"All is well that ends well!" laughed the prince. "You certainly came in good time to rescue us from our difficulties."
They turned into a path that led to Auriel, which Nerle had heard spoken of as "the Kingdom of the Setting Sun."
Soon the landscape grew very pleasant to look upon, the meadows being broad and green, with groups of handsome trees standing about. The twilight of the Land of Twi was now replaced by bright sunshine, and in the air was the freshness of the near-by sea.
At evening they came to a large farmhouse, where the owner welcomed them hospitably and gave them the best his house afforded.
In answer to their questions about the Kingdom of Auriel, he shook his head sadly and replied:
"It is a rich and beautiful country, but has fallen under great misfortunes. For when the good king died, about two years ago, the kingdom was seized by a fierce and cruel sorcerer, named Kwytoffle, who rules the people with great severity, and makes them bring him all their money and valuable possessions. So every one is now very poor and unhappy, and that is a great pity in a country so fair and fertile."
"But why do not the people rebel?" asked Nerle.
"They dare not rebel," answered the farmer, "because they fear the sorcery of Kwytoffle. If they do not obey him he threatens to change them into grasshoppers and June-bugs."
"Has he ever changed any one into a grasshopper or a June-bug?" asked Prince Marvel.
"No; but the people are too frightened to oppose him, and so he does not get the opportunity. And he has an army of fierce soldiers, who are accustomed to beat the people terribly if they do not carry every bit of their wealth to the sorcerer. So there is no choice but to obey him."
"We certainly ought to hang this wicked creature!" exclaimed Wul-Takim.
"I wish I had brought my Fool-Killer with me," sighed King Terribus;
"for I could have kept him quite busy in this kingdom."
"Can not something be done to rescue these poor people from their sad fate?" asked the lovely High Ki, anxiously.
"We will make a call upon this Kwytoffle to-morrow," answered Prince Marvel, "and see what the fellow is like."
"Alas! Alas!" wailed the good farmer, "you will all become grasshoppers and June-bugs--every one of you!"
But none of the party seemed to fear that, and having passed the night comfortably with the farmer they left his house and journeyed on into the Kingdom of Auriel.
Before noon they came upon the edge of a forest, where a poor man was chopping logs into firewood. Seeing Prince Marvel's party approach, this man ran toward them waving his hands and shouting excitedly:
"Take the other path! Take the other path!"
"And why should we take the other path?" inquired the prince, reining in his steed.
"Because this one leads to the castle of the great sorcerer, Kwytoffle," answered the man.
"But there is where we wish to go," said Marvel.
"What! You wish to go there?" cried the man. "Then you will be robbed and enslaved!"
"Not as long as we are able to fight," laughed the big Wul-Takim.
"If you resist the sorcerer, you will be turned into grasshoppers and June-bugs," declared the man, staring at them in wonder.
"How do you know that?" asked Marvel.
"Kwytoffle says so. He promises to enchant every one who dares defy his power."
"Has any one ever yet dared defy him?" asked Nerle.
"Certainly not!" said the man. "No one wishes to become a June-bug or a grasshopper. No one dares defy him.".
"I am anxious to see this sorcerer," exclaimed King Terribus. "He ought to prove an interesting person, for he is able to accomplish his purposes by threats alone."
"Then let us ride on," said Marvel.
"Dear us! Dear us!" remonstrated the bald-headed Ki; "are we to become grasshoppers, then?"
"We shall see," returned the prince, briefly.
"With your long legs," added the pretty pair of High Ki, laughingly, "you ought to be able to jump farther than any other grasshopper in the kingdom."
"Great Kika-koo!" cried the Ki, nervously, "what a fate! what a terrible fate! And your Highnesses, I suppose, will become June-bugs, and flutter your wings with noises like buzz-saws!"
