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27 - Baron Trump's Marvellous Underground Journey - Ingersoll Lockwood · Daily Sci-Fi Books

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  Speaker 1: Chapter twenty seven. Excitement over Fufkujaw, I carry him to
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  Speaker 1: the court of King galidas his instant affection for the
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  Speaker 1: Princess Sneebul. I am accused of exercising the black art.
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  Speaker 1: My defense and my reward anxiety of the cultiquerks. Lest
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  Speaker 1: Fufkuja perish of hunger. This calamity averted another stares us
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  Speaker 1: in the face. How to keep him from freezing to death?
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  Speaker 1: I solve the problem, but draw upon me a strange misfortune.
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  Speaker 1: It all turned out just as I had thought it would.
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  Speaker 1: The moment it became known that the little man with
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  Speaker 1: a frozen smile had actually come to life, the wildest
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  Speaker 1: excitement prevailed in every part of the icy domain of
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  Speaker 1: his frigid majesty. I was astounded at the change in
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  Speaker 1: the actions of the cultiquerps. They moved more quickly, they
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  Speaker 1: talked faster, They made more gestures than I had ever
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  Speaker 1: seen them do before. In some cases you will hardly
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  Speaker 1: believe it, dear friends, I actually noticed a faint glow
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  Speaker 1: in the cold cheeks of a few of them. I
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  Speaker 1: had hoped to be able to bundle Foofkuja up warmly
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  Speaker 1: and make my escape to the ice palace before the
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  Speaker 1: people learned of his coming to life, but in vain.
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  Speaker 1: When I made my appearance at the door, there was
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  Speaker 1: a large crowd of cultiqwerps pushing and pulling in front
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  Speaker 1: of my quarters. Most of them were good natured and
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  Speaker 1: cried out, Show him to us, little Baron, show us
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  Speaker 1: the little man with the frozen smile, whom thou hast
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  Speaker 1: brought to life. Let us look upon his face. Nay nay, cultiqwerps,
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  Speaker 1: I exclaimed, it must not be his frigid majesty, must
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  Speaker 1: be the first to look upon Fufkuja's face. Room room
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  Speaker 1: for the noble guests of Royal Goalitis, and the name
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  Speaker 1: of his frigid majesty. Give way and let me pass.
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  Speaker 1: The cultiquerps showed no inclination to obey to such a
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  Speaker 1: pitch of excitement. Had they worked themselves up that only
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  Speaker 1: upon seeing Bulger advance upon them with flashing eye and
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  Speaker 1: teeth laid bare, did they reach the conclusion that my
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  Speaker 1: brave companion was in no mood be trifled with. Thwarted
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  Speaker 1: in their wild desire to get a peep at Fufkuja.
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  Speaker 1: The Colti Corps now began to rail at me as
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  Speaker 1: I passed them by on my way to the ice palace.
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  Speaker 1: Ho Ho, master Magician, Ha ha, Prince of the Black Art,
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  Speaker 1: Boo boo, little wizard, have a care wildly, Necromancer, See
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  Speaker 1: to it that thou dost not practice any of thy
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  Speaker 1: tricks of enchantment upon us. I was glad when the
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  Speaker 1: axe bearer saw my plight and hurried forward to extricate
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  Speaker 1: me from the crowd of angry people. King Galdas met
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  Speaker 1: me at the portal of his ice palace, and at
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  Speaker 1: his heels came Princessnebel, who could hardly wait for her
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  Speaker 1: turn to take a look at the curious living creature,
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  Speaker 1: which I unwrapped just enough to let her see its nose.
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  Speaker 1: The instant Foofkuja set eyes upon the sweet face of
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  Speaker 1: the Kurtu Whipian princess. He stretched out his little arm
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  Speaker 1: as a child might to its mother. This sudden show
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  Speaker 1: of affection caused Sneebel the litheless pleasure, and quickly drawing
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  Speaker 1: off one of her gloves, she reached out and stroked
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  Speaker 1: the animal's head, But at the touch of those to
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  Speaker 1: him icy little fingers, he uttered a low wail. And
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  Speaker 1: drew back underneath the warm pelt in which he was
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  Speaker 1: snugly wrapped. Poor Snebul. She gave a sigh as she
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  Speaker 1: saw him do this, but it didn't prevent her from
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  Speaker 1: coming every minute or so and lifting one under the
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  Speaker 1: pelt just enough to take another look at Fufkuja, who,
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  Speaker 1: while he never failed to cut up closer to me
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  Speaker 1: at sight of the princess, yet invariably thrust out one
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  Speaker 1: of his black paws from under the pelt for Snebel
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  Speaker 1: to shake. While seated on the dieve and nearest the throne,
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  Speaker 1: I observed that Frosty Fizz and Glacier Boy were holding
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  Speaker 1: a whispered conference with his frigid Majesty. All at once
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  Speaker 1: I guessed the subject of their conversation. Rising to my feet,
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  Speaker 1: I made a sign that I wished to address the King,
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  Speaker 1: and when he had dotted his head with stern and
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  Speaker 1: icy dignity, I began to speak. You know, dear friends,
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  Speaker 1: how eloquent I can be when the mood is upon me.
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  Speaker 1: Well Standing there almost upon the steps of King Lydiz's
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  Speaker 1: throat of ice, I proceeded to defend myself against the
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  Speaker 1: charge of being a master with a bl art. I
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  Speaker 1: will not tell you all I said, but this was
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  Speaker 1: my ending. May it please your frigid majesty. Here beside
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  Speaker 1: me stands the only magician in the case, and the
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  Speaker 1: only art. The only trick or charm which was exercised
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  Speaker 1: by him was that sweet power we call love. When
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  Speaker 1: first he set eyes upon his four footed brother locked
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  Speaker 1: in the crystal cell of Schnebul's grotto, he pressed his
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  Speaker 1: nose again and again against its icy wall in vain
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  Speaker 1: attempt to know his kinsman, and turned away with a
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  Speaker 1: cry of sorrow to find that his keen scent could
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  Speaker 1: not penetrate to him. I cannot tell you how great
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  Speaker 1: was his joy when I laid Fufkuja stiff and stark
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  Speaker 1: upon my divan, for I knew not then the scheme
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  Speaker 1: ripening in Bulger's mind. But later all was plain enough.
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  Speaker 1: The loving dog leaves his master's breast and carries his
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  Speaker 1: true and tender heart over to where Fufkuja lies, raises
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  Speaker 1: the pelt, crawls in beside him, and presses his warm breast,
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  Speaker 1: firm and hard against his brother's ice locked heart, and
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  Speaker 1: warms him into life again. Then wakes me and tells
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  Speaker 1: me what he hath done, this royal Galidas and most
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  Speaker 1: noble cultiquerfs is the only art that hath been used
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  Speaker 1: to bring fufkoujab back to life again. And to call
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  Speaker 1: it black is to splander the sunshine rail at the
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  Speaker 1: lily and call the sweet breath of heaven a vile
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  Speaker 1: and detestable thing. When I had ended my speech, I
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  Speaker 1: saw that schnebel had been weeping, and that several of
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  Speaker 1: her tears stopped in their course down her cheeks, hung,
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  Speaker 1: their sparkling like tiny diamonds in the soft light of
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  Speaker 1: the alabaster lamps, where the chill air of Galindus's palace
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  Speaker 1: had turned them into ice. And therefore, when his frigid
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  Speaker 1: majesty said that my words had touched his heart and
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  Speaker 1: bade me ask for a gift from his hand, I said, O,
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  Speaker 1: cold King of this fair, icy domain, let those tears
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  Speaker 1: that now hang like tiny jewels on Schnebeul's cheeks be
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  Speaker 1: brushed into an alabaster box and given to me. I
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  Speaker 1: covet no other Garridon, even if I did not love
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  Speaker 1: the little baron, cried King Glydis with an icy smile.
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  Speaker 1: I would be persuaded. But loving makes easy believing. Go frosty, fizz,
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  Speaker 1: and bid one of the Princess's women brush those tiny
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  Speaker 1: jewels that hang on Snebol's cheek into an alabaster cup
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  Speaker 1: and bestow them upon the little baron. Scarcely had this
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  Speaker 1: been done, when Fufkuja thrust his head out from under
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  Speaker 1: the pelt, and, fixing his eyes pleadingly upon me, thrust
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  Speaker 1: out his tongue and opened and shut his mouth with
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  Speaker 1: a faint smacking noise. Quick as a flash, it dawned
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  Speaker 1: upon me that those signs meant that Foofguja was hungry.
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  Speaker 1: And then, as I suddenly remembered that the coltigroups were
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  Speaker 1: strictly a meat eating people, that only meat was to
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  Speaker 1: be had in their ChIL domine quarried, almost like marble
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  Speaker 1: itself from nature's great refrigerators. A gasp escaped my lips,
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  Speaker 1: and I whispered, Oh, he must die, he must die.
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  Speaker 1: My words had not missed the keen ears of Princess
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  Speaker 1: Niebel speak, little Baron. She cried, why why must little
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  Speaker 1: Foufkuja die? What dost mean by such a saying? And
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  Speaker 1: when King Galdas and Schnebel had heard me voice my
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  Speaker 1: fear that he would die rather than feed on meat.
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  Speaker 1: They both became very heavy hearted. Poor little foof Gujja,
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  Speaker 1: moaned the princess. Can it be possible that he must
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  Speaker 1: be carried back so soon to his cristal? Sellid my grotto,
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  Speaker 1: bid the master of my meat quarries approach the throne,
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  Speaker 1: cried King Galidas. Suddenly, in a voice of icy dignity,
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  Speaker 1: this important functionary soon made his appearance. Turning to me,
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  Speaker 1: the King bade me explain the case to him. This
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  Speaker 1: I did in a few words, when, to the great
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  Speaker 1: joy of all present, the master of the meat quarry spoke,
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  Speaker 1: as follows, little Baron, if that's the only trouble, give
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  Speaker 1: thyself no further uneasiness, for I shall at once send
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  Speaker 1: one of my men to thee with a supply of
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  Speaker 1: most delicious nuts. Delicious nuts, I repeated, in a tone
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  Speaker 1: of amazement. Why, yes, little Baron, I have a goodly
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  Speaker 1: supply on hand. Know then, that hardly a day goes
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  Speaker 1: by that by men don't come upon some fine specimen
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  Speaker 1: of the family of naurs, most generally squirrels, in whose
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  Speaker 1: cheek pouches we in veriably be find from one to
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  Speaker 1: half a dozen dainty nuts owed away. It has always
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  Speaker 1: been my custom to lay these aside, and so I
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  Speaker 1: have to inform THEE that if Fufkujah should live to
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  Speaker 1: be a hundred years old, I or my successor could
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  Speaker 1: guarantee to keep him supplied with food. These words lifted
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  Speaker 1: a terrible load off my heart. For now, at least
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  Speaker 1: Fufkujob would not die of starvation. For a few days
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  Speaker 1: everything went well. The Colti corps became quite satisfied in
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  Speaker 1: their own minds that I had not been practicing the
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  Speaker 1: black art in the chilly kingdom of his frigid Majesty,
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  Speaker 1: and each and every one of them became greatly attached
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  Speaker 1: to the curious little creature with a droll little face
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  Speaker 1: and droller manner. But it seemed as if we were
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  Speaker 1: no sooner out of one trouble than we were plumped
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  Speaker 1: into another. For now Fufkujab began to object to the
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  Speaker 1: attendant selected to look after him by King Galitis. The
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  Speaker 1: man was about ten degrees too cold blooded for him,
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  Speaker 1: and ere long it was only necessary for the CULTIQRP
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  Speaker 1: to approach fuff as we called him for short, in
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  Speaker 1: order to throw him into convulsions of shivering, and to
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  Speaker 1: cause him to utter pitiable cries of discontent, which only
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  Speaker 1: ceased upon my appearing and comforting him by my caresses.
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  Speaker 1: I now set to work to devise some way to
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  Speaker 1: make Buff's life more agreeable to him, for everybody seemed
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  Speaker 1: to hold me responsible for his well being. Ten times
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  Speaker 1: a day came messengers from King Galitis or from Princess Nebel,
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  Speaker 1: to ask how he was getting on, and whether we
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  Speaker 1: were giving him warm enough, whether he had all he
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  Speaker 1: wanted to eat, whether he had pelts enough on his bed.
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  Speaker 1: Nor was it an unusual thing to have a score
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  Speaker 1: or more cultiqrp than Mother's call at my quarters during
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  Speaker 1: a single day, with advice enough to last a month.
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  Speaker 1: And therefore was it that, with a view to providing
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  Speaker 1: him with a warmer room to sleep in, I ordered
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  Speaker 1: a divan fitted up for him in a smaller chamber
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  Speaker 1: opening into mine, upon the walls of which I directed
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  Speaker 1: half a dozen of the largest lamps to be hung.
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  Speaker 1: The consequence was that the walls began to melt, hearing
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  Speaker 1: of which consternation spread throughout the icy domain of his
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  Speaker 1: frigid majesty. For to the mind of a coltyquerpin heat
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  Speaker 1: powerful enough to melt ice was something terrible. It was
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  Speaker 1: like the dread of earthquake shocked to us, or the
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  Speaker 1: fear of flood or flame. It was something that filled
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  Speaker 1: their hearts with such terror that in their dreams they
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  Speaker 1: saw the solid walls of the ice Palace melt asunder
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  Speaker 1: and fall with a crash. They could not bear it,
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  Speaker 1: and so King Galdus put forth a decree that if
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  Speaker 1: there were no other way to keep foof Guja alive,
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  Speaker 1: then must he die. Hearing this a novel, grief came
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  Speaker 1: upon poor Snebel's heart, for she had learned to love
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  Speaker 1: little Fuff very dearly, and had set a knife in
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  Speaker 1: her breast to think of losing him. Never. Never, she cried,
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  Speaker 1: shall I be able to set foot within my grotto
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  Speaker 1: if fuf Guja is put back into his crystal prison again,
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  Speaker 1: with his frozen smile on his face as once used
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  Speaker 1: to be. And seeking out her royal father, she threw
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  Speaker 1: herself at his knees and spoke, as follows, oh heart
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  Speaker 1: of Ice, O frigid majesty, let not thy child die
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  Speaker 1: of grief. There is an easy way out of all
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  Speaker 1: our troubles with dear little fuff Guja speak, beloved, Schneebul,
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  Speaker 1: answered King Glyddis. Let me hear what it is. Why,
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  Speaker 1: cold heart, said the princess. The little Baron has plenty
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  Speaker 1: of warmth stored away in his body. He hath enough
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  Speaker 1: for both himself and foof Guja into the bargain. Therefore,
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  Speaker 1: frigid Father, command that a deep warm hood be made
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  Speaker 1: to the little Baron's coat, and that Foofkujab be placed
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  Speaker 1: therein and be borne about by the little Baron wherever
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  Speaker 1: he goeth. He will soon grow accustomed to the slender burden,
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  Speaker 1: and note it no more. It shall be as thou wishest,
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  Speaker 1: replied the King of the Coltiquerps, and calling his trusty
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  Speaker 1: councilor Clesia boy, he directed him to summon me at
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  Speaker 1: once to the throne room. When I heard this terrible
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  Speaker 1: order issue from the icy lips of King Glyddis, my
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  Speaker 1: heart sank within me. And yet I dared not disobey,
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  Speaker 1: I dared not murmur, For I it was who had
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  Speaker 1: cleft asunder the crystal prison of the little man with
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  Speaker 1: a frozen smile, I who had made it possible for
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  Speaker 1: Bolger to warm him back to life again. Oh, poor vain, weak,
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  Speaker 1: foolish boy that I had been. What was to become
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  Speaker 1: of me now? End of Chapter twenty seven.