect of being Boolooroo of the Blues, but he looked solemn at the promise Trot exacted. ”I'm not cruel,” he said, ”and I don't approve of patching in general, so I'll willingly destroy the Great Knife. But before I do that, I want the privilege of patching the Snubnosed Princesses to each other--mixing the six as much as possible--and then I want to patch the former Boolooroo to the billygoat, which is the same punishment he was going to inflict upon Cap'n Bill.”
”No,” said Trot positively. ”There's been enough patching in this country, and I won't have any more of it. The old Boolooroo and the six stuck-up Princesses will be punished enough by being put out of the palace. The people don't like 'em a bit, so they'll be outcasts and wanderers, and that will make 'em sorry they were so wicked an' cruel when they were powerful. Am I right, Cap'n Bill?”
”You are, mate,” replied the sailor.
”Please, Queen Trot,” begged Ghip-Ghisizzle, ”let me patch just the Boolooroo. It will be such a satisfaction.”
”I have said no, an' I mean it,” answered the girl. ”You let the poor old Boolooroo alone. There's nothing that hurts so much as a come-down in life, an' I 'spect the old rascal's goin' to be pretty miser'ble by'm'by.”
”What does he say to his reversal of fortune?” asked Rosalie.
”Why, I don't b'lieve he knows about it,” said Trot. ”Guess I'd better send for him an' tell him what's happened.”
So the Captain of the Guards was given the key and told to fetch the Boolooroo from the Room of the Great Knife. The guards had a terrible struggle with the goat, which was loose in the room and still wanted to fight, but finally they subdued the animal, and then they took the Boolooroo out of the frame he was tied in and brought both him and the goat before Queen Trot, who awaited them in the throne room of the palace. When the courtiers and the people a.s.sembled saw the goat, they gave a great cheer, for the beast had helped to dethrone their wicked Ruler.
”What's goin' to happen to this tough ol' warrior, Trot?” asked Cap'n Bill. ”It's my idee as he's braver than the whole Blue Army put together.”
”You're right, Cap'n,” she returned. ”I'll have 'Sizzle make a fine yard for the goat, where he'll have plenty of blue gra.s.s to eat. An'
I'll have a pretty fence put around it an' make all the people honor an' respec' him jus' as long as he lives.”
”I'll gladly do that,” promised the new Boolooroo, ”and I'll feed the honorable goat all the shavings and leather and tin cans he can eat, besides the gra.s.s. He'll be the happiest goat in Sky Island, I a.s.sure you.”
As they led the now-famous animal from the room, the Boolooroo shuddered and said, ”How dare you people give orders in my palace? I'm the Boolooroo!”
”'Scuse me,” said Trot. ”I neglected to tell you that you're not the Boolooroo any more. We've got the Royal Record Book, an' it proves you've already ruled this country longer than you had any right to.
'Sides all that, I'm the Queen o' Sky Island--which means Queen o' the Pinkies an' Queen o' the Blues, both of 'em. So things are run as I say, an' I've made Ghip-Ghisizzle Boolooroo in your place. He'll look after this end of the Island hereafter, an' unless I'm much mistaken, he'll do it a heap better than you did.”
The former Boolooroo groaned. ”What's going to become of me, then?” he asked. ”Am I to be patched, or what?”
”You won't be hurt,” answered the girl, ”but you'll have to find some other place to stay besides this palace, an' perhaps you'll enjoy workin' for a livin' by way of variety.”
”Can't I take any of the treasure with me?” he pleaded.
”Not even a bird cage,” said she. ”Ever'thing in the palace now belongs to Ghip-Ghisizzle.”
”Except the Six Snubnosed Princesses,” exclaimed the new Boolooroo earnestly. ”Won't you please get rid of them, too, your Majesty? Can't they be discharged?”
”Of course,” said Trot. ”They must go with their dear father an'
mother. Isn't there some house in the City they can all live in, Ghip?”
”Why, I own a little cabin at the end of the town,” said Ghip-Ghisizzle, ”and I'll let them use that, as I won't need it any longer. It isn't a very pretty cabin, and the furniture is cheap and common, but I'm sure it is good enough for this wicked man and his family.”
”I'll not be wicked any more,” sighed the old Boolooroo. ”I'll reform.
It's always best to reform when it is no longer safe to remain wicked.