i)

:HVSJOHCNId

_*J í i,
 CrrAr,'r'ER I

'lt s raiDing c¡ls itnd do¡js,' contpiaills Killg

l'ristan Iool(ing throLigh thc \\¡indor\,.'\\ltel is il go
ing to stop? This \\'ealher is r e¡lly (kl)r'essi nil... IIo\\'I
lniss the sLlln¡ner'l'
'l)acl, yorr'r'c cxaggclatiDg.' Princess F.l]id ial(es
her iathcrr's h¿rnd. 'Occar¡ rleeds rair, afict so Inalty
months ol soo(l !¡,¡eitlhcr'. Rain is goocl fi)t aEiriculture.
'l l(no\', I kDor'. Do yoü thinl( I'r)r stulli(l? ll it
rlocsn't rain, thc liclds can't pr-orlrrcc $'hcat, and thc
orchards caD't give íipltlcs. lilt I nt sicl( of l)eilts, in
(loors wilh nothing to clo. We hacl sirch l good linrc
l¡st su¡n¡ner, going to l,)Ls ol placcs in that mol)ilc
( irstle yolr
ijilve mc!'
Irnid smilcs and lt¡ol<s at her i'iencl llert, \\ho is
\illing on the floor l)v the lire, reading a booli. I(ing,
¡ ristan"s \.,,or ds ¡ict BcIt's attclltioD, a¡cl Ire loolis rr¡r

lrr ¡rn his bot¡k.

 47

'lJut, Your Majesty, you lovc reading,'he says.

'WbeD I arrived at vour Corlrt,,vou wele vel)¡ happy
because I gave you lots ofbooks as a present tiom ¡ny
lhther, lemember?'

G)
'lhe king sighs, very sad.
2
"lhose u'ere othel tirnes,' he says. 'l've always
liked leading, but now, after reading for so¡ne ti¡ne,
rny head star ts to htut. And I c¿ll)'t distinguish the let
ters well... Somctimes I woDder if it has somcthing to I

(lo with our dear lio]'al Magician.'

'With Malcr)a?'says Enid, with an angry face. i

'You don't think that \,voman has dantaged your eyes

on pulpose, do you? Her l¡agic isn't tlrat powerful!'
1'he king shrugs his shoulders.
'And rvhat other expla¡)atio¡r is tlrere?'he asks.
'llelieve rnc, Malcna lrates me more every day. She
t:an't forgive me for the things I told her alier the af
l:rir of the lalse steam castlc. Since tllen, slle looks at
rne in a way that almost frightens me.'

t 'Well, thele's a solution for that,' says Enid look-

i¡rg at hc¡ f¿rthe¡. 'Disiniss Malenal'
'Dismissing her? No, no, I can't,'says the king
surplised. "fhis kingdom depencls too much on rnag
ic, we can't survive without a liovalwizard.'
 'But there's Lucius!' says Bert from the floor.
'l,ucius is a better wizard than Malena. Why not ap
point him?'
'Because Malena would be furious and she
would rnake life impossible for us all,'says l(ing
Tristan. '\\4rat's rnore, Lucius already has a very im-
portant job: he is Enid's teacher. The future of this
l(ingdoln depends on that.'
'You're too aftaid of Malena, Dad. But there's no
need to be afraid ofher. Especially now, while she's at
that Internationa! Wizards' Congress in the noÍh of
Occam. She won't be back for at least ti'vo lveeksl'

(, 'lt makes no difference,' answers the king.

'Malcna has spies everF¡here. That parakeet she gave
me, for example... I'm sure it's one ofher agents!'
'1.'or goodness sake, Dad... It's only a bird!'
'Yes, I know, but it's a very clever bird. It's plob-
ably magic. He ¡rever does anything unusual when
we'fe near, so we rvon't be suspicious.'
'And why don't you give it to somebody else,
Your Majesty?' asks Bert. 'That way you won't have to
\\¡onT about it...'
'Because it cntertains me! Sometimes I talk to it,
and I forget it's only a bird. I speak to that bird as I
used to speak with my fiiend Marc. Oh Marc! When I
 thinl< you asked him to come back to Occam and he (:iluse that stlange phenonenon. Sorne kind of mi-
reiusedl' croscopic fairies.'
'Marc will come back sooner or later. You nlust 'Do you thiDk they are the same creatures that
be patient, Dad. Those scientific studies he's doing c¿luse thunder and lightning?' asks Bert
will be useful to us here in Occam, when he com
bines them with his magic. But he needs time ro learn tr. The king meditates.
about all those things they know there.' 'Well, no. I don't think so 'Ihere are probably
'Yes, yes. Time. The thing is he abandoned me. two rival groups in the clouds C)ne group practises
I'm sorry, children. I know I complain too much, but l)lack magic, and they procluce thunder and lightniúg'
this rain is driving me rnad. I can't go out, I can't read... lJangerous crcatures, ifyou want my opinion. Proba
And I'm too depressed to rule over the countll'l' bly similar to small dragons, almost transparent'
'l imagine them mor-e like tiny orcs,'says Bert'
o5 Enid is about to answer him.when somethin¡¡ on 'But they could also be a kind of inl¡isible spirits.'
the other side ofthe \a¡indow catches her attention. 'Of course, and I suppose they don't get on very
'Dad, look...' well with those ldnd creatutes \'vllo make the colours,'
I(ng Trislan looks thlough the window. Beyond says the king dreamily. 'l suppose they annoy them all
the rain, on the horizon, there is a splendid rainbo!v. the time, and they don't let them use their magic '
'My goodness, Enid. That is..., that is... iDcrediblel' 'F,xcept whcn it rains,'points out Bert.'When it
Bert leaves his book on the floor and joins them rains, the thunder cleatures suffer a lot, and they ex
at the window. press their pain through thunder and lightning'
'Not even Malena can do magic like that,'he 'lhat's when the othel creaturcs take advantage and
says, impressed. 'I lvonder hon,can the rain produce show their beautiful, colou¡lul rainbows '
sonething like that... Maybe there's magic in the
raindr ops.' 'That's e!1ough!'
'Yes, it could be,'says the king.'Or pcrhaps Enid looks angrily at her friend Bert, and then at
thcre are sorne little creatures in the clouds who King Tristan.
 'But can yor¡ heal yourselves?, she asks. ,yor¡ is magic. NIarc thiDks the same. He lhinks that the laws
are like little children imagining silly stories about of the univelse ale the same evcrywherc, alrd tlrat tlre
the clouds and the rain. Microscopic milgic crea_ only way ofstudying then is thr oulih science.'
tures... Are you c¡azy?' 'So, you think there is a scientific explanation
'Occam is a magic kingdom, child, whether yorr for the rainbor,",' says Belt. 'Br¡t what explanation can
like it or Dot,' replies the kiDg. 'Our explanation ¿¡bout there be? How can something so pelfect appear sud-
those magic creatures in the clouds is perfectly pos- denly in the ¡niddle of the sl<y? t don't know, Enid. I¡r
sible. Why do you thi¡rk it's crazy?, this case, it seer¡s to mc more a question of ¡nagic
'Becausc nobody has ever seen those creatures,, than scicnce.'
says Enid, losing Iter patience. ,That,s a little strange, 'Well, there's only one way to lind out who's
isn't it?' right,'says Flnid.
'l ll¿rven't seen the Earth, and yet I believe in itl, Her fathe¡ leaves the vvindovv and looks at her
says tlte king. 'And I believe iD all your stories about in alarm.
your visit there. Why don'tyou believe in my stoties?' 'No, Enid. Yor¡'re not goiDg to Earth again to
'Because you're inventing the¡n, Dadlyou don,t
look for answers. I don't ¡]ive you r¡y permission.'
really have any idea why rainbows appear in the s$.' Enid sighs u'ith resignation.
'Neither do you,' says l(ing lristan, offended. 'l know, Dad. I'¡r not goirlg to Earth, l)ut I'n go-
'But at least I admit my ignorance. you forget that, i¡.1 ing to ask Marc lbr the answeLs.'
Occam, many things happen that nobody can ex- 'Marc? Enid, Marc is on liarü, and I just told you...'
p¡ain. It's a magic country, a magic rvorld. Ifyou don,t 'l klow. I know I can't go there. But there mr¡st
r¡¡rderstand that, you won't be a good queen when be othcr ways of coDtacting lrim.'
the time cornes.' 'A crystal ball, maybe?' asks the king.
'No, I)ad,' says Enid. 'l'm thinking of u'ritin¡l a
.;) 'l don't see it like that, D¿rd.'l.here,s magic here letter.'
3
because people believe h it and they have invcnted
spells and thi¡lgs. IIlt drat doesn't mean that cveD/thing

t4 t5
 ( . H.\ Pr-I, r,i 2

li('l.i \its or l]ni(l s l)c(l ilnd \\irtcil(s ltel lls sltt

\\ rr¡('\ l) L I LI rlt'r' 1o r \1lr r'.
'l)o r,oL¡ rt"rllt llrirrk it \\'ill !\'()i-lil lle itsl\s. I

. ,lllr. t.t l, I tl tr .t j.
'Arrcl rr'lrv rlol?' Ilis lricrr(l ¡ns\\jcr \. '\{r lritvc it
ririLgl( lrlrlr..rn(l \\c llr()\1 lrorr ir rrrrrlis. \\e Lrrr\\ jL
( iln ll'llDsllr)rl altrlllint Ir orn ()( (:ilnr lo l:lrlh.

\\e l.n()\\ itarLrl ü.1lls]r()rt I)(,()l)ic l)ut \.!( (loIl L

lrro\\ il il ( rn lrirrrsport objc( t\.

Il!\ill \\oll., I nr \Llrc, i¡lsi\l\ l.rirl $llilr'slrI
\\ Ii¡r'\ \r)ll)( \\ or(l\ ort tlre l)itl)ct. '.llt\'\\'it\ , ii it got \
\\ronll \!('\\olt l l{lsc iutvlltilrg. Ior¡tor¡orr rr(' \\ill
,tJ 11
llnrl tlrclc'ttcr \\lr( rr-\\( l)ül it, alr(l Ilr¿lt\\ill l)( c\r'
r\thirril. \()\\, il \'r)Ll {lon'l llrir(1, l]crt, i ¡r(,( Ll (r)

lj( rt \ irl)r)U1 lo l)rot{'\{, l¡rrt lrI ilot'slt t \!hrrr

''-: .
 lvirh her. she is right. Thcy havc rlothing to 'l)on't yori $'¡nt lo hear ¡rbor¡t ¡r\ plan?'she
l{r se l)l tlJ^npvay,
irrg. ¡sks, pLrlting 1he leller in thc cnvekr¡rc.
'( )f coLlrsc I rl(), yol¡ l(now that. Arc yoLr fjoirrg to
lrol a li'\\'nli¡rr1les. Ilelt lratchcs EDid rvhile sht tell nrc ol not?
10
\'\'ri1es. lt's quite l)orin!l lor hirn. Enid closes lllc elrvolop(: and l)lrts it irl frorlt of
'\'or.t ¡rc \\,riling ioo I1luch, f)lid,' hc savs, final her fiie¡rcl's l¡ce-
l\,. 'l l)at lclter is floing lo be longcr tharl it bor)l(!' "l his lctter is morc than ¡ lettcr, llert. lt's an in
'DoIl't be silll,l]crt. 1'rn fi¡risiring. You see'a l vitation. AD invitation to a part\'... Ard I'rr r srlre VIalc
just r)ccd t{) sign il an(l that's it.' is lloinlj to accept.'
Lnid dra\\s a prclt)'fl(ru¡ish un(icr her nant( 'llut, llDid... r\rc \'ou inYiling IIarc to cornc to
ancl looks rrt het lt iencl, hap¡11,. occar¡r'1 \'v€'ll, he's not floing t() corrrc, even if fhc let
llert fjocs t{) (he (lesk lvhilc the Priltcess looks tcr is lon¡¡. f lc c\l)lirine(l i{ to Vou hi¡nself. llc docsn't
for ar envclopc. \!a|t l() conl('ba(L unlil he l<norvs:rll thc sectcts o1
'Thrce conrpletc palies on l)oth sidcs?'says tltc lcrtestt ial scicDc0.
bot, ast<¡nisherl.'l)o \'(JLl ueed to \rr-ilu so lrlr¡ch lo
irsk Nlirrc al)out rainborvs?'
.12
'l Iknow. l(lon't lqrow mucll irl)otrt ter
l<norv,
hnid s¡liles. She alteacl¡'htrs an enfelopt ill hcr rcstr-iirl science, l¡Lrt I k¡r¡\\'Nl¿rIc, ¡rrd I krro\\'llc is ir
hand. l)crfectionisl. He irh'r¡aVs \\¡ants to lcarn c\¡erylhirlg-
Oh, lle¡t, lllat tlling al)oLlt the l¡inbo!\ is olllf I le can sta\' on Earlh lbr Ycars ¡nd \ ('¡rs, l('ilrnins sci
an cxcuse. t havc a pl¡rl, ancl I necd Marc to calry it cnce, ¡rnd hc will ncvel think it's cnough. And rry fa
()LLt.' ther nceds hi¡¡ hcrc. II¡rc ls ltis bcst frioncl, and he's
'A plan? ll)id... Yor.rr'¡rlaus alwavs geL lrs into so depr-essctl...'
proble msl' llert sh¿rlies his Iieacl.

,'llc rvas allt'¡tlt'tlcpressed ! l)en \!e \a,(:nt io

lrni(l \,ritos NIarc s ¡lilrne orr thc cnvelollc. Orr ¡rarth lnst tillre, Lc¡Denrl¡t-'¡? \!c tol(l NIa¡c aboi¡t tht
11
th{. ll;r.k. she \!r iles thc ad(lrcss ol Occ¿lor Caslle. king and n't' asketl l¡inr to coDle back rlilll us. Ilut llc

r8
 didn't come. Why do vou think it's going to bc diller
ent no\ ¡?'
'Because I'm not asking him to sta-\r in Occam
lbrever. I onl,v want him to come to the party. Alter
that, he can go back to I'lafih if hc wants to. It u'ill
only be a fcrv houts. He can't sa1, nol'

G)
13
'^nd lvhat u,ill Malcra say if shc discovers this?'
asl(s Bert.
'Nlalena is at lhe \\¡izards' Congtess! She rvill
nevcr hear about Marc's visit. Only ifNtarc decides to
stay and takc her job. Imagine Malena's faccl'
Bert looks wor-rieal.
'You're daydrcaming, 11nid. That's not going to
happeD. Marc isn'l going to come just bccatlse yon
ask him. He would need a better rcason.'
'Wc neecl his help: that's the best possible rea-
son. We nced hirn to explain us how rainbows folm
and also to prepare all the special effects of light and
colour for the patty.'
'And you think that's a llood leason? With nlag
ic you cirn get all kinds of effects of light and colour.
Al)d Marc knows that.'
'Qf coursc he knor,"s. But he will take my ques-
tions as a challenge. h the letter, I tell him that Lucius
thinks magic is bettel than science for colour- effects. I

2l
 sLlppose he'll \'!ant to show LL¡cius that he is corn
pletr::lt'r._rong.'
Bcrt stnilcs.
'That's a good idea. (]r¡ite a clever planl'

',\nci thcrc s molc. I tcll hin also about mv f:r'

tller's prol)lenrs \\,i1lr his eyes. I exagger¿te r liltle... I
tcll hil¡ that N4alcnil \fants to trcat thc: ldug s cJ,crs \\ itlr
a magic charllr I ln surc that uJill mill(c him comc.'
'\'ou're goirg too 1¡r, F)ri.1.'lJert is no Iol.lger
slniLing. 'tr4arc Nill knou you'rc lyi¡g. I lc .lirhr't

ru sccnr stupid to 1ne.

o\
-s¡t

srÁl'Ár¡l?AvZ5r gO
 'What l'm saying is not completely false,'thc
princess defe¡rds herself. 'l'rn ol11y tclling ]rirr things
mv o\{¡n !vay. I hopc it works... Come on, lct's su/itch
on the iamp.'
With his heart beating qu¡cldv, Bert follo\,vs Enid
to the middle of the room.
The travcl lamp is on the floor, ready for use.
Marc brought it from Earth on onc of his Iirst trips. It
works with an invention called "bulb", and to sn'ilch
it on all you have to do is to press a button.

o
15
'l thinkwe have a problcm, Enid,' says Bert. 'lf
lve press the button and the light comes on, the letter
won't tfavel alone. We'11go with it!'
'No, we \,von't. I have a plan... fhat's \4'hy my
fiiend Nicolc is hele.'
'A doll?'Bert looks at Nicole's smiling face.
'Enid, you're mad...'
'No, l'm not, you'll see.' * ú oi!'-'--,
Enid puts the letter on the floo¡, very close to
the lamp. Then she ties a string around Nicole's an- E,
t; "rúñ;].
-: --'t-ELi
Ke. She puts the doll beside the lamp and she begins
to unroll the stling little by little, ú,hile she rvalks to \ ''t.il¿
rl¡
'li^ \<r
wards the door.
'Come on, come ivith me,' she says to Bert.
'Once rve're outside the room, I'll pull the string.

24
 Nicole will l¿rll o¡ thc switch ind tulr lhe lanlp on.
It's rcall]'easv.'
Bert is not sure about lhe pla¡r, but he lbllorvs
Enitl. 'they walk slowly fron tlrc room. 'l hey must not
trip on the string or Nicole \\'ill tall too earl)'.

lr.,
\. lá Whel llre\ ¿¡e lirrallr ot¡l.ide, Inid courl\ to
thrce. Then slte pullr the srrirr¡¡.
They hcar a soft noise from the loom, a¡ld a
golden light filters through the cracks around the
door. Little l)y little th{r light bcgins to change colour.
Enid and Bcrt press lhcmselves against the wall aDd
wait. Ijrom r{hele thev are thev caD watch the chang-
i¡rg litiht frorn the lar p rvithout travellinla to Eartlr.

:ii ',

..:;:..::
 'Actually, the lamp can't be a hundred pcr cent Enid goes ¿rs lt'hite as the pearls of the royal
terrestrial,' says Bert.'Magic cloesn't exist on Earth, crown,
but this lamp does magic. Although it has an electric 'But..., but that nleans... that ever)'thing in the
bulb.' room... has clisappearetl too!' she says with a trem
'(Jl course it isn't a hundred per cent terlestrial. bling voice. 'Not just the letter' My doll Nicole '
Marc modified it, and now it works magically t don't 'Yes, and your ward¡obe, your bed, all your
think there are more lamps like this one on Earth. Oth clothes.'
erwise, thousands of totlrists from Earth would come
to Occam every day. The¡ e would be a ter¡ible chaos.'
( n, 'Oh, no! Bert. , what have we done?'
tt 'whut l-tu.'" you done, you mean,' says Bert He
'l don't know, maybe it lvould make your father
feel happier... Hey, we have a problem, now that I looks unco¡nfbrtable. 'You didn't ask my opinion
think of it. FIow are we going to turn the lamp off about an]'thing.'
when you want to go into the room?' 'Okay, yott'rc right, it's my mistake But how ¿rre

Enid bites her ]ip. It's'üue, she didn't think we goi¡lg to solve itl¿'
about that. 'No idea... Look, at least the lamp has gone out '
Bert is right The cracks around the dool are
o 'lcan pull the string again to move Nicole and now completelY dark.
17
make he¡ fall on the button. Let's try it .. Hey, just a Enid opens the door carefully The roorn bathes
minute. What's happening?' softly in the Pale moonlight.
When she pulls the string, Enid discovers that Apart frol11 the floor and the wa1ls, there is noth
there's nothing attached to it. It is also much shorter ing in the room. No carpets, no pictures, no candles'
now. It only reaches the edge ofthe door. no furnitule...
'It's broken,' she says, woüied. 'l wonder why...!' Everlthing has disaPPeared! l

'lt isn't that, Enid,' says Bert. 'lt isn't broken,

don't you see? Part of it has disappeared. 'l he part
fhat was in the room... It has travelled to Earthl'
 CH¡prnn 3

With Bert's help, Enid prepares a sleeping bag

in her empty roorn. She knows that she has to tell her
father what has happened, but she needs courage to
do that. Maybe tomorrow...
The magic lamp is now the only object in the
room.'l'he children look at it in silence for a long
time.
'Do you really r,"ant to stay here tonight?' asks
Bert at last. 'You can hide in my room. Nobody will
find out.'
'Do you think I'm scared? Well, I'm not,' replies
Enid, annoyed. '\4Ihat else can happen, Be¡t? It can't
get worse than it is now. I want to stay here, really.
'fhat way, when Ma¡c anives fiom Earth, I'll be ready
to welcome him.'
'Do you still think he'll cor¡e? I don't know,
Enid. After this...'

30
 Enid ¡¡nagines all her fu¡niture and ornarnents Enid closes her eyes. When she opens them
appearing suddenl¡' in Marc's snrall hor¡se. What a again, she sees two thiÍr silhouettes in frorlt of her.
shock fo¡ hir¡! Some of those things are really heav_v: One is taller than the other. Enid cannot see their
the bcd, for instarlce, and the w¿rrdrobc.'Ihey could faces, because they are standing against the light,
break something, or hit poor Malc. But she is sure of one thing: none of them is Marc.
'Well, I hope he understands,'she nlurmurs. 'Who..., who are you? What do you want?' she
asks. 'Nobody has inüted you here.'
G] When llert goes to his room, Hnid stays awake 'Enid, it's me, Penelopel'says the taller silhou-
20
fbr a long tin-re looking at the moon through the u,i¡r ette, walking towards the princess.'And this is my
dow. she ca¡rnot sleep, she is too nervor¡s. brothe¡ Thomas... In your letter you said you needed
Every4hing has gone lvrong, and she still doesn't help!'
understand why. Last time, when she used the lamp
witlr llert to travel to the Earth, no objects from the lab At last Enid recognises her terrestrial friends.
went with them. What has she done \rro¡rg? For some She opens her nouth, amazed, and she forgets to
reasorl, the l¿rmp worked differently this evening. close it for somc time.
\44ren she ñnally falls asleep, Enid dreams about 'Where is Marc? is all she says.
beds and wardrobes that travel in the sl<y and then go 'Fle must be in bed, with a terrible headache,'
tlrrough the $'indow of a snall terrcst¡ial house. Enid explains 'l homas. 'He went mad wheD all those an-
is floating i¡r one of those beds. But this bed doesn't tique things appeared in his room. He even got ill,
land i¡r Marc's house, it continues floatiDg across the because of the shock.'
sky, and Enid does|l't want to fall... 'Really?' says Enid with an angry face.'Marc
disappoints me. He knows how magic works. He
2l A bright light $¡akes her up. She sits up and can'tbe surprised by such a small thing.'
looks at the lamp, It's gbwing again, írnd that can 'A giant wardrobe broke his television!' says
onl]'mean one thing: despite the rness widr thc furni- I'enelope.'Really, I've never seen hiur so angry. He
tr¡rc, Marc is coming to Occam. said that he would never trust you again, that you
 played with magic without understanding it, and 'No, no. Please stay,'says Enid.'l'm glad that
that your letter was full of lies.' you are here, really. It's just úat... I thought Marc
would come.'
o
23
Enid's face turns red. 'He'll get over it, Princess,' says Penelope with a
'How does he know...? The letter is not full of smile. 'Marc has a bad temper, but he is a good per-
lies, that's a lie! Maybe I exaggerated a little, but son, you know that. Perhaps after a while he will
there are no lies. The important thing is that my fa change his niDd and come to Occam... But mean-
ther needs him here, in Occam. He must under- while we can help you to plepare the party for the
stand that!' kitrg.'
'He was about to destroy the magic lamp, but 'With those books?' asks Enid. 'They don't look
Penelope stopped him,' explains Thomas. 'A¡d then, much...'
when we left his house, we took the lamp. we didn't 'Well, you wait ¿rnd see,'says Thomas.'With
want him to destroy it.' lhese books we can make artificial rainbows, col-
'But then we decided to use it ou¡selves,' adds oured spinning tops, distorting mirrors... Doesn't
Penelope. 'Marc wasn't coming, so why not us? We lhat sound good?'
went into our parents' library and found a book Enid sighs.
¿rbout experiments with colour and another one 'I suppose so,' she says. 'Come on, let's go to the
about optics. We've come with the books, to help lilb and see what we can do... But first we must wake
you ' Itcrt up. If we don't, he'll be angry, and I don't want
'Are you pleased?' asks Thomas, smiling. ¡rrrybody else to get angry with me today.'
'Very pleased,' r'eplies Enid.
But she doesn't lookhappy at all.

o
..2t1
Penelope and Thomas look at each other.
'Maybe this isn't a good idea,' says Penelope. 'If
you want us to go home...'

36 37
 'So, these are the teüestrial children who came

CHAPTER 4 in Marc's place,' he says. 'Well, let me tell you, chil-

dren, you are quite irresponsible. You can't travel be-
tween worlds as ifit were a trip to the country.'
'Look, we came to help,' says Thomas. 'And
they did it before, didn't they?' he adds, looking at
Bert and Enid. 'we have as much ght as they do.'
'That's not the question,' says Lucius. 'The fact
is it's dangerous, that's all. \44rat if we can't get you

10 Lucius, Enid's teacher, takes offhis wizard's hat

home again? And what if the lamp breaks? Marc
.25 knows how it works because he invented it, but we
and wipes his forehead with a handkerchief Then'
he looks at tsnid.
don't.'
'Are you telling me that you took Marc's lamp 'Well, Ma¡c must know by now that we have his
fiom the lab without my permission, and that you lamp,' says Penelope calmly. 'If we take a long time
used it to conlact him?' he asks
to get back, he'll come to collect us, and he'll know
'l sent him a letter,' replies Enid looking at the how to fL\ eveq,thing. I trust him a lot.'

floor.'To invite him to a party here in Occam, and 'Oh really? Well, in that case, why didn't you
to ask him for help . But everything went wrong' tell him that you were coming here? \A{iy did you
take the lamp? You didn't ask his permission, did
The letter didn't travel to Earth alone, but with all
you?'
the furnitur€ in my room And, according to my
Lucius looks really angry.
friends, Marc was furious when all those things ar-
rived there.'
Lucius l0oks with interest at Penelope and her fir 'What's'Come
done
on, don't talk llke that,' says Enid.
is done.And it's true that
they are here
younger brother Thomas The children stand behind
princess Enid, waiting for her to finish her long ex- lo help me with the party. They have brought some
l¡ooks...'
planation.

3a
 'Yes, yes, very interesting,' says Lucius. 'But this
is not the time to organise a party.'
'\\hat party are you talking about, Lucius?'
They all look up, surpdsed to hear the voice of
I(ing Tristan.
'l was looking for you... and here you are, my
friend. Conspiring with my daughter, as usual.'
'Conspiring?' asks Lucius angrily.
The king starts to laugh.
'Dont lok at me like that, it's a joke.'

tr
rl
i
i
 'l thought the killil \\'¡s deplcssed,' savs I)eneloPt' 'l sec.' lht' kilg grl\ hi\ \'isilrlrs irrtcl pats
nL'ar
in I honas's cilr. 'Btlt hc s i1 a vely good nlood.' their heads in a protecli\('nr¿rnnct. \\'cll, children,
don'l lvony. I)on't $,orry ¡hout anvlhillg. \{e'll scn(l
King 'l\ istan hcars hcr collrlrrent. vou horne as soon as l)ossil)le. Llrcitls \\'ill otganisc
'l allr in ¡ good nroocl, yes,' he sa1's. 'l hope t'rtrr evelvllring, I nr surc... Il('\', \\ hat \!a! that?
rLrr'1 mincl... Who arc yoLt, aDy!v¡)'? Ne$¡ sll¡dents ol At the eD(l ol thc l¡l), a tesl trl)c has just fallen
Luc ius's? I h¡r'eu't sccn I ou belirre. 1o th(' lloor, sh¡ltrring irr lo ir thousilnd pieces. ll's the
'They conre fronr llalth, I)¡(1,'e\plai¡ls hnid. kiDll's p¡r'akecl s fault, \\ho $as lticli[g b('hind it.
'Ihc king scems t:xlr'emclv strrprise(I. llverybodl' lool(s at th('l¡ird, uho llies ¡cross thc
'lrrour Larth? \{cll, \\'ell, no\\,lhat's inlcrestitrg. I to,rrr rrrtd ¡1u,
. r'ttt
tltr,..!ll llrc (l(,i'r.
h¡r'c a frierrd on Eatth. llis narrrc is \larc. I gttess r ott 'l hiit bi|tl \lalen¡ il¡re nre lollon's ¡rc cverr
dorr'l know hilrr, ber:irrrse thc liarth is rttrrclt bigget r,vhclt',' sighs Ilr(' kiDg. I tolcl you, it's a s¡t¡".'
lhrn Oc{:aDl. isn't it? l hilt's úh¿rt \'larc tol(l rDc.-l her(' '(;reat. S{) norv i( lirrows evclvthin!l,'s¡rvs lir'tjd.
lrc rniilions ol peoplL' ovel thet ('-' '^lr(l il i1 teLls II¡lena...
'\\¡ell, rvc dc¡ kno\l lrim,' I llolnas atts$cl s. 'l)on't rvolr\', Lnicl. We'11 retrrrn tltesc cllildrcn
The kid!l looks pcrplcxe(1. lo llrcir lromc l)cfi)rc Nl¡rlcr¡ cot]lcs back,' Llr( i(rs as
'Yolr k¡rt¡$ i\larc'l \\'hat a coincidenct'. Or per sLn cs hcr.
hul)s not... l)iclhe scntl you?'
PeDel{)l)e and lhomas look at cach othet, not 'Just a Dlinute, jlrst a rnint¡tc,'says l)cllclope.
kno\ring uh¡t to sa\'.'lhe\'(lorr't \\'attt 1o hurt 1hc '\\'lrilt ¡L-roL[ 1l]r'parn? \\ic're herc lo help \\'ith the
kirr!l's ieeliulls. rainl)o\r parl\', (lorl t \'r)il r'('rlle¡rllcr? \'oil ilivilecl usl
'1 invitc(l Vou? hrid c:a¡not bclieve hcr-cars.
'Th('chil(lre¡ ¡rc frien(ls ol \larc there orr '\\'ell, \'o askecl trs lirl hel| lo o¡ga¡isc it,'savs
Irrlh,' e\pliliDs LLI(:ius. l'hey starte(l I)lil\irtg \\'illl Ihorlras. '\\r{"\e e\en l)roLLghl tlrr:se l¡ooks... .\nd
l\lirrc s rr¡llic latnp attcl thc,v arrived hcrc. It was ¿lrl Dor\, yotl \\¡allt to scn(l Lrs l)¡cl( to li¡rth willroilt h¿rv
irrg llle parl\'()r ilrl\thins?
 l lre lirg lorrl<ssrsl)rr'ioLlsl\ ¡t l irorrt¡s's booL.s.
IlrL'r .¡1,or orrL'ol rlrc t¡l¡lcs ol tlrc lirl¡. Ilrcrr llrl
Lir q lrrrks ilr hi\ (liiLlqlrtll.
'l lli(1, \!hirt h¡r't'r'oU i]orrc? lr('¡\l(s. l)olr I tell
lll(, \ olt te |r'sprrn:ibLL, lor ¡ll tl¡is.
lrr lr lorrq \t()r\ l)ird IiL'rt ¡lr(l I r)r( t llrcsI
lr'!r,Dcls rr'hcn \\ (, \\'( nt to sc(' Nlllr( r) l'-ln tlr. llret
\(,r{,\r'i\ l\ilrLl lo rr\, so I intrtctl tircrrr tr) ( )cailrrl. l
l lrr" r

l.lli(l \1ops, i)o( l\¡r)\\i]r1,1 lttrrr io r orrtirrttt'. \l¡r

rloIsr'r rrrrrl r1) l¡lL. irl)r)lrt llr'r lr ller l() ITrrrL \hr
Ln()\\\ lhat llcr iilth{ r \\'ill br,rcr! srrrl il hc lirtls 0LrL
Illirt ;\lilrc rr,lrrsr'rl I f icl s in\iLirti()rr to ( r)lrr( brl( l ¡r,
()( i irrr lilr r lcrr rl¡r' lt .lrelL( r Ir)r hif r r11)( {rr lfo\\
 King Tristan seems quite surprised.
'I don't know what you're trying to do, Enid, re
ally,'he says.'l'm sure you had good intentions when
you invited these children to come, but it was a mis-
take. Imagine we can't return them to their wo¡ld!'
'That's just what I was saying, Your Majesty,'
says Lucius.
'That's all very well, but can't we leave it until
after the party?' asks Penelope. 'If we want to o¡gan
ise it properly, we have a lot of$rork to do. The¡e will
be a lot of surprises, Your Majesty. You'Il be very
pleased when you see all the things we're going to
prepare fo¡ you.'
'Is the party in my honour?' asks the king with
pleasure.
'Ofcourse it's inyour honour, Your Majesty!'an-
sners Penelope.'Enid wanled lo g¡ve you a surpt¡se,
that's why she didn't tell you about the inütation.'

o,
32
The king looks at Lucius.
'What do you think about this, old friend?' he
asks.
Lucius shrugs his shoulders.
I 'I don't know what to say, Your Majesty. They
a¡e he¡e fol the party, and it would be impolite to
send them back to Eath inmediatelv. On the other

46
hand, I have to do some expeiments with that lamp
before sending them back, and that will take some CHAPTER 5
time. Two or three days, maybe.'
'Al1 right, then!' says Enid. 'We have time to get
ready and have the Party.'
'I hope so,' says Bert, who has been very quiet
Eve4rbody looks at him curiouslY.
'u,hy do you say that, Bert?' asks Enid.'Don't
you thinkwe are able to organise the party?'
Bert is about to answer that he's worried about 'Let' start with distorting mirrors,' says Penelo
6'¡
pe, consulting the book on optics.'Do you know what
Malena and the spy parakeet. But his worries will
only make things wo¡se, so he decides to change his they are?'
answer. 'Distorting mirrors? Yes, I k¡ow what they are,'
'It's not that, Enid,'he says.'I just wondet if says Bert. 'They are the mirrors in Malena's bed¡oom.

science will work as well in Occam as on Earth... We llverytime Malena tlies on one of her ho¡r'ible dress-
can only use the tricks in these books if it works,' cs, they make her look attractive. Right, Enid?'

'Well, there's only one way to find out,' says 'Please, Bert, don't be silly,'replies Enid.'This is

Enid. 'we must try... Let's try those tricks, and we'll serious.'
soon know if they work.' 'Really? well, I thought it was going to be fun...'
'Distorting mirrors don't reflect your image as it
is, but deformed,' says Penelope to put an end to the
¡rrgument. 'In some mirrors you look short and fat, in
olhcrs you look tall and slim...'
'So, they're magic!'
'No, Enid, they're not nagic,'explains Thornas.
' I lrcy're... scientific. But, according to the book, they
 seerrl quitc casv to nlalie. \'oLl jusl ha\,c to culvr, ¡
nf)rlDal Dtitlot.'

'\'cs. NoInial rninols iu-f' flat, ancl thev lorltr

...¡.,L imagcs the salrre siTc as thc rcal ol)jeait,'exlll¡ins
t o Penelol)e. '13ut, if thc nrirr'or is r:Lllvcd out\.alds,
/
,,',_ñ
'/.) )
z lheD tllc image it 1¡nns is srlallc| than the oitject.'
'Yes, lh¿l's 1r'uc. It s likc \\,hetr vou lool( ¡t voul-
sclfitr tlre bilcl( ofa spoon,' lelnetDl)ers 13cn.'\i)u scc
volrlsclf littlc and lat.'
"l lre1"r e callr:cl con!cri lrlirror-s, s¿rvs l ho¡tas.
'lt sa!! so in thc booL... )"1in{)rs th¡1 alc clllvccl out
wr¡rds alc calleai (:onvc\.'
'Yes, ar)(l lhc othcrs, ihe ones llt¡l cllr\.c in
!\riUds, arc callcd conc¡ve,'lrrlds l)cncLrpc. it's all i
llr('book.
'\ e¡h... likc \\,hcn vou lool( al \1)lrrscll ilt thc i¡
',irlc ol ¡ spooD,' points oLll Ilert. 'Yoltr facc lool(s
l()r)g,.loesn'¡ it?'
l)enelo¡rr: looks up fronr booli br'lirrc
,\rr,ring hint.
'Yes, \.,'ell... It clcpcncls where yoo stand. ll vou at-c
t l¡,.i lo lhe concalc minor, theD vou see yctursciflorrg.
llrl il Vou Irro\¡c al, ay, yoll see \oiuscllupside do$'1.'
"ihat's (jalle(l an "in\clteLl relle(:lion",' savs
llrorr;r,l
 35
'l'vc got an ldea,'snys Enid. "fo I¡rake thr¡se FIe listeus to the pri¡rcess's rcqucst in silence
n1i1rors, \ve cirn ask for help fiont thc lloyal Glazic¡.' ancl, u'hen she Iinjshes speaking, hc bou,s.
'Good.' Penclopc looks at the |oom they are in. 'Yor¡'ll have even thit)g reaclv lhis aftertroon,,
he
'We can put the cLrrvcd nlirrors hcre, and therr, irl an tells ther¡
other slDaLler roonl, we can linc thc lvalls and the Pe¡telope ¡totices sontc pieccs of cut glass on
a
ceiling rvith ¡ror nlal Irirl ol s. l hat \\,ay the images r{ill table . S¡nall raitrbo\\,s come ou( ol then.
rcbound lionr one ntirror to ill)othel and they rvill be 'lley, tltose pieces ofglass arc f¡rrlastic plisms.
infinite. lt will look really goocl, you'll see.' They woulcl look grcat jn thc rai¡rbow roomj,
They all go to see tlrc Royal Glazier, who has llis '1ake theru ifyoLr like,, says tIrsLls. .I
cli)lr,t treed
rvorkshop in one of the towcrs in the no¡ lhenr part ol the¡n at the inotnent.'
llIe castlc. Pc¡lelopc puts the p¡isnts i¡r her trr)user pockel.
Thc glazicr, a b¡g nran with a long blonrl beard,

l
I
is called tLsus, a¡d he is a man of fewwords. 'llave yor¡ got tnv zoolrl ]cnscs?,she
L asks. ,Wc
could clc¡ a lot ofthi[gs with a fcw zoonr lenses.,

u I
I

l
I

l
 'I'm sorry, I don't unde¡stand,' replies the gla-
zie¡, confused. 'r'A,4rat are "lenses"?'
'You a¡e a glazier and you don't know what a
lens is?' asks Thomas, astonished. 'You know what a
mirror is, don't you?'
'Of cou¡se I do,' replies Ursus, offended. 'It's a
surface that reflects rays oflight.'
'That's right. Well, a lens is a piece of glass or
plastic that, instead of reflecting the rays of light, re-
frácts them.'
'lt does what to them?'
'It refracts them, Ursus. That means it bends
them, it changes their direction.'
'And what's the use ofthat?' asks the glazier.
'Well, it is used for quite a lot ofthings,' replies
o Penelope, 'There are two kinds of lenses, conver-
,
gent and dive¡gent. Convergent ones are thicker in
s the middle than at the sides, and they make images
l
bigger. Don't you think that's useful?'
L

'Have you never seen a magni¡'ing glass?' asks

Thomas. 'Or a telescope?'
The glazier shakes his head.
'But I can try to do that and see ifyou are telling
me üe truth,' he says. 'Yes, one of üese days I'm go-
lng to'cut a piece of glass that's thicker in the middle
tlran at the edges, and we'll see ifit wo¡ks!'

55
(t 'And what a¡e divergent lenses?' asks Enid 'The
37 CHaprsn 6
opposite of the others?'
'Yes, exactly,' says Penelope 'They're thicker
in
the im-
the sides than in the middle, and they reduce
ages.'
'That's not very usefut, is it?' asks Enid'
'Yes, it is! Those lenses are very useful Short-
ob-
sighted people use them, for example They see
because they have a sight
¡ects too big and unfocused
glasses' the For the next two hours, the four child¡en con
defect. With divergent lenses mounted as \tó
' ^., centrate on drawing different characters on sheets of
images they see are smaller and more focused
card. Then they cut out theil heads, bodies, arms and
'Have you studied all that to impress us?' asks
legs separately. Penelope explains to the others how
Enid, looking at PeneloPe
to join all the parts of the body together again using
'Well, I studie<l it at school a few weeks ago"
Thomas found is pieces ofthread. when they aIe ready, they glue a lit-
says Penelope. 'And this book that
tle stick to the back of the head, another to the body
helping me to remember.'
irnd one more to each arm.
'l haven't done it at school yet, but I read the
'They look really good,' says Enid 'The sticks
bookbefore the t p,'explains Thomas 'Well' what
are
irre used to move the alms and the head, aren't they?'
we going to do while UISus Sets üe mirrors
ready?'
'Yes,' says Penelope. 'lt's a bit difficult at firct, but
'We are going to make puppets,' says his sister'
yr)u learn with practice. We had a puppetworkshop at
'But not normal puppets.. we are going to prepare a
morc s(:hool last year, and the shadow puppets were my fá
shadow thcatre, to show Bert and Fnid some
\,or.lrites. Have you got any transparent plastic?'
interesting things about light '
'Plastic?'rcpeats Enid. 'l don't knowwhat plastic
ls, l)ui I've 8ot a kind of magic transparent cardboard
l,i)ok, this is it.'

57
56
 Flnid opens a clra!\ er in thc desk an(l takes olrl a 'l;ast ancl healtltv lirorl,,sa!s Lüc, sntiling. ,llis
pilc of llcxiblc rcctanglcs. Majesh tol(l lIc that Yotr are \'ctl Lrusr,anrl he askerl
'ls this nragic cardboar d? \\'ell, it looks like plas ¡ne to prcpare sotJletllill¡l dclicious fi)r lrrDch, so hcrc
lic, s¡\'s lbotnas. '\\'hat are ]'ot¡ going to do 1\'ith it, vou arc,'
l)enelopc?' 'Thank You vert r¡trrch, Luc!' s¿r!s Lni(1.
'xlore pLLppels, but these n ill bc almost lral]s 'l hc clteese
and r:ucurtrbcr s:lDd\\,ichos are dcli_
l)aren1. Il ) oLl'1'c gr)t s{)mLr paint, u'e'll color¡r thcnl a cious. ADd the pirsta \\,itlt s¡lnton an(l olires too...
litlle, an(i that !ra\ thesc pup¡rets uill ¡rroject tcd, \\¡hcn tht'r'linish ratiDg, peDelopc pt.opr)scs tí)
bhre and ] ello\v shadorvs.' get the l]liltiatr¡re sha(lo\1 tltcatre read\,.
'¡-his is grcal ft¡D!'says Bc¡t. lle is realll'e¡rjoV '\\1'nced a l\,hi(c sltect t{) use
¡rs ¡ scl.ecn,,shc
¡ng hirnsrlf, because hc is good iü aÍs an(l crafls. 'liLlt cxplaiDs.'^nci also a Iarnp to l)u1 Ill]hiD(l llle scrceD
what iire !\,e lloi¡1g to clo u'ith the¡¡:¿' aDCl lhe l)ul)pcts.'
'\Vc necd a roonr to se1 rrp a lrlinianrre the¡trt. 11 'Will solnc cirD(lles (lo?'asks llnid.
possible, next to t1tc hall of mirrors,' suggesls I)elrelope. 'Y('s, I think so. CaDcllelight trelnblcs, ancl that
'Yes, that's possible,'s¡!'s Enid. '\\¡e arc gr)inll t.) $,ill rnake lhc irnages ot) lhc scr-ccll qr¡itc gllosth,.
hai,e the ¡rarq'iD the east si(lc ol the castle. Ihere arc (lomc olt, lct's tlt'!'
four loorns i¡r ir iorr thal are jl¡st right li)r this- i told
Ursus to put ul) tlle cllr'\'ed mirlors jn the Iirsl loonr Á.
.¡t lni(l
calls at the larLld¡\,and takcs a \\,1)itL,shcet.
and the othe¡ ¡rinols in the seco¡d olre. lhe thir(l l llen shc goes \\'i1h llc¡ li.ieDds to thc east side
ol.tirr
c¡¡e can be lbr the shadow theatre... ( astlc. Witlr f3crt's hclp,
she han¡¡s a ropc li0n onc
the tbrrrth [or the tainboN effectsl It's |Dtl ofthe lr¡our to the othel, atld theD they harlg tho
"\nd
gotrd ¡rlan,' sa\s PeneLope. \h(]et f¡ol¡ 1he ¡.ope.
'lt's a ¡rerfect screcn,' savs l.honlas. ,N()\1,.
thl
'fhc)' stop \\'ork \Lhon l.uc, thc Rolal CIrcl.
Lalies thcm sor¡re sandrriches il¡l(l pasta salad to th| 'fhcy takc a candclabrtr¡r ancl light its sc|eD
lJbrarl ¡urdles. Then, Tht¡n¡s ¡nd Bcrt
.
llo to the othor sidc

59

H
of the scree¡l and sit on the floo¡. llehi¡ld the sheet,
I'lnid and PeDelope begin to move one puppet each.
Penelope's puppet represents a knight, and Enid's is
a dragon.

Bert watches in ¿rülazement as the shadows ol'

the knight and the dragon move across the sheet.
Sometimes they are larger and sorneti¡nes they are
smallel.
'FIow do thcy do it?' he asks. 'FIow do they makc
thern cha¡rge size?'
'C)nc of our books explai¡rs it, too. Thc sizc ol
the shadows depends on how close they are to the
light source. \A4.ren thcy are closer, they get b¡gger.'
 'And why js thal?'
'You sce, ra]'s of light always go in a st¡aight
line. And il tbe],n)eet an obstaclc, tlle)'ciln'l go
rorrnd it, do vou riDderstaDd? flte obstaclc stops
lhcrn. Il an opa(luc object is placed betlleen a light
soLlrce and a lvail, the r¿¡ys that hit the object don'1
reach 1l¡e !\'all, and tou see thal are¡ as (lark Tllat's
a shadorv! The ncarcr tlre object is to tlre light
soLrrce, ¡norc r'¡vs it carl detain, an(l thc bi88er thc
sh ad orv.'

'l liet it. Bl¡t

h{)w (lo vou ntilke thc rcd ilnd vel
low sbadows of thc puppets?'
'\\'ith a tr¡lrsparcnt ¡ltaterial piiiilled iIr thos('
coloul.s- The light l)asscs througlt lhe nratcrial iin(l
st¡iDs iD its colotlr.'
'IIcy, you're ltot l)aving itny attclltion!' saYs
Enid, kroking rouncl lhc sidc ol lhe slletl. 'l)on't \ otL
liko tht shorv?'
'lt's vcn goocl,' si¡\'s lholllas. 'But \(hitt al)otrl
our chirracters? When the king cotrtes ¡li fttur ol rr:
\\,ill have to act, anclrvc lravc¡r't prcparecl thc short
'lt docsn't nlalter, r!e'll inlprovise,'sal's llDi(l
'Btrt non, let's plcpart' the t¡inborv roottl... A¡rl
ú,he¡ the sun floes down, \,e'll start th(r party, $'hrrl
do vou thi¡k?'

62

H
 'l think there's somethi¡'rg,vou forget, Enid,' I

po¡rts or.lt Thomas. 'The surl must shine oD the gl¿¡ss CHAPTER 7 I
plisms, so they cal fblm lainbows. And if we hold
the party at night...'

Penelope and Enid exchange glances.

'That's truel Fle's right,' exclaims Penelope.'We
can't hold the partv in the evening. What about to-
rnorrow morning?'
'A party in thc ¡norning?' says Enid, suryrised. 'l 4., The next morning, they all have breakfast
va in the
don't know. That's nof very normal in C)ccam.' lloyal Dining lloon. The king and Lucius are
there
'And on Eartlr, eitherl'says Penelope.'But thal too, waiting to see \a,hat the chilclren have prepared
cloesn't ¡¡ean u,e can't do it. We'll leave eve¡ythiD[] lbr the parry.
ready today, and tomorrolv...' Enid is quite nervous, because she wants every_
'Tomor row we rvill show my father all the things lhing to be peíect. Luc, the chef, has preparecl
dough-
that we can do without m¿lgic, using only the polvet nr¡ts and chocolate paDcal<es, whjch ate
two ofhet fa
of science!' says lrnid, her eyes bright with excite vor¡rite foods, but she finds it difficult to
eat an¡hing.
lnent. 'Come
oD, llni(1, everyrhing is going ro go
.
wcll,' Penelope ,Everything
says in her ear. looks
l:rDtastic.'
'Yes, I know. Everything looks really good,
but
I lrtve exaggeratorl a lot írbout rlte party, arrd
rrow
trry father is cxpccting too much. Everything
we
hirve plepared is very pretty, but you know,
it isn,t
rrs spectacular as the things Malena
does wjth her
r r r ¡¡gic.'
 'well, at least it's different,'says Bert.'l drink
the ling ¡s bored rvitlr so rnrrclr magic, lioor nran.
Wait alld see how much he will like the mirrors. Hc
\\'ill laugh a lot.'

(.) Bert is right, as usual. The king loves the convex

't6
¡nirrors, lvhere he can see himself short and fat, and
also the concave ones, in which he looks tall anci
slim-'l'he good n1an kecps goiDg from one to another,
and he can't stop lauglli¡rg.
'Look, Enid, in that minor you look as tall anrl
horrible as Malena,'he says to his daughter, pointing
at her leflection.'You look holrible!'
'And you look like a fat frog in this one, Dad,
lookl'
Then they go to the Dext room, which is lined
with mirrors from floor to ceiling. There, King Tristan
goes dizzy with the thousands of im¿rges of himsell
that surround him.
'^re you sure this isn'tnragic?'hc asks.'Becausc
it looks like magic to n]e.'
'lt isn't magic, Your Majesty,'says Penelope.
'lt's science. You see? All this happens because of ¡
property called "light reflection". Some surfaces,
such as mirrors, make rays of light rebound, instead
ofabsorbing them.'
 I

And what's in
effective 'lt's because of nry personality,' says thc ki¡'rll
'Yes, yes. Well, it's very
clecidcdly. 'Yes, I think I cor¡lcl do this for a living... I
the next room? l'm so impatient to see it!'
Well, Enid, I must thank yot¡ for all this. And Bert,
sit and your tcrrestrial fricnds too, of course. I've really
G] In the shadow toom King Tlistan and Lucius
the child¡en have enjoycd myself and no\a, I'm in a very good mood.'
on the floor to watch the slrow that
prepared. (" 'llut there is still one more room, Dad,' explains
ln thc play, Enidworks the puppet ofawitch
Bert's
andThomas's Enid. 'You ale going to love it,.ir.lst wait and see. It's
puppet is a;ra;on, Penelope's aprincess'
.I.ñ"y }tavc no writteD roles' so they makc the Ilainbow Room.'
u.fr"pf-r"r,f
don't know what Il¡rid opens solem¡rly the door to the last roonl.
them up as they go alo[g When they
pretending that When he er)ters, the kirrg opcns his rnouth and for-
to ,ny, tlt"y do ,u,ttething funny, like
like that gets to close it. He is astonished.'lhe decoratioD is so
their puppet sh)s and falls, and things
these things' beautilul that he has never scen anything like tlrat in
The king, who is very childish witll
fron time to his long life.
laughs very mttch. Flven Ltlcius smiles
the k¡ng Hundreds ofglass prisms hanfl from the cciling,
tim;. 'l hc ;ho$' lasts half au hout' and then
go to the other si(iL some i¡nmobile, some turnirrg gently. And each one
asks the actors for permission to
pup¡lets himself (¡fthem projects a small rainbow on the w¿lll or in the
of the screen ancl work one of the
irir. There are thousands of rainbows everyrvherc: o¡r
'This is inc¡edible, incredible" he rept:ats ovct
the furniture, on tl'¡e wi¡rdows, on the floor and even
and over again
on the faces ofthe guests.
He shakes his tllagon furiouslY uP alld
do$'rr
'lt's wonderful..., r,r,onderful. I don't know rvhat
just behind the sheet
lo say,' says the king. 'How have you done it? It looks
'How does mY dlagott look fron the other sitlt,
like magic!'
Lucius? l'errifying?'
'Ursus made the p|isms,'exp¡ains linid.'ln thc
"felrifying and very convincing' Your Majcsll
role of dragon stttt' l(.rrestrial book wc read that the white light of the sun
Yor¡'re a Iirst class actor, and the
ls really composecl of rays of different colours. \{4ren
]rou perfectlY.'
 the_v cross lhe glass prisrDs, the r¿rvs change specd,

,il a¡rd they separate Irom each othe¡. That's $,hy those
rainbows appear...'

(s A distant sour)d of trreaking glass makes Enid

stop her explanatiolr. Sonlebody has just entered the
hall of mirrors.
'A thorrsand curses!' screams a wonlan's voice
in the distance.'This is horrible!Who dares to hold a
party here without lny perDrission?'
Bert ¿¡Dd En¡(l look at each other, tetrified.
'lt's lValenal If she riiscovt'rs Penelope and
'l'homas herc, r,r'e're in trot¡l)Ie...'says Enid.
'You are right, slte could intprison them for
(:rimes agairst magicl'Lucius seenrs reaily agitatcd.
'(lome u¡itlr ne, child¡en, I will hide you. We have to
l)revent Nlalena frorD discoveling you at anv cost.'
Mirlena's footstops draw nearol.
'And this shect in thc middle of the clarkness?
Wllat the devil does it mcan? lust a nolneDt, thcre
¡r('some cxtremelv ugl_v dolls here... I'll take carc of
llr('nr later!'
While Malena talks, l,ucius opens a windou¡
r Itl¡t next to the ga¡ tlen. Penelope and Thonras cli¡rrb

llrrt'uglr i¡, ¡llld Llrcllr. lollurv' thenr.

7l

d
 I

.)
50
The king, his hands trembling, is closing tbe 'l can't believe it, your Maiesty. This book...
window when Malena bursts into the room. This is a science book! Do you know what it means?
'Your Majestyll! What do you think you're do- Alien knowledge. A danger for our kingdoml How
did
ing?' she shouts. it get here, can anybody explain it to me?,
'1..., L.., I'm closing tlle window because I don't Bert and tsnid shake their heacls, and the king
want to catch a cold. Goo... good morning, Malena. I swallows.
didn't expect to see you so soon.' 'lt must have appeared by magic,,is the onlv
Malena's parakeet is flying around her, break- thing he can say.
ing the stri¡rgs of some prisms with its wings. Thc 'Are you making fun of me, you¡ Majesry?,
asks
glasr falls to the floor and breaks into pieces. Malena, her eyes blazing with anger. ,l know perfect-
'Itwas that bird,' says Enid. 'My father was right, ly well that this book is not f¡om Occam, but fiom
it's a spy.' that other world wltere they practise ,,science,,. And
'l've come back early because someone in now, I hope you can explain to nle how you got it.,
formed me of some irregularities here in my ab 'Me? But it's not mine. It,s...,
sence,' says Malena. 'Your Maiesty, all of this... I 'Dad!' says Enid, alamted.
hope you can explain it to me.' The king stops speaking and looks at his daugh-
'Explain it to you? Malena, my dear, there's ter, startled. He was about to say Thomas,s name,
nothing to explain. The children have organised rr Enid stopped him iust in time!
pa¡ty for me, that's all. A su¡prise pa¡ty.'
'l see.' 'Very well, I can see what you are doing,,says
6t Malena with a malicious smile. ,you think vou can
o Malena looks at one of Thomas's books on o¡r hide the truth lrom me, but I know mor. tÁarr
vou
tics. ll)ink... Where are ¡he aliens? I Lnow
1ou,re protecr
'And what's this? Let's see...' ing them.'
Malena opens tlle book. As she turns the pagcs, 'The..., the aliens?, ¡epeats the king looking
her face shows growing irritation. irround him witll fear.

f3
H
 'She means Marc's fiiends, Dad,'whispers Enid.
'Don't say an¡hing, please. Leave this to me.'
'\^¡hat is it, pdncess?' Malena grabs Enid by the
arm. 'Secrets again, right? Tell me where those chil-
d¡en a¡e, o¡ I'11...'
'They've gone back to Earth,'says Enid.'They
have escaped from you this time, Malena. I'm sorry.'
'That's not true. You're not sorry.'Malena looks
at Enid with malice. 'I'm going to find out what has
happened here, believe me. And if those aliens a¡e
still in Occam... I will give them a lesson they will
never forget!'

I
7A
 lab. \\iith ¡ll the troubl( that \lalcn¡ is m¡kin!i, il s
CIL,\P't'ltR B bcltcl to sc¡d l)t'nelopt' rrllcl 'l hornas [)¿rck to Ilarth ls
soon as possiblt. If llirlcna linils 1hcrn, ull() kno\\'s
wlt:r( shc ct¡uld d<rl

( ,., It's gcttinfl (lark, ¡n(l EDid caD'l cr)ncenllate o

'" tllc hool rlre is tt .rdrn¡¡.
Bert is copving a lnap at his desli. IIe hirs harcllv
sai(l a \^(rrd all aflcrnor)n.
willl Nl¡lcna's rrrival, tlte par tv finisltes allrtt¡ri Sucltknll, the libnr! door opcns. Enid looks u¡)
Ir'. l hc king r('t(lr'rls 1o the I hrollc Iloolr Ieelitlg satl, Iionr hel lrooli, h()¡irig tr) see l.u(:ius, l)l¡( ii's rl()1hiDr;
rLnd IrriLl arr(l llcrL lilkc Itrlttge itr the librarl l'ttc it \ hel Ilther.
'l ltc l<ing lool<s tlizz¡'. llc lvall<s likc a drunk
scrlcs lheir lt¡nch lhi:rc. lte tclls therlr tllat King
'l rista¡r doesn't \\'¡ll1 to Ial allvthiúg l)ccausc lle r¡¡¡r... ,\rcl he c¡r'r'ies l cr\still ball Llrlder his arnl.
tlocsr'l fecl rtcll. l'hc ball shincs with ¡ str¿rng('lnixtrrrc ol (:olouro(l
ll¡rid asks Ltlc il LuciLrs is \!i1h thc king, l)tL1 f¿l\'s.

l,tlc srrys tllirl IIis Nlajest)/ is alolle Elri(l and llcr t 'llc... hello, chilrllcn,'hc sals. 'l iirttl yott a{
don't knort nhat ltas ha¡r¡rcned 1o Lucitls and tlleil l¡sl... L.., I tlon't li:elut'll. NI! h('ad is spinDing.'
tcrlcslrial ft ictlds. l hcy carr'l go ¡rtd look lor Ltrcitts '\\lhrt Itas happerctl, Dacl? asks Enid, going
i11 thr lab, bccausc i\lalona is ptobabll' spYing otl ¡rcct hirrr. 'Yr¡u krok holliblel'
lhenr. '1..., I'\'e li)lloircrl \lalen¡'s a(hicc. Shc tr¡ld rne
'lltc Roval Nla¡lici¡n is scalchitlg the c¡s1lc llr¡t I \rirs too D('Nous irlier tlr('l)art\'irld that I ncc(l-
vcrr c¡telull). Slte is cletttnrineil to fi¡id the tlvo ¡1 (l tr¡ calnr rrl\ ncr\ es. Shc gavt' me tlris rl¡gic cr\ stul
iens llrilt, a( ( ()rdj¡lg to hel, alc hiding sotrrcwllcrc l¡¡ll ancl she toltl me to spen(l two hours looking ir lo
lhc tLrrcstrial lanll) has tlisappt'irr'ecl lronl it. She siri(1..., sllc saicl I rroLrlrl enjoV it. Lols of crrl
lini(l's roonl. l,ucitls has l)robal)ly retLlrllcd it l{) the {)rrrs an(l light cll¡cts...'

77

il
("1
55
'Dad, Malena has hWnotised you!'
'Hypnotised? Do you think so, dear? I don't
know... Oh, how rny head hurts!!!'
Enid helps her father to sit doü'Il in a comforta-
ble chair in front of the ñre.
'Flave you seen Lucius?'she asks.'He hasn't ap
peared all afternoon.'
'I hope he is well! Malena was really furious
with him. I've never seen her so angry, and I don't
understand why. She has destroyed all the mi¡¡ors
and the prisms from the party, and there's something
even more terrible.'
 '!\4rat?' ask Bert and Enid at the same time. stop taldng her advicc. That crystal ball, fbr examplel
'Well, she tooküose science books and she th¡c'iv I'm sure it's a trap.'
them into the fire. I tlied to rescue üem, but I felt so 'A trap? Do you think so?' the king takes the ball
dizzy that I fell over... By the tine I reacted, it was al and looks at it $,ith fascination. 'l don't know.. I
ready too late. The books had turned into ashes.' think it's very, pretty.'
'Dad, p!ease!'
a, 'Malena has gone mad. Yo must stop her, Dad,' llnid takes the ball ftom the king's hands and
56
says Enid.'You're the king. You are the only person throws it to the f1oor. The ball shatters.
who can do it.' 'Enidl \A11at have you done?' l'he king kneels on
'You always say that, Euid. But things are not the floor and picks up one of the pieces of glass.
that easy. I'm the king, it's ttue, but Malena is thc '\\tren Malena finds out about this, she's going to be
leader of all the wizards of the kingdom. If she rebels furious.'
against me and the wizards take her side, the¡e u¡ill 'She can be as fu¡ious as she likes! I don't carel'
be a war in Occam. Imagine, a war!' says Enid. 'l'm not afraid of hel, I'm not. F-rom now
'fhe other wizalds won't take Malena's side. A on, she is not going to boss me around! I'm sorry'. '
lot of them can't stand her. Think of l,ucius, fo¡ ex
ample.' (n Enicl stops speaking when she sees Lucius in
'Perhaps you're right. But wizards always de the doorfiay.
fend each othe¡, and if they think I want to take awav 'l,ucius, you'Ie aldghl!' she sa)'s, running to give
some of their power, they will tutn against me. It's ¿l him a hug. 'l was worried ¿rbout You.'
very complex situation, my dear.' 'I'm fine, don't \ rorry. Although I'vc spent all af
'okay, I understand that, but you 1¡ust be thc ternoon playing cat and mouse witll Malena. l i{as
king for something, Dad.' the mouse, unfortunately.'
'But she hasn't caught you,' says Bert, smilins
'Enid is right, Your Majesty,' says BeIt. 'An(1, 'What has bappencd to our terrestlial friends,
$ l,ucius?' asks the king. '\\tlere are they?'
even ifyou don't r,',ant to confiont Malena, you musl

8l

il
 'l've returned thenl to Earth with the help of
Marc's lamp. I got it from your roont, Enid, and I took
it to the lab.'
'They re gone, the¡r, sa)\ Er)id.
She suddenly feels sad and depressed, although
she doesn't know why.
'Don't be sad, dear,'says the king.'The most
difficult part is over. Sooner or later, Malena will for
8et about this, and everything will get back to nor-
nal.'
'That's exactly what's making me sad, Dad. I
was drea¡ning that things would change, but now I
see that my drea¡n will never conle true.'
 (,n,\r,r'lR !) ó

\lrL.r Lll ¡r¡ lr¡ rl 'iLr., giro(lrri-1r1 Llrlr( lri( r,

lr rl ,,¡rl r.,tLll. l¡r I L t orrr \lrr,is.o tlr,lrrr,::r,d tlrli
\1lr (lr)c\f I i(,r, lil{ (loirrg ill]\'lllnlg. slrc ll¡\l \!iLrlt: L, a
\lrr'j\ irlir)irL L'rr'rLIl lrL f lrr'Llr'r,orrr ¡lrr rr 'lrr 'r
'fffil)(r! lhirl lr( r linri(ur( lr( r ( lollrr\ iIl(l llet l)r'(
liir\( (lis.rIl)f irro(1. llrr'1 arr'Irirbiriril \Lill jrl \l,L¡i
rrrsL \lr, rloL,.¡r I L'\r'f lr,Li(, lLll\ lr\l¡rtir\ tl) \,,1',r
lr¡irl qiqlrs rrrrri o¡rr,rs 1lr(,rl()r)r Slr(,rrru\1 ;L.l
lr(,r lrlll( r to rrr'tlr'r rlcr', lrrliÍ c ir)i lrt ¡. \nrl rrr',
r¡ols, rLr¡i rrL,i\ (lrl,s\L\ \ t \ ' t r \ t r\tli 11!l
ll lr,r Lt )

\hL,r!L( rs Llrr' rirlf \\illr lrL,r lrt,lLrl rl|rrIl 1,.

\\lr ll \lrl' liglrLs Llri |lrrrtl ( s, sllt {)l)r'rr\ h('r rrr(irrl
, \L l \
1 ()ri : iLii rlr iLlrrrltü¡r hlL. r'L'LL itrr rl ¡fr
i Ir ( (
,
crr
l¡r rl : :r jr. ! , ¡1,, L Llrt'l,r rl l ' r r L r L r L , , L L r¡rlr t

'rl.L rlrLl. ;rrrrl lrr' !ro¡l.r \l¡¡r l¡rL: r'r'tL nr( irll "
(l
Llr illrtrl
@ Enid srniles. With all the familiar things there
(a Penelope told me ulhat happened wíth the party.
60 \-61
is a new one just beside the window. It is a metal That Malena is a horribLe ur¡tch. She should be ex-
device. It has a long tube that stands on a golden tri- pelledJrom our profession. My f'íend Ttístan must do
pod and a small platform with buttons and little someth¡ng aboul the s¡tual¡on, because that woman ¡s
wheels. a danger to Occam.
The princess approaches the strange obiect. I suppose you were really disappoínted when I
She is about to touch the tube when she sees an e¡ dídn't show up aÍter receíu¡ng your inuítat¡on. Pleqse
velope attached to thc tripod. [orgíue me, Eníd, and accept thís rcconcílíatíon gíff.
Enid takcs the envelope and opens it with shak- It's a telescope... WelL it isn't just for you. I want you
ing hands. There's a paper inside. when she unfolds to shate ¡t Luíth your Jather, Luith Bert ancl wíth Lucius.
it, she recognises Marc's hand$Titing. It is a letter re- I guess you don't ktlou what a telescope ís, so I'll
plying to hersl giue you some er.planatiotts. A telescope ¡s a deuíce
It says: that people use lo see uery d¡slant obiects, such as stars
or the dtfferent planets. It works like an ar rtcíal eye,
Dear En¡.L wíth a lens that captures líght, just as our eyes, But the
I'm sorry I got angry about vour JLoníture. ll lens of a Lelescope captures much more light than a
wasn't really your místake. You couldn'l kfiow that real eye, and it focuses the líght to Jorm a clear image,
the lamp's magic clúnges if tlle su/¡tch poíttts towards which tue can see through a second lens called an eye
the norlh-wesL Atryway, ¡t ísn't a g,ood ídea to play piece. lVlten vou look thrcu1h tlp eyep¡ec(. ) ou t ttn s¿¿
wíth that lamp, as you already knotu. d¡stant objects muclt bígger than they really ate.
Penelope and her brother Thomas haue ar'
4., 'l'o try out the telescope, go and
ríued hone safe and sound aÍter the¡r Lríp to Occant.
\., rtnd Bert, your
t wns rcdlly onlry u ¡th tltem, as you ton ¡maqint father and Lucius, and then take my gíft to the top of
I'hey took my lamp and left Luíthout telling me.. the híghest touter of the castle. It must be usecl ctt níghL
Can you belieue ít? Atl/way, euerythíng turned oLtl By cl.ty, the sunl¡ght ís so intense that it's impossible to
tuell ¡n the end. capture the weak líght ofthe starc.

a7

il
 you haue to do is focus tlrc telescope towar(ls
AIL dances all the way to Bcrt's room. Beft opens the
the moon, J-or q.amplq 4t1d then tutn tlrc wheeLs on door to her with sleepy eyes.
the ríghl until the ¡mage is completely clear. You wíll 'tsert, Marc sent lny lurniture back, and he sent
díscouer ¡ncredible thíngs about the moon, iLtst Loaít a gift for us, too. It's a telescope. It's for looking at the
and see. stars, and to trJ it we have to go up the highest tower
I know my g,ood friend Trísta.n always has his in the castle, rvhich is the west tower.'
head ín the cloutis so I'm sure he wíII loue thís ínuen 'Go up the tower... now?' Enid thinks that Bert
tion. And Luc¡us, too. is going to protest, but instead, he srniles. 'I'm com-
wetL Eníd. Try the telescope as soon as poss¡bLe. ing. Iust a moment, while I put my slippers on...'
It uill surprise you more th.tn yoLt can possíbly ímag They go together to wake Lucius, and they send
íne. him to find the king. \Ahile His Majesty is gettingready,
Enid and Beft return to the princess's roon to take the
o As soon as she finishes reading Marc's letter, telescope, and then, they carry it to the tower.
63
Enid goes out into the corridor, dancing with joy. She On their way through the Throne Room, they
see Malena's parakeet sleeping in a golden cage.
Luckily, their footsteps don't wake it up. This time
the parakeet cannot tell tales, and Malena, who
sleeps in the south wing ofthe castle, will never know
what's going on.

o They all meet at the top of the west tower. The

king seems to be in a verl good mood.
'I've always liked the stars,'he says when he
sees the telescope. 'And now Marc sends me a gift to
see the¡n better, how kind of him! If it really works,
my opinion about Earth science will be a lot better.'

ag a9

il
 'Let's see.' Lucius is already looking through the
eyepiece towards the moon. 'These wheels here must
focus the image, Let's see... Thunder and lightning!
This is incredible!'
'What can you see?'
'What can you see?'
'What can you see?'
Enid, Bert and the king ask the same question at
the same time.
'It's the moon,' says Lucius, still lookingthrough
the telescope.'But I've never seen it like this. I never
imagined... It's full of dark craters! Why can that be?
wow, this is really mysterious.'
'well, üat's nothing,' says a familiar voice from
behind them, 'lust wait until I show you Saturn with
its rings.'

Io King Tristan turns around instantly. He knows

'65
that voice...
'Marc! Marc, you've come back!' he says. 'Marc,
my boy... You don't know how much I've missed
you!'
'And I've missed you too, YouI Malesty,' says the
wizard with tears in his eyes. 'I've missed you too.'
Marc and King Tristan give each other a warm
embrace.
 'Thank you for coming, Dry friend,' says thc
king. 'Really, thank you very much!' CHaprnn I0
'Don't thank me, T¡istan. Thank your daughter,'
says Marc, looking at tsnid with a smile.'She wrote
me such a moving letter tltat, in the end, I had no
other option but to come.'

(a Nlarc spends the night showing his friends some

of the most interesting planets and stars of the sky
through the lelcscope. He shows them saturn with its
silver rings, and the enormous Jupiter with its white
and orange bat-tds.
Enid and Beit are enthusiastic. Everything Marc
tells them about the planets and thc stars fascinates
them. And it is also mysterious. . While they look at
the slg' through the telescope, Enid can't stop won
dering about things.
'There's something I don't understand,' she
says at last, Siving up her place to Bert. 'Ifyou studied
all these planets and stars on EaIth, Marc, why can
we see them here? Occam and the Earth are different
worlds,,aren't they?'
'l've often n'ondercd that too, Enid, and I don't
have an ansttet for it,' says Marc 'Pcrhaps Occam

93

il
 and the Earth are two sides of the same world. Or They all agree with King Tristan, and they go
perhaps they belong to two parallel universes, one down to the kitchen in high spüits. Still wearing py-
with magic, one without it.' jamas, Luc prepares some delicious pancakes and I

tasty churros with hot chocolate.

'Is that a scientific explanation?' asks Lucius, 'How I missed these castle breakfasts!' sighs
.9.
smiling. 'I thought teüestdal science had clear an- Marc. 'BreaKast on Earth just isn't the same.'
swers to every question.' 'Are you going to stay long, Marc?' asks King
'Well, that's not so, Lucius. Terrestrial science Tristan insecurely.
doesn't have answe¡s for ever!'thing. There are still 'I'll stay for a few months, Your Majesty, but
great enigmas on Earth... But the good thing about then I'll go back to Earth to continue my studies. An-
science is that it never stops progressing. Soone¡ o¡ yray, I've made a decision. From now on I'm not go-
later, science will solve those enigmas.' ing to stay away from Occam for such a long time. I
'And will there be no mystedes in that strange didn't come befo¡e because I didn't want to lose my
world, Marc?' asks King Tristan. concentration, but it's hard to concentrate when you
'Good question, Your Majesty. In my opinion, miss your friends.'
when they solve today's enigmas new questions will
appear, new mysteries... And there will always be 'So... that means that you're not Soing to leave
enigmas to solve.' us completely.'
With so much talking, time flies at the top of thc 'Never, Your Majesty, I promise,' says Marc,
tower, and soon they realise that day is breaking. happily.
'I can't believe it. We haven't slept all night, and 'In that case, I'd like to askyou a favour. Malena
the sun is already going up!' says Enid. is becoming a nightmare for me. She wants to control
She suddenly feels very tired. everlthing, and every day she becomes more and
'We'll sleep all morning,' decides the king. 'tsut more powerful... I want to dismiss her and give you
first, I will ask Luc to prepare us a nice breakfast. It back yoür old position of Royal Wiza¡d. Do you ac-
will be a good ending to a pefect night.' cept?'

s4
1:i

rqü
\=r/
 'I accept, Tristan. l'11 be travelling a lot, but üat 'Interminable?' asks King Tristan.
won't be a problem ifyou appoint Lucius as Deputv Enid and Bert can't stop themselves from
Royal Wizard. Between the two of us we will stop laughing.
Malena, right, Lucius?'
'Nothing will give me greater pleasure,' says 'Very funny,' says Malena, her eyes blazing. 'But
Lucius smiling. 'You can count on me, Marc.'
G-
this isn't going to stop here. I'm going to tell all the
'Hey,' says Marc. 'Speak of the devil... Look people of Occam the truth about the king. I'11 show
who's here!' them that he has lost some of his faculties, and that
he is no longer fit to govern his people. The inhabit-
lo\ Malena is looking at them from the kitchen door ants of Occam will understand that they need a new
with an arrogant smile. queen... Me!'
'Conspidng against me again? Very nice, Your 'You? You'¡e mad, Malena,' says Marc. 'Now
Majesty. Seriously, you should be embarrassed. I de- you want to tell lies about your king...'
mand an explanation dght now.' '['m not telling liesl'cries Malena in a loud
'An explanation? Well, you see, Malena, it's very voice. 'The king is no longer what he was, and I can
simple,' says the king. 'Marc has come back, so you prove it. I've watched him carefully when he signs
a¡e now relieved ofyour duties... From today, Marc documents. And I know he can't read them... He
will be again the Royal Wizard.' has forgotten how to read!'
Malena goes green with rage. Well, actually she 'That's not true!' says King Tristan, turning red.
starts by going green and then her face tu¡ns blue be 'I can't read documents very well, but I haven't for-
fore becoming purple. It's as if a pdsm was projecting gotten how to read. The problem is... I can't see the
a strange rainbow over her. Except that, this time, letters properly.'
there is no prism.
'I..., I am not going to tolerate this,' declares 'Wpll, it
doesn't matter,'insists Malena, 'The
Malena when she is finally able to speak. 'This is in thing is, you can't read anymore. And the¡e's no cu¡e
tolerable, incredible, insulting, in...' for that!'
 '\ou ¿lre \\,ronli, Xlaletr¡,'sa_vs N,larc.'1n fact,
rvhcn I cartre hcrc i alre¿rrlv kDc$, aboUt thc ki¡rg's
problerlr. So¡teoDe lol(l lnc, a ver! clcvcl sirl.'
' Pcnelol)el' says Erljcl.

'Ycs, l)enelopc. After rcadiit!l YoUr lcttcr, slte

clccided to obserle lhc king. Slte reiiliscd lhal thc
king had ttoul)le scciltg ltear objccts. Ir's a vcl],conr
non sighl dclcct itr olcl ¡tco¡rlc, aDtl i1 can be solved
nith somc simple elassc's... like the oncs I ha\,e hcl c.
Trr lhcln on, Irislan. IlVou can't scc paol)ullv \\,ith
lhcltt, \\'e ll rnalic sot¡e lltol c,
N arc of rs tlte kin!l sotne lte¡utiltl gl¿1sses \\'ith
sqlrarc lcDses ¡¡d a red ü-¡rnc. The king ptrts the|r
r)n aDd asks Ilni(l to give ltiln a docL¡ntent.
{
L,.nid tal(es NIitrc's lctter li)rm hcl.pocl(cl and
g¡\.cs it to hirn.

t)
 'Deqr Enid, But what will happen when Marc returns to the
I'm sorry I got an?ry &bout your lurníture ll Earth? Will Malena try to get her job back? That
wasn't really your fault. You couldru't know that the would be a disaster for Occam.
klmp's m&gíc changes íf the swítch poínts towards the Malena's red and green carriage parts towards
north-west.' the mountains. Enid watches it in silence, and she
promises herself that she will never allow that wom-
The king looks up from the letter with a radiant an to come back again.
expression.
'l can read again,'he says. 'I can read perfecdy.'

o
ñ' Fvervhodv looks at Malena.
'You have no more excuses, Malena,' says Lu-
cius. 'From now on, you are no longer the Royal Wiz-
ard of Occam. You can leave the castle whenever you
like.'
'Yes. And you'd better take your parakeet with
you,' adds the king. 'I can't stand that bird!'
Malena tdes to protest, but no sound comes
from her lips. Can't she speak because of her anger',
or has Lucius cast a silence spell on her?
Unable to protest, the woman leaves the kitch-
en, slamming the doo¡ behind her.
Three hours later, Enid sees her leave through
the back door ofthe castle with her parakeet and two
dozen magic suitcases. She hopes not to meet her
again for a long time!

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