ind a bush and leaped at the pair. Graham, not wanting to be
attacked from behind, swung himself around to face the creature. As he
did so, he absently lowered his weapon at the sight of two rows of
gleaming white fangs and claws that could easily have torn a little boy
like himself apart in an instant. He realized that the rock in his hand
was a puny weapon indeed for confronting such a ferocious beast. But
nevertheless, he raised it again as a sort of reflex action and thrust
it directly at the teeth of the creature. At that moment, out of the
corner of his eyes, he caught a glimpse of another set of jagged teeth
and claws attacking from his right. It raised a huge paw and knocked him
off balance. The rock fell to the ground, out of reach. The little boy
watched in horror as one of the two animals stepped forward and looked
at his face. The other one was watching Telly.

"What do you think?" asked one of them.

"Looks like a little boy and a tin can with arms and legs carrying a TV
set," said the other.

"The boy's not all dressed in yellow, so he's not a Winkie."

"Nor is he all in blue, like a Munchkin."

"Or purple, red, or green. He matches none of the Oz colors. I wonder
where he came from."

"Maybe he's from Ev. Or Ix."

"Can you speak, boy?"

Graham struggled to sit up, while Telly just stood and glared
at the beasts. He was not happy with their description of him and was
seriously considering giving them a tongue-lashing, but thought
discretion was the better part of valor, at least for the moment.

[Illustration]

When Graham was able to collect himself, he discovered that the two
beasts walked on all fours and were of the feline persuasion. These were
no hungry wolves or monsters at all. Actually, they were a lion and a
tiger.

As Graham jumped to his feet, the lion sprang backward. "Yikes!" he
screamed, jumping behind the tiger. "Is he g-going to h-hurt us?"

"I don't think so," answered the tiger. "I imagine he's just getting up
to look for some din-din." At this point, as if on cue, a loud growl
echoed from the vicinity of the tiger. Not from his mouth or throat, but
from the deepest recesses of his tummy.

Graham looked at Telly, and Telly looked at Graham.

"Apparently," said Graham, "the angry growling that we heard was nothing
more than the sounds of an empty stomach. So you aren't slaves of the
bad Witch, or sent to kill me?"

The tiger looked a little sheepish, which is not easy f