The Cowardly Lion trembled a good deal as they went up the rickety green ladder, but with a little help from Notta he managed it, and next instant they were in the presence of the King.
"Two creatures and a beast, your Skyness!" announced the leader of the delegation. Then stepping close to Notta he shouted at the top of his voice, "His Majesty, I-wish-I-was, King of Un!" Notta's cap fell off and he clapped his hand to his ear. The Cowardly Lion made a little spring at the Un and had the pleasure of seeing the King's feathers rise erect upon his head and wave to and fro.
"Approach, creatures and beast," commanded I-wish-I-was in a slightly shaky voice. He was sitting on a high wooden perch, swinging his feet. Grouped about him were a number of Uns in bright green uniforms that exactly matched their feather hair. Notta made a deep bow and Bob and the Cowardly Lion moved forward together.
"How did you come to come here?" asked I-wish-I-was, adjusting a pair of huge spectacles on his terrible beak.
"We didn't come to come at all," said Notta hastily. "We were standing under a tree, watching it knit—a very strange sight, your Skyness will agree."
"Why shouldn't it knit?" snapped the King impatiently. "There's no law against it, is there? In fact, if it were not for that tree, we'd be in a pretty state for fishing nets."
"Well, we were caught in the tree's net, the net flew up and here we are," finished Notta, determined not to quarrel if he could help it.