this little
Prince will give us a home."

"Indeed I will," said Evring, with much dignity.

"Don't worry, my dear," cried Billina, with a cluck that was meant for a
laugh. "I may not be human, but I'm no fool, if I _am_ a chicken."

"Oh, Billina!" said Dorothy, "you haven't been a chicken in a long time.
Not since you--you've been--grown up."

"Perhaps that's true," answered Billina, thoughtfully. "But if a Kansas
farmer sold me to some one, what would he call me?--a hen or a chicken!"

"You are not a Kansas farmer, Billina," replied the girl, "and you
said--"

"Never mind that, Dorothy. I'm going. I won't say good-bye, because I'm
coming back. Keep up your courage, for I'll see you a little later."

Then Billina gave several loud "cluck-clucks" that seemed to make the
fat little King _more_ nervous than ever, and marched through the
entrance into the enchanted palace.

"I hope I've seen the last of _that_ bird," declared the monarch,
seating himself again in his throne and mopping the perspiration from
his forehead with his rock-colored handkerchief. "Hens are bothersome
enough at their best, but when they can talk they're simply dreadful."

"Billina's my friend," said Dorothy quietly. "She may not always be
'zactly polite; but she _means_ well, I'm sure."

[Illustration]

Purple, Green and Gold

[Illustration]

The yellow hen, stepping high and with an air of vast importance, walked
slowly over the rich velvet carpets of the splendid palace, examining
everything she met with her sharp little eyes.

Billina had a right to feel important; for she alone shared the Nome
King's secret and knew how to tell the objects that were transformations
from those that had never been alive. She was very sure that her guesses
would be correct, but before she began to make them she was curious to
behold all the magnificence of this underground palace, which was
perhaps one of the most splendid and beautiful places in any fairyland.

As she went through the rooms she counted the purple ornaments; and
although some were small and hidden in queer places, Billina spied them
all, and found the entire ten scattered about the various rooms. The
green ornaments she did not bother to count, for she thought she could
find them all when the time came.

Finally, having made a survey of the entire palace and enjoyed its
splendor, the yellow hen returned to one of the rooms where she had
noticed a large purple footstool.