 
# A FAVOR FOR STICKTIGHT

By

Larry Good

"Why don't you watch where you're going!" a voice out of the dark spoke sharply to her. "You knocked me down. I'm lying on the grass!"

\-------Art or Nart, in The Land of Dark

The Tackling Dummy Press

**SMASHWORDS EDITION**

**Copyright © 2013 by Larry Good, All Rights Reserved.**

**Smashwords Edition, License Notes**

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\-----The Tackling Dummy
ACROSS THE MISTERCALD is a Series of six books:

Book One: The Tree of Ticket Leaves

Book Two: The Land of Walking Through Cake

_BOOK THREE:   _ _A FAVOR FOR STICKTIGHT_

Book Four: The Flying Buffalo Unicorn

Book Five: Pumphrey The WaterSpout

Book Six: The Land of Now and Later
_THIS BOOK IS FONDLY DEDICATED TO MY PARENTS:_

Al and Virginia Good

Thanks for everything.

***

"I'll be hornswoggled!"

"Right as rain!"

"I'll say."

"Eighter from Decatur!"

# _IN THE MIDDLE OF THE LANDS_

_Chapter One     The Land of Pink Windmills_

_Chapter Two     Aquamarie_

_Chapter Three     The Fly Bye_

_Chapter Four     The Tree of Ticket Leaves_

_Chapter Five     The Land of Too Shy Izzits_

_Chapter Six     The Surprising Ticket_

_Chapter Seven     A Message From Paris_

_Chapter Eight     Clara and AQ_

_Chapter Nine     Sticktight_

_Chapter Ten     Fico_

_Chapter Eleven     Up The Sliding Board!_

_Chapter Twelve     The Black Sky_

_Chapter Thirteen     The Great Black Paper Airplane Sky_

_Chapter Fourteen     The Right Tower Tree_

_Chapter Fifteen     The Crash of The Pretend Sky_

_Chapter Sixteen     Everyone!_

# Chapter I: THE LAND OF PINK WINDMILLS

When Meri woke up the next morning, the light was already bright in her room. She had slept quite a long time---after a full day of crossing The Lands!

Lying there, she might not have been able to believe it all, if she hadn't been in the middle of a round bed with pink sheets in the center of a very neat round room. She liked the soft pink wallpaper on the curving wall all the way around. The picture of The Sliding Board on one side made her stop and think for a moment.

And as if this weren't enough, the arms of the windmill were steadily passing by the windows. She could also see other pink windmills nearby. Their blades were slowly moving around, creating light wind.

Suddenly she sat up tense with excitement! The Land of Pink Windmills! She couldn't believe she was actually here! Her heart began to beat faster. She realized she was _probably_ going to be able to visit The Ticket Tree that very morning! Hopefully, Aunt Amelia wouldn't have to worry much longer. Although---to be perfectly honest---for _herself_ she really didn't want to leave that quickly.

But she knew she had to.

She also had been avoiding the thought that her Aunt Am _certainly_ by now had told her parents that she was _missing_. The news must have been devastating to them! With that thought she looked down dejectedly at the pink sheet below.

All three: her mother, her father, and her Aunt Am, must have suffered greatly yesterday evening and overnight. She felt unbelievably bad about that all over again. But she did know something that they didn't know---she was all right! Sooner or later they would find out too! She felt better at the thought. _That she was definitely going to visit The Tree of Ticket Leaves that very day helped her to feel even better._

_Maybe her parents and aunt wouldn't have to worry much longer!_

Sitting up in the very middle of the round bed, she reflected that the Tackling Dummy would have liked her use of the word _devastating_ in her mind. She had also heard her Aunt Amelia use it a number of times. And thinking of that word, she hoped his canvas was being improved at that very minute!

Jumping out of bed, eager to begin her day in this land, she stopped as soon as she did. For when she stood up, she saw herself in the mirror of the neat dresser against the wall.

What stopped her was the sight that she was wearing a long nightgown which she immediately loved. It was light pink, went all the way down to her ankles, just above her bare feet, and on its front was a design in light blue of the four arms of a windmill. In the center of the arms, where they joined, was a light yellow circle with a blue dot in the middle. Down near the hem of the gown was a faint outline, also in light yellow, of the front door to the windmill. One window only of her room was shown in another outline of faint yellow.

She was dressed like a windmill!

Looking around, she noticed again how extraordinarily neat and clean her room was. Near the dresser with the mirror was a chest of drawers that was the same light sandy color. On the wall between them was the colorful picture of the cliffs, The Sliding Board, and then she noticed many paper airplanes pleasantly floating down in the air beside the cliffs.

Directly opposite this picture, on the curving wall of the other side, was a picture of the village of pink windmills. Each one had the same light yellow circle where the arms joined, with a pale blue dot in the center, like her nightgown. So she understood that the windmills, although almost completely pink, did have two other colors.

_And she had been right that the dummies lived in them!_

That realization had also briefly crossed her mind the night before, when she had first entered Sylvestra's front door. But she had been too devastated and worn out to think any more about it.

Neatly placed on the bench before the dresser were her bib overall jeans shorts, her coral-colored top, her white socks, and even her white tennis shoes---all newly washed and dry, Meri discovered.

Dimly remembering Sylvestra, who had been so kind to her the night before, she realized she must have gone out very early in the morning and found her shoes under The Sliding Board, where they had fallen down when she had kicked them off. She _must_ have searched early, to have found them, washed and also dried them _by this time_. And they were _completely_ dry, too!

Picking up her coral top, Meri noticed that even the deep green grass stain on the shoulder was gone, the one where she had fallen and slid on the grass the day before, just before finding The Help Button. Lying on top of her bib overall jeans shorts was the long distance phone card she had been given to call her parents with. It reminded her of her parents on their trip to England, and she wondered again, with a great deal of anxiety, what had become of their trip now that she was _missing_!

"It's a good thing the ship can't turn around," she thought, realizing that if her parents could, they would go all the way back home to try to find her. Her mother and father would have rowed back in a rowboat if anyone would have let them!

Hearing steps on the stairs, Meri looked up as two knocks came softly from the other side of the small door she hadn't seen yet. Sylvestra pushed the door open and came in. She was wearing pink shorts, and a white top which had a large yellow sun on the front and a white moon on the back in a black square.

"Oh, you're up," she said smiling. "Welcome again to The Land of Pink Windmills," she said. She gave Meri a genuine hug. Her light green hair with hints of pink was right beside Meri's light brown hair, because they were just about the same height.

"I wanted to give you a welcome that is like us, not like what happened last night. We couldn't help that," she said, stepping back to look more closely at Meri---not because Meri was the only flesh and blood dummy ever to be in The Lands, but because she was obviously such a delightful dummy anyway. She liked the expression on her face. Immediately she _knew_ she was going to like her!

"That gown fits you perfectly," she decided. Then looking at Meri's eyes, she added, "And you have the loveliest eyes. I'll bet you've heard that many times."

Meri was about to reply when she noticed that Sylvestra's own eyes were _exactly_ the same color as hers. That was indeed surprising to her, because she had never met _anyone_ with eyes just the same color before. She had never met anyone else who had, either.

"Thank you," she said. "But mine are no prettier than yours. Really," she added, as Sylvestra blushed slightly, smiling ever so faintly. "In fact, yours are just like mine, light turquoise. And yours go so well with your hair, too." Sylvestra's hair, of course, was a pleasant light green.

She already liked Sylvestra immensely. She had a combination of authority and shyness that was very appealing.

"Is this your nightgown?" she asked, then felt embarrassed because the answer was so obvious. But she had so many thoughts and feelings at that particular time that she couldn't be expected to think perfectly!

"Yes," replied Sylvestra, looking at the gown, without noticing Meri's embarrassment. "I have several different ones, of different colors, but that one's my favorite. "Do you want to get dressed? I have some fruits and nuts downstairs."

"I'd like to keep this on for just a little while longer, please, if it's okay. It feels so perfect here in this windmill." Meri felt very special wearing Sylvestra's own nightgown.

"Of course," said Sylvestra, pleased again with her new friend. "Come on."

And she led Meri down a small set of steps to the next floor. "Here's a bathroom," she told the girl, directing her to a small room in aqua that the sunlight was lighting up.

"We love neatness and cleanness so very much here in The Land of Pink Windmills, and that's why we have these special sinks and that commode and even that bathtub over there. They help us clean, which we love to do. It's not that we take baths, or even use the commode, but they're useful in all the cleaning we do. A commode gets rid of cleaning water so fast that we like to have one." Closing the door behind her, she then went down the steps again.

The room sparkled, and Meri took a quick bath in the aqua bathroom. She hadn't had a bath since everything had happened the day before. "I can't believe I slept in that clean bed all night after yesterday," she pondered to herself, embarrassed.

Soon Meri came down to the neat kitchen on one side of the main floor of the windmill, where Sylvestra was sitting at a table waiting for her. Wearing the long nightgown, which looked exactly right on her---exactly as if she were right at home in The Lands---Meri noticed the living room on the other side as she sat down. Then she began eating the delicious but unusual fruits and nuts Sylvestra had gathered from somewhere while she was still asleep.

"Is that a vacuum cleaner?" she asked of Sylvestra, who had gotten up for a moment to put something back in a closet.

"Yes, I was cleaning before you got up. I clean every day," she said with a special look on her face, sitting back down across from her guest. Her light turquoise eyes confirmed the sincerity of her feelings about cleaning.

She reminded Meri of Ello, the way she watched intently, but not discourteously, as Meri ate the fruits and nuts, and drank the water Sylvestra had provided. Sylvestra, like Ello and the other dummies she had met, was fascinated to watch a dummy actually eat and drink.

"I clean every day," she continued, looking approvingly around her. Meri unconsciously looked around too at the extraordinarily clean and neat interior. "It's one of the things I---we---in The Land of Pink Windmills---love to do. We love two things most of all---to clean, and we're also fascinated by air---still air, softly moving air as in breezes, and even air as in tornadoes. That's why we live in windmills, and even why we live beside cliffs.

"You probably didn't have time to realize last night that these windmills are the exact opposite of regular windmills. You see, they turn to create moving air, instead of being turned by it---but wait a minute! Didn't you say something about that last night! I remember! You did. I was surprised by what you said, that you would even think about something like that, after what had just happened." Evidently Sylvestra, now recalling, had a high opinion of her comment.

"Yes," said Meri, hazily recalling her extraordinary arrival the night before. "I did, didn't I?" She really wasn't quite ready to think about it too much yet. When the scene came back into her mind anyway, of the windmills spinning crazily to create the tornadoes, however, she felt not only better but grateful once again.

"The windmills are made of something that turns light into electricity," explained Sylvestra. "Somehow, long ago in our history, we learned to love wind, and so eventually we came to be living in windmills. I wish I knew why," she mused with a mystical long ago look in her light turquoise eyes as she momentarily lapsed into a light reverie. Then she returned. "But anyway, we love moving air. And we've had such a good time with the croapfs in the past because of it," she concluded, smiling.

Meri, just finishing her breakfast, was shocked. Her eyes opened wide. "Do you mean the croapfs who did that last night?" she asked, incredulous. "Sylvestra, aren't you mad at them?"

"Call me Syl, if you like, Dear. No, I'm not mad at them at all. I feel so sorry about what has happened to them," she answered. And then she explained how she really felt.

"Something has gone very wrong with them and they can't help it. And I'm worried about what else they may do. Do you know what _croapf_ means?" Sylvestra had placed the yellow, mixed slightly with pink, yarn of her elbows on the table and was peering directly at Meri with her head held in her colorful hands.

Meri was surprised at the question. "What _croapf_ means?" she repeated. She didn't understand. She had thought it was just a name that they somehow had gotten. But apparently there was something more.

"I guess I don't," she admitted, now interested.

She was surprised again when Syl then said, "The Land of the Croapfs means _The Land of the Creative Original Airplane (Paper) Fliers_. We just say _croapfs_ because it's convenient. Their name is so long."

Meri was amazed and even speechless. It was the last thing she had expected to hear. From her own experiences---in the border that looks like Amelia and on The Sliding Board the night before---she had understandably formed a very negative idea of the croapfs. But then she remembered meeting Nuggety, the croapf who had been knocked back right. He had been very nice! And she recalled that Wut hadn't said anything at all objectionable about the croapfs---mainly that something had gone wrong with their land, as Sylvestra had just suggested. Mostly he had spent a lot of time worrying and thinking about them. Now talking with Sylvestra, Meri slowly began to adjust her ideas.

Sylvestra's unexpected explanation of the meaning of the word _croapf_ caused her to visualize in her mind the beautiful paper airplanes that the croapfs had thrown in the long border. She remembered that Wut had said, while they were being chased, "They love paper airplanes." That fit Sylvestra's words exactly! The day before had been the fullest day in her life. She was glad, during her conversation with her new friend, to have practically unlimited time to think!

"The croapfs love to fly paper airplanes," continued Sylvestra with animation, strengthening what Meri already knew. The look on Syl's face---and especially in her light turquoise eyes---also seemed to be one of fond memories.

"They are very good with their hands---the best in The Lands. They love to make things, and what they love to make the most is paper airplanes, of all designs and descriptions. And where is the best place to fly them?" she asked the air excitedly.

"Why, right here, from our own cliffs, of course!" she answered herself with excitement, clarifying the memories she had suggested with her eyes.

Meri thought of the cliffs. It made sense. In fact, it made _perfect_ sense, the cliffs were so high. She imagined the air full of paper airplanes circling and floating down from them! She suddenly longed to see the cliffs like that!

"We have all kinds of contests," continued Sylvestra with noticeable enthusiasm. "The two main ones are, first, to see _which paper airplane can go the farthest,_ and second, to see _which one can stay in the air the longest_. Then there is, _which one is the prettiest_?---this is so competitive---and so lovely!---when all the planes for this contest are in the air together! It's an indescribable sight!

"Then there's _which one can fly the highest_ , and _which one, launched from the top of the cliffs, can land on the Sliding Board, closest to the end, without falling off_." Sylvestra was searching her memory. It was impossible to remember _all_ of the contests, she was just trying to name her favorites!

"Another contest," she began, even a little more excitedly---requires the teaming up of a croapf with one of us, to see _which paper airplane can stay in the air the longest with the help of a windmill_.

"You saw last night that we can move the windmills on their bases, adjust the speeds of the blades, and we can also, if we want, change the angle of the arms to point more upward. That was necessary last night. In this contest, though, since the planes are up so long and in the higher winds, we also have to try to keep them from hitting the cliffs, and it really gets exciting! A croapf that I like a whole lot---her name is Faye---and I have won this event for the last three times straight!" she said, trying to say it as modestly as she could.

"And the last contest of all---I can't think of all of them right now---at the end of the day, is to see _how many paper airplanes can be in the air, all at the same time, before the first one lands on the grass down here below._ That really is marvelous!" Syl exclaimed, trying to stay calm. "You should see it---the air all the way up to the cliffs is just full of colorful paper airplanes!" To steady herself, she stood up and, a little embarrassed, began cleaning the table where Meri had been having breakfast.

Meri loved her outfit: the way her white top, above her pink shorts, showed both the sun and the moon. The moon was appropriately on the back.

"It sounds like so much fun!" agreed Meri, wishing that she really could see these contests starting from the cliffs above. Her own imagination helped! She was also realizing better what Syl had meant when her friend had spoken of the love of moving air in The Land of Pink Windmills. Syl herself had been a good demonstration of this love as she had spoken of the contests!

"Oh, it is!" said Syl, still excited, preparing to wash already the two dishes and one glass that Meri had needed for her breakfast.

"But that's enough of that for now," she said firmly, finally controlling herself. "I just hope the croapfs can be helped before something else happens that can't be stopped in time. Thank goodness we were able to interfere last night, for your sake. But suppose the next time we can't." Looking at Syl's face, Meri suddenly realized her friend was genuinely worried about the future---about what the croapfs might do _next_. She hadn't even thought of that!

Meri had an entirely different picture of the croapfs now. Musing as she sat there at the table, as Syl washed the dishes, she understood better why Wut had been so concerned about them. For one thing, he evidently liked them too. And he also was sorry about what had happened to them. But now that something was wrong with them, their great ability to make things, such as the paper airplanes and fireballs, obviously could lead to considerably more trouble.

"What will they think of next?" she herself began to wonder, worrying about the land too.

_It would be something original_ , she believed.

"I think Sylvestra and Wut are right to be worried," she said to herself. But she didn't say anything out loud, because she didn't want to worry Sylvestra any more than she already was.

It was a good time to change the subject, and Syl did.

"I think you wanted to see The Ticket Tree," she said casually, finishing at the sink, as Meri got up and pushed her chair back to the table. "Are you ready to go down there now?"

Just like that!

Syl had asked the question so simply. But it was _so_ important!

This was the moment Meri had been waiting for! It was what _all_ of the day before---that _unforgettable_ day!---had been about.

The excitement of it came upon her! Her heart began to beat faster. She smiled. She wondered what the tree would look like. She couldn't wait to go outside! Opening the door, she looked out at all the windmills. The blades of Sylvestra's windmill slowly swept around in front of her. Where was the tree, she wondered? Syl just stood by smiling.

And at that moment Meri had a funny feeling in her stomach for the first time, very specific and too strong to ignore:

_To go back home, or even to England, she would have to leave The Lands_.

And she didn't want to! No, not yet!

She wanted to stop her parents and her Aunt Am from worrying. And of course she wanted to see them again and to be with them again. But she was already beginning to have a special feeling--- _one of the most special feelings she had ever had_ \---about The Lands. And especially about all of her new friends in them. Already there were _many_ , and they were quite dear to her. It wasn't going to be easy to leave them. In fact it was going to be quite hard.

On the other hand, because Meri was missing, her parents and her Aunt Am must be suffering _more than they ever had before_.

She _had_ to stop them from worrying in any way she could!

She didn't understand why she loved being in The Lands so much. She had just arrived. It surely had something to do with her own mind, as well as the dear friends she had made. And it had a lot to do with The Lands themselves. Obviously they were quite special. In a way, they were like the game of _Suddenly!_ she had made up. Only they went so much farther! Each land was so very unusual!

Another problem was _how many_ lands there were! She would _never_ be able to find out about them all or to meet all the dummies in them! But suddenly that was all right with her. In a way, she was glad. But she didn't know why. But she did know she wasn't ready to stop finding out about them now.

With these serious thoughts and also her troubled feelings, she walked up the stairs of the pink windmill to her room. First she neatly made her round bed with the light blue bedspread, laying the pillow she had slept on back in the arms of the flat picture of Sylvestra. The four arms of the windmill, peacefully and regularly flashing by the upstairs windows on that side, revealed glimpses between them of the other windmills. The light pink windmill on the bedspread showed exactly where she had been lying for most of the night before.

Standing beside the bench for the dresser, she put her familiar clean clothes back on again: the bib overall jeans shorts, the coral top, the white socks, and the clean white tennis shoes, which she put on last. Looking in the mirror, she combed and brushed her hair with a brush that was there.

Inspired by Sylvestra's love of neatness and cleanness and by the condition of the entire windmill, she carefully folded the long pink nightgown that she liked so much and placed it right on the edge of the bed and patted it.

And, finally, she looked affectionately around the tidy room she had slept in: at the soft pink wallpaper all the way around, the five windows spaced equally apart through which she could see outside in all directions, the two pictures on the wall, and the different articles of light sandy colored furniture. She wanted to remember everything exactly as it was, in case she never got back. If The Tree of Ticket Leaves took her back home or to England that very day!

Then, feeling a little sad; and a little nervous about trying The Ticket Tree; and a little hopeful about where it might take her; already missing The Lands and her friends; but excited about the idea of going to England or back home again; and not understanding exactly _how_ she felt, she had _so many feelings all at the same time_ \---she went downstairs to join Syl.

Running swiftly to the front door from the foot of the stairs, she stood there as the blades swept slowly by. One thing she really loved about this land was the look of all the other nearby pink windmills through the windows and the door. The grass was so green, and everything was so clean and so neat. It was such a cheerful land.

"Our first stop is Aquamarie's windmill," said Syl, following Meri out the front door and waiting for the right blade to go by so she could duck past it.

"Aquamarie?" asked Meri, looking back.

"Yes," said her yarn friend. "In all of The Lands, she's the best seamstress there is! Luckily she lives _here."_

"Oh!! The Tackling Dummy!" exclaimed Meri, understanding. She had been thinking about him.

_She was excited and then sad again all at once!_

A feeling sank to the bottom of her stomach, as the images of his back, the last time she had seen it, floated back into her mind again.

"The best seamstress in all of The Lands lives _here?"_ she repeated hopefully, slowly thinking about those words and what they meant.

That _was_ good luck for the Tackling Dummy.

"Exactly," said Sylvestra, a firm promise in both of her light turquoise eyes as she looked into the eyes of her new friend.

It then seemed a very good time to leap through the open spaces between the slowly turning blades. As soon as the next one came down, Syl darted out, to set an example for Meri.

"How different!" Meri thought, about this way of leaving one's house each day. "And how much fun!" She was watching for a good opening in the blades too, although really, they were all the same distance apart. But it was fun to watch them coming by and to choose.

It was a light-hearted way to go outside!

She was quite agile, and she loved leaping out.

# Chapter II: AQUAMARIE

"Windmill blades crossing the front door don't bother us," said Sylvestra calmly when they were both on the grass.

"You might think it's dangerous, but actually it's not. Because if one hits us, and they do sometimes, it's all right. We're made of yarn. Believe it or not, we actually _like_ for the blades to come close, because of the way the air feels. And because it's fun. We've done it so many times that we can time it just right."

"But not _you_ ," she said when the next blade just barely missed Meri, who was looking around at all the windmills in the sunlight and not watching the one she had just left. " _You're_ not made of yarn. You have to be more careful than we are," she humorously reminded her friend, "being a flesh and blood dummy."

Meri had already just missed being hit twice. Coming through, she had waited just a fraction of a second too long before starting, and had had to twist her body at the last moment to avoid being struck.

And she had almost gotten hit again, just looking around.

Syl had noticed Meri's agility. And also that her quick thinking, when she thought she might be hit, had saved her.

"I think she's going to be all right here," she thought to herself of her new friend, "when she gets a little more used to us."

She wasn't worried about the two near accidents. _All_ the dummies visiting from other Lands usually had an accident or two, or a near one, before they were okay in the land.

"You look totally charming!" Meri suddenly said as the sunlight struck Sylvestra's outfit. She looked at the large yellow sun on the front of Syl's white top again and peeped around again at the white moon on the back in a black square. She also admired her light green hair in the sunshine, with its little pink bits.

"Thanks," said her yarn friend, a smile in her light turquoise eyes. "Aquamarie made it. By the way, that's why your friend is in the best place he could be now in all of The Lands---with Aquamarie."

Out on the grass for the first time in the daylight, Meri caught her breath as her eyes took in, all at one time, the pink windmills with their blades turning peacefully. It was a completely cheerful and refreshing sight. The windmills were light pink and glistening in the sun, rising from especially green grass which curved this way and that.

Meri noticed the light blue circles on all the windmills, too, where the arms joined, just like on her nightgown, with a yellow dot in the center each time. In almost every case the blades were turning, but the windmills were facing in different directions, and the air was moving around in many light breezes.

"It's beautiful," Meri said of the land in almost a whisper.

"Thank you," whispered Sylvestra back in a friendly way. "I told you we like to clean," she commented at the sight of a number of her neighbors outside squeegeeing their windmills. They were all very friendly to Meri and of course to Sylvestra as the two walked by.

Many looks from inside windmills were also directed Meri's way because it was well known, by now, that she was a flesh and blood dummy---the only one ever. It had also been pointed out what kind of person she was, for everyone had learned how much poise and caring she had shown the night before, after what had happened, when she had spoken.

Meri, of course, was unaware of this, and of her special importance to all of The Lands. At the moment she was enjoying immensely just looking around at the grass and the windmills and thinking about how extraordinarily neat and clean the entire land was, as far as she could see.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you," said Syl, as they continued on their small walk around the windmill village to Aquamarie's. "There's one more thing about the croapfs that may now work against us. They live a number of lands away from here, from our cliffs---it's kind of far, really. They love to make paper airplanes, as we said. And they have an unusual way to test them, to make sure they're exactly right before they bring them here. And that's what I want to say: that they are the only land with flying wands."

Meri looked puzzled.

"They have five special wands," explained Sylvestra, holding up both of her hands with the five fingers on each hand spread apart as far as she could get them. It almost looked like she was saying _ten_ flying wands. But she was just emphasizing _five_.

"I haven't flown on one, but I know that one will take you right up into the air if you hold it right. See how it helps them? To test a paper airplane, they can easily carry it up into the air _there_ , where they live, with one of the flying wands---high up into the air above The Land of the Croapfs---and just let it go. They can see how it flies as it descends. Then when they bring the planes here, they're perfect. They've been tested already. Everything works."

Meri was thinking hard, trying to imagine all of this. By this time, she was well used to having difficulty keeping up with what she was learning about one of The Lands.

"But here we are," Sylvestra announced, as they came to a windmill that was on the side of the village nearest the river. Meri could see the bright water gleaming flatly not too far away. The blades of Aquamarie's windmill were pointed toward it and turning a little faster than Sylvestra's. Meri may have been mistaken, but she thought this final windmill, the one farthest away from the cliffs, seemed just a little quieter than the rest of the village.

"Hello," called out Syl, standing in front.

"Oh! Syl! Come on in!" invited a voice from within, but the syllables weren't completely clear. Syl dashed in effortlessly, then regretted her quickness because she had wanted to keep an eye on Meri. Hurrying back to the door, she arrived just as Meri safely made the leap between the faster blades. They almost bumped into each other.

Meri had been more careful this time, having learned from her first try.

They both laughed, and Sylvestra said, "Excuse me, please."

Meri didn't mind Syl worrying about her. She liked Syl, and she was enjoying going in and out of these windmills!

Inside was another extremely neat and clean interior, but this one had a large table right in the middle of the first floor, on which the Tackling Dummy was stretched out on his stomach, facing them. His chin was resting on both of his hands, and he had a sheepish look on his face, evidently at being perched up on a table like that.

"Good morning," he said, without lifting his chin. Evidently Aquamarie had told him not to move. He seemed glad to see both of them.

"It _is_ a good morning," answered Meri, thrilled to see her friend looking better and being improved. And by _the best seamstress in all of The Lands!_ That thought made her happy.

Sitting beside the Tackling Dummy on a stool was the dummy who had invited them in with unclear syllables. Syl and Meri could see why now. She was holding a lot of pins in her mouth as she bent over the Tackling Dummy's back. At that moment she was sewing up a small tear near the top of his left shoulder . Meri thought she recognized it as one he had received when the croapfs kept throwing him up into the air and cross-body blocking him when he came down. At least, she hadn't remembered seeing it before then.

"This is Meri, I think you know who she is, and this is Aquamarie," said Sylvestra, as she introduced them, "and I'm Sylvestra---or Syl," she added, bending down to the Tackling Dummy's face. To Meri she continued, "She sews for many of the dummies in The Lands, making tiny repairs now and then, and sometimes big ones."

"But never as big as these," Aquamarie said in an impressed way, not quite clearly, as she continued peering down and sewing while talking. The sharp pins moved around in her mouth as she formed the words.

"Oh, sorry," she mumbled to the Tackling Dummy, who lifted his head up and looked back with mock displeasure at Aquamarie to protest this assessment of his condition. "Don't worry," she added reassuringly to him through her pins as he rested his head on his hands again. "You'll be all right."

"I shouldn't have said that," she mouthed silently to Meri and Syl when he was comfortable again. But trying to mouth words without actually speaking caused all of the pins to drop out of her mouth onto the edge of the square table, where they clicked lightly as they fell.

She was older than Syl and Meri, who were about the same age. But she was made of the same light yellow yarn, with traces of soft pink, as Sylvestra. However, her hair wasn't light green, like Sylvestra's. It was medium brown with some light yellow yarn mixed in---quite attractive, really. She was wearing a top that was mostly white, like Syl's, but with a dominant picture in front of a large pair of shears, open, with black handles and silver cutting edges. They could be seen, as if up in a sky, against an outline, far in the background, of a range of mountains in light chocolate brown. On the lower right, also in the front, was a single small pink windmill standing by itself.

On the back was, against white, a small light green hill, with many birds flying by above it. They were of many different colors.

"That is so pretty," said Meri of her top, when she got a chance to speak. She had immediately walked around her a little, to see it better. "Oh, hi," she added, quickly realizing she hadn't even said hello yet, the conversation had become so lively so quickly.

"Thank you, and hello," said Aquamarie, looking up a little more closely at the flesh and blood dummy. "Guess I'll have to tell you I made it," she mentioned, with some pride, as she continued looking down again, at her work. What she was doing at the time was pinning some smaller tears and rips shut and then expertly sewing them together with gray thread.

"Guess I'll have to tell you I made the one Syl's wearing, too," she suddenly said again.

"And the windmill nightgown you wore last night and liked so much," offered Sylvestra, nodding to Meri to watch Aquamarie, whose face showed just a trace of a smile as she went on working quietly.

"Uh huh," she suddenly said after a small wait, probably meaning that, yes, she had designed and sewn that windmill nightgown.

"I've already gotten the main tears on his chest and around his neck," she informed them in the silence that had followed the 'Uh huh.'

"Next come the smaller tears around his back." She meant, of course, around the large charred place left by the fireball. "Then his back, which is pretty bad.

"Sorry," she said again, as the Tackling Dummy lifted his head another time to protest. However, he winked at Meri and Syl as he lowered his head to the same position as before.

"Then his arms," resumed Aquamarie, smiling at them over the Tackling Dummy's back in a meaningful way as he evidently forgave her.

"And finally," she concluded, "my greatest challenge," referring to the charred area. The Tackling Dummy simply lifted his head up, shook it unbelievingly back and forth, as if he couldn't believe what Aquamarie was saying, and resignedly put it down again without glancing back at her this time.

"Some folks around here are mighty sensitive," muttered Aquamarie goodnaturedly, squinting down a little more as she deftly moved her quick fingers to make a particular improvement. "But I'll make it up to them," she said to no one in particular, continuing, but with a glint of satisfaction in her eyes. The Tackling Dummy also looked satisfied. He knew he was in the right hands.

Clearly this was going to take a long time. "We'll be back later," said Syl lightly to both of them, who were obviously having a good time with the humor of their quiet gentle, but playful, personalities---exactly what was needed to deal with the serious damage to the Tackling Dummy.

"Goodbye," said Meri to her friend, looking down at him and putting a hand on his worn shoulder for a few seconds. "You look much better already."

He grinned up at her, his best friend, with a look of affection at the girl, which said remarkably clearly---with even a friendly defiance coming through those fading eyes---"We traveled across many of The Lands together, and we made it through what happened last night when we arrived. But we have a way to go yet! We're not finished yet!"

Without saying anything, Meri was suddenly moved by the determination she had seen in his eyes. She knew what he meant, that he didn't have new canvas yet, and she hadn't gotten to England.

Her own state of mind was strengthened by that look, for both of them.

"And thanks," she then said, with special tones, to Aquamarie, who glanced up and nodded with understanding as she looked straight into Meri's flesh and blood light turquoise eyes.

"That's okay," she mumbled with a mouthful of pins, and kept working. But then she showed how she really felt about the girl by adding, without looking up, "Get me your measurements."

"I'm exactly the same size as Sylvestra," Meri quickly answered. "Her nightgown fits me perfectly." She stood perfectly still as Aquamarie, glancing up, with great precision analyzed her figure. Then the seamstress nodded again, just noticeably, as if satisfied about knowing the girl's dimensions, before turning her head to her work.

"I'll see you both later," said Meri, without even stopping to remember that The Tree of Ticket Leaves could easily make her promised return impossible. That's where she was going with Syl. Without even thinking about it, with a sprightly leap she went through the challenging blades easily once again and landed in the sunshine beside Sylvestra, who was there waiting for her friend.

They grinned at each other.

Inside, Aquamarie mumbled "I'll look forward to that." There was a light in both of the Tackling Dummy's eyes as he continued to rest his head on both of his hands. Meri's comment, although actually spoken without thinking, had reassured him about something. He knew very well The Ticket Tree was in the land they were in, probably not far away from where he was at that very moment. And he guessed they were going to visit it. But he couldn't even imagine the terrible thought---that he wouldn't let into his mind--- _that he might never see Meri again_ , if the tree took her where she needed to go that very morning!

"I'm not going to think about it," he said to himself stubbornly, as instead he thought about their trip across The Lands the day before.

At that moment, Aquamarie turned her attention to the greatest challenge she would ever face: to the damage that seemed unrepairable in the middle of his back.

# Chapter III: THE FLY BYE

"This way," said Sylvestra, leading Meri through the light pink windmills toward the high cliffs, but at an angle far to the right of The Sliding Board, which could be seen rising up to the top of the cliffs from anywhere in the village.

The two continued to walk by other dummies cleaning their windmills with the same type of long-handled squeegees Meri had seen before. Meri could see buckets everywhere. There was a pleasant clean-sounding squish-squish-squish noise as the squeegees went up and down against the smoothly curving pink exteriors. If you listened closely, though, you could tell the difference between a squeegee going up and one coming down. The ones going up made a slightly higher sound.

It was fun for Meri to talk briefly to these dummies, who said the most interesting things to her. In fact, she wanted to talk to them even more than she did. But if she had, she wouldn't have been able to go to The Tree of Ticket Leaves that morning. Even so, she talked quite a bit.

Water flowing down the pink surfaces added an extra brightness to their walk. They often changed directions, but the breezes from all of the windmills continued to be especially soft. Meri believed that she liked the moving air almost as much as Sylvestra!

"I told you we love to clean," Syl reminded Meri as the girl glanced back at the turning dwellings when they left the village. Seen all at once and from a short distance in the daytime, it was a sparkling sight.

As they walked across a wide field toward the cliffs, and the windmills fell behind them, Meri began to see more and more colorful birds flying by overhead. Sylvestra just let her look, without saying a word.

When they had slowly climbed, with some effort, up a small but rather steep hill covered with grass but no trees, the pattern of birds flying overhead had become remarkable. They were arriving, although not all at once, from two main directions: in a straight line from across the river now more easily seen in the distance; and in a gentle noticeable curve down from the cliffs above.

They all flew over the hill, the two main streams blending at a point a little towards the river, as the birds from the cliffs turned somewhat and joined those coming from the other side of The Lands. Then all of them flew together briefly before breaking free, at different points around the hill, to return to their own lands.

Meri gazed steadily upward, enjoying this unusual and famous landmark of The Lands.

"This is The Fly Bye," announced Syl quietly, finally speaking, a few moments after they had reached the top of the not very high hill. It turned out that the summit was somewhat flat. And there was a small white metal bench on one side that had been placed there for observation. The pink windmills were now tiny in the distance.

"Birds from all over The Lands are continually flying by here," Sylvestra continued. "At all hours of the day anyway. They never stop. Shortly after joining the birds from the other side of The Lands, they separate and fly back to their own lands."

Meri was fascinated. She wondered what her Aunt Amelia, who had tried to teach her how to identify different birds, would think of this. "She would truly love being here!" Meri thought as she looked up. Silently she wished that her beloved aunt could be.

"It's always been like this," explained Syl, without really explaining anything, as Meri's neck muscles began to ache a little. Sylvestra, a yarn dummy, however, could look up without effort. "I come up here fairly often. They never fail to cheer me up, if I need cheering up for some reason. I like to look back at the windmills in the distance, too. But mostly I come up here just because I like to look at the birds. They move through the air, and we love moving air. That makes me think.

"Sometimes I wonder if I've ever seen the same bird more than once," she said speculatively as she kept looking up at the unending streams of attractive birds.

Meri, with her chin up, wasn't saying anything at all. She was just viewing and listening. Her fascinated expression continued in an upward direction. The birds, as they mingled to contrast with each other, were of many different colors and markings, some with especially bright colors and many others with darker and softer colors, but with interesting accents.

Recalling that the birds were from all of The Lands, Meri realized that if she looked closely, after a little while she would have seen something from every one of The Lands. That was quite a thought!

Continuing to watch eagerly, she soon realized that there was also a significant frustration to The Fly Bye too. Time after time, she would see a bird that truly captivated her, and she wanted, ever so much, to see more of it. But it flew on, disappearing among so many, to be followed by others, some of them having exactly the same effect on her all over again.

"OOOHHH," she wailed several times, as the bird that had so moved her went flying on by and blended in. It happened too easily!

The small white metal bench to one side had been expertly placed for viewing, and they both sat down on it to watch from there.

"It's not a migration pattern," continued Sylvestra, still looking up, "because they all fly right back to where they came from. We think they do it just to enjoy seeing The Lands." She didn't get tired, and Meri's neck now felt better at the new angle possible from the bench. Syl was very pleased at Meri's reaction to The Fly Bye, and, as so often happens, her own enjoyment of it was greatly increased by the enjoyment of someone new.

"If you go around to The Lands," Syl continued, "it seems like all the birds are home, in every land. Just enough seem to know when to leave from each land so that this pattern is continued---but you can't tell the difference in a single land."

For some time they had been noticing Wut bouncing toward them from the village of pink windmills, and they were expecting him. With their heads mostly turned upward, however, they were surprised when they heard "Ho! Ho!" in a deep but whimsical voice _behind_ them. Meri recognized it before she turned around, and when she looked, sure enough there was Jethro walking toward them on a broad kind of pass that gradually wound on up, behind them, toward the cliffs.

"I took the long way around," he called out in the same whimsical voice, which had an extra keenness to it, since he was so glad to see his two friends unexpectedly. There was fun in his eyes too, at seeing them there. Of course he knew what they were doing. The rays around the very tip of his unicorn were especially noticeable, but the reason may have been that it was such a beautiful morning.

"One of my favorite places too," he commented more softly as he also tilted his great head slightly upward and began to observe with them.

"Hello!" chimed Wut, bouncing up. He had gotten up the steep hill rather expertly for one who had to _bounce_ up it. Hardly anyone realized how skillfully he could bounce. "I thought I'd visit you at The Ticket Tree," he explained to Meri, bouncing softly on the grass beside the white bench for two. "Are you ready to try the first leaf?" There was excitement in his own eyes.

He was surprised, though, when Meri didn't answer right away with the eagerness he had expected. But she did say that she was. Hearing the calmness in her voice, he looked at her wonderingly for a full moment.

Turning to Jethro, he continued, "And I'm glad that you used such good judgement and didn't try to go down The Sliding Board. I want to remind you that you're too heavy." Clearly he was worried that Jethro would eventually try to come down The Sliding Board.

"One of these days," the large Buffalo Unicorn mused pleasantly. Suddenly it seemed a little crowded on the top of the small hill, with Jethro there, and now Wut. But no one seemed to mind.

"You'll see," Jethro concluded, without looking directly at Wut, "when I go down."

The serious question mark, concern showing in his green eyes, was worried enough by Jethro's remarks to remind his large independent-minded friend, "You can go down the spirals. That's no problem. But you can't go around the vertical loops. As soon as you are upside down, you'll fall down. And you're so big, how could we help you then? And wouldn't The Sliding Board be bent if you fell on it?"

"Okay," Jethro gave in reluctantly---but thoughtfully. "That's the one thing in The Lands that I can't do. Or won't do---for now," he corrected himself. A stubborn but creative look appeared in both of his large brown eyes. He was willing to be sensible, but he was unwilling to give up his spirit of going all over The Lands and doing everything he could that didn't hurt anyone.

Wut felt better and thought it wiser at that point to say no more on the subject, while he was ahead. Bouncing on the top of a hill, he seemed to be bouncing higher than he was.

But Meri added, "And suppose you had come down last night?"

And then they all suddenly realized, from the expression on Jethro's face, that he didn't know yet what had happened. So Syl briefly explained about the fireballs.

The more she spoke, the more wide-eyed and incredulous Jethro's face became, as he stood there listening.

When she got to the part about how the Tackling Dummy had protected Meri with his own canvas, as the large fireball had come right up behind them, and touched him, he became quite upset both for Meri and for his good friend, the Tackling Dummy. His great head seemed to move, so slowly that it didn't even seem to be moving, toward his flesh and blood friend, until his large cheek was resting right against hers. There was a sad and alarmed look in his eyes at almost having lost his friend.

Then he looked right into her sensitive eyes with his large brown ones and said, "Don't you _ever_ let anything happen to you. I couldn't stand it. We need you in The Lands."

Meri was so surprised at his unusual comment and the caring that he expressed in it that she didn't know what to say.

And then it was too late.

"Aquamarie's windmill, did you say? Excuse me, please, I've got to go there right now and visit my friend. Thank goodness Aquamarie lives in this very land! Bye!" He had spoken to them more seriously than Meri had ever heard him speak about anything.

Jethro and the Tackling Dummy had become especially good friends as they had traveled together through The Lands to reach The Ticket Tree. Meri had noticed them talking and laughing together many times.

Galloping down the small hill, he was going fairly fast when he reached the almost flat field between the Fly Bye and the tiny pink windmills in the distance. It was a moving sight to watch him so troubled about his friend, but, at the same time, his in-all-directions running style raised the spirits of all those watching.

_Wut's_ spirit in fact _needed_ raising because of what was happening in The Lands. But Jethro's reaction had also magnified his concerns. He was bouncing thoughtfully. And then, although he had just arrived, he surprised Meri and Syl by announcing, "Excuse me, I believe that I ought to go right back there again. Since the fireballs failed, I'm concerned about what the croapfs might try next. I think I might need to be at the windmills, just in case."

He said this last out into the air, to no one in particular, and Syl and Meri realized how hard he was thinking as he spoke. He had a very disturbed and perplexed look on his face. Then he also turned and started back toward the pink windmills.

"See you later," his voice trailed back up to them as he almost flew to the bottom of the small hill in only one or two bounces.

Once there, he immediately turned on his great speed and in long moderately high bounces eventually caught up with Jethro, just before they both reached the windmills.

"I wish I could talk to my friend Faye," Syl said to Meri, as they themselves began to walk down the side of the hill toward the river and The Tree of Ticket Leaves. "You remember I told you about her, my partner in some of the contests with the paper airplanes?"

She looked down at the grass as they walked. "I just wish I had a flying wand," she said with a frustrated look on her face. "I'd go there---straight to The Land of the Croapfs, and talk to her. Maybe I could help." Then she shrugged her shoulders. "But no land has a flying wand except the croapfs---they have the only five that are in The Lands."

Meri remembered Sylvestra had said The Land of the Croapfs was somewhat far away. She could understand why she wished she could fly there. Then she wondered what it would be like to go up into the air with a flying wand, above The Lands! It was an attractive idea!

"How would you hold it?" she wondered, looking at her hand, while also trying to imagine what The Lands would look like from above.

But mainly she felt bad for Syl. Her friend was obviously worried. And she thought she had a right to be! The croapfs were very good at making things and doing things. They were very creative, even though something had gone wrong with them. They could do a lot of _unexpected_ things! _And now Meri was beginning to be aware that they might even come from the air!_ It was a frightening thought, making everything so much more _complicated!_

_She herself was worried about the land!_ Because the croapfs oddly seemed to be concentrating on The Land of Pink Windmills, there was no telling what might happen to this beautiful and loveable land!

She became even more worried.

Then an idea came to her, a rather obvious one. "If you want to go to The Land of the Croapfs, could a ticket from The Ticket Tree take you there---so you could talk to your friend?" she asked Sylvestra as they started down a long mild slope.

About halfway down stood a large and beautiful tree, with green leaves that were reflecting the light individually, Meri realized. Each leaf seemed important.

As they approached, the ground, covered by the light green grass of The Lands, temporarily leveled for the tree. From the beginning, from her first sight of it, _Meri knew this was the tree!_

It gave her heart all kinds of funny feelings right away. And it made her stomach quiver at the same time, too.

There was a brightness in the air all around it. The leaves were shining and looked unusual---as if they could be either leaves or tickets!

_This was the tree that she had traveled halfway across The Lands to get to!_

And a leaf _just like those shining on it_ had brought her to The Lands, from home! Looking intently at them, Meri noticed that the leaves didn't look at all as if they could have that much power.

But the entire tree in the sunshine was quite beautiful.

Very very slowly, she walked closer and closer to it, her excitement rising. She could feel all kinds of sensations on the inside.

She tried to remain calm on the outside. Eyeing the tree, she continued her previous conversation, as matter-of-factly as she could.

"If so, you could talk to Faye. Perhaps you _could_ help."

They stopped, just before the extraordinary tree. Meri was looking up at it. Did each of those many leaves go to a different place?

"If I could be so lucky," answered Syl, smiling at Meri in spite of herself. They looked up at The Ticket Tree standing gracefully before them. The leaves were moving gently here and there in unseen airs.

Stepping forward and then stopping again just as quickly, Meri looked even more closely at as many of the individual leaves as she could see. Her heart began to beat faster.

_For each one of the leaves looked exactly like the one that had brought her and the Tackling Dummy to The Lands!_

The two girls then looked at each other, with expectant eyes. They grinned, as if they now had something to do together. Meri wanted to see if the tree would take her home or to England, although she didn't believe that it would do so _right away_.

"I'll probably just go to another one of The Lands," she thought.

And Syl wanted to go to The Land of the Croapfs.

They _each_ had a reason to try The Ticket Tree!

Excited, and her mind filled with all kinds of thoughts by her lively imagination and by her many feelings, Meri wondered which leaf, of all the ones she was now looking at, she ought to choose first. She looked at them again. That leaf was on the tree now, somewhere.

Which one would it be, among so many?

_And where would it take her?_

# Chapter IV: THE TREE OF TICKET LEAVES

"Here we are," announced Syl with pride, walking on under the edge of the special tree. She was now in its pleasant shade. Very proud of her land, she reached up and fondly touched one of its low branches that came down almost to her head.

At first Meri thought she was going to pull off a leaf!

Meri herself was still standing a short distance from the tree. She couldn't take her eyes off of _all_ of it yet. She could still see to the top.

"So this is The Tree of Ticket Leaves," she thought to herself, looking at the green leaves shimmering all over it. On the way across The Lands yesterday, she had imagined it in many ways---but none better than what she saw now.

"Each leaf is to a different place," she marveled, not quite sure what to believe. She wondered if there was a ticket to every land in The Lands? And if there was more than one ticket to a single land? "I'm looking at the tree that brought me here to The Lands---or the one that must have looked just like this one, so long ago in The Autumnforest.

"If The Autumnforest was there then," she suddenly added in her mind. She realized she didn't know for sure.

Continuing to look over all the tree, while Syl watched her good-naturedly, she concluded that the leaves were definitely the same as that single leaf---the one she would _never forget_ \---that she and the Tackling Dummy had found only the day before, bumping their heads together when picking it up.

Even though it had been in her hand for only a few seconds _, she would never forget it!_

Each leaf was shiny, of medium size, and also a little rectangular, so that it looked both like a ticket and a leaf.

The whole tree was a little more than moderately tall, full with leaves, and it seemed to have a sheen around it that must have come from the shine of the leaves. Or so Meri thought at first. Later she began to have an idea in the back of her mind that, perhaps, the sheen came from the _specialness_ of the tree.

It was certainly situated in a special place---by itself on the side of a long slope, that didn't actually seem like a hill, the descent was so mild. The grass around it was green like all the grass in The Land of Pink Windmills---in all directions around them and especially in the village. But the grass _just beneath the tree_ was different---it was brighter.

Falling to her knees, Meri thought she knew why. She had remembered. She put her head down very close to the grass.

Yes! The same tiny flowers, the tiny yellow petals with two light blue dots in the center that Wut had pointed out in the grass of The Autumnforest---they were there! The same ones that had proven the site of the original tree. Only they were _everywhere_ here, much more abundant than in The Autumnforest. They were definitely affecting the color of the grass! It was brighter, and the air above it was yellower, only you couldn't actually tell where the color was coming from, because the flowers were so tiny, hidden among the blades of the grass. But out of _all_ of them came an almost _invisible yellow_ color in the air!

There was a small white bench for two under the tree, located on the grass a short distance from the trunk. It was just like the one on the top of the short hill at The Fly Bye. Syl casually sat down on it, still looking expectantly and affectionately at her friend.

Because the time had come.

Syl smiled at her friend. She was well aware of the importance of this moment.

Meri hesitated.

"Aren't _you_ going to try one?" she asked nervously.

Syl looked so relaxed. She also looked so neat and pretty, sitting on the white bench wearing her white top with the yellow sun in front. Her light green hair with tiny bits of soft pink was lighter than the colors of the leaves above.

But perhaps one reason she looked so relaxed to Meri was that Meri herself was now feeling so uncertain. And who wouldn't have been just a little nervous? _She was about to pull a ticket off of The Tree of Ticket Leaves!_

She had no idea where she was going or what was about to happen!

Pulling a ticket off of The Ticket Tree was always a courageous thing to do---although it was always exciting too! You never know what to expect!

As she thought about pulling a leaf off, Meri was secretly beginning to realize more and more--- _now she was even sure_ \---that she _wasn't quite ready_ to leave The Lands yet.

But she had no choice.

_There was no question_ that her parents and her Aunt Am needed to stop worrying about her. _She needed to do something about that_ \--- _if anything could be done!_

But as she thought about it, she knew it was unlikely _anything_ could be done. Any time soon, that is. She knew that The Ticket Tree mostly just takes you to another land in The Lands. It was possible---she knew---that it might _never_ take her back to Virginia---or to a place like England. On the other hand, it seemed undeniably true that a ticket from The Ticket Tree had brought her and the Tackling Dummy to The Lands. Only the day before. So if one could do that, another could just as easily take her back!

So, probably, she could go _anywhere_ when she finally reached up for that leaf or ticket.

_One thing she knew she was definitely sure of:_ she really would have preferred not to leave the Tackling Dummy before he got his new canvas.

She hadn't forgotten that look of affection and friendly defiance in his eyes when he had looked up at her from that table in Aquamarie's windmill. They had seemed to say to her, "I'm going to get my canvas and you're going to England!" Or at least that's what she thought she saw. But one thing was sure: she had seen his spirit. She wanted to see that spirit when he got his new canvas!

She wanted him to be as perfect to live in The Lands as all the other dummies who lived there and looked so nice.

_But now, as she stood there, she knew that the time had come to stop thinking._

She couldn't put off trying a ticket any longer. She glanced over at her friend Sylvestra who was looking at her with so much quiet amusement. But also sympathy.

Both excited and nervous, she gazed up at all the leaves one last time. Each one was to a different place. She was nervous about the possibility of going to any of those places! And excited! One thing was certain: the only way to find out about a leaf was to try it.

"After you." Sylvestra was answering the question which she seemed to have asked so long ago that she had almost forgotten it. "First I want to watch you and just wait here, so you'll know I'll be here when you come back---if you decide to. For the first leaf, anyway."

Syl's words made Meri even more nervous. Her eyes and tone were encouraging, though, as she looked directly into Meri's eyes. They both had light turquoise eyes exactly the same color, and Sylvestra's seemed to say: "You can do this. It'll be all right."

She seemed to understand how nervous Meri was. Perhaps that was why she then offered, in slow firm tones, the following advice: "But please remember, my dear dear friend, and make sure you do: if you get into trouble, if things don't go well, tear the ticket in half, and it will bring you back here instantly. And above all--- _don't lose the ticket!"_

These words had a mysterious effect on Meri: they both calmed her down and then made her more nervous again. For she hadn't thought before about the possibility of losing her ticket! Now she knew she couldn't let that happen! She _wouldn't_ let it happen!

She swallowed, and looked up. There were so many leaves! They were all shining, each one just a little.

Large clouds were all over the sky of The Lands, a mild blue showing through the spaces between them in only a few places now. The light was fairly bright, however, because the sun was standing high enough in the morning, and because of the white of all the clouds. The tree looked especially picturesque against them.

_There was no longer any reason or excuse to wait_.

Meri looked up, took a deep breath, reached uncertainly, and pulled a ticket from a lower branch of the tree.

In that same instant, she was gone.

# Chapter V: THE LAND OF TOO SHY IZZITS

Suddenly Meri was in the dark. She had landed on something soft, which she had knocked to the side.

It was completely black. Her eyes were open and she couldn't see a thing. And what was even worse---what was _absolutely terrible_ in this solid dark!---was that she had dropped the ticket!

_When Syl had warned her not to lose it, and when she had said to herself she wouldn't_.

She had dropped it unexpectedly bumping into whatever it was that she had landed on!

The small rectangular green leaf ticket wasn't in her hand anymore!

"Why don't you watch where you're going!" a voice out of the dark spoke sharply to her. "You knocked me down. I'm lying on the grass!"

Meri was startled at losing the ticket so quickly. And she was confused at being in the dark---in total dark, although her eyes were wide open.

But being the kind of person she was, she immediately answered, to whoever was there---whom she obviously had knocked down,

"I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to. Can I help?"

Her apology was sincere.

Her heart had been beating rather fast, especially after losing the ticket, and then hearing the unfriendly voice. But now it began to slow down. She just stood there in the dark and listened some more, without anything happening. She even calmed down a little bit more.

Nothing.

Whoever it was didn't answer. She began to get nervous again. Why didn't he say anything? Was something happening? _What_ was happening?

"I wish I still had the ticket!" she thought.

Finally, hoping it would help, she explained to whoever was there,

"I came here from The Ticket Tree. In The Land of Pink Windmills. A leaf brought me here. I had no idea I would land on you, and I certainly didn't want to. I would truly be sorry if you were hurt. Are you? Are you standing up yet, or are you still lying on the grass, like you said, where I knocked you down?"

The black was complete.

_There was absolutely no light at all!_

Meri had no idea what this creature looked like. By nature a very curious person, she was very curious about this one. As well as uncertain and confused.

It's not easy to be in the dark.

Total dark.

There was another pause. Then the voice said, not sharp at all this time,

"I'm sorry I spoke to you that way. That wasn't right, just because you landed on top of me and knocked me down. And you seemed awfully heavy for a dummy. But I think I'm going to be all right. So I did speak too quickly."

The voice was light, with nice tones. Meri could hear brushing sounds as the being brushed itself off. So it was standing now.

_"_ But how about yourself?" the being asked. "Did I hurt _you_?"

"Oh no," Meri answered quickly, not having thought of that. "You probably kept me from getting hurt. You're so soft." From this, she knew she had landed on a yarn dummy.

But what did it look like!!?

She wondered.

She was about to tell it about the lost ticket. Maybe it could help her look for it.

But then she quickly thought again, " _That might not be a good idea_."

For even though it, the being, now sounded nice, what if it found the ticket and wouldn't give it back? She began to worry about not being able to get back to The Ticket Tree. For she certainly wasn't in England or back home.

So she didn't move---in fact she thought it was important not to move away from the ticket, which might be on the grass nearby. Instead she asked, "Where is this?"

At the same time, she realized she needed to start feeling around on the grass for the ticket. Then she thought of something else. She didn't yet know if the creature could see her, even though she couldn't see it.

"This is The Land of Dark," was the answer. Meri remembered having briefly heard of it. Thinking back, she thought it had been in The Land of Learning Feet. _Yes!_ Jethro had mentioned it not long after she had gotten to The Lands. He had let it be known that he didn't like to be in the total dark. She now knew why he felt that way.

"But sometimes it's called The Land of Too Shy Izzits. I'm an izzit, as I'm sure you know."

"No," replied Meri, with great interest. "Did you say The Land of Too Shy Izzits?" Wut had said some of The Lands have more than one name.

"Why is it called that?" she then asked. She really wanted to know!

"I'm surprised that you don't seem to know too much---I mean, I say that quite respectfully. Perhaps you've also been too shy, just like us, and you haven't asked enough questions. You see, we're all extremely shy---too shy---and that's why we live in The Land of Dark. The dark hides us, and we don't have to confront anyone--- in the light, that is. It's much easier for us here."

"So perhaps it can't see me after all," Meri thought.

Meri could actually hear relief in the izzit's voice as it said these last six words: _It's much easier for us here._ "Truly, it must be _unbelievably_ shy," she thought. "More so than I can comprehend."

And she also now knew that there were others, because it had said, _we._

"What makes you so shy?" Meri then asked curiously. "I don't understand. I like the way you talk."

"I don't know," said the izzit. "And thank you. I wish I did. And I don't think anyone else does, either. But we're working on overcoming the problem. Very slowly, that is. And to tell you the truth, I think we're getting better."

"Are there many of you here?" asked the girl. She was dying of curiosity to see what her new friend looked like. Because she was already beginning to think of him as a friend. To herself, she wondered, "What would I be looking at, if, suddenly, the land became lighted with normal daylight?" It was an interesting idea.

"Many."

"What's your name?"

"I have two names: Art or Nart. When I'm feeling _especially_ shy, I think of myself as Nart. But when I'm doing better, when I have more confidence, I like to be called Art."

"Who are you now?"

"For the moment, you can call me Art."

Meri realized this was a compliment. She was beginning to like this unseen creature.

"What's yours?"

"Meri is my main name, Dian is my middle name, and my Dad at special times calls me 'meridian,' which is just a combination of those. He likes geography, and that's the reason for my names."

"You have three names? Are you sure you aren't shyer than we are? We only have two. But you are very pretty. And I had already thought that I liked your eyes."

So Meri knew he could see her very well.

"And I like those overall jeans, too," said Art, "so plain."

Meri was wondering about this remark, not quite sure it was a compliment, when from somewhere near by, some one---probably another izzit---called out mysteriously,

"It's coming!"

The girl, understandably, became eerily nervous at this sudden announcement, as it was made in the complete dark. She felt a sharp emotion. She didn't know what it meant and _what might be coming_ or _what might be just about to happen!_

_"_ It's coming!" another voice announced even more mysteriously.

_This definitely isn't something you want to hear when you are in solid black air!_ Especially when you are in a completely strange land.

At the same time, Meri was also beginning to have the equally strange problem of being unable able to stand perfectly upright. The top of her body was leaning this way and that.

"I might fall over," she thought, learning that it's incredibly difficult to maintain your balance when you can't see anything at all---when all you can see all around you is _black_! You can't really tell if you're standing up straight or not.

" _What's_ coming?" Meri asked Art uncertainly, hoping the answer would be something good, perhaps even something that might help her out. She was definitely hoping that it wouldn't be something dangerous--- _or something that would make her have to move away from the ticket!_

"Don't be alarmed," the izzit comforted her. Its tones were now completely friendly. "And I believe it would be better for you to find out for yourself. I can see it now."

Meri couldn't believe he had given her such an indefinite answer! But she was used to such answers in The Lands.

She now was certain that she wasn't going to be harmed by whatever _it_ was that was coming. _But she couldn't help but worry about the ticket_. So she quickly crouched down in the dark and began patting the grass all around her.

Her movements soon became desperate.

Of course Art immediately noticed. "What are you looking for? Did you lose something?" he asked, concerned. He was curious too.

"Yes," said Meri, confused because she was beginning to hear _many_ tinkling sounds coming toward her. She had a lot on her mind! She couldn't identify them. They probably would have been pleasant if she hadn't been in the dark and so worried about the ticket.

She had begun to hear the unmistakeable sound of blowing air, as well. And that disturbed her even more, because there was no telling how her ticket might be blown around.

"I lost the ticket," she finally explained, frustrated at not being able to find it, and becoming overwhelmed by a developing sense of urgency.

_All the tinkling sounds and the blowing sounds were coming closer!_

They seemed to be coming straight toward her!

"When I bumped into you, the bump made it go out of my hand."

She was moving both hands frantically now, over the grass near her feet, front and back, and all around. Nothing.

It made her feel a little better just then to hear an extra pair of hands examining the grass not far from where she was. Art was very close, and she wondered even more what he looked like. She could have reached out and touched him, he was so close. Evidently he had not seen the ticket, or leaf, _and he could see very well in The Land of Dark!_

"That's not good," she thought.

She was glad he was helping, and she felt a surge of gratitude toward him, so close to her, but she didn't actually have time to think any more about his helpfulness. Because the many tinkling and rushing sounds had gotten unusually close by this time.

_Something_ was coming right toward her!

And it was large!

In fact, it was so close, that there was only time left for two quick ideas that she had just thought of, in the last second!

Lifting her right foot with immense hope, she felt the thick grass underneath. Nothing.

The _something_ that was coming was, by that time, almost to her, and was still coming. Her hair was beginning to blow quite steadily. And it was a good thing she was now crouching, to pat for the ticket.

For it was no longer possible to stand up in the strong wind!

_It_ , whatever it was, was even larger than she had realized! _But what was it?!_

The tinkling sounds---she was now beginning to be able to hear an incredible number of different ones---were increasing. _And it occurred to her again that they weren't unpleasant_. In fact, all together, they sounded _quite_ pleasant. The air blowing her light brown hair quickly became even stronger, and she realized that if she didn't find the ticket _right then_ , it would be too late.

She'd _never_ find it!

Carefully, she raised her white left tennis shoe ever so slightly---not very high at all, because of the wind---and forced her hand between the rubbery shaped sole and the grass. Her fingers touched something rectangular, and it felt like a leaf.

It had been right there all the time!

"Thank goodness!" she thought.

"Found it!" she practically shouted to Art with infinite relief. She was grateful to have a sudden feeling of control again.

Clutching it safely in her right hand, she held it especially tight as

_it_

then reached her.

_Suddenly she was lifted up_ into the dark, amid all the tinkling sounds, carried up and across the higher air of The Land of Dark in complete darkness, amid many tinkling sounds, among tinkling sounds all around, so that she didn't have the slightest idea what was happening.

But she wasn't being hurt at all.

"Are you okay?" at her left ear asked Art, who apparently had been lifted up right along with her.

Meri was startled at first by the sudden question. She also realized that he was almost Nart, because there was a noticeable wavering, an increased shyness, in his voice as they abruptly shot out into the total sunshine of the rest of The Lands.

_They had been carried out of The Land of Dark_ by whatever it was they were in. High up in the air, Meri blinked several times in the sudden brightness. Her first glimpse, when her eyes adjusted, was the sight of many of The Lands close up and in the distance all at once, because of her considerable height above them.

Then she looked around more closely. The feeling of surprise she had was like none she had ever had before.

Because, quite unpredictably, she was in a Tornado of Teacups.

An incredible number of white and lightly tinted teacups, on saucers, were swirling around with her in the powerful air currents. The unending tinkling sounds were being made by the many teacups lightly touching each other now and then---but mostly just tinkling around on their saucers. Also included in the pleasant Teacup Tornado, whirling high up in the air, were some izzits who had wanted to be in it and who had intentionally jumped up into it. And some others who hadn't, but who had just been caught up in it, like she had been. These last ones looked especially shy and nervous.

No, they _all_ looked shy and nervous, but these more so.

"You see," said Nart, just above her and to her right now, "this is what I meant when I said we're trying to get over our shyness." Meri felt bad, because she could see that it was very difficult for him to talk to her now, so closely, in the light. Glancing up, she could see that he wouldn't look directly at her, as he must have been doing in the dark. He would only look just beyond her. He seemed to be afraid of her face. She did feel bad about that, for she had begun to like him in The Land of Dark, and she didn't want him to feel that way about her.

"The Teacup Tornado regularly comes through The Land of Dark," he continued with obvious difficulty talking, looking out over The Lands and not at Meri. In the distance, these faraway lands were splashing all around in Meri's vision in their various colors as she was taken around.

"It's a regular weather phenomenon of our land," he went on, "although of course it goes through some other lands too." It comes through right on schedule, through the dark."

Floating around among the teacups and the izzits, moving in a kind of wide circle, Meri now understood his remark about the plainness of her bib overall jeans. For as she continued to look around, _she could see that all of the izzits in The Teacup Tornado were also wearing bib overall jeans shorts_!

Only theirs were either filigree gold and some other color, or filigree silver and some other color.

The _other_ colors in each case were beautiful. Each izzit was also wearing stockings, most with some kind of stripe up and down, that matched the top of the _other color_ he or she was wearing in some way. Meri noticed three izzits whose hair was magenta, mauve, and caramel, and she was still looking.

_The izzits looked spectacular_ , and they glittered up in the air, going around in their circles in the sunlight in the Teacup Tornado.

"What we do," Nart kept on, "to overcome our shyness, is to voluntarily jump into The Teacup Tornado when it's still in our land, and thereby force ourselves to get taken out into The Lands somewhere, out of The Land of Dark. We never know where it's going to let us down, and it may be far away. So, we do see some other dummies, we get out of our own land for at least a few minutes, and little by little we hope to overcome our shyness by these brief trips out."

Nart was still looking past her, but Meri was proud of the way he was forcing himself to continue to communicate with her, as difficult as it obviously was for him. Sometimes he stuttered. But it helped that he had to raise his voice to a degree over the tinkling sounds of the prettily colored teacups, which moved around him in their saucers without falling out.

Most of the tinkling sounds were coming from the bottoms of the cups lightly tinkling against the inner rings of the saucers as they moved around in the air. Because Nart had to raise his voice modestly over these sounds, it seemed a little easier for him to raise his courage too.

As a cup and saucer with tiny pink designs floated nearby, Meri reached out for it with her left hand, as her right hand was still firmly clutching the ticket she had been so lucky to find again. Looking in the cup, she saw that it actually had a kind of light pink tea in it, which she tentatively tasted and then was glad to drink. Because it was very fresh and wholesome---not quite like strawberry---but close to it. So she drank the whole cup, having talked so much, first in The Land of Pink Windmills, and then in The Land of Too Shy Izzits, without being able to drink anything.

The tea was very refreshing, and her spirits rose as high as her body.

Nart had keenly watched her drinking the tea. All the dummies in The Lands, whenever they had the opportunity to watch her, seemed to find it marvelous to see her eat or drink.

The Tornado of Teacups, spinning out over The Lands, soon slowly descended, gently placing the izzits and Meri down on the grass, Meri first as she was the heaviest. It was gracefully slowing its speed, so that the cups and saucers were flying low to the ground when the last izzit was deposited down in a tumble. The cups and saucers, however, much lighter, all stayed up in the air, slowly circling, even though a few did come dangerously close to the grass and some even gently bumped down on it before flying up again.

Then, with everyone watching, their heads slowly lifting back as necessary, The Teacup Tornado gently lifted up, gained speed around again, and with many pleasant tinkling sounds, went out over The Lands, gradually becoming smaller.

As soon as it became indistinct, the izzits, with the exception of Nart, suddenly took off and began to run as fast as they could, because of their shyness, toward The Land of Dark in the distance. It looked so unusual among The Lands, rising up to the sky totally dark, while the other lands were normally lighted with all of their colors.

But Nart had waited.

Meri looked over at him, causing him to blink with shyness. However, taking Meri's right hand and squeezing it, he forced himself, with unbelievable effort, to look straight into her eyes with his own lavender ones, and said, "Meri, I'll see you again, perhaps sometime _out_ of The Land of Too Shy Izzits."

Then, unable to contain his bursting shyness any longer, which was now almost bursting him apart, he suddenly gave her a gentle but very firm and meaningful hug. And then, unable to help himself, he turned and darted after his fellow izzits. Rapidly gaining speed, in just two blinks of Meri's eyes he was running extraordinarily fast.

As she watched, Meri was sure there was an extra bounce and spirit in his steps as he jetted over a hill and disappeared, in his gold filigree and red jello colored bib overall jeans. He was wearing sand colored socks, and there was mixed blue, pink, corn yellow, and light mild caramel brown in his yarn arms.

From where she was, she could see all of the izzits running as they came out from behind the hills and ran across fields, until finally she watched their small figures, in the far distance, run right into this side of The Land of Dark and disappear. The last one was Art, and she felt a kind of pain in her throat and an ache in her chest as he also disappeared into the unusual land.

Glancing once more in the other direction, toward the disappearing tiny blur of The Teacup Tornado now faraway over The Lands, she watched it for a few moments until it became nothing. Then holding one end of the leaf ticket in each hand, she slowly tore it in half and disappeared herself. Only there was no one left there to watch _her_ do so.

At the same moment, she appeared again just beneath The Tree of Ticket Leaves, underneath the limb that had earlier held her ticket to The Land of Too Shy Izzits.

She looked over and grinned at Sylvestra, who was still sitting on the white bench waiting patiently for her, as she had said she would. They stared at each other for a few moments. Meri wasn't sure at first where to begin to describe the land she had visited and trip on the strange gentle tornado. From the first second to the last her absence had been full of interest and adventure.

Syl had known that Meri's face would tell her a lot as soon as she got back. And it did. Right away it told her that the first ticket she had chosen had indeed been a lucky one. She was glad. But there was just a shade of regret, too, in her friend's expression, she noticed.

"Welcome back," she said cheerily, happy to see her friend again. "Where did you go?"

# Chapter VI: THE SURPRISING TICKET

Standing excitedly under the tree, Meri told Syl, sitting on the white bench, all about her visit to The Land of The Too Shy Izzits:

about bumping into Art or Nart and losing her ticket,

after just being warned not to

(she was a little embarrassed about that);

about talking to Art in the dark;

and about her ride on The Teacup Tornado.

Wistfully, at the end, she spoke hopefully of, _perhaps_ , seeing Art again sometime. She wanted to. It was getting harder having to leave so many new friends so quickly after meeting them.

For just a moment, as she stood there talking to Sylvestra under the unusual tree, different memories crossed her mind of her other friends in The Lands. She missed them too.

"If I get to go back to The Land of Dark, I want to meet some of the other izzits," she added.

"I think you're going to run out of time long before you can do all of the things you want to in The Lands," laughed Syl. "But go ahead, try again."

And she looked back up at the tree.

But, "You first," replied Meri. "I want to watch you go away this time, like you watched me."

"Okay," said Syl, an expectant grin on her face.

_There probably isn't anyone who can pull a ticket from The Ticket Tree in The Lands without a similar look of expectation on her or his face._

"Here I go." With her eyes looking right into Meri's, about five feet away, as they both stood under The Tree of Ticket Leaves, Sylvestra reached up. The pleasant sun on the front of her white top stretched out. Without choosing which leaf---her eyes still looking cheerfully into Meri's---she pulled off the first ticket her hand touched.

In that same second, she wasn't there anymore.

The watching girl almost said, "Ones of stars!" It was one of her Aunt Am's favorite expressions. But she didn't, because she was staring so hard, _at nothing_ \---at the sight of Syl not being there in front of her own eyes. It occurred to her that she could use one of the Tackling Dummy's long words, the longest word he could think of, but unfortunately he wasn't there to think of one just then. So she just silently took a look up into the tree, straight up, at all the leaves waiting there. Sunlight was drifting down among all the places to be.

"I wonder where Syl is right now," her mind said with intense curiosity.

The clouds over The Lands were still very large ones, lying all around in great heaps, in the same light blue sky that Meri remembered from the day before. For a brief moment she looked around, thought about a lot of things, and then took a deep breath.

A little smile came upon her face and also into her light turquoise eyes, the one that helplessly comes on the face of anyone just before pulling a ticket from The Ticket Tree. Meri had just seen it on Syl's face.

Standing up on her tiptoes, her heart beating faster again, she reached up, stretched, and pulled off another ticket, higher than the other one had been---in fact, as high as she could reach this time.

_Instantaneously_

she had the impression that she was much smaller than she had just been under the tree.

But she wasn't.

The _reason_ was that suddenly she was standing on a sidewalk in a very large city under an extremely beautiful sky with very few clouds.

In front, and out of the corners of her eyes, she perceived an unbelievable number of buildings in all directions---impressive buildings.

They weren't very tall ones. And they weren't even that close together. But there were a lot of them. All around.

They were enjoyable to look at, and some had pillars. Meri had immediately seemed smaller because she was suddenly in the middle of so many buildings and so much space. The high beautiful sky seemed a part of the city.

It was the exact opposite of the long mild slope on which The Tree of Ticket Leaves was growing!

_S_ he was startled and shocked! There were _people_ all around. Her light turquoise eyes looked again! Yes!!! There were flesh and blood dummies everywhere, on sidewalks and in streets!

Meri was amazed, as the surprising realization became clear. She was just as surprised now, at not being in The Lands, as earlier she had been at being in them!

This wasn't one of _The Lands!_

She could hardly believe her eyes! Her almost unbelief was real. The Lands truly had a way of causing her to doubt her vision!

Perhaps The Ticket Tree had really helped her this time! But just the same, she looked down her arm. Thankfully, she still had the green ticket in her hand!

"Where in The Lands?" she thought, using that expression with loyalty. Even though she knew she wasn't.

"Where, though?" she thought to herself with overwhelming curiosity, as she continued to look around at the city with beautiful clear light air and very nice buildings.

She looked up at the air, at the unusual amount of light in it. It was definitely a reason the city looked so attractive.

"How pretty!" she thought, looking up again, and then around from left to right, and back again from right to left. She was on a bridge.

And then she glanced behind her.

More of the same pretty buildings. She wondered again where she could be. "So many surprises from The Lands," she murmured to herself, affectionately, about The Lands, which she now surprisingly missed too.

"This city is a surprise that wasn't even in The Lands. How like The Lands!"

Adding to her curiosity was that, for some reason, too, these sights all around her looked faintly familiar. Even though there was no doubt at all that she had never been there before.

She couldn't tell just how large this likeable city was. _It seemed to be immense!_

She could see buildings beyond buildings. She didn't know quite why she was so pleased at so many of them, as she looked. But she was. Vaguely, she just knew that all the lines, curves, angles and masses did something right together.

They did, _or she thought they did_ , although she didn't know anything at all about buildings! Adding to the effect were some statues here and there, by themselves, and also on triangles on second stories.

She could see a lot of people. Many were walking by, talking and looking and managing their children. It was interesting to see people again! The pleasant sky was filled with a light haze in the distance.

Meri then began to look more closely at the bridge she was standing on.

She was at the third lightpost out from the side, where there was a busy street. She was also excited because there was a large river down below, to the right and left of the direction she was facing, which was toward a very attractive square she had discovered not far away.

There was also traffic whizzing by on the street on the _other_ side of the bridge too. And she could also see more busy streets as she looked around.

It was a lively city. It was busy and beautifully light, with a lot of space above. And many beautiful buildings down below.

"I'll just ask someone where I am," she decided, quite reasonably. But she didn't. She was still too fascinated by the difference between being at The Ticket Tree and here!

Looking at the large attractive square beyond the bridge, the one that she had enjoyed looking at, she suddenly made a decision. When she noticed tour buses there.

"In just a minute," she decided, "I'll walk over there and ask one of the tourists about this city." She knew it was the right decision, and that she would do it, because, for _some_ reason, she wanted to walk in that square. It also seemed a little familiar. Or perhaps she was attracted to it because it was more open than where she was.

She heard some strange languages as people kept walking by with their children.

Her pretty light turquoise eyes and her lively mind were taking it all in! Some of the passers-by even smiled at her, at the strange girl looking around so vividly.

A little traffic was going by on the bridge, for there was a street across it too. It was made of a street and wide sidewalks with lightposts.

Then the sounds of the city began to make an impression on her, as she began to accept what her eyes were seeing. There was a pleasant hum, punctuated by more noticeable sounds such as vehicle horns, sudden voices, and random but interesting noises from the river below.

There were boats. Sometimes the city's quiet conversation was interrupted by a pleasant splashing sound. Perhaps the water was hitting against supports beneath her. Some people were fishing from a colorful boat pulled up to the other side of the river, too, not that far away. Their voices came across the water sometimes, but Meri didn't recognize any distinct words.

_Richmond, Virginia was the only city she had ever been to._

Actually she had been there a number of times, but that was a city in a forest---a very nice forest, it was true, and she liked that it was a city in a forest. She liked looking at all the trees growing there, when her parents took her there shopping or to an appointment or perhaps even to a movie. But this wasn't a city in a forest. She could see some trees on either side of the large square. But it wasn't the same. There weren't many trees at all.

Instead there was a lot of space and an unbelievable number of buildings!

She thought about The Lands and felt a shooting pain in her chest at not being there, because, in the short time she had been there, they had become very dear and important to her. The sight of Wut bouncing appeared in her mind. She automatically smiled at the image. And she saw Jethro, too, with his deep whimsical voice, his large brown eyes, his curly soft white, light brown, gold, yellow and black fur. And his black horns on either side of the large white unicorn. And then she remembered the Tackling Dummy, without new canvas yet.

It seemed funny to be _remembering_ these friends, whom she had just spent so much time with!

She wondered how Aquamarie's improvements had helped her dear friend the Tackling Dummy by this time!

_She wanted to see him!_

And then she thought of Ello, with her hands over her eyes, looking through parted fingers! And Syl, with eyes exactly like hers. Was her new friend back under The Ticket Tree yet, waiting for her? She thought of The Land of Handwriting Speech, The Yellow Trampoline, the monkeybars, and the many other places in The Lands that she now knew, and the dummies there too. She missed them all, although she had just left.

_She knew she might not ever be there again!_

This time, even after that feeling, she clutched very tightly to the ticket still left in her left hand.

Meri couldn't help but like this city, although she didn't yet know which one it was. Besides all the sights she was looking at all around her, there was always that special fine radiance everywhere above, which seemed to suggest that there was something special about being there, or about being alive there---or _just about being alive anywhere!_

This special feeling was a gift from the city. Although she didn't know where she was, she felt good about being there. Because of the city, she felt better about just being.

She took a deep breath and looked around again. Another tour bus was just pulling into the large square across the river.

She liked this city, but she also missed The Lands dreadfully.

Because the city seemed so pleasant and so welcoming, her heart had slowed down from beating so rapidly when she had reached up to take the second ticket. And when she had realized she was out of The Lands.

With the assistance of the friendly city, she began to relax.

But she still held onto the ticket with special attention. It was in her hand. She didn't want to lose it this time. She was well aware of its special power.

"Where am I?" she continued to wonder, leaning conveniently against the lightpost she had appeared beside, the third one out on the bridge. She could hear some watery sounds below. A large sightseeing boat, its faded hull painted blue and the rest of it white, came out from under the bridge, slowly floating upstream, with the help of a silent engine, to her left. Aboard were many people with sunglasses and binoculars. Some were eating, and they all seemed to be having a good time.

Many small boats, each a different design, were pulled up to the banks of the river on both sides.

The real significance of what had happened then hit her for the first time with its full force, and she caught hold of the strength of the lightpost.

Her hand had actually found _another_ of the rare tickets _out_ of The Lands! When there were hardly any at all at any time!

But she now actually had had _two_ of them in her hands: one to come to The Lands, and the second to come here! She hadn't really thought enough before of the difficulty of what she was trying to do, mostly because she hadn't had time to, and, in a way, she hadn't let herself. So far, she knew down deep within herself, she had had far too much confidence. But it had happened anyway! Her finding an actual ticket out of The Lands on her second try was truly staggering good luck!

This ticket, the one she was holding onto so tightly, was so like the one that had brought her to The Lands in the first place! Her heart began beating faster again as she slowly opened her fingers and peered down at the small leaf, with intense interest. She was becoming quite excited by just thinking about it!

"Imagine," she said softly to herself, with wonder, looking down, "this small leaf in my hand can actually take me back to The Lands!" It was one of the most unusual thoughts she had ever had.

In the center of the wide square across the river, where many people were now walking around, was a tall, slim, light-colored tower that was square, but pointed at the top. It was high! A large circular fountain was at each end of where it rose up, each one almost beside it.

Around the entire landmark were lampstands in a long oval, and Meri began counting them as she then walked across the river on the sidewalk. She counted 20 in the distance, when she stopped at the third lampstand out from the _other side_ of the river. She was almost across.

From there she looked straight ahead and upward, because the city just seemed to take her eyes up that way. On a hill in the distance, visible above a row of nearby important looking, attractive, neat and tidy buildings, she saw an especially beautiful white church---it was just a little to the right on the skyline. It had several white towers, and she liked it very much, up against the sky. It was the highest part of the city that she could see.

Looking down again, she counted eight statues around the edge of the large square she was still facing and now closer to. A tour bus, dark blue above and below, with an aqua strip across the middle, was pulled over and unloading at a little corner near the two statues farthest to the left. She could just barely hear the words of the people, across the square, as they descended and flowed out onto the pavement, looking up and around and walking---most of them---toward the central tall tower with the fountains on either end, surrounded by the twenty lampstands. Clearly it was a known attraction.

And all the while, people were walking by Meri on the bridge, going both ways beside her, and talking, sometimes in languages she couldn't understand. She couldn't help but wish her father could hear those languages. As well as be in this great city!

Another sight-seeing boat came by below, from the other direction this time, and closer to the other bank. The people, many with binoculars and cameras, were standing and sitting around the edges looking at what was on both sides of the river---although for the moment most had turned their attention to the same great square Meri was facing.

And then Meri---in the process of discovering where she was---just happened to turn around and look over her left shoulder---she didn't know why---and it was almost as if she had been struck in the eyes!

For not far over behind her, rising in a beautiful sweep of metal, with many curves, through which she could see the blue above the city, _was the Eiffel Tower!_ She hadn't been able to see it at first because the buildings close behind her, when she had arrived, had blocked her view. But the few steps she had taken across the river had allowed it to come into sight!

And so she finally knew she was in the great city of Paris!

_And Paris wasn't that far from England!!_

Her mind was working fast. Her parents would reach London in only several days, she realized. She thought she had enough time! "Should I try my best to meet the boat?" she asked herself. Her heart began to beat nervously, and for a moment she felt excited.

And then she looked down at the green leaf in her hand.

# Chapter VII: A MESSAGE FROM PARIS

Thoughts went racing through Meri's mind as countless emotions began swirling through her body. Already she knew that with some help she could probably meet her parents in England. The Ticket Tree had given her that opportunity! Jethro's idea, at the beginning there in The Autumnforest, had been exactly the right one! Here she was.

But she didn't feel as elated as she had thought she might. The reason was simple. Now that she didn't have to go back to The Lands, now that she had unexpectedly succeeded, she couldn't stop thinking about her friends there, and about The Lands themselves. For already, she missed them.

The thought of staying away from The Lands, of leaving her friends behind just then, made her extraordinarily sad. She began to miss them _unbearably_. She had friends there that she undoubtedly loved.

_Of course they would understand if she didn't return_.

They were like that. They would even be happy for her. But they would be quite as sad, too, as she was, she realized---for themselves, at not seeing her anymore.

Meri then began to be pulled apart on the inside. She needed to go to England to see her parents, to let them know she was all right, and to be with them.

_But_ , far back in her mind, she was allowing herself to wonder---only now and then---just for a half a second--- _if there was any way_ she could perhaps spend _just a little more time_ in The Lands before leaving. _Just a little more time_ to spend with her new friends. Especially since---at this particular time---so much seemed to be going on in The Lands!

She was beginning to find out so much more about them!

Meri was encouraged because she had left The Lands so easily with the second ticket on The Ticket Tree. But if she went back, would she be able to return _again_ as easily? As rare as tickets are out of The Lands, as Wut had told her, perhaps the one she had been lucky enough to find, _almost at first_ , had been _the only one on the tree!_

The sights that she was now seeing: the Eiffel Tower, the city of Paris, the great square---and all of her thoughts about her parents and Aunt Am---and all that she had been doing in The Lands, with her many new friends---overwhelmed her for the moment. Unconsciously, she leaned against the lamppost, as she had leaned against the other third one. She wasn't sure she _could make a choice_ about the best thing to do.

" _What---?"_ she started to ask herself out loud, not even able to finish the question. But she knew she was thinking:

_"What should I do?"_

Images of her Aunt Am, her mother, her father, the Tackling Dummy, Wut, Sylvestra, Ello, Aquamarie, and Jethro floated across and through her vision, even though her eyes were wide open. She saw them, one after another, and together, in front of her, in her mind, although it looked like she was actually seeing them. Her emotions reacted quite precisely and quite movingly to each appearance.

Gently she leaned her head, with its soft light brown hair, down again to look at the slightly bent green ticket in her left hand. Her fingers closed back up again.

The pressure was so intense on her loyalties that to save herself, she had to decide _NOT_ to make up her mind just then about what to do---whether to try to go to England or to go back to The Lands for just a little while longer. The decision, to delay the decision, seemed to make itself, out of necessity. Her mind had helped her by suddenly realizing that she didn't _have_ to choose right away. Not in the next several minutes, anyway. _She couldn't!_

Immediately she felt better.

To give her loyal overworked emotions a rest, and to be able to think more clearly about what to do, she realized it would be a good idea to just sit down for a few minutes. In fact, the beautifully light city seemed to invite her to do just that!

It was a welcoming city.

The people walking by on both sides of the bridge were beginning to pay attention to her. _With concern_. Some had now seen her more than once while walking around: a pretty youngster who seemed to be completely by herself in a great city, and, just as troubling, who gave an impression of being uncertain what to do _. And that, of course, was true!_ There didn't seem to be anyone with her. The adults around her were beginning to think about it.

Slowly becoming aware of this attention, Meri straightened herself up and walked away from the lamppost where she had been leaning. She headed straight toward the huge square where she thought for sure there would be some public benches to sit down on and think.

And then she stopped, right in her tracks, before she reached the first lamppost, causing even more people to look curiously at her.

A clear thought--- _the most obvious thought she could ever have had, in fact, once her mind cleared somewhat_ \---had come!

Switching the ticket to her right hand, she reached deep into the left pocket of her bib overall jeans shorts. With an immense feeling of relief, she was reassured that, yes, _she definitely still had the long distance telephone card her parents had given her_. Inside her pocket, it felt stiff and square to her left hand, as it always had.

"Paris!" she said to herself excitedly, turning around and walking straight across the bridge--- _away_ from the famous square, which had the same mildly sparkling light above it as the rest of the city. From long long ago, Meri seemed to remember her father had said something about Paris being the city of light---and now she thought she understood why.

She was beginning to like Paris too!

She was walking toward an important looking building with statues across the front of the top, and even more statues in front of the building itself. Something inside her made her approve of the way it was _all_ arranged, including the statues. She liked looking. She had never seen so many buildings and statues! The Eiffel Tower slowly drifted out of sight again as she approached the street on which the important looking building was located.

Crossing the busy street that went by in front of the building, one little girl by herself in the middle of a vast world famous city, she walked along the street, toward the Eiffel Tower---although it was out of sight---until she came to what looked like a phone booth. It didn't look like phone booths in Amelia, but she thought that was what it was. She went inside the strange little building.

She had already read the instructions for using the card, when she had received it, and when she had still been sick at Aunt Amelia's house. Aunt Am, trying to comfort her, had also explained how easy it was to use. So she picked up the funny French telephone and, after several failed efforts, was able to get an operator who quickly began speaking English when she said in English she wanted to call Virginia.

Soon her Aunt Amelia's telephone was actually ringing!

Meri's heart was beating out of her chest!

Who would have thought that the long distance telephone card would be used in _THIS_ way??!!

It was strange, she thought, how nervous she was, just calling her Aunt Amelia. She called her all the time---almost everyday. She was quivering vigorously on the inside and feeling all kinds of other nervousness.

But she certainly had never called her Aunt Amelia from Paris before---on a visit from The Lands---and after being _missing_ for a day!

A recording of her beloved Aunt Am's voice began speaking. Aunt Amelia wasn't home! Meri was so very glad to hear her aunt's familiar voice, even if it was only a recorded message! _It was almost as if she hadn't been speaking to her only the day before!_

The recording, in those tones she had heard so many times, was new, though, and it was all about her.

Her Aunt Am said, in very serious and worried tones: "Hi. If you're calling about Meri, we're still looking for her. She was last seen walking to town, so we all think she probably got lost somewhere in the woods along the way, by wandering. You know how she is---so curious and so adventurous. But she's also tough, too---or can be, when necessary. Thank you for calling, and you may leave a message at the beep if you wish. But let me assure you: we _will_ find her. She is all right. And we love her so very much. Bye."

Aunt Amelia said this last part with firmness and determination, except that, just at the end, her voice broke a little when she got to the two little words _all right_ and about loving her. That little brokenness in her voice just about broke Meri's heart in her chest.

"Hi Aunt Am!" said Meri at the beep, excited at talking to her aunt, even if she was only recording a message to her! And just as excited about being able to tell her aunt that she was safe! She knew her aunt desperately wanted to hear that, even if it came from Paris!

"I _am_ all right, Aunt Am, just like you said. But I didn't get lost. I'm in Paris right now, and you'll never believe how I got here! I wouldn't have come here without telling you, but it happened in a way that I couldn't help. You know I wouldn't have left on purpose without telling you! This is the very first opportunity I had to let you know. I'm so sorry you had to worry. I worried a lot, too, because I knew you were---and Mamma and Dad too. I'll have to explain later, but for right now I'll just say that I found a ticket and was accidentally taken to an incredible place called The Lands. You'll love them too after I tell you about them. _Maybe you can even come and visit them sometime! Please_ don't worry about me anymore---you don't have to worry, because I'm okay, and I'm _going_ to be okay. And please tell Daddy and Mamma that, on their trip. And that I love them with all my heart. I love you, too, and I'll see you soon! You won't believe The Lands! Bye for now---from your best niece, Meri."

Meri was the _only_ niece of her aunt, who frequently called her _the best niece she had ever had._ Meri knew that adding this last part to the message would let her aunt know it was genuinely from her. Otherwise, it might be too difficult for her to believe that she had gotten all the way across the Atlantic, to Paris!

She said _Meri_ to her aunt at the end, as if she were signing a note, hung up the unusual foreign telephone, and stood there in the little compartment, thinking. Then she cried for a moment because she had so many deep emotions all at one time.

What was her aunt going to think when she got that message, Meri wondered? And how would she feel? Meri knew, at least, that her aunt would be able to feel better _for a little while_. She would certainly be overjoyed when she _first_ heard the message! She would recognize her voice! And she would notify her parents on the ship!

Even Meri didn't know how happy that call would make her favorite relative besides her parents! Her Aunt sat down, with a great roundness of surprise in her eyes, which were crying thankfully, as she said incredulously to herself, "Paris? She actually crossed the ocean and got to Paris? Ones of stars!"

Meri's telephone call of explanation to her Aunt, and indirectly to her parents, lifted a great weight from her. She suddenly felt lighter and freer. She now felt completely relaxed about the time she had spent in The Lands.

In fact, she was able to appreciate them even more!

Her appreciation of Paris had been added to her appreciation of The Lands. They had made this visit possible!

For some reason---Meri didn't know herself how the decision had been made---she now knew what she was going to do. But she wanted to think about it a little more before taking that important step.

Slipping the long distance card back into her left jeans shorts pocket, she stepped out of the French telephone booth, smiled at Paris, and immediately began walking briskly. Crossing the busy street again, she slowed down and meandered carelessly along the river, looking at all the boats lined up on both sides, and at all the buildings over the river around the huge square.

She was still smiling.

Coming to the bridge again, she re-crossed it, making sure to brush the curving metal of the third lamppost with her hand as she passed by. And then, at last, she walked over to the huge spacious square that had attracted her from the beginning. With her agility and good sense avoiding the traffic of the busy street on that side of the bridge, she reached and started walking across the pavement of the beautifully wide area.

With exploratory steps and looks, and her lively mind as active as always, she reached the long oval and the large water fountain on the end towards her. The base was white, holding a large pool for the relaxing watery sounds of the falling liquid. There were more statues in the pool, and---all around--- _there were more lightposts than she had ever seen!_

She had learned that Paris has many lightposts!

There were some trees on both sides of the square, and, noticing them and their welcome green in the middle of the famous city, she very slowly opened her right hand and let the marvelous light of the city shine down once again on the small green rectangular leaf. It _did_ look a lot like a ticket!

It was strange to see something from The Lands right there in the middle of Paris.

Looking down at the rectangular leaf in her hand, the deceptively simple ticket from The Lands, she knew she had made the right decision. The telephone call had given her _just a little_ more time.

# Chapter VIII: CLARA AND AQ

Meri hadn't actually made the decision of whether to return to The Lands or to try to go to England from Paris.

It had been inside her, as soon as she made the telephone call. _All of a sudden, she had just known what she was going to do!_

But it was too important a decision. It was a big one. So she decided she had better go over the reasons, too.

In her mind, Meri could see her friend Sylvestra sitting on the white bench underneath The Ticket Tree, her light green hair with bits of pink here and there catching the stray sunshine drifting down through the leaves.

"She must be wondering about me," Meri thought. She hated to keep her waiting.

But she knew she needed to think about what she was doing. That was the way her family was. Before she started, she walked all the way around the enclosure that protected the tall monument in the center of the oval, meandering appreciatively by the second large fountain at the other end.

The falling water, dropping through light and splashing agreeably into the base, was equally as pleasant as it had been at the first fountain.

Attracting her, however, as she was getting ready to think, was a beautiful building that was just slightly back from the main line of buildings facing the far end of the square. After it caught her attention, she looked directly at it. It had eight columns, which she counted, and it also had statues across the top of the front, in a huge triangle.

Paris was as lively and as lovely around her as it always was, even when she wasn't there. She could feel its presence as she began walking toward the special building.

She didn't know why she liked it so much. She thought it was perfect the way it was shaped, but she couldn't explain why she thought so. Or _felt_ so, was more like it. Actually, the building seemed somewhat simple, in a way. Crossing the rest of the enormous square, she stopped walking at the far edge of the pavement to get a better look at this charming building that had attracted her so much.

She was standing only a short distance from the tour bus that had recently pulled over to the side---the one with dark blue above and below and an aqua stripe across the middle.

As she just stood there looking, presently the building faded from her sight, and she began to go over her reasons for staying in Paris or returning to The Lands

First, she asked herself---and she was glad she had thought of giving him some sayso about so important a matter--- _what would her father think about what she should do?_

In her imagination she tried to find the exact words she thought he would say. In her mind she pictured him. And this is what he said:

"Well, meridian, the first thing I think is that I want you to be safe. There's no question about that." His words reminded him of Wut. Standing there in Paris, Meri couldn't help but smile at this thought being spoken from the picture of him in her mind.

"And the second thing I think is that I definitely want to see you soon."

"But how soon does that mean?" Meri wondered. " _Soon_ isn't a definite period of time."

But she was hoping that wouldn't be a problem. One by one she considered many of the things she could remember her father ever saying. She also thought it would be helpful to ask herself "What is most important to him, not counting family?"

After thinking quite hard for a long time, without really seeing anything of Paris around her, she pictured him once again in front of her in her imagination. And this is what he said:

"Unquestionably, you know that geography, and especially my Institute of Geographical Discovery, are the most important things in my life aside from my family. That's easy. Since you are the first flesh and blood dummy ever to be in The Lands, you have become a kind of discoverer too. Therefore, if you're safe, I probably wouldn't mind if you stayed just a little longer. And if you came back soon."

Meri smiled. "Thanks, Dad," she said, as he faded.

"What would Mamma think?" She was happy about the image of her mother that then came into her mind. She was so glad to have the same light brown hair as her mother! Her mother was so much quieter than her father, but her thoughts and ideas were equally as good. And perhaps sometimes even better. She loved to hear her mother's quiet strong answers to her father's comments, and the way her father would often change his mind afterwards. She was proud of him---of _both_ of them.

"What I most care about, above everything," her mother, in her mind, said, "is that I want you to be safe. There's no question about that," she then said, reminding Meri of Wut again. "And second, if you're safe, I want you to come back before very long. I need to see you, I need you to be with me. I love you."

Meri looked into her mother's eyes. She missed and loved her too. And as her mother looked back, she heard her say, as she had heard her tell her father and herself so many times:

"Life is a voyage of discovery itself, and each one is equally as important as the famous voyages of geographical discovery of the past." Meri waited, because her mother never failed to add, "And even more so."

And she did, this time too, in Paris.

"You need different experiences, and you need to think about them, to make these discoveries about yourself and about life. You need to think _a lot_."

And so she knew that her mother also wouldn't mind if she stayed a little longer in The Lands. For how could any experiences be more _different_ than these?

Then she thought of her Aunt Am, and she knew right away what she would think. Her Aunt Amelia was always trying to learn new things--- and mainly trying to understand what she knew. She had reasoned out _her own way of understanding many important things in science_. Disagreeing with modern scientists, her aunt thought that the earth was warm on the inside for the same reason that stars were hot---only it was less warm because it was smaller. She had pointed out to Meri that the earth made its own light on the inside, just like stars.

She believed---had reasoned out---that the sun and other stars were hot for a reason that was _the opposite_ of what was accepted. She remembered her Aunt saying, "It's because of a disintegration that keeps occurring---not because of a fusion. It's _the opposite_ of what is believed."

Her aunt certainly had her own mind!

She didn't try to explain the whole complicated theory to her favorite niece, who was much too young to understand it. But what she had said sounded sensible to Meri, who planned to try to find out more when she got older.

So she knew that, as long as she were safe, it would be all right with her Aunt for her to stay a while longer in The Lands, where what happened was often so different from the expected.

"Yes!" she said out loud in Paris, smiling: she knew her Aunt Am unquestionably would approve of The Lands!

She pictured her Aunt before her, saying,

"I've never heard of any place so creative! Yes, by all means, I think your parents are right to let you stay a little longer. But not too much longer, Dear. We need you with us soon."

And finally, giving _herself_ some sayso, Meri asked,

"And what do _I_ think?"

After taking several more minutes, she replied thoughtfully, this time picturing _herself_ in her mind. She was used to talking to herself anyway, as in her game of _Suddenly!_ But this time her mental image said,

"I'm glad you asked. My answer is, that I don't want to leave The Lands without telling my friends the Tackling Dummy, Jethro, Wut, and the others good-bye first.

"It would be so hard for me to just go off and leave them, even if I have been trying to get to England! They---my friends---are important to me too---more than I can say. I don't even know how I'm going to leave them, when I have to. And it would be so disturbing to me if I left now, when the Tackling Dummy's eyes so clearly reminded me in Aquamarie's windmill that we're still in the middle of something together! After all, he hasn't gotten his new canvas yet, and I'm an important part of that. Of course, by that look he didn't mean to keep me from England, and he would want me to go ahead now. But I've told him all along that he's going to get his canvas. _And I'm not going to leave him now when he doesn't have it_!

"In fact, I want to _help_ him get his canvas---if I can. _I'm not going to abandon my friend,_ just because I can get what _I_ want _."_

And then she added, because there was something else worrying her, "And I'm worried about The Land of Pink Windmills, too. What else is going to happen to them? What else will the croapfs try? Suppose I'm needed there, and could help, but wasn't there?"

Saying these things to herself, Meri repeated in her mind what she was going to do.

Her mental image of herself faded.

She was concentrating on these thoughts and unaware of Paris around her. She thought she would be safe in The Lands if she returned. After finding a way to Paris so luckily and so quickly, she was confident---perhaps more so than she should have been---that she would be able to return from The Lands again when she was ready--- somehow.

The wonderfully shaped building appeared before her eyes again, and once again she became aware of the very active square, most of it behind her.

Now she was ready, and her heart began beating faster again. Even _she_ hadn't realized how much she had come to love The Lands.

Slowly she opened her right hand and looked down at the medium sized green leaf with a somewhat rectangular contour. It was a little soft and wilted now---and didn't look at all like it could take anyone anywhere.

And then, suddenly startling her, someone unexpectedly spoke to the little girl in the huge square in the center of Paris.

"Dear, we've been watching you from our tour bus. Are you lost?" asked a sympathetic voice. Looking up, Meri saw two large ladies who had walked almost up to her. Being so absorbed in her thoughts, she hadn't seen them coming.

"My name is Clara," said the one who had spoken, dressed in a light pink skirt and jacket over a white blouse, "and this is my friend AQ." She pronounced the letters separately.

"Hello, my dear," murmured AQ in an extremely soft voice, so that Meri had trouble hearing her. She was wearing a light gray dress with tiny white and red dots all over it.

Each woman had a sympathetic look on her face, and each was peering, intently and curiously, directly down at Meri.

"Hi," said Meri, to both at once, turning her head and body around toward them in a friendly way. "No, I'm not---lost, that is. I love being here."

"Isn't she pretty?" asked Clara of AQ, "Look at those eyes. Lovely."

"Charming," murmured AQ, so softly.

"Where are your parents?" pursued Clara in a comforting friendly voice, obviously not convinced that the little girl wasn't lost.

"They're on their way to England," said Meri positively, feeling closer to them on their trip, now that she was in Paris.

"I thought so," replied Clara knowingly, and frowning just noticeably. "Did you get left behind?"

Without thinking, Meri said, "Yes," meaning they had had to go to England without her.

"Oh, poor dear," softened AQ, and each of the two tourists got such a look of pity on her face that Meri realized at once how they had taken her words the wrong way.

"No, they didn't forget about me," she assured her two well-meaning new friends. "They would never have done that," she said with such conviction and meaning that Clara and AQ believed her.

"I'm okay---really," continued Meri, looking up at the two sympathetic faces. "You see, I have a ticket that I can use by myself to go exactly where I want to go---whenever I'm ready." And she held up the crumpled light green leaf for them to see.

"Ohhhhh," each replied in a long-drawn-out syllable, looking at each other with renewed concern.

"Oh, it's just a leaf," pronounced Clara, bending over to inspect it more carefully.

"I'm afraid the child's distraught from being left behind," she said quickly to AQ, behind her raised hand.

"A leaf?" repeated AQ, almost unheard, straightening her gray dotted dress at the neck nervously.

"It's a _ticket_ ," urged Meri. "From The Ticket Tree. So it's a _leaf_ , too," she admitted. "But all I have to do is tear it in half, and it'll take me to The Land of Pink Windmills." She knew there was too much to explain, but she liked these two well-meaning but mistaken ladies. So she told them that little bit about The Lands.

"Honey, do you mean Holland---or the Netherlands? Are your parents going there, too? Were you supposed to go? They have windmills there. But I've never heard of any of them being pink. Have you, AQ?"

"No," her companion agreed softly. "But you know, that would be such a good idea. I think pink windmills would be exquisite." And closing her eyes momentarily, she tried to imagine them to herself right there on the square in Paris. Opening her eyes again, she smiled softly and dreamily.

"Don't worry," said Meri, taking the hand re-assuringly of each of them. "I'll be all right. There are many lands there. They're called, The Lands. Such as The Land of Handwriting Speech, where what you speak doesn't come out as sound but instead appears on the air in handwriting of different colors. And I have a friend who is a question mark. His name is Wut.

"What?" echoed AQ indistinctly, wondering if she had heard correctly.

"And another friend, Jethro, who is a Buffalo Unicorn. And there's a Help Button there, which you can push if you need help---if you can find it, of course. And there's a monkeybars there that glides along the ground whenever you swing on it."

Meri stopped to get her breath, while also noticing that Clara and AQ had become truly speechless, each with her mouth somewhat open and a perplexed look on her face. Each was a little stunned by all of Meri's words, so the little girl remained silent for a moment.

Clara recovered first, quickly whispering behind her hand again to AQ, "The poor child. We've got to help her."

"Yes," said AQ airily and automatically, still with pink windmills in her mind, along with Meri's other words.

"Tell you what," said Clara in a friendly way to Meri, intending to be helpful. "You said the leaf---I mean, the _ticket_ \---you have there in your hand---will take you to The Land of Pink Windmills, if you tear it? Isn't that what you said?"

"Yes," Meri confirmed, glad her friends seemed to be beginning to understand. "That's how The Ticket Tree works."

"Okay," said Clara, as if she had taken one small positive step with the child, and was ready for the next one. "Suppose AQ and I join hands in a circle around you, and you tear the ticket, and then we'll see if it takes you to The Ticket Tree. But if it doesn't, we're here to help you. Is that okay?"

AQ liked the idea, her face brightening, as she left her thoughts to come back to the conversation in progress. She and Clara reached around the child and joined their hands, on which they were wearing their favorite rings. Each was smiling supportively, and each also had a hint of concern in her eyes, because the child was about to be embarrassed when what she thought was a green _ticket_ turned out to be only a wilted _leaf_ after all.

"Thank you both," said Meri in an appreciative way, looking up into their faces with their kind eyes, which were so close to her now. "I know you wanted to help me, and I won't forget you." And looking around briefly at Paris one more time as well as she could through their arms, she tore the ticket in two.

"Now---" began Clara, but didn't finish, looking down into the now empty circle made by her arms and AQ's, with their hands joined.

Slowly she raised her eyes, to gaze directly across into AQ's. At first there was a dull expression, then an awakening of realization, and then a sparkle of wonder---in the eyes of each.

"She's gone," said AQ unnecessarily, and quite softly.

She didn't bother to look around. It was clear what had happened.

"There _really is_ a Land of Pink Windmills," Clara whispered to her friend, in a tone of discovery, leaning forward to make sure no other adult could hear her. But there was belief in her eyes.

"Oh, I know," replied AQ with certainty, too. "And I want to go there." Her eyes had a dreamy excitement in them.

"How would you like to go to The Land of Handwriting Speech?" Clara asked her friend. Her own eyes had an inspired look as she imagined the colorful land.

"That would suit me fine," said AQ longingly.

"On the monkeybars?" continued Clara.

"Wouldn't we look like something?"

# Chapter IX: STICKTIGHT

"I was beginning to worry about you, you were gone so long," said Sylvestra, quite relieved, as Meri suddenly appeared under The Ticket Tree again.

"Hi!" said Meri joyfully. She was especially glad to see her friend---and to be in The Lands again!

"She does have the prettiest eyes," she thought. But when she remembered all over again that they looked _exactly_ like hers, she blushed slightly.

Syl was sitting on the white bench. The outfit she was wearing, as well as her hair, looked especially nice against that color. Meri looked around quickly and gladly at the familiar scenes of the land.

The same extra large white clouds were not only directly above, but all over. In fact, the sky looked truly spectacular.

Briefly Meri told Syl about being in the great city and the opportunity she had had to go to England to join her parents---that is, to be there when they would arrive, probably in several days.

"But you didn't," replied Sylvestra thoughtfully, her face becoming serious. "Why?" She was also quite surprised Meri had found a way to leave The Lands so quickly---actually, on _only her second try_.

"She's far luckier than she probably knows," Syl thought. "Surely there aren't that many tickets out of The Lands on The Ticket Tree." But she was worried, too.

"It might take almost forever, now, for her to get back again with another ticket," she thought.

She hoped her friend, whom she had come to like so much, wouldn't have to regret her decision. Of course, she herself would _never_ regret Meri _always_ being in The Lands---if that's what happened. She'd love to have her there always! But she knew that wouldn't make her friend happy.

Meri answered, feeling a little uncertainty because of Syl's expression.

"I realized, once I got _there_ , and was away from _here_ , that I wasn't ready to tell everyone goodbye yet. The Tackling Dummy still has the same old worn-out canvas---although mended beautifully by Aquamarie by this time, I'm sure. I would hate to leave before he gets his new canvas. And you know what?---I also hated to leave because I know Wut is afraid something else is going to happen to The Land of Pink Windmills. I don't want to run out on everyone just when I might be needed."

Sylvestra's expression instantly changed, and it told Meri how much she appreciated that reason and how concerned she really was herself about what might happen to her own land. Immediately she stood up and gave her flesh and blood friend a grateful hug.

The sunlight came down through the tree at that spot and was shining beautifully through her light green hair with pink bits.

"We're definitely not ready to tell _you_ goodbye yet either, Dear. And we thank you for wanting to help us. I hope my land will be all right. But who knows--- _you_ may be the one who _does_ help us. Wouldn't that be something? If so, you probably couldn't know how much we would appreciate your coming back, like you did!"

Her face became especially troubled under the tree. "I guess we'll just have to wait and see what's going to happen."

There was a pause for a few moments while each young person had her own thoughts. Syl looked back toward the village again, worriedly. Meri looked up at the tree and around at The Lands in the distance.

A few birds could be heard up in The Ticket Tree. A passing wind moved though the branches so thick with leaves. Meri noticed again the faint yellowness of the air below the tree, above the grass, because of the tiny yellow flowers that always grow beneath a Tree of Ticket Leaves---flowers hardly ever seen. Looking up, she also noticed the effect on the air of the lightly sparkling leaves all over the tree.

Or perhaps she was noticing and feeling the specialness of the tree itself.

"Want to try one more ticket leaf?" asked Sylvestra, breaking the silence and surprising Meri, who had thought that surely they were finished at the tree for that day. Also, in Paris, she had already chosen to stay in The Lands a little longer.

She was now looking forward to another night in The Lands, _in the top round room of Sylvestra's pink windmill!_

She hadn't even thought about trying the tree again that day. But now, at the novel idea of going somewhere else again, probably just in The Lands, she looked up creatively again at some of the medium green leaves just overhead.

So far, she had been to The Land of Too Shy Izzits and to Paris, and there was no question that she had liked both places. "I certainly won't like _another_ place as much as I liked those!" she thought. She didn't realize that she was slowly deciding _to try another ticket!_

"Where in The Lands would one more ticket take me?" she wondered silently, looking at Syl. She couldn't imagine, after the unexpectedness of the first two tickets! But, just because of her first two experiences, she began to be more and more curious about a third.

Without thinking any more about it, and surprising even herself, she replied to Syl's patient expectant glance, "Yes, I think I will. Just one more time."

Her heart had already started beating faster again.

But she didn't reach for a ticket, or even look up to begin selecting one.

"First," she unexpectedly added, looking back at Syl, "before I go, I've just got to know where _you_ just went, during my second ticket. I've been curious about it since I came back. But we've been talking, so I couldn't ask you! What happened?"

Sylvestra was pleased at Meri's interest in her as she brought her own trip back to mind.

"Okay. Remember you watched me leave, as you asked to?"

"Uh huh, Meri answered. "Where did you go?" Meri was fascinated. She had been to two special places herself. She couldn't wait to hear where Syl had gone!

"To The Land of Better Lending," said Syl slowly, closing her eyes and thinking about it, and remembering. "It's also called _The Land of Tiny Shiny Chains_ \---and it's _only two lands_ away from The Land of the Croapfs, where I needed to go---but I didn't think I had time to go there. I wanted to! I did remember, though, that you had wondered---when we were walking here---if a ticket could take me to that land. What a coincidence! It almost did. But, as I said, I didn't have time to walk across two lands and be back when you returned. So I couldn't." Her eyes opened again.

"The dummies there are very generous," she went on, prompted by the curiosity that she saw in both of her friend's eyes, which, she was reminded, were so attractive.

"The dummies there, in The Land of Better Lending---or in The Land of Tiny Shiny Chains, whichever one prefers---are very cooperative and generous---they will lend you almost anything, if they can. But knowing how lending often leads to hard feelings, if something isn't returned on time, they always tell you clearly when something is due back, and they always attach a tiny shiny chain to it. Then when it's due, you don't have to return it---they just gently pull it back themselves, saving you the trouble of having to think about it."

"Not Really!?" asked Meri, laughing, imagining walking around pulling a tiny shiny chain along behind you.

"You should see that land!" burst out Syl herself enthusiastically, remembering how it had looked. "It's a shiny maze because there are so many tiny shiny chains criss-crossing everywhere, many of them moving. You can hardly get around, unless you live there and are used to it. You have to be very flexible! That's another reason I couldn't quickly go over to The Land of the Croapfs.

"So when I got there, after looking around, I went to The Lending Library---"

"The Lending Library!?" interrupted Meri, surprised. Immediately she thought of the Tackling Dummy, who had such a high opinion of reading. "What was it he had said?" she thought quickly, thinking back. "' _Reading is a light'?"_

"Yes, a Lending Library," responded Sylvestra, smiling at Meri's reaction, but not knowing yet about the Tackling Dummy's opinion of reading. "I guess you could have expected one in The Land of Better Lending. It's kind of obvious! Anyway, they put a tiny shiny chain on each book and when it's due, you don't have to bring it back. They just pull it back. I borrowed a book and had it stamped to be due back in 11 1/2 minutes, and went out and sat on the top of a little green hill, where there weren't too many chains going by, and began reading it. In exactly 11 1/2 minutes, I felt a little tug, and the book was gently pulled away over the grass, toward The Lending Library on its tiny shiny chain. I watched it go up to the door and a dummy open it to let it in, and then I tore the leaf and waited for you here."

"I'd love to go there!" said Meri with laughter and wonder, trying to imagine the land and the shiny chains.

"As I said---I think you're going to run out of time _long_ before you do all the things you want to do _here!"_ laughed Syl.

"But go ahead and try again."

How much Meri liked her friend, with eyes just like hers, she wished Sylvestra knew! Glancing meaningfully into those eyes, as the look of expectation came onto her own face again, Meri walked over to the other side of the tree.

Standing up on her tiptoes again, she stretched up as far as she could so that her back bent slightly, and pulled off another ticket. It was one that was just hanging there by itself on a tiny stem on a smaller limb of a larger branch.

Immediately, before she could think, she was gone.

* * *

She was in a land, but it was one she knew.

She recognized it right away, because of all the autumn trees that were growing far enough apart for light to come down through them and for grass to grow everywhere. Most also seemed to have those rings of light colored cheerful flowers around their bases---not in perfect circles, but wandering around somewhat before completing themselves.

It was a pleasure to be in The Autumnforest again!

It was quiet, except for the usual forest sounds and birds flying around and calling now and then. As Meri looked at the birds, she wandered if any would soon be leaving and flying toward The Fly Bye. She couldn't see any that were leaving, though. And anyway, being in the _middle_ of the forest, she didn't have any idea which way was _toward_ The Fly Bye or The Land of Pink Windmills or any other land.

Looking around, Meri couldn't help but like this forest. It was so different from any she had ever seen before, and she had seen many. It was peaceful, and also so positive. It lifted her spirits, just being here, even when her spirits didn't need lifting! But there didn't seem to be anything going on, so she knew that her trip on this particular ticket wasn't going to be exciting like her two previous visits from The Ticket Tree!

But then she heard something, from just ahead and a little to the right. It sounded like a voice, although there was something definitely different about this particular voice.

"Acorn bracelets," was what she thought she had heard. Of course she didn't believe her ears. "I didn't hear that," she said, talking to herself again. But she walked on cautiously, in that direction.

"Good one," she thought she heard, in that same strange voice again, although a little lower. She wasn't even sure if she were hearing a voice. Continuing to step cautiously on the forest grass, trying to avoid snapping any branches that might have fallen down, she walked even closer.

"Light blue running," was what she thought she heard next. But no, she couldn't have heard that! Then, "Bingo! Got that one too. Wish I could, though, light blue or not. Guess not, though. I've always been here, and I like it here. Where would I go? Where could I go better? And I don't want to have to change my name! Think I'll stay."

"What odd sayings," Meri thought, peering around a tree. But all she saw were other trees. Something else was making her wonder, too, and it was this: what she was hearing was odd, but not _completely_ odd to her. Something about what the voice was saying seemed strangely familiar, but she didn't understand why yet. She was unquestionably intrigued.

"Silvery wondering," floated through the trees, this time more clearly.

Now, walking softly through The Autumnforest, especially carefully and slowly, Meri knew it _really was_ a voice. Saying such strange things. It had a kind of splintery, deep sound, but a lightness came through it, too.

"From the personality of the speaker," she thought.

"Factual air and two grass."

Meri thought.

_Why did what she was hearing sound so familiar?_ She hadn't quite figured it out yet, although she had a definite feeling _that she was about to_. Walking softly on, she was more and more curious. And _that voice_. It was definitely unique. She continued to search forward, staying behind autumn trees.

"I liked the light blue part though," the voice continued, going back to its previous subject of _light blue running_. "Hey! Light blue thunder! Yeah, that sounds like rain, too, though not from clouds. How could that be? Hah!"

Then Meri suddenly _knew_ what it was that sounded so familiar---and she was completely _flabbergasted_ at the thought! For someone---or some _it---_ was playing _her_ game--- _her_ game of _Suddenly!_ \---that she herself had made up!

This was amazing!

But then she took several more seconds to think about it.

"If _I_ could, someone else could too---make up the game," she correctly reasoned in the first few moments following her bewilderment.

"Shirt sunshine," she next heard---she was now very close. "Or should I say, 'shirt shunshine,' since if you wear a shirt, you don't get shined on. Of course, I don't wear a shirt. I want all the sunshine I can get. But hum, wait a minute. Suppose there was a shirt that could fit me? Would I wear it? I wood! Yes, I wood! Hah! Yes, I am! _What am I going to do with myself?!"_

"Aquamarine oranges," Meri called out, remembering the phrase that she had liked so much the morning before.

"Aquamarine oranges?" answered the voice. "What's wrong with aquamarine _apples_?"

"I thought so too," answered Meri, walking toward the splintery, deep, but also light voice. "In fact, I'm certain I was going to say that next."

"How certain are you?" asked the voice.

"Black certain," responded Meri, coming to a clearing in which there was a wide space around a tree in the middle. It was a large apple tree with many yellow apples all over it, and green leaves.

And, to her surprise, from the tree came, "April messages."

"Ankle maps," countered Meri.

"Ankle jellyroll doughnuts," said the tree. Meri couldn't tell where the voice was coming from, but she did see a large knothole about seven feet up. She wondered if the voice was coming from that. But she couldn't be sure.

"Onion iron sitting," came the girl.

"Happy pin adjectives," the tree.

"Three thick skates," challenged Meri.

"Well flagpoles," mentioned the tree. "Hah! Imagine a flagpole rising from deep in a well!"

"Oh, I thought you meant flagpoles that weren't sick," suggested the girl quickly, an amused expression in her light turquoise eyes.

"I did," answered the tree. "But only if the flag is at the top. If the flag is lower, the well isn't doing too well! Hey Hey!"

"Isn't that in reverse?" politely queried Meri right back. "Aren't thermometers supposed to go up, not down, to show sickness?" She had shrewdly guessed his meaning. Luckily she had been right!

"Quite true," affirmed the tree. "You're absolutely right. But this isn't a thermometer, it's a ther _my_ meter, and since it's mine, I say which way it goes. And by the way, this whole game is in reverse. So you can't correct someone. Tulip ink."

Meri knew he was right. She stood perfectly corrected. She had stumbled because she had never met anyone so quick at the game before, certainly not any of her friends or her parents.

"Eyelash saddles," was her answer, back in the spirit of the game. "And by the way, about what you said, you were gigantically wrong---in reverse, you know."

"Thanks," from the tree. "You're the best player I've ever met. Of course, I've never met myself. I've always been myself, so how could I meet me?"

"Maybe you could find out something about yourself that you never knew. Then you'd be meeting yourself."

The tree was quite quiet for a few moments.

Then it said quietly, "You certainly won that one." Then more vigorously, "And yes, I do like to find out about myself. That's the most fun. No, the game is the most fun. No, the finding. No, I'll say both. They've _both_ been the most fun. Yes, I'll say _both_! Good. Hey!"

Meri could hear the birds overhead and some bees humming nearby. Bees like apples on the ground, and there were some scattered around, that had fallen. She could smell those on the ground, in various states of decay, now and then.

"What's your name?" the tree asked next in his splintery deep voice that had a lightness in it.

"Meri."

"Is that all?"

"Meri Dian."

"Hi Meridian!"

"How did you know so quickly?" asked Meri, flabbergasted.

"Let's just say I'm used to putting two words together. It's a beautiful name."

"Thank you," said the girl, thinking of how her father would like that---that it was beautiful, as well as geographical. "And what's yours?" she asked uncertainly, not sure if a tree would have a name. She didn't want to hurt its feelings, in case it didn't have one.

"Sticktight," said the tree. "It's a good one, isn't it?"

"Sticktight?" repeated Meri. Somehow it seemed just right for a tree, but she wasn't sure why.

"Yes," she said. "It is."

She mumbled "Sticktight" again, looking at the apple tree surrounded by all the other trees there in The Autumnforest. It was the only fruit tree in sight. Its yellow apples hung quite naturally there among the autumn leaves, and the few lying on the green grass made a colorful picture.

"It came in the game," suddenly explained the tree. One day, playing my game by myself, as usual, I happened to put _stick_ and _tight_ together, and the rest is history. "Since I'm made of sticks---otherwise branches---and since I'm as tightly in the ground as you can imagine---I'm permanent here, you know---I knew I had a name. Since then, it seems to be just me here---Sticktight, I mean. But something happened when I had a name. I became more me. You're different when you don't have a name."

"It seems we both have two names that became one."

"Good one, Meridian."

"Thanks, Sticktight," said the girl. There was something special about being called 'Meridian' by Sticktight, she thought.

"But I apologize because I'm going to have to ask a big favor of you, Meridian. It may make you a little sad. Probably a whole lot sad. But I have to ask you. I don't have a choice. Will you do it?"

"Shouldn't I know what it is first?"

"I need your help. Suppose I put it this way: will you do it, if you _can_ do it?"

That sounded very reasonable to Meri, so she didn't mind saying, "Okay." Especially since she realized from his tones that Sticktight was already a little sad and clearly didn't want her to be. She wanted to cheer him up. But she was very very curious about what she had agreed to do. There was no telling, in The Lands, what it would be or what it would involve! She was also worried about the sadness---but not for her sake. She was worried about it for him, for she already liked him very much.

Meri then heard a sigh of relief. "Thanks. It's been on my mind for some time, even though I've tried not to think too much about it, for obvious reasons."

"What reasons?"

"First, let me say again, please try not to be sad for me. Although it may be hard not to be, I know. But try. I'll be all right. Okay? I'll explain now."

And then he said something truly unexpected and devastating to the girl.

"You see, today is my last day to talk. I have the owingstones, and in case you don't know that much about them, the owingstones are what are allowing me to talk. But now my turn is up. I've had them for a long time now, and it's the turn of a certain strawberry patch on the other side of The Lands---to talk. It's their turn, and I have to find a way to get the owingstones to them. Will you take them for me? Please?"

Meri did feel sad for her new friend--- _tearfully_ sad, in fact, although he had tried to prepare her. She noticed that his deep splintery voice didn't have the same amount of lightness, the same spirit and energy as before, and this made her feel even sadder. So she didn't have the heart to say anything but yes, and she said it waveringly feebly:

"Yes, I'll take them for you," she agreed.

She realized, quite quickly, that this favor would keep her in The Lands longer, and she would have felt better about this---not being quite ready to leave yet anyway---if she hadn't been so distressed about the tree. But she couldn't believe what she had to do---she had to be the one to take the owingstones from him and remove his ability to talk.

It was really quite upsetting! He couldn't see that her eyes were noticeably different than before.

"Thank you," said Sticktight, more seriously than she had heard the tree speak since she had been there. "Do you see where I branch upward into three separate trunks?"

Meri looked up. She hadn't looked that closely at the shape of the tree before, she had been so involved in the conversation. The tree had a large central trunk that, about four feet up, separated into three smaller ones, as Sticktight had said. Each of these smaller trunks then arched up into a maze of intersecting branches covered with leaves grayish pale green on the undersides and shiny on top. Its bark was dark grayish brownish black, very uneven, and there was a tiny ring of beautiful light gray and peach-colored flowers running casually around its base, with, strangely, a small pokeberry plant, holding plump purple pokeberries, as one of the flowers in its circle. Above, there were a large number of yellow apples up in the light.

"Yes," said Meri, summoning up her own spirit as much as she could, out of her sadness, to whisper in addition, "Underarm thinking."

"Hah!" answered the tree. "Well, where those trunks meet, there's like a little bowl with three sides, protected by all my branches up above. That's where the owingstones are. By the way, there are five, and you'll see what color they are. Turnip wheels."

"Raspberry pliers," mumbled the girl, "are what I need to get them out with."

"Better to use butter staples," offered the tree.

With some effort, Meri lifted herself up the scaly lower trunk, holding onto what lower branches she could reach, and finally peering into the bowl formed by the beginning of the three upper trunks. Holding herself up with difficulty with her right hand, and reaching down with the other, her left hand found five small round things, or owingstones, at the bottom of the bowl. They felt very smooth.

"Are you ready?" she forced herself to ask her friend Sticktight, although she wasn't ready at all herself, before she lifted them up. She knew she was about to stop the tree from speaking---and speaking so well. And it was an impossibly terrible thing to have to do---even though his turn was up.

"Yes, Dear. Meridian. I guess I am. Talking license. Wish I had one. But there isn't any such thing. But if there were, I could talk more. Then I'd be merry. No, I can't be you, if that's what you're thinking. I can't be you, because I have to be me. Apple dawn black certain elbow news, and me. Bye." As a compliment to Meri, he had borrowed her phrase, _black certain_ , as one of the last things he would say.

But then he unexpectedly spoke again. "Elbow news? That's another one. One of my best. What am I gonna do?! Hey! I also liked your _underarm thinking_. Good one! Does that have anything to do with your heart? Glad I met you, and thanks again for the favor! See you, Meri."

"Bye," whispered Meri as a tear rolled down her cheek and the owingstones were in her hand. They were straw colored, translucent, and there were five. Carefully, sniffing, she put them into the snap pocket at the top of her bib overall jeans shorts, snapped it shut again, and with a tear rolling down her other cheek, took a last look at the apple tree.

"I've never had a friend before who was a tree," she thought to herself.

For just a moment, she reached out her left hand and placed it gently on the uneven grayish brownish black bark, choking back a cry.

"See you," she whispered in a very very low voice to the tree that could no longer reply, and then in an even lower voice, she added, "Good one."

And then she tore the ticket which had been in her right hand all the time, sticking out behind her fingers on that hand when she had climbed up and reached for the owingstones with her left.

Before she could think, she was gone.

# Chapter X: FICO

When Meri reappeared under The Ticket Tree, Sylvestra had already unexpectedly walked a short distance up the long mild slope toward the pink windmills, which still couldn't quite be seen from where she was standing.

She seemed to be intently gazing in that direction anyway and trying to hear. Meri listened too, from below the tree. She couldn't be sure, but she thought she could hear cheering and shouting. Something was happening at the windmills, she believed.

Looking down the slope, Syl then noticed that Meri had returned.

"Oh, glad you're back," she said, turning toward her friend and running back down the slope. "Come on, Dear! I want to find out what's going on at home. Something's happening!"

They hurried straight up the slope and across the land. It was a shorter distance than earlier, because they had first visited The Fly Bye on the way to The Ticket Tree. The Fly Bye was very close to the cliffs, not far from The Pass which went up toward The Yellow Trampoline and The One Tree Forest.

Meri was still thinking about Sticktight and feeling sad. But at the moment, she didn't have time to say anything.

"What do you think they're doing?" she wondered inquisitively out loud, as, from a distance, they began to see a large crowd of dummies at the end of The Sliding Board.

Sylvestra's brow became strained with anxiety. She was thinking that the croapfs might have come back.

If so, what would they be trying this time? But the closer she and Meri got, the more they realized the crowd was cheerful.

Syl relaxed.

There wasn't a problem _this time._

There was some kind of fun going on. They were both wondering what it was.

Arriving at the windmills, the two ran carefreely and inquisitively among the round pink homes, deftly missing their large turning blades as they hurried as fast as they could.

Soon they saw the gigantic familiar figure of Jethro near the end of The Sliding Board, which at the moment had a ramp from the grass up to the end. The Sliding Board normally ends about five feet in the air, because dummies, made of yarn or stuffed with cotton, coming to The Land of Pink Windmills can't get hurt leaving the board at that height. And they can retain at least a little speed.

Many colorful dummies turned and greeted Syl and Meri as they joined the crowd at the rear.

Meri also saw the Tackling Dummy, standing near Jethro. Mended, he was out, and walking!

"Ohohohoooooooooohhhhhhh," was all she could think of to say, she was so glad to see him, running up to give him a big hug. Everything she wanted to say was in the tones of those four syllables. He looked so good standing there on the grass. Aquamarie had sewn him up as professionally as anyone could have---probably more so.

Stepping back to look at him, Meri could hardly believe her eyes. Aquamarie was so good that many of his smaller tears and rips had disappeared---and his larger ones became evident only if one looked more closely.

He looked a hundred times better!

The Tackling Dummy, with a pleased look on his face that he couldn't help, because he was feeling so much better about himself, turned all the way around to give her a total view.

Aquamarie had removed a large square of canvas right in the middle of his back where the fireball had burned the most, replacing it with a piece of canvas of her own. Only not having exactly the same faded gray as the Tackling Dummy, she had had to use a piece of canvas that was much newer, and slightly aquamarine in color. His back looked beautiful.

And that was exactly what Meri said to him, after her all around inspection.

"You are beautiful!" she commented approvingly, holding in her emotions.

The Tackling Dummy was unquestionably pleased. He was even pleased when many other dummies backed into a surrounding circle to help Meri admire him. For the time being anyway, he had lost his embarrassment because of his appearance.

"Aquamarie is incredible, isn't she?" he asked, twisting himself to look over his left shoulder.

"Seamlessly incredible!"

Meri could see Aquamarie watching approvingly from back in the crowd, but she was too far away for Meri to thank her personally at that time. So the little girl smiled especially meaningfully to say what she meant, and Aquamarie nodded. Aquamarie was very good at nodding to communicate. And Meri was very good at showing what she meant by a look.

The crowd was colorful, many of the dummies wearing outfits created and sewn by Aquamarie. The Land of Pink Windmills was exceptionally lucky, because she, the best seamstress in all of The Lands, lived there.

By her ability, Aquamarie also enabled her friends, or everyone in the village, to meet many dummies from other lands, too. They came endlessly to be mended or to request a new outfit for some reason.

Aquamarie was well known over all The Lands, because a needle and thread, and someone with the skill to use them, are absolute necessities if you are made of yarn, or canvas stuffed with cotton, and your friends are too. But Aquamarie, with her talent, was even far better than that.

Jethro had turned around to look when Meri and Syl had arrived. He was glad when then Meri walked over and put her arm across his huge shoulders---or tried to. Her arm didn't go up too far across his broad back. She liked the feel of his light tan, gold, yellow and white fur, with soft marks of black all over. Jethro nodded his head with a quick small jerk at her, and for fun raised both of his large whimsical eyebrows at her at the same time. Then for more fun he looked straight down, with a mock serious expression on his face, into both of her eyes at the same time.

He couldn't help but notice again the color of her light turquoise eyes.

Just then, though, Wut, having seen her, too, bounced up and took her other hand. One of his friends, moving with almost athletic perfection, came with him. Wut bounced softly in one place on the grass.

"Meri, this is Fico," he said with an introductory tone, indicating his friend with a turn of his black head and his green eyes out in space on either side of his head. "He lives in the windmill closest to The Sliding Board. He's the one who was able to reach you just in time last night---just as the fireball was leaning over and about to fall on you and the Tackling Dummy.

"He's really just about the best at managing and aiming the wind from the spinning side of his home. Just at the very last second he was able---controlling and aiming what is in fact a private tornado---to reach out and whirl the fireball into nothingness! I don't think anyone has ever been as good as he is, or ever will be. He's just good at things like that."

Meri looked gratefully up into the eyes of a very large and especially well formed dummy who was just then standing up, with noticeable grace, after reaching down to tie the laces of his athletic shoes. His face had taken on a kind but undaunted look as he remembered the fireballs, but his expression immediately softened into nothing but kindness as he met for the first time the little girl he had tried so hard to save the night before.

"Hi," he said, looking down at Meri with his warm gray eyes. "Glad to save you---I mean, meet you," he said good-naturedly, and laughed.

Meri also laughed. "I'm very glad of both," she told him, taking his extended large hand and experiencing his firm handshake. "And I should be---if not for you, the Tackling Dummy and I wouldn't even be here. We have a lot to thank you for."

She immediately liked his good-natured face and especially his warm but also strong and confident gray eyes.

"You don't know how glad I was to help," he replied simply and meaningfully. "But your other friend saved you first," he added, nodding with his head toward the Tackling Dummy, who was standing nearby.

"Yeah, for the _second_ time," replied Meri, looking over at him valuingly, referring to his cross-body block which had enabled her to find The Help Button. And she quickly described to Fico what had happened in the meadow before she had found The Help Button.

"Really?" replied Fico, surprised. "I'd like to see it one time! I've never seen it. Almost no one ever has, because it immediately reappears somewhere else if someone not in trouble finds it."

Meri was noticing more and more how muscular and able Fico appeared. He was tall, mostly of yellow yarn, as were all the other dummies in The Land of Pink Windmills. But he also had a lot of blue yarn going up and down. His arms and legs were large and muscular, so was his chest, and his _face_ even looked strong. While also kind.

At the moment he was wearing gray sweat shorts by Aquamarie which buttoned in two straps over his shoulders. And no shirt. In his hands he was holding his favorite hat, which was a white baseball cap with a small pink windmill on the front, but with oversized real blades which, sticking up above the crest of the hat a little, spun funnily if he ran with it on.

What he most loved to do was to run non-stop from land to land, with his hat on and his windmill blades spinning. Besides running, he also enjoyed other feats of strength and agility.

When he was being athletic, you never saw him wearing a shirt, but when he wasn't, he could often be seen wearing his favorite shirt, which was a black and white jersey tank shirt with the stripes going around in circles and a large plum-colored fig in the middle of the back against white.

"Are you ready yet?" asked Jethro eagerly in his deep whimsical voice. Obviously he had been waiting patiently, for some reason Meri didn't know about yet.

"Jethro and Fico just had a race," Wut explained to Meri and Syl, with a little impatience showing in his face. He was bouncing steadily and easily on the grass beside the great Buffalo Unicorn. "Jethro knows Fico is the fastest of anyone in all of The Lands on two feet. But he wondered if Fico is also the fastest of everyone on four feet, too, like himself. So he challenged Fico to a race to the cliffs and back. They just had it."

"What happened?" asked Meri, finding all of this a little hard to believe, for she had seen Jethro's in-all-directions run before, and Fico's appearance suggested that he _had_ to be very fast. His arms and legs seemed perfectly proportioned, and even at that moment Fico was doing some deep knee bends---effortlessly.

"Fico got to the cliffs and back almost before Jethro even started," said Wut with a gleam of amusement in his two green eyes, bright in the air on either side of his face. Some of the dummies nearby laughed softly.

"We hardly saw Fico at all going and coming, he was so fast."

"That's what the cheering and shouting was all about then," said Sylvestra, still standing at Meri's side. "We could hear it all the way to The Ticket Tree, and we wondered about it."

"Yes," agreed Wut, springing up and down. "Everyone cheered for Fico, and then for Jethro, too---all the way over and all the way back---as long as it took him."

"Yep," said Jethro, thinking back, clearly with pleasure. "But it ain't over yet."

"No," replied Wut, clearly exasperated. "Jethro had so much fun racing Fico to the cliffs and back that afterward he challenged Fico to a race _up_ The Sliding Board! He admitted that Fico is good racing _across_ somewhere, which is _horizontal_. 'That's easy,' Jethro said. But then he said he wonders if Fico is as good racing _up_ somewhere, which is _vertical_. So he challenged him to this race. It's ridiculous! How can Jethro race _up_ that Sliding Board? It's just a way to get on that Sliding Board, which I've always told him not to try to do! But he's so stubborn!"

And he looked over at his great friend with an impatient and an I-can't-believe-how-persistent-you-are look.

Jethro looked back at him pleasantly and then swung his great head around, with its beautiful unicorn, to look at The Sliding Board winding all the way up to the cliffs.

The crowd of dummies, standing around and listening eagerly, looked up at The Sliding Board too, past its many imaginative loops and curves to the edge of the cliffs where it was so steep at first. They were all thinking the same thought.

"Jethro is to race _up_ that?! _Jethro?"_

"I know, I know," said Jethro with make-believe impatience, taking it all in. He had noticed their looks. "But think about it. Who can lose to Fico? If he wins, no one thinks you lost, because it's Fico, and no one is expected to win against Fico. So what have I got to lose?"

"You're just determined, because you know The Sliding Board is inappropriate for you," insisted Wut. "And you're too stubborn to admit that it's not for you." From a special desperate tone in Wut's voice that just crept out, that he had been unable to hide, the crowd now realized that in fact Wut was genuinely worried about what might happen to his great friend if he got on The Sliding Board. They began to be concerned too. Their expressions changed.

"Don't, Jethro," they heard a dummy say.

"I know," said someone else.

But Wut had made a great mistake by telling Jethro that _'The Sliding Board is inappropriate for you_ ,' and, _'It's not for you_.' Because what Jethro had always tried to do was _to try everything he could_ in The Lands, regardless of his great size---like he had always wanted to ride on the top of the monkeybars, and finally he got to. He had always especially wanted to get on The Sliding Board, but so far he hadn't.

So he went on to say, "Are you ready, Fico?" But everyone there noticed that, even as he said it, there was the old familiar whimsical look in his eyes, which they had seen so many times. It was there if you looked closely. And they all did.

Fico couldn't help chuckling to himself the whole time, with his head bent down a little as he listened. In a low tone he admitted that he would be in a minute. But he just couldn't seem to get that amused look off of his face as he prepared. First he confidently put his windmill hat on his head. Then, standing perfectly straight, he efficiently did 30 more perfect deep knee bends. His legs looked perfect. It was a pleasure for everyone to watch him go up and down with such unusual dexterity and ability. These he followed with 25 rapid and quietly easy push-ups. After 50 additional relaxed side-straddle-hops, to loosen himself up to the point he wanted, he was almost ready.

"Just about," he answered his enormous friend, looking good-naturedly straight into his eyes. "Are you?"

Standing still for about a minute with a look of deepening concentration on his face, he next prepared his mind for the event ahead. Then he backed up 20 paces from the end of the ramp, veering a little to the right, and stood quietly, waiting. He was now completely ready, physically and mentally. The blades on his windmill hat were completely still, ready to suddenly burst into motion, as they had so many times.

The crowd parted for him to find his position, and stayed apart respectfully. There was a little excited whispering, but mostly his neighbors were quiet.

Jethro calmly jogged in place on the grass to prepare, staring intently at the end of The Board. For his second exercise, he did five leg-bends, going down on all four of his legs at once, until they felt right. Then, to the surprise of everyone, all at once he rose up on his hind legs, rearing up as high as he could. He then surprised them even further by leaping up into the air. Up in the air, he looked larger than he had ever looked to any of those present, and they had seen him countless times in the past---except for Meri, of course.

At the height of his leap, he said, in his deep and whimsical voice, "Uh huh!" and then came down, ready. He had waited until he was high in the air to answer Fico's question about being ready. The determined look in his large eyes showed that he was.

The tip of his large white unicorn was brighter than usual, suggesting the level of his excitement, although in appearance he had relaxed himself to remain in control of his great muscles. He knew it was necessary for the awesome effort he had in mind.

Slowly and carefully he backed up the same distance from the end of The Sliding Board as Fico had. Without speaking he looked over at his friend, who was waiting patiently to the right with a smile on his face and a look of appreciation in his eyes for the personality of the unpredictable Buffalo Unicorn.

Since Fico had chosen a starting place a little to the right, Jethro selected a starting position a little to the left. They wouldn't bump into each other as they sprinted toward The Sliding Board, when it was time. But how could they _both_ run up that small ramp at the same time?

If they arrived on it together, that is?

Wut bounced over to the end of the ramp that had been placed there for the two well-known racers, each so popular in The Lands, to ascend up to the metal surface of The Board. Once there, they could then begin to fly up its mighty challenge as fast as they could.

Fico on two feet and Jethro on four.

There was a look of disbelief on Wut's face that said to everyone, "I can't believe this is actually going to happen!" He held up his small black right hand for quiet and attention.

"I can't believe I'm actually helping this to happen," he announced loudly. And then he continued, "I'm going to count backwards from three and then say 'Go!'" He was still holding up his hand and still looking outdone.

"I'm going to say, exactly: 3--2--1--Go!"

"Are you ready?" he next asked the two racers in official tones. The suspense was rising among everyone. It got suddenly much quieter. There was even a glint of anticipation momentarily in Wut's own eyes, but he just as quickly replaced it with a look of forseeable disaster. His huge awkward friend was actually going to _mount_ and then try to _ascend_ The Sliding Board, with its many sharp and soft and unusual curves, its whirls, and its steepness!! NO, he wasn't happy about it at all! He was very unhappy!

As she carefully watched the changing emotions on Wut's face, Meri was reminded that Wut genuinely cared about what happened in _every_ land---that his job was to help, in _any_ way he could think of, _all_ of The Lands and everyone who lived in them. At the same time, however, knowing Wut's nature, she knew he would care a lot about his great friend anyway, even if he didn't have his important job of helping.

"This race _is_ so hard for him," she realized, as she closely watched the personal difficulties showing in his expressions.

As she looked at _him_ , she suddenly realized it wasn't easy for her, either. She couldn't hope that either one of them won. Although she clearly loved Jethro, she already liked Fico very much, too. _Not even counting that he had saved her life!_ And she also sympathized with her good friend Wut, who was genuinely---and she thought _rightly_ \---concerned about Jethro's safety. She was worried too.

So if there was going to be a race, she just had to hope for the best.

Fico and Jethro responded to Wut's question, _"Are you ready?_ " not with words, but by getting set. Fico crouched down in a 3 point stance. He was like a spring ready to shoot forward.

And Jethro was leaning forward tensely, ready to explode forward with all of his mighty strength.

Holding one hand up, like a brake, and the other one tense at his side, as he bounced, Wut counted down.

"3!" he said loudly and even a little excitedly.

"2!" he added not quite as loudly, and without enthusiasm.

"1!" he went on, in a lower voice. His face had a pained look.

"Go!!" he finally whispered, after a pause that became noticeably long and even a little humorous. He just couldn't delay the race any longer. And so he began it.

His face suddenly fell, and then he let his arm fall, straight down, to allow the racers to go by him without obstruction.

# Chapter XI: _UP_ THE SLIDING BOARD!

Meri couldn't believe her eyes as she watched the race begin: _mainly because she had never seen Fico run before!_

He shot forward in a blur, raced up the ramp right beside Wut, and in a flash could be seen running up and around the first spiral. The windmill blades on his favorite cap were spinning like mad. Then he traveled around the first loop so fast that he was able to run completely upsidedown to get around.

The crowd was making unbelieving noises of "Oooohhh," and "Oooooooo," and "Wheeeeoh!" and even other sounds, as Fico incredibly went round and round and up and upsidedown and up and round and round and upsidedown and up and up and up. It was hard to keep _up_ with him through all the curves, with his speed and the height and turnings of The Board.

"I'll be dephlogisticated!" said the Tackling Dummy. The dummies standing around him momentarily looked at him. Not one of them understood his word. But every one of them knew what he meant.

Fico had sped up and through _all_ the different ascents, and was running up the final _dangerously steep_ ascent, by the time that Jethro, with his this-way-and-that motion, massively sped up the ramp and finally got onto The Board. There was some good-natured laughter from the crowd because of this startling difference.

Wut had bounced out of the way before he came by.

By the time Jethro reached the first spiral, Fico, like rising light, sprang up the last few, almost vertical, feet of The Sliding Board and won the race. There was a great burst of applause from below. Standing on the edge of the cliffs, far up and looking extremely small, he could then be seen to jump up into the air again and begin the slide back down. He wasn't trying to run back down again, as many had thought he might.

Jethro was aware that he had already lost _. But he was determined_.

He raced forward anyway, as fast as he could. _He was finally on The Sliding Board,_ even if he was going _up_ instead of _down_ , like Fico! But he was finally on The Sliding Board, as he had always wanted.

But what neither _he_ , nor _anyone else_ had yet thought about, though, was that he wasn't going to be able to get a good grip on the metal with his feet. He was already slipping a little, and soon he was slipping badly. When he with difficulty passed the first spiral and actually got to the loop, he was able to get only about halfway up before he couldn't climb any more at all.

(This was fortunate, because _imagine_ what would have happened if he had gotten upsidedown!)

The grade had gotten _simply too steep_ for him to get a grip with his hooves. And then something happened. When he _finally did_ come to a stop, _he suddenly began to slip backward!!_

When this happened, of course he immediately stopped trying to race up any more. He began struggling just to keep his balance as he was slipping down faster and faster---backward!! He had finally gotten his wish of sliding down The Sliding Board------but not in the way he had always imagined!!

In fact, his great weight, the slipperiness of his connection with The Board, and the sharp angle of The Sliding Board that far up combined to give him considerable speed as he slid back down. His feet were made for going forward---he just didn't have any grip at all slipping backward. A sliding board needs to be slippery when you are going down---but no one had remembered that it would be just as slippery going up!

Fico, with his great agility, had overcome this problem. He himself had been noticed to slip once or twice, but with his superb coordination he was able to catch himself. He was also wearing athletic shoes.

A great noise of wonder and concern was rising from the colorful crowd of dummies as Jethro slipped faster and faster backward, standing up and looking the wrong way. Like all crowds, without thinking or even trying, they inconspicuously tiptoed closer and closer around the end of The Sliding Board, which was fairly high up at the end. They were all around the ramp, in considerable number.

The ramp itself could be a difficulty, many were already thinking. The bump---that is, the uneven place where it was resting on the end of The Board---could very easily cause Jethro to lose his balance. In fact, they thought, it was definitely going to!

_What should he do when he reached it?_

_And how would he know exactly when he was coming to it?_

Clearly Jethro was in danger of a horrible spill and perhaps of getting seriously hurt when he reached the end of the long, steep, and fancifully curving Sliding Board---that _normally_ offered _such real and unexpected pleasure_ as a form of transportation down to The Land of Pink Windmills. Now, however, it was different.

The ramp didn't have sides to hold onto and to keep one in, like The Sliding Board. And it wasn't made of metal, so Jethro would suddenly stop sliding.

It was going to be very hard for him to keep from losing his footing and perhaps falling about five feet down to the grass! Perhaps on his back.

Meri was very tense. With dread she watched, alarmed and worried. But suddenly she had an idea. Running quickly underneath and beside The Sliding Board, as fast as she could, she called up to Jethro as he came sliding by above:

"You're about to reach the end, and you don't want to trip. Listen carefully: I'm going to tell you _your distance to the ramp_ and _when you reach it_. You'll stop sliding. And you'll have to run both backward and downward those last few feet." It was a difficult challenge . But it was all she could think of.

She ran quickly along to keep up, rapidly looking back and forth to help him. Since she was constantly moving, The Sliding Board kept getting in her way as she tried to watch both Jethro and where the ramp began.

"Okay---and thanks," replied Jethro, sliding above, in his deep voice. Meri noticed that it wasn't quite as whimsical as usual. In fact, she noticed he was purposely trying to keep it cheerful. He knew the danger he was in.

"Thirty feet," called up Meri. The decreasing angle was helping Jethro---he was slowing down a little, but he was still descending far too fast backward to be able to stop in time to avoid danger.

"Your back right foot will reach the ramp first," Meri informed him, running along. "When I say 'Now!' lift that foot and take a quick step back with it. Then the left one---immediately afterward! And take a quick step back with that. And then just start walking on all four feet backward down the ramp! You'll have to have some luck. Okay! Ten feet left to go! Get ready!"

Everyone was standing tensely, watching and listening. They were all grateful to the little girl for trying. But they were not optimistic!

The huge Buffalo Unicorn continued sliding with obviously too much speed toward the end. The crowd had grown larger as more dummies had come running. Those in front were obviously in danger of being flattened, for if Jethro lost his footing, he could fall on top of the closest ones. He could be falling on them from five feet up, too, because that's how high the end of The Board is.

It had been expected that dummies whirling down wouldn't get hurt coming off the end with a little sail through the air down to the grass below. But Jethro, of course, wasn't a dummy, and The Sliding Board hadn't been built with Buffalo Unicorns coming down backward in mind!

"Five seconds!" called out Meri. She was running almost into the crowd now.

As Jethro was arriving, however, some dummies in the crowd nervously tried to move away, some stepping back, and some to the side, with the result that the ramp at the very last second was suddenly pushed away from the end of The Sliding Board!

Now Jethro had no way to get down, except, as heavy and as large as he was------to fall off the end!

"The ramp in one second," called out Meri, watching Jethro only at this point. She didn't know that the ramp was now gone. She had heard the commotion, which had made her nervous and anxious, but she just couldn't take her eyes away from Jethro's slipping hooves in order to predict the _exact_ second that he would reach the end of The Sliding Board. _She knew the commotion didn't sound like good news_. She was afraid of what she might see if she could look!

"Now!!!" she called out, and Jethro lifted his right hind leg at just the right moment---but he had nowhere to put it down! It was out in mid air, and he was still sliding!!!

Suddenly, however, he stopped---safely.

For Fico, seeing from above what was happening, had stopped sliding, stood back up and _had run back down The Board at full speed_ toward his friend the great Buffalo Unicorn slipping precariously down.

He had stopped most of his own enormous downward speed by catching onto the last loop, just before the spiral, and whirling around in the air. Then with agility that only he possessed, he had been able to regain his balance, sprint toward his friend, and grab him by the unicorn in the middle of his forehead, just before he fell.

Just before Jethro's second hind foot slipped out into mid air, Fico pulled with an impossibly mighty tug with his right hand on the unicorn and his left hand reaching under and holding onto one of the supports beneath The Sliding Board there. His large powerful arms went impossibly taut. He had masterful self-control, but he was stretched out fearfully for a moment.

He was only made of yarn!

Jethro's second hind foot had reached the edge, and he was tilting over, getting ready to fall over onto his back from that high up. For a millisecond, Jethro himself was extended out to the limit, out into mid air!

He seemed about to whirl on over and land flat on his back.

But Fico, resisting with his great heart and _all_ of his strength, _somehow_ \--- _somehow_ \---no one could understand how he did it---kept him from falling!

_And then he pulled him back!_

In The Lands, only Fico had the strength that could have done that.

A cheer arose from the dummies in the crowd, first of unbelievable joy and then of relief, and then of just plain happiness. They had watched these last few tension-filled moments with a terrible focus. The ramp was quickly put back in place, and Jethro carefully and slowly stepped back down to the ground, still steadied by Fico, and now by many others as well---who really didn't help the great creature, he was so heavy, but who pushed with all of their hearts anyway to try to help their magnificent friend.

When his four feet were all safely on the grass, a truly joyous second cheering burst forth, and everyone crowded around, most of them talking excitedly and happily all at once. Soon everyone's nervousness and tension at the near disaster were gone.

This was the _second time_ , in less than two days, that there had been a dramatic, _almost unbearable_ , incident at the end of The long incredible Sliding Board.

"Thanks, Friend," Jethro said to the daring athlete, when they both had their feet on solid ground. He leaned over and tapped him playfully on the side of his head with his beautiful unicorn.

Fico nodded with a pleased look on his face, looking down as he often did. "Glad to save you---I mean, help you," he replied good-naturedly, laughing quietly. He glanced over at Meri with his gray eyes and grinned at her too, because they both knew it was the same thing he had said to her about the evening before.

"And by the way, nice run up," continued Jethro, the whimsical tones back in his voice now. "That was something to behold from down here, even when I was trying to watch my own feet."

Jethro clearly appreciated his able friend. Watching them, Meri understood already that they were both exceptional beings in The Lands. She liked seeing them together and hearing them talk.

"Thanks," said Fico. "I hadn't counted on the slipperiness, either. That was probably the most unusual race I'll ever run."

"Now that you bring that up," continued Jethro with a new and oddly confident tone in his deep voice, "it just might not be. I was thinking." His massive size dominated the figures of all the colorful dummies crowding around, many affectionately patting Jethro all over his back and shoulders and some giving Fico friendly and supportive taps too across his wide shoulders.

Fico looked up, immediately alert, wondering what to expect this time from his mercurial friend. He had learned that he _always_ seemed to be thinking up unusual ideas---most of which involved his doing something you wouldn't think a huge Buffalo Unicorn would be able to do. He wondered if he were about to hear something like that.

"Yes," resumed Jethro in a peaceful, quiet, and everyday voice that made everyone wary. He just happened to look up to the top of The Sliding Board where the two large oaks towered. _And then he said it._

"What do you think about _another_ race---but this time with the two of us sliding _down_ The Sliding Board, but standing up and sliding backwards?"

His mind had steadily been working, and he had realized, from his recent mishap, that he indeed _slid very well backwards!_ But he would have to come down _standing_ to gain the advantage of his rapidly slipping heels on The Board. On the other hand, he had also realized that Fico wasn't extraordinarily heavy and therefore wouldn't slip down The Board much faster than anyone else. And also that Fico probably wouldn't slip down too well backwards on just two feet!

_He, Jethro, actually had the advantage over Fico in a race!_

Probably no one else in all of The Lands had ever been able to say that!

"No!" Wut almost screamed, bouncing nearby. He shot up into the air rather high when he said that one word so vociferously.

"It's _preposterous_!"

"Out of the question," affirmed the Tackling Dummy, putting his hand gently on Jethro's high shoulder. "We can't take that chance---you're not a dummy." He had genuinely appreciated Wut's use of the word _preposterous_ , but this was his own opinion too.

"Please don't even think about it any more," pleaded Meri from beside the Tackling Dummy, her light turquoise eyes imploring the Buffalo Unicorn who was looking at her and listening carefully. He always listened to everyone very courteously, and then he made up his own mind. She knew how independent he was, and she was afraid.

"I couldn't stand seeing you in that much danger again!" she said, walking over and putting her hand up to his curly forehead as he bent his head down to her.

"Hold on," he asked, surprising her, and, without even having any time to think about it, she did take hold of his unicorn with both hands. With an easy twist of his great neck he swung her right up onto his back.

She was up high, above all the dummies!

For the first time she realized how truly tall he was!

No one ever knew if Jethro had been serious or not, because then, one by one, the crowd, which had been buzzing and humming with the preposterous idea, began saying, from all over, from first one place and then another, "No." "No." "No." "No." "No." "No." "No." "No." "No." "No." "No." "No." "No." "No." "No." "No." "No." "No." "No." "No." Until every dummy in The Land of Pink Windmills had spoken. And since it was their Sliding Board, the matter was settled.

Fico had shaken his head, laughing quietly in disbelief at Jethro's proposal of the race. For there was absolutely no way that he, with all of his balance, could slide down that Sliding Board standing up, facing forwards _or_ backwards.

"Tell you what," he said to his large whimsical friend good-naturedly, when the crowd had finished voting. "I concede the race you suggested, to you. You win, because I can't slide backwards---or even forwards---as well as you, just like you can't run forwards quite as fast as I can. And you ought to finally admit that." He pressed his friend to agree, looking him straight in the face and into his extremely large eyes.

Jethro blinked. He didn't like to agree that anyone was faster than he was. But because his friend had been so gracious, he thought for a moment and then said, "You might have a point about that."

The crowd, which was listening closely, roared with good-natured approval at this mutual graciousness and honesty. For they were well aware that Jethro had always been slow to admit that there _was anything that he couldn't do,_ even though, secretly, he was aware that being a Buffalo Unicorn presents unusual difficulties at times.

It just so happened, though, that he liked the new adventures that sometimes arose when, perfectly willing to appear ridiculous, he proposed outrageous ideas. Unexpected and even unforgettable things would sometimes happen, he had learned. In almost every case, it should be mentioned, he used his good sense to avoid putting himself into truly serious danger, while he continued to experience novel opportunities all over The Lands.

He also, by chance in these situations, continued to find out things---like his ability to slide on The Sliding Board not sitting down like everyone else, but standing up. And these discoveries, as you might guess, were very interesting to him. He liked to think about them as he was wandering through The Lands.

"I like being a part of different lands, and I like to find out what I can do," he often said to his friends, including Wut, when they asked him why he did the things he did. And he always added, "And thank The Lands, there are so many of them."

Wut always had a hard time trying to talk Jethro out of anything when he spoke so nicely about The Lands. For there was no one who cared more about The Lands than Wut did.

There may have been some who cared _just as much_ \---but there wasn't anyone who cared _more_.

"I accept the victory," Jethro said to Fico, quite pleased at being the victor in this imaginary race. You have to wonder if he was really serious about his idea of sliding down, _backward_ and _standing up_ , from the very top of The Sliding Board, _with his great size_. It would have been quite a sight, indeed, and it would have been one of the most dramatic races of all time! But you have to hope that he was just being whimsical and that that race will never occur. You also have to realize, though, that in his mind he gained a great victory---without ever having to move one foot! _For, theoretically at least, he had defeated Fico in a race that was spectacular---although imaginary!_

_He did have a point_ , too: his ability to slide _backward_ down The Sliding Board was, _in fact_ , much greater than Fico's!

"What!?" exclaimed Fico suddenly, startling everyone.

Wut at first thought he was talking to him.

But Fico was glancing upward.

Quite abruptly, an incredibly large black shadow crossed over all of them and remained, leaving them all in a lesser light. Everyone looked up.

There was amazement at first. Everyone was silent. And then slowly there began a lot of confused talking.

The sky had become black above them.

# Chapter XII: THE BLACK SKY

The light blue sky of The Lands, including the especially large white clouds which had been seen all over it that morning, was now covered by a smaller sky just below. The second one was black.

It wasn't too far above The Land of Pink Windmills.

Meri couldn't believe her eyes when she looked up and saw the huge black object up there.

Here was another _great unexpectedness_ happening in The Lands!

But then, looking more closely, and remembering how both she and Sylvestra had been worried about what the croapfs would do next, she realized that it _had been_ expected. They just now knew _what it was!_

"Forblack," stated the Tackling Dummy with surprise, simply and accurately. For he, because of his knowledge of words, just happened to know a single word that meant _very_ or _intensely_ black.

This second sky was that.

Further, something _black_ over _this particular land_ had an especially pronounced effect, since it was normally so pleasant. Its well-kept grass, many pleasant flowers, and light sparkling pink windmills with their turning blades were uplifting to all the dummies in The Lands.

But now _a black sky_ had been pulled over all of the windmills!---and even beyond! It was in the shape of a great wide black paper airplane, much _larger_ than any paper airplane any dummy in The Land of Pink Windmills had ever seen. _And they had seen many thousands that the croapfs had brought there before, to fly from the cliffs._

Looking more closely, the dummies of the land---and Jethro and Meri and Wut---could make out that _five_ croapfs were up there in the sky with flying wands--- _the five flying wands that Syl had said belonged to The Land of the Croapfs_ , _Meri guessed!_ With these flying wands they were holding the great forblack paper airplane up there.

Meri remembered that the croapfs loved paper airplanes, and they must love this one too, she also guessed. For it was considerably larger than the total area of the pink windmills below, which were now all in shade. Needless to say, not a single windmill was sparkling in such a lovely way anymore. In fact, not even one was sparkling at all, although many of the windmill blades were still turning slowly and peacefully, still producing pleasantly moving air.

Then Meri suddenly realized what was happening---the plan behind The Black Sky! Without sunlight, the windmills---losing their electricity---would eventually no longer be able to revolve!

_They wouldn't be able to create their tornadoes! They---the windmills---wouldn't be able to defend the land anymore!_

They also wouldn't be able to create the simple moving air that the dummies loved so much.

After the adventure of the fireballs, many dummies had expected the croapfs to try something else. It was generally known that something had gone wrong with their land and with _them_. All of the dummies of _this land_ had sympathized.

It had been especially unexpected and heartbreaking and frustrating to find out that the croapfs in their _gonewrong_ state were taking actions against a land that they loved. There were so many mutual friends! The croapfs adored the land's high cliffs. No other land had such wonderful ones.

The fireballs had largely been forgiven, although the dummies weren't happy about the damage done to the Tackling Dummy and about the danger to Meri. She had almost been lost.

But because the tornadoes had provided such an easy answer against the fireballs, many dummies, not worrying as much as Sylvestra and Wut, had been expecting something else equally easy if the croapfs tried again.

They were thinking, "Why worry? The Land of Pink Windmills has its powerful tornadoes." Although the windmills hadn't been made for defense, there wasn't much that could stand up against them.

There probably wasn't _anything that could stand up against them,_ many dummies thought _!_

Now this defense was in danger of being eliminated altogether, in one easy creative step.

_But that wasn't all that was in danger of being eliminated!_

_NO, it was much more than thatj!_

If the windmills lost their ability to turn, the dummies of the land would lose the simple moving air that they loved so much. And their love of simple moving air---of light breezes blowing against them from all directions, whenever they went outside---was the main reason they lived in windmills in the first place. It was an inseparable and beloved part of living in The Land of Pink Windmills!

But there was _even more_ , too _._

Without sunlight, the dummies would eventually be unable _to clean_ with their vacuum cleaners. _Cleaning_ was their _other_ great love. They especially loved to clean with their vacuum cleaners, because they especially loved cleanliness. And, incidentally, moving air was what made their vacuum cleaners work, if there was electricity. It was what did the cleaning!

This was a special _endearing_ use of moving air!

Oh, the dummies of this land would _always_ have clean windmills, even without vacuum cleaners, and they would always be clean themselves, they thought. Because that was the way they were. But without their vacuum cleaners, they wouldn't be able to clean quite as well. They wouldn't be able to get their windmills quite as clean. And they would certainly miss using their beloved vacuum cleaners!

The dummies in the crowd, _which was all the dummies of the land_ by this time, continued to look up at the silent and still Black Attack not too far above them. Slowly, they were becoming _stunned._ Expecting _something_ to happen, _no one_ had expected _anything_ as _challenging_ or as exceptionally _clever_ or as undoubtedly _dangerous_ to them as this silent unmoving widely spread out forblack sky!

_Slowly, they began to realize that their very existence was being challenged!_

They all eventually realized, like Meri, the significance of The Black Ceiling.

The croapfs were trying to deny them:

the sun, which helped to make their land so cheerful;

their favorite way to clean---with vacuum cleaners;

moving air, which helped so much to identify them, and which they enjoyed so much each day;

the daily sight, which they loved, of windmills sparkling in the sun after being squeegeed;

the simple sight, which they dearly loved, and which they couldn't get along without, of revolving windmill blades;

and they were also trying to deny them THEIR BASIC PROTECTION: their private tornadoes!

Even their especially neat and clean grass, and certainly their flowers, wouldn't survive---if sunlight continued to be denied.

It was saddening.

It was also the greatest challenge _ever_ to their land, and not a single dummy in The Land of Pink Windmills failed to understand that. They took it more seriously than the fireballs, which were the opposite of The Black Sky.

This new challenge was obviously _FAR_ more dangerous.

It could take _just about everything_ away from them!

And of course, each one of them was thinking: WHAT CAN BE DONE?

Everyone in the entire land was already thinking as hard as she could, and as hard as he could, frantically trying to figure out the answer to that question! The level of thought in the land became exceptionally intense. (If it had been The Land of Lavender Thought, the whole sky would have been lavender!)

The immense wide black still silent Paper Airplane Sky was too high to reach!

A black sky, a great black hole in the sky in the shape of an immense paper airplane, now flew motionlessly and steadily over The Land of Pink Windmills. Only the breezes coming down from the cliffs moved it gently now and then.

It flew on, and on, and on, over the land, minute after minute, blocking the light, keeping it away. The Great Black Airplane flew on and on and on, overhead---without moving, except as the five croapfs jockeyed it slightly from time to time to keep up with the changing angles of the sun.

They moved it to make sure that no warm rays from the sun reached the gleaming windmills at any time. Not one.

All the dummies of the land could do was look up, feel frustrated, and be sad.

# Chapter XIII: THE GREAT BLACK PAPER AIRPLANE SKY

The new Black Sky stayed up in the air above the windmills for the rest of the day---at just the right height to remain above the reach of any dummies down below. Every windmill in the land was included in the shade.

That's how large this lower Second Sky was!

Holding themselves up with their flying wands and The Great Black Paper Airplane Sky up with their other hands, the croapfs patiently did their job as the sun overhead very gradually moved toward the west. They wouldn't get to see it eventually descend on a very colorful parachute and set behind The Autumnforest, as they could from their own land. The cliffs were in the way.

Regrettably, because of the cliffs, no one in The Land of Pink Windmills ever got to see that sunset either from their land. But every now and then some dummies walked up The Pass near The Fly Bye to watch that familiar early evening sight from the edge of The Yellow Trampoline.

The residents of the land below had never watched the sun move more painfully and slowly as on that day---when they couldn't really see it. They wanted the afternoon to end early and The Forblack Sky, The Great Black Paper Airplane, to fly away! And never to return.

But much more painful than the slow motion of the sun over The New Sky was the certain knowledge that It would be back again the next morning! The dummies dreaded to think of _a whole day_ with a hole in the sky overhead! One afternoon was enough!

For almost the entire rest of _that_ day, the dummies of The Land of Pink Windmills did nothing but stare upward and talk among themselves. There was only one topic. _Everyone_ was trying to think of a clever way---a realistic way---a yet unthoughtof way---to eliminate this new attack, so different from the fireballs!

But that was very difficult to do for dummies who had to stay on the ground, while the croapfs could go _as high as they wanted to in the air_ with their _five_ flying wands!

_Although something was wrong with them, the croapfs had come up with an ingenious plan!_

When the afternoon was almost over, some of the dummies began at last, sadly, to go about their daily activities.

For one can stare up at an object that is painful to see, and mostly without motion, for only so long. Knowing The Stationary Black Sky would soon be gone for that day had lifted up the spirits of some dummies just enough for them to get a little work done. The sound of squeegees was heard again here and there among the windmills. The squishing noises, however, were painfully slow and soon ceased.

Most of the dummies didn't get any work done at all. They were too worried and too frustrated. This lapse itself was exceptional, because it was extraordinarily unusual for _any_ dummy in The Land of Pink Windmills not to spend _at least part_ of each day _cleaning._

They dearly loved their clean sparkling windmills and the neat grass surrounding them.

A solemn and quiet feeling was over the whole land, because everyone---all the dummies who lived in The Land of Pink Windmills---knew the croapfs would be back the next day---not far up in the air above them again with their Daily Darkness.

They believed that, at the very end of this day, the croapfs would leave, sailing The Airplane Sky up beside the cliffs, flying it away over The Yellow Trampoline and toward their own land. But they also _knew_ \---without a doubt ---that they would come flying back with it again in the morning--- _early_.

And _every day_ after that, _and on and on and on!_

It was hard to do anything _with that knowledge in the head of a dummy_ in The Land of Pink Windmills!

The windmills were still. Long ago---not that long after The Black Attack had begun---the blades had been turned off to save electricity. Clicking and whizzing sounds had come from all over the village as the great circles slowly stopped. The four blades of each, coasting to a halt, had then became easier to see.

After a while, it was sad to see the blades of all the pink windmills so still.

When would they ever turn again?

Soon it became very noticeable that there was very little simple moving air around the village, for the first time since any dummy could remember. Every now and then a welcome breeze did come down from the cliffs. But these, although welcome---actually more welcome than they ever had been---were a poor substitute for the normally pleasant light breeziness of the land caused by the windmills.

It was very true that the dummies loved lightly moving air, but now they began to realize something else, too. Few of them had ever taken time to think about how much they loved the simple pleasantly warm _light_ of their land. Now they did. Light is such a simple thing, easy not to think about. They were beginning to appreciate even more the unique color of their windmills in light, and to have a better understanding of why they were that color in the first place. Just like light, they had simply loved this color for so long that they had stopped thinking about how much they did.

Now most of their light was gone, and they thought about these things. They missed their light. And they missed, deep down inside the yarn of each of them, the color of their windmills in light.

Meri was sorry to see this incredibly loveable land become so sad. It hadn't been easy for her to look into Sylvestra's face when The huge Flying Shadow had stopped overhead. More than most, her friend had been dreading what might happen next and wondering what it would be. Now she knew. Meri was sure she had seen a tear in each corner of Syl's beautiful eyes as she had stood there looking back at her friend.

Syl had become _especially_ upset when she had glanced down at her white top with the attractive yellow sun on the front. She knew that yellow sun wasn't going to be seen much anymore!

It wasn't surprising to anyone that Wut and Fico were nowhere to be seen. _Everyone knew where they were._ They were sitting at the round table in the center of the round first floor of Fico's windmill, trying to think of an idea.

This windmill was the closest to The Sliding Board and the one that had saved Meri and the Tackling Dummy only the night before.

Fico and Wut were trying to think of _anything_ that could be done, before they would no longer be able to protect themselves---before they would be completely out of electricity and therefore helpless. No private tornadoes. The four pink blades of Fico's windmill, meeting in the light blue circle with the yellow dot where they joined, were completely still in front of Fico's front door. They had stopped, leaving the door completely unobstructed and the sight of Fico and Wut in serious conversation at the table inside.

Their tones drifted out of the windmill at times, and many more dummies than usual just _happened_ to walk aimlessly by from time to time. Each dummy, or pair of dummies, or a group of dummies, slowed down noticeably when _accidentally_ ambling by the open door, hoping to hear a piece of conversation that might offer some hope.

Not one continued walking on by with a brighter face, however.

_Someone_ had to think of something!

Above, the huge black roof in the shape of an immensely wide black paper airplane continued to fly motionlessly above them all and to keep everyone in its shade.

Near Fico's windmill, the Tackling Dummy, Jethro, Meri, and Syl were all sitting on the grass at the end of The Sliding Board. They weren't saying anything. Each was thinking, like everyone else in the land, his or her own thoughts about The Black Disaster overhead.

Every now and then one of them glanced sadly up and then looked around: at the cliffs, The Sliding Board, the windmills in the shade with all the sets of four blades that weren't turning at all, the gleam of the Mistercald River in the distance to the right---and at all of The Lands that could be seen only vaguely in the far distances beyond the river. What could be seen of the _rest_ of The Lands---the larger part of this land and parts of other lands around---looked beautiful in the surrounding light and stood out in contrast to The Island of Shade in the middle of The Land of Pink Windmills. This short column of shadow _almost_ reminded one of The Land of Dark, which went halfway up to the sky, but was much darker.

Evidently this lesser darkness was going to continue, too--- _but hopefully not as long as The Land of Dark!_

The huge white clouds remained all over the sky, too---except above! They were even up there---but they couldn't be seen.

Meri was thinking hard, too, like everyone else. A lot of time went by. Even Jethro, reclining nearby on the grass, was thinking and not saying anything! Needless to say, his usual whimsical expression had been replaced by a serious one. It was a little strange to see him like that.

Meri glanced up to the top of the cliffs, where the two Tower Trees, as she had heard them called, stood as the wonderfully tall unmissable welcome to The Land of Pink Windmills.

They looked so small up there, from that distance. But she remembered how unendingly tall they had seemed when she had been under them. In fact, they were the _only_ things that _might_ be higher than the croapfs' private sky when it went by. She wondered if the croapfs, when they had come, had flown their Dreaded Sky _near_ the trees before they floated it over the cliffs below and began lowering it down to The Land of Pink Windmills. When everyone had first noticed it going by overhead, after the race between Fico and Jethro, it had _seemed_ to be coming from that direction.

Continuing to think about the two trees, Meri also guessed that, when coming, the croapfs didn't fly their Moveable Sky too high above the cliffs---since they had so far to lower it afterwards anyway. The bottom of the cliffs was a long way down! But this was just a guess.

"Maybe they will even fly it _above_ The Tower Trees when they next arrive," she thought.

But that seemed unlikely.

More likely, she thought, they would fly _lower_ than the tops of the two trees.

_And then she had an idea. It was a very simple idea. But it was one of the best ideas she had ever had!_

She unthinkingly jumped up to her feet, even leaving the grass slightly and rising a few inches above it, she got up so quickly!

The Tackling Dummy, Jethro and even Syl were so startled by her sudden motion that they lost their balance just sitting on the grass and fell partway over!

Then, stranger than ever, Meri just stood there, now practically unmoving, an intense look on her face!

She was thinking especially rapidly about the idea that had suddenly come into her mind.

_These were her hurried thoughts:_

"If the croapfs on their way fly towards, and close to, the right grayish white Tower Tree---and if they should come close enough to it---at just the right moment _someone_ high up in The Tower Tree could jump all the way down to The Yellow Trampoline and be bounced _all the way back up to_ that dread new Airplane Sky as it comes sailing by.

_It could then be brought down---by the person's weight---to The Yellow Trampoline before it could go over the cliffs!_ Others could then jump out of the tree and quickly cut it up with scissors! Aquamarie has plenty, I'm sure!"

It was interesting thinking about cutting up a sky, even if it was only A Substitute One!

As she was thinking with such intensity, becoming ever more excited all the time, her three friends nearby, the Tackling Dummy, Jethro and Syl, although extremely curious at first, began paying even more attention to her zany behavior. She was making funny little moves with her hands and body as she used her imagination to cut up the sky with a pair of invisible scissors!

She was ablaze with her idea, and it was for _a special reason_ which would have been very understandable, if her friends had only known it. The special reason was this: there was only _one_ dummy who could do what she was thinking. There was only _one_ dummy who could make that long jump from the tree and be sprung from The Yellow Trampoline all the way back up to The Black Catastrophe in the shape of a huge black paper airplane.

_There was_ only _one dummy of all of them_ who was _heavy enough_ to do that!

_And that dummy was she! Herself! Meri! She was the only one heavy enough to be able to spring up to that height!_

_The other dummies of The Land of Pink Windmills were made of yarn._

_Even the Tackling Dummy was made of cotton which isn't that heavy either._

This was probably why no one else had thought of the same idea yet. All of the other dummies were probably thinking in terms of what a yarn or cotton stuffed dummy can do, because they were all yarn dummies, and the Tackling Dummy was stuffed with cotton.

But _she_ was _a flesh and blood dummy!_

She was much heavier even than Fico, who was made of yarn. She knew they could bounce _only so high_ up on The Yellow Trampoline, because they were light. Not high at all. Not nearly as high as The Black Village Roof that would come floating by.

No _, she_ was _the only one_ who could make that leap out of the tree and go back up high enough to do what needed to be done!

Jethro probably hadn't thought of the idea because he couldn't climb trees!

Meri's heart was beating faster and faster at these thoughts.

Finally, she told her idea to Syl, Jethro and the Tackling Dummy---in short gasps, she was so excited---and the four of them, with Jethro almost tripping, then ran with the same excitement over to Fico's windmill.

It wasn't far.

Fico and Wut looked up with complete surprise as the four of them, including Jethro, ran noisily up to the front door. Meri, Syl and the Tackling Dummy each stopped and waited there, but Jethro ran straight in, banging against the side of the door, leading the way.

He had that same blazing look on his face that had been on Meri's!

He loved the idea!

A new sky---the unbelievably large black hole in the middle of the usual one---remained painfully above the pink windmills with their still blades for the rest of that day. But soon, ever so slowly, a new feeling crept into The Land of Pink Windmills.

It was the feeling of hope. And all the dummies were thinking about the new little girl who had come to visit.

They had liked her right away!

When at last it slowly began to get dark, the five croapfs slowly turned The incredibly huge Black Airplane Roof around. It looked darker and even larger in the twilight. First they lifted it straight up to the level of the cliffs. And then they flew it back over The Yellow Trampoline to The Land of the Croapfs.

_Every dummy_ in the land, as well as Meri and Jethro, was outside the now softly colored and gleaming windmills watching how closely it would travel beside The grayish white right Tower Tree.

Every one of them knew of Meri's idea by that time.

The croapfs couldn't hear that far, but if they had been able to, they probably would have misunderstood what they heard as a celebration of their departure---of their finally flying out of sight. For when The Great Black Paper Airplane flew up to the cliffs, it floated RIGHT BESIDE The grayish white right Tower Tree!

"Close enough!" they thought.

An excited cheer rose slowly and then to a great volume from the large crowd of dummies watching so intently and so hopefully from the windmills on that side of the land.

_There was now a chance that The Visiting Sky was going to be cut up into little pieces!_

If only the plan that Meri had thought of would work!

It seemed reasonable.

That night Meri got to wear another nightgown that she loved, also created and sewn by Aquamarie. It was almost the same design as the one she had worn the first night---just the night before---only this one was lavender, with a white crescent moon on her left shoulder. The same windmill was in front---but in light blue this time. The soft yellow outline of her window looked especially pretty.

She loved putting it on, and talking to Sylvestra in it, as they both lay across her round bed. They talked a lot about what would happen the next morning, especially since Syl was going to climb up into the tree too, with Meri. She had begged to, and Fico and Wut had agreed that she could go. Meri had said it would help her to know that Sylvestra was there with her.

But when Syl finally went downstairs to her own bed, and Meri finally lay down on the blue bedspread of the round bed to go to sleep, she had trouble calming down enough to do it.

She kept thinking about walking in the dark all the way up to The grayish white right Tower Tree and then climbing up its great height before the light of day even rose behind The Mistercald River.

Finally, in the middle of the night---in the middle of the round bed---in the middle of the round room---in the very top room of the pink windmill---in the middle of The Land of Pink Windmills---she drifted into an uneasy slumber.

With vivid dreams, and frequent turnings and twistings upon the bed, she slept through the few remaining hours passing slowly by overhead.

* * *

But not Wut. At Fico's round table in the bottom floor of his windmill, with his black elbows on the curving wooden edge and his head in his small black hands, he worried.

"I'm not sure we should even try it!" he exclaimed to his friend on the other side of the table, who was staying up with him.

Wut's green eyes, out in the air on either side of his face, were full of genuine concern. He probably knew more about that tree and the other one too, than anyone.

He knew _without a doubt_ how difficult it would be to climb.

He knew it would have to be climbed in the dark.

He knew _how high it really was._

And he was afraid of what might happen to Meri undertaking this difficult challenge.

Knowing she was a flesh and blood dummy, he was very aware that she could be hurt much more easily and much more seriously than they could be. He knew she wasn't used to climbing an impossibly challenging tree like that!

No one was.

But it was too late to stop the plan. The right number of sharp scissors had already been borrowed from Aquamarie.

_And everyone in the land was full of hope!_

And besides, the plan _might_ succeed! He didn't know if he should stop it or not! So he just sat there worrying about Meri and about what might happen to her.

Fico just sat there, too, but more calmly. His calmness helped Wut almost more than anything he could say. He believed in the plan. He thought it could work. But his gray eyes were wide open and full of sympathy for his friend. And then he said the most reassuring thing that Wut could have heard from anyone in The Lands.

"I'll help with Meri," he promised. " _I'll be right there with her the whole time. Nothing will happen to her if I have anything to do with it."_

Wut believed the look on his face as well as his words. He also knew that Fico liked Meri very much, as everyone else did, and wouldn't let anything happen to her _if there was anything he could possibly do._

You really couldn't ask for anyone better than Fico, with all of his athletic ability, to help Meri get safely up the tree _. It was a reassuring promise, and Wut knew its value._ He genuinely felt better, and he began to feel calmer. He himself would be up in the tree, too, helping in every way he could. Because he cared so much about _all of The Lands_ and _all of the dummies in them_ , he had to be there. He also thought his presence in the tree might be lucky.

Thinking about Fico's words, and Fico's ability, and reassured by his friend's calmness, slowly he began to quiet down.

But he didn't even try to go to sleep.

# Chapter XIV: THE RIGHT TOWER TREE

"We can do this."

Early in the morning, Fico, the Tackling Dummy, Meri and Sylvestra stepped nervously, at about the same time, out of three different windmills into the coolness.

Looking around, practically all they could see was the darkness and the darker blurs of the almost unseeable windmills.

At exactly that same moment, Wut bounced out of the door of even another windmill. It belonged to a small very loveable dummy named Perfit. The youngest dummy in all of The Lands, even so she still had her own windmill. Not being able to even consider sleep himself, Wut had finally left Fico's windmill and gone to Perfit's because he knew Fico desperately needed at least _some_ untroubled sleep before it was time to help his friends up the unbelievably tall and difficult tree.

The sun hadn't spread any of its even softest colors into the skies far away beyond The Mistercald.

All of The Lands above and below the cliffs were in darkness.

The eyes of everyone slowly accustomed to the outside.

The cliffs couldn't be seen at all.

Jethro was the only one who hadn't spent that night in a windmill. Somehow he too awakened at the right time at the foot of The Sliding Board, where he had been sleeping all night long. He liked to sleep outside sometimes at different places in The Lands.

Greeting each other softly at the last windmill, the one closest to The Fly Bye, as they had planned, the friends quickly filed across the wet grass of the long field toward _The Pass_. When they came closer to the darkly silhouetted cliffs rising high on their left, they could make them out if they looked hard. They couldn't even begin see The One Tree Forest at the top of them.

Meri had been trying to stay calm, but now her heart was beginning to beat a little faster than normal. She kept taking deep breaths of the cool air, trying unsuccessfully to relax. That early in the morning, she noticed it was enjoyable just to breathe.

In the darkness they walked right beside the large hump of The Fly Bye which rose smoothly on their right. No birds seemed to be above it so early, but it was impossible to tell for sure. They could hear a faint chirping.

Right after The Fly Bye they reached the walkway called _The Pass_ , on which they ascended slowly up to the cliffs. The angle was moderate, so the going wasn't difficult at all, even on the damp grass.

The problem was _seeing_ where they were going!

The Pass was the _other_ entrance to The Land of Pink Windmills from The Yellow Trampoline and the other lands above the cliffs. It was also practically the only way up to those lands from this land.

Squeezing with considerable difficulty through the dark shapeless line of The One Tree Forest, the friends turned sharply to the left in the dark air. Jethro was the last to emerge. He had just barely forced his great shape between the trunks of two of the trees that were growing a little farther apart than the others. Only his tremendous strength had enabled that success in the darkness. The others had heard his struggling: a lot of strange noises and sounds of force and low comments that were funny in the darkness.

In the almost unnoticed lightening of the sun, now faintly penetrating the beginnings of The Lands far to their left, the six carefully walked along the edge of The Yellow Trampoline, toward the large entrance tree they were going to try to climb. The huge spreading flat surface to their right, so yellow in the daytime, reflected more light at night than anything in The Lands. It looked silvery gray and glimmery as it stretched away in the approaching dawn. It wasn't showing any yellow at all, but It looked beautiful anyway.

So far the friends had said almost nothing to each other. They had communicated by signs and, every now and then, by a very brief whisper.

The evening before, Wut had tried his best to discourage Jethro from coming. "You can't climb that gigantic tree," he had urged his good friend. "And you can't use scissors. Since you can't do either one, the question is, why are you going? What would you do if you went with us?"

Aquamarie had had more than enough scissors for all of them---Meri had known that she would!

The huge Buffalo Unicorn walked along, a great dark shape in the darkness.

_There was no way_ , once he had heard Meri's idea, that he was going to stay behind. _Everyone in The Lands_ could have told Wut _that_! And Wut knew it himself. But he also knew they desperately needed to be inconspicuous. Wut was afraid that Jethro, as large as he was, might be seen early by one of the croapfs flying their way. The plan would be spoiled even before it had a chance to work, if the croapfs then flew higher!

Wut had to say what he thought, even though he didn't want to hurt his friend's feelings. He felt desperate about The Land of Pink Windmills. If there was a chance that they might succeed, he didn't want to throw it away for a reason that wasn't very important at all. There was no reason for Jethro to be there.

But Jethro's answer was persuasive. "I'll just watch, very still, from the _bottom_ of the tree," he had said. "There'll be hardly any light. In fact, there'll be less light there than anywhere else in The Lands at that time because of the extra darkness under that tree especially. I won't be seen _there_ in the darkness.

"But I _have_ to watch," he had added, looking up at the big tree appearing so small from the grass beside the windmill they were standing near. " _You know_ , Wut, that _I really don't have a choice about it_. _You know how I am_.

"I _have_ to go and watch, even if I can't be a part of what's happening. And don't worry---I won't be in _anyone's_ way at the bottom of the tree. And I won't be seen. You can even climb up on me to get up to the first limb. You know it won't be very low."

With so much on his mind, Wut hadn't thought about that particular detail yet. The _first_ limb _would_ be quite high up from the bottom of the trunk. And they would have to get up to it in the dark. Stopping all of his thoughts about the proposed plan, he silently nodded his green eyes and his whole black head up and down while bouncing. He had been wrong, he now knew, and he was willing to admit it.

They _did_ need Jethro after all!

"Sorry, old friend," he admitted to the enormously sensitive but always agreeable Buffalo Unicorn. Bouncing up and down on the grass losing its color with the evening, he added: "You know how _I_ am, too."

They both laughed. Wut then bounced up onto Jethro's back and bounced up and down there for a few minutes to remind himself how high Jethro's back was, while trying to remember the height of that first limb on The Tower Tree on the right.

It was the first time he had been up on Jethro's back. From the ground, even _he_ hadn't realized how tall Jethro was! As long as he had known him! Everyone who was there saw the satisfaction on his face as he looked down at the broad back below him and thought about the valuable help Jethro would be able to provide.

_Meri's idea seemed more and more do-able!_

The One Tree Forest passed by now darkly and blurrily on their left as the six friends quietly made their way along the top of the cliffs. The peaceful presence of The Yellow Trampoline, adding its own quiet nightly flat pale silvery grayness, was close by and spread widely away to their right in all directions. In the inconspicuously building light, it was beginning to help them see each other just a little better as they walked along.

To Meri, who breathed, the air was especially refreshing up on the cliffs, where there were many breezes---even though they made her legs, which were completely bare below her overall jeans shorts, chilly in the early coolness.

Jethro, with his warm coat, was enjoying the brisk air too as he walked along. He was obviously more excited than any of them. But then, he had the luxury of not having to climb that enormous tree in the darkness!

Climbing a tree is difficult at any time. Climbing a tree at night is almost impossible---and especially dangerous. Climbing _this particular tree_ , and at night? For any other reason, it would have been unthinkable! They could consider doing it at all _only because_ it was a necessary part of their plan, and _only because_ Fico was with them. He was the only one there who could have climbed it by himself, and now he was going to try to help four others get up it in the dark--- _all at the same time!_

_And that was just the first step of what they needed to do!_

Although intensely excited about going along on the adventure, Jethro was also dissatisfied.

_He wasn't satisfied at all!_

"Imagine going on this expedition and not being able to climb trees or to cut with scissors either!" he muttered with frustration to himself.

"I can't do either!"

He wished that _he_ also---along with Meri---could jump down from high up in The Tower Tree to The Yellow Trampoline below and sail all the way back up to The Invincible Black Cloud with her among the colors of the dawn!

How he imagined himself doing that as the group walked quietly and nervously but also hopefully along!

But he didn't say anything.

He had no doubts that Meri could do the job all by herself! He just wished he could do more than just stand under the tree and helplessly watch.

The full moon, far away over the Mistercald River, came out from behind some real clouds. The six friends couldn't see it: they were too close to The One Tree Forest. But its light began falling faintly onto The Yellow Trampoline, which instantly became somewhat brighter. And _its_ light was quite helpful to them.

Soon, through the slight lightening, and with the additional help reflected faintly from their right, they reached The two Tower Trees. The enormous shapes towered blackly and bulkily above them. With their spreading limbs, they seemed even larger in the uncertain light, now that the climbers were at last below them!

Each was like a separate night by itself, they were so large and so dark!

Meri's heart responded as she looked up the unbelievable bulk of the tree now on their left. It was no longer The Tower Tree _on the right,_ but the one _on the left_.

A feeling of anxiety slowly began to spread through her whole body. It would be an enormous way down, through all those limbs, when she jumped. Suppose she hit something on the way down?? The tree was all tangled with black limbs going endlessly up and eclipsing each other.

Looking up at the forbidding mass of darkness filled with limbs, going up and up and up, she couldn't help but wonder about the enormous task they had chosen.

She couldn't stop the question from coming: " _Suppose I can't do what I said I could do after all?"_

In the darkness and coolness she began to realize that it had been much easier to _talk_ about her idea safely down among the pink windmills--- _than to be up here on the cliffs, below this great tree, and to have to actually put it into action_!

They all stood there thinking. Everyone else, too, inspired by the discouraging tangle of darkness above, was full of dismay at the gigantic task of finding a way up. Then Meri would have to jump back through it!

Everyone was dismayed except Fico, that is. Wut was bouncing softly, but with difficulty, among the upswirling roots weaving in and out of the ground around the incredible trunks.

Fico was the only one who was still confident. He was always positive because of his great physical abilities. Suddenly, as they were all looking up at the awesome sight, he sensed the uncertainty of his friends. It troubled him. But he had accepted some responsibilities, and he knew what to do.

"Let's go up," he said, leaping up, like a shadow to the others, onto Jethro's back in one easy motion. It was a high leap, considering how tall Jethro is, and quite extraordinary in the darkness. Seeing that the ascent had begun, the others began to concentrate on each step that was necessary at the time. It would be the only way to get up that tree. If they could.

The huge trunk of the tree rose up above them, an almost invisible thickness, surrounded by a universe of leaves and supporting limbs.

As their eyes continued to re-adjust beside the enormous trunk, however, it became easier for the climbers to make out the individual limbs just above them.

With firm grasps and with his strong arms, Fico assisted first the Tackling Dummy, then Sylvestra, and lastly, Meri up onto Jethro and from there to the first branch, almost the thickest one on the tree. He had to toss each one the last final short distance up to it, where they grasped its rough surface, and struggled to climb up and then stand up, holding onto the trunk and whatever other branches that were available around as best they could.

Fico's quiet confidence and extremely careful attention to each of them made this difficult first ascent almost agreeable. They were now _actually in the tree, although only at the beginning of their climb!_

Then Fico, with Wut up on his back, scrambled up the rough knotty trunk to the limb himself.

Up on this first stop, everyone except Meri felt a little more confident. Even Meri felt a little less nervous. But her heart was still beating very fast.

They were now able to appreciate the importance of Jethro's contribution of just standing under the tree! Climbing up would have been considerably more difficult, and perhaps even impossible, without him there at the beginning!

At the last minute, Fico had decided that Wut would go up on his back. He weighed almost nothing, and there was no way he was going to be able to bounce on any of the branches. And he certainly couldn't hang down from them either, with no feet! It was a good solution which in fact cheered up the others, when they saw them coming up like that.

Everyone was now safely and waiting patiently on the first limb!

Looking up, his large eyes steadily visible to them from below, Jethro watched as his friends continued to climb upward through the bulky, curving, and twisting limbs of the gigantic tree. The sight of his large whimsical eyes comforted the climbers for a long time as they ascended with difficulty. Those eyes also reminded them---whenever they looked back downward and saw them continuing to look yearningly up---that he wanted more than anything to be up there with them. He didn't know that because of his large eyes, he _was_ up there with them!

He gave them some of his spirit!

"We'll do this for you, too," Meri had whispered just loudly enough down to him when they were a little of the way up.

"Yeah," the others had all echoed. "You're right up here with us." They knew that was what he really wanted.

Jethro's eyes had blinked, seemingly for the first time, and he whispered a deep low "Thanks" back up the tree. It sounded funny but welcome among all those limbs!

With his much greater strength and his unquestionable agility, Fico helped all of them continuously, even though he was carrying Wut across his back.

Through the difficulties, such as limbs that were so large that they were just about impossible to climb up and around, and distances to the next limbs that were sometimes almost too great to cross, he kept whispering words of encouragement. And even with Wut hanging from his shoulders, and helping everyone, he _still_ managed always to be within reach of Meri. His eyes, even when looking somewhere else, were paying part of their attention to her. He was going to keep his word that _if he had anything to do with it_ , his small flesh and blood friend would be safe in that tree!

But he didn't forget about the Tackling Dummy or Syl either. More than once, as well as providing a lot of extra pushes and lifts on the way up, he saved someone who had either mis-stepped or was beginning to slip. It's not easy and always dangerous to climb a tree a night, and it _unquestionably_ would have been impossible for any of them to climb this one _even in the daylight_ \---without Fico. It was simply an enormously difficult tree to climb, with its huge limbs, their unpredictable growing curves, and the distances from one to another of some of them---as well as the cragginess and knottiness of the bark.

And _the darkness_ , which was much worse up in the tree!

"You _can_ do this," Fico kept urging everyone high above The Yellow Trampoline, _always adding_ , " _We_ can do this." Because of the way he kept talking to each of them, and using the word _we_ so often, everyone felt _close to the others_ the entire time. They were doing this _together_. He knew how to lead, and because of his nature, he didn't say anything that wasn't sincere. The climbers felt better each time one of them felt his strong hand pulling theirs up, or was lifted up or saved when he caught them firmly and gently by the arm. It was a strange phenomenon, but they all had so much confidence in him that a little of his strength always seemed to be added into theirs when he helped them or touched them.

They also helped each other--when another hand was needed, or a push, or an encouraging glance, or even the nearness of a face. Meri was so glad the Tackling Dummy was there. This was even one more adventure they were sharing. And Syl was even funny, because every time she passed close to Meri among the dark limbs, she whispered, "Hi," till finally it became amusing and expected. The flesh and blood dummy never failed to reply each time.

Meri was beginning to love her new friend with eyes so much like hers!

Finally, after much scraping and pulling and difficult positions, they all reached a high limb that stretched all the way out over the edge of the dim but yellowing surface far below them now. This limb extended out farther than they might have hoped, and then it even curved back again a little to the right, giving them a good view of the sky.

There was enough room for all of them on it.

With a lot of careful looking down and thinking and even some tricky trading of places that high up, Meri was given the best spot on the limb for jumping down through the tree to the huge land below. It still wasn't yellow yet, only a very pale gold. There was, however, a lot more light than there had been when they first had started climbing.

After Meri jumped, the others, without too much trouble, could carefully maneuver out to the same spot and also jump down.

They were holding on to a limb that, luckily, grew almost parallel to the limb they were standing on.

Now incredibly far below them, but still looking up, the two large silvery dots of Jethro's eyes could be seen trying to find them in the tree. They never seemed to blink. It was almost a miracle that they could still see him through all those limbs! But he couldn't see them.

When they were all finally situated high up and ready for action, the pressure began to build on Meri. She knew everything was now up to her.

She looked around at all the others with gratitude and affection. They were her good friends. One by one, she found the gaze of each and held his or her eyes. They each looked back with all their support at their small flesh and blood friend. Looking down, they now knew the enormity of what she had volunteered to do.

_It was really too much to ask of her, they now realized._

They were all cautiously holding on to the upper limb. Each, as well as Meri, was also quite nervous---even Fico, with all of his leadership ability. They had a big job to do.

It was an unforgettable moment that none of them would ever forget. They were now ready and waiting.

_All that was needed was for the floating Substitute Sky, when it came, to be brought close enough to the tree!_

Fico, the Tackling Dummy, and Sylvestra had soon become themselves again after the challenging climb. They were dummies and didn't get fatigued. But Meri, being of flesh and blood, had to _recover_ from the exhausting efforts, even with Fico's help, of climbing a tree of that size. She took some deep breaths, and for a few seconds she even laid her head on the side of the thick limb she was holding onto. It felt knobby against her cheek but was restful.

With her head down, on the other side of Fico she could see Sylvestra, who smiled knowingly at her with those same aquamarine eyes that she looked out with herself---although you couldn't really tell their color in that light.

"Good luck," Syl mouthed silently to her good friend.

Turning her head slightly, Meri could see the Tackling Dummy, who was actually right beside her and who let go with one hand to take hers in his worn canvas one. He confided softly and convincingly to her ear,

"You have exactly what it takes to do this, Meri Dian. You know you have---because you're you."

He let her know the high opinion he had of her.

Meri squeezed his hand and looked carefully at his worn encouraging face in the dimness. They had been through a lot together.

By simply twisting her eyes a little farther around, Meri could see Fico, who had been strengthening her the whole time. He nodded to her, and she blinked her eyes at him. She knew he believed in her too.

Wut reached over from Fico's strong shoulders, climbed across the back of the Tackling Dummy, and awkwardly put his small black left arm around her neck as well as he could. "Hi," he said, looking into her eyes with obvious appreciation for what she was doing for one of The Lands.

"You're one of us, you know," he then unexpectedly said. It wasn't many words---but it was a great compliment. He was saying that _she_ was actually one of the dummies of The Lands!

Hearing those words, which meant so much to her, she knew she was going to be able to let go and to actually jump when the moment came! She wasn't going to let everyone down. Not anyone!

Only it looked _so far_ down!

Her heart was thudding steadily now, and her throat was doing funny things.

Her legs trembled on their dim perch so far up, as the cool dawn air blew around them. The colors of the dawn were beginning to appear gradually around the tree! They were already high up in the sky behind them.

By this time Meri was feeling strong again. _Her legs were still trembling, but from nervousness_! Her hands were sore and continued to ache from clinging to the shaggy bark that covered the enormous oak. The soreness lasted even though the dents and marks in her palms and on her fingers were slowly disappearing. Her arms and even her legs were painful as well from numerous unavoidable scrapes on the way up.

More soft light was now appearing above The Yellow Trampoline. The tree itself was becoming lighted.

Meri lifted her cheek from the limb. She could feel the circulation trying to go through the dents it had left in her face. Even with the encouragement and belief of her friends, she was becoming more nervous about the jump, as the time for it was approaching fast.

_Suppose the jump didn't go right?!_

_Suppose she slipped?_

_Suppose something completely unexpected happened?_

Her heart was steadily beating more rapidly.

_"The croapfs must be very close with that Black Paper Sky by this time!" she thought. In the shape of an airplane!_

She knew e _veryone_ in The Land of Pink Windmills was depending on her! _Every dummy there!_ At that very moment!

"I _have_ to do this right," she stressed to herself, high up in the tree, imagining the croapfs approaching as she carefully looked for them in the sky, in the direction she knew they were coming from.

"I _have_ to do this right _the first time_!"

# Chapter XV: THE CRASH OF THE PRETEND SKY

It was an extremely long way down to The Yellow Trampoline from that high up in the tree.

Far below, the land was finally becoming yellow.

Holding onto the limb with her left hand, Meri felt for the pair of scissors in the little loop on the right side of her bib overall jeans, at her hip.

They were still there.

Aquamarie had given her a sharp pair with green handles, for which she had also sewn a thick covering for the blades to protect Meri during her flights down and then up. The shadowy outlines of the loops of the metal handles at her hip at first comforted Meri, as glancing down she thought pleasantly of Aquamarie. But then, reminding her of their purpose, as they hung in the little cloth circle, they made her even more jittery again.

She hoped they wouldn't fall out on the way down.

It was getting later. But still no croapfs or Immense Flying Darkness could be seen in the far distance. Everyone in the tree was now looking carefully in that direction, scanning at just the right height above The Yellow Trampoline.

Meri knew she would she would be jumping soon---at any second. She could easily see that The Yellow Trampoline was getting yellower far away toward The Autumnforest. But not directly below, because the One Tree Forest was still graying the light there.

_She couldn't even see the place where her feet would land in the dimness!_ She might have to jump without even seeing the spot she was jumping to!

When she had bounced off the edge of the cliff, she had been assured that any dummy going over there would be gathered down onto The Sliding Board softly and safely. It had been made that way! She had looked down to make sure, when Wut was encouraging her to just step over the edge of the cliff and start sliding down. Convinced, and unable to see too much, she had bounced right down the trampoline and jumped quickly.

_But this was much different_. This time she had to jump through an enormously high and complicated tree, where there was no guarantee. Many dummies hadn't already gone before her, like on The Sliding Board. None had. And this time she had a lot of time to think, whereas before, being already worn out and reassured of safety, she had jumped almost right away.

From where she was, The Yellow Trampoline was definitely an enormous distance down, through some large limbs she had to jump between and miss.

Meri looked straight out again, scanning the sky. The enormous and fearsome Flat Black Silhouette, sailing along, couldn't be too distant now. It _had to be_ getting closer all the time! But so far, it couldn't be observed in the early light over The Yellow Trampoline---in the soft yellow lights playing around in the warming air above the spreading color.

Although Meri had ascended so high into the tree, and she tried to remain positive, her spirits suddenly began to descend. It was the light. As it slowly improved, the height of all of them in the tree became _even more_ noticeable. The tree seemed to be getting taller! _They_ seemed to be getting higher! As the time before the jump became smaller, the challenge steadily did just the opposite! Meri remembered the fireballs. Were they in danger from the croapfs, in the top of that great grayish white oak, halfway to the sky, unable to protect themselves clinging to that awesome tower of reality?

Before such a great act, it was easy to imagine all sorts of calamities.

But Fico remained certain.

He continued his quiet encouragements to everyone. His steady strength---of _mind_ now, in addition to that of his physique, without which they wouldn't have been able to rise that high in the first place---helped them in these moments of their nerves. _Everyone---not just Meri---would have to jump from this great height!_

Even Wut, from Fico's back noticing the distance down in the more honest light, was thoughtful.

Meri was the only one who was made of flesh and blood.

Meri's idea now seemed _different_ to her than when she had first thought of it. It now seemed less sure of success. She had been so excited near the end of The Sliding Board, only the day before! She actually had had trouble talking because of her excitement! Now she was up in the tree, and it was _such_ a long way down, and the tree was so complicated! _And everything depended on her!_ In a quiet moment of reflection, she decided, to _always_ in the future think about the differences between getting an idea and putting it into action.

But, as a little _more_ time went by, in spite of her new realizations and her great nervousness and the towering height, she suddenly realized she was _happy_ to be where she was at that moment. She was glad there was at least _a chance_ that sunlight would be allowed to come down once again onto the windmills in the land of her friends.

These last thoughts had another calming effect on her, until she glanced behind her and saw the sun, on a very colorful parachute, now noticeably rising above the faraway lands on the other side of The Mistercald. It looked large. It was visible through the limbs behind her. Then her whole body, and especially her stomach, all at once began to jump with nervousness!

A dark line appeared right in the middle of the orangegold colors now appearing in the air on the way to The Autumnforest.

Finally!

It was The Black Sky, coming on its way.

The great wide-flying BlackSpreading Airplane Sky was now floating straight toward The Tower Tree!

Toward the one on the left---to the croapfs.

The five croapfs, separated from each other at lengthy distances, flying the airplane along, could now be seen fairly clearly in the soft lights of the early air.

Closer it came, held level, gliding over The Yellow Trampoline at a height that was actually a little above the five watchers waiting high in the tree.

Meri had _never_ felt this nervous before. Her body had _never_ acted this way before. It was like different parts of it were jumping, all at once _. At that moment, as The Black Croapf Sky came toward them, she knew she wasn't in control of her own body!_

"We _can_ do this," suddenly repeated Fico again, gently but with determined belief, closer to Meri than he had been. Sensing Meri's state of mind, with his dexterity he had somehow maneuvered around to stand right beside her, on her left, with Wut on his shoulders. She was now erect on the limb in the middle of her four friends---the Tackling Dummy on her right and Syl on the other side of him. Jethro was far below, but he was a friend supporting her too.

Fico put his strong hand caringly on her left shoulder. He seemed to feel the strange jumping of her body.

"You _can_ do this," he repeated with strength, putting his large head down right beside her head. His ear brushed her light brown hair.

" _We_ \---all of us---can do this. _We can_."

Meri believed him, but the jumping in her body seemed to increase. She couldn't help it. To try to calm herself, taking one hand from the limb she was holding onto, she slowly withdrew the long greenhandled scissors from her loop. The covering for the blades fell soundlessly below through the tree, landing on Jethro's back.

She knew, that if she were going to be able to jump properly, she _had_ to be able to bend her legs better than she was able to do at that moment. The _remaining_ strength in her legs instead, however, seemed to drain right out.

She couldn't jump. She knew she couldn't.

"I can't _move_ them enough to jump," she thought miserably.

But it looked like she wouldn't have to, anyway.

The croapfs weren't close enough to the tree with their now arriving Flying Paper Darkness!

"It's too far away," whispered Wut on Fico's back. Meri thought it was too far away too. But what bothered her more than anything was the painful disappointment she could hear in Wut's voice. It was so clear to her, by his voice, how much he cared about The Lands and about each land. She could hear all of his disappointment, and caring, in those four words.

"It's too far away," he had said, with sad tones that hurt Meri's body and her spirit.

"We can't ask you to try it," she heard Wut say again, and once again she thought of all The Lands and of how much he himself did for them all the time. She didn't know why she was thinking like this, for she was in a kind of daze, she was so nervous, and the job had been made so much more difficult because of the unexpected extra distance from the tree to the magnificent portable Black Airplane Sky. She couldn't be expected to cross that distance.

"Yes, it's definitely too far away," Fico said quietly, with a sadness that was also hard to hear and hard to bear, because it was _his_ land, the land he loved, that was going to be attacked by darkness in only a minute or two.

"You can't," whispered Syl hoarsely.

It was only several seconds before the opportunity would be as close as it was going to get, and afterwards it would _unquestionably_ be too late. Then the angles wouldn't work, and the distance certainly wouldn't.

The shadow of the great black paper airplane gliding smoothly on The Yellow Trampoline indicated the approaching Black Danger so surprisingly large but so impossibly far away from the tree!

Meri knew it was beyond her limits.

"We'll have to call it off," she heard Fico whisper with finality, and with obvious disappointment, into her ear. He had counted so much on this plan! He had stayed believing the whole time!

As Meri watched The Black Attack moving relentlessly toward The One Tree Forest, she couldn't stand the thought of Fico having to climb back down that tree, after he had said so many times, "We _can_ do this." And she couldn't stand for Wut to be disappointed at what was happening to one of his beloved Lands. And she couldn't stand the thought of all of her dummy friends, including Sylvestra, having to go through another day like the one they had before---with a heartless Black Sky hanging overhead to deprive their land of its beloved light _._

So as the blackness of the great wide Paper Sky flew up, she bent her knees as much as she could, while still holding on, and _, reaching for all of the strength in her legs that she could possibly find_ , flung herself out as far as she could and down toward The Yellow Trampoline.

"Oh! She jumped! Oh! She jumped! Oh, Meri, please be okay," she heard Sylvestra, who had heard all of the conversations, say softly with surprise and caring as her friend jumped.

"Meri!" said softly, with great concern, each of the different voices of the others as they saw her leap out with all of her might.

As she sailed down from so high up, hearing them say "Meri _,"_ she herself whispered softly, "Wut," as she descended.

Then, "Fico," just a little more loudly, as down she went. He smiled, in spite of himself, when he heard her.

Then, just a little more loudly, as saying each friend's name gave her more confidence, she said, "Tackling Dummy." He also heard, and smiled from his limb.

Then, "Sylvestra," even more loudly, and her friend Sylvestra smiled and choked, high up in the tree.

And finally, after falling for what seemed forever, plummeting down through the air and the tree at an unbelievable speed, she hit The Yellow Trampoline, crying out finally, at her loudest: "Jethrooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Having walked over to the yellow edge, Jethro's large eyes brightened immensely as he watched his friend shooting down to The Yellow Trampoline. He never ever forgot that she was kind enough to say his name as she came flying down only a few feet away from him.

Touching the yellowing elastic surface, with a burst of determination Meri bent her legs for the second time, and sprang up into the air with all the force that her two young legs could possibly imagine.

Up she curved in a beautiful arc, right up, up, up, up, and toward the huge flat Paper Night, all spread out like an airplane.

But she was still going to miss it. The distance really was too far.

At the very last second, however, she stretched her right arm straight up with everything that was in her, and even a little more than that, and caught hold of a tip of the extended wing with that one hand. She didn't have a good grip at all---or what could even be called _a grip_. But she hung on, and her weight began to pull the massive Pretend Sky---and the croapfs---who were totally surprised---downward.

Down she dangled, because of her weight bringing everything rapidly down, down almost to The Yellow Trampoline. She was also drifting back toward the tree. But as Fico and Wut, the Tackling Dummy, and Sylvestra, then flew down, holding their scissors ready, and, bouncing up, landed near Meri right on top, her hand was shaken loose and she lost her grip.

The tip of The Black Wing slipped out of her hand!

Without her weight on it, the croapfs began pulling the airplane upright again, with her friends on it---before they could even begin cutting!

The flying wands are very strong!

At the same time, the croapfs, who are creative thinkers, began intentionally tilting the Great Airplane's surface, to slide the dummies off of it!

Especially with a pair of scissors in one hand, Meri's friends were unable to hold on well---as they were losing their balance and beginning to tumble down. It looked like, at the last minute, even though Meri _had_ unexpectedly succeeded, all of their efforts would be for nothing after all!!

Suddenly a great black shadow flew right over Meri, yanking The Black Plan out of the hands of the croapfs and bringing it, and the dummies on it, collapsing back down to The Yellow Trampoline!

It was Jethro!

Watching from the edge of The One Tree Forest, from where The Yellow Trampoline came right up to it, and seeing that Meri was losing her grip---after a jump so unexpectedly courageous and long---he had sprung quickly onto the yellow land and in two of his heavy bounces---which raised him right up---he had plunged straight into the downturned wing of the skyful airplane with his whole body. While he was still in the air, his long white unicorn had gone right through it and pinned it to his forehead! Then, landing, he had quickly swung his head around and around in circles to anchor the fallen ship by wrapping it all around himself---his head and neck and unicorn.

By this time, as large as he was, of course he was almost completely covered in black. He had become A Great Black Buffalo Unicorn!

He couldn't see a thing!

But he was happy not to!

# Chapter XVI: _EVERYONE!_

Fico, Wut, Sylvestra, and the Tackling Dummy were all on their knees---Wut had just one!---on The Yellow Trampoline, rapidly and jovially cutting up The Sky Shadow with their sharp scissors borrowed from Aquamarie.

_There were lots of cutting sounds!_

_There was a lot to cut!!_

The many pieces lying around looked like large irregular holes in the spreading yellow surface.

The friends weren't saying a lot to each other as they swiftly cut, in a hurry to make sure the surface could do them no more harm. They were all quite happy!!

The five croapfs looked rather unusual to Meri as they remained above, unmoving, in different spots with their flying wands, watching silently and even listening intently.

Although they seemed disappointed, they didn't appear angry or sad. They didn't say a thing. They hardly reacted. Meri wondered if their ability to feel had been affected by whatever had gone wrong with them. That would certainly explain a lot!

After several moments, however, slowly they turned, all at one time, toward The Land of the Croapfs, and started to fly back. The way they used their flying wands, pointing them at small angles to go in different directions and up and down, was very interesting to Meri. She wondered if they enjoyed using them.

Glancing back up when the croapfs turned to go, Sylvestra, on her knees, stopped cutting for a moment. She turned her head toward one of the flying figures.

Suddenly she called out "Faye!" thinking she recognized her friend. The croapf flew back a short distance and stopped up in the air, uncertainly, staring down at Sylvestra. She seemed to be puzzled. She hesitated. And then she turned and flew again after the others.

"Faye!" Syl shouted after her again desperately, running after her awkwardly on The Yellow Trampoline for a short distance. But the croapf just flew on without looking back again or responding to her at all.

Jethro, still standing there completely blinded with his head and neck wrapped up, began bouncing anyway. He soon uncovered himself, after first rising quite high without being able to see at all. What was left of The Great Black Blindfold of the Sun at last fell off of him completely and sailed down to a final pile.

Then Jethro descended again, and, ambling in a slow un-coordinated bounce over to Wut, mentioned in his matter-of-fact deep and whimsical voice,

"You know, it's a good thing I wasn't up that tree. And it's a good thing I don't use scissors very well. And it's a good thing I came," he added. There was a happy twinkle in his great brown eyes.

"And it's a good thing you didn't listen to me when I tried to persuade you to stay back," said the proud but well-meaning black question mark, looking his great friend straight in the eyes. He had swiftly sprung upright, from cutting nimbly with scissors in both hands, when Jethro had ambled over. Quite clearly he was full of respect, as he bounced softly up and down on the elastic yellow.

"I was wrong," he admitted, his green eyes truly regretful. "I'm going to have to think about how quickly and easily I misjudged how helpful you could be. I could have ruined the whole plan!" he added with humility, looking down. He was genuinely bothered about himself, Jethro could tell. The fact that Jethro had saved their whole plan, after he, Wut, had stoutly discouraged him from coming at all, had already had a great impact on him.

"Well, if you say so," mumbled the massive Buffalo Unicorn, embarrassed at his friend's total and honest humility about being wrong. He had expected at least a little friendly argument about it! And he didn't know quite what to reply.

"Let's get up these scraps," he mumbled again, starting to kick them toward the cliffs and moving temporarily away from his friend to give him a little time to himself.

"But what about Meri?" he called back over his shoulder to Wut as he continued to kick the shreds across the yellow surface toward the cliffs.

"There aren't words," called back the humble and honest mark, glad for the change of subject, and truly overflowing with pride in Meri. "There just aren't words." He was bouncing easily up and down on the yellow surface.

Before Jethro reached Meri, he realized that Fico was trying to bring her back to normal. She was sitting upright on The Yellow Trampoline, but she was still in a daze, Fico had discovered---after a night of distracted sleep, the climb up the tree, all the worry about the long jump, and the effects of the splendid jump itself. She had fallen back down backwards and jarred her head, after finally losing her grip on the tip of The Great Black Wing. No one had noticed, during her fall, how hard she had actually hit her head.

"Up on top," Jethro said to the still dazed girl in his deep voice, looking down at her on the trampoline, motioning toward his back with a swing of his great head. His shining white unicorn described a lot of beautiful geometry during the gesture.

"Up on top," he said again in his deep voice. "You get a ride for what you did." His words, the way he said them and what he said, were almost magically perfect at expressing how they all felt toward the little girl at that moment. Her determination, and her own decision making, when everyone was discouraging her up in the tree, had turned everything around.

Fico swung her up onto Jethro's wide mostly white shoulders, where she sat in the developing bright sunshine, slowly coming back to normal and beginning to realize what she had done. If not for her leap, The Black Day would be back over The Land of Pink Windmills at that very moment.

"How did you do it?" Syl asked Meri, but not expecting an answer. The question said everything. Syl was walking beside Jethro as he began again kicking black scraps and shreds toward the line of trees ahead. Jethro was trying to walk on The Yellow Trampoline, instead of bouncing, and it was really quite funny. But he made it work, and continued to move the pieces along with Meri up on his back.

Aquamarie had made for Syl some aqua bib overall jeans shorts, like Meri's except for the colors. She was also wearing a white top showing a poem coming down in silver below a red vacuum cleaner, with a winding cord above meant to represent a cloud. The design had become especially visible now that the day was in full light.

The Tackling Dummy, following Jethro's example, was walking on the other side. He was finding it interesting to try to _walk_ instead of _bounce_ on the elastic surface!

But it was the easiest way to clean up the trampoline.

Picking up scraps, he said to Meri, "You know, I have to agree with what I overheard Wut say, that, as many words as I know, there just aren't the right ones for that jump you made. I will say, I couldn't believe how you flew, not only on the way down to the trampoline, but back up to where you almost missed catching onto it------and where, by that _incredible_ stretch and reach, you caught it, at the last second. Wait a minute!" he interrupted himself enthusiastically. "I think I _do have_ a word after all. I just thought of it. It's a word that's another one of those _small songs_ , as you call them. Yes. I'm thinking of the word _splendidious_!

"Your jump _was!_ It's a word that speaks for itself. I'm sure you can understand what it means. And by the way, it's a word that I've been fond of since I unexpectedly found it in my unabridged dictionary one day!"

The expression on his face was definitely sincere. His eyes were bright. Some of his enthusiasm was inspired by his remembering his unabridged dictionary so fondly.

"Thanks---to _all_ of you, my special friends," said Meri meaningfully, from her height on Jethro's back, looking down and around. The others had gathered around too. "It _was_ a successful jump, thank The Lands, and I'm glad it's over. But I'm more glad that we _all_ succeeded. The Pretend Sky wouldn't be _down_ now---instead of _up_ \---if Jethro hadn't pinned it with his unicorn."

The smile on Jethro's face was priceless.

"And you all know we never could have climbed that unendingly tall tree at all without Fico's help and his helpful words. And I think Wut has helped us all to realize how important it is to help _any_ land as much as we can. And cutting it up was important, too, so the croapfs couldn't get it back---almost all of you bravely jumped out of an enormously tall tree to do that.

"And one more thing: I don't think I ever would have been able to make that long jump down to The Yellow Trampoline if you _all_ hadn't been up there with me in the tree---including Jethro, because we could see his eyes down below. So we _all_ made that long jump---together! Remember that Fico all the time kept saying, ' _You_ can do this? _We_ can do this'? Well, w _e_ did do it---and we did it _together_. Thanks."

Meri hadn't expected to make a speech like that, and she was surprised at herself that she had. Her friends, also surprised, liked very much what she said. And so Fico lifted her down from Jethro's back and they _all_ cleaned up the scraps and threw them between spaces in The One Tree Forest. From there the pieces fluttered over the cliffs and soared down like flying birds, beside the flying birds in the air, to The Land of Pink Windmills.

However, her friends continued to believe quietly that Meri _had_ made a heroic effort by jumping out of the tree like she did.

Jethro half-bounced and half-walked on The Yellow Trampoline, kicking the many pieces ahead of him. The others simply picked them up and carried them. It was awkward walking on the stretchy yellow surface instead of bouncing, but it wasn't convenient to bounce and pick up scraps at the same time. They all enjoyed the beautiful morning, which had changed from the many early colors of the first light to the normal mild blue of the sky above The Lands. All around them, of course, was the immensity of the naturally pleasing yellow of The Land of Yellow Transportation.

The friends were glad to be together, with the feeling that they had done something special together. The left Tower Tree, at the edge of the cliffs and beside the other one, looked especially tall to all of them as it rose up up and up and up over The Lands in the day's first full light.

_They now knew how tall it really was!_

When they had finished throwing the pieces through The One Tree Forest, it was time to go back down to the land. Jethro stopped on the grass beside The Yellow Trampoline, not too far down from The two huge Tower Trees, and said to everyone in his deep whimsical voice,

"Yep. Just like Meri said, you know we all did what we came to do together. So, up on top! Everyone!" And he looked back at his broad back with its yellows and whites and tans and light browns and golds, and a little black here and there.

Soon _everyone_ was up. Jethro walked back along the forest one tree thick and creatively squeezed through it, with the five others on his back, much better in the daylight than when he had struggled through it in the thick dimness before dawn. He went back through the same two trees again. But it was much more interesting, and more fun too, this time, because he insisted that everyone stay on his back! Meri marveled at his strength and agility as he humorously bent limbs and separated the two trunks, climbing through.

With his load, he gravitated easily downhill on _The Walkway_ , or Pass, especially now that the grass had dried somewhat. Passing by the hump of The Fly Bye again, with its little white bench perched snugly on top, the riders looked up with pleasure at the re-established patterns of birds flying overhead, from all of The Lands.

And then finally, with special satisfaction because all of the dummies of The Land of Pink Windmills could be seen ahead waiting for them at the edge of the pink windmills, Jethro walked slowly back across the long field and right into the middle of the crowd with his passengers. It was one of his proudest moments.

The windmills here and there were turning at various speeds, creating light breezes flowing and mixing into pleasantness in every direction. Their unusual pink crystal was sparkling freshly everywhere in the uninterrupted sunshine.

Above, in the mild blue sky, there now wasn't a single white cloud.

_And not even one tiny black airplane._

* * *

The Story continues in THE FLYING BUFFALO UNICORN. Guess how he gets up there!!?!! And you get to meet the youngest dummy in all of The Lands.

# ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Larry Good was a young English teacher for about six years, after majoring in English at the University of Virginia. He has always been aware of the special magic that can be found in words. Like the ones that say a name. Or give you special information. Or tell a story. Or all of these. He even became a librarian because of words. Some of his characters are even named for them: such as Perfit and Gozzard and Finxi and Belikely and Betwixen.

He lives in Nottoway County, Virginia, which is right next to Amelia County, where this story begins.
