Озма з країни Оз
11. The Nome King
"Then,"saidtheNomeKing,"Iwillmakeyouthisoffer:Youshallgoaloneandunattendedintomypalaceandexaminecarefullyallthattheroomscontain.Thenyoushallhavepermissiontotouchelevendifferentobjects,pronouncingatthetimetheword’Ev,’andifanyoneofthem,ormorethanone,provestobethetransformationoftheQueenofEvoranyofhertenchildren,thentheywillinstantlyberestoredtotheirtrueformsandmayleavemypalaceandmykingdominyourcompany,withoutanyobjectionwhatever.Itispossibleforyou,inthisway,tofreetheentireeleven;butifyoudonotguessalltheobjectscorrectly,andsomeoftheslavesremaintransformed,theneachoneofyourfriendsandfollowersmay,inturn,enterthepalaceandhavethesameprivilegesIgrantyou."
"Oh,thankyou!thankyouforthiskindoffer!"saidOzma,eagerly.
"Imakebutonecondition,"addedtheNomeKing,hiseyestwinkling.
"Whatisit?"sheenquired.
"IfnoneoftheelevenobjectsyoutouchprovestobethetransformationofanyoftheroyalfamilyofEv,then,insteadoffreeingthem,youwillyourselfbecomeenchanted,andtransformedintoanarticleofbric-a-bracoranornament.Thisisonlyfairandjust,andistheriskyoudeclaredyouwerewillingtotake."