net and after one glance at it the Gardener could no
longer resist.

He led Shaggy, Betsy and Hank to the end of the great greenhouse and
carefully unlocked a small door. Passing through this they came into
the splendid Royal Garden of the Rose Kingdom.

It was all surrounded by a tall hedge and within the enclosure grew
several enormous rosebushes having thick green leaves of the texture of
velvet. Upon these bushes grew the members of the Royal Family of the
Rose Kingdom--men, women and children in all stages of maturity. They
all seemed to have a light green hue, as if unripe or not fully
developed, their flesh and clothing being alike green. They stood
perfectly lifeless upon their branches, which swayed softly in the
breeze, and their wide open eyes stared straight ahead, unseeing and
unintelligent.

While examining these curious growing people, Betsy passed behind a big
central bush and at once uttered an exclamation of surprise and
pleasure. For there, blooming in perfect color and shape, stood a Royal
Princess, whose beauty was amazing.

"Why, she's ripe!" cried Betsy, pushing aside some of the broad leaves
to observe her more clearly.

"Well, perhaps so," admitted the Gardener, who had come to the girl's
side; "but she's a girl, and so we can't use her for a Ruler."

"No, indeed!" came a chorus of soft voices, and looking around Betsy
discovered that all the Roses had followed them from the greenhouse and
were now grouped before the entrance.

"You see," explained the Gardener, "the subjects of Rose Kingdom don't
want a girl Ruler. They want a King."

"A King! We want a King!" repeated the chorus of Roses.

"Isn't she Royal?" inquired Shaggy, admiring the lovely Princess.

"Of course, for she grows on a Royal Bush. This Princess is named Ozga,
as she is a distant cousin of Ozma of Oz; and, were she but a man, we
would joyfully hail her as our Ruler."

The Gardener then turned away to talk with his Roses and Betsy
whispered to her companion: "Let's pick her, Shaggy."

"All right," said he. "If she's royal, she has the right to rule this
Kingdom, and if we pick her she will surely protect us and prevent our
being hurt, or driven away."

So Betsy and Shaggy each took an arm of the beautiful Rose Princess and
a little twist of her feet set her free of the branch upon which she
grew. Very gracefully she stepped down from the bush to the ground,
where she bowed low to Betsy and Shaggy and said in a de