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.the long oar, pushed it in close to the bank.Snoreralighted on the end, and Bob settled himself cozily among the cushions.Merrily the boat went dancing down the stream, propelled by Notta's strongarm.The only thing that marred Bob's pleasure was the thought of Notta'sdisguise.But he determined to tell Dorothy, or the first person they met,that the clown was not a witch, but the jolliest fellow in the world.Somewhatcomforted by this thought, Bob gave himself up to pure enjoyment."Did you hear the fiddles last night?" asked the little boypresently."Bob," sighed Notta, "I did, and never heard any like it in thewhole of my travels.""It must have been my snoring you heard," said Nick, preening hisfeathers busily, for he wished to appear at his best in the Emerald City.Notta laughed uproariously at this and almost upset the boat.They all feltlight-hearted and gay, and Bob was no more like the solemn little orphan whohad fallen into Mudge than Nick's snoring was like the music in theFiddlestick Forest."I wonder if there are any other boys and girls in the EmeraldCity besides Dorothy?" asked Bob, after a little pause."And I wonder ifDorothy ever heard of Un or Doorways?""You'll have plenty to tell this little girl from Kansas, eh, BobUp?" smiled the clown, and Snorer, after adjusting his nose, related all thathe knew of the Emerald City, which unfortunately wasn't much, as very littlenews of the capital ever came to Un."I hope the Cowardly Lion is having as pleasant a journey asthis," said Notta, as they skimmed along under the branches of the trees, "andI hope Crunch is behaving himself properly.""I should think he'd be a hard person to get along with," chirpedNick, giving the clown a nudge so he would be sure to see the joke."Because he's made of stone, you mean?" replied Notta."Well,trust the Cowardly Lion to manage him.Hello! Looks as if we were out of thewoods."A turn of the rapid little stream had brought them into a broadmeadow and the Fiddlebow Boat stopped of its own accord."Guess this is as far as it goes," puffed the clown, after vainlyendeavoring to push it forward with the oar.So he guided it to the bank andthey all hopped out, "But it doesn't seem right to leave it here," observedNotta, scratching his ear anxiously.Page 73ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmlNo sooner had he spoken than a tall tree near the edge of thewater leaned down, seized the boat in its branches, and passed it along to thenext tree, and in a second it was being tossed lightly from tree to tree, muchto the amazement of Notta and Bob.With wonders happening every moment, you would expect them to beused to it, but each time they were newly astonished.When the last trace ofthe magic boat disappeared, they struck out across the meadow, for alreadyover the top of a little hill they could see the sparkling green towers of theEmerald City of Oz.Nick, hopping sidewise, paused every few minutes to see that hiscurly nose was safely on its hook.Notta began rehearsing long speeches hemeant to make to the lovely little ruler of Oz, while Bob skipped between thetwo, nearly bursting with excitement.On the other side of the meadow theycame to the yellow brick road mentioned by Mustafa.From the windows of thelittle green cottages scattered here and there, the inhabitants looked at themcuriously, and several of the quaintly dressed town folk whom they met on theroad, at sight of a witch, took immediately to their heels.But withoutwaiting to explain themselves or talk to anyone, the three hurried on to thegates of the Emerald City itself.Bob gazed with round-eyed delight, Nick began to snort withsurprise, and Notta, who had seen in the course of his travels every greatcity on two continents, was struck dumb with amazement, for the capital cityof Oz outshone them all in beauty and magnificence.Its streets of greenmarble sparkled with emeralds, and the palace, rising majestically from itsflowering gardens, shone with splendor in the bright morning sunshine.TheGuardian of the Gate was breakfasting in his cottage, and Nick flew over thebars and, turning the emerald key, quietly admitted Bob and Notta."Let us proceed to the main tent," puffed the clown a bitnervously, for he felt ill at ease among so much magnificence.He hadforgotten every word of his speech and, with a sigh, resolved to stick to hisold rules disguise, Politeness, joke and run."Though I see no reason why weshould have to run," he muttered uneasily, settling his witch hat a bit morefirmly.It was still rather early and the gardens were deserted, but allat once Bob, who was a bit ahead of the others, spied a little girl in pink,sitting on the edge of a fountain, reading."It's Dorothy!" cried Bob, waving excitedly."She looks just like a picture in the lion book! Come on!"Immediately Snorer spread his wings and flung himself into the air.Nottagrasped his black cloak and catching Bob's hand started on a run for thefountain.The flapping of Nick's wings made Dorothy look up.With a littlescream she jumped to her feet, for any little girl, even though she is aPrincess of Oz, cannot help being afraid of witches."Help!" cried Dorothy, turning to run.But just then she caughtsight of a gold bucket that always stood beside the fountain, and sheremembered an experience she had had long ago with the wicked witch of theWest.Water had melted one witch-why not another? Seizing the bucket, shefilled it hastily at the fountain and, just as the witch, strange bird andlittle boy reached her, she flung its contents over the witch's head.Page 74ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html"Oh! Oh!" screamed Snorer."You have insulted the most beautifulperson in Oz."Notta, taken completely by surprise, could do nothing but chokeand splutter."Wait!" panted Bob, for Dorothy was refilling the bucket.But hewas too late and down splashed another bucket on Notta's head, carrying awayhis hat and drenching his black wig.Unable to speak, Notta began to wave hisarms, and this was anything but reassuring to Dorothy.Snatching a littlesilver whistle that hung on a ribbon on her neck, she blew on it shrilly.Thenext instant running feet could be heard on all the garden paths and in atwinkling Bob and Notta were surrounded."What is it?" boomed Sir Hokus of Pokes, Dorothy's Knight Errant [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]