“For one thing, we shall not have to hunt for that old Dodo,” argued Dick, “because even the Grand Panjandrum himself, whoever he may be, could not expect us to go far away while we remain as little as this, and so we are not in such great danger of being—er—er—thingummybobbed—you know—what the Ambassador said we should be, if we didn’t find the wretched thing.”
“Supposing we try and find the Ambassador,” suggested Marjorie. “I don’t think he was really very cross, only a little abrupt, you know; and we could explain everything to him, and perhaps he would give us a new paper.”
“All right,” said Dick, leading the way. “At any rate, he will be able to make us grow bigger—that is, if we wish to,” he added, with a fine affectation of unconcern.
The children walked on for some time in the direction in which the Ambassador and his followers had disappeared, and they soon found themselves out of the cave and in a kind of forest.
"A curious little old man with a flowing beard came toward them."
“What funny trees,” said Fidge, looking up over his head.
The others followed his example, and found that he had good cause for his surprise; the long, smooth trunks, without any leaves, ended in a kind of ball, while at the roots a kind of enormous bulb appeared.
“Whatever can they be?” cried Marjorie, in amazement.