Children Stories - King Anko To The Rescue

While working on a sermon the pastor heard a knock at his office door. "Come in," he invited. A sad-looking man in threadbare clothes came in, pulling a large pig on a rope. "Can I talk to you for a minute?" asked the ma... Read more of Lessons From The Ark at Free Jokes.ca

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The Little Robber Girl
The Boy Who Cried Wolf

King Anko To The Rescue

from The Sea Fairies

The great magician Zog never slept. He was always watchful and
alert. Some strange power warned him that his prisoners were about
to escape.

Scarcely had the four left the castle by the broken window when the
monster stepped from a doorway below and saw them. Instantly he blew
upon a golden whistle, and at the summons a band of wolf-fish
appeared and dashed after the prisoners. These creatures swam so
swiftly that soon they were between the fugitives and the dome, and
then they turned and with wicked eyes and sharp fangs began a fierce
attack upon the mermaids and the earth dwellers.

Trot was a little frightened at the evil looks of the sea wolves,
whose heads were enormous, and whose jaws contained rows of curved
and pointed teeth. But Aquareine advanced upon them with her golden
sword, and every touch of the charmed weapon instantly killed an
enemy, so that one by one the wolf-fish rolled over upon their backs
and sank helplessly downward through the water, leaving the
prisoners free to continue their way toward the opening in the dome.

Zog witnessed the destruction of his wolves and uttered a loud laugh
that was terrible to hear. Then the dread monster determined to
arrest the fugitives himself, and in order to do this he was forced
to discover himself in all the horror of his awful form, a form he
was so ashamed of and loathed so greatly that he always strove to
keep it concealed, even from his own view. But it was important that
his prisoners should not escape. Hastily casting off the folds of
the robe that enveloped him, Zog allowed his body to uncoil and
shoot upward through the water in swift pursuit of his victims. His
cloven hoofs, upon which he usually walked, being now useless, were
drawn up under him, while coil after coil of his eel-like body
wriggled away like a serpent. At his shoulders two broad, feathery
wings expanded, and these enabled the monster to cleave his way
through the water with terrific force.

Zog was part man, part beast, part fish, part fowl, and part
reptile. His undulating body was broad and thin and like the body of
an eel. It was as repulsive as one could well imagine, and no wonder
Zog hated it and kept it covered with his robe. Now, with his horned
head and its glowing eyes thrust forward, wings flapping from his
shoulders and his eely body--ending in a fish's tail--wriggling far
behind him, this strange and evil creature was a thing of terror
even to the sea dwellers, who were accustomed to remarkable sights.

The mermaids, the sailor and the child, one after another looking
back as they swam toward liberty and safety, saw the monster coming
and shuddered with uncontrollable fear. They were drawing nearer to
the dome by this time, yet it was still some distance away. The four
redoubled their speed, darting through the water with the swiftness
of skyrockets. But fast as they swam, Zog swam faster, and the good
queen's heart began to throb as she realized she would be forced to
fight her loathesome foe.

Presently Zog's long body was circling around them like a whirlwind,
lashing the water into foam and gradually drawing nearer and nearer
to his victims. His eyes were no longer glowing coals, they were
balls of flame, and as he circled around them, he laughed aloud that
horrible laugh which was far more terrifying than any cry of rage
could be. The queen struck out with her golden sword, but Zog
wrapped a coil of his thin body around it and, wrestling it from her

hand, crushed the weapon into a shapeless mass. Then Aquareine waved
her fairy wand, but in a flash the monster sent it flying away
through the water.

Cap'n Bill now decided that they were lost. He drew Trot closer to
his side and placed one arm around her. "I can't save you, dear
little mate," he said sadly, "but we've lived a long time together,
an' now we'll die together. I knew, Trot, when first we sawr them
mermaids, as we'd--we'd--"

"Never live to tell the tale," said the child. "But never mind,
Cap'n Bill, we've done the best we could, and we've had a fine
time."

"Forgive me! Oh, forgive me!" cried Aquareine despairingly. "I tried
to save you, my poor friends, but--"

"What's that?" exclaimed the Princess, pointing upward. They all
looked past Zog's whirling body, which was slowly enveloping them in
its folds, toward the round opening in the dome. A dark object had
appeared there, sliding downward like a huge rope and descending
toward them with lightning rapidly. They gave a great gasp as they
recognized the countenance of King Anko, the sea serpent, its gray
hair and whiskers bristling like those of an angry cat, and the
usually mild blue eyes glowing with a ferocity even more terrifying
than the orbs of Zog.

The magician gave a shrill scream at sight of his dreaded enemy, and
abandoning his intended victims, Zog made a quick dash to escape.
But nothing in the sea could equal the strength and quickness of
King Anko when he was roused. In a flash the sea serpent had caught
Zog fast in his coils, and his mighty body swept round the monster
and imprisoned him tightly. The four, so suddenly rescued, swam away
to a safer distance from the struggle, and then they turned to watch
the encounter between the two great opposing powers of the ocean's
depths. Yet there was no desperate fight to observe, for the
combatants were unequal. The end came before they were aware of it.
Zog had been taken by surprise, and his great fear of Anko destroyed
all of his magic power. When the sea serpent slowly released those
awful coils, a mass of jelly-like pulp floated downward through the
water with no remnant of life remaining in it, no form to show it
had once been Zog, the Magician.

Then Anko shook his body that the water might cleanse it, and
advanced his head toward the group of four whom he had so
opportunely rescued. "It is all over, friends," said he in his
gentle tones, while a mild expression once more reigned on his
comical features. "You may go home at any time you please, for the
way through the dome will be open as soon as I get my own body
through it."

Indeed, so amazing was the length of the great sea serpent that only
a part of him had descended through the hole into the dome. Without
waiting for the thanks of those he had rescued, he swiftly retreated
to the ocean above, and with grateful hearts they followed him, glad
to leave the cavern where they had endured so much anxiety and
danger.

Next: The Home Of The Ocean Monarch
Previous: A Dash For Liberty

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