Волшебство страны Оз
9. The Isle of the Magic Flower
"
"No;notthesameway,surely,"returnedtheGlassCat;"for,inthatcase,they’dbeasgoodasMYbrains,exceptthatthey’rehiddenunderathick,boneyskull."
"Brains,"remarkedCap’nBill,"isofallkindsandworkdifferentways.ButI’venoticedthatthemasthinksthattheirbrainsisbestisoftenmistook."
Trotwasalittledisturbedbysoundsfromtheforest,thatnight,formanybeastsseemedprowlingamongthetrees,butshewasconfidentCap’nBillwouldprotectherfromharm.Andinfact,nobeastventuredfromtheforesttoattackthem.
Atdaybreaktheywereupagain,andafterasimplebreakfastCap’nBillsaidtotheGlassCat:
"Upanchor,Mate,andlet’sforgeahead.Idon’tsupposewe’refarfromthatMagicFlower,arewe?"
"Notfar,"answeredthetransparentone,asitledthewayintotheforest,"butitmaytakeyousometimetogettoit."
Beforelongtheyreachedthebankofariver.Itwasnotverywide,atthisplace,butastheyfollowedthebanksinanortherlydirectionitgraduallybroadened.
Suddenlytheblue-greenleavesofthetreeschangedtoapurplehue,andTrotnoticedthisandsaid:
"Iwonderwhatmadethecolorschangelikethat?"
"It’sbecausewehavelefttheMunchkinCountryandenteredtheGillikinCountry,"explainedtheGlassCat."Alsoit’sasignourjourneyisnearlyended."
Therivermadeasuddenturn,andafterthetravelershadpassedaroundthebend,theysawthatthestreamhadnowbecomeasbroadasasmalllake,andinthecenteroftheLaketheybeheldalittleisland,notmorethanfiftyfeetinextent,eitherway.
