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| author | Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org> | 2025-10-15 02:13:24 -0700 |
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| committer | Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org> | 2025-10-15 02:13:24 -0700 |
| commit | 43d6f90d90418acce6ef20893e2c130eb567846e (patch) | |
| tree | 094f2c5d969bb8d65d0056de1fe397ce3806aa29 | |
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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/24459-h.zip b/24459-h.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..0c582ef --- /dev/null +++ b/24459-h.zip diff --git a/24459-h/24459-h.htm b/24459-h/24459-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..74d1b4e --- /dev/null +++ b/24459-h/24459-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,6939 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> +<head> +<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1" /> +<title>The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Lost Princess of Oz, by L. Frank Baum</title> + <style type="text/css"> +/*<![CDATA[ XML blockout */ +<!-- + p { margin-top: .75em; + text-align: justify; + margin-bottom: .75em; + text-indent: 2%; + } + .rt {text-align: right;margin-right:10%;} + p.beg {margin-left:42%; + margin-right:auto; + margin-top: -24%; + text-indent:2%; + } + p.n {text-indent:0%; + margin-top:-1.5%; + } + h1,h2,h3 { + text-align: center; + clear: both; + } + .top20 {margin-top: 20%;} + hr { width: 90%; + margin-top: 2em; + margin-bottom: 2em; + margin-left: auto; + margin-right: auto; + clear: both; + color:black; + } + hr.full { width: 100%; + margin-top: 5%; + margin-bottom: 5%; + border: solid black; + height: 5px; } + table {margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;} + body{margin-left: 10%; + margin-right: 10%; + background:#fdfdfd; + color:black; + font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; + font-size: large; + } + a:link {background-color: #ffffff; color: blue; text-decoration: none; } + link {background-color: #ffffff; color: blue; text-decoration: none; } + a:visited {background-color: #ffffff; color: blue; text-decoration: none; } + a:hover {background-color: #ffffff; color: red; text-decoration:underline; } + .smcap {font-variant: small-caps; + font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; + font-size: large; + } + img {border: none;} + .imgb {border:solid 2px black; + } + .block {margin-left:15%; + margin-right:15%; + margin-top:3%; + margin-bottom:3%; + } + .bbox {border: double black 6px; + margin-left:20%; + margin-right:20%; + } + .c {text-align: center; + text-indent: 0%; + } + .csm {text-align: center; + text-indent: 0%; + font-size:70%; + } + .caption {font-size: 85%; + font-variant:small-caps; + text-indent:0%; + white-space:nowrap;} + .caption1 {font-size: 60%;} + .figcenter {margin: auto; text-align: center; + margin-top:10%; + margin-bottom: 10%; + } + .figcenter1 {margin: auto; text-align: center; + margin-top:2%; + margin-bottom: 2%; + } + .figleft {float: left; clear: left; margin-left: 0; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: + 1em; margin-right: 1em; padding: 0; text-align: center;} + + pre {font-size: 85%;} + // --> + /* XML end ]]>*/ + </style> +</head> +<body> +<h1>The Project Gutenberg eBook, The Lost Princess of Oz, by L. Frank Baum, +Illustrated by John R. Neill</h1> +<pre> +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at <a href = "http://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a></pre> +<p>Title: The Lost Princess of Oz</p> +<p>Author: L. Frank Baum</p> +<p>Release Date: January 30, 2008 [eBook #24459]</p> +<p>Language: English</p> +<p>Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1</p> +<p>***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LOST PRINCESS OF OZ***</p> +<p> </p> +<h3>E-text prepared by Chris Curnow, Joseph Cooper, Chuck Greif,<br /> + and the Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team<br /> + (http://www.pgdp.net)</h3> +<p> </p> +<hr class="full" /> + + + +<h1>THE LOST PRINCESS OF OZ</h1> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 421px;"> +<img src="images/i_cover.png" width="421" height="577" alt="Bookcover" /> +</div> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 629px;"> +<img src="images/front_th.png" width="629" height="360" alt="image unavailable" +class="imgb" /> +<span class="caption1"><a href="images/front.png">[Click here to view this image enlarged.]</a></span> +</div> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 492px;"> +<img src="images/i001.png" width="492" height="590" alt="This book belongs to" /> +</div> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 435px;"> +<img src="images/i003.png" width="435" height="599" alt="image unavailable" /> +</div> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 327px;"> +<img src="images/i004.png" width="327" height="464" alt="image unavailable" /> +</div> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"> +<img src="images/i006_th.png" width="316" height="442" alt="There Stood Their Lovely Girl Ruler Ozma, of Oz—" /> +<span class="caption">There Stood Their Lovely Girl Ruler Ozma, of Oz—</span> +<br /><span class="caption1"><a href="images/i006.png">[Click here to view this image enlarged.]</a></span> +</div> + + + +<div class="bbox"> +<h1>THE LOST PRINCESS<br />OF OZ</h1> + +<p class="c">BY</p> + +<h2>L. FRANK BAUM</h2> + +<p class="c smcap">author of</p> + +<p class="csm">The Road to Oz, Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz, The<br /> +Emerald City of Oz, The Land of Oz, Ozma of Oz,<br /> +The Patchwork Girl of Oz, Tik-Tok of<br /> +Oz, The Scarecrow of Oz,<br /> +Rinkitink in Oz<br /> +</p> + +<div class="figcenter1" style="width: 122px;"> +<img src="images/i007.png" width="122" height="43" alt="image unavailable" /> +</div> + +<p class="csm">ILLUSTRATED BY</p> + +<h3>JOHN R. NEILL</h3> +<p> </p> + +<h3>The Reilly & Lee Co.</h3> + +<p class="c"><b>Chicago</b></p> +</div> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 413px;"> +<img src="images/i008.png" width="413" height="484" alt="Copyright 1917 by L. Frank Baum +All Rights Reserved" /> +</div> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 502px;"> +<img src="images/i009.png" width="502" height="461" alt="This Book is Dedicated +To My Granddaughter OZMA BAUM" /> +</div> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 408px;"> +<img src="images/i010.png" width="408" height="507" alt="image unavailable" /> +</div> + + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 502px;"> +<img src="images/i011.png" width="502" height="203" alt="image unavailable" /> +</div> + + +<p class="c">TO MY READERS</p> + + +<p>Some of my youthful readers are developing wonderful imaginations. This +pleases me. Imagination has brought mankind through the Dark Ages to its +present state of civilization. Imagination led Columbus to discover +America. Imagination led Franklin to discover electricity. Imagination +has given us the steam engine, the telephone, the talking-machine and +the automobile, for these things had to be dreamed of before they became +realities. So I believe that dreams—day dreams, you know, with your +eyes wide open and your brain-machinery whizzing—are likely to lead to +the betterment of the world. The imaginative child will become the +imaginative man or woman most apt to create, to invent, and therefore to +foster civilization. A prominent educator tells me that fairy tales are +of untold value in developing imagination in the young. I believe it.</p> + +<p>Among the letters I receive from children are many containing +suggestions of "what to write about in the next Oz Book." Some of the +ideas advanced are mighty interesting, while others are too extravagant +to be seriously considered—even in a fairy tale. Yet I like them all, +and I must admit that the main idea in "The Lost Princess of Oz" was +suggested to me by a sweet little girl of eleven who called to see me +and to talk about the Land of Oz. Said she: "I s'pose if Ozma ever got +lost, or stolen, ev'rybody in Oz would be dreadful sorry."</p> + +<p>That was all, but quite enough foundation to build this present story +on. If you happen to like the story, give credit to my little friend's +clever hint. And, by the way, don't hesitate to write me your own hints +and suggestions, such as result from your own day dreams. They will be +sure to interest me, even if I cannot use them in a story, and the very +fact that you have dreamed at all will give me pleasure and do you good. +For, after all, dear reader, these stories of Oz are just yours and +mine, and we are partners. As long as you care to read them I shall try +to write them, and I've an idea that the next one will relate some +startling adventures of the "Tin Woodman of Oz" and his comrades.</p> + + +<p class="rt"><span style="margin-right: 2em;">L. Frank Baum,</span><br /> +Royal Historian of Oz.</p> + + + +<p>"OZCOT"<br /> +at HOLLYWOOD<br /> +in CALIFORNIA<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">1917.</span></p> + +<hr /> + +<div class="figleft" style="width: 507px;margin-top:15%;" > +<img src="images/i013.png" width="507" height="222" + alt="List of Chapters" /> +</div> + +<table summary="toc" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" style="clear:both;white-space:nowrap;margin-top:-8%;"> +<tr><td align="right">1</td><td style="padding-left:5%;"><a href="#A_Terrible_Loss"><b>A Terrible Loss</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="right">2</td><td style="padding-left:5%;"><a href="#The_Troubles_of_Glinda_the_Good"><b>The Troubles of Glinda the Good</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="right">3</td><td style="padding-left:5%;"><a href="#Robbery_of_Cayke_the_Cookie_Cook"><b>Robbery of Cayke the Cookie Cook</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="right">4</td><td style="padding-left:5%;"><a href="#Among_the_Winkies"><b>Among the Winkies</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="right">5</td><td style="padding-left:5%;"><a href="#Ozmas_Friends_Are_Perplexed"><b>Ozma's Friends Are Perplexed</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="right">6</td><td style="padding-left:5%;"><a href="#The_Search_Party"><b>The Search Party</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="right">7</td><td style="padding-left:5%;"><a href="#The_Merry-Go-Round_Mountains"><b>The Merry-Go-Round Mountains</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="right">8</td><td style="padding-left:5%;"><a href="#The_Mysterious_City"><b>The Mysterious City</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="right">9</td><td style="padding-left:5%;"><a href="#The_High_Coco-Lorum_of_Thi"><b>The High Coco-Lorum of Thi</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="right">10</td><td style="padding-left:5%;"><a href="#Toto_Loses_Something"><b>Toto Loses Something</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="right">11</td><td style="padding-left:5%;"><a href="#Button-Bright_Loses_Himself"><b>Button-Bright Loses Himself</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="right">12</td><td style="padding-left:5%;"><a href="#The_Czarover_of_Herku"><b>The Czarover of Herku</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="right">13</td><td style="padding-left:5%;"><a href="#The_Truth_Pond"><b>The Truth Pond</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="right">14</td><td style="padding-left:5%;"><a href="#The_Unhappy_Ferryman"><b>The Unhappy Ferryman</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="right">15</td><td style="padding-left:5%;"><a href="#The_Big_Lavender_Bear"><b>The Big Lavender Bear</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="right">16</td><td style="padding-left:5%;"><a href="#The_Little_Pink_Bear"><b>The Little Pink Bear</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="right">17</td><td style="padding-left:5%;"><a href="#The_Meeting"><b>The Meeting</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="right">18</td><td style="padding-left:5%;"><a href="#The_Conference"><b>The Conference</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="right">19</td><td style="padding-left:5%;"><a href="#Ugu_the_Shoemaker"><b>Ugu the Shoemaker</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="right">20</td><td style="padding-left:5%;"><a href="#More_Surprises"><b>More Surprises</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="right">21</td><td style="padding-left:5%;"><a href="#Magic_Against_Magic"><b>Magic Against Magic</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="right">22</td><td style="padding-left:5%;"><a href="#In_the_Wicker_Castle"><b>In the Wicker Castle</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="right">23</td><td style="padding-left:5%;"><a href="#The_Defiance_of_Ugu_the_Shoemaker"><b>The Defiance of Ugu the Shoemaker</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="right">24</td><td style="padding-left:5%;"><a href="#The_Little_Pink_Bear_Speaks_Truly"><b>The Little Pink Bear Speaks Truly</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="right">25</td><td style="padding-left:5%;"><a href="#Ozma_of_Oz"><b>Ozma of Oz</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="right">26</td><td style="padding-left:5%;"><a href="#Dorothy_Forgives"><b>Dorothy Forgives</b></a></td></tr> +</table> + +<hr /> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> +<img src="images/i014.png" width="450" height="529" alt="image unavailable" /> +</div> + + +<hr style="width:15%;" /> + +<p><a name="A_Terrible_Loss" id="A_Terrible_Loss"></a></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 410px;"> + +<img src="images/i015.png" width="410" height="406" alt="A Terrible Loss +CHAPTER 1" class="top20" /> +</div> + +<p class="beg">CHAPTER 1<br /><br /> +There could be no<br /> +doubt of the fact:<br /> +Princess Ozma, the<br /> +lovely girl ruler of</p> + +<p class="n">the Fairyland of Oz, was lost. She had completely disappeared. +Not one of her subjects—not even her closest friends—knew what had +become of her.</p> + +<p>It was Dorothy who first discovered it. Dorothy was a little Kansas girl +who had come to the Land of Oz to live and had been given a delightful +suite of rooms in Ozma's royal palace, just because Ozma loved Dorothy +and wanted her to live as near her as possible, so the two girls might +be much together.</p> + +<p>Dorothy was not the only girl from the outside world who had been +welcomed to Oz and lived in the royal palace. There was another named +Betsy Bobbin, whose adventures had led her to seek refuge with Ozma, and +still another named Trot, who had been invited, together with her +faithful companion, Cap'n Bill, to make her home in this wonderful +fairyland. The three girls all had rooms in the palace and were great +chums; but Dorothy was the dearest friend of their gracious Ruler and +only she at any hour dared to seek Ozma in her royal apartments. For +Dorothy had lived in Oz much longer than the other girls and had been +made a Princess of the realm.</p> + +<p>Betsy was a year older than Dorothy and Trot was a year younger, yet the +three were near enough of an age to become great playmates and to have +nice times together. It was while the three were talking together one +morning in Dorothy's room that Betsy proposed they make a journey into +the Munchkin Country, which was one of the four great countries of the +Land of Oz ruled by Ozma.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 412px;"> +<img src="images/i017.png" width="412" height="555" alt="image unavailable" /> +</div> + +<p>"I've never been there yet," said Betsy Bobbin, "but the Scarecrow +once told me it is the prettiest country in all Oz."</p> + +<p>"I'd like to go, too," added Trot.</p> + +<p>"All right," said Dorothy, "I'll go and ask Ozma. Perhaps she will let +us take the Sawhorse and the Red Wagon, which would be much nicer for us +than having to walk all the way. This Land of Oz is a pretty big place, +when you get to all the edges of it."</p> + +<p>So she jumped up and went along the halls of the splendid palace until +she came to the royal suite, which filled all the front of the second +floor. In a little waiting room sat Ozma's maid, Jellia Jamb, who was +busily sewing.</p> + +<p>"Is Ozma up yet?" inquired Dorothy.</p> + +<p>"I don't know, my dear," replied Jellia. "I haven't heard a word from +her this morning. She hasn't even called for her bath or her breakfast, +and it is far past her usual time for them."</p> + +<p>"That's strange!" exclaimed the little girl.</p> + +<p>"Yes," agreed the maid; "but of course no harm could have happened to +her. No one can die or be killed in the Land of Oz and Ozma is herself a +powerful fairy, and she has no enemies, so far as we know. Therefore I +am not at all worried about her, though I must admit her silence is +unusual."</p> + +<p>"Perhaps," said Dorothy, thoughtfully, "she has overslept. Or she may be +reading, or working out some new sort of magic to do good to her +people."</p> + +<p>"Any of these things may be true," replied Jellia Jamb, "so I haven't +dared disturb our royal mistress. You, however, are a privileged +character, Princess, and I am sure that Ozma wouldn't mind at all if you +went in to see her."</p> + +<p>"Of course not," said Dorothy, and opening the door of the outer chamber +she went in. All was still here. She walked into another room, which was +Ozma's boudoir, and then, pushing back a heavy drapery richly broidered +with threads of pure gold, the girl entered the sleeping-room of the +fairy Ruler of Oz. The bed of ivory and gold was vacant; the room was +vacant; not a trace of Ozma was to be found.</p> + +<p>Very much surprised, yet still with no fear that anything had happened +to her friend, Dorothy returned through the boudoir to the other rooms +of the suite. She went into the music room, the library, the laboratory, +the bath, the wardrobe and even into the great throne room, which +adjoined the royal suite, but in none of these places could she find +Ozma.</p> + +<p>So she returned to the anteroom where she had left the maid, Jellia +Jamb, and said:</p> + +<p>"She isn't in her rooms now, so she must have gone out."</p> + +<p>"I don't understand how she could do that without my seeing her," +replied Jellia, "unless she made herself invisible."</p> + +<p>"She isn't there, anyhow," declared Dorothy.</p> + +<p>"Then let us go find her," suggested the maid, who appeared to be a +little uneasy.</p> + +<p>So they went into the corridors and there Dorothy almost stumbled over a +queer girl who was dancing lightly along the passage.</p> + +<p>"Stop a minute, Scraps!" she called. "Have you seen Ozma this morning?"</p> + +<p>"Not I!" replied the queer girl, dancing nearer. "I lost both my eyes in +a tussle with the Woozy, last night, for the creature scraped 'em both +off my face with his square paws. So I put the eyes in my pocket and +this morning Button-Bright led me to Aunt Em, who sewed 'em on again. So +I've seen nothing at all to-day, except during the last five minutes. So +of course I haven't seen Ozma."</p> + +<p>"Very well, Scraps," said Dorothy, looking curiously at the eyes, which +were merely two round black buttons sewed upon the girl's face.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 381px;"> +<img src="images/i021.png" width="381" height="541" alt="image unavailable" /> +</div> + +<p>There were other things about Scraps that would have seemed curious to +one seeing her for the first time. She was commonly called "The +Patchwork Girl," because her body and limbs were made from a gay-colored +patchwork quilt which had been cut into shape and stuffed with cotton. +Her head was a round ball stuffed in the same manner and fastened to her +shoulders. For hair she had a mass of brown yarn and to make a nose for +her a part of the cloth had been pulled out into the shape of a knob and +tied with a string to hold it in place. Her mouth had been carefully +made by cutting a slit in the proper place and lining it with red silk, +adding two rows of pearls for teeth and a bit of red flannel for a +tongue.</p> + +<p>In spite of this queer make-up, the Patchwork Girl was magically alive +and had proved herself not the least jolly and agreeable of the many +quaint characters who inhabit the astonishing Fairyland of Oz. Indeed, +Scraps was a general favorite, although she was rather flighty and +erratic and did and said many things that surprised her friends. She was +seldom still, but loved to dance, to turn handsprings and somersaults, +to climb trees and to indulge in many other active sports.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 410px;"> +<img src="images/i023.png" width="410" height="547" alt="image unavailable" /> +</div> + +<p>"I'm going to search for Ozma," remarked Dorothy, "for she isn't in +her rooms and I want to ask her a question."</p> + +<p>"I'll go with you," said Scraps, "for my eyes are brighter than yours +and they can see farther."</p> + +<p>"I'm not sure of that," returned Dorothy. "But come along, if you like."</p> + +<p>Together they searched all through the great palace and even to the +farthest limits of the palace grounds, which were quite extensive, but +nowhere could they find a trace of Ozma. When Dorothy returned to where +Betsy and Trot awaited her, the little girl's face was rather solemn and +troubled, for never before had Ozma gone away without telling her +friends where she was going, or without an escort that befitted her +royal state.</p> + +<p>She was gone, however, and none had seen her go. Dorothy had met and +questioned the Scarecrow, Tik-Tok, the Shaggy Man, Button-Bright, Cap'n +Bill, and even the wise and powerful Wizard of Oz, but not one of them +had seen Ozma since she parted with her friends the evening before and +had gone to her own rooms.</p> + +<p>"She didn't say anything las' night about going anywhere," observed +little Trot.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 416px;"> +<img src="images/i025.png" width="416" height="592" alt="image unavailable" /> +</div> + +<p>"No, and that's the strange part of it," replied Dorothy. "Usually +Ozma lets us know of everything she does."</p> + +<p>"Why not look in the Magic Picture?" suggested Betsy Bobbin. "That will +tell us where she is, in just one second."</p> + +<p>"Of course!" cried Dorothy. "Why didn't I think of that before?" and at +once the three girls hurried away to Ozma's boudoir, where the Magic +Picture always hung.</p> + +<p>This wonderful Magic Picture was one of the royal Ozma's greatest +treasures. There was a large gold frame, in the center of which was a +bluish-gray canvas on which various scenes constantly appeared and +disappeared. If one who stood before it wished to see what any +person—anywhere in the world—was doing, it was only necessary to make +the wish and the scene in the Magic Picture would shift to the scene +where that person was and show exactly what he or she was then engaged +in doing. So the girls knew it would be easy for them to wish to see +Ozma, and from the picture they could quickly learn where she was.</p> + +<p>Dorothy advanced to the place where the picture was usually protected by +thick satin curtains, and pulled the draperies aside. Then she stared in +amazement, while her two friends uttered exclamations of +disappointment.</p> + +<p>The Magic Picture was gone. Only a blank space on the wall behind the +curtains showed where it had formerly hung.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 410px;"> +<img src="images/i027.png" width="410" height="381" alt="image unavailable" /> +</div> + + + +<hr style="width:15%;" /> + +<p><a name="The_Troubles_of_Glinda_the_Good" id="The_Troubles_of_Glinda_the_Good"></a></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 412px;"> +<img src="images/i028.png" width="412" height="414" class="top20" +alt="The Troubles of Glinda the Good +CHAPTER 2" /> +</div> + +<p class="beg">CHAPTER 2<br /><br /> +That same morning<br /> +there was great<br /> +excitement in the +<br />castle of the +powerful</p> + +<p class="n">Sorceress of Oz, Glinda the Good. This castle, situated in the +Quadling Country, far south of the Emerald City where Ozma ruled, was a +splendid structure of exquisite marbles and silver grilles. Here the +Sorceress lived, surrounded by a bevy of the most beautiful maidens of +Oz, gathered from all the four countries of that fairyland as well as +from the magnificent Emerald City itself, which stood in the place +where the four countries cornered.</p> + +<p>It was considered a great honor to be allowed to serve the good +Sorceress, whose arts of magic were used only to benefit the Oz people. +Glinda was Ozma's most valued servant, for her knowledge of sorcery was +wonderful and she could accomplish almost anything that her mistress, +the lovely girl Ruler of Oz, wished her to.</p> + +<p>Of all the magical things which surrounded Glinda in her castle there +was none more marvelous than her Great Book of Records. On the pages of +this Record Book were constantly being inscribed—day by day and hour by +hour—all the important events that happened anywhere in the known +world, and they were inscribed in the book at exactly the moment the +events happened. Every adventure in the Land of Oz and in the big +outside world, and even in places that you and I have never heard of, +were recorded accurately in the Great Book, which never made a mistake +and stated only the exact truth. For that reason nothing could be +concealed from Glinda the Good, who had only to look at the pages of the +Great Book of Records to know everything that had taken place. That was +one reason she was such a great Sorceress, for the records made her +wiser than any other living person.</p> + +<p>This wonderful book was placed upon a big gold table that stood in the +middle of Glinda's drawing-room. The legs of the table, which were +incrusted with precious gems, were firmly fastened to the tiled floor +and the book itself was chained to the table and locked with six stout +golden padlocks, the keys to which Glinda carried on a chain that was +secured around her own neck.</p> + +<p>The pages of the Great Book were larger in size than those of an +American newspaper and although they were exceedingly thin there were so +many of them that they made an enormous, bulky volume. With its gold +cover and gold clasps the book was so heavy that three men could +scarcely have lifted it. Yet this morning, when Glinda entered her +drawing-room after breakfast, with all her maidens trailing after her, +the good Sorceress was amazed to discover that her Great Book of Records +had mysteriously disappeared.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 380px;"> +<img src="images/i031.png" width="380" height="568" alt="image unavailable" /> +</div> + +<p>Advancing to the table, she found the chains had been cut with some +sharp instrument, and this must have been done while all in the castle +slept. Glinda was shocked and grieved. Who could have done this +wicked, bold thing? And who could wish to deprive her of her Great Book +of Records?</p> + +<p>The Sorceress was thoughtful for a time, considering the consequences of +her loss. Then she went to her Room of Magic to prepare a charm that +would tell her who had stolen the Record Book. But, when she unlocked +her cupboards and threw open the doors, all of her magical instruments +and rare chemical compounds had been removed from the shelves.</p> + +<p>The Sorceress was now both angry and alarmed. She sat down in a chair +and tried to think how this extraordinary robbery could have taken +place. It was evident that the thief was some person of very great +power, or the theft could never have been accomplished without her +knowledge. But who, in all the Land of Oz, was powerful and skillful +enough to do this awful thing? And who, having the power, could also +have an object in defying the wisest and most talented Sorceress the +world has ever known?</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 411px;"> +<img src="images/i033.png" width="411" height="584" alt="image unavailable" /> +</div> + +<p>Glinda thought over the perplexing matter for a full hour, at the end of +which time she was still puzzled how to explain it. But although her +instruments and chemicals were gone her <i>knowledge</i> of magic had not +been stolen, by any means, since no thief, however skillful, can rob one +of knowledge, and that is why knowledge is the best and safest +treasure to acquire. Glinda believed that when she had time to gather +more magical herbs and elixirs and to manufacture more magical +instruments she would be able to discover who the robber was, and what +had become of her precious Book of Records.</p> + +<p>"Whoever has done this," she said to her maidens, "is a very foolish +person, for in time he is sure to be found out and will then be severely +punished."</p> + +<p>She now made a list of the things she needed and dispatched messengers +to every part of Oz with instructions to obtain them and bring them to +her as soon as possible. And one of her messengers met the little Wizard +of Oz, who was mounted on the back of the famous live Sawhorse and was +clinging to its neck with both his arms; for the Sawhorse was speeding +to Glinda's castle with the velocity of the wind, bearing the news that +Royal Ozma, Ruler of all the great Land of Oz, had suddenly disappeared +and no one in the Emerald City knew what had become of her.</p> + +<p>"Also," said the Wizard, as he stood before the astonished Sorceress, +"Ozma's Magic Picture is gone, so we cannot consult it to discover where +she is. So I came to you for assistance as soon as we realized our loss. +Let us look in the Great Book of Records."</p> + +<p>"Alas," returned the Sorceress sorrowfully, "we cannot do that, for the +Great Book of Records has also disappeared!"</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 362px;"> +<img src="images/i035.png" width="362" height="423" alt="image unavailable" /> +</div> + + + +<hr style="width:15%;" /> + +<p><a name="Robbery_of_Cayke_the_Cookie_Cook" id="Robbery_of_Cayke_the_Cookie_Cook"></a></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 412px;"> +<img src="images/i036.png" width="412" height="409" +alt="Robbery of Cayke the Cookie Cook +CHAPTER 3" class="top20" /> +</div> + +<p class="beg">CHAPTER 3<br /><br /> +One more important +<br />theft was reported +<br />in the Land +<br />of Oz that eventful</p> + + +<p class="n">morning, but it took place so far from either the Emerald City or the +castle of Glinda the Good that none of those persons we have mentioned +learned of the robbery until long afterward.</p> + +<p>In the far southwestern corner of the Winkie Country is a broad +tableland that can be reached only by climbing a steep hill, whichever +side one approaches it. On the hillside surrounding this tableland are +no paths at all, but there are quantities of bramble-bushes with sharp +prickers on them, which prevent any of the Oz people who live down below +from climbing up to see what is on top. But on top live the Yips, and +although the space they occupy is not great in extent the wee country is +all their own. The Yips had never—up to the time this story +begins—left their broad tableland to go down into the Land of Oz, nor +had the Oz people ever climbed up to the country of the Yips.</p> + +<p>Living all alone as they did, the Yips had queer ways and notions of +their own and did not resemble any other people of the Land of Oz. Their +houses were scattered all over the flat surface; not like a city, +grouped together, but set wherever their owners' fancy dictated, with +fields here, trees there, and odd little paths connecting the houses one +with another.</p> + +<p>It was here, on the morning when Ozma so strangely disappeared from the +Emerald City, that Cayke the Cookie Cook discovered that her +diamond-studded gold dishpan had been stolen, and she raised such a +hue-and-cry over her loss and wailed and shrieked so loudly that many of +the Yips gathered around her house to inquire what was the matter.</p> + +<p>It was a serious thing, in any part of the Land of Oz, to accuse one of +stealing, so when the Yips heard Cayke the Cookie Cook declare that her +jeweled dishpan had been stolen they were both humiliated and disturbed +and forced Cayke to go with them to the Frogman to see what could be +done about it.</p> + +<p>I do not suppose you have ever before heard of the Frogman, for like all +other dwellers on that tableland he had never been away from it, nor had +anyone come up there to see him. The Frogman was, in truth, descended +from the common frogs of Oz, and when he was first born he lived in a +pool in the Winkie Country and was much like any other frog. Being of an +adventurous nature, however, he soon hopped out of his pool and began to +travel, when a big bird came along and seized him in its beak and +started to fly away with him to its nest. When high in the air the frog +wriggled so frantically that he got loose and fell down—down—down into +a small hidden pool on the tableland of the Yips. Now this pool, it +seems, was unknown to the Yips because it was surrounded by thick bushes +and was not near to any dwelling, and it proved to be an enchanted pool, +for the frog grew very fast and very big, feeding on the magic skosh +which is found nowhere else on earth except in that one pool. And the +skosh not only made the frog very big, so that when he stood on his hind +legs he was tall as any Yip in the country, but it made him unusually +intelligent, so that he soon knew more than the Yips did and was able to +reason and to argue very well indeed.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 414px;"> +<img src="images/i039.png" width="414" height="566" alt="image unavailable" /> +</div> + +<p>No one could expect a frog with these talents to remain in a hidden +pool, so he finally got out of it and mingled with the people of the +tableland, who were amazed at his appearance and greatly impressed by +his learning. They had never seen a frog before and the frog had never +seen a Yip before, but as there were plenty of Yips and only one frog, +the frog became the most important. He did not hop any more, but stood +upright on his hind legs and dressed himself in fine clothes and sat in +chairs and did all the things that people do; so he soon came to be +called the Frogman, and that is the only name he has ever had.</p> + +<p>After some years had passed the people came to regard the Frogman as +their adviser in all matters that puzzled them. They brought all their +difficulties to him and when he did not know anything he pretended to +know it, which seemed to answer just as well. Indeed, the Yips thought +the Frogman was much wiser than he really was, and he allowed them to +think so, being very proud of his position of authority.</p> + +<p>There was another pool on the tableland, which was not enchanted but +contained good clear water and was located close to the dwellings. Here +the people built the Frogman a house of his own, close to the edge of +the pool, so that he could take a bath or a swim whenever he wished. He +usually swam in the pool in the early morning, before anyone else was +up, and during the day he dressed himself in his beautiful clothes and +sat in his house and received the visits of all the Yips who came to him +to ask his advice.</p> + +<p>The Frogman's usual costume consisted of knee-breeches made of yellow +satin plush, with trimmings of gold braid and jeweled knee-buckles; a +white satin vest with silver buttons in which were set solitaire rubies; +a swallow-tailed coat of bright yellow; green stockings and red leather +shoes turned up at the toes and having diamond buckles. He wore, when he +walked out, a purple silk hat and carried a gold-headed cane. Over his +eyes he wore great spectacles with gold rims, not because his eyes were +bad but because the spectacles made him look wise, and so distinguished +and gorgeous was his appearance that all the Yips were very proud of +him.</p> + +<p>There was no King or Queen in the Yip Country, so the simple inhabitants +naturally came to look upon the Frogman as their leader as well as their +counselor in all times of emergency. In his heart the big frog knew he +was no wiser than the Yips, but for a frog to know as much as a person +was quite remarkable, and the Frogman was shrewd enough to make the +people believe he was far more wise than he really was. They never +suspected he was a humbug, but listened to his words with great respect +and did just what he advised them to do.</p> + +<p>Now, when Cayke the Cookie Cook raised such an outcry over the theft of +her diamond-studded dishpan, the first thought of the people was to take +her to the Frogman and inform him of the loss, thinking that of course +he could tell her where to find it.</p> + +<p>He listened to the story with his big eyes wide open behind his +spectacles, and said in his deep, croaking voice:</p> + +<p>"If the dishpan is stolen, somebody must have taken it."</p> + +<p>"But who?" asked Cayke, anxiously. "Who is the thief?"</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 314px;"> +<img src="images/i043_th.png" width="314" height="423" alt="image unavailable" /> +<span class="caption1"><a href="images/i043.png">[Click here to view this image enlarged.]</a></span> +</div> + +<p>"The one who took the dishpan, of course," replied the Frogman, and +hearing this all the Yips nodded their heads gravely and said to one +another:</p> + +<p>"It is absolutely true!"</p> + +<p>"But I want my dishpan!" cried Cayke.</p> + +<p>"No one can blame you for that wish," remarked the Frogman.</p> + +<p>"Then tell me where I may find it," she urged.</p> + +<p>The look the Frogman gave her was a very wise look and he rose from his +chair and strutted up and down the room with his hands under his +coat-tails, in a very pompous and imposing manner. This was the first +time so difficult a matter had been brought to him and he wanted time to +think. It would never do to let them suspect his ignorance and so he +thought very, very hard how best to answer the woman without betraying +himself.</p> + +<p>"I beg to inform you," said he, "that nothing in the Yip Country has +ever been stolen before."</p> + +<p>"We know that, already," answered Cayke the Cookie Cook, impatiently.</p> + +<p>"Therefore," continued the Frogman, "this theft becomes a very important +matter."</p> + +<p>"Well, where is my dishpan?" demanded the woman.</p> + +<p>"It is lost; but it must be found. Unfortunately, we have no policemen +or detectives to unravel the mystery, so we must employ other means to +regain the lost article. Cayke must first write a Proclamation and tack +it to the door of her house, and the Proclamation must read that whoever +stole the jeweled dishpan must return it at once."</p> + +<p>"But suppose no one returns it," suggested Cayke.</p> + +<p>"Then," said the Frogman, "that very fact will be proof that no one has +stolen it."</p> + +<p>Cayke was not satisfied, but the other Yips seemed to approve the plan +highly. They all advised her to do as the Frogman had told her to, so +she posted the sign on her door and waited patiently for someone to +return the dishpan—which no one ever did.</p> + +<p>Again she went, accompanied by a group of her neighbors, to the Frogman, +who by this time had given the matter considerable thought. Said he to +Cayke:</p> + +<p>"I am now convinced that no Yip has taken your dishpan, and, since it is +gone from the Yip Country, I suspect that some stranger came from the +world down below us, in the darkness of night when all of us were +asleep, and took away your treasure. There can be no other explanation +of its disappearance. So, if you wish to recover that golden, +diamond-studded dishpan, you must go into the lower world after it."</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 366px;"> +<img src="images/i047.png" width="366" height="527" alt="image unavailable" /> +</div> + +<p>This was indeed a startling proposition. Cayke and her friends went to +the edge of the flat tableland and looked down the steep hillside to the +plains below. It was so far to the bottom of the hill that nothing there +could be seen very distinctly and it seemed to the Yips very +venturesome, if not dangerous, to go so far from home into an unknown +land.</p> + +<p>However, Cayke wanted her dishpan very badly, so she turned to her +friends and asked:</p> + +<p>"Who will go with me?"</p> + +<p>No one answered this question, but after a period of silence one of the +Yips said:</p> + +<p>"We know what is here, on the top of this flat hill, and it seems to us +a very pleasant place; but what is down below we do not know. The +chances are it is not so pleasant, so we had best stay where we are."</p> + +<p>"It may be a far better country than this is," suggested the Cookie +Cook.</p> + +<p>"Maybe, maybe," responded another Yip, "but why take chances? +Contentment with one's lot is true wisdom. Perhaps, in some other +country, there are better cookies than you cook; but as we have always +eaten your cookies, and liked them—except when they are burned on the +bottom—we do not long for any better ones."</p> + +<p>Cayke might have agreed to this argument had she not been so anxious to +find her precious dishpan, but now she exclaimed impatiently:</p> + +<p>"You are cowards—all of you! If none of you are willing to explore with +me the great world beyond this small hill, I will surely go alone."</p> + +<p>"That is a wise resolve," declared the Yips, much relieved. "It is your +dishpan that is lost, not ours; and, if you are willing to risk your +life and liberty to regain it, no one can deny you the privilege."</p> + +<p>While they were thus conversing the Frogman joined them and looked down +at the plain with his big eyes and seemed unusually thoughtful. In fact, +the Frogman was thinking that he'd like to see more of the world. Here +in the Yip Country he had become the most important creature of them all +and his importance was getting to be a little tame. It would be nice to +have other people defer to him and ask his advice and there seemed no +reason, so far as he could see, why his fame should not spread +throughout all Oz.</p> + +<p>He knew nothing of the rest of the world, but it was reasonable to +believe that there were more people beyond the mountain where he now +lived than there were Yips, and if he went among them he could surprise +them with his display of wisdom and make them bow down to him as the +Yips did. In other words, the Frogman was ambitious to become still +greater than he was, which was impossible if he always remained upon +this mountain. He wanted others to see his gorgeous clothes and listen +to his solemn sayings, and here was an excuse for him to get away from +the Yip Country. So he said to Cayke the Cookie Cook:</p> + +<p>"<i>I</i> will go with you, my good woman," which greatly pleased Cayke +because she felt the Frogman could be of much assistance to her in her +search.</p> + +<p>But now, since the mighty Frogman had decided to undertake the journey, +several of the Yips who were young and daring at once made up their +minds to go along; so the next morning after breakfast the Frogman and +Cayke the Cookie Cook and nine of the Yips started to slide down the +side of the mountain. The bramble-bushes and cactus plants were very +prickly and uncomfortable to the touch, so the Frogman commanded the +Yips to go first and break a path, so that when he followed them he +would not tear his splendid clothes. Cayke, too, was wearing her best +dress, and was likewise afraid of the thorns and prickers, so she kept +behind the Frogman.</p> + +<p>They made rather slow progress and night overtook them before they were +halfway down the mountain side, so they found a cave in which they +sought shelter until morning. Cayke had brought along a basket full of +her famous cookies, so they all had plenty to eat.</p> + +<p>On the second day the Yips began to wish they had not embarked on this +adventure. They grumbled a good deal at having to cut away the thorns to +make the path for the Frogman and the Cookie Cook, for their own +clothing suffered many tears, while Cayke and the Frogman traveled +safely and in comfort.</p> + +<p>"If it is true that anyone came to our country to steal your diamond +dishpan," said one of the Yips to Cayke, "it must have been a bird, for +no person in the form of a man, woman or child could have climbed +through these bushes and back again."</p> + +<p>"And, allowing he could have done so," said another Yip, "the +diamond-studded gold dishpan would not have repaid him for his troubles +and his tribulations."</p> + +<p>"For my part," remarked a third Yip, "I would rather go back home and +dig and polish some more diamonds, and mine some more gold, and make +you another dishpan, than be scratched from head to heel by these +dreadful bushes. Even now, if my mother saw me, she would not know I am +her son."</p> + +<p>Cayke paid no heed to these mutterings, nor did the Frogman. Although +their journey was slow it was being made easy for them by the Yips, so +they had nothing to complain of and no desire to turn back.</p> + +<p>Quite near to the bottom of the great hill they came upon a deep gulf, +the sides of which were as smooth as glass. The gulf extended a long +distance—as far as they could see, in either direction—and although it +was not very wide it was far too wide for the Yips to leap across it. +And, should they fall into it, it was likely they might never get out +again.</p> + +<p>"Here our journey ends," said the Yips. "We must go back again."</p> + +<p>Cayke the Cookie Cook began to weep.</p> + +<p>"I shall never find my pretty dishpan again—and my heart will be +broken!" she sobbed.</p> + +<p>The Frogman went to the edge of the gulf and with his eye carefully +measured the distance to the other side.</p> + +<p>"Being a frog," said he, "I can leap, as all frogs do; and, being so big +and strong, I am sure I can leap across this gulf with ease. But the +rest of you, not being frogs, must return the way you came."</p> + +<p>"We will do that with pleasure," cried the Yips and at once they turned +and began to climb up the steep mountain, feeling they had had quite +enough of this unsatisfactory adventure. Cayke the Cookie Cook did not +go with them, however. She sat on a rock and wept and wailed and was +very miserable.</p> + +<p>"Well," said the Frogman to her, "I will now bid you good-bye. If I find +your diamond decorated gold dishpan I will promise to see that it is +safely returned to you."</p> + +<p>"But I prefer to find it myself!" she said. "See here, Frogman, why +can't you carry me across the gulf when you leap it? You are big and +strong, while I am small and thin."</p> + +<p>The Frogman gravely thought over this suggestion. It was a fact that +Cayke the Cookie Cook was not a heavy person. Perhaps he could leap the +gulf with her on his back.</p> + +<p>"If you are willing to risk a fall," said he, "I will make the attempt."</p> + +<p>At once she sprang up and grabbed him around his neck with both her +arms. That is, she grabbed him where his neck ought to be, for the +Frogman had no neck at all. Then he squatted down, as frogs do when +they leap, and with his powerful rear legs he made a tremendous jump.</p> + +<p>Over the gulf he sailed, with the Cookie Cook on his back, and he had +leaped so hard—to make sure of not falling in—that he sailed over a +lot of bramble-bushes that grew on the other side and landed in a clear +space which was so far beyond the gulf that when they looked back they +could not see it at all.</p> + +<p>Cayke now got off the Frogman's back and he stood erect again and +carefully brushed the dust from his velvet coat and rearranged his white +satin necktie.</p> + +<p>"I had no idea I could leap so far," he said wonderingly. "Leaping is +one more accomplishment I can now add to the long list of deeds I am +able to perform."</p> + +<p>"You are certainly fine at leap-frog," said the Cookie Cook, admiringly; +"but, as you say, you are wonderful in many ways. If we meet with any +people down here I am sure they will consider you the greatest and +grandest of all living creatures."</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 384px;"> +<img src="images/i055.png" width="384" height="543" alt="image unavailable" /> +</div> + +<p>"Yes," he replied, "I shall probably astonish strangers, because they +have never before had the pleasure of seeing me. Also they will marvel +at my great learning. Every time I open my mouth, Cayke, I am liable +to say something important."</p> + +<p>"That is true," she agreed, "and it is fortunate your mouth is so very +wide and opens so far, for otherwise all the wisdom might not be able to +get out of it."</p> + +<p>"Perhaps nature made it wide for that very reason," said the Frogman: +"But come; let us now go on, for it is getting late and we must find +some sort of shelter before night overtakes us."</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 435px;"> +<img src="images/i056.png" width="435" height="269" alt="image unavailable" /> +</div> + + + +<hr style="width:15%;" /> + +<p><a name="Among_the_Winkies" id="Among_the_Winkies"></a></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 408px;"> +<img src="images/i057.png" width="408" height="412" alt="Among the Winkies +CHAPTER 4" class="top20" /> +</div> + +<p class="beg">CHAPTER 4<br /><br /> +The settled parts<br /> +of the Winkie +<br />Country are full +<br />of happy and con-</p> + + +<p class="n">tented people who are ruled by a tin Emperor named Nick Chopper, who in turn is +a subject of the beautiful girl Ruler, Ozma of Oz. But not all of the +Winkie Country is fully settled. At the east, which part lies nearest +the Emerald City, there are beautiful farmhouses and roads, but as you +travel west you first come to a branch of the Winkie River, beyond +which there is a rough country where few people live, and some of these +are quite unknown to the rest of the world. After passing through this +rude section of territory, which no one ever visits, you would come to +still another branch of the Winkie River, after crossing which you would +find another well-settled part of the Winkie Country, extending westward +quite to the Deadly Desert that surrounds all the Land of Oz and +separates that favored fairyland from the more common outside world. The +Winkies who live in this west section have many tin mines, from which +metal they make a great deal of rich jewelry and other articles, all of +which are highly esteemed in the Land of Oz because tin is so bright and +pretty, and there is not so much of it as there is of gold and silver.</p> + +<p>Not all the Winkies are miners, however, for some till the fields and +grow grains for food, and it was at one of these far west Winkie farms +that the Frogman and Cayke the Cookie Cook first arrived after they had +descended from the mountain of the Yips.</p> + +<p>"Goodness me!" cried Nellary, the Winkie wife, when she saw the strange +couple approaching her house. "I have seen many queer creatures in the +Land of Oz, but none more queer than this giant frog, who dresses like +a man and walks on his hind legs. Come here, Wiljon," she called to her +husband, who was eating his breakfast, "and take a look at this +astonishing freak."</p> + +<p>Wiljon the Winkie came to the door and looked out. He was still standing +in the doorway when the Frogman approached and said with a haughty +croak:</p> + +<p>"Tell me, my good man, have you seen a diamond-studded gold dishpan?"</p> + +<p>"No; nor have I seen a copper-plated lobster," replied Wiljon, in an +equally haughty tone.</p> + +<p>The Frogman stared at him and said:</p> + +<p>"Do not be insolent, fellow!"</p> + +<p>"No," added Cayke the Cookie Cook, hastily, "you must be very polite to +the great Frogman, for he is the wisest creature in all the world."</p> + +<p>"Who says that?" inquired Wiljon.</p> + +<p>"He says so himself," replied Cayke, and the Frogman nodded and strutted +up and down, twirling his gold-headed cane very gracefully.</p> + +<p>"Does the Scarecrow admit that this overgrown frog is the wisest +creature in the world?" asked Wiljon.</p> + +<p>"I do not know who the Scarecrow is," answered Cayke the Cookie Cook.</p> + +<p>"Well, he lives at the Emerald City, and he is supposed to have the +finest brains in all Oz. The Wizard gave them to him, you know."</p> + +<p>"Mine grew in my head," said the Frogman pompously, "so I think they +must be better than any wizard brains. I am so wise that sometimes my +wisdom makes my head ache. I know so much that often I have to forget +part of it, since no one creature, however great, is able to contain so +much knowledge."</p> + +<p>"It must be dreadful to be stuffed full of wisdom," remarked Wiljon +reflectively, and eyeing the Frogman with a doubtful look. "It is my +good fortune to know very little."</p> + +<p>"I hope, however, you know where my jeweled dishpan is," said the Cookie +Cook anxiously.</p> + +<p>"I do not know even that," returned the Winkie. "We have trouble enough +in keeping track of our own dishpans, without meddling with the dishpans +of strangers."</p> + +<p>Finding him so ignorant, the Frogman proposed that they walk on and seek +Cayke's dishpan elsewhere. Wiljon the Winkie did not seem greatly +impressed by the great Frogman, which seemed to that personage as +strange as it was disappointing; but others in this unknown land might +prove more respectful.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 413px;"> +<img src="images/i061.png" width="413" height="584" alt="image unavailable" /> + +</div> + +<p>"I'd like to meet that Wizard of Oz," remarked Cayke, as they walked +along a path. "If he could give a Scarecrow brains he might be able to +find my dishpan."</p> + +<p>"Poof!" grunted the Frogman scornfully; "I am greater than any wizard. +Depend on <i>me</i>. If your dishpan is anywhere in the world I am sure to +find it."</p> + +<p>"If you do not, my heart will be broken," declared the Cookie Cook in a +sorrowful voice.</p> + +<p>For a while the Frogman walked on in silence. Then he asked:</p> + +<p>"Why do you attach so much importance to a dishpan?"</p> + +<p>"It is the greatest treasure I possess," replied the woman. "It belonged +to my mother and to all my grandmothers, since the beginning of time. It +is, I believe, the very oldest thing in all the Yip Country—or was +while it was there—and," she added, dropping her voice to an awed +whisper, "it has magic powers!"</p> + +<p>"In what way?" inquired the Frogman, seeming to be surprised at this +statement.</p> + +<p>"Whoever has owned that dishpan has been a good cook, for one thing. No +one else is able to make such good cookies as I have cooked, as you and +all the Yips know. Yet, the very morning after my dishpan was stolen, I +tried to make a batch of cookies and they burned up in the oven! I made +another batch that proved too tough to eat, and I was so ashamed of them +that I buried them in the ground. Even the third batch of cookies, which +I brought with me in my basket, were pretty poor stuff and no better +than any woman could make who does not own my diamond-studded gold +dishpan. In fact, my good Frogman, Cayke the Cookie Cook will never be +able to cook good cookies again until her magic dishpan is restored to +her."</p> + +<p>"In that case," said the Frogman with a sigh, "I suppose we must manage +to find it."</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 375px;"> +<img src="images/i063.png" width="375" height="191" alt="image unavailable" /> + +</div> + + +<hr style="width:15%;" /> + +<p><a name="Ozmas_Friends_Are_Perplexed" id="Ozmas_Friends_Are_Perplexed"></a></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 408px;"> +<img src="images/i064.png" width="408" height="413" alt="Ozma's Friends Are Perplexed +CHAPTER 5" class="top20" /> +</div> + +<p class="beg">CHAPTER 5<br /><br /> +"Really," said +<br />Dorothy, looking +<br />solemn, "this is +<br />very s'prising. We</p> + + +<p class="n">can't find even a shadow of Ozma anywhere in the Em'rald City; and, +wherever she's gone, she's taken her Magic Picture with her."</p> + +<p>She was standing in the courtyard of the palace with Betsy and Trot, +while Scraps, the Patchwork Girl, danced around the group, her hair +flying in the wind.</p> + +<p>"P'raps," said Scraps, still dancing, "someone has stolen Ozma."</p> + +<p>"Oh, they'd never dare do that!" exclaimed tiny Trot.</p> + +<p>"And stolen the Magic Picture, too, so the thing can't tell where she +is," added the Patchwork Girl.</p> + +<p>"That's nonsense," said Dorothy. "Why, ev'ryone loves Ozma. There isn't +a person in the Land of Oz who would steal a single thing she owns."</p> + +<p>"Huh!" replied the Patchwork Girl. "You don't know ev'ry person in the +Land of Oz."</p> + +<p>"Why don't I?"</p> + +<p>"It's a big country," said Scraps. "There are cracks and corners in it +that even Ozma doesn't know of."</p> + +<p>"The Patchwork Girl's just daffy," declared Betsy.</p> + +<p>"No; she's right about that," replied Dorothy thoughtfully. "There are +lots of queer people in this fairyland who never come near Ozma or the +Em'rald City. I've seen some of 'em myself, girls; but I haven't seen +all, of course, and there <i>might</i> be some wicked persons left in Oz, +yet, though I think the wicked witches have all been destroyed."</p> + +<p>Just then the Wooden Sawhorse dashed into the courtyard with the Wizard +of Oz on his back.</p> + +<p>"Have you found Ozma?" cried the Wizard when the Sawhorse stopped beside +them.</p> + +<p>"Not yet," said Dorothy. "Doesn't Glinda know where she is?"</p> + +<p>"No. Glinda's Book of Records and all her magic instruments are gone. +Someone must have stolen them."</p> + +<p>"Goodness me!" exclaimed Dorothy, in alarm. "This is the biggest steal I +ever heard of. Who do you think did it, Wizard?"</p> + +<p>"I've no idea," he answered. "But I have come to get my own bag of magic +tools and carry them to Glinda. She is so much more powerful than I that +she may be able to discover the truth by means of my magic, quicker and +better than I could myself."</p> + +<p>"Hurry, then," said Dorothy, "for we're all getting terr'bly worried."</p> + +<p>The Wizard rushed away to his rooms but presently came back with a long, +sad face.</p> + +<p>"It's gone!" he said.</p> + +<p>"What's gone?" asked Scraps.</p> + +<p>"My black bag of magic tools. Someone must have stolen it!"</p> + +<p>They looked at one another in amazement.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 416px;"> +<img src="images/i067.png" width="416" height="583" alt="image unavailable" /> + +</div> + +<p>"This thing is getting desperate," continued the Wizard. "All the +magic that belongs to Ozma, or to Glinda, or to me, has been stolen."</p> + +<p>"Do you suppose Ozma could have taken them, herself, for some purpose?" +asked Betsy.</p> + +<p>"No, indeed," declared the Wizard. "I suspect some enemy has stolen Ozma +and, for fear we would follow and recapture her, has taken all our magic +away from us."</p> + +<p>"How dreadful!" cried Dorothy. "The idea of anyone wanting to injure our +dear Ozma! Can't we do <i>any</i>thing to find her, Wizard?"</p> + +<p>"I'll ask Glinda. I must go straight back to her and tell her that my +magic tools have also disappeared. The good Sorceress will be greatly +shocked, I know."</p> + +<p>With this he jumped upon the back of the Sawhorse again and the quaint +steed, which never tired, dashed away at full speed.</p> + +<p>The three girls were very much disturbed in mind. Even the Patchwork +Girl was more quiet than usual and seemed to realize that a great +calamity had overtaken them all. Ozma was a fairy of considerable power +and all the creatures in Oz, as well as the three mortal girls from the +outside world, looked upon her as their protector and friend. The idea +of their beautiful girl Ruler's being overpowered by an enemy and +dragged from her splendid palace a captive was too astonishing for them +to comprehend, at first. Yet what other explanation of the mystery could +there be?</p> + +<p>"Ozma wouldn't go away willingly, without letting us know about it," +asserted Dorothy; "and she wouldn't steal Glinda's Great Book of +Records, or the Wizard's magic, 'cause she could get them any time, just +by asking for 'em. I'm sure some wicked person has done all this."</p> + +<p>"Someone in the Land of Oz?" asked Trot.</p> + +<p>"Of course. No one could get across the Deadly Desert, you know, and no +one but an Oz person could know about the Magic Picture and the Book of +Records and the Wizard's magic, or where they were kept, and so be able +to steal the whole outfit before we could stop 'em. It <i>must</i> be someone +who lives in the Land of Oz."</p> + +<p>"But who—who—who?" asked Scraps. "That's the question. Who?"</p> + +<p>"If we knew," replied Dorothy, severely, "we wouldn't be standing here, +doing nothing."</p> + +<p>Just then two boys entered the courtyard and approached the group of +girls. One boy was dressed in the fantastic Munchkin costume—a blue +jacket and knickerbockers, blue leather shoes and a blue hat with a +high peak and tiny silver bells dangling from its rim—and this was Ojo +the Lucky, who had once come from the Munchkin Country of Oz and now +lived in the Emerald City. The other boy was an American, from +Philadelphia, and had lately found his way to Oz in the company of Trot +and Cap'n Bill. His name was Button-Bright; that is, everyone called him +by that name, and knew no other.</p> + +<p>Button-Bright was not quite as big as the Munchkin boy, but he wore the +same kind of clothes, only they were of different colors. As the two +came up to the girls, arm in arm, Button-Bright remarked:</p> + +<p>"Hello, Dorothy. They say Ozma is lost."</p> + +<p>"<i>Who</i> says so?" she asked.</p> + +<p>"Everybody's talking about it, in the City," he replied.</p> + +<p>"I wonder how the people found it out?" Dorothy asked.</p> + +<p>"I know," said Ojo. "Jellia Jamb told them. She has been asking +everywhere if anyone has seen Ozma."</p> + +<p>"That's too bad," observed Dorothy, frowning.</p> + +<p>"Why?" asked Button-Bright.</p> + +<p>"There wasn't any use making all our people unhappy, till we were dead +certain that Ozma can't be found."</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 315px;"> +<img src="images/i071_th.png" width="315" height="440" alt="image unavailable" /> +<span class="caption1"><a href="images/i071.png">[Click here to view this image enlarged.]</a></span> +</div> + +<p>"Pshaw," said Button-Bright, "It's nothing to get lost. I've been lost +lots of times."</p> + +<p>"That's true," admitted Trot, who knew that the boy had a habit of +getting lost and then finding himself again; "but it's diff'rent with +Ozma. She's the Ruler of all this big fairyland and we're 'fraid that +the reason she's lost is because somebody has stolen her away."</p> + +<p>"Only wicked people steal," said Ojo. "Do you know of any wicked people +in Oz, Dorothy?"</p> + +<p>"No," she replied.</p> + +<p>"They're here, though," cried Scraps, dancing up to them and then +circling around the group. "Ozma's stolen; someone in Oz stole her; only +wicked people steal; so someone in Oz is wicked!"</p> + +<p>There was no denying the truth of this statement. The faces of all of +them were now solemn and sorrowful.</p> + +<p>"One thing is sure," said Button-Bright, after a time, "if Ozma has been +stolen, someone ought to find her and punish the thief."</p> + +<p>"There may be a lot of thieves," suggested Trot gravely, "and in this +fairy country they don't seem to have any soldiers or policemen."</p> + +<p>"There is one soldier," claimed Dorothy. "He has green whiskers and a +gun and is a Major-General; but no one is afraid of either his gun or +his whiskers, 'cause he's so tender-hearted that he wouldn't hurt a +fly."</p> + +<p>"Well, a soldier's a soldier," said Betsy, "and perhaps he'd hurt a +wicked thief if he wouldn't hurt a fly. Where is he?"</p> + +<p>"He went fishing about two months ago and hasn't come back yet," +explained Button-Bright.</p> + +<p>"Then I can't see that he will be of much use to us in this trouble," +sighed little Trot. "But p'raps Ozma, who is a fairy, can get away from +the thieves without any help from anybody."</p> + +<p>"She <i>might</i> be able to," admitted Dorothy, reflectively, "but if she +had the power to do that, it isn't likely she'd have let herself be +stolen. So the thieves must have been even more powerful in magic than +our Ozma."</p> + +<p>There was no denying this argument and, although they talked the matter +over all the rest of that day, they were unable to decide how Ozma had +been stolen against her will or who had committed the dreadful deed.</p> + +<p>Toward evening the Wizard came back, riding slowly upon the Sawhorse +because he felt discouraged and perplexed. Glinda came, later, in her +aerial chariot drawn by twenty milk-white swans, and she also seemed +worried and unhappy. More of Ozma's friends joined them and that evening +they all had a long talk together.</p> + +<p>"I think," said Dorothy, "we ought to start out right away in search of +our dear Ozma. It seems cruel for us to live comf'tably in her palace +while she is a pris'ner in the power of some wicked enemy."</p> + +<p>"Yes," agreed Glinda the Sorceress, "someone ought to search for her. I +cannot go myself, because I must work hard in order to create some new +instruments of sorcery by means of which I may rescue our fair Ruler. +But if you can find her, in the meantime, and let me know who has stolen +her, it will enable me to rescue her much more quickly."</p> + +<p>"Then we'll start to-morrow morning," decided Dorothy. "Betsy and Trot +and I won't waste another minute."</p> + +<p>"I'm not sure you girls will make good detectives," remarked the Wizard; +"but I'll go with you, to protect you from harm and to give you my +advice. All my wizardry, alas, is stolen, so I am now really no more a +wizard than any of you; but I will try to protect you from any enemies +you may meet."</p> + +<p>"What harm could happen to us in Oz?" inquired Trot.</p> + +<p>"What harm happened to Ozma?" returned the Wizard. "If there is an Evil +Power abroad in our fairyland, which is able to steal not only Ozma and +her Magic Picture, but Glinda's Book of Records and all her magic, and +my black bag containing all my tricks of wizardry, then that Evil Power +may yet cause us considerable injury. Ozma is a fairy, and so is Glinda, +so no power can kill or destroy them; but you girls are all mortals, and +so are Button-Bright and I, so we must watch out for ourselves."</p> + +<p>"Nothing can kill me," said Ojo, the Munchkin boy.</p> + +<p>"That is true," replied the Sorceress, "and I think it may be well to +divide the searchers into several parties, that they may cover all the +land of Oz more quickly. So I will send Ojo and Unc Nunkie and Dr. Pipt +into the Munchkin Country, which they are well acquainted with; and I +will send the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman into the Quadling Country, +for they are fearless and brave and never tire; and to the Gillikin +Country, where many dangers lurk, I will send the Shaggy Man and his +brother, with Tik-Tok and Jack Pumpkinhead. Dorothy may make up her own +party and travel into the Winkie Country. All of you must inquire +everywhere for Ozma and try to discover where she is <b>hidden</b>."</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 579px;"> +<img src="images/i077.png" width="579" height="412" alt="Map of Part of the LAND OF OZ Showing the Search for the +LOST PRINCESS" /> +</div> + +<p>They thought this a very wise plan and adopted it without question. In +Ozma's absence Glinda the Good was the most important person in Oz and +all were glad to serve under her direction.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 398px;"> +<img src="images/i078.png" width="398" height="266" alt="image unavailable" /> + +</div> + + + +<hr style="width:15%;" /> + +<p><a name="The_Search_Party" id="The_Search_Party"></a></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 410px;"> +<img src="images/i079.png" width="410" height="411" alt="The Search Party +CHAPTER 6" class="top20" /> +</div> + +<p class="beg">CHAPTER 6<br /><br /> +Next morning, +<br />as soon as the sun +<br />was up, Glinda +<br />flew back to her +</p> + +<p class="n">castle, stopping on the way to instruct the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman, who +were at that time staying at the college of Professor H. M. Wogglebug, +T. E., and taking a course of his Patent Educational Pills. On hearing +of Ozma's loss they started at once for the Quadling Country to search +for her.</p> + +<p>As soon as Glinda had left the Emerald City, Tik-Tok and the Shaggy Man +and Jack Pumpkinhead, who had been present at the conference, began +their journey into the Gillikin Country, and an hour later Ojo and Unc +Nunkie joined Dr. Pipt and together they traveled toward the Munchkin +Country. When all these searchers were gone, Dorothy and the Wizard +completed their own preparations.</p> + +<p>The Wizard hitched the Sawhorse to the Red Wagon, which would seat four +very comfortably. He wanted Dorothy, Betsy, Trot and the Patchwork Girl +to ride in the wagon, but Scraps came up to them mounted upon the Woozy, +and the Woozy said he would like to join the party. Now this Woozy was a +most peculiar animal, having a square head, square body, square legs and +square tail. His skin was very tough and hard, resembling leather, and +while his movements were somewhat clumsy the beast could travel with +remarkable swiftness. His square eyes were mild and gentle in expression +and he was not especially foolish. The Woozy and the Patchwork Girl were +great friends and so the Wizard agreed to let the Woozy go with them.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 411px;"> +<img src="images/i081.png" width="411" height="546" alt="image unavailable" /> + +</div> + +<p>Another great beast now appeared and asked to go along. This was none +other than the famous Cowardly Lion, one of the most interesting +creatures in all Oz. No lion that roamed the jungles or plains could +compare in size or intelligence with this Cowardly Lion, who—like all +animals living in Oz—could talk, and who talked with more shrewdness +and wisdom than many of the people did. He said he was cowardly because +he always trembled when he faced danger, but he had faced danger many +times and never refused to fight when it was necessary. This Lion was a +great favorite with Ozma and always guarded her throne on state +occasions. He was also an old companion and friend of the Princess +Dorothy, so the girl was delighted to have him join the party.</p> + +<p>"I'm so nervous over our dear Ozma," said the Cowardly Lion in his deep, +rumbling voice, "that it would make me unhappy to remain behind while +you are trying to find her. But do not get into any danger, I beg of +you, for danger frightens me terribly."</p> + +<p>"We'll not get into danger if we can poss'bly help it," promised +Dorothy; "but we shall do anything to find Ozma, danger or no danger."</p> + +<p>The addition of the Woozy and the Cowardly Lion to the party gave Betsy +Bobbin an idea and she ran to the marble stables at the rear of the +palace and brought out her mule, Hank by name. Perhaps no mule you ever +saw was so lean and bony and altogether plain looking as this Hank, but +Betsy loved him dearly because he was faithful and steady and not nearly +so stupid as most mules are considered to be. Betsy had a saddle for +Hank and declared she would ride on his back, an arrangement approved by +the Wizard because it left only four of the party to ride on the seats +of the Red Wagon—Dorothy and Button-Bright and Trot and himself.</p> + +<p>An old sailor-man, who had one wooden leg, came to see them off and +suggested that they put a supply of food and blankets in the Red Wagon, +inasmuch as they were uncertain how long they would be gone. This +sailor-man was called Cap'n Bill. He was a former friend and comrade of +Trot and had encountered many adventures in company with the little +girl. I think he was sorry he could not go with her on this trip, but +Glinda the Sorceress had asked Cap'n Bill to remain in the Emerald City +and take charge of the royal palace while everyone else was away, and +the one-legged sailor had agreed to do so.</p> + +<p>They loaded the back end of the Red Wagon with everything they thought +they might need, and then they formed a procession and marched from the +palace through the Emerald City to the great gates of the wall that +surrounded this beautiful capital of the Land of Oz. Crowds of citizens +lined the streets to see them pass and to cheer them and wish them +success, for all were grieved over Ozma's loss and anxious that she be +found again.</p> + +<p>First came the Cowardly Lion; then the Patchwork Girl riding upon the +Woozy; then Betsy Bobbin on her mule Hank; and finally the Sawhorse +drawing the Red Wagon, in which were seated the Wizard and Dorothy and +Button-Bright and Trot. No one was obliged to drive the Sawhorse, so +there were no reins to his harness; one had only to tell him which way +to go, fast or slow, and he understood perfectly.</p> + +<p>It was about this time that a shaggy little black dog who had been lying +asleep in Dorothy's room in the palace woke up and discovered he was +lonesome. Everything seemed very still throughout the great building and +Toto—that was the little dog's name—missed the customary chatter of +the three girls. He never paid much attention to what was going on +around him and, although he could speak, he seldom said anything; so the +little dog did not know about Ozma's loss or that everyone had gone in +search of her. But he liked to be with people, and especially with his +own mistress, Dorothy, and having yawned and stretched himself and found +the door of the room ajar he trotted out into the corridor and went +down the stately marble stairs to the hall of the palace, where he met +Jellia Jamb.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 414px;"> +<img src="images/i085.png" width="414" height="553" alt="image unavailable" /> + +</div> + +<p>"Where's Dorothy?" asked Toto.</p> + +<p>"She's gone to the Winkie Country," answered the maid.</p> + +<p>"When?"</p> + +<p>"A little while ago," replied Jellia.</p> + +<p>Toto turned and trotted out into the palace garden and down the long +driveway until he came to the streets of the Emerald City. Here he +paused to listen and, hearing sounds of cheering, he ran swiftly along +until he came in sight of the Red Wagon and the Woozy and the Lion and +the Mule and all the others. Being a wise little dog, he decided not to +show himself to Dorothy just then, lest he be sent back home; but he +never lost sight of the party of travelers, all of whom were so eager to +get ahead that they never thought to look behind them.</p> + +<p>When they came to the gates in the city wall the Guardian of the Gates +came out to throw wide the golden portals and let them pass through.</p> + +<p>"Did any strange person come in or out of the city on the night before +last, when Ozma was stolen?" asked Dorothy.</p> + +<p>"No, indeed, Princess," answered the Guardian of the Gates.</p> + +<p>"Of course not," said the Wizard. "Anyone clever enough to steal all the +things we have lost would not mind the barrier of a wall like this, in +the least. I think the thief must have flown through the air, for +otherwise he could not have stolen from Ozma's royal palace and Glinda's +far-away castle in the same night. Moreover, as there are no airships in +Oz and no way for airships from the outside world to get into this +country, I believe the thief must have flown from place to place by +means of magic arts which neither Glinda nor I understand."</p> + +<p>On they went, and before the gates closed behind them Toto managed to +dodge through them. The country surrounding the Emerald City was thickly +settled and for a while our friends rode over nicely paved roads which +wound through a fertile country dotted with beautiful houses, all built +in the quaint Oz fashion. In the course of a few hours, however, they +had left the tilled fields and entered the Country of the Winkies, which +occupies a quarter of all the territory in the Land of Oz but is not so +well known as many other parts of Ozma's fairyland. Long before night +the travelers had crossed the Winkie River near to the Scarecrow's +Tower (which was now vacant) and had entered the Rolling Prairie where +few people live. They asked everyone they met for news of Ozma, but none +in this district had seen her or even knew that she had been stolen. And +by nightfall they had passed all the farmhouses and were obliged to stop +and ask for shelter at the hut of a lonely shepherd. When they halted, +Toto was not far behind. The little dog halted, too, and stealing softly +around the party he hid himself behind the hut.</p> + +<p>The shepherd was a kindly old man and treated the travelers with much +courtesy. He slept out of doors, that night, giving up his hut to the +three girls, who made their beds on the floor with the blankets they had +brought in the Red Wagon. The Wizard and Button-Bright also slept out of +doors, and so did the Cowardly Lion and Hank the Mule. But Scraps and +the Sawhorse did not sleep at all and the Woozy could stay awake for a +month at a time, if he wished to, so these three sat in a little group +by themselves and talked together all through the night.</p> + +<p>In the darkness the Cowardly Lion felt a shaggy little form nestling +beside his own, and he said sleepily:</p> + +<p>"Where did you come from, Toto?"</p> + +<p>"From home," said the dog. "If you roll over, roll the other way, so you +won't smash me."</p> + +<p>"Does Dorothy know you are here?" asked the Lion.</p> + +<p>"I believe not," admitted Toto, and he added, a little anxiously: "Do +you think, friend Lion, we are now far enough from the Emerald City for +me to risk showing myself? Or will Dorothy send me back because I wasn't +invited?"</p> + +<p>"Only Dorothy can answer that question," said the Lion. "For my part, +Toto, I consider this affair none of my business, so you must act as you +think best."</p> + +<p>Then the huge beast went to sleep again and Toto snuggled closer to his +warm, hairy body and also slept. He was a wise little dog, in his way, +and didn't intend to worry when there was something much better to do.</p> + +<p>In the morning the Wizard built a fire, over which the girls cooked a +very good breakfast.</p> + +<p>Suddenly Dorothy discovered Toto sitting quietly before the fire and the +little girl exclaimed:</p> + +<p>"Goodness me, Toto! Where did <i>you</i> come from?"</p> + +<p>"From the place you cruelly left me," replied the dog in a reproachful +tone.</p> + +<p>"I forgot all about you," admitted Dorothy, "and if I hadn't I'd +prob'ly left you with Jellia Jamb, seeing this isn't a pleasure trip but +stric'ly business. But, now that you're here, Toto, I s'pose you'll have +to stay with us, unless you'd rather go back home again. We may get +ourselves into trouble, before we're done, Toto."</p> + +<p>"Never mind that," said Toto, wagging his tail. "I'm hungry, Dorothy."</p> + +<p>"Breakfas'll soon be ready and then you shall have your share," promised +his little mistress, who was really glad to have her dog with her. She +and Toto had traveled together before, and she knew he was a good and +faithful comrade.</p> + +<p>When the food was cooked and served the girls invited the old shepherd +to join them in their morning meal. He willingly consented and while +they ate he said to them:</p> + +<p>"You are now about to pass through a very dangerous country, unless you +turn to the north or to the south to escape its perils."</p> + +<p>"In that case," said the Cowardly Lion, "let us turn, by all means, for +I dread to face dangers of any sort."</p> + +<p>"What's the matter with the country ahead of us?" inquired Dorothy.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 399px;"> +<img src="images/i091.png" width="399" height="584" alt="image unavailable" /> + +</div> + +<p>"Beyond this Rolling Prairie," explained the shepherd, "are the +Merry-Go-Round Mountains, set close together and surrounded by deep +gulfs, so that no one is able to get past them. Beyond the +Merry-Go-Round Mountains it is said the Thistle-Eaters and the Herkus +live."</p> + +<p>"What are they like?" demanded Dorothy.</p> + +<p>"No one knows, for no one has ever passed the Merry-Go-Round Mountains," +was the reply; "but it is said that the Thistle-Eaters hitch dragons to +their chariots and that the Herkus are waited upon by giants whom they +have conquered and made their slaves."</p> + +<p>"Who says all that?" asked Betsy.</p> + +<p>"It is common report," declared the shepherd. "Everyone believes it."</p> + +<p>"I don't see how they know," remarked little Trot, "if no one has been +there."</p> + +<p>"Perhaps the birds who fly over that country brought the news," +suggested Betsy.</p> + +<p>"If you escaped those dangers," continued the shepherd, "you might +encounter others, still more serious, before you came to the next branch +of the Winkie River. It is true that beyond that river there lies a fine +country, inhabited by good people, and if you reached there you would +have no further trouble. It is between here and the west branch of the +Winkie River that all dangers lie, for that is the unknown territory +that is inhabited by terrible, lawless people."</p> + +<p>"It may be, and it may not be," said the Wizard. "We shall know when we +get there."</p> + +<p>"Well," persisted the shepherd, "in a fairy country such as ours every +undiscovered place is likely to harbor wicked creatures. If they were +not wicked, they would discover themselves, and by coming among us +submit to Ozma's rule and be good and considerate, as are all the Oz +people whom we know."</p> + +<p>"That argument," stated the little Wizard, "convinces me that it is our +duty to go straight to those unknown places, however dangerous they may +be; for it is surely some cruel and wicked person who has stolen our +Ozma, and we know it would be folly to search among good people for the +culprit. Ozma may not be hidden in the secret places of the Winkie +Country, it is true, but it is our duty to travel to every spot, however +dangerous, where our beloved Ruler is likely to be imprisoned."</p> + +<p>"You're right about that," said Button-Bright approvingly. "Dangers +don't hurt us; only things that happen ever hurt anyone, and a danger is +a thing that might happen, and might not happen, and sometimes don't +amount to shucks. I vote we go ahead and take our chances."</p> + +<p>They were all of the same opinion, so they packed up and said good-bye +to the friendly shepherd and proceeded on their way.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 257px;"> +<img src="images/i094.png" width="257" height="323" alt="image unavailable" /> + +</div> + + + +<hr style="width:15%;" /> + +<p><a name="The_Merry-Go-Round_Mountains" id="The_Merry-Go-Round_Mountains"></a></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 410px;"> +<img src="images/i095.png" width="410" height="412" alt="The Merry-Go-Round Mountains +CHAPTER 7" class="top20" /> +</div> + +<p class="beg">CHAPTER 7<br /><br /> +The Rolling +<br />Prairie was not +<br />difficult to travel +<br />over, although it</p> + +<p class="n">was all up-hill and down-hill, so for a while they made good progress. Not +even a shepherd was to be met with now and the farther they advanced the +more dreary the landscape became. At noon they stopped for a "picnic +luncheon," as Betsy called it, and then they again resumed their +journey. All the animals were swift and tireless and even the Cowardly +Lion and the Mule found they could keep up with the pace of the Woozy +and the Sawhorse.</p> + +<p>It was the middle of the afternoon when first they came in sight of a +cluster of low mountains. These were cone-shaped, rising from broad +bases to sharp peaks at the tops. From a distance the mountains appeared +indistinct and seemed rather small—more like hills than mountains—but +as the travelers drew nearer they noted a most unusual circumstance: the +hills were all whirling around, some in one direction and some the +opposite way.</p> + +<p>"I guess those are the Merry-Go-Round Mountains, all right," said +Dorothy.</p> + +<p>"They must be," said the Wizard.</p> + +<p>"They go 'round, sure enough," added Trot, "but they don't seem very +merry."</p> + +<p>There were several rows of these mountains, extending both to the right +and to the left, for miles and miles. How many rows there might be, none +could tell, but between the first row of peaks could be seen other +peaks, all steadily whirling around one way or another. Continuing to +ride nearer, our friends watched these hills attentively, until at last, +coming close up, they discovered there was a deep but narrow gulf around +the edge of each mountain, and that the mountains were set so close +together that the outer gulf was continuous and barred farther advance.</p> + +<p>At the edge of the gulf they all dismounted and peered over into its +depths. There was no telling where the bottom was, if indeed there was +any bottom at all. From where they stood it seemed as if the mountains +had been set in one great hole in the ground, just close enough together +so they would not touch, and that each mountain was supported by a rocky +column beneath its base which extended far down into the black pit +below. From the land side it seemed impossible to get across the gulf +or, succeeding in that, to gain a foothold on any of the whirling +mountains.</p> + +<p>"This ditch is too wide to jump across," remarked Button-Bright.</p> + +<p>"P'raps the Lion could do it," suggested Dorothy.</p> + +<p>"What, jump from here to that whirling hill?" cried the Lion +indignantly. "I should say not! Even if I landed there, and could hold +on, what good would it do? There's another spinning mountain beyond it, +and perhaps still another beyond that. I don't believe any living +creature could jump from one mountain to another, when both are whirling +like tops and in different directions."</p> + +<p>"I propose we turn back," said the Wooden Sawhorse, with a yawn of his +chopped-out mouth, as he stared with his knot eyes at the Merry-Go-Round +Mountains.</p> + +<p>"I agree with you," said the Woozy, wagging his square head.</p> + +<p>"We should have taken the shepherd's advice," added Hank the Mule.</p> + +<p>The others of the party, however they might be puzzled by the serious +problem that confronted them, would not allow themselves to despair.</p> + +<p>"If we once get over these mountains," said Button-Bright, "we could +probably get along all right."</p> + +<p>"True enough," agreed Dorothy. "So we must find some way, of course, to +get past these whirligig hills. But how?"</p> + +<p>"I wish the Ork was with us," sighed Trot.</p> + +<p>"But the Ork isn't here," said the Wizard, "and we must depend upon +ourselves to conquer this difficulty. Unfortunately, all my magic has +been stolen; otherwise I am sure I could easily get over the mountains."</p> + +<p>"Unfortunately," observed the Woozy, "none of us has wings. And we're in +a magic country without any magic."</p> + +<p>"What is that around your waist, Dorothy?" asked the Wizard.</p> + +<p>"That? Oh, that's just the Magic Belt I once captured from the Nome +King," she replied.</p> + +<p>"A Magic Belt! Why, that's fine. I'm sure a Magic Belt would take you +over these hills."</p> + +<p>"It might, if I knew how to work it," said the little girl. "Ozma knows +a lot of its magic, but I've never found out about it. All I know is +that while I am wearing it nothing can hurt me."</p> + +<p>"Try wishing yourself across, and see if it will obey you," suggested +the Wizard.</p> + +<p>"But what good would that do?" asked Dorothy. "If I got across it +wouldn't help the rest of you, and I couldn't go alone among all those +giants and dragons, while you stayed here."</p> + +<p>"True enough," agreed the Wizard, sadly; and then, after looking around +the group, he inquired: "What is that on your finger, Trot?"</p> + +<p>"A ring. The Mermaids gave it to me," she explained, "and if ever I'm in +trouble when I'm on the water I can call the Mermaids and they'll come +and help me. But the Mermaids can't help me on the land, you know, +'cause they swim, and—and—they haven't any legs."</p> + +<p>"True enough," repeated the Wizard, more sadly.</p> + +<p>There was a big, broad-spreading tree near the edge of the gulf and as +the sun was hot above them they all gathered under the shade of the tree +to study the problem of what to do next.</p> + +<p>"If we had a long rope," said Betsy, "we could fasten it to this tree +and let the other end of it down into the gulf and all slide down it."</p> + +<p>"Well, what then?" asked the Wizard.</p> + +<p>"Then, if we could manage to throw the rope up the other side," +explained the girl, "we could all climb it and be on the other side of +the gulf."</p> + +<p>"There are too many 'if's' in that suggestion," remarked the little +Wizard. "And you must remember that the other side is nothing but +spinning mountains, so we couldn't possibly fasten a rope to them—even +if we had one."</p> + +<p>"That rope idea isn't half bad, though," said the Patchwork Girl, who +had been dancing dangerously near to the edge of the gulf.</p> + +<p>"What do you mean?" asked Dorothy.</p> + +<p>The Patchwork Girl suddenly stood still and cast her button eyes around +the group.</p> + +<p>"Ha, I have it!" she exclaimed. "Unharness the Sawhorse, somebody; my +fingers are too clumsy."</p> + +<p>"Shall we?" asked Button-Bright doubtfully, turning to the others.</p> + +<p>"Well, Scraps has a lot of brains, even if she is stuffed with cotton," +asserted the Wizard. "If her brains can help us out of this trouble we +ought to use them."</p> + +<p>So he began unharnessing the Sawhorse, and Button-Bright and Dorothy +helped him. When they had removed the harness the Patchwork Girl told +them to take it all apart and buckle the straps together, end to end. +And, after they had done this, they found they had one very long strap +that was stronger than any rope.</p> + +<p>"It would reach across the gulf, easily," said the Lion, who with the +other animals had sat on his haunches and watched this proceeding. "But +I don't see how it could be fastened to one of those dizzy mountains."</p> + +<p>Scraps had no such notion as that in her baggy head. She told them to +fasten one end of the strap to a stout limb of the tree, pointing to one +which extended quite to the edge of the gulf. Button-Bright did that, +climbing the tree and then crawling out upon the limb until he was +nearly over the gulf. There he managed to fasten the strap, which +reached to the ground below, and then he slid down it and was caught +by the Wizard, who feared he might fall into the chasm.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 402px;"> +<img src="images/i102.png" width="402" height="576" alt="image unavailable" /> + +</div> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 408px;"> +<img src="images/i103.png" width="408" height="577" alt="image unavailable" /> + +</div> + +<p>Scraps was delighted. She seized the lower end of the strap and telling +them all to get out of her way she went back as far as the strap would +reach and then made a sudden run toward the gulf. Over the edge she +swung, clinging to the strap until it had gone as far as its length +permitted, when she let go and sailed gracefully through the air until +she alighted upon the mountain just in front of them.</p> + +<p>Almost instantly, as the great cone continued to whirl, she was sent +flying against the next mountain in the rear, and that one had only +turned halfway around when Scraps was sent flying to the next mountain +behind it. Then her patchwork form disappeared from view entirely and +the amazed watchers under the tree wondered what had become of her.</p> + +<p>"She's gone, and she can't get back," said the Woozy.</p> + +<p>"My, how she bounded from one mountain to another!" exclaimed the Lion.</p> + +<p>"That was because they whirl so fast," the Wizard explained. "Scraps had +nothing to hold on to and so of course she was tossed from one hill to +another. I'm afraid we shall never see the poor Patchwork Girl again."</p> + +<p>"<i>I</i> shall see her," declared the Woozy. "Scraps is an old friend of +mine and, if there are really Thistle-Eaters and Giants on the other +side of those tops, she will need someone to protect her. So, here I +go!"</p> + +<p>He seized the dangling strap firmly in his square mouth and in the same +way that Scraps had done swung himself over the gulf. He let go the +strap at the right moment and fell upon the first whirling mountain. +Then he bounded to the next one back of it—not on his feet but "all +mixed up," as Trot said—and then he shot across to another mountain, +disappearing from view just as the Patchwork Girl had done.</p> + +<p>"It seems to work, all right," remarked Button-Bright. "I guess I'll try +it."</p> + +<p>"Wait a minute," urged the Wizard. "Before any more of us make this +desperate leap into the beyond, we must decide whether all will go, or +if some of us will remain behind."</p> + +<p>"Do you s'pose it hurt them much, to bump against those mountains?" +asked Trot.</p> + +<p>"I don't s'pose anything could hurt Scraps or the Woozy," said Dorothy, +"and nothing can hurt <i>me</i>, because I wear the Magic Belt. So, as I'm +anxious to find Ozma, I mean to swing myself across, too."</p> + +<p>"I'll take my chances," decided Button-Bright.</p> + +<p>"I'm sure it will hurt dreadfully, and I'm afraid to do it," said the +Lion, who was already trembling; "but I shall do it if Dorothy does."</p> + +<p>"Well, that will leave Betsy and the Mule and Trot," said the Wizard; +"for of course, I shall go, that I may look after Dorothy. Do you two +girls think you can find your way back home again?" he asked, addressing +Trot and Betsy.</p> + +<p>"I'm not afraid; not much, that is," said Trot. "It looks risky, I know, +but I'm sure I can stand it if the others can."</p> + +<p>"If it wasn't for leaving Hank," began Betsy, in a hesitating voice; but +the Mule interrupted her by saying:</p> + +<p>"Go ahead, if you want to, and I'll come after you. A mule is as brave +as a lion, any day."</p> + +<p>"Braver," said the Lion, "for I'm a coward, friend Hank, and you are +not. But of course the Sawhorse——"</p> + +<p>"Oh, nothing ever hurts <i>me</i>," asserted the Sawhorse calmly. "There's +never been any question about <i>my</i> going. I can't take the Red Wagon, +though."</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 320px;"> +<img src="images/i107_th.png" width="320" height="430" alt="image unavailable" /> +<span class="caption1"><a href="images/i107.png">[Click here to view this image enlarged.]</a></span> +</div> + +<p>"No, we must leave the wagon," said the Wizard; "and also we must leave +our food and blankets, I fear. But if we can defy these Merry-Go-Round +Mountains to stop us we won't mind the sacrifice of some of our +comforts."</p> + +<p>"No one knows where we're going to land!" remarked the Lion, in a voice +that sounded as if he were going to cry.</p> + +<p>"We may not land at all," replied Hank; "but the best way to find out +what will happen to us is to swing across, as Scraps and the Woozy have +done."</p> + +<p>"I think I shall go last," said the Wizard; "so who wants to go first?"</p> + +<p>"I'll go," decided Dorothy.</p> + +<p>"No, it's my turn first," said Button-Bright. "Watch me!"</p> + +<p>Even as he spoke the boy seized the strap and after making a run swung +himself across the gulf. Away he went, bumping from hill to hill until +he disappeared. They listened intently, but the boy uttered no cry until +he had been gone some moments, when they heart a faint "Hullo-a!" as if +called from a great distance.</p> + +<p>The sound gave them courage, however, and Dorothy picked up Toto and +held him fast under one arm while with the other hand she seized the +strap and bravely followed after Button-Bright.</p> + +<p>When she struck the first whirling mountain she fell upon it quite +softly, but before she had time to think she flew through the air and +lit with a jar on the side of the next mountain. Again she flew, and +alighted; and again, and still again, until after five successive bumps +she fell sprawling upon a green meadow and was so dazed and bewildered +by her bumpy journey across the Merry-Go-Round Mountains that she lay +quite still for a time, to collect her thoughts. Toto had escaped from +her arms just as she fell, and he now sat beside her panting with +excitement.</p> + +<p>Then Dorothy realized that someone was helping her to her feet, and here +was Button-Bright on one side of her and Scraps on the other, both +seeming to be unhurt. The next object her eyes fell upon was the Woozy, +squatting upon his square back end and looking at her reflectively, +while Toto barked joyously to find his mistress unhurt after her +whirlwind trip.</p> + +<p>"Good!" said the Woozy; "here's another and a dog, both safe and sound. +But, my word, Dorothy, you flew some! If you could have seen yourself, +you'd have been absolutely astonished."</p> + +<p>"They say 'Time flies,'" laughed Button-Bright; "but Time never made a +quicker journey than that."</p> + +<p>Just then, as Dorothy turned around to look at the whirling mountains, +she was in time to see tiny Trot come flying from the nearest hill to +fall upon the soft grass not a yard away from where she stood. Trot was +so dizzy she couldn't stand, at first, but she wasn't at all hurt and +presently Betsy came flying to them and would have bumped into the +others had they not retreated in time to avoid her.</p> + +<p>Then, in quick succession, came the Lion, Hank and the Sawhorse, +bounding from mountain to mountain to fall safely upon the greensward. +Only the Wizard was now left behind and they waited so long for him that +Dorothy began to be worried. But suddenly he came flying from the +nearest mountain and tumbled heels over head beside them. Then they saw +that he had wound two of their blankets around his body, to keep the +bumps from hurting him, and had fastened the blankets with some of the +spare straps from the harness of the Sawhorse.</p> + + + +<hr style="width:15%;" /> + +<p><a name="The_Mysterious_City" id="The_Mysterious_City"></a></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 407px;"> +<img src="images/i112.png" width="407" height="412" alt="The Mysterious City +Chapter 8" class="top20" /> +</div> + +<p class="beg">CHAPTER 8<br /><br /> +There they sat +<br />upon the grass, +<br />their heads still +<br />swimming from</p> + +<p class="n">their +dizzy flights, and looked at one another in silent bewilderment. But +presently, when assured that no one was injured, they grew more calm and +collected and the Lion said with a sigh of relief:</p> + +<p>"Who would have thought those Merry-Go-Round Mountains were made of +rubber?"</p> + +<p>"Are they really rubber?" asked Trot.</p> + +<p>"They must be," replied the Lion, "for otherwise we would not have +bounded so swiftly from one to another without getting hurt."</p> + +<p>"That is all guesswork," declared the Wizard, unwinding the blankets +from his body, "for none of us stayed long enough on the mountains to +discover what they are made of. But where are we?"</p> + +<p>"That's guesswork, too," said Scraps. "The shepherd said the +Thistle-Eaters live this side the mountains and are waited on by +giants."</p> + +<p>"Oh, no," said Dorothy; "it's the Herkus who have giant slaves, and the +Thistle-Eaters hitch dragons to their chariots."</p> + +<p>"How could they do that?" asked the Woozy. "Dragons have long tails, +which would get in the way of the chariot wheels."</p> + +<p>"And, if the Herkus have conquered the giants," said Trot, "they must be +at least twice the size of giants. P'raps the Herkus are the biggest +people in all the world!"</p> + +<p>"Perhaps they are," assented the Wizard, in a thoughtful tone of voice. +"And perhaps the shepherd didn't know what he was talking about. Let us +travel on toward the west and discover for ourselves what the people of +this country are like."</p> + +<p>It seemed a pleasant enough country, and it was quite still and peaceful +when they turned their eyes away from the silently whirling mountains. +There were trees here and there and green bushes, while throughout the +thick grass were scattered brilliantly colored flowers. About a mile +away was a low hill that hid from them all the country beyond it, so +they realized they could not tell much about the country until they had +crossed the hill.</p> + +<p>The Red Wagon having been left behind, it was now necessary to make +other arrangements for traveling. The Lion told Dorothy she could ride +upon his back, as she had often done before, and the Woozy said he could +easily carry both Trot and the Patchwork Girl. Betsy still had her mule, +Hank, and Button-Bright and the Wizard could sit together upon the long, +thin back of the Sawhorse, but they took care to soften their seat with +a pad of blankets before they started. Thus mounted, the adventurers +started for the hill, which was reached after a brief journey.</p> + +<p>As they mounted the crest and gazed beyond the hill they discovered not +far away a walled city, from the towers and spires of which gay banners +were flying. It was not a very big city, indeed, but its walls were very +high and thick and it appeared that the people who lived there must +have feared attack by a powerful enemy, else they would not have +surrounded their dwellings with so strong a barrier.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 403px;"> +<img src="images/i115.png" width="403" height="551" alt="image unavailable" /> + +</div> + +<p>There was no path leading from the mountains to the city, and this +proved that the people seldom or never visited the whirling hills; but +our friends found the grass soft and agreeable to travel over and with +the city before them they could not well lose their way. When they drew +nearer to the walls, the breeze carried to their ears the sound of +music—dim at first but growing louder as they advanced.</p> + +<p>"That doesn't seem like a very terr'ble place," remarked Dorothy.</p> + +<p>"Well, it <i>looks</i> all right," replied Trot, from her seat on the Woozy, +"but looks can't always be trusted."</p> + +<p>"My looks can," said Scraps. "I <i>look</i> patchwork, and I <i>am</i> patchwork, +and no one but a blind owl could ever doubt that I'm the Patchwork +Girl." Saying which she turned a somersault off the Woozy and, alighting +on her feet, began wildly dancing about.</p> + +<p>"Are owls ever blind?" asked Trot.</p> + +<p>"Always, in the daytime," said Button-Bright. "But Scraps can see with +her button eyes both day and night. Isn't it queer?"</p> + +<p>"It's queer that buttons can see at all," answered Trot; "but—good +gracious! what's become of the city?"</p> + +<p>"I was going to ask that myself," said Dorothy. "It's gone!"</p> + +<p>The animals came to a sudden halt, for the city had really +disappeared—walls and all—and before them lay the clear, unbroken +sweep of the country.</p> + +<p>"Dear me!" exclaimed the Wizard. "This is rather disagreeable. It is +annoying to travel almost to a place and then find it is not there."</p> + +<p>"Where can it be, then?" asked Dorothy. "It cert'nly was there a minute +ago."</p> + +<p>"I can hear the music yet," declared Button-Bright, and when they all +listened the strains of music could plainly be heard.</p> + +<p>"Oh! there's the city—over at the left," called Scraps, and turning +their eyes they saw the walls and towers and fluttering banners far to +the left of them.</p> + +<p>"We must have lost our way," suggested Dorothy.</p> + +<p>"Nonsense," said the Lion. "I, and all the other animals, have been +tramping straight toward the city ever since we first saw it."</p> + +<p>"Then how does it happen—"</p> + +<p>"Never mind," interrupted the Wizard, "we are no farther from it than we +were before. It is in a different direction, that's all; so let us hurry +and get there before it again escapes us."</p> + +<p>So on they went, directly toward the city, which seemed only a couple of +miles distant; but when they had traveled less than a mile it suddenly +disappeared again. Once more they paused, somewhat discouraged, but in a +moment the button eyes of Scraps again discovered the city, only this +time it was just behind them, in the direction from which they had come.</p> + +<p>"Goodness gracious!" cried Dorothy. "There's surely something wrong with +that city. Do you s'pose it's on wheels, Wizard?"</p> + +<p>"It may not be a city at all," he replied, looking toward it with a +speculative gaze.</p> + +<p>"What <i>could</i> it be, then?"</p> + +<p>"Just an illusion."</p> + +<p>"What's that?" asked Trot.</p> + +<p>"Something you think you see and don't see."</p> + +<p>"I can't believe that," said Button-Bright. "If we only saw it, we might +be mistaken, but if we can see it and hear it, too, it must be there."</p> + +<p>"Where?" asked the Patchwork Girl.</p> + +<p>"Somewhere near us," he insisted.</p> + +<p>"We will have to go back, I suppose," said the Woozy, with a sigh.</p> + +<p>So back they turned and headed for the walled city until it disappeared +again, only to reappear at the right of them. They were constantly +getting nearer to it, however, so they kept their faces turned toward it +as it flitted here and there to all points of the compass. Presently the +Lion, who was leading the procession, halted abruptly and cried out: +"Ouch!"</p> + +<p>"What's the matter?" asked Dorothy.</p> + +<p>"Ouch—ouch!" repeated the Lion, and leaped backward so suddenly that +Dorothy nearly tumbled from his back. At the same time Hank the Mule +yelled "Ouch!" almost as loudly as the Lion had done, and he also +pranced backward a few paces.</p> + +<p>"It's the thistles," said Betsy. "They prick their legs."</p> + +<p>Hearing this, all looked down, and sure enough the ground was thick with +thistles, which covered the plain from the point where they stood way up +to the walls of the mysterious city. No pathways through them could be +seen at all; here the soft grass ended and the growth of thistles began.</p> + +<p>"They're the prickliest thistles I ever felt," grumbled the Lion. "My +legs smart yet from their stings, though I jumped out of them as quick +as I could."</p> + +<p>"Here is a new difficulty," remarked the Wizard in a grieved tone. "The +city has stopped hopping around, it is true; but how are we to get to +it, over this mass of prickers?"</p> + +<p>"They can't hurt <i>me</i>," said the thick-skinned Woozy, advancing +fearlessly and trampling among the thistles.</p> + +<p>"Nor me," said the Wooden Sawhorse.</p> + +<p>"But the Lion and the Mule cannot stand the prickers," asserted Dorothy, +"and we can't leave them behind."</p> + +<p>"Must we all go back?" asked Trot.</p> + +<p>"Course not!" replied Button-Bright scornfully. "Always, when there's +trouble, there's a way out of it, if you can find it."</p> + +<p>"I wish the Scarecrow was here," said Scraps, standing on her head on +the Woozy's square back. "His splendid brains would soon show us how to +conquer this field of thistles."</p> + +<p>"What's the matter with <i>your</i> brains?" asked the boy.</p> + +<p>"Nothing," she said, making a flip-flop into the thistles and dancing +among them without feeling their sharp points. "I could tell you in +half a minute how to get over the thistles, if I wanted to."</p> + +<p>"Tell us, Scraps!" begged Dorothy.</p> + +<p>"I don't want to wear my brains out with overwork," replied the +Patchwork Girl.</p> + +<p>"Don't you love Ozma? And don't you want to find her?" asked Betsy +reproachfully.</p> + +<p>"Yes, indeed," said Scraps, walking on her hands as an acrobat does at +the circus.</p> + +<p>"Well, we can't find Ozma unless we get past these thistles," declared +Dorothy.</p> + +<p>Scraps danced around them two or three times, without reply. Then she +said:</p> + +<p>"Don't look at me, you stupid folks; look at those blankets."</p> + +<p>The Wizard's face brightened at once.</p> + +<p>"Of course!" he exclaimed. "Why didn't we think of those blankets +before?"</p> + +<p>"Because you haven't magic brains," laughed Scraps. "Such brains as you +have are of the common sort that grow in your heads, like weeds in a +garden. I'm sorry for you people who have to be born in order to be +alive."</p> + +<p>But the Wizard was not listening to her. He quickly removed the blankets +from the back of the Sawhorse and spread one of them upon the thistles, +just next the grass. The thick cloth rendered the prickers harmless, so +the Wizard walked over this first blanket and spread the second one +farther on, in the direction of the phantom city.</p> + +<p>"These blankets," said he, "are for the Lion and the Mule to walk upon. +The Sawhorse and the Woozy can walk on the thistles."</p> + +<p>So the Lion and the Mule walked over the first blanket and stood upon +the second one until the Wizard had picked up the one they had passed +over and spread it in front of them, when they advanced to that one and +waited while the one behind them was again spread in front.</p> + +<p>"This is slow work," said the Wizard, "but it will get us to the city +after a while."</p> + +<p>"The city is a good half mile away, yet," announced Button-Bright.</p> + +<p>"And this is awful hard work for the Wizard," added Trot.</p> + +<p>"Why couldn't the Lion ride on the Woozy's back?" asked Dorothy. "It's a +big, flat back, and the Woozy's mighty strong. Perhaps the Lion wouldn't +fall off."</p> + +<p>"You may try it, if you like," said the Woozy to the Lion. "I can take +you to the city in a jiffy and then come back for Hank."</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 403px;"> +<img src="images/i123.png" width="403" height="551" alt="image unavailable" /> + +</div> + +<p>"I'm—I'm afraid," said the Cowardly Lion. He was twice as big as the +Woozy.</p> + +<p>"Try it," pleaded Dorothy.</p> + +<p>"And take a tumble among the thistles?" asked the Lion reproachfully. +But when the Woozy came close to him the big beast suddenly bounded upon +its back and managed to balance himself there, although forced to hold +his four legs so close together that he was in danger of toppling over. +The great weight of the monster Lion did not seem to affect the Woozy, +who called to his rider: "Hold on tight!" and ran swiftly over the +thistles toward the city.</p> + +<p>The others stood on the blankets and watched the strange sight +anxiously. Of course the Lion couldn't "hold on tight" because there was +nothing to hold to, and he swayed from side to side as if likely to fall +off any moment. Still, he managed to stick to the Woozy's back until +they were close to the walls of the city, when he leaped to the ground. +Next moment the Woozy came dashing back at full speed.</p> + +<p>"There's a little strip of ground next the wall where there are no +thistles," he told them, when he had reached the adventurers once more. +"Now, then, friend Hank, see if you can ride as well as the Lion did."</p> + +<p>"Take the others first," proposed the Mule. So the Sawhorse and the +Woozy made a couple of trips over the thistles to the city walls and +carried all the people in safety, Dorothy holding little Toto in her +arms. The travelers then sat in a group on a little hillock, just +outside the wall, and looked at the great blocks of gray stone and +waited for the Woozy to bring Hank to them. The Mule was very awkward +and his legs trembled so badly that more than once they thought he would +tumble off, but finally he reached them in safety and the entire party +was now reunited. More than that, they had reached the city that had +eluded them for so long and in so strange a manner.</p> + +<p>"The gates must be around the other side," said the Wizard. "Let us +follow the curve of the wall until we reach an opening in it."</p> + +<p>"Which way?" asked Dorothy.</p> + +<p>"We must guess at that," he replied. "Suppose we go to the left? One +direction is as good as another."</p> + +<p>They formed in marching order and went around the city wall to the left. +It wasn't a big city, as I have said, but to go way around it, outside +the high wall, was quite a walk, as they became aware. But around it our +adventurers went, without finding any sign of a gateway or other +opening. When they had returned to the little mound from which they had +started, they dismounted from the animals and again seated themselves on +the grassy mound.</p> + +<p>"It's mighty queer, isn't it?" asked Button-Bright.</p> + +<p>"There must be <i>some</i> way for the people to get out and in," declared +Dorothy. "Do you s'pose they have flying machines, Wizard?"</p> + +<p>"No," he replied, "for in that case they would be flying all over the +Land of Oz, and we know they have not done that. Flying machines are +unknown here. I think it more likely that the people use ladders to get +over the walls."</p> + +<p>"It would be an awful climb, over that high stone wall," said Betsy.</p> + +<p>"Stone, is it?" cried Scraps, who was again dancing wildly around, for +she never tired and could never keep still for long.</p> + +<p>"Course it's stone," answered Betsy scornfully. "Can't you see?"</p> + +<p>"Yes," said Scraps, going closer, "I can <i>see</i> the wall, but I can't +<i>feel</i> it." And then, with her arms outstretched, she did a very queer +thing. She walked right into the wall and disappeared.</p> + +<p>"For goodness sake!" cried Dorothy amazed, as indeed they all were.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 406px;"> +<img src="images/i127.png" width="406" height="406" alt="image unavailable" /> + +</div> + + + + +<hr style="width:15%;" /> + +<p><a name="The_High_Coco-Lorum_of_Thi" id="The_High_Coco-Lorum_of_Thi"></a></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 410px;"> +<img src="images/i128.png" width="410" height="413" alt="The High Coco-Lorum of Thi +CHAPTER 9" class="top20" /> +</div> + +<p class="beg">CHAPTER 9<br /><br /> +And now the<br />Patchwork Girl +<br />came dancing out +<br />of the wall again.</p> + +<p>"Come on!" she called. "It isn't there. There isn't any wall at all."</p> + +<p>"What! No wall?" exclaimed the Wizard.</p> + +<p>"Nothing like it," said Scraps. "It's a make-believe. You see it, but it +isn't. Come on into the city; we've been wasting time."</p> + +<p>With this she danced into the wall again and once more disappeared. +Button-Bright, who was rather venturesome, dashed away after her and +also became invisible to them. The others followed more cautiously, +stretching out their hands to feel the wall and finding, to their +astonishment, that they could feel nothing because nothing opposed them. +They walked on a few steps and found themselves in the streets of a very +beautiful city. Behind them they again saw the wall, grim and forbidding +as ever; but now they knew it was merely an illusion, prepared to keep +strangers from entering the city.</p> + +<p>But the wall was soon forgotten, for in front of them were a number of +quaint people who stared at them in amazement, as if wondering where +they had come from. Our friends forgot their good manners, for a time, +and returned the stares with interest, for so remarkable a people had +never before been discovered in all the remarkable Land of Oz.</p> + +<p>Their heads were shaped like diamonds and their bodies like hearts. All +the hair they had was a little bunch at the tip top of their +diamond-shaped heads and their eyes were very large and round and their +noses and mouths very small. Their clothing was tight-fitting and of +brilliant colors, being handsomely embroidered in quaint designs with +gold or silver threads; but on their feet they wore sandals, with no +stockings whatever. The expression of their faces was pleasant enough, +although they now showed surprise at the appearance of strangers so +unlike themselves, and our friends thought they seemed quite harmless.</p> + +<p>"I beg your pardon," said the Wizard, speaking for his party, "for +intruding upon you uninvited, but we are traveling on important business +and find it necessary to visit your city. Will you kindly tell us by +what name your city is called?"</p> + +<p>They looked at one another uncertainly, each expecting some other to +answer. Finally a short one whose heart-shaped body was very broad +replied:</p> + +<p>"We have no occasion to call our city anything. It is where we live, +that is all."</p> + +<p>"But by what name do others call your city?" asked the Wizard.</p> + +<p>"We know of no others, except yourselves," said the man. And then he +inquired: "Were you born with those queer forms you have, or has some +cruel magician transformed you to them from your natural shapes?"</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 317px;"> +<img src="images/i131_th.png" width="317" height="420" alt="image unavailable" /> +<span class="caption1"><a href="images/i131.png">[Click here to view this image enlarged.]</a></span> +</div> + +<p>"These are our natural shapes," declared the Wizard, "and we consider +them very good shapes, too."</p> + +<p>The group of inhabitants was constantly being enlarged by others who +joined it. All were evidently startled and uneasy at the arrival of +strangers.</p> + +<p>"Have you a King?" asked Dorothy, who knew it was better to speak with +someone in authority. But the man shook his diamond-like head.</p> + +<p>"What is a King?" he asked.</p> + +<p>"Isn't there anyone who rules over you?" inquired the Wizard.</p> + +<p>"No," was the reply, "each of us rules himself; or, at least, tries to +do so. It is not an easy thing to do, as you probably know."</p> + +<p>The Wizard reflected.</p> + +<p>"If you have disputes among you," said he, after a little thought, "who +settles them?"</p> + +<p>"The High Coco-Lorum," they answered in a chorus.</p> + +<p>"And who is he?"</p> + +<p>"The judge who enforces the laws," said the man who had first spoken.</p> + +<p>"Then he is the principal person here?" continued the Wizard.</p> + +<p>"Well, I would not say that," returned the man in a puzzled way. "The +High Coco-Lorum is a public servant. However, he represents the laws, +which we must all obey."</p> + +<p>"I think," said the Wizard, "we ought to see your High Coco-Lorum and +talk with him. Our mission here requires us to consult one high in +authority, and the High Coco-Lorum ought to be high, whatever else he +is."</p> + +<p>The inhabitants seemed to consider this proposition reasonable, for they +nodded their diamond-shaped heads in approval. So the broad one who had +been their spokesman said: "Follow me," and, turning, led the way along +one of the streets.</p> + +<p>The entire party followed him, the natives falling in behind. The +dwellings they passed were quite nicely planned and seemed comfortable +and convenient. After leading them a few blocks their conductor stopped +before a house which was neither better nor worse than the others. The +doorway was shaped to admit the strangely formed bodies of these people, +being narrow at the top, broad in the middle and tapering at the bottom. +The windows were made in much the same way, giving the house a most +peculiar appearance. When their guide opened the gate a music-box +concealed in the gate-post began to play, and the sound attracted the +attention of the High Coco-Lorum, who appeared at an open window and +inquired:</p> + +<p>"What has happened now?"</p> + +<p>But in the same moment his eyes fell upon the strangers and he hastened +to open the door and admit them—all but the animals, which were left +outside with the throng of natives that had now gathered. For a small +city there seemed to be a large number of inhabitants, but they did not +try to enter the house and contented themselves with staring curiously +at the strange animals. Toto followed Dorothy.</p> + +<p>Our friends entered a large room at the front of the house, where the +High Coco-Lorum asked them to be seated.</p> + +<p>"I hope your mission here is a peaceful one," he said, looking a little +worried, "for the Thists are not very good fighters and object to being +conquered."</p> + +<p>"Are your people called Thists?" asked Dorothy.</p> + +<p>"Yes. I thought you knew that. And we call our city Thi."</p> + +<p>"Oh!"</p> + +<p>"We are Thists because we eat thistles, you know," continued the High +Coco-Lorum.</p> + +<p>"Do you really eat those prickly things?" inquired Button-Bright +wonderingly.</p> + +<p>"Why not?" replied the other. "The sharp points of the thistles cannot +hurt us, because all our insides are gold-lined."</p> + +<p>"Gold-lined!"</p> + +<p>"To be sure. Our throats and stomachs are lined with solid gold, and we +find the thistles nourishing and good to eat. As a matter of fact, there +is nothing else in our country that is fit for food. All around the City +of Thi grow countless thistles, and all we need do is to go and gather +them. If we wanted anything else to eat we would have to plant it, and +grow it, and harvest it, and that would be a lot of trouble and make us +work, which is an occupation we detest."</p> + +<p>"But, tell me, please," said the Wizard, "how does it happen that your +city jumps around so, from one part of the country to another?"</p> + +<p>"The city doesn't jump; it doesn't move at all," declared the High +Coco-Lorum. "However, I will admit that the land that surrounds it has a +trick of turning this way or that; and so, if one is standing upon the +plain and facing north, he is likely to find himself suddenly facing +west—or east—or south. But once you reach the thistle fields you are +on solid ground."</p> + +<p>"Ah, I begin to understand," said the Wizard, nodding his head. "But I +have another question to ask: How does it happen that the Thists have no +King to rule over them?"</p> + +<p>"Hush!" whispered the High Coco-Lorum, looking uneasily around to make +sure they were not overheard. "In reality, I am the King, but the people +don't know it. They think they rule themselves, but the fact is I have +everything my own way. No one else knows anything about our laws, and so +I make the laws to suit myself. If any oppose me, or question my acts, I +tell them it's the law, and that settles it. If I called myself King, +however, and wore a crown and lived in royal state, the people would not +like me, and might do me harm. As the High Coco-Lorum of Thi, I'm +considered a very agreeable person."</p> + +<p>"It seems a very clever arrangement," said the Wizard. "And now, as you +are the principal person in Thi, I beg you to tell us if the Royal Ozma +is a captive in your city."</p> + +<p>"No," answered the diamond-headed man, "we have no captives. No +strangers but yourselves are here, and we have never before heard of the +Royal Ozma."</p> + +<p>"She rules all of Oz," said Dorothy, "and so she rules your city and +you, because you are in the Winkie Country, which is a part of the Land +of Oz."</p> + +<p>"It may be," returned the High Coco-Lorum, "for we do not study +geography and have never inquired whether we live in the Land of Oz or +not. And any Ruler who rules us from a distance, and unknown to us, is +welcome to the job. But what has happened to your Royal Ozma?"</p> + +<p>"Someone has stolen her," said the Wizard. "Do you happen to have any +talented magician among your people—one who is especially clever, you +know?"</p> + +<p>"No, none especially clever. We do some magic, of course, but it is all +of the ordinary kind. I do not think any of us has yet aspired to +stealing Rulers, either by magic or otherwise."</p> + +<p>"Then we've come a long way for nothing!" exclaimed Trot regretfully.</p> + +<p>"But we are going farther than this," asserted the Patchwork Girl, +bending her stuffed body backward until her yarn hair touched the floor +and then walking around on her hands with her feet in the air.</p> + +<p>The High Coco-Lorum watched Scraps admiringly.</p> + +<p>"You may go farther on, of course," said he, "but I advise you not to. +The Herkus live back of us, beyond the thistles and the twisting lands, +and they are not very nice people to meet, I assure you."</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 416px;"> +<img src="images/i139.png" width="416" height="596" alt="image unavailable" /> + +</div> + +<p>"Are they giants?" asked Betsy.</p> + +<p>"They are worse than that," was the reply. "They have giants for their +slaves and they are so much stronger than giants that the poor slaves +dare not rebel, for fear of being torn to pieces."</p> + +<p>"How do you know?" asked Scraps.</p> + +<p>"Everyone says so," answered the High Coco-Lorum.</p> + +<p>"Have you seen the Herkus yourself?" inquired Dorothy.</p> + +<p>"No, but what everyone says must be true; otherwise, what would be the +use of their saying it?"</p> + +<p>"We were told, before we got here, that you people hitch dragons to your +chariots," said the little girl.</p> + +<p>"So we do," declared the High Coco-Lorum. "And that reminds me that I +ought to entertain you, as strangers and my guests, by taking you for a +ride around our splendid City of Thi."</p> + +<p>He touched a button and a band began to play; at least, they heard the +music of a band, but couldn't tell where it came from.</p> + +<p>"That tune is the order to my charioteer to bring around my +dragon-chariot," said the High Coco-Lorum. "Every time I give an order +it is in music, which is a much more pleasant way to address servants +than in cold, stern words."</p> + +<p>"Does this dragon of yours bite?" asked Button-Bright.</p> + +<p>"Mercy, no! Do you think I'd risk the safety of my innocent people by +using a biting dragon to draw my chariot? I'm proud to say that my +dragon is harmless—unless his steering-gear breaks—and he was +manufactured at the famous dragon-factory in this City of Thi. Here he +comes and you may examine him for yourselves."</p> + +<p>They heard a low rumble and a shrill squeaking sound and, going out to +the front of the house, they saw coming around the corner a car drawn by +a gorgeous jeweled dragon, which moved its head to right and left and +flashed its eyes like the headlights of an automobile and uttered a +growling noise as it slowly moved toward them.</p> + +<p>When it stopped before the High Coco-Lorum's house Toto barked sharply +at the sprawling beast, but even tiny Trot could see that the dragon was +not alive. Its scales were of gold and each one was set with sparkling +jewels, while it walked in such a stiff, regular manner that it could be +nothing else than a machine. The chariot that trailed behind it was +likewise of gold and jewels, and when they entered it they found there +were no seats. Everyone was supposed to stand up while riding.</p> + +<p>The charioteer was a little diamond-headed fellow who straddled the neck +of the dragon and moved the levers that made it go.</p> + +<p>"This," said the High Coco-Lorum, pompously, "is a wonderful invention. +We are all very proud of our auto-dragons, many of which are in use by +our wealthy inhabitants. Start the thing going, charioteer!"</p> + +<p>The charioteer did not move.</p> + +<p>"You forgot to order him in music," suggested Dorothy.</p> + +<p>"Ah, so I did." He touched a button and a music-box in the dragon's head +began to play a tune. At once the little charioteer pulled over a lever +and the dragon began to move—very slowly and groaning dismally as it +drew the clumsy chariot after it. Toto trotted between the wheels. The +Sawhorse, the Mule, the Lion and the Woozy followed after and had no +trouble in keeping up with the machine; indeed, they had to go slow to +keep from running into it. When the wheels turned another music-box +concealed somewhere under the chariot played a lively march tune which +was in striking contrast with the dragging movement of the strange +vehicle and Button-Bright decided that the music he had heard when they +first sighted this city was nothing else than a chariot plodding its +weary way through the streets.</p> + +<p>All the travelers from the Emerald City thought this ride the most +uninteresting and dreary they had ever experienced, but the High +Coco-Lorum seemed to think it was grand. He pointed out the different +buildings and parks and fountains, in much the same way that the +conductor of an American "sight-seeing wagon" does, and being guests +they were obliged to submit to the ordeal. But they became a little +worried when their host told them he had ordered a banquet prepared for +them in the City Hall.</p> + +<p>"What are we going to eat?" asked Button-Bright suspiciously.</p> + +<p>"Thistles," was the reply; "fine, fresh thistles, gathered this very +day."</p> + +<p>Scraps laughed, for she never ate anything, but Dorothy said in a +protesting voice:</p> + +<p>"<i>Our</i> insides are not lined with gold, you know."</p> + +<p>"How sad!" exclaimed the High Coco-Lorum; and then he added, as an +afterthought: "But we can have the thistles boiled, if you prefer."</p> + +<p>"I'm 'fraid they wouldn't taste good, even then," said little Trot. +"Haven't you anything else to eat?"</p> + +<p>The High Coco-Lorum shook his diamond-shaped head.</p> + +<p>"Nothing that I know of," said he. "But why should we have anything +else, when we have so many thistles? However, if you can't eat what we +eat, don't eat anything. We shall not be offended and the banquet will +be just as merry and delightful."</p> + +<p>Knowing his companions were all hungry the Wizard said:</p> + +<p>"I trust you will excuse us from the banquet, sir, which will be merry +enough without us, although it is given in our honor. For, as Ozma is +not in your city, we must leave here at once and seek her elsewhere."</p> + +<p>"Sure we must!" agreed Dorothy, and she whispered to Betsy and Trot: +"I'd rather starve somewhere else than in this city, and—who knows?—we +may run across somebody who eats reg'lar food and will give us some."</p> + +<p>So, when the ride was finished, in spite of the protests of the High +Coco-Lorum they insisted on continuing their journey.</p> + +<p>"It will soon be dark," he objected.</p> + +<p>"We don't mind the darkness," replied the Wizard.</p> + +<p>"Some wandering Herku may get you."</p> + +<p>"Do you think the Herkus would hurt us?" asked Dorothy.</p> + +<p>"I cannot say, not having the honor of their acquaintance. But they are +said to be so strong that, if they had any other place to stand upon, +they could lift the world."</p> + +<p>"All of them together?" asked Button-Bright wonderingly.</p> + +<p>"Any one of them could do it," said the High Coco-Lorum.</p> + +<p>"Have you heard of any magicians being among them?" asked the Wizard, +knowing that only a magician could have stolen Ozma in the way she had +been stolen.</p> + +<p>"I am told it is quite a magical country," declared the High Coco-Lorum, +"and magic is usually performed by magicians. But I have never heard +that they have any invention or sorcery to equal our wonderful +auto-dragons."</p> + +<p>They thanked him for his courtesy and, mounting their own animals, rode +to the farther side of the city and right through the Wall of Illusion +out into the open country.</p> + +<p>"I'm glad we got away so easily," said Betsy. "I didn't like those +queer-shaped people."</p> + +<p>"Nor did I," agreed Dorothy. "It seems dreadful to be lined with sheets +of pure gold and have nothing to eat but thistles."</p> + +<p>"They seemed happy and contented, though," remarked the little Wizard, +"and those who are contented have nothing to regret and nothing more to +wish for."</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 403px;"> +<img src="images/i146.png" width="403" height="242" alt="image unavailable" /> +</div> + +<hr style="width:15%;" /> + +<p><a name="Toto_Loses_Something" id="Toto_Loses_Something"></a></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 411px;"> +<img src="images/i147.png" width="411" height="415" alt="Toto Loses Something +CHAPTER 10" class="top20" /> +</div> + +<p class="beg">CHAPTER 10<br /><br /> +For a while the +<br />travelers were<br /> +constantly losing +<br />their direction, +<br />for +beyond</p> + +<p class="n">the thistle fields they again found themselves upon the +turning-lands, which swung them around in such a freakish manner that +first they were headed one way and then another. But by keeping the City +of Thi constantly behind them the adventurers finally passed the +treacherous turning-lands and came upon a stony country where no grass +grew at all. There were plenty of bushes, however, and although it was +now almost dark the girls discovered some delicious yellow berries +growing upon the bushes, one taste of which set them all to picking as +many as they could find. The berries relieved their pangs of hunger, for +a time, and as it now became too dark to see anything they camped where +they were.</p> + +<p>The three girls lay down upon one of the blankets—all in a row—and +then the Wizard covered them with the other blanket and tucked them in. +Button-Bright crawled under the shelter of some bushes and was asleep in +half a minute. The Wizard sat down with his back to a big stone and +looked at the stars in the sky and thought gravely upon the dangerous +adventure they had undertaken, wondering if they would ever be able to +find their beloved Ozma again. The animals lay in a group by themselves, +a little distance from the others.</p> + +<p>"I've lost my growl!" said Toto, who had been very silent and sober all +that day. "What do you suppose has become of it?"</p> + +<p>"If you had asked me to keep track of your growl, I might be able to +tell you," remarked the Lion sleepily. "But, frankly, Toto, I supposed +you were taking care of it yourself."</p> + +<p>"It's an awful thing to lose one's growl," said Toto, wagging his tail +disconsolately. "What if you lost your roar, Lion? Wouldn't you feel +terrible?"</p> + +<p>"My roar," replied the Lion, "is the fiercest thing about me. I depend +on it to frighten my enemies so badly that they won't dare to fight me."</p> + +<p>"Once," said the Mule, "I lost my bray, so that I couldn't call to Betsy +to let her know I was hungry. That was before I could talk, you know, +for I had not yet come into the Land of Oz, and I found it was certainly +very uncomfortable not to be able to make a noise."</p> + +<p>"You make enough noise now," declared Toto. "But none of you has +answered my question: Where is my growl?"</p> + +<p>"You may search <i>me</i>" said the Woozy. "I don't care for such things +myself."</p> + +<p>"You snore terribly," asserted Toto.</p> + +<p>"It may be," said the Woozy. "What one does when asleep one is not +accountable for. I wish you would wake me up, some time when I'm +snoring, and let me hear the sound. Then I can judge whether it is +terrible or delightful."</p> + +<p>"It isn't pleasant, I assure you," said the Lion, yawning.</p> + +<p>"To me it seems wholly unnecessary," declared Hank the Mule.</p> + +<p>"You ought to break yourself of the habit," said the Sawhorse. "You +never hear me snore, because I never sleep. I don't even whinny, as +those puffy meat horses do. I wish that whoever stole Toto's growl had +taken the Mule's bray and the Lion's roar and the Woozy's snore at the +same time."</p> + +<p>"Do you think, then, that my growl was stolen?"</p> + +<p>"You have never lost it before, have you?" inquired the Sawhorse.</p> + +<p>"Only once, when I had a sore throat from barking too long at the moon."</p> + +<p>"Is your throat sore now?" asked the Woozy.</p> + +<p>"No," replied the dog.</p> + +<p>"I can't understand," said Hank, "why dogs bark at the moon. They can't +scare the moon, and the moon doesn't pay any attention to the bark. So +why do dogs do it?"</p> + +<p>"Were you ever a dog?" asked Toto.</p> + +<p>"No, indeed," replied Hank. "I am thankful to say I was created a +mule—the most beautiful of all beasts—and have always remained one."</p> + +<p>The Woozy sat upon his square haunches to examine Hank with care.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 403px;"> +<img src="images/i151.png" width="403" height="561" alt="image unavailable" /> +</div> + +<p>"Beauty," said he, "must be a matter of taste. I don't say your judgment +is bad, friend Hank, or that you are so vulgar as to be conceited. But +if you admire big waggly ears, and a tail like a paint-brush, and hoofs +big enough for an elephant, and a long neck and a body so skinny that +one can count the ribs with one eye shut—if that's your idea of beauty, +Hank—then either you or I must be much mistaken."</p> + +<p>"You're full of edges," sneered the Mule. "If I were square, as you are, +I suppose you'd think me lovely."</p> + +<p>"Outwardly, dear Hank, I would," replied the Woozy. "But to be really +lovely one must be beautiful without and within."</p> + +<p>The Mule couldn't deny this statement, so he gave a disgusted grunt and +rolled over so that his back was toward the Woozy. But the Lion, +regarding the two calmly with his great yellow eyes, said to the dog:</p> + +<p>"My dear Toto, our friends have taught us a lesson in humility. If the +Woozy and the Mule are indeed beautiful creatures, as they seem to +think, you and I must be decidedly ugly."</p> + +<p>"Not to ourselves," protested Toto, who was a shrewd little dog. "You +and I, Lion, are fine specimens of our own races. I am a fine dog and +you are a fine lion. Only in point of comparison, one with another, can +we be properly judged, so I will leave it to the poor old Sawhorse to +decide which is the most beautiful animal among us all. The Sawhorse is +wood, so he won't be prejudiced and will speak the truth."</p> + +<p>"I surely will," responded the Sawhorse, wagging his ears, which were +chips set in his wooden head. "Are you all agreed to accept my +judgment?"</p> + +<p>"We are!" they declared, each one hopeful.</p> + +<p>"Then," said the Sawhorse, "I must point out to you the fact that you +are all meat creatures, who tire unless they sleep, and starve unless +they eat, and suffer from thirst unless they drink. Such animals must be +very imperfect, and imperfect creatures cannot be beautiful. Now, <i>I</i> am +made of wood."</p> + +<p>"You surely have a wooden head," said the Mule.</p> + +<p>"Yes, and a wooden body and wooden legs—which are as swift as the wind +and as tireless. I've heard Dorothy say that 'handsome is as handsome +does,' and I surely perform my duties in a handsome manner. Therefore, +if you wish my honest judgment, I will confess that among us all I am +the most beautiful."</p> + +<p>The Mule snorted and the Woozy laughed; Toto had lost his growl and +could only look scornfully at the Sawhorse, who stood in his place +unmoved. But the Lion stretched himself and yawned, saying quietly:</p> + +<p>"Were we all like the Sawhorse we would all be Sawhorses, which would be +too many of the kind; were we all like Hank, we would be a herd of +mules; if like Toto, we would be a pack of dogs; should we all become +the shape of the Woozy, he would no longer be remarkable for his unusual +appearance. Finally, were you all like me, I would consider you so +common that I would not care to associate with you. To be individual, my +friends, to be different from others, is the only way to become +distinguished from the common herd. Let us be glad, therefore, that we +differ from one another in form and in disposition. Variety is the spice +of life and we are various enough to enjoy one another's society; so let +us be content."</p> + +<p>"There is some truth in that speech," remarked Toto reflectively. "But +how about my lost growl?"</p> + +<p>"The growl is of importance only to you," responded the Lion, "so it is +your business to worry over the loss, not ours. If you love us, do not +inflict your burdens on us; be unhappy all by yourself."</p> + +<p>"If the same person stole my growl who stole Ozma," said the little dog, +"I hope we shall find him very soon and punish him as he deserves. He +must be the most cruel person in all the world, for to prevent a dog +from growling when it is his nature to growl is just as wicked, in my +opinion, as stealing all the magic in Oz."</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 228px;"> +<img src="images/i155.png" width="228" height="335" alt="image unavailable" /> +</div> + + + +<hr style="width:15%;" /> + +<p><a name="Button-Bright_Loses_Himself" id="Button-Bright_Loses_Himself"></a></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 409px;"> +<img src="images/i156.png" width="409" height="408" alt="Button-Bright Loses Himself +CHAPTER 11" class="top20" /> +</div> + +<p class="beg">CHAPTER 11<br /><br /> +The Patchwork +<br />Girl, who never<br />slept and who +<br />could see very +<br />well in the</p> + +<p class="n">dark, had wandered among the rocks and bushes all night long, with the +result that she was able to tell some good news the next morning.</p> + +<p>"Over the crest of the hill before us," she said, "is a big grove of +trees of many kinds, on which all sorts of fruits grow. If you will go +there you will find a nice breakfast awaiting you."</p> + +<p>This made them eager to start, so as soon as the blankets were folded +and strapped to the back of the Sawhorse they all took their places on +the animals and set out for the big grove Scraps had told them of.</p> + +<p>As soon as they got over the brow of the hill they discovered it to be a +really immense orchard, extending for miles to the right and left of +them. As their way led straight through the trees they hurried forward +as fast as possible.</p> + +<p>The first trees they came to bore quinces, which they did not like. Then +there were rows of citron trees and then crab apples and afterward limes +and lemons. But beyond these they found a grove of big golden oranges, +juicy and sweet, and the fruit hung low on the branches, so they could +pluck it easily.</p> + +<p>They helped themselves freely and all ate oranges as they continued on +their way. Then, a little farther along, they came to some trees bearing +fine red apples, which they also feasted on, and the Wizard stopped here +long enough to tie a lot of the apples in one end of a blanket.</p> + +<p>"We do not know what will happen to us after we leave this delightful +orchard," he said, "so I think it wise to carry a supply of apples with +us. We can't starve as long as we have apples, you know."</p> + +<p>Scraps wasn't riding the Woozy just now. She loved to climb the trees +and swing herself by the branches from one tree to another. Some of the +choicest fruit was gathered by the Patchwork Girl from the very highest +limbs and tossed down to the others.</p> + +<p>Suddenly Trot asked: "Where's Button-Bright?" and when the others looked +for him they found the boy had disappeared.</p> + +<p>"Dear me!" cried Dorothy. "I guess he's lost again, and that will mean +our waiting here until we can find him."</p> + +<p>"It's a good place to wait," suggested Betsy, who had found a plum tree +and was eating some of its fruit.</p> + +<p>"How can you wait here, and find Button-Bright, at one and the same +time?" inquired the Patchwork Girl, hanging by her toes on a limb just +over the heads of the three mortal girls.</p> + +<p>"Perhaps he'll come back here," answered Dorothy.</p> + +<p>"If he tries that, he'll prob'ly lose his way," said Trot. "I've known +him to do that, lots of times. It's losing his way that gets him lost."</p> + +<p>"Very true," said the Wizard. "So all the rest of you must stay here +while I go look for the boy."</p> + +<p>"Won't <i>you</i> get lost, too?" asked Betsy.</p> + +<p>"I hope not, my dear."</p> + +<p>"Let <i>me</i> go," said Scraps, dropping lightly to the ground. "I can't get +lost, and I'm more likely to find Button-Bright than any of you."</p> + +<p>Without waiting for permission she darted away through the trees and +soon disappeared from their view.</p> + +<p>"Dorothy," said Toto, squatting beside his little mistress, "I've lost +my growl."</p> + +<p>"How did that happen?" she asked.</p> + +<p>"I don't know," replied Toto. "Yesterday morning the Woozy nearly +stepped on me and I tried to growl at him and found I couldn't growl a +bit."</p> + +<p>"Can you bark?" inquired Dorothy.</p> + +<p>"Oh, yes, indeed!"</p> + +<p>"Then never mind the growl," said she.</p> + +<p>"But what will I do when I get home to the Glass Cat and the Pink +Kitten?" asked the little dog in an anxious voice.</p> + +<p>"They won't mind, if you can't growl at them, I'm sure," said Dorothy. +"I'm sorry for you, of course, Toto, for it's just those things we can't +do that we want to do most of all; but before we get back you may find +your growl again."</p> + +<p>"Do you think the person who stole Ozma stole my growl?"</p> + +<p>Dorothy smiled.</p> + +<p>"Perhaps, Toto."</p> + +<p>"Then he's a scoundrel!" cried the little dog.</p> + +<p>"Anyone who would steal Ozma is as bad as bad can be," agreed Dorothy, +"and when we remember that our dear friend, the lovely Ruler of Oz, is +lost, we ought not to worry over just a growl."</p> + +<p>Toto was not entirely satisfied with this remark, for the more he +thought upon his lost growl the more important his misfortune became. +When no one was looking he went away among the trees and tried his best +to growl—even a little bit—but could not manage to do so. All he could +do was bark, and a bark cannot take the place of a growl, so he sadly +returned to the others.</p> + +<p>Now, Button-Bright had no idea that he was lost, at first. He had merely +wandered from tree to tree, seeking the finest fruit, until he +discovered he was alone in the great orchard. But that didn't worry him +just then and seeing some apricot trees farther on he went to them; then +he discovered some cherry trees; just beyond these were some tangerines.</p> + +<p>"We've found 'most ev'ry kind of fruit but peaches," he said to +himself, "so I guess there are peaches here, too, if I can find the +trees."</p> + +<p>He searched here and there, paying no attention to his way, until he +found that the trees surrounding him bore only nuts. He put some walnuts +in his pockets and kept on searching and at last—right among the nut +trees—he came upon one solitary peach tree. It was a graceful, +beautiful tree, but although it was thickly leaved it bore no fruit +except one large, splendid peach, rosy-cheeked and fuzzy and just right +to eat.</p> + +<p>Button-Bright had some trouble getting that lonesome peach, for it hung +far out of reach; but he climbed the tree nimbly and crept out on the +branch on which it grew and after several trials, during which he was in +danger of falling, he finally managed to pick it. Then he got back to +the ground and decided the fruit was well worth his trouble. It was +delightfully fragrant and when he bit into it he found it the most +delicious morsel he had ever tasted.</p> + +<p>"I really ought to divide it with Trot and Dorothy and Betsy," he said; +"but p'rhaps there are plenty more in some other part of the orchard."</p> + +<p>In his heart he doubted this statement, for this was a solitary peach +tree, while all the other fruits grew upon many trees set close to one +another; but that one luscious bite made him unable to resist eating the +rest of it and soon the peach was all gone except the pit.</p> + +<p>Button-Bright was about to throw this peach-pit away when he noticed +that it was of pure gold. Of course this surprised him, but so many +things in the Land of Oz were surprising that he did not give much +thought to the golden peach-pit. He put it in his pocket, however, to +show to the girls, and five minutes afterward had forgotten all about +it.</p> + +<p>For now he realized that he was far separated from his companions, and +knowing that this would worry them and delay their journey, he began to +shout as loud as he could. His voice did not penetrate very far among +all those trees, and after shouting a dozen times and getting no answer +he sat down on the ground and said:</p> + +<p>"Well, I'm lost again. It's too bad, but I don't see how it can be +helped."</p> + +<p>As he leaned his back against a tree he looked up and saw a Bluefinch +fly down from the sky and alight upon a branch just before him. The bird +looked and looked at him. First it looked with one bright eye and then +turned its head and looked at him with the other eye. Then, +fluttering its wings a little, it said:</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 310px;"> +<img src="images/i163_th.png" width="310" height="420" alt="image unavailable" /> +<span class="caption1"><a href="images/i163.png">[Click here to view this image enlarged.]</a></span> +</div> + +<p>"Oho! so you've eaten the enchanted peach, have you?"</p> + +<p>"Was it enchanted?" asked Button-Bright.</p> + +<p>"Of course," replied the Bluefinch. "Ugu the Shoemaker did that."</p> + +<p>"But why? And how was it enchanted? And what will happen to one who eats +it?" questioned the boy.</p> + +<p>"Ask Ugu the Shoemaker; he knows," said the bird, pruning its feathers +with its bill.</p> + +<p>"And who is Ugu the Shoemaker?"</p> + +<p>"The one who enchanted the peach, and placed it here—in the exact +center of the Great Orchard—so no one would ever find it. We birds +didn't dare to eat it; we are too wise for that. But you are +Button-Bright, from the Emerald City, and you—<i>you</i>—YOU ate the +enchanted peach! You must explain to Ugu the Shoemaker why you did +that."</p> + +<p>And then, before the boy could ask any more questions, the bird flew +away and left him alone.</p> + +<p>Button-Bright was not much worried to find that the peach he had eaten +was enchanted. It certainly had tasted very good and his stomach didn't +ache a bit. So again he began to reflect upon the best way to rejoin his +friends.</p> + +<p>"Whichever direction I follow is likely to be the wrong one," he said to +himself, "so I'd better stay just where I am and let <i>them</i> find +<i>me</i>—if they can."</p> + +<p>A White Rabbit came hopping through the orchard and paused a little way +off to look at him.</p> + +<p>"Don't be afraid," said Button-Bright; "I won't hurt you."</p> + +<p>"Oh, I'm not afraid for myself," returned the White Rabbit. "It's you +I'm worried about."</p> + +<p>"Yes; I'm lost," said the boy.</p> + +<p>"I fear you are, indeed," answered the Rabbit. "Why on earth did you eat +the enchanted peach?"</p> + +<p>The boy looked at the excited little animal thoughtfully.</p> + +<p>"There were two reasons," he explained. "One reason was that I like +peaches, and the other reason was that I didn't know it was enchanted."</p> + +<p>"That won't save you from Ugu the Shoemaker," declared the White Rabbit +and it scurried away before the boy could ask any more questions.</p> + +<p>"Rabbits and birds," he thought, "are timid creatures and seem afraid of +this shoemaker—whoever he may be. If there was another peach half as +good as that other, I'd eat it in spite of a dozen enchantments or a +hundred shoemakers!"</p> + +<p>Just then Scraps came dancing along and saw him sitting at the foot of +the tree.</p> + +<p>"Oh, here you are!" she said. "Up to your old tricks, eh? Don't you know +it's impolite to get lost and keep everybody waiting for you? Come +along, and I'll lead you back to Dorothy and the others."</p> + +<p>Button-Bright rose slowly to accompany her.</p> + +<p>"That wasn't much of a loss," he said cheerfully. "I haven't been gone +half a day, so there's no harm done."</p> + +<p>Dorothy, however, when the boy rejoined the party, gave him a good +scolding.</p> + +<p>"When we're doing such an important thing as searching for Ozma," said +she, "it's naughty for you to wander away and keep us from getting on. +S'pose she's a pris'ner—in a dungeon cell!—do you want to keep our +dear Ozma there any longer than we can help?"</p> + +<p>"If she's in a dungeon cell, how are you going to get her out?" inquired +the boy.</p> + +<p>"Never you mind; we'll leave that to the Wizard; he's sure to find a +way."</p> + +<p>The Wizard said nothing, for he realized that without his magic tools he +could do no more than any other person. But there was no use reminding +his companions of that fact; it might discourage them.</p> + +<p>"The important thing just now," he remarked, "is to find Ozma; and, as +our party is again happily reunited, I propose we move on."</p> + +<p>As they came to the edge of the Great Orchard the sun was setting and +they knew it would soon be dark. So it was decided to camp under the +trees, as another broad plain was before them. The Wizard spread the +blankets on a bed of soft leaves and presently all of them except Scraps +and the Sawhorse were fast asleep. Toto snuggled close to his friend the +Lion, and the Woozy snored so loudly that the Patchwork Girl covered his +square head with her apron to deaden the sound.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 407px;"> +<img src="images/i168.png" width="407" height="188" alt="image unavailable" /> +</div> + + + +<hr style="width:15%;" /> + +<p><a name="The_Czarover_of_Herku" id="The_Czarover_of_Herku"></a></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 406px;"> +<img src="images/i169.png" width="406" height="409" alt="The Czarover of Herku +CHAPTER 12" class="top20" /> +</div> + +<p class="beg">CHAPTER 12<br /><br /> +Trot wakened just +<br />as the sun rose +<br />and, slipping out +<br />of the blankets,</p> + +<p class="n">went to the edge of the Great Orchard and looked across the plain. +Something glittered in the far distance.</p> + +<p>"That looks like another city," she said half aloud.</p> + +<p>"And another city it is," declared Scraps, who had crept to Trot's side +unheard, for her stuffed feet made no sound. "The Sawhorse and I made a +journey in the dark, while you were all asleep, and we found over there +a bigger city than Thi. There's a wall around it, too, but it has gates +and plenty of pathways."</p> + +<p>"Did you go in?" asked Trot.</p> + +<p>"No, for the gates were locked and the wall was a real wall. So we came +back here again. It isn't far to the city. We can reach it in two hours +after you've had your breakfasts."</p> + +<p>Trot went back and, finding the other girls now awake, told them what +Scraps had said. So they hurriedly ate some fruit—there were plenty of +plums and fijoas in this part of the orchard—and then they mounted the +animals and set out upon the journey to the strange city. Hank the Mule +had breakfasted on grass and the Lion had stolen away and found a +breakfast to his liking; he never told what it was, but Dorothy hoped +the little rabbits and the field mice had kept out of his way. She +warned Toto not to chase birds and gave the dog some apple, with which +he was quite content. The Woozy was as fond of fruit as of any other +food, except honey, and the Sawhorse never ate at all.</p> + +<p>Except for their worry over Ozma they were all in good spirits as they +proceeded swiftly over the plain. Toto still worried over his lost +growl, but like a wise little dog kept his worry to himself. Before long +the city grew nearer and they could examine it with interest.</p> + +<p>In outward appearance the place was more imposing than Thi, and it was a +square city, with a square, four-sided wall around it and on each side +was a square gate of burnished copper. Everything about the city looked +solid and substantial; there were no banners flying and the towers that +rose above the city wall seemed bare of any ornament whatever.</p> + +<p>A path led from the fruit orchard directly to one of the city gates, +showing that the inhabitants preferred fruit to thistles. Our friends +followed this path to the gate, which they found fast shut. But the +Wizard advanced and pounded upon it with his fist, saying in a loud +voice: "Open!"</p> + +<p>At once there rose above the great wall a row of immense heads, all of +which looked down at them as if to see who was intruding. The size of +these heads was astonishing and our friends at once realized that they +belonged to giants, who were standing within the city. All had thick, +bushy hair and whiskers, on some the hair being white and on others +black or red or yellow, while the hair of a few was just turning gray, +showing that the giants were of all ages. However fierce the heads might +seem the eyes were mild in expression, as if the creatures had been long +subdued, and their faces expressed patience rather than ferocity.</p> + +<p>"What's wanted?" asked one old giant, in a low, grumbling voice.</p> + +<p>"We are strangers and we wish to enter the city," replied the Wizard.</p> + +<p>"Do you come in war or peace?" asked another.</p> + +<p>"In peace, of course," retorted the Wizard, and he added impatiently: +"Do we look like an army of conquest?"</p> + +<p>"No," said the first giant who had spoken, "you look like innocent +tramps; but one never can tell by appearances. Wait here until we report +to our masters. No one can enter here without the permission of Vig, the +Czarover."</p> + +<p>"Who's that?" inquired Dorothy. But the heads had all bobbed down and +disappeared behind the wall, so there was no answer.</p> + +<p>They waited a long time before the gate rolled back with a rumbling +sound and a loud voice cried: "Enter!" But they lost no time in taking +advantage of the invitation.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 402px;"> +<img src="images/i173.png" width="402" height="566" alt="image unavailable" /> +</div> + +<p>On either side of the broad street that led into the city from the gate +stood a row of huge giants—twenty of them on a side and all standing so +close together that their elbows touched. They wore uniforms of blue and +yellow and were armed with clubs as big around as tree-trunks. Each +giant had around his neck a broad band of gold, riveted on, to show he +was a slave.</p> + +<p>As our friends entered, riding upon the Lion, the Woozy, the Sawhorse +and the Mule, the giants half turned and walked in two files on either +side of them, as if escorting them on their way. It looked to Dorothy as +if all her party had been made prisoners, for even mounted on their +animals their heads scarcely reached to the knees of the marching +giants. The girls and Button-Bright were anxious to know what sort of a +city they had entered, and what the people were like who had made these +powerful creatures their slaves. Through the legs of the giants, as they +walked, Dorothy could see rows of houses on each side the street and +throngs of people standing on the sidewalks; but the people were of +ordinary size and the only remarkable thing about them was the fact that +they were dreadfully lean and thin. Between their skin and their bones +there seemed to be little or no flesh, and they were mostly +stoop-shouldered and weary looking, even to the little children.</p> + +<p>More and more Dorothy wondered how and why the great giants had ever +submitted to become slaves of such skinny, languid masters, but there +was no chance to question anyone until they arrived at a big palace +located in the heart of the city. Here the giants formed lines to the +entrance and stood still while our friends rode into the courtyard of +the palace. Then the gates closed behind them and before them was a +skinny little man who bowed low and said in a sad voice:</p> + +<p>"If you will be so obliging as to dismount, it will give me pleasure to +lead you into the presence of the World's Most Mighty Ruler, Vig the +Czarover."</p> + +<p>"I don't believe it!" said Dorothy indignantly.</p> + +<p>"What don't you believe?" asked the man.</p> + +<p>"I don't believe your Czarover can hold a candle to our Ozma."</p> + +<p>"He wouldn't hold a candle under any circumstances, or to any living +person," replied the man very seriously, "for he has slaves to do such +things and the Mighty Vig is too dignified to do anything that others +can do for him. He even obliges a slave to sneeze for him, if ever he +catches cold. However, if you dare to face our powerful ruler, follow +me."</p> + +<p>"We dare anything," said the Wizard, "so go ahead."</p> + +<p>Through several marble corridors having lofty ceilings they passed, +finding each corridor and doorway guarded by servants; but these +servants of the palace were of the people and not giants, and they were +so thin that they almost resembled skeletons. Finally they entered a +great circular room with a high domed ceiling where the Czarover sat on +a throne cut from a solid block of white marble and decorated with +purple silk hangings and gold tassels.</p> + +<p>The ruler of these people was combing his eyebrows when our friends +entered his throne-room and stood before him, but he put the comb in his +pocket and examined the strangers with evident curiosity. Then he said:</p> + +<p>"Dear me, what a surprise! You have really shocked me. For no outsider +has ever before come to our City of Herku, and I cannot imagine why +<i>you</i> have ventured to do so."</p> + +<p>"We are looking for Ozma, the Supreme Ruler of the Land of Oz," replied +the Wizard.</p> + +<p>"Do you see her anywhere around here?" asked the Czarover.</p> + +<p>"Not yet, Your Majesty; but perhaps you may tell us where she is."</p> + +<p>"No; I have my hands full keeping track of my own people. I find them +hard to manage because they are so tremendously strong."</p> + +<p>"They don't look very strong," said Dorothy. "It seems as if a good wind +would blow 'em way out of the city, if it wasn't for the wall."</p> + +<p>"Just so—just so," admitted the Czarover. "They really look that way, +don't they? But you must never trust to appearances, which have a way of +fooling one. Perhaps you noticed that I prevented you from meeting any +of my people. I protected you with my giants while you were on the way +from the gates to my palace, so that not a Herku got near you."</p> + +<p>"Are your people so dangerous, then?" asked the Wizard.</p> + +<p>"To strangers, yes; but only because they are so friendly. For, if they +shake hands with you, they are likely to break your arms or crush your +fingers to a jelly."</p> + +<p>"Why?" asked Button-Bright.</p> + +<p>"Because we are the strongest people in all the world."</p> + +<p>"Pshaw!" exclaimed the boy, "that's bragging. You prob'ly don't know +how strong other people are. Why, once I knew a man in Philadelphi' who +could bend iron bars with just his hands!"</p> + +<p>"But—mercy me!—it's no trick to bend iron bars," said His Majesty. +"Tell me, could this man crush a block of stone with his bare hands?"</p> + +<p>"No one could do that," declared the boy.</p> + +<p>"If I had a block of stone I'd show you," said the Czarover, looking +around the room. "Ah, here is my throne. The back is too high, anyhow, +so I'll just break off a piece of that."</p> + +<p>He rose to his feet and tottered in an uncertain way around the throne. +Then he took hold of the back and broke off a piece of marble over a +foot thick.</p> + +<p>"This," said he, coming back to his seat, "is very solid marble and much +harder than ordinary stone. Yet I can crumble it easily with my +fingers—a proof that I am very strong."</p> + +<p>Even as he spoke he began breaking off chunks of marble and crumbling +them as one would a bit of earth. The Wizard was so astonished that he +took a piece in his own hands and tested it, finding it very hard +indeed.</p> + +<p>Just then one of the giant servants entered and exclaimed:</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 415px;"> +<img src="images/i179.png" width="415" height="558" alt="image unavailable" /> +</div> + +<p>"Oh, Your Majesty, the cook has burned the soup! What shall we do?"</p> + +<p>"How dare you interrupt me?" asked the Czarover, and grasping the +immense giant by one of his legs he raised him in the air and threw him +headfirst out of an open window.</p> + +<p>"Now, tell me," he said, turning to Button-Bright, "could your man in +Philadelphia crumble marble in his fingers?"</p> + +<p>"I guess not," said Button-Bright, much impressed by the skinny +monarch's strength.</p> + +<p>"What makes you so strong?" inquired Dorothy.</p> + +<p>"It's the zosozo," he explained, "which is an invention of my own. I and +all my people eat zosozo, and it gives us tremendous strength. Would you +like to eat some?"</p> + +<p>"No, thank you," replied the girl. "I—I don't want to get so thin."</p> + +<p>"Well, of course one can't have strength and flesh at the same time," +said the Czarover. "Zosozo is pure energy, and it's the only compound of +its sort in existence. I never allow our giants to have it, you know, or +they would soon become our masters, since they are bigger than we; so I +keep all the stuff locked up in my private laboratory. Once a year I +feed a teaspoonful of it to each of my people—men, women and +children—so every one of them is nearly as strong as I am. Wouldn't +<i>you</i> like a dose, sir?" he asked, turning to the Wizard.</p> + +<p>"Well," said the Wizard, "if you would give me a little zosozo in a +bottle, I'd like to take it with me on my travels. It might come handy, +on occasion."</p> + +<p>"To be sure. I'll give you enough for six doses," promised the Czarover. +"But don't take more than a teaspoonful at a time. Once Ugu the +Shoemaker took two teaspoonsful, and it made him so strong that when he +leaned against the city wall he pushed it over, and we had to build it +up again."</p> + +<p>"Who is Ugu the Shoemaker?" asked Button-Bright curiously, for he now +remembered that the bird and the rabbit had claimed Ugu the Shoemaker +had enchanted the peach he had eaten.</p> + +<p>"Why, Ugu is a great magician, who used to live here. But he's gone +away, now," replied the Czarover.</p> + +<p>"Where has he gone?" asked the Wizard quickly.</p> + +<p>"I am told he lives in a wickerwork castle in the mountains to the west +of here. You see, Ugu became such a powerful magician that he didn't +care to live in our city any longer, for fear we would discover some of +his secrets. So he went to the mountains and built him a splendid +wicker castle, which is so strong that even I and my people could not +batter it down, and there he lives all by himself."</p> + +<p>"This is good news," declared the Wizard, "for I think this is just the +magician we are searching for. But why is he called Ugu the Shoemaker?"</p> + +<p>"Once he was a very common citizen here and made shoes for a living," +replied the monarch of Herku. "But he was descended from the greatest +wizard and sorcerer who has ever lived—in this or in any other +country—and one day Ugu the Shoemaker discovered all the magical books +and recipes of his famous great-grandfather, which had been hidden away +in the attic of his house. So he began to study the papers and books and +to practice magic, and in time he became so skillful that, as I said, he +scorned our city and built a solitary castle for himself."</p> + +<p>"Do you think," asked Dorothy anxiously, "that Ugu the Shoemaker would +be wicked enough to steal our Ozma of Oz?"</p> + +<p>"And the Magic Picture?" asked Trot.</p> + +<p>"And the Great Book of Records of Glinda the Good?" asked Betsy.</p> + +<p>"And my own magic tools?" asked the Wizard.</p> + +<p>"Well," replied the Czarover, "I won't say that Ugu is wicked, exactly, +but he is very ambitious to become the most powerful magician in the +world, and so I suppose he would not be too proud to steal any magic +things that belonged to anybody else—if he could manage to do so."</p> + +<p>"But how about Ozma? Why would he wish to steal <i>her</i>?" questioned +Dorothy.</p> + +<p>"Don't ask me, my dear. Ugu doesn't tell me why he does things, I assure +you."</p> + +<p>"Then we must go and ask him ourselves," declared the little girl.</p> + +<p>"I wouldn't do that, if I were you," advised the Czarover, looking first +at the three girls and then at the boy and the little Wizard and finally +at the stuffed Patchwork Girl. "If Ugu has really stolen your Ozma, he +will probably keep her a prisoner, in spite of all your threats or +entreaties. And, with all his magical knowledge, he would be a dangerous +person to attack. Therefore, if you are wise, you will go home again and +find a new Ruler for the Emerald City and the Land of Oz. But perhaps it +isn't Ugu the Shoemaker who has stolen your Ozma."</p> + +<p>"The only way to settle that question," replied the Wizard, "is to go to +Ugu's castle and see if Ozma is there. If she is, we will report the +matter to the great Sorceress, Glinda the Good, and I'm pretty sure she +will find a way to rescue our darling ruler from the Shoemaker."</p> + +<p>"Well, do as you please," said the Czarover. "But, if you are all +transformed into hummingbirds or caterpillars, don't blame me for not +warning you."</p> + +<p>They stayed the rest of that day in the City of Herku and were fed at +the royal table of the Czarover and given sleeping rooms in his palace. +The strong monarch treated them very nicely and gave the Wizard a little +golden vial of zosozo, to use if ever he or any of his party wished to +acquire great strength.</p> + +<p>Even at the last the Czarover tried to persuade them not to go near Ugu +the Shoemaker, but they were resolved on the venture and the next +morning bade the friendly monarch a cordial good-bye and, mounting upon +their animals, left the Herkus and the City of Herku and headed for the +mountains that lay to the west.</p> + + +<hr style="width:15%;" /> + +<p><a name="The_Truth_Pond" id="The_Truth_Pond"></a></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 408px;"> +<img src="images/i185.png" width="408" height="413" alt="The Truth Pond +CHAPTER 13" class="top20" /> +</div> + +<p class="beg">CHAPTER 13<br /><br /> +It seems a long +<br />time since we have +<br />heard anything of +<br />the Frogman and</p> + +<p class="n">Cayke the Cookie Cook, who had left the Yip Country in search of the +diamond-studded gold dishpan which had been mysteriously stolen the same +night that Ozma had disappeared from the Emerald City. But you must +remember that while the Frogman and the Cookie Cook were preparing to +descend from their mountain-top, and even while on their way to the +farmhouse of Wiljon the Winkie, Dorothy and the Wizard and their friends +were encountering the adventures we have just related.</p> + +<p>So it was that on the very morning when the travelers from the Emerald +City bade farewell to the Czarover of the City of Herku, Cayke and the +Frogman awoke in a grove in which they had passed the night sleeping on +beds of leaves. There were plenty of farmhouses in the neighborhood, but +no one seemed to welcome the puffy, haughty Frogman or the little +dried-up Cookie Cook, and so they slept comfortably enough underneath +the trees of the grove.</p> + +<p>The Frogman wakened first, on this morning, and after going to the tree +where Cayke slept and finding her still wrapt in slumber, he decided to +take a little walk and seek some breakfast. Coming to the edge of the +grove he observed, half a mile away, a pretty yellow house that was +surrounded by a yellow picket fence, so he walked toward this house and +on entering the yard found a Winkie woman picking up sticks with which +to build a fire to cook her morning meal.</p> + +<p>"For goodness sakes!" she exclaimed on seeing the Frogman, "what are you +doing out of your frog-pond?"</p> + +<p>"I am traveling in search of a jeweled gold dishpan, my good woman," he +replied, with an air of great dignity.</p> + +<p>"You won't find it here, then," said she. "Our dishpans are tin, and +they're good enough for anybody. So go back to your pond and leave me +alone."</p> + +<p>She spoke rather crossly and with a lack of respect that greatly annoyed +the Frogman.</p> + +<p>"Allow me to tell you, madam," he said, "that although I am a frog I am +the Greatest and Wisest Frog in all the world. I may add that I possess +much more wisdom than any Winkie—man or woman—in this land. Wherever I +go, people fall on their knees before me and render homage to the Great +Frogman! No one else knows so much as I; no one else is so grand—so +magnificent!"</p> + +<p>"If you know so much," she retorted, "why don't you know where your +dishpan is, instead of chasing around the country after it?"</p> + +<p>"Presently," he answered, "I am going where it is; but just now I am +traveling and have had no breakfast. Therefore I honor you by asking you +for something to eat."</p> + +<p>"Oho! the Great Frogman is hungry as any tramp, is he? Then pick up +these sticks and help me to build the fire," said the woman +contemptuously.</p> + +<p>"Me! The Great Frogman pick up sticks?" he exclaimed in horror. "In the +Yip Country, where I am more honored and powerful than any King could +be, people weep with joy when I ask them to feed me."</p> + +<p>"Then that's the place to go for your breakfast," declared the woman.</p> + +<p>"I fear you do not realize my importance," urged the Frogman. "Exceeding +wisdom renders me superior to menial duties."</p> + +<p>"It's a great wonder to me," remarked the woman, carrying her sticks to +the house, "that your wisdom doesn't inform you that you'll get no +breakfast here," and she went in and slammed the door behind her.</p> + +<p>The Frogman felt he had been insulted, so he gave a loud croak of +indignation and turned away. After going a short distance he came upon a +faint path which led across a meadow in the direction of a grove of +pretty trees, and thinking this circle of evergreens must surround a +house—where perhaps he would be kindly received—he decided to follow +the path. And by and by he came to the trees, which were set close +together, and pushing aside some branches he found no house inside the +circle, but instead a very beautiful pond of clear water.</p> + +<p>Now the Frogman, although he was so big and so well educated and now +aped the ways and customs of human beings, was still a frog. As he gazed +at this solitary, deserted pond, his love for water returned to him with +irresistible force.</p> + +<p>"If I cannot get a breakfast I may at least have a fine swim," said he, +and pushing his way between the trees he reached the bank. There he took +off his fine clothing, laying his shiny purple hat and his gold-headed +cane beside it. A moment later he sprang with one leap into the water +and dived to the very bottom of the pond.</p> + +<p>The water was deliciously cool and grateful to his thick, rough skin, +and the Frogman swam around the pond several times before he stopped to +rest. Then he floated upon the surface and examined the pond with some +curiosity. The bottom and sides were all lined with glossy tiles of a +light pink color; just one place in the bottom, where the water bubbled +up from a hidden spring, had been left free. On the banks the green +grass grew to the edge of the pink tiling.</p> + +<p>And now, as the Frogman examined the place, he found that on one side +the pool, just above the water line, had been set a golden plate on +which some words were deeply engraved. He swam toward this plate and on +reaching it read the following inscription:</p> + +<p class="c"><i>This is</i><br /> +THE TRUTH POND<br /> +<i>Whoever bathes in this<br /> +water must always<br /> +afterward tell</i><br /> +THE TRUTH</p> + +<p>This statement startled the Frogman. It even worried him, so that he +leaped upon the bank and hurriedly began to dress himself.</p> + +<p>"A great misfortune has befallen me," he told himself, "for hereafter I +cannot tell people I am wise, since it is not the truth. The truth is +that my boasted wisdom is all a sham, assumed by me to deceive people +and make them defer to me. In truth, no living creature can know much +more than his fellows, for one may know one thing, and another know +another thing, so that wisdom is evenly scattered throughout the world. +But—ah, me!—what a terrible fate will now be mine. Even Cayke the +Cookie Cook will soon discover that my knowledge is no greater than her +own; for having bathed in the enchanted water of the Truth Pond, I can +no longer deceive her or tell a lie."</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 410px;"> +<img src="images/i191.png" width="410" height="544" alt="image unavailable" /> +</div> + +<p>More humbled than he had been for many years, the Frogman went back to +the grove where he had left Cayke and found the woman now awake and +washing her face in a tiny brook.</p> + +<p>"Where has Your Honor been?" she asked.</p> + +<p>"To a farmhouse to ask for something to eat," said he, "but the woman +refused me."</p> + +<p>"How dreadful!" she exclaimed. "But never mind; there are other houses, +where the people will be glad to feed the Wisest Creature in all the +World."</p> + +<p>"Do you mean yourself?" he asked.</p> + +<p>"No, I mean you."</p> + +<p>The Frogman felt strongly impelled to tell the truth, but struggled hard +against it. His reason told him there was no use in letting Cayke know +he was not wise, for then she would lose much respect for him, but each +time he opened his mouth to speak he realized he was about to tell the +truth and shut it again as quickly as possible. He tried to talk about +something else, but the words necessary to undeceive the woman would +force themselves to his lips in spite of all his struggles. Finally, +knowing that he must either remain dumb or let the truth prevail, he +gave a low groan of despair and said:</p> + +<p>"Cayke, I am <i>not</i> the Wisest Creature in all the World; I am not wise +at all."</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 422px;"> +<img src="images/i193.png" width="422" height="555" alt="image unavailable" /> +</div> + +<p>"Oh, you must be!" she protested. "You told me so yourself, only last +evening."</p> + +<p>"Then last evening I failed to tell you the truth," he admitted, looking +very shamefaced, for a frog. "I am sorry I told you that lie, my good +Cayke; but, if you must know the truth, the whole truth and nothing but +the truth, I am not really as wise as you are."</p> + +<p>The Cookie Cook was greatly shocked to hear this, for it shattered one +of her most pleasing illusions. She looked at the gorgeously dressed +Frogman in amazement.</p> + +<p>"What has caused you to change your mind so suddenly?" she inquired.</p> + +<p>"I have bathed in the Truth Pond," he said, "and whoever bathes in that +water is ever afterward obliged to tell the truth."</p> + +<p>"You were foolish to do that," declared the woman. "It is often very +embarrassing to tell the truth. I'm glad <i>I</i> didn't bathe in that +dreadful water!"</p> + +<p>The Frogman looked at his companion thoughtfully.</p> + +<p>"Cayke," said he, "I want you to go to the Truth Pond and take a bath in +its water. For, if we are to travel together and encounter unknown +adventures, it would not be fair that I alone must always tell you the +truth, while you could tell me whatever you pleased. If we both dip in +the enchanted water there will be no chance in the future of our +deceiving one another."</p> + +<p>"No," she asserted, shaking her head positively, "I won't do it, Your +Honor. For, if I told you the truth, I'm sure you wouldn't like me. No +Truth Pond for me. I'll be just as I am, an honest woman who can say +what she wants to without hurting anyone's feelings."</p> + +<p>With this decision the Frogman was forced to be content, although he was +sorry the Cookie Cook would not listen to his advice.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 231px;"> +<img src="images/i195.png" width="231" height="300" alt="image unavailable" /> +</div> + + + +<hr style="width:15%;" /> + +<p><a name="The_Unhappy_Ferryman" id="The_Unhappy_Ferryman"></a></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 409px;"> +<img src="images/i196.png" width="409" height="415" alt="The Unhappy Ferryman +CHAPTER 14" class="top20" /> +</div> + +<p class="beg">CHAPTER 14<br/><br/> +Leaving the grove +<br/>where they had +<br/>slept, the Frogman<br/> +and the Cookie</p> + +<p class="n">Cook +turned to the east to seek another house and after a short walk came to +one where the people received them very politely. The children stared +rather hard at the big, pompous Frogman, but the woman of the house, +when Cayke asked for something to eat, at once brought them food and +said they were welcome to it.</p> + +<p>"Few people in need of help pass this way," she remarked, "for the +Winkies are all prosperous and love to stay in their own homes. But +perhaps you are not a Winkle," she added.</p> + +<p>"No," said Cayke, "I am a Yip, and my home is on a high mountain at the +southeast of your country."</p> + +<p>"And the Frogman—is he, also, a Yip?"</p> + +<p>"I do not know what he is, other than a very remarkable and highly +educated creature," replied the Cookie Cook. "But he has lived many +years among the Yips, who have found him so wise and intelligent that +they always go to him for advice."</p> + +<p>"May I ask why you have left your home, and where you are going?" said +the Winkie woman.</p> + +<p>Then Cayke told her of the diamond-studded gold dishpan and how it had +been mysteriously stolen from her house, after which she had discovered +that she could no longer cook good cookies. So she had resolved to +search until she found her dishpan again, because a Cookie Cook who +cannot cook good cookies is not of much use. The Frogman, who wanted to +see more of the world, had accompanied her to assist in the search. When +the woman had listened to this story she asked.</p> + +<p>"Then you have no idea, as yet, who has stolen your dishpan?"</p> + +<p>"I only know it must have been some mischievous fairy, or a magician, or +some such powerful person, because none other could have climbed the +steep mountain to the Yip Country. And who else could have carried away +my beautiful, magic dishpan without being seen?"</p> + +<p>The woman thought about this during the time that Cayke and the Frogman +ate their breakfast. When they had finished she said:</p> + +<p>"Where are you going next?"</p> + +<p>"We have not decided," answered the Cookie Cook.</p> + +<p>"Our plan," explained the Frogman, in his important way, "is to travel +from place to place until we learn where the thief is located, and then +to force him to return the dishpan to its proper owner."</p> + +<p>"The plan is all right," agreed the woman, "but it may take you a long +time before you succeed, your method being sort of haphazard and +indefinite. However, I advise you to travel toward the east."</p> + +<p>"Why?" asked the Frogman.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 399px;"> +<img src="images/i199.png" width="399" height="591" alt="image unavailable" /> +</div> + +<p>"Because if you went west you would soon come to the desert, and also +because in this part of the Winkie Country no one steals, so your time +here would be wasted. But toward the east, beyond the river, live many +strange people whose honesty I would not vouch for. Moreover, if you +journey far enough east and cross the river for a second time, you will +come to the Emerald City, where there is much magic and sorcery. The +Emerald City is ruled by a dear little girl called Ozma, who also rules +the Emperor of the Winkies and all the Land of Oz. So, as Ozma is a +fairy, she may be able to tell you just who has taken your precious +dishpan. Provided, of course, you do not find it before you reach her."</p> + +<p>"This seems to me to be excellent advice," said the Frogman, and Cayke +agreed with him.</p> + +<p>"The most sensible thing for you to do," continued the woman, "would be +to return to your home and use another dishpan, learning to cook cookies +as other people cook cookies, without the aid of magic. But, if you +cannot be happy without the magic dishpan you have lost, you are likely +to learn more about it in the Emerald City than at any other place in +Oz."</p> + +<p>They thanked the good woman and on leaving her house faced the east and +continued in that direction all the way. Toward evening they came to the +west branch of the Winkie River and there, on the river bank, found a +ferryman who lived all alone in a little yellow house.</p> + +<p>This ferryman was a Winkie with a very small head and a very large +body. He was sitting in his doorway as the travelers approached him and +did not even turn his head to look at them.</p> + +<p>"Good evening," said the Frogman.</p> + +<p>The ferryman made no reply.</p> + +<p>"We would like some supper and the privilege of sleeping in your house +until morning," continued the Frogman. "At daybreak we would like some +breakfast and then we would like to have you row us across the river."</p> + +<p>The ferryman neither moved nor spoke. He sat in his doorway and looked +straight ahead.</p> + +<p>"I think he must be deaf and dumb," Cayke whispered to her companion. +Then she stood directly in front of the ferryman and putting her mouth +close to his ear she yelled as loudly as she could:</p> + +<p>"Good evening!"</p> + +<p>The ferryman scowled.</p> + +<p>"Why do you yell at me, woman?" he asked.</p> + +<p>"Can you hear what I say?" she asked in her ordinary tone of voice.</p> + +<p>"Of course," replied the man.</p> + +<p>"Then why didn't you answer the Frogman?"</p> + +<p>"Because," said the ferryman, "I don't understand the frog language."</p> + +<p>"He speaks the same words that I do and in the same way," declared +Cayke.</p> + +<p>"Perhaps," replied the ferryman; "but to me his voice sounded like a +frog's croak. I know that in the Land of Oz animals can speak our +language, and so can the birds and bugs and fishes; but in <i>my</i> ears +they sound merely like growls and chirps and croaks."</p> + +<p>"Why is that?" asked the Cookie Cook in surprise.</p> + +<p>"Once, many years ago, I cut the tail off a fox which had taunted me; +and I stole some birds' eggs from a nest to make an omelet with, and +also I pulled a fish from the river and left it lying on the bank to +gasp for lack of water until it died. I don't know why I did those +wicked things, but I did them. So the Emperor of the Winkies—who is the +Tin Woodman and has a very tender tin heart—punished me by denying me +any communication with beasts, birds or fishes. I cannot understand them +when they speak to me, although I know that other people can do so, nor +can the creatures understand a word I say to them. Every time I meet one +of them I am reminded of my former cruelty, and it makes me very +unhappy."</p> + +<p>"Really," said Cayke, "I'm sorry for you, although the Tin Woodman is +not to blame for punishing you."</p> + +<p>"What is he mumbling about?" asked the Frogman.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 404px;"> +<img src="images/i203.png" width="404" height="576" alt="image unavailable" /> +</div> + +<p>"He is talking to me, but you don't understand him," she replied. And +then she told him of the ferryman's punishment and afterward explained +to the ferryman that they wanted to stay all night with him and be fed.</p> + +<p>He gave them some fruit and bread, which was the only sort of food he +had, and he allowed Cayke to sleep in a room of his cottage. But the +Frogman he refused to admit to his house, saying that the frog's +presence made him miserable and unhappy. At no time would he look +directly at the Frogman, or even toward him, fearing he would shed tears +if he did so; so the big frog slept on the river bank, where he could +hear little frogs croaking in the river all the night through. But that +did not keep him awake; it merely soothed him to slumber, for he +realized how much superior he was to them.</p> + +<p>Just as the sun was rising on a new day the ferryman rowed the two +travelers across the river—keeping his back to the Frogman all the +way—and then Cayke thanked him and bade him good-bye and the ferryman +rowed home again.</p> + +<p>On this side the river there were no paths at all, so it was evident +they had reached a part of the country little frequented by travelers. +There was a marsh at the south of them, sandhills at the north and a +growth of scrubby underbrush leading toward a forest at the east. So the +east was really the least difficult way to go and that direction was the +one they had determined to follow.</p> + +<p>Now the Frogman, although he wore green patent-leather shoes with ruby +buttons, had very large and flat feet, and when he tramped through the +scrub his weight crushed down the underbrush and made a path for Cayke +to follow him. Therefore they soon reached the forest, where the tall +trees were set far apart but were so leafy that they shaded all the +spaces between them with their branches.</p> + +<p>"There are no bushes here," said Cayke, much pleased, "so we can now +travel faster and with more comfort."</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 397px;"> +<img src="images/i205.png" width="397" height="161" alt="image unavailable" /> +</div> + + + +<hr style="width:15%;" /> + +<p><a name="The_Big_Lavender_Bear" id="The_Big_Lavender_Bear"></a></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 411px;"> +<img src="images/i206.png" width="411" height="412" alt="The Big Lavender Bear +CHAPTER 15" class="top20" /> +</div> + +<p class="beg">CHAPTER 15<br /><br /> +It was a pleasant +<br />place to wander in<br />and the two travelers +<br />were +proceeding </p> + +<p class="n">at a brisk pace when suddenly a voice shouted:</p> + +<p>"Halt!"</p> + +<p>They looked around in surprise, seeing at first no one at all. Then from +behind a tree there stepped a brown fuzzy bear, whose head came about as +high as Cayke's waist—and Cayke was a small woman. The bear was chubby +as well as fuzzy; his body was even puffy, while his legs and arms +seemed jointed at the knees and elbows and fastened to his body by pins +or rivets. His ears were round in shape and stuck out in a comical way, +while his round black eyes were bright and sparkling as beads. Over his +shoulder the little brown bear bore a gun with a tin barrel. The barrel +had a cork in the end of it and a string was attached to the cork and to +the handle of the gun.</p> + +<p>Both the Frogman and Cayke gazed hard at this curious bear, standing +silent for some time. But finally the Frogman recovered from his +surprise and remarked:</p> + +<p>"It seems to me that you are stuffed with sawdust and ought not to be +alive."</p> + +<p>"That's all you know about it," answered the little Brown Bear in a +squeaky voice. "I am stuffed with a very good quality of curled hair and +my skin is the best plush that was ever made. As for my being alive, +that is my own affair and cannot concern you at all—except that it +gives me the privilege to say you are my prisoners."</p> + +<p>"Prisoners! Why do you speak such nonsense?" asked the Frogman angrily. +"Do you think we are afraid of a toy bear with a toy gun?"</p> + +<p>"You ought to be," was the confident reply, "for I am merely the sentry +guarding the way to Bear Center, which is a city containing hundreds of +my race, who are ruled by a very powerful sorcerer known as the Lavender +Bear. He ought to be a purple color, you know, seeing he is a King, but +he's only light lavender, which is, of course, second-cousin to royal +purple. So, unless you come with me peaceably, as my prisoners, I shall +fire my gun and bring a hundred bears—of all sizes and colors—to +capture you."</p> + +<p>"Why do you wish to capture us?" inquired the Frogman, who had listened +to this speech with much astonishment.</p> + +<p>"I don't wish to, as a matter of fact," replied the little Brown Bear, +"but it is my duty to, because you are now trespassing on the domain of +His Majesty the King of Bear Center. Also I will admit that things are +rather quiet in our city, just now, and the excitement of your capture, +followed by your trial and execution, should afford us much +entertainment."</p> + +<p>"We defy you!" said the Frogman.</p> + +<p>"Oh, no; don't do that," pleaded Cayke, speaking to her companion. "He +says his King is a sorcerer, so perhaps it is he or one of his bears who +ventured to steal my jeweled dishpan. Let us go to the City of the Bears +and discover if my dishpan is there."</p> + +<p>"I must now register one more charge against you," remarked the little +Brown Bear, with evident satisfaction. "You have just accused us of +stealing, and that is such a dreadful thing to say that I am quite sure +our noble King will command you to be executed."</p> + +<p>"But how could you execute us?" inquired the Cookie Cook.</p> + +<p>"I've no idea. But our King is a wonderful inventor and there is no +doubt he can find a proper way to destroy you. So, tell me, are you +going to struggle, or will you go peaceably to meet your doom?"</p> + +<p>It was all so ridiculous that Cayke laughed aloud and even the Frogman's +wide mouth curled in a smile. Neither was a bit afraid to go to the Bear +City and it seemed to both that there was a possibility they might +discover the missing dishpan. So the Frogman said:</p> + +<p>"Lead the way, little Bear, and we will follow without a struggle."</p> + +<p>"That's very sensible of you; very sensible, indeed!" declared the Brown +Bear. "So—for-ward <i>march</i>!" and with the command he turned around and +began to waddle along a path that led between the trees.</p> + +<p>Cayke and the Frogman, as they followed their conductor, could scarce +forbear laughing at his stiff, awkward manner of walking and, although +he moved his stuffy legs fast, his steps were so short that they had to +go slowly in order not to run into him. But after a time they reached a +large, circular space in the center of the forest, which was clear of +any stumps or underbrush. The ground was covered by a soft gray moss, +pleasant to tread upon. All the trees surrounding this space seemed to +be hollow and had round holes in their trunks, set a little way above +the ground, but otherwise there was nothing unusual about the place and +nothing, in the opinion of the prisoners, to indicate a settlement. But +the little Brown Bear said in a proud and impressive voice (although it +still squeaked):</p> + +<p>"This is the wonderful city known to fame as Bear Center!"</p> + +<p>"But there are no houses; there are no bears living here at all!" +exclaimed Cayke.</p> + +<p>"Oh, indeed!" retorted their captor and raising his gun he pulled the +trigger. The cork flew out of the tin barrel with a loud "pop!" and at +once from every hole in every tree within view of the clearing appeared +the head of a bear. They were of many colors and of many sizes, but +all were made in the same manner as the bear who had met and captured +them.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 305px;"> +<img src="images/i211_th.png" width="305" height="395" alt="image unavailable" /> +<span class="caption1"><a href="images/i211.png">[Click here to view this image enlarged.]</a></span> +</div> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"> +<img src="images/i213.png" width="400" height="580" alt="image unavailable" /> +</div> + +<p>At first a chorus of growls arose and then a sharp voice cried:</p> + +<p>"What has happened, Corporal Waddle?"</p> + +<p>"Captives, Your Majesty!" answered the Brown Bear. "Intruders upon our +domain and slanderers of our good name."</p> + +<p>"Ah, that's important," answered the voice.</p> + +<p>Then from out the hollow trees tumbled a whole regiment of stuffed +bears, some carrying tin swords, some popguns and others long spears +with gay ribbons tied to the handles. There were hundreds of them, +altogether, and they quickly formed a circle around the Frogman and the +Cookie Cook but kept at a distance and left a large space for the +prisoners to stand in.</p> + +<p>Presently this circle parted and into the center of it stalked a huge +toy bear of a lovely lavender color. He walked upon his hind legs, as +did all the others, and on his head he wore a tin crown set with +diamonds and amethysts, while in one paw he carried a short wand of some +glittering metal that resembled silver but wasn't.</p> + +<p>"His Majesty the King!" shouted Corporal Waddle, and all the bears +bowed low. Some bowed so low that they lost their balance and toppled +over, but they soon scrambled up again and the Lavender King squatted on +his haunches before the prisoners and gazed at them steadily with his +bright pink eyes.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 414px;"> +<img src="images/i215.png" width="414" height="185" alt="image unavailable" /> +</div> + + + +<hr style="width:15%;" /> + +<p><a name="The_Little_Pink_Bear" id="The_Little_Pink_Bear"></a></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 406px;"> +<img src="images/i216.png" width="406" height="415" alt="The Little Pink Bear +CHAPTER 16" class="top20" /> +</div> + +<p class="beg">CHAPTER 16<br /><br /> +"One Person and +<br />one Freak," said +<br />the big Lavender +<br />Bear, when he had</p> + +<p class="n">carefully examined the strangers.</p> + +<p>"I am sorry to hear you call poor Cayke the Cookie Cook a Freak," +remonstrated the Frogman.</p> + +<p>"She is the Person," asserted the King. "Unless I am mistaken, it is you +who are the Freak."</p> + +<p>The Frogman was silent, for he could not truthfully deny it.</p> + +<p>"Why have you dared intrude in my forest?" demanded the Bear King.</p> + +<p>"We didn't know it <i>was</i> your forest," said Cayke, "and we are on our +way to the far east, where the Emerald City is."</p> + +<p>"Ah, it's a long way from here to the Emerald City," remarked the King. +"It is so far away, indeed, that no bear among us has ever been there. +But what errand requires you to travel such a distance?"</p> + +<p>"Someone has stolen my diamond-studded gold dishpan," explained Cayke; +"and, as I cannot be happy without it, I have decided to search the +world over until I find it again. The Frogman, who is very learned and +wonderfully wise, has come with me to give me his assistance. Isn't it +kind of him?"</p> + +<p>The King looked at the Frogman.</p> + +<p>"What makes you so wonderfully wise?" he asked.</p> + +<p>"I'm not," was the candid reply. "The Cookie Cook, and some others in +the Yip Country, think because I am a big frog and talk and act like a +man, that I must be very wise. I have learned more than a frog usually +knows, it is true, but I am not yet so wise as I hope to become at some +future time."</p> + +<p>The King nodded, and when he did so something squeaked in his chest.</p> + +<p>"Did Your Majesty speak?" asked Cayke.</p> + +<p>"Not just then," answered the Lavender Bear, seeming to be somewhat +embarrassed. "I am so built, you must know, that when anything pushes +against my chest, as my chin accidentally did just then, I make that +silly noise. In this city it isn't considered good manners to notice it. +But I like your Frogman. He is honest and truthful, which is more than +can be said of many others. As for your late lamented dishpan, I'll show +it to you."</p> + +<p>With this he waved three times the metal wand which he held in his paw +and instantly there appeared upon the ground, midway between the King +and Cayke, a big round pan made of beaten gold. Around the top edge was +a row of small diamonds; around the center of the pan was another row of +larger diamonds; and at the bottom was a row of exceedingly large and +brilliant diamonds. In fact, they all sparkled magnificently and the pan +was so big and broad that it took a lot of diamonds to go around it +three times.</p> + +<p>Cayke stared so hard that her eyes seemed about to pop out of her head.</p> + +<p>"O-o-o-oh!" she exclaimed, drawing a deep breath of delight.</p> + +<p>"Is this your dishpan?" inquired the King.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 415px;"> +<img src="images/i219.png" width="415" height="552" alt="image unavailable" /> +</div> + +<p>"It is—it is!" cried the Cookie Cook, and rushing forward she fell on +her knees and threw her arms around the precious pan. But her arms came +together without meeting any resistance at all. Cayke tried to seize the +edge, but found nothing to grasp. The pan was surely there, she thought, +for she could see it plainly; but it was not solid; she could not feel +it at all. With a moan of astonishment and despair she raised her head +to look at the Bear King, who was watching her actions curiously. Then +she turned to the pan again, only to find it had completely disappeared.</p> + +<p>"Poor creature!" murmured the King pityingly. "You must have thought, +for the moment, that you had actually recovered your dishpan. But what +you saw was merely the image of it, conjured up by means of my magic. It +is a pretty dishpan, indeed, though rather big and awkward to handle. I +hope you will some day find it."</p> + +<p>Cayke was grievously disappointed. She began to cry, wiping her eyes on +her apron. The King turned to the throng of toy bears surrounding him +and asked:</p> + +<p>"Has any of you ever seen this golden dishpan before?"</p> + +<p>"No," they answered in a chorus.</p> + +<p>The King seemed to reflect. Presently he inquired:</p> + +<p>"Where is the Little Pink Bear?"</p> + +<p>"At home, Your Majesty," was the reply, "Fetch him here," commanded the +King.</p> + +<p>Several of the bears waddled over to one of the trees and pulled from +its hollow a tiny pink bear, smaller than any of the others. A big white +bear carried the pink one in his arms and set it down beside the King, +arranging the joints of its legs so that it would stand upright.</p> + +<p>This Pink Bear seemed lifeless until the King turned a crank which +protruded from its side, when the little creature turned its head +stiffly from side to side and said in a small shrill voice:</p> + +<p>"Hurrah for the King of Bear Center!"</p> + +<p>"Very good," said the big Lavender Bear; "he seems to be working very +well to-day. Tell me, my Pink Pinkerton, what has become of this lady's +jeweled dishpan?"</p> + +<p>"U—u—u," said the Pink Bear, and then stopped short.</p> + +<p>The King turned the crank again.</p> + +<p>"U-g-u the Shoemaker has it," said the Pink Bear.</p> + +<p>"Who is Ugu the Shoemaker?" demanded the King, again turning the crank.</p> + +<p>"A magician who lives on a mountain in a wickerwork castle," was the +reply.</p> + +<p>"Where is this mountain?" was the next question.</p> + +<p>"Nineteen miles and three furlongs from Bear Center to the northeast."</p> + +<p>"And is the dishpan still at the castle of Ugu the Shoemaker?" asked the +King.</p> + +<p>"It is."</p> + +<p>The King turned to Cayke.</p> + +<p>"You may rely on this information," said he. "The Pink Bear can tell us +anything we wish to know, and his words are always words of truth."</p> + +<p>"Is he alive?" asked the Frogman, much interested in the Pink Bear.</p> + +<p>"Something animates him—when you turn his crank," replied the King. "I +do not know if it is life, or what it is, or how it happens that the +Little Pink Bear can answer correctly every question put to him. We +discovered his talent a long time ago and whenever we wish to know +anything—which is not very often—we ask the Pink Bear. There is no +doubt whatever, madam, that Ugu the Magician has your dishpan, and if +you dare go to him you may be able to recover it. But of that I am not +certain."</p> + +<p>"Can't the Pink Bear tell?" asked Cayke anxiously.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 312px;"> +<img src="images/i223_th.png" width="312" height="422" alt="image unavailable" /> +<span class="caption1"><a href="images/i223.png">[Click here to view this image enlarged.]</a></span> +</div> + +<p>"No, for that is in the future. He can tell anything that <i>has</i> +happened, but nothing that is going to happen. Don't ask me why, for I +don't know."</p> + +<p>"Well," said the Cookie Cook, after a little thought, "I mean to go to +this magician, anyhow, and tell him I want my dishpan. I wish I knew +what Ugu the Shoemaker is like."</p> + +<p>"Then I'll show him to you," promised the King. "But do not be +frightened; it won't be Ugu, remember, but only his image."</p> + +<p>With this he waved his metal wand again and in the circle suddenly +appeared a thin little man, very old and skinny, who was seated on a +wicker stool before a wicker table. On the table lay a Great Book with +gold clasps. The Book was open and the man was reading in it. He wore +great spectacles, which were fastened before his eyes by means of a +ribbon that passed around his head and was tied in a bow at the back. +His hair was very thin and white; his skin, which clung fast to his +bones, was brown and seared with furrows; he had a big, fat nose and +little eyes set close together.</p> + +<p>On no account was Ugu the Shoemaker a pleasant person to gaze at. As his +image appeared before them, all were silent and intent until Corporal +Waddle, the Brown Bear, became nervous and pulled the trigger of his +gun. Instantly the cork flew out of the tin barrel with a loud "pop!" +that made them all jump. And, at this sound, the image of the magician +vanished.</p> + +<p>"So! <i>that's</i> the thief, is it?" said Cayke, in an angry voice. "I +should think he'd be ashamed of himself for stealing a poor woman's +diamond dishpan! But I mean to face him in his wicker castle and force +him to return my property."</p> + +<p>"To me," said the Bear King, reflectively, "he looked like a dangerous +person. I hope he won't be so unkind as to argue the matter with you."</p> + +<p>The Frogman was much disturbed by the vision of Ugu the Shoemaker, and +Cayke's determination to go to the magician filled her companion with +misgivings. But he would not break his pledged word to assist the Cookie +Cook and after breathing a deep sigh of resignation he asked the King:</p> + +<p>"Will Your Majesty lend us this Pink Bear who answers questions, that we +may take him with us on our journey? He would be very useful to us and +we will promise to bring him safely back to you."</p> + +<p>The King did not reply at once; he seemed to be thinking.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 411px;"> +<img src="images/i227.png" width="411" height="553" alt="image unavailable" /> +</div> + +<p>"<i>Please</i> let us take the Pink Bear," begged Cayke. "I'm sure he would +be a great help to us."</p> + +<p>"The Pink Bear," said the King, "is the best bit of magic I possess, and +there is not another like him in the world. I do not care to let him out +of my sight; nor do I wish to disappoint you; so I believe I will make +the journey in your company and carry my Pink Bear with me. He can walk, +when you wind the other side of him, but so slowly and awkwardly that he +would delay you. But if I go along I can carry him in my arms, so I will +join your party. Whenever you are ready to start, let me know."</p> + +<p>"But—Your Majesty!" exclaimed Corporal Waddle in protest, "I hope you +do not intend to let these prisoners escape without punishment."</p> + +<p>"Of what crime do you accuse them?" inquired the King.</p> + +<p>"Why, they trespassed on your domain, for one thing," said the Brown +Bear.</p> + +<p>"We didn't know it was private property, Your Majesty," said the Cookie +Cook.</p> + +<p>"And they asked if any of us had stolen the dishpan!" continued Corporal +Waddle indignantly. "That is the same thing as calling us thieves and +robbers, and bandits and brigands, is it not?"</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"> +<img src="images/i229.png" width="400" height="583" alt="image unavailable" /> +</div> + +<p>"Every person has the right to ask questions," said the Frogman.</p> + +<p>"But the Corporal is quite correct," declared the Lavender Bear. "I +condemn you both to death, the execution to take place ten years from +this hour."</p> + +<p>"But we belong in the Land of Oz, where no one ever dies," Cayke +reminded him.</p> + +<p>"Very true," said the King. "I condemn you to death merely as a matter +of form. It sounds quite terrible, and in ten years we shall have +forgotten all about it. Are you ready to start for the wicker castle of +Ugu the Shoemaker?"</p> + +<p>"Quite ready, Your Majesty."</p> + +<p>"But who will rule in your place, while you are gone?" asked a big +Yellow Bear.</p> + +<p>"I myself will rule while I am gone," was the reply. "A King isn't +required to stay at home forever, and if he takes a notion to travel, +whose business is it but his own? All I ask is that you bears behave +yourselves while I am away. If any of you is naughty, I'll send him to +some girl or boy in America to play with."</p> + +<p>This dreadful threat made all the toy bears look solemn. They assured +the King, in a chorus of growls, that they would be good. Then the big +Lavender Bear picked up the little Pink Bear and after tucking it +carefully under one arm he said "Good-bye till I come back!" and waddled +along the path that led through the forest. The Frogman and Cayke the +Cookie Cook also said good-bye to the bears and then followed after the +King, much to the regret of the little Brown Bear, who pulled the +trigger of his gun and popped the cork as a parting salute.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 381px;"> +<img src="images/i231.png" width="381" height="224" alt="image unavailable" /> +</div> + + + +<hr style="width:15%;" /> + +<p><a name="The_Meeting" id="The_Meeting"></a></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 412px;"> +<img src="images/i232.png" width="412" height="412" alt="The Meeting +CHAPTER 17" class="top20" /> +</div> + +<p class="beg">CHAPTER 17<br /><br /> +While the Frogman<br /> +and his party<br />were advancing +<br />from the west,</p> + +<p class="n">Dorothy +and her party were advancing from the east, and so it happened that on +the following night they all camped at a little hill that was only a few +miles from the wicker castle of Ugu the Shoemaker. But the two parties +did not see one another that night, for one camped on one side of the +hill while the other camped on the opposite side. But the next morning +the Frogman thought he would climb the hill and see what was on top of +it, and at the same time Scraps, the Patchwork Girl, also decided to +climb the hill to find if the wicker castle was visible from its top. So +she stuck her head over an edge just as the Frogman's head appeared over +another edge and both, being surprised, kept still while they took a +good look at one another.</p> + +<p>Scraps recovered from her astonishment first and bounding upward she +turned a somersault and landed sitting down and facing the big Frogman, +who slowly advanced and sat opposite her.</p> + +<p>"Well met, Stranger!" cried the Patchwork Girl, with a whoop of +laughter. "You are quite the funniest individual I have seen in all my +travels."</p> + +<p>"Do you suppose I can be any funnier than you?" asked the Frogman, +gazing at her in wonder.</p> + +<p>"I'm not funny to myself, you know," returned Scraps. "I wish I were. +And perhaps you are so used to your own absurd shape that you do not +laugh whenever you see your reflection in a pool, or in a mirror."</p> + +<p>"No," said the Frogman gravely, "I do not. I used to be proud of my +great size and vain of my culture and education, but since I bathed in +the Truth Pond I sometimes think it is not right that I should be +different from all other frogs."</p> + +<p>"Right or wrong," said the Patchwork Girl, "to be different is to be +distinguished. Now, in my case, I'm just like all other Patchwork Girls +because I'm the only one there is. But, tell me, where did you come +from?"</p> + +<p>"The Yip Country," said he.</p> + +<p>"Is that in the Land of Oz?"</p> + +<p>"Of course," replied the Frogman.</p> + +<p>"And do you know that your Ruler, Ozma of Oz, has been stolen?"</p> + +<p>"I was not aware that I had a Ruler, so of course I couldn't know that +she was stolen."</p> + +<p>"Well, you have. All the people of Oz," explained Scraps, "are ruled by +Ozma, whether they know it or not. And she has been stolen. Aren't you +angry? Aren't you indignant? Your Ruler, whom you didn't know you had, +has positively been stolen!"</p> + +<p>"That is queer," remarked the Frogman thoughtfully. "Stealing is a thing +practically unknown in Oz, yet this Ozma has been taken and a friend of +mine has also had her dishpan stolen. With her I have traveled all the +way from the Yip Country in order to recover it."</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"> +<img src="images/i235.png" width="400" height="575" alt="image unavailable" /> +</div> + +<p>"I don't see any connection between a Royal Ruler of Oz and a dishpan!" +declared Scraps.</p> + +<p>"They've both been stolen, haven't they?"</p> + +<p>"True. But why can't your friend wash her dishes in another dishpan?" +asked Scraps.</p> + +<p>"Why can't you use another Royal Ruler? I suppose you prefer the one who +is lost, and my friend wants her own dishpan, which is made of gold and +studded with diamonds and has magic powers."</p> + +<p>"Magic, eh?" exclaimed Scraps. "<i>There</i> is a link that connects the two +steals, anyhow, for it seems that all the magic in the Land of Oz was +stolen at the same time, whether it was in the Emerald City or in +Glinda's castle or in the Yip Country. Seems mighty strange and +mysterious, doesn't it?"</p> + +<p>"It used to seem that way to us," admitted the Frogman, "but we have now +discovered who took our dishpan. It was Ugu the Shoemaker."</p> + +<p>"Ugu? Good gracious! That's the same magician we think has stolen Ozma. +We are now on our way to the castle of this Shoemaker."</p> + +<p>"So are we," said the Frogman.</p> + +<p>"Then follow me, quick! and let me introduce you to Dorothy and the +other girls and to the Wizard of Oz and all the rest of us."</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 314px;"> +<img src="images/i238_th.png" width="314" height="451" alt="image unavailable" /> +<span class="caption1"><a href="images/i238.png">[Click here to view this image enlarged.]</a></span> +</div> + +<p>She sprang up and seized his coat-sleeve, dragging him off the hilltop +and down the other side from that whence he had come. And at the foot of +the hill the Frogman was astonished to find the three girls and the +Wizard and Button-Bright, who were surrounded by a wooden Sawhorse, a +lean Mule, a square Woozy and a Cowardly Lion. A little black dog ran up +and smelled at the Frogman, but couldn't growl at him.</p> + +<p>"I've discovered another party that has been robbed," shouted Scraps as +she joined them. "This is their leader and they're all going to Ugu's +castle to fight the wicked Shoemaker!"</p> + +<p>They regarded the Frogman with much curiosity and interest and, finding +all eyes fixed upon him, the newcomer arranged his necktie and smoothed +his beautiful vest and swung his gold-headed cane like a regular dandy. +The big spectacles over his eyes quite altered his froglike countenance +and gave him a learned and impressive look. Used as she was to seeing +strange creatures in the Land of Oz, Dorothy was amazed at discovering +the Frogman. So were all her companions. Toto wanted to growl at him, +but couldn't, and he didn't dare bark. The Sawhorse snorted rather +contemptuously, but the Lion whispered to the wooden steed: "Bear with +this strange creature, my friend, and remember he is no more +extraordinary than you are. Indeed, it is more natural for a frog to be +big than for a Sawhorse to be alive."</p> + +<p>On being questioned, the Frogman told them the whole story of the loss +of Cayke's highly prized dishpan and their adventures in search of it. +When he came to tell of the Lavender Bear King and of the Little Pink +Bear who could tell anything you wanted to know, his hearers became +eager to see such interesting animals.</p> + +<p>"It will be best," said the Wizard, "to unite our two parties and share +our fortunes together, for we are all bound on the same errand and as +one band we may more easily defy this shoemaker magician than if +separate. Let us be allies."</p> + +<p>"I will ask my friends about that," replied the Frogman, and climbed +over the hill to find Cayke and the toy bears. The Patchwork Girl +accompanied him and when they came upon the Cookie Cook and the Lavender +Bear and the Pink Bear it was hard to tell which of the lot was the most +surprised.</p> + +<p>"Mercy me!" cried Cayke, addressing the Patchwork Girl. "However did you +come alive?"</p> + +<p>Scraps stared at the bears.</p> + +<p>"Mercy me!" she echoed; "you are stuffed, as I am, with cotton, and yet +you appear to be living. That makes me feel ashamed, for I have prided +myself on being the only live cotton-stuffed person in Oz."</p> + +<p>"Perhaps you are," returned the Lavender Bear, "for I am stuffed with +extra-quality curled hair, and so is the Little Pink Bear."</p> + +<p>"You have relieved my mind of a great anxiety," declared the Patchwork +Girl, now speaking more cheerfully. "The Scarecrow is stuffed with +straw, and you with hair, so I am still the Original and Only +Cotton-Stuffed!"</p> + +<p>"I hope I am too polite to criticize cotton, as compared with curled +hair," said the King, "especially as you seem satisfied with it."</p> + +<p>Then the Frogman told of his interview with the party from the Emerald +City and added that the Wizard of Oz had invited the bears and Cayke and +himself to travel in company with them to the castle of Ugu the +Shoemaker. Cayke was much pleased, but the Bear King looked solemn. He +set the Little Pink Bear on his lap and turned the crank in its side and +asked:</p> + +<p>"Is it safe for us to associate with those people from the Emerald +City?"</p> + +<p>And the Pink Bear at once replied:</p> + +<p><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 30%;">"Safe for you and safe for me;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 30%;">Perhaps no others safe will be."</span><br /><br /> +</p> + +<p>"That 'perhaps' need not worry us," said the King; "so let us join the +others and offer them our protection."</p> + +<p>Even the Lavender Bear was astonished, however, when on climbing over +the hill he found on the other side the group of queer animals and the +people from the Emerald City. The bears and Cayke were received very +cordially, although Button-Bright was cross when they wouldn't let him +play with the Little Pink Bear. The three girls greatly admired the toy +bears, and especially the pink one, which they longed to hold.</p> + +<p>"You see," explained the Lavender King, in denying them this privilege, +"he's a very valuable bear, because his magic is a correct guide on all +occasions, and especially if one is in difficulties. It was the Pink +Bear who told us that Ugu the Shoemaker had stolen the Cookie Cook's +dishpan."</p> + +<p>"And the King's magic is just as wonderful," added Cayke, "because it +showed us the Magician himself."</p> + +<p>"What did he look like?" inquired Dorothy.</p> + +<p>"He was dreadful!"</p> + +<p>"He was sitting at a table and examining an immense Book which had three +golden clasps," remarked the King.</p> + +<p>"Why, that must have been Glinda's Great Book of Records!" exclaimed +Dorothy. "If it is, it proves that Ugu the Shoemaker stole Ozma, and +with her all the magic in the Emerald City."</p> + +<p>"And my dishpan," said Cayke. And the Wizard added:</p> + +<p>"It also proves that he is following our adventures in the Book of +Records, and therefore knows that we are seeking him and that we are +determined to find him and rescue Ozma at all hazards."</p> + +<p>"If we can," added the Woozy, but everybody frowned at him.</p> + +<p>The Wizard's statement was so true that the faces around him were very +serious until the Patchwork Girl broke into a peal of laughter.</p> + +<p>"Wouldn't it be a rich joke if he made prisoners of <i>us</i>, too?" she +said.</p> + +<p>"No one but a crazy Patchwork Girl would consider <i>that</i> a joke," +grumbled Button-Bright. And then the Lavender Bear King asked:</p> + +<p>"Would you like to see this magical shoemaker?"</p> + +<p>"Wouldn't he know it?" Dorothy inquired.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 415px;"> +<img src="images/i244.png" width="415" height="562" alt="image unavailable" /> +</div> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 414px;"> +<img src="images/i245.png" width="414" height="556" alt="image unavailable" /> +</div> + +<p>"No, I think not."</p> + +<p>Then the King waved his metal wand and before them appeared a room in +the wicker castle of Ugu. On the wall of the room hung Ozma's Magic +Picture, and seated before it was the Magician. They could see the +Picture as well as he could, because it faced them, and in the Picture +was the hillside where they were now sitting, all their forms being +reproduced in miniature. And, curiously enough, within the scene of the +Picture was the scene they were now beholding, so they knew that the +Magician was at this moment watching them in the Picture, and also that +he saw himself and the room he was in become visible to the people on +the hillside. Therefore he knew very well that they were watching him +while he was watching them.</p> + +<p>In proof of this, Ugu sprang from his seat and turned a scowling face in +their direction; but now he could not see the travelers who were seeking +him, although they could still see him. His actions were so distinct, +indeed, that it seemed he was actually before them.</p> + +<p>"It is only a ghost," said the Bear King. "It isn't real at all, except +that it shows us Ugu just as he looks and tells us truly just what he is +doing."</p> + +<p>"I don't see anything of my lost growl, though," said Toto, as if to +himself.</p> + +<p>Then the vision faded away and they could see nothing but the grass and +trees and bushes around them.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 275px;"> +<img src="images/i247.png" width="275" height="355" alt="image unavailable" /> +</div> + + + +<hr style="width:15%;" /> + +<p><a name="The_Conference" id="The_Conference"></a></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 409px;"> +<img src="images/i248.png" width="409" height="411" alt="The Conference +CHAPTER 18" class="top20" /> +</div> + +<p class="beg">CHAPTER 18<br /><br /> +"Now, then," said +<br/>the Wizard, "let +<br/>us talk this matter +<br/>over and decide</p> + +<p class="n">what to do when we get to Ugu's wicker castle. There can be no doubt +that the Shoemaker is a powerful Magician, and his powers have been +increased a hundredfold since he secured the Great Book of Records, the +Magic Picture, all of Glinda's recipes for sorcery and my own black +bag—which was full of tools of wizardry. The man who could rob us of +those things, and the man with all their powers at his command, is one +who may prove somewhat difficult to conquer; therefore we should plan +our actions well before we venture too near to his castle."</p> + +<p>"I didn't see Ozma in the Magic Picture," said Trot. "What do you +suppose Ugu has done with her?"</p> + +<p>"Couldn't the Little Pink Bear tell us what he did with Ozma?" asked +Button-Bright.</p> + +<p>"To be sure," replied the Lavender King; "I'll ask him."</p> + +<p>So he turned the crank in the Little Pink Bear's side and inquired:</p> + +<p>"Did Ugu the Shoemaker steal Ozma of Oz?"</p> + +<p>"Yes," answered the Little Pink Bear.</p> + +<p>"Then what did he do with her?" asked the King.</p> + +<p>"Shut her up in a dark place," answered the Little Pink Bear.</p> + +<p>"Oh, that must be a dungeon cell!" cried Dorothy, horrified. "How +dreadful!"</p> + +<p>"Well, we must get her out of it," said the Wizard. "That is what we +came for and of course we must rescue Ozma. But—how?"</p> + +<p>Each one looked at some other one for an answer and all shook their +heads in a grave and dismal manner. All but Scraps, who danced around +them gleefully.</p> + +<p>"You're afraid," said the Patchwork Girl, "because so many things can +hurt your meat bodies. Why don't you give it up and go home? How can you +fight a great magician when you have nothing to fight with?"</p> + +<p>Dorothy looked at her reflectively.</p> + +<p>"Scraps," said she, "you know that Ugu couldn't hurt you, a bit, +whatever he did; nor could he hurt me, 'cause I wear the Nome King's +Magic Belt. S'pose just we two go on together, and leave the others here +to wait for us?"</p> + +<p>"No, no!" said the Wizard positively. "That won't do at all. Ozma is +more powerful than either of you, yet she could not defeat the wicked +Ugu, who has shut her up in a dungeon. We must go to the Shoemaker in +one mighty band, for only in union is there strength."</p> + +<p>"That is excellent advice," said the Lavender Bear, approvingly.</p> + +<p>"But what can we do, when we get to Ugu?" inquired the Cookie Cook +anxiously.</p> + +<p>"Do not expect a prompt answer to that important question," replied the +Wizard, "for we must first plan our line of conduct. Ugu knows, of +course, that we are after him, for he has seen our approach in the Magic +Picture, and he has read of all we have done up to the present moment in +the Great Book of Records. Therefore we cannot expect to take him by +surprise."</p> + +<p>"Don't you suppose Ugu would listen to reason?" asked Betsy. "If we +explained to him how wicked he has been, don't you think he'd let poor +Ozma go?"</p> + +<p>"And give me back my dishpan?" added the Cookie Cook eagerly.</p> + +<p>"Yes, yes; won't he say he's sorry and get on his knees and beg our +pardon?" cried Scraps, turning a flip-flop to show her scorn of the +suggestion. "When Ugu the Shoemaker does that, please knock at the front +door and let me know."</p> + +<p>The Wizard sighed and rubbed his bald head with a puzzled air.</p> + +<p>"I'm quite sure Ugu will not be polite to us," said he, "so we must +conquer this cruel magician by force, much as we dislike to be rude to +anyone. But none of you has yet suggested a way to do that. Couldn't the +Little Pink Bear tell us how?" he asked, turning to the Bear King.</p> + +<p>"No, for that is something that is <i>going</i> to happen," replied the +Lavender Bear. "He can only tell us what already <i>has</i> happened."</p> + +<p>Again they were grave and thoughtful. But after a time Betsy said in a +hesitating voice:</p> + +<p>"Hank is a great fighter; perhaps <i>he</i> could conquer the magician."</p> + +<p>The Mule turned his head to look reproachfully at his old friend, the +young girl.</p> + +<p>"Who can fight against magic?" he asked.</p> + +<p>"The Cowardly Lion could," said Dorothy.</p> + +<p>The Lion, who was lying with his front legs spread out, his chin on his +paws, raised his shaggy head.</p> + +<p>"I can fight when I'm not afraid," said he calmly; "but the mere mention +of a fight sets me to trembling."</p> + +<p>"Ugu's magic couldn't hurt the Sawhorse," suggested tiny Trot.</p> + +<p>"And the Sawhorse couldn't hurt the Magician," declared that wooden +animal.</p> + +<p>"For my part," said Toto, "I am helpless, having lost my growl."</p> + +<p>"Then," said Cayke the Cookie Cook, "we must depend upon the Frogman. +His marvelous wisdom will surely inform him how to conquer the wicked +Magician and restore to me my dishpan."</p> + +<p>All eyes were now turned questioningly upon the Frogman. Finding himself +the center of observation, he swung his gold-headed cane, adjusted his +big spectacles and after swelling out his chest, sighed and said in a +modest tone of voice:</p> + +<p>"Respect for truth obliges me to confess that Cayke is mistaken in +regard to my superior wisdom. I am not very wise. Neither have I had any +practical experience in conquering magicians. But let us consider this +case. What is Ugu, and what is a magician? Ugu is a renegade shoemaker +and a magician is an ordinary man who, having learned how to do magical +tricks, considers himself above his fellows. In this case, the Shoemaker +has been naughty enough to steal a lot of magical tools and things that +did not belong to him, and it is more wicked to steal than to be a +magician. Yet, with all the arts at his command, Ugu is still a man, and +surely there are ways in which a man may be conquered. How, do you say, +how? Allow me to state that I don't know. In my judgment we cannot +decide how best to act until we get to Ugu's castle. So let us go to it +and take a look at it. After that we may discover an idea that will +guide us to victory."</p> + +<p>"That may not be a wise speech, but it sounds good," said Dorothy +approvingly. "Ugu the Shoemaker is not only a common man, but he's a +wicked man and a cruel man and deserves to be conquered. We mustn't have +any mercy on him till Ozma is set free. So let's go to his castle, as +the Frogman says, and see what the place looks like."</p> + +<p>No one offered an objection to this plan and so it was adopted. They +broke camp and were about to start on the journey to Ugu's castle when +they discovered that Button-Bright was lost again. The girls and the +Wizard shouted his name and the Lion roared and the Donkey brayed and +the Frogman croaked and the Big Lavender Bear growled (to the envy of +Toto, who couldn't growl but barked his loudest) yet none of them could +make Button-Bright hear. So, after vainly searching for the boy a full +hour, they formed a procession and proceeded in the direction of the +wicker castle of Ugu the Shoemaker.</p> + +<p>"Button-Bright's always getting lost," said Dorothy. "And, if he wasn't +always getting found again, I'd prob'ly worry. He may have gone ahead of +us, and he may have gone back; but, wherever he is, we'll find him +sometime and somewhere, I'm almost sure."</p> + + + +<hr style="width:15%;" /> + +<p><a name="Ugu_the_Shoemaker" id="Ugu_the_Shoemaker"></a></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 411px;"> +<img src="images/i255.png" width="411" height="412" alt="Ugu the Shoemaker +CHAPTER 19" class="top20" /> +</div> + +<p class="beg">CHAPTER 19<br /><br /> +A curious thing +<br />about Ugu the +<br />Shoemaker was +<br />that he didn't suspect,</p> + + +<p class="n">in the least, that he was wicked. He wanted to be powerful and great and he +hoped to make himself master of all the Land of Oz, that he might compel +everyone in that fairy country to obey him. His ambition blinded him to +the rights of others and he imagined anyone else would act just as he +did if anyone else happened to be as clever as himself.</p> + +<p>When he inhabited his little shoemaking shop in the City of Herku he had +been discontented, for a shoemaker is not looked upon with high respect +and Ugu knew that his ancestors had been famous magicians for many +centuries past and therefore his family was above the ordinary. Even his +father practiced magic, when Ugu was a boy; but his father had wandered +away from Herku and had never come back again. So, when Ugu grew up, he +was forced to make shoes for a living, knowing nothing of the magic of +his forefathers. But one day, in searching through the attic of his +house, he discovered all the books of magical recipes and many magical +instruments which had formerly been in use in his family. From that day +he stopped making shoes and began to study magic. Finally he aspired to +become the greatest magician in Oz, and for days and weeks and months he +thought on a plan to render all the other sorcerers and wizards, as well +as those with fairy powers, helpless to oppose him.</p> + +<p>From the books of his ancestors he learned the following facts:</p> + +<p>(1) That Ozma of Oz was the fairy ruler of the Emerald City and the Land +of Oz, and that she could not be destroyed by any magic ever devised. +Also, by means of her Magic Picture she would be able to discover +anyone who approached her royal palace with the idea of conquering it.</p> + +<p>(2) That Glinda the Good was the most powerful Sorceress in Oz, among +her other magical possessions being the Great Book of Records, which +told her all that happened anywhere in the world. This Book of Records +was very dangerous to Ugu's plans and Glinda was in the service of Ozma +and would use her arts of sorcery to protect the girl Ruler.</p> + +<p>(3) That the Wizard of Oz, who lived in Ozma's palace, had been taught +much powerful magic by Glinda and had a bag of magic tools with which he +might be able to conquer the Shoemaker.</p> + +<p>(4) That there existed in Oz—in the Yip Country—a jeweled dishpan made +of gold, which dishpan possessed marvelous powers of magic. At a magic +word, which Ugu learned from the book, the dishpan would grow large +enough for a man to sit inside it. Then, when he grasped both the golden +handles, the dishpan would transport him in an instant to any place he +wished to go within the borders of the Land of Oz.</p> + +<p>No one now living, except Ugu, knew of the powers of this Magic Dishpan; +so, after long study, the shoemaker decided that if he could manage to +secure the dishpan he could, by its means, rob Ozma and Glinda and the +Wizard of Oz of all their magic, thus becoming himself the most powerful +person in all the land.</p> + +<p>His first act was to go away from the City of Herku and build for +himself the Wicker Castle in the hills. Here he carried his books and +instruments of magic and here for a full year he diligently practiced +all the magical arts learned from his ancestors. At the end of that time +he could do a good many wonderful things.</p> + +<p>Then, when all his preparations were made, he set out for the Yip +Country and climbing the steep mountain at night he entered the house of +Cayke the Cookie Cook and stole her diamond-studded gold dishpan while +all the Yips were asleep. Taking his prize outside, he set the pan upon +the ground and uttered the required magic word. Instantly the dishpan +grew as large as a big washtub and Ugu seated himself in it and grasped +the two handles. Then he wished himself in the great drawing-room of +Glinda the Good.</p> + +<p>He was there in a flash. First he took the Great Book of Records and put +it in the dishpan. Then he went to Glinda's laboratory and took all her +rare chemical compounds and her instruments of sorcery, placing these +also in the dishpan, which he caused to grow large enough to hold them. +Next he seated himself amongst the treasures he had stolen and wished +himself in the room in Ozma's palace which the Wizard occupied and where +he kept his bag of magic tools. This bag Ugu added to his plunder and +then wished himself in the apartments of Ozma.</p> + +<p>Here he first took the Magic Picture from the wall and then seized all +the other magical things which Ozma possessed. Having placed these in +the dishpan he was about to climb in himself when he looked up and saw +Ozma standing beside him. Her fairy instinct had warned her that danger +was threatening her, so the beautiful girl Ruler rose from her couch and +leaving her bedchamber at once confronted the thief.</p> + +<p>Ugu had to think quickly, for he realized that if he permitted Ozma to +rouse the inmates of her palace all his plans and his present successes +were likely to come to naught. So he threw a scarf over the girl's head, +so she could not scream, and pushed her into the dishpan and tied her +fast, so she could not move. Then he climbed in beside her and wished +himself in his own wicker castle. The Magic Dishpan was there in an +instant, with all its contents, and Ugu rubbed his hands together in +triumphant joy as he realized that he now possessed all the important +magic in the Land of Oz and could force all the inhabitants of that +fairyland to do as he willed.</p> + +<p>So quickly had his journey been accomplished that before daylight the +robber magician had locked Ozma in a room, making her a prisoner, and +had unpacked and arranged all his stolen goods. The next day he placed +the Book of Records on his table and hung the Magic Picture on his wall +and put away in his cupboards and drawers all the elixirs and magic +compounds he had stolen. The magical instruments he polished and +arranged, and this was fascinating work and made him very happy. The +only thing that bothered him was Ozma. By turns the imprisoned Ruler +wept and scolded the Shoemaker, haughtily threatening him with dire +punishment for the wicked deeds he had done. Ugu became somewhat afraid +of his fairy prisoner, in spite of the fact that he believed he had +robbed her of all her powers; so he performed an enchantment that +quickly disposed of her and placed her out of his sight and hearing. +After that, being occupied with other things, he soon forgot her.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 412px;"> +<img src="images/i261.png" width="412" height="552" alt="image unavailable" /> +</div> + +<p>But now, when he looked into the Magic Picture and read the Great Book +of Records, the Shoemaker learned that his wickedness was not to go +unchallenged. Two important expeditions had set out to find him and +force him to give up his stolen property. One was the party headed by +the Wizard and Dorothy, while the other consisted of Cayke and the +Frogman. Others were also searching, but not in the right places. These +two groups, however, were headed straight for the wicker castle and so +Ugu began to plan how best to meet them and to defeat their efforts to +conquer him.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 396px;"> +<img src="images/i262.png" width="396" height="223" alt="image unavailable" /> +</div> + + + +<hr style="width:15%;" /> + +<p><a name="More_Surprises" id="More_Surprises"></a></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 408px;"> +<img src="images/i263.png" width="408" height="410" alt="More Surprises +CHAPTER 20" class="top20" /> +</div> + +<p class="beg">CHAPTER 20<br /><br /> +All that first day +<br />after the union of +<br />the two parties our +<br />friends +marched</p> + +<p class="n">steadily toward the wicker castle of Ugu the Shoemaker. When +night came they camped in a little grove and passed a pleasant evening +together, although some of them were worried because Button-Bright was +still lost.</p> + +<p>"Perhaps," said Toto, as the animals lay grouped together for the night, +"this Shoemaker who stole my growl, and who stole Ozma, has also stolen +Button-Bright."</p> + +<p>"How do you know that the Shoemaker stole your growl?" demanded the +Woozy.</p> + +<p>"He has stolen about everything else of value in Oz, hasn't he?" replied +the dog.</p> + +<p>"He has stolen everything he wants, perhaps," agreed the Lion; "but what +could anyone want with your growl?"</p> + +<p>"Well," said the dog, wagging his tail slowly, "my recollection is that +it was a wonderful growl, soft and low and—and—"</p> + +<p>"And ragged at the edges," said the Sawhorse.</p> + +<p>"So," continued Toto, "if that magician hadn't any growl of his own, he +might have wanted mine and stolen it."</p> + +<p>"And, if he has, he will soon wish he hadn't," remarked the Mule. "Also, +if he has stolen Button-Bright he will be sorry."</p> + +<p>"Don't you like Button-Bright, then?" asked the Lion in surprise.</p> + +<p>"It isn't a question of liking him," replied the Mule. "It's a question +of watching him and looking after him. Any boy who causes his friends so +much worry isn't worth having around. <i>I</i> never get lost."</p> + +<p>"If you did," said Toto, "no one would worry a bit. I think +Button-Bright is a very lucky boy, because he always gets found."</p> + +<p>"See here," said the Lion, "this chatter is keeping us all awake and +to-morrow is likely to be a busy day. Go to sleep and forget your +quarrels."</p> + +<p>"Friend Lion," retorted the dog, "if I hadn't lost my growl you would +hear it now. I have as much right to talk as you have to sleep."</p> + +<p>The Lion sighed.</p> + +<p>"If only you had lost your voice, when you lost your growl," said he, +"you would be a more agreeable companion."</p> + +<p>But they quieted down, after that, and soon the entire camp was wrapped +in slumber.</p> + +<p>Next morning they made an early start but had hardly proceeded on their +way an hour when, on climbing a slight elevation, they beheld in the +distance a low mountain, on top of which stood Ugu's wicker castle. It +was a good-sized building and rather pretty because the sides, roofs and +domes were all of wicker closely woven, as it is in fine baskets.</p> + +<p>"I wonder if it is strong?" said Dorothy musingly, as she eyed the queer +castle.</p> + +<p>"I suppose it is, since a magician built it," answered the Wizard. +"With magic to protect it, even a paper castle might be as strong as if +made of stone. This Ugu must be a man of ideas, because he does things +in a different way from other people."</p> + +<p>"Yes; no one else would steal our dear Ozma," sighed tiny Trot.</p> + +<p>"I wonder if Ozma is there?" said Betsy, indicating the castle with a +nod of her head.</p> + +<p>"Where else could she be?" asked Scraps.</p> + +<p>"S'pose we ask the Pink Bear," suggested Dorothy.</p> + +<p>That seemed a good idea, so they halted the procession and the Bear King +held the little Pink Bear on his lap and turned the crank in its side +and asked:</p> + +<p>"Where is Ozma of Oz?"</p> + +<p>And the little Pink Bear answered:</p> + +<p>"She is in a hole in the ground, a half mile away, at your left."</p> + +<p>"Good gracious!" cried Dorothy. "Then she is not in Ugu's castle at +all."</p> + +<p>"It is lucky we asked that question," said the Wizard; "for, if we can +find Ozma and rescue her, there will be no need for us to fight that +wicked and dangerous magician."</p> + +<p>"Indeed!" said Cayke. "Then what about my dishpan?"</p> + +<p>The Wizard looked puzzled at her tone of remonstrance, so she added:</p> + +<p>"Didn't you people from the Emerald City promise that we would all stick +together, and that you would help me to get my dishpan if I would help +you to get your Ozma? And didn't I bring to you the little Pink Bear, +which has told you where Ozma is hidden?"</p> + +<p>"She's right," said Dorothy to the Wizard. "We must do as we agreed."</p> + +<p>"Well, first of all, let us go and rescue Ozma," proposed the Wizard. +"Then our beloved Ruler may be able to advise us how to conquer Ugu the +Shoemaker."</p> + +<p>So they turned to the left and marched for half a mile until they came +to a small but deep hole in the ground. At once all rushed to the brim +to peer into the hole, but instead of finding there Princess Ozma of Oz, +all that they saw was Button-Bright, who was lying asleep on the bottom.</p> + +<p>Their cries soon wakened the boy, who sat up and rubbed his eyes. When +he recognized his friends he smiled sweetly, saying: "Found again!"</p> + +<p>"Where is Ozma?" inquired Dorothy anxiously.</p> + +<p>"I don't know," answered Button-Bright from the depths of the hole. "I +got lost, yesterday, as you may remember, and in the night, while I was +wandering around in the moonlight, trying to find my way back to you, I +suddenly fell into this hole."</p> + +<p>"And wasn't Ozma in it then?"</p> + +<p>"There was no one in it but me, and I was sorry it wasn't entirely +empty. The sides are so steep I can't climb out, so there was nothing to +be done but sleep until someone found me. Thank you for coming. If +you'll please let down a rope I'll empty this hole in a hurry."</p> + +<p>"How strange!" said Dorothy, greatly disappointed. "It's evident the +Pink Bear didn't tell us the truth."</p> + +<p>"He never makes a mistake," declared the Lavender Bear King, in a tone +that showed his feelings were hurt. And then he turned the crank of the +little Pink Bear again and asked: "Is this the hole that Ozma of Oz is +in?"</p> + +<p>"Yes," answered the Pink Bear.</p> + +<p>"That settles it," said the King, positively. "Your Ozma is in this hole +in the ground."</p> + +<p>"Don't be silly," returned Dorothy impatiently. "Even your beady eyes +can see there is no one in the hole but Button-Bright."</p> + +<p>"Perhaps Button-Bright is Ozma," suggested the King.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 411px;"> +<img src="images/i269.png" width="411" height="553" alt="image unavailable" /> +</div> + +<p>"And perhaps he isn't! Ozma is a girl, and Button-Bright is a boy."</p> + +<p>"Your Pink Bear must be out of order," said the Wizard; "for, this time +at least, his machinery has caused him to make an untrue statement."</p> + +<p>The Bear King was so angry at this remark that he turned away, holding +the Pink Bear in his paws, and refused to discuss the matter in any +further way.</p> + +<p>"At any rate," said the Frogman, "the Pink Bear has led us to your boy +friend and so enabled you to rescue him."</p> + +<p>Scraps was leaning so far over the hole, trying to find Ozma in it, that +suddenly she lost her balance and pitched in headforemost. She fell upon +Button-Bright and tumbled him over, but he was not hurt by her soft +stuffed body and only laughed at the mishap. The Wizard buckled some +straps together and let one end of them down into the hole, and soon +both Scraps and the boy had climbed up and were standing safely beside +the others.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 317px;"> +<img src="images/i271_th.png" width="317" height="427" alt="image unavailable" /> +<span class="caption1"><a href="images/i271.png">[Click here to view this image enlarged.]</a></span> +</div> + +<p>They looked once more for Ozma, but the hole was now absolutely vacant. +It was a round hole, so from the top they could plainly see every part +of it. Before they left the place Dorothy went to the Bear King and +said:</p> + +<p>"I'm sorry we couldn't believe what the little Pink Bear said, 'cause we +don't want to make you feel bad by doubting him. There must be a +mistake, somewhere, and we prob'ly don't understand just what the little +Pink Bear means. Will you let me ask him one more question?"</p> + +<p>The Lavender Bear King was a good-natured bear, considering how he was +made and stuffed and jointed, so he accepted Dorothy's apology and +turned the crank and allowed the little girl to question his wee Pink +Bear.</p> + +<p>"Is Ozma <i>really</i> in this hole?" asked Dorothy.</p> + +<p>"No," said the little Pink Bear.</p> + +<p>This surprised everybody. Even the Bear King was now puzzled by the +contradictory statements of his oracle.</p> + +<p>"Where <i>is</i> she?" asked the King.</p> + +<p>"Here, among you," answered the little Pink Bear.</p> + +<p>"Well," said Dorothy, "this beats me, entirely! I guess the little Pink +Bear has gone crazy."</p> + +<p>"Perhaps," called Scraps, who was rapidly turning "cart-wheels" all +around the perplexed group, "Ozma is invisible."</p> + +<p>"Of course!" cried Betsy. "That would account for it."</p> + +<p>"Well, I've noticed that people can speak, even when they've been made +invisible," said the Wizard. And then he looked all around him and said +in a solemn voice: "Ozma, are you here?"</p> + +<p>There was no reply. Dorothy asked the question, too, and so did +Button-Bright and Trot and Betsy; but none received any reply at all.</p> + +<p>"It's strange—it's terrible strange!" muttered Cayke the Cookie Cook. +"I was sure that the little Pink Bear always tells the truth."</p> + +<p>"I still believe in his honesty," said the Frogman, and this tribute so +pleased the Bear King that he gave these last speakers grateful looks, +but still gazed sourly on the others.</p> + +<p>"Come to think of it," remarked the Wizard, "Ozma couldn't be invisible, +for she is a fairy and fairies cannot be made invisible against their +will. Of course she could be imprisoned by the magician, or even +enchanted, or transformed, in spite of her fairy powers; but Ugu could +not render her invisible by any magic at his command."</p> + +<p>"I wonder if she's been transformed into Button-Bright?" said Dorothy +nervously. Then she looked steadily at the boy and asked: "Are you Ozma? +Tell me truly!"</p> + +<p>Button-Bright laughed.</p> + +<p>"You're getting rattled, Dorothy," he replied. "Nothing ever enchants +<i>me</i>. If I were Ozma, do you think I'd have tumbled into that hole?"</p> + +<p>"Anyhow," said the Wizard, "Ozma would never try to deceive her friends, +or prevent them from recognizing her, in whatever form she happened to +be. The puzzle is still a puzzle, so let us go on to the wicker castle +and question the magician himself. Since it was he who stole our Ozma, +Ugu is the one who must tell us where to find her."</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 314px;"> +<img src="images/i275.png" width="314" height="280" alt="image unavailable" /> +</div> + +<hr style="width:15%;" /> + +<p><a name="Magic_Against_Magic" id="Magic_Against_Magic"></a></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 409px;"> +<img src="images/i276.png" width="409" height="406" alt=" +Magic Against Magic +CHAPTER 21" class="top20" /> +</div> + +<p class="beg">CHAPTER 21<br /><br /> +The Wizard's +<br />advice was good, so +<br />again they started +<br />in the direction of</p> + +<p class="n">the low mountain on the crest of which the wicker castle had been built. +They had been gradually advancing up hill, so now the elevation seemed +to them more like a round knoll than a mountain-top. However, the sides +of the knoll were sloping and covered with green grass, so there was a +stiff climb before them yet.</p> + +<p>Undaunted, they plodded on and had almost reached the knoll when they +suddenly observed that it was surrounded by a circle of flame. At first +the flames barely rose above the ground, but presently they grew higher +and higher until a circle of flaming tongues of fire taller than any of +their heads quite surrounded the hill on which the wicker castle stood. +When they approached the flames the heat was so intense that it drove +them back again.</p> + +<p>"This will never do for me!" exclaimed the Patchwork Girl. "I catch fire +very easily."</p> + +<p>"It won't do for me, either," grumbled the Sawhorse, prancing to the +rear.</p> + +<p>"I also object strongly to fire," said the Bear King, following the +Sawhorse to a safe distance and hugging the little Pink Bear with his +paws.</p> + +<p>"I suppose the foolish Shoemaker imagines these blazes will stop us," +remarked the Wizard, with a smile of scorn for Ugu. "But I am able to +inform you that this is merely a simple magic trick which the robber +stole from Glinda the Good, and by good fortune I know how to destroy +these flames, as well as how to produce them. Will some one of you +kindly give me a match?"</p> + +<p>You may be sure the girls carried no matches, nor did the Frogman or +Cayke or any of the animals. But Button-Bright, after searching +carefully through his pockets, which contained all sorts of useful and +useless things, finally produced a match and handed it to the Wizard, +who tied it to the end of a branch which he tore from a small tree +growing near them. Then the little Wizard carefully lighted the match +and running forward thrust it into the nearest flame. Instantly the +circle of fire began to die away and soon vanished completely, leaving +the way clear for them to proceed.</p> + +<p>"That was funny!" laughed Button-Bright.</p> + +<p>"Yes," agreed the Wizard, "it seems odd that a little match could +destroy such a great circle of fire, but when Glinda invented this trick +she believed no one would ever think of a match being a remedy for fire. +I suppose even Ugu doesn't know how we managed to quench the flames of +his barrier, for only Glinda and I know the secret. Glinda's Book of +Magic, which Ugu stole, told how to make the flames, but not how to put +them out."</p> + +<p>They now formed in marching order and proceeded to advance up the slope +of the hill; but had not gone far when before them rose a wall of steel, +the surface of which was thickly covered with sharp, gleaming points +resembling daggers. The wall completely surrounded the wicker castle +and its sharp points prevented anyone from climbing it. Even the +Patchwork Girl might be ripped to pieces if she dared attempt it.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 317px;"> +<img src="images/i279_th.png" width="317" height="425" alt="image unavailable" /> +<span class="caption1"><a href="images/i279.png">[Click here to view this image enlarged.]</a></span> +</div> + +<p>"Ah!" exclaimed the Wizard cheerfully, "Ugu is now using one of my own +tricks against me. But this is more serious than the Barrier of Fire, +because the only way to destroy the wall is to get on the other side of +it."</p> + +<p>"How can that be done?" asked Dorothy.</p> + +<p>The Wizard looked thoughtfully around his little party and his face grew +troubled.</p> + +<p>"It's a pretty high wall," he sadly remarked. "I'm pretty sure the +Cowardly Lion could not leap over it."</p> + +<p>"I'm sure of that, too!" said the Lion with a shudder of fear. "If I +foolishly tried such a leap I would be caught on those dreadful spikes."</p> + +<p>"I think I could do it, sir," said the Frogman, with a bow to the +Wizard. "It is an up-hill jump, as well as being a high jump, but I'm +considered something of a jumper by my friends in the Yip Country and I +believe a good strong leap will carry me to the other side."</p> + +<p>"I'm sure it would," agreed the Cookie Cook.</p> + +<p>"Leaping, you know, is a froglike accomplishment," continued the +Frogman, modestly, "but please tell me what I am to do when I reach the +other side of the wall."</p> + +<p>"You're a brave creature," said the Wizard, admiringly. "Has anyone a +pin?"</p> + +<p>Betsy had one, which she gave him.</p> + +<p>"All you need do," said the Wizard to the Frogman, giving him the pin, +"is to stick this into the other side of the wall."</p> + +<p>"But the wall is of steel!" exclaimed the big frog.</p> + +<p>"I know; at least, it <i>seems</i> to be steel; but do as I tell you. Stick +the pin into the wall and it will disappear."</p> + +<p>The Frogman took off his handsome coat and carefully folded it and laid +it on the grass. Then he removed his hat and laid it, together with his +gold-headed cane, beside the coat. He then went back a way and made +three powerful leaps, in rapid succession. The first two leaps took him +to the wall and the third leap carried him well over it, to the +amazement of all. For a short time he disappeared from their view, but +when he had obeyed the Wizard's injunction and had thrust the pin into +the wall, the huge barrier vanished and showed them the form of the +Frogman, who now went to where his coat lay and put it on again.</p> + +<p>"We thank you very much," said the delighted Wizard. "That was the most +wonderful leap I ever saw and it has saved us from defeat by our enemy. +Let us now hurry on to the castle before Ugu the Shoemaker thinks of +some other means to stop us."</p> + +<p>"We must have surprised him, so far," declared Dorothy.</p> + +<p>"Yes, indeed. The fellow knows a lot of magic—all of our tricks and +some of his own," replied the Wizard. "So, if he is half as clever as he +ought to be, we shall have trouble with him yet."</p> + +<p>He had scarcely spoken these words when out from the gates of the wicker +castle marched a regiment of soldiers, clad in gay uniforms and all +bearing long, pointed spears and sharp battle-axes. These soldiers were +girls, and the uniforms were short skirts of yellow and black satin, +golden shoes, bands of gold across their foreheads and necklaces of +glittering jewels. Their jackets were scarlet, braided with silver +cords. There were hundreds of these girl-soldiers, and they were more +terrible than beautiful, being strong and fierce in appearance. They +formed a circle all around the castle and faced outward, their spears +pointed toward the invaders and their battle-axes held over their +shoulders, ready to strike.</p> + +<p>Of course our friends halted at once, for they had not expected this +dreadful array of soldiery. The Wizard seemed puzzled and his companions +exchanged discouraged looks.</p> + +<p>"I'd no idea Ugu had such an army as that," said Dorothy. "The castle +doesn't look big enough to hold them all."</p> + +<p>"It isn't," declared the Wizard.</p> + +<p>"But they all marched out of it."</p> + +<p>"They seemed to; but I don't believe it is a real army at all. If Ugu +the Shoemaker had so many people living with him, I'm sure the Czarover +of Herku would have mentioned the fact to us."</p> + +<p>"They're only girls!" laughed Scraps.</p> + +<p>"Girls are the fiercest soldiers of all," declared the Frogman. "They +are more brave than men and they have better nerves. That is probably +why the magician uses them for soldiers and has sent them to oppose us."</p> + +<p>No one argued this statement, for all were staring hard at the line of +soldiers, which now, having taken a defiant position, remained +motionless.</p> + +<p>"Here is a trick of magic new to me," admitted the Wizard, after a time. +"I do not believe the army is real, but the spears may be sharp enough +to prick us, nevertheless, so we must be cautious. Let us take time to +consider how to meet this difficulty."</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 419px;"> +<img src="images/i285.png" width="419" height="547" alt="image unavailable" /> +</div> + +<p>While they were thinking it over Scraps danced closer to the line of +girl soldiers. Her button eyes sometimes saw more than did the natural +eyes of her comrades and so, after staring hard at the magician's army, +she boldly advanced and danced right through the threatening line! On +the other side she waved her stuffed arms and called out:</p> + +<p>"Come on, folks. The spears can't hurt you."</p> + +<p>"Ah!" said the Wizard, gayly, "an optical illusion, as I thought. Let us +all follow the Patchwork Girl."</p> + +<p>The three little girls were somewhat nervous in attempting to brave the +spears and battle-axes, but after the others had safely passed the line +they ventured to follow. And, when all had passed through the ranks of +the girl army, the army itself magically disappeared from view.</p> + +<p>All this time our friends had been getting farther up the hill and +nearer to the wicker castle. Now, continuing their advance, they +expected something else to oppose their way, but to their astonishment +nothing happened and presently they arrived at the wicker gates, which +stood wide open, and boldly entered the domain of Ugu the Shoemaker.</p> + + + + +<hr style="width:15%;" /> + +<p><a name="In_the_Wicker_Castle" id="In_the_Wicker_Castle"></a></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 409px;"> +<img src="images/i287.png" width="409" height="410" alt="In the Wicker Castle +CHAPTER 22" class="top20" /> +</div> + +<p class="beg">CHAPTER 22<br /><br /> +No sooner were the +<br />Wizard of Oz and +<br />his followers well +<br />within the castle</p> + +<p class="n">entrance when the big gates swung to with a clang and heavy bars dropped +across them. They looked at one another uneasily, but no one cared to +speak of the incident. If they were indeed prisoners in the wicker +castle it was evident they must find a way to escape, but their first +duty was to attend to the errand on which they had come and seek the +Royal Ozma, whom they believed to be a prisoner of the magician, and +rescue her.</p> + +<p>They found they had entered a square courtyard, from which an entrance +led into the main building of the castle. No person had appeared to +greet them, so far, although a gaudy peacock, perched upon the wall, +cackled with laughter and said in its sharp, shrill voice: "Poor fools! +Poor fools!"</p> + +<p>"I hope the peacock is mistaken," remarked the Frogman, but no one else +paid any attention to the bird. They were a little awed by the stillness +and loneliness of the place.</p> + +<p>As they entered the doors of the castle, which stood invitingly open, +these also closed behind them and huge bolts shot into place. The +animals had all accompanied the party into the castle, because they felt +it would be dangerous for them to separate. They were forced to follow a +zigzag passage, turning this way and that, until finally they entered a +great central hall, circular in form and with a high dome from which was +suspended an enormous chandelier.</p> + +<p>The Wizard went first, and Dorothy, Betsy and Trot followed him, Toto +keeping at the heels of his little mistress. Then came the Lion, the +Woozy and the Sawhorse; then Cayke the Cookie Cook and Button-Bright; +then the Lavender Bear carrying the Pink Bear, and finally the Frogman +and the Patchwork Girl, with Hank the Mule tagging behind. So it was the +Wizard who caught the first glimpse of the big domed hall, but the +others quickly followed and gathered in a wondering group just within +the entrance.</p> + +<p>Upon a raised platform at one side was a heavy table on which lay +Glinda's Great Book of Records; but the platform was firmly fastened to +the floor and the table was fastened to the platform and the Book was +chained fast to the table—just as it had been when it was kept in +Glinda's palace. On the wall over the table hung Ozma's Magic Picture. +On a row of shelves at the opposite side of the hall stood all the +chemicals and essences of magic and all the magical instruments that had +been stolen from Glinda and Ozma and the Wizard, with glass doors +covering the shelves so that no one could get at them.</p> + +<p>And in a far corner sat Ugu the Shoemaker, his feet lazily extended, his +skinny hands clasped behind his head. He was leaning back at his ease +and calmly smoking a long pipe. Around the magician was a sort of cage, +seemingly made of golden bars set wide apart, and at his feet—also +within the cage—reposed the long-sought diamond-studded dishpan of +Cayke the Cookie Cook.</p> + +<p>Princess Ozma of Oz was nowhere to be seen.</p> + +<p>"Well, well," said Ugu, when the invaders had stood in silence for a +moment, staring about them, "this visit is an expected pleasure, I +assure you. I knew you were coming and I know why you are here. You are +not welcome, for I cannot use any of you to my advantage, but as you +have insisted on coming I hope you will make the afternoon call as brief +as possible. It won't take long to transact your business with me. You +will ask me for Ozma, and my reply will be that you may find her—if you +can."</p> + +<p>"Sir," answered the Wizard, in a tone of rebuke, "you are a very wicked +and cruel person. I suppose you imagine, because you have stolen this +poor woman's dishpan and all the best magic in Oz, that you are more +powerful than we are and will be able to triumph over us."</p> + +<p>"Yes," said Ugu the Shoemaker, slowly filling his pipe with fresh +tobacco from a silver bowl that stood beside him, "that is exactly what +I imagine. It will do you no good to demand from me the girl who was +formerly the Ruler of Oz, because I will not tell you where I have +hidden her—and you can't guess in a thousand years. Neither will I +restore to you any of the magic I have captured. I am not so foolish. +But bear this in mind: I mean to be the Ruler of Oz myself, hereafter, +so I advise you to be careful how you address your future Monarch."</p> + +<p>"Ozma is still Ruler of Oz, wherever you may have hidden her," declared +the Wizard. "And bear this in mind, miserable Shoemaker: We intend to +find her and to rescue her, in time, but our first duty and pleasure +will be to conquer you and then punish you for your misdeeds."</p> + +<p>"Very well; go ahead and conquer," said Ugu. "I'd really like to see how +you can do it."</p> + +<p>Now, although the little Wizard had spoken so boldly, he had at the +moment no idea how they might conquer the magician. He had that morning +given the Frogman, at his request, a dose of zosozo from his bottle, and +the Frogman had promised to fight a good fight if it was necessary; but +the Wizard knew that strength alone could not avail against magical +arts. The toy Bear King seemed to have some pretty good magic, however, +and the Wizard depended to an extent on that. But something ought to be +done right away, and the Wizard didn't know what it was.</p> + +<p>While he considered this perplexing question and the others stood +looking at him as their leader, a queer thing happened. The floor of the +great circular hall, on which they were standing, suddenly began to tip. +Instead of being flat and level it became a slant, and the slant grew +steeper and steeper until none of the party could manage to stand upon +it. Presently they all slid down to the wall, which was now under them, +and then it became evident that the whole vast room was slowly turning +upside down! Only Ugu the Shoemaker, kept in place by the bars of his +golden cage, remained in his former position, and the wicked magician +seemed to enjoy the surprise of his victims immensely.</p> + +<p>First, they all slid down to the wall back of them, but as the room +continued to turn over they next slid down the wall and found themselves +at the bottom of the great dome, bumping against the big chandelier +which, like everything else, was now upside-down.</p> + +<p>The turning movement now stopped and the room became stationary. Looking +far up, they saw Ugu suspended in his cage at the very top, which had +once been the floor.</p> + +<p>"Ah," said he, grinning down at them, "the way to conquer is to act, and +he who acts promptly is sure to win. This makes a very good prison, from +which I am sure you cannot escape. Please amuse yourselves in any way +you like, but I must beg you to excuse me, as I have business in another +part of my castle."</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 411px;"> +<img src="images/i293.png" width="411" height="553" alt="image unavailable" /> +</div> + +<p>Saying this, he opened a trap door in the floor of his cage (which was +now over his head) and climbed through it and disappeared from their +view. The diamond dishpan still remained in the cage, but the bars kept +it from falling down on their heads.</p> + +<p>"Well, I declare!" said the Patchwork Girl, seizing one of the bars of +the chandelier and swinging from it, "we must peg one for the Shoemaker, +for he has trapped us very cleverly."</p> + +<p>"Get off my foot, please," said the Lion to the Sawhorse.</p> + +<p>"And oblige me, Mr. Mule," remarked the Woozy, "by taking your tail out +of my left eye."</p> + +<p>"It's rather crowded down here," explained Dorothy, "because the dome is +rounding and we have all slid into the middle of it. But let us keep as +quiet as possible until we can think what's best to be done."</p> + +<p>"Dear, dear!" wailed Cayke; "I wish I had my darling dishpan," and she +held her arms longingly toward it.</p> + +<p>"I wish I had the magic on those shelves up there," sighed the Wizard.</p> + +<p>"Don't you s'pose we could get to it?" asked Trot anxiously.</p> + +<p>"We'd have to fly," laughed the Patchwork Girl.</p> + +<p>But the Wizard took the suggestion seriously, and so did the Frogman. +They talked it over and soon planned an attempt to reach the shelves +where the magical instruments were. First the Frogman lay against the +rounding dome and braced his foot on the stem of the chandelier; then +the Wizard climbed over him and lay on the dome with his feet on the +Frogman's shoulders; the Cookie Cook came next; then Button-Bright +climbed to the woman's shoulders; then Dorothy climbed up, and Betsy and +Trot, and finally the Patchwork Girl, and all their lengths made a long +line that reached far up the dome but not far enough for Scraps to touch +the shelves.</p> + +<p>"Wait a minute; perhaps I can reach the magic," called the Bear King, +and began scrambling up the bodies of the others. But when he came to +the Cookie Cook his soft paws tickled her side so that she squirmed and +upset the whole line. Down they came, tumbling in a heap against the +animals, and although no one was much hurt it was a bad mix-up and the +Frogman, who was at the bottom, almost lost his temper before he could +get on his feet again.</p> + +<p>Cayke positively refused to try what she called "the pyramid act" again, +and as the Wizard was now convinced they could not reach the magic tools +in that manner the attempt was abandoned.</p> + +<p>"But <i>something</i> must be done," said the Wizard, and then he turned to +the Lavender Bear and asked: "Cannot Your Majesty's magic help us to +escape from here?"</p> + +<p>"My magic powers are limited," was the reply. "When I was stuffed, the +fairies stood by and slyly dropped some magic into my stuffing. +Therefore I can do any of the magic that's inside me, but nothing else. +You, however, are a wizard, and a wizard should be able to do anything."</p> + +<p>"Your Majesty forgets that my tools of magic have been stolen," said the +Wizard sadly, "and a wizard without tools is as helpless as a carpenter +without a hammer or saw."</p> + +<p>"Don't give up," pleaded Button-Bright, "'cause if we can't get out of +this queer prison we'll all starve to death."</p> + +<p>"Not I!" laughed the Patchwork Girl, now standing on top the chandelier, +at the place that was meant to be the bottom of it.</p> + +<p>"Don't talk of such dreadful things," said Trot, shuddering. "We came +here to capture the Shoemaker, didn't we?"</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 408px;"> +<img src="images/i297.png" width="408" height="576" alt="image unavailable" /> +</div> + +<p>"And here we are, captured ourselves, and my darling dishpan up there in +plain sight!" wailed the Cookie Cook, wiping her eyes on the tail of the +Frogman's coat.</p> + +<p>"Hush!" called the Lion, with a low, deep growl. "Give the Wizard time +to think."</p> + +<p>"He has plenty of time," said Scraps. "What he needs is the Scarecrow's +brains."</p> + +<p>After all, it was little Dorothy who came to their rescue, and her +ability to save them was almost as much a surprise to the girl as it was +to her friends. Dorothy had been secretly testing the powers of her +Magic Belt, which she had once captured from the Nome King, and +experimenting with it in various ways, ever since she had started on +this eventful journey. At different times she had stolen away from the +others of her party and in solitude had tried to find out what the Magic +Belt could do and what it could not do. There were a lot of things it +could not do, she discovered, but she learned some things about the Belt +which even her girl friends did not suspect she knew.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 407px;"> +<img src="images/i299.png" width="407" height="583" alt="image unavailable" /> +</div> + +<p>For one thing, she had remembered that when the Nome King owned it the +Magic Belt used to perform transformations, and by thinking hard she had +finally recalled the way in which such transformations had been +accomplished. Better than this, however, was the discovery that the +Magic Belt would grant its wearer one wish a day. All she need do was +close her right eye and wiggle her left toe and then draw a long breath +and make her wish. Yesterday she had wished in secret for a box of +caramels, and instantly found the box beside her. To-day she had saved +her daily wish, in case she might need it in an emergency, and the time +had now come when she must use the wish to enable her to escape with her +friends from the prison in which Ugu had caught them.</p> + +<p>So, without telling anyone what she intended to do—for she had only +used the wish once and could not be certain how powerful the Magic Belt +might be—Dorothy closed her right eye and wiggled her left big toe and +drew a long breath and wished with all her might. The next moment the +room began to revolve again, as slowly as before, and by degrees they +all slid to the side wall and down the wall to the floor—all but +Scraps, who was so astonished that she still clung to the chandelier. +When the big hall was in its proper position again and the others stood +firmly upon the floor of it, they looked far up to the dome and saw the +Patchwork Girl swinging from the chandelier.</p> + +<p>"Good gracious!" cried Dorothy. "How ever will you get down?"</p> + +<p>"Won't the room keep turning?" asked Scraps.</p> + +<p>"I hope not. I believe it has stopped for good," said Princess Dorothy.</p> + +<p>"Then stand from under, so you won't get hurt!" shouted the Patchwork +Girl, and as soon as they had obeyed this request she let go the +chandelier and came tumbling down heels over head and twisting and +turning in a very exciting manner. Plump! she fell on the tiled floor +and they ran to her and rolled her and patted her into shape again.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 239px;"> +<img src="images/i301.png" width="239" height="165" alt="image unavailable" /> +</div> + + + +<hr style="width:15%;" /> + +<p><a name="The_Defiance_of_Ugu_the_Shoemaker" id="The_Defiance_of_Ugu_the_Shoemaker"></a></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 407px;"> +<img src="images/i302.png" width="407" height="413" alt=" +The Defiance of Ugu the Shoemaker +CHAPTER 23" class="top20" /> +</div> + +<p class="beg">CHAPTER 23<br /><br /> +The delay caused +<br />by Scraps had +<br />prevented +anyone +<br />from running to</p> + +<p class="n">the +shelves to secure the magic instruments so badly needed. Even Cayke +neglected to get her diamond-studded dishpan because she was watching +the Patchwork Girl. And now the magician had opened his trap door and +appeared in his golden cage again, frowning angrily because his +prisoners had been able to turn their upside-down prison right-side-up.</p> + +<p>"Which of you has dared defy my magic?" he shouted in a terrible voice.</p> + +<p>"It was I," answered Dorothy calmly.</p> + +<p>"Then I shall destroy you, for you are only an Earth girl and no fairy," +he said, and began to mumble some magic words.</p> + +<p>Dorothy now realized that Ugu must be treated as an enemy, so she +advanced toward the corner in which he sat, saying as she went:</p> + +<p>"I am not afraid of you, Mr. Shoemaker, and I think you'll be sorry, +pretty soon, that you're such a bad man. You can't destroy me and I +won't destroy you, but I'm going to punish you for your wickedness."</p> + +<p>Ugu laughed a laugh that was not nice to hear, and then he waved his +hand. Dorothy was halfway across the room when suddenly a wall of glass +rose before her and stopped her progress. Through the glass she could +see the magician sneering at her because she was a weak little girl, and +this provoked her. Although the glass wall obliged her to halt she +instantly pressed both hands to her Magic Belt and cried in a loud +voice:</p> + +<p>"Ugu the Shoemaker, by the magic virtues of the Magic Belt, I command +you to become a dove!"</p> + +<p>The magician instantly realized he was being enchanted, for he could +feel his form changing. He struggled desperately against the +enchantment, mumbling magic words and making magic passes with his +hands. And in one way he succeeded in defeating Dorothy's purpose, for +while his form soon changed to that of a gray dove, the dove was of an +enormous size—bigger even than Ugu had been as a man—and this feat he +had been able to accomplish before his powers of magic wholly deserted +him.</p> + +<p>And the dove was not gentle, as doves usually are, for Ugu was terribly +enraged at the little girl's success. His books had told him nothing of +the Nome King's Magic Belt, the Country of the Nomes being outside the +Land of Oz. He knew, however, that he was likely to be conquered unless +he made a fierce fight, so he spread his wings and rose in the air and +flew directly toward Dorothy. The Wall of Glass had disappeared the +instant Ugu became transformed.</p> + +<p>Dorothy had meant to command the Belt to transform the magician into a +Dove of Peace, but in her excitement she forgot to say more than "dove," +and now Ugu was not a Dove of Peace by any means, but rather a spiteful +Dove of War. His size made his sharp beak and claws very dangerous, but +Dorothy was not afraid when he came darting toward her with his talons +outstretched and his sword-like beak open.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 410px;"> +<img src="images/i305.png" width="410" height="535" alt="image unavailable" /> +</div> + +<p>She knew the Magic Belt would protect its wearer from harm.</p> + +<p>But the Frogman did not know that fact and became alarmed at the little +girl's seeming danger. So he gave a sudden leap and leaped full upon the +back of the great dove.</p> + +<p>Then began a desperate struggle. The dove was as strong as Ugu had been, +and in size it was considerably bigger than the Frogman. But the Frogman +had eaten the zosozo and it had made him fully as strong as Ugu the +Dove. At the first leap he bore the dove to the floor, but the giant +bird got free and began to bite and claw the Frogman, beating him down +with its great wings whenever he attempted to rise. The thick, tough +skin of the big frog was not easily damaged, but Dorothy feared for her +champion and by again using the transformation power of the Magic Belt +she made the dove grow small, until it was no larger than a canary bird.</p> + +<p>Ugu had not lost his knowledge of magic when he lost his shape as a man, +and he now realized it was hopeless to oppose the power of the Magic +Belt and knew that his only hope of escape lay in instant action. So he +quickly flew into the golden jeweled dishpan he had stolen from Cayke +the Cookie Cook and, as birds can talk as well as beasts or men in the +Fairyland of Oz, he muttered the magic word that was required and wished +himself in the Country of the Quadlings—which was as far away from the +wicker castle as he believed he could get.</p> + +<p>Our friends did not know, of course, what Ugu was about to do. They saw +the dishpan tremble an instant and then disappear, the dove disappearing +with it, and although they waited expectantly for some minutes for the +magician's return, Ugu did not come back again.</p> + +<p>"Seems to me," said the Wizard in a cheerful voice, "that we have +conquered the wicked magician more quickly than we expected to."</p> + +<p>"Don't say 'we'—Dorothy did it!" cried the Patchwork Girl, turning +three somersaults in succession and then walking around on her hands. +"Hurrah for Dorothy!"</p> + +<p>"I thought you said you did not know how to use the magic of the Nome +King's Belt," said the Wizard to Dorothy.</p> + +<p>"I didn't know, at that time," she replied, "but afterward I remembered +how the Nome King once used the Magic Belt to enchant people and +transform 'em into ornaments and all sorts of things; so I tried some +enchantments in secret and after awhile I transformed the Sawhorse into +a potato-masher and back again, and the Cowardly Lion into a pussycat +and back again, and then I knew the thing would work all right."</p> + +<p>"When did you perform those enchantments?" asked the Wizard, much +surprised.</p> + +<p>"One night when all the rest of you were asleep but Scraps, and she had +gone chasing moonbeams."</p> + +<p>"Well," remarked the Wizard, "your discovery has certainly saved us a +lot of trouble, and we must all thank the Frogman, too, for making such +a good fight. The dove's shape had Ugu's evil disposition inside it, and +that made the monster bird dangerous."</p> + +<p>The Frogman was looking sad because the bird's talons had torn his +pretty clothes, but he bowed with much dignity at this well-deserved +praise. Cayke, however, had squatted on the floor and was sobbing +bitterly.</p> + +<p>"My precious dishpan is gone!" she wailed. "Gone, just as I had found it +again!"</p> + +<p>"Never mind," said Trot, trying to comfort her, "it's sure to be +<i>some</i>where, so we'll cert'nly run across it some day."</p> + +<p>"Yes, indeed," added Betsy; "now that we have Ozma's Magic Picture, we +can tell just where the Dove went with your dishpan."</p> + +<p>They all approached the Magic Picture, and Dorothy wished it to show the +enchanted form of Ugu the Shoemaker, wherever it might be. At once there +appeared in the frame of the Picture a scene in the far Quadling +Country, where the Dove was perched disconsolately on the limb of a tree +and the jeweled dishpan lay on the ground just underneath the limb.</p> + +<p>"But where is the place—how far or how near?" asked Cayke anxiously.</p> + +<p>"The Book of Records will tell us that," answered the Wizard. So they +looked in the Great Book and read the following:</p> + +<div class="block"><p>"Ugu the Magician, being transformed into a dove by Princess +Dorothy of Oz, has used the magic of the golden dishpan to carry +him instantly to the northeast corner of the Quadling Country."</p></div> + +<p>"That's all right," said Dorothy. "Don't worry, Cayke, for the Scarecrow +and the Tin Woodman are in that part of the country, looking for Ozma, +and they'll surely find your dishpan."</p> + +<p>"Good gracious!" exclaimed Button-Bright, "we've forgot all about Ozma. +Let's find out where the magician hid her."</p> + +<p>Back to the Magic Picture they trooped, but when they wished to see +Ozma, wherever she might be hidden, only a round black spot appeared in +the center of the canvas.</p> + +<p>"I don't see how <i>that</i> can be Ozma!" said Dorothy, much puzzled.</p> + +<p>"It seems to be the best the Magic Picture can do, however," said the +Wizard, no less surprised. "If it's an enchantment, it looks as if the +magician had transformed Ozma into a chunk of pitch."</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 271px;"> +<img src="images/i310.png" width="271" height="115" alt="image unavailable" /> +</div> + + + +<hr style="width:15%;" /> + +<p><a name="The_Little_Pink_Bear_Speaks_Truly" id="The_Little_Pink_Bear_Speaks_Truly"></a></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 409px;"> +<img src="images/i311.png" width="409" height="415" alt="The Little Pink Bear Speaks Truly +CHAPTER 24" class="top20" /> +</div> + +<p class="beg">CHAPTER 24<br /><br /> +For several minutes +<br />they all stood +<br />staring at the +<br />black spot on the</p> + +<p class="n">canvas of the Magic Picture, wondering what it could mean.</p> + +<p>"P'r'aps we'd better ask the little Pink Bear about Ozma," suggested +Trot.</p> + +<p>"Pshaw!" said Button-Bright, "<i>he</i> don't know anything."</p> + +<p>"He never makes a mistake," declared the King.</p> + +<p>"He did once, surely," said Betsy. "But perhaps he wouldn't make a +mistake again."</p> + +<p>"He won't have the chance," grumbled the Bear King.</p> + +<p>"We might hear what he has to say," said Dorothy. "It won't do any harm +to ask the Pink Bear where Ozma is."</p> + +<p>"I will not have him questioned," declared the King, in a surly voice. +"I do not intend to allow my little Pink Bear to be again insulted by +your foolish doubts. He never makes a mistake."</p> + +<p>"Didn't he say Ozma was in that hole in the ground?" asked Betsy.</p> + +<p>"He did; and I am certain she was there," replied the Lavender Bear.</p> + +<p>Scraps laughed jeeringly and the others saw there was no use arguing +with the stubborn Bear King, who seemed to have absolute faith in his +Pink Bear. The Wizard, who knew that magical things can usually be +depended upon, and that the little Pink Bear was able to answer +questions by some remarkable power of magic, thought it wise to +apologize to the Lavender Bear for the unbelief of his friends, at the +same time urging the King to consent to question the Pink Bear once +more. Cayke and the Frogman also pleaded with the big Bear, who +finally agreed, although rather ungraciously, to put the little Bear's +wisdom to the test once more. So he sat the little one on his knee and +turned the crank and the Wizard himself asked the questions in a very +respectful tone of voice.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 407px;"> +<img src="images/i313.png" width="407" height="585" alt="image unavailable" /> +</div> + +<p>"Where is Ozma?" was his first query.</p> + +<p>"Here, in this room," answered the little Pink Bear.</p> + +<p>They all looked around the room, but of course did not see her.</p> + +<p>"In what part of this room is she?" was the Wizard's next question.</p> + +<p>"In Button-Bright's pocket," said the little Pink Bear.</p> + +<p>This reply amazed them all, you may be sure, and although the three +girls smiled and Scraps yelled: "Hoo-ray!" in derision, the Wizard +seemed to consider the matter with grave thoughtfulness.</p> + +<p>"In which one of Button-Bright's pockets is Ozma?" he presently +inquired.</p> + +<p>"In the lefthand jacket-pocket," said the little Pink Bear.</p> + +<p>"The pink one has gone crazy!" exclaimed Button-Bright, staring hard at +the little bear on the big bear's knee.</p> + +<p>"I am not so sure of that," declared the Wizard. "If Ozma proves to be +really in your pocket, then the little Pink Bear spoke truly when he +said Ozma was in that hole in the ground. For at that time you were also +in the hole, and after we had pulled you out of it the little Pink Bear +said Ozma was not in the hole."</p> + +<p>"He never makes a mistake," asserted the Bear King, stoutly.</p> + +<p>"Empty that pocket, Button-Bright, and let's see what's in it," +requested Dorothy.</p> + +<p>So Button-Bright laid the contents of his left jacket-pocket on the +table. These proved to be a peg-top, a bunch of string, a small rubber +ball and a golden peach-pit.</p> + +<p>"What's this?" asked the Wizard, picking up the peach-pit and examining +it closely.</p> + +<p>"Oh," said the boy, "I saved that to show to the girls, and then forgot +all about it. It came out of a lonesome peach that I found in the +orchard back yonder, and which I ate while I was lost. It looks like +gold, and I never saw a peach-pit like it before."</p> + +<p>"Nor I," said the Wizard, "and that makes it seem suspicious."</p> + +<p>All heads were bent over the golden peach-pit. The Wizard turned it over +several times and then took out his pocket-knife and pried the pit +open.</p> + +<p>As the two halves fell apart a pink, cloud-like haze came pouring from +the golden peach-pit, almost filling the big room, and from the haze a +form took shape and settled beside them. Then, as the haze faded away, a +sweet voice said: "Thank you, my friends!" and there before them stood +their lovely girl Ruler, Ozma of Oz.</p> + +<p>With a cry of delight Dorothy rushed forward and embraced her. Scraps +turned gleeful flip-flops all around the room. Button-Bright gave a low +whistle of astonishment. The Frogman took off his tall hat and bowed low +before the beautiful girl who had been freed from her enchantment in so +startling a manner.</p> + +<p>For a time no sound was heard beyond the low murmur of delight that came +from the amazed group, but presently the growl of the big Lavender Bear +grew louder and he said in a tone of triumph:</p> + +<p>"He never makes a mistake!"</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 272px;"> +<img src="images/i316.png" width="272" height="134" alt="image unavailable" /> +</div> + + + +<hr style="width:15%;" /> + +<p><a name="Ozma_of_Oz" id="Ozma_of_Oz"></a></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 406px;"> +<img src="images/i317.png" width="406" height="413" alt=" +Ozma of Oz +CHAPTER 25" class="top20" /> +</div> + +<p class="beg">CHAPTER 25<br/><br/> +"It's funny," said<br/> Toto, standing<br/>before +his friend the +<br/>Lion and wagging</p> + +<p class="n">his tail, "but I've found my growl at last! I am positive, now, that it +was the cruel magician who stole it."</p> + +<p>"Let's hear your growl," requested the Lion.</p> + +<p>"Gr-r-r-r-r-r!" said Toto.</p> + +<p>"That is fine," declared the big beast. "It isn't as loud or as deep as +the growl of the big Lavender Bear, but it is a very respectable growl +for a small dog. Where did you find it, Toto?"</p> + +<p>"I was smelling in the corner, yonder," said Toto, "when suddenly a +mouse ran out—and I growled!"</p> + +<p>The others were all busy congratulating Ozma, who was very happy at +being released from the confinement of the golden peach-pit, where the +magician had placed her with the notion that she never could be found or +liberated.</p> + +<p>"And only to think," cried Dorothy, "that Button-Bright has been +carrying you in his pocket all this time, and we never knew it!"</p> + +<p>"The little Pink Bear told you," said the Bear King, "but you wouldn't +believe him."</p> + +<p>"Never mind, my dears," said Ozma graciously; "all is well that ends +well, and you couldn't be expected to know I was inside the peach-pit. +Indeed, I feared I would remain a captive much longer than I did, for +Ugu is a bold and clever magician and he had hidden me very securely."</p> + +<p>"You were in a fine peach," said Button-Bright; "the best I ever ate."</p> + +<p>"The magician was foolish to make the peach so tempting," remarked the +Wizard; "but Ozma would lend beauty to any transformation."</p> + +<p>"How did you manage to conquer Ugu the Shoemaker?" inquired the girl +Ruler of Oz.</p> + +<p>Dorothy started to tell the story and Trot helped her, and Button-Bright +wanted to relate it in his own way, and the Wizard tried to make it +clear to Ozma, and Betsy had to remind them of important things they +left out, and all together there was such a chatter that it was a wonder +that Ozma understood any of it. But she listened patiently, with a smile +on her lovely face at their eagerness, and presently had gleaned all the +details of their adventures.</p> + +<p>Ozma thanked the Frogman very earnestly for his assistance and she +advised Cayke the Cookie Cook to dry her weeping eyes, for she promised +to take her to the Emerald City and see that her cherished dishpan was +restored to her. Then the beautiful Ruler took a chain of emeralds from +around her own neck and placed it around the neck of the little Pink +Bear.</p> + +<p>"Your wise answers to the questions of my friends," said she, "helped +them to rescue me. Therefore I am deeply grateful to you and to your +noble King."</p> + +<p>The bead eyes of the little Pink Bear stared unresponsive to this praise +until the Big Lavender Bear turned the crank in its side, when it said +in its squeaky voice:</p> + +<p>"I thank Your Majesty."</p> + +<p>"For my part," returned the Bear King, "I realize that you were well +worth saving, Miss Ozma, and so I am much pleased that we could be of +service to you. By means of my Magic Wand I have been creating exact +images of your Emerald City and your Royal Palace, and I must confess +that they are more attractive than any places I have ever seen—not +excepting Bear Center."</p> + +<p>"I would like to entertain you in my palace," returned Ozma, sweetly, +"and you are welcome to return with me and to make me a long visit, if +your bear subjects can spare you from your own kingdom."</p> + +<p>"As for that," answered the King, "my kingdom causes me little worry, +and I often find it somewhat tame and uninteresting. Therefore I am in +no hurry to return to it and will be glad to accept your kind +invitation. Corporal Waddle may be trusted to care for my bears in my +absence."</p> + +<p>"And you'll bring the little Pink Bear?" asked Dorothy eagerly.</p> + +<p>"Of course, my dear; I would not willingly part with him."</p> + +<p>They remained in the wicker castle for three days, carefully packing all +the magical things that had been stolen by Ugu and also taking whatever +in the way of magic the shoemaker had inherited from his ancestors.</p> + +<p>"For," said Ozma, "I have forbidden any of my subjects except Glinda the +Good and the Wizard of Oz to practice magical arts, because they cannot +be trusted to do good and not harm. Therefore Ugu must never again be +permitted to work magic of any sort."</p> + +<p>"Well," remarked Dorothy cheerfully, "a dove can't do much in the way of +magic, anyhow, and I'm going to keep Ugu in the form of a dove until he +reforms and becomes a good and honest shoemaker."</p> + +<p>When everything was packed and loaded on the backs of the animals, they +set out for the river, taking a more direct route than that by which +Cayke and the Frogman had come. In this way they avoided the Cities of +Thi and Herku and Bear Center and after a pleasant journey reached the +Winkie River and found a jolly ferryman who had a fine big boat and was +willing to carry the entire party by water to a place quite near to the +Emerald City.</p> + +<p>The river had many windings and many branches, and the journey did not +end in a day, but finally the boat floated into a pretty lake which was +but a short distance from Ozma's home. Here the jolly ferryman was +rewarded for his labors and then the entire party set out in a grand +procession to march to the Emerald City.</p> + +<p>News that the Royal Ozma had been found spread quickly throughout the +neighborhood and both sides of the road soon became lined with loyal +subjects of the beautiful and beloved Ruler. Therefore Ozma's ears heard +little but cheers and her eyes beheld little else than waving +handkerchiefs and banners during all the triumphal march from the lake +to the city's gates.</p> + +<p>And there she met a still greater concourse, for all the inhabitants of +the Emerald City turned out to welcome her return and several bands +played gay music and all the houses were decorated with flags and +bunting and never before were the people so joyous and happy as at this +moment when they welcomed home their girl Ruler. For she had been lost +and was now found again, and surely that was cause for rejoicing.</p> + +<p>Glinda was at the royal palace to meet the returning party and the good +Sorceress was indeed glad to have her Great Book of Records returned to +her, as well as all the precious collection of magic instruments and +elixirs and chemicals that had been stolen from her castle. Cap'n Bill +and the Wizard at once hung the Magic Picture upon the wall of Ozma's +boudoir and the Wizard was so light-hearted that he did several tricks +with the tools in his black bag to amuse his companions and prove that +once again he was a powerful wizard.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 407px;"> +<img src="images/i323.png" width="407" height="481" alt="image unavailable" /> +</div> + +<p>For a whole week there was feasting and merriment and all sorts of +joyous festivities at the palace, in honor of Ozma's safe return. The +Lavender Bear and the little Pink Bear received much attention and were +honored by all, much to the Bear King's satisfaction. The Frogman +speedily became a favorite at the Emerald City and the Shaggy Man and +Tik-Tok and Jack Pumpkinhead, who had now returned from their search, +were very polite to the big frog and made him feel quite at home. Even +the Cookie Cook, because she was a stranger and Ozma's guest, was shown +as much deference as if she had been a queen.</p> + +<p>"All the same, Your Majesty," said Cayke to Ozma, day after day, with +tiresome repetition, "I hope you will soon find my jeweled dishpan, for +never can I be quite happy without it."</p> + +<hr style="width:15%;" /> + +<p><a name="Dorothy_Forgives" id="Dorothy_Forgives"></a></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 410px;"> +<img src="images/i325.png" width="410" height="410" alt=" +Dorothy Forgives +CHAPTER 26" class="top20" /> +</div> + +<p class="beg">CHAPTER 26<br /><br /> +The gray dove +<br />which had once +<br />been Ugu the +<br />Shoemaker sat on</p> + +<p class="n">its tree in +the far Quadling Country and moped, chirping dismally and brooding over +its misfortunes. After a time the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman came +along and sat beneath the tree, paying no heed to the mutterings of the +gray dove.</p> + +<p>The Tin Woodman took a small oilcan from his tin pocket and carefully +oiled his tin joints with it. While he was thus engaged the Scarecrow +remarked:</p> + +<p>"I feel much better, dear comrade, since we found that heap of nice +clean straw and you stuffed me anew with it."</p> + +<p>"And I feel much better now that my joints are oiled," returned the Tin +Woodman, with a sigh of pleasure. "You and I, friend Scarecrow, are much +more easily cared for than those clumsy meat people, who spend half +their time dressing in fine clothes and who must live in splendid +dwellings in order to be contented and happy. You and I do not eat, and +so we are spared the dreadful bother of getting three meals a day. Nor +do we waste half our lives in sleep, a condition that causes the meat +people to lose all consciousness and become as thoughtless and helpless +as logs of wood."</p> + +<p>"You speak truly," responded the Scarecrow, tucking some wisps of straw +into his breast with his padded fingers. "I often feel sorry for the +meat people, many of whom are my friends. Even the beasts are happier +than they, for they require less to make them content. And the birds are +the luckiest creatures of all, for they can fly swiftly where they will +and find a home at any place they care to perch; their food consists of +seeds and grains they gather from the fields and their drink is a sip +of water from some running brook. If I could not be a Scarecrow—or a +Tin Woodman—my next choice would be to live as a bird does."</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 317px;"> +<img src="images/i327_th.png" width="317" height="426" alt="image unavailable" /> +<span class="caption1"><a href="images/i327.png">[Click here to view this image enlarged.]</a></span> +</div> + +<p>The gray dove had listened carefully to this speech and seemed to find +comfort in it, for it hushed its moaning. And just then the Tin Woodman +discovered Cayke's dishpan, which was on the ground quite near to him.</p> + +<p>"Here is a rather pretty utensil," he said, taking it in his tin hands +to examine it, "but I would not care to own it. Whoever fashioned it of +gold and covered it with diamonds did not add to its usefulness, nor do +I consider it as beautiful as the bright dishpans of tin one usually +sees. No yellow color is ever so handsome as the silver sheen of tin," +and he turned to look at his tin legs and body with approval.</p> + +<p>"I cannot quite agree with you there," replied the Scarecrow. "My straw +stuffing has a light yellow color, and it is not only pretty to look at +but it crunkles most delightfully when I move."</p> + +<p>"Let us admit that all colors are good in their proper places," said the +Tin Woodman, who was too kind-hearted to quarrel; "but you must agree +with me that a dishpan that is yellow is unnatural. What shall we do +with this one, which we have just found?"</p> + +<p>"Let us carry it back to the Emerald City," suggested the Scarecrow. +"Some of our friends might like to have it for a foot-bath, and in using +it that way its golden color and sparkling ornaments would not injure +its usefulness."</p> + +<p>So they went away and took the jeweled dishpan with them. And, after +wandering through the country for a day or so longer, they learned the +news that Ozma had been found. Therefore they straightway returned to +the Emerald City and presented the dishpan to Princess Ozma as a token +of their joy that she had been restored to them.</p> + +<p>Ozma promptly gave the diamond-studded gold dishpan to Cayke the Cookie +Cook, who was so delighted at regaining her lost treasure that she +danced up and down in glee and then threw her skinny arms around Ozma's +neck and kissed her gratefully. Cayke's mission was now successfully +accomplished, but she was having such a good time at the Emerald City +that she seemed in no hurry to go back to the Country of the Yips.</p> + +<p>It was several weeks after the dishpan had been restored to the Cookie +Cook when one day, as Dorothy was seated in the royal gardens with Trot +and Betsy beside her, a gray dove came flying down and alighted at the +girl's feet.</p> + +<p>"I am Ugu the Shoemaker," said the dove in a soft, mourning voice, "and +I have come to ask you to forgive me for the great wrong I did in +stealing Ozma and the magic that belonged to her and to others."</p> + +<p>"Are you sorry, then?" asked Dorothy, looking hard at the bird.</p> + +<p>"I am <i>very</i> sorry," declared Ugu. "I've been thinking over my misdeeds +for a long time, for doves have little else to do but think, and I'm +surprised that I was such a wicked man and had so little regard for the +rights of others. I am now convinced that even had I succeeded in making +myself ruler of all Oz I should not have been happy, for many days of +quiet thought have shown me that only those things one acquires honestly +are able to render one content."</p> + +<p>"I guess that's so," said Trot.</p> + +<p>"Anyhow," said Betsy, "the bad man seems truly sorry, and if he has now +become a good and honest man we ought to forgive him."</p> + +<p>"I fear I cannot become a good <i>man</i> again," said Ugu, "for the +transformation I am under will always keep me in the form of a dove. +But, with the kind forgiveness of my former enemies, I hope to become a +very good dove, and highly respected."</p> + +<p>"Wait here till I run for my Magic Belt," said Dorothy, "and I'll +transform you back to your reg'lar shape in a jiffy."</p> + +<p>"No—don't do that!" pleaded the dove, fluttering its wings in an +excited way. "I only want your forgiveness; I don't want to be a man +again. As Ugu the Shoemaker I was skinny and old and unlovely; as a dove +I am quite pretty to look at. As a man I was ambitious and cruel, while +as a dove I can be content with my lot and happy in my simple life. I +have learned to love the free and independent life of a bird and I'd +rather not change back."</p> + +<p>"Just as you like, Ugu," said Dorothy, resuming her seat. "Perhaps you +are right, for you're cert'nly a better dove than you were a man, and if +you should ever backslide, an' feel wicked again, you couldn't do much +harm as a gray dove."</p> + +<p>"Then you forgive me for all the trouble I caused you?" he asked +earnestly.</p> + +<p>"Of course; anyone who's sorry just <i>has</i> to be forgiven."</p> + +<p>"Thank you," said the gray dove, and flew away again.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 374px;"> +<img src="images/i333.png" width="374" height="572" alt="THE END" /> +</div> + + +<hr class="full" /> +<p>***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LOST PRINCESS OF OZ***</p> +<p>******* This file should be named 24459-h.txt or 24459-h.zip *******</p> +<p>This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:<br /> +<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/2/4/4/5/24459">http://www.gutenberg.org/2/4/4/5/24459</a></p> +<p>Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed.</p> + +<p>Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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Frank Baum, +Illustrated by John R. Neill + + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + + + + +Title: The Lost Princess of Oz + + +Author: L. Frank Baum + + + +Release Date: January 30, 2008 [eBook #24459] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII) + + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LOST PRINCESS OF OZ*** + + +E-text prepared by Chris Curnow, Joseph Cooper, Chuck Greif, and the +Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team +(https://www.pgdp.net) + + + +Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this + file which includes the original illustrations. + See 24459-h.htm or 24459-h.zip: + (https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/2/4/4/5/24459/24459-h/24459-h.htm) + or + (https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/2/4/4/5/24459/24459-h.zip) + + + + + +[Illustration: This book belongs to] + +[Illustration] + +[Illustration] + +[Illustration: THERE STOOD THEIR LOVELY GIRL RULER OZMA, OF OZ--] + + + +THE LOST PRINCESS OF OZ + +by + +L. FRANK BAUM + +Author of + The Road to Oz, Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz, The + Emerald City of Oz, The Land of Oz, Ozma of Oz, + The Patchwork Girl of Oz, Tik-Tok of + Oz, The Scarecrow of Oz, + Rinkitink in Oz + +[Illustration] + +Illustrated by John R. Neill + + + + + + + +The Reilly & Lee Co. +Chicago + +[Illustration: Copyright 1917 by L. Frank Baum +All Rights Reserved] + +[Illustration: + + This Book is Dedicated + To My Granddaughter + OZMA BAUM] + +[Illustration] + +[Illustration] + +TO MY READERS + + +Some of my youthful readers are developing wonderful imaginations. This +pleases me. Imagination has brought mankind through the Dark Ages to its +present state of civilization. Imagination led Columbus to discover +America. Imagination led Franklin to discover electricity. Imagination +has given us the steam engine, the telephone, the talking-machine and +the automobile, for these things had to be dreamed of before they became +realities. So I believe that dreams--day dreams, you know, with your +eyes wide open and your brain-machinery whizzing--are likely to lead to +the betterment of the world. The imaginative child will become the +imaginative man or woman most apt to create, to invent, and therefore to +foster civilization. A prominent educator tells me that fairy tales are +of untold value in developing imagination in the young. I believe it. + +Among the letters I receive from children are many containing +suggestions of "what to write about in the next Oz Book." Some of the +ideas advanced are mighty interesting, while others are too extravagant +to be seriously considered--even in a fairy tale. Yet I like them all, +and I must admit that the main idea in "The Lost Princess of Oz" was +suggested to me by a sweet little girl of eleven who called to see me +and to talk about the Land of Oz. Said she: "I s'pose if Ozma ever got +lost, or stolen, ev'rybody in Oz would be dreadful sorry." + +That was all, but quite enough foundation to build this present story +on. If you happen to like the story, give credit to my little friend's +clever hint. And, by the way, don't hesitate to write me your own hints +and suggestions, such as result from your own day dreams. They will be +sure to interest me, even if I cannot use them in a story, and the very +fact that you have dreamed at all will give me pleasure and do you good. +For, after all, dear reader, these stories of Oz are just yours and +mine, and we are partners. As long as you care to read them I shall try +to write them, and I've an idea that the next one will relate some +startling adventures of the "Tin Woodman of Oz" and his comrades. + + L. FRANK BAUM, + Royal Historian of Oz. + + "OZCOT" + at HOLLYWOOD + in CALIFORNIA + 1917. + +[Illustration: List of Chapters] + + +1 A Terrible Loss 17 + +2 The Troubles of Glinda the Good 30 + +3 The Robbery of Cayke the Cookie Cook 38 + +4 Among the Winkies 57 + +5 Ozma's Friends are Perplexed 64 + +6 The Search Party 73 + +7 The Merry-Go-Round Mountains 89 + +8 The Mysterious City 104 + +9 The High Coco-Lorum of Thi 120 + +10 Toto Loses Something 137 + +11 Button-Bright Loses Himself 146 + +12 The Czarover of Herku 157 + +13 The Truth Pond 173 + +14 The Unhappy Ferryman 184 + +15 The Big Lavender Bear 194 + +16 The Little Pink Bear 202 + +17 The Meeting 216 + +18 The Conference 230 + +19 Ugu the Shoemaker 237 + +20 Surprises 245 + +21 Magic Against Magic 256 + +22 In the Wicker Castle 265 + +23 The Defiance of Ugu the Shoemaker 280 + +24 The Little Pink Bear Speaks Truly 289 + +25 Ozma of Oz 295 + +26 Dorothy Forgives 303 + +[Illustration] + + + + +A Terrible Loss + +[Illustration] + +CHAPTER 1 + + +There could be no doubt of the fact: Princess Ozma, the lovely girl +ruler of the Fairyland of Oz, was lost. She had completely disappeared. +Not one of her subjects--not even her closest friends--knew what had +become of her. + +It was Dorothy who first discovered it. Dorothy was a little Kansas girl +who had come to the Land of Oz to live and had been given a delightful +suite of rooms in Ozma's royal palace, just because Ozma loved Dorothy +and wanted her to live as near her as possible, so the two girls might +be much together. + +Dorothy was not the only girl from the outside world who had been +welcomed to Oz and lived in the royal palace. There was another named +Betsy Bobbin, whose adventures had led her to seek refuge with Ozma, and +still another named Trot, who had been invited, together with her +faithful companion, Cap'n Bill, to make her home in this wonderful +fairyland. The three girls all had rooms in the palace and were great +chums; but Dorothy was the dearest friend of their gracious Ruler and +only she at any hour dared to seek Ozma in her royal apartments. For +Dorothy had lived in Oz much longer than the other girls and had been +made a Princess of the realm. + +Betsy was a year older than Dorothy and Trot was a year younger, yet the +three were near enough of an age to become great playmates and to have +nice times together. It was while the three were talking together one +morning in Dorothy's room that Betsy proposed they make a journey into +the Munchkin Country, which was one of the four great countries of the +Land of Oz ruled by Ozma. + +[Illustration] + +"I've never been there yet," said Betsy Bobbin, "but the Scarecrow +once told me it is the prettiest country in all Oz." + +"I'd like to go, too," added Trot. + +"All right," said Dorothy, "I'll go and ask Ozma. Perhaps she will let +us take the Sawhorse and the Red Wagon, which would be much nicer for us +than having to walk all the way. This Land of Oz is a pretty big place, +when you get to all the edges of it." + +So she jumped up and went along the halls of the splendid palace until +she came to the royal suite, which filled all the front of the second +floor. In a little waiting room sat Ozma's maid, Jellia Jamb, who was +busily sewing. + +"Is Ozma up yet?" inquired Dorothy. + +"I don't know, my dear," replied Jellia. "I haven't heard a word from +her this morning. She hasn't even called for her bath or her breakfast, +and it is far past her usual time for them." + +"That's strange!" exclaimed the little girl. + +"Yes," agreed the maid; "but of course no harm could have happened to +her. No one can die or be killed in the Land of Oz and Ozma is herself a +powerful fairy, and she has no enemies, so far as we know. Therefore I +am not at all worried about her, though I must admit her silence is +unusual." + +"Perhaps," said Dorothy, thoughtfully, "she has overslept. Or she may be +reading, or working out some new sort of magic to do good to her +people." + +"Any of these things may be true," replied Jellia Jamb, "so I haven't +dared disturb our royal mistress. You, however, are a privileged +character, Princess, and I am sure that Ozma wouldn't mind at all if you +went in to see her." + +"Of course not," said Dorothy, and opening the door of the outer chamber +she went in. All was still here. She walked into another room, which was +Ozma's boudoir, and then, pushing back a heavy drapery richly broidered +with threads of pure gold, the girl entered the sleeping-room of the +fairy Ruler of Oz. The bed of ivory and gold was vacant; the room was +vacant; not a trace of Ozma was to be found. + +Very much surprised, yet still with no fear that anything had happened +to her friend, Dorothy returned through the boudoir to the other rooms +of the suite. She went into the music room, the library, the laboratory, +the bath, the wardrobe and even into the great throne room, which +adjoined the royal suite, but in none of these places could she find +Ozma. + +So she returned to the anteroom where she had left the maid, Jellia +Jamb, and said: + +"She isn't in her rooms now, so she must have gone out." + +"I don't understand how she could do that without my seeing her," +replied Jellia, "unless she made herself invisible." + +"She isn't there, anyhow," declared Dorothy. + +"Then let us go find her," suggested the maid, who appeared to be a +little uneasy. + +So they went into the corridors and there Dorothy almost stumbled over a +queer girl who was dancing lightly along the passage. + +"Stop a minute, Scraps!" she called. "Have you seen Ozma this morning?" + +"Not I!" replied the queer girl, dancing nearer. "I lost both my eyes in +a tussle with the Woozy, last night, for the creature scraped 'em both +off my face with his square paws. So I put the eyes in my pocket and +this morning Button-Bright led me to Aunt Em, who sewed 'em on again. So +I've seen nothing at all to-day, except during the last five minutes. So +of course I haven't seen Ozma." + +"Very well, Scraps," said Dorothy, looking curiously at the eyes, which +were merely two round black buttons sewed upon the girl's face. + +[Illustration] + +There were other things about Scraps that would have seemed curious to +one seeing her for the first time. She was commonly called "The +Patchwork Girl," because her body and limbs were made from a gay-colored +patchwork quilt which had been cut into shape and stuffed with cotton. +Her head was a round ball stuffed in the same manner and fastened to her +shoulders. For hair she had a mass of brown yarn and to make a nose for +her a part of the cloth had been pulled out into the shape of a knob and +tied with a string to hold it in place. Her mouth had been carefully +made by cutting a slit in the proper place and lining it with red silk, +adding two rows of pearls for teeth and a bit of red flannel for a +tongue. + +In spite of this queer make-up, the Patchwork Girl was magically alive +and had proved herself not the least jolly and agreeable of the many +quaint characters who inhabit the astonishing Fairyland of Oz. Indeed, +Scraps was a general favorite, although she was rather flighty and +erratic and did and said many things that surprised her friends. She was +seldom still, but loved to dance, to turn handsprings and somersaults, +to climb trees and to indulge in many other active sports. + +[Illustration] + +"I'm going to search for Ozma," remarked Dorothy, "for she isn't in +her rooms and I want to ask her a question." + +"I'll go with you," said Scraps, "for my eyes are brighter than yours +and they can see farther." + +"I'm not sure of that," returned Dorothy. "But come along, if you like." + +Together they searched all through the great palace and even to the +farthest limits of the palace grounds, which were quite extensive, but +nowhere could they find a trace of Ozma. When Dorothy returned to where +Betsy and Trot awaited her, the little girl's face was rather solemn and +troubled, for never before had Ozma gone away without telling her +friends where she was going, or without an escort that befitted her +royal state. + +She was gone, however, and none had seen her go. Dorothy had met and +questioned the Scarecrow, Tik-Tok, the Shaggy Man, Button-Bright, Cap'n +Bill, and even the wise and powerful Wizard of Oz, but not one of them +had seen Ozma since she parted with her friends the evening before and +had gone to her own rooms. + +"She didn't say anything las' night about going anywhere," observed +little Trot. + +[Illustration] + +"No, and that's the strange part of it," replied Dorothy. "Usually +Ozma lets us know of everything she does." + +"Why not look in the Magic Picture?" suggested Betsy Bobbin. "That will +tell us where she is, in just one second." + +"Of course!" cried Dorothy. "Why didn't I think of that before?" and at +once the three girls hurried away to Ozma's boudoir, where the Magic +Picture always hung. + +This wonderful Magic Picture was one of the royal Ozma's greatest +treasures. There was a large gold frame, in the center of which was a +bluish-gray canvas on which various scenes constantly appeared and +disappeared. If one who stood before it wished to see what any +person--anywhere in the world--was doing, it was only necessary to make +the wish and the scene in the Magic Picture would shift to the scene +where that person was and show exactly what he or she was then engaged +in doing. So the girls knew it would be easy for them to wish to see +Ozma, and from the picture they could quickly learn where she was. + +Dorothy advanced to the place where the picture was usually protected by +thick satin curtains, and pulled the draperies aside. Then she stared in +amazement, while her two friends uttered exclamations of +disappointment. + +The Magic Picture was gone. Only a blank space on the wall behind the +curtains showed where it had formerly hung. + +[Illustration] + + + + +The Troubles of Glinda the Good + +[Illustration] + +CHAPTER 2 + + +That same morning there was great excitement in the castle of the +powerful Sorceress of Oz, Glinda the Good. This castle, situated in the +Quadling Country, far south of the Emerald City where Ozma ruled, was a +splendid structure of exquisite marbles and silver grilles. Here the +Sorceress lived, surrounded by a bevy of the most beautiful maidens of +Oz, gathered from all the four countries of that fairyland as well as +from the magnificent Emerald City itself, which stood in the place +where the four countries cornered. + +It was considered a great honor to be allowed to serve the good +Sorceress, whose arts of magic were used only to benefit the Oz people. +Glinda was Ozma's most valued servant, for her knowledge of sorcery was +wonderful and she could accomplish almost anything that her mistress, +the lovely girl Ruler of Oz, wished her to. + +Of all the magical things which surrounded Glinda in her castle there +was none more marvelous than her Great Book of Records. On the pages of +this Record Book were constantly being inscribed--day by day and hour by +hour--all the important events that happened anywhere in the known +world, and they were inscribed in the book at exactly the moment the +events happened. Every adventure in the Land of Oz and in the big +outside world, and even in places that you and I have never heard of, +were recorded accurately in the Great Book, which never made a mistake +and stated only the exact truth. For that reason nothing could be +concealed from Glinda the Good, who had only to look at the pages of the +Great Book of Records to know everything that had taken place. That was +one reason she was such a great Sorceress, for the records made her +wiser than any other living person. + +This wonderful book was placed upon a big gold table that stood in the +middle of Glinda's drawing-room. The legs of the table, which were +incrusted with precious gems, were firmly fastened to the tiled floor +and the book itself was chained to the table and locked with six stout +golden padlocks, the keys to which Glinda carried on a chain that was +secured around her own neck. + +The pages of the Great Book were larger in size than those of an +American newspaper and although they were exceedingly thin there were so +many of them that they made an enormous, bulky volume. With its gold +cover and gold clasps the book was so heavy that three men could +scarcely have lifted it. Yet this morning, when Glinda entered her +drawing-room after breakfast, with all her maidens trailing after her, +the good Sorceress was amazed to discover that her Great Book of Records +had mysteriously disappeared. + +[Illustration] + +Advancing to the table, she found the chains had been cut with some +sharp instrument, and this must have been done while all in the castle +slept. Glinda was shocked and grieved. Who could have done this +wicked, bold thing? And who could wish to deprive her of her Great Book +of Records? + +The Sorceress was thoughtful for a time, considering the consequences of +her loss. Then she went to her Room of Magic to prepare a charm that +would tell her who had stolen the Record Book. But, when she unlocked +her cupboards and threw open the doors, all of her magical instruments +and rare chemical compounds had been removed from the shelves. + +The Sorceress was now both angry and alarmed. She sat down in a chair +and tried to think how this extraordinary robbery could have taken +place. It was evident that the thief was some person of very great +power, or the theft could never have been accomplished without her +knowledge. But who, in all the Land of Oz, was powerful and skillful +enough to do this awful thing? And who, having the power, could also +have an object in defying the wisest and most talented Sorceress the +world has ever known? + +[Illustration] + +Glinda thought over the perplexing matter for a full hour, at the end of +which time she was still puzzled how to explain it. But although her +instruments and chemicals were gone her _knowledge_ of magic had not +been stolen, by any means, since no thief, however skillful, can rob one +of knowledge, and that is why knowledge is the best and safest +treasure to acquire. Glinda believed that when she had time to gather +more magical herbs and elixirs and to manufacture more magical +instruments she would be able to discover who the robber was, and what +had become of her precious Book of Records. + +"Whoever has done this," she said to her maidens, "is a very foolish +person, for in time he is sure to be found out and will then be severely +punished." + +She now made a list of the things she needed and dispatched messengers +to every part of Oz with instructions to obtain them and bring them to +her as soon as possible. And one of her messengers met the little Wizard +of Oz, who was mounted on the back of the famous live Sawhorse and was +clinging to its neck with both his arms; for the Sawhorse was speeding +to Glinda's castle with the velocity of the wind, bearing the news that +Royal Ozma, Ruler of all the great Land of Oz, had suddenly disappeared +and no one in the Emerald City knew what had become of her. + +"Also," said the Wizard, as he stood before the astonished Sorceress, +"Ozma's Magic Picture is gone, so we cannot consult it to discover where +she is. So I came to you for assistance as soon as we realized our loss. +Let us look in the Great Book of Records." + +"Alas," returned the Sorceress sorrowfully, "we cannot do that, for the +Great Book of Records has also disappeared!" + +[Illustration] + + + + +Robbery of Cayke the Cookie Cook + +[Illustration] + +CHAPTER 3 + + +One more important theft was reported in the Land of Oz that eventful +morning, but it took place so far from either the Emerald City or the +castle of Glinda the Good that none of those persons we have mentioned +learned of the robbery until long afterward. + +In the far southwestern corner of the Winkie Country is a broad +tableland that can be reached only by climbing a steep hill, whichever +side one approaches it. On the hillside surrounding this tableland are +no paths at all, but there are quantities of bramble-bushes with sharp +prickers on them, which prevent any of the Oz people who live down below +from climbing up to see what is on top. But on top live the Yips, and +although the space they occupy is not great in extent the wee country is +all their own. The Yips had never--up to the time this story +begins--left their broad tableland to go down into the Land of Oz, nor +had the Oz people ever climbed up to the country of the Yips. + +Living all alone as they did, the Yips had queer ways and notions of +their own and did not resemble any other people of the Land of Oz. Their +houses were scattered all over the flat surface; not like a city, +grouped together, but set wherever their owners' fancy dictated, with +fields here, trees there, and odd little paths connecting the houses one +with another. + +It was here, on the morning when Ozma so strangely disappeared from the +Emerald City, that Cayke the Cookie Cook discovered that her +diamond-studded gold dishpan had been stolen, and she raised such a +hue-and-cry over her loss and wailed and shrieked so loudly that many of +the Yips gathered around her house to inquire what was the matter. + +It was a serious thing, in any part of the Land of Oz, to accuse one of +stealing, so when the Yips heard Cayke the Cookie Cook declare that her +jeweled dishpan had been stolen they were both humiliated and disturbed +and forced Cayke to go with them to the Frogman to see what could be +done about it. + +I do not suppose you have ever before heard of the Frogman, for like all +other dwellers on that tableland he had never been away from it, nor had +anyone come up there to see him. The Frogman was, in truth, descended +from the common frogs of Oz, and when he was first born he lived in a +pool in the Winkie Country and was much like any other frog. Being of an +adventurous nature, however, he soon hopped out of his pool and began to +travel, when a big bird came along and seized him in its beak and +started to fly away with him to its nest. When high in the air the frog +wriggled so frantically that he got loose and fell down--down--down into +a small hidden pool on the tableland of the Yips. Now this pool, it +seems, was unknown to the Yips because it was surrounded by thick bushes +and was not near to any dwelling, and it proved to be an enchanted pool, +for the frog grew very fast and very big, feeding on the magic skosh +which is found nowhere else on earth except in that one pool. And the +skosh not only made the frog very big, so that when he stood on his hind +legs he was tall as any Yip in the country, but it made him unusually +intelligent, so that he soon knew more than the Yips did and was able to +reason and to argue very well indeed. + +[Illustration] + +No one could expect a frog with these talents to remain in a hidden +pool, so he finally got out of it and mingled with the people of the +tableland, who were amazed at his appearance and greatly impressed by +his learning. They had never seen a frog before and the frog had never +seen a Yip before, but as there were plenty of Yips and only one frog, +the frog became the most important. He did not hop any more, but stood +upright on his hind legs and dressed himself in fine clothes and sat in +chairs and did all the things that people do; so he soon came to be +called the Frogman, and that is the only name he has ever had. + +After some years had passed the people came to regard the Frogman as +their adviser in all matters that puzzled them. They brought all their +difficulties to him and when he did not know anything he pretended to +know it, which seemed to answer just as well. Indeed, the Yips thought +the Frogman was much wiser than he really was, and he allowed them to +think so, being very proud of his position of authority. + +There was another pool on the tableland, which was not enchanted but +contained good clear water and was located close to the dwellings. Here +the people built the Frogman a house of his own, close to the edge of +the pool, so that he could take a bath or a swim whenever he wished. He +usually swam in the pool in the early morning, before anyone else was +up, and during the day he dressed himself in his beautiful clothes and +sat in his house and received the visits of all the Yips who came to him +to ask his advice. + +The Frogman's usual costume consisted of knee-breeches made of yellow +satin plush, with trimmings of gold braid and jeweled knee-buckles; a +white satin vest with silver buttons in which were set solitaire rubies; +a swallow-tailed coat of bright yellow; green stockings and red leather +shoes turned up at the toes and having diamond buckles. He wore, when he +walked out, a purple silk hat and carried a gold-headed cane. Over his +eyes he wore great spectacles with gold rims, not because his eyes were +bad but because the spectacles made him look wise, and so distinguished +and gorgeous was his appearance that all the Yips were very proud of +him. + +There was no King or Queen in the Yip Country, so the simple inhabitants +naturally came to look upon the Frogman as their leader as well as their +counselor in all times of emergency. In his heart the big frog knew he +was no wiser than the Yips, but for a frog to know as much as a person +was quite remarkable, and the Frogman was shrewd enough to make the +people believe he was far more wise than he really was. They never +suspected he was a humbug, but listened to his words with great respect +and did just what he advised them to do. + +Now, when Cayke the Cookie Cook raised such an outcry over the theft of +her diamond-studded dishpan, the first thought of the people was to take +her to the Frogman and inform him of the loss, thinking that of course +he could tell her where to find it. + +He listened to the story with his big eyes wide open behind his +spectacles, and said in his deep, croaking voice: + +"If the dishpan is stolen, somebody must have taken it." + +"But who?" asked Cayke, anxiously. "Who is the thief?" + +[Illustration] + +"The one who took the dishpan, of course," replied the Frogman, and +hearing this all the Yips nodded their heads gravely and said to one +another: + +"It is absolutely true!" + +"But I want my dishpan!" cried Cayke. + +"No one can blame you for that wish," remarked the Frogman. + +"Then tell me where I may find it," she urged. + +The look the Frogman gave her was a very wise look and he rose from his +chair and strutted up and down the room with his hands under his +coat-tails, in a very pompous and imposing manner. This was the first +time so difficult a matter had been brought to him and he wanted time to +think. It would never do to let them suspect his ignorance and so he +thought very, very hard how best to answer the woman without betraying +himself. + +"I beg to inform you," said he, "that nothing in the Yip Country has +ever been stolen before." + +"We know that, already," answered Cayke the Cookie Cook, impatiently. + +"Therefore," continued the Frogman, "this theft becomes a very important +matter." + +"Well, where is my dishpan?" demanded the woman. + +"It is lost; but it must be found. Unfortunately, we have no policemen +or detectives to unravel the mystery, so we must employ other means to +regain the lost article. Cayke must first write a Proclamation and tack +it to the door of her house, and the Proclamation must read that whoever +stole the jeweled dishpan must return it at once." + +"But suppose no one returns it," suggested Cayke. + +"Then," said the Frogman, "that very fact will be proof that no one has +stolen it." + +Cayke was not satisfied, but the other Yips seemed to approve the plan +highly. They all advised her to do as the Frogman had told her to, so +she posted the sign on her door and waited patiently for someone to +return the dishpan--which no one ever did. + +Again she went, accompanied by a group of her neighbors, to the Frogman, +who by this time had given the matter considerable thought. Said he to +Cayke: + +"I am now convinced that no Yip has taken your dishpan, and, since it is +gone from the Yip Country, I suspect that some stranger came from the +world down below us, in the darkness of night when all of us were +asleep, and took away your treasure. There can be no other explanation +of its disappearance. So, if you wish to recover that golden, +diamond-studded dishpan, you must go into the lower world after it." + +[Illustration] + +This was indeed a startling proposition. Cayke and her friends went to +the edge of the flat tableland and looked down the steep hillside to the +plains below. It was so far to the bottom of the hill that nothing there +could be seen very distinctly and it seemed to the Yips very +venturesome, if not dangerous, to go so far from home into an unknown +land. + +However, Cayke wanted her dishpan very badly, so she turned to her +friends and asked: + +"Who will go with me?" + +No one answered this question, but after a period of silence one of the +Yips said: + +"We know what is here, on the top of this flat hill, and it seems to us +a very pleasant place; but what is down below we do not know. The +chances are it is not so pleasant, so we had best stay where we are." + +"It may be a far better country than this is," suggested the Cookie +Cook. + +"Maybe, maybe," responded another Yip, "but why take chances? +Contentment with one's lot is true wisdom. Perhaps, in some other +country, there are better cookies than you cook; but as we have always +eaten your cookies, and liked them--except when they are burned on the +bottom--we do not long for any better ones." + +Cayke might have agreed to this argument had she not been so anxious to +find her precious dishpan, but now she exclaimed impatiently: + +"You are cowards--all of you! If none of you are willing to explore with +me the great world beyond this small hill, I will surely go alone." + +"That is a wise resolve," declared the Yips, much relieved. "It is your +dishpan that is lost, not ours; and, if you are willing to risk your +life and liberty to regain it, no one can deny you the privilege." + +While they were thus conversing the Frogman joined them and looked down +at the plain with his big eyes and seemed unusually thoughtful. In fact, +the Frogman was thinking that he'd like to see more of the world. Here +in the Yip Country he had become the most important creature of them all +and his importance was getting to be a little tame. It would be nice to +have other people defer to him and ask his advice and there seemed no +reason, so far as he could see, why his fame should not spread +throughout all Oz. + +He knew nothing of the rest of the world, but it was reasonable to +believe that there were more people beyond the mountain where he now +lived than there were Yips, and if he went among them he could surprise +them with his display of wisdom and make them bow down to him as the +Yips did. In other words, the Frogman was ambitious to become still +greater than he was, which was impossible if he always remained upon +this mountain. He wanted others to see his gorgeous clothes and listen +to his solemn sayings, and here was an excuse for him to get away from +the Yip Country. So he said to Cayke the Cookie Cook: + +"_I_ will go with you, my good woman," which greatly pleased Cayke +because she felt the Frogman could be of much assistance to her in her +search. + +But now, since the mighty Frogman had decided to undertake the journey, +several of the Yips who were young and daring at once made up their +minds to go along; so the next morning after breakfast the Frogman and +Cayke the Cookie Cook and nine of the Yips started to slide down the +side of the mountain. The bramble-bushes and cactus plants were very +prickly and uncomfortable to the touch, so the Frogman commanded the +Yips to go first and break a path, so that when he followed them he +would not tear his splendid clothes. Cayke, too, was wearing her best +dress, and was likewise afraid of the thorns and prickers, so she kept +behind the Frogman. + +They made rather slow progress and night overtook them before they were +halfway down the mountain side, so they found a cave in which they +sought shelter until morning. Cayke had brought along a basket full of +her famous cookies, so they all had plenty to eat. + +On the second day the Yips began to wish they had not embarked on this +adventure. They grumbled a good deal at having to cut away the thorns to +make the path for the Frogman and the Cookie Cook, for their own +clothing suffered many tears, while Cayke and the Frogman traveled +safely and in comfort. + +"If it is true that anyone came to our country to steal your diamond +dishpan," said one of the Yips to Cayke, "it must have been a bird, for +no person in the form of a man, woman or child could have climbed +through these bushes and back again." + +"And, allowing he could have done so," said another Yip, "the +diamond-studded gold dishpan would not have repaid him for his troubles +and his tribulations." + +"For my part," remarked a third Yip, "I would rather go back home and +dig and polish some more diamonds, and mine some more gold, and make +you another dishpan, than be scratched from head to heel by these +dreadful bushes. Even now, if my mother saw me, she would not know I am +her son." + +Cayke paid no heed to these mutterings, nor did the Frogman. Although +their journey was slow it was being made easy for them by the Yips, so +they had nothing to complain of and no desire to turn back. + +Quite near to the bottom of the great hill they came upon a deep gulf, +the sides of which were as smooth as glass. The gulf extended a long +distance--as far as they could see, in either direction--and although it +was not very wide it was far too wide for the Yips to leap across it. +And, should they fall into it, it was likely they might never get out +again. + +"Here our journey ends," said the Yips. "We must go back again." + +Cayke the Cookie Cook began to weep. + +"I shall never find my pretty dishpan again--and my heart will be +broken!" she sobbed. + +The Frogman went to the edge of the gulf and with his eye carefully +measured the distance to the other side. + +"Being a frog," said he, "I can leap, as all frogs do; and, being so big +and strong, I am sure I can leap across this gulf with ease. But the +rest of you, not being frogs, must return the way you came." + +"We will do that with pleasure," cried the Yips and at once they turned +and began to climb up the steep mountain, feeling they had had quite +enough of this unsatisfactory adventure. Cayke the Cookie Cook did not +go with them, however. She sat on a rock and wept and wailed and was +very miserable. + +"Well," said the Frogman to her, "I will now bid you good-bye. If I find +your diamond decorated gold dishpan I will promise to see that it is +safely returned to you." + +"But I prefer to find it myself!" she said. "See here, Frogman, why +can't you carry me across the gulf when you leap it? You are big and +strong, while I am small and thin." + +The Frogman gravely thought over this suggestion. It was a fact that +Cayke the Cookie Cook was not a heavy person. Perhaps he could leap the +gulf with her on his back. + +"If you are willing to risk a fall," said he, "I will make the attempt." + +At once she sprang up and grabbed him around his neck with both her +arms. That is, she grabbed him where his neck ought to be, for the +Frogman had no neck at all. Then he squatted down, as frogs do when +they leap, and with his powerful rear legs he made a tremendous jump. + +Over the gulf he sailed, with the Cookie Cook on his back, and he had +leaped so hard--to make sure of not falling in--that he sailed over a +lot of bramble-bushes that grew on the other side and landed in a clear +space which was so far beyond the gulf that when they looked back they +could not see it at all. + +Cayke now got off the Frogman's back and he stood erect again and +carefully brushed the dust from his velvet coat and rearranged his white +satin necktie. + +"I had no idea I could leap so far," he said wonderingly. "Leaping is +one more accomplishment I can now add to the long list of deeds I am +able to perform." + +"You are certainly fine at leap-frog," said the Cookie Cook, admiringly; +"but, as you say, you are wonderful in many ways. If we meet with any +people down here I am sure they will consider you the greatest and +grandest of all living creatures." + +[Illustration] + +"Yes," he replied, "I shall probably astonish strangers, because they +have never before had the pleasure of seeing me. Also they will marvel +at my great learning. Every time I open my mouth, Cayke, I am liable +to say something important." + +"That is true," she agreed, "and it is fortunate your mouth is so very +wide and opens so far, for otherwise all the wisdom might not be able to +get out of it." + +"Perhaps nature made it wide for that very reason," said the Frogman: +"But come; let us now go on, for it is getting late and we must find +some sort of shelter before night overtakes us." + +[Illustration] + + + + +Among the Winkies + +[Illustration] + +CHAPTER 4 + + +The settled parts of the Winkie Country are full of happy and contented +people who are ruled by a tin Emperor named Nick Chopper, who in turn is +a subject of the beautiful girl Ruler, Ozma of Oz. But not all of the +Winkie Country is fully settled. At the east, which part lies nearest +the Emerald City, there are beautiful farmhouses and roads, but as you +travel west you first come to a branch of the Winkie River, beyond +which there is a rough country where few people live, and some of these +are quite unknown to the rest of the world. After passing through this +rude section of territory, which no one ever visits, you would come to +still another branch of the Winkie River, after crossing which you would +find another well-settled part of the Winkie Country, extending westward +quite to the Deadly Desert that surrounds all the Land of Oz and +separates that favored fairyland from the more common outside world. The +Winkies who live in this west section have many tin mines, from which +metal they make a great deal of rich jewelry and other articles, all of +which are highly esteemed in the Land of Oz because tin is so bright and +pretty, and there is not so much of it as there is of gold and silver. + +Not all the Winkies are miners, however, for some till the fields and +grow grains for food, and it was at one of these far west Winkie farms +that the Frogman and Cayke the Cookie Cook first arrived after they had +descended from the mountain of the Yips. + +"Goodness me!" cried Nellary, the Winkie wife, when she saw the strange +couple approaching her house. "I have seen many queer creatures in the +Land of Oz, but none more queer than this giant frog, who dresses like +a man and walks on his hind legs. Come here, Wiljon," she called to her +husband, who was eating his breakfast, "and take a look at this +astonishing freak." + +Wiljon the Winkie came to the door and looked out. He was still standing +in the doorway when the Frogman approached and said with a haughty +croak: + +"Tell me, my good man, have you seen a diamond-studded gold dishpan?" + +"No; nor have I seen a copper-plated lobster," replied Wiljon, in an +equally haughty tone. + +The Frogman stared at him and said: + +"Do not be insolent, fellow!" + +"No," added Cayke the Cookie Cook, hastily, "you must be very polite to +the great Frogman, for he is the wisest creature in all the world." + +"Who says that?" inquired Wiljon. + +"He says so himself," replied Cayke, and the Frogman nodded and strutted +up and down, twirling his gold-headed cane very gracefully. + +"Does the Scarecrow admit that this overgrown frog is the wisest +creature in the world?" asked Wiljon. + +"I do not know who the Scarecrow is," answered Cayke the Cookie Cook. + +"Well, he lives at the Emerald City, and he is supposed to have the +finest brains in all Oz. The Wizard gave them to him, you know." + +"Mine grew in my head," said the Frogman pompously, "so I think they +must be better than any wizard brains. I am so wise that sometimes my +wisdom makes my head ache. I know so much that often I have to forget +part of it, since no one creature, however great, is able to contain so +much knowledge." + +"It must be dreadful to be stuffed full of wisdom," remarked Wiljon +reflectively, and eyeing the Frogman with a doubtful look. "It is my +good fortune to know very little." + +"I hope, however, you know where my jeweled dishpan is," said the Cookie +Cook anxiously. + +"I do not know even that," returned the Winkie. "We have trouble enough +in keeping track of our own dishpans, without meddling with the dishpans +of strangers." + +Finding him so ignorant, the Frogman proposed that they walk on and seek +Cayke's dishpan elsewhere. Wiljon the Winkie did not seem greatly +impressed by the great Frogman, which seemed to that personage as +strange as it was disappointing; but others in this unknown land might +prove more respectful. + +[Illustration] + +"I'd like to meet that Wizard of Oz," remarked Cayke, as they walked +along a path. "If he could give a Scarecrow brains he might be able to +find my dishpan." + +"Poof!" grunted the Frogman scornfully; "I am greater than any wizard. +Depend on _me_. If your dishpan is anywhere in the world I am sure to +find it." + +"If you do not, my heart will be broken," declared the Cookie Cook in a +sorrowful voice. + +For a while the Frogman walked on in silence. Then he asked: + +"Why do you attach so much importance to a dishpan?" + +"It is the greatest treasure I possess," replied the woman. "It belonged +to my mother and to all my grandmothers, since the beginning of time. It +is, I believe, the very oldest thing in all the Yip Country--or was +while it was there--and," she added, dropping her voice to an awed +whisper, "it has magic powers!" + +"In what way?" inquired the Frogman, seeming to be surprised at this +statement. + +"Whoever has owned that dishpan has been a good cook, for one thing. No +one else is able to make such good cookies as I have cooked, as you and +all the Yips know. Yet, the very morning after my dishpan was stolen, I +tried to make a batch of cookies and they burned up in the oven! I made +another batch that proved too tough to eat, and I was so ashamed of them +that I buried them in the ground. Even the third batch of cookies, which +I brought with me in my basket, were pretty poor stuff and no better +than any woman could make who does not own my diamond-studded gold +dishpan. In fact, my good Frogman, Cayke the Cookie Cook will never be +able to cook good cookies again until her magic dishpan is restored to +her." + +"In that case," said the Frogman with a sigh, "I suppose we must manage +to find it." + +[Illustration] + + + + +Ozma's Friends Are Perplexed + +[Illustration] + +CHAPTER 5 + + +"Really," said Dorothy, looking solemn, "this is very s'prising. We +can't find even a shadow of Ozma anywhere in the Em'rald City; and, +wherever she's gone, she's taken her Magic Picture with her." + +She was standing in the courtyard of the palace with Betsy and Trot, +while Scraps, the Patchwork Girl, danced around the group, her hair +flying in the wind. + +"P'raps," said Scraps, still dancing, "someone has stolen Ozma." + +"Oh, they'd never dare do that!" exclaimed tiny Trot. + +"And stolen the Magic Picture, too, so the thing can't tell where she +is," added the Patchwork Girl. + +"That's nonsense," said Dorothy. "Why, ev'ryone loves Ozma. There isn't +a person in the Land of Oz who would steal a single thing she owns." + +"Huh!" replied the Patchwork Girl. "You don't know ev'ry person in the +Land of Oz." + +"Why don't I?" + +"It's a big country," said Scraps. "There are cracks and corners in it +that even Ozma doesn't know of." + +"The Patchwork Girl's just daffy," declared Betsy. + +"No; she's right about that," replied Dorothy thoughtfully. "There are +lots of queer people in this fairyland who never come near Ozma or the +Em'rald City. I've seen some of 'em myself, girls; but I haven't seen +all, of course, and there _might_ be some wicked persons left in Oz, +yet, though I think the wicked witches have all been destroyed." + +Just then the Wooden Sawhorse dashed into the courtyard with the Wizard +of Oz on his back. + +"Have you found Ozma?" cried the Wizard when the Sawhorse stopped beside +them. + +"Not yet," said Dorothy. "Doesn't Glinda know where she is?" + +"No. Glinda's Book of Records and all her magic instruments are gone. +Someone must have stolen them." + +"Goodness me!" exclaimed Dorothy, in alarm. "This is the biggest steal I +ever heard of. Who do you think did it, Wizard?" + +"I've no idea," he answered. "But I have come to get my own bag of magic +tools and carry them to Glinda. She is so much more powerful than I that +she may be able to discover the truth by means of my magic, quicker and +better than I could myself." + +"Hurry, then," said Dorothy, "for we're all getting terr'bly worried." + +The Wizard rushed away to his rooms but presently came back with a long, +sad face. + +"It's gone!" he said. + +"What's gone?" asked Scraps. + +"My black bag of magic tools. Someone must have stolen it!" + +They looked at one another in amazement. + +[Illustration] + +"This thing is getting desperate," continued the Wizard. "All the +magic that belongs to Ozma, or to Glinda, or to me, has been stolen." + +"Do you suppose Ozma could have taken them, herself, for some purpose?" +asked Betsy. + +"No, indeed," declared the Wizard. "I suspect some enemy has stolen Ozma +and, for fear we would follow and recapture her, has taken all our magic +away from us." + +"How dreadful!" cried Dorothy. "The idea of anyone wanting to injure our +dear Ozma! Can't we do _any_thing to find her, Wizard?" + +"I'll ask Glinda. I must go straight back to her and tell her that my +magic tools have also disappeared. The good Sorceress will be greatly +shocked, I know." + +With this he jumped upon the back of the Sawhorse again and the quaint +steed, which never tired, dashed away at full speed. + +The three girls were very much disturbed in mind. Even the Patchwork +Girl was more quiet than usual and seemed to realize that a great +calamity had overtaken them all. Ozma was a fairy of considerable power +and all the creatures in Oz, as well as the three mortal girls from the +outside world, looked upon her as their protector and friend. The idea +of their beautiful girl Ruler's being overpowered by an enemy and +dragged from her splendid palace a captive was too astonishing for them +to comprehend, at first. Yet what other explanation of the mystery could +there be? + +"Ozma wouldn't go away willingly, without letting us know about it," +asserted Dorothy; "and she wouldn't steal Glinda's Great Book of +Records, or the Wizard's magic, 'cause she could get them any time, just +by asking for 'em. I'm sure some wicked person has done all this." + +"Someone in the Land of Oz?" asked Trot. + +"Of course. No one could get across the Deadly Desert, you know, and no +one but an Oz person could know about the Magic Picture and the Book of +Records and the Wizard's magic, or where they were kept, and so be able +to steal the whole outfit before we could stop 'em. It _must_ be someone +who lives in the Land of Oz." + +"But who--who--who?" asked Scraps. "That's the question. Who?" + +"If we knew," replied Dorothy, severely, "we wouldn't be standing here, +doing nothing." + +Just then two boys entered the courtyard and approached the group of +girls. One boy was dressed in the fantastic Munchkin costume--a blue +jacket and knickerbockers, blue leather shoes and a blue hat with a +high peak and tiny silver bells dangling from its rim--and this was Ojo +the Lucky, who had once come from the Munchkin Country of Oz and now +lived in the Emerald City. The other boy was an American, from +Philadelphia, and had lately found his way to Oz in the company of Trot +and Cap'n Bill. His name was Button-Bright; that is, everyone called him +by that name, and knew no other. + +Button-Bright was not quite as big as the Munchkin boy, but he wore the +same kind of clothes, only they were of different colors. As the two +came up to the girls, arm in arm, Button-Bright remarked: + +"Hello, Dorothy. They say Ozma is lost." + +"_Who_ says so?" she asked. + +"Everybody's talking about it, in the City," he replied. + +"I wonder how the people found it out?" Dorothy asked. + +"I know," said Ojo. "Jellia Jamb told them. She has been asking +everywhere if anyone has seen Ozma." + +"That's too bad," observed Dorothy, frowning. + +"Why?" asked Button-Bright. + +"There wasn't any use making all our people unhappy, till we were dead +certain that Ozma can't be found." + +[Illustration] + +"Pshaw," said Button-Bright, "It's nothing to get lost. I've been lost +lots of times." + +"That's true," admitted Trot, who knew that the boy had a habit of +getting lost and then finding himself again; "but it's diff'rent with +Ozma. She's the Ruler of all this big fairyland and we're 'fraid that +the reason she's lost is because somebody has stolen her away." + +"Only wicked people steal," said Ojo. "Do you know of any wicked people +in Oz, Dorothy?" + +"No," she replied. + +"They're here, though," cried Scraps, dancing up to them and then +circling around the group. "Ozma's stolen; someone in Oz stole her; only +wicked people steal; so someone in Oz is wicked!" + +There was no denying the truth of this statement. The faces of all of +them were now solemn and sorrowful. + +"One thing is sure," said Button-Bright, after a time, "if Ozma has been +stolen, someone ought to find her and punish the thief." + +"There may be a lot of thieves," suggested Trot gravely, "and in this +fairy country they don't seem to have any soldiers or policemen." + +"There is one soldier," claimed Dorothy. "He has green whiskers and a +gun and is a Major-General; but no one is afraid of either his gun or +his whiskers, 'cause he's so tender-hearted that he wouldn't hurt a +fly." + +"Well, a soldier's a soldier," said Betsy, "and perhaps he'd hurt a +wicked thief if he wouldn't hurt a fly. Where is he?" + +"He went fishing about two months ago and hasn't come back yet," +explained Button-Bright. + +"Then I can't see that he will be of much use to us in this trouble," +sighed little Trot. "But p'raps Ozma, who is a fairy, can get away from +the thieves without any help from anybody." + +"She _might_ be able to," admitted Dorothy, reflectively, "but if she +had the power to do that, it isn't likely she'd have let herself be +stolen. So the thieves must have been even more powerful in magic than +our Ozma." + +There was no denying this argument and, although they talked the matter +over all the rest of that day, they were unable to decide how Ozma had +been stolen against her will or who had committed the dreadful deed. + +Toward evening the Wizard came back, riding slowly upon the Sawhorse +because he felt discouraged and perplexed. Glinda came, later, in her +aerial chariot drawn by twenty milk-white swans, and she also seemed +worried and unhappy. More of Ozma's friends joined them and that evening +they all had a long talk together. + +"I think," said Dorothy, "we ought to start out right away in search of +our dear Ozma. It seems cruel for us to live comf'tably in her palace +while she is a pris'ner in the power of some wicked enemy." + +"Yes," agreed Glinda the Sorceress, "someone ought to search for her. I +cannot go myself, because I must work hard in order to create some new +instruments of sorcery by means of which I may rescue our fair Ruler. +But if you can find her, in the meantime, and let me know who has stolen +her, it will enable me to rescue her much more quickly." + +"Then we'll start to-morrow morning," decided Dorothy. "Betsy and Trot +and I won't waste another minute." + +"I'm not sure you girls will make good detectives," remarked the Wizard; +"but I'll go with you, to protect you from harm and to give you my +advice. All my wizardry, alas, is stolen, so I am now really no more a +wizard than any of you; but I will try to protect you from any enemies +you may meet." + +"What harm could happen to us in Oz?" inquired Trot. + +"What harm happened to Ozma?" returned the Wizard. "If there is an Evil +Power abroad in our fairyland, which is able to steal not only Ozma and +her Magic Picture, but Glinda's Book of Records and all her magic, and +my black bag containing all my tricks of wizardry, then that Evil Power +may yet cause us considerable injury. Ozma is a fairy, and so is Glinda, +so no power can kill or destroy them; but you girls are all mortals, and +so are Button-Bright and I, so we must watch out for ourselves." + +"Nothing can kill me," said Ojo, the Munchkin boy. + +"That is true," replied the Sorceress, "and I think it may be well to +divide the searchers into several parties, that they may cover all the +land of Oz more quickly. So I will send Ojo and Unc Nunkie and Dr. Pipt +into the Munchkin Country, which they are well acquainted with; and I +will send the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman into the Quadling Country, +for they are fearless and brave and never tire; and to the Gillikin +Country, where many dangers lurk, I will send the Shaggy Man and his +brother, with Tik-Tok and Jack Pumpkinhead. Dorothy may make up her own +party and travel into the Winkie Country. All of you must inquire +everywhere for Ozma and try to discover where she is =hidden=." + +[Illustration: Map of Part of the LAND OF OZ Showing the Search for the +LOST PRINCESS] + +They thought this a very wise plan and adopted it without question. In +Ozma's absence Glinda the Good was the most important person in Oz and +all were glad to serve under her direction. + +[Illustration] + + + + +The Search Party + +[Illustration] + +CHAPTER 6 + + +Next morning, as soon as the sun was up, Glinda flew back to her castle, +stopping on the way to instruct the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman, who +were at that time staying at the college of Professor H. M. Wogglebug, +T. E., and taking a course of his Patent Educational Pills. On hearing +of Ozma's loss they started at once for the Quadling Country to search +for her. + +As soon as Glinda had left the Emerald City, Tik-Tok and the Shaggy Man +and Jack Pumpkinhead, who had been present at the conference, began +their journey into the Gillikin Country, and an hour later Ojo and Unc +Nunkie joined Dr. Pipt and together they traveled toward the Munchkin +Country. When all these searchers were gone, Dorothy and the Wizard +completed their own preparations. + +The Wizard hitched the Sawhorse to the Red Wagon, which would seat four +very comfortably. He wanted Dorothy, Betsy, Trot and the Patchwork Girl +to ride in the wagon, but Scraps came up to them mounted upon the Woozy, +and the Woozy said he would like to join the party. Now this Woozy was a +most peculiar animal, having a square head, square body, square legs and +square tail. His skin was very tough and hard, resembling leather, and +while his movements were somewhat clumsy the beast could travel with +remarkable swiftness. His square eyes were mild and gentle in expression +and he was not especially foolish. The Woozy and the Patchwork Girl were +great friends and so the Wizard agreed to let the Woozy go with them. + +[Illustration] + +Another great beast now appeared and asked to go along. This was none +other than the famous Cowardly Lion, one of the most interesting +creatures in all Oz. No lion that roamed the jungles or plains could +compare in size or intelligence with this Cowardly Lion, who--like all +animals living in Oz--could talk, and who talked with more shrewdness +and wisdom than many of the people did. He said he was cowardly because +he always trembled when he faced danger, but he had faced danger many +times and never refused to fight when it was necessary. This Lion was a +great favorite with Ozma and always guarded her throne on state +occasions. He was also an old companion and friend of the Princess +Dorothy, so the girl was delighted to have him join the party. + +"I'm so nervous over our dear Ozma," said the Cowardly Lion in his deep, +rumbling voice, "that it would make me unhappy to remain behind while +you are trying to find her. But do not get into any danger, I beg of +you, for danger frightens me terribly." + +"We'll not get into danger if we can poss'bly help it," promised +Dorothy; "but we shall do anything to find Ozma, danger or no danger." + +The addition of the Woozy and the Cowardly Lion to the party gave Betsy +Bobbin an idea and she ran to the marble stables at the rear of the +palace and brought out her mule, Hank by name. Perhaps no mule you ever +saw was so lean and bony and altogether plain looking as this Hank, but +Betsy loved him dearly because he was faithful and steady and not nearly +so stupid as most mules are considered to be. Betsy had a saddle for +Hank and declared she would ride on his back, an arrangement approved by +the Wizard because it left only four of the party to ride on the seats +of the Red Wagon--Dorothy and Button-Bright and Trot and himself. + +An old sailor-man, who had one wooden leg, came to see them off and +suggested that they put a supply of food and blankets in the Red Wagon, +inasmuch as they were uncertain how long they would be gone. This +sailor-man was called Cap'n Bill. He was a former friend and comrade of +Trot and had encountered many adventures in company with the little +girl. I think he was sorry he could not go with her on this trip, but +Glinda the Sorceress had asked Cap'n Bill to remain in the Emerald City +and take charge of the royal palace while everyone else was away, and +the one-legged sailor had agreed to do so. + +They loaded the back end of the Red Wagon with everything they thought +they might need, and then they formed a procession and marched from the +palace through the Emerald City to the great gates of the wall that +surrounded this beautiful capital of the Land of Oz. Crowds of citizens +lined the streets to see them pass and to cheer them and wish them +success, for all were grieved over Ozma's loss and anxious that she be +found again. + +First came the Cowardly Lion; then the Patchwork Girl riding upon the +Woozy; then Betsy Bobbin on her mule Hank; and finally the Sawhorse +drawing the Red Wagon, in which were seated the Wizard and Dorothy and +Button-Bright and Trot. No one was obliged to drive the Sawhorse, so +there were no reins to his harness; one had only to tell him which way +to go, fast or slow, and he understood perfectly. + +It was about this time that a shaggy little black dog who had been lying +asleep in Dorothy's room in the palace woke up and discovered he was +lonesome. Everything seemed very still throughout the great building and +Toto--that was the little dog's name--missed the customary chatter of +the three girls. He never paid much attention to what was going on +around him and, although he could speak, he seldom said anything; so the +little dog did not know about Ozma's loss or that everyone had gone in +search of her. But he liked to be with people, and especially with his +own mistress, Dorothy, and having yawned and stretched himself and found +the door of the room ajar he trotted out into the corridor and went +down the stately marble stairs to the hall of the palace, where he met +Jellia Jamb. + +[Illustration] + +"Where's Dorothy?" asked Toto. + +"She's gone to the Winkie Country," answered the maid. + +"When?" + +"A little while ago," replied Jellia. + +Toto turned and trotted out into the palace garden and down the long +driveway until he came to the streets of the Emerald City. Here he +paused to listen and, hearing sounds of cheering, he ran swiftly along +until he came in sight of the Red Wagon and the Woozy and the Lion and +the Mule and all the others. Being a wise little dog, he decided not to +show himself to Dorothy just then, lest he be sent back home; but he +never lost sight of the party of travelers, all of whom were so eager to +get ahead that they never thought to look behind them. + +When they came to the gates in the city wall the Guardian of the Gates +came out to throw wide the golden portals and let them pass through. + +"Did any strange person come in or out of the city on the night before +last, when Ozma was stolen?" asked Dorothy. + +"No, indeed, Princess," answered the Guardian of the Gates. + +"Of course not," said the Wizard. "Anyone clever enough to steal all the +things we have lost would not mind the barrier of a wall like this, in +the least. I think the thief must have flown through the air, for +otherwise he could not have stolen from Ozma's royal palace and Glinda's +far-away castle in the same night. Moreover, as there are no airships in +Oz and no way for airships from the outside world to get into this +country, I believe the thief must have flown from place to place by +means of magic arts which neither Glinda nor I understand." + +On they went, and before the gates closed behind them Toto managed to +dodge through them. The country surrounding the Emerald City was thickly +settled and for a while our friends rode over nicely paved roads which +wound through a fertile country dotted with beautiful houses, all built +in the quaint Oz fashion. In the course of a few hours, however, they +had left the tilled fields and entered the Country of the Winkies, which +occupies a quarter of all the territory in the Land of Oz but is not so +well known as many other parts of Ozma's fairyland. Long before night +the travelers had crossed the Winkie River near to the Scarecrow's +Tower (which was now vacant) and had entered the Rolling Prairie where +few people live. They asked everyone they met for news of Ozma, but none +in this district had seen her or even knew that she had been stolen. And +by nightfall they had passed all the farmhouses and were obliged to stop +and ask for shelter at the hut of a lonely shepherd. When they halted, +Toto was not far behind. The little dog halted, too, and stealing softly +around the party he hid himself behind the hut. + +The shepherd was a kindly old man and treated the travelers with much +courtesy. He slept out of doors, that night, giving up his hut to the +three girls, who made their beds on the floor with the blankets they had +brought in the Red Wagon. The Wizard and Button-Bright also slept out of +doors, and so did the Cowardly Lion and Hank the Mule. But Scraps and +the Sawhorse did not sleep at all and the Woozy could stay awake for a +month at a time, if he wished to, so these three sat in a little group +by themselves and talked together all through the night. + +In the darkness the Cowardly Lion felt a shaggy little form nestling +beside his own, and he said sleepily: + +"Where did you come from, Toto?" + +"From home," said the dog. "If you roll over, roll the other way, so you +won't smash me." + +"Does Dorothy know you are here?" asked the Lion. + +"I believe not," admitted Toto, and he added, a little anxiously: "Do +you think, friend Lion, we are now far enough from the Emerald City for +me to risk showing myself? Or will Dorothy send me back because I wasn't +invited?" + +"Only Dorothy can answer that question," said the Lion. "For my part, +Toto, I consider this affair none of my business, so you must act as you +think best." + +Then the huge beast went to sleep again and Toto snuggled closer to his +warm, hairy body and also slept. He was a wise little dog, in his way, +and didn't intend to worry when there was something much better to do. + +In the morning the Wizard built a fire, over which the girls cooked a +very good breakfast. + +Suddenly Dorothy discovered Toto sitting quietly before the fire and the +little girl exclaimed: + +"Goodness me, Toto! Where did _you_ come from?" + +"From the place you cruelly left me," replied the dog in a reproachful +tone. + +"I forgot all about you," admitted Dorothy, "and if I hadn't I'd +prob'ly left you with Jellia Jamb, seeing this isn't a pleasure trip but +stric'ly business. But, now that you're here, Toto, I s'pose you'll have +to stay with us, unless you'd rather go back home again. We may get +ourselves into trouble, before we're done, Toto." + +"Never mind that," said Toto, wagging his tail. "I'm hungry, Dorothy." + +"Breakfas'll soon be ready and then you shall have your share," promised +his little mistress, who was really glad to have her dog with her. She +and Toto had traveled together before, and she knew he was a good and +faithful comrade. + +When the food was cooked and served the girls invited the old shepherd +to join them in their morning meal. He willingly consented and while +they ate he said to them: + +"You are now about to pass through a very dangerous country, unless you +turn to the north or to the south to escape its perils." + +"In that case," said the Cowardly Lion, "let us turn, by all means, for +I dread to face dangers of any sort." + +"What's the matter with the country ahead of us?" inquired Dorothy. + +[Illustration] + +"Beyond this Rolling Prairie," explained the shepherd, "are the +Merry-Go-Round Mountains, set close together and surrounded by deep +gulfs, so that no one is able to get past them. Beyond the +Merry-Go-Round Mountains it is said the Thistle-Eaters and the Herkus +live." + +"What are they like?" demanded Dorothy. + +"No one knows, for no one has ever passed the Merry-Go-Round Mountains," +was the reply; "but it is said that the Thistle-Eaters hitch dragons to +their chariots and that the Herkus are waited upon by giants whom they +have conquered and made their slaves." + +"Who says all that?" asked Betsy. + +"It is common report," declared the shepherd. "Everyone believes it." + +"I don't see how they know," remarked little Trot, "if no one has been +there." + +"Perhaps the birds who fly over that country brought the news," +suggested Betsy. + +"If you escaped those dangers," continued the shepherd, "you might +encounter others, still more serious, before you came to the next branch +of the Winkie River. It is true that beyond that river there lies a fine +country, inhabited by good people, and if you reached there you would +have no further trouble. It is between here and the west branch of the +Winkie River that all dangers lie, for that is the unknown territory +that is inhabited by terrible, lawless people." + +"It may be, and it may not be," said the Wizard. "We shall know when we +get there." + +"Well," persisted the shepherd, "in a fairy country such as ours every +undiscovered place is likely to harbor wicked creatures. If they were +not wicked, they would discover themselves, and by coming among us +submit to Ozma's rule and be good and considerate, as are all the Oz +people whom we know." + +"That argument," stated the little Wizard, "convinces me that it is our +duty to go straight to those unknown places, however dangerous they may +be; for it is surely some cruel and wicked person who has stolen our +Ozma, and we know it would be folly to search among good people for the +culprit. Ozma may not be hidden in the secret places of the Winkie +Country, it is true, but it is our duty to travel to every spot, however +dangerous, where our beloved Ruler is likely to be imprisoned." + +"You're right about that," said Button-Bright approvingly. "Dangers +don't hurt us; only things that happen ever hurt anyone, and a danger is +a thing that might happen, and might not happen, and sometimes don't +amount to shucks. I vote we go ahead and take our chances." + +They were all of the same opinion, so they packed up and said good-bye +to the friendly shepherd and proceeded on their way. + +[Illustration] + + + + +The Merry-Go-Round Mountains + +[Illustration] + +CHAPTER 7 + + +The Rolling Prairie was not difficult to travel over, although it was +all up-hill and down-hill, so for a while they made good progress. Not +even a shepherd was to be met with now and the farther they advanced the +more dreary the landscape became. At noon they stopped for a "picnic +luncheon," as Betsy called it, and then they again resumed their +journey. All the animals were swift and tireless and even the Cowardly +Lion and the Mule found they could keep up with the pace of the Woozy +and the Sawhorse. + +It was the middle of the afternoon when first they came in sight of a +cluster of low mountains. These were cone-shaped, rising from broad +bases to sharp peaks at the tops. From a distance the mountains appeared +indistinct and seemed rather small--more like hills than mountains--but +as the travelers drew nearer they noted a most unusual circumstance: the +hills were all whirling around, some in one direction and some the +opposite way. + +"I guess those are the Merry-Go-Round Mountains, all right," said +Dorothy. + +"They must be," said the Wizard. + +"They go 'round, sure enough," added Trot, "but they don't seem very +merry." + +There were several rows of these mountains, extending both to the right +and to the left, for miles and miles. How many rows there might be, none +could tell, but between the first row of peaks could be seen other +peaks, all steadily whirling around one way or another. Continuing to +ride nearer, our friends watched these hills attentively, until at last, +coming close up, they discovered there was a deep but narrow gulf around +the edge of each mountain, and that the mountains were set so close +together that the outer gulf was continuous and barred farther advance. + +At the edge of the gulf they all dismounted and peered over into its +depths. There was no telling where the bottom was, if indeed there was +any bottom at all. From where they stood it seemed as if the mountains +had been set in one great hole in the ground, just close enough together +so they would not touch, and that each mountain was supported by a rocky +column beneath its base which extended far down into the black pit +below. From the land side it seemed impossible to get across the gulf +or, succeeding in that, to gain a foothold on any of the whirling +mountains. + +"This ditch is too wide to jump across," remarked Button-Bright. + +"P'raps the Lion could do it," suggested Dorothy. + +"What, jump from here to that whirling hill?" cried the Lion +indignantly. "I should say not! Even if I landed there, and could hold +on, what good would it do? There's another spinning mountain beyond it, +and perhaps still another beyond that. I don't believe any living +creature could jump from one mountain to another, when both are whirling +like tops and in different directions." + +"I propose we turn back," said the Wooden Sawhorse, with a yawn of his +chopped-out mouth, as he stared with his knot eyes at the Merry-Go-Round +Mountains. + +"I agree with you," said the Woozy, wagging his square head. + +"We should have taken the shepherd's advice," added Hank the Mule. + +The others of the party, however they might be puzzled by the serious +problem that confronted them, would not allow themselves to despair. + +"If we once get over these mountains," said Button-Bright, "we could +probably get along all right." + +"True enough," agreed Dorothy. "So we must find some way, of course, to +get past these whirligig hills. But how?" + +"I wish the Ork was with us," sighed Trot. + +"But the Ork isn't here," said the Wizard, "and we must depend upon +ourselves to conquer this difficulty. Unfortunately, all my magic has +been stolen; otherwise I am sure I could easily get over the mountains." + +"Unfortunately," observed the Woozy, "none of us has wings. And we're in +a magic country without any magic." + +"What is that around your waist, Dorothy?" asked the Wizard. + +"That? Oh, that's just the Magic Belt I once captured from the Nome +King," she replied. + +"A Magic Belt! Why, that's fine. I'm sure a Magic Belt would take you +over these hills." + +"It might, if I knew how to work it," said the little girl. "Ozma knows +a lot of its magic, but I've never found out about it. All I know is +that while I am wearing it nothing can hurt me." + +"Try wishing yourself across, and see if it will obey you," suggested +the Wizard. + +"But what good would that do?" asked Dorothy. "If I got across it +wouldn't help the rest of you, and I couldn't go alone among all those +giants and dragons, while you stayed here." + +"True enough," agreed the Wizard, sadly; and then, after looking around +the group, he inquired: "What is that on your finger, Trot?" + +"A ring. The Mermaids gave it to me," she explained, "and if ever I'm in +trouble when I'm on the water I can call the Mermaids and they'll come +and help me. But the Mermaids can't help me on the land, you know, +'cause they swim, and--and--they haven't any legs." + +"True enough," repeated the Wizard, more sadly. + +There was a big, broad-spreading tree near the edge of the gulf and as +the sun was hot above them they all gathered under the shade of the tree +to study the problem of what to do next. + +"If we had a long rope," said Betsy, "we could fasten it to this tree +and let the other end of it down into the gulf and all slide down it." + +"Well, what then?" asked the Wizard. + +"Then, if we could manage to throw the rope up the other side," +explained the girl, "we could all climb it and be on the other side of +the gulf." + +"There are too many 'if's' in that suggestion," remarked the little +Wizard. "And you must remember that the other side is nothing but +spinning mountains, so we couldn't possibly fasten a rope to them--even +if we had one." + +"That rope idea isn't half bad, though," said the Patchwork Girl, who +had been dancing dangerously near to the edge of the gulf. + +"What do you mean?" asked Dorothy. + +The Patchwork Girl suddenly stood still and cast her button eyes around +the group. + +"Ha, I have it!" she exclaimed. "Unharness the Sawhorse, somebody; my +fingers are too clumsy." + +"Shall we?" asked Button-Bright doubtfully, turning to the others. + +"Well, Scraps has a lot of brains, even if she is stuffed with cotton," +asserted the Wizard. "If her brains can help us out of this trouble we +ought to use them." + +So he began unharnessing the Sawhorse, and Button-Bright and Dorothy +helped him. When they had removed the harness the Patchwork Girl told +them to take it all apart and buckle the straps together, end to end. +And, after they had done this, they found they had one very long strap +that was stronger than any rope. + +"It would reach across the gulf, easily," said the Lion, who with the +other animals had sat on his haunches and watched this proceeding. "But +I don't see how it could be fastened to one of those dizzy mountains." + +Scraps had no such notion as that in her baggy head. She told them to +fasten one end of the strap to a stout limb of the tree, pointing to one +which extended quite to the edge of the gulf. Button-Bright did that, +climbing the tree and then crawling out upon the limb until he was +nearly over the gulf. There he managed to fasten the strap, which +reached to the ground below, and then he slid down it and was caught +by the Wizard, who feared he might fall into the chasm. + +[Illustration] + +[Illustration] + +Scraps was delighted. She seized the lower end of the strap and telling +them all to get out of her way she went back as far as the strap would +reach and then made a sudden run toward the gulf. Over the edge she +swung, clinging to the strap until it had gone as far as its length +permitted, when she let go and sailed gracefully through the air until +she alighted upon the mountain just in front of them. + +Almost instantly, as the great cone continued to whirl, she was sent +flying against the next mountain in the rear, and that one had only +turned halfway around when Scraps was sent flying to the next mountain +behind it. Then her patchwork form disappeared from view entirely and +the amazed watchers under the tree wondered what had become of her. + +"She's gone, and she can't get back," said the Woozy. + +"My, how she bounded from one mountain to another!" exclaimed the Lion. + +"That was because they whirl so fast," the Wizard explained. "Scraps had +nothing to hold on to and so of course she was tossed from one hill to +another. I'm afraid we shall never see the poor Patchwork Girl again." + +"_I_ shall see her," declared the Woozy. "Scraps is an old friend of +mine and, if there are really Thistle-Eaters and Giants on the other +side of those tops, she will need someone to protect her. So, here I +go!" + +He seized the dangling strap firmly in his square mouth and in the same +way that Scraps had done swung himself over the gulf. He let go the +strap at the right moment and fell upon the first whirling mountain. +Then he bounded to the next one back of it--not on his feet but "all +mixed up," as Trot said--and then he shot across to another mountain, +disappearing from view just as the Patchwork Girl had done. + +"It seems to work, all right," remarked Button-Bright. "I guess I'll try +it." + +"Wait a minute," urged the Wizard. "Before any more of us make this +desperate leap into the beyond, we must decide whether all will go, or +if some of us will remain behind." + +"Do you s'pose it hurt them much, to bump against those mountains?" +asked Trot. + +"I don't s'pose anything could hurt Scraps or the Woozy," said Dorothy, +"and nothing can hurt _me_, because I wear the Magic Belt. So, as I'm +anxious to find Ozma, I mean to swing myself across, too." + +"I'll take my chances," decided Button-Bright. + +"I'm sure it will hurt dreadfully, and I'm afraid to do it," said the +Lion, who was already trembling; "but I shall do it if Dorothy does." + +"Well, that will leave Betsy and the Mule and Trot," said the Wizard; +"for of course, I shall go, that I may look after Dorothy. Do you two +girls think you can find your way back home again?" he asked, addressing +Trot and Betsy. + +"I'm not afraid; not much, that is," said Trot. "It looks risky, I know, +but I'm sure I can stand it if the others can." + +"If it wasn't for leaving Hank," began Betsy, in a hesitating voice; but +the Mule interrupted her by saying: + +"Go ahead, if you want to, and I'll come after you. A mule is as brave +as a lion, any day." + +"Braver," said the Lion, "for I'm a coward, friend Hank, and you are +not. But of course the Sawhorse----" + +"Oh, nothing ever hurts _me_," asserted the Sawhorse calmly. "There's +never been any question about _my_ going. I can't take the Red Wagon, +though." + +[Illustration] + +"No, we must leave the wagon," said the Wizard; "and also we must leave +our food and blankets, I fear. But if we can defy these Merry-Go-Round +Mountains to stop us we won't mind the sacrifice of some of our +comforts." + +"No one knows where we're going to land!" remarked the Lion, in a voice +that sounded as if he were going to cry. + +"We may not land at all," replied Hank; "but the best way to find out +what will happen to us is to swing across, as Scraps and the Woozy have +done." + +"I think I shall go last," said the Wizard; "so who wants to go first?" + +"I'll go," decided Dorothy. + +"No, it's my turn first," said Button-Bright. "Watch me!" + +Even as he spoke the boy seized the strap and after making a run swung +himself across the gulf. Away he went, bumping from hill to hill until +he disappeared. They listened intently, but the boy uttered no cry until +he had been gone some moments, when they heart a faint "Hullo-a!" as if +called from a great distance. + +The sound gave them courage, however, and Dorothy picked up Toto and +held him fast under one arm while with the other hand she seized the +strap and bravely followed after Button-Bright. + +When she struck the first whirling mountain she fell upon it quite +softly, but before she had time to think she flew through the air and +lit with a jar on the side of the next mountain. Again she flew, and +alighted; and again, and still again, until after five successive bumps +she fell sprawling upon a green meadow and was so dazed and bewildered +by her bumpy journey across the Merry-Go-Round Mountains that she lay +quite still for a time, to collect her thoughts. Toto had escaped from +her arms just as she fell, and he now sat beside her panting with +excitement. + +Then Dorothy realized that someone was helping her to her feet, and here +was Button-Bright on one side of her and Scraps on the other, both +seeming to be unhurt. The next object her eyes fell upon was the Woozy, +squatting upon his square back end and looking at her reflectively, +while Toto barked joyously to find his mistress unhurt after her +whirlwind trip. + +"Good!" said the Woozy; "here's another and a dog, both safe and sound. +But, my word, Dorothy, you flew some! If you could have seen yourself, +you'd have been absolutely astonished." + +"They say 'Time flies,'" laughed Button-Bright; "but Time never made a +quicker journey than that." + +Just then, as Dorothy turned around to look at the whirling mountains, +she was in time to see tiny Trot come flying from the nearest hill to +fall upon the soft grass not a yard away from where she stood. Trot was +so dizzy she couldn't stand, at first, but she wasn't at all hurt and +presently Betsy came flying to them and would have bumped into the +others had they not retreated in time to avoid her. + +Then, in quick succession, came the Lion, Hank and the Sawhorse, +bounding from mountain to mountain to fall safely upon the greensward. +Only the Wizard was now left behind and they waited so long for him that +Dorothy began to be worried. But suddenly he came flying from the +nearest mountain and tumbled heels over head beside them. Then they saw +that he had wound two of their blankets around his body, to keep the +bumps from hurting him, and had fastened the blankets with some of the +spare straps from the harness of the Sawhorse. + + + + +The Mysterious City + +[Illustration] + +CHAPTER 8 + + +There they sat upon the grass, their heads still swimming from their +dizzy flights, and looked at one another in silent bewilderment. But +presently, when assured that no one was injured, they grew more calm and +collected and the Lion said with a sigh of relief: + +"Who would have thought those Merry-Go-Round Mountains were made of +rubber?" + +"Are they really rubber?" asked Trot. + +"They must be," replied the Lion, "for otherwise we would not have +bounded so swiftly from one to another without getting hurt." + +"That is all guesswork," declared the Wizard, unwinding the blankets +from his body, "for none of us stayed long enough on the mountains to +discover what they are made of. But where are we?" + +"That's guesswork, too," said Scraps. "The shepherd said the +Thistle-Eaters live this side the mountains and are waited on by +giants." + +"Oh, no," said Dorothy; "it's the Herkus who have giant slaves, and the +Thistle-Eaters hitch dragons to their chariots." + +"How could they do that?" asked the Woozy. "Dragons have long tails, +which would get in the way of the chariot wheels." + +"And, if the Herkus have conquered the giants," said Trot, "they must be +at least twice the size of giants. P'raps the Herkus are the biggest +people in all the world!" + +"Perhaps they are," assented the Wizard, in a thoughtful tone of voice. +"And perhaps the shepherd didn't know what he was talking about. Let us +travel on toward the west and discover for ourselves what the people of +this country are like." + +It seemed a pleasant enough country, and it was quite still and peaceful +when they turned their eyes away from the silently whirling mountains. +There were trees here and there and green bushes, while throughout the +thick grass were scattered brilliantly colored flowers. About a mile +away was a low hill that hid from them all the country beyond it, so +they realized they could not tell much about the country until they had +crossed the hill. + +The Red Wagon having been left behind, it was now necessary to make +other arrangements for traveling. The Lion told Dorothy she could ride +upon his back, as she had often done before, and the Woozy said he could +easily carry both Trot and the Patchwork Girl. Betsy still had her mule, +Hank, and Button-Bright and the Wizard could sit together upon the long, +thin back of the Sawhorse, but they took care to soften their seat with +a pad of blankets before they started. Thus mounted, the adventurers +started for the hill, which was reached after a brief journey. + +As they mounted the crest and gazed beyond the hill they discovered not +far away a walled city, from the towers and spires of which gay banners +were flying. It was not a very big city, indeed, but its walls were very +high and thick and it appeared that the people who lived there must +have feared attack by a powerful enemy, else they would not have +surrounded their dwellings with so strong a barrier. + +[Illustration] + +There was no path leading from the mountains to the city, and this +proved that the people seldom or never visited the whirling hills; but +our friends found the grass soft and agreeable to travel over and with +the city before them they could not well lose their way. When they drew +nearer to the walls, the breeze carried to their ears the sound of +music--dim at first but growing louder as they advanced. + +"That doesn't seem like a very terr'ble place," remarked Dorothy. + +"Well, it _looks_ all right," replied Trot, from her seat on the Woozy, +"but looks can't always be trusted." + +"My looks can," said Scraps. "I _look_ patchwork, and I _am_ patchwork, +and no one but a blind owl could ever doubt that I'm the Patchwork +Girl." Saying which she turned a somersault off the Woozy and, alighting +on her feet, began wildly dancing about. + +"Are owls ever blind?" asked Trot. + +"Always, in the daytime," said Button-Bright. "But Scraps can see with +her button eyes both day and night. Isn't it queer?" + +"It's queer that buttons can see at all," answered Trot; "but--good +gracious! what's become of the city?" + +"I was going to ask that myself," said Dorothy. "It's gone!" + +The animals came to a sudden halt, for the city had really +disappeared--walls and all--and before them lay the clear, unbroken +sweep of the country. + +"Dear me!" exclaimed the Wizard. "This is rather disagreeable. It is +annoying to travel almost to a place and then find it is not there." + +"Where can it be, then?" asked Dorothy. "It cert'nly was there a minute +ago." + +"I can hear the music yet," declared Button-Bright, and when they all +listened the strains of music could plainly be heard. + +"Oh! there's the city--over at the left," called Scraps, and turning +their eyes they saw the walls and towers and fluttering banners far to +the left of them. + +"We must have lost our way," suggested Dorothy. + +"Nonsense," said the Lion. "I, and all the other animals, have been +tramping straight toward the city ever since we first saw it." + +"Then how does it happen--" + +"Never mind," interrupted the Wizard, "we are no farther from it than we +were before. It is in a different direction, that's all; so let us hurry +and get there before it again escapes us." + +So on they went, directly toward the city, which seemed only a couple of +miles distant; but when they had traveled less than a mile it suddenly +disappeared again. Once more they paused, somewhat discouraged, but in a +moment the button eyes of Scraps again discovered the city, only this +time it was just behind them, in the direction from which they had come. + +"Goodness gracious!" cried Dorothy. "There's surely something wrong with +that city. Do you s'pose it's on wheels, Wizard?" + +"It may not be a city at all," he replied, looking toward it with a +speculative gaze. + +"What _could_ it be, then?" + +"Just an illusion." + +"What's that?" asked Trot. + +"Something you think you see and don't see." + +"I can't believe that," said Button-Bright. "If we only saw it, we might +be mistaken, but if we can see it and hear it, too, it must be there." + +"Where?" asked the Patchwork Girl. + +"Somewhere near us," he insisted. + +"We will have to go back, I suppose," said the Woozy, with a sigh. + +So back they turned and headed for the walled city until it disappeared +again, only to reappear at the right of them. They were constantly +getting nearer to it, however, so they kept their faces turned toward it +as it flitted here and there to all points of the compass. Presently the +Lion, who was leading the procession, halted abruptly and cried out: +"Ouch!" + +"What's the matter?" asked Dorothy. + +"Ouch--ouch!" repeated the Lion, and leaped backward so suddenly that +Dorothy nearly tumbled from his back. At the same time Hank the Mule +yelled "Ouch!" almost as loudly as the Lion had done, and he also +pranced backward a few paces. + +"It's the thistles," said Betsy. "They prick their legs." + +Hearing this, all looked down, and sure enough the ground was thick with +thistles, which covered the plain from the point where they stood way up +to the walls of the mysterious city. No pathways through them could be +seen at all; here the soft grass ended and the growth of thistles began. + +"They're the prickliest thistles I ever felt," grumbled the Lion. "My +legs smart yet from their stings, though I jumped out of them as quick +as I could." + +"Here is a new difficulty," remarked the Wizard in a grieved tone. "The +city has stopped hopping around, it is true; but how are we to get to +it, over this mass of prickers?" + +"They can't hurt _me_," said the thick-skinned Woozy, advancing +fearlessly and trampling among the thistles. + +"Nor me," said the Wooden Sawhorse. + +"But the Lion and the Mule cannot stand the prickers," asserted Dorothy, +"and we can't leave them behind." + +"Must we all go back?" asked Trot. + +"Course not!" replied Button-Bright scornfully. "Always, when there's +trouble, there's a way out of it, if you can find it." + +"I wish the Scarecrow was here," said Scraps, standing on her head on +the Woozy's square back. "His splendid brains would soon show us how to +conquer this field of thistles." + +"What's the matter with _your_ brains?" asked the boy. + +"Nothing," she said, making a flip-flop into the thistles and dancing +among them without feeling their sharp points. "I could tell you in +half a minute how to get over the thistles, if I wanted to." + +"Tell us, Scraps!" begged Dorothy. + +"I don't want to wear my brains out with overwork," replied the +Patchwork Girl. + +"Don't you love Ozma? And don't you want to find her?" asked Betsy +reproachfully. + +"Yes, indeed," said Scraps, walking on her hands as an acrobat does at +the circus. + +"Well, we can't find Ozma unless we get past these thistles," declared +Dorothy. + +Scraps danced around them two or three times, without reply. Then she +said: + +"Don't look at me, you stupid folks; look at those blankets." + +The Wizard's face brightened at once. + +"Of course!" he exclaimed. "Why didn't we think of those blankets +before?" + +"Because you haven't magic brains," laughed Scraps. "Such brains as you +have are of the common sort that grow in your heads, like weeds in a +garden. I'm sorry for you people who have to be born in order to be +alive." + +But the Wizard was not listening to her. He quickly removed the blankets +from the back of the Sawhorse and spread one of them upon the thistles, +just next the grass. The thick cloth rendered the prickers harmless, so +the Wizard walked over this first blanket and spread the second one +farther on, in the direction of the phantom city. + +"These blankets," said he, "are for the Lion and the Mule to walk upon. +The Sawhorse and the Woozy can walk on the thistles." + +So the Lion and the Mule walked over the first blanket and stood upon +the second one until the Wizard had picked up the one they had passed +over and spread it in front of them, when they advanced to that one and +waited while the one behind them was again spread in front. + +"This is slow work," said the Wizard, "but it will get us to the city +after a while." + +"The city is a good half mile away, yet," announced Button-Bright. + +"And this is awful hard work for the Wizard," added Trot. + +"Why couldn't the Lion ride on the Woozy's back?" asked Dorothy. "It's a +big, flat back, and the Woozy's mighty strong. Perhaps the Lion wouldn't +fall off." + +"You may try it, if you like," said the Woozy to the Lion. "I can take +you to the city in a jiffy and then come back for Hank." + +[Illustration] + +"I'm--I'm afraid," said the Cowardly Lion. He was twice as big as the +Woozy. + +"Try it," pleaded Dorothy. + +"And take a tumble among the thistles?" asked the Lion reproachfully. +But when the Woozy came close to him the big beast suddenly bounded upon +its back and managed to balance himself there, although forced to hold +his four legs so close together that he was in danger of toppling over. +The great weight of the monster Lion did not seem to affect the Woozy, +who called to his rider: "Hold on tight!" and ran swiftly over the +thistles toward the city. + +The others stood on the blankets and watched the strange sight +anxiously. Of course the Lion couldn't "hold on tight" because there was +nothing to hold to, and he swayed from side to side as if likely to fall +off any moment. Still, he managed to stick to the Woozy's back until +they were close to the walls of the city, when he leaped to the ground. +Next moment the Woozy came dashing back at full speed. + +"There's a little strip of ground next the wall where there are no +thistles," he told them, when he had reached the adventurers once more. +"Now, then, friend Hank, see if you can ride as well as the Lion did." + +"Take the others first," proposed the Mule. So the Sawhorse and the +Woozy made a couple of trips over the thistles to the city walls and +carried all the people in safety, Dorothy holding little Toto in her +arms. The travelers then sat in a group on a little hillock, just +outside the wall, and looked at the great blocks of gray stone and +waited for the Woozy to bring Hank to them. The Mule was very awkward +and his legs trembled so badly that more than once they thought he would +tumble off, but finally he reached them in safety and the entire party +was now reunited. More than that, they had reached the city that had +eluded them for so long and in so strange a manner. + +"The gates must be around the other side," said the Wizard. "Let us +follow the curve of the wall until we reach an opening in it." + +"Which way?" asked Dorothy. + +"We must guess at that," he replied. "Suppose we go to the left? One +direction is as good as another." + +They formed in marching order and went around the city wall to the left. +It wasn't a big city, as I have said, but to go way around it, outside +the high wall, was quite a walk, as they became aware. But around it our +adventurers went, without finding any sign of a gateway or other +opening. When they had returned to the little mound from which they had +started, they dismounted from the animals and again seated themselves on +the grassy mound. + +"It's mighty queer, isn't it?" asked Button-Bright. + +"There must be _some_ way for the people to get out and in," declared +Dorothy. "Do you s'pose they have flying machines, Wizard?" + +"No," he replied, "for in that case they would be flying all over the +Land of Oz, and we know they have not done that. Flying machines are +unknown here. I think it more likely that the people use ladders to get +over the walls." + +"It would be an awful climb, over that high stone wall," said Betsy. + +"Stone, is it?" cried Scraps, who was again dancing wildly around, for +she never tired and could never keep still for long. + +"Course it's stone," answered Betsy scornfully. "Can't you see?" + +"Yes," said Scraps, going closer, "I can _see_ the wall, but I can't +_feel_ it." And then, with her arms outstretched, she did a very queer +thing. She walked right into the wall and disappeared. + +"For goodness sake!" cried Dorothy amazed, as indeed they all were. + +[Illustration] + + + + +The High Coco-Lorum of Thi + +[Illustration] + +CHAPTER 9 + + +And now the Patchwork Girl came dancing out of the wall again. + +"Come on!" she called. "It isn't there. There isn't any wall at all." + +"What! No wall?" exclaimed the Wizard. + +"Nothing like it," said Scraps. "It's a make-believe. You see it, but it +isn't. Come on into the city; we've been wasting time." + +With this she danced into the wall again and once more disappeared. +Button-Bright, who was rather venturesome, dashed away after her and +also became invisible to them. The others followed more cautiously, +stretching out their hands to feel the wall and finding, to their +astonishment, that they could feel nothing because nothing opposed them. +They walked on a few steps and found themselves in the streets of a very +beautiful city. Behind them they again saw the wall, grim and forbidding +as ever; but now they knew it was merely an illusion, prepared to keep +strangers from entering the city. + +But the wall was soon forgotten, for in front of them were a number of +quaint people who stared at them in amazement, as if wondering where +they had come from. Our friends forgot their good manners, for a time, +and returned the stares with interest, for so remarkable a people had +never before been discovered in all the remarkable Land of Oz. + +Their heads were shaped like diamonds and their bodies like hearts. All +the hair they had was a little bunch at the tip top of their +diamond-shaped heads and their eyes were very large and round and their +noses and mouths very small. Their clothing was tight-fitting and of +brilliant colors, being handsomely embroidered in quaint designs with +gold or silver threads; but on their feet they wore sandals, with no +stockings whatever. The expression of their faces was pleasant enough, +although they now showed surprise at the appearance of strangers so +unlike themselves, and our friends thought they seemed quite harmless. + +"I beg your pardon," said the Wizard, speaking for his party, "for +intruding upon you uninvited, but we are traveling on important business +and find it necessary to visit your city. Will you kindly tell us by +what name your city is called?" + +They looked at one another uncertainly, each expecting some other to +answer. Finally a short one whose heart-shaped body was very broad +replied: + +"We have no occasion to call our city anything. It is where we live, +that is all." + +"But by what name do others call your city?" asked the Wizard. + +"We know of no others, except yourselves," said the man. And then he +inquired: "Were you born with those queer forms you have, or has some +cruel magician transformed you to them from your natural shapes?" + +[Illustration] + +"These are our natural shapes," declared the Wizard, "and we consider +them very good shapes, too." + +The group of inhabitants was constantly being enlarged by others who +joined it. All were evidently startled and uneasy at the arrival of +strangers. + +"Have you a King?" asked Dorothy, who knew it was better to speak with +someone in authority. But the man shook his diamond-like head. + +"What is a King?" he asked. + +"Isn't there anyone who rules over you?" inquired the Wizard. + +"No," was the reply, "each of us rules himself; or, at least, tries to +do so. It is not an easy thing to do, as you probably know." + +The Wizard reflected. + +"If you have disputes among you," said he, after a little thought, "who +settles them?" + +"The High Coco-Lorum," they answered in a chorus. + +"And who is he?" + +"The judge who enforces the laws," said the man who had first spoken. + +"Then he is the principal person here?" continued the Wizard. + +"Well, I would not say that," returned the man in a puzzled way. "The +High Coco-Lorum is a public servant. However, he represents the laws, +which we must all obey." + +"I think," said the Wizard, "we ought to see your High Coco-Lorum and +talk with him. Our mission here requires us to consult one high in +authority, and the High Coco-Lorum ought to be high, whatever else he +is." + +The inhabitants seemed to consider this proposition reasonable, for they +nodded their diamond-shaped heads in approval. So the broad one who had +been their spokesman said: "Follow me," and, turning, led the way along +one of the streets. + +The entire party followed him, the natives falling in behind. The +dwellings they passed were quite nicely planned and seemed comfortable +and convenient. After leading them a few blocks their conductor stopped +before a house which was neither better nor worse than the others. The +doorway was shaped to admit the strangely formed bodies of these people, +being narrow at the top, broad in the middle and tapering at the bottom. +The windows were made in much the same way, giving the house a most +peculiar appearance. When their guide opened the gate a music-box +concealed in the gate-post began to play, and the sound attracted the +attention of the High Coco-Lorum, who appeared at an open window and +inquired: + +"What has happened now?" + +But in the same moment his eyes fell upon the strangers and he hastened +to open the door and admit them--all but the animals, which were left +outside with the throng of natives that had now gathered. For a small +city there seemed to be a large number of inhabitants, but they did not +try to enter the house and contented themselves with staring curiously +at the strange animals. Toto followed Dorothy. + +Our friends entered a large room at the front of the house, where the +High Coco-Lorum asked them to be seated. + +"I hope your mission here is a peaceful one," he said, looking a little +worried, "for the Thists are not very good fighters and object to being +conquered." + +"Are your people called Thists?" asked Dorothy. + +"Yes. I thought you knew that. And we call our city Thi." + +"Oh!" + +"We are Thists because we eat thistles, you know," continued the High +Coco-Lorum. + +"Do you really eat those prickly things?" inquired Button-Bright +wonderingly. + +"Why not?" replied the other. "The sharp points of the thistles cannot +hurt us, because all our insides are gold-lined." + +"Gold-lined!" + +"To be sure. Our throats and stomachs are lined with solid gold, and we +find the thistles nourishing and good to eat. As a matter of fact, there +is nothing else in our country that is fit for food. All around the City +of Thi grow countless thistles, and all we need do is to go and gather +them. If we wanted anything else to eat we would have to plant it, and +grow it, and harvest it, and that would be a lot of trouble and make us +work, which is an occupation we detest." + +"But, tell me, please," said the Wizard, "how does it happen that your +city jumps around so, from one part of the country to another?" + +"The city doesn't jump; it doesn't move at all," declared the High +Coco-Lorum. "However, I will admit that the land that surrounds it has a +trick of turning this way or that; and so, if one is standing upon the +plain and facing north, he is likely to find himself suddenly facing +west--or east--or south. But once you reach the thistle fields you are +on solid ground." + +"Ah, I begin to understand," said the Wizard, nodding his head. "But I +have another question to ask: How does it happen that the Thists have no +King to rule over them?" + +"Hush!" whispered the High Coco-Lorum, looking uneasily around to make +sure they were not overheard. "In reality, I am the King, but the people +don't know it. They think they rule themselves, but the fact is I have +everything my own way. No one else knows anything about our laws, and so +I make the laws to suit myself. If any oppose me, or question my acts, I +tell them it's the law, and that settles it. If I called myself King, +however, and wore a crown and lived in royal state, the people would not +like me, and might do me harm. As the High Coco-Lorum of Thi, I'm +considered a very agreeable person." + +"It seems a very clever arrangement," said the Wizard. "And now, as you +are the principal person in Thi, I beg you to tell us if the Royal Ozma +is a captive in your city." + +"No," answered the diamond-headed man, "we have no captives. No +strangers but yourselves are here, and we have never before heard of the +Royal Ozma." + +"She rules all of Oz," said Dorothy, "and so she rules your city and +you, because you are in the Winkie Country, which is a part of the Land +of Oz." + +"It may be," returned the High Coco-Lorum, "for we do not study +geography and have never inquired whether we live in the Land of Oz or +not. And any Ruler who rules us from a distance, and unknown to us, is +welcome to the job. But what has happened to your Royal Ozma?" + +"Someone has stolen her," said the Wizard. "Do you happen to have any +talented magician among your people--one who is especially clever, you +know?" + +"No, none especially clever. We do some magic, of course, but it is all +of the ordinary kind. I do not think any of us has yet aspired to +stealing Rulers, either by magic or otherwise." + +"Then we've come a long way for nothing!" exclaimed Trot regretfully. + +"But we are going farther than this," asserted the Patchwork Girl, +bending her stuffed body backward until her yarn hair touched the floor +and then walking around on her hands with her feet in the air. + +The High Coco-Lorum watched Scraps admiringly. + +"You may go farther on, of course," said he, "but I advise you not to. +The Herkus live back of us, beyond the thistles and the twisting lands, +and they are not very nice people to meet, I assure you." + +[Illustration] + +"Are they giants?" asked Betsy. + +"They are worse than that," was the reply. "They have giants for their +slaves and they are so much stronger than giants that the poor slaves +dare not rebel, for fear of being torn to pieces." + +"How do you know?" asked Scraps. + +"Everyone says so," answered the High Coco-Lorum. + +"Have you seen the Herkus yourself?" inquired Dorothy. + +"No, but what everyone says must be true; otherwise, what would be the +use of their saying it?" + +"We were told, before we got here, that you people hitch dragons to your +chariots," said the little girl. + +"So we do," declared the High Coco-Lorum. "And that reminds me that I +ought to entertain you, as strangers and my guests, by taking you for a +ride around our splendid City of Thi." + +He touched a button and a band began to play; at least, they heard the +music of a band, but couldn't tell where it came from. + +"That tune is the order to my charioteer to bring around my +dragon-chariot," said the High Coco-Lorum. "Every time I give an order +it is in music, which is a much more pleasant way to address servants +than in cold, stern words." + +"Does this dragon of yours bite?" asked Button-Bright. + +"Mercy, no! Do you think I'd risk the safety of my innocent people by +using a biting dragon to draw my chariot? I'm proud to say that my +dragon is harmless--unless his steering-gear breaks--and he was +manufactured at the famous dragon-factory in this City of Thi. Here he +comes and you may examine him for yourselves." + +They heard a low rumble and a shrill squeaking sound and, going out to +the front of the house, they saw coming around the corner a car drawn by +a gorgeous jeweled dragon, which moved its head to right and left and +flashed its eyes like the headlights of an automobile and uttered a +growling noise as it slowly moved toward them. + +When it stopped before the High Coco-Lorum's house Toto barked sharply +at the sprawling beast, but even tiny Trot could see that the dragon was +not alive. Its scales were of gold and each one was set with sparkling +jewels, while it walked in such a stiff, regular manner that it could be +nothing else than a machine. The chariot that trailed behind it was +likewise of gold and jewels, and when they entered it they found there +were no seats. Everyone was supposed to stand up while riding. + +The charioteer was a little diamond-headed fellow who straddled the neck +of the dragon and moved the levers that made it go. + +"This," said the High Coco-Lorum, pompously, "is a wonderful invention. +We are all very proud of our auto-dragons, many of which are in use by +our wealthy inhabitants. Start the thing going, charioteer!" + +The charioteer did not move. + +"You forgot to order him in music," suggested Dorothy. + +"Ah, so I did." He touched a button and a music-box in the dragon's head +began to play a tune. At once the little charioteer pulled over a lever +and the dragon began to move--very slowly and groaning dismally as it +drew the clumsy chariot after it. Toto trotted between the wheels. The +Sawhorse, the Mule, the Lion and the Woozy followed after and had no +trouble in keeping up with the machine; indeed, they had to go slow to +keep from running into it. When the wheels turned another music-box +concealed somewhere under the chariot played a lively march tune which +was in striking contrast with the dragging movement of the strange +vehicle and Button-Bright decided that the music he had heard when they +first sighted this city was nothing else than a chariot plodding its +weary way through the streets. + +All the travelers from the Emerald City thought this ride the most +uninteresting and dreary they had ever experienced, but the High +Coco-Lorum seemed to think it was grand. He pointed out the different +buildings and parks and fountains, in much the same way that the +conductor of an American "sight-seeing wagon" does, and being guests +they were obliged to submit to the ordeal. But they became a little +worried when their host told them he had ordered a banquet prepared for +them in the City Hall. + +"What are we going to eat?" asked Button-Bright suspiciously. + +"Thistles," was the reply; "fine, fresh thistles, gathered this very +day." + +Scraps laughed, for she never ate anything, but Dorothy said in a +protesting voice: + +"_Our_ insides are not lined with gold, you know." + +"How sad!" exclaimed the High Coco-Lorum; and then he added, as an +afterthought: "But we can have the thistles boiled, if you prefer." + +"I'm 'fraid they wouldn't taste good, even then," said little Trot. +"Haven't you anything else to eat?" + +The High Coco-Lorum shook his diamond-shaped head. + +"Nothing that I know of," said he. "But why should we have anything +else, when we have so many thistles? However, if you can't eat what we +eat, don't eat anything. We shall not be offended and the banquet will +be just as merry and delightful." + +Knowing his companions were all hungry the Wizard said: + +"I trust you will excuse us from the banquet, sir, which will be merry +enough without us, although it is given in our honor. For, as Ozma is +not in your city, we must leave here at once and seek her elsewhere." + +"Sure we must!" agreed Dorothy, and she whispered to Betsy and Trot: +"I'd rather starve somewhere else than in this city, and--who knows?--we +may run across somebody who eats reg'lar food and will give us some." + +So, when the ride was finished, in spite of the protests of the High +Coco-Lorum they insisted on continuing their journey. + +"It will soon be dark," he objected. + +"We don't mind the darkness," replied the Wizard. + +"Some wandering Herku may get you." + +"Do you think the Herkus would hurt us?" asked Dorothy. + +"I cannot say, not having the honor of their acquaintance. But they are +said to be so strong that, if they had any other place to stand upon, +they could lift the world." + +"All of them together?" asked Button-Bright wonderingly. + +"Any one of them could do it," said the High Coco-Lorum. + +"Have you heard of any magicians being among them?" asked the Wizard, +knowing that only a magician could have stolen Ozma in the way she had +been stolen. + +"I am told it is quite a magical country," declared the High Coco-Lorum, +"and magic is usually performed by magicians. But I have never heard +that they have any invention or sorcery to equal our wonderful +auto-dragons." + +They thanked him for his courtesy and, mounting their own animals, rode +to the farther side of the city and right through the Wall of Illusion +out into the open country. + +"I'm glad we got away so easily," said Betsy. "I didn't like those +queer-shaped people." + +"Nor did I," agreed Dorothy. "It seems dreadful to be lined with sheets +of pure gold and have nothing to eat but thistles." + +"They seemed happy and contented, though," remarked the little Wizard, +"and those who are contented have nothing to regret and nothing more to +wish for." + +[Illustration] + + + + +Toto Loses Something + +[Illustration] + +CHAPTER 10 + + +For a while the travelers were constantly losing their direction, for +beyond the thistle fields they again found themselves upon the +turning-lands, which swung them around in such a freakish manner that +first they were headed one way and then another. But by keeping the City +of Thi constantly behind them the adventurers finally passed the +treacherous turning-lands and came upon a stony country where no grass +grew at all. There were plenty of bushes, however, and although it was +now almost dark the girls discovered some delicious yellow berries +growing upon the bushes, one taste of which set them all to picking as +many as they could find. The berries relieved their pangs of hunger, for +a time, and as it now became too dark to see anything they camped where +they were. + +The three girls lay down upon one of the blankets--all in a row--and +then the Wizard covered them with the other blanket and tucked them in. +Button-Bright crawled under the shelter of some bushes and was asleep in +half a minute. The Wizard sat down with his back to a big stone and +looked at the stars in the sky and thought gravely upon the dangerous +adventure they had undertaken, wondering if they would ever be able to +find their beloved Ozma again. The animals lay in a group by themselves, +a little distance from the others. + +"I've lost my growl!" said Toto, who had been very silent and sober all +that day. "What do you suppose has become of it?" + +"If you had asked me to keep track of your growl, I might be able to +tell you," remarked the Lion sleepily. "But, frankly, Toto, I supposed +you were taking care of it yourself." + +"It's an awful thing to lose one's growl," said Toto, wagging his tail +disconsolately. "What if you lost your roar, Lion? Wouldn't you feel +terrible?" + +"My roar," replied the Lion, "is the fiercest thing about me. I depend +on it to frighten my enemies so badly that they won't dare to fight me." + +"Once," said the Mule, "I lost my bray, so that I couldn't call to Betsy +to let her know I was hungry. That was before I could talk, you know, +for I had not yet come into the Land of Oz, and I found it was certainly +very uncomfortable not to be able to make a noise." + +"You make enough noise now," declared Toto. "But none of you has +answered my question: Where is my growl?" + +"You may search _me_" said the Woozy. "I don't care for such things +myself." + +"You snore terribly," asserted Toto. + +"It may be," said the Woozy. "What one does when asleep one is not +accountable for. I wish you would wake me up, some time when I'm +snoring, and let me hear the sound. Then I can judge whether it is +terrible or delightful." + +"It isn't pleasant, I assure you," said the Lion, yawning. + +"To me it seems wholly unnecessary," declared Hank the Mule. + +"You ought to break yourself of the habit," said the Sawhorse. "You +never hear me snore, because I never sleep. I don't even whinny, as +those puffy meat horses do. I wish that whoever stole Toto's growl had +taken the Mule's bray and the Lion's roar and the Woozy's snore at the +same time." + +"Do you think, then, that my growl was stolen?" + +"You have never lost it before, have you?" inquired the Sawhorse. + +"Only once, when I had a sore throat from barking too long at the moon." + +"Is your throat sore now?" asked the Woozy. + +"No," replied the dog. + +"I can't understand," said Hank, "why dogs bark at the moon. They can't +scare the moon, and the moon doesn't pay any attention to the bark. So +why do dogs do it?" + +"Were you ever a dog?" asked Toto. + +"No, indeed," replied Hank. "I am thankful to say I was created a +mule--the most beautiful of all beasts--and have always remained one." + +The Woozy sat upon his square haunches to examine Hank with care. + +[Illustration] + +"Beauty," said he, "must be a matter of taste. I don't say your judgment +is bad, friend Hank, or that you are so vulgar as to be conceited. But +if you admire big waggly ears, and a tail like a paint-brush, and hoofs +big enough for an elephant, and a long neck and a body so skinny that +one can count the ribs with one eye shut--if that's your idea of beauty, +Hank--then either you or I must be much mistaken." + +"You're full of edges," sneered the Mule. "If I were square, as you are, +I suppose you'd think me lovely." + +"Outwardly, dear Hank, I would," replied the Woozy. "But to be really +lovely one must be beautiful without and within." + +The Mule couldn't deny this statement, so he gave a disgusted grunt and +rolled over so that his back was toward the Woozy. But the Lion, +regarding the two calmly with his great yellow eyes, said to the dog: + +"My dear Toto, our friends have taught us a lesson in humility. If the +Woozy and the Mule are indeed beautiful creatures, as they seem to +think, you and I must be decidedly ugly." + +"Not to ourselves," protested Toto, who was a shrewd little dog. "You +and I, Lion, are fine specimens of our own races. I am a fine dog and +you are a fine lion. Only in point of comparison, one with another, can +we be properly judged, so I will leave it to the poor old Sawhorse to +decide which is the most beautiful animal among us all. The Sawhorse is +wood, so he won't be prejudiced and will speak the truth." + +"I surely will," responded the Sawhorse, wagging his ears, which were +chips set in his wooden head. "Are you all agreed to accept my +judgment?" + +"We are!" they declared, each one hopeful. + +"Then," said the Sawhorse, "I must point out to you the fact that you +are all meat creatures, who tire unless they sleep, and starve unless +they eat, and suffer from thirst unless they drink. Such animals must be +very imperfect, and imperfect creatures cannot be beautiful. Now, _I_ am +made of wood." + +"You surely have a wooden head," said the Mule. + +"Yes, and a wooden body and wooden legs--which are as swift as the wind +and as tireless. I've heard Dorothy say that 'handsome is as handsome +does,' and I surely perform my duties in a handsome manner. Therefore, +if you wish my honest judgment, I will confess that among us all I am +the most beautiful." + +The Mule snorted and the Woozy laughed; Toto had lost his growl and +could only look scornfully at the Sawhorse, who stood in his place +unmoved. But the Lion stretched himself and yawned, saying quietly: + +"Were we all like the Sawhorse we would all be Sawhorses, which would be +too many of the kind; were we all like Hank, we would be a herd of +mules; if like Toto, we would be a pack of dogs; should we all become +the shape of the Woozy, he would no longer be remarkable for his unusual +appearance. Finally, were you all like me, I would consider you so +common that I would not care to associate with you. To be individual, my +friends, to be different from others, is the only way to become +distinguished from the common herd. Let us be glad, therefore, that we +differ from one another in form and in disposition. Variety is the spice +of life and we are various enough to enjoy one another's society; so let +us be content." + +"There is some truth in that speech," remarked Toto reflectively. "But +how about my lost growl?" + +"The growl is of importance only to you," responded the Lion, "so it is +your business to worry over the loss, not ours. If you love us, do not +inflict your burdens on us; be unhappy all by yourself." + +"If the same person stole my growl who stole Ozma," said the little dog, +"I hope we shall find him very soon and punish him as he deserves. He +must be the most cruel person in all the world, for to prevent a dog +from growling when it is his nature to growl is just as wicked, in my +opinion, as stealing all the magic in Oz." + +[Illustration] + + + + +Button-Bright Loses Himself + +[Illustration] + +CHAPTER 11 + + +The Patchwork Girl, who never slept and who could see very well in the +dark, had wandered among the rocks and bushes all night long, with the +result that she was able to tell some good news the next morning. + +"Over the crest of the hill before us," she said, "is a big grove of +trees of many kinds, on which all sorts of fruits grow. If you will go +there you will find a nice breakfast awaiting you." + +This made them eager to start, so as soon as the blankets were folded +and strapped to the back of the Sawhorse they all took their places on +the animals and set out for the big grove Scraps had told them of. + +As soon as they got over the brow of the hill they discovered it to be a +really immense orchard, extending for miles to the right and left of +them. As their way led straight through the trees they hurried forward +as fast as possible. + +The first trees they came to bore quinces, which they did not like. Then +there were rows of citron trees and then crab apples and afterward limes +and lemons. But beyond these they found a grove of big golden oranges, +juicy and sweet, and the fruit hung low on the branches, so they could +pluck it easily. + +They helped themselves freely and all ate oranges as they continued on +their way. Then, a little farther along, they came to some trees bearing +fine red apples, which they also feasted on, and the Wizard stopped here +long enough to tie a lot of the apples in one end of a blanket. + +"We do not know what will happen to us after we leave this delightful +orchard," he said, "so I think it wise to carry a supply of apples with +us. We can't starve as long as we have apples, you know." + +Scraps wasn't riding the Woozy just now. She loved to climb the trees +and swing herself by the branches from one tree to another. Some of the +choicest fruit was gathered by the Patchwork Girl from the very highest +limbs and tossed down to the others. + +Suddenly Trot asked: "Where's Button-Bright?" and when the others looked +for him they found the boy had disappeared. + +"Dear me!" cried Dorothy. "I guess he's lost again, and that will mean +our waiting here until we can find him." + +"It's a good place to wait," suggested Betsy, who had found a plum tree +and was eating some of its fruit. + +"How can you wait here, and find Button-Bright, at one and the same +time?" inquired the Patchwork Girl, hanging by her toes on a limb just +over the heads of the three mortal girls. + +"Perhaps he'll come back here," answered Dorothy. + +"If he tries that, he'll prob'ly lose his way," said Trot. "I've known +him to do that, lots of times. It's losing his way that gets him lost." + +"Very true," said the Wizard. "So all the rest of you must stay here +while I go look for the boy." + +"Won't _you_ get lost, too?" asked Betsy. + +"I hope not, my dear." + +"Let _me_ go," said Scraps, dropping lightly to the ground. "I can't get +lost, and I'm more likely to find Button-Bright than any of you." + +Without waiting for permission she darted away through the trees and +soon disappeared from their view. + +"Dorothy," said Toto, squatting beside his little mistress, "I've lost +my growl." + +"How did that happen?" she asked. + +"I don't know," replied Toto. "Yesterday morning the Woozy nearly +stepped on me and I tried to growl at him and found I couldn't growl a +bit." + +"Can you bark?" inquired Dorothy. + +"Oh, yes, indeed!" + +"Then never mind the growl," said she. + +"But what will I do when I get home to the Glass Cat and the Pink +Kitten?" asked the little dog in an anxious voice. + +"They won't mind, if you can't growl at them, I'm sure," said Dorothy. +"I'm sorry for you, of course, Toto, for it's just those things we can't +do that we want to do most of all; but before we get back you may find +your growl again." + +"Do you think the person who stole Ozma stole my growl?" + +Dorothy smiled. + +"Perhaps, Toto." + +"Then he's a scoundrel!" cried the little dog. + +"Anyone who would steal Ozma is as bad as bad can be," agreed Dorothy, +"and when we remember that our dear friend, the lovely Ruler of Oz, is +lost, we ought not to worry over just a growl." + +Toto was not entirely satisfied with this remark, for the more he +thought upon his lost growl the more important his misfortune became. +When no one was looking he went away among the trees and tried his best +to growl--even a little bit--but could not manage to do so. All he could +do was bark, and a bark cannot take the place of a growl, so he sadly +returned to the others. + +Now, Button-Bright had no idea that he was lost, at first. He had merely +wandered from tree to tree, seeking the finest fruit, until he +discovered he was alone in the great orchard. But that didn't worry him +just then and seeing some apricot trees farther on he went to them; then +he discovered some cherry trees; just beyond these were some tangerines. + +"We've found 'most ev'ry kind of fruit but peaches," he said to +himself, "so I guess there are peaches here, too, if I can find the +trees." + +He searched here and there, paying no attention to his way, until he +found that the trees surrounding him bore only nuts. He put some walnuts +in his pockets and kept on searching and at last--right among the nut +trees--he came upon one solitary peach tree. It was a graceful, +beautiful tree, but although it was thickly leaved it bore no fruit +except one large, splendid peach, rosy-cheeked and fuzzy and just right +to eat. + +Button-Bright had some trouble getting that lonesome peach, for it hung +far out of reach; but he climbed the tree nimbly and crept out on the +branch on which it grew and after several trials, during which he was in +danger of falling, he finally managed to pick it. Then he got back to +the ground and decided the fruit was well worth his trouble. It was +delightfully fragrant and when he bit into it he found it the most +delicious morsel he had ever tasted. + +"I really ought to divide it with Trot and Dorothy and Betsy," he said; +"but p'rhaps there are plenty more in some other part of the orchard." + +In his heart he doubted this statement, for this was a solitary peach +tree, while all the other fruits grew upon many trees set close to one +another; but that one luscious bite made him unable to resist eating the +rest of it and soon the peach was all gone except the pit. + +Button-Bright was about to throw this peach-pit away when he noticed +that it was of pure gold. Of course this surprised him, but so many +things in the Land of Oz were surprising that he did not give much +thought to the golden peach-pit. He put it in his pocket, however, to +show to the girls, and five minutes afterward had forgotten all about +it. + +For now he realized that he was far separated from his companions, and +knowing that this would worry them and delay their journey, he began to +shout as loud as he could. His voice did not penetrate very far among +all those trees, and after shouting a dozen times and getting no answer +he sat down on the ground and said: + +"Well, I'm lost again. It's too bad, but I don't see how it can be +helped." + +As he leaned his back against a tree he looked up and saw a Bluefinch +fly down from the sky and alight upon a branch just before him. The bird +looked and looked at him. First it looked with one bright eye and then +turned its head and looked at him with the other eye. Then, +fluttering its wings a little, it said: + +[Illustration] + +"Oho! so you've eaten the enchanted peach, have you?" + +"Was it enchanted?" asked Button-Bright. + +"Of course," replied the Bluefinch. "Ugu the Shoemaker did that." + +"But why? And how was it enchanted? And what will happen to one who eats +it?" questioned the boy. + +"Ask Ugu the Shoemaker; he knows," said the bird, pruning its feathers +with its bill. + +"And who is Ugu the Shoemaker?" + +"The one who enchanted the peach, and placed it here--in the exact +center of the Great Orchard--so no one would ever find it. We birds +didn't dare to eat it; we are too wise for that. But you are +Button-Bright, from the Emerald City, and you--_you_--YOU ate the +enchanted peach! You must explain to Ugu the Shoemaker why you did +that." + +And then, before the boy could ask any more questions, the bird flew +away and left him alone. + +Button-Bright was not much worried to find that the peach he had eaten +was enchanted. It certainly had tasted very good and his stomach didn't +ache a bit. So again he began to reflect upon the best way to rejoin his +friends. + +"Whichever direction I follow is likely to be the wrong one," he said to +himself, "so I'd better stay just where I am and let _them_ find +_me_--if they can." + +A White Rabbit came hopping through the orchard and paused a little way +off to look at him. + +"Don't be afraid," said Button-Bright; "I won't hurt you." + +"Oh, I'm not afraid for myself," returned the White Rabbit. "It's you +I'm worried about." + +"Yes; I'm lost," said the boy. + +"I fear you are, indeed," answered the Rabbit. "Why on earth did you eat +the enchanted peach?" + +The boy looked at the excited little animal thoughtfully. + +"There were two reasons," he explained. "One reason was that I like +peaches, and the other reason was that I didn't know it was enchanted." + +"That won't save you from Ugu the Shoemaker," declared the White Rabbit +and it scurried away before the boy could ask any more questions. + +"Rabbits and birds," he thought, "are timid creatures and seem afraid of +this shoemaker--whoever he may be. If there was another peach half as +good as that other, I'd eat it in spite of a dozen enchantments or a +hundred shoemakers!" + +Just then Scraps came dancing along and saw him sitting at the foot of +the tree. + +"Oh, here you are!" she said. "Up to your old tricks, eh? Don't you know +it's impolite to get lost and keep everybody waiting for you? Come +along, and I'll lead you back to Dorothy and the others." + +Button-Bright rose slowly to accompany her. + +"That wasn't much of a loss," he said cheerfully. "I haven't been gone +half a day, so there's no harm done." + +Dorothy, however, when the boy rejoined the party, gave him a good +scolding. + +"When we're doing such an important thing as searching for Ozma," said +she, "it's naughty for you to wander away and keep us from getting on. +S'pose she's a pris'ner--in a dungeon cell!--do you want to keep our +dear Ozma there any longer than we can help?" + +"If she's in a dungeon cell, how are you going to get her out?" inquired +the boy. + +"Never you mind; we'll leave that to the Wizard; he's sure to find a +way." + +The Wizard said nothing, for he realized that without his magic tools he +could do no more than any other person. But there was no use reminding +his companions of that fact; it might discourage them. + +"The important thing just now," he remarked, "is to find Ozma; and, as +our party is again happily reunited, I propose we move on." + +As they came to the edge of the Great Orchard the sun was setting and +they knew it would soon be dark. So it was decided to camp under the +trees, as another broad plain was before them. The Wizard spread the +blankets on a bed of soft leaves and presently all of them except Scraps +and the Sawhorse were fast asleep. Toto snuggled close to his friend the +Lion, and the Woozy snored so loudly that the Patchwork Girl covered his +square head with her apron to deaden the sound. + +[Illustration] + + + + +The Czarover of Herku + +[Illustration] + +CHAPTER 12 + + +Trot wakened just as the sun rose and, slipping out of the blankets, +went to the edge of the Great Orchard and looked across the plain. +Something glittered in the far distance. + +"That looks like another city," she said half aloud. + +"And another city it is," declared Scraps, who had crept to Trot's side +unheard, for her stuffed feet made no sound. "The Sawhorse and I made a +journey in the dark, while you were all asleep, and we found over there +a bigger city than Thi. There's a wall around it, too, but it has gates +and plenty of pathways." + +"Did you go in?" asked Trot. + +"No, for the gates were locked and the wall was a real wall. So we came +back here again. It isn't far to the city. We can reach it in two hours +after you've had your breakfasts." + +Trot went back and, finding the other girls now awake, told them what +Scraps had said. So they hurriedly ate some fruit--there were plenty of +plums and fijoas in this part of the orchard--and then they mounted the +animals and set out upon the journey to the strange city. Hank the Mule +had breakfasted on grass and the Lion had stolen away and found a +breakfast to his liking; he never told what it was, but Dorothy hoped +the little rabbits and the field mice had kept out of his way. She +warned Toto not to chase birds and gave the dog some apple, with which +he was quite content. The Woozy was as fond of fruit as of any other +food, except honey, and the Sawhorse never ate at all. + +Except for their worry over Ozma they were all in good spirits as they +proceeded swiftly over the plain. Toto still worried over his lost +growl, but like a wise little dog kept his worry to himself. Before long +the city grew nearer and they could examine it with interest. + +In outward appearance the place was more imposing than Thi, and it was a +square city, with a square, four-sided wall around it and on each side +was a square gate of burnished copper. Everything about the city looked +solid and substantial; there were no banners flying and the towers that +rose above the city wall seemed bare of any ornament whatever. + +A path led from the fruit orchard directly to one of the city gates, +showing that the inhabitants preferred fruit to thistles. Our friends +followed this path to the gate, which they found fast shut. But the +Wizard advanced and pounded upon it with his fist, saying in a loud +voice: "Open!" + +At once there rose above the great wall a row of immense heads, all of +which looked down at them as if to see who was intruding. The size of +these heads was astonishing and our friends at once realized that they +belonged to giants, who were standing within the city. All had thick, +bushy hair and whiskers, on some the hair being white and on others +black or red or yellow, while the hair of a few was just turning gray, +showing that the giants were of all ages. However fierce the heads might +seem the eyes were mild in expression, as if the creatures had been long +subdued, and their faces expressed patience rather than ferocity. + +"What's wanted?" asked one old giant, in a low, grumbling voice. + +"We are strangers and we wish to enter the city," replied the Wizard. + +"Do you come in war or peace?" asked another. + +"In peace, of course," retorted the Wizard, and he added impatiently: +"Do we look like an army of conquest?" + +"No," said the first giant who had spoken, "you look like innocent +tramps; but one never can tell by appearances. Wait here until we report +to our masters. No one can enter here without the permission of Vig, the +Czarover." + +"Who's that?" inquired Dorothy. But the heads had all bobbed down and +disappeared behind the wall, so there was no answer. + +They waited a long time before the gate rolled back with a rumbling +sound and a loud voice cried: "Enter!" But they lost no time in taking +advantage of the invitation. + +[Illustration] + +On either side of the broad street that led into the city from the gate +stood a row of huge giants--twenty of them on a side and all standing so +close together that their elbows touched. They wore uniforms of blue and +yellow and were armed with clubs as big around as tree-trunks. Each +giant had around his neck a broad band of gold, riveted on, to show he +was a slave. + +As our friends entered, riding upon the Lion, the Woozy, the Sawhorse +and the Mule, the giants half turned and walked in two files on either +side of them, as if escorting them on their way. It looked to Dorothy as +if all her party had been made prisoners, for even mounted on their +animals their heads scarcely reached to the knees of the marching +giants. The girls and Button-Bright were anxious to know what sort of a +city they had entered, and what the people were like who had made these +powerful creatures their slaves. Through the legs of the giants, as they +walked, Dorothy could see rows of houses on each side the street and +throngs of people standing on the sidewalks; but the people were of +ordinary size and the only remarkable thing about them was the fact that +they were dreadfully lean and thin. Between their skin and their bones +there seemed to be little or no flesh, and they were mostly +stoop-shouldered and weary looking, even to the little children. + +More and more Dorothy wondered how and why the great giants had ever +submitted to become slaves of such skinny, languid masters, but there +was no chance to question anyone until they arrived at a big palace +located in the heart of the city. Here the giants formed lines to the +entrance and stood still while our friends rode into the courtyard of +the palace. Then the gates closed behind them and before them was a +skinny little man who bowed low and said in a sad voice: + +"If you will be so obliging as to dismount, it will give me pleasure to +lead you into the presence of the World's Most Mighty Ruler, Vig the +Czarover." + +"I don't believe it!" said Dorothy indignantly. + +"What don't you believe?" asked the man. + +"I don't believe your Czarover can hold a candle to our Ozma." + +"He wouldn't hold a candle under any circumstances, or to any living +person," replied the man very seriously, "for he has slaves to do such +things and the Mighty Vig is too dignified to do anything that others +can do for him. He even obliges a slave to sneeze for him, if ever he +catches cold. However, if you dare to face our powerful ruler, follow +me." + +"We dare anything," said the Wizard, "so go ahead." + +Through several marble corridors having lofty ceilings they passed, +finding each corridor and doorway guarded by servants; but these +servants of the palace were of the people and not giants, and they were +so thin that they almost resembled skeletons. Finally they entered a +great circular room with a high domed ceiling where the Czarover sat on +a throne cut from a solid block of white marble and decorated with +purple silk hangings and gold tassels. + +The ruler of these people was combing his eyebrows when our friends +entered his throne-room and stood before him, but he put the comb in his +pocket and examined the strangers with evident curiosity. Then he said: + +"Dear me, what a surprise! You have really shocked me. For no outsider +has ever before come to our City of Herku, and I cannot imagine why +_you_ have ventured to do so." + +"We are looking for Ozma, the Supreme Ruler of the Land of Oz," replied +the Wizard. + +"Do you see her anywhere around here?" asked the Czarover. + +"Not yet, Your Majesty; but perhaps you may tell us where she is." + +"No; I have my hands full keeping track of my own people. I find them +hard to manage because they are so tremendously strong." + +"They don't look very strong," said Dorothy. "It seems as if a good wind +would blow 'em way out of the city, if it wasn't for the wall." + +"Just so--just so," admitted the Czarover. "They really look that way, +don't they? But you must never trust to appearances, which have a way of +fooling one. Perhaps you noticed that I prevented you from meeting any +of my people. I protected you with my giants while you were on the way +from the gates to my palace, so that not a Herku got near you." + +"Are your people so dangerous, then?" asked the Wizard. + +"To strangers, yes; but only because they are so friendly. For, if they +shake hands with you, they are likely to break your arms or crush your +fingers to a jelly." + +"Why?" asked Button-Bright. + +"Because we are the strongest people in all the world." + +"Pshaw!" exclaimed the boy, "that's bragging. You prob'ly don't know +how strong other people are. Why, once I knew a man in Philadelphi' who +could bend iron bars with just his hands!" + +"But--mercy me!--it's no trick to bend iron bars," said His Majesty. +"Tell me, could this man crush a block of stone with his bare hands?" + +"No one could do that," declared the boy. + +"If I had a block of stone I'd show you," said the Czarover, looking +around the room. "Ah, here is my throne. The back is too high, anyhow, +so I'll just break off a piece of that." + +He rose to his feet and tottered in an uncertain way around the throne. +Then he took hold of the back and broke off a piece of marble over a +foot thick. + +"This," said he, coming back to his seat, "is very solid marble and much +harder than ordinary stone. Yet I can crumble it easily with my +fingers--a proof that I am very strong." + +Even as he spoke he began breaking off chunks of marble and crumbling +them as one would a bit of earth. The Wizard was so astonished that he +took a piece in his own hands and tested it, finding it very hard +indeed. + +Just then one of the giant servants entered and exclaimed: + +[Illustration] + +"Oh, Your Majesty, the cook has burned the soup! What shall we do?" + +"How dare you interrupt me?" asked the Czarover, and grasping the +immense giant by one of his legs he raised him in the air and threw him +headfirst out of an open window. + +"Now, tell me," he said, turning to Button-Bright, "could your man in +Philadelphia crumble marble in his fingers?" + +"I guess not," said Button-Bright, much impressed by the skinny +monarch's strength. + +"What makes you so strong?" inquired Dorothy. + +"It's the zosozo," he explained, "which is an invention of my own. I and +all my people eat zosozo, and it gives us tremendous strength. Would you +like to eat some?" + +"No, thank you," replied the girl. "I--I don't want to get so thin." + +"Well, of course one can't have strength and flesh at the same time," +said the Czarover. "Zosozo is pure energy, and it's the only compound of +its sort in existence. I never allow our giants to have it, you know, or +they would soon become our masters, since they are bigger than we; so I +keep all the stuff locked up in my private laboratory. Once a year I +feed a teaspoonful of it to each of my people--men, women and +children--so every one of them is nearly as strong as I am. Wouldn't +_you_ like a dose, sir?" he asked, turning to the Wizard. + +"Well," said the Wizard, "if you would give me a little zosozo in a +bottle, I'd like to take it with me on my travels. It might come handy, +on occasion." + +"To be sure. I'll give you enough for six doses," promised the Czarover. +"But don't take more than a teaspoonful at a time. Once Ugu the +Shoemaker took two teaspoonsful, and it made him so strong that when he +leaned against the city wall he pushed it over, and we had to build it +up again." + +"Who is Ugu the Shoemaker?" asked Button-Bright curiously, for he now +remembered that the bird and the rabbit had claimed Ugu the Shoemaker +had enchanted the peach he had eaten. + +"Why, Ugu is a great magician, who used to live here. But he's gone +away, now," replied the Czarover. + +"Where has he gone?" asked the Wizard quickly. + +"I am told he lives in a wickerwork castle in the mountains to the west +of here. You see, Ugu became such a powerful magician that he didn't +care to live in our city any longer, for fear we would discover some of +his secrets. So he went to the mountains and built him a splendid +wicker castle, which is so strong that even I and my people could not +batter it down, and there he lives all by himself." + +"This is good news," declared the Wizard, "for I think this is just the +magician we are searching for. But why is he called Ugu the Shoemaker?" + +"Once he was a very common citizen here and made shoes for a living," +replied the monarch of Herku. "But he was descended from the greatest +wizard and sorcerer who has ever lived--in this or in any other +country--and one day Ugu the Shoemaker discovered all the magical books +and recipes of his famous great-grandfather, which had been hidden away +in the attic of his house. So he began to study the papers and books and +to practice magic, and in time he became so skillful that, as I said, he +scorned our city and built a solitary castle for himself." + +"Do you think," asked Dorothy anxiously, "that Ugu the Shoemaker would +be wicked enough to steal our Ozma of Oz?" + +"And the Magic Picture?" asked Trot. + +"And the Great Book of Records of Glinda the Good?" asked Betsy. + +"And my own magic tools?" asked the Wizard. + +"Well," replied the Czarover, "I won't say that Ugu is wicked, exactly, +but he is very ambitious to become the most powerful magician in the +world, and so I suppose he would not be too proud to steal any magic +things that belonged to anybody else--if he could manage to do so." + +"But how about Ozma? Why would he wish to steal _her_?" questioned +Dorothy. + +"Don't ask me, my dear. Ugu doesn't tell me why he does things, I assure +you." + +"Then we must go and ask him ourselves," declared the little girl. + +"I wouldn't do that, if I were you," advised the Czarover, looking first +at the three girls and then at the boy and the little Wizard and finally +at the stuffed Patchwork Girl. "If Ugu has really stolen your Ozma, he +will probably keep her a prisoner, in spite of all your threats or +entreaties. And, with all his magical knowledge, he would be a dangerous +person to attack. Therefore, if you are wise, you will go home again and +find a new Ruler for the Emerald City and the Land of Oz. But perhaps it +isn't Ugu the Shoemaker who has stolen your Ozma." + +"The only way to settle that question," replied the Wizard, "is to go to +Ugu's castle and see if Ozma is there. If she is, we will report the +matter to the great Sorceress, Glinda the Good, and I'm pretty sure she +will find a way to rescue our darling ruler from the Shoemaker." + +"Well, do as you please," said the Czarover. "But, if you are all +transformed into hummingbirds or caterpillars, don't blame me for not +warning you." + +They stayed the rest of that day in the City of Herku and were fed at +the royal table of the Czarover and given sleeping rooms in his palace. +The strong monarch treated them very nicely and gave the Wizard a little +golden vial of zosozo, to use if ever he or any of his party wished to +acquire great strength. + +Even at the last the Czarover tried to persuade them not to go near Ugu +the Shoemaker, but they were resolved on the venture and the next +morning bade the friendly monarch a cordial good-bye and, mounting upon +their animals, left the Herkus and the City of Herku and headed for the +mountains that lay to the west. + + + + +The Truth Pond + +[Illustration] + +CHAPTER 13 + + +It seems a long time since we have heard anything of the Frogman and +Cayke the Cookie Cook, who had left the Yip Country in search of the +diamond-studded gold dishpan which had been mysteriously stolen the same +night that Ozma had disappeared from the Emerald City. But you must +remember that while the Frogman and the Cookie Cook were preparing to +descend from their mountain-top, and even while on their way to the +farmhouse of Wiljon the Winkie, Dorothy and the Wizard and their friends +were encountering the adventures we have just related. + +So it was that on the very morning when the travelers from the Emerald +City bade farewell to the Czarover of the City of Herku, Cayke and the +Frogman awoke in a grove in which they had passed the night sleeping on +beds of leaves. There were plenty of farmhouses in the neighborhood, but +no one seemed to welcome the puffy, haughty Frogman or the little +dried-up Cookie Cook, and so they slept comfortably enough underneath +the trees of the grove. + +The Frogman wakened first, on this morning, and after going to the tree +where Cayke slept and finding her still wrapt in slumber, he decided to +take a little walk and seek some breakfast. Coming to the edge of the +grove he observed, half a mile away, a pretty yellow house that was +surrounded by a yellow picket fence, so he walked toward this house and +on entering the yard found a Winkie woman picking up sticks with which +to build a fire to cook her morning meal. + +"For goodness sakes!" she exclaimed on seeing the Frogman, "what are you +doing out of your frog-pond?" + +"I am traveling in search of a jeweled gold dishpan, my good woman," he +replied, with an air of great dignity. + +"You won't find it here, then," said she. "Our dishpans are tin, and +they're good enough for anybody. So go back to your pond and leave me +alone." + +She spoke rather crossly and with a lack of respect that greatly annoyed +the Frogman. + +"Allow me to tell you, madam," he said, "that although I am a frog I am +the Greatest and Wisest Frog in all the world. I may add that I possess +much more wisdom than any Winkie--man or woman--in this land. Wherever I +go, people fall on their knees before me and render homage to the Great +Frogman! No one else knows so much as I; no one else is so grand--so +magnificent!" + +"If you know so much," she retorted, "why don't you know where your +dishpan is, instead of chasing around the country after it?" + +"Presently," he answered, "I am going where it is; but just now I am +traveling and have had no breakfast. Therefore I honor you by asking you +for something to eat." + +"Oho! the Great Frogman is hungry as any tramp, is he? Then pick up +these sticks and help me to build the fire," said the woman +contemptuously. + +"Me! The Great Frogman pick up sticks?" he exclaimed in horror. "In the +Yip Country, where I am more honored and powerful than any King could +be, people weep with joy when I ask them to feed me." + +"Then that's the place to go for your breakfast," declared the woman. + +"I fear you do not realize my importance," urged the Frogman. "Exceeding +wisdom renders me superior to menial duties." + +"It's a great wonder to me," remarked the woman, carrying her sticks to +the house, "that your wisdom doesn't inform you that you'll get no +breakfast here," and she went in and slammed the door behind her. + +The Frogman felt he had been insulted, so he gave a loud croak of +indignation and turned away. After going a short distance he came upon a +faint path which led across a meadow in the direction of a grove of +pretty trees, and thinking this circle of evergreens must surround a +house--where perhaps he would be kindly received--he decided to follow +the path. And by and by he came to the trees, which were set close +together, and pushing aside some branches he found no house inside the +circle, but instead a very beautiful pond of clear water. + +Now the Frogman, although he was so big and so well educated and now +aped the ways and customs of human beings, was still a frog. As he gazed +at this solitary, deserted pond, his love for water returned to him with +irresistible force. + +"If I cannot get a breakfast I may at least have a fine swim," said he, +and pushing his way between the trees he reached the bank. There he took +off his fine clothing, laying his shiny purple hat and his gold-headed +cane beside it. A moment later he sprang with one leap into the water +and dived to the very bottom of the pond. + +The water was deliciously cool and grateful to his thick, rough skin, +and the Frogman swam around the pond several times before he stopped to +rest. Then he floated upon the surface and examined the pond with some +curiosity. The bottom and sides were all lined with glossy tiles of a +light pink color; just one place in the bottom, where the water bubbled +up from a hidden spring, had been left free. On the banks the green +grass grew to the edge of the pink tiling. + +And now, as the Frogman examined the place, he found that on one side +the pool, just above the water line, had been set a golden plate on +which some words were deeply engraved. He swam toward this plate and on +reaching it read the following inscription: + +_This is_ +THE TRUTH POND +_Whoever bathes in this +water must always +afterward tell_ +THE TRUTH + +This statement startled the Frogman. It even worried him, so that he +leaped upon the bank and hurriedly began to dress himself. + +"A great misfortune has befallen me," he told himself, "for hereafter I +cannot tell people I am wise, since it is not the truth. The truth is +that my boasted wisdom is all a sham, assumed by me to deceive people +and make them defer to me. In truth, no living creature can know much +more than his fellows, for one may know one thing, and another know +another thing, so that wisdom is evenly scattered throughout the world. +But--ah, me!--what a terrible fate will now be mine. Even Cayke the +Cookie Cook will soon discover that my knowledge is no greater than her +own; for having bathed in the enchanted water of the Truth Pond, I can +no longer deceive her or tell a lie." + +[Illustration] + +More humbled than he had been for many years, the Frogman went back to +the grove where he had left Cayke and found the woman now awake and +washing her face in a tiny brook. + +"Where has Your Honor been?" she asked. + +"To a farmhouse to ask for something to eat," said he, "but the woman +refused me." + +"How dreadful!" she exclaimed. "But never mind; there are other houses, +where the people will be glad to feed the Wisest Creature in all the +World." + +"Do you mean yourself?" he asked. + +"No, I mean you." + +The Frogman felt strongly impelled to tell the truth, but struggled hard +against it. His reason told him there was no use in letting Cayke know +he was not wise, for then she would lose much respect for him, but each +time he opened his mouth to speak he realized he was about to tell the +truth and shut it again as quickly as possible. He tried to talk about +something else, but the words necessary to undeceive the woman would +force themselves to his lips in spite of all his struggles. Finally, +knowing that he must either remain dumb or let the truth prevail, he +gave a low groan of despair and said: + +"Cayke, I am _not_ the Wisest Creature in all the World; I am not wise +at all." + +[Illustration] + +"Oh, you must be!" she protested. "You told me so yourself, only last +evening." + +"Then last evening I failed to tell you the truth," he admitted, looking +very shamefaced, for a frog. "I am sorry I told you that lie, my good +Cayke; but, if you must know the truth, the whole truth and nothing but +the truth, I am not really as wise as you are." + +The Cookie Cook was greatly shocked to hear this, for it shattered one +of her most pleasing illusions. She looked at the gorgeously dressed +Frogman in amazement. + +"What has caused you to change your mind so suddenly?" she inquired. + +"I have bathed in the Truth Pond," he said, "and whoever bathes in that +water is ever afterward obliged to tell the truth." + +"You were foolish to do that," declared the woman. "It is often very +embarrassing to tell the truth. I'm glad _I_ didn't bathe in that +dreadful water!" + +The Frogman looked at his companion thoughtfully. + +"Cayke," said he, "I want you to go to the Truth Pond and take a bath in +its water. For, if we are to travel together and encounter unknown +adventures, it would not be fair that I alone must always tell you the +truth, while you could tell me whatever you pleased. If we both dip in +the enchanted water there will be no chance in the future of our +deceiving one another." + +"No," she asserted, shaking her head positively, "I won't do it, Your +Honor. For, if I told you the truth, I'm sure you wouldn't like me. No +Truth Pond for me. I'll be just as I am, an honest woman who can say +what she wants to without hurting anyone's feelings." + +With this decision the Frogman was forced to be content, although he was +sorry the Cookie Cook would not listen to his advice. + +[Illustration] + + + + +The Unhappy Ferryman + +[Illustration] + +CHAPTER 14 + + +Leaving the grove where they had slept, the Frogman and the Cookie Cook +turned to the east to seek another house and after a short walk came to +one where the people received them very politely. The children stared +rather hard at the big, pompous Frogman, but the woman of the house, +when Cayke asked for something to eat, at once brought them food and +said they were welcome to it. + +"Few people in need of help pass this way," she remarked, "for the +Winkies are all prosperous and love to stay in their own homes. But +perhaps you are not a Winkle," she added. + +"No," said Cayke, "I am a Yip, and my home is on a high mountain at the +southeast of your country." + +"And the Frogman--is he, also, a Yip?" + +"I do not know what he is, other than a very remarkable and highly +educated creature," replied the Cookie Cook. "But he has lived many +years among the Yips, who have found him so wise and intelligent that +they always go to him for advice." + +"May I ask why you have left your home, and where you are going?" said +the Winkie woman. + +Then Cayke told her of the diamond-studded gold dishpan and how it had +been mysteriously stolen from her house, after which she had discovered +that she could no longer cook good cookies. So she had resolved to +search until she found her dishpan again, because a Cookie Cook who +cannot cook good cookies is not of much use. The Frogman, who wanted to +see more of the world, had accompanied her to assist in the search. When +the woman had listened to this story she asked. + +"Then you have no idea, as yet, who has stolen your dishpan?" + +"I only know it must have been some mischievous fairy, or a magician, or +some such powerful person, because none other could have climbed the +steep mountain to the Yip Country. And who else could have carried away +my beautiful, magic dishpan without being seen?" + +The woman thought about this during the time that Cayke and the Frogman +ate their breakfast. When they had finished she said: + +"Where are you going next?" + +"We have not decided," answered the Cookie Cook. + +"Our plan," explained the Frogman, in his important way, "is to travel +from place to place until we learn where the thief is located, and then +to force him to return the dishpan to its proper owner." + +"The plan is all right," agreed the woman, "but it may take you a long +time before you succeed, your method being sort of haphazard and +indefinite. However, I advise you to travel toward the east." + +"Why?" asked the Frogman. + +[Illustration] + +"Because if you went west you would soon come to the desert, and also +because in this part of the Winkie Country no one steals, so your time +here would be wasted. But toward the east, beyond the river, live many +strange people whose honesty I would not vouch for. Moreover, if you +journey far enough east and cross the river for a second time, you will +come to the Emerald City, where there is much magic and sorcery. The +Emerald City is ruled by a dear little girl called Ozma, who also rules +the Emperor of the Winkies and all the Land of Oz. So, as Ozma is a +fairy, she may be able to tell you just who has taken your precious +dishpan. Provided, of course, you do not find it before you reach her." + +"This seems to me to be excellent advice," said the Frogman, and Cayke +agreed with him. + +"The most sensible thing for you to do," continued the woman, "would be +to return to your home and use another dishpan, learning to cook cookies +as other people cook cookies, without the aid of magic. But, if you +cannot be happy without the magic dishpan you have lost, you are likely +to learn more about it in the Emerald City than at any other place in +Oz." + +They thanked the good woman and on leaving her house faced the east and +continued in that direction all the way. Toward evening they came to the +west branch of the Winkie River and there, on the river bank, found a +ferryman who lived all alone in a little yellow house. + +This ferryman was a Winkie with a very small head and a very large +body. He was sitting in his doorway as the travelers approached him and +did not even turn his head to look at them. + +"Good evening," said the Frogman. + +The ferryman made no reply. + +"We would like some supper and the privilege of sleeping in your house +until morning," continued the Frogman. "At daybreak we would like some +breakfast and then we would like to have you row us across the river." + +The ferryman neither moved nor spoke. He sat in his doorway and looked +straight ahead. + +"I think he must be deaf and dumb," Cayke whispered to her companion. +Then she stood directly in front of the ferryman and putting her mouth +close to his ear she yelled as loudly as she could: + +"Good evening!" + +The ferryman scowled. + +"Why do you yell at me, woman?" he asked. + +"Can you hear what I say?" she asked in her ordinary tone of voice. + +"Of course," replied the man. + +"Then why didn't you answer the Frogman?" + +"Because," said the ferryman, "I don't understand the frog language." + +"He speaks the same words that I do and in the same way," declared +Cayke. + +"Perhaps," replied the ferryman; "but to me his voice sounded like a +frog's croak. I know that in the Land of Oz animals can speak our +language, and so can the birds and bugs and fishes; but in _my_ ears +they sound merely like growls and chirps and croaks." + +"Why is that?" asked the Cookie Cook in surprise. + +"Once, many years ago, I cut the tail off a fox which had taunted me; +and I stole some birds' eggs from a nest to make an omelet with, and +also I pulled a fish from the river and left it lying on the bank to +gasp for lack of water until it died. I don't know why I did those +wicked things, but I did them. So the Emperor of the Winkies--who is the +Tin Woodman and has a very tender tin heart--punished me by denying me +any communication with beasts, birds or fishes. I cannot understand them +when they speak to me, although I know that other people can do so, nor +can the creatures understand a word I say to them. Every time I meet one +of them I am reminded of my former cruelty, and it makes me very +unhappy." + +"Really," said Cayke, "I'm sorry for you, although the Tin Woodman is +not to blame for punishing you." + +"What is he mumbling about?" asked the Frogman. + +[Illustration] + +"He is talking to me, but you don't understand him," she replied. And +then she told him of the ferryman's punishment and afterward explained +to the ferryman that they wanted to stay all night with him and be fed. + +He gave them some fruit and bread, which was the only sort of food he +had, and he allowed Cayke to sleep in a room of his cottage. But the +Frogman he refused to admit to his house, saying that the frog's +presence made him miserable and unhappy. At no time would he look +directly at the Frogman, or even toward him, fearing he would shed tears +if he did so; so the big frog slept on the river bank, where he could +hear little frogs croaking in the river all the night through. But that +did not keep him awake; it merely soothed him to slumber, for he +realized how much superior he was to them. + +Just as the sun was rising on a new day the ferryman rowed the two +travelers across the river--keeping his back to the Frogman all the +way--and then Cayke thanked him and bade him good-bye and the ferryman +rowed home again. + +On this side the river there were no paths at all, so it was evident +they had reached a part of the country little frequented by travelers. +There was a marsh at the south of them, sandhills at the north and a +growth of scrubby underbrush leading toward a forest at the east. So the +east was really the least difficult way to go and that direction was the +one they had determined to follow. + +Now the Frogman, although he wore green patent-leather shoes with ruby +buttons, had very large and flat feet, and when he tramped through the +scrub his weight crushed down the underbrush and made a path for Cayke +to follow him. Therefore they soon reached the forest, where the tall +trees were set far apart but were so leafy that they shaded all the +spaces between them with their branches. + +"There are no bushes here," said Cayke, much pleased, "so we can now +travel faster and with more comfort." + +[Illustration] + + + + +The Big Lavender Bear + +[Illustration] + +CHAPTER 15 + + +It was a pleasant place to wander in and the two travelers were +proceeding at a brisk pace when suddenly a voice shouted: + +"Halt!" + +They looked around in surprise, seeing at first no one at all. Then from +behind a tree there stepped a brown fuzzy bear, whose head came about as +high as Cayke's waist--and Cayke was a small woman. The bear was chubby +as well as fuzzy; his body was even puffy, while his legs and arms +seemed jointed at the knees and elbows and fastened to his body by pins +or rivets. His ears were round in shape and stuck out in a comical way, +while his round black eyes were bright and sparkling as beads. Over his +shoulder the little brown bear bore a gun with a tin barrel. The barrel +had a cork in the end of it and a string was attached to the cork and to +the handle of the gun. + +Both the Frogman and Cayke gazed hard at this curious bear, standing +silent for some time. But finally the Frogman recovered from his +surprise and remarked: + +"It seems to me that you are stuffed with sawdust and ought not to be +alive." + +"That's all you know about it," answered the little Brown Bear in a +squeaky voice. "I am stuffed with a very good quality of curled hair and +my skin is the best plush that was ever made. As for my being alive, +that is my own affair and cannot concern you at all--except that it +gives me the privilege to say you are my prisoners." + +"Prisoners! Why do you speak such nonsense?" asked the Frogman angrily. +"Do you think we are afraid of a toy bear with a toy gun?" + +"You ought to be," was the confident reply, "for I am merely the sentry +guarding the way to Bear Center, which is a city containing hundreds of +my race, who are ruled by a very powerful sorcerer known as the Lavender +Bear. He ought to be a purple color, you know, seeing he is a King, but +he's only light lavender, which is, of course, second-cousin to royal +purple. So, unless you come with me peaceably, as my prisoners, I shall +fire my gun and bring a hundred bears--of all sizes and colors--to +capture you." + +"Why do you wish to capture us?" inquired the Frogman, who had listened +to this speech with much astonishment. + +"I don't wish to, as a matter of fact," replied the little Brown Bear, +"but it is my duty to, because you are now trespassing on the domain of +His Majesty the King of Bear Center. Also I will admit that things are +rather quiet in our city, just now, and the excitement of your capture, +followed by your trial and execution, should afford us much +entertainment." + +"We defy you!" said the Frogman. + +"Oh, no; don't do that," pleaded Cayke, speaking to her companion. "He +says his King is a sorcerer, so perhaps it is he or one of his bears who +ventured to steal my jeweled dishpan. Let us go to the City of the Bears +and discover if my dishpan is there." + +"I must now register one more charge against you," remarked the little +Brown Bear, with evident satisfaction. "You have just accused us of +stealing, and that is such a dreadful thing to say that I am quite sure +our noble King will command you to be executed." + +"But how could you execute us?" inquired the Cookie Cook. + +"I've no idea. But our King is a wonderful inventor and there is no +doubt he can find a proper way to destroy you. So, tell me, are you +going to struggle, or will you go peaceably to meet your doom?" + +It was all so ridiculous that Cayke laughed aloud and even the Frogman's +wide mouth curled in a smile. Neither was a bit afraid to go to the Bear +City and it seemed to both that there was a possibility they might +discover the missing dishpan. So the Frogman said: + +"Lead the way, little Bear, and we will follow without a struggle." + +"That's very sensible of you; very sensible, indeed!" declared the Brown +Bear. "So--for-ward _march_!" and with the command he turned around and +began to waddle along a path that led between the trees. + +Cayke and the Frogman, as they followed their conductor, could scarce +forbear laughing at his stiff, awkward manner of walking and, although +he moved his stuffy legs fast, his steps were so short that they had to +go slowly in order not to run into him. But after a time they reached a +large, circular space in the center of the forest, which was clear of +any stumps or underbrush. The ground was covered by a soft gray moss, +pleasant to tread upon. All the trees surrounding this space seemed to +be hollow and had round holes in their trunks, set a little way above +the ground, but otherwise there was nothing unusual about the place and +nothing, in the opinion of the prisoners, to indicate a settlement. But +the little Brown Bear said in a proud and impressive voice (although it +still squeaked): + +"This is the wonderful city known to fame as Bear Center!" + +"But there are no houses; there are no bears living here at all!" +exclaimed Cayke. + +"Oh, indeed!" retorted their captor and raising his gun he pulled the +trigger. The cork flew out of the tin barrel with a loud "pop!" and at +once from every hole in every tree within view of the clearing appeared +the head of a bear. They were of many colors and of many sizes, but +all were made in the same manner as the bear who had met and captured +them. + +[Illustration] + +[Illustration] + +At first a chorus of growls arose and then a sharp voice cried: + +"What has happened, Corporal Waddle?" + +"Captives, Your Majesty!" answered the Brown Bear. "Intruders upon our +domain and slanderers of our good name." + +"Ah, that's important," answered the voice. + +Then from out the hollow trees tumbled a whole regiment of stuffed +bears, some carrying tin swords, some popguns and others long spears +with gay ribbons tied to the handles. There were hundreds of them, +altogether, and they quickly formed a circle around the Frogman and the +Cookie Cook but kept at a distance and left a large space for the +prisoners to stand in. + +Presently this circle parted and into the center of it stalked a huge +toy bear of a lovely lavender color. He walked upon his hind legs, as +did all the others, and on his head he wore a tin crown set with +diamonds and amethysts, while in one paw he carried a short wand of some +glittering metal that resembled silver but wasn't. + +"His Majesty the King!" shouted Corporal Waddle, and all the bears +bowed low. Some bowed so low that they lost their balance and toppled +over, but they soon scrambled up again and the Lavender King squatted on +his haunches before the prisoners and gazed at them steadily with his +bright pink eyes. + +[Illustration] + + + + +The Little Pink Bear + +[Illustration] + +CHAPTER 16 + + +"One Person and one Freak," said the big Lavender Bear, when he had +carefully examined the strangers. + +"I am sorry to hear you call poor Cayke the Cookie Cook a Freak," +remonstrated the Frogman. + +"She is the Person," asserted the King. "Unless I am mistaken, it is you +who are the Freak." + +The Frogman was silent, for he could not truthfully deny it. + +"Why have you dared intrude in my forest?" demanded the Bear King. + +"We didn't know it _was_ your forest," said Cayke, "and we are on our +way to the far east, where the Emerald City is." + +"Ah, it's a long way from here to the Emerald City," remarked the King. +"It is so far away, indeed, that no bear among us has ever been there. +But what errand requires you to travel such a distance?" + +"Someone has stolen my diamond-studded gold dishpan," explained Cayke; +"and, as I cannot be happy without it, I have decided to search the +world over until I find it again. The Frogman, who is very learned and +wonderfully wise, has come with me to give me his assistance. Isn't it +kind of him?" + +The King looked at the Frogman. + +"What makes you so wonderfully wise?" he asked. + +"I'm not," was the candid reply. "The Cookie Cook, and some others in +the Yip Country, think because I am a big frog and talk and act like a +man, that I must be very wise. I have learned more than a frog usually +knows, it is true, but I am not yet so wise as I hope to become at some +future time." + +The King nodded, and when he did so something squeaked in his chest. + +"Did Your Majesty speak?" asked Cayke. + +"Not just then," answered the Lavender Bear, seeming to be somewhat +embarrassed. "I am so built, you must know, that when anything pushes +against my chest, as my chin accidentally did just then, I make that +silly noise. In this city it isn't considered good manners to notice it. +But I like your Frogman. He is honest and truthful, which is more than +can be said of many others. As for your late lamented dishpan, I'll show +it to you." + +With this he waved three times the metal wand which he held in his paw +and instantly there appeared upon the ground, midway between the King +and Cayke, a big round pan made of beaten gold. Around the top edge was +a row of small diamonds; around the center of the pan was another row of +larger diamonds; and at the bottom was a row of exceedingly large and +brilliant diamonds. In fact, they all sparkled magnificently and the pan +was so big and broad that it took a lot of diamonds to go around it +three times. + +Cayke stared so hard that her eyes seemed about to pop out of her head. + +"O-o-o-oh!" she exclaimed, drawing a deep breath of delight. + +"Is this your dishpan?" inquired the King. + +[Illustration] + +"It is--it is!" cried the Cookie Cook, and rushing forward she fell on +her knees and threw her arms around the precious pan. But her arms came +together without meeting any resistance at all. Cayke tried to seize the +edge, but found nothing to grasp. The pan was surely there, she thought, +for she could see it plainly; but it was not solid; she could not feel +it at all. With a moan of astonishment and despair she raised her head +to look at the Bear King, who was watching her actions curiously. Then +she turned to the pan again, only to find it had completely disappeared. + +"Poor creature!" murmured the King pityingly. "You must have thought, +for the moment, that you had actually recovered your dishpan. But what +you saw was merely the image of it, conjured up by means of my magic. It +is a pretty dishpan, indeed, though rather big and awkward to handle. I +hope you will some day find it." + +Cayke was grievously disappointed. She began to cry, wiping her eyes on +her apron. The King turned to the throng of toy bears surrounding him +and asked: + +"Has any of you ever seen this golden dishpan before?" + +"No," they answered in a chorus. + +The King seemed to reflect. Presently he inquired: + +"Where is the Little Pink Bear?" + +"At home, Your Majesty," was the reply, "Fetch him here," commanded the +King. + +Several of the bears waddled over to one of the trees and pulled from +its hollow a tiny pink bear, smaller than any of the others. A big white +bear carried the pink one in his arms and set it down beside the King, +arranging the joints of its legs so that it would stand upright. + +This Pink Bear seemed lifeless until the King turned a crank which +protruded from its side, when the little creature turned its head +stiffly from side to side and said in a small shrill voice: + +"Hurrah for the King of Bear Center!" + +"Very good," said the big Lavender Bear; "he seems to be working very +well to-day. Tell me, my Pink Pinkerton, what has become of this lady's +jeweled dishpan?" + +"U--u--u," said the Pink Bear, and then stopped short. + +The King turned the crank again. + +"U-g-u the Shoemaker has it," said the Pink Bear. + +"Who is Ugu the Shoemaker?" demanded the King, again turning the crank. + +"A magician who lives on a mountain in a wickerwork castle," was the +reply. + +"Where is this mountain?" was the next question. + +"Nineteen miles and three furlongs from Bear Center to the northeast." + +"And is the dishpan still at the castle of Ugu the Shoemaker?" asked the +King. + +"It is." + +The King turned to Cayke. + +"You may rely on this information," said he. "The Pink Bear can tell us +anything we wish to know, and his words are always words of truth." + +"Is he alive?" asked the Frogman, much interested in the Pink Bear. + +"Something animates him--when you turn his crank," replied the King. "I +do not know if it is life, or what it is, or how it happens that the +Little Pink Bear can answer correctly every question put to him. We +discovered his talent a long time ago and whenever we wish to know +anything--which is not very often--we ask the Pink Bear. There is no +doubt whatever, madam, that Ugu the Magician has your dishpan, and if +you dare go to him you may be able to recover it. But of that I am not +certain." + +"Can't the Pink Bear tell?" asked Cayke anxiously. + +[Illustration] + +"No, for that is in the future. He can tell anything that _has_ +happened, but nothing that is going to happen. Don't ask me why, for I +don't know." + +"Well," said the Cookie Cook, after a little thought, "I mean to go to +this magician, anyhow, and tell him I want my dishpan. I wish I knew +what Ugu the Shoemaker is like." + +"Then I'll show him to you," promised the King. "But do not be +frightened; it won't be Ugu, remember, but only his image." + +With this he waved his metal wand again and in the circle suddenly +appeared a thin little man, very old and skinny, who was seated on a +wicker stool before a wicker table. On the table lay a Great Book with +gold clasps. The Book was open and the man was reading in it. He wore +great spectacles, which were fastened before his eyes by means of a +ribbon that passed around his head and was tied in a bow at the back. +His hair was very thin and white; his skin, which clung fast to his +bones, was brown and seared with furrows; he had a big, fat nose and +little eyes set close together. + +On no account was Ugu the Shoemaker a pleasant person to gaze at. As his +image appeared before them, all were silent and intent until Corporal +Waddle, the Brown Bear, became nervous and pulled the trigger of his +gun. Instantly the cork flew out of the tin barrel with a loud "pop!" +that made them all jump. And, at this sound, the image of the magician +vanished. + +"So! _that's_ the thief, is it?" said Cayke, in an angry voice. "I +should think he'd be ashamed of himself for stealing a poor woman's +diamond dishpan! But I mean to face him in his wicker castle and force +him to return my property." + +"To me," said the Bear King, reflectively, "he looked like a dangerous +person. I hope he won't be so unkind as to argue the matter with you." + +The Frogman was much disturbed by the vision of Ugu the Shoemaker, and +Cayke's determination to go to the magician filled her companion with +misgivings. But he would not break his pledged word to assist the Cookie +Cook and after breathing a deep sigh of resignation he asked the King: + +"Will Your Majesty lend us this Pink Bear who answers questions, that we +may take him with us on our journey? He would be very useful to us and +we will promise to bring him safely back to you." + +The King did not reply at once; he seemed to be thinking. + +[Illustration] + +"_Please_ let us take the Pink Bear," begged Cayke. "I'm sure he would +be a great help to us." + +"The Pink Bear," said the King, "is the best bit of magic I possess, and +there is not another like him in the world. I do not care to let him out +of my sight; nor do I wish to disappoint you; so I believe I will make +the journey in your company and carry my Pink Bear with me. He can walk, +when you wind the other side of him, but so slowly and awkwardly that he +would delay you. But if I go along I can carry him in my arms, so I will +join your party. Whenever you are ready to start, let me know." + +"But--Your Majesty!" exclaimed Corporal Waddle in protest, "I hope you +do not intend to let these prisoners escape without punishment." + +"Of what crime do you accuse them?" inquired the King. + +"Why, they trespassed on your domain, for one thing," said the Brown +Bear. + +"We didn't know it was private property, Your Majesty," said the Cookie +Cook. + +"And they asked if any of us had stolen the dishpan!" continued Corporal +Waddle indignantly. "That is the same thing as calling us thieves and +robbers, and bandits and brigands, is it not?" + +[Illustration] + +"Every person has the right to ask questions," said the Frogman. + +"But the Corporal is quite correct," declared the Lavender Bear. "I +condemn you both to death, the execution to take place ten years from +this hour." + +"But we belong in the Land of Oz, where no one ever dies," Cayke +reminded him. + +"Very true," said the King. "I condemn you to death merely as a matter +of form. It sounds quite terrible, and in ten years we shall have +forgotten all about it. Are you ready to start for the wicker castle of +Ugu the Shoemaker?" + +"Quite ready, Your Majesty." + +"But who will rule in your place, while you are gone?" asked a big +Yellow Bear. + +"I myself will rule while I am gone," was the reply. "A King isn't +required to stay at home forever, and if he takes a notion to travel, +whose business is it but his own? All I ask is that you bears behave +yourselves while I am away. If any of you is naughty, I'll send him to +some girl or boy in America to play with." + +This dreadful threat made all the toy bears look solemn. They assured +the King, in a chorus of growls, that they would be good. Then the big +Lavender Bear picked up the little Pink Bear and after tucking it +carefully under one arm he said "Good-bye till I come back!" and waddled +along the path that led through the forest. The Frogman and Cayke the +Cookie Cook also said good-bye to the bears and then followed after the +King, much to the regret of the little Brown Bear, who pulled the +trigger of his gun and popped the cork as a parting salute. + +[Illustration] + + + + +The Meeting + +[Illustration] + +CHAPTER 17 + + +While the Frogman and his party were advancing from the west, Dorothy +and her party were advancing from the east, and so it happened that on +the following night they all camped at a little hill that was only a few +miles from the wicker castle of Ugu the Shoemaker. But the two parties +did not see one another that night, for one camped on one side of the +hill while the other camped on the opposite side. But the next morning +the Frogman thought he would climb the hill and see what was on top of +it, and at the same time Scraps, the Patchwork Girl, also decided to +climb the hill to find if the wicker castle was visible from its top. So +she stuck her head over an edge just as the Frogman's head appeared over +another edge and both, being surprised, kept still while they took a +good look at one another. + +Scraps recovered from her astonishment first and bounding upward she +turned a somersault and landed sitting down and facing the big Frogman, +who slowly advanced and sat opposite her. + +"Well met, Stranger!" cried the Patchwork Girl, with a whoop of +laughter. "You are quite the funniest individual I have seen in all my +travels." + +"Do you suppose I can be any funnier than you?" asked the Frogman, +gazing at her in wonder. + +"I'm not funny to myself, you know," returned Scraps. "I wish I were. +And perhaps you are so used to your own absurd shape that you do not +laugh whenever you see your reflection in a pool, or in a mirror." + +"No," said the Frogman gravely, "I do not. I used to be proud of my +great size and vain of my culture and education, but since I bathed in +the Truth Pond I sometimes think it is not right that I should be +different from all other frogs." + +"Right or wrong," said the Patchwork Girl, "to be different is to be +distinguished. Now, in my case, I'm just like all other Patchwork Girls +because I'm the only one there is. But, tell me, where did you come +from?" + +"The Yip Country," said he. + +"Is that in the Land of Oz?" + +"Of course," replied the Frogman. + +"And do you know that your Ruler, Ozma of Oz, has been stolen?" + +"I was not aware that I had a Ruler, so of course I couldn't know that +she was stolen." + +"Well, you have. All the people of Oz," explained Scraps, "are ruled by +Ozma, whether they know it or not. And she has been stolen. Aren't you +angry? Aren't you indignant? Your Ruler, whom you didn't know you had, +has positively been stolen!" + +"That is queer," remarked the Frogman thoughtfully. "Stealing is a thing +practically unknown in Oz, yet this Ozma has been taken and a friend of +mine has also had her dishpan stolen. With her I have traveled all the +way from the Yip Country in order to recover it." + +[Illustration] + +"I don't see any connection between a Royal Ruler of Oz and a dishpan!" +declared Scraps. + +"They've both been stolen, haven't they?" + +"True. But why can't your friend wash her dishes in another dishpan?" +asked Scraps. + +"Why can't you use another Royal Ruler? I suppose you prefer the one who +is lost, and my friend wants her own dishpan, which is made of gold and +studded with diamonds and has magic powers." + +"Magic, eh?" exclaimed Scraps. "_There_ is a link that connects the two +steals, anyhow, for it seems that all the magic in the Land of Oz was +stolen at the same time, whether it was in the Emerald City or in +Glinda's castle or in the Yip Country. Seems mighty strange and +mysterious, doesn't it?" + +"It used to seem that way to us," admitted the Frogman, "but we have now +discovered who took our dishpan. It was Ugu the Shoemaker." + +"Ugu? Good gracious! That's the same magician we think has stolen Ozma. +We are now on our way to the castle of this Shoemaker." + +"So are we," said the Frogman. + +"Then follow me, quick! and let me introduce you to Dorothy and the +other girls and to the Wizard of Oz and all the rest of us." + +[Illustration] + +She sprang up and seized his coat-sleeve, dragging him off the hilltop +and down the other side from that whence he had come. And at the foot of +the hill the Frogman was astonished to find the three girls and the +Wizard and Button-Bright, who were surrounded by a wooden Sawhorse, a +lean Mule, a square Woozy and a Cowardly Lion. A little black dog ran up +and smelled at the Frogman, but couldn't growl at him. + +"I've discovered another party that has been robbed," shouted Scraps as +she joined them. "This is their leader and they're all going to Ugu's +castle to fight the wicked Shoemaker!" + +They regarded the Frogman with much curiosity and interest and, finding +all eyes fixed upon him, the newcomer arranged his necktie and smoothed +his beautiful vest and swung his gold-headed cane like a regular dandy. +The big spectacles over his eyes quite altered his froglike countenance +and gave him a learned and impressive look. Used as she was to seeing +strange creatures in the Land of Oz, Dorothy was amazed at discovering +the Frogman. So were all her companions. Toto wanted to growl at him, +but couldn't, and he didn't dare bark. The Sawhorse snorted rather +contemptuously, but the Lion whispered to the wooden steed: "Bear with +this strange creature, my friend, and remember he is no more +extraordinary than you are. Indeed, it is more natural for a frog to be +big than for a Sawhorse to be alive." + +On being questioned, the Frogman told them the whole story of the loss +of Cayke's highly prized dishpan and their adventures in search of it. +When he came to tell of the Lavender Bear King and of the Little Pink +Bear who could tell anything you wanted to know, his hearers became +eager to see such interesting animals. + +"It will be best," said the Wizard, "to unite our two parties and share +our fortunes together, for we are all bound on the same errand and as +one band we may more easily defy this shoemaker magician than if +separate. Let us be allies." + +"I will ask my friends about that," replied the Frogman, and climbed +over the hill to find Cayke and the toy bears. The Patchwork Girl +accompanied him and when they came upon the Cookie Cook and the Lavender +Bear and the Pink Bear it was hard to tell which of the lot was the most +surprised. + +"Mercy me!" cried Cayke, addressing the Patchwork Girl. "However did you +come alive?" + +Scraps stared at the bears. + +"Mercy me!" she echoed; "you are stuffed, as I am, with cotton, and yet +you appear to be living. That makes me feel ashamed, for I have prided +myself on being the only live cotton-stuffed person in Oz." + +"Perhaps you are," returned the Lavender Bear, "for I am stuffed with +extra-quality curled hair, and so is the Little Pink Bear." + +"You have relieved my mind of a great anxiety," declared the Patchwork +Girl, now speaking more cheerfully. "The Scarecrow is stuffed with +straw, and you with hair, so I am still the Original and Only +Cotton-Stuffed!" + +"I hope I am too polite to criticize cotton, as compared with curled +hair," said the King, "especially as you seem satisfied with it." + +Then the Frogman told of his interview with the party from the Emerald +City and added that the Wizard of Oz had invited the bears and Cayke and +himself to travel in company with them to the castle of Ugu the +Shoemaker. Cayke was much pleased, but the Bear King looked solemn. He +set the Little Pink Bear on his lap and turned the crank in its side and +asked: + +"Is it safe for us to associate with those people from the Emerald +City?" + +And the Pink Bear at once replied: + + "Safe for you and safe for me; + Perhaps no others safe will be." + +"That 'perhaps' need not worry us," said the King; "so let us join the +others and offer them our protection." + +Even the Lavender Bear was astonished, however, when on climbing over +the hill he found on the other side the group of queer animals and the +people from the Emerald City. The bears and Cayke were received very +cordially, although Button-Bright was cross when they wouldn't let him +play with the Little Pink Bear. The three girls greatly admired the toy +bears, and especially the pink one, which they longed to hold. + +"You see," explained the Lavender King, in denying them this privilege, +"he's a very valuable bear, because his magic is a correct guide on all +occasions, and especially if one is in difficulties. It was the Pink +Bear who told us that Ugu the Shoemaker had stolen the Cookie Cook's +dishpan." + +"And the King's magic is just as wonderful," added Cayke, "because it +showed us the Magician himself." + +"What did he look like?" inquired Dorothy. + +"He was dreadful!" + +"He was sitting at a table and examining an immense Book which had three +golden clasps," remarked the King. + +"Why, that must have been Glinda's Great Book of Records!" exclaimed +Dorothy. "If it is, it proves that Ugu the Shoemaker stole Ozma, and +with her all the magic in the Emerald City." + +"And my dishpan," said Cayke. And the Wizard added: + +"It also proves that he is following our adventures in the Book of +Records, and therefore knows that we are seeking him and that we are +determined to find him and rescue Ozma at all hazards." + +"If we can," added the Woozy, but everybody frowned at him. + +The Wizard's statement was so true that the faces around him were very +serious until the Patchwork Girl broke into a peal of laughter. + +"Wouldn't it be a rich joke if he made prisoners of _us_, too?" she +said. + +"No one but a crazy Patchwork Girl would consider _that_ a joke," +grumbled Button-Bright. And then the Lavender Bear King asked: + +"Would you like to see this magical shoemaker?" + +"Wouldn't he know it?" Dorothy inquired. + +[Illustration] + +[Illustration] + +"No, I think not." + +Then the King waved his metal wand and before them appeared a room in +the wicker castle of Ugu. On the wall of the room hung Ozma's Magic +Picture, and seated before it was the Magician. They could see the +Picture as well as he could, because it faced them, and in the Picture +was the hillside where they were now sitting, all their forms being +reproduced in miniature. And, curiously enough, within the scene of the +Picture was the scene they were now beholding, so they knew that the +Magician was at this moment watching them in the Picture, and also that +he saw himself and the room he was in become visible to the people on +the hillside. Therefore he knew very well that they were watching him +while he was watching them. + +In proof of this, Ugu sprang from his seat and turned a scowling face in +their direction; but now he could not see the travelers who were seeking +him, although they could still see him. His actions were so distinct, +indeed, that it seemed he was actually before them. + +"It is only a ghost," said the Bear King. "It isn't real at all, except +that it shows us Ugu just as he looks and tells us truly just what he is +doing." + +"I don't see anything of my lost growl, though," said Toto, as if to +himself. + +Then the vision faded away and they could see nothing but the grass and +trees and bushes around them. + +[Illustration] + + + + +The Conference + +[Illustration] + +CHAPTER 18 + + +"Now, then," said the Wizard, "let us talk this matter over and decide +what to do when we get to Ugu's wicker castle. There can be no doubt +that the Shoemaker is a powerful Magician, and his powers have been +increased a hundredfold since he secured the Great Book of Records, the +Magic Picture, all of Glinda's recipes for sorcery and my own black +bag--which was full of tools of wizardry. The man who could rob us of +those things, and the man with all their powers at his command, is one +who may prove somewhat difficult to conquer; therefore we should plan +our actions well before we venture too near to his castle." + +"I didn't see Ozma in the Magic Picture," said Trot. "What do you +suppose Ugu has done with her?" + +"Couldn't the Little Pink Bear tell us what he did with Ozma?" asked +Button-Bright. + +"To be sure," replied the Lavender King; "I'll ask him." + +So he turned the crank in the Little Pink Bear's side and inquired: + +"Did Ugu the Shoemaker steal Ozma of Oz?" + +"Yes," answered the Little Pink Bear. + +"Then what did he do with her?" asked the King. + +"Shut her up in a dark place," answered the Little Pink Bear. + +"Oh, that must be a dungeon cell!" cried Dorothy, horrified. "How +dreadful!" + +"Well, we must get her out of it," said the Wizard. "That is what we +came for and of course we must rescue Ozma. But--how?" + +Each one looked at some other one for an answer and all shook their +heads in a grave and dismal manner. All but Scraps, who danced around +them gleefully. + +"You're afraid," said the Patchwork Girl, "because so many things can +hurt your meat bodies. Why don't you give it up and go home? How can you +fight a great magician when you have nothing to fight with?" + +Dorothy looked at her reflectively. + +"Scraps," said she, "you know that Ugu couldn't hurt you, a bit, +whatever he did; nor could he hurt me, 'cause I wear the Nome King's +Magic Belt. S'pose just we two go on together, and leave the others here +to wait for us?" + +"No, no!" said the Wizard positively. "That won't do at all. Ozma is +more powerful than either of you, yet she could not defeat the wicked +Ugu, who has shut her up in a dungeon. We must go to the Shoemaker in +one mighty band, for only in union is there strength." + +"That is excellent advice," said the Lavender Bear, approvingly. + +"But what can we do, when we get to Ugu?" inquired the Cookie Cook +anxiously. + +"Do not expect a prompt answer to that important question," replied the +Wizard, "for we must first plan our line of conduct. Ugu knows, of +course, that we are after him, for he has seen our approach in the Magic +Picture, and he has read of all we have done up to the present moment in +the Great Book of Records. Therefore we cannot expect to take him by +surprise." + +"Don't you suppose Ugu would listen to reason?" asked Betsy. "If we +explained to him how wicked he has been, don't you think he'd let poor +Ozma go?" + +"And give me back my dishpan?" added the Cookie Cook eagerly. + +"Yes, yes; won't he say he's sorry and get on his knees and beg our +pardon?" cried Scraps, turning a flip-flop to show her scorn of the +suggestion. "When Ugu the Shoemaker does that, please knock at the front +door and let me know." + +The Wizard sighed and rubbed his bald head with a puzzled air. + +"I'm quite sure Ugu will not be polite to us," said he, "so we must +conquer this cruel magician by force, much as we dislike to be rude to +anyone. But none of you has yet suggested a way to do that. Couldn't the +Little Pink Bear tell us how?" he asked, turning to the Bear King. + +"No, for that is something that is _going_ to happen," replied the +Lavender Bear. "He can only tell us what already _has_ happened." + +Again they were grave and thoughtful. But after a time Betsy said in a +hesitating voice: + +"Hank is a great fighter; perhaps _he_ could conquer the magician." + +The Mule turned his head to look reproachfully at his old friend, the +young girl. + +"Who can fight against magic?" he asked. + +"The Cowardly Lion could," said Dorothy. + +The Lion, who was lying with his front legs spread out, his chin on his +paws, raised his shaggy head. + +"I can fight when I'm not afraid," said he calmly; "but the mere mention +of a fight sets me to trembling." + +"Ugu's magic couldn't hurt the Sawhorse," suggested tiny Trot. + +"And the Sawhorse couldn't hurt the Magician," declared that wooden +animal. + +"For my part," said Toto, "I am helpless, having lost my growl." + +"Then," said Cayke the Cookie Cook, "we must depend upon the Frogman. +His marvelous wisdom will surely inform him how to conquer the wicked +Magician and restore to me my dishpan." + +All eyes were now turned questioningly upon the Frogman. Finding himself +the center of observation, he swung his gold-headed cane, adjusted his +big spectacles and after swelling out his chest, sighed and said in a +modest tone of voice: + +"Respect for truth obliges me to confess that Cayke is mistaken in +regard to my superior wisdom. I am not very wise. Neither have I had any +practical experience in conquering magicians. But let us consider this +case. What is Ugu, and what is a magician? Ugu is a renegade shoemaker +and a magician is an ordinary man who, having learned how to do magical +tricks, considers himself above his fellows. In this case, the Shoemaker +has been naughty enough to steal a lot of magical tools and things that +did not belong to him, and it is more wicked to steal than to be a +magician. Yet, with all the arts at his command, Ugu is still a man, and +surely there are ways in which a man may be conquered. How, do you say, +how? Allow me to state that I don't know. In my judgment we cannot +decide how best to act until we get to Ugu's castle. So let us go to it +and take a look at it. After that we may discover an idea that will +guide us to victory." + +"That may not be a wise speech, but it sounds good," said Dorothy +approvingly. "Ugu the Shoemaker is not only a common man, but he's a +wicked man and a cruel man and deserves to be conquered. We mustn't have +any mercy on him till Ozma is set free. So let's go to his castle, as +the Frogman says, and see what the place looks like." + +No one offered an objection to this plan and so it was adopted. They +broke camp and were about to start on the journey to Ugu's castle when +they discovered that Button-Bright was lost again. The girls and the +Wizard shouted his name and the Lion roared and the Donkey brayed and +the Frogman croaked and the Big Lavender Bear growled (to the envy of +Toto, who couldn't growl but barked his loudest) yet none of them could +make Button-Bright hear. So, after vainly searching for the boy a full +hour, they formed a procession and proceeded in the direction of the +wicker castle of Ugu the Shoemaker. + +"Button-Bright's always getting lost," said Dorothy. "And, if he wasn't +always getting found again, I'd prob'ly worry. He may have gone ahead of +us, and he may have gone back; but, wherever he is, we'll find him +sometime and somewhere, I'm almost sure." + + + + +Ugu the Shoemaker + +[Illustration] + +CHAPTER 19 + + +A curious thing about Ugu the Shoemaker was that he didn't suspect, in +the least, that he was wicked. He wanted to be powerful and great and he +hoped to make himself master of all the Land of Oz, that he might compel +everyone in that fairy country to obey him. His ambition blinded him to +the rights of others and he imagined anyone else would act just as he +did if anyone else happened to be as clever as himself. + +When he inhabited his little shoemaking shop in the City of Herku he had +been discontented, for a shoemaker is not looked upon with high respect +and Ugu knew that his ancestors had been famous magicians for many +centuries past and therefore his family was above the ordinary. Even his +father practiced magic, when Ugu was a boy; but his father had wandered +away from Herku and had never come back again. So, when Ugu grew up, he +was forced to make shoes for a living, knowing nothing of the magic of +his forefathers. But one day, in searching through the attic of his +house, he discovered all the books of magical recipes and many magical +instruments which had formerly been in use in his family. From that day +he stopped making shoes and began to study magic. Finally he aspired to +become the greatest magician in Oz, and for days and weeks and months he +thought on a plan to render all the other sorcerers and wizards, as well +as those with fairy powers, helpless to oppose him. + +From the books of his ancestors he learned the following facts: + +(1) That Ozma of Oz was the fairy ruler of the Emerald City and the Land +of Oz, and that she could not be destroyed by any magic ever devised. +Also, by means of her Magic Picture she would be able to discover +anyone who approached her royal palace with the idea of conquering it. + +(2) That Glinda the Good was the most powerful Sorceress in Oz, among +her other magical possessions being the Great Book of Records, which +told her all that happened anywhere in the world. This Book of Records +was very dangerous to Ugu's plans and Glinda was in the service of Ozma +and would use her arts of sorcery to protect the girl Ruler. + +(3) That the Wizard of Oz, who lived in Ozma's palace, had been taught +much powerful magic by Glinda and had a bag of magic tools with which he +might be able to conquer the Shoemaker. + +(4) That there existed in Oz--in the Yip Country--a jeweled dishpan made +of gold, which dishpan possessed marvelous powers of magic. At a magic +word, which Ugu learned from the book, the dishpan would grow large +enough for a man to sit inside it. Then, when he grasped both the golden +handles, the dishpan would transport him in an instant to any place he +wished to go within the borders of the Land of Oz. + +No one now living, except Ugu, knew of the powers of this Magic Dishpan; +so, after long study, the shoemaker decided that if he could manage to +secure the dishpan he could, by its means, rob Ozma and Glinda and the +Wizard of Oz of all their magic, thus becoming himself the most powerful +person in all the land. + +His first act was to go away from the City of Herku and build for +himself the Wicker Castle in the hills. Here he carried his books and +instruments of magic and here for a full year he diligently practiced +all the magical arts learned from his ancestors. At the end of that time +he could do a good many wonderful things. + +Then, when all his preparations were made, he set out for the Yip +Country and climbing the steep mountain at night he entered the house of +Cayke the Cookie Cook and stole her diamond-studded gold dishpan while +all the Yips were asleep. Taking his prize outside, he set the pan upon +the ground and uttered the required magic word. Instantly the dishpan +grew as large as a big washtub and Ugu seated himself in it and grasped +the two handles. Then he wished himself in the great drawing-room of +Glinda the Good. + +He was there in a flash. First he took the Great Book of Records and put +it in the dishpan. Then he went to Glinda's laboratory and took all her +rare chemical compounds and her instruments of sorcery, placing these +also in the dishpan, which he caused to grow large enough to hold them. +Next he seated himself amongst the treasures he had stolen and wished +himself in the room in Ozma's palace which the Wizard occupied and where +he kept his bag of magic tools. This bag Ugu added to his plunder and +then wished himself in the apartments of Ozma. + +Here he first took the Magic Picture from the wall and then seized all +the other magical things which Ozma possessed. Having placed these in +the dishpan he was about to climb in himself when he looked up and saw +Ozma standing beside him. Her fairy instinct had warned her that danger +was threatening her, so the beautiful girl Ruler rose from her couch and +leaving her bedchamber at once confronted the thief. + +Ugu had to think quickly, for he realized that if he permitted Ozma to +rouse the inmates of her palace all his plans and his present successes +were likely to come to naught. So he threw a scarf over the girl's head, +so she could not scream, and pushed her into the dishpan and tied her +fast, so she could not move. Then he climbed in beside her and wished +himself in his own wicker castle. The Magic Dishpan was there in an +instant, with all its contents, and Ugu rubbed his hands together in +triumphant joy as he realized that he now possessed all the important +magic in the Land of Oz and could force all the inhabitants of that +fairyland to do as he willed. + +So quickly had his journey been accomplished that before daylight the +robber magician had locked Ozma in a room, making her a prisoner, and +had unpacked and arranged all his stolen goods. The next day he placed +the Book of Records on his table and hung the Magic Picture on his wall +and put away in his cupboards and drawers all the elixirs and magic +compounds he had stolen. The magical instruments he polished and +arranged, and this was fascinating work and made him very happy. The +only thing that bothered him was Ozma. By turns the imprisoned Ruler +wept and scolded the Shoemaker, haughtily threatening him with dire +punishment for the wicked deeds he had done. Ugu became somewhat afraid +of his fairy prisoner, in spite of the fact that he believed he had +robbed her of all her powers; so he performed an enchantment that +quickly disposed of her and placed her out of his sight and hearing. +After that, being occupied with other things, he soon forgot her. + +[Illustration] + +But now, when he looked into the Magic Picture and read the Great Book +of Records, the Shoemaker learned that his wickedness was not to go +unchallenged. Two important expeditions had set out to find him and +force him to give up his stolen property. One was the party headed by +the Wizard and Dorothy, while the other consisted of Cayke and the +Frogman. Others were also searching, but not in the right places. These +two groups, however, were headed straight for the wicker castle and so +Ugu began to plan how best to meet them and to defeat their efforts to +conquer him. + +[Illustration] + + + + +More Surprises + +[Illustration] + +CHAPTER 20 + + +All that first day after the union of the two parties our friends +marched steadily toward the wicker castle of Ugu the Shoemaker. When +night came they camped in a little grove and passed a pleasant evening +together, although some of them were worried because Button-Bright was +still lost. + +"Perhaps," said Toto, as the animals lay grouped together for the night, +"this Shoemaker who stole my growl, and who stole Ozma, has also stolen +Button-Bright." + +"How do you know that the Shoemaker stole your growl?" demanded the +Woozy. + +"He has stolen about everything else of value in Oz, hasn't he?" replied +the dog. + +"He has stolen everything he wants, perhaps," agreed the Lion; "but what +could anyone want with your growl?" + +"Well," said the dog, wagging his tail slowly, "my recollection is that +it was a wonderful growl, soft and low and--and--" + +"And ragged at the edges," said the Sawhorse. + +"So," continued Toto, "if that magician hadn't any growl of his own, he +might have wanted mine and stolen it." + +"And, if he has, he will soon wish he hadn't," remarked the Mule. "Also, +if he has stolen Button-Bright he will be sorry." + +"Don't you like Button-Bright, then?" asked the Lion in surprise. + +"It isn't a question of liking him," replied the Mule. "It's a question +of watching him and looking after him. Any boy who causes his friends so +much worry isn't worth having around. _I_ never get lost." + +"If you did," said Toto, "no one would worry a bit. I think +Button-Bright is a very lucky boy, because he always gets found." + +"See here," said the Lion, "this chatter is keeping us all awake and +to-morrow is likely to be a busy day. Go to sleep and forget your +quarrels." + +"Friend Lion," retorted the dog, "if I hadn't lost my growl you would +hear it now. I have as much right to talk as you have to sleep." + +The Lion sighed. + +"If only you had lost your voice, when you lost your growl," said he, +"you would be a more agreeable companion." + +But they quieted down, after that, and soon the entire camp was wrapped +in slumber. + +Next morning they made an early start but had hardly proceeded on their +way an hour when, on climbing a slight elevation, they beheld in the +distance a low mountain, on top of which stood Ugu's wicker castle. It +was a good-sized building and rather pretty because the sides, roofs and +domes were all of wicker closely woven, as it is in fine baskets. + +"I wonder if it is strong?" said Dorothy musingly, as she eyed the queer +castle. + +"I suppose it is, since a magician built it," answered the Wizard. +"With magic to protect it, even a paper castle might be as strong as if +made of stone. This Ugu must be a man of ideas, because he does things +in a different way from other people." + +"Yes; no one else would steal our dear Ozma," sighed tiny Trot. + +"I wonder if Ozma is there?" said Betsy, indicating the castle with a +nod of her head. + +"Where else could she be?" asked Scraps. + +"S'pose we ask the Pink Bear," suggested Dorothy. + +That seemed a good idea, so they halted the procession and the Bear King +held the little Pink Bear on his lap and turned the crank in its side +and asked: + +"Where is Ozma of Oz?" + +And the little Pink Bear answered: + +"She is in a hole in the ground, a half mile away, at your left." + +"Good gracious!" cried Dorothy. "Then she is not in Ugu's castle at +all." + +"It is lucky we asked that question," said the Wizard; "for, if we can +find Ozma and rescue her, there will be no need for us to fight that +wicked and dangerous magician." + +"Indeed!" said Cayke. "Then what about my dishpan?" + +The Wizard looked puzzled at her tone of remonstrance, so she added: + +"Didn't you people from the Emerald City promise that we would all stick +together, and that you would help me to get my dishpan if I would help +you to get your Ozma? And didn't I bring to you the little Pink Bear, +which has told you where Ozma is hidden?" + +"She's right," said Dorothy to the Wizard. "We must do as we agreed." + +"Well, first of all, let us go and rescue Ozma," proposed the Wizard. +"Then our beloved Ruler may be able to advise us how to conquer Ugu the +Shoemaker." + +So they turned to the left and marched for half a mile until they came +to a small but deep hole in the ground. At once all rushed to the brim +to peer into the hole, but instead of finding there Princess Ozma of Oz, +all that they saw was Button-Bright, who was lying asleep on the bottom. + +Their cries soon wakened the boy, who sat up and rubbed his eyes. When +he recognized his friends he smiled sweetly, saying: "Found again!" + +"Where is Ozma?" inquired Dorothy anxiously. + +"I don't know," answered Button-Bright from the depths of the hole. "I +got lost, yesterday, as you may remember, and in the night, while I was +wandering around in the moonlight, trying to find my way back to you, I +suddenly fell into this hole." + +"And wasn't Ozma in it then?" + +"There was no one in it but me, and I was sorry it wasn't entirely +empty. The sides are so steep I can't climb out, so there was nothing to +be done but sleep until someone found me. Thank you for coming. If +you'll please let down a rope I'll empty this hole in a hurry." + +"How strange!" said Dorothy, greatly disappointed. "It's evident the +Pink Bear didn't tell us the truth." + +"He never makes a mistake," declared the Lavender Bear King, in a tone +that showed his feelings were hurt. And then he turned the crank of the +little Pink Bear again and asked: "Is this the hole that Ozma of Oz is +in?" + +"Yes," answered the Pink Bear. + +"That settles it," said the King, positively. "Your Ozma is in this hole +in the ground." + +"Don't be silly," returned Dorothy impatiently. "Even your beady eyes +can see there is no one in the hole but Button-Bright." + +"Perhaps Button-Bright is Ozma," suggested the King. + +[Illustration] + +"And perhaps he isn't! Ozma is a girl, and Button-Bright is a boy." + +"Your Pink Bear must be out of order," said the Wizard; "for, this time +at least, his machinery has caused him to make an untrue statement." + +The Bear King was so angry at this remark that he turned away, holding +the Pink Bear in his paws, and refused to discuss the matter in any +further way. + +"At any rate," said the Frogman, "the Pink Bear has led us to your boy +friend and so enabled you to rescue him." + +Scraps was leaning so far over the hole, trying to find Ozma in it, that +suddenly she lost her balance and pitched in headforemost. She fell upon +Button-Bright and tumbled him over, but he was not hurt by her soft +stuffed body and only laughed at the mishap. The Wizard buckled some +straps together and let one end of them down into the hole, and soon +both Scraps and the boy had climbed up and were standing safely beside +the others. + +[Illustration] + +They looked once more for Ozma, but the hole was now absolutely vacant. +It was a round hole, so from the top they could plainly see every part +of it. Before they left the place Dorothy went to the Bear King and +said: + +"I'm sorry we couldn't believe what the little Pink Bear said, 'cause we +don't want to make you feel bad by doubting him. There must be a +mistake, somewhere, and we prob'ly don't understand just what the little +Pink Bear means. Will you let me ask him one more question?" + +The Lavender Bear King was a good-natured bear, considering how he was +made and stuffed and jointed, so he accepted Dorothy's apology and +turned the crank and allowed the little girl to question his wee Pink +Bear. + +"Is Ozma _really_ in this hole?" asked Dorothy. + +"No," said the little Pink Bear. + +This surprised everybody. Even the Bear King was now puzzled by the +contradictory statements of his oracle. + +"Where _is_ she?" asked the King. + +"Here, among you," answered the little Pink Bear. + +"Well," said Dorothy, "this beats me, entirely! I guess the little Pink +Bear has gone crazy." + +"Perhaps," called Scraps, who was rapidly turning "cart-wheels" all +around the perplexed group, "Ozma is invisible." + +"Of course!" cried Betsy. "That would account for it." + +"Well, I've noticed that people can speak, even when they've been made +invisible," said the Wizard. And then he looked all around him and said +in a solemn voice: "Ozma, are you here?" + +There was no reply. Dorothy asked the question, too, and so did +Button-Bright and Trot and Betsy; but none received any reply at all. + +"It's strange--it's terrible strange!" muttered Cayke the Cookie Cook. +"I was sure that the little Pink Bear always tells the truth." + +"I still believe in his honesty," said the Frogman, and this tribute so +pleased the Bear King that he gave these last speakers grateful looks, +but still gazed sourly on the others. + +"Come to think of it," remarked the Wizard, "Ozma couldn't be invisible, +for she is a fairy and fairies cannot be made invisible against their +will. Of course she could be imprisoned by the magician, or even +enchanted, or transformed, in spite of her fairy powers; but Ugu could +not render her invisible by any magic at his command." + +"I wonder if she's been transformed into Button-Bright?" said Dorothy +nervously. Then she looked steadily at the boy and asked: "Are you Ozma? +Tell me truly!" + +Button-Bright laughed. + +"You're getting rattled, Dorothy," he replied. "Nothing ever enchants +_me_. If I were Ozma, do you think I'd have tumbled into that hole?" + +"Anyhow," said the Wizard, "Ozma would never try to deceive her friends, +or prevent them from recognizing her, in whatever form she happened to +be. The puzzle is still a puzzle, so let us go on to the wicker castle +and question the magician himself. Since it was he who stole our Ozma, +Ugu is the one who must tell us where to find her." + +[Illustration] + + + + +Magic Against Magic + +[Illustration] + +CHAPTER 21 + + +The Wizard's advice was good, so again they started in the direction of +the low mountain on the crest of which the wicker castle had been built. +They had been gradually advancing up hill, so now the elevation seemed +to them more like a round knoll than a mountain-top. However, the sides +of the knoll were sloping and covered with green grass, so there was a +stiff climb before them yet. + +Undaunted, they plodded on and had almost reached the knoll when they +suddenly observed that it was surrounded by a circle of flame. At first +the flames barely rose above the ground, but presently they grew higher +and higher until a circle of flaming tongues of fire taller than any of +their heads quite surrounded the hill on which the wicker castle stood. +When they approached the flames the heat was so intense that it drove +them back again. + +"This will never do for me!" exclaimed the Patchwork Girl. "I catch fire +very easily." + +"It won't do for me, either," grumbled the Sawhorse, prancing to the +rear. + +"I also object strongly to fire," said the Bear King, following the +Sawhorse to a safe distance and hugging the little Pink Bear with his +paws. + +"I suppose the foolish Shoemaker imagines these blazes will stop us," +remarked the Wizard, with a smile of scorn for Ugu. "But I am able to +inform you that this is merely a simple magic trick which the robber +stole from Glinda the Good, and by good fortune I know how to destroy +these flames, as well as how to produce them. Will some one of you +kindly give me a match?" + +You may be sure the girls carried no matches, nor did the Frogman or +Cayke or any of the animals. But Button-Bright, after searching +carefully through his pockets, which contained all sorts of useful and +useless things, finally produced a match and handed it to the Wizard, +who tied it to the end of a branch which he tore from a small tree +growing near them. Then the little Wizard carefully lighted the match +and running forward thrust it into the nearest flame. Instantly the +circle of fire began to die away and soon vanished completely, leaving +the way clear for them to proceed. + +"That was funny!" laughed Button-Bright. + +"Yes," agreed the Wizard, "it seems odd that a little match could +destroy such a great circle of fire, but when Glinda invented this trick +she believed no one would ever think of a match being a remedy for fire. +I suppose even Ugu doesn't know how we managed to quench the flames of +his barrier, for only Glinda and I know the secret. Glinda's Book of +Magic, which Ugu stole, told how to make the flames, but not how to put +them out." + +They now formed in marching order and proceeded to advance up the slope +of the hill; but had not gone far when before them rose a wall of steel, +the surface of which was thickly covered with sharp, gleaming points +resembling daggers. The wall completely surrounded the wicker castle +and its sharp points prevented anyone from climbing it. Even the +Patchwork Girl might be ripped to pieces if she dared attempt it. + +[Illustration] + +"Ah!" exclaimed the Wizard cheerfully, "Ugu is now using one of my own +tricks against me. But this is more serious than the Barrier of Fire, +because the only way to destroy the wall is to get on the other side of +it." + +"How can that be done?" asked Dorothy. + +The Wizard looked thoughtfully around his little party and his face grew +troubled. + +"It's a pretty high wall," he sadly remarked. "I'm pretty sure the +Cowardly Lion could not leap over it." + +"I'm sure of that, too!" said the Lion with a shudder of fear. "If I +foolishly tried such a leap I would be caught on those dreadful spikes." + +"I think I could do it, sir," said the Frogman, with a bow to the +Wizard. "It is an up-hill jump, as well as being a high jump, but I'm +considered something of a jumper by my friends in the Yip Country and I +believe a good strong leap will carry me to the other side." + +"I'm sure it would," agreed the Cookie Cook. + +"Leaping, you know, is a froglike accomplishment," continued the +Frogman, modestly, "but please tell me what I am to do when I reach the +other side of the wall." + +"You're a brave creature," said the Wizard, admiringly. "Has anyone a +pin?" + +Betsy had one, which she gave him. + +"All you need do," said the Wizard to the Frogman, giving him the pin, +"is to stick this into the other side of the wall." + +"But the wall is of steel!" exclaimed the big frog. + +"I know; at least, it _seems_ to be steel; but do as I tell you. Stick +the pin into the wall and it will disappear." + +The Frogman took off his handsome coat and carefully folded it and laid +it on the grass. Then he removed his hat and laid it, together with his +gold-headed cane, beside the coat. He then went back a way and made +three powerful leaps, in rapid succession. The first two leaps took him +to the wall and the third leap carried him well over it, to the +amazement of all. For a short time he disappeared from their view, but +when he had obeyed the Wizard's injunction and had thrust the pin into +the wall, the huge barrier vanished and showed them the form of the +Frogman, who now went to where his coat lay and put it on again. + +"We thank you very much," said the delighted Wizard. "That was the most +wonderful leap I ever saw and it has saved us from defeat by our enemy. +Let us now hurry on to the castle before Ugu the Shoemaker thinks of +some other means to stop us." + +"We must have surprised him, so far," declared Dorothy. + +"Yes, indeed. The fellow knows a lot of magic--all of our tricks and +some of his own," replied the Wizard. "So, if he is half as clever as he +ought to be, we shall have trouble with him yet." + +He had scarcely spoken these words when out from the gates of the wicker +castle marched a regiment of soldiers, clad in gay uniforms and all +bearing long, pointed spears and sharp battle-axes. These soldiers were +girls, and the uniforms were short skirts of yellow and black satin, +golden shoes, bands of gold across their foreheads and necklaces of +glittering jewels. Their jackets were scarlet, braided with silver +cords. There were hundreds of these girl-soldiers, and they were more +terrible than beautiful, being strong and fierce in appearance. They +formed a circle all around the castle and faced outward, their spears +pointed toward the invaders and their battle-axes held over their +shoulders, ready to strike. + +Of course our friends halted at once, for they had not expected this +dreadful array of soldiery. The Wizard seemed puzzled and his companions +exchanged discouraged looks. + +"I'd no idea Ugu had such an army as that," said Dorothy. "The castle +doesn't look big enough to hold them all." + +"It isn't," declared the Wizard. + +"But they all marched out of it." + +"They seemed to; but I don't believe it is a real army at all. If Ugu +the Shoemaker had so many people living with him, I'm sure the Czarover +of Herku would have mentioned the fact to us." + +"They're only girls!" laughed Scraps. + +"Girls are the fiercest soldiers of all," declared the Frogman. "They +are more brave than men and they have better nerves. That is probably +why the magician uses them for soldiers and has sent them to oppose us." + +No one argued this statement, for all were staring hard at the line of +soldiers, which now, having taken a defiant position, remained +motionless. + +"Here is a trick of magic new to me," admitted the Wizard, after a time. +"I do not believe the army is real, but the spears may be sharp enough +to prick us, nevertheless, so we must be cautious. Let us take time to +consider how to meet this difficulty." + +[Illustration] + +While they were thinking it over Scraps danced closer to the line of +girl soldiers. Her button eyes sometimes saw more than did the natural +eyes of her comrades and so, after staring hard at the magician's army, +she boldly advanced and danced right through the threatening line! On +the other side she waved her stuffed arms and called out: + +"Come on, folks. The spears can't hurt you." + +"Ah!" said the Wizard, gayly, "an optical illusion, as I thought. Let us +all follow the Patchwork Girl." + +The three little girls were somewhat nervous in attempting to brave the +spears and battle-axes, but after the others had safely passed the line +they ventured to follow. And, when all had passed through the ranks of +the girl army, the army itself magically disappeared from view. + +All this time our friends had been getting farther up the hill and +nearer to the wicker castle. Now, continuing their advance, they +expected something else to oppose their way, but to their astonishment +nothing happened and presently they arrived at the wicker gates, which +stood wide open, and boldly entered the domain of Ugu the Shoemaker. + + + + +In the Wicker Castle + +[Illustration] + +CHAPTER 22 + + +No sooner were the Wizard of Oz and his followers well within the castle +entrance when the big gates swung to with a clang and heavy bars dropped +across them. They looked at one another uneasily, but no one cared to +speak of the incident. If they were indeed prisoners in the wicker +castle it was evident they must find a way to escape, but their first +duty was to attend to the errand on which they had come and seek the +Royal Ozma, whom they believed to be a prisoner of the magician, and +rescue her. + +They found they had entered a square courtyard, from which an entrance +led into the main building of the castle. No person had appeared to +greet them, so far, although a gaudy peacock, perched upon the wall, +cackled with laughter and said in its sharp, shrill voice: "Poor fools! +Poor fools!" + +"I hope the peacock is mistaken," remarked the Frogman, but no one else +paid any attention to the bird. They were a little awed by the stillness +and loneliness of the place. + +As they entered the doors of the castle, which stood invitingly open, +these also closed behind them and huge bolts shot into place. The +animals had all accompanied the party into the castle, because they felt +it would be dangerous for them to separate. They were forced to follow a +zigzag passage, turning this way and that, until finally they entered a +great central hall, circular in form and with a high dome from which was +suspended an enormous chandelier. + +The Wizard went first, and Dorothy, Betsy and Trot followed him, Toto +keeping at the heels of his little mistress. Then came the Lion, the +Woozy and the Sawhorse; then Cayke the Cookie Cook and Button-Bright; +then the Lavender Bear carrying the Pink Bear, and finally the Frogman +and the Patchwork Girl, with Hank the Mule tagging behind. So it was the +Wizard who caught the first glimpse of the big domed hall, but the +others quickly followed and gathered in a wondering group just within +the entrance. + +Upon a raised platform at one side was a heavy table on which lay +Glinda's Great Book of Records; but the platform was firmly fastened to +the floor and the table was fastened to the platform and the Book was +chained fast to the table--just as it had been when it was kept in +Glinda's palace. On the wall over the table hung Ozma's Magic Picture. +On a row of shelves at the opposite side of the hall stood all the +chemicals and essences of magic and all the magical instruments that had +been stolen from Glinda and Ozma and the Wizard, with glass doors +covering the shelves so that no one could get at them. + +And in a far corner sat Ugu the Shoemaker, his feet lazily extended, his +skinny hands clasped behind his head. He was leaning back at his ease +and calmly smoking a long pipe. Around the magician was a sort of cage, +seemingly made of golden bars set wide apart, and at his feet--also +within the cage--reposed the long-sought diamond-studded dishpan of +Cayke the Cookie Cook. + +Princess Ozma of Oz was nowhere to be seen. + +"Well, well," said Ugu, when the invaders had stood in silence for a +moment, staring about them, "this visit is an expected pleasure, I +assure you. I knew you were coming and I know why you are here. You are +not welcome, for I cannot use any of you to my advantage, but as you +have insisted on coming I hope you will make the afternoon call as brief +as possible. It won't take long to transact your business with me. You +will ask me for Ozma, and my reply will be that you may find her--if you +can." + +"Sir," answered the Wizard, in a tone of rebuke, "you are a very wicked +and cruel person. I suppose you imagine, because you have stolen this +poor woman's dishpan and all the best magic in Oz, that you are more +powerful than we are and will be able to triumph over us." + +"Yes," said Ugu the Shoemaker, slowly filling his pipe with fresh +tobacco from a silver bowl that stood beside him, "that is exactly what +I imagine. It will do you no good to demand from me the girl who was +formerly the Ruler of Oz, because I will not tell you where I have +hidden her--and you can't guess in a thousand years. Neither will I +restore to you any of the magic I have captured. I am not so foolish. +But bear this in mind: I mean to be the Ruler of Oz myself, hereafter, +so I advise you to be careful how you address your future Monarch." + +"Ozma is still Ruler of Oz, wherever you may have hidden her," declared +the Wizard. "And bear this in mind, miserable Shoemaker: We intend to +find her and to rescue her, in time, but our first duty and pleasure +will be to conquer you and then punish you for your misdeeds." + +"Very well; go ahead and conquer," said Ugu. "I'd really like to see how +you can do it." + +Now, although the little Wizard had spoken so boldly, he had at the +moment no idea how they might conquer the magician. He had that morning +given the Frogman, at his request, a dose of zosozo from his bottle, and +the Frogman had promised to fight a good fight if it was necessary; but +the Wizard knew that strength alone could not avail against magical +arts. The toy Bear King seemed to have some pretty good magic, however, +and the Wizard depended to an extent on that. But something ought to be +done right away, and the Wizard didn't know what it was. + +While he considered this perplexing question and the others stood +looking at him as their leader, a queer thing happened. The floor of the +great circular hall, on which they were standing, suddenly began to tip. +Instead of being flat and level it became a slant, and the slant grew +steeper and steeper until none of the party could manage to stand upon +it. Presently they all slid down to the wall, which was now under them, +and then it became evident that the whole vast room was slowly turning +upside down! Only Ugu the Shoemaker, kept in place by the bars of his +golden cage, remained in his former position, and the wicked magician +seemed to enjoy the surprise of his victims immensely. + +First, they all slid down to the wall back of them, but as the room +continued to turn over they next slid down the wall and found themselves +at the bottom of the great dome, bumping against the big chandelier +which, like everything else, was now upside-down. + +The turning movement now stopped and the room became stationary. Looking +far up, they saw Ugu suspended in his cage at the very top, which had +once been the floor. + +"Ah," said he, grinning down at them, "the way to conquer is to act, and +he who acts promptly is sure to win. This makes a very good prison, from +which I am sure you cannot escape. Please amuse yourselves in any way +you like, but I must beg you to excuse me, as I have business in another +part of my castle." + +[Illustration] + +Saying this, he opened a trap door in the floor of his cage (which was +now over his head) and climbed through it and disappeared from their +view. The diamond dishpan still remained in the cage, but the bars kept +it from falling down on their heads. + +"Well, I declare!" said the Patchwork Girl, seizing one of the bars of +the chandelier and swinging from it, "we must peg one for the Shoemaker, +for he has trapped us very cleverly." + +"Get off my foot, please," said the Lion to the Sawhorse. + +"And oblige me, Mr. Mule," remarked the Woozy, "by taking your tail out +of my left eye." + +"It's rather crowded down here," explained Dorothy, "because the dome is +rounding and we have all slid into the middle of it. But let us keep as +quiet as possible until we can think what's best to be done." + +"Dear, dear!" wailed Cayke; "I wish I had my darling dishpan," and she +held her arms longingly toward it. + +"I wish I had the magic on those shelves up there," sighed the Wizard. + +"Don't you s'pose we could get to it?" asked Trot anxiously. + +"We'd have to fly," laughed the Patchwork Girl. + +But the Wizard took the suggestion seriously, and so did the Frogman. +They talked it over and soon planned an attempt to reach the shelves +where the magical instruments were. First the Frogman lay against the +rounding dome and braced his foot on the stem of the chandelier; then +the Wizard climbed over him and lay on the dome with his feet on the +Frogman's shoulders; the Cookie Cook came next; then Button-Bright +climbed to the woman's shoulders; then Dorothy climbed up, and Betsy and +Trot, and finally the Patchwork Girl, and all their lengths made a long +line that reached far up the dome but not far enough for Scraps to touch +the shelves. + +"Wait a minute; perhaps I can reach the magic," called the Bear King, +and began scrambling up the bodies of the others. But when he came to +the Cookie Cook his soft paws tickled her side so that she squirmed and +upset the whole line. Down they came, tumbling in a heap against the +animals, and although no one was much hurt it was a bad mix-up and the +Frogman, who was at the bottom, almost lost his temper before he could +get on his feet again. + +Cayke positively refused to try what she called "the pyramid act" again, +and as the Wizard was now convinced they could not reach the magic tools +in that manner the attempt was abandoned. + +"But _something_ must be done," said the Wizard, and then he turned to +the Lavender Bear and asked: "Cannot Your Majesty's magic help us to +escape from here?" + +"My magic powers are limited," was the reply. "When I was stuffed, the +fairies stood by and slyly dropped some magic into my stuffing. +Therefore I can do any of the magic that's inside me, but nothing else. +You, however, are a wizard, and a wizard should be able to do anything." + +"Your Majesty forgets that my tools of magic have been stolen," said the +Wizard sadly, "and a wizard without tools is as helpless as a carpenter +without a hammer or saw." + +"Don't give up," pleaded Button-Bright, "'cause if we can't get out of +this queer prison we'll all starve to death." + +"Not I!" laughed the Patchwork Girl, now standing on top the chandelier, +at the place that was meant to be the bottom of it. + +"Don't talk of such dreadful things," said Trot, shuddering. "We came +here to capture the Shoemaker, didn't we?" + +[Illustration] + +"And here we are, captured ourselves, and my darling dishpan up there in +plain sight!" wailed the Cookie Cook, wiping her eyes on the tail of the +Frogman's coat. + +"Hush!" called the Lion, with a low, deep growl. "Give the Wizard time +to think." + +"He has plenty of time," said Scraps. "What he needs is the Scarecrow's +brains." + +After all, it was little Dorothy who came to their rescue, and her +ability to save them was almost as much a surprise to the girl as it was +to her friends. Dorothy had been secretly testing the powers of her +Magic Belt, which she had once captured from the Nome King, and +experimenting with it in various ways, ever since she had started on +this eventful journey. At different times she had stolen away from the +others of her party and in solitude had tried to find out what the Magic +Belt could do and what it could not do. There were a lot of things it +could not do, she discovered, but she learned some things about the Belt +which even her girl friends did not suspect she knew. + +[Illustration] + +For one thing, she had remembered that when the Nome King owned it the +Magic Belt used to perform transformations, and by thinking hard she had +finally recalled the way in which such transformations had been +accomplished. Better than this, however, was the discovery that the +Magic Belt would grant its wearer one wish a day. All she need do was +close her right eye and wiggle her left toe and then draw a long breath +and make her wish. Yesterday she had wished in secret for a box of +caramels, and instantly found the box beside her. To-day she had saved +her daily wish, in case she might need it in an emergency, and the time +had now come when she must use the wish to enable her to escape with her +friends from the prison in which Ugu had caught them. + +So, without telling anyone what she intended to do--for she had only +used the wish once and could not be certain how powerful the Magic Belt +might be--Dorothy closed her right eye and wiggled her left big toe and +drew a long breath and wished with all her might. The next moment the +room began to revolve again, as slowly as before, and by degrees they +all slid to the side wall and down the wall to the floor--all but +Scraps, who was so astonished that she still clung to the chandelier. +When the big hall was in its proper position again and the others stood +firmly upon the floor of it, they looked far up to the dome and saw the +Patchwork Girl swinging from the chandelier. + +"Good gracious!" cried Dorothy. "How ever will you get down?" + +"Won't the room keep turning?" asked Scraps. + +"I hope not. I believe it has stopped for good," said Princess Dorothy. + +"Then stand from under, so you won't get hurt!" shouted the Patchwork +Girl, and as soon as they had obeyed this request she let go the +chandelier and came tumbling down heels over head and twisting and +turning in a very exciting manner. Plump! she fell on the tiled floor +and they ran to her and rolled her and patted her into shape again. + +[Illustration] + + + + +The Defiance of Ugu the Shoemaker + +[Illustration] + +CHAPTER 23 + + +The delay caused by Scraps had prevented anyone from running to the +shelves to secure the magic instruments so badly needed. Even Cayke +neglected to get her diamond-studded dishpan because she was watching +the Patchwork Girl. And now the magician had opened his trap door and +appeared in his golden cage again, frowning angrily because his +prisoners had been able to turn their upside-down prison right-side-up. + +"Which of you has dared defy my magic?" he shouted in a terrible voice. + +"It was I," answered Dorothy calmly. + +"Then I shall destroy you, for you are only an Earth girl and no fairy," +he said, and began to mumble some magic words. + +Dorothy now realized that Ugu must be treated as an enemy, so she +advanced toward the corner in which he sat, saying as she went: + +"I am not afraid of you, Mr. Shoemaker, and I think you'll be sorry, +pretty soon, that you're such a bad man. You can't destroy me and I +won't destroy you, but I'm going to punish you for your wickedness." + +Ugu laughed a laugh that was not nice to hear, and then he waved his +hand. Dorothy was halfway across the room when suddenly a wall of glass +rose before her and stopped her progress. Through the glass she could +see the magician sneering at her because she was a weak little girl, and +this provoked her. Although the glass wall obliged her to halt she +instantly pressed both hands to her Magic Belt and cried in a loud +voice: + +"Ugu the Shoemaker, by the magic virtues of the Magic Belt, I command +you to become a dove!" + +The magician instantly realized he was being enchanted, for he could +feel his form changing. He struggled desperately against the +enchantment, mumbling magic words and making magic passes with his +hands. And in one way he succeeded in defeating Dorothy's purpose, for +while his form soon changed to that of a gray dove, the dove was of an +enormous size--bigger even than Ugu had been as a man--and this feat he +had been able to accomplish before his powers of magic wholly deserted +him. + +And the dove was not gentle, as doves usually are, for Ugu was terribly +enraged at the little girl's success. His books had told him nothing of +the Nome King's Magic Belt, the Country of the Nomes being outside the +Land of Oz. He knew, however, that he was likely to be conquered unless +he made a fierce fight, so he spread his wings and rose in the air and +flew directly toward Dorothy. The Wall of Glass had disappeared the +instant Ugu became transformed. + +Dorothy had meant to command the Belt to transform the magician into a +Dove of Peace, but in her excitement she forgot to say more than "dove," +and now Ugu was not a Dove of Peace by any means, but rather a spiteful +Dove of War. His size made his sharp beak and claws very dangerous, but +Dorothy was not afraid when he came darting toward her with his talons +outstretched and his sword-like beak open. + +[Illustration] + +She knew the Magic Belt would protect its wearer from harm. + +But the Frogman did not know that fact and became alarmed at the little +girl's seeming danger. So he gave a sudden leap and leaped full upon the +back of the great dove. + +Then began a desperate struggle. The dove was as strong as Ugu had been, +and in size it was considerably bigger than the Frogman. But the Frogman +had eaten the zosozo and it had made him fully as strong as Ugu the +Dove. At the first leap he bore the dove to the floor, but the giant +bird got free and began to bite and claw the Frogman, beating him down +with its great wings whenever he attempted to rise. The thick, tough +skin of the big frog was not easily damaged, but Dorothy feared for her +champion and by again using the transformation power of the Magic Belt +she made the dove grow small, until it was no larger than a canary bird. + +Ugu had not lost his knowledge of magic when he lost his shape as a man, +and he now realized it was hopeless to oppose the power of the Magic +Belt and knew that his only hope of escape lay in instant action. So he +quickly flew into the golden jeweled dishpan he had stolen from Cayke +the Cookie Cook and, as birds can talk as well as beasts or men in the +Fairyland of Oz, he muttered the magic word that was required and wished +himself in the Country of the Quadlings--which was as far away from the +wicker castle as he believed he could get. + +Our friends did not know, of course, what Ugu was about to do. They saw +the dishpan tremble an instant and then disappear, the dove disappearing +with it, and although they waited expectantly for some minutes for the +magician's return, Ugu did not come back again. + +"Seems to me," said the Wizard in a cheerful voice, "that we have +conquered the wicked magician more quickly than we expected to." + +"Don't say 'we'--Dorothy did it!" cried the Patchwork Girl, turning +three somersaults in succession and then walking around on her hands. +"Hurrah for Dorothy!" + +"I thought you said you did not know how to use the magic of the Nome +King's Belt," said the Wizard to Dorothy. + +"I didn't know, at that time," she replied, "but afterward I remembered +how the Nome King once used the Magic Belt to enchant people and +transform 'em into ornaments and all sorts of things; so I tried some +enchantments in secret and after awhile I transformed the Sawhorse into +a potato-masher and back again, and the Cowardly Lion into a pussycat +and back again, and then I knew the thing would work all right." + +"When did you perform those enchantments?" asked the Wizard, much +surprised. + +"One night when all the rest of you were asleep but Scraps, and she had +gone chasing moonbeams." + +"Well," remarked the Wizard, "your discovery has certainly saved us a +lot of trouble, and we must all thank the Frogman, too, for making such +a good fight. The dove's shape had Ugu's evil disposition inside it, and +that made the monster bird dangerous." + +The Frogman was looking sad because the bird's talons had torn his +pretty clothes, but he bowed with much dignity at this well-deserved +praise. Cayke, however, had squatted on the floor and was sobbing +bitterly. + +"My precious dishpan is gone!" she wailed. "Gone, just as I had found it +again!" + +"Never mind," said Trot, trying to comfort her, "it's sure to be +_some_where, so we'll cert'nly run across it some day." + +"Yes, indeed," added Betsy; "now that we have Ozma's Magic Picture, we +can tell just where the Dove went with your dishpan." + +They all approached the Magic Picture, and Dorothy wished it to show the +enchanted form of Ugu the Shoemaker, wherever it might be. At once there +appeared in the frame of the Picture a scene in the far Quadling +Country, where the Dove was perched disconsolately on the limb of a tree +and the jeweled dishpan lay on the ground just underneath the limb. + +"But where is the place--how far or how near?" asked Cayke anxiously. + +"The Book of Records will tell us that," answered the Wizard. So they +looked in the Great Book and read the following: + + "Ugu the Magician, being transformed into a dove by Princess + Dorothy of Oz, has used the magic of the golden dishpan to carry + him instantly to the northeast corner of the Quadling Country." + +"That's all right," said Dorothy. "Don't worry, Cayke, for the Scarecrow +and the Tin Woodman are in that part of the country, looking for Ozma, +and they'll surely find your dishpan." + +"Good gracious!" exclaimed Button-Bright, "we've forgot all about Ozma. +Let's find out where the magician hid her." + +Back to the Magic Picture they trooped, but when they wished to see +Ozma, wherever she might be hidden, only a round black spot appeared in +the center of the canvas. + +"I don't see how _that_ can be Ozma!" said Dorothy, much puzzled. + +"It seems to be the best the Magic Picture can do, however," said the +Wizard, no less surprised. "If it's an enchantment, it looks as if the +magician had transformed Ozma into a chunk of pitch." + +[Illustration] + + + + +The Little Pink Bear Speaks Truly + +[Illustration] + +CHAPTER 24 + + +For several minutes they all stood staring at the black spot on the +canvas of the Magic Picture, wondering what it could mean. + +"P'r'aps we'd better ask the little Pink Bear about Ozma," suggested +Trot. + +"Pshaw!" said Button-Bright, "_he_ don't know anything." + +"He never makes a mistake," declared the King. + +"He did once, surely," said Betsy. "But perhaps he wouldn't make a +mistake again." + +"He won't have the chance," grumbled the Bear King. + +"We might hear what he has to say," said Dorothy. "It won't do any harm +to ask the Pink Bear where Ozma is." + +"I will not have him questioned," declared the King, in a surly voice. +"I do not intend to allow my little Pink Bear to be again insulted by +your foolish doubts. He never makes a mistake." + +"Didn't he say Ozma was in that hole in the ground?" asked Betsy. + +"He did; and I am certain she was there," replied the Lavender Bear. + +Scraps laughed jeeringly and the others saw there was no use arguing +with the stubborn Bear King, who seemed to have absolute faith in his +Pink Bear. The Wizard, who knew that magical things can usually be +depended upon, and that the little Pink Bear was able to answer +questions by some remarkable power of magic, thought it wise to +apologize to the Lavender Bear for the unbelief of his friends, at the +same time urging the King to consent to question the Pink Bear once +more. Cayke and the Frogman also pleaded with the big Bear, who +finally agreed, although rather ungraciously, to put the little Bear's +wisdom to the test once more. So he sat the little one on his knee and +turned the crank and the Wizard himself asked the questions in a very +respectful tone of voice. + +[Illustration] + +"Where is Ozma?" was his first query. + +"Here, in this room," answered the little Pink Bear. + +They all looked around the room, but of course did not see her. + +"In what part of this room is she?" was the Wizard's next question. + +"In Button-Bright's pocket," said the little Pink Bear. + +This reply amazed them all, you may be sure, and although the three +girls smiled and Scraps yelled: "Hoo-ray!" in derision, the Wizard +seemed to consider the matter with grave thoughtfulness. + +"In which one of Button-Bright's pockets is Ozma?" he presently +inquired. + +"In the lefthand jacket-pocket," said the little Pink Bear. + +"The pink one has gone crazy!" exclaimed Button-Bright, staring hard at +the little bear on the big bear's knee. + +"I am not so sure of that," declared the Wizard. "If Ozma proves to be +really in your pocket, then the little Pink Bear spoke truly when he +said Ozma was in that hole in the ground. For at that time you were also +in the hole, and after we had pulled you out of it the little Pink Bear +said Ozma was not in the hole." + +"He never makes a mistake," asserted the Bear King, stoutly. + +"Empty that pocket, Button-Bright, and let's see what's in it," +requested Dorothy. + +So Button-Bright laid the contents of his left jacket-pocket on the +table. These proved to be a peg-top, a bunch of string, a small rubber +ball and a golden peach-pit. + +"What's this?" asked the Wizard, picking up the peach-pit and examining +it closely. + +"Oh," said the boy, "I saved that to show to the girls, and then forgot +all about it. It came out of a lonesome peach that I found in the +orchard back yonder, and which I ate while I was lost. It looks like +gold, and I never saw a peach-pit like it before." + +"Nor I," said the Wizard, "and that makes it seem suspicious." + +All heads were bent over the golden peach-pit. The Wizard turned it over +several times and then took out his pocket-knife and pried the pit +open. + +As the two halves fell apart a pink, cloud-like haze came pouring from +the golden peach-pit, almost filling the big room, and from the haze a +form took shape and settled beside them. Then, as the haze faded away, a +sweet voice said: "Thank you, my friends!" and there before them stood +their lovely girl Ruler, Ozma of Oz. + +With a cry of delight Dorothy rushed forward and embraced her. Scraps +turned gleeful flip-flops all around the room. Button-Bright gave a low +whistle of astonishment. The Frogman took off his tall hat and bowed low +before the beautiful girl who had been freed from her enchantment in so +startling a manner. + +For a time no sound was heard beyond the low murmur of delight that came +from the amazed group, but presently the growl of the big Lavender Bear +grew louder and he said in a tone of triumph: + +"He never makes a mistake!" + +[Illustration] + + + + +Ozma of Oz + +[Illustration] + +CHAPTER 25 + + +"It's funny," said Toto, standing before his friend the Lion and wagging +his tail, "but I've found my growl at last! I am positive, now, that it +was the cruel magician who stole it." + +"Let's hear your growl," requested the Lion. + +"Gr-r-r-r-r-r!" said Toto. + +"That is fine," declared the big beast. "It isn't as loud or as deep as +the growl of the big Lavender Bear, but it is a very respectable growl +for a small dog. Where did you find it, Toto?" + +"I was smelling in the corner, yonder," said Toto, "when suddenly a +mouse ran out--and I growled!" + +The others were all busy congratulating Ozma, who was very happy at +being released from the confinement of the golden peach-pit, where the +magician had placed her with the notion that she never could be found or +liberated. + +"And only to think," cried Dorothy, "that Button-Bright has been +carrying you in his pocket all this time, and we never knew it!" + +"The little Pink Bear told you," said the Bear King, "but you wouldn't +believe him." + +"Never mind, my dears," said Ozma graciously; "all is well that ends +well, and you couldn't be expected to know I was inside the peach-pit. +Indeed, I feared I would remain a captive much longer than I did, for +Ugu is a bold and clever magician and he had hidden me very securely." + +"You were in a fine peach," said Button-Bright; "the best I ever ate." + +"The magician was foolish to make the peach so tempting," remarked the +Wizard; "but Ozma would lend beauty to any transformation." + +"How did you manage to conquer Ugu the Shoemaker?" inquired the girl +Ruler of Oz. + +Dorothy started to tell the story and Trot helped her, and Button-Bright +wanted to relate it in his own way, and the Wizard tried to make it +clear to Ozma, and Betsy had to remind them of important things they +left out, and all together there was such a chatter that it was a wonder +that Ozma understood any of it. But she listened patiently, with a smile +on her lovely face at their eagerness, and presently had gleaned all the +details of their adventures. + +Ozma thanked the Frogman very earnestly for his assistance and she +advised Cayke the Cookie Cook to dry her weeping eyes, for she promised +to take her to the Emerald City and see that her cherished dishpan was +restored to her. Then the beautiful Ruler took a chain of emeralds from +around her own neck and placed it around the neck of the little Pink +Bear. + +"Your wise answers to the questions of my friends," said she, "helped +them to rescue me. Therefore I am deeply grateful to you and to your +noble King." + +The bead eyes of the little Pink Bear stared unresponsive to this praise +until the Big Lavender Bear turned the crank in its side, when it said +in its squeaky voice: + +"I thank Your Majesty." + +"For my part," returned the Bear King, "I realize that you were well +worth saving, Miss Ozma, and so I am much pleased that we could be of +service to you. By means of my Magic Wand I have been creating exact +images of your Emerald City and your Royal Palace, and I must confess +that they are more attractive than any places I have ever seen--not +excepting Bear Center." + +"I would like to entertain you in my palace," returned Ozma, sweetly, +"and you are welcome to return with me and to make me a long visit, if +your bear subjects can spare you from your own kingdom." + +"As for that," answered the King, "my kingdom causes me little worry, +and I often find it somewhat tame and uninteresting. Therefore I am in +no hurry to return to it and will be glad to accept your kind +invitation. Corporal Waddle may be trusted to care for my bears in my +absence." + +"And you'll bring the little Pink Bear?" asked Dorothy eagerly. + +"Of course, my dear; I would not willingly part with him." + +They remained in the wicker castle for three days, carefully packing all +the magical things that had been stolen by Ugu and also taking whatever +in the way of magic the shoemaker had inherited from his ancestors. + +"For," said Ozma, "I have forbidden any of my subjects except Glinda the +Good and the Wizard of Oz to practice magical arts, because they cannot +be trusted to do good and not harm. Therefore Ugu must never again be +permitted to work magic of any sort." + +"Well," remarked Dorothy cheerfully, "a dove can't do much in the way of +magic, anyhow, and I'm going to keep Ugu in the form of a dove until he +reforms and becomes a good and honest shoemaker." + +When everything was packed and loaded on the backs of the animals, they +set out for the river, taking a more direct route than that by which +Cayke and the Frogman had come. In this way they avoided the Cities of +Thi and Herku and Bear Center and after a pleasant journey reached the +Winkie River and found a jolly ferryman who had a fine big boat and was +willing to carry the entire party by water to a place quite near to the +Emerald City. + +The river had many windings and many branches, and the journey did not +end in a day, but finally the boat floated into a pretty lake which was +but a short distance from Ozma's home. Here the jolly ferryman was +rewarded for his labors and then the entire party set out in a grand +procession to march to the Emerald City. + +News that the Royal Ozma had been found spread quickly throughout the +neighborhood and both sides of the road soon became lined with loyal +subjects of the beautiful and beloved Ruler. Therefore Ozma's ears heard +little but cheers and her eyes beheld little else than waving +handkerchiefs and banners during all the triumphal march from the lake +to the city's gates. + +And there she met a still greater concourse, for all the inhabitants of +the Emerald City turned out to welcome her return and several bands +played gay music and all the houses were decorated with flags and +bunting and never before were the people so joyous and happy as at this +moment when they welcomed home their girl Ruler. For she had been lost +and was now found again, and surely that was cause for rejoicing. + +Glinda was at the royal palace to meet the returning party and the good +Sorceress was indeed glad to have her Great Book of Records returned to +her, as well as all the precious collection of magic instruments and +elixirs and chemicals that had been stolen from her castle. Cap'n Bill +and the Wizard at once hung the Magic Picture upon the wall of Ozma's +boudoir and the Wizard was so light-hearted that he did several tricks +with the tools in his black bag to amuse his companions and prove that +once again he was a powerful wizard. + +[Illustration] + +For a whole week there was feasting and merriment and all sorts of +joyous festivities at the palace, in honor of Ozma's safe return. The +Lavender Bear and the little Pink Bear received much attention and were +honored by all, much to the Bear King's satisfaction. The Frogman +speedily became a favorite at the Emerald City and the Shaggy Man and +Tik-Tok and Jack Pumpkinhead, who had now returned from their search, +were very polite to the big frog and made him feel quite at home. Even +the Cookie Cook, because she was a stranger and Ozma's guest, was shown +as much deference as if she had been a queen. + +"All the same, Your Majesty," said Cayke to Ozma, day after day, with +tiresome repetition, "I hope you will soon find my jeweled dishpan, for +never can I be quite happy without it." + + + + +Dorothy Forgives + +[Illustration] + +CHAPTER 26 + + +The gray dove which had once been Ugu the Shoemaker sat on its tree in +the far Quadling Country and moped, chirping dismally and brooding over +its misfortunes. After a time the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman came +along and sat beneath the tree, paying no heed to the mutterings of the +gray dove. + +The Tin Woodman took a small oilcan from his tin pocket and carefully +oiled his tin joints with it. While he was thus engaged the Scarecrow +remarked: + +"I feel much better, dear comrade, since we found that heap of nice +clean straw and you stuffed me anew with it." + +"And I feel much better now that my joints are oiled," returned the Tin +Woodman, with a sigh of pleasure. "You and I, friend Scarecrow, are much +more easily cared for than those clumsy meat people, who spend half +their time dressing in fine clothes and who must live in splendid +dwellings in order to be contented and happy. You and I do not eat, and +so we are spared the dreadful bother of getting three meals a day. Nor +do we waste half our lives in sleep, a condition that causes the meat +people to lose all consciousness and become as thoughtless and helpless +as logs of wood." + +"You speak truly," responded the Scarecrow, tucking some wisps of straw +into his breast with his padded fingers. "I often feel sorry for the +meat people, many of whom are my friends. Even the beasts are happier +than they, for they require less to make them content. And the birds are +the luckiest creatures of all, for they can fly swiftly where they will +and find a home at any place they care to perch; their food consists of +seeds and grains they gather from the fields and their drink is a sip +of water from some running brook. If I could not be a Scarecrow--or a +Tin Woodman--my next choice would be to live as a bird does." + +[Illustration] + +The gray dove had listened carefully to this speech and seemed to find +comfort in it, for it hushed its moaning. And just then the Tin Woodman +discovered Cayke's dishpan, which was on the ground quite near to him. + +"Here is a rather pretty utensil," he said, taking it in his tin hands +to examine it, "but I would not care to own it. Whoever fashioned it of +gold and covered it with diamonds did not add to its usefulness, nor do +I consider it as beautiful as the bright dishpans of tin one usually +sees. No yellow color is ever so handsome as the silver sheen of tin," +and he turned to look at his tin legs and body with approval. + +"I cannot quite agree with you there," replied the Scarecrow. "My straw +stuffing has a light yellow color, and it is not only pretty to look at +but it crunkles most delightfully when I move." + +"Let us admit that all colors are good in their proper places," said the +Tin Woodman, who was too kind-hearted to quarrel; "but you must agree +with me that a dishpan that is yellow is unnatural. What shall we do +with this one, which we have just found?" + +"Let us carry it back to the Emerald City," suggested the Scarecrow. +"Some of our friends might like to have it for a foot-bath, and in using +it that way its golden color and sparkling ornaments would not injure +its usefulness." + +So they went away and took the jeweled dishpan with them. And, after +wandering through the country for a day or so longer, they learned the +news that Ozma had been found. Therefore they straightway returned to +the Emerald City and presented the dishpan to Princess Ozma as a token +of their joy that she had been restored to them. + +Ozma promptly gave the diamond-studded gold dishpan to Cayke the Cookie +Cook, who was so delighted at regaining her lost treasure that she +danced up and down in glee and then threw her skinny arms around Ozma's +neck and kissed her gratefully. Cayke's mission was now successfully +accomplished, but she was having such a good time at the Emerald City +that she seemed in no hurry to go back to the Country of the Yips. + +It was several weeks after the dishpan had been restored to the Cookie +Cook when one day, as Dorothy was seated in the royal gardens with Trot +and Betsy beside her, a gray dove came flying down and alighted at the +girl's feet. + +"I am Ugu the Shoemaker," said the dove in a soft, mourning voice, "and +I have come to ask you to forgive me for the great wrong I did in +stealing Ozma and the magic that belonged to her and to others." + +"Are you sorry, then?" asked Dorothy, looking hard at the bird. + +"I am _very_ sorry," declared Ugu. "I've been thinking over my misdeeds +for a long time, for doves have little else to do but think, and I'm +surprised that I was such a wicked man and had so little regard for the +rights of others. I am now convinced that even had I succeeded in making +myself ruler of all Oz I should not have been happy, for many days of +quiet thought have shown me that only those things one acquires honestly +are able to render one content." + +"I guess that's so," said Trot. + +"Anyhow," said Betsy, "the bad man seems truly sorry, and if he has now +become a good and honest man we ought to forgive him." + +"I fear I cannot become a good _man_ again," said Ugu, "for the +transformation I am under will always keep me in the form of a dove. +But, with the kind forgiveness of my former enemies, I hope to become a +very good dove, and highly respected." + +"Wait here till I run for my Magic Belt," said Dorothy, "and I'll +transform you back to your reg'lar shape in a jiffy." + +"No--don't do that!" pleaded the dove, fluttering its wings in an +excited way. "I only want your forgiveness; I don't want to be a man +again. As Ugu the Shoemaker I was skinny and old and unlovely; as a dove +I am quite pretty to look at. As a man I was ambitious and cruel, while +as a dove I can be content with my lot and happy in my simple life. I +have learned to love the free and independent life of a bird and I'd +rather not change back." + +"Just as you like, Ugu," said Dorothy, resuming her seat. "Perhaps you +are right, for you're cert'nly a better dove than you were a man, and if +you should ever backslide, an' feel wicked again, you couldn't do much +harm as a gray dove." + +"Then you forgive me for all the trouble I caused you?" he asked +earnestly. + +"Of course; anyone who's sorry just _has_ to be forgiven." + +"Thank you," said the gray dove, and flew away again. + +[Illustration] + + + +***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LOST PRINCESS OF OZ*** + + +******* This file should be named 24459.txt or 24459.zip ******* + + +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: +https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/2/4/4/5/24459 + + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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