e
grouped before the door Woot commanded it to open. The Magic Apron
proved as powerful as when it had been worn by the Giantess, so a moment
later they had rushed through the passage and were standing in the fresh
night air outside the castle, free to go wherever they willed.

The Menace of the Forest

[Illustration]

CHAPTER 8

"Quick!" cried Polychrome the Canary; "we must hurry, or Mrs. Yoop may
find some way to recapture us, even now. Let us get out of her Valley as
soon as possible."

So they set off toward the east, moving as swiftly as they could, and
for a long time they could hear the yells and struggles of the
imprisoned Giantess. The Green Monkey could run over the ground very
swiftly, and he carried with him the bird-cage containing Polychrome the
Rainbow's Daughter. Also the Tin Owl could skip and fly along at a good
rate of speed, his feathers rattling against one another with a tinkling
sound as he moved. But the little Brown Bear, being stuffed with straw,
was a clumsy traveler and the others had to wait for him to follow.

However, they were not very long in reaching the ridge that led out of
Mrs. Yoop's Valley, and when they had passed this ridge and descended
into the next valley they stopped to rest, for the Green Monkey was
tired.

"I believe we are safe, now," said Polychrome, when her cage was set
down and the others had all gathered around it, "for Mrs. Yoop dares not
go outside of her own Valley, for fear of being captured by her enemies.
So we may take our time to consider what to do next."

"I'm afraid poor Mrs. Yoop will starve to death, if no one lets her out
of her bedroom," said Woot, who had a heart as kind as that of the Tin
Woodman. "We've taken her Magic Apron away, and now the doors will never
open."

"Don't worry about that," advised Polychrome. "Mrs. Yoop has plenty of
magic left to console her."

"Are you sure of that?" asked the Green Monkey.

"Yes, for I've been watching her for weeks," said the Canary. "She has
six magic hairpins, which she wears in her hair, and a magic ring which
she wears on her thumb and which is invisible to all eyes except those
of a fairy, and magic bracelets on both her ankles. So I am positive
that she will manage to find a way out of her prison."

"She might transform the door into an archway," suggested the little
Brown Bear.

"That would be easy for her," said the Tin Owl; "but I'm glad she was
too angry to think of that be