Also she had a purple feather fastened to a wart on the
top of her head, and around her waist was a sash of
fibre-like vines, dried and tough, that looked like
strings.
"Get to work, Til," commanded King Bal. "Panta has
just exploded."
The lady Loon picked up the bunch of skin and
examined it carefully until she discovered a hole in
one foot. Then she pulled a strand of string from her
sash, and drawing the edges of the hole together. she
tied them fast with the string, thus making one of
those curious warts which the strangers had noticed on
so many Loons. Having done this, Til Loon tossed the
bit of skin to the other Loons and was about to go away
when she noticed the prisoners and stopped to inspect
them.
"Dear me!" said Til; "what dreadful creatures. Where
did they come from?"
"We captured them," replied one of the Loons.
"And what are we going to do with them?" inquired the
girl Loon.
"Perhaps we'll condemn 'em and puncture 'em,"
answered the King.
"Well," said she, still eyeing the "I'm not sure
they'll puncture. Let's try it, and see."
One of the Loons ran to the forest's edge and quickly
returned with a long, sharp thorn. He glanced at the
King, who nodded his head in assent, and then he rushed
forward and stuck the thorn into the leg of the
Scarecrow. The Scarecrow merely smiled and said
nothing, for the thorn didn't hurt him at all.
Then the Loon tried to prick the Tin Woodman's leg,
but the tin only blunted the point of the thorn.
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