The shaggy man stood in the great hall, his shaggy hat in his hands,wondering what would become of him. He had never been a guest in afine palace before; perhaps he had never been a guest anywhere. Inthe big, cold, outside world people did not invite shaggy men to theirhomes, and this shaggy man of ours had slept more in hay-lofts andstables than in comfortable rooms. When the others left the greathall he eyed the splendidly dressed servants of the Princess Ozma asif he expected to be ordered out; but one of them bowed before him asrespectfully as if he had been a prince, and said:

"Permit me, sir, to conduct you to your apartments."

The shaggy man drew a long breath and took courage.

"Very well," he answered. "I'm ready."

Through the big hall they went, up the grand staircase carpeted thickwith velvet, and so along a wide corridor to a carved doorway. Herethe servant paused, and opening the door said with polite deference:

"Be good enough to enter, sir, and make yourself at home in the roomsour Royal Ozma has ordered prepared for you. Whatever you see is foryou to use and enjoy, as if your own. The Princess dines at seven, andI shall be here in time to lead you to the drawing-room, where youwill be privileged to meet the lovely Ruler of Oz. Is there anycommand, in the meantime, with which you desire to honor me?"

"No," said the shaggy man; "but I'm much obliged."

He entered the room and shut the door, and for a time stood inbewilderment, admiring the grandeur before him.

He had been given one of the handsomest apartments in the mostmagnificent palace in the world, and you can not wonder that his goodfortune astonished and awed him until he grew used to his surroundings.

The furniture was upholstered in cloth of gold, with the royal crownembroidered upon it in scarlet. The rug upon the marble floor was sothick and soft that he could not hear the sound of his own footsteps,and upon the walls were splendid tapestries woven with scenes from theLand of Oz. Books and ornaments were scattered about in profusion,and the shaggy man thought he had never seen so many pretty things inone place before. In one corner played a tinkling fountain ofperfumed water, and in another was a table bearing a golden trayloaded with freshly gathered fruit, including several of thered-cheeked apples that the shaggy man loved.

At the farther end of this charming room was an open doorway, and hecrossed over to find himself in a bedroom containing more comfortsthan the shaggy man had ever before imagined. The bedstead was ofgold and set with many brilliant diamonds, and the coverlet haddesigns of pearls and rubies sewed upon it. At one side of thebedroom was a dainty dressing-room with closets containing a largeassortment of fresh clothing; and beyond this was the bath--a largeroom having a marble pool big enough to swim in, with white marblesteps leading down to the water. Around the edge of the pool wereset rows of fine emeralds as large as door-knobs, while the water ofthe bath was clear as crystal.

For a time the shaggy man gazed upon all this luxury with silentamazement. Then he decided, being wise in his way, to take advantageof his good fortune. He removed his shaggy boots and his shaggyclothing, and bathed in the pool with rare enjoyment. After he haddried himself with the soft towels he went into the dressing-room andtook fresh linen from the drawers and put it on, finding thateverything fitted him exactly. He examined the contents of theclosets and selected an elegant suit of clothing. Strangely enough,everything about it was shaggy, although so new and beautiful, and hesighed with contentment to realize that he could now be finely dressedand still be the shaggy man. His coat was of rose-colored velvet,trimmed with shags and bobtails, with buttons of blood-red rubies andgolden shags around the edges. His vest was a shaggy satin of adelicate cream color, and his knee-breeches of rose velvet trimmedlike the coat. Shaggy creamy stockings of silk, and shaggy slippers ofrose leather with ruby buckles, completed his costume, and when he wasthus attired the shaggy man looked at himself in a long mirror withgreat admiration. On a table he found a mother-of-pearl chestdecorated with delicate silver vines and flowers of clustered rubies,and on the cover was a silver plate engraved with these words:

THE SHAGGY MAN:HIS BOX OF ORNAMENTS

The chest was not locked, so he opened it and was almost dazzled bythe brilliance of the rich jewels it contained. After admiring thepretty things, he took out a fine golden watch with a big chain,several handsome finger-rings, and an ornament of rubies to pin uponthe breast of his shaggy shirt-bosom. Having carefully brushed hishair and whiskers all the wrong way to make them look as shaggy aspossible, the shaggy man breathed a deep sigh of joy and decided hewas ready to meet the Royal Princess as soon as she sent for him.While he waited he returned to the beautiful sitting room and ateseveral of the red-cheeked apples to pass away the time.

Meanwhile, Dorothy had dressed herself in a pretty gown of soft greyembroidered with silver, and put a blue-and-gold suit of satin uponlittle Button-Bright, who looked as sweet as a cherub in it. Followedby the boy and Toto--the dog with a new green ribbon around hisneck--she hastened down to the splendid drawing-room of the palace,where, seated upon an exquisite throne of carved malachite and nestledamongst its green satin cushions was the lovely Princess Ozma,waiting eagerly to welcome her friend.