CHAPTER XI.
CALEB'S WILD R1DE.
The rest of the party gathered closely about the sleeping Flower Folks, as Moon Queen said:
- "Eeny, meeny, miny, meeny!
- Rajah's Rug, please send your genie
- Who now have the wheely whirlies!"
Just as the last word was said, Polly Poppy's big eyes popped wide open. "Oh, wasn't that a nice ride to China!" she exclaimed. "I was so glad to meet my Chinese cousins, and so were Sally and Peggy."
Polly Poppy's big eyes popped wide open - Peggy Pink slept on.
Then Sally Sunflower's eyelids began to blink. Finally, she opened her eyes and said: "All of you missed something. Polly gave us a wonderful treat -- she took us to China with her!"
"Indeed it was wonderful!" added Peggy Pink, as her eyes flew open and blinked for a moment in the brilliant light of the wand-star.
"Ho! ho! that was nothing but a pipe-dream for the three of you!" laughed Sweet William. "Why, you haven't been anywhere except for a long ride on this big Whirly Wheel and Polly Poppy then put you to sleep!"
"Yes, that is what happened," said the fairy. "Without the kind genie's help you would still be snoozing, as you know very well that the opium and morphine carried by Polly causes a long sleep that has many funny dreams -- 'pipe-dreams,' they are often called. You see, the Rajah's Rug genie is from India, and that far-away country has more poppies than any other place in the world. So it was easy for him to know how to awaken the girls.'
"But why did we dream about meeting Polly's cousins in China, instead of those in India?" asked Sally.
"Oh, that was because so many people think that the Chinese people raise the most poppies, but they really have very few of them when compared to India, Persia and Turkey," replied Moon Queen. "Anyway, our dreams are often just opposite to what is actually true, although they do seem so real to us before we awaken. However, let us go on with our fun, as it isn't long until we must hurry back to the garden at Carol Castle. The genie is still hovering above us, so I'll ask him to remove the Whirly Wheel before he leaves again."
The fairy pointed her wand-star upward and began to chant:
- "Genie, take the Whirly Wheel
- Back into the Land of Weal;
- We had great fun while riding it!"
Almost instantly, what seemed to be a loud clap of thunder was heard and the Whirly Wheel disappeared in a cloud of whirling smoke. Then, just as suddenly, loud cries of "Help! help! help!" were heard in the distance. Nearer and nearer came the sound of these distressing cries, until the happy party was thrown into a panic of fright when they saw a big creature dashing straight toward them. And hanging on the creature's nose was Caleb Cactus, who was waving his arms and legs and shouting for help just as loud as he could.
Caleb was stuck on the cow's nose.
"Why, it's only a cow and she is as badly scared as Caleb," laughed Moon Queen. "Don't be frightened at all, for it's just a good joke on the spiny little fellow. I had expected him to get into some funny trouble when I saw him walk away from us and finally step from the Rajah's Rug into the surrounding grass. You see, it doesn't pay to be too venturesome and--"
Just at this moment the fairy was interrupted when the cow gave a very loud moo and swung her head from side to side so violently that Caleb flew from her nose and landed squarely among the other Flower Folks. And then -- such scrambling you never saw in all your life, for everybody was trying to avoid coming in contact with Caleb's sharp spines. But, fortunately for all, he landed in an open space on the Rajah's Rug and after rolling over and over several times he finally came to a complete stop, none the worse for his wild ride. The last seen of the frightened cow, she was making the longest leaps that she could and swinging her tail about in a frantic sort of way.
"Ha! ha! your stickers came in handy, after all!" laughed Rufus Rose and Danny Dandelion, who had been trying their best to keep up with Caleb as he rode along on the cow's nose, for they had ventured to the edge of the Rug but didn't step upon the grass.
"Yes, you got a dandy ride while we had to run back," added Danny.
"But how on earth did Caleb ever get on the cow's nose?" asked Penelope Pansy, as the spiny little fellow arose to his feet and smiled good-naturedly.
"I'll tell you exactly how it happened," replied Caleb himself. "While high up in the Whirly Wheel, I happened to see a beautiful flower which I thought fairy Moon Queen would wish to take back to the garden at Carol Castle. When we came down I went over in the direction in which I had seen the flower. Rufus and Danny also went along. They promised to wait for me at the edge of the Rug, but I hadn't gone far before I suddenly felt a big nose touch my back. Then I felt it push against me still harder as the cow jumped and I found myself sticking right on her nose. You know the rest of the story, all right."
"Yes, we remember very well how you yelled for help, but you have forgotten to tell us whether you brought the BEAUTIFUL flower back with you or not!" chuckled Guy Geranium.
"Perhaps the cow will tell you about that, for she was just as close to it as I was," returned Caleb. "Maybe some of you fast and brave runners can catch her and make her give you this most important information!"
"Huh! we couldn't catch her in a thousand years," said Guy. "She'll run the rest of her life after getting all stuck-up on those spines of yours!"