He positively declined,
however, to turn into any of these animals, owing to his having taken
the precaution, before leaving his castle, to drink a bottle of
anti-enchantment water. The old sorceress now became so enraged that she
could scarcely speak, but stood stamping her feet, and shaking her fist
at the great Tur-il-i-ra, who, leaning on his club, waited with a smile
for her next attempt upon him.

At this moment the Prince perceived, a short distance behind Mahbracca,
a small, black, and shining demon, whom he immediately recognized as the
little fellow he had seen in pickle. The young rascal was pulling and
tugging at a great wire machine that had been dropped by the followers
of Mahbracca when they ran away. He beckoned to the Prince to come and
help him; and the latter, whispering to the Princess to keep behind the
Giant, slipped quietly around to the rear of the angry sorceress, and
assisted the little fellow to place the wire affair (which was nothing
less than the "prince-trap" that Mahbracca had made) directly behind the
old hag, with the door right at her back. The Giant, perceiving this
rapidly performed stratagem, raised his club, and made a step forward,
as if, with one blow, he would crush Mahbracca, who was just beginning
to find her tongue. Startled by this sudden action, she stepped back
quickly, and stumbled right over into the "prince-trap." For an instant
she lay on her back, astounded, but quickly perceiving her predicament,
she sprang to her feet, and with loud yells tried her best to get out.
But it was of no use. The trap was made by the best rules of magic, and
there was no such a thing as getting out, even if one was as small as a
mouse. As for the little black fellow who had been in pickle, he laughed
and danced until the old woman, glaring at him between the wires,
ordered him to turn into a toad. But, unfortunately for her, she had
dropped her magic wand outside of the cage, as she fell in, and the
little demon, seeing this, merely laughed in her face, and running to
the wand, picked it up, and ordered her to turn into a jackass, which
she immediately did, and began to bray horribly. The little wretch was
so delighted with this feat, that he turned about a dozen somersaults,
and then, for the amusement of the Giant and his friends, he changed the
old sorceress successively into a lion, a pig, an old hen, a turtle, a
kangaroo, a boa-constrictor, an ape, a lobster, a cat, a crocodile, and