The Baby from the Eagle's Nest (Part 2)

"Dolts! That was them! I told you they had stolen the wizard's scrolls! You should have plucked the rose and cut down the tree. Now go back and do it!"

But of course, as soon as the servants had passed, Gretchen and Nestor had become themselves again, and run further along. Then they heard the three footmen coming again. Gretchen took out the next scroll. For Transformation to a Marble Shrine, it said. "Hold my hand," she said.

Nestor held her hand tight and said, "If you never leave me, I will never leave you."

"I will never leave you," said Gretchen, then recited the words on the scroll.

As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she became a white marble shrine, and Nestor became a silver bell hanging above it.

Again the servants ran straight by with scarcely a second glance. On their way back, they stopped in the shrine to leave an offering. "What did you see this time?" the cook asked when they got home.

"Only a white marble shrine with a silver bell...."

"Cretins! That was them! You should have torn down the shrine and brought me the bell!"

"That would be bad karma," said the footmen. "You will have to do that yourself." So the cook set off following the path alone.

Again the children had become themselves, and saw the cook coming after them. They were still a long way from the wood, so Gretchen took out the last scroll. For Transformation to a Lily-Pond, it said. "Hold my hand," she said.

Nestor held her hand tight and said, "If you never leave me, I will never leave you."

"I will never leave you," said Gretchen, and then recited the words on the scroll.

As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she became a beautiful lily-pond, and Nestor became a little white duck swimming among the flowers.

But old Crumppet the cook was not fooled. He stalked up to the pond and commanded: "Change back!"

"Quack quack, to you!" said the duck, swimming away.

Crumppet waded into the water to catch the duck. But the duck grabbed Crumppet's shoelaces and untied them, and then pecked at his behind till he sat down in the mud and stuck fast. All the servants came running and stood round laughing at him. The duck swam round and round quacking, "You can't catch me, you can't cook me!"

Finally Crumppet became so angry that he shouted, "When you become a boy again, then I will cook you! The kettle is hot!"

The servants were shocked. "So you are as bad as that!" they said. Most of the servants stayed and began throwing mud at him, but the scullery maids ran back to the house and put out the fire and took the kettle back to the basement, and hung it upside down and rubbed with cooking oil so it wouldn't rust.

Just then the wizard, who had completed his business sooner than expected, returned and asked what the fuss was about. The maids told him the whole story and led him to the lily-pond, where the cook was still stuck in the mud and shouting at the duck.

The wizard was so angry that he fired the cook at once, and furthermore summoned the bailiff to put him in jail. Then the wizard said to the duck, "You must be Nestor. Where is Gretchen?"

"She is the lily-pond," said the duck, climbing out. "Will you please change us back?" For Gretchen had been a lily-pond so long that she could not seem to change back again.

"With all my heart!" said the wizard, and spoke a magic formula. At once Nestor and Gretchen became themselves again - though Gretchen was quite muddy and rather stirred up. So the wizard took them straight home and the servants gave them both a hot bath, clean clothes, and hot soup and crackers and butter.

"And now," said the wizard, "I have got some wonderful good news." It seems that while on the journey he had met Nestor's mother, who had been seeking for her lost child all this time. So after this she came to live with them in the wizard's house; and she and Gretchen studied magic together, and Nestor took over the kitchen, and all lived in peace and happiness from then on.

The End

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