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with one eye shut--if that's your idea of beauty, Hank, then either you or I

must be much mistaken."

You're full of edges," sneered the Mule. "If I were square as you are, I suppose

you'd think me lovely."

Outwardly, dear Hank, I would," replied the Woozy. "But to be really lovely,

one must be beautiful without and within."

The Mule couldn't deny this statement, so he gave a disgusted grunt and

rolled over so that his back was toward the Woozy. But the Lion, regarding

the two calmly with his great, yellow eyes, said to the dog, "My dear Toto, our

friends have taught us a lesson in humility. If the Woozy and the Mule are

indeed beautiful creatures as they seem to think, you and I must be decidedly

ugly."

Not to ourselves," protested Toto, who was a shrewd little dog. "You and I,

Lion, are fine specimens of our own races. I am a fine dog, and you are a fine

lion. Only in point of comparison, one with another, can we be properly

judged, so I will leave it to the poor old Sawhorse to decide which is the most

beautiful animal among us all. The Sawhorse is wood, so he won't be

prejudiced and will speak the truth."

I surely will," responded the Sawhorse, wagging his ears, which were chips

set in his wooden head. "Are you all agreed to accept my judgment?"

We are!" they declared, each one hopeful.

Then," said the Sawhorse, "I must point out to you the fact that you are all

meat creatures, who tire unless they sleep and starve unless they eat and

suffer from thirst unless they drink. Such animals must be very imperfect,

and imperfect creatures cannot be beautiful. Now, I am made of wood."

You surely have a wooden head," said the Mule.

Yes, and a wooden body and wooden legs, which are as swift as the wind and

as tireless. I've heard Dorothy say that 'handsome is as handsome does,' and

I surely perform my duties in a handsome manner. Therefore, if you wish my

honest judgment, I will confess that among us all I am the most beautiful."

The Mule snorted, and the Woozy laughed; Toto had lost his growl and could

only look scornfully at the Sawhorse, who stood in his place unmoved. But

the Lion stretched himself and yawned, saying quietly, "Were we all like the

The Lost Princess of Oz