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diff --git a/24379.txt b/24379.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..0105879 --- /dev/null +++ b/24379.txt @@ -0,0 +1,3105 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Admiral's Caravan, by +Charles E. Carryl and Reginald B. Birch + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Admiral's Caravan + +Author: Charles E. Carryl + Reginald B. Birch + +Release Date: January 21, 2008 [EBook #24379] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE ADMIRAL'S CARAVAN *** + + + + +Produced by David Edwards, Chris Logan and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This +file was produced from images generously made available +by The Internet Archive.) + + + + + + + + + +THE +ADMIRAL'S CARAVAN + + +BY + + +CHARLES E. CARRYL + + +AUTHOR OF "DAVY AND THE GOBLIN" + + +WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY +REGINALD B. BIRCH + + +[Illustration: The Riverside Press] + +BOSTON AND NEW YORK +HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY +The Riverside Press Cambridge + + +Copyright, 1891, 1892, 1919, and 1920, by The Century Co. +Copyright, 1920, by Charles E. Carryl + + + + +[Illustration: "THE ADMIRAL, MAKING A DESPERATE ATTEMPT TO GET A VIEW +OF HIS LEGS THROUGH HIS SPY-GLASS."] + + + + +TO CONSTANCE + + Sweet Chatterbox, 't is thou that hast beguiled + My fancy, as it drew the little child + Who in these pages lives; her gentle ways + Are but the reflex of thy round of days. + The trip of syllable I held so dear, + And all thy small remarks, are treasured here-- + Charmed by the alchemy of love to stay + The while thy blissful childhood slips away. + Kind little heart, that knows no selfish thought, + Read here the tale that thou, thyself, hast wrought! + + + + +CONTENTS + + + PAGE + + CHAPTER I + Dorothy and the Admiral 11 + + CHAPTER II + The Ferry to Nowhere 23 + + CHAPTER III + The Cruise of the Sideboard 32 + + CHAPTER IV + Tree-top Country 39 + + CHAPTER V + Bob Scarlet's Garden 54 + + CHAPTER VI + In the Toy-shop 66 + + CHAPTER VII + The Song in the Dell 81 + + CHAPTER VIII + Something About the Camel 95 + + CHAPTER IX + The Camel's Complaint 104 + + CHAPTER X + The Sizing Tower 112 + + CHAPTER XI + The Dancing Animals 120 + + CHAPTER XII + The Caravan Comes Home 129 + + + + +LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS + + + PAGE + "The Admiral, making a desperate attempt to get a + view of his legs through his spy-glass" Frontispiece + + Head-piece to Chapter I 11 + + The Admiral 13 + + The Highlander 14 + + Sir Walter Rosettes 15 + + "The Admiral, making a desperate attempt to get a + view of his legs through his spy-glass" 19 + + "The Admiral sat up and gazed about with a complacent smile" 21 + + "'They're entirely different from mine, anyhow,' said + the Stork" 25 + + "It seemed like listening to an enormous cuckoo-clock" 26 + + "'Dear Me!' she exclaimed, 'here comes all the furniture!'" 30 + + "The Admiral exclaimed: 'There she is! I can see + her quite plainly!'" 34 + + "The sideboard slowly floated along through this + strange forest" 40 + + Dorothy makes a call in the tree-top country 43 + + The extraordinary Post-Captain 47 and 48 + + "He did a little fifing on the edges of the note" 49 + + "Sir Peter caught the pirate, and he took him by the neck" 51 + + "He was walking about with his hands in his waistcoat-pockets" 55 + + "There were plants loaded down with little pinafores, + and shrubs with small shoes growing all over them" 57 + + "'Why, the place where I am,' said Dorothy" 62 + + "Dorothy started off at once, as fast as she could run" 64 + + "'It is a shelf!' she exclaimed" 67 + + "The Highlander, with his usual bad luck, had put + on his sunbonnet backward" 68 + + "'You know your size does come in dozens, assorted,' + continued the Jack" 75 + + "He sailed away under the bridge" 80 + + "She found it rather trying to her nerves, at first, + to meet with rabbits as big as horses" 86 + + "--To be chattered at by squirrels a head taller + than she herself was" 87 + + "Pushing the leaves gently aside, she cautiously peeped out" 91 + + The Mouse laments 93 + + "And found the Caravan sitting in a row on a little + bench at the door" 96 + + "He dropped his little book, with an appearance of + great agitation, and hurried away" 101 + + "A door at the back of the shop opened and they all rushed out" 102 + + Tail-piece to Chapter VIII 103 + + The Caravan discipline the Camel 109 + + "'There isn't any more,' said the Highlander, rather confusedly" 115 + + "An elephant and a sheep seized her by the hands, and the next + moment she was dancing in the ring" 123 + + The animals crossing over 127 + + "By this time they were running so fast that she + could hardly keep up with them" 135 + + "It slowly changed to a bird-cage with a robin sitting in it" 138 + + Tail-piece to Chapter XII 140 + + + + +[Illustration: HEAD-PIECE TO CHAPTER I.] + +CHAPTER I + +DOROTHY AND THE ADMIRAL + + +The Blue Admiral Inn stood on the edge of the shore, with its red brick +walls, and its gabled roof, and the old willow-trees that overhung it, +all reflected in the quiet water as if the harbor had been a great +mirror lying upon its back in the sun. This made it a most attractive +place to look at. Then there were crisp little dimity curtains hanging +in the windows of the coffee-room and giving great promise of tidiness +and comfort within, and this made it a most delightful place to think +about. And then there was a certain suggestion of savory cooking in the +swirl of the smoke that came out of the tall, old-fashioned chimneys, +and this made it a most difficult place to stay away from. In fact, if +any ships had chanced to come into the little harbor, I believe +everybody on board of them, from the captains down to the cabin-boys, +would have scrambled into the boats the moment the anchors were down and +pulled away for the Blue Admiral Inn. + +But, so far as ships were concerned, the harbor was as dead as a +door-nail, and poor old Uncle Porticle, who kept the inn, had long ago +given up all idea of expecting them, and had fallen into a melancholy +habit of standing in the little porch that opened on the village street, +gazing first to the right and then to the left, and lastly at the +opposite side of the way, as if he had a faint hope that certain +seafaring men were about to steal a march upon him from the land-side of +the town. And Dorothy, who was a lonely little child, with no one in the +world to care for but Uncle Porticle, had also fallen into a habit of +sitting on the step of the porch by way of keeping him company; and +here they passed many quiet hours together, with the big robin hopping +about in his cage, and with the Admiral himself, on his pedestal beside +the porch, keeping watch and ward over the fortunes of the inn. + +[Illustration: THE ADMIRAL.] + +Now the Admiral was only a yard high, and was made of wood into the +bargain; but he was a fine figure of a man for all that, being dressed +in a very beautiful blue coat (as befitted his name) and canary-colored +knee-breeches, and wearing a fore-and-aft hat rakishly perched on the +back of his head. On the other hand, he had sundry stray cracks in the +calves of his legs, and was badly battered about the nose; but, after +all, this only gave him a certain weather-beaten appearance as if he had +been around the world any number of times in all sorts of company; and +for as long as Dorothy could remember he had been standing on his +pedestal beside the porch, enjoying the sunshine and defying the rain, +as a gallant officer should, and earnestly gazing at the opposite side +of the street through a spy-glass. + +[Illustration: THE HIGHLANDER.] + +Now, what the Admiral was staring at was a mystery. He might, for +instance, have been looking at the wooden Highlander that stood at the +door of Mr. Pendle's instrument-shop, for nothing more magnificent than +this particular Highlander could possibly be imagined. His clothes were +of every color of the rainbow, and he had silver buckles on his shoes, +and brass buttons on his coat, and he was varnished to such an extent +that you could hardly look at him without winking. Then his hair and his +whiskers were so red, and his legs were so pink and so fat and so +lifelike, that it seemed as if you could almost hear him speak; and, +what was more, he had been standing for years at the door of the shop, +proudly holding up a preposterous wooden watch that gave half-past +three as the correct time at all hours of the day and night. In fact, it +would have been no great wonder if the Admiral had stared at him to the +end of his days. + +[Illustration: SIR WALTER ROSETTES.] + +Then there was Sir Walter Rosettes, a long-bodied little man in a +cavalier's cloak, with a ruff about his neck and enormous rosettes on +his shoes, who stood on a pedestal at old Mrs. Peevy's garden gate, +offering an imitation tobacco-plant, free of charge, as it were, to any +one who would take the trouble of carrying it home. This bold device was +intended to call attention to the fact that Mrs. Peevy kept a +tobacco-shop in the front parlor of her little cottage behind the +hollyhock bushes, the announcement being backed up by the spectacle of +three pipes arranged in a tripod in the window, and by the words +"Smokers' Emporium" displayed in gold letters on the glass; and, by the +way, Dorothy knew perfectly well who _this_ little man was, as somebody +had taken the trouble of writing his name with a lead-pencil on his +pedestal just below the toes of his shoes. + +And lastly there was old Mrs. Peevy herself, who might be seen at any +hour of the day, sitting at the door of her cottage, fast asleep in the +shade of her big cotton umbrella with the Chinese mandarin for a handle. +She wasn't much to look at, perhaps, but there was no way of getting at +the Admiral's taste in such matters, so he stared through his spy-glass +year in and year out, and nobody was any the wiser. + +Now from sitting so much in the porch and turning these things over in +her mind, Dorothy had come to know the Admiral and the Highlander and +Sir Walter Rosettes as well as she could possibly know persons who +didn't know her, and who couldn't have spoken to her if they _had_ known +her; but nothing came of the acquaintance until a certain Christmas eve. +Of course, nobody knew better than Dorothy what Christmas eve should be +like. The snow should be falling softly, and just enough should come +down to cover up the pavements and make the streets look beautifully +white and clean, and to edge the trees and the lamp-posts and the +railings as if they were trimmed with soft lace; and just enough to +tempt children to come out, and not so much as to keep grown people at +home--in fact, just enough for Christmas eve, and not a bit more. + +Then the streets should be full of people hurrying along and all +carrying plenty of parcels; and the windows should be very gay with +delightful wreaths of greens, and bunches of holly with plenty of +scarlet berries on them, and the greengrocers should have little forests +of assorted hemlock-trees on the sidewalks in front of their shops, and +everything should be as cheerful and as bustling as possible. + +And, if you liked, there might be just a faint smell of cooking floating +about in the air, but this was not important by any means, as it might +happen at any time. + +Well, all these good old-fashioned things came to pass on this +particular Christmas eve except the snow; and in place of that there +came a soft, warm rain which was all very well in its way, except that, +as Dorothy said, "It didn't belong on Christmas eve." And just at +nightfall she went out into the porch to smell the rain, and to see how +Christmas matters generally were getting on in the wet; and she was +watching the people hurrying by, and trying to fancy what was in the +mysterious-looking parcels they were carrying so carefully under their +umbrellas, when she suddenly noticed that the toes of the Admiral's +shoes were turned sideways on his pedestal, and looking up at him she +saw that he had tucked his spy-glass under his arm, and was gazing down +backward at his legs with an air of great concern. + +This was so startling that Dorothy almost jumped out of her shoes, and +she was just turning to run back into the house when the Admiral caught +sight of her, and called out excitedly, "Cracks in my legs!"--and then +stared hard at her as if demanding some sort of an explanation of this +extraordinary state of affairs. + +Dorothy was dreadfully frightened, but she was a very polite little +girl, and would have answered the town pump if it had spoken to her; so +she swallowed down a great lump that had come up into her throat, and +said, as respectfully as she could, "I'm very sorry, sir. I suppose it +must be because they are so very old." + +[Illustration: "THE ADMIRAL, MAKING A DESPERATE ATTEMPT TO GET A VIEW OF +HIS LEGS THROUGH HIS SPY-GLASS."] + +"Old!" exclaimed the Admiral, making a desperate attempt to get a view +of his legs through his spy-glass. "Why, they're no older than _I_ am"; +and, upon thinking it over, this seemed so very true that Dorothy felt +quite ashamed of her remark and stood looking at him in a rather foolish +way. + +"Try again," said the Admiral, with a patronizing air. + +"No," said Dorothy, gravely shaking her head, "I'm sure I don't know any +other reason; only it seems rather strange, you know, that you've never +even seen them before." + +"If you mean my legs," said the Admiral, "of course I've seen them +before--lots of times. But I've never seen 'em behind. That is," he +added by way of explanation. "I've never seen 'em behind before." + +"But I mean the cracks," said Dorothy, with a faint smile. You see she +was beginning to feel a little acquainted with the Admiral by this time, +and the conversation didn't seem to be quite so solemn as it had been +when he first began talking. + +"Then you should say 'seen 'em before _behind_,'" said the Admiral. +"That's where they've always been, you know." + +Dorothy didn't know exactly what reply to make to this remark; but she +thought she ought to say something by way of helping along the +conversation, so she began, "I suppose it's kind of----" and here she +stopped to think of the word she wanted. + +"Kind of what?" said the Admiral severely. + +"Kind of--cripplesome, isn't it?" said Dorothy rather confusedly. + +"Cripplesome?" exclaimed the Admiral. "Why, that's no word for it. It's +positively decrepitoodle----" here he paused for a moment and got +extremely red in the face, and then finished up with "----loodelarious," +and stared hard at her again, as if inquiring what she thought of +_that_. + +"Goodness!" said Dorothy, drawing a long breath, "what a word!" + +"Well, it _is_ rather a word," said the Admiral with a very satisfied +air. "You see, it means about everything that can happen to a person's +legs--" but just here his remarks came abruptly to an end, for as he was +strutting about on his pedestal, he suddenly slipped off the edge of it +and came to the ground flat on his back. + +[Illustration: "THE ADMIRAL SAT UP AND GAZED ABOUT WITH A COMPLACENT +SMILE."] + +Dorothy gave a little scream of dismay; but the Admiral, who didn't +appear to be in the least disturbed by this accident, sat up and gazed +about with a complacent smile. Then, getting on his feet, he took a pipe +out of his pocket, and lit it with infinite relish; and having turned up +his coat-collar by way of keeping the rest of his clothes dry, he +started off down the street without another word. The people going by +had all disappeared in the most unaccountable manner, and Dorothy could +see him quite plainly as he walked along, tacking from one side of the +street to the other with a strange rattling noise, and blowing little +puffs of smoke into the air like a shabby little steam-tug going to sea +in a storm. + +Now all this was extremely exciting, and Dorothy, quite forgetting the +rain, ran down the street a little way so as to keep the Admiral in +sight. "It's _precisely_ like a doll going traveling all by itself," she +exclaimed as she ran along. "How he rattles! I suppose _that's_ his +little cracked legs--and goodness gracious, how he smokes!" she added, +for by this time the Admiral had fired up, so to speak, as if he were +bound on a long journey, and was blowing out such clouds of smoke that +he presently quite shut himself out from view. The smoke smelt somewhat +like burnt feathers, which, of course, was not very agreeable, but the +worst of it was that when Dorothy turned to run home again she +discovered that she couldn't see her way back to the porch, and she was +feeling about for it with her hands stretched out, when the smoke +suddenly cleared away and she found that the inn, and Mr. Pendle's shop, +and Mrs. Peevy's cottage had all disappeared like a street in a +pantomime, and that she was standing quite alone before a strange little +stone house. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +THE FERRY TO NOWHERE + + +The rain had stopped, and the moon was shining through the breaking +clouds, and as Dorothy looked up at the little stone house she saw that +it had an archway through it with "FERRY" in large letters on the wall +above it. Of course she had no idea of going by herself over a strange +ferry; but she was an extremely curious little girl, as you will +presently see, and so she immediately ran through the archway to see +what the ferry was like and where it took people, but, to her surprise, +instead of coming out at the water side, she came into a strange, +old-fashioned-looking street as crooked as it could possibly be, and +lined on both sides by tall houses with sharply peaked roofs looming up +against the evening sky. + +There was no one in sight but a stork. He was a very tall stork with red +legs, and wore a sort of paper bag on his head with "FERRYMAN" written +across the front of it; and as Dorothy appeared he held out one of his +claws and said, "Fare, please," in quite a matter-of-fact way. + +Dorothy was positively certain that she hadn't any money, but she put +her hand into the pocket of her apron, partly for the sake of +appearances, and partly because she was a little afraid of the Stork, +and, to her surprise, pulled out a large cake. It was nearly as big as a +saucer, and was marked "ONE BISKER"; and as this seemed to show that it +had some value, she handed it to the ferryman. The Stork turned it over +several times rather suspiciously, and then, taking a large bite out of +it, remarked, "Very good fare," and dropped the rest of it into a little +hole in the wall; and having done this he stared gravely at Dorothy for +a moment, and then said, "What makes your legs bend the wrong way?" + +"Why, they don't!" said Dorothy, looking down at them to see if anything +had happened to them. + +"They're entirely different from mine, anyhow," said the Stork. + +"But, you know," said Dorothy very earnestly, "I couldn't sit down if +they bent the other way." + +"Sitting down is all very well," said the Stork, with a solemn shake of +his head, "but you couldn't collect fares with 'em, to save your life," +and with this he went into the house and shut the door. + +[Illustration: "'THEY'RE ENTIRELY DIFFERENT FROM MINE, ANYHOW,' SAID THE +STORK."] + +"It seems to me this is a very strange adventure," said Dorothy to +herself. "It appears to be mostly about people's legs," and she was +gazing down again in a puzzled way at her little black stockings when +she heard a cough, and looking up she saw that the Stork had his head +out of a small round window in the wall of the house. + +"Look here," he said confidentially, "I forgot to ask what your fare was +for." He said this in a sort of husky whisper, and as Dorothy looked up +at him it seemed something like listening to an enormous cuckoo-clock +with a bad cold in its works. + +[Illustration: "IT SEEMED LIKE LISTENING TO AN ENORMOUS CUCKOO-CLOCK."] + +"I don't think I know exactly _what_ it was for," she said, rather +confusedly. + +"Well, it's got to be for _something_, you know, or it won't be fair," +said the Stork. "I suppose you don't want to go over the ferry?" he +added, cocking his head on one side, and looking down at her, +inquiringly. + +"Oh, no indeed!" said Dorothy, very earnestly. + +"_That's_ lucky," said the Stork. "It doesn't go anywhere that it ever +gets to. Perhaps you'd like to hear about it. It's in poetry, you know." + +"Thank you," said Dorothy politely. "I'd like it very much." + +"All right," said the Stork. "The werses is called 'A Ferry Tale'"; and, +giving another cough to clear his voice, he began: + + Oh, come and cross over to nowhere, + And go where + The nobodies live on their nothing a day! + A tideful of tricks is this merry + Old Ferry, + And these are the things that it does by the way: + + It pours into parks and disperses + The nurses; + It goes into gardens and scatters the cats; + It leaks into lodgings, disorders + The boarders, + And washes away with their holiday hats. + + It soaks into shops, and inspires + The buyers + To crawl over counters and climb upon chairs; + It trickles on tailors, it spatters + On hatters, + And makes little milliners scamper up-stairs. + + It goes out of town and it rambles + Through brambles; + It wallows in hollows and dives into dells; + It flows into farm-yards and sickens + The chickens, + And washes the wheelbarrows into the wells. + + It turns into taverns and drenches + The benches; + It jumps into pumps and comes out with a roar; + It pounds like a postman at lodges-- + Then dodges + And runs up the lane when they open the door. + + It leaks into laundries and wrangles + With mangles; + It trips over turnips and tumbles down-hill; + It rolls like a coach along highways + And byways, + But never gets anywhere, go as it will! + + Oh, foolish old Ferry! all muddles + And puddles-- + Go fribble and dribble along on your way; + We drink to your health with molasses + In glasses, + And waft you farewell with a handful of hay! + +"What do you make out of it?" inquired the Stork anxiously. + +"I don't make anything out of it," said Dorothy, staring at him in great +perplexity. + +"I didn't suppose you would," said the Stork, apparently very much +relieved. "I've been at it for years and years, and I've never made +sixpence out of it yet," with which remark he pulled in his head and +disappeared. + +"I don't know what he means, I'm sure," said Dorothy, after waiting a +moment to see if the Stork would come back, "but I wouldn't go over that +ferry for _sixty_ sixpences. It's altogether too frolicky"; and having +made this wise resolution, she was just turning to go back through the +archway when the door of the house flew open and a little stream of +water ran out upon the pavement. This was immediately followed by +another and much larger flow, and the next moment the water came +pouring out through the doorway in such a torrent that she had just time +to scramble up on the window-ledge before the street was completely +flooded. + +[Illustration: "'DEAR ME!' SHE EXCLAIMED, 'HERE COMES ALL THE +FURNITURE!'"] + +Dorothy's first idea was that there was something wrong with the pipes, +but as she peeped in curiously through the window she was astonished to +see that it was raining hard inside the house--"and dear me!" she +exclaimed, "here comes all the furniture!" and, sure enough, the next +moment a lot of old-fashioned furniture came floating out of the house +and drifted away down the street. There was a corner cupboard full of +crockery, and two spinning-wheels, and a spindle-legged table set out +with a blue-and-white tea-set and some cups and saucers, and finally a +carved sideboard which made two or three clumsy attempts to get through +the doorway broadside on, and then took a fresh start, and came through +endwise with a great flourish. All of these things made quite a little +fleet, and the effect was very imposing; but by this time the water was +quite up to the window-ledge, and as the sideboard was a +fatherly-looking piece of furniture with plenty of room to move about +in, Dorothy stepped aboard of it as it went by, and, sitting down on a +little shelf that ran along the back of it, sailed away in the wake of +the tea-table. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +THE CRUISE OF THE SIDEBOARD + + +The sideboard behaved in the most absurd manner, spinning around and +around in the water, and banging about among the other furniture as if +it had never been at sea before, and finally bringing up against the +tea-table with a crash in the stupidest way imaginable, and knocking the +tea-set and all the cups and saucers into the water. Dorothy felt very +ridiculous as you may suppose, and, to add to her mortification, the +Stork ferryman suddenly reappeared, and she could see him running along +the roofs of the houses, and now and then stopping to stare down at her +from the eaves as she sailed by, as if she were the most extraordinary +spectacle he had ever seen, as indeed she probably was. Sometimes he +waited until the sideboard had floated some distance past him as if to +see how it looked, gazed at from behind; and then Dorothy would catch +sight of him again far ahead, peering out from behind a chimney, as if +to get a front view of the performance. All this was, of course, very +impertinent, and although Dorothy was naturally a very kind-hearted +little child, she was really quite gratified when the Stork finally made +an attempt to get a new view of her from the top of an unusually tall +chimney, and fell down into it with a loud screech of dismay. + +Presently the street ended at a great open space where the water spread +out in every direction, like a lake. The day seemed to be breaking, and +it was quite light; and as the sideboard sailed out into the open water, +Dorothy caught sight of something like a fat-looking boat, floating at a +little distance and slowly drifting toward her. As it came nearer it +proved to be Mrs. Peevy's big umbrella upside down, with a little party +of people sitting around on the edge of it with their feet against the +handle, and, to Dorothy's amazement, she knew every one of them. There +was the Admiral, staring about with his spy-glass, and Sir Walter +Rosettes, carefully carrying his tobacco-plant as if it were a nosegay, +and the Highlander, with his big watch dangling in the water over the +side of the umbrella; and last, there was the little Chinese mandarin +clinging convulsively to the top of the handle as if he were keeping a +lookout from the masthead. + +[Illustration: "THE ADMIRAL EXCLAIMED: 'THERE SHE IS! I CAN SEE HER +QUITE PLAINLY!'"] + +The sideboard brought up against the edge of the umbrella with a soft +little bump, and the Admiral, hurriedly pointing his spy-glass at +Dorothy so that the end of it almost touched her nose, exclaimed +excitedly, "There she is! I can see her quite plainly," and the whole +party gave an exultant shout. + +"How are you getting on _now_?" inquired Sir Walter, as if he had had +her under close observation for a week at least. + +"I'm getting on pretty well," said Dorothy, mournfully. "I believe I'm +crossing a ferry." + +"So are we," said the Admiral, cheerfully. "We're a Caravan, you know." + +"A Caravan?" exclaimed Dorothy, very much surprised. + +"I believe I said 'Caravan' quite distinctly," said the Admiral in an +injured tone, appealing to the rest of the party; but no one said +anything except the Highlander, who hastily consulted his watch and then +exclaimed "Hurrah!" rather doubtfully. + +"I understood what you said," explained Dorothy, "but I don't think I +know exactly what you mean." + +"Never mind what he means," shouted Sir Walter. "_That's_ of no +consequence." + +"No consequence!" exclaimed the Admiral, flaring up. "Why, I mean more +in a minute than you do in a week!" + +"You _say_ more in a minute than anybody could mean in a month," +retorted Sir Walter, flourishing his tobacco-plant. + +"_I_ can talk a year without meaning _anything_," said the Highlander, +proudly; but no one took any notice of this remark, which, of course, +served him right. + +The Admiral stared at Sir Walter for a moment through his spy-glass, and +then said very firmly, "You're a pig!" at which the Highlander again +consulted his watch, and then shouted, "Two pigs!" with great +enthusiasm, as if that were the time of day. + +"And you're another," said Sir Walter, angrily. "If it comes to that, +we're all pigs." + +"Dear me!" cried Dorothy, quite distressed at all this. "What makes you +all quarrel so? You ought to be ashamed of yourselves." + +"We're all ashamed of one another, if _that_ will do any good," said the +Admiral. + +"And, you see, that gives each of us two persons to be ashamed of," +added Sir Walter, with an air of great satisfaction. + +"But that isn't what I mean at all," said Dorothy. "I mean that each one +of you ought to be ashamed of _himself_." + +"Why, we're each being ashamed of by two persons already," said the +Admiral, peevishly. "I should think _that_ was enough to satisfy +anybody." + +"But that isn't the same thing," insisted Dorothy. "Each particular him +ought to be ashamed of each particular self." This remark sounded very +fine indeed, and Dorothy felt so pleased with herself for having made +it that she went on to say, "And the truth of it is, you all argue +precisely like a lot of little school-children." + +Now, Dorothy herself was only about four feet high, but she said this in +such a superior manner that the entire Caravan stared at her with great +admiration for a moment, and then began to give a little cheer; but just +at this instant the umbrella made a great plunge, as if somebody had +given it a sudden push, and the whole party tumbled into the bottom of +it like a lot of dolls. + +"What kind of a boat do you call this?" shouted Sir Walter, as they all +scrambled to their feet and clung desperately to the handle. + +"It's a paragondola," said the Admiral, who had suddenly become very +pale. "You see, it isn't exactly like an ordinary ship." + +"I should think not!" said Sir Walter, indignantly. "I'd as lief go to +sea in a toast-rack. Why don't you bring her head up to the wind?" he +shouted as the paragondola took another plunge. + +"I can't!" cried the Admiral, despairingly; "she hasn't got any head." + +"Then put me ashore!" roared Sir Walter, furiously. + +Now this was all very well for Sir Walter to say, but by this time the +paragondola was racing through the water at such a rate that even the +sideboard could hardly keep up with it; and the waves were tossing about +in such wild confusion that it was perfectly ridiculous for any one to +talk about going ashore. In fact, it was a most exciting moment. The air +was filled with flying spray, and the paragondola dashed ahead faster +and faster, until at last Dorothy could no longer hear the sound of the +voices, and she could just see that they were throwing the big watch +overboard as if to lighten the ship. Then she caught sight of the +Highlander trying to climb up the handle, and Sir Walter frantically +beating him on the back with the tobacco-plant, and the next moment +there was another wild plunge and the paragondola and Caravan vanished +from sight. + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +TREE-TOP COUNTRY + + +It was a very curious thing that the storm seemed to follow the Caravan +as if it were a private affair of their own, and the paragondola had no +sooner disappeared than Dorothy found herself sailing along as quietly +as if such a thing as bad weather had never been heard of. But there was +something very lonely about the sideboard now, as it went careering +through the water, and she felt quite disconsolate as she sat on the +little shelf and wondered what had become of the Caravan. + +"If Mrs. Peevy's umbrella shuts up with them inside of it," she said +mournfully to herself, "I'm sure I don't know what they'll do. It's such +a stiff thing to open that it must be perfectly awful when it shuts up +all of a sudden," and she was just giving a little shudder at the mere +thought of such a thing, when the sideboard bumped up against something +and she found that it had run into a tree. In fact, she found that she +had drifted into a forest of enormous trees, growing in a most +remarkable manner straight up out of the lake; and as she looked up she +could see great branches stretching out in every direction far above her +head, all interlaced together and covered with leaves as if it had been +midsummer instead of being, as it certainly was, Christmas day. + +[Illustration: "THE SIDEBOARD SLOWLY FLOATED ALONG THROUGH THIS STRANGE +FOREST."] + +As the sideboard slowly floated along through this strange forest, +Dorothy presently discovered that each tree had a little door in it, +close to the water's edge, with a small platform before it by way of a +door-step, as if the people who lived in the trees had a fancy for going +about visiting in boats. But she couldn't help wondering who in the +world, or, rather, who in the trees, the people went to see, for all the +little doors were shut as tight as wax, and had notices posted up on +them, such as "No admittance," "Go away," "Gone to Persia," and many +others, all of which Dorothy considered extremely rude, especially one +notice which read, "Beware of the Pig," as if the person who lived in +that particular tree was too stingy to keep a dog. + +Now all this was very distressing, because, in the first place, Dorothy +was extremely fond of visiting, and, in the second place, she was +getting rather tired of sailing about on the sideboard; and she was +therefore greatly pleased when she presently came to a door without any +notice upon it. There was, moreover, a bright little brass knocker on +this door, and as this seemed to show that people were expected to call +there if they felt like it, she waited until the sideboard was passing +close to the platform and then gave a little jump ashore. + +The sideboard took a great roll backward and held up its front feet as +if expressing its surprise at this proceeding, and as it pitched forward +again the doors of it flew open, and a number of large pies fell out +into the water and floated away in all directions. To Dorothy's +amazement, the sideboard immediately started off after them, and began +pushing them together, like a shepherd's dog collecting a flock of +runaway sheep; and then, having got them all together in a compact +bunch, sailed solemnly away, shoving the pies ahead of it. + +Dorothy now looked at the door again, and saw that it was standing +partly open. The doorway was only about as high as her shoulder, and as +she stooped down and looked through it she saw there was a small winding +stairway inside, leading up through the body of the tree. She listened +for a moment, but everything was perfectly quiet inside, so she squeezed +in through the doorway and ran up the stairs as fast as she could go. + +[Illustration: DOROTHY MAKES A CALL IN THE TREE-TOP COUNTRY.] + +The stairway ended at the top in a sort of trap-door, and Dorothy popped +up through it like a jack-in-the-box; but instead of coming out, as she +expected, among the branches of the tree, she found herself in a wide, +open field as flat as a pancake, and with a small house standing far +out in the middle of it. It was a bright and sunny place, and quite like +an ordinary field in every way except that, in place of grass, it had a +curious floor of branches, closely braided together like the bottom of a +market-basket; but, as this seemed natural enough, considering that the +field was in the top of a tree, Dorothy hurried away to the little +house without giving the floor a second thought. + +As she came up to the house she saw that it was a charming little +cottage with vines trained about the latticed windows, and with a sign +over the door, reading-- + + THE OUTSIDE INN + +"I suppose they'll take me for a customer," she said, looking rather +doubtfully at the sign, "and I haven't got any money. But I'm very +little, and I won't stay very long," she added, by way of excusing +herself, and as she said this she softly pushed open the door and went +in. To her great surprise, there was no inside to the house, and she +came out into the field again on the other side of the door. The wall on +this side, however, was nicely papered, and had pictures hanging on it, +and there were curtains at the windows as if it had been one side of a +room at some time or another; but there was a notice pasted up beside +the door, reading-- + + THE INN-SIDE OUT + +as if the rest of the house had gone out for a walk, and might be +expected back at any time. + +Now, as you may suppose, Dorothy was quite unprepared for all this, and +she was looking about in great astonishment when she suddenly discovered +that the furniture was at home, and was standing in a rather lonely +manner quite by itself in the open field. It was, moreover, the +strangest-looking furniture she had ever seen, for it was growing +directly out of the floor in a twisted-up fashion, something like the +grapevine chairs in Uncle Porticle's garden; but the oddest part of it +all was a ridiculous-looking bed with leaves sprouting out of its legs, +and with great pink blossoms growing on the bed-posts like the satin +bows on Dorothy's little bed at the Blue Admiral Inn. All this was so +remarkable that she went over to where the furniture was standing to +take a closer look at it; and as she came up alongside the bed she was +amazed to see that the Caravan, all three of them, were lying in it in a +row, with their eyes closed as if they were fast asleep. This was such +an unexpected sight that Dorothy first drew a long breath of +astonishment and then exclaimed, "Jiminy!" which was a word she used +only on particular occasions; and, as she said this, the Caravan opened +their eyes and stared at her like so many owls. + +"Why, what are you all doing here?" she said; at which the Admiral sat +up in bed, and after taking a hurried look at her through his spy-glass, +said, "Shipwrecked!" in a solemn voice and then lay down again. + +"Did the paragonorer shut up with you?" inquired Dorothy, anxiously. + +"Yes, ma'am," said the Admiral. + +"And squashed us," added Sir Walter. + +"Like everything," put in the Highlander. + +"I was afraid it would," said Dorothy, sorrowfully; "I s'pose it was +something like being at sea in a cornucopia." + +"Does a cornucopia have things in it that pinch your legs?" inquired Sir +Walter, with an air of great interest. + +"Oh, no," said Dorothy. + +"Then it wasn't like it at all," said Sir Walter, peevishly. + +"It was about as much like it," said the Admiral, "as a pump is like a +post-captain"; and he said this in such a positive way that Dorothy +didn't like to contradict him. In fact she really didn't know anything +about the matter, so she merely said, as politely as she could, "I don't +think I know what a post-captain is." + +"I don't either," said the Admiral, promptly, "but I can tell you how +they behave"; and sitting up in bed, he recited these verses: + + Post-captain at the Needles and commander of a crew + On the "Royal Biddy" frigate was Sir Peter Bombazoo; + His mind was full of music, and his head was full of tunes, + And he cheerfully exhibited on pleasant afternoons. + +[Illustration: THE EXTRAORDINARY POST-CAPTAIN (1).] + + He could whistle, on his fingers, an invigorating reel, + And could imitate a piper on the handles of the wheel; + He could play in double octaves, too, all up and down the rail, + Or rattle off a rondo on the bottom of a pail. + +[Illustration: THE EXTRAORDINARY POST-CAPTAIN (2).] + + Then porters with their packages, and bakers with their buns, + And countesses in carriages, and grenadiers with guns, + And admirals and commodores, arrived from near and far + To listen to the music of this entertaining tar. + + When they heard the Captain humming, and beheld the dancing crew, + The commodores severely said, "Why, this will never do!" + And the admirals all hurried home, remarking, "This is most + Extraordinary conduct for a captain at his post." + +[Illustration: "HE DID A LITTLE FIFING ON THE EDGES OF THE NOTE."] + + Then they sent some sailing-orders to Sir Peter, in a boat, + And he did a little fifing on the edges of the note; + But he read the sailing-orders, as, of course, he had to do, + And removed the "Royal Biddy" to the Bay of Boohgabooh. + + Now, Sir Peter took it kindly, but it's proper to explain + He was sent to catch a pirate out upon the Spanish Main; + And he played, with variations, an imaginary tune + On the buttons of his waistcoat, like a jocular bassoon. + + Then a topman saw the Pirate come a-sailing in the bay, + And reported to the Captain in the customary way. + "I'll receive him," said Sir Peter, "with a musical salute!" + And he gave some imitations of a double-jointed flute. + + Then the Pirate cried derisively, "I've heard it done before!" + And he hoisted up a banner emblematical of gore. + But Sir Peter said serenely, "You may double-shot the guns + While I sing my little ballad of 'The Butter on the Buns.'" + + Then the Pirate banged Sir Peter and Sir Peter banged him back, + And they banged away together as they took another tack. + Then Sir Peter said politely, "You may board him, if you like"-- + And he played a little dirge upon the handle of a pike. + + Then the "Biddies" poured like hornets down upon the Pirate's deck, + And Sir Peter caught the Pirate, and he took him by the neck, + And remarked, "You must excuse me, but you acted like a brute + When I gave my imitation of that double-jointed flute." + + So they took that wicked Pirate, and they took his wicked crew, + And tied them up with double knots in packages of two; + And left them lying on their backs in rows upon the beach + With a little bread and water within comfortable reach. + +[Illustration: "SIR PETER CAUGHT THE PIRATE, AND HE TOOK HIM BY THE +NECK."] + + Now the Pirate had a treasure (mostly silverware and gold), + And Sir Peter took and stowed it in the bottom of his hold; + And said "I will retire on this cargo of doubloons, + And each of you, my gallant crew, may have some silver spoons." + + Now commodores in coach-and-fours, and corporals in cabs, + And men with carts of pies and tarts, and fishermen with crabs, + And barristers with wigs, in gigs, still gather on the strand-- + But there isn't any music save a little German band. + +"I think Sir Peter was perfectly grand!" said Dorothy, as the Admiral +finished his verses. "He was so composed." + +"So was the poetry," said the Admiral. "It _had_ to be composed, you +know, or there wouldn't have been any." + +"_That_ would have been fine!" remarked the Highlander. + +The Admiral got so red in the face at this, that Dorothy thought he was +going into some kind of a fit; but just at this moment there was a sharp +rap at the door, and Sir Walter exclaimed, "_That's_ Bob Scarlet, and +here we are in his flower-bed!" + +"Jibs and jiggers!" said the Admiral, "I never thought of that. What do +you suppose he'll do?" + +"Pick us!" said the Highlander, with remarkable presence of mind. + +"Then tell him we're all out," said the Admiral to Dorothy in extreme +agitation, and with this, the whole Caravan disappeared under the bed +with all possible despatch. + +"We _are_ out, you know," said Dorothy to herself, "because there's no +_in_ for us to be in"; and then she called out in a very loud voice, +"We're all out in here!" which wasn't exactly what she meant to say, +after all. + +But there was no answer, and she was just stooping down to call through +the keyhole when she saw that the wall-paper was nothing but a vine +growing on a trellis, and the door only a little rustic gate leading +through it. "And, dear me!--where has the furniture gone to?" she +exclaimed, for the curly chairs had changed into flower-pot stands, and +the bed into a great mound of waving lilies, and she found herself +standing in a beautiful garden. + + + + +CHAPTER V + +BOB SCARLET'S GARDEN + + +Being in a garden full of flowers at Christmas-time is a very fine +thing; and Dorothy was looking about with great delight, and wondering +how it had all happened, when she suddenly caught sight of a big robin +walking along one of the paths, and examining the various plants with an +air of great interest. He was a very big robin, indeed--in fact, he was +about as large as a goose; and he had on a gardener's hat, and a bright +red waistcoat which he was wearing unbuttoned so as to give his fat +little chest plenty of room; but the most remarkable thing about him was +that he was walking about _with his hands in his waistcoat-pockets_. + +Dorothy had never seen a robin do this before, and she was looking at +him in great astonishment, when he chanced to turn around to take a +particular look at a large flower, and she saw that he had two +caterpillars neatly embroidered on the back of his waistcoat so as to +form the letters B. S. + +[Illustration: "HE WAS WALKING ABOUT WITH HIS HANDS IN HIS +WAISTCOAT-POCKETS."] + +"Now I wonder what B. S. means," she said to herself with her usual +curiosity. "It _stands_ for Brown Sugar, but, of course, it can't be +that. Perhaps it means Best Suit, or Bird Superintendent, or--or--why +it must mean Bob Scarlet, to be sure!" and clapping her hands in the joy +of this discovery, she ran after the Robin to take a nearer look at him +and, if possible, to have a little conversation. + +But Bob Scarlet proved to be a very difficult person to get near to. +Over and over again Dorothy caught sight of the top of his hat beyond a +hedge, or saw the red waistcoat through the bushes; but no matter how +quickly she stole around to the spot, he was always gone before she got +there, and she would see the hat or the waistcoat far away, in another +part of the garden, and would hurry after him only to be disappointed as +before. She was getting very tired of this, and was walking around +rather disconsolately, when she happened to look at one of the plants, +and discovered that little sunbonnets were growing on it in great +profusion, like white lilies; and this was such a delightful discovery, +and such an exceedingly interesting circumstance, that she instantly +forgot all about Bob Scarlet, and started away in great excitement to +examine the other plants. + +[Illustration: "THERE WERE PLANTS LOADED DOWN WITH LITTLE PINAFORES, AND +SHRUBS WITH SMALL SHOES GROWING ALL OVER THEM."] + +There was a great variety of them, and they all were of the same curious +character. Besides the bonnet-bush, there were plants loaded down with +little pinafores, and shrubs with small shoes growing all over them, +like peas, and delicate vines of thread with button-blossoms on them, +and, what particularly pleased Dorothy, a row of pots marked "FROCK +FLOWERS," and each containing a stalk with a crisp little frock growing +on it, like a big tulip upside down. + +"They're only big enough for dolls," chattered Dorothy, as she hurried +from one to the other, "but, of course, they'll grow. I s'pose it's what +they call a nursery-garden. Just fancy--" she exclaimed, stopping short +and clasping her hands in a rapture,--"just fancy going out to pick an +apronful of delightful new stockings, or running out every day to see if +your best frock is ripe yet!" And I'm sure I don't know what she would +have said next, but just at this moment she caught sight of a paper +lying in the path before her, and, of course, immediately became +interested in _that_. + +It was folded something like a lawyer's document, and was very neatly +marked in red ink "MEMORUMDRUMS"; and after looking at it curiously for +a moment, Dorothy said to herself, "It's prob'bly a wash-list; nothing +but two aprons, and four HDKeffs, and ten towels--there's always such a +_lot_ of towels, you know," and here she picked up the paper; but +instead of being a wash-list, she found it contained these verses: + + Have Angleworms attractive homes? + Do Bumblebees have brains? + Do Caterpillars carry combs? + Do Dodos dote on drains? + Can Eels elude elastic earls? + Do Flatfish fish for flats? + Are Grigs agreeable to girls? + Do Hares have hunting-hats? + Do Ices make an Ibex ill? + Do Jackdaws jug their jam? + Do Kites kiss all the kids they kill? + Do Llamas live on lamb? + Will Moles molest a mounted mink? + Do Newts deny the news? + Are Oysters boisterous when they drink? + Do Parrots prowl in pews? + Do Quakers get their quills from Quails? + Do Rabbits rob on roads? + Are Snakes supposed to sneer at snails? + Do Tortoises tease toads? + Can Unicorns perform on horns? + Do Vipers value veal? + Do Weasels weep when fast asleep? + Can Xylophagans squeal? + Do Yaks in packs invite attacks? + Are Zebras full of zeal? + + P. S. Shake well and recite every morning in a shady place. + +"I don't believe a single one of them, and I never read such stuff!" +exclaimed Dorothy, indignantly; and she was just about to throw down +the paper when Bob Scarlet suddenly appeared, hurrying along the path, +and gazing anxiously from side to side as if he had lost something. As +he came upon Dorothy, he started violently, and said "Shoo!" with great +vehemence, and then, after staring at her a moment, added, "Oh, I beg +your pardon--I thought you were a cat. Have you seen anything of my +exercise?" + +"Is this it?" said Dorothy, holding up the paper. + +"That's it," said the Robin, in a tone of great satisfaction. "Shake it +hard, please." + +Dorothy gave the paper a good shake, after which Bob Scarlet took it and +stuffed it into his waistcoat-pocket, remarking, "It has to be well +shaken before I take it, you know." + +"Is that the prescription?" said Dorothy, beginning to laugh. + +"No, it's the postscription," replied the Robin, very seriously; "but, +somehow, I never remember it till I come to it. I suppose it's put at +the end so that I won't forget it the next time. You see, it's about the +only exercise I have." + +"I should think it was very good exercise," said Dorothy, trying to look +serious again. + +"Oh, it's _good_ enough, what there is of it," said the Robin, in an +offhand way. + +"But I'm sure there's _enough_ of it," said Dorothy. + +"There _is_ enough of it, such as it is," replied the Robin. + +"Such as it is?" repeated Dorothy, beginning to feel a little perplexed. +"Why, it's _hard_ enough, I'm sure. It's enough to drive a person quite +distracted." + +"Well, it's a corker till you get used to it," said the Robin, strutting +about. "There's such a tremendous variety to it, you see, that it +exercises you all over at once." + +This was so ridiculous that Dorothy laughed outright. "I should _never_ +get used to it," she said. "I don't believe I know a single one of the +answers." + +"_I_ do!" said Bob Scarlet, proudly; "I know 'em all. It's 'No' to +everything in it." + +"Dear me!" said Dorothy, feeling quite provoked at herself, "of course +it is. I never thought of that." + +"And when you can answer _them_," continued the Robin, with a very +important air, "you can answer anything." + +Now, as the Robin said this, it suddenly occurred to Dorothy that she +had been lost for quite a long time, and that this was a good +opportunity for getting a little information, so she said very politely: +"Then I wish you'd please tell me where I am." + +"Why, you're _here_," replied the Robin, promptly. "That's what _I_ call +an easy one." + +"But _where_ is it?" said Dorothy. + +"Where is _what_?" said the Robin, looking rather puzzled. + +[Illustration: "'WHY, THE PLACE WHERE I AM,' SAID DOROTHY."] + +"Why, the place where I am," said Dorothy. + +"That's here, too," replied the Robin, and then, looking at her +suspiciously, he added, "Come--no chaffing, you know. I won't have it." + +"But I'm _not_ chaffing," said Dorothy, beginning to feel a little +provoked; "it's only because you twist the things I say the wrong way." + +"What do you say 'em the wrong way for, then?" said Bob Scarlet, +irritably. "Why don't you get 'em straight?" + +"Dear me!" exclaimed Dorothy, now quite out of patience. "How dreadfully +confusing it all is! Don't you understand?--I only want to know where +the place is where I am now,--whereabouts in the geography, I mean," she +added in desperation. + +"It isn't in there at all," said Bob Scarlet, very decidedly. "There +isn't a geography going that could hold on to it for five minutes." + +"Do you mean that it isn't _anywhere_?" exclaimed Dorothy, beginning to +feel a little frightened. + +"No, I don't," said Bob Scarlet, obstinately. "I mean that it is +anywhere--anywhere that it chooses to be, you know; only it doesn't +_stay_ anywhere any longer than it likes." + +"Then I'm going away," said Dorothy, hastily. "I won't stay in such a +place." + +"Well, you'd better be quick about it," said the Robin, with a chuckle, +"or there won't be any place to go away _from_. I can feel it beginning +to go now," and with this remark Bob Scarlet him self hurried away. + +[Illustration: "DOROTHY STARTED OFF AT ONCE, AS FAST AS SHE COULD RUN."] + +There was something so alarming in the idea of a place going away and +leaving her behind, that Dorothy started off at once, as fast as she +could run, and indeed she wasn't a moment too soon. The garden itself +was already beginning to be very much agitated, and the clothes on the +plants were folding themselves up in a fluttering sort of a way as she +ran past them; and she noticed, moreover, that the little shoes on the +shoe-shrub were so withered away that they looked like a lot of raisins. +But she had no time to stop and look at such things, and she ran on and +on until, to her delight, she came suddenly upon the little trap-door +where she had come up. There wasn't a minute to spare, and she jumped +down into the hole without so much as stopping to look back at the +vanishing garden, and hurried down the little stairway. It was as dark +as pitch, and as she ran down, going around and around, on the winding +stairs, she could hear them folding up behind her like the slats of a +blind; and she had just time to rush through the door at the bottom, +when the trunk of the tree flapped inward like an empty bag and then +shot up into the air. + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +IN THE TOY-SHOP + + +The first thing that Dorothy did was to draw a long breath over her +narrow escape, and the next thing was to look up into the air to see +what had become of the tree, and she saw the braided floor of the garden +floating away, far above her head, with the flapping trunks of the trees +dangling from it like a lot of one-legged trousers. This was a rather +ridiculous spectacle, and when the floor presently shriveled up into a +small brown patch, like a flying pancake, and then went entirely out of +sight, she said "Pooh!" very contemptuously and felt quite brave again. + +[Illustration: "'IT IS A SHELF!' SHE EXCLAIMED."] + +"It wasn't half so solemn as I expected," she went on, chattering to +herself; "I certainly thought there would be all kinds of phenomeners, +and, after all, it's precisely like nothing but a big basket of old +clothes, blowing away. But it's just as well to be saved, of course, +only I don't know where I am any more than I did before. It's a kind of +wooden floor, I think," she added, stamping on it with her little shoe; +"and, dear me! I verily believe it's nothing but a shelf. It _is_ a +shelf!" she exclaimed, peeping cautiously over the edge; "and there's +the real floor ever so far away. I can never jump down there in the +world without being dashed to destruction!"--and she was just thinking +how it would do to hang from the edge of the shelf by her hands and then +let herself drop (with her eyes shut, of course) when a little party of +people came tumbling down through the air and fell in a heap close +beside her. She gave a scream of dismay and then stood staring at them +in utter bewilderment, for, as the party scrambled to their feet, she saw +they were the Caravan, dressed up in the most extraordinary fashion, in +little frocks and long shawls, and all wearing sunbonnets. The +Highlander, with his usual bad luck, had put on _his_ sunbonnet +backward, with the crown over his face, and was struggling with it so +helplessly that Dorothy rushed at him and got it off just in time to +save him from being suffocated. In fact, he was so black in the face +that she had to pound him on the back to bring him to. + +[Illustration: "THE HIGHLANDER, WITH HIS USUAL BAD LUCK, HAD PUT ON HIS +SUNBONNET BACKWARD."] + +"We're disguised, you know," said the Admiral, breathlessly. "We found +these things under the bed. Bob Scarlet isn't anywhere about, is he?" he +added, staring around in an agitated manner through his spy-glass. + +"About?" said Dorothy, trying to look serious. "I should think he was +about five miles from here by this time." + +"I wish it was five thousand," exclaimed Sir Walter, angrily, smoothing +down his frock. "Old Peckjabber!" + +"Why, what in the world is the matter?" said Dorothy, beginning to laugh +in spite of herself. + +"Matter!" exclaimed the Admiral, his voice fairly trembling with +emotion; "why, look here! We was all shrinking away to nothing in that +wanishing garden. Bob Scarlet himself was no bigger than an ant when we +came away." + +"And we wasn't any bigger than uncles," put in the Highlander. + +"_You're_ not more than three inches high this minute," said Sir Walter, +surveying Dorothy with a critical air, with his head cocked on one side. + +"Goodness gracious!" exclaimed Dorothy, with a start. "It seems to me +that's extremely small. I should think that I'd have felt it coming on." + +"It comes on sort of sneaking, and you don't notice it," said the +Admiral. "_We'd_ have been completely inwisible by this time if we +hadn't jumped overboard." + +"It was an awful jump!" said Dorothy, solemnly. "Didn't it hurt to fall +so far?" + +"Not at all," said the Admiral, cheerfully. "The falling part of it was +quite agreeable--so cool and rushing, you know; but the landing was +tremenjious severe." + +"Banged us like anything," explained the Highlander; and with this the +Caravan locked arms and walked away with the tails of their shawls +trailing behind them. + +"What strange little things they are!" said Dorothy, reflectively, as +she walked along after them, "and they're for all the world precisely +like arimated dolls--movable, you know," she added, not feeling quite +sure that "arimated" was the proper word,--"and speaking of dolls, +here's a perfect multitude of 'em!" she exclaimed, for just then she +came upon a long row of dolls beautifully dressed, and standing on +their heels with their heads against the wall. They were at least five +times as big as Dorothy herself, and had price-tickets tucked into their +sashes, such as "2/6, CHEAP," "5_s._, REAL WAX," and so on; and Dorothy, +clapping her hands in an ecstasy of delight, exclaimed: "Why, it's a +monstrous, enormous toy-shop!" and then she hurried on to see what else +there might be on exhibition. + +"Marbles, prob'bly," she remarked, peering over the edge of a basket +full of what looked like enormous stone cannon-balls of various colors; +"for mastodons, _I_ should say, only I don't know as _they_ ever play +marbles,--grocery shop, full of dear little drawers with real knobs on +'em,--'pothecary's shop with _true_ pill-boxes," she went on, examining +one delightful thing after another; "and here's a farm out of a box, and +all the same funny old things--trees with green shavings on them and +fences with feet so they'll stand up, and here's the dear fam'ly, same +size as the trees and the houses, of course, and--oh! I beg your +pardon," she exclaimed, for her frock had touched the farmer and knocked +him over flat on his back. "And here's a Noah's Ark, full of +higgledy-piggledy animals--why, what are you doing here?" she cried, +for just at that moment she suddenly discovered the Caravan, all huddled +together at the door of the ark, and apparently discussing something of +vast importance. + +"We're buying a camel," said the Admiral, excitedly; "they've got just +the one we want for the Caravan." + +"His name is Humphrey," shouted the Highlander, uproariously, "and he's +got three humps!" + +"Nonsense!" cried Dorothy, bursting into a fit of uncontrollable +laughter. "There never was such a thing." + +"They have 'em in arks," said the Admiral, very earnestly. "You can find +_anything_ in arks if you only go deep enough. I've seen 'em with +patriarchs in 'em, 'way down at the bottom." + +"Did _they_ have any humps?" inquired the Highlander with an air of +great interest. + +Dorothy went off again into a burst of laughter at this. "He's really +the most ignorant little creature I ever saw," she said. + +"I thought they was something to ride on," said the Highlander, sulkily; +"otherwise, I say, let 'em keep out of arks!" The rest of the Caravan +evidently sided with him in this opinion, and after staring at Dorothy +for a moment with great disfavor they all called out "Old Proudie!" and +solemnly walked off in a row as before. + +"I believe I shall have a fit if I meet them again," said Dorothy to +herself, laughing till her eyes were full of tears. "They're certainly +the foolishest things I ever saw," and with this she walked away through +the shop, and was just beginning to look at the toys again, when she +came suddenly upon an old dame sitting contentedly in the shop in a +great arm-chair. She was eating porridge out of a bowl in her lap, and +her head was so close to the edge of the shelf that Dorothy almost +walked into her cap. + +"Drat the toys!" cried the old dame, starting so violently that her +spectacles fell off her nose into the porridge. "Drat the new-fangled +things!"--and here she aimed a blow at Dorothy with her spoon. "They're +enough to scare folks out of their senses. Give _me_ the old-fashioned +kind--deaf and dumb and blind and stiff"--but by this time Dorothy, +almost frightened out of her wits, had run away and was hiding behind a +doll's sofa. + +"_She's_ a nice person to have charge of a shop," she exclaimed +indignantly, as she listened to the old dame scolding to herself in the +distance. "The idea of not knowing human persons when you see them! Of +course, being so small _is_ rather unusual, and it's really quite +dangerous, you know," she went on, giving a little shiver at the thought +of what might have happened. "Just fancy being wrapped up in a piece of +stiff paper by mistake--shrieking wouldn't do the least good because, of +course, she's deaf as anything--" + + * * * * * + +"How much are you a dozen?" said a voice, and Dorothy, looking around, +saw that it was a Dancing-Jack in the shop-window speaking to her. He +was a gorgeous creature, with bells on the seams of his clothes and with +arms and legs of different colors, and he was lounging in an easy +attitude with his right leg thrown over the top of a toy livery-stable +and his left foot in a large ornamental tea-cup; but as he was fastened +to a hook by a loop in the top of his hat, Dorothy didn't feel in the +least afraid of him. + +"Thank you," she replied with much dignity, "I'm not a dozen at all. I'm +a single person. That sounds kind of unmarried," she thought to +herself, "but it's the exact truth." + +[Illustration: "'YOU KNOW YOUR SIZE DOES COME IN DOZENS, ASSORTED,' +CONTINUED THE JACK."] + +"No offense, I hope," said the Jack, looking somewhat abashed. + +"No--not exactly," said Dorothy rather stiffly. + +"You know, your size _does_ come in dozens--assorted," continued the +Jack, with quite a professional air. "Family of nine, two maids with +dusters, and cook with removable apron. Very popular, I believe." + +"So I should think," remarked Dorothy, beginning to recover her good +nature. + +"But of course _singles_ are much more select," said the Jack. "_We_ +never come in dozens, you know." + +"I suppose not," said Dorothy, innocently. "I can't imagine anybody +wanting twelve Dancing-Jacks all at the same time." + +"It wouldn't do any good if they did want 'em," said the Jack. "They +couldn't get 'em,--that is, not in _this_ shop." + +Now, while this conversation was going on, Dorothy noticed that the +various things in the shop-window had a curious way of constantly +turning into something else. She discovered this by seeing a little +bunch of yellow peg-tops change into a plateful of pears while she +chanced to be looking at them; and a moment afterward she caught a +doll's saucepan, that was hanging in one corner of the window, just in +the act of quietly turning into a battledore with a red morocco handle. +This struck her as being such a remarkable performance that she +immediately began looking at one thing after another, and watching the +various changes, until she was quite bewildered. + +"It's something like a Christmas pantomime," she said to herself; "and +it isn't the slightest use, you know, trying to fancy what anything's +going to be, because everything that happens is so unproblesome. I don't +know where I got _that_ word from," she went on, "but it seems to +express exactly what I mean. F'r instance, there's a little cradle +that's just been turned into a coal-scuttle, and if _that_ isn't +unproblesome, well then--never mind!" (which, as you know, is a +ridiculous way little girls have of finishing their sentences.) + +By this time she had got around again to the toy livery-stable, and she +was extremely pleased to find that it had turned into a smart little +baronial castle with a turret at each end, and that the ornamental +tea-cup was just changing, with a good deal of a flourish, into a small +rowboat floating in a little stream that ran by the castle walls. + +"Come, _that's_ the finest thing yet!" exclaimed Dorothy, looking at all +this with great admiration; "and I wish a brazen knight would come out +with a trumpet and blow a blast"--you see, she was quite romantic at +times--and she was just admiring the clever way in which the boat was +getting rid of the handle of the tea-cup, when the Dancing-Jack +suddenly stopped talking, and began scrambling over the roof of the +castle. He was extremely pale, and, to Dorothy's alarm, spots of bright +colors were coming out all over him, as if he had been made of stained +glass, and was being lighted up from the inside. + +"I believe I'm going to turn into something," he said, glaring wildly +about, and speaking in a very agitated voice. + +"Goodness!" exclaimed Dorothy in dismay; "what do you suppose it's going +to be?" + +"I think--" said the Jack, solemnly,--"I think it's going to be a +patchwork quilt," but just as he was finishing this remark a sort of +wriggle passed through him, and, to Dorothy's amazement, he turned into +a slender Harlequin all made up of spangles and shining triangles. + +Now this was all very well, and, of course, much better than turning +into a quilt of any sort; but as the Dancing-Jack's last remark went on +without stopping, and was taken charge of, so to speak, and finished by +the Harlequin, it mixed up the two in a very confusing way. In fact, by +the time the remark came to an end, Dorothy didn't really know which of +them was talking to her, and, to make matters worse, the Harlequin +vanished for a moment, and then reappeared, about one half of his +original size, coming out of the door of the castle with an unconcerned +air as if he hadn't had anything to do with the affair. + +"It's dreadfully confusing," said Dorothy to herself, "not to know which +of two persons is talking to you, 'specially when there's really only +one of them here"; but she never had a chance to find out anything about +the matter, for in the mean time a part of the castle had quietly turned +upside down, and was now a little stone bridge with the stream flowing +beneath it, and the Harlequin, who was constantly getting smaller and +smaller, was standing with one foot in the boat as if he were trying to +choose between taking a little excursion on the water and going out of +sight altogether. + +"Excuse me--but did you say anything?" said Dorothy, feeling quite sure +that there was no time to be lost. + +"All that _I_ said was 'quilt,'" replied the Harlequin; "I suppose +there's no particular harm in that?" + +"Oh, dear, no!" said Dorothy, hastily; "only it seems a rather queer way +of beginning a conversation, you know." + +"It's as good as any other way if it's all you have to say," said the +Harlequin, and by this time he had both feet in the boat, and had +evidently decided on the water excursion, for, before Dorothy could +think of anything more to say to him, he sailed away under the bridge +and disappeared. + +[Illustration: "HE SAILED AWAY UNDER THE BRIDGE."] + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +THE SONG IN THE DELL + + +"I'm sorry he's gone," said Dorothy to herself, gazing with longing eyes +after the Harlequin. "He wasn't much to talk to, but he was awful +beautiful to look at"; and, having relieved her mind by this remark, she +was just starting to take another walk through the shop when she +suddenly caught sight of a small door in one corner. It wasn't much +larger than a rat-hole, but it was big enough for her to go through, and +that, of course, was the important thing; and as she never could bear to +go by strange doorways until she knew where they led to, she immediately +ran through this one, and, quite to her surprise, found herself outside +the toy-shop. + +There was a steep bank here sloping down from the wall of the shop, and +Dorothy was much interested at discovering that it was completely +overgrown with little green rocking-chairs. They were growing about in +great confusion, and once or twice, when her frock happened to brush +against them, quite an avalanche of them went clattering down the bank +and broke up at the bottom into curious little bits of wood like +jackstraws. This made climbing down the bank very exciting, but she got +safely to the bottom at last, and was just starting off for another +journey of discovery when she came suddenly upon the toy farm-house +standing quite by itself in the open country. None of the family was +present except the Farmer, who was standing in front of the house, +staring at it in a bewildered way as if he had never laid eyes on it +before. He was a plain-featured man, with a curious little hat something +like the lid of a coffee-pot, and with a great number of large yellow +buttons arranged on the front of his coat like a row of cream-tarts; +and, after the manner of all toy-farmers, he was buried to the ankles in +a round piece of wood to keep him from falling over. + +Now Dorothy had always particularly wanted to see the inside of a toy +farm-house, and, as this seemed to be an excellent opportunity, she +walked up to the Farmer and said, very politely, "Can I see your house?" + +"I should think you could if you looked at it," said the Farmer, staring +first at her and then at the house, as if he were greatly surprised at +the question; "_I_ can see it easily enough." + +"But I mean, can I go over it?" said Dorothy, rather confused by this +answer. + +The Farmer rubbed his nose and looked thoughtfully at the roof of the +house for a moment and then said, rather sulkily, "Yes, I suppose you +can, but you must agree not to knock off the chimbleys." + +"Dear me," said Dorothy, beginning to laugh, "that isn't what I mean at +all. I mean, can I go through it?" + +The Farmer, after turning over this proposition in his mind with great +deliberation, got down on his hands and knees and took a long look +through the little door in the front of the house, and then getting up +on his feet again, said, very seriously, "I don't see anything to +prevent it; there's another door at the back,"--and walked gravely away. +He did this in a very peculiar way, by a sort of sidelong roll on his +round wooden block like a barrel being worked along on one end; and, as +Dorothy stood watching this performance with great interest, he +presently fell over one of the little rocking-chairs, and coming down +heavily on his back, rolled away on the edge of his block and the rim +of his little round hat without making the slightest attempt to get on +his feet again. + +"I shall look precisely like a elephant with a pagoda on his back," said +Dorothy, as she got down on her hands and knees and crawled through the +little door into the house, "but I'm going to see what it's like while I +have the chance. All hollow, right up to the roof, just as I expected," +she exclaimed. "I s'pose that's so the fam'ly can stand up when they +come inside." But there was nothing in the house but a lot of old +umbrellas tied up in bundles and marked "DANGEROUS," and as she didn't +think these were very interesting, and as, moreover, her head by this +time was out of the door at the back, she crawled through without +stopping and scrambled up on to her feet again. + + * * * * * + +"Oh, lovely!" cried Dorothy, clapping her hands in a rapture of delight; +for she found herself in a beautiful wood--not a make-believe affair +like the toy-farm, but a real wood with soft grass and pads of +dark-green moss growing underfoot, and with ferns and forest flowers +springing up on all sides. The wind was rustling pleasantly in the +trees, and the sunlight, shining down through the dancing leaves, made +little patches of light that chased each other about on the grass, and, +as Dorothy walked along, she felt happier than she had at any time since +losing the Blue Admiral Inn. To be sure, it wasn't the easiest matter in +the world to get along, for as the trees and the bushes and the blades +of grass were all of the natural size and Dorothy was no bigger than a +wren, she fell over a good many twigs and other small obstacles, and +tumbled down a great many times. Then, too, she found it rather trying +to her nerves, at first, to meet with rabbits as big as horses, to come +suddenly upon quails whistling like steam-engines, and to be chattered +at by squirrels a head taller than she herself was; but she was a very +wise little child about such matters, and she said to herself, "Why, of +course, they're only their usual sizes, you know, and they're sure to be +the same scary things they always are,"--and then she stamped her foot +at them and said "Shoo!" very boldly, and, after laughing to see the +great creatures whisk about and dash into the thicket, she walked along +quite contentedly. + +[Illustration: "SHE FOUND IT RATHER TRYING TO HER NERVES, AT FIRST, TO +MEET WITH RABBITS AS BIG AS HORSES."] + +[Illustration: "--TO BE CHATTERED AT BY SQUIRRELS A HEAD TALLER THAN SHE +HERSELF WAS."] + +Presently she heard a voice singing. It seemed to come from a thick +part of the wood at one side of the path; and, after hesitating a +moment, Dorothy stole into the bushes, and, creeping cautiously along +until she was quite near the sound, crouched down in the thicket to +listen. + +It was a very small voice, and it was singing this song: + + I know a way + Of hearing what the larks and linnets say. + The larks tell of the sunshine and the sky; + The linnets from the hedges make reply, + And boast of hidden nests with mocking lay. + + I know a way + Of keeping near the rabbits at their play. + They tell me of the cool and shady nooks + Where waterfalls disturb the placid brooks + That I may go and frolic in the spray. + + I know a way + Of catching dewdrops on a night in May, + And threading them upon a spear of green, + That through their sides translucent may be seen + The sparkling hue that emeralds display. + + I know a way + Of trapping sunbeams as they nimbly play + At hide-and-seek with meadow-grass and flowers, + And holding them in store for dreary hours + When winds are chill and all the sky is gray. + + I know a way + Of stealing fragrance from the new-mown hay + And storing it in flasks of petals made, + To scent the air when all the flowers fade + And leave the woodland world to sad decay. + + I know a way + Of coaxing snowflakes in their flight to stay + So still awhile, that, as they hang in air, + I weave them into frosty lace, to wear + About my head upon a sultry day. + +Dorothy, crouching down in the thicket, listened to this little song +with great delight; but she was extremely sentimental where poetry was +concerned, and it happened that when she heard this last verse she +clasped her hands in a burst of rapture and exclaimed in quite a loud +voice, "Oh, delicious!" This was very unfortunate, for the song stopped +short the instant she spoke, and for a moment everything was perfectly +silent; then the little voice spoke up again, and said, "Who is that?" + +"It's I," said Dorothy. + +"It's two eyes, if it comes to that," said the little voice; "I can see +them through the bushes. Are you a rabbit?" + +"No," said Dorothy, laughing softly to herself, "I'm a child." + +"Oh!" exclaimed the voice. It was a very little Oh; in fact, it sounded +to Dorothy as if it might be about the size of a cherry-stone, and she +said to herself, "I verily believe it's a fairy, and she certainly can't +be a bit bigger than my thumb--my regular thumb, I mean," she added, +holding up her hand and looking at the size of it with great contempt. + +Then the little voice spoke up again and said, "And how big are you?" + +"I'm about three inches tall," said Dorothy; and she was so excited by +this time at the prospect of seeing a real live fairy for the first time +in her life, that she felt as if a lot of flies were running up and down +on the back of her neck. + +"Dear me!" exclaimed the little voice, expressing great astonishment in +its small way. "Why, there's hardly enough of you to put in a corner." + +Dorothy reflected for a moment and then called out, "But, you know, +_that_ depends altogether on the size of the corner." + +"Oh, no, it doesn't!" said the little voice, very confidently. "All +corners are the same size if you only get close enough to 'em." + +"Dear me!" said Dorothy to herself, "how very intelligent she is! I +_must_ have a look at her"; and, pushing the leaves gently aside, she +cautiously peeped out. + +[Illustration: "PUSHING THE LEAVES GENTLY ASIDE, SHE CAUTIOUSLY PEEPED +OUT."] + +It was a charming little dell, carpeted with fine moss, and with +strange-looking wild flowers and tall nodding grasses growing about the +sides of it; but, to Dorothy's astonishment, the fairy proved to be an +extremely small field-mouse, sitting up like a little pug-dog and gazing +attentively at the thicket: "and _I_ think"--the Mouse went on, as if +it were tired of waiting for an answer to its last remark--"_I_ think a +child should be six inches tall, _at least_." + +This was so ridiculous that Dorothy had to put her hand over her mouth +to keep from screaming with laughter. "Why," she exclaimed, "I used to +be"--and here she had to stop and count up on her fingers as if she +were doing a sum--"I used to be eight times as big as _that_, myself." + +"Tut, tut!--" said the Mouse, and the "tuts" sounded like beads dropping +into a pill-box--"tut, tut! Don't tell me such rubbish!" + +"Oh, you needn't _tut_ me," said Dorothy. "It's the exact truth." + +"Then I don't understand it," said the Mouse, shaking its head in a +puzzled way. "_I_ always thought children grew the other way." + +"Well, you see,--" said Dorothy, in her old-fashioned way,--"you see, +I've been very much reduced." (She thought afterward that this sounded +rather as if she had lost all her property, but it was the only thing +she could think of to say at the time.) + +"I _don't_ see it at all," said the Mouse, fretfully, "and what's more, +I don't see _you_, in fact, I don't think you ought to be hiding in the +bushes and chattering at me in this way." + +This seemed to Dorothy to be a very personal remark, and she answered, +rather indignantly, "And why not, I should like to know?" + +"Because,"--said the Mouse in a very superior manner,--"because little +children should be seen and not heard." + +"Hoity-toity!" said Dorothy, very sharply. (I don't think she had the +slightest idea of what this meant, but she had read somewhere in a book +that it was an expression used when other persons gave themselves airs, +and she thought she would try the effect of it on the Mouse.) But, to +her great disappointment, the Mouse made no reply of any kind, and after +picking a leaf and holding it up to its eyes for a moment, as if it were +having a cry in its small way, the poor little creature turned about and +ran into the thicket at the further side of the dell. + +[Illustration: THE MOUSE LAMENTS.] + +Dorothy was greatly distressed at this, and, jumping out of the bushes +into the dell, she began calling, "Mousie! Mousie! Come back! I didn't +mean it, dear. It was only an esperiment." But there was no answer, and, +stooping down at the place where the Mouse had disappeared, she looked +into the thicket. There was nothing there but a very small squirrel +eating a nut; and, after staring at her for a moment in great +astonishment, he threw the nut in her face and scampered off into the +bushes. + +"Nice manners, upon my word!" said Dorothy, in great indignation at this +treatment, and then, standing up, she gazed about the dell rather +disconsolately; but there was no living thing in sight except a fat +butterfly lazily swinging up and down on a blade of grass. Dorothy +touched him with her finger to see if he were awake, but the Butterfly +gave himself an impatient shake, and said, fretfully, "Oh, don't," and, +after waiting a moment, to be sure that was all he had to say, she +walked mournfully away through the wood. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +SOMETHING ABOUT THE CAMEL + + +The wood wasn't nearly so pleasant now as it had been before, and +Dorothy was quite pleased when, after walking a little way, she came in +sight again of the bank covered with rocking-chairs, and running up, she +hurried through the little door into the toy-shop. + +Everything was just as she had left it, and the stream was running +merrily under the castle bridge; but just as she was going by, the +bridge itself began hitching up in the middle and pawing, as it were, at +the banks of the stream in such an extraordinary manner that she stopped +to see what was going to happen. + +"It's sure to be something wonderous," she said to herself, as she stood +watching it, and she was quite right about this, for the bridge +presently turned into a remarkably spirited rocking-horse (dappled, with +black spots scattered about), and after rocking back and forth once or +twice, as if to be sure it really _was_ a horse, settled down perfectly +still as if it never expected to be anything else. In fact, with the +exception of a large fly, about as big as one of Dorothy's feet, that +was buzzing about, everything in the window was now perfectly quiet, and +drawing a long breath of relief, she walked away through the shop. + +[Illustration: "AND FOUND THE CARAVAN SITTING IN A ROW ON A LITTLE BENCH +AT THE DOOR."] + +As she walked along on the shelf, she presently came to the grocer's +shop and found the Caravan sitting in a row on a little bench at the +door. The Admiral had the Camel in his lap, and they were all gazing at +it with an air of extreme solicitude. It was a frowsy little thing with +lumpy legs that hung down in a dangling way from the Admiral's knees, +and Sir Walter was busily employed trying to make it drink something out +of a bottle. + +"What are you giving him?" inquired Dorothy, curiously. + +"Glue," said the Admiral, promptly. "He needs stiffening up, you see." + +"Goodness gracious, what an awful dose!" said Dorothy, with a shudder. + +"_That_ doesn't make any difference so long as he won't take it," said +Sir Walter; and here he flew into a tremendous passion, and began +beating the Camel about the head so furiously with the bottle that +Dorothy cried out, "Here--stop that instantly!" + +"_He_ doesn't mind it no more than if he was a bolster," put in the +Highlander. "Set him up again and let's see him fall down," he added, +rubbing his hands together with a relish. + +"Indeed, you'll do nothing of the sort," exclaimed Dorothy, with great +indignation; and, snatching the Camel from the Admiral's lap, she +carried him into the grocer's shop and set him down upon the floor. The +Camel looked about for a moment with a very mournful expression on his +face, and then climbed into one of the drawers that was standing open, +and pulled it to after him as a person might close a door, and Dorothy, +after watching this remarkable performance with great wonderment, went +out again. + +The Caravan had lost no time, and were standing on the bench, putting up +a little sign on the front of the shop with "CAMEL FOR SALE" on it, and +Dorothy, trying not to laugh, said, "Is this your shop?" + +"Yes," replied the Admiral, with an important air. "The grocer's been +sold for a cook because he had an apron on, and we've taken the +business." + +"What are you going to keep?" asked Dorothy, who was vastly amused at +this idea. + +"Why, we're going to keep the shop," said the Admiral, climbing down +from the bench and staring at her in great surprise. + +"But you must certainly keep things to sell," said Dorothy. + +"How can we keep things if we sell 'em?" inquired Sir Walter. + +"Well, you can't sell anything unless you keep it in the shop, you +know," persisted Dorothy, feeling that she was somehow or other getting +the worst of the argument. + +"Bosh!" said the Admiral, obstinately; "you _can't_ keep things you +sell--that is," he added, "not unless your customers are crazy"; and +with this remark the Caravan went into the shop and shut the door in +Dorothy's face, as if she wasn't worth talking to any longer. + +Dorothy waited for a moment to see if they were coming out again, and +then, as there was a noise inside as if they were piling up the drawers +against the door by way of a barricade, she walked slowly away through +the toy-shop. + +She had had such a variety of adventures in the shop by this time that +she was getting quite tired of the place, and she was walking along +rather disconsolately, and wishing there was some way of growing to her +natural size, and then getting back again to poor old Uncle Porticle and +the Blue Admiral Inn, when, as she went around the corner of the little +apothecary's shop, she came suddenly upon Bob Scarlet. To her great +surprise, he was now just about the size of an ordinary robin; but he +had on his red waistcoat, and had quite as important an air as ever, and +he was strolling about examining the various toys, and putting down the +price of everything in a little red book, as if he were thinking of +going into the business himself. + +"Now, I wonder how he ever got to be _that_ size," thought Dorothy, as +she hid behind a little pile of lead-pencils and watched him over the +top of them. "I suppose he's eaten something, or drunk something, to +make him grow, the way they do in fairy stories; because the Admiral +certainly said he wasn't any bigger than an ant. And, oh! I wish I knew +what it was," she added, mournfully, as the tears came into her eyes at +the thought of how small she was, "I _wish_ I knew what it was!" + +"If I wasn't a little afraid of him," she went on, after she had had a +little cry, "I'd ask him. But likely as not he'd peck at me--old +peckjabber!" and here she laughed through her tears as she thought of +the Caravan in their little sunbonnets. "Or p'r'aps he'd snap me up! +I've often heard of snapping people up when they asked too many +questions, but seems to me it never meant anything so awful as that +before"; and she was rambling on in this way, laughing and crying by +turns, when at this moment Bob Scarlet came suddenly upon a fine brass +bird-cage, and, after staring at it in a stupefied way for an instant, +he dropped his little book, with an appearance of great agitation, and +hurried away without so much as looking behind him. + +[Illustration: "HE DROPPED HIS LITTLE BOOK, WITH AN APPEARANCE OF GREAT +AGITATION, AND HURRIED AWAY."] + +Dorothy ran after him, carefully keeping out of sight in case he should +turn around, and as she went by the bird-cage she saw that it was marked +"PERFECTLY SECURE" in large letters. "And _that's_ what took the conceit +out of you, mister," she said, laughing to herself, and hurried along +after the Robin. + +As she caught sight of him again he was just scurrying by the grocer's +shop, and she could see the faces of the Caravan watching him, over the +top of a little half-blind in the window, with an expression of the +greatest concern, and the next moment a door at the back of the shop +opened and they all rushed out. They had on their sunbonnets and shawls, +and Dorothy saw that the Admiral was carrying the Camel under his arm; +but before she could say a word to them they had scampered away and were +out of sight. + +[Illustration: "A DOOR AT THE BACK OF THE SHOP OPENED AND THEY ALL +RUSHED OUT."] + +By this time the toy-shop itself was all in a commotion. Dolls were +climbing down from the shelves and falling over each other; the big +marbles had in some way got out of the basket and were rolling about in +all directions; and Dorothy could see the old dame at the further end of +the shop, running about and frantically striking at one thing after +another with her spoon. To make matters worse, quite a little army of +tin soldiers suddenly appeared, running confusedly about, with the +drawers from the little grocer's shop upside down on their heads, and +all calling "Fire!" at the top of their voices. As they couldn't see +where anybody was going, or where they were going themselves, it made +the situation very desperate indeed. + +Dorothy was frightened almost out of her wits, but she ran on in a +bewildered sort of a way, dodging the rolling marbles and upsetting the +dolls and the soldiers in great numbers, until she fortunately caught +sight of the little rat-hole of a door, and, rushing through it, she +hurried down the bank, knocking the green rocking-chairs about in every +direction, and ran off into the wood as fast as she could go. + +[Illustration: TAIL-PIECE TO CHAPTER VIII.] + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +THE CAMEL'S COMPLAINT + + +Dorothy ran along until she thought she was quite safe, and then stopped +to look back and listen. There was a confused sound of shouts and cries +in the distance, but nothing seemed to be coming after her, so, after +waiting a moment to get her breath, she walked quietly away through the +wood. + +"What a scene of turmoil it was!" she said to herself. (You see, she was +trying to express herself in a very dignified and composed manner, as if +she hadn't been in the least disturbed by what had happened.) "I +presume--" she went on, "I presume it was something like a riot, +although I really don't see what it was all about. Of course I've never +been in a riot, but if it's anything like _that_, I shall never have +anything to do with one";--which certainly was a very wise resolution +for a little girl to make; but as Dorothy was always making wise +resolutions about things that were never going to happen, I really +don't think that this particular one was a matter of any consequence. + +She was so much pleased with these remarks that she was going on to say +a number of very fine things, when she came suddenly upon the Caravan +hiding behind a large tree. They were sitting in a little bunch on the +grass, and, as Dorothy appeared, they all put on an appearance of great +unconcern, and began staring up at the branches of the tree, as if they +hadn't seen her. + +"They've certainly been doing something they're ashamed of," she said to +herself, "but they can't deceive me with any such behavior as _that_"; +and just then the Admiral pretended he had just caught sight of her and +said, with a patronizing air, "Ah! How d' ye do? How d' ye do?" as if +they hadn't met for quite a while. + +"You know perfectly well how I do, and I consider that a very foolish +remark," replied Dorothy, speaking in a very dignified manner, and not +feeling at all pleased with this reception; and then noticing that +Humphrey was nowhere to be seen, she said severely, "Where's your +Camel?" + +"Camels is no good," said the Admiral, evasively. "Leastwise _he_ +wasn't." + +"Why not?" said Dorothy. She said this very sternly, for she felt +morally certain that the Admiral was trying to conceal something from +her. + +"Well, you see," said the Admiral, uneasily, "he talked too much. He was +always grumbling." + +"Grumbling about what?" said Dorothy. + +"Oh, about a wariety of things," said the Admiral. "Meals and lodgings +and all that, you know. I used to try to stop him. 'Cammy,' I says--" + +"'Cammy' is short for camel," explained Sir Walter, and Dorothy laughed +and nodded, and the Admiral went on-- + +"'Cammy,' I says, 'don't scold so much'; but lor! I might as well have +talked to a turnpike-gate." + +"Better," put in Sir Walter. "_That_ shuts up sometimes, and _he_ never +did." + +"Oh, jummy!" said the Highlander, with a chuckle, "_that's_ a good one!" + +"But what was it all about?" persisted Dorothy. + +"_You_ tell her, Ruffles," said the Admiral. + +"Well," said Sir Walter, "it was all the same thing, over and over +again. He had it all in verses so he wouldn't forget any of it. It went +like this: + + "Canary-birds feed on sugar and seed, + Parrots have crackers to crunch; + And, as for the poodles, they tell me the noodles + Have chickens and cream for their lunch. + But there's never a question + About MY digestion-- + ANYTHING does for me! + + "Cats, you're aware, can repose in a chair, + Chickens can roost upon rails; + Puppies are able to sleep in a stable, + And oysters can slumber in pails. + But no one supposes + A poor Camel dozes-- + ANY PLACE does for me! + + "Lambs are inclosed where it's never exposed, + Coops are constructed for hens; + Kittens are treated to houses well heated, + And pigs are protected by pens. + But a Camel comes handy + Wherever it's sandy-- + ANYWHERE does for me! + + "People would laugh if you rode a giraffe, + Or mounted the back of an ox; + It's nobody's habit to ride on a rabbit, + Or try to bestraddle a fox. + But as for a Camel, he's + Ridden by families-- + ANY LOAD does for me! + + "A snake is as round as a hole in the ground, + And weasels are wavy and sleek; + And no alligator could ever be straighter + Than lizards that live in a creek. + But a Camel's all lumpy + And bumpy and humpy-- + ANY SHAPE does for me!" + +Now, Dorothy was a very tender-hearted little child, and by the time +these verses were finished she hardly knew whether to laugh or to cry. +"Poor old, feeble-minded thing!" she said, compassionately. "And what +became of him at last?" + +There was a dead silence for a moment, and then the Admiral said +solemnly: + +"We put him in a pond." + +"Why, that's the most unhuman thing I ever heard of in all my life!" +exclaimed Dorothy, greatly shocked at this news. + +[Illustration: THE CARAVAN DISCIPLINE THE CAMEL.] + +"Well," said the Admiral, in a shamefaced sort of way, "_we_ thought it +was a good thing to do--for us, you know." + +"And _I_ call it proud and unforgiving," said Dorothy, indignantly. +"Did the poor creature say anything?" + +"Not at first," said the Admiral; "but after he got in he said things." + +"Such as what?" said Dorothy. + +"Oh, we couldn't make out _what_ he said," replied the Admiral, +peevishly. "It was perfectly unintellijibbergibble." + +"Kind of gurgly," put in the Highlander. + +"Did he go right down?" inquired Dorothy, very anxiously. + +"Not a bit of it," said the Admiral, flippantly. "He never went down at +all. He floated, just like a cork, you know." + +"Round and round and round," added Sir Walter. + +"Like a turnip," put in the Highlander. + +"What do you mean by _that_?" said Dorothy, sharply. + +"Nothing," said the Highlander, looking very much abashed; "only I +thought turnips turned round." + +Dorothy was greatly provoked at all this, and felt that she really ought +to say something very severe; but the fact was that the Caravan looked +so innocent, sitting on the grass with their sunbonnets all crooked on +their heads, that it was as much as she could do to keep from laughing +outright. "You know," she said to herself, "if it wasn't for the +Highlander's whiskers, it'd be precisely like a' infant class having a +picnic; and after all, they're really nothing but graven images"--so she +contented herself by saying, as severely as she could: + +"Well, I'm extremely displeased, and I'm very much ashamed of all of +you." + +The Caravan received this reproof with great cheerfulness, especially +the Admiral, who took a look at Dorothy through his spy-glass, and then +said with much satisfaction: "Now we're each being ashamed of by _three_ +persons"; but Dorothy very properly took no notice of this remark, and +walked away in a dignified manner. + + + + +CHAPTER X + +THE SIZING TOWER + + +As Dorothy walked along, wondering what would happen to her next, she +felt something tugging at her frock, and looking around she saw that it +was the Highlander running along beside her, quite breathless, and +trying very hard to attract her attention. "Oh, it's you, is it?" she +said, stopping short and looking at him pleasantly. + +"Yes, it's me," said the Highlander, sitting down on the ground as if he +were very much fatigued. "I've been wanting to speak to you privately +for a very long time." + +"What about?" said Dorothy, wondering what was coming now. + +"Well," said the Highlander, blushing violently and appearing to be +greatly embarrassed, "you seem to be a very kind-hearted person, and I +wanted to show you some poetry I've written." + +"Did you compose it?" said Dorothy, kindly. + +"No," said the Highlander; "I only made it up. Would you like to hear +it?" + +"Oh, yes, indeed," said Dorothy, as gravely as she could; "I should like +to hear it very much." + +"It's called"--said the Highlander, lowering his voice confidentially +and looking cautiously about--"it's called 'The Pickle and the +Policeman';" and, taking a little paper out of his pocket, he began: + + "There was a little pickle and his name was John--" + +"Oh, dear!" exclaimed Dorothy, "I don't think that will do _at all_." + +"Suppose I call him _George_?" said the Highlander, gazing reflectively +at his paper. "It's got to be something short, you know." + +"But you mustn't call him _anything_," said Dorothy, laughing. "Pickles +don't have any names." + +"All right," said the Highlander; and, taking out a pencil, he began +repairing his poetry with great industry. He did a great deal of +writing, and a good deal of rubbing out with his thumb, and finally said +triumphantly: + + "There was a little pickle and he hadn't any name!" + +"Yes, that will do very nicely," said Dorothy; and the Highlander, +clearing his voice, read off his poetry with a great flourish: + + "There was a little pickle and he hadn't any name-- + In this respect, I'm just informed, all pickles are the same. + A large policeman came along, a-swinging of his club, + And took that little pickle up and put him in a tub. + +"That's rather good about taking him up," said the Highlander, chuckling +to himself; "so exactly like a policeman, you know." + +"Oh, yes, indeed," said Dorothy, who was ready to scream with laughter. +"What's the rest of it?" + +"There isn't any more," said the Highlander, rather confusedly. "There +was going to be another verse, but I couldn't think of anything more to +say." + +"Oh, well, it's very nice as it is," said Dorothy, consolingly; and +then, as the Highlander put up his paper and went away, she laughed till +her eyes were full of tears. "They are _all_ funny," she said at last, +as she walked away through the wood, "but I think _he's_ funnier than +all of 'em put together"--which, by the way, was not a very sensible +remark for her to make, as you will see if you'll take the trouble to +think it over. + +[Illustration: "'THERE ISN'T ANY MORE,' SAID THE HIGHLANDER, RATHER +CONFUSEDLY."] + +But presently, as she strolled along, she made a discovery that quite +drove the Highlander and his ridiculous poetry out of her head. It was a +tower in the wood; not an ordinary tower, of course, for there would +have been nothing remarkable about that, but a tower of shining brass, +and so high that the top of it was quite out of sight among the +branches of the trees. But the strangest thing about it was that there +seemed to be no possible way of getting into it, and Dorothy was very +cautiously walking around it to see if she could find any door when she +came suddenly upon the Caravan standing huddled together, and apparently +in a state of great excitement. + +"What is it?" asked Dorothy, eagerly. + +"Hush!" said the Admiral, in an agitated whisper. "We think it's where +Bob Scarlet changes himself"--and as he said this there was a tremendous +flapping of wings, and down came Bob Scarlet through the branches and +landed with a thump a little way from where they were standing. He was +as big as a goose again, and his appearance was so extremely formidable +that the Caravan, as one man, threw themselves flat on their faces in a +perfect frenzy of terror, and Dorothy herself hid in the grass, with her +heart beating like a little eight-day clock. But Bob Scarlet fortunately +paid no more attention to any of them than if they had been so many +flies, and, after strutting about for a moment with his usual important +air, strolled away in the direction of the toy-shop. + +"Now what do you make of _that_?" said the Admiral, lifting up his +head. "He went in at a little door not five minutes ago, and he wasn't +any bigger than an every-day bird." + +"I'm sure I don't know _what_ to make of it," said Dorothy. "But where +is the door?" she added, running around the tower and looking at it on +all sides. + +"It went up after him," said the Admiral, "like a corkscrew." + +"And it's coming down again, like a gimlet!" shouted the Highlander; +and, as they all looked up, sure enough there was the little door slowly +coming down, around and around, as if it were descending an invisible +staircase on the outside of the tower. They all watched this performance +with much interest, and as the door touched the ground it opened, and, +to Dorothy's amazement, out came the little field-mouse. + +"What is it?" cried Dorothy, as they all crowded around the little +creature. "Do tell us what it all means." + +"It's a Sizing Tower," said the Mouse, its little voice trembling with +agitation. "You get big at the top, and little at the bottom. I wouldn't +go up there again--not for a bushel of nuts." + +"Were you pretty big?" inquired Sir Walter. + +"Monstrous!" said the Mouse, with a little shudder; "I was as big as a +squirrel; and while I was up there, Bob Scarlet flew up and came down +with the door, and there I was." + +"_That_ was a precious mess!" remarked the Highlander. + +"Wasn't it now!" said the Mouse. "And if he hadn't taken it into his +head to come up again and _fly down_, I'd 'a' been there yet." + +"Why, it's the very thing for us!" cried Dorothy, clapping her hands +with delight as a happy thought occurred to her. "Let's all go up and +get back our regular selves." + +"You go first," said the Admiral, suspiciously, "and call down to us how +it feels." But Dorothy wouldn't hear of this; and after a great deal of +arguing and pushing and saying "_You_ go in first," the whole party at +last got squeezed in through the little doorway. Then the Mouse sat up +on its hind legs and waved a little farewell with its paws, and the door +softly closed. + +"If we begin to grow _now_," said the Admiral's voice in the dark, +"we'll all be squeegeed, _sure_!" + + * * * * * + +"What an extraordinary thing!" exclaimed Dorothy; for they had come out +into a street full of houses. + +"What _I_ want to know is what's become of the door," said Sir Walter, +indignantly, staring at a high wall where the door had been, and which +was now perfectly blank. + +"I'm sure I don't know," said Dorothy, quite bewildered. "It's really +quite mysterious, isn't it?" + +"It makes my stomach tickle like anything," said the Highlander, in a +quavering voice. + +"What _shall_ we do?" said Dorothy, looking about uneasily. + +"Run away!" said the Admiral, promptly; and without another word the +Caravan took to their heels and disappeared around a corner. Dorothy +hurried after them, but by the time she turned the corner they were +quite out of sight; and as she stopped and looked about her she +discovered that she was once more in the Ferryman's street, and, to her +great delight, quite as large as she had been when she left the Blue +Admiral Inn. + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +THE DANCING ANIMALS + + +It seemed to be evening again, and, although the Ferryman was nowhere in +sight, Dorothy knew the place the moment she looked up and saw the +peaked roofs outlined against the sky. The houses were quaint, +old-fashioned-looking buildings with the upper parts jutting far out +beyond the lower stories and with dark little doorways almost hidden in +the shadows beneath; and the windows were very small casements filled +with diamond-shaped panes of shining green glass. All the houses were +brilliantly lighted up, and there were great iron lamps swung on chains +across the street, so that the street itself was almost as bright as +day, and Dorothy thought she recognized it as a place she had once read +about where nobody but astrologers lived. There was a confused sound of +fiddling going on somewhere, and as Dorothy walked along she could hear +a scuffling noise inside the houses as if the inhabitants were dancing +about on sanded floors. Presently, as she turned a corner, she came +upon a number of storks who were dancing a sort of solemn quadrille up +and down the middle of the street. They stopped dancing as she came +along, and stood in a row gazing gravely at her as she passed by and +then resumed their quadrille as solemnly as before. + +The strangest thing about the fiddling was that it seemed to be going on +somewhere in the air, and the sound appeared to come from all directions +at once. At first the music was soft and rather slow in time, but it +grew louder and louder, and the fiddles played faster and faster, until +presently they were going at such a furious rate that Dorothy stopped +and looked back to see how the storks were getting on in their dancing; +and she could see them in the distance, scampering up and down the +street, and bumping violently against one another in a frantic attempt +to keep time with the music. At any other time she would have been +vastly amused at this spectacle; but just then she was feeling a little +afraid that some of the astrologers might come out to see what was going +on, and she was therefore quite relieved when the storks presently gave +up all hope of finishing their quadrille, and rising in the air with a +tremendous flapping of wings, flew away over the tops of the houses and +disappeared. Strangely enough, the sound of the fiddling followed them +like a traveling band, and grew fainter and fainter until it finally +died away in the distance. + +But the scuffling noise in the houses continued, and Dorothy did just +what you'd suppose such a curious little child would have done--that is, +she stole up and peeped in at one of the windows; but she could see +nothing through the thick glass but some strange-looking shadows bobbing +confusedly about inside. Of course you know what she did _then_. In +fact, after hesitating a moment, she softly opened the door of the house +and went in. + +The room was full of animals of every description, dancing around in a +ring with the greatest enthusiasm; and as Dorothy appeared they all +shouted, "Here she is!" and, before she could say a single word, the two +nearest to her (they were an elephant and a sheep, by the way) seized +her by the hands, and the next moment she was dancing in the ring. She +was quite surprised to see that the elephant was no bigger than the +sheep; and, as she looked about, it seemed to her, in the confusion, +that all the animals in the room were of precisely the same size. + +[Illustration: "AN ELEPHANT AND A SHEEP SEIZED HER BY THE HANDS, AND THE +NEXT MOMENT SHE WAS DANCING IN THE RING."] + +"Isn't it rather unusual--" she said to the Sheep (it seemed more +natural, somehow, to speak to the Sheep)--"isn't it rather unusual for +different animals to be so much alike?" + +"Not in _our_ set," said the Sheep, conceitedly. "We all know who's who. +Of course we have to mark the pigs, as they're so extremely like the +polar-bears;" and Dorothy noticed that two pigs, who were dancing just +opposite to her, had labels with "PIG" on them hung around their necks +by little chains, as if they had been a couple of decanters--"only," she +thought, "it would have been 'SHERRY' or 'MADEIRA' instead of 'PIG,' you +know." + +"I suppose you all came out of a Noah's Ark," she said presently, at a +venture. + +"Of course. Largest size, I believe. How _very_ clever you are!" said +the Sheep, admiringly. "By the way," she added, confidentially, "do you +happen to know what a tapir is?" + +"I believe it's something to light, like a candle," said Dorothy. + +"Does it ever go out of its own accord?" inquired the Sheep. + +"It _ought_ not to," said Dorothy. + +"Then that accounts for the trouble we've had," said the Sheep, with a +satisfied air. "Those two tapirs dancing over there are always in +everybody's way, and we've had to _put_ them out over and over again." + +This sounded like a joke; but the Sheep was so serious that Dorothy +didn't dare to laugh, so she said, by way of continuing the +conversation, "I don't see any birds here." + +"Oh dear, no!" exclaimed the Sheep; "you see, this is really a +quadrupedrille. Of course _you're_ all right, because it's precisely as +if you were dancing on your hind feet. In fact," she added, nodding +approvingly, "you look almost as well as if you were." + +"Thank you!" said Dorothy, laughing. + +"There was a seal that wanted to join," the Sheep went on. "He pressed +us very hard, but he never made the slightest impression on us;" and +there was a twinkle in the Sheep's eyes as she said this, so that +Dorothy felt morally certain it _was_ a joke this time; but, before she +could make any reply, the Elephant called out "Recess!" and the animals +all stopped dancing and began walking about and fanning themselves with +little portfolios which they produced in such a mysterious manner that +Dorothy couldn't see where in the world they came from. + +"Now, look here," said the Elephant,--he seemed to be a sort of Master +of Ceremonies, and the animals all clustered about him as he said +this,--"why can't _she_ dance with the Camel?" and he pointed out +Dorothy with his portfolio. + +"She can!" shouted the animals in chorus. "Come on, Sarah!"--and the +Camel, who had been moping in a corner with her head against the wall, +came forward with a very sulky expression on her face. + +"Her name is Sahara," whispered the Sheep, plucking at Dorothy's frock +to attract her attention, "but we call her Sarah to save time. She's +kind of grumpy now because the other Camel stayed away, but she'll +titter like a turtle when she gets to dancing." + +"I don't know what relation she is to Humphrey," thought Dorothy, as the +Camel took her by the hand, "but she's certainly big enough to be his +great-grandmother ten times over." Before she had time to think any more +about it, however, the Elephant called out, "Ladies change!" and the +dancing began again harder than ever. + +It was a very peculiar dance this time, and, as near as Dorothy could +make it out, consisted principally in the animals passing her along from +one to another as if they were each anxious to get rid of her; and +presently she discovered that, in some unaccountable manner, she had +been passed directly through the fireplace into the next house; but as +this house was quite as full of dancing animals as the other, this +didn't help matters much except that it got Sarah out of the way--"and +_that_," said poor little Dorothy to herself, "is certainly _something_!" + +[Illustration: THE ANIMALS CROSSING OVER.] + +Just then the Elephant, who had mysteriously appeared from a pantry in +one corner of the room, shouted out, "All cross over!" and the animals +began to crowd out of the house into the courtyard, and then, pushing +in great confusion through a large gateway, rushed across the street and +into the house on the other side of the way. Dorothy was quite taken off +her feet in the rush, but, watching her chance, she hid behind a large +churn that was standing conveniently in the middle of the street; and +when they had all passed in, she ran away down the street as fast as she +could go. + +She ran on until she had got quite out of the Ferryman's street, and was +walking along in the open country, feeling quite pleased with herself +for having so cleverly escaped from the dancing-party without having to +take the trouble of saying "Good night" to the Elephant, when she saw, +in the moonlight, something white lying beside the road, and going up to +it, she discovered it was a letter. + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +THE CARAVAN COMES HOME + + +The letter was lying on a flat stone, with several lumps of sugar laid +on it like paper-weights to keep it from blowing away. It wasn't at all +a nice-looking letter; in fact, it looked as if it had been dragged over +the ground for a long distance; and Dorothy, after observing all this, +was just turning away when she chanced to look at the address and saw +that the letter was intended for her. The address was written in a very +cramped little hand, and the writing was crowded up into one corner as +if it were trying to get over the edge of the envelope; but the words +were "TO DOROTHY," as plain as possible. + +"What a very strange thing!" she said to herself, taking up the letter +and turning it over several times rather distrustfully. "I don't think +it looks very nice, but it may be something important, and I s'pose I +ought to read it"; and saying this, she opened the letter. It was +printed in funny little letters something like bird-tracks, and this was +what was in it: + + We are in a bad fix. The fix is a cage. We have been seezed in a + outburst of ungovernerubble fury by Bob Scarlet. He says there's + been too many robbin pies. He goes on, and says he is going to have + a girl pie. With gravy. We shreeked out that we wasn't girls. Only + disgized and tuff as anything. He says with a kurdling laff we'll + do. O save us. We wish we was home. There is no male and we send + this by a noble rat. He is a female. + + THE CARAVAN. + +"Now, _that's_ the most ridiculous letter I ever got," said Dorothy, +gazing at it in blank astonishment; "and I don't _think_ it's spelled +very well either," she added rather doubtfully as she read it again; +"but of course I must go and help the poor little creatures. I ought to +feel frightened, but I really feel as brave as an ox. I s'pose _that's_ +because I'm going to help the unfortunate"; and putting the letter in +her pocket, she started off. + +"It's perfectly surprising," she said to herself as she ran along, "the +mischief they get into! They're really no more fit to be going about +alone than so many infants"; and she was so pleased with herself for +saying this that she began to feel quite large and bold. "But it was +very clever of 'em to think of the rat," she went on, "and of course +_that_ accounts for the sugar. No one but a rat would ever have thought +of using sugar for paper-weights. If I wasn't afraid of a rat I'd wish +it hadn't gone away, though, for I haven't the slightest idea where the +Caravan is, or which way I ought to go." + +But it presently appeared that the noble rat had arranged the whole +matter for her; for as Dorothy ran along she began to find lumps of +sugar set up at intervals like little mile-stones, so that she shouldn't +miss the road. + +"It's precisely like Hop-o'-my-thumb and his little crumbs of bread," +she said, laughing to herself when she saw these, "only better, because, +you see, the birds can't carry them off." + +The rat, however, seemed to have had a very roundabout idea of a road, +for the lumps of sugar were scattered zigzag in every direction, and, at +one place, led directly through a knot-hole in a fence as if nobody +could possibly have any trouble in getting through _that_; but, as the +little mile-stones appeared again on the other side of the fence, +Dorothy scrambled over and ran on. Then she found herself climbing over +rocks and wading through little puddles of water where the sugar was set +up on stones in the most thoughtful way, so that it shouldn't melt; and +in another place the lumps were stuck up in a line on the trunk of a +large tree, and, after leading the way through a number of branches, +suddenly descended on the opposite side of the tree into a little bog, +where Dorothy stuck fast for several minutes and got her shoes very much +soiled. All this was very provoking, and she was beginning to get a +little out of patience, when the lumps of sugar suddenly came to an end +at a small stone wall; and, looking over it, she spied the Caravan in +their cage. + +The cage proved to be an enormous rat-trap, and the Caravan, with +remarkable presence of mind, had put their legs through between the +wires at the bottom of it, and were walking briskly along, holding up +the cage with their hands. The news of this extraordinary performance +had evidently been spread abroad, as the Ferryman and a number of +serious-looking storks were escorting the Caravan with an air of great +interest, and occasionally taking to their heels when the Admiral +chanced to look at them through the wires with his spy-glass. There was +a door, to be sure, in the side of the trap, quite big enough for the +Admiral, and Sir Walter, and the Highlander to come out of, all in a row +if they liked, but they evidently hadn't noticed this--"and I'm not +going to tell 'em about it, just yet," said Dorothy to herself, "because +they deserve to be punished for their capers. But it's really quite +clever of 'em to put their little legs through in that way," she went +on, "and extremely convenient--that is, you know," she added +thoughtfully, "so long as they all want to go the same way"; and, with +this wise reflection, she scrambled over the wall and ran after the +procession. + +The Admiral and Sir Walter seemed greatly mortified when Dorothy +appeared, and she saw that Sir Walter was making a desperate attempt to +pull up his legs into the cage as if he hadn't anything whatever to do +with the affair. The Highlander, however, who always seemed to have +peculiar ideas of his own, shouted out "Philopene!" as he caught sight +of her, and then laughed uproariously as if this were the finest joke in +the world; but Dorothy, very properly, took not the slightest notice of +his remark. + +"How did you ever get into _this_ scrape?" said she, addressing the +Admiral as the head of the family. + +"It was easy enough to get into," said the Admiral, peevishly; "we just +fell into it through the hole in the top. But there wasn't any scrape +about it until we tried to get out again. _Then_ we got scraped like +anything." + +"Needles was nothing to it," added Sir Walter, solemnly. + +"Nor cats," put in the Highlander. + +"I'm very sorry," said Dorothy, compassionately; "and are you really +going to be made into a pie?" + +"Oh, dear, no!" said the Admiral. "We got excused." + +"Excused?" exclaimed Dorothy, very much surprised. + +"Well, it was something like that," said Sir Walter, confusedly. "You +see, Bob Scarlet didn't exactly like to come in here after us--" + +"Unconquerabubble awersion to cages," explained the Admiral. + +"And so he goes off after hooks to pull us out with," continued Sir +Walter-- + +"And we inwents this way of going about, and comes away!" added the +Admiral triumphantly. + +"And where are you going now?" said Dorothy; for by this time they were +running so fast that she could hardly keep up with them. + +[Illustration: "BY THIS TIME THEY WERE RUNNING SO FAST THAT SHE COULD +HARDLY KEEP UP WITH THEM."] + +"We're going to the Ferry," said the Admiral, "and these pelicans are +showing us the way"; and as he said this the whole party hurried through +a little archway and came out at the waterside. + +An old stage-coach without any wheels was floating close up against the +river-bank, and quite a little party of the dancing animals was +crowding aboard of it, pushing and shoving one another, and all talking +in the most excited manner; and as Dorothy found herself next to her old +friend the Sheep, in the crowd, she inquired anxiously, "Where are you +all going?" + +"We don't know exactly," said the Sheep, "but we've all taken tickets to +different places so as to be sure of getting _somewhere_"; and with this +remark the Sheep disappeared in the crowd, leaving Dorothy very much +bewildered. + +By this time the Caravan had, by great exertions, climbed up on top of +the coach and were sitting there in the cage, as if it had been a sort +of cupola for purposes of observation; and, indeed, the Admiral was +already quite absorbed in taking in various points of interest with his +glass. The storks, meanwhile, had crowded into the coach after the +animals, and had their heads out through all the windows as if there +were no room for them inside. This gave the coach somewhat the +appearance of a large chicken-coop with too many chickens in it; and as +Dorothy didn't fancy a crowd, she climbed up on the box. As she did so, +Sarah, the Camel, put her head out of the front window and, laying it +in Dorothy's lap, murmured, "Good-evening," and went comfortably to +sleep. The next moment the fiddles in the air began playing again and +the stage-coach sailed away. + + * * * * * + +Dorothy never knew exactly what happened next, because everything was so +confused. She had an idea, however, that they were all singing the Ferry +Song, and that they had just got to a new part, beginning-- + + "It pours into picnics and swishes the dishes," + +when a terrible commotion began on top of the coach, and she saw that +Bob Scarlet had suddenly appeared inside the cage _without his +waistcoat_, and that the Caravan were frantically squeezing themselves +out between the wires. At the same moment a loud roaring sound arose in +the air, and the quadrupeds and the storks began jumping out of the +windows in all directions. Then the stage-coach began to rock violently, +and she felt that it was about to roll over, and clutched at the neck of +the Camel to save herself; but the Camel had slipped away, and she found +she had hold of something like a soft cushion--and the next moment the +coach went over with a loud crash. + +[Illustration: "IT SLOWLY CHANGED TO A BIRD-CAGE WITH A ROBIN SITTING IN +IT."] + +Dorothy gave a little scream as the coach went over, and then held her +breath; but instead of sousing into the water as she expected, she came +down on top of it with a hard bump, and, very much to her astonishment, +found herself sitting up on a carpeted floor. For a moment the +rat-trap, with Bob Scarlet inside of it, seemed to be floating around in +the air like a wire balloon, and then, as she rubbed her eyes and looked +again, it slowly changed into a bird-cage with a fat robin sitting in it +on a perch, and peering sharply at her sideways with one of his bright +little eyes; and she found she was sitting on the floor of the little +parlor of the Blue Admiral Inn, with her little rocking-chair overturned +beside her and the cushion firmly clutched in her hand. The coach, and +the dancing animals, and the Ferryman and his storks had all +disappeared, which was a very fortunate thing, as there wasn't room for +them in the parlor; and as for the roaring sound in the air--why, Uncle +Porticle was fast asleep in his big arm-chair, with his handkerchief +spread over his face, and I think it more than likely that he had +something to do with the sound. + +Dorothy stared about for a moment, and then, suddenly remembering the +Caravan, she jumped up and ran to the window. It was snowing hard, and +she saw through the driving snowflakes that the Highlander and Sir +Walter Rosettes were standing on their pedestals, complacently watching +the people hurrying by with their Christmas parcels; and as for the +Admiral, he was standing on _his_ pedestal, with a little pile of snow +like a sugar-loaf on top of his hat, and intently gazing across the +street through his spy-glass. + +[Illustration: TAIL-PIECE TO CHAPTER XII.] + +THE END. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Admiral's Caravan, by +Charles E. Carryl and Reginald B. 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