"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. * * * * *