red, came out to greet them, and with him were
two children, also in red costumes. The man's

eyes were big and staring as he examined the
Scarecrow and the Patchwork Girl, and the

children shyly hid behind him and peeked
timidly at Toto.

"Do you live here, my good man?" asked the
Scarecrow.

"I think I do, Most Mighty Magician," replied
the Quadling, bowing low; "but whether I'm awake

or dreaming I can't be positive, so I'm not sure
where I live. If you'll kindly pinch me I'll find

out all about it!'
"You're awake," said Dorothy, "and this is no

magician, but just the Scarecrow."
"But he's alive," protested the man, "and he

oughtn't to be, you know. And that other dreadful
person--the girl who is all patches--seems to be

alive, too."
"Very much so," declared Scraps, making a

face at him. "But that isn't your affair, you
know."

"I've a right to be surprised, haven't I?" asked
the man meekly.

"I'm not sure; but anyhow you've no right to say
I'm dreadful. The Scarecrow, who is a gentleman of

great wisdom, thinks I'm beautiful," retorted
Scraps.

"Never mind all that," said Dorothy. "Tell us,
good Quadling, how we can get across the river."

"I don't know," replied the Quadling.
"Don't you ever cross it?" asked the girl.

"Never."
"Don't travelers cross it?"

"Not to my knowledge," said he.
They were much surprised to hear this, and

the man added: "It's a pretty big river, and the
current is strong. I know a man who lives on

the opposite bank, for I've seen him there a good
many years; but we've never spoken because

neither of us has ever crossed over."
"That's queer," said the Scarecrow. "Don't you

own a boat?"
The man shook his head.

"Nor a raft?"
"Where does this river go to?" asked Dorothy.

"That way," answered the man, pointing with
one hand, "it goes into the Country of the

Winkies, which is ruled by the Tin Emperor,
who must be a mightymagician because he's

all made of tin, and yet he's alive. And that
way," pointing with the other hand, "the river

runs between two mountains where dangerous
people dwell."

The Scarecrow looked at the water before them.
"The current flows toward the Winkie Country"'

said he; "and so, if we had a boat, or a raft, the
river would float us there more quickly and more

easily than we could walk."
"That is true," agreed Dorothy; and then they

all looked thoughtful and wondered what could
be done.

"Why can't the man make us a raft?" asked Ojo.
"Will you?" inquired Dorothy, turning to the

Quadling.
The chubby man shook his head.

"I'm too lazy," he said. "My wife says I'm the
laziest man in all Oz, and she is a truthful

woman. I hate work of any kind, and making a raft
is hard work."

"I'll give you my em'rald ring," promised the
girl.

"No; I don't care for emeralds. If it were a
ruby, which is the color I like best, I might work

a little while."
"I've got some Square Meal Tablets," said the

Scarecrow. "Each one is the same as a dish of
soup, a fried fish, a mutton pot-pie, lobster

salad, charlotte russe and lemon jelly--all made
into one little tablet that you can swallow

without trouble."
"Without trouble!" exclaimed the Quadling,

much interested; "then those tablets would be
fine for a lazy man. It's such hard work to chew

when you eat."
"I'll give you six of those tablets if you'll

help us make a raft," promised the Scarecrow.
"They're a combination of food which people who

eat are very fond of. I never eat, you know, being
straw; but some of my friends eat regularly. What

do you say to my offer, Quadling?"
"I'll do it," decided the man. "I'll help, and

you can do most of the work. But my wife has
gone fishing for red eels to-day, so some of you

will have to mind the children."
Scraps promised to do that, and the children

were not so shy when the Patchwork Girl sat
down to play with them. They grew to like

Toto, too, and the little dog allowed them to
pat him on his head, which gave the little ones

much joy.
There were a number of fallen trees near the

house and the Quadling got his axe and chopped
them into logs of equal length. He took his wife's

clothesline to bind these logs together, so that
they would form a raft, and Ojo found some strips

of wood and nailed them along the tops of the
logs, to render them more firm. The Scarecrow and

Dorothy helped roll the logs together and carry
the strips of wood, but it took so long to make

the raft that evening came just as it was
finished, and with evening the Quadling's wife

returned from her fishing.
The woman proved to be cross and bad-tempered,

perhaps because she had only caught one red eel
during all the day. When she found that her

husband had used her clothesline, and the logs she
had wanted for firewood, and the boards she had

intended to mend the shed with, and a lot of gold
nails, she became very angry. Scraps wanted to

shake the woman, to make her behave, but Dorothy
talked to her in a gentle tone and told the

Quadling's wife she was a Princess of Oz and a
friend of Ozma and that when she got back to the

Emerald City she would send them a lot of things
to repay them for the raft, including a new

clothesline. This promise pleased the woman and
she soon became more pleasant, saying they could

stay the night at her house and begin their voyage
on the river next morning.

This they did, spending a pleasant evening
with the Quadling family and being entertained

with such hospitality as the poor people were
able to offer them. The man groaned a good

deal and said he had overworked himself by
chopping the logs, but the Scarecrow gave him

two more tablets than he had promised, which
seemed to comfort the lazy fellow.

Chapter Twenty-Six
The Trick River

Next morning they pushed the raft into the water
and all got aboard. The Quadling man had to hold

the log craft fast while they took their places,
and the flow of the river was so powerful that it

nearly tore the raft from his hands. As soon as
they were all seated upon the logs he let go and

away it floated and the adventurers had begun
their voyage toward the Winkie Country.

The little house of the Quadlings was out of
sight almost before they had cried their good-

byes, and the Scarecrow said in a pleased voice:
"It won't take us long to get to the Winkie

Country, at this rate."
They had floated several miles down the stream

and were enjoying the ride when suddenly the raft
slowed up, stopped short, and then began to float

back the way it had come.
"Why, what's wrong?" asked Dorothy, in

astonishment; but they were all just as bewildered
as she was and at first no one could answer the

question. Soon, however, they realized the truth:
that the current of the river had reversed and the

water was now flowing in the opposite direction--
toward the mountains.

They began to recognize the scenes they had
passed, and by and by they came in sight of the

little house of the Quadlings again. The man
was standing on the river bank and he called

to them:
"How do you do? Glad to see you again. I forgot

to tell you that the river changes its direction
every little while. Sometimes it flows one way,

and sometimes the other."
They had no time to answer him, for the raft

was swept past the house and a long distance on
the other side of it.

"We're going just the way we don't want to
go," said Dorothy, "and I guess the best thing

we can do is to get to land before we're carried
any farther."

But they could not get to land. They had
no oars, nor even a pole to guide the raft with.

The logs which bore them floated in the middle
of the stream and were held fast in that position

by the strong current.
So they sat still and waited and, even while

they were wondering what could be done, the raft
slowed down, stopped, and began drifting the other

way--in the direction it had first followed. After
a time they repassed the Quadling house and the

man was still standing on the bank. He cried out
to them:

"Good day! Glad to see you again. I expect
I shall see you a good many times, as you go

by, unless you happen to swim ashore."
By that time they had left him behind and

were headed once more straight toward the
Winkie Country.

"This is pretty hard luck," said Ojo in a
discouraged voice. "The Trick River keeps

changing, it seems, and here we must float back

• dreadful [´dredful] a.可怕的；讨厌的 (初中英语单词)
• wisdom [´wizdəm] n.智慧，聪明，才智 (初中英语单词)
• spoken [´spəukən] speak的过去分词 (初中英语单词)
• combination [,kɔmbi´neiʃən] n.结合；联合；团体 (初中英语单词)
• behave [bi´heiv] v.举止；表现；举止端正 (初中英语单词)
• princess [,prin´ses] n.公主；王妃；亲王夫人 (初中英语单词)
• aboard [ə´bɔ:d] ad.&prep.在...上 (初中英语单词)
• voyage [´vɔi-idʒ] n.&vi.航海；航程；旅行 (初中英语单词)
• standing [´stændiŋ] n.持续 a.直立的 (初中英语单词)
• stream [stri:m] n.河 vi.流出；飘扬 (初中英语单词)
• mighty [´maiti] a.强有力的 ad.很 (高中英语单词)
• positive [´pɔzətiv] a.确定的 (高中英语单词)
• magician [mə´dʒiʃən] n.魔法师；妖道；术士 (高中英语单词)
• thoughtful [´θɔ:tfəl] a.深思的；体贴的 (高中英语单词)
• mutton [´mʌtn] n.羊肉 (高中英语单词)
• tablet [´tæblit] n.碑；牌；匾额 (高中英语单词)
• regularly [´regjuləli] ad.有规律地；经常地 (高中英语单词)
• decided [di´saidid] a.明显的；决定的 (高中英语单词)
• saying [´seiŋ, ´sei-iŋ] n.言语；言论；格言 (高中英语单词)
• hospitality [,hɔspi´tæliti] n.好客，殷勤 (高中英语单词)
• fishing [´fiʃiŋ] n.钓鱼；捕鱼；渔业 (英语四级单词)
• charlotte [´ʃɑ:lət] n.水果奶油布丁 (英语六级单词)
• firewood [´faiəwud] n.柴，薪 (英语六级单词)