"You're all right now, dear," said Dorothy. "Come and look at yourself."
She led him to the pool, and although there were still a few ripples
on the surface of the water he could see his reflection plainly.
"It's me!" he said, in a pleased yet awed whisper.
"'Course it is," replied the girl, "and we're all as glad as
you are, Button-Bright."
"Well," announced the shaggy man, "it's my turn next." He took off
his shaggy coat and laid it on the grass and dived head first into the
Truth Pond.
When he came up the donkey head had disappeared, and the shaggy man's
own shaggy head was in its place, with the water dripping in little
streams from his shaggy whiskers. He scrambled ashore and shook
himself to get off some of the wet, and then leaned over the pool to
look admiringly at his reflected face.
"I may not be strictly beautiful, even now," he said to his
companions, who watched him with smiling faces; "but I'm so much
handsomer than any donkey that I feel as proud as I can be."
"You're all right, Shaggy Man," declared Dorothy. "And Button-Bright
is all right, too. So let's thank the Truth Pond for being so nice,
and start on our journey to the Emerald City."
"I hate to leave it," murmured the shaggy man, with a sigh. "A truth
pond wouldn't be a bad thing to carry around with us." But he put on
his coat and started with the others in search of some one to direct
them on their way.
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