He went up the string hand-over-hand and foot-over-foot, and the Man Mite followed. Much to his surprise, he reached the top without any difficulty, and there he found a toy train of cars, a toy automobile, and a wooden wagon.
“All aboard for the Christmas Limited!” said the little iron brakeman.
“Automobile Air-Line to Santaclausville!” said the tin chauffeur.
“Fast express going to meet Christmas!” cried the tongue of the wagon, and the Man Mite noticed that the wagon did have “Express” printed on both its sides.
Now, although the Man Mite would have liked to go on the train or the auto, there was so much more room in the wooden wagon that he got into it, and was surprised that it soon left its companions far behind. It sped along merrily, and its tongue kept up a continuous running talk as well, until it came to the ocean, where a toy boat was floating.
“All aboard for Christmas!” said the captain.
“But your boat is too small, and besides there’s not a board in it; it’s tin,” answered the Man Mite.
“Well, throw us a line and we’ll tow you,” said the captain.
As the Man Mite had no line, he let him take the tongue of the wagon, and the captain stood at the stern of the boat and hung on.
Though the boat was so small, it pulled the Man Mite through the water in a surprising manner, and the wooden wagon floated and kept the Man Mite dry, but not a word could he get out of it, which was quite a contrast to its manner when on land.