on blinked his eyes, for Sir Hokus' iron fist bruised him
severely, but knowing it was kindly meant, he bore it bravely.

"I am henceforth a beknighted lion," he whispered to Dorothy while
Sir Hokus was straightening his armor. Next the Knight took down an
iron poker, which he handed to Dorothy.

"To wake us up with," he explained. "And now, Lady Dorothy, if you
are ready, we will start on the Quest for the honorable Scarecrow,
and remember, everybody sing--_Sing for your life!"_

CHAPTER 6

SINGING THEIR WAY OUT OF POKES

Taking a deep breath, Sir Hokus, the Cowardly Lion and Dorothy burst
out of the hall singing at the top of their voices.

"Three blind mice--!" sang Dorothy.

"Across the plain!" shouted Sir Hokus.

"I am the Cowardly Lion of Oz!" roared the lion.

The Pokes were so taken aback at the horrid sounds that they ran
scurrying right and left. In another minute the three were out of the
castle and singing their way through the gloomy garden. Dorothy stuck
to the Three Blind Mice. Sir Hokus sang verse after verse of an old
English ballad, and the Cowardly Lion roared and gurgled a song of
his own making, which, considering it was a first attempt, was not so
bad:

I am the Cowardly Lion of Oz!
Be good! Begone! Beware! Becoz
When I am scared full fierce I be;
Br--rah--grr--ruff, look out for me!

The Pokes stumbled this way and that, and all went well until they
rushed into a company of Pokes who were playing croquet. The slowness
with which they raised their mallets fascinated Dorothy, and she
stopped to watch them in spite of herself.

"Don't stop! Sing!" growled the Cowardly Lion in the middle of a
line. To make up for lost time, Dorothy closed her eyes and sang
harder than ever, but alas! next instant she fell over a wicket,
which so deprived her of breath that she could barely scramble up,
let alone sing. As soon as she stopped singing, the Pokes paused in
their flight, and as soon as they paused Dorothy began to gape.
Singing for dear life, Sir Hokus jerked Dorothy by the arm, and the
Cowardly Lion roared so loud that the Pokes covered their ears and
began backing away.

"There was a Knight! Come on, come on!" sang Sir Hokus, and Dorothy
came, and in a few minutes was able to take up the "Three Blind Mice"
again. But running and singing at the same time is not an easy task.
And running through Pokes is like trying to run through water. (You
know how hard tha