# The Zankiwank and the Bletherwitch/Part 3

Part III
A Visit to Shadow Land
Shakespeare.
J. L. Forrest.
A Visit to Shadow Land
The first time, she descended on to the plateau on a broom, and introduced herself by throwing a light from the magic lantern which she carried, on to a sheet of water which she unfolded, and thereon appeared this announcement:—
I am the Great Little Winny Weg.
The Funny Little Man.
The two children were so absorbed in listening to this rhyming rigmarole that they did not observe the Winny Weg depart, though, when they came to think of it, the last verse was sung in the ​clouds, and presumably by the Funny Little Man himself, and they quite longed for him to pay them a calf. But he didn’t, so the goblins started off once more on their wild career, this time on horseback, making such a hammering and a clattering as almost to deafen them.
Quickly in the rear of the white horses and the spirits, who all wore little round caps with tassels at the top, came a procession of dolls—wax dolls, wooden dolls, and saw-dust dolls, very finely dressed, with here and there a doll who had lost a leg, or an arm, or a head, while some were quite cripples, and had to be carried by a train of tiny girls in very short frocks and very long sashes. At the head of these appeared the Winny Weg again, and just as they were vanishing in the shadows, a regular shower of broken dolls came down in dreadful disorder, causing the children to break from their ranks to gather up their property, as the dolls, it was evident, were their own old companions which they had discarded when new ones were given to them. One particularly dis-​reputable doll, with a broken nose and a
The Unfortunate Doll.
After this affecting recital they all took out ​their “hankelwiches,” as the owner of the Unfortunate Doll said, and placing themselves in line, they followed, as mourners, the remains of the
A pink light now burst through the haze, the goblins rode off, and a perfect fairy-land nursery
the crawling babies in the Universal Nursery began to stand up; and then commenced such a game of leap-frog by these tiny mites, that made even the Cheshire Cat smile. It was so funny to hear these dots call out to each other to tuck in their “tuppennies,” and to see them flying, without stopping to take breath, over each ​other’s backs. Even the little pink and blue cupids laughed until the babies crept back to their cribs once more, and were rocked off to sleep as the Winny Weg waved her wand, and an unseen choir of little girls and boys was heard singing this Lullaby:—
O We are so Sleepy!
The slight mist that had descended went up just like a gauze curtain, bringing into view again the lovely garden reposing in the rear in a beautiful green bath of light.
Then the merry Winny Weg caught hold of the cupids and incited them to dance a slow gavotte, and as they danced they warbled lusciously:—
Cupid’s Garden.
Other voices, which seemed to belong to the lads and lasses in the garden, joined in the chorus:—
How delicious and soothing Shadow Land was! Shadow Land! The Land of Yesterday, To-Day and To-morrow. The Land of Hope, and Joy and Peace. The two children wandered off, as it were, into a dream for a time, and when they gazed again, the garden was more delightful than ever—a joyous blend of Spring and Summer seemed to invade the grounds, while many of the flowers and trees showed slight signs of Autumn tinting. In one corner of the garden a magnificent marble and bronze fountain unexpectedly sprang up through the ground and played unceasingly to the ethereal skies. Merry children danced and played around ​its base, and lovers young and old promenaded affectionately up and down the innumerable groves, stopping now and then to offer each other a draught of the sparkling water that fell so deliciously into the amber cups.
There were no shadows now. All was bright and glorious; sunlight and pleasure reigned supreme. From the clouds unseen singers sang softly to the people as they passed and repassed, and this was the story of their song:—
In a garden stood a fountain, Sparkling in the noon-day sun, Rising like a crystal mountain— Never ceasing—never done! Happy children came there playing, Laughing in their frolic glee; ’Mong the flow’rs and brambles straying, Tasting life’s sweet ecstasy.
O fountain pure and bright, Dance in the joyous sun; And sparkle in your might, Until all life is done.
In the summer came the lovers, Plighting troth beneath its shade; Warm heart’s secret each discovers— Happy youth and happy maid! Plays the fount so soft and featly In the breeze of waning day, As the lovers whisper sweetly, “I will love you, love alway.”
O fountain pure and bright, Dance in the joyous sun; And sparkle in your might Until all life is done.
In the winter, cold and dreary, Cease the waters in their play; But the lovers, grey and weary, Seek the tryst of yesterday! Time and tide flow on for ever, Heedless of man’s joy or pain; But beyond the tideless river Trusting hearts will meet again.
O fountain pure and bright, Dance in the joyous sun; And sparkle in your might, Until all life is done.
The voices faded and died away; the scene changed and a purple curtain descended, hiding everything and everybody except the Winny Weg. An extraordinary commotion outside warned the half-dozing children that a fresh flight of goblins might be expected. And sure enough in stalked an army of giants from one side, who were met by an army of dwarfs from the other, the latter on stilts. But the curious thing about them was that the giants had only got one eye, which was stuck on the ends of their noses, while the dwarfs had their eyes where their ears ought to be, and their ears in the place usually reserved for the eyes. Besides which they each had a large horn fixed in the middle of their foreheads.
Both armies expressed surprise at seeing each other, the leaders of which said quite calmly, as though they were asking one another to have a ​penny bun cut up in four between them—both said quite calmly—
“I suppose we must fight now we have met?”
Upon hearing this the Winny Weg mounted her broom-stick and flew up out of harm’s way.
And then commenced the most terrible battle ever seen on land or sea. They fought with penknives and darning-needles, the battle lasted half an hour, and only one stilt was injured. So they began again, using coal scuttles and tongs, and the din was so fearful, and the giants and the dwarfs got so mixed up that a railway train filled with Shadows of the Past rushed on and sent both armies flying. Then the shadows deepened and deepened, and the lightning flashed, the thunders crashed, the sea roared, and a great red cavern opened and swallowed up everything, including Maude and Willie, who certainly were not quite awake to what was going forward, and all they could recollect of the occurrence was that they saw the winkles and the shrimps on the sea-shore playing at bowls with the cockles.