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This polite speech pleased the King very much; indeed, it pleased him so

much that it proved an unlucky speech for the shaggy man. Perhaps the Love

Magnet helped to win his Majesty's affections as well as the flattery, but

however this may be, the white donkey looked kindly upon the speaker and

said:

Only a donkey should be able to use such fine, big words, and you are too

wise and admirable in all ways to be a mere man. Also, I feel that I love you

as well as I do my own favored people, so I will bestow upon you the greatest

gift within my power--a donkey's head."

As he spoke he waved his jeweled staff. Although the shaggy man cried out

and tried to leap backward and escape, it proved of no use. Suddenly his own

head was gone and a donkey head appeared in its place--a brown, shaggy

head so absurd and droll that Dorothy and Polly both broke into merry

laughter, and even Button-Bright's fox face wore a smile.

Dear me! dear me!" cried the shaggy man, feeling of his shaggy new head and

his long ears. "What a misfortune--what a great misfortune! Give me back my

own head, you stupid king--if you love me at all!"

Don't you like it?" asked the King, surprised.

Hee-haw! I hate it! Take it away, quick!" said the shaggy man.

But I can't do that," was the reply. "My magic works only one way. I can DO

things, but I can't UNdo them. You'll have to find the Truth Pond, and bathe

in its water, in order to get back your own head. But I advise you not to do

that. This head is much more beautiful than the old one."

That's a matter of taste," said Dorothy.

Where is the Truth Pond?" asked the shaggy man, earnestly.

Somewhere in the Land of Oz; but just the exact location of it I can not tell,"

was the answer.

Don't worry, Shaggy Man," said Dorothy, smiling because her friend wagged

his new ears so comically. "If the Truth Pond is in Oz, we'll be sure to find it

when we get there."

Oh! Are you going to the Land of Oz?" asked King Kik-a-bray.

The Road to Oz