CHAPTER II
While Spider Eyes was talking, being quite tired, he sat down on what he thought to be a brown stone, but much to his surprise he felt the stone rising.
He called out in alarm: “Oh! where am I going? The earth is quaking!” He heard a laugh and the stone shook under him. “You sat down on my back, so I thought I would give you a ride,” said the brown creature under him.
Then he saw he was sitting on Mr. Garden Toad, who brought him down to the ground with a flop.
Chip Wing, Pointed Toes and Dusty Cap ran to learn what was the matter, and to see if he was safe.
On a nearer view of Mr. Toad, they thought he was the ugliest thing they had ever seen.
There he sat, all dressed in dirty brown, his big eyes bulging out on either side of his head, and right back of each eye was a big white wart.
He looked so hideous as he opened his mouth to grin that the elves shook with fear.
“Well! well! my little men,” he said, trying to look his best, “what do you want? This is not Elfland. What have you come here for, and where are you going?”
“Oh,” answered Spider Eyes, still quaking, “we want to see the beautiful world. Can you tell us the way?”
“Yes,” replied the toad quickly, “I will gladly do so. I have been there many times. Come, jump upon my back and take a ride. I will hop to the place.”
It did not take them long to get seated on his back, for they were already quite tired out with their journey.
How tightly they had to hold on with their feet, for, as he kept leaping and leaping, he chuckled so hard that it made his body shake.
Once he stopped, and Spider Eyes, catching his breath, said: “I think we will walk, if you do not mind.”
“Yes,” spoke up Pointed Toes. “It will be very much better to walk than to be shaken to pieces.”
“No, no!” exclaimed the toad. “You must ride, or else you can not go to the beautiful world. We will reach it very soon, my dearies.”
So, against their will, they remained upon his back, as they wanted so much to see the beautiful world.
He hopped, and hopped, and hopped again.
As he was hopping through a hedge, a sharp thistle pierced one of Spider Eyes’ wings.