"
"I hope there's water in it," said General Cone,
mustering courage to advance to the well; but just
then he caught a glimpse of Tik-Tok and Shaggy and
at once fell upon his knees, trembling and
frightened and cried out:
"Mercy, kind enemies! Mercy! Spare us, and
we will be your slaves forever!"
The other officers, who had now advanced into
the clearing, likewise fell upon their knees and
begged for mercy.
Files turned around and, seeing the strangers
for the first time, examined them with much
curiosity. Then, discovering that three of the
party were girls, he lifted his cap and made a
polite bow.
"What's all this?" demanded a harsh voice, as
Queen Ann reached the place and beheld her
kneeling army.
"Permit us to introduce ourselves," replied
Shaggy, stepping forward. "This is Tik-Tok, the
Clockwork Man--who works better than some meat
people. And here is Princess Ozga of Roseland,
just now unfortunately exiled from her Kingdom of
Roses. I next present Polychrome, a sky fairy, who
lost her Bow by an accident and can't find her way
home. The small girl here is Betsy Bobbin, from
some unknown earthly paradise called Oklahoma,
and with her you see Mr. Hank, a mule with a long
tail and a short temper."
"Puh!" said Ann, scornfully; "a pretty lot of
vagabonds you are, indeed; all lost or strayed,
I suppose, and not worth a Queen's plundering.
I'm sorry I've conquered you."
"But you haven't conquered us yet," called
Betsy indignantly.
Pages:
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58