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.Next instant hewas splashing the clothes in his tub so vigorously that none of the wild washwomen heard him give Dorothy a few quick instructions.In five minutes thegate would be opposite and one minute before the five were up, the threeprisoners dashed down the mountain."Stop!" shouted Percy Vere, imperiously hammering upon thefence with a rock.Oh, joy! It did stop and, as the gate was now exactly infront of them, Percy Vere opened it boldly and pulled Dorothy and Totothrough.No sooner were they out than the fence began to spin around as fastas ever, so that before the wild wash women, who saw them escape, could followthe gate was half way around the mountain.With howls of rage and fright-forthe Tubbies knew that the Queen would be furious-the dreadful creaturesoverturned their wash tubs, and a perfect torrent of hot soapy water camecascading down the mountain side, upsetting Dorothy and the Forgetful Poet andmaking the path so slippery that they never stopped sliding till they reachedthe bottom.Breathless, drenched and shaken, but otherwise unhurt, they pickedthemselves up and, without pausing to rest, all three began running as fast asever they could away from Monday Mountain."How-did-you ever-think-of-telling the fence to stop?" puffedDorothy, stopping under a broad tulip tree.Page 92ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html"Had to!" gasped Percy, dropping heavily to the ground andleaning over to pat Toto, who sat, with closed eyes and tongue out, trying tocatch up with his breath.Then Percy delivered this gem:"Far from the Tubbies, little Princess, And wouldn't theystarch and blue and rinse us-""Did you say Princess?" interrupted a voice.Dorothy and Percyboth jumped and Toto gave a frightened bark-for sitting on a lower branch ofthe tulip tree was our old friend Bill."Did you say Princess?" crowed the weather cock.Percy was toosurprised to do anything but nod and the iron bird rattled into the airscreaming: "The Princess! The Princess!" and flew over the tree tops.CHAPTER 17The Adventurers Meet"I DON'T SEE any Princess," sniffed the old soldier, coming toan abrupt halt and eying the two travellers critically.Grampa and his armyhad barely recovered from their tumble off the rainbow before Bill's cries,announcing the Princess, brought them hurrying to the tulip tree, whereDorothy and Percy Vere were resting."Am I dreaming?" gulped the Forgetful Poet, clutchingDorothy's hand."Am I dreaming or what?" His eye roved from Grampa's game legto Tatters' many-hued suit and finally came to a rest on the lovely littleflower fairy."There is the Princess," insisted Bill, pointing his claw atDorothy."Snuff and nonsense!" snapped the old soldier scornfully."You're a regular false alarm, Bill, always going off at the wrong time.Why,that's only a dusty little country girl and no proper match for the Prince atall!"Page 93ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmlGrampa's lofty speech brought Percy quickly out of his dream."Don't you be so migh and highty," muttered the ForgetfulPoet, drawing himself up proudly."You don't know what you're talking about,you-"No offense! No offense!" observed Grampa coolly."It's not the child'sfault that she's not a Princess.I dare say she's a very nice little girl, butwe're looking for a Princess!""Why, so are we!" cried Dorothy in surprise."But you needn'tbe so impolite.""She is a Princess, too, and do you mean to stand there andtell me that that young ragbag is a Prince?" Percy Vere stared at Tatters longand earnestly and then, rolling up his eyes murmured feelingly:"A Prince of rags and scraps and patches, And then they talkto us of matches! The Prince of what? The Prince of where? He has a bird'snest in his er in his-""Hair," giggled Dorothy.Poor Tatters blushed to his ears andhurriedly tried to smooth out his hair with his fingers."Come on?" cried Grampa indignantly."They're crazy!""If you'll believe he's a Prince, I'll believe she's aPrincess," put in a soft voice and Urtha, who had been listening anxiously tothe sharp speeches on both sides, danced up to the Forgetful Poet."That's fair enough," agreed Percy Vere, smiling at the littleflower fairy:"You believe in us, and we'll believe in you, And if you sayso I'll believe that six and one are are?""Two," said Dorothy, "only they're eight.You mustn't mindPage 94ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmlPercy's forgetting.You see, he is a poet," she explained hastily."Let me out! Let me out! What's all this noise?"Dorothy and the Forgetful Poet exchanged frightened glancesand Toto crept back of the tree-trunk with only one ear showing, for the voicecertainly had come from a bag on the Prince's shoulder."Not a dream, but a night mare!" choked the Forgetful Poet, asthe Prince of Ragbad calmly took his father's head out of the knitting bag andheld it up toward them."Don't be alarmed," purred Fumbo in his drowsy voice, as thetwo clung to one another in a panic."I'm not alarmed, I'm-I'm petrified!" gasped Percy, lookingover his shoulder to see whether the path was clear in case he should desireto run."It has a crown on, whispered Dorothy nervously."It must be aKing.I once knew a Princess who had dozens of heads and took them off.Maybehe's like that.""You're speaking of the Princess Languidere, I presume,"drawled Fumbo.Being a great reader, Fumbo was well acquainted with all thecelebrities in Oz."No, my dear, I am not like that; as it happens I have onlyone head and it blew off, as you can plainly see.This young man you see hereis my son and he is carrying my head back to my body.And now you may tell meyour story," commanded the King, smiling graciously.His glance restedcuriously on Dorothy."You are known to me already," continued the King."Grampa, this is Princess Dorothy of Oz, and she is even prettier than herpictures, if you will permit me to say so."I told you she was a Princess," crowed the weather cocktriumphantly."Have you a fortune with you, girl?""The Dorothy who lives in the Emerald City?" gasped Tatters,almost dropping his father's head."The Dorothy who discovered Oz?"Dorothy nodded modestly and Grampa, covered with confusion atPage 95ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmlthe memory of his sharp speech, tried to hide behind Tatters."Never mind," laughed Dorothy, seeing Grampa's embarrassment."I really don't look like a Princess now [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]