THE MASTER CRAFTSMEN
corners of the earth? Would you like us to waft away your sad
thoughts, 0 King?" "Go on, then," said the stupid king.
And the winds became the masters of the country. Power
was seized by the Secret Council of Winds. All inhabitants were
ordered to fit weathervanes to their roofs so that all and sundry
could see which way the wind was blowing. Under penalty of
death the inhabitants had to keep their doors open wide. All the
children caught chills. Drafts penetrated into houses through
every door, window and crack, caught up every word and re–
ported back to the king. The Chiefs of the Chimney Draft, spe–
cially appointed by the king, saw to it that people disposed of
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all
their possessions up the chimney. Only wind instruments were
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allowed. The king surrounded himself with weathercocks and
windbags. The Court Windgauge, who was a sly rogue called
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One-Upon-a-Time, became the Prime Minister, and, in effect,
the ruler of the land. The king awarded him the Order of the
Fan,
the Chain of the Great Ventilator and the highest distinc–
tion of all, the "Wind Rose."
The three splendid Master Craftsmen were seized by the
'( king's weathercocks and taken to the island. John Greenfingers
was only allowed to grow dandelions. The armorer was ordered
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to make weathervanes-weathervanes and nothing else. And the
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splendid Amalgam was told to break all his mirrors and never
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make any more, for the king was extremely ugly and it had often
happened that having seen himself in the mirror, he had smashed
!
it in fury. The winds hated all forms of glass because it prevented
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them from blowing through windows, and the evil and greedy
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Once-Upon-a-Time forbade mirrors so that people could not see
for themselves how the winds had dried them up. And the great
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Master Craftsman, whose mirrors had been an abode of light and
.beauty, was now forced to become a purveyor of soap bubbles.
!
King Vainglorious was very fond of blowing bubbles, and Master
Craftsman Amalgam knew some secret mixtures. He mixed them
into soap, and the king blew silvery, mirror-like bubbles of an
enormous size. They rose high into the air and took a long time
