The Dainty a try
While the Woodman was making a ladder from wood which he found in the forest Dorothy lay down and slept, for she was tired by the long walk. The Lion also curled himself up to sleep and Toto lay beside him.
The Scarecrow watched the Woodman while he worked, and said to him:
"I ot think why this wall is here, nor what it is made of.」
"Rest your brains and do not worry about the wall," replied the Woodman. "When we have climbed over it, we shall know what is oher side.」
After a time the ladder was finished. It looked clumsy, but the Tin Woodman was sure it was strong and would aheir purpose. The Scarecrow waked Dorothy and the Lion and Toto, and told them that the ladder was ready. The Scare- crow climbed up the ladder first, but he was so awkward that Dorothy had to follow close behind and keep him from falling off. Whe his head over the top of the wall the Scare- crow said, "Oh, my!」
"Go on," exclaimed Dorothy.
So the Scarecrow climbed farther up and sat down oop of the wall, and Dorothy put her head over and cried, "Oh, my!" just as the Scarecrow had done.
Then Toto came up, and immediately began to bark, but Dorothy made him be still.
The Lion climbed the ladder , and the Tin Woodman came last; but both of them cried, "Oh, my!" as soon as they looked over the wall. When they were all sitting in a row oop of the wall, they looked down and saw a strange sight.
Before them was a great stretch of try having a floor as smooth and shining and white as the bottom of a big platter.
Scattered around were many houses made entirely of a and painted in the brightest colors. These houses were quite small, the biggest of them reag only as high as Dorothys waist. There were also pretty little barns, with a fences around them; and many cows and sheep and horses and pigs and chis, all made of a, were stand- ing about in groups.
But the stra of all were the people who lived in this queer try. There were milkmaids and shepherdesses, with brightly colored bodices and golden spots all over their gowns; and princesses with most geous frocks of silver and gold and purple; and shepherds dressed in knee breeches with pink and yellow and blue stripes down them, and golden buckles on their shoes; and princes with jeweled s upon their heads, wearing ermine robes and satin doublets; and funny s in ruffled gowns, with round red spots upon their cheeks and tall, pointed caps. And, stra of all, these people were all made of a, even to their clothes, and were so small that the tallest of them was no higher than Dorothys knee.
No one did so much as look at the travelers at first, except otle purple a dog with ara-large head, which came to the wall and barked at them in a tiny voice, after- wards running away again.
"How shall we get down?" asked Dorothy.
They found the ladder so heavy they could not pull it up, so the Scarecrow fell off the wall and the others jumped down upon him so that the hard floor would not hurt their feet. Of course they took pains not to light on his head ahe pins in their feet. When all were safely down they picked up the Scarecrow, whose body was quite flattened out, and patted his straw into shape again.
"We must cross this strange pla order to get to the other side," said Dorothy, "for it would be unwise for us to go any other way except due South.」
They began walking through the try of the a peo- ple, and the firs