While this was transpiring in the palace, Cap'n Bill and the Pinkies
had encamped before the principal gate of the City and a tent had
been pitched for Trot and Button-Bright and Rosalie. The army had
been very fearful and weak-kneed when it first entered the Blue
Country, but perceiving that the Boolooroo and his people were
afraid of them and had locked themselves up in the City, the Pinkies
grew bolder and longed to make an attack.
One of them, in his curiosity to examine the Blue City, got a little
too near the wall, and a blue soldier threw his cord-and-weight at
him. The cord didn't wind around the Pinkie, as he was too far off, but the weight hit him in the eye and made him howl lustily as he trotted back to this comrades at full speed. After this experience, the invaders were careful to keep a safe distance from the wall.
The Boolooroo, having made all preparations to receive the enemy, was annoyed because they held back. He was himself so nervous and excited that he became desperate, and after an hour of tedious waiting, during which time he pranced around impatiently, he decided to attack the hated Pinkies and rid the country of them.
"Their dreadful color makes me hysterical," he said to his soldiers, "so if I am to have any peace of mind, we must charge the foe and drive them back into the Fog Bank. But take all the prisoners you can, my brave men, and tomorrow we will have a jolly time patching them. Don't be afraid; those pink creatures have no blue blood in their veins, and they'll run like rabbits when they see us coming."
Then he ordered the gate thrown open, and immediately the Blueskins
poured out into the open plain and began to run toward the Pinkies. The Boolooroo went out, too, but he kept well behind his people, remembering the sharp sticks with which the enemy were armed.
Cap'n Bill was alert and had told his army what to do in case of an
attack. The Pinkies did not run like rabbits, but formed a solid
line and knelt down with their long, sharp sticks pointed directly
toward the Blueskins, the other ends being set firmly upon the
ground. Of course, the Blueskins couldn't run against these sharp
points, so they halted a few feet away and began swinging their
cord-and-weights. But the Pinkies were too close together to be
caught in this manner, and now by command of Cap'n Bill they
suddenly rose to their feet and began jabbing their sticks at the
foe. The Blueskins hesitated until a few got pricked and began to
yell with terror, when the whole of the Boolooroo's attacking party
turned around and ran back to the gate, their Ruler reaching it
first of all. The Pinkies tried to chase them, but their round, fat
legs were no match for the long, thin legs of the Blueskins, who
quickly gained the gate and shut themselves up in the City again.
"It is evident," panted the Boolooroo, facing his defeated soldiers
wrathfully, "that you are a pack of cowards!"
"But we followed your own royal example in running," replied the
Captain.
"I merely ran back to the City to get a drink of water, for I was
thirsty," declared the Boolooroo.
"So did we! So did we!" cried the soldiers eagerly. "We were all
thirsty."
"Your High and Mighty Spry and Flighty Majesty," remarked the
Captain respectfully, "it occurs to me that the weapons of the
Pinkies are superior to our own. What we need in order to oppose
them successfully is a number of sharp sticks which are longer than
their own."
"True, true!" exclaimed the Boolooroo enthusiastically. "Get to work
at once and make yourselves long, sharp sticks, and then we will
attack the enemy again."
So the soldiers and citizens all set to work preparing long, sharp
sticks, and while they were doing this, Rosalie the Witch had a
vision in which she saw exactly what was going on inside the City
wall. Queen Trot and Cap'n Bill and Button-Bright saw the vision, too, for they were all in the tent together, and the sight made them anxious.
"What can be done?" asked the girl. "The Blueskins are bigger and
stronger than the Pinkies, and if they have sharp sticks which are
longer than ours, they will surely defeat us."
"I have one magic charm," said Rosalie thoughtfully, "that will save
our army; but I am allowed to work only one magic charm every three
days--not oftener--and perhaps I'll need the magic for other
things."