could scarcely lift it. But Woot managed to get a sip
of the coffee and found it delicious.

Mrs. Yoop next transformed the weeds into a dish of
oatmeal, which she ate with good appetite.

"Now, then," said she, picking up the pebbles. "I'm
wondering whether I shall have fish-balls or lamb-chops

to complete my meal. Which would you prefer, Woot the Wanderer?"
"If you please, I'll eat the food in my knapsack,"

answered the boy. "Your magic food might taste good,
but I'm afraid of it."

The woman laughed at his fears and transformed the
pebbles into fish-balls.

"I suppose you think that after you had eaten this
food it would turn to stones again and make you sick,"

she remarked; "but that would be impossible. Nothing I
transform ever gets back to its former shape again, so

these fish-balls can never more be pebbles. That is why
I have to be careful of my transformations," she added,

busily eating while she talked, "for while I can change
forms at will I can never change them back again --

which proves that even the powers of a clever Yookoohoo
are limited. When I have transformed you three people,

you must always wear the shapes that I have given you."
"Then please don't transform us," begged Woot, "for

we are quite satisfied to remain as we are."
"I am not expecting to satisfy you, but intend to

please myself," she declared, "and my pleasure is to
give you new shapes. For, if by chance your friends

came in search of you, not one of them would be able to
recognize you."

Her tone was so positive that they knew it would be
useless to protest. The woman was not unpleasant to

look at; her face was not cruel; her voice was big but
gracious in tone; but her words showed that she

possessed a merciless heart and no pleadings would
alter her wicked purpose.

Mrs. Yoop took ample time to finish her breakfast and
the prisoners had no desire to hurry her, but finally

the meal was concluded and she folded her napkin and
made the table disappear by clapping her hands

together. Then she turned to her captives and said:
"The next thing on the programme is to change your

forms."
"Have you decided what forms to give us?" asked the

Scarecrow, uneasily.
"Yes; I dreamed it all out while I was asleep. This

Tin Man seems a very solemn person " -- indeed, the Tin
Woodman was looking solemn, just then, for he was

greatly disturbed -- "so I shall change him into an
Owl."

All she did was to point one finger at him as she
spoke, but immediately the form of the Tin Woodman

began to change and in a few seconds Nick Chopper, the
Emperor of the Winkies, had been transformed into an

Owl, with eyes as big as saucers and a hooked beak and
strong claws. But he was still tin. He was a Tin Owl,

with tin legs and beak and eyes and feathers. When he
flew to the back of a chair and perched upon it, his

tin feathers rattled against one another with a tinny
clatter. The Giantess seemed much amused by the Tin

Owl's appearance, for her laugh was big and jolly.
"You're not liable to get lost," said she, "for your

wings and feathers will make a racketwherever you go.
And, on my word, a Tin Owl is so rare and pretty that

it is an improvement on the ordinary bird. I did not
intend to make you tin, but I forgot to wish you to be

meat. However, tin you were, and tin you are, and as
it's too late to change you, that settles it."

Until now the Scarecrow had rather doubted the
possibility of Mrs. Yoop's being able to transform him,

or his friend the Tin Woodman, for they were not made
as ordinary people are. He had worried more over what

might happen to Woot than to himself, but now he began
to worry about himself.

"Madam," he said hastily, "I consider this action
very impolite. It may even be called rude, considering

we are your guests."
"You are not guests, for I did not invite you here,"

she replied.
"Perhaps not; but we craved hospitality. We threw

ourselves upon your mercy, so to speak, and we now find
you have no mercy. Therefore, if you will excuse the

expression, I must say it is downrightwicked to take
our proper forms away from us and give us others that

we do not care for."
"Are you trying to make me angry?" she asked,

frowning.
"By no means," said the Scarecrow; "I'm just trying

to make you act more ladylike."
"Oh, indeed! In my opinion, Mr. Scarecrow, you are

now acting like a bear -- so a Bear you shall be!"
Again the dreadful finger pointed, this time in the

Scarecrow's direction, and at once his form began to
change. In a few seconds he had become a small Brown

Bear, but he was stuffed with straw as he had been
before, and when the little Brown Bear shuffled across

the floor he was just as wobbly as the Scarecrow had
been and moved just as awkwardly.

Woot was amazed, but he was also thoroughly
frightened.

"Did it hurt?" he asked the little Brown Bear.
"No, of course not," growled the Scarecrow in the

Bear's form; "but I don't like walking on four legs;
it's undignified."

"Consider my humiliation!" chirped the Tin Owl,
trying to settle its tin feathers smoothly with its tin

beak. "And I can't see very well, either. The light
seems to hurt my eyes."

"That's because you are an Owl," said Woot. "I think
you will see better in the dark."

"Well," remarked the Giantess, "I'm very well pleased
with these new forms, for my part, and I'm sure you

will like them better when you get used to them. So
now," she added, turning to the boy, "it is your turn."

"Don't you think you'd better leave me as I am?"
asked Woot in a trembling voice.

"No," she replied, "I'm going to make a Monkey of
you. I love monkeys -- they're so cute! -- and I think

a Green Monkey will be lots of fun and amuse me when I
am sad."

Woot shivered, for again the terrible magic finger
pointed, and pointed directly his way. He felt himself

changing; not so very much, however, and it didn't hurt
him a bit. He looked down at his limbs and body and

found that his clothes were gone and his skin covered
with a fine, silk-like green fur. His hands and feet

were now those of a monkey. He realized he really was a
monkey, and his first feeling was one of anger. He

began to chatter as monkeys do. He bounded to the seat
of a giant chair, and then to its back and with a wild

leap sprang upon the laughing Giantess. His idea was to
seize her hair and pull it out by the roots, and so

have revenge for her wickedtransformations. But she
raised her hand and said:

"Gently, my dear Monkey -- gently! You're not angry;
you're happy as can be!"

Woot stopped short. No; he wasn't a bit angry now; he
felt as good-humored and gay as ever he did when a boy.

Instead of pulling Mrs. Yoop's hair, he perched on her
shoulder and smoothed her soft cheek with his hairy

paw. In return, she smiled at the funny green animal
and patted his head.

"Very good," said the Giantess. "Let us all become
friends and be happy together. How is my Tin Owl

feeling?"
"Quite comfortable," said the Owl. "I don't like it,

to be sure, but I'm not going to allow my new form to
make me unhappy. But, tell me, please: what is a Tin

Owl good for?"
"You are only good to make me laugh," replied the

Giantess.
"Will a stuffed Bear also make you laugh?" inquired

the Scarecrow, sitting back on his haunches to look up
at her.

"Of course," declared the Giantess; "and I have added
a little magic to your transformations to make you all

contented with wearing your new forms. I'm sorry I
didn't think to do that when I transformed Polychrome

into a Canary-Bird. But perhaps, when she sees how
cheerful you are, she will cease to be silent and

sullen and take to singing. I will go get the bird and
let you see her."

With this, Mrs. Yoop went into the next room and soon
returned bearing a golden cage in which sat upon a

swinging perch a lovely yellow Canary. "Polychrome,"
said the Giantess, "permit me to introduce to you a

Green Monkey, which used to be a boy called Woot the
Wanderer, and a Tin Owl, which used to be a Tin Woodman

named Nick Chopper, and a straw-stuffed little Brown
Bear which used to be a live Scarecrow."

"We already know one another," declared the
Scarecrow. "The bird is Polychrome, the Rainbow's

Daughter, and she and I used to be good friends."
"Are you really my old friend, the Scarecrow?" asked;

the bird, in a sweet, low voice.
"There!" cried Mrs. Yoop; "that's the first time she

has spoken since she was transformed."
"I am really your old friend," answered the

Scarecrow; "but you must pardon me for appearing just
now in this brutal form."

"I am a bird, as you are, dear Poly," said the Tin
Woodman; "but, alas! a Tin Owl is not as beautiful as a

Canary-Bird."
"How dreadful it all is!" sighed the Canary.

"Couldn't you manage to escape from this terrible
Yookoohoo?"

No," answered the Scarecrow, "we tried to escape, but
failed. She first made us her prisoners and then

transformed us. But how did she manage to get you,
Polychrome?"'

"I was asleep, and she took unfairadvantage of me,"
answered the bird sadly. "Had I been awake, I could

easily have protected myself."
"Tell me," said the Green Monkey earnestly, as he

came close to the cage, "what must we do, Daughter of
the Rainbow, to escape from these transformations?

Can't you help us, being a Fairy?" "At present I am
powerless to help even myself," replied the Canary.

"That's the exact truth!" exclaimed the Giantess, who
seemed pleased to hear the bird talk, even though it

complained; "you are all helpless and in my power, so

• wicked [´wikid] a.邪恶的；不道德的 (初中英语单词)
• solemn [´sɔləm] a.严肃的；隆重的 (初中英语单词)
• hooked [hukt] a.钩状的；上瘾的 (初中英语单词)
• wherever [weər´evə] conj.无论在哪里 (初中英语单词)
• improvement [im´pru:vmənt] n.改进，改善，进步 (初中英语单词)
• hastily [´heistili] ad.急速地；草率地 (初中英语单词)
• therefore [´ðeəfɔ:] ad.&conj.因此；所以 (初中英语单词)
• acting [´æktiŋ] a.代理的 n.演戏 (初中英语单词)
• dreadful [´dredful] a.可怕的；讨厌的 (初中英语单词)
• pointed [´pɔintid] a.尖(锐)的；中肯的 (初中英语单词)
• monkey [´mʌŋki] n.猴子 v.乱弄；胡闹 (初中英语单词)
• chatter [´tʃætə] vi.&n.饶舌；闲聊 (初中英语单词)
• sprang [spræŋ] spring 的过去式 (初中英语单词)
• revenge [ri´vendʒ] vt.报复 n.报仇；报复 (初中英语单词)
• unhappy [ʌn´hæpi] a.不幸的；不快乐的 (初中英语单词)
• spoken [´spəukən] speak的过去分词 (初中英语单词)
• pardon [´pɑ:dən] n.&vt.原谅；饶恕；赦免 (初中英语单词)
• advantage [əd´vɑ:ntidʒ] n.优势；利益 (初中英语单词)
• helpless [´helpləs] a.无助的，无依靠的 (初中英语单词)
• limited [´limitid] a.有限(制)的 (高中英语单词)
• transform [træns´fɔ:m] v.转化，转变；改造 (高中英语单词)
• positive [´pɔzətiv] a.确定的 (高中英语单词)
• unpleasant [ʌn´plezənt] a.不愉快的；不合意的 (高中英语单词)
• napkin [´næpkin] n.餐巾；手帕；尿布 (高中英语单词)
• decided [di´saidid] a.明显的；决定的 (高中英语单词)
• liable [´laiəbəl] a.易于...的；有责任的 (高中英语单词)
• racket [´rækit] n.(网球等的)拍；球拍 (高中英语单词)
• hospitality [,hɔspi´tæliti] n.好客，殷勤 (高中英语单词)
• smoothly [´smu:ðli] ad.光滑地；顺利地 (高中英语单词)
• bearing [´beəriŋ] n.举止；忍耐；关系 (高中英语单词)
• earnestly [´ə:nistli] ad.认真地；急切地 (高中英语单词)
• rainbow [´reinbəu] n.彩虹 (高中英语单词)
• trying [´traiiŋ] a.难堪的；费劲的 (英语四级单词)
• canary [kə´neəri] n.金丝雀 (英语四级单词)
• brutal [´bru:tl] a.兽性的；残暴的 (英语四级单词)
• unfair [ʌn´feə] a.不公平的；不正直的 (英语四级单词)
• merciless [´mə:siləs] a.残忍的；无情的 (英语六级单词)
• woodman [´wudmən] n.伐木工 (英语六级单词)
• downright [´daunrait] a.直率的 ad.彻底 (英语六级单词)