They found the houses of the
town all low and square and
built of bricks, neatly whitewashed
inside and out. The houses
were not set in rows, forming
regular streets, but placed
here and there in a haphazard
manner which made it puzzling
for a stranger to find his
way.
"Stupid people must have
streets and numbered houses
in their cities, to guide them
where to go," observed the
grey donkey, as he walked before
the visitors on his hind legs,
in an awkward but comical manner; "but
clever donkeys know their way
about without such absurd marks.
Moreover, a mixed city is much
prettier than one with straight
streets."
Dorothy
did not
agree with
this, but she said nothing
to contradict it. Presently
she saw a sign on a house that
read: "Madam de Fayke, Hoofist," and
she asked their conductor:
"What's
a 'hoofist,'
please?"
"One who reads your fortune
in your hoofs," replied the
grey donkey.
"Oh, I see," said the little
girl. "You are quite civilized
here."
"Dunkiton," he replied, "is
the center of the world's highest
civilization."
They came to a house where
two youthful donkeys were whitewashing
the wall, and Dorothy stopped
a moment to watch them. They
dipped the ends of their tails,
which were much like paint-brushes,
into a pail of whitewash, backed
up against the house, and wagged
their tails right and left
until the whitewash was rubbed
on the wall, after which they
dipped these funny brushes
in the pail again and repeated
the performance.
"That must be fun," said
Button-Bright.
"No, it's work," replied
the old donkey; "but we make
our youngsters do all the whitewashing,
to keep them out of mischief."
"Don't they go to school?" asked
Dorothy.
"All donkeys are born wise," was
the reply, "so the only school
we need is the school of experience.
Books are only for those who
know nothing, and so are obliged
to learn things from other
people."
"In other words, the more
stupid one is, the more he
thinks he knows," observed
the shaggy man. The grey donkey
paid no attention to this speech
because he had just stopped
before a house which had painted
over the doorway a pair of
hoofs, with a donkey tail between
them and a rude crown and sceptre
above.
"I'll see if his magnificent
Majesty King Kik-a-bray is
at home," said he. He lifted
his head and called "Whee-haw!
whee-haw! whee-haw!" three
times, in a shocking voice,
turning about and kicking with
his heels against the panel
of the door. For a time there
was no reply; then the door
opened far enough to permit
a donkey's head to stick out
and look at them.
It was a white head, with
big, awful ears and round,
solemn eyes.
"Have the foxes gone?" it
asked, in a trembling voice.
"They haven't been here,
most stupendous Majesty," replied
the grey one. "The new arrivals
prove to be travelers of distinction."
"Oh," said the King, in a
relieved tone of voice. "Let
them come in."
He opened the door wide,
and the party marched into
a big room, which, Dorothy
thought, looked quite unlike
a king's palace. There were
mats of woven grasses on the
floor and the place was clean
and neat; but his Majesty had
no other furniture at all--perhaps
because he didn't need it.
He squatted down in the center
of the room and a little brown
donkey ran and brought a big
gold crown which it placed
on the monarch's head, and
a golden staff with a jeweled
ball at the end of it, which
the King held between his front
hoofs as he sat upright.
"Now then," said his Majesty,
waving his long ears gently
to and fro, "tell me why you
are here, and what you expect
me to do for you." He eyed
Button-Bright rather sharply,
as if afraid of the little
boy's queer head, though it
was the shaggy man who undertook
to reply.
"Most noble and supreme ruler
of Dunkiton," he said, trying
not to laugh in the solemn
King's face, "we are strangers
traveling through your dominions
and have entered your magnificent
city because the road led through
it, and there was no way to
go around. All we desire is
to pay our respects to your
Majesty--the cleverest king
in all the world, I'm sure--and
then to continue on our way."
This polite speech pleased
the King very much; indeed,
it pleased him so much that
it proved an unlucky speech
for the shaggy man. Perhaps
the Love Magnet helped to win
his Majesty's affections as
well as the flattery, but however
this may be, the white donkey
looked kindly upon the speaker
and said:
"Only
a donkey
should
be able
to use
such fine,
big
words, and you are too wise
and admirable in all ways to
be a mere man. Also, I feel
that I love you as well as
I do my own favored people,
so I will bestow upon you the
greatest gift within my power--a
donkey's head."
As he spoke he waved his
jeweled staff. Although the
shaggy man cried out and tried
to leap backward and escape,
it proved of no use. Suddenly
his own head was gone and a
donkey head appeared in its
place--a brown, shaggy head
so absurd and droll that Dorothy
and Polly both broke into merry
laughter, and even Button-Bright's
fox face wore a smile.
"Dear me! dear me!" cried
the shaggy man, feeling of
his shaggy new head and his
long ears. "What a misfortune--what
a great misfortune! Give me
back my own head, you stupid
king--if you love me at all!"
"Don't you like it?" asked
the King, surprised.
"Hee-haw! I hate it! Take
it away, quick!" said the shaggy
man.
"But I can't do that," was
the reply. "My magic works
only one way. I can DO things,
but I can't UNdo them. You'll
have to find the Truth Pond,
and bathe in its water, in
order to get back your own
head. But I advise you not
to do that. This head is much
more beautiful than the old
one."
"That's a matter of taste," said
Dorothy.
"Where is the Truth Pond?" asked
the shaggy man, earnestly.
"Somewhere in the Land of
Oz; but just the exact location
of it I can not tell," was
the answer.
"Don't worry, Shaggy Man," said
Dorothy, smiling because her
friend wagged his new ears
so comically. "If the Truth
Pond is in Oz, we'll be sure
to find it when we get there."
"Oh! Are you going to the
Land of Oz?" asked King Kik-a-bray.
"I don't know," she replied, "but
we've been told we are nearer
the Land of Oz than to Kansas,
and if that's so, the quickest
way for me to get home is to
find Ozma."
"Haw-haw! Do you know the
mighty Princess Ozma?" asked
the King, his tone both surprised
and eager.
"'Course I do; she's my friend," said
Dorothy.
"Then perhaps you'll do me
a favor," continued the white
donkey, much excited.
"What is it?" she
asked.
"Perhaps
you can
get me
an invitation
to Princess
Ozma's
birthday celebration, which
will be the grandest royal
function ever held in Fairyland.
I'd love to go."
"Hee-haw! You deserve punishment,
rather than reward, for giving
me this dreadful head," said
the shaggy man, sorrowfully.
"I wish you wouldn't say
'hee-haw' so much," Polychrome
begged him; "it makes cold
chills run down my back."
"But I can't help it, my
dear; my donkey head wants
to bray continually," he replied. "Doesn't
your fox head want to yelp
every minute?" he asked Button-Bright.
"Don't know," said
the boy,
still staring at the shaggy
man's ears. These seemed to
interest him greatly, and the
sight also made him forget
his own fox head, which was
a comfort.
"What do you think, Polly?
Shall I promise the donkey
king an invitation to Ozma's
party?" asked Dorothy of the
Rainbow's Daughter, who was
flitting about the room like
a sunbeam because she could
never keep still.
"Do as you please, dear," answered
Polychrome. "He might help
to amuse the guests of the
Princess."
"Then, if you will give us
some supper and a place to
sleep to-night, and let us
get started on our journey
early to-morrow morning," said
Dorothy to the King, "I'll
ask Ozma to invite you--if
I happen to get to Oz."
"Good! Hee-haw! Excellent!" cried
Kik-a-bray, much pleased. "You
shall all have fine suppers
and good beds. What food would
you prefer, a bran mash or
ripe oats in the shell?"
"Neither one," replied
Dorothy,
promptly.
"Perhaps plain hay, or some
sweet juicy grass would suit
you better," suggested Kik-a-bray,
musingly.
"Is that all you have to
eat?" asked the girl.
"What
more do
you desire?"
"Well, you see we're not
donkeys," she explained, "and
so we're used to other food.
The foxes gave us a nice supper
in Foxville."
"We'd like some dewdrops
and mist-cakes," said Polychrome.
"I'd prefer apples and a
ham sandwich," declared the
shaggy man, "for although I've
a donkey head, I still have
my own particular stomach."
"I want pie," said
Button-Bright.
"I think some beefsteak and
chocolate layer-cake would
taste best," said Dorothy.
"Hee-haw! I declare!" exclaimed
the King. "It seems each one
of you wants a different food.
How queer all living creatures
are, except donkeys!"
"And donkeys like you are
queerest of all," laughed Polychrome.
"Well," decided the King, "I
suppose my Magic Staff will
produce the things you crave;
if you are lacking in good
taste it is not my fault."
With this, he waved his staff
with the jeweled ball, and
before them instantly appeared
a tea-table, set with linen
and pretty dishes, and on the
table were the very things
each had wished for. Dorothy's
beefsteak was smoking hot,
and the shaggy man's apples
were plump and rosy-cheeked.
The King had not thought to
provide chairs, so they all
stood in their places around
the table and ate with good
appetite, being hungry. The
Rainbow's Daughter found three
tiny dewdrops on a crystal
plate, and Button-Bright had
a big slice of apple pie, which
he devoured eagerly.
Afterward the King called
the brown donkey, which was
his favorite servant, and bade
it lead his guests to the vacant
house where they were to pass
the night. It had only one
room and no furniture except
beds of clean straw and a few
mats of woven grasses; but
our travelers were contented
with these simple things because
they realized it was the best
the Donkey-King had to offer
them. As soon as it was dark
they lay down on the mats and
slept comfortably until morning.
At
daybreak
there was
a dreadful
noise throughout the city.
Every donkey in the place brayed.
When he heard this the shaggy
man woke up and called out "Hee-haw!" as
loud as he could.
"Stop that!" said
Button-Bright,
in a cross voice. Both Dorothy
and Polly looked at the shaggy
man reproachfully.
"I couldn't help it, my dears," he
said, as if ashamed of his
bray; "but I'll try not to
do it again."
Of coursed they forgave him,
for as he still had the Love
Magnet in his pocket they were
all obliged to love him as
much as ever.
They did not see the King
again, but Kik-a-bray remembered
them; for a table appeared
again in their room with the
same food upon it as on the
night before.
"Don't want pie for breakfus'," said
Button-Bright.
"I'll give you some of my
beefsteak," proposed Dorothy; "there's
plenty for us all."
That suited the boy better,
but the shaggy man said he
was content with his apples
and sandwiches, although he
ended the meal by eating Button-Bright's
pie. Polly liked her dewdrops
and mist-cakes better than
any other food, so they all
enjoyed an excellent breakfast.
Toto had the scraps left from
the beefsteak, and he stood
up nicely on his hind legs
while Dorothy fed them to him.
Breakfast ended, they passed
through the village to the
side opposite that by which
they had entered, the brown
servant-donkey guiding them
through the maze of scattered
houses. There was the road
again, leading far away into
the unknown country beyond.
"King Kik-a-bray says you
must not forget his invitation," said
the brown donkey, as they passed
through the opening in the
wall.
"I shan't," promised
Dorothy.
Perhaps no one ever beheld
a more strangely assorted group
than the one which now walked
along the road, through pretty
green fields and past groves
of feathery pepper-trees and
fragrant mimosa. Polychrome,
her beautiful gauzy robes floating
around her like a rainbow cloud,
went first, dancing back and
forth and darting now here
to pluck a wild-flower or there
to watch a beetle crawl across
the path. Toto ran after her
at times, barking joyously
the while, only to become sober
again and trot along at Dorothy's
heels. The little Kansas girl
walked holding Button-Bright's
hand clasped in her own, and
the wee boy with his fox head
covered by the sailor hat presented
an odd appeaance. Strangest
of all, perhaps, was the shaggy
man, with his shaggy donkey
head, who shuffled along in
the rear with his hands thrust
deep in his big pockets.
None of the party was really
unhappy. All were straying
in an unknown land and had
suffered more or less annoyance
and discomfort; but they realized
they were having a fairy adventure
in a fairy country, and were
much interested in finding
out what would happen next.
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