ing no attention to his way, until he
found that the trees surrounding him bore only nuts. He put some walnuts
in his pockets and kept on searching and at last--right among the nut
trees--he came upon one solitary peach tree. It was a graceful,
beautiful tree, but although it was thickly leaved it bore no fruit
except one large, splendid peach, rosy-cheeked and fuzzy and just right
to eat.

Button-Bright had some trouble getting that lonesome peach, for it hung
far out of reach; but he climbed the tree nimbly and crept out on the
branch on which it grew and after several trials, during which he was in
danger of falling, he finally managed to pick it. Then he got back to
the ground and decided the fruit was well worth his trouble. It was
delightfully fragrant and when he bit into it he found it the most
delicious morsel he had ever tasted.

"I really ought to divide it with Trot and Dorothy and Betsy," he said;
"but p'rhaps there are plenty more in some other part of the orchard."

In his heart he doubted this statement, for this was a solitary peach
tree, while all the other fruits grew upon many trees set close to one
another; but that one luscious bite made him unable to resist eating the
rest of it and soon the peach was all gone except the pit.

Button-Bright was about to throw this peach-pit away when he noticed
that it was of pure gold. Of course this surprised him, but so many
things in the Land of Oz were surprising that he did not give much
thought to the golden peach-pit. He put it in his pocket, however, to
show to the girls, and five minutes afterward had forgotten all about
it.

For now he realized that he was far separated from his companions, and
knowing that this would worry them and delay their journey, he began to
shout as loud as he could. His voice did not penetrate very far among
all those trees, and after shouting a dozen times and getting no answer
he sat down on the ground and said:

"Well, I'm lost again. It's too bad, but I don't see how it can be
helped."

As he leaned his back against a tree he looked up and saw a Bluefinch
fly down from the sky and alight upon a branch just before him. The bird
looked and looked at him. First it looked with one bright eye and then
turned its head and looked at him with the other eye. Then,
fluttering its wings a little, it said:

[Illustration]

"Oho! so you've eaten the enchanted peach, have you?"

"Was it enchanted?" asked Button-Bright.

"O