I suppose not, said Dorothy.
Now there is Mr. Joker, one of our clowns, continued the china lady,
who is always trying to stand upon his head. He has broken himself so
often that he is mended in a hundred places, and doesn t look at all
pretty. Here he comes now, so you can see for yourself.
Indeed, a jolly little clown came walking toward them, and Dorothy
could see that in spite of his pretty clothes of red and yellow and
green he was completely covered with cracks, running every which way
and showing plainly that he had been mended in many places.
The Clown put his hands in his pockets, and after puffing out his
cheeks and nodding his head at them saucily, he said:
My lady fair,
Why do you stare
At poor old Mr. Joker?
You re quite as stiff
And prim as if
You d eaten up a poker!
Be quiet, sir! said the Princess. Can t you see these are strangers,
and should be treated with respect?
Well, that s respect, I expect, declared the Clown, and immediately
stood upon his head.
Don t mind Mr. Joker, said the Princess to Dorothy. He is
considerably cracked in his head, and that makes him foolish.
Oh, I don t mind him a bit, said Dorothy. But you are so beautiful,
she continued, that I am sure I could love you dearly. Won t you let
me carry you back to Kansas, and stand you on Aunt Em s mantel? I could
carry you in my basket.
That would make me very unhappy, answered the china Princess. You
see, here in our country we live contentedly, and can talk and move
around as we please. But whenever any of us are taken away our joints
108