ng for breath. They
all looked upon the boy wonderingly, for the fox head with its sharp
nose and pointed ears was gone, and in its place appeared the chubby
round face and blue eyes and pretty curls that had belonged to
Button-Bright before King Dox of Foxville transformed him.

"Oh, what a darling!" cried Polly, and would have hugged the little one
had he not been so wet.

Their joyful exclamations made the child rub the water out of his eyes
and look at his friends questioningly.

"You're all right now, dear," said Dorothy. "Come and look at
yourself." She led him to the pool, and although there were still a few
ripples on the surface of the water he could see his reflection plainly.

"It's me!" he said, in a pleased yet awed whisper.

"'Course it is," replied the girl, "and we're all as glad as you are,
Button-Bright."

"Well," announced the shaggy man, "it's my turn next." He took off his
shaggy coat and laid it on the grass and dived head first into the
Truth Pond.

When he came up the donkey head had disappeared, and the shaggy man's
own shaggy head was in its place, with the water dripping in little
streams from his shaggy whiskers. He scrambled ashore and shook
himself to get off some of the wet, and then leaned over the pool to
look admiringly at his reflected face.

"I may not be strictly beautiful, even now," he said to his companions,
who watched him with smiling faces; "but I'm so much handsomer than any
donkey that I feel as proud as I can be."

"You're all right, Shaggy Man," declared Dorothy. "And Button-Bright
is all right, too. So let's thank the Truth Pond for being so nice,
and start on our journey to the Emerald City."

"I hate to leave it," murmured the shaggy man, with a sigh. "A truth
pond wouldn't be a bad thing to carry around with us." But he put on
his coat and started with the others in search of some one to direct
them on their way.

14. Tik-Tok and Billina

They had not walked far across the flower-strewn meadows when they came
upon a fine road leading toward the northwest and winding gracefully
among the pretty yellow hills.

"That way," said Dorothy, "must be the direction of the Emerald City.
We'd better follow the road until we meet some one or come to a house."

The sun soon dried Button-Bright's sailor suit and the shaggy man's
shaggy clothes, and so pleased were they at regaining their own heads
that they did not mind at all the brief discomfort o