“‘Oh, can he?’ said Orion. ‘All right. Go ahead. It’s more than I can do.’
“‘I’m pretty thure I can,’ said Draco, as he flopped along—and they stood aside to let him pass, he took so much room; ‘but you’ll have to thtand by what I thay. It’ll take diplomathy.’
“Then they all followed after to see what his diplomacy was, and how he would use it. And when he came up with Major he didn’t stop; he didn’t even seem to notice him, but kept flopping along until all but three coils of his tail had passed him. Then he stopped abruptly, as if he were very much surprised. ‘Why, I thought you were a wagon,’ he said. ‘But where are your hortheth?’
“Major held one foot suspended in the air for a moment, and they thought he might stop. But it was only an instant; then he went on.
“Draco raised his voice higher: ‘Don’t you know, you thilly, a wagon can’t go without thomething to draw it?’
“‘Then how did he get here?’ asked Perseus.
“‘S-s-sh!’ said every one.
“‘Now he’th thpoiled everything!’ complained Draco. And he flopped right down in the road—but Major kept straight on.
“‘No, he hasn’t,’ said Andromeda, encouragingly. ‘Don’t you mind. That was fine! I know how to manage.’ Then she ran on until she was a little ahead of Major. And she looked at him, very hard, and stooped down and looked at his legs. Then she called back, over his head:—
“‘It’s running downhill; but it will stop now. It’s beginning to go up.’