"I ma Ssecnirp Yhtorod, dneirf fo Amzo fo Zo. Yam ew ssap hguorht ruoy sdoow?" printed Dorothy after a great many pauses and erasures. Rather timidly she handed it to one of the flag bearers and after a great scowling and head-shaking, the woodsmen raised their axes and shouted in chorus, "Sey! Sey!"
"That means 'yes'," breathed Dorothy, taking Humpy's arm. "C'mon, let's hurry, before they change their minds." The woodsmen parted solemnly to make a path, but when they reached the backwoods itself, Dorothy took one step and was immediately flung upon her nose.
"Ah, I see you do your own falling," mumbled the dummy. "Why didn't you wait for me?" Humpy was several paces behind Dorothy and as he spoke, he also attempted to enter the woods. But the same hidden force pushed him over backwards. Immediately the inhabitants of Back began to roar with delight, and if you have never heard anyone roaring backwards, you have no idea how horrid it sounds. It was something between a cough and a choke. Even the dummy knew that he was being insulted, and waved his arms about indignantly.
"There's some trick to it," panted Dorothy, sitting up quickly. "Watch!"
Several of the woodsmen began to move slowly toward her and, observing them closely, the little girl saw that they were turned backward but really walking forward. "We have to go backward forward!" cried Dorothy. "Hurry up, before they catch us."
"This is worse than dying," groaned Humpy. "How do you go backwards and forwards at the same time?"
"Watch me," said Dorothy, springing up determinedly. Turning her back to the woods, she started to run away from it, and Humpy, goaded into action by the threatening appearance of the terrible woodsmen, did the same. For every step they ran backward forward, they went forward backward two steps, bumping into trees, which had their roots waving muddily in the air and their leaves underground and crashing into bushes of the same curious character. Without stopping to examine the back scenery at all, they ran for their lives, reaching the edge of the woods just as the woodsmen caught up with them. The wicked fellows had really no intention of letting them go, and howled most awfully as Humpy and Dorothy made their escape. Several of the leaders started in pursuit, but each time they set foot out of their forest they were flung down by the invisible back wind and finally gave it up. Seeing that they were safe at last, Dorothy sank down under a tomato tree and fanned herself vigorously with her hat.