Twink thought this was much nicer than telephones which rudely jangling bells, although probably not as private. "You didn't think," commented Queen Curtain, as though she had read Twink's thoughts, "that we would use ordinary means of communication, such as telephones, in the Valley of Romance, did you?" "Oh," said the Shaggy Man, "is this the Valley of Romance?" "It is, and since you are from the Land of Oz," said King Ticket, "you must surely have heard of the Valley of Romance." The Shaggy Man reflected. It seemed he could recall Ozma mentioning something about some such valley, but he couldn't remember anything that she had said about it. "How far are we from the Land of Oz?" asked Twiffle. "Dear me!" exclaimed King Ticket staring at Twiffle. "For a moment I thought you were real!" "I am real," stated Twiffle with dignity. "I just don't happen to be made of flesh and blood and bones, that's all." "And as for the Land of Oz," remarked Queen Curtain meditatively, "it is indeed very far away--over the stream and over the hill--far, far away to the desert, and then over that, too. In fact, it isn't even in the Valley of Romance, so that means it must be quite some distance off. Too far even to think of," she added as though to say that closed the subject. The Shaggy Man shrugged. Evidently these two weren't going to be of much help to the travelers in finding their way back to Oz. Well, they would make a lunch of the apples he carried in his pockets and then continue on their journey. Shaggy and his friends made themselves comfortable in the deeply upholstered seats in the front row of the theater. Shaggy divided the apples between Twink, Tom, and himself. He offered several to King Ticket and Queen Curtain, who refused them rather disdainfully. Shaggy and his friends ate in silence while they watched the activity on the stage. Not one of the busily working men and women seemed even to be aware of the presence of the strangers. Finishing his apples, the Shaggy Man arose and said, "Looks like you folks are getting ready for quite a play. What's the name of it?" Unexpectedly one of the workers on a ladder stopped his task of hammering together a bit of framework for the scenery and replied to Shaggy's question: "That we won't know until the curtain goes up tonight. Tonight's the First Night of this new play, and I shall be in charge." The fellow added impressively, "For I am the First Knight of the Realm, you know." "No," replied the Shaggy Man, "I didn't know." Shaggy was a little angry for he thought the man was making fun of him. "Oh, yes," Queen Curtain went on placidly. "He is the First Knight of the Realm--in fact all these people are Lords and Ladies of the Royal Theater." "And do you always build your own scenery and make your own costumes?" asked the Shaggy Man.