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Baum, L. Frank (Lyman Frank), 1856-1919

"The Scarecrow of Oz"

"
The girl and the sailor-man got up and climbed to the
side of the Ork.
"We'd about decided to explore this hole before you
came," explained Cap'n Bill; "but it's a dangerous
place to navigate in the dark, so wait till I light a
candle."
"What is a candle?" inquired the Ork.
"You'll see in a minute," said Trot.
The old sailor drew one of the candles from his
right-side pocket and the tin matchbox from his left-
side pocket. When he lighted the match the Ork gave a
startled jump and eyed the flame suspiciously; but
Cap'n Bill proceeded to light the candle and the action
interested the Ork very much.
"Light," it said, somewhat nervously, "is valuable in
a hole of this sort. The candle is not dangerous, I
hope?"
"Sometimes it burns your fingers," answered Trot,
"but that's about the worst it can do -- 'cept to blow
out when you don't want it to."
Cap'n Bill shielded the flame with his hand and
crept into the hole. It wasn't any too big for a grown
man, but after he had crawled a few feet it grew
larger. Trot came close behind him and then the
Ork followed.


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