itted the Cat, "but I know we shall reach the river
if we go east through the forest."

"Lead on, then," said the Wizard.

The Glass Cat started away, and at first it was easy to pass between
the trees; but before long the underbrush and vines became thick and
tangled, and after pushing their way through these obstacles for a
time, our travelers came to a place where even the Glass Cat could not
push through.

"We'd better go back and find a path," suggested the Hungry Tiger.

"I'm s'prised at you," said Dorothy, eyeing the Glass Cat severely.

"I'm surprised, myself," replied the Cat. "But it's a long way around
the forest to where the river enters it, and I thought we could save
time by going straight through."

"No one can blame you," said the Wizard, "and I think, instead of
turning back, I can make a path that will allow us to proceed."

He opened his black bag and after searching among his magic tools drew
out a small axe, made of some metal so highly polished that it
glittered brightly even in the dark forest. The Wizard laid the little
axe on the ground and said in a commanding voice:

"Chop, Little Axe, chop clean and true;
A path for our feet you must quickly hew.
Chop till this tangle of jungle is passed;
Chop to the east, Little Axe--chop fast!"

Then the little axe began to move and flashed its bright blade right
and left, clearing a way through vine and brush and scattering the
tangled barrier so quickly that the Lion and the Tiger, carrying
Dorothy and the Wizard and the cage of monkeys on their backs, were
able to stride through the forest at a fast walk. The brush seemed to
melt away before them and the little axe chopped so fast that their
eyes only saw a twinkling of the blade. Then, suddenly, the forest was
open again, and the little axe, having obeyed its orders, lay still
upon the ground.

The Wizard picked up the magic axe and after carefully wiping it with
his silk handkerchief put it away in his black bag. Then they went on
and in a short time reached the river.

"Let me see," said the Glass Cat, looking up and down the stream, "I
think we are below the Magic Isle; so we must go up the stream until we
come to it."

So up the stream they traveled, walking comfortably on the river bank,
and after a while the water broadened and a sharp bend appeared in the
river, hiding all below from their view. They walked briskly along,
however, and had nearly reached the bend wh