"Why, he's a Kansas dog; so I s'pose he's
different from these fairy animals," replied
Dorothy.
"Hank isn't a fairy animal, any more than Toto,"
said Ozma, "yet as soon as he came under the spell
of our fairyland he found he could talk. It was
the same way with Billina, the Yellow Hen whom you
brought here at one time. The same spell has
affected Toto, I assure you; but he's a wise
little dog and while he knows everything that is
said to him he prefers not to talk."
"Goodness me!" exclaimed Dorothy. "I never
s'pected Toto was fooling me all this time." Then
she drew a small silver whistle from her pocket
and blew a shrill note upon it. A moment later
there was a sound of scurrying footsteps, and a
shaggy black dog came running up the path.
Dorothy knelt down before him and shaking her
finger just above his nose she said:
"Toto, haven't I always been good to you?"
Toto looked up at her with his bright black eyes
and wagged his tail.
"Bow-wow!" he said, and Betsy knew at once that
meant yes, as well as Dorothy and Ozma knew it,
for there was no mistaking the tone of Toto's
voice.
"That's a dog answer," said Dorothy. "How would
you like it, Toto, if I said nothing to you but
'bow-wow'?"
Toto's tail was wagging furiously now, but
otherwise he was silent.
"Really, Dorothy," said Betsy, "he can talk with
his bark and his tail just as well as we can.
Don't you understand such dog language?"
"Of course I do," replied Dorothy.
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