Solario the Tailor: His Tales of the Magic Doublet - William Bowen

THE FIRST NIGHT
STORY OF THE OLD MAN IN THE SPANGLED COAT
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The doublet with the missing button—The dark mansion in the walledpark—The tailor meets the tall black man and his fair daughter—TheBlack Prince tells his story—Eight tailors who could notsew on a single button—The tailor is visited by a hideous oldwoman—The jolly mule driver and his sing-song—Adventuresin search of Alb the Unicorn—Solario encounters Alb the Unicorn—Thebutton is sewed on with the unicorn’s hair—ThePrince receives the tailor’s terms—The magic doublet is suddenlyproduced	[1]

THE SECOND NIGHT
ALB THE UNICORN
Alb the Fortunate and the Princess Hyla—A tattered old beggar comesto the goldsmith’s shop—The old man proposes a strange bargain—Thethree black hairs in the yellow head—Alb wins the promiseof the Princess’s hand—A trifling incident disturbs Alb’s mother—Unreasonableconduct of the goldsmith’s widow—The merrymakersare suddenly sobered by the goldsmith’s son—The Princessbehaves in an amusing fashion—The Princess finds herhusband bewitched—Alb and the Princess visit the One-ArmedSorcerer—The Old Man of Ice, The Laughing Nymph, andthe Great Horned Owl—The burning glass, the brass pin, and theloop of thread—He hears thunder in a clear sky—He goesdown into the cave in Thunder Mountain—He pursues theMan of Ice with the burning glass—He commences to make hisescape from the cave—He sails across the Great Sea—He finds achild in a pool of the rock—The Laughing Nymph in the Three-SpireRock—He remembers the brass pin in time—The secondblack hair is gone—The Great Horned Owl stands ready for theloop of thread—The wrong hand and a desperate fall—Alb seesin the river the reflection of a unicorn	[31]

THE THIRD NIGHT
THE SON OF THE TAILOR OF OOGH
The Prince receives the magic doublet—The Prince and his daughterset forth for Oogh—A strange encounter at the wayside well—Thethree blind ballad singers—The blind ballad singer displaysthe Shears of Sharpness—The strange conduct of the people ofOogh—The mansion in the ruined park—The solitary figure behindthe spider’s web—The Prince watches the people’s behaviortoward the boy—The man with the ball in the underground alley—ThePrince sets out for his encounter with Babadag the Tailor—Babadagthe Tailor, Goolk the Spider, and the eight tailors—Thethree blind ballad singers once more—The magic doubletprotects the Prince against the Knitters of Eyebrows and againstGoolk the Spider—The Prince’s daughter has beguiled the Shearsof Sharpness from the ballad singers—A light flickers in the darkshop—The Prince’s daughter is gone, and the Prince makes a dashfor liberty—Babadag the Tailor is conquered by his little son—Thegovernor, being released, beholds the Prince’s daughter—Theshearing of the Eyebrow—The skin of the Prince is black—Thedoom of the city of Oogh—The tailor’s son follows him into theburning city—The boy is found on the sill of his ruined home,alive—The eight tailors stand before them in a row—They meetthe three blind ballad singers for the last time	[73]

THE FOURTH NIGHT
THE RAGPICKER AND THE PRINCESS
The Princess hears a voice from the waves beneath her window—ThePrincess sees the shadow of an old woman—A midnight visit froma one-armed old man—Alb, seeking the Princess, sits down by theseashore—An interview with a talking seal—A sea journey on theback of a seal—The village of storks—The feeding of the storks—TheRagpicker frightens the men away with her bag—He followsthe Ragpicker down into the dark—She stirs a steaming mixturewith her long, hooked forefinger—The shadows of the children—Heloses his way in the dark—He hears the voice of the sealagain—He peeps into the sorcerer’s workshop—He lies in waitwith a bow and arrow—The Ragpicker releases the shadows inthe street—A singular commotion on the housetops—The Princessis herself again, but—The King beholds his child and is grieved—Theseal introduces his liniment, guaranteed to cure in all cases	[126]

THE FIFTH NIGHT
THE CITY OF DEAD LEAVES
The misfortunes of Tush the Apothecary—They find themselves on anunknown shore—The startling effect of making a ring of grass—Theystart upon a journey through the air—The orange treeand the panther—They come upon the King’s brother in rags—Adwarf clad in motley stands up to speak—Buffo the Fool leadsthem to the palace—They find the King in a terrible state—ThePerfection Cream is rubbed into the itching palm—Tush theApothecary takes the people in hand—Paravaine has made herchoice—He finds himself rubbing his palms together—He cannotfind the ingredients for making the salve—Tush and his sisterare seized by the angry crowd—The genie in the whirlwind—Thepulling off of the genie’s ring	[169]

THE SIXTH NIGHT
THE ENCHANTED HIGHWAYMAN
A voice from nowhere bids the Prince stop—The Prince listens to acurious discourse—The Prince, alone in the forest, hears the barkof a dog—The prisoner inside the wasp’s nest—The dog leapsupon him to devour him—The Prince, sitting on the ground, looksup at a genie—The One-Armed Sorcerer appears from within thewasp’s nest—The Highwayman and nine of his daughters appearin proper person—He sees the Highwayman’s tenth daughter—Thegenie breathes fire upon the witch’s hut—The One-ArmedSorcerer performs upon a button—The genie flies away with thewitch—The Prince leads his beloved home—The magic doublet ispresented at the wedding	[206]

CONTENTS