"Wonderful snack!" I said with enthusiasm, wiping the bread crumbs off my face with the red and white checked cloth provided by my rock crab friends.

"Yes, certainly", Shadow said and continued with a slight shiver, "Now we must prepare you to pass safely through the Dell O'Gloom on your way to the Perplex Plain."

"How can I be better prepared?" I asked, "I am as ready as I'll ever be!"

"Not quite!" said Shadow the Crow. "In the Dell O'Gloom what is most needed is a little light--take this."

And Shadow gave me a small jewel.

"Good luck, courage--and, if all goes well, I'll meet you on the other side of the Dell O'Gloom! Fare well!"

And Shadow, my new helper and friend, flew away so quickly he was soon just a tiny dot in the sky.

...