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The Marvelous Land of Oz | L. Frank Baum | |
The Awakening of the Saw-horse |
Page 3 of 4 |
Then he led the Saw-Horse back to where Jack was vainly struggling to regain his feet, and after assisting the Pumpkinhead to stand upright Tip whittled out a new ear and fastened it to the horse's head. "Now," said he, addressing his steed, "pay attention to what I'm going to tell you. 'Whoa!' means to stop; 'Get-Up!' means to walk forward; 'Trot!' means to go as fast as you can. Understand?" "I believe I do," returned the horse. "Very good. We are all going on a journey to the Emerald City, to see His Majesty, the Scarecrow; and Jack Pumpkinhead is going to ride on your back, so he won't wear out his joints." "I don't mind," said the Saw-Horse. "Anything that suits you suits me." Then Tip assisted Jack to get upon the horse. "Hold on tight," he cautioned, "or you may fall off and crack your pumpkin head." "That would be horrible!" said Jack, with a shudder. "What shall I hold on to?" "Why, hold on to his ears," replied Tip, after a moment's hesitation. "Don't do that!" remonstrated the Saw-Horse; "for then I can't hear." That seemed reasonable, so Tip tried to think of something else. "I'll fix it!" said he, at length. He went into the wood and cut a short length of limb from a young, stout tree. One end of this he sharpened to a point, and then he dug a hole in the back of the Saw-Horse, just behind its head. Next he brought a piece of rock from the road and hammered the post firmly into the animal's back. "Stop! Stop!" shouted the horse; "you're jarring me terribly." "Does it hurt?" asked the boy. "Not exactly hurt," answered the animal; "but it makes me quite nervous to be jarred." |
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The Marvelous Land of Oz L. Frank Baum |
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