"There are!" snapped Mombi gruffly, and Mombi was right, for just then the wood came to an end and they found themselves facing a large, pleasant park, with dazzling white paths running in every direction. Snip was looking around with deep interest, when six of the strangest beings he had ever seen rose up from a bench a little distance off and stood examining them critically. They were certainly ten feet high and so thin and flat that Snip could scarcely believe they were people at all. But as they had heads, arms, legs and the usual number of eyes, ears and noses, he concluded they must be People. As the little button boy stared at them, the first of the creatures leaned down, caught hold of its toes and came hurtling at the travelers like a hurricane. "Whoop!" shrieked the second one, bending over as the first had done and turning itself into a sure enough hoop. "Whoop, whoop!" "Honk!" screamed Pajuka defiantly, but before Snip and Mombi had time to recover from their surprise the six Hoopers had rolled upon them full-speed, knocking them flat upon their backs. Pajuka just saved himself by a quick flop into the air. Then, without unrolling, the six whizzed off backwards and by the time Snip and Mombi had scrambled up were ready for another dash. "Get the pepper! Get the pepper!" squawked the goose wildly, but Mombi, furious at her fall, did nothing but hop and howl with rage and Snip, seeing that something must be done, snatched up her crooked stick. As the first Hooper came pelting upon them, he gave it a sharp crack that sent it whirling down the walk. The second and third he served in the same fashion. The fourth he missed, so that Mombi again was rolled in the dust, but the fifth and sixth he caught fairly and, beginning to enjoy the fun, started rolling them like hoops as fast as he could, whacking first one and then another and screaming with laughter at the comical expressions on their faces, when their faces came uppermost. "Go it, Snip! Go it!" exulted Pajuka, flapping his wings delightedly. But Snip needed no encouragement and only stopped at last for lack of breath. Immediately the Hoopers unrolled and, groaning and whooping and holding their sides, limped off into the bushes. Hundreds of the creatures had gathered by this time and, as Snip sank down on a bench to rest, the very tallest Hooper came rolling toward them. "What do you mean by beating my subjects in this heartless fashion?" demanded the great fellow, unrolling to his full height and glaring sternly down at the little button boy. "Well, they started it," replied Snip, keeping a firm hold on Mombi's stick. "Didn't they, Pajuka?" "They certainly did," asserted the goose, settling down on the bench beside Snip. "Is it usual to knock down innocent travelers without reason or ceremony?"