tears of joy."

"Send them here at once, Jellia!" commanded Ozma.

"Also," continued the maid, "a girl and a small-sized mule have
mysteriously arrived, but they don't seem to know where they are or how
they came here. Shall I send them here, too?"

"Oh, no!" exclaimed Dorothy, eagerly jumping up from her chair; "I'll
go to meet Betsy myself, for she'll feel awful strange in this big
palace."

And she ran down the stairs two at a time to greet her new friend,
Betsy Bobbin.

Chapter Twenty-Five

The Land of Love

"Well, is 'hee-haw' all you are able to say?" inquired the Sawhorse, as
he examined Hank with his knot eyes and slowly wagged the branch that
served him for a tail.

They were in a beautiful stable in the rear of Ozma's palace, where the
wooden Sawhorse--very much alive--lived in a gold-paneled stall, and
where there were rooms for the Cowardly Lion and the Hungry Tiger,
which were filled with soft cushions for them to lie upon and golden
troughs for them to eat from.

Beside the stall of the Sawhorse had been placed another for Hank, the
mule. This was not quite so beautiful as the other, for the Sawhorse
was Ozma's favorite steed; but Hank had a supply of cushions for a bed
(which the Sawhorse did not need because he never slept) and all this
luxury was so strange to the little mule that he could only stand still
and regard his surroundings and his queer companions with wonder and
amazement.

The Cowardly Lion, looking very dignified, was stretched out upon the
marble floor of the stable, eyeing Hank with a calm and critical gaze,
while near by crouched the huge Hungry Tiger, who seemed equally
interested in the new animal that had just arrived. The Sawhorse,
standing stiffly before Hank, repeated his question:

"Is 'hee-haw' all you are able to say?"

Hank moved his ears in an embarrassed manner.

"I have never said anything else, until now," he replied; and then he
began to tremble with fright to hear himself talk.

"I can well understand that," remarked the Lion, wagging his great head
with a swaying motion. "Strange things happen in this Land of Oz, as
they do everywhere else. I believe you came here from the cold,
civilized, outside world, did you not?"

"I did," replied Hank. "One minute I was outside of Oz--and the next
minute I was inside! That was enough to give me a nervous shock, as you
may guess; but to find myself able to talk, as Betsy does, is a marvel
that staggers