e a Munchkin," interrupted the donkey, "for I
was born in the Land of Mo and came to visit the Land of Oz on the day
it was shut off from all the rest of the world. So here I am obliged to
stay, and I confess it is a very pleasant country to live in."

"Hoot-ti-toot!" cried the owl;

"Ojo's searching for a charm,
'Cause Unc Nunkie's come to harm.
Charms are scarce; they're hard to get;
Ojo's got a job, you bet!"

"Is the owl so very foolish?" asked the boy.

"Extremely so," replied the donkey. "Notice what vulgar expressions she
uses. But I admire the owl for the reason that she _is_ positively
foolish. Owls are supposed to be so very wise, generally, that a foolish
one is unusual, and you perhaps know that anything or anyone unusual is
sure to be interesting to the wise."

The owl flapped its wings again, muttering these words:

"It's hard to be a glassy cat--
No cat can be more hard than that;
She's so transparent, every act
Is clear to us, and that's a fact."

"Have you noticed my pink brains?" inquired Bungle, proudly. "You can
see 'em work."

"Not in the daytime," said the donkey. "She can't see very well by day,
poor thing. But her advice is excellent. I advise you all to follow it."

"The owl hasn't given us any advice, as yet," the boy declared.

"No? Then what do you call all those sweet poems?"

"Just foolishness," replied Ojo. "Scraps does the same thing."

"Foolishness! Of course! To be sure! The Foolish Owl must be foolish or
she wouldn't be the Foolish Owl. You are very complimentary to my
partner, indeed," asserted the donkey, rubbing his front hoofs together
as if highly pleased.

[Illustration]

"The sign says that _you_ are wise," remarked Scraps to the donkey. "I
wish you would prove it."

"With great pleasure," returned the beast. "Put me to the test, my dear
Patches, and I'll prove my wisdom in the wink of an eye."

"What is the best way to get to the Emerald City?" asked Ojo.

"Walk," said the donkey.

"I know; but what road shall I take?" was the boy's next question.

"The road of yellow bricks, of course. It leads directly to the Emerald
City."

"And how shall we find the road of yellow bricks?"

"By keeping along the path you have been following. You'll come to the
yellow bricks pretty soon, and you'll know them when you see them
because they're the only yellow things in the blue country."

"Thank you," said the boy. "At last you have