r
side and soon were in the forest. The Glass Cat, being small, crept
between the lower bars and joined them.

Here there was no path of any sort, so they entered the woods, the boy
leading the way, and wandered through the trees until they were nearly
in the center of the forest. They now came upon a clear space in which
stood a rocky cave.

So far they had met no living creature, but when Ojo saw the cave he
knew it must be the den of the Woozy.

It is hard to face any savage beast without a sinking of the heart, but
still more terrifying is it to face an unknown beast, which you have
never seen even a picture of. So there is little wonder that the pulses
of the Munchkin boy beat fast as he and his companions stood facing the
cave. The opening was perfectly square, and about big enough to admit a
goat.

"I guess the Woozy is asleep," said Scraps. "Shall I throw in a stone,
to waken him?"

"No; please don't," answered Ojo, his voice trembling a little. "I'm in
no hurry."

But he had not long to wait, for the Woozy heard the sound of voices
and came trotting out of his cave. As this is the only Woozy that has
ever lived, either in the Land of Oz or out of it, I must describe it
to you.

The creature was all squares and flat surfaces and edges. Its head was
an exact square, like one of the building-blocks a child plays with;
therefore it had no ears, but heard sounds through two openings in the
upper corners. Its nose, being in the center of a square surface, was
flat, while the mouth was formed by the opening of the lower edge of
the block. The body of the Woozy was much larger than its head, but was
likewise block-shaped--being twice as long as it was wide and high. The
tail was square and stubby and perfectly straight, and the four legs
were made in the same way, each being four-sided. The animal was
covered with a thick, smooth skin and had no hair at all except at the
extreme end of its tail, where there grew exactly three stiff, stubby
hairs. The beast was dark blue in color and his face was not fierce nor
ferocious in expression, but rather good-humored and droll.

Seeing the strangers, the Woozy folded his hind legs as if they had
been hinged and sat down to look his visitors over.

"Well, well," he exclaimed; "what a queer lot you are! At first I
thought some of those miserable Munchkin farmers had come to annoy me,
but I am relieved to find you in their stead. It is plain to me that
you are a remar