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+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 56555 ***
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+                       THE MAGICAL MIMICS IN OZ
+
+                BY JACK SNOW, FOUNDED ON AND CONTINUING
+                THE FAMOUS OZ STORIES BY L. FRANK BAUM
+
+                      ILLUSTRATED BY FRANK KRAMER
+
+
+                         THE REILLY & LEE CO.
+                                CHICAGO
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+                       THE MAGICAL MIMICS IN OZ
+
+                            COPYRIGHT 1946
+                                  BY
+                         THE REILLY & LEE CO.
+
+                              PRINTED IN
+                                  THE
+                               U. S. A.
+
+   [Transcriber's Note: Extensive research did not uncover any
+  evidence that the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+TO THE CHILDREN
+
+
+As long as I can remember, I have been reading Oz books, and now I am
+very proud and happy to have been permitted to write a book about the
+latest happenings in the Land of Oz.
+
+Mr. Kramer has made many delightful illustrations for this book, and I
+know you will enjoy the fun and life that he has so skillfully put into
+his pictures.
+
+As for the Magical Mimics, I think you will agree with me that these
+surprising creatures made things pretty exciting for our Oz friends
+while they were in the Emerald City. Nevertheless, now that the Mimics
+are powerless, I am inclined to forgive them; since, had it not been
+for them, Dorothy and the Wizard would not have discovered winsome
+little Ozana and her Story Blossom Garden.
+
+I hope this story pleases you and that you will write me many
+letters--all of which I promise to answer as soon as possible. I am
+sure that your suggestions and ideas will be of great help to me in
+writing future Oz books, and I am looking forward with much pleasure to
+receiving them.
+
+JACK SNOW.
+January 10, 1946.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+                      _This Book Is Dedicated to_
+                              _My Mother_
+                          _Roselyn Hyde Snow_
+
+
+"_... to please a child is a sweet and lovely thing that warms one's
+heart and brings its own reward._"
+
+                                          --L. FRANK BAUM.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+        LIST OF CHAPTERS
+
+
+        1. Toto Carries a Message
+
+        2. Ozma and Glinda Go Away
+
+        3. Mount Illuso
+
+        4. The Mimics Mean Mischief
+
+        5. Prisoners of the Mimics
+
+        6. Dorothy and the Wizard Speak Strangely
+
+        7. In the Cavern of the Doomed
+
+        8. Toto Makes a Discovery
+
+        9. Mr. and Mrs. Hi-Lo
+
+       10. The Village of Pineville
+
+       11. Princess Ozana
+
+       12. Story Blossom Garden
+
+       13. The Three Swans
+
+       14. The Mimic Monarchs Lock Themselves In
+
+       15. In the Chamber of Magic
+
+       16. A Web Is Woven
+
+       17. The Mimics in the Emerald City
+
+       18. The Return of Ozma and Glinda
+
+       19. Ozana's Fairy Arts
+
+       20. In the Mirrored Ballroom
+
+       21. The Shattering of the Mirrors
+
+       22. What the Magic Picture Revealed
+
+       23. The Grand Banquet
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER 1
+
+Toto Carries a Message
+
+
+"Toto," called Princess Ozma of Oz, as a small black dog trotted down
+the corridor past the open door of her study in the Royal Palace of the
+Emerald City, "Toto, will you do me a favor?"
+
+"Certainly," answered the little dog, his bright eyes regarding the
+Princess questioningly. "What can I do for your Majesty?"
+
+Ozma smiled. "I wonder if you would go to Dorothy's rooms and ask her
+to join me here as soon as possible."
+
+"That'll be easy, Ozma," said Toto, "I was just on my way to see
+Dorothy. It's time for our morning romp in the garden."
+
+"Well," laughed Ozma, "I shall keep Dorothy for only a few minutes,
+then she can join you in the garden for your play."
+
+"Thank you, Ozma," replied Toto as he turned and trotted down the
+corridor leading to Dorothy's suite of rooms.
+
+As the little dog disappeared, the smile slowly faded from Ozma's face,
+and the lovely little ruler of the world's most beautiful fairyland
+looked unusually serious.
+
+The truth was that Ozma was thinking of events that had happened many
+years before in the history of the Land of Oz. Not always had Oz been
+a fairy realm. In those olden times Oz had been nothing more than a
+remarkably beautiful country of rolling plains, wooded hills and rich
+farm lands. Indeed, Oz had not been so much different from our own
+United States, except that it was surrounded on all sides by a Deadly
+Desert. It was this desert which prevented curious men from the great
+outside world from finding their way to Oz. For the fumes and gasses
+that rose from the shifting sands of the desert were deadly poison
+to all living things, and for a human to have set foot on the desert
+would have meant instant and terrible death. Consequently, all living
+things avoided the Deadly Desert, and it is no wonder that Oz was so
+entirely secluded and went unnoticed by the rest of the world for so
+many long years.
+
+Meanwhile, the Oz people were happy and contented, living their simple
+carefree lives without worries or troubles. The soil of Oz was fertile
+and the people naturally industrious, so there was always an abundance
+of everything for everyone. Hence destructive and terrible wars were
+unknown in Oz even in the olden days.
+
+One fine day Queen Lurline, Ruler of all the fairies in the world,
+chanced to be flying over the Land of Oz with her fairy band. She was
+greatly impressed with the beauty of the hidden country. The Fairy
+Queen paused, flying in wide circles over the peaceful land. Here was
+a country so entirely beautiful and charming that it deserved to be a
+fairy realm.
+
+Queen Lurline sought out the King of this favored land and found him
+to be an old man with no son or daughter to whom he could pass on his
+crown. With great joy the old King accepted the tiny, baby fairy whom
+Queen Lurline placed in his care. When the baby fairy attained her full
+age of girlhood (no fairy ever appears to be older than a young girl of
+fourteen or fifteen) she was to be crowned Princess Ozma of Oz.
+
+From the time of Lurline's visit, Oz became a fairyland, abounding in
+enchantments and strange happenings. Indeed, several of the inhabitants
+of Oz fell to studying the magic arts and became witches and magicians,
+very nearly preventing Ozma from becoming the rightful ruler of the
+fairyland.
+
+Ozma was fully aware that she was a member of Queen Lurline's fairy
+band, and she was justly proud of her immortal heritage. She knew, too,
+that she owed allegiance to the powerful Fairy Queen, and that was the
+reason she appeared so thoughtful this morning as she awaited Princess
+Dorothy.
+
+Ozma's reverie was broken by a gentle rap on the open door. Looking up,
+she saw Dorothy standing in the doorway.
+
+"Come in, my dear," said Ozma, "there is something I must discuss with
+you."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER 2
+
+Ozma and Glinda Go Away
+
+
+"What is it, Ozma?" Dorothy asked, as she sat down beside her friend.
+
+"Dorothy," Ozma began, thoughtfully, "you have heard me tell the story
+of how the good Queen Lurline left me here as a baby to become the
+Ruler of the Land of Oz."
+
+"Of course, Ozma, and how you were stolen by old Mombi, the witch,
+and--"
+
+"Yes," interrupted Ozma, smiling, "all that is true, but the important
+fact is that now the day has arrived when I must answer the summons of
+the great Fairy Queen. You see," continued the girlish ruler seriously,
+"every 200 years all the members of Queen Lurline's fairy band gather
+for a Grand Council in the beautiful Forest of Burzee which lies just
+across the Deadly Desert to the South of Oz."
+
+"Isn't that the forest where Santa Claus was found as an infant and
+adopted by the Forest Nymph?" asked Dorothy eagerly.
+
+"Yes," replied Ozma, "Burzee is indeed a famous forest. For untold
+centuries its cool groves have been the meeting place of Queen Lurline
+and her subjects. They gather to discuss and plan the work they will do
+during the next two centuries.
+
+"In the old days," Ozma's voice was musing and thoughtful as she
+continued, "when mankind was simpler and gentler of nature, it was
+easier for the fairies to do their good works and to aid the helpless
+humans. But today few humans believe in fairies."
+
+"The children do," Dorothy suggested.
+
+"Yes," said Ozma, "but unfortunately as the children grow older and
+become men and women, they forget all they ever knew about fairies. I
+wish," she added wistfully, "that the men and women of the world would
+keep a bit of their childhood with them. They would find it a valuable
+thing."
+
+"When will you be going, Ozma?" Dorothy asked softly.
+
+"Tomorrow morning," Ozma replied. "And so important is this meeting
+that I have asked Glinda the Good to accompany me, although she is not
+a member of Queen Lurline's fairy band."
+
+"Ozma," said Dorothy seriously, her chin cupped in her hand, "there
+is one thing I have often wondered about. What did Queen Lurline do
+_after_ she left you here to become the Ruler of Oz?"
+
+"There is a story," Ozma began with a far-away look in her eyes, "that
+after she made Oz a fairyland, Queen Lurline flew away to the Land of
+the Phanfasms, that strange realm lying southeast of Oz, across the
+Deadly Desert and bordering the Kingdom of the Nomes."
+
+"I remember the Phanfasms," Dorothy nodded. "They are the wicked
+creatures who came with the Nome King through his tunnel under the
+Deadly Desert to conquer Oz."
+
+"Yes, and thanks to the wisdom of our famous Scarecrow, we were able to
+render them harmless," Ozma recalled with a smile.
+
+"Did Queen Lurline go to see the Phanfasms after she left Oz?" asked
+Dorothy.
+
+"No," replied Ozma. "It seems that instead of going to Mount
+Phantastico, where the Phanfasms dwell, Queen Lurline flew to the
+second of the twin peaks--to Mount Illuso, home of the dread Mimics."
+
+"I don't remember hearing about the Mimics before. Just who are they,
+Ozma," asked Dorothy with interest.
+
+"Not a great deal is known about them," replied Ozma seriously, "and
+what we do know is so unpleasant that the Mimics are avoided as a
+subject of conversation. They are not humans, nor are they immortals.
+Like the Phanfasms, to whom they are closely related, they belong
+to the ancient race of Erbs--creatures who inhabited the Earth long
+before the coming of mankind. Both the Mimics and the Phanfasms hate
+all humans and immortals, for they feel that mankind, aided by the
+immortals, has stolen the world from them."
+
+"They don't sound very nice to me," said Dorothy with a shudder. "Why
+did Queen Lurline go to see such dreadful creatures?"
+
+Ozma's voice was grave as she answered. "Queen Lurline knew that the
+Mimics bitterly hated all that was good and happy and just in the
+world. The wise Queen fully realized that now that Oz was so beautiful
+and favored and its people so happy and contented a fairy folk, the
+Mimics would lose no time in seeking to bring unhappiness to Oz. It was
+to prevent this, that Queen Lurline paid her visit to Mount Illuso."
+
+"And did she succeed?" asked Dorothy.
+
+"Yes, my dear," replied Ozma. "Queen Lurline placed a fairy spell on
+the Mimics to make it impossible for them to attack the inhabitants
+of Oz. But let's not discuss the unpleasant Mimics any further," Ozma
+concluded. "Thanks to good Queen Lurline we don't even have to think
+about the creatures. Let us return to our conversation about you."
+
+"About me?" asked Dorothy.
+
+"Yes," replied Ozma. "Can't you guess why I asked you to see me this
+particular morning?"
+
+"Why, to tell me about the trip you and Glinda are planning," said
+Dorothy.
+
+"And something more, too," continued Ozma. "Who do you think will
+rule the Emerald City and the Land of Oz, while both Glinda and I are
+absent?"
+
+"I suppose either the Little Wizard or the Scarecrow," ventured
+Dorothy, remembering that in the past both the Wizard and the
+Scarecrow had ruled the Land of Oz.
+
+"No," replied Ozma calmly. "You, Dorothy, will be the ruler of the
+Emerald City and the Land of Oz in my absence."
+
+"I?" cried Dorothy. "Oh, Ozma, I'm only a little girl! I don't know the
+first thing about ruling!"
+
+"You are a Princess of Oz," stated Ozma with dignity. "I shall appoint
+the Wizard as your Counselor and Advisor. With his wisdom and your
+honesty of heart and sweetness of nature, I am confident the Land of
+Oz will be well ruled."
+
+Dorothy was silent, considering.
+
+"Come, my dear," said Ozma with a smile. "I shall be gone only three
+short days. I am sure once you have become accustomed to the idea, you
+will enjoy the novel experience of being a real ruler, so do not worry."
+
+Rising from the divan, Ozma concluded: "I must go now to inform the
+Courtiers and Lords and Ladies of my journey. I will instruct them in
+the regular affairs of state to be carried on in my absence, so that
+you will not be annoyed with these routine matters."
+
+Ozma kissed Dorothy on the cheek and the two girls left the room arm in
+arm, parting a few minutes later as Ozma went about making preparations
+for her journey. Dorothy joined Toto who was waiting patiently for her
+in the lovely gardens of the Royal Palace.
+
+The little dog quickly noticed that his mistress was not nearly so
+carefree in her play as usual, but seemed more serious and thoughtful.
+He wondered if this had anything to do with her conversation with Ozma,
+but since Dorothy didn't mention the subject to him and seemed to be so
+busy with her own thoughts, Toto, being a wise little dog, refrained
+from troubling her with questions.
+
+Dorothy had a long talk with the Wizard later in the day. The little
+man pointed out that Dorothy's duties as a ruler would be very slight,
+so well-governed was Oz and so well-behaved were the Oz people.
+Nevertheless, Dorothy was greatly cheered and relieved when the Wizard
+promised to help her, should any problem arise that she found troubling.
+
+Ozma's time was so entirely taken up with affairs of state and the many
+preparations for her absence from her beloved country, that Dorothy saw
+nothing of the girlish ruler during the remainder of the day.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The morning of Ozma and Glinda's departure dawned bright and clear,
+with the sunlight shining brilliantly on the beautiful city of Emeralds.
+
+Breakfast had been over for several hours when Glinda the Good
+Sorceress arrived from her castle far to the South in the Quadling
+Country of the Land of Oz. Glinda and Ozma went immediately to the
+Royal Throne Room where the famous Oz personages waited to witness
+their departure.
+
+At exactly 10 o'clock Princess Ozma seated herself in her Emerald
+Throne, while the stately Glinda stood at her right. Before them was
+as strange and impressive an assemblage of Nobles, Courtiers and old
+friends as ever gathered together in any fairy realm.
+
+Among those present were: the famous Scarecrow of Oz with his highly
+polished companion, Nick Chopper, the nickel-plated Tin Woodman;
+comical Jack Pumpkinhead astride the wooden Sawhorse who was Ozma's
+personal steed and earliest companion; Scraps, the jolly Patchwork
+Girl; sweet little Trot and her faithful sailor friend, grizzled old
+Cap'n Bill; Betsy Bobbin and her mule, Hank; the cheerful Shaggy
+Man looking shaggier than ever; the Highly Magnified and Thoroughly
+Educated Woggle Bug wearing his wisest expression for this important
+occasion; the stately Cowardly Lion who was one of Dorothy's oldest
+friends and his companion the Hungry Tiger who longed to devour fat
+babies but never did because his conscience wouldn't permit him to;
+that strange creature the Woozy whose eyes flashed real fire when he
+became angry; Button Bright, the boy from Philadelphia who had been
+Dorothy's companion on several wonderful adventures; Ojo the Lucky
+and his Unc Nunkie; Dorothy's beloved Aunt Em and Uncle Henry, and of
+course the Little Wizard, and many, many others.
+
+Ozma stood before her throne and raised her hand. Immediately silence
+settled over the assemblage in the vast Throne Room.
+
+"As you all know," the Princess said, "Glinda and I are about to attend
+an important Fairy Conference in the distant Forest of Burzee. We shall
+be gone from Oz for a period of three days. During that time, Princess
+Dorothy will be your sovereign and ruler."
+
+Ozma removed her dainty fairy wand from the folds of her gown and
+lifted it into the air. For a moment she smiled on all, then, with a
+graceful wave of the wand and before the onlookers realized what was
+happening, both she and Glinda had vanished.
+
+But Dorothy knew that even at that moment Queen Lurline was greeting
+the lovely Ozma and the stately Glinda in the depths of the enchanted
+Forest of Burzee.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER 3
+
+Mount Illuso
+
+
+On that far away day those many years ago, when Queen Lurline had left
+the baby Ozma to become the ruler of Oz, Queen Lurline did not pause,
+for she knew the most important part of her work was still to be done.
+If the Land of Oz was to be the happy fairyland she hoped it would be,
+she must protect it from the evil of the Mimics.
+
+With this thought in mind, the good Queen left Oz and flew straight to
+the bleak land of the Phanfasms. Signalling to one of her Fairy Maidens
+to accompany her, Queen Lurline flew down to grim Mount Illuso, home of
+the dread Mimics.
+
+Pausing at the entrance to the great hollow mountain Queen Lurline
+bade her fairy companion await her return. Then, taking the precaution
+to make herself invisible to the eyes of the Mimics, the Fairy Queen
+stepped into the enchanted Mountain.
+
+The sight that met her eyes caused even the good Queen Lurline to chill
+and falter momentarily on the rocky ledge on which she stood. Above
+her rose the vast, cavernous walls of the hollow mountain. Spread out
+below were the corridors burrowed into the rock by the Mimics. In dark
+caverns deep below these corridors the monsters made their homes.
+
+All of this scene was lighted by flaming torches set at intervals in
+the walls of the cavern. The torches flared deep red, casting lurid,
+flickering shadows and adding to the weird unreality of the scene.
+
+As Queen Lurline gazed, the Mimics were moving through the rough-hewn
+corridors or flying through the air. The most unusual thing about
+the creatures was their strange habit of constantly changing their
+shapes. They shifted restlessly from one form to another. Since they
+were creatures of evil, the shapes they assumed were all forms of the
+blackest evil and dread.
+
+Even as Queen Lurline watched, fascinated by the strange spectacle,
+the Mimics shifted and changed and flitted from one loathsome shape to
+another. A monster bird with leathery wings and a horned head dropped
+to the ground, and in another second assumed the squat body of a huge
+toad with the head of a hyena, snarling with laughter. A crawling red
+lizard, all of ten feet in length, turned into a giant butterfly with
+black wings and the body of a serpent. A great, green bat with wicked
+talons alighted on a ledge not far from Queen Lurline and in an
+instant changed to a mammoth, hairy creature with the body of a huge
+ape and the head of an alligator.
+
+The good Queen shuddered in spite of herself. What she had seen had
+only served to strengthen her resolution to protect the Oz people for
+all time against the Mimics. Immediately she began weaving a powerful
+incantation. In a few minutes the enchantment was completed. Queen
+Lurline breathed a sigh of relief, for she knew that the Mimics were
+now powerless to harm any of the fairy inhabitants of the Land of Oz.
+
+Queen Lurline was well aware that the Mimics' strange habit of changing
+their shapes was the least of their evil characteristics. Much more
+dreadful was the power possessed by these creatures to _steal_ the
+shapes of both mortals and immortals. A Mimic accomplished this simply
+by casting himself on the shadow of his victim. Instantly the Mimic
+arose, a perfect double in outward appearance of the person whose
+shadow he had stolen. As for the unfortunate victim, he fell into a
+spell of enchantment, unable to move or speak, but conscious of all
+that was taking place about him.
+
+No wonder Queen Lurline sighed with relief when she thought that her
+powerful magic had made the Oz people secure against the dread evil of
+the Mimics!
+
+Queen Lurline slipped from the cavern through the stone portal of Mount
+Illuso. For a moment she paused, breathing deeply and gratefully of the
+fresh air. But she must not tarry now. She still had other important
+work to do here. When she returned to her fairy companion, Queen
+Lurline gave her brief instructions concerning the important part she
+was to play at Mount Illuso in the coming years. Then they both spread
+their fairy wings and flew straight to the very summit of the hollow
+mount.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER 4
+
+The Mimics Mean Mischief
+
+
+On the same morning that Ozma and Glinda left the Land of Oz for the
+Forest of Burzee, events of equal importance were happening in Mount
+Illuso, home of the Mimics.
+
+The Mimics were ruled over by two sovereigns--King Umb and Queen Ra.
+It is a question which was the more wicked and dangerous of this pair.
+King Umb was bold and brutal, while his wife, Queen Ra, was clever and
+cunning. Together they made a fitting combination to rule so wicked a
+horde as the Mimics.
+
+On this particular morning King Umb and Queen Ra secluded themselves
+in a hidden cavern, deep in the underground caves that honeycombed
+the depths of hollow Mount Illuso. Roughly hewn from the grey rock,
+this cavern was circular in shape and was filled with ancient books
+and strange and weird implements of sorcery and enchantment. King Umb
+possessed little skill in magic arts, but Queen Ra was powerful in the
+practice of conjuring and evil incantation.
+
+After the visit of Queen Lurline to Mount Illuso and the casting of
+the powerful enchantment that prevented King Umb and Queen Ra from
+leading their Mimic subjects in the destruction of Oz, Queen Ra had
+at first raged and fumed and wildly vowed vengeance on Queen Lurline
+and Princess Ozma. Then, as the years passed by, the evil Queen spent
+more and more time lurking in the secret cavern, studying the ancient
+sorcery of the Erbs, employing her black arts to follow events in the
+history of Oz and plotting the destruction of the fairyland.
+
+Of course the Mimic King and Queen were free to lead their hordes in
+attacks on people of other lands, and you may wonder why they didn't
+forget all about Oz and content themselves with bringing misery to
+other countries. The reason was that the wicked King and Queen of
+the Mimics despised all that was good, and they could not endure
+the thought of the Oz people living in peace and contentment, safe
+from their evil-doing. So long as the Oz inhabitants remained the
+happiest people in all the world, King Umb and Queen Ra could derive no
+satisfaction in bringing misery to other less happy lands.
+
+Queen Ra was well aware that Princess Ozma was one of the most powerful
+fairy rulers in existence, and that her loyal friend, Glinda the
+Good, was the mightiest and wisest of all sorceresses. Nevertheless,
+through her own dark magic, Queen Ra had recently made two important
+discoveries that raised her hopes so high that she believed she might
+be able soon to defy both Ozma and Glinda.
+
+First, she had discovered that Ozma and Glinda were about to depart on
+a journey that would take them away from the Land of Oz. Second, she
+had learned that in one of Ozma's books of magic records in the Royal
+Palace of the Emerald City was written the charm that would break the
+spell Queen Lurline had cast on the Mimics to protect Oz!
+
+This morning Queen Ra had assumed the shape of a huge woman--almost
+a giantess--with the head of a grey wolf. King Umb wore the form of
+a black bear with an owl head. The Queen held in her hands a circlet
+of dully gleaming metal. The red eyes of her wolf head gazed at it
+steadily, while she muttered an incantation. As the wolf-headed woman
+spoke, a wisp of grey mist appeared in the center of the metal ring.
+The mist expanded into a ball, growing denser in appearance. Next it
+became milky in hue, then opalescent, finally glowing as with an inner
+light. Slowly a scene appeared in the metal-bound ball of shimmering
+opal mist. While King Umb and Queen Ra watched, the Throne Room of the
+Royal Palace in the Emerald City grew distinct in the milky depths of
+the captive ball. Princess Ozma stood by her throne with Glinda the
+Good at her side. The lips of the little ruler were moving, forming
+words, although the Mimic Monarchs could distinguish no sound. Ozma
+was addressing her subjects. Then the girl Ruler smiled and raised
+her wand. In an instant both Ozma and Glinda had vanished. The ball
+of glowing mist disappeared. With a clatter Queen Ra threw the metal
+circlet to the stone floor of the cave and triumphantly faced the
+owl-headed bear.
+
+"They have gone!" she cried.
+
+"You are positive that now is the time for us to act?" asked King Umb.
+
+"Absolutely," said the wolf-headed woman. "We know that one of Ozma's
+magic record books holds the secret of the enchantment cast on us.
+We know that Ozma and Glinda will be absent from Oz for three days,
+leaving the country and the Emerald City unprotected by their magic
+arts. We know that those people who have in recent years come from
+the great outside world to live in Oz, were not inhabitants of Oz
+when Lurline made it a fairyland. Thus they are not protected by the
+enchantment she cast on us. It will be simple for us to assume the
+shapes of these people--of course they are mere mortals--" the Queen
+added with a sneer, "but even so they will serve our purpose."
+
+"You have a plan then?" asked the owl-headed King.
+
+"A plan that will result in the utter destruction of Oz and the
+enslavement of the Oz people," asserted the Queen with grim relish.
+
+"Listen!" the wolf-headed woman commanded. "Tonight you and I, with
+Styg and Ebo, will fly swiftly across the Deadly Desert to the Land of
+Oz. We will go directly to the Emerald City. There we will seek out
+the two mortals from the great outside world whose shapes will admit
+us to every part of the Royal Palace. My magic arts have told me that
+at a certain hour tomorrow morning these two mortals will be together
+with no one else about to witness or interfere with our deed. After we
+have stolen their shapes, the helpless mortals will be seized by Styg
+and Ebo and returned here, where they will be our prisoners. Then we
+will be free to search through Ozma's magic record books. As soon as
+we locate the magical antidote to Lurline's enchantment, we will break
+the spell binding our subjects. By the time Ozma and Glinda return,
+Oz will be overrun by Mimics, and we shall be ready to give their
+royal highnesses a proper reception!" Queen Ra smiled wickedly as she
+finished this recital.
+
+The owl eyes of King Umb had been regarding Queen Ra intently as she
+revealed her plan. When she had finished, an evil leer spread over the
+King's furry features.
+
+"Ra," said King Umb, "you are the most wicked Queen who ever ruled the
+Mimics!"
+
+And that, by Mimic standards, was the highest compliment King Umb could
+pay his Queen.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Several hours after midnight, King Umb and Queen Ra, followed by the
+two Mimics, Styg and Ebo, slipped outside the entrance of the hollow
+mountain. Immediately all four assumed the shapes of giant birds, black
+of plumage and with powerful wings. During the creatures' long flight
+over the Deadly Desert to Oz, they changed shapes a number of times,
+but always to another form of powerful bird.
+
+As they mounted into the air and soared through the dark night over the
+peak of Mount Illuso, King Umb cast a backward glance toward the summit
+of the mountain.
+
+"What about the Guardian?" he asked Queen Ra uneasily.
+
+"Bah!" the giant bird that was Queen Ra croaked derisively. "Who cares
+about her? Let her go on dreaming over her foolish flowers and sticks
+of wood--that's all she has done all these years!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER 5
+
+Prisoners of the Mimics
+
+
+High in the top of the tallest tower of the Royal Palace was the
+Wizard's apartment. In this secluded spot, the little man kept his
+magical tools and apparatus and could work undisturbed for long hours
+over difficult feats of magic.
+
+The morning after Ozma and Glinda had left, Dorothy had climbed the
+stair to the Wizard's quarters, and she and the Wizard were deep in a
+discussion of matters of state.
+
+Two sides of the room they occupied were composed of tall French
+windows, rising from the floor to the ceiling and opening onto a
+spacious veranda. The windows were flung wide open to admit the
+refreshing breeze and the welcome sunlight.
+
+Suddenly the air was filled with the flutter of powerful wings, and
+four large, black-plumed birds, settled on the veranda and stepped into
+the room.
+
+Glancing up in surprise at this sudden interruption, the Wizard
+exclaimed with annoyance, "Here, what's the meaning of this intrusion?"
+
+(Since all birds and animals in the Land of Oz possess the power of
+human speech, the Wizard naturally addressed the birds as he would
+have spoken to human beings.)
+
+But the birds made no reply. Instead, two of them stepped swiftly
+toward Dorothy and the Wizard, who had risen in surprise and were
+standing beside their chairs. The two birds flung themselves on the
+shadows cast by the girl and the man. Instantly the birds vanished, and
+Dorothy and the Wizard found themselves staring in amazement at exact
+duplicates of themselves!
+
+Sensing that he was confronted by some sort of evil magic, the Wizard
+made an effort to reach his black bag of magic tools which rested on
+a nearby table, but it was too late. Caught in the Mimic spell, the
+little man was powerless to move. Dorothy's plight was the same; she
+could not so much as lift her little finger.
+
+All this had happened in much less time than I have taken to tell it,
+and it was so sudden and unexpected that our friends had not even had
+time to cry out.
+
+Now the Mimic form of Dorothy, speaking in Dorothy's own voice, said
+to the two remaining birds, "Seize them, Ebo and Styg, and see that my
+commands are fulfilled!"
+
+One black bird grasped the form of the helpless Wizard, the other that
+of Dorothy. Then, flapping their powerful wings, the two birds passed
+through the windows and soared aloft, bearing their captives high into
+the heavens.
+
+Swiftly they left the Emerald City. In a few minutes it was no more
+than a lovely jewel set in the farmlands around it. The birds headed
+southeast in the direction of the Deadly Desert.
+
+At times in their flight, when the captives were able to exchange
+glances, Dorothy read in the Wizard's kindly eyes a mute expression of
+concern for his little comrade. The girl tried to reassure him, but
+it was difficult to look brave when she was unable to move even an
+eyelash--and besides, Dorothy had to admit to herself, she didn't feel
+at all brave just now.
+
+In another minute when Dorothy was gazing at the bird that was carrying
+her so swiftly through the air, she was startled to see the form of
+the creature shift and change. From a huge, eagle-like bird it changed
+to an enormous condor. Strange birds these were, Dorothy thought, which
+went about changing their shapes and stealing little girls and Wizards.
+
+As they flew over the yellow land of the Winkies, the motion of the
+bird's body occasionally permitted Dorothy to look downward. Once she
+glimpsed, sparkling in the sunlight, the highly polished towers and
+minarets of a handsome tin castle. This, she knew, was the home of
+her old friend Nick Chopper the Tin Woodman, Emperor of the Winkies.
+Dorothy found herself wondering what the kind-hearted Nick Chopper
+would say if he could know that at this moment his dear friends were
+being carried high in the air over his castle, prisoners of two giant
+black birds! But there was no use speculating in this fashion. The Tin
+Woodman was powerless to aid them, even if he had known their plight.
+
+With a start Dorothy realized that the birds had crossed the border
+of Oz and were now flying over the Deadly Desert. The fact that they
+had left the Land of Oz behind them disturbed Dorothy greatly. Yet the
+little girl did not give way to fright. She had experienced so many
+strange and sometimes dangerous adventures in her lifetime, that she
+had wisely learned never to despair.
+
+The journey over the desert seemed endless. Despite the great height at
+which the birds flew, Dorothy was beginning to feel faint and ill from
+the evil fumes of the sands by the time they reached the border of the
+Land of the Phanfasms. However, once past the desert, she was revived
+by the fresh air.
+
+Where were these great birds taking them? And why? As Dorothy pondered,
+she noted a sharp mountain peak jutting suddenly out of the grey, grim
+land of desolate waste and stone that lay below. Straight for the
+mountain flew the birds. In a few more minutes they descended with
+their victims to the entrance of the mountain. Passing through the
+stone portal, the Mimics retained their bird shapes, circling through
+the vast cavern of the hollow mountain. The cavern and corridors
+were deserted now that the sun was in the heavens, and the Mimics
+had returned to their underground caverns to rest after the night of
+revelry.
+
+Styg and Ebo flew to a ledge of rock that jutted out from the mountain
+wall. Ebo muttered a magic word, and a rude stone door swung open,
+revealing a lightless cavern. Dorothy was thrust into the cave, and
+a moment later the Wizard was deposited beside her in the darkness.
+Until now Dorothy had entertained a vague hope that in some way the
+Wizard's magic powers would come to their rescue. But since the little
+man had none of his magic tools with him, and could not speak to utter
+an incantation, nor move to make the motions of a charm, Dorothy
+realized that he was quite as powerless as she.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER 6
+
+Dorothy and the Wizard Speak Strangely
+
+
+"OOOMPH!" puffed the Scarecrow.
+
+"Whooosh!" gasped the Patchwork Girl.
+
+Colliding suddenly as they met headlong at a sharp turn in the garden
+path, both the Scarecrow and the Patchwork Girl tumbled in a heap on
+the garden walk.
+
+A moment later they had risen to sitting positions and were regarding
+each other comically.
+
+The Patchwork Girl was a sorry sight. The high-grade cotton in her
+patchwork or "crazy quilt" body was bunched together in all the wrong
+places. After running and dancing a great deal that morning--as she
+always did--the Patchwork Girl's body had sagged and she had grown
+dumpy in appearance. When this happened she always lay down and rolled
+about until she had resumed her original plump shape. Now after her
+abrupt meeting with the Scarecrow her figure was in bad need of
+attention. The pointed toes of the red leather shoes sewn on her feet
+stood straight up. Her fingers, carefully formed and fitted with gold
+plates for finger nails, dug into the path on which she sat. Her shock
+of brown yarn hair hung down over her suspender button eyes and over
+her ears, which were made of thin plates of gold. Between the two rows
+of pearls sewn in her mouth for teeth, her scarlet plush tongue stuck
+out impudently at the Scarecrow.
+
+The Patchwork Girl's brains were slightly mixed, containing among other
+qualities a dash of poesy, which accounted for her habit of breaking
+into rhymes and jingles when it was least expected. Now she was too
+surprised to speak. She had been brought to life in the first place
+by a magic powder, and since she was always jolly and good-natured,
+the Patchwork Girl was a prime favorite among the Oz folks. Nicknamed
+Scraps, the queer girl laughed at dignity and liked nothing better
+than to dance and sing. It was impossible to be downcast for long in
+the company of this merry, carefree creature.
+
+"Why don't you look where you're going, Scraps?" said the Scarecrow
+ruefully, as he brushed his blue Munchkin farmer trousers.
+
+"Now that you mention it," replied the Patchwork Girl reprovingly, "I
+don't have X-ray eyes, so I couldn't see through to the other side of
+the hedge where I was going."
+
+"All right," said the Scarecrow, as he rose to his feet. "Please accept
+my humble apologies." The straw man gallantly assisted the Patchwork
+Girl to stand. "There's no harm done. The spill was as much my fault as
+it was yours. I was thinking so deeply that I didn't see you."
+
+"What were you thinking about?" asked Scraps.
+
+"Dorothy," replied the Scarecrow with a sigh. "Tell me, Scraps, have
+you seen her today?"
+
+"Not once," answered the Patchwork Girl, combing her yarn hair with her
+fingers.
+
+"Until a few minutes ago, I've spent the entire day with Aunt Em who
+sewed tight some of my stitches that were coming loose, sewed on my
+eyes with new thread, so I wouldn't lose 'em, and sewed on a new pair
+of red shoes, as I'd worn holes in my old ones. Now I'm as good as new!"
+
+"Well," replied the Scarecrow, with his broad smile, "that may be true,
+but I'd say no matter in how good condition you are, you're always just
+sew-sew."
+
+The smile quickly faded from the straw man's painted face as he
+continued seriously, "Scraps, I'm worried about Dorothy."
+
+"Don't worry about Dorothy; she's able to take care of herself," said
+practical Scraps.
+
+"You don't understand," explained the Scarecrow. "You see, yesterday
+after Ozma and Glinda left for the Forest of Burzee, Dorothy asked me
+to help her plan a banquet to celebrate their return. Dorothy wanted me
+to think up some ideas for the entertainment to accompany the dinner.
+I agreed to set my famous brains to work on the problem and spent all
+last night in deep thought. This morning, bright and early, I rushed
+to Dorothy and started to tell her the ideas I had. You can imagine my
+surprise when Dorothy stared at me as though she hadn't the faintest
+idea what I was talking about, and then turned and walked away from me."
+
+The Scarecrow paused, his brow wrinkled with perplexity. "I don't
+understand it," he continued. "It isn't like our sweet little Dorothy
+to be rude or absent-minded. She and the Wizard have been in Ozma's
+Chamber of Magic all day and I tried twice to see her, but each time
+she said she couldn't be disturbed."
+
+"Come to think of it," replied Scraps quickly, "Aunt Em remarked that
+she couldn't understand why Dorothy hadn't been in to see her. Dorothy
+always visits her Aunt Em and Uncle Henry at least once a day. But
+maybe she's busy ruling while Ozma's away."
+
+This explanation failed to satisfy the Scarecrow. He was gazing in the
+distance down the garden path. "Isn't that Trot and Cap'n Bill sitting
+on that bench over there?"
+
+    "Whoop ti doodle who?
+    Cap'n Bill and Trot
+    It is as like as not!"
+
+sang the Patchwork Girl, turning a handspring and dancing toward the
+bench.
+
+The Scarecrow followed, and he and Scraps were warmly greeted by little
+Trot and old Cap'n Bill. The Scarecrow repeated his story of the
+strange manner in which Dorothy had been acting, but neither Trot nor
+Cap'n Bill had seen Dorothy that day. The old sailor was silent for a
+moment, considering. Then he said:
+
+"You know, it's funny; but I was tellin' Trot only a minute ago that
+the Wizard had me puzzled by the curious way he was behavin'."
+
+"What do you mean?" asked the Scarecrow.
+
+"Well," went on Cap'n Bill, "fer some time past I've been workin' on a
+boat fer Ozma an' her friends, so they could go sailin' on that lake
+jest outside the Emerald City. I had everythin' I needed 'cept fer
+some tools, so the Wizard lent me some o' his thet get the work done
+extra fast, 'cause they're magic tools. The boat's nearly finished--a
+handsome craft if I do say so myself. All she needs to make 'er trim
+is a coat o' paint. I thought it would be nice to have 'er finished
+as a sort of surprise fer Ozma when she returns from this here fairy
+conclave, so I asked the Wizard to lend me his magic paint bucket and
+brush--the bucket always stays full, no matter how much paint you use
+from it, an' the brush paints any color you want from the same bucket
+o' paint. Well, the Wizard jest gave me a funny sort o' look and
+walked away, mumblin' somethin' about bein' busy and havin' somethin'
+important to do. 'Tain't like the Wizard at all. Somethin' ailin' him,"
+concluded Cap'n Bill, wagging his grizzled head.
+
+"Then it's the same thing that's ailing Dorothy," remarked the
+Scarecrow sagely.
+
+The four old friends were silent, each turning over the problem in his
+own mind.
+
+The bench on which Trot and Cap'n Bill were sitting was in front of a
+high hedge--so high that none of them could see over it. On the other
+side of the thick hedge ran another garden path. Suddenly they heard
+footsteps, as if several people were hurrying down the garden path
+which was hidden from their view. While they listened, wondering who it
+could be, the footsteps halted just opposite them on the other side of
+the hedge. Before they could call out a greeting, they recognized the
+voice of the Wizard saying:
+
+"We can talk here. There's no one about. Now tell me; why are we
+wasting time in the garden?"
+
+"Because," it was the voice of Dorothy replying, "it would look
+suspicious if we did not leave the Chamber of Magic occasionally."
+
+"Have you found the spell yet?" asked the Wizard's voice.
+
+"Not yet," replied Dorothy's voice. "I've been through only half of
+Ozma's magic record books. Give me time--it's there. And I'll find it!"
+
+"Time!" replied the Wizard's voice, raised in excitement. "We have no
+time to lose! Do you realize that Ozma and Glinda will be back in a day
+and a half? We must find the spell before then if we don't want Ozma to
+wreck our plans and rob us of the chance we have waited for!"
+
+"Never fear," asserted Dorothy's voice. "I'll find the spell long
+before Ozma and Glinda return. We'll be ready for those two when they
+do come back!"
+
+Gradually the voices subsided, as the two walked slowly down the garden
+path toward the Royal Palace.
+
+On the other side of the hedge, Trot, Cap'n Bill, Scraps and the
+Scarecrow stared at one another in bewilderment. What could this mean?
+It was incredible that Dorothy and the Wizard could be plotting against
+their dearest friends, Ozma and Glinda.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER 7
+
+In the Cavern of the Doomed
+
+
+Neither Dorothy nor the Wizard could tell how long they lay in their
+cavern prison deep in hollow Mount Illuso, but it is certain that
+minutes seemed like hours to them.
+
+While the Wizard had recognized the country to which he and Dorothy
+had been carried as the Land of the Phanfasms, he was not aware of the
+existence of Mount Illuso and its Mimic dwellers. He was sure, however,
+that the creatures who had captured Dorothy and him were not Phanfasms.
+He had seen the Phanfasms when those evil creatures had once attempted
+to invade Oz, and they bore no resemblance to the beings who had made
+Dorothy and him captives.
+
+Dorothy found some comfort in telling herself that as soon as Ozma and
+Glinda returned to the Emerald City the imposters would be detected and
+she and the Wizard speedily rescued. But what if Ozma and Glinda were
+deceived? How long would she and the Wizard be kept in the cave? What
+wicked plot was behind all this? And just how powerful and clever were
+the creatures who had captured her and the Wizard?
+
+Suddenly something happened that banished all these puzzling questions.
+There was a light in the cavern! The two prisoners could see each
+other! True, the light was feeble, but it was increasing steadily in
+strength.
+
+As the light grew more brilliant, Dorothy felt pleasantly warm and
+glowing, as though she were lying in the bright sunlight. And then to
+her intense joy the little girl realized that the spell cast on her was
+broken. The light had released her. She was free to move about as she
+pleased.
+
+Dorothy jumped happily to her feet. The Wizard, too, was freed from
+the spell, and a moment later was standing, smiling broadly with
+satisfaction.
+
+"Was the light your magic, Wizard?" asked Dorothy eagerly.
+
+"No, my dear, I had nothing to do with the light," replied the Wizard.
+
+"But I wonder who or what turned it on?" said Dorothy. "Could it be a
+trick, do you think?" she asked after a moment's hesitation.
+
+"No, I believe not," replied the Wizard. "There would be no point in
+our captors' troubling themselves to enchant us and make us prisoners,
+and then releasing us from the enchantment. I believe we will find this
+light is a part of a greater mystery than we know anything about."
+
+"Well, seems to me there's plenty of mystery about everything that's
+happened today," said Dorothy. "What are we going to do now, Wizard?"
+
+"Explore our prison," answered the little man promptly.
+
+Dorothy looked about her. They were entirely surrounded by the solid
+stone walls of the cavern, which was about one-hundred feet square. She
+could detect no sign of the door by which they had entered.
+
+"Look, Wizard," Dorothy exclaimed. "See how the light shines from one
+small point in the far end of the cavern?"
+
+"Yes," agreed the Wizard, "it's almost as if someone had built a
+powerful flashlight into the stone wall. Come, let's examine the light
+more closely."
+
+The two walked to the opposite side of the cavern and found that, as
+Dorothy had observed, the flood of light originated from one small
+point. This point was a circular bit of stone, round and polished, and
+no larger than a small button.
+
+"Why," exclaimed Dorothy, "it looks 'zactly like the button of an
+electric light switch! Wonder what would happen if I pressed it?"
+
+Impulsively Dorothy reached out and pressed the button of rock with her
+finger. In the deep silence that filled the cave, the two adventurers
+detected a far-away humming sound, like the whirring of wheels in
+motion. As Dorothy and the Wizard listened, the sound grew louder.
+
+"What do you suppose it is?" whispered Dorothy.
+
+"I haven't the faintest idea," said the Wizard, "but I don't think
+we'll have to wait long to find out."
+
+At last the whirring noise seemed to be just opposite them on the other
+side of the stone wall. It stopped completely and there was silence. A
+second later a section of the stone wall swung outward, and Dorothy and
+the Wizard found themselves staring into a small room--much like the
+car of an elevator. The car was painted bright blue, trimmed with red
+and gold, and sitting on a small stool was a curious little man.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER 8
+
+Toto Makes a Discovery
+
+
+"Where's Dorothy?" Toto asked pretty little Jellia Jamb, Ozma's maid,
+as he paused outside the door of Dorothy's apartment early in the
+morning of the day after Ozma and Glinda departed.
+
+"She's gone up to the Wizard's rooms in the tower," replied Jellia Jamb.
+
+"Thanks," said Toto. "I imagine Dorothy will have her hands full while
+Ozma is gone."
+
+With this, the little dog trotted down the corridor, philosophically
+seeking some other amusement. He hadn't gone very far before he was
+hailed by Betsy Bobbin, who appeared with a small wicker basket on her
+arm.
+
+"Hello, Toto!" Betsy called. "Want to go with Hank and me? I'm going
+to pick wild flowers in the green fields outside the Emerald City and
+Hank's coming along. I have a nice picnic lunch packed," the girl
+added, indicating the basket she carried.
+
+Now there were few things Toto liked better than to get out in the
+country and frolic in the fields, so the little dog accepted the
+invitation gratefully.
+
+A short time later Betsy, her devoted companion, Hank the Mule, and
+Toto arrived at the gates of the Emerald City and were greeted by Omby
+Amby, the Soldier with the Green Whiskers. He was very tall and wore a
+handsome green and gold uniform with a tall plumed hat. His long, green
+beard fell below his waist making him look even taller. In addition to
+being the Keeper of the Gates, Omby Amby was also the Royal Army of Oz,
+Princess Ozma's Body-Guard and the Police Force of the Emerald City.
+You might suppose that, holding all these offices, Omby Amby was a very
+busy man. To the contrary, so seldom was there ever any breaking of
+the Oz laws--which were all just and reasonable--that it had been many
+years since the Soldier with the Green Whiskers had acted in any of his
+official capacities other than that of Keeper of the Gates.
+
+As Omby Amby unlocked the gates for them, Betsy promised to bring him a
+bouquet of flowers for his wife, Tollydiggle.
+
+Outside the Emerald City lay pleasant, gently rolling fields in which
+buttercups and daisies grew in profusion. Sniffing the fresh country
+air, Toto ran happily across the field. Hank hee-hawed loudly and fell
+to munching the tall field grass. Betsy was delighted with the hundreds
+of pretty flowers and gathered several large bouquets.
+
+Shortly after noon the happy trio sought the shade of a large tree.
+Nearby, a spring of cool, crystal-clear water bubbled from a mossy
+bank and flowed across the field as a tiny brook. Betsy opened her
+basket and took out sandwiches, hard boiled eggs, potato salad and
+other picnic delicacies, which she and Toto shared. Betsy offered Hank
+a peanut butter sandwich, but the Mule refused disdainfully, saying,
+"No, thank you, Betsy, I much prefer this fresh green grass."
+
+"Well, don't eat too much of it," advised the girl, "or you'll get the
+colic."
+
+The mule winked one eye at Toto and replied, "I'd be much more likely
+to get the colic if I ate your strange human foods."
+
+After they had eaten and refreshed themselves with the water of the
+spring, they rested for a time in the cool shade of the tree, and then
+leisurely made their way back to the Emerald City. At the city's gates,
+Omby Amby welcomed them back and gratefully accepted the bouquet Betsy
+gave him for Tollydiggle.
+
+Arriving at the palace, the three friends said good-bye, Betsy going
+to her apartment, while Hank made his way to the Royal Stables to talk
+with his cronies, the Cowardly Lion and the Hungry Tiger.
+
+Jellia Jamb tripped down the palace steps on an errand, and Toto
+called to her, "Is Dorothy still busy?"
+
+"Yes," answered Jellia Jamb, "she and the Wizard have been in Ozma's
+Chamber of Magic all afternoon."
+
+This did not strike the little dog as strange. He knew Ozma might
+have left instructions for Dorothy and the Wizard to carry out in the
+Chamber of Magic.
+
+As it was now nearly mid-afternoon, Toto decided to have a nap in the
+garden. Curling up in the cool earth under a large rose bush, he fell
+asleep, telling himself that he would awaken in time for dinner, when
+he would surely see Dorothy. Toto knew that however busy Dorothy and
+the Wizard might be, they would leave the Chamber of Magic and appear
+for dinner--always a festive occasion in the Grand Dining Room of the
+Royal Palace.
+
+Promptly at seven o'clock, the inhabitants of the Royal Palace began
+to gather in the Grand Dining Room. Cap'n Bill and Trot took their
+accustomed places at the table, as did Betsy Bobbin, Button Bright, the
+Shaggy Man, Aunt Em and Uncle Henry. While the Scarecrow, the Patchwork
+Girl and Tik-Tok the Machine Man were non-flesh and could not partake
+of the food, nevertheless they had their places at the table. For these
+dinners were as much occasions for the enjoyment of merry conversation,
+as they were for satisfying hunger and thirst.
+
+At the far end of the room was a separate table, shared by the animal
+companions of the Oz people. At this table were set places with the
+proper foods for Hank the Mule, the Cowardly Lion, the Hungry Tiger,
+Billina the Yellow Hen, Eureka the Pink Kitten, the Woozy, Toto and the
+Sawhorse. Although the Sawhorse was made of wood and required no food
+and seldom took part in the conversation, nevertheless the odd steed
+enjoyed listening to the table talk of the others.
+
+Everyone was at his place except Dorothy, the Wizard and Toto--and of
+course Ozma's chair at the head of the table was vacant. Dorothy's
+place was at Ozma's right, while the Wizard sat at her left. A few
+minutes later, King Umb and Queen Ra, having decided that it would
+arouse too much comment if they were absent from the dinner, entered
+the sumptuous dining room and took their places on either side of
+Ozma's vacant chair. Now only Toto remained absent.
+
+The truth was that the little dog had overslept and had awakened from
+his nap to find the shadows lengthening across the garden. Realizing he
+was late for dinner, Toto hurried to the nearest palace entrance and
+ran as quickly as he could to the Grand Dining Room.
+
+As he entered, the first course of the meal was being served, and a
+ripple of conversation rose from the two tables. The Scarecrow and
+Scraps were chatting together. Betsy was telling Trot about the lovely
+wild flowers she had found, and the Cowardly Lion and the Hungry Tiger
+were discussing a visit they planned to their old jungle home in the
+forest far to the south in the Quadling Country.
+
+In spite of the apparent atmosphere of gayety, this gathering was not
+at all like the merry company that usually assembled in the dining room
+for the evening meal. First of all, the absence of the radiant Ozma was
+keenly felt by the entire gathering, and this automatically subdued the
+spirit of the occasion. Next, no one at the table had failed to note
+and wonder at the fact that Dorothy and the Wizard--usually so cheerful
+and cordial--had merely nodded unsmilingly to their assembled friends
+as they had taken their places at the head of the table. Finally,
+Scraps, the Scarecrow, Trot and Cap'n Bill, unable to forget the
+strange conversation they had overheard in the garden earlier in the
+day, stole curious glances at Dorothy and the Wizard, seeking some clue
+to their unusual behavior.
+
+As Toto trotted into the dining room, his bright little eyes
+immediately sought out his mistress. Toto stopped short; his body
+became tense with excitement. He barked loudly and then growled,
+"Where's Dorothy?"
+
+In the silence that fell over the dining room at the dog's unusual
+actions, Toto repeated his question. "Where's Dorothy?" he demanded.
+
+The Scarecrow was staring earnestly at Toto. "Why, here's Dorothy," the
+straw man answered. "Right here, where she always sits."
+
+"You're wrong--all of you are wrong," growled Toto ominously. The
+little dog was quivering with excitement. "Whoever that is sitting
+there might fool the rest of you, but she can't deceive me. She's not
+Dorothy at all. Something's happened to Dorothy!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER 9
+
+Mr. and Mrs. Hi-Lo
+
+
+"Step right in, folks! Watch your step, Miss. We're on our way up--next
+stop the top! Only two stops--bottom and top. Next stop's the top!"
+
+The little man spoke with an air of importance, as he smiled at Dorothy
+and the Wizard from the stool on which he was perched in the car
+which the opening in the stone wall had revealed. They peered at him
+curiously.
+
+"Shall we go in?" asked Dorothy, drawing a deep breath.
+
+"To be sure," said the Wizard. "Anything is better than this stone
+prison."
+
+"Ah, a philosopher, and a wise one, too," remarked the little man.
+
+As soon as Dorothy and the Wizard were in the elevator--for such it
+proved to be--the stone door swung shut. At once the little man pressed
+one of several buttons on the side of the car and again they heard the
+whirring sound which had puzzled them in the cavern. Dorothy concluded
+it was caused by the machinery that operated the elevator. The little
+car was shooting upward with a speed that caused her ears to ring.
+
+"Just swallow several times," advised the Wizard, sensing Dorothy's
+discomfort. "That will make equal the air pressure inside and outside
+your body. It's a trick I learned when I went up in my balloon to draw
+crowds to the circus back in Omaha."
+
+Dorothy did as the Wizard suggested and found the ringing sensation
+disappeared.
+
+"Who are you?" asked the Wizard gazing curiously at the little man.
+"And where are you taking us?"
+
+"You don't know who I am?" exclaimed the little man with surprise.
+"After all, you know you did ring for the elevator, and since I am
+the elevator operator, naturally I answered. Allow me to introduce
+myself. My name is Hi-Lo and I am taking you to the only other place
+the elevator goes except for the bottom--and that's to the top of Mount
+Illuso. I assure you it's a far better place than the bottom!"
+
+While he spoke, Dorothy had been regarding the little man who called
+himself Hi-Lo. He was very short, his head coming only to Dorothy's
+waist. He was dressed in a bright blue uniform with big, gold buttons.
+A red cap was perched at a jaunty angle on his head. His face was round
+and his cheeks as rosy as two apples. His blue eyes were very bright
+and friendly. But the oddest thing about him was that his clothes
+appeared to be a part of his body--as though they were painted on. And
+Dorothy concluded he was most certainly made of some substance other
+than flesh and blood.
+
+"Ah, I see I've aroused your interest," remarked the little man with
+satisfaction. "Well, I'm proud to tell you that I am made of the finest
+white pine and painted with quick-drying four-hour enamel that flows
+easily from the brush and is guaranteed not to chip, crack, craze or
+peel. I'm easily washable, too; spots and stains wipe off in a jiffy
+with a damp cloth or sponge--no rubbing or scrubbing for me! And I
+suppose," Hi-Lo concluded vainly, "you've already admired my rich,
+glossy finish and beautiful rainbow colors."
+
+Dorothy smiled at this speech, and the Wizard asked, "Tell me, Hi-Lo,
+do people live on the top of Mount Illuso?"
+
+"Of course," Hi-Lo replied in his cheerful voice. "We have a thriving
+community of folks--Pineville it's called. But we're all very happy and
+contented," he went on hastily. "There's not a lonesome pine among us,
+although there are several trails on the mountain top."
+
+"But are there no flesh and blood folks, like us?" queried the Wizard.
+
+Before Hi-Lo could answer, the elevator came to an abrupt stop.
+
+"Well, here we are!" announced Hi-Lo cheerily. He pressed another
+button. The door of the elevator swung open and Hi-Lo called, "All out!
+All out! Top floor--all kinds of wooden goods, the best pine to be
+had--pine tables, pine chairs, pine houses and pine people!"
+
+Dorothy and the Wizard stepped from the elevator and surveyed the scene
+before them. Yes, this was certainly the top of Mount Illuso. The
+elevator exit was in a large stone wall, at least ten feet in height,
+that appeared to circle the edge of the mountain top. Before them
+spread a dense pine forest, while a small path led from the elevator to
+a tiny cottage that stood nearby. The cottage was painted bright blue
+with trim white shutters, and smoke was rising cheerily from its red
+brick chimney.
+
+"Right this way! Just follow me, folks," said Hi-Lo, trotting along
+the path to the cottage, his little wooden legs moving with surprising
+speed. "Mrs. Hi-Lo will certainly be surprised to see you. You are a
+real event--the very first visitors we have ever had from down below."
+
+As they approached the tiny cottage, the front door swung open, and a
+little woman stood in the doorway. She was even smaller than Hi-Lo, and
+like him was made of wood and painted with the same bright enamels. She
+wore a blue and white apron over a red polka-dot dress. On her head was
+a trim little lace cap.
+
+"My goodness!" she beamed. "Visitors at last! Do come in and make
+yourselves comfortable."
+
+The Wizard found it necessary to bend over to get in the doorway,
+so small was the cottage. Once inside, his head nearly touched the
+ceiling. The cottage was neatly and attractively furnished with
+comfortable pine chairs, tables and a large davenport drawn before a
+fireplace on which a log fire crackled cheerfully. The air was sharp
+on the mountain top, so the bright fire was a welcome sight to the
+two wanderers. All the furniture glowed with the cheerful, gaudy hues
+of glossy enamel. Dorothy thought that the wholesome aroma of pine
+scent that filled the cottage was especially delightful.
+
+"Great pine cones!" exclaimed Mrs. Hi-Lo. "You must be half starved.
+I'll get you something to eat in no time at all. Tell me, would you
+like a delicious cross cut of pine steak with pine-dust pudding, fresh,
+crisp pine-needle salad with turpentine dressing and a strawberry pine
+cone for dessert?"
+
+Dorothy almost laughed aloud at this strange food, but the little
+Wizard answered courteously, "You are most kind, Madame, but I fear our
+systems would not be able to digest the delicacies you suggest. Perhaps
+you have something that meat folks like us could eat?"
+
+"Of course!" cried Mrs. Hi-Lo. "How stupid of me! You are meat
+folks--too bad," she added critically. "It must be a terrible bother to
+take off and put on all those clothes and to keep your hair trimmed and
+your nails pared."
+
+"Now, Mother, let's not draw unkind comparisons," cautioned Hi-Lo
+diplomatically, as he settled himself into a comfortable chair. "None
+of us is perfect, you know. Remember that spring when you sprouted a
+green twig on your right shoulder?"
+
+"You are right," said Mrs. Hi-Lo with a laugh. "We all have our weak
+points." And with that the little lady bustled off into the kitchen.
+
+Dorothy and the Wizard sat down gingerly on two of the largest chairs
+the room contained. But small as the chairs were, they proved quite
+sturdy and readily supported their weight.
+
+"Is there any way," asked the Wizard, "that we can leave this mountain
+top?"
+
+Hi-Lo sat bolt upright in his chair and stared at the Wizard in
+amazement. "Leave the mountain top?" he repeated as if he couldn't
+believe his own ears. "Do I understand you to say that you want to
+leave this delightful place--this most favored spot in the universe?"
+
+"We do," said the Wizard emphatically. "Our home is in the Land of Oz,
+and we desire to return there as quickly as possible."
+
+"But why?" asked Hi-Lo. "No place could be as delightful as this
+mountain top. Just wait until you have become acquainted with it--our
+healthful, refreshing climate, our beautiful pine forest, our handsome
+village of Pineville and its delightful people!"
+
+"Have you ever been anywhere else?" asked the Wizard quietly.
+
+"No, never--but--"
+
+"Then permit me to say," replied the Wizard, "that you are not
+qualified to judge. Little Dorothy and I have traveled in many strange
+lands all over the world, and we prefer the Land of Oz for our home."
+
+"Well, everyone to his own taste, of course," muttered Hi-Lo,
+unconvinced and a trifle crestfallen.
+
+Just then Mrs. Hi-Lo re-entered the room bearing a tray laden with
+steaming hot foods. At her invitation Dorothy and the Wizard pulled
+their chairs up to a table, and Mrs. Hi-Lo served the food on gleaming
+white enameled pine platters and dishes. There was savory vegetable
+soup, scrambled eggs, cheese, lettuce and tomato salad, chocolate layer
+cake and lemonade. The food was delicious and as Dorothy and the Wizard
+had not eaten since breakfast, and it was now nearly evening, they did
+full justice to the meal. Mr. and Mrs. Hi-Lo looked on with polite
+curiosity, marveling that the strangers could enjoy such odd food.
+
+When they had finished the Wizard sighed with satisfaction and sat back
+in his chair. "Where did you get this excellent food, if there are no
+human beings on the mountain top?" he asked.
+
+"Oh, but there is one meat person like yourselves on Mount Illuso,"
+said Mrs. Hi-Lo. "She is our ruler, and many years ago she gave me the
+magic recipe for the preparation of human food. As you are the first
+human visitors we have ever had, this is the first time I have had
+occasion to use the recipe."
+
+"Who is this ruler of yours?" inquired Dorothy.
+
+"She is a beautiful Fairy Princess, named Ozana," Hi-Lo replied.
+
+"Ozana!" exclaimed Dorothy. "Wizard, did you hear that? Ozana--doesn't
+that sound an awful lot like an Oz name?"
+
+"It certainly does," agreed the little man. "May we see this Princess
+Ozana of yours?" he asked Hi-Lo.
+
+"I was about to mention," replied Hi-Lo, "that it was Ozana's orders
+when she appointed me Keeper of the Elevator that I was to instruct any
+passengers I might have to seek her out at her home in Pineville."
+
+"Oh, let's go see her right away!" exclaimed Dorothy excitedly.
+
+"Not tonight," objected Hi-Lo. "You would never find your way through
+the Pine Forest in the dark. You may stay with us tonight and be on
+your way to see Princess Ozana early in the morning."
+
+Dorothy and the Wizard could offer no objection to this sensible and
+kindly offer of hospitality. Since it was now quite dark outside, and
+the little cottage was cheerful and cozy with the log fire casting
+dancing reflections in the brightly enameled furniture, they were quite
+content to spend the night there.
+
+After several more questions about the ruler who called herself Ozana,
+Dorothy and the Wizard decided that Hi-Lo and his wife knew nothing
+more beyond the facts that Princess Ozana had created the pine folks
+and built the village for them to live in.
+
+"Have you and Hi-Lo always lived here alone?" Dorothy asked Mrs. Hi-Lo.
+
+The little woman's expression was sad as she answered, "No. Once we
+had a son. He was not a very good boy and was continually getting
+into mischief. He was the only one of our wooden folks who ever was
+discontented with life here on Mount Illuso. He wanted to travel and
+see the world. We could do nothing at all with him." Mrs. Hi-Lo sighed
+and continued, "One day a friendly stork paused in a long flight to
+rest on Mount Illuso, and the naughty boy persuaded the stork to carry
+him into the great outside world. From that time on we have never heard
+anything more of him. I often wonder what happened to our poor son,"
+the little woman concluded in a sorrowful tone.
+
+"How big was your boy?" asked the Wizard. "Was he just a little shaver?"
+
+"Oh, no," replied Mrs. Hi-Lo. "He was almost fully grown--a young
+stripling, I should call him."
+
+"And was his name Charlie?" inquired the Wizard thoughtfully.
+
+"Yes! Yes, it was! Oh, tell me, Sir," implored Mrs. Hi-Lo, "do you,
+perchance, know my son?"
+
+"Not personally," replied the Wizard. "But I can assure you, Madame,
+that you have nothing to worry about where your son Charlie is
+concerned. That friendly stork knew his business and left Charlie on
+the right doorstep."
+
+The Wizard had a small radio in his apartment in the Royal Palace in
+the Emerald City, which he sometimes turned on and listened to with
+much curiosity. But he never listened for long, as he was subject to
+headaches when listening to anything but good music.
+
+"Oh, thank you!" exclaimed Mrs. Hi-Lo. "It is such a relief to know
+that our Charlie turned out all right after all. There were times," the
+woman confessed, "when I had a horrible suspicion that he was made from
+a bad grade of pine--knotty pine, you know."
+
+"There are those who share that opinion," murmured the Wizard. But Mrs.
+Hi-Lo was so overjoyed to hear of her son that she paid no attention to
+the Wizard's words.
+
+Hi-Lo, who seemed totally uninterested in this conversation concerning
+his wayward son, merely muttered, "A bad one, that youngster," and then
+yawned somewhat pointedly and remarked that since their beds were far
+too small for their guests to occupy, he and his wife would retire to
+their bedrooms and Dorothy and the Wizard could pass the night in the
+living room.
+
+Mrs. Hi-Lo supplied them with warm blankets and soft pillows, and then
+she and Hi-Lo bid them a happy good night. Dorothy made a snug bed on
+the davenport, while the Wizard curled up cozily before the fire.
+
+Just before Dorothy dropped off to sleep she asked, "Do you suppose
+this Princess Ozana has any connection with Oz, Wizard?"
+
+"It is possible, and then again, the name may be merely a coincidence,
+my dear," the little man answered sleepily, "so don't build your hopes
+too high."
+
+A moment later Dorothy's eyes closed and she was sound asleep, dreaming
+that Toto, in a bright blue uniform with big gold buttons and a little
+red cap, was operating the elevator and saying, "Right this way,
+Dorothy! Step lively, please. Going up--next stop, Princess Ozana!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER 10
+
+The Village of Pineville
+
+
+Dorothy and the Wizard awakened bright and early the next morning,
+eager to pursue their adventures. Mrs. Hi-Lo prepared a hearty
+breakfast for them from her magic recipe and, as they made ready to
+leave the pretty little cottage, Hi-Lo advised them:
+
+"Just follow the trail that leads through the Pine Forest and you will
+come to the Village of Pineville where Princess Ozana lives. You can't
+miss it, and if you walk steadily you should be there by noon."
+
+Stepping from the cottage, Dorothy and the Wizard found the morning sun
+bright and warm and the air filled with the pungent aroma of pine from
+the forest.
+
+"Good-bye!" called Mrs. Hi-Lo from the door of the cottage.
+
+"Good-bye!" called Mr. Hi-Lo. "Don't forget to remember us to the
+Princess!"
+
+"We won't," promised Dorothy. "We'll tell her how kind you've been to
+us."
+
+In a short time the cottage was lost to their view, and the two
+travelers were deep in the cool shade of the Pine Forest. The trail
+over which they walked was carpeted with pine needles, making a soft
+and pleasant path for their feet.
+
+Once when they paused to rest for a few moments a red squirrel frisked
+down a nearby tree and, sitting on a stump before Dorothy, asked
+saucily, "Where to, strangers?"
+
+"We're on our way to see Princess Ozana," said Dorothy.
+
+"Oh, are you indeed!" exclaimed the squirrel with a flirt of his
+whiskers. "Well, you are just halfway there. If you walk briskly you'll
+find yourselves out of the forest in another two hours."
+
+"How do you know we are just halfway there?" asked Dorothy.
+
+"Because I've measured the distance many times," replied the squirrel.
+
+"I should think you would prefer to live nearer the village of
+Pineville," remarked Dorothy. "It must be very lonesome here in this
+deep pine forest."
+
+"Oho! That shows how unobserving you mortals are!" exclaimed the red
+squirrel. "My family and I wouldn't think of living anywhere but here,
+no matter how lonely it is. Know why?"
+
+"No, I must say I don't," confessed the girl.
+
+"Look at my tree--look at my tree!" chattered the squirrel, flirting
+his big bushy tail in the direction of the tree from which he had
+appeared.
+
+"Of course!" chuckled the Wizard. "It's a hickory tree!"
+
+"But I don't see--" began Dorothy in perplexity.
+
+"What do squirrels like best of all, my dear?" asked the Wizard,
+smiling with amusement.
+
+"Oh, Wizard, why didn't I think of that? They like nuts, of course!"
+
+"Exactly!" snapped the little red squirrel. "And since pine trees do
+not bear nuts and hickory trees do--well, city life and fine company
+may be all right for some folks, but I prefer to remain here in comfort
+where I know my family will be well provided for."
+
+And with that the wise little creature gave a leap and a bound and
+darted up the trunk of the one and only nut tree in all the Pine Forest.
+
+Dorothy and the Wizard followed the pine-needle trail on through the
+Pine Forest until finally the trees thinned and they stepped out into
+an open meadow, bright with yellow buttercups. The sun was almost
+directly overhead by this time.
+
+Below the two travelers, in a pretty green valley that formed the
+center of the mountain top, lay a small village of several hundred
+cottages, all similar to Hi-Lo's. The buildings were painted with
+glossy blue enamel and shone brilliantly in the sun. They were grouped
+in a circle about one large central cottage that differed from the
+others in that it was considerably larger, and, from where Dorothy and
+the Wizard stood, appeared to be surrounded by rather extensive gardens
+and grounds.
+
+Dorothy and the Wizard followed the trail over the meadow to a point
+where it broadened into a street that led among the houses. The two
+travelers set out on this street, which was wide and pleasant and paved
+with blocks of white pine.
+
+As Dorothy and the Wizard walked through the village, they saw that the
+cottages were occupied by wooden folks, much like Hi-Lo and his wife.
+A wooden woman was washing the windows of her cottage. A wooden man
+with wooden shears was trimming the hedge around his house. Another
+was repairing the white picket fence around his cottage. Tiny wooden
+children, almost doll-like they were so small, played in the yards.
+From one cottage a spotted wooden dog ran into the road and barked at
+the strangers.
+
+"I suppose he's made of dog-wood," observed Dorothy with a smile.
+
+Dorothy and the Wizard aroused much curiosity among the little wooden
+folk, most of whom paused in their work to stare at the strangers as
+they passed. But none of them seemed to fear the meat people.
+
+A wooden lady approached them, walking down the street with quick,
+lively steps. On her arm was a market basket full of green pine cones.
+Pausing, the Wizard removed his hat and in his most polite manner
+addressed her.
+
+"Pardon me, Madame. Can you tell me if this street leads to the palace
+of Princess Ozana?"
+
+"Palace? What's that?" asked the woman with a puzzled expression on
+her face. "I don't know what a palace is, Sir, but if you follow this
+street you will come to the cottage where our Princess Ozana dwells."
+
+"Thank you, Madame," said the Wizard, and the little woman trotted
+busily down the street.
+
+In a few minutes more Dorothy and the Wizard had reached the central
+part of Pineville. Here a trim, white picket fence encircled a large
+area that seemed to be one huge flower garden with every sort of flower
+imaginable growing in it. In the exact center of this enclosure stood
+an attractive blue cottage, large enough to accommodate comfortably
+full-sized human beings. Just in front of the cottage was a pond of
+placid blue water. In the pond grew water lilies and all sorts of
+flowering plants that one finds in lakes and ponds.
+
+The path that led from the entrance of the cottage divided at the
+pond's edge and encircled the water, meeting on the opposite side of
+the pond and running again as a single path to a gate in the fence
+before which Dorothy and the Wizard stood. Forming a bower over the
+gate was a white wooden trellis covered with roses. From the center of
+the pretty trellis hung a blue sign with these words in white enameled
+letters:
+
+                                WELCOME
+                       COTTAGE OF PRINCESS OZANA
+                                WALK IN
+
+"Well, I guess that means us," said the Wizard with a smile, as he read
+the sign and pushed open the gate.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER 11
+
+Princess Ozana
+
+
+Dorothy exclaimed with delight as they stepped through the garden gate.
+She had no idea any garden could be so beautiful. Flowers of every
+known variety grew in profusion. Save for the mossy paths that wound
+through the garden, there was not a spot of ground that was without
+blossoming plants. As for the pond, it was like a small sea of lovely
+blossoming water plants. At the far edge of the pond Dorothy noted
+three graceful white swans, sleeping in the shade of a large flowering
+bush that grew at the edge of the pond and trailed its blossoms
+into the water. The air was sweet with the perfume of thousands and
+thousands of flowers.
+
+"Oh, Wizard," gasped Dorothy, "did you ever see anything so lovely?"
+
+"It is indeed a beautiful sight," replied the little man admiringly.
+
+Here and there, throughout the garden, a score or more of little wooden
+men were busily at work. Some were watering plants from blue wooden
+pails, others were trimming blossoming bushes and hedges, some were
+digging out weeds, and others were building trellises for climbing
+vines. None of them took the slightest notice of Dorothy and the
+Wizard, so absorbed were they in their work.
+
+Not far from where Dorothy and the Wizard stood, was a little maid, on
+her knees, digging with a trowel in the soft earth about a beautiful
+rambling rose bush that climbed above her on a blue trellis.
+
+"Let's ask her where we can find Princess Ozana," suggested Dorothy.
+
+A few steps brought them to the side of the maiden who wore a pretty
+blue apron with a pink petal design. On her hands were gardening gloves
+and her golden hair fell loosely down her back.
+
+"I wonder," began the Wizard, "if you can tell us if the Princess Ozana
+is in?"
+
+The little maid looked up, regarding the strangers with friendly
+curiosity. Dorothy saw that she was very lovely. Her eyes were as
+soft as shy woodland violets, and of the same purple hue; her skin as
+delicately colored as fragile petals, and her lips were like rosebuds.
+
+"No," the maid replied with a suspicion of a smile in her voice,
+"Princess Ozana is not in her cottage at the moment."
+
+"Perhaps you know where we can find her," suggested the Wizard.
+
+At this the little maid gave a silvery laugh and exclaimed, "You _have_
+found her--I am Princess Ozana!"
+
+"Of course, Wizard," said Dorothy, "Princess Ozana is the only flesh
+and blood person on Mount Illuso 'cept for us, so this just must be
+she. Besides," she added, "no one else could be so beautiful."
+
+"Thank you, my dear," said Ozana graciously, as she rose to her feet.
+"And you, Sir," she continued, turning to the Wizard and sweetly easing
+the little man's embarrassment, "could scarcely be blamed for failing
+to recognize a princess garbed so simply and digging in a garden."
+
+"I most humbly ask your pardon," murmured the Wizard.
+
+"Come," said Ozana, "let us go into my cottage, where we can talk at
+ease. I must know all about you."
+
+As they started for the cottage, a small voice called after them,
+"Wait! Wait for me! Don't leave me here! It's time for my milk!"
+
+Dorothy glanced behind her and saw, scrambling from under a bush, a
+tiny kitten with pure white fur and china blue eyes.
+
+"Oh, what a darling!" she cried.
+
+"This is Felina, my pet kitten," announced Ozana as she knelt and
+gathered the small bundle of fur into her arms.
+
+Ozana led her guests to the living room of the cottage, an attractive
+room, fragrant with pine scent and comfortably furnished with pine
+chairs, divans and tables.
+
+Pressing a button set in the pine-paneled wall, Ozana bid her guests
+make themselves comfortable while she ordered lunch. A moment later
+a little wooden maid in a blue dress and spotless white pinafore,
+followed closely by a small wooden boy in a page's livery, appeared
+smiling in the doorway. The maid curtsied gracefully and the boy bobbed
+his head as Ozana said, "This is Dolly and Poppet, my maid and page.
+Dolly, will you and Poppet please prepare sandwiches and refreshments
+for us--my guests have traveled far and must be quite hungry."
+
+"We are happy to serve your Highness," answered the wooden girl and boy
+in unison. With another curtsy and bow the maid and page disappeared
+from the room.
+
+Ozana seated herself beside Dorothy and taking the little girl's hand
+in her own, while she smiled warmly at the Wizard, the Fairy Princess
+said, "Now, let us become acquainted."
+
+"Well," began Dorothy, "this is the famous Wizard of Oz, and I am--"
+
+"Princess Dorothy of Oz," Ozana finished for her.
+
+"You know us?" asked Dorothy eagerly.
+
+"To be sure, I know you," replied Ozana. "By my fairy arts I keep
+myself informed of all that goes on in the Emerald City. I recall when
+our Wizard first visited the Land of Oz in his balloon, and when the
+cyclone lifted your house into the air and carried you, Dorothy, all
+the way from Kansas to Oz."
+
+"Why do you say 'our' Wizard?" asked the Wizard.
+
+"Because I consider myself very close to the Land of Oz. I have a great
+fondness for all its inhabitants and especially for the Wizard who
+built the Emerald City and united the four countries of Oz," replied
+Ozana earnestly.
+
+The Wizard blushed modestly. "As for building the Emerald City,"
+he remarked, "I have said many times before that I only bossed the
+job--the Oz people themselves did all the work."
+
+Dorothy nodded. "When I first heard your name, Ozana, I suspected it
+was connected in some way with Oz."
+
+"I am called Ozana," stated the violet-eyed maid simply, "because I am
+a member of Queen Lurline's Fairy Band and first cousin of Princess
+Ozma of Oz."
+
+"Wizard, did you hear that? Princess Ozana is Ozma's cousin!"
+
+At this moment Dolly and Poppet reappeared bearing trays heaped with
+sandwiches and glasses of cool, fresh milk. Dorothy was so excited over
+the revelation Ozana had just made that she could scarcely eat.
+
+While they enjoyed their food, Ozana and her guests exchanged stories.
+First Dorothy and the Wizard related their adventures.
+
+"I have no doubt at all," said Ozana, "that the two strange birds who
+took your forms were none other than King Umb and Queen Ra, the Mimic
+Monarchs."
+
+"Did you say Mimics?" exclaimed Dorothy.
+
+"Yes, my dear, Mount Illuso is the home of the dread Mimics."
+
+"Oh," said Dorothy thoughtfully, "that explains a lot of things. Why,
+only the day before she left the Land of Oz, Ozma and I were discussing
+the Mimics."
+
+The Wizard, who knew nothing of the Mimics, listened with interest as
+Ozana described the creatures.
+
+"I don't understand," said the Wizard when Ozana had finished, "why you
+should be living alone on the top of this mountain in which such evil
+creatures as the Mimics dwell."
+
+"That question is easily answered," replied Ozana. "Immediately after
+Queen Lurline enchanted the Mimics so that they could not attack the
+Oz inhabitants, she flew with me, her fairy companion, to the top of
+Mount Illuso. Here she left me, giving me certain fairy powers over
+the Mimics and instructing me that I was to remain here at all times
+as the Guardian of Oz to prevent the Mimics from doing any harm to
+the Oz people should the evil creatures ever succeed in lifting Queen
+Lurline's spell. I was not even permitted to leave the mountain to
+attend Queen Lurline's fairy councils in the Forest of Burzee."
+
+"Then it must have been your fairy light that freed us from the Mimic
+enchantment in the cavern prison," surmised Dorothy.
+
+"Yes, it was," Ozana admitted. "You see, after Queen Lurline departed
+from Mount Illuso and I was left alone, the first thing I did was to
+place the button of light in that cavern which the Mimics call their
+Cavern of the Doomed. I enchanted the light so that it would appear
+soon after prisoners were placed in the cave. I gave the light power to
+overcome the spell cast by the Mimics on their victims."
+
+"Then you are responsible for the elevator and Hi-Lo, too," said the
+Wizard.
+
+"Yes," replied Ozana. "I placed the elevator in the mountain and
+stationed Hi-Lo there to operate it. I did all this by my fairy arts.
+Of course the Mimics have no knowledge of my arrangements to bring
+about the release of their victims. I knew the escaped prisoners would
+find their way to me and I could aid them if I judged them worthy. But
+I never expected to find inhabitants of the Land of Oz in the Mimic
+Cavern of the Doomed!"
+
+"How is it," asked the Wizard, "that the Mimics were able to capture
+Dorothy and me, despite the fact that we are inhabitants of the Land of
+Oz?"
+
+"You must remember," said Ozana, "that both you and Dorothy came to
+Oz from the great outside world and neither of you was an inhabitant
+of Oz when Queen Lurline cast her spell over the Mimics. Hence you
+were not protected by that spell. It was for just such an unlooked-for
+development as this that the wise Queen Lurline left me on this
+mountain top."
+
+"May I ask then," said the Wizard, "why you knew nothing of the flight
+of the Mimic King and Queen to the Emerald City?"
+
+Ozana's face flushed slightly at this question, and she replied
+hesitatingly. "I must admit that I am fully responsible for all your
+troubles. But I plead with you to consider my side of the story. I have
+dwelt on this forsaken mountain top with no human companions for more
+than two hundred years. At first I amused myself by creating the little
+wooden people and building their pine village for them. But it was too
+much like playing with dolls, and I soon tired. Then I busied myself
+with my garden, growing in it every variety of flower that exists. This
+occupied me for many long years.
+
+"Please remember I had taken many precautions against the Mimics. I
+believed I could rely on my fairy light to free any prisoners in the
+Cavern of the Doomed, but apparently the Mimics took no captives they
+thought important enough to occupy the Cavern of the Doomed until they
+made you prisoners. And then my fairy light served me well. Can you
+find it in your hearts to forgive me that I did not spend all my time
+keeping guard over the Mimics through all those long years?"
+
+"Of course. We understand, Ozana," said Dorothy, pressing the fairy
+maid's hand affectionately.
+
+"And I must confess," continued Ozana with a grateful smile at Dorothy,
+"that had I not been so completely absorbed in my garden during the
+last few days, I would surely have known of Ozma and Glinda's departure
+from the Emerald City and your own plight."
+
+The Wizard had been very thoughtful while Ozana was speaking. Now he
+asked, "Just what do you believe to be the plans of the two Mimics who
+are now masquerading as Dorothy and me in the Emerald City?"
+
+Ozana was grave at this question. "It is evident," she replied, "that
+King Umb and Queen Ra hope to take advantage of the absence of Ozma and
+Glinda to search for the counter-charm that would release the Mimics
+from Queen Lurline's enchantment and permit them to overrun Oz.
+
+"Queen Ra must have discovered by her black arts that Queen Lurline had
+given the secret of the magical antidote into Ozma's keeping, knowing
+it would be safest with Ozma.
+
+"It may be," added Ozana thoughtfully, "that if King Umb and Queen Ra
+have not discovered the spell by the time Ozma and Glinda return, they
+would even be so bold as to remain in the Emerald City, hoping they
+could deceive Ozma and Glinda as they have the rest of the Oz folks."
+
+"What do you think they will do if they find the magic spell?" asked
+Dorothy fearfully.
+
+The violet depths of Ozana's eyes darkened as she considered. "I don't
+like to think about that, my dear," she answered slowly.
+
+After a moment's silence Princess Ozana brightened. "Come, now, let's
+not borrow trouble. The Mimic Monarchs have had so little time that I
+am sure they could not have succeeded in their search! We have nothing
+to fear now. However, I will spend the entire afternoon and evening in
+study, and by use of my fairy arts I will be able to discover just what
+King Umb and Queen Ra's plot is. With that knowledge we can act wisely
+and quickly to defeat the Mimic Monarchs."
+
+"Do you think we should wait that long?" asked the Wizard.
+
+"It is necessary," replied Ozana firmly. "I must have time to study Ra
+and Umb's actions during the past few days and to prepare myself to
+fight them. Remember, they are powerful enemies. Unless I am mistaken
+we shall be on our way to the Emerald City in the morning, and I shall
+be fully armed with whatever knowledge is necessary to defeat the
+Mimic Monarchs completely. Do not worry, my friends. I am confident I
+can bring about the downfall of King Umb and Queen Ra before Ozma and
+Glinda return to the Emerald City tomorrow."
+
+"Of course you are right," assented the Wizard slowly.
+
+"Now," said Ozana rising, "let me show you my garden of which I am
+quite proud. I am sure you will find it so interesting that you will
+regret you have only one short afternoon to spend in it. I have passed
+countless days in it and found it ever more fascinating."
+
+The White Kitten, Felina, had finished lapping up the milk from the
+bowl placed on the floor for her by the little wooden maid. Dorothy
+knelt, cuddling the tiny creature in her arms.
+
+"May I take Felina in the garden with us?" Dorothy asked.
+
+"To be sure," replied Ozana. "I shall be far too occupied this
+afternoon to give her my attention."
+
+As they stepped from Ozana's cottage into the garden, the Fairy
+Princess said, "I believe you will find my garden different from any
+you have ever seen. I call it my Story Blossom Garden."
+
+
+
+
+Chapter 12
+
+Story Blossom Garden
+
+
+"Now I will show you why I call my garden Story Blossom Garden," began
+Ozana as she advanced toward a rose tree laden with lovely blooms.
+
+"You see, these are not ordinary flowers. They are fairy flowers that
+I created with my fairy arts. And the soil in which they grow is magic
+soil. Take this rose, for instance." Here Ozana cupped a large red rose
+in her hands. "Look into its petals, Dorothy, and tell me what you see."
+
+"Why, the petals form a lovely girl's face!" Dorothy exclaimed in
+delight.
+
+"And so it is with all the blossoms in my garden," said Ozana. "If you
+look closely into them, you will see a human face. Now, Dorothy, put
+your ear close to the rose and listen."
+
+Dorothy did as she was bid and quite clearly she heard a small but
+melodious voice say pleadingly, "Pick me, pick me, little girl, and I
+will tell you the sweetest story ever told--a love story."
+
+Dorothy looked at the rose in awe. "What does it mean?" she asked Ozana.
+
+"Simply that all the flowers in my garden are Story Blossom Flowers.
+Pick a blossom and hold it to your ear, and it will tell you its story.
+When the story is done, the blossom will fade and wither."
+
+"Oh, but I shouldn't like any of the beautiful flowers to die,"
+protested Dorothy, "even to hear their lovely stories."
+
+"They do not die," replied Ozana. "As I said, these are no ordinary
+flowers. They do not grow from seeds or bulbs. Instead, as soon as
+a blossom has told its story it fades and withers. Then one of my
+gardeners plants it, and in a few days it blooms afresh with a new
+story to tell. The flowers are all eager to be picked so that they may
+tell their stories. Just as ordinary flowers give off their perfumes
+freely and graciously, so my flowers love to breathe forth the
+fragrance of their stories. A poet once said that perfumes are the
+souls of flowers. I have succeeded in distilling those perfumes into
+words."
+
+"Can't the flowers tell their stories while they are still growing?"
+asked Dorothy.
+
+"No," replied Ozana. "Only when they are separated from their plants
+can they tell their stories."
+
+"Do all the roses tell the same love story?" Dorothy asked.
+
+"No indeed," said Ozana. "While it is true that all the roses tell love
+stories--for the rose is the flower of love--all roses do not tell the
+_same_ love story. Since no two rose blossoms are identical, no two
+blossoms tell the same story. It was my purpose in creating the garden
+to supply myself with a never-ending source of amusement as an escape
+from the boredom of living alone on this desolate mountain top. I was
+reminded of the Princess in the Arabian Nights tales. You will recall
+that she told her stories for a thousand-and-one nights. My story
+blossoms," Ozana concluded with a smile, "can tell many, many more than
+a thousand-and-one stories. There are many thousands of blossoms in my
+garden, and each blossom has a different story."
+
+"You are certainly to be congratulated on your marvelous garden," said
+the Wizard. "It is a miraculous feat of magic," he added admiringly.
+
+"Thank you," replied Ozana graciously. "And now I will leave you, as I
+must form our plans for tomorrow. I must ask you to excuse me from the
+evening meal. Dolly and Poppet will serve you, and when you are ready
+they will show you to your sleeping rooms. Good-bye, for the present,
+my friends."
+
+Dorothy and the Wizard bid their lovely hostess good-bye and then
+turned to the wonderful garden of Story Blossoms.
+
+Putting Felina on the ground to romp beside her, Dorothy dropped to
+her knees before a cluster of pansies. As she bent her ear over one of
+the little flower faces, it murmured, "Pick me, little girl, pick me!
+I'll tell you an old-fashioned story of once-upon-a-time about a wicked
+witch and a beautiful princess."
+
+The Wizard found himself admiring the flaming beauty of a stately
+tiger-lily. Placing his ear close to the blossom, he listened and
+heard the flower say in a throaty voice, "Pick me, O Man, and hear a
+thrilling story of splendid silken beasts in their sultry jungle lairs."
+
+Now Dorothy was listening to a purple thistle that spoke with a rich
+Scotch burr, "Pick me, little girrrl, an' ye'll make naw mistake, for
+I'll tell ye a tale of a Highland lassie for Auld Lang Syne."
+
+Noticing a tawny blossom with gay purple spots, Dorothy placed her ear
+close to it. This was a harlequin flower and it said, "Pick me, child,
+and I'll tell you a wonder tale about Merryland and its Valley of
+Clowns, where dwell the happy, fun-loving clowns who delight in making
+children laugh." Dorothy remembered reading in a story book about
+Merryland and the Valley of Clowns.
+
+Next was a Black-Eyed-Susan that murmured to Dorothy, "Pick me, and I
+will tell you the story of three things that men love best--black eyes
+and brown and blue. Men love them all, but oh, black eyes--men love and
+die for you!"
+
+Dorothy smiled and moved on to a daisy which whispered to her in
+halting, doubtful tones, "Does he really love her? I shouldn't tell,
+but I know, I know--and I will tell if only you'll pick me, little
+girl."
+
+"And I thought daisies didn't tell," Dorothy said to herself. She
+stopped before a rambling rose that spoke in a rapid, excited voice and
+wanted to relate a story of vagabond adventure in far-away places. Then
+a bright red tulip whispered about a tale of wind-mills and Holland
+canals and pretty Dutch girls.
+
+At last the little girl came to a sunflower so tall that she had to
+stand on tip-toe to hear its words. "Pick me," the sunflower urged,
+"and hear my story of sun-baked prairies and western farm homes and
+great winds that sweep across the plains."
+
+"I wonder," thought Dorothy, "if the sunflower would tell me a story
+about my old home in Kansas. There used to be a great many sunflowers
+on Uncle Henry's farm back there."
+
+A tiny violet growing in a mossy bed caught the girl's eye, and as she
+knelt to hear its words, a shrill, unpleasant voice exclaimed, "Pick
+me! Pick me! Pick me immediately! I'll tell you a story that will burn
+your ears off! All about Dick Superguy--greatest detective in the
+world! He can't be killed--he's all-powerful!" Dorothy was sure the
+shy little violet hadn't uttered these words. While she looked about
+to see where the rude voice was coming from, one of the little wooden
+gardeners stepped up and said apologetically, "Beg your pardon, Miss,
+it's just a weed. They're always loud and noisy, and while we don't
+care much for their stories, we feel they have as much right to grow as
+any other plants. Even a magic fairy garden has its weeds."
+
+The Wizard had strolled over to the pond of placid blue water, and
+placing his ear close to a green pad on which nestled an exquisite
+water lily, he heard these words, "Pick me, O Man, and I'll tell you
+a tale of a magic white ship that sails the jeweled seas and of the
+strange creatures that dwell in the blue depths."
+
+Turning to a lotus blossom, the Wizard heard a sleepy voice murmur,
+"Pick me, pick me. I'll carry you afar to the secret islands of the
+never-ending nights, where the winds are music in the palm trees and
+the hours are woven of delights."
+
+Now that they had listened to the pleading voices of so many of the
+blossoms, Dorothy and the Wizard decided to pick some of them and hear
+their stories.
+
+Dorothy's first selection was a Jack-in-the-Pulpit, which proved to be
+an unfortunate choice as the story the blossom told was preachy and
+sermon-like. She decided the blossom was a trifle green.
+
+Next she tried a daffodil. The story this blossom whispered to her in
+silver tones was about a lovely Spring Maiden who went dancing around
+the earth, and at her approach all ugliness and coldness and bitterness
+vanished. In the Spring Maiden's wake appeared a trail of anemones and
+violets and daffodils and tulips, and gentle winds that caused new
+hopes to arise in the hearts of the winter-weary people.
+
+The Wizard selected a pink carnation. This spicily-scented blossom told
+him an exciting story of intrigue and adventure in high places. It was
+a romantic, dashing story, full of cleverness and surprises.
+
+Then the Wizard plucked a cluster of purple lilacs. Each of the tiny
+blossoms growing on the stem joined in a chorus to sing him a story of
+home and love, of patience and virtue and all the common things of life
+in which the poorest may find riches and happiness.
+
+Almost before Dorothy and the Wizard realized it, the shadows of
+evening were lengthening over the garden, and Dolly and Poppet appeared
+to inform them the evening meal was awaiting them.
+
+Dorothy picked up the White Kitten which had fallen asleep in the
+shadow of a nearby hedge, and she and the Wizard followed the maid and
+the page back to the cheery comfort of Ozana's cottage. They chatted
+happily over the good food served them by Dolly and Poppet. Felina had
+her bowl of milk on the floor, near Dorothy's chair.
+
+Then, since they realized the next day was likely to be a busy and
+exciting one, they followed Dolly and Poppet to the rooms Ozana had
+prepared for them and said good-night at their doors. The rooms were
+delightfully furnished with deep, soft beds and everything to make them
+comfortable for the night.
+
+As Dorothy pulled the covers over her, and Felina snuggled into a
+small, furry ball at the girl's feet, Dolly reappeared with a poppy
+blossom in her hand.
+
+"Here, Princess Dorothy," the thoughtful little maid said, "Listen to
+the story of the poppy blossom and you'll be sure to sleep well."
+
+So Dorothy listened to the soft, slumbrous voice of the poppy and was
+asleep almost before the tale was finished.
+
+What kind of a story did the sweet poppy tell? Why, a bedtime story, of
+course.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER 13
+
+The Three Swans
+
+
+Dorothy was awakened by the sunlight streaming through the windows of
+her bedroom. Refreshed and eager for the adventures that lay ahead, she
+bathed and dressed and, with Felina in her arms, knocked on the door of
+the Wizard's room.
+
+The man was already awake and in excellent spirits as he greeted
+Dorothy. A moment later Dolly and Poppet came to lead them to the
+living room where Ozana was awaiting them for breakfast.
+
+The Fairy Princess, radiant with loveliness, was dressed in a simple,
+blue dress with a circlet of roses set in her golden hair. Dorothy
+thought this an excellent crown for the Princess of Story Blossom
+Garden.
+
+When the meal was finished, Ozana said, "It will please you to learn
+that my studies which I completed late last night revealed that the
+Mimic King and Queen have accomplished no real harm in the Emerald
+City. However, Queen Ra has succeeded in doing something that has
+surprised me. She has thrown up a magic screen about her activities
+which has made it impossible for me to discover whether she has
+found the spell that would release the Mimics from Queen Lurline's
+enchantment. It is logical to believe Ra has failed, since, if she had
+discovered the spell, she would surely have used it to permit the Mimic
+hordes to overrun Oz."
+
+"But you cannot be sure. Is that it, Ma'am?" asked the Wizard.
+
+"Yes, I am afraid so," Ozana admitted, frowning slightly.
+
+"This magic screen that Queen Ra has devised baffles me and resists all
+my efforts to penetrate it. For this reason I think it would be wise
+for us to go as quickly as possible to the Emerald City. As you know,
+Ozma and Glinda will return from the Forest of Burzee this morning at
+ten o'clock. I would like to be present to greet them and to explain
+what has happened. There is no use causing them undue alarm. After all,
+I am responsible for the Mimics in regard to the Land of Oz," Ozana
+concluded thoughtfully.
+
+"Well," said Dorothy, "I'm ready to go. How about you, Wizard?"
+
+The little man's expression was grave as he answered. "The quicker we
+get back to Oz the better. I have an uneasy feeling that we are not
+finished with the Mimics by any means."
+
+"Then it is settled," announced Ozana. "Come, my friends, let us make
+all possible haste. We have no time to lose."
+
+"May I take Felina to Oz with us?" asked Dorothy.
+
+Ozana smiled. "Certainly, my dear. Only let us hurry."
+
+Dorothy and the Wizard followed Ozana to the cottage door and down the
+path that led to the edge of the pond. The garden was fresh and lovely
+in the early morning. The side of the cottage that faced the morning
+sun was covered with blue morning glories. Dorothy regretted that there
+was no time for her to pick one of the delicate blossoms and listen to
+its story.
+
+Standing at the edge of the pond, Ozana uttered a soft, musical
+whistle. From under the low-hanging branches of a large bush that
+trailed into the water on the far shore of the pond, emerged the three
+graceful swans which Dorothy and the Wizard had admired the day before.
+The snow white birds moved swiftly across the water in answer to
+Ozana's summons.
+
+"These are my swans which will carry us over the Deadly Desert to the
+Emerald City," said Ozana.
+
+"They don't look big enough to carry even you or me, let alone the
+Wizard," said Dorothy doubtfully.
+
+Ozana laughed. "Of course they are not large enough now, Dorothy, but
+soon they will be."
+
+The three swans were now at the pond's edge, just at Ozana's feet. The
+Fairy Princess bent, touching the head of each of the birds gently with
+a slender wand which she drew from the folds of her blue dress. While
+Dorothy and the Wizard watched, the birds grew steadily before their
+wondering eyes. In a few seconds they were nearly five times the size
+of ordinary swans.
+
+The Fairy Princess placed a dainty foot on the back of one of the
+swans, and then settled herself on the bird's downy back, motioning to
+Dorothy and the Wizard to do likewise.
+
+Dorothy stepped gingerly to the back of the swan nearest her. She found
+the great bird supported her easily. Holding Felina in her lap, the
+little girl nestled comfortably among the feathers. The Wizard had
+already mounted the third swan.
+
+Seeing that the passengers were all aboard, Ozana signaled the swans,
+and with mighty strokes of their great wings the birds soared into the
+air. Dorothy looked behind her and saw Ozana's cottage growing smaller
+as the birds climbed higher and higher into the heavens. In a short
+time, they had left Mount Illuso so far in the distance that it was no
+longer visible.
+
+The soft feathers of the bird that carried her, and the gentle motion
+with which it sped through the air made Dorothy think of riding through
+the sky on a downy feather bed.
+
+"Isn't it grand, Wizard!" Dorothy called.
+
+"It certainly beats any traveling I ever did," admitted the Wizard.
+"It's even better than my balloon back in Omaha."
+
+Ozana's bird flew in advance, with the swans bearing Dorothy and the
+Wizard slightly to her rear on either side of her.
+
+They crossed the border of the Land of the Phanfasms and soared high
+over the Deadly Desert. The swans flew even higher over the desert than
+had the Mimic birds. For this reason none of the travelers suffered
+from the poisonous fumes that rose from the shifting sands of the
+desert.
+
+As they approached the yellow Land of the Winkies, Dorothy noticed that
+Ozana cast several anxious glances at the sun which was rising higher
+and higher in the heavens. It seemed to the little girl that the Fairy
+Princess was disturbed and anxious.
+
+"Is anything wrong, Ozana?" called Dorothy.
+
+"I cannot say for sure," replied Ozana. "Something has taken place in
+Oz of which I was not aware. I can feel the change now that we are
+actually over the Land of Oz. I am trying to discover what has happened
+by means of my fairy powers. I am afraid, too, that the journey is
+taking longer than I expected, and we shall not be able to arrive
+before Ozma and Glinda."
+
+At a signal from their mistress the three swans quickened their already
+swift flight.
+
+Again and again Ozana consulted the sun, and her appearance became
+more grave and worried as they approached the Emerald City.
+
+Suddenly the Fairy Princess's expression changed. A look of anger
+and dismay clouded her face, and the next instant she cried out
+beseechingly:
+
+"Forgive me, my friends! I now understand all that has happened. The
+Mimics have cunningly outwitted me!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER 14
+
+The Mimic Monarchs Lock Themselves In
+
+
+Back in the Emerald City a great deal had been happening while Dorothy
+and the Wizard were adventuring on Mount Illuso.
+
+You will recall that Toto had startled the Oz people by trotting into
+the Grand Dining Room and declaring that it was not Dorothy who sat at
+the head of the table. You see, in some ways animals are wiser than
+human beings. King Umb and Queen Ra were able to fool the Oz people
+just by _looking_ like Dorothy and the Wizard, but they couldn't
+deceive the keen senses of the little dog so easily. Toto's animal
+instinct warned him that this was not his beloved mistress Dorothy nor
+his old friend the Wizard. When Toto made his astonishing assertion
+every eye in the dining room turned questioningly upon the Mimic King
+and Queen.
+
+Suddenly Queen Ra leaped to her feet. Grasping King Umb by the arm and
+hissing, "Hurry, you fool!" she pulled the Mimic King after her and the
+two dashed from the dining room.
+
+For a moment everyone was too startled to move--except Toto. He sped
+like an arrow after the fleeing monarchs.
+
+The quick-witted Scarecrow broke the spell by leaping to his feet and
+following with awkward haste after the dog. Instantly there rose a
+clamor of startled exclamations and bewildered questions from the Oz
+people who were thrown into confusion by these strange happenings.
+
+By the time the Scarecrow had reached the corridor, King Umb, Queen Ra
+and Toto were nowhere in sight. But the straw man could hear Toto's
+excited barking. Following in the direction of the sound, down one
+corridor and up another, the Scarecrow arrived in the wing of the
+palace usually occupied by Ozma, and found Toto barking before a closed
+door. The little dog's eyes flashed angrily.
+
+When Toto saw the Scarecrow, he stopped barking and said, "I was just
+too late. They slammed the door in my face and now I suppose it is
+locked." The Scarecrow attempted to turn the knob with his stuffed hand
+and found that, as Toto suspected, the door was locked.
+
+"Do you know what room this is?" Toto asked.
+
+"Of course," replied the Scarecrow, "it's Ozma's Chamber of Magic."
+
+"Yes," went on the little dog, "the same room where the imitation
+Dorothy and Wizard have shut themselves in all day. Why? I want to
+know! I tell you, Scarecrow, there's something awfully funny going on
+here."
+
+The straw man was thoughtful. "I agree with you, Toto. Something is
+happening that we don't understand. We must find out what it is. I
+believe the wisest thing we can do is to return to the dining room and
+hold a council to talk this thing over. Maybe we will be able to find
+an explanation."
+
+Silently the little dog agreed, and a short time later a group of the
+best-loved companions of Dorothy and the Wizard was gathered in a
+living room adjoining the Grand Dining room. The Scarecrow presided
+over the meeting.
+
+"All we really know," he began, "is that Dorothy and the Wizard have
+been acting very strangely today--the second day of the absence of Ozma
+and Glinda. Toto insists that they are not Dorothy and the Wizard at
+all."
+
+"Lan' sakes!" exclaimed Dorothy's Aunt Em, "I'll admit the child ain't
+been herself today, but it's down-right silly to say that our Dorothy's
+someone else. I ought to know my own niece!"
+
+"Em, you're a-gittin' all mixed up," cautioned Uncle Henry. "You jest
+now said Dorothy ain't been herself today--that means she must be
+somebody else."
+
+"But who could look so much like Dorothy and the Wizard?" queried Betsy
+Bobbin with a frown.
+
+"And why should anyone wish to deceive us?" asked tiny Trot.
+
+Now Cap'n Bill spoke up. "S'posin'," began the old sailor gruffly,
+"that we admit fer the moment that this _ain't_ the real Dorothy and
+the Wizard. Then the most important thing is--where _are_ the real
+Dorothy and the Wizard?"
+
+"That's the smartest thing that's been said yet," declared Toto
+earnestly, with an admiring glance at Cap'n Bill. "Here we are, wasting
+time in talk, when something dreadful may be happening to Dorothy and
+the Wizard. Let's get busy and find them quickly."
+
+"Maybe they're lost," suggested Button Bright. "If that's the case
+there's nothing to worry about, 'cause I've been lost lots of times and
+I always got found again." But no one paid any attention to the boy.
+
+With her yarn hair dangling before her eyes, the Patchwork Girl danced
+to the front of the gathering. "The trouble with you people," she
+asserted, "is that you don't know how to add two and two and get four."
+
+"What do you mean by that, Scraps?" asked the Scarecrow.
+
+"Just this," retorted the stuffed girl, saucily making a face at the
+Scarecrow. "What did we overhear Dorothy and the Wizard discussing
+today in the garden? Magic! They were talking about a magic spell
+which they hoped to find before Ozma and Glinda returned. All right.
+Now where did Dorothy and the Wizard spend most of the day and where
+have they fled just now to lock themselves in? To Ozma's Chamber of
+_Magic_!" The Patchwork Girl concluded triumphantly, "Mark my words
+there's magic behind all this, and the secret is hidden in Ozma's
+Chamber of Magic."
+
+With his chin in his hand, the Scarecrow was regarding Scraps in silent
+admiration. "Sometimes," he said, "I almost believe your head is
+stuffed with the same quality of brains the Wizard put in mine."
+
+"Nope!" denied Scraps emphatically. "It's not brains--just a little
+common sense." And with that the irrepressible creature leaped to the
+chandelier suspended from the ceiling and began chinning herself.
+
+"Yes," agreed the Scarecrow with a sigh as he regarded her antics, "I
+guess I was wrong about your brains."
+
+"But what are we going to _do_? That's what I want to know," demanded
+Toto impatiently.
+
+"I believe," declared the Scarecrow finally, "there is only one thing
+we _can_ do. We must go to Ozma's Chamber of Magic and try to persuade
+this strange Dorothy and the Wizard to admit us. If they refuse, then
+we shall be obliged to break open the door and demand an explanation of
+their mysterious behavior."
+
+"Good!" exclaimed Toto. "Let us go at once."
+
+They all filed out of the room and made their way to Ozma's Chamber of
+Magic. The door was still locked. Several times the Scarecrow called to
+Dorothy and the Wizard to open the door and admit them, but there was
+no response. Then Cap'n Bill stepped forward. He knew what was expected
+of him as the biggest and strongest of the group. He placed a shoulder
+against the door and pushed. The door creaked and yielded. Again Cap'n
+Bill pushed. This time the door yielded more noticeably. Upon the third
+trial the door suddenly gave way before the old sailor man's weight,
+and the Scarecrow followed by Scraps, Trot, Betsy Bobbin, Button Bright
+and the rest crowded into Ozma's Chamber of Magic.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER 15
+
+In the Chamber of Magic
+
+
+When Queen Ra seized King Umb by the arm and fled with him from the
+dining room, the Mimic Queen was alarmed. She realized it was useless
+to attempt to deceive Toto, and she greatly feared the little dog would
+succeed in convincing the Scarecrow and the others that something had
+happened to Dorothy and the Wizard.
+
+Fear lent speed to the Queen's feet as she ran down the corridor,
+dragging King Umb after her, with Toto in close pursuit. She slammed
+the door of the Chamber of Magic and locked it just in time to prevent
+Toto's entry. Then she flung herself in a chair, gasping for breath.
+
+When King Umb, who was even more frightened than his Queen, had got his
+breath and could speak, he said raspingly, "So this is the way your
+plan works--a miserable dog robs us of success!"
+
+"Silence!" commanded Queen Ra angrily. "We are far from defeated. We
+still have time to find the magic spell. And we will! We were fools to
+give up the search and go to that silly dinner," she concluded bitterly.
+
+She turned to Ozma's magic books and began feverishly leafing through
+them. For perhaps ten minutes she continued her search fruitlessly.
+Flung carelessly on the floor at her side was a great pile of books
+through which she had previously looked in vain for the magic spell.
+Only four books remained to be searched through.
+
+While King Umb watched nervously, the Queen continued her frantic
+quest. Now only two books remained. The magic spell must be in one of
+these two volumes. Suddenly Queen Ra leaped to her feet with a cry of
+triumph. "I have found it!" she announced with exultation. She tore a
+page from the book and cast the volume to the floor.
+
+"Come," she urged, "Let us return to Mount Illuso as speedily as
+possible. Soon we will come again to Oz. But we will not be alone!"
+Both Ra and Umb laughed with wicked satisfaction.
+
+Just then the Scarecrow called to Dorothy and the Wizard to open the
+door and admit them.
+
+"Fools!" muttered Queen Ra. "In a short time you will all be my slaves."
+
+Pausing to pick up Dorothy's Magic Belt, Queen Ra walked to a large
+French window that looked down on the palace court-yard. Turning to
+King Umb, she said, "These hateful shapes can serve us no longer,
+so let us discard them and be on our way." Instantly the figures of
+Dorothy and the Wizard vanished and in their places appeared two great,
+black birds with huge, powerful wings.
+
+Just as Cap'n Bill burst open the door, and the Scarecrow and the rest
+crowded into the room, the birds flew from the window.
+
+The little group hurried to the window and looked out. High above
+the palace and swiftly disappearing in the night, flew two enormous
+bat-like birds. The night was too dark and the birds too far away
+for any of the Oz people to see that one of the creatures clutched
+Dorothy's Magic Belt. While Queen Ra had not yet learned how to
+command the many wonderful powers of the Magic Belt (or she would most
+certainly have used the belt to transport herself and Umb to the Mimic
+Land in the twinkling of an eye), nevertheless she had no intention of
+leaving the valuable talisman behind to be used by the Oz people.
+
+More bewildered than ever, the Scarecrow and his companions turned from
+the window.
+
+"I told you so!" declared Toto excitedly. "You see--those creatures
+were not Dorothy and the Wizard at all."
+
+"You are right," said the Scarecrow, "those great birds must be the
+same beings that we thought were Dorothy and the Wizard."
+
+"Certainly," replied Toto. "You can see for yourself that Dorothy and
+the Wizard are not here."
+
+It was true enough. There was no trace of Dorothy or the Wizard in the
+Chamber of Magic.
+
+"But who were those creatures? And why did they want us to believe they
+were Dorothy and the Wizard? And what has happened to the real Dorothy
+and the Wizard?" the Scarecrow asked helplessly.
+
+"Why not look in the Magic Picture and find out?" asked the Patchwork
+Girl, as she danced about the room.
+
+"Of course, the very thing!" exclaimed the Scarecrow. "Why didn't I
+think of that myself?"
+
+"Because your brains are of an extraordinary quality," retorted Scraps,
+"and you can't be expected to think common-sense thoughts."
+
+The Magic Picture which hung on a wall in Ozma's boudoir was one of the
+rarest treasures in all Oz. Ordinarily the picture presented merely an
+attractive view of a pleasant countryside with rolling fields and a
+forest in the background. But when anyone stood in front of the picture
+and asked to see a certain person--anywhere in the world--the painted
+picture faded and was replaced by the moving image of the person named
+and his or her surroundings at that exact time.
+
+The Scarecrow and his companions gathered about the Magic Picture and
+the straw man said solemnly, "I want to see Dorothy and the Wizard."
+Instantly the painted scene faded and in its place appeared the
+interior of Hi-Lo's little cottage. Dorothy and the Wizard were just
+about to sit down to the food Mrs. Hi-Lo had prepared for them.
+
+"I wonder who those two funny little people are?" murmured Trot,
+fascinated by the quaint appearance of Mr. and Mrs. Hi-Lo.
+
+"They are not familiar to me," observed the Scarecrow reflectively,
+"nor have I ever seen a cottage quite like that one in the Land of Oz."
+
+For a time the group watched in silence while Dorothy and the Wizard
+ate their food and conversed with Mr. and Mrs. Hi-Lo. But at length, as
+nothing of importance occurred, the Scarecrow said:
+
+"Even though we don't know where Dorothy and the Wizard are, at least
+the Magic Picture has shown us they are safe for the moment and we
+don't need to worry about them."
+
+"Why not use Dorothy's Magic Belt to wish Dorothy and the Wizard back
+here in the palace?" Trot asked suddenly as she stared at the images in
+the Magic Picture.
+
+"An excellent suggestion!" agreed the Scarecrow, his face beaming.
+"Trot, I believe you have solved our problem," he said admiringly.
+
+The Scarecrow knew that when Dorothy was not wearing her Magic Belt
+on a journey, it was always kept in Ozma's Chamber of Magic. So the
+straw man went there himself to get the belt. A few minutes later he
+returned and announced gloomily, "It's gone. The Magic Belt is nowhere
+in the Chamber of Magic. Either Ozma took it with her, or it has been
+stolen. The Magic Picture has shown us that Dorothy is not wearing the
+belt."
+
+Disappointment was reflected on everyone's face, and for a moment no
+one spoke. Then the Scarecrow declared, "My friends, there remains only
+one more thing for us to do."
+
+"What is that?" asked Cap'n Bill.
+
+"One of us must leave immediately for Glinda's castle in the Quadling
+Country to consult Glinda's Great Book of Records. The book will
+provide us with a complete account of all that has happened to Dorothy
+and the Wizard."
+
+"A wise suggestion," agreed Cap'n Bill. "Who will go?"
+
+"I will," volunteered Dorothy's Uncle Henry quickly. "I want to do
+everything possible to bring Dorothy back to us and it 'pears to me we
+can't do much of anything until we know what has happened to her."
+
+"Good!" exclaimed the Scarecrow. "You can leave at once. I will order
+Ozma's wooden Sawhorse to carry you to Glinda's Castle and back. But
+even though the Sawhorse is swift and tireless, you will not be able
+to make the journey, consult the Great Book of Records and return to
+the Emerald City before Ozma and Glinda come back day after tomorrow.
+That is too bad. The disappearance of Dorothy and the Wizard and all
+this mystery will not provide a very cheerful homecoming for Ozma and
+Glinda. But at least we shall have the information contained in the
+Great Book of Records, and then Ozma and Glinda will know best what to
+do."
+
+Uncle Henry kissed Aunt Em good-bye and hurried to the Royal Stable
+where the Sawhorse was waiting for him.
+
+"I understand," said the queer steed, whose body and head were made
+from a tree trunk, "that we're going to Glinda's castle in the Quadling
+Country."
+
+"That's right," nodded Uncle Henry. "And this is no pleasure trip, so
+go as fast as you can."
+
+Glancing at Uncle Henry for a moment from one of his eyes which were
+knots in the wood, the Sawhorse turned, as soon as Uncle Henry was
+mounted, and dashed down the stable driveway into the street leading
+to the gates of the Emerald City. Once outside the city, the Sawhorse
+ran so swiftly that its legs, which were merely sticks of wood which
+Ozma had caused to be shod with gold, fairly twinkled. It sped with a
+rolling, cradle-like motion over fields and hills, and Uncle Henry had
+to hold on for dear life.
+
+Perhaps I should explain that Glinda's Great Book of Records is a
+marvelous book in which everything that happens, from the slightest
+detail to the most important event taking place anywhere in the world,
+is recorded the same instant that it happens. No occurrence is too
+trivial to appear in the book. If a naughty child stamps its foot in
+anger, or if a powerful ruler plunges his country into war, both
+events are noted in the book, as of equal importance.
+
+The huge book lies open on a great table, occupying the center of
+Glinda's study and is bound to the table by large chains of gold. Next
+to Ozma's Magic Picture, Glinda's Great Book of Records is the most
+valuable treasure in Oz. The Scarecrow knew that by consulting this
+wonderful book, Uncle Henry would be able to discover exactly what had
+happened to Dorothy and the Wizard.
+
+The Scarecrow and Scraps, having no need for sleep, sat before the
+Magic Picture all night long conversing quietly and occasionally
+glancing at the images of Dorothy and the Wizard as the picture showed
+them sleeping in Hi-Lo's cottage.
+
+The rest of the Oz people retired to their bedrooms, but none of them
+slept well that night. They were far too worried over the plight of
+Dorothy and the Wizard to rest easily.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER 16
+
+A Web Is Woven
+
+
+Arriving at Mount Illuso early the following morning, King Umb and
+Queen Ra passed the day secluded in the secret cavern where the Queen
+was accustomed to study the dark sorcery of the Erbs and practice her
+evil magic. This cavern was so well hidden, far in the depths of Mount
+Illuso, and its location was so closely guarded, that only a few of the
+most faithful subjects of the Mimic King and Queen were aware of its
+existence.
+
+While Queen Ra's shape was that of a woman, her body was covered with
+a heavy fur of a reddish-brown color, and her head was that of a fox
+with a long snout and sharply pointed ears. Two green eyes blazed with
+a fierce light from her furry face. In her hand the fox-woman held
+a brass whistle on which she blew a shrill blast. In answer to this
+summons came the Mimic known as Ebo. Ebo wore the body of a jackal with
+the head of a serpent.
+
+"Go to the Cave of the Doomed and bring the two prisoners to me at
+once," the Queen commanded.
+
+"Yes, your Highness," hissed Ebo as he swayed his serpent head in
+obeisance and left the cavern.
+
+"We might as well have a little fun while we wait for midnight,"
+grinned the fox head of the woman evilly.
+
+King Umb appeared as a great, grey ape with cloven hoofs and the head
+of a man. From the center of his forehead projected a single horn. The
+man-face was covered with a shaggy, black beard which fell to the hairy
+chest of the ape-body.
+
+"What do you intend doing with the girl and the man?" asked the grey
+ape.
+
+"I shall practice transformations on the man, giving him a number of
+unusual shapes and then perhaps combine them all into one interesting
+creature. It is amazingly easy to change the shapes of humans, so
+it will not be much of a feat of magic. Then, just before we leave
+for the Emerald City, I shall change him into a salamander--a green
+salamander instead of the ordinary red kind, of course, since he is
+from the Emerald City--and then when we are over the Deadly Desert I
+shall drop him into the sands. Salamanders are the only creatures that
+can exist in the desert, so it will really be a merciful fate, since it
+will not stop him from living."
+
+"And the girl?" prompted King Umb.
+
+"I think I shall keep the girl chained in my cavern to amuse me when
+the excitement of conquering and devastating Oz is over and I am in
+need of diversion," said Queen Ra.
+
+While the Queen was relating her wicked plans, Ebo made his way to the
+Cave of the Doomed and was amazed and terrified to find it empty. How
+could there be an escape from the cave from which there was no exit
+save the single stone door which was always closely guarded? The jackal
+body of Ebo trembled with fear of the punishment he knew Queen Ra would
+be quick to inflict on him. But there was nothing else for him to do
+but to report the mysterious disappearance of the prisoners to the
+Mimic King and Queen.
+
+Queen Ra received the news with a scream of rage. Blowing on her brass
+whistle, she summoned two other Mimics. Pointing to Ebo who cringed
+with fear, she cried, "Carry him away and cast him into the Pit of
+Forked Flames."
+
+King Umb was uneasy. "I don't like this," he said. "How do we know that
+the two mortals will not interfere with our plans to conquer Oz?"
+
+"Bah! What can two weak mortals do in the face of our might?" demanded
+the Queen derisively.
+
+Knowing his wife's temper, King Umb refrained from reminding Ra that
+the mortals had somehow miraculously succeeded in escaping from the
+Cave of the Doomed. Instead, he merely shrugged his ape shoulders and
+said, "Just the same, I wish we were on our way to Oz now, instead of
+waiting until midnight."
+
+Queen Ra glared at her husband. "I have told you that Lurline's
+enchantment can be broken only at midnight. Tonight at twelve, I will
+cast the spell which Lurline foolishly left in Ozma's possession.
+Since it is the antidote to the enchantment which protects Oz from
+the Mimics, Lurline knew Ozma would guard it most carefully. But we
+succeeded in stealing it. Once the spell is cast, the Mimics will be
+free in all their power to attack Oz and enslave its people. I tell
+you, Umb, the famous Land of Oz is doomed. In a few short hours it will
+be a shambles. Nothing can save it!"
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+A few minutes before the hour of midnight, the Mimic hordes assembled
+in the vast domed cavern which forms that portion of hollow Mount
+Illuso that towers above the earth.
+
+In the center of the cavern on a stone dais stood King Umb and Queen
+Ra. The Mimic Queen lifted her arms and immediately silence fell over
+the shifting mass of evil beings.
+
+The Queen held in her hand a small box of black enameled wood. Placing
+the box on the stone dais before her, she raised the lid and muttered
+an incantation. Immediately there crawled from the box a scarlet spider
+as large as the Queen's hand. At the first word of the incantation
+the spider began to grow. In a few seconds its body was four feet in
+thickness, and its hairy legs sprawled to a distance of fifteen feet
+from its body which was covered with a crimson fur.
+
+"Now go," Queen Ra commanded the spider, "and weave the web that will
+enmesh the fairy enchantment that hangs over us!"
+
+The Mimic hordes parted to make a path through their midst for the
+spider. The loathsome creature scuttled first to the wall of the
+cavern, and then climbed up the side of the wall. In a few seconds it
+had reached the top of the cavern.
+
+Then, moving with incredible speed, it wove a monster spider web of
+crimson strands as thick and tough as heavy rope cables.
+
+Queen Ra watched silently until the fashioning of the scarlet web was
+completed. At that moment she cried aloud for all to hear:
+
+"So long as this web remains unbroken, the Mimics are freed from the
+enchantment cast on them by Lurline! The web is a snare and a net for
+Lurline's fairy enchantment and holds every remnant of it caught fast
+in its coils."
+
+The Queen spoke triumphantly, and well she might, for the magic spell
+she had stolen from Ozma had worked perfectly.
+
+"Come!" shouted Queen Ra. "Let us tarry no longer. We have waited too
+many years for this hour!"
+
+With this the Mimic King and Queen assumed the shapes of giant birds
+and soared through the cavern to the stone portal. The throngs of their
+Mimic subjects followed, beating the air with great, leathery wings as
+they passed from the cavern into the night.
+
+Soon the sky above Mount Illuso was darkened with the great numbers of
+the Mimic horde, and the light of the moon was blotted from the earth
+by the flapping wings.
+
+Following the lead of King Umb and Queen Ra, they headed straight for
+the Deadly Desert and the Land of Oz.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER 17
+
+The Mimics in the Emerald City
+
+
+On the morning when the Mimic hordes swept over the border of the
+Deadly Desert and the Winkie Country and on to the Emerald City, Button
+Bright and the Patchwork Girl were playing leap-frog in the garden of
+the Royal Palace.
+
+Cap'n Bill was sitting nearby on a bench in the sun, carving on a block
+of wood with his big jack-knife. The old sailor man worked slowly
+and painstakingly, but when he finished he knew he would have a good
+likeness of Princess Ozma's lovely features carved in the wood. This
+he planned to mount as a figurehead on the prow of the boat he was
+building as a surprise for Ozma.
+
+Suddenly Button Bright, who had tumbled flat on his back, cried out:
+
+"Look! Look at those birds!"
+
+Scraps swept her yarn hair out of her button eyes and tilted her head
+back. The sky was darkening with a great cloud of birds. And what
+beautiful creatures those birds were!
+
+    "Birds of a feather
+      Flock together.
+    Red, blue, green and gold
+      Match my patches, bold.
+
+    "Not a grey topknot
+      In the whole lot!
+    See the popinjay
+      Flirt its colors gay..."
+
+cried the Patchwork Girl, dancing about in wild excitement.
+
+"Stop it, Scraps!" commanded Button Bright who was nearly as excited as
+the stuffed girl.
+
+"Trot, Betsy, Ojo, Scarecrow!" the boy called. "Come out and see the
+pretty birds!"
+
+Of course this taking the forms of gorgeous plumed birds was a clever
+part of Queen Ra's cunning scheme. She knew the beauty of the birds,
+instead of alarming the Oz people, would fascinate them. The Queen
+hoped by this wily stratagem to take the Oz inhabitants completely by
+surprise with no thought of danger in their minds.
+
+The scheme worked even better than Queen Ra dared dream.
+
+Ojo the Lucky, Aunt Em, the Scarecrow, Betsy Bobbin, Trot, Jellia Jamb,
+and all the others came hurrying from the Royal Palace, while from the
+Royal Stable came the Cowardly Lion, the Hungry Tiger, Hank the Mule,
+the Woozy and others of the animal friends of the palace residents.
+Gathering in the gardens and court-yard, they all stared up in wonder
+at the beautiful birds.
+
+Outside the grounds of the Royal Palace, much the same thing was
+happening throughout the Emerald City. Those people who were out of
+doors witnessing the spectacle called to those who were indoors, urging
+them to hurry out and see the lovely visitors. It was no time at all
+until every building in the city was emptied of its curious inhabitants.
+
+This was just what the Mimics wanted. With the people of the Emerald
+City standing in the daylight, plainly casting their shadows, Queen Ra
+gave a signal and the Mimic birds ceased their slow circling in the
+sky for the enjoyment of the Oz people and dropped down to the city.
+King Umb and Queen Ra led those birds which settled in the palace
+court-yard and gardens.
+
+A bird with brilliant scarlet and royal purple feathers and a topknot
+of gleaming gold alighted close to Trot. The little girl stepped
+forward with delight to stroke the bird's lovely plumage. Instantly
+the creature vanished and in its place stood a perfect duplicate of
+Trot, while the real Trot was frozen in her tracks, unable to move.
+Mystified at suddenly seeing _two_ Trots before him, Cap'n Bill rose
+from his bench and started toward them. But he was confronted by one
+of the giant birds and an instant later the old sailor man was unable
+to move. He could only stare with amazement at an exact double of
+himself--wooden leg and all. Button Bright was about to leap playfully
+on the back of another bird when he fell to the ground powerless
+to move. At the same moment the bird vanished and the boy's double
+appeared in its place.
+
+And so it went throughout the Emerald City. The friendly Oz people
+were delighted that the lovely birds should approach so near that they
+might be treated to a closer view of their gorgeous plumage, which,
+it must be admitted, was exceedingly beautiful. Only the eyes of the
+birds betrayed their true natures. They flamed a fierce red. One or
+two of the Oz people, upon meeting the glare of those piercing eyes,
+were alarmed and would have turned and fled. But it was too late. In a
+few minutes, all the human inhabitants of the Emerald City were made
+captives.
+
+However, the Mimics were able to steal the shapes only of human beings.
+
+The Scarecrow, the Patchwork Girl, Tik-Tok, the Glass Cat, Billina the
+Yellow Hen, the Woozy, Toto, Hank the Mule, the Cowardly Lion and the
+Hungry Tiger remained unchanged. Fearing the mule, the lion and the
+tiger might prove dangerous because of their size, Queen Ra quickly
+placed a magic spell on the three beasts that caused them to fall on
+the court-yard lawn in a deep sleep.
+
+The Scarecrow, Scraps, Tik-Tok and the others who had escaped the magic
+of the Mimics were completely confused by these sudden and baffling
+events. The stuffed girl rubbed her suspender button eyes and gazed
+with disbelief at _two_ Button Brights--which one was it she had been
+playing with only a few minutes before? And there were _two_ Aunt Ems
+and _two_ Jellia Jambs! Wondering if the world had somehow suddenly
+become double, the bewildered Patchwork Girl looked about for her own
+twin.
+
+Of all the horde of beautiful birds that had settled on the Emerald
+City, only two remained in the Royal Gardens. These were King Umb and
+Queen Ra. At this point the Mimic King and Queen cast off their bird
+forms. A strange man and woman suddenly appeared in the midst of the
+Oz people and the Mimic-Oz-people. The woman was big, raw-boned and
+red-skinned. Her hair was twisted on her head in a hard black knot, on
+which was set a small golden crown. The Scarecrow started with surprise
+when he saw that the strange woman was wearing Dorothy's Magic Belt.
+(Until now the belt had been concealed by the plumage of Ra's bird
+form.) Queen Ra had brought the Magic Belt with her because of its
+wonderful powers which she had been studying and which she felt would
+be useful in carrying out the conquest of Oz. Beside the woman stood a
+giant man with a flowing black beard and tangled black hair. His eyes
+were fierce and hawklike.
+
+Quickly Queen Ra uttered a command, at which a number of the
+Mimic-Oz-people leaped forward and proceeded to bind the non-human
+Ozites with strong ropes, which the magic of Queen Ra placed in their
+hands.
+
+To his amazement, the Scarecrow found himself being made captive by
+Cap'n Bill and Ojo the Lucky. The straw man was wise enough to know
+that these twin likenesses were not really his old friends, Cap'n Bill
+and Ojo, so he resisted with all his might. But the poor Scarecrow's
+body was so light that the Mimics had no difficulty in fastening the
+ropes about him and pinning his arms to his sides.
+
+Scraps was more of a problem. It required the combined efforts of the
+Mimic Jellia Jamb, Aunt Em, Betsy Bobbin and Button Bright to bind her.
+But even with these odds none of the Mimics escaped without scratches
+on his face from Scraps' gold plated finger nails.
+
+Tik-Tok, the Woozy, the Glass Cat and the rest were all securely bound
+in a few more seconds.
+
+While our friends were being made prisoners, King Umb and Queen Ra
+hastened away to the Throne Room of the Royal Palace. There the
+prisoners of the Mimics were carried into the presence of the Mimic
+King and Queen. The Scarecrow and the others were shocked and outraged
+at the spectacle of the harsh-looking woman brazenly occupying Ozma's
+throne, while at her side stood the fierce-visaged man.
+
+The Mimic Ojo and Button Bright lined up the captives before the
+throne, while Queen Ra regarded them scornfully.
+
+"A pair of stuffed dummies, an animated washing machine, and a
+menagerie," she commented derisively.
+
+"I demand," shouted the Scarecrow boldly, "that you release us
+immediately!"
+
+"Ah! The famous Scarecrow of Oz!" gloatingly exclaimed Queen Ra. "And
+as brave as ever! I believe I will have your body destroyed by fire,
+first removing your head so that you will be able to entertain me with
+your wise thoughts. It would be a shame," she added with sarcasm, "if
+such great brains were lost to the world."
+
+Now the one thing in the world the Scarecrow feared was a lighted
+match, so it is no wonder that, brave as he was, he shrank before so
+terrible a fate as that proposed by the wicked Queen.
+
+"You will not get a-way with this," warned Tik-Tok in his mechanical
+voice. "You will sure-ly be pun-ish-ed for your wick-ed-ness and e-vil
+do-ing."
+
+"And you are Tik-Tok the Machine Man," said Queen Ra. "As useless a
+pile of rubbish as was ever assembled. I shall have you carefully taken
+apart, piece by piece, and amuse myself in my spare time by trying to
+put you back together again like a jig-saw puzzle."
+
+"My ma-chin-er-y does not per-mit me to fear," replied Tik-Tok calmly,
+"e-ven when I am thor-ough-ly wound up, so you are wast-ing your
+threats on me."
+
+The evil Queen went down the line of captives, plotting terrible fates
+for each of them. Billina, she predicted, would soon be roasted for
+dinner. The Patchwork Girl would become a combination pin-cushion
+and personal slave. The Glass Cat would be melted down into marbles.
+Finally she came to the last of the prisoners--the square shaped
+Woozy--whom Ra promised to have chopped into cubes for building blocks.
+
+It was at this moment that the Scarecrow became aware that with the
+exceptions of Hank the Mule and the Cowardly Lion and the Hungry Tiger,
+who lay sleeping in the court-yard, all the animals of the Royal
+Palace were present--save the Sawhorse, who was at that moment swiftly
+bearing Uncle Henry back to the Emerald City from Glinda's Castle in
+the Quadling Country--and one other.
+
+That other was--Toto!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER 18
+
+The Return of Ozma and Glinda
+
+
+After his first sense of joy at finding that Toto had somehow escaped
+capture, the Scarecrow reflected more soberly that even though the
+little dog was free there was nothing he could do to rescue his friends
+from their desperate plight.
+
+But the Scarecrow had been in dangerous situations before, so he did
+not give up hope by any means. While Queen Ra was gloating over her
+prisoners, the Scarecrow's famous brains were hard at work. Suddenly
+it occurred to the straw man that Ozma and Glinda were to return to
+the Emerald City at ten o'clock this morning. It was almost that time
+now. If only he could engage the wicked Queen in conversation until
+Ozma and Glinda appeared, then the Royal Ruler and the Good Sorceress
+might take their enemies by surprise. The Scarecrow was confident that
+Ozma would be able to deal with these usurpers to her throne.
+
+With this plan in mind, the Scarecrow cried out in a bold voice: "I
+demand to know what you have done with Dorothy and the Wizard!" When he
+had witnessed the peculiar manner in which the gaudily plumed birds had
+assumed the shapes of his human friends in the garden, the Scarecrow
+had first suspected that these creatures were responsible for the
+disappearance of Dorothy and the Wizard. Then the sight of Dorothy's
+Magic Belt about the waist of the big woman had convinced him of the
+truth of his suspicions.
+
+Queen Ra answered the Scarecrow with a scornful laugh. "You are quite
+brave, my blustering, straw-stuffed dummy, but your braveness will do
+you no good. As for your Princess Dorothy and the man who calls himself
+a wizard, you will never see them again. Furthermore," the Queen went
+on, "as soon as I have suitably disposed of you and the rest of these
+animated creatures and beasts, I will use the Magic Belt to transport
+the helpless bodies of all the Oz people in the Emerald City to Mount
+Illuso, where they will share the same fate as your Dorothy and her
+wizard friend."
+
+In spite of the assurance with which she spoke, the evil Queen was
+uneasy when she recalled the disappearance of Dorothy and the Wizard
+from the Cave of the Doomed. Had she underestimated the Wizard's powers
+of magic? Queen Ra shrugged this thought from her mind. What had she
+to fear from two mere mortals? What had she to fear from anyone now?
+The Emerald City was hers and Oz was as good as conquered!
+
+"Do not heed the threats of this wicked woman!" the Scarecrow called to
+his captive companions. "She is boasting too soon!"
+
+At these words Queen Ra turned angrily upon the Scarecrow.
+
+"Enough of your insolence, miserable wretch!" she cried. "I will show
+you who is boasting. Since you dare challenge me, I will destroy you
+immediately!"
+
+Her eyes flashing with rage, Queen Ra leaped from the throne and moved
+toward the Scarecrow. When she was about six feet from him, Ra paused
+and muttered an incantation. Instantly dancing flames of fire leaped
+from the marble floor of the throne room, making a circle around the
+Scarecrow. With a smile of satisfaction, Queen Ra resumed her place on
+Ozma's throne to enjoy the spectacle in comfort.
+
+The dancing circle of fire moved swiftly inward. As the blazing circle
+grew smaller in circumference, the flames leaped ever higher and closer
+to the helpless Scarecrow, who stood in the circle's exact center.
+The leaping fire had moved so close to the Scarecrow that it almost
+scorched his stuffed clothing. The friends of the Scarecrow watched in
+horror. Prisoners themselves, there was nothing they could do to save
+their old comrade from this terrible fate.
+
+"Whish!"
+
+There was a sudden rush of air, and in the center of the throne room
+stood Princess Ozma and Glinda the Good on the exact spot from which
+they had vanished three days before.
+
+Ozma swept the throne room with a glance that instantly comprehended
+the Scarecrow's great danger. In another moment her old friend would
+be reduced to a pile of smoldering ashes. Quick as a flash, the little
+Princess pointed her fairy wand at the flames that were licking the
+straw man's boots. While the onlookers blinked, the flames vanished. A
+long sigh of relief went up from the Scarecrow's friends.
+
+Queen Ra was glaring with terrible rage at the Royal Ozma, who advanced
+calmly toward the wicked Queen with an expression of stern dignity on
+her girlish features.
+
+"Who are you, and what are you doing on my throne?" Ozma asked.
+
+"_Your_ throne no longer!" replied Ra harshly. "For you are no longer
+ruler of the Land of Oz. Instead you are my prisoner, and soon I will
+make it impossible for you to interfere with my plans as you have just
+done."
+
+The stately Glinda spoke now, her voice grave and thoughtful.
+
+"I believe I know who you are," she said. "You must be the Queen of the
+evil Mimics. I have read about you in my Great Book of Records."
+
+"If this is true," said Ozma sorrowfully, "then your Mimic hordes are
+these creatures who so closely resemble my own beloved subjects, while
+the true Oz people are robbed of the power of motion by your evil
+spell."
+
+"Good!" sneered Ra. "I am glad you understand everything so well. You
+have not a friend in the Emerald City to aid you. Everyone of your
+subjects in the city is a victim of the Mimic magic. Soon this will be
+true of all the Land of Oz. I am sure you will agree with me," Queen Ra
+went on mockingly, "that it is only fair and just that you should share
+your subjects' fate. Indeed I know you are so foolishly loyal that you
+would not escape and leave your people to suffer even if you could. So
+King Umb and I, ourselves, will oblige you by making it possible for
+you to join your beloved subjects. Owing to your high rank as the two
+most powerful persons in the Land of Oz, we will do you the honor of
+taking your shapes."
+
+Concluding this triumphant speech, Queen Ra grinned with malicious
+satisfaction and said gloatingly, "At last the Royal Ozma and the Great
+Glinda bow to a power greater than their own! Come," she called to King
+Umb, "you take the form of Glinda, I will take that of Ozma."
+
+With this the Mimic Monarchs advanced on Ozma and Glinda. The little
+Ruler and Glinda the Good were silent. Both realized that Queen Ra had
+spoken the truth when she had declared their powers to be useless
+against the Mimics. Therefore the girl Ruler and the Sorceress made no
+effort to combat their enemies, but stood bravely and proudly awaiting
+their fate.
+
+At that very moment when King Umb and Queen Ra were about to seize the
+shadows of Ozma and Glinda, a small, black form streaked with the speed
+of light from underneath Ozma's throne straight to the menacing figures
+of the Mimic King and Queen. It was Toto! With fierce growls and barks
+he began worrying and snapping at the ankles of the Mimic Monarchs.
+
+The sudden appearance of the little dog and his desperate attack took
+Ra and Umb completely by surprise. For a moment they entirely forgot
+Ozma and Glinda and devoted all their efforts to freeing themselves
+from the snapping jaws of the furiously snarling little dog.
+
+This respite which Toto had so bravely won saved Ozma and Glinda from
+sharing the fate of their subjects. A few seconds after Toto's attack,
+there suddenly appeared in the entrance of the throne room three
+figures, two of whom the Scarecrow joyfully recognized as Dorothy and
+the Little Wizard. They were accompanied by a maiden who was unknown
+to the Scarecrow but whose beauty was quite evident. For an instant
+the trio stood in the doorway, surveying the strange scene that met
+their eyes in Ozma's Royal Throne Room.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER 19
+
+Ozana's Fairy Arts
+
+
+Swiftly Princess Ozana--for the maiden was she--advanced to the center
+of the throne room. She was followed closely by the Wizard and Dorothy,
+who bore in her arms the sleeping form of a tiny, white kitten.
+
+At the appearance of Dorothy, Toto stopped worrying the ankles of King
+Umb and Queen Ra and ran to meet the little girl. So happy was the
+excited little dog to see his beloved mistress that he even ignored the
+presence of the sleeping kitten. Dorothy knelt and caressed him.
+
+Meanwhile, Queen Ra, recognizing Ozana, paled and gasped: "The Guardian
+of Oz!"
+
+"Yes," admitted Ozana calmly, "it is I, Princess Ozana."
+
+King Umb was so terrified at the appearance of the little maiden that
+the big fellow's knees knocked together and his face turned a sickly,
+green hue.
+
+But it cannot be said that Queen Ra lacked courage. After the first
+shock of Ozana's appearance, the Queen summoned her spirits and faced
+the fairy maid defiantly. Ra had determined not to give up her triumph
+without a struggle.
+
+Clasping her palms to Dorothy's Magic Belt, the Mimic Queen whispered a
+command to it. But nothing happened.
+
+Ozana divined what the Queen was about, but she only smiled.
+
+In a rage, Queen Ra tore the useless belt from her waist and flung it
+to the throne room floor.
+
+"You should know better," Ozana gently chided the infuriated Queen,
+"than to attempt to work such simple magic on me. Even if you had
+succeeded in transforming me into a wooden doll, I would still have
+retained my fairy powers and been able to defeat you."
+
+Fright and realization that she was defeated mingled in Queen Ra's eyes
+as she stared at Ozana. The unhappy Queen said not a word. She sat
+spellbound, gazing with fearful fascination at the serene features of
+her girlish opponent.
+
+Ozana was speaking with an air of calm justice. "Because I appeared
+absorbed in my own occupations," she addressed Queen Ra, "you counted
+me harmless. You believed I would be unaware of your evil-doing. You
+thought you could attack Oz without my knowing it. But you were wrong.
+And now the time has come for me to fulfill the trust placed in me
+by Queen Lurline when she made me Guardian of Oz. At that time she
+imparted to me the same powers over the race of Mimics that only she,
+of all fairies, possesses. I shall use those powers as Queen Lurline
+would wish me to. I shall place her enchantment once more on the Mimics
+so that they will be powerless to steal the shapes of all who dwell
+in the Land of Oz. At the same time, the re-weaving of this fairy
+enchantment will release all those Oz people whose shapes are now held
+by the Mimics."
+
+As Ozana completed this speech, she described a large circle in the air
+before her with her fairy wand. Immediately that space was filled with
+a silvery, cloud-like radiance that glowed and shimmered. Then, while
+Ozma and the rest watched, a scene appeared in the cloud of silver
+mist. Dorothy and the Wizard recognized it as the interior of the
+Mimic cavern inside hollow Mount Illuso. Far in the top of the cavern
+they saw a scarlet spider web, in the center of which squatted a huge
+crimson spider. While those in the throne room watched with fascinated
+interest, the spider, seeming to sense that it was being observed,
+scuttled with a sudden, crab-like motion to the outer edge of the web.
+There it squatted, its eyes glowing like dull, red coals.
+
+With the tip of her wand, Ozana touched the head of the image of the
+spider. Instantly, the creature leaped into the air and trembled
+convulsively, as though it had received an electric shock. Then it
+began slowly to dissolve before their eyes. First its legs wilted, grew
+shapeless and melted away. Next its body collapsed inwardly, like an
+over-ripe melon, finally shriveling and disappearing altogether.
+
+Now the spellbound spectators in the throne room saw a spot of silver
+light appear on the outermost strand of the crimson web. The light
+raced over every coil of the immense web, progressing swiftly to the
+web's center. As fast as the silver light flashed along the scarlet
+coils, they vanished. In a few seconds more not a trace remained of the
+vast web or its loathsome occupant. The point of cleansing silver light
+winked out; the image of the Mimic cavern faded; and the silver mist
+vanished from the throne room.
+
+At this same instant, shouts of joy and exchanges of affectionate
+greetings rang through the Royal Palace and were echoed throughout the
+Emerald City. The sound of these happy voices told Princess Ozma that
+her beloved subjects were no longer under the spell of the Mimics.
+In the throne room itself, the Mimic-Oz people, who had bound the
+Scarecrow and his companions and brought them before King Umb and
+Queen Ra, vanished. In their places stood Mimics in their variety of
+repulsive animal and bird shapes. While the startled Oz people watched,
+the Mimics flitted and shifted about the Royal Throne Room, changing
+their forms in the manner peculiar to these creatures.
+
+But for the moment the Mimics were forgotten, as all eyes were fastened
+with admiration and gratitude on Princess Ozana.
+
+Ozana smiled happily. "Queen Ra," she said, "you are now quite
+powerless to harm the people of Oz."
+
+Queen Ra, who had watched Ozana's fairy magic with fascinated interest,
+knew she was utterly defeated. All her old arrogance and overbearing
+manner vanished. With bowed head, she refrained from meeting the eyes
+of Ozana or those of any of her former victims.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER 20
+
+In the Mirrored Ballroom
+
+
+Now Ozma stepped forward. With happy tears of gratitude sparkling in
+her eyes, she grasped the hands of Princess Ozana. "How can I ever
+thank you for what you have done?"
+
+Ozana seemed embarrassed. "The truth is," she admitted, "had I done my
+duty, as Queen Lurline instructed, and watched the Mimics more closely,
+the creatures would never have dared to invade Oz. I owe all of you my
+humblest apology for this neglect of duty. The least I could do," she
+added soberly, "was to right the wrongs already committed."
+
+"Well," said Dorothy happily, "all's well that ends well, an' we think
+you're fine, Ozana."
+
+"Thank you, my dear," smiled Ozana, affectionately stroking the little
+girl's hair.
+
+"I think we owe Toto a great debt of thanks," observed the wise Glinda.
+"Had it not been for the little dog's bravery, you and I, Ozma, would
+have undergone the unpleasant experience of becoming Mimic victims."
+
+"You are right," agreed Ozma, turning to the dog. "I had not forgotten
+your brave action, Toto. Nothing Glinda and I can say or do will
+properly reward you. Nevertheless I shall have made for you a handsome
+new collar studded with emeralds and bearing your name in gold letters
+as a slight token of our gratitude."
+
+"Thank you, your Highness," said Toto shyly. "It was nothing, really.
+When I saw the big birds stealing the shapes of Trot and Betsy and
+Button Bright and all the others out in the garden, I was frightened so
+I ran and hid under your throne. I could peep out and see everything
+that was going on, and when the Mimic King and Queen threatened you and
+Glinda I became so angry that I just forgot about everything else."
+
+"Good dog!" said the Wizard, patting Toto's head.
+
+Dorothy beamed proudly at her little pet.
+
+"Dear me!" exclaimed Ozma, gazing at the Mimics in the throne room.
+"How are we ever to transport all these creatures to their cavern
+home? We can't have them here to overrun Oz, even though they are now
+harmless," she added, shuddering with revulsion at the shifting shapes
+of evil assumed by the Mimics.
+
+"That is simple," said Ozana. "Is there a room in the palace with a
+great many mirrors?"
+
+"Yes," replied Ozma, "the Grand Ballroom which adjoins the throne
+room--its walls and ceiling are composed entirely of mirrors."
+
+"Then let us go to the ballroom," said Ozana.
+
+Ozma and Glinda led Ozana to the entrance of the Grand Ballroom.
+Dorothy and the Wizard and Toto followed.
+
+Ozana paused before the great door which was flung wide open. In her
+bell-like voice she murmured the words of a powerful fairy spell.
+Immediately King Umb and Queen Ra, followed by the other Mimics in the
+throne room, advanced as though they were in a trance to the portal of
+the mirrored ballroom. Then they passed into the room itself. Ozana
+continued to chant her fairy spell. Now came a whole procession of the
+Mimic creatures, first from all over the Royal Palace and finally from
+every part of the Emerald City. They came trooping in by the hundreds,
+wearing a myriad of fantastic shapes and forms. At length the very
+last Mimic had entered the ballroom, and, huge though the room was, it
+seemed to the onlookers that it must surely be filled to overflowing
+with the Mimic horde.
+
+By this time, the Scarecrow, Scraps, Tik-Tok and the rest who had been
+bound with ropes by the Mimics were freed and they with Trot, Cap'n
+Bill, Betsy Bobbin, Button Bright and the others all crowded about the
+entrance to look curiously into the ballroom. Even the Cowardly Lion,
+the Hungry Tiger and Hank the Mule crowded into the throne room. The
+three beasts had awakened from the sleep cast on them by Queen Ra when
+Ozana had re-woven the spell that protected the Oz inhabitants.
+
+"Why," rumbled the Cowardly Lion, "the room's empty!"
+
+In a sense the lion was right. There was no one in the Grand Ballroom,
+it was true. But Dorothy and the others could plainly see the flitting,
+shifting shadow shapes of the Mimics in the mirrors that paneled the
+walls and ceiling of the great room--shadow creatures caught and
+confined in the depths of the mirrors!
+
+"I wonder," Dorothy whispered, "what will become of them."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER 21
+
+The Shattering of the Mirrors
+
+
+"Now we can send the Mimics back to Mount Illuso at will," said Ozana
+in answer to Dorothy's question. "All we need to do is shatter the
+mirrors and the Mimics will return to their gloomy realm, banished
+forever from Oz."
+
+It was Ozma who followed Ozana's suggestion and brought about the
+breaking of the mirrors. The dainty ruler lifted her wand and murmured
+a fairy charm. Instantly every mirror in the Grand Ballroom shivered
+and shattered with a vast, tinkling sound. Not one of the scores of
+mirrors in the great chamber was left whole.
+
+"It would be too bad," Ozana remarked, "to mar permanently the beauty
+of your lovely ballroom." She lifted her wand, and while the onlookers
+blinked the mirrors were whole again. In their gleaming depths was no
+trace of the Mimic horde. The Grand Ballroom was as splendid as ever.
+
+As it was now nearing noon, Ozma graciously invited Ozana to join her
+and Glinda with Dorothy and the Wizard, Aunt Em, Trot, Cap'n Bill,
+Betsy Bobbin, Button Bright, the Scarecrow, Scraps and others of her
+friends for luncheon in the dining room of her own Royal Suite.
+
+Dorothy and the Wizard related their adventures on Mount Illuso, and
+then the Scarecrow tried to make clear to Ozma, Glinda and Dorothy and
+the Wizard everything that had happened in the Emerald City during
+their absence. Scraps helped him out, and Betsy Bobbin reminded him of
+things he had forgotten, while Trot chimed in, and Button Bright wanted
+to tell the story his way. There was such a chatter it was a wonder
+Ozma and the rest understood anything.
+
+Just as the meal was about to end, there was a knock on the door and
+Uncle Henry breathlessly entered the room. After Aunt Em and Dorothy
+had hugged and kissed Uncle Henry, Dorothy told him how she had got
+back to the Emerald City. (He had read an account of the rest of her
+adventures in Glinda's Great Book of Records the night before.) Scraps,
+helped out by Aunt Em, filled in the details of what had happened in
+the Palace since he and the Sawhorse had left.
+
+When they had finished, Uncle Henry exhibited several sheets of paper
+closely filled with writing. "Here's the whole story of the Mimics. I
+copied everything the Great Book of Records had to say about 'em, and
+then I left Glinda's Castle last night, travelin' all night long so as
+to get here as early today as possible. But I guess," he concluded,
+gazing ruefully at the papers he carried, "these ain't much use
+anymore."
+
+"Not one of us could have done better than you did, Uncle Henry," Ozma
+consoled him. "Instead of regretting your trip," she added wisely,
+"let us instead be grateful that there is no longer any need for us to
+concern ourselves with what the Great Book of Records has to say about
+the Mimics."
+
+Glinda announced that she must return to her Castle in the Quadling
+Country, from which she had been absent too long. Bidding good-bye to
+all her friends, the Great Sorceress was transported in the twinkling
+of an eye by her magic art to her far-away Castle.
+
+With Glinda's departure the rest of Ozma's guests began to take their
+leave, until finally the Girl Ruler was alone with only Dorothy and
+Ozana.
+
+Ozma had noticed that throughout the merry luncheon, Ozana had appeared
+quiet and subdued, as though she were deeply occupied with thoughts of
+her own.
+
+"Tell me," Ozma said gently, taking Princess Ozana's hand in her own,
+"is there something troubling you, my dear?"
+
+With a smile, Ozana replied, "Yes, Ozma, there is. Truthfully, I
+dread returning to lonely Mount Illuso. In the short time I have been
+privileged to enjoy the companionship of Dorothy and the Wizard, and
+the society of the Oz people here in the Emerald City, I have come to
+realize more than ever what a terribly lonely life I lead on Mount
+Illuso. And," she added, gazing affectionately at Dorothy, "I have
+become very fond of little Dorothy. I shall be very sorry indeed to
+leave her and all the rest of you for that forsaken mountain top."
+
+Ozma laughed softly. "Everyone loves our Princess Dorothy. But,"
+and the Little Ruler's expression grew serious as she continued,
+"I sympathize with you, Ozana. Perhaps there is a way out of your
+predicament. Is there any real reason why you should return to Mount
+Illuso? The Mimics are harmless enough now. We can follow their actions
+in the Magic Picture and the Great Book of Records. And you can use
+your fairy powers to control the Mimics from the Land of Oz as easily
+as you could from the top of Mount Illuso."
+
+"You mean--?" exclaimed Ozana eagerly.
+
+"That we would like nothing better than to have you make your home here
+in the Land of Oz," said Ozma warmly. "Furthermore it is my belief
+that through your long years of lonely vigil on Mount Illuso, and your
+courageous rescue of the people of Oz from the Mimics, you have more
+than earned a home in Oz."
+
+"Oh, Ozma, thank you!" exclaimed Ozana. And then she added doubtfully,
+"Do you think Queen Lurline will give her consent?"
+
+"I see no reason why she should not," answered Ozma. "It so happens
+that I am to speak with Queen Lurline within the hour. We made
+arrangements to confer this afternoon on some important happenings in
+the great outside world. During our conversation I will ask her about
+your remaining in Oz."
+
+"Thank you, Ozma," murmured Ozana. "I can't begin to tell you how
+grateful I am."
+
+"Now if you will excuse me," said Ozma, "I must prepare to establish
+communication with Queen Lurline."
+
+Arm in arm, Dorothy and Ozana made their way to Dorothy's rooms, where
+they spent the next hour in conversation. Dorothy was well pleased with
+the prospect of Ozana's making her home in Oz, for she believed the
+Princess would be a delightful companion.
+
+At last there came a gentle rap on the door, and Princess Ozma entered
+Dorothy's room.
+
+Ozana and Dorothy rose to their feet and looked questioningly at Ozma.
+
+"It is all settled," the Girl Ruler announced with her brightest smile.
+"Queen Lurline readily gave her consent. From this moment on, dear
+cousin, you are no longer Ozana of Mount Illuso, but Ozana, Princess of
+Oz."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER 22
+
+What the Magic Picture Revealed
+
+
+After the first happy excitement over Ozma's news had subsided Ozana
+grew serious and Dorothy thought she detected a note of sadness in the
+Fairy Maid's voice as she said:
+
+"There is one duty I must perform, Ozma, before I can begin my new
+existence as an inhabitant of your lovely fairyland."
+
+"What is that?" asked Ozma.
+
+"I must restore the pine folk and their village to their original
+forms, as part of the Pine Forest that covers the top of Mount Illuso.
+Likewise, Story Blossom Garden must be returned to its original state,
+that is, ordinary wild flowers blossoming in the forest."
+
+"Why must you do that?" asked Dorothy.
+
+"Since I am not to return to Mount Illuso, the pine folk and the garden
+are left entirely to the mercy of the Mimics and other wicked creatures
+who dwell in the Land of the Phanfasms. Quick transformation of the
+mountain top to its original state is far better than destruction of
+the village and the garden by creatures of evil."
+
+Ozana's voice was tinged with real regret. "Ozma, may I look into your
+Magic Picture to see the garden and the village just once more, before
+I cause them to vanish forever?"
+
+Ozma made no reply other than to nod and lead the way to her boudoir
+where hung the Magic Picture. Dorothy was mystified by the expression
+on the Little Ruler's face. She was sure Ozma was repressing a smile
+and was secretly amused at something.
+
+On the way to Ozma's boudoir, Dorothy, who had grown fond of Felina the
+White Kitten, asked, "What about Felina, Ozana? Did you find her on
+Mount Illuso?"
+
+"No, indeed," Ozana explained. "Felina accompanied me when I first went
+to Mount Illuso. She is my own pet. She is a fairy kitten and is as old
+as I am--and that is many hundreds of years."
+
+Standing before the Magic Picture, Ozana said quietly, "I wish to see
+the Story Blossom Garden on Mount Illuso."
+
+Instantly the Magic Picture's familiar country scene faded. In its
+place appeared, not the lovely Story Blossom Garden, but a barren,
+desert waste. Even the blue pond had disappeared. There was no sign of
+any living thing in the dreary, desert scene.
+
+"What can it mean?" Dorothy cried. "Ozma, do you think something's gone
+wrong with the Magic Picture?"
+
+Ozana paled slightly and her eyes were troubled as she spoke again, "I
+wish to see the Village of Pineville on Mount Illuso."
+
+This time the Magic Picture shifted only slightly to show a second
+expanse of grey wasteland as gloomy and forbidding as the first.
+
+"They are gone," cried Ozana in dismay. "The garden and the village are
+gone!"
+
+To the amazement of Ozana and Dorothy, Ozma met their consternation by
+laughing merrily.
+
+"Of course they are gone," the Little Ruler said, "because they are
+here!"
+
+"What do you mean?" asked Ozana.
+
+"First of all," began Ozma, "you didn't think, did you, Ozana, that no
+matter how much we wanted you to make your home with us, we would ask
+you to sacrifice your lovely Story Blossom Garden and the quaint people
+of your Village of Pineville? Queen Lurline and I discussed this matter
+seriously and agreed we could not permit the garden and the village to
+be destroyed. So, after I finished my conversation with Queen Lurline,
+I consulted a map of the Land of Oz prepared by Professor Woggle Bug
+and found just what I was looking for--a small mountain in the Quadling
+Country, only a short distance to the south from the Emerald City and
+not far from Miss Cuttenclip's interesting village. The top of this
+mountain was about the same in area as the top of Mount Illuso, and it
+was an uninhabited sandy waste. While you and Dorothy talked, I worked
+a powerful fairy spell that transported the Pine Forest, the Village
+of Pineville and the Story Blossom Garden to the Oz mountain top.
+Hereafter that mountain will be known as Story Blossom Mountain. That
+is why my Magic Picture showed only a desert waste when you asked to
+see the pine village and the Story Blossom Garden on Mount Illuso. The
+Magic Picture couldn't show them to you _on Mount Illuso_ for they are
+no longer there!
+
+"Instead," Ozma concluded, "they are here in the Land of Oz." Turning
+to the Magic Picture, she said, "I wish to see Story Blossom Garden on
+Story Blossom Mountain."
+
+The image of the desert waste faded and in the frame of the Magic
+Picture appeared the beautiful fairy garden. The vision was so real
+that Dorothy could almost hear the blossoms whispering among themselves.
+
+Bright tears of joy and gratitude sparkled in Ozana's violet eyes.
+
+"What happened to Hi-Lo and his elevator?" Dorothy asked.
+
+"They were transported, too," replied Ozma quickly.
+
+"I imagine," the Girl Ruler went on, "that Hi-Lo will be a very busy
+little man, carrying visitors up and down in his elevator. And you,
+Ozana, will be able to live in your pretty cottage and work in your
+wonderful garden without fear of ever becoming lonely. Every day will
+bring you visitors from the Emerald City and all parts of the Land of
+Oz who will be eager to see the pine folk and their village and to
+enjoy Story Blossom Garden. Really, Ozana, it is we who are indebted to
+you," Ozma concluded.
+
+Dorothy beamed lovingly at Ozma. Then, turning to Ozana, the little
+girl said, "Now I guess you understand Ozana, why you're just about the
+luckiest person in the whole world to be invited to live in the Land of
+Oz."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER 23
+
+The Grand Banquet
+
+
+The next day was given over entirely to welcoming Ozana to Oz. Early
+in the morning, the Sawhorse was hitched to the Red Wagon, and a merry
+company of travelers rode out of the Emerald City to be the first
+visitors to Story Blossom Mountain. In the front seat of the Red Wagon
+rode Ozma, Ozana, Dorothy and Trot. In the rear seat were Betsy Bobbin,
+Cap'n Bill, the Wizard and the Scarecrow.
+
+The Sawhorse needed no reins to guide him, as this intelligent horse
+responded to spoken commands. Being tireless and having no need for
+oats or water, he was in many ways superior to ordinary horses.
+
+As the Red Wagon pulled up near the entrance to Hi-Lo's elevator, the
+party was met by flaxen-haired Miss Cuttenclip. Not far distant was
+a pretty little paper village of paper people, ruled over by Miss
+Cuttenclip, who had skillfully cut out the entire village and all its
+inhabitants from "live" paper furnished her by Glinda the Good. Ozma
+had communicated with Miss Cuttenclip before the journey, inviting
+her to meet them and visit Story Blossom Mountain and afterwards to
+accompany them to the Emerald City for the Grand Banquet to be given
+that evening in Ozana's honor. Ozana and Miss Cuttenclip became friends
+at once.
+
+Hi-Lo greeted Ozana and the rest joyfully, but it was necessary for him
+to make two trips to carry this large party to the mountain top. Ozana
+showed the visitors around the Village of Pineville and Story Blossom
+Garden. On the surface of the blue pond floated the three swans.
+Knowing that Ozana would no longer need them to carry her back to Mount
+Illuso, Ozma had thoughtfully transported the swans from the court-yard
+of her palace to their pond when she had worked the fairy spell that
+had brought the Story Blossom Garden to Oz.
+
+After passing several happy hours in the Story Blossom Garden, Ozana
+and her guests returned to the bottom of the mountain, where the
+Sawhorse and the Red Wagon waited to carry them back to the Emerald
+City.
+
+The rest of the day was devoted to preparing for the Grand Banquet to
+be given in Ozana's honor that evening in the Grand Dining Room of the
+Royal Palace. All of Ozma's old friends and companions were invited.
+
+Late in the afternoon the guests began arriving. The Tin Woodman
+journeyed from his glittering Tin Castle in the Winkie Country. Jack
+Pumpkinhead left his house, a huge, hollowed-out pumpkin in the middle
+of a pumpkin field. The Highly Magnified and Thoroughly Educated Woggle
+Bug traveled from the Royal Athletic College of Oz, of which he was
+Principal.
+
+Among other guests who came from great distances were Glinda the
+Good, the Giant Frogman, Cayke the Cookie Cook, Dr. Pipt--the Crooked
+Magician who was no longer crooked nor a magician, his wife Margolotte,
+the Good Witch of the North and Lady Aurex Queen of the Skeezers.
+
+Dorothy transported all of these visitors to the Emerald City by means
+of her Magic Belt, except Glinda, who arrived by her own magic.
+
+The Grand Banquet proved to be one of the most brilliant and delightful
+occasions ever to be enjoyed in the Emerald City, and was long
+remembered by all who were present. In addition to the delicious food,
+there was music and special entertainment for the guests. The Scarecrow
+made a gallant speech of welcome to which Ozana charmingly replied.
+The Woggle Bug could not be restrained from reading an "Ode to Ozana,"
+which he claimed he had composed on the spur of the moment, writing
+it on the cuff of his shirt sleeve. A number of the guests thought
+the composition sounded suspiciously like an "Ode to Ozma," which
+the Woggle Bug had written some years before, but they were all too
+kind-hearted to mention this. The Tin Woodman sang a love song, which
+he had written especially for the occasion, and which he had titled
+"You're My Tin Type." While the song was only moderately good, the Tin
+Woodman sang in a metallic tenor with great feeling and the company
+applauded politely.
+
+Then the Little Wizard made them all gasp with a truly wonderful
+display of magic. The Wizard opened his show by causing a fountain of
+many colored flames of fire to appear in the center of the banquet
+table. At his command, streamers of fire of different colors--red,
+green, blue, rose, orange, violet--leaped out from the burning fountain
+to touch the unlighted candles that stood at the place of each guest.
+After this the fountain of fire vanished while the now-lighted candles
+continued to burn throughout the banquet, each shedding the light
+imparted to it by the colored fire.
+
+The Wizard concluded his entertainment by tossing a napkin into the air
+above the banquet table. Instantly the napkin disappeared and a storm
+of confetti showered down on the guests, while band after band of what
+appeared to be brightly colored paper ribbon fell over the party.
+But it didn't take Button Bright long to discover and announce with
+shouts of glee to the rest of the guests, that the confetti and the
+many colored paper ribbons were really the most delicious of spearmint,
+peppermint, clove, licorice, lime, lemon, orange and chocolate candies
+and mints. This, of course, provided the perfect ending for the dinner.
+
+At the table occupied by the animals, there was a great deal of talking
+and merry-making. Toto received many compliments on his handsome new
+red leather collar, embellished with clusters of emeralds and his own
+name in solid gold letters. Princess Ozma, herself, had fitted the
+collar about the proud little dog's neck that very afternoon as a
+tribute to Toto's loyalty and bravery.
+
+Just as the happy banquet was about to end, Toto, who had been so
+absorbed in all the excitement and the Wizard's marvelous tricks, that
+he had scarcely tasted his food, turned to his bowl of milk. He found
+the tiny White Kitten Felina daintily lapping the last of the milk from
+the bowl with her little, pink tongue.
+
+Toto sniffed. "I never could understand," he growled, "what it is that
+witches and fairies and little girls see in cats!"
+
+
+The End
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Magical Mimics in Oz, by Jack Snow
+
+*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 56555 ***