“A fine piece of work!” said the King. “Of all the high-handed, brazen-faced—”
“My dear!” said the Queen.
The genie strode over to the witch in three steps and plucked her down with one hand. He then tucked her under his arm like a sack of corn, and stood before the one-armed youth.
“Stoop down!” said the young man.
The genie bowed low, and the young man, to my surprise, reached up and pulled from the back of his head, at the neck, ten long hairs, one by one.
“Away!” cried the one-armed youth.
The Genie Flies Away With the Witch
The genie stood up, and opening his great mouth in a silent laugh, stamped upon the earth so that it shook, and leaped straight up. He rose in the air in a wide curve; and before we could blink again he was gone like an arrow over the treetops, with the witch under his arm, and was no more than a speck in the evening sky.
The young man tucked the ten hairs away inside his gown.
“Now,” said he, “she’s gone. And good riddance, too, I should say.”