gu's
castle to fight the wicked Shoemaker!"

They regarded the Frogman with much curiosity and interest, and finding
all eyes fixed upon him, the newcomer arranged his necktie and smoothed
his beautiful vest and swung his gold-headed cane like a regular dandy.
The big spectacles over his eyes quite altered his froglike countenance
and gave him a learned and impressive look. Used as she was to seeing
strange creatures in the Land of Oz, Dorothy was amazed at discovering
the Frogman. So were all her companions. Toto wanted to growl at him,
but couldn't, and he didn't dare bark. The Sawhorse snorted rather
contemptuously, but the Lion whispered to the wooden steed, "Bear with
this strange creature, my friend, and remember he is no more
extraordinary than you are. Indeed, it is more natural for a frog to
be big than for a Sawhorse to be alive."

On being questioned, the Frogman told them the whole story of the loss
of Cayke's highly prized dishpan and their adventures in search of it.
When he came to tell of the Lavender Bear King and of the Little Pink
Bear who could tell anything you wanted to know, his hearers became
eager to see such interesting animals.

"It will be best," said the Wizard, "to unite our two parties and share
our fortunes together, for we are all bound on the same errand, and as
one band we may more easily defy this shoemaker magician than if
separate. Let us be allies."

"I will ask my friends about that," replied the Frogman, and he climbed
over the hill to find Cayke and the toy bears. The Patchwork Girl
accompanied him, and when they came upon the Cookie Cook and the
Lavender Bear and the Pink Bear, it was hard to tell which of the lot
was the most surprised.

"Mercy me!" cried Cayke, addressing the Patchwork Girl. "However did
you come alive?"

Scraps stared at the bears.

"Mercy me!" she echoed, "You are stuffed, as I am, with cotton, and you
appear to be living. That makes me feel ashamed, for I have prided
myself on being the only live cotton-stuffed person in Oz."

"Perhaps you are," returned the Lavender Bear, "for I am stuffed with
extra-quality curled hair, and so is the Little Pink Bear."

"You have relieved my mind of a great anxiety," declared the Patchwork
Girl, now speaking more cheerfully. "The Scarecrow is stuffed with
straw and you with hair, so I am still the Original and Only
Cotton-Stuffed!"

"I hope I am too polite to criticize cotton as compared with curled