It doesn’t take long at all for the Fool to settle in happily at the court of the Great King. He rises in the morning with the sun and goes to sleep in the evening with the dusk. He juggles for the King and his court, and the Queen especially delights in his performances. When he is not needed, he uses his time to practice juggling with four balls or to explore the castle grounds, which are much larger than those of the Honorable Little King. On his wanderings, the Fool has found something called a Libary. It smells wonderful in there, and it is so quiet that he holds onto his cap when passing through so as not to jingle.
Life at court is simple and beautiful. There is always something good to eat, and one never has to be cold. The Great King has so many knights that one never has to fear that anything bad will happen. One can juggle as much as one wants, and the people in the castle are all friendly.

On a rainy afternoon, the Fool is strolling through the Libary and looking at the things – books, they called them – that are stacked on the shelves. He holds his cap still, tilts his head back, looks up, and turns slightly to see everything. The full shelves reach higher and higher. So high that he feels quite dizzy. Who could have built them?

Then, in his turning, his elbow suddenly gets caught, and it happens: his momentum pulls one of those books from the shelf, it falls to the floor, and seems to have unfolded. Oh no, oh no! It must be broken. But … what are those symbols inside this book?

While the Fool is still marveling, the Libarian hurries over. Too late, the Fool can no longer hide. But surprisingly, the man is very calm and asks the Fool if he would like to borrow this book. The Fool does not understand and shrugs his shoulders. He jingles. The Libarian puts a finger to his lips: »Shh! No jingling in the library, please. This book belongs to the royal collection. We must ask the King if you may borrow it. Come.«
The Libarian picks up the book and walks briskly toward the throne room. The Fool holds onto his little bells and follows.

»Your Highness, your Fool wishes to borrow this book from the royal collection. Do you permit it?« asks the Libarian with his head bowed, holding the book out to the King. The King takes it with a furrowed brow. »Card Tricks and Sorcery – well, well. I have never had a Fool who borrowed a book. I believe I’ve never had a Fool who could read, either. But why not. Of course, the Fool is permitted to borrow the book.«
The King hands the book back to the Libarian, and the Libarian hands it to the Fool. Reverently, he opens it and admires the signs on the paper.

»You cannot read, can you?« the King addresses him.
»I do not know, Your Highness. What does that mean?«
»To read. To understand letters and texts. Like those in a book,« says the King, nodding toward the pages, which were opened upside down.
»No, Your Highness. I understand nothing. I am just a Fool. But I like these pictures. They are colorful and beautiful. And I think I have seen them before. But I don’t know. I know nothing.«
»Very well, Fool. I was hoping that with the help of this book, you would learn card tricks and sorcery with which you could entertain us in the future. But I seem to have been mistaken. If you cannot read, then it is of no use.« The King shakes his head in resignation.
The Fool doesn’t quite understand: »I don’t know. If I can read, can I then do sorcery?« Sorcery. Magic. Wizard. And card tricks. Does this have something to do with that card the Queen gave him upon his arrival? Card tricks. What did the Magician say? Trickster. Can one become a Wizard with a book?

»Librarian, teach the Fool to read. I would truly like to have a court magician again, and my wife would also be so pleased. One can’t find any good ones these days. Show him how to read. He shall learn with you. Here, Fool, I will give you a bookmark. You will need it so you do not forget how far you have come.«

The next morning, the Fool goes to his very first lesson in the Libary. In the following days, weeks, and months, he learns the alphabet and, with the King’s blessing, borrows simple books from the li-bra-ry to practice with. Slowly, very slowly, he dares to approach Card Tricks and Sorcery. It is a difficult book with long sentences that sometimes make you forget how they began. And it contains very strange words. It is not easy to understand.

The Fool learns what cards are. Small pieces of stiff paper with numbers and letters and signs and pictures on them. Some look almost the same, some very different. There are even cards with pictures of people in jingling caps who look just like him! And with these cards, one can do many things. Card tricks, for example. And if you can do card tricks, then you are almost a Wizard. At least, that’s how the Fool understood it. No one can tell him if it’s true. Not even the Librarian.

And one fine day, the time has come: the bookmark is at the very back of the book. The Fool would like to try his first card tricks. But how can he do that without cards? He rummages in his trouser pockets. The pieces of paper he has collected on his journey so far, besides chestnuts, shells, stones, and feathers, are apparently these cards. But there are only four. He seeks out the King and confesses his problem: »Your Highness, I can now read, and I have understood how card tricks work. But I cannot perform them; I only have four cards, see. One of them is what you gave me as a bookmark. Do you have more of them? Then I could perform card tricks for you.«

At this, the King becomes very sad. »No. I only had this one, and my wife the second. They were gifts from our former court magician, which he gave us when he had to leave to move on. I do not know where Wizards get their cards. I once heard they receive them upon completion of their wizarding exam at the Wizarding Academy. Another story says they find the cards at the end of the world, near the fire mountains, in the womb of the earth, on the loftiest peaks, and in the deepest waters. Yet another, that they conjure the cards themselves. But how could that work? No one knows. Now neither of us knows what to do. My wife will be sad.«

»My King,« the Fool dares to say, »let me go and search for the cards. I already have four. See, from these I can already build the ground floor of a small house of cards. Like this. And I know a Magician. I just have to find him; he can surely tell me how to get cards. I met him back then at the court of the Honorable Little King. Perhaps I can find him there again.«

»Good,« says the King, »so it shall be done. Go forth and find the Magician. Hurry and give my regards to the Honorable Little King. But the valley through which you came will take too long. Take the shortcut through the mountains. That will be faster; we will wait for you. May the gods protect you.«

Before the Fool can reply, the gate of the throne room opens with a squeak, and the Fool knows it is time to depart.