“Then share this, as well,” said Dallben, who had been listening closely and now held out the heavy, leather-bound volume he had kept under his arm.
“The Book of Three?” Taran said, looking wonderingly and questioningly at the enchanter. “I dare not…”
“Take it, my boy,” Dallben said. “It will not blister your fingers, as once it did with an over-curious Assistant Pig-Keeper. All its pages are open to you. The Book of Three no longer foretells what is to come, only what has been. But now can be set down the words of its last page.”
The enchanter took a quill from the table, opened the book, and in it wrote with a bold, firm hand:
“And thus did an Assistant Pig-Keeper become High King of Prydain.”
—Lloyd Alexander, 1924 – 2007
—Filed 6185 days ago to Indulgences.
That’s so sad. I loved his writing.
I discovered his stuff only just this year for a kid’s lit class. Beats me how I missed it growing up, but I didn’t read much fantasy then. That said, I was really thrilled to read Prydain. It is sad that he is dead, all the more because he was a strong voice for peace and for common people.
Good heavens, I had no idea. I’ve been waiting for my oldest son to be ready for Black Cauldron (if that’s the first one), rereading my own copy, and now this.
Thanks for the tribute.