Nikobob carried an ax and a bundle of torches over his shoulder and he walked with his eyes to the ground, being deep in thought as to the strange manner in which the powerful King Gos and his city had been conquered by a boy Prince who had come from Pingaree.

 

Suddenly the charcoal-burner espied¹ a shoe lying upon the ground, just beyond the high wall of the palace and directly in his path. He picked it up and, seeing it was a pretty shoe, although much too small for his own foot, he put it in his pocket.

 

Soon after, on turning a corner of the wall, Nikobob came to a dust-heap where, lying amidst a mass of rubbish, was another shoe—the mate to the one he had before found. This also he placed in his pocket, saying to himself:

 

"I have now a fine pair of shoes for my daughter Zella, who will be much pleased to find I have brought her a present from the city."

 

And while the charcoal-burner turned into the forest and trudged² along the path toward his home, Inga and Rinkitink were still searching for the missing shoes. Of course, they could not know that Nikobob had found them, nor did the honest man think he had taken anything more than a pair of cast-off shoes which nobody wanted.

 

Nikobob had several miles to travel through the forest before he could reach the little log cabin where his wife, as well as his little daughter Zella, awaited his return, but he was used to long walks and tramped along the path whistling cheerfully to beguile³ the time.

 

Few people, as I said before, ever passed through the dark and tangled⁴ forests of Regos, except to go to the mines in the mountain beyond, for many dangerous creatures lurked⁵ in the wild jungles, and King Gos never knew, when he sent a messenger to the mines, whether he would reach there safely or not.

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