ot be disturbed
while he is asleep."

Tom tried to imagine what a creature of that sort looked like, but he
found it difficult. Not liking to appear stupid he accepted the
explanation.

"Oh!" he said. "It must be a very pretty animal."

"Oh, yes!" said the Poker. "But he isn't as pretty as I can be when I
try. My, how pretty I can be--but say, Andies, where are we bound this
trip?"

"We've left that to Sleepyhead to decide," said Lefty.

"In the usual way of course?" queried the Poker.

"Oh, yes! He can't decide except as we want him to and have it go as a
real decision. We've given him his choice of watching the world go round,
going to Saturn or taking the long jump."

[Illustration: "A MOUSE WITH A DOOR TO HIM."]

"And which will it be, Dormy?" asked the Poker.

"I sort of think I'd like to sit up here and watch the world go round,"
said Tom.

"Nope," said Righty.

"Then let's go to Saturn," suggested Tom.

"Oh, no!" said Righty. "Not that."

"Then there's only one thing left," said Tom, with a sigh, "and that's the
long jump--whatever that is."

Tom's three companions roared with laughter.

"Absurd!" cried Righty. "The idea. The long jump the only thing left! Ha,
ha, ha!"

"Perfect nonsense," laughed Lefty. "I never thought Dozy Pate could be so
dull."

"Well, he isn't anything like as dull as I can be when I try," said the
Poker. "He's pretty dull, though."

"I don't see where the joke comes in," snapped Tom, who did not at all
like the way the Andirons and the Poker were behaving. "If there are only
three things we can do and you won't do two of them there's only one
left."

"Ha, ha, ha!" roared Lefty.

"Poor dull Dormouse," said Righty, with a smile that was half of mirth and
half sympathy.

"You are evidently a Dormouse with very little education, Dormy," said the
Poker. "If there are three apples on a plate, one red, one green and one
white and you are told to take your pick of the lot there are four things
you can do, not three."

"What are they?" asked Tom, meekly.

[Illustration: "There's no better place than this cloud."]

"You can take a red one, a white one, a green one, or all three. See?"

"Oh, yes!" said Tom, beginning to smile again. "I see. You don't want me
to choose watching the earth go round, or going to Saturn, or taking the
long jump, but you do want me to choose all three."

"Now you are talking sense," said Righty. "And sense is what we are
after."

"Tha