the country over. I've been away from the
Emerald City several weeks, this time, and now that I've met you and
your friends I'm sure it will interest me to accompany you to the great
city of Oz and introduce you to my friends."

"That will be very nice," said the boy, gratefully.

"I hope your friends are not dignified," observed Scraps.

"Some are, and some are not," he answered; "but I never criticise my
friends. If they are really true friends, they may be anything they
like, for all of me."

"There's some sense in that," said Scraps, nodding her queer head in
approval. "Come on, and let's get to the Emerald City as soon as
possible." With this she ran up the path, skipping and dancing, and
then turned to await them.

"It is quite a distance from here to the Emerald City," remarked the
Shaggy Man, "so we shall not get there to-day, nor to-morrow. Therefore
let us take the jaunt in an easy manner. I'm an old traveler and have
found that I never gain anything by being in a hurry. 'Take it easy' is
my motto. If you can't take it easy, take it as easy as you can."

After walking some distance over the road of yellow bricks Ojo said he
was hungry and would stop to eat some bread and cheese. He offered a
portion of the food to the Shaggy Man, who thanked him but refused it.

"When I start out on my travels," said he, "I carry along enough square
meals to last me several weeks. Think I'll indulge in one now, as long
as we're stopping anyway."

Saying this, he took a bottle from his pocket and shook from it a
tablet about the size of one of Ojo's finger-nails.

"That," announced the Shaggy Man, "is a square meal, in condensed form.
Invention of the great Professor Woggle-Bug, of the Royal College of
Athletics. It contains soup, fish, roast meat, salad, apple-dumplings,
ice cream and chocolate-drops, all boiled down to this small size, so
it can be conveniently carried and swallowed when you are hungry and
need a square meal."

"I'm square," said the Woozy. "Give me one, please."

So the Shaggy Man gave the Woozy a tablet from his bottle and the beast
ate it in a twinkling.

"You have now had a six course dinner," declared the Shaggy Man.

"Pshaw!" said the Woozy, ungratefully, "I want to taste something.
There's no fun in that sort of eating."

"One should only eat to sustain life," replied the Shaggy Man, "and
that tablet is equal to a peck of other food."

"I don't care for it. I want something I can chew