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diff --git a/old/11woz10.txt b/old/11woz10.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..5961242 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/11woz10.txt @@ -0,0 +1,7254 @@ +This book we used to prepare this Etext from might have had one +missing page. . .if you have a copy, please let me know, and we +will put you in touch with the person with the book and we hope +we can find the missing page. Thanks! Michael hart@pobox.com +*We have now corrected this in version 11woz11.txt or 11woz.zip + + + + +*Project Gutenberg's Etext of The Lost Princess of Oz, by Baum* +#11 in the L. 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If you + don't derive profits, no royalty is due. Royalties are + payable to "Project Gutenberg Association/Carnegie-Mellon + University" within the 60 days following each + date you prepare (or were legally required to prepare) + your annual (or equivalent periodic) tax return. + +WHAT IF YOU *WANT* TO SEND MONEY EVEN IF YOU DON'T HAVE TO? +The Project gratefully accepts contributions in money, time, +scanning machines, OCR software, public domain etexts, royalty +free copyright licenses, and every other sort of contribution +you can think of. Money should be paid to "Project Gutenberg +Association / Carnegie-Mellon University". + +*END*THE SMALL PRINT! FOR PUBLIC DOMAIN ETEXTS*Ver.04.29.93*END* + + + + + +THE LOST PRINCESS OF OZ +by L. FRANK BAUM + + +This Book is Dedicated +To My Granddaughter +OZMA BAUM + + +To My Readers + +Some of my youthful readers are developing wonderful +imaginations. This pleases me. Imagination has brought +mankind through the Dark Ages to its present state of +civilization. Imagination led Columbus to discover +America. Imagination led Franklin to discover +electricity. Imagination has given us the steam engine, +the telephone, the talking-machine and the automobile, +for these things had to be dreamed of before they +became realities. So I believe that dreams -- day +dreams, you know, with your eyes wide open and your +brain-machinery whizzing -- are likely to lead to the +betterment of the world. The imaginative child will +become the imaginative man or woman most apt to create, +to invent, and therefore to foster civilization. A +prominent educator tells me that fairy tales are of +untold value in developing imagination in the young. I +believe it. + +Among the letters I receive from children are many +containing suggestions of "what to write about in the +next Oz Book." Some of the ideas advanced are mighty +interesting, while others are too extravagant to be +seriously considered -- even in a fairy tale. Yet I +like them all, and I must admit that the main idea in +"The Lost Princess of Oz" was suggested to me by a +sweet little girl of eleven who called to see me and to +talk about the Land of Oz. Said she: "I s'pose if Ozma +ever got lost, or stolen, ev'rybody in Oz would be +dreadful sorry." + +That was all, but quite enough foundation to build +this present story on. If you happen to like the story, +give credit to my little friend's clever hint. + +L. Frank Baum +Royal Historian of Oz + + +1 A Terrible Loss +2 The Troubles of Glinda the Good +3 The Robbery of Cayke the Cookie Cook +4 Among the Winkies +5 Ozma's Friends Are Perplexed +6 The Search Party +7 The Merry-Go-Round Mountains +8 The Mysterious City +9 The High Coco-Lorum of Thi +10 Toto Loses Something +11 Button-Bright Loses Himself +12 The Czarover of Herku +13 The Truth Pond +14 The Unhappy Ferryman +15 The Big Lavender Bear +16 The Little Pink Bear +17 The Meeting +18 The Conference +19 Ugu the Shoemaker +20 More Surprises +21 Magic Against Magic +22 In the Wicker Castle +23 The Defiance of Ugu the Shoemaker +24 The Little Pink Bear Speaks Truly +25 Ozma of Oz +26 Dorothy Forgives + + + +THE LOST PRINCESS of OZ + + + + +Chapter One + +A Terrible Loss + + +There could be no doubt of the fact: Princess Ozma, the +lovely girl ruler of the Fairyland of Oz, was lost. She +had completely disappeared. Not one of her subjects -- +not even her closest friends -- knew what had become of her. + +It was Dorothy who first discovered it. Dorothy was a +little Kansas girl who had come to the Land of Oz to +live and had been given a delightful suite of rooms in +Ozma's royal palace, just because Ozma loved Dorothy +and wanted her to live as near her as possible, so the +two girls might be much together. + +Dorothy was not the only girl from the outside world +who had been welcomed to Oz and lived in the royal +palace. There was another named Betsy Bobbin, whose +adventures had led her to seek refuge with Ozma, and +still another named Trot, who had been invited, +together with her faithful companion, Cap'n Bill, to +make her home in this wonderful fairyland. The three +girls all had rooms in the palace and were great chums; +but Dorothy was the dearest friend of their gracious +Ruler and only she at any hour dared to seek Ozma in +her royal apartments. For Dorothy had lived in Oz much +longer than the other girls and had been made a +Princess of the realm. + +Betsy was a year older than Dorothy and Trot was a +year younger, yet the three were near enough of an age +to become great playmates and to have nice times +together. It was while the three were talking together +one morning in Dorothy's room that Betsy proposed they +make a journey into the Munchkin Country, which was one +of the four great countries of the Land of Oz ruled by +Ozma. + +"I've never been there yet," said Betsy Bobbin, "but +the Scarecrow once told me it is the prettiest country +in all Oz." + +"I'd like to go, too," added Trot. + +"All right," said Dorothy, "I'll go and ask Ozma. +Perhaps she will let us take the Sawhorse and the Red +Wagon, which would be much nicer for us than having to +walk all the way. This Land of Oz is a pretty big +place, when you get to all the edges of it." + +So she jumped up and went along the balls of the +splendid palace until she came to the royal suite, +which filled all the front of the second floor. In a +little waiting room sat Ozma's maid, Jellia Jamb, who +was busily sewing. + +"Is Ozma up yet?" inquired Dorothy. + +"I don't know, my dear," replied Jellia. "I haven't +heard a word from her this morning. She hasn't even +called for her bath or her breakfast, and it is far +past her usual time for them." + +"That's strange!" exclaimed the little girl. + +"Yes," agreed the maid; "but of course no harm could +have happened to her. No one can die or be killed in +the Land of Oz and Ozma is herself a powerful fairy, +and she has no enemies, so far as we know. Therefore I +am not at all worried about her, though I must admit +her silence is unusual." + +"Perhaps," said Dorothy, thoughtfully, "she has +overslept. Or she may be reading, or working out some +new sort of magic to do good to her people." + +"Any of these things may be true," replied Jellia +Jamb, "so I haven't dared disturb our royal mistress. +You, however, are a privileged character, Princess, and +I am sure that Ozma wouldn't mind at all if you went in +to see her." + +"Of course not," said Dorothy, and opening the door +of the outer chamber she went in. All was still here. +She walked into another room, which was Ozma's boudoir, +and then, pushing hack a heavy drapery richly broidered +with threads of pure gold, the girl entered the +sleeping-room of the fairy Ruler of Oz. The bed of +ivory and gold was vacant; the room was vacant; not a +trace of Ozma was to be found. + +Very much surprised, yet still with no fear that +anything had happened to her friend, Dorothy returned +through the boudoir to the other rooms of the suite. +She went into the music room, the library, the +laboratory, the bath, the wardrobe and even into the +great throne room, which adjoined the royal suite, but +in none of these places could she find Ozma. + +So she returned to the anteroom where she had left +the maid, Jellia Jamb, and said: + +"She isn't in her rooms now, so she must have gone +out." + +"I don't understand how she could do that without my +seeing her," replied Jellia, "unless she made herself +invisible." + +"She isn't there, anyhow," declared Dorothy. + +"Then let us go find her," suggested the maid, who +appeared to be a little uneasy. + +So they went into the corridors and there Dorothy +almost stumbled over a queer girl who was dancing +lightly along the passage. + +"Stop a minute, Scraps!" she called. "Have you seen +Ozma this morning?" + +"Not I!" replied the queer girl, dancing nearer. "I +lost both my eyes in a tussle with the Woozy, last +night, for the creature scraped 'em both off my face +with his square paws. So I put the eyes in my pocket +and this morning Button-Bright led me to Aunt Em, who +sewed 'em on again. So I've seen nothing at all today, +except during the last five minutes. So of course I +haven't seen Ozma." + +"Very well, Scraps," said Dorothy, looking curiously +at the eyes, which were merely two round black buttons +sewed upon the girl's face. + +There were other things about Scraps that would have +seemed curious to one seeing her for the first time. +She was commonly called 'The Patchwork Girl," because +her body and limbs were made from a gaycolored +patchwork quilt which had been cut into shape and +stuffed with cotton. Her head was a round ball stuffed +in the same manner and fastened to her shoulders. For +hair she had a mass of brown yarn and to make a nose +for her a pan of the cloth had been pulled out into the +shape of a knob and tied with a string to hold it in +place. Her mouth had been carefully made by cutting a +slit in the proper place and lining it with red silk, +adding two rows of pearls for teeth and a bit of red +flannel for a tongue. + +In spite of this queer make-up, the Patchwork Girl +was magically alive and had proved herself not the +least jolly and agreeable of the many quaint characters +who inhabit the astonishing Fairyland of Oz. Indeed, +Scraps was a general favorite, although she was rather +flighty and erratic and did and said many things that +surprised her friends. She was seldom still, but loved +to dance, to turn handsprings and somersaults, to climb +trees and to indulge in many other active sports. + +"I'm going to search for Ozma," remarked Dorothy, +"for she isn't in her rooms and I want to ask her a +question." + +"I'll go with you," said Scraps, "for my eyes are +brighter than yours and they can see farther." + +"I'm not sure of that," remarked Dorothy. "But come +along, if you like." + +Together they searched all through the great palace +and even to the farthest limits of the palace grounds, +which were quite extensive, but nowhere could they find +a trace of Ozma. When Dorothy returned to where Betsy +and Trot awaited her, the little girl's face was rather +solemn and troubled, for never before had Ozma gone +away without telling her friends where she was going, +or without an escort that befitted her royal state. + +She was gone, however, and none had seen her go. +Dorothy had met and questioned the Scarecrow, Tik-Tok, +the Shaggy Man, Button-Bright, Cap'n Bill, and even the +wise and powerful Wizard of Oz, but not one of them had +seen Ozma since she parted with her friends the evening +before and had gone to her own rooms. + +"She didn't say anything las' night about going +anywhere," observed little Trot. + +"No, and thats the strange Part of it," replied +Dorothy. "Usually Ozma lets us know of everything she +does." + +"Why not look in the Magic Picture?" suggested Betsy +Bobbin. "That will tell us where she is, in just one +second." + +"Of course!" cried Dorothy. "Why didn't I think of +that before?" and at once the three girls hurried away +to Ozma's boudoir, where the Magic Picture always hung. + +This wonderful Magic Picture was one of the royal +Ozma's greatest treasures. there was a large gold +frame, in the center of which was a bluish-gray canvas +on which various scenes constantly appeared and +disappeared. If one who stood before it wished to see +what any person -- anywhere in the world -- was doing, +it was only necessary to make the wish and the scene in +the Magic Picture would shift to the scene where that +person was and show exactly what he or she was then +engaged in doing. So the girls knew it would be easy +for them to wish to see Ozma, and from the picture they +could quickly learn where she was. + +Dorothy advanced to the place where the picture was +usually protected by thick satin Curtains, and pulled +the draperies aside. Then she stared in amazement, +while her two friends uttered exclamations of +disappointment. + +The Magic Picture was gone. Only a blank space on the +wall behind the curtains showed where it had formerly +hung. + + + + +Chapter Two + +The Troubles of Glinda the Good + + +That same morning there was great excitement in the +castle of the powerful Sorceress of Oz, Glinda the +Good. This castle, situated in the Quadling Country, +far south of the Emerald City where Ozma ruled, was a +splendid structure of exquisite marbles and silver +grilles. Here the Sorceress lived, surrounded by a bevy +of the most beautiful maidens of Oz, gathered from all +the four countries of that fairyland as well as from +the magnificent Emerald City itself, which stood in the +place where the four countries cornered. + +It was considered a great honor to be allowed to +serve the good Sorceress, whose arts of magic were used +only to benefit the Oz people. Glinda was Ozma's most +valued servant, for her knowledge of sorcery was +wonderful and she could accomplish almost anything that +her mistress, the lovely girl Ruler of Oz, wished her +to. + +Of all the magical things which surrounded Glinda in +her castle there was none more marvelous than her Great +Book of Records. On the pages of this Record Book were +constantly being inscribed -- day by day and hour by +hour -- all the important events that happened anywhere +in the known world, and they were inscribed in the book +at exactly the moment the events happened. Every +adventure in the Land of Oz and in the big outside +world, and even in places that you and I have never +heard of, were recorded accurately in the Great Book, +which never made a mistake and stated only the exact +truth. For that reason nothing could be concealed from +Glinda the Good, who had only to look at the pages of +the Great Book of Records to know everything that had +taken place. That was one reason she was such a great +Sorceress, for the records made her wiser than any +other living person. + +This wonderful book was placed upon a big gold table +that stood in the middle of Glinda's drawing-room. The +legs of the table, which were encrusted with precious +gems, were firmly fastened to the tiled floor and the +book itself was chained to the table and locked with +six stout golden padlocks, the keys to which Glinda +carried on a chain that was secured around her own +neck. + +The pages of the Great Book were larger in size than +those of an American newspaper and although they were +exceedingly thin there were so many of them that they +made an enormous, bulky volume. With its gold cover and +gold clasps the book was so heavy that three men could +scarcely have lifted it. Yet this morning, when Glinda +entered her drawing-room after breakfast, with all her +maidens trailing after her, the good Sorceress was +amazed to discover that her Great Book of Records had +mysteriously disappeared. + +Advancing to the table, she found the chains had been +cut with some sharp instrument, and this must have been +done while all in the castle slept. Glinda was shocked +and grieved. Who could have done this wicked, bold +thing? And who could wish to deprive her of her Great +Book of Records? + +The Sorceress was thoughtful for a time, considering +the consequences of her loss. Then she went to her Room +of Magic to prepare a charm that would tell her who had +stolen the Record Book. But, when she unlocked her +cupboards and threw open the doors, all of her magical +instruments and rare chemical compounds had been +removed from the shelves. + +The Sorceress was now both angry and alarmed. She sat +down in a chair and tried to think how this +extraordinary robbery could have taken place. It was +evident that the thief was some person of very great +power, or the theft could never have been accomplished +without her knowledge. But who, in all the Land of Oz, +was powerful and skillful enough to do this awful +thing? And who, having the power, could also have an +object in defying the wisest and most talented +Sorceress the world has ever known? + +Glinda thought over the perplexing matter for a full +hour, at the end of which time she was still puzzled +how to explain it. But although her instrument and +chemicals were gone her knowledge of magic had not been +stolen, by any means, since no thief, however skillful, +can rob one of knowledge, and that is why knowledge is +the best and safest treasure to acquire. Glinda +believed that when she had time to gather more magical +herbs and elixirs and to manufacture more magical +instruments she would be able to discover who the +robber was, and what had become of her precious Book of +Records. + +"Whoever has done this," she said to her maidens, "is +a very foolish person, for in time he is sure to be +found out and will then be severely punished." + +She now made a list of the things she needed and +dispatched messengers to every part of Oz with +instructions to obtain them and bring them to her as +soon as possible. And one of her messengers met the +little Wizard of Oz, who was mounted on the back of the +famous live Sawhorse and was clinging to its neck with +both his arms; for the Sawhorse was speeding to +Glinda's castle with the velocity of the wind, bearing +the news that Royal Ozma, Ruler of all the great Land +of Oz, had suddenly disappeared and no one in the +Emerald City knew what had become of her. + +"Also," said the Wizard, as he stood before the +astonished Sorceress, "Ozma's Magic Picture is gone, so +we cannot consult it to discover where she is. So I +came to you for assistance as soon as we realized our +loss. Let us look in the Great Book of Records." + +"Alas," returned the Sorceress sorrowfully, "we +cannot do that, for the Great Book of Records has also +disappeared!" + + + + +Chapter Three + +Robbery of Cayke the Cookie Cook + + +One more important theft was reported in the Land of Oz +that eventful morning, but it took place so far from +either the Emerald City or the castle of Glinda the +Good that none of those persons we have mentioned +learned of the robbery until long afterward. + +In the far southwestern corner of the Winkie Country +is a broad tableland that can be reached only by +climbing a steep hill, whichever side one approaches +it. On the hillside surrounding this tableland are no +paths at all, but there are quantities of bramble- +bushes with sharp prickers on them, which prevent any +of the Oz people who live down below from climbing up +to see what is on top. But on top live the Yips, and +although the space they occupy is not great in extent +the wee country is all their own. The Yips had never -- +up to the time this story begins -- left their broad +tableland to go down into the Land of Oz, nor had the +Oz people ever climbed up to the country of the Yips. + +Living all alone as they did, the Yips had queer ways +and notions of their own and did not resemble any other +people of the Land of Oz. Their houses were scattered +all over the flat surface; not like a city, grouped +together, but set wherever their owners' fancy +dictated, with fields here, trees there, and odd little +paths connecting the houses one with another. + +It was here, on the morning when Ozma so strangely +disappeared from the Emerald City, that Cayke the +Cookie Cook discovered that her diamond-studded gold +dishpan had been stolen, and she raised such a hue-and- +cry over her loss and wailed and shrieked so loudly +that many of the Yips gathered around her house to +inquire what was the matter. + +It was a serious thing, in any part of the Land of +Oz, to accuse one of stealing, so when the Yips heard +Cayke the Cookie Cook declare that her jeweled dishpan +had been stolen they were both humiliated and disturbed +and forced Cayke to go with them to the Frogman to see +what could be done about it. + +I do not suppose you have ever before heard of the +Frogman, for like all other dwellers on that tableland +he had never been away from it, nor had anyone come up +there to see him. The Frogman was, in truth, descended +from the common frogs of Oz, and when he was first born +he lived in a pool in the Winkie Country and was much +like any other frog. Being of an adventurous nature, +however, he soon hopped out of his pool and began to +travel, when a big bird came along and seized him in +its beak and started to fly away with him to its nest. +When high in the air the frog wriggled so frantically +that he got loose and fell down-down-down into a small +hidden pool on the tableland of the Yips. Now this +pool, it seems, was unknown to the Yips because it was +surrounded by thick bushes and was not near to any +dwelling, and it proved to be an enchanted pool, for +the frog grew very fast and very big, feeding on the +magic skosh which is found nowhere else on earth except +in that one pool. And the skosh not only made the frog +very big, so that when he stood on his hind legs he was +tall as any Yip in the country, but it made him +unusually intelligent, so that he soon knew more than +the Yips did and was able to reason and to argue very +well indeed. + +No one could expect a frog with these talents to +remain in a hidden pool, so he finally got out of it +and mingled with the people of the tableland, who were +amazed at his appearance and greatly impressed by his +learning. They had never seen a frog before and the +frog had never seen a Yip before, but as there were +plenty of Yips and only one frog, the frog became the +most important. He did not hop any more, but stood +upright on his hind legs and dressed himself in fine +clothes and sat in chairs and did all the things that +people do; so he soon came to be called the Frogman, +and that is the only name he has ever had. + +After some years had passed the people came to regard +the Frogman as their adviser in all matters that +puzzled them. They brought all their difficulties to +him and when he did not know anything he pretended to +know it, which seemed to answer just as well. Indeed, +the Yips thought the Frogman was much wiser than he +really was, and he allowed them to think so, being very +proud of his position of authority. + +There was another pool on the tableland, which was +not enchanted but contained good clear water and was +located close to the dwellings. Here the people built +the Frogman a house of his own, close to the edge of +the pool, so that he could take a bath or a swim +whenever he wished. He usually swam in the pool in the +early morning, before anyone else was up, and during +the day he dressed himself in his beautiful clothes and +sat in his house and received the visits of all the +Yips who came to him to ask his advice. + +The Frogman's usual costume consisted of knee- +breeches made of yellow satin plush, with trimmings of +gold braid and jeweled knee-buckles; a white satin vest +with silver buttons in which were set solitaire rubies; +a swallow-tailed coat of bright yellow; green stockings +and red leather shoes turned up at the toes and having +diamond buckles. He wore, when he walked out, a purple +silk hat and carried a gold-headed cane. Over his eyes +he wore great spectacles with gold rims, not because +his eyes were bad but because the spectacles made him +look wise, and so distinguished and gorgeous was his +appearance that all the Yips were very proud of him. + +There was no King or Queen in the Yip Country, so the +simple inhabitants naturally came to look upon the +Frogman as their leader as well as their counselor in +all times of emergency. In his heart the big frog knew +he was no wiser than the Yips, but for a frog to know +as much as a person was quite remarkable, and the +Frogman was shrewd enough to make the people believe he +was far more wise than he really was. They never +suspected he was a humbug, but listened to his words +with great respect and did just what he advised them +to do. + +Now, when Cayke the Cookie Cook raised such an outcry +over the theft of her diamond-studded dishpan, the +first thought of the people was to take her to the +Frogman and inform him of the loss, thinking that of +course he could tell her where to find it. + +He listened to the story with his big eyes wide open +behind his spectacles, and said in his deep, croaking +voice: + +"If the dishpan is stolen, somebody must have taken +it." + +"But who?" asked Cayke, anxiously. "Who is the +thief?" + +"The one who took the dishpan, of course, replied the +Frogman, and hearing this all the Yips nodded their +heads gravely and said to one another: + +"It is absolutely true!" + +"But I want my dishpan!" cried Cayke. + +"No one can blame you for that wish," remarked the +Frogman. + +"Then tell me where I may find it," she urged. + +The look the Frogman gave her was a very wise look +and he rose from his chair and strutted up and down the +room with his hands under his coat-tails, in a very +pompous and imposing manner. This was the first time so +difficult a matter had been brought to him and he +wanted time to think. It would never do to let them +suspect his ignorance and so he thought very, very hard +how best to answer the woman without betraying himself. + +"I beg to inform you," said he, "that nothing in the +Yip Country has ever been stolen before." + +"We know that, already," answered Cayke the Cookie +Cook, impatiently. + +"Therefore," continued the Frogman, "this theft +becomes a very important matter." + +"Well, where is my dishpan?" demanded the woman. + +"It is lost; but it must be found. Unfortunately, we +have no policemen or detectives to unravel the mystery, +so we must employ other means to regain the lost +article. Cayke must first write a Proclamation and tack +it to the door of her house, and the Proclamation must +read that whoever stole the jeweled dishpan must return +it at once." + +"But suppose no one returns it," suggested Cayke. + +"Then," said the Frogman, "that very fact will be +proof that no one has stolen it." + +Cayke was not satisfied, but the other Yips seemed to +approve the plan highly. They all advised her to do as +the Frogman had told her to, so she posted the sign on +her door and waited patiently for someone to return the +dishpan -- which no one ever did. + +Again she went, accompanied by a group of her +neighbors, to the Frogman, who by this time had given +the matter considerable thought. Said he to Cayke: + +"I am now convinced that no Yip has taken your +dishpan, and, since it is gone from the Yip Country, I +suspect that some stranger came from the world down +below us, in the darkness of night when all of us were +asleep, and took away your treasure. There can be no +other explanation of its disappearance. So, if you wish +to recover that golden, diamond-studded dish-pan, you +must go into the lower world after it." + +This was indeed a startling proposition. Cayke and +her friends went to the edge of the fiat tableland and +looked down the steep hillside to the plains below. It +was so far to the bottom of the hill that nothing there +could be seen very distinctly and it seemed to the Yips +very venturesome, if not dangerous, to go so far from +home into an unknown land. + +However, Cayke wanted her dishpan very badly, so she +turned to her friends and asked: + +"Who will go with me?" + +No one answered this question, but after a period of +silence one of the Yips said: + +"We know what is here, on the top of this flat hill, +and it seems to us a very pleasant place; but what is +down below we do not know. The chances are it is not so +pleasant, so we had best stay where we are. + +"It may be a far better country than this is," +suggested the Cookie Cook. + +"Maybe, maybe," responded another Yip, "but why take +chances? Contentment with one's lot is true wisdom. +Perhaps, in some other country, there are better +cookies than you cook; but as we have always eaten your +cookies, and liked them -- except when they are burned +on the bottom -- we do not long for any better ones." + +Cayke might have agreed to this argument had she not +been so anxious to find her precious dishpan, but now +she exclaimed impatiently: + +"You are cowards -- all of you! If none of you are +willing to explore with me the great world beyond this +small hill, I will surely go alone." + +"That is a wise resolve," declared the Yips, much +relieved. "It is your dishpan that is lost, not ours; +and, if you are willing to risk your life and liberty +to regain it, no one can deny you the privilege." + +While they were thus conversing the Frogman joined +them and looked down at the Plain with his big eyes and +seemed unusually thoughtful. In fact, the Frogman was +thinking that he'd like to see more of the world. Here +in the Yip Country he had become the most important +creature of them all and his importance was getting to +be a little tame. It would be nice to have other people +defer to him and ask his advice and there seemed no +reason, so far as he could see, why his fame should not +spread throughout all Oz. + +He knew nothing of the rest of the world, but it was +reasonable to believe that there were more people +beyond the mountain where he now lived than there were +Yips, and if he went among them he could surprise them +with his display of wisdom and make them bow down to +him as the Yips did. In other words, the Frogman was +ambitious to become still greater than he was, which +was impossible if he always remained upon this +mountain. He wanted others to see his gorgeous clothes +and listen to his solemn sayings, and here was an +excuse for him to get away from the Yip Country. So he +said to Cayke the Cookie Cook: + +"I will go with you, my good woman," which greatly +Pleased Cayke because she felt the Frogman could be of +much assistance to her in her search. + +But now, since the mighty Frogman had decided to +undertake the journey, several of the Yips who were +young and daring at once made up their minds to go +along; so the next morning after breakfast the Frogman +and Cayke the Cookie Cook and nine of the Yips started +to slide down the side of the mountain. The bramble +bushes and cactus plants were very prickly and +uncomfortable to the touch, so the Frogman commanded +the Yips to go first and break a path, so that when he +followed them he would not tear his splendid clothes. +Cayke, too, was wearing her best dress, and was +likewise afraid of the thorns and prickers, so she kept +behind the Frogman. + +They made rather slow progress and night overtook +them before they were halfway down the mountain side, +so they found a cave in which they sought shelter until +morning. Cayke had brought along a basket full of her +famous cookies, so they all had plenty to eat. + +On the second day the Yips began to wish they had not +embarked on this adventure. They grumbled a good deal +at having to cut away the thorns to make the path for +the Frogman and the Cookie Cook, for their own clothing +suffered many tears, while Cayke and the Frogman +traveled safely and in comfort. + +"If it is true that anyone came to our country to +steal your diamond dishpan," said one of the Yips to +Cayke, "it must have been a bird, for no person in the +form of a man, woman or child could have climbed +through these bushes and back again." + +"And, allowing he could have done so," said another +Yip, "the diamond-studded gold dishpan would not have +repair him for his troubles and his tribulations." + +"For my part," remarked a third Yip, "I would rather +go back home and dig and polish some more diamonds, and +mine some more gold, and make you another dishpan, than +be scratched from bead to heel by these dreadful +bushes. Even now, if my mother saw me, she would not +know I am her son." + +Gayke paid no heed to these mutterings, nor did the +Frogman. Although their journey was slow it was being +made easy for them by the Yips, so they had nothing to +complain of and no desire to turn back. + +Quite near to the bottom of the great hill they came +upon a deep gulf, the sides of which were as smooth as +glass. The gulf extended a long distance -- as far as +they could see, in either direction -- and although it +was not very wide it was far too wide for the Yips to +leap across it. And, should they fall into it, it was +likely they might never get out again. + +"Here our journey ends," said the Yips. "We must go +back again." + +Cayke the Cookie Cook began to weep. + +"I shall never find my pretty dishpan again -- and my +heart will be broken!" she sobbed. + +The Frogman went to the edge of the gulf and with his +eye carefully measured the distance to the other side. + +"Being a frog," said he, "I can leap, as all frogs +do; and, being so big and strong, I am sure I can leap +across this gulf with ease. But the rest of you, not +being frogs, must return the way you came. + +"We will do that with pleasure," cried the Yips and +at once they turned and began to climb up the steep +mountain, feeling they had had quite enough of this +unsatisfactory adventure. Cayke the Cookie Cook did not +go with them, however. She sat on a rock and wept and +wailed and was very miserable. + +"Well," said the Frogman to her, "I will now bid you +good-bye. If I find your diamond decorated gold dishpan +I will promise to see that it is safely returned to +you." + +"But I prefer to find it myself!" she said. "See +here, Frogman, why can't you carry me across the gulf +when you leap it? You are big and strong, while I am +small and thin." + +The Frogman gravely thought over this suggestion. It +was a fact that Cayke the Cookie Cook was not a heavy +person. Perhaps he could leap the gulf with her on his +back. + +"If you are willing to risk a fall," said he, "I will +make the attempt." + +At once she sprang up and grabbed him around his neck +with both her arms. That is, she grabbed him where his +neck ought to be, for the Frogman had no neck at all. +Then he squatted down, as frogs do when they leap, and +with his powerful rear legs he made a tremendous jump. + +Over the gulf he sailed, with the Cookie Cook on his +back, and he had leaped so bard -- to make sure of not +falling in that he sailed over a lot of bramble-bushes +that grew on the other side and landed in a clear space +which was so far beyond the gulf that when they looked +back they could not see it at all. + +Cayke now got off the Frogman's back and he stood +erect again and carefully brushed the dust from his +velvet coat and rearranged his white satin necktie. + +"I had no idea I could leap so far," he said +wonderingly. "leaping is one more accomplishment I can +now add to the long list of deeds I am able to +perform." + +"You are certainly fine at leap-frog," said the +Cookie Cook, admiringly; "but, as you say, you are +wonderful in many ways. If we meet with any people down +here I am sure they will consider you the greatest and +grandest of all living creatures." + +"Yes," he replied, "I shall probably astonish +strangers, because they have never before had the +pleasure of seeing me. Also they will marvel at my +great learning. Every time I open my mouth, Cayke, I am +liable to say something important. + +"That is true," she agreed, "and it is fortunate your +mouth is so very wide and opens so far, for otherwise +all the wisdom might not be able to get out of it." + +"Perhaps nature made it wide for that very reason, +said the Frogman. "But come; let us now go on, for it +is getting late and we must find some sort of shelter +before night overtakes us." + + + + +Chapter Four + +Among the Winkies + + +The settled parts of the Winkie Country are full of +happy and contented people who are ruled by a tin +Emperor named Nick Chopper, who in turn is a subject of +the beautiful girl Ruler, Ozma of Oz. But not all of +the Winkie Country is fully settled. At the east, which +part lies nearest the Emerald City, there are beautiful +farmhouses and roads, but as you travel west you first +come to a branch of the Winkie River, beyond which +there is a rough country where few people live, and +some of these are quite unknown to the rest of the +world. After passing through this rude section of +territory, which no one ever visits, you would come to +still another branch of the Winkie River, after +crossing which you would find another well settled part +of the Winkie Country, extending westward quite to the +Deadly Desert that surrounds all the Land of Oz and +separates that favored fairyland from the more common +outside world. The Winkies who live in this west +section have many tin mines, from which metal they make +a great deal of rich jewelry and other articles, all of +which are highly esteemed in the Land of Oz because tin +is so bright and pretty, and there is not so much of it +as there is of gold and silver. + +Not all the Winkies are miners, however, for some +till the fields and grow grains for food, and it was at +one of these far west Winkie farms that the Frogman and +Cayke the Cookie Cook first arrived after they had +descended from the mountain of the Yips. + +"Goodness me!" cried Nellary, the Winkie wife, when +she saw the strange couple approaching her house. "I +have seen many queer creatures in the Land of Oz, but +none more queer than this giant frog, who dresses like +a man and walks on his hind legs. Come here, Wiljon," +she called to her husband, who was eating his +breakfast, "and take a look at this astonishing freak." + +Wiljon the Winkie came to the door and looked out. He +was still standing in the doorway when the Frogman +approached and said with a haughty croak: + +"Tell me, my good man, have you seen a diamond- +studded gold dishpan?" + +"No; nor have I seen a copper-plated lobster," +replied Wiljon, in an equally haughty tone. + +The Frogman stared at him and said: + +"Do not be insolent, fellow!" + +"No," added Cayke the Cookie Cook, hastily, "you must +be very polite to the great Frogman, for he is the +wisest creature in all the world." + +"Who says that?" inquired Wiljon. + +"He says so himself," replied Cayke, and the Frogman +nodded and strutted up and down, twirling his gold- +headed cane very gracefully. + +"Does the Scarecrow admit that this overgrown frog is +the wisest creature in the world?" asked Wiljon. + +"I do not know who the Scarecrow is," answered Cayke +the Cookie Cook. + +"Well, he lives at the Emerald City, and he is +supposed to have the finest brains in all Oz. The +Wizard gave them to him, you know." + +"Mine grew in my head," said the Frogman pompously, +"so I think they must be better than any wizard brains. +I am so wise that sometimes my wisdom makes my head +ache. I know so much that often I have to forget part +of it, since no one creature, however great, is able to +contain so much knowledge." + +"It must be dreadful to be stuffed full of wisdom," +remarked Wiljon reflectively, and eyeing the Frogman +with a doubtful look. "It is my good fortune to know +very little." + +"I hope, however, you know where my jeweled dishpan +is," said the Cookie Cook anxiously. + +"I do not know even that," returned the Winkie. "We +have trouble enough in keeping track of our own +dishpans, without meddling with the dishpans of +strangers." + +Finding him so ignorant, the Frogman proposed that +they walk on and seek Cayke's dishpan elsewhere. +Wiljon the Winkie did not seem greatly impressed by the +great Frogman, which seemed to that personage as +strange as it was disappointing; but others in this +unknown land might prove more respectful. + +"I'd like to meet that Wizard of Oz," remarked Cayke, +as they walked along a path. "If he could give a +Scarecrow brains he might be able to find my dishpan." + +"Poof!" grunted the Frogman scornfully; "I am greater +than any wizard. Depend on me. If your dishpan is +anywhere in the world I am sure to find it." + +"If you do not, my heart will be broken," declared +the Cookie Cook in a sorrowful voice. + +For a while the Frogman walked on in silence. Then he +asked: "Why do you attach so much importance to a +dishpan?" + +"It is the greatest treasure I posess," replied the +woman. "It belonged to my mother and to all my +grandmothers, since the beginning of time. It is, I +believe, the very oldest thing in all the Yip Country +-- or was while it was there -- and," she added, +dropping her voice to an awed whisper, "it has magic +powers!" + +"In what way?" inquired the Frogman, seeming to be +surprised at this statement. + +"Whoever has owned that dishpan has been a good cook, +for one thing. No one else is able to make such good +cookies as I have cooked, as you and all the Yips know. +Yet, the very morning after my dishpan was stolen. I +tried to make a batch of cookies and they burned up in +the oven! I made another batch that proved too tough to +eat, and I was so ashamed of them that I buried them in +the ground. Even the third batch of cookies, which I +brought with me in my basket, were pretty poor stuff +and no better than any woman could make who does not +own my diamond-studded gold dishpan. In fact, my good +Frogman, Cayke the Cookie Cook will never be able to +cook good cookies again until her magic dishpan is +restored to her." + +"In that case," said the Frogman with a sigh, "I +suppose we must manage to find it." + + + + +Chapter Five + +Ozma's Friends Are Perplexed + + +"Really," said Dorothy, looking solemn, this is very +s'prising. We can't find even a shadow of Ozma anywhere +in the Em'rald City; and, wherever she's gone, she's +taken her Magic Picture with her." + +She was standing in the courtyard of the palace with +Betsy and Trot, while Scraps, the Patchwork Girl, +Danced around the group, her hair flying in the wind. + +"P'raps," said Scraps, still dancing, "someone has +stolen Ozma." + +"Oh, they'd never dare do that!" exclaimed tiny Trot. + +"And stolen the Magic Picture, too, so the thing +can't tell where she is," added the Patchwork Girl. + +"That's nonsense," said Dorothy. "Why, ev'ryone loves +Ozma. There isn't a person in the Land of Oz who would +steal a single thing she owns." + +"Huh!" replied the Patchwork Girl. "You don't know +ev'ry person in the Land of Oz." + +"Why don't I?" + +"It's a big country," said Scraps. "There are cracks +and corners in it that even Ozma doesn't know of." + +"The Patchwork Girl's just daffy," declared Betsy. + +"No; she's right about that," replied Dorothy +thoughtfully. "There are lots of queer people in this +fairyland who never come near Ozma or the Em'rald City. +I've seen some of 'em myself, girls; but I haven't seen +all, of course, and there might be some wicked persons +left in Oz, yet, though I think the wicked witches have +all been destroyed." + +Just then the Wooden Sawhorse dashed into the +courtyard with the Wizard of Oz on his back. + +"Have you found Ozma?" cried the Wizard when the +Sawhorse stopped beside them. + +"Not yet," said Dorothy. "Doesn't Glinda know where +she is?" + +"No. Glinda's Book of Records and all her magic +instruments are gone. Someone must have stolen them." + +"Goodness me!" exclaimed Dorothy, in alarm. "This is +the biggest steal I ever heard of. Who do you think did +it, Wizard?" + +"I've no idea," he answered. "But I have come to get +my own bag of magic tools and carry them to Glinda. She +is so much more powerful than I that she may be able to +discover the truth by means of my magic, quicker and +better than I could myself." + +"Hurry, then," said Dorothy, "for we're all getting +terr'bly worried." + +The Wizard rushed away to his rooms but presently +came back with a long, sad face. + +"It's gone!" he said. + +"What's gone?" asked Scraps. + +"My black bag of magic tools. Someone must have +stolen it!" + +They looked at one another in amazement. + +"This thing is getting desperate," continued the +Wizard. "All the magic that belongs to Ozma, or to +Glinda, or to me, has been stolen." + +"Do you suppose Ozma could have taken them, herself, +for some purpose?" asked Betsy. + +"No, indeed," declared the Wizard. "I suspect some +enemy has stolen Ozma and, for fear we would follow and +recapture her, has taken all our magic away from us." + +"How dreadful!" cried Dorothy. "The idea of anyone +wanting to injure our dear Ozma! Can't we do anything +to find her, Wizard?" + +"I'll ask Glinda. I must go straight back to her and +tell her that my magic tools have also disappeared. The +good Sorceress will be greatly shocked, I know." + +With this he jumped upon the back of the Sawhorse +again and the quaint steed, which never tired, dashed +away at fall speed. + +The three girls were very much disturbed in mind. +Even the Patchwork Girl was more quiet than usual and +seemed to realize that a great calamity had overtaken +them all. Ozma was a fairy of considerable power and +all the creatures in Oz, as well as the three mortal +girls from the outside world, looked upon her as their +protector and friend. The idea of their beautiful girl +Ruler's being overpowered by an enemy and dragged from +her splendid palace a captive was too astonishing for +them to comprehend, at first. Yet what other +explanation of the mystery could there be? + +"Ozma wouldn't go away willingly, without letting us +know about it," asserted Dorothy; "and she wouldn't +steal Glinda's Great Book of Records, or the Wizard's +magic, 'cause she could get them any time, just asking +for 'em. I'm sure some wicked person has done all +this." + +"Someone in the Land of Oz?" asked Trot. + +"Of course. No one could get across the Deadly +Desert, you know, and no one but an Oz person could +know about the Magic Picture and the Book of Records +and the Wizard's magic, or where they were kept, and so +be able to steal the whole outfit before we could stop +'em. It must be someone who lives in the Land of Oz." + +"But who-who-who?" asked Scraps. "That's the +question. Who?" + +"If we knew," replied Dorothy, severely, "we wouldn't +be standing here, doing nothing." + +Just then two boys entered the courtyard and +approached the group of girls. One boy was dressed in +the fantastic Munchkin costume -- a blue jacket and +knickerbockers, blue leather shoes and a blue hat with +a high peak and tiny silver bells dangling from its rim +-- and this was Ojo the Lucky, who had once come from +the Munchkin Country of Oz and now lived in the Emerald +City. The other boy was an American, from Philadelphia, +and had lately found his way to Oz in the company of +Trot and Cap'n Bill. His name was Button-Bright; that +is, everyone called him by that name, and knew no +other. + +Button-Bright was not quite as big as the Munchkin +boy, but he wore the same kind of clothes, only they +were of different colors. As the two came up to the +girls, arm in arm, Button-Bright remarked: + +"Hello, Dorothy. They say Ozma is lost." + +"Who says so?" she asked. + +"Ev'rybody's talking about it, in the City," he +replied. + +"I wonder how the people found it out?" Dorothy +asked. + +"I know," said Ojo. "Jellia Jamb told them. She has +been asking everywhere if anyone has seen Ozma." + +"That's too bad," observed Dorothy, frowning. + +"Why?" asked Button-Bright. + +"There wasn't any use making all our people unhappy, +till we were dead certain that Ozma can't be found." + +"Pshaw," said Button-Bright, "It's nothing to get +lost. I've been lost lots of times." + +"That's true," admitted Trot, who knew that the boy +had a habit of getting lost and then finding himself +again; "but it's diff'rent with Ozma. She's the Ruler +of all this big fairyland and we're 'fraid that the +reason she's lost is because somebody has stolen her +away." + +"Only wicked people steal," said Ojo. "Do you know of +any wicked people in Oz, Dorothy?" + +"No," she replied. + +"They're here, though," cried Scraps, dancing up to +them and then circling around the group. Ozma's stolen; +someone in Oz stole her; only wicked people steal; so +someone in Oz is wicked!" + +There was no denying the truth of this statement. The +faces of all of them were now solemn and sorrowful. + +"One thing is sure," said Button-Bright, after a +time, "if Ozma has been stolen, someone ought to find +her and punish the thief." + +"There may be a lot of thieves," suggested Trot +gravely, "and in this fairy country they don t seem to +have any soldiers or policemen." + +"There is one soldier," claimed Dorothy. "He has +green whiskers and a gun and is a Major-General; but no +one is afraid of either his gun or his whiskers, 'cause +he's so tender-hearted that he wouldn't hurt a fly." + +"Well, a soldier's a soldier," said Betsy, "and +perhaps he'd hurt a wicked thief if he wouldn't hurt a +fly. Where is he?" + +"He went fishing about two months ago and hasn't come +back yet," explained Button-Bright. + +"Then I can't see that he will be of much use to us +in this trouble," sighed little Trot. "But p'raps Ozma, +who is a fairy, can get away from the thieves without +any help from anybody." + +"She might be able to," admitted Dorothy, +reflectively, "but if she had the power to do that, it +isn't likely she'd have let herself be stolen. So the +thieves must have been even more powerful in magic than +our Ozma." + +There was no denying this argument and, although they +talked the matter over all the rest of that day, they +were unable to decide how Ozma had been stolen against +her will or who had committed the dreadful deed. + +Toward evening the Wizard came back, riding slowly +upon the Sawhorse because he felt discouraged and +perplexed. Glinda came, later, in her aerial chariot +drawn by twenty milk-white swans, and she also seemed +worried and unhappy. More of Ozma's friends joined them +and that evening they all had a long talk together. + +"I think," said Dorothy, "we ought to start out right +away in search of our dear Ozma. It seems cruel for us +to live comf'tably in her Palace while she is a +pris'ner in the power of some wicked enemy." + +"Yes," agreed Glinda the Sorceress, "someone ought to +search for her. I cannot go myself, because I must work +hard in order to create some new instruments of sorcery +by means of which I may rescue our fair Ruler. But if +you can find her, in the meantime, and let me know who +has stolen her, it will enable me to rescue her much +more quickly." + +"Then we'll start to-morrow morning," decided +Dorothy. "Betsy and Trot and I won't waste another +minute." + +"I'm not sure you girls will make good detectives," +remarked the Wizard; "but I'll go with you, to protect +you from harm and to give you my advice. All my +wizardry, alas, is stolen, so I am now really no more a +wizard than any of you; but I will try to protect you +if any enemies you may meet." + +"What harm could happen to us in Oz?" inquired Trot. + +"What harm happened to Ozma?" returned the Wizard. +"If there is an Evil Power abroad in our fairyland; +which is able to steal not only Ozma and her Magic +Picture, but Glinda's Book of Records and all her +magic, and my black bag containing all my tricks of +wizardry, then that Evil Power may yet cause us +considerable injury. Ozma is a fairy, and so is Glinda, +so no power can kill or destroy them; but you girls are +all mortals, and so are Button-Bright and I, so we must +watch out for ourselves." + +"Nothing can kill me," said Ojo, the Munchkin boy. + +"That is true," replied the Sorceress, "and I think +it may be well to divide the searchers into several +parties, that they may cover all the land of Oz more +quickly. So I will send Ojo and Unc Nunkie and Dr. Pipt +into the Munchkin Country, which they are well +acquainted with; and I will send the Scarecrow and the +Tin Woodman into the Quadling Country, for they are +fearless and brave and never tire; and to the Gillikin +Country, where many dangers lurk, I will send the +Shaggy Man and his brother, with Tik-Tok and Jack +Pumpkinhead. Dorothy may make up her own party and +travel into the Winkie Country. All of you must +inquire everywhere for Ozma and try to discover where +she is hidden." + +They thought this a very wise plan and adopted it +without question. In Ozma's absence Glinda the Good was +the most important person in Oz and all were glad to +serve under her direction. + + + + +Chapter Six + +The Search Party + + +Next morning, as soon as the sun was up, Glinda flew +back to her castle, stopping on the way to instruct the +Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman, who were at that time +staying at the college of Professor H. M. Wogglebug, T. +E., and taking a course of his Patent Educational +Pills. On hearing of Ozma's loss they started at once +for the Quadling Country to search for her. + +As soon as Glinda had left the Emerald City, Tik-Tok +and the Shaggy Man and Jack Pumpkinhead, who had been +present at the conference, began their journey into the +Gillikin Country, and an hour later Ojo and Unc Nunkie +joined Dr. Pipt and together they traveled toward the +Munchkin Country. When all these searchers were gone, +Dorothy and the Wizard completed their own +preparations. + +The Wizard hitched the Sawhorse to the Red Wagon, +which would seat four very comfortably. He wanted +Dorothy, Betsy, Trot and the Patchwork Girl to ride in +the wagon, but Scraps came up to them mounted upon the +Woozy, and the Woozy said he would like to join the +party. Now this Woozy was a most peculiar animal, +having a square head, square body, square legs and +square tail. His skin was very tough and hard, +resembling leather, and while his movements were +somewhat clumsy the beast could travel with remarkable +swiftness. His square eyes were mild and gentle in +expression and he was not especially foolish. The Woozy +and the Patchwork Girl were great friends and so the +Wizard agreed to let the Woozy go with them. + +Another great beast now appeared and asked to go +along. This was none other than the famous Cowardly +Lion, one of the most interesting creatures in all Oz. +No lion that roamed the jungles or plains could compare +in size or intelligence with this Cowardly Lion, who -- +like all animals living in Oz -- could talk, and who +talked with more shrewdness and wisdom than many of the +people did. He said he was cowardly because he always +trembled when he faced danger, but he had faced danger +many times and never refused to fight when it was +necessary. This Lion was a great favorite with Ozma and +always guarded her throne on state occasions. He was +also an old companion and friend of the Princess +Dorothy, so the girl was delighted to have him join the +party. + +"I'm so nervous over our dear Ozma," said the +Cowardly Lion in his deep, rumbling voice, "that it +would make me unhappy to remain behind while you are +trying to find her. But do not get into any danger, I +beg of you, for danger frightens me terribly." + +"We'll not get into danger if we can poss'bly help +it," promised Dorothy; "but we shall do anything to +find Ozma, danger or no danger." + +The addition of the Woozy and the Cowardly Lion to +the party gave Betsy Bobbin an idea and she ran to the +marble stables at the rear of the palace and brought +out her mule, Hank by name. Perhaps no mule you ever +saw was so lean and bony and altogether plain looking +as this Hank, but Betsy loved him dearly because he was +faithful and steady and not nearly so stupid as most +mules are considered to be. Betsy had a saddle for Hank +and declared she would ride on his back, an arrangement +approved by the Wizard because it left only four of the +party to ride on the seats of the Red Wagon -- Dorothy and +Button-Bright and Trot and himself. + +An old sailor-man, who had one wooden leg, came to +see them off and suggested that they put a supply of +food and blankets in the Red Wagon, in as much as they +were uncertain how long they would be gone. This +sailor-man was called Cap'n Bill. He was a former +friend and comrade of Trot and had encountered many +adventures in company with the little girl. I think he +was sorry he could not go with her on this trip, but +Glinda the Sorceress had asked Cap'n Bill to remain in +the Emerald City and take charge of the royal palace +while everyone else was away, and the one-legged sailor +had agreed to do so. + +They loaded the back end of the Red Wagon with +everything they thought they might need, and then they +formed a procession and marched from the palace through +the Emerald City to the great gates of the wall that +surrounded this beautiful capital of the Land of Oz. +Crowds of citizens lined the streets to see them pass +and to cheer them and wish them success, for all were +grieved over Ozma's loss and anxious that she be found +again. + +First came the Cowardly Lion; then the Patchwork Girl +riding upon the Woozy; then Betsy Bobbin on her mule +Hank; and finally the Sawhorse drawing the Red Wagon, +in which were seated the Wizard and Dorothy and Button- +Bright and Trot. No one was obliged to drive the +Sawhorse, so there were no reins to his harness; one +had only to tell him which way to go, fast or slow, and +he understood perfectly. + +It was about this time that a shaggy little black dog +who had been lying asleep in Dorothy's room in the +palace woke up and discovered he was lonesome. +Everything seemed very still throughout the great +building and Toto -- that was the little dog's name -- +missed the customary chatter of the three girls. He +never paid much attention to what was going on around +him and, although he could speak, he seldom said +anything; so the little dog didn't know about Ozma's +loss or that everyone had gone in search of her. But he +liked to be with people, and especially with his own +mistress, Dorothy, and having yawned and stretched +himself and found the door of the room ajar he trotted +out into the corridor and went down the stately marble +stairs to the hall of the palace, where he met Jellia +Jamb. + +"Where's Dorothy?" asked Toto. + +"She's gone to the Winkie Country," answered the +maid. + +"When?" + +"A little while ago," replied Jellia. + +Toto turned and trotted out into the palace garden +and down the long driveway until he came to the streets +of the Emerald City. Here he paused to listen and, +hearing sounds of cheering, he ran swiftly along until +he came in sight of the Red Wagon and the Woozy and the +Lion and the Mule and all the others. Being a wise +little dog, he decided not to show himself to Dorothy +just then, lest he be sent back home; but he never lost +sight of the party of travelers, all of whom were so +eager to get ahead that they never thought to look +behind them. + +When they came to the gates in the city wall the +Guardian of the Gates came out to throw wide the golden +portals and let them pass through. + +"Did any strange person come in or out of the city on +the night before last, when Ozma was stolen?" asked +Dorothy. + +"No, indeed, Princess," answered the Guardian of the +Gates. + +"Of course not," said the Wizard. "Anyone clever +enough to steal all the things we have lost would not +mind the barrier of a wall like this, in the least. I +think the thief must have flown through the air, for +otherwise he could not have stolen from Ozma's royal +palace and Glinda's far-away castle in the same night. +Moreover, as there are no airships in Oz and no way for +airships from the outside world to get into this +country, I believe the thief must have flown from place +to place by means of magic arts which neither Glinda +nor I understand." + +On they went, and before the gates closed behind them +Toto managed to dodge through them. The country +surrounding the Emerald City was thickly settled and +for a while our friends rode over nicely paved roads +which wound through a fertile country dotted with +beautiful houses, all built in the quaint Oz fashion. +In the course of a few hours, however, they had left +the tilled fields and entered the Country of the +Winkies, which occupies a quarter of all the territory +in the Land of Oz but is not so well known as many +other parts of Ozma's fairyland. Long before night the +travelers had crossed the Winkie River near to the +Scarecrow's Tower (which was now vacant) and had +entered the Rolling Prairie where few people live. They +asked everyone they met for news of Ozma, but none in +this district had seen her or even knew that she had +been stolen. And by nightfall they had passed all the +farmhouses and were obliged to stop and ask for shelter +at the hut of a lonely shepherd. When they halted, Toto +was not far behind. The little dog halted, too, and +stealing softly around the party he hid himself behind +the hut. + +The shepherd was a kindly old man and treated the +travelers with much courtesy. He slept out of doors, +that night, giving up his hut to the three girls, who +made their beds on the floor with the blankets they had +brought in the Red Wagon. The Wizard and Button-Bright +also slept out of doors, and so did the Cowardly Lion +and Hank the Mule. But Scraps and the Sawhorse did not +sleep at all and the Woozy could stay awake for a month +at a time, if he wished to, so these three sat in a +little group by themselves and talked together all +through the night. + +In the darkness the Cowardly Lion felt a shaggy +little form nestling beside his own, and he said +sleepily: + +"Where did you come from, Toto?" + +"From home," said the dog. "If you roll over, roll +the other way, so you won't smash me." + +"Does Dorothy know you are here?" asked the Lion. + +"I believe not," admitted Toto, and he added, a +little anxiously: "Do you think, friend Lion, we are +now far enough from the Emerald City for me to risk +showing myself? Or will Dorothy send me back because I +wasn't invited?" + +"Only Dorothy can answer that question," said the +Lion. "For my part, Toto, I consider this affair none +of my business, so you must act as you think best." + +Then the huge beast went to sleep again and Toto +snuggled closer to his warm, hairy body and also slept. +He was a wise little dog, in his way, and didn't intend +to worry when there was something much better to do. + +In the morning the Wizard built a fire, over which +the girls cooked a very good breakfast. + +Suddenly Dorothy discovered Toto sitting quietly +before the fire and the little girl exclaimed: + +"Goodness me, Toto! Where did you come from?" + +"From the place you cruelly left me," replied +the dog in a reproachful tone. + +"I forgot all about you," admitted Dorothy, "and if I +hadn't I'd prob'ly left you with Jellia Jamb, seeing +this isn't a pleasure trip but stric'ly business. But, +now that you're here, Toto, I s'pose you'll have to +stay with us, unless you'd rather go back home again. +We may get ourselves into trouble, before we're done, +Toto." + +"Never mind that," said Toto, wagging his tail. "I'm +hungry, Dorothy." + +"Breakfas'll soon be ready and then you shall have +your share," promised his little mistress, who was +really glad to have her dog with her. She and Toto had +traveled together before, and she knew he was a good +and faithful comrade. + +When the food was cooked and served the girls invited +the old shepherd to join them in their morning meal. He +willingly consented and while they ate he said to them: + +"You are now about to pass through a very dangerous +country, unless you turn to the north or to the south +to escape its perils." + +"In that case," said the Cowardly Lion, "let us +turn, by all means, for I dread to face dangers of +any sort." + +"What's the matter with the country ahead of us?" +inquired Dorothy. + +"Beyond this Rolling Prairie," explained the +shepherd, "are the Merry-Go-Round Mountains, set close +together and surrounded by deep gulfs, so that no one +is able to get past them. Beyond the Merry-Go-Round +Mountains it is said the Thistle-Eaters and the Herkus +live." + +"What are they like?" demanded Dorothy. + +"No one knows, for no one has ever passed the Merry- +Go-Round Mountains," was the reply; "but it is said +that the Thistle-Eaters hitch dragons to their chariots +and that the Herkus are waited upon by giants whom they +have conquered and made their slaves." + +"Who says all that?" asked Betsy. + +"It is common report," declared the shepherd. +"Everyone believes it." + +"I don't see how they know," remarked little Trot, +"if no one has been there." + +"Perhaps the birds who fly over that country brought +the news," suggested Betsy. + +"If you escaped those dangers," continued the +shepherd, "you might encounter others still more +serious, before you came to the next branch of the +Winkie River. It is true that beyond that river there +lies a fine country, inhabited by good people, and if +you reached there you would have no further trouble. It +is between here and the west branch of the Winkie River +that all dangers lie, for that is the unknown territory +that is inhabited by terrible, lawless people." + +"It may be, and it may not be," said the Wizard. "We +shall know when we get there." + +"Well," persisted the shepherd, "in a fairy country +such as ours every undiscovered place is likely to +harbor wicked creatures. If they were not wicked, they +would discover themselves, and by coming among us +submit to Ozma's rule and be good and considerate, as +are all the Oz people whom we know." + +"That argument," stated the little Wizard, "convinces +me that it is our duty to go straight to those unknown +places, however dangerous they may be; for it is surely +some cruel and wicked person who has stolen our Ozma, +and we know it would be folly to search among good +people for the culprit. Ozma may not be hidden in the +secret places of the Winkie Country, it is true, but it +is our duty to travel to every spot, however dangerous, +where our beloved Ruler is likely to be imprisoned." + +"You're right about that," said Button-Bright +approvingly. "Dangers don't hurt us; only things that +happen ever hurt anyone, and a danger is a thing that +might happen, and might not happen, and sometimes don't +amount to shucks. I vote we go ahead and take our +chances." + +They were all of he same opinion, so they packed up +and said good-bye to the friendly shepherd and +proceeded on their way. + + + + +Chapter Seven + +The Merry-Go-Round Mountains + + +The Rolling Prairie was not difficult to travel over, +although it was all up-hill and down-hill, so for a +while they made good progress. Not even a shepherd was +to be met with now and the farther they advanced the +more dreary the landscape became. At noon they stopped +for a "picnic luncheon," as Betsy called it, and then +they again resumed their journey. All the animals were +swift and tireless and even the Cowardly Lion and the +Mule found they could keep up with the pace of the +Woozy and the Sawhorse. + +It was the middle of the afternoon when first they +came in sight of a cluster of low mountains. These were +cone-shaped, rising from broad bases to sharp peaks at +the tops. From a distance the mountains appeared +indistinct and seemed rather small-more like hills than +mountains -- but as the travelers drew nearer they +noted a most unusual circumstance: the hills were all +whirling around, some in one direction and some the +opposite way. + +"I guess those are the Merry-Go-Round Mountains, all +right," said Dorothy. + +"They must be," said the Wizard. + +"They go 'round, sure enough," added Trot, "but they +don't seem very merry." + +There were several rows of these mountains, extending +both to the right and to the left, for miles and miles. +How many rows there might be, none could tell, but +between the first row of peaks could be seen other +peaks, all steadily whirling around one way or another. +Continuing to ride nearer, our friends watched these +hills attentively, until at last, coming close up, they +discovered there was a deep but narrow gulf around the +edge of each mountain, and that the mountains were set +so close together that the outer gulf was continuous +and barred farther advance. + +At the edge of the gulf they all dismounted and +peered over into its depths. There was no telling where +the bottom was, if indeed there was any bottom at all. +From where they stood it seemed as if the mountains had +been set in one great hole in the ground, just close +enough together so they would not touch, and that each +mountain was supported by a rocky column beneath its +base which extended far down into the black pit below. +From the land side it seemed impossible to get across +the gulf or, succeeding in that, to gain a foothold on +any of the whirling mountains. + +"This ditch is too wide to jump across," remarked +Button-Bright. + +"P'raps the Lion could do it," suggested Dorothy. + +"What, jump from here to that whirling hill?" cried +the Lion indignantly. "I should say not! Even if I +landed there, and could hold on, what good would it do? +There's another spinning mountain beyond it, and +perhaps still another beyond that. I don't believe any +living creature could jump from one mountain to +another, when both are whirling like tops and in +different directions." + +"I propose we turn back," said the Wooden Sawhorse, +with a yawn of his chopped-out mouth, as he stared with +his knot eyes at the Merry-Go-Round Mountains. + +"I agree with you," said the Woozy, wagging his +square head. + +"We should have taken the shepherd's advice," added +Hank the Mule. + +The others of the party, however they might be +puzzled by the serious problem that confronted them, +would not allow themselves to despair. + +"If we once get over these mountains," said Button- +Bright, "we could probably get along all right." + +"True enough," agreed Dorothy. "So we must find some +way, of course, to get past these whirligig hills. But +how?" + +"I wish the Ork was with us," sighed Trot. + +"But the Ork isn't here," said the Wizard, "and we +must depend upon ourselves to conquer this difficulty. +Unfortunately, all my magic has been stolen; otherwise +I am sure I could easily get over the mountains." + +"Unfortunately," observed the Woozy, "none of us has +wings. And we're in a magic country without any magic." + +"What is that around your waist, Dorothy?" asked the +Wizard. + +"That? Oh, that's just the Magic Belt I once captured +from the Nome King," she replied. + +"A Magic Belt! Why, that's fine. I'm sure a Magic +Belt would take you over these hills." + +"It might, if I knew how to work it," said the little +girl. "Ozma knows a lot of its magic, but I've never +found out about it. All I know is that while I am +wearing it nothing can hurt me." + +"Try wishing yourself across, and see if it will obey +you," suggested the Wizard. + +"But what good would that do?" asked Dorothy. "If I +got across it wouldn't help the rest of you, and I +couldn't go alone among all those giants and dragons, +while you stayed here." + +"True enough," agreed the Wizard, sadly; and then, +after looking around the group, he inquired: "What is +that on your finger, Trot?" + +"A ring. The Mermaids gave it to me," she explained, +"and if ever I'm in trouble when I'm on the water I can +call the Mermaids and they'll come and help me. But the +Mermaids can't help me on the land, you know, 'cause +they swim, and-and-they haven't any legs." + +"True enough," repeated the Wizard, more sadly. + +There was a big, broad spreading tree near the edge +of the gulf and as the sun was hot above them they all +gathered under the shade of the tree to study the +problem of what to do next. + +"If we had a long rope," said Betsy, "we could fasten +it to this tree and let the other end of it down into +the gulf and all slide down it." + +"Well, what then?" asked the Wizard. + +"Then, if we could manage to throw the rope up the +other side," explained the girl, "we could all climb it +and be on the other side of the gulf." + +"There are too many 'if's' in that suggestion," +remarked the little Wizard. "And you must remember that +the other side is nothing but spinning mountains, so we +couldn't possibly fasten a rope to them -- even if we +had one." + +"That rope idea isn't half bad, though," said the +Patchwork Girl, who had been dancing dangerously near +to the edge of the gulf. + +"What do you mean?" asked Dorothy. + +The Patchwork Girl suddenly stood still and cast her +button eyes around the group. + +"Ha, I have it!" she exclaimed. "Unharness the +Sawhorse, somebody; my fingers are too clumsy." + +"Shall we?" asked Button-Bright doubtfully, turning +to the others. + +"Well, Scraps has a lot of brains, even if she is +stuffed with cotton," asserted the Wizard. "If her +brains can help us out of this trouble we ought +to use them." + +So he began unharnessing the Sawhorse, and Button- +Bright and Dorothy helped him. When they had removed +the harness the Patchwork Girl told them to take it all +apart and buckle the straps together, end to end. And, +after they had done this, they found they had one very +long strap that was stronger than any rope. + +"It would reach across the gulf, easily," said the +Lion, who with the other animals had sat on his +haunches and watched this proceeding. "But I don't see +how it could be fastened to one of those dizzy +mountains." + +Scraps had no such notion as that in her baggy head. +She told them to fasten one end of the strap to a stout +limb of the tree, pointing to one which extended quite +to the edge of the gulf. Button-Bright did that, +climbing the tree and then crawling out upon the limb +until he was nearly over the gulf. There he managed to +fasten the strap, which reached to the ground below, +and then he slid down it and was caught by the Wizard, +who feared he might fall into the chasm. + +Scraps was delighted She seized the lower end of the +strap and telling them all to get out of her way she +went back as far as the strap would reach and then made +a sudden run toward the gulf. Over the edge she swung, +clinging to the strap until it had gone as far as its +length permitted, when she let go and sailed gracefully +through the air until she alighted upon the mountain +just in front of them. + +Almost instantly, as the great cone continued to +whirl, she was sent flying against the next mountain in +the rear, and that one had only turned halfway around +when Scraps was sent flying to the next mountain behind +it. Then her patchwork form disappeared from view +entirely and the amazed watchers under the tree +wondered what had become of her. + +"She's gone, and she can't get back," said the Woozy. + +"My, how she bounded from one mountain to another!" +exclaimed the Lion. + +"That was because they whirl so fast," the Wizard +explained. "Scraps had nothing to hold on to and so of +course she was tossed from one hill to another. I'm +afraid we shall never see the poor Patchwork Girl +again." + +"I shall see her," declared the Woozy. "Scraps is an +old friend of mine and, if there are really Thistle- +Eaters and Giants on the other side of those tops, she +will need someone to protect her. So, here I go!" + +He seized the dangling strap firmly in his square +mouth and in the same way that Scraps had done swung +himself over the gulf. He let go the strap at the right +moment and fell upon the first whirling mountain. Then +he bounded to the next one back of it -- not on his +feet but "all mixed up," as Trot said -- and then he +shot across to another mountain, disappearing from view +just as the Patchwork Girl had done. + +"It seems to work, all right," remarked Button- +Bright. "I guess I'll try it." + +"Wait a minute," urged the Wizard. "Before any more +of us make this desperate leap into the beyond, we must +decide whether all will go, or if some of us will +remain behind." + +"Do you s'pose it hurt them much, to bump against +those mountains?" asked Trot. + +"I don't s'pose anything could hurt Scraps or the +Woozy," said Dorothy, "and nothing can hurt me, because +I wear the Magic Belt. So, as I'm anxious to find Ozma, +I mean to swing myself across, too." + +"I'll take my chances," decided Button-Bright. + +"I'm sure it will hurt dreadfully, and I'm afraid to +do it," said the Lion, who was already trembling; "but +I shall do it if Dorothy does." + +"Well, that will leave Betsy and the Mule and Trot," +said the Wizard; "for of course, I shall go, that I may +look after Dorothy. Do you two girls think you can find +your way back home again?" he asked, addressing Trot +and Betsy. + +"I'm not afraid; not much, that is," said Trot. "It +looks risky, I know, but I'm sure I can stand it if the +others can." + +"If it wasn't for leaving Hank," began Betsy, in a +hesitating voice; but the Mule interrupted her by +saying: + +"Co ahead, if you want to, and I'll come after you. A +mule is as brave as a lion, any day." + +"Braver," said the Lion, "for I'm a coward, friend +Hank, and you are not. But of course the Sawhorse --" + +"Oh, nothing ever hurts me," asserted the Sawhorse +calmly. "There's never been any question about my +going. I can't take the Red Wagon, though." + +"No, we must leave the wagon," said the Wizard; "and +also we must leave our food and blankets, I fear. But +if we can defy these Merry-Go-Round Mountains to stop +us we won't mind the sacrifice of some of our +comforts." + +"No one knows where we're going to land!" remarked +the Lion, in a voice that sounded as if he were going +to cry. + +"We may not land at all," replied Hank; "but the best +way to find out what will happen to us is to swing +across, as Scraps and the Woozy have done." + +"I think I shall go last," said the Wizard; "so who +wants to go first?" + +"I'll go," decided Dorothy. + +"No, it's my turn first," said Button-Bright. "Watch me!" + +Even as he spoke the boy seized the strap and after +making a run swung himself across the gulf. Away he +went, bumping from hill to hill until he disappeared. +They listened intently, but the boy uttered no cry +until he had been gone some moments, when they heard a +faint "Hullo-a!" as if called from a great distance. + +The sound gave them courage, however, and Dorothy +picked up Toto and held him fast under one arm while +with the other hand she seized the strap and bravely +followed after Button-Bright. + +When she struck the first whirling mountain she fell +upon it quite softly, but before she had time to think +she flew through the air and lit with a jar on the side +of the next mountain. Again she flew, and alighted; and +again, and still again, until after five successive +bumps she fell sprawling upon a green meadow and was so +dazed and bewildered by her bumpy journey across the +Merry-Go-Round Mountains that she lay quite still for a +time, to collect her thoughts. Toto had escaped from +her arms just as she fell, and he now sat beside her +panting with excitement. + +Then Dorothy realized that someone was hopping her to +her feet, and here was Button-Bright on one side of her +and Scraps on the other, both seeming to be unhurt. The +next object her eyes fell upon was the Woozy, squatting +upon his square back end and looking at her +reflectively, while Toto barked joyously to find his +mistress unhurt after her whirlwind trip. + +"Good!" said the Woozy; "here's another and a dog, +both safe and sound. But, my word, Dorothy, you flew +some! If you could have seen yourself, you'd have been +absolutely astonished." + +"They say 'Time flies,'" laughed Button-Bright; "but +Time never made a quicker journey than that." + +Just then, as Dorothy turned around to look at the +whirling mountains, she was in time to see tiny Trot +come flying from the nearest hill to fall upon the soft +grass not a yard away from where she stood. Trot was so +dizzy she couldn't stand, at first, but she wasn't at +all hurt and presently Betsy came flying to them and +would have bumped into the others had they not treated +in time to avoid her. + +Then, in quick succession, came the Lion, Hank and +the Sawhorse, bounding from mountain to mountain to +fall safely upon the greensward. Only the Wizard was +now left behind and they waited so long for him that +Dorothy began to be worried. But suddenly he came +flying from the nearest mountain and tumbled heels over +head beside them. Then they saw that he had wound two +of their blankets around his body, to keep the bumps +from hurting him, and had fastened the blankets with +some of the spare straps from the harness of the +Sawhorse. + + + + +Chapter Eight + +The Mysterious City + + +There they sat upon the grass, their heads still +swimming from their dizzy flights, and looked at one +another in silent bewilderment. But presently, when +assured that no one was injured, they grew. more calm +and collected and the Lion said with a sigh of relief: + +"Who would have thought those Merry-Go-Round +Mountains were made of rubber?" + +"Are they really rubber?" asked Trot. + +"They must be," replied the Lion, "for otherwise we +would not have bounded so swiftly from one to another +without getting hurt." + +"That is all guesswork," declared the Wizard, +unwinding the blankets from his body, "for none of us +stayed long enough on the mountains to discover what +they are made of. But where are we?" + +"That's guesswork, too," said Scraps. "The shepherd +said the Thistle-Eaters live this side of the mountains +and are waited on by giants." + +"Oh, no," said Dorothy; "it's the Herkus who +have giant slaves, and the Thistle-Eaters hitch +dragons to their chariots." + +"How could they do that?" asked the Woozy. "Dragons +have long tails, which would get in the way of the +chariot wheels'." + +"And, if the Herkus have conquered the giants," said +Trot, "they must be at least twice the size of giants. +P'raps the Herkus are the biggest people in all the +world!" + +"Perhaps they are," assented the Wizard, in a +thoughtful tone of voice. "And perhaps the shepherd +didn't know what he was talking about. Let us travel on +toward the west and discover for ourselves what the +people of this country are like." + +It, seemed a pleasant enough country, and it was +quite still and peaceful when they turned their eyes +away from the silently whirling mountains. There were +trees here and there and green bushes, while throughout +the thick grass were scattered brilliantly colored +flowers. About a mile away was a low hill that hid from +them all the country beyond it, so they realized they +could not tell much about the country until they had +crossed the hill. + +The Red Wagon having been left behind, it was now +necessary to make other arrangements for traveling. The +Lion told Dorothy she could ride upon his back, as she +had often done before, and the Woozy said he could +easily carry both Trot and the Patchwork Girl. Betsy +still had her mule, Hank, and Button-Bright and the +Wizard could sit together upon the long, thin back of +the Sawhorse, but they took care to soften their seat +with a pad of blankets before they started. Thus +mounted, the adventurers started for the hill, which +was reached after a brief journey. + +As they mounted the crest and gazed beyond the hill +they discovered not far away a walled city, from the +towers and spires of which gay banners were flying. It +was not a very big city, indeed, but its walls were +very high and thick and it appeared that the people who +lived there must have feared attack by a powerful +enemy, else they would not have surrounded their +dwellings with so strong a barrier. + +There was no path leading from the mountains to the +city, and this proved that the people seldom or never +visited the whirling hills; but our friends found the +grass soft and agreeable to travel over and with the +city before them they could not well lose their way. +When they drew nearer to the walls, the breeze carried +to their ears the sound of music -- dim at first but +growing louder as they advanced. + +"That doesn't seem like a very terr'ble place," +remarked Dorothy. + +"Well, it looks all right," replied Trot, from her +seat on the Woozy, "but looks can't always be trusted." + +"My looks can," said Scraps. "I look patchwork, and I +am patchwork, and no one but a blind owl could ever +doubt that I'm the Patchwork Girl." Saying which she +turned a somersault off the Woozy and, alighting on +her feet, began wildly dancing about. + +"Are owls ever blind?" asked Trot. + +"Always, in the daytime," said Button-Bright. "But +Scraps can see with her button eyes both day and night. +Isn't it queer?" + +"It's queer that buttons can see at all," answered +Trot; "but -- good gracious! what's become of the +city?" + +"I was going to ask that myself," said Dorothy. "It's +gone!" + +The animals came to a sudden halt, for the city had +really disappeared -- walls and all -- and before them +lay the clear, unbroken sweep of the country. + +"Dear me!" exclaimed the Wizard. "This is rather +disagreeable. It is annoying to travel almost to a +place and then find it is not there." + +"Where can it be, then?" asked Dorothy. "It cert'nly +was there a minute ago." + +"I can hear the music yet," declared Button-Bright, +and when they all listened the strains of music could +plainly be heard. + +"Oh! there's the city -- over at the left," called +Scraps, and turning their eyes they saw the walls and +towers and fluttering banners far to the left of them. + +"We must have lost our way," suggested Dorothy. + +"Nonsense," said the Lion. "I, and all the other +animals, have been tramping straight toward the city +ever since we first saw it." + +"Then how does it happen --" + +"Never mind," interrupted the Wizard, "we are no +farther from it than we were before. It is in a +different direction, that's all; so let us hurry and +get there before it again escapes us. + +So on they went, directly toward the city, which +seemed only a couple of miles distant; but when they +had traveled less than a mile it suddenly disappeared +again. Once more they paused, somewhat discouraged, but +in a moment the button eyes of Scraps again discovered +the city, only this time it was just behind them, in +the direction from which they had come. + +"Goodness gracious!" cried Dorothy. "There's surely +something wrong with that city. Do you s'pose it's on +wheels, Wizard?" + +"It may not be a city at all," he replied, looking +toward it with a speculative gaze. + +"What could it be, then?" + +"Just an illusion." + +"What's that?" asked Trot. + +"Something you think you see and don't see." + +"I can't believe that," said Button-Bright. "If we +only saw it, we might be mistaken, but if we can see it +and hear it, too, it must be there." + +"Where?" asked the Patchwork Girl. + +"Somewhere near us," he insisted. + +"We will have to go back, I suppose," said the Woozy, +with a sigh. + +So back they turned and headed for the walled city +until it disappeared again, Only to reappear at the +right of them. They were constantly getting nearer to +it, however, so they kept their faces turned toward it +as it flitted here and there to all points of the +compass. Presently the Lion, who was leading the +procession, halted abruptly and cried out: "Ouch!" + +"What's the matter?" asked Dorothy. + +"Ouch -- Ouch!~ repeated the Lion, and leaped +backward so suddenly that Dorothy nearly tumbled from +his back. At the same time Hank the Mule yelled "Ouch!" +almost as loudly as the Lion had done, and he also +pranced backward a few paces. + +"It's the thistles," said Betsy. "They prick their +legs." + +Hearing this, all looked down, and sure enough the +ground was thick with thistles, which covered the plain +from the point where they stood way up to the walls of +the mysterious city. No pathways through them could be +seen at all; here the soft grass ended and the growth +of thistles began. + +"They're the prickliest thistles I ever felt," +grumbled the Lion. "My legs smart yet from their +stings, though I jumped out of them as quick as I +could." + +"Here is a new difficulty," remarked the Wizard in a +grieved tone. "The city has stopped hopping around, it +is true; but how are we to get to it, over this mass of +prickers?" + +"They can't hurt me," said the thick-skinned Woozy, +advancing fearlessly and trampling among the thistles. + +"Nor me," said the Wooden Sawhorse. + +"But the Lion and the Mule cannot stand the +prickers," asserted Dorothy, "and we can't leave them +behind." + +"Must we all go back?" asked Trot. + +"Course not!" replied Button-Bright scornfully. +"Always, when there's trouble, there's a way out of it, +if you can find it." + +"I wish the Scarecrow was here," said Scraps, +standing on her head on the Woozy"s square back. "His +splendid brains would soon show us how to conquer this +field of thistles." + +"What's the matter with your brains?" asked the boy. + +"Nothing," she said, making a flip-flop into the +thistles and dancing among them without feeling their +sharp points. "I could tell you in half a minute how to +get over the thistles, if I wanted to." + +"Tell us, Scraps!" begged Dorothy. + +"I don't want to wear my brains out with overwork," +replied the Patchwork Girl. + +"Don't you love Ozma? And don't you want to find +her?" asked Betsy reproachfully. + +"Yes, indeed," said Scraps, walking on her hands as +an acrobat does at the circus. + +"Well, we can't find Ozma unless we get past these +thistles," declared Dorothy. + +Scraps danced around them two or three +times, without reply. Then she said: + +"Don't look at me, you stupid folks; look at those +blankets." + +The Wizard's face brightened at once. + +"Of course!" he exclaimed. "Why didn't we +think of those blankets before?" + +"Because you haven't magic brains," laughed Scraps. +"Such brains as you have are of the common sort that +grow in your heads, like weeds in a garden. I'm sorry +for you people who have to be born in order to be +alive." + +But the Wizard was not listening to her. He quickly +removed the blankets from the back of the Sawhorse and +spread one of them upon the thistles, just next to the +grass. The thick cloth rendered the prickers harmless, +so the Wizard walked over this first blanket and spread +the second one farther on, in the direction of the +phantom city. + +"These blankets," said he, "are for the Lion and the +Mule to walk upon. The Sawhorse and the Woozy can walk +on the thistles." + +So the Lion and the Mule walked over the first +blanket and stood upon the second one until the Wizard +had picked up the one they had passed over and spread +it in front of them, when they advanced to that one and +waited while the one behind them was again spread in +front. + +"This is slow work," said the Wizard, "but it will +get us to the city after a while." + +"The city is a good half mile away, yet," announced +Button-Bright. + +"And this is awful hard work for the Wizard," added +Trot. + +"Why couldn't the Lion ride on the Woozy's back?" +asked Dorothy. "It's a big, flat back, and the Woozy's +mighty strong. Perhaps the Lion wouldn't fall off." + +"You may try it, if you like," said the Woozy to the +Lion. "I can take you to the city in a jiffy and then +come back for Hank." + +"I'm -- I'm afraid," said the Cowardly Lion. He was +twice as big as the Woozy. + +"Try it," pleaded Dorothy. + +"And take a tumble among the thistles?" asked the +Lion reproachfully. But when the Woozy came close to +him the big beast suddenly bounded upon its back and +managed to balance himself there, although forced to +hold his four legs so close together that he was in +danger of toppling over. The great weight of the +monster Lion did not seem to affect the Woozy, who +called to his rider: "Hold on tight!" and ran swiftly +over the thistles toward the city. + +The others stood on the blankets and watched the +strange sight anxiously. Of course the Lion couldn't +"hold on tight" because there was nothing to hold to, +and he swayed from side to side as if likely to fall +off any moment. Still, he managed to stick to the +Woozy's back until they were close to the walls of the +city, when he leaped to the ground. Next moment the +Woozy came dashing back at full speed. + +"There's a little strip of ground next to the wall +where there are no thistles," he told them, when he had +reached the adventurers once more. "Now, then, friend +Hank, see if you can ride as well as the Lion did." + +"Take the others first," proposed the Mule. So the +Sawhorse and the Woozy made a couple of trips over the +thistles to the city walls and carried all the people +in safety, Dorothy holding little Toto in her arms. The +travelers then sat in a group on a little hillock, just +outside the wall, and looked at the great blocks of +gray stone and waited for the Woozy to bring Hank to +them. The Mule was very awkward and his legs trembled +so badly that more than once they thought he would +tumble off, but finally he reached them in safety and +the entire party was now reunited. More than that, they +had reached the city that had eluded them for so long +and in so strange a manner. + +"The gates must be around the other side," said the +Wizard. "Let us follow the curve of the wall until we +reach an opening in it." + +"Which way?" asked Dorothy. + +"We must guess at that," he replied. "Suppose we go +to the left? One direction is as good as another." + +They formed in marching order and went around the +city wall to the left. It wasn't a big city, as I have +said, but to go way around it, outside the high wall, +was quite a walk, as they became aware. But around it +our adventurers went, without finding any sign of a +gateway or other opening. When they had returned to the +little mound from which they had started, they +dismounted from the animals and again seated themselves +on the grassy mound. + +"It's mighty queer, isn't it?" asked Button-Bright. + +"There must be some way for the people to get out and +in,' declared Dorothy. "Do you s'pose they have flying +machines, Wizard?" + +"No," he replied, "for in that case they would be +flying all over the Land of Oz, and we know they have +not done that. Flying machines are unknown here. I +think it more likely that the people use ladders to get +over the walls." + +"It would be an awful climb, over that high stone +wall," said Betsy. + +"Stone, is it?" cried Scraps, who was again dancing +wildly around, for she never tired and could never keep +still for long. + +"Course it's stone," answered Betsy scornfully. +"Can't you see?" + +"Yes," said Scraps, going closer, "I can see the +wall, but I can't feel it." And then, with her arms +outstretched, she did a very queer thing. She walked +right into the wall and disappeared. + +"For goodness sake!" cried Dorothy amazed, as indeed +they all were. + + + + +Chapter Nine + +The High Coco-Lorum of Thi + + +And now the Patchwork Girl came dancing out of the wall +again. "Come on!" she called. "It isn't there. There +isn't any wall at all." + +"What! No wall?" exclaimed the Wizard. + +"Nothing like it," said Scraps. "It's a make-believe. +You see it, but it isn't. Come on into the city; we've +been wasting time." + +With this she danced into the wall again and once +more disappeared. Button-Bright, who was rather +venturesome, dashed away after her and also became +invisible to them. The others followed more cautiously, +stretching out their hands to feel the wall and +finding, to their astonishment, that they could feel +nothing because nothing opposed them. They walked on a +few steps and found themselves in the streets of a very +beautiful city. Behind them they again saw the wall, +grim and forbidding as ever; but now they knew it was +merely an illusion, prepared to keep strangers from +entering the city. + +But the wall was soon forgotten, for in front of them +were a number of quaint people who stared at them in +amazement, as if wondering where they had come from. +Our friends forgot their good manners, for a time, and +returned the stares with interest, for so remarkable a +people had never before been discovered in all the +remarkable Land of Oz. + +Their heads were shaped like diamonds and their +bodies like hearts. All the hair they had was a little +bunch at the tip top of their diamond-shaped heads and +their eyes were very large and round and their noses +and mouths very small. Their clothing was tight-fitting +and of brilliant colors, being handsomely embroidered +in quaint designs with gold or silver threads; but on +their feet they wore sandals, with no stockings +whatever. The expression of their faces was pleasant +enough, although they now showed surprise at the +appearance of strangers so unlike themselves, and our +friends thought they seemed quite harmless. + +"I beg your pardon," said the Wizard, speaking for +his party, "for intruding upon you uninvited, but we +are traveling on important business and find it +necessary to visit your city. Will you kindly tell us +by what name your city is called?" + +They looked at one another uncertainly, each +expecting some other to answer. Finally a short one +whose heart-shaped body was very broad replied: + +"We have no occasion to call our city anything. It is +where we live, that is all." + +"But by what name do others call your city?" asked +the Wizard. + +"We know of no others, except yourselves," said the +man. And then he inquired: "Were you born with those +queer forms you have, or has some cruel magician +transformed you to them from your natural shapes?" + +"These are our natural shapes," declared the Wizard, +"and we consider them very good shapes, too." + +The group of inhabitants was constantly being +enlarged by others who joined it. All were evidently +startled and uneasy at the arrival of strangers. + +"Have you a King?" asked Dorothy, who knew it was +better to speak with someone in authority. But the man +shook his diamond-like head. + +"What is a King?" he asked. + +"Isn't there anyone who rules over you?" inquired the +Wizard. + +"No," was the reply, "each of us rules himself; or, +at least, tries to do so. It is not an easy thing to +do, as you probably know." + +The Wizard reflected. + +"If you have disputes among you," said he, after a +little thought, "who settles them?" + +"The High Coco-Lorum," they answered in a chorus. + +"And who is he?" + +"The judge who enforces the laws," said the man who +had first spoken. + +"Then he is the principal person here?" continued the +Wizard. + +"Well, I would not say that," returned the man in a +puzzled way. "The High Cocolorum is a public servant. +However, he represents the laws, which we must all +obey." + +"I think," said the Wizard, "we ought to see your +High Coco-Lorum and talk with him. Our mission here +requires us to consult one high in authority, and the +High Coco-Lorum ought to be high, whatever else he is." + +The inhabitants seemed to consider this proposition +reasonable, for they nodded their diamond-shaped heads +in approval. So the broad one who had been their +spokesman said: "Follow me," and, turning, led the way +along one of the streets. + +The entire party followed him, the natives falling in +behind. The dwellings they passed were quite nicely +planned and seemed comfortable and convenient. After +leading them a few blocks their conductor stopped +before a house which was neither better nor worse than +the others. The doorway was shaped to admit the +strangely formed bodies of these people, being narrow +at the top, broad in the middle and tapering at the +bottom. The windows were made in much the same way, +giving the house a most peculiar appearance. When their +guide opened the gate a music-box concealed in the +gate-post began to play, and the sound attracted the +attention of the High Coco-Lorum, who appeared at an +open window and inquired: + +"What has happened now?" + +But in the same moment his eyes fell upon the +strangers and he hastened to open the door and admit +them -- all but the animals, which were left outside +with the throng of natives that had now gathered. For a +small city there seemed to be a large number of +inhabitants, but they did not try to enter the house +and contented themselves with staring curiously at the +strange animals. Toto followed Dorothy. + +Our friends entered a large room at the front of the +house, where the High Coco-Lorum asked them to be +seated. + +"I hope your mission here is a peaceful one," he +said, looking a little worried, "for the Thists are not +very good fighters and object to being conquered." + +"Are your people called Thists?" asked Dorothy. + +"Yes. I thought you knew that. And we call our city +Thi." + +"Oh!" + +"We are Thists because we eat thistles, you know," +continued the High Coco-Lorum. + +"Do you really eat those prickly things?" inquired +Button-Bright wonderingly. + +"Why not?" replied the other. "The sharp points of +the thistles cannot hurt us, because all our insides +are gold-lined." + +"Gold-lined!" + +"To be sure. Our throats and stomachs are lined with +solid gold, and we find the thistles nourishing and +good to eat. As a matter of fact, there is nothing else +in our country that is fit for food. All around the +City of Thi grow countless thistles, and all we need do +is to go and gather them. If we wanted anything else to +eat we would have to plant it, and grow it, and harvest +it, and that would be a lot of trouble and make us +work, which is an occupation we detest." + +"But, tell me, please," said the Wizard, "how does it +happen that your city jumps around so, from one part of +the country to another?" + +"The city doesn't jump; it doesn't move at all," +declared the High Coco-Lorum. "However, I will admit +that the land that surrounds it has a trick of turning +this way or that; and so, if one is standing upon the +plain and facing north, he is likely to find himself +suddenly facing west -- or east -- or south. But once +you reach the thistle fields you are on solid ground." + +"Ah, I begin to understand," said the Wizard, nodding +his head. "But I have another question to ask: How does +it happen that the Thists have no King to rule over +them?" + +"Hush!" whispered the High Coco-Lorum, looking +uneasily around to make sure they were not overheard. +"In reality, I am the King, but the people don't know +it. They think they rule themselves, but the fact is I +have everything my own way. No one else knows anything +about our laws, and so I make the laws to suit myself. +If any oppose me, or question my acts, I tell them it's +the law, and that settles it. If I called myself King, +however, and wore a crown and lived in royal state, the +people would not like me, and might do me harm. As the +High Coco-Lorum of Thi, I'm considered a very agreeable +person." + +"It seems a very clever arrangement," said the +Wizard. "And now, as you are the principal person in +Thi, I beg you to tell us if the Royal Ozma is a +captive in your city." + +"No," answered the diamond-headed man, "we have no +captives. No strangers but yourselves are here, and we +have never before heard of the Royal Ozma." + +"She rules all of Oz," said Dorothy, "and so she +rules your city and you, because you are in the Winkie +Country, which is a part of the Land of Oz." + +"It may be," returned the High Coco-Lorum, "for we do +not study geography and have never inquired whether we +live in the Land of Oz or not. And any Ruler who rules +us from a distance, and unknown to us, is welcome to +the job. But what has happened to your Royal Ozma?" + +"Someone has stolen her," said the Wizard. "Do you +happen to have any talented magician among your people +-- one who is especially clever, you know?" + +"No, none especially clever. We do some magic, of +course, but it is all of the ordinary kind. I do not +think any of us has yet aspired to stealing Rulers, +either by magic or otherwise." + +"Then we've come a long way for nothing!" exclaimed +Trot regretfully. + +"But we are going farther than this," asserted the +Patchwork Girl, bending her stuffed body backward until +her yarn hair touched the floor and then walking around +on her hands with her feet in the air. + +The High Coco-Lorum watched Scraps admiringly. + +"You may go farther on, of course," said he, "but I +advise you not to. The Herkus live back of us, beyond +the thistles and the twisting lands, and they are not +very nice people to meet, I assure you." + +"Are they giants?" asked Betsy. + +"They are worse than that," was the reply. "They have +giants for their slaves and they are so much stronger +than giants that the poor slaves dare not rebel, for +fear of being torn to pieces." + +"How do you know,?" asked Scraps. +"Everyone says so," answered the High Coco-Lorum. + +"Have you seen the Herkus yourself?" inquired +Dorothy. + +"No, but what everyone says must be true; otherwise, +what would be the use of their saying it?" + +"We were told, before we got here, that you people +hitch dragons to your chariots," said the little girl. + +"So we do," declared the High Coco-Lorum. "And that +reminds me that I ought to entertain you, as strangers +and my guests, by taking you for a ride around our +splendid City of Thi." + +Coco-Lorum. "Every time I give an order it is in music, +which is a much more pleasant way to address servants +than in cold, stern word" + +"Does this dragon of yours bite?" asked Button- +Bright. + +"Mercy, no! Do you think I'd risk the safety of my +innocent people by using a biting dragon to draw my +chariot? I'm proud to say that my dragon is harmless- +unless his steering gear breaks -- and he was +manufactured at the famous dragon-factory in this City +of Thi. Here he comes and you may examine him for +yourselves." + +They heard a low rumble and a shrill squeaking sound +and, going out to the front of the house, they saw +coming around the corner a car drawn by a gorgeous +jeweled dragon, which moved its head to right and left +and flashed its eyes like the headlights of an +automobile and uttered a growling noise as it slowly +moved toward them. + +When it stopped before the High Coco-Lorum's house +Toto barked sharply at the sprawling beast, but even +tiny Trot could see that the dragon was not alive. Its +scales were of gold and each one was set with sparkling +jewels, while it walked in such a stiff, regular manner +that it could be nothing else than a machine. The +chariot that trailed behind it was likewise of gold and +jewels, and when they entered it they found there were +no seats. Everyone was supposed to stand up while +riding. + +The charioteer was a little diamond-headed fellow who +straddled the neck of the dragon and moved the levers +that made it go. + +"This," said the High Coco-Lorum, pompously, "is a +wonderful invention. We are all very proud of our +autodragons, many of which are in use by our wealthy +inhabitants. Start the thing going, charioteer!" + +The charioteer did not move. + +"You forgot to order him in music," suggested +Dorothy. + +"Ah, so I did." He touched a button and a music-box +in the dragon's head began to play a tune. At once the +little charioteer pulled over a lever and the dragon +began to move -- very slowly and groaning dismally as +it drew the clumsy chariot after it. Toto trotted +between the wheels. The Sawhorse, the Mule, the Lion +and the Woozy followed after and had no trouble in +keeping up with the machine; indeed, they had to go +slow to keep from running into it. When the wheels +turned another music-box concealed somewhere under the +chariot played a lively march tune which was in +striking contrast with the dragging movement of the +strange vehicle and Button-Bright decided that the +music he had heard when they first sighted this city +was nothing else than a chariot plodding its weary way +through the streets. + +All the travelers from the Emerald City thought this +ride the most uninteresting and dreary they had ever +experienced, but the High Coco-Lorum seemed to think it +was grand. He pointed out the different buildings and +parks and fountains, in much the same way that the +conductor of an American "sight-seeing wagon" does, and +being guests they were obliged to submit to the ordeal. +But they became a little worried when their host told +them he had ordered a banquet prepared for them in the +City Hall. + +"What are we going to eat?" asked Button-Bright +suspiciously. + +"Thistles," was the reply; "fine, fresh thistles, +gathered this very day." + +Scraps laughed, for she never ate anything, but +Dorothy said in a protesting voice: + +"Our insides are not lined with gold, you know." + +"How sad!" exclaimed the High Coco-Lorum; and then he +added, as an afterthought: "But we can have the +thistles boiled, if you prefer." + +"I'm 'fraid they wouldn't taste good, even then," +said little Trot. "Haven't you anything else to eat?" + +The High Coco-Lorum shook his diamond-shaped head. + +"Nothing that I know of," said he. "But why should we +have anything else, when we have so many thistles? +However, if you can't eat what we eat, don't eat +anything. We shall not be offended and the banquet will +be just as merry and delightful." + +Knowing his companions were all hungry the Wizard +said: + +"I trust you will excuse us from the banquet, sir, +which will be merry enough without us, although it is +given in our honor. For, as Ozma is not in your city, +we must leave here at once and seek her elsewhere." + +"Sure we must!" agreed Dorothy, and she whispered to +Betsy and Trot: "I'd rather Starve somewhere else than +in this city, and -- who knows? -- we may run across +somebedy who eats reg'lar food and will give us some." + +So, when the ride was finished, in spite of the +protests of the High Coco-Lorum they insisted on +continuing their journey. + +"It will soon be dark," he objected. + +"We don't mind the darkness," replied the Wizard. + +"Some wandering Herku may get you." + +"Do you think the Herkus would hurt us?" asked +Dorothy. + +"I cannot say, not having the honor of their +acquaintance. But they are said to be so strong that, +if they had any other place to stand upon, they could +lift the world." + +"All of them together?" asked Button-Bright +wonderingly. + +"Any one of them could do it," said the High Coco- +Lorum. + +"Have you heard of any magicians being among them?" +asked the Wizard, knowing that only a magician could +have stolen Ozma in the way she had been stolen. + +"I am told it is quite a magical country," declared +the High Coco-Lorum, "and magic is usually performed by +magicians. But I have never heard that they have any +invention or sorcery to equal our wonderful +autodragons." + +They thanked him for his courtesy and, mounting their +own animals, rode to the farther side of the city and +right through the Wall of Illusion out into the open +country. + +"I'm glad we got away so easily," said' Betsy. "I +didn't like those queer-shaped people.' + +"Nor did I," agreed Dorothy. "It seems dreadful to be +lined with sheets of pure gold and have nothing to eat +but thistles." + +"They seemed happy and contented, though," remarked +the little Wizard, "and those who are contented have +nothing to regret and nothing more to wish for." + + + + +Chapter Six + +Toto Loses Something + + +For a while the travelers were constantly losing their +direction, for beyond the thistle fields they again +found themselves upon the turning-lands, which swung +them around in such a freakish manner that first they +were headed one way and then another. But by keeping +the City of Thi constantly behind them the adventurers +finally passed the treacherous turning-lands and came +upon a stony country where no grass grew at all. There +were plenty of bushes, however, and although it was now +almost dark the girls discovered some delicious yellow +berries growing upon the bushes, one taste of which set +them all to picking as many as they could find. The +berries relieved their pangs of hunger, for a time, and +as it now became too dark to see anything they camped +where they were. + +The three girls lay down upon one of the blankets -- +all in a row -- and then the Wizard covered them with +the other blanket and tucked them in. Button-Bright +crawled under the shelter of some bushes and was asleep +in half a minute. The Wizard sat down with his back to +a big stone and looked at the stars in the sky and +thought gravely upon the dangerous adventure they had +undertaken, wondering if they would ever be able to +find their beloved Ozma again. The animals lay in a +group by themselves, a little distance from the others. + +"I've lost my growl!" said Toto, who had been very +silent and sober all that day. "What do you suppose has +become of it?" + +"If you had asked me to keep track of your growl, I +might be able to tell you," remarked the Lion sleepily. +"But, frankly, Toto, I supposed you were taking care of +it yourself." + +"It's an awful thing to lose one's growl," said Toto, +wagging his tail disconsolately. "What if you lost your +roar, Lion? Wouldn't you feel terrible?" + +"My roar," replied the Lion, "is the fiercest thing +about me. I depend on it to frighten my enemies so +badly that they won't dare to fight me." + +"Once," said the Mule, "I lost my bray, so that I +couldn't call to Betsy to let her know I was hungry. +That was before I could talk, you know, for I had not +yet come into the Land of Oz, and I found it was +certainly very uncomfortable not to be able to make a +noise." + +"You make enough noise now," declared Toto. "But none +of you has answered my question: Where is my growl?" + +"You may search me," said the Woozy. "I don't care +for such things myself." + +"You snore terribly," asserted Toto. + +"It may he," said the Woozy. "What one does when +asleep one is not accountable for. I wish you would +wake me up, some time when I'm snoring, and let me hear +the sound. Then I can judge whether it is terrible or +delightful." + +"It isn't pleasant, I assure you," said the Lion, +yawning. + +"To me it seems wholly unnecessary," declared Hank +the Mule. + +"You ought to break yourself of the habit," said the +Sawhorse. "You never hear me snore, because I never +sleep. I don't even whinny, as those puffy meat horses +do. I wish that whoever stole Toto's growl had taken +the Mule's bray and the Lion's roar and the Woozy's +snore at the same time." + +"Do you think, then, that my growl was stolen?" + +"You have never lost it before, have you?" inquired +the Sawhorse. + +"Only once, when I had a sore throat from barking too +long at the moon." + +"Is your throat sore now?" asked the Woozy. + +"No," replied the dog. + +"I can't understand," said Hank, "why dogs bark at +the moon, They can't scare the moon, and the moon +doesn't pay any attention to the bark. So why do dogs +do it?" + +"Were you ever a dog?" asked Toto. + +"No, indeed," replied Hank. "I am thankful to say I +was created a mule -- the most beautiful of all beasts +-- and have always remained one." + +The Woozy sat upon his square haunches to examine +Hank with care. + +"Beauty," said he, "must be a matter of taste. I +don't say your judgment is bad, friend Hank, or that +you are so vulgar as to be conceited. But if you admire +big waggly ears, and a tail like a paint-brush, and +hoofs big enough for an elephant, and a long neck and a +body so skinny that one can count the ribs with one eye +shut -- if that's your idea of beauty, Hank -- then +either you or I must be much mistaken." + +"You're full of edges," sneered the Mule. "If I were +square, as you are, I suppose you'd think me lovely." + +"Outwardly, dear Hank, I would," replied the Woozy. +"But to be really lovely one must be beautiful without +and within." + +The Mule couldn't deny this statement, so he gave a +disgusted grunt and rolled over so that his back was +toward the Woozy. But the Lion, regarding the two +calmly with his great yellow eyes, said to the dog: + +"My dear Toto, our friends have taught us a lesson in +humility. If the Woozy and the Mule are indeed +beautiful creatures, as they seem to think, you and I +must be decidedly ugly." + +"Not to ourselves," protested Toto, who was a shrewd +little dog. "You and I, Lion, are fine specimens of our +own races. I am a fine dog and you are a fine lion. +Only in point of comparison, one with another, can we +be properly judged, so I will leave it to the poor old +Sawhorse to decide which is the most beautiful animal +among us all. The Sawhorse is wood, so he won't be +prejudiced and will speak the truth." + +"I surely will," responded the Sawhorse, wagging his +ears, which were chips set in his wooden head. "Are you +all agreed to accept my judgment?" + +"We are!" they declared, each one hopeful. + +"Then," said the Sawhorse, "I must point out to you +the fact that you are all meat creatures, who tire +unless they sleep, and starve unless they eat, and +suffer from thirst unless they drink. Such animals must +be very imperfect, and imperfect Creatures cannot be +beautiful. Now, I am made of wood." + +"You surely have a wooden head," said the Mule. + +"Yes, and a wooden body and wooden legs -- which are +as swift as the wind and as tireless. I've heard +Dorothy say that 'handsome is as handsome does,' and I +surely perform my duties in a handsome manner. +Therefore, if you wish my honest judgement, I will +confess that among us all I am the most beautiful." + +The Mule snorted and the Woozy laughed; Toto had lost +his growl and could only look scornfully at the +Sawhorse, who stood in his place unmoved. But the Lion +stretched himself and yawned, saying quietly: + +"Were we all like the Sawhorse we would all be +Sawhorses, which would be too many of the kind; were we +all like Hank, we would be a herd of mules; if like +Toto, we would be a pack of dogs; should we all become +the shape of the Woozy, he would no longer be +remarkable for his unusual appearance. Finally, were +you all like me, I would consider you so common that I +would not care to associate with you. To be individual, +my friends, to be different from others, is the only +way to become distinguished from the common herd. Let +us be glad, therefore, that we differ from one another +in form and in disposition. Variety is the spice of +life and we are various enough to enjoy one another's +society; so let us be content." + +"There is some truth in that speech," remarked Toto +reflectively. "But how about my lost growl?" + +"The growl is of importance only to you," responded +the Lion, "so it is your business to worry over the +loss, not ours. If you love us, do not inflict your +burdens on us; be unhappy all by yourself." + +"If the same person stole my growl who stole Ozma," +said the little dog, "I hope we shall find him very +soon and punish him as he deserves. He must be the most +cruel person in all the world, for to prevent a dog +from growling when it is his nature to growl is just as +wicked, in my opinion, as stealing all the magic in +Oz." + + + + +Chapter Eleven + +Button-Bright Loses Himself + + +The Patchwork Girl, who never slept and who could see +very well in the dark, had wandered among the rocks and +bushes all night long, with the result that she was +able to tell some good news the next morning. + +"Over the crest of the hill before us," she said, "is +a big grove of trees of many kinds, on which all sorts +of fruits grow. If you will go there you will find a +nice breakfast awaiting you." + +This made them eager to start, so as soon as the +blankets were folded and strapped to the back of the +Sawhorse they all took their places on the animals and +set out for the big grove Scraps had told them of. + +As soon as they got over the brow of the hill they +discovered it to be a really immense orchard, extending +for miles to the right and left of them. As their way +led straight through the trees they hurried forward as +fast as possible. + +The first trees they came to bore quinces, which they +did not like. Then there were rows of citron trees and +then crab apples and after. ward limes and lemons. But +beyond these they found a grove of big golden oranges, +juicy and sweet, and the fruit hung low on the +branches, so they could pluck it easily. + +They helped themselves freely and all ate oranges as +they continued on their way. Then, a little farther +along, they came to some trees bearing fine red apples, +which they also feasted on, and the Wizard stopped here +long enough to tie a lot of the apples in one end of a +blanket. + +"We do not know what will happen to us after we leave +this delightful orchard," he said, "so I think it wise +to carry a supply of apples with us. We can't starve as +long as we have apples, you know." + +Scraps wasn't riding the Woozy just now. She loved to +climb the trees and swing herself by the branches from +one tree to another. Some of the choicest fruit was +gathered by the Patchwork Girl from the very highest +limbs and tossed down to the others. Suddenly Trot +asked: "Where's Button-Bright?" and when the others +looked for him they found the boy had disappeared. + +"Dear me!" cried Dorothy. "I guess he's lost again, +and that will mean our waiting here until we can find +him." + +"It's a good place to wait," suggested Betsy, who had +found a plum tree and was eating some of its fruit. + +"How can you wait here, and find Button-Bright, at +one and the same time?" inquired the Patchwork Girl, +hanging by her toes on a limb just over the heads of +the three mortal girls. + +"Perhaps he'll come back here," answered Dorothy. + +"If he tries that, he'll prob'ly lose his way, said +Trot. I've known him to do that, lots of times. It's +losing his way that gets him lost." + +"Very true," said the Wizard. "So all the rest of you +must stay here while I go look for the boy." + +"Won't you get lost, too?" asked Betsy. + +"I hope not, my dear." + +"Let me go," said Scraps, dropping lightly to the +ground. "I can't get lost, and I'm more likely to find +Button Bright than any of you." + +Without waiting for permission she darted away +through the trees and soon disappeared from their view. + +"Dorothy," said Toto, squatting beside his little +mistress, "I've lost my growl." + +"How did that happen?" she asked. + +"I don't know," replied Toto. "Yesterday morning the +Woozy nearly stepped on me and I tried to growl at him +and found I couldn't growl a bit." + +"Can you bark?" inquired Dorothy. + +"Oh, yes, indeed!" + +"Then never mind the growl," said she. + +"But what will I do when I get home to the Glass Cat +and the Pink Kitten?" asked the little dog in an +anxious voice. + +"They won't mind, if you can't growl at them, I'm +sure," said Dorothy. "I'm sorry for you, of course, +Toto, for it's just those things we can t do that we +want to do most of all; but before we get back you may +find your growl again." + +"Do you think the person who stole Ozma stole my +growl?" + +Dorothy smiled. + +"Perhaps, Toto." + +"Then he's a scoundrel!" cried the little dog. + +"Anyone who would steal Ozma is as bad as bad can +be," agreed Dorothy, "and when we remember that our +dear friend, the lovely Ruler of Oz, is lost, we ought +not to worry over just a growl." + +Toto was not entirely satisfied with this remark, for +the more he thought upon his lost growl the more +important his misfortune he came. When no one was +looking he went away among the trees and tried his best +to growl -- even a little bit -- but could not manage +to do so. All he could do was bark, and a bark cannot +take the place of a growl, so he sadly returned to the +others. + +Now, Button-Bright had no idea that he was lost, at +first. He had merely wandered from tree to tree, +seeking the finest fruit, until he discovered he was +alone in the great orchard. But that didn't worry him +just then and seeing some apricot trees farther on he +went to them; then he discovered some cherry trees; +just beyond these were some tangerines. + +"We've found 'most ev'ry kind of fruit but peaches," +he said to himself, "so I guess there are peaches here, +too, if I can find the trees." + +He searched here and there, paying no attention to +his way, until he found that the trees surrounding him +bore only nuts. He put some walnuts in his pockets and +kept on searching and at last -- right among the nut +trees -- he came upon one solitary peach tree. It was a +graceful, beautiful tree, but although it was thickly +leaved it bore no fruit except one large, splendid +peach, rosy cheeked and fuzzy and just right to eat. + +Button-Bright had some trouble getting that lonesome +peach, for it hung far out of reach; but he climbed the +tree nimbly and crept out on the branch on which it +grew and after several trials, during which he was in +danger of falling, he finally managed to pick it. Then +he got back to the ground and decided the fruit was +well worth his trouble. It was delightfully fragrant +and when he bit into it he found it the most delicious +morsel he had ever tasted. + +"I really ought to divide it with Trot and Dorothy +and Betsy," he said; "but p'rhaps there are plenty more +in some other part of the orchard." + +In his heart he doubted this statement, for this was +a solitary peach tree, while all the other fruits grew +upon many trees set close to one another; but that one +luscious bite made him unable to resist eating the rest +of it and soon the peach was all gone except the pit. +Button-Bright was about to throw this peach-pit away +when he noticed that it was of pure gold. gold. Of +course this surprised him, but so many things in the +Land of Oz were surprising that he did not give much +thought to the golden peach-pit. He put it in his +pocket, however, to show to the girls, and five minutes +afterward had forgotten all about it. + +For now he realized that he was far separated from +his companions, and knowing that this would worry them +and delay their journey, he began to shout as loud as +he could. His voice did not penetrate very far among +all those trees, and after shouting a dozen times and +getting no answer he sat down on the ground and said: + +"Well, I'm lost again. It's too bad, but I don't see +how it can be helped." + +As he leaned his back against a tree he looked up and +saw a Bluefinch fly down from the sky and alight upon a +branch just before him. The bird looked and looked at +him. First it looked with one bright eye and then +turned its head and looked at him with the other eye. +Then, fluttering its wings a little, it said: + +"Oho! so you've eaten the enchanted peach, have you?" + +"Was it enchanted?" asked Button-Bright. + +"Of course," replied the Bluefinch. "Ugu the +Shoemaker did that." + +"But why? And how was it enchanted?. And what will +happen to one who eats it?" questioned the boy. + +"Ask Ugu the Shoemaker; he knows," said the bird, +pruning its feathers with its bill. + +"And who is Ugu the Shoemaker?" + +"The one who enchanted the peach, and placed it here +-- in the exact center of the Great Orchard -- so no +one would ever find it. We birds didn't dare to eat it; +we are too wise for that. But you are Button-Bright, +from the Emerald City, and you-you-YOU ate the +enchanted peach! You must explain to Ugu the Shoemaker +why you did that." + +And then, before the boy could ask any more +questions, the bird flew away and left him alone. + +Button-Bright was not much worried to find that the +peach he had eaten was enchanted. It certainly had +tasted very good and his stomach didn't ache a bit. So +again he began to reflect upon the best way to rejoin +his friends. + +"Whichever direction I follow is likely to be the +wrong one," he said to himself, "so I'd better stay +just where I am and let them find me -- if they can." + +A White Rabbit came hopping through the orchard and +paused a little way off to look at him. + +"Don't be afraid," said Button-Bright; "I won't hurt +you." + +"Oh, I'm not afraid for myself," returned the White +Rabbit. "It's you I'm worried about." + +"Yes; I'm lost," said the boy. + +"I fear you are, indeed," answered the Rabbit. "Why +on earth did you eat the enchanted peach?" + +The boy looked at the excited little animal +thoughtfully. + +"There were two reasons," he explained. "One reason +was that I like peaches, and the other reason was that +I didn't know it was enchanted." + +"That won't save you from Ugu the Shoemaker," +declared the White Rabbit and it scurried away before +the boy could ask any more questions. + +"Rabbits and birds," he thought, "are timid creatures +and seem afraid of this shoemaker -- whoever he may be. +If there was another peach half as good as that other, +I'd eat it in spite of a dozen enchantments or a +hundred shoemakers!" + +Just then Scraps came dancing along and saw him +sitting at the foot of the tree. + +"Oh, here you are!" she said. "Up to your old tricks, +eh? Don't you know it's impolite to get lost and keep +everybody waiting for you? Come along, and I'll lead +you back to Dorothy and the others." + +Button-Bright rose slowly to accompany her. + +"That wasn't much of a loss," he said cheerfully. "I +haven't been gone half a day, so there's no harm done." + +Dorothy, however, when the boy rejoined the party, +gave him a good scolding. + +"When we're doing such an important thing as +searching for Ozma," said she, "it's naughty for you to +wander away, and keep us from getting on. S'pose she's +a pris'ner -- in a dungeon cell! -- do you want to keep +our dear Ozma there any longer than we can help?" + +"If she's in a dungeon cell, how are you going to get +her out?" inquired the boy. + +"Never you mind; we'll leave that to the Wizard; he's +sure to find a way." + +The Wizard said nothing, for he realized that without +his magic tools he could do no more than any other +person. But there was no use reminding his companions +of that fact; it might discourage them. + +"The important thing just now," he remarked, "is to +find Ozma; and, as our party is again happily reunited, +I propose we move on." + +As they came to the edge of the Great Orchard the sun +was setting and they knew it would soon be dark. So it +was decided to camp under the trees, as another broad +plain was before them. The Wizard spread the blankets +on a bed of soft leaves and presently all of them +except Scraps and the Sawhorse were fast asleep. Toto +snuggled close to his friend the Lion, and the Woozy +snored so loudly that the Patchwork Girl covered his +square head with her apron to deaden the sound. + + + + +Chapter Twelve + +The Czarover of Herku + + +Trot wakened just as the sun rose and, slipping out of +the blankets, went to the edge of the Great Orchard and +looked across the plain. Something glittered in the far +distance. + +"That looks like another city," she said half aloud. + +"And another city it is," declared Scraps, who had +crept to Trot's side unheard, for her stuffed feet made +no sound. "The Sawhorse and I made a journey in the +dark, while you were all asleep, and we found over +there a bigger city than Thi. There's a wall around it, +too, but it has gates and plenty of pathways." + +"Did you go in?" asked Trot. + +"No, for the gates were locked and the wall was a +real wall. So we came back here again. It isn't far to +the city. We can reach it in two hours after you've had +your breakfasts." + +Trot went back and, finding the other girls now +awake, told them what Scraps had said. So they +hurriedly ate some fruit -- there were plenty of plums +and fijoas in this part of the orchard -- and then they +mounted the animals and set out upon the journey to the +strange city. Hank the Mule had breakfasted on grass +and the Lion had stolen away and found a breakfast to +his liking; he never told what it was, but Dorothy +hoped the little rabbits and the field mice had kept +out of his way. She warned Toto not to chase birds and +gave the dog some apple, with which he was quite +content. The Woozy was as fond of fruit as of any other +food, except honey, and the Sawhorse never ate at all. + +Except for their worry over Ozma they were all in +good spirits as they proceeded swiftly over the plain. +Toto still worried over his lost growl, but like a wise +little dog kept his worry to himself. Before long the +city grew nearer and they could examine it with +interest. + +In outward appearance the place was more imposing +than Thi, and it was a square city, with a square, +four-sided wall around it and on each side was a square +gate of burnished copper. Everything about the city +looked solid and substantial; there were no banners +flying and the towers that rose above the city wall +seemed bare of any ornament whatever. + +A path led from the fruit orchard directly to one of +the city gates, showing that the inhabitants preferred +fruit to thistles. Our friends followed this path to +the gate, which they found fast shut. But the Wizard +advanced and pounded upon it with his fist, saying in a +loud voice: "Open!" + +At once there rose above the great wall a row +of immense heads, all of which looked down +at them as if to see who was intruding. The size + +of these heads was astonishing and our friends at once +realized that they belonged to giants, who were +standing within the city. All had thick, bushy hair and +whiskers, on some the hair being white and on others +black or red or yellow, while the hair of a few was +just turning gray, showing that the giants were of all +ages. However fierce the heads might seem the eyes were +mild in expression, as if the creatures had been long +subdued, and their faces expressed patience rather than +ferocity. + +"What's wanted?" asked one old giant, in a low, +grumbling voice. + +"We are strangers and we wish to enter the city," +replied the Wizard. + +"Do you come in war or peace?" asked another. + +"In peace, of course," retorted the Wizard, and he +added impatiently: "Do we look like an army of +conquest?" + +"No," said the first giant who had spoken, "you look +like innocent tramps; but one never can tell by +appearances. Wait here until we report to our masters. +No one can enter here without the permission of Vig, +the Czarover." + +"Who's that?" inquired Dorothy. But the heads had all +bobbed down and disappeared behind the wall, so there +was no answer. + +They waited a long time before the gate rolled back +with a rumbling sound and a loud voice cried: "Enter!" +But they lost no time in taking advantage of the +invitation. + +On either side of the broad street that led into the +city from the gate stood a row of huge giants -- twenty +of them on a side and all standing so close together +that their elbows touched. They wore uniforms of blue +and yellow and were armed with clubs as big around as +tree-trunks. Each giant had around his neck a broad +band of gold, riveted on, to show he was a slave. + +As our friends entered, riding upon the Lion, the +Woozy, the Sawhorse and the Mule, the giants half +turned and walked in two files on either side of them, +as if escorting them on their way. It looked to Dorothy +as if all her party had been made prisoners, for even +mounted on their animals their heads scarcely reached +to the knees of the marching giants. The girls and +Button-Bright were anxious to know what sort of a city +they had entered, and what the people were like who had +made these powerful creatures their slaves. Through the +legs of the giants, as they walked, Dorothy could see +rows of houses on each side the street and throngs of +people standing on the sidewalks; but the people were +of ordinary size and the only remarkable thing about +them was the fact that they were dreadfully lean and +thin. Between their skin and their bones there seemed +to be little or no flesh, and they were mostly stoop- +shouldered and weary looking, even to the little +children. + +More and more Dorothy wondered how and why the great +giants had ever submitted to be come slaves of such +skinny, languid masters, but there was no chance to +question anyone until they arrived at a big palace +located in the heart of the city. Here the giants +formed lines to the entrance and stood still while our +friends rode into the courtyard of the palace. Then the +gates closed behind them and before them was a skinny +little man who bowed low and said in a sad voice: + +"If you will be so obliging as to dismount, it will +give me pleasure to lead you into the presence of the +World's Most Mighty Ruler, Vig the Czarover." + +"I don't believe it!" said Dorothy indignantly. + +"What don't you believe?" asked the man. + +"I don't believe your Czarover can hold a candle to +our Ozma." + +"He wouldn't hold a candle under any circumstances, +or to any living person," replied the man very +seriously, "for he has slaves to do such things and the +Mighty Vig is too dignified to do anything that others +can do for him. He even obliges a slave to sneeze for +him, if ever he catches cold. However, if you dare to +face our powerful ruler, follow me." + +"We dare anything," said the Wizard, "so go ahead." + +Through several marble corridors having lofty +ceilings they passed, finding each corridor and doorway +guarded by servants; but these servants of the palace +were of the people and not giants, and they were so +thin that they almost resembled skeletons. Finally they +entered a great circular room with a high domed ceiling +where the Czarover sat on a throne cut from a solid +block of white marble and decorated with purple silk +hangings and gold tassels. + +The ruler of these people was combing his eyebrows +when our friends entered his throneroom and stood +before him, but he put the comb in his pocket and +examined the strangers with evident curiosity. Then he +said: + +"Dear me, what a surprise! You have really shocked +me. For no outsider has ever before come to our City of +Herku, and I cannot imagine why you have ventured to do +so." + +"We are looking for Ozma, the Supreme Ruler of the +Land of Oz," replied the Wizard. + +"Do you see her anywhere around here?" asked the +Czarover. + +"Not yet, Your Majesty; but perhaps you may tell us +where she is." + +"No; I have my hands full keeping track of my own +people. I find them hard to manage because they are so +tremendously strong." + +"They don't look very strong," said Dorothy. "It +seems as if a good wind would blow em way out of the +city, if it wasn't for the wall." + +"Just so -- just so," admitted the Czarover. "They +really look that way, don't they? But you must never +trust to appearances, which have a way of fooling one. +Perhaps you noticed that I prevented you from meeting +any of my people. I protected you with my giants while +you were on the way from the gates to my palace, so +that not a Herku got near you." + +"Are your people so dangerous, then?" asked the +Wizard. + +"To strangers, yes; but only because they are so +friendly. For, if they shake hands with you, they are +likely to break your arms or crush your fingers to a +jelly." + +"Why?" asked Button-Bright. + +"Because we are the strongest people in all the +world." + +"Pshaw!" exclaimed the boy, "that's bragging. You +prob'ly don't know how strong other people are. Why, +once I knew a man in Philadelphi' who could bend iron +bars with just his hands!" + +"But-mercy me!-it's no trick to bend iron bars," said +His Majesty. "Tell me, could this man crush a block of +stone with his bare hands?" + +"No one could do that," declared the boy. + +"If I had a block of stone I'd show you," said the +Czarover, looking around the room. "Ah, here is my +throne. The back is too high, anyhow, so I'll just +break off a piece of that." + +He rose to his feet and tottered in an uncertain way +around the throne. Then he took hold of the back and +broke off a piece of marble over a foot thick. + +"This," said he, coming back to his seat, is very +solid marble and much harder than ordinary stone. Yet I +can crumble it easily with my fingers -- a proof that I +am very strong." + +Even as he spoke he began breaking off chunks of +marble and crumbling them as one would a bit of earth. +The Wizard was so astonished that he took a piece in +his own hands and tested it, finding it very hard +indeed. + +Just then one of the giant servants entered and +exclaimed: + +"Oh, Your Majesty, the cook has burned the soup! What +shall we do?" + +"How dare you interrupt me?" asked the Czarover, and +grasping the immense giant by one of his legs he raised +him in the air and threw him headfirst out of an open +window. + +"Now, tell me," he said, turning to Button-Bright, +"could your man in Philadelphia crumble marble in his +fingers?" + +"I guess not," said Button-Bright, much impressed by +the skinny monarch's strength. + +"What makes you so strong?" inquired Dorothy. + +"It's the zosozo," he explained, "which is an +invention of my own. I and all my people eat zosozo, +and it gives us tremendous strength. Would you like to +eat some?" + +"No, thank you," replied the girl. "I -- I don't want +to get so thin." + +"Well, of course one can't have strength and flesh at +the same time," said the Czarover. "Zosozo is pure +energy, and it's the only compound of its sort in +existence. I never allow our giants to have it, you +know, or they would soon become our masters, since they +are bigger than we; so I keep all the stuff locked up +in my private laboratory. Once a year I feed a +teaspoonful of it to each of my people -- men, women +and children -- so every one of them is nearly as +strong as I am. Wouldn't you like a dose, sir?" he +asked, turning to the Wizard. + +"Well," said the Wizard, "if you would give me a +little zosozo in a bottle, I'd like to take it with me +on my travels. It might come handy, on occasion." + +"To be sure. I'll give you enough for six doses," +promised the Czarover. "But don't take more than a +teaspoonful at a time. Once Ugu the Shoemaker took two +teaspoonsful, and it made him so strong that when he +leaned against the city wall he pushed it over, and we +had to build it up again." + +"Who is Ugu the Shoemaker?" asked Button-Bright +curiously, for he now remembered that the bird and the +rabbit had claimed Ugu the Shoemaker had enchanted the +peach he had eaten. + +"Why, Ugu is a great magician, who used to live here. +But he's gone away, now," replied the Czarover. + +"Where has he gone?" asked the Wizard quickly. + +"I am told he lives in a wickerwork castle in the +mountains to the west of here. You see, Ugu became such +a powerful magician that he didn't care to live in our +city any longer, for fear we would discover some of his +secrets. So he went to the mountains and built him a +splendid wicker castle, which is so strong that even I +and my people could not batter it down, and there he +lives all by himself." + +"This is good news," declared the Wizard, "for I +think this is just the magician we are searching for. +But why is he called Ugu the Shoemaker?" + +"Once he was a very common citizen here and made +shoes for a living," replied the monarch of Herku. "But +he was descended from the greatest wizard and sorcerer +who has ever lived -- in this or in any other country - +- and one day Ugu the Shoemaker discovered all the +magical books and recipes of his famous great-grand- +father, which had been hidden away in the attic of his +house. So he began to study the papers and books and to +practice magic, and in time he became so skillful that, +as I said, he scorned our city and built a solitary +castle for himself." + +"Do you think," asked Dorothy anxiously, "that Ugu +the Shoemaker would he wicked enough to steal our Ozma +of Oz?" + +"And the Magic Picture?" asked Trot. + +"And the Great Book of Records of Glinda the Good?" +asked Betsy. + +"And my own magic tools?" asked the Wizard. + +"Well," replied Czarover, "I won't say that Ugu is +wicked, exactly, but he is very ambitious to become the +most powerful magician in the world, and so I suppose +he would not be too proud to steal any magic things +that belonged to anybody else -- if he could manage to +do so." + +"But how about Ozma? Why would he wish to steal her?" +questioned Dorothy. + +"Don't ask me, my dear. Ugu doesn't tell me why he +does things, I assure you." + +"Then we must go and ask him ourselves," declared the +little girl. + +"I wouldn't do that, if I were you," advised the +Czarover, looking first at the three girls and then at +the boy and the little Wizard and finally at the +stuffed Patchwork Girl. "If Ugu has really stolen your +Ozma, he will probably keep her a prisoner, in spite of +all your threats or entreaties. And, with all his +magical knowledge, he would be a dangerous person to +attack. Therefore, if you are wise, you will go home +again and find a new Ruler for the Emerald City and the +Land of Oz. But perhaps it isn't Ugu the Shoemaker who +has stolen your Ozma." + +"The only way to settle that question," replied the +Wizard, "is to go to Ugu's castle and see if Ozma is +there. If she is, we will report the matter to the +great Sorceress, Glinda the Good, and I'm pretty sure +she will find a way to rescue our darling ruler from +the Shoemaker." + +"Well, do as you please," said the Czarover. "But, if +you are all transformed into hummingbirds or +caterpillars, don't blame me for not warning you." + +They stayed the rest of that day in the City of Herku +and were fed at the royal table of the Czarover and +given sleeping rooms in his palace. The strong monarch +treated them very nicely and gave the Wizard a little +golden vial of zosozo, to use if ever he or any of his +party wished to acquire great strength. + +Even at the last the Czarover tried to. persuade them +not to go near Ugu the Shoemaker, but they were +resolved on the venture and the next morning bade the +friendly monarch a cordial good-bye and, mounting upon +their animals, left the Herkus and the City of Herku +and headed for the mountains that lay to the west. + + + + +Chapter Thirteen + +The Truth Pond + + +It seems a long time since we have heard anything of +the Frogman and Cayke the Cookie Cook, who had left the +Yip Country in search of the diamond-studded gold +dishpan which had been mysteriously stolen the same +night that Ozma had disappeared from the Emerald City. +But you must remember that while the Frogman and the +Cookie Cook were preparing to descend from their +mountain-top, and even while on their way to the +farmhouse of Wiljon the Winkie, Dorothy and the Wizard +and their friends were encountering the adventures we +have just related. + +So it was that on the very morning when the travelers +from the Emerald City bade farewell to the Czarover of +the City of Herku, Cayke and the Frogman awoke in a +grove in which they had passed the night sleeping on +beds of leaves. There were plenty of farmhouses in the +neighborhood, but no one seemed to welcome the puffy, +haughty Frogman or the little dried-up Cookie Cook, and +so they slept comfortably enough underneath the trees +of the grove. + +The Frogman wakened first, on this morning, and after +going to the tree where Cayke slept and finding her +still wrapt in slumber, he decided to take a little +walk and seek some breakfast. Coming to the edge of the +grove he observed, half a mile away, a pretty yellow +house that was surrounded by a yellow picket fence, so +he walked toward this house and on entering the yard +found a Winkie woman picking up sticks with which to +build a fire to cook her morning meal. + +"For goodness sakes!" she exclaimed on seeing the +Frogman, "what are you doing out of your frogpond?" + +"I am traveling in search of a jeweled gold dishpan, +my good woman," he replied, with an air of great +dignity. + +"You won't find it here, then," said she. "Our +dishpans are tin, and they're good enough for anybody. +So go back to your pond and leave me alone." + +She spoke rather crossly and with a lack of respect +that greatly annoyed the Frogman. + +"Allow me to tell you, madam," he said, "that +although I am a frog I am the Greatest and Wisest Frog +in all the world. I may add that I possess much more +wisdom than any Winkie -- man or woman -- in this land. +Wherever I go, people fall on their knees before me and +render homage to the Great Frogman! No one else knows +so much as I; no one else is so grand -- so +magnificent!" + +"If you know so much," she retorted, "why don't you +know where your dishpan is, instead of chasing around +the country after it?" + +"Presently," he answered, "I am going where it is; +but just now I am traveling and have had no breakfast. +Therefore I honor you by asking you for something to +eat." + +"Oho! the Great Frogman is hungry as any tramp, is +he? Then pick up these sticks and help me to build the +fire," said the woman contemptuously. + +"Me! The Great Frogman pick up sticks?" he exclaimed +in horror. "In the Yip Country, where I am more honored +and powerful than any King could be, people weep with +joy when I ask them to feed. me." + +"Then that's the place to go for your breakfast," +declared the woman. + +"I fear you do not realize my importance," urged the +Frogman. "Exceeding wisdom renders me superior to +menial duties." + +"It's a great wonder to me," remarked the woman, +carrying her sticks to the house, "that your wisdom +doesn't inform you that you'll get no breakfast here," +and she went in and slammed the door behind her. + +The Frogman felt he had been insulted, so he gave a +loud croak of indignation and turned away. After going +a short distance he came upon a faint path which led +across a meadow in the direction of a grove of pretty +trees, and thinking this circle of evergreens must +surround a house -- where perhaps he would be kindly +received -- he decided to follow the path. And by and +by he came to the trees, which were set close together, +and pushing aside some branches he found no house +inside the circle, but instead a very beautiful pond of +clear water. + +Now the Frogman, although he was so big and so well +educated and now aped the ways and customs of human +beings, was still a frog. As he gazed at this solitary, +deserted pond, his love for water returned to him with +irresistible force. + +"If I cannot get a breakfast I may at least have a +fine swim," said he, and pushing his way between the +trees he reached the bank. There he took off his fine +clothing, laying his shiny purple hat and his gold- +headed cane beside it. A moment later he sprang with +one leap into the water and dived to the very bottom of +the pond. The water was deliciously cool and grateful +to his thick, rough skin, and the Frogman swam around +the pond several times before he stopped to rest. Then +he floated upon the surface and examined the pond with +some curiosity. The bottom and sides were all lined +with glossy tiles of a light pink color; just one place +in the bottom, where the water bubbled up from a hidden +spring, had been left free. On the banks the green +grass grew to the edge of the pink tiling. + +And now, as the Frogman examined the place, he found +that on one side the pool, just above the water line, +had been set a golden plate on which some words were +deeply engraved. He swam toward this plate and on +reaching it read the following inscription: + + + This is + THE TRUTH POND +Whoever bathes in this + water must always + afterward tell + THE TRUTH + + +This statement startled the Frogman. It even worried +him, so that he leaped upon the bank and hurriedly +began to dress himself. + +"A great misfortune has befallen me," he told +himself, "for hereafter I cannot tell people I am wise, +since it is not the truth. The truth is that my boasted +wisdom is all a sham, assumed by me to deceive people +and make them defer to me. In truth, no living creature +can know much more than his fellows, for one may know +one thing, and another know another thing, so that +wisdom is evenly scattered throughout the world. But -- +ah, me! -- what a terrible fate will now be mine. Even +Cayke the Cookie Cook will soon discover that my +knowledge is no greater than her own; for having bathed +in the enchanted water of the Truth Pond, I can no +longer deceive her or tell a lie." + +More humbled than he had been for many years, the +Frogman went back to the grove where he had left Cayke +and found the woman now awake and washing her face in a +tiny brook. + +"Where has Your Honor been?" she asked. + +"To a farmhouse to ask for something to eat," said +he, "but the woman refused me." + +"How dreadful!" she exclaimed. "But never mind; there +are other houses, where the people will be glad to feed +the Wisest Creature in all the World." + +"Do you mean yourself?" he asked. + +"No, I mean you." + +The Frogman felt strongly impelled to tell the truth, +but struggled hard against it. His reason told him +there was no use in letting Cayke know he was not wise, +for then she would lose much respect for him, but each +time he opened his mouth to speak he realized he was +about to tell the truth and shut it again as quickly as +possible. He tried to talk about something else, but +the words necessary to undeceive the woman would force +themselves to his lips in spite of all his struggles. +Finally, knowing that he must either remain dumb or let +the truth prevail, he gave a low groan of despair and +said: + +"Cayke, I am not the Wisest Creature in all the +World; I am not wise at all." + +"Oh, you must be!" she protested. "You told me so +yourself, only last evening." + +"Then last evening I failed to tell you the truth," +he admitted, looking very shamefaced, for a frog. "I am +sorry I told you that lie, my good Cayke; but, if you +must know the truth, the whole truth and nothing but +the truth, I am not really as wise as you are." + +The Cookie Cook was greatly shocked to hear this, for +it shattered one of her most pleasing illusions. She +looked at the gorgeously dressed Frogman in amazement. + +"What has caused you to change your mind so +suddenly?" she inquired. + +"I have bathed in the Truth Pond," he said, "and +whoever bathes in that water is ever afterward obliged +to tell the truth." + +"You were foolish to do that," declared the woman. +"It is often very embarrassing to tell the truth. I'm +glad I didn't bathe in that dreadful water!" + +The Frogman looked at his companion thoughtfully. + +"Cayke," said he, "I want you to go to the Truth Pond +and take a bath in its water. For, if we are to travel +together and encounter unknown adventures, it would not +be fair that I alone must always tell you the truth, +while you could tell me whatever you pleased. If we +both dip in the enchanted water there will be no chance +in the future of our deceiving one another." + +"No," she asserted, shaking her head positively, "I +won't do it, Your Honor. For, if I told you the truth, +I'm sure you wouldn't like me. No Truth Pond for me. +I'll be just as I am, an honest woman who can say what +she wants to without hurting anyone's feelings." + +With this decision the Frogman was forced to +be content, although he was sorry the Cookie +Cook would not listen to his advice. + + + + +Chapter Fourteen + +The Unhappy Ferryman + + +Leaving the grove where they had slept, the Frogman and +the Cookie Cook turned to the east to seek another +house and after a short walk came to one where the +people received them very politely. The children stared +rather hard at the big, pompous Frogman, but the woman +of the house, when Cayke asked for something to eat, at +once brought them food and said they were welcome to +it. + +"Few people in need of help pass this way," she +remarked, "for the Winkies are all prosperous and love +to stay in their own homes. But perhaps you are not a +Winkie," she added. + +"No," said Cayke, "I am a Yip, and my home is on a +high mountain at the southeast of your country. + +"And the Frogman -- is he, also, a Yip?" + +"I do not know what he is, other than a very +remarkable and highly educated creature," replied the +Cookie Cook. "But he has lived many years among the +Yips, who have found him so wise and intelligent that +they always go to him for advice." + +"May I ask why you have left your home, and where you +are going?" said the Winkie woman. + +Then Cayke told her of the diamond-studded gold +dishpan and how it had been mysteriously stolen from +her house, after which she had discovered that she +could no longer cook good cookies. So she had resolved +to search until she found her dishpan again, because a +Cookie Cook who cannot cook good cookies is not of much +use. The Frogman, who wanted to see more of the world, +had accompanied her to assist in the search. When the +woman had listened to this story she asked. + +"Then you have no idea, as yet, who has stolen your +dishpan?" + +"I only know it must have been some mischievous +fairy, or a magician, or some such powerful person, +because none other could have climbed the steep +mountain to the Yip Country. And who else could have +carried away my beautiful, magic dishpan without being +seen?" + +The woman thought about this during the time that +Cayke and the Frogman ate their breakfast. When they +had finished she said: + +"Where are you going next?" + +"We have not decided," answered the Cookie Cook. + +"Our plan," explained the Frogman, in his important +way, "is to travel from place to place until we learn +where the thief is located, and then to force him to +return the dishpan to its proper owner." + +"The plan is all right," agreed the woman, "but it +may take you a long time before you succeed, your +method being sort of haphazard and indefinite. However, +I advise you to travel toward the east." + +"Why?" asked the Frogman. + +"Because if you went west you would soon come to the +desert, and also because in this part of the Winkie +Country no one steals, so your time here would be +wasted. But toward the east, beyond the river, live +many strange people whose honesty I would not vouch +for. Moreover, if you journey far enough east and cross +the river for a second time, you will come to the +Emerald City, where there is much magic and sorcery. +The Emerald City is ruled by a dear little girl called +Ozma, who also rules the Emperor of the Winkies and all +the Land of Oz. So, as Ozma is a fairy, she may be able +to tell you just who has taken your precious dishpan. +Provided, of course, you do not find it before you +reach her." + +"This seems to me to be excellent advice," said the +Frogman, and Cayke agreed with him. + +"The most sensible thing for you to do," continued +the woman, "would be to return to your home and use +another dishpan; learning to cook cookies as other +people cook cookies, without the aid of magic. But, if +you cannot be happy without the magic dishpan you have +lost, you are likely to learn more about it in the +Emerald City than at any other place in Oz." + +They thanked the good woman and on leaving her house +faced the east and continued in that direction all the +way. Toward evening they came to the west branch of the +Winkie River and there, on the river bank, found a +ferryman who lived all alone in a little yellow house. + +This ferryman was a Winkie with a very small head and +a very large body. He was sitting in his doorway as the +travelers approached him and did not even turn his head +to look at them. + +"Good evening," said the Frogman. + +The ferryman made no reply. + +"We would like some supper and the privilege of +sleeping in your house until morning," continued the +Frogman. "At daybreak we would like some breakfast and +then we would like to have you row us across the +river." + +The ferryman neither moved nor spoke. He sat in his +doorway and looked straight ahead. + +"I think he must be deaf and dumb," Cayke whispered +to her companion. Then she stood directly in front of +the ferryman and putting her mouth close to his ear she +yelled as loudly as she could: + +"Good evening!" + +The ferryman scowled. + +"Why do you yell at me, woman?" he asked. + +"Can you hear what I say?" she asked in her ordinary +tone of voice. + +"Of course," replied the man. + +"Then why didn't you answer the Frogman?" + +"Because," said the ferryman, "I don't understand the +frog language. + +"He speaks the same words that I do and in the same +way," declared Cayke. + +"Perhaps," replied the ferryman; "but to me his voice +sounded like a frog's croak. I know that in the Land of +Oz animals can speak our language, and so can the +birds and bugs and fishes; but in my ears they sound +merely like growls and chirps and croaks." + +"Why is that?" asked the Cookie Cook in surprise. + +"Once, many years ago, I cut the tail off a fox which +had taunted me; and I stole some birds eggs from a nest +to make an omelet with, and also I pulled a fish from +the river and left it lying on the bank to gasp for +lack of water until it died. I don't know why I did +those wicked things, but I did them. So the Emperor of +the Winkies -- who is the Tin Woodman and has a very +tender tin heart -- punished me by denying me any +communication with beasts, birds or fishes. I cannot +understand them when they speak to me, although I know +that other people can do so, nor can the creatures +understand a word I say to them. Every time I meet one +of them I am reminded of my former cruelty, and it +makes me very unhappy." + +"Really," said Cayke, "I'm sorry for you, although +the Tin Woodman is not to blame for punishing you." + +"What is he mumbling about?" asked the Frogman. + +"He is talking to me, but you don't understand him," +she replied. And then she told him of the ferryman's +punishment and afterward explained to the ferryman that +they wanted to stay all night with him and be fed. + +He gave them some fruit and bread, which was the only +sort of food he had, and he allowed Cayke to sleep in a +room of his cottage. But the Frogman he refused to +admit to his house, saying that the frog's presence +made him miserable and unhappy. At no time would he +look directly at the Frogman, or even toward him, +fearing he would shed tears if he did so; so the big +frog slept on the river bank, where he could hear +little frogs croaking in the river all the night +through. But that did not keep him awake; it merely +soothed him to slumber, for he realized how much +superior he was to them. + +Just as the sun was rising on a new day the ferryman +rowed the two travelers across the river -- keeping his +back to the Frogman all the way -- and then Cayke +thanked him and bade him good-bye and the ferryman +rowed home again. + +On this side the river there were no paths at all, so +it was evident they had reached a part of the country +little frequented by travelers. There was a marsh at +the south of them, sandhills at the north and a growth +of scrubby underbrush leading toward a forest at the +east. So the east was really the least difficult way to +go and that direction was the one they had determined +to follow. + +Now the Frogman, although he wore green patent- +leather shoes with ruby buttons, had very large and +flat feet, and when he tramped through the scrub his +weight crushed down the underbrush and made a path for +Cayke to follow him. Therefore they soon reached the +forest, where the tall trees were set far apart but +were so leafy that they shaded all the spaces between +them with their branches. + +"There are no bushes here," said Cayke, much pleased, +"so we can now travel faster and with more comfort." + + + + +Chapter Fifteen + +The Big Lavender Bear + + +It was a pleasant place to wander in and the two +travelers were proceeding at a brisk pace when suddenly +a voice shouted: + +"Halt!" + +They looked around in surprise, seeing at first no +one at all. Then from behind a tree there stepped a +brown fuzzy bear, whose head came about as high as +Cayke's waist -- and Cayke was a small woman. The bear +was chubby as well as fuzzy; his body was even puffy, +while his legs and arms seemed jointed at the knees and +elbows and fastened to his body by pins or rivets. His +ears were round in shape and stuck out in a comical +way, while his round black eyes were bright and +sparkling as heads. Over his shoulder the little brown +bear bore a gun with a tin barrel. The barrel had a +cork in the end of it and a string was attached to the +cork and to the handle of the gun. + +Both the Frogman and Cayke gazed hard at this curious +bear, standing silent for some time. But finally the +Frogman recovered from his surprise and remarked: + +"It seems to me that you are stuffed with sawdust and +ought not to be alive." + +"That's all you know about it," answered the little +Brown Bear in a squeaky voice. "I am stuffed with a +very good quality of curled hair and my skin is the +best plush that was ever made. As for my being alive, +that is my own affair and cannot concern you at all +except that it gives me the privilege to say you are my +prisoners." + +"Prisoners! Why do you speak such nonsense?" asked +the Frogman angrily. "Do you think we are afraid of a +toy bear with a toy gun?" + +"You ought to be," was the confident reply, "for I am +merely the sentry guarding the way to Bear Center, +which is a city containing hundreds of my race, who are +ruled by a very powerful sorcerer known as the Lavender +Bear. He ought to be a purple color, you know, seeing +he is a King, but he's only light lavender, which is, +of course, second cousin to royal purple. So, unless +you come with me peaceably, as my prisoners, I shall +fire my gun and bring a hundred bears -- of all sizes +and colors -- to capture you." + +"Why do you wish to capture us?" inquired the +Frogman, who had listened to this speech with much +astonishment. + +"I don't wish to, as a matter of fact," replied the +little Brown Bear, "but it is my duty to, because you +are now trespassing on the domain of His Majesty the +King of Bear Center. Also I will admit that things are +rather quiet in our city, just now, and the excitement +of your capture, followed by your trial and execution, +should afford us much entertainment." + +"We defy you!" said the Frogman. + +"Oh, no; don't do that," pleaded Cayke, speaking to +her companion. "He says his King is a sorcerer, so +perhaps it is he or one of his bears who ventured to +steal my jeweled dishpan. Let us go to the City of the +Bears and discover if my dishpan is there." + +"I must now register one more charge against you," +remarked the little Brown Bear, with evident +satisfaction. "You have just accused us of stealing, +and that is such a dreadful thing to say that I am +quite sure our noble King will command you to be +executed." + +"But how could you execute us?" inquired the Cookie +Cook. + +"I've no idea. But our King is a wonderful inventor +and there is no doubt he can find a proper way to +destroy you. So, tell me, are you going to struggle, or +will you go peaceably to meet your doom?" + +It was all so ridiculous that Cayke laughed aloud and +even the Frogman's wide mouth curled in a smile. +Neither was a bit afraid to go to the Bear City and it +seemed to both that there was a possibility they might +discover the missing dishpan. So the Frogman said: + +"Lead the way, little Bear, and we will follow +without a struggle." + +"That's very sensible of you; very sensible, indeed!" +declared the Brown Bear. "So -- forward march!" and +with the command he turned around and began to waddle +along a path that led between the trees. + +Cayke and the Frogman, as they followed their +conductor, could scarce forbear laughing at his stiff, +awkward manner of walking and, although he moved his +stuffy legs fast, his steps were so short that they had +to go slowly in order not to run into him. But after a +time they reached a large, circular space in the center +of the forest, which was clear of any stumps or +underbrush. The ground was covered by a soft gray moss, +pleasant to tread upon. All the trees surrounding this +space seemed to be hollow and had round holes in their +trunks, set a little way above the ground, but +otherwise there was nothing unusual about the place and +nothing in the opinion of the prisoners, to indicate a +settlement. But the little Brown Bear said in a proud +and impressive voice (although it still squeaked): + +"This is the wonderful city known to fame as Bear +Center!" + +"But there are no houses; there are no bears living +here at all!" exclaimed Cayke. + +"Oh, indeed!" retorted their captor and raising his +gun he pulled the trigger. The cork flew out of the tin +barrel with a loud "pop!" and at once from every hole +in ever tree within view of the clearing appeared the +head of a bear. They were of many colors and of many +sizes, but all were made in the same manner as the bear +who had met and captured them. + +At first a chorus of growls arose and then a sharp +voice cried: + +"What has happened, Corporal Waddle?" + +"Captives, Your Majesty!" answered the Brown Bear. +"Intruders upon our domain and slanderers of our good +name." + +"Ah, that's important," answered the voice. + +Then from out the hollow trees tumbled a whole +regiment of stuffed bears, some carrying tin swords, +some popguns and other long spears with gay ribbons +tied to the handles. There were hundreds of them, +altogether, and they quickly formed a circle around the +Frogman and the Cookie Cook but kept at a distance and +left a large space for the prisoners to stand in. + +Presently this circle parted and into the center of +it stalked a huge toy bear of a lovely lavender color. +He walked upon his hind legs, as did all the others, +and on his head he wore a tin crown set with diamonds +and amethysts, while in one paw he carried a short wand +of some, glimmering metal that resembled silver but +wasn't. + +"His Majesty the King!" shouted Corporal Waddle, and +all the bears bowed low. Some bowed so low that they +lost their balance and toppled over, but they soon +scrambled up again and the Lavender King squatted on +his haunches before the prisoners and gazed at them +steadily with his bright pink eyes. + + + + +Chapter Sixteen + +The Little Pink Bear + + +"One Person and one Freak," said the big Lavender Bear, +when he had carefully examined the strangers. + +"I am sorry to hear you call poor Cayke the Cookie +Cook a Freak," remonstrated the Frogman. + +"She is the Person," asserted the King. "Unless I am +mistaken, it is you who are the Freak." + +The Frogman was silent, for he could not truthfully +deny it. + +"Why have you dared intrude in my forest?" demanded +the Bear King. + +"We didn't know it was your forest," said Cayke, "and +we are on our way to the far east, where the Emerald +City is." + +"Ah, it's a long way from here to the Emerald City," +remarked the King. "It is so far away, indeed, that no +bear among us has ever been there. But what errand +requires you to travel such a distance?" + +"Someone has stolen my diamond-studded gold dishpan," +explained Cayke; "and, as I cannot be happy without it, +I have decided to search the world over until I find it +again. The Frogman, who is very learned and wonderfully +wise, has come with me to give me his assistance. Isn't +it kind of him?" + +The King looked at the Frogman. + +"What makes you so wonderfully wise?" he asked. + +"I'm not," was the candid reply. "The Cookie Cook, +and some others in the Yip Country, think because I am +a big frog and talk and act like a man, that I must be +very wise. I have learned more than a frog usually +knows, it is true, but I am not yet so wise as I hope +to become at some future time." + +The King nodded, and when he did so something +squeaked in his chest. + +"Did Your Majesty speak?" asked Cayke. + +"Not just then," answered the Lavender Bear, seeming +to be somewhat embarrassed. "I am so built, you must +know, that when anything pushes against my chest, as my +chin accidentally did just then, I make that silly +noise. In this city it isn't considered good manners to +notice it. But I like your Frogman. He is honest and +truthful, which is more than can be said of many +others. As for your late lamented dishpan, I'll show it +to you. + +With this he waved three times the metal wand which +he held in his paw and instantly there appeared upon +the ground, midway between the King and Cayke, a big +round pan made of beaten gold. Around the top edge was +a row of small diamonds; around the center of the pan +was another row of larger diamonds; and at the bottom +was a row of exceedingly large and brilliant diamonds. +In fact, they all sparkled magnificently and the pan +was so big and broad that it took a lot of diamonds to +go around it three times. + +Cayke stared so hard that her eyes seemed about to +pop out of her head. + +"O-o-oh!" she exclaimed, drawing a deep breath of +delight. + +"Is this your dishpan?" inquired the King. + +"It is -- it is!" cried the Cookie Cook, and rushing +forward she fell on her knees and threw her arms around +the precious pan. But her arms came together without +meeting any resistance at all. Cayke tried to seize the +edge, but found nothing to grasp. The pan was surely +there, she thought, for she could see it plainly; but +it was not solid; she could not feel it at all. With a +moan of astonishment and despair she raised her head to +look at the Bear King, who was watching her actions +curiously. Then she turned to the pan again, only to +find it had completely disappeared. + +"Poor creature!" murmured the King pityingly. "You +must have thought, for the moment, that you had +actually recovered your dishpan. But what you saw was +merely the image of it, conjured up by means of my +magic. It is a pretty dishpan, indeed, though rather +big and awkward to handle. I hope you will some day +find it." + +Cayke was grievously disappointed. She began to cry, +wiping her eyes on her apron. The King turned to the +throng of toy bears surrounding him and asked: + +"Has any of you ever seen this golden dishpan +before?" + +"No," they answered in a chorus. + +The King seemed to reflect. Presently he inquired: + +"Where is the Little Pink Bear?" + +"At home, Your Majesty," was the reply. + +"Fetch him here," commanded the King. + +Several of the bears waddled over to one of the trees +and pulled from its hollow a tiny pink bear, smaller +than any of the others. A big white bear carried the +pink one in his arms and set it down beside the King, +arranging the joints of its legs so that it would stand +upright. + +This Pink Bear seemed lifeless until the King turned +a crank which protruded from its side, when the little +creature turned its head stiffly from side to side and +said in a small shrill voice: + +"Hurrah for the King of Bear Center!" + +"Very good," said the big Lavender Bear; "he seems to +be working very well today. Tell me, my Pink Pinkerton, +what has become of this lady's jeweled dishpan?" + +"U-u-u," said the Pink Bear, and then stopped short. + +The King turned the crank again. + +"U-g-u the Shoemaker has it," said the Pink Bear. + +"Who is Ugu the Shoemaker?" demanded the King, again +turning the crank. + +"A magician who lives on a mountain in a wickerwork +castle," was the reply. + +"Where is this mountain?" was the next question. + +"Nineteen miles and three furlongs from Bear Center +to the northeast." + +"And is the dishpan still at the castle of Ugu the +Shoemaker?" asked the King. + +"It is." + +The King turned to Cayke. + +"You may rely on this information," said he. "The +Pink Bear can tell us anything we wish to know, and his +words are always words of truth." + +"Is he alive?" asked the Frogman, much interested in +the Pink Bear. + +"Something animates him -- when you turn his crank," +replied the King. "I do not know if it is life, or what +it is, or how it happens that the Little Pink Bear can +answer correctly every question put to him. We +discovered his talent a long time ago and whenever we +wish to know anything -- which is not very often -- we +ask the Pink Bear. There is no doubt whatever, madam, +that Ugu the Magician has your dishpan, and if you dare +go to him you may be able to recover it. But of that I +am not certain." + +"Can't the Pink Bear tell?" asked Cayke anxiously. + +"No, for that is in the future. He can tell anything +that has happened, but nothing that is going +to happen. Don't ask me why, for I don't know." + +"Well," said the Cookie Cook, after a little thought, +"I mean to go to this magician, anyhow, and tell him I +want my dishpan. I wish I knew what Ugu the Shoemaker +is like." + +"Then I'll show him to you," promised the King. "But +do not be frightened; it won't be Ugu, remember, but +only his image." + +With this he waved his metal wand again and in the +circle suddenly appeared a thin little man, very old +and skinny, who was seated on a wicker stool before a +wicker table. On the table lay a Great Book with gold +clasps. The Book was open and the man was reading in +it. He wore great spectacles, which were fastened +before his eyes by means of a ribbon that passed around +his head and was tied in a bow at the back. His hair +was very thin and white; his skin, which clung fast to +his bones, was brown and seared with furrows; he had a +big, fat nose and little eyes set close together. + +On no account was Ugu the Shoemaker a pleasant person +to gaze at. As his image appeared before them, all were +silent and intent until Corporal Waddle, the Brown +Bear, became nervous and Pulled the trigger of his gun. +Instantly the cork flew out of the tin barrel with a +loud "pop!" that made them all jump. And, at this +sound, the image of the magician vanished. + +"So! that's the thief, is it?" said Cayke, in an +angry voice. "I should think he'd be ashamed of himself +for stealing a poor woman's diamond dishpan! But I mean +to face him in his wicker castle and force him to +return my property." + +"To me," said the Bear King, reflectively, "he looked +like a dangerous person. I hope he won't be so unkind +as to argue the matter with you." + +The Frogman was much disturbed by the vision of Ugu +the Shoemaker, and Cayke's determination to go to the +magician filled her companion with misgivings. But he +would not break his pledged word to assist the Cookie +Cook and after breathing a deep sigh of resignation he +asked the King: + +"Will Your Majesty lend us this Pink Bear who answers +questions, that we may take him with us on our journey? +He would be very useful to us and we will promise to +bring him safely hack to you." + +The King did not reply at once; he seemed to be +thinking. + +"Please let us take the Pink Bear," begged Cayke. +"I'm sure he would be a great help to us." + +"The Pink Bear," said the King, "is the best bit of +magic I possess, and there is not another like him in +the world. I do not care to let him out of my sight; +nor do I wish to disappoint you; so I believe I will +make the journey in your company and carry my Pink Bear +with me. He can walk, when you wind the other side of +him, but so slowly and awkwardly that he would delay +you. But if I go along I can carry him in my arms, so I +will join your party. Whenever you are ready to start, +let me know. + +"But -- Your Majesty!" exclaimed Corporal Waddle in +protest, "I hope you do not intend to let these +prisoners escape without punishment." + +"Of what crime do you accuse them?" inquired the +King. + +"Why, they trespassed on your domain, for one thing," +said the Brown Bear. + +"We didn't know it was private property, Your +Majesty," said the Cookie Cook. + +"And they asked if any of us had stolen the dishpan!" +continued Corporal Waddle indignantly. "That is the +same thing as calling us thieves and robbers, and +bandits and brigands, is it not?" + +"Every person has the right to ask questions," said +the Frogman. + +"But the Corporal is quite correct," declared the +Lavender Bear. "I condemn you both to death, the +execution to take place ten years from this hour." + +"But we belong in the Land of Oz, where no one ever +dies," Cayke reminded him. + +"Very true, said the King. "I condemn you to death +merely as a matter of form. It sounds quite terrible, +and in ten years we shall have forgotten all about it. +Are you ready to start for the wicker castle of Ugu the +Shoemaker?" + +"Quite ready, Your Majesty." + +"But who will rule in your place, while you are +gone?" asked a big Yellow Bear. + +"I myself will rule while I am gone," was the reply. +"A King isn't required to stay at home forever, and if +he takes a notion to travel, whose business is it but +his own? All I ask is that you bears behave yourselves +while I am away. If any of you is naughty, I'll send +him to some girl or boy in America to play with." + +This dreadful threat made all the toy bears look +solemn. They assured the King, in a chorus of growls, +that they would be good. Then the big Lavender Bear +picked up the little Pink Bear and after tucking it +carefully under one arm he said "Good-bye till I come +back!" and waddled along the path that led through the +forest. The Frogman and Cayke the Cookie Cook also said +good-bye to the bears and then followed after the King, +much to the regret of the little Brown Bear, who pulled +the trigger of his gun and popped the cork as a parting +salute. + + + + +Chapter Seventeen + +The Meeting + + +While the Frog man and his party were advancing from +the west, Dorothy and her party were advancing from +the east, and so it happened that on the following +night they all camped at a little hill that was only a +few miles from the wicker castle of Ugu the Shoemaker. +But the two parties did not see one another that night, +for one camped on one side of the hill while the other +camped on the opposite side. But the next morning the +Frogman thought he would climb the hill and see what +was on top of it, and at the same time Scraps, the +Patchwork Girl, also decided to climb the hill to find +if the wicker castle was visible from its top. So she +stuck her head over an edge just as the Frogman's head +appeared over another edge and both, being surprised, +kept still while they took a good look at one another. + +Scraps recovered from her astonishment first and +bounding upward she turned a somersault and landed +sitting down and facing the big Frogman, who slowly +advanced and sat opposite her. + +"Well met, Stranger!" cried the Patchwork Girl, with +a whoop of laughter. "You are quite the funniest +individual I have seen in all my travels." + +"Do you suppose I can be any funnier than you?" asked +the Frogman, gazing at her in wonder. + +"I'm, not funny to myself, you know," returned +Scraps. "I wish I were. And perhaps you are so used to +your own absurd shape that you do not laugh whenever +you see your reflection in a pool, or in a mirror. + +"No," said the Frogman gravely, "I do not. I used to +be proud of my great size and vain of my culture and +education, but since I bathed in the Truth Pond I +sometimes think it is not right that I should be +different from all other frogs." + +"Right or wrong," said the Patchwork Girl, "to be +different is to be distinguished. Now, in my case, I'm +just like all other Patchwork Girls because I'm the +only one there is. But, tell me, where did you come +from?" + +"The Yip Country," said he. + +"Is that in the Land of Oz?" + +"Of course," replied the Frogman. + +"And do you know that your Ruler, Ozma of Oz, has +been stolen?" + +"I was not aware that I had a Ruler, so of course I +couldn't know that she was stolen." + +"Well, you have. All the people of Oz," explained +Scraps, "are ruled by Ozma, whether they know it or +not. And she has been stolen. Aren't you angry? Aren't +you indignant? Your Ruler, whom you didn't know you +had, has positively been stolen!" + +"That is queer," remarked the Frogman thoughtfully. +"Stealing is a thing practically unknown in Oz, yet +this Ozma has been taken and a friend of mine has also +had her dishpan stolen. With her I have traveled all +the way from the Yip Country in order to recover it." + +"I don't see any connection between a Royal Ruler of +Oz and a dishpan!" declared Scraps. + +"They've both been stolen, haven't they?" + +"True. But why can't your friend wash her dishes in +another dishpan?" asked Scraps. + +"Why can't you use another Royal Ruler? I suppose you +prefer the one who is lost, and my friend wants her own +dishpan, which is made of gold and studded with +diamonds and has magic powers. + +"Magic, eh?" exclaimed Scraps. "There is a link that +connects the two steals, anyhow, for it seems that all +the magic in the Land of Oz was stolen at the same +time, whether it was in the Emerald City or in Glinda's +castle or in the Yip Country. Seems mighty strange and +mysterious, doesn't it?" + +"It used to seem that way to us," admitted the +Frogman, "but we have now discovered who took our +dishpan. It was Ugu the Shoemaker." + +"Ugu? Good gracious! That's the same magician we +think has stolen Ozma. We are now on our way to the +castle of this Shoemaker." + +"So are we," said the Frogman. + +"Then follow me, quick! and let me introduce you to +Dorothy and the other girls and to the Wizard of Oz and +all the rest of us." + +She sprang up and seized his coat-sleeve, dragging +him off the hilltop and down the other side from that +whence he had come. And at the foot of the hill the +Frogman was astonished to find the three girls and the +Wizard and Button-Bright, who were surrounded by a +wooden Sawhorse, a lean Mule, a square Woozy and a +Cowardly Lion. A little black dog ran up and smelled at +the Frogman, but couldn't growl at him. + +"I've discovered another party that has been robbed," +shouted Scraps as she joined them. "This is their +leader and they're all going to Ugu's castle to fight +the wicked Shoemaker!" + +They regarded the Frogman with much curiosity and +interest and, finding all eyes fixed upon him, the +newcomer arranged his necktie and smoothed his +beautiful vest and swung his gold-headed cane like a +regular dandy. The big spectacles over his eyes quite +altered his froglike countenance and gave him a learned +and impressive look. Used as she was to seeing strange +creatures in the Land of Oz, Dorothy was amazed at +discovering the Frogman. So were all her companions. +Toto wanted to growl at him, but couldn't, and he +didn't dare bark. The Sawhorse snorted rather +contemptuously, but the Lion whispered to the wooden +steed: "Bear with this strange creature, my friend, and +remember he is no more extraordinary than you are. +Indeed, it is more natural for a frog to be big than +for a Sawhorse to be alive." + +On being questioned, the Frogman told them the whole +story of the loss of Cayke's highly prized dishpan and +their adventures in search of it. When he came to tell +of the Lavender Bear King and of the Little Pink Bear +who could tell anything you wanted to know, his hearers +became eager to see such interesting animals. + +"It will be best," said the Wizard, "to unite our two +parties and share our fortunes together, for we are all +bound on the same errand and as one band we may more +easily defy this shoemaker magician than if separate. +Let us be allies." + +"I will ask my friends about that," replied the +Frogman, and climbed over the hill to find Cayke and +the toy bears. The Patchwork Girl accompanied him and +when they came upon the Cookie Cook and the Lavender +Bear and the Pink Bear it was hard to tell which of the +lot was the most surprised. + +"Mercy me!" cried Cayke, addressing the Patchwork +Girl. "However did you come alive?" + +Scraps stared at the bears. + +"Mercy me!" she echoed; "you are stuffed, as I am, +with cotton, and yet you appear to be living. That +makes me feel ashamed, for I have prided myself on +being the only live cotton-stuffed person in Oz." + +"Perhaps you are," returned the Lavender Bear, "for I +am stuffed with extra-quality curled hair, and so is +the Little Pink Bear." + +"You have relieved my mind of a great anxiety," +declared the Patchwork Girl, now speaking more +cheerfully. "The Scarecrow is stuffed with straw, and +you with hair, so I am still the Original and Only +Cotton-Stuffed!" + +"I hope I am too polite to criticize cotton, as +compared with curled hair," said the King, "especially +as you seem satisfied with it." + +Then the Frogman told of his interview with the party +from the Emerald City and added that the Wizard of Oz +had invited the bears and Cayke and himself to travel +in company with them to the castle of Ugu the +Shoemaker. Cayke was much pleased, but the Bear King +looked solemn. He set the Little Pink Bear on his lap +and turned the crank in its side and asked: + +"Is it safe for us to associate with those people +from the Emerald City?" + +And the Pink Bear at once replied: "Safe for you and +safe for me; Perhaps no others safe will be." + +"That 'perhaps' need not worry us," said the King; +"so let us join the others and offer them our +protection." + +Even the Lavender Bear was astonished, however, when +on climbing over the hill he found on the other side +the group of queer animals and the people from the +Emerald City. The bears and Cayke were received very +cordially, although Button-Bright was cross when they +wouldn't let him play with the Little Pink Bear. The +three girls greatly admired the toy bears, and +especially the pink one, which they longed to hold. + +"You see," explained the Lavender King, in denying +them this privilege, "he's a very valuable bear, +because his magic is a correct guide on all occasions, +and especially if one is in difficulties. It was the +Pink Bear who told us that Ugu the Shoemaker had stolen +the Cookie Cook's dishpan." + +"And the King's magic is just as wonderful," added +Cayke, "because it showed us the Magician himself." + +"What did he look like?" inquired Dorothy. + +"He was dreadful!" + +"He was sitting at a table and examining an immense +Book which had three golden clasps," remarked the King. + +"Why, that must have been Glinda's Great Book of +Records!" exclaimed Dorothy. "If it is, it proves that +Ugu the Shoemaker stole Ozma, and with her all the +magic in the Emerald City." + +"And my dishpan," said Cayke. + + And the Wizard added: + +"It also proves that he is following our adventures +in the Book of Records, and therefore knows that we are +seeking him and that we are determined to find him and +rescue Ozma at all hazards." + +"If we can," added the Woozy, but everybody frowned +at him. + +The Wizard's statement was so true that the faces +around him were very serious until the Patchwork Girl +broke into a peal of laughter. + +"Wouldn't it be a rich joke if he made prisoners of +us, too?" she said. + +"No one but a crazy Patchwork Girl would consider +that a joke," grumbled Button-Bright. + +And then the Lavender Bear King asked: + +"Would you like to see this magical shoemaker?" + +"Wouldn't he know it?" Dorothy inquired. + +"No, I think not." + +Then the King waved his metal wand and before them +appeared a room in the wicker castle of Ugu. On the +wall of the room hung Ozma's Magic Picture, and seated +before it was the Magician. They could see the Picture +as well as he could, because it faced them, and in the +Picture was the hillside where they were now sitting, +all their forms being reproduced in miniature. And, +curiously enough, within the scene of the Picture was +the scene they were now beholding, so they knew that +the Magician was at this moment watching them in the +Picture, and also that he saw himself and the room he +was in become visible to the people on the hillside. +Therefore he knew very well that they were watching him +while he was watching them. + +In proof of this, Ugu sprang from his seat and turned +a scowling face in their direction; but now he could +not see the travelers who were seeking him, although +they could still see him. His actions were so distinct, +indeed, that it seemed he was actually before them. + +"It is only a ghost," said the Bear King. "It isn't +real at all, except that it shows us Ugu just as he +looks and tells us truly just what he is doing." + +"I don't see anything of my lost growl, though," said +Toto, as if to himself. + +Then the vision faded away and they could see nothing +but the grass and trees and bushes around them. + + + + +Chapter Eighteen + +The Conference + + +"Now, then," said the Wizard, "let us talk this matter +over and decide what to do when we get to Ugu's wicker +castle. There can be no doubt that the Shoemaker is a +powerful Magician, and his powers have been increased a +hundredfold since he secured the Great Book of Records, +the Magic Picture, all of Glinda's recipes for sorcery +and my own black bag -- which was full of tools of +wizardry. The man who could rob us of those things, and +the man with all their powers at his command, is one +who may prove somewhat difficult to conquer; there fore +we should plan our actions well before we venture too +near to his castle." + +"I didn't see Ozma in the Magic Picture," said Trot. +"What do you suppose Ugu has done with her?" + +"Couldn't the Little Pink Bear tell us what he did +with Ozma?" asked Button-Bright. + +"To be sure," replied the Lavender King; "I'll ask +him." + +So he turned the crank in the Little Pink Bear's side +and inquired: + +"Did Ugu the Shoemaker steal Ozma of Oz?" + +"Yes," answered the Little Pink Bear. + +"Then what did he do with her?" asked the King. + +"Shut her up in a dark place," answered the Little +Pink Bear. + +"Oh, that must be a dungeon cell!" cried Dorothy, +horrified. "How dreadful!" + +"Well, we must get her out of it," said the Wizard. +"That is what we came for and of course we must rescue +Ozma. But -- how?" + +Each one looked at some other one for an answer and +all shook their heads in a grave and dismal manner. All +but Scraps, who danced around them gleefully. + +"You're afraid," said the Patchwork Girl, "because so +many things can hurt your meat bodies. Why don't you +give it up and go home? How can you fight a great +magician when you have nothing to fight with?" + +Dorothy looked at her reflectively. + +"Scraps," said she, "you know that Ugu couldn't hurt +you, a bit, whatever he did; nor could he hurt me, +'cause I wear the Nome King's Magic Belt. Spose just we +two go on together, and leave the others here to wait +for us?" + +"No, no!" said the Wizard positively. "That won't do +at all. Ozma is more powerful than either of you, yet +she could not defeat the wicked Ugu, who has shut her +up in a dungeon. We must go to the Shoemaker in one +mighty band, for only in union is there strength." + +"That is excellent advice," said the Lavender Bear, +approvingly. + +"But what can we do, when we get to Ugu?" inquired +the Cookie Cook anxiously. + +"Do not expect a prompt answer to that important +question," replied the Wizard, "for we must first plan +our line of conduct. Ugu knows, of course, that we are +after him, for he has seen our approach in the Magic +Picture, and he has read of all we have done up to the +present moment in the Great Book of Records. Therefore +we cannot expect to take him by surprise." + +"Don't you suppose Ugu would listen to reason?" asked +Betsy. "If we explained to him how wicked he has been, +don't you think he'd let poor Ozma go?" + +"And give me back my dishpan?" added the Cookie Cook +eagerly. + +"Yes, yes; won't he say he's sorry and get on his +knees and beg our pardon?" cried Scraps, turning a +flip-flop to show her scorn of the Suggestion. "When +Ugu the Shoemaker does that, please knock at the front +door and let me know." + +The Wizard sighed and rubbed his bald head with a +puzzled air. + +"I'm quite sure Ugu will not be polite to us, said +he, "so we must conquer this cruel magician by force, +much as we dislike to be rude to anyone. But none of +you has yet suggested a way to do that. Couldn't the +Little Pink Bear tell us how?" he asked, turning to the +Bear King. + +"No, for that is something that is going to happen," +replied the Lavender Bear. "He can only tell us what +already has happened." + +Again they were grave and thoughtful. But after a +time Betsy said in a hesitating voice: + +"Hank is a great fighter; perhaps he could +conquer the magician." + +The Mule turned his head to look reproachfully at his +old friend, the young girl. + +"Who can fight against magic?" he asked. + +"The Cowardly Lion could," said Dorothy. + +The Lion, who was lying with his front legs spread +out, his chin on his paws, raised his shaggy head. + +"I can fight when I'm not afraid," said he calmly; +"but the mere mention of a fight sets me to trembling." + +"Ugu's magic couldn't hurt the Sawhorse," suggested +tiny Trot. + +"And the Sawhorse couldn't hurt the Magician," +declared that wooden animal. + +"For my part," said Toto, "I am helpless, having lost +my growl." + +"Then," said Cayke the Cookie Cook, "we must depend +upon the Frogman. His marvelous wisdom will surely +inform him how to conquer the wicked Magician and +restore to me my dishpan." + +All eyes were now turned questioningly upon the +Frogman. Finding himself the center of observation, he +swung his gold-headed cane, adjusted his big spectacles +and after swelling out his chest, sighed and said in a +modest tone of voice: + +"Respect for truth obliges me to confess that Cayke +is mistaken in regard to my superior wisdom. I am not +very wise. Neither have I had any practical experience +in conquering magicians. But let us consider this case. +What is Ugu, and what is a magician? Ugu is a renegade +shoemaker and a magician is an ordinary man who, having +learned how to do magical tricks, considers himself +above his fellows. In this case, the Shoemaker has been +naughty enough to steal a lot of magical tools and +things that did not belong to him, and it is more +wicked to steal than to be a magician. Yet, with all +the arts at his command, Ugu is still a man, and surely +there are ways in which a man may be conquered. How, +do you say, how? Allow me to state that I don't know. +In my judgment we cannot decide how best to act until +we get to Ugu's castle. So let us go to it and take a +look at it. After that we may discover an idea that +will guide us to victory." + +"That may not be a wise speech, but it sounds good," +said Dorothy approvingly. "Ugu the Shoemaker is not +only a common man, but he's a wicked man and a cruel +man and deserves to be conquered. We mustn't have any +mercy on him till Ozma is set free. So let's go to his +castle, as the Frogman says, and see what the place +looks like." + +No one offered an objection to this plan and so it +was adopted. They broke camp and were about to start on +the journey to Ugu's castle when they discovered that +Button-Bright was lost again. The girls and the Wizard +shouted his name and the Lion roared and the Donkey +brayed and the Frogman croaked and the Big Lavender +Bear growled (to the envy of Toto, who couldn't growl +but barked his loudest) yet none of them could make +Button-Bright hear. So, after vainly searching for the +boy a full hour, they formed a procession and proceeded +in the direction of the wicker castle of Ugu the +Shoemaker. + +"Button-Bright's always getting lost," said Dorothy. +"And, if he wasn't always getting found again, I'd +prob'ly worry. He may have gone ahead of us, and he may +have gone back; but, wherever he is, we'll find him +sometime and somewhere, I'm almost sure. + + + + +Chapter Nineteen + +Ugu the Shoemaker + + +A curious thing about Ugu the Shoemaker was that he +didn't suspect, in the least, that he was wicked. He +wanted to be powerful and great and he hoped to make +himself master of all the Land of Oz, that he might +compel everyone in that fairy country to obey him. His +ambition blinded him to the rights of others and he +imagined anyone else would act just as he did if anyone +else happened to be as clever as himself. + +When he inhabited his little shoemaking shop in the +City of Herku he had been discontented, for a shoemaker +is not looked upon with high respect and Ugu knew that +his ancestors had been famous magicians for many +centuries past and therefore his family was above the +ordinary. Even his father practiced magic, when Ugu was +a boy; but his father had wandered away from Herku and +had never come back again. So, when Ugu grew up, he was +forced to make shoes for a living, knowing nothing of +the magic of his forefathers. But one day, in searching +through the attic of his house, he discovered all the +books of magical recipes and many magical instruments +which had formerly been in use in his family. From that +day he stopped making shoes and began to study magic. +Finally he aspired to become the greatest magician in +Oz, and for days and weeks and months he thought on a +plan to render all the other sorcerers and wizards, as +well as those with fairy powers, helpless to oppose +him. + +From the books of his ancestors he learned the +following facts: + +(1) That Ozma of Oz was the fairy ruler of the +Emerald City and the Land of Oz, and that she could not +be destroyed by any magic ever devised. Also, by means +of her Magic Picture she would be able to discover +anyone who approached her royal palace with the idea of +conquering it. + +(2) That Glinda the Good was the most powerful +Sorceress in Oz, among her other magical possessions +being the Great Book of Records, which told her all +that happened anywhere in the world. This Book of +Records was very dangerous to Ugu's plans and Glinda +was in the service of Ozma and would use her arts of +sorcery to protect the girl Ruler. + +(3) That the Wizard of Oz, who lived in Ozma's +palace, had been taught much powerful magic by Glinda +and had a bag of magic tools with which he might be +able to conquer the Shoemaker. + +(4) That there existed in Oz-in the Yip Country -- a +jeweled dishpan made of gold, which dishpan possessed +marvelous powers of magic. At a magic word, which Ugu +learned from the book, the dishpan would grow large +enough for a man to sit inside it. Then, when he +grasped both the golden handles, the dishpan would +transport him in an instant to any place he wished to +go within the borders of the Land of Oz. + +No one now living, except Ugu, knew of the powers of +this Magic Dishpan; so, after long study, the shoemaker +decided that if he could manage to secure the dishpan +he could, by its means, rob Ozma and Glinda and the +Wizard of Oz of all their magic, thus becoming himself +the most powerful person in all the land. + +His first act was to go away from the City of Herku +and built for himself the Wicker Castle in the hills. +Here he carried his books and instruments of magic and +here for a full year he diligently practiced all the +magical arts learned from his ancestors. At the end of +that time he could do a good many wonderful things. + +Then, when all his preparations were made, he set out +for the Yip Country and climbing the steep mountain at +night he entered the house of Cayke the Cookie Cook and +stole her diamond-studded gold dishpan while all the +Yips were asleep. Taking his prize outside, he set the +pan upon the ground and uttered the required magic +word. Instantly the dishpan grew as large as a big +washtub and Ugu seated himself in it and grasped the +two handles. Then he wished himself in the great +drawing-room of Glinda the Good. + +He was there in a flash. First he took the Great Book +of Records and put it in the dishpan. Then he went to +Glinda's laboratory and took all her rare chemical +compounds and her instruments of sorcery, placing these +also in the dishpan, which he caused to grow large +enough to hold them. Next he seated himself amongst the +treasures he had stolen and wished himself in the room +in Ozma's palace which the Wizard occupied and where he +kept his bag of magic tools. This bag Ugu added to his +plunder and then wished himself in the apartments of +Ozma. + +Here he first took the Magic Picture from the wall +and then seized all the other magical things which Ozma +possessed. Having placed these in the dishpan he was +about to climb in himself when he looked up and saw +Ozma standing beside him. Her fairy instinct had warned +her that danger was threatening her, so the beautiful +girl Ruler rose from her couch and leaving her +bedchamber at once confronted the thief. + +Ugu had to think quickly, for he realized that if he +permitted Ozma to rouse the inmates of her palace all +his plans and his present successes were likely to come +to naught. So he threw a scarf over the girl's head, so +she could not scream, and pushed her into the dishpan +and tied her fast, so she could not move. Then he +climbed in beside her and wished himself in his own +wicker castle. The Magic Dishpan was there in an +instant, with all its contents, and Ugu rubbed his +hands together in triumphant joy as he realized that he +now possessed all the important magic in the Land of Oz +and could force all the inhabitants of that fairyland +to do as he willed. + +So quickly had his journey been accomplished that +before daylight the robber magician had locked Ozma in +a room, making her a prisoner, and had unpacked and +arranged all his stolen goods. The next day he placed +the Book of Records on his table and hung the Magic +Picture on his wall and put away in his cupboards and +drawers all the elixirs and magic compounds he had +stolen. The magical instruments he polished and +arranged, and this was fascinating work and made him +very happy. The only thing that bothered him was Ozma. +By turns the imprisoned Ruler wept and scolded the +Shoemaker, haughtily threatening him with dire +punishment for the wicked deeds he had done. Ugu became +somewhat afraid of his fairy prisoner, in spite of the +fact that he believed he had robbed her of all her +powers; so he performed an enchantment that quickly +disposed of her and placed her out of his sight and +hearing. After that, being occupied with other things, +he soon forgot her. + +But now, when he looked into the Magic Picture and +read the Great Book of Records, the Shoemaker learned +that his wickedness was not to go unchallenged. Two +important expeditions had set out to find him and force +him to give up his stolen property. One was the party +headed by the Wizard and Dorothy, while the other +consisted of Cayke and the Frogman. Others were also +searching, but not in the right places. These two +groups, however, were headed straight for the wicker +castle and so Ugu began to plan how best to meet them +and to defeat their efforts to conquer him. + + + + +Chapter Twenty + +More Surprises + + +All that first day after the union of the two parties +our friends marched steadily toward the wicker castle +of Ugu the Shoemaker. When night came they camped in a +little grove and passed a pleasant evening together, +although some of them were worried because Button- +Bright was still lost. + +"Perhaps," said Toto, as the animals lay grouped +together for the night, "this Shoemaker who stole my +growl, and who stole Ozma, has also stolen Button +Bright." + +"How do you know that the Shoemaker stole your +growl?" demanded the Woozy. + +"He has stolen about everything else of value in Oz, +hasn't he?" replied the dog. + +"He has stolen everything he wants, perhaps," agreed +the Lion; "but what could anyone want with your growl?" + +"Well," said the dog, wagging his tail slowly, "my +recollection is that it was a wonderful growl, soft and +low and -- and --" + +"And ragged at the edges," said the Sawhorse. + +"So," continued Toto, "if that magician hadn't any +growl of his own, he might have wanted mine and stolen +it." + +"And, if he has, he will soon wish he hadn't," +remarked the Mule. "Also, if he has stolen Button- +Bright he will be sorry." + +"Don't you like Button-Bright, then?" asked the Lion +in surprise. + +"It isn't a question of liking him," replied the +Mule. "It's a question of watching him and looking +after him. Any boy who causes his friends so much worry +isn't worth having around. I never get lost." + +"If you did," said Toto, "no one would worry a bit. I +think Button-Bright is a very lucky boy, because he +always gets found." + +"See here," said the Lion, "this chatter is keeping +us all awake and tomorrow is likely to be a busy day. +Go to sleep and forget your quarrels." + +"Friend Lion," retorted the dog, "if I hadn't lost my +growl you would hear it now. I have as much right to +talk as you have to sleep." + +The Lion sighed. + +"If only you had lost your voice, when you lost your +growl," said he, "you would be a more agreeable +companion." + +But they quieted down, after that, and soon the +entire camp was wrapped in slumber. + +Next morning they made an early start but had hardly +proceeded on their way an hour when, on climbing a +slight elevation, they beheld in the distance a low +mountain, on top of which stood Ugu's wicker castle. It +was a good-sized building and rather pretty because the +sides, roofs and domes were all of wicker closely +woven, as it is in fine baskets. + +"I wonder if it is strong?" said Dorothy musingly, as +she eyed the queer castle. + +"I suppose it is, since a magician built it," +answered the Wizard. "With magic to protect it, even a +paper castle might be as strong as if made of stone. +This Ugu must be a man of ideas, because he does things +in a different way from other people." + +"Yes; no one else would steal our dear Ozma," sighed +tiny Trot. + +"I wonder if Ozma is there?" said Betsy, indicating +the castle with a nod of her head. + +"Where else could she be?" asked Scraps. + +"S'pose we ask the Pink Bear," suggested Dorothy. + +That seemed a good idea, so they halted the +procession and the Bear King held the little Pink Bear +on his lap and turned the crank in its side and asked: + +"Where is Ozma of Oz?" + +And the little Pink Bear answered: + +"She is in a hole in the ground, a half mile away, at +your left." + +"Good gracious!" cried Dorothy. "Then she is not in +Ugu's castle at all." + +"It is lucky we asked that question," said the +Wizard; "for, if we can find Ozma and rescue +her, there will be no need for us to fight that +wicked and dangerous magician." + +"Indeed!" said Cayke. "Then what about my dishpan?" + +The Wizard looked puzzled at her tone of remonstrance, +so she added: + +"Didn't you people from the Emerald City promise that +we would all stick together, and that you would help me +to get my dishpan if I would help you to get your Ozma? +And didn't I bring to you the little Pink Bear, which +has told you where Ozma is hidden?" + +"She's right," said Dorothy to the Wizard. "We must +do as we agreed." + +"Well, first of all, let us go and rescue Ozma," +proposed the Wizard. "Then our beloved Ruler may be +able to advise us how to conquer Ugu the Shoemaker." + +So they turned to the left and marched for half a +mile until they came to a small but deep hole in the +ground. At once all rushed to the brim to peer into the +hole, but instead of finding there Princess Ozma of Oz, +all that they saw was Button-Bright, who was lying +asleep on the bottom. + +Their cries soon wakened the boy, who sat up and +rubbed his eyes. When he recognized his friends he +smiled sweetly, saying: "Found again!" + +"Where is Ozma?" inquired Dorothy anxiously. + +"I don't know," answered Button-Bright from the +depths of the hole. "I got lost, yesterday, as you may +remember, and in the night, while I was wandering +around in the moonlight, trying to find my way back to +you, I suddenly fell into this hole." + +"And wasn't Ozma in it then?" + +"There was no one in it but me, and I was sorry it +wasn't entirely empty. The sides are so steep I can't +climb out, so there was nothing to be done but sleep +until someone found me. Thank you for coming. If you'll +please let down a rope I'll empty this hole in a +hurry." + +"How strange!" said Dorothy, greatly disappointed. +"It's evident the Pink Bear didn't tell us the truth." + +"He never makes a mistake," declared the Lavender +Bear King, in a tone that showed his feelings were +hurt. And then he turned the crank of the little Pink +Bear again and asked: "Is this the hole that Ozma of Oz +is in?" + +"Yes," answered the Pink Bear. + +"That settles it," said the King, positively. "Your +Ozma is in this hole in the ground." + +"Don't be silly," returned Dorothy impatiently. "Even +your beady eyes can see there is no one in the hole but +Button-Bright." + +"Perhaps Button-Bright is Ozma," suggested the King. + +"And perhaps he isn't! Ozma is a girl, and Button- +Bright is a boy." + +"Your Pink Bear must be out of order," said the +Wizard; "for, this time at least, his machinery has +caused him to make an untrue statement." + +The Bear King was so angry at this remark that he +turned away, holding the Pink Bear in his paws, and +refused to discuss the matter in any further way. + +"At any rate," said the Frogman, "the Pink Bear has +led us to your boy friend and so enabled you to rescue +him." + +Scraps was leaning so far over the hole, trying to +find Ozma in it, that suddenly she lost her balance and +pitched in headforemost. She fell upon Button-Bright +and tumbled him over, but he was not hurt by her soft +stuffed body and only laughed at the mishap. The Wizard +buckled some straps together and let one end of them +down into the hole, and soon both Scraps and the boy +had climbed up and were standing safely beside the +others. + +They looked once more for Ozma, but the hole was now +absolutely vacant. It was a round hole, so from the top +they could plainly see every part of it. Before they +left the place Dorothy went to the Bear King and said: + +"I'm sorry we couldn't believe what the little Pink +Bear said, 'cause we don't want to make you feel bad by +doubting him. There must be a mistake, somewhere, and +we prob'ly don't understand just what the little Pink +Bear means. Will you let me ask him one more question?" + +The Lavender Bear King was a good-natured bear, +considering how he was made and stuffed and jointed, so +he accepted Dorothy's apology and turned the crank and +allowed the little girl to question his wee Pink Bear. + +"Is Ozma really in this hole?" asked Dorothy. + +"No," said the little Pink Bear. + +This surprised everybody. Even the Bear King was now +puzzled by the contradictory statements of his oracle. + +"Where is she?" asked the King. + +"Here, among you," answered the little Pink Bear. + +"Well," said Dorothy, "this beats me, entirely! I +guess the little Pink Bear has gone crazy. + +"Perhaps," called Scraps, who was rapidly turning +"cart-wheels" all around the perplexed group, "Ozma is +invisible." + +"Of course!" cried Betsy. "That would account for +it." + +"Well, I've noticed that people can speak, even when +they've been made invisible," said the Wizard. And then +he looked all around him and said in a solemn voice: +"Ozma, are you here?" + +There was no reply. Dorothy asked the question, too, +and so did Button-Bright and Trot and Betsy; but none +received any reply at all. + +"It's strange -- it's terrible strange!" muttered +Cayke the Cookie Cook. "I was sure that the little Pink +Bear always tells the truth." + +"I still believe in his honesty," said the Frogman, +and this tribute so pleased the Bear King that he gave +these last speakers grateful looks, but still gazed +sourly on the others. + +"Come to think of it," remarked the Wizard, "Ozma +couldn't be invisible, for she is a fairy and fairies +cannot be made invisible against their will. Of course +she could be imprisoned by the magician, or even +enchanted, or transformed, in spite of her fairy +powers; but Ugu could not render her invisible by any +magic at his command." + +"I wonder if she's been transformed into Button- +Bright?" said Dorothy nervously. Then she looked +steadily at the boy and asked: "Are you Ozma? Tell me +truly!" + +Button-Bright laughed. + +"You're getting rattled, Dorothy," he replied. +"Nothing ever enchants me. If I were Ozma, do +you think I'd have tumbled into that hole?" + +"Anyhow," said the Wizard, "Ozma would never try to +deceive her friends, or prevent them from recognizing +her, in whatever form she happened to be. The puzzle +is still a puzzle, so let us go on to the wicker castle +and question the magician himself. Since it was he who +stole our Ozma, Ugu is the one who must tell us where +to find her." + + + + +Chapter Twenty-One + +Magic Against Magic + + +The Wizard's advice was good, so again they started in +the direction of the low mountain on the crest of which +the wicker castle had been built. They had been +gradually advancing up hill, so now the elevation +seemed to them more like a round knoll than a mountain- +top. However, the sides of the knoll were sloping and +covered with green grass, so there was a stiff climb +before them yet. + +Undaunted, they plodded on and had almost +reached the knoll when they suddenly observed +that it was surrounded by a circle of flame. At +first the flames barely rose above the ground, but +presently they grew higher and higher until a +circle of flaming tongues of fire taller than any +of their heads quite surrounded the hill on which +the wicker castle stood. When they approached +the flames the heat was so intense that it drove +them back again. + +"This will never do for me!" exclaimed the Patchwork +Girl. "I catch fire very easily." + +"It won't do for me, either," grumbled the Sawhorse, +prancing to the rear. + +"I also object strongly to fire," said the Bear King, +following the Sawhorse to a safe distance and hugging +the little Pink Bear with his paws. + +"I suppose the foolish Shoemaker imagines these +blazes will stop us," remarked the Wizard, with a smile +of scorn for Ugu. "But I am able to inform you that +this is merely a simple magic trick which the robber +stole from Glinda the Good, and by good fortune I know +how to destroy these flames, as well as how to produce +them. Will some one of you kindly give me a match?" + +You may be sure the girls carried no matches, nor did +the Frogman or Cayke or any of the animals. But Button- +Bright, after searching carefully through his pockets, +which contained all sorts of useful and useless things, +finally produced a match and handed it to the Wizard, +who tied it to the end of a branch which he tore from +a small tree growing near them. Then the little Wizard +carefully lighted the match and running forward thrust +it into the nearest flame. Instantly the circle of fire +began to die away and soon vanished completely, leaving +the way clear for them to proceed. + +"That was funny!" laughed Button-Bright. + +"Yes," agreed the Wizard, "it seems odd that a little +match could destroy such a great circle of fire, but +when Glinda invented this trick she believed no one +would ever think of a match being a remedy for fire. I +suppose even Ugu doesn't know how we managed to quench +the flames of his barrier, for only Glinda and I know +the secret. Glinda's Book of Magic, which Ugu stole, +told how to make the flames, but not how to put them +out." + +They now formed in marching order and proceeded to +advance up the slope of the hill; but had not gone far +when before them rose a wall of steel, the surface of +which was thickly covered with sharp, gleaming points +resembling daggers. The wall completely surrounded the +wicker castle and its sharp points prevented anyone +from climbing it. Even the Patchwork Girl might be +ripped to pieces if she dared attempt it. + +"Ah!" exclaimed the Wizard cheerfully, "Ugu is now +using one of my own tricks against me. But this is more +serious than the Barrier of Fire, because the only way +to destroy the wall is to get on the other side of it." + +"How can that be done?" asked Dorothy. + +The Wizard looked thoughtfully around his little +party and his face grew troubled. + +"It's a pretty high wall," he sadly remarked. "I'm +pretty sure the Cowardly Lion could not leap over it." + +"I'm sure of that, too!" said the Lion with a shudder +of fear. "If I foolishly tried such a leap I would be +caught on those dreadful spikes." + +"I think I could do it, sir," said the Frogman, with +a bow to the Wizard. "It is an up-hill jump, as well as +being a high jump, but I'm considered something of a +jumper by my friends in the Yip Country and I believe a +good, strong leap will carry me to the other side." + +"I'm sure it would," agreed the Cookie Cook. + +"Leaping, you know, is a froglike accomplishment," +continued the Frogman, modestly, "but please tell me +what I am to do when I reach the other side of the +wall." + +"You're a brave creature," said the Wizard, +admiringly. "Has anyone a pin?" + +Betsy had one, which she gave him. + +"All you need do," said the Wizard to the +Frogman, giving him the pin, is to stick this into the +other side of the wall." + +"But the wall is of steel!" exclaimed the big frog. + +"I know; at least, it seems to be steel; but do as I +tell you. Stick the pin into the wall and it will +disappear." + +The Frogman took off his handsome coat and carefully +Folded it and laid it on the grass. Then he removed his +hat and laid it, together with his goldheaded cane, +beside the coat. He then went back a way and made three +powerful leaps, in rapid succession. The first two +leaps took him to the wall and the third leap carried +him well over it, to the amazement of all. For a short +time he disappeared from their view, but when he had +obeyed the Wizard's injunction and had thrust the pin +into the wall, the huge barrier vanished and showed +them the form of the Frogman, who now went to where his +coat lay and put it on again. + +"We thank you very much," said the delighted Wizard. +"That was the most wonderful leap I ever saw and it has +saved us from defeat by our enemy. Let us now hurry on +to the castle before Ugu the Shoemaker thinks of some +other means to stop us. + +"We must have surprised him, so far," declared +Dorothy. + +"Yes, indeed. The fellow knows a lot of magic -- all +of our tricks and some of his own," replied the Wizard. +"So, if he is half as clever as he ought to be, we +shall have trouble with him yet." + +He had scarcely spoken these words when out from the +gates of the wicker castle marched a regiment of +soldiers, clad in gay uniforms and all bearing long, +pointed spears and sharp battle-axes. These soldiers +were girls, and the uniforms were short skirts of +yellow and black satin, golden shoes, bands of gold +across their foreheads and necklaces of glittering +jewels. Their jackets were scarlet, braided with silver +cords. There were hundreds of these girl-soldiers, and +they were more terrible than beautiful, being strong +and fierce in appearance. They formed a circle all +around the castle and faced outward, their spears +pointed toward the invaders and their battle-axes held +over their shoulders ready to strike. + +Of course our friends halted at once, for they had +not expected this dreadful array of soldiery. The +Wizard seemed puzzled and his companions exchanged +discouraged looks. + +"I'd no idea Ugu had such an army as that," said +Dorothy. "The castle doesn't look big enough to hold +them all." + +"It isn't," declared the Wizard. + +"But they all marched out of it." + +"They seemed to; but I don't believe it is a real +army at all. If Ugu the Shoemaker had so many people +living with him, I'm sure the Czarover of Herku would +have mentioned the fact to us." + +"They're only girls!" laughed Scraps. + +"Girls are the fiercest soldiers of all," declared +the Frogman. "They are more brave than men and they +have better nerves. That is probably why the magician +uses them for soldiers and has sent them to oppose us." + +No one argued this statement, for all were staring +hard at the line of soldiers, which now, having taken a +defiant position, remained motionless. + +"Here is a trick of magic to me," admitted the +Wizard, after a time. "I do not believe the army is +real, but the spears may be sharp enough to prick us, +nevertheless, so we must be cautious. Let us take time +to consider how to meet this difficulty." + +While they were thinking it over Scraps danced closer +to the line of girl soldiers. Her button eyes sometimes +saw more than did the natural eyes of her comrades and +so, after staring hard at the magician's army, she +boldly advanced and danced right through the +threatening line! On the other side she waved her +stuffed arms and called out: + +"Come on, folks. The spears can't hurt you. + +"Ah!" said the Wizard, gaily, "an optical illusion, +as I thought. Let us all follow the Patchwork Girl." + +The three little girls were somewhat nervous in +attempting to brave the spears and battle-axes, but +after the others had safely passed the line they +ventured to follow. And, when all had passed through +the ranks of the girl army, the army itself magically +disappeared from view. + +All this time our friends had been getting farther up +the hill and nearer to the wicker castle. Now, +continuing their advance, they expected something else +to oppose their way, but to their astonishment nothing +happened and presently they arrived at the wicker +gates, which stood wide open, and boldly entered the +domain of Ugu the Shoemaker. + + + + +Chapter Twenty-Two + +In the Wicker Castle + + +No sooner were the Wizard of Oz and his followers well +within the castle entrance when the big gates swung to +with a clang and heavy bars dropped across them. They +looked at one another uneasily, but no one cared to +speak of the incident. If they were indeed prisoners in +the wicker castle it was evident they must find a way +to escape, but their first duty was to attend to the +errand on which they had come and seek the Royal Ozma, +whom they believed to be a prisoner of the magician, +and rescue her. + +They found they had entered a square courtyard, from +which an entrance led into the main building of the +castle. No person had appeared to greet them, so far, +although a gaudy peacock, perched upon the wall, +cackled with laughter and said in its sharp, shrill +voice: "Poor fools! Poor fools!" + +"I hope the peacock is mistaken," remarked the +Frogman, but no one else paid any attention to the +bird. They were a little awed by the stillness and +loneliness of the place. + +As they entered the doors of the castle, which stood +invitingly open, these also closed behind them and huge +bolts shot into place. The animals had all accompanied +the party into the castle, because they felt it would +be dangerous for them to separate. They were forced to +follow a zigzag passage, turning this way and that, +until finally they entered a great central hall, +circular in form and with a high dome from which was +suspended an enormous chandelier. + +The Wizard went first, and Dorothy, Betsy and Trot +followed him, Toto keeping at the heels of his little +mistress. Then came the Lion, the Woozy and the +Sawhorse; then Cayke the Cookie Cook and Button-Bright; +then the Lavender Bear carrying the Pink Bear, and +finally the Frogman and the Patchwork Girl, with Hank +the Mule tagging behind. So it was the Wizard who +caught the first glimpse of the big domed hall, but the +others quickly followed and gathered in a wondering +group just within the entrance. + +Upon a raised platform at one side was a heavy table +on which lay Glinda's Great Book of Records; but the +platform was firmly fastened to the floor and the table +was fastened to the platform and the Book was chained +fast to the table -- just as it had been when it was +kept in Glinda's palace. On the wall over the table +hung Ozma's Magic Picture. On a row of shelves at the +opposite side of the hall stood all the chemicals and +essences of magic and all the magical instruments that +had been stolen from Glinda and Ozma and the Wizard, +with glass doors covering the shelves so that no one +could get at them. + +And in a far corner sat Ugu the Shoemaker, his feet +lazily extended, his skinny hands clasped behind his +head. He was leaning back at his ease and calmly +smoking a long pipe. Around the magician was a sort of +cage, seemingly made of golden bars set wide apart, and +at his feet -- also within the cage -- reposed the +long-sought diamond-studded dishpan of Cayke the Cookie +Cook. + +Princess Ozma of Oz was nowhere to be seen. + +"Well, well," said Ugu, when the invaders had stood +in silence for a moment, staring about them, "this +visit is an expected pleasure, I assure you. I knew you +were coming and I know why you are here. You are not +welcome, for I cannot use any of you to my advantage, +but as you have insisted on coming I hope you will make +the afternoon call as brief as possible. It won't take +long to transact your business with me. You will ask me +for Ozma, and my reply will be that you may find her -- +if you can." + +"Sir," answered the Wizard, in a tone of rebuke, "you +are a very wicked and cruel person. I suppose you +imagine, because you have stolen this poor woman's +dishpan and all the best magic in Oz, that you are more +powerful than we are and will be able to triumph over +us." + +"Yes," said Ugu the Shoemaker, slowly filling his +pipe with fresh tobacco from a silver bowl that stood +beside him, "that is exactly what I imagine. It will do +you no good to demand from me the girl who was formerly +the Ruler of Oz, because I will not tell you where I +have hidden her and you can't guess in a thousand +years. Neither will I restore to you any of the magic I +have captured. I am not so foolish. But bear this in +mind: I mean to be the Ruler of Oz myself, hereafter, +so I advise you to be careful how you address your +future Monarch." + +"Ozma is still Ruler of Oz, wherever you may have +hidden her," declared the Wizard. "And bear this in +mind, miserable Shoemaker: We intend to find her and to +rescue her, in time, but our first duty and pleasure +will be to conquer you and then punish you for your +misdeeds." + +"Very well; go ahead and conquer," said Ugu. "I'd +really like to see how you can do it." + +Now, although the little Wizard had spoken so boldly, +he had at the moment no idea how they might conquer the +magician. He had that morning given the Frogman, at his +request, a dose of zosozo from his bottle, and the +Frogman had promised to fight a good fight if it was +necessary; but the Wizard knew that strength alone +could not avail against magical arts. The toy Bear King +seemed to have some pretty good magic, however, and the +Wizard depended to an extent on that. But something +ought to be done right away, and the Wizard didn't know +what it was. + +While he considered this perplexing question and the +others stood looking at him as their leader, a queer +thing happened. The floor of the great circular hall, +on which they were standing, suddenly began to tip. +Instead of being flat and level it became a slant, and +the slant grew steeper and steeper until none of the +party could manage to stand upon it. Presently they all +slid down to the wall, which was now under them, and +then it became evident that the whole vast room was +slowly turning upside down! Only Ugu the Shoemaker, +kept in place by the bars of his golden cage, remained +in his former position, and the wicked magician seemed +to enjoy the surprise of his victims immensely. + +First, they all slid down to the wall back of them, +but as the room continued to turn over they next slid +down the wall and found themselves at the bottom of the +great dome, bumping against the big chandelier which, +like everything else, was now upside-down. + +The turning movement now stopped and the room became +stationary. Looking far up, they saw Ugu suspended in +his cage at the very top, which had once been the floor + +"Ah," said he, grinning down at them, "the way to +conquer is to act, and he who acts promptly is sure to +win. This makes a very good prison, from which I am +sure you cannot escape. Please amuse yourselves in any +way you like, but I must beg you to excuse me, as I +have business in another part of my castle." + +Saying this, he opened a trap door in the floor of +his cage (which was now over his head) and climbed +through it and disappeared from their view. The diamond +dishpan still remained in the cage, but the bars kept +it from falling down on their heads. + +"Well, I declare!" said the Patchwork Girl, seizing +one of the bars of the chandelier and swinging from it, +"we must peg one for the Shoemaker, for he has trapped +us very cleverly." + +"Get off my foot, please," said the Lion to the +Sawhorse. + +"And oblige me, Mr. Mule," remarked the Woozy, "by +taking your tail out of my left eye. + +"It's rather crowded down here," explained Dorothy, +"because the dome is rounding and we have all slid into +the middle of it. But let us keep as quiet as possible +until we can think what's best to be done." + +"Dear, dear!" wailed Cayke; "I wish I had my darling +dishpan," and she held her arms longingly toward it. + +"I wish I had the magic on those shelves up there," +sighed the Wizard. + +"Don't you s'pose we could get to it?" asked Trot +anxiously. + +"We'd have to fly," laughed the Patchwork Girl. + +But the Wizard took the suggestion seriously, and so +did the Frogman. They talked it over and soon planned +an attempt to reach the shelves where the magical +instruments were. First the Frogman lay against the +rounding dome and braced his foot on the stem of the +chandelier; then the Wizard climbed over him and lay on +the dome with his feet on the Frogman's shoulders; the +Cookie Cook came next; then Button-Bright climbed to +the woman's shoulders; then Dorothy climbed up, and +Betsy and Trot, and finally the Patchwork Girl, and all +their lengths made a long line that reached far up the +dome but not far enough for Scraps to touch the +shelves. + +"Wait a minute; perhaps I can reach the magic; called +the Bear King, and began scrambling up the bodies of +the others. But when he came to the Cookie Cook his +soft paws tickled her side so that she squirmed and +upset the whole line. Down they came, tumbling in a +heap against the animals, and although no one was much +hurt it was a bad mix-up and the Frogman, who was at +the bottom, almost lost his temper before he could get +on his feet again. + +Cayke positively refused to try what she called "the +pyramid act" again, and as the Wizard was now convinced +they could not reach the magic tools in that manner the +attempt was abandoned. + +"But something must be done," said the Wizard, and +then he turned to the Lavender Bear and asked: "Cannot +Your Majesty's magic help us to escape from here?" + +"My magic powers are limited," was the reply. "When I +was stuffed, the fairies stood by and slyly dropped +some magic into my stuffing. Therefore I can do any of +the magic that's inside me, but nothing else. You, +however, are a wizard, and a wizard should be able to +do anything." + +"Your Majesty forgets that my tools of magic have +been stolen," said the Wizard sadly, "and a wizard +without tools is as helpless as a carpenter without a +hammer or saw. + +"Don't give up," pleaded Button-Bright, "'cause if we +can't get out of this queer prison we'll all starve to +death." + +"Not I!" laughed the Patchwork Girl, now standing on +top the chandelier, at the place that was meant to be +the bottom of it. + +"Don't talk of such dreadful things," said Trot, +shuddering. "We came here to capture the Shoemaker, +didn't we?" + +"Yes, and to save Ozma," said Betsy. + +"And here we are, captured ourselves, and my darling +dishpan up there in plain sight!" wailed the Cookie +Cook, wiping her eyes on the tail of the Frogman's +coat. + +"Hush!" called the Lion, with a low, deep growl. +"Give the Wizard time to think." + +"He has plenty of time," said Scraps. "What he needs +is the Scarecrow's brains." + +After all, it was little Dorothy who came to their +rescue, and her ability to save them was almost as much +a surprise to the girl as it was to her friends. +Dorothy had been secretly testing the powers of her +Magic Belt, which she had once captured from the Nome +King, and experimenting with it in various ways, ever +since she had started on this eventful journey. At +different times she had stolen away from the others of +her party and in solitude had tried to find out what +the Magic Belt could do and what it could not do. There +were a lot of things it could not do, she discovered, +but she learned some things about the Belt which even +her girl friends did not suspect she knew. + +For one thing, she had remembered that when the Nome +King owned it the Magic Belt used to perform +transformations, and by thinking hard she had finally +recalled the way in which such transformations had been +accomplished. Better than this, however, was the +discovery that the Magic Belt would grant its wearer +one wish a day. All she need do was close her right eye +and wiggle her left toe and then draw a long breath and +make her wish. Yesterday she had wished in secret for a +box of caramels, and instantly found the box beside +her. Today she had saved her daily wish, in case she +might need it in an emergency, and the time had now +come when she must use the wish to enable her to escape +with her friends from the prison in which Ugu had +caught them. + +So, without telling anyone what she intended to do -- +for she had only used the wish once and could not be +certain how powerful the Magic Belt might be -- Dorothy +closed her right eye and wiggled her left big toe and +drew a long breath and wished with all her might. The +next moment the room began to revolve again, as slowly +as before, and by degrees they all slid to the side +wall and down the wall to the floor -- all but Scraps, +who was so astonished that she still clung to the +chandelier. When the big hall was in its proper +position again and the others stood firmly upon the +floor of it, they looked far up to the dome and saw the +Patchwork Girl swinging from the chandelier. + +"Good gracious!" cried Dorothy. "How ever will you +get down?" + +"Won't the room keep turning?" asked Scraps. + +"I hope not. I believe it has stopped for good," said +Princess Dorothy. + +"Then stand from under, so you won't get hurt!" +shouted the Patchwork Girl, and as soon as they had +obeyed this request she let go the chandelier and came +tumbling down heels over head and twisting and turning +in a very exciting manner. Plump! she fell on the tiled +floor and they ran to her and rolled her and patted her +into shape again. + + + + +Chapter Twenty-Three + +The Defiance of Ugu the Shoemaker + + +The delay caused by Scraps had prevented anyone from +running to the shelves to secure the magic instruments +so badly needed. Even Cayke neglected to get her +diamond-studded dishpan because she was watching the +Patchwork Girl. And now the magician had opened his +trap door and appeared in his golden cage again, +frowning angrily because his prisoners had been able to +turn their upside-down prison right-side-up. + +"Which of you has dared defy my magic?" he shouted in +a terrible voice. + +"It was I," answered Dorothy calmly. + +"Then I shall destroy you, for you are only an Earth +girl and no fairy," he said, and began to mumble some +magic words. + +Dorothy now realized that Ugu must be treated as an +enemy, so she advanced toward the corner in which he +sat, saying as she went: + +"I am not afraid of you, Mr. Shoemaker, and I think +you'll be sorry, pretty soon, that you're such a bad +man. You can't destroy me and I won't destroy you, but +I'm going to punish you for your wickedness." + +Ugu laughed a laugh that was not nice to hear, and +then he waved his hand. Dorothy was halfway across the +room when suddenly a wall of glass rose before her and +stopped her progress. Through the glass she could see +the magician sneering at her because she was a weak +little girl, and this provoked her. Although the glass +wall obliged her to halt she instantly pressed both +hands to her Magic Belt and cried in a loud voice: + +"Ugu the Shoemaker, by the magic virtues of the Magic +Belt, I command you to become a dove!" + +The magician instantly realized he was being +enchanted, for he could feel his form changing. He +struggled desperately against the enchantment, mumbling +magic words and making magic passes with his hands. And +in one way he succeeded in defeating Dorothy's purpose, +for while his form soon changed to that of a gray dove, +the dove was of an enormous size -- bigger even than +Ugu had been as a man -- and this feat he had been able +to accomplish before his powers of magic wholly +deserted him. + +And the dove was not gentle, as doves usually are, +for Ugu was terribly enraged at the little girl's +success. His books had told him nothing of the Nome +King's Magic Belt, the Country of the Nomes being +outside the Land of Oz. He knew, however, that he was +likely to be conquered unless he made a fierce fight, +so he spread his wings and rose in the air and flew +directly toward Dorothy. The Wall of Glass had +disappeared the instant Ugu became transformed. + +Dorothy had meant to command the Belt to transform +the magician into a Dove of Peace, but in her +excitement she forgot to say more than "dove," and now +Ugu was not a Dove of Peace by any means, but rather a +spiteful Dove of War. His size made his sharp beak and +claws very dangerous, but Dorothy was not afraid when +he came darting toward her with his talons outstretched +and his sword-like beak open. She knew the Magic Belt +would protect its wearer from harm. + +But the Frogman did not know that fact and became +alarmed at the little girl's seeming danger. So he gave +a sudden leap and leaped full upon the back of the +great dove. + +Then began a desperate struggle. The dove was as +strong as Ugu had been, and in size it was considerably +bigger than the Frogman. But the Frogman had eaten the +zosozo and it had made him fully as strong as Ugu the +Dove. At the first leap he bore the dove to the floor, +but the giant bird got free and began to bite and claw +the Frogman, beating him down with its great wings +whenever he attempted to rise. The thick, tough skin of +the big frog was not easily damaged, but Dorothy feared +for her champion and by again using the transformation +power of the Magic Belt she made the dove grow small, +until it was no larger than a canary bird. + +Ugu had not lost his knowledge of magic when he lost +his shape as a man, and he now realized it was hopeless +to oppose the power of the Magic Belt and knew that his +only hope of escape lay in instant action. So he +quickly flew into the golden jeweled dishpan he had +stolen from Cayke the Cookie Cook and, as birds can +talk as well as beasts or men in the Fairyland of Oz, +he muttered the magic word that was required and wished +himself in the Country of the Quadlings -- which was as +far away from the wicker castle as he believed he could +get. + +Our friends did not know, of course, what Ugu was +about to do. They saw the dishpan tremble an instant +and then disappear, the dove disappearing with it, and +although they waited expectantly for some minutes for +the magician's return, Ugu did not come back again. + +"Seems to me," said the Wizard in a cheerful voice, +"that we have conquered the wicked magician more +quickly than we expected to." + +"Don't say 'we' -- Dorothy did it!" cried the +Patchwork Girl, turning three somersaults in succession +and then walking around on her hands. "Hurrah for +Dorothy!" + +"I thought you said you did not know how to use the +magic of the Nome King's Belt," said the Wizard to +Dorothy. + +"I didn't know, at that time," she replied, "but +afterward I remembered how the Nome King once used the +Magic Belt to enchant people and transform 'em into +ornaments and all sorts of things; so I tried some +enchantments in secret and after a while I transformed +the Sawhorse into a potato-masher and back again, and +the Cowardly Lion into a pussycat and back again, and +then I knew the thing would work all right." + +"When did you perform those enchantments?" asked the +Wizard, much surprised. + +"One night when all the rest of you were asleep but +Scraps, and she had gone chasing moonbeams." + +"Well," remarked the Wizard, "your discovery has +certainly saved us a lot of trouble, and we must all +thank the Frogman, too, for making such a good fight. +The dove's shape had Ugu's evil disposition inside it, +and that made the monster bird dangerous." + +The Frogman was looking sad because the bird's talons +had torn his pretty clothes, but he bowed with much +dignity at this well deserved praise. Cayke, however, +had squatted on the floor and was sobbing bitterly. + +"My precious dishpan is gone!" she wailed. "Gone, +just as I had found it again!" + +"Never mind," said Trot, trying to comfort her, "it's +sure to be somewhere, so we'll cert'nly run across it +some day." + +"Yes, indeed," added Betsy; "now that we have Ozma's +Magic Picture, we can tell just where the Dove went +with your dishpan." + +They all approached the Magic Picture, and Dorothy +wished it to show the enchanted form of Ugu the +Shoemaker, wherever it might be. At once there appeared +in the frame of the Picture a scene in the far Quadling +Country, where the Dove was perched disconsolately on +the limb of a tree and the jeweled dishpan lay on the +ground just underneath the limb. + +"But where is the place -- how far or how near?" +asked Cayke anxiously. + +"The Book of Records will tell us that," answered the +Wizard. So they looked in the Great Book and read the +following: + +"Ugu the Magician, being transformed +into a dove by Princess Dorothy of +Oz, has used the magic of the golden +dishpan to carry him instantly to the +northeast corner of the Quadling +Country." + + +"That's all right," said Dorothy. "Don't worry, +Cayke, for the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman are in +that part of the country, looking for Ozma, and they'll +surely find your dishpan." + +"Good gracious!" exclaimed Button-Bright, "we've +forgot all about Ozma. Let's find out where the +magician hid her." + +Back to the Magic Picture they trooped, but when they +wished to see Ozma, wherever she might be hidden, only +a round black spot appeared in the center of the +canvas. + +"I don't see how that can be Ozma!" said Dorothy, +much puzzled. + +"It seems to be the best the Magic Picture can do, +however," said the Wizard, no less surprised. "If it's +an enchantment, it looks as if the magician had +transformed Ozma into a chunk of pitch." + + + + +Chapter Twenty-Four + +The Little Pink Bear Speaks Truly + + +For several minutes they all stood staring at the black +spot on the canvas of the Magic Picture, wondering +what it could mean. + +"P'r'aps we'd better ask the little Pink Bear about +Ozma," suggested Trot. + +"Pshaw!" said Button-Bright, "he don't know +anything." + +"He never makes a mistake," declared the King. + +"He did once, surely," said Betsy. "But perhaps he +wouldn't make a mistake again." + +"He won't have the chance," grumbled the Bear King. + +"We might hear what he has to say," said Dorothy. "It +won't do any harm to ask the Pink Bear where Ozma is." + +"I will not have him questioned," declared the King, +in a surly voice. "I do not intend to allow my little +Pink Bear to be again insulted by your foolish doubts. +He never makes a mistake." + +"Didn't he say Ozma was in that hole in the ground?" +asked Betsy. + +"He did; and I am certain she was there," replied the +Lavender Bear. + +Scraps laughed jeeringly and the others saw there was +no use arguing with the stubborn Bear King, who seemed +to have absolute faith in his Pink Bear. The Wizard, +who knew that magical things can usually be depended +upon, and that the little Pink Bear was able to answer +questions by some remarkable power of magic, thought it +wise to apologize to the Lavender Bear for the unbelief +of his friends, at the same time urging the King to +consent to question the Pink Bear once more. Cayke and +the Frogman also pleaded with the big Bear, who finally +agreed, although rather ungraciously, to put the little +Bear's wisdom to the test once more. So he sat the +little one on his knee and turned the crank and the +Wizard himself asked the questions in a very +respectful tone of voice. + +"Where is Ozma?" was his first query. + +"Here, in this room," answered the little Pink Bear. + +They all looked around the room, but of course did +not see her. + +"In what part of this room is she?" was the Wizard's +next question. + +"In Button-Bright's pocket," said the little Pink +Bear. + +This reply amazed them all, you may be sure, and +although the three girls smiled and Scraps yelled: +"Hoo-ray!" in derision, the Wizard seemed to consider +the matter with grave thoughtfulness. + +"In which one of Button-Bright's pockets is Ozma?" he +presently inquired. + +"In the lefthand jacket-pocket," said the little Pink +Bear. + +"The pink one has gone crazy!" exclaimed Button- +Bright, staring hard at the little bear on the big +bear's knee. + +"I am not so sure of that," declared the Wizard. "If +Ozma proves to be really in your pocket, then the +little Pink Bear spoke truly when he said Ozma was in +that hole in the ground. For at that time you were also +in the hole, and after we had pulled you out of it the +little Pink Bear said Ozma was not in the hole." + +"He never makes a mistake," asserted the Bear King, +stoutly. + +"Empty that pocket, Button-Bright, and let's see +what's in it," requested Dorothy. + +So Button-Bright laid the contents of his left +jacket-pocket on the table. These proved to be a peg- +top, a bunch of string, a small rubber ball and a +golden peach-pit. + +"What's this?" asked the Wizard, picking up the +peach-pit and examining it closely. + +"Oh," said the boy, "I saved that to show to the +girls, and then forgot all about it. It came out of a +lonesome peach that I found in the orchard back yonder, +and which I ate while I was lost. It looks like gold, +and I never saw a peach-pit like it before." + +"Nor I," said the Wizard, "and that makes it seem +suspicious." + +All heads were bent over the golden peach-pit. The +Wizard turned it over several times and then took out +his pocket-knife and pried the pit open. + +As the two halves fell apart a pink, cloud-like haze +came pouring from the golden peach-pit, almost filling +the big room, and from the haze a form took shape and +settled beside them. Then, as the haze faded away, a +sweet voice said: "Thank you, my friends!" and there +before them stood their lovely girl Ruler, Ozma of Oz. + +With a cry of delight Dorothy rushed forward and +embraced her. Scraps turned gleeful flip flops all +around the room. Button-Bright gave a low whistle of +astonishment. The Frogman took off his tall hat and +bowed low before the beautiful girl who had been freed +from her enchantment in so startling a manner. + +For a time no sound was heard beyond the low murmur +of delight that came from the amazed group, but +presently the growl of the big Lavender Bear grew +louder and he said in a tone of triumph: + +"He never makes a mistake!" + + + + +Chapter Twenty-Five + +Ozma of Oz + + +"It's funny," said Toto, standing before his friend the +Lion and wagging his tail, "but I've found my growl at +last! I am positive, now, that it was the cruel +magician who stole it." + +"Let's hear your growl," requested the Lion. + +"Gr-r-r-r-r-r!" said Toto. + +"That is fine," declared the big beast. "It isn't as +loud or as deep as the growl of the big Lavender Bear, +but it is a very respectable growl for a small dog. +Where did you find it, Toto?" + +"I was smelling in the corner, yonder," said Toto, +"when suddenly a mouse ran out -- and I growled!" + +The others were all busy congratulating Ozma, who was +very happy at being released from the confinement of +the golden peach-pit, where the magician had placed her +with the notion that she never could be found or +liberated. + +"And only to think," cried Dorothy, "that Button- +Bright has been carrying you in his pocket all this +time, and we never knew it!" + +"The little Pink Bear told you," said the Bear King, +"but you wouldn't believe him." + +"Never mind, my dears," said Ozma graciously; "all is +well that ends well, and you couldn't be expected to +know I was inside the peach-pit. Indeed, I feared I +would remain a captive much longer than I did, for Ugu +is a bold and clever magician and he had hidden me very +securely." + +"You were in a fine peach," said Button-Bright; "the +best I ever ate." + +"The magician was foolish to make the peach so +tempting," remarked the Wizard; "but Ozma would lend +beauty to any transformation." + +"How did you manage to conquer Ugu the Shoemaker?" +inquired the girl Ruler of Oz. + +Dorothy started to tell the story and Trot helped +her, and Button-Bright wanted to relate it in his own +way, and the Wizard tried to make it clear to Ozma, and +Betsy had to remind them of important things they left +out, and all together there was such a chatter that it +was a wonder that Ozma understood any of it. But she +listened patiently, with a smile on her lovely face at +their eagerness, and presently had gleaned all the +details of their adventures. + +Ozma thanked the Frogman very earnestly for his +assistance and she advised Cayke the Cookie Cook to dry +her weeping eyes, for she promised to take her to the +Emerald City and see that her cherished dishpan was +restored to her. Then the beautiful Ruler took a chain +of emeralds from around her own neck and placed it +around the neck of the little Pink Bear. + +"Your wise answers to the questions of my friends," +said she, "helped them to rescue me. Therefore I am +deeply grateful to you and to your noble King." + +The bead eyes of the little Pink Bear stared +unresponsive to this praise until the Big Lavender Bear +turned the crank in its side, when it said in its +squeaky voice: + +"I thank Your Majesty." + +"For my part," returned the Bear King, "I realize +that you were well worth saving, Miss Ozma, and so I am +much pleased that we could be of service to you. By +means of my Magic Wand I have been creating exact +images of your Emerald City and your Royal Palace, and +I must confess that they are more attractive than any +places I have ever seen -- not excepting Bear Center." + +"I would like to entertain you in my palace," +returned Ozma, sweetly, "and you are welcome to return +with me and to make me a long visit, if your bear +subjects can spare you from your own kingdom." + +"As for that," answered the King, "my kingdom causes +me little worry, and I often find it somewhat tame and +uninteresting. Therefore I am in no hurry to return to +it and will be glad to accept your kind invitation. +Corporal Waddle may be trusted to care for my bears +in my absence." + +"And you'll bring the little Pink Bear?" asked +Dorothy eagerly. + +"Of course, my dear; I would not willingly part with +him." + +They remained in the wicker castle for three days, +carefully packing all the magical things that had been +stolen by Ugu and also taking whatever in the way of +magic the shoemaker had inherited from his ancestors. + +"For," said Ozma, "I have forbidden any of my +subjects except Glinda the Good and the Wizard of Oz to +practice magical arts, because they cannot be trusted +to do good and not harm. Therefore Ugu must never again +be permitted to work magic of any sort." + +"Well," remarked Dorothy cheerfully, "a dove can't do +much in the way of magic, anyhow, and I'm going to keep +Ugu in the form of a dove until he reforms and becomes +a good and honest shoemaker." + +When everything was packed and loaded on the backs of +the animals, they set out for the river, taking a more +direct route than that by which Cayke and the Frogman +had come. In this way they avoided the Cities of Thi +and Herku and Bear Center and after a pleasant journey +reached the Winkie River and found a jolly ferryman +who had a fine big boat and was willing to carry the +entire party by water to a place quite near to the +Emerald City. + +The river had many windings and many branches, and +the journey did not end in a day, but finally the boat +floated into a pretty lake which was but a short +distance from Ozma's home. Here the jolly ferryman was +rewarded for his labors and then the entire party set +out in a grand procession to march to the Emerald City. + +News that the Royal Ozma had been found spread +quickly throughout the neighborhood and both sides of +the road soon became lined with loyal subjects of the +beautiful and beloved Ruler. Therefore Ozma's ears +heard little but cheers and her eyes beheld little else +than waving handkerchiefs and banners during all the +triumphal march from the lake to the city's gates. + +And there she met a still greater concourse, for all +the inhabitants of the Emerald City turned out to +welcome her return and several bands played gay music +and all the houses were decorated with flags and +bunting and never before were the people so joyous and +happy as at this moment when they welcomed home their +girl Ruler. For she had been lost and was now found +again, and surely that was cause for rejoicing. + +Glinda was at the royal palace to meet the returning +party and the good Sorceress was indeed glad to have +her Great Book of Records returned to her, as well as +all the precious collection of magic instruments and +elixirs and chemicals that had been stolen from her +castle. Cap'n Bill and the Wizard at once hung the +Magic Picture upon the wall of Ozma's boudoir and the +Wizard was so light-hearted that he did several tricks +with the tools in his black bag to amuse his companions +and prove that once again he was a powerful wizard. + +For a whole week there was feasting and merriment and +all sorts of joyous festivities at the palace, in honor +of Ozma's safe return. The Lavender Bear and the little +Pink Bear received much attention and were honored by +all, much to the Bear King's satisfaction. The Frogman +speedily became a favorite at the Emerald City and the +Shaggy Man and Tik-Tok and Jack Pumpkinhead, who had +now returned from their search, were very polite to the +big frog and made him feel quite at home. Even the +Cookie Cook, because she was a stranger and Ozma's +guest, was shown as much deference as if she had been a +queen. + +"All the same, Your Majesty," said Cayke to Ozma, day +after day, with tiresome repetition, "I hope you will +soon find my jeweled dishpan, for never can I be quite +happy without it." + + + + +Chapter Twenty-Six + +Dorothy Forgives + + +The gray dove which had once been Ugu the Shoemaker sat +on its tree in the far Quadling Country and moped, +chirping dismally and brooding over its misfortunes. +After a time the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman came +along and sat beneath the tree, paying no heed to the +mutterings of the gray dove. + +The Tin Woodman took a small oilcan from his tin +pocket and carefully oiled his tin joints with it. +While he was thus engaged the Scarecrow remarked: + +"I feel much better, dear comrade, since we found +that heap of nice dean straw and you stuffed me anew +with it" + +"And I feel much better now that my joints are +oiled," returned the Tin Woodman, with a sigh of +pleasure. "You and I, friend Scarecrow, are much more +easily cared for than those clumsy meat people, who +spend half their time dressing in fine clothes and who +must live in splendid dwellings in order to be +contented and happy. You and I do not eat, and so we +are spared the dreadful bother of getting three meals a +day. Nor do we waste half our lives in sleep, a +condition that causes the meat people to lose al] +consciousness and become as thoughtless and helpless as +logs of wood." + +"You speak truly," responded the Scarecrow, tucking +some wisps of straw into his breast with his padded +fingers. "I often feel sorry for the meat people, many +of whom are my friends. Even the beasts are happier +than they, for they require less to make them content. +And the birds are the luckiest creatures of all, for +they can fly swiftly where they will and find a home at +any place they care to perch; their food consists of +seeds and grains they gather from the fields and their +drink is a sip of water from some running brook. If I +could not be a Scarecrow or a Tin Woodman -- my next +choice would be to live as a bird does." + +The gray dove had listened carefully to this speech +and seemed to find comfort in it, for it hushed its +moaning. And just then the Tin Woodman discovered +Cayke's dishpan, which was on the ground quite near to +him. + +"Here is a rather pretty utensil," he said, taking it +in his tin hands to examine it, "but I would not care +to own it. Whoever fashioned it of gold and covered it +with diamonds did not add to its usefulness, nor do I +consider it as beautiful as the bright dishpans of tin +one usually sees. No yellow color is ever so handsome +as the silver sheen of tin," and he turned to look at +his tin legs and body with approval. + +"I cannot quite agree with you there," replied the +Scarecrow. "My straw stuffing has a light yellow color, +and it is not only pretty to look at but it crunkles +most delightfully when I move." + +"Let us admit that all colors are good in their +proper places," said the Tin Woodman, who was too kind- +hearted to quarrel; "but you must agree with me that a +dishpan that is yellow is unnatural. What shall we do +with this one, which we, have just found?" + +"Let us carry it back to the Emerald City," suggested +the Scarecrow. "Some of our friends might like to have +it for a foot-bath, and in using it that way its golden +color and sparkling ornaments would not injure its +usefulness." + +So they went away and took the jeweled dishpan with +them. And, after wandering through the country for a +day or so longer, they learned the news that Ozma had +been found. Therefore they straightaway returned to the +Emerald City and presented the dishpan to Princess Ozma +as a token of their joy that she had been restored to +them. + +Ozma promptly gave the diamond-studded gold dishpan +to Cayke the Cookie Cook, who was so delighted at +regaining her lost treasure that she danced up and down +in glee and then threw her skinny arms around Ozma's +neck and kissed her gratefully. Cayke's mission was now +successfully accomplished, but she was having such a +good time at the Emerald City that she seemed in no +hurry to go back to the Country of the Yips. + +It was several weeks after the dishpan had been +restored to the Cookie Cook when one day, as Dorothy +was seated in the royal gardens with Trot and Betsy +beside her, a gray dove came flying down and alighted +at the girl's feet. + +"I am Ugu the Shoemaker," said the dove in a soft, +mourning voice, "and I have come to ask you to forgive +me for the great wrong I did in stealing Ozma and the +magic that belonged to her and to others." + +"Are you sorry, then?" asked Dorothy, looking hard at +the bird. + +"I am very sorry," declared Ugu. "I've been thinking +over my misdeeds for a long time, for doves have little +else to do but think, and I'm surprised that I was such +a wicked man and had so little regard for the rights of +others. I am now convinced that even had I succeeded in +making myself ruler of all Oz I should not have been +happy, for many days of quiet thought have shown me +that only those things one acquires honestly are able +to render one content." + +"I guess that's so," said Trot. + +"Anyhow," said Betsy, "the bad man seems truly sorry, +and if he has now become a good and honest man we ought +to forgive him." + +"I fear I cannot become a good man again," said Ugu, +"for the transformation I am under will always keep me +in the form of a dove. But, with the kind forgiveness +of my former enemies, I hope to become a very good +dove, and highly respected." + +"Wait here till I run for my Magic Belt," said +Dorothy, "and I'll transform you back to your reg'lar +shape in a jiffy." + +"No don't do that!" pleaded the dove, fluttering its +wings in an excited way. "I only want your forgiveness; +I don't want to be a man again. As Ugu the Shoemaker I +was skinny and old and unlovely; as a dove I am quite +pretty to look at. As a man I was ambitious and cruel, +while as a dove I can be content with my lot and happy +in my simple life. I have learned to love the free and +independent life of a bird and I'd rather not change +back." + +"Just as you like, Ugu," said Dorothy, resuming her +seat. "Perhaps you are right, for you're cert'nly a +better dove than you were a man, and if you should ever +backslide, an' feel wicked again, you couldn't do much +harm as a gray dove." + +"Then you forgive me for all the trouble I caused +you?" he asked earnestly. + +"Of course; anyone who's sorry just has to be +forgiven." + +"Thank you," said the gray dove, and flew away again. + + + + + +The Wonderful Oz Books by L. Frank Baum + +The Wizard of Oz +The Land of Oz +Ozma of Oz +Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz +The Road to Oz +The Emerald City of Oz +The Patchwork Girl of Oz +Tik-Tok of Oz +The Scarecrow of Oz +Rinkitink in Oz +The Lost Princess of Oz +The Tin Woodman of Oz +The Magic of Oz +Glinda of Oz + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Etext of The Lost Princess of Oz, by +Baum + diff --git a/old/11woz10.zip b/old/11woz10.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..48ccc47 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/11woz10.zip diff --git a/old/11woz11.txt b/old/11woz11.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..721ac7d --- /dev/null +++ b/old/11woz11.txt @@ -0,0 +1,5889 @@ +*Project Gutenberg's Etext of The Lost Princess of Oz, by Baum* +#11 in the L. 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If you + don't derive profits, no royalty is due. Royalties are + payable to "Project Gutenberg Association/Carnegie-Mellon + University" within the 60 days following each + date you prepare (or were legally required to prepare) + your annual (or equivalent periodic) tax return. + +WHAT IF YOU *WANT* TO SEND MONEY EVEN IF YOU DON'T HAVE TO? +The Project gratefully accepts contributions in money, time, +scanning machines, OCR software, public domain etexts, royalty +free copyright licenses, and every other sort of contribution +you can think of. Money should be paid to "Project Gutenberg +Association / Carnegie-Mellon University". + +*END*THE SMALL PRINT! FOR PUBLIC DOMAIN ETEXTS*Ver.04.29.93*END* + + + + + +THE LOST PRINCESS OF OZ +by L. FRANK BAUM + + +This Book is Dedicated +To My Granddaughter +OZMA BAUM + + +To My Readers + +Some of my youthful readers are developing wonderful +imaginations. This pleases me. Imagination has brought +mankind through the Dark Ages to its present state of +civilization. Imagination led Columbus to discover +America. Imagination led Franklin to discover +electricity. Imagination has given us the steam engine, +the telephone, the talking-machine and the automobile, +for these things had to be dreamed of before they +became realities. So I believe that dreams -- day +dreams, you know, with your eyes wide open and your +brain-machinery whizzing -- are likely to lead to the +betterment of the world. The imaginative child will +become the imaginative man or woman most apt to create, +to invent, and therefore to foster civilization. A +prominent educator tells me that fairy tales are of +untold value in developing imagination in the young. I +believe it. + +Among the letters I receive from children are many +containing suggestions of "what to write about in the +next Oz Book." Some of the ideas advanced are mighty +interesting, while others are too extravagant to be +seriously considered -- even in a fairy tale. Yet I +like them all, and I must admit that the main idea in +"The Lost Princess of Oz" was suggested to me by a +sweet little girl of eleven who called to see me and to +talk about the Land of Oz. Said she: "I s'pose if Ozma +ever got lost, or stolen, ev'rybody in Oz would be +dreadful sorry." + +That was all, but quite enough foundation to build +this present story on. If you happen to like the story, +give credit to my little friend's clever hint. + +L. Frank Baum +Royal Historian of Oz + + +1 A Terrible Loss +2 The Troubles of Glinda the Good +3 The Robbery of Cayke the Cookie Cook +4 Among the Winkies +5 Ozma's Friends Are Perplexed +6 The Search Party +7 The Merry-Go-Round Mountains +8 The Mysterious City +9 The High Coco-Lorum of Thi +10 Toto Loses Something +11 Button-Bright Loses Himself +12 The Czarover of Herku +13 The Truth Pond +14 The Unhappy Ferryman +15 The Big Lavender Bear +16 The Little Pink Bear +17 The Meeting +18 The Conference +19 Ugu the Shoemaker +20 More Surprises +21 Magic Against Magic +22 In the Wicker Castle +23 The Defiance of Ugu the Shoemaker +24 The Little Pink Bear Speaks Truly +25 Ozma of Oz +26 Dorothy Forgives + + + +THE LOST PRINCESS + +BY L. FRANK BAUM + + + +CHAPTER 1 + +A TERRIBLE LOSS + +There could be no doubt of the fact: Princess Ozma, the lovely girl +ruler of the Fairyland of Oz, was lost. She had completely +disappeared.Not one of her subjects--not even her closest +friends--knew what had become of her. It was Dorothy who first +discovered it. Dorothy was a little Kansas girl who had come to the +Land of Oz to live and had been given a delightful suite of rooms in +Ozma's royal palace just because Ozma loved Dorothy and wanted her to +live as near her as possible so the two girls might be much together. + +Dorothy was not the only girl from the outside world who had been +welcomed to Oz and lived in the royal palace. There was another named +Betsy Bobbin, whose adventures had led her to seek refuge with Ozma, +and still another named Trot, who had been invited, together with her +faithful companion Cap'n Bill, to make her home in this wonderful +fairyland. The three girls all had rooms in the palace and were great +chums; but Dorothy was the dearest friend of their gracious Ruler and +only she at any hour dared to seek Ozma in her royal apartments. For +Dorothy had lived in Oz much longer than the other girls and had been +made a Princess of the realm. + +Betsy was a year older than Dorothy and Trot was a year younger, yet +the three were near enough of an age to become great playmates and to +have nice times together. It was while the three were talking +together one morning in Dorothy's room that Betsy proposed they make a +journey into the Munchkin Country, which was one of the four great +countries of the Land of Oz ruled by Ozma. "I've never been there +yet," said Betsy Bobbin, "but the Scarecrow once told me it is the +prettiest country in all Oz." + +"I'd like to go, too," added Trot. + + +"All right," said Dorothy. "I'll go and ask Ozma. Perhaps she will +let us take the Sawhorse and the Red Wagon, which would be much nicer +for us than having to walk all the way. This Land of Oz is a pretty +big place when you get to all the edges of it." + +So she jumped up and went along the halls of the splendid palace until +she came to the royal suite, which filled all the front of the second +floor. In a little waiting room sat Ozma's maid, Jellia Jamb, who was +busily sewing. "Is Ozma up yet?" inquired Dorothy. + +"I don't know, my dear," replied Jellia. "I haven't heard a word from +her this morning. She hasn't even called for her bath or her +breakfast, and it is far past her usual time for them." + +"That's strange!" exclaimed the little girl. + +"Yes," agreed the maid, "but of course no harm could have happened to +her. No one can die or be killed in the Land of Oz, and Ozma is +herself a powerful fairy, and she has no enemies so far as we know. +Therefore I am not at all worried about her, though I must admit her +silence is unusual." + +"Perhaps," said Dorothy thoughtfully, "she has overslept. Or she may +be reading or working out some new sort of magic to do good to her +people." + +"Any of these things may be true," replied Jellia Jamb, "so I haven't +dared disturb our royal mistress. You, however, are a privileged +character, Princess, and I am sure that Ozma wouldn't mind at all if +you went in to see her." + +"Of course not," said Dorothy, and opening the door of the outer +chamber, she went in. All was still here. She walked into another +room, which was Ozma's boudoir, and then, pushing back a heavy drapery +richly broidered with threads of pure gold, the girl entered the +sleeping-room of the fairy Ruler of Oz. The bed of ivory and gold was +vacant; the room was vacant; not a trace of Ozma was to be found. +Very much surprised, yet still with no fear that anything had happened +to her friend, Dorothy returned through the boudoir to the other rooms +of the suite. the bath, the wardrobe, and even into the great throne +room, which adjoined the royal suite, but in none of these places +could she find Ozma. + +So she returned to the anteroom where she had left the maid, Jellia +Jamb, and said, "She isn't in her rooms now, so she must have gone +out." + +"I don't understand how she could do that without my seeing her," +replied Jellia, "unless she made herself invisible." + +"She isn't there, anyhow," declared Dorothy. + +"Then let us go find her," suggested the maid, who appeared to be a +little uneasy. So they went into the corridors, and there Dorothy +almost stumbled over a queer girl who was dancing lightly along the +passage. + +"Stop a minute, Scraps!" she called, "Have you seen Ozma this +morning?" + +"Not I!" replied the queer girl, dancing nearer."I lost both my eyes +in a tussle with the Woozy last night, for the creature scraped 'em +both off my face with his square paws. So I put the eyes in my +pocket, and this morning Button-Bright led me to Aunt Em, who sewed +'em on again. So I've seen nothing at all today, except during the +last five minutes. So of course I haven't seen Ozma." + +"Very well, Scraps," said Dorothy, looking curiously at the eyes, +which were merely two round, black buttons sewed upon the girl's face. + +There were other things about Scraps that would have seemed curious to +one seeing her for the first time. She was commonly called "the +Patchwork Girl" because her body and limbs were made from a +gay-colored patchwork quilt which had been cut into shape and stuffed +with cotton. Her head was a round ball stuffed in the same manner and +fastened to her shoulders. For hair, she had a mass of brown yarn, +and to make a nose for her a part of the cloth had been pulled out +into the shape of a knob and tied with a string to hold it in place. +Her mouth had been carefully made by cutting a slit in the proper +place and lining it with red silk, adding two rows of pearls for teeth +and a bit of red flannel for a tongue. + +In spite of this queer make-up, the Patchwork Girl was magically alive +and had proved herself not the least jolly and agreeable of the many +quaint characters who inhabit the astonishing Fairyland of Oz. +Indeed, Scraps was a general favorite, although she was rather flighty +and erratic and did and said many things that surprised her friends. +She was seldom still, but loved to dance, to turn handsprings and +somersaults, to climb trees and to indulge in many other active +sports. + +"I'm going to search for Ozma," remarked Dorothy, "for she isn't in +her rooms, and I want to ask her a question." + +"I'll go with you," said Scraps, "for my eyes are brighter than yours, +and they can see farther." + +"I'm not sure of that," returned Dorothy. "But come along, if you +like." + +Together they searched all through the great palace and even to the +farthest limits of the palace grounds, which were quite extensive, but +nowhere could they find a trace of Ozma. When Dorothy returned to +where Betsy and Trot awaited her, the little girl's face was rather +solemn and troubled, for never before had Ozma gone away without +telling her friends where she was going, or without an escort that +befitted her royal state. She was gone, however, and none had seen +her go. Dorothy had met and questioned the Scarecrow, Tik-Tok, the +Shaggy Man, Button-Bright, Cap'n Bill, and even the wise and powerful +Wizard of Oz, but not one of them had seen Ozma since she parted with +her friends the evening before and had gone to her own rooms. + +"She didn't say anything las' night about going anywhere," observed +little Trot. + +"No, and that's the strange part of it," replied Dorothy. "Usually +Ozma lets us know of everything she does." + +"Why not look in the Magic Picture?" suggested Betsy Bobbin. "That +will tell us where she is in just one second." + +"Of course!" cried Dorothy. "Why didn't I think of that before?" And +at once the three girls hurried away to Ozma's boudoir, where the +Magic Picture always hung. This wonderful Magic Picture was one of +the royal Ozma's greatest treasures. There was a large gold frame in +the center of which was a bluish-gray canvas on which various scenes +constantly appeared and disappeared. If one who stood before it +wished to see what any person anywhere in the world was doing, it was +only necessary to make the wish and the scene in the Magic Picture +would shift to the scene where that person was and show exactly what +he or she was then engaged in doing. So the girls knew it would be +easy for them to wish to see Ozma, and from the picture they could +quickly learn where she was. + +Dorothy advanced to the place where the picture was usually protected +by thick satin curtains and pulled the draperies aside. Then she +stared in amazement, while her two friends uttered exclamations of +disappointment. + + The Magic Picture was gone. Only a blank space on +the wall behind the curtains showed where it had formerly hung. + + + + +CHAPTER 2 + +THE TROUBLES OF GLINDA THE GOOD + + +That same morning there was great excitement in the castle of the +powerful Sorceress of Oz, Glinda the Good. This castle, situated in +the Quadling Country, far south of the Emerald City where Ozma ruled, +was a splendid structure of exquisite marbles and silver grilles. +Here the Sorceress lived, surrounded by a bevy of the most beautiful +maidens of Oz, gathered from all the four countries of that fairyland +as well as from the magnificent Emerald City itself, which stood in +the place where the four countries cornered. It was considered a +great honor to be allowed to serve the good Sorceress, whose arts of +magic were used only to benefit the Oz people. Glinda was Ozma's most +valued servant, for her knowledge of sorcery was wonderful, and she +could accomplish almost anything that her mistress, the lovely girl +Ruler of Oz, wished her to. + +Of all the magical things which surrounded Glinda in her castle, there +was none more marvelous than her Great Book of Records. On the pages +of this Record Book were constantly being inscribed, day by day and +hour by hour, all the important events that happened anywhere in the +known world, and they were inscribed in the book at exactly the moment +the events happened. Every adventure in the Land of Oz and in the big +outside world, and even in places that you and I have never heard of, +were recorded accurately in the Great Book, which never made a mistake +and stated only the exact truth. For that reason, nothing could be +concealed from Glinda the Good, who had only to look at the pages of +the Great Book of Records to know everything that had taken place. +That was one reason she was such a great Sorceress, for the records +made her wiser than any other living person. + +This wonderful book was placed upon a big gold table that stood in the +middle of Glinda's drawing room. The legs of the table, which were +incrusted with precious gems, were firmly fastened to the tiled floor, +and the book itself was chained to the table and locked with six stout +golden padlocks, the keys to which Glinda carried on a chain that was +secured around her own neck. The pages of the Great Book were larger +in size than those of an American newspaper, and although they were +exceedingly thin, there were so many of them that they made an +enormous, bulky volume. With its gold cover and gold clasps, the book +was so heavy that three men could scarcely have lifted it. Yet this +morning when Glinda entered her drawing room after breakfast, the good +Sorceress was amazed to discover that her Great Book of Records had +mysteriously disappeared. + +Advancing to the table, she found the chains had been cut with some sharp +instrument, and this must have been done while all in the castle slept. + Glinda was shocked and grieved. Who could have done this wicked, bold thing? And who +could wish to deprive her of her Great Book of Records? + +The Sorceress was thoughtful for a time, considering the consequences +of her loss. Then she went to her Room of Magic to prepare a charm +that would tell her who had stolen the Record Book. But when she +unlocked her cupboard and threw open the doors, all of her magical +instruments and rare chemical compounds had been removed from the +shelves. The Sorceress has now both angry and alarmed. She sat down +in a chair and tried to think how this extraordinary robbery could +have taken place. It was evident that the thief was some person of +very great power, or the theft could not have been accomplished +without her knowledge. But who, in all the Land of Oz, was powerful +and skillful enough to do this awful thing? And who, having the +power, could also have an object in defying the wisest and most +talented Sorceress the world has ever known? + +Glinda thought over the perplexing matter for a full hour, at the end +of which time she was still puzzled how to explain it. But although +her instruments and chemicals were gone, her KNOWLEDGE of magic had +not been stolen, by any means, since no thief, however skillful, can +rob one of knowledge, and that is why knowledge is the best and safest +treasure to acquire. Glinda believed that when she had time to gather +more magical herbs and elixirs and to manufacture more magical +instruments, she would be able to discover who the robber was and what +had become of her precious Book of Records. + +"Whoever has done this," she said to her maidens, "is a very foolish +person, for in time he is sure to be found out and will then be +severely punished." + +She now made a list of the things she needed and dispatched messengers +to every part of Oz with instructions to obtain them and bring them to +her as soon as possible. And one of her messengers met the little +Wizard of Oz, who was seated on the back of the famous live Sawhorse +and was clinging to its neck with both his arms, for the Sawhorse was +speeding to Glinda's castle with the velocity of the wind, bearing the +news that Royal Ozma, Ruler of all the great Land of Oz, had suddenly +disappeared and no one in the Emerald City knew what had become of +her. + +"Also," said the Wizard as he stood before the astonished Sorceress, +"Ozma's Magic Picture is gone, so we cannot consult it to discover +where she is. So I came to you for assistance as soon as we realized +our loss. Let us look in the Great Book of Records." + +"Alas," returned the Sorceress sorrowfully, "we cannot do that, for +the Great Book of Records has also disappeared!" + + + + +CHAPTER 3 + +OF CAYKE THE COOKIE COOK + +One more important theft was reported in the Land of Oz that eventful +morning, but it took place so far from either the Emerald City or the +castle of Glinda the Good that none of those persons we have mentioned +learned of the robbery until long afterward. + +In the far southwestern corner of the Winkie Country is a broad +tableland that can be reached only by climbing a steep hill, whichever +side one approaches it. On the hillside surrounding this tableland +are no paths at all, but there are quantities of bramble bushes with +sharp prickers on them, which prevent any of the Oz people who live +down below from climbing up to see what is on top. But on top live +the Yips, and although the space they occupy is not great in extent, +the wee country is all their own. The Yips had never--up to the time +this story begins--left their broad tableland to go down into the Land +of Oz, nor had the Oz people ever climbed up to the country of the +Yips. + +Living all alone as they did, the Yips had queer ways and notions of +their own and did not resemble any other people of the Land of Oz. +Their houses were scattered all over the flat surface; not like a +city, grouped together, but set wherever their owners' fancy dictated, +with fields here, trees there, and odd little paths connecting the +houses one with another. It was here, on the morning when Ozma so +strangely disappeared from the Emerald City, that Cayke the Cookie +Cook discovered that her diamond-studded gold dishpan had been stolen, +and she raised such a hue and cry over her loss and wailed and +shrieked so loudly that many of the Yips gathered around her house to +inquire what was the matter. + +It was a serious thing in any part of the Land of Oz to accuse one of +stealing, so when the Yips heard Cayke the Cookie Cook declare that +her jeweled dishpan had been stolen, they were both humiliated and +disturbed and forced Cayke to go with them to the Frogman to see what +could be done about it. I do not suppose you have ever before heard +of the Frogman, for like all other dwellers on that tableland, he had +never been away from it, nor had anyone come up there to see him. The +Frogman was in truth descended from the common frogs of Oz, and when +he was first born he lived in a pool in the Winkie Country and was +much like any other frog. Being of an adventurous nature, however, he +soon hopped out of his pool and began to travel, when a big bird came +along and seized him in its beak and started to fly away with him to +its nest. When high in the air, the frog wriggled so frantically that +he got loose and fell down, down, down into a small hidden pool on the +tableland of the Yips. Now that pool, it seems, was unknown to the +Yips because it was surrounded by thick bushes and was not near to any +dwelling, and it proved to be an enchanted pool, for the frog grew +very fast and very big, feeding on the magic skosh which is found +nowhere else on earth except in that one pool. And the skosh not only +made the frog very big so that when he stood on his hind legs he was +as tall as any Yip in the country, but it made him unusually +intelligent, so that he soon knew more than the Yips did and was able +to reason and to argue very well indeed. + +No one could expect a frog with these talents to remain in a hidden +pool, so he finally got out of it and mingled with the people of the +tableland, who were amazed at his appearance and greatly impressed by +his learning. They had never seen a frog before, and the frog had +never seen a Yip before, but as there were plenty of Yips and only one +frog, the frog became the most important. He did not hop any more, +but stood upright on his hind legs and dressed himself in fine clothes +and sat in chairs and did all the things that people do, so he soon +came to be called the Frogman, and that is the only name he has ever +had. After some years had passed, the people came to regard the +Frogman as their adviser in all matters that puzzled them. They +brought all their difficulties to him, and when he did not know +anything, he pretended to know it, which seemed to answer just as +well. Indeed, the Yips thought the Frogman was much wiser than he +really was, and he allowed them to think so, being very proud of his +position of authority. + +There was another pool on the tableland which was not enchanted but +contained good, clear water and was located close to the dwellings. +Here the people built the Frogman a house of his own, close to the +edge of the pool so that he could take a bath or a swim whenever he +wished. He usually swam in the pool in the early morning before +anyone else was up, and during the day he dressed himself in his +beautiful clothes and sat in his house and received the visits of all +the Yips who came to him to ask his advice. The Frogman's usual +costume consisted of knee-breeches made of yellow satin plush, with +trimmings of gold braid and jeweled knee-buckles; a white satin vest +with silver buttons in which were set solitaire rubies; a +swallow-tailed coat of bright yellow; green stockings and red leather +shoes turned up at the toes and having diamond buckles. He wore, when +he walked out, a purple silk hat and carried a gold-headed cane. Over +his eyes he wore great spectacles with gold rims, not because his eyes +were bad, but because the spectacles made him look wise, and so +distinguished and gorgeous was his appearance that all the Yips were +very proud of him. + +There was no King or Queen in the Yip Country, so the simple +inhabitants naturally came to look upon the Frogman as their leader as +well as their counselor in all times of emergency. In his heart the +big frog knew he was no wiser than the Yips, but for a frog to know as +much as a person was quite remarkable, and the Frogman was shrewd +enough to make the people believe he was far more wise than he really +was. They never suspected he was a humbug, but listened to his words +with great respect and did just what he advised them to do. + +Now when Cayke the Cookie Cook raised such an outcry over the theft of +her diamond-studded dishpan, the first thought of the people was to +take her to the Frogman and inform him of the loss, thinking that of +course he would tell her where to find it. He listened to the story +with his big eyes wide open behind his spectacles, and said in his +deep, croaking voice, "If the dishpan is stolen, somebody must have +taken it." + +"But who?"asked Cayke anxiously. "Who is the thief?" + +"The one who took the dishpan, of course," replied the Frogman, and +hearing this all the Yips nodded their heads gravely and said to one +another, "It is absolutely true!" + +"But I want my dishpan!" cried Cayke. + +"No one can blame you for that wish," remarked the Frogman. + +"Then tell me where I may find it," she urged. + +The look the Frogman gave her was a very wise look, and he rose from +his chair and strutted up and down the room with his hands under his +coattails in a very pompous and imposing manner. This was the first +time so difficult a matter had been brought to him, and he wanted time +to think. It would never do to let them suspect his ignorance, and so +he thought very, very hard how best to answer the woman without +betraying himself. "I beg to inform you," said he, "that nothing in +the Yip Country has ever been stolen before." + +"We know that already," answered Cayke the Cookie Cook impatiently. + +"Therefore," continued the Frogman, "this theft +becomes a very important matter.""Therefore," continued the Frogman, "this theft becomes a +very +important matter." + +"Well, where is my dishpan?" demanded the woman. + +"It is lost, but it must be found. Unfortunately, we have no +policemen or detectives to unravel the mystery, so we must employ +other means to regain the lost article. Cayke must first write a +Proclamation and tack it to the door of her house, and the +Proclamation must read that whoever stole the jeweled dishpan must +return it at once." + +"But suppose no one returns it," suggested Cayke. + +"Then," said the Frogman, "that very fact will be proof that no one +has stolen it." + +Cayke was not satisfied, but the other Yips seemed to approve the plan +highly. They all advised her to do as the Frogman had told her to, so +she posted the sign on her door and waited patiently for someone to +return the dishpan--which no one ever did. Again she went, +accompanied by a group of her neighbors, to the Frogman, who by this +time had given the matter considerable thought. Said he to Cayke, "I +am now convinced that no Yip has taken your dishpan, and since it is +gone from the Yip Country, I suspect that some stranger came from the +world down below us in the darkness of night when all of us were +asleep and took away your treasure. There can be no other explanation +of its disappearance. So if you wish to recover that golden, +diamond-studded dishpan, you must go into the lower world after it." + +This was indeed a startling proposition. Cayke and her friends went +to the edge of the flat tableland and looked down the steep hillside +to the plains below. It was so far to the bottom of the hill that +nothing there could be seen very distinctly, and it seemed to the Yips +very venturesome, if not dangerous, to go so far from home into an +unknown land. However, Cayke wanted her dishpan very badly, so she +turned to her friends and asked, "Who will go with me?" + +No one answered the question, but after a period of silence one of the +Yips said, "We know what is here on the top of this flat hill, and it +seems to us a very pleasant place, but what is down below we do not +know. The chances are it is not so pleasant, so we had best stay +where we are." + +"It may be a far better country than this is," suggested the Cookie +Cook. + +"Maybe, maybe," responded another Yip, "but why take chances? +Contentment with one's lot is true wisdom. + +Perhaps in some other country there are better cookies than you cook, +but as we have always eaten your cookies and liked them--except when + they are burned on the bottom--we do not long for any better ones." + +Cayke might have agreed to this argument had she not been so anxious +to find her precious dishpan, but now she exclaimed impatiently, "You +are cowards, all of you! If none of you are willing to explore with +me the great world beyond this small hill, I will surely go alone." + +"That is a wise resolve," declared the Yips, much relieved. "It is +your dishpan that is lost, not ours. And if you are willing to risk +your life and liberty to regain it, no one can deny you the +privilege." + +While they were thus conversing, the Frogman joined them and looked +down at the plain with his big eyes and seemed unusually thoughtful. +In fact, the Frogman was thinking that he'd like to see more of the +world. Here in the Yip Country he had become the most important +creature of them all, and his importance was getting to be a little +tame. It would be nice to have other people defer to him and ask his +advice, and there seemed no reason so far as he could see why his fame +should not spread throughout all Oz. He knew nothing of the rest of +the world, but it was reasonable to believe that there were more +people beyond the mountain where he now lived than there were Yips, +and if he went among them he could surprise them with his display of +wisdom and make them bow down to him as the Yips did. In other words, +the Frogman was ambitious to become still greater than he was, which +was impossible if he always remained upon this mountain. He wanted +others to see his gorgeous clothes and listen to his solemn sayings, +and here was an excuse for him to get away from the Yip Country. So +he said to Cayke the Cookie Cook, "I will go with you, my good woman," +which greatly pleased Cayke because she felt the Frogman could be of +much assistance to her in her search. + +But now, since the mighty Frogman had decided to undertake the +journey, several of the Yips who were young and daring at once made up +their minds to go along, so the next morning after breakfast the +Frogman and Cayke the Cookie Cook and nine of the Yips started to +slide down the side of the mountain. The bramble bushes and cactus +plants were very prickly and uncomfortable to the touch, so the +Frogman quickly commanded the Yips to go first and break a path, so +that when he followed them he would not tear his splendid clothes. +Cayke, too, was wearing her best dress and was likewise afraid of the +thorns and prickers, so she kept behind the Frogman. + +They made rather slow progress and night overtook them before they +were halfway down the mountainside, so they found a cave in which they +sought shelter until morning. Cayke had brought along a basket full +of her famous cookies, so they all had plenty to eat. On the second +day the Yips began to wish they had not embarked on this adventure. +They grumbled a good deal at having to cut away the thorns to make the +path for the Frogman and the Cookie Cook, for their own clothing +suffered many tears, while Cayke and the Frogman traveled safely and +in comfort. + +"If it is true that anyone came to our country to steal your diamond +dishpan," said one of the Yips to Cayke, "it must have been a bird, +for no person in the form of a man, woman or child could have climbed +through these bushes and back again." + +"And, allowing he could have done so," said another Yip, "the +diamond-studded gold dishpan would not have repaid him for his +troubles and his tribulations." + +"For my part," remarked a third Yip, "I would rather go back home and +dig and polish some more diamonds and mine some more gold and make you +another dishpan than be scratched from head to heel by these dreadful +bushes. Even now, if my mother saw me, she would not know I am her +son." + +Cayke paid no heed to these mutterings, nor did the Frogman. Although +their journey was slow, it was being made easy for them by the Yips, +so they had nothing to complain of and no desire to turn back. Quite +near to the bottom of the great hill they came upon a great gulf, the +sides of which were as smooth as glass. The gulf extended a long +distance--as far as they could see in either direction--and although +it was not very wide, it was far too wide for the Yips to leap across +it. And should they fall into it, it was likely they might never get +out again. "Here our journey ends," said the Yips. "We must go back +again." + +Cayke the Cookie Cook began to weep. + +"I shall never find my pretty dishpan again, and my heart will be broken!" + she sobbed. + +The Frogman went to the edge of the gulf and with his eye carefully +measured the distance to the other side. "Being a frog," said he, "I +can leap, as all frogs do, and being so big and strong, I am sure I +can leap across this gulf with ease. But the rest of you, not being +frogs, must return the way you came." + +"We will do that with pleasure," cried the Yips, and at once they +turned and began to climb up the steep mountain, feeling they had had +quite enough of this unsatisfactory adventure. Cayke the Cookie Cook +did not go with them, however. She sat on a rock and wept and wailed +and was very miserable. + +"Well," said the Frogman to her, "I will now bid you goodbye. If I +find your diamond-decorated gold dishpan, I will promise to see that +it is safely returned to you." + +"But I prefer to find it myself!" she said. "See here, Frogman, why +can't you carry me across the gulf when you leap it? You are big and +strong, while I am small and thin." + +The Frogman gravely thought over this suggestion. It was a fact that +Cayke the Cookie Cook was not a heavy person. Perhaps he could leap +the gulf with her on his back. "If you are willing to risk a fall," +said he, "I will make the attempt." + +At once she sprang up and grabbed him around his neck with both her +arms. That is, she grabbed him where his neck ought to be, for the +Frogman had no neck at all. Then he squatted down, as frogs do when +they leap, and with his powerful rear legs he made a tremendous jump. +Over the gulf they sailed, with the Cookie Cook on his back, and he +had leaped so hard--to make sure of not falling in--that he sailed +over a lot of bramble bushes that grew on the other side and landed in +a clear space which was so far beyond the gulf that when they looked +back they could not see it at all. + +Cayke now got off the Frogman's back and he stood erect again and +carefully brushed the dust from his velvet coat and rearranged his white +satin necktie. + +"I had no idea I could leap so far," he said wonderingly. "Leaping is +one more accomplishment I can now add to the long list of deeds I am +able to perform." + +"You are certainly fine at leap-frog," said the Cookie Cook +admiringly, "but, as you say, you are wonderful in many ways. If we +meet with any people down here, I am sure they will consider you the +greatest and grandest of all living creatures." + +"Yes," he replied, "I shall probably astonish strangers, because they +have never before had the pleasure of seeing me. Also, they will +marvel at my great learning. Every time I open my mouth, Cayke, I am +liable to say something important." + +"That is true," she agreed, "and it is fortunate your mouth is so very +wide and opens so far, for otherwise all the wisdom might not be able +to get out of it." +"Perhaps nature made it wide for that very reason," said the Frogman. +"But come, let us now go on, for it is getting late and we must find +some sort of shelter before night overtakes us." + + + +CHAPTER 4 + +AMONG THE WINKIES + +The settled parts of the Winkie Country are full of happy and +contented people who are ruled by a tin Emperor named Nick Chopper, +who in turn is a subject of the beautiful girl Ruler, Ozma of Oz. But +not all of the Winkie Country is fully settled. At the east, which +part lies nearest the Emerald City, there are beautiful farmhouses and +roads, but as you travel west, you first come to a branch of the +Winkie River, beyond which there is a rough country where few people +live, and some of these are quite unknown to the rest of the world. +After passing through this rude section of territory, which no one +ever visits, you would come to still another branch of the Winkie +River, after crossing which you would find another well-settled part +of the Winkie Country extending westward quite to the Deadly Desert +that surrounds all the Land of Oz and separates that favored fairyland +from the more common outside world. The Winkies who live in this west +section have many tin mines, from which metal they make a great deal +of rich jewelry and other articles, all of which are highly esteemed +in the Land of Oz because tin is so bright and pretty and there is not +so much of it as there is of gold and silver. + +Not all the Winkies are miners, however, for some till the fields and +grow grains for food, and it was at one of these far-west Winkie farms +that the Frogman and Cayke the Cookie Cook first arrived after they +had descended from the mountain of the Yips. "Goodness me!" cried +Nellary the Winkie wife when she saw the strange couple approaching +her house. "I have seen many queer creatures in the Land of Oz, but +none more queer than this giant frog who dresses like a man and walks +on his hind legs. Come here, Wiljon," she called to her husband, who +was eating his breakfast, "and take a look at this astonishing freak." + +Wiljon the Winkie came to the door and looked out. He was still +standing in the doorway when the Frogman approached and said with a +haughty croak, "Tell me, my good man, have you seen a diamond-studded +gold dishpan?" + +"No, nor have I seen a copper-plated lobster," replied Wiljon in an +equally haughty tone. + +The Frogman stared at him and said, "Do not be insolent, fellow!" + +"No," added Cayke the Cookie Cook hastily, "you must be very polite to +the great Frogman, for he is the wisest creature in all the world." + +"Who says that?" inquired Wiljon. + +"He says so himself," replied Cayke, and the Frogman nodded and +strutted up and down, twirling his gold-headed cane very gracefully. + +"Does the Scarecrow admit that this overgrown frog is the wisest +creature in the world?" asked Wiljon. + +"I do not know who the Scarecrow is," answered Cayke the Cookie Cook. + +"Well, he lives at the Emerald City, and he is supposed to have the +finest brains in all Oz. The Wizard gave them to him, you know." + +"Mine grew in my head," said the Frogman pompously, "so I think they +must be better than any wizard brains. I am so wise that sometimes my +wisdom makes my head ache. I know so much that often I have to forget +part of it, since no one creature, however great, is able to contain +so much knowledge." + +"It must be dreadful to be stuffed full of wisdom," remarked Wiljon +reflectively and eyeing the Frogman with a doubtful look. "It is my +good fortune to know very little." + +"I hope, however, you know where my jeweled dishpan is," said the +Cookie Cook anxiously. + +"I do not know even that," returned the Winkie."We have trouble +enough in keeping track of our own dishpans without meddling with the +dishpans of strangers." + +Finding him so ignorant, the Frogman proposed that they walk on and +seek Cayke's dishpan elsewhere. Wiljon the Winkie did not seem +greatly impressed by the great Frogman, which seemed to that personage +as strange as it was disappointing. But others in this unknown land +might prove more respectful. + +"I'd like to meet that Wizard of Oz," remarked Cayke as they walked +along a path. "If he could give a Scarecrow brains, he might be able +to find my dishpan." + +"Poof!" grunted the Frogman scornfully. "I am greater than any +wizard. Depend on ME. If your dishpan is anywhere in the world, I am +sure to find it." + +"If you do not, my heart will be broken," declared the Cookie Cook in +a sorrowful voice. + +For a while the Frogman walked on in silence. Then he asked, "Why do +you attach so much importance to a dishpan?" + +"It is the greatest treasure I possess," replied the woman. "It +belonged to my mother and to all my grandmothers since the beginning +of time. It is, I believe, the very oldest thing in all the Yip +Country--or was while it was there--and," she added, dropping her +voice to an awed whisper, "it has magic powers!" + +"In what way?" inquired the Frogman, seeming to be surprised at this +statement. + +"Whoever has owned that dishpan has been a good cook, for one thing. +No one else is able to make such good cookies as I have cooked, as you +and all the Yips know. Yet the very morning after my dishpan was +stolen, I tried to make a batch of cookies and they burned up in the +oven! I made another batch that proved too tough to eat, and I was so +ashamed of them that I buried them in the ground. Even the third +batch of cookies, which I brought with me in my basket, were pretty +poor stuff and no better than any woman could make who does not own my +diamond-studded gold dishpan. In fact, my good Frogman, Cayke the +Cookie Cook will never be able to cook good cookies again until her +magic dishpan is restored to her." + +"In that case," said the Frogman with a sigh, "I suppose we must +manage to find it." + + +CHAPTER 5 + +OZMA'S FRIENDS ARE PERPLEXED + +"Really," said Dorothy, looking solemn, "this is very s'prising. We +can't even find a shadow of Ozma anywhere in the Em'rald City, and +wherever she's gone, she's taken her Magic Picture with her." She was +standing in the courtyard of the palace with Betsy and Trot, while +Scraps, the Patchwork Girl, danced around the group, her hair flying +in the wind. + +"P'raps," said Scraps, still dancing, "someone has stolen Ozma." + +"Oh, they'd never dare do that!" exclaimed tiny Trot. + +"And stolen the Magic Picture, too, so the thing can't tell where she +is," added the Patchwork Girl. + +"That's nonsense," said Dorothy. "Why, ev'ryone loves Ozma. There +isn't a person in the Land of Oz who would steal a single thing she +owns." + +"Huh!" replied the Patchwork Girl. "You don't know ev'ry person in +the Land of Oz." + +"Why don't I?" + +"It's a big country," said Scraps. "There are cracks and corners in +it that even Ozma doesn't know of." + +"The Patchwork Girl's just daffy," declared Betsy. + +"No, she's right about that," replied Dorothy thoughtfully. "There +are lots of queer people in this fairyland who never come near Ozma or +the Em'rald City. I've seen some of 'em myself, girls. But I haven't +seen all, of course, and there MIGHT be some wicked persons left in Oz +yet, though I think the wicked witches have all been destroyed." + +Just then the Wooden Sawhorse dashed into the courtyard with the +Wizard of Oz on his back. "Have you found Ozma?"cried the Wizard +when the Sawhorse stopped beside them. + +"Not yet," said Dorothy. "Doesn't Glinda the Good know where she is?" + +"No. Glinda's Book of Records and all her magic instruments are gone. +Someone must have stolen them." + +"Goodness me!"exclaimed Dorothy in alarm. "This is the biggest steal +I ever heard of. Who do you think did it, Wizard?" + +"I've no idea," he answered. + + "But I have come to get my own bag of +magic tools and carry them to Glinda. She is so much more powerful +than I that she may be able to discover the truth by means of my magic +quicker and better than I could myself." + +"Hurry, then," said Dorothy, "for we've all gotten terr'bly worried." + +The Wizard rushed away to his rooms but presently came back with a +long, sad face. "It's gone!" he said. + +"What's gone?" asked Scraps. + +"My black bag of magic tools. Someone must have stolen it!" + +They looked at one another in amazement. + +"This thing is getting desperate," continued the Wizard. +"All the magic that belongs to Ozma or to Glinda or to +me has been stolen." + +"Do you suppose Ozma could have taken them, herself, for some +purpose?" asked Betsy. + +"No indeed," declared the Wizard. "I suspect some enemy has stolen +Ozma and for fear we would follow and recapture her has taken all our +magic away from us." + +"How dreadful!" cried Dorothy. "The idea of anyone wanting to injure +our dear Ozma! Can't we do ANYthing to find her, Wizard?" + +"I'll ask Glinda. I must go straight back to her and tell her that my +magic tools have also disappeared. The good Sorceress will be greatly +shocked, I know." + +With this, he jumped upon the back of the Sawhorse again, and the +quaint steed, which never tired, dashed away at full speed. The three +girls were very much disturbed in mind. Even the Patchwork Girl +seemed to realize that a great calamity had overtaken them all. Ozma +was a fairy of considerable power, and all the creatures in Oz as well +as the three mortal girls from the outside world looked upon her as +their protector and friend. The idea of their beautiful girl Ruler's +being overpowered by an enemy and dragged from her splendid palace a +captive was too astonishing for them to comprehend at first. Yet what +other explanation of the mystery could there be? + +"Ozma wouldn't go away willingly, without letting us know about it," +asserted Dorothy, "and she wouldn't steal Glinda's Great Book of +Records or the Wizard's magic, 'cause she could get them any time just +by asking for 'em. I'm sure some wicked person has done all this." + +"Someone in the Land of Oz?" asked Trot. + +"Of course. + +No one could get across the Deadly Desert, you know, and +no one but an Oz person could know about the Magic Picture and the +Book of Records and the Wizard's magic or where they were kept, and so +be able to steal the whole outfit before we could stop 'em. It MUST +be someone who lives in the Land of Oz." + +"But who--who--who?" asked Scraps. "That's the question. Who?" + +"If we knew," replied Dorothy severely, "we wouldn't be standing +here doing nothing." + +Just then two boys entered the courtyard and approached the group of +girls. One boy was dressed in the fantastic Munchkin costume--a blue +jacket and knickerbockers, blue leather shoes and a blue hat with a +high peak and tiny silver bells dangling from its rim--and this was +Ojo the Lucky, who had once come from the Munchkin Country of Oz and +now lived in the Emerald City. The other boy was an American from +Philadelphia and had lately found his way to Oz in the company of Trot +and Cap'n Bill. His name was Button-Bright; that is, everyone called +him by that name and knew no other. Button-Bright was not quite as +big as the Munchkin boy, but he wore the same kind of clothes, only +they were of different colors. As the two came up to the girls, arm +in arm, Button-Bright remarked, "Hello, Dorothy. They say Ozma is +lost." + +"WHO says so?" she asked. + +."Ev'rybody's talking about it in the City," he replied. + +"I wonder how the people found it out," Dorothy asked. + +"I know," said Ojo. "Jellia Jamb told them. She has been asking +everywhere if anyone has seen Ozma." + +"That's too bad," observed Dorothy, frowning. + +"Why?" asked Button-Bright. + +"There wasn't any use making all our people unhappy till we were dead +certain that Ozma can't be found." + +"Pshaw," said Button-Bright, "it's nothing to get lost. I've been +lost lots of times." + +"That's true," admitted Trot, who knew that the boy had a habit of +getting lost and then finding himself again, "but it's diff'rent with +Ozma. She's the Ruler of all this big fairyland, and we're 'fraid +that the reason she's lost is because somebody has stolen her away." + +"Only wicked people steal," said Ojo. "Do you know of any wicked +people in Oz, Dorothy?" + +"No," she replied. + +"They're here, though," cried Scraps, dancing up to them and then +circling around the group. "Ozma's stolen; someone in Oz stole her; +only wicked people steal; so someone in Oz is wicked!" + +There was no denying the truth of this statement. The faces of all of +them were now solemn and sorrowful. "One thing is sure," said +Button-Bright after a time, "if Ozma has been stolen, someone ought to +find her and punish the thief." + +"There may be a lot of thieves," suggested Trot gravely, "and in this +fairy country they don't seem to have any soldiers or policemen." + +"There is one soldier," claimed Dorothy. + +"He has green whiskers and a gun and is a Major-General, +but no one is afraid of either his gun or his whiskers, 'cause +he's so tender-hearted that he wouldn't hurt a fly." + + +"Well, a soldier is a soldier," said Betsy, "and perhaps he'd hurt a +wicked thief if he wouldn't hurt a fly. Where is he?" + +"He went fishing about two months ago and hasn't come back yet," +explained Button-Bright. + +"Then I can't see that he will be of much use to us in this trouble," +sighed little Trot. "But p'raps Ozma, who is a fairy, can get away +from the thieves without any help from anyone." + +"She MIGHT be able to," answered Dorothy reflectively, "but if she had +the power to do that, it isn't likely she'd have let herself be +stolen. So the thieves must have been even more powerful in magic +than our Ozma." + +There was no denying this argument, and although they talked the +matter over all the rest of that day, they were unable to decide how +Ozma had been stolen against her will or who had committed the +dreadful deed. Toward evening the Wizard came back, riding slowly +upon the Sawhorse because he felt discouraged and perplexed. Glinda +came later in her aerial chariot drawn by twenty milk-white swans, and +she also seemed worried and unhappy. More of Ozma's friends joined +them, and that evening they all had a big talk together. "I think," +said Dorothy, "we ought to start out right away in search of our dear +Ozma. It seems cruel for us to live comf'tably in her palace while +she is a pris'ner in the power of some wicked enemy." + +"Yes," agreed Glinda the Sorceress, "someone ought to search for her. +I cannot go myself, because I must work hard in order to create some +new instruments of sorcery by means of which I may rescue our fair +Ruler. But if you can find her in the meantime and let me know who +has stolen her, it will enable me to rescue her much more quickly." + +"Then we'll start tomorrow morning," decided Dorothy. "Betsy and Trot +and I won't waste another minute." + +"I'm not sure you girls will make good detectives," remarked the +Wizard, "but I'll go with you to protect you from harm and to give you +my advice. All my wizardry, alas, is stolen, so I am now really no +more a wizard than any of you, but I will try to protect you from any +enemies you may meet." + +"What harm could happen to us in Oz?" inquired Trot. + +"What harm happened to Ozma?" returned the Wizard. + +"If there is an Evil Power abroad in our fairyland, which is able to +steal not only Ozma and her Magic Picture, but Glinda's Book of +Records and all her magic, and my black bag containing all my +tricks of wizardry, then that Evil Power may yet cause us considerable +injury. Ozma is a fairy, and so is Glinda, so no power can kill or +destroy them, but you girls are all mortals and so are Button-Bright +and I, so we must watch out for ourselves." + +"Nothing can kill me," said Ojo the Munchkin boy. + +"That is true," replied the Sorceress, "and I think it may be well to +divide the searchers into several parties, that they may cover all the +land of Oz more quickly. So I will send Ojo and Unc Nunkie and Dr. +Pipt into the Munchkin Country, which they are well acquainted with; +and I will send the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman into the Quadling +Country, for they are fearless and brave and never tire; and to the +Gillikin Country, where many dangers lurk, I will send the Shaggy Man +and his brother, with Tik-Tok and Jack Pumpkinhead. Dorothy may make +up her own party and travel into the Winkie Country. All of you must +inquire everywhere for Ozma and try to discover where she is hidden." + +They thought this a very wise plan and adopted it without question. +In Ozma's absence, Glinda the Good was the most important person in +Oz, and all were glad to serve under her direction. + + + +CHAPTER 6 + +THE SEARCH PARTY + +Next morning as soon as the sun was up, Glinda flew back to her +castle, stopping on the way to instruct the Scarecrow and the Tin +Woodman, who were at that time staying at the college of Professor H. +M. Wogglebug, T.E., and taking a course of his Patent Educational Pills. + +On hearing of Ozma's loss, they started at once for the +Quadling Country to search for her. As soon as Glinda had left the +Emerald City, Tik-Tok and the Shaggy Man and Jack Pumpkinhead, who had +been present at the conference, began their journey into the Gillikin +Country, and an hour later Ojo and Unc Nunkie joined Dr. Pipt and +together they traveled toward the Munchkin Country. When all these +searchers were gone, Dorothy and the Wizard completed their own +preparations. + +The Wizard hitched the Sawhorse to the Red Wagon, which would seat +four very comfortably. He wanted Dorothy, Betsy, Trot and the +Patchwork Girl to ride in the wagon, but Scraps came up to them +mounted upon the Woozy, and the Woozy said he would like to join the +party. Now this Woozy was a most peculiar animal, having a square +head, square body, square legs and square tail. His skin was very +tough and hard, resembling leather, and while his movements were +somewhat clumsy, the beast could travel with remarkable swiftness. +His square eyes were mild and gentle in expression, and he was not +especially foolish. The Woozy and the Patchwork Girl were great +friends, and so the Wizard agreed to let the Woozy go with them. + +Another great beast now appeared and asked to go along. This was none +other than the famous Cowardly Lion, one of the most interesting +creatures in all Oz. No lion that roamed the jungles or plains could +compare in size or intelligence with this Cowardly Lion, who--like all +animals living in Oz--could talk and who talked with more shrewdness +and wisdom than many of the people did. He said he was cowardly +because he always trembled when he faced danger, but he had faced +danger many times and never refused to fight when it was necessary. +This Lion was a great favorite with Ozma and always guarded her throne +on state occasions. He was also an old companion and friend of the +Princess Dorothy, so the girl was delighted to have him join the +party. + +"I'm so nervous over our dear Ozma," said the Cowardly Lion in his +deep, rumbling voice, "that it would make me unhappy to remain behind +while you are trying to find her. But do not get into any danger, I +beg of you, for danger frightens me terribly." + +"We'll not get into danger if we can poss'bly help it," promised +Dorothy, "but we shall do anything to find Ozma, danger or no danger." + +The addition of the Woozy and the Cowardly Lion to the party gave +Betsy Bobbin an idea, and she ran to the marble stables at the rear of +the palace and brought out her mule, Hank by name. Perhaps no mule +you ever saw was so lean and bony and altogether plain looking as this +Hank, but Betsy loved him dearly because he was faithful and steady +and not nearly so stupid as most mules are considered to be. Betsy +had a saddle for Hank, and he declared she would ride on his back, an +arrangement approved by the Wizard because it left only four of the +party to ride on the seats of the Red Wagon--Dorothy and Button-Bright +and Trot and himself. + +An old sailor man who had one wooden leg came to see them off and +suggested that they put a supply of food and blankets in the Red Wagon +inasmuch as they were uncertain how long they would be gone. This +sailor man was called Cap'n Bill. He was a former friend and comrade +of Trot and had encountered many adventures in company with the little +girl. I think he was sorry he could not go with her on this trip, but +Glinda the Sorceress had asked Cap'n Bill to remain in the Emerald +City and take charge of the royal palace while everyone else was away, +and the one-legged sailor had agreed to do so. + +They loaded the back end of the Red Wagon with everything they thought +they might need, and then they formed a procession and marched from +the palace through the Emerald City to the great gates of the wall +that surrounded this beautiful capital of the Land of Oz. Crowds of +citizens lined the streets to see them pass and to cheer them and wish +them success, for all were grieved over Ozma's loss and anxious that +she be found again. First came the Cowardly Lion, then the Patchwork +Girl riding upon the Woozy, then Betsy Bobbin on her mule Hank, and +finally the Sawhorse drawing the Red Wagon, in which were seated the +Wizard and Dorothy and Button-Bright and Trot. No one was obliged to +drive the Sawhorse, so there were no reins to his harness; one had +only to tell him which way to go, fast or slow, and he understood +perfectly. + +It was about this time that a shaggy little black dog who had been +lying asleep in Dorothy's room in the palace woke up and discovered he +was lonesome. Everything seemed very still throughout the great building, +and Toto--that was the little dog's name--missed the customary chatter +of the three girls. He never paid much attention to what was going +on around him, and although he could speak, he seldom said anything, +so the little dog did not know about Ozma's loss or that everyone +had gone in search of her. But he liked to be with people, and especially +with his own mistress, Dorothy, and having yawned and stretched +himself and found the door of the room ajar, he trotted out into the +corridor and went down the stately marble stairs to the hall of the +palace, where he met Jellia Jamb. + +"Where's Dorothy?" asked Toto. + +."She's gone to the Winkie Country," answered the maid. + +"When?" + +"A little while ago," replied Jellia. + +Toto turned and trotted out into the palace garden and down the long +driveway until he came to the streets of the Emerald City. Here he +paused to listen, and hearing sounds of cheering, he ran swiftly along +until he came in sight of the Red Wagon and the Woozy and the Lion and +the Mule and all the others. Being a wise little dog, he decided not +to show himself to Dorothy just then, lest he be sent back home, but +he never lost sight of the party of travelers, all of whom were so +eager to get ahead that they never thought to look behind them. When +they came to the gates in the city wall, the Guardian of the Gates +came out to throw wide the golden portals and let them pass through. + +"Did any strange person come in or out of the city on the night before +last when Ozma was stolen?" asked Dorothy. + +"No indeed, Princess," answered the Guardian of the Gates. + +"Of course not," said the Wizard. "Anyone clever enough to steal all +the things we have lost would not mind the barrier of a wall like this +in the least. I think the thief must have flown through the air, for +otherwise he could not have stolen from Ozma's royal palace and +Glinda's faraway castle in the same night. Moreover, as there are no +airships in Oz and no way for airships from the outside world to get +into this country, I believe the thief must have flown from place to +place by means of magic arts which neither Glinda nor I understand." + +On they went, and before the gates closed behind them, Toto managed to +dodge through them. The country surrounding the Emerald City was +thickly settled, and for a while our friends rode over nicely paved +roads which wound through a fertile country dotted with beautiful +houses, all built in the quaint Oz fashion. In the course of a few +hours, however, they had left the tilled fields and entered the +Country of the Winkies, which occupies a quarter of all the territory +in the Land of Oz but is not so well known as many other parts of +Ozma's fairyland. Long before night the travelers had crossed the +Winkie River near to the Scarecrow's Tower (which was now vacant) and +had entered the Rolling Prairie where few people live. They asked +everyone they met for news of Ozma, but none in this district had seen +her or even knew that she had been stolen. And by nightfall they had +passed all the farmhouses and were obliged to stop and ask for shelter +at the hut of a lonely shepherd. When they halted, Toto was not far +behind. The little dog halted, too, and stealing softly around the +party, he hid himself behind the hut. + +The shepherd was a kindly old man and treated the travelers with much +courtesy. He slept out of doors that night, giving up his hut to the +three girls, who made their beds on the floor with the blankets they +had brought in the Red Wagon. The Wizard and Button-Bright also slept +out of doors, and so did the Cowardly Lion and Hank the Mule. But +Scraps and the Sawhorse did not sleep at all, and the Woozy could stay +awake for a month at a time if he wished to, so these three sat in a +little group by themselves and talked together all through the night. + +In the darkness, the Cowardly Lion felt a shaggy little form nestling +beside his own, and he said sleepily, "Where did you come from, Toto?" + +"From home," said the dog. "If you roll over, roll the other way so +you won't smash me." + +"Does Dorothy know you are here?" asked the Lion. + +"I believe not," admitted Toto, and he added a little anxiously, "Do +you think, friend Lion, we are now far enough from the Emerald City +for me to risk showing myself, or will Dorothy send me back because I +wasn't invited?" + +"Only Dorothy can answer that question," said the Lion. "For my part, +Toto, I consider this affair none of my business, so you must act as +you think best." Then the huge beast went to sleep again, and Toto +snuggled closer to the warm, hairy body and also slept. He was a wise +little dog in his way, and didn't intend to worry when there was +something much better to do. + +In the morning the Wizard built a fire, over which the girls cooked a +very good breakfast. Suddenly Dorothy discovered Toto sitting quietly +before the fire, and the little girl exclaimed, "Goodness me, Toto! +Where did YOU come from?" + +"From the place you cruelly left me," replied the dog in a reproachful +tone. + +"I forgot all about you," admitted Dorothy, "and if I hadn't, I'd +prob'ly left you with Jellia Jamb, seeing this isn't a pleasure trip +but stric'ly business. But now that you're here, Toto, I s'pose +you'll have to stay with us, unless you'd rather go back again. We +may get ourselves into trouble before we're done, Toto." + +"Never mind that," said Toto, wagging his tail."I'm hungry, +Dorothy." + +"Breakfas'll soon be ready, and then you shall have your share," +promised his little mistress, who was really glad to have her dog with +her. She and Toto had traveled together before, and she knew he was a +good and faithful comrade. + +When the food was cooked and served, the girls invited the old +shepherd to join them in the morning meal. He willingly consented, +and while they ate he said to them, "You are now about to pass through +a very dangerous country, unless you turn to the north or to the south +to escape its perils." + +"In that case," said the Cowardly Lion, "let us turn, by all means, +for I dread to face dangers of any sort." + +"What's the matter with the country ahead of us?" + inquired Dorothy. + +"Beyond this Rolling Prairie," explained the shepherd, "are the +Merry-Go-Round Mountains, set close together and surrounded by deep +gulfs so that no one is able to get past them. Beyond the +Merry-Go-Round Mountains it is said the Thistle-Eaters and the Herkus +live." + +"What are they like?" demanded Dorothy. + +"No one knows, for no one has ever passed the Merry-Go-Round +Mountains," was the reply, "but it is said that the Thistle-Eaters +hitch dragons to their chariots and that the Herkus are waited upon by +giants whom they have conquered and made their slaves." + +"Who says all that?" asked Betsy. + +"It is common report," declared the shepherd. +"Everyone believes it." + +"I don't see how they know," remarked little Trot, "if no one has been +there." + +"Perhaps the birds who fly over that country brought the news," +suggested Betsy. + +"If you escaped those dangers," continued the shepherd, "you might +encounter others still more serious before you came to the next branch +of the Winkie River. It is true that beyond that river there lies a +fine country inhabited by good people, and if you reached there, you +would have no further trouble. It is between here and the west branch +of the Winkie River that all dangers lie, for that is the unknown +territory that is inhabited by terrible, lawless people." + +"It may be, and it may not be," said the Wizard. "We shall know when +we get there." + +"Well," persisted the shepherd, "in a fairy country such as ours, +every undiscovered place is likely to harbor wicked creatures. If +they were not wicked, they would discover themselves and by coming +among us submit to Ozma's rule and be good and considerate, as are all +the Oz people whom we know." + +"That argument," stated the little Wizard, "convinces me that it is +our duty to go straight to those unknown places, however dangerous +they may be, for it is surely some cruel and wicked person who has +stolen our Ozma, and we know it would be folly to search among good +people for the culprit. Ozma may not be hidden in the secret places +of the Winkie Country, it is true, but it is our duty to travel to +every spot, however dangerous, where our beloved Ruler is likely to be +imprisoned." + +"You're right about that," said Button-Bright approvingly. "Dangers +don't hurt us. Only things that happen ever hurt anyone, and a danger +is a thing that might happen and might not happen, and sometimes don't +amount to shucks. + +I vote we go ahead and take our chances." + +They were all of the same opinion, so they packed up and said goodbye +to the friendly shepherd and proceeded on their way. + + + +CHAPTER 7 + + +THE MERRY-GO-ROUND MOUNTAINS + +The Rolling Prairie was not difficult to travel over, although it was +all uphill and downhill, so for a while they made good progress. Not +even a shepherd was to be met with now, and the farther they advanced +the more dreary the landscape became. At noon they stopped for a +"picnic luncheon," as Betsy called it, and then they again resumed +their journey. All the animals were swift and tireless, and even the +Cowardly Lion and the Mule found they could keep up with the pace of +the Woozy and the Sawhorse. + +It was the middle of the afternoon when first they came in sight of a +cluster of low mountains. These were cone-shaped, rising from broad +bases to sharp peaks at the tops. From a distance the mountains +appeared indistinct and seemed rather small--more like hills than +mountains--but as the travelers drew nearer, they noted a most unusual +circumstance: the hills were all whirling around, some in one +direction and some the opposite way. + +"I guess these are the Merry-Go-Round Mountains, all right," said +Dorothy. + +"They must be," said the Wizard. + +"They go 'round, sure enough," agreed Trot, "but they don't seem very +merry." + +There were several rows of these mountains, extending both to the +right and to the left for miles and miles. How many rows there might +be none could tell, but between the first row of peaks could be seen +other peaks, all steadily whirling around one way or another. +Continuing to ride nearer, our friends watched these hills +attentively, until at last, coming close up, they discovered there was +a deep but narrow gulf around the edge of each mountain, and that the +mountains were set so close together that the outer gulf was +continuous and barred farther advance. At the edge of the gulf they +all dismounted and peered over into its depths. There was no telling +where the bottom was, if indeed there was any bottom at all. From +where they stood it seemed as if the mountains had been set in one +great hole in the ground, just close enough together so they would not +touch, and that each mountain was supported by a rocky column beneath +its base which extended far down in the black pit below. From the +land side it seemed impossible to get across the gulf or, succeeding +in that, to gain a foothold on any of the whirling mountains. + +"This ditch is too wide to jump across," remarked Button-Bright. + +"P'raps the Lion could do it," suggested Dorothy. + +"What, jump from here to that whirling hill?" cried the Lion +indignantly. "I should say not! Even if I landed there and could +hold on, what good would it do? There's another spinning mountain +beyond it, and perhaps still another beyond that. I don't believe any +living creature could jump from one mountain to another when both are +whirling like tops and in different directions." + +"I propose we turn back," said the Wooden Sawhorse with a yawn of his +chopped-out mouth as he stared with his knot eyes at the +Merry-Go-Round Mountains. + +"I agree with you," said the Woozy, wagging his square head. + +"We should have taken the shepherd's advice," added Hank the Mule. + +The others of the party, however they might be puzzled by the serious +problem that confronted them, would not allow themselves to despair. +"If we once get over these mountains," said Button-Bright, "we could +probably get along all right." + +"True enough," agreed Dorothy. "So we must find some way, of course, +to get past these whirligig hills. But how?" + +"I wish the Ork was with us," sighed Trot. + +"But the Ork isn't here," said the Wizard, "and we must depend upon +ourselves to conquer this difficulty. Unfortunately, all my magic has +been stolen, otherwise I am sure I could easily get over the +mountains." + +"Unfortunately," observed the Woozy, "none of us has wings. And we're +in a magic country without any magic." + +"What is that around your waist, Dorothy?" asked the Wizard. + +"That? Oh, that's just the Magic Belt I once captured from the Nome +King," she replied. + +"A Magic Belt! Why, that's fine. I'm sure a Magic Belt would take +you over these hills." + +"It might if I knew how to work it," said the little girl. "Ozma +knows a lot of its magic, but I've never found out about it. All I +know is that while I am wearing it, nothing can hurt me." + +"Try wishing yourself across and see if it will obey you," suggested +the Wizard. + +"But what good would that do?" asked Dorothy. "If I got across, it +wouldn't help the rest of you, and I couldn't go alone among all those +giants and dragons while you stayed here." + +"True enough," agreed the Wizard sadly. And then, after looking +around the group, he inquired, "What is that on your finger, Trot?" + +"A ring. The Mermaids gave it to me," she explained, "and if ever I'm +in trouble when I'm on the water, I can call the Mermaids and they'll +come and help me. But the Mermaids can't help me on the land, you +know, 'cause they swim, and--and--they haven't any legs." + +"True enough," repeated the Wizard, more sadly. + +There was a big, broad, spreading tree near the edge of the gulf, and +as the sun was hot above them, they all gathered under the shade of +the tree to study the problem of what to do next. "If we had a long +rope," said Betsy, "we could fasten it to this tree and let the other +end of it down into the gulf and all slide down it." + +"Well, what then?" asked the Wizard. + +"Then, if we could manage to throw the rope up the other side," +explained the girl, "we could all climb it and be on the other side of +the gulf." + +"There are too many 'if's' in that suggestion," remarked the little +Wizard. "And you must remember that the other side is nothing but +spinning mountains, so we couldn't possibly fasten a rope to them, +even if we had one." + +"That rope idea isn't half bad, though," said the Patchwork Girl, who +had been dancing dangerously near to the edge of the gulf. + +"What do you mean?" asked Dorothy. + +The Patchwork Girl suddenly stood still and cast her button eyes +around the group. "Ha, I have it!" she exclaimed. "Unharness the +Sawhorse, somebody. My fingers are too clumsy." + +"Shall we?" asked Button-Bright doubtfully, turning to the others. + +"Well, Scraps has a lot of brains, even if she IS stuffed with +cotton," asserted the Wizard. "If her brains can help us out of this +trouble, we ought to use them." + +So he began unharnessing the Sawhorse, and Button-Bright and Dorothy +helped him. When they had removed the harness, the Patchwork Girl +told them to take it all apart and buckle the straps together, end to +end. And after they had done this, they found they had one very long +strap that was stronger than any rope. "It would reach across the +gulf easily," said the Lion, who with the other animals had sat on his +haunches and watched this proceeding. "But I don't see how it could +be fastened to one of those dizzy mountains." + +Scraps had no such notion as that in her baggy head. She told them to +fasten one end of the strap to a stout limb of the tree, pointing to +one which extended quite to the edge of the gulf. Button-Bright did +that, climbing the tree and then crawling out upon the limb until he +was nearly over the gulf. There he managed to fasten the strap, which +reached to the ground below, and then he slid down it and was caught +by the Wizard, who feared he might fall into the chasm. Scraps was +delighted. She seized the lower end of the strap, and telling them +all to get out of her way, she went back as far as the strap would +reach and then made a sudden run toward the gulf. Over the edge she +swung, clinging to the strap until it had gone as far as its length +permitted, when she let go and sailed gracefully through the air until +she alighted upon the mountain just in front of them. + +Almost instantly, as the great cone continued to whirl, she was sent +flying against the next mountain in the rear, and that one had only +turned halfway around when Scraps was sent flying to the next mountain +behind it. Then her patchwork form disappeared from view entirely, +and the amazed watchers under the tree wondered what had become of +her. "She's gone, and she can't get back," said the Woozy. + +"My, how she bounded from one mountain to another!" exclaimed the +Lion. + +"That was because they whirl so fast," the Wizard explained. "Scraps +had nothing to hold on to, and so of course she was tossed from one +hill to another. I'm afraid we shall never see the poor Patchwork +Girl again." + +"I shall see her," declared the Woozy. "Scraps is an old friend of +mine, and if there are really Thistle-Eaters and Giants on the other +side of those tops, she will need someone to protect her. So here I +go!" He seized the dangling strap firmly in his square mouth, and in +the same way that Scraps had done swung himself over the gulf. He let +go the strap at the right moment and fell upon the first whirling +mountain. Then he bounded to the next one back of it--not on his +feet, but "all mixed up," as Trot said--and then he shot across to +another mountain, disappearing from view just as the Patchwork Girl +had done. + +"It seems to work, all right," remarked Button-Bright. "I guess I'll +try it." + +"Wait a minute," urged the Wizard. "Before any more of us make this +desperate leap into the beyond, we must decide whether all will go or +if some of us will remain behind." + +"Do you s'pose it hurt them much to bump against those mountains?" +asked Trot. + +"I don't s'pose anything could hurt Scraps or the Woozy," said +Dorothy, "and nothing can hurt ME, because I wear the Magic Belt. So +as I'm anxious to find Ozma, I mean to swing myself across too." + +"I'll take my chances," decided Button-Bright. + +"I'm sure it will hurt dreadfully, and I'm afraid to do it," said the +Lion, who was already trembling, "but I shall do it if Dorothy does." + +"Well, that will leave Betsy and the Mule and Trot," said the Wizard, +"for of course I shall go that I may look after Dorothy. Do you two +girls think you can find your way back home again?" he asked, +addressing Trot and Betsy. + +"I'm not afraid. Not much, that is," said Trot. "It looks risky, I +know, but I'm sure I can stand it if the others can." + +"If it wasn't for leaving Hank," began Betsy in a hesitating voice. + +But the Mule interrupted her by saying, "Go ahead if you want to, and +I'll come after you. A mule is as brave as a lion any day." + +"Braver," said the Lion, "for I'm a coward, friend Hank, and you are +not. But of course the Sawhorse--" + +"Oh, nothing ever hurts ME," asserted the Sawhorse calmly. "There's +never been any question about my going. I can't take the Red Wagon, +though." + +"No, we must leave the wagon," said the wizard, "and also we must +leave our food and blankets, I fear. But if we can defy these +Merry-Go-Round Mountains to stop us, we won't mind the sacrifice of +some of our comforts." + +"No one knows where we're going to land!" remarked the Lion in a voice +that sounded as if he were going to cry. + +"We may not land at all," replied Hank, "but the best way to find out +what will happen to us is to swing across as Scraps and the Woozy have +done." + +"I think I shall go last," said the Wizard, "so who wants to go +first?" + +"I'll go," decided Dorothy. + +"No, it's my turn first," said Button-Bright. "Watch me!" + +Even as he spoke, the boy seized the strap, and after making a run +swung himself across the gulf. Away he went, bumping from hill to +hill until he disappeared. They listened intently, but the boy uttered +no cry until he had been gone some moments, when they heard a faint +Hullo-a!" as if called from a great distance. The sound gave them courage, +however, and Dorothy picked up Toto and held him fast under one arm +while with the other hand she seized the strap and bravely followed +after Button-Bright. + +When she struck the first whirling mountain, she fell upon it quite +softly, but before she had time to think, she flew through the air and +lit with a jar on the side of the next mountain. Again she flew and +alighted, and again and still again, until after five successive bumps +she fell sprawling upon a green meadow and was so dazed and bewildered +by her bumpy journey across the Merry-Go-Round Mountains that she lay +quite still for a time to collect her thoughts. Toto had escaped from +her arms just as she fell, and he now sat beside her panting with +excitement. Then Dorothy realized that someone was helping her to her +feet, and here was Button-Bright on one side of her and Scraps on the +other, both seeming to be unhurt. The next object her eyes fell upon +was the Woozy, squatting upon his square back end and looking at her +reflectively, while Toto barked joyously to find his mistress unhurt +after her whirlwind trip. + +"Good!"said the Woozy. "Here's another and a dog, both safe and +sound. But my word, Dorothy, you flew some! If you could have seen +yourself, you'd have been absolutely astonished." + +"They say 'Time flies,'20" laughed Button-Bright, "but Time never +made a quicker journey than that." + +Just then, as Dorothy turned around to look at the whirling mountains, +she was in time to see tiny Trot come flying from the nearest hill to +fall upon the soft grass not a yard away from where she stood. Trot +was so dizzy she couldn't stand at first, but she wasn't at all hurt, +and presently Betsy came flying to them and would have bumped into the +others had they not retreated in time to avoid her. Then, in quick +succession, came the Lion, Hank and the Sawhorse, bounding from +mountain to mountain to fall safely upon the greensward. Only the +Wizard was now left behind, and they waited so long for him that +Dorothy began to be worried. + +But suddenly he came flying from the nearest mountain and +tumbled heels over head beside them. Then they saw that +he had wound two of their blankets around his body to keep +the bumps from hurting him and had fastened the blankets with some of +the spare straps from the harness of the Sawhorse. + + + +CHAPTER 8 + + +THE MYSTERIOUS CITY + +There they sat upon the grass, their heads still swimming from their +dizzy flights, and looked at one another in silent bewilderment. But +presently, when assured that no one was injured, they grew more calm +and collected, and the Lion said with a sigh of relief, "Who would +have thought those Merry-Go-Round Mountains were made of rubber?" + +"Are they really rubber?" asked Trot. + +"They must be," replied the Lion, "for otherwise we would not have +bounded so swiftly from one to another without getting hurt." + +"That is all guesswork," declared the Wizard, unwinding the blankets +from his body, "for none of us stayed long enough on the mountains to +discover what they are made of. But where are we?" + +"That's guesswork," said Scraps. "The shepherd said the +Thistle-Eaters live this side of the mountains and are waited on by +giants." + +"Oh no," said Dorothy, "it's the Herkus who have giant slaves, and the +Thistle-Eaters hitch dragons to their chariots." + +"How could they do that?" asked the Woozy. "Dragons have long tails, +which would get in the way of the chariot wheels." + +"And if the Herkus have conquered the giants," said Trot, "they must +be at least twice the size of giants. P'raps the Herkus are the +biggest people in all the world!" + +"Perhaps they are," assented the Wizard in a thoughtful tone of voice. +"And perhaps the shepherd didn't know what he was talking about. Let +us travel on toward the west and discover for ourselves what the +people of this country are like." + +It seemed a pleasant enough country, and it was quite still and +peaceful when they turned their eyes away from the silently whirling +mountains. There were trees here and there and green bushes, while +throughout the thick grass were scattered brilliantly colored flowers. +About a mile away was a low hill that hid from them all the country +beyond it, so they realized they could not tell much about the country +until they had crossed the hill. The Red Wagon having been left +behind, it was now necessary to make other arrangements for traveling. +The Lion told Dorothy she could ride upon his back as she had often +done before, and the Woozy said he could easily carry both Trot and +the Patchwork Girl. Betsy still had her mule, Hank, and Button-Bright +and the Wizard could sit together upon the long, thin back of the +Sawhorse, but they took care to soften their seat with a pad of +blankets before they started. Thus mounted, the adventurers started +for the hill, which was reached after a brief journey. + +As they mounted the crest and gazed beyond the hill, they discovered +not far away a walled city, from the towers and spires of which gay +banners were flying. It was not a very big city, indeed, but its +walls were very high and thick, and it appeared that the people who +lived there must have feared attack by a powerful enemy, else they +would not have surrounded their dwellings with so strong a barrier. +There was no path leading from the mountains to the city, and this +proved that the people seldom or never visited the whirling hills, but +our friends found the grass soft and agreeable to travel over, and +with the city before them they could not well lose their way. When +they drew nearer to the walls, the breeze carried to their ears the +sound of music--dim at first, but growing louder as they advanced. + +"That doesn't seem like a very terr'ble place," remarked Dorothy. + +"Well, it LOOKS all right," replied Trot from her seat on the Woozy, +"but looks can't always be trusted." + +"MY looks can," said Scraps. "I LOOK patchwork, and I AM patchwork, +and no one but a blind owl could ever doubt that I'm the Patchwork +Girl." Saying which, she turned a somersault off the Woozy and, +alighting on her feet, began wildly dancing about. + +"Are owls ever blind?" asked Trot. + +"Always, in the daytime," said Button-Bright. "But Scraps can see +with her button eyes both day and night. Isn't it queer?" + +"It's queer that buttons can see at all," answered Trot. "But good +gracious! What's become of the city?" + +"I was going to ask that myself," said Dorothy. "It's +gone!" + +"It's gone!" + +The animals came to a sudden halt, for the city had really +disappeared, walls and all, and before them lay the clear, unbroken +sweep of the country. "Dear me!" exclaimed the Wizard. "This is +rather disagreeable. It is annoying to travel almost to a place and +then find it is not there." + +"Where can it be, then?" asked Dorothy. "It cert'nly was there a +minute ago." + +"I can hear the music yet," declared Button-Bright, and when they all +listened, the strains of music could plainly be heard. + +"Oh! There's the city over at the left," called Scraps, and turning +their eyes, they saw the walls and towers and fluttering banners far +to the left of them. + +"We must have lost our way," suggested Dorothy. + +"Nonsense," said the Lion. + +"I, and all the other animals, have been +tramping straight toward the city ever since we first saw it." + +"Then how does it happen--" + +"Never mind," interrupted the Wizard, "we are no farther from it than +we were before. It is in a different direction, that's all, so let us +hurry and get there before it again escapes us." + +So on they went directly toward the city, which seemed only a couple +of miles distant. But when they had traveled less than a mile, it +suddenly disappeared again. Once more they paused, somewhat +discouraged, but in a moment the button eyes of Scraps again +discovered the city, only this time it was just behind them in the +direction from which they had come. "Goodness gracious!" cried +Dorothy. "There's surely something wrong with that city. Do you +s'pose it's on wheels, Wizard?" + +"It may not be a city at all," he replied, looking toward it with a +speculative glance. + +"What COULD it be, then?" + +"Just an illusion." + +"What's that?" asked Trot. + +"Something you think you see and don't see." + +"I can't believe that," said Button-Bright. "If we only saw it, we +might be mistaken, but if we can see it and hear it, too, it must be +there." + +"Where?" asked the Patchwork Girl. + +"Somewhere near us," he insisted. + +We will have to go back, I suppose," said the Woozy with a sigh. + +So back they turned and headed for the walled city until it +disappeared again, only to reappear at the right of them. They were +constantly getting nearer to it, however, so they kept their faces +turned toward it as it flitted here and there to all points of the +compass. Presently the Lion, who was leading the procession, halted +abruptly and cried out, "Ouch!" + +"What's the matter?" asked Dorothy. + +"Ouch -- Ouch!~ repeated the Lion, and leaped +backward so suddenly that Dorothy nearly tumbled from +his back. At the same time Hank the Mule yelled "Ouch!""Ouch! Ouch!" repeated the Lion and +leaped backward so suddenly that +Dorothy nearly tumbled from his back. At the same time, Hank the Mule +yelled "Ouch!" almost as loudly as the Lion had done, and he also +pranced backward a few paces. + +"It's the thistles," said Betsy. + +"They prick their legs." + +Hearing this, all looked down, and sure enough the ground was thick +with thistles, which covered the plain from the point where they stood +way up to the walls of the mysterious city. No pathways through them +could be seen at all; here the soft grass ended and the growth of +thistles began. "They're the prickliest thistles I ever felt," +grumbled the Lion. "My legs smart yet from their stings, though I +jumped out of them as quickly as I could." + +"Here is a new difficulty," remarked the Wizard in a grieved tone. +"The city has stopped hopping around, it is true, but how are we to +get to it over this mass of prickers?" + +"They can't hurt ME," said the thick-skinned Woozy, advancing +fearlessly and trampling among the thistles. + +"Nor me," said the Wooden Sawhorse. + +"But the Lion and the Mule cannot stand the prickers," asserted +Dorothy, "and we can't leave them behind." + +"Must we all go back?" asked Trot. + +"Course not!" replied Button-Bright scornfully. +"Always when there's trouble, there's a way out of it if you can find it." + +"I wish the Scarecrow was here," said Scraps, standing on her head on +the Woozy's square back. "His splendid brains would soon show us how +to conquer this field of thistles." + +"What's the matter with YOUR brains?" asked the boy. + +"Nothing," she said, making a flip-flop into the thistles and dancing +among them without feeling their sharp points. "I could tell you in +half a minute how to get over the thistles if I wanted to." + +"Tell us, Scraps!" begged Dorothy. + +"I don't want to wear my brains out with overwork," replied the +Patchwork Girl. + +"Don't you love Ozma? And don't you want to find her?" asked Betsy +reproachfully. + +"Yes indeed," said Scraps, walking on her hands as an acrobat does at +the circus. + +"Well, we can't find Ozma unless we get past these thistles," declared +Dorothy. + +Scraps danced around them two or three times without reply. Then she +said, "Don't look at me, you stupid folks. Look at those blankets." + +The Wizard's face brightened at once. + +"Why didn't we think of those blankets before?" + +"Because you haven't magic brains," laughed Scraps. + "Such brains as you have are of the common sort that grow in your heads, +like weeds in a garden. I'm sorry for you people who have to be born in order to be +alive." + +But the Wizard was not listening to her. He quickly removed the +blankets from the back of the Sawhorse and spread one of them upon the +thistles, just next the grass. The thick cloth rendered the prickers +harmless, so the Wizard walked over this first blanket and spread the +second one farther on, in the direction of the phantom city. "These +blankets," said he, "are for the Lion and the Mule to walk upon. The +Sawhorse and the Woozy can walk on the thistles." + +So the Lion and the Mule walked over the first blanket and stood upon +the second one until the Wizard had picked up the one they had passed +over and spread it in front of them, when they advanced to that one +and waited while the one behind them was again spread in front. "This +is slow work," said the Wizard, "but it will get us to the city after +a while." + +"The city is a good half mile away yet," announced Button-Bright. + +"And this is awful hard work for the Wizard," added Trot. + +"Why couldn't the Lion ride on the Woozy's back?" + asked Dorothy."it's a big, flat back, and the Woozy's mighty strong. +Perhaps the Lion wouldn't fall off." + +"You may try it if you like," said the Woozy to the Lion. "I can take +you to the city in a jiffy and then come back for Hank." + +"I'm--I'm afraid," said the Cowardly Lion. He was twice as big as the +Woozy. + +"Try it," pleaded Dorothy. + +"And take a tumble among the thistles?"asked the Lion reproachfully. +But when the Woozy came close to him, the big beast suddenly bounded +upon its back and managed to balance himself there, although forced to +hold his four legs so close together that he was in danger of toppling +over. The great weight of the monster Lion did not seem to affect the +Woozy, who called to his rider, "Hold on tight!" and ran swiftly over +the thistles toward the city. The others stood on the blanket and +watched the strange sight anxiously. Of course, the Lion couldn't +"hold on tight" because there was nothing to hold to, and he swayed +from side to side as if likely to fall off any moment. Still, he +managed to stick to the Woozy's back until they were close to the +walls of the city, when he leaped to the ground. Next moment the +Woozy came dashing back at full speed. + +"There's a little strip of ground next the wall where there are no +thistles," he told them when he had reached the adventurers once more. +"Now then, friend Hank, see if you can ride as well as the Lion did." + +"Take the others first," proposed the Mule. So the Sawhorse and the +Woozy made a couple of trips over the thistles to the city walls and +carried all the people in safety, Dorothy holding little Toto in her +arms. The travelers then sat in a group on a little hillock just +outside the wall and looked at the great blocks of gray stone and +waited for the Woozy to bring Hank to them. The Mule was very +awkward, and his legs trembled so badly that more than once they +thought he would tumble off, but finally he reached them in safety, +and the entire party was now reunited. More than that, they had +reached the city that had eluded them for so long and in so strange a +manner. + +"The gates must be around the other side," said the Wizard. "Let us +follow the curve of the wall until we reach an opening in it." + +"Which way?" asked Dorothy. + +"We must guess that," he replied. "Suppose we go to the left. One +direction is as good as another." They formed in marching order and +went around the city wall to the left. It wasn't a big city, as I +have said, but to go way around it outside the high wall was quite a +walk, as they became aware. But around it our adventurers went +without finding any sign of a gateway or other opening. When they had +returned to the little mound from which they had started, they +dismounted from the animals and again seated themselves on the grassy +mound. + +"It's mighty queer, isn't it?" asked Button-Bright. + +"There must be SOME way for the people to get out and in," declared +Dorothy. "Do you s'pose they have flying machines, Wizard?" + +"No," he replied, "for in that case they would be flying all over the +Land of Oz, and we know they have not done that. Flying machines are +unknown here. I think it more likely that the people use ladders to +get over the walls." + +"It would be an awful climb over that high stone wall," said Betsy. + +"Stone, is it?" Scraps, who was again dancing wildly around, for +she never tired and could never keep still for long. + +"Course it's stone," answered Betsy scornfully. + "Can't you see?" + +"Yes," said Scraps, going closer. "I can SEE the wall, but I can't +FEEL it." And then, with her arms outstretched, she did a very queer +thing. She walked right into the wall and disappeared. + +"For goodness sake!" Dorothy, amazed, as indeed they all were. + + +CHAPTER 9 + +THE HIGH COCO-LORUM OF THI + + +And now the Patchwork Girl came dancing out of the wall again. "Come +on!" she called. "It isn't there. + +There isn't any wall at all." + +"What? No wall?" exclaimed the Wizard. + +"Nothing like it," said Scraps. "It's a make-believe. You see it, +but it isn't. Come on into the city; we've been wasting our time." +With this, she danced into the wall again and once more disappeared. +Button-Bright, who was rather venture-some, dashed away after her and +also became invisible to them. The others followed more cautiously, +stretching out their hands to feel the wall and finding, to their +astonishment, that they could feel nothing because nothing opposed +them. They walked on a few steps and found themselves in the streets +of a very beautiful city. Behind them they again saw the wall, grim +and forbidding as ever, but now they knew it was merely an illusion +prepared to keep strangers from entering the city. + +But the wall was soon forgotten, for in front of them were a number of +quaint people who stared at them in amazement as if wondering where +they had come from. Our friends forgot their good manners for a time +and returned the stares with interest, for so remarkable a people had +never before been discovered in all the remarkable Land of Oz. Their +heads were shaped like diamonds, and their bodies like hearts. All +the hair they had was a little bunch at the tip top of their +diamond-shaped heads, and their eyes were very large and round, and +their noses and mouths very small. Their clothing was tight fitting +and of brilliant colors, being handsomely embroidered in quaint +designs with gold or silver threads; but on their feet they wore +sandals with no stockings whatever. The expression of their faces was +pleasant enough, although they now showed surprise at the appearance +of strangers so unlike themselves, and our friends thought they seemed +quite harmless. + +"I beg your pardon," said the Wizard, speaking for his party, "for +intruding upon you uninvited, but we are traveling on important +business and find it necessary to visit your city. Will you kindly +tell us by what name your city is called?" + +They looked at one another uncertainly, each expecting some other to +answer. Finally, a short one whose heart-shaped body was very broad +replied, "We have no occasion to call our city anything. It is where +we live, that is all." + +"But by what name do others call your city?"asked the Wizard. + +"We know of no others except yourselves," said the man. And then he +inquired, "Were you born with those queer forms you have, or has some +cruel magician transformed you to them from your natural shapes?" + +"These are our natural shapes," declared the Wizard, "and we consider +them very good shapes, too." + +The group of inhabitants was constantly being enlarged by others who +joined it. All were evidently startled and uneasy at the arrival of +strangers. "Have you a King?"asked Dorothy, who knew it was better +to speak with someone in authority. + +But the man shook his diamond-like head. "What is a King?" he asked. + +"Isn't there anyone who rules over you?"inquired the Wizard. + +"No," was the reply, "each of us rules himself, or at least tries to +do so. It is not an easy thing to do, as you probably know." + +The Wizard reflected. + +"If you have disputes among you," said he after +a little thought, "who settles them?" + +"The High Coco-Lorum," they answered in a chorus. + +"And who is he?" + +"The judge who enforces the laws," said the man who had first spoken. + +"Then he is the principal person here?"continued the Wizard. + +"Well, I would not say that," returned the man in a puzzled way. "The +High Coco-Lorum is a public servant. However, he represents the laws, +which we must all obey." + +"I think," said the Wizard, "we ought to see your High Coco-Lorum and +talk with him. Our mission here requires us to consult one high in +authority, and the High Coco-Lorum ought to be high, whatever else he +is." + +The inhabitants seemed to consider this proposition reasonable, for +they nodded their diamond-shaped heads in approval. So the broad one +who had been their spokesman said, "Follow me," and turning led the +way along one of the streets. The entire party followed him, the +natives falling in behind. The dwellings they passed were quite +nicely planned and seemed comfortable and convenient. After leading +them a few blocks, their conductor stopped before a house which was +neither better nor worse than the others. The doorway was shaped to +admit the strangely formed bodies of these people, being narrow at the +top, broad in the middle and tapering at the bottom. The windows were +made in much the same way, giving the house a most peculiar +appearance. When their guide opened the gate, a music box concealed +in the gatepost began to play, and the sound attracted the attention +of the High Coco-Lorum, who appeared at an open window and inquired, +"What has happened now?" + +But in the same moment his eyes fell upon the strangers and he +hastened to open the door and admit them--all but the animals, which +were left outside with the throng of natives that had now gathered. +For a small city there seemed to be a large number of inhabitants, but +they did not try to enter the house and contented themselves with +staring curiously at the strange animals. Toto followed Dorothy. + +Our friends entered a large room at the front of the house, where the +High Coco-Lorum asked them to be seated. "I hope your mission here is +a peaceful one," he said, looking a little worried, "for the Thists +are not very good fighters and object to being conquered." + +"Are your people called Thists?" asked Dorothy. + +"Yes. I thought you knew that. And we call our city Thi." + +"Oh!" + +."We are Thists because we eat thistles, you know," continued the High +Coco-Lorum. + +"Do you really eat those prickly things?"inquired Button-Bright +wonderingly. + +"Why not?" replied the other. "The sharp points of the thistles +cannot hurt us, because all our insides are gold-lined." + +"Gold-lined!" + +"To be sure. Our throats and stomachs are lined with solid gold, and +we find the thistles nourishing and good to eat. As a matter of fact, +there is nothing else in our country that is fit for food. All around +the City of Thi grow countless thistles, and all we need do is to go +and gather them. If we wanted anything else to eat, we would have to +plant it, and grow it, and harvest it, and that would be a lot of +trouble and make us work, which is an occupation we detest." + +"But tell me, please," said the Wizard, "how does it happen that your +city jumps around so, from one part of the country to another?" + +"The city doesn't jump. It doesn't move at all," declared the High +Coco-Lorum. "However, I will admit that the land that surrounds it +has a trick of turning this way or that, and so if one is standing +upon the plain and facing north, he is likely to find himself suddenly +facing west or east or south. But once you reach the thistle fields, +you are on solid ground." + +"Ah, I begin to understand," said the Wizard, nodding his head. "But +I have another question to ask: How does it happen that the Thists +have no King to rule over them?" + +"Hush!"whispered the High Coco-Lorum, looking uneasily around to make +sure they were not overheard. "In reality, I am the King, but the +people don't know it. They think they rule themselves, but the fact +is I have everything my own way. No one else knows anything about our +laws, and so I make the laws to suit myself. If any oppose me or +question my acts, I tell them it's the law and that settles it. If I +called myself King, however, and wore a crown and lived in royal +style, the people would not like me and might do me harm. As the High +Coco-Lorum of Thi, I am considered a very agreeable person." + +"It seems a very clever arrangement," said the Wizard. "And now, as +you are the principal person in Thi, I beg you to tell us if the Royal +Ozma is a captive in your city." + +"No," answered the diamond-headed man. "We have no captives. No +strangers but yourselves are here, and we have never before heard of +the Royal Ozma." + +"She rules over all of Oz," said Dorothy, "and so she rules your city +and you, because you are in the Winkie Country, which is a part of the +Land of Oz." + +"It may be," returned the High Coco-Lorum, "for we do not study +geography and have never inquired whether we live in the Land of Oz or +not. And any Ruler who rules us from a distance and unknown to us is +welcome to the job. But what has happened to your Royal Ozma?" + +"Someone has stolen her," said the Wizard. "Do you happen to have any +talented magician among your people, one who is especially clever, you +know?" + +"No, none especially clever. We do some magic, of course, but it is +all of the ordinary kind. I do not think any of us has yet aspired to +stealing Rulers, either by magic or otherwise." + +"Then we've come a long way for nothing!"exclaimed Trot regretfully. + +"But we are going farther than this," asserted the Patchwork Girl, +bending her stuffed body backward until her yarn hair touched the +floor and then walking around on her hands with her feet in the air. + +The High Coco-Lorum watched Scraps admiringly. + +"You may go farther +on, of course," said he, "but I advise you not to. The Herkus live +back of us, beyond the thistles and the twisting lands, and they are +not very nice people to meet, I assure you." + +"Are they giants?" asked Betsy. + +"They are worse than that," was the reply. "They have giants for +their slaves and they are so much stronger than giants that the poor +slaves dare not rebel for fear of being torn to pieces." + +"How do you know?" asked Scraps. + +"Everyone says so," answered the High Coco-Lorum. + +"Have you seen the Herkus yourself?"inquired Dorothy. + +"No, but what everyone says must be true, otherwise what would be the +use of their saying it?" + +"We were told before we got here that you people hitch dragons to your +chariots," said the little girl. + +"So we do," declared the High Coco-Lorum. "And that reminds me that I +ought to entertain you as strangers and my guests by taking you for a +ride around our splendid City of Thi." He touched a button, and a +band began to play. At least, they heard the music of a band, but +couldn't tell where it came from. "That tune is the order to my +charioteer to bring around my dragon-chariot," said the High +Coco-Lorum. "Every time I give an order, it is in music, which is a +much more pleasant way to address servants than in cold, stern words." + +"Does this dragon of yours bite?" asked Button-Bright. + +"Mercy no! Do you think I'd risk the safety of my innocent people by +using a biting dragon to draw my chariot? I'm proud to say that my +dragon is harmless, unless his steering gear breaks, and he was +manufactured at the famous dragon factory in this City of Thi. Here +he comes, and you may examine him for yourselves." + +They heard a low rumble and a shrill squeaking sound, and going out to +the front of the house, they saw coming around the corner a car drawn +by a gorgeous jeweled dragon, which moved its head to right and left +and flashed its eyes like headlights of an automobile and uttered a +growling noise as it slowly moved toward them. When it stopped before +the High Coco-Lorum's house, Toto barked sharply at the sprawling +beast, but even tiny Trot could see that the dragon was not alive. +Its scales were of gold, and each one was set with sparkling jewels, +while it walked in such a stiff, regular manner that it could be +nothing else than a machine. The chariot that trailed behind it was +likewise of gold and jewels, and when they entered it, they found +there were no seats. Everyone was supposed to stand up while riding. +The charioteer was a little, diamond-headed fellow who straddled the +neck of the dragon and moved the levers that made it go. + +"This," said the High Coco-Lorum pompously, "is a wonderful invention. +We are all very proud of our auto-dragons, many of which are in use by +our wealthy inhabitants. Start the thing going, charioteer!" + +The charioteer did not move. + +"You forgot to order him in music," +suggested Dorothy. + +"Ah, so I did." + +He touched a button and a music box in the dragon's +head began to play a tune. At once the little charioteer pulled over +a lever, and the dragon began to move, very slowly and groaning +dismally as it drew the clumsy chariot after it. Toto trotted between +the wheels. The Sawhorse, the Mule, the Lion and the Woozy followed +after and had no trouble in keeping up with the machine. Indeed, they +had to go slow to keep from running into it. When the wheels turned, +another music box concealed somewhere under the chariot played a +lively march tune which was in striking contrast with the dragging +movement of the strange vehicle, and Button-Bright decided that the +music he had heard when they first sighted this city was nothing else +than a chariot plodding its weary way through the streets. + +All the travelers from the Emerald City thought this ride the most +uninteresting and dreary they had ever experienced, but the High +Coco-Lorum seemed to think it was grand. He pointed out the different +buildings and parks and fountains in much the same way that the +conductor does on an American "sightseeing wagon" does, and being +guests they were obliged to submit to the ordeal. But they became a +little worried when their host told them he had ordered a banquet +prepared for them in the City Hall. "What are we going to eat?"asked +Button-Bright suspiciously. + +"Thistles," was the reply. "Fine, fresh thistles, gathered this very +day." + +Scraps laughed, for she never ate anything, but Dorothy said in a +protesting voice, "OUR insides are not lined with gold, you know." + +"How sad!"exclaimed the High Coco-Lorum, and then he added as an +afterthought, "but we can have the thistles boiled, if you prefer." + +I'm 'fraid they wouldn't taste good even then," said little Trot. +"Haven't you anything else to eat?" + +The High Coco-Lorum shook his diamond-shaped head. + +"Nothing that I know of," said he. "But why should we have anything +else when we have so many thistles? However, if you can't eat what +we eat, don't eat anything. We shall not be offended, and the banquet +will be just as merry and delightful." + +Knowing his companions were all hungry, the Wizard said, "I trust you +will excuse us from the banquet, sir, which will be merry enough +without us, although it is given in our honor. For, as Ozma is not in +your city, we must leave here at once and seek her elsewhere." + +"Sure we must!" Dorothy, and she whispered to Betsy and Trot, +"I'd rather starve somewhere else than in this city, and who knows, we +may run across somebody who eats reg'lar food and will give us some." + +So when the ride was finished, in spite of the protests of the High +Coco-Lorum, they insisted on continuing their journey. "It will soon +be dark," he objected. + +"We don't mind the darkness," replied the Wizard. + +"Some wandering Herku may get you." + +"Do you think the Herkus would hurt us?"asked Dorothy. + +"I cannot say, not having had the honor of their acquaintance. But +they are said to be so strong that if they had any other place to +stand upon they could lift the world." + +"All of them together?"asked Button-Bright wonderingly. + +"Any one of them could do it," said the High Coco-Lorum. + +"Have you heard of any magicians being among them?" +asked the Wizard, knowing that only a magician could have +stolen Ozma in the way she had been stolen. + +"I am told it is quite a magical country," declared the High +Coco-Lorum, "and magic is usually performed by magicians. But I have +never heard that they have any invention or sorcery to equal our +wonderful auto-dragons." + +They thanked him for his courtesy, and mounting their own animals rode +to the farther side of the city and right through the Wall of Illusion +out into the open country. "I'm glad we got away so easily," said +Betsy. "I didn't like those queer-shaped people." + +"Nor did I," agreed Dorothy. "It seems dreadful to be lined with +sheets of pure gold and have nothing to eat but thistles." + +"They seemed happy and contented, though," remarked the Wizard, "and +those who are contented have nothing to regret and nothing more to +wish for." + + + + +CHAPTER 10 + +TOTO LOSES SOMETHING + +For a while the travelers were constantly losing their direction, for +beyond the thistle fields they again found themselves upon the +turning-lands, which swung them around one way and then another. But +by keeping the City of Thi constantly behind them, the adventurers +finally passed the treacherous turning-lands and came upon a stony +country where no grass grew at all. There were plenty of bushes, +however, and although it was now almost dark, the girls discovered +some delicious yellow berries growing upon the bushes, one taste of +which set them all to picking as many as they could find. The berries +relieved their pangs of hunger for a time, and as it now became too +dark to see anything, they camped where they were. + +The three girls lay down upon one of the blankets--all in a row--and +the Wizard covered them with the other blanket and tucked them in. +Button-Bright crawled under the shelter of some bushes and was asleep + +The Wizard sat down with his back to a big stone +and looked at the stars in the sky and thought gravely upon the +dangerous adventure they had undertaken, wondering if they would ever +be able to find their beloved Ozma again. The animals lay in a group +by themselves, a little distance from the others. "I've lost my +growl!" said Toto, who had been very silent and sober all that day. +"What do you suppose has become of it?" + +"If you had asked me to keep track of your growl, I might be able to +tell you," remarked the Lion sleepily. "But frankly, Toto, I supposed +you were taking care of it yourself." + +"It's an awful thing to lose one's growl," said Toto, wagging his tail +disconsolately. "What if you lost your roar, Lion? Wouldn't you feel +terrible?" + +"My roar,"replied the Lion, "is the fiercest thing about me. I depend +on it to frighten my enemies so badly that they won't dare to fight +me." + +"Once," said the Mule, "I lost my bray so that I couldn't call to +Betsy to let her know I was hungry. That was before I could talk, you +know, for I had not yet come into the Land of Oz, and I found it was +certainly very uncomfortable not to be able to make a noise." + +"You make enough noise now," declared Toto. "But none of you have +answered my question: Where is my growl?" + +"You may search ME," said the Woozy. "I don't care for such things, +myself." + +"You snore terribly," asserted Toto. + +"It may be," said the Woozy. "What one does when asleep one is not +accountable for. I wish you would wake me up sometime when I'm +snoring and let me hear the sound. Then I can judge whether it is +terrible or delightful." + +"It isn't pleasant, I assure you," said the Lion, yawning. + +"To me it seems wholly unnecessary," declared Hank the Mule. + +"You ought to break yourself of the habit," said the Sawhorse. "You +never hear me snore, because I never sleep. I don't even whinny as +those puffy meat horses do. I wish that whoever stole Toto's growl +had taken the Mule's bray and the Lion's roar and the Woozy's snore at +the same time." + +"Do you think, then, that my growl was stolen?" + +"You have never lost it before, have you?" inquired +inquired the Sawhorse. + +"Only once, when I had a sore throat from barking too long at the +moon." + +"Is your throat sore now?" asked the Woozy. + +"No," replied the dog. + +"I can't understand," said Hank, "why dogs bark at the moon. They +can't scare the moon, and the moon doesn't pay any attention to the +bark. So why do dogs do it?" + +"Were you ever a dog?" asked Toto. + +"No indeed," replied Hank. "I am thankful to say I was created a +mule--the most beautiful of all beasts--and have always remained one." + +The Woozy sat upon his square haunches to examine Hank with care. +"Beauty," he said, "must be a matter of taste. I don't say your +judgment is bad, friend Hank, or that you are so vulgar as to be +conceited. But if you admire big, waggy ears and a tail like a +paintbrush and hoofs big enough for an elephant and a long neck and a +body so skinny that one can count the ribs with one eye shut--if +that's your idea of beauty, Hank, then either you or I must be much +mistaken." + +"You're full of edges," sneered the Mule. "If I were square as you +are, I suppose you'd think me lovely." + +"Outwardly, dear Hank, I would," replied the Woozy. +"But to be really lovely, one must be beautiful without and within." + +The Mule couldn't deny this statement, so he gave a disgusted grunt +and rolled over so that his back was toward the Woozy. But the Lion, +regarding the two calmly with his great, yellow eyes, said to the dog, +"My dear Toto, our friends have taught us a lesson in humility. If +the Woozy and the Mule are indeed beautiful creatures as they seem to +think, you and I must be decidedly ugly." + +"Not to ourselves," protested Toto, who was a shrewd little dog. "You +and I, Lion, are fine specimens of our own races. I am a fine dog, +and you are a fine lion. Only in point of comparison, one with +another, can we be properly judged, so I will leave it to the poor old +Sawhorse to decide which is the most beautiful animal among us all. +The Sawhorse is wood, so he won't be prejudiced and will speak the +truth." + +"I surely will," responded the Sawhorse, wagging his ears, which were +chips set in his wooden head. "Are you all agreed to accept my +judgment?" + +"We are!" they declared, each one hopeful. + +"Then," said the Sawhorse, "I must point out to you the fact that you +are all meat creatures, who tire unless they sleep and starve unless +they eat and suffer from thirst unless they drink. Such animals must +be very imperfect, and imperfect creatures cannot be beautiful. Now, +I am made of wood." + +"You surely have a wooden head," said the Mule. + +"Yes, and a wooden body and wooden legs, which are as swift as the +wind and as tireless. I've heard Dorothy say that 'handsome is as +handsome does,' and I surely perform my duties in a handsome manner. +Therefore, if you wish my honest judgment, I will confess that among +us all I am the most beautiful." + +The Mule snorted, and the Woozy laughed; Toto had lost his growl and +could only look scornfully at the Sawhorse, who stood in his place +unmoved. But the Lion stretched himself and yawned, saying quietly, +"Were we all like the Sawhorse, we would all be Sawhorses, which would +be too many of the kind. Were we all like Hank, we would be a herd of +mules; if like Toto, we would be a pack of dogs; should we all become +the shape of the Woozy, he would no longer be remarkable for his +unusual appearance. Finally, were you all like me, I would consider +you so common that I would not care to associate with you. To be +individual, my friends, to be different from others, is the only way +to become distinguished from the common herd. Let us be glad, +therefore, that we differ from one another in form and in disposition. +Variety is the spice of life, and we are various enough to enjoy one +another's society; so let us be content." + +"There is some truth in that speech," remarked Toto reflectively. +"But how about my lost growl?" + +"The growl is of importance only to you," responded the Lion, "so it +is your business to worry over the loss, not ours. If you love us, do +not afflict your burdens on us; be unhappy all by yourself." + +"If the same person stole my growl who stole Ozma," said the little +dog, "I hope we shall find him very soon and punish him as he +deserves. He must be the most cruel person in all the world, for to +prevent a dog from growling when it is his nature to growl is just as +wicked, in my opinion, as stealing all the magic in Oz." + + + +CHAPTER 11 + +BUTTON-BRIGHT LOSES HIMSELF + +The Patchwork Girl, who never slept and who could see very well in the +dark, had wandered among the rocks and bushes all night long, with the +result that she was able to tell some good news the next morning. +"Over the crest of the hill before us," she said, "is a big grove of +trees of many kinds on which all sorts of fruits grow. If you will go +there, you will find a nice breakfast awaiting you." This made them +eager to start, so as soon as the blankets were folded and strapped to +the back of the Sawhorse, they all took their places on the animals +and set out for the big grove Scraps had told them of. + +As soon as they got over the brow of the hill, they discovered it to +be a really immense orchard, extending for miles to the right and left +of them. As their way led straight through the trees, they hurried +forward as fast as possible. The first trees they came to bore +quinces, which they did not like. Then there were rows of citron +trees and then crab apples and afterward limes and lemons. But beyond +these they found a grove of big, golden oranges, juicy and sweet, and +the fruit hung low on the branches so they could pluck it easily. + +They helped themselves freely and all ate oranges as they continued on +their way. Then, a little farther along, they came to some trees +bearing fine, red apples, which they also feasted on, and the Wizard +stopped here long enough to tie a lot of the apples in one end of a +blanket. + +"We do not know what will happen to us after we leave this +delightful orchard," he said, "so I think it wise to carry a supply of +apples with us. We can't starve as long as we have apples, you know." + +Scraps wasn't riding the Woozy just now. She loved to climb the trees +and swing herself by the branches from one tree to another. Some of +the choicest fruit was gathered by the Patchwork Girl from the very +highest limbs and tossed down to the others. Suddenly, Trot asked, +"Where's Button-Bright?" and when the others looked for him, they +found the boy had disappeared. + +"Dear me!" cried Dorothy. "I guess he's lost again, and that will +mean our waiting here until we can find him." + +"It's a good place to wait," suggested Betsy, who had found a plum +tree and was eating some of its fruit. + +"How can you wait here and find Button-Bright at one and the same +time?" inquired the Patchwork Girl, hanging by her toes on a limb just +over the heads of the three mortal girls. + +"Perhaps he'll come back here," answered Dorothy. + +"If he tries that, he'll prob'ly lose his way," said Trot. "I've +known him to do that lots of times. It's losing his way that gets him +lost." + +"Very true," said the Wizard. "So all the rest of you must stay here +while I go look for the boy." + +"Won't YOU get lost, too?" asked Betsy. + +"I hope not, my dear." + +"Let ME go," said Scraps, dropping lightly to the ground. "I can't +get lost, and I'm more likely to find Button-Bright than any of you." +Without waiting for permission, she darted away through the trees and +soon disappeared from their view. + +"Dorothy," said Toto, squatting beside his little mistress, "I've lost +my growl." + +"How did that happen?" she asked. + +"I don't know," replied Toto. "Yesterday morning the Woozy nearly +stepped on me, and I tried to growl at him and found I couldn't growl +a bit." + +"Can you bark?" inquired Dorothy. + +"Oh, yes indeed." + +"Then never mind the growl," said she. + +"But what will I do when I get home to the Glass Cat and the Pink +Kitten?" asked the little dog in an anxious tone. + +"They won't mind if you can't growl at them, I'm sure," said Dorothy. +"I'm sorry for you, of course, Toto, for it's just those things we +can't do that we want to do most of all; but before we get back, you +may find your growl again." + +"Do you think the person who stole Ozma stole my growl?" + +Dorothy smiled. + +"Perhaps, Toto." + +"Then he's a scoundrel!" cried the little dog. + +"Anyone who would steal Ozma is as bad as bad can be," agreed Dorothy, +"and when we remember that our dear friend, the lovely Ruler of Oz, is +lost, we ought not to worry over just a growl." + +Toto was not entirely satisfied with this remark, for the more he +thought upon his lost growl, the more important his misfortune became. +When no one was looking, he went away among the trees and tried his +best to growl--even a little bit--but could not manage to do so. All +he could do was bark, and a bark cannot take the place of a growl, so +he sadly returned to the others. + +Now Button-Bright had no idea that he was lost at first. He had +merely wandered from tree to tree seeking the finest fruit until he +discovered he was alone in the great orchard. But that didn't worry +him just then, and seeing some apricot trees farther on, he went to +them. Then he discovered some cherry trees; just beyond these were +some tangerines. "We've found 'most ev'ry kind of fruit but peaches," +he said to himself, "so I guess there are peaches here, too, if I can +find the trees." + +He searched here and there, paying no attention to his way, until he +found that the trees surrounding him bore only nuts. He put some +walnuts in his pockets and kept on searching, and at last--right among +the nut trees--he came upon one solitary peach tree. It was a +graceful, beautiful tree, but although it was thickly leaved, it bore +no fruit except one large, splendid peach, rosy-cheeked and fuzzy and +just right to eat. + +In his heart he doubted this statement, for this was a solitary peach +tree, while all the other fruits grew upon many trees set close to one +another; but that one luscious bite made him unable to resist eating +the rest of it, and soon the peach was all gone except the pit. +Button-Bright was about to throw this peach pit away when he noticed +that it was of pure gold. Of course, this surprised him, but so many +things in the Land of Oz were surprising that he did not give much +thought to the golden peach pit. He put it in his pocket, however, to +show to the girls, and five minutes afterward had forgotten all about +it. + +For now he realized that he was far separated from his companions, and +knowing that this would worry them and delay their journey, he began +to shout as loud as he could. His voice did not penetrate very far +among all those trees, and after shouting a dozen times and getting no +answer, he sat down on the ground and said, "Well, I'm lost again. +It's too bad, but I don't see how it can be helped." + +As he leaned his back against a tree, he looked up and saw a Bluefinch +fly down from the sky and alight upon a branch just before him. The +bird looked and looked at him. First it looked with one bright eye +and then turned its head and looked at him with the other eye. Then, +fluttering its wings a little, it said, "Oho! So you've eaten the +enchanted peach, have you?" + +"Was it enchanted?" asked Button-Bright. + +"Of course," replied the Bluefinch."Ugu the Shoemaker did that." + +"But why? And how was it enchanted? And what will happen to one who +eats it?" questioned the boy. + +."Ask Ugu the Shoemaker. He knows," said the bird, preening its +feathers with its bill. + +"And who is Ugu the Shoemaker?" + +"The one who enchanted the peach and placed it here--in the exact +center of the Great Orchard--so no one would ever find it. We birds +didn't dare to eat it; we are too wise for that. But you are +Button-Bright from the Emerald City, and you, YOU, YOU ate the +enchanted peach! + +You must explain to Ugu the Shoemaker why you did +that." And then, before the boy could ask any more questions, the +bird flew away and left him alone. + +Button-Bright was not much worried to find that the peach he had eaten +was enchanted. It certainly had tasted very good, and his stomach +didn't ache a bit. So again he began to reflect upon the best way to +rejoin his friends. "Whichever direction I follow is likely to be the +wrong one," he said to himself, "so I'd better stay just where I am +and let THEM find ME--if they can." + +A White Rabbit came hopping through the orchard and paused a little +way off to look at him. "Don't be afraid," said Button-Bright. "I +won't hurt you." + +"Oh, I'm not afraid for myself," returned the White Rabbit. "It's you +I'm worried about." + +."Yes, I'm lost,' said the boy. + +"I fear you are, indeed," answered the Rabbit. "Why on earth did you +eat the enchanted peach?" + +The boy looked at the excited little animal thoughtfully. "There were +two reasons," he explained. "One reason was that I like peaches, and +the other reason was that I didn't know it was enchanted." + +"That won't save you from Ugu the Shoemaker," declared the White +Rabbit, and it scurried away before the boy could ask any more +questions. + +"Rabbits and birds," he thought, "are timid creatures and seem afraid +of this shoemaker, whoever he may be. If there was another peach half +as good as that other, I'd eat it in spite of a dozen enchantments or +a hundred shoemakers!" + +Just then, Scraps came dancing along and saw him sitting at the foot +of the tree. "Oh, here you are!" she said. "Up to your old tricks, +eh? Don't you know it's impolite to get lost and keep everybody +waiting for you? Come along, and I'll lead you back to Dorothy and +the others." + +Button-Bright rose slowly to accompany her. + +"That wasn't much of a loss," he said cheerfully. "I haven't +been gone half a day, so there's no harm done." + +Dorothy, however, when the boy rejoined the party, gave him a good +scolding. "When we're doing such an important thing as searching for +Ozma," said she, "it's naughty for you to wander away and keep us from +getting on. S'pose she's a pris'ner in a dungeon cell! Do you want +to keep our dear Ozma there any longer than we can help?" + +"If she's in a dungeon cell, how are you going to get her out?" +inquired the boy. + +"Never you mind. We'll leave that to the Wizard. He's sure to find a +way." + +The Wizard said nothing, for he realized that without his magic tools +he could do no more than any other person. But there was no use +reminding his companions of that fact; it might discourage them. "The +important thing just now," he remarked, "is to find Ozma, and as our +party is again happily reunited, I propose we move on." + +As they came to the edge of the Great Orchard, the sun was setting and +they knew it would soon be dark. So it was decided to camp under the +trees, as another broad plain was before them. The Wizard spread the +blankets on a bed of soft leaves, and presently all of them except +Scraps and the Sawhorse were fast asleep. Toto snuggled close to his +friend the Lion, and the Woozy snored so loudly that the Patchwork +Girl covered his square head with her apron to deaden the sound. + + + +CHAPTER 12 + +CZAROVER OF HERKU + +Trot wakened just as the sun rose, and slipping out of the blankets, +went to the edge of the Great Orchard and looked across the plain. +Something glittered in the far distance. "That looks like another +city," she said half aloud. + +"And another city it is," declared Scraps, who had crept to Trot's +side unheard, for her stuffed feet made no sound. "The Sawhorse and I +made a journey in the dark while you were all asleep, and we found +over there a bigger city than Thi. There's a wall around it, too, but +it has gates and plenty of pathways." + +"Did you get in?" asked Trot. + +"No, for the gates were locked and the wall was a real wall. So we +came back here again. It isn't far to the city. We can reach it in +two hours after you've had your breakfasts." + +Trot went back, and finding the other girls now awake, told them what +Scraps had said. So they hurriedly ate some fruit--there were plenty +of plums and fijoas in this part of the orchard--and then they mounted +the animals and set out upon the journey to the strange city. Hank +the Mule had breakfasted on grass, and the Lion had stolen away and +found a breakfast to his liking; he never told what it was, but +Dorothy hoped the little rabbits and the field mice had kept out of +his way. She warned Toto not to chase birds and gave the dog some +apple, with which he was quite content. The Woozy was as fond of +fruit as of any other food except honey, and the Sawhorse never ate at +all. + +Except for their worry over Ozma, they were all in good spirits as +they proceeded swiftly over the plain. Toto still worried over his +lost growl, but like a wise little dog kept his worry to himself. +Before long, the city grew nearer and they could examine it with +interest. + +In outward appearance the place was more imposing than Thi, +and it was a square city, with a square, four-sided wall around it, +and on each side was a square gate of burnished copper. Everything +about the city looked solid and substantial; there were no banners +flying, and the towers that rose above the city wall seemed bare of +any ornament whatever. + +A path led from the fruit orchard directly to one of the city gates, +showing that the inhabitants preferred fruit to thistles. Our friends +followed this path to the gate, which they found fast shut. But the +Wizard advanced and pounded upon it with his fist, saying in a loud +voice, "Open!" + +At once there rose above the great wall a row of immense heads, all of +which looked down at them as if to see who was intruding. The size of +these heads was astonishing, and our friends at once realized that +they belonged to giants who were standing within the city. All had +thick, bushy hair and whiskers, on some the hair being white and on +others black or red or yellow, while the hair of a few was just +turning gray, showing that the giants were of all ages. However +fierce the heads might seem, the eyes were mild in expression, as if +the creatures had been long subdued, and their faces expressed +patience rather than ferocity. + +"What's wanted?" asked one old giant in a low, grumbling voice. + +"We are strangers, and we wish to enter the city," replied the Wizard. + +"Do you come in war or peace?" asked another. + +"In peace, of course," retorted the Wizard, and he added impatiently, +"Do we look like an army of conquest?" + +"No," said the first giant who had spoken, "you look like innocent +tramps; but you never can tell by appearances. Wait here until we +report to our masters. No one can enter here without the permission +of Vig, the Czarover." + +"Who's that?" inquired Dorothy. + +But the heads had all bobbed down and disappeared behind +the walls, so there was no answer. They waited a long time +before the gate rolled back with a rumbling sound, and a +loud voice cried, "Enter!" But they lost no time in taking advantage +of the invitation. + +On either side of the broad street that led into the city from the +gate stood a row of huge giants, twenty of them on a side and all +standing so close together that their elbows touched. They wore +uniforms of blue and yellow and were armed with clubs as big around as +treetrunks. Each giant had around his neck a broad band of gold, +riveted on, to show he was a slave. + +As our friends entered riding upon the Lion, the Woozy, the Sawhorse +and the Mule, the giants half turned and walked in two files on either +side of them, as if escorting them on their way. It looked to Dorothy +as if all her party had been made prisoners, for even mounted on their +animals their heads scarcely reached to the knees of the marching +giants. The girls and Button-Bright were anxious to know what sort of +a city they had entered, and what the people were like who had made +these powerful creatures their slaves. Through the legs of the giants +as they walked, Dorothy could see rows of houses on each side of the +street and throngs of people standing on the sidewalks, but the people +were of ordinary size and the only remarkable thing about them was the +fact that they were dreadfully lean and thin. Between their skin and +their bones there seemed to be little or no flesh, and they were +mostly stoop-shouldered and weary looking, even to the little +children. + +More and more, Dorothy wondered how and why the great giants had ever +submitted to become slaves of such skinny, languid masters, but there +was no chance to question anyone until they arrived at a big palace +located in the heart of the city. Here the giants formed lines to the +entrance and stood still while our friends rode into the courtyard of +the palace. Then the gates closed behind them, and before them was a +skinny little man who bowed low and said in a sad voice, "If you will +be so obliging as to dismount, it will give me pleasure to lead you +into the presence of the World's Most Mighty Ruler, Vig the Czarover." + +"I don't believe it!" said Dorothy indignantly. + +"What don't you believe?" asked the man. + +"I don't believe your Czarover can hold a candle to our Ozma." + +"He wouldn't hold a candle under any circumstances, or to any living +person," replied the man very seriously, "for he has slaves to do such +things and the Mighty Vig is too dignified to do anything that others +can do for him. He even obliges a slave to sneeze for him, if ever he +catches cold. However, if you dare to face our powerful ruler, follow +me." + +"We dare anything," said the Wizard, "so go ahead." + +Through several marble corridors having lofty ceilings they passed, +finding each corridor and doorway guarded by servants. But these +servants of the palace were of the people and not giants, and they +were so thin that they almost resembled skeletons. Finally, they +entered a great circular room with a high, domed ceiling, where the +Czarover sat on a throne cut from a solid block of white marble and +decorated with purple silk hangings and gold tassels. + +The ruler of these people was combing his eyebrows when our friends +entered the throne room and stood before him, but he put the comb in +his pocket and examined the strangers with evident curiosity. Then he +said, "Dear me, what a surprise! You have really shocked me. For no +outsider has ever before come to our City of Herku, and I cannot +imagine why you have ventured to do so." + +"We are looking for Ozma, the Supreme Ruler of the Land of Oz," +replied the Wizard. + +"Do you see her anywhere around here?" asked the Czarover. + +"Not yet, Your Majesty, but perhaps you may tell us where she is." + +"No, I have my hands full keeping track of my own people. I find them +hard to manage because they are so tremendously strong." + +"They don't look very strong," said Dorothy. "It seems as if a good +wind would blow 'em way out of the city if it wasn't for the wall." + +"Just so, just so," admitted the Czarover. "They really look that +way, don't they? But you must never trust to appearances, which have +a way of fooling one. Perhaps you noticed that I prevented you from +meeting any of my people. I protected you with my giants while you +were on the way from the gates to my palace so that not a Herku got +near you." + +"Are your people so dangerous, then?"asked the Wizard. + +"To strangers, yes. But only because they are so friendly. For if +they shake hands with you, they are likely to break your arms or crush +your fingers to a jelly." + +"Why?" asked Button-Bright. + +"Because we are the strongest people in all the world." + +"Pshaw!"exclaimed the boy. "That's bragging. You prob'ly don't know +how strong other people are. Why, once I knew a man in Philadelphi' +who could bend iron bars with just his hands!" + +"But mercy me, it's no trick to bend iron bars," said His Majesty. +"Tell me, could this man crush a block of stone with his bare hands?" + +"No one could do that," declared the boy. + +"If I had a block of stone, I'd show you," said the Czarover, looking +around the room. "Ah, here is my throne. The back is too high, +anyhow, so I'll just break off a piece of that." He rose to his feet +and tottered in an uncertain way around the throne. Then he took hold +of the back and broke off a piece of marble over a foot thick. +"This," said he, coming back to his seat, "is very solid marble and +much harder than ordinary stone. Yet I can crumble it easily with my +fingers, a proof that I am very strong." + +Even as he spoke, he began breaking off chunks of marble and crumbling +them as one would a bit of earth. The Wizard was so astonished that +he took a piece in his own hands and tested it, finding it very hard +indeed. + +Just then one of the giant servants entered and exclaimed, "Oh, Your +Majesty, the cook has burned the soup! What shall we do?" + +"How dare you interrupt me?". + +"asked the Czarover, and grasping the +immense giant by one of his legs, he raised him in the air and threw +him headfirst out of an open window. "Now, tell me," he said, turning +to Button-Bright, "could your man in Philadelphia crumble marble in +his fingers?" + +."I guess not," said Button-Bright, much impressed by the skinny +monarch's strength. + +"What makes you so strong?" inquired Dorothy. + +"It's the zosozo," he explained, "which is an invention of my own. I +and all my people eat zosozo, and it gives us tremendous strength. +Would you like to eat some?" + +"No thank you," replied the girl. "I--I don't want to get so thin." + +"Well, of course one can't have strength and flesh at the same time," +said the Czarover. "Zosozo is pure energy, and it's the only compound +of its sort in existence. I never allow our giants to have it, you +know, or they would soon become our masters, since they are bigger +that we; so I keep all the stuff locked up in my private laboratory. +Once a year I feed a teaspoonful of it to each of my people--men, +women and children--so every one of them is nearly as strong as I am. +Wouldn't YOU like a dose, sir?" he asked, turning to the Wizard. + +"Well," said the Wizard, "if you would give me a little zosozo in a +bottle, I'd like to take it with me on my travels. It might come in +handy on occasion." + +"To be sure. I'll give you enough for six doses," promised the +Czarover. + +"But don't take more than a teaspoonful at a time. Once Ugu +the Shoemaker took two teaspoonsful, and it made him so strong that +when he leaned against the city wall, he pushed it over, and we had to +build it up again." + +"Who is Ugu the Shoemaker?" + +Button-Bright curiously, for he now remembered that the bird and +the rabbit had claimed Ugu the Shoemaker had enchanted the +peach he had eaten. + +"Why, Ugu is a great magician who used to live here. But he's gone +away now," replied the Czarover. + +"Where has he gone?" asked the Wizard quickly. + +"I am told he lives in a wickerwork castle in the mountains to the +west of here. You see, Ugu became such a powerful magician that he +didn't care to live in our city any longer for fear we would discover +some of his secrets. So he went to the mountains and built him a +splendid wicker castle which is so strong that even I and my people +could not batter it down, and there he lives all by himself." + +"This is good news," declared the Wizard, "for I think this is just +the magician we are searching for. But why is he called Ugu the +Shoemaker?" + +"Once he was a very common citizen here and made shoes for a living," +replied the monarch of Herku. "But he was descended from the greatest +wizard and sorcerer who ever lived in this or in any other country, +and one day Ugu the Shoemaker discovered all the magical books and +recipes of his famous great-grandfather, which had been hidden away in +the attic of his house. So he began to study the papers and books and +to practice magic, and in time he became so skillful that, as I said, +he scorned our city and built a solitary castle for himself." + +"Do you think" asked Dorothy anxiously, "that Ugu the Shoemaker would +be wicked enough to steal our Ozma of Oz?" + +"And the Magic Picture?" asked Trot. + +"And the Great Book of Records of Glinda the Good?" + asked Betsy. + +"And my own magic tools?" asked the Wizard. + +" replied the Czarover, "I won't say that Ugu is wicked, +exactly, but he is very ambitious to become the most powerful magician +in the world, and so I suppose he would not be too proud to steal any +magic things that belonged to anybody else--if he could manage to do +so." + +"But how about Ozma? Why would he wish to steal HER?"questioned +Dorothy. + +"Don't ask me, my dear. Ugu doesn't tell me why he does things, I +assure you." + +Then we must go and ask him ourselves," declared the little girl. + +"I wouldn't do that if I were you," advised the Czarover, looking +first at the three girls and then at the boy and the little Wizard and +finally at the stuffed Patchwork Girl. "If Ugu has really stolen your +Ozma, he will probably keep her a prisoner, in spite of all your +threats or entreaties. And with all his magical knowledge he would be +a dangerous person to attack. Therefore, if you are wise, you will go +home again and find a new Ruler for the Emerald City and the Land of +Oz. But perhaps it isn't Ugu the Shoemaker who has stolen your Ozma." + +"The only way to settle that question," replied the Wizard, "is to go +to Ugu's castle and see if Ozma is there. If she is, we will report +the matter to the great Sorceress Glinda the Good, and I'm pretty sure +she will find a way to rescue our darling ruler from the Shoemaker." + +"Well, do as you please," said the Czarover, "but if you are all +transformed into hummingbirds or caterpillars, don't blame me for not +warning you." + +They stayed the rest of that day in the City of Herku and were fed at +the royal table of the Czarover and given sleeping rooms in his +palace. The strong monarch treated them very nicely and gave the +Wizard a little golden vial of zosozo to use if ever he or any of his + + Even at the last, the Czarover tried to persuade them not to go +near Ugu the Shoemaker, but they were resolved on the venture, +and the next morning bade the friendly monarch a cordial goodbye +and, mounting upon their animals, left the Herkus and the City of +Herku and headed for the mountains that lay to the west. + + + +CHAPTER 13 + +TRUTH POND + +It seems a long time since we have heard anything of the Frogman and +Cayke the Cookie Cook, who had left the Yip Country in search of the +diamond-studded dishpan which had been mysteriously stolen the same +night that Ozma had disappeared from the Emerald City. +But you must remember that while the Frogman and the Cookie +Cook were preparing to descend from their mountaintop, and +even while on their way to the farmhouse of Wiljon the Winkie, +Dorothy and the Wizard and their friends were encountering +the adventures we have just related. + +So it was that on the very morning when the travelers from the Emerald +City bade farewell to the Czarover of the City of Herku, Cayke and the +Frogman awoke in a grove in which they had passed the night sleeping +on beds of leaves. There were plenty of farmhouses in the +neighborhood, but no one seemed to welcome the puffy, haughty Frogman +or the little dried-up Cookie Cook, and so they slept comfortably +enough underneath the trees of the grove. The Frogman wakened first +on this morning, and after going to the tree where Cayke slept and +finding her still wrapped in slumber, he decided to take a little walk +and seek some breakfast. Coming to the edge of the grove, he observed +half a mile away a pretty yellow house that was surrounded by a yellow +picket fence, so he walked toward this house and on entering the yard +found a Winkie woman picking up sticks with which to build a fire to +cook her morning meal. + +"For goodness sake!" she exclaimed on seeing the Frogman. "What are +you doing out of your frog-pond?" + +"I am traveling in search of a jeweled gold dishpan, my good woman," +he replied with an air of great dignity. + +"You won't find it here, then," said she."Our dishpans are tin, and +they're good enough for anybody. So go back to your pond and leave me +alone." She spoke rather crossly and with a lack of respect that +greatly annoyed the Frogman. + +"Allow me to tell you, madam," said he, "that although I am a frog, I +am the Greatest and Wisest Frog in all the world. I may add that I +possess much more wisdom than any Winkie--man or woman--in this land. +Wherever I go, people fall on their knees before me and render homage +to the Great Frogman! No one else knows so much as I; no one else is +so grand, so magnificent!" + +"If you know so much," she retorted, "why don't you know where your +dishpan is instead of chasing around the country after it?" + +"Presently," he answered, "I am going where it is, but just now I am +traveling and have had no breakfast. Therefore I honor you by asking +you for something to eat." + +"Oho! The Great Frogman is hungry as any tramp, is he? Then pick up +these sticks and help me to build the fire," said the woman +contemptuously. + +"Me! The Great Frogman pick up sticks?" he exclaimed in horror. "In +the Yip Country where I am more honored and powerful than any King +could be, people weep with joy when I ask them to feed me." + +"Then that's the place to go for your breakfast," declared the woman. + +"I fear you do not realize my importance," urged the Frogman. +"Exceeding wisdom renders me superior to menial duties." + +"It's a great wonder to me," remarked the woman, carrying her sticks +to the house, "that your wisdom doesn't inform you that you'll get no +breakfast here." And she went in and slammed the door behind her. + +The Frogman felt he had been insulted, so he gave a loud croak of +indignation and turned away. After going a short distance, he came +upon a faint path which led across a meadow in the direction of a +grove of pretty trees, and thinking this circle of evergreens must +surround a house where perhaps he would be kindly received, he decided +to follow the path. And by and by he came to the trees, which were +set close together, and pushing aside some branches he found no house +inside the circle, but instead a very beautiful pond of clear water. + +Now the Frogman, although he was so big and well educated and now aped +the ways and customs of human beings, was still a frog. As he gazed +at this solitary, deserted pond, his love for water returned to him +with irresistible force. "If I cannot get a breakfast, I may at least +have a fine swim," said he, and pushing his way between the trees, he +reached the bank. There he took off his fine clothing, laying his +shiny purple hat and his gold-headed cane beside it. A moment later, +he sprang with one leap into the water and dived to the very bottom of +the pond. + +The water was deliciously cool and grateful to his thick, rough skin, +and the Frogman swam around the pond several times before he stopped +to rest. Then he floated upon the surface and examined the pond with +The bottom and sides were all lined with glossy tiles of a light pink +color; just one place in the bottom where the water bubbled up from +a hidden spring had been left free. On the banks, the green grass +grew to the edge of the pink tiling. And now, as the Frogman examined +the place, he found that on one side of the pool, just above the water +line, had been set a golden plate on which some words were deeply +engraved. He swam toward this plate, and on reaching it read the +following inscription: + + This is + +THE TRUTH POND + +$$Whoever bathes in this + +water must always afterward tell + + +THE TRUTH.&& + +This statement startled the Frogman. It even worried him, so that he +leaped upon the bank and hurriedly began to dress himself. "A great +misfortune has befallen me," he told himself, "for hereafter I cannot +tell people I am wise, since it is not the truth. The truth is that +my boasted wisdom is all a sham, assumed by me to deceive people and +make them defer to me. In truth, no living creature can know much +more than his fellows, for one may know one thing, and another know +another thing, so that wisdom is evenly scattered throughout the +world. But--ah me!--what a terrible fate will now be mine. Even +Cayke the Cookie Cook will soon discover that my knowledge is no +greater than her own, for having bathed in the enchanted water of the +Truth Pond, I can no longer deceive her or tell a lie." + +More humbled than he had been for many years, the Frogman went back to +the grove where he had left Cayke and found the woman now awake and +washing her face in a tiny brook. "Where has Your Honor been?" she +asked. + +"To a farmhouse to ask for something to eat," said he, "but the woman +refused me." + +"How dreadful!" she exclaimed. "But never mind, there are other +houses where the people will be glad to feed the Wisest Creature in +all the World." + +"Do you mean yourself?" he asked. + +"No, I mean you." + +The Frogman felt strongly impelled to tell the truth, but struggled +hard against it. His reason told him there was no use in letting +Cayke know he was not wise, for then she would lose much respect for +him, but each time he opened his mouth to speak, he realized he was +about to tell the truth and shut it again as quickly as possible. He +tried to talk about something else, but the words necessary to +undeceive the woman would force themselves to his lips in spite of all +his struggles. Finally, knowing that he must either remain dumb or +let the truth prevail, he gave a low groan of despair and said, +"Cayke, I am NOT the Wisest Creature in all the World; I am not wise +at all." + +"Oh, you must be!" she protested. "You told me so yourself, only last evening." + +"Then last evening I failed to tell you the truth," he admitted, +looking very shamefaced for a frog. "I am sorry I told you this lie, +my good Cayke, but if you must know the truth, the whole truth and +nothing but the truth, I am not really as wise as you are." + +The Cookie Cook was greatly shocked to hear this, for it shattered one +of her most pleasing illusions. She looked at the gorgeously dressed +Frogman in amazement. "What has caused you to change your mind so +suddenly?" she inquired. + +"I have bathed in the Truth Pond," he said, "and whoever bathes in +that water is ever afterward obliged to tell the truth." + +"You were foolish to do that," declared the woman. + +"It is often very embarrassing to tell the truth. I'm glad I didn't +bathe in that dreadful water!" + +The Frogman looked at his companion thoughtfully. "Cayke," said he, +"I want you to go to the Truth Pond and take a bath in its water. For +if we are to travel together and encounter unknown adventures, it +would not be fair that I alone must always tell you the truth, while +you could tell me whatever you pleased. If we both dip in the +enchanted water, there will be no chance in the future of our +deceiving one another." + +"No," she asserted, shaking her head positively, "I won't do it, Your +Honor. For if I told you the truth, I'm sure you wouldn't like me. +No Truth Pond for me. + +I'll be just as I am, an honest woman who can +say what she wants to without hurting anyone's feelings." + +With this decision the Frogman was forced to be content, although he +was sorry the Cookie Cook would not listen to his advice. + + + + +CHAPTER 14 + +THE UNHAPPY FERRYMAN + + +Leaving the grove where they had slept, the Frogman and the Cookie +Cook turned to the east to seek another house, and after a short walk +came to one where the people received them very politely. The +children stared rather hard at the big, pompous Frogman, but the woman +of the house, when Cayke asked for something to eat, at once brought +them food and said they were welcome to it. "Few people in need of +help pass this way," she remarked, "for the Winkies are all prosperous +and love to stay in their own homes. But perhaps you are not a +Winkie," she added. + +"No," said Cayke, "I am a Yip, and my home is on a high mountain at +the southeast of your country." + +"And the Frogman, is he also a Yip?" + +"I do not know what he is, other than a very remarkable and highly +educated creature," replied the Cookie Cook. "But he has lived many +years among the Yips, who have found him so wise and intelligent that +they always go to him for advice." + +"May I ask why you have left your home and where you are going?" said +the Winkie woman. + +Then Cayke told her of the diamond-studded gold dishpan and how it had +been mysteriously stolen from her house, after which she had +discovered that she could no longer cook good cookies. So she had +resolved to search until she found her dishpan again, because a Cookie +cook who cannot cook good cookies is not of much use. The Frogman, +who had wanted to see more of the world, had accompanied her to assist +in the search. When the woman had listened to this story, she asked, +"Then you have no idea as yet who has stolen your dishpan?" + +"I only know it must have been some mischievous fairy, or a magician, +or some such powerful person, because none other could have climbed +the steep mountain to the Yip Country. And who else could have +carried away my beautiful magic dishpan without being seen?" + +The woman thought about this during the time that Cayke and the +Frogman ate their breakfast. When they had finished, she said, "Where +are you going next?" + +"We have not decided," answered the Cookie cook. + +"Our plan," explained the Frogman in his important way, "is to travel +from place to place until we learn where the thief is located and then +to force him to return the dishpan to its proper owner." + +"The plan is all right," agreed the woman, "but it may take you a long +time before you succeed, your method being sort of haphazard and +indefinite. However, I advise you to travel toward the east." + +"Why?" asked the Frogman. + +"Because if you went west, you would soon come to the desert, and also +because in this part of the Winkie Country no one steals, so your time +here would be wasted. But toward the east, beyond the river, live +many strange people whose honesty I would not vouch for. Moreover, if +you journey far enough east and cross the river for a second time, you +will come to the Emerald City, where there is much magic and sorcery. +The Emerald City is ruled by a dear little girl called Ozma, who also +rules the Emperor of the Winkies and all the Land of Oz. So, as Ozma +is a fairy, she may be able to tell you just who has taken your +precious dishpan. Provided, of course, you do not find it before you +reach her." + +."This seems to be to be excellent advice," said the Frogman, and Cayke +agreed with him. + +."The most sensible thing for you to do," continued the woman, "would +be to return to your home and use another dishpan, learn to cook +cookies as other people cook cookies, without the aid of magic. But +if you cannot be happy without the magic dishpan you have lost, you +are likely to learn more about it in the Emerald City than at any +other place in Oz." + +They thanked the good woman, and on leaving her house faced the east +and continued in that direction all the way. Toward evening they came +to the west branch of the Winkie River and there, on the riverbank, +found a ferryman who lived all alone in a little yellow house. This +ferryman was a Winkie with a very small head and a very large body. +He was sitting in his doorway as the travelers approached him and did +not even turn his head to look at them. + +"Good evening," said the Frogman. + +The ferryman made no reply. + +"We would like some supper and the privilege of sleeping in your house +until morning," continued the Frogman. "At daybreak, we would like +some breakfast, and then we would like to have you row us across the +river." + +The ferryman neither moved nor spoke. He sat in his doorway and +looked straight ahead. "I think he must be deaf and dumb," Cayke +whispered to her companion. Then she stood directly in front of the +ferryman, and putting her mouth close to his ear, she yelled as loudly +as she could, "Good evening!" + +The ferryman scowled. + + "Why do you yell at me, woman?" he asked. + +"Can you hear what I say?" asked in her ordinary tone of voice. + +"Of course," replied the man. + +"Then why didn't you answer the Frogman?" +"Because," said the ferryman, "I don't understand the frog language." + +"He speaks the same words that I do and in the same way," declared +Cayke. + +"Perhaps," replied the ferryman, "but to me his voice sounded like a +frog's croak. I know that in the Land of Oz animals can speak our +language, and so can the birds and bugs and fishes; but in MY ears, +they sound merely like growls and chirps and croaks." + +"Why is that?" asked the Cookie Cook in surprise. + +"Once, many years ago, I cut the tail off a fox which had taunted me, +and I stole some birds' eggs from a nest to make an omelet with, and +also I pulled a fish from the river and left it lying on the bank to +gasp for lack of water until it died. I don't know why I did those +wicked things, but I did them. So the Emperor of the Winkies--who is +the Tin Woodman and has a very tender tin heart--punished me by +denying me any communication with beasts, birds or fishes. I cannot +understand them when they speak to me, although I know that other +people can do so, nor can the creatures understand a word I say to +them. Every time I meet one of them, I am reminded of my former +cruelty, and it makes me very unhappy." + +"Really," said Cayke, "I'm sorry for you, although the Tin Woodman is +not to blame for punishing you." + +"What is he mumbling about?" asked the Frogman. + +"He is talking to me, but you don't understand him," she replied. And +then she told him of the ferryman's punishment and afterward explained +to the ferryman that they wanted to stay all night with him and be +fed. He gave them some fruit and bread, which was the only sort of +food he had, and he allowed Cayke to sleep in a room of his cottage. +But the Frogman he refused to admit to his house, saying that the +frog's presence made him miserable and unhappy. At no time would he +directly at the Frogman, or even toward him, fearing he would +shed tears if he did so; so the big frog slept on the riverbank where +he could hear little frogs croaking in the river all the night +through. But that did not keep him awake; it merely soothed him to +slumber, for he realized how much superior he was to them. + +Just as the sun was rising on a new day, the ferryman rowed the two +travelers across the river--keeping his back to the Frogman all the +way--and then Cayke thanked him and bade him goodbye and the ferryman +rowed home again. + +On this side of the river, there were no paths at +all, so it was evident they had reached a part of the country little +frequented by travelers. There was a marsh at the south of them, +sandhills at the north, and a growth of scrubby underbrush leading +toward a forest at the east. So the east was really the least +difficult way to go, and that direction was the one they had +determined to follow. + +Now the Frogman, although he wore green patent-leather shoes with ruby +buttons, had very large and flat feet, and when he tramped through the +scrub, his weight crushed down the underbrush and made a path for +Cayke to follow him. Therefore they soon reached the forest, where +the tall trees were set far apart but were so leafy that they shaded +all the spaces between them with their branches. "There are no bushes +here," said Cayke, much pleased, "so we can now travel faster and with +more comfort." + + +CHAPTER 15 + +THE BIG LAVENDER BEAR + +It was a pleasant place to wander, and the two travelers were +proceeding at a brisk pace when suddenly a voice shouted, "Halt!" + +They looked around in surprise, seeing at first no one at all. Then +from behind a tree there stepped a brown, fuzzy bear whose head came +about as high as Cayke's waist--and Cayke was a small woman. The bear +was chubby as well as fuzzy; his body was even puffy, while his legs +and arms seemed jointed at the knees and elbows and fastened to his +body by pins or rivets. His ears were round in shape and stuck out in +a comical way, while his round, black eyes were bright and sparkling +as beads. Over his shoulder the little brown bear bore a gun with a +tin barrel. The barrel had a cork in the end of it, and a string was +attached to the cork and to the handle of the gun. Both the Frogman +and Cayke gazed hard at this curious bear, standing silent for some +time. But finally the Frogman recovered from his surprise and +remarked, "It seems to me that you are stuffed with sawdust and ought +not to be alive." + +"That's all you know about it," answered the little Brown Bear in a +squeaky voice. "I am stuffed with a very good quality of curled hair, +and my skin is the best plush that was ever made. As for my being +alive, that is my own affair and cannot concern you at all, except +that it gives me the privilege to say you are my prisoners." + +"Prisoners! Why do you speak such nonsense?" the Frogman +angrily. "Do you think we are afraid of a toy bear with a toy gun?" + +"You ought to be," was the confident reply, "for I am merely the +sentry guarding the way to Bear Center, which is a city containing +hundreds of my race, who are ruled by a very powerful sorcerer known +as the Lavender Bear. +He ought to be a purple color, you know, seeing +he is a King, but he's only light lavender, which is, of course, +second cousin to royal purple. So unless you come with me peaceably +as my prisoners, I shall fire my gun and bring a hundred bears of all +sizes and colors to capture you." + +"Why do you wish to capture us?" inquired the Frogman, who had +listened to his speech with much astonishment. + +"I don't wish to, as a matter of fact," replied the little Brown Bear, +"but it is my duty to, because you are now trespassing on the domain +of His Majesty, the King of Bear Center. Also, I will admit that +things are rather quiet in our city just now, and the excitement of +your capture, followed by your trial and execution, should afford us +much entertainment." + +"We defy you!" said the Frogman. + +"Oh no, don't do that," pleaded Cayke, speaking to her companion. "He +says his King is a sorcerer, so perhaps it is he or one of his bears +who ventured to steal my jeweled dishpan. Let us go to the City of +the Bears and discover if my dishpan is there." + +"I must now register one more charge against you," remarked the little +Brown Bear with evident satisfaction. "You have just accused us of +stealing, and that is such a dreadful thing to say that I am quite +sure our noble King will command you to be executed." + +"But how could you execute us?" inquired the Cookie Cook. + +"I've no idea. But our King is a wonderful inventor, and there is no +doubt he can find a proper way to destroy you. So tell me, are you +going to struggle, or will you go peaceably to meet your doom?" + +It was all so ridiculous that Cayke laughed aloud, and even the +Frogman's wide mouth curled in a smile. Neither was a bit afraid to +go to the Bear City, and it seemed to both that there was a +possibility they might discover the missing dishpan. So the Frogman +said, "Lead the way, little Bear, and we will follow without a +struggle." + +"That's very sensible of you, very sensible indeed," declared the +Brown Bear. "So for-ward, MARCH!" And with the command he turned +around and began to waddle along a path that led between the trees. + +Cayke and the Frogman, as they followed their conductor, could scarce +forbear laughing at his stiff, awkward manner of walking, and although +he moved his stuffy legs fast, his steps were so short that they had +to go slowly in order not to run into him. But after a time they +reached a large, circular space in the center of the forest, which was +clear of any stumps or underbrush. The ground was covered by a soft, +gray moss, pleasant to tread upon. All the trees surrounding this +space seemed to be hollow and had round holes in their trunks, set a +little way above the ground, but otherwise there was nothing unusual +about the place and nothing, in the opinion of the prisoners, to +indicate a settlement. But the little Brown Bear said in a proud and +impressive voice (although it still squeaked), "This is the wonderful +city known to fame as Bear Center!" + +"But there are no houses, there are no bears living here at all!" +exclaimed Cayke. + +"Oh indeed!" retorted their captor, and raising his gun he pulled the +trigger. The cork flew out of the tin barrel with a loud "pop!" and +at once from every hole in every tree within view of the clearing +appeared the head of a bear. They were of many colors and of many +sizes, but all were made in the same manner as the bear who had met +and captured them. + +At first a chorus of growls arose, and then a sharp voice cried, "What +has happened, Corporal Waddle?" + +"Captives, Your Majesty!" answered the Brown Bear. "Intruders upon +our domain and slanderers of our good name." + +"Ah, that's important," answered the voice. + +Then from out the hollow trees tumbled a whole regiment of stuffed +bears, some carrying tin swords, some popguns and others long spears +with gay ribbons tied to the handles. There were hundreds of them, +altogether, and they quietly formed a circle around the Frogman and +the Cookie Cook, but kept at a distance and left a large space for the +prisoners to stand in. Presently, this circle parted, and into the +center of it stalked a huge toy bear of a lovely lavender color. He +walked upon his hind legs, as did all the others, and on his head he +wore a tin crown set with diamonds and amethysts, while in one paw he +carried a short wand of some glittering metal that resembled silver +but wasn't. + +"His Majesty the King!" Corporal Waddle, and all the bears +bowed low. Some bowed so low that they lost their balance and toppled +over, but they soon scrambled up again, and the Lavender King squatted +on his haunches before the prisoners and gazed at them steadily with +his bright, pink eyes. + + +CHAPTER 16 + +THE LITTLE PINK BEAR + +"One Person and one Freak," said the big Lavender Bear when he had +carefully examined the strangers. + +"I am sorry to hear you call poor Cayke the Cookie Cook a Freak," +remonstrated the Frogman. + +"She is the Person," asserted the King. "Unless I am mistaken, it is +you who are the Freak." + +The Frogman was silent, for he could not truthfully deny it. + +"Why have you dared intrude in my forest?" demanded +demanded the Bear King. + +"We didn't know it was your forest," said Cayke, "and we are on our +way to the far east, where the Emerald City is." + +"Ah, it's a long way from here to the Emerald City," remarked the +King. "It is so far away, indeed, that no bear among us has even been +there. But what errand requires you to travel such a distance?" + +"Someone has stolen my diamond-studded gold dishpan," explained Cayke, +"and as I cannot be happy without it, I have decided to search the +world over until I find it again. The Frogman, who is very learned +and wonderfully wise, has come with me to give me his assistance. +Isn't it kind of him?" + +The King looked at the Frogman. + +"What makes you so wonderfully wise?" +he asked. + +"I'm not," was the candid reply."The Cookie Cook and some others in +the Yip Country think because I am a big frog and talk and act like a +man that I must be very wise. I have learned more than a frog usually +knows, it is true, but I am not yet so wise as I hope to become at +some future time." + +The King nodded, and when he did so, something squeaked in his chest. +"Did Your Majesty speak?" asked Cayke. + +"Not just then," answered the Lavender Bear, seeming to be somewhat +embarrassed. "I am so built, you must know, that when anything pushes +against my chest, as my chin accidentally did just then, I make that +silly noise. In this city it isn't considered good manners to notice. +But I like your Frogman. + +He is honest and truthful, which is more than can be said +of many others. As for your late lamented dishpan, I'll +show it to you." With this he waved three times the metal wand +which he held in his paw, and instantly there appeared upon the ground +midway between the King and Cayke a big, round pan made of beaten +gold. Around the top edge was a row of small diamonds; around the +center of the pan was another row of larger diamonds; and at the +bottom was a row of exceedingly large and brilliant diamonds. In +fact, they all sparkled magnificently, and the pan was so big and +broad that it took a lot of diamonds to go around it three times. + +Cayke stared so hard that her eyes seemed about to pop out of her +head. "O-o-o-h!" she exclaimed, drawing a deep breath of delight. + +"Is this your dishpan?" inquired the King. + +"It is, it is!" cried the Cookie Cook, and rushing forward, she fell +on her knees and threw her arms around the precious pan. But her arms +came together without meeting any resistance at all. Cayke tried to +seize the edge, but found nothing to grasp. The pan was surely there, +she thought, for she could see it plainly; but it was not solid; she +could not feel it at all. With a moan of astonishment and despair, +she raised her head to look at the Bear King, who was watching her +actions curiously. Then she turned to the pan again, only to find it +had completely disappeared. + +"Poor creature!" murmured the King pityingly. "You must have thought, +for the moment, that you had actually recovered your dishpan. But +what you saw was merely the image of it, conjured up by means of my +magic. It is a pretty dishpan, indeed, though rather big and awkward +to handle. I hope you will some day find it." + +Cayke was grievously disappointed. She began to cry, wiping her eyes +on her apron. The King turned to the throng of toy bears surrounding +him and asked, "Has any of you ever seen this golden dishpan before?" + +"No," they answered in a chorus. + +The King seemed to reflect. Presently he inquired, "Where is the +Little Pink Bear?" + +"At home, Your Majesty," was the reply. + +"Fetch him here," commanded the King. + +Several of the bears waddled over to one of the trees and pulled +from its hollow a tiny pink bear, smaller than any of the others. +A big, white bear carried the pink one in his arms and set it down +beside the King, arranging the joints of its legs so that it would stand upright. + +This Pink Bear seemed lifeless until the King turned a crank which +protruded from its side, when the little creature turned its head +stiffly from side to side and said in a small, shrill voice, "Hurrah +for the King of Bear Center!" + +"Very good," said the big Lavender Bear. "He seems to be working very +well today. Tell me, my Pink Pinkerton, what has become of this +lady's jeweled dishpan?" + +"U-u-u," said the Pink Bear, and then stopped short. + +The King turned the crank again. + +"U-g-u the Shoemaker has it," said +the Pink Bear. + +"Who is Ugu the Shoemaker?" demanded the King, again turning the +crank. + +"A magician who lives on a mountain in a wickerwork castle," was the +reply. + +"Where is the mountain?" was the next question. + +"Nineteen miles and three furlongs from Bear Center to the northeast." + +"And is the dishpan still at the castle of Ugu the Shoemaker?" asked +the King. + +"It is." + +The King turned to Cayke. + +"You may rely on this information," said he. "The Pink +Bear can tell us anything we wish to know, and his +words are always words of truth." + +"Is he alive?" asked the Frogman, much interested in the Pink Bear. + +"Something animates him when you turn his crank," replied the King. +"I do not know if it is life or what it is or how it happens that the +Little Pink Bear can answer correctly every question put to him. We +discovered his talent a long time ago, and whenever we wish to know +anything--which is not very often--we ask the Pink Bear. There is no +doubt whatever, madam, that Ugu the Magician has your dishpan, and if +you dare to go to him, you may be able to recover it. But of that I +am not certain." + +"Can't the Pink Bear tell?" asked Cayke anxiously. + +"No, for that is in the future. He can tell anything that HAS +happened, but nothing that is going to happen. Don't ask me why, for +I don't know." + +"Well," said the Cookie Cook after a little thought, "I mean to go to +this magician, anyhow, and tell him I want my dishpan. I wish I knew +what Ugu the Shoemaker is like." + +"Then I'll show him to you," promised the King. "But do not be +frightened. It won't be Ugu, remember, but only his image." With +this, he waved his metal wand, and in the circle suddenly appeared a +thin little man, very old and skinny, who was seated on a wicker stool +before a wicker table. On the table lay a Great Book with gold +clasps. The Book was open, and the man was reading in it. He wore +great spectacles which were fastened before his eyes by means of a +ribbon that passed around his head and was tied in a bow at the neck. +His hair was very thin and white; his skin, which clung fast to his +bones, was brown and seared with furrows; he had a big, fat nose and +little eyes set close together. + +On no account was Ugu the Shoemaker a pleasant person to gaze at. As +his image appeared before the, all were silent and intent until +Corporal Waddle, the Brown Bear, became nervous and pulled the trigger +of his gun. Instantly, the cork flew out of the tin barrel with a +loud "pop!" that made them all jump. And at this sound, the image of +the magician vanished. "So THAT'S the thief, is it?" said Cayke in an +angry voice. "I should think he'd be ashamed of himself for stealing +a poor woman's diamond dishpan! But I mean to face him in his wicker +castle and force him to return my property." + +"To me," said the Bear King reflectively, "he looked like a dangerous +person. I hope he won't be so unkind as to argue the matter with +you." + +The Frogman was much disturbed by the vision of Ugu the Shoemaker, and +Cayke's determination to go to the magician filled her companion with +misgivings. But he would not break his pledged word to assist the +Cookie Cook, and after breathing a deep sigh of resignation, he asked +the King, "Will Your Majesty lend us this Pink Bear who answers +questions that we may take him with us on our journey? He would be +very useful to us, and we will promise to bring him safely back to +you." + +The King did not reply at once. He seemed to be thinking. + +"PLEASE let us take the Pink Bear," begged Cayke. "I'm sure he would +be a great help to us." + +"The Pink Bear," said the King, "is the best bit of magic I possess, +and there is not another like him in the world. I do not care to let +him out of my sight, nor do I wish to disappoint you; so I believe I +will make the journey in your company and carry my Pink Bear with me. +He can walk when you wind the other side of him, but so slowly and +awkwardly that he would delay you. But if I go along, I can carry him +in my arms, so I will join your party. Whenever you are ready to +start, let me know." + +"But Your Majesty!" exclaimed Corporal Waddle in protest, "I hope you +do not intend to let these prisoners escape without punishment." + +"Of what crime do you accuse them?" inquired the King. + +"Why, they trespassed on your domain, for one thing," said the Brown +Bear. + +"We didn't know it was private property, Your Majesty," said the +Cookie Cook. "And they asked if any of us had stolen the dishpan!" +continued Corporal Waddle indignantly. "That is the same thing as calling us +thieves and robbers and bandits and brigands, is it not?" + +"Every person has the right to ask questions," said the Frogman. + +"But the Corporal is quite correct," declared the Lavender Bear. "I +condemn you both to death, the execution to take place ten years from +this hour." + +"But we belong in the Land of Oz, where no one ever dies," Cayke +reminded him. + +"Very true," said the King. "I condemn you to death merely as a +matter of form. It sounds quite terrible, and in ten years we shall +have forgotten all about it. Are you ready to start for the wicker +castle of Ugu the Shoemaker?" + +"Quite ready, Your Majesty." + +"But who will rule in your place while you are gone?" asked a big +Yellow Bear. + +"I myself will rule while I am gone," was the reply. + +"A King isn't required to stay at home forever, and if he takes a notion +to travel, whose business is it but his own? All I ask is that you bears +behave yourselves while I am away. If any of you is naughty, I'll send him +to some girl or boy in America to play with." + +This dreadful threat made all the toy bears look solemn. They assured +the King in a chorus of growls that they would be good. Then the big +Lavender Bear picked up the little Pink Bear, and after tucking it +carefully under one arm, he said, "Goodbye till I come back!" and +waddled along the path that led through the forest. The Frogman and +Cayke the Cookie Cook also said goodbye to the bears and then followed +after the King, much to the regret of the little Brown Bear, who +pulled the trigger of his gun and popped the cork as a parting salute. + + +CHAPTER 17 + + +THE MEETING + +While the Frogman and his party were advancing from the west, Dorothy +and her party were advancing from the east, and so it happened that on +the following night they all camped at a little hill that was only a +few miles from the wicker castle of Ugu the Shoemaker. +But the two parties did not see one another that night, for one +camped on one side of the hill while the other camped on the opposite +side. But the next morning, the Frogman thought he would climb the +hill and see what was on top of it, and at the same time Scraps, the +Patchwork Girl, also decided to climb the hill to find if the wicker +castle was visible from its top. So she stuck her head over an edge just as the +Frogman's head appeared over another edge, and both, being surprised, +kept still while they took a good look at one another. + +Scraps recovered from her astonishment first, and bounding upward, she +turned a somersault and landed sitting down and facing the big +Frogman, who slowly advanced and sat opposite her. "Well met, +Stranger!" cried the Patchwork Girl with a whoop of laughter. "You +are quite the funniest individual I have seen in all my travels." + +"Do you suppose I can be any funnier than you?" asked the Frogman, +gazing at her in wonder. + +"I'm not funny to myself, you know," returned Scraps. "I wish I were. +And perhaps you are so used to your own absurd shape that you do not +laugh whenever you see your reflection in a pool or in a mirror." + +"No," said the Frogman gravely, "I do not. I used to be proud of my +great size and vain of my culture and education, but since I bathed in +the Truth Pond, I sometimes think it is not right that I should be +different from all other frogs." + +"Right or wrong," said the Patchwork Girl, "to be different is to be +distinguished. Now in my case, I'm just like all other Patchwork +Girls because I'm the only one there is. But tell me, where did you +come from?" + +"The Yip Country," said he. + +"Is that in the Land of Oz?" + +"Of course," replied the Frogman. + +"And do you know that your Ruler, Ozma of Oz, has been stolen?" + +"I was not aware that I had a Ruler, so of course I couldn't know that +she was stolen." + +"Well, you have. All the people of Oz," explained Scraps, "are ruled +by Ozma, whether they know it or not. And she has been stolen. +Aren't you angry? Aren't you indignant? Your Ruler, whom you didn't +know you had, has positively been stolen!" + +"That is queer," remarked the Frogman thoughtfully. +"Stealing is a thing practically unknown in Oz, yet this Ozma has +been taken, and a friend of mine has also had her dishpan stolen. +With her I have traveled all the way from the Yip Country in order to +recover it." + +"I don't see any connection between a Royal Ruler of Oz and a +dishpan!" declared Scraps. + +"They've both been stolen, haven't they?" + +"True. But why can't your friend wash her dishes in another dishpan?" +asked Scraps. + +"Why can't you use another Royal Ruler? I suppose you prefer the one +who is lost, and my friend wants her own dishpan, which is made of +gold and studded with diamonds and has magic powers." + +"Magic, eh?" exclaimed Scraps. "THERE is a link that connects the two +steals, anyhow, for it seems that all the magic in the Land of Oz was +stolen at the same time, whether it was in the Emerald City of in +Glinda's castle or in the Yip Country. Seems mighty strange and +mysterious, doesn't it?" + +"It used to seem that way to me," admitted the Frogman, "but we have +now discovered who took our dishpan. It was Ugu the Shoemaker." + +"Ugu? Good gracious! That's the same magician we think has stolen +Ozma. We are now on our way to the castle of this Shoemaker." + +"So are we," said the Frogman. + +"Then follow me, quick! And let me introduce you to Dorothy and the +other girls and to the Wizard of Oz and all the rest of us." + +She sprang up and seized his coatsleeve, dragging him off the hilltop +and down the other side from that whence he had come. And at the foot +of the hill, the Frogman was astonished to find the three girls and +the Wizard and Button-Bright, who were surrounded by a wooden +Sawhorse, a lean Mule, a square Woozy, and a Cowardly Lion. A little +black dog ran up and smelled at the Frogman, but couldn't growl at +him. + +"I've discovered another party that has been robbed," shouted Scraps +as she joined them. "This is their leader, and they're all going to +Ugu's castle to fight the wicked Shoemaker!" + +They regarded the Frogman with much curiosity and interest, and +finding all eyes fixed upon him, the newcomer arranged his necktie and +smoothed his beautiful vest and swung his gold-headed cane like a +regular dandy. The big spectacles over his eyes quite altered his +froglike countenance and gave him a learned and impressive look. Used +as she was to seeing strange creatures in the Land of Oz, Dorothy was +amazed at discovering the Frogman. So were all her companions. +Toto wanted to growl at him, but couldn't, and he didn't dare bark. The +Sawhorse snorted rather contemptuously, but the Lion whispered to the +wooden steed, "Bear with this strange creature, my friend, and +remember he is no more extraordinary than you are. +Indeed, it is more natural for a frog to be big than for a Sawhorse to be alive." + +On being questioned, the Frogman told them the whole story of the loss +of Cayke's highly prized dishpan and their adventures in search of it. +When he came to tell of the Lavender Bear King and of the Little Pink +Bear who could tell anything you wanted to know, his hearers became +eager to see such interesting animals. "It will be best," said the +Wizard, "to unite our two parties and share our fortunes together, for +we are all bound on the same errand, and as one band we may more +easily defy this shoemaker magician than if separate. +Let us be allies." + +"I will ask my friends about that," replied the Frogman, and he +climbed over the hill to find Cayke and the toy bears. The Patchwork +Girl accompanied him, and when they came upon the Cookie Cook and the +Lavender Bear and the Pink Bear, it was hard to tell which of the lot +was the most surprised. + +"Mercy me!" cried Cayke, addressing the Patchwork Girl. "However did +you come alive?" + +Scraps stared at the bears. + +"Mercy me!" she echoed, "You are stuffed, +as I am, with cotton, and you appear to be living. That makes me feel +ashamed, for I have prided myself on being the only live +cotton-stuffed person in Oz." + +"Perhaps you are," returned the Lavender Bear, "for I am stuffed with +extra-quality curled hair, and so is the Little Pink Bear." + +"You have relieved my mind of a great anxiety," declared the Patchwork +Girl, now speaking more cheerfully. "The Scarecrow is stuffed with +straw and you with hair, so I am still the Original and Only +Cotton-Stuffed!" + +"I hope I am too polite to criticize cotton as compared with curled +hair," said the King, "especially as you seem satisfied with it." + +Then the Frogman told of his interview with the party from the Emerald +City and added that the Wizard of Oz had invited the bears and Cayke +and himself to travel in company with them to the castle of Ugu the +Shoemaker. Cayke was much pleased, but the Bear King looked solemn. +He set the Little Pink Bear on his lap and turned the crank in its +side and asked, "Is it safe for us to associate with those people from +the Emerald City?" + +And the Pink Bear at once replied, "Safe for you and safe for me; +Perhaps no others safe will be." + +"That 'perhaps' need not worry us," said the King, "so let us join the +others and offer them our protection." + +Even the Lavender Bear was astonished, however, when on climbing over +the hill he found on the other side the group of queer animals and the +people from the Emerald City. The bears and Cayke were received very +cordially, although Button-Bright was cross when they wouldn't let him +play with the Little Pink Bear. The three girls greatly admired the +toy bears, and especially the pink one, which they longed to hold. + +"You see," explained the Lavender King in denying them this privilege, +"he's a very valuable bear, because his magic is a correct guide on +all occasions, and especially if one is in difficulties. It was the +Pink Bear who told us that Ugu the Shoemaker had stolen the Cookie +Cook's dishpan." + +"And the King's magic is just as wonderful," added Cayke, "because it +showed us the Magician himself." + +"What did he look like?" inquired Dorothy. + +"He was dreadful!" + +"He was sitting at a table and examining an immense Book which had +three golden clasps," remarked the King. + +"Why, that must have been Glinda's Great Book of Records!" exclaimed +Dorothy. "If it is, it proves that Ugu the Shoemaker stole Ozma, and +with her all the magic in the Emerald City." + +"And my dishpan," said Cayke. + +And the Wizard added, "It also proves that he is following our +adventures in the Book of Records, and therefore knows that we are +seeking him and that we are determined to find him and reach Ozma at +all hazards." + +"If we can," added the Woozy, but everybody frowned at him. + +The Wizard's statement was so true that the faces around him were very +serious until the Patchwork Girl broke into a peal of laughter. +"Wouldn't it be a rich joke if he made prisoners of us, too?" she +said. + +"No one but a crazy Patchwork Girl would consider that a joke," +grumbled Button-Bright. + +And then the Lavender Bear King asked, "Would you like to see this +magical shoemaker?" + +"Wouldn't he know it?" Dorothy inquired. + +"No, I think not." + +Then the King waved his metal wand and before them appeared a room in +the wicker castle of Ugu. On the wall of the room hung Ozma's Magic +Picture, and seated before it was the Magician. They could see the +Picture as well as he could, because it faced them, and in the Picture +was the hillside where they were not sitting, all their forms being +reproduced in miniature. And curiously enough, within the scene of +the Picture was the scene they were now beholding, so they knew that +the Magician was at this moment watching them in the Picture, and also +that he saw himself and the room he was in become visible to the +people on the hillside. Therefore he knew very well that they were +watching him while he was watching them. + +In proof of this, Ugu sprang from his seat and turned a scowling face +in their direction; but now he could not see the travelers who were +seeking him, although they could still see him. His actions were so +distinct, indeed, that it seemed he was actually before them. "It is +only a ghost," said the Bear King. "It isn't real at all except that +it shows us Ugu just as he looks and tells us truly just what he is +doing." + +"I don't see anything of my lost growl, though," said Toto as if to +himself. + +Then the vision faded away, and they could see nothing but the grass +and trees and bushes around them. + + +CHAPTER 18 + +THE CONFERENCE + +"Now then," said the Wizard, "let us talk this matter over and decide +what to do when we get to Ugu's wicker castle. There can be no doubt +that the Shoemaker is a powerful Magician, and his powers have been +increased a hundredfold since he secured the Great Book of Records, +the Magic Picture, all of Glinda's recipes for sorcery, and my own +black bag, which was full of tools of wizardry. The man who could rob +us of those things and the man with all their powers at his command is +one who may prove somewhat difficult to conquer, therefore we should +plan our actions well before we venture too near to his castle." + +"I didn't see Ozma in the Magic Picture," said Trot. +"What do you suppose Ugu has done with her?" + +"Couldn't the Little Pink Bear tell us what he did with Ozma?" asked +Button-Bright. + +"To be sure," replied the Lavender King. "I'll ask him." So he +turned the crank in the Little Pink Bear's side and inquired, "Did Ugu +the Shoemaker steal Ozma of Oz?" + +"Yes," answered the Little Pink Bear. + +"Then what did he do with her?" asked the King. + +"Shut her up in a dark place," answered the Little Pink Bear. + +"Oh, that must be a dungeon cell!" cried Dorothy, horrified. "How +dreadful!" + +"Well, we must get her out of it," said the Wizard. +"That is what we came for, and of course we must rescue Ozma. But how?" + +Each one looked at some other one for an answer, and all shook their +heads in a grave and dismal manner. All but Scraps, who danced around +them gleefully. "You're afraid," said the Patchwork Girl, "because so +many things can hurt your meat bodies. Why don't you give it up and +go home? How can you fight a great magician when you have nothing to +fight with?" + +Dorothy looked at her reflectively. + +"Scraps," said she, "you know that Ugu couldn't hurt you a +bit, whatever he did, nor could he hurt ME, 'cause I wear the +Gnome King's Magic Belt. S'pose just we two go on together +and leave the others here to wait for us." + +"No, no!" said the Wizard positively. "That won't do at all. Ozma is +more powerful than either of you, yet she could not defeat the wicked +Ugu, who has shut her up in a dungeon. We must go to the Shoemaker in +one mighty band, for only in union is there strength." + +"That is excellent advice," said the Lavender Bear approvingly. + +"But what can we do when we get to Ugu?" inquired the Cookie Cook +anxiously. + +"Do not expect a prompt answer to that important question," replied +the Wizard, "for we must first plan our line of conduct. Ugu knows, +of course, that we are after him, for he has seen our approach in the +Magic Picture, and he has read of all we have done up to the present +moment in the Great Book of Records. Therefore we cannot expect to +take him by surprise." + +"Don't you suppose Ugu would listen to reason?" asked Betsy. "If we +explained to him how wicked he has been, don't you think he'd let poor +Ozma go?" + +"And give me back my dishpan?" added the Cookie Cook eagerly. + +"Yes, yes, won't he say he's sorry and get on his knees and beg our +pardon?" cried Scraps, turning a flip-flop to show her scorn of the +suggestion. "When Ugu the Shoemaker does that, please knock at the +front door and let me know." + +The Wizard sighed and rubbed his bald head with a puzzled air. "I'm +quite sure Ugu will not be polite to us," said he, "so we must conquer +this cruel magician by force, much as we dislike to be rude to anyone. +But none of you has yet suggested a way to do that. Couldn't the +Little Pink Bear tell us how?" he asked, turning to the Bear King. + +"No, for that is something that is GOING to happen," replied the +Lavender Bear. "He can only tell us what already HAS happened." + +Again, they were grave and thoughtful. But after a time, Betsy said +in a hesitating voice, "Hank is a great fighter. Perhaps HE could +conquer the magician." + +The Mule turned his head to look reproachfully at his old friend, the +young girl. "Who can fight against magic?" he asked. + +"The Cowardly Lion could," said Dorothy. + +The Lion, who was lying with his front legs spread out, his chin on +his paws, raised his shaggy head. "I can fight when I'm not afraid," +said he calmly, "but the mere mention of a fight sets me to +trembling." + +"Ugu's magic couldn't hurt the Sawhorse," suggested tiny Trot. + +"And the Sawhorse couldn't hurt the Magician," declared that wooden +animal. + +"For my part," said Toto, "I am helpless, having lost my growl." + +"Then," said Cayke the Cookie Cook, "we must depend upon the Frogman. +His marvelous wisdom will surely inform him how to conquer the wicked +Magician and restore to me my dishpan." + +All eyes were now turned questioningly upon the Frogman. Finding +himself the center of observation, he swung his gold-headed cane, +adjusted his big spectacles, and after swelling out his chest, sighed +and said in a modest tone of voice, "Respect for truth obliges me to +confess that Cayke is mistaken in regard to my superior wisdom. I am +not very wise. Neither have I had any practical experience in +conquering magicians. But let us consider this case. +What is Ugu, and what is a magician? Ugu is a renegade shoemaker, +and a magician is an ordinary man who, having learned how to do +magical tricks, considers himself above his fellows. In this case, the +Shoemaker has been naughty enough to steal a lot of magical tools and +things that did not belong to him, and he is more wicked to steal than +to be a magician. Yet with all the arts at his command, Ugu is still +a man, and surely there are ways in which a man may be conquered. +How, do you say, how? Allow me to state that I don't know. + In my judgment, we cannot decide how best to act until we +get to Ugu's castle. So let us go to it and take a look at it. +After that, we may discover an idea that will guide us to victory." + +"That may not be a wise speech, but it sounds good," said Dorothy +approvingly. "Ugu the Shoemaker is not only a common man, but he's a +wicked man and a cruel man and deserves to be conquered. We musn't +have any mercy on him till Ozma is set free. So let's go to his +castle as the Frogman says and see what the place looks like." + +No one offered any objection to this plan, and so it was adopted. +They broke camp and were about to start on the journey to Ugu's castle +when they discovered that Button-Bright was lost again. The girls and +the Wizard shouted his name, and the Lion roared and the Donkey brayed +and the Frogman croaked and the Big Lavender Bear growled (to the envy +of Toto, who couldn't growl but barked his loudest), yet none of them +could make Button-Bright hear. So after vainly searching for the boy +a full hour, they formed a procession and proceeded in the direction +of the wicker castle of Ugu the Shoemaker. + +"Button-Bright's always getting lost," said Dorothy. +"And if he wasn't always getting found again, I'd prob'ly worry. He may have +gone ahead of us, and he may have gone back, but wherever he is, we'll +find him sometime and somewhere, I'm almost sure." + + + +CHAPTER 19 + +UGU THE SHOEMAKER + +A curious thing about Ugu the Shoemaker was that he didn't suspect in +the least that he was wicked. He wanted to be powerful and great, and +he hoped to make himself master of all the Land of Oz that he might +compel everyone in that fairy country to obey him, His ambition +blinded him to the rights of others, and he imagined anyone else would +act just as he did if anyone else happened to be as clever as himself. + +When he inhabited his little shoemaking shop in the City of Herku, he +had been discontented, for a shoemaker is not looked upon with high +respect, and Ugu knew that his ancestors had been famous magicians for +many centuries past and therefore his family was above the ordinary. +Even his father practiced magic when Ugu was a boy, but his father had +wandered away from Herku and had never come back again. So when Ugu +grew up, he was forced to make shoes for a living, knowing nothing of +the magic of his forefathers. But one day, in searching through the +attic of his house, he discovered all the books of magical recipes and +many magical instruments which had formerly been in use in his family. +From that day, he stopped making shoes and began to study magic. +Finally, he aspired to become the greatest magician in Oz, and for +days and weeks and months he thought on a plan to render all the other +sorcerers and wizards, as well as those with fairy powers, helpless to +oppose him. + +From the books of his ancestors, he learned the following facts: + + (1) That Ozma of Oz was the fairy ruler of the Emerald City and the +Land of Oz and that she could not be destroyed by any magic ever +devised. Also, by means of her Magic Picture she would be able to +discover anyone who approached her royal palace with the idea of +conquering it. + +(2) That Glinda the Good was the most powerful Sorceress in Oz, among her other magical +possessions being the Great Book of Records, which +told her all that happened anywhere in the world. This Book of +Records was very dangerous to Ugu's plans, and Glinda was in the +service of Ozma and would use her arts of sorcery to protect the girl +Ruler. + +(3) That the Wizard of Oz, who lived in Ozma's palace, had been taught +much powerful magic by Glinda and had a bag of magic tools with which +he might be able to conquer the Shoemaker. + +(4) That there existed in Oz--in the Yip Country--a jeweled dishpan +made of gold, which dishpan would grow large enough for a man to sit +inside it. Then, when he grasped both the golden handles, the dishpan +would transport him in an instant to any place he wished to go within +the borders of the Land of Oz. + +No one now living except Ugu knew of the powers of the Magic Dishpan, +so after long study, the shoemaker decided that if he could manage to +secure the dishpan, he could by its means rob Ozma and Glinda and the +Wizard of Oz of all their magic, thus becoming himself the most +powerful person in all the land. His first act was to go away from +the City of Herku and build for himself the Wicker Castle in the +hills. Here he carried his books and instruments of magic, and here +for a full year he diligently practiced all the magical arts learned +from his ancestors. At the end of that time, he could do a good many +wonderful things. + +Then, when all his preparations were made, he set out for the Yip +Country, and climbing the steep mountain at night he entered the house +of Cayke the Cookie Cook and stole her diamond-studded gold dishpan +while all the Yips were asleep, Taking his prize outside, he set the +pan upon the ground and uttered the required magic word. Instantly, +the dishpan grew as large as a big washtub, and Ugu seated himself in +it and grasped the two handles. Then he wished himself in the great +drawing room of Glinda the Good. + +He was there in a flash. First he took the Great Book of Records and +put it in the dishpan. Then he went to Glinda's laboratory and took +all her rare chemical compounds and her instruments of sorcery, +placing these also in the dishpan, which he caused to grow large +enough to hold them. Next he seated himself amongst the treasures he +had stolen and wished himself in the room in Ozma's palace which the +Wizard occupied and where he kept his bag of magic tools. This bag +Ugu added to his plunder and then wished himself in the apartments of +Ozma. + +Here he first took the Magic Picture from the wall and then seized all +the other magical things which Ozma possessed. Having placed these in +the dishpan, he was about to climb in himself when he looked up and +saw Ozma standing beside him. Her fairy instinct had warned her that +danger was threatening her, so the beautiful girl Ruler rose from her +couch and leaving her bedchamber at once confronted the thief. + +Ugu had to think quickly, for he realized that if he permitted Ozma to +rouse the inmates of her palace, all his plans and his present +successes were likely to come to naught. So he threw a scarf over the +girl's head so she could not scream, and pushed her into the dishpan +and tied her fast so she could not move. Then he climbed in beside +her and wished himself in his own wicker castle. The Magic Dishpan +was there in an instant, with all its contents, and Ugu rubbed his +hands together in triumphant joy as he realized that he now possessed +all the important magic in the Land of Oz and could force all the +inhabitants of that fairyland to do as he willed. + +So quickly had his journey been accomplished that before daylight the +robber magician had locked Ozma in a room, making her a prisoner, and +had unpacked and arranged all his stolen goods. The next day he +placed the Book of Records on his table and hung the Magic Picture on +his wall and put away in his cupboards and drawers all the elixirs and +magic compounds he had stolen. The magical instruments he polished +and arranged, and this was fascinating work and made him very happy. + +By turns the imprisoned Ruler wept and scolded the Shoemaker, +haughtily threatening him with dire punishment for the wicked deeds +he had done. Ugu became somewhat afraid of his fairy prisoner, in +spite of the fact that he believed he had robbed her of all her powers; +so he performed an enchantment that quickly disposed of her and placed +her out of his sight and hearing. After that, being occupied with other +things, he soon forgot her. + +But now, when he looked into the Magic Picture and read the Great Book +of Records, the Shoemaker learned that his wickedness was not to go +unchallenged. Two important expeditions had set out to find him and +force him to give up his stolen property. One was the party headed by +the Wizard and Dorothy, while the other consisted of Cayke and the +Frogman. Others were also searching, but not in the right places. +These two groups, however, were headed straight for the wicker castle, +and so Ugu began to plan how best to meet them and to defeat their +efforts to conquer him. + + + +CHAPTER 20 + +MORE SURPRISES + +All that first day after the union of the two parties, our friends +marched steadily toward the wicker castle of Ugu the Shoemaker. When +night came, they camped in a little grove and passed a pleasant +evening together, although some of them were worried because +Button-Bright was still lost. + +"Perhaps," said Toto as the animals lay grouped together for the +night, "this Shoemaker who stole my growl and who stole Ozma has also +stolen Button-Bright." + +"How do you know that the Shoemaker stole your growl?" demanded the +Woozy. + +"He has stolen about everything else of value in Oz, hasn't he?" +replied the dog. + +"He has stolen everything he wants, perhaps," agreed the Lion, "but +what could anyone want with your growl?" + +"Well," said the dog, wagging his tail slowly, "my recollection is +that it was a wonderful growl, soft and low and--and--" + +"And ragged at the edges," said the Sawhorse. + +"So," continued Toto, "if that magician hadn't any growl of his own, +he might have wanted mine and stolen it." + +"And if he has, he will soon wish he hadn't," remarked the Mule. +"Also, if he has stolen Button-Bright, he will be sorry." + +"Don't you like Button-Bright, then?" asked the Lion in surprise. + +"It isn't a question of liking him," replied the Mule. "It's a +question of watching him and looking after him. Any boy who causes +his friends so much worry isn't worth having around. I never get +lost." + +"If you did," said Toto, "no one would worry a bit. I think +Button-Bright is a very lucky boy because he always gets found." + +"See here," said the Lion, "this chatter is keeping us all awake, and +tomorrow is likely to be a busy day. Go to sleep and forget your +quarrels." + +"Friend Lion," retorted the dog, "if I hadn't lost my growl, you would +hear it now. I have as much right to talk as you have to sleep." + +The Lion sighed. + +"If only you had lost your voice when you lost your +growl," said he, "you would be a more agreeable companion." + +But they quieted down after that, and soon the entire camp was wrapped +in slumber. Next morning they made an early start, but had hardly +proceeded on their way an hour when, on climbing a slight elevation, +they beheld in the distance a low mountain on top of which stood Ugu's +wicker castle. It was a good-sized building and rather pretty because +the sides, roofs and domes were all of wicker, closely woven as it is +in fine baskets. + +"I wonder if it is strong?"said Dorothy musingly as she eyed the +queer castle. + +"I suppose it is, since a magician built it," answered the Wizard. +"With magic to protect it, even a paper castle might be as strong as +if made of stone. This Ugu must be a man of ideas, because he does +things in a different way from other people." + +"Yes. No one else would steal our dear Ozma," sighed tiny Trot. + +"I wonder if Ozma is there?" said Betsy, indicating the castle with a +nod of her head. + +"Where else could she be?" asked Scraps. + +"Suppose we ask the Pink Bear," suggested Dorothy. + +That seemed a good idea, so they halted the procession, and the Bear +King held the little Pink Bear on his lap and turned the crank in its +side and asked, "Where is Ozma of Oz?" + +And the little Pink Bear answered, "She is in a hole in the ground a +half mile away at your left." + +"Good gracious!" cried Dorothy. + +"Then she is not in Ugu's castle at all." + +"It is lucky we asked that question," said the Wizard, "for if we can +find Ozma and rescue her, there will be no need for us to fight that +wicked and dangerous magician." + +"Indeed!" said Cayke. "Then what about my dishpan?" + +The Wizard looked puzzled at her tone of remonstrance, so she added, +"Didn't you people from the Emerald City promise that we would all +stick together, and that you would help me to get my dishpan if I +would help you to get your Ozma? And didn't I bring to you the little +Pink Bear, which has told you where Ozma is hidden?" + +"She's right," said Dorothy to the Wizard. + +"We must do as we agreed." + +"Well, first of all, let us go and rescue Ozma," proposed the Wizard. +"Then our beloved Ruler may be able to advise us how to conquer Ugu +the Shoemaker." So they turned to the left and marched for half a +mile until they came to a small but deep hole in the ground. At once, +all rushed to the brim to peer into the hole, but instead of finding +there Princess Ozma of Oz, all that they saw was Button-Bright, who +was lying asleep on the bottom. + +Their cries soon wakened the boy, who sat up and rubbed his eyes. +When he recognized his friends, he smiled sweetly, saying, "Found +again!" + +"Where is Ozma?" inquired Dorothy anxiously. + +"I don't know," answered Button-Bright from the depths of the hole. +"I got lost yesterday, as you may remember, and in the night while I +was wandering around in the moonlight trying to find my way back to +you, I suddenly fell into this hole." + +"And wasn't Ozma in it then?" + +"There was no one in it but me, and I was sorry it wasn't entirely +empty. The sides are so steep I can't climb out, so there was nothing +to be done but sleep until someone found me. Thank you for coming. +If you'll please let down a rope, I'll empty this hole in a hurry." + +"How strange!" said Dorothy, greatly disappointed. + +"It's evident the Pink Bear didn't tell the truth." + +"He never makes a mistake," declared the Lavender Bear King in a tone +that showed his feelings were hurt. And then he turned the crank of +the little Pink Bear again and asked, "Is this the hole that Ozma of +Oz is in?" + +"Yes," answered the Pink Bear. + +"That settles it," said the King positively. "Your Ozma is in this +hole in the ground." + +"Don't be silly," returned Dorothy impatiently. "Even your beady eyes +can see there is no one in the hole but Button-Bright." + +"Perhaps Button-Bright is Ozma," suggested the King. + +"And perhaps he isn't! + +Ozma is a girl, and Button-Bright is a boy." + +"Your Pink Bear must be out of order," said the Wizard, "for, this +time at least, his machinery has caused him to make an untrue +statement." + +The Bear King was so angry at this remark that he turned away, holding +the Pink Bear in his paws, and refused to discuss the matter in any +further way. + +"At any rate," said the Frogman, "the Pink Bear has led us to your boy +friend and so enabled you to rescue him." + +Scraps was leaning so far over the hole trying to find Ozma in it that +suddenly she lost her balance and pitched in head foremost. She fell +upon Button-Bright and tumbled him over, but he was not hurt by her +soft, stuffed body and only laughed at the mishap. The Wizard buckled +some straps together and let one end of them down into the hole, and +soon both Scraps and the boy had climbed up and were standing safely +beside the others. They looked once more for Ozma, but the hole was +now absolutely vacant. It was a round hole, so from the top they +could plainly see every part of it. Before they left the place, +Dorothy went to the Bear King and said, "I'm sorry we couldn't believe +what the little Pink Bear said, 'cause we don't want to make you feel +bad by doubting him. There must be a mistake, somewhere, and we +prob'ly don't understand just what the little Pink Bear said. Will +you let me ask him one more question?" + +The Lavender Bear King was a good-natured bear, considering how he was +made and stuffed and jointed, so he accepted Dorothy's apology and +turned the crank and allowed the little girl to question his wee Pink +Bear. + +"Is Ozma REALLY in this hole?" asked Dorothy. + +"No," said the little Pink Bear. + +This surprised everybody. Even the Bear King was now +puzzled by the contradictory statements of his oracle. + +"Where IS she?" asked the King. + +"Here, among you," answered the little Pink Bear. + +"Well," said Dorothy, "this beats me entirely! I guess the little +Pink Bear has gone crazy." + +"Perhaps," called Scraps, who was rapidly turning "cartwheels" all +around the perplexed group, "Ozma is invisible." + +"Of course!" cried Betsy. That would account for it." + +"Well, I've noticed that people can speak, even when they've been made +invisible," said the Wizard. And then he looked all around him and +said in a solemn voice, "Ozma, are you here?" + +There was no reply. Dorothy asked the question, too, and so did +Button-Bright and Trot and Betsy, but none received any reply at all. + +"It's strange, it's terrible strange!" muttered Cayke the Cookie Cook. +"I was sure that the little Pink Bear always tells the truth." + +"I still believe in his honesty," said the Frogman, and this tribute +so pleased the Bear King that he gave these last speakers grateful +looks, but still gazed sourly on the others. + +"Come to think of it," remarked the Wizard, "Ozma couldn't be +invisible, for she is a fairy, and fairies cannot be made invisible +against their will. Of course, she could be imprisoned by the +magician or enchanted or transformed, in spite of her fairy powers, +but Ugu could not render her invisible by any magic at his command." + +"I wonder if she's been transformed into Button-Bright?" said Dorothy +nervously. Then she looked steadily at the boy and asked, "Are you +Ozma? Tell me truly!" + +Button-Bright laughed. + +"You're getting rattled, Dorothy," he replied. +"Nothing ever enchants ME. If I were Ozma, do you think I'd have +tumbled into that hole?" + +"Anyhow," said the Wizard, "Ozma would never try to deceive her +friends or prevent them from recognizing her in whatever form she +happened to be. The puzzle is still a puzzle, so let us go on to the +wicker castle and question the magician himself. Since it was he who +stole our Ozma, Ugu is the one who must tell us where to find her." + + + + +CHAPTER 21 + +MAGIC AGAINST MAGIC + +The Wizard's advice was good, so again they started in the direction +of the low mountain on the crest of which the wicker castle had been +built. They had been gradually advancing uphill, so now the elevation +seemed to them more like a round knoll than a mountaintop. However, +the sides of the knoll were sloping and covered with green grass, so +there was a stiff climb before them yet. Undaunted, they plodded on +and had almost reached the knoll when they suddenly observed that it +was surrounded by a circle of flame. At first, the flames barely rose +above the ground, but presently they grew higher and higher until a +circle of flaming tongues of fire taller than any of their heads quite +surrounded the hill on which the wicker castle stood. When they +approached the flames, the heat was so intense that it drove them back +again. + +"This will never do for me!" exclaimed the Patchwork Girl. "I catch +fire very easily." + +"It won't do for me either," grumbled the Sawhorse, prancing to the +rear. + +"I also strongly object to fire," said the Bear King, following the +Sawhorse to a safe distance and hugging the little Pink Bear with his +paws. + +"I suppose the foolish Shoemaker imagines these blazes will stop us," +remarked the Wizard with a smile of scorn for Ugu. "But I am able to +inform you that this is merely a simple magic trick which the robber +stole from Glinda the Good, and by good fortune I know how to destroy +these flames as well as how to produce them. Will some one of you +kindly give me a match?" + +You may be sure the girls carried no matches, nor did the Frogman or +any of the animals. But Button-Bright, after searching carefully +through his pockets, which contained all sorts of useful and useless +things, finally produced a match and handed it to the Wizard, who tied +it to the end of a branch which he tore from a small tree growing near +them. Then the little Wizard carefully lighted the match, and running +forward thrust it into the nearest flame. Instantly, the circle of +fire began to die away, and soon vanished completely leaving the way +clear for them to proceed. + +"That was funny!" laughed Button-Bright. + +"Yes," agreed the Wizard, "it seems odd that a little match could +destroy such a great circle of fire, but when Glinda invented this +trick, she believed no one would ever think of a match being a remedy +for fire. I suppose even Ugu doesn't know how we managed to quench +the flames of his barrier, for only Glinda and I know the secret. +Glinda's Book of Magic which Ugu stole told how to make the flames, +but not how to put them out." + +They now formed in marching order and proceeded to advance up the +slope of the hill, but had not gone far when before them rose a wall +of steel, the surface of which was thickly covered with sharp, +gleaming points resembling daggers. The wall completely surrounded +the wicker castle, and its sharp points prevented anyone from climbing +it. Even the Patchwork Girl might be ripped to pieces if she dared +attempt it. "Ah!" exclaimed the Wizard cheerfully, "Ugu is now using +one of my own tricks against me. But this is more serious than the +Barrier of Fire, because the only way to destroy the wall is to get on +the other side of it." + +"How can that be done?" asked Dorothy. + +The Wizard looked thoughtfully around his little party, and his face +grew troubled. "It's a pretty high wall," he sadly remarked. "I'm +pretty sure the Cowardly Lion could not leap over it." + +"I'm sure of that, too!" said the Lion with a shudder of fear. "If I +foolishly tried such a leap, I would be caught on those dreadful +spikes." + +"I think I could do it, sir," said the Frogman with a bow to the +Wizard. "It is an uphill jump as well as being a high jump, but I'm +considered something of a jumper by my friends in the Yip Country, and +I believe a good, strong leap will carry me to the other side." + +"I'm sure it would," agreed the Cookie Cook. + +"Leaping, you know, is a froglike accomplishment," continued the +Frogman modestly, "but please tell me what I am to do when I reach the + +"You're a brave creature," said the Wizard admiringly. "Has anyone a +pin?" + +Betsy had one, which she gave him. "All you need do," said the Wizard +to the Frogman, giving him the pin, "is to stick this into the other +side of the wall." + +"But the wall is of steel!" exclaimed the big frog. + +"I know. At least, it SEEMS to be steel, but do as I tell you. Stick +the pin into the wall, and it will disappear." + +The Frogman took off his handsome coat and carefully folded it and +laid it on the grass. Then he removed his hat and laid it together +with his gold-headed cane beside the coat. He then went back a way +and made three powerful leaps in rapid succession. The first two +leaps took him to the wall, and the third leap carried him well over +it, to the amazement of all. For a short time, he disappeared from +their view, but when he had obeyed the Wizard's injunction and had +thrust the pin into the wall, the huge barrier vanished and showed +them the form of the Frogman, who now went to where his coat lay and +put it on again. + +"We thank you very much," said the delighted Wizard. + +"That was the most wonderful leap I ever saw, and it has saved us +from defeat by our enemy. Let us now hurry on to the castle before +Ugu the Shoemaker thinks up some other means to stop us." + +"We must have surprised him so far," declared Dorothy. + +"Yes indeed. The fellow knows a lot of magic--all of our tricks and +some of his own," replied the Wizard. "So if he is half as clever as +he ought to be, we shall have trouble with him yet." + +He had scarcely spoken these words when out from the gates of the +wicker castle marched a regiment of soldiers, clad in gay uniforms and +all bearing long, pointed spears and sharp battle axes. These +soldiers were girls, and the uniforms were short skirts of yellow and +black satin, golden shoes, bands of gold across their foreheads and +necklaces of glittering jewels. Their jackets were scarlet, braided +with silver cords. There were hundreds of these girl-soldiers, and +they were more terrible than beautiful, being strong and fierce in +appearance. They formed a circle all around the castle and faced +outward, their spears pointed toward the invaders, and their battle +axes held over their shoulders, ready to strike. Of course, our +friends halted at once, for they had not expected this dreadful array +of soldiery. The Wizard seemed puzzled, and his companions exchanged +discouraged looks. + +"I'd no idea Ugu had such an army as that," said Dorothy. "The castle +doesn't look big enough to hold them all." + +"It isn't," declared the Wizard. + +"But they all marched out of it." + +"They seemed to, but I don't believe it is a real army at all. If Ugu +the Shoemaker had so many people living with him, I'm sure the +Czarover of Herku would have mentioned the fact to us." + +"They're only girls!" laughed Scraps. + +"Girls are the fiercest soldiers of all," declared the Frogman. "They +are more brave than men, and they have better nerves. That is +probably why the magician uses them for soldiers and has sent them to +oppose us." + +No one argued this statement, for all were staring hard at the line of +soldiers, which now, having taken a defiant position, remained +motionless. + +"Here is a trick of magic new to me," admitted the Wizard after a +time. "I do not believe the army is real, but the spears may be sharp +enough to prick us, nevertheless, so we must be cautious. Let us take +time to consider how to meet this difficulty." + +While they were thinking it over, Scraps danced closer to the line of +girl soldiers. Her button eyes sometimes saw more than did the +natural eyes of her comrades, and so after staring hard at the +magician's army, she boldly advanced and danced right through the +threatening line! On the other side, she waved her stuffed arms and +called out, "Come on, folks. The spears can't hurt you." +said the Wizard gaily. "An optical illusion, as I thought. Let +us all follow the Patchwork Girl." The three little girls were +somewhat nervous in attempting to brave the spears and battle axes, +but after the others had safely passed the line, they ventured to +follow. And when all had passed through the ranks of the girl army, +the army itself magically disappeared from view. + +All this time our friends had been getting farther up the hill and +nearer to the wicker castle. Now, continuing their advance, they +expected something else to oppose their way, but to their astonishment +nothing happened, and presently they arrived at the wicker gates, +which stood wide open, and boldly entered the domain of Ugu the +Shoemaker. + + +CHAPTER 22 + + +No sooner were the Wizard of Oz and his followers well within the +castle entrance when the big gates swung to with a clang and heavy +bars dropped across them. They looked at one another uneasily, but no +one cared to speak of the incident. If they were indeed prisoners in +the wicker castle, it was evident they must find a way to escape, but +their first duty was to attend to the errand on which they had come +and seek the Royal Ozma, whom they believed to be a prisoner of the +magician, and rescue her. + +They found they had entered a square courtyard, from which an entrance +led into the main building of the castle. No person had appeared to +greet them so far, although a gaudy peacock perched upon the wall +cackled with laughter and said in its sharp, shrill voice, "Poor +fools! Poor fools!" + +"I hope the peacock is mistaken," remarked the Frogman, but no one +else paid any attention to the bird. They were a little awed by the +stillness and loneliness of the place. As they entered the doors of +the castle, which stood invitingly open, these also closed behind them +and huge bolts shot into place. The animals had all accompanied the +party into the castle because they felt it would be dangerous for them +to separate. They were forced to follow a zigzag passage, turning +this way and that, until finally they entered a great central hall, +circular in form and with a high dome from which was suspended an +enormous chandelier. + +The Wizard went first, and Dorothy, Betsy and Trot followed him, Toto +keeping at the heels of his little mistress. Then came the Lion, the +Woozy and the Sawhorse, then Cayke the Cookie Cook and Button-Bright, +then the Lavender Bear carrying the Pink Bear, and finally the Frogman +and the Patchwork Girl, with Hank the Mule tagging behind. So it was +the Wizard who caught the first glimpse of the big, domed hall, but +the others quickly followed and gathered in a wondering group just +within the entrance. + +Upon a raised platform at one side was a heavy table on which lay +Glinda's Great Book of Records, but the platform was firmly fastened +to the floor and the table was fastened to the platform and the Book +was chained fast to the table, just as it had been when it was kept in +Glinda's palace. On the wall over the table hung Ozma's Magic +Picture. On a row of shelves at the opposite side of the hall stood +all the chemicals and essences of magic and all the magical +instruments that had been stolen from Glinda and Ozma and the Wizard, +with glass doors covering the shelves so that no one could get at +them. + +And in a far corner sat Ugu the Shoemaker, his feet lazily extended, +his skinny hands clasped behind his head. He was leaning back at his +ease and calmly smoking a long pipe. Around the magician was a sort +of cage, seemingly made of golden bars set wide apart, and at his +feet, also within the cage, reposed the long-sought diamond-studded +dishpan of Cayke the Cookie Cook. Princess Ozma of Oz was nowhere to +be seen. + +"Well, well," said Ugu when the invaders had stood in silence for a +moment, staring about them. "This visit is an unexpected pleasure, I +assure you. I knew you were coming, and I know why you are here. You +are not welcome, for I cannot use any of you to my advantage, but as +you have insisted on coming, I hope you will make the afternoon call +as brief as possible. It won't take long to transact your business +with me. You will ask me for Ozma, and my reply will be that you may +find her--if you can." + +"Sir," answered the Wizard in a tone of rebuke, "you are a very wicked +and cruel person. I suppose you imagine, because you have stolen this +poor woman's dishpan and all the best magic in Oz, that you are more +powerful than we are and will be able to triumph over us." + +"Yes," said Ugu the Shoemaker, slowly filling his pipe with fresh +tobacco from a silver bowl that stood beside him, "that is exactly +what I imagine. It will do you no good to demand from me the girl who +was formerly the Ruler of Oz, because I will not tell you where I have +hidden her, and you can't guess in a thousand years. Neither will I +restore to you any of the magic I have captured. I am not so foolish. +But bear this in mind: I mean to be the Ruler of Oz myself, hereafter, +so I advise you to be careful how you address your future Monarch." + +"Ozma is still Ruler of Oz, wherever you may have hidden her," +declared the Wizard. "And bear this in mind, miserable Shoemaker: we +intend to find her and to rescue her in time, but our first duty and +pleasure will be to conquer you and then punish you for your +misdeeds." + +"Very well, go ahead and conquer," said Ugu. "I'd really like to see +how you can do it." + +Now although the little Wizard had spoken so boldly, he had at the +moment no idea how they might conquer the magician. He had that +morning given the Frogman, at his request, a dose of zosozo from his +bottle, and the Frogman had promised to fight a good fight if it was +necessary, but the Wizard knew that strength alone could not avail +against magical arts. The toy Bear King seemed to have some pretty +good magic, however, and the Wizard depended to an extent on that. +But something ought to be done right away, and the Wizard didn't know +what it was. + +While he considered this perplexing question and the others stood +looking at him as their leader, a queer thing happened. The floor of +the great circular hall on which they were standing suddenly began to +tip. Instead of being flat and level, it became a slant, and the +slant grew steeper and steeper until none of the party could manage to +stand upon it. Presently they all slid down to the wall, which was +now under them, and then it became evident that the whole vast room +was slowly turning upside down! Only Ugu the Shoemaker, kept in place +by the bars of his golden cage, remained in his former position, and +the wicked magician seemed to enjoy the surprise of his victims +immensely. + +First they all slid down to the wall back of them, but as the room +continued to turn over, they next slid down the wall and found +themselves at the bottom of the great dome, bumping against the big +chandelier which, like everything else, was now upside down. The +turning movement now stopped, and the room became stationary. Looking +far up, they saw Ugu suspended in his cage at the very top, which had +once been the floor. + +"Ah," said he, grinning down at them, "the way to conquer is to act, +and he who acts promptly is sure to win. This makes a very good +prison, from which I am sure you cannot escape. Please amuse +yourselves in any way you like, but I must beg you to excuse me, as I +have business in another part of my castle." + +Saying this, he opened a trap door in the floor of his cage (which was +now over his head) and climbed through it and disappeared from their +view. The diamond dishpan still remained in the cage, but the bars +kept it from falling down on their heads. + +"Well, I declare," said the Patchwork Girl, seizing one of the bars of +the chandelier and swinging from it, "we must peg one for the +Shoemaker, for he has trapped us very cleverly." + +"Get off my foot, please," said the Lion to the Sawhorse. + +"And oblige me, Mr. Mule," remarked the Woozy, "by taking your tail +out of my left eye." + +"It's rather crowded down here," explained Dorothy, "because the dome +is rounding and we have all slid into the middle of it. But let us +keep as quiet as possible until we can think what's best to be done." + +"Dear, dear!"wailed Cayke, "I wish I had my darling dishpan," and she +held her arms longingly toward it. + +"I wish I had the magic on those shelves up there," sighed the Wizard. + +"Don't you s'pose we could get to it?" asked Trot anxiously. + +"We'd have to fly," laughed the Patchwork Girl. + +But the Wizard took the suggestion seriously, and so did the Frogman. +They talked it over and soon planned an attempt to reach the shelves +where the magical instruments were. First the Frogman lay against the +rounding dome and braced his foot on the stem of the chandelier; then +the Wizard climbed over him and lay on the dome with his feet on the +Frogman's shoulders; the Cookie Cook came next; then Button-Bright +climbed to the woman's shoulders; then Dorothy climbed up and Betsy +and Trot, and finally the Patchwork Girl, and all their lengths made a +long line that reached far up the dome, but not far enough for Scraps +to touch the shelves. + +"Wait a minute. Perhaps I can reach the magic," called the Bear King, +and began scrambling up the bodies of the others. But when he came to +the Cookie Cook, his soft paws tickled her side so that she squirmed +and upset the whole line. Down they came, tumbling in a heap against +the animals, and although no one was much hurt, it was a bad mix-up, +and the Frogman, who was at the bottom, almost lost his temper before +he could get on his feet again. + +Cayke positively refused to try what she called "the pyramid act" +again, and as the Wizard was now convinced they could not reach the +magic tools in that manner, the attempt was abandoned. "But SOMETHING +must be done," said the Wizard, and then he turned to the Lavender +Bear and asked, "Cannot Your Majesty's magic help us to escape from +here?" + +"My magic powers are limited," was the reply. "When I was stuffed, +the fairies stood by and slyly dropped some magic into my stuffing. +Therefore I can do any of the magic that's inside me, but nothing +else. You, however, are a wizard, and a wizard should be able to do +anything." + +"Your Majesty forgets that my tools of magic have been stolen," said +the Wizard sadly, "and a wizard without tools is as helpless as a +carpenter without a hammer or saw." + +"Don't give up," pleaded Button-Bright, "20'cause if we can't get +out of this queer prison, we'll all starve to death." + +"Not I!" laughed the Patchwork Girl, now standing on top of the +chandelier at the place that was meant to be the bottom of it. + +"Don't talk of such dreadful things," said Trot, shuddering. "We came +here to capture the Shoemaker, didn't we?" + +"Yes, and to save Ozma," said Betsy. + +"And here we are, captured ourselves, and my darling dishpan up there +in plain sight!" wailed the Cookie Cook, wiping her eyes on the tail +of the Frogman's coat. + +"Hush!" called the Lion with a low, deep growl. "Give the Wizard time +to think." + +"He has plenty of time," said Scraps. "What he needs is the +Scarecrow's brains." + +After all, it was little Dorothy who came to their rescue, and her +ability to save them was almost as much a surprise to the girl as it +was to her friends. Dorothy had been secretly testing the powers of +her Magic Belt, which she had once captured from the Nome King, and +experimenting with it in various ways ever since she had started on +this eventful journey. At different times she had stolen away from +the others of her party and in solitude had tried to find out what the +Magic Belt could do and what it could not do. There were a lot of +things it could not do, she discovered, but she learned some things +about the Belt which even her girl friends did not suspect she knew. + +For one thing, she had remembered that when the Nome King owned it, +the Magic Belt used to perform transformations, and by thinking hard +she had finally recalled the way in which such transformations had +been accomplished. Better than this, however, was the discovery that +the Magic Belt would grant its wearer one wish a day. All she need do +was close her right eye and wiggle her left toe and then draw a long +breath and make her wish. Yesterday she had wished in secret for a +box of caramels, and instantly found the box beside her. Today she +had saved her daily wish in case she might need it in an emergency, +and the time had now come when she must use the wish to enable her to +escape with her friends from the prison in which Ugu had caught them. + +So without telling anyone what she intended to do--for she had only +used the wish once and could not be certain how powerful the Magic +Belt might be--Dorothy closed her right eye and wiggled her left big +toe and drew a long breath and wished with all her might. The next +moment the room began to revolve again, as slowly as before, and by +degrees they all slid to the side wall and down the wall to the +floor--all but Scraps, who was so astonished that she still clung to +the chandelier. When the big hall was in its proper position again +and the others stood firmly upon the floor of it, they looked far up +the dome and saw the Patchwork girl swinging from the chandelier. + +"Good gracious!" cried Dorothy."How ever will you get down?" + +"Won't the room keep turning?" asked Scraps. + +"I hope not. I believe it has stopped for good," said Princess +Dorothy. + +"Then stand from under, so you won't get hurt!" shouted the +PatchworkGirl, and as soon as they had obeyed this request, she let go the +chandelier and came tumbling down heels over head and twisting and +turning in a very exciting manner. Plump! She fell on the tiled +floor, and they ran to her and rolled her and patted her into shape +again. + + + + +CHAPTER 23 + +THE DEFIANCE OF UGU THE SHOEMAKER + +The delay caused by Scraps had prevented anyone from running to the +shelves to secure the magic instruments so badly needed. Even Cayke +neglected to get her diamond-studded dishpan because she was watching +the Patchwork Girl. And now the magician had opened his trap door and +appeared in his golden cage again, frowning angrily because his +prisoners had been able to turn their upside-down prison right side +up. "Which of you has dared defy my magic?" he shouted in a terrible +voice. + +"It was I," answered Dorothy calmly. + +"Then I shall destroy you, for you are only an Earth girl and no +fairy," he said, and began to mumble some magic words. + +Dorothy now realized that Ugu must be treated as an enemy, so she +advanced toward the corner in which he sat, saying as she went, "I am +not afraid of you, Mr. Shoemaker, and I think you'll be sorry, pretty +soon, that you're such a bad man. You can't destroy me, and I won't +destroy you, but I'm going to punish you for your wickedness." + +Ugu laughed, a laugh that was not nice to hear, and then he waved his +hand. Dorothy was halfway across the room when suddenly a wall of +glass rose before her and stopped her progress. Through the glass she +could see the magician sneering at her because she was a weak little +girl, and this provoked her. Although the glass wall obliged her to +halt, she instantly pressed both hands to her Magic Belt and cried in +a loud voice, "Ugu the Shoemaker, by the magic virtues of the Magic +Belt, I command you to become a dove!" + +The magician instantly realized he was being enchanted, for he could +feel his form changing. He struggled desperately against the +enchantment, mumbling magic words and making magic passes with his +hands. And in one way he succeeded in defeating Dorothy's purpose, +for while his form soon changed to that of a gray dove, the dove was +of an enormous size, bigger even than Ugu had been as a man, and this +feat he had been able to accomplish before his powers of magic wholly +deserted him. + +And the dove was not gentle, as doves usually are, for +Ugu was terribly enraged at the little girl's success. His books had +told him nothing of the Nome King's Magic Belt, the Country of the +Nomes being outside the Land of Oz. He knew, however, that he was +likely to be conquered unless he made a fierce fight, so he spread his +wings and rose in the air and flew directly toward Dorothy. The Wall +of Glass had disappeared the instant Ugu became transformed. + +Dorothy had meant to command the Belt to transform the magician into a +Dove of Peace, but in her excitement she forgot to say more than +"dove," and now Ugu was not a Dove of Peace by any means, but rather a +spiteful Dove of War. His size made his sharp beak and claws very +dangerous, but Dorothy was not afraid when he came darting toward her +with his talons outstretched and his sword-like beak open. She knew +the Magic Belt would protect its wearer from harm. + +But the Frogman did not know that fact and became alarmed at the +little girl's seeming danger. So he gave a sudden leap and leaped +full upon the back of the great dove. Then began a desperate +struggle. The dove was as strong as Ugu had been, and in size it was +considerably bigger than the Frogman. But the Frogman had eaten the +zosozo, and it had made him fully as strong as Ugu the Dove. At the +first leap he bore the dove to the floor, but the giant bird got free +and began to bite and claw the Frogman, beating him down with its +great wings whenever he attempted to rise. The thick, tough skin of +the big frog was not easily damaged, but Dorothy feared for her +champion, and by again using the transformation power of the Magic +Belt, she made the dove grow small until it was no larger than a +canary bird. Ugu had not lost his knowledge of magic when he lost his +shape as a man, and he now realized it was hopeless to oppose the +power of the Magic Belt and knew that his only hope of escape lay in +instant action. So he quickly flew into the golden jeweled dishpan he +had stolen from Cayke the Cookie Cook, and as birds can talk as well +as beasts or men in the Fairyland of Oz, he muttered the magic word +that was required and wished himself in the Country of the Quadlings, +which was as far away from the wicker castle as he believed he could +get. + +Our friends did not know, of course, what Ugu was about to do. They +saw the dishpan tremble an instant and then disappear, the dove +disappearing with it, and although they waited expectantly for some +minutes for the magician's return, Ugu did not come back again. +"Seems to me," said the Wizard in a cheerful voice, "that we have +conquered the wicked magician more quickly than we expected to." + +"Don't say 'we.' Dorothy did it!" cried the Patchwork Girl, turning +three somersaults in succession and then walking around on her hands. +"Hurrah for Dorothy!" + +"I thought you said you did not know how to use the magic of the Nome +King's Belt," said the Wizard to Dorothy. + +"I didn't know at that time," she replied, "but afterward I remembered +how the Nome King once used the Magic Belt to enchant people and +transform 'em into ornaments and all sorts of things, so I tried some +enchantments in secret, and after a while I transformed the Sawhorse +into a potato masher and back again, and the Cowardly Lion into a +pussycat and back again, and then I knew the thing would work all +right." + +"When did you perform those enchantments?" asked the Wizard, much +surprised. + +"One night when all the rest of you were asleep but Scraps, and she +had gone chasing moonbeams." + +"Well," remarked the Wizard, "your discovery has certainly saved us a +lot of trouble, and we must all thank the Frogman, too, for making +such a good fight. The dove's shape had Ugu's evil disposition inside +it, and that made the monster bird dangerous." + +The Frogman was looking sad because the bird's talons had torn his +pretty clothes, but he bowed with much dignity at this well-deserved +praise. Cayke, however, had squatted on the floor and was sobbing +bitterly. "My precious dishpan is gone!" she wailed. "Gone, just as +I had found it again!" + +"Never mind," said Trot, trying to comfort her, "it's sure to be +SOMEWHERE, so we'll cert'nly run across it some day." + +"Yes indeed," added Betsy, "now that we have Ozma's Magic Picture, we +can tell just where the Dove went with your dishpan. They all +approached the Magic Picture, and Dorothy wished it to show the +enchanted form of Ugu the Shoemaker, wherever it might be. At once +there appeared in the frame of the Picture a scene in the far Quadling +Country, where the Dove was perched disconsolately on the limb of a +tree and the jeweled dishpan lay on the ground just underneath the +limb. + +"But where is the place? How far or how near?" asked Cayke anxiously. + +"The Book of Records will tell us that," answered the Wizard. So they +looked in the Great Book and read the following: + +"Ugu the Magician, being transformed into a dove by Princess Dorothy +of Oz, has used the magic of the golden dishpan to carry him instantly +to the northeast corner of the Quadling Country." + +"Don't worry, Cayke, for the +Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman are in that part of the country looking +for Ozma, and they'll surely find your dishpan." + +"Good gracious!" exclaimed Button-Bright. "We've forgot all about +Ozma. Let's find out where the magician hid her." + +Back to the Magic Picture they trooped, but when they wished to see +Ozma wherever she might be hidden, only a round black spot appeared in +the center of the canvas. "I don't see how THAT can be Ozma!" said +Dorothy, much puzzled. + +"It seems to be the best the Magic Picture can do, however," said the +Wizard, no less surprised. "If it's an enchantment, looks as if the +magician had transformed Ozma into a chunk of pitch." + + + +CHAPTER 24 + +THE LITTLE PINK BEAR SPEAKS TRULY + +For several minutes they all stood staring at the black spot on the +canvas of the Magic Picture, wondering what it could mean. "P'r'aps +we'd better ask the little Pink Bear about Ozma," suggested Trot. + +"Pshaw!" said Button-Bright. "HE don't know anything." + +"He never makes a mistake," declared the King. + +"He did once, surely," said Betsy. "But perhaps he wouldn't make a +mistake again." + +"He won't have the chance," grumbled the Bear King. + +"We might hear what he has to say," said Dorothy. "It won't do any +harm to ask the Pink Bear where Ozma is." + +"I will not have him questioned," declared the King in a surly voice. +"I do not intend to allow my little Pink Bear to be again insulted by +your foolish doubts. He never makes a mistake." + +"Didn't he say Ozma was in that hole in the ground?" + asked Betsy. + +"He did, and I am certain she was there," replied the Lavender Bear. + +Scraps laughed jeeringly, and the others saw there was no use arguing +with the stubborn Bear King, who seemed to have absolute faith in his +Pink Bear. The Wizard, who knew that magical things can usually be +depended upon and that the little Pink Bear was able to answer +questions by some remarkable power of magic, thought it wise to +apologize to the Lavender Bear for the unbelief of his friends, at the +same time urging the King to consent to question the Pink Bear once +more. Cayke and the Frogman also pleaded with the big Bear, who +finally agreed, although rather ungraciously, to put the little Bear's +wisdom to the test once more. So he sat the little one on his knee +and turned the crank, and the Wizard himself asked the questions in a +very respectful tone of voice. "Where is Ozma?" was his first query. + +"Here in this room," answered the little Pink Bear. + +They all looked around the room, but of course did not see her. "In +what part of the room is she?" was the Wizard's next question. + +"In Button-Bright's pocket," said the little Pink Bear. + +This reply amazed them all, you may be sure, and although the three +girls smiled and Scraps yelled "Hoo-ray!" in derision, the Wizard +turned to consider the matter with grave thoughtfulness. "In which +one of Button-Bright's pockets is Ozma?" he presently inquired. + +"In the left-hand jacket pocket," said the little Pink Bear. + +"The pink one has gone crazy!" exclaimed Button-Bright, staring +hard at the little bear on the big bear's knee. + +"I am not so sure of that," declared the Wizard. "If Ozma proves to +be really in your pocket, then the little Pink Bear spoke truly when +he said Ozma was in that hole in the ground. For at that time you +were also in the hole, and after we had pulled you out of it, the +little Pink Bear said Ozma was not in the hole." + +"He never makes a mistake," asserted the Bear King stoutly. + +"Empty that pocket, Button-Bright, and let's see what's in it," +requested Dorothy. + +So Button-Bright laid the contents of his left jacket pocket on the +table. These proved to be a peg top, a bunch of string, a small +rubber ball and a golden peach pit. "What's this?" asked the Wizard, +picking up the peach pit and examining it closely. + +"Oh," said the boy, "I saved that to show to the girls, and then +forgot all about it. It came out of a lonesome peach that I found in +the orchard back yonder, and which I ate while I was lost. It looks +like gold, and I never saw a peach pit like it before." + +"Nor I," said the Wizard, "and that makes it seem suspicious." + +All heads were bent over the golden peach pit. The Wizard turned it +over several times and then took out his pocket knife and pried the +pit open. As the two halves fell apart, a pink, cloud-like haze came +pouring from the golden peach pit, almost filling the big room, and +from the haze a form took shape and settled beside them. Then, as the +haze faded away, a sweet voice said, "Thank you, my friends!" and +there before them stood their lovely girl Ruler, Ozma of Oz. + +With a cry of delight, Dorothy rushed forward and embraced her. +Scraps turned gleeful flipflops all around the room. Button-Bright +gave a low whistle of astonishment. The Frogman took off his tall hat +and bowed low before the beautiful girl who had been freed from her +enchantment in so startling a manner. For a time, no sound was heard +beyond the low murmur of delight that came from the amazed group, but +presently the growl of the big Lavender Bear grew louder, and he said +in a tone of triumph, "He never makes a mistake!" + + + +CHAPTER 25 + +OZMA OF OZ + +"It's funny," said Toto, standing before his friend the Lion and +wagging his tail, "but I've found my growl at last! I am positive now +that it was the cruel magician who stole it." + +"Let's hear your growl," requested the Lion. + +"G-r-r-r-r-r!" said Toto. + +"That is fine," declared the big beast. "It isn't as loud or as deep +as the growl of the big Lavender Bear, but it is a very respectable +growl for a small dog. Where did you find it, Toto?" + +"I was smelling in the corner yonder," said Toto, "when suddenly a +mouse ran out--and I growled." + +The others were all busy congratulating Ozma, who was very happy at +being released from the confinement of the golden peach pit, where the +magician had placed her with the notion that she never could be found +or liberated. + +"And only to think," cried Dorothy, "that Button-Bright has been +carrying you in his pocket all this time, and we never knew it!" + +"The little Pink Bear told you," said the Bear King, "but you wouldn't +believe him." + +"Never mind, my dears," said Ozma graciously, "all is well that ends +well, and you couldn't be expected to know I was inside the peach pit. +Indeed, I feared I would remain a captive much longer than I did, for +Ugu is a bold and clever magician, and he had hidden me very +securely." + +"You were in a fine peach," said Button-Bright, "the best I ever ate." + +"The magician was foolish to make the peach so tempting," remarked the +Wizard, "but Ozma would lend beauty to any transformation." + +"How did you manage to conquer Ugu the Shoemaker?" +inquired the girl Ruler of Oz. + +Dorothy started to tell the story, and Trot helped her, and +Button-Bright wanted to relate it in his own way, and the Wizard tried +to make it clear to Ozma, and Betsy had to remind them of important +things they left out, and all together there was such a chatter that +it was a wonder that Ozma understood any of it. But she listened +patiently, with a smile on her lovely face at their eagerness, and +presently had gleaned all the details of their adventures. + +Ozma thanked the Frogman very earnestly for his assistance, and she +advised Cayke the Cookie Cook to dry her weeping eyes, for she +promised to take her to the Emerald City and see that her cherished +dishpan was restored to her. Then the beautiful Ruler took a chain of +emeralds from around her own neck and placed it around the neck of the +little Pink Bear. + +"Your wise answers to the questions of my friends," +said she, "helped them to rescue me. Therefore I am deeply grateful +to you and to your noble King." + +The bead eyes of the little Pink Bear stared unresponsive to this +praise until the Big Lavender Bear turned the crank in its side, when +it said in its squeaky voice, "I thank Your Majesty." + +"For my part," returned the Bear King, "I realize that you were well +worth saving, Miss Ozma, and so I am much pleased that we could be of +service to you. By means of my Magic Wand I have been creating exact +images of your Emerald City and your Royal Palace, and I must confess +that they are more attractive than any places I have ever seen--not +excepting Bear Center." + +"I would like to entertain you in my palace," returned Ozma sweetly, +"and you are welcome to return with me and to make me a long visit, if +your bear subjects can spare you from your own kingdom." + +"As for that," answered the King, "my kingdom causes me little worry, +and I often find it somewhat tame and uninteresting. Therefore I am +glad to accept your kind invitation. Corporal Waddle may be trusted +to care for my bears in my absence." + +"And you'll bring the little Pink Bear?" asked Dorothy eagerly. + +"Of course, my dear. I would not willingly part with him." + +They remained in the wicker castle for three days, carefully packing +all the magical things that had been stolen by Ugu and also taking +whatever in the way of magic the shoemaker had inherited from his +ancestors. "For," said Ozma, "I have forbidden any of my subjects +except Glinda the Good and the Wizard of Oz to practice magical arts, +because they cannot be trusted to do good and not harm. Therefore Ugu +must never again be permitted to work magic of any sort." + +"Well," remarked Dorothy cheerfully, "a dove can't do much in the way +of magic, anyhow, and I'm going to keep Ugu in the form of a dove +until he reforms and becomes a good and honest shoemaker." + +When everything was packed and loaded on the backs of the animals, +they set out for the river, taking a more direct route than that by +which Cayke and the Frogman had come. In this way they avoided the +Cities of Thi and Herku and Bear Center and after a pleasant journey +reached the Winkie River and found a jolly ferryman who had a fine, +big boat and was willing to carry the entire party by water to a place +quite near to the Emerald City. + +The river had many windings and many branches, and the journey did not +end in a day, but finally the boat floated into a pretty lake which +was but a short distance from Ozma's home. Here the jolly ferryman +was rewarded for his labors, and then the entire party set out in a +grand procession to march to the Emerald City. News that the Royal +Ozma had been found spread quickly throughout the neighborhood, and +both sides of the road soon became lined with loyal subjects of the +beautiful and beloved Ruler. Therefore Ozma's ears heard little but +cheers, and her eyes beheld little else than waving handkerchiefs and +banners during all the triumphal march from the lake to the city's +gates. + +And there she met a still greater concourse, for all the inhabitants +of the Emerald City turned out to welcome her return, and all the +houses were decorated with flags and bunting, and never before were +the people so joyous and happy as at this moment when they welcomed +home their girl Ruler. For she had been lost and was now found again, +and surely that was cause for rejoicing. Glinda was at the royal +palace to meet the returning party, and the good Sorceress was indeed +glad to have her Great Book of Records returned to her, as well as all +the precious collection of magic instruments and elixirs and chemicals +that had been stolen from her castle. Cap'n Bill and the Wizard at +once hung the Magic Picture upon the wall of Ozma's boudoir, and the +Wizard was so light-hearted that he did several tricks with the tools +in his black bag to amuse his companions and prove that once again he +was a powerful wizard. + +For a whole week there was feasting and merriment and all sorts of +joyous festivities at the palace in honor of Ozma's safe return. The +Lavender Bear and the little Pink Bear received much attention and +were honored by all, much to the Bear King's satisfaction. The +Frogman speedily became a favorite at the Emerald City, and the Shaggy +Man and Tik-Tok and Jack Pumpkinhead, who had now returned from their +search, were very polite to the big frog and made him feel quite at +home. Even the Cookie Cook, because she was quite a stranger and +Ozma's guest, was shown as much deference as if she had been a queen. + +"All the same, Your Majesty," said Cayke to Ozma, day after day with +tiresome repetition, "I hope you will soon find my jeweled dishpan, +for never can I be quite happy without it." + + + +CHAPTER 26 + +DOROTHY FORGIVES + +The gray dove which had once been Ugu the Shoemaker sat on its tree in +the far Quadling Country and moped, chirping dismally and brooding +over its misfortunes. After a time, the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman +came along and sat beneath the tree, paying no heed to the mutterings +of the gray dove. The Tin Woodman took a small oilcan from his tin +pocket and carefully oiled his tin joints with it. + +While he was thus engaged, the Scarecrow remarked, "I feel much better, +dear comrade, since we found that heap of nice, clean straw and you +stuffed me anew with it." + +"And I feel much better now that my joints are oiled," returned the +Tin Woodman with a sigh of pleasure. "You and I, friend Scarecrow, +are much more easily cared for than those clumsy meat people, who +spend half their time dressing in fine clothes and who must live in +splendid dwellings in order to be contented and happy. You and I do +not eat, and so we are spared the dreadful bother of getting three +meals a day. Nor do we waste half our lives in sleep, a condition +that causes the meat people to lose all consciousness and become as +thoughtless and helpless as logs of wood." + +"You speak truly," responded the Scarecrow, tucking some wisps of +straw into his breast with his padded fingers. "I often feel sorry +for the meat people, many of whom are my friends. Even the beasts are +happier than they, for they require less to make them content. And +the birds are the luckiest creatures of all, for they can fly swiftly +where they will and find a home at any place they care to perch. +Their food consists of seeds and grains they gather from the fields, +and their drink is a sip of water from some running brook. If I could +not be a Scarecrow or a Tin Woodman, my next choice would be to live +as a bird does." + +The gray dove had listened carefully to this speech and seemed to find +comfort in it, for it hushed its moaning. And just then the Tin +Woodman discovered Cayke's dishpan, which was on the ground quite near +to him. "Here is a rather pretty utensil," he said, taking it in his +tin hand to examine it, "but I would not care to own it. Whoever +fashioned it of gold and covered it with diamonds did not add to its +usefulness, nor do I consider it as beautiful as the bright dishpans +of tin one usually sees. No yellow color is ever so handsome as the +silver sheen of tin," and he turned to look at his tin legs and body +with approval. + +"I cannot quite agree with you there," replied the Scarecrow. "My +straw stuffing has a light yellow color, and it is not only pretty to +look at, but it crunkles most delightfully when I move." + +"Let us admit that all colors are good in their proper places," said +the Tin Woodman, who was too kind-hearted to quarrel, "but you must +agree with me that a dishpan that is yellow is unnatural. What shall +we do with this one, which we have just found?" + +"Let us carry it back to the Emerald City," suggested the Scarecrow. +"Some of our friends might like to have it for a foot-bath, and in +using it that way, its golden color and sparkling ornaments would not +injure its usefulness." + +So they went away and took the jeweled dishpan with them. And after +wandering through the country for a day or so longer, they learned the +news that Ozma had been found. Therefore they straightway returned to +the Emerald City and presented the dishpan to Princess Ozma as a token +of their joy that she had been restored to them. Ozma promptly gave +the diamond-studded gold dishpan to Cayke the Cookie Cook, who was +delighted at regaining her lost treasure that she danced up and down +in glee and then threw her skinny arms around Ozma's neck and kissed +her gratefully. Cayke's mission was now successfully accomplished, +but she was having such a good time at the Emerald City that she +seemed in no hurry to go back to the Country of the Yips. + +It was several weeks after the dishpan had been restored to the Cookie +Cook when one day, as Dorothy was seated in the royal gardens with +Trot and Betsy beside her, a gray dove came flying down and alighted +at the girl's feet. + +"I am Ugu the Shoemaker," said the dove in a +soft, mourning voice, "and I have come to ask you to forgive me for +the great wrong I did in stealing Ozma and the magic that belonged to +her and to others." + +"Are you sorry, then?" asked Dorothy, looking hard at the bird. + +"I am VERY sorry," declared Ugu. "I've been thinking over my misdeeds +for a long time, for doves have little else to do but think, and I'm +surprised that I was such a wicked man and had so little regard for +the rights of others. I am now convinced that even had I succeeded in +making myself ruler of all Oz, I should not have been happy, for many +days of quiet thought have shown me that only those things one +acquires honestly are able to render one content." + +"I guess that's so," said Trot. + +"Anyhow," said Betsy, "the bad man seems truly sorry, and if he has +now become a good and honest man, we ought to forgive him." + +"I fear I cannot become a good MAN again," said Ugu, "for the +transformation I am under will always keep me in the form of a dove. +But with the kind forgiveness of my former enemies, I hope to become a +very good dove and highly respected." + +"Wait here till I run for my Magic Belt," said Dorothy, "and I'll +transform you back to your reg'lar shape in a jiffy." + +"No, don't do that!" pleaded the dove, fluttering its wings in an +excited way. "I only want your forgiveness. I don't want to be a man +again. As Ugu the Shoemaker I was skinny and old and unlovely. As a +dove I am quite pretty to look at. As a man I was ambitious and +cruel, while as a dove I can be content with my lot and happy in my +simple life. I have learned to love the free and independent life of +a bird, and I'd rather not change back." + +"Just as you like, Ugu," said Dorothy, resuming her seat. "Perhaps +you are right, for you're certainly a better dove than you were a man, +and if you should ever backslide an' feel wicked again, you couldn't +do much harm as a gray dove." + +"Then you forgive me for all the trouble I caused you?" he asked +earnestly. + +"Of course. Anyone who's sorry just has to be forgiven." + +"Thank you," said the gray dove, and flew away again. + +THE END + + + +The Wonderful Oz Books by L. Frank Baum + +The Wizard of Oz +The Land of Oz +Ozma of Oz +Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz +The Road to Oz +The Emerald City of Oz +The Patchwork Girl of Oz +Tik-Tok of Oz +The Scarecrow of Oz +Rinkitink in Oz +The Lost Princess of Oz +The Tin Woodman of Oz +The Magic of Oz +Glinda of Oz + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Etext of The Lost Princess of Oz, by Baum + diff --git a/old/11woz11.zip b/old/11woz11.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..cc0fd3f --- /dev/null +++ b/old/11woz11.zip diff --git a/old/11woz11h.htm b/old/11woz11h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..cb1fea9 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/11woz11h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,6241 @@ +<?xml version="1.0" encoding="iso-8859-1"?> +<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> + +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> + <head> + <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1" /> + <title>The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Lost Princess of Oz, by Baum </title> + <style type="text/css"> + <!-- + body { margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; } + p { margin-top: .75em; + font-size: 100%; + text-align: justify; + margin-bottom: .75em; } + h1 { text-align: center; + margin-top: 4em; } + h1.pg { text-align: center; + margin-top: 0em; } + h2 { text-align: center; + margin-top: 2em; } + + h3, h4, h5, h6 { text-align: center; } + hr { width: 50%; } + hr.full { width: 100%; + height: 5px; } + .ctr {text-align: center;} + .foot { margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; text-align: justify; text-indent: -3em; font-size: 85%; } + .poem { margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; margin-bottom: 1em; text-align: left; } + .poem .stanza { margin: 1em 0em 1em 0em; } + .poem p { margin: 0; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em; } + .poem p.i2 { margin-left: 1em; } + .poem p.i4 { margin-left: 2em; } + .poem p.i6 { margin-left: 3em; } + .poem p.i8 { margin-left: 4em; } + .poem p.i10 { margin-left: 5em; } + .toc { margin-left: 15%; font-size: 80%; margin-bottom: 0em;} + center { padding: 0.8em;} + a:link {color:blue; text-decoration:none} + link {color:blue; text-decoration:none} + a:visited {color:blue; text-decoration:none} + a:hover {color:red} + table {margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;} + // --> + </style> + </head> +<body> +<pre> + +*Project Gutenberg's Etext of The Lost Princess of Oz, by Baum* +#11 in the L. 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If you + don't derive profits, no royalty is due. Royalties are + payable to "Project Gutenberg Association/Carnegie-Mellon + University" within the 60 days following each + date you prepare (or were legally required to prepare) + your annual (or equivalent periodic) tax return. + +WHAT IF YOU *WANT* TO SEND MONEY EVEN IF YOU DON'T HAVE TO? +The Project gratefully accepts contributions in money, time, +scanning machines, OCR software, public domain etexts, royalty +free copyright licenses, and every other sort of contribution +you can think of. Money should be paid to "Project Gutenberg +Association / Carnegie-Mellon University". + +*END*THE SMALL PRINT! FOR PUBLIC DOMAIN ETEXTS*Ver.04.29.93*END* + + +</pre> + +<hr /> + +<h1>THE LOST PRINCESS OF OZ</h1> + +<h3>by L. FRANK BAUM</h3> + + +<h4>This Book is Dedicated To My Granddaughter OZMA BAUM</h4> + + +<hr /> +<h2 id="ref_1">To My Readers</h2> + +<p>Some of my youthful readers are developing wonderful +imaginations. This pleases me. Imagination has brought mankind +through the Dark Ages to its present state of civilization. +Imagination led Columbus to discover America. Imagination led +Franklin to discover electricity. Imagination has given us the +steam engine, the telephone, the talking-machine and the +automobile, for these things had to be dreamed of before they +became realities. So I believe that dreams — day dreams, you +know, with your eyes wide open and your brain-machinery whizzing +— are likely to lead to the betterment of the world. The +imaginative child will become the imaginative man or woman most +apt to create, to invent, and therefore to foster civilization. A +prominent educator tells me that fairy tales are of untold value +in developing imagination in the young. I believe it. </p> + +<p>Among the letters I receive from children are many containing +suggestions of "what to write about in the next Oz Book." Some of +the ideas advanced are mighty interesting, while others are too +extravagant to be seriously considered — even in a fairy tale. +Yet I like them all, and I must admit that the main idea in "The +Lost Princess of Oz" was suggested to me by a sweet little girl +of eleven who called to see me and to talk about the Land of Oz. +Said she: "I s'pose if Ozma ever got lost, or stolen, ev'rybody +in Oz would be dreadful sorry."</p> + +<p>That was all, but quite enough foundation to build this present +story on. If you happen to like the story, give credit to my +little friend's clever hint. </p> + +<p>L. Frank Baum Royal Historian of Oz</p> + +<p>THE LOST PRINCESS</p> +<p>BY L. FRANK BAUM</p> + +<hr /> + +<h1><a name="Contents">Contents</a> </h1> +<div class="ctr"> + <table border="0" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0" summary=""> + <tr><td>CHAPTER</td><td></td></tr> + <tr><td align="right">1 </td><td> <a href="#ref_2"> A Terrible Loss</a></td></tr> + <tr><td align="right">2 </td><td> <a href="#ref_3"> The Troubles of Glinda the Good</a></td></tr> + <tr><td align="right">3 </td><td> <a href="#ref_4"> The Robbery of Cayke the Cookie Cook</a></td></tr> + <tr><td align="right">4 </td><td> <a href="#ref_5"> Among the Winkies</a></td></tr> + <tr><td align="right">5 </td><td> <a href="#ref_6"> Ozma's Friends Are Perplexed</a></td></tr> + <tr><td align="right">6 </td><td> <a href="#ref_7"> The Search Party</a></td></tr> + <tr><td align="right">7 </td><td> <a href="#ref_8"> The Merry-Go-Round Mountains</a></td></tr> + <tr><td align="right">8 </td><td> <a href="#ref_9"> The Mysterious City</a></td></tr> + <tr><td align="right">9 </td><td> <a href="#ref_10"> The High Coco-Lorum of Thi</a></td></tr> + <tr><td align="right">10 </td><td> <a href="#ref_11"> Toto Loses Something</a></td></tr> + <tr><td align="right">11 </td><td> <a href="#ref_12"> Button-Bright Loses Himself</a></td></tr> + <tr><td align="right">12 </td><td> <a href="#ref_13"> The Czarover of Herku</a></td></tr> + <tr><td align="right">13 </td><td> <a href="#ref_14"> The Truth Pond</a></td></tr> + <tr><td align="right">14 </td><td> <a href="#ref_15"> The Unhappy Ferryman</a></td></tr> + <tr><td align="right">15 </td><td> <a href="#ref_16"> The Big Lavender Bear</a></td></tr> + <tr><td align="right">16 </td><td> <a href="#ref_17"> The Little Pink Bear</a></td></tr> + <tr><td align="right">17 </td><td> <a href="#ref_18"> The Meeting</a></td></tr> + <tr><td align="right">18 </td><td> <a href="#ref_19"> The Conference</a></td></tr> + <tr><td align="right">19 </td><td> <a href="#ref_20"> Ugu the Shoemaker</a></td></tr> + <tr><td align="right">20 </td><td> <a href="#ref_21"> More Surprises</a></td></tr> + <tr><td align="right">21 </td><td> <a href="#ref_22"> Magic Against Magic</a></td></tr> + <tr><td align="right">22 </td><td> <a href="#ref_23"> In the Wicker Castle</a></td></tr> + <tr><td align="right">23 </td><td> <a href="#ref_24"> The Defiance of Ugu the Shoemaker</a></td></tr> + <tr><td align="right">24 </td><td> <a href="#ref_25"> The Little Pink Bear Speaks Truly</a></td></tr> + <tr><td align="right">25 </td><td> <a href="#ref_26"> Ozma of Oz</a></td></tr> + <tr><td align="right">26 </td><td> <a href="#ref_27"> Dorothy Forgives</a></td></tr> + </table> +</div> + +<hr /> + +<h2 id="ref_2">CHAPTER 1</h2> + +<h3>A TERRIBLE LOSS</h3> + +<p>There could be no doubt of the fact: Princess Ozma, the lovely +girl ruler of the Fairyland of Oz, was lost. She had completely +disappeared.Not one of her subjects—not even her closest +friends—knew what had become of her. It was Dorothy who first +discovered it. Dorothy was a little Kansas girl who had come to +the Land of Oz to live and had been given a delightful suite of +rooms in Ozma's royal palace just because Ozma loved Dorothy and +wanted her to live as near her as possible so the two girls might +be much together. </p> + +<p>Dorothy was not the only girl from the outside world who had +been welcomed to Oz and lived in the royal palace. There was +another named Betsy Bobbin, whose adventures had led her to seek +refuge with Ozma, and still another named Trot, who had been +invited, together with her faithful companion Cap'n Bill, to make +her home in this wonderful fairyland. The three girls all had +rooms in the palace and were great chums; but Dorothy was the +dearest friend of their gracious Ruler and only she at any hour +dared to seek Ozma in her royal apartments. For Dorothy had lived +in Oz much longer than the other girls and had been made a +Princess of the realm.</p> + +<p>Betsy was a year older than Dorothy and Trot was a year younger, +yet the three were near enough of an age to become great +playmates and to have nice times together. It was while the three +were talking together one morning in Dorothy's room that Betsy +proposed they make a journey into the Munchkin Country, which was +one of the four great countries of the Land of Oz ruled by Ozma. +"I've never been there yet," said Betsy Bobbin, "but the +Scarecrow once told me it is the prettiest country in all Oz."</p> + +<p>"I'd like to go, too," added Trot.</p> + +<p>"All right," said Dorothy. "I'll go and ask Ozma. Perhaps she +will let us take the Sawhorse and the Red Wagon, which would be +much nicer for us than having to walk all the way. This Land of +Oz is a pretty big place when you get to all the edges of it."</p> + +<p>So she jumped up and went along the halls of the splendid +palace until she came to the royal suite, which filled all the +front of the second floor. In a little waiting room sat Ozma's +maid, Jellia Jamb, who was busily sewing. "Is Ozma up yet?" +inquired Dorothy.</p> + +<p>"I don't know, my dear," replied Jellia. "I haven't heard a word +from her this morning. She hasn't even called for her bath or her +breakfast, and it is far past her usual time for them." </p> + +<p>"That's strange!" exclaimed the little girl.</p> + +<p>"Yes," agreed the maid, "but of course no harm could have +happened to her. No one can die or be killed in the Land of Oz, +and Ozma is herself a powerful fairy, and she has no enemies so +far as we know. Therefore I am not at all worried about her, +though I must admit her silence is unusual." </p> + +<p>"Perhaps," said Dorothy thoughtfully, "she has overslept. Or +she may be reading or working out some new sort of magic to do +good to her people."</p> + +<p>"Any of these things may be true," replied Jellia Jamb, "so I +haven't dared disturb our royal mistress. You, however, are a +privileged character, Princess, and I am sure that Ozma wouldn't +mind at all if you went in to see her." </p> + +<p>"Of course not," said Dorothy, and opening the door of the +outer chamber, she went in. All was still here. She walked into +another room, which was Ozma's boudoir, and then, pushing back a +heavy drapery richly broidered with threads of pure gold, the +girl entered the sleeping-room of the fairy Ruler of Oz. The bed +of ivory and gold was vacant; the room was vacant; not a trace of +Ozma was to be found. Very much surprised, yet still with no fear +that anything had happened to her friend, Dorothy returned +through the boudoir to the other rooms of the suite. the bath, +the wardrobe, and even into the great throne room, which adjoined +the royal suite, but in none of these places could she find +Ozma.</p> + +<p>So she returned to the anteroom where she had left the maid, +Jellia Jamb, and said, "She isn't in her rooms now, so she must +have gone out." </p> + +<p>"I don't understand how she could do that without my seeing +her," replied Jellia, "unless she made herself invisible."</p> + +<p>"She isn't there, anyhow," declared Dorothy. </p> + +<p>"Then let us go find her," suggested the maid, who appeared to +be a little uneasy. So they went into the corridors, and there +Dorothy almost stumbled over a queer girl who was dancing lightly +along the passage.</p> + +<p>"Stop a minute, Scraps!" she called, "Have you seen Ozma this +morning?" </p> + +<p>"Not I!" replied the queer girl, dancing nearer."I lost both +my eyes in a tussle with the Woozy last night, for the creature +scraped 'em both off my face with his square paws. So I put the +eyes in my pocket, and this morning Button-Bright led me to Aunt +Em, who sewed 'em on again. So I've seen nothing at all today, +except during the last five minutes. So of course I haven't seen +Ozma."</p> + +<p>"Very well, Scraps," said Dorothy, looking curiously at the eyes, +which were merely two round, black buttons sewed upon the girl's +face. </p> + +<p>There were other things about Scraps that would have seemed +curious to one seeing her for the first time. She was commonly +called "the Patchwork Girl" because her body and limbs were made +from a gay-colored patchwork quilt which had been cut into shape +and stuffed with cotton. Her head was a round ball stuffed in the +same manner and fastened to her shoulders. For hair, she had a +mass of brown yarn, and to make a nose for her a part of the +cloth had been pulled out into the shape of a knob and tied with +a string to hold it in place. Her mouth had been carefully made +by cutting a slit in the proper place and lining it with red +silk, adding two rows of pearls for teeth and a bit of red +flannel for a tongue.</p> + +<p>In spite of this queer make-up, the Patchwork Girl was magically +alive and had proved herself not the least jolly and agreeable of +the many quaint characters who inhabit the astonishing Fairyland +of Oz. Indeed, Scraps was a general favorite, although she was +rather flighty and erratic and did and said many things that +surprised her friends. She was seldom still, but loved to dance, +to turn handsprings and somersaults, to climb trees and to +indulge in many other active sports. </p> + +<p>"I'm going to search for Ozma," remarked Dorothy, "for she +isn't in her rooms, and I want to ask her a question."</p> + +<p>"I'll go with you," said Scraps, "for my eyes are brighter than +yours, and they can see farther." </p> + +<p>"I'm not sure of that," returned Dorothy. "But come along, if +you like."</p> + +<p>Together they searched all through the great palace and even to +the farthest limits of the palace grounds, which were quite +extensive, but nowhere could they find a trace of Ozma. When +Dorothy returned to where Betsy and Trot awaited her, the little +girl's face was rather solemn and troubled, for never before had +Ozma gone away without telling her friends where she was going, +or without an escort that befitted her royal state. She was gone, +however, and none had seen her go. Dorothy had met and questioned +the Scarecrow, Tik-Tok, the Shaggy Man, Button-Bright, Cap'n +Bill, and even the wise and powerful Wizard of Oz, but not one of +them had seen Ozma since she parted with her friends the evening +before and had gone to her own rooms. </p> + +<p>"She didn't say anything las' night about going anywhere," +observed little Trot.</p> + +<p>"No, and that's the strange part of it," replied Dorothy. +"Usually Ozma lets us know of everything she does." </p> + +<p>"Why not look in the Magic Picture?" suggested Betsy Bobbin. +"That will tell us where she is in just one second."</p> + +<p>"Of course!" cried Dorothy. "Why didn't I think of that before?" +And at once the three girls hurried away to Ozma's boudoir, where +the Magic Picture always hung. This wonderful Magic Picture was +one of the royal Ozma's greatest treasures. There was a large +gold frame in the center of which was a bluish-gray canvas on +which various scenes constantly appeared and disappeared. If one +who stood before it wished to see what any person anywhere in the +world was doing, it was only necessary to make the wish and the +scene in the Magic Picture would shift to the scene where that +person was and show exactly what he or she was then engaged in +doing. So the girls knew it would be easy for them to wish to see +Ozma, and from the picture they could quickly learn where she +was. </p> + +<p>Dorothy advanced to the place where the picture was usually +protected by thick satin curtains and pulled the draperies aside. +Then she stared in amazement, while her two friends uttered +exclamations of disappointment.</p> + +<p>The Magic Picture was gone. Only a blank space on the wall behind +the curtains showed where it had formerly hung.</p> + +<hr /> + +<h2 id="ref_3">CHAPTER 2</h2> + +<h3>THE TROUBLES OF GLINDA THE GOOD</h3> + +<p>That same morning there was great excitement in the castle of the +powerful Sorceress of Oz, Glinda the Good. This castle, situated +in the Quadling Country, far south of the Emerald City where Ozma +ruled, was a splendid structure of exquisite marbles and silver +grilles. Here the Sorceress lived, surrounded by a bevy of the +most beautiful maidens of Oz, gathered from all the four +countries of that fairyland as well as from the magnificent +Emerald City itself, which stood in the place where the four +countries cornered. It was considered a great honor to be allowed +to serve the good Sorceress, whose arts of magic were used only +to benefit the Oz people. Glinda was Ozma's most valued servant, +for her knowledge of sorcery was wonderful, and she could +accomplish almost anything that her mistress, the lovely girl +Ruler of Oz, wished her to. </p> + +<p>Of all the magical things which surrounded Glinda in her +castle, there was none more marvelous than her Great Book of +Records. On the pages of this Record Book were constantly being +inscribed, day by day and hour by hour, all the important events +that happened anywhere in the known world, and they were +inscribed in the book at exactly the moment the events happened. +Every adventure in the Land of Oz and in the big outside world, +and even in places that you and I have never heard of, were +recorded accurately in the Great Book, which never made a mistake +and stated only the exact truth. For that reason, nothing could +be concealed from Glinda the Good, who had only to look at the +pages of the Great Book of Records to know everything that had +taken place. That was one reason she was such a great Sorceress, +for the records made her wiser than any other living person.</p> + +<p>This wonderful book was placed upon a big gold table that stood +in the middle of Glinda's drawing room. The legs of the table, +which were incrusted with precious gems, were firmly fastened to +the tiled floor, and the book itself was chained to the table and +locked with six stout golden padlocks, the keys to which Glinda +carried on a chain that was secured around her own neck. The +pages of the Great Book were larger in size than those of an +American newspaper, and although they were exceedingly thin, +there were so many of them that they made an enormous, bulky +volume. With its gold cover and gold clasps, the book was so +heavy that three men could scarcely have lifted it. Yet this +morning when Glinda entered her drawing room after breakfast, the +good Sorceress was amazed to discover that her Great Book of +Records had mysteriously disappeared. </p> + +<p>Advancing to the table, she found the chains had been cut with +some sharp instrument, and this must have been done while all in +the castle slept. Glinda was shocked and grieved. Who could have +done this wicked, bold thing? And who could wish to deprive her +of her Great Book of Records?</p> + +<p>The Sorceress was thoughtful for a time, considering the +consequences of her loss. Then she went to her Room of Magic to +prepare a charm that would tell her who had stolen the Record +Book. But when she unlocked her cupboard and threw open the +doors, all of her magical instruments and rare chemical compounds +had been removed from the shelves. The Sorceress has now both +angry and alarmed. She sat down in a chair and tried to think how +this extraordinary robbery could have taken place. It was evident +that the thief was some person of very great power, or the theft +could not have been accomplished without her knowledge. But who, +in all the Land of Oz, was powerful and skillful enough to do +this awful thing? And who, having the power, could also have an +object in defying the wisest and most talented Sorceress the +world has ever known? </p> + +<p>Glinda thought over the perplexing matter for a full hour, at +the end of which time she was still puzzled how to explain it. +But although her instruments and chemicals were gone, her +KNOWLEDGE of magic had not been stolen, by any means, since no +thief, however skillful, can rob one of knowledge, and that is +why knowledge is the best and safest treasure to acquire. Glinda +believed that when she had time to gather more magical herbs and +elixirs and to manufacture more magical instruments, she would be +able to discover who the robber was and what had become of her +precious Book of Records.</p> + +<p>"Whoever has done this," she said to her maidens, "is a very +foolish person, for in time he is sure to be found out and will +then be severely punished."</p> + +<p>She now made a list of the things she needed and dispatched +messengers to every part of Oz with instructions to obtain them +and bring them to her as soon as possible. And one of her +messengers met the little Wizard of Oz, who was seated on the +back of the famous live Sawhorse and was clinging to its neck +with both his arms, for the Sawhorse was speeding to Glinda's +castle with the velocity of the wind, bearing the news that Royal +Ozma, Ruler of all the great Land of Oz, had suddenly disappeared +and no one in the Emerald City knew what had become of her.</p> + +<p>"Also," said the Wizard as he stood before the astonished +Sorceress, "Ozma's Magic Picture is gone, so we cannot consult it +to discover where she is. So I came to you for assistance as soon +as we realized our loss. Let us look in the Great Book of +Records." </p> + +<p>"Alas," returned the Sorceress sorrowfully, "we cannot do +that, for the Great Book of Records has also disappeared!"</p> + +<hr /> + +<h2 id="ref_4">CHAPTER 3</h2> + +<h3>OF CAYKE THE COOKIE COOK</h3> + +<p>One more important theft was reported in the Land of Oz that +eventful morning, but it took place so far from either the +Emerald City or the castle of Glinda the Good that none of those +persons we have mentioned learned of the robbery until long +afterward.</p> + +<p>In the far southwestern corner of the Winkie Country is a broad +tableland that can be reached only by climbing a steep hill, +whichever side one approaches it. On the hillside surrounding +this tableland are no paths at all, but there are quantities of +bramble bushes with sharp prickers on them, which prevent any of +the Oz people who live down below from climbing up to see what is +on top. But on top live the Yips, and although the space they +occupy is not great in extent, the wee country is all their own. +The Yips had never—up to the time this story begins—left their +broad tableland to go down into the Land of Oz, nor had the Oz +people ever climbed up to the country of the Yips. </p> + +<p>Living all alone as they did, the Yips had queer ways and +notions of their own and did not resemble any other people of the +Land of Oz. Their houses were scattered all over the flat +surface; not like a city, grouped together, but set wherever +their owners' fancy dictated, with fields here, trees there, and +odd little paths connecting the houses one with another. It was +here, on the morning when Ozma so strangely disappeared from the +Emerald City, that Cayke the Cookie Cook discovered that her +diamond-studded gold dishpan had been stolen, and she raised such +a hue and cry over her loss and wailed and shrieked so loudly +that many of the Yips gathered around her house to inquire what +was the matter.</p> + +<p>It was a serious thing in any part of the Land of Oz to accuse +one of stealing, so when the Yips heard Cayke the Cookie Cook +declare that her jeweled dishpan had been stolen, they were both +humiliated and disturbed and forced Cayke to go with them to the +Frogman to see what could be done about it. I do not suppose you +have ever before heard of the Frogman, for like all other +dwellers on that tableland, he had never been away from it, nor +had anyone come up there to see him. The Frogman was in truth +descended from the common frogs of Oz, and when he was first born +he lived in a pool in the Winkie Country and was much like any +other frog. Being of an adventurous nature, however, he soon +hopped out of his pool and began to travel, when a big bird came +along and seized him in its beak and started to fly away with him +to its nest. When high in the air, the frog wriggled so +frantically that he got loose and fell down, down, down into a +small hidden pool on the tableland of the Yips. Now that pool, it +seems, was unknown to the Yips because it was surrounded by thick +bushes and was not near to any dwelling, and it proved to be an +enchanted pool, for the frog grew very fast and very big, feeding +on the magic skosh which is found nowhere else on earth except in +that one pool. And the skosh not only made the frog very big so +that when he stood on his hind legs he was as tall as any Yip in +the country, but it made him unusually intelligent, so that he +soon knew more than the Yips did and was able to reason and to +argue very well indeed.</p> + +<p>No one could expect a frog with these talents to remain in a +hidden pool, so he finally got out of it and mingled with the +people of the tableland, who were amazed at his appearance and +greatly impressed by his learning. They had never seen a frog +before, and the frog had never seen a Yip before, but as there +were plenty of Yips and only one frog, the frog became the most +important. He did not hop any more, but stood upright on his hind +legs and dressed himself in fine clothes and sat in chairs and +did all the things that people do, so he soon came to be called +the Frogman, and that is the only name he has ever had. After +some years had passed, the people came to regard the Frogman as +their adviser in all matters that puzzled them. They brought all +their difficulties to him, and when he did not know anything, he +pretended to know it, which seemed to answer just as well. +Indeed, the Yips thought the Frogman was much wiser than he +really was, and he allowed them to think so, being very proud of +his position of authority.</p> + +<p>There was another pool on the tableland which was not enchanted +but contained good, clear water and was located close to the +dwellings. Here the people built the Frogman a house of his own, +close to the edge of the pool so that he could take a bath or a +swim whenever he wished. He usually swam in the pool in the early +morning before anyone else was up, and during the day he dressed +himself in his beautiful clothes and sat in his house and +received the visits of all the Yips who came to him to ask his +advice. The Frogman's usual costume consisted of knee-breeches +made of yellow satin plush, with trimmings of gold braid and +jeweled knee-buckles; a white satin vest with silver buttons in +which were set solitaire rubies; a swallow-tailed coat of bright +yellow; green stockings and red leather shoes turned up at the +toes and having diamond buckles. He wore, when he walked out, a +purple silk hat and carried a gold-headed cane. Over his eyes he +wore great spectacles with gold rims, not because his eyes were +bad, but because the spectacles made him look wise, and so +distinguished and gorgeous was his appearance that all the Yips +were very proud of him.</p> + +<p>There was no King or Queen in the Yip Country, so the simple +inhabitants naturally came to look upon the Frogman as their +leader as well as their counselor in all times of emergency. In +his heart the big frog knew he was no wiser than the Yips, but +for a frog to know as much as a person was quite remarkable, and +the Frogman was shrewd enough to make the people believe he was +far more wise than he really was. They never suspected he was a +humbug, but listened to his words with great respect and did just +what he advised them to do.</p> + +<p>Now when Cayke the Cookie Cook raised such an outcry over the +theft of her diamond-studded dishpan, the first thought of the +people was to take her to the Frogman and inform him of the loss, +thinking that of course he would tell her where to find it. He +listened to the story with his big eyes wide open behind his +spectacles, and said in his deep, croaking voice, "If the dishpan +is stolen, somebody must have taken it."</p> + +<p>"But who?"asked Cayke anxiously. "Who is the thief?"</p> + +<p>"The one who took the dishpan, of course," replied the Frogman, +and hearing this all the Yips nodded their heads gravely and said +to one another, "It is absolutely true!"</p> + +<p>"But I want my dishpan!" cried Cayke.</p> + +<p>"No one can blame you for that wish," remarked the Frogman.</p> + +<p>"Then tell me where I may find it," she urged.</p> + +<p>The look the Frogman gave her was a very wise look, and he rose +from his chair and strutted up and down the room with his hands +under his coattails in a very pompous and imposing manner. This +was the first time so difficult a matter had been brought to him, +and he wanted time to think. It would never do to let them +suspect his ignorance, and so he thought very, very hard how best +to answer the woman without betraying himself. "I beg to inform +you," said he, "that nothing in the Yip Country has ever been +stolen before."</p> + +<p>"We know that already," answered Cayke the Cookie Cook +impatiently.</p> + +<p>"Therefore," continued the Frogman, "this theft becomes a very +important matter.""Therefore," continued the Frogman, "this theft +becomes a very important matter."</p> + +<p>"Well, where is my dishpan?" demanded the woman.</p> + +<p>"It is lost, but it must be found. Unfortunately, we have no +policemen or detectives to unravel the mystery, so we must employ +other means to regain the lost article. Cayke must first write a +Proclamation and tack it to the door of her house, and the +Proclamation must read that whoever stole the jeweled dishpan +must return it at once."</p> + +<p>"But suppose no one returns it," suggested Cayke.</p> + +<p>"Then," said the Frogman, "that very fact will be proof that no +one has stolen it."</p> + +<p>Cayke was not satisfied, but the other Yips seemed to approve +the plan highly. They all advised her to do as the Frogman had +told her to, so she posted the sign on her door and waited +patiently for someone to return the dishpan—which no one ever +did. Again she went, accompanied by a group of her neighbors, to +the Frogman, who by this time had given the matter considerable +thought. Said he to Cayke, "I am now convinced that no Yip has +taken your dishpan, and since it is gone from the Yip Country, I +suspect that some stranger came from the world down below us in +the darkness of night when all of us were asleep and took away +your treasure. There can be no other explanation of its +disappearance. So if you wish to recover that golden, +diamond-studded dishpan, you must go into the lower world after +it."</p> + +<p>This was indeed a startling proposition. Cayke and her friends +went to the edge of the flat tableland and looked down the steep +hillside to the plains below. It was so far to the bottom of the +hill that nothing there could be seen very distinctly, and it +seemed to the Yips very venturesome, if not dangerous, to go so +far from home into an unknown land. However, Cayke wanted her +dishpan very badly, so she turned to her friends and asked, "Who +will go with me?"</p> + +<p>No one answered the question, but after a period of silence +one of the Yips said, "We know what is here on the top of this +flat hill, and it seems to us a very pleasant place, but what is +down below we do not know. The chances are it is not so pleasant, +so we had best stay where we are."</p> + +<p>"It may be a far better country than this is," suggested the +Cookie Cook.</p> + +<p>"Maybe, maybe," responded another Yip, "but why take chances? +Contentment with one's lot is true wisdom.</p> + +<p>Perhaps in some other country there are better cookies than you +cook, but as we have always eaten your cookies and liked +them—except when they are burned on the bottom—we do not long +for any better ones."</p> + +<p>Cayke might have agreed to this argument had she not been so +anxious to find her precious dishpan, but now she exclaimed +impatiently, "You are cowards, all of you! If none of you are +willing to explore with me the great world beyond this small +hill, I will surely go alone."</p> + +<p>"That is a wise resolve," declared the Yips, much relieved. "It +is your dishpan that is lost, not ours. And if you are willing to +risk your life and liberty to regain it, no one can deny you the +privilege."</p> + +<p>While they were thus conversing, the Frogman joined them and +looked down at the plain with his big eyes and seemed unusually +thoughtful. In fact, the Frogman was thinking that he'd like to +see more of the world. Here in the Yip Country he had become the +most important creature of them all, and his importance was +getting to be a little tame. It would be nice to have other +people defer to him and ask his advice, and there seemed no +reason so far as he could see why his fame should not spread +throughout all Oz. He knew nothing of the rest of the world, but +it was reasonable to believe that there were more people beyond +the mountain where he now lived than there were Yips, and if he +went among them he could surprise them with his display of wisdom +and make them bow down to him as the Yips did. In other words, +the Frogman was ambitious to become still greater than he was, +which was impossible if he always remained upon this mountain. He +wanted others to see his gorgeous clothes and listen to his +solemn sayings, and here was an excuse for him to get away from +the Yip Country. So he said to Cayke the Cookie Cook, "I will go +with you, my good woman," which greatly pleased Cayke because she +felt the Frogman could be of much assistance to her in her +search.</p> + +<p>But now, since the mighty Frogman had decided to undertake the +journey, several of the Yips who were young and daring at once +made up their minds to go along, so the next morning after +breakfast the Frogman and Cayke the Cookie Cook and nine of the +Yips started to slide down the side of the mountain. The bramble +bushes and cactus plants were very prickly and uncomfortable to +the touch, so the Frogman quickly commanded the Yips to go first +and break a path, so that when he followed them he would not tear +his splendid clothes. Cayke, too, was wearing her best dress and +was likewise afraid of the thorns and prickers, so she kept +behind the Frogman.</p> + +<p>They made rather slow progress and night overtook them before +they were halfway down the mountainside, so they found a cave in +which they sought shelter until morning. Cayke had brought along +a basket full of her famous cookies, so they all had plenty to +eat. On the second day the Yips began to wish they had not +embarked on this adventure. They grumbled a good deal at having +to cut away the thorns to make the path for the Frogman and the +Cookie Cook, for their own clothing suffered many tears, while +Cayke and the Frogman traveled safely and in comfort.</p> + +<p>"If it is true that anyone came to our country to steal your +diamond dishpan," said one of the Yips to Cayke, "it must have +been a bird, for no person in the form of a man, woman or child +could have climbed through these bushes and back again."</p> + +<p>"And, allowing he could have done so," said another Yip, "the +diamond-studded gold dishpan would not have repaid him for his +troubles and his tribulations."</p> + +<p>"For my part," remarked a third Yip, "I would rather go back home +and dig and polish some more diamonds and mine some more gold and +make you another dishpan than be scratched from head to heel by +these dreadful bushes. Even now, if my mother saw me, she would +not know I am her son."</p> + +<p>Cayke paid no heed to these mutterings, nor did the Frogman. +Although their journey was slow, it was being made easy for them +by the Yips, so they had nothing to complain of and no desire to +turn back. Quite near to the bottom of the great hill they came +upon a great gulf, the sides of which were as smooth as glass. +The gulf extended a long distance—as far as they could see in +either direction—and although it was not very wide, it was far +too wide for the Yips to leap across it. And should they fall +into it, it was likely they might never get out again. "Here our +journey ends," said the Yips. "We must go back again."</p> + +<p>Cayke the Cookie Cook began to weep.</p> + +<p>"I shall never find my pretty dishpan again, and my heart will +be broken!" she sobbed.</p> + +<p>The Frogman went to the edge of the gulf and with his eye +carefully measured the distance to the other side. "Being a +frog," said he, "I can leap, as all frogs do, and being so big +and strong, I am sure I can leap across this gulf with ease. But +the rest of you, not being frogs, must return the way you came."</p> + +<p>"We will do that with pleasure," cried the Yips, and at once +they turned and began to climb up the steep mountain, feeling +they had had quite enough of this unsatisfactory adventure. Cayke +the Cookie Cook did not go with them, however. She sat on a rock +and wept and wailed and was very miserable.</p> + +<p>"Well," said the Frogman to her, "I will now bid you goodbye. If +I find your diamond-decorated gold dishpan, I will promise to see +that it is safely returned to you." </p> + +<p>"But I prefer to find it myself!" she said. "See here, +Frogman, why can't you carry me across the gulf when you leap it? +You are big and strong, while I am small and thin."</p> + +<p>The Frogman gravely thought over this suggestion. It was a fact +that Cayke the Cookie Cook was not a heavy person. Perhaps he +could leap the gulf with her on his back. "If you are willing to +risk a fall," said he, "I will make the attempt."</p> + +<p>At once she sprang up and grabbed him around his neck with +both her arms. That is, she grabbed him where his neck ought to +be, for the Frogman had no neck at all. Then he squatted down, as +frogs do when they leap, and with his powerful rear legs he made +a tremendous jump. Over the gulf they sailed, with the Cookie +Cook on his back, and he had leaped so hard—to make sure of not +falling in—that he sailed over a lot of bramble bushes that grew +on the other side and landed in a clear space which was so far +beyond the gulf that when they looked back they could not see it +at all.</p> + +<p>Cayke now got off the Frogman's back and he stood erect again and +carefully brushed the dust from his velvet coat and rearranged +his white satin necktie.</p> + +<p>"I had no idea I could leap so far," he said wonderingly. +"Leaping is one more accomplishment I can now add to the long +list of deeds I am able to perform."</p> + +<p>"You are certainly fine at leap-frog," said the Cookie Cook +admiringly, "but, as you say, you are wonderful in many ways. If +we meet with any people down here, I am sure they will consider +you the greatest and grandest of all living creatures."</p> + +<p>"Yes," he replied, "I shall probably astonish strangers, +because they have never before had the pleasure of seeing me. +Also, they will marvel at my great learning. Every time I open my +mouth, Cayke, I am liable to say something important."</p> + +<p>"That is true," she agreed, "and it is fortunate your mouth is so +very wide and opens so far, for otherwise all the wisdom might +not be able to get out of it." "Perhaps nature made it wide for +that very reason," said the Frogman. "But come, let us now go on, +for it is getting late and we must find some sort of shelter +before night overtakes us."</p> + +<hr /> + +<h2 id="ref_5">CHAPTER 4</h2> + +<h3>AMONG THE WINKIES</h3> + +<p>The settled parts of the Winkie Country are full of happy and +contented people who are ruled by a tin Emperor named Nick +Chopper, who in turn is a subject of the beautiful girl Ruler, +Ozma of Oz. But not all of the Winkie Country is fully settled. +At the east, which part lies nearest the Emerald City, there are +beautiful farmhouses and roads, but as you travel west, you first +come to a branch of the Winkie River, beyond which there is a +rough country where few people live, and some of these are quite +unknown to the rest of the world. After passing through this rude +section of territory, which no one ever visits, you would come to +still another branch of the Winkie River, after crossing which +you would find another well-settled part of the Winkie Country +extending westward quite to the Deadly Desert that surrounds all +the Land of Oz and separates that favored fairyland from the more +common outside world. The Winkies who live in this west section +have many tin mines, from which metal they make a great deal of +rich jewelry and other articles, all of which are highly esteemed +in the Land of Oz because tin is so bright and pretty and there +is not so much of it as there is of gold and silver.</p> + +<p>Not all the Winkies are miners, however, for some till the fields +and grow grains for food, and it was at one of these far-west +Winkie farms that the Frogman and Cayke the Cookie Cook first +arrived after they had descended from the mountain of the Yips. +"Goodness me!" cried Nellary the Winkie wife when she saw the +strange couple approaching her house. "I have seen many queer +creatures in the Land of Oz, but none more queer than this giant +frog who dresses like a man and walks on his hind legs. Come +here, Wiljon," she called to her husband, who was eating his +breakfast, "and take a look at this astonishing freak."</p> + +<p>Wiljon the Winkie came to the door and looked out. He was +still standing in the doorway when the Frogman approached and +said with a haughty croak, "Tell me, my good man, have you seen a +diamond-studded gold dishpan?"</p> + +<p>"No, nor have I seen a copper-plated lobster," replied Wiljon in +an equally haughty tone.</p> + +<p>The Frogman stared at him and said, "Do not be insolent, +fellow!"</p> + +<p>"No," added Cayke the Cookie Cook hastily, "you must be very +polite to the great Frogman, for he is the wisest creature in all +the world."</p> + +<p>"Who says that?" inquired Wiljon.</p> + +<p>"He says so himself," replied Cayke, and the Frogman nodded and +strutted up and down, twirling his gold-headed cane very +gracefully.</p> + +<p>"Does the Scarecrow admit that this overgrown frog is the +wisest creature in the world?" asked Wiljon.</p> + +<p>"I do not know who the Scarecrow is," answered Cayke the Cookie +Cook.</p> + +<p>"Well, he lives at the Emerald City, and he is supposed to +have the finest brains in all Oz. The Wizard gave them to him, +you know."</p> + +<p>"Mine grew in my head," said the Frogman pompously, "so I think +they must be better than any wizard brains. I am so wise that +sometimes my wisdom makes my head ache. I know so much that often +I have to forget part of it, since no one creature, however +great, is able to contain so much knowledge."</p> + +<p>"It must be dreadful to be stuffed full of wisdom," remarked +Wiljon reflectively and eyeing the Frogman with a doubtful look. +"It is my good fortune to know very little."</p> + +<p>"I hope, however, you know where my jeweled dishpan is," said the +Cookie Cook anxiously.</p> + +<p>"I do not know even that," returned the Winkie."We have +trouble enough in keeping track of our own dishpans without +meddling with the dishpans of strangers."</p> + +<p>Finding him so ignorant, the Frogman proposed that they walk on +and seek Cayke's dishpan elsewhere. Wiljon the Winkie did not +seem greatly impressed by the great Frogman, which seemed to that +personage as strange as it was disappointing. But others in this +unknown land might prove more respectful.</p> + +<p>"I'd like to meet that Wizard of Oz," remarked Cayke as they +walked along a path. "If he could give a Scarecrow brains, he +might be able to find my dishpan."</p> + +<p>"Poof!" grunted the Frogman scornfully. "I am greater than any +wizard. Depend on ME. If your dishpan is anywhere in the world, I +am sure to find it."</p> + +<p>"If you do not, my heart will be broken," declared the Cookie +Cook in a sorrowful voice.</p> + +<p>For a while the Frogman walked on in silence. Then he asked, "Why +do you attach so much importance to a dishpan?"</p> + +<p>"It is the greatest treasure I possess," replied the woman. +"It belonged to my mother and to all my grandmothers since the +beginning of time. It is, I believe, the very oldest thing in all +the Yip Country—or was while it was there—and," she added, +dropping her voice to an awed whisper, "it has magic powers!"</p> + +<p>"In what way?" inquired the Frogman, seeming to be surprised at +this statement.</p> + +<p>"Whoever has owned that dishpan has been a good cook, for one +thing. No one else is able to make such good cookies as I have +cooked, as you and all the Yips know. Yet the very morning after +my dishpan was stolen, I tried to make a batch of cookies and +they burned up in the oven! I made another batch that proved too +tough to eat, and I was so ashamed of them that I buried them in +the ground. Even the third batch of cookies, which I brought with +me in my basket, were pretty poor stuff and no better than any +woman could make who does not own my diamond-studded gold +dishpan. In fact, my good Frogman, Cayke the Cookie Cook will +never be able to cook good cookies again until her magic dishpan +is restored to her."</p> + +<p>"In that case," said the Frogman with a sigh, "I suppose we must +manage to find it."</p> + +<hr /> + +<h2 id="ref_6">CHAPTER 5</h2> + +<h3>OZMA'S FRIENDS ARE PERPLEXED</h3> + +<p>"Really," said Dorothy, looking solemn, "this is very +s'prising. We can't even find a shadow of Ozma anywhere in the +Em'rald City, and wherever she's gone, she's taken her Magic +Picture with her." She was standing in the courtyard of the +palace with Betsy and Trot, while Scraps, the Patchwork Girl, +danced around the group, her hair flying in the wind.</p> + +<p>"P'raps," said Scraps, still dancing, "someone has stolen Ozma."</p> + +<p>"Oh, they'd never dare do that!" exclaimed tiny Trot.</p> + +<p>"And stolen the Magic Picture, too, so the thing can't tell where +she is," added the Patchwork Girl. </p> + +<p>"That's nonsense," said Dorothy. "Why, ev'ryone loves Ozma. +There isn't a person in the Land of Oz who would steal a single +thing she owns."</p> + +<p>"Huh!" replied the Patchwork Girl. "You don't know ev'ry person +in the Land of Oz."</p> + +<p>"Why don't I?"</p> + +<p>"It's a big country," said Scraps. "There are cracks and corners +in it that even Ozma doesn't know of."</p> + +<p>"The Patchwork Girl's just daffy," declared Betsy.</p> + +<p>"No, she's right about that," replied Dorothy thoughtfully. +"There are lots of queer people in this fairyland who never come +near Ozma or the Em'rald City. I've seen some of 'em myself, +girls. But I haven't seen all, of course, and there MIGHT be some +wicked persons left in Oz yet, though I think the wicked witches +have all been destroyed."</p> + +<p>Just then the Wooden Sawhorse dashed into the courtyard with +the Wizard of Oz on his back. "Have you found Ozma?"cried the +Wizard when the Sawhorse stopped beside them.</p> + +<p>"Not yet," said Dorothy. "Doesn't Glinda the Good know where she +is?"</p> + +<p>"No. Glinda's Book of Records and all her magic instruments +are gone. Someone must have stolen them."</p> + +<p>"Goodness me!"exclaimed Dorothy in alarm. "This is the biggest +steal I ever heard of. Who do you think did it, Wizard?" </p> + +<p>"I've no idea," he answered.</p> + +<p>"But I have come to get my own bag of magic tools and carry them +to Glinda. She is so much more powerful than I that she may be +able to discover the truth by means of my magic quicker and +better than I could myself."</p> + +<p>"Hurry, then," said Dorothy, "for we've all gotten terr'bly +worried."</p> + +<p>The Wizard rushed away to his rooms but presently came back with +a long, sad face. "It's gone!" he said.</p> + +<p>"What's gone?" asked Scraps.</p> + +<p>"My black bag of magic tools. Someone must have stolen it!"</p> + +<p>They looked at one another in amazement.</p> + +<p>"This thing is getting desperate," continued the Wizard. "All the +magic that belongs to Ozma or to Glinda or to me has been +stolen."</p> + +<p>"Do you suppose Ozma could have taken them, herself, for some +purpose?" asked Betsy.</p> + +<p>"No indeed," declared the Wizard. "I suspect some enemy has +stolen Ozma and for fear we would follow and recapture her has +taken all our magic away from us."</p> + +<p>"How dreadful!" cried Dorothy. "The idea of anyone wanting to +injure our dear Ozma! Can't we do ANYthing to find her, +Wizard?"</p> + +<p>"I'll ask Glinda. I must go straight back to her and tell her +that my magic tools have also disappeared. The good Sorceress +will be greatly shocked, I know." </p> + +<p>With this, he jumped upon the back of the Sawhorse again, and +the quaint steed, which never tired, dashed away at full speed. +The three girls were very much disturbed in mind. Even the +Patchwork Girl seemed to realize that a great calamity had +overtaken them all. Ozma was a fairy of considerable power, and +all the creatures in Oz as well as the three mortal girls from +the outside world looked upon her as their protector and friend. +The idea of their beautiful girl Ruler's being overpowered by an +enemy and dragged from her splendid palace a captive was too +astonishing for them to comprehend at first. Yet what other +explanation of the mystery could there be?</p> + +<p>"Ozma wouldn't go away willingly, without letting us know about +it," asserted Dorothy, "and she wouldn't steal Glinda's Great +Book of Records or the Wizard's magic, 'cause she could get them +any time just by asking for 'em. I'm sure some wicked person has +done all this."</p> + +<p>"Someone in the Land of Oz?" asked Trot.</p> + +<p>"Of course.</p> + +<p>No one could get across the Deadly Desert, you know, and no +one but an Oz person could know about the Magic Picture and the +Book of Records and the Wizard's magic or where they were kept, +and so be able to steal the whole outfit before we could stop +'em. It MUST be someone who lives in the Land of Oz."</p> + +<p>"But who—who—who?" asked Scraps. "That's the question. Who?"</p> + +<p>"If we knew," replied Dorothy severely, "we wouldn't be +standing here doing nothing."</p> + +<p>Just then two boys entered the courtyard and approached the group +of girls. One boy was dressed in the fantastic Munchkin +costume—a blue jacket and knickerbockers, blue leather shoes and +a blue hat with a high peak and tiny silver bells dangling from +its rim—and this was Ojo the Lucky, who had once come from the +Munchkin Country of Oz and now lived in the Emerald City. The +other boy was an American from Philadelphia and had lately found +his way to Oz in the company of Trot and Cap'n Bill. His name was +Button-Bright; that is, everyone called him by that name and knew +no other. Button-Bright was not quite as big as the Munchkin boy, +but he wore the same kind of clothes, only they were of different +colors. As the two came up to the girls, arm in arm, +Button-Bright remarked, "Hello, Dorothy. They say Ozma is lost."</p> + +<p>"WHO says so?" she asked.</p> + +<p>"Ev'rybody's talking about it in the City," he replied.</p> + +<p>"I wonder how the people found it out," Dorothy asked.</p> + +<p>"I know," said Ojo. "Jellia Jamb told them. She has been asking +everywhere if anyone has seen Ozma."</p> + +<p>"That's too bad," observed Dorothy, frowning.</p> + +<p>"Why?" asked Button-Bright.</p> + +<p>"There wasn't any use making all our people unhappy till we +were dead certain that Ozma can't be found."</p> + +<p>"Pshaw," said Button-Bright, "it's nothing to get lost. I've been +lost lots of times."</p> + +<p>"That's true," admitted Trot, who knew that the boy had a +habit of getting lost and then finding himself again, "but it's +diff'rent with Ozma. She's the Ruler of all this big fairyland, +and we're 'fraid that the reason she's lost is because somebody +has stolen her away."</p> + +<p>"Only wicked people steal," said Ojo. "Do you know of any wicked +people in Oz, Dorothy?"</p> + +<p>"No," she replied.</p> + +<p>"They're here, though," cried Scraps, dancing up to them and then +circling around the group. "Ozma's stolen; someone in Oz stole +her; only wicked people steal; so someone in Oz is wicked!"</p> + +<p>There was no denying the truth of this statement. The faces of +all of them were now solemn and sorrowful. "One thing is sure," +said Button-Bright after a time, "if Ozma has been stolen, +someone ought to find her and punish the thief."</p> + +<p>"There may be a lot of thieves," suggested Trot gravely, "and in +this fairy country they don't seem to have any soldiers or +policemen."</p> + +<p>"There is one soldier," claimed Dorothy.</p> + +<p>"He has green whiskers and a gun and is a Major-General, but no +one is afraid of either his gun or his whiskers, 'cause he's so +tender-hearted that he wouldn't hurt a fly."</p> + +<p>"Well, a soldier is a soldier," said Betsy, "and perhaps he'd +hurt a wicked thief if he wouldn't hurt a fly. Where is he?"</p> + +<p>"He went fishing about two months ago and hasn't come back yet," +explained Button-Bright.</p> + +<p>"Then I can't see that he will be of much use to us in this +trouble," sighed little Trot. "But p'raps Ozma, who is a fairy, +can get away from the thieves without any help from anyone."</p> + +<p>"She MIGHT be able to," answered Dorothy reflectively, "but if +she had the power to do that, it isn't likely she'd have let +herself be stolen. So the thieves must have been even more +powerful in magic than our Ozma."</p> + +<p>There was no denying this argument, and although they talked +the matter over all the rest of that day, they were unable to +decide how Ozma had been stolen against her will or who had +committed the dreadful deed. Toward evening the Wizard came back, +riding slowly upon the Sawhorse because he felt discouraged and +perplexed. Glinda came later in her aerial chariot drawn by +twenty milk-white swans, and she also seemed worried and unhappy. +More of Ozma's friends joined them, and that evening they all had +a big talk together. "I think," said Dorothy, "we ought to start +out right away in search of our dear Ozma. It seems cruel for us +to live comf'tably in her palace while she is a pris'ner in the +power of some wicked enemy."</p> + +<p>"Yes," agreed Glinda the Sorceress, "someone ought to search for +her. I cannot go myself, because I must work hard in order to +create some new instruments of sorcery by means of which I may +rescue our fair Ruler. But if you can find her in the meantime +and let me know who has stolen her, it will enable me to rescue +her much more quickly."</p> + +<p>"Then we'll start tomorrow morning," decided Dorothy. "Betsy +and Trot and I won't waste another minute."</p> + +<p>"I'm not sure you girls will make good detectives," remarked the +Wizard, "but I'll go with you to protect you from harm and to +give you my advice. All my wizardry, alas, is stolen, so I am now +really no more a wizard than any of you, but I will try to +protect you from any enemies you may meet."</p> + +<p>"What harm could happen to us in Oz?" inquired Trot.</p> + +<p>"What harm happened to Ozma?" returned the Wizard.</p> + +<p>"If there is an Evil Power abroad in our fairyland, which is +able to steal not only Ozma and her Magic Picture, but Glinda's +Book of Records and all her magic, and my black bag containing +all my tricks of wizardry, then that Evil Power may yet cause us +considerable injury. Ozma is a fairy, and so is Glinda, so no +power can kill or destroy them, but you girls are all mortals and +so are Button-Bright and I, so we must watch out for +ourselves."</p> + +<p>"Nothing can kill me," said Ojo the Munchkin boy.</p> + +<p>"That is true," replied the Sorceress, "and I think it may be +well to divide the searchers into several parties, that they may +cover all the land of Oz more quickly. So I will send Ojo and Unc +Nunkie and Dr. Pipt into the Munchkin Country, which they are +well acquainted with; and I will send the Scarecrow and the Tin +Woodman into the Quadling Country, for they are fearless and +brave and never tire; and to the Gillikin Country, where many +dangers lurk, I will send the Shaggy Man and his brother, with +Tik-Tok and Jack Pumpkinhead. Dorothy may make up her own party +and travel into the Winkie Country. All of you must inquire +everywhere for Ozma and try to discover where she is hidden."</p> + +<p>They thought this a very wise plan and adopted it without +question. In Ozma's absence, Glinda the Good was the most +important person in Oz, and all were glad to serve under her +direction.</p> + +<hr /> + +<h2 id="ref_7">CHAPTER 6</h2> + +<h3>THE SEARCH PARTY</h3> + +<p>Next morning as soon as the sun was up, Glinda flew back to +her castle, stopping on the way to instruct the Scarecrow and the +Tin Woodman, who were at that time staying at the college of +Professor H. M. Wogglebug, T.E., and taking a course of his +Patent Educational Pills.</p> + +<p>On hearing of Ozma's loss, they started at once for the Quadling +Country to search for her. As soon as Glinda had left the Emerald +City, Tik-Tok and the Shaggy Man and Jack Pumpkinhead, who had +been present at the conference, began their journey into the +Gillikin Country, and an hour later Ojo and Unc Nunkie joined Dr. +Pipt and together they traveled toward the Munchkin Country. When +all these searchers were gone, Dorothy and the Wizard completed +their own preparations.</p> + +<p>The Wizard hitched the Sawhorse to the Red Wagon, which would +seat four very comfortably. He wanted Dorothy, Betsy, Trot and +the Patchwork Girl to ride in the wagon, but Scraps came up to +them mounted upon the Woozy, and the Woozy said he would like to +join the party. Now this Woozy was a most peculiar animal, having +a square head, square body, square legs and square tail. His skin +was very tough and hard, resembling leather, and while his +movements were somewhat clumsy, the beast could travel with +remarkable swiftness. His square eyes were mild and gentle in +expression, and he was not especially foolish. The Woozy and the +Patchwork Girl were great friends, and so the Wizard agreed to +let the Woozy go with them.</p> + +<p>Another great beast now appeared and asked to go along. This was +none other than the famous Cowardly Lion, one of the most +interesting creatures in all Oz. No lion that roamed the jungles +or plains could compare in size or intelligence with this +Cowardly Lion, who—like all animals living in Oz—could talk and +who talked with more shrewdness and wisdom than many of the +people did. He said he was cowardly because he always trembled +when he faced danger, but he had faced danger many times and +never refused to fight when it was necessary. This Lion was a +great favorite with Ozma and always guarded her throne on state +occasions. He was also an old companion and friend of the +Princess Dorothy, so the girl was delighted to have him join the +party.</p> + +<p>"I'm so nervous over our dear Ozma," said the Cowardly Lion in +his deep, rumbling voice, "that it would make me unhappy to +remain behind while you are trying to find her. But do not get +into any danger, I beg of you, for danger frightens me +terribly."</p> + +<p>"We'll not get into danger if we can poss'bly help it," promised +Dorothy, "but we shall do anything to find Ozma, danger or no +danger."</p> + +<p>The addition of the Woozy and the Cowardly Lion to the party +gave Betsy Bobbin an idea, and she ran to the marble stables at +the rear of the palace and brought out her mule, Hank by name. +Perhaps no mule you ever saw was so lean and bony and altogether +plain looking as this Hank, but Betsy loved him dearly because he +was faithful and steady and not nearly so stupid as most mules +are considered to be. Betsy had a saddle for Hank, and he +declared she would ride on his back, an arrangement approved by +the Wizard because it left only four of the party to ride on the +seats of the Red Wagon—Dorothy and Button-Bright and Trot and +himself.</p> + +<p>An old sailor man who had one wooden leg came to see them off and +suggested that they put a supply of food and blankets in the Red +Wagon inasmuch as they were uncertain how long they would be +gone. This sailor man was called Cap'n Bill. He was a former +friend and comrade of Trot and had encountered many adventures in +company with the little girl. I think he was sorry he could not +go with her on this trip, but Glinda the Sorceress had asked +Cap'n Bill to remain in the Emerald City and take charge of the +royal palace while everyone else was away, and the one-legged +sailor had agreed to do so.</p> + +<p>They loaded the back end of the Red Wagon with everything they +thought they might need, and then they formed a procession and +marched from the palace through the Emerald City to the great +gates of the wall that surrounded this beautiful capital of the +Land of Oz. Crowds of citizens lined the streets to see them pass +and to cheer them and wish them success, for all were grieved +over Ozma's loss and anxious that she be found again. First came +the Cowardly Lion, then the Patchwork Girl riding upon the Woozy, +then Betsy Bobbin on her mule Hank, and finally the Sawhorse +drawing the Red Wagon, in which were seated the Wizard and +Dorothy and Button-Bright and Trot. No one was obliged to drive +the Sawhorse, so there were no reins to his harness; one had only +to tell him which way to go, fast or slow, and he understood +perfectly.</p> + +<p>It was about this time that a shaggy little black dog who had +been lying asleep in Dorothy's room in the palace woke up and +discovered he was lonesome. Everything seemed very still +throughout the great building, and Toto—that was the little +dog's name—missed the customary chatter of the three girls. He +never paid much attention to what was going on around him, and +although he could speak, he seldom said anything, so the little +dog did not know about Ozma's loss or that everyone had gone in +search of her. But he liked to be with people, and especially +with his own mistress, Dorothy, and having yawned and stretched +himself and found the door of the room ajar, he trotted out into +the corridor and went down the stately marble stairs to the hall +of the palace, where he met Jellia Jamb.</p> + +<p>"Where's Dorothy?" asked Toto.</p> + +<p>"She's gone to the Winkie Country," answered the maid.</p> + +<p>"When?"</p> + +<p>"A little while ago," replied Jellia.</p> + +<p>Toto turned and trotted out into the palace garden and down +the long driveway until he came to the streets of the Emerald +City. Here he paused to listen, and hearing sounds of cheering, +he ran swiftly along until he came in sight of the Red Wagon and +the Woozy and the Lion and the Mule and all the others. Being a +wise little dog, he decided not to show himself to Dorothy just +then, lest he be sent back home, but he never lost sight of the +party of travelers, all of whom were so eager to get ahead that +they never thought to look behind them. When they came to the +gates in the city wall, the Guardian of the Gates came out to +throw wide the golden portals and let them pass through.</p> + +<p>"Did any strange person come in or out of the city on the night +before last when Ozma was stolen?" asked Dorothy.</p> + +<p>"No indeed, Princess," answered the Guardian of the Gates.</p> + +<p>"Of course not," said the Wizard. "Anyone clever enough to steal +all the things we have lost would not mind the barrier of a wall +like this in the least. I think the thief must have flown through +the air, for otherwise he could not have stolen from Ozma's royal +palace and Glinda's faraway castle in the same night. Moreover, +as there are no airships in Oz and no way for airships from the +outside world to get into this country, I believe the thief must +have flown from place to place by means of magic arts which +neither Glinda nor I understand."</p> + +<p>On they went, and before the gates closed behind them, Toto +managed to dodge through them. The country surrounding the +Emerald City was thickly settled, and for a while our friends +rode over nicely paved roads which wound through a fertile +country dotted with beautiful houses, all built in the quaint Oz +fashion. In the course of a few hours, however, they had left the +tilled fields and entered the Country of the Winkies, which +occupies a quarter of all the territory in the Land of Oz but is +not so well known as many other parts of Ozma's fairyland. Long +before night the travelers had crossed the Winkie River near to +the Scarecrow's Tower (which was now vacant) and had entered the +Rolling Prairie where few people live. They asked everyone they +met for news of Ozma, but none in this district had seen her or +even knew that she had been stolen. And by nightfall they had +passed all the farmhouses and were obliged to stop and ask for +shelter at the hut of a lonely shepherd. When they halted, Toto +was not far behind. The little dog halted, too, and stealing +softly around the party, he hid himself behind the hut.</p> + +<p>The shepherd was a kindly old man and treated the travelers with +much courtesy. He slept out of doors that night, giving up his +hut to the three girls, who made their beds on the floor with the +blankets they had brought in the Red Wagon. The Wizard and +Button-Bright also slept out of doors, and so did the Cowardly +Lion and Hank the Mule. But Scraps and the Sawhorse did not sleep +at all, and the Woozy could stay awake for a month at a time if +he wished to, so these three sat in a little group by themselves +and talked together all through the night.</p> + +<p>In the darkness, the Cowardly Lion felt a shaggy little form +nestling beside his own, and he said sleepily, "Where did you +come from, Toto?"</p> + +<p>"From home," said the dog. "If you roll over, roll the other way +so you won't smash me."</p> + +<p>"Does Dorothy know you are here?" asked the Lion.</p> + +<p>"I believe not," admitted Toto, and he added a little anxiously, +"Do you think, friend Lion, we are now far enough from the +Emerald City for me to risk showing myself, or will Dorothy send +me back because I wasn't invited?"</p> + +<p>"Only Dorothy can answer that question," said the Lion. "For +my part, Toto, I consider this affair none of my business, so you +must act as you think best." Then the huge beast went to sleep +again, and Toto snuggled closer to the warm, hairy body and also +slept. He was a wise little dog in his way, and didn't intend to +worry when there was something much better to do.</p> + +<p>In the morning the Wizard built a fire, over which the girls +cooked a very good breakfast. Suddenly Dorothy discovered Toto +sitting quietly before the fire, and the little girl exclaimed, +"Goodness me, Toto! Where did YOU come from?"</p> + +<p>"From the place you cruelly left me," replied the dog in a +reproachful tone.</p> + +<p>"I forgot all about you," admitted Dorothy, "and if I hadn't, I'd +prob'ly left you with Jellia Jamb, seeing this isn't a pleasure +trip but stric'ly business. But now that you're here, Toto, I +s'pose you'll have to stay with us, unless you'd rather go back +again. We may get ourselves into trouble before we're done, +Toto."</p> + +<p>"Never mind that," said Toto, wagging his tail."I'm hungry, +Dorothy."</p> + +<p>"Breakfas'll soon be ready, and then you shall have your share," +promised his little mistress, who was really glad to have her dog +with her. She and Toto had traveled together before, and she knew +he was a good and faithful comrade.</p> + +<p>When the food was cooked and served, the girls invited the old +shepherd to join them in the morning meal. He willingly +consented, and while they ate he said to them, "You are now about +to pass through a very dangerous country, unless you turn to the +north or to the south to escape its perils."</p> + +<p>"In that case," said the Cowardly Lion, "let us turn, by all +means, for I dread to face dangers of any sort."</p> + +<p>"What's the matter with the country ahead of us?" inquired +Dorothy.</p> + +<p>"Beyond this Rolling Prairie," explained the shepherd, "are the +Merry-Go-Round Mountains, set close together and surrounded by +deep gulfs so that no one is able to get past them. Beyond the +Merry-Go-Round Mountains it is said the Thistle-Eaters and the +Herkus live."</p> + +<p>"What are they like?" demanded Dorothy.</p> + +<p>"No one knows, for no one has ever passed the Merry-Go-Round +Mountains," was the reply, "but it is said that the +Thistle-Eaters hitch dragons to their chariots and that the +Herkus are waited upon by giants whom they have conquered and +made their slaves."</p> + +<p>"Who says all that?" asked Betsy.</p> + +<p>"It is common report," declared the shepherd. "Everyone believes +it."</p> + +<p>"I don't see how they know," remarked little Trot, "if no one +has been there."</p> + +<p>"Perhaps the birds who fly over that country brought the news," +suggested Betsy.</p> + +<p>"If you escaped those dangers," continued the shepherd, "you +might encounter others still more serious before you came to the +next branch of the Winkie River. It is true that beyond that +river there lies a fine country inhabited by good people, and if +you reached there, you would have no further trouble. It is +between here and the west branch of the Winkie River that all +dangers lie, for that is the unknown territory that is inhabited +by terrible, lawless people."</p> + +<p>"It may be, and it may not be," said the Wizard. "We shall know +when we get there."</p> + +<p>"Well," persisted the shepherd, "in a fairy country such as +ours, every undiscovered place is likely to harbor wicked +creatures. If they were not wicked, they would discover +themselves and by coming among us submit to Ozma's rule and be +good and considerate, as are all the Oz people whom we know."</p> + +<p>"That argument," stated the little Wizard, "convinces me that it +is our duty to go straight to those unknown places, however +dangerous they may be, for it is surely some cruel and wicked +person who has stolen our Ozma, and we know it would be folly to +search among good people for the culprit. Ozma may not be hidden +in the secret places of the Winkie Country, it is true, but it is +our duty to travel to every spot, however dangerous, where our +beloved Ruler is likely to be imprisoned."</p> + +<p>"You're right about that," said Button-Bright approvingly. +"Dangers don't hurt us. Only things that happen ever hurt anyone, +and a danger is a thing that might happen and might not happen, +and sometimes don't amount to shucks.</p> + +<p>I vote we go ahead and take our chances."</p> + +<p>They were all of the same opinion, so they packed up and said +goodbye to the friendly shepherd and proceeded on their way.</p> + +<hr /> + +<h2 id="ref_8">CHAPTER 7</h2> + +<h3>THE MERRY-GO-ROUND MOUNTAINS</h3> + +<p>The Rolling Prairie was not difficult to travel over, although +it was all uphill and downhill, so for a while they made good +progress. Not even a shepherd was to be met with now, and the +farther they advanced the more dreary the landscape became. At +noon they stopped for a "picnic luncheon," as Betsy called it, +and then they again resumed their journey. All the animals were +swift and tireless, and even the Cowardly Lion and the Mule found +they could keep up with the pace of the Woozy and the +Sawhorse.</p> + +<p>It was the middle of the afternoon when first they came in sight +of a cluster of low mountains. These were cone-shaped, rising +from broad bases to sharp peaks at the tops. From a distance the +mountains appeared indistinct and seemed rather small—more like +hills than mountains—but as the travelers drew nearer, they +noted a most unusual circumstance: the hills were all whirling +around, some in one direction and some the opposite way.</p> + +<p>"I guess these are the Merry-Go-Round Mountains, all right," +said Dorothy.</p> + +<p>"They must be," said the Wizard.</p> + +<p>"They go 'round, sure enough," agreed Trot, "but they don't +seem very merry."</p> + +<p>There were several rows of these mountains, extending both to the +right and to the left for miles and miles. How many rows there +might be none could tell, but between the first row of peaks +could be seen other peaks, all steadily whirling around one way +or another. Continuing to ride nearer, our friends watched these +hills attentively, until at last, coming close up, they +discovered there was a deep but narrow gulf around the edge of +each mountain, and that the mountains were set so close together +that the outer gulf was continuous and barred farther advance. At +the edge of the gulf they all dismounted and peered over into its +depths. There was no telling where the bottom was, if indeed +there was any bottom at all. From where they stood it seemed as +if the mountains had been set in one great hole in the ground, +just close enough together so they would not touch, and that each +mountain was supported by a rocky column beneath its base which +extended far down in the black pit below. From the land side it +seemed impossible to get across the gulf or, succeeding in that, +to gain a foothold on any of the whirling mountains.</p> + +<p>"This ditch is too wide to jump across," remarked +Button-Bright.</p> + +<p>"P'raps the Lion could do it," suggested Dorothy.</p> + +<p>"What, jump from here to that whirling hill?" cried the Lion +indignantly. "I should say not! Even if I landed there and could +hold on, what good would it do? There's another spinning mountain +beyond it, and perhaps still another beyond that. I don't believe +any living creature could jump from one mountain to another when +both are whirling like tops and in different directions."</p> + +<p>"I propose we turn back," said the Wooden Sawhorse with a yawn of +his chopped-out mouth as he stared with his knot eyes at the +Merry-Go-Round Mountains.</p> + +<p>"I agree with you," said the Woozy, wagging his square +head.</p> + +<p>"We should have taken the shepherd's advice," added Hank the +Mule.</p> + +<p>The others of the party, however they might be puzzled by the +serious problem that confronted them, would not allow themselves +to despair. "If we once get over these mountains," said +Button-Bright, "we could probably get along all right."</p> + +<p>"True enough," agreed Dorothy. "So we must find some way, of +course, to get past these whirligig hills. But how?"</p> + +<p>"I wish the Ork was with us," sighed Trot.</p> + +<p>"But the Ork isn't here," said the Wizard, "and we must depend +upon ourselves to conquer this difficulty. Unfortunately, all my +magic has been stolen, otherwise I am sure I could easily get +over the mountains."</p> + +<p>"Unfortunately," observed the Woozy, "none of us has wings. +And we're in a magic country without any magic."</p> + +<p>"What is that around your waist, Dorothy?" asked the Wizard.</p> + +<p>"That? Oh, that's just the Magic Belt I once captured from the +Nome King," she replied.</p> + +<p>"A Magic Belt! Why, that's fine. I'm sure a Magic Belt would take +you over these hills."</p> + +<p>"It might if I knew how to work it," said the little girl. +"Ozma knows a lot of its magic, but I've never found out about +it. All I know is that while I am wearing it, nothing can hurt +me."</p> + +<p>"Try wishing yourself across and see if it will obey you," +suggested the Wizard.</p> + +<p>"But what good would that do?" asked Dorothy. "If I got +across, it wouldn't help the rest of you, and I couldn't go alone +among all those giants and dragons while you stayed here."</p> + +<p>"True enough," agreed the Wizard sadly. And then, after looking +around the group, he inquired, "What is that on your finger, +Trot?"</p> + +<p>"A ring. The Mermaids gave it to me," she explained, "and if +ever I'm in trouble when I'm on the water, I can call the +Mermaids and they'll come and help me. But the Mermaids can't +help me on the land, you know, 'cause they swim, and—and—they +haven't any legs."</p> + +<p>"True enough," repeated the Wizard, more sadly.</p> + +<p>There was a big, broad, spreading tree near the edge of the +gulf, and as the sun was hot above them, they all gathered under +the shade of the tree to study the problem of what to do next. +"If we had a long rope," said Betsy, "we could fasten it to this +tree and let the other end of it down into the gulf and all slide +down it."</p> + +<p>"Well, what then?" asked the Wizard.</p> + +<p>"Then, if we could manage to throw the rope up the other +side," explained the girl, "we could all climb it and be on the +other side of the gulf."</p> + +<p>"There are too many 'if's' in that suggestion," remarked the +little Wizard. "And you must remember that the other side is +nothing but spinning mountains, so we couldn't possibly fasten a +rope to them, even if we had one."</p> + +<p>"That rope idea isn't half bad, though," said the Patchwork +Girl, who had been dancing dangerously near to the edge of the +gulf.</p> + +<p>"What do you mean?" asked Dorothy.</p> + +<p>The Patchwork Girl suddenly stood still and cast her button +eyes around the group. "Ha, I have it!" she exclaimed. "Unharness +the Sawhorse, somebody. My fingers are too clumsy."</p> + +<p>"Shall we?" asked Button-Bright doubtfully, turning to the +others.</p> + +<p>"Well, Scraps has a lot of brains, even if she IS stuffed with +cotton," asserted the Wizard. "If her brains can help us out of +this trouble, we ought to use them."</p> + +<p>So he began unharnessing the Sawhorse, and Button-Bright and +Dorothy helped him. When they had removed the harness, the +Patchwork Girl told them to take it all apart and buckle the +straps together, end to end. And after they had done this, they +found they had one very long strap that was stronger than any +rope. "It would reach across the gulf easily," said the Lion, who +with the other animals had sat on his haunches and watched this +proceeding. "But I don't see how it could be fastened to one of +those dizzy mountains."</p> + +<p>Scraps had no such notion as that in her baggy head. She told +them to fasten one end of the strap to a stout limb of the tree, +pointing to one which extended quite to the edge of the gulf. +Button-Bright did that, climbing the tree and then crawling out +upon the limb until he was nearly over the gulf. There he managed +to fasten the strap, which reached to the ground below, and then +he slid down it and was caught by the Wizard, who feared he might +fall into the chasm. Scraps was delighted. She seized the lower +end of the strap, and telling them all to get out of her way, she +went back as far as the strap would reach and then made a sudden +run toward the gulf. Over the edge she swung, clinging to the +strap until it had gone as far as its length permitted, when she +let go and sailed gracefully through the air until she alighted +upon the mountain just in front of them.</p> + +<p>Almost instantly, as the great cone continued to whirl, she was +sent flying against the next mountain in the rear, and that one +had only turned halfway around when Scraps was sent flying to the +next mountain behind it. Then her patchwork form disappeared from +view entirely, and the amazed watchers under the tree wondered +what had become of her. "She's gone, and she can't get back," +said the Woozy.</p> + +<p>"My, how she bounded from one mountain to another!" exclaimed +the Lion.</p> + +<p>"That was because they whirl so fast," the Wizard explained. +"Scraps had nothing to hold on to, and so of course she was +tossed from one hill to another. I'm afraid we shall never see +the poor Patchwork Girl again."</p> + +<p>"I shall see her," declared the Woozy. "Scraps is an old +friend of mine, and if there are really Thistle-Eaters and Giants +on the other side of those tops, she will need someone to protect +her. So here I go!" He seized the dangling strap firmly in his +square mouth, and in the same way that Scraps had done swung +himself over the gulf. He let go the strap at the right moment +and fell upon the first whirling mountain. Then he bounded to the +next one back of it—not on his feet, but "all mixed up," as Trot +said—and then he shot across to another mountain, disappearing +from view just as the Patchwork Girl had done.</p> + +<p>"It seems to work, all right," remarked Button-Bright. "I guess +I'll try it."</p> + +<p>"Wait a minute," urged the Wizard. "Before any more of us make +this desperate leap into the beyond, we must decide whether all +will go or if some of us will remain behind."</p> + +<p>"Do you s'pose it hurt them much to bump against those +mountains?" asked Trot.</p> + +<p>"I don't s'pose anything could hurt Scraps or the Woozy," said +Dorothy, "and nothing can hurt ME, because I wear the Magic Belt. +So as I'm anxious to find Ozma, I mean to swing myself across +too."</p> + +<p>"I'll take my chances," decided Button-Bright.</p> + +<p>"I'm sure it will hurt dreadfully, and I'm afraid to do it," +said the Lion, who was already trembling, "but I shall do it if +Dorothy does."</p> + +<p>"Well, that will leave Betsy and the Mule and Trot," said the +Wizard, "for of course I shall go that I may look after Dorothy. +Do you two girls think you can find your way back home again?" he +asked, addressing Trot and Betsy.</p> + +<p>"I'm not afraid. Not much, that is," said Trot. "It looks +risky, I know, but I'm sure I can stand it if the others +can."</p> + +<p>"If it wasn't for leaving Hank," began Betsy in a hesitating +voice.</p> + +<p>But the Mule interrupted her by saying, "Go ahead if you want +to, and I'll come after you. A mule is as brave as a lion any +day."</p> + +<p>"Braver," said the Lion, "for I'm a coward, friend Hank, and you +are not. But of course the Sawhorse—"</p> + +<p>"Oh, nothing ever hurts ME," asserted the Sawhorse calmly. +"There's never been any question about my going. I can't take the +Red Wagon, though."</p> + +<p>"No, we must leave the wagon," said the wizard, "and also we must +leave our food and blankets, I fear. But if we can defy these +Merry-Go-Round Mountains to stop us, we won't mind the sacrifice +of some of our comforts."</p> + +<p>"No one knows where we're going to land!" remarked the Lion in +a voice that sounded as if he were going to cry.</p> + +<p>"We may not land at all," replied Hank, "but the best way to find +out what will happen to us is to swing across as Scraps and the +Woozy have done."</p> + +<p>"I think I shall go last," said the Wizard, "so who wants to +go first?"</p> + +<p>"I'll go," decided Dorothy.</p> + +<p>"No, it's my turn first," said Button-Bright. "Watch me!"</p> + +<p>Even as he spoke, the boy seized the strap, and after making a +run swung himself across the gulf. Away he went, bumping from +hill to hill until he disappeared. They listened intently, but +the boy uttered no cry until he had been gone some moments, when +they heard a faint Hullo-a!" as if called from a great distance. +The sound gave them courage, however, and Dorothy picked up Toto +and held him fast under one arm while with the other hand she +seized the strap and bravely followed after Button-Bright.</p> + +<p>When she struck the first whirling mountain, she fell upon it +quite softly, but before she had time to think, she flew through +the air and lit with a jar on the side of the next mountain. +Again she flew and alighted, and again and still again, until +after five successive bumps she fell sprawling upon a green +meadow and was so dazed and bewildered by her bumpy journey +across the Merry-Go-Round Mountains that she lay quite still for +a time to collect her thoughts. Toto had escaped from her arms +just as she fell, and he now sat beside her panting with +excitement. Then Dorothy realized that someone was helping her to +her feet, and here was Button-Bright on one side of her and +Scraps on the other, both seeming to be unhurt. The next object +her eyes fell upon was the Woozy, squatting upon his square back +end and looking at her reflectively, while Toto barked joyously +to find his mistress unhurt after her whirlwind trip.</p> + +<p>"Good!"said the Woozy. "Here's another and a dog, both safe and +sound. But my word, Dorothy, you flew some! If you could have +seen yourself, you'd have been absolutely astonished."</p> + +<p>"They say 'Time flies,'20" laughed Button-Bright, "but Time +never made a quicker journey than that."</p> + +<p>Just then, as Dorothy turned around to look at the whirling +mountains, she was in time to see tiny Trot come flying from the +nearest hill to fall upon the soft grass not a yard away from +where she stood. Trot was so dizzy she couldn't stand at first, +but she wasn't at all hurt, and presently Betsy came flying to +them and would have bumped into the others had they not retreated +in time to avoid her. Then, in quick succession, came the Lion, +Hank and the Sawhorse, bounding from mountain to mountain to fall +safely upon the greensward. Only the Wizard was now left behind, +and they waited so long for him that Dorothy began to be worried.</p> + +<p>But suddenly he came flying from the nearest mountain and +tumbled heels over head beside them. Then they saw that he had +wound two of their blankets around his body to keep the bumps +from hurting him and had fastened the blankets with some of the +spare straps from the harness of the Sawhorse.</p> + +<hr /> + +<h2 id="ref_9">CHAPTER 8</h2> + +<h3>THE MYSTERIOUS CITY</h3> + +<p>There they sat upon the grass, their heads still swimming from +their dizzy flights, and looked at one another in silent +bewilderment. But presently, when assured that no one was +injured, they grew more calm and collected, and the Lion said +with a sigh of relief, "Who would have thought those +Merry-Go-Round Mountains were made of rubber?"</p> + +<p>"Are they really rubber?" asked Trot.</p> + +<p>"They must be," replied the Lion, "for otherwise we would not +have bounded so swiftly from one to another without getting +hurt."</p> + +<p>"That is all guesswork," declared the Wizard, unwinding the +blankets from his body, "for none of us stayed long enough on the +mountains to discover what they are made of. But where are we?"</p> + + +<p>"That's guesswork," said Scraps. "The shepherd said the +Thistle-Eaters live this side of the mountains and are waited on +by giants."</p> + +<p>"Oh no," said Dorothy, "it's the Herkus who have giant slaves, +and the Thistle-Eaters hitch dragons to their chariots."</p> + +<p>"How could they do that?" asked the Woozy. "Dragons have long +tails, which would get in the way of the chariot wheels."</p> + +<p>"And if the Herkus have conquered the giants," said Trot, "they +must be at least twice the size of giants. P'raps the Herkus are +the biggest people in all the world!"</p> + +<p>"Perhaps they are," assented the Wizard in a thoughtful tone +of voice. "And perhaps the shepherd didn't know what he was +talking about. Let us travel on toward the west and discover for +ourselves what the people of this country are like."</p> + +<p>It seemed a pleasant enough country, and it was quite still and +peaceful when they turned their eyes away from the silently +whirling mountains. There were trees here and there and green +bushes, while throughout the thick grass were scattered +brilliantly colored flowers. About a mile away was a low hill +that hid from them all the country beyond it, so they realized +they could not tell much about the country until they had crossed +the hill. The Red Wagon having been left behind, it was now +necessary to make other arrangements for traveling. The Lion told +Dorothy she could ride upon his back as she had often done +before, and the Woozy said he could easily carry both Trot and +the Patchwork Girl. Betsy still had her mule, Hank, and +Button-Bright and the Wizard could sit together upon the long, +thin back of the Sawhorse, but they took care to soften their +seat with a pad of blankets before they started. Thus mounted, +the adventurers started for the hill, which was reached after a +brief journey.</p> + +<p>As they mounted the crest and gazed beyond the hill, they +discovered not far away a walled city, from the towers and spires +of which gay banners were flying. It was not a very big city, +indeed, but its walls were very high and thick, and it appeared +that the people who lived there must have feared attack by a +powerful enemy, else they would not have surrounded their +dwellings with so strong a barrier. There was no path leading +from the mountains to the city, and this proved that the people +seldom or never visited the whirling hills, but our friends found +the grass soft and agreeable to travel over, and with the city +before them they could not well lose their way. When they drew +nearer to the walls, the breeze carried to their ears the sound +of music—dim at first, but growing louder as they advanced.</p> + +<p>"That doesn't seem like a very terr'ble place," remarked Dorothy.</p> + +<p>"Well, it LOOKS all right," replied Trot from her seat on the +Woozy, "but looks can't always be trusted."</p> + +<p>"MY looks can," said Scraps. "I LOOK patchwork, and I AM +patchwork, and no one but a blind owl could ever doubt that I'm +the Patchwork Girl." Saying which, she turned a somersault off +the Woozy and, alighting on her feet, began wildly dancing about.</p> + +<p>"Are owls ever blind?" asked Trot.</p> + +<p>"Always, in the daytime," said Button-Bright. "But Scraps can see +with her button eyes both day and night. Isn't it queer?"</p> + +<p>"It's queer that buttons can see at all," answered Trot. "But +good gracious! What's become of the city?"</p> + +<p>"I was going to ask that myself," said Dorothy. "It's gone!"</p> + +<p>"It's gone!"</p> + +<p>The animals came to a sudden halt, for the city had really +disappeared, walls and all, and before them lay the clear, +unbroken sweep of the country. "Dear me!" exclaimed the Wizard. +"This is rather disagreeable. It is annoying to travel almost to +a place and then find it is not there."</p> + +<p>"Where can it be, then?" asked Dorothy. "It cert'nly was there +a minute ago."</p> + +<p>"I can hear the music yet," declared Button-Bright, and when they +all listened, the strains of music could plainly be heard.</p> + +<p>"Oh! There's the city over at the left," called Scraps, and +turning their eyes, they saw the walls and towers and fluttering +banners far to the left of them.</p> + +<p>"We must have lost our way," suggested Dorothy.</p> + +<p>"Nonsense," said the Lion.</p> + +<p>"I, and all the other animals, have been tramping straight toward +the city ever since we first saw it."</p> + +<p>"Then how does it happen—"</p> + +<p>"Never mind," interrupted the Wizard, "we are no farther from it +than we were before. It is in a different direction, that's all, +so let us hurry and get there before it again escapes us."</p> + +<p>So on they went directly toward the city, which seemed only a +couple of miles distant. But when they had traveled less than a +mile, it suddenly disappeared again. Once more they paused, +somewhat discouraged, but in a moment the button eyes of Scraps +again discovered the city, only this time it was just behind them +in the direction from which they had come. "Goodness gracious!" +cried Dorothy. "There's surely something wrong with that city. Do +you s'pose it's on wheels, Wizard?"</p> + +<p>"It may not be a city at all," he replied, looking toward it with +a speculative glance.</p> + +<p>"What COULD it be, then?"</p> + +<p>"Just an illusion."</p> + +<p>"What's that?" asked Trot.</p> + +<p>"Something you think you see and don't see."</p> + +<p>"I can't believe that," said Button-Bright. "If we only saw +it, we might be mistaken, but if we can see it and hear it, too, +it must be there."</p> + +<p>"Where?" asked the Patchwork Girl.</p> + +<p>"Somewhere near us," he insisted.</p> + +<p>We will have to go back, I suppose," said the Woozy with a sigh.</p> + +<p>So back they turned and headed for the walled city until it +disappeared again, only to reappear at the right of them. They +were constantly getting nearer to it, however, so they kept their +faces turned toward it as it flitted here and there to all points +of the compass. Presently the Lion, who was leading the +procession, halted abruptly and cried out, "Ouch!"</p> + +<p>"What's the matter?" asked Dorothy.</p> + +<p>"Ouch — Ouch!~ repeated the Lion, and leaped backward so +suddenly that Dorothy nearly tumbled from his back. At the same +time Hank the Mule yelled "Ouch!""Ouch! Ouch!" repeated the Lion +and leaped backward so suddenly that Dorothy nearly tumbled from +his back. At the same time, Hank the Mule yelled "Ouch!" almost +as loudly as the Lion had done, and he also pranced backward a +few paces.</p> + +<p>"It's the thistles," said Betsy.</p> + +<p>"They prick their legs."</p> + +<p>Hearing this, all looked down, and sure enough the ground was +thick with thistles, which covered the plain from the point where +they stood way up to the walls of the mysterious city. No +pathways through them could be seen at all; here the soft grass +ended and the growth of thistles began. "They're the prickliest +thistles I ever felt," grumbled the Lion. "My legs smart yet from +their stings, though I jumped out of them as quickly as I could."</p> + +<p>"Here is a new difficulty," remarked the Wizard in a grieved +tone. "The city has stopped hopping around, it is true, but how +are we to get to it over this mass of prickers?"</p> + +<p>"They can't hurt ME," said the thick-skinned Woozy, advancing +fearlessly and trampling among the thistles.</p> + +<p>"Nor me," said the Wooden Sawhorse.</p> + +<p>"But the Lion and the Mule cannot stand the prickers," asserted +Dorothy, "and we can't leave them behind."</p> + +<p>"Must we all go back?" asked Trot.</p> + +<p>"Course not!" replied Button-Bright scornfully. "Always when +there's trouble, there's a way out of it if you can find it."</p> + +<p>"I wish the Scarecrow was here," said Scraps, standing on her +head on the Woozy's square back. "His splendid brains would soon +show us how to conquer this field of thistles."</p> + +<p>"What's the matter with YOUR brains?" asked the boy.</p> + +<p>"Nothing," she said, making a flip-flop into the thistles and +dancing among them without feeling their sharp points. "I could +tell you in half a minute how to get over the thistles if I +wanted to."</p> + +<p>"Tell us, Scraps!" begged Dorothy.</p> + +<p>"I don't want to wear my brains out with overwork," replied +the Patchwork Girl.</p> + +<p>"Don't you love Ozma? And don't you want to find her?" asked +Betsy reproachfully.</p> + +<p>"Yes indeed," said Scraps, walking on her hands as an acrobat +does at the circus.</p> + +<p>"Well, we can't find Ozma unless we get past these thistles," +declared Dorothy.</p> + +<p>Scraps danced around them two or three times without reply. +Then she said, "Don't look at me, you stupid folks. Look at those +blankets."</p> + +<p>The Wizard's face brightened at once.</p> + +<p>"Why didn't we think of those blankets before?"</p> + +<p>"Because you haven't magic brains," laughed Scraps. "Such brains +as you have are of the common sort that grow in your heads, like +weeds in a garden. I'm sorry for you people who have to be born +in order to be alive."</p> + +<p>But the Wizard was not listening to her. He quickly removed +the blankets from the back of the Sawhorse and spread one of them +upon the thistles, just next the grass. The thick cloth rendered +the prickers harmless, so the Wizard walked over this first +blanket and spread the second one farther on, in the direction of +the phantom city. "These blankets," said he, "are for the Lion +and the Mule to walk upon. The Sawhorse and the Woozy can walk on +the thistles."</p> + +<p>So the Lion and the Mule walked over the first blanket and stood +upon the second one until the Wizard had picked up the one they +had passed over and spread it in front of them, when they +advanced to that one and waited while the one behind them was +again spread in front. "This is slow work," said the Wizard, "but +it will get us to the city after a while."</p> + +<p>"The city is a good half mile away yet," announced +Button-Bright.</p> + +<p>"And this is awful hard work for the Wizard," added Trot.</p> + +<p>"Why couldn't the Lion ride on the Woozy's back?" asked +Dorothy."it's a big, flat back, and the Woozy's mighty strong. +Perhaps the Lion wouldn't fall off."</p> + +<p>"You may try it if you like," said the Woozy to the Lion. "I can +take you to the city in a jiffy and then come back for Hank."</p> + +<p>"I'm—I'm afraid," said the Cowardly Lion. He was twice as big +as the Woozy.</p> + +<p>"Try it," pleaded Dorothy.</p> + +<p>"And take a tumble among the thistles?"asked the Lion +reproachfully. But when the Woozy came close to him, the big +beast suddenly bounded upon its back and managed to balance +himself there, although forced to hold his four legs so close +together that he was in danger of toppling over. The great weight +of the monster Lion did not seem to affect the Woozy, who called +to his rider, "Hold on tight!" and ran swiftly over the thistles +toward the city. The others stood on the blanket and watched the +strange sight anxiously. Of course, the Lion couldn't "hold on +tight" because there was nothing to hold to, and he swayed from +side to side as if likely to fall off any moment. Still, he +managed to stick to the Woozy's back until they were close to the +walls of the city, when he leaped to the ground. Next moment the +Woozy came dashing back at full speed.</p> + +<p>"There's a little strip of ground next the wall where there are +no thistles," he told them when he had reached the adventurers +once more. "Now then, friend Hank, see if you can ride as well as +the Lion did."</p> + +<p>"Take the others first," proposed the Mule. So the Sawhorse +and the Woozy made a couple of trips over the thistles to the +city walls and carried all the people in safety, Dorothy holding +little Toto in her arms. The travelers then sat in a group on a +little hillock just outside the wall and looked at the great +blocks of gray stone and waited for the Woozy to bring Hank to +them. The Mule was very awkward, and his legs trembled so badly +that more than once they thought he would tumble off, but finally +he reached them in safety, and the entire party was now reunited. +More than that, they had reached the city that had eluded them +for so long and in so strange a manner.</p> + +<p>"The gates must be around the other side," said the Wizard. "Let +us follow the curve of the wall until we reach an opening in it."</p> + +<p>"Which way?" asked Dorothy.</p> + +<p>"We must guess that," he replied. "Suppose we go to the left. One +direction is as good as another." They formed in marching order +and went around the city wall to the left. It wasn't a big city, +as I have said, but to go way around it outside the high wall was +quite a walk, as they became aware. But around it our adventurers +went without finding any sign of a gateway or other opening. When +they had returned to the little mound from which they had +started, they dismounted from the animals and again seated +themselves on the grassy mound.</p> + +<p>"It's mighty queer, isn't it?" asked Button-Bright.</p> + +<p>"There must be SOME way for the people to get out and in," +declared Dorothy. "Do you s'pose they have flying machines, +Wizard?"</p> + +<p>"No," he replied, "for in that case they would be flying all +over the Land of Oz, and we know they have not done that. Flying +machines are unknown here. I think it more likely that the people +use ladders to get over the walls."</p> + +<p>"It would be an awful climb over that high stone wall," said +Betsy.</p> + +<p>"Stone, is it?" Scraps, who was again dancing wildly around, +for she never tired and could never keep still for long.</p> + +<p>"Course it's stone," answered Betsy scornfully. "Can't you see?"</p> + +<p>"Yes," said Scraps, going closer. "I can SEE the wall, but I +can't FEEL it." And then, with her arms outstretched, she did a +very queer thing. She walked right into the wall and +disappeared.</p> + +<p>"For goodness sake!" Dorothy, amazed, as indeed they all were.</p> + +<hr /> + +<h2 id="ref_10">CHAPTER 9</h2> + +<h3>THE HIGH COCO-LORUM OF THI</h3> + +<p>And now the Patchwork Girl came dancing out of the wall again. +"Come on!" she called. "It isn't there.</p> + +<p>There isn't any wall at all."</p> + +<p>"What? No wall?" exclaimed the Wizard.</p> + +<p>"Nothing like it," said Scraps. "It's a make-believe. You see it, +but it isn't. Come on into the city; we've been wasting our +time." With this, she danced into the wall again and once more +disappeared. Button-Bright, who was rather venture-some, dashed +away after her and also became invisible to them. The others +followed more cautiously, stretching out their hands to feel the +wall and finding, to their astonishment, that they could feel +nothing because nothing opposed them. They walked on a few steps +and found themselves in the streets of a very beautiful city. +Behind them they again saw the wall, grim and forbidding as ever, +but now they knew it was merely an illusion prepared to keep +strangers from entering the city.</p> + +<p>But the wall was soon forgotten, for in front of them were a +number of quaint people who stared at them in amazement as if +wondering where they had come from. Our friends forgot their good +manners for a time and returned the stares with interest, for so +remarkable a people had never before been discovered in all the +remarkable Land of Oz. Their heads were shaped like diamonds, and +their bodies like hearts. All the hair they had was a little +bunch at the tip top of their diamond-shaped heads, and their +eyes were very large and round, and their noses and mouths very +small. Their clothing was tight fitting and of brilliant colors, +being handsomely embroidered in quaint designs with gold or +silver threads; but on their feet they wore sandals with no +stockings whatever. The expression of their faces was pleasant +enough, although they now showed surprise at the appearance of +strangers so unlike themselves, and our friends thought they +seemed quite harmless.</p> + +<p>"I beg your pardon," said the Wizard, speaking for his party, +"for intruding upon you uninvited, but we are traveling on +important business and find it necessary to visit your city. Will +you kindly tell us by what name your city is called?"</p> + +<p>They looked at one another uncertainly, each expecting some +other to answer. Finally, a short one whose heart-shaped body was +very broad replied, "We have no occasion to call our city +anything. It is where we live, that is all."</p> + +<p>"But by what name do others call your city?"asked the Wizard.</p> + +<p>"We know of no others except yourselves," said the man. And +then he inquired, "Were you born with those queer forms you have, +or has some cruel magician transformed you to them from your +natural shapes?"</p> + +<p>"These are our natural shapes," declared the Wizard, "and we +consider them very good shapes, too."</p> + +<p>The group of inhabitants was constantly being enlarged by +others who joined it. All were evidently startled and uneasy at +the arrival of strangers. "Have you a King?"asked Dorothy, who +knew it was better to speak with someone in authority.</p> + +<p>But the man shook his diamond-like head. "What is a King?" he +asked.</p> + +<p>"Isn't there anyone who rules over you?"inquired the +Wizard.</p> + +<p>"No," was the reply, "each of us rules himself, or at least tries +to do so. It is not an easy thing to do, as you probably know."</p> + +<p>The Wizard reflected.</p> + +<p>"If you have disputes among you," said he after a little thought, +"who settles them?"</p> + +<p>"The High Coco-Lorum," they answered in a chorus.</p> + +<p>"And who is he?"</p> + +<p>"The judge who enforces the laws," said the man who had first +spoken.</p> + +<p>"Then he is the principal person here?"continued the Wizard.</p> + +<p>"Well, I would not say that," returned the man in a puzzled +way. "The High Coco-Lorum is a public servant. However, he +represents the laws, which we must all obey."</p> + +<p>"I think," said the Wizard, "we ought to see your High Coco-Lorum +and talk with him. Our mission here requires us to consult one +high in authority, and the High Coco-Lorum ought to be high, +whatever else he is."</p> + +<p>The inhabitants seemed to consider this proposition +reasonable, for they nodded their diamond-shaped heads in +approval. So the broad one who had been their spokesman said, +"Follow me," and turning led the way along one of the streets. +The entire party followed him, the natives falling in behind. The +dwellings they passed were quite nicely planned and seemed +comfortable and convenient. After leading them a few blocks, +their conductor stopped before a house which was neither better +nor worse than the others. The doorway was shaped to admit the +strangely formed bodies of these people, being narrow at the top, +broad in the middle and tapering at the bottom. The windows were +made in much the same way, giving the house a most peculiar +appearance. When their guide opened the gate, a music box +concealed in the gatepost began to play, and the sound attracted +the attention of the High Coco-Lorum, who appeared at an open +window and inquired, "What has happened now?"</p> + +<p>But in the same moment his eyes fell upon the strangers and he +hastened to open the door and admit them—all but the animals, +which were left outside with the throng of natives that had now +gathered. For a small city there seemed to be a large number of +inhabitants, but they did not try to enter the house and +contented themselves with staring curiously at the strange +animals. Toto followed Dorothy.</p> + +<p>Our friends entered a large room at the front of the house, +where the High Coco-Lorum asked them to be seated. "I hope your +mission here is a peaceful one," he said, looking a little +worried, "for the Thists are not very good fighters and object to +being conquered."</p> + +<p>"Are your people called Thists?" asked Dorothy.</p> + +<p>"Yes. I thought you knew that. And we call our city Thi."</p> + +<p>"Oh!"</p> + +<p>"We are Thists because we eat thistles, you know," continued +the High Coco-Lorum.</p> + +<p>"Do you really eat those prickly things?"inquired Button-Bright +wonderingly.</p> + +<p>"Why not?" replied the other. "The sharp points of the +thistles cannot hurt us, because all our insides are +gold-lined."</p> + +<p>"Gold-lined!"</p> + +<p>"To be sure. Our throats and stomachs are lined with solid +gold, and we find the thistles nourishing and good to eat. As a +matter of fact, there is nothing else in our country that is fit +for food. All around the City of Thi grow countless thistles, and +all we need do is to go and gather them. If we wanted anything +else to eat, we would have to plant it, and grow it, and harvest +it, and that would be a lot of trouble and make us work, which is +an occupation we detest."</p> + +<p>"But tell me, please," said the Wizard, "how does it happen that +your city jumps around so, from one part of the country to +another?"</p> + +<p>"The city doesn't jump. It doesn't move at all," declared the +High Coco-Lorum. "However, I will admit that the land that +surrounds it has a trick of turning this way or that, and so if +one is standing upon the plain and facing north, he is likely to +find himself suddenly facing west or east or south. But once you +reach the thistle fields, you are on solid ground."</p> + +<p>"Ah, I begin to understand," said the Wizard, nodding his head. +"But I have another question to ask: How does it happen that the +Thists have no King to rule over them?"</p> + +<p>"Hush!"whispered the High Coco-Lorum, looking uneasily around +to make sure they were not overheard. "In reality, I am the King, +but the people don't know it. They think they rule themselves, +but the fact is I have everything my own way. No one else knows +anything about our laws, and so I make the laws to suit myself. +If any oppose me or question my acts, I tell them it's the law +and that settles it. If I called myself King, however, and wore a +crown and lived in royal style, the people would not like me and +might do me harm. As the High Coco-Lorum of Thi, I am considered +a very agreeable person."</p> + +<p>"It seems a very clever arrangement," said the Wizard. "And now, +as you are the principal person in Thi, I beg you to tell us if +the Royal Ozma is a captive in your city."</p> + +<p>"No," answered the diamond-headed man. "We have no captives. +No strangers but yourselves are here, and we have never before +heard of the Royal Ozma."</p> + +<p>"She rules over all of Oz," said Dorothy, "and so she rules your +city and you, because you are in the Winkie Country, which is a +part of the Land of Oz."</p> + +<p>"It may be," returned the High Coco-Lorum, "for we do not +study geography and have never inquired whether we live in the +Land of Oz or not. And any Ruler who rules us from a distance and +unknown to us is welcome to the job. But what has happened to +your Royal Ozma?"</p> + +<p>"Someone has stolen her," said the Wizard. "Do you happen to have +any talented magician among your people, one who is especially +clever, you know?"</p> + +<p>"No, none especially clever. We do some magic, of course, but +it is all of the ordinary kind. I do not think any of us has yet +aspired to stealing Rulers, either by magic or otherwise."</p> + +<p>"Then we've come a long way for nothing!"exclaimed Trot +regretfully.</p> + +<p>"But we are going farther than this," asserted the Patchwork +Girl, bending her stuffed body backward until her yarn hair +touched the floor and then walking around on her hands with her +feet in the air.</p> + +<p>The High Coco-Lorum watched Scraps admiringly.</p> + +<p>"You may go farther on, of course," said he, "but I advise you +not to. The Herkus live back of us, beyond the thistles and the +twisting lands, and they are not very nice people to meet, I +assure you."</p> + +<p>"Are they giants?" asked Betsy.</p> + +<p>"They are worse than that," was the reply. "They have giants +for their slaves and they are so much stronger than giants that +the poor slaves dare not rebel for fear of being torn to +pieces."</p> + +<p>"How do you know?" asked Scraps.</p> + +<p>"Everyone says so," answered the High Coco-Lorum.</p> + +<p>"Have you seen the Herkus yourself?"inquired Dorothy.</p> + +<p>"No, but what everyone says must be true, otherwise what would +be the use of their saying it?"</p> + +<p>"We were told before we got here that you people hitch dragons to +your chariots," said the little girl.</p> + +<p>"So we do," declared the High Coco-Lorum. "And that reminds me +that I ought to entertain you as strangers and my guests by +taking you for a ride around our splendid City of Thi." He +touched a button, and a band began to play. At least, they heard +the music of a band, but couldn't tell where it came from. "That +tune is the order to my charioteer to bring around my +dragon-chariot," said the High Coco-Lorum. "Every time I give an +order, it is in music, which is a much more pleasant way to +address servants than in cold, stern words."</p> + +<p>"Does this dragon of yours bite?" asked Button-Bright.</p> + +<p>"Mercy no! Do you think I'd risk the safety of my innocent +people by using a biting dragon to draw my chariot? I'm proud to +say that my dragon is harmless, unless his steering gear breaks, +and he was manufactured at the famous dragon factory in this City +of Thi. Here he comes, and you may examine him for +yourselves."</p> + +<p>They heard a low rumble and a shrill squeaking sound, and going +out to the front of the house, they saw coming around the corner +a car drawn by a gorgeous jeweled dragon, which moved its head to +right and left and flashed its eyes like headlights of an +automobile and uttered a growling noise as it slowly moved toward +them. When it stopped before the High Coco-Lorum's house, Toto +barked sharply at the sprawling beast, but even tiny Trot could +see that the dragon was not alive. Its scales were of gold, and +each one was set with sparkling jewels, while it walked in such a +stiff, regular manner that it could be nothing else than a +machine. The chariot that trailed behind it was likewise of gold +and jewels, and when they entered it, they found there were no +seats. Everyone was supposed to stand up while riding. The +charioteer was a little, diamond-headed fellow who straddled the +neck of the dragon and moved the levers that made it go.</p> + +<p>"This," said the High Coco-Lorum pompously, "is a wonderful +invention. We are all very proud of our auto-dragons, many of +which are in use by our wealthy inhabitants. Start the thing +going, charioteer!"</p> + +<p>The charioteer did not move.</p> + +<p>"You forgot to order him in music," suggested Dorothy.</p> + +<p>"Ah, so I did."</p> + +<p>He touched a button and a music box in the dragon's head began +to play a tune. At once the little charioteer pulled over a +lever, and the dragon began to move, very slowly and groaning +dismally as it drew the clumsy chariot after it. Toto trotted +between the wheels. The Sawhorse, the Mule, the Lion and the +Woozy followed after and had no trouble in keeping up with the +machine. Indeed, they had to go slow to keep from running into +it. When the wheels turned, another music box concealed somewhere +under the chariot played a lively march tune which was in +striking contrast with the dragging movement of the strange +vehicle, and Button-Bright decided that the music he had heard +when they first sighted this city was nothing else than a chariot +plodding its weary way through the streets.</p> + +<p>All the travelers from the Emerald City thought this ride the +most uninteresting and dreary they had ever experienced, but the +High Coco-Lorum seemed to think it was grand. He pointed out the +different buildings and parks and fountains in much the same way +that the conductor does on an American "sightseeing wagon" does, +and being guests they were obliged to submit to the ordeal. But +they became a little worried when their host told them he had +ordered a banquet prepared for them in the City Hall. "What are +we going to eat?"asked Button-Bright suspiciously.</p> + +<p>"Thistles," was the reply. "Fine, fresh thistles, gathered +this very day."</p> + +<p>Scraps laughed, for she never ate anything, but Dorothy said in a +protesting voice, "OUR insides are not lined with gold, you +know."</p> + +<p>"How sad!"exclaimed the High Coco-Lorum, and then he added as +an afterthought, "but we can have the thistles boiled, if you +prefer."</p> + +<p>I'm 'fraid they wouldn't taste good even then," said little Trot. +"Haven't you anything else to eat?"</p> + +<p>The High Coco-Lorum shook his diamond-shaped head.</p> + +<p>"Nothing that I know of," said he. "But why should we have +anything else when we have so many thistles? However, if you +can't eat what we eat, don't eat anything. We shall not be +offended, and the banquet will be just as merry and delightful."</p> + +<p>Knowing his companions were all hungry, the Wizard said, "I +trust you will excuse us from the banquet, sir, which will be +merry enough without us, although it is given in our honor. For, +as Ozma is not in your city, we must leave here at once and seek +her elsewhere."</p> + +<p>"Sure we must!" Dorothy, and she whispered to Betsy and Trot, +"I'd rather starve somewhere else than in this city, and who +knows, we may run across somebody who eats reg'lar food and will +give us some."</p> + +<p>So when the ride was finished, in spite of the protests of the +High Coco-Lorum, they insisted on continuing their journey. "It +will soon be dark," he objected.</p> + +<p>"We don't mind the darkness," replied the Wizard.</p> + +<p>"Some wandering Herku may get you."</p> + +<p>"Do you think the Herkus would hurt us?"asked Dorothy.</p> + +<p>"I cannot say, not having had the honor of their acquaintance. +But they are said to be so strong that if they had any other +place to stand upon they could lift the world."</p> + +<p>"All of them together?"asked Button-Bright wonderingly.</p> + +<p>"Any one of them could do it," said the High Coco-Lorum.</p> + +<p>"Have you heard of any magicians being among them?" asked the +Wizard, knowing that only a magician could have stolen Ozma in +the way she had been stolen.</p> + +<p>"I am told it is quite a magical country," declared the High +Coco-Lorum, "and magic is usually performed by magicians. But I +have never heard that they have any invention or sorcery to equal +our wonderful auto-dragons."</p> + +<p>They thanked him for his courtesy, and mounting their own animals +rode to the farther side of the city and right through the Wall +of Illusion out into the open country. "I'm glad we got away so +easily," said Betsy. "I didn't like those queer-shaped people."</p> + + +<p>"Nor did I," agreed Dorothy. "It seems dreadful to be lined +with sheets of pure gold and have nothing to eat but +thistles."</p> + +<p>"They seemed happy and contented, though," remarked the Wizard, +"and those who are contented have nothing to regret and nothing +more to wish for."</p> + +<hr /> + +<h2 id="ref_11">CHAPTER 10</h2> + +<h3>TOTO LOSES SOMETHING</h3> + +<p>For a while the travelers were constantly losing their direction, +for beyond the thistle fields they again found themselves upon +the turning-lands, which swung them around one way and then +another. But by keeping the City of Thi constantly behind them, +the adventurers finally passed the treacherous turning-lands and +came upon a stony country where no grass grew at all. There were +plenty of bushes, however, and although it was now almost dark, +the girls discovered some delicious yellow berries growing upon +the bushes, one taste of which set them all to picking as many as +they could find. The berries relieved their pangs of hunger for a +time, and as it now became too dark to see anything, they camped +where they were.</p> + +<p>The three girls lay down upon one of the blankets—all in a +row—and the Wizard covered them with the other blanket and +tucked them in. Button-Bright crawled under the shelter of some +bushes and was asleep.</p> + +<p>The Wizard sat down with his back to a big stone and looked at +the stars in the sky and thought gravely upon the dangerous +adventure they had undertaken, wondering if they would ever be +able to find their beloved Ozma again. The animals lay in a group +by themselves, a little distance from the others. "I've lost my +growl!" said Toto, who had been very silent and sober all that +day. "What do you suppose has become of it?"</p> + +<p>"If you had asked me to keep track of your growl, I might be +able to tell you," remarked the Lion sleepily. "But frankly, +Toto, I supposed you were taking care of it yourself."</p> + +<p>"It's an awful thing to lose one's growl," said Toto, wagging his +tail disconsolately. "What if you lost your roar, Lion? Wouldn't +you feel terrible?"</p> + +<p>"My roar,"replied the Lion, "is the fiercest thing about me. I +depend on it to frighten my enemies so badly that they won't dare +to fight me."</p> + +<p>"Once," said the Mule, "I lost my bray so that I couldn't call to +Betsy to let her know I was hungry. That was before I could talk, +you know, for I had not yet come into the Land of Oz, and I found +it was certainly very uncomfortable not to be able to make a +noise."</p> + +<p>"You make enough noise now," declared Toto. "But none of you +have answered my question: Where is my growl?"</p> + +<p>"You may search ME," said the Woozy. "I don't care for such +things, myself."</p> + +<p>"You snore terribly," asserted Toto.</p> + +<p>"It may be," said the Woozy. "What one does when asleep one is +not accountable for. I wish you would wake me up sometime when +I'm snoring and let me hear the sound. Then I can judge whether +it is terrible or delightful."</p> + +<p>"It isn't pleasant, I assure you," said the Lion, yawning.</p> + +<p>"To me it seems wholly unnecessary," declared Hank the Mule.</p> + +<p>"You ought to break yourself of the habit," said the Sawhorse. +"You never hear me snore, because I never sleep. I don't even +whinny as those puffy meat horses do. I wish that whoever stole +Toto's growl had taken the Mule's bray and the Lion's roar and +the Woozy's snore at the same time."</p> + +<p>"Do you think, then, that my growl was stolen?"</p> + +<p>"You have never lost it before, have you?" inquired inquired +the Sawhorse.</p> + +<p>"Only once, when I had a sore throat from barking too long at the +moon."</p> + +<p>"Is your throat sore now?" asked the Woozy.</p> + +<p>"No," replied the dog.</p> + +<p>"I can't understand," said Hank, "why dogs bark at the moon. +They can't scare the moon, and the moon doesn't pay any attention +to the bark. So why do dogs do it?"</p> + +<p>"Were you ever a dog?" asked Toto.</p> + +<p>"No indeed," replied Hank. "I am thankful to say I was created +a mule—the most beautiful of all beasts—and have always +remained one."</p> + +<p>The Woozy sat upon his square haunches to examine Hank with care. +"Beauty," he said, "must be a matter of taste. I don't say your +judgment is bad, friend Hank, or that you are so vulgar as to be +conceited. But if you admire big, waggy ears and a tail like a +paintbrush and hoofs big enough for an elephant and a long neck +and a body so skinny that one can count the ribs with one eye +shut—if that's your idea of beauty, Hank, then either you or I +must be much mistaken."</p> + +<p>"You're full of edges," sneered the Mule. "If I were square as +you are, I suppose you'd think me lovely."</p> + +<p>"Outwardly, dear Hank, I would," replied the Woozy. "But to be +really lovely, one must be beautiful without and within."</p> + +<p>The Mule couldn't deny this statement, so he gave a disgusted +grunt and rolled over so that his back was toward the Woozy. But +the Lion, regarding the two calmly with his great, yellow eyes, +said to the dog, "My dear Toto, our friends have taught us a +lesson in humility. If the Woozy and the Mule are indeed +beautiful creatures as they seem to think, you and I must be +decidedly ugly."</p> + +<p>"Not to ourselves," protested Toto, who was a shrewd little dog. +"You and I, Lion, are fine specimens of our own races. I am a +fine dog, and you are a fine lion. Only in point of comparison, +one with another, can we be properly judged, so I will leave it +to the poor old Sawhorse to decide which is the most beautiful +animal among us all. The Sawhorse is wood, so he won't be +prejudiced and will speak the truth."</p> + +<p>"I surely will," responded the Sawhorse, wagging his ears, +which were chips set in his wooden head. "Are you all agreed to +accept my judgment?"</p> + +<p>"We are!" they declared, each one hopeful.</p> + +<p>"Then," said the Sawhorse, "I must point out to you the fact +that you are all meat creatures, who tire unless they sleep and +starve unless they eat and suffer from thirst unless they drink. +Such animals must be very imperfect, and imperfect creatures +cannot be beautiful. Now, I am made of wood."</p> + +<p>"You surely have a wooden head," said the Mule.</p> + +<p>"Yes, and a wooden body and wooden legs, which are as swift as +the wind and as tireless. I've heard Dorothy say that 'handsome +is as handsome does,' and I surely perform my duties in a +handsome manner. Therefore, if you wish my honest judgment, I +will confess that among us all I am the most beautiful."</p> + +<p>The Mule snorted, and the Woozy laughed; Toto had lost his growl +and could only look scornfully at the Sawhorse, who stood in his +place unmoved. But the Lion stretched himself and yawned, saying +quietly, "Were we all like the Sawhorse, we would all be +Sawhorses, which would be too many of the kind. Were we all like +Hank, we would be a herd of mules; if like Toto, we would be a +pack of dogs; should we all become the shape of the Woozy, he +would no longer be remarkable for his unusual appearance. +Finally, were you all like me, I would consider you so common +that I would not care to associate with you. To be individual, my +friends, to be different from others, is the only way to become +distinguished from the common herd. Let us be glad, therefore, +that we differ from one another in form and in disposition. +Variety is the spice of life, and we are various enough to enjoy +one another's society; so let us be content."</p> + +<p>"There is some truth in that speech," remarked Toto +reflectively. "But how about my lost growl?"</p> + +<p>"The growl is of importance only to you," responded the Lion, "so +it is your business to worry over the loss, not ours. If you love +us, do not afflict your burdens on us; be unhappy all by +yourself."</p> + +<p>"If the same person stole my growl who stole Ozma," said the +little dog, "I hope we shall find him very soon and punish him as +he deserves. He must be the most cruel person in all the world, +for to prevent a dog from growling when it is his nature to growl +is just as wicked, in my opinion, as stealing all the magic in +Oz."</p> + +<hr /> + +<h2 id="ref_12">CHAPTER 11</h2> + +<h3>BUTTON-BRIGHT LOSES HIMSELF</h3> + +<p>The Patchwork Girl, who never slept and who could see very well +in the dark, had wandered among the rocks and bushes all night +long, with the result that she was able to tell some good news +the next morning. "Over the crest of the hill before us," she +said, "is a big grove of trees of many kinds on which all sorts +of fruits grow. If you will go there, you will find a nice +breakfast awaiting you." This made them eager to start, so as +soon as the blankets were folded and strapped to the back of the +Sawhorse, they all took their places on the animals and set out +for the big grove Scraps had told them of.</p> + +<p>As soon as they got over the brow of the hill, they discovered +it to be a really immense orchard, extending for miles to the +right and left of them. As their way led straight through the +trees, they hurried forward as fast as possible. The first trees +they came to bore quinces, which they did not like. Then there +were rows of citron trees and then crab apples and afterward +limes and lemons. But beyond these they found a grove of big, +golden oranges, juicy and sweet, and the fruit hung low on the +branches so they could pluck it easily.</p> + +<p>They helped themselves freely and all ate oranges as they +continued on their way. Then, a little farther along, they came +to some trees bearing fine, red apples, which they also feasted +on, and the Wizard stopped here long enough to tie a lot of the +apples in one end of a blanket.</p> + +<p>"We do not know what will happen to us after we leave this +delightful orchard," he said, "so I think it wise to carry a +supply of apples with us. We can't starve as long as we have +apples, you know."</p> + +<p>Scraps wasn't riding the Woozy just now. She loved to climb the +trees and swing herself by the branches from one tree to another. +Some of the choicest fruit was gathered by the Patchwork Girl +from the very highest limbs and tossed down to the others. +Suddenly, Trot asked, "Where's Button-Bright?" and when the +others looked for him, they found the boy had disappeared.</p> +<p>"Dear me!" cried Dorothy. "I guess he's lost again, and that +will mean our waiting here until we can find him."</p> + +<p>"It's a good place to wait," suggested Betsy, who had found a +plum tree and was eating some of its fruit.</p> + +<p>"How can you wait here and find Button-Bright at one and the +same time?" inquired the Patchwork Girl, hanging by her toes on a +limb just over the heads of the three mortal girls.</p> + +<p>"Perhaps he'll come back here," answered Dorothy.</p> + +<p>"If he tries that, he'll prob'ly lose his way," said Trot. +"I've known him to do that lots of times. It's losing his way +that gets him lost."</p> + +<p>"Very true," said the Wizard. "So all the rest of you must stay +here while I go look for the boy."</p> + +<p>"Won't YOU get lost, too?" asked Betsy.</p> + +<p>"I hope not, my dear."</p> + +<p>"Let ME go," said Scraps, dropping lightly to the ground. "I +can't get lost, and I'm more likely to find Button-Bright than +any of you." Without waiting for permission, she darted away +through the trees and soon disappeared from their view.</p> + +<p>"Dorothy," said Toto, squatting beside his little mistress, "I've +lost my growl."</p> + +<p>"How did that happen?" she asked.</p> + +<p>"I don't know," replied Toto. "Yesterday morning the Woozy nearly +stepped on me, and I tried to growl at him and found I couldn't +growl a bit."</p> + +<p>"Can you bark?" inquired Dorothy.</p> + +<p>"Oh, yes indeed."</p> + +<p>"Then never mind the growl," said she.</p> + +<p>"But what will I do when I get home to the Glass Cat and the Pink +Kitten?" asked the little dog in an anxious tone.</p> + +<p>"They won't mind if you can't growl at them, I'm sure," said +Dorothy. "I'm sorry for you, of course, Toto, for it's just those +things we can't do that we want to do most of all; but before we +get back, you may find your growl again."</p> + +<p>"Do you think the person who stole Ozma stole my growl?"</p> + +<p>Dorothy smiled.</p> + +<p>"Perhaps, Toto."</p> + +<p>"Then he's a scoundrel!" cried the little dog.</p> + +<p>"Anyone who would steal Ozma is as bad as bad can be," agreed +Dorothy, "and when we remember that our dear friend, the lovely +Ruler of Oz, is lost, we ought not to worry over just a growl."</p> + +<p>Toto was not entirely satisfied with this remark, for the more +he thought upon his lost growl, the more important his misfortune +became. When no one was looking, he went away among the trees and +tried his best to growl—even a little bit—but could not manage +to do so. All he could do was bark, and a bark cannot take the +place of a growl, so he sadly returned to the others.</p> + +<p>Now Button-Bright had no idea that he was lost at first. He had +merely wandered from tree to tree seeking the finest fruit until +he discovered he was alone in the great orchard. But that didn't +worry him just then, and seeing some apricot trees farther on, he +went to them. Then he discovered some cherry trees; just beyond +these were some tangerines. "We've found 'most ev'ry kind of +fruit but peaches," he said to himself, "so I guess there are +peaches here, too, if I can find the trees."</p> + +<p>He searched here and there, paying no attention to his way, +until he found that the trees surrounding him bore only nuts. He +put some walnuts in his pockets and kept on searching, and at +last—right among the nut trees—he came upon one solitary peach +tree. It was a graceful, beautiful tree, but although it was +thickly leaved, it bore no fruit except one large, splendid +peach, rosy-cheeked and fuzzy and just right to eat.</p> + +<p>In his heart he doubted this statement, for this was a solitary +peach tree, while all the other fruits grew upon many trees set +close to one another; but that one luscious bite made him unable +to resist eating the rest of it, and soon the peach was all gone +except the pit. Button-Bright was about to throw this peach pit +away when he noticed that it was of pure gold. Of course, this +surprised him, but so many things in the Land of Oz were +surprising that he did not give much thought to the golden peach +pit. He put it in his pocket, however, to show to the girls, and +five minutes afterward had forgotten all about it.</p> + +<p>For now he realized that he was far separated from his +companions, and knowing that this would worry them and delay +their journey, he began to shout as loud as he could. His voice +did not penetrate very far among all those trees, and after +shouting a dozen times and getting no answer, he sat down on the +ground and said, "Well, I'm lost again. It's too bad, but I don't +see how it can be helped."</p> + +<p>As he leaned his back against a tree, he looked up and saw a +Bluefinch fly down from the sky and alight upon a branch just +before him. The bird looked and looked at him. First it looked +with one bright eye and then turned its head and looked at him +with the other eye. Then, fluttering its wings a little, it said, +"Oho! So you've eaten the enchanted peach, have you?"</p> + +<p>"Was it enchanted?" asked Button-Bright.</p> + +<p>"Of course," replied the Bluefinch."Ugu the Shoemaker did that."</p> + +<p>"But why? And how was it enchanted? And what will happen to +one who eats it?" questioned the boy.</p> + +<p>"Ask Ugu the Shoemaker. He knows," said the bird, preening its +feathers with its bill.</p> + +<p>"And who is Ugu the Shoemaker?"</p> + +<p>"The one who enchanted the peach and placed it here—in the exact +center of the Great Orchard—so no one would ever find it. We +birds didn't dare to eat it; we are too wise for that. But you +are Button-Bright from the Emerald City, and you, YOU, YOU ate +the enchanted peach!</p> + +<p>You must explain to Ugu the Shoemaker why you did that." And +then, before the boy could ask any more questions, the bird flew +away and left him alone.</p> + +<p>Button-Bright was not much worried to find that the peach he had +eaten was enchanted. It certainly had tasted very good, and his +stomach didn't ache a bit. So again he began to reflect upon the +best way to rejoin his friends. "Whichever direction I follow is +likely to be the wrong one," he said to himself, "so I'd better +stay just where I am and let THEM find ME—if they can."</p> + +<p>A White Rabbit came hopping through the orchard and paused a +little way off to look at him. "Don't be afraid," said +Button-Bright. "I won't hurt you."</p> + +<p>"Oh, I'm not afraid for myself," returned the White Rabbit. "It's +you I'm worried about."</p> + +<p>."Yes, I'm lost,' said the boy.</p> + +<p>"I fear you are, indeed," answered the Rabbit. "Why on earth did +you eat the enchanted peach?"</p> + +<p>The boy looked at the excited little animal thoughtfully. +"There were two reasons," he explained. "One reason was that I +like peaches, and the other reason was that I didn't know it was +enchanted."</p> + +<p>"That won't save you from Ugu the Shoemaker," declared the White +Rabbit, and it scurried away before the boy could ask any more +questions.</p> + +<p>"Rabbits and birds," he thought, "are timid creatures and seem +afraid of this shoemaker, whoever he may be. If there was another +peach half as good as that other, I'd eat it in spite of a dozen +enchantments or a hundred shoemakers!"</p> + +<p>Just then, Scraps came dancing along and saw him sitting at the +foot of the tree. "Oh, here you are!" she said. "Up to your old +tricks, eh? Don't you know it's impolite to get lost and keep +everybody waiting for you? Come along, and I'll lead you back to +Dorothy and the others."</p> + +<p>Button-Bright rose slowly to accompany her.</p> + +<p>"That wasn't much of a loss," he said cheerfully. "I haven't been +gone half a day, so there's no harm done."</p> + +<p>Dorothy, however, when the boy rejoined the party, gave him a +good scolding. "When we're doing such an important thing as +searching for Ozma," said she, "it's naughty for you to wander +away and keep us from getting on. S'pose she's a pris'ner in a +dungeon cell! Do you want to keep our dear Ozma there any longer +than we can help?"</p> + +<p>"If she's in a dungeon cell, how are you going to get her out?" +inquired the boy.</p> + +<p>"Never you mind. We'll leave that to the Wizard. He's sure to +find a way."</p> + +<p>The Wizard said nothing, for he realized that without his magic +tools he could do no more than any other person. But there was no +use reminding his companions of that fact; it might discourage +them. "The important thing just now," he remarked, "is to find +Ozma, and as our party is again happily reunited, I propose we +move on."</p> + +<p>As they came to the edge of the Great Orchard, the sun was +setting and they knew it would soon be dark. So it was decided to +camp under the trees, as another broad plain was before them. The +Wizard spread the blankets on a bed of soft leaves, and presently +all of them except Scraps and the Sawhorse were fast asleep. Toto +snuggled close to his friend the Lion, and the Woozy snored so +loudly that the Patchwork Girl covered his square head with her +apron to deaden the sound.</p> + +<hr /> + +<h2 id="ref_13">CHAPTER 12</h2> + +<h3>CZAROVER OF HERKU</h3> + +<p>Trot wakened just as the sun rose, and slipping out of the +blankets, went to the edge of the Great Orchard and looked across +the plain. Something glittered in the far distance. "That looks +like another city," she said half aloud. </p> + +<p>"And another city it is," declared Scraps, who had crept to +Trot's side unheard, for her stuffed feet made no sound. "The +Sawhorse and I made a journey in the dark while you were all +asleep, and we found over there a bigger city than Thi. There's a +wall around it, too, but it has gates and plenty of +pathways."</p> + +<p>"Did you get in?" asked Trot.</p> + +<p>"No, for the gates were locked and the wall was a real wall. +So we came back here again. It isn't far to the city. We can +reach it in two hours after you've had your breakfasts."</p> + +<p>Trot went back, and finding the other girls now awake, told them +what Scraps had said. So they hurriedly ate some fruit—there +were plenty of plums and fijoas in this part of the orchard—and +then they mounted the animals and set out upon the journey to the +strange city. Hank the Mule had breakfasted on grass, and the +Lion had stolen away and found a breakfast to his liking; he +never told what it was, but Dorothy hoped the little rabbits and +the field mice had kept out of his way. She warned Toto not to +chase birds and gave the dog some apple, with which he was quite +content. The Woozy was as fond of fruit as of any other food +except honey, and the Sawhorse never ate at all.</p> + +<p>Except for their worry over Ozma, they were all in good +spirits as they proceeded swiftly over the plain. Toto still +worried over his lost growl, but like a wise little dog kept his +worry to himself. Before long, the city grew nearer and they +could examine it with interest.</p> + +<p>In outward appearance the place was more imposing than Thi, and +it was a square city, with a square, four-sided wall around it, +and on each side was a square gate of burnished copper. +Everything about the city looked solid and substantial; there +were no banners flying, and the towers that rose above the city +wall seemed bare of any ornament whatever.</p> + +<p>A path led from the fruit orchard directly to one of the city +gates, showing that the inhabitants preferred fruit to thistles. +Our friends followed this path to the gate, which they found fast +shut. But the Wizard advanced and pounded upon it with his fist, +saying in a loud voice, "Open!"</p> + +<p>At once there rose above the great wall a row of immense heads, +all of which looked down at them as if to see who was intruding. +The size of these heads was astonishing, and our friends at once +realized that they belonged to giants who were standing within +the city. All had thick, bushy hair and whiskers, on some the +hair being white and on others black or red or yellow, while the +hair of a few was just turning gray, showing that the giants were +of all ages. However fierce the heads might seem, the eyes were +mild in expression, as if the creatures had been long subdued, +and their faces expressed patience rather than ferocity.</p> + +<p>"What's wanted?" asked one old giant in a low, grumbling +voice.</p> + +<p>"We are strangers, and we wish to enter the city," replied the +Wizard.</p> + +<p>"Do you come in war or peace?" asked another.</p> + +<p>"In peace, of course," retorted the Wizard, and he added +impatiently, "Do we look like an army of conquest?"</p> + +<p>"No," said the first giant who had spoken, "you look like +innocent tramps; but you never can tell by appearances. Wait here +until we report to our masters. No one can enter here without the +permission of Vig, the Czarover."</p> + +<p>"Who's that?" inquired Dorothy.</p> + +<p>But the heads had all bobbed down and disappeared behind the +walls, so there was no answer. They waited a long time before the +gate rolled back with a rumbling sound, and a loud voice cried, +"Enter!" But they lost no time in taking advantage of the +invitation.</p> + +<p>On either side of the broad street that led into the city from +the gate stood a row of huge giants, twenty of them on a side and +all standing so close together that their elbows touched. They +wore uniforms of blue and yellow and were armed with clubs as big +around as treetrunks. Each giant had around his neck a broad band +of gold, riveted on, to show he was a slave.</p> + +<p>As our friends entered riding upon the Lion, the Woozy, the +Sawhorse and the Mule, the giants half turned and walked in two +files on either side of them, as if escorting them on their way. +It looked to Dorothy as if all her party had been made prisoners, +for even mounted on their animals their heads scarcely reached to +the knees of the marching giants. The girls and Button-Bright +were anxious to know what sort of a city they had entered, and +what the people were like who had made these powerful creatures +their slaves. Through the legs of the giants as they walked, +Dorothy could see rows of houses on each side of the street and +throngs of people standing on the sidewalks, but the people were +of ordinary size and the only remarkable thing about them was the +fact that they were dreadfully lean and thin. Between their skin +and their bones there seemed to be little or no flesh, and they +were mostly stoop-shouldered and weary looking, even to the +little children.</p> + +<p>More and more, Dorothy wondered how and why the great giants had +ever submitted to become slaves of such skinny, languid masters, +but there was no chance to question anyone until they arrived at +a big palace located in the heart of the city. Here the giants +formed lines to the entrance and stood still while our friends +rode into the courtyard of the palace. Then the gates closed +behind them, and before them was a skinny little man who bowed +low and said in a sad voice, "If you will be so obliging as to +dismount, it will give me pleasure to lead you into the presence +of the World's Most Mighty Ruler, Vig the Czarover."</p> + +<p>"I don't believe it!" said Dorothy indignantly.</p> + +<p>"What don't you believe?" asked the man.</p> + +<p>"I don't believe your Czarover can hold a candle to our +Ozma."</p> + +<p>"He wouldn't hold a candle under any circumstances, or to any +living person," replied the man very seriously, "for he has +slaves to do such things and the Mighty Vig is too dignified to +do anything that others can do for him. He even obliges a slave +to sneeze for him, if ever he catches cold. However, if you dare +to face our powerful ruler, follow me."</p> + +<p>"We dare anything," said the Wizard, "so go ahead."</p> + +<p>Through several marble corridors having lofty ceilings they +passed, finding each corridor and doorway guarded by servants. +But these servants of the palace were of the people and not +giants, and they were so thin that they almost resembled +skeletons. Finally, they entered a great circular room with a +high, domed ceiling, where the Czarover sat on a throne cut from +a solid block of white marble and decorated with purple silk +hangings and gold tassels.</p> + +<p>The ruler of these people was combing his eyebrows when our +friends entered the throne room and stood before him, but he put +the comb in his pocket and examined the strangers with evident +curiosity. Then he said, "Dear me, what a surprise! You have +really shocked me. For no outsider has ever before come to our +City of Herku, and I cannot imagine why you have ventured to do +so."</p> + +<p>"We are looking for Ozma, the Supreme Ruler of the Land of Oz," +replied the Wizard.</p> + +<p>"Do you see her anywhere around here?" asked the Czarover.</p> + +<p>"Not yet, Your Majesty, but perhaps you may tell us where she +is."</p> + +<p>"No, I have my hands full keeping track of my own people. I +find them hard to manage because they are so tremendously +strong."</p> + +<p>"They don't look very strong," said Dorothy. "It seems as if a +good wind would blow 'em way out of the city if it wasn't for the +wall."</p> + +<p>"Just so, just so," admitted the Czarover. "They really look +that way, don't they? But you must never trust to appearances, +which have a way of fooling one. Perhaps you noticed that I +prevented you from meeting any of my people. I protected you with +my giants while you were on the way from the gates to my palace +so that not a Herku got near you."</p> + +<p>"Are your people so dangerous, then?"asked the Wizard.</p> + +<p>"To strangers, yes. But only because they are so friendly. For +if they shake hands with you, they are likely to break your arms +or crush your fingers to a jelly."</p> + +<p>"Why?" asked Button-Bright.</p> + +<p>"Because we are the strongest people in all the world."</p> + +<p>"Pshaw!"exclaimed the boy. "That's bragging. You prob'ly don't +know how strong other people are. Why, once I knew a man in +Philadelphi' who could bend iron bars with just his hands!"</p> + +<p>"But mercy me, it's no trick to bend iron bars," said His +Majesty. "Tell me, could this man crush a block of stone with his +bare hands?"</p> + +<p>"No one could do that," declared the boy.</p> + +<p>"If I had a block of stone, I'd show you," said the Czarover, +looking around the room. "Ah, here is my throne. The back is too +high, anyhow, so I'll just break off a piece of that." He rose to +his feet and tottered in an uncertain way around the throne. Then +he took hold of the back and broke off a piece of marble over a +foot thick. "This," said he, coming back to his seat, "is very +solid marble and much harder than ordinary stone. Yet I can +crumble it easily with my fingers, a proof that I am very +strong."</p> + +<p>Even as he spoke, he began breaking off chunks of marble and +crumbling them as one would a bit of earth. The Wizard was so +astonished that he took a piece in his own hands and tested it, +finding it very hard indeed.</p> + +<p>Just then one of the giant servants entered and exclaimed, +"Oh, Your Majesty, the cook has burned the soup! What shall we +do?"</p> + +<p>"How dare you interrupt me?".</p> + +<p>"asked the Czarover, and grasping the immense giant by one of +his legs, he raised him in the air and threw him headfirst out of +an open window. "Now, tell me," he said, turning to +Button-Bright, "could your man in Philadelphia crumble marble in +his fingers?"</p> + +<p>"I guess not," said Button-Bright, much impressed by the skinny +monarch's strength.</p> + +<p>"What makes you so strong?" inquired Dorothy.</p> + +<p>"It's the zosozo," he explained, "which is an invention of my +own. I and all my people eat zosozo, and it gives us tremendous +strength. Would you like to eat some?"</p> + +<p>"No thank you," replied the girl. "I—I don't want to get so +thin."</p> + +<p>"Well, of course one can't have strength and flesh at the same +time," said the Czarover. "Zosozo is pure energy, and it's the +only compound of its sort in existence. I never allow our giants +to have it, you know, or they would soon become our masters, +since they are bigger that we; so I keep all the stuff locked up +in my private laboratory. Once a year I feed a teaspoonful of it +to each of my people—men, women and children—so every one of +them is nearly as strong as I am. Wouldn't YOU like a dose, sir?" +he asked, turning to the Wizard.</p> + +<p>"Well," said the Wizard, "if you would give me a little zosozo +in a bottle, I'd like to take it with me on my travels. It might +come in handy on occasion."</p> + +<p>"To be sure. I'll give you enough for six doses," promised the +Czarover.</p> + +<p>"But don't take more than a teaspoonful at a time. Once Ugu +the Shoemaker took two teaspoonsful, and it made him so strong +that when he leaned against the city wall, he pushed it over, and +we had to build it up again."</p> + +<p>"Who is Ugu the Shoemaker?"</p> + +<p>Button-Bright curiously, for he now remembered that the bird +and the rabbit had claimed Ugu the Shoemaker had enchanted the +peach he had eaten.</p> + +<p>"Why, Ugu is a great magician who used to live here. But he's +gone away now," replied the Czarover.</p> + +<p>"Where has he gone?" asked the Wizard quickly.</p> + +<p>"I am told he lives in a wickerwork castle in the mountains to +the west of here. You see, Ugu became such a powerful magician +that he didn't care to live in our city any longer for fear we +would discover some of his secrets. So he went to the mountains +and built him a splendid wicker castle which is so strong that +even I and my people could not batter it down, and there he lives +all by himself."</p> + +<p>"This is good news," declared the Wizard, "for I think this is +just the magician we are searching for. But why is he called Ugu +the Shoemaker?"</p> + +<p>"Once he was a very common citizen here and made shoes for a +living," replied the monarch of Herku. "But he was descended from +the greatest wizard and sorcerer who ever lived in this or in any +other country, and one day Ugu the Shoemaker discovered all the +magical books and recipes of his famous great-grandfather, which +had been hidden away in the attic of his house. So he began to +study the papers and books and to practice magic, and in time he +became so skillful that, as I said, he scorned our city and built +a solitary castle for himself."</p> + +<p>"Do you think" asked Dorothy anxiously, "that Ugu the +Shoemaker would be wicked enough to steal our Ozma of Oz?"</p> + +<p>"And the Magic Picture?" asked Trot.</p> + +<p>"And the Great Book of Records of Glinda the Good?" asked +Betsy.</p> + +<p>"And my own magic tools?" asked the Wizard.</p> + +<p>" replied the Czarover, "I won't say that Ugu is wicked, +exactly, but he is very ambitious to become the most powerful +magician in the world, and so I suppose he would not be too proud +to steal any magic things that belonged to anybody else—if he +could manage to do so."</p> + +<p>"But how about Ozma? Why would he wish to steal HER?"questioned +Dorothy.</p> + +<p>"Don't ask me, my dear. Ugu doesn't tell me why he does +things, I assure you."</p> + +<p>Then we must go and ask him ourselves," declared the little girl.</p> + +<p>"I wouldn't do that if I were you," advised the Czarover, +looking first at the three girls and then at the boy and the +little Wizard and finally at the stuffed Patchwork Girl. "If Ugu +has really stolen your Ozma, he will probably keep her a +prisoner, in spite of all your threats or entreaties. And with +all his magical knowledge he would be a dangerous person to +attack. Therefore, if you are wise, you will go home again and +find a new Ruler for the Emerald City and the Land of Oz. But +perhaps it isn't Ugu the Shoemaker who has stolen your Ozma."</p> + +<p>"The only way to settle that question," replied the Wizard, "is +to go to Ugu's castle and see if Ozma is there. If she is, we +will report the matter to the great Sorceress Glinda the Good, +and I'm pretty sure she will find a way to rescue our darling +ruler from the Shoemaker."</p> + +<p>"Well, do as you please," said the Czarover, "but if you are +all transformed into hummingbirds or caterpillars, don't blame me +for not warning you."</p> + +<p>They stayed the rest of that day in the City of Herku and were +fed at the royal table of the Czarover and given sleeping rooms +in his palace. The strong monarch treated them very nicely and +gave the Wizard a little golden vial of zosozo to use if ever he +or any of his.</p> + +<p>Even at the last, the Czarover tried to persuade them not to +go near Ugu the Shoemaker, but they were resolved on the venture, +and the next morning bade the friendly monarch a cordial goodbye +and, mounting upon their animals, left the Herkus and the City of +Herku and headed for the mountains that lay to the west.</p> + +<hr /> + +<h2 id="ref_14">CHAPTER 13</h2> + +<h3>TRUTH POND</h3> + +<p>It seems a long time since we have heard anything of the Frogman +and Cayke the Cookie Cook, who had left the Yip Country in search +of the diamond-studded dishpan which had been mysteriously stolen +the same night that Ozma had disappeared from the Emerald City. +But you must remember that while the Frogman and the Cookie Cook +were preparing to descend from their mountaintop, and even while +on their way to the farmhouse of Wiljon the Winkie, Dorothy and +the Wizard and their friends were encountering the adventures we +have just related.</p> + +<p>So it was that on the very morning when the travelers from the +Emerald City bade farewell to the Czarover of the City of Herku, +Cayke and the Frogman awoke in a grove in which they had passed +the night sleeping on beds of leaves. There were plenty of +farmhouses in the neighborhood, but no one seemed to welcome the +puffy, haughty Frogman or the little dried-up Cookie Cook, and so +they slept comfortably enough underneath the trees of the grove. +The Frogman wakened first on this morning, and after going to the +tree where Cayke slept and finding her still wrapped in slumber, +he decided to take a little walk and seek some breakfast. Coming +to the edge of the grove, he observed half a mile away a pretty +yellow house that was surrounded by a yellow picket fence, so he +walked toward this house and on entering the yard found a Winkie +woman picking up sticks with which to build a fire to cook her +morning meal.</p> + +<p>"For goodness sake!" she exclaimed on seeing the Frogman. "What +are you doing out of your frog-pond?"</p> + +<p>"I am traveling in search of a jeweled gold dishpan, my good +woman," he replied with an air of great dignity.</p> + +<p>"You won't find it here, then," said she."Our dishpans are tin, +and they're good enough for anybody. So go back to your pond and +leave me alone." She spoke rather crossly and with a lack of +respect that greatly annoyed the Frogman.</p> + +<p>"Allow me to tell you, madam," said he, "that although I am a +frog, I am the Greatest and Wisest Frog in all the world. I may +add that I possess much more wisdom than any Winkie—man or +woman—in this land. Wherever I go, people fall on their knees +before me and render homage to the Great Frogman! No one else +knows so much as I; no one else is so grand, so magnificent!"</p> + +<p>"If you know so much," she retorted, "why don't you know where +your dishpan is instead of chasing around the country after it?"</p> + +<p>"Presently," he answered, "I am going where it is, but just +now I am traveling and have had no breakfast. Therefore I honor +you by asking you for something to eat."</p> + +<p>"Oho! The Great Frogman is hungry as any tramp, is he? Then pick +up these sticks and help me to build the fire," said the woman +contemptuously.</p> + +<p>"Me! The Great Frogman pick up sticks?" he exclaimed in +horror. "In the Yip Country where I am more honored and powerful +than any King could be, people weep with joy when I ask them to +feed me."</p> + +<p>"Then that's the place to go for your breakfast," declared the +woman.</p> + +<p>"I fear you do not realize my importance," urged the Frogman. +"Exceeding wisdom renders me superior to menial duties."</p> + +<p>"It's a great wonder to me," remarked the woman, carrying her +sticks to the house, "that your wisdom doesn't inform you that +you'll get no breakfast here." And she went in and slammed the +door behind her.</p> + +<p>The Frogman felt he had been insulted, so he gave a loud croak +of indignation and turned away. After going a short distance, he +came upon a faint path which led across a meadow in the direction +of a grove of pretty trees, and thinking this circle of +evergreens must surround a house where perhaps he would be kindly +received, he decided to follow the path. And by and by he came to +the trees, which were set close together, and pushing aside some +branches he found no house inside the circle, but instead a very +beautiful pond of clear water.</p> + +<p>Now the Frogman, although he was so big and well educated and now +aped the ways and customs of human beings, was still a frog. As +he gazed at this solitary, deserted pond, his love for water +returned to him with irresistible force. "If I cannot get a +breakfast, I may at least have a fine swim," said he, and pushing +his way between the trees, he reached the bank. There he took off +his fine clothing, laying his shiny purple hat and his +gold-headed cane beside it. A moment later, he sprang with one +leap into the water and dived to the very bottom of the pond.</p> + +<p>The water was deliciously cool and grateful to his thick, +rough skin, and the Frogman swam around the pond several times +before he stopped to rest. Then he floated upon the surface and +examined the pond with The bottom and sides were all lined with +glossy tiles of a light pink color; just one place in the bottom +where the water bubbled up from a hidden spring had been left +free. On the banks, the green grass grew to the edge of the pink +tiling. And now, as the Frogman examined the place, he found that +on one side of the pool, just above the water line, had been set +a golden plate on which some words were deeply engraved. He swam +toward this plate, and on reaching it read the following +inscription:</p> + +<p>This is <br /> +THE TRUTH POND<br /> +$$Whoever bathes in this<br /> +water must always afterward tell<br /> +THE TRUTH.<br /></p> + +<p>This statement startled the Frogman. It even worried him, so +that he leaped upon the bank and hurriedly began to dress +himself. "A great misfortune has befallen me," he told himself, +"for hereafter I cannot tell people I am wise, since it is not +the truth. The truth is that my boasted wisdom is all a sham, +assumed by me to deceive people and make them defer to me. In +truth, no living creature can know much more than his fellows, +for one may know one thing, and another know another thing, so +that wisdom is evenly scattered throughout the world. But—ah +me!—what a terrible fate will now be mine. Even Cayke the Cookie +Cook will soon discover that my knowledge is no greater than her +own, for having bathed in the enchanted water of the Truth Pond, +I can no longer deceive her or tell a lie."</p> + +<p>More humbled than he had been for many years, the Frogman went +back to the grove where he had left Cayke and found the woman now +awake and washing her face in a tiny brook. "Where has Your Honor +been?" she asked.</p> + +<p>"To a farmhouse to ask for something to eat," said he, "but +the woman refused me."</p> + +<p>"How dreadful!" she exclaimed. "But never mind, there are other +houses where the people will be glad to feed the Wisest Creature +in all the World."</p> + +<p>"Do you mean yourself?" he asked.</p> + +<p>"No, I mean you."</p> + +<p>The Frogman felt strongly impelled to tell the truth, but +struggled hard against it. His reason told him there was no use +in letting Cayke know he was not wise, for then she would lose +much respect for him, but each time he opened his mouth to speak, +he realized he was about to tell the truth and shut it again as +quickly as possible. He tried to talk about something else, but +the words necessary to undeceive the woman would force themselves +to his lips in spite of all his struggles. Finally, knowing that +he must either remain dumb or let the truth prevail, he gave a +low groan of despair and said, "Cayke, I am NOT the Wisest +Creature in all the World; I am not wise at all."</p> + +<p>"Oh, you must be!" she protested. "You told me so yourself, only +last evening."</p> + +<p>"Then last evening I failed to tell you the truth," he +admitted, looking very shamefaced for a frog. "I am sorry I told +you this lie, my good Cayke, but if you must know the truth, the +whole truth and nothing but the truth, I am not really as wise as +you are."</p> + +<p>The Cookie Cook was greatly shocked to hear this, for it +shattered one of her most pleasing illusions. She looked at the +gorgeously dressed Frogman in amazement. "What has caused you to +change your mind so suddenly?" she inquired.</p> + +<p>"I have bathed in the Truth Pond," he said, "and whoever +bathes in that water is ever afterward obliged to tell the +truth."</p> + +<p>"You were foolish to do that," declared the woman.</p> + +<p>"It is often very embarrassing to tell the truth. I'm glad I +didn't bathe in that dreadful water!"</p> + +<p>The Frogman looked at his companion thoughtfully. "Cayke," said +he, "I want you to go to the Truth Pond and take a bath in its +water. For if we are to travel together and encounter unknown +adventures, it would not be fair that I alone must always tell +you the truth, while you could tell me whatever you pleased. If +we both dip in the enchanted water, there will be no chance in +the future of our deceiving one another."</p> + +<p>"No," she asserted, shaking her head positively, "I won't do +it, Your Honor. For if I told you the truth, I'm sure you +wouldn't like me. No Truth Pond for me.</p> + +<p>I'll be just as I am, an honest woman who can say what she wants +to without hurting anyone's feelings."</p> + +<p>With this decision the Frogman was forced to be content, +although he was sorry the Cookie Cook would not listen to his +advice.</p> + +<hr /> + +<h2 id="ref_15">CHAPTER 14</h2> + +<h3>THE UNHAPPY FERRYMAN</h3> + +<p>Leaving the grove where they had slept, the Frogman and the +Cookie Cook turned to the east to seek another house, and after a +short walk came to one where the people received them very +politely. The children stared rather hard at the big, pompous +Frogman, but the woman of the house, when Cayke asked for +something to eat, at once brought them food and said they were +welcome to it. "Few people in need of help pass this way," she +remarked, "for the Winkies are all prosperous and love to stay in +their own homes. But perhaps you are not a Winkie," she +added.</p> + +<p>"No," said Cayke, "I am a Yip, and my home is on a high mountain +at the southeast of your country."</p> + +<p>"And the Frogman, is he also a Yip?"</p> + +<p>"I do not know what he is, other than a very remarkable and +highly educated creature," replied the Cookie Cook. "But he has +lived many years among the Yips, who have found him so wise and +intelligent that they always go to him for advice." </p> + +<p>"May I ask why you have left your home and where you are +going?" said the Winkie woman.</p> + +<p>Then Cayke told her of the diamond-studded gold dishpan and how +it had been mysteriously stolen from her house, after which she +had discovered that she could no longer cook good cookies. So she +had resolved to search until she found her dishpan again, because +a Cookie cook who cannot cook good cookies is not of much use. +The Frogman, who had wanted to see more of the world, had +accompanied her to assist in the search. When the woman had +listened to this story, she asked, "Then you have no idea as yet +who has stolen your dishpan?"</p> + +<p>"I only know it must have been some mischievous fairy, or a +magician, or some such powerful person, because none other could +have climbed the steep mountain to the Yip Country. And who else +could have carried away my beautiful magic dishpan without being +seen?"</p> + +<p>The woman thought about this during the time that Cayke and the +Frogman ate their breakfast. When they had finished, she said, +"Where are you going next?"</p> + +<p>"We have not decided," answered the Cookie cook.</p> + +<p>"Our plan," explained the Frogman in his important way, "is to +travel from place to place until we learn where the thief is +located and then to force him to return the dishpan to its proper +owner."</p> + +<p>"The plan is all right," agreed the woman, "but it may take +you a long time before you succeed, your method being sort of +haphazard and indefinite. However, I advise you to travel toward +the east."</p> + +<p>"Why?" asked the Frogman.</p> + +<p>"Because if you went west, you would soon come to the desert, +and also because in this part of the Winkie Country no one +steals, so your time here would be wasted. But toward the east, +beyond the river, live many strange people whose honesty I would +not vouch for. Moreover, if you journey far enough east and cross +the river for a second time, you will come to the Emerald City, +where there is much magic and sorcery. The Emerald City is ruled +by a dear little girl called Ozma, who also rules the Emperor of +the Winkies and all the Land of Oz. So, as Ozma is a fairy, she +may be able to tell you just who has taken your precious dishpan. +Provided, of course, you do not find it before you reach +her."</p> + +<p>"This seems to be to be excellent advice," said the Frogman, and +Cayke agreed with him.</p> + +<p>"The most sensible thing for you to do," continued the woman, +"would be to return to your home and use another dishpan, learn +to cook cookies as other people cook cookies, without the aid of +magic. But if you cannot be happy without the magic dishpan you +have lost, you are likely to learn more about it in the Emerald +City than at any other place in Oz."</p> + +<p>They thanked the good woman, and on leaving her house faced the +east and continued in that direction all the way. Toward evening +they came to the west branch of the Winkie River and there, on +the riverbank, found a ferryman who lived all alone in a little +yellow house. This ferryman was a Winkie with a very small head +and a very large body. He was sitting in his doorway as the +travelers approached him and did not even turn his head to look +at them.</p> + +<p>"Good evening," said the Frogman.</p> + +<p>The ferryman made no reply.</p> + +<p>"We would like some supper and the privilege of sleeping in +your house until morning," continued the Frogman. "At daybreak, +we would like some breakfast, and then we would like to have you +row us across the river."</p> + +<p>The ferryman neither moved nor spoke. He sat in his doorway and +looked straight ahead. "I think he must be deaf and dumb," Cayke +whispered to her companion. Then she stood directly in front of +the ferryman, and putting her mouth close to his ear, she yelled +as loudly as she could, "Good evening!"</p> + +<p>The ferryman scowled.</p> + +<p>"Why do you yell at me, woman?" he asked.</p> + +<p>"Can you hear what I say?" asked in her ordinary tone of +voice.</p> + +<p>"Of course," replied the man.</p> + +<p>"Then why didn't you answer the Frogman?" "Because," said the +ferryman, "I don't understand the frog language."</p> + +<p>"He speaks the same words that I do and in the same way," +declared Cayke.</p> + +<p>"Perhaps," replied the ferryman, "but to me his voice sounded +like a frog's croak. I know that in the Land of Oz animals can +speak our language, and so can the birds and bugs and fishes; but +in MY ears, they sound merely like growls and chirps and +croaks."</p> + +<p>"Why is that?" asked the Cookie Cook in surprise.</p> + +<p>"Once, many years ago, I cut the tail off a fox which had +taunted me, and I stole some birds' eggs from a nest to make an +omelet with, and also I pulled a fish from the river and left it +lying on the bank to gasp for lack of water until it died. I +don't know why I did those wicked things, but I did them. So the +Emperor of the Winkies—who is the Tin Woodman and has a very +tender tin heart—punished me by denying me any communication +with beasts, birds or fishes. I cannot understand them when they +speak to me, although I know that other people can do so, nor can +the creatures understand a word I say to them. Every time I meet +one of them, I am reminded of my former cruelty, and it makes me +very unhappy."</p> + +<p>"Really," said Cayke, "I'm sorry for you, although the Tin +Woodman is not to blame for punishing you."</p> + +<p>"What is he mumbling about?" asked the Frogman.</p> + +<p>"He is talking to me, but you don't understand him," she replied. +And then she told him of the ferryman's punishment and afterward +explained to the ferryman that they wanted to stay all night with +him and be fed. He gave them some fruit and bread, which was the +only sort of food he had, and he allowed Cayke to sleep in a room +of his cottage. But the Frogman he refused to admit to his house, +saying that the frog's presence made him miserable and unhappy. +At no time would he directly at the Frogman, or even toward him, +fearing he would shed tears if he did so; so the big frog slept +on the riverbank where he could hear little frogs croaking in the +river all the night through. But that did not keep him awake; it +merely soothed him to slumber, for he realized how much superior +he was to them.</p> + +<p>Just as the sun was rising on a new day, the ferryman rowed +the two travelers across the river—keeping his back to the +Frogman all the way—and then Cayke thanked him and bade him +goodbye and the ferryman rowed home again.</p> + +<p>On this side of the river, there were no paths at all, so it was +evident they had reached a part of the country little frequented +by travelers. There was a marsh at the south of them, sandhills +at the north, and a growth of scrubby underbrush leading toward a +forest at the east. So the east was really the least difficult +way to go, and that direction was the one they had determined to +follow.</p> + +<p>Now the Frogman, although he wore green patent-leather shoes +with ruby buttons, had very large and flat feet, and when he +tramped through the scrub, his weight crushed down the underbrush +and made a path for Cayke to follow him. Therefore they soon +reached the forest, where the tall trees were set far apart but +were so leafy that they shaded all the spaces between them with +their branches. "There are no bushes here," said Cayke, much +pleased, "so we can now travel faster and with more comfort."</p> + + +<hr /> + +<h2 id="ref_16">CHAPTER 15</h2> + +<h3>THE BIG LAVENDER BEAR</h3> + +<p>It was a pleasant place to wander, and the two travelers were +proceeding at a brisk pace when suddenly a voice shouted, "Halt!"</p> + +<p>They looked around in surprise, seeing at first no one at all. +Then from behind a tree there stepped a brown, fuzzy bear whose +head came about as high as Cayke's waist—and Cayke was a small +woman. The bear was chubby as well as fuzzy; his body was even +puffy, while his legs and arms seemed jointed at the knees and +elbows and fastened to his body by pins or rivets. His ears were +round in shape and stuck out in a comical way, while his round, +black eyes were bright and sparkling as beads. Over his shoulder +the little brown bear bore a gun with a tin barrel. The barrel +had a cork in the end of it, and a string was attached to the +cork and to the handle of the gun. Both the Frogman and Cayke +gazed hard at this curious bear, standing silent for some time. +But finally the Frogman recovered from his surprise and remarked, +"It seems to me that you are stuffed with sawdust and ought not +to be alive."</p> + +<p>"That's all you know about it," answered the little Brown Bear in +a squeaky voice. "I am stuffed with a very good quality of curled +hair, and my skin is the best plush that was ever made. As for my +being alive, that is my own affair and cannot concern you at all, +except that it gives me the privilege to say you are my +prisoners."</p> + +<p>"Prisoners! Why do you speak such nonsense?" the Frogman +angrily. "Do you think we are afraid of a toy bear with a toy +gun?"</p> + +<p>"You ought to be," was the confident reply, "for I am merely the +sentry guarding the way to Bear Center, which is a city +containing hundreds of my race, who are ruled by a very powerful +sorcerer known as the Lavender Bear. He ought to be a purple +color, you know, seeing he is a King, but he's only light +lavender, which is, of course, second cousin to royal purple. So +unless you come with me peaceably as my prisoners, I shall fire +my gun and bring a hundred bears of all sizes and colors to +capture you."</p> + +<p>"Why do you wish to capture us?" inquired the Frogman, who had +listened to his speech with much astonishment.</p> + +<p>"I don't wish to, as a matter of fact," replied the little Brown +Bear, "but it is my duty to, because you are now trespassing on +the domain of His Majesty, the King of Bear Center. Also, I will +admit that things are rather quiet in our city just now, and the +excitement of your capture, followed by your trial and execution, +should afford us much entertainment."</p> + +<p>"We defy you!" said the Frogman.</p> + +<p>"Oh no, don't do that," pleaded Cayke, speaking to her companion. +"He says his King is a sorcerer, so perhaps it is he or one of +his bears who ventured to steal my jeweled dishpan. Let us go to +the City of the Bears and discover if my dishpan is there."</p> + +<p>"I must now register one more charge against you," remarked +the little Brown Bear with evident satisfaction. "You have just +accused us of stealing, and that is such a dreadful thing to say +that I am quite sure our noble King will command you to be +executed."</p> + +<p>"But how could you execute us?" inquired the Cookie Cook. </p> + +<p>"I've no idea. But our King is a wonderful inventor, and there +is no doubt he can find a proper way to destroy you. So tell me, +are you going to struggle, or will you go peaceably to meet your +doom?"</p> + +<p>It was all so ridiculous that Cayke laughed aloud, and even the +Frogman's wide mouth curled in a smile. Neither was a bit afraid +to go to the Bear City, and it seemed to both that there was a +possibility they might discover the missing dishpan. So the +Frogman said, "Lead the way, little Bear, and we will follow +without a struggle."</p> + +<p>"That's very sensible of you, very sensible indeed," declared +the Brown Bear. "So for-ward, MARCH!" And with the command he +turned around and began to waddle along a path that led between +the trees.</p> + +<p>Cayke and the Frogman, as they followed their conductor, could +scarce forbear laughing at his stiff, awkward manner of walking, +and although he moved his stuffy legs fast, his steps were so +short that they had to go slowly in order not to run into him. +But after a time they reached a large, circular space in the +center of the forest, which was clear of any stumps or +underbrush. The ground was covered by a soft, gray moss, pleasant +to tread upon. All the trees surrounding this space seemed to be +hollow and had round holes in their trunks, set a little way +above the ground, but otherwise there was nothing unusual about +the place and nothing, in the opinion of the prisoners, to +indicate a settlement. But the little Brown Bear said in a proud +and impressive voice (although it still squeaked), "This is the +wonderful city known to fame as Bear Center!"</p> + +<p>"But there are no houses, there are no bears living here at +all!" exclaimed Cayke.</p> + +<p>"Oh indeed!" retorted their captor, and raising his gun he pulled +the trigger. The cork flew out of the tin barrel with a loud +"pop!" and at once from every hole in every tree within view of +the clearing appeared the head of a bear. They were of many +colors and of many sizes, but all were made in the same manner as +the bear who had met and captured them.</p> + +<p>At first a chorus of growls arose, and then a sharp voice +cried, "What has happened, Corporal Waddle?"</p> + +<p>"Captives, Your Majesty!" answered the Brown Bear. "Intruders +upon our domain and slanderers of our good name."</p> + +<p>"Ah, that's important," answered the voice.</p> + +<p>Then from out the hollow trees tumbled a whole regiment of +stuffed bears, some carrying tin swords, some popguns and others +long spears with gay ribbons tied to the handles. There were +hundreds of them, altogether, and they quietly formed a circle +around the Frogman and the Cookie Cook, but kept at a distance +and left a large space for the prisoners to stand in. Presently, +this circle parted, and into the center of it stalked a huge toy +bear of a lovely lavender color. He walked upon his hind legs, as +did all the others, and on his head he wore a tin crown set with +diamonds and amethysts, while in one paw he carried a short wand +of some glittering metal that resembled silver but wasn't.</p> + +<p>"His Majesty the King!" Corporal Waddle, and all the bears +bowed low. Some bowed so low that they lost their balance and +toppled over, but they soon scrambled up again, and the Lavender +King squatted on his haunches before the prisoners and gazed at +them steadily with his bright, pink eyes.</p> + +<hr /> + +<h2 id="ref_17">CHAPTER 16</h2> + +<h3>THE LITTLE PINK BEAR</h3> + +<p>"One Person and one Freak," said the big Lavender Bear when he +had carefully examined the strangers.</p> + +<p>"I am sorry to hear you call poor Cayke the Cookie Cook a +Freak," remonstrated the Frogman.</p> + +<p>"She is the Person," asserted the King. "Unless I am mistaken, it +is you who are the Freak."</p> + +<p>The Frogman was silent, for he could not truthfully deny +it.</p> + +<p>"Why have you dared intrude in my forest?" demanded demanded the +Bear King.</p> + +<p>"We didn't know it was your forest," said Cayke, "and we are +on our way to the far east, where the Emerald City is."</p> + +<p>"Ah, it's a long way from here to the Emerald City," remarked the +King. "It is so far away, indeed, that no bear among us has even +been there. But what errand requires you to travel such a +distance?"</p> + +<p>"Someone has stolen my diamond-studded gold dishpan," +explained Cayke, "and as I cannot be happy without it, I have +decided to search the world over until I find it again. The +Frogman, who is very learned and wonderfully wise, has come with +me to give me his assistance. Isn't it kind of him?"</p> + +<p>The King looked at the Frogman.</p> + +<p>"What makes you so wonderfully wise?" he asked.</p> + +<p>"I'm not," was the candid reply."The Cookie Cook and some others +in the Yip Country think because I am a big frog and talk and act +like a man that I must be very wise. I have learned more than a +frog usually knows, it is true, but I am not yet so wise as I +hope to become at some future time."</p> + +<p>The King nodded, and when he did so, something squeaked in his +chest. "Did Your Majesty speak?" asked Cayke.</p> + +<p>"Not just then," answered the Lavender Bear, seeming to be +somewhat embarrassed. "I am so built, you must know, that when +anything pushes against my chest, as my chin accidentally did +just then, I make that silly noise. In this city it isn't +considered good manners to notice. But I like your Frogman.</p> + +<p>He is honest and truthful, which is more than can be said of +many others. As for your late lamented dishpan, I'll show it to +you." With this he waved three times the metal wand which he held +in his paw, and instantly there appeared upon the ground midway +between the King and Cayke a big, round pan made of beaten gold. +Around the top edge was a row of small diamonds; around the +center of the pan was another row of larger diamonds; and at the +bottom was a row of exceedingly large and brilliant diamonds. In +fact, they all sparkled magnificently, and the pan was so big and +broad that it took a lot of diamonds to go around it three +times.</p> + +<p>Cayke stared so hard that her eyes seemed about to pop out of her +head. "O-o-o-h!" she exclaimed, drawing a deep breath of delight.</p> + +<p>"Is this your dishpan?" inquired the King.</p> + +<p>"It is, it is!" cried the Cookie Cook, and rushing forward, she +fell on her knees and threw her arms around the precious pan. But +her arms came together without meeting any resistance at all. +Cayke tried to seize the edge, but found nothing to grasp. The +pan was surely there, she thought, for she could see it plainly; +but it was not solid; she could not feel it at all. With a moan +of astonishment and despair, she raised her head to look at the +Bear King, who was watching her actions curiously. Then she +turned to the pan again, only to find it had completely +disappeared.</p> + +<p>"Poor creature!" murmured the King pityingly. "You must have +thought, for the moment, that you had actually recovered your +dishpan. But what you saw was merely the image of it, conjured up +by means of my magic. It is a pretty dishpan, indeed, though +rather big and awkward to handle. I hope you will some day find +it."</p> + +<p>Cayke was grievously disappointed. She began to cry, wiping her +eyes on her apron. The King turned to the throng of toy bears +surrounding him and asked, "Has any of you ever seen this golden +dishpan before?"</p> + +<p>"No," they answered in a chorus.</p> + +<p>The King seemed to reflect. Presently he inquired, "Where is the +Little Pink Bear?"</p> + +<p>"At home, Your Majesty," was the reply.</p> + +<p>"Fetch him here," commanded the King.</p> + +<p>Several of the bears waddled over to one of the trees and +pulled from its hollow a tiny pink bear, smaller than any of the +others. A big, white bear carried the pink one in his arms and +set it down beside the King, arranging the joints of its legs so +that it would stand upright.</p> + +<p>This Pink Bear seemed lifeless until the King turned a crank +which protruded from its side, when the little creature turned +its head stiffly from side to side and said in a small, shrill +voice, "Hurrah for the King of Bear Center!"</p> + +<p>"Very good," said the big Lavender Bear. "He seems to be +working very well today. Tell me, my Pink Pinkerton, what has +become of this lady's jeweled dishpan?"</p> + +<p>"U-u-u," said the Pink Bear, and then stopped short.</p> + +<p>The King turned the crank again.</p> + +<p>"U-g-u the Shoemaker has it," said the Pink Bear.</p> + +<p>"Who is Ugu the Shoemaker?" demanded the King, again turning +the crank.</p> + +<p>"A magician who lives on a mountain in a wickerwork castle," was +the reply.</p> + +<p>"Where is the mountain?" was the next question.</p> + +<p>"Nineteen miles and three furlongs from Bear Center to the +northeast."</p> + +<p>"And is the dishpan still at the castle of Ugu the Shoemaker?" +asked the King.</p> + +<p>"It is."</p> + +<p>The King turned to Cayke.</p> + +<p>"You may rely on this information," said he. "The Pink Bear can +tell us anything we wish to know, and his words are always words +of truth."</p> + +<p>"Is he alive?" asked the Frogman, much interested in the Pink +Bear.</p> + +<p>"Something animates him when you turn his crank," replied the +King. "I do not know if it is life or what it is or how it +happens that the Little Pink Bear can answer correctly every +question put to him. We discovered his talent a long time ago, +and whenever we wish to know anything—which is not very +often—we ask the Pink Bear. There is no doubt whatever, madam, +that Ugu the Magician has your dishpan, and if you dare to go to +him, you may be able to recover it. But of that I am not +certain."</p> + +<p>"Can't the Pink Bear tell?" asked Cayke anxiously.</p> + +<p>"No, for that is in the future. He can tell anything that HAS +happened, but nothing that is going to happen. Don't ask me why, +for I don't know."</p> + +<p>"Well," said the Cookie Cook after a little thought, "I mean +to go to this magician, anyhow, and tell him I want my dishpan. I +wish I knew what Ugu the Shoemaker is like."</p> + +<p>"Then I'll show him to you," promised the King. "But do not be +frightened. It won't be Ugu, remember, but only his image." With +this, he waved his metal wand, and in the circle suddenly +appeared a thin little man, very old and skinny, who was seated +on a wicker stool before a wicker table. On the table lay a Great +Book with gold clasps. The Book was open, and the man was reading +in it. He wore great spectacles which were fastened before his +eyes by means of a ribbon that passed around his head and was +tied in a bow at the neck. His hair was very thin and white; his +skin, which clung fast to his bones, was brown and seared with +furrows; he had a big, fat nose and little eyes set close +together.</p> + +<p>On no account was Ugu the Shoemaker a pleasant person to gaze +at. As his image appeared before the, all were silent and intent +until Corporal Waddle, the Brown Bear, became nervous and pulled +the trigger of his gun. Instantly, the cork flew out of the tin +barrel with a loud "pop!" that made them all jump. And at this +sound, the image of the magician vanished. "So THAT'S the thief, +is it?" said Cayke in an angry voice. "I should think he'd be +ashamed of himself for stealing a poor woman's diamond dishpan! +But I mean to face him in his wicker castle and force him to +return my property."</p> + +<p>"To me," said the Bear King reflectively, "he looked like a +dangerous person. I hope he won't be so unkind as to argue the +matter with you."</p> + +<p>The Frogman was much disturbed by the vision of Ugu the +Shoemaker, and Cayke's determination to go to the magician filled +her companion with misgivings. But he would not break his pledged +word to assist the Cookie Cook, and after breathing a deep sigh +of resignation, he asked the King, "Will Your Majesty lend us +this Pink Bear who answers questions that we may take him with us +on our journey? He would be very useful to us, and we will +promise to bring him safely back to you."</p> + +<p>The King did not reply at once. He seemed to be thinking.</p> + +<p>"PLEASE let us take the Pink Bear," begged Cayke. "I'm sure he +would be a great help to us."</p> + +<p>"The Pink Bear," said the King, "is the best bit of magic I +possess, and there is not another like him in the world. I do not +care to let him out of my sight, nor do I wish to disappoint you; +so I believe I will make the journey in your company and carry my +Pink Bear with me. He can walk when you wind the other side of +him, but so slowly and awkwardly that he would delay you. But if +I go along, I can carry him in my arms, so I will join your +party. Whenever you are ready to start, let me know."</p> + +<p>"But Your Majesty!" exclaimed Corporal Waddle in protest, "I +hope you do not intend to let these prisoners escape without +punishment."</p> + +<p>"Of what crime do you accuse them?" inquired the King.</p> + +<p>"Why, they trespassed on your domain, for one thing," said the +Brown Bear.</p> + +<p>"We didn't know it was private property, Your Majesty," said the +Cookie Cook. "And they asked if any of us had stolen the +dishpan!" continued Corporal Waddle indignantly. "That is the +same thing as calling us thieves and robbers and bandits and +brigands, is it not?"</p> + +<p>"Every person has the right to ask questions," said the +Frogman.</p> + +<p>"But the Corporal is quite correct," declared the Lavender Bear. +"I condemn you both to death, the execution to take place ten +years from this hour."</p> + +<p>"But we belong in the Land of Oz, where no one ever dies," +Cayke reminded him.</p> + +<p>"Very true," said the King. "I condemn you to death merely as a +matter of form. It sounds quite terrible, and in ten years we +shall have forgotten all about it. Are you ready to start for the +wicker castle of Ugu the Shoemaker?"</p> + +<p>"Quite ready, Your Majesty."</p> + +<p>"But who will rule in your place while you are gone?" asked a big +Yellow Bear.</p> + +<p>"I myself will rule while I am gone," was the reply.</p> + +<p>"A King isn't required to stay at home forever, and if he takes a +notion to travel, whose business is it but his own? All I ask is +that you bears behave yourselves while I am away. If any of you +is naughty, I'll send him to some girl or boy in America to play +with."</p> + +<p>This dreadful threat made all the toy bears look solemn. They +assured the King in a chorus of growls that they would be good. +Then the big Lavender Bear picked up the little Pink Bear, and +after tucking it carefully under one arm, he said, "Goodbye till +I come back!" and waddled along the path that led through the +forest. The Frogman and Cayke the Cookie Cook also said goodbye +to the bears and then followed after the King, much to the regret +of the little Brown Bear, who pulled the trigger of his gun and +popped the cork as a parting salute.</p> + +<hr /> + +<h2 id="ref_18">CHAPTER 17</h2> + +<h3>THE MEETING</h3> + +<p>While the Frogman and his party were advancing from the west, +Dorothy and her party were advancing from the east, and so it +happened that on the following night they all camped at a little +hill that was only a few miles from the wicker castle of Ugu the +Shoemaker. But the two parties did not see one another that +night, for one camped on one side of the hill while the other +camped on the opposite side. But the next morning, the Frogman +thought he would climb the hill and see what was on top of it, +and at the same time Scraps, the Patchwork Girl, also decided to +climb the hill to find if the wicker castle was visible from its +top. So she stuck her head over an edge just as the Frogman's +head appeared over another edge, and both, being surprised, kept +still while they took a good look at one another.</p> + +<p>Scraps recovered from her astonishment first, and bounding +upward, she turned a somersault and landed sitting down and +facing the big Frogman, who slowly advanced and sat opposite her. +"Well met, Stranger!" cried the Patchwork Girl with a whoop of +laughter. "You are quite the funniest individual I have seen in +all my travels."</p> + +<p>"Do you suppose I can be any funnier than you?" asked the +Frogman, gazing at her in wonder.</p> + +<p>"I'm not funny to myself, you know," returned Scraps. "I wish +I were. And perhaps you are so used to your own absurd shape that +you do not laugh whenever you see your reflection in a pool or in +a mirror."</p> + +<p>"No," said the Frogman gravely, "I do not. I used to be proud of +my great size and vain of my culture and education, but since I +bathed in the Truth Pond, I sometimes think it is not right that +I should be different from all other frogs."</p> + +<p>"Right or wrong," said the Patchwork Girl, "to be different is +to be distinguished. Now in my case, I'm just like all other +Patchwork Girls because I'm the only one there is. But tell me, +where did you come from?"</p> + +<p>"The Yip Country," said he.</p> + +<p>"Is that in the Land of Oz?"</p> + +<p>"Of course," replied the Frogman.</p> + +<p>"And do you know that your Ruler, Ozma of Oz, has been +stolen?"</p> + +<p>"I was not aware that I had a Ruler, so of course I couldn't know +that she was stolen."</p> + +<p>"Well, you have. All the people of Oz," explained Scraps, "are +ruled by Ozma, whether they know it or not. And she has been +stolen. Aren't you angry? Aren't you indignant? Your Ruler, whom +you didn't know you had, has positively been stolen!"</p> + +<p>"That is queer," remarked the Frogman thoughtfully. "Stealing is +a thing practically unknown in Oz, yet this Ozma has been taken, +and a friend of mine has also had her dishpan stolen. With her I +have traveled all the way from the Yip Country in order to +recover it."</p> + +<p>"I don't see any connection between a Royal Ruler of Oz and a +dishpan!" declared Scraps.</p> + +<p>"They've both been stolen, haven't they?"</p> + +<p>"True. But why can't your friend wash her dishes in another +dishpan?" asked Scraps.</p> + +<p>"Why can't you use another Royal Ruler? I suppose you prefer the +one who is lost, and my friend wants her own dishpan, which is +made of gold and studded with diamonds and has magic powers."</p> + +<p>"Magic, eh?" exclaimed Scraps. "THERE is a link that connects +the two steals, anyhow, for it seems that all the magic in the +Land of Oz was stolen at the same time, whether it was in the +Emerald City of in Glinda's castle or in the Yip Country. Seems +mighty strange and mysterious, doesn't it?"</p> + +<p>"It used to seem that way to me," admitted the Frogman, "but we +have now discovered who took our dishpan. It was Ugu the +Shoemaker."</p> + +<p>"Ugu? Good gracious! That's the same magician we think has +stolen Ozma. We are now on our way to the castle of this +Shoemaker."</p> + +<p>"So are we," said the Frogman.</p> + +<p>"Then follow me, quick! And let me introduce you to Dorothy +and the other girls and to the Wizard of Oz and all the rest of +us."</p> + +<p>She sprang up and seized his coatsleeve, dragging him off the +hilltop and down the other side from that whence he had come. And +at the foot of the hill, the Frogman was astonished to find the +three girls and the Wizard and Button-Bright, who were surrounded +by a wooden Sawhorse, a lean Mule, a square Woozy, and a Cowardly +Lion. A little black dog ran up and smelled at the Frogman, but +couldn't growl at him.</p> + +<p>"I've discovered another party that has been robbed," shouted +Scraps as she joined them. "This is their leader, and they're all +going to Ugu's castle to fight the wicked Shoemaker!"</p> + +<p>They regarded the Frogman with much curiosity and interest, and +finding all eyes fixed upon him, the newcomer arranged his +necktie and smoothed his beautiful vest and swung his gold-headed +cane like a regular dandy. The big spectacles over his eyes quite +altered his froglike countenance and gave him a learned and +impressive look. Used as she was to seeing strange creatures in +the Land of Oz, Dorothy was amazed at discovering the Frogman. So +were all her companions. Toto wanted to growl at him, but +couldn't, and he didn't dare bark. The Sawhorse snorted rather +contemptuously, but the Lion whispered to the wooden steed, "Bear +with this strange creature, my friend, and remember he is no more +extraordinary than you are. Indeed, it is more natural for a frog +to be big than for a Sawhorse to be alive."</p> + +<p>On being questioned, the Frogman told them the whole story of +the loss of Cayke's highly prized dishpan and their adventures in +search of it. When he came to tell of the Lavender Bear King and +of the Little Pink Bear who could tell anything you wanted to +know, his hearers became eager to see such interesting animals. +"It will be best," said the Wizard, "to unite our two parties and +share our fortunes together, for we are all bound on the same +errand, and as one band we may more easily defy this shoemaker +magician than if separate. Let us be allies."</p> + +<p>"I will ask my friends about that," replied the Frogman, and he +climbed over the hill to find Cayke and the toy bears. The +Patchwork Girl accompanied him, and when they came upon the +Cookie Cook and the Lavender Bear and the Pink Bear, it was hard +to tell which of the lot was the most surprised.</p> + +<p>"Mercy me!" cried Cayke, addressing the Patchwork Girl. +"However did you come alive?"</p> + +<p>Scraps stared at the bears.</p> + +<p>"Mercy me!" she echoed, "You are stuffed, as I am, with +cotton, and you appear to be living. That makes me feel ashamed, +for I have prided myself on being the only live cotton-stuffed +person in Oz."</p> + +<p>"Perhaps you are," returned the Lavender Bear, "for I am stuffed +with extra-quality curled hair, and so is the Little Pink Bear."</p> + +<p>"You have relieved my mind of a great anxiety," declared the +Patchwork Girl, now speaking more cheerfully. "The Scarecrow is +stuffed with straw and you with hair, so I am still the Original +and Only Cotton-Stuffed!"</p> + +<p>"I hope I am too polite to criticize cotton as compared with +curled hair," said the King, "especially as you seem satisfied +with it."</p> + +<p>Then the Frogman told of his interview with the party from the +Emerald City and added that the Wizard of Oz had invited the +bears and Cayke and himself to travel in company with them to the +castle of Ugu the Shoemaker. Cayke was much pleased, but the Bear +King looked solemn. He set the Little Pink Bear on his lap and +turned the crank in its side and asked, "Is it safe for us to +associate with those people from the Emerald City?"</p> + +<p>And the Pink Bear at once replied, "Safe for you and safe for me; +Perhaps no others safe will be."</p> + +<p>"That 'perhaps' need not worry us," said the King, "so let us +join the others and offer them our protection."</p> + +<p>Even the Lavender Bear was astonished, however, when on climbing +over the hill he found on the other side the group of queer +animals and the people from the Emerald City. The bears and Cayke +were received very cordially, although Button-Bright was cross +when they wouldn't let him play with the Little Pink Bear. The +three girls greatly admired the toy bears, and especially the +pink one, which they longed to hold.</p> + +<p>"You see," explained the Lavender King in denying them this +privilege, "he's a very valuable bear, because his magic is a +correct guide on all occasions, and especially if one is in +difficulties. It was the Pink Bear who told us that Ugu the +Shoemaker had stolen the Cookie Cook's dishpan."</p> + +<p>"And the King's magic is just as wonderful," added Cayke, +"because it showed us the Magician himself."</p> + +<p>"What did he look like?" inquired Dorothy.</p> + +<p>"He was dreadful!"</p> + +<p>"He was sitting at a table and examining an immense Book which +had three golden clasps," remarked the King.</p> + +<p>"Why, that must have been Glinda's Great Book of Records!" +exclaimed Dorothy. "If it is, it proves that Ugu the Shoemaker +stole Ozma, and with her all the magic in the Emerald City."</p> + +<p>"And my dishpan," said Cayke.</p> + +<p>And the Wizard added, "It also proves that he is following our +adventures in the Book of Records, and therefore knows that we +are seeking him and that we are determined to find him and reach +Ozma at all hazards."</p> + +<p>"If we can," added the Woozy, but everybody frowned at +him.</p> + +<p>The Wizard's statement was so true that the faces around him were +very serious until the Patchwork Girl broke into a peal of +laughter. "Wouldn't it be a rich joke if he made prisoners of us, +too?" she said.</p> + +<p>"No one but a crazy Patchwork Girl would consider that a +joke," grumbled Button-Bright.</p> + +<p>And then the Lavender Bear King asked, "Would you like to see +this magical shoemaker?"</p> + +<p>"Wouldn't he know it?" Dorothy inquired.</p> + +<p>"No, I think not."</p> + +<p>Then the King waved his metal wand and before them appeared a +room in the wicker castle of Ugu. On the wall of the room hung +Ozma's Magic Picture, and seated before it was the Magician. They +could see the Picture as well as he could, because it faced them, +and in the Picture was the hillside where they were not sitting, +all their forms being reproduced in miniature. And curiously +enough, within the scene of the Picture was the scene they were +now beholding, so they knew that the Magician was at this moment +watching them in the Picture, and also that he saw himself and +the room he was in become visible to the people on the hillside. +Therefore he knew very well that they were watching him while he +was watching them.</p> + +<p>In proof of this, Ugu sprang from his seat and turned a scowling +face in their direction; but now he could not see the travelers +who were seeking him, although they could still see him. His +actions were so distinct, indeed, that it seemed he was actually +before them. "It is only a ghost," said the Bear King. "It isn't +real at all except that it shows us Ugu just as he looks and +tells us truly just what he is doing."</p> + +<p>"I don't see anything of my lost growl, though," said Toto as +if to himself.</p> + +<p>Then the vision faded away, and they could see nothing but the +grass and trees and bushes around them.</p> + +<hr /> + +<h2 id="ref_19">CHAPTER 18</h2> + +<h3>THE CONFERENCE</h3> + +<p>"Now then," said the Wizard, "let us talk this matter over and +decide what to do when we get to Ugu's wicker castle. There can +be no doubt that the Shoemaker is a powerful Magician, and his +powers have been increased a hundredfold since he secured the +Great Book of Records, the Magic Picture, all of Glinda's recipes +for sorcery, and my own black bag, which was full of tools of +wizardry. The man who could rob us of those things and the man +with all their powers at his command is one who may prove +somewhat difficult to conquer, therefore we should plan our +actions well before we venture too near to his castle."</p> + +<p>"I didn't see Ozma in the Magic Picture," said Trot. "What do you +suppose Ugu has done with her?"</p> + +<p>"Couldn't the Little Pink Bear tell us what he did with Ozma?" +asked Button-Bright.</p> + +<p>"To be sure," replied the Lavender King. "I'll ask him." So he +turned the crank in the Little Pink Bear's side and inquired, +"Did Ugu the Shoemaker steal Ozma of Oz?"</p> + +<p>"Yes," answered the Little Pink Bear.</p> + +<p>"Then what did he do with her?" asked the King.</p> + +<p>"Shut her up in a dark place," answered the Little Pink +Bear.</p> + +<p>"Oh, that must be a dungeon cell!" cried Dorothy, horrified. "How +dreadful!"</p> + +<p>"Well, we must get her out of it," said the Wizard. "That is +what we came for, and of course we must rescue Ozma. But +how?"</p> + +<p>Each one looked at some other one for an answer, and all shook +their heads in a grave and dismal manner. All but Scraps, who +danced around them gleefully. "You're afraid," said the Patchwork +Girl, "because so many things can hurt your meat bodies. Why +don't you give it up and go home? How can you fight a great +magician when you have nothing to fight with?"</p> + +<p>Dorothy looked at her reflectively.</p> + +<p>"Scraps," said she, "you know that Ugu couldn't hurt you a bit, +whatever he did, nor could he hurt ME, 'cause I wear the Gnome +King's Magic Belt. S'pose just we two go on together and leave +the others here to wait for us."</p> + +<p>"No, no!" said the Wizard positively. "That won't do at all. +Ozma is more powerful than either of you, yet she could not +defeat the wicked Ugu, who has shut her up in a dungeon. We must +go to the Shoemaker in one mighty band, for only in union is +there strength."</p> + +<p>"That is excellent advice," said the Lavender Bear approvingly.</p> + +<p>"But what can we do when we get to Ugu?" inquired the Cookie +Cook anxiously.</p> + +<p>"Do not expect a prompt answer to that important question," +replied the Wizard, "for we must first plan our line of conduct. +Ugu knows, of course, that we are after him, for he has seen our +approach in the Magic Picture, and he has read of all we have +done up to the present moment in the Great Book of Records. +Therefore we cannot expect to take him by surprise."</p> + +<p>"Don't you suppose Ugu would listen to reason?" asked Betsy. +"If we explained to him how wicked he has been, don't you think +he'd let poor Ozma go?"</p> + +<p>"And give me back my dishpan?" added the Cookie Cook eagerly.</p> + +<p>"Yes, yes, won't he say he's sorry and get on his knees and +beg our pardon?" cried Scraps, turning a flip-flop to show her +scorn of the suggestion. "When Ugu the Shoemaker does that, +please knock at the front door and let me know."</p> + +<p>The Wizard sighed and rubbed his bald head with a puzzled air. +"I'm quite sure Ugu will not be polite to us," said he, "so we +must conquer this cruel magician by force, much as we dislike to +be rude to anyone. But none of you has yet suggested a way to do +that. Couldn't the Little Pink Bear tell us how?" he asked, +turning to the Bear King.</p> + +<p>"No, for that is something that is GOING to happen," replied +the Lavender Bear. "He can only tell us what already HAS +happened."</p> + +<p>Again, they were grave and thoughtful. But after a time, Betsy +said in a hesitating voice, "Hank is a great fighter. Perhaps HE +could conquer the magician."</p> + +<p>The Mule turned his head to look reproachfully at his old +friend, the young girl. "Who can fight against magic?" he +asked.</p> + +<p>"The Cowardly Lion could," said Dorothy.</p> + +<p>The Lion, who was lying with his front legs spread out, his +chin on his paws, raised his shaggy head. "I can fight when I'm +not afraid," said he calmly, "but the mere mention of a fight +sets me to trembling."</p> + +<p>"Ugu's magic couldn't hurt the Sawhorse," suggested tiny Trot.</p> + +<p>"And the Sawhorse couldn't hurt the Magician," declared that +wooden animal.</p> + +<p>"For my part," said Toto, "I am helpless, having lost my growl."</p> + +<p>"Then," said Cayke the Cookie Cook, "we must depend upon the +Frogman. His marvelous wisdom will surely inform him how to +conquer the wicked Magician and restore to me my dishpan."</p> + +<p>All eyes were now turned questioningly upon the Frogman. Finding +himself the center of observation, he swung his gold-headed cane, +adjusted his big spectacles, and after swelling out his chest, +sighed and said in a modest tone of voice, "Respect for truth +obliges me to confess that Cayke is mistaken in regard to my +superior wisdom. I am not very wise. Neither have I had any +practical experience in conquering magicians. But let us consider +this case. What is Ugu, and what is a magician? Ugu is a renegade +shoemaker, and a magician is an ordinary man who, having learned +how to do magical tricks, considers himself above his fellows. In +this case, the Shoemaker has been naughty enough to steal a lot +of magical tools and things that did not belong to him, and he is +more wicked to steal than to be a magician. Yet with all the arts +at his command, Ugu is still a man, and surely there are ways in +which a man may be conquered. How, do you say, how? Allow me to +state that I don't know. In my judgment, we cannot decide how +best to act until we get to Ugu's castle. So let us go to it and +take a look at it. After that, we may discover an idea that will +guide us to victory."</p> + +<p>"That may not be a wise speech, but it sounds good," said +Dorothy approvingly. "Ugu the Shoemaker is not only a common man, +but he's a wicked man and a cruel man and deserves to be +conquered. We musn't have any mercy on him till Ozma is set free. +So let's go to his castle as the Frogman says and see what the +place looks like."</p> + +<p>No one offered any objection to this plan, and so it was adopted. +They broke camp and were about to start on the journey to Ugu's +castle when they discovered that Button-Bright was lost again. +The girls and the Wizard shouted his name, and the Lion roared +and the Donkey brayed and the Frogman croaked and the Big +Lavender Bear growled (to the envy of Toto, who couldn't growl +but barked his loudest), yet none of them could make +Button-Bright hear. So after vainly searching for the boy a full +hour, they formed a procession and proceeded in the direction of +the wicker castle of Ugu the Shoemaker.</p> + +<p>"Button-Bright's always getting lost," said Dorothy. "And if +he wasn't always getting found again, I'd prob'ly worry. He may +have gone ahead of us, and he may have gone back, but wherever he +is, we'll find him sometime and somewhere, I'm almost sure."</p> + +<hr /> + +<h2 id="ref_20">CHAPTER 19</h2> + +<h3>UGU THE SHOEMAKER </h3> + +<p>A curious thing about Ugu the Shoemaker was that he didn't +suspect in the least that he was wicked. He wanted to be powerful +and great, and he hoped to make himself master of all the Land of +Oz that he might compel everyone in that fairy country to obey +him, His ambition blinded him to the rights of others, and he +imagined anyone else would act just as he did if anyone else +happened to be as clever as himself.</p> + +<p>When he inhabited his little shoemaking shop in the City of +Herku, he had been discontented, for a shoemaker is not looked +upon with high respect, and Ugu knew that his ancestors had been +famous magicians for many centuries past and therefore his family +was above the ordinary. Even his father practiced magic when Ugu +was a boy, but his father had wandered away from Herku and had +never come back again. So when Ugu grew up, he was forced to make +shoes for a living, knowing nothing of the magic of his +forefathers. But one day, in searching through the attic of his +house, he discovered all the books of magical recipes and many +magical instruments which had formerly been in use in his family. +From that day, he stopped making shoes and began to study magic. +Finally, he aspired to become the greatest magician in Oz, and +for days and weeks and months he thought on a plan to render all +the other sorcerers and wizards, as well as those with fairy +powers, helpless to oppose him.</p> + +<p>From the books of his ancestors, he learned the following facts:</p> + +<p>(1) That Ozma of Oz was the fairy ruler of the Emerald City +and the Land of Oz and that she could not be destroyed by any +magic ever devised. Also, by means of her Magic Picture she would +be able to discover anyone who approached her royal palace with +the idea of conquering it.</p> + +<p>(2) That Glinda the Good was the most powerful Sorceress in Oz, +among her other magical possessions being the Great Book of +Records, which told her all that happened anywhere in the world. +This Book of Records was very dangerous to Ugu's plans, and +Glinda was in the service of Ozma and would use her arts of +sorcery to protect the girl Ruler.</p> + +<p>(3) That the Wizard of Oz, who lived in Ozma's palace, had +been taught much powerful magic by Glinda and had a bag of magic +tools with which he might be able to conquer the Shoemaker.</p> + +<p>(4) That there existed in Oz—in the Yip Country—a jeweled +dishpan made of gold, which dishpan would grow large enough for a +man to sit inside it. Then, when he grasped both the golden +handles, the dishpan would transport him in an instant to any +place he wished to go within the borders of the Land of Oz.</p> + +<p>No one now living except Ugu knew of the powers of the Magic +Dishpan, so after long study, the shoemaker decided that if he +could manage to secure the dishpan, he could by its means rob +Ozma and Glinda and the Wizard of Oz of all their magic, thus +becoming himself the most powerful person in all the land. His +first act was to go away from the City of Herku and build for +himself the Wicker Castle in the hills. Here he carried his books +and instruments of magic, and here for a full year he diligently +practiced all the magical arts learned from his ancestors. At the +end of that time, he could do a good many wonderful things.</p> + +<p>Then, when all his preparations were made, he set out for the Yip +Country, and climbing the steep mountain at night he entered the +house of Cayke the Cookie Cook and stole her diamond-studded gold +dishpan while all the Yips were asleep, Taking his prize outside, +he set the pan upon the ground and uttered the required magic +word. Instantly, the dishpan grew as large as a big washtub, and +Ugu seated himself in it and grasped the two handles. Then he +wished himself in the great drawing room of Glinda the Good.</p> + +<p>He was there in a flash. First he took the Great Book of +Records and put it in the dishpan. Then he went to Glinda's +laboratory and took all her rare chemical compounds and her +instruments of sorcery, placing these also in the dishpan, which +he caused to grow large enough to hold them. Next he seated +himself amongst the treasures he had stolen and wished himself in +the room in Ozma's palace which the Wizard occupied and where he +kept his bag of magic tools. This bag Ugu added to his plunder +and then wished himself in the apartments of Ozma.</p> + +<p>Here he first took the Magic Picture from the wall and then +seized all the other magical things which Ozma possessed. Having +placed these in the dishpan, he was about to climb in himself +when he looked up and saw Ozma standing beside him. Her fairy +instinct had warned her that danger was threatening her, so the +beautiful girl Ruler rose from her couch and leaving her +bedchamber at once confronted the thief.</p> + +<p>Ugu had to think quickly, for he realized that if he permitted +Ozma to rouse the inmates of her palace, all his plans and his +present successes were likely to come to naught. So he threw a +scarf over the girl's head so she could not scream, and pushed +her into the dishpan and tied her fast so she could not move. +Then he climbed in beside her and wished himself in his own +wicker castle. The Magic Dishpan was there in an instant, with +all its contents, and Ugu rubbed his hands together in triumphant +joy as he realized that he now possessed all the important magic +in the Land of Oz and could force all the inhabitants of that +fairyland to do as he willed.</p> + +<p>So quickly had his journey been accomplished that before daylight +the robber magician had locked Ozma in a room, making her a +prisoner, and had unpacked and arranged all his stolen goods. The +next day he placed the Book of Records on his table and hung the +Magic Picture on his wall and put away in his cupboards and +drawers all the elixirs and magic compounds he had stolen. The +magical instruments he polished and arranged, and this was +fascinating work and made him very happy.</p> + +<p>By turns the imprisoned Ruler wept and scolded the Shoemaker, +haughtily threatening him with dire punishment for the wicked +deeds he had done. Ugu became somewhat afraid of his fairy +prisoner, in spite of the fact that he believed he had robbed her +of all her powers; so he performed an enchantment that quickly +disposed of her and placed her out of his sight and hearing. +After that, being occupied with other things, he soon forgot +her.</p> + +<p>But now, when he looked into the Magic Picture and read the Great +Book of Records, the Shoemaker learned that his wickedness was +not to go unchallenged. Two important expeditions had set out to +find him and force him to give up his stolen property. One was +the party headed by the Wizard and Dorothy, while the other +consisted of Cayke and the Frogman. Others were also searching, +but not in the right places. These two groups, however, were +headed straight for the wicker castle, and so Ugu began to plan +how best to meet them and to defeat their efforts to conquer him.</p> + +<hr /> + +<h2 id="ref_21">CHAPTER 20</h2> + +<h3>MORE SURPRISES</h3> + +<p>All that first day after the union of the two parties, our +friends marched steadily toward the wicker castle of Ugu the +Shoemaker. When night came, they camped in a little grove and +passed a pleasant evening together, although some of them were +worried because Button-Bright was still lost.</p> + +<p>"Perhaps," said Toto as the animals lay grouped together for the +night, "this Shoemaker who stole my growl and who stole Ozma has +also stolen Button-Bright."</p> + +<p>"How do you know that the Shoemaker stole your growl?" +demanded the Woozy.</p> + +<p>"He has stolen about everything else of value in Oz, hasn't he?" +replied the dog.</p> + +<p>"He has stolen everything he wants, perhaps," agreed the Lion, +"but what could anyone want with your growl?"</p> + +<p>"Well," said the dog, wagging his tail slowly, "my recollection +is that it was a wonderful growl, soft and low and—and—"</p> + +<p>"And ragged at the edges," said the Sawhorse.</p> + +<p>"So," continued Toto, "if that magician hadn't any growl of his +own, he might have wanted mine and stolen it."</p> + +<p>"And if he has, he will soon wish he hadn't," remarked the +Mule. "Also, if he has stolen Button-Bright, he will be +sorry."</p> + +<p>"Don't you like Button-Bright, then?" asked the Lion in surprise.</p> + +<p>"It isn't a question of liking him," replied the Mule. "It's a +question of watching him and looking after him. Any boy who +causes his friends so much worry isn't worth having around. I +never get lost."</p> + +<p>"If you did," said Toto, "no one would worry a bit. I think +Button-Bright is a very lucky boy because he always gets found."</p> + +<p>"See here," said the Lion, "this chatter is keeping us all +awake, and tomorrow is likely to be a busy day. Go to sleep and +forget your quarrels."</p> + +<p>"Friend Lion," retorted the dog, "if I hadn't lost my growl, you +would hear it now. I have as much right to talk as you have to +sleep."</p> + +<p>The Lion sighed.</p> + +<p>"If only you had lost your voice when you lost your growl," said +he, "you would be a more agreeable companion."</p> + +<p>But they quieted down after that, and soon the entire camp was +wrapped in slumber. Next morning they made an early start, but +had hardly proceeded on their way an hour when, on climbing a +slight elevation, they beheld in the distance a low mountain on +top of which stood Ugu's wicker castle. It was a good-sized +building and rather pretty because the sides, roofs and domes +were all of wicker, closely woven as it is in fine baskets.</p> + +<p>"I wonder if it is strong?"said Dorothy musingly as she eyed the +queer castle.</p> + +<p>"I suppose it is, since a magician built it," answered the +Wizard. "With magic to protect it, even a paper castle might be +as strong as if made of stone. This Ugu must be a man of ideas, +because he does things in a different way from other people."</p> + +<p>"Yes. No one else would steal our dear Ozma," sighed tiny Trot.</p> + +<p>"I wonder if Ozma is there?" said Betsy, indicating the castle +with a nod of her head.</p> + +<p>"Where else could she be?" asked Scraps.</p> + +<p>"Suppose we ask the Pink Bear," suggested Dorothy.</p> + +<p>That seemed a good idea, so they halted the procession, and the +Bear King held the little Pink Bear on his lap and turned the +crank in its side and asked, "Where is Ozma of Oz?"</p> + +<p>And the little Pink Bear answered, "She is in a hole in the +ground a half mile away at your left."</p> + +<p>"Good gracious!" cried Dorothy.</p> + +<p>"Then she is not in Ugu's castle at all."</p> + +<p>"It is lucky we asked that question," said the Wizard, "for if we +can find Ozma and rescue her, there will be no need for us to +fight that wicked and dangerous magician."</p> + +<p>"Indeed!" said Cayke. "Then what about my dishpan?"</p> + +<p>The Wizard looked puzzled at her tone of remonstrance, so she +added, "Didn't you people from the Emerald City promise that we +would all stick together, and that you would help me to get my +dishpan if I would help you to get your Ozma? And didn't I bring +to you the little Pink Bear, which has told you where Ozma is +hidden?"</p> + +<p>"She's right," said Dorothy to the Wizard.</p> + +<p>"We must do as we agreed."</p> + +<p>"Well, first of all, let us go and rescue Ozma," proposed the +Wizard. "Then our beloved Ruler may be able to advise us how to +conquer Ugu the Shoemaker." So they turned to the left and +marched for half a mile until they came to a small but deep hole +in the ground. At once, all rushed to the brim to peer into the +hole, but instead of finding there Princess Ozma of Oz, all that +they saw was Button-Bright, who was lying asleep on the +bottom.</p> + +<p>Their cries soon wakened the boy, who sat up and rubbed his eyes. +When he recognized his friends, he smiled sweetly, saying, "Found +again!"</p> + +<p>"Where is Ozma?" inquired Dorothy anxiously.</p> + +<p>"I don't know," answered Button-Bright from the depths of the +hole. "I got lost yesterday, as you may remember, and in the +night while I was wandering around in the moonlight trying to +find my way back to you, I suddenly fell into this hole."</p> + +<p>"And wasn't Ozma in it then?"</p> + +<p>"There was no one in it but me, and I was sorry it wasn't +entirely empty. The sides are so steep I can't climb out, so +there was nothing to be done but sleep until someone found me. +Thank you for coming. If you'll please let down a rope, I'll +empty this hole in a hurry."</p> + +<p>"How strange!" said Dorothy, greatly disappointed.</p> + +<p>"It's evident the Pink Bear didn't tell the truth."</p> + +<p>"He never makes a mistake," declared the Lavender Bear King in +a tone that showed his feelings were hurt. And then he turned the +crank of the little Pink Bear again and asked, "Is this the hole +that Ozma of Oz is in?"</p> + +<p>"Yes," answered the Pink Bear.</p> + +<p>"That settles it," said the King positively. "Your Ozma is in +this hole in the ground."</p> + +<p>"Don't be silly," returned Dorothy impatiently. "Even your beady +eyes can see there is no one in the hole but Button-Bright."</p> + +<p>"Perhaps Button-Bright is Ozma," suggested the King.</p> + +<p>"And perhaps he isn't!</p> + +<p>Ozma is a girl, and Button-Bright is a boy."</p> + +<p>"Your Pink Bear must be out of order," said the Wizard, "for, +this time at least, his machinery has caused him to make an +untrue statement."</p> + +<p>The Bear King was so angry at this remark that he turned away, +holding the Pink Bear in his paws, and refused to discuss the +matter in any further way.</p> + +<p>"At any rate," said the Frogman, "the Pink Bear has led us to +your boy friend and so enabled you to rescue him."</p> + +<p>Scraps was leaning so far over the hole trying to find Ozma in +it that suddenly she lost her balance and pitched in head +foremost. She fell upon Button-Bright and tumbled him over, but +he was not hurt by her soft, stuffed body and only laughed at the +mishap. The Wizard buckled some straps together and let one end +of them down into the hole, and soon both Scraps and the boy had +climbed up and were standing safely beside the others. They +looked once more for Ozma, but the hole was now absolutely +vacant. It was a round hole, so from the top they could plainly +see every part of it. Before they left the place, Dorothy went to +the Bear King and said, "I'm sorry we couldn't believe what the +little Pink Bear said, 'cause we don't want to make you feel bad +by doubting him. There must be a mistake, somewhere, and we +prob'ly don't understand just what the little Pink Bear said. +Will you let me ask him one more question?"</p> + +<p>The Lavender Bear King was a good-natured bear, considering how +he was made and stuffed and jointed, so he accepted Dorothy's +apology and turned the crank and allowed the little girl to +question his wee Pink Bear.</p> + +<p>"Is Ozma REALLY in this hole?" asked Dorothy.</p> + +<p>"No," said the little Pink Bear.</p> + +<p>This surprised everybody. Even the Bear King was now puzzled +by the contradictory statements of his oracle.</p> + +<p>"Where IS she?" asked the King.</p> + +<p>"Here, among you," answered the little Pink Bear.</p> + +<p>"Well," said Dorothy, "this beats me entirely! I guess the little +Pink Bear has gone crazy."</p> + +<p>"Perhaps," called Scraps, who was rapidly turning "cartwheels" +all around the perplexed group, "Ozma is invisible."</p> + +<p>"Of course!" cried Betsy. That would account for it."</p> + +<p>"Well, I've noticed that people can speak, even when they've +been made invisible," said the Wizard. And then he looked all +around him and said in a solemn voice, "Ozma, are you here?"</p> + +<p>There was no reply. Dorothy asked the question, too, and so did +Button-Bright and Trot and Betsy, but none received any reply at +all.</p> + +<p>"It's strange, it's terrible strange!" muttered Cayke the +Cookie Cook. "I was sure that the little Pink Bear always tells +the truth."</p> + +<p>"I still believe in his honesty," said the Frogman, and this +tribute so pleased the Bear King that he gave these last speakers +grateful looks, but still gazed sourly on the others.</p> + +<p>"Come to think of it," remarked the Wizard, "Ozma couldn't be +invisible, for she is a fairy, and fairies cannot be made +invisible against their will. Of course, she could be imprisoned +by the magician or enchanted or transformed, in spite of her +fairy powers, but Ugu could not render her invisible by any magic +at his command."</p> + +<p>"I wonder if she's been transformed into Button-Bright?" said +Dorothy nervously. Then she looked steadily at the boy and asked, +"Are you Ozma? Tell me truly!"</p> + +<p>Button-Bright laughed.</p> + +<p>"You're getting rattled, Dorothy," he replied. "Nothing ever +enchants ME. If I were Ozma, do you think I'd have tumbled into +that hole?"</p> + +<p>"Anyhow," said the Wizard, "Ozma would never try to deceive +her friends or prevent them from recognizing her in whatever form +she happened to be. The puzzle is still a puzzle, so let us go on +to the wicker castle and question the magician himself. Since it +was he who stole our Ozma, Ugu is the one who must tell us where +to find her.</p> + +<hr /> + +<h2 id="ref_22">CHAPTER 21</h2> + +<h3>MAGIC AGAINST MAGIC</h3> + +<p>The Wizard's advice was good, so again they started in the +direction of the low mountain on the crest of which the wicker +castle had been built. They had been gradually advancing uphill, +so now the elevation seemed to them more like a round knoll than +a mountaintop. However, the sides of the knoll were sloping and +covered with green grass, so there was a stiff climb before them +yet. Undaunted, they plodded on and had almost reached the knoll +when they suddenly observed that it was surrounded by a circle of +flame. At first, the flames barely rose above the ground, but +presently they grew higher and higher until a circle of flaming +tongues of fire taller than any of their heads quite surrounded +the hill on which the wicker castle stood. When they approached +the flames, the heat was so intense that it drove them back +again.</p> + +<p>"This will never do for me!" exclaimed the Patchwork Girl. "I +catch fire very easily."</p> + +<p>"It won't do for me either," grumbled the Sawhorse, prancing +to the rear.</p> + +<p>"I also strongly object to fire," said the Bear King, following +the Sawhorse to a safe distance and hugging the little Pink Bear +with his paws.</p> + +<p>"I suppose the foolish Shoemaker imagines these blazes will +stop us," remarked the Wizard with a smile of scorn for Ugu. "But +I am able to inform you that this is merely a simple magic trick +which the robber stole from Glinda the Good, and by good fortune +I know how to destroy these flames as well as how to produce +them. Will some one of you kindly give me a match?"</p> + +<p>You may be sure the girls carried no matches, nor did the Frogman +or any of the animals. But Button-Bright, after searching +carefully through his pockets, which contained all sorts of +useful and useless things, finally produced a match and handed it +to the Wizard, who tied it to the end of a branch which he tore +from a small tree growing near them. Then the little Wizard +carefully lighted the match, and running forward thrust it into +the nearest flame. Instantly, the circle of fire began to die +away, and soon vanished completely leaving the way clear for them +to proceed.</p> + +<p>"That was funny!" laughed Button-Bright.</p> + +<p>"Yes," agreed the Wizard, "it seems odd that a little match could +destroy such a great circle of fire, but when Glinda invented +this trick, she believed no one would ever think of a match being +a remedy for fire. I suppose even Ugu doesn't know how we managed +to quench the flames of his barrier, for only Glinda and I know +the secret. Glinda's Book of Magic which Ugu stole told how to +make the flames, but not how to put them out."</p> + +<p>They now formed in marching order and proceeded to advance up +the slope of the hill, but had not gone far when before them rose +a wall of steel, the surface of which was thickly covered with +sharp, gleaming points resembling daggers. The wall completely +surrounded the wicker castle, and its sharp points prevented +anyone from climbing it. Even the Patchwork Girl might be ripped +to pieces if she dared attempt it. "Ah!" exclaimed the Wizard +cheerfully, "Ugu is now using one of my own tricks against me. +But this is more serious than the Barrier of Fire, because the +only way to destroy the wall is to get on the other side of +it."</p> + +<p>"How can that be done?" asked Dorothy.</p> + +<p>The Wizard looked thoughtfully around his little party, and +his face grew troubled. "It's a pretty high wall," he sadly +remarked. "I'm pretty sure the Cowardly Lion could not leap over +it."</p> +<p> +"I'm sure of that, too!" said the Lion with a shudder of fear. +"If I foolishly tried such a leap, I would be caught on those +dreadful spikes."</p> + +<p>"I think I could do it, sir," said the Frogman with a bow to +the Wizard. "It is an uphill jump as well as being a high jump, +but I'm considered something of a jumper by my friends in the Yip +Country, and I believe a good, strong leap will carry me to the +other side."</p> + +<p>"I'm sure it would," agreed the Cookie Cook.</p> + +<p>"Leaping, you know, is a froglike accomplishment," continued +the Frogman modestly, "but please tell me what I am to do when I +reach the</p> + +<p>"You're a brave creature," said the Wizard admiringly. "Has +anyone a pin?"</p> + +<p>Betsy had one, which she gave him. "All you need do," said the +Wizard to the Frogman, giving him the pin, "is to stick this into +the other side of the wall."</p> + +<p>"But the wall is of steel!" exclaimed the big frog.</p> + +<p>"I know. At least, it SEEMS to be steel, but do as I tell you. +Stick the pin into the wall, and it will disappear."</p> + +<p>The Frogman took off his handsome coat and carefully folded it +and laid it on the grass. Then he removed his hat and laid it +together with his gold-headed cane beside the coat. He then went +back a way and made three powerful leaps in rapid succession. The +first two leaps took him to the wall, and the third leap carried +him well over it, to the amazement of all. For a short time, he +disappeared from their view, but when he had obeyed the Wizard's +injunction and had thrust the pin into the wall, the huge barrier +vanished and showed them the form of the Frogman, who now went to +where his coat lay and put it on again.</p> + +<p>"We thank you very much," said the delighted Wizard.</p> + +<p>"That was the most wonderful leap I ever saw, and it has saved us +from defeat by our enemy. Let us now hurry on to the castle +before Ugu the Shoemaker thinks up some other means to stop us."</p> + +<p>"We must have surprised him so far," declared Dorothy.</p> + +<p>"Yes indeed. The fellow knows a lot of magic—all of our tricks +and some of his own," replied the Wizard. "So if he is half as +clever as he ought to be, we shall have trouble with him yet."</p> + +<p>He had scarcely spoken these words when out from the gates of +the wicker castle marched a regiment of soldiers, clad in gay +uniforms and all bearing long, pointed spears and sharp battle +axes. These soldiers were girls, and the uniforms were short +skirts of yellow and black satin, golden shoes, bands of gold +across their foreheads and necklaces of glittering jewels. Their +jackets were scarlet, braided with silver cords. There were +hundreds of these girl-soldiers, and they were more terrible than +beautiful, being strong and fierce in appearance. They formed a +circle all around the castle and faced outward, their spears +pointed toward the invaders, and their battle axes held over +their shoulders, ready to strike. Of course, our friends halted +at once, for they had not expected this dreadful array of +soldiery. The Wizard seemed puzzled, and his companions exchanged +discouraged looks.</p> + +<p>"I'd no idea Ugu had such an army as that," said Dorothy. "The +castle doesn't look big enough to hold them all."</p> + +<p>"It isn't," declared the Wizard.</p> + +<p>"But they all marched out of it."</p> + +<p>"They seemed to, but I don't believe it is a real army at all. +If Ugu the Shoemaker had so many people living with him, I'm sure +the Czarover of Herku would have mentioned the fact to us."</p> + +<p>"They're only girls!" laughed Scraps.</p> + +<p>"Girls are the fiercest soldiers of all," declared the +Frogman. "They are more brave than men, and they have better +nerves. That is probably why the magician uses them for soldiers +and has sent them to oppose us."</p> + +<p>No one argued this statement, for all were staring hard at the +line of soldiers, which now, having taken a defiant position, +remained motionless.</p> + +<p>"Here is a trick of magic new to me," admitted the Wizard +after a time. "I do not believe the army is real, but the spears +may be sharp enough to prick us, nevertheless, so we must be +cautious. Let us take time to consider how to meet this +difficulty."</p> + +<p>While they were thinking it over, Scraps danced closer to the +line of girl soldiers. Her button eyes sometimes saw more than +did the natural eyes of her comrades, and so after staring hard +at the magician's army, she boldly advanced and danced right +through the threatening line! On the other side, she waved her +stuffed arms and called out, "Come on, folks. The spears can't +hurt you." said the Wizard gaily. "An optical illusion, as I +thought. Let us all follow the Patchwork Girl." The three little +girls were somewhat nervous in attempting to brave the spears and +battle axes, but after the others had safely passed the line, +they ventured to follow. And when all had passed through the +ranks of the girl army, the army itself magically disappeared +from view.</p> + +<p>All this time our friends had been getting farther up the hill +and nearer to the wicker castle. Now, continuing their advance, +they expected something else to oppose their way, but to their +astonishment nothing happened, and presently they arrived at the +wicker gates, which stood wide open, and boldly entered the +domain of Ugu the Shoemaker.</p> + +<hr /> + +<h2 id="ref_23">CHAPTER 22</h2> + +<h3>In the Wicker Castle</h3> + +<p>No sooner were the Wizard of Oz and his followers well within +the castle entrance when the big gates swung to with a clang and +heavy bars dropped across them. They looked at one another +uneasily, but no one cared to speak of the incident. If they were +indeed prisoners in the wicker castle, it was evident they must +find a way to escape, but their first duty was to attend to the +errand on which they had come and seek the Royal Ozma, whom they +believed to be a prisoner of the magician, and rescue her.</p> + +<p>They found they had entered a square courtyard, from which an +entrance led into the main building of the castle. No person had +appeared to greet them so far, although a gaudy peacock perched +upon the wall cackled with laughter and said in its sharp, shrill +voice, "Poor fools! Poor fools!"</p> + +<p>"I hope the peacock is mistaken," remarked the Frogman, but no +one else paid any attention to the bird. They were a little awed +by the stillness and loneliness of the place. As they entered the +doors of the castle, which stood invitingly open, these also +closed behind them and huge bolts shot into place. The animals +had all accompanied the party into the castle because they felt +it would be dangerous for them to separate. They were forced to +follow a zigzag passage, turning this way and that, until finally +they entered a great central hall, circular in form and with a +high dome from which was suspended an enormous chandelier.</p> + +<p>The Wizard went first, and Dorothy, Betsy and Trot followed him, +Toto keeping at the heels of his little mistress. Then came the +Lion, the Woozy and the Sawhorse, then Cayke the Cookie Cook and +Button-Bright, then the Lavender Bear carrying the Pink Bear, and +finally the Frogman and the Patchwork Girl, with Hank the Mule +tagging behind. So it was the Wizard who caught the first glimpse +of the big, domed hall, but the others quickly followed and +gathered in a wondering group just within the entrance.</p> + +<p>Upon a raised platform at one side was a heavy table on which +lay Glinda's Great Book of Records, but the platform was firmly +fastened to the floor and the table was fastened to the platform +and the Book was chained fast to the table, just as it had been +when it was kept in Glinda's palace. On the wall over the table +hung Ozma's Magic Picture. On a row of shelves at the opposite +side of the hall stood all the chemicals and essences of magic +and all the magical instruments that had been stolen from Glinda +and Ozma and the Wizard, with glass doors covering the shelves so +that no one could get at them.</p> + +<p>And in a far corner sat Ugu the Shoemaker, his feet lazily +extended, his skinny hands clasped behind his head. He was +leaning back at his ease and calmly smoking a long pipe. Around +the magician was a sort of cage, seemingly made of golden bars +set wide apart, and at his feet, also within the cage, reposed +the long-sought diamond-studded dishpan of Cayke the Cookie Cook. +Princess Ozma of Oz was nowhere to be seen.</p> + +<p>"Well, well," said Ugu when the invaders had stood in silence +for a moment, staring about them. "This visit is an unexpected +pleasure, I assure you. I knew you were coming, and I know why +you are here. You are not welcome, for I cannot use any of you to +my advantage, but as you have insisted on coming, I hope you will +make the afternoon call as brief as possible. It won't take long +to transact your business with me. You will ask me for Ozma, and +my reply will be that you may find her—if you can."</p> + +<p>"Sir," answered the Wizard in a tone of rebuke, "you are a very +wicked and cruel person. I suppose you imagine, because you have +stolen this poor woman's dishpan and all the best magic in Oz, +that you are more powerful than we are and will be able to +triumph over us."</p> + +<p>"Yes," said Ugu the Shoemaker, slowly filling his pipe with +fresh tobacco from a silver bowl that stood beside him, "that is +exactly what I imagine. It will do you no good to demand from me +the girl who was formerly the Ruler of Oz, because I will not +tell you where I have hidden her, and you can't guess in a +thousand years. Neither will I restore to you any of the magic I +have captured. I am not so foolish. But bear this in mind: I mean +to be the Ruler of Oz myself, hereafter, so I advise you to be +careful how you address your future Monarch."</p> + +<p>"Ozma is still Ruler of Oz, wherever you may have hidden her," +declared the Wizard. "And bear this in mind, miserable Shoemaker: +we intend to find her and to rescue her in time, but our first +duty and pleasure will be to conquer you and then punish you for +your misdeeds."</p> + +<p>"Very well, go ahead and conquer," said Ugu. "I'd really like +to see how you can do it."</p> + +<p>Now although the little Wizard had spoken so boldly, he had at +the moment no idea how they might conquer the magician. He had +that morning given the Frogman, at his request, a dose of zosozo +from his bottle, and the Frogman had promised to fight a good +fight if it was necessary, but the Wizard knew that strength +alone could not avail against magical arts. The toy Bear King +seemed to have some pretty good magic, however, and the Wizard +depended to an extent on that. But something ought to be done +right away, and the Wizard didn't know what it was.</p> + +<p>While he considered this perplexing question and the others +stood looking at him as their leader, a queer thing happened. The +floor of the great circular hall on which they were standing +suddenly began to tip. Instead of being flat and level, it became +a slant, and the slant grew steeper and steeper until none of the +party could manage to stand upon it. Presently they all slid down +to the wall, which was now under them, and then it became evident +that the whole vast room was slowly turning upside down! Only Ugu +the Shoemaker, kept in place by the bars of his golden cage, +remained in his former position, and the wicked magician seemed +to enjoy the surprise of his victims immensely.</p> + +<p>First they all slid down to the wall back of them, but as the +room continued to turn over, they next slid down the wall and +found themselves at the bottom of the great dome, bumping against +the big chandelier which, like everything else, was now upside +down. The turning movement now stopped, and the room became +stationary. Looking far up, they saw Ugu suspended in his cage at +the very top, which had once been the floor.</p> + +<p>"Ah," said he, grinning down at them, "the way to conquer is +to act, and he who acts promptly is sure to win. This makes a +very good prison, from which I am sure you cannot escape. Please +amuse yourselves in any way you like, but I must beg you to +excuse me, as I have business in another part of my castle."</p> + +<p>Saying this, he opened a trap door in the floor of his cage +(which was now over his head) and climbed through it and +disappeared from their view. The diamond dishpan still remained +in the cage, but the bars kept it from falling down on their +heads.</p> + +<p>"Well, I declare," said the Patchwork Girl, seizing one of the +bars of the chandelier and swinging from it, "we must peg one for +the Shoemaker, for he has trapped us very cleverly."</p> + +<p>"Get off my foot, please," said the Lion to the Sawhorse.</p> + +<p>"And oblige me, Mr. Mule," remarked the Woozy, "by taking your +tail out of my left eye."</p> + +<p>"It's rather crowded down here," explained Dorothy, "because the +dome is rounding and we have all slid into the middle of it. But +let us keep as quiet as possible until we can think what's best +to be done."</p> + +<p>"Dear, dear!"wailed Cayke, "I wish I had my darling dishpan," +and she held her arms longingly toward it.</p> + +<p>"I wish I had the magic on those shelves up there," sighed the +Wizard.</p> + +<p>"Don't you s'pose we could get to it?" asked Trot +anxiously.</p> + +<p>"We'd have to fly," laughed the Patchwork Girl.</p> + +<p>But the Wizard took the suggestion seriously, and so did the +Frogman. They talked it over and soon planned an attempt to reach +the shelves where the magical instruments were. First the Frogman +lay against the rounding dome and braced his foot on the stem of +the chandelier; then the Wizard climbed over him and lay on the +dome with his feet on the Frogman's shoulders; the Cookie Cook +came next; then Button-Bright climbed to the woman's shoulders; +then Dorothy climbed up and Betsy and Trot, and finally the +Patchwork Girl, and all their lengths made a long line that +reached far up the dome, but not far enough for Scraps to touch +the shelves.</p> + +<p>"Wait a minute. Perhaps I can reach the magic," called the Bear +King, and began scrambling up the bodies of the others. But when +he came to the Cookie Cook, his soft paws tickled her side so +that she squirmed and upset the whole line. Down they came, +tumbling in a heap against the animals, and although no one was +much hurt, it was a bad mix-up, and the Frogman, who was at the +bottom, almost lost his temper before he could get on his feet +again.</p> + +<p>Cayke positively refused to try what she called "the pyramid +act" again, and as the Wizard was now convinced they could not +reach the magic tools in that manner, the attempt was abandoned. +"But SOMETHING must be done," said the Wizard, and then he turned +to the Lavender Bear and asked, "Cannot Your Majesty's magic help +us to escape from here?"</p> + +<p>"My magic powers are limited," was the reply. "When I was +stuffed, the fairies stood by and slyly dropped some magic into +my stuffing. Therefore I can do any of the magic that's inside +me, but nothing else. You, however, are a wizard, and a wizard +should be able to do anything."</p> + +<p>"Your Majesty forgets that my tools of magic have been +stolen," said the Wizard sadly, "and a wizard without tools is as +helpless as a carpenter without a hammer or saw."</p> + +<p>"Don't give up," pleaded Button-Bright, "20'cause if we can't get +out of this queer prison, we'll all starve to death."</p> + +<p>"Not I!" laughed the Patchwork Girl, now standing on top of +the chandelier at the place that was meant to be the bottom of +it.</p> + +<p>"Don't talk of such dreadful things," said Trot, shuddering. "We +came here to capture the Shoemaker, didn't we?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, and to save Ozma," said Betsy.</p> + +<p>"And here we are, captured ourselves, and my darling dishpan up +there in plain sight!" wailed the Cookie Cook, wiping her eyes on +the tail of the Frogman's coat.</p> + +<p>"Hush!" called the Lion with a low, deep growl. "Give the +Wizard time to think."</p> + +<p>"He has plenty of time," said Scraps. "What he needs is the +Scarecrow's brains."</p> + +<p>After all, it was little Dorothy who came to their rescue, and +her ability to save them was almost as much a surprise to the +girl as it was to her friends. Dorothy had been secretly testing +the powers of her Magic Belt, which she had once captured from +the Nome King, and experimenting with it in various ways ever +since she had started on this eventful journey. At different +times she had stolen away from the others of her party and in +solitude had tried to find out what the Magic Belt could do and +what it could not do. There were a lot of things it could not do, +she discovered, but she learned some things about the Belt which +even her girl friends did not suspect she knew.</p> + +<p>For one thing, she had remembered that when the Nome King owned +it, the Magic Belt used to perform transformations, and by +thinking hard she had finally recalled the way in which such +transformations had been accomplished. Better than this, however, +was the discovery that the Magic Belt would grant its wearer one +wish a day. All she need do was close her right eye and wiggle +her left toe and then draw a long breath and make her wish. +Yesterday she had wished in secret for a box of caramels, and +instantly found the box beside her. Today she had saved her daily +wish in case she might need it in an emergency, and the time had +now come when she must use the wish to enable her to escape with +her friends from the prison in which Ugu had caught them.</p> + +<p>So without telling anyone what she intended to do—for she had +only used the wish once and could not be certain how powerful the +Magic Belt might be—Dorothy closed her right eye and wiggled her +left big toe and drew a long breath and wished with all her +might. The next moment the room began to revolve again, as slowly +as before, and by degrees they all slid to the side wall and down +the wall to the floor—all but Scraps, who was so astonished that +she still clung to the chandelier. When the big hall was in its +proper position again and the others stood firmly upon the floor +of it, they looked far up the dome and saw the Patchwork girl +swinging from the chandelier.</p> + +<p>"Good gracious!" cried Dorothy."How ever will you get down?"</p> + +<p>"Won't the room keep turning?" asked Scraps.</p> + +<p>"I hope not. I believe it has stopped for good," said Princess +Dorothy.</p> + +<p>"Then stand from under, so you won't get hurt!" shouted the +PatchworkGirl, and as soon as they had obeyed this request, she +let go the chandelier and came tumbling down heels over head and +twisting and turning in a very exciting manner. Plump! She fell +on the tiled floor, and they ran to her and rolled her and patted +her into shape again.</p> + +<hr /> + +<h2 id="ref_24">CHAPTER 23</h2> + +<h3>THE DEFIANCE OF UGU THE SHOEMAKER</h3> + +<p>The delay caused by Scraps had prevented anyone from running +to the shelves to secure the magic instruments so badly needed. +Even Cayke neglected to get her diamond-studded dishpan because +she was watching the Patchwork Girl. And now the magician had +opened his trap door and appeared in his golden cage again, +frowning angrily because his prisoners had been able to turn +their upside-down prison right side up. "Which of you has dared +defy my magic?" he shouted in a terrible voice.</p> + +<p>"It was I," answered Dorothy calmly.</p> + +<p>"Then I shall destroy you, for you are only an Earth girl and +no fairy," he said, and began to mumble some magic words.</p> + +<p>Dorothy now realized that Ugu must be treated as an enemy, so she +advanced toward the corner in which he sat, saying as she went, +"I am not afraid of you, Mr. Shoemaker, and I think you'll be +sorry, pretty soon, that you're such a bad man. You can't destroy +me, and I won't destroy you, but I'm going to punish you for your +wickedness."</p> + +<p>Ugu laughed, a laugh that was not nice to hear, and then he +waved his hand. Dorothy was halfway across the room when suddenly +a wall of glass rose before her and stopped her progress. Through +the glass she could see the magician sneering at her because she +was a weak little girl, and this provoked her. Although the glass +wall obliged her to halt, she instantly pressed both hands to her +Magic Belt and cried in a loud voice, "Ugu the Shoemaker, by the +magic virtues of the Magic Belt, I command you to become a +dove!"</p> + +<p>The magician instantly realized he was being enchanted, for he +could feel his form changing. He struggled desperately against +the enchantment, mumbling magic words and making magic passes +with his hands. And in one way he succeeded in defeating +Dorothy's purpose, for while his form soon changed to that of a +gray dove, the dove was of an enormous size, bigger even than Ugu +had been as a man, and this feat he had been able to accomplish +before his powers of magic wholly deserted him.</p> + +<p>And the dove was not gentle, as doves usually are, for Ugu was +terribly enraged at the little girl's success. His books had told +him nothing of the Nome King's Magic Belt, the Country of the +Nomes being outside the Land of Oz. He knew, however, that he was +likely to be conquered unless he made a fierce fight, so he +spread his wings and rose in the air and flew directly toward +Dorothy. The Wall of Glass had disappeared the instant Ugu became +transformed.</p> + +<p>Dorothy had meant to command the Belt to transform the magician +into a Dove of Peace, but in her excitement she forgot to say +more than "dove," and now Ugu was not a Dove of Peace by any +means, but rather a spiteful Dove of War. His size made his sharp +beak and claws very dangerous, but Dorothy was not afraid when he +came darting toward her with his talons outstretched and his +sword-like beak open. She knew the Magic Belt would protect its +wearer from harm.</p> + +<p>But the Frogman did not know that fact and became alarmed at +the little girl's seeming danger. So he gave a sudden leap and +leaped full upon the back of the great dove. Then began a +desperate struggle. The dove was as strong as Ugu had been, and +in size it was considerably bigger than the Frogman. But the +Frogman had eaten the zosozo, and it had made him fully as strong +as Ugu the Dove. At the first leap he bore the dove to the floor, +but the giant bird got free and began to bite and claw the +Frogman, beating him down with its great wings whenever he +attempted to rise. The thick, tough skin of the big frog was not +easily damaged, but Dorothy feared for her champion, and by again +using the transformation power of the Magic Belt, she made the +dove grow small until it was no larger than a canary bird. Ugu +had not lost his knowledge of magic when he lost his shape as a +man, and he now realized it was hopeless to oppose the power of +the Magic Belt and knew that his only hope of escape lay in +instant action. So he quickly flew into the golden jeweled +dishpan he had stolen from Cayke the Cookie Cook, and as birds +can talk as well as beasts or men in the Fairyland of Oz, he +muttered the magic word that was required and wished himself in +the Country of the Quadlings, which was as far away from the +wicker castle as he believed he could get.</p> + +<p>Our friends did not know, of course, what Ugu was about to do. +They saw the dishpan tremble an instant and then disappear, the +dove disappearing with it, and although they waited expectantly +for some minutes for the magician's return, Ugu did not come back +again. "Seems to me," said the Wizard in a cheerful voice, "that +we have conquered the wicked magician more quickly than we +expected to."</p> + +<p>"Don't say 'we.' Dorothy did it!" cried the Patchwork Girl, +turning three somersaults in succession and then walking around +on her hands. "Hurrah for Dorothy!"</p> + +<p>"I thought you said you did not know how to use the magic of the +Nome King's Belt," said the Wizard to Dorothy.</p> + +<p>"I didn't know at that time," she replied, "but afterward I +remembered how the Nome King once used the Magic Belt to enchant +people and transform 'em into ornaments and all sorts of things, +so I tried some enchantments in secret, and after a while I +transformed the Sawhorse into a potato masher and back again, and +the Cowardly Lion into a pussycat and back again, and then I knew +the thing would work all right."</p> + +<p>"When did you perform those enchantments?" asked the Wizard, much +surprised.</p> + +<p>"One night when all the rest of you were asleep but Scraps, +and she had gone chasing moonbeams."</p> + +<p>"Well," remarked the Wizard, "your discovery has certainly saved +us a lot of trouble, and we must all thank the Frogman, too, for +making such a good fight. The dove's shape had Ugu's evil +disposition inside it, and that made the monster bird dangerous."</p> + +<p>The Frogman was looking sad because the bird's talons had torn +his pretty clothes, but he bowed with much dignity at this +well-deserved praise. Cayke, however, had squatted on the floor +and was sobbing bitterly. "My precious dishpan is gone!" she +wailed. "Gone, just as I had found it again!"</p> + +<p>"Never mind," said Trot, trying to comfort her, "it's sure to be +SOMEWHERE, so we'll cert'nly run across it some day."</p> + +<p>"Yes indeed," added Betsy, "now that we have Ozma's Magic +Picture, we can tell just where the Dove went with your dishpan. +They all approached the Magic Picture, and Dorothy wished it to +show the enchanted form of Ugu the Shoemaker, wherever it might +be. At once there appeared in the frame of the Picture a scene in +the far Quadling Country, where the Dove was perched +disconsolately on the limb of a tree and the jeweled dishpan lay +on the ground just underneath the limb.</p> + +<p>"But where is the place? How far or how near?" asked Cayke +anxiously.</p> + +<p>"The Book of Records will tell us that," answered the Wizard. +So they looked in the Great Book and read the following:</p> + +<p>"Ugu the Magician, being transformed into a dove by Princess +Dorothy of Oz, has used the magic of the golden dishpan to carry +him instantly to the northeast corner of the Quadling Country."</p> + +<p>"Don't worry, Cayke, for the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman are +in that part of the country looking for Ozma, and they'll surely +find your dishpan."</p> + +<p>"Good gracious!" exclaimed Button-Bright. "We've forgot all about +Ozma. Let's find out where the magician hid her."</p> + +<p>Back to the Magic Picture they trooped, but when they wished +to see Ozma wherever she might be hidden, only a round black spot +appeared in the center of the canvas. "I don't see how THAT can +be Ozma!" said Dorothy, much puzzled.</p> + +<p>"It seems to be the best the Magic Picture can do, however," said +the Wizard, no less surprised. "If it's an enchantment, looks as +if the magician had transformed Ozma into a chunk of pitch."</p> + +<hr /> + +<h2 id="ref_25">CHAPTER 24</h2> + +<h3>THE LITTLE PINK BEAR SPEAKS TRULY</h3> + +<p>For several minutes they all stood staring at the black spot +on the canvas of the Magic Picture, wondering what it could mean. +"P'r'aps we'd better ask the little Pink Bear about Ozma," +suggested Trot.</p> + +<p>"Pshaw!" said Button-Bright. "HE don't know anything."</p> + +<p>"He never makes a mistake," declared the King.</p> + +<p>"He did once, surely," said Betsy. "But perhaps he wouldn't make +a mistake again."</p> + +<p>"He won't have the chance," grumbled the Bear King.</p> + +<p>"We might hear what he has to say," said Dorothy. "It won't do +any harm to ask the Pink Bear where Ozma is."</p> + +<p>"I will not have him questioned," declared the King in a surly +voice. "I do not intend to allow my little Pink Bear to be again +insulted by your foolish doubts. He never makes a mistake."</p> + +<p>"Didn't he say Ozma was in that hole in the ground?" asked Betsy.</p> + +<p>"He did, and I am certain she was there," replied the Lavender +Bear.</p> + +<p>Scraps laughed jeeringly, and the others saw there was no use +arguing with the stubborn Bear King, who seemed to have absolute +faith in his Pink Bear. The Wizard, who knew that magical things +can usually be depended upon and that the little Pink Bear was +able to answer questions by some remarkable power of magic, +thought it wise to apologize to the Lavender Bear for the +unbelief of his friends, at the same time urging the King to +consent to question the Pink Bear once more. Cayke and the +Frogman also pleaded with the big Bear, who finally agreed, +although rather ungraciously, to put the little Bear's wisdom to +the test once more. So he sat the little one on his knee and +turned the crank, and the Wizard himself asked the questions in a +very respectful tone of voice. "Where is Ozma?" was his first +query.</p> + +<p>"Here in this room," answered the little Pink Bear.</p> + +<p>They all looked around the room, but of course did not see her. +"In what part of the room is she?" was the Wizard's next +question.</p> + +<p>"In Button-Bright's pocket," said the little Pink Bear.</p> + +<p>This reply amazed them all, you may be sure, and although the +three girls smiled and Scraps yelled "Hoo-ray!" in derision, the +Wizard turned to consider the matter with grave thoughtfulness. +"In which one of Button-Bright's pockets is Ozma?" he presently +inquired.</p> + +<p>"In the left-hand jacket pocket," said the little Pink +Bear.</p> + +<p>"The pink one has gone crazy!" exclaimed Button-Bright, staring +hard at the little bear on the big bear's knee.</p> + +<p>"I am not so sure of that," declared the Wizard. "If Ozma +proves to be really in your pocket, then the little Pink Bear +spoke truly when he said Ozma was in that hole in the ground. For +at that time you were also in the hole, and after we had pulled +you out of it, the little Pink Bear said Ozma was not in the +hole."</p> + +<p>"He never makes a mistake," asserted the Bear King stoutly.</p> + +<p>"Empty that pocket, Button-Bright, and let's see what's in +it," requested Dorothy.</p> + +<p>So Button-Bright laid the contents of his left jacket pocket on +the table. These proved to be a peg top, a bunch of string, a +small rubber ball and a golden peach pit. "What's this?" asked +the Wizard, picking up the peach pit and examining it closely.</p> + +<p>"Oh," said the boy, "I saved that to show to the girls, and +then forgot all about it. It came out of a lonesome peach that I +found in the orchard back yonder, and which I ate while I was +lost. It looks like gold, and I never saw a peach pit like it +before."</p> + +<p>"Nor I," said the Wizard, "and that makes it seem suspicious."</p> + +<p>All heads were bent over the golden peach pit. The Wizard +turned it over several times and then took out his pocket knife +and pried the pit open. As the two halves fell apart, a pink, +cloud-like haze came pouring from the golden peach pit, almost +filling the big room, and from the haze a form took shape and +settled beside them. Then, as the haze faded away, a sweet voice +said, "Thank you, my friends!" and there before them stood their +lovely girl Ruler, Ozma of Oz.</p> + +<p>With a cry of delight, Dorothy rushed forward and embraced her. +Scraps turned gleeful flipflops all around the room. +Button-Bright gave a low whistle of astonishment. The Frogman +took off his tall hat and bowed low before the beautiful girl who +had been freed from her enchantment in so startling a manner. For +a time, no sound was heard beyond the low murmur of delight that +came from the amazed group, but presently the growl of the big +Lavender Bear grew louder, and he said in a tone of triumph, "He +never makes a mistake!"</p> + +<hr /> + +<h2 id="ref_26">CHAPTER 25</h2> + +<h3>OZMA OF OZ</h3> + +<p>"It's funny," said Toto, standing before his friend the Lion +and wagging his tail, "but I've found my growl at last! I am +positive now that it was the cruel magician who stole it."</p> + +<p>"Let's hear your growl," requested the Lion.</p> + +<p>"G-r-r-r-r-r!" said Toto.</p> + +<p>"That is fine," declared the big beast. "It isn't as loud or as +deep as the growl of the big Lavender Bear, but it is a very +respectable growl for a small dog. Where did you find it, Toto?"</p> + +<p>"I was smelling in the corner yonder," said Toto, "when +suddenly a mouse ran out—and I growled."</p> + +<p>The others were all busy congratulating Ozma, who was very happy +at being released from the confinement of the golden peach pit, +where the magician had placed her with the notion that she never +could be found or liberated.</p> + +<p>"And only to think," cried Dorothy, "that Button-Bright has +been carrying you in his pocket all this time, and we never knew +it!"</p> + +<p>"The little Pink Bear told you," said the Bear King, "but you +wouldn't believe him."</p> + +<p>"Never mind, my dears," said Ozma graciously, "all is well +that ends well, and you couldn't be expected to know I was inside +the peach pit. Indeed, I feared I would remain a captive much +longer than I did, for Ugu is a bold and clever magician, and he +had hidden me very securely."</p> + +<p>"You were in a fine peach," said Button-Bright, "the best I ever +ate."</p> + +<p>"The magician was foolish to make the peach so tempting," +remarked the Wizard, "but Ozma would lend beauty to any +transformation."</p> + +<p>"How did you manage to conquer Ugu the Shoemaker?" inquired the +girl Ruler of Oz.</p> + +<p>Dorothy started to tell the story, and Trot helped her, and +Button-Bright wanted to relate it in his own way, and the Wizard +tried to make it clear to Ozma, and Betsy had to remind them of +important things they left out, and all together there was such a +chatter that it was a wonder that Ozma understood any of it. But +she listened patiently, with a smile on her lovely face at their +eagerness, and presently had gleaned all the details of their +adventures.</p> + +<p>Ozma thanked the Frogman very earnestly for his assistance, and +she advised Cayke the Cookie Cook to dry her weeping eyes, for +she promised to take her to the Emerald City and see that her +cherished dishpan was restored to her. Then the beautiful Ruler +took a chain of emeralds from around her own neck and placed it +around the neck of the little Pink Bear.</p> + +<p>"Your wise answers to the questions of my friends," said she, +"helped them to rescue me. Therefore I am deeply grateful to you +and to your noble King."</p> + +<p>The bead eyes of the little Pink Bear stared unresponsive to this +praise until the Big Lavender Bear turned the crank in its side, +when it said in its squeaky voice, "I thank Your Majesty."</p> + +<p>"For my part," returned the Bear King, "I realize that you +were well worth saving, Miss Ozma, and so I am much pleased that +we could be of service to you. By means of my Magic Wand I have +been creating exact images of your Emerald City and your Royal +Palace, and I must confess that they are more attractive than any +places I have ever seen—not excepting Bear Center."</p> + +<p>"I would like to entertain you in my palace," returned Ozma +sweetly, "and you are welcome to return with me and to make me a +long visit, if your bear subjects can spare you from your own +kingdom."</p> + +<p>"As for that," answered the King, "my kingdom causes me little +worry, and I often find it somewhat tame and uninteresting. +Therefore I am glad to accept your kind invitation. Corporal +Waddle may be trusted to care for my bears in my absence."</p> + +<p>"And you'll bring the little Pink Bear?" asked Dorothy eagerly.</p> + +<p>"Of course, my dear. I would not willingly part with him."</p> + +<p>They remained in the wicker castle for three days, carefully +packing all the magical things that had been stolen by Ugu and +also taking whatever in the way of magic the shoemaker had +inherited from his ancestors. "For," said Ozma, "I have forbidden +any of my subjects except Glinda the Good and the Wizard of Oz to +practice magical arts, because they cannot be trusted to do good +and not harm. Therefore Ugu must never again be permitted to work +magic of any sort."</p> + +<p>"Well," remarked Dorothy cheerfully, "a dove can't do much in +the way of magic, anyhow, and I'm going to keep Ugu in the form +of a dove until he reforms and becomes a good and honest +shoemaker."</p> + +<p>When everything was packed and loaded on the backs of the +animals, they set out for the river, taking a more direct route +than that by which Cayke and the Frogman had come. In this way +they avoided the Cities of Thi and Herku and Bear Center and +after a pleasant journey reached the Winkie River and found a +jolly ferryman who had a fine, big boat and was willing to carry +the entire party by water to a place quite near to the Emerald +City.</p> + +<p>The river had many windings and many branches, and the journey +did not end in a day, but finally the boat floated into a pretty +lake which was but a short distance from Ozma's home. Here the +jolly ferryman was rewarded for his labors, and then the entire +party set out in a grand procession to march to the Emerald City. +News that the Royal Ozma had been found spread quickly throughout +the neighborhood, and both sides of the road soon became lined +with loyal subjects of the beautiful and beloved Ruler. Therefore +Ozma's ears heard little but cheers, and her eyes beheld little +else than waving handkerchiefs and banners during all the +triumphal march from the lake to the city's gates.</p> + +<p>And there she met a still greater concourse, for all the +inhabitants of the Emerald City turned out to welcome her return, +and all the houses were decorated with flags and bunting, and +never before were the people so joyous and happy as at this +moment when they welcomed home their girl Ruler. For she had been +lost and was now found again, and surely that was cause for +rejoicing. Glinda was at the royal palace to meet the returning +party, and the good Sorceress was indeed glad to have her Great +Book of Records returned to her, as well as all the precious +collection of magic instruments and elixirs and chemicals that +had been stolen from her castle. Cap'n Bill and the Wizard at +once hung the Magic Picture upon the wall of Ozma's boudoir, and +the Wizard was so light-hearted that he did several tricks with +the tools in his black bag to amuse his companions and prove that +once again he was a powerful wizard.</p> + +<p>For a whole week there was feasting and merriment and all +sorts of joyous festivities at the palace in honor of Ozma's safe +return. The Lavender Bear and the little Pink Bear received much +attention and were honored by all, much to the Bear King's +satisfaction. The Frogman speedily became a favorite at the +Emerald City, and the Shaggy Man and Tik-Tok and Jack +Pumpkinhead, who had now returned from their search, were very +polite to the big frog and made him feel quite at home. Even the +Cookie Cook, because she was quite a stranger and Ozma's guest, +was shown as much deference as if she had been a queen.</p> + +<p>"All the same, Your Majesty," said Cayke to Ozma, day after day +with tiresome repetition, "I hope you will soon find my jeweled +dishpan, for never can I be quite happy without it."</p> + +<hr /> + +<h2 id="ref_27">CHAPTER 26</h2> + +<h3>DOROTHY FORGIVES</h3> + +<p>The gray dove which had once been Ugu the Shoemaker sat on its +tree in the far Quadling Country and moped, chirping dismally and +brooding over its misfortunes. After a time, the Scarecrow and +the Tin Woodman came along and sat beneath the tree, paying no +heed to the mutterings of the gray dove. The Tin Woodman took a +small oilcan from his tin pocket and carefully oiled his tin +joints with it.</p> + +<p>While he was thus engaged, the Scarecrow remarked, "I feel much +better, dear comrade, since we found that heap of nice, clean +straw and you stuffed me anew with it."</p> + +<p>"And I feel much better now that my joints are oiled," +returned the Tin Woodman with a sigh of pleasure. "You and I, +friend Scarecrow, are much more easily cared for than those +clumsy meat people, who spend half their time dressing in fine +clothes and who must live in splendid dwellings in order to be +contented and happy. You and I do not eat, and so we are spared +the dreadful bother of getting three meals a day. Nor do we waste +half our lives in sleep, a condition that causes the meat people +to lose all consciousness and become as thoughtless and helpless +as logs of wood."</p> + +<p>"You speak truly," responded the Scarecrow, tucking some wisps of +straw into his breast with his padded fingers. "I often feel +sorry for the meat people, many of whom are my friends. Even the +beasts are happier than they, for they require less to make them +content. And the birds are the luckiest creatures of all, for +they can fly swiftly where they will and find a home at any place +they care to perch. Their food consists of seeds and grains they +gather from the fields, and their drink is a sip of water from +some running brook. If I could not be a Scarecrow or a Tin +Woodman, my next choice would be to live as a bird does."</p> + +<p>The gray dove had listened carefully to this speech and seemed +to find comfort in it, for it hushed its moaning. And just then +the Tin Woodman discovered Cayke's dishpan, which was on the +ground quite near to him. "Here is a rather pretty utensil," he +said, taking it in his tin hand to examine it, "but I would not +care to own it. Whoever fashioned it of gold and covered it with +diamonds did not add to its usefulness, nor do I consider it as +beautiful as the bright dishpans of tin one usually sees. No +yellow color is ever so handsome as the silver sheen of tin," and +he turned to look at his tin legs and body with approval.</p> + +<p>"I cannot quite agree with you there," replied the Scarecrow. "My +straw stuffing has a light yellow color, and it is not only +pretty to look at, but it crunkles most delightfully when I +move."</p> + +<p>"Let us admit that all colors are good in their proper +places," said the Tin Woodman, who was too kind-hearted to +quarrel, "but you must agree with me that a dishpan that is +yellow is unnatural. What shall we do with this one, which we +have just found?"</p> + +<p>"Let us carry it back to the Emerald City," suggested the +Scarecrow. "Some of our friends might like to have it for a +foot-bath, and in using it that way, its golden color and +sparkling ornaments would not injure its usefulness."</p> + +<p>So they went away and took the jeweled dishpan with them. And +after wandering through the country for a day or so longer, they +learned the news that Ozma had been found. Therefore they +straightway returned to the Emerald City and presented the +dishpan to Princess Ozma as a token of their joy that she had +been restored to them. Ozma promptly gave the diamond-studded +gold dishpan to Cayke the Cookie Cook, who was delighted at +regaining her lost treasure that she danced up and down in glee +and then threw her skinny arms around Ozma's neck and kissed her +gratefully. Cayke's mission was now successfully accomplished, +but she was having such a good time at the Emerald City that she +seemed in no hurry to go back to the Country of the Yips.</p> + +<p>It was several weeks after the dishpan had been restored to the +Cookie Cook when one day, as Dorothy was seated in the royal +gardens with Trot and Betsy beside her, a gray dove came flying +down and alighted at the girl's feet.</p> + +<p>"I am Ugu the Shoemaker," said the dove in a soft, mourning +voice, "and I have come to ask you to forgive me for the great +wrong I did in stealing Ozma and the magic that belonged to her +and to others."</p> + +<p>"Are you sorry, then?" asked Dorothy, looking hard at the bird.</p> + +<p>"I am VERY sorry," declared Ugu. "I've been thinking over my +misdeeds for a long time, for doves have little else to do but +think, and I'm surprised that I was such a wicked man and had so +little regard for the rights of others. I am now convinced that +even had I succeeded in making myself ruler of all Oz, I should +not have been happy, for many days of quiet thought have shown me +that only those things one acquires honestly are able to render +one content."</p> + +<p>"I guess that's so," said Trot.</p> + +<p>"Anyhow," said Betsy, "the bad man seems truly sorry, and if +he has now become a good and honest man, we ought to forgive +him."</p> + +<p>"I fear I cannot become a good MAN again," said Ugu, "for the +transformation I am under will always keep me in the form of a +dove. But with the kind forgiveness of my former enemies, I hope +to become a very good dove and highly respected."</p> + +<p>"Wait here till I run for my Magic Belt," said Dorothy, "and +I'll transform you back to your reg'lar shape in a jiffy."</p> + +<p>"No, don't do that!" pleaded the dove, fluttering its wings in an +excited way. "I only want your forgiveness. I don't want to be a +man again. As Ugu the Shoemaker I was skinny and old and +unlovely. As a dove I am quite pretty to look at. As a man I was +ambitious and cruel, while as a dove I can be content with my lot +and happy in my simple life. I have learned to love the free and +independent life of a bird, and I'd rather not change back."</p> + +<p>"Just as you like, Ugu," said Dorothy, resuming her seat. +"Perhaps you are right, for you're certainly a better dove than +you were a man, and if you should ever backslide an' feel wicked +again, you couldn't do much harm as a gray dove."</p> + +<p>"Then you forgive me for all the trouble I caused you?" he asked +earnestly.</p> + +<p>"Of course. Anyone who's sorry just has to be forgiven."</p> + +<p>"Thank you," said the gray dove, and flew away again.</p> + +<p>THE END</p> + + +<hr /> + + +<pre> + + + +The Wonderful Oz Books by L. Frank Baum + + The Wizard of Oz + The Land of Oz + Ozma of Oz + Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz + The Road to Oz + The Emerald City of Oz + The Patchwork Girl of Oz + Tik-Tok of Oz + The Scarecrow of Oz + Rinkitink in Oz + The Lost Princess of Oz + The Tin Woodman of Oz + The Magic of Oz + Glinda of Oz + + + + ***End of Project Gutenberg's Etext of The Lost Princess of Oz, by Baum *** + +</pre> +</body> +</html> + + diff --git a/old/11woz11h.zip b/old/11woz11h.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..2d01fd1 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/11woz11h.zip diff --git a/old/11woz11l.lit b/old/11woz11l.lit Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..61ce7ee --- /dev/null +++ b/old/11woz11l.lit diff --git a/old/11woz11l.zip b/old/11woz11l.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..ddf5d59 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/11woz11l.zip diff --git a/old/11woz11p.prc b/old/11woz11p.prc Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..8d40562 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/11woz11p.prc diff --git a/old/11woz11p.zip b/old/11woz11p.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..19c78b7 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/11woz11p.zip diff --git a/old/959.txt b/old/959.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..5771d3b --- /dev/null +++ b/old/959.txt @@ -0,0 +1,5998 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Lost Princess of Oz, by L. Frank Baum + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Lost Princess of Oz + +Author: L. Frank Baum + +Posting Date: March 23, 2009 [EBook #959] +Release Date: June, 1997 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LOST PRINCESS OF OZ *** + + + + +Produced by Anthony Matonac + + + + + + + + +THE LOST PRINCESS OF OZ + + +by + +L. FRANK BAUM + + + + This Book is Dedicated + To My Granddaughter + OZMA BAUM + + + + +To My Readers + +Some of my youthful readers are developing wonderful imaginations. This +pleases me. Imagination has brought mankind through the Dark Ages to +its present state of civilization. Imagination led Columbus to discover +America. Imagination led Franklin to discover electricity. Imagination +has given us the steam engine, the telephone, the talking-machine and +the automobile, for these things had to be dreamed of before they +became realities. So I believe that dreams--day dreams, you know, with +your eyes wide open and your brain-machinery whizzing--are likely to +lead to the betterment of the world. The imaginative child will become +the imaginative man or woman most apt to create, to invent, and +therefore to foster civilization. A prominent educator tells me that +fairy tales are of untold value in developing imagination in the young. +I believe it. + +Among the letters I receive from children are many containing +suggestions of "what to write about in the next Oz Book." Some of the +ideas advanced are mighty interesting, while others are too extravagant +to be seriously considered--even in a fairy tale. Yet I like them all, +and I must admit that the main idea in "The Lost Princess of Oz" was +suggested to me by a sweet little girl of eleven who called to see me +and to talk about the Land of Oz. Said she: "I s'pose if Ozma ever got +lost, or stolen, ev'rybody in Oz would be dreadful sorry." + +That was all, but quite enough foundation to build this present story +on. If you happen to like the story, give credit to my little friend's +clever hint. + +L. Frank Baum + Royal Historian of Oz + + + + +LIST OF CHAPTERS + + 1 A Terrible Loss + 2 The Troubles of Glinda the Good + 3 The Robbery of Cayke the Cookie Cook + 4 Among the Winkies + 5 Ozma's Friends Are Perplexed + 6 The Search Party + 7 The Merry-Go-Round Mountains + 8 The Mysterious City + 9 The High Coco-Lorum of Thi + 10 Toto Loses Something + 11 Button-Bright Loses Himself + 12 The Czarover of Herku + 13 The Truth Pond + 14 The Unhappy Ferryman + 15 The Big Lavender Bear + 16 The Little Pink Bear + 17 The Meeting + 18 The Conference + 19 Ugu the Shoemaker + 20 More Surprises + 21 Magic Against Magic + 22 In the Wicker Castle + 23 The Defiance of Ugu the Shoemaker + 24 The Little Pink Bear Speaks Truly + 25 Ozma of Oz + 26 Dorothy Forgives + + + + +THE LOST PRINCESS + +BY L. FRANK BAUM + + + +CHAPTER 1 + +A TERRIBLE LOSS + + +There could be no doubt of the fact: Princess Ozma, the lovely girl +ruler of the Fairyland of Oz, was lost. She had completely +disappeared. Not one of her subjects--not even her closest +friends--knew what had become of her. It was Dorothy who first +discovered it. Dorothy was a little Kansas girl who had come to the +Land of Oz to live and had been given a delightful suite of rooms in +Ozma's royal palace just because Ozma loved Dorothy and wanted her to +live as near her as possible so the two girls might be much together. + +Dorothy was not the only girl from the outside world who had been +welcomed to Oz and lived in the royal palace. There was another named +Betsy Bobbin, whose adventures had led her to seek refuge with Ozma, +and still another named Trot, who had been invited, together with her +faithful companion Cap'n Bill, to make her home in this wonderful +fairyland. The three girls all had rooms in the palace and were great +chums; but Dorothy was the dearest friend of their gracious Ruler and +only she at any hour dared to seek Ozma in her royal apartments. For +Dorothy had lived in Oz much longer than the other girls and had been +made a Princess of the realm. + +Betsy was a year older than Dorothy and Trot was a year younger, yet +the three were near enough of an age to become great playmates and to +have nice times together. It was while the three were talking together +one morning in Dorothy's room that Betsy proposed they make a journey +into the Munchkin Country, which was one of the four great countries of +the Land of Oz ruled by Ozma. "I've never been there yet," said Betsy +Bobbin, "but the Scarecrow once told me it is the prettiest country in +all Oz." + +"I'd like to go, too," added Trot. + + +"All right," said Dorothy. "I'll go and ask Ozma. Perhaps she will +let us take the Sawhorse and the Red Wagon, which would be much nicer +for us than having to walk all the way. This Land of Oz is a pretty +big place when you get to all the edges of it." + +So she jumped up and went along the halls of the splendid palace until +she came to the royal suite, which filled all the front of the second +floor. In a little waiting room sat Ozma's maid, Jellia Jamb, who was +busily sewing. "Is Ozma up yet?" inquired Dorothy. + +"I don't know, my dear," replied Jellia. "I haven't heard a word from +her this morning. She hasn't even called for her bath or her +breakfast, and it is far past her usual time for them." + +"That's strange!" exclaimed the little girl. + +"Yes," agreed the maid, "but of course no harm could have happened to +her. No one can die or be killed in the Land of Oz, and Ozma is +herself a powerful fairy, and she has no enemies so far as we know. +Therefore I am not at all worried about her, though I must admit her +silence is unusual." + +"Perhaps," said Dorothy thoughtfully, "she has overslept. Or she may +be reading or working out some new sort of magic to do good to her +people." + +"Any of these things may be true," replied Jellia Jamb, "so I haven't +dared disturb our royal mistress. You, however, are a privileged +character, Princess, and I am sure that Ozma wouldn't mind at all if +you went in to see her." + +"Of course not," said Dorothy, and opening the door of the outer +chamber, she went in. All was still here. She walked into another +room, which was Ozma's boudoir, and then, pushing back a heavy drapery +richly broidered with threads of pure gold, the girl entered the +sleeping-room of the fairy Ruler of Oz. The bed of ivory and gold was +vacant; the room was vacant; not a trace of Ozma was to be found. + +Very much surprised, yet still with no fear that anything had happened +to her friend, Dorothy returned through the boudoir to the other rooms +of the suite. She went into the music room, the library, the +laboratory, the bath, the wardrobe, and even into the great throne +room, which adjoined the royal suite, but in none of these places could +she find Ozma. + +So she returned to the anteroom where she had left the maid, Jellia +Jamb, and said: + +"She isn't in her rooms now, so she must have gone out." + +"I don't understand how she could do that without my seeing her," +replied Jellia, "unless she made herself invisible." + +"She isn't there, anyhow," declared Dorothy. + +"Then let us go find her," suggested the maid, who appeared to be a +little uneasy. So they went into the corridors, and there Dorothy +almost stumbled over a queer girl who was dancing lightly along the +passage. + +"Stop a minute, Scraps!" she called, "Have you seen Ozma this morning?" + +"Not I!" replied the queer girl, dancing nearer. "I lost both my eyes +in a tussle with the Woozy last night, for the creature scraped 'em +both off my face with his square paws. So I put the eyes in my pocket, +and this morning Button-Bright led me to Aunt Em, who sewed 'em on +again. So I've seen nothing at all today, except during the last five +minutes. So of course I haven't seen Ozma." + +"Very well, Scraps," said Dorothy, looking curiously at the eyes, which +were merely two round, black buttons sewed upon the girl's face. + +There were other things about Scraps that would have seemed curious to +one seeing her for the first time. She was commonly called "the +Patchwork Girl" because her body and limbs were made from a gay-colored +patchwork quilt which had been cut into shape and stuffed with cotton. +Her head was a round ball stuffed in the same manner and fastened to +her shoulders. For hair, she had a mass of brown yarn, and to make a +nose for her a part of the cloth had been pulled out into the shape of +a knob and tied with a string to hold it in place. Her mouth had been +carefully made by cutting a slit in the proper place and lining it with +red silk, adding two rows of pearls for teeth and a bit of red flannel +for a tongue. + +In spite of this queer make-up, the Patchwork Girl was magically alive +and had proved herself not the least jolly and agreeable of the many +quaint characters who inhabit the astonishing Fairyland of Oz. Indeed, +Scraps was a general favorite, although she was rather flighty and +erratic and did and said many things that surprised her friends. She +was seldom still, but loved to dance, to turn handsprings and +somersaults, to climb trees and to indulge in many other active sports. + +"I'm going to search for Ozma," remarked Dorothy, "for she isn't in her +rooms, and I want to ask her a question." + +"I'll go with you," said Scraps, "for my eyes are brighter than yours, +and they can see farther." + +"I'm not sure of that," returned Dorothy. "But come along, if you +like." + +Together they searched all through the great palace and even to the +farthest limits of the palace grounds, which were quite extensive, but +nowhere could they find a trace of Ozma. When Dorothy returned to +where Betsy and Trot awaited her, the little girl's face was rather +solemn and troubled, for never before had Ozma gone away without +telling her friends where she was going, or without an escort that +befitted her royal state. She was gone, however, and none had seen her +go. Dorothy had met and questioned the Scarecrow, Tik-Tok, the Shaggy +Man, Button-Bright, Cap'n Bill, and even the wise and powerful Wizard +of Oz, but not one of them had seen Ozma since she parted with her +friends the evening before and had gone to her own rooms. + +"She didn't say anything las' night about going anywhere," observed +little Trot. + +"No, and that's the strange part of it," replied Dorothy. "Usually +Ozma lets us know of everything she does." + +"Why not look in the Magic Picture?" suggested Betsy Bobbin. "That +will tell us where she is in just one second." + +"Of course!" cried Dorothy. "Why didn't I think of that before?" And +at once the three girls hurried away to Ozma's boudoir, where the Magic +Picture always hung. This wonderful Magic Picture was one of the royal +Ozma's greatest treasures. There was a large gold frame in the center +of which was a bluish-gray canvas on which various scenes constantly +appeared and disappeared. If one who stood before it wished to see +what any person anywhere in the world was doing, it was only necessary +to make the wish and the scene in the Magic Picture would shift to the +scene where that person was and show exactly what he or she was then +engaged in doing. So the girls knew it would be easy for them to wish +to see Ozma, and from the picture they could quickly learn where she +was. + +Dorothy advanced to the place where the picture was usually protected +by thick satin curtains and pulled the draperies aside. Then she +stared in amazement, while her two friends uttered exclamations of +disappointment. + +The Magic Picture was gone. Only a blank space on the wall behind the +curtains showed where it had formerly hung. + + + + +CHAPTER 2 + +THE TROUBLES OF GLINDA THE GOOD + + +That same morning there was great excitement in the castle of the +powerful Sorceress of Oz, Glinda the Good. This castle, situated in +the Quadling Country, far south of the Emerald City where Ozma ruled, +was a splendid structure of exquisite marbles and silver grilles. Here +the Sorceress lived, surrounded by a bevy of the most beautiful maidens +of Oz, gathered from all the four countries of that fairyland as well +as from the magnificent Emerald City itself, which stood in the place +where the four countries cornered. It was considered a great honor to +be allowed to serve the good Sorceress, whose arts of magic were used +only to benefit the Oz people. Glinda was Ozma's most valued servant, +for her knowledge of sorcery was wonderful, and she could accomplish +almost anything that her mistress, the lovely girl Ruler of Oz, wished +her to. + +Of all the magical things which surrounded Glinda in her castle, there +was none more marvelous than her Great Book of Records. On the pages +of this Record Book were constantly being inscribed, day by day and +hour by hour, all the important events that happened anywhere in the +known world, and they were inscribed in the book at exactly the moment +the events happened. Every adventure in the Land of Oz and in the big +outside world, and even in places that you and I have never heard of, +were recorded accurately in the Great Book, which never made a mistake +and stated only the exact truth. For that reason, nothing could be +concealed from Glinda the Good, who had only to look at the pages of +the Great Book of Records to know everything that had taken place. That +was one reason she was such a great Sorceress, for the records made her +wiser than any other living person. + +This wonderful book was placed upon a big gold table that stood in the +middle of Glinda's drawing room. The legs of the table, which were +incrusted with precious gems, were firmly fastened to the tiled floor, +and the book itself was chained to the table and locked with six stout +golden padlocks, the keys to which Glinda carried on a chain that was +secured around her own neck. The pages of the Great Book were larger +in size than those of an American newspaper, and although they were +exceedingly thin, there were so many of them that they made an +enormous, bulky volume. With its gold cover and gold clasps, the book +was so heavy that three men could scarcely have lifted it. Yet this +morning when Glinda entered her drawing room after breakfast, the good +Sorceress was amazed to discover that her Great Book of Records had +mysteriously disappeared. + +Advancing to the table, she found the chains had been cut with some +sharp instrument, and this must have been done while all in the castle +slept. Glinda was shocked and grieved. Who could have done this +wicked, bold thing? And who could wish to deprive her of her Great +Book of Records? + +The Sorceress was thoughtful for a time, considering the consequences +of her loss. Then she went to her Room of Magic to prepare a charm +that would tell her who had stolen the Record Book. But when she +unlocked her cupboard and threw open the doors, all of her magical +instruments and rare chemical compounds had been removed from the +shelves. The Sorceress has now both angry and alarmed. She sat down +in a chair and tried to think how this extraordinary robbery could have +taken place. It was evident that the thief was some person of very +great power, or the theft could not have been accomplished without her +knowledge. But who, in all the Land of Oz, was powerful and skillful +enough to do this awful thing? And who, having the power, could also +have an object in defying the wisest and most talented Sorceress the +world has ever known? + +Glinda thought over the perplexing matter for a full hour, at the end +of which time she was still puzzled how to explain it. But although +her instruments and chemicals were gone, her KNOWLEDGE of magic had not +been stolen, by any means, since no thief, however skillful, can rob +one of knowledge, and that is why knowledge is the best and safest +treasure to acquire. Glinda believed that when she had time to gather +more magical herbs and elixirs and to manufacture more magical +instruments, she would be able to discover who the robber was and what +had become of her precious Book of Records. + +"Whoever has done this," she said to her maidens, "is a very foolish +person, for in time he is sure to be found out and will then be +severely punished." + +She now made a list of the things she needed and dispatched messengers +to every part of Oz with instructions to obtain them and bring them to +her as soon as possible. And one of her messengers met the little +Wizard of Oz, who was seated on the back of the famous live Sawhorse +and was clinging to its neck with both his arms, for the Sawhorse was +speeding to Glinda's castle with the velocity of the wind, bearing the +news that Royal Ozma, Ruler of all the great Land of Oz, had suddenly +disappeared and no one in the Emerald City knew what had become of her. + +"Also," said the Wizard as he stood before the astonished Sorceress, +"Ozma's Magic Picture is gone, so we cannot consult it to discover +where she is. So I came to you for assistance as soon as we realized +our loss. Let us look in the Great Book of Records." + +"Alas," returned the Sorceress sorrowfully, "we cannot do that, for the +Great Book of Records has also disappeared!" + + + + +CHAPTER 3 + +THE ROBBERY OF CAYKE THE COOKIE COOK + + +One more important theft was reported in the Land of Oz that eventful +morning, but it took place so far from either the Emerald City or the +castle of Glinda the Good that none of those persons we have mentioned +learned of the robbery until long afterward. + +In the far southwestern corner of the Winkie Country is a broad +tableland that can be reached only by climbing a steep hill, whichever +side one approaches it. On the hillside surrounding this tableland are +no paths at all, but there are quantities of bramble bushes with sharp +prickers on them, which prevent any of the Oz people who live down +below from climbing up to see what is on top. But on top live the +Yips, and although the space they occupy is not great in extent, the +wee country is all their own. The Yips had never--up to the time this +story begins--left their broad tableland to go down into the Land of +Oz, nor had the Oz people ever climbed up to the country of the Yips. + +Living all alone as they did, the Yips had queer ways and notions of +their own and did not resemble any other people of the Land of Oz. +Their houses were scattered all over the flat surface; not like a city, +grouped together, but set wherever their owners' fancy dictated, with +fields here, trees there, and odd little paths connecting the houses +one with another. It was here, on the morning when Ozma so strangely +disappeared from the Emerald City, that Cayke the Cookie Cook +discovered that her diamond-studded gold dishpan had been stolen, and +she raised such a hue and cry over her loss and wailed and shrieked so +loudly that many of the Yips gathered around her house to inquire what +was the matter. + +It was a serious thing in any part of the Land of Oz to accuse one of +stealing, so when the Yips heard Cayke the Cookie Cook declare that her +jeweled dishpan had been stolen, they were both humiliated and +disturbed and forced Cayke to go with them to the Frogman to see what +could be done about it. I do not suppose you have ever before heard of +the Frogman, for like all other dwellers on that tableland, he had +never been away from it, nor had anyone come up there to see him. The +Frogman was in truth descended from the common frogs of Oz, and when he +was first born he lived in a pool in the Winkie Country and was much +like any other frog. Being of an adventurous nature, however, he soon +hopped out of his pool and began to travel, when a big bird came along +and seized him in its beak and started to fly away with him to its +nest. When high in the air, the frog wriggled so frantically that he +got loose and fell down, down, down into a small hidden pool on the +tableland of the Yips. Now that pool, it seems, was unknown to the +Yips because it was surrounded by thick bushes and was not near to any +dwelling, and it proved to be an enchanted pool, for the frog grew very +fast and very big, feeding on the magic skosh which is found nowhere +else on earth except in that one pool. And the skosh not only made the +frog very big so that when he stood on his hind legs he was as tall as +any Yip in the country, but it made him unusually intelligent, so that +he soon knew more than the Yips did and was able to reason and to argue +very well indeed. + +No one could expect a frog with these talents to remain in a hidden +pool, so he finally got out of it and mingled with the people of the +tableland, who were amazed at his appearance and greatly impressed by +his learning. They had never seen a frog before, and the frog had +never seen a Yip before, but as there were plenty of Yips and only one +frog, the frog became the most important. He did not hop any more, but +stood upright on his hind legs and dressed himself in fine clothes and +sat in chairs and did all the things that people do, so he soon came to +be called the Frogman, and that is the only name he has ever had. +After some years had passed, the people came to regard the Frogman as +their adviser in all matters that puzzled them. They brought all their +difficulties to him, and when he did not know anything, he pretended to +know it, which seemed to answer just as well. Indeed, the Yips thought +the Frogman was much wiser than he really was, and he allowed them to +think so, being very proud of his position of authority. + +There was another pool on the tableland which was not enchanted but +contained good, clear water and was located close to the dwellings. +Here the people built the Frogman a house of his own, close to the edge +of the pool so that he could take a bath or a swim whenever he wished. +He usually swam in the pool in the early morning before anyone else was +up, and during the day he dressed himself in his beautiful clothes and +sat in his house and received the visits of all the Yips who came to +him to ask his advice. The Frogman's usual costume consisted of +knee-breeches made of yellow satin plush, with trimmings of gold braid +and jeweled knee-buckles; a white satin vest with silver buttons in +which were set solitaire rubies; a swallow-tailed coat of bright +yellow; green stockings and red leather shoes turned up at the toes and +having diamond buckles. He wore, when he walked out, a purple silk hat +and carried a gold-headed cane. Over his eyes he wore great spectacles +with gold rims, not because his eyes were bad, but because the +spectacles made him look wise, and so distinguished and gorgeous was +his appearance that all the Yips were very proud of him. + +There was no King or Queen in the Yip Country, so the simple +inhabitants naturally came to look upon the Frogman as their leader as +well as their counselor in all times of emergency. In his heart the +big frog knew he was no wiser than the Yips, but for a frog to know as +much as a person was quite remarkable, and the Frogman was shrewd +enough to make the people believe he was far more wise than he really +was. They never suspected he was a humbug, but listened to his words +with great respect and did just what he advised them to do. + +Now when Cayke the Cookie Cook raised such an outcry over the theft of +her diamond-studded dishpan, the first thought of the people was to +take her to the Frogman and inform him of the loss, thinking that of +course he would tell her where to find it. He listened to the story +with his big eyes wide open behind his spectacles, and said in his +deep, croaking voice, "If the dishpan is stolen, somebody must have +taken it." + +"But who?" asked Cayke anxiously. "Who is the thief?" + +"The one who took the dishpan, of course," replied the Frogman, and +hearing this all the Yips nodded their heads gravely and said to one +another, "It is absolutely true!" + +"But I want my dishpan!" cried Cayke. + +"No one can blame you for that wish," remarked the Frogman. + +"Then tell me where I may find it," she urged. + +The look the Frogman gave her was a very wise look, and he rose from +his chair and strutted up and down the room with his hands under his +coattails in a very pompous and imposing manner. This was the first +time so difficult a matter had been brought to him, and he wanted time +to think. It would never do to let them suspect his ignorance, and so +he thought very, very hard how best to answer the woman without +betraying himself. "I beg to inform you," said he, "that nothing in +the Yip Country has ever been stolen before." + +"We know that already," answered Cayke the Cookie Cook impatiently. + +"Therefore," continued the Frogman, "this theft becomes a very +important matter." + +"Well, where is my dishpan?" demanded the woman. + +"It is lost, but it must be found. Unfortunately, we have no policemen +or detectives to unravel the mystery, so we must employ other means to +regain the lost article. Cayke must first write a Proclamation and +tack it to the door of her house, and the Proclamation must read that +whoever stole the jeweled dishpan must return it at once." + +"But suppose no one returns it," suggested Cayke. + +"Then," said the Frogman, "that very fact will be proof that no one has +stolen it." + +Cayke was not satisfied, but the other Yips seemed to approve the plan +highly. They all advised her to do as the Frogman had told her to, so +she posted the sign on her door and waited patiently for someone to +return the dishpan--which no one ever did. Again she went, accompanied +by a group of her neighbors, to the Frogman, who by this time had given +the matter considerable thought. Said he to Cayke, "I am now convinced +that no Yip has taken your dishpan, and since it is gone from the Yip +Country, I suspect that some stranger came from the world down below us +in the darkness of night when all of us were asleep and took away your +treasure. There can be no other explanation of its disappearance. So +if you wish to recover that golden, diamond-studded dishpan, you must +go into the lower world after it." + +This was indeed a startling proposition. Cayke and her friends went to +the edge of the flat tableland and looked down the steep hillside to +the plains below. It was so far to the bottom of the hill that nothing +there could be seen very distinctly, and it seemed to the Yips very +venturesome, if not dangerous, to go so far from home into an unknown +land. However, Cayke wanted her dishpan very badly, so she turned to +her friends and asked, "Who will go with me?" + +No one answered the question, but after a period of silence one of the +Yips said, "We know what is here on the top of this flat hill, and it +seems to us a very pleasant place, but what is down below we do not +know. The chances are it is not so pleasant, so we had best stay where +we are." + +"It may be a far better country than this is," suggested the Cookie +Cook. + +"Maybe, maybe," responded another Yip, "but why take chances? +Contentment with one's lot is true wisdom. Perhaps in some other +country there are better cookies than you cook, but as we have always +eaten your cookies and liked them--except when they are burned on the +bottom--we do not long for any better ones." + +Cayke might have agreed to this argument had she not been so anxious to +find her precious dishpan, but now she exclaimed impatiently, "You are +cowards, all of you! If none of you are willing to explore with me the +great world beyond this small hill, I will surely go alone." + +"That is a wise resolve," declared the Yips, much relieved. "It is +your dishpan that is lost, not ours. And if you are willing to risk +your life and liberty to regain it, no one can deny you the privilege." + +While they were thus conversing, the Frogman joined them and looked +down at the plain with his big eyes and seemed unusually thoughtful. In +fact, the Frogman was thinking that he'd like to see more of the world. +Here in the Yip Country he had become the most important creature of +them all, and his importance was getting to be a little tame. It would +be nice to have other people defer to him and ask his advice, and there +seemed no reason so far as he could see why his fame should not spread +throughout all Oz. He knew nothing of the rest of the world, but it +was reasonable to believe that there were more people beyond the +mountain where he now lived than there were Yips, and if he went among +them he could surprise them with his display of wisdom and make them +bow down to him as the Yips did. In other words, the Frogman was +ambitious to become still greater than he was, which was impossible if +he always remained upon this mountain. He wanted others to see his +gorgeous clothes and listen to his solemn sayings, and here was an +excuse for him to get away from the Yip Country. So he said to Cayke +the Cookie Cook, "I will go with you, my good woman," which greatly +pleased Cayke because she felt the Frogman could be of much assistance +to her in her search. + +But now, since the mighty Frogman had decided to undertake the journey, +several of the Yips who were young and daring at once made up their +minds to go along, so the next morning after breakfast the Frogman and +Cayke the Cookie Cook and nine of the Yips started to slide down the +side of the mountain. The bramble bushes and cactus plants were very +prickly and uncomfortable to the touch, so the Frogman quickly +commanded the Yips to go first and break a path, so that when he +followed them he would not tear his splendid clothes. Cayke, too, was +wearing her best dress and was likewise afraid of the thorns and +prickers, so she kept behind the Frogman. + +They made rather slow progress and night overtook them before they were +halfway down the mountainside, so they found a cave in which they +sought shelter until morning. Cayke had brought along a basket full of +her famous cookies, so they all had plenty to eat. On the second day +the Yips began to wish they had not embarked on this adventure. They +grumbled a good deal at having to cut away the thorns to make the path +for the Frogman and the Cookie Cook, for their own clothing suffered +many tears, while Cayke and the Frogman traveled safely and in comfort. + +"If it is true that anyone came to our country to steal your diamond +dishpan," said one of the Yips to Cayke, "it must have been a bird, for +no person in the form of a man, woman or child could have climbed +through these bushes and back again." + +"And, allowing he could have done so," said another Yip, "the +diamond-studded gold dishpan would not have repaid him for his troubles +and his tribulations." + +"For my part," remarked a third Yip, "I would rather go back home and +dig and polish some more diamonds and mine some more gold and make you +another dishpan than be scratched from head to heel by these dreadful +bushes. Even now, if my mother saw me, she would not know I am her +son." + +Cayke paid no heed to these mutterings, nor did the Frogman. Although +their journey was slow, it was being made easy for them by the Yips, so +they had nothing to complain of and no desire to turn back. Quite near +to the bottom of the great hill they came upon a great gulf, the sides +of which were as smooth as glass. The gulf extended a long +distance--as far as they could see in either direction--and although it +was not very wide, it was far too wide for the Yips to leap across it. +And should they fall into it, it was likely they might never get out +again. "Here our journey ends," said the Yips. "We must go back again." + +Cayke the Cookie Cook began to weep. + +"I shall never find my pretty dishpan again, and my heart will be +broken!" she sobbed. + +The Frogman went to the edge of the gulf and with his eye carefully +measured the distance to the other side. "Being a frog," said he, "I +can leap, as all frogs do, and being so big and strong, I am sure I can +leap across this gulf with ease. But the rest of you, not being frogs, +must return the way you came." + +"We will do that with pleasure," cried the Yips, and at once they +turned and began to climb up the steep mountain, feeling they had had +quite enough of this unsatisfactory adventure. Cayke the Cookie Cook +did not go with them, however. She sat on a rock and wept and wailed +and was very miserable. + +"Well," said the Frogman to her, "I will now bid you goodbye. If I +find your diamond-decorated gold dishpan, I will promise to see that it +is safely returned to you." + +"But I prefer to find it myself!" she said. "See here, Frogman, why +can't you carry me across the gulf when you leap it? You are big and +strong, while I am small and thin." + +The Frogman gravely thought over this suggestion. It was a fact that +Cayke the Cookie Cook was not a heavy person. Perhaps he could leap +the gulf with her on his back. "If you are willing to risk a fall," +said he, "I will make the attempt." + +At once she sprang up and grabbed him around his neck with both her +arms. That is, she grabbed him where his neck ought to be, for the +Frogman had no neck at all. Then he squatted down, as frogs do when +they leap, and with his powerful rear legs he made a tremendous jump. +Over the gulf they sailed, with the Cookie Cook on his back, and he had +leaped so hard--to make sure of not falling in--that he sailed over a +lot of bramble bushes that grew on the other side and landed in a clear +space which was so far beyond the gulf that when they looked back they +could not see it at all. + +Cayke now got off the Frogman's back and he stood erect again and +carefully brushed the dust from his velvet coat and rearranged his +white satin necktie. + +"I had no idea I could leap so far," he said wonderingly. "Leaping is +one more accomplishment I can now add to the long list of deeds I am +able to perform." + +"You are certainly fine at leap-frog," said the Cookie Cook admiringly, +"but, as you say, you are wonderful in many ways. If we meet with any +people down here, I am sure they will consider you the greatest and +grandest of all living creatures." + +"Yes," he replied, "I shall probably astonish strangers, because they +have never before had the pleasure of seeing me. Also, they will +marvel at my great learning. Every time I open my mouth, Cayke, I am +liable to say something important." + +"That is true," she agreed, "and it is fortunate your mouth is so very +wide and opens so far, for otherwise all the wisdom might not be able +to get out of it." + +"Perhaps nature made it wide for that very reason," said the Frogman. +"But come, let us now go on, for it is getting late and we must find +some sort of shelter before night overtakes us." + + + + +CHAPTER 4 + +AMONG THE WINKIES + + +The settled parts of the Winkie Country are full of happy and contented +people who are ruled by a tin Emperor named Nick Chopper, who in turn +is a subject of the beautiful girl Ruler, Ozma of Oz. But not all of +the Winkie Country is fully settled. At the east, which part lies +nearest the Emerald City, there are beautiful farmhouses and roads, but +as you travel west, you first come to a branch of the Winkie River, +beyond which there is a rough country where few people live, and some +of these are quite unknown to the rest of the world. After passing +through this rude section of territory, which no one ever visits, you +would come to still another branch of the Winkie River, after crossing +which you would find another well-settled part of the Winkie Country +extending westward quite to the Deadly Desert that surrounds all the +Land of Oz and separates that favored fairyland from the more common +outside world. The Winkies who live in this west section have many tin +mines, from which metal they make a great deal of rich jewelry and +other articles, all of which are highly esteemed in the Land of Oz +because tin is so bright and pretty and there is not so much of it as +there is of gold and silver. + +Not all the Winkies are miners, however, for some till the fields and +grow grains for food, and it was at one of these far-west Winkie farms +that the Frogman and Cayke the Cookie Cook first arrived after they had +descended from the mountain of the Yips. "Goodness me!" cried Nellary +the Winkie wife when she saw the strange couple approaching her house. +"I have seen many queer creatures in the Land of Oz, but none more +queer than this giant frog who dresses like a man and walks on his hind +legs. Come here, Wiljon," she called to her husband, who was eating +his breakfast, "and take a look at this astonishing freak." + +Wiljon the Winkie came to the door and looked out. He was still +standing in the doorway when the Frogman approached and said with a +haughty croak, "Tell me, my good man, have you seen a diamond-studded +gold dishpan?" + +"No, nor have I seen a copper-plated lobster," replied Wiljon in an +equally haughty tone. + +The Frogman stared at him and said, "Do not be insolent, fellow!" + +"No," added Cayke the Cookie Cook hastily, "you must be very polite to +the great Frogman, for he is the wisest creature in all the world." + +"Who says that?" inquired Wiljon. + +"He says so himself," replied Cayke, and the Frogman nodded and +strutted up and down, twirling his gold-headed cane very gracefully. + +"Does the Scarecrow admit that this overgrown frog is the wisest +creature in the world?" asked Wiljon. + +"I do not know who the Scarecrow is," answered Cayke the Cookie Cook. + +"Well, he lives at the Emerald City, and he is supposed to have the +finest brains in all Oz. The Wizard gave them to him, you know." + +"Mine grew in my head," said the Frogman pompously, "so I think they +must be better than any wizard brains. I am so wise that sometimes my +wisdom makes my head ache. I know so much that often I have to forget +part of it, since no one creature, however great, is able to contain so +much knowledge." + +"It must be dreadful to be stuffed full of wisdom," remarked Wiljon +reflectively and eyeing the Frogman with a doubtful look. "It is my +good fortune to know very little." + +"I hope, however, you know where my jeweled dishpan is," said the +Cookie Cook anxiously. + +"I do not know even that," returned the Winkie. "We have trouble +enough in keeping track of our own dishpans without meddling with the +dishpans of strangers." + +Finding him so ignorant, the Frogman proposed that they walk on and +seek Cayke's dishpan elsewhere. Wiljon the Winkie did not seem greatly +impressed by the great Frogman, which seemed to that personage as +strange as it was disappointing. But others in this unknown land might +prove more respectful. + +"I'd like to meet that Wizard of Oz," remarked Cayke as they walked +along a path. "If he could give a Scarecrow brains, he might be able +to find my dishpan." + +"Poof!" grunted the Frogman scornfully. "I am greater than any wizard. +Depend on ME. If your dishpan is anywhere in the world, I am sure to +find it." + +"If you do not, my heart will be broken," declared the Cookie Cook in a +sorrowful voice. + +For a while the Frogman walked on in silence. Then he asked, "Why do +you attach so much importance to a dishpan?" + +"It is the greatest treasure I possess," replied the woman. "It +belonged to my mother and to all my grandmothers since the beginning of +time. It is, I believe, the very oldest thing in all the Yip +Country--or was while it was there--and," she added, dropping her voice +to an awed whisper, "it has magic powers!" + +"In what way?" inquired the Frogman, seeming to be surprised at this +statement. + +"Whoever has owned that dishpan has been a good cook, for one thing. No +one else is able to make such good cookies as I have cooked, as you and +all the Yips know. Yet the very morning after my dishpan was stolen, I +tried to make a batch of cookies and they burned up in the oven! I +made another batch that proved too tough to eat, and I was so ashamed +of them that I buried them in the ground. Even the third batch of +cookies, which I brought with me in my basket, were pretty poor stuff +and no better than any woman could make who does not own my +diamond-studded gold dishpan. In fact, my good Frogman, Cayke the +Cookie Cook will never be able to cook good cookies again until her +magic dishpan is restored to her." + +"In that case," said the Frogman with a sigh, "I suppose we must manage +to find it." + + + + +CHAPTER 5 + +OZMA'S FRIENDS ARE PERPLEXED + + +"Really," said Dorothy, looking solemn, "this is very s'prising. We +can't even find a shadow of Ozma anywhere in the Em'rald City, and +wherever she's gone, she's taken her Magic Picture with her." She was +standing in the courtyard of the palace with Betsy and Trot, while +Scraps, the Patchwork Girl, danced around the group, her hair flying in +the wind. + +"P'raps," said Scraps, still dancing, "someone has stolen Ozma." + +"Oh, they'd never dare do that!" exclaimed tiny Trot. + +"And stolen the Magic Picture, too, so the thing can't tell where she +is," added the Patchwork Girl. + +"That's nonsense," said Dorothy. "Why, ev'ryone loves Ozma. There +isn't a person in the Land of Oz who would steal a single thing she +owns." + +"Huh!" replied the Patchwork Girl. "You don't know ev'ry person in the +Land of Oz." + +"Why don't I?" + +"It's a big country," said Scraps. "There are cracks and corners in it +that even Ozma doesn't know of." + +"The Patchwork Girl's just daffy," declared Betsy. + +"No, she's right about that," replied Dorothy thoughtfully. "There are +lots of queer people in this fairyland who never come near Ozma or the +Em'rald City. I've seen some of 'em myself, girls. But I haven't seen +all, of course, and there MIGHT be some wicked persons left in Oz yet, +though I think the wicked witches have all been destroyed." + +Just then the Wooden Sawhorse dashed into the courtyard with the Wizard +of Oz on his back. "Have you found Ozma?" cried the Wizard when the +Sawhorse stopped beside them. + +"Not yet," said Dorothy. "Doesn't Glinda the Good know where she is?" + +"No. Glinda's Book of Records and all her magic instruments are gone. +Someone must have stolen them." + +"Goodness me!" exclaimed Dorothy in alarm. "This is the biggest steal +I ever heard of. Who do you think did it, Wizard?" + +"I've no idea," he answered. "But I have come to get my own bag of +magic tools and carry them to Glinda. She is so much more powerful +than I that she may be able to discover the truth by means of my magic +quicker and better than I could myself." + +"Hurry, then," said Dorothy, "for we've all gotten terr'bly worried." + +The Wizard rushed away to his rooms but presently came back with a +long, sad face. "It's gone!" he said. + +"What's gone?" asked Scraps. + +"My black bag of magic tools. Someone must have stolen it!" + +They looked at one another in amazement. + +"This thing is getting desperate," continued the Wizard. "All the magic +that belongs to Ozma or to Glinda or to me has been stolen." + +"Do you suppose Ozma could have taken them, herself, for some purpose?" +asked Betsy. + +"No indeed," declared the Wizard. "I suspect some enemy has stolen +Ozma and for fear we would follow and recapture her has taken all our +magic away from us." + +"How dreadful!" cried Dorothy. "The idea of anyone wanting to injure +our dear Ozma! Can't we do ANYthing to find her, Wizard?" + +"I'll ask Glinda. I must go straight back to her and tell her that my +magic tools have also disappeared. The good Sorceress will be greatly +shocked, I know." + +With this, he jumped upon the back of the Sawhorse again, and the +quaint steed, which never tired, dashed away at full speed. The three +girls were very much disturbed in mind. Even the Patchwork Girl seemed +to realize that a great calamity had overtaken them all. Ozma was a +fairy of considerable power, and all the creatures in Oz as well as the +three mortal girls from the outside world looked upon her as their +protector and friend. The idea of their beautiful girl Ruler's being +overpowered by an enemy and dragged from her splendid palace a captive +was too astonishing for them to comprehend at first. Yet what other +explanation of the mystery could there be? + +"Ozma wouldn't go away willingly, without letting us know about it," +asserted Dorothy, "and she wouldn't steal Glinda's Great Book of +Records or the Wizard's magic, 'cause she could get them any time just +by asking for 'em. I'm sure some wicked person has done all this." + +"Someone in the Land of Oz?" asked Trot. + +"Of course. No one could get across the Deadly Desert, you know, and +no one but an Oz person could know about the Magic Picture and the Book +of Records and the Wizard's magic or where they were kept, and so be +able to steal the whole outfit before we could stop 'em. It MUST be +someone who lives in the Land of Oz." + +"But who--who--who?" asked Scraps. "That's the question. Who?" + +"If we knew," replied Dorothy severely, "we wouldn't be standing here +doing nothing." + +Just then two boys entered the courtyard and approached the group of +girls. One boy was dressed in the fantastic Munchkin costume--a blue +jacket and knickerbockers, blue leather shoes and a blue hat with a +high peak and tiny silver bells dangling from its rim--and this was Ojo +the Lucky, who had once come from the Munchkin Country of Oz and now +lived in the Emerald City. The other boy was an American from +Philadelphia and had lately found his way to Oz in the company of Trot +and Cap'n Bill. His name was Button-Bright; that is, everyone called +him by that name and knew no other. Button-Bright was not quite as big +as the Munchkin boy, but he wore the same kind of clothes, only they +were of different colors. As the two came up to the girls, arm in arm, +Button-Bright remarked, "Hello, Dorothy. They say Ozma is lost." + +"WHO says so?" she asked. + +"Ev'rybody's talking about it in the City," he replied. + +"I wonder how the people found it out," Dorothy asked. + +"I know," said Ojo. "Jellia Jamb told them. She has been asking +everywhere if anyone has seen Ozma." + +"That's too bad," observed Dorothy, frowning. + +"Why?" asked Button-Bright. + +"There wasn't any use making all our people unhappy till we were dead +certain that Ozma can't be found." + +"Pshaw," said Button-Bright, "it's nothing to get lost. I've been lost +lots of times." + +"That's true," admitted Trot, who knew that the boy had a habit of +getting lost and then finding himself again, "but it's diff'rent with +Ozma. She's the Ruler of all this big fairyland, and we're 'fraid that +the reason she's lost is because somebody has stolen her away." + +"Only wicked people steal," said Ojo. "Do you know of any wicked +people in Oz, Dorothy?" + +"No," she replied. + +"They're here, though," cried Scraps, dancing up to them and then +circling around the group. "Ozma's stolen; someone in Oz stole her; +only wicked people steal; so someone in Oz is wicked!" + +There was no denying the truth of this statement. The faces of all of +them were now solemn and sorrowful. "One thing is sure," said +Button-Bright after a time, "if Ozma has been stolen, someone ought to +find her and punish the thief." + +"There may be a lot of thieves," suggested Trot gravely, "and in this +fairy country they don't seem to have any soldiers or policemen." + +"There is one soldier," claimed Dorothy. + +"He has green whiskers and a gun and is a Major-General, but no one is +afraid of either his gun or his whiskers, 'cause he's so tender-hearted +that he wouldn't hurt a fly." + + +"Well, a soldier is a soldier," said Betsy, "and perhaps he'd hurt a +wicked thief if he wouldn't hurt a fly. Where is he?" + +"He went fishing about two months ago and hasn't come back yet," +explained Button-Bright. + +"Then I can't see that he will be of much use to us in this trouble," +sighed little Trot. "But p'raps Ozma, who is a fairy, can get away +from the thieves without any help from anyone." + +"She MIGHT be able to," answered Dorothy reflectively, "but if she had +the power to do that, it isn't likely she'd have let herself be stolen. +So the thieves must have been even more powerful in magic than our +Ozma." + +There was no denying this argument, and although they talked the matter +over all the rest of that day, they were unable to decide how Ozma had +been stolen against her will or who had committed the dreadful deed. +Toward evening the Wizard came back, riding slowly upon the Sawhorse +because he felt discouraged and perplexed. Glinda came later in her +aerial chariot drawn by twenty milk-white swans, and she also seemed +worried and unhappy. More of Ozma's friends joined them, and that +evening they all had a big talk together. "I think," said Dorothy, "we +ought to start out right away in search of our dear Ozma. It seems +cruel for us to live comf'tably in her palace while she is a pris'ner +in the power of some wicked enemy." + +"Yes," agreed Glinda the Sorceress, "someone ought to search for her. I +cannot go myself, because I must work hard in order to create some new +instruments of sorcery by means of which I may rescue our fair Ruler. +But if you can find her in the meantime and let me know who has stolen +her, it will enable me to rescue her much more quickly." + +"Then we'll start tomorrow morning," decided Dorothy. "Betsy and Trot +and I won't waste another minute." + +"I'm not sure you girls will make good detectives," remarked the +Wizard, "but I'll go with you to protect you from harm and to give you +my advice. All my wizardry, alas, is stolen, so I am now really no +more a wizard than any of you, but I will try to protect you from any +enemies you may meet." + +"What harm could happen to us in Oz?" inquired Trot. + +"What harm happened to Ozma?" returned the Wizard. + +"If there is an Evil Power abroad in our fairyland, which is able to +steal not only Ozma and her Magic Picture, but Glinda's Book of Records +and all her magic, and my black bag containing all my tricks of +wizardry, then that Evil Power may yet cause us considerable injury. +Ozma is a fairy, and so is Glinda, so no power can kill or destroy +them, but you girls are all mortals and so are Button-Bright and I, so +we must watch out for ourselves." + +"Nothing can kill me," said Ojo the Munchkin boy. + +"That is true," replied the Sorceress, "and I think it may be well to +divide the searchers into several parties, that they may cover all the +land of Oz more quickly. So I will send Ojo and Unc Nunkie and Dr. +Pipt into the Munchkin Country, which they are well acquainted with; +and I will send the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman into the Quadling +Country, for they are fearless and brave and never tire; and to the +Gillikin Country, where many dangers lurk, I will send the Shaggy Man +and his brother, with Tik-Tok and Jack Pumpkinhead. Dorothy may make +up her own party and travel into the Winkie Country. All of you must +inquire everywhere for Ozma and try to discover where she is hidden." + +They thought this a very wise plan and adopted it without question. In +Ozma's absence, Glinda the Good was the most important person in Oz, +and all were glad to serve under her direction. + + + + +CHAPTER 6 + +THE SEARCH PARTY + + +Next morning as soon as the sun was up, Glinda flew back to her castle, +stopping on the way to instruct the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman, who +were at that time staying at the college of Professor H. M. Wogglebug, +T.E., and taking a course of his Patent Educational Pills. + +On hearing of Ozma's loss, they started at once for the Quadling +Country to search for her. As soon as Glinda had left the Emerald +City, Tik-Tok and the Shaggy Man and Jack Pumpkinhead, who had been +present at the conference, began their journey into the Gillikin +Country, and an hour later Ojo and Unc Nunkie joined Dr. Pipt and +together they traveled toward the Munchkin Country. When all these +searchers were gone, Dorothy and the Wizard completed their own +preparations. + +The Wizard hitched the Sawhorse to the Red Wagon, which would seat four +very comfortably. He wanted Dorothy, Betsy, Trot and the Patchwork +Girl to ride in the wagon, but Scraps came up to them mounted upon the +Woozy, and the Woozy said he would like to join the party. Now this +Woozy was a most peculiar animal, having a square head, square body, +square legs and square tail. His skin was very tough and hard, +resembling leather, and while his movements were somewhat clumsy, the +beast could travel with remarkable swiftness. His square eyes were mild +and gentle in expression, and he was not especially foolish. The Woozy +and the Patchwork Girl were great friends, and so the Wizard agreed to +let the Woozy go with them. + +Another great beast now appeared and asked to go along. This was none +other than the famous Cowardly Lion, one of the most interesting +creatures in all Oz. No lion that roamed the jungles or plains could +compare in size or intelligence with this Cowardly Lion, who--like all +animals living in Oz--could talk and who talked with more shrewdness +and wisdom than many of the people did. He said he was cowardly +because he always trembled when he faced danger, but he had faced +danger many times and never refused to fight when it was necessary. +This Lion was a great favorite with Ozma and always guarded her throne +on state occasions. He was also an old companion and friend of the +Princess Dorothy, so the girl was delighted to have him join the party. + +"I'm so nervous over our dear Ozma," said the Cowardly Lion in his +deep, rumbling voice, "that it would make me unhappy to remain behind +while you are trying to find her. But do not get into any danger, I +beg of you, for danger frightens me terribly." + +"We'll not get into danger if we can poss'bly help it," promised +Dorothy, "but we shall do anything to find Ozma, danger or no danger." + +The addition of the Woozy and the Cowardly Lion to the party gave Betsy +Bobbin an idea, and she ran to the marble stables at the rear of the +palace and brought out her mule, Hank by name. Perhaps no mule you +ever saw was so lean and bony and altogether plain looking as this +Hank, but Betsy loved him dearly because he was faithful and steady and +not nearly so stupid as most mules are considered to be. Betsy had a +saddle for Hank, and he declared she would ride on his back, an +arrangement approved by the Wizard because it left only four of the +party to ride on the seats of the Red Wagon--Dorothy and Button-Bright +and Trot and himself. + +An old sailor man who had one wooden leg came to see them off and +suggested that they put a supply of food and blankets in the Red Wagon +inasmuch as they were uncertain how long they would be gone. This +sailor man was called Cap'n Bill. He was a former friend and comrade +of Trot and had encountered many adventures in company with the little +girl. I think he was sorry he could not go with her on this trip, but +Glinda the Sorceress had asked Cap'n Bill to remain in the Emerald City +and take charge of the royal palace while everyone else was away, and +the one-legged sailor had agreed to do so. + +They loaded the back end of the Red Wagon with everything they thought +they might need, and then they formed a procession and marched from the +palace through the Emerald City to the great gates of the wall that +surrounded this beautiful capital of the Land of Oz. Crowds of +citizens lined the streets to see them pass and to cheer them and wish +them success, for all were grieved over Ozma's loss and anxious that +she be found again. First came the Cowardly Lion, then the Patchwork +Girl riding upon the Woozy, then Betsy Bobbin on her mule Hank, and +finally the Sawhorse drawing the Red Wagon, in which were seated the +Wizard and Dorothy and Button-Bright and Trot. No one was obliged to +drive the Sawhorse, so there were no reins to his harness; one had only +to tell him which way to go, fast or slow, and he understood perfectly. + +It was about this time that a shaggy little black dog who had been +lying asleep in Dorothy's room in the palace woke up and discovered he +was lonesome. Everything seemed very still throughout the great +building, and Toto--that was the little dog's name--missed the +customary chatter of the three girls. He never paid much attention to +what was going on around him, and although he could speak, he seldom +said anything, so the little dog did not know about Ozma's loss or that +everyone had gone in search of her. But he liked to be with people, +and especially with his own mistress, Dorothy, and having yawned and +stretched himself and found the door of the room ajar, he trotted out +into the corridor and went down the stately marble stairs to the hall +of the palace, where he met Jellia Jamb. + +"Where's Dorothy?" asked Toto. + +"She's gone to the Winkie Country," answered the maid. + +"When?" + +"A little while ago," replied Jellia. + +Toto turned and trotted out into the palace garden and down the long +driveway until he came to the streets of the Emerald City. Here he +paused to listen, and hearing sounds of cheering, he ran swiftly along +until he came in sight of the Red Wagon and the Woozy and the Lion and +the Mule and all the others. Being a wise little dog, he decided not +to show himself to Dorothy just then, lest he be sent back home, but he +never lost sight of the party of travelers, all of whom were so eager +to get ahead that they never thought to look behind them. When they +came to the gates in the city wall, the Guardian of the Gates came out +to throw wide the golden portals and let them pass through. + +"Did any strange person come in or out of the city on the night before +last when Ozma was stolen?" asked Dorothy. + +"No indeed, Princess," answered the Guardian of the Gates. + +"Of course not," said the Wizard. "Anyone clever enough to steal all +the things we have lost would not mind the barrier of a wall like this +in the least. I think the thief must have flown through the air, for +otherwise he could not have stolen from Ozma's royal palace and +Glinda's faraway castle in the same night. Moreover, as there are no +airships in Oz and no way for airships from the outside world to get +into this country, I believe the thief must have flown from place to +place by means of magic arts which neither Glinda nor I understand." + +On they went, and before the gates closed behind them, Toto managed to +dodge through them. The country surrounding the Emerald City was +thickly settled, and for a while our friends rode over nicely paved +roads which wound through a fertile country dotted with beautiful +houses, all built in the quaint Oz fashion. In the course of a few +hours, however, they had left the tilled fields and entered the Country +of the Winkies, which occupies a quarter of all the territory in the +Land of Oz but is not so well known as many other parts of Ozma's +fairyland. Long before night the travelers had crossed the Winkie +River near to the Scarecrow's Tower (which was now vacant) and had +entered the Rolling Prairie where few people live. They asked everyone +they met for news of Ozma, but none in this district had seen her or +even knew that she had been stolen. And by nightfall they had passed +all the farmhouses and were obliged to stop and ask for shelter at the +hut of a lonely shepherd. When they halted, Toto was not far behind. +The little dog halted, too, and stealing softly around the party, he +hid himself behind the hut. + +The shepherd was a kindly old man and treated the travelers with much +courtesy. He slept out of doors that night, giving up his hut to the +three girls, who made their beds on the floor with the blankets they +had brought in the Red Wagon. The Wizard and Button-Bright also slept +out of doors, and so did the Cowardly Lion and Hank the Mule. But +Scraps and the Sawhorse did not sleep at all, and the Woozy could stay +awake for a month at a time if he wished to, so these three sat in a +little group by themselves and talked together all through the night. + +In the darkness, the Cowardly Lion felt a shaggy little form nestling +beside his own, and he said sleepily, "Where did you come from, Toto?" + +"From home," said the dog. "If you roll over, roll the other way so you +won't smash me." + +"Does Dorothy know you are here?" asked the Lion. + +"I believe not," admitted Toto, and he added a little anxiously, "Do +you think, friend Lion, we are now far enough from the Emerald City for +me to risk showing myself, or will Dorothy send me back because I +wasn't invited?" + +"Only Dorothy can answer that question," said the Lion. "For my part, +Toto, I consider this affair none of my business, so you must act as +you think best." Then the huge beast went to sleep again, and Toto +snuggled closer to the warm, hairy body and also slept. He was a wise +little dog in his way, and didn't intend to worry when there was +something much better to do. + +In the morning the Wizard built a fire, over which the girls cooked a +very good breakfast. Suddenly Dorothy discovered Toto sitting quietly +before the fire, and the little girl exclaimed, "Goodness me, Toto! +Where did YOU come from?" + +"From the place you cruelly left me," replied the dog in a reproachful +tone. + +"I forgot all about you," admitted Dorothy, "and if I hadn't, I'd +prob'ly left you with Jellia Jamb, seeing this isn't a pleasure trip +but stric'ly business. But now that you're here, Toto, I s'pose you'll +have to stay with us, unless you'd rather go back again. We may get +ourselves into trouble before we're done, Toto." + +"Never mind that," said Toto, wagging his tail. "I'm hungry, Dorothy." + +"Breakfas'll soon be ready, and then you shall have your share," +promised his little mistress, who was really glad to have her dog with +her. She and Toto had traveled together before, and she knew he was a +good and faithful comrade. + +When the food was cooked and served, the girls invited the old shepherd +to join them in the morning meal. He willingly consented, and while +they ate he said to them, "You are now about to pass through a very +dangerous country, unless you turn to the north or to the south to +escape its perils." + +"In that case," said the Cowardly Lion, "let us turn, by all means, for +I dread to face dangers of any sort." + +"What's the matter with the country ahead of us?" inquired Dorothy. + +"Beyond this Rolling Prairie," explained the shepherd, "are the +Merry-Go-Round Mountains, set close together and surrounded by deep +gulfs so that no one is able to get past them. Beyond the +Merry-Go-Round Mountains it is said the Thistle-Eaters and the Herkus +live." + +"What are they like?" demanded Dorothy. + +"No one knows, for no one has ever passed the Merry-Go-Round +Mountains," was the reply, "but it is said that the Thistle-Eaters +hitch dragons to their chariots and that the Herkus are waited upon by +giants whom they have conquered and made their slaves." + +"Who says all that?" asked Betsy. + +"It is common report," declared the shepherd. "Everyone believes it." + +"I don't see how they know," remarked little Trot, "if no one has been +there." + +"Perhaps the birds who fly over that country brought the news," +suggested Betsy. + +"If you escaped those dangers," continued the shepherd, "you might +encounter others still more serious before you came to the next branch +of the Winkie River. It is true that beyond that river there lies a +fine country inhabited by good people, and if you reached there, you +would have no further trouble. It is between here and the west branch +of the Winkie River that all dangers lie, for that is the unknown +territory that is inhabited by terrible, lawless people." + +"It may be, and it may not be," said the Wizard. "We shall know when +we get there." + +"Well," persisted the shepherd, "in a fairy country such as ours, every +undiscovered place is likely to harbor wicked creatures. If they were +not wicked, they would discover themselves and by coming among us +submit to Ozma's rule and be good and considerate, as are all the Oz +people whom we know." + +"That argument," stated the little Wizard, "convinces me that it is our +duty to go straight to those unknown places, however dangerous they may +be, for it is surely some cruel and wicked person who has stolen our +Ozma, and we know it would be folly to search among good people for the +culprit. Ozma may not be hidden in the secret places of the Winkie +Country, it is true, but it is our duty to travel to every spot, +however dangerous, where our beloved Ruler is likely to be imprisoned." + +"You're right about that," said Button-Bright approvingly. "Dangers +don't hurt us. Only things that happen ever hurt anyone, and a danger +is a thing that might happen and might not happen, and sometimes don't +amount to shucks. I vote we go ahead and take our chances." + +They were all of the same opinion, so they packed up and said goodbye +to the friendly shepherd and proceeded on their way. + + + + +CHAPTER 7 + +THE MERRY-GO-ROUND MOUNTAINS + + +The Rolling Prairie was not difficult to travel over, although it was +all uphill and downhill, so for a while they made good progress. Not +even a shepherd was to be met with now, and the farther they advanced +the more dreary the landscape became. At noon they stopped for a +"picnic luncheon," as Betsy called it, and then they again resumed +their journey. All the animals were swift and tireless, and even the +Cowardly Lion and the Mule found they could keep up with the pace of +the Woozy and the Sawhorse. + +It was the middle of the afternoon when first they came in sight of a +cluster of low mountains. These were cone-shaped, rising from broad +bases to sharp peaks at the tops. From a distance the mountains +appeared indistinct and seemed rather small--more like hills than +mountains--but as the travelers drew nearer, they noted a most unusual +circumstance: the hills were all whirling around, some in one direction +and some the opposite way. + +"I guess these are the Merry-Go-Round Mountains, all right," said +Dorothy. + +"They must be," said the Wizard. + +"They go 'round, sure enough," agreed Trot, "but they don't seem very +merry." + +There were several rows of these mountains, extending both to the right +and to the left for miles and miles. How many rows there might be none +could tell, but between the first row of peaks could be seen other +peaks, all steadily whirling around one way or another. Continuing to +ride nearer, our friends watched these hills attentively, until at +last, coming close up, they discovered there was a deep but narrow gulf +around the edge of each mountain, and that the mountains were set so +close together that the outer gulf was continuous and barred farther +advance. At the edge of the gulf they all dismounted and peered over +into its depths. There was no telling where the bottom was, if indeed +there was any bottom at all. From where they stood it seemed as if the +mountains had been set in one great hole in the ground, just close +enough together so they would not touch, and that each mountain was +supported by a rocky column beneath its base which extended far down in +the black pit below. From the land side it seemed impossible to get +across the gulf or, succeeding in that, to gain a foothold on any of +the whirling mountains. + +"This ditch is too wide to jump across," remarked Button-Bright. + +"P'raps the Lion could do it," suggested Dorothy. + +"What, jump from here to that whirling hill?" cried the Lion +indignantly. "I should say not! Even if I landed there and could hold +on, what good would it do? There's another spinning mountain beyond +it, and perhaps still another beyond that. I don't believe any living +creature could jump from one mountain to another when both are whirling +like tops and in different directions." + +"I propose we turn back," said the Wooden Sawhorse with a yawn of his +chopped-out mouth as he stared with his knot eyes at the Merry-Go-Round +Mountains. + +"I agree with you," said the Woozy, wagging his square head. + +"We should have taken the shepherd's advice," added Hank the Mule. + +The others of the party, however they might be puzzled by the serious +problem that confronted them, would not allow themselves to despair. +"If we once get over these mountains," said Button-Bright, "we could +probably get along all right." + +"True enough," agreed Dorothy. "So we must find some way, of course, +to get past these whirligig hills. But how?" + +"I wish the Ork was with us," sighed Trot. + +"But the Ork isn't here," said the Wizard, "and we must depend upon +ourselves to conquer this difficulty. Unfortunately, all my magic has +been stolen, otherwise I am sure I could easily get over the mountains." + +"Unfortunately," observed the Woozy, "none of us has wings. And we're +in a magic country without any magic." + +"What is that around your waist, Dorothy?" asked the Wizard. + +"That? Oh, that's just the Magic Belt I once captured from the Nome +King," she replied. + +"A Magic Belt! Why, that's fine. I'm sure a Magic Belt would take +you over these hills." + +"It might if I knew how to work it," said the little girl. "Ozma knows +a lot of its magic, but I've never found out about it. All I know is +that while I am wearing it, nothing can hurt me." + +"Try wishing yourself across and see if it will obey you," suggested +the Wizard. + +"But what good would that do?" asked Dorothy. "If I got across, it +wouldn't help the rest of you, and I couldn't go alone among all those +giants and dragons while you stayed here." + +"True enough," agreed the Wizard sadly. And then, after looking around +the group, he inquired, "What is that on your finger, Trot?" + +"A ring. The Mermaids gave it to me," she explained, "and if ever I'm +in trouble when I'm on the water, I can call the Mermaids and they'll +come and help me. But the Mermaids can't help me on the land, you +know, 'cause they swim, and--and--they haven't any legs." + +"True enough," repeated the Wizard, more sadly. + +There was a big, broad, spreading tree near the edge of the gulf, and +as the sun was hot above them, they all gathered under the shade of the +tree to study the problem of what to do next. "If we had a long rope," +said Betsy, "we could fasten it to this tree and let the other end of +it down into the gulf and all slide down it." + +"Well, what then?" asked the Wizard. + +"Then, if we could manage to throw the rope up the other side," +explained the girl, "we could all climb it and be on the other side of +the gulf." + +"There are too many 'if's' in that suggestion," remarked the little +Wizard. "And you must remember that the other side is nothing but +spinning mountains, so we couldn't possibly fasten a rope to them, even +if we had one." + +"That rope idea isn't half bad, though," said the Patchwork Girl, who +had been dancing dangerously near to the edge of the gulf. + +"What do you mean?" asked Dorothy. + +The Patchwork Girl suddenly stood still and cast her button eyes around +the group. "Ha, I have it!" she exclaimed. "Unharness the Sawhorse, +somebody. My fingers are too clumsy." + +"Shall we?" asked Button-Bright doubtfully, turning to the others. + +"Well, Scraps has a lot of brains, even if she IS stuffed with cotton," +asserted the Wizard. "If her brains can help us out of this trouble, +we ought to use them." + +So he began unharnessing the Sawhorse, and Button-Bright and Dorothy +helped him. When they had removed the harness, the Patchwork Girl told +them to take it all apart and buckle the straps together, end to end. +And after they had done this, they found they had one very long strap +that was stronger than any rope. "It would reach across the gulf +easily," said the Lion, who with the other animals had sat on his +haunches and watched this proceeding. "But I don't see how it could be +fastened to one of those dizzy mountains." + +Scraps had no such notion as that in her baggy head. She told them to +fasten one end of the strap to a stout limb of the tree, pointing to +one which extended quite to the edge of the gulf. Button-Bright did +that, climbing the tree and then crawling out upon the limb until he +was nearly over the gulf. There he managed to fasten the strap, which +reached to the ground below, and then he slid down it and was caught by +the Wizard, who feared he might fall into the chasm. Scraps was +delighted. She seized the lower end of the strap, and telling them all +to get out of her way, she went back as far as the strap would reach +and then made a sudden run toward the gulf. Over the edge she swung, +clinging to the strap until it had gone as far as its length permitted, +when she let go and sailed gracefully through the air until she +alighted upon the mountain just in front of them. + +Almost instantly, as the great cone continued to whirl, she was sent +flying against the next mountain in the rear, and that one had only +turned halfway around when Scraps was sent flying to the next mountain +behind it. Then her patchwork form disappeared from view entirely, and +the amazed watchers under the tree wondered what had become of her. +"She's gone, and she can't get back," said the Woozy. + +"My, how she bounded from one mountain to another!" exclaimed the Lion. + +"That was because they whirl so fast," the Wizard explained. "Scraps +had nothing to hold on to, and so of course she was tossed from one +hill to another. I'm afraid we shall never see the poor Patchwork Girl +again." + +"I shall see her," declared the Woozy. "Scraps is an old friend of +mine, and if there are really Thistle-Eaters and Giants on the other +side of those tops, she will need someone to protect her. So here I +go!" He seized the dangling strap firmly in his square mouth, and in +the same way that Scraps had done swung himself over the gulf. He let +go the strap at the right moment and fell upon the first whirling +mountain. Then he bounded to the next one back of it--not on his feet, +but "all mixed up," as Trot said--and then he shot across to another +mountain, disappearing from view just as the Patchwork Girl had done. + +"It seems to work, all right," remarked Button-Bright. "I guess I'll +try it." + +"Wait a minute," urged the Wizard. "Before any more of us make this +desperate leap into the beyond, we must decide whether all will go or +if some of us will remain behind." + +"Do you s'pose it hurt them much to bump against those mountains?" +asked Trot. + +"I don't s'pose anything could hurt Scraps or the Woozy," said Dorothy, +"and nothing can hurt ME, because I wear the Magic Belt. So as I'm +anxious to find Ozma, I mean to swing myself across too." + +"I'll take my chances," decided Button-Bright. + +"I'm sure it will hurt dreadfully, and I'm afraid to do it," said the +Lion, who was already trembling, "but I shall do it if Dorothy does." + +"Well, that will leave Betsy and the Mule and Trot," said the Wizard, +"for of course I shall go that I may look after Dorothy. Do you two +girls think you can find your way back home again?" he asked, +addressing Trot and Betsy. + +"I'm not afraid. Not much, that is," said Trot. "It looks risky, I +know, but I'm sure I can stand it if the others can." + +"If it wasn't for leaving Hank," began Betsy in a hesitating voice. + +But the Mule interrupted her by saying, "Go ahead if you want to, and +I'll come after you. A mule is as brave as a lion any day." + +"Braver," said the Lion, "for I'm a coward, friend Hank, and you are +not. But of course the Sawhorse--" + +"Oh, nothing ever hurts ME," asserted the Sawhorse calmly. "There's +never been any question about my going. I can't take the Red Wagon, +though." + +"No, we must leave the wagon," said the wizard, "and also we must leave +our food and blankets, I fear. But if we can defy these Merry-Go-Round +Mountains to stop us, we won't mind the sacrifice of some of our +comforts." + +"No one knows where we're going to land!" remarked the Lion in a voice +that sounded as if he were going to cry. + +"We may not land at all," replied Hank, "but the best way to find out +what will happen to us is to swing across as Scraps and the Woozy have +done." + +"I think I shall go last," said the Wizard, "so who wants to go first?" + +"I'll go," decided Dorothy. + +"No, it's my turn first," said Button-Bright. "Watch me!" + +Even as he spoke, the boy seized the strap, and after making a run +swung himself across the gulf. Away he went, bumping from hill to hill +until he disappeared. They listened intently, but the boy uttered no +cry until he had been gone some moments, when they heard a faint +"Hullo-a!" as if called from a great distance. The sound gave them +courage, however, and Dorothy picked up Toto and held him fast under +one arm while with the other hand she seized the strap and bravely +followed after Button-Bright. + +When she struck the first whirling mountain, she fell upon it quite +softly, but before she had time to think, she flew through the air and +lit with a jar on the side of the next mountain. Again she flew and +alighted, and again and still again, until after five successive bumps +she fell sprawling upon a green meadow and was so dazed and bewildered +by her bumpy journey across the Merry-Go-Round Mountains that she lay +quite still for a time to collect her thoughts. Toto had escaped from +her arms just as she fell, and he now sat beside her panting with +excitement. Then Dorothy realized that someone was helping her to her +feet, and here was Button-Bright on one side of her and Scraps on the +other, both seeming to be unhurt. The next object her eyes fell upon +was the Woozy, squatting upon his square back end and looking at her +reflectively, while Toto barked joyously to find his mistress unhurt +after her whirlwind trip. + +"Good!" said the Woozy. "Here's another and a dog, both safe and +sound. But my word, Dorothy, you flew some! If you could have seen +yourself, you'd have been absolutely astonished." + +"They say 'Time flies,'" laughed Button-Bright, "but Time never made a +quicker journey than that." + +Just then, as Dorothy turned around to look at the whirling mountains, +she was in time to see tiny Trot come flying from the nearest hill to +fall upon the soft grass not a yard away from where she stood. Trot +was so dizzy she couldn't stand at first, but she wasn't at all hurt, +and presently Betsy came flying to them and would have bumped into the +others had they not retreated in time to avoid her. Then, in quick +succession, came the Lion, Hank and the Sawhorse, bounding from +mountain to mountain to fall safely upon the greensward. Only the +Wizard was now left behind, and they waited so long for him that +Dorothy began to be worried. + +But suddenly he came flying from the nearest mountain and tumbled heels +over head beside them. Then they saw that he had wound two of their +blankets around his body to keep the bumps from hurting him and had +fastened the blankets with some of the spare straps from the harness of +the Sawhorse. + + + + +CHAPTER 8 + +THE MYSTERIOUS CITY + + +There they sat upon the grass, their heads still swimming from their +dizzy flights, and looked at one another in silent bewilderment. But +presently, when assured that no one was injured, they grew more calm +and collected, and the Lion said with a sigh of relief, "Who would have +thought those Merry-Go-Round Mountains were made of rubber?" + +"Are they really rubber?" asked Trot. + +"They must be," replied the Lion, "for otherwise we would not have +bounded so swiftly from one to another without getting hurt." + +"That is all guesswork," declared the Wizard, unwinding the blankets +from his body, "for none of us stayed long enough on the mountains to +discover what they are made of. But where are we?" + +"That's guesswork," said Scraps. "The shepherd said the Thistle-Eaters +live this side of the mountains and are waited on by giants." + +"Oh no," said Dorothy, "it's the Herkus who have giant slaves, and the +Thistle-Eaters hitch dragons to their chariots." + +"How could they do that?" asked the Woozy. "Dragons have long tails, +which would get in the way of the chariot wheels." + +"And if the Herkus have conquered the giants," said Trot, "they must be +at least twice the size of giants. P'raps the Herkus are the biggest +people in all the world!" + +"Perhaps they are," assented the Wizard in a thoughtful tone of voice. +"And perhaps the shepherd didn't know what he was talking about. Let +us travel on toward the west and discover for ourselves what the people +of this country are like." + +It seemed a pleasant enough country, and it was quite still and +peaceful when they turned their eyes away from the silently whirling +mountains. There were trees here and there and green bushes, while +throughout the thick grass were scattered brilliantly colored flowers. +About a mile away was a low hill that hid from them all the country +beyond it, so they realized they could not tell much about the country +until they had crossed the hill. The Red Wagon having been left +behind, it was now necessary to make other arrangements for traveling. +The Lion told Dorothy she could ride upon his back as she had often +done before, and the Woozy said he could easily carry both Trot and the +Patchwork Girl. Betsy still had her mule, Hank, and Button-Bright and +the Wizard could sit together upon the long, thin back of the Sawhorse, +but they took care to soften their seat with a pad of blankets before +they started. Thus mounted, the adventurers started for the hill, +which was reached after a brief journey. + +As they mounted the crest and gazed beyond the hill, they discovered +not far away a walled city, from the towers and spires of which gay +banners were flying. It was not a very big city, indeed, but its walls +were very high and thick, and it appeared that the people who lived +there must have feared attack by a powerful enemy, else they would not +have surrounded their dwellings with so strong a barrier. There was no +path leading from the mountains to the city, and this proved that the +people seldom or never visited the whirling hills, but our friends +found the grass soft and agreeable to travel over, and with the city +before them they could not well lose their way. When they drew nearer +to the walls, the breeze carried to their ears the sound of music--dim +at first, but growing louder as they advanced. + +"That doesn't seem like a very terr'ble place," remarked Dorothy. + +"Well, it LOOKS all right," replied Trot from her seat on the Woozy, +"but looks can't always be trusted." + +"MY looks can," said Scraps. "I LOOK patchwork, and I AM patchwork, +and no one but a blind owl could ever doubt that I'm the Patchwork +Girl." Saying which, she turned a somersault off the Woozy and, +alighting on her feet, began wildly dancing about. + +"Are owls ever blind?" asked Trot. + +"Always, in the daytime," said Button-Bright. "But Scraps can see +with her button eyes both day and night. Isn't it queer?" + +"It's queer that buttons can see at all," answered Trot. "But good +gracious! What's become of the city?" + +"I was going to ask that myself," said Dorothy. "It's gone!" + +"It's gone!" + +The animals came to a sudden halt, for the city had really disappeared, +walls and all, and before them lay the clear, unbroken sweep of the +country. "Dear me!" exclaimed the Wizard. "This is rather +disagreeable. It is annoying to travel almost to a place and then find +it is not there." + +"Where can it be, then?" asked Dorothy. "It cert'nly was there a +minute ago." + +"I can hear the music yet," declared Button-Bright, and when they all +listened, the strains of music could plainly be heard. + +"Oh! There's the city over at the left," called Scraps, and turning +their eyes, they saw the walls and towers and fluttering banners far to +the left of them. + +"We must have lost our way," suggested Dorothy. + +"Nonsense," said the Lion. + +"I, and all the other animals, have been tramping straight toward the +city ever since we first saw it." + +"Then how does it happen--" + +"Never mind," interrupted the Wizard, "we are no farther from it than +we were before. It is in a different direction, that's all, so let us +hurry and get there before it again escapes us." + +So on they went directly toward the city, which seemed only a couple of +miles distant. But when they had traveled less than a mile, it +suddenly disappeared again. Once more they paused, somewhat +discouraged, but in a moment the button eyes of Scraps again discovered +the city, only this time it was just behind them in the direction from +which they had come. "Goodness gracious!" cried Dorothy. "There's +surely something wrong with that city. Do you s'pose it's on wheels, +Wizard?" + +"It may not be a city at all," he replied, looking toward it with a +speculative glance. + +"What COULD it be, then?" + +"Just an illusion." + +"What's that?" asked Trot. + +"Something you think you see and don't see." + +"I can't believe that," said Button-Bright. "If we only saw it, we +might be mistaken, but if we can see it and hear it, too, it must be +there." + +"Where?" asked the Patchwork Girl. + +"Somewhere near us," he insisted. + +"We will have to go back, I suppose," said the Woozy with a sigh. + +So back they turned and headed for the walled city until it disappeared +again, only to reappear at the right of them. They were constantly +getting nearer to it, however, so they kept their faces turned toward +it as it flitted here and there to all points of the compass. +Presently the Lion, who was leading the procession, halted abruptly and +cried out, "Ouch!" + +"What's the matter?" asked Dorothy. + +"Ouch--Ouch!" repeated the Lion, and leaped backward so suddenly that +Dorothy nearly tumbled from his back. At the same time Hank the Mule +yelled "Ouch!" + +"Ouch! Ouch!" repeated the Lion and leaped backward so suddenly that +Dorothy nearly tumbled from his back. At the same time, Hank the Mule +yelled "Ouch!" almost as loudly as the Lion had done, and he also +pranced backward a few paces. + +"It's the thistles," said Betsy. "They prick their legs." + +Hearing this, all looked down, and sure enough the ground was thick +with thistles, which covered the plain from the point where they stood +way up to the walls of the mysterious city. No pathways through them +could be seen at all; here the soft grass ended and the growth of +thistles began. "They're the prickliest thistles I ever felt," +grumbled the Lion. "My legs smart yet from their stings, though I +jumped out of them as quickly as I could." + +"Here is a new difficulty," remarked the Wizard in a grieved tone. "The +city has stopped hopping around, it is true, but how are we to get to +it over this mass of prickers?" + +"They can't hurt ME," said the thick-skinned Woozy, advancing +fearlessly and trampling among the thistles. + +"Nor me," said the Wooden Sawhorse. + +"But the Lion and the Mule cannot stand the prickers," asserted +Dorothy, "and we can't leave them behind." + +"Must we all go back?" asked Trot. + +"Course not!" replied Button-Bright scornfully. "Always when there's +trouble, there's a way out of it if you can find it." + +"I wish the Scarecrow was here," said Scraps, standing on her head on +the Woozy's square back. "His splendid brains would soon show us how +to conquer this field of thistles." + +"What's the matter with YOUR brains?" asked the boy. + +"Nothing," she said, making a flip-flop into the thistles and dancing +among them without feeling their sharp points. "I could tell you in +half a minute how to get over the thistles if I wanted to." + +"Tell us, Scraps!" begged Dorothy. + +"I don't want to wear my brains out with overwork," replied the +Patchwork Girl. + +"Don't you love Ozma? And don't you want to find her?" asked Betsy +reproachfully. + +"Yes indeed," said Scraps, walking on her hands as an acrobat does at +the circus. + +"Well, we can't find Ozma unless we get past these thistles," declared +Dorothy. + +Scraps danced around them two or three times without reply. Then she +said, "Don't look at me, you stupid folks. Look at those blankets." + +The Wizard's face brightened at once. + +"Why didn't we think of those blankets before?" + +"Because you haven't magic brains," laughed Scraps. "Such brains as +you have are of the common sort that grow in your heads, like weeds in +a garden. I'm sorry for you people who have to be born in order to be +alive." + +But the Wizard was not listening to her. He quickly removed the +blankets from the back of the Sawhorse and spread one of them upon the +thistles, just next the grass. The thick cloth rendered the prickers +harmless, so the Wizard walked over this first blanket and spread the +second one farther on, in the direction of the phantom city. "These +blankets," said he, "are for the Lion and the Mule to walk upon. The +Sawhorse and the Woozy can walk on the thistles." + +So the Lion and the Mule walked over the first blanket and stood upon +the second one until the Wizard had picked up the one they had passed +over and spread it in front of them, when they advanced to that one and +waited while the one behind them was again spread in front. "This is +slow work," said the Wizard, "but it will get us to the city after a +while." + +"The city is a good half mile away yet," announced Button-Bright. + +"And this is awful hard work for the Wizard," added Trot. + +"Why couldn't the Lion ride on the Woozy's back?" asked Dorothy. "It's +a big, flat back, and the Woozy's mighty strong. Perhaps the Lion +wouldn't fall off." + +"You may try it if you like," said the Woozy to the Lion. "I can take +you to the city in a jiffy and then come back for Hank." + +"I'm--I'm afraid," said the Cowardly Lion. He was twice as big as the +Woozy. + +"Try it," pleaded Dorothy. + +"And take a tumble among the thistles?" asked the Lion reproachfully. + +But when the Woozy came close to him, the big beast suddenly bounded +upon its back and managed to balance himself there, although forced to +hold his four legs so close together that he was in danger of toppling +over. The great weight of the monster Lion did not seem to affect the +Woozy, who called to his rider, "Hold on tight!" and ran swiftly over +the thistles toward the city. + +The others stood on the blanket and watched the strange sight +anxiously. Of course, the Lion couldn't "hold on tight" because there +was nothing to hold to, and he swayed from side to side as if likely to +fall off any moment. Still, he managed to stick to the Woozy's back +until they were close to the walls of the city, when he leaped to the +ground. Next moment the Woozy came dashing back at full speed. + +"There's a little strip of ground next the wall where there are no +thistles," he told them when he had reached the adventurers once more. +"Now then, friend Hank, see if you can ride as well as the Lion did." + +"Take the others first," proposed the Mule. So the Sawhorse and the +Woozy made a couple of trips over the thistles to the city walls and +carried all the people in safety, Dorothy holding little Toto in her +arms. The travelers then sat in a group on a little hillock just +outside the wall and looked at the great blocks of gray stone and +waited for the Woozy to bring Hank to them. The Mule was very awkward, +and his legs trembled so badly that more than once they thought he +would tumble off, but finally he reached them in safety, and the entire +party was now reunited. More than that, they had reached the city that +had eluded them for so long and in so strange a manner. + +"The gates must be around the other side," said the Wizard. "Let us +follow the curve of the wall until we reach an opening in it." + +"Which way?" asked Dorothy. + +"We must guess that," he replied. "Suppose we go to the left. One +direction is as good as another." They formed in marching order and +went around the city wall to the left. It wasn't a big city, as I have +said, but to go way around it outside the high wall was quite a walk, +as they became aware. But around it our adventurers went without +finding any sign of a gateway or other opening. When they had returned +to the little mound from which they had started, they dismounted from +the animals and again seated themselves on the grassy mound. + +"It's mighty queer, isn't it?" asked Button-Bright. + +"There must be SOME way for the people to get out and in," declared +Dorothy. "Do you s'pose they have flying machines, Wizard?" + +"No," he replied, "for in that case they would be flying all over the +Land of Oz, and we know they have not done that. Flying machines are +unknown here. I think it more likely that the people use ladders to +get over the walls." + +"It would be an awful climb over that high stone wall," said Betsy. + +"Stone, is it?" Scraps, who was again dancing wildly around, for she +never tired and could never keep still for long. + +"Course it's stone," answered Betsy scornfully. "Can't you see?" + +"Yes," said Scraps, going closer. "I can SEE the wall, but I can't +FEEL it." And then, with her arms outstretched, she did a very queer +thing. She walked right into the wall and disappeared. + +"For goodness sake!" Dorothy, amazed, as indeed they all were. + + + + +CHAPTER 9 + +THE HIGH COCO-LORUM OF THI + + +And now the Patchwork Girl came dancing out of the wall again. + +"Come on!" she called. "It isn't there. There isn't any wall at all." + +"What? No wall?" exclaimed the Wizard. + +"Nothing like it," said Scraps. "It's a make-believe. You see it, but +it isn't. Come on into the city; we've been wasting our time." + +With this, she danced into the wall again and once more disappeared. +Button-Bright, who was rather venture-some, dashed away after her and +also became invisible to them. The others followed more cautiously, +stretching out their hands to feel the wall and finding, to their +astonishment, that they could feel nothing because nothing opposed +them. They walked on a few steps and found themselves in the streets +of a very beautiful city. Behind them they again saw the wall, grim +and forbidding as ever, but now they knew it was merely an illusion +prepared to keep strangers from entering the city. + +But the wall was soon forgotten, for in front of them were a number of +quaint people who stared at them in amazement as if wondering where +they had come from. Our friends forgot their good manners for a time +and returned the stares with interest, for so remarkable a people had +never before been discovered in all the remarkable Land of Oz. + +Their heads were shaped like diamonds, and their bodies like hearts. +All the hair they had was a little bunch at the tip top of their +diamond-shaped heads, and their eyes were very large and round, and +their noses and mouths very small. Their clothing was tight fitting +and of brilliant colors, being handsomely embroidered in quaint designs +with gold or silver threads; but on their feet they wore sandals with +no stockings whatever. The expression of their faces was pleasant +enough, although they now showed surprise at the appearance of +strangers so unlike themselves, and our friends thought they seemed +quite harmless. + +"I beg your pardon," said the Wizard, speaking for his party, "for +intruding upon you uninvited, but we are traveling on important +business and find it necessary to visit your city. Will you kindly +tell us by what name your city is called?" + +They looked at one another uncertainly, each expecting some other to +answer. Finally, a short one whose heart-shaped body was very broad +replied, "We have no occasion to call our city anything. It is where +we live, that is all." + +"But by what name do others call your city?" asked the Wizard. + +"We know of no others except yourselves," said the man. And then he +inquired, "Were you born with those queer forms you have, or has some +cruel magician transformed you to them from your natural shapes?" + +"These are our natural shapes," declared the Wizard, "and we consider +them very good shapes, too." + +The group of inhabitants was constantly being enlarged by others who +joined it. All were evidently startled and uneasy at the arrival of +strangers. + +"Have you a King?" asked Dorothy, who knew it was better to speak with +someone in authority. + +But the man shook his diamond-like head. "What is a King?" he asked. + +"Isn't there anyone who rules over you?" inquired the Wizard. + +"No," was the reply, "each of us rules himself, or at least tries to do +so. It is not an easy thing to do, as you probably know." + +The Wizard reflected. + +"If you have disputes among you," said he after a little thought, "who +settles them?" + +"The High Coco-Lorum," they answered in a chorus. + +"And who is he?" + +"The judge who enforces the laws," said the man who had first spoken. + +"Then he is the principal person here?" continued the Wizard. + +"Well, I would not say that," returned the man in a puzzled way. "The +High Coco-Lorum is a public servant. However, he represents the laws, +which we must all obey." + +"I think," said the Wizard, "we ought to see your High Coco-Lorum and +talk with him. Our mission here requires us to consult one high in +authority, and the High Coco-Lorum ought to be high, whatever else he +is." + +The inhabitants seemed to consider this proposition reasonable, for +they nodded their diamond-shaped heads in approval. So the broad one +who had been their spokesman said, "Follow me," and turning led the way +along one of the streets. The entire party followed him, the natives +falling in behind. The dwellings they passed were quite nicely planned +and seemed comfortable and convenient. After leading them a few +blocks, their conductor stopped before a house which was neither better +nor worse than the others. The doorway was shaped to admit the +strangely formed bodies of these people, being narrow at the top, broad +in the middle and tapering at the bottom. The windows were made in +much the same way, giving the house a most peculiar appearance. When +their guide opened the gate, a music box concealed in the gatepost +began to play, and the sound attracted the attention of the High +Coco-Lorum, who appeared at an open window and inquired, "What has +happened now?" + +But in the same moment his eyes fell upon the strangers and he hastened +to open the door and admit them--all but the animals, which were left +outside with the throng of natives that had now gathered. For a small +city there seemed to be a large number of inhabitants, but they did not +try to enter the house and contented themselves with staring curiously +at the strange animals. Toto followed Dorothy. + +Our friends entered a large room at the front of the house, where the +High Coco-Lorum asked them to be seated. "I hope your mission here is +a peaceful one," he said, looking a little worried, "for the Thists are +not very good fighters and object to being conquered." + +"Are your people called Thists?" asked Dorothy. + +"Yes. I thought you knew that. And we call our city Thi." + +"Oh!" + +"We are Thists because we eat thistles, you know," continued the High +Coco-Lorum. + +"Do you really eat those prickly things?" inquired Button-Bright +wonderingly. + +"Why not?" replied the other. "The sharp points of the thistles cannot +hurt us, because all our insides are gold-lined." + +"Gold-lined!" + +"To be sure. Our throats and stomachs are lined with solid gold, and +we find the thistles nourishing and good to eat. As a matter of fact, +there is nothing else in our country that is fit for food. All around +the City of Thi grow countless thistles, and all we need do is to go +and gather them. If we wanted anything else to eat, we would have to +plant it, and grow it, and harvest it, and that would be a lot of +trouble and make us work, which is an occupation we detest." + +"But tell me, please," said the Wizard, "how does it happen that your +city jumps around so, from one part of the country to another?" + +"The city doesn't jump. It doesn't move at all," declared the High +Coco-Lorum. "However, I will admit that the land that surrounds it has +a trick of turning this way or that, and so if one is standing upon the +plain and facing north, he is likely to find himself suddenly facing +west or east or south. But once you reach the thistle fields, you are +on solid ground." + +"Ah, I begin to understand," said the Wizard, nodding his head. "But I +have another question to ask: How does it happen that the Thists have +no King to rule over them?" + +"Hush!" whispered the High Coco-Lorum, looking uneasily around to make +sure they were not overheard. "In reality, I am the King, but the +people don't know it. They think they rule themselves, but the fact is +I have everything my own way. No one else knows anything about our +laws, and so I make the laws to suit myself. If any oppose me or +question my acts, I tell them it's the law and that settles it. If I +called myself King, however, and wore a crown and lived in royal style, +the people would not like me and might do me harm. As the High +Coco-Lorum of Thi, I am considered a very agreeable person." + +"It seems a very clever arrangement," said the Wizard. "And now, as +you are the principal person in Thi, I beg you to tell us if the Royal +Ozma is a captive in your city." + +"No," answered the diamond-headed man. "We have no captives. No +strangers but yourselves are here, and we have never before heard of +the Royal Ozma." + +"She rules over all of Oz," said Dorothy, "and so she rules your city +and you, because you are in the Winkie Country, which is a part of the +Land of Oz." + +"It may be," returned the High Coco-Lorum, "for we do not study +geography and have never inquired whether we live in the Land of Oz or +not. And any Ruler who rules us from a distance and unknown to us is +welcome to the job. But what has happened to your Royal Ozma?" + +"Someone has stolen her," said the Wizard. "Do you happen to have any +talented magician among your people, one who is especially clever, you +know?" + +"No, none especially clever. We do some magic, of course, but it is +all of the ordinary kind. I do not think any of us has yet aspired to +stealing Rulers, either by magic or otherwise." + +"Then we've come a long way for nothing!" exclaimed Trot regretfully. + +"But we are going farther than this," asserted the Patchwork Girl, +bending her stuffed body backward until her yarn hair touched the floor +and then walking around on her hands with her feet in the air. + +The High Coco-Lorum watched Scraps admiringly. + +"You may go farther on, of course," said he, "but I advise you not to. +The Herkus live back of us, beyond the thistles and the twisting lands, +and they are not very nice people to meet, I assure you." + +"Are they giants?" asked Betsy. + +"They are worse than that," was the reply. "They have giants for their +slaves and they are so much stronger than giants that the poor slaves +dare not rebel for fear of being torn to pieces." + +"How do you know?" asked Scraps. + +"Everyone says so," answered the High Coco-Lorum. + +"Have you seen the Herkus yourself?" inquired Dorothy. + +"No, but what everyone says must be true, otherwise what would be the +use of their saying it?" + +"We were told before we got here that you people hitch dragons to your +chariots," said the little girl. + +"So we do," declared the High Coco-Lorum. "And that reminds me that I +ought to entertain you as strangers and my guests by taking you for a +ride around our splendid City of Thi." He touched a button, and a band +began to play. At least, they heard the music of a band, but couldn't +tell where it came from. "That tune is the order to my charioteer to +bring around my dragon-chariot," said the High Coco-Lorum. "Every time +I give an order, it is in music, which is a much more pleasant way to +address servants than in cold, stern words." + +"Does this dragon of yours bite?" asked Button-Bright. + +"Mercy no! Do you think I'd risk the safety of my innocent people by +using a biting dragon to draw my chariot? I'm proud to say that my +dragon is harmless, unless his steering gear breaks, and he was +manufactured at the famous dragon factory in this City of Thi. Here he +comes, and you may examine him for yourselves." + +They heard a low rumble and a shrill squeaking sound, and going out to +the front of the house, they saw coming around the corner a car drawn +by a gorgeous jeweled dragon, which moved its head to right and left +and flashed its eyes like headlights of an automobile and uttered a +growling noise as it slowly moved toward them. When it stopped before +the High Coco-Lorum's house, Toto barked sharply at the sprawling +beast, but even tiny Trot could see that the dragon was not alive. Its +scales were of gold, and each one was set with sparkling jewels, while +it walked in such a stiff, regular manner that it could be nothing else +than a machine. The chariot that trailed behind it was likewise of +gold and jewels, and when they entered it, they found there were no +seats. Everyone was supposed to stand up while riding. The charioteer +was a little, diamond-headed fellow who straddled the neck of the +dragon and moved the levers that made it go. + +"This," said the High Coco-Lorum pompously, "is a wonderful invention. +We are all very proud of our auto-dragons, many of which are in use by +our wealthy inhabitants. Start the thing going, charioteer!" + +The charioteer did not move. + +"You forgot to order him in music," suggested Dorothy. + +"Ah, so I did." + +He touched a button and a music box in the dragon's head began to play +a tune. At once the little charioteer pulled over a lever, and the +dragon began to move, very slowly and groaning dismally as it drew the +clumsy chariot after it. Toto trotted between the wheels. The +Sawhorse, the Mule, the Lion and the Woozy followed after and had no +trouble in keeping up with the machine. Indeed, they had to go slow to +keep from running into it. When the wheels turned, another music box +concealed somewhere under the chariot played a lively march tune which +was in striking contrast with the dragging movement of the strange +vehicle, and Button-Bright decided that the music he had heard when +they first sighted this city was nothing else than a chariot plodding +its weary way through the streets. + +All the travelers from the Emerald City thought this ride the most +uninteresting and dreary they had ever experienced, but the High +Coco-Lorum seemed to think it was grand. He pointed out the different +buildings and parks and fountains in much the same way that the +conductor does on an American "sightseeing wagon" does, and being +guests they were obliged to submit to the ordeal. But they became a +little worried when their host told them he had ordered a banquet +prepared for them in the City Hall. + +"What are we going to eat?" asked Button-Bright suspiciously. + +"Thistles," was the reply. "Fine, fresh thistles, gathered this very +day." + +Scraps laughed, for she never ate anything, but Dorothy said in a +protesting voice, "OUR insides are not lined with gold, you know." + +"How sad!" exclaimed the High Coco-Lorum, and then he added as an +afterthought, "but we can have the thistles boiled, if you prefer." + +"I'm 'fraid they wouldn't taste good even then," said little Trot. +"Haven't you anything else to eat?" + +The High Coco-Lorum shook his diamond-shaped head. + +"Nothing that I know of," said he. "But why should we have anything +else when we have so many thistles? However, if you can't eat what we +eat, don't eat anything. We shall not be offended, and the banquet +will be just as merry and delightful." + +Knowing his companions were all hungry, the Wizard said, "I trust you +will excuse us from the banquet, sir, which will be merry enough +without us, although it is given in our honor. For, as Ozma is not in +your city, we must leave here at once and seek her elsewhere." + +"Sure we must!" Dorothy, and she whispered to Betsy and Trot, "I'd +rather starve somewhere else than in this city, and who knows, we may +run across somebody who eats reg'lar food and will give us some." + +So when the ride was finished, in spite of the protests of the High +Coco-Lorum, they insisted on continuing their journey. "It will soon +be dark," he objected. + +"We don't mind the darkness," replied the Wizard. + +"Some wandering Herku may get you." + +"Do you think the Herkus would hurt us?" asked Dorothy. + +"I cannot say, not having had the honor of their acquaintance. But +they are said to be so strong that if they had any other place to stand +upon they could lift the world." + +"All of them together?" asked Button-Bright wonderingly. + +"Any one of them could do it," said the High Coco-Lorum. + +"Have you heard of any magicians being among them?" asked the Wizard, +knowing that only a magician could have stolen Ozma in the way she had +been stolen. + +"I am told it is quite a magical country," declared the High +Coco-Lorum, "and magic is usually performed by magicians. But I have +never heard that they have any invention or sorcery to equal our +wonderful auto-dragons." + +They thanked him for his courtesy, and mounting their own animals rode +to the farther side of the city and right through the Wall of Illusion +out into the open country. "I'm glad we got away so easily," said +Betsy. "I didn't like those queer-shaped people." + +"Nor did I," agreed Dorothy. "It seems dreadful to be lined with sheets +of pure gold and have nothing to eat but thistles." + +"They seemed happy and contented, though," remarked the Wizard, "and +those who are contented have nothing to regret and nothing more to wish +for." + + + + +CHAPTER 10 + +TOTO LOSES SOMETHING + + +For a while the travelers were constantly losing their direction, for +beyond the thistle fields they again found themselves upon the +turning-lands, which swung them around one way and then another. But +by keeping the City of Thi constantly behind them, the adventurers +finally passed the treacherous turning-lands and came upon a stony +country where no grass grew at all. There were plenty of bushes, +however, and although it was now almost dark, the girls discovered some +delicious yellow berries growing upon the bushes, one taste of which +set them all to picking as many as they could find. The berries +relieved their pangs of hunger for a time, and as it now became too +dark to see anything, they camped where they were. + +The three girls lay down upon one of the blankets--all in a row--and +the Wizard covered them with the other blanket and tucked them in. +Button-Bright crawled under the shelter of some bushes and was asleep +in half a minute. The Wizard sat down with his back to a big stone and +looked at the stars in the sky and thought gravely upon the dangerous +adventure they had undertaken, wondering if they would ever be able to +find their beloved Ozma again. The animals lay in a group by +themselves, a little distance from the others. + +"I've lost my growl!" said Toto, who had been very silent and sober all +that day. "What do you suppose has become of it?" + +"If you had asked me to keep track of your growl, I might be able to +tell you," remarked the Lion sleepily. "But frankly, Toto, I supposed +you were taking care of it yourself." + +"It's an awful thing to lose one's growl," said Toto, wagging his tail +disconsolately. "What if you lost your roar, Lion? Wouldn't you feel +terrible?" + +"My roar," replied the Lion, "is the fiercest thing about me. I depend +on it to frighten my enemies so badly that they won't dare to fight me." + +"Once," said the Mule, "I lost my bray so that I couldn't call to Betsy +to let her know I was hungry. That was before I could talk, you know, +for I had not yet come into the Land of Oz, and I found it was +certainly very uncomfortable not to be able to make a noise." + +"You make enough noise now," declared Toto. "But none of you have +answered my question: Where is my growl?" + +"You may search ME," said the Woozy. "I don't care for such things, +myself." + +"You snore terribly," asserted Toto. + +"It may be," said the Woozy. "What one does when asleep one is not +accountable for. I wish you would wake me up sometime when I'm snoring +and let me hear the sound. Then I can judge whether it is terrible or +delightful." + +"It isn't pleasant, I assure you," said the Lion, yawning. + +"To me it seems wholly unnecessary," declared Hank the Mule. + +"You ought to break yourself of the habit," said the Sawhorse. "You +never hear me snore, because I never sleep. I don't even whinny as +those puffy meat horses do. I wish that whoever stole Toto's growl had +taken the Mule's bray and the Lion's roar and the Woozy's snore at the +same time." + +"Do you think, then, that my growl was stolen?" + +"You have never lost it before, have you?" inquired inquired the +Sawhorse. + +"Only once, when I had a sore throat from barking too long at the moon." + +"Is your throat sore now?" asked the Woozy. + +"No," replied the dog. + +"I can't understand," said Hank, "why dogs bark at the moon. They +can't scare the moon, and the moon doesn't pay any attention to the +bark. So why do dogs do it?" + +"Were you ever a dog?" asked Toto. + +"No indeed," replied Hank. "I am thankful to say I was created a +mule--the most beautiful of all beasts--and have always remained one." + +The Woozy sat upon his square haunches to examine Hank with care. +"Beauty," he said, "must be a matter of taste. I don't say your +judgment is bad, friend Hank, or that you are so vulgar as to be +conceited. But if you admire big, waggy ears and a tail like a +paintbrush and hoofs big enough for an elephant and a long neck and a +body so skinny that one can count the ribs with one eye shut--if that's +your idea of beauty, Hank, then either you or I must be much mistaken." + +"You're full of edges," sneered the Mule. "If I were square as you are, +I suppose you'd think me lovely." + +"Outwardly, dear Hank, I would," replied the Woozy. "But to be really +lovely, one must be beautiful without and within." + +The Mule couldn't deny this statement, so he gave a disgusted grunt and +rolled over so that his back was toward the Woozy. But the Lion, +regarding the two calmly with his great, yellow eyes, said to the dog, +"My dear Toto, our friends have taught us a lesson in humility. If the +Woozy and the Mule are indeed beautiful creatures as they seem to +think, you and I must be decidedly ugly." + +"Not to ourselves," protested Toto, who was a shrewd little dog. "You +and I, Lion, are fine specimens of our own races. I am a fine dog, and +you are a fine lion. Only in point of comparison, one with another, +can we be properly judged, so I will leave it to the poor old Sawhorse +to decide which is the most beautiful animal among us all. The Sawhorse +is wood, so he won't be prejudiced and will speak the truth." + +"I surely will," responded the Sawhorse, wagging his ears, which were +chips set in his wooden head. "Are you all agreed to accept my +judgment?" + +"We are!" they declared, each one hopeful. + +"Then," said the Sawhorse, "I must point out to you the fact that you +are all meat creatures, who tire unless they sleep and starve unless +they eat and suffer from thirst unless they drink. Such animals must +be very imperfect, and imperfect creatures cannot be beautiful. Now, I +am made of wood." + +"You surely have a wooden head," said the Mule. + +"Yes, and a wooden body and wooden legs, which are as swift as the wind +and as tireless. I've heard Dorothy say that 'handsome is as handsome +does,' and I surely perform my duties in a handsome manner. Therefore, +if you wish my honest judgment, I will confess that among us all I am +the most beautiful." + +The Mule snorted, and the Woozy laughed; Toto had lost his growl and +could only look scornfully at the Sawhorse, who stood in his place +unmoved. But the Lion stretched himself and yawned, saying quietly, +"Were we all like the Sawhorse, we would all be Sawhorses, which would +be too many of the kind. Were we all like Hank, we would be a herd of +mules; if like Toto, we would be a pack of dogs; should we all become +the shape of the Woozy, he would no longer be remarkable for his +unusual appearance. Finally, were you all like me, I would consider +you so common that I would not care to associate with you. To be +individual, my friends, to be different from others, is the only way to +become distinguished from the common herd. Let us be glad, therefore, +that we differ from one another in form and in disposition. Variety is +the spice of life, and we are various enough to enjoy one another's +society; so let us be content." + +"There is some truth in that speech," remarked Toto reflectively. "But +how about my lost growl?" + +"The growl is of importance only to you," responded the Lion, "so it is +your business to worry over the loss, not ours. If you love us, do not +afflict your burdens on us; be unhappy all by yourself." + +"If the same person stole my growl who stole Ozma," said the little +dog, "I hope we shall find him very soon and punish him as he deserves. +He must be the most cruel person in all the world, for to prevent a dog +from growling when it is his nature to growl is just as wicked, in my +opinion, as stealing all the magic in Oz." + + + + +CHAPTER 11 + +BUTTON-BRIGHT LOSES HIMSELF + + +The Patchwork Girl, who never slept and who could see very well in the +dark, had wandered among the rocks and bushes all night long, with the +result that she was able to tell some good news the next morning. "Over +the crest of the hill before us," she said, "is a big grove of trees of +many kinds on which all sorts of fruits grow. If you will go there, +you will find a nice breakfast awaiting you." This made them eager to +start, so as soon as the blankets were folded and strapped to the back +of the Sawhorse, they all took their places on the animals and set out +for the big grove Scraps had told them of. + +As soon as they got over the brow of the hill, they discovered it to be +a really immense orchard, extending for miles to the right and left of +them. As their way led straight through the trees, they hurried +forward as fast as possible. The first trees they came to bore +quinces, which they did not like. Then there were rows of citron trees +and then crab apples and afterward limes and lemons. But beyond these +they found a grove of big, golden oranges, juicy and sweet, and the +fruit hung low on the branches so they could pluck it easily. + +They helped themselves freely and all ate oranges as they continued on +their way. Then, a little farther along, they came to some trees +bearing fine, red apples, which they also feasted on, and the Wizard +stopped here long enough to tie a lot of the apples in one end of a +blanket. + +"We do not know what will happen to us after we leave this delightful +orchard," he said, "so I think it wise to carry a supply of apples with +us. We can't starve as long as we have apples, you know." + +Scraps wasn't riding the Woozy just now. She loved to climb the trees +and swing herself by the branches from one tree to another. Some of +the choicest fruit was gathered by the Patchwork Girl from the very +highest limbs and tossed down to the others. Suddenly, Trot asked, +"Where's Button-Bright?" and when the others looked for him, they found +the boy had disappeared. + +"Dear me!" cried Dorothy. "I guess he's lost again, and that will mean +our waiting here until we can find him." + +"It's a good place to wait," suggested Betsy, who had found a plum tree +and was eating some of its fruit. + +"How can you wait here and find Button-Bright at one and the same +time?" inquired the Patchwork Girl, hanging by her toes on a limb just +over the heads of the three mortal girls. + +"Perhaps he'll come back here," answered Dorothy. + +"If he tries that, he'll prob'ly lose his way," said Trot. "I've known +him to do that lots of times. It's losing his way that gets him lost." + +"Very true," said the Wizard. "So all the rest of you must stay here +while I go look for the boy." + +"Won't YOU get lost, too?" asked Betsy. + +"I hope not, my dear." + +"Let ME go," said Scraps, dropping lightly to the ground. "I can't get +lost, and I'm more likely to find Button-Bright than any of you." +Without waiting for permission, she darted away through the trees and +soon disappeared from their view. + +"Dorothy," said Toto, squatting beside his little mistress, "I've lost +my growl." + +"How did that happen?" she asked. + +"I don't know," replied Toto. "Yesterday morning the Woozy nearly +stepped on me, and I tried to growl at him and found I couldn't growl a +bit." + +"Can you bark?" inquired Dorothy. + +"Oh, yes indeed." + +"Then never mind the growl," said she. + +"But what will I do when I get home to the Glass Cat and the Pink +Kitten?" asked the little dog in an anxious tone. + +"They won't mind if you can't growl at them, I'm sure," said Dorothy. +"I'm sorry for you, of course, Toto, for it's just those things we +can't do that we want to do most of all; but before we get back, you +may find your growl again." + +"Do you think the person who stole Ozma stole my growl?" + +Dorothy smiled. + +"Perhaps, Toto." + +"Then he's a scoundrel!" cried the little dog. + +"Anyone who would steal Ozma is as bad as bad can be," agreed Dorothy, +"and when we remember that our dear friend, the lovely Ruler of Oz, is +lost, we ought not to worry over just a growl." + +Toto was not entirely satisfied with this remark, for the more he +thought upon his lost growl, the more important his misfortune became. +When no one was looking, he went away among the trees and tried his +best to growl--even a little bit--but could not manage to do so. All +he could do was bark, and a bark cannot take the place of a growl, so +he sadly returned to the others. + +Now Button-Bright had no idea that he was lost at first. He had merely +wandered from tree to tree seeking the finest fruit until he discovered +he was alone in the great orchard. But that didn't worry him just +then, and seeing some apricot trees farther on, he went to them. Then +he discovered some cherry trees; just beyond these were some +tangerines. "We've found 'most ev'ry kind of fruit but peaches," he +said to himself, "so I guess there are peaches here, too, if I can find +the trees." + +He searched here and there, paying no attention to his way, until he +found that the trees surrounding him bore only nuts. He put some +walnuts in his pockets and kept on searching, and at last--right among +the nut trees--he came upon one solitary peach tree. It was a +graceful, beautiful tree, but although it was thickly leaved, it bore +no fruit except one large, splendid peach, rosy-cheeked and fuzzy and +just right to eat. + +In his heart he doubted this statement, for this was a solitary peach +tree, while all the other fruits grew upon many trees set close to one +another; but that one luscious bite made him unable to resist eating +the rest of it, and soon the peach was all gone except the pit. +Button-Bright was about to throw this peach pit away when he noticed +that it was of pure gold. Of course, this surprised him, but so many +things in the Land of Oz were surprising that he did not give much +thought to the golden peach pit. He put it in his pocket, however, to +show to the girls, and five minutes afterward had forgotten all about +it. + +For now he realized that he was far separated from his companions, and +knowing that this would worry them and delay their journey, he began to +shout as loud as he could. His voice did not penetrate very far among +all those trees, and after shouting a dozen times and getting no +answer, he sat down on the ground and said, "Well, I'm lost again. It's +too bad, but I don't see how it can be helped." + +As he leaned his back against a tree, he looked up and saw a Bluefinch +fly down from the sky and alight upon a branch just before him. The +bird looked and looked at him. First it looked with one bright eye and +then turned its head and looked at him with the other eye. Then, +fluttering its wings a little, it said, "Oho! So you've eaten the +enchanted peach, have you?" + +"Was it enchanted?" asked Button-Bright. + +"Of course," replied the Bluefinch. "Ugu the Shoemaker did that." + +"But why? And how was it enchanted? And what will happen to one who +eats it?" questioned the boy. + +"Ask Ugu the Shoemaker. He knows," said the bird, preening its +feathers with its bill. + +"And who is Ugu the Shoemaker?" + +"The one who enchanted the peach and placed it here--in the exact +center of the Great Orchard--so no one would ever find it. We birds +didn't dare to eat it; we are too wise for that. But you are +Button-Bright from the Emerald City, and you, YOU, YOU ate the +enchanted peach! You must explain to Ugu the Shoemaker why you did +that." + +And then, before the boy could ask any more questions, the bird flew +away and left him alone. + +Button-Bright was not much worried to find that the peach he had eaten +was enchanted. It certainly had tasted very good, and his stomach +didn't ache a bit. So again he began to reflect upon the best way to +rejoin his friends. "Whichever direction I follow is likely to be the +wrong one," he said to himself, "so I'd better stay just where I am and +let THEM find ME--if they can." + +A White Rabbit came hopping through the orchard and paused a little way +off to look at him. "Don't be afraid," said Button-Bright. "I won't +hurt you." + +"Oh, I'm not afraid for myself," returned the White Rabbit. "It's you +I'm worried about." + +"Yes, I'm lost," said the boy. + +"I fear you are, indeed," answered the Rabbit. "Why on earth did you +eat the enchanted peach?" + +The boy looked at the excited little animal thoughtfully. "There were +two reasons," he explained. "One reason was that I like peaches, and +the other reason was that I didn't know it was enchanted." + +"That won't save you from Ugu the Shoemaker," declared the White +Rabbit, and it scurried away before the boy could ask any more +questions. + +"Rabbits and birds," he thought, "are timid creatures and seem afraid +of this shoemaker, whoever he may be. If there was another peach half +as good as that other, I'd eat it in spite of a dozen enchantments or a +hundred shoemakers!" + +Just then, Scraps came dancing along and saw him sitting at the foot of +the tree. "Oh, here you are!" she said. "Up to your old tricks, eh? +Don't you know it's impolite to get lost and keep everybody waiting for +you? Come along, and I'll lead you back to Dorothy and the others." + +Button-Bright rose slowly to accompany her. + +"That wasn't much of a loss," he said cheerfully. "I haven't been gone +half a day, so there's no harm done." + +Dorothy, however, when the boy rejoined the party, gave him a good +scolding. "When we're doing such an important thing as searching for +Ozma," said she, "it's naughty for you to wander away and keep us from +getting on. S'pose she's a pris'ner in a dungeon cell! Do you want to +keep our dear Ozma there any longer than we can help?" + +"If she's in a dungeon cell, how are you going to get her out?" +inquired the boy. + +"Never you mind. We'll leave that to the Wizard. He's sure to find a +way." + +The Wizard said nothing, for he realized that without his magic tools +he could do no more than any other person. But there was no use +reminding his companions of that fact; it might discourage them. "The +important thing just now," he remarked, "is to find Ozma, and as our +party is again happily reunited, I propose we move on." + +As they came to the edge of the Great Orchard, the sun was setting and +they knew it would soon be dark. So it was decided to camp under the +trees, as another broad plain was before them. The Wizard spread the +blankets on a bed of soft leaves, and presently all of them except +Scraps and the Sawhorse were fast asleep. Toto snuggled close to his +friend the Lion, and the Woozy snored so loudly that the Patchwork Girl +covered his square head with her apron to deaden the sound. + + + + +CHAPTER 12 + +THE CZAROVER OF HERKU + + +Trot wakened just as the sun rose, and slipping out of the blankets, +went to the edge of the Great Orchard and looked across the plain. +Something glittered in the far distance. "That looks like another +city," she said half aloud. + +"And another city it is," declared Scraps, who had crept to Trot's side +unheard, for her stuffed feet made no sound. "The Sawhorse and I made +a journey in the dark while you were all asleep, and we found over +there a bigger city than Thi. There's a wall around it, too, but it +has gates and plenty of pathways." + +"Did you get in?" asked Trot. + +"No, for the gates were locked and the wall was a real wall. So we +came back here again. It isn't far to the city. We can reach it in +two hours after you've had your breakfasts." + +Trot went back, and finding the other girls now awake, told them what +Scraps had said. So they hurriedly ate some fruit--there were plenty +of plums and fijoas in this part of the orchard--and then they mounted +the animals and set out upon the journey to the strange city. Hank the +Mule had breakfasted on grass, and the Lion had stolen away and found a +breakfast to his liking; he never told what it was, but Dorothy hoped +the little rabbits and the field mice had kept out of his way. She +warned Toto not to chase birds and gave the dog some apple, with which +he was quite content. The Woozy was as fond of fruit as of any other +food except honey, and the Sawhorse never ate at all. + +Except for their worry over Ozma, they were all in good spirits as they +proceeded swiftly over the plain. Toto still worried over his lost +growl, but like a wise little dog kept his worry to himself. Before +long, the city grew nearer and they could examine it with interest. + +In outward appearance the place was more imposing than Thi, and it was +a square city, with a square, four-sided wall around it, and on each +side was a square gate of burnished copper. Everything about the city +looked solid and substantial; there were no banners flying, and the +towers that rose above the city wall seemed bare of any ornament +whatever. + +A path led from the fruit orchard directly to one of the city gates, +showing that the inhabitants preferred fruit to thistles. Our friends +followed this path to the gate, which they found fast shut. But the +Wizard advanced and pounded upon it with his fist, saying in a loud +voice, "Open!" + +At once there rose above the great wall a row of immense heads, all of +which looked down at them as if to see who was intruding. The size of +these heads was astonishing, and our friends at once realized that they +belonged to giants who were standing within the city. All had thick, +bushy hair and whiskers, on some the hair being white and on others +black or red or yellow, while the hair of a few was just turning gray, +showing that the giants were of all ages. However fierce the heads +might seem, the eyes were mild in expression, as if the creatures had +been long subdued, and their faces expressed patience rather than +ferocity. + +"What's wanted?" asked one old giant in a low, grumbling voice. + +"We are strangers, and we wish to enter the city," replied the Wizard. + +"Do you come in war or peace?" asked another. + +"In peace, of course," retorted the Wizard, and he added impatiently, +"Do we look like an army of conquest?" + +"No," said the first giant who had spoken, "you look like innocent +tramps; but you never can tell by appearances. Wait here until we +report to our masters. No one can enter here without the permission of +Vig, the Czarover." + +"Who's that?" inquired Dorothy. + +But the heads had all bobbed down and disappeared behind the walls, so +there was no answer. They waited a long time before the gate rolled +back with a rumbling sound, and a loud voice cried, "Enter!" But they +lost no time in taking advantage of the invitation. + +On either side of the broad street that led into the city from the gate +stood a row of huge giants, twenty of them on a side and all standing +so close together that their elbows touched. They wore uniforms of +blue and yellow and were armed with clubs as big around as treetrunks. +Each giant had around his neck a broad band of gold, riveted on, to +show he was a slave. + +As our friends entered riding upon the Lion, the Woozy, the Sawhorse +and the Mule, the giants half turned and walked in two files on either +side of them, as if escorting them on their way. It looked to Dorothy +as if all her party had been made prisoners, for even mounted on their +animals their heads scarcely reached to the knees of the marching +giants. The girls and Button-Bright were anxious to know what sort of +a city they had entered, and what the people were like who had made +these powerful creatures their slaves. Through the legs of the giants +as they walked, Dorothy could see rows of houses on each side of the +street and throngs of people standing on the sidewalks, but the people +were of ordinary size and the only remarkable thing about them was the +fact that they were dreadfully lean and thin. Between their skin and +their bones there seemed to be little or no flesh, and they were mostly +stoop-shouldered and weary looking, even to the little children. + +More and more, Dorothy wondered how and why the great giants had ever +submitted to become slaves of such skinny, languid masters, but there +was no chance to question anyone until they arrived at a big palace +located in the heart of the city. Here the giants formed lines to the +entrance and stood still while our friends rode into the courtyard of +the palace. Then the gates closed behind them, and before them was a +skinny little man who bowed low and said in a sad voice, "If you will +be so obliging as to dismount, it will give me pleasure to lead you +into the presence of the World's Most Mighty Ruler, Vig the Czarover." + +"I don't believe it!" said Dorothy indignantly. + +"What don't you believe?" asked the man. + +"I don't believe your Czarover can hold a candle to our Ozma." + +"He wouldn't hold a candle under any circumstances, or to any living +person," replied the man very seriously, "for he has slaves to do such +things and the Mighty Vig is too dignified to do anything that others +can do for him. He even obliges a slave to sneeze for him, if ever he +catches cold. However, if you dare to face our powerful ruler, follow +me." + +"We dare anything," said the Wizard, "so go ahead." + +Through several marble corridors having lofty ceilings they passed, +finding each corridor and doorway guarded by servants. But these +servants of the palace were of the people and not giants, and they were +so thin that they almost resembled skeletons. Finally, they entered a +great circular room with a high, domed ceiling, where the Czarover sat +on a throne cut from a solid block of white marble and decorated with +purple silk hangings and gold tassels. + +The ruler of these people was combing his eyebrows when our friends +entered the throne room and stood before him, but he put the comb in +his pocket and examined the strangers with evident curiosity. Then he +said, "Dear me, what a surprise! You have really shocked me. For no +outsider has ever before come to our City of Herku, and I cannot +imagine why you have ventured to do so." + +"We are looking for Ozma, the Supreme Ruler of the Land of Oz," replied +the Wizard. + +"Do you see her anywhere around here?" asked the Czarover. + +"Not yet, Your Majesty, but perhaps you may tell us where she is." + +"No, I have my hands full keeping track of my own people. I find them +hard to manage because they are so tremendously strong." + +"They don't look very strong," said Dorothy. "It seems as if a good +wind would blow 'em way out of the city if it wasn't for the wall." + +"Just so, just so," admitted the Czarover. "They really look that way, +don't they? But you must never trust to appearances, which have a way +of fooling one. Perhaps you noticed that I prevented you from meeting +any of my people. I protected you with my giants while you were on the +way from the gates to my palace so that not a Herku got near you." + +"Are your people so dangerous, then?" asked the Wizard. + +"To strangers, yes. But only because they are so friendly. For if +they shake hands with you, they are likely to break your arms or crush +your fingers to a jelly." + +"Why?" asked Button-Bright. + +"Because we are the strongest people in all the world." + +"Pshaw!" exclaimed the boy. "That's bragging. You prob'ly don't know +how strong other people are. Why, once I knew a man in Philadelphi' +who could bend iron bars with just his hands!" + +"But mercy me, it's no trick to bend iron bars," said His Majesty. +"Tell me, could this man crush a block of stone with his bare hands?" + +"No one could do that," declared the boy. + +"If I had a block of stone, I'd show you," said the Czarover, looking +around the room. "Ah, here is my throne. The back is too high, +anyhow, so I'll just break off a piece of that." He rose to his feet +and tottered in an uncertain way around the throne. Then he took hold +of the back and broke off a piece of marble over a foot thick. "This," +said he, coming back to his seat, "is very solid marble and much harder +than ordinary stone. Yet I can crumble it easily with my fingers, a +proof that I am very strong." + +Even as he spoke, he began breaking off chunks of marble and crumbling +them as one would a bit of earth. The Wizard was so astonished that he +took a piece in his own hands and tested it, finding it very hard +indeed. + +Just then one of the giant servants entered and exclaimed, "Oh, Your +Majesty, the cook has burned the soup! What shall we do?" + +"How dare you interrupt me?" asked the Czarover, and grasping the +immense giant by one of his legs, he raised him in the air and threw +him headfirst out of an open window. "Now, tell me," he said, turning +to Button-Bright, "could your man in Philadelphia crumble marble in his +fingers?" + +"I guess not," said Button-Bright, much impressed by the skinny +monarch's strength. + +"What makes you so strong?" inquired Dorothy. + +"It's the zosozo," he explained, "which is an invention of my own. I +and all my people eat zosozo, and it gives us tremendous strength. +Would you like to eat some?" + +"No thank you," replied the girl. "I--I don't want to get so thin." + +"Well, of course one can't have strength and flesh at the same time," +said the Czarover. "Zosozo is pure energy, and it's the only compound +of its sort in existence. I never allow our giants to have it, you +know, or they would soon become our masters, since they are bigger that +we; so I keep all the stuff locked up in my private laboratory. Once a +year I feed a teaspoonful of it to each of my people--men, women and +children--so every one of them is nearly as strong as I am. Wouldn't +YOU like a dose, sir?" he asked, turning to the Wizard. + +"Well," said the Wizard, "if you would give me a little zosozo in a +bottle, I'd like to take it with me on my travels. It might come in +handy on occasion." + +"To be sure. I'll give you enough for six doses," promised the +Czarover. + +"But don't take more than a teaspoonful at a time. Once Ugu the +Shoemaker took two teaspoonsful, and it made him so strong that when he +leaned against the city wall, he pushed it over, and we had to build it +up again." + +"Who is Ugu the Shoemaker?" + +Button-Bright curiously, for he now remembered that the bird and the +rabbit had claimed Ugu the Shoemaker had enchanted the peach he had +eaten. + +"Why, Ugu is a great magician who used to live here. But he's gone +away now," replied the Czarover. + +"Where has he gone?" asked the Wizard quickly. + +"I am told he lives in a wickerwork castle in the mountains to the west +of here. You see, Ugu became such a powerful magician that he didn't +care to live in our city any longer for fear we would discover some of +his secrets. So he went to the mountains and built him a splendid +wicker castle which is so strong that even I and my people could not +batter it down, and there he lives all by himself." + +"This is good news," declared the Wizard, "for I think this is just the +magician we are searching for. But why is he called Ugu the Shoemaker?" + +"Once he was a very common citizen here and made shoes for a living," +replied the monarch of Herku. "But he was descended from the greatest +wizard and sorcerer who ever lived in this or in any other country, and +one day Ugu the Shoemaker discovered all the magical books and recipes +of his famous great-grandfather, which had been hidden away in the +attic of his house. So he began to study the papers and books and to +practice magic, and in time he became so skillful that, as I said, he +scorned our city and built a solitary castle for himself." + +"Do you think," asked Dorothy anxiously, "that Ugu the Shoemaker would +be wicked enough to steal our Ozma of Oz?" + +"And the Magic Picture?" asked Trot. + +"And the Great Book of Records of Glinda the Good?" asked Betsy. + +"And my own magic tools?" asked the Wizard. + +"Well," replied the Czarover, "I won't say that Ugu is wicked, exactly, +but he is very ambitious to become the most powerful magician in the +world, and so I suppose he would not be too proud to steal any magic +things that belonged to anybody else--if he could manage to do so." + +"But how about Ozma? Why would he wish to steal HER?" questioned +Dorothy. + +"Don't ask me, my dear. Ugu doesn't tell me why he does things, I +assure you." + +"Then we must go and ask him ourselves," declared the little girl. + +"I wouldn't do that if I were you," advised the Czarover, looking first +at the three girls and then at the boy and the little Wizard and +finally at the stuffed Patchwork Girl. "If Ugu has really stolen your +Ozma, he will probably keep her a prisoner, in spite of all your +threats or entreaties. And with all his magical knowledge he would be +a dangerous person to attack. Therefore, if you are wise, you will go +home again and find a new Ruler for the Emerald City and the Land of +Oz. But perhaps it isn't Ugu the Shoemaker who has stolen your Ozma." + +"The only way to settle that question," replied the Wizard, "is to go +to Ugu's castle and see if Ozma is there. If she is, we will report +the matter to the great Sorceress Glinda the Good, and I'm pretty sure +she will find a way to rescue our darling ruler from the Shoemaker." + +"Well, do as you please," said the Czarover, "but if you are all +transformed into hummingbirds or caterpillars, don't blame me for not +warning you." + +They stayed the rest of that day in the City of Herku and were fed at +the royal table of the Czarover and given sleeping rooms in his palace. +The strong monarch treated them very nicely and gave the Wizard a +little golden vial of zosozo to use if ever he or any of his party +wished to acquire great strength. + +Even at the last, the Czarover tried to persuade them not to go near +Ugu the Shoemaker, but they were resolved on the venture, and the next +morning bade the friendly monarch a cordial goodbye and, mounting upon +their animals, left the Herkus and the City of Herku and headed for the +mountains that lay to the west. + + + + +CHAPTER 13 + +THE TRUTH POND + + +It seems a long time since we have heard anything of the Frogman and +Cayke the Cookie Cook, who had left the Yip Country in search of the +diamond-studded dishpan which had been mysteriously stolen the same +night that Ozma had disappeared from the Emerald City. But you must +remember that while the Frogman and the Cookie Cook were preparing to +descend from their mountaintop, and even while on their way to the +farmhouse of Wiljon the Winkie, Dorothy and the Wizard and their +friends were encountering the adventures we have just related. + +So it was that on the very morning when the travelers from the Emerald +City bade farewell to the Czarover of the City of Herku, Cayke and the +Frogman awoke in a grove in which they had passed the night sleeping on +beds of leaves. There were plenty of farmhouses in the neighborhood, +but no one seemed to welcome the puffy, haughty Frogman or the little +dried-up Cookie Cook, and so they slept comfortably enough underneath +the trees of the grove. The Frogman wakened first on this morning, and +after going to the tree where Cayke slept and finding her still wrapped +in slumber, he decided to take a little walk and seek some breakfast. +Coming to the edge of the grove, he observed half a mile away a pretty +yellow house that was surrounded by a yellow picket fence, so he walked +toward this house and on entering the yard found a Winkie woman picking +up sticks with which to build a fire to cook her morning meal. + +"For goodness sake!" she exclaimed on seeing the Frogman. "What are +you doing out of your frog-pond?" + +"I am traveling in search of a jeweled gold dishpan, my good woman," he +replied with an air of great dignity. + +"You won't find it here, then," said she. "Our dishpans are tin, and +they're good enough for anybody. So go back to your pond and leave me +alone." She spoke rather crossly and with a lack of respect that +greatly annoyed the Frogman. + +"Allow me to tell you, madam," said he, "that although I am a frog, I +am the Greatest and Wisest Frog in all the world. I may add that I +possess much more wisdom than any Winkie--man or woman--in this land. +Wherever I go, people fall on their knees before me and render homage +to the Great Frogman! No one else knows so much as I; no one else is +so grand, so magnificent!" + +"If you know so much," she retorted, "why don't you know where your +dishpan is instead of chasing around the country after it?" + +"Presently," he answered, "I am going where it is, but just now I am +traveling and have had no breakfast. Therefore I honor you by asking +you for something to eat." + +"Oho! The Great Frogman is hungry as any tramp, is he? Then pick up +these sticks and help me to build the fire," said the woman +contemptuously. + +"Me! The Great Frogman pick up sticks?" he exclaimed in horror. "In +the Yip Country where I am more honored and powerful than any King +could be, people weep with joy when I ask them to feed me." + +"Then that's the place to go for your breakfast," declared the woman. + +"I fear you do not realize my importance," urged the Frogman. +"Exceeding wisdom renders me superior to menial duties." + +"It's a great wonder to me," remarked the woman, carrying her sticks to +the house, "that your wisdom doesn't inform you that you'll get no +breakfast here." And she went in and slammed the door behind her. + +The Frogman felt he had been insulted, so he gave a loud croak of +indignation and turned away. After going a short distance, he came +upon a faint path which led across a meadow in the direction of a grove +of pretty trees, and thinking this circle of evergreens must surround a +house where perhaps he would be kindly received, he decided to follow +the path. And by and by he came to the trees, which were set close +together, and pushing aside some branches he found no house inside the +circle, but instead a very beautiful pond of clear water. + +Now the Frogman, although he was so big and well educated and now aped +the ways and customs of human beings, was still a frog. As he gazed at +this solitary, deserted pond, his love for water returned to him with +irresistible force. "If I cannot get a breakfast, I may at least have +a fine swim," said he, and pushing his way between the trees, he +reached the bank. There he took off his fine clothing, laying his +shiny purple hat and his gold-headed cane beside it. A moment later, +he sprang with one leap into the water and dived to the very bottom of +the pond. + +The water was deliciously cool and grateful to his thick, rough skin, +and the Frogman swam around the pond several times before he stopped to +rest. Then he floated upon the surface and examined the pond. The +bottom and sides were all lined with glossy tiles of a light pink +color; just one place in the bottom where the water bubbled up from a +hidden spring had been left free. On the banks, the green grass grew +to the edge of the pink tiling. And now, as the Frogman examined the +place, he found that on one side of the pool, just above the water +line, had been set a golden plate on which some words were deeply +engraved. He swam toward this plate, and on reaching it read the +following inscription: + + _This is_ + THE TRUTH POND + _Whoever bathes in this + water must always + afterward tell_ + THE TRUTH. + + +This statement startled the Frogman. It even worried him, so that he +leaped upon the bank and hurriedly began to dress himself. "A great +misfortune has befallen me," he told himself, "for hereafter I cannot +tell people I am wise, since it is not the truth. The truth is that my +boasted wisdom is all a sham, assumed by me to deceive people and make +them defer to me. In truth, no living creature can know much more than +his fellows, for one may know one thing, and another know another +thing, so that wisdom is evenly scattered throughout the world. +But--ah me!--what a terrible fate will now be mine. Even Cayke the +Cookie Cook will soon discover that my knowledge is no greater than her +own, for having bathed in the enchanted water of the Truth Pond, I can +no longer deceive her or tell a lie." + +More humbled than he had been for many years, the Frogman went back to +the grove where he had left Cayke and found the woman now awake and +washing her face in a tiny brook. "Where has Your Honor been?" she +asked. + +"To a farmhouse to ask for something to eat," said he, "but the woman +refused me." + +"How dreadful!" she exclaimed. "But never mind, there are other houses +where the people will be glad to feed the Wisest Creature in all the +World." + +"Do you mean yourself?" he asked. + +"No, I mean you." + +The Frogman felt strongly impelled to tell the truth, but struggled +hard against it. His reason told him there was no use in letting Cayke +know he was not wise, for then she would lose much respect for him, but +each time he opened his mouth to speak, he realized he was about to +tell the truth and shut it again as quickly as possible. He tried to +talk about something else, but the words necessary to undeceive the +woman would force themselves to his lips in spite of all his struggles. +Finally, knowing that he must either remain dumb or let the truth +prevail, he gave a low groan of despair and said, "Cayke, I am NOT the +Wisest Creature in all the World; I am not wise at all." + +"Oh, you must be!" she protested. "You told me so yourself, only last +evening." + +"Then last evening I failed to tell you the truth," he admitted, +looking very shamefaced for a frog. "I am sorry I told you this lie, +my good Cayke, but if you must know the truth, the whole truth and +nothing but the truth, I am not really as wise as you are." + +The Cookie Cook was greatly shocked to hear this, for it shattered one +of her most pleasing illusions. She looked at the gorgeously dressed +Frogman in amazement. "What has caused you to change your mind so +suddenly?" she inquired. + +"I have bathed in the Truth Pond," he said, "and whoever bathes in that +water is ever afterward obliged to tell the truth." + +"You were foolish to do that," declared the woman. + +"It is often very embarrassing to tell the truth. I'm glad I didn't +bathe in that dreadful water!" + +The Frogman looked at his companion thoughtfully. "Cayke," said he, "I +want you to go to the Truth Pond and take a bath in its water. For if +we are to travel together and encounter unknown adventures, it would +not be fair that I alone must always tell you the truth, while you +could tell me whatever you pleased. If we both dip in the enchanted +water, there will be no chance in the future of our deceiving one +another." + +"No," she asserted, shaking her head positively, "I won't do it, Your +Honor. For if I told you the truth, I'm sure you wouldn't like me. No +Truth Pond for me. I'll be just as I am, an honest woman who can say +what she wants to without hurting anyone's feelings." + +With this decision the Frogman was forced to be content, although he +was sorry the Cookie Cook would not listen to his advice. + + + + +CHAPTER 14 + +THE UNHAPPY FERRYMAN + + +Leaving the grove where they had slept, the Frogman and the Cookie Cook +turned to the east to seek another house, and after a short walk came +to one where the people received them very politely. The children +stared rather hard at the big, pompous Frogman, but the woman of the +house, when Cayke asked for something to eat, at once brought them food +and said they were welcome to it. "Few people in need of help pass +this way," she remarked, "for the Winkies are all prosperous and love +to stay in their own homes. But perhaps you are not a Winkie," she +added. + +"No," said Cayke, "I am a Yip, and my home is on a high mountain at the +southeast of your country." + +"And the Frogman, is he also a Yip?" + +"I do not know what he is, other than a very remarkable and highly +educated creature," replied the Cookie Cook. "But he has lived many +years among the Yips, who have found him so wise and intelligent that +they always go to him for advice." + +"May I ask why you have left your home and where you are going?" said +the Winkie woman. + +Then Cayke told her of the diamond-studded gold dishpan and how it had +been mysteriously stolen from her house, after which she had discovered +that she could no longer cook good cookies. So she had resolved to +search until she found her dishpan again, because a Cookie cook who +cannot cook good cookies is not of much use. The Frogman, who had +wanted to see more of the world, had accompanied her to assist in the +search. When the woman had listened to this story, she asked, "Then +you have no idea as yet who has stolen your dishpan?" + +"I only know it must have been some mischievous fairy, or a magician, +or some such powerful person, because none other could have climbed the +steep mountain to the Yip Country. And who else could have carried +away my beautiful magic dishpan without being seen?" + +The woman thought about this during the time that Cayke and the Frogman +ate their breakfast. When they had finished, she said, "Where are you +going next?" + +"We have not decided," answered the Cookie cook. + +"Our plan," explained the Frogman in his important way, "is to travel +from place to place until we learn where the thief is located and then +to force him to return the dishpan to its proper owner." + +"The plan is all right," agreed the woman, "but it may take you a long +time before you succeed, your method being sort of haphazard and +indefinite. However, I advise you to travel toward the east." + +"Why?" asked the Frogman. + +"Because if you went west, you would soon come to the desert, and also +because in this part of the Winkie Country no one steals, so your time +here would be wasted. But toward the east, beyond the river, live many +strange people whose honesty I would not vouch for. Moreover, if you +journey far enough east and cross the river for a second time, you will +come to the Emerald City, where there is much magic and sorcery. The +Emerald City is ruled by a dear little girl called Ozma, who also rules +the Emperor of the Winkies and all the Land of Oz. So, as Ozma is a +fairy, she may be able to tell you just who has taken your precious +dishpan. Provided, of course, you do not find it before you reach her." + +"This seems to be to be excellent advice," said the Frogman, and Cayke +agreed with him. + +"The most sensible thing for you to do," continued the woman, "would be +to return to your home and use another dishpan, learn to cook cookies +as other people cook cookies, without the aid of magic. But if you +cannot be happy without the magic dishpan you have lost, you are likely +to learn more about it in the Emerald City than at any other place in +Oz." + +They thanked the good woman, and on leaving her house faced the east +and continued in that direction all the way. Toward evening they came +to the west branch of the Winkie River and there, on the riverbank, +found a ferryman who lived all alone in a little yellow house. This +ferryman was a Winkie with a very small head and a very large body. He +was sitting in his doorway as the travelers approached him and did not +even turn his head to look at them. + +"Good evening," said the Frogman. + +The ferryman made no reply. + +"We would like some supper and the privilege of sleeping in your house +until morning," continued the Frogman. "At daybreak, we would like +some breakfast, and then we would like to have you row us across the +river." + +The ferryman neither moved nor spoke. He sat in his doorway and looked +straight ahead. "I think he must be deaf and dumb," Cayke whispered to +her companion. Then she stood directly in front of the ferryman, and +putting her mouth close to his ear, she yelled as loudly as she could, +"Good evening!" + +The ferryman scowled. + +"Why do you yell at me, woman?" he asked. + +"Can you hear what I say?" asked in her ordinary tone of voice. + +"Of course," replied the man. + +"Then why didn't you answer the Frogman?" + +"Because," said the ferryman, "I don't understand the frog language." + +"He speaks the same words that I do and in the same way," declared +Cayke. + +"Perhaps," replied the ferryman, "but to me his voice sounded like a +frog's croak. I know that in the Land of Oz animals can speak our +language, and so can the birds and bugs and fishes; but in MY ears, +they sound merely like growls and chirps and croaks." + +"Why is that?" asked the Cookie Cook in surprise. + +"Once, many years ago, I cut the tail off a fox which had taunted me, +and I stole some birds' eggs from a nest to make an omelet with, and +also I pulled a fish from the river and left it lying on the bank to +gasp for lack of water until it died. I don't know why I did those +wicked things, but I did them. So the Emperor of the Winkies--who is +the Tin Woodman and has a very tender tin heart--punished me by denying +me any communication with beasts, birds or fishes. I cannot understand +them when they speak to me, although I know that other people can do +so, nor can the creatures understand a word I say to them. Every time +I meet one of them, I am reminded of my former cruelty, and it makes me +very unhappy." + +"Really," said Cayke, "I'm sorry for you, although the Tin Woodman is +not to blame for punishing you." + +"What is he mumbling about?" asked the Frogman. + +"He is talking to me, but you don't understand him," she replied. And +then she told him of the ferryman's punishment and afterward explained +to the ferryman that they wanted to stay all night with him and be fed. + +He gave them some fruit and bread, which was the only sort of food he +had, and he allowed Cayke to sleep in a room of his cottage. But the +Frogman he refused to admit to his house, saying that the frog's +presence made him miserable and unhappy. At no time would he look +directly at the Frogman, or even toward him, fearing he would shed +tears if he did so; so the big frog slept on the riverbank where he +could hear little frogs croaking in the river all the night through. +But that did not keep him awake; it merely soothed him to slumber, for +he realized how much superior he was to them. + +Just as the sun was rising on a new day, the ferryman rowed the two +travelers across the river--keeping his back to the Frogman all the +way--and then Cayke thanked him and bade him goodbye and the ferryman +rowed home again. + +On this side of the river, there were no paths at all, so it was +evident they had reached a part of the country little frequented by +travelers. There was a marsh at the south of them, sandhills at the +north, and a growth of scrubby underbrush leading toward a forest at +the east. So the east was really the least difficult way to go, and +that direction was the one they had determined to follow. + +Now the Frogman, although he wore green patent-leather shoes with ruby +buttons, had very large and flat feet, and when he tramped through the +scrub, his weight crushed down the underbrush and made a path for Cayke +to follow him. Therefore they soon reached the forest, where the tall +trees were set far apart but were so leafy that they shaded all the +spaces between them with their branches. "There are no bushes here," +said Cayke, much pleased, "so we can now travel faster and with more +comfort." + + + + +CHAPTER 15 + +THE BIG LAVENDER BEAR + + +It was a pleasant place to wander, and the two travelers were +proceeding at a brisk pace when suddenly a voice shouted, "Halt!" + +They looked around in surprise, seeing at first no one at all. Then +from behind a tree there stepped a brown, fuzzy bear whose head came +about as high as Cayke's waist--and Cayke was a small woman. The bear +was chubby as well as fuzzy; his body was even puffy, while his legs +and arms seemed jointed at the knees and elbows and fastened to his +body by pins or rivets. His ears were round in shape and stuck out in +a comical way, while his round, black eyes were bright and sparkling as +beads. Over his shoulder the little brown bear bore a gun with a tin +barrel. The barrel had a cork in the end of it, and a string was +attached to the cork and to the handle of the gun. Both the Frogman +and Cayke gazed hard at this curious bear, standing silent for some +time. But finally the Frogman recovered from his surprise and +remarked, "It seems to me that you are stuffed with sawdust and ought +not to be alive." + +"That's all you know about it," answered the little Brown Bear in a +squeaky voice. "I am stuffed with a very good quality of curled hair, +and my skin is the best plush that was ever made. As for my being +alive, that is my own affair and cannot concern you at all, except that +it gives me the privilege to say you are my prisoners." + +"Prisoners! Why do you speak such nonsense?" the Frogman angrily. "Do +you think we are afraid of a toy bear with a toy gun?" + +"You ought to be," was the confident reply, "for I am merely the sentry +guarding the way to Bear Center, which is a city containing hundreds of +my race, who are ruled by a very powerful sorcerer known as the +Lavender Bear. He ought to be a purple color, you know, seeing he is a +King, but he's only light lavender, which is, of course, second cousin +to royal purple. So unless you come with me peaceably as my prisoners, +I shall fire my gun and bring a hundred bears of all sizes and colors +to capture you." + +"Why do you wish to capture us?" inquired the Frogman, who had listened +to his speech with much astonishment. + +"I don't wish to, as a matter of fact," replied the little Brown Bear, +"but it is my duty to, because you are now trespassing on the domain of +His Majesty, the King of Bear Center. Also, I will admit that things +are rather quiet in our city just now, and the excitement of your +capture, followed by your trial and execution, should afford us much +entertainment." + +"We defy you!" said the Frogman. + +"Oh no, don't do that," pleaded Cayke, speaking to her companion. "He +says his King is a sorcerer, so perhaps it is he or one of his bears +who ventured to steal my jeweled dishpan. Let us go to the City of the +Bears and discover if my dishpan is there." + +"I must now register one more charge against you," remarked the little +Brown Bear with evident satisfaction. "You have just accused us of +stealing, and that is such a dreadful thing to say that I am quite sure +our noble King will command you to be executed." + +"But how could you execute us?" inquired the Cookie Cook. + +"I've no idea. But our King is a wonderful inventor, and there is no +doubt he can find a proper way to destroy you. So tell me, are you +going to struggle, or will you go peaceably to meet your doom?" + +It was all so ridiculous that Cayke laughed aloud, and even the +Frogman's wide mouth curled in a smile. Neither was a bit afraid to go +to the Bear City, and it seemed to both that there was a possibility +they might discover the missing dishpan. So the Frogman said, "Lead +the way, little Bear, and we will follow without a struggle." + +"That's very sensible of you, very sensible indeed," declared the Brown +Bear. "So for-ward, MARCH!" And with the command he turned around and +began to waddle along a path that led between the trees. + +Cayke and the Frogman, as they followed their conductor, could scarce +forbear laughing at his stiff, awkward manner of walking, and although +he moved his stuffy legs fast, his steps were so short that they had to +go slowly in order not to run into him. But after a time they reached a +large, circular space in the center of the forest, which was clear of +any stumps or underbrush. The ground was covered by a soft, gray moss, +pleasant to tread upon. All the trees surrounding this space seemed to +be hollow and had round holes in their trunks, set a little way above +the ground, but otherwise there was nothing unusual about the place and +nothing, in the opinion of the prisoners, to indicate a settlement. +But the little Brown Bear said in a proud and impressive voice +(although it still squeaked), "This is the wonderful city known to fame +as Bear Center!" + +"But there are no houses, there are no bears living here at all!" +exclaimed Cayke. + +"Oh indeed!" retorted their captor, and raising his gun he pulled the +trigger. The cork flew out of the tin barrel with a loud "pop!" and at +once from every hole in every tree within view of the clearing appeared +the head of a bear. They were of many colors and of many sizes, but +all were made in the same manner as the bear who had met and captured +them. + +At first a chorus of growls arose, and then a sharp voice cried, "What +has happened, Corporal Waddle?" + +"Captives, Your Majesty!" answered the Brown Bear. "Intruders upon our +domain and slanderers of our good name." + +"Ah, that's important," answered the voice. + +Then from out the hollow trees tumbled a whole regiment of stuffed +bears, some carrying tin swords, some popguns and others long spears +with gay ribbons tied to the handles. There were hundreds of them, +altogether, and they quietly formed a circle around the Frogman and the +Cookie Cook, but kept at a distance and left a large space for the +prisoners to stand in. Presently, this circle parted, and into the +center of it stalked a huge toy bear of a lovely lavender color. He +walked upon his hind legs, as did all the others, and on his head he +wore a tin crown set with diamonds and amethysts, while in one paw he +carried a short wand of some glittering metal that resembled silver but +wasn't. + +"His Majesty the King!" Corporal Waddle, and all the bears bowed low. +Some bowed so low that they lost their balance and toppled over, but +they soon scrambled up again, and the Lavender King squatted on his +haunches before the prisoners and gazed at them steadily with his +bright, pink eyes. + + + + +CHAPTER 16 + +THE LITTLE PINK BEAR + + +"One Person and one Freak," said the big Lavender Bear when he had +carefully examined the strangers. + +"I am sorry to hear you call poor Cayke the Cookie Cook a Freak," +remonstrated the Frogman. + +"She is the Person," asserted the King. "Unless I am mistaken, it is +you who are the Freak." + +The Frogman was silent, for he could not truthfully deny it. + +"Why have you dared intrude in my forest?" demanded the Bear King. + +"We didn't know it was your forest," said Cayke, "and we are on our way +to the far east, where the Emerald City is." + +"Ah, it's a long way from here to the Emerald City," remarked the King. +"It is so far away, indeed, that no bear among us has even been there. +But what errand requires you to travel such a distance?" + +"Someone has stolen my diamond-studded gold dishpan," explained Cayke, +"and as I cannot be happy without it, I have decided to search the +world over until I find it again. The Frogman, who is very learned and +wonderfully wise, has come with me to give me his assistance. Isn't it +kind of him?" + +The King looked at the Frogman. + +"What makes you so wonderfully wise?" he asked. + +"I'm not," was the candid reply. "The Cookie Cook and some others in +the Yip Country think because I am a big frog and talk and act like a +man that I must be very wise. I have learned more than a frog usually +knows, it is true, but I am not yet so wise as I hope to become at some +future time." + +The King nodded, and when he did so, something squeaked in his chest. + +"Did Your Majesty speak?" asked Cayke. + +"Not just then," answered the Lavender Bear, seeming to be somewhat +embarrassed. "I am so built, you must know, that when anything pushes +against my chest, as my chin accidentally did just then, I make that +silly noise. In this city it isn't considered good manners to notice. +But I like your Frogman. He is honest and truthful, which is more than +can be said of many others. As for your late lamented dishpan, I'll +show it to you." + +With this he waved three times the metal wand which he held in his paw, +and instantly there appeared upon the ground midway between the King +and Cayke a big, round pan made of beaten gold. Around the top edge +was a row of small diamonds; around the center of the pan was another +row of larger diamonds; and at the bottom was a row of exceedingly +large and brilliant diamonds. In fact, they all sparkled +magnificently, and the pan was so big and broad that it took a lot of +diamonds to go around it three times. + +Cayke stared so hard that her eyes seemed about to pop out of her head. +"O-o-o-h!" she exclaimed, drawing a deep breath of delight. + +"Is this your dishpan?" inquired the King. + +"It is, it is!" cried the Cookie Cook, and rushing forward, she fell on +her knees and threw her arms around the precious pan. But her arms +came together without meeting any resistance at all. Cayke tried to +seize the edge, but found nothing to grasp. The pan was surely there, +she thought, for she could see it plainly; but it was not solid; she +could not feel it at all. With a moan of astonishment and despair, she +raised her head to look at the Bear King, who was watching her actions +curiously. Then she turned to the pan again, only to find it had +completely disappeared. + +"Poor creature!" murmured the King pityingly. "You must have thought, +for the moment, that you had actually recovered your dishpan. But what +you saw was merely the image of it, conjured up by means of my magic. +It is a pretty dishpan, indeed, though rather big and awkward to +handle. I hope you will some day find it." + +Cayke was grievously disappointed. She began to cry, wiping her eyes +on her apron. The King turned to the throng of toy bears surrounding +him and asked, "Has any of you ever seen this golden dishpan before?" + +"No," they answered in a chorus. + +The King seemed to reflect. Presently he inquired, "Where is the +Little Pink Bear?" + +"At home, Your Majesty," was the reply. + +"Fetch him here," commanded the King. + +Several of the bears waddled over to one of the trees and pulled from +its hollow a tiny pink bear, smaller than any of the others. A big, +white bear carried the pink one in his arms and set it down beside the +King, arranging the joints of its legs so that it would stand upright. + +This Pink Bear seemed lifeless until the King turned a crank which +protruded from its side, when the little creature turned its head +stiffly from side to side and said in a small, shrill voice, "Hurrah +for the King of Bear Center!" + +"Very good," said the big Lavender Bear. "He seems to be working very +well today. Tell me, my Pink Pinkerton, what has become of this lady's +jeweled dishpan?" + +"U-u-u," said the Pink Bear, and then stopped short. + +The King turned the crank again. + +"U-g-u the Shoemaker has it," said the Pink Bear. + +"Who is Ugu the Shoemaker?" demanded the King, again turning the crank. + +"A magician who lives on a mountain in a wickerwork castle," was the +reply. + +"Where is the mountain?" was the next question. + +"Nineteen miles and three furlongs from Bear Center to the northeast." + +"And is the dishpan still at the castle of Ugu the Shoemaker?" asked +the King. + +"It is." + +The King turned to Cayke. + +"You may rely on this information," said he. "The Pink Bear can tell +us anything we wish to know, and his words are always words of truth." + +"Is he alive?" asked the Frogman, much interested in the Pink Bear. + +"Something animates him when you turn his crank," replied the King. "I +do not know if it is life or what it is or how it happens that the +Little Pink Bear can answer correctly every question put to him. We +discovered his talent a long time ago, and whenever we wish to know +anything--which is not very often--we ask the Pink Bear. There is no +doubt whatever, madam, that Ugu the Magician has your dishpan, and if +you dare to go to him, you may be able to recover it. But of that I am +not certain." + +"Can't the Pink Bear tell?" asked Cayke anxiously. + +"No, for that is in the future. He can tell anything that HAS +happened, but nothing that is going to happen. Don't ask me why, for I +don't know." + +"Well," said the Cookie Cook after a little thought, "I mean to go to +this magician, anyhow, and tell him I want my dishpan. I wish I knew +what Ugu the Shoemaker is like." + +"Then I'll show him to you," promised the King. "But do not be +frightened. It won't be Ugu, remember, but only his image." With +this, he waved his metal wand, and in the circle suddenly appeared a +thin little man, very old and skinny, who was seated on a wicker stool +before a wicker table. On the table lay a Great Book with gold clasps. +The Book was open, and the man was reading in it. He wore great +spectacles which were fastened before his eyes by means of a ribbon +that passed around his head and was tied in a bow at the neck. His hair +was very thin and white; his skin, which clung fast to his bones, was +brown and seared with furrows; he had a big, fat nose and little eyes +set close together. + +On no account was Ugu the Shoemaker a pleasant person to gaze at. As +his image appeared before them, all were silent and intent until +Corporal Waddle, the Brown Bear, became nervous and pulled the trigger +of his gun. Instantly, the cork flew out of the tin barrel with a loud +"pop!" that made them all jump. And at this sound, the image of the +magician vanished. + +"So THAT'S the thief, is it?" said Cayke in an angry voice. "I should +think he'd be ashamed of himself for stealing a poor woman's diamond +dishpan! But I mean to face him in his wicker castle and force him to +return my property." + +"To me," said the Bear King reflectively, "he looked like a dangerous +person. I hope he won't be so unkind as to argue the matter with you." + +The Frogman was much disturbed by the vision of Ugu the Shoemaker, and +Cayke's determination to go to the magician filled her companion with +misgivings. But he would not break his pledged word to assist the +Cookie Cook, and after breathing a deep sigh of resignation, he asked +the King, "Will Your Majesty lend us this Pink Bear who answers +questions that we may take him with us on our journey? He would be +very useful to us, and we will promise to bring him safely back to you." + +The King did not reply at once. He seemed to be thinking. + +"PLEASE let us take the Pink Bear," begged Cayke. "I'm sure he would +be a great help to us." + +"The Pink Bear," said the King, "is the best bit of magic I possess, +and there is not another like him in the world. I do not care to let +him out of my sight, nor do I wish to disappoint you; so I believe I +will make the journey in your company and carry my Pink Bear with me. +He can walk when you wind the other side of him, but so slowly and +awkwardly that he would delay you. But if I go along, I can carry him +in my arms, so I will join your party. Whenever you are ready to +start, let me know." + +"But Your Majesty!" exclaimed Corporal Waddle in protest, "I hope you +do not intend to let these prisoners escape without punishment." + +"Of what crime do you accuse them?" inquired the King. + +"Why, they trespassed on your domain, for one thing," said the Brown +Bear. + +"We didn't know it was private property, Your Majesty," said the Cookie +Cook. "And they asked if any of us had stolen the dishpan!" continued +Corporal Waddle indignantly. "That is the same thing as calling us +thieves and robbers and bandits and brigands, is it not?" + +"Every person has the right to ask questions," said the Frogman. + +"But the Corporal is quite correct," declared the Lavender Bear. "I +condemn you both to death, the execution to take place ten years from +this hour." + +"But we belong in the Land of Oz, where no one ever dies," Cayke +reminded him. + +"Very true," said the King. "I condemn you to death merely as a matter +of form. It sounds quite terrible, and in ten years we shall have +forgotten all about it. Are you ready to start for the wicker castle +of Ugu the Shoemaker?" + +"Quite ready, Your Majesty." + +"But who will rule in your place while you are gone?" asked a big +Yellow Bear. + +"I myself will rule while I am gone," was the reply. + +"A King isn't required to stay at home forever, and if he takes a +notion to travel, whose business is it but his own? All I ask is that +you bears behave yourselves while I am away. If any of you is naughty, +I'll send him to some girl or boy in America to play with." + +This dreadful threat made all the toy bears look solemn. They assured +the King in a chorus of growls that they would be good. Then the big +Lavender Bear picked up the little Pink Bear, and after tucking it +carefully under one arm, he said, "Goodbye till I come back!" and +waddled along the path that led through the forest. The Frogman and +Cayke the Cookie Cook also said goodbye to the bears and then followed +after the King, much to the regret of the little Brown Bear, who pulled +the trigger of his gun and popped the cork as a parting salute. + + + + +CHAPTER 17 + +THE MEETING + + +While the Frogman and his party were advancing from the west, Dorothy +and her party were advancing from the east, and so it happened that on +the following night they all camped at a little hill that was only a +few miles from the wicker castle of Ugu the Shoemaker. But the two +parties did not see one another that night, for one camped on one side +of the hill while the other camped on the opposite side. But the next +morning, the Frogman thought he would climb the hill and see what was +on top of it, and at the same time Scraps, the Patchwork Girl, also +decided to climb the hill to find if the wicker castle was visible from +its top. So she stuck her head over an edge just as the Frogman's head +appeared over another edge, and both, being surprised, kept still while +they took a good look at one another. + +Scraps recovered from her astonishment first, and bounding upward, she +turned a somersault and landed sitting down and facing the big Frogman, +who slowly advanced and sat opposite her. "Well met, Stranger!" cried +the Patchwork Girl with a whoop of laughter. "You are quite the +funniest individual I have seen in all my travels." + +"Do you suppose I can be any funnier than you?" asked the Frogman, +gazing at her in wonder. + +"I'm not funny to myself, you know," returned Scraps. "I wish I were. +And perhaps you are so used to your own absurd shape that you do not +laugh whenever you see your reflection in a pool or in a mirror." + +"No," said the Frogman gravely, "I do not. I used to be proud of my +great size and vain of my culture and education, but since I bathed in +the Truth Pond, I sometimes think it is not right that I should be +different from all other frogs." + +"Right or wrong," said the Patchwork Girl, "to be different is to be +distinguished. Now in my case, I'm just like all other Patchwork Girls +because I'm the only one there is. But tell me, where did you come +from?" + +"The Yip Country," said he. + +"Is that in the Land of Oz?" + +"Of course," replied the Frogman. + +"And do you know that your Ruler, Ozma of Oz, has been stolen?" + +"I was not aware that I had a Ruler, so of course I couldn't know that +she was stolen." + +"Well, you have. All the people of Oz," explained Scraps, "are ruled by +Ozma, whether they know it or not. And she has been stolen. Aren't you +angry? Aren't you indignant? Your Ruler, whom you didn't know you +had, has positively been stolen!" + +"That is queer," remarked the Frogman thoughtfully. "Stealing is a +thing practically unknown in Oz, yet this Ozma has been taken, and a +friend of mine has also had her dishpan stolen. With her I have +traveled all the way from the Yip Country in order to recover it." + +"I don't see any connection between a Royal Ruler of Oz and a dishpan!" +declared Scraps. + +"They've both been stolen, haven't they?" + +"True. But why can't your friend wash her dishes in another dishpan?" +asked Scraps. + +"Why can't you use another Royal Ruler? I suppose you prefer the one +who is lost, and my friend wants her own dishpan, which is made of gold +and studded with diamonds and has magic powers." + +"Magic, eh?" exclaimed Scraps. "THERE is a link that connects the two +steals, anyhow, for it seems that all the magic in the Land of Oz was +stolen at the same time, whether it was in the Emerald City of in +Glinda's castle or in the Yip Country. Seems mighty strange and +mysterious, doesn't it?" + +"It used to seem that way to me," admitted the Frogman, "but we have +now discovered who took our dishpan. It was Ugu the Shoemaker." + +"Ugu? Good gracious! That's the same magician we think has stolen +Ozma. We are now on our way to the castle of this Shoemaker." + +"So are we," said the Frogman. + +"Then follow me, quick! And let me introduce you to Dorothy and the +other girls and to the Wizard of Oz and all the rest of us." + +She sprang up and seized his coatsleeve, dragging him off the hilltop +and down the other side from that whence he had come. And at the foot +of the hill, the Frogman was astonished to find the three girls and the +Wizard and Button-Bright, who were surrounded by a wooden Sawhorse, a +lean Mule, a square Woozy, and a Cowardly Lion. A little black dog ran +up and smelled at the Frogman, but couldn't growl at him. + +"I've discovered another party that has been robbed," shouted Scraps as +she joined them. "This is their leader, and they're all going to Ugu's +castle to fight the wicked Shoemaker!" + +They regarded the Frogman with much curiosity and interest, and finding +all eyes fixed upon him, the newcomer arranged his necktie and smoothed +his beautiful vest and swung his gold-headed cane like a regular dandy. +The big spectacles over his eyes quite altered his froglike countenance +and gave him a learned and impressive look. Used as she was to seeing +strange creatures in the Land of Oz, Dorothy was amazed at discovering +the Frogman. So were all her companions. Toto wanted to growl at him, +but couldn't, and he didn't dare bark. The Sawhorse snorted rather +contemptuously, but the Lion whispered to the wooden steed, "Bear with +this strange creature, my friend, and remember he is no more +extraordinary than you are. Indeed, it is more natural for a frog to +be big than for a Sawhorse to be alive." + +On being questioned, the Frogman told them the whole story of the loss +of Cayke's highly prized dishpan and their adventures in search of it. +When he came to tell of the Lavender Bear King and of the Little Pink +Bear who could tell anything you wanted to know, his hearers became +eager to see such interesting animals. + +"It will be best," said the Wizard, "to unite our two parties and share +our fortunes together, for we are all bound on the same errand, and as +one band we may more easily defy this shoemaker magician than if +separate. Let us be allies." + +"I will ask my friends about that," replied the Frogman, and he climbed +over the hill to find Cayke and the toy bears. The Patchwork Girl +accompanied him, and when they came upon the Cookie Cook and the +Lavender Bear and the Pink Bear, it was hard to tell which of the lot +was the most surprised. + +"Mercy me!" cried Cayke, addressing the Patchwork Girl. "However did +you come alive?" + +Scraps stared at the bears. + +"Mercy me!" she echoed, "You are stuffed, as I am, with cotton, and you +appear to be living. That makes me feel ashamed, for I have prided +myself on being the only live cotton-stuffed person in Oz." + +"Perhaps you are," returned the Lavender Bear, "for I am stuffed with +extra-quality curled hair, and so is the Little Pink Bear." + +"You have relieved my mind of a great anxiety," declared the Patchwork +Girl, now speaking more cheerfully. "The Scarecrow is stuffed with +straw and you with hair, so I am still the Original and Only +Cotton-Stuffed!" + +"I hope I am too polite to criticize cotton as compared with curled +hair," said the King, "especially as you seem satisfied with it." + +Then the Frogman told of his interview with the party from the Emerald +City and added that the Wizard of Oz had invited the bears and Cayke +and himself to travel in company with them to the castle of Ugu the +Shoemaker. Cayke was much pleased, but the Bear King looked solemn. He +set the Little Pink Bear on his lap and turned the crank in its side +and asked, "Is it safe for us to associate with those people from the +Emerald City?" + +And the Pink Bear at once replied, + + "Safe for you and safe for me; + Perhaps no others safe will be." + + +"That 'perhaps' need not worry us," said the King, "so let us join the +others and offer them our protection." + +Even the Lavender Bear was astonished, however, when on climbing over +the hill he found on the other side the group of queer animals and the +people from the Emerald City. The bears and Cayke were received very +cordially, although Button-Bright was cross when they wouldn't let him +play with the Little Pink Bear. The three girls greatly admired the +toy bears, and especially the pink one, which they longed to hold. + +"You see," explained the Lavender King in denying them this privilege, +"he's a very valuable bear, because his magic is a correct guide on all +occasions, and especially if one is in difficulties. It was the Pink +Bear who told us that Ugu the Shoemaker had stolen the Cookie Cook's +dishpan." + +"And the King's magic is just as wonderful," added Cayke, "because it +showed us the Magician himself." + +"What did he look like?" inquired Dorothy. + +"He was dreadful!" + +"He was sitting at a table and examining an immense Book which had +three golden clasps," remarked the King. + +"Why, that must have been Glinda's Great Book of Records!" exclaimed +Dorothy. "If it is, it proves that Ugu the Shoemaker stole Ozma, and +with her all the magic in the Emerald City." + +"And my dishpan," said Cayke. + +And the Wizard added, "It also proves that he is following our +adventures in the Book of Records, and therefore knows that we are +seeking him and that we are determined to find him and reach Ozma at +all hazards." + +"If we can," added the Woozy, but everybody frowned at him. + +The Wizard's statement was so true that the faces around him were very +serious until the Patchwork Girl broke into a peal of laughter. + +"Wouldn't it be a rich joke if he made prisoners of us, too?" she said. + +"No one but a crazy Patchwork Girl would consider that a joke," +grumbled Button-Bright. + +And then the Lavender Bear King asked, "Would you like to see this +magical shoemaker?" + +"Wouldn't he know it?" Dorothy inquired. + +"No, I think not." + +Then the King waved his metal wand and before them appeared a room in +the wicker castle of Ugu. On the wall of the room hung Ozma's Magic +Picture, and seated before it was the Magician. They could see the +Picture as well as he could, because it faced them, and in the Picture +was the hillside where they were now sitting, all their forms being +reproduced in miniature. And curiously enough, within the scene of the +Picture was the scene they were now beholding, so they knew that the +Magician was at this moment watching them in the Picture, and also that +he saw himself and the room he was in become visible to the people on +the hillside. Therefore he knew very well that they were watching him +while he was watching them. + +In proof of this, Ugu sprang from his seat and turned a scowling face +in their direction; but now he could not see the travelers who were +seeking him, although they could still see him. His actions were so +distinct, indeed, that it seemed he was actually before them. "It is +only a ghost," said the Bear King. "It isn't real at all except that +it shows us Ugu just as he looks and tells us truly just what he is +doing." + +"I don't see anything of my lost growl, though," said Toto as if to +himself. + +Then the vision faded away, and they could see nothing but the grass +and trees and bushes around them. + + + + +CHAPTER 18 + +THE CONFERENCE + + +"Now then," said the Wizard, "let us talk this matter over and decide +what to do when we get to Ugu's wicker castle. There can be no doubt +that the Shoemaker is a powerful Magician, and his powers have been +increased a hundredfold since he secured the Great Book of Records, the +Magic Picture, all of Glinda's recipes for sorcery, and my own black +bag, which was full of tools of wizardry. The man who could rob us of +those things and the man with all their powers at his command is one +who may prove somewhat difficult to conquer, therefore we should plan +our actions well before we venture too near to his castle." + +"I didn't see Ozma in the Magic Picture," said Trot. "What do you +suppose Ugu has done with her?" + +"Couldn't the Little Pink Bear tell us what he did with Ozma?" asked +Button-Bright. + +"To be sure," replied the Lavender King. "I'll ask him." So he turned +the crank in the Little Pink Bear's side and inquired, "Did Ugu the +Shoemaker steal Ozma of Oz?" + +"Yes," answered the Little Pink Bear. + +"Then what did he do with her?" asked the King. + +"Shut her up in a dark place," answered the Little Pink Bear. + +"Oh, that must be a dungeon cell!" cried Dorothy, horrified. "How +dreadful!" + +"Well, we must get her out of it," said the Wizard. "That is what we +came for, and of course we must rescue Ozma. But how?" + +Each one looked at some other one for an answer, and all shook their +heads in a grave and dismal manner. All but Scraps, who danced around +them gleefully. "You're afraid," said the Patchwork Girl, "because so +many things can hurt your meat bodies. Why don't you give it up and go +home? How can you fight a great magician when you have nothing to +fight with?" + +Dorothy looked at her reflectively. + +"Scraps," said she, "you know that Ugu couldn't hurt you a bit, +whatever he did, nor could he hurt ME, 'cause I wear the Gnome King's +Magic Belt. S'pose just we two go on together and leave the others +here to wait for us." + +"No, no!" said the Wizard positively. "That won't do at all. Ozma is +more powerful than either of you, yet she could not defeat the wicked +Ugu, who has shut her up in a dungeon. We must go to the Shoemaker in +one mighty band, for only in union is there strength." + +"That is excellent advice," said the Lavender Bear approvingly. + +"But what can we do when we get to Ugu?" inquired the Cookie Cook +anxiously. + +"Do not expect a prompt answer to that important question," replied the +Wizard, "for we must first plan our line of conduct. Ugu knows, of +course, that we are after him, for he has seen our approach in the +Magic Picture, and he has read of all we have done up to the present +moment in the Great Book of Records. Therefore we cannot expect to +take him by surprise." + +"Don't you suppose Ugu would listen to reason?" asked Betsy. "If we +explained to him how wicked he has been, don't you think he'd let poor +Ozma go?" + +"And give me back my dishpan?" added the Cookie Cook eagerly. + +"Yes, yes, won't he say he's sorry and get on his knees and beg our +pardon?" cried Scraps, turning a flip-flop to show her scorn of the +suggestion. "When Ugu the Shoemaker does that, please knock at the +front door and let me know." + +The Wizard sighed and rubbed his bald head with a puzzled air. "I'm +quite sure Ugu will not be polite to us," said he, "so we must conquer +this cruel magician by force, much as we dislike to be rude to anyone. +But none of you has yet suggested a way to do that. Couldn't the +Little Pink Bear tell us how?" he asked, turning to the Bear King. + +"No, for that is something that is GOING to happen," replied the +Lavender Bear. "He can only tell us what already HAS happened." + +Again, they were grave and thoughtful. But after a time, Betsy said in +a hesitating voice, "Hank is a great fighter. Perhaps HE could conquer +the magician." + +The Mule turned his head to look reproachfully at his old friend, the +young girl. "Who can fight against magic?" he asked. + +"The Cowardly Lion could," said Dorothy. + +The Lion, who was lying with his front legs spread out, his chin on his +paws, raised his shaggy head. "I can fight when I'm not afraid," said +he calmly, "but the mere mention of a fight sets me to trembling." + +"Ugu's magic couldn't hurt the Sawhorse," suggested tiny Trot. + +"And the Sawhorse couldn't hurt the Magician," declared that wooden +animal. + +"For my part," said Toto, "I am helpless, having lost my growl." + +"Then," said Cayke the Cookie Cook, "we must depend upon the Frogman. +His marvelous wisdom will surely inform him how to conquer the wicked +Magician and restore to me my dishpan." + +All eyes were now turned questioningly upon the Frogman. Finding +himself the center of observation, he swung his gold-headed cane, +adjusted his big spectacles, and after swelling out his chest, sighed +and said in a modest tone of voice: + +"Respect for truth obliges me to confess that Cayke is mistaken in +regard to my superior wisdom. I am not very wise. Neither have I had +any practical experience in conquering magicians. But let us consider +this case. What is Ugu, and what is a magician? Ugu is a renegade +shoemaker, and a magician is an ordinary man who, having learned how to +do magical tricks, considers himself above his fellows. In this case, +the Shoemaker has been naughty enough to steal a lot of magical tools +and things that did not belong to him, and he is more wicked to steal +than to be a magician. Yet with all the arts at his command, Ugu is +still a man, and surely there are ways in which a man may be conquered. +How, do you say, how? Allow me to state that I don't know. In my +judgment, we cannot decide how best to act until we get to Ugu's castle. +So let us go to it and take a look at it. After that, we may discover +an idea that will guide us to victory." + +"That may not be a wise speech, but it sounds good," said Dorothy +approvingly. "Ugu the Shoemaker is not only a common man, but he's a +wicked man and a cruel man and deserves to be conquered. We mustn't +have any mercy on him till Ozma is set free. So let's go to his castle +as the Frogman says and see what the place looks like." + +No one offered any objection to this plan, and so it was adopted. They +broke camp and were about to start on the journey to Ugu's castle when +they discovered that Button-Bright was lost again. The girls and the +Wizard shouted his name, and the Lion roared and the Donkey brayed and +the Frogman croaked and the Big Lavender Bear growled (to the envy of +Toto, who couldn't growl but barked his loudest), yet none of them +could make Button-Bright hear. So after vainly searching for the boy a +full hour, they formed a procession and proceeded in the direction of +the wicker castle of Ugu the Shoemaker. + +"Button-Bright's always getting lost," said Dorothy. "And if he wasn't +always getting found again, I'd prob'ly worry. He may have gone ahead +of us, and he may have gone back, but wherever he is, we'll find him +sometime and somewhere, I'm almost sure." + + + + +CHAPTER 19 + +UGU THE SHOEMAKER + + +A curious thing about Ugu the Shoemaker was that he didn't suspect in +the least that he was wicked. He wanted to be powerful and great, and +he hoped to make himself master of all the Land of Oz that he might +compel everyone in that fairy country to obey him, His ambition blinded +him to the rights of others, and he imagined anyone else would act just +as he did if anyone else happened to be as clever as himself. + +When he inhabited his little shoemaking shop in the City of Herku, he +had been discontented, for a shoemaker is not looked upon with high +respect, and Ugu knew that his ancestors had been famous magicians for +many centuries past and therefore his family was above the ordinary. +Even his father practiced magic when Ugu was a boy, but his father had +wandered away from Herku and had never come back again. So when Ugu +grew up, he was forced to make shoes for a living, knowing nothing of +the magic of his forefathers. But one day, in searching through the +attic of his house, he discovered all the books of magical recipes and +many magical instruments which had formerly been in use in his family. +From that day, he stopped making shoes and began to study magic. +Finally, he aspired to become the greatest magician in Oz, and for days +and weeks and months he thought on a plan to render all the other +sorcerers and wizards, as well as those with fairy powers, helpless to +oppose him. + +From the books of his ancestors, he learned the following facts: + +(1) That Ozma of Oz was the fairy ruler of the Emerald City and the +Land of Oz and that she could not be destroyed by any magic ever +devised. Also, by means of her Magic Picture she would be able to +discover anyone who approached her royal palace with the idea of +conquering it. + +(2) That Glinda the Good was the most powerful Sorceress in Oz, among +her other magical possessions being the Great Book of Records, which +told her all that happened anywhere in the world. This Book of Records +was very dangerous to Ugu's plans, and Glinda was in the service of +Ozma and would use her arts of sorcery to protect the girl Ruler. + +(3) That the Wizard of Oz, who lived in Ozma's palace, had been taught +much powerful magic by Glinda and had a bag of magic tools with which +he might be able to conquer the Shoemaker. + +(4) That there existed in Oz--in the Yip Country--a jeweled dishpan +made of gold, which dishpan would grow large enough for a man to sit +inside it. Then, when he grasped both the golden handles, the dishpan +would transport him in an instant to any place he wished to go within +the borders of the Land of Oz. + +No one now living except Ugu knew of the powers of the Magic Dishpan, +so after long study, the shoemaker decided that if he could manage to +secure the dishpan, he could by its means rob Ozma and Glinda and the +Wizard of Oz of all their magic, thus becoming himself the most +powerful person in all the land. His first act was to go away from the +City of Herku and build for himself the Wicker Castle in the hills. +Here he carried his books and instruments of magic, and here for a full +year he diligently practiced all the magical arts learned from his +ancestors. At the end of that time, he could do a good many wonderful +things. + +Then, when all his preparations were made, he set out for the Yip +Country, and climbing the steep mountain at night he entered the house +of Cayke the Cookie Cook and stole her diamond-studded gold dishpan +while all the Yips were asleep, Taking his prize outside, he set the +pan upon the ground and uttered the required magic word. Instantly, +the dishpan grew as large as a big washtub, and Ugu seated himself in +it and grasped the two handles. Then he wished himself in the great +drawing room of Glinda the Good. + +He was there in a flash. First he took the Great Book of Records and +put it in the dishpan. Then he went to Glinda's laboratory and took +all her rare chemical compounds and her instruments of sorcery, placing +these also in the dishpan, which he caused to grow large enough to hold +them. Next he seated himself amongst the treasures he had stolen and +wished himself in the room in Ozma's palace which the Wizard occupied +and where he kept his bag of magic tools. This bag Ugu added to his +plunder and then wished himself in the apartments of Ozma. + +Here he first took the Magic Picture from the wall and then seized all +the other magical things which Ozma possessed. Having placed these in +the dishpan, he was about to climb in himself when he looked up and saw +Ozma standing beside him. Her fairy instinct had warned her that +danger was threatening her, so the beautiful girl Ruler rose from her +couch and leaving her bedchamber at once confronted the thief. + +Ugu had to think quickly, for he realized that if he permitted Ozma to +rouse the inmates of her palace, all his plans and his present +successes were likely to come to naught. So he threw a scarf over the +girl's head so she could not scream, and pushed her into the dishpan +and tied her fast so she could not move. Then he climbed in beside her +and wished himself in his own wicker castle. The Magic Dishpan was +there in an instant, with all its contents, and Ugu rubbed his hands +together in triumphant joy as he realized that he now possessed all the +important magic in the Land of Oz and could force all the inhabitants +of that fairyland to do as he willed. + +So quickly had his journey been accomplished that before daylight the +robber magician had locked Ozma in a room, making her a prisoner, and +had unpacked and arranged all his stolen goods. The next day he placed +the Book of Records on his table and hung the Magic Picture on his wall +and put away in his cupboards and drawers all the elixirs and magic +compounds he had stolen. The magical instruments he polished and +arranged, and this was fascinating work and made him very happy. + +By turns the imprisoned Ruler wept and scolded the Shoemaker, haughtily +threatening him with dire punishment for the wicked deeds he had done. +Ugu became somewhat afraid of his fairy prisoner, in spite of the fact +that he believed he had robbed her of all her powers; so he performed +an enchantment that quickly disposed of her and placed her out of his +sight and hearing. After that, being occupied with other things, he +soon forgot her. + +But now, when he looked into the Magic Picture and read the Great Book +of Records, the Shoemaker learned that his wickedness was not to go +unchallenged. Two important expeditions had set out to find him and +force him to give up his stolen property. One was the party headed by +the Wizard and Dorothy, while the other consisted of Cayke and the +Frogman. Others were also searching, but not in the right places. +These two groups, however, were headed straight for the wicker castle, +and so Ugu began to plan how best to meet them and to defeat their +efforts to conquer him. + + + + +CHAPTER 20 + +MORE SURPRISES + + +All that first day after the union of the two parties, our friends +marched steadily toward the wicker castle of Ugu the Shoemaker. When +night came, they camped in a little grove and passed a pleasant evening +together, although some of them were worried because Button-Bright was +still lost. + +"Perhaps," said Toto as the animals lay grouped together for the night, +"this Shoemaker who stole my growl and who stole Ozma has also stolen +Button-Bright." + +"How do you know that the Shoemaker stole your growl?" demanded the +Woozy. + +"He has stolen about everything else of value in Oz, hasn't he?" +replied the dog. + +"He has stolen everything he wants, perhaps," agreed the Lion, "but +what could anyone want with your growl?" + +"Well," said the dog, wagging his tail slowly, "my recollection is that +it was a wonderful growl, soft and low and--and--" + +"And ragged at the edges," said the Sawhorse. + +"So," continued Toto, "if that magician hadn't any growl of his own, he +might have wanted mine and stolen it." + +"And if he has, he will soon wish he hadn't," remarked the Mule. "Also, +if he has stolen Button-Bright, he will be sorry." + +"Don't you like Button-Bright, then?" asked the Lion in surprise. + +"It isn't a question of liking him," replied the Mule. "It's a +question of watching him and looking after him. Any boy who causes his +friends so much worry isn't worth having around. I never get lost." + +"If you did," said Toto, "no one would worry a bit. I think +Button-Bright is a very lucky boy because he always gets found." + +"See here," said the Lion, "this chatter is keeping us all awake, and +tomorrow is likely to be a busy day. Go to sleep and forget your +quarrels." + +"Friend Lion," retorted the dog, "if I hadn't lost my growl, you would +hear it now. I have as much right to talk as you have to sleep." + +The Lion sighed. + +"If only you had lost your voice when you lost your growl," said he, +"you would be a more agreeable companion." + +But they quieted down after that, and soon the entire camp was wrapped +in slumber. Next morning they made an early start, but had hardly +proceeded on their way an hour when, on climbing a slight elevation, +they beheld in the distance a low mountain on top of which stood Ugu's +wicker castle. It was a good-sized building and rather pretty because +the sides, roofs and domes were all of wicker, closely woven as it is +in fine baskets. + +"I wonder if it is strong?" said Dorothy musingly as she eyed the queer +castle. + +"I suppose it is, since a magician built it," answered the Wizard. +"With magic to protect it, even a paper castle might be as strong as if +made of stone. This Ugu must be a man of ideas, because he does things +in a different way from other people." + +"Yes. No one else would steal our dear Ozma," sighed tiny Trot. + +"I wonder if Ozma is there?" said Betsy, indicating the castle with a +nod of her head. + +"Where else could she be?" asked Scraps. + +"Suppose we ask the Pink Bear," suggested Dorothy. + +That seemed a good idea, so they halted the procession, and the Bear +King held the little Pink Bear on his lap and turned the crank in its +side and asked, "Where is Ozma of Oz?" + +And the little Pink Bear answered, "She is in a hole in the ground a +half mile away at your left." + +"Good gracious!" cried Dorothy. + +"Then she is not in Ugu's castle at all." + +"It is lucky we asked that question," said the Wizard, "for if we can +find Ozma and rescue her, there will be no need for us to fight that +wicked and dangerous magician." + +"Indeed!" said Cayke. "Then what about my dishpan?" + +The Wizard looked puzzled at her tone of remonstrance, so she added, +"Didn't you people from the Emerald City promise that we would all +stick together, and that you would help me to get my dishpan if I would +help you to get your Ozma? And didn't I bring to you the little Pink +Bear, which has told you where Ozma is hidden?" + +"She's right," said Dorothy to the Wizard. + +"We must do as we agreed." + +"Well, first of all, let us go and rescue Ozma," proposed the Wizard. +"Then our beloved Ruler may be able to advise us how to conquer Ugu the +Shoemaker." So they turned to the left and marched for half a mile +until they came to a small but deep hole in the ground. At once, all +rushed to the brim to peer into the hole, but instead of finding there +Princess Ozma of Oz, all that they saw was Button-Bright, who was lying +asleep on the bottom. + +Their cries soon wakened the boy, who sat up and rubbed his eyes. When +he recognized his friends, he smiled sweetly, saying, "Found again!" + +"Where is Ozma?" inquired Dorothy anxiously. + +"I don't know," answered Button-Bright from the depths of the hole. "I +got lost yesterday, as you may remember, and in the night while I was +wandering around in the moonlight trying to find my way back to you, I +suddenly fell into this hole." + +"And wasn't Ozma in it then?" + +"There was no one in it but me, and I was sorry it wasn't entirely +empty. The sides are so steep I can't climb out, so there was nothing +to be done but sleep until someone found me. Thank you for coming. If +you'll please let down a rope, I'll empty this hole in a hurry." + +"How strange!" said Dorothy, greatly disappointed. + +"It's evident the Pink Bear didn't tell the truth." + +"He never makes a mistake," declared the Lavender Bear King in a tone +that showed his feelings were hurt. And then he turned the crank of +the little Pink Bear again and asked, "Is this the hole that Ozma of Oz +is in?" + +"Yes," answered the Pink Bear. + +"That settles it," said the King positively. "Your Ozma is in this +hole in the ground." + +"Don't be silly," returned Dorothy impatiently. "Even your beady eyes +can see there is no one in the hole but Button-Bright." + +"Perhaps Button-Bright is Ozma," suggested the King. + +"And perhaps he isn't! Ozma is a girl, and Button-Bright is a boy." + +"Your Pink Bear must be out of order," said the Wizard, "for, this time +at least, his machinery has caused him to make an untrue statement." + +The Bear King was so angry at this remark that he turned away, holding +the Pink Bear in his paws, and refused to discuss the matter in any +further way. + +"At any rate," said the Frogman, "the Pink Bear has led us to your boy +friend and so enabled you to rescue him." + +Scraps was leaning so far over the hole trying to find Ozma in it that +suddenly she lost her balance and pitched in head foremost. She fell +upon Button-Bright and tumbled him over, but he was not hurt by her +soft, stuffed body and only laughed at the mishap. The Wizard buckled +some straps together and let one end of them down into the hole, and +soon both Scraps and the boy had climbed up and were standing safely +beside the others. They looked once more for Ozma, but the hole was +now absolutely vacant. It was a round hole, so from the top they could +plainly see every part of it. Before they left the place, Dorothy went +to the Bear King and said, "I'm sorry we couldn't believe what the +little Pink Bear said, 'cause we don't want to make you feel bad by +doubting him. There must be a mistake, somewhere, and we prob'ly don't +understand just what the little Pink Bear said. Will you let me ask +him one more question?" + +The Lavender Bear King was a good-natured bear, considering how he was +made and stuffed and jointed, so he accepted Dorothy's apology and +turned the crank and allowed the little girl to question his wee Pink +Bear. + +"Is Ozma REALLY in this hole?" asked Dorothy. + +"No," said the little Pink Bear. + +This surprised everybody. Even the Bear King was now puzzled by the +contradictory statements of his oracle. + +"Where IS she?" asked the King. + +"Here, among you," answered the little Pink Bear. + +"Well," said Dorothy, "this beats me entirely! I guess the little Pink +Bear has gone crazy." + +"Perhaps," called Scraps, who was rapidly turning "cartwheels" all +around the perplexed group, "Ozma is invisible." + +"Of course!" cried Betsy. "That would account for it." + +"Well, I've noticed that people can speak, even when they've been made +invisible," said the Wizard. And then he looked all around him and +said in a solemn voice, "Ozma, are you here?" + +There was no reply. Dorothy asked the question, too, and so did +Button-Bright and Trot and Betsy, but none received any reply at all. + +"It's strange, it's terrible strange!" muttered Cayke the Cookie Cook. +"I was sure that the little Pink Bear always tells the truth." + +"I still believe in his honesty," said the Frogman, and this tribute so +pleased the Bear King that he gave these last speakers grateful looks, +but still gazed sourly on the others. + +"Come to think of it," remarked the Wizard, "Ozma couldn't be +invisible, for she is a fairy, and fairies cannot be made invisible +against their will. Of course, she could be imprisoned by the magician +or enchanted or transformed, in spite of her fairy powers, but Ugu +could not render her invisible by any magic at his command." + +"I wonder if she's been transformed into Button-Bright?" said Dorothy +nervously. Then she looked steadily at the boy and asked, "Are you +Ozma? Tell me truly!" + +Button-Bright laughed. + +"You're getting rattled, Dorothy," he replied. "Nothing ever enchants +ME. If I were Ozma, do you think I'd have tumbled into that hole?" + +"Anyhow," said the Wizard, "Ozma would never try to deceive her friends +or prevent them from recognizing her in whatever form she happened to +be. The puzzle is still a puzzle, so let us go on to the wicker castle +and question the magician himself. Since it was he who stole our Ozma, +Ugu is the one who must tell us where to find her." + + + + +CHAPTER 21 + +MAGIC AGAINST MAGIC + + +The Wizard's advice was good, so again they started in the direction of +the low mountain on the crest of which the wicker castle had been +built. They had been gradually advancing uphill, so now the elevation +seemed to them more like a round knoll than a mountaintop. However, +the sides of the knoll were sloping and covered with green grass, so +there was a stiff climb before them yet. + +Undaunted, they plodded on and had almost reached the knoll when they +suddenly observed that it was surrounded by a circle of flame. At +first, the flames barely rose above the ground, but presently they grew +higher and higher until a circle of flaming tongues of fire taller than +any of their heads quite surrounded the hill on which the wicker castle +stood. When they approached the flames, the heat was so intense that +it drove them back again. + +"This will never do for me!" exclaimed the Patchwork Girl. "I catch +fire very easily." + +"It won't do for me either," grumbled the Sawhorse, prancing to the +rear. + +"I also strongly object to fire," said the Bear King, following the +Sawhorse to a safe distance and hugging the little Pink Bear with his +paws. + +"I suppose the foolish Shoemaker imagines these blazes will stop us," +remarked the Wizard with a smile of scorn for Ugu. "But I am able to +inform you that this is merely a simple magic trick which the robber +stole from Glinda the Good, and by good fortune I know how to destroy +these flames as well as how to produce them. Will some one of you +kindly give me a match?" + +You may be sure the girls carried no matches, nor did the Frogman or +any of the animals. But Button-Bright, after searching carefully +through his pockets, which contained all sorts of useful and useless +things, finally produced a match and handed it to the Wizard, who tied +it to the end of a branch which he tore from a small tree growing near +them. Then the little Wizard carefully lighted the match, and running +forward thrust it into the nearest flame. Instantly, the circle of +fire began to die away, and soon vanished completely leaving the way +clear for them to proceed. + +"That was funny!" laughed Button-Bright. + +"Yes," agreed the Wizard, "it seems odd that a little match could +destroy such a great circle of fire, but when Glinda invented this +trick, she believed no one would ever think of a match being a remedy +for fire. I suppose even Ugu doesn't know how we managed to quench the +flames of his barrier, for only Glinda and I know the secret. Glinda's +Book of Magic which Ugu stole told how to make the flames, but not how +to put them out." + +They now formed in marching order and proceeded to advance up the slope +of the hill, but had not gone far when before them rose a wall of +steel, the surface of which was thickly covered with sharp, gleaming +points resembling daggers. The wall completely surrounded the wicker +castle, and its sharp points prevented anyone from climbing it. Even +the Patchwork Girl might be ripped to pieces if she dared attempt it. +"Ah!" exclaimed the Wizard cheerfully, "Ugu is now using one of my own +tricks against me. But this is more serious than the Barrier of Fire, +because the only way to destroy the wall is to get on the other side of +it." + +"How can that be done?" asked Dorothy. + +The Wizard looked thoughtfully around his little party, and his face +grew troubled. "It's a pretty high wall," he sadly remarked. "I'm +pretty sure the Cowardly Lion could not leap over it." + +"I'm sure of that, too!" said the Lion with a shudder of fear. "If I +foolishly tried such a leap, I would be caught on those dreadful +spikes." + +"I think I could do it, sir," said the Frogman with a bow to the +Wizard. "It is an uphill jump as well as being a high jump, but I'm +considered something of a jumper by my friends in the Yip Country, and +I believe a good, strong leap will carry me to the other side." + +"I'm sure it would," agreed the Cookie Cook. + +"Leaping, you know, is a froglike accomplishment," continued the +Frogman modestly, "but please tell me what I am to do when I reach the +other side of the wall." + +"You're a brave creature," said the Wizard admiringly. "Has anyone a +pin?" + +Betsy had one, which she gave him. "All you need do," said the Wizard +to the Frogman, giving him the pin, "is to stick this into the other +side of the wall." + +"But the wall is of steel!" exclaimed the big frog. + +"I know. At least, it SEEMS to be steel, but do as I tell you. Stick +the pin into the wall, and it will disappear." + +The Frogman took off his handsome coat and carefully folded it and laid +it on the grass. Then he removed his hat and laid it together with his +gold-headed cane beside the coat. He then went back a way and made +three powerful leaps in rapid succession. The first two leaps took him +to the wall, and the third leap carried him well over it, to the +amazement of all. For a short time, he disappeared from their view, +but when he had obeyed the Wizard's injunction and had thrust the pin +into the wall, the huge barrier vanished and showed them the form of +the Frogman, who now went to where his coat lay and put it on again. + +"We thank you very much," said the delighted Wizard. + +"That was the most wonderful leap I ever saw, and it has saved us from +defeat by our enemy. Let us now hurry on to the castle before Ugu the +Shoemaker thinks up some other means to stop us." + +"We must have surprised him so far," declared Dorothy. + +"Yes indeed. The fellow knows a lot of magic--all of our tricks and +some of his own," replied the Wizard. "So if he is half as clever as +he ought to be, we shall have trouble with him yet." + +He had scarcely spoken these words when out from the gates of the +wicker castle marched a regiment of soldiers, clad in gay uniforms and +all bearing long, pointed spears and sharp battle axes. These soldiers +were girls, and the uniforms were short skirts of yellow and black +satin, golden shoes, bands of gold across their foreheads and necklaces +of glittering jewels. Their jackets were scarlet, braided with silver +cords. There were hundreds of these girl-soldiers, and they were more +terrible than beautiful, being strong and fierce in appearance. They +formed a circle all around the castle and faced outward, their spears +pointed toward the invaders, and their battle axes held over their +shoulders, ready to strike. Of course, our friends halted at once, for +they had not expected this dreadful array of soldiery. The Wizard +seemed puzzled, and his companions exchanged discouraged looks. + +"I'd no idea Ugu had such an army as that," said Dorothy. "The castle +doesn't look big enough to hold them all." + +"It isn't," declared the Wizard. + +"But they all marched out of it." + +"They seemed to, but I don't believe it is a real army at all. If Ugu +the Shoemaker had so many people living with him, I'm sure the Czarover +of Herku would have mentioned the fact to us." + +"They're only girls!" laughed Scraps. + +"Girls are the fiercest soldiers of all," declared the Frogman. "They +are more brave than men, and they have better nerves. That is probably +why the magician uses them for soldiers and has sent them to oppose us." + +No one argued this statement, for all were staring hard at the line of +soldiers, which now, having taken a defiant position, remained +motionless. + +"Here is a trick of magic new to me," admitted the Wizard after a time. +"I do not believe the army is real, but the spears may be sharp enough +to prick us, nevertheless, so we must be cautious. Let us take time to +consider how to meet this difficulty." + +While they were thinking it over, Scraps danced closer to the line of +girl soldiers. Her button eyes sometimes saw more than did the natural +eyes of her comrades, and so after staring hard at the magician's army, +she boldly advanced and danced right through the threatening line! On +the other side, she waved her stuffed arms and called out, "Come on, +folks. The spears can't hurt you." said the Wizard gaily. "An optical +illusion, as I thought. Let us all follow the Patchwork Girl." The +three little girls were somewhat nervous in attempting to brave the +spears and battle axes, but after the others had safely passed the +line, they ventured to follow. And when all had passed through the +ranks of the girl army, the army itself magically disappeared from view. + +All this time our friends had been getting farther up the hill and +nearer to the wicker castle. Now, continuing their advance, they +expected something else to oppose their way, but to their astonishment +nothing happened, and presently they arrived at the wicker gates, which +stood wide open, and boldly entered the domain of Ugu the Shoemaker. + + + + +CHAPTER 22 + +IN THE WICKER CASTLE + + +No sooner were the Wizard of Oz and his followers well within the +castle entrance when the big gates swung to with a clang and heavy bars +dropped across them. They looked at one another uneasily, but no one +cared to speak of the incident. If they were indeed prisoners in the +wicker castle, it was evident they must find a way to escape, but their +first duty was to attend to the errand on which they had come and seek +the Royal Ozma, whom they believed to be a prisoner of the magician, +and rescue her. + +They found they had entered a square courtyard, from which an entrance +led into the main building of the castle. No person had appeared to +greet them so far, although a gaudy peacock perched upon the wall +cackled with laughter and said in its sharp, shrill voice, "Poor fools! +Poor fools!" + +"I hope the peacock is mistaken," remarked the Frogman, but no one else +paid any attention to the bird. They were a little awed by the +stillness and loneliness of the place. As they entered the doors of +the castle, which stood invitingly open, these also closed behind them +and huge bolts shot into place. The animals had all accompanied the +party into the castle because they felt it would be dangerous for them +to separate. They were forced to follow a zigzag passage, turning this +way and that, until finally they entered a great central hall, circular +in form and with a high dome from which was suspended an enormous +chandelier. + +The Wizard went first, and Dorothy, Betsy and Trot followed him, Toto +keeping at the heels of his little mistress. Then came the Lion, the +Woozy and the Sawhorse, then Cayke the Cookie Cook and Button-Bright, +then the Lavender Bear carrying the Pink Bear, and finally the Frogman +and the Patchwork Girl, with Hank the Mule tagging behind. So it was +the Wizard who caught the first glimpse of the big, domed hall, but the +others quickly followed and gathered in a wondering group just within +the entrance. + +Upon a raised platform at one side was a heavy table on which lay +Glinda's Great Book of Records, but the platform was firmly fastened to +the floor and the table was fastened to the platform and the Book was +chained fast to the table, just as it had been when it was kept in +Glinda's palace. On the wall over the table hung Ozma's Magic Picture. +On a row of shelves at the opposite side of the hall stood all the +chemicals and essences of magic and all the magical instruments that +had been stolen from Glinda and Ozma and the Wizard, with glass doors +covering the shelves so that no one could get at them. + +And in a far corner sat Ugu the Shoemaker, his feet lazily extended, +his skinny hands clasped behind his head. He was leaning back at his +ease and calmly smoking a long pipe. Around the magician was a sort of +cage, seemingly made of golden bars set wide apart, and at his feet, +also within the cage, reposed the long-sought diamond-studded dishpan +of Cayke the Cookie Cook. Princess Ozma of Oz was nowhere to be seen. + +"Well, well," said Ugu when the invaders had stood in silence for a +moment, staring about them. "This visit is an unexpected pleasure, I +assure you. I knew you were coming, and I know why you are here. You +are not welcome, for I cannot use any of you to my advantage, but as +you have insisted on coming, I hope you will make the afternoon call as +brief as possible. It won't take long to transact your business with +me. You will ask me for Ozma, and my reply will be that you may find +her--if you can." + +"Sir," answered the Wizard in a tone of rebuke, "you are a very wicked +and cruel person. I suppose you imagine, because you have stolen this +poor woman's dishpan and all the best magic in Oz, that you are more +powerful than we are and will be able to triumph over us." + +"Yes," said Ugu the Shoemaker, slowly filling his pipe with fresh +tobacco from a silver bowl that stood beside him, "that is exactly what +I imagine. It will do you no good to demand from me the girl who was +formerly the Ruler of Oz, because I will not tell you where I have +hidden her, and you can't guess in a thousand years. Neither will I +restore to you any of the magic I have captured. I am not so foolish. +But bear this in mind: I mean to be the Ruler of Oz myself, hereafter, +so I advise you to be careful how you address your future Monarch." + +"Ozma is still Ruler of Oz, wherever you may have hidden her," declared +the Wizard. "And bear this in mind, miserable Shoemaker: we intend to +find her and to rescue her in time, but our first duty and pleasure +will be to conquer you and then punish you for your misdeeds." + +"Very well, go ahead and conquer," said Ugu. "I'd really like to see +how you can do it." + +Now although the little Wizard had spoken so boldly, he had at the +moment no idea how they might conquer the magician. He had that +morning given the Frogman, at his request, a dose of zosozo from his +bottle, and the Frogman had promised to fight a good fight if it was +necessary, but the Wizard knew that strength alone could not avail +against magical arts. The toy Bear King seemed to have some pretty +good magic, however, and the Wizard depended to an extent on that. But +something ought to be done right away, and the Wizard didn't know what +it was. + +While he considered this perplexing question and the others stood +looking at him as their leader, a queer thing happened. The floor of +the great circular hall on which they were standing suddenly began to +tip. Instead of being flat and level, it became a slant, and the slant +grew steeper and steeper until none of the party could manage to stand +upon it. Presently they all slid down to the wall, which was now under +them, and then it became evident that the whole vast room was slowly +turning upside down! Only Ugu the Shoemaker, kept in place by the bars +of his golden cage, remained in his former position, and the wicked +magician seemed to enjoy the surprise of his victims immensely. + +First they all slid down to the wall back of them, but as the room +continued to turn over, they next slid down the wall and found +themselves at the bottom of the great dome, bumping against the big +chandelier which, like everything else, was now upside down. The +turning movement now stopped, and the room became stationary. Looking +far up, they saw Ugu suspended in his cage at the very top, which had +once been the floor. + +"Ah," said he, grinning down at them, "the way to conquer is to act, +and he who acts promptly is sure to win. This makes a very good +prison, from which I am sure you cannot escape. Please amuse +yourselves in any way you like, but I must beg you to excuse me, as I +have business in another part of my castle." + +Saying this, he opened a trap door in the floor of his cage (which was +now over his head) and climbed through it and disappeared from their +view. The diamond dishpan still remained in the cage, but the bars +kept it from falling down on their heads. + +"Well, I declare," said the Patchwork Girl, seizing one of the bars of +the chandelier and swinging from it, "we must peg one for the +Shoemaker, for he has trapped us very cleverly." + +"Get off my foot, please," said the Lion to the Sawhorse. + +"And oblige me, Mr. Mule," remarked the Woozy, "by taking your tail +out of my left eye." + +"It's rather crowded down here," explained Dorothy, "because the dome +is rounding and we have all slid into the middle of it. But let us +keep as quiet as possible until we can think what's best to be done." + +"Dear, dear!" wailed Cayke, "I wish I had my darling dishpan," and she +held her arms longingly toward it. + +"I wish I had the magic on those shelves up there," sighed the Wizard. + +"Don't you s'pose we could get to it?" asked Trot anxiously. + +"We'd have to fly," laughed the Patchwork Girl. + +But the Wizard took the suggestion seriously, and so did the Frogman. +They talked it over and soon planned an attempt to reach the shelves +where the magical instruments were. First the Frogman lay against the +rounding dome and braced his foot on the stem of the chandelier; then +the Wizard climbed over him and lay on the dome with his feet on the +Frogman's shoulders; the Cookie Cook came next; then Button-Bright +climbed to the woman's shoulders; then Dorothy climbed up and Betsy and +Trot, and finally the Patchwork Girl, and all their lengths made a long +line that reached far up the dome, but not far enough for Scraps to +touch the shelves. + +"Wait a minute. Perhaps I can reach the magic," called the Bear King, +and began scrambling up the bodies of the others. But when he came to +the Cookie Cook, his soft paws tickled her side so that she squirmed +and upset the whole line. Down they came, tumbling in a heap against +the animals, and although no one was much hurt, it was a bad mix-up, +and the Frogman, who was at the bottom, almost lost his temper before +he could get on his feet again. + +Cayke positively refused to try what she called "the pyramid act" +again, and as the Wizard was now convinced they could not reach the +magic tools in that manner, the attempt was abandoned. "But SOMETHING +must be done," said the Wizard, and then he turned to the Lavender Bear +and asked, "Cannot Your Majesty's magic help us to escape from here?" + +"My magic powers are limited," was the reply. "When I was stuffed, the +fairies stood by and slyly dropped some magic into my stuffing. +Therefore I can do any of the magic that's inside me, but nothing else. +You, however, are a wizard, and a wizard should be able to do anything." + +"Your Majesty forgets that my tools of magic have been stolen," said +the Wizard sadly, "and a wizard without tools is as helpless as a +carpenter without a hammer or saw." + +"Don't give up," pleaded Button-Bright, "'cause if we can't get out of +this queer prison, we'll all starve to death." + +"Not I!" laughed the Patchwork Girl, now standing on top of the +chandelier at the place that was meant to be the bottom of it. + +"Don't talk of such dreadful things," said Trot, shuddering. "We came +here to capture the Shoemaker, didn't we?" + +"Yes, and to save Ozma," said Betsy. + +"And here we are, captured ourselves, and my darling dishpan up there +in plain sight!" wailed the Cookie Cook, wiping her eyes on the tail of +the Frogman's coat. + +"Hush!" called the Lion with a low, deep growl. "Give the Wizard time +to think." + +"He has plenty of time," said Scraps. "What he needs is the Scarecrow's +brains." + +After all, it was little Dorothy who came to their rescue, and her +ability to save them was almost as much a surprise to the girl as it +was to her friends. Dorothy had been secretly testing the powers of +her Magic Belt, which she had once captured from the Nome King, and +experimenting with it in various ways ever since she had started on +this eventful journey. At different times she had stolen away from the +others of her party and in solitude had tried to find out what the +Magic Belt could do and what it could not do. There were a lot of +things it could not do, she discovered, but she learned some things +about the Belt which even her girl friends did not suspect she knew. + +For one thing, she had remembered that when the Nome King owned it, the +Magic Belt used to perform transformations, and by thinking hard she +had finally recalled the way in which such transformations had been +accomplished. Better than this, however, was the discovery that the +Magic Belt would grant its wearer one wish a day. All she need do was +close her right eye and wiggle her left toe and then draw a long breath +and make her wish. Yesterday she had wished in secret for a box of +caramels, and instantly found the box beside her. Today she had saved +her daily wish in case she might need it in an emergency, and the time +had now come when she must use the wish to enable her to escape with +her friends from the prison in which Ugu had caught them. + +So without telling anyone what she intended to do--for she had only +used the wish once and could not be certain how powerful the Magic Belt +might be--Dorothy closed her right eye and wiggled her left big toe and +drew a long breath and wished with all her might. The next moment the +room began to revolve again, as slowly as before, and by degrees they +all slid to the side wall and down the wall to the floor--all but +Scraps, who was so astonished that she still clung to the chandelier. +When the big hall was in its proper position again and the others stood +firmly upon the floor of it, they looked far up the dome and saw the +Patchwork girl swinging from the chandelier. + +"Good gracious!" cried Dorothy. "How ever will you get down?" + +"Won't the room keep turning?" asked Scraps. + +"I hope not. I believe it has stopped for good," said Princess Dorothy. + +"Then stand from under, so you won't get hurt!" shouted the Patchwork +Girl, and as soon as they had obeyed this request, she let go the +chandelier and came tumbling down heels over head and twisting and +turning in a very exciting manner. Plump! She fell on the tiled +floor, and they ran to her and rolled her and patted her into shape +again. + + + + +CHAPTER 23 + +THE DEFIANCE OF UGU THE SHOEMAKER + + +The delay caused by Scraps had prevented anyone from running to the +shelves to secure the magic instruments so badly needed. Even Cayke +neglected to get her diamond-studded dishpan because she was watching +the Patchwork Girl. And now the magician had opened his trap door and +appeared in his golden cage again, frowning angrily because his +prisoners had been able to turn their upside-down prison right side up. +"Which of you has dared defy my magic?" he shouted in a terrible voice. + +"It was I," answered Dorothy calmly. + +"Then I shall destroy you, for you are only an Earth girl and no +fairy," he said, and began to mumble some magic words. + +Dorothy now realized that Ugu must be treated as an enemy, so she +advanced toward the corner in which he sat, saying as she went, "I am +not afraid of you, Mr. Shoemaker, and I think you'll be sorry, pretty +soon, that you're such a bad man. You can't destroy me, and I won't +destroy you, but I'm going to punish you for your wickedness." + +Ugu laughed, a laugh that was not nice to hear, and then he waved his +hand. Dorothy was halfway across the room when suddenly a wall of +glass rose before her and stopped her progress. Through the glass she +could see the magician sneering at her because she was a weak little +girl, and this provoked her. Although the glass wall obliged her to +halt, she instantly pressed both hands to her Magic Belt and cried in a +loud voice, "Ugu the Shoemaker, by the magic virtues of the Magic Belt, +I command you to become a dove!" + +The magician instantly realized he was being enchanted, for he could +feel his form changing. He struggled desperately against the +enchantment, mumbling magic words and making magic passes with his +hands. And in one way he succeeded in defeating Dorothy's purpose, for +while his form soon changed to that of a gray dove, the dove was of an +enormous size, bigger even than Ugu had been as a man, and this feat he +had been able to accomplish before his powers of magic wholly deserted +him. + +And the dove was not gentle, as doves usually are, for Ugu was terribly +enraged at the little girl's success. His books had told him nothing +of the Nome King's Magic Belt, the Country of the Nomes being outside +the Land of Oz. He knew, however, that he was likely to be conquered +unless he made a fierce fight, so he spread his wings and rose in the +air and flew directly toward Dorothy. The Wall of Glass had +disappeared the instant Ugu became transformed. + +Dorothy had meant to command the Belt to transform the magician into a +Dove of Peace, but in her excitement she forgot to say more than +"dove," and now Ugu was not a Dove of Peace by any means, but rather a +spiteful Dove of War. His size made his sharp beak and claws very +dangerous, but Dorothy was not afraid when he came darting toward her +with his talons outstretched and his sword-like beak open. She knew +the Magic Belt would protect its wearer from harm. + +But the Frogman did not know that fact and became alarmed at the little +girl's seeming danger. So he gave a sudden leap and leaped full upon +the back of the great dove. Then began a desperate struggle. The dove +was as strong as Ugu had been, and in size it was considerably bigger +than the Frogman. But the Frogman had eaten the zosozo, and it had +made him fully as strong as Ugu the Dove. At the first leap he bore +the dove to the floor, but the giant bird got free and began to bite +and claw the Frogman, beating him down with its great wings whenever he +attempted to rise. The thick, tough skin of the big frog was not +easily damaged, but Dorothy feared for her champion, and by again using +the transformation power of the Magic Belt, she made the dove grow +small until it was no larger than a canary bird. Ugu had not lost his +knowledge of magic when he lost his shape as a man, and he now realized +it was hopeless to oppose the power of the Magic Belt and knew that his +only hope of escape lay in instant action. So he quickly flew into the +golden jeweled dishpan he had stolen from Cayke the Cookie Cook, and as +birds can talk as well as beasts or men in the Fairyland of Oz, he +muttered the magic word that was required and wished himself in the +Country of the Quadlings, which was as far away from the wicker castle +as he believed he could get. + +Our friends did not know, of course, what Ugu was about to do. They +saw the dishpan tremble an instant and then disappear, the dove +disappearing with it, and although they waited expectantly for some +minutes for the magician's return, Ugu did not come back again. "Seems +to me," said the Wizard in a cheerful voice, "that we have conquered +the wicked magician more quickly than we expected to." + +"Don't say 'we.' Dorothy did it!" cried the Patchwork Girl, turning +three somersaults in succession and then walking around on her hands. +"Hurrah for Dorothy!" + +"I thought you said you did not know how to use the magic of the Nome +King's Belt," said the Wizard to Dorothy. + +"I didn't know at that time," she replied, "but afterward I remembered +how the Nome King once used the Magic Belt to enchant people and +transform 'em into ornaments and all sorts of things, so I tried some +enchantments in secret, and after a while I transformed the Sawhorse +into a potato masher and back again, and the Cowardly Lion into a +pussycat and back again, and then I knew the thing would work all +right." + +"When did you perform those enchantments?" asked the Wizard, much +surprised. + +"One night when all the rest of you were asleep but Scraps, and she had +gone chasing moonbeams." + +"Well," remarked the Wizard, "your discovery has certainly saved us a +lot of trouble, and we must all thank the Frogman, too, for making such +a good fight. The dove's shape had Ugu's evil disposition inside it, +and that made the monster bird dangerous." + +The Frogman was looking sad because the bird's talons had torn his +pretty clothes, but he bowed with much dignity at this well-deserved +praise. Cayke, however, had squatted on the floor and was sobbing +bitterly. "My precious dishpan is gone!" she wailed. "Gone, just as I +had found it again!" + +"Never mind," said Trot, trying to comfort her, "it's sure to be +SOMEWHERE, so we'll cert'nly run across it some day." + +"Yes indeed," added Betsy, "now that we have Ozma's Magic Picture, we +can tell just where the Dove went with your dishpan. They all +approached the Magic Picture, and Dorothy wished it to show the +enchanted form of Ugu the Shoemaker, wherever it might be. At once +there appeared in the frame of the Picture a scene in the far Quadling +Country, where the Dove was perched disconsolately on the limb of a +tree and the jeweled dishpan lay on the ground just underneath the limb. + +"But where is the place? How far or how near?" asked Cayke anxiously. + +"The Book of Records will tell us that," answered the Wizard. So they +looked in the Great Book and read the following: + +"Ugu the Magician, being transformed into a dove by Princess Dorothy of +Oz, has used the magic of the golden dishpan to carry him instantly to +the northeast corner of the Quadling Country." + +"Don't worry, Cayke, for the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman are in that +part of the country looking for Ozma, and they'll surely find your +dishpan." + +"Good gracious!" exclaimed Button-Bright. "We've forgot all about +Ozma. Let's find out where the magician hid her." + +Back to the Magic Picture they trooped, but when they wished to see +Ozma wherever she might be hidden, only a round black spot appeared in +the center of the canvas. "I don't see how THAT can be Ozma!" said +Dorothy, much puzzled. + +"It seems to be the best the Magic Picture can do, however," said the +Wizard, no less surprised. "If it's an enchantment, looks as if the +magician had transformed Ozma into a chunk of pitch." + + + + +CHAPTER 24 + +THE LITTLE PINK BEAR SPEAKS TRULY + + +For several minutes they all stood staring at the black spot on the +canvas of the Magic Picture, wondering what it could mean. "P'r'aps +we'd better ask the little Pink Bear about Ozma," suggested Trot. + +"Pshaw!" said Button-Bright. "HE don't know anything." + +"He never makes a mistake," declared the King. + +"He did once, surely," said Betsy. "But perhaps he wouldn't make a +mistake again." + +"He won't have the chance," grumbled the Bear King. + +"We might hear what he has to say," said Dorothy. "It won't do any +harm to ask the Pink Bear where Ozma is." + +"I will not have him questioned," declared the King in a surly voice. +"I do not intend to allow my little Pink Bear to be again insulted by +your foolish doubts. He never makes a mistake." + +"Didn't he say Ozma was in that hole in the ground?" asked Betsy. + +"He did, and I am certain she was there," replied the Lavender Bear. + +Scraps laughed jeeringly, and the others saw there was no use arguing +with the stubborn Bear King, who seemed to have absolute faith in his +Pink Bear. The Wizard, who knew that magical things can usually be +depended upon and that the little Pink Bear was able to answer +questions by some remarkable power of magic, thought it wise to +apologize to the Lavender Bear for the unbelief of his friends, at the +same time urging the King to consent to question the Pink Bear once +more. Cayke and the Frogman also pleaded with the big Bear, who +finally agreed, although rather ungraciously, to put the little Bear's +wisdom to the test once more. So he sat the little one on his knee and +turned the crank, and the Wizard himself asked the questions in a very +respectful tone of voice. "Where is Ozma?" was his first query. + +"Here in this room," answered the little Pink Bear. + +They all looked around the room, but of course did not see her. "In +what part of the room is she?" was the Wizard's next question. + +"In Button-Bright's pocket," said the little Pink Bear. + +This reply amazed them all, you may be sure, and although the three +girls smiled and Scraps yelled "Hoo-ray!" in derision, the Wizard +turned to consider the matter with grave thoughtfulness. "In which one +of Button-Bright's pockets is Ozma?" he presently inquired. + +"In the left-hand jacket pocket," said the little Pink Bear. + +"The pink one has gone crazy!" exclaimed Button-Bright, staring hard at +the little bear on the big bear's knee. + +"I am not so sure of that," declared the Wizard. "If Ozma proves to be +really in your pocket, then the little Pink Bear spoke truly when he +said Ozma was in that hole in the ground. For at that time you were +also in the hole, and after we had pulled you out of it, the little +Pink Bear said Ozma was not in the hole." + +"He never makes a mistake," asserted the Bear King stoutly. + +"Empty that pocket, Button-Bright, and let's see what's in it," +requested Dorothy. + +So Button-Bright laid the contents of his left jacket pocket on the +table. These proved to be a peg top, a bunch of string, a small rubber +ball and a golden peach pit. "What's this?" asked the Wizard, picking +up the peach pit and examining it closely. + +"Oh," said the boy, "I saved that to show to the girls, and then forgot +all about it. It came out of a lonesome peach that I found in the +orchard back yonder, and which I ate while I was lost. It looks like +gold, and I never saw a peach pit like it before." + +"Nor I," said the Wizard, "and that makes it seem suspicious." + +All heads were bent over the golden peach pit. The Wizard turned it +over several times and then took out his pocket knife and pried the pit +open. As the two halves fell apart, a pink, cloud-like haze came +pouring from the golden peach pit, almost filling the big room, and +from the haze a form took shape and settled beside them. Then, as the +haze faded away, a sweet voice said, "Thank you, my friends!" and there +before them stood their lovely girl Ruler, Ozma of Oz. + +With a cry of delight, Dorothy rushed forward and embraced her. Scraps +turned gleeful flipflops all around the room. Button-Bright gave a low +whistle of astonishment. The Frogman took off his tall hat and bowed +low before the beautiful girl who had been freed from her enchantment +in so startling a manner. For a time, no sound was heard beyond the +low murmur of delight that came from the amazed group, but presently +the growl of the big Lavender Bear grew louder, and he said in a tone +of triumph, "He never makes a mistake!" + + + + +CHAPTER 25 + +OZMA OF OZ + + +"It's funny," said Toto, standing before his friend the Lion and +wagging his tail, "but I've found my growl at last! I am positive now +that it was the cruel magician who stole it." + +"Let's hear your growl," requested the Lion. + +"G-r-r-r-r-r!" said Toto. + +"That is fine," declared the big beast. "It isn't as loud or as deep +as the growl of the big Lavender Bear, but it is a very respectable +growl for a small dog. Where did you find it, Toto?" + +"I was smelling in the corner yonder," said Toto, "when suddenly a +mouse ran out--and I growled." + +The others were all busy congratulating Ozma, who was very happy at +being released from the confinement of the golden peach pit, where the +magician had placed her with the notion that she never could be found +or liberated. + +"And only to think," cried Dorothy, "that Button-Bright has been +carrying you in his pocket all this time, and we never knew it!" + +"The little Pink Bear told you," said the Bear King, "but you wouldn't +believe him." + +"Never mind, my dears," said Ozma graciously, "all is well that ends +well, and you couldn't be expected to know I was inside the peach pit. +Indeed, I feared I would remain a captive much longer than I did, for +Ugu is a bold and clever magician, and he had hidden me very securely." + +"You were in a fine peach," said Button-Bright, "the best I ever ate." + +"The magician was foolish to make the peach so tempting," remarked the +Wizard, "but Ozma would lend beauty to any transformation." + +"How did you manage to conquer Ugu the Shoemaker?" inquired the girl +Ruler of Oz. + +Dorothy started to tell the story, and Trot helped her, and +Button-Bright wanted to relate it in his own way, and the Wizard tried +to make it clear to Ozma, and Betsy had to remind them of important +things they left out, and all together there was such a chatter that it +was a wonder that Ozma understood any of it. But she listened +patiently, with a smile on her lovely face at their eagerness, and +presently had gleaned all the details of their adventures. + +Ozma thanked the Frogman very earnestly for his assistance, and she +advised Cayke the Cookie Cook to dry her weeping eyes, for she promised +to take her to the Emerald City and see that her cherished dishpan was +restored to her. Then the beautiful Ruler took a chain of emeralds +from around her own neck and placed it around the neck of the little +Pink Bear. + +"Your wise answers to the questions of my friends," said she, "helped +them to rescue me. Therefore I am deeply grateful to you and to your +noble King." + +The bead eyes of the little Pink Bear stared unresponsive to this +praise until the Big Lavender Bear turned the crank in its side, when +it said in its squeaky voice, "I thank Your Majesty." + +"For my part," returned the Bear King, "I realize that you were well +worth saving, Miss Ozma, and so I am much pleased that we could be of +service to you. By means of my Magic Wand I have been creating exact +images of your Emerald City and your Royal Palace, and I must confess +that they are more attractive than any places I have ever seen--not +excepting Bear Center." + +"I would like to entertain you in my palace," returned Ozma sweetly, +"and you are welcome to return with me and to make me a long visit, if +your bear subjects can spare you from your own kingdom." + +"As for that," answered the King, "my kingdom causes me little worry, +and I often find it somewhat tame and uninteresting. Therefore I am +glad to accept your kind invitation. Corporal Waddle may be trusted to +care for my bears in my absence." + +"And you'll bring the little Pink Bear?" asked Dorothy eagerly. + +"Of course, my dear. I would not willingly part with him." + +They remained in the wicker castle for three days, carefully packing +all the magical things that had been stolen by Ugu and also taking +whatever in the way of magic the shoemaker had inherited from his +ancestors. "For," said Ozma, "I have forbidden any of my subjects +except Glinda the Good and the Wizard of Oz to practice magical arts, +because they cannot be trusted to do good and not harm. Therefore Ugu +must never again be permitted to work magic of any sort." + +"Well," remarked Dorothy cheerfully, "a dove can't do much in the way +of magic, anyhow, and I'm going to keep Ugu in the form of a dove until +he reforms and becomes a good and honest shoemaker." + +When everything was packed and loaded on the backs of the animals, they +set out for the river, taking a more direct route than that by which +Cayke and the Frogman had come. In this way they avoided the Cities of +Thi and Herku and Bear Center and after a pleasant journey reached the +Winkie River and found a jolly ferryman who had a fine, big boat and +was willing to carry the entire party by water to a place quite near to +the Emerald City. + +The river had many windings and many branches, and the journey did not +end in a day, but finally the boat floated into a pretty lake which was +but a short distance from Ozma's home. Here the jolly ferryman was +rewarded for his labors, and then the entire party set out in a grand +procession to march to the Emerald City. News that the Royal Ozma had +been found spread quickly throughout the neighborhood, and both sides +of the road soon became lined with loyal subjects of the beautiful and +beloved Ruler. Therefore Ozma's ears heard little but cheers, and her +eyes beheld little else than waving handkerchiefs and banners during +all the triumphal march from the lake to the city's gates. + +And there she met a still greater concourse, for all the inhabitants of +the Emerald City turned out to welcome her return, and all the houses +were decorated with flags and bunting, and never before were the people +so joyous and happy as at this moment when they welcomed home their +girl Ruler. For she had been lost and was now found again, and surely +that was cause for rejoicing. Glinda was at the royal palace to meet +the returning party, and the good Sorceress was indeed glad to have her +Great Book of Records returned to her, as well as all the precious +collection of magic instruments and elixirs and chemicals that had been +stolen from her castle. Cap'n Bill and the Wizard at once hung the +Magic Picture upon the wall of Ozma's boudoir, and the Wizard was so +light-hearted that he did several tricks with the tools in his black +bag to amuse his companions and prove that once again he was a powerful +wizard. + +For a whole week there was feasting and merriment and all sorts of +joyous festivities at the palace in honor of Ozma's safe return. The +Lavender Bear and the little Pink Bear received much attention and were +honored by all, much to the Bear King's satisfaction. The Frogman +speedily became a favorite at the Emerald City, and the Shaggy Man and +Tik-Tok and Jack Pumpkinhead, who had now returned from their search, +were very polite to the big frog and made him feel quite at home. Even +the Cookie Cook, because she was quite a stranger and Ozma's guest, was +shown as much deference as if she had been a queen. + +"All the same, Your Majesty," said Cayke to Ozma, day after day with +tiresome repetition, "I hope you will soon find my jeweled dishpan, for +never can I be quite happy without it." + + + + +CHAPTER 26 + +DOROTHY FORGIVES + + +The gray dove which had once been Ugu the Shoemaker sat on its tree in +the far Quadling Country and moped, chirping dismally and brooding over +its misfortunes. After a time, the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman came +along and sat beneath the tree, paying no heed to the mutterings of the +gray dove. The Tin Woodman took a small oilcan from his tin pocket and +carefully oiled his tin joints with it. + +While he was thus engaged, the Scarecrow remarked, "I feel much better, +dear comrade, since we found that heap of nice, clean straw and you +stuffed me anew with it." + +"And I feel much better now that my joints are oiled," returned the Tin +Woodman with a sigh of pleasure. "You and I, friend Scarecrow, are +much more easily cared for than those clumsy meat people, who spend +half their time dressing in fine clothes and who must live in splendid +dwellings in order to be contented and happy. You and I do not eat, +and so we are spared the dreadful bother of getting three meals a day. +Nor do we waste half our lives in sleep, a condition that causes the +meat people to lose all consciousness and become as thoughtless and +helpless as logs of wood." + +"You speak truly," responded the Scarecrow, tucking some wisps of straw +into his breast with his padded fingers. "I often feel sorry for the +meat people, many of whom are my friends. Even the beasts are happier +than they, for they require less to make them content. And the birds +are the luckiest creatures of all, for they can fly swiftly where they +will and find a home at any place they care to perch. Their food +consists of seeds and grains they gather from the fields, and their +drink is a sip of water from some running brook. If I could not be a +Scarecrow or a Tin Woodman, my next choice would be to live as a bird +does." + +The gray dove had listened carefully to this speech and seemed to find +comfort in it, for it hushed its moaning. And just then the Tin +Woodman discovered Cayke's dishpan, which was on the ground quite near +to him. "Here is a rather pretty utensil," he said, taking it in his +tin hand to examine it, "but I would not care to own it. Whoever +fashioned it of gold and covered it with diamonds did not add to its +usefulness, nor do I consider it as beautiful as the bright dishpans of +tin one usually sees. No yellow color is ever so handsome as the +silver sheen of tin," and he turned to look at his tin legs and body +with approval. + +"I cannot quite agree with you there," replied the Scarecrow. "My +straw stuffing has a light yellow color, and it is not only pretty to +look at, but it crunkles most delightfully when I move." + +"Let us admit that all colors are good in their proper places," said +the Tin Woodman, who was too kind-hearted to quarrel, "but you must +agree with me that a dishpan that is yellow is unnatural. What shall +we do with this one, which we have just found?" + +"Let us carry it back to the Emerald City," suggested the Scarecrow. +"Some of our friends might like to have it for a foot-bath, and in +using it that way, its golden color and sparkling ornaments would not +injure its usefulness." + +So they went away and took the jeweled dishpan with them. And after +wandering through the country for a day or so longer, they learned the +news that Ozma had been found. Therefore they straightway returned to +the Emerald City and presented the dishpan to Princess Ozma as a token +of their joy that she had been restored to them. Ozma promptly gave +the diamond-studded gold dishpan to Cayke the Cookie Cook, who was +delighted at regaining her lost treasure that she danced up and down in +glee and then threw her skinny arms around Ozma's neck and kissed her +gratefully. Cayke's mission was now successfully accomplished, but she +was having such a good time at the Emerald City that she seemed in no +hurry to go back to the Country of the Yips. + +It was several weeks after the dishpan had been restored to the Cookie +Cook when one day, as Dorothy was seated in the royal gardens with Trot +and Betsy beside her, a gray dove came flying down and alighted at the +girl's feet. + +"I am Ugu the Shoemaker," said the dove in a soft, mourning voice, "and +I have come to ask you to forgive me for the great wrong I did in +stealing Ozma and the magic that belonged to her and to others." + +"Are you sorry, then?" asked Dorothy, looking hard at the bird. + +"I am VERY sorry," declared Ugu. "I've been thinking over my misdeeds +for a long time, for doves have little else to do but think, and I'm +surprised that I was such a wicked man and had so little regard for the +rights of others. I am now convinced that even had I succeeded in +making myself ruler of all Oz, I should not have been happy, for many +days of quiet thought have shown me that only those things one acquires +honestly are able to render one content." + +"I guess that's so," said Trot. + +"Anyhow," said Betsy, "the bad man seems truly sorry, and if he has now +become a good and honest man, we ought to forgive him." + +"I fear I cannot become a good MAN again," said Ugu, "for the +transformation I am under will always keep me in the form of a dove. +But with the kind forgiveness of my former enemies, I hope to become a +very good dove and highly respected." + +"Wait here till I run for my Magic Belt," said Dorothy, "and I'll +transform you back to your reg'lar shape in a jiffy." + +"No, don't do that!" pleaded the dove, fluttering its wings in an +excited way. "I only want your forgiveness. I don't want to be a man +again. As Ugu the Shoemaker I was skinny and old and unlovely. As a +dove I am quite pretty to look at. As a man I was ambitious and cruel, +while as a dove I can be content with my lot and happy in my simple +life. I have learned to love the free and independent life of a bird, +and I'd rather not change back." + +"Just as you like, Ugu," said Dorothy, resuming her seat. "Perhaps you +are right, for you're certainly a better dove than you were a man, and +if you should ever backslide an' feel wicked again, you couldn't do +much harm as a gray dove." + +"Then you forgive me for all the trouble I caused you?" he asked +earnestly. + +"Of course. Anyone who's sorry just has to be forgiven." + +"Thank you," said the gray dove, and flew away again. + + + +THE END + + + +The Wonderful Oz Books by L. Frank Baum + + The Wizard of Oz + The Land of Oz + Ozma of Oz + Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz + The Road to Oz + The Emerald City of Oz + The Patchwork Girl of Oz + Tik-Tok of Oz + The Scarecrow of Oz + Rinkitink in Oz + The Lost Princess of Oz + The Tin Woodman of Oz + The Magic of Oz + Glinda of Oz + + + + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's The Lost Princess of Oz, by L. Frank Baum + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LOST PRINCESS OF OZ *** + +***** This file should be named 959.txt or 959.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/9/5/959/ + +Produced by Anthony Matonac + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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