oing
to happen to her next.

Just now she was tossing on the bosom of a big ocean, with nothing to
keep her afloat but a miserable wooden hen-coop that had a plank bottom
and slatted sides, through which the water constantly splashed and
wetted her through to the skin! And there was nothing to eat when she
became hungry--as she was sure to do before long--and no fresh water to
drink and no dry clothes to put on.

"Well, I declare!" she exclaimed, with a laugh. "You're in a pretty fix,
Dorothy Gale, I can tell you! and I haven't the least idea how you're
going to get out of it!"

As if to add to her troubles the night was now creeping on, and the gray
clouds overhead changed to inky blackness. But the wind, as if satisfied
at last with its mischievous pranks, stopped blowing this ocean and
hurried away to another part of the world to blow something else; so
that the waves, not being joggled any more, began to quiet down and
behave themselves.

[Illustration: DOROTHY AFLOAT IN THE HEN-COOP]

It was lucky for Dorothy, I think, that the storm subsided; otherwise,
brave though she was, I fear she might have perished. Many children, in
her place, would have wept and given way to despair; but because Dorothy
had encountered so many adventures and come safely through them it did
not occur to her at this time to be especially afraid. She was wet and
uncomfortable, it is true; but, after sighing that one sigh I told you
of, she managed to recall some of her customary cheerfulness and decided
to patiently await whatever her fate might be.

By and by the black clouds rolled away and showed a blue sky overhead,
with a silver moon shining sweetly in the middle of it and little stars
winking merrily at Dorothy when she looked their way. The coop did not
toss around any more, but rode the waves more gently--almost like a
cradle rocking--so that the floor upon which Dorothy stood was no longer
swept by water coming through the slats. Seeing this, and being quite
exhausted by the excitement of the past few hours, the little girl
decided that sleep would be the best thing to restore her strength and
the easiest way in which she could pass the time. The floor was damp and
she was herself wringing wet, but fortunately this was a warm climate
and she did not feel at all cold. So she sat down in a corner of the
coop, leaned her back against the slats, nodded at the friendly stars
before she closed her eyes, and was asleep in half a min