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All of them," replied Billina.

That's funny. Why did you name them all with the same name?"

It was so hard to tell them apart," explained the hen. "Now, when I call

'Dorothy,' they all come running to me in a bunch; it's much easier, after all,

than having a separate name for each."

I'm just dying to see 'em, Billina," said Dorothy, eagerly. "But tell me, my

friends, how did you happen to be here, in the Country of the Winkies, the

first of all to meet us?"

I'll tell you," answered Tik-tok, in his monotonous voice, all the sounds of his

words being on one level--"Prin-cess Oz-ma saw you in her mag-ic pic-ture,

and knew you were com-ing here; so she sent Bil-lin-a and me to wel-come

you as she could not come her-self; so that--fiz-i-dig-le cum-so-lut-ing hy-ber-

gob-ble in-tu-zib-ick--"

Good gracious! Whatever's the matter now?" cried Dorothy, as the copper

man continued to babble these unmeaning words, which no one could

understand at all because they had no sense.

Don't know," said Button-Bright, who was half scared. Polly whirled away to

a distance and turned to look at the copper man in a fright.

His thoughts have run down, this time," remarked Billina composedly, as she

sat on Tik-tok's shoulder and pruned her sleek feathers. "When he can't

think, he can't talk properly, any more than you can. You'll have to wind up

his thoughts, Dorothy, or else I'll have to finish his story myself."

Dorothy ran around and got the key again and wound up Tik-tok under his

left arm, after which he could speak plainly again.

Par-don me," he said, "but when my thoughts run down, my speech has no

mean-ing, for words are formed on-ly by thought. I was a-bout to say that Oz-

ma sent us to wel-come you and in-vite you to come straight to the Em-er-ald

Ci-ty. She was too bus-y to come her-self, for she is pre-par-ing for her birth-

day cel-e-bra-tion, which is to be a grand af-fair."

I've heard of it," said Dorothy, "and I'm glad we've come in time to attend. Is

it far from here to the Emerald City?"

The Road to Oz