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"
Then get to work," said the King. "There may be some unpleasant features
about the ceremony that would annoy me, so I'll bid you good day and leave
you to carry out your contract. One word, however: If you fail, I shall burn you
at the stake!" Then he beckoned to his soldiers to follow him, and throwing
wide the door of the house walked out.
This action was so sudden that King Krewl almost caught Trot and Pon
eavesdropping, but they managed to run around the house before he saw
them. Away he marched, up the road, followed by his men, heartlessly leaving
Gloria to the mercies of old Blinkie.
When they again crept up to the window, Trot and Pon saw Blinkie gloating
over her victim. Although nearly fainting from fear, the proud Princess gazed
with haughty defiance into the face of the wicked creature; but she was bound
so tightly to the post that she could do no more to express her loathing.
Pretty soon Blinkie went to a kettle that was swinging by a chain over the fire
and tossed into it several magical compounds. The kettle gave three flashes,
and at every flash another witch appeared in the room.
These hags were very ugly but when one-eyed Blinkie whispered her orders to
them they grinned with joy as they began dancing around Gloria. First one
and then another cast something into the kettle, when to the astonishment of
the watchers at the window all three of the old women were instantly
transformed into maidens of exquisite beauty, dressed in the daintiest
costumes imaginable. Only their eyes could not be disguised, and an evil glare
still shone in their depths. But if the eyes were cast down or hidden, one could
not help but admire these beautiful creatures, even with the knowledge that
they were mere illusions of witchcraft.
Trot certainly admired them, for she had never seen anything so dainty and
bewitching, but her attention was quickly drawn to their deeds instead of their
persons, and then horror replaced admiration. Into the kettle old Blinkie
poured another mess from a big brass bottle she took from a chest, and this
made the kettle begin to bubble and smoke violently. One by one the beautiful
witches approached to stir the contents of the kettle and to mutter a magic
charm. Their movements were graceful and rhythmic and the Wicked Witch
who had called them to her aid watched them with an evil grin upon her
wrinkled face.
Finally the incantation was complete. The kettle ceased bubbling and together
the witches lifted it from the fire. Then Blinkie brought a wooden ladle and
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