"Well, I've forgotten what happened when I was a little boy, it's so long ago," returned the man. "But I certainly have no desire to eat now, and if I had there is nothing in the Valley to devour except stones. I suppose eating is a habit you have acquired. Why don't you break yourself of it?"
"I get hungry," answered Tot.
"Hunger must be a habit, too," remarked the old man, "for I never have had it since I have been in this valley. However, if you will allow me to keep the cake, I will amuse myself by looking at it when I'm tired of counting my whiskers."
"You are quite welcome to the cake," said Dot. "But now I must ask you to excuse us, for it is time we started upon our journey."
"Oh, don't let me detain you," replied the Watch-dog of Merryland, politely; "that is, if you are determined to disobey my orders."
"I fear we must," said the girl. "Is Merryland the other side of that archway?"
"Part of it is," answered the old man. "There are Seven Valleys in Merryland, connected by archways, for the river flows through them all."
"And what is beyond the Seventh Valley?" asked Dot.
"No one knows except those who pass through, and those who pass through never return to tell," he replied.
"Well, good-bye," said Dot.