Fantasy fiction; Oz (Imaginary place) -- Juvenile fiction
"There's a breakfast bush over yonder," answered Snip, waving sulkily
toward the grove. Tora had saved his face and he was not going to have
him laughed at. Dorothy turned to see for herself and, as she did, Tora
arose and moved quickly over to the dummy.
"You remind me of someone I used to know," sighed the tailor, fingering
Humpy's green velvet robe dreamily. "Who are you? Are you real?"
"Well, not quite. You see," began Dorothy, "he's a moving picture
dummy." Suddenly remembering that the tailor could not hear her, she
turned back to Snip. "Where _are_ his ears?" asked the little girl
nervously.
"Here they come now!" cried Snip, forgetting his vexation and, setting
down the two breakfast dishes, he waved his cap excitedly in the air.
As Snip waved and pointed, Dorothy saw the tailor's ears whizz giddily
over a lilac bush and then settle softly, one on each side of his head.
"Who did you say you were?" asked Tora calmly, continuing his
conversation with Humpy and paying no more attention to his ears than
we would pay to a couple of flies.
"A dummy!" whispered Humpy, blinking his painted eyes, while his voice
grew fainter and fainter with astonishment. "I am a dummy, but what in
Oz are you?"
"A tailor," answered Tora with a wink at Snip. "Well, that's a splendid
cloak you're wearing, and a crown too. Are you a king, dummy?"
"No, he's a dummy king," explained Dorothy, looking longingly at the
hot breakfasts. "If we could just sit down and have something to eat I
could tell you all about him. Then, maybe, you would tell me a little
about your--" Dorothy was going to say ears but, fearing this might
not be quite polite, she changed it quickly to selves. The little girl
cast a curious sidelong glance at Snip, but the button boy was gazing
intently at the dummy.
"Why we're looking for a king," exploded Snip excitedly. "Oh Tora, do
you suppose this could be he?"
"Why not do as this little lady suggests?" interrupted Tora, for
he could see that Dorothy was weary as well as hungry. "Let's have
breakfast together and then talk things over."
"Well, don't start until I come back," called the little boy, as
Dorothy settled comfortably down beside the tailor. In a moment
Snip had returned with another breakfast and, while Humpy looked on
curiously, they opened the silver dishes Snip had picked from the
breakfast bush. What could be cozier? Bacon, eggs, toast and a small
sealed cup of coffee grew neatly in each one, but it never occurred
to Dorothy, Snip or the tailor to be surprised at this, for breakfast
bushes are quite common in Oz. Humpy, however, had seen nothing like
this in the movies and kept up a low muttering to himself, as he
watched them eat one and then another dainty from the dishes.
"Now then," smiled the tailor, after he had taken a long sip of coffee,
"suppose you begin." He looked expectantly at Dorothy. "I think you
must be the little girl my ears were telling me of a while back, but
where is the elephant?"
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account