o tell the truth."

"You were foolish to do that," declared the woman. "It is often very
embarrassing to tell the truth. I'm glad _I_ didn't bathe in that
dreadful water!"

The Frogman looked at his companion thoughtfully.

"Cayke," said he, "I want you to go to the Truth Pond and take a bath in
its water. For, if we are to travel together and encounter unknown
adventures, it would not be fair that I alone must always tell you the
truth, while you could tell me whatever you pleased. If we both dip in
the enchanted water there will be no chance in the future of our
deceiving one another."

"No," she asserted, shaking her head positively, "I won't do it, Your
Honor. For, if I told you the truth, I'm sure you wouldn't like me. No
Truth Pond for me. I'll be just as I am, an honest woman who can say
what she wants to without hurting anyone's feelings."

With this decision the Frogman was forced to be content, although he was
sorry the Cookie Cook would not listen to his advice.

[Illustration]

The Unhappy Ferryman

[Illustration]

CHAPTER 14

Leaving the grove where they had slept, the Frogman and the Cookie Cook
turned to the east to seek another house and after a short walk came to
one where the people received them very politely. The children stared
rather hard at the big, pompous Frogman, but the woman of the house,
when Cayke asked for something to eat, at once brought them food and
said they were welcome to it.

"Few people in need of help pass this way," she remarked, "for the
Winkies are all prosperous and love to stay in their own homes. But
perhaps you are not a Winkle," she added.

"No," said Cayke, "I am a Yip, and my home is on a high mountain at the
southeast of your country."

"And the Frogman--is he, also, a Yip?"

"I do not know what he is, other than a very remarkable and highly
educated creature," replied the Cookie Cook. "But he has lived many
years among the Yips, who have found him so wise and intelligent that
they always go to him for advice."

"May I ask why you have left your home, and where you are going?" said
the Winkie woman.

Then Cayke told her of the diamond-studded gold dishpan and how it had
been mysteriously stolen from her house, after which she had discovered
that she could no longer cook good cookies. So she had resolved to
search until she found her dishpan again, because a Cookie Cook who
cannot cook good cookies is not of much use. The Frogman, who wante