, and she was still looking at the pretty sights when her little
party entered the grounds and approached the big front door of the
king's own apartments. To their disappointment they found the door
tightly closed. A sign was tacked to the panel which read as follows:

+----------------------------+
| |
| OWNER ABSENT. |
| |
| Please Knock at the Third |
| Door in the Left Wing. |
| |
+----------------------------+

"Now," said Tiktok to the captive Wheeler, "you must show us the way to
the Left Wing."

"Very well," agreed the prisoner, "it is around here at the right."

"How can the left wing be at the right?" demanded Dorothy, who feared
the Wheeler was fooling them.

"Because there used to be three wings, and two were torn down, so the
one on the right is the only one left. It is a trick of the Princess
Langwidere to prevent visitors from annoying her."

Then the captive led them around to the wing, after which the machine
man, having no further use for the Wheeler, permitted him to depart and
rejoin his fellows. He immediately rolled away at a great pace and was
soon lost to sight.

Tiktok now counted the doors in the wing and knocked loudly upon the
third one.

It was opened by a little maid in a cap trimmed with gay ribbons, who
bowed respectfully and asked:

"What do you wish, good people?"

"Are you the Princess Langwidere?" asked Dorothy.

"No, miss; I am her servant," replied the maid.

"May I see the Princess, please?"

"I will tell her you are here, miss, and ask her to grant you an
audience," said the maid. "Step in, please, and take a seat in the
drawing-room."

So Dorothy walked in, followed closely by the machine. But as the
yellow hen tried to enter after them, the little maid cried "Shoo!" and
flapped her apron in Billina's face.

"Shoo, yourself!" retorted the hen, drawing back in anger and ruffling
up her feathers. "Haven't you any better manners than that?"

"Oh, do you talk?" enquired the maid, evidently surprised.

"Can't you hear me?" snapped Billina. "Drop that apron, and get out of
the doorway, so that I may enter with my friends!"

"The Princess won't like it," said the maid, hesitating.

"I don't care whether she likes it or not," replied Billina, and
fluttering her wings with a loud noise she flew straight at the maid's
face. The little ser