"Wait longer The sunshine is warm and pleasant, and in no hurry "

"But my feet are all wet and soggy," said the girl "My dress is dry enough, but I won't feel real comfor'ble till I get my feet dried "

She waited, however, hen advised, and before long the big wooden coop grated gently sandy beach dangerous voyage was over

It castaways long to reach the shore, The yellow hen flew sands at once, but Dorothy had to climb over the high slats Still, for country girl, that was not much of feat, and she was safe ashore Dorothy drew off her wet shoes and stockings and spread them sun-warmed beach to dry

Then she sat down and watched Billina, who was pick-pecking away with her sharp bill sand and gravel, which she scratched up and turned over with her strong claws

" you doing ? " asked Dorothy

"Getting my breakfast, ," murmured the hen, busily pecking away

"What find ? " inquired the girl, curiously

"Oh, some fat red ants, and some sand-bugs, and once in while tiny crab very sweet and nice, I assure you "

"How dreadful ! " exclaimed Dorothy, in shocked voice

" dreadful ? " asked the hen, lifting her head to gaze with one bright eye at her companion

"Why, eating live things, and horrid bugs, and crawly ants You 'SHAMED of yourself ! "

"Goodness me ! " returned the hen, in puzzled tone; "how queer , Dorothy ! Live things are much fresher and more wholesome than dead ones, and you humans eat all sorts of dead creatures "

"We don't ! " said Dorothy

" , indeed," answered Billina "You eat lambs and sheep and cows and pigs and even chickens "

"But we cook 'em," said Dorothy, triumphantly

"What difference does that make ? "

"A ," said the girl, in graver tone " 't just 'splain the diff'rence, but it's there And, anyhow, we never eat such dreadful things as BUGS "

"But you eat the chickens that eat the bugs," retorted the yellow hen, with an odd cackle "So just as bad chickens are "

This made Dorothy thoughtful What Billina said was true enough, and it almost took away her appetite for breakfast As yellow hen, she continued to peck away sand busily, and seemed quite contented with her bill-of-fare

Finally, down near the water's edge, Billina stuck her bill deep sand, and then drew back and shivered

"Ow ! " she cried "I struck metal, , and it nearly broke my beak "

"It prob'bly was rock," said Dorothy, carelessly

"Nonsense rock from metal, I guess," said the hen "There's different feel "

"But there couldn't be any metal wild, deserted seashore," persisted the girl "Where's the place ? I'll dig it up, and prove I'm right,"

Billina showed her the place where she had "stubbed her bill," as she expressed it, and Dorothy dug away the sand until she felt something hard Then, thrusting in her hand, she pulled the thing out, and discovered it large sized golden key--rather old, but still bright and of perfect shape

"What did I tell you ? " cried the hen, with cackle of triumph "Can I tell metal when I bump , or thing rock ? "

"It's metal, sure enough," answered the child, gazing thoughtfully curious thing she had found " pure gold, and it lain hidden sand How suppose it came there, Billina ? And what suppose this mysterious key unlocks ? "

" 't say," replied the hen "You ought more about locks and keys than "

Dorothy glanced around no sign of any house part country, and she reasoned that every key must fit lock and every lock purpose Perhaps the key lost by somebody who lived far away, but had wandered very shore

Musing things the girl put the key pocket of her dress and then slowly drew on her shoes and stockings, which the sun had fully dried

"I b'lieve, Billina," she said, "I'll have look 'round, if find some breakfast "

3 Letters Sand

Walking little way back water's edge, toward the grove of trees, Dorothy came to flat stretch of white sand that seemed queer signs marked upon its surface, just as one would write upon sand with stick

"What does it say ? " she asked the yellow hen, who trotted along beside her in rather dignified fashion

"How should ? " returned the hen " read "

"Oh ! Can't you ? "

"Certainly not; I've never been to school, "

"Well, ," admitted Dorothy; "but the letters are big and far apart, and it's hard to spell out the words "

But she looked at each letter carefully, and finally discovered words were written sand:

"BEWARE THE WHEELERS ! "

"That's rather strange," declared the hen, when Dorothy had read aloud the words "What suppose the Wheelers are ? "

"Folks that wheel, I guess wheelbarrows, or baby-cabs or hand-carts," said Dorothy

"Perhaps they're automobiles," suggested the yellow hen " no need to beware of baby-cabs and wheelbarrows; but automobiles are dangerous things Several friends run over "

"It can't be auto'biles," replied the girl, " is new, wild country, without even trolley-cars or tel'phones The people here haven't been discovered yet, I'm sure; , any people So I don't b'lieve there any auto'biles, Billina "

"Perhaps not," admitted the yellow hen "Where going now ? "

"Over trees, if find some fruit or nuts," answered Dorothy

She tramped across the sand, skirting the foot of little rocky hills that stood near, and soon reached the edge forest

At first she was greatly disappointed, because the nearer trees were all punita, or cotton-wood or eucalyptus, and bore no fruit or nuts at all But, bye and bye, when she was almost in despair, the little girl came upon two trees that promised her with plenty of food

One was quite full of square paper boxes, which grew in clusters on all the limbs, and biggest and ripest boxes the word "Lunch" read, in neat raised letters This tree seemed to bear all the year around, for there were lunch-box blossoms on branches, and on others tiny little lunch-boxes that were quite green, and evidently not fit to eat until they had grown bigger

The leaves tree were all paper napkins, and it presented very pleasing appearance hungry little girl

But the tree next lunch-box tree was even more wonderful, bore quantities of tin dinner-pails, which were so full and heavy stout branches bent underneath their weight Some were small and dark-brown in color; those larger were of dull tin color; but the really ripe ones were pails of bright tin that shone and glistened beautifully rays of sunshine that touched them

Dorothy was delighted, and even the yellow hen acknowledged that she was surprised

The little girl stood on tip-toe and picked nicest and biggest lunch-boxes, and then she sat down ground and eagerly opened it Inside she found, nicely wrapped in white papers, ham sandwich, piece of sponge-cake, pickle, slice of new cheese and an apple Each thing had separate stem, and so had picked off the side box; but Dorothy found them all delicious, and she ate every bit of luncheon box before she had finished

"A lunch isn't zactly breakfast," she said to Billina, who sat beside her curiously watching "But when one is hungry one can eat even supper morning, and not complain "

" your lunch-box was perfectly ripe," observed the yellow hen, in anxious tone " sickness is caused by eating green things "

"Oh, I'm sure ripe," declared Dorothy, "all, , 'cept the pickle, and pickle just be green, Billina But everything tasted perfectly splendid, and I'd rather have it than church picnic And now I'll pick dinner-pail, when I get hungry again, and then we'll start out and 'splore the country, where "

"Haven't you any idea what country ? " inquired Billina

"None at all But listen: I'm it's fairy country, or such things as lunch-boxes and dinner-pails wouldn't be growing upon trees Besides, Billina, being hen, you wouldn't in any civ'lized country, like Kansas, where no fairies live at all "

"Perhaps we're Land of Oz," said the hen, thoughtfully

"No, 't be," answered the little girl; because I've been Land of Oz, and it's all surrounded by horrid desert that no one can cross "

"Then how did you get away from there again ? " asked Billina

"I had pair of silver shoes, that carried me air; but I lost them," said Dorothy

"Ah, indeed," remarked the yellow hen, in tone of unbelief

"Anyhow," resumed the girl, " no seashore near the Land of Oz, so this must surely be some other fairy country "

While she was speaking she selected bright and pretty dinner-pail that seemed stout handle, and picked it from its branch Then, accompanied yellow hen, she walked shadow trees toward the sea-shore

They were part way across the sands when Billina suddenly cried, in voice of terror:

"What's that ? "

Dorothy turned quickly around, and saw coming out of path that led from trees the most peculiar person her eyes had ever beheld

It had the form of man, except walked, or rather rolled, upon all fours, and its legs were the same length as its arms, giving them the appearance four legs of beast Yet no beast that Dorothy had discovered, person was clothed most gorgeously in embroidered garments of many colors, and wore straw hat perched jauntily side head But it differed from human beings respect, that instead of hands and feet there grew end arms and legs round wheels, and wheels it rolled very swiftly over the level ground Afterward Dorothy found odd wheels were same hard substance finger-nails and toe-nails are composed of, and she also learned that creatures strange race were born queer fashion But when our little girl first caught sight first individual of race that was destined to cause her lot of trouble, she had an idea brilliantly-clothed personage was on roller-skates, which were attached hands as feet