, and broken one of my neatest
enchantments. By ricketty, it's too bad! I never thought she would do
it."

"Do I understand that she will now return to us in safety?" enquired the
Scarecrow, joyfully wrinkling his painted face into a broad smile.

"Of course," said the King, fretfully pacing up and down the room. "I
always keep my promises, no matter how foolish they are. But I shall
make an ornament of the yellow hen to replace the one I have just lost."

"Perhaps you will, and perhaps you won't," murmured Billina, calmly. "I
may surprise you by guessing right."

"Guessing right?" snapped the King. "How should you guess right, where
your betters have failed, you stupid fowl?"

Billina did not care to answer this question, and a moment later the
doors flew open and Dorothy entered, leading the little Prince Evring by
the hand.

[Illustration]

The Scarecrow welcomed the girl with a close embrace, and he would have
embraced Evring, too, in his delight. But the little Prince was shy, and
shrank away from the painted Scarecrow because he did not yet know his
many excellent qualities.

[Illustration: "BY RICKETTY, IT'S TOO BAD!"]

But there was little time for the friends to talk, because the Scarecrow
must now enter the palace. Dorothy's success had greatly encouraged
him, and they both hoped he would manage to make at least one correct
guess.

However, he proved as unfortunate as the others except Dorothy, and
although he took a good deal of time to select his objects, not one did
the poor Scarecrow guess aright.

So he became a solid gold card-receiver, and the beautiful but terrible
palace awaited its next visitor.

"It's all over," remarked the King, with a sigh of satisfaction; "and it
has been a very amusing performance, except for the one good guess the
Kansas girl made. I am richer by a great many pretty ornaments.

"It is my turn, now," said Billina, briskly.

"Oh, I'd forgotten you," said the King. "But you needn't go if you don't
wish to. I will be generous, and let you off."

"No you won't," replied the hen. "I insist upon having my guesses, as
you promised."

"Then go ahead, you absurd feathered fool!" grumbled the King, and he
caused the opening that led to the palace to appear once more.

"Don't go, Billina," said Dorothy, earnestly. "It isn't easy to guess
those orn'ments, and only luck saved me from being one myself. Stay with
me, and we'll go back to the Land of Ev together. I'm sure