"It's getting awful rough walking," said Dorothy, as they trudged
along. Button-Bright gave a deep sigh and said he was hungry. Indeed,
all were hungry, and thirsty, too; for they had eaten nothing but the
apples since breakfast; so their steps lagged and they grew silent and
weary. At last they slowly passed over the crest of a barren hill and
saw before them a line of green trees with a strip of grass at their
feet. An agreeable fragrance was wafted toward them.
Our travelers, hot and tired, ran forward on beholding this refreshing
sight and were not long in coming to the trees. Here they found a
spring of pure bubbling water, around which the grass was full of wild
strawberry plants, their pretty red berries ripe and ready to eat.
Some of the trees bore yellow oranges and some russet pears, so the
hungry adventurers suddenly found themselves provided with plenty to
eat and to drink. They lost no time in picking the biggest
strawberries and ripest oranges and soon had feasted to their hearts'
content. Walking beyond the line of trees they saw before them a
fearful, dismal desert, everywhere gray sand. At the edge of this
awful waste was a large, white sign with black letters neatly painted
upon it and the letters made these words: