," said Dorothy. "Can you tell us where the
Emerald City is?"

"Certainly," answered the Queen; "but it is a great way off, for you
have had it at your backs all this time." Then she noticed Dorothy's
Golden Cap, and said, "Why don't you use the charm of the Cap, and call
the Winged Monkeys to you? They will carry you to the City of Oz in
less than an hour."

"I didn't know there was a charm," answered Dorothy, in surprise.
"What is it?"

"It is written inside the Golden Cap," replied the Queen of the Mice.
"But if you are going to call the Winged Monkeys we must run away, for
they are full of mischief and think it great fun to plague us."

"Won't they hurt me?" asked the girl anxiously.

"Oh, no. They must obey the wearer of the Cap. Good-bye!" And she
scampered out of sight, with all the mice hurrying after her.

Dorothy looked inside the Golden Cap and saw some words written upon
the lining. These, she thought, must be the charm, so she read the
directions carefully and put the Cap upon her head.

"Ep-pe, pep-pe, kak-ke!" she said, standing on her left foot.

"What did you say?" asked the Scarecrow, who did not know what she was
doing.

"Hil-lo, hol-lo, hel-lo!" Dorothy went on, standing this time on her
right foot.

"Hello!" replied the Tin Woodman calmly.

"Ziz-zy, zuz-zy, zik!" said Dorothy, who was now standing on both feet.
This ended the saying of the charm, and they heard a great chattering
and flapping of wings, as the band of Winged Monkeys flew up to them.

The King bowed low before Dorothy, and asked, "What is your command?"

"We wish to go to the Emerald City," said the child, "and we have lost
our way."

"We will carry you," replied the King, and no sooner had he spoken than
two of the Monkeys caught Dorothy in their arms and flew away with her.
Others took the Scarecrow and the Woodman and the Lion, and one little
Monkey seized Toto and flew after them, although the dog tried hard to
bite him.

The Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman were rather frightened at first, for
they remembered how badly the Winged Monkeys had treated them before;
but they saw that no harm was intended, so they rode through the air
quite cheerfully, and had a fine time looking at the pretty gardens and
woods far below them.

Dorothy found herself riding easily between two of the biggest Monkeys,
one of them the King himself. They had made a chair of their hands and
were careful not to hurt her.

"Why do