(who is expected to speak at an election of public officers), ignores all other demands to take them to their destination before dusk. He is the implied equivalent of the Hoopoe, who also serves as Haroun's transportation. Snooty Buttoo: A corrupt politician who hires Rashid to convince constituents that he (Buttoo) should be re-elected. Buttoo is a class-conscious, pompous, arrogant, self-assured person whose chief hold over his constituents is that he has been re-elected before. To persuade Rashid to sympathize with him, he offers both Rashid and Haroun a stay on a luxurious houseboat called 'The Arabian Nights Plus One'. Ultimately driven from his district by popular demand. Butt the Hoopoe: A mechanical Hoopoe who becomes Haroun's steed in Kahani, capable of almost all known mental feats, including telepathy (the latter producing a recurrent joke that he "spoke without moving [his] beak"). He is also capable of flying at impossible speeds, between Earth and Kahani. Because he shares with Mr. Butt the idiosyncrasy of saying "but but but" at the beginning of sentences, in addition to some superficial details of appearance, he is called by the same name. In his introduction, he is described as "the bird that leads all other birds through many dangerous places to their ultimate goal". Iff: A "water genie" from Kahani who accompanies Haroun in Kahani. Iff's task is to control Rashid's imagination, in the form of waters transmitted to Rashid via an invisible faucet by means called a "Process Too Complicated To Explain". Iff himself is a benevolent character having a blue mustache and beard; an effusive, somewhat cantankerous personality; and a habit of speaking in lists of synonyms. Prince Bolo: A possible parody of the archetypal awe-inspiring hero or Prince Charming, Bolo is a reckless, slightly stupid, melodramatic figure, nominally the leader of the charge to rescue Princess Batcheat from Chup, but holding little authority; prone to becoming excited at the least provocation; and obsessed with rescuing Batcheat, so that all other things appear to him of little significance. He frequently draws his sword when it is unwise to fight; once extends diplomatic immunity to an assassin bent on killing him, and often gives the impression to readers of being somewhat out of harmony with the realities of his situations. Princess Batcheat: A damsel in distress. Batcheat is the daughter of King Chattergy, ruler of Gup, and the fiancée of Prince Bolo. She