"It seems that my laws have not been obeyed, for even
these monstrous spiders defy me by means of Magic."
"Never mind that now," said Dorothy; "let's see what
we can do to get out of this trap."
They now examined the web with great care and were
amazed at its strength. Although finer than the finest
silken hairs, it resisted all their efforts to work
through, even though both girls threw all their weight
against it.
"We must find some instrument which will cut the
threads of the web," said Ozma, finally. "Let us look
about for such a tool."
So they wandered among the bushes and finally came to
a shallow pool of water, formed by a small bubbling
spring. Dorothy stooped to get a drink and discovered
in the water a green crab, about as big as her hand.
The crab had two big, sharp claws, and as soon as
Dorothy saw them she had an idea that those claws could
save them.
"Come out of the water," she called to the crab; "I
want to talk to you."
Rather lazily the crab rose to the surface and caught
hold of a bit of rock. With his head above the water he
said in a cross voice:
"What do you want?"
"We want you to cut the web of the purple spiders
with your claws, so we can get through it," answered
Dorothy.
Pages:
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42