warm, yet the weather wasn't at all chilly, but rather mild and balmy,
like a spring day.
"Who are you, dear?" she asked, gently.
"I'm Polychrome," was the reply.
"Polly whom?"
"Polychrome. I'm the Daughter of the Rainbow."
"Oh!" said Dorothy, with a gasp; "I didn't know the Rainbow had
children. But I _might_ have known it, before you spoke. You couldn't
really be anything else."
"Why not?" inquired Polychrome, as if surprised.
"Because you're so lovely and sweet."
The little maiden smiled through her tears, came up to Dorothy, and
placed her slender fingers in the Kansas girl's chubby hand.
"You'll be my friend--won't you?" she said, pleadingly.
[Illustration]
"Of course."
"And what is your name?"
"I'm Dorothy; and this is my friend Shaggy Man, who owns the Love
Magnet; and this is Button-Bright--only you don't see him as he really
is because the Fox-King carelessly changed his head into a fox head. But
the real Button-Bright is good to look at, and I hope to get him changed
back to himself, some time."
The Rainbow's Daughter nodded cheerfully, no longer afraid of her new
companions.
"But who is this?" she asked, pointing to Toto, who was sitting before
her wagging his tail in the most friendly manner and admiring the pretty
maid with his bright eyes. "Is this, also, some enchanted person?"
"Oh no, Polly--I may call you Polly, mayn't I? Your whole name's awful
hard to say."
"Call me Polly if you wish, Dorothy."
"Well, Polly, Toto's just a dog; but he has more sense than
Button-Bright, to tell the truth; and I'm very fond of him."
"So am I," said Polychrome, bending gracefully to pat Toto's head.
"But how did the Rainbow's Daughter ever get on this lonely road, and
become lost?" asked the shaggy man, who had listened wonderingly to all
this.
"Why, my father stretched his rainbow over here this morning, so that
one end of it touched this road," was the reply; "and I was dancing upon
the pretty rays, as I love to do, and never noticed I was getting too
far over the bend in the circle. Suddenly I began to slide, and I went
faster and faster until at last I bumped on the ground, at the very end.
Just then father lifted the rainbow again, without noticing me at all,
and though I tried to seize the end of it and hold fast, it melted away
entirely and I was left alone and helpless on the cold, hard earth!"
"It doesn't seem cold to me, Polly," said Dorothy; "but perhaps you're
not warmly dressed."
"I'm so used to living nearer the sun," replied the Rainbow's Daughter,
"that at first I feared I would freeze down here. But my dance has
warmed me some, and now I wonder how I am ever to get home again."
"Won't your father miss you, and look for you, and let down another
rainbow for you?"
[Illustration]
"Perhaps so; but he's busy just now because it rains in so many parts of
the world at this season, and he has to set his rainbow in a lot of
different places. What would you advise me to do, Dorothy?"
"Come with us," was the answer. "I'm going to try to find my way to the
Emerald City, which is in the fairy Land of Oz. The Emerald City is
ruled by a friend of mine, the Princess Ozma, and if we can manage to
get there I'm sure she will know a way to send you home to your father
again."
"Do you really think so?" asked Polychrome, anxiously.
"I'm pretty sure."
"Then I'll go with you," said the little maid; "for travel will help
keep me warm, and father can find me in one part of the world as well as
another--if he gets time to look for me."
"Come along, then," said the shaggy man, cheerfully; and they started on
once more. Polly walked beside Dorothy a while, holding her new friend's
hand as if she feared to let it go; but her nature seemed as light and
buoyant as her fleecy robes, for suddenly she darted ahead and whirled
round in a giddy dance. Then she tripped back to them with sparkling
eyes and smiling cheeks, having regained her usual happy mood and
forgotten all her worry about being lost.
They found her a charming companion, and her dancing and laughter--for
she laughed at times like the tinkling of a silver bell--did much to
enliven their journey and keep them contented.
The City of Beasts
[Illustration]
When noon came they opened the Fox-King's basket of luncheon, and found
a nice roasted turkey with cranberry sauce and some slices of bread and
butter. As they sat on the grass by the roadside the shaggy man cut up
the turkey with his pocket-knife and passed slices of it around.
"Haven't you any dewdrops, or mist-cakes, or cloud-buns?" asked
Polychrome, longingly.
"'Course not," replied Dorothy. "We eat solid things, down here on the
earth. But there's a bottle of cold tea. Try some, won't you?"
The Rainbow's Daughter watched Button-Bright devour one leg of the
turkey.
"Is it good?" she asked.
He nodded.
"Do you think I could eat it?"
"Not this," said Button-Bright.
"But I mean another piece?"
"Don't know," he replied.
"Well, I'm going to try, for I'm very hungry," she decided, and took a
thin slice of the white breast of turkey which the shaggy man cut for
her, as well as a bit of bread and butter. When she tasted it Polychrome
thought the turkey was good--better even than mist-cakes; but a little
satisfied her hunger and she finished with a tiny sip of cold tea.
"That's about as much as a fly would eat," said Dorothy, who was making
a good meal herself. "But I know some people in Oz who eat nothing at
all."
"Who are they?" inquired the shaggy man.
"One is a scarecrow who's stuffed with straw, and the other a woodman
made out of tin. They haven't any appetites inside of 'em, you see; so
they never eat anything at all."
"Are they alive?" asked Button-Bright.
"Oh yes," replied Dorothy; "and they're very clever and very nice, too.
If we get to Oz I'll introduce them to you."
"Do you really expect to get to Oz?" inquired the shaggy man, taking a
drink of cold tea.
[Illustration: POLLY SIPPED A LITTLE COLD TEA]
"I don't know just what to 'spect," answered the child, seriously;
"but I've noticed if I happen to get lost I'm almost sure to come to the
Land of Oz in the end, somehow 'r other; so I may get there this time.
But I can't promise, you know; all I can do is wait and see."
"Will the Scarecrow scare me?" asked Button-Bright.
"No; 'cause you're not a crow," she returned. "He has the loveliest
smile you ever saw--only it's painted on and he can't help it."
Luncheon being over they started again upon their journey, the shaggy
man, Dorothy and Button-Bright walking soberly along, side by side, and
the Rainbow's Daughter dancing merrily before them.
Sometimes she darted along the road so swiftly that she was nearly out
of sight, then she came tripping back to greet them with her silvery
laughter. But once she came back more sedately, to say:
"There's a city a little way off."
"I 'spected that," returned Dorothy; "for the fox-people warned us there
was one on this road. It's filled with stupid beasts of some sort, but
we mustn't be afraid of 'em 'cause they won't hurt us."
"All right," said Button-Bright; but Polychrome didn't know whether it
was all right or not.
"It's a big city," she said, "and the road runs straight through it."
"Never mind," said the shaggy man; "as long as I carry the Love Magnet
every living thing will love me, and you may be sure I shan't allow any
of my friends to be harmed in any way."
This comforted them somewhat, and they moved on again. Pretty soon they
came to a sign-post that read:
"HAF A MYLE TO DUNKITON."
"Oh," said the shaggy man, "if they're donkeys we've nothing to fear at
all."
"They may kick," said Dorothy, doubtfully.
"Then we will cut some switches, and make them behave," he replied. At
the first tree he cut himself a long, slender switch from one of the
branches, and shorter switches for the others.
"Don't be afraid to order the beasts around," he said; "they're used to
it."
Before long the road brought them to the gates of the city. There was a
high wall all around, which had been whitewashed, and the gate just
before our travelers was a mere opening in the wall, with no bars across
it. No towers or steeples or domes showed above the enclosure, nor was
any living thing to be seen as our friends drew near.
Suddenly, as they were about to boldly enter through the opening, there
arose a harsh clamor of sound that swelled and echoed on every side,
until they were nearly deafened by the racket and had to put their
fingers to their ears to keep the noise out.
It was like the firing of many cannon, only there were no cannon-balls
or other missiles to be seen; it was like the rolling of mighty thunder,
only not a cloud was in the sky; it was like the roar of countless
breakers on a rugged seashore, only there was no sea or other water
anywhere about.
They hesitated to advance; but, as the noise did no harm, they entered
through the whitewashed wall and quickly discovered the cause of the
turmoil. Inside were suspended many sheets of tin or thin iron, and
against these metal sheets a row of donkeys were pounding their heels
with vicious kicks.
[Illustration]
The shaggy man ran up to the nearest donkey and gave the beast a sharp
blow with his switch.
"Stop that noise!" he shouted; and the donkey stopped kicking the metal
sheet and turned its head to look with surprise at the shaggy man. He
switched the next donkey, and made him stop, and then the next, so that
gradually the rattling of heels ceased and the awful noise subsided. The
donkeys stood in a group and eyed the strangers with fear and trembling.
"What do you mean by making such a racket?" asked the shaggy man,
sternly.
"We were scaring away the foxes," said one of the donkeys, meekly.
"Usually they run fast enough when they hear the noise, which makes them
afraid."
"There are no foxes here," said the shaggy man.
"I beg to differ with you. There's one, anyhow," replied the donkey,
sitting upright on its haunches and waving a hoof toward Button-Bright.
"We saw him coming and thought the whole army of foxes was marching to
attack us."
"Button-Bright isn't a fox," explained the shaggy man. "He's only
wearing a fox head for a time, until he can get his own head back."
"Oh, I see," remarked the donkey, waving its left ear reflectively. "I'm
sorry we made such a mistake, and had all our work and worry for
nothing."
The other donkeys by this time were sitting up and examining the
strangers with big, glassy eyes. They made a queer picture, indeed; for
they wore wide, white collars around their necks and the collars had
many scallops and points. The gentlemen-donkeys wore high pointed caps
set between their great ears, and the lady-donkeys wore sunbonnets with
holes cut in the top for the ears to stick through. But they had no
other clothing except their hairy skins, although many wore gold and
silver bangles on their front wrists and bands of different metals on
their rear ankles. When they were kicking they had braced themselves
with their front legs, but now they all stood or sat upright on their
hind legs and used their front ones as arms. Having no fingers or hands
the beasts were rather clumsy, as you may guess; but Dorothy was
surprised to observe how many things they could do with their stiff,
heavy hoofs.
Some of the donkeys were white, some were brown, or gray, or black, or
spotted; but their hair was sleek and smooth and their broad collars and
caps gave them a neat, if whimsical, appearance.
"This is a nice way to welcome visitors, I must say!" remarked the
shaggy man, in a reproachful tone.
"Oh, we did not mean to be impolite," replied a grey donkey which had
not spoken before. "But you were not expected, nor did you send in your
visiting cards, as it is proper to do."
"There is some truth in that," admitted the shaggy man; "but, now you
are informed that we are important and distinguished travelers, I trust
you will accord us proper consideration."
These big words delighted the donkeys, and made them bow to the shaggy
man with great respect. Said the grey one:
"You shall be taken before his great and glorious Majesty King
Kik-a-bray, who will greet you as becomes your exalted stations."
"That's right," answered Dorothy. "Take us to some one who knows
something."
[Illustration]
"Oh, we all know something, my child, or we shouldn't be donkeys,"
asserted the grey one, with dignity. "The word 'donkey' means 'clever,'
you know."
"I didn't know it," she replied. "I thought it meant 'stupid'."
"Not at all, my child. If you will look in the Encyclopedia Donkaniara
you will find I'm correct. But come; I will myself lead you before our
splendid, exalted, and most intellectual ruler."
All donkeys love big words, so it is no wonder the grey one used so many
of them.
The Shaggy Man's Transformation
[Illustration]
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 fit for those who know
nothing, and so are obliged to learn things from other people."
[Illustration]
"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.
[Illustration]
"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 affection 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.
[Illustration: KING KICK-A-BRAY WORKS MAGIC ON 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 _un_ do 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 tomorrow 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?"
[Illustration]
"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.
[Illustration]
"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 course 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.
[Illustration]