Page:Ozma of Oz.djvu/27
O z m a o f O z
It was lucky for Dorothy, I think, that the storm
subsided; otherwise, brave though she was, I fear she
might have perished. Many children, in her place,
would have wept and given way to despair; but
because Dorothy had encountered so many adventures and come safely through them it did not occur
to her at this time to be especially afraid. She was
wet and uncomfortable, it is true; but, after sighing
that one sigh I told you of, she managed to recall
some of her customary cheerfulness and decided to
patiently await whatever her fate might be.
By and by the black clouds rolled away and showed a blue sky overhead, with a silver moon shining sweetly in the middle of it and little stars winking merrily at Dorothy when she looked their way. The coop did not toss around any more, but rode the waves more gently—almost like a cradle rocking—so that the floor upon which Dorothy stood was no longer swept by water coming through the slats. Seeing this, and being quite exhausted by the excitement of the past few hours, the little girl decided that sleep would be the best thing to restore her strength and the easiest way in which she could pass the time. The floor was damp and she was herself wringing wet, but fortunately this was a warm climate and she did not feel at all cold. 22