said Righty, with a laugh. "See those two
dents on either side of my neck?"

Tom looked, and sure enough there were the dents--not very deep, but quite
large enough to be seen.

"His teeth broke when he got that far," said Righty. "I'm pretty hard--but
you see it needn't have happened at all if Ebenezer had only kept quiet
about his not being a Weasel."

[ILLUSTRATION: "TRIED TO BITE MY HEAD OFF."]

"Was he eaten by Skihigh?" asked Tom.

"I don't know," replied Righty. "Lefty and I didn't wait to find out, and
we have never been back there since. I don't believe he did eat him, for
two reasons. One is that after trying to bite my head off Skihigh hadn't
teeth enough left to eat anything with, and the other reason is that I
saw Ebenezer two years afterwards on his way to school one beautiful
spring morning. I noticed him particularly because, although it was a
lovely clear morning, he had his umbrella up and positively declined to
put it down and carry it closed, because, he said, an umbrella couldn't
possibly be a cane, and he wasn't going to try to make anybody suppose it
was a cane."

"I don't see anything in that story to make me unhappy, even if I were a
chum of Ebenezer's," said Tom, as the Andiron finished.

"You don't? Don't you think it was sad that the Giant couldn't eat a boy
who'd behave in that way?" asked Righty, with a scornful glance at Tom.

"It was very sad, Tom," said the Lefthandiron. "So don't deny
it--especially if you want to go off on our trip to the stars."

"Are you really going to the stars?" gasped Tom, breathless at the very
idea and forgetting all about Ebenezer.

"Perhaps," returned the Andiron.

"And may I go with you?" whispered Tom.

"You may if you will do whatever we tell you, and admit that you are a
Dormouse," said Righty.

"All right, I'll obey," said Tom.

"And what did you say your name was?" asked Lefty.

"Sleepyhead Dozy Pate Dormouse," said Tom, with a laugh.

"You'll do," returned the Righthandiron, stepping lightly out of the
fireplace. "Now sit astride of my back and take hold of Lefty's right
claw."

Tom did as he was told, and in an instant he was flying up through space
toward the stars.

CHAPTER III.

Off in the Clouds

"Now the point to be decided," said the Lefthandiron, after he and his
companions had been flying through space for some time, "is where we are
going. There are two or three things we can do, and Tom can have his
choice