The City Curious Part 3

The Confectioner seemed extremely relieved by this remarkable solution.

[Ill.u.s.tration: TO RETURN TO A MERE SHAPELESS THING ONCE AGAIN]

"Reckybecky must be the doorkeeper," he added firmly.

"The doorkeeper?" asked Smaly and Redy.

"Certainly, we've had a doorkeeper for years, and one day a traveller told us that since we had a doorkeeper it was necessary we should have a door, and then the Despoiler, who is the wisest of all of us, except the Mother of the Crow, decided that since we had a porter who was made of chocolate, we must have a gate made for him, and that the gate should be made of chocolate to match."

Smaly and Redy turned to look back at the door; the grille by which they had entered had disappeared, and everywhere the chocolate had become solid once again.

[Ill.u.s.tration: A TRAVELLER TOLD US]

"I will show you the doorkeeper soon," promised the Confectioner, "but for goodness' sake don't tell him that you know he's a doorkeeper. He thinks he's simply a chocolate grub on his way to become a chocolate b.u.t.terfly; in fact, we have nominated another doorkeeper to take his place if this ever comes off. This other person isn't really a doorkeeper either, but there's one thing he can do, and that is, he can make the latch and the hinge grow again when somebody has eaten them."

The Confectioner looked at Redy and Smaly very severely when he said this.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THEY WERE KNOWN AS THE "WIGS" BECAUSE OF THEIR LARGE PERUKES

_Page 15_]

They both felt extremely embarra.s.sed.

With his nail, which looked exactly like a horn salt-spoon, the Confectioner sc.r.a.ped the inner side of the door just beside the latch, and Redy and Smaly saw the chocolate grow again as rapidly as he sc.r.a.ped it away.

The Confectioner gave a little exclamation of annoyance, and began to hunt for his magic ring amongst all the things he had thrown to the ground; but he could not find it. This ring had the power of preventing both plants and things from growing, and without it the Confectioner was unable to prevent the chocolate door from replacing itself as fast as he sc.r.a.ped it away. Nevertheless Smaly and Redy started to help him, and they all three sc.r.a.ped so hard that they caught a glimpse in the interior of the door of a tiny creature sitting in a niche. This creature was a grub about the size of a nut. Round its waist it wore a key as big as itself, and on its head a fur bonnet, which nodded forward to its chest.

"It's asleep," said the little man to the little woman.

At this moment a Crow made of bilberry preserve and liquorice hopped up to them. This Crow was the doorkeeper who was yet not the doorkeeper; and who had been nominated in the place of the grub. The grub was really the doorkeeper; but always refused to admit it.

[Ill.u.s.tration: NEVERTHELESS SMALY AND REDY STARTED TO HELP HIM]

The Crow, who seemed convulsed with rage, seized Redy in one claw and Smaly in the other, preparatory to throwing them outside once more.

At this dangerous moment Smaly once again found his beak crying out of itself. This time he heard it say that he wished to speak to the Chief Contractor.

The Crow lifted him up by his waistband, and gazed at him with his big bright eye like a magnifying-gla.s.s, then he dropped him.

"Why, it's made of suet!" he cried in disgust.

He turned his eye upon Redy, who appeared to him much better looking with her delicate little blue beak, which had a bloom on it like a grape. Unlike the Confectioner, the Crow was perfectly well able to perceive the beaks of Smaly and Redy, for he himself was a bird, and to no one save a bird or each other were their beaks visible.

And that is why you who are reading this book, and who are not birds, cannot see their beaks either, unless you make a great effort.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE GRUB WAS REALLY THE DOORKEEPER]

Redy, who saw that the moment had come to explain what they wanted, folded her hands on her ap.r.o.n, and repeated her little poem:

"We wish to have three girls, Fine, sweet, pink, and good.

They shall have more pudding than they like, And a green, green, and rosy garden."

The Crow said:

"It won't do," and he took off his gla.s.ses, which were made of ebony, set in a crystal frame. On the rims signs and letters were engraved in characters that looked rather Eastern. If you examined carefully you saw that round one lens was engraved:

DON'T LOOK AT ME.

And on the other one:

FOR YOU DON'T HEAR WITH YOUR EYES.

[Ill.u.s.tration: "WE WISH TO HAVE THREE GIRLS"]

Smaly paid no attention to the spectacles, but answered the Crow's remark.

"Why won't it do?" he asked.

The Crow opened his beak to answer, then he shut it again, and put on his gla.s.ses, for he only wore them when he wanted to speak, and did not particularly wish to see.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE CROW LIFTED HIM UP]

For this Crow had three eyes, one on each side of his beak, and a third one carried in a medallion which hung on a chain round his neck. This third eye was very busy and saw more than both the other two put together.

Redy felt extremely annoyed.

"How dare you look at me! You are only made of sugar and bilberry jam,"

she exclaimed.

"I didn't look at you," said the Crow, rather taken aback.

"Only because you are looking at me," now shouted Smaly.

"No, I am not," retorted the Crow, turning his back and taking off his spectacles.

"Don't leave us," cried Redy hastily. "I only meant that you were looking at us with that beautiful eye that hangs on a chain round your neck."

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE CROW]

"Well," said the Crow, coming back and putting on his spectacles once more, "why didn't you say so at once? That's my mother's eye. She's very old; but she still wants to know what is happening in the world, so I carry about her eye with me to let it see. But don't be frightened.

She only sees you, she doesn't hear you."

"It wouldn't matter if she did. We should not dream of saying nasty things about your mother," said Redy with true emotion.

"I thought not," said the Crow more peaceably, "besides, she's such a funny little thing, poor dear; she's no legs, no wings, and no tail."