The Land of the Munchkins is full of surprises, as ourtravelers had already learned, and although Mount Munchwas constantly growing larger as they advanced towardit, they knew it was still a long way off and were notcertain, by any means, that they had escaped all dangeror encountered their last adventure.

The plain was broad, and as far as the eye could see,there seemed to be a level stretch of country betweenthem and the mountain, but toward evening they cameupon a hollow, in which stood a tiny blue Munchkindwelling with a garden around it and fields of grainfilling in all the rest of the hollow.

They did not discover this place until they cameclose to the edge of it, and they were astonished atthe sight that greeted them because they had imaginedthat this part of the plain had no inhabitants.

"It's a very small house," Woot declared. "I wonderwho lives there?"

"The way to find out is to knock on the door andask," replied the Tin Woodman. "Perhaps it is the homeof Nimmie Amee."

"Is she a dwarf?" asked the boy.

"No, indeed; Nimmie Amee is a full sized woman."

"Then I'm sure she couldn't live in that little house," said Woot.

"Let's go down," suggested the Scarecrow. "I'm almostsure I can see a straw-stack in the back yard."

They descended the hollow, which was rather steep atthe sides, and soon came to the house, which was indeedrather small. Woot knocked upon a door that was notmuch higher than his waist, but got no reply. Heknocked again, but not a sound was heard.

"Smoke is coming out of the chimney," announcedPolychrome, who was dancing lightly through the garden,where cabbages and beets and turnips and the like weregrowing finely

"Then someone surely lives here," said Woot, andknocked again.

Now a window at the side of the house opened and aqueer head appeared. It was white and hairy and had along snout and little round eyes. The ears were hiddenby a blue sunbonnet tied under the chin.

"Oh; it's a pig!" exclaimed Woot.

"Pardon me; I am Mrs. Squealina Swyne, wife ofProfessor Grunter Swyne, and this is our home," saidthe one in the window. "What do you want?"

"What sort of a Professor is your husband?" inquiredthe Tin Woodman curiously.

"He is Professor of Cabbage Culture and CornPerfection. He is very famous in his own family, andwould be the wonder of the world if he went abroad,"said Mrs. Swyne in a voice that was half proud and halfirritable. "I must also inform you intruders that theProfessor is a dangerous individual, for he files histeeth every morning until they are sharp as needles. Ifyou are butchers, you'd better run away and avoidtrouble."

"We are not butchers," the Tin Woodman assured her.

"Then what are you doing with that axe? And why hasthe other tin man a sword?"

"They are the only weapons we have to defend ourfriends from their enemies," explained the Emperor ofthe Winkies, and Woot added:

"Do not be afraid of us, Mrs. Swyne, for we areharmless travelers. The tin men and the Scarecrow nevereat anything and Polychrome feasts only on dewdrops. Asfor me, I'm rather hungry, but there is plenty of foodin your garden to satisfy me."

Professor Swyne now joined his wife at the window,looking rather scared in spite of the boy's assuringspeech. He wore a blue Munchkin hat, with pointed crownand broad brim, and big spectacles covered his eyes. Hepeeked around from behind his wife and after lookinghard at the strangers, he said:

"My wisdom assures me that you are merely travelers,as you say, and not butchers. Butchers have reason tobe afraid of me, but you are safe. We cannot invite youin, for you are too big for our house, but the boy whoeats is welcome to all the carrots and turnips hewants. Make yourselves at home in the garden and stayall night, if you like; but in the morning you must goaway, for we are quiet people and do not care for company."

"May I have some of your straw?" asked the Scarecrow.

"Help yourself," replied Professor Swyne.

"For pigs, they're quite respectable," remarked Woot,as they all went toward the straw-stack.

"I'm glad they didn't invite us in," said CaptainFyter. "I hope I'm not too particular about myassociates, but I draw the line at pigs."

The Scarecrow was glad to be rid of his hay, forduring the long walk it had sagged down and made himfat and squatty and more bumpy than at first.

"I'm not specially proud," he said, "but I love amanly figure, such as only straw stuffing can create.I've not felt like myself since that hungry Hip-po atemy last straw."

Polychrome and Woot set to work removing the hay andthen they selected the finest straw, crisp and golden,and with it stuffed the Scarecrow anew. He certainlylooked better after the operation, and he was sopleased at being reformed that he tried to dance alittle jig, and almost succeeded.

"I shall sleep under the straw-stack tonight," Wootdecided, after he had eaten some of the vegetables fromthe garden, and in fact he slept very well, with thetwo tin men and the Scarecrow sitting silently besidehim and Polychrome away somewhere in the moonlightdancing her fairy dances.

At daybreak the Tin Woodman and the Tin Soldier tookoccasion to polish their bodies and oil their joints,for both were exceedingly careful of their personalappearance. They had forgotten the quarrel due to theiraccidental bumping of one another in the invisiblecountry, and being now good friends the Tin Woodmanpolished the Tin Soldier's back for him and then theTin Soldier polished the Tin Woodman's back.

For breakfast the Wanderer ate crisp lettuce andradishes, and the Rainbow's Daughter, who had nowreturned to her friends, sipped the dewdrops that hadformed on the petals of the wild-flowers.

As they passed the little house to renew theirjourney, Woot called out:

"Good-bye, Mr. and Mrs. Swyne!"

The window opened and the two pigs looked out.

"A pleasant journey," said the Professor.

"Have you any children?" asked the Scarecrow, who wasa great friend of children.

"We have nine," answered the Professor; "but they donot live with us, for when they were tiny piglets theWizard of Oz came here and offered to care for them andto educate them. So we let him have our nine tinypiglets, for he's a good Wizard and can be relied uponto keep his promises."

"I know the Nine Tiny Piglets," said the Tin Woodman.

"So do I," said the Scarecrow. "They still live inthe Emerald City, and the Wizard takes good care ofthem and teaches them to do all sorts of tricks."

"Did they ever grow up?" inquired Mrs. SquealinaSwyne, in an anxious voice.

"No," answered the Scarecrow; "like all otherchildren in the Land of Oz, they will always remainchildren, and in the case of the tiny piglets that is agood thing, because they would not be nearly so cuteand cunning if they were bigger."

"But are they happy?" asked Mrs. Swyne.

"Everyone in the Emerald City is happy," said the TinWoodman. "They can't help it."

Then the travelers said good-bye, and climbed theside of the basin that was toward Mount Munch.