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 at once stiffen, and we can only stand straight and look pretty.  Of course that is all that is expected of us when we are on mantels and cabinets and drawing-room tables, but our lives are much pleasanter here in our own country.”

“I would not make you unhappy for all the world!” exclaimed Dorothy.  “So I’ll just say good-bye.”

    “Good-bye,” replied the Princess.

They walked carefully through the china country.  The little animals and all the people scampered out of their way, fearing the strangers would break them, and after an hour or so the travelers reached the other side of the country and came to another china wall.

It was not so high as the first, however, and by standing upon the Lion’s back they all managed to scramble to the top.  Then the Lion gathered his legs under him and jumped on the wall; but just as he jumped, he upset a china church with his tail and smashed it all to pieces.

“That was too bad,” said Dorothy, “but really I think we were lucky in not doing these little people more harm than breaking a cow’s leg and a church.  They are all so brittle!”

“They are, indeed,” said the Scarecrow, “and I am thankful I am made of straw and cannot be easily damaged.  There are worse things in the world than being a Scarecrow.”

21.  The Lion Becomes the King of Beasts

After climbing down from the china wall the travelers found themselves in a disagreeable country, full of bogs and marshes and covered with tall, rank grass.  It was difficult to walk without falling into muddy holes, for the grass was so thick that it hid them from sight.  However, by carefully picking their way, they got safely along until they reached solid ground.  But here the country seemed wilder than ever, and after a long and tiresome walk through the underbrush they entered another forest, where the trees were bigger and older than any they had ever seen.