"I cannot, in truth, claim to be precisely human," replied John, "but it is certain that I possess a degree of human wisdom. It comes from the Elixir, you know."
"What are you made of?" demanded the King, who was certainly puzzled by John's words.
Now, the gingerbread man realized that if he told the Mifkets he was good to eat he would soon be destroyed; so he answered:
"I am made of a kind of material known only to civilized men. In fact, I am very different from all the rest of the world."
The King didn't understand, and when he didn't understand it made him very tired.
"Oh, well," said he, lying back in the sun, "just make yourself at home here, and see that you don't bother me by getting in my way."
That might have ended the interview had not Black Ooboo, scowling and angry, stepped forward and said:
"If the stranger is to live with us he must fight for the right to live in peace. It is our custom, your Majesty."
"So it is," returned the King, waking up again. "The stranger must fight."