THE SONG OF A SAUSAGE
A PIG lived in a lordly sty;
A fat, fat pig was he,
And every day he used to try
To eat enough for three.
Sing hey, sing ho,
I'd have you know
He ate enough for three!
He grew so fat, he grew so round,
As round as round could be.
He weighed at least five hundred pound,
And, oh, so proud was he!
Sing hey, sing ho,
I'd have you know
He weighed as much as three!
Now all the pigs from far and near
Were jealous as could be.
And oh, they shed a bitter tear
At breakfast, lunch, and tea.
Sing ho, sing hey,
Alack-a-day,
A doleful sight to see!
For though they ate with all their might,
It was no use, for he
Ate all the day and half the night
As greedy as could be!
Sing ho, sing hey,
Yes, all the day
He stuffed right greedily!
One day the farmer to his wife,
The farmer said, said he:
"Fetch me my very sharpest knife,
The knife as sharp as three!
Sing hey, sing ho,
Now quickly go
And fetch my knife to me!"
He took the knife, and to the sty
He went as quick could be.
"The fattest pig to-day must die,
The pig as fat as three.
Sing ho, sing hey,
We'll have to-day
His sausages for tea!"
CHAPTER XVII
The Arrival at the Castle
IT was the end of the third day when at last the two travellers espied a hill rising out of the plain. It shone and glittered as if it were made of diamonds, so they guessed that this must be the rays of the sun shining on the glass hill where the magician lived.
As they came closer they could see that the hill was very high and steep, and that there was no road leading up to the castle on the top.
"We can never win to the summit of that hill," said Sir Tristram in a melancholy voice.
"Oh, it will be all right. She knows all about it. She sent the giant to help us over the black lake, I'm sure," said George cheerfully. But he certainly did not like the hill at all. It was steeper than a switchback, and you know how steep that is!
At last they arrived at the foot of the hill. It was so slippery that their horses stumbled and nearly fell at the first step.
"That's no good," said George. "We must just sit down and wait."
They dismounted and waited. Nothing happened for a long time. "I do wish She were here!" sighed George.
There was a whizz! overhead, and down swooped the witch on her broomstick.
"What a long time it takes for little boys to learn to ask nicely for what they want," she said, with a smile. "Jump up! You can leave your horses behind. They will look after themselves."
Up they climbed without delay, for Sir Tristram was too astonished to say a single word.
Whizz!—off they went again. Up—up—up—and then, in the twinkling of an eye, there they were on top!
"Here we are!" said the witch. "Off you get! I expect we shall meet again before long. Don't forget to ask for what you want"—and, with a smile which was more crooked than ever, she disappeared.
"This is indeed a mighty adventure," said Sir Tristram. "See, yonder lies the magician's castle!"
George looked in the direction in which the knight pointed, and there was indeed the strangest castle he had ever seen. It was built of polished glass, and all the windows looked like great wide-open eyes which were staring at them. The gates were made of brass in the shape of letters of the alphabet, all mixed up together.
On the top of the highest tower stood a weathercock, a fierce-looking bird with green eyes and a long black beak. But fiercer still looked the two guardians of the gate. These were two enormous dogs with two great round eyes like blazing fires. They were almost as large as elephants.
Suddenly they caught sight of the two strangers and, opening their huge mouths, they growled, "Grrrr!" It was enough to make you shiver and shake with fear.
Sir Tristram drew his sword. "Methinks this will be a great battle," he said. "Stay you here, and if I do not return, still I shall have fallen as a knight should fall."
"No, no!" cried George. "Don't you remember what the witch told me? I must ask for what I want. I want the dragon!... Oh, look!" and there, sure enough, in front of them was his old friend the dragon, blinking his eyes and wagging his tail.
"I thought you would want me before long, George," he said. "Do tell that friend of yours to put away his sword. It looks dreadfully sharp, and I never did like swords. It isn't any good here, for you are on enchanted ground. Just let me get my breath, and I'll soon finish this business."
He lay there and panted, while the two great dogs growled and growled worse than ever.
"Nasty beasts!" said the dragon. "I mustn't go too close to them or else they might bite me. I'll give them a taste of something they won't like."
He began to crawl toward the dogs very slowly, and when he was within a few yards of them his mouth opened wide like a great pit, and out shot a tremendous flame. One! Two!
George rubbed his eyes. The dragon was lying there licking his scales, but the dogs had disappeared. Two small heaps of white ashes lay in the place where they had been.
"That's all right!" said the dragon. "Now you can walk in, but don't forget the password."
CHAPTER XVIII
What the Weathercock Said
THE password—what could it be? George puzzled and puzzled until he almost grew dizzy with thinking, but no, he couldn't remember. Then, at last—of course! The weathercock on top of the castle knew. He remembered the voices which he had heard talking in the forest and what they had said.
But how could he get the weathercock to tell him? He whistled and called, but all in vain. Nothing whatever happened.
Then suddenly the thought came into his head: "Why, those voices I heard in the forest must have been birds talking.... Why didn't I hear them before that day?... They must have been magic birds ... perhaps fairies?... Oh, I wonder if Tom Tiddler's leaves had anything to do with it? I know I put one in my cap.... Where is my cap?"
He bent down and picked it up from the ground. The leaf was still where he had placed it. He placed it on his head, and then, looking up at the weathercock, cried "Coo-ee!"
The cock turned round slowly and, fixing its green eye upon George, asked: "Who calls?"
"A friend!" George thought this was quite the right thing to say. It was the answer to the sentry's "Who goes there?" He felt that as he was squire to a knight it was as good as being a soldier.
The cock went on turning. At last: "You're George, aren't you?" he said.
"Yes," replied George. "I met your brother not so long ago. He lives close by my house in the wood."
"Ah!" said the cock, and went on turning and turning.
"I hope he won't be long," thought George. "He doesn't seem as nice as my friend."
"What do you want?" said a voice in his ear.
He gave a jump, for there was the cock standing by his side.
"I suppose you want the password? She brought you here, so it will be all right. I must whisper it—nobody but you may hear it." The cock turned, whispered in George's ear, and before you could wink an eyelid was back on top of the castle.
"Where's Sir Tristram?" George looked everywhere, but there was no sign of him.
At last, after he had walked quite a long way, he caught sight of him and the dragon actually—yes, actually fighting! He was horrified, for the dragon was leaping, turning, and twisting in all directions, while Sir Tristram's sword was hissing and flashing through the air like lightning.
"They'll hurt one another, I'm sure!" And George ran as near to them as he dared, calling out: "Stop! Oh, stop!"
The dragon stopped at once and called out: "It's all right! Don't be afraid. I'm only showing your friend one or two tricks in fighting. We shouldn't dream of hurting one another."
"This is indeed a glorious dragon," said Sir Tristram, leaning on his sword and smiling. "Little did I think that I should ever be friends with one. He has taught me much that I did not know before."
"Oh, so you were only pretending?" George laughed, and then said solemnly: "I've learnt the password, but it's ever so difficult, and I'm not to tell it to anybody else."
The knight did not answer him for a moment. "I think then, young squire, it would be best for you to go upon this quest alone. Your friend the dragon has told me that She wishes it."
"Oh!" cried George. "All by myself?"
The dragon laughed. "We'll wait here for you, George. You came to seek your fortune, you know, and you're not far off it now. You're getting warm!"
"All right!" answered George. "If you hear me cry 'Coo-ee!' you must come to my help at once. This is going to be a tremendous adventure. Alexander doesn't know how much he is missing. Here goes!"—and waving his hand to the two friends, he ran off. He looked back once and saw that they had again commenced to play at fighting, and then he ran on again until he came to the great gates.
He paused for a moment to repeat the password over to himself; then said it out aloud. The gates swung open with a clang, and, as he walked through, shut behind him.
Whisper this!
It is the password, and this is how you must say it. Stand with both feet firmly pressed together, crook the little finger on each hand into one another, and say three times
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