THE MASTER
CRAFTSMEN
493
I can die in peace for I know that
YOU
remained loyal to your
truth. I cannot live any more as hideous as I am."
"Wait," exclaimed Amalgam, "if you believe
in
my love,
look into this mirror." "No, I don't want to. I haven't the strength
to see my ugliness again, not even once."
And she dropped lifeless to the ground.
Amalgam threw himself down on his knees, held a mirror
to her lips and saw it misted for a second. She was alive. He
warmed her deathly-pale face with kisses and forced her to look
in the mirror.
Overcoming her repulsion, Melchiora looked at herself in
the glass. Suddenly something wonderfully soft passed across the
mirror. And as she watched, Melchiora felt her features obeying
the spell of the mirror, her face becoming clearer, the wrinkles
smoothing out, her sores healing, and, in effect, she felt herself
growing more beautiful every moment.
"Keep looking, keep looking," said Amalgam.
She gazed intently into the glass and suddenly she was
again as beautiful as ever--even more enchanting than before.
And when she and Amalgam went out onto the balcony
together, the Commandos met them with whoops of joy. They
shook their spears and the crystal tips sent up myriads of colored
lights which merged into one triumphant rainbow and arched
across the sky. Then John Greenfingers sowed seed round about
and roses and lilies blossomed on the spot.
That is how the three Master Craftsmen helped the free
Commandos to rid themselves of the Winds. The Winds were
all incarcerated beneath the castle and only allowed out when
needed for work, that is to say to clear the sky of clouds, turn the
windmills or fill the sails of ships. The gardens bloomed again in
Sinegoriya, the mirrors glittered once more and dampers were
put back on the stoves, while on the walls of the castle appeared
a new coat of arms--a rainbow with an arrow entwined in bind–
weed.
(Translated
by
John Richardson)
