"
"But could you not be mended?" asked the girl.
"Oh, yes; but one is never so pretty after being mended, you know,"
replied the Princess.
"I suppose not," said Dorothy.
"Now there is Mr. Joker, one of our clowns," continued the
china lady, "who is always trying to stand upon his head. He has
broken himself so often that he is mended in a hundred places, and
doesn't look at all pretty. Here he comes now, so you can see for
yourself."
Indeed, a jolly little clown came walking toward them, and
Dorothy could see that in spite of his pretty clothes of red and
yellow and green he was completely covered with cracks, running
every which way and showing plainly that he had been mended in
many places.
The Clown put his hands in his pockets, and after puffing out
his cheeks and nodding his head at them saucily, he said:
"My lady fair,
Why do you stare
At poor old Mr. Joker?
You're quite as stiff
And prim as if
You'd eaten up a poker!"
"Be quiet, sir!" said the Princess.
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