the castle and the school and the inn on the road to the wicked city began to fill rapidly with water…
but mrs white the cook, ben jonson the school usher, and herr riemann the mathematics teacher did not seem to notice, and the flowerseller cried out to them -
“look ye, good people, the world is filling with water! we shall all be drowned, unless we turn ourselves into fishes or dolphins or whales!”
the trio left off their gabfest and turned to look accusingly at the flowerseller.
“you wicked boy!” cried the cook. “this is all your fault, for stealing cream tarts and raspberry tarts!”
“you wet little pansy” cried ben jonson, “this is your fault, for never learning to kick a ball properly!”
but herr riemann was the angriest of all. white and trembling, he pointed to the flowerseller and intoned,
“1 plus 1/2 plus 1/23 plus 1/234 plus 1/2345 + 1/2346 +1/234567 + 1/2345678 …!!”
“where will it all end?” asked mrs white.
“people, this is no time for recriminations,” the flowerseller insisted desperately, “we have to get out of here - pronto!”
suddenly the water burst through the kitchen door and engulfed them…
and now the flowerseller found himself crossing a dark desert under a sliver of pale moon…
he was a camel, one of three, the other two being the mountebank and hastings, the fifth form bully.
mrs white was riding the mountebank.
ben jonson was riding hastings the fifth form bully carrying on an animated conversation with him about football and christmas puddings….
and herr riemann was riding the flowerseller, and continuing his tirade, though in a somewhat more subdued tone…
“plus 1/234567892345 + 1/2345678923456 + 1/234567892345678 + 1/2345678923456789…”
a bright star appeared in the sky, lighting it up…
the three camels with their riders approached a crossroads marker, which was stuck in the sand even though there were no roads visible…
the lettering on the marker, if it had ever existed, had worn off.
“what are we to do?” asked mrs white.
“follow the star!” cried ben jonson.
“why?” asked herr riemann.
“because it will lead us to the new born baby judas!” replied ben.
the three camels left the crossroads behind and continued to follow the star, which seemed to grow brighter.
finally they came to an old barn, looming dark against the sky.
a hulking figure emerged from the barn to greet the travelers.
it was the god moloch.
“has the child judas been born?” ben jonson asked moloch.
“indeed he has,” replied moloch. “and you are privileged to welcome him. enter - and behold!”
the camels and riders entered the barn.
they beheld the empress eugenie lying in a four poster bed .
on one side of the empress lay a baby tiger - was it the same baby tiger, the flowerseller wondered, that she had carried back in the dungeon?
and on the other side of the empress lay a baby leopard.
behold the baby judas! cried moloch.
mrs white and ben jonson and herr riemann all dismounted from their camels and fell on their knees before the empress and the two cubs.
“but which is the baby judas?“ asked the flowerseller. “and where the angels? there should be angels, should there not?”
“what kind of questions are those?” exclaimed moloch. “and from a camel? from a camel? can you fools not control your camels?”
suddenly rain began beating on the roof of the barn…
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