The Brothers Tweedledum and Tweedledee – Rapunzel’s story (4)

* Rapunzel’s perspective

‘It’s great that we both made it out alive… but how much longer are we going to stay like this?’

Harris and I, overjoyed and overwhelmed with relief at surviving, clung to each other in an embrace of gratitude for that fact, it seemed we’d completely missed the cue to let go.

‘Sure, being in the arms of someone this handsome is nice… but the urgent matter at hand is getting to the Mad Tea Party quickly so we can return to our normal sizes!’

Just as I was starting to gently push myself out of the Hatter’s embrace to resume our journey, someone grabbed me from behind, lifting my miniaturized body into the air. Startled, I quickly twisted around to see who the owner of the fingers grasping me was when they spoke.

“What the—? You’re such a tiny thing!”

Yes, the noble form of Rapunzel, princess of the Mirrorlands—no, now that I’d discovered my true origin, I should say the form of Alice, princess of Wonderland—was now clutched in the small hands of a freckled-faced scamp like a dragonfly caught in late autumn.

‘Honestly, maybe I would’ve been better if I’d just lived on as the White Queen’s daughter without ever meeting my supposed real mother, the Queen of Hearts of Wonderland. Since meeting her, I’ve shrunk to this size, been captured by toads, nearly died crossing a bridge… and now I’m being played with by some little kid like I’m a toy.’

“Put me down! Put me down, you ugly little pipsqueak!”

From a short distance away, I could hear Harris’s voice. Sure enough, he, too, was wriggling desperately, trapped in the fingers of a boy about the same height as the one holding me.

Furious, Harris twisted his waist as much as he could and bit down hard on the boy’s finger.

“Ouch!”

As soon as Harris bit him, the boy drew his hand up to his face. Following Harris with my gaze, I finally saw the face of another boy who looked just like the one holding me.

‘Wait… twins? No way, could it be?’

As soon as I saw that the mischievous, freckled-face of Harris’s captor looked exactly the same as the one staring at me, I realized who they were.

The brothers, Tweedledum and Tweedledee!

Chester had told me stories about these two troublemakers he’d read about in books.

‘Apparently, they’re a pair of stubborn troublemakers…’

Looking at their round, freckled faces puffing up with annoyance, I suddenly found myself chuckling despite the predicament and the fact they might hinder our quest for the Un-shortbread Cookies.

“Pfft, hehe…”

A trickle of snot dripped from the kid’s right nostril as he glared at Harris. He wiped it on his sleeve, scowling at Harris, and shouted in his highest, most dramatic tone.

“You wicked leprechaun! Lead us to your hidden pot of gold! We know it’s buried at the end of a rainbow—we read it in a picture book!”

Watching him order Harris around with his childlike voice but the demeanor of a a strict adult that could only be found in historical dramas made me burst out laughing.

“Haha! Hee, hahaha… oh, haha-ha!”

“Hey, what’s so funny? Hmph…”

Now the kid turned to me, glaring with as much irritation as he’d shown Harris.

“Oh, sorry, sorry. It’s just… it’s too funny to see such cute little kids like you trying so hard to mimic grown-ups. Haha!”

I answered the angry question of the little boy, who was still agitated, wiping away the tears that had leaked out.

“Who are to call us ‘cute’ and ‘little’? And we’re not kids!”

‘Ah, that’s right. Right now, I’m even smaller than these two little guys…’

It seemed that I was so used to being smaller that I’d nearly forgotten about my miniaturized size.

“Yes, yes, you’re right. My apologies. But as a curious young lady, could I ask why fine young gentlemen like yourselves are in need gold?”

“Hmph…”

At my question, the two boys, Tweedledum and Tweedledee, exchanged glances, then drew close to each other and began whispering conspiratorially, apparently not wanting us to overhear.

Of course, despite their attempts to keep their voices down, we could hear them loud and clear from where we were held. Definitely not a secret conference!

“DeeDee, what do you think? Should we tell her?”

The kid holding Harris whispered to the one holding me.

“No way, DumDum! What if they figure out our weakness and attack us?”

“They’re so small that if they tried anything funny, we could just stomp on them until they’re dead.”

‘Yikes! What a ruthless kid!’

Stomp us until we’re dead? When I’d been his age, thinking such a thing, let alone saying it, would’ve been unthinkable.

“Well, that’s true…”

‘’That’s true?’ Like it’s that natural? Killing people is not natural you wild little boy!’

“Then I guess it’s fine to tell them. Who knows, maybe these leprechauns will have some ideas for how to helpus out?”

Finally, they seemed to reach an agreement and exchanged a nod before lowering us from their chubby fingers. As they set us down, they issued a stern warning; “We’ll let you go so we can talk, but if either of you tries to run, you’ll regret it. Got it?”

“Yes, we understand perfectly. Now, what is it you’d like to tell us?”

I nodded solemnly and nudged Harris with my elbow, signaling him to play along.

“Well, you see, a while ago, something really big and pointy got stuck in our eye. It hurts so bad, and the only one who can get it out is the doctor in Sector 4. But we don’t have the money to see the doctor! H-huh, sniff… waaah! Do you have any idea how miserable it is to have something this big and painful stuck in your eye? Waaah!”

Finishing his tale, Tweedledee burst into tears, overwhelmed by the pain of his sad plight.

“DeeDee! Waaaah!”

As Tweedledee, the presumed older of the twins, began to cry, his brother Tweedledum, who was next to him, began bawling too.

“There, there, DumDum, DeeDee. It’s okay, let’s calm down…”

I tried soothing the kids with a gentle smile as I approached them, but Harris quickly grabbed my wrist, leaning in to whisper.

“Rapunzel, maybe we should just run for it while they’re distracted?”

“What are you talking about, Harris? They’re hurting—we have to help them! It looks like they think we’re leprechauns hiding a pot of gold. For now, let’s play along and take them to the doctor in Sector 4. If we do, we can ride on their shoulders straight to Sector 4!”

Harris looked at the crying twins with visible reluctance.

“But… I find kids exhausting, especially pushy ones like these.”

I countered, “Fine, then tell me how else we’re supposed to get back up to Sector 4 with our tiny bodies.”

Realizing we had little choice, Harris finally agreed, looking at the sobbing kids.

“There, there, you two handsome kids…”

“We’re not kids! Wah!”

The brothers started crying even harder at the word “kids.”

“Come on, you can do better than that!” I whispered to Harris with a hint of impatience.

“Right… er, my dashing young sirs? I’m afraid we leprechauns had to spend all our gold, you see.”

“What?”

“Then what about us? Are we supposed to live with this huge thing stuck in our eye forever? Waaaah!”

Hearing Harris’s response, the twins wailed even louder. Just as I was about to jump in and intervene, Harris held up a hand, signaling for me to trust him.

“Leave it to me; I’ve got this.”

“Uh… alright.”

‘Heart, don’t race like that! We’re just trying to help these poor kids. And to wink with such a striking face… it’s just totally unfair.’

“Dear gentlemen, let me finish. Our gold may be gone, but we leprechauns spent it to become the best hat-makers in the kingdom. If you take us to the doctor, we’ll make him the finest hat, one so valuable he’ll want to repay you with his services. Then, when you’re cured, you’ll show your gratitude by letting us go. Doesn’t that sound fair?”

The twins stared at each other, seemingly considering the proposal. Then, in very loud whispers, they had another ‘secret’ conversation that we could hear perfectly well.

“Hm… DumDum, what do you think? Seems fair enough, right?”

“It’s a bit suspicious, but do we have any other options, DeeDee?”

“Exactly!”

“Exactly.”

The twins stood, wiping the mud off their round, freckled cheeks, before reaching down with their pudgy fingers to pick us up again.

“You’re not lying, right?”

“Not at all,” Harris answered calmly, and the twins, now seemingly satisfied, placed us in the pocket of their overalls, right at the center.

With DeeDee in the lead, DumDum followed, their steps making us sway as we made our way toward Sector 4.

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Thanks to Harris’s clever lie, the twin brothers kindly believed us, allowing us to comfortably reach Sector 4 nestled in Tweedletwins’s overalls pocket.

“You know, you were kind of impressive back there,” I remarked, glancing at Harris, thinking of soothed the mischievous twins.

“Well, that’s all thanks to someone’s advice to play along,” he replied. Then, with a rare, sincere expression, he added, “Oh, and… thank you for catching me when I fell off the bridge. Really.”

Since meeting Harris, I’d grown used to his playful smirks and flirtatious glances, but this was the first time I’d seen him smile with such genuine warmth.

“It’s nothing. I should thank you, too. You didn’t have to, but you risked yourself to break my fall.”

For the first time, I looked past Harris’s face and saw his heart.

“I think… we make a pretty good team, don’t we?”

He gently took my hand, his eyes meeting mine.

“Yes, I think so…”

‘Oh no, what do I do now?’

As the warmth from his hand spread through mine, I felt my gaze waver. His eyes softened, slowly drifting shut as he leaned toward me.

‘Wait, is this really happening?’

This was the moment I’d read about in countless books—a kiss! I’d dreamed of this so many times, but now that the moment was here, I was at a complete loss.

‘Should I just close my eyes? But… what do I do with my hands? Is Harris really going to be my first kiss? I always thought my first kiss would be with Chester…’

In that instant, Chester’s image flashed through my mind, and before I knew it, I’d instinctively pushed Harris away, breaking the kiss just as he was leaning in.

Harris’s eyes opened in surprise, and he awkwardly let go of my waist.

‘Oh no, what do I do now?’

“L-Look! There’s the doctor’s house! Haha! See that sign? It says ‘Doctor Quack.’ What a great name, huh?”

To break the awkward tension, I quickly pointed to a sign nearby reading “Doctor Quack” and forced a laugh.

With all the excitement since falling off that bridge and meeting Tweedledum and Tweedledee, I hadn’t even had time to think about Chester… but of all moments, why did I have to think of him now, of all times, and ruin what could have been my first kiss?

Bang!

The twins threw open the door to Doctor Quack’s office. Inside, an elderly lady who looked every bit the part of a “quack doctor” was attending to a patient.

“Oh, Tweedledum and Tweedledee! Back again, are you? I assume you’ve brought the payment this time?”

“Of course! This hat maker we brought with usis going to craft you a splendid hat to cover the cost!”

“Well, that’s good news. I’ve been wanting a nice warm hat for the coming winter. Now, sit over there and wait a moment while I finish with my current patient.”

Following Doctor Quack’s instruction, Tweedledum and Tweedledee sat down on the long bench opposite the curtained area where she tended to her patients.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t help with your ailment. I truly hope you find a solution soon. Now, Tweedledum and Tweedledee, please come in.”

Her voice softened with sympathy as she dismissed the previous patient. Then she opened the curtain, calling us forward.

“Aah! Y-You!”

As I saw the patient leaving, I was so stunned that I screamed, nearly loud enough to shake the building.

“W-Wha—? R-Rapunzel? What are you doing here?!”

Yes, the person staring back at me with wide eyes, just as stunned as I was, was none other than Chester.

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Translator comments:
Ah, the power of convenient encounters to progress plots along…

Translation notes:

• 땅꼬마 ttangkkoma – a colloquial term for a small, short, or tiny person, to describe someone who’s particularly small. It can be playful or insulting, depending. Something like pipsqueak or munchkin, maybe? Both Rapunzel and Tweedle twin use it for the other though I didn’t translate it consistently (shrug).
• 닥터 돌팔 Dr. Dolpal – “돌팔이” means “quack” or “charlatan” in Korean, and ‘quack doctor’ is an English term for someone dubious medical skills/false medical credentials.
• Honorific Use / Politeness: Just a note that despite being a princess, Rapunzel often addresses Harris using polite speech and even some honorifics, which shows her respect or formal attitude despite their budding closeness, but she isn’t completely consistent, particularly noticeable when she gets flustered.
• Mimetic words from this chapter:
  • 훌쩍/huljjok (sniffling, whimpering)
  • 으에엥/흐, 흐흑 으아아아앙/heu heuheuk euaaaang (hiccup-y crying and a wail – crying sounds, basically
  • 하하하/jajaja (laughter)

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