The Royal Banquet is the seventh chapter of The Phantom Tollbooth.
Characters[]
Plot[]
Inside the banquet hall, Milo and Tock find a sizeable party waiting for them. Everyone from the market is there, especially the Humbug, the Spelling Bee, and Officer Shrift. Officer Shrift doesn't seem to mind that Milo's left jail, and the Humbug explains that they have been waiting for Milo. Because he is the guest of honor, he gets to pick what everyone has to eat. King Azaz comes in and has everybody sit down. He asks Milo and Tock about themselves and makes fun of Milo for not seeming to have any real entertaining skills. Although Milo is in charge of selecting the meal, he isn't sure what to ask for. He thinks about how his mom is always telling him to be a good, polite guest. So he proposes that they have a "light meal". He means "light" as in snacks, not heavy courses, but the food that arrives is actually made of light. The Humbug and the king encourage Milo to try again, so he orders a "square meal". But this time, the dishes that show up are a bunch of squares, which don't seem to taste very good. The king then announces that everybody has to make a speech, and Milo has to go first. Milo's not sure what to say, so he starts by greeting everyone. The king cuts him off and then has each of the other guests make a speech. The Humbug starts and the king finishes. Each person makes a speech that's just a list of the foods they'd like to eat that night. Milo realizes too late that his speech should really have been his dinner order. His food arrives and doesn't look as edible as everyone else's. The royal advisors try to console him with the breadbasket but end up talking over each other too much and making the king mad. For dessert, the waiters bring out platters of half-baked ideas, which the Humbug explains are very sweet but can cause indigestion. Milo munches on his "THE EARTH IS FLAT" while the king devours "NIGHT AIR IS BAD AIR."
Chapter Guide[]
< Faintly Macabre's Story (Chapter 6) | The Humbug Volunteers (Chapter 8)>