L. Frank Baum (4 page)

Nerle now willingly lent his assistance to his new master, and soon
they had placed a rope around the neck of each thief and were ready to
dangle them all from the limbs of the trees.

But at this juncture the thieves began to regain consciousness, and now
Wul-Takim, the big, red-bearded king of the thieves, sat up and asked:

"Who is our conqueror?"

"Prince Marvel," answered Nerle.

"And what army assisted him?" inquired Wul-Takim, curiously gazing upon
the prince.

"He conquered you alone and single-handed," said Nerle.

Hearing this, the big king began to weep bitterly, and the tear-drops
ran down his face in such a stream that Prince Marvel ordered Nerle to
wipe them away with his handkerchief, as the thief's hands were tied
behind his back.

"To think!" sobbed Wul-Takim, miserably; "only to think, that after all
my terrible deeds and untold wickedness, I have been captured by a mere
boy! Oh, boo-hoo! boo-hoo! boo-hoo! It is a terrible disgrace!"

"You will not have to bear it long," said the prince, soothingly. "I
am going to hang you in a few minutes."

"Thanks! Thank you very much!" answered the king, ceasing to weep. "I
have always expected to be hanged some day, and I am glad no one but
you two boys will witness me when my feet begin kicking about."

"I shall not kick," declared another of the thieves, who had also
regained his senses. "I shall sing while I am being hanged."

"But you can not, my good Gunder," protested the king; "for the rope
will cut off your breath, and no man can sing without breath."

"Then I shall whistle," said Gunder, composedly.

The king cast at him a look of reproach, and turning to Prince Marvel
he said:

"It will be a great task to string up so many thieves. You look tired.
Permit me to assist you to hang the others, and then I will climb into
a tree and hang myself from a strong branch, with as little bother as
possible."

"Oh, I won't think of troubling you," exclaimed Marvel, with a laugh.
"Having conquered you alone, I feel it my duty to hang you without
assistance—save that of my esquire."

"It's no trouble, I assure you; but suit your own convenience," said
the thief, carelessly. Then he cast his eye toward the cave and asked:
"What will you do with all our treasure?"

"Give it to the poor," said Prince Marvel, promptly.

"What poor?"

"Oh, the poorest people I can find."

"Will you permit me to advise you in this matter?" asked the king of
thieves, politely.

"Yes, indeed; for I am a stranger in this land," returned the prince.

"Well, I know a lot of people who are so poor that they have no
possessions whatever, neither food to eat, houses to live in, nor any
clothing but that which covers their bodies. They can call no man
friend, nor will any lift a hand to help them. Indeed, good sir, I
verily believe they will soon perish miserably unless you come to their
assistance!"

"Poor creatures!" exclaimed Prince Marvel, with ready sympathy; "tell
me who they are, and I will divide amongst them all your ill-gotten
gains."

"They are ourselves," replied the king of thieves, with a sigh.

Marvel looked at him in amazement, and then burst into joyous laughter.

"Yourselves!" he cried, greatly amused.

"Indeed, yes!" said Wul-Takim, sadly. "There are no poorer people in
all the world, for we have ropes about our necks and are soon to be
hanged. To-morrow we shall not have even our flesh left, for the crows
will pick our bones."

"That is true," remarked Marvel, thoughtfully. "But, if I restore to
you the treasure, how will it benefit you, since you are about to die?"

"Must you really hang us?" asked the thief.

"Yes; I have decreed it, and you deserve your fate."

"Why?"

"Because you have wickedly taken from helpless people their property,
and committed many other crimes besides."

"But I have reformed! We have all reformed—have we not, brothers?"

"We have!" answered the other thieves, who, having regained their
senses, were listening to this conversation with much interest.

"And, if you will return to us our treasure, we will promise never to
steal again, but to remain honest men and enjoy our wealth in peace,"
promised the king.

"Honest men could not enjoy treasures they have stolen," said Prince
Marvel.

"True; but this treasure is now yours, having been won by you in fair
battle. And if you present it to us it will no longer be stolen
treasure, but a generous gift from a mighty prince, which we may enjoy
with clear consciences."

"Yet there remains the fact that I have promised to hang you,"
suggested Prince Marvel, with a smile, for the king amused him greatly.

"Not at all! Not at all!" cried Wul-Takim. "You promised to hang
fifty-nine thieves, and there is no doubt the fifty-nine thieves
deserved to be hung. But, consider! We have all reformed our ways and
become honest men; so it would be a sad and unkindly act to hang
fifty-nine honest men!"

"What think you, Nerle?" asked the Prince, turning to his esquire.

"Why, the rogue seems to speak truth," said Nerle, scratching his head
with a puzzled air, "yet, if he speaks truth, there is little
difference between a rogue and an honest man. Ask him, my master, what
caused them all to reform so suddenly."

"Because we were about to die, and we thought it a good way to save our
lives," replied the robber king.

"That's an honest answer, anyway," said Nerle. "Perhaps, sir, they
have really reformed."

"And if so, I will not have the death of fifty-nine honest men on my
conscience," declared the prince. Then he turned to Wul-Takim and
added: "I will release you and give you the treasure, as you request.
But you owe me allegiance from this time forth, and if I ever hear of
your becoming thieves again, I promise to return and hang every one of
you."

"Never fear!" answered Wul-Takim, joyfully. "It is hard work to steal,
and while we have so much treasure it is wholly unnecessary. Moreover,
having accepted from you our lives and our fortunes, we shall hereafter
be your devoted servants, and whenever you need our services you have
but to call upon us, and we will support you loyally and gladly."

"I accept your service," answered the prince, graciously.

And then he unbound the fifty-nine honest men and took the ropes from
their necks. As nightfall was fast approaching the new servants set to
work to prepare a great feast in honor of their master. It was laid in
the middle of the grassy clearing, that all might sit around and
celebrate the joyous occasion.

"Do you think you can trust these men?" asked Nerle, suspiciously.

"Why not?" replied the prince. "They have been exceedingly wicked, it
is true; but they are now intent upon being exceedingly good. Let us
encourage them in this. If we mistrusted all who have ever done an
evil act there would be fewer honest people in the world. And if it
were as interesting to do a good act as an evil one there is no doubt
every one would choose the good."

That night Prince Marvel slept within the cave, surrounded by the
fifty-nine reformed thieves, and suffered no harm at their hands. In
the morning, accompanied by his esquire, Nerle, who was mounted upon a
spirited horse brought him by Wul-Takim, he charged the honest men to
remember their promises, bade them good by, and set out in search of
further adventure.

As they left the clearing by the narrow passage that led between the
overhanging rocks, the prince looked back and saw that the sign above
the gate of the cave, which had told of the thieves' treasure house,
had been changed. It now read as follows:

WUL-TAKIM
KING OF HONEST MEN
——
HIS PLEASURE HOUSE
WALK IN

"That is much better," laughed the prince. "I accomplished some good
by my adventure, anyway!"

Nerle did not reply. He seemed especially quiet and thoughtful as he
rode by his master's side, and after they had traveled some distance in
silence Prince Marvel said:

"Tell me how you came to be in the cave of thieves, and perched upon
the casks where I found you."

"It is a sad story," returned Nerle, with a sigh; "but since you
request me to tell it, the tale may serve to relieve the tedium of your
journey.

"My father is a mighty baron, very wealthy and with a heart so kind
that he has ever taken pleasure in thrusting on me whatever gift he
could think of. I had not a single desire unsatisfied, for before I
could wish for anything it was given me.

"My mother was much like my father. She and her women were always
making jams, jellies, candies, cakes and the like for me to eat; so I
never knew the pleasure of hunger. My clothes were the gayest satins
and velvets, richly made and sewn with gold and silver braid; so it was
impossible to wish for more in the way of apparel. They let me study
my lessons whenever I felt like it and go fishing or hunting as I
pleased; so I could not complain that I was unable to do just as I
wanted to. All the servants obeyed my slightest wish: if I wanted to
sit up late at night no one objected; if I wished to lie in bed till
noon they kept the house quiet so as not to disturb me.

"This condition of affairs, as you may imagine, grew more and more
tedious and exasperating the older I became. Try as I might, I could
find nothing to complain of. I once saw the son of one of our servants
receive a flogging; and my heart grew light. I immediately begged my
father to flog me, by way of variety; and he, who could refuse me
nothing, at once consented. For this reason there was less
satisfaction in the operation than I had expected, although for the
time being it was a distinct novelty.

"Now, no one could expect a high-spirited boy to put up with such a
life as mine. With nothing to desire and no chance of doing anything
that would annoy my parents, my days were dreary indeed."

He paused to wipe the tears from his eyes, and the prince murmured,
sympathetically: "Poor boy! Poor boy!"

"Ah, you may well say that!" continued Nerle. "But one day a stranger
came to my father's castle with tales of many troubles he had met with.
He had been lost in a forest and nearly starved to death. He had been
robbed and beaten and left wounded and sore by the wayside. He had
begged from door to door and been refused food or assistance. In
short, his story was so delightful that it made me envy him, and I
yearned to suffer as he had done. When I could speak with him alone I
said: 'Pray tell me how I can manage to acquire the misfortunes you
have undergone. Here I have everything that I desire, and it makes me
very unhappy.'

"The stranger laughed at me, at first; and I found some pleasure in the
humiliation I then felt. But it did not last long, for presently he
grew sober and advised me to run away from home and seek adventure.

"'Once away from your father's castle,' said he, 'troubles will fall
upon you thick enough to satisfy even your longings.'

"'That is what I am afraid of!' I answered. 'I don't want to be
satisfied, even with troubles. What I seek is unsatisfied longings.'

"'Nevertheless,' said he, 'I advise you to travel. Everything will
probably go wrong with you, and then you will be happy.'

"I acted upon the stranger's advice and ran away from home the next
day. After journeying a long time I commenced to feel the pangs of
hunger, and was just beginning to enjoy myself when a knight rode by
and gave me a supply of food. At this rebuff I could not restrain my
tears, but while I wept my horse stumbled and threw me over his head.
I hoped at first I had broken my neck, and was just congratulating
myself upon the misfortune, when a witch-woman came along and rubbed
some ointment upon my bruises, in spite of my protests. To my great
grief the pain left me, and I was soon well again. But, as a slight
compensation for my disappointment, my horse had run away; so I began
my journey anew and on foot.

"That afternoon I stepped into a nest of wasps, but the thoughtless
creatures flew away without stinging me. Then I met a fierce tiger,
and my heart grew light and gay. 'Surely this will cause me
suffering!' I cried, and advanced swiftly upon the brute. But the
cowardly tiger turned tail and ran to hide in the bushes, leaving me
unhurt!

"Of course, my many disappointments were some consolation; but not
much. That night I slept on the bare ground, and hoped I should catch
a severe cold; but no such joy was to be mine.

"Yet the next afternoon I experienced my first pleasure. The thieves
caught me, stripped off all my fine clothes and jewels and beat me
well. Then they carried me to their cave, dressed me in rags, and
perched me on the top of the casks, where the slightest movement on my
part would send me tumbling among the sword points. This was really
delightful, and I was quite happy until you came and released me.

"I thought then that I might gain some pleasure by provoking you to
anger; and our fight was the result. That blow on the ear was
exquisite, and by forcing me to become your servant you have made me,
for the first time in my life, almost contented. For I hope in your
company to experience a great many griefs and disappointments."

As Nerle concluded his story Prince Marvel turned to him and grasped
his hand.

"Accept my sympathy!" said he. "I know exactly how you feel, for my
own life during the past few centuries has not been much different."

"The past few centuries!" gasped Nerle. "What do you mean?"

At this the prince blushed, seeing he had nearly disclosed his secret.
But he said, quickly:

"Does it not seem centuries when one is unhappy?"

"It does, indeed!" responded Nerle, earnestly. "But please tell me
your story."