lders; the Cookie Cook came next; then Button-Bright
climbed to the woman's shoulders; then Dorothy climbed up, and Betsy and
Trot, and finally the Patchwork Girl, and all their lengths made a long
line that reached far up the dome but not far enough for Scraps to touch
the shelves.

"Wait a minute; perhaps I can reach the magic," called the Bear King,
and began scrambling up the bodies of the others. But when he came to
the Cookie Cook his soft paws tickled her side so that she squirmed and
upset the whole line. Down they came, tumbling in a heap against the
animals, and although no one was much hurt it was a bad mix-up and the
Frogman, who was at the bottom, almost lost his temper before he could
get on his feet again.

Cayke positively refused to try what she called "the pyramid act" again,
and as the Wizard was now convinced they could not reach the magic tools
in that manner the attempt was abandoned.

"But _something_ must be done," said the Wizard, and then he turned to
the Lavender Bear and asked: "Cannot Your Majesty's magic help us to
escape from here?"

"My magic powers are limited," was the reply. "When I was stuffed, the
fairies stood by and slyly dropped some magic into my stuffing.
Therefore I can do any of the magic that's inside me, but nothing else.
You, however, are a wizard, and a wizard should be able to do anything."

"Your Majesty forgets that my tools of magic have been stolen," said the
Wizard sadly, "and a wizard without tools is as helpless as a carpenter
without a hammer or saw."

"Don't give up," pleaded Button-Bright, "'cause if we can't get out of
this queer prison we'll all starve to death."

"Not I!" laughed the Patchwork Girl, now standing on top the chandelier,
at the place that was meant to be the bottom of it.

"Don't talk of such dreadful things," said Trot, shuddering. "We came
here to capture the Shoemaker, didn't we?"

[Illustration]

"And here we are, captured ourselves, and my darling dishpan up there in
plain sight!" wailed the Cookie Cook, wiping her eyes on the tail of the
Frogman's coat.

"Hush!" called the Lion, with a low, deep growl. "Give the Wizard time
to think."

"He has plenty of time," said Scraps. "What he needs is the Scarecrow's
brains."

After all, it was little Dorothy who came to their rescue, and her
ability to save them was almost as much a surprise to the girl as it was
to her friends. Dorothy had been secretly testing the powers of her
M