"I wish this dumb river would go straight back where it came from," quavered Handy as Nox bellowing and bubbling backed indignantly away. And THIS time the river went. So suddenly and completely the Goat Girl and the Ox were dropped forty feet to the bottom of a rocky gorge through which the torrent had been tumbling. For a long moment they lay where they had fallen, then stiffly they arose and peered anxiously around them. Handy, thanks to her voluminous petticoats, was saved from serious injury and Nox, who had landed in a patch of brush was not dangerously hurt, either. But they both were so shocked, shaken and worn out from their long swim they were perfectly content to stay where they were. "You see," sighed Handy, wringing out her skirts with four hands and smoothing back her hair with the other three. "The magic is in the horn and only works when you are wearing it. As soon as I screwed it back and made the wish everything was all right." "Oh, was it?" Scowling round at his scratched flanks and skinned shins, the Royal Ox shook his head dubiously. "And just think," continued the Goat Girl brightly. "If your horn really is a wishing horn, as soon as we decide where we want to go, all we have to do is wish ourselves there." "No! No! Absolutely no more of that," squealed Nox, lashing his tail and flashing his eyes dangerously. "Your last wish nearly killed me, and if any more wishing is to be done, I'll attend to it myself." "But how can you unscrew, or even touch your own horn all by yourself?" inquired Handy reasonably. "You see, you need my hands, and I need your horns." Throwing back her head, Handy burst into a loud chuckle, thinking how comical she would look if she actually wore Nox's golden headgear. "Oh, why not go on the way we started?" said the Ox querulously. "I'd rather travel on my feet than my horns any day, and had you noticed, Handy, that these rocks are purple? Your river has carried us clear into the Gillikin Country where there are mountains galore and even a silver one for all we know." "Yes, but is there anything to eat?" asked the Goat Girl in a hollow voice. "If those rude little Topsies had just given us some breakfast." "I expect all they eat is spinach or turnips," sniffed Nox, "and you would not have cared for either. Well, at any rate we're even. You certainly turned the tide on them, m'lass." Nox, who was beginning to feel more cheerful, began to shake all over. "I'll wager my tail they'll be more polite to travellers in the future." "Well, as it all turned out so well, let's make another wish," proposed Handy Mandy practically. "Let's wish ourselves out of here. No use scrambling over all these rocks, when all we have to do is to wish ourselves to the spot where your little King happens to be." "M-m-mm, M-m-m!" mused Nox, half closing his eyes. "Nothing is as easy as that, and I cannot help feeling--"