So the children all trudged back to the Palace again. Fidge, who was very glad to see his old friend the Dodo restored to life again, wouldn’t leave his side, but trotted along with him, chatting merrily.
“Ah!” said the Dodo, as they went up the steps leading into the great hall, “there’s my old friend the Missionary; perhaps he will be able to help us out of our difficulty.” And going up to the gentleman, he gave him a playful pat on the shoulder, and exclaimed, pleasantly—
“Here we are again, you see!”
The Missionary started nervously, and peered at the Dodo through his glasses.
“Oh—er—how do you do?” he cried, hurriedly, giving a rather startled glance all round him. “Are your other friends with you?”
"'You're very good,' said the Dodo."
“Oh, you mean the Eterædarium, and the Palæotherium. No—they—er, they’ve met with a rather nasty accident. They’ve been turned into stone.”
“Bless me!” exclaimed the Missionary, looking greatly concerned. “You don’t say so! What an extraordinary thing to happen. I had no idea that there were any petrifying waters hereabouts.”