Путешествие в Страну Оз

           "Buttellme,myfriends,howdidyouhappentobehere,intheCountryoftheWinkies,thefirstofalltomeetus?"

           "I’lltellyou,"answeredTik-tok,inhismonotonousvoice,allthesoundsofhiswordsbeingononelevel—"Prin-cessOz-masawyouinhermag-icpic-ture,andknewyouwerecom-inghere;soshesentBil-lin-aandmetowel-comeyouasshecouldnotcomeher-self;sothat—fiz-i-dig-lecum-so-lut-inghy-ber-gob-blein-tu-zib-ick—"

           "Goodgracious!Whatever’sthematternow?"criedDorothy,asthecoppermancontinuedtobabbletheseunmeaningwords,whichnoonecouldunderstandatallbecausetheyhadnosense.

           "Don’tknow,"saidButton-Bright,whowashalfscared.Pollywhirledawaytoadistanceandturnedtolookatthecoppermaninafright.

           "Histhoughtshaverundown,thistime,"remarkedBillinacomposedly,asshesatonTik-tok’sshoulderandprunedhersleekfeathers."Whenhecan’tthink,hecan’ttalkproperly,anymorethanyoucan.You’llhavetowinduphisthoughts,Dorothy,orelseI’llhavetofinishhisstorymyself."

           DorothyranaroundandgotthekeyagainandwoundupTik-tokunderhisleftarm,afterwhichhecouldspeakplainlyagain.

           "Par-donme,"hesaid,"butwhenmythoughtsrundown,myspeechhasnomean-ing,forwordsareformedon-lybythought.Iwasa-bouttosaythatOz-masentustowel-comeyouandin-viteyoutocomestraighttotheEm-er-aldCi-ty.Shewastoobus-ytocomeher-self,forsheispre-par-ingforherbirth-daycel-e-bra-tion,whichistobeagrandaf-fair.