This did not discourage Dorothy, however, and she rang the bell.
Pretty soon a bolt was cautiously withdrawn and the marble door swung
slowly open. Then she saw it was not really a door, but a window, for
several brass bars were placed across it, being set fast in the marble
and so close together that the little girl's fingers might barely go
between them. Back of the bars appeared the face of a white rabbit--a
very sober and sedate face--with an eye-glass held in his left eye and
attached to a cord in his button-hole.
"Well! what is it?" asked the rabbit, sharply.
"I'm Dorothy," said the girl, "and I'm lost, and--"
"State your business, please," interrupted the rabbit.
"My business," she replied, "is to find out where I am, and to--"
"No one is allowed in Bunnybury without an order or a letter of
introduction from either Ozma of Oz or Glinda the Good," announced the
rabbit; "so that settles the matter," and he started to close the
window.
"Wait a minute!" cried Dorothy. "I've got a letter from Ozma."
"From the Ruler of Oz?" asked the rabbit, doubtingly.
"Of course. Ozma's my best friend, you know; and I'm a Princess
myself," she announced, earnestly.
"Hum--ha! Let me see your letter," returned the rabbit, as if he still
doubted her.
So she hunted in her pocket and found the letter Ozma had given her.
Then she handed it through the bars to the rabbit, who took it in his
paws and opened it. He read it aloud in a pompous voice, as if to let
Dorothy and Billina see that he was educated and could read writing.
The letter was as follows:
"It will please me to have my subjects greet Princess Dorothy, the
bearer of this royal missive, with the same courtesy and consideration
they would extend to me."
"Ha--hum! It is signed 'Ozma of Oz,'" continued the rabbit, "and is
sealed with the Great Seal of the Emerald City. Well, well, well! How
strange! How remarkable!"
"What are you going to do about it?" inquired Dorothy, impatiently.
"We must obey the royal mandate," replied the rabbit. "We are subjects
of Ozma of Oz, and we live in her country. Also we are under the
protection of the great Sorceress Glinda the Good, who made us promise
to respect Ozma's commands."
"Then may I come in?" she asked.
"I'll open the door," said the rabbit. He shut the window and
disappeared, but a moment afterward a big door in the wall opened and
admitted Dorothy to a small room, which seemed to be a part of the wall
and built into it.
Here stood the rabbit she had been talking with, and now that she could
see all of him, she gazed at the creature in surprise. He was a good
sized white rabbit with pink eyes, much like all other white rabbits.
But the astonishing thing about him was the manner in which he was
dressed. He wore a white satin jacket embroidered with gold, and
having diamond buttons. His vest was rose-colored satin, with
tourmaline buttons. His trousers were white, to correspond with the
jacket, and they were baggy at the knees--like those of a zouave--being
tied with knots of rose ribbons. His shoes were of white plush with
diamond buckles, and his stockings were rose silk.
The richness and even magnificence of the rabbit's clothing made
Dorothy stare at the little creature wonderingly. Toto and Billina had
followed her into the room and when he saw them the rabbit ran to a
table and sprang upon it nimbly. Then he looked at the three through
his monocle and said:
"These companions, Princess, cannot enter Bunnybury with you."
"Why not?" asked Dorothy.
"In the first place they would frighten our people, who dislike dogs
above all things on earth; and, secondly, the letter of the Royal Ozma
does not mention them."
"But they're my friends," persisted Dorothy, "and go wherever I go."
"Not this time," said the rabbit, decidedly. "You, yourself, Princess,
are a welcome visitor, since you come so highly recommended; but unless
you consent to leave the dog and the hen in this room I cannot permit
you to enter the town."
"Never mind us, Dorothy," said Billina. "Go inside and see what the
place is like. You can tell us about it afterward, and Toto and I will
rest comfortably here until you return."
This seemed the best thing to do, for Dorothy was curious to see how
the rabbit people lived and she was aware of the fact that her friends
might frighten the timid little creatures. She had not forgotten how
Toto and Billina had misbehaved in Bunbury, and perhaps the rabbit was
wise to insist on their staying outside the town.
"Very well," she said, "I'll go in alone. I s'pose you're the King of
this town, aren't you?"
"No," answered the rabbit, "I'm merely the Keeper of the Wicket, and a
person of little importance, although I try to do my duty. I must now
inform you, Princess, that before you enter our town you must consent
to reduce."
"Reduce what?" asked Dorothy.
"Your size. You must become the size of the rabbits, although you may
retain your own form."
"Wouldn't my clothes be too big for me?" she inquired.
"No; they will reduce when your body does."
"Can YOU make me smaller?" asked the girl.
"Easily," returned the rabbit.
"And will you make me big again, when I'm ready to go away?"
"I will," said he.
"All right, then; I'm willing," she announced.
The rabbit jumped from the table and ran--or rather hopped--to the
further wall, where he opened a door so tiny that even Toto could
scarcely have crawled through it.
"Follow me," he said.
Now, almost any other little girl would have declared that she could
not get through so small a door; but Dorothy had already encountered so
many fairy adventures that she believed nothing was impossible in the
Land of Oz. So she quietly walked toward the door, and at every step
she grew smaller and smaller until, by the time the opening was
reached, she could pass through it with ease. Indeed, as she stood
beside the rabbit, who sat upon his hind legs and used his paws as
hands, her head was just about as high as his own.
Then the Keeper of the Wicket passed through and she followed, after
which the door swung shut and locked itself with a sharp click.
Dorothy now found herself in a city so strange and beautiful that she
gave a gasp of surprise. The high marble wall extended all around the
place and shut out all the rest of the world. And here were marble
houses of curious forms, most of them resembling overturned kettles but
with delicate slender spires and minarets running far up into the sky.
The streets were paved with white marble and in front of each house was
a lawn of rich green clover. Everything was as neat as wax, the green
and white contrasting prettily together.
But the rabbit people were, after all, the most amazing things Dorothy
saw. The streets were full of them, and their costumes were so
splendid that the rich dress of the Keeper of the Wicket was
commonplace when compared with the others. Silks and satins of
delicate hues seemed always used for material, and nearly every costume
sparkled with exquisite gems.
But the lady rabbits outshone the gentlemen rabbits in splendor, and
the cut of their gowns was really wonderful. They wore bonnets, too,
with feathers and jewels in them, and some wheeled baby carriages in
which the girl could see wee bunnies. Some were lying asleep while
others lay sucking their paws and looking around them with big pink
eyes.
As Dorothy was no bigger in size than the grown-up rabbits she had a
chance to observe them closely before they noticed her presence. Then
they did not seem at all alarmed, although the little girl naturally
became the center of attraction and regarded her with great curiosity.
"Make way!" cried the Keeper of the Wicket, in a pompous voice; "make
way for Princess Dorothy, who comes from Ozma of Oz."
Hearing this announcement, the throng of rabbits gave place to them on
the walks, and as Dorothy passed along they all bowed their heads
respectfully.
Walking thus through several handsome streets they came to a square in
the center of the City. In this square were some pretty trees and a
statue in bronze of Glinda the Good, while beyond it were the portals
of the Royal Palace--an extensive and imposing building of white marble
covered with a filigree of frosted gold.