'

And then in a strange, confused, yet quite sure way, he felt that the
spell that held him, the White Witch's spell, was dissolved.

'To the palace!' he cried; and rushing to the cauldron that hung over
the fire he leaped into it, leaped out in the form of a red lion, and
disappeared.

Without a moment's hesitation the Prince, who was his apprentice,
followed him, calling out the same words and leaping into the same
cauldron, while the poor nurse screamed and wrung her hands. As he
touched the liquor in the cauldron he felt that he was not quite
himself. He was, in fact, a green dragon. He felt himself vanish--a most
uncomfortable sensation--and reappeared, with a suddenness that took his
breath away, in his own form and at the back door of the palace.

The time had been short, but already the Magician had succeeded in
obtaining an engagement as palace cook. How he did it without references
I don't know. Perhaps he made the references by magic as he had made the
eggs, and the apples, and the handkerchief.

Taykin's astonishment and annoyance at being followed by his faithful
apprentice were soon soothed, for he saw that a stupid scullion would be
of great use. Of course he had no idea that James had been made clever
by a kiss.

'But how are you going to cook?' asked the apprentice. 'You don't know
how!'

'I shall cook,' said Taykin, 'as I do everything else--by magic.' And he
did. I wish I had time to tell you how he turned out a hot dinner of
seventeen courses from totally empty saucepans, how James looked in a
cupboard for spices and found it empty, and how next moment the nurse
walked out of it. The Magician had been so long alone that he seemed to
revel in the luxury of showing off to some one, and he leaped about from
one cupboard to another, produced cats and cockatoos out of empty jars,
and made mice and rabbits disappear and reappear till James's head was
in a whirl, for all his cleverness; and the nurse, as she washed up,
wept tears of pure joy at her boy's wonderful skill.

'All this excitement's bad for my heart, though,' Taykin said at last,
and pulling his heart out of his chest, he put it on a shelf, and as he
did so his magic note-book fell from his breast and the apprentice
picked it up. Taykin did not see him do it; he was busy making the
kitchen lamp fly about the room like a pigeon.

It was just then that the Princess came in, looking more lovely than
ever in a simple little morning frock