The Ambassador, after considering a minute, gave his consent, on the score that it might improve his appearance, and caused the black attendant to hunt for the missing one, which had been thrown down on the ground near to the roundabout.
He soon returned with it, and the Dodo, with a delighted chuckle, put the pair on, and, after smoothing them carefully, regarded his hands very complacently, and seemed to consider having them some compensation for the degraded occupation to which he had been put.
“I’ll go now and settle the others,” declared the Ambassador. “What did you say their names were?” he inquired, sternly, of the Dodo.
The poor bird called out the names one by one, and the Ambassador carefully entered them in his pocket-book, and then stalked majestically away in the direction of the lake, while the Little Panjandrum settled himself on a gaudily-colored rug, which the black attendant carefully spread on the ground at his feet, and with a self-satisfied smile on his little round face gravely twiddled his thumbs and took no notice of anybody.
“Go and see what he does to them,” whispered the Dodo, referring to the Ambassador and the creatures.
Nothing loth, the children ran off to the lake to see what was happening. Pushing aside the bushes, they could see the Ambassador standing on the edge of the path, waving a wand in one hand, while in the other he flourished a legal-looking document.
"In the name of the Panjandrum, I command you."
The prehistoric creatures were scrambling through the water, and getting as far away as possible on to the islands in the middle of the lake.