dered the gate thrown open, and immediately the Blueskins
poured out into the open plain and began to run toward the Pinkies. The
Boolooroo went out, too, but he kept well behind his people,
remembering the sharp sticks with which the enemy were armed.

Cap'n Bill was alert and had told his army what to do in case of an
attack. The Pinkies did not run like rabbits, but formed a solid line
and knelt down with their long, sharp sticks pointed directly toward
the Blueskins, the other ends being set firmly upon the ground. Of
course, the Blueskins couldn't run against these sharp points, so they
halted a few feet away and began swinging their cord-and-weights. But
the Pinkies were too close together to be caught in this manner, and
now by command of Cap'n Bill they suddenly rose to their feet and began
jabbing their sticks at the foe. The Blueskins hesitated until a few
got pricked and began to yell with terror, when the whole of the
Boolooroo's attacking party turned around and ran back to the gate,
their Ruler reaching it first of all. The Pinkies tried to chase them,
but their round, fat legs were no match for the long, thin legs of the
Blueskins, who quickly gained the gate and shut themselves up in the
City again.

"It is evident," panted the Boolooroo, facing his defeated soldiers
wrathfully, "that you are a pack of cowards!"

"But we followed your own royal example in running," replied the
Captain.

"I merely ran back to the City to get a drink of water, for I was
thirsty," declared the Boolooroo.

"So did we! So did we!" cried the soldiers eagerly. "We were all
thirsty."

"Your High and Mighty Spry and Flighty Majesty," remarked the Captain
respectfully, "it occurs to me that the weapons of the Pinkies are
superior to our own. What we need in order to oppose them successfully
is a number of sharp sticks which are longer than their own."

"True, true!" exclaimed the Boolooroo enthusiastically. "Get to work at
once and make yourselves long, sharp sticks, and then we will attack
the enemy again."

So the soldiers and citizens all set to work preparing long, sharp
sticks, and while they were doing this, Rosalie the Witch had a vision
in which she saw exactly what was going on inside the City wall. Queen
Trot and Cap'n Bill and Button-Bright saw the vision, too, for they
were all in the tent together, and the sight made them anxious.

"What can be done?" asked the girl. "The Blueskins are bigger and
stronger