Ojo had never traveled before and so he only knewthat the path down the mountainside led into theopen Munchkin Country, where large numbers ofpeople dwelt. Scraps was quite new and notsupposed to know anything of the Land of Oz, whilethe Glass Cat admitted she had never wandered veryfar away from the Magician's house. There was onlyone path before them, at the beginning, so theycould not miss their way, and for a time theywalked through the thick forest in silent thought,each one impressed with the importance of theadventure they had undertaken.

Suddenly the Patchwork Girl laughed. It wasfunny to see her laugh, because her cheekswrinkled up, her nose tipped, her silver buttoneyes twinkled and her mouth curled at thecorners in a comical way.

"Has something pleased you?" asked Ojo, who wasfeeling solemn and joyless through thinking uponhis uncle's sad fate.

"Yes," she answered. "Your world pleases me, forit's a queer world, and life in it is queererstill. Here am I, made from an old bedquilt andintended to be a slave to Margolotte, renderedfree as air by an accident that none of you couldforesee. I am enjoying life and seeing the world,while the woman who made me is standing helplessas a block of wood. If that isn't funny enough tolaugh at, I don't know what is."

"You're not seeing much of the world yet,my poor, innocent Scraps," remarked the Cat."The world doesn't consist wholly of the treesthat are on all sides of us."

"But they're part of it; and aren't they prettytrees?" returned Scraps, bobbing her head untilher brown yarn curls fluttered in the breeze."Growing between them I can see lovely fernsand wild-flowers, and soft green mosses. If therest of your world is half as beautiful I shall beglad I'm alive."

"I don't know what the rest of the world islike, I'm sure," said the cat; "but I mean tofind out."

"I have never been out of the forest," Ojoadded; "but to me the trees are gloomy and sadand the wild-flowers seem lonesome. It must benicer where there are no trees and there is roomfor lots of people to live together."

"I wonder if any of the people we shall meetwill be as splendid as I am," said the PatchworkGirl. "All I have seen, so far, have pale,colorless skins and clothes as blue as the countrythey live in, while I am of many gorgeous colors--face and body and clothes. That is why I am brightand contented, Ojo, while you are blue and sad."

"I think I made a mistake in giving you so manysorts of brains," observed the boy. "Perhaps, asthe Magician said, you have an over-dose, and theymay not agree with you."

"What had you to do with my brains?" askedScraps.

"A lot," replied Ojo. "Old Margolotte meantto give you only a few--just enough to keepyou going--but when she wasn't looking I addeda good many more, of the best kinds I couldfind in the Magician's cupboard."

"Thanks," said the girl, dancing along thepath ahead of Ojo and then dancing back to hisside. "If a few brains are good, many brainsmust be better."

"But they ought to be evenly balanced," said theboy, "and I had no time to be careful. From theway you're acting, I guess the dose was badlymixed."

"Scraps hasn't enough brains to hurt her, sodon't worry," remarked the cat, which was trottingalong in a very dainty and graceful manner. "Theonly brains worth considering are mine, which arepink. You can see 'em work."

After walking a long time they came to a littlebrook that trickled across the path, and here Ojosat down to rest and eat something from hisbasket. He found that the Magician had given himpart of a loaf of bread and a slice of cheese. Hebroke off some of the bread and was surprised tofind the loaf just as large as it was before. Itwas the same way with the cheese: however much hebroke off from the slice, it remained exactly thesame size.

"Ah," said he, nodding wisely; "that's magic.Dr. Pipt has enchanted the bread and the cheese,so it will last me all through my journey, howevermuch I eat."

"Why do you put those things into your mouth?"asked Scraps, gazing at him in astonishment. "Doyou need more stuffing? Then why don't you usecotton, such as I am stuffed with?"

"I don't need that kind," said Ojo.

"But a mouth is to talk with, isn't it?"

"It is also to eat with," replied the boy. "If Ididn't put food into my mouth, and eat it, I wouldget hungry and starve.

"Ah, I didn't know that," she said. "Give mesome."

Ojo handed her a bit of the bread and she put itin her mouth.

"What next?" she asked, scarcely able to speak.

"Chew it and swallow it," said the boy.

Scraps tried that. Her pearl teeth were unableto chew the bread and beyond her mouth there wasno opening. Being unable to swallow she threw awaythe bread and laughed.

"I must get hungry and starve, for I can't eat,"she said.

"Neither can I," announced the cat; "but I'mnot fool enough to try. Can't you understandthat you and I are superior people and not madelike these poor humans?"

"Why should I understand that, or anythingelse?" asked the girl. "Don't bother my head byasking conundrums, I beg of you. Just let mediscover myself in my own way."

With this she began amusing herself by leapingacross the brook and hack again.

"Be careful, or you'll fall in the water,"warned Ojo.

"Never mind."

"You'd better. If you get wet you'll be soggyand can't walk. Your colors might run, too,"he said.

"Don't my colors run whenever I run?" she asked.

"Not in the way I mean. If they get wet, thereds and greens and yellows and purples of yourpatches might run into each other and becomejust a blur--no color at all, you know."

"Then," said the Patchwork Girl, "I'll becareful, for if I spoiled my splendid colors Iwould cease to be beautiful."

"Pah!" sneered the Glass Cat, "such colors arenot beautiful; they're ugly, and in bad taste.Please notice that my body has no color at all.I'm transparent, except for my exquisite red heartand my lovely pink brains--you can see 'em work."

"Shoo-shoo-shoo!" cried Scraps, dancingaround and laughing. "And your horrid green eyes,Miss Bungle! You can't see your eyes, but we can,and I notice you're very proud of what littlecolor you have. Shoo, Miss Bungle, shoo-shoo-shoo!If you were all colors and many colors, as I am,you'd be too stuck up for anything." She leapedover the cat and back again, and the startledBungle crept close to a tree to escape her. Thismade Scraps laugh more heartily than ever, and shesaid:

"Whoop-tedoodle-doo!The cat has lost her shoe.Her tootsie's bare, but she don't care,So what's the odds to you?"

"Dear me, Ojo," said the cat; "don't you thinkthe creature is a little bit crazy?"

"It may be," he answered, with a puzzled look.

"If she continues her insults I'll scratch offher suspender-button eyes," declared the cat.

"Don't quarrel, please," pleaded the boy, risingto resume the journey. "Let us be good comradesand as happy and cheerful as possible, for we arelikely to meet with plenty of trouble on our way."

It was nearly sundown when they came to the edgeof the forest and saw spread out before them adelightful landscape. There were broad blue fieldsstretching for miles over the valley, which wasdotted everywhere with pretty, blue domed houses,none of which, however, was very near to the placewhere they stood. Just at the point where the pathleft the forest stood a tiny house covered withleaves from the trees, and before this stood aMunchkin man with an axe in his hand. He seemedvery much surprised when Ojo and Scraps and theGlass Cat came out of the woods, but as thePatchwork Girl approached nearer he sat down upona bench and laughed so hard that he could notspeak for a long time.

This man was a woodchopper and lived all alonein the little house. He had bushy blue whiskersand merry blue eyes and his blue clothes were quiteold and worn.

"Mercy me!" exclaimed the woodchopper, when atlast he could stop laughing. "Who would think sucha funny harlequin lived in the Land of Oz? Wheredid you come from, Crazy-quilt?"

"Do you mean me?" asked the Patchwork Girl.

"Of course," he replied.

"You misjudge my ancestry. I'm not a crazy-quilt; I'm patchwork," she said.

"There's no difference," he replied, beginningto laugh again. "When my old grandmother sews suchthings together she calls it a crazy-quilt; but Inever thought such a jumble could come to life."

"It was the Magic Powder that did it," explainedOjo.

"Oh, then you have come from the CrookedMagician on the mountain. I might have known it,for--Well, I declare! here's a glass cat. But theMagician will get in trouble for this; it'sagainst the law for anyone to work magic exceptGlinda the Good and the royal Wizard of Oz. If youpeople--or things--or glass spectacles--or crazy-quilts--or whatever you are, go near the EmeraldCity, you'll be arrested."

"We're going there, anyhow," declaredScraps, sitting upon the bench and swinging herstuffed legs.

"If any of us takes a rest,We'll be arrested sure,And get no restitution'Cause the rest we must endure."

"I see," said the woodchopper, nodding; "you'reas crazy as the crazy-quilt you're made of."

"She really is crazy," remarked the Glass Cat."But that isn't to he wondered at when youremember how many different things she's made of.For my part, I'm made of pure glass--except myjewel heart and my pretty pink brains. Did younotice my brains, stranger? You can see em work."

"So I can," replied the woodchopper; "but Ican't see that they accomplish much. A glass catis a useless sort of thing, but a Patchwork Girlis really useful. She makes me laugh, and laughteris the best thing in life. There was once awoodchopper, a friend of mine, who was made all oftin, and I used to laugh every time I saw him."

"A tin woodchopper?" said Ojo. "That isstrange."

"My friend wasn't always tin," said the man,"but he was careless with his axe, and used tochop himself very badly. Whenever he lost an armor a leg he had it replaced with tin; so after awhile he was all tin."

"And could he chop wood then?" asked the boy.

"He could if he didn't rust his tin joints. Butone day he met Dorothy in the forest and went withher to the Emerald City, where he made hisfortune. He is now one of the favorites ofPrincess Ozma, and she has made him the Emperor ofthe Winkies--the Country where all is yellow."

"Who is Dorothy?" inquired the Patchwork Girl.

"A little maid who used to live in Kansas, butis now a Princess of Oz. She's Ozma's bestfriend, they say, and lives with her in the royalpalace."

"Is Dorothy made of tin?" inquired Ojo.

"Is she patchwork, like me?" inquired Scraps.

"No," said the man; "Dorothy is flesh, just as Iam. I know of only one tin person, and that isNick Chopper, the Tin Woodman; and there willnever be but one Patchwork Girl, for any magicianthat sees you will refuse to make another one likeyou."

"I suppose we shall see the Tin Woodman, for weare going to the Country of the Winkies," said theboy.

"What for?" asked the woodchopper.

"To get the left wing of a yellow butterfly."

"It is a long journey," declared the man, "andyou will go through lonely parts of Oz and crossrivers and traverse dark forests before you getthere."

"Suits me all right," said Scraps. "I'll get achance to see the country."

"You're crazy, girl. Better crawl into a rag-bagand hide there; or give yourself to some littlegirl to play with. Those who travel are likely tomeet trouble; that's why I stay at home."

The woodchopper then invited them all tostay the night at his little hut, but they wereanxious to get on and so left him and continuedalong the path, which was broader, now, andmore distinct.

They expected to reach some other house beforeit grew dark, but the twilight was brief and Ojosoon began to fear they had made a mistake inleaving the woodchopper.

"I can scarcely see the path," he said at last."Can you see it, Scraps?"

"No," replied the Patchwork Girl, who washolding fast to the boy's arm so he couldguide her.

"I can see," declared the Glass Cat. "My eyesare better than yours, and my pink brains--"

"Never mind your pink brains, please," saidOjo hastily; "just run ahead and show us theway. Wait a minute and I'll tie a string to you;for then you can lead us."

He got a string from his pocket and tied itaround the cat's neck, and after that the creatureguided them along the path. They had proceeded inthis way for about an hour when a twinkling bluelight appeared ahead of them.

"Good! there's a house at last," cried Ojo."When we reach it the good people will surelywelcome us and give us a night's lodging." Buthowever far they walked the light seemed to getno nearer, so by and by the cat stopped short,saying:

"I think the light is traveling, too, and weshall never be able to catch up with it. But hereis a house by the roadside, so why go farther?"

"Where is the house, Bungle?"

"Just here beside us, Scraps."

Ojo was now able to see a small house nearthe pathway. It was dark and silent, but the boywas tired and wanted to rest, so he went up tothe door and knocked.

"Who is there?" cried a voice from within.

"I am Ojo the Unlucky, and with me areMiss Scraps Patchwork and the Glass Cat," hereplied.

"What do you want?" asked the Voice.

"A place to sleep," said Ojo.

"Come in, then; but don't make any noise,and you must go directly to bed," returned theVoice.

Ojo unlatched the door and entered. It wasvery dark inside and he could see nothing at all.But the cat exclaimed: "Why, there's no onehere!"

"There must be," said the boy. "Some onespoke to me."

"I can see everything in the room," replied thecat, "and no one is present but ourselves. Buthere are three beds, all made up, so we may aswell go to sleep."

"What is sleep?" inquired the Patchwork Girl.

"It's what you do when you go to bed," said Ojo.

"But why do you go to bed?" persisted thePatchwork Girl.

"Here, here! You are making altogether toomuch noise," cried the Voice they had heardbefore. "Keep quiet, strangers, and go to bed."

The cat, which could see in the dark, lookedsharply around for the owner of the Voice, hutcould discover no one, although the Voice hadseemed close beside them. She arched her backa little and seemed afraid. Then she whisperedto Ojo: "Come!" and led him to a bed.

With his hands the boy felt of the bed andfound it was big and soft, with feather pillowsand plenty of blankets. So he took off his shoesand hat and crept into the bed. Then the catled Scraps to another bed and the PatchworkGirl was puzzled to know what to do with it.

"Lie down and keep quiet," whispered thecat, warningly.

"Can't I sing?" asked Scraps.

"Can't I whistle?" asked Scraps.

"Can't I dance till morning, if I want to?"asked Scraps.

"You must keep quiet," said the cat, in a softvoice.

"I don't want to," replied the Patchwork Girl,speaking as loudly as usual. "What right have youto order me around? If I want to talk, or yell, orwhistle--"

Before she could say anything more an unseenhand seized her firmly and threw her out of thedoor, which closed behind her with a sharpslam. She found herself bumping and rolling inthe road and when she got up and tried to openthe door of the house again she found it locked.

"What has happened to Scraps?" asked Ojo.

"Never mind. Let's go to sleep, or somethingwill happen to us," answered the Glass Cat.

So Ojo snuggled down in his bed and fellasleep, and he was so tired that he neverwakened until broad daylight.