CHAPTER X.
AROUND AND AROUND.
With the Magic Mirrors gone, the Rajah's Rug looked very plain again, but it was not to remain this way any longer than the fairy could wave her wand and sing:
- "Rajah's Rug, somehow we feel
- That we wish a Whirly Wheel,
- Before the night turns into day!"
Instantly, the wand-star flashed off and then on again so quickly that it seemed as if something had exploded, although there was no noise. In fact, it was so quiet you could have heard a pin drop. The quick changes of light and dark caused the entire party of young folks to blink their eyes so rapidly that they couldn't see what was happening. When their eyelids finally stopped jumping up and down, everybody was surprised to see a huge wheel standing right above their heads. It was the Whirly Wheel.
"Why, it seems to have seats on it," remarked Prince Philip, as he shaded his eyes with his hand in an effort to see the top of the wonderful wheel.
"Perhaps they are for people to ride in," suggested the Princess. "Don't you remember that we saw something like this at the fair last year?"
"Oh, yes, they called it a Ferris Wheel and it wasn't near as large as this one," replied the Prince. "But what puzzles me is where on earth this big thing came from and how it happens to stand upon the Rajah's Rug without mashing it into the ground?"
"Well, let's not worry about that," laughed Moon Queen. "The Whirly Wheel is here for us to use, and I'll give you and Princess Patricia the honor of getting into this first car at the bottom of the Wheel. The Princess guessed right when she suggested that these seats are to ride in, so everybody get aboard and have all the fun that you can, but don't do any careless stunts or somebody may be hurt."
After the Prince and Princess had seated themselves, the huge Whirly Wheel began to turn slowly until the next car was low enough for three of the Flower Folks to get into it. One after the other the cars were moved to their lowest positions and soon each of them were full of the happy young people.
"Well, where am I going to ride?" asked little Matthew Mole. "All the cars are filled and I'm left in the lurch, I suppose!"
"Oh, you may squeeze in our car next to Caleb Cactus," laughed Rufus Rose.
"No, sirree, Matthew must ride with us," said Prince Philip, whose car had traveled around and was then almost at its lowest position again.
"Yes, indeed, there is a place for him in our car, and he may sit on the outside so that he can see everything," added the Princess. "Matthew shall not be left behind, as he never has a chance to look down upon the earth and see the many interesting things there. Instead of that he must run around in his dark tunnels almost all the time."
Matthew quickly climbed into the Prince's car and when Moon Queen waved her wand in a circle the big Whirly Wheel began to move once more. Faster and faster it went, the big cars swinging backward and forward with an easy motion and causing a loud buzzing sound as they whizzed through the air. Inside of them the little folks were having the time of their lives and the many happy laughs that floated out into the still night air showed how much everybody was enjoying the novel and exciting ride.
Riding in the Whirly Wheel
After the Whirly Wheel had been running at full speed for several minutes, it began to slow down and finally stopped when the car of the Prince and Princess was in position for them to step out upon the Rajah's Rug. The other seven cars were then moved around in their turn, but when the last one was opened nobody came out of it. The three girls inside were sound asleep!
"Hey, wake up there, girls, or we may go on and leave you to finish your nap while we're having some more fun!" shouted Henry Hollyhock, as he used his hands for a megaphone that carried the sound of his voice directly into the ears of the sleeping girls.
But neither Sally Sunflower, Peggy Pink nor Polly Poppy moved an eyelid. They really seemed to snore louder than ever.
"Oh, let's go, they are only trying to fool us," said Rufus Rose. "Nobody could sleep after Henry's loud voice has beat upon their ear-drums, so the joke will be on them, after all!"
"No, the joke is really on you Flower Folks, for the girls happen to be so sound asleep that the loudest calling will not awaken them," laughed fairy Moon Queen. "Haven't you stopped to think that Polly Poppy was closed up in the car with them? You know very well that she puts people to sleep when they get too near her, and sometimes they never wake up again."
"Well, Polly got a dose of her own medicine this time, didn't she?" remarked Caleb Cactus. "Why, she is sleeping just as soundly as Peggy and Sally."
"Ha! ha! you wake people up instead of putting them to sleep, don't you, Caleb?" laughed Claude Carnation. "See how lively Rufus Rose and I are after being in the car with you!"
"You boys are always trying to play word jokes on each other, but we are now interested in awakening these three girls, so I had better get busy with that," said Moon Queen. "Of course, they would naturally awake in a few hours, yet we haven't any time to waste in waiting. I shall call the kind genie to help us open their eyes. I'm sure that he is much stronger than the morphine power that is holding their eyelids together so tightly. It's lucky that we are still on the wonderful Rajah's Rug, or I would have to send for the Eeny Weeny and that would take a much longer time."
"Yes, I remember that the good Eeny Weeny came to see Clarence Corn after he was bitten by Christy Crow," remarked Matthew Mole. "The vegetable folks were very grateful to her, I am sure."