18. The Magic of the Wizard
He first set up a small silver tripod and placed a gold basin at the
top of it. Into this basin he put two powders--a pink one and a
sky-blue one--and poured over them a yellow liquid from a crystal
vial. Then he mumbled some magic words, and the powders began to
sizzle and burn and send out a cloud of violet smoke that floated
across the river and completely enveloped both Trot and Cap'n Bill, as
well as the toadstools on which they sat, and even the Magic Plant in
the gold flower-pot. Then, after the smoke had disappeared into air,
the Wizard called out to the prisoners:
"Are you free?"
Both Trot and Cap'n Bill tried to move their feet and failed.
"No!" they shouted in answer.
The Wizard rubbed his bald head thoughtfully and then took some
other magic tools from the bag.
First he placed a little black ball in a silver pistol and shot it
toward the Magic Isle. The ball exploded just over the head of Trot
and scattered a thousand sparks over the little girl.
"Oh!" said the Wizard, "I guess that will set her free."
But Trot's feet were still rooted in the ground of the Magic Isle,
and the disappointed Wizard had to try something else.
Pages:
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163