Fantasy fiction; Oz (Imaginary place) -- Juvenile fiction
"Certainly." Chillywalla nodded vigorously. "Do you suppose we want to
stand around and disintegrate? What happens to articles after they are
taken out of their boxes?" he demanded argumentatively. "Tell me that."
"Why," said Randy, thoughtfully, "they're worn, or sold, or eaten, or
spoiled--"
"Exactly." Chillywalla snapped him up quickly. "They are worn out;
they lose their freshness and their newness. Well, we intend to save
ourselves from such a fate, and we do," he added complacently.
"You're certainly fresh enough," chuckled Kabumpo with a wink at Randy.
"But might not these boxes be fun to wear?" inquired Planetty, looking
rather wistfully at the bright heap the Boxer Chief had intended for
her.
"No, No and NO!" rumbled Kabumpo positively. "No boxes!"
"As you wish." Chillywalla shrugged his shoulders under his cardboard
clothes box. "Shall I unbox the horse?"
"Better not," decided Randy, looking anxiously at the sparks issuing
from the punctures in Thun's box. "But perhaps you would show us the
way through this--this--"
"Box Wood," finished Chillywalla. "Yes, I will be most honored to
conduct you through our forest. And you may pick as many boxes as you
wish, too," he added generously. "I'd like to do something for people
who are so soon to spoil and wither."
"Ha, ha! Now, I'm sure that's very kind of you," roared Kabumpo, wiping
his eyes on the fringe of his robe. "And I think it best we hurry
along, my good fellow. Ho, whither away? It would never do to have a
spoiled King and Princess and a bad horse and elephant on your hands."
"Oh, if you'd ONLY wear our boxes!" begged Chillywalla, almost ready
to cry at the prospect of his visitors spoiling on the premises. Then
as Kabumpo shook his head again, the Big Boxer started off at a rapid
shuffle, anxious to have them out of the woods as soon as possible.
Thun, during all this conversation, had been kicking and bucking under
his iron box, but now Planetty tapped out a reassuring message with
her staff and the Thunder Colt quieted down. On the whole, he behaved
rather well, following the signals his little mistress tapped out, and
pushing the iron box along without too much discomfort or complaint,
though occasional indignant and fiery protests came puffing out of his
iron container.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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