Peter, the Spider and the King pt 3 of 4
Part three: in which there are clowns, puppets and a King
“Eat me? Eat me!” squeaked Peter - “But you can’t eat me!”
Even as he spoke, Peter saw the mouth of the spider chewing up and down and the teeth like knitting needles clacked together. Peter was very quickly bound by sticky lengths of webbing.
“Oh really” said the spider smoothly, “and why ever not?”
Peter really did try his best to puff himself up AND out - but alas, the webbing held him tight.
“Because,” Peter said, as boldly as he could, “I am Young Peter, the-”
Now you might think that you can guess what came next - but no, Peter’s brain was racing, trains of thought leaving from all stations, express trains, full speed!
“Because I am Young Peter the most famous clown in the kingdom, the funniest clown to ride the four winds and sail the seven seas and walk the nine realms.”
He stared hotly at the spider, the spider for his part stared back with all of its eyes -great yellow things they were, like spotlights on the boy. “Oh indeed?” The spider bucked slightly and wobbled and Peter found himself rather alarmingly hanging in the air.
“Indeed,” said Peter doing so more puffing. Now this was expert puffing, since he could puff neither up nor out he puffed himself down and puffed himself in. That is a very hard thing to do. I wonder if anyone else could manage such a feat as brave Young Peter? “Yes ” the boy said, “and I’ve come about a job.”
The Spider chuckled disbelievingly. “And I suppose my golden eggs are just a complete surprise to you, hmm?” It chuckled again.
“You see,” said Peter cleverly, “you are laughing already.”
The spider’s teeth went clickety snip and Peter found himself hoisted higher still. “You will have to do better than that too prove it to me.”
“But look," said Peter, "look at me closely - my trousers have fallen off!”
The spider blinked eight blinks and looked. It was true! Young Peter's trousers were hanging around the helpless lad’s ankles and his pants were indescribable - which is to say I cannot tell you what they looked like because you would die of laughter.
The spider seemed to choke. “Those,” he wheezed, “are the most ridiculous pants I have ever seen!”
Peter reddened, but he kept his nerve. “These are my Sunday best,” he said firmly, “and it’s only Wednesday!”
The spider began to laugh now - a throaty furry laugh, and the black haired body shook again all over. “You are indeed a clown! Ho ho!”
Slowly the ancient arachnid lowered Young Peter to the chamber floor sucking the web back into its mouth like spaghetti. “Very well - clown as you are I shall let you attend to the King.” The spider eyes blinked.
“And do your best Boy, for the King needs cheering up. Even my puppets and his very own clowns can’t make him laugh anymore…”
Young Peter nodded. “I was told His Majesty had a broken heart.”
“Hmm… perhaps, perhaps.” The Spider trembled all over then - and reaching an arm down from the ceiling, plucked the boy airborne once again. “And now - on you go! But I shall be keeping an eye on you!” And before the Boy could say “Oops!” he was whisked up very fast and through a hole in the ceiling, emerging into a new room as if from a trap-door.
The new room he found himself in was large and wooden and full of piles of rags and strings of coloured paper and mounds of toys and odd devices of all kinds. There was a chandelier and there was a large gold framed mirror - and there were two pale men with wrinkled faces and thin grey limbs and they peered down at him as one.
“I am Lord Mortis,” said one.
“And I Lord Yale,” said the other.
“And we are clowns.”
And as they spoke several huge shadows seemed to detach from the walls and lurch forward.
“We are the King’s clowns,” the two grey men said, “and these are his puppets.”
The shadows lurched closer still.
Young Peter gulped.
The puppets began to sway and trail their long arms along the dusty floor. They were silvery coloured with faded ribbons wound around and around them. They had wooden mouths which opened and closed silently at first, and then Peter heard them speak. “This boy is the new clown my Lords - he has come to help you, to help US keep the mournful King amused." The voice had a distinctive bubbling sound - and Peter recognised it at once as the Spider’s. Indeed, as the puppets stepped forward again and pointed at him, Peter could see that, instead of strings, these puppets were controlled by a cat’s cradle of web string held in the paws of the spider itself, whose fuzzy feet could be seen where they poked up through the holes in the floor.
“Oh good, oh goody!” the two clowns clapped their hands with a sound like beaten rugs. “Only the Kings has sworn to kill us all if we cannot make him laugh.”
As if to make matters worse something like a teapot lid flew open suddenly on the wall behind him. "Absolutey true!" shrieked a voice, "by my crown and sceptre yes!"
Young Peter took this to be the voice of the King...
end of pt 3.
“Eat me? Eat me!” squeaked Peter - “But you can’t eat me!”
Even as he spoke, Peter saw the mouth of the spider chewing up and down and the teeth like knitting needles clacked together. Peter was very quickly bound by sticky lengths of webbing.
“Oh really” said the spider smoothly, “and why ever not?”
Peter really did try his best to puff himself up AND out - but alas, the webbing held him tight.
“Because,” Peter said, as boldly as he could, “I am Young Peter, the-”
Now you might think that you can guess what came next - but no, Peter’s brain was racing, trains of thought leaving from all stations, express trains, full speed!
“Because I am Young Peter the most famous clown in the kingdom, the funniest clown to ride the four winds and sail the seven seas and walk the nine realms.”
He stared hotly at the spider, the spider for his part stared back with all of its eyes -great yellow things they were, like spotlights on the boy. “Oh indeed?” The spider bucked slightly and wobbled and Peter found himself rather alarmingly hanging in the air.
“Indeed,” said Peter doing so more puffing. Now this was expert puffing, since he could puff neither up nor out he puffed himself down and puffed himself in. That is a very hard thing to do. I wonder if anyone else could manage such a feat as brave Young Peter? “Yes ” the boy said, “and I’ve come about a job.”
The Spider chuckled disbelievingly. “And I suppose my golden eggs are just a complete surprise to you, hmm?” It chuckled again.
“You see,” said Peter cleverly, “you are laughing already.”
The spider’s teeth went clickety snip and Peter found himself hoisted higher still. “You will have to do better than that too prove it to me.”
“But look," said Peter, "look at me closely - my trousers have fallen off!”
The spider blinked eight blinks and looked. It was true! Young Peter's trousers were hanging around the helpless lad’s ankles and his pants were indescribable - which is to say I cannot tell you what they looked like because you would die of laughter.
The spider seemed to choke. “Those,” he wheezed, “are the most ridiculous pants I have ever seen!”
Peter reddened, but he kept his nerve. “These are my Sunday best,” he said firmly, “and it’s only Wednesday!”
The spider began to laugh now - a throaty furry laugh, and the black haired body shook again all over. “You are indeed a clown! Ho ho!”
Slowly the ancient arachnid lowered Young Peter to the chamber floor sucking the web back into its mouth like spaghetti. “Very well - clown as you are I shall let you attend to the King.” The spider eyes blinked.
“And do your best Boy, for the King needs cheering up. Even my puppets and his very own clowns can’t make him laugh anymore…”
Young Peter nodded. “I was told His Majesty had a broken heart.”
“Hmm… perhaps, perhaps.” The Spider trembled all over then - and reaching an arm down from the ceiling, plucked the boy airborne once again. “And now - on you go! But I shall be keeping an eye on you!” And before the Boy could say “Oops!” he was whisked up very fast and through a hole in the ceiling, emerging into a new room as if from a trap-door.
The new room he found himself in was large and wooden and full of piles of rags and strings of coloured paper and mounds of toys and odd devices of all kinds. There was a chandelier and there was a large gold framed mirror - and there were two pale men with wrinkled faces and thin grey limbs and they peered down at him as one.
“I am Lord Mortis,” said one.
“And I Lord Yale,” said the other.
“And we are clowns.”
And as they spoke several huge shadows seemed to detach from the walls and lurch forward.
“We are the King’s clowns,” the two grey men said, “and these are his puppets.”
The shadows lurched closer still.
Young Peter gulped.
The puppets began to sway and trail their long arms along the dusty floor. They were silvery coloured with faded ribbons wound around and around them. They had wooden mouths which opened and closed silently at first, and then Peter heard them speak. “This boy is the new clown my Lords - he has come to help you, to help US keep the mournful King amused." The voice had a distinctive bubbling sound - and Peter recognised it at once as the Spider’s. Indeed, as the puppets stepped forward again and pointed at him, Peter could see that, instead of strings, these puppets were controlled by a cat’s cradle of web string held in the paws of the spider itself, whose fuzzy feet could be seen where they poked up through the holes in the floor.
“Oh good, oh goody!” the two clowns clapped their hands with a sound like beaten rugs. “Only the Kings has sworn to kill us all if we cannot make him laugh.”
As if to make matters worse something like a teapot lid flew open suddenly on the wall behind him. "Absolutey true!" shrieked a voice, "by my crown and sceptre yes!"
Young Peter took this to be the voice of the King...
end of pt 3.