January 18
We had no school today because it was Martin Luther King jr day. It is a new holiday and we learned all about Mr King and how he was a ci, cival activist. I went and asked Sarah. She said he was an important person who wanted equality for all people helped lots of people who were oppressed. She went on for a real long time. I went and asked Jareth for the short version.
He made it easy. He said Mr King was a fighter against an idea. He was clever and got people to help him spread his idea. He won when more people believed than did not. This helped his people.
He said that is how it is to be a king. You have to look at your people and see that the king's ideas stay on top. Only, Jareth thinks bogging a good idea and the goblins do not.
I went and asked Hoggle. He's always going on about how Jareth is a rat. He had a laugh that wasn't a laugh and said Jareth wouldn't know equality if it bit him. He then said none of the goblins like the bog and we should have a march like Mr King did. So, we found everyone who wanted to and we had a march. It was even peaceful, we tried hard. When we got to the Goblin City, Jareth appeared in a flash of glitter.
Hoggle gave him our manifus, manigfic, page of words of what we thought. He did that dangerous eye thing. The look that Mom gets when I walk mud in the house. He then looked at me and had a horrible smile. He said that if there was to be no bogging then I, as Goblin Prince, would reign for a day. He then vanished. Hoggle stared at me. The goblins ran about and yelled. It was very noisy. Hoggle pulled me out of the crowd and said that I was in trouble. I just laughed. It was fun.
Only, then there was this ringing across the Labyrinth and 'cause Hoggle was holding me he got pulled in too. We ended up at this very fancy house with this boy who was my age and no baby. He yelled at me so I yelled back at him. We got into a fight, but Hoggle remembered that we needed to go to the Labyrinth so dragged us both through the mirror.
This huge clock appeared and I waited for Jareth but he didn't arrive. The boy yelled some more, so I yelled that he had till the hand was on the thirteen to go through the Labyrinth or we'd keep the baby.
I can't do glittery balls. I had to walk across the Labyrinth. The shortest route was across the bog. Yuck. It was like when Merlin ate the meatloaf and stunk up the den for hours after. Very very stinky. Sir Didymus was shocked to see me. He and Ambrosius walked back to the castle with me. Ow, can Sir Didymus lecture. He's worse than the time when Mom found my roach jars under my bed. We found the goblins looking after the baby. She was crying and had a stinky diaper. Jareth wasn't there. I didn't know what to do. I called Sarah. She was at her friend's house. I cried so she came quick. They were only pretend tears.
Sarah was mad when she heard what Jareth had done. She tried calling him but he didn't appear. She stamped her foot. She then cupped her hands and tried to make a glass ball, but nothing happened. She gave me that sort of thoughtful look like she did the last time when she made me sit as she painted my face with makeup like a girl. She made me sit on the throne and cup my hands together. She then taught me a song in a funny language and a glass ball appeared! It made my hands all tingly.
Sarah took it and glared at it and spoke in that same funny language. I could see Jareth inside, and he just laughed. Sarah gave a huff and then vanished with the glass ball.
She didn't even change the baby's diaper! We had to do it. It was super gross and worse than the bog 'cause we had to touch it. The goblins tried throwing the stinky diaper around. I couldn't stop them.
They then tossed the baby around and I managed to catch her and stand on the throne, but the fierys had got in at the castle and they were throwing feet and hands and the goblins were throwing anything. The little boy came in covered in mud. I didn't even wait for him to say the words. I just gave the baby back and told him to never call the Goblins again. He swore he wouldn't. He vanished. I was so tired.
Jareth appeared. He asked me if I wanted to bog the goblins. I was angry with them, and the fierys. I wanted to so bad, but it wasn't them that was the problem. I said yes, but wished so hard that it was Jareth.
You know that horrible feeling you get when you throw a ball and you can see it going to smash a window and you can't stop it. Yeah. That.
Jareth vanished.
Only, when I turned around Jareth sat back in his throne. At the same time everyone in the throne room vanished. Except me.
He slouched all over the throne. He was all quiet and watched me. I think he knew of my wish. It was ages and ages and he just sat there. Only it's me. The rule of living with Sarah is never admit to anything, and she eventually blames the goblins. Maybe it worked on Jareth?
He asked if I had learned my lesson. I couldn't think. Did he know I wanted to bog him? It was confusing so I said nothing. He said that some rules were in place to keep the peace. Some rules were in place to oppress people. As a prince I needed to know the difference and choose which ones to abolish. He said I would understand better when I was older. Did he not notice my wish? I nodded. I think I just escaped a bogging.
Sarah came into the throne room then looking cross. She said that sometimes the rules to keep the peace needed to be abolished because they oppressed people. She and Jareth had a fight that was all snippy words. Something about learning from history and not editing it to suit his tastes.
Sarah then said something in that funny language Jareth uses sometimes.
Jareth looked all shocked, then settled back in his throne like a contented cat. He pulled a crystal ball from nothing and asked if she wanted to be Queen.
Sarah smiled. Only it was that smile. The kind of smile alligators have before they bite you. Jareth didn't notice. She asked Jareth if I were Goblin Prince. Why? I mean, its real obvious I am!
Jareth just smiled. Sarah stamped her foot and marched out. Jareth looked as if she'd stamped on his toe. He slouched all over his throne. If I'd sat like that at home Mom would have lectured. Jareth smiled at me and said I made a good prince. He then handed me the glass ball. He calls it a crystal. He said that this one was mine and I was to keep it and practice making them. I went home and practiced slouching in my chair like a proper prince.
I am glad it was only one day I was a prince. There is so much stuff I don't know about rules for helping people. We have a rule book for board games, is there a rule book for helping people? Are there different rule books for humans and goblins? Only that sort of thing sounds like what Mr King was fighting against. I will have to keep an eye out for Jareth's book, but what if he never wrote stuff down, and goblins don't like writing. Does that mean I have to listen and learn the rules that way? Ow. Grown up thinking makes my head hurt.
Maybe Hoggle will know.
