the wonderful wizard of oz by l. frank baum w. w. denslow. [illustration] geo. m. hill co. new york. introduction. folk lore, legends, myths and fairy tales have followed childhood through the ages, for every healthy youngster has a wholesome and instinctive love for stories fantastic, marvelous and manifestly unreal. the winged fairies of grimm and andersen have brought more happiness to childish hearts than all other human creations. yet the old-time fairy tale, having served for generations, may now be classed as "historical" in the children's library; for the time has come for a series of newer "wonder tales" in which the stereotyped genie, dwarf and fairy are eliminated, together with all the horrible and blood-curdling incident devised by their authors to point a fearsome moral to each tale. modern education includes morality; therefore the modern child seeks only entertainment in its wonder-tales and gladly dispenses with all disagreeable incident. [illustration] having this thought in mind, the story of "the wonderful wizard of oz" was written solely to pleasure children of today. it aspires to being a modernized fairy tale, in which the wonderment and joy are retained and the heart-aches and nightmares are left out. l. frank baum. chicago, april, 1900. [illustration] copyright 1899 by l. frank baum and w. w. denslow. all rights reserved [illustration] list of chapters. chapter i.--the cyclone. chapter ii.--the council with the munchkins. chapter iii.--how dorothy saved the scarecrow. chapter iv.--the road through the forest. chapter v.--the rescue of the tin woodman. chapter vi.--the cowardly lion. chapter vii.--the journey to the great oz. chapter viii.--the deadly poppy field. chapter ix.--the queen of the field mice. chapter x.--the guardian of the gates. chapter xi.--the wonderful emerald city of oz. chapter xii.--the search for the wicked witch. chapter xiii.--how the four were reunited. chapter xiv.--the winged monkeys. chapter xv.--the discovery of oz the terrible. chapter xvi.--the magic art of the great humbug. chapter xvii.--how the balloon was launched. chapter xviii.--away to the south. chapter xix.--attacked by the fighting trees. chapter xx.--the dainty china country. chapter xxi.--the lion becomes the king of beasts. chapter xxii.--the country of the quadlings. chapter xxiii.--the good witch grants dorothy's wish. chapter xxiv.--home again. _this book is dedicated to my good friend & comrade. my wife l.f.b._ chapter i. the cyclone. [illustration] [illustration] [illustration] dorothy lived in the midst of the great kansas prairies, with uncle henry, who was a farmer, and aunt em, who was the farmer's wife. their house was small, for the lumber to build it had to be carried by wagon many miles. there were four walls, a floor and a roof, which made one room; and this room contained a rusty looking cooking stove, a cupboard for the dishes, a table, three or four chairs, and the beds. uncle henry and aunt em had a big bed in one corner, and dorothy a little bed in another corner. there was no garret at all, and no cellar--except a small hole, dug in the ground, called a cyclone cellar, where the family could go in case one of those great whirlwinds arose, mighty enough to crush any building in its path. it was reached by a trap-door in the middle of the floor, from which a ladder led down into the small, dark hole. when dorothy stood in the doorway and looked around, she could see nothing but the great gray prairie on every side. not a tree nor a house broke the broad sweep of flat country that reached the edge of the sky in all directions. the sun had baked the plowed land into a gray mass, with little cracks running through it. even the grass was not green, for the sun had burned the tops of the long blades until they were the same gray color to be seen everywhere. once the house had been painted, but the sun blistered the paint and the rains washed it away, and now the house was as dull and gray as everything else. [illustration: "_she caught toto by the ear._"] when aunt em came there to live she was a young, pretty wife. the sun and wind had changed her, too. they had taken the sparkle from her eyes and left them a sober gray; they had taken the red from her cheeks and lips, and they were gray also. she was thin and gaunt, and never smiled, now. when dorothy, who was an orphan, first came to her, aunt em had been so startled by the child's laughter that she would scream and press her hand upon her heart whenever dorothy's merry voice reached her ears; and she still looked at the little girl with wonder that she could find anything to laugh at. uncle henry never laughed. he worked hard from morning till night and did not know what joy was. he was gray also, from his long beard to his rough boots, and he looked stern and solemn, and rarely spoke. it was toto that made dorothy laugh, and saved her from growing as gray as her other surroundings. toto was not gray; he was a little black dog, with long, silky hair and small black eyes that twinkled merrily on either side of his funny, wee nose. toto played all day long, and dorothy played with him, and loved him dearly. [illustration] to-day, however, they were not playing. uncle henry sat upon the door-step and looked anxiously at the sky, which was even grayer than usual. dorothy stood in the door with toto in her arms, and looked at the sky too. aunt em was washing the dishes. from the far north they heard a low wail of the wind, and uncle henry and dorothy could see where the long grass bowed in waves before the coming storm. there now came a sharp whistling in the air from the south, and as they turned their eyes that way they saw ripples in the grass coming from that direction also. suddenly uncle henry stood up. "there's a cyclone coming, em," he called to his wife; "i'll go look after the stock." then he ran toward the sheds where the cows and horses were kept. aunt em dropped her work and came to the door. one glance told her of the danger close at hand. "quick, dorothy!" she screamed; "run for the cellar!" toto jumped out of dorothy's arms and hid under the bed, and the girl started to get him. aunt em, badly frightened, threw open the trap-door in the floor and climbed down the ladder into the small, dark hole. dorothy caught toto at last, and started to follow her aunt. when she was half way across the room there came a great shriek from the wind, and the house shook so hard that she lost her footing and sat down suddenly upon the floor. a strange thing then happened. the house whirled around two or three times and rose slowly through the air. dorothy felt as if she were going up in a balloon. the north and south winds met where the house stood, and made it the exact center of the cyclone. in the middle of a cyclone the air is generally still, but the great pressure of the wind on every side of the house raised it up higher and higher, until it was at the very top of the cyclone; and there it remained and was carried miles and miles away as easily as you could carry a feather. it was very dark, and the wind howled horribly around her, but dorothy found she was riding quite easily. after the first few whirls around, and one other time when the house tipped badly, she felt as if she were being rocked gently, like a baby in a cradle. toto did not like it. he ran about the room, now here, now there, barking loudly; but dorothy sat quite still on the floor and waited to see what would happen. once toto got too near the open trap-door, and fell in; and at first the little girl thought she had lost him. but soon she saw one of his ears sticking up through the hole, for the strong pressure of the air was keeping him up so that he could not fall. she crept to the hole, caught toto by the ear, and dragged him into the room again; afterward closing the trap-door so that no more accidents could happen. hour after hour passed away, and slowly dorothy got over her fright; but she felt quite lonely, and the wind shrieked so loudly all about her that she nearly became deaf. at first she had wondered if she would be dashed to pieces when the house fell again; but as the hours passed and nothing terrible happened, she stopped worrying and resolved to wait calmly and see what the future would bring. at last she crawled over the swaying floor to her bed, and lay down upon it; and toto followed and lay down beside her. in spite of the swaying of the house and the wailing of the wind, dorothy soon closed her eyes and fell fast asleep. [illustration] chapter ii. the council with the munchkins. [illustration] [illustration] she was awakened by a shock, so sudden and severe that if dorothy had not been lying on the soft bed she might have been hurt. as it was, the jar made her catch her breath and wonder what had happened; and toto put his cold little nose into her face and whined dismally. dorothy sat up and noticed that the house was not moving; nor was it dark, for the bright sunshine came in at the window, flooding the little room. she sprang from her bed and with toto at her heels ran and opened the door. the little girl gave a cry of amazement and looked about her, her eyes growing bigger and bigger at the wonderful sights she saw. the cyclone had set the house down, very gently--for a cyclone--in the midst of a country of marvelous beauty. there were lovely patches of green sward all about, with stately trees bearing rich and luscious fruits. banks of gorgeous flowers were on every hand, and birds with rare and brilliant plumage sang and fluttered in the trees and bushes. a little way off was a small brook, rushing and sparkling along between green banks, and murmuring in a voice very grateful to a little girl who had lived so long on the dry, gray prairies. while she stood looking eagerly at the strange and beautiful sights, she noticed coming toward her a group of the queerest people she had ever seen. they were not as big as the grown folk she had always been used to; but neither were they very small. in fact, they seemed about as tall as dorothy, who was a well-grown child for her age, although they were, so far as looks go, many years older. [illustration: "_i am the witch of the north._"] three were men and one a woman, and all were oddly dressed. they wore round hats that rose to a small point a foot above their heads, with little bells around the brims that tinkled sweetly as they moved. the hats of the men were blue; the little woman's hat was white, and she wore a white gown that hung in plaits from her shoulders; over it were sprinkled little stars that glistened in the sun like diamonds. the men were dressed in blue, of the same shade as their hats, and wore well polished boots with a deep roll of blue at the tops. the men, dorothy thought, were about as old as uncle henry, for two of them had beards. but the little woman was doubtless much older: her face was covered with wrinkles, her hair was nearly white, and she walked rather stiffly. when these people drew near the house where dorothy was standing in the doorway, they paused and whispered among themselves, as if afraid to come farther. but the little old woman walked up to dorothy, made a low bow and said, in a sweet voice, "you are welcome, most noble sorceress, to the land of the munchkins. we are so grateful to you for having killed the wicked witch of the east, and for setting our people free from bondage." [illustration] dorothy listened to this speech with wonder. what could the little woman possibly mean by calling her a sorceress, and saying she had killed the wicked witch of the east? dorothy was an innocent, harmless little girl, who had been carried by a cyclone many miles from home; and she had never killed anything in all her life. but the little woman evidently expected her to answer; so dorothy said, with hesitation, "you are very kind; but there must be some mistake. i have not killed anything." "your house did, anyway," replied the little old woman, with a laugh; "and that is the same thing. see!" she continued, pointing to the corner of the house; "there are her two toes, still sticking out from under a block of wood." dorothy looked, and gave a little cry of fright. there, indeed, just under the corner of the great beam the house rested on, two feet were sticking out, shod in silver shoes with pointed toes. "oh, dear! oh, dear!" cried dorothy, clasping her hands together in dismay; "the house must have fallen on her. what ever shall we do?" "there is nothing to be done," said the little woman, calmly. [illustration] "but who was she?" asked dorothy. "she was the wicked witch of the east, as i said," answered the little woman. "she has held all the munchkins in bondage for many years, making them slave for her night and day. now they are all set free, and are grateful to you for the favour." "who are the munchkins?" enquired dorothy. "they are the people who live in this land of the east, where the wicked witch ruled." "are you a munchkin?" asked dorothy. "no; but i am their friend, although i live in the land of the north. when they saw the witch of the east was dead the munchkins sent a swift messenger to me, and i came at once. i am the witch of the north." "oh, gracious!" cried dorothy; "are you a real witch?" "yes, indeed;" answered the little woman. "but i am a good witch, and the people love me. i am not as powerful as the wicked witch was who ruled here, or i should have set the people free myself." "but i thought all witches were wicked," said the girl, who was half frightened at facing a real witch. "oh, no; that is a great mistake. there were only four witches in all the land of oz, and two of them, those who live in the north and the south, are good witches. i know this is true, for i am one of them myself, and cannot be mistaken. those who dwelt in the east and the west were, indeed, wicked witches; but now that you have killed one of them, there is but one wicked witch in all the land of oz--the one who lives in the west." "but," said dorothy, after a moment's thought, "aunt em has told me that the witches were all dead--years and years ago." "who is aunt em?" inquired the little old woman. "she is my aunt who lives in kansas, where i came from." the witch of the north seemed to think for a time, with her head bowed and her eyes upon the ground. then she looked up and said, "i do not know where kansas is, for i have never heard that country mentioned before. but tell me, is it a civilized country?" "oh, yes;" replied dorothy. "then that accounts for it. in the civilized countries i believe there are no witches left; nor wizards, nor sorceresses, nor magicians. but, you see, the land of oz has never been civilized, for we are cut off from all the rest of the world. therefore we still have witches and wizards amongst us." "who are the wizards?" asked dorothy. "oz himself is the great wizard," answered the witch, sinking her voice to a whisper. "he is more powerful than all the rest of us together. he lives in the city of emeralds." dorothy was going to ask another question, but just then the munchkins, who had been standing silently by, gave a loud shout and pointed to the corner of the house where the wicked witch had been lying. [illustration] "what is it?" asked the little old woman; and looked, and began to laugh. the feet of the dead witch had disappeared entirely and nothing was left but the silver shoes. "she was so old," explained the witch of the north, "that she dried up quickly in the sun. that is the end of her. but the silver shoes are yours, and you shall have them to wear." she reached down and picked up the shoes, and after shaking the dust out of them handed them to dorothy. "the witch of the east was proud of those silver shoes," said one of the munchkins; "and there is some charm connected with them; but what it is we never knew." dorothy carried the shoes into the house and placed them on the table. then she came out again to the munchkins and said, "i am anxious to get back to my aunt and uncle, for i am sure they will worry about me. can you help me find my way?" the munchkins and the witch first looked at one another, and then at dorothy, and then shook their heads. "at the east, not far from here," said one, "there is a great desert, and none could live to cross it." "it is the same at the south," said another, "for i have been there and seen it. the south is the country of the quadlings." "i am told," said the third man, "that it is the same at the west. and that country, where the winkies live, is ruled by the wicked witch of the west, who would make you her slave if you passed her way." "the north is my home," said the old lady, "and at its edge is the same great desert that surrounds this land of oz. i'm afraid, my dear, you will have to live with us." dorothy began to sob, at this, for she felt lonely among all these strange people. her tears seemed to grieve the kind-hearted munchkins, for they immediately took out their handkerchiefs and began to weep also. as for the little old woman, she took off her cap and balanced the point on the end of her nose, while she counted "one, two, three" in a solemn voice. at once the cap changed to a slate, on which was written in big, white chalk marks: "let dorothy go to the city of emeralds." [illustration] the little old woman took the slate from her nose, and, having read the words on it, asked, "is your name dorothy, my dear?" "yes," answered the child, looking up and drying her tears. "then you must go to the city of emeralds. perhaps oz will help you." "where is this city?" asked dorothy. "it is exactly in the center of the country, and is ruled by oz, the great wizard i told you of." "is he a good man?" enquired the girl, anxiously. "he is a good wizard. whether he is a man or not i cannot tell, for i have never seen him." "how can i get there?" asked dorothy. "you must walk. it is a long journey, through a country that is sometimes pleasant and sometimes dark and terrible. however, i will use all the magic arts i know of to keep you from harm." "won't you go with me?" pleaded the girl, who had begun to look upon the little old woman as her only friend. "no, i cannot do that," she replied; "but i will give you my kiss, and no one will dare injure a person who has been kissed by the witch of the north." she came close to dorothy and kissed her gently on the forehead. where her lips touched the girl they left a round, shining mark, as dorothy found out soon after. "the road to the city of emeralds is paved with yellow brick," said the witch; "so you cannot miss it. when you get to oz do not be afraid of him, but tell your story and ask him to help you. good-bye, my dear." [illustration] the three munchkins bowed low to her and wished her a pleasant journey, after which they walked away through the trees. the witch gave dorothy a friendly little nod, whirled around on her left heel three times, and straightway disappeared, much to the surprise of little toto, who barked after her loudly enough when she had gone, because he had been afraid even to growl while she stood by. but dorothy, knowing her to be a witch, had expected her to disappear in just that way, and was not surprised in the least. chapter iii how dorothy saved the scarecrow. [illustration] when dorothy was left alone she began to feel hungry. so she went to the cupboard and cut herself some bread, which she spread with butter. she gave some to toto, and taking a pail from the shelf she carried it down to the little brook and filled it with clear, sparkling water. toto ran over to the trees and began to bark at the birds sitting there. dorothy went to get him, and saw such delicious fruit hanging from the branches that she gathered some of it, finding it just what she wanted to help out her breakfast. then she went back to the house, and having helped herself and toto to a good drink of the cool, clear water, she set about making ready for the journey to the city of emeralds. dorothy had only one other dress, but that happened to be clean and was hanging on a peg beside her bed. it was gingham, with checks of white and blue; and although the blue was somewhat faded with many washings, it was still a pretty frock. the girl washed herself carefully, dressed herself in the clean gingham, and tied her pink sunbonnet on her head. she took a little basket and filled it with bread from the cupboard, laying a white cloth over the top. then she looked down at her feet and noticed how old and worn her shoes were. "they surely will never do for a long journey, toto," she said. and toto looked up into her face with his little black eyes and wagged his tail to show he knew what she meant. at that moment dorothy saw lying on the table the silver shoes that had belonged to the witch of the east. "i wonder if they will fit me," she said to toto. "they would be just the thing to take a long walk in, for they could not wear out." she took off her old leather shoes and tried on the silver ones, which fitted her as well as if they had been made for her. finally she picked up her basket. "come along, toto," she said, "we will go to the emerald city and ask the great oz how to get back to kansas again." she closed the door, locked it, and put the key carefully in the pocket of her dress. and so, with toto trotting along soberly behind her, she started on her journey. there were several roads near by, but it did not take her long to find the one paved with yellow brick. within a short time she was walking briskly toward the emerald city, her silver shoes tinkling merrily on the hard, yellow roadbed. the sun shone bright and the birds sang sweet and dorothy did not feel nearly as bad as you might think a little girl would who had been suddenly whisked away from her own country and set down in the midst of a strange land. [illustration] she was surprised, as she walked along, to see how pretty the country was about her. there were neat fences at the sides of the road, painted a dainty blue color, and beyond them were fields of grain and vegetables in abundance. evidently the munchkins were good farmers and able to raise large crops. once in a while she would pass a house, and the people came out to look at her and bow low as she went by; for everyone knew she had been the means of destroying the wicked witch and setting them free from bondage. the houses of the munchkins were odd looking dwellings, for each was round, with a big dome for a roof. all were painted blue, for in this country of the east blue was the favorite color. towards evening, when dorothy was tired with her long walk and began to wonder where she should pass the night, she came to a house rather larger than the rest. on the green lawn before it many men and women were dancing. five little fiddlers played as loudly as possible and the people were laughing and singing, while a big table near by was loaded with delicious fruits and nuts, pies and cakes, and many other good things to eat. the people greeted dorothy kindly, and invited her to supper and to pass the night with them; for this was the home of one of the richest munchkins in the land, and his friends were gathered with him to celebrate their freedom from the bondage of the wicked witch. dorothy ate a hearty supper and was waited upon by the rich munchkin himself, whose name was boq. then she sat down upon a settee and watched the people dance. when boq saw her silver shoes he said, "you must be a great sorceress." "why?" asked the girl. "because you wear silver shoes and have killed the wicked witch. besides, you have white in your frock, and only witches and sorceresses wear white." [illustration: "_you must be a great sorceress._"] "my dress is blue and white checked," said dorothy, smoothing out the wrinkles in it. "it is kind of you to wear that," said boq. "blue is the color of the munchkins, and white is the witch color; so we know you are a friendly witch." dorothy did not know what to say to this, for all the people seemed to think her a witch, and she knew very well she was only an ordinary little girl who had come by the chance of a cyclone into a strange land. when she had tired watching the dancing, boq led her into the house, where he gave her a room with a pretty bed in it. the sheets were made of blue cloth, and dorothy slept soundly in them till morning, with toto curled up on the blue rug beside her. she ate a hearty breakfast, and watched a wee munchkin baby, who played with toto and pulled his tail and crowed and laughed in a way that greatly amused dorothy. toto was a fine curiosity to all the people, for they had never seen a dog before. "how far is it to the emerald city?" the girl asked. [illustration] "i do not know," answered boq, gravely, "for i have never been there. it is better for people to keep away from oz, unless they have business with him. but it is a long way to the emerald city, and it will take you many days. the country here is rich and pleasant, but you must pass through rough and dangerous places before you reach the end of your journey." this worried dorothy a little, but she knew that only the great oz could help her get to kansas again, so she bravely resolved not to turn back. she bade her friends good-bye, and again started along the road of yellow brick. when she had gone several miles she thought she would stop to rest, and so climbed to the top of the fence beside the road and sat down. there was a great cornfield beyond the fence, and not far away she saw a scarecrow, placed high on a pole to keep the birds from the ripe corn. dorothy leaned her chin upon her hand and gazed thoughtfully at the scarecrow. its head was a small sack stuffed with straw, with eyes, nose and mouth painted on it to represent a face. an old, pointed blue hat, that had belonged to some munchkin, was perched on this head, and the rest of the figure was a blue suit of clothes, worn and faded, which had also been stuffed with straw. on the feet were some old boots with blue tops, such as every man wore in this country, and the figure was raised above the stalks of corn by means of the pole stuck up its back. [illustration: "_dorothy gazed thoughtfully at the scarecrow._"] while dorothy was looking earnestly into the queer, painted face of the scarecrow, she was surprised to see one of the eyes slowly wink at her. she thought she must have been mistaken, at first, for none of the scarecrows in kansas ever wink; but presently the figure nodded its head to her in a friendly way. then she climbed down from the fence and walked up to it, while toto ran around the pole and barked. "good day," said the scarecrow, in a rather husky voice. "did you speak?" asked the girl, in wonder. "certainly," answered the scarecrow; "how do you do?" "i'm pretty well, thank you," replied dorothy, politely; "how do you do?" "i'm not feeling well," said the scarecrow, with a smile, "for it is very tedious being perched up here night and day to scare away crows." "can't you get down?" asked dorothy. "no, for this pole is stuck up my back. if you will please take away the pole i shall be greatly obliged to you." dorothy reached up both arms and lifted the figure off the pole; for, being stuffed with straw, it was quite light. "thank you very much," said the scarecrow, when he had been set down on the ground. "i feel like a new man." dorothy was puzzled at this, for it sounded queer to hear a stuffed man speak, and to see him bow and walk along beside her. "who are you?" asked the scarecrow, when he had stretched himself and yawned, "and where are you going?" "my name is dorothy," said the girl, "and i am going to the emerald city, to ask the great oz to send me back to kansas." "where is the emerald city?" he enquired; "and who is oz?" "why, don't you know?" she returned, in surprise. "no, indeed; i don't know anything. you see, i am stuffed, so i have no brains at all," he answered, sadly. [illustration] "oh," said dorothy; "i'm awfully sorry for you." "do you think," he asked, "if i go to the emerald city with you, that the great oz would give me some brains?" "i cannot tell," she returned; "but you may come with me, if you like. if oz will not give you any brains you will be no worse off than you are now." "that is true," said the scarecrow. "you see," he continued, confidentially, "i don't mind my legs and arms and body being stuffed, because i cannot get hurt. if anyone treads on my toes or sticks a pin into me, it doesn't matter, for i cant feel it. but i do not want people to call me a fool, and if my head stays stuffed with straw instead of with brains, as yours is, how am i ever to know anything?" "i understand how you feel," said the little girl, who was truly sorry for him. "if you will come with me i'll ask oz to do all he can for you." "thank you," he answered, gratefully. they walked back to the road, dorothy helped him over the fence, and they started along the path of yellow brick for the emerald city. toto did not like this addition to the party, at first. he smelled around the stuffed man as if he suspected there might be a nest of rats in the straw, and he often growled in an unfriendly way at the scarecrow. "don't mind toto," said dorothy, to her new friend; "he never bites." "oh, i'm not afraid," replied the scarecrow, "he can't hurt the straw. do let me carry that basket for you. i shall not mind it, for i can't get tired. i'll tell you a secret," he continued, as he walked along; "there is only one thing in the world i am afraid of." "what is that?" asked dorothy; "the munchkin farmer who made you?" "no," answered the scarecrow; "it's a lighted match." chapter iv. the road through the forest. [illustration] after a few hours the road began to be rough, and the walking grew so difficult that the scarecrow often stumbled over the yellow bricks, which were here very uneven. sometimes, indeed, they were broken or missing altogether, leaving holes that toto jumped across and dorothy walked around. as for the scarecrow, having no brains he walked straight ahead, and so stepped into the holes and fell at full length on the hard bricks. it never hurt him, however, and dorothy would pick him up and set him upon his feet again, while he joined her in laughing merrily at his own mishap. [illustration] the farms were not nearly so well cared for here as they were farther back. there were fewer houses and fewer fruit trees, and the farther they went the more dismal and lonesome the country became. at noon they sat down by the roadside, near a little brook, and dorothy opened her basket and got out some bread. she offered a piece to the scarecrow, but he refused. "i am never hungry," he said; "and it is a lucky thing i am not. for my mouth is only painted, and if i should cut a hole in it so i could eat, the straw i am stuffed with would come out, and that would spoil the shape of my head." dorothy saw at once that this was true, so she only nodded and went on eating her bread. "tell me something about yourself, and the country you came from," said the scarecrow, when she had finished her dinner. so she told him all about kansas, and how gray everything was there, and how the cyclone had carried her to this queer land of oz. the scarecrow listened carefully, and said, "i cannot understand why you should wish to leave this beautiful country and go back to the dry, gray place you call kansas." [illustration: "_'i was only made yesterday,' said the scarecrow._"] "that is because you have no brains," answered the girl. "no matter how dreary and gray our homes are, we people of flesh and blood would rather live there than in any other country, be it ever so beautiful. there is no place like home." the scarecrow sighed. "of course i cannot understand it," he said. "if your heads were stuffed with straw, like mine, you would probably all live in the beautiful places, and then kansas would have no people at all. it is fortunate for kansas that you have brains." "won't you tell me a story, while we are resting?" asked the child. the scarecrow looked at her reproachfully, and answered, "my life has been so short that i really know nothing whatever. i was only made day before yesterday. what happened in the world before that time is all unknown to me. luckily, when the farmer made my head, one of the first things he did was to paint my ears, so that i heard what was going on. there was another munchkin with him, and the first thing i heard was the farmer saying, "'how do you like those ears?' "'they aren't straight,' answered the other. "'never mind,' said the farmer; 'they are ears just the same,' which was true enough. "'now i'll make the eyes,' said the farmer. so he painted my right eye, and as soon as it was finished i found myself looking at him and at everything around me with a great deal of curiosity, for this was my first glimpse of the world. "'that's a rather pretty eye,' remarked the munchkin who was watching the farmer; 'blue paint is just the color for eyes.' "'i think i'll make the other a little bigger,' said the farmer; and when the second eye was done i could see much better than before. then he made my nose and my mouth; but i did not speak, because at that time i didn't know what a mouth was for. i had the fun of watching them make my body and my arms and legs; and when they fastened on my head, at last, i felt very proud, for i thought i was just as good a man as anyone. "'this fellow will scare the crows fast enough,' said the farmer; 'he looks just like a man.' "'why, he is a man,' said the other, and i quite agreed with him. the farmer carried me under his arm to the cornfield, and set me up on a tall stick, where you found me. he and his friend soon after walked away and left me alone. "i did not like to be deserted this way; so i tried to walk after them, but my feet would not touch the ground, and i was forced to stay on that pole. it was a lonely life to lead, for i had nothing to think of, having been made such a little while before. many crows and other birds flew into the cornfield, but as soon as they saw me they flew away again, thinking i was a munchkin; and this pleased me and made me feel that i was quite an important person. by and by an old crow flew near me, and after looking at me carefully he perched upon my shoulder and said, [illustration] "'i wonder if that farmer thought to fool me in this clumsy manner. any crow of sense could see that you are only stuffed with straw.' then he hopped down at my feet and ate all the corn he wanted. the other birds, seeing he was not harmed by me, came to eat the corn too, so in a short time there was a great flock of them about me." "i felt sad at this, for it showed i was not such a good scarecrow after all; but the old crow comforted me, saying: 'if you only had brains in your head you would be as good a man as any of them, and a better man than some of them. brains are the only things worth having in this world, no matter whether one is a crow or a man.' "after the crows had gone i thought this over, and decided i would try hard to get some brains. by good luck, you came along and pulled me off the stake, and from what you say i am sure the great oz will give me brains as soon as we get to the emerald city." "i hope so," said dorothy, earnestly, "since you seem anxious to have them." "oh yes; i am anxious," returned the scarecrow. "it is such an uncomfortable feeling to know one is a fool." [illustration] "well," said the girl, "let us go." and she handed the basket to the scarecrow. there were no fences at all by the road side now, and the land was rough and untilled. towards evening they came to a great forest, where the trees grew so big and close together that their branches met over the road of yellow brick. it was almost dark under the trees, for the branches shut out the daylight; but the travellers did not stop, and went on into the forest. "if this road goes in, it must come out," said the scarecrow, "and as the emerald city is at the other end of the road, we must go wherever it leads us." "anyone would know that," said dorothy. "certainly; that is why i know it," returned the scarecrow. "if it required brains to figure it out, i never should have said it." after an hour or so the light faded away, and they found themselves stumbling along in the darkness. dorothy could not see at all, but toto could, for some dogs see very well in the dark; and the scarecrow declared he could see as well as by day. so she took hold of his arm, and managed to get along fairly well. "if you see any house, or any place where we can pass the night," she said, "you must tell me; for it is very uncomfortable walking in the dark." soon after the scarecrow stopped. "i see a little cottage at the right of us," he said, "built of logs and branches. shall we go there?" "yes, indeed;" answered the child. "i am all tired out." so the scarecrow led her through the trees until they reached the cottage, and dorothy entered and found a bed of dried leaves in one corner. she lay down at once, and with toto beside her soon fell into a sound sleep. the scarecrow, who was never tired, stood up in another corner and waited patiently until morning came. [illustration] chapter v. the rescue of the tin woodman [illustration] [illustration] when dorothy awoke the sun was shining through the trees and toto had long been out chasing birds and squirrels. she sat up and looked around her. there was the scarecrow, still standing patiently in his corner, waiting for her. "we must go and search for water," she said to him. "why do you want water?" he asked. "to wash my face clean after the dust of the road, and to drink, so the dry bread will not stick in my throat." "it must be inconvenient to be made of flesh," said the scarecrow, thoughtfully; "for you must sleep, and eat and drink. however, you have brains, and it is worth a lot of bother to be able to think properly." they left the cottage and walked through the trees until they found a little spring of clear water, where dorothy drank and bathed and ate her breakfast. she saw there was not much bread left in the basket, and the girl was thankful the scarecrow did not have to eat anything, for there was scarcely enough for herself and toto for the day. when she had finished her meal, and was about to go back to the road of yellow brick, she was startled to hear a deep groan near by. "what was that?" she asked, timidly. "i cannot imagine," replied the scarecrow; "but we can go and see." just then another groan reached their ears, and the sound seemed to come from behind them. they turned and walked through the forest a few steps, when dorothy discovered something shining in a ray of sunshine that fell between the trees. she ran to the place, and then stopped short, with a cry of surprise. one of the big trees had been partly chopped through, and standing beside it, with an uplifted axe in his hands, was a man made entirely of tin. his head and arms and legs were jointed upon his body, but he stood perfectly motionless, as if he could not stir at all. dorothy looked at him in amazement, and so did the scarecrow, while toto barked sharply and made a snap at the tin legs, which hurt his teeth. "did you groan?" asked dorothy. "yes," answered the tin man; "i did. i've been groaning for more than a year, and no one has ever heard me before or come to help me." "what can i do for you?" she enquired, softly, for she was moved by the sad voice in which the man spoke. [illustration] "get an oil-can and oil my joints," he answered. "they are rusted so badly that i cannot move them at all; if i am well oiled i shall soon be all right again. you will find an oil-can on a shelf in my cottage." dorothy at once ran back to the cottage and found the oil-can, and then she returned and asked, anxiously, "where are your joints?" "oil my neck, first," replied the tin woodman. so she oiled it, and as it was quite badly rusted the scarecrow took hold of the tin head and moved it gently from side to side until it worked freely, and then the man could turn it himself. "now oil the joints in my arms," he said. and dorothy oiled them and the scarecrow bent them carefully until they were quite free from rust and as good as new. the tin woodman gave a sigh of satisfaction and lowered his axe, which he leaned against the tree. "this is a great comfort," he said. "i have been holding that axe in the air ever since i rusted, and i'm glad to be able to put it down at last. now, if you will oil the joints of my legs, i shall be all right once more." so they oiled his legs until he could move them freely; and he thanked them again and again for his release, for he seemed a very polite creature, and very grateful. "i might have stood there always if you had not come along," he said; "so you have certainly saved my life. how did you happen to be here?" "we are on our way to the emerald city, to see the great oz," she answered, "and we stopped at your cottage to pass the night." "why do you wish to see oz?" he asked. "i want him to send me back to kansas; and the scarecrow wants him to put a few brains into his head," she replied. the tin woodman appeared to think deeply for a moment. then he said: "do you suppose oz could give me a heart?" "why, i guess so," dorothy answered; "it would be as easy as to give the scarecrow brains." [illustration: "_'this is a great comfort,' said the tin woodman._"] "true," the tin woodman returned. "so, if you will allow me to join your party, i will also go to the emerald city and ask oz to help me." "come along," said the scarecrow, heartily; and dorothy added that she would be pleased to have his company. so the tin woodman shouldered his axe and they all passed through the forest until they came to the road that was paved with yellow brick. the tin woodman had asked dorothy to put the oil-can in her basket. "for," he said, "if i should get caught in the rain, and rust again, i would need the oil-can badly." it was a bit of good luck to have their new comrade join the party, for soon after they had begun their journey again they came to a place where the trees and branches grew so thick over the road that the travellers could not pass. but the tin woodman set to work with his axe and chopped so well that soon he cleared a passage for the entire party. dorothy was thinking so earnestly as they walked along that she did not notice when the scarecrow stumbled into a hole and rolled over to the side of the road. indeed, he was obliged to call to her to help him up again. "why didn't you walk around the hole?" asked the tin woodman. "i don't know enough," replied the scarecrow, cheerfully. "my head is stuffed with straw, you know, and that is why i am going to oz to ask him for some brains." "oh, i see;" said the tin woodman. "but, after all, brains are not the best things in the world." "have you any?" enquired the scarecrow. "no, my head is quite empty," answered the woodman; "but once i had brains, and a heart also; so, having tried them both, i should much rather have a heart." "and why is that?" asked the scarecrow. "i will tell you my story, and then you will know." so, while they were walking through the forest, the tin woodman told the following story: "i was born the son of a woodman who chopped down trees in the forest and sold the wood for a living. when i grew up i too became a wood-chopper, and after my father died i took care of my old mother as long as she lived. then i made up my mind that instead of living alone i would marry, so that i might not become lonely. [illustration] "there was one of the munchkin girls who was so beautiful that i soon grew to love her with all my heart. she, on her part, promised to marry me as soon as i could earn enough money to build a better house for her; so i set to work harder than ever. but the girl lived with an old woman who did not want her to marry anyone, for she was so lazy she wished the girl to remain with her and do the cooking and the housework. so the old woman went to the wicked witch of the east, and promised her two sheep and a cow if she would prevent the marriage. thereupon the wicked witch enchanted my axe, and when i was chopping away at my best one day, for i was anxious to get the new house and my wife as soon as possible, the axe slipped all at once and cut off my left leg. "this at first seemed a great misfortune, for i knew a one-legged man could not do very well as a wood-chopper. so i went to a tin-smith and had him make me a new leg out of tin. the leg worked very well, once i was used to it; but my action angered the wicked witch of the east, for she had promised the old woman i should not marry the pretty munchkin girl. when i began chopping again my axe slipped and cut off my right leg. again i went to the tinner, and again he made me a leg out of tin. after this the enchanted axe cut off my arms, one after the other; but, nothing daunted, i had them replaced with tin ones. the wicked witch then made the axe slip and cut off my head, and at first i thought that was the end of me. but the tinner happened to come along, and he made me a new head out of tin. "i thought i had beaten the wicked witch then, and i worked harder than ever; but i little knew how cruel my enemy could be. she thought of a new way to kill my love for the beautiful munchkin maiden, and made my axe slip again, so that it cut right through my body, splitting me into two halves. once more the tinner came to my help and made me a body of tin, fastening my tin arms and legs and head to it, by means of joints, so that i could move around as well as ever. but, alas! i had now no heart, so that i lost all my love for the munchkin girl, and did not care whether i married her or not. i suppose she is still living with the old woman, waiting for me to come after her. [illustration] "my body shone so brightly in the sun that i felt very proud of it and it did not matter now if my axe slipped, for it could not cut me. there was only one danger--that my joints would rust; but i kept an oil-can in my cottage and took care to oil myself whenever i needed it. however, there came a day when i forgot to do this, and, being caught in a rainstorm, before i thought of the danger my joints had rusted, and i was left to stand in the woods until you came to help me. it was a terrible thing to undergo, but during the year i stood there i had time to think that the greatest loss i had known was the loss of my heart. while i was in love i was the happiest man on earth; but no one can love who has not a heart, and so i am resolved to ask oz to give me one. if he does, i will go back to the munchkin maiden and marry her." both dorothy and the scarecrow had been greatly interested in the story of the tin woodman, and now they knew why he was so anxious to get a new heart. "all the same," said the scarecrow, "i shall ask for brains instead of a heart; for a fool would not know what to do with a heart if he had one." "i shall take the heart," returned the tin woodman; "for brains do not make one happy, and happiness is the best thing in the world." dorothy did not say anything, for she was puzzled to know which of her two friends was right, and she decided if she could only get back to kansas and aunt em it did not matter so much whether the woodman had no brains and the scarecrow no heart, or each got what he wanted. [illustration] what worried her most was that the bread was nearly gone, and another meal for herself and toto would empty the basket. to be sure neither the woodman nor the scarecrow ever ate anything, but she was not made of tin nor straw, and could not live unless she was fed. chapter vi. the cowardly lion. [illustration] [illustration: "_you ought to be ashamed of yourself!_"] [illustration] all this time dorothy and her companions had been walking through the thick woods. the road was still paved with yellow brick, but these were much covered by dried branches and dead leaves from the trees, and the walking was not at all good. there were few birds in this part of the forest, for birds love the open country where there is plenty of sunshine; but now and then there came a deep growl from some wild animal hidden among the trees. these sounds made the little girl's heart beat fast, for she did not know what made them; but toto knew, and he walked close to dorothy's side, and did not even bark in return. "how long will it be," the child asked of the tin woodman, "before we are out of the forest?" "i cannot tell," was the answer, "for i have never been to the emerald city. but my father went there once, when i was a boy, and he said it was a long journey through a dangerous country, although nearer to the city where oz dwells the country is beautiful. but i am not afraid so long as i have my oil-can, and nothing can hurt the scarecrow, while you bear upon your forehead the mark of the good witch's kiss, and that will protect you from harm." "but toto!" said the girl, anxiously; "what will protect him?" "we must protect him ourselves, if he is in danger," replied the tin woodman. just as he spoke there came from the forest a terrible roar, and the next moment a great lion bounded into the road. with one blow of his paw he sent the scarecrow spinning over and over to the edge of the road, and then he struck at the tin woodman with his sharp claws. but, to the lion's surprise, he could make no impression on the tin, although the woodman fell over in the road and lay still. little toto, now that he had an enemy to face, ran barking toward the lion, and the great beast had opened his mouth to bite the dog, when dorothy, fearing toto would be killed, and heedless of danger, rushed forward and slapped the lion upon his nose as hard as she could, while she cried out: "don't you dare to bite toto! you ought to be ashamed of yourself, a big beast like you, to bite a poor little dog!" "i didn't bite him," said the lion, as he rubbed his nose with his paw where dorothy had hit it. "no, but you tried to," she retorted. "you are nothing but a big coward." "i know it," said the lion, hanging his head in shame; "i've always known it. but how can i help it?" "i don't know, i'm sure. to think of your striking a stuffed man, like the poor scarecrow!" "is he stuffed?" asked the lion, in surprise, as he watched her pick up the scarecrow and set him upon his feet, while she patted him into shape again. "of course he's stuffed," replied dorothy, who was still angry. "that's why he went over so easily," remarked the lion. "it astonished me to see him whirl around so. is the other one stuffed, also?" "no," said dorothy, "he's made of tin." and she helped the woodman up again. "that's why he nearly blunted my claws," said the lion. "when they scratched against the tin it made a cold shiver run down my back. what is that little animal you are so tender of?" "he is my dog, toto," answered dorothy. "is he made of tin, or stuffed?" asked the lion. "neither. he's a--a--a meat dog," said the girl. "oh. he's a curious animal, and seems remarkably small, now that i look at him. no one would think of biting such a little thing except a coward like me," continued the lion, sadly. "what makes you a coward?" asked dorothy, looking at the great beast in wonder, for he was as big as a small horse. [illustration] "it's a mystery," replied the lion. "i suppose i was born that way. all the other animals in the forest naturally expect me to be brave, for the lion is everywhere thought to be the king of beasts. i learned that if i roared very loudly every living thing was frightened and got out of my way. whenever i've met a man i've been awfully scared; but i just roared at him, and he has always run away as fast as he could go. if the elephants and the tigers and the bears had ever tried to fight me, i should have run myself--i'm such a coward; but just as soon as they hear me roar they all try to get away from me, and of course i let them go." "but that isn't right. the king of beasts shouldn't be a coward," said the scarecrow. "i know it," returned the lion, wiping a tear from his eye with the tip of his tail; "it is my great sorrow, and makes my life very unhappy. but whenever there is danger my heart begins to beat fast." "perhaps you have heart disease," said the tin woodman. "it may be," said the lion. "if you have," continued the tin woodman, "you ought to be glad, for it proves you have a heart. for my part, i have no heart; so i cannot have heart disease." "perhaps," said the lion, thoughtfully, "if i had no heart i should not be a coward." "have you brains?" asked the scarecrow. "i suppose so. i've never looked to see," replied the lion. "i am going to the great oz to ask him to give me some," remarked the scarecrow, "for my head is stuffed with straw." "and i am going to ask him to give me a heart," said the woodman. "and i am going to ask him to send toto and me back to kansas," added dorothy. "do you think oz could give me courage?" asked the cowardly lion. "just as easily as he could give me brains," said the scarecrow. "or give me a heart," said the tin woodman. "or send me back to kansas," said dorothy. "then, if you don't mind, i'll go with you," said the lion, "for my life is simply unbearable without a bit of courage." "you will be very welcome," answered dorothy, "for you will help to keep away the other wild beasts. it seems to me they must be more cowardly than you are if they allow you to scare them so easily." "they really are," said the lion; "but that doesn't make me any braver, and as long as i know myself to be a coward i shall be unhappy." so once more the little company set off upon the journey, the lion walking with stately strides at dorothy's side. toto did not approve this new comrade at first, for he could not forget how nearly he had been crushed between the lion's great jaws; but after a time he became more at ease, and presently toto and the cowardly lion had grown to be good friends. during the rest of that day there was no other adventure to mar the peace of their journey. once, indeed, the tin woodman stepped upon a beetle that was crawling along the road, and killed the poor little thing. this made the tin woodman very unhappy, for he was always careful not to hurt any living creature; and as he walked along he wept several tears of sorrow and regret. these tears ran slowly down his face and over the hinges of his jaw, and there they rusted. when dorothy presently asked him a question the tin woodman could not open his mouth, for his jaws were tightly rusted together. he became greatly frightened at this and made many motions to dorothy to relieve him, but she could not understand. the lion was also puzzled to know what was wrong. but the scarecrow seized the oil-can from dorothy's basket and oiled the woodman's jaws, so that after a few moments he could talk as well as before. [illustration] "this will serve me a lesson," said he, "to look where i step. for if i should kill another bug or beetle i should surely cry again, and crying rusts my jaw so that i cannot speak." thereafter he walked very carefully, with his eyes on the road, and when he saw a tiny ant toiling by he would step over it, so as not to harm it. the tin woodman knew very well he had no heart, and therefore he took great care never to be cruel or unkind to anything. "you people with hearts," he said, "have something to guide you, and need never do wrong; but i have no heart, and so i must be very careful. when oz gives me a heart of course i needn't mind so much." chapter vii. the journey to the great oz. [illustration] [illustration] they were obliged to camp out that night under a large tree in the forest, for there were no houses near. the tree made a good, thick covering to protect them from the dew, and the tin woodman chopped a great pile of wood with his axe and dorothy built a splendid fire that warmed her and made her feel less lonely. she and toto ate the last of their bread, and now she did not know what they would do for breakfast. "if you wish," said the lion, "i will go into the forest and kill a deer for you. you can roast it by the fire, since your tastes are so peculiar that you prefer cooked food, and then you will have a very good breakfast." "don't! please don't," begged the tin woodman. "i should certainly weep if you killed a poor deer, and then my jaws would rust again." [illustration] but the lion went away into the forest and found his own supper, and no one ever knew what it was, for he didn't mention it. and the scarecrow found a tree full of nuts and filled dorothy's basket with them, so that she would not be hungry for a long time. she thought this was very kind and thoughtful of the scarecrow, but she laughed heartily at the awkward way in which the poor creature picked up the nuts. his padded hands were so clumsy and the nuts were so small that he dropped almost as many as he put in the basket. but the scarecrow did not mind how long it took him to fill the basket, for it enabled him to keep away from the fire, as he feared a spark might get into his straw and burn him up. so he kept a good distance away from the flames, and only came near to cover dorothy with dry leaves when she lay down to sleep. these kept her very snug and warm and she slept soundly until morning. when it was daylight the girl bathed her face in a little rippling brook and soon after they all started toward the emerald city. this was to be an eventful day for the travellers. they had hardly been walking an hour when they saw before them a great ditch that crossed the road and divided the forest as far as they could see on either side. it was a very wide ditch, and when they crept up to the edge and looked into it they could see it was also very deep, and there were many big, jagged rocks at the bottom. the sides were so steep that none of them could climb down, and for a moment it seemed that their journey must end. "what shall we do?" asked dorothy, despairingly. "i haven't the faintest idea," said the tin woodman; and the lion shook his shaggy mane and looked thoughtful. but the scarecrow said: "we cannot fly, that is certain; neither can we climb down into this great ditch. therefore, if we cannot jump over it, we must stop where we are." "i think i could jump over it," said the cowardly lion, after measuring the distance carefully in his mind. "then we are all right," answered the scarecrow, "for you can carry us all over on your back, one at a time." "well, i'll try it," said the lion. "who will go first?" "i will," declared the scarecrow; "for, if you found that you could not jump over the gulf, dorothy would be killed, or the tin woodman badly dented on the rocks below. but if i am on your back it will not matter so much, for the fall would not hurt me at all." [illustration] "i am terribly afraid of falling, myself," said the cowardly lion, "but i suppose there is nothing to do but try it. so get on my back and we will make the attempt." the scarecrow sat upon the lion's back, and the big beast walked to the edge of the gulf and crouched down. "why don't you run and jump?" asked the scarecrow. "because that isn't the way we lions do these things," he replied. then giving a great spring, he shot through the air and landed safely on the other side. they were all greatly pleased to see how easily he did it, and after the scarecrow had got down from his back the lion sprang across the ditch again. dorothy thought she would go next; so she took toto in her arms and climbed on the lion's back, holding tightly to his mane with one hand. the next moment it seemed as if she was flying through the air; and then, before she had time to think about it, she was safe on the other side. the lion went back a third time and got the tin woodman, and then they all sat down for a few moments to give the beast a chance to rest, for his great leaps had made his breath short, and he panted like a big dog that has been running too long. [illustration] they found the forest very thick on this side, and it looked dark and gloomy. after the lion had rested they started along the road of yellow brick, silently wondering, each in his own mind, if ever they would come to the end of the woods and reach the bright sunshine again. to add to their discomfort, they soon heard strange noises in the depths of the forest, and the lion whispered to them that it was in this part of the country that the kalidahs lived. "what are the kalidahs?" asked the girl. "they are monstrous beasts with bodies like bears and heads like tigers," replied the lion; "and with claws so long and sharp that they could tear me in two as easily as i could kill toto. i'm terribly afraid of the kalidahs." "i'm not surprised that you are," returned dorothy "they must be dreadful beasts." the lion was about to reply when suddenly they came to another gulf across the road; but this one was so broad and deep that the lion knew at once he could not leap across it. so they sat down to consider what they should do, and after serious thought the scarecrow said, "here is a great tree, standing close to the ditch. if the tin woodman can chop it down, so that it will fall to the other side, we can walk across it easily." "that is a first rate idea," said the lion. "one would almost suspect you had brains in your head, instead of straw." the woodman set to work at once, and so sharp was his axe that the tree was soon chopped nearly through. then the lion put his strong front legs against the tree and pushed with all his might, and slowly the big tree tipped and fell with a crash across the ditch, with its top branches on the other side. they had just started to cross this queer bridge when a sharp growl made them all look up, and to their horror they saw running toward them two great beasts with bodies like bears and heads like tigers. "they are the kalidahs!" said the cowardly lion, beginning to tremble. "quick!" cried the scarecrow, "let us cross over." [illustration: "_the tree fell with a crash into the gulf._"] so dorothy went first, holding toto in her arms; the tin woodman followed, and the scarecrow came next. the lion, although he was certainly afraid, turned to face the kalidahs, and then he gave so loud and terrible a roar that dorothy screamed and the scarecrow fell over backwards, while even the fierce beasts stopped short and looked at him in surprise. but, seeing they were bigger than the lion, and remembering that there were two of them and only one of him, the kalidahs again rushed forward, and the lion crossed over the tree and turned to see what they would do next. without stopping an instant the fierce beasts also began to cross the tree, and the lion said to dorothy, "we are lost, for they will surely tear us to pieces with their sharp claws. but stand close behind me, and i will fight them as long as i am alive." "wait a minute!" called the scarecrow. he had been thinking what was best to be done, and now he asked the woodman to chop away the end of the tree that rested on their side of the ditch. the tin woodman began to use his axe at once, and, just as the two kalidahs were nearly across, the tree fell with a crash into the gulf, carrying the ugly, snarling brutes with it, and both were dashed to pieces on the sharp rocks at the bottom. "well," said the cowardly lion, drawing a long breath of relief, "i see we are going to live a little while longer, and i am glad of it, for it must be a very uncomfortable thing not to be alive. those creatures frightened me so badly that my heart is beating yet." "ah." said the tin woodman, sadly, "i wish i had a heart to beat." [illustration] this adventure made the travellers more anxious than ever to get out of the forest, and they walked so fast that dorothy became tired, and had to ride on the lion's back. to their great joy the trees became thinner the further they advanced, and in the afternoon they suddenly came upon a broad river, flowing swiftly just before them. on the other side of the water they could see the road of yellow brick running through a beautiful country, with green meadows dotted with bright flowers and all the road bordered with trees hanging full of delicious fruits. they were greatly pleased to see this delightful country before them. "how shall we cross the river?" asked dorothy. "that is easily done," replied the scarecrow. "the tin woodman must build us a raft, so we can float to the other side." so the woodman took his axe and began to chop down small trees to make a raft, and while he was busy at this the scarecrow found on the river bank a tree full of fine fruit. this pleased dorothy, who had eaten nothing but nuts all day, and she made a hearty meal of the ripe fruit. but it takes time to make a raft, even when one is as industrious and untiring as the tin woodman, and when night came the work was not done. so they found a cozy place under the trees where they slept well until the morning; and dorothy dreamed of the emerald city, and of the good wizard oz, who would soon send her back to her own home again. [illustration] chapter viii. the deadly poppy field. [illustration] [illustration] our little party of travellers awakened next morning refreshed and full of hope, and dorothy breakfasted like a princess off peaches and plums from the trees beside the river. behind them was the dark forest they had passed safely through, although they had suffered many discouragements; but before them was a lovely, sunny country that seemed to beckon them on to the emerald city. to be sure, the broad river now cut them off from this beautiful land; but the raft was nearly done, and after the tin woodman had cut a few more logs and fastened them together with wooden pins, they were ready to start. dorothy sat down in the middle of the raft and held toto in her arms. when the cowardly lion stepped upon the raft it tipped badly, for he was big and heavy; but the scarecrow and the tin woodman stood upon the other end to steady it, and they had long poles in their hands to push the raft through the water. they got along quite well at first, but when they reached the middle of the river the swift current swept the raft down stream, farther and farther away from the road of yellow brick; and the water grew so deep that the long poles would not touch the bottom. "this is bad," said the tin woodman, "for if we cannot get to the land we shall be carried into the country of the wicked witch of the west, and she will enchant us and make us her slaves." "and then i should get no brains," said the scarecrow. "and i should get no courage," said the cowardly lion. [illustration] "and i should get no heart," said the tin woodman. "and i should never get back to kansas," said dorothy. "we must certainly get to the emerald city if we can," the scarecrow continued, and he pushed so hard on his long pole that it stuck fast in the mud at the bottom of the river, and before he could pull it out again, or let go, the raft was swept away and the poor scarecrow left clinging to the pole in the middle of the river. "good bye!" he called after them, and they were very sorry to leave him; indeed, the tin woodman began to cry, but fortunately remembered that he might rust, and so dried his tears on dorothy's apron. of course this was a bad thing for the scarecrow. "i am now worse off than when i first met dorothy," he thought. "then, i was stuck on a pole in a cornfield, where i could make believe scare the crows, at any rate; but surely there is no use for a scarecrow stuck on a pole in the middle of a river. i am afraid i shall never have any brains, after all!" [illustration] down the stream the raft floated, and the poor scarecrow was left far behind. then the lion said: "something must be done to save us. i think i can swim to the shore and pull the raft after me, if you will only hold fast to the tip of my tail." [illustration] so he sprang into the water and the tin woodman caught fast hold of his tail, when the lion began to swim with all his might toward the shore. it was hard work, although he was so big; but by and by they were drawn out of the current, and then dorothy took the tin woodman's long pole and helped push the raft to the land. they were all tired out when they reached the shore at last and stepped off upon the pretty green grass, and they also knew that the stream had carried them a long way past the road of yellow brick that led to the emerald city. "what shall we do now?" asked the tin woodman, as the lion lay down on the grass to let the sun dry him. "we must get back to the road, in some way," said dorothy. "the best plan will be to walk along the river bank until we come to the road again," remarked the lion. so, when they were rested, dorothy picked up her basket and they started along the grassy bank, back to the road from which the river had carried them. it was a lovely country, with plenty of flowers and fruit trees and sunshine to cheer them, and had they not felt so sorry for the poor scarecrow they could have been very happy. they walked along as fast as they could, dorothy only stopping once to pick a beautiful flower; and after a time the tin woodman cried out, "look!" then they all looked at the river and saw the scarecrow perched upon his pole in the middle of the water, looking very lonely and sad. "what can we do to save him?" asked dorothy. the lion and the woodman both shook their heads, for they did not know. so they sat down upon the bank and gazed wistfully at the scarecrow until a stork flew by, which, seeing them, stopped to rest at the water's edge. "who are you, and where are you going?" asked the stork. "i am dorothy," answered the girl; "and these are my friends, the tin woodman and the cowardly lion; and we are going to the emerald city." "this isn't the road," said the stork, as she twisted her long neck and looked sharply at the queer party. "i know it," returned dorothy, "but we have lost the scarecrow, and are wondering how we shall get him again." "where is he?" asked the stork. "over there in the river," answered the girl. "if he wasn't so big and heavy i would get him for you," remarked the stork. "he isn't heavy a bit," said dorothy, eagerly, "for he is stuffed with straw; and if you will bring him back to us we shall thank you ever and ever so much." "well, i'll try," said the stork; "but if i find he is too heavy to carry i shall have to drop him in the river again." so the big bird flew into the air and over the water till she came to where the scarecrow was perched upon his pole. then the stork with her great claws grabbed the scarecrow by the arm and carried him up into the air and back to the bank, where dorothy and the lion and the tin woodman and toto were sitting. when the scarecrow found himself among his friends again he was so happy that he hugged them all, even the lion and toto; and as they walked along he sang "tol-de-ri-de-oh!" at every step, he felt so gay. "i was afraid i should have to stay in the river forever," he said, "but the kind stork saved me, and if i ever get any brains i shall find the stork again and do it some kindness in return." "that's all right," said the stork, who was flying along beside them. "i always like to help anyone in trouble. but i must go now, for my babies are waiting in the nest for me. i hope you will find the emerald city and that oz will help you." "thank you," replied dorothy, and then the kind stork flew into the air and was soon out of sight. [illustration: "_the stork carried him up into the air._"] they walked along listening to the singing of the bright-colored birds and looking at the lovely flowers which now became so thick that the ground was carpeted with them. there were big yellow and white and blue and purple blossoms, besides great clusters of scarlet poppies, which were so brilliant in color they almost dazzled dorothy's eyes. "aren't they beautiful?" the girl asked, as she breathed in the spicy scent of the flowers. "i suppose so," answered the scarecrow. "when i have brains i shall probably like them better." "if i only had a heart i should love them," added the tin woodman. "i always did like flowers," said the lion; "they seem so helpless and frail. but there are none in the forest so bright as these." they now came upon more and more of the big scarlet poppies, and fewer and fewer of the other flowers; and soon they found themselves in the midst of a great meadow of poppies. now it is well known that when there are many of these flowers together their odor is so powerful that anyone who breathes it falls asleep, and if the sleeper is not carried away from the scent of the flowers he sleeps on and on forever. but dorothy did not know this, nor could she get away from the bright red flowers that were everywhere about; so presently her eyes grew heavy and she felt she must sit down to rest and to sleep. but the tin woodman would not let her do this. "we must hurry and get back to the road of yellow brick before dark," he said; and the scarecrow agreed with him. so they kept walking until dorothy could stand no longer. her eyes closed in spite of herself and she forgot where she was and fell among the poppies, fast asleep. "what shall we do?" asked the tin woodman. "if we leave her here she will die," said the lion. "the smell of the flowers is killing us all. i myself can scarcely keep my eyes open and the dog is asleep already." it was true; toto had fallen down beside his little mistress. but the scarecrow and the tin woodman, not being made of flesh, were not troubled by the scent of the flowers. [illustration] "run fast," said the scarecrow to the lion, "and get out of this deadly flower-bed as soon as you can. we will bring the little girl with us, but if you should fall asleep you are too big to be carried." so the lion aroused himself and bounded forward as fast as he could go. in a moment he was out of sight. "let us make a chair with our hands, and carry her," said the scarecrow. so they picked up toto and put the dog in dorothy's lap, and then they made a chair with their hands for the seat and their arms for the arms and carried the sleeping girl between them through the flowers. on and on they walked, and it seemed that the great carpet of deadly flowers that surrounded them would never end. they followed the bend of the river, and at last came upon their friend the lion, lying fast asleep among the poppies. the flowers had been too strong for the huge beast and he had given up, at last, and fallen only a short distance from the end of the poppy-bed, where the sweet grass spread in beautiful green fields before them. "we can do nothing for him," said the tin woodman, sadly; "for he is much too heavy to lift. we must leave him here to sleep on forever, and perhaps he will dream that he has found courage at last." "i'm sorry," said the scarecrow; "the lion was a very good comrade for one so cowardly. but let us go on." they carried the sleeping girl to a pretty spot beside the river, far enough from the poppy field to prevent her breathing any more of the poison of the flowers, and here they laid her gently on the soft grass and waited for the fresh breeze to waken her. [illustration] chapter ix. the queen of the field mice. [illustration] [illustration] "we cannot be far from the road of yellow brick, now," remarked the scarecrow, as he stood beside the girl, "for we have come nearly as far as the river carried us away." the tin woodman was about to reply when he heard a low growl, and turning his head (which worked beautifully on hinges) he saw a strange beast come bounding over the grass towards them. it was, indeed, a great, yellow wildcat, and the woodman thought it must be chasing something, for its ears were lying close to its head and its mouth was wide open, showing two rows of ugly teeth, while its red eyes glowed like balls of fire. as it came nearer the tin woodman saw that running before the beast was a little gray field-mouse, and although he had no heart he knew it was wrong for the wildcat to try to kill such a pretty, harmless creature. so the woodman raised his axe, and as the wildcat ran by he gave it a quick blow that cut the beast's head clean off from its body, and it rolled over at his feet in two pieces. the field-mouse, now that it was freed from its enemy, stopped short; and coming slowly up to the woodman it said, in a squeaky little voice, "oh, thank you! thank you ever so much for saving my life." "don't speak of it, i beg of you," replied the woodman. "i have no heart, you know, so i am careful to help all those who may need a friend, even if it happens to be only a mouse." "only a mouse!" cried the little animal, indignantly; "why, i am a queen--the queen of all the field-mice!" "oh, indeed," said the woodman, making a bow. "therefore you have done a great deed, as well as a brave one, in saving my life," added the queen. at that moment several mice were seen running up as fast as their little legs could carry them, and when they saw their queen they exclaimed, [illustration: "_permit me to introduce to you her majesty, the queen._"] "oh, your majesty, we thought you would be killed! how did you manage to escape the great wildcat?" and they all bowed so low to the little queen that they almost stood upon their heads. "this funny tin man," she answered, "killed the wildcat and saved my life. so hereafter you must all serve him, and obey his slightest wish." "we will!" cried all the mice, in a shrill chorus. and then they scampered in all directions, for toto had awakened from his sleep, and seeing all these mice around him he gave one bark of delight and jumped right into the middle of the group. toto had always loved to chase mice when he lived in kansas, and he saw no harm in it. but the tin woodman caught the dog in his arms and held him tight, while he called to the mice: "come back! come back! toto shall not hurt you." at this the queen of the mice stuck her head out from a clump of grass and asked, in a timid voice, "are you sure he will not bite us?" "i will not let him," said the woodman; "so do not be afraid." [illustration] one by one the mice came creeping back, and toto did not bark again, although he tried to get out of the woodman's arms, and would have bitten him had he not known very well he was made of tin. finally one of the biggest mice spoke. "is there anything we can do," it asked, "to repay you for saving the life of our queen?" "nothing that i know of," answered the woodman; but the scarecrow, who had been trying to think, but could not because his head was stuffed with straw, said, quickly, "oh, yes; you can save our friend, the cowardly lion, who is asleep in the poppy bed." "a lion!" cried the little queen; "why, he would eat us all up." "oh, no;" declared the scarecrow; "this lion is a coward." "really?" asked the mouse. "he says so himself," answered the scarecrow, "and he would never hurt anyone who is our friend. if you will help us to save him i promise that he shall treat you all with kindness." "very well," said the queen, "we will trust you. but what shall we do?" "are there many of these mice which call you queen and are willing to obey you?" "oh, yes; there are thousands," she replied. "then send for them all to come here as soon as possible, and let each one bring a long piece of string." the queen turned to the mice that attended her and told them to go at once and get all her people. as soon as they heard her orders they ran away in every direction as fast as possible. "now," said the scarecrow to the tin woodman, "you must go to those trees by the river-side and make a truck that will carry the lion." so the woodman went at once to the trees and began to work; and he soon made a truck out of the limbs of trees, from which he chopped away all the leaves and branches. he fastened it together with wooden pegs and made the four wheels out of short pieces of a big tree-trunk. so fast and so well did he work that by the time the mice began to arrive the truck was all ready for them. they came from all directions, and there were thousands of them: big mice and little mice and middle-sized mice; and each one brought a piece of string in his mouth. it was about this time that dorothy woke from her long sleep and opened her eyes. she was greatly astonished to find herself lying upon the grass, with thousands of mice standing around and looking at her timidly. but the scarecrow told her about everything, and turning to the dignified little mouse, he said, "permit me to introduce to you her majesty, the queen." dorothy nodded gravely and the queen made a courtesy, after which she became quite friendly with the little girl. the scarecrow and the woodman now began to fasten the mice to the truck, using the strings they had brought. one end of a string was tied around the neck of each mouse and the other end to the truck. of course the truck was a thousand times bigger than any of the mice who were to draw it; but when all the mice had been harnessed they were able to pull it quite easily. even the scarecrow and the tin woodman could sit on it, and were drawn swiftly by their queer little horses to the place where the lion lay asleep. [illustration] after a great deal of hard work, for the lion was heavy, they managed to get him up on the truck. then the queen hurriedly gave her people the order to start, for she feared if the mice stayed among the poppies too long they also would fall asleep. [illustration] at first the little creatures, many though they were, could hardly stir the heavily loaded truck; but the woodman and the scarecrow both pushed from behind, and they got along better. soon they rolled the lion out of the poppy bed to the green fields, where he could breathe the sweet, fresh air again, instead of the poisonous scent of the flowers. dorothy came to meet them and thanked the little mice warmly for saving her companion from death. she had grown so fond of the big lion she was glad he had been rescued. then the mice were unharnessed from the truck and scampered away through the grass to their homes. the queen of the mice was the last to leave. "if ever you need us again," she said, "come out into the field and call, and we shall hear you and come to your assistance. good bye!" "good bye!" they all answered, and away the queen ran, while dorothy held toto tightly lest he should run after her and frighten her. after this they sat down beside the lion until he should awaken; and the scarecrow brought dorothy some fruit from a tree near by, which she ate for her dinner. [illustration] chapter x. the guardian of the gate. [illustration] [illustration] it was some time before the cowardly lion awakened, for he had lain among the poppies a long while, breathing in their deadly fragrance; but when he did open his eyes and roll off the truck he was very glad to find himself still alive. "i ran as fast as i could," he said, sitting down and yawning; "but the flowers were too strong for me. how did you get me out?" then they told him of the field-mice, and how they had generously saved him from death; and the cowardly lion laughed, and said, "i have always thought myself very big and terrible; yet such small things as flowers came near to killing me, and such small animals as mice have saved my life. how strange it all is! but, comrades, what shall we do now?" "we must journey on until we find the road of yellow brick again," said dorothy; "and then we can keep on to the emerald city." so, the lion being fully refreshed, and feeling quite himself again, they all started upon the journey, greatly enjoying the walk through the soft, fresh grass; and it was not long before they reached the road of yellow brick and turned again toward the emerald city where the great oz dwelt. [illustration] the road was smooth and well paved, now, and the country about was beautiful; so that the travelers rejoiced in leaving the forest far behind, and with it the many dangers they had met in its gloomy shades. once more they could see fences built beside the road; but these were painted green, and when they came to a small house, in which a farmer evidently lived, that also was painted green. they passed by several of these houses during the afternoon, and sometimes people came to the doors and looked at them as if they would like to ask questions; but no one came near them nor spoke to them because of the great lion, of which they were much afraid. the people were all dressed in clothing of a lovely emerald green color and wore peaked hats like those of the munchkins. [illustration] "this must be the land of oz," said dorothy, "and we are surely getting near the emerald city." "yes," answered the scarecrow; "everything is green here, while in the country of the munchkins blue was the favorite color. but the people do not seem to be as friendly as the munchkins and i'm afraid we shall be unable to find a place to pass the night." "i should like something to eat besides fruit," said the girl, "and i'm sure toto is nearly starved. let us stop at the next house and talk to the people." so, when they came to a good sized farm house, dorothy walked boldly up to the door and knocked. a woman opened it just far enough to look out, and said, "what do you want, child, and why is that great lion with you?" "we wish to pass the night with you, if you will allow us," answered dorothy; "and the lion is my friend and comrade, and would not hurt you for the world." "is he tame?" asked the woman, opening the door a little wider. "oh, yes;" said the girl, "and he is a great coward, too; so that he will be more afraid of you than you are of him." "well," said the woman, after thinking it over and taking another peep at the lion, "if that is the case you may come in, and i will give you some supper and a place to sleep." so they all entered the house, where there were, besides the woman, two children and a man. the man had hurt his leg, and was lying on the couch in a corner. they seemed greatly surprised to see so strange a company, and while the woman was busy laying the table the man asked, "where are you all going?" "to the emerald city," said dorothy, "to see the great oz." "oh, indeed!" exclaimed the man. "are you sure that oz will see you?" "why not?" she replied. "why, it is said that he never lets any one come into his presence. i have been to the emerald city many times, and it is a beautiful and wonderful place; but i have never been permitted to see the great oz, nor do i know of any living person who has seen him." "does he never go out?" asked the scarecrow. "never. he sits day after day in the great throne room of his palace, and even those who wait upon him do not see him face to face." "what is he like?" asked the girl. "that is hard to tell," said the man, thoughtfully. "you see, oz is a great wizard, and can take on any form he wishes. so that some say he looks like a bird; and some say he looks like an elephant; and some say he looks like a cat. to others he appears as a beautiful fairy, or a brownie, or in any other form that pleases him. but who the real oz is, when he is in his own form, no living person can tell." "that is very strange," said dorothy; "but we must try, in some way, to see him, or we shall have made our journey for nothing." [illustration] "why do you wish to see the terrible oz?" asked the man. "i want him to give me some brains," said the scarecrow, eagerly. "oh, oz could do that easily enough," declared the man. "he has more brains than he needs." "and i want him to give me a heart," said the tin woodman. "that will not trouble him," continued the man, "for oz has a large collection of hearts, of all sizes and shapes." "and i want him to give me courage," said the cowardly lion. "oz keeps a great pot of courage in his throne room," said the man, "which he has covered with a golden plate, to keep it from running over. he will be glad to give you some." "and i want him to send me back to kansas," said dorothy. "where is kansas?" asked the man, in surprise. "i don't know," replied dorothy, sorrowfully; "but it is my home, and i'm sure it's somewhere." "very likely. well, oz can do anything; so i suppose he will find kansas for you. but first you must get to see him, and that will be a hard task; for the great wizard does not like to see anyone, and he usually has his own way. but what do you want?" he continued, speaking to toto. toto only wagged his tail; for, strange to say, he could not speak. [illustration: "_the lion ate some of the porridge._"] the woman now called to them that supper was ready, so they gathered around the table and dorothy ate some delicious porridge and a dish of scrambled eggs and a plate of nice white bread, and enjoyed her meal. the lion ate some of the porridge, but did not care for it, saying it was made from oats and oats were food for horses, not for lions. the scarecrow and the tin woodman ate nothing at all. toto ate a little of everything, and was glad to get a good supper again. the woman now gave dorothy a bed to sleep in, and toto lay down beside her, while the lion guarded the door of her room so she might not be disturbed. the scarecrow and the tin woodman stood up in a corner and kept quiet all night, although of course they could not sleep. the next morning, as soon as the sun was up, they started on their way, and soon saw a beautiful green glow in the sky just before them. "that must be the emerald city," said dorothy. as they walked on, the green glow became brighter and brighter, and it seemed that at last they were nearing the end of their travels. yet it was afternoon before they came to the great wall that surrounded the city. it was high, and thick, and of a bright green color. in front of them, and at the end of the road of yellow brick, was a big gate, all studded with emeralds that glittered so in the sun that even the painted eyes of the scarecrow were dazzled by their brilliancy. there was a bell beside the gate, and dorothy pushed the button and heard a silvery tinkle sound within. then the big gate swung slowly open, and they all passed through and found themselves in a high arched room, the walls of which glistened with countless emeralds. before them stood a little man about the same size as the munchkins. he was clothed all in green, from his head to his feet, and even his skin was of a greenish tint. at his side was a large green box. when he saw dorothy and her companions the man asked, "what do you wish in the emerald city?" "we came here to see the great oz," said dorothy. the man was so surprised at this answer that he sat down to think it over. "it has been many years since anyone asked me to see oz," he said, shaking his head in perplexity. "he is powerful and terrible, and if you come on an idle or foolish errand to bother the wise reflections of the great wizard, he might be angry and destroy you all in an instant." [illustration] "but it is not a foolish errand, nor an idle one," replied the scarecrow; "it is important. and we have been told that oz is a good wizard." "so he is," said the green man; "and he rules the emerald city wisely and well. but to those who are not honest, or who approach him from curiosity, he is most terrible, and few have ever dared ask to see his face. i am the guardian of the gates, and since you demand to see the great oz i must take you to his palace. but first you must put on the spectacles." "why?" asked dorothy. "because if you did not wear spectacles the brightness and glory of the emerald city would blind you. even those who live in the city must wear spectacles night and day. they are all locked on, for oz so ordered it when the city was first built, and i have the only key that will unlock them." [illustration] he opened the big box, and dorothy saw that it was filled with spectacles of every size and shape. all of them had green glasses in them. the guardian of the gates found a pair that would just fit dorothy and put them over her eyes. there were two golden bands fastened to them that passed around the back of her head, where they were locked together by a little key that was at the end of a chain the guardian of the gates wore around his neck. when they were on, dorothy could not take them off had she wished, but of course she did not want to be blinded by the glare of the emerald city, so she said nothing. then the green man fitted spectacles for the scarecrow and the tin woodman and the lion, and even on little toto; and all were locked fast with the key. then the guardian of the gates put on his own glasses and told them he was ready to show them to the palace. taking a big golden key from a peg on the wall he opened another gate, and they all followed him through the portal into the streets of the emerald city. chapter xi. the wonderful emerald city of oz. [illustration] even with eyes protected by the green spectacles dorothy and her friends were at first dazzled by the brilliancy of the wonderful city. the streets were lined with beautiful houses all built of green marble and studded everywhere with sparkling emeralds. they walked over a pavement of the same green marble, and where the blocks were joined together were rows of emeralds, set closely, and glittering in the brightness of the sun. the window panes were of green glass; even the sky above the city had a green tint, and the rays of the sun were green. there were many people, men, women and children, walking about, and these were all dressed in green clothes and had greenish skins. they looked at dorothy and her strangely assorted company with wondering eyes, and the children all ran away and hid behind their mothers when they saw the lion; but no one spoke to them. many shops stood in the street, and dorothy saw that everything in them was green. green candy and green pop-corn were offered for sale, as well as green shoes, green hats and green clothes of all sorts. at one place a man was selling green lemonade, and when the children bought it dorothy could see that they paid for it with green pennies. there seemed to be no horses nor animals of any kind; the men carried things around in little green carts, which they pushed before them. everyone seemed happy and contented and prosperous. the guardian of the gates led them through the streets until they came to a big building, exactly in the middle of the city, which was the palace of oz, the great wizard. there was a soldier before the door, dressed in a green uniform and wearing a long green beard. "here are strangers," said the guardian of the gates to him, "and they demand to see the great oz." "step inside," answered the soldier, "and i will carry your message to him." so they passed through the palace gates and were led into a big room with a green carpet and lovely green furniture set with emeralds. the soldier made them all wipe their feet upon a green mat before entering this room, and when they were seated he said, politely, "please make yourselves comfortable while i go to the door of the throne room and tell oz you are here." they had to wait a long time before the soldier returned. when, at last, he came back, dorothy asked, "have you seen oz?" [illustration] "oh, no;" returned the soldier; "i have never seen him. but i spoke to him as he sat behind his screen, and gave him your message. he says he will grant you an audience, if you so desire; but each one of you must enter his presence alone, and he will admit but one each day. therefore, as you must remain in the palace for several days, i will have you shown to rooms where you may rest in comfort after your journey." "thank you," replied the girl; "that is very kind of oz." the soldier now blew upon a green whistle, and at once a young girl, dressed in a pretty green silk gown, entered the room. she had lovely green hair and green eyes, and she bowed low before dorothy as she said, "follow me and i will show you your room." so dorothy said good-bye to all her friends except toto, and taking the dog in her arms followed the green girl through seven passages and up three flights of stairs until they came to a room at the front of the palace. it was the sweetest little room in the world, with a soft, comfortable bed that had sheets of green silk and a green velvet counterpane. there was a tiny fountain in the middle of the room, that shot a spray of green perfume into the air, to fall back into a beautifully carved green marble basin. beautiful green flowers stood in the windows, and there was a shelf with a row of little green books. when dorothy had time to open these books she found them full of queer green pictures that made her laugh, they were so funny. in a wardrobe were many green dresses, made of silk and satin and velvet; and all of them fitted dorothy exactly. "make yourself perfectly at home," said the green girl, "and if you wish for anything ring the bell. oz will send for you to-morrow morning." she left dorothy alone and went back to the others. these she also led to rooms, and each one of them found himself lodged in a very pleasant part of the palace. of course this politeness was wasted on the scarecrow; for when he found himself alone in his room he stood stupidly in one spot, just within the doorway, to wait till morning. it would not rest him to lie down, and he could not close his eyes; so he remained all night staring at a little spider which was weaving its web in a corner of the room, just as if it were not one of the most wonderful rooms in the world. the tin woodman lay down on his bed from force of habit, for he remembered when he was made of flesh; but not being able to sleep he passed the night moving his joints up and down to make sure they kept in good working order. the lion would have preferred a bed of dried leaves in the forest, and did not like being shut up in a room; but he had too much sense to let this worry him, so he sprang upon the bed and rolled himself up like a cat and purred himself asleep in a minute. the next morning, after breakfast, the green maiden came to fetch dorothy, and she dressed her in one of the prettiest gowns--made of green brocaded satin. dorothy put on a green silk apron and tied a green ribbon around toto's neck, and they started for the throne room of the great oz. [illustration] first they came to a great hall in which were many ladies and gentlemen of the court, all dressed in rich costumes. these people had nothing to do but talk to each other, but they always came to wait outside the throne room every morning, although they were never permitted to see oz. as dorothy entered they looked at her curiously, and one of them whispered, "are you really going to look upon the face of oz the terrible?" "of course," answered the girl, "if he will see me." "oh, he will see you," said the soldier who had taken her message to the wizard, "although he does not like to have people ask to see him. indeed, at first he was angry, and said i should send you back where you came from. then he asked me what you looked like, and when i mentioned your silver shoes he was very much interested. at last i told him about the mark upon your forehead, and he decided he would admit you to his presence." just then a bell rang, and the green girl said to dorothy, "that is the signal. you must go into the throne room alone." she opened a little door and dorothy walked boldly through and found herself in a wonderful place. it was a big, round room with a high arched roof, and the walls and ceiling and floor were covered with large emeralds set closely together. in the center of the roof was a great light, as bright as the sun, which made the emeralds sparkle in a wonderful manner. but what interested dorothy most was the big throne of green marble that stood in the middle of the room. it was shaped like a chair and sparkled with gems, as did everything else. in the center of the chair was an enormous head, without body to support it or any arms or legs whatever. there was no hair upon this head, but it had eyes and nose and mouth, and was bigger than the head of the biggest giant. as dorothy gazed upon this in wonder and fear the eyes turned slowly and looked at her sharply and steadily. then the mouth moved, and dorothy heard a voice say: "i am oz, the great and terrible. who are you, and why do you seek me?" it was not such an awful voice as she had expected to come from the big head; so she took courage and answered, "i am dorothy, the small and meek. i have come to you for help." the eyes looked at her thoughtfully for a full minute. then said the voice: "where did you get the silver shoes?" "i got them from the wicked witch of the east, when my house fell on her and killed her," she replied. "where did you get the mark upon your forehead?" continued the voice. "that is where the good witch of the north kissed me when she bade me good-bye and sent me to you," said the girl. again the eyes looked at her sharply, and they saw she was telling the truth. then oz asked, "what do you wish me to do?" "send me back to kansas, where my aunt em and uncle henry are," she answered, earnestly. "i don't like your country, although it is so beautiful. and i am sure aunt em will be dreadfully worried over my being away so long." the eyes winked three times, and then they turned up to the ceiling and down to the floor and rolled around so queerly that they seemed to see every part of the room. and at last they looked at dorothy again. "why should i do this for you?" asked oz. "because you are strong and i am weak; because you are a great wizard and i am only a helpless little girl," she answered. "but you were strong enough to kill the wicked witch of the east," said oz. "that just happened," returned dorothy, simply; "i could not help it." "well," said the head, "i will give you my answer. you have no right to expect me to send you back to kansas unless you do something for me in return. in this country everyone must pay for everything he gets. if you wish me to use my magic power to send you home again you must do something for me first. help me and i will help you." "what must i do?" asked the girl. "kill the wicked witch of the west," answered oz. "but i cannot!" exclaimed dorothy, greatly surprised. "you killed the witch of the east and you wear the silver shoes, which bear a powerful charm. there is now but one wicked witch left in all this land, and when you can tell me she is dead i will send you back to kansas--but not before." the little girl began to weep, she was so much disappointed; and the eyes winked again and looked upon her anxiously, as if the great oz felt that she could help him if she would. "i never killed anything, willingly," she sobbed; "and even if i wanted to, how could i kill the wicked witch? if you, who are great and terrible, cannot kill her yourself, how do you expect me to do it?" [illustration] "i do not know," said the head; "but that is my answer, and until the wicked witch dies you will not see your uncle and aunt again. remember that the witch is wicked--tremendously wicked--and ought to be killed. now go, and do not ask to see me again until you have done your task." sorrowfully dorothy left the throne room and went back where the lion and the scarecrow and the tin woodman were waiting to hear what oz had said to her. "there is no hope for me," she said, sadly, "for oz will not send me home until i have killed the wicked witch of the west; and that i can never do." her friends were sorry, but could do nothing to help her; so she went to her own room and lay down on the bed and cried herself to sleep. the next morning the soldier with the green whiskers came to the scarecrow and said, "come with me, for oz has sent for you." so the scarecrow followed him and was admitted into the great throne room, where he saw, sitting in the emerald throne, a most lovely lady. she was dressed in green silk gauze and wore upon her flowing green locks a crown of jewels. growing from her shoulders were wings, gorgeous in color and so light that they fluttered if the slightest breath of air reached them. when the scarecrow had bowed, as prettily as his straw stuffing would let him, before this beautiful creature, she looked upon him sweetly, and said, "i am oz, the great and terrible. who are you, and why do you seek me?" now the scarecrow, who had expected to see the great head dorothy had told him of, was much astonished; but he answered her bravely. "i am only a scarecrow, stuffed with straw. therefore i have no brains, and i come to you praying that you will put brains in my head instead of straw, so that i may become as much a man as any other in your dominions." "why should i do this for you?" asked the lady. "because you are wise and powerful, and no one else can help me," answered the scarecrow. "i never grant favors without some return," said oz; "but this much i will promise. if you will kill for me the wicked witch of the west i will bestow upon you a great many brains, and such good brains that you will be the wisest man in all the land of oz." "i thought you asked dorothy to kill the witch," said, the scarecrow, in surprise. [illustration] "so i did. i don't care who kills her. but until she is dead i will not grant your wish. now go, and do not seek me again until you have earned the brains you so greatly desire." the scarecrow went sorrowfully back to his friends and told them what oz had said; and dorothy was surprised to find that the great wizard was not a head, as she had seen him, but a lovely lady. "all the same," said the scarecrow, "she needs a heart as much as the tin woodman." on the next morning the soldier with the green whiskers came to the tin woodman and said, "oz has sent for you. follow me," so the tin woodman followed him and came to the great throne room. he did not know whether he would find oz a lovely lady or a head, but he hoped it would be the lovely lady. "for," he said to himself, "if it is the head, i am sure i shall not be given a heart, since a head has no heart of its own and therefore cannot feel for me. but if it is the lovely lady i shall beg hard for a heart, for all ladies are themselves said to be kindly hearted." but when the woodman entered the great throne room he saw neither the head nor the lady, for oz had taken the shape of a most terrible beast. it was nearly as big as an elephant, and the green throne seemed hardly strong enough to hold its weight. the beast had a head like that of a rhinoceros, only there were five eyes in its face. there were five long arms growing out of its body and it also had five long, slim legs. thick, woolly hair covered every part of it, and a more dreadful looking monster could not be imagined. it was fortunate the tin woodman had no heart at that moment, for it would have beat loud and fast from terror. but being only tin, the woodman was not at all afraid, although he was much disappointed. "i am oz, the great and terrible," spake the beast, in a voice that was one great roar. "who are you, and why do you seek me?" [illustration: "_the eyes looked at her thoughtfully._"] "i am a woodman, and made of tin. therefore i have no heart, and cannot love. i pray you to give me a heart that i may be as other men are." "why should i do this?" demanded the beast. "because i ask it, and you alone can grant my request," answered the woodman. oz gave a low growl at this, but said, gruffly, "if you indeed desire a heart, you must earn it." "how?" asked the woodman. "help dorothy to kill the wicked witch of the west," replied the beast. "when the witch is dead, come to me, and i will then give you the biggest and kindest and most loving heart in all the land of oz." so the tin woodman was forced to return sorrowfully to his friends and tell them of the terrible beast he had seen. they all wondered greatly at the many forms the great wizard could take upon himself, and the lion said, [illustration] "if he is a beast when i go to see him, i shall roar my loudest, and so frighten him that he will grant all i ask. and if he is the lovely lady, i shall pretend to spring upon her, and so compel her to do my bidding. and if he is the great head, he will be at my mercy; for i will roll this head all about the room until he promises to give us what we desire. so be of good cheer my friends for all will yet be well." the next morning the soldier with the green whiskers led the lion to the great throne room and bade him enter the presence of oz. the lion at once passed through the door, and glancing around saw, to his surprise, that before the throne was a ball of fire, so fierce and glowing he could scarcely bear to gaze upon it. his first thought was that oz had by accident caught on fire and was burning up; but, when he tried to go nearer, the heat was so intense that it singed his whiskers, and he crept back tremblingly to a spot nearer the door. then a low, quiet voice came from the ball of fire, and these were the words it spoke: [illustration] "i am oz, the great and terrible. who are you, and why do you seek me?" and the lion answered, "i am a cowardly lion, afraid of everything. i come to you to beg that you give me courage, so that in reality i may become the king of beasts, as men call me." "why should i give you courage?" demanded oz. "because of all wizards you are the greatest, and alone have power to grant my request," answered the lion. the ball of fire burned fiercely for a time, and the voice said, "bring me proof that the wicked witch is dead, and that moment i will give you courage. but so long as the witch lives you must remain a coward." the lion was angry at this speech, but could say nothing in reply, and while he stood silently gazing at the ball of fire it became so furiously hot that he turned tail and rushed from the room. he was glad to find his friends waiting for him, and told them of his terrible interview with the wizard. "what shall we do now?" asked dorothy, sadly. "there is only one thing we can do," returned the lion, "and that is to go to the land of the winkies, seek out the wicked witch, and destroy her." "but suppose we cannot?" said the girl. "then i shall never have courage," declared the lion. "and i shall never have brains," added the scarecrow. "and i shall never have a heart," spoke the tin woodman. "and i shall never see aunt em and uncle henry," said dorothy, beginning to cry. "be careful!" cried the green girl, "the tears will fall on your green silk gown, and spot it." so dorothy dried her eyes and said, "i suppose we must try it; but i am sure i do not want to kill anybody, even to see aunt em again." "i will go with you; but i'm too much of a coward to kill the witch," said the lion. "i will go too," declared the scarecrow; "but i shall not be of much help to you, i am such a fool." "i haven't the heart to harm even a witch," remarked the tin woodman; "but if you go i certainly shall go with you." therefore it was decided to start upon their journey the next morning, and the woodman sharpened his axe on a green grindstone and had all his joints properly oiled. the scarecrow stuffed himself with fresh straw and dorothy put new paint on his eyes that he might see better. the green girl, who was very kind to them, filled dorothy's basket with good things to eat, and fastened a little bell around toto's neck with a green ribbon. they went to bed quite early and slept soundly until daylight, when they were awakened by the crowing of a green cock that lived in the back yard of the palace, and the cackling of a hen that had laid a green egg. [illustration: "_the soldier with the green whiskers led them through the streets._"] chapter xii. the search for the wicked witch. [illustration] [illustration] the soldier with the green whiskers led them through the streets of the emerald city until they reached the room where the guardian of the gates lived. this officer unlocked their spectacles to put them back in his great box, and then he politely opened the gate for our friends. "which road leads to the wicked witch of the west?" asked dorothy. "there is no road," answered the guardian of the gates; "no one ever wishes to go that way." "how, then, are we to find her?" enquired the girl. [illustration] "that will be easy," replied the man; "for when she knows you are in the country of the winkies she will find you, and make you all her slaves." "perhaps not," said the scarecrow, "for we mean to destroy her." [illustration] "oh, that is different," said the guardian of the gates. "no one has ever destroyed her before, so i naturally thought she would make slaves of you, as she has of all the rest. but take care; for she is wicked and fierce, and may not allow you to destroy her. keep to the west, where the sun sets, and you cannot fail to find her." they thanked him and bade him good-bye, and turned toward the west, walking over fields of soft grass dotted here and there with daisies and buttercups. dorothy still wore the pretty silk dress she had put on in the palace, but now, to her surprise, she found it was no longer green, but pure white. the ribbon around toto's neck had also lost its green color and was as white as dorothy's dress. the emerald city was soon left far behind. as they advanced the ground became rougher and hillier, for there were no farms nor houses in this country of the west, and the ground was untilled. in the afternoon the sun shone hot in their faces, for there were no trees to offer them shade; so that before night dorothy and toto and the lion were tired, and lay down upon the grass and fell asleep, with the woodman and the scarecrow keeping watch. now the wicked witch of the west had but one eye, yet that was as powerful as a telescope, and could see everywhere. so, as she sat in the door of her castle, she happened to look around and saw dorothy lying asleep, with her friends all about her. they were a long distance off, but the wicked witch was angry to find them in her country; so she blew upon a silver whistle that hung around her neck. at once there came running to her from all directions a pack of great wolves. they had long legs and fierce eyes and sharp teeth. "go to those people," said the witch, "and tear them to pieces." "are you not going to make them your slaves?" asked the leader of the wolves. "no," she answered, "one is of tin, and one of straw; one is a girl and another a lion. none of them is fit to work, so you may tear them into small pieces." "very well," said the wolf, and he dashed away at full speed, followed by the others. it was lucky the scarecrow and the woodman were wide awake and heard the wolves coming. "this is my fight," said the woodman; "so get behind me and i will meet them as they come." he seized his axe, which he had made very sharp, and as the leader of the wolves came on the tin woodman swung his arm and chopped the wolf's head from its body, so that it immediately died. as soon as he could raise his axe another wolf came up, and he also fell under the sharp edge of the tin woodman's weapon. there were forty wolves, and forty times a wolf was killed; so that at last they all lay dead in a heap before the woodman. then he put down his axe and sat beside the scarecrow, who said, "it was a good fight, friend." they waited until dorothy awoke the next morning. the little girl was quite frightened when she saw the great pile of shaggy wolves, but the tin woodman told her all. she thanked him for saving them and sat down to breakfast, after which they started again upon their journey. [illustration] now this same morning the wicked witch came to the door of her castle and looked out with her one eye that could see afar off. she saw all her wolves lying dead, and the strangers still travelling through her country. this made her angrier than before, and she blew her silver whistle twice. straightway a great flock of wild crows came flying toward her, enough to darken the sky. and the wicked witch said to the king crow, "fly at once to the strangers; peck out their eyes and tear them to pieces." the wild crows flew in one great flock toward dorothy and her companions. when the little girl saw them coming she was afraid. but the scarecrow said, "this is my battle; so lie down beside me and you will not be harmed." so they all lay upon the ground except the scarecrow, and he stood up and stretched out his arms. and when the crows saw him they were frightened, as these birds always are by scarecrows, and did not dare to come any nearer. but the king crow said, "it is only a stuffed man. i will peck his eyes out." the king crow flew at the scarecrow, who caught it by the head and twisted its neck until it died. and then another crow flew at him, and the scarecrow twisted its neck also. there were forty crows, and forty times the scarecrow twisted a neck, until at last all were lying dead beside him. then he called to his companions to rise, and again they went upon their journey. when the wicked witch looked out again and saw all her crows lying in a heap, she got into a terrible rage, and blew three times upon her silver whistle. [illustration] forthwith there was heard a great buzzing in the air, and a swarm of black bees came flying towards her. "go to the strangers and sting them to death!" commanded the witch, and the bees turned and flew rapidly until they came to where dorothy and her friends were walking. but the woodman had seen them coming and the scarecrow had decided what to do. "take out my straw and scatter it over the little girl and the dog and the lion," he said to the woodman, "and the bees cannot sting them." this the woodman did, and as dorothy lay close beside the lion and held toto in her arms, the straw covered them entirely. the bees came and found no one but the woodman to sting, so they flew at him and broke off all their stings against the tin, without hurting the woodman at all. and as bees cannot live when their stings are broken that was the end of the black bees, and they lay scattered thick about the woodman, like little heaps of fine coal. then dorothy and the lion got up, and the girl helped the tin woodman put the straw back into the scarecrow again, until he was as good as ever. so they started upon their journey once more. the wicked witch was so angry when she saw her black bees in little heaps like fine coal that she stamped her foot and tore her hair and gnashed her teeth. and then she called a dozen of her slaves, who were the winkies, and gave them sharp spears, telling them to go to the strangers and destroy them. the winkies were not a brave people, but they had to do as they were told; so they marched away until they came near to dorothy. then the lion gave a great roar and sprang toward them, and the poor winkies were so frightened that they ran back as fast as they could. when they returned to the castle the wicked witch beat them well with a strap, and sent them back to their work, after which she sat down to think what she should do next. she could not understand how all her plans to destroy these strangers had failed; but she was a powerful witch, as well as a wicked one, and she soon made up her mind how to act. [illustration] there was, in her cupboard, a golden cap, with a circle of diamonds and rubies running round it. this golden cap had a charm. whoever owned it could call three times upon the winged monkeys, who would obey any order they were given. but no person could command these strange creatures more than three times. twice already the wicked witch had used the charm of the cap. once was when she had made the winkies her slaves, and set herself to rule over their country. the winged monkeys had helped her do this. the second time was when she had fought against the great oz himself, and driven him out of the land of the west. the winged monkeys had also helped her in doing this. only once more could she use this golden cap, for which reason she did not like to do so until all her other powers were exhausted. but now that her fierce wolves and her wild crows and her stinging bees were gone, and her slaves had been scared away by the cowardly lion, she saw there was only one way left to destroy dorothy and her friends. [illustration] so the wicked witch took the golden cap from her cupboard and placed it upon her head. then she stood upon her left foot and said, slowly, "ep-pe, pep-pe, kak-ke!" next she stood upon her right foot and said, "hil-lo, hol-lo, hel-lo!" after this she stood upon both feet and cried in a loud voice, "ziz-zy, zuz-zy, zik!" now the charm began to work. the sky was darkened, and a low rumbling sound was heard in the air. there was a rushing of many wings; a great chattering and laughing; and the sun came out of the dark sky to show the wicked witch surrounded by a crowd of monkeys, each with a pair of immense and powerful wings on his shoulders. one, much bigger than the others, seemed to be their leader. he flew close to the witch and said, "you have called us for the third and last time. what do you command?" "go to the strangers who are within my land and destroy them all except the lion," said the wicked witch. "bring that beast to me, for i have a mind to harness him like a horse, and make him work." "your commands shall be obeyed," said the leader; and then, with a great deal of chattering and noise, the winged monkeys flew away to the place where dorothy and her friends were walking. [illustration] some of the monkeys seized the tin woodman and carried him through the air until they were over a country thickly covered with sharp rocks. here they dropped the poor woodman, who fell a great distance to the rocks, where he lay so battered and dented that he could neither move nor groan. others of the monkeys caught the scarecrow, and with their long fingers pulled all of the straw out of his clothes and head. they made his hat and boots and clothes into a small bundle and threw it into the top branches of a tall tree. the remaining monkeys threw pieces of stout rope around the lion and wound many coils about his body and head and legs, until he was unable to bite or scratch or struggle in any way. then they lifted him up and flew away with him to the witch's castle, where he was placed in a small yard with a high iron fence around it, so that he could not escape. but dorothy they did not harm at all. she stood, with toto in her arms, watching the sad fate of her comrades and thinking it would soon be her turn. the leader of the winged monkeys flew up to her, his long, hairy arms stretched out and his ugly face grinning terribly; but he saw the mark of the good witch's kiss upon her forehead and stopped short, motioning the others not to touch her. [illustration: "_the monkeys wound many coils about his body._"] "we dare not harm this little girl," he said to them, "for she is protected by the power of good, and that is greater than the power of evil. all we can do is to carry her to the castle of the wicked witch and leave her there." so, carefully and gently, they lifted dorothy in their arms and carried her swiftly through the air until they came to the castle, where they set her down upon the front door step. then the leader said to the witch, "we have obeyed you as far as we were able. the tin woodman and the scarecrow are destroyed, and the lion is tied up in your yard. the little girl we dare not harm, nor the dog she carries in her arms. your power over our band is now ended, and you will never see us again." then all the winged monkeys, with much laughing and chattering and noise, flew into the air and were soon out of sight. [illustration] the wicked witch was both surprised and worried when she saw the mark on dorothy's forehead, for she knew well that neither the winged monkeys nor she, herself, dare hurt the girl in any way. she looked down at dorothy's feet, and seeing the silver shoes, began to tremble with fear, for she knew what a powerful charm belonged to them. at first the witch was tempted to run away from dorothy; but she happened to look into the child's eyes and saw how simple the soul behind them was, and that the little girl did not know of the wonderful power the silver shoes gave her. so the wicked witch laughed to herself, and thought, "i can still make her my slave, for she does not know how to use her power." then she said to dorothy, harshly and severely, "come with me; and see that you mind everything i tell you, for if you do not i will make an end of you, as i did of the tin woodman and the scarecrow." dorothy followed her through many of the beautiful rooms in her castle until they came to the kitchen, where the witch bade her clean the pots and kettles and sweep the floor and keep the fire fed with wood. dorothy went to work meekly, with her mind made up to work as hard as she could; for she was glad the wicked witch had decided not to kill her. with dorothy hard at work the witch thought she would go into the court-yard and harness the cowardly lion like a horse; it would amuse her, she was sure, to make him draw her chariot whenever she wished to go to drive. but as she opened the gate the lion gave a loud roar and bounded at her so fiercely that the witch was afraid, and ran out and shut the gate again. "if i cannot harness you," said the witch to the lion, speaking through the bars of the gate, "i can starve you. you shall have nothing to eat until you do as i wish." so after that she took no food to the imprisoned lion; but every day she came to the gate at noon and asked, "are you ready to be harnessed like a horse?" and the lion would answer, "no. if you come in this yard i will bite you." the reason the lion did not have to do as the witch wished was that every night, while the woman was asleep dorothy carried him food from the cupboard. after he had eaten he would lie down on his bed of straw, and dorothy would lie beside him and put her head on his soft, shaggy mane, while they talked of their troubles and tried to plan some way to escape. but they could find no way to get out of the castle, for it was constantly guarded by the yellow winkies, who were the slaves of the wicked witch and too afraid of her not to do as she told them. the girl had to work hard during the day, and often the witch threatened to beat her with the same old umbrella she always carried in her hand. but, in truth, she did not dare to strike dorothy, because of the mark upon her forehead. the child did not know this, and was full of fear for herself and toto. once the witch struck toto a blow with her umbrella and the brave little dog flew at her and bit her leg, in return. the witch did not bleed where she was bitten, for she was so wicked that the blood in her had dried up many years before. dorothy's life became very sad as she grew to understand that it would be harder than ever to get back to kansas and aunt em again. sometimes she would cry bitterly for hours, with toto sitting at her feet and looking into her face, whining dismally to show how sorry he was for his little mistress. toto did not really care whether he was in kansas or the land of oz so long as dorothy was with him; but he knew the little girl was unhappy, and that made him unhappy too. now the wicked witch had a great longing to have for her own the silver shoes which the girl always wore. her bees and her crows and her wolves were lying in heaps and drying up, and she had used up all the power of the golden cap; but if she could only get hold of the silver shoes they would give her more power than all the other things she had lost. she watched dorothy carefully, to see if she ever took off her shoes, thinking she might steal them. but the child was so proud of her pretty shoes that she never took them off except at night and when she took her bath. the witch was too much afraid of the dark to dare go in dorothy's room at night to take the shoes, and her dread of water was greater than her fear of the dark, so she never came near when dorothy was bathing. indeed, the old witch never touched water, nor ever let water touch her in any way. but the wicked creature was very cunning, and she finally thought of a trick that would give her what she wanted. she placed a bar of iron in the middle of the kitchen floor, and then by her magic arts made the iron invisible to human eyes. so that when dorothy walked across the floor she stumbled over the bar, not being able to see it, and fell at full length. she was not much hurt, but in her fall one of the silver shoes came off, and before she could reach it the witch had snatched it away and put it on her own skinny foot. the wicked woman was greatly pleased with the success of her trick, for as long as she had one of the shoes she owned half the power of their charm, and dorothy could not use it against her, even had she known how to do so. [illustration] the little girl, seeing she had lost one of her pretty shoes, grew angry, and said to the witch, "give me back my shoe!" "i will not," retorted the witch, "for it is now my shoe, and not yours." "you are a wicked creature!" cried dorothy. "you have no right to take my shoe from me." "i shall keep it, just the same," said the witch, laughing at her, "and some day i shall get the other one from you, too." this made dorothy so very angry that she picked up the bucket of water that stood near and dashed it over the witch, wetting her from head to foot. instantly the wicked woman gave a loud cry of fear; and then, as dorothy looked at her in wonder, the witch began to shrink and fall away. "see what you have done!" she screamed. "in a minute i shall melt away." "i'm very sorry, indeed," said dorothy, who was truly frightened to see the witch actually melting away like brown sugar before her very eyes. "didn't you know water would be the end of me?" asked the witch, in a wailing, despairing voice. "of course not," answered dorothy; "how should i?" "well, in a few minutes i shall be all melted, and you will have the castle to yourself. i have been wicked in my day, but i never thought a little girl like you would ever be able to melt me and end my wicked deeds. look out--here i go!" with these words the witch fell down in a brown, melted, shapeless mass and began to spread over the clean boards of the kitchen floor. seeing that she had really melted away to nothing, dorothy drew another bucket of water and threw it over the mess. she then swept it all out the door. after picking out the silver shoe, which was all that was left of the old woman, she cleaned and dried it with a cloth, and put it on her foot again. then, being at last free to do as she chose, she ran out to the court-yard to tell the lion that the wicked witch of the west had come to an end, and that they were no longer prisoners in a strange land. [illustration] chapter xiii. the rescue [illustration] [illustration] the cowardly lion was much pleased to hear that the wicked witch had been melted by a bucket of water, and dorothy at once unlocked the gate of his prison and set him free. they went in together to the castle, where dorothy's first act was to call all the winkies together and tell them that they were no longer slaves. there was great rejoicing among the yellow winkies, for they had been made to work hard during many years for the wicked witch, who had always treated them with great cruelty. they kept this day as a holiday, then and ever after, and spent the time in feasting and dancing. "if our friends, the scarecrow and the tin woodman, were only with us," said the lion, "i should be quite happy." "don't you suppose we could rescue them?" asked the girl, anxiously. "we can try," answered the lion. so they called the yellow winkies and asked them if they would help to rescue their friends, and the winkies said that they would be delighted to do all in their power for dorothy, who had set them free from bondage. so she chose a number of the winkies who looked as if they knew the most, and they all started away. they travelled that day and part of the next until they came to the rocky plain where the tin woodman lay, all battered and bent. his axe was near him, but the blade was rusted and the handle broken off short. the winkies lifted him tenderly in their arms, and carried him back to the yellow castle again, dorothy shedding a few tears by the way at the sad plight of her old friend, and the lion looking sober and sorry. when they reached the castle dorothy said to the winkies, "are any of your people tinsmiths?" "oh, yes; some of us are very good tinsmiths," they told her. "then bring them to me," she said. and when the tinsmiths came, bringing with them all their tools in baskets, she enquired, [illustration: "_the tinsmiths worked for three days and four nights._"] "can you straighten out those dents in the tin woodman, and bend him back into shape again, and solder him together where he is broken?" the tinsmiths looked the woodman over carefully and then answered that they thought they could mend him so he would be as good as ever. so they set to work in one of the big yellow rooms of the castle and worked for three days and four nights, hammering and twisting and bending and soldering and polishing and pounding at the legs and body and head of the tin woodman, until at last he was straightened out into his old form, and his joints worked as well as ever. to be sure, there were several patches on him, but the tinsmiths did a good job, and as the woodman was not a vain man he did not mind the patches at all. when, at last, he walked into dorothy's room and thanked her for rescuing him, he was so pleased that he wept tears of joy, and dorothy had to wipe every tear carefully from his face with her apron, so his joints would not be rusted. at the same time her own tears fell thick and fast at the joy of meeting her old friend again, and these tears did not need to be wiped away. as for the lion, he wiped his eyes so often with the tip of his tail that it became quite wet, and he was obliged to go out into the court-yard and hold it in the sun till it dried. "if we only had the scarecrow with us again," said the tin woodman, when dorothy had finished telling him everything that had happened, "i should be quite happy." "we must try to find him," said the girl. so she called the winkies to help her, and they walked all that day and part of the next until they came to the tall tree in the branches of which the winged monkeys had tossed the scarecrow's clothes. it was a very tall tree, and the trunk was so smooth that no one could climb it; but the woodman said at once, "i'll chop it down, and then we can get the scarecrow's clothes." now while the tinsmiths had been at work mending the woodman himself, another of the winkies, who was a goldsmith, had made an axe-handle of solid gold and fitted it to the woodman's axe, instead of the old broken handle. others polished the blade until all the rust was removed and it glistened like burnished silver. as soon as he had spoken, the tin woodman began to chop, and in a short time the tree fell over with a crash, when the scarecrow's clothes fell out of the branches and rolled off on the ground. dorothy picked them up and had the winkies carry them back to the castle, where they were stuffed with nice, clean straw; and, behold! here was the scarecrow, as good as ever, thanking them over and over again for saving him. now they were reunited, dorothy and her friends spent a few happy days at the yellow castle, where they found everything they needed to make them comfortable. but one day the girl thought of aunt em, and said, "we must go back to oz, and claim his promise." "yes," said the woodman, "at last i shall get my heart." "and i shall get my brains," added the scarecrow, joyfully. "and i shall get my courage," said the lion, thoughtfully. "and i shall get back to kansas," cried dorothy, clapping her hands. "oh, let us start for the emerald city to-morrow!" [illustration] this they decided to do. the next day they called the winkies together and bade them good-bye. the winkies were sorry to have them go, and they had grown so fond of the tin woodman that they begged him to stay and rule over them and the yellow land of the west. finding they were determined to go, the winkies gave toto and the lion each a golden collar; and to dorothy they presented a beautiful bracelet, studded with diamonds; and to the scarecrow they gave a gold-headed walking stick, to keep him from stumbling; and to the tin woodman they offered a silver oil-can, inlaid with gold and set with precious jewels. every one of the travellers made the winkies a pretty speech in return, and all shook hands with them until their arms ached. dorothy went to the witch's cupboard to fill her basket with food for the journey, and there she saw the golden cap. she tried it on her own head and found that it fitted her exactly. she did not know anything about the charm of the golden cap, but she saw that it was pretty, so she made up her mind to wear it and carry her sunbonnet in the basket. then, being prepared for the journey, they all started for the emerald city; and the winkies gave them three cheers and many good wishes to carry with them. chapter xiv. the winged monkeys [illustration] [illustration] you will remember there was no road--not even a pathway--between the castle of the wicked witch and the emerald city. when the four travellers went in search of the witch she had seen them coming, and so sent the winged monkeys to bring them to her. it was much harder to find their way back through the big fields of buttercups and yellow daisies than it was being carried. they knew, of course, they must go straight east, toward the rising sun; and they started off in the right way. but at noon, when the sun was over their heads, they did not know which was east and which was west, and that was the reason they were lost in the great fields. they kept on walking, however, and at night the moon came out and shone brightly. so they lay down among the sweet smelling yellow flowers and slept soundly until morning--all but the scarecrow and the tin woodman. the next morning the sun was behind a cloud, but they started on, as if they were quite sure which way they were going. "if we walk far enough," said dorothy, "we shall sometime come to some place, i am sure." but day by day passed away, and they still saw nothing before them but the yellow fields. the scarecrow began to grumble a bit. "we have surely lost our way," he said, "and unless we find it again in time to reach the emerald city i shall never get my brains." "nor i my heart," declared the tin woodman. "it seems to me i can scarcely wait till i get to oz, and you must admit this is a very long journey." "you see," said the cowardly lion, with a whimper, "i haven't the courage to keep tramping forever, without getting anywhere at all." [illustration] then dorothy lost heart. she sat down on the grass and looked at her companions, and they sat down and looked at her, and toto found that for the first time in his life he was too tired to chase a butterfly that flew past his head; so he put out his tongue and panted and looked at dorothy as if to ask what they should do next. "suppose we call the field mice," she suggested. "they could probably tell us the way to the emerald city." "to be sure they could," cried the scarecrow; "why didn't we think of that before?" dorothy blew the little whistle she had always carried about her neck since the queen of the mice had given it to her. in a few minutes they heard the pattering of tiny feet, and many of the small grey mice came running up to her. among them was the queen herself, who asked, in her squeaky little voice, "what can i do for my friends?" "we have lost our way," said dorothy. "can you tell us where the emerald city is?" [illustration] "certainly," answered the queen; "but it is a great way off, for you have had it at your backs all this time." then she noticed dorothy's golden cap, and said, "why don't you use the charm of the cap, and call the winged monkeys to you? they will carry you to the city of oz in less than an hour." "i didn't know there was a charm," answered dorothy, in surprise. "what is it?" "it is written inside the golden cap," replied the queen of the mice; "but if you are going to call the winged monkeys we must run away, for they are full of mischief and think it great fun to plague us." "won't they hurt me?" asked the girl, anxiously. "oh, no; they must obey the wearer of the cap. good-bye!" and she scampered out of sight, with all the mice hurrying after her. dorothy looked inside the golden cap and saw some words written upon the lining. these, she thought, must be the charm, so she read the directions carefully and put the cap upon her head. "ep-pe, pep-pe, kak-ke!" she said, standing on her left foot. "what did you say?" asked the scarecrow, who did not know what she was doing. "hil-lo, hol-lo, hel-lo!" dorothy went on, standing this time on her right foot. "hello!" replied the tin woodman, calmly. [illustration: "_the monkeys caught dorothy in their arms and flew away with her._"] "ziz-zy, zuz-zy, zik!" said dorothy, who was now standing on both feet. this ended the saying of the charm, and they heard a great chattering and flapping of wings, as the band of winged monkeys flew up to them. the king bowed low before dorothy, and asked, "what is your command?" "we wish to go to the emerald city," said the child, "and we have lost our way." "we will carry you," replied the king, and no sooner had he spoken than two of the monkeys caught dorothy in their arms and flew away with her. others took the scarecrow and the woodman and the lion, and one little monkey seized toto and flew after them, although the dog tried hard to bite him. the scarecrow and the tin woodman were rather frightened at first, for they remembered how badly the winged monkeys had treated them before; but they saw that no harm was intended, so they rode through the air quite cheerfully, and had a fine time looking at the pretty gardens and woods far below them. dorothy found herself riding easily between two of the biggest monkeys, one of them the king himself. they had made a chair of their hands and were careful not to hurt her. "why do you have to obey the charm of the golden cap?" she asked. "that is a long story," answered the king, with a laugh; "but as we have a long journey before us i will pass the time by telling you about it, if you wish." "i shall be glad to hear it," she replied. "once," began the leader, "we were a free people, living happily in the great forest, flying from tree to tree, eating nuts and fruit, and doing just as we pleased without calling anybody master. perhaps some of us were rather too full of mischief at times, flying down to pull the tails of the animals that had no wings, chasing birds, and throwing nuts at the people who walked in the forest. but we were careless and happy and full of fun, and enjoyed every minute of the day. this was many years ago, long before oz came out of the clouds to rule over this land. "there lived here then, away at the north, a beautiful princess, who was also a powerful sorceress. all her magic was used to help the people, and she was never known to hurt anyone who was good. her name was gayelette, and she lived in a handsome palace built from great blocks of ruby. everyone loved her, but her greatest sorrow was that she could find no one to love in return, since all the men were much too stupid and ugly to mate with one so beautiful and wise. at last, however, she found a boy who was handsome and manly and wise beyond his years. gayelette made up her mind that when he grew to be a man she would make him her husband, so she took him to her ruby palace and used all her magic powers to make him as strong and good and lovely as any woman could wish. when he grew to manhood, quelala, as he was called, was said to be the best and wisest man in all the land, while his manly beauty was so great that gayelette loved him dearly, and hastened to make everything ready for the wedding. "my grandfather was at that time the king of the winged monkeys which lived in the forest near gayalette's palace, and the old fellow loved a joke better than a good dinner. one day, just before the wedding, my grandfather was flying out with his band when he saw quelala walking beside the river. he was dressed in a rich costume of pink silk and purple velvet, and my grandfather thought he would see what he could do. at his word the band flew down and seized quelala, carried him in their arms until they were over the middle of the river, and then dropped him into the water. "'swim out, my fine fellow,'" cried my grandfather, "'and see if the water has spotted your clothes.'" quelala was much too wise not to swim, and he was not in the least spoiled by all his good fortune. he laughed, when he came to the top of the water, and swam in to shore. but when gayelette came running out to him she found his silks and velvet all ruined by the river. [illustration] "the princess was very angry, and she knew, of course, who did it. she had all the winged monkeys brought before her, and she said at first that their wings should be tied and they should be treated as they had treated quelala, and dropped in the river. but my grandfather pleaded hard, for he knew the monkeys would drown in the river with their wings tied, and quelala said a kind word for them also; so that gayelette finally spared them, on condition that the winged monkeys should ever after do three times the bidding of the owner of the golden cap. this cap had been made for a wedding present to quelala, and it is said to have cost the princess half her kingdom. of course my grandfather and all the other monkeys at once agreed to the condition, and that is how it happens that we are three times the slaves of the owner of the golden cap, whomsoever he may be." "and what became of them?" asked dorothy, who had been greatly interested in the story. "quelala being the first owner of the golden cap," replied the monkey, "he was the first to lay his wishes upon us. as his bride could not bear the sight of us, he called us all to him in the forest after he had married her and ordered us to always keep where she could never again set eyes on a winged monkey, which we were glad to do, for we were all afraid of her. "this was all we ever had to do until the golden cap fell into the hands of the wicked witch of the west, who made us enslave the winkies, and afterward drive oz himself out of the land of the west. now the golden cap is yours, and three times you have the right to lay your wishes upon us." as the monkey king finished his story dorothy looked down and saw the green, shining walls of the emerald city before them. she wondered at the rapid flight of the monkeys, but was glad the journey was over. the strange creatures set the travellers down carefully before the gate of the city, the king bowed low to dorothy, and then flew swiftly away, followed by all his band. "that was a good ride," said the little girl. "yes, and a quick way out of our troubles." replied the lion. "how lucky it was you brought away that wonderful cap!" [illustration] chapter xv. the discovery of oz, the terrible. [illustration] [illustration] the four travellers walked up to the great gate of the emerald city and rang the bell. after ringing several times it was opened by the same guardian of the gate they had met before. "what! are you back again?" he asked, in surprise. "do you not see us?" answered the scarecrow. "but i thought you had gone to visit the wicked witch of the west." "we did visit her," said the scarecrow. "and she let you go again?" asked the man, in wonder. "she could not help it, for she is melted," explained the scarecrow. "melted! well, that is good news, indeed," said the man. "who melted her?" "it was dorothy," said the lion, gravely. "good gracious!" exclaimed the man, and he bowed very low indeed before her. then he led them into his little room and locked the spectacles from the great box on all their eyes, just as he had done before. afterward they passed on through the gate into the emerald city, and when the people heard from the guardian of the gate that they had melted the wicked witch of the west they all gathered around the travellers and followed them in a great crowd to the palace of oz. the soldier with the green whiskers was still on guard before the door, but he let them in at once and they were again met by the beautiful green girl, who showed each of them to their old rooms at once, so they might rest until the great oz was ready to receive them. the soldier had the news carried straight to oz that dorothy and the other travellers had come back again, after destroying the wicked witch; but oz made no reply. they thought the great wizard would send for them at once, but he did not. they had no word from him the next day, nor the next, nor the next. the waiting was tiresome and wearing, and at last they grew vexed that oz should treat them in so poor a fashion, after sending them to undergo hardships and slavery. so the scarecrow at last asked the green girl to take another message to oz, saying if he did not let them in to see him at once they would call the winged monkeys to help them, and find out whether he kept his promises or not. when the wizard was given this message he was so frightened that he sent word for them to come to the throne room at four minutes after nine o'clock the next morning. he had once met the winged monkeys in the land of the west, and he did not wish to meet them again. the four travellers passed a sleepless night, each thinking of the gift oz had promised to bestow upon him. dorothy fell asleep only once, and then she dreamed she was in kansas, where aunt em was telling her how glad she was to have her little girl at home again. promptly at nine o'clock the next morning the green whiskered soldier came to them, and four minutes later they all went into the throne room of the great oz. of course each one of them expected to see the wizard in the shape he had taken before, and all were greatly surprised when they looked about and saw no one at all in the room. they kept close to the door and closer to one another, for the stillness of the empty room was more dreadful than any of the forms they had seen oz take. [illustration] presently they heard a voice, seeming to come from somewhere near the top of the great dome, and it said, solemnly. "i am oz, the great and terrible. why do you seek me?" they looked again in every part of the room, and then, seeing no one, dorothy asked, "where are you?" "i am everywhere," answered the voice, "but to the eyes of common mortals i am invisible. i will now seat myself upon my throne, that you may converse with me." indeed, the voice seemed just then to come straight from the throne itself; so they walked toward it and stood in a row while dorothy said: "we have come to claim our promise, o oz." "what promise?" asked oz. "you promised to send me back to kansas when the wicked witch was destroyed," said the girl. "and you promised to give me brains," said the scarecrow. "and you promised to give me a heart," said the tin woodman. "and you promised to give me courage," said the cowardly lion. "is the wicked witch really destroyed?" asked the voice, and dorothy thought it trembled a little. "yes," she answered, "i melted her with a bucket of water." "dear me," said the voice; "how sudden! well, come to me to-morrow, for i must have time to think it over." "you've had plenty of time already," said the tin woodman, angrily. "we shan't wait a day longer," said the scarecrow. "you must keep your promises to us!" exclaimed dorothy. the lion thought it might be as well to frighten the wizard, so he gave a large, loud roar, which was so fierce and dreadful that toto jumped away from him in alarm and tipped over the screen that stood in a corner. as it fell with a crash they looked that way, and the next moment all of them were filled with wonder. for they saw, standing in just the spot the screen had hidden, a little, old man, with a bald head and a wrinkled face, who seemed to be as much surprised as they were. the tin woodman, raising his axe, rushed toward the little man and cried out, [illustration] "who are you?" "i am oz, the great and terrible," said the little man, in a trembling voice, "but don't strike me--please don't!--and i'll do anything you want me to." our friends looked at him in surprise and dismay. "i thought oz was a great head," said dorothy. "and i thought oz was a lovely lady," said the scarecrow. "and i thought oz was a terrible beast," said the tin woodman. "and i thought oz was a ball of fire," exclaimed the lion. "no; you are all wrong," said the little man, meekly. "i have been making believe." "making believe!" cried dorothy. "are you not a great wizard?" "hush, my dear," he said; "don't speak so loud, or you will be overheard--and i should be ruined. i'm supposed to be a great wizard." "and aren't you?" she asked. "not a bit of it, my dear; i'm just a common man." "you're more than that," said the scarecrow, in a grieved tone; "you're a humbug." "exactly so!" declared the little man, rubbing his hands together as if it pleased him; "i am a humbug." "but this is terrible," said the tin woodman; "how shall i ever get my heart?" "or i my courage?" asked the lion. "or i my brains?" wailed the scarecrow, wiping the the tears from his eyes with his coat-sleeve. [illustration: "_exactly so! i am a humbug._"] "my dear friends," said oz, "i pray you not to speak of these little things. think of me, and the terrible trouble i'm in at being found out." "doesn't anyone else know you're a humbug?" asked dorothy. "no one knows it but you four--and myself," replied oz. "i have fooled everyone so long that i thought i should never be found out. it was a great mistake my ever letting you into the throne room. usually i will not see even my subjects, and so they believe i am something terrible." "but, i don't understand," said dorothy, in bewilderment. "how was it that you appeared to me as a great head?" "that was one of my tricks," answered oz. "step this way, please, and i will tell you all about it." he led the way to a small chamber in the rear of the throne room, and they all followed him. he pointed to one corner, in which lay the great head, made out of many thicknesses of paper, and with a carefully painted face. "this i hung from the ceiling by a wire," said oz; "i stood behind the screen and pulled a thread, to make the eyes move and the mouth open." "but how about the voice?" she enquired. "oh, i am a ventriloquist," said the little man, "and i can throw the sound of my voice wherever i wish; so that you thought it was coming out of the head. here are the other things i used to deceive you." he showed the scarecrow the dress and the mask he had worn when he seemed to be the lovely lady; and the tin woodman saw that his terrible beast was nothing but a lot of skins, sewn together, with slats to keep their sides out. as for the ball of fire, the false wizard had hung that also from the ceiling. it was really a ball of cotton, but when oil was poured upon it the ball burned fiercely. "really," said the scarecrow, "you ought to be ashamed of yourself for being such a humbug." "i am--i certainly am," answered the little man, sorrowfully; "but it was the only thing i could do. sit down, please, there are plenty of chairs; and i will tell you my story." so they sat down and listened while he told the following tale: "i was born in omaha--" "why, that isn't very far from kansas!" cried dorothy. "no; but it's farther from here," he said, shaking his head at her, sadly. "when i grew up i became a ventriloquist, and at that i was very well trained by a great master. i can imitate any kind of a bird or beast." here he mewed so like a kitten that toto pricked up his ears and looked everywhere to see where she was. "after a time," continued oz, "i tired of that, and became a balloonist." "what is that?" asked dorothy. "a man who goes up in a balloon on circus day, so as to draw a crowd of people together and get them to pay to see the circus," he explained. [illustration] "oh," she said; "i know." "well, one day i went up in a balloon and the ropes got twisted, so that i couldn't come down again. it went way up above the clouds, so far that a current of air struck it and carried it many, many miles away. for a day and a night i travelled through the air, and on the morning of the second day i awoke and found the balloon floating over a strange and beautiful country. "it came down gradually, and i was not hurt a bit. but i found myself in the midst of a strange people, who, seeing me come from the clouds, thought i was a great wizard. of course i let them think so, because they were afraid of me, and promised to do anything i wished them to. "just to amuse myself, and keep the good people busy, i ordered them to build this city, and my palace; and they did it all willingly and well. then i thought, as the country was so green and beautiful, i would call it the emerald city, and to make the name fit better i put green spectacles on all the people, so that everything they saw was green." "but isn't everything here green?" asked dorothy. "no more than in any other city," replied oz; "but when you wear green spectacles, why of course everything you see looks green to you. the emerald city was built a great many years ago, for i was a young man when the balloon brought me here, and i am a very old man now. but my people have worn green glasses on their eyes so long that most of them think it really is an emerald city, and it certainly is a beautiful place, abounding in jewels and precious metals, and every good thing that is needed to make one happy. i have been good to the people, and they like me; but ever since this palace was built i have shut myself up and would not see any of them. "one of my greatest fears was the witches, for while i had no magical powers at all i soon found out that the witches were really able to do wonderful things. there were four of them in this country, and they ruled the people who live in the north and south and east and west. fortunately, the witches of the north and south were good, and i knew they would do me no harm; but the witches of the east and west were terribly wicked, and had they not thought i was more powerful than they themselves, they would surely have destroyed me. as it was, i lived in deadly fear of them for many years; so you can imagine how pleased i was when i heard your house had fallen on the wicked witch of the east. when you came to me i was willing to promise anything if you would only do away with the other witch; but, now that you have melted her, i am ashamed to say that i cannot keep my promises." "i think you are a very bad man," said dorothy. "oh, no, my dear; i'm really a very good man; but i'm a very bad wizard, i must admit." "can't you give me brains?" asked the scarecrow. "you don't need them. you are learning something every day. a baby has brains, but it doesn't know much. experience is the only thing that brings knowledge, and the longer you are on earth the more experience you are sure to get." "that may all be true," said the scarecrow, "but i shall be very unhappy unless you give me brains." the false wizard looked at him carefully. "well," he said, with a sigh, "i'm not much of a magician, as i said; but if you will come to me to-morrow morning, i will stuff your head with brains. i cannot tell you how to use them, however; you must find that out for yourself." [illustration] "oh, thank you--thank you!" cried the scarecrow. "i'll find a way to use them, never fear!" "but how about my courage?" asked the lion, anxiously. "you have plenty of courage, i am sure," answered oz. "all you need is confidence in yourself. there is no living thing that is not afraid when it faces danger. true courage is in facing danger when you are afraid, and that kind of courage you have in plenty." "perhaps i have, but i'm scared just the same," said the lion. "i shall really be very unhappy unless you give me the sort of courage that makes one forget he is afraid." "very well; i will give you that sort of courage to-morrow," replied oz. "how about my heart?" asked the tin woodman. "why, as for that," answered oz, "i think you are wrong to want a heart. it makes most people unhappy. if you only knew it, you are in luck not to have a heart." "that must be a matter of opinion," said the tin woodman. "for my part, i will bear all the unhappiness without a murmur, if you will give me the heart." [illustration] "very well," answered oz, meekly. "come to me to-morrow and you shall have a heart. i have played wizard for so many years that i may as well continue the part a little longer." "and now," said dorothy, "how am i to get back to kansas?" "we shall have to think about that," replied the little man, "give me two or three days to consider the matter and i'll try to find a way to carry you over the desert. in the meantime you shall all be treated as my guests, and while you live in the palace my people will wait upon you and obey your slightest wish. there is only one thing i ask in return for my help--such as it is. you must keep my secret and tell no one i am a humbug." they agreed to say nothing of what they had learned, and went back to their rooms in high spirits. even dorothy had hope that "the great and terrible humbug," as she called him, would find a way to send her back to kansas, and if he did that she was willing to forgive him everything. [illustration] chapter xvi. the magic art of the great humbug. [illustration] [illustration] next morning the scarecrow said to his friends: "congratulate me. i am going to oz to get my brains at last. when i return i shall be as other men are." "i have always liked you as you were," said dorothy, simply. "it is kind of you to like a scarecrow," he replied. "but surely you will think more of me when you hear the splendid thoughts my new brain is going to turn out." then he said good-bye to them all in a cheerful voice and went to the throne room, where he rapped upon the door. "come in," said oz. the scarecrow went in and found the little man sitting down by the window, engaged in deep thought. "i have come for my brains," remarked the scarecrow, a little uneasily. "oh, yes; sit down in that chair, please," replied oz. "you must excuse me for taking your head off, but i shall have to do it in order to put your brains in their proper place." "that's all right," said the scarecrow. "you are quite welcome to take my head off, as long as it will be a better one when you put it on again." so the wizard unfastened his head and emptied out the straw. then he entered the back room and took up a measure of bran, which he mixed with a great many pins and needles. having shaken them together thoroughly, he filled the top of the scarecrow's head with the mixture and stuffed the rest of the space with straw, to hold it in place. when he had fastened the scarecrow's head on his body again he said to him, "hereafter you will be a great man, for i have given you a lot of bran-new brains." the scarecrow was both pleased and proud at the fulfillment of his greatest wish, and having thanked oz warmly he went back to his friends. dorothy looked at him curiously. his head was quite bulging out at the top with brains. "how do you feel?" she asked. [illustration: "_'i feel wise, indeed,' said the scarecrow._"] "i feel wise, indeed," he answered, earnestly. "when i get used to my brains i shall know everything." "why are those needles and pins sticking out of your head?" asked the tin woodman. "that is proof that he is sharp," remarked the lion. "well, i must go to oz and get my heart," said the woodman. so he walked to the throne room and knocked at the door. "come in," called oz, and the woodman entered and said, "i have come for my heart." "very well," answered the little man. "but i shall have to cut a hole in your breast, so i can put your heart in the right place. i hope it won't hurt you." "oh, no;" answered the woodman. "i shall not feel it at all." [illustration] so oz brought a pair of tinners' shears and cut a small, square hole in the left side of the tin woodman's breast. then, going to a chest of drawers, he took out a pretty heart, made entirely of silk and stuffed with sawdust. "isn't it a beauty?" he asked. "it is, indeed!" replied the woodman, who was greatly pleased. "but is it a kind heart?" "oh, very!" answered oz. he put the heart in the woodman's breast and then replaced the square of tin, soldering it neatly together where it had been cut. "there," said he; "now you have a heart that any man might be proud of. i'm sorry i had to put a patch on your breast, but it really couldn't be helped." "never mind the patch," exclaimed the happy woodman. "i am very grateful to you, and shall never forget your kindness." [illustration] "don't speak of it," replied oz. then the tin woodman went back to his friends, who wished him every joy on account of his good fortune. the lion now walked to the throne room and knocked at the door. "come in," said oz. "i have come for my courage," announced the lion, entering the room. "very well," answered the little man; "i will get it for you." he went to a cupboard and reaching up to a high shelf took down a square green bottle, the contents of which he poured into a green-gold dish, beautifully carved. placing this before the cowardly lion, who sniffed at it as if he did not like it, the wizard said, "drink." "what is it?" asked the lion. "well," answered oz, "if it were inside of you, it would be courage. you know, of course, that courage is always inside one; so that this really cannot be called courage until you have swallowed it. therefore i advise you to drink it as soon as possible." the lion hesitated no longer, but drank till the dish was empty. "how do you feel now?" asked oz. "full of courage," replied the lion, who went joyfully back to his friends to tell them of his good fortune. oz, left to himself, smiled to think of his success in giving the scarecrow and the tin woodman and the lion exactly what they thought they wanted. "how can i help being a humbug," he said, "when all these people make me do things that everybody knows can't be done? it was easy to make the scarecrow and the lion and the woodman happy, because they imagined i could do anything. but it will take more than imagination to carry dorothy back to kansas, and i'm sure i don't know how it can be done." chapter xvii. how the balloon was launched. [illustration] for three days dorothy heard nothing from oz. these were sad days for the little girl, although her friends were all quite happy and contented. the scarecrow told them there were wonderful thoughts in his head; but he would not say what they were because he knew no one could understand them but himself. when the tin woodman walked about he felt his heart rattling around in his breast; and he told dorothy he had discovered it to be a kinder and more tender heart than the one he had owned when he was made of flesh. the lion declared he was afraid of nothing on earth, and would gladly face an army of men or a dozen of the fierce kalidahs. thus each of the little party was satisfied except dorothy, who longed more than ever to get back to kansas. on the fourth day, to her great joy, oz sent for her, and when she entered the throne room he said, pleasantly: "sit down, my dear; i think i have found the way to get you out of this country." "and back to kansas?" she asked, eagerly. "well, i'm not sure about kansas," said oz; "for i haven't the faintest notion which way it lies. but the first thing to do is to cross the desert, and then it should be easy to find your way home." "how can i cross the desert?" she enquired. "well, i'll tell you what i think," said the little man. "you see, when i came to this country it was in a balloon. you also came through the air, being carried by a cyclone. so i believe the best way to get across the desert will be through the air. now, it is quite beyond my powers to make a cyclone; but i've been thinking the matter over, and i believe i can make a balloon." "how?" asked dorothy. "a balloon," said oz, "is made of silk, which is coated with glue to keep the gas in it. i have plenty of silk in the palace, so it will be no trouble for us to make the balloon. but in all this country there is no gas to fill the balloon with, to make it float." "if it won't float," remarked dorothy, "it will be of no use to us." "true," answered oz. "but there is another way to make it float, which is to fill it with hot air. hot air isn't as good as gas, for if the air should get cold the balloon would come down in the desert, and we should be lost." "we!" exclaimed the girl; "are you going with me?" "yes, of course," replied oz. "i am tired of being such a humbug. if i should go out of this palace my people would soon discover i am not a wizard, and then they would be vexed with me for having deceived them. so i have to stay shut up in these rooms all day, and it gets tiresome. i'd much rather go back to kansas with you and be in a circus again." [illustration] "i shall be glad to have your company," said dorothy. "thank you," he answered. "now, if you will help me sew the silk together, we will begin to work on our balloon." so dorothy took a needle and thread, and as fast as oz cut the strips of silk into proper shape the girl sewed them neatly together. first there was a strip of light green silk, then a strip of dark green and then a strip of emerald green; for oz had a fancy to make the balloon in different shades of the color about them. it took three days to sew all the strips together, but when it was finished they had a big bag of green silk more than twenty feet long. then oz painted it on the inside with a coat of thin glue, to make it air-tight, after which he announced that the balloon was ready. "but we must have a basket to ride in," he said. so he sent the soldier with the green whiskers for a big clothes basket, which he fastened with many ropes to the bottom of the balloon. when it was all ready, oz sent word to his people that he was going to make a visit to a great brother wizard who lived in the clouds. the news spread rapidly throughout the city and everyone came to see the wonderful sight. oz ordered the balloon carried out in front of the palace, and the people gazed upon it with much curiosity. the tin woodman had chopped a big pile of wood, and now he made a fire of it, and oz held the bottom of the balloon over the fire so that the hot air that arose from it would be caught in the silken bag. gradually the balloon swelled out and rose into the air, until finally the basket just touched the ground. then oz got into the basket and said to all the people in a loud voice: "i am now going away to make a visit. while i am gone the scarecrow will rule over you. i command you to obey him as you would me." the balloon was by this time tugging hard at the rope that held it to the ground, for the air within it was hot, and this made it so much lighter in weight than the air without that it pulled hard to rise into the sky. "come, dorothy!" cried the wizard; "hurry up, or the balloon will fly away." "i can't find toto anywhere," replied dorothy, who did not wish to leave her little dog behind. toto had run into the crowd to bark at a kitten, and dorothy at last found him. she picked him up and ran toward the balloon. [illustration] she was within a few steps of it, and oz was holding out his hands to help her into the basket, when, crack! went the ropes, and the balloon rose into the air without her. [illustration] "come back!" she screamed; "i want to go, too!" "i can't come back, my dear," called oz from the basket. "good-bye!" "good-bye!" shouted everyone, and all eyes were turned upward to where the wizard was riding in the basket, rising every moment farther and farther into the sky. and that was the last any of them ever saw of oz, the wonderful wizard, though he may have reached omaha safely, and be there now, for all we know. but the people remembered him lovingly, and said to one another, "oz was always our friend. when he was here he built for us this beautiful emerald city, and now he is gone he has left the wise scarecrow to rule over us." still, for many days they grieved over the loss of the wonderful wizard, and would not be comforted. chapter xviii. away to the south. [illustration] [illustration] dorothy wept bitterly at the passing of her hope to get home to kansas again; but when she thought it all over she was glad she had not gone up in a balloon. and she also felt sorry at losing oz, and so did her companions. the tin woodman came to her and said, "truly i should be ungrateful if i failed to mourn for the man who gave me my lovely heart. i should like to cry a little because oz is gone, if you will kindly wipe away my tears, so that i shall not rust." [illustration] "with pleasure," she answered, and brought a towel at once. then the tin woodman wept for several minutes, and she watched the tears carefully and wiped them away with the towel. when he had finished he thanked her kindly and oiled himself thoroughly with his jewelled oil-can, to guard against mishap. the scarecrow was now the ruler of the emerald city, and although he was not a wizard the people were proud of him. "for," they said, "there is not another city in all the world that is ruled by a stuffed man." and, so far as they knew, they were quite right. the morning after the balloon had gone up with oz the four travellers met in the throne room and talked matters over. the scarecrow sat in the big throne and the others stood respectfully before him. "we are not so unlucky," said the new ruler; "for this palace and the emerald city belong to us, and we can do just as we please. when i remember that a short time ago i was up on a pole in a farmer's cornfield, and that i am now the ruler of this beautiful city, i am quite satisfied with my lot." "i also," said the tin woodman, "am well pleased with my new heart; and, really, that was the only thing i wished in all the world." "for my part, i am content in knowing i am as brave as any beast that ever lived, if not braver," said the lion, modestly, [illustration: "_the scarecrow sat on the big throne._"] "if dorothy would only be contented to live in the emerald city," continued the scarecrow, "we might all be happy together." "but i don't want to live here," cried dorothy. "i want to go to kansas, and live with aunt em and uncle henry." "well, then, what can be done?" enquired the woodman. the scarecrow decided to think, and he thought so hard that the pins and needles began to stick out of his brains. finally he said: "why not call the winged monkeys, and asked them to carry you over the desert?" "i never thought of that!" said dorothy, joyfully. "it's just the thing. i'll go at once for the golden cap." when she brought it into the throne room she spoke the magic words, and soon the band of winged monkeys flew in through an open window and stood beside her. "this is the second time you have called us," said the monkey king, bowing before the little girl. "what do you wish?" "i want you to fly with me to kansas," said dorothy. but the monkey king shook his head. "that cannot be done," he said. "we belong to this country alone, and cannot leave it. there has never been a winged monkey in kansas yet, and i suppose there never will be, for they don't belong there. we shall be glad to serve you in any way in our power, but we cannot cross the desert. good-bye." and with another bow the monkey king spread his wings and flew away through the window, followed by all his band. dorothy was almost ready to cry with disappointment. "i have wasted the charm of the golden cap to no purpose," she said, "for the winged monkeys cannot help me." "it is certainly too bad!" said the tender hearted woodman. the scarecrow was thinking again, and his head bulged out so horribly that dorothy feared it would burst. "let us call in the soldier with the green whiskers," he said, "and ask his advice." [illustration] so the soldier was summoned and entered the throne room timidly, for while oz was alive he never was allowed to come further than the door. "this little girl," said the scarecrow to the soldier, "wishes to cross the desert. how can she do so?" "i cannot tell," answered the soldier; "for nobody has ever crossed the desert, unless it is oz himself." "is there no one who can help me?" asked dorothy, earnestly. "glinda might," he suggested. "who is glinda?" enquired the scarecrow. "the witch of the south. she is the most powerful of all the witches, and rules over the quadlings. besides, her castle stands on the edge of the desert, so she may know a way to cross it." "glinda is a good witch, isn't she?" asked the child. "the quadlings think she is good," said the soldier, "and she is kind to everyone. i have heard that glinda is a beautiful woman, who knows how to keep young in spite of the many years she has lived." "how can i get to her castle?" asked dorothy. "the road is straight to the south," he answered, "but it is said to be full of dangers to travellers. there are wild beasts in the woods, and a race of queer men who do not like strangers to cross their country. for this reason none of the quadlings ever come to the emerald city." the soldier then left them and the scarecrow said, "it seems, in spite of dangers, that the best thing dorothy can do is to travel to the land of the south and ask glinda to help her. for, of course, if dorothy stays here she will never get back to kansas." "you must have been thinking again," remarked the tin woodman. "i have," said the scarecrow. "i shall go with dorothy," declared the lion, "for i am tired of your city and long for the woods and the country again. i am really a wild beast, you know. besides, dorothy will need someone to protect her." "that is true," agreed the woodman. "my axe may be of service to her; so i, also, will go with her to the land of the south." "when shall we start?" asked the scarecrow. "are you going?" they asked, in surprise. "certainly. if it wasn't for dorothy i should never have had brains. she lifted me from the pole in the cornfield and brought me to the emerald city. so my good luck is all due to her, and i shall never leave her until she starts back to kansas for good and all." "thank you," said dorothy, gratefully. "you are all very kind to me. but i should like to start as soon as possible." "we shall go to-morrow morning," returned the scarecrow. "so now let us all get ready, for it will be a long journey." [illustration] chapter xix. attacked by the fighting trees. [illustration] [illustration] the next morning dorothy kissed the pretty green girl good-bye, and they all shook hands with the soldier with the green whiskers, who had walked with them as far as the gate. when the guardian of the gate saw them again he wondered greatly that they could leave the beautiful city to get into new trouble. but he at once unlocked their spectacles, which he put back into the green box, and gave them many good wishes to carry with them. "you are now our ruler," he said to the scarecrow; "so you must come back to us as soon as possible." "i certainly shall if i am able," the scarecrow replied; "but i must help dorothy to get home, first." as dorothy bade the good-natured guardian a last farewell she said, "i have been very kindly treated in your lovely city, and everyone has been good to me. i cannot tell you how grateful i am." "don't try, my dear," he answered. "we should like to keep you with us, but if it is your wish to return to kansas i hope you will find a way." he then opened the gate of the outer wall and they walked forth and started upon their journey. the sun shone brightly as our friends turned their faces toward the land of the south. they were all in the best of spirits, and laughed and chatted together. dorothy was once more filled with the hope of getting home, and the scarecrow and the tin woodman were glad to be of use to her. as for the lion, he sniffed the fresh air with delight and whisked his tail from side to side in pure joy at being in the country again, while toto ran around them and chased the moths and butterflies, barking merrily all the time. "city life does not agree with me at all," remarked the lion, as they walked along at a brisk pace. "i have lost much flesh since i lived there, and now i am anxious for a chance to show the other beasts how courageous i have grown." [illustration: "_the branches bent down and twined around him._"] they now turned and took a last look at the emerald city. all they could see was a mass of towers and steeples behind the green walls, and high up above everything the spires and dome of the palace of oz. "oz was not such a bad wizard, after all," said the tin woodman, as he felt his heart rattling around in his breast. "he knew how to give me brains, and very good brains, too," said the scarecrow. "if oz had taken a dose of the same courage he gave me," added the lion, "he would have been a brave man." dorothy said nothing. oz had not kept the promise he made her, but he had done his best, so she forgave him. as he said, he was a good man, even if he was a bad wizard. the first day's journey was through the green fields and bright flowers that stretched about the emerald city on every side. they slept that night on the grass, with nothing but the stars over them; and they rested very well indeed. in the morning they travelled on until they came to a thick wood. there was no way of going around it, for it seemed to extend to the right and left as far as they could see; and, besides, they did not dare change the direction of their journey for fear of getting lost. so they looked for the place where it would be easiest to get into the forest. the scarecrow, who was in the lead, finally discovered a big tree with such wide spreading-branches that there was room for the party to pass underneath. so he walked forward to the tree, but just as he came under the first branches they bent down and twined around him, and the next minute he was raised from the ground and flung headlong among his fellow travellers. this did not hurt the scarecrow, but it surprised him, and he looked rather dizzy when dorothy picked him up. "here is another space between the trees," called the lion. [illustration] "let me try it first," said the scarecrow, "for it doesn't hurt me to get thrown about." he walked up to another tree, as he spoke, but its branches immediately seized him and tossed him back again. "this is strange," exclaimed dorothy; "what shall we do?" "the trees seem to have made up their minds to fight us, and stop our journey," remarked the lion. "i believe i will try it myself," said the woodman, and shouldering his axe he marched up to the first tree that had handled the scarecrow so roughly. when a big branch bent down to seize him the woodman chopped at it so fiercely that he cut it in two. at once the tree began shaking all its branches as if in pain, and the tin woodman passed safely under it. "come on!" he shouted to the others; "be quick!" they all ran forward and passed under the tree without injury, except toto, who was caught by a small branch and shaken until he howled. but the woodman promptly chopped off the branch and set the little dog free. the other trees of the forest did nothing to keep them back, so they made up their minds that only the first row of trees could bend down their branches, and that probably these were the policemen of the forest, and given this wonderful power in order to keep strangers out of it. the four travellers walked with ease through the trees until they came to the further edge of the wood. then, to their surprise, they found before them a high wall, which seemed to be made of white china. it was smooth, like the surface of a dish, and higher than their heads. "what shall we do now?" asked dorothy. "i will make a ladder," said the tin woodman, "for we certainly must climb over the wall." chapter xx. the dainty china country. [illustration] [illustration] while the woodman was making a ladder from wood which he found in the forest dorothy lay down and slept, for she was tired by the long walk. the lion also curled himself up to sleep and toto lay beside him. the scarecrow watched the woodman while he worked, and said to him: "i cannot think why this wall is here, nor what it is made of." "rest your brains and do not worry about the wall," replied the woodman; "when we have climbed over it we shall know what is on the other side." after a time the ladder was finished. it looked clumsy, but the tin woodman was sure it was strong and would answer their purpose. the scarecrow waked dorothy and the lion and toto, and told them that the ladder was ready. the scarecrow climbed up the ladder first, but he was so awkward that dorothy had to follow close behind and keep him from falling off. when he got his head over the top of the wall the scarecrow said, "oh, my!" "go on," exclaimed dorothy. so the scarecrow climbed further up and sat down on the top of the wall, and dorothy put her head over and cried, "oh, my!" just as the scarecrow had done. then toto came up, and immediately began to bark, but dorothy made him be still. the lion climbed the ladder next, and the tin woodman came last; but both of them cried, "oh, my!" as soon as they looked over the wall. when they were all sitting in a row on the top of the wall they looked down and saw a strange sight. [illustration: "_these people were all made of china._"] before them was a great stretch of country having a floor as smooth and shining and white as the bottom of a big platter. scattered around were many houses made entirely of china and painted in the brightest colours. these houses were quite small, the biggest of them reaching only as high as dorothy's waist. there were also pretty little barns, with china fences around them, and many cows and sheep and horses and pigs and chickens, all made of china, were standing about in groups. but the strangest of all were the people who lived in this queer country. there were milk-maids and shepherdesses, with bright-colored bodices and golden spots all over their gowns; and princesses with most gorgeous frocks of silver and gold and purple; and shepherds dressed in knee-breeches with pink and yellow and blue stripes down them, and golden buckles on their shoes; and princes with jewelled crowns upon their heads, wearing ermine robes and satin doublets; and funny clowns in ruffled gowns, with round red spots upon their cheeks and tall, pointed caps. and, strangest of all, these people were all made of china, even to their clothes, and were so small that the tallest of them was no higher than dorothy's knee. no one did so much as look at the travellers at first, except one little purple china dog with an extra-large head, which came to the wall and barked at them in a tiny voice, afterwards running away again. "how shall we get down?" asked dorothy. they found the ladder so heavy they could not pull it up, so the scarecrow fell off the wall and the others jumped down upon him so that the hard floor would not hurt their feet. of course they took pains not to light on his head and get the pins in their feet. when all were safely down they picked up the scarecrow, whose body was quite flattened out, and patted his straw into shape again. "we must cross this strange place in order to get to the other side," said dorothy; "for it would be unwise for us to go any other way except due south." they began walking through the country of the china people, and the first thing they came to was a china milk-maid milking a china cow. as they drew near the cow suddenly gave a kick and kicked over the stool, the pail, and even the milk-maid herself, all falling on the china ground with a great clatter. dorothy was shocked to see that the cow had broken her leg short off, and that the pail was lying in several small pieces, while the poor milk-maid had a nick in her left elbow. "there!" cried the milk-maid, angrily; "see what you have done! my cow has broken her leg, and i must take her to the mender's shop and have it glued on again. what do you mean by coming here and frightening my cow?" "i'm very sorry," returned dorothy; "please forgive us." but the pretty milk-maid was much too vexed to make any answer. she picked up the leg sulkily and led her cow away, the poor animal limping on three legs. as she left them the milk-maid cast many reproachful glances over her shoulder at the clumsy strangers, holding her nicked elbow close to her side. [illustration] dorothy was quite grieved at this mishap. "we must be very careful here," said the kind-hearted woodman, "or we may hurt these pretty little people so they will never get over it." a little farther on dorothy met a most beautiful dressed young princess, who stopped short as she saw the strangers and started to run away. dorothy wanted to see more of the princess, so she ran after her; but the china girl cried out, "don't chase me! don't chase me!" she had such a frightened little voice that dorothy stopped and said, "why not?" "because," answered the princess, also stopping, a safe distance away, "if i run i may fall down and break myself." "but couldn't you be mended?" asked the girl. "oh, yes; but one is never so pretty after being mended, you know," replied the princess. "i suppose not," said dorothy. "now there is mr. joker, one of our clowns," continued the china lady, "who is always trying to stand upon his head. he has broken himself so often that he is mended in a hundred places, and doesn't look at all pretty. here he comes now, so you can see for yourself." indeed, a jolly little clown now came walking toward them, and dorothy could see that in spite of his pretty clothes of red and yellow and green he was completely covered with cracks, running every which way and showing plainly that he had been mended in many places. the clown put his hands in his pockets, and after puffing out his cheeks and nodding his head at them saucily he said, "my lady fair, why do you stare at poor old mr. joker? you're quite as stiff and prim as if you'd eaten up a poker!" "be quiet, sir!" said the princess; "can't you see these are strangers, and should be treated with respect?" "well, that's respect, i expect," declared the clown, and immediately stood upon his head. "don't mind mr. joker," said the princess to dorothy; "he is considerably cracked in his head, and that makes him foolish." [illustration] "oh, i don't mind him a bit," said dorothy. "but you are so beautiful," she continued, "that i am sure i could love you dearly. won't you let me carry you back to kansas and stand you on aunt em's mantle-shelf? i could carry you in my basket." "that would make me very unhappy," answered the china princess. "you see, here in our own country we live contentedly, and can talk and move around as we please. but whenever any of us are taken away our joints at once stiffen, and we can only stand straight and look pretty. of course that is all that is expected of us when we are on mantle-shelves and cabinets and drawing-room tables, but our lives are much pleasanter here in our own country." "i would not make you unhappy for all the world!" exclaimed dorothy; "so i'll just say good-bye." "good-bye," replied the princess. they walked carefully through the china country. the little animals and all the people scampered out of their way, fearing the strangers would break them, and after an hour or so the travellers reached the other side of the country and came to another china wall. it was not as high as the first, however, and by standing upon the lion's back they all managed to scramble to the top. then the lion gathered his legs under him and jumped on the wall; but just as he jumped he upset a china church with his tail and smashed it all to pieces. "that was too bad," said dorothy, "but really i think we were lucky in not doing these little people more harm than breaking a cow's leg and a church. they are all so brittle!" "they are, indeed," said the scarecrow, "and i am thankful i am made of straw and cannot be easily damaged. there are worse things in the world than being a scarecrow." chapter xxi. the lion becomes the king of beasts. [illustration] [illustration] after climbing down from the china wall the travellers found themselves in a disagreeable country, full of bogs and marshes and covered with tall, rank grass. it was difficult to walk far without falling into muddy holes, for the grass was so thick that it hid them from sight. however, by carefully picking their way, they got safely along until they reached solid ground. but here the country seemed wilder than ever, and after a long and tiresome walk through the underbrush they entered another forest, where the trees were bigger and older than any they had ever seen. "this forest is perfectly delightful," declared the lion, looking around him with joy; "never have i seen a more beautiful place." "it seems gloomy," said the scarecrow. "not a bit of it," answered the lion; "i should like to live here all my life. see how soft the dried leaves are under your feet and how rich and green the moss is that clings to these old trees. surely no wild beast could wish a pleasanter home." "perhaps there are wild beasts in the forest now," said dorothy. "i suppose there are," returned the lion; "but i do not see any of them about." they walked through the forest until it became too dark to go any farther. dorothy and toto and the lion lay down to sleep, while the woodman and the scarecrow kept watch over them as usual. when morning came they started again. before they had gone far they heard a low rumble, as of the growling of many wild animals. toto whimpered a little but none of the others was frightened and they kept along the well-trodden path until they came to an opening in the wood, in which were gathered hundreds of beasts of every variety. there were tigers and elephants and bears and wolves and foxes and all the others in the natural history, and for a moment dorothy was afraid. but the lion explained that the animals were holding a meeting, and he judged by their snarling and growling that they were in great trouble. as he spoke several of the beasts caught sight of him, and at once the great assemblage hushed as if by magic. the biggest of the tigers came up to the lion and bowed, saying, [illustration] "welcome, o king of beasts! you have come in good time to fight our enemy and bring peace to all the animals of the forest once more." "what is your trouble?" asked the lion, quietly. "we are all threatened," answered the tiger, "by a fierce enemy which has lately come into this forest. it is a most tremendous monster, like a great spider, with a body as big as an elephant and legs as long as a tree trunk. it has eight of these long legs, and as the monster crawls through the forest he seizes an animal with a leg and drags it to his mouth, where he eats it as a spider does a fly. not one of us is safe while this fierce creature is alive, and we had called a meeting to decide how to take care of ourselves when you came among us." the lion thought for a moment. "are there any other lions in this forest?" he asked. "no; there were some, but the monster has eaten them all. and, besides, they were none of them nearly so large and brave as you." "if i put an end to your enemy will you bow down to me and obey me as king of the forest?" enquired the lion. "we will do that gladly," returned the tiger; and all the other beasts roared with a mighty roar: "we will!" "where is this great spider of yours now?" asked the lion. "yonder, among the oak trees," said the tiger, pointing with his fore-foot. "take good care of these friends of mine," said the lion, "and i will go at once to fight the monster." he bade his comrades good-bye and marched proudly away to do battle with the enemy. the great spider was lying asleep when the lion found him, and it looked so ugly that its foe turned up his nose in disgust. its legs were quite as long as the tiger had said, and it's body covered with coarse black hair. it had a great mouth, with a row of sharp teeth a foot long; but its head was joined to the pudgy body by a neck as slender as a wasp's waist. this gave the lion a hint of the best way to attack the creature, and as he knew it was easier to fight it asleep than awake, he gave a great spring and landed directly upon the monster's back. then, with one blow of his heavy paw, all armed with sharp claws, he knocked the spider's head from its body. jumping down, he watched it until the long legs stopped wiggling, when he knew it was quite dead. the lion went back to the opening where the beasts of the forest were waiting for him and said, proudly, "you need fear your enemy no longer." then the beasts bowed down to the lion as their king, and he promised to come back and rule over them as soon as dorothy was safely on her way to kansas. chapter xxii. the country of the quadlings [illustration] [illustration: "_the head shot forward and struck the scarecrow._"] [illustration] the four travellers passed through the rest of the forest in safety, and when they came out from its gloom saw before them a steep hill, covered from top to bottom with great pieces of rock. "that will be a hard climb," said the scarecrow, "but we must get over the hill, nevertheless." so he led the way and the others followed. they had nearly reached the first rock when they heard a rough voice cry out, "keep back!" "who are you?" asked the scarecrow. then a head showed itself over the rock and the same voice said, "this hill belongs to us, and we don't allow anyone to cross it." "but we must cross it," said the scarecrow. "we're going to the country of the quadlings." "but you shall not!" replied the voice, and there stepped from behind the rock the strangest man the travellers had ever seen. he was quite short and stout and had a big head, which was flat at the top and supported by a thick neck full of wrinkles. but he had no arms at all, and, seeing this, the scarecrow did not fear that so helpless a creature could prevent them from climbing the hill. so he said, "i'm sorry not to do as you wish, but we must pass over your hill whether you like it or not," and he walked boldly forward. as quick as lightning the man's head shot forward and his neck stretched out until the top of the head, where it was flat, struck the scarecrow in the middle and sent him tumbling, over and over, down the hill. almost as quickly as it came the head went back to the body, and the man laughed harshly as he said, "it isn't as easy as you think!" a chorus of boisterous laughter came from the other rocks, and dorothy saw hundreds of the armless hammer-heads upon the hillside, one behind every rock. the lion became quite angry at the laughter caused by the scarecrow's mishap, and giving a loud roar that echoed like thunder he dashed up the hill. again a head shot swiftly out, and the great lion went rolling down the hill as if he had been struck by a cannon ball. dorothy ran down and helped the scarecrow to his feet, and the lion came up to her, feeling rather bruised and sore, and said, "it is useless to fight people with shooting heads; no one can withstand them." "what can we do, then?" she asked. "call the winged monkeys," suggested the tin woodman; "you have still the right to command them once more." "very well," she answered, and putting on the golden cap she uttered the magic words. the monkeys were as prompt as ever, and in a few moments the entire band stood before her. "what are your commands?" enquired the king of the monkeys, bowing low. "carry us over the hill to the country of the quadlings," answered the girl. "it shall be done," said the king, and at once the winged monkeys caught the four travellers and toto up in their arms and flew away with them. as they passed over the hill the hammer-heads yelled with vexation, and shot their heads high in the air; but they could not reach the winged monkeys, which carried dorothy and her comrades safely over the hill and set them down in the beautiful country of the quadlings. "this is the last time you can summon us," said the leader to dorothy; "so good-bye and good luck to you." "good-bye, and thank you very much," returned the girl; and the monkeys rose into the air and were out of sight in a twinkling. the country of the quadlings seemed rich and happy. there was field upon field of ripening grain, with well-paved roads running between, and pretty rippling brooks with strong bridges across them. the fences and houses and bridges were all painted bright red, just as they had been painted yellow in the country of the winkies and blue in the country of the munchkins. the quadlings themselves, who were short and fat and looked chubby and good natured, were dressed all in red, which showed bright against the green grass and the yellowing grain. the monkeys had set them down near a farm house, and the four travellers walked up to it and knocked at the door. it was opened by the farmer's wife, and when dorothy asked for something to eat the woman gave them all a good dinner, with three kinds of cake and four kinds of cookies, and a bowl of milk for toto. "how far is it to the castle of glinda?" asked the child. "it is not a great way," answered the farmer's wife. "take the road to the south and you will soon reach it." thanking the good woman, they started afresh and walked by the fields and across the pretty bridges until they saw before them a very beautiful castle. before the gates were three young girls, dressed in handsome red uniforms trimmed with gold braid; and as dorothy approached one of them said to her, "why have you come to the south country?" "to see the good witch who rules here," she answered. "will you take me to her?" "let me have your name and i will ask glinda if she will receive you." they told who they were, and the girl soldier went into the castle. after a few moments she came back to say that dorothy and the others were to be admitted at once. [illustration] chapter xxiii. the good witch grants dorothy's wish. [illustration] [illustration: "_you must give me the golden cap._"] [illustration] before they went to see glinda, however, they were taken to a room of the castle, where dorothy washed her face and combed her hair, and the lion shook the dust out of his mane, and the scarecrow patted himself into his best shape, and the woodman polished his tin and oiled his joints. when they were all quite presentable they followed the soldier girl into a big room where the witch glinda sat upon a throne of rubies. she was both beautiful and young to their eyes. her hair was a rich red in color and fell in flowing ringlets over her shoulders. her dress was pure white; but her eyes were blue, and they looked kindly upon the little girl. "what can i do for you, my child?" she asked. dorothy told the witch all her story; how the cyclone had brought her to the land of oz, how she had found her companions, and of the wonderful adventures they had met with. "my greatest wish now," she added, "is to get back to kansas, for aunt em will surely think something dreadful has happened to me, and that will make her put on mourning; and unless the crops are better this year than they were last i am sure uncle henry cannot afford it." glinda leaned forward and kissed the sweet, upturned face of the loving little girl. "bless your dear heart," she said, "i am sure i can tell you of a way to get back to kansas." then she added: "but, if i do, you must give me the golden cap." "willingly!" exclaimed dorothy; "indeed, it is of no use to me now, and when you have it you can command the winged monkeys three times." "and i think i shall need their service just those three times," answered glinda, smiling. dorothy then gave her the golden cap, and the witch said to the scarecrow, "what will you do when dorothy has left us?" "i will return to the emerald city," he replied, "for oz has made me its ruler and the people like me. the only thing that worries me is how to cross the hill of the hammer-heads." "by means of the golden cap i shall command the winged monkeys to carry you to the gates of the emerald city," said glinda, "for it would be a shame to deprive the people of so wonderful a ruler." "am i really wonderful?" asked the scarecrow. "you are unusual," replied glinda. turning to the tin woodman, she asked: "what will become of you when dorothy leaves this country?" he leaned on his axe and thought a moment. then he said, "the winkies were very kind to me, and wanted me to rule over them after the wicked witch died. i am fond of the winkies, and if i could get back again to the country of the west i should like nothing better than to rule over them forever." "my second command to the winged monkeys," said glinda, "will be that they carry you safely to the land of the winkies. your brains may not be so large to look at as those of the scarecrow, but you are really brighter than he is--when you are well polished--and i am sure you will rule the winkies wisely and well." then the witch looked at the big, shaggy lion and asked, "when dorothy has returned to her own home, what will become of you?" "over the hill of the hammer-heads," he answered, "lies a grand old forest, and all the beasts that live there have made me their king. if i could only get back to this forest i would pass my life very happily there." "my third command to the winged monkeys," said glinda, "shall be to carry you to your forest. then, having used up the powers of the golden cap, i shall give it to the king of the monkeys, that he and his band may thereafter be free for evermore." the scarecrow and the tin woodman and the lion now thanked the good witch earnestly for her kindness, and dorothy exclaimed, [illustration] "you are certainly as good as you are beautiful! but you have not yet told me how to get back to kansas." "your silver shoes will carry you over the desert," replied glinda. "if you had known their power you could have gone back to your aunt em the very first day you came to this country." "but then i should not have had my wonderful brains!" cried the scarecrow. "i might have passed my whole life in the farmer's cornfield." "and i should not have had my lovely heart," said the tin woodman. "i might have stood and rusted in the forest till the end of the world." "and i should have lived a coward forever," declared the lion, "and no beast in all the forest would have had a good word to say to me." "this is all true," said dorothy, "and i am glad i was of use to these good friends. but now that each of them has had what he most desired, and each is happy in having a kingdom to rule beside, i think i should like to go back to kansas." "the silver shoes," said the good witch, "have wonderful powers. and one of the most curious things about them is that they can carry you to any place in the world in three steps, and each step will be made in the wink of an eye. all you have to do is to knock the heels together three times and command the shoes to carry you wherever you wish to go." "if that is so," said the child, joyfully, "i will ask them to carry me back to kansas at once." she threw her arms around the lion's neck and kissed him, patting his big head tenderly. then she kissed the tin woodman, who was weeping in a way most dangerous to his joints. but she hugged the soft, stuffed body of the scarecrow in her arms instead of kissing his painted face, and found she was crying herself at this sorrowful parting from her loving comrades. glinda the good stepped down from her ruby throne to give the little girl a good-bye kiss, and dorothy thanked her for all the kindness she had shown to her friends and herself. dorothy now took toto up solemnly in her arms, and having said one last good-bye she clapped the heels of her shoes together three times, saying, "take me home to aunt em!" * * * * * [illustration] instantly she was whirling through the air, so swiftly that all she could see or feel was the wind whistling past her ears. the silver shoes took but three steps, and then she stopped so suddenly that she rolled over upon the grass several times before she knew where she was. at length, however, she sat up and looked about her. "good gracious!" she cried. for she was sitting on the broad kansas prairie, and just before her was the new farm-house uncle henry built after the cyclone had carried away the old one. uncle henry was milking the cows in the barnyard, and toto had jumped out of her arms and was running toward the barn, barking joyously. dorothy stood up and found she was in her stocking-feet. for the silver shoes had fallen off in her flight through the air, and were lost forever in the desert. [illustration] chapter xxiv. home again. aunt em had just come out of the house to water the cabbages when she looked up and saw dorothy running toward her. "my darling child!" she cried, folding the little girl in her arms and covering her face with kisses; "where in the world did you come from?" "from the land of oz," said dorothy, gravely. "and here is toto, too. and oh, aunt em! i'm so glad to be at home again!" [illustration] transcriber's notes: obvious punctuation and spelling errors have been fixed throughout. [illustration: this book belongs to] * * * * * by l. frank baum uniform with ozma of oz the land of oz john dough and the cherub each elaborately illustrated in colors and black-and-white by john r. neill * * * * * [illustration: ozma of oz] [illustration: ozma] ozma of oz a record of her adventures with dorothy gale of kansas, the yellow hen, the scarecrow, the tin woodman, tiktok, the cowardly lion and the hungry tiger; besides other good people too numerous to mention faithfully recorded herein by l. frank baum the author of the wizard of oz, the land of oz, etc. [illustration] illustrated by john r. neill chicago: the reilly & britton co. publishers [illustration: copyright, 1907, by l. frank baum. all rights reserved] [illustration: to all the boys and girls who read my stories--and especially to the dorothys--this book is lovingly dedicated.] list of chapters page i. the girl in the chicken coop 13 ii. the yellow hen 24 iii. letters in the sand 37 iv. tiktok, the machine man 49 v. dorothy opens the dinner pail 64 vi. the heads of langwidere 76 vii. ozma of oz to the rescue 101 viii. the hungry tiger 117 ix. the royal family of ev 128 x. the giant with the hammer 141 xi. the nome king 156 [illustration] [illustration] xii. the eleven guesses 175 xiii. the nome king laughs 182 xiv. dorothy tries to be brave 191 xv. billina frightens the nome king 205 xvi. purple, green and gold 216 xvii. the scarecrow wins the fight 226 xviii. the fate of the tin woodman 235 xix. the king of ev 246 xx. the emerald city 254 xxi. dorothy's magic belt 263 [illustration] [illustration] author's note my friends the children are responsible for this new "oz book," as they were for the last one, which was called _the land of oz_. their sweet little letters plead to know "more about dorothy"; and they ask: "what became of the cowardly lion?" and "what did ozma do afterward?"--meaning, of course, after she became the ruler of oz. and some of them suggest plots to me, saying: "please have dorothy go to the land of oz again"; or, "why don't you make ozma and dorothy meet, and have a good time together?" indeed, could i do all that my little friends ask, i would be obliged to write dozens of books to satisfy their demands. and i wish i could, for i enjoy writing these stories just as much as the children say they enjoy reading them. well, here is "more about dorothy," and about our old friends the scarecrow and the tin woodman, and about the cowardly lion, and ozma, and all the rest of them; and here, likewise, is a good deal about some new folks that are queer and unusual. one little friend, who read this story before it was printed, said to me: "billina is _real ozzy_, mr. baum, and so are tiktok and the hungry tiger." if this judgment is unbiased and correct, and the little folks find this new story "real ozzy," i shall be very glad indeed that i wrote it. but perhaps i shall get some more of those very welcome letters from my readers, telling me just how they like "ozma of oz." i hope so, anyway. l. frank baum. macatawa, 1907. [illustration] the girl in the chicken coop [illustration] the wind blew hard and joggled the water of the ocean, sending ripples across its surface. then the wind pushed the edges of the ripples until they became waves, and shoved the waves around until they became billows. the billows rolled dreadfully high: higher even than the tops of houses. some of them, indeed, rolled as high as the tops of tall trees, and seemed like mountains, and the gulfs between the great billows were like deep valleys. all this mad dashing and splashing of the waters of the big ocean, which the mischievous wind caused without any good reason whatever, resulted in a terrible storm, and a storm on the ocean is liable to cut many queer pranks and do a lot of damage. at the time the wind began to blow, a ship was sailing far out upon the waters. when the waves began to tumble and toss and to grow bigger and bigger the ship rolled up and down, and tipped sidewise--first one way and then the other--and was jostled around so roughly that even the sailor-men had to hold fast to the ropes and railings to keep themselves from being swept away by the wind or pitched headlong into the sea. and the clouds were so thick in the sky that the sunlight couldn't get through them; so that the day grew dark as night, which added to the terrors of the storm. the captain of the ship was not afraid, because he had seen storms before, and had sailed his ship through them in safety; but he knew that his passengers would be in danger if they tried to stay on deck, so he put them all into the cabin and told them to stay there until after the storm was over, and to keep brave hearts and not be scared, and all would be well with them. now, among these passengers was a little kansas girl named dorothy gale, who was going with her uncle henry to australia, to visit some relatives they had never before seen. uncle henry, you must know, was not very well, because he had been working so hard on his kansas farm that his health had given way and left him weak and nervous. so he left aunt em at home to watch after the hired men and to take care of the farm, while he traveled far away to australia to visit his cousins and have a good rest. dorothy was eager to go with him on this journey, and uncle henry thought she would be good company and help cheer him up; so he decided to take her along. the little girl was quite an experienced traveller, for she had once been carried by a cyclone as far away from home as the marvelous land of oz, and she had met with a good many adventures in that strange country before she managed to get back to kansas again. so she wasn't easily frightened, whatever happened, and when the wind began to howl and whistle, and the waves began to tumble and toss, our little girl didn't mind the uproar the least bit. "of course we'll have to stay in the cabin," she said to uncle henry and the other passengers, "and keep as quiet as possible until the storm is over. for the captain says if we go on deck we may be blown overboard." no one wanted to risk such an accident as that, you may be sure; so all the passengers stayed huddled up in the dark cabin, listening to the shrieking of the storm and the creaking of the masts and rigging and trying to keep from bumping into one another when the ship tipped sidewise. dorothy had almost fallen asleep when she was aroused with a start to find that uncle henry was missing. she couldn't imagine where he had gone, and as he was not very strong she began to worry about him, and to fear he might have been careless enough to go on deck. in that case he would be in great danger unless he instantly came down again. the fact was that uncle henry had gone to lie down in his little sleeping-berth, but dorothy did not know that. she only remembered that aunt em had cautioned her to take good care of her uncle, so at once she decided to go on deck and find him, in spite of the fact that the tempest was now worse than ever, and the ship was plunging in a really dreadful manner. indeed, the little girl found it was as much as she could do to mount the stairs to the deck, and as soon as she got there the wind struck her so fiercely that it almost tore away the skirts of her dress. yet dorothy felt a sort of joyous excitement in defying the storm, and while she held fast to the railing she peered around through the gloom and thought she saw the dim form of a man clinging to a mast not far away from her. this might be her uncle, so she called as loudly as she could: "uncle henry! uncle henry!" [illustration: "uncle henry! uncle henry!" called dorothy] but the wind screeched and howled so madly that she scarce heard her own voice, and the man certainly failed to hear her, for he did not move. dorothy decided she must go to him; so she made a dash forward, during a lull in the storm, to where a big square chicken-coop had been lashed to the deck with ropes. she reached this place in safety, but no sooner had she seized fast hold of the slats of the big box in which the chickens were kept than the wind, as if enraged because the little girl dared to resist its power, suddenly redoubled its fury. with a scream like that of an angry giant it tore away the ropes that held the coop and lifted it high into the air, with dorothy still clinging to the slats. around and over it whirled, this way and that, and a few moments later the chicken-coop dropped far away into the sea, where the big waves caught it and slid it up-hill to a foaming crest and then downhill into a deep valley, as if it were nothing more than a plaything to keep them amused. dorothy had a good ducking, you may be sure, but she didn't loose her presence of mind even for a second. she kept tight hold of the stout slats and as soon as she could get the water out of her eyes she saw that the wind had ripped the cover from the coop, and the poor chickens were fluttering away in every direction, being blown by the wind until they looked like feather dusters without handles. the bottom of the coop was made of thick boards, so dorothy found she was clinging to a sort of raft, with sides of slats, which readily bore up her weight. after coughing the water out of her throat and getting her breath again, she managed to climb over the slats and stand upon the firm wooden bottom of the coop, which supported her easily enough. "why, i've got a ship of my own!" she thought, more amused than frightened at her sudden change of condition; and then, as the coop climbed up to the top of a big wave, she looked eagerly around for the ship from which she had been blown. it was far, far away, by this time. perhaps no one on board had yet missed her, or knew of her strange adventure. down into a valley between the waves the coop swept her, and when she climbed another crest the ship looked like a toy boat, it was such a long way off. soon it had entirely disappeared in the gloom, and then dorothy gave a sigh of regret at parting with uncle henry and began to wonder what was going to happen to her next. just now she was tossing on the bosom of a big ocean, with nothing to keep her afloat but a miserable wooden hen-coop that had a plank bottom and slatted sides, through which the water constantly splashed and wetted her through to the skin! and there was nothing to eat when she became hungry--as she was sure to do before long--and no fresh water to drink and no dry clothes to put on. "well, i declare!" she exclaimed, with a laugh. "you're in a pretty fix, dorothy gale, i can tell you! and i haven't the least idea how you're going to get out of it!" as if to add to her troubles the night was now creeping on, and the gray clouds overhead changed to inky blackness. but the wind, as if satisfied at last with its mischievous pranks, stopped blowing this ocean and hurried away to another part of the world to blow something else; so that the waves, not being joggled any more, began to quiet down and behave themselves. [illustration: dorothy afloat in the hen-coop] it was lucky for dorothy, i think, that the storm subsided; otherwise, brave though she was, i fear she might have perished. many children, in her place, would have wept and given way to despair; but because dorothy had encountered so many adventures and come safely through them it did not occur to her at this time to be especially afraid. she was wet and uncomfortable, it is true; but, after sighing that one sigh i told you of, she managed to recall some of her customary cheerfulness and decided to patiently await whatever her fate might be. by and by the black clouds rolled away and showed a blue sky overhead, with a silver moon shining sweetly in the middle of it and little stars winking merrily at dorothy when she looked their way. the coop did not toss around any more, but rode the waves more gently--almost like a cradle rocking--so that the floor upon which dorothy stood was no longer swept by water coming through the slats. seeing this, and being quite exhausted by the excitement of the past few hours, the little girl decided that sleep would be the best thing to restore her strength and the easiest way in which she could pass the time. the floor was damp and she was herself wringing wet, but fortunately this was a warm climate and she did not feel at all cold. so she sat down in a corner of the coop, leaned her back against the slats, nodded at the friendly stars before she closed her eyes, and was asleep in half a minute. [illustration] the yellow hen [illustration] a strange noise awoke dorothy, who opened her eyes to find that day had dawned and the sun was shining brightly in a clear sky. she had been dreaming that she was back in kansas again, and playing in the old barn-yard with the calves and pigs and chickens all around her; and at first, as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes, she really imagined she was there. "kut-kut-kut, ka-daw-kut! kut-kut-kut, ka-daw-kut!" ah; here again was the strange noise that had awakened her. surely it was a hen cackling! but her wide-open eyes first saw, through the slats of the coop, the blue waves of the ocean, now calm and placid, and her thoughts flew back to the past night, so full of danger and discomfort. also she began to remember that she was a waif of the storm, adrift upon a treacherous and unknown sea. "kut-kut-kut, ka-daw-w-w--kut!" "what's that?" cried dorothy, starting to her feet. "why, i've just laid an egg, that's all," replied a small, but sharp and distinct voice, and looking around her the little girl discovered a yellow hen squatting in the opposite corner of the coop. "dear me!" she exclaimed, in surprise; "have _you_ been here all night, too?" "of course," answered the hen, fluttering her wings and yawning. "when the coop blew away from the ship i clung fast to this corner, with claws and beak, for i knew if i fell into the water i'd surely be drowned. indeed, i nearly drowned, as it was, with all that water washing over me. i never was so wet before in my life!" "yes," agreed dorothy, "it was pretty wet, for a time, i know. but do you feel comfor'ble now?" "not very. the sun has helped to dry my feathers, as it has your dress, and i feel better since i laid my morning egg. but what's to become of us, i should like to know, afloat on this big pond?" "i'd like to know that, too," said dorothy. "but, tell me; how does it happen that you are able to talk? i thought hens could only cluck and cackle." "why, as for that," answered the yellow hen thoughtfully, "i've clucked and cackled all my life, and never spoken a word before this morning, that i can remember. but when you asked a question, a minute ago, it seemed the most natural thing in the world to answer you. so i spoke, and i seem to keep on speaking, just as you and other human beings do. strange, isn't it?" "very," replied dorothy. "if we were in the land of oz, i wouldn't think it so queer, because many of the animals can talk in that fairy country. but out here in the ocean must be a good long way from oz." "how is my grammar?" asked the yellow hen, anxiously. "do i speak quite properly, in your judgment?" "yes," said dorothy, "you do very well, for a beginner." "i'm glad to know that," continued the yellow hen, in a confidential tone; "because, if one is going to talk, it's best to talk correctly. the red rooster has often said that my cluck and my cackle were quite perfect; and now it's a comfort to know i am talking properly." "i'm beginning to get hungry," remarked dorothy. "it's breakfast time; but there's no breakfast." "you may have my egg," said the yellow hen. "i don't care for it, you know." "don't you want to hatch it?" asked the little girl, in surprise. "no, indeed; i never care to hatch eggs unless i've a nice snug nest, in some quiet place, with a baker's dozen of eggs under me. that's thirteen, you know, and it's a lucky number for hens. so you may as well eat this egg." "oh, i couldn't _poss'bly_ eat it, unless it was cooked," exclaimed dorothy. "but i'm much obliged for your kindness, just the same." "don't mention it, my dear," answered the hen, calmly, and began pruning her feathers. for a moment dorothy stood looking out over the wide sea. she was still thinking of the egg, though; so presently she asked: "why do you lay eggs, when you don't expect to hatch them?" "it's a habit i have," replied the yellow hen. "it has always been my pride to lay a fresh egg every morning, except when i'm moulting. i never feel like having my morning cackle till the egg is properly laid, and without the chance to cackle i would not be happy." "it's strange," said the girl, reflectively; "but as i'm not a hen i can't be 'spected to understand that." "certainly not, my dear." then dorothy fell silent again. the yellow hen was some company, and a bit of comfort, too; but it was dreadfully lonely out on the big ocean, nevertheless. after a time the hen flew up and perched upon the topmost slat of the coop, which was a little above dorothy's head when she was sitting upon the bottom, as she had been doing for some moments past. "why, we are not far from land!" exclaimed the hen. "where? where is it?" cried dorothy, jumping up in great excitement. "over there a little way," answered the hen, nodding her head in a certain direction. "we seem to be drifting toward it, so that before noon we ought to find ourselves upon dry land again." "i shall like that!" said dorothy, with a little sigh, for her feet and legs were still wetted now and then by the sea-water that came through the open slats. [illustration: the yellow hen] "so shall i," answered her companion. "there is nothing in the world so miserable as a wet hen." the land, which they seemed to be rapidly approaching, since it grew more distinct every minute, was quite beautiful as viewed by the little girl in the floating hen-coop. next to the water was a broad beach of white sand and gravel, and farther back were several rocky hills, while beyond these appeared a strip of green trees that marked the edge of a forest. but there were no houses to be seen, nor any sign of people who might inhabit this unknown land. "i hope we shall find something to eat," said dorothy, looking eagerly at the pretty beach toward which they drifted. "it's long past breakfast time, now." "i'm a trifle hungry, myself," declared the yellow hen. "why don't you eat the egg?" asked the child. "you don't need to have your food cooked, as i do." "do you take me for a cannibal?" cried the hen, indignantly. "i do not know what i have said or done that leads you to insult me!" "i beg your pardon, i'm sure mrs.--mrs.--by the way, may i inquire your name, ma'am?" asked the little girl. "my name is bill," said the yellow hen, somewhat gruffly. "bill! why, that's a boy's name." "what difference does that make?" "you're a lady hen, aren't you?" "of course. but when i was first hatched out no one could tell whether i was going to be a hen or a rooster; so the little boy at the farm where i was born called me bill, and made a pet of me because i was the only yellow chicken in the whole brood. when i grew up, and he found that i didn't crow and fight, as all the roosters do, he did not think to change my name, and every creature in the barn-yard, as well as the people in the house, knew me as 'bill.' so bill i've always been called, and bill is my name." "but it's all wrong, you know," declared dorothy, earnestly; "and, if you don't mind, i shall call you 'billina.' putting the 'eena' on the end makes it a girl's name, you see." "oh, i don't mind it in the least," returned the yellow hen. "it doesn't matter at all what you call me, so long as i know the name means _me_." "very well, billina. _my_ name is dorothy gale--just dorothy to my friends and miss gale to strangers. you may call me dorothy, if you like. we're getting very near the shore. do you suppose it is too deep for me to wade the rest of the way?" "wait a few minutes longer. the sunshine is warm and pleasant, and we are in no hurry." "but my feet are all wet and soggy," said the girl. "my dress is dry enough, but i won't feel real comfor'ble till i get my feet dried." she waited; however, as the hen advised, and before long the big wooden coop grated gently on the sandy beach and the dangerous voyage was over. it did not take the castaways long to reach the shore, you may be sure. the yellow hen flew to the sands at once, but dorothy had to climb over the high slats. still, for a country girl, that was not much of a feat, and as soon as she was safe ashore dorothy drew off her wet shoes and stockings and spread them upon the sun-warmed beach to dry. then she sat down and watched billina, who was pick-pecking away with her sharp bill in the sand and gravel, which she scratched up and turned over with her strong claws. "what are you doing?" asked dorothy. "getting my breakfast, of course," murmured the hen, busily pecking away. [illustration: "how dreadful!" exclaimed dorothy] "what do you find?" inquired the girl, curiously. "oh, some fat red ants, and some sand-bugs, and once in a while a tiny crab. they are very sweet and nice, i assure you." "how dreadful!" exclaimed dorothy, in a shocked voice. "what is dreadful?" asked the hen, lifting her head to gaze with one bright eye at her companion. "why, eating live things, and horrid bugs, and crawly ants. you ought to be _'shamed_ of yourself!" "goodness me!" returned the hen, in a puzzled tone; "how queer you are, dorothy! live things are much fresher and more wholesome than dead ones, and you humans eat all sorts of dead creatures." "we don't!" said dorothy. "you do, indeed," answered billina. "you eat lambs and sheep and cows and pigs and even chickens." "but we cook 'em," said dorothy, triumphantly. "what difference does that make?" "a good deal," said the girl, in a graver tone. "i can't just 'splain the diff'rence, but it's there. and, anyhow, we never eat such dreadful things as _bugs_." "but you eat the chickens that eat the bugs," retorted the yellow hen, with an odd cackle. "so you are just as bad as we chickens are." this made dorothy thoughtful. what billina said was true enough, and it almost took away her appetite for breakfast. as for the yellow hen, she continued to peck away at the sand busily, and seemed quite contented with her bill-of-fare. finally, down near the water's edge, billina stuck her bill deep into the sand, and then drew back and shivered. "ow!" she cried. "i struck metal, that time, and it nearly broke my beak." "it prob'bly was a rock," said dorothy, carelessly. "nonsense. i know a rock from metal, i guess," said the hen. "there's a different feel to it." "but there couldn't be any metal on this wild, deserted seashore," persisted the girl. "where's the place? i'll dig it up, and prove to you i'm right." billina showed her the place where she had "stubbed her bill," as she expressed it, and dorothy dug away the sand until she felt something hard. then, thrusting in her hand, she pulled the thing out, and discovered it to be a large sized golden key--rather old, but still bright and of perfect shape. "what did i tell you?" cried the hen, with a cackle of triumph. "can i tell metal when i bump into it, or is the thing a rock?" "it's metal, sure enough," answered the child, gazing thoughtfully at the curious thing she had found. "i think it is pure gold, and it must have lain hidden in the sand for a long time. how do you suppose it came there, billina? and what do you suppose this mysterious key unlocks?" "i can't say," replied the hen. "you ought to know more about locks and keys than i do." dorothy glanced around. there was no sign of any house in that part of the country, and she reasoned that every key must fit a lock and every lock must have a purpose. perhaps the key had been lost by somebody who lived far away, but had wandered on this very shore. musing on these things the girl put the key in the pocket of her dress and then slowly drew on her shoes and stockings, which the sun had fully dried. "i b'lieve, billina," she said, "i'll have a look 'round, and see if i can find some breakfast." [illustration] letters in the sand [illustration] walking a little way back from the water's edge, toward the grove of trees, dorothy came to a flat stretch of white sand that seemed to have queer signs marked upon its surface, just as one would write upon sand with a stick. "what does it say?" she asked the yellow hen, who trotted along beside her in a rather dignified fashion. "how should i know?" returned the hen. "i cannot read." "oh! can't you?" "certainly not; i've never been to school, you know." "well, i have," admitted dorothy; "but the letters are big and far apart, and it's hard to spell out the words." but she looked at each letter carefully, and finally discovered that these words were written in the sand: "beware the wheelers!" "that's rather strange," declared the hen, when dorothy had read aloud the words. "what do you suppose the wheelers are?" "folks that wheel, i guess. they must have wheelbarrows, or baby-cabs or hand-carts," said dorothy. "perhaps they're automobiles," suggested the yellow hen. "there is no need to beware of baby-cabs and wheelbarrows; but automobiles are dangerous things. several of my friends have been run over by them." "it can't be auto'biles," replied the girl, "for this is a new, wild country, without even trolley-cars or tel'phones. the people here havn't been discovered yet, i'm sure; that is, if there _are_ any people. so i don't b'lieve there _can_ be any auto'biles, billina." "perhaps not," admitted the yellow hen. "where are you going now?" "over to those trees, to see if i can find some fruit or nuts," answered dorothy. she tramped across the sand, skirting the foot of one of the little rocky hills that stood near, and soon reached the edge of the forest. at first she was greatly disappointed, because the nearer trees were all punita, or cotton-wood or eucalyptus, and bore no fruit or nuts at all. but, bye and bye, when she was almost in despair, the little girl came upon two trees that promised to furnish her with plenty of food. one was quite full of square paper boxes, which grew in clusters on all the limbs, and upon the biggest and ripest boxes the word "lunch" could be read, in neat raised letters. this tree seemed to bear all the year around, for there were lunch-box blossoms on some of the branches, and on others tiny little lunch-boxes that were as yet quite green, and evidently not fit to eat until they had grown bigger. the leaves of this tree were all paper napkins, and it presented a very pleasing appearance to the hungry little girl. but the tree next to the lunch-box tree was even more wonderful, for it bore quantities of tin dinner-pails, which were so full and heavy that the stout branches bent underneath their weight. some were small and dark-brown in color; those larger were of a dull tin color; but the really ripe ones were pails of bright tin that shone and glistened beautifully in the rays of sunshine that touched them. dorothy was delighted, and even the yellow hen acknowledged that she was surprised. the little girl stood on tip-toe and picked one of the nicest and biggest lunch-boxes, and then she sat down upon the ground and eagerly opened it. inside she found, nicely wrapped in white papers, a ham sandwich, a piece of sponge-cake, a pickle, a slice of new cheese and an apple. each thing had a separate stem, and so had to be picked off the side of the box; but dorothy found them all to be delicious, and she ate every bit of luncheon in the box before she had finished. "a lunch isn't zactly breakfast," she said to billina, who sat beside her curiously watching. "but when one is hungry one can eat even supper in the morning, and not complain." "i hope your lunch-box was perfectly ripe," observed the yellow hen, in a anxious tone. "so much sickness is caused by eating green things." [illustration: the little girl picked one of the lunch-boxes] "oh, i'm sure it was ripe," declared dorothy, "all, that is, 'cept the pickle, and a pickle just _has_ to be green, billina. but everything tasted perfectly splendid, and i'd rather have it than a church picnic. and now i think i'll pick a dinner-pail, to have when i get hungry again, and then we'll start out and 'splore the country, and see where we are." "havn't you any idea what country this is?" inquired billina. "none at all. but listen: i'm quite sure it's a fairy country, or such things as lunch-boxes and dinner-pails wouldn't be growing upon trees. besides, billina, being a hen, you wouldn't be able to talk in any civ'lized country, like kansas, where no fairies live at all." "perhaps we're in the land of oz," said the hen, thoughtfully. "no, that can't be," answered the little girl; "because i've been to the land of oz, and it's all surrounded by a horrid desert that no one can cross." "then how did you get away from there again?" asked billina. "i had a pair of silver shoes, that carried me through the air; but i lost them," said dorothy. "ah, indeed," remarked the yellow hen, in a tone of unbelief. "anyhow," resumed the girl, "there is no seashore near the land of oz, so this must surely be some other fairy country." while she was speaking she selected a bright and pretty dinner-pail that seemed to have a stout handle, and picked it from its branch. then, accompanied by the yellow hen, she walked out of the shadow of the trees toward the sea-shore. they were part way across the sands when billina suddenly cried, in a voice of terror: "what's that?" [illustration] dorothy turned quickly around, and saw coming out of a path that led from between the trees the most peculiar person her eyes had ever beheld. it had the form of a man, except that it walked, or rather rolled, upon all fours, and its legs were the same length as its arms, giving them the appearance of the four legs of a beast. yet it was no beast that dorothy had discovered, for the person was clothed most gorgeously in embroidered garments of many colors, and wore a straw hat perched jauntily upon the side of its head. but it differed from human beings in this respect, that instead of hands and feet there grew at the end of its arms and legs round wheels, and by means of these wheels it rolled very swiftly over the level ground. afterward dorothy found that these odd wheels were of the same hard substance that our finger-nails and toe-nails are composed of, and she also learned that creatures of this strange race were born in this queer fashion. but when our little girl first caught sight of the first individual of a race that was destined to cause her a lot of trouble, she had an idea that the brilliantly-clothed personage was on roller-skates, which were attached to his hands as well as to his feet. "run!" screamed the yellow hen, fluttering away in great fright. "it's a wheeler!" [illustration: "it's a wheeler!"] "a wheeler?" exclaimed dorothy. "what can that be?" "don't you remember the warning in the sand: 'beware the wheelers'? run, i tell you--run!" so dorothy ran, and the wheeler gave a sharp, wild cry and came after her in full chase. looking over her shoulder as she ran, the girl now saw a great procession of wheelers emerging from the forest--dozens and dozens of them--all clad in splendid, tight-fitting garments and all rolling swiftly toward her and uttering their wild, strange cries. "they're sure to catch us!" panted the girl, who was still carrying the heavy dinner-pail she had picked. "i can't run much farther, billina." "climb up this hill,--quick!" said the hen; and dorothy found she was very near to the heap of loose and jagged rocks they had passed on their way to the forest. the yellow hen was even now fluttering among the rocks, and dorothy followed as best she could, half climbing and half tumbling up the rough and rugged steep. she was none too soon, for the foremost wheeler reached the hill a moment after her; but while the girl scrambled up the rocks the creature stopped short with howls of rage and disappointment. dorothy now heard the yellow hen laughing, in her cackling, henny way. "don't hurry, my dear," cried billina. "they can't follow us among these rocks, so we're safe enough now." dorothy stopped at once and sat down upon a broad boulder, for she was all out of breath. the rest of the wheelers had now reached the foot of the hill, but it was evident that their wheels would not roll upon the rough and jagged rocks, and therefore they were helpless to follow dorothy and the hen to where they had taken refuge. but they circled all around the little hill, so the child and billina were fast prisoners and could not come down without being captured. then the creatures shook their front wheels at dorothy in a threatening manner, and it seemed they were able to speak as well as to make their dreadful outcries, for several of them shouted: "we'll get you in time, never fear! and when we do get you, we'll tear you into little bits!" "why are you so cruel to me?" asked dorothy. "i'm a stranger in your country, and have done you no harm." "no harm!" cried one who seemed to be their leader. "did you not pick our lunch-boxes and dinner-pails? have you not a stolen dinner-pail still in your hand?" "i only picked one of each," she answered. "i was hungry, and i didn't know the trees were yours." "that is no excuse," retorted the leader, who was clothed in a most gorgeous suit. "it is the law here that whoever picks a dinner-pail without our permission must die immediately." "don't you believe him," said billina. "i'm sure the trees do not belong to these awful creatures. they are fit for any mischief, and it's my opinion they would try to kill us just the same if you hadn't picked a dinner-pail." "i think so, too," agreed dorothy. "but what shall we do now?" "stay where we are," advised the yellow hen. "we are safe from the wheelers until we starve to death, anyhow; and before that time comes a good many things can happen." [illustration] [illustration] tiktok the machine man after an hour or so most of the band of wheelers rolled back into the forest, leaving only three of their number to guard the hill. these curled themselves up like big dogs and pretended to go to sleep on the sands; but neither dorothy nor billina were fooled by this trick, so they remained in security among the rocks and paid no attention to their cunning enemies. finally the hen, fluttering over the mound, exclaimed: "why, here's a path!" so dorothy at once clambered to where billina sat, and there, sure enough, was a smooth path cut between the rocks. it seemed to wind around the mound from top to bottom, like a cork-screw, twisting here and there between the rough boulders but always remaining level and easy to walk upon. indeed, dorothy wondered at first why the wheelers did not roll up this path; but when she followed it to the foot of the mound she found that several big pieces of rock had been placed directly across the end of the way, thus preventing any one outside from seeing it and also preventing the wheelers from using it to climb up the mound. then dorothy walked back up the path, and followed it until she came to the very top of the hill, where a solitary round rock stood that was bigger than any of the others surrounding it. the path came to an end just beside this great rock, and for a moment it puzzled the girl to know why the path had been made at all. but the hen, who had been gravely following her around and was now perched upon a point of rock behind dorothy, suddenly remarked: "it looks something like a door, doesn't it?" "what looks like a door?" enquired the child. "why, that crack in the rock, just facing you," replied billina, whose little round eyes were very sharp and seemed to see everything. "it runs up one side and down the other, and across the top and the bottom." [illustration] "what does?" "why, the crack. so i think it must be a door of rock, although i do not see any hinges." "oh, yes," said dorothy, now observing for the first time the crack in the rock. "and isn't this a key-hole, billina?" pointing to a round, deep hole at one side of the door. "of course. if we only had the key, now, we could unlock it and see what is there," replied the yellow hen. "may be it's a treasure chamber full of diamonds and rubies, or heaps of shining gold, or----" "that reminds me," said dorothy, "of the golden key i picked up on the shore. do you think that it would fit this key-hole, billina?" "try it and see," suggested the hen. so dorothy searched in the pocket of her dress and found the golden key. and when she had put it into the hole of the rock, and turned it, a sudden sharp snap was heard; then, with a solemn creak that made the shivers run down the child's back, the face of the rock fell outward, like a door on hinges, and revealed a small dark chamber just inside. "good gracious!" cried dorothy, shrinking back as far as the narrow path would let her. for, standing within the narrow chamber of rock, was the form of a man--or, at least, it seemed like a man, in the dim light. he was only about as tall as dorothy herself, and his body was round as a ball and made out of burnished copper. also his head and limbs were copper, and these were jointed or hinged to his body in a peculiar way, with metal caps over the joints, like the armor worn by knights in days of old. he stood perfectly still, and where the light struck upon his form it glittered as if made of pure gold. [illustration: "this copper man is not alive at all"] "don't be frightened," called billina, from her perch. "it isn't alive." "i see it isn't," replied the girl, drawing a long breath. "it is only made out of copper, like the old kettle in the barn-yard at home," continued the hen, turning her head first to one side and then to the other, so that both her little round eyes could examine the object. "once," said dorothy, "i knew a man made out of tin, who was a woodman named nick chopper. but he was as alive as we are, 'cause he was born a real man, and got his tin body a little at a time--first a leg and then a finger and then an ear--for the reason that he had so many accidents with his axe, and cut himself up in a very careless manner." "oh," said the hen, with a sniff, as if she did not believe the story. "but this copper man," continued dorothy, looking at it with big eyes, "is not alive at all, and i wonder what it was made for, and why it was locked up in this queer place." "that is a mystery," remarked the hen, twisting her head to arrange her wing-feathers with her bill. dorothy stepped inside the little room to get a back view of the copper man, and in this way discovered a printed card that hung between his shoulders, it being suspended from a small copper peg at the back of his neck. she unfastened this card and returned to the path, where the light was better, and sat herself down upon a slab of rock to read the printing. "what does it say?" asked the hen, curiously. dorothy read the card aloud, spelling out the big words with some difficulty; and this is what she read: smith & tinker's patent double-action, extra-responsive, thought-creating, perfect-talking mechanical man fitted with our special clock-work attachment. thinks, speaks, acts, and does everything but live. manufactured only at our works at evna, land of ev. all infringements will be promptly prosecuted according to law. "how queer!" said the yellow hen. "do you think that is all true, my dear?" "i don't know," answered dorothy, who had more to read. "listen to this, billina:" directions for using: for thinking:--wind the clock-work man under his left arm, (marked no. 1.) for speaking:--wind the clock-work man under his right arm, (marked no. 2.) for walking and action:--wind clock-work in the middle of his back, (marked no. 3.) n. b.--this mechanism is guaranteed to work perfectly for a thousand years. "well, i declare!" gasped the yellow hen, in amazement; "if the copper man can do half of these things he is a very wonderful machine. but i suppose it is all humbug, like so many other patented articles." "we might wind him up," suggested dorothy, "and see what he'll do." "where is the key to the clock-work?" asked billina. "hanging on the peg where i found the card." "then," said the hen, "let us try him, and find out if he will go. he is warranted for a thousand years, it seems; but we do not know how long he has been standing inside this rock." dorothy had already taken the clock key from the peg. [illustration: dorothy wound up number one] "which shall i wind up first?" she asked, looking again at the directions on the card. "number one, i should think," returned billina. "that makes him think, doesn't it?" "yes," said dorothy, and wound up number one, under the left arm. "he doesn't seem any different," remarked the hen, critically. "why, of course not; he is only thinking, now," said dorothy. "i wonder what he is thinking about." "i'll wind up his talk, and then perhaps he can tell us," said the girl. so she wound up number two, and immediately the clock-work man said, without moving any part of his body except his lips: "good morn-ing, lit-tle girl. good morn-ing, mrs. hen." the words sounded a little hoarse and creakey, and they were uttered all in the same tone, without any change of expression whatever; but both dorothy and billina understood them perfectly. "good morning, sir," they answered, politely. "thank you for res-cu-ing me," continued the machine, in the same monotonous voice, which seemed to be worked by a bellows inside of him, like the little toy lambs and cats the children squeeze so that they will make a noise. [illustration] "don't mention it," answered dorothy. and then, being very curious, she asked: "how did you come to be locked up in this place?" "it is a long sto-ry," replied the copper man; "but i will tell it to you brief-ly. i was pur-chased from smith & tin-ker, my man-u-fac-tur-ers, by a cru-el king of ev, named ev-ol-do, who used to beat all his serv-ants un-til they died. how-ev-er, he was not a-ble to kill me, be-cause i was not a-live, and one must first live in or-der to die. so that all his beat-ing did me no harm, and mere-ly kept my cop-per bod-y well pol-ished. "this cru-el king had a love-ly wife and ten beau-ti-ful chil-dren--five boys and five girls--but in a fit of an-ger he sold them all to the nome king, who by means of his mag-ic arts changed them all in-to oth-er forms and put them in his un-der-ground pal-ace to or-na-ment the rooms. "af-ter-ward the king of ev re-gret-ted his wick-ed ac-tion, and tried to get his wife and chil-dren a-way from the nome king, but with-out a-vail. so, in de-spair, he locked me up in this rock, threw the key in-to the o-cean, and then jumped in af-ter it and was drowned." "how very dreadful!" exclaimed dorothy. "it is, in-deed," said the machine. "when i found my-self im-pris-oned i shout-ed for help un-til my voice ran down; and then i walked back and forth in this lit-tle room un-til my ac-tion ran down; and then i stood still and thought un-til my thoughts ran down. af-ter that i re-mem-ber noth-ing un-til you wound me up a-gain." "it's a very wonderful story," said dorothy, "and proves that the land of ev is really a fairy land, as i thought it was." [illustration: the copper man walked out of the rocky cavern] "of course it is," answered the copper man. "i do not sup-pose such a per-fect ma-chine as i am could be made in an-y place but a fair-y land." "i've never seen one in kansas," said dorothy. "but where did you get the key to un-lock this door?" asked the clock-work voice. "i found it on the shore, where it was prob'ly washed up by the waves," she answered. "and now, sir, if you don't mind, i'll wind up your action." "that will please me ve-ry much," said the machine. so she wound up number three, and at once the copper man in a somewhat stiff and jerky fashion walked out of the rocky cavern, took off his copper hat and bowed politely, and then kneeled before dorothy. said he: "from this time forth i am your o-be-di-ent ser-vant. what-ev-er you com-mand, that i will do will-ing-ly--if you keep me wound up." "what is your name?" she asked. "tik-tok," he replied. "my for-mer mas-ter gave me that name be-cause my clock-work al-ways ticks when it is wound up." "i can hear it now," said the yellow hen. "so can i," said dorothy. and then she added, with some anxiety: "you don't strike, do you?" "no," answered tiktok; "and there is no a-larm con-nec-ted with my ma-chin-er-y. i can tell the time, though, by speak-ing, and as i nev-er sleep i can wak-en you at an-y hour you wish to get up in the morn-ing." "that's nice," said the little girl; "only i never wish to get up in the morning." "you can sleep until i lay my egg," said the yellow hen. "then, when i cackle, tiktok will know it is time to waken you." "do you lay your egg very early?" asked dorothy. "about eight o'clock," said billina. "and everybody ought to be up by that time, i'm sure." [illustration] dorothy opens the dinner pail [illustration] "now tiktok," said dorothy, "the first thing to be done is to find a way for us to escape from these rocks. the wheelers are down below, you know, and threaten to kill us." "there is no rea-son to be a-fraid of the wheel-ers," said tiktok, the words coming more slowly than before. "why not?" she asked. "be-cause they are ag-g-g--gr-gr-r-r-" he gave a sort of gurgle and stopped short, waving his hands frantically until suddenly he became motionless, with one arm in the air and the other held stiffly before him with all the copper fingers of the hand spread out like a fan. "dear me!" said dorothy, in a frightened tone. "what can the matter be?" "he's run down, i suppose," said the hen, calmly. "you couldn't have wound him up very tight." "i didn't know how much to wind him," replied the girl; "but i'll try to do better next time." she ran around the copper man to take the key from the peg at the back of his neck, but it was not there. "it's gone!" cried dorothy, in dismay. "what's gone?" asked billina. "the key." "it probably fell off when he made that low bow to you," returned the hen. "look around, and see if you cannot find it again." dorothy looked, and the hen helped her, and by and by the girl discovered the clock-key, which had fallen into a crack of the rock. at once she wound up tiktok's voice, taking care to give the key as many turns as it would go around. she found this quite a task, as you may imagine if you have ever tried to wind a clock, but the machine man's first words were to assure dorothy that he would now run for at least twenty-four hours. "you did not wind me much, at first," he calmly said, "and i told you that long sto-ry a-bout king ev-ol-do; so it is no won-der that i ran down." [illustration] she next rewound the action clock-work, and then billina advised her to carry the key to tiktok in her pocket, so it would not get lost again. "and now," said dorothy, when all this was accomplished, "tell me what you were going to say about the wheelers." "why, they are noth-ing to be fright-en'd at," said the machine. "they try to make folks be-lieve that they are ver-y ter-ri-ble, but as a mat-ter of fact the wheel-ers are harm-less e-nough to an-y one that dares to fight them. they might try to hurt a lit-tle girl like you, per-haps, be-cause they are ver-y mis-chiev-ous. but if i had a club they would run a-way as soon as they saw me." "haven't you a club?" asked dorothy. "no," said tiktok. "and you won't find such a thing among these rocks, either," declared the yellow hen. "then what shall we do?" asked the girl. "wind up my think-works tight-ly, and i will try to think of some oth-er plan," said tiktok. so dorothy rewound his thought machinery, and while he was thinking she decided to eat her dinner. billina was already pecking away at the cracks in the rocks, to find something to eat, so dorothy sat down and opened her tin dinner-pail. in the cover she found a small tank that was full of very nice lemonade. it was covered by a cup, which might also, when removed, be used to drink the lemonade from. within the pail were three slices of turkey, two slices of cold tongue, some lobster salad, four slices of bread and butter, a small custard pie, an orange and nine large strawberries, and some nuts and raisins. singularly enough, the nuts in this dinner-pail grew already cracked, so that dorothy had no trouble in picking out their meats to eat. she spread the feast upon the rock beside her and began her dinner, first offering some of it to tiktok, who declined because, as he said, he was merely a machine. afterward she offered to share with billina, but the hen murmured something about "dead things" and said she preferred her bugs and ants. "do the lunch-box trees and the dinner-pail trees belong to the wheelers?" the child asked tiktok, while engaged in eating her meal. "of course not," he answered. "they be-long to the roy-al fam-il-y of ev, on-ly of course there is no roy-al fam-il-y just now be-cause king ev-ol-do jumped in-to the sea and his wife and ten chil-dren have been trans-formed by the nome king. so there is no one to rule the land of ev, that i can think of. per-haps it is for this rea-son that the wheel-ers claim the trees for their own, and pick the lunch-eons and din-ners to eat them-selves. but they be-long to the king, and you will find the roy-al "e" stamped up-on the bot-tom of ev-er-y din-ner pail." dorothy turned the pail over, and at once discovered the royal mark upon it, as tiktok had said. "are the wheelers the only folks living in the land of ev?" enquired the girl. [illustration: dorothy opened her tin dinner-pail] "no; they on-ly in-hab-it a small por-tion of it just back of the woods," replied the machine. "but they have al-ways been mis-chiev-ous and im-per-ti-nent, and my old mas-ter, king ev-ol-do, used to car-ry a whip with him, when he walked out, to keep the crea-tures in or-der. when i was first made the wheel-ers tried to run o-ver me, and butt me with their heads; but they soon found i was built of too sol-id a ma-ter-i-al for them to in-jure." "you seem very durable," said dorothy. "who made you?" "the firm of smith & tin-ker, in the town of ev-na, where the roy-al pal-ace stands," answered tiktok. "did they make many of you?" asked the child. "no; i am the on-ly au-to-mat-ic me-chan-i-cal man they ev-er com-plet-ed," he replied. "they were ver-y won-der-ful in-ven-tors, were my mak-ers, and quite ar-tis-tic in all they did." "i am sure of that," said dorothy. "do they live in the town of evna now?" "they are both gone," replied the machine. "mr. smith was an art-ist, as well as an in-vent-or, and he paint-ed a pic-ture of a riv-er which was so nat-ur-al that, as he was reach-ing a-cross it to paint some flow-ers on the op-po-site bank, he fell in-to the wa-ter and was drowned." "oh, i'm sorry for that!" exclaimed the little girl. "mis-ter tin-ker," continued tiktok, "made a lad-der so tall that he could rest the end of it a-gainst the moon, while he stood on the high-est rung and picked the lit-tle stars to set in the points of the king's crown. but when he got to the moon mis-ter tin-ker found it such a love-ly place that he de-cid-ed to live there, so he pulled up the lad-der af-ter him and we have nev-er seen him since." "he must have been a great loss to this country," said dorothy, who was by this time eating her custard pie. "he was," acknowledged tiktok. "also he is a great loss to me. for if i should get out of or-der i do not know of an-y one a-ble to re-pair me, be-cause i am so com-pli-cat-ed. you have no i-de-a how full of ma-chin-er-y i am." "i can imagine it," said dorothy, readily. "and now," continued the machine, "i must stop talk-ing and be-gin think-ing a-gain of a way to es-cape from this rock." so he turned halfway around, in order to think without being disturbed. "the best thinker i ever knew," said dorothy to the yellow hen, "was a scarecrow." "nonsense!" snapped billina. "it is true," declared dorothy. "i met him in the land of oz, and he travelled with me to the city of the great wizard of oz, so as to get some brains, for his head was only stuffed with straw. but it seemed to me that he thought just as well before he got his brains as he did afterward." "do you expect me to believe all that rubbish about the land of oz?" enquired billina, who seemed a little cross--perhaps because bugs were scarce. "what rubbish?" asked the child, who was now finishing her nuts and raisins. "why, your impossible stories about animals that can talk, and a tin woodman who is alive, and a scarecrow who can think." "they are all there," said dorothy, "for i have seen them." "i don't believe it!" cried the hen, with a toss of her head. "that's 'cause you're so ign'rant," replied the girl, who was a little offended at her friend billina's speech. "in the land of oz," remarked tiktok, turning toward them, "an-y-thing is pos-si-ble. for it is a won-der-ful fair-y coun-try." "there, billina! what did i say?" cried dorothy. and then she turned to the machine and asked in an eager tone: "do you know the land of oz, tiktok?" [illustration: mister tinker visits the moon] "no; but i have heard a-bout it," said the copper man. "for it is on-ly sep-a-ra-ted from this land of ev by a broad des-ert." dorothy clapped her hands together delightedly. "i'm glad of that!" she exclaimed. "it makes me quite happy to be so near my old friends. the scarecrow i told you of, billina, is the king of the land of oz." "par-don me. he is not the king now," said tiktok. "he was when i left there," declared dorothy. "i know," said tiktok, "but there was a rev-o-lu-tion in the land of oz, and the scare-crow was de-posed by a sol-dier wo-man named gen-er-al jin-jur. and then jin-jur was de-posed by a lit-tle girl named oz-ma, who was the right-ful heir to the throne and now rules the land un-der the ti-tle of oz-ma of oz." "that is news to me," said dorothy, thoughtfully. "but i s'pose lots of things have happened since i left the land of oz. i wonder what has become of the scarecrow, and of the tin woodman, and the cowardly lion. and i wonder who this girl ozma is, for i never heard of her before." but tiktok did not reply to this. he had turned around again to resume his thinking. dorothy packed the rest of the food back into the pail, so as not to be wasteful of good things, and the yellow hen forgot her dignity far enough to pick up all of the scattered crumbs, which she ate rather greedily, although she had so lately pretended to despise the things that dorothy preferred as food. by this time tiktok approached them with his stiff bow. "be kind e-nough to fol-low me," he said, "and i will lead you a-way from here to the town of ev-na, where you will be more com-for-ta-ble, and also i will pro-tect you from the wheel-ers." "all right," answered dorothy, promptly. "i'm ready!" [illustration] the heads of langwidere [illustration] they walked slowly down the path between the rocks, tiktok going first, dorothy following him, and the yellow hen trotting along last of all. at the foot of the path the copper man leaned down and tossed aside with ease the rocks that cumbered the way. then he turned to dorothy and said: "let me car-ry your din-ner-pail." she placed it in his right hand at once, and the copper fingers closed firmly over the stout handle. then the little procession marched out upon the level sands. as soon as the three wheelers who were guarding the mound saw them, they began to shout their wild cries and rolled swiftly toward the little group, as if to capture them or bar their way. but when the foremost had approached near enough, tiktok swung the tin dinner-pail and struck the wheeler a sharp blow over its head with the queer weapon. perhaps it did not hurt very much, but it made a great noise, and the wheeler uttered a howl and tumbled over upon its side. the next minute it scrambled to its wheels and rolled away as fast as it could go, screeching with fear at the same time. "i told you they were harm-less," began tiktok; but before he could say more another wheeler was upon them. crack! went the dinner-pail against its head, knocking its straw hat a dozen feet away; and that was enough for this wheeler, also. it rolled away after the first one, and the third did not wait to be pounded with the pail, but joined its fellows as quickly as its wheels would whirl. the yellow hen gave a cackle of delight, and flying to a perch upon tiktok's shoulder, she said: "bravely done, my copper friend! and wisely thought of, too. now we are free from those ugly creatures." but just then a large band of wheelers rolled from the forest, and relying upon their numbers to conquer, they advanced fiercely upon tiktok. dorothy grabbed billina in her arms and held her tight, and the machine embraced the form of the little girl with his left arm, the better to protect her. then the wheelers were upon them. rattlety, bang! bang! went the dinner-pail in every direction, and it made so much clatter bumping against the heads of the wheelers that they were much more frightened than hurt and fled in a great panic. all, that is, except their leader. this wheeler had stumbled against another and fallen flat upon his back, and before he could get his wheels under him to rise again, tiktok had fastened his copper fingers into the neck of the gorgeous jacket of his foe and held him fast. "tell your peo-ple to go a-way," commanded the machine. the leader of the wheelers hesitated to give this order, so tiktok shook him as a terrier dog does a rat, until the wheeler's teeth rattled together with a noise like hailstones on a window pane. then, as soon as the creature could get its breath, it shouted to the others to roll away, which they immediately did. "now," said tiktok, "you shall come with us and tell me what i want to know." [illustration] "you'll be sorry for treating me in this way," whined the wheeler. "i'm a terribly fierce person." "as for that," answered tiktok, "i am only a ma-chine, and can-not feel sor-row or joy, no mat-ter what hap-pens. but you are wrong to think your-self ter-ri-ble or fierce." "why so?" asked the wheeler. "be-cause no one else thinks as you do. your wheels make you help-less to in-jure an-y one. for you have no fists and can not scratch or e-ven pull hair. nor have you an-y feet to kick with. all you can do is to yell and shout, and that does not hurt an-y one at all." the wheeler burst into a flood of tears, to dorothy's great surprise. "now i and my people are ruined forever!" he sobbed; "for you have discovered our secret. being so helpless, our only hope is to make people afraid of us, by pretending we are very fierce and terrible, and writing in the sand warnings to beware the wheelers. until now we have frightened everyone, but since you have discovered our weakness our enemies will fall upon us and make us very miserable and unhappy." "oh, no," exclaimed dorothy, who was sorry to see this beautifully dressed wheeler so miserable; "tiktok will keep your secret, and so will billina and i. only, you must promise not to try to frighten children any more, if they come near to you." "i won't--indeed i won't!" promised the wheeler, ceasing to cry and becoming more cheerful. "i'm not really bad, you know; but we have to pretend to be terrible in order to prevent others from attacking us." [illustration: on the way to the royal palace of ev] "that is not ex-act-ly true," said tiktok, starting to walk toward the path through the forest, and still holding fast to his prisoner, who rolled slowly along beside him. "you and your peo-ple are full of mis-chief, and like to both-er those who fear you. and you are of-ten im-pu-dent and dis-a-gree-a-ble, too. but if you will try to cure those faults i will not tell any-one how help-less you are." "i'll try, of course," replied the wheeler, eagerly. "and thank you, mr. tiktok, for your kindness." "i am on-ly a ma-chine," said tiktok. "i can not be kind an-y more than i can be sor-ry or glad. i can on-ly do what i am wound up to do." "are you wound up to keep my secret?" asked the wheeler, anxiously. "yes; if you be-have your-self. but tell me: who rules the land of ev now?" asked the machine. "there is no ruler," was the answer, "because every member of the royal family is imprisoned by the nome king. but the princess langwidere, who is a niece of our late king evoldo, lives in a part of the royal palace and takes as much money out of the royal treasury as she can spend. the princess langwidere is not exactly a ruler, you see, because she doesn't rule; but she is the nearest approach to a ruler we have at present." "i do not re-mem-ber her," said tiktok. "what does she look like?" "that i cannot say," replied the wheeler, "although i have seen her twenty times. for the princess langwidere is a different person every time i see her, and the only way her subjects can recognize her at all is by means of a beautiful ruby key which she always wears on a chain attached to her left wrist. when we see the key we know we are beholding the princess." "that is strange," said dorothy, in astonishment. "do you mean to say that so many different princesses are one and the same person?" "not exactly," answered the wheeler. "there is, of course, but one princess; but she appears to us in many forms, which are all more or less beautiful." "she must be a witch," exclaimed the girl. "i do not think so," declared the wheeler. "but there is some mystery connected with her, nevertheless. she is a very vain creature, and lives mostly in a room surrounded by mirrors, so that she can admire herself whichever way she looks." no one answered this speech, because they had just passed out of the forest and their attention was fixed upon the scene before them--a beautiful vale in which were many fruit trees and green fields, with pretty farm-houses scattered here and there and broad, smooth roads that led in every direction. in the center of this lovely vale, about a mile from where our friends were standing, rose the tall spires of the royal palace, which glittered brightly against their background of blue sky. the palace was surrounded by charming grounds, full of flowers and shrubbery. several tinkling fountains could be seen, and there were pleasant walks bordered by rows of white marble statuary. all these details dorothy was, of course, unable to notice or admire until they had advanced along the road to a position quite near to the palace, and she was still looking at the pretty sights when her little party entered the grounds and approached the big front door of the king's own apartments. to their disappointment they found the door tightly closed. a sign was tacked to the panel which read as follows: owner absent. please knock at the third door in the left wing. "now," said tiktok to the captive wheeler, "you must show us the way to the left wing." [illustration: a sign was tacked to the panel] "very well," agreed the prisoner, "it is around here at the right." "how can the left wing be at the right?" demanded dorothy, who feared the wheeler was fooling them. "because there used to be three wings, and two were torn down, so the one on the right is the only one left. it is a trick of the princess langwidere to prevent visitors from annoying her." then the captive led them around to the wing, after which the machine man, having no further use for the wheeler, permitted him to depart and rejoin his fellows. he immediately rolled away at a great pace and was soon lost to sight. tiktok now counted the doors in the wing and knocked loudly upon the third one. it was opened by a little maid in a cap trimmed with gay ribbons, who bowed respectfully and asked: "what do you wish, good people?" "are you the princess langwidere?" asked dorothy. "no, miss; i am her servant," replied the maid. "may i see the princess, please?" "i will tell her you are here, miss, and ask her to grant you an audience," said the maid. "step in, please, and take a seat in the drawing-room." [illustration] so dorothy walked in, followed closely by the machine. but as the yellow hen tried to enter after them, the little maid cried "shoo!" and flapped her apron in billina's face. "shoo, yourself!" retorted the hen, drawing back in anger and ruffling up her feathers. "haven't you any better manners than that?" "oh, do you talk?" enquired the maid, evidently surprised. "can't you hear me?" snapped billina. "drop that apron, and get out of the doorway, so that i may enter with my friends!" "the princess won't like it," said the maid, hesitating. "i don't care whether she likes it or not," replied billina, and fluttering her wings with a loud noise she flew straight at the maid's face. the little servant at once ducked her head, and the hen reached dorothy's side, in safety. "very well," sighed the maid; "if you are all ruined because of this obstinate hen, don't blame me for it. it isn't safe to annoy the princess langwidere." "tell her we are waiting, if you please," dorothy requested, with dignity. "billina is my friend, and must go wherever i go." without more words the maid led them to a richly furnished drawing-room, lighted with subdued rainbow tints that came in through beautiful stained-glass windows. "remain here," she said. "what names shall i give the princess?" "i am dorothy gale, of kansas," replied the child; "and this gentleman is a machine named tiktok, and the yellow hen is my friend billina." [illustration: "the princess wont like it," said the maid] the little servant bowed and withdrew, going through several passages and mounting two marble stairways before she came to the apartments occupied by her mistress. princess langwidere's sitting-room was panelled with great mirrors, which reached from the ceiling to the floor; also the ceiling was composed of mirrors, and the floor was of polished silver that reflected every object upon it. so when langwidere sat in her easy chair and played soft melodies upon her mandolin, her form was mirrored hundreds of times, in walls and ceiling and floor, and whichever way the lady turned her head she could see and admire her own features. this she loved to do, and just as the maid entered she was saying to herself: "this head with the auburn hair and hazel eyes is quite attractive. i must wear it more often than i have done of late, although it may not be the best of my collection." "you have company, your highness," announced the maid, bowing low. "who is it?" asked langwidere, yawning. "dorothy gale of kansas, mr. tiktok and billina," answered the maid. "what a queer lot of names!" murmured the princess, beginning to be a little interested. "what are they like? is dorothy gale of kansas pretty?" "she might be called so," the maid replied. "and is mr. tiktok attractive?" continued the princess. "that i cannot say, your highness. but he seems very bright. will your gracious highness see them?" "oh, i may as well, nanda. but i am tired admiring this head, and if my visitor has any claim to beauty i must take care that she does not surpass me. so i will go to my cabinet and change to no. 17, which i think is my best appearance. don't you?" "your no. 17 is exceedingly beautiful," answered nanda, with another bow. again the princess yawned. then she said: "help me to rise." so the maid assisted her to gain her feet, although langwidere was the stronger of the two; and then the princess slowly walked across the silver floor to her cabinet, leaning heavily at every step upon nanda's arm. now i must explain to you that the princess langwidere had thirty heads--as many as there are days in the month. but of course she could only wear one of them at a time, because she had but one neck. these heads were kept in what she called her "cabinet," which was a beautiful dressing-room that lay just between langwidere's sleeping-chamber and the mirrored sitting-room. each head was in a separate cupboard lined with velvet. the cupboards ran all around the sides of the dressing-room, and had elaborately carved doors with gold numbers on the outside and jewelled-framed mirrors on the inside of them. when the princess got out of her crystal bed in the morning she went to her cabinet, opened one of the velvet-lined cupboards, and took the head it contained from its golden shelf. then, by the aid of the mirror inside the open door, she put on the head--as neat and straight as could be--and afterward called her maids to robe her for the day. she always wore a simple white costume, that suited all the heads. for, being able to change her face whenever she liked, the princess had no interest in wearing a variety of gowns, as have other ladies who are compelled to wear the same face constantly. [illustration: by the aid of the mirror she put on the head] of course the thirty heads were in great variety, no two formed alike but all being of exceeding loveliness. there were heads with golden hair, brown hair, rich auburn hair and black hair; but none with gray hair. the heads had eyes of blue, of gray, of hazel, of brown and of black; but there were no red eyes among them, and all were bright and handsome. the noses were grecian, roman, retroussã© and oriental, representing all types of beauty; and the mouths were of assorted sizes and shapes, displaying pearly teeth when the heads smiled. as for dimples, they appeared in cheeks and chins, wherever they might be most charming, and one or two heads had freckles upon the faces to contrast the better with the brilliancy of their complexions. one key unlocked all the velvet cupboards containing these treasures--a curious key carved from a single blood-red ruby--and this was fastened to a strong but slender chain which the princess wore around her left wrist. when nanda had supported langwidere to a position in front of cupboard no. 17, the princess unlocked the door with her ruby key and after handing head no. 9, which she had been wearing, to the maid, she took no. 17 from its shelf and fitted it to her neck. it had black hair and dark eyes and a lovely pearl-and-white complexion, and when langwidere wore it she knew she was remarkably beautiful in appearance. there was only one trouble with no. 17; the temper that went with it (and which was hidden somewhere under the glossy black hair) was fiery, harsh and haughty in the extreme, and it often led the princess to do unpleasant things which she regretted when she came to wear her other heads. but she did not remember this today, and went to meet her guests in the drawing-room with a feeling of certainty that she would surprise them with her beauty. however, she was greatly disappointed to find that her visitors were merely a small girl in a gingham dress, a copper man that would only go when wound up, and a yellow hen that was sitting contentedly in langwidere's best work-basket, where there was a china egg used for darning stockings.[a] [footnote a: it may surprise you to learn that a princess ever does such a common thing as darn stockings. but, if you will stop to think, you will realize that a princess is sure to wear holes in her stockings, the same as other people; only it isn't considered quite polite to mention the matter.] "oh!" said langwidere, slightly lifting the nose of no. 17. "i thought some one of importance had called." "then you were right," declared dorothy. "i'm a good deal of 'portance myself, and when billina lays an egg she has the proudest cackle you ever heard. as for tiktok, he's the----" "stop--stop!" commanded the princess, with an angry flash of her splendid eyes. "how dare you annoy me with your senseless chatter?" "why, you horrid thing!" said dorothy, who was not accustomed to being treated so rudely. the princess looked at her more closely. "tell me," she resumed, "are you of royal blood?" "better than that, ma'am," said dorothy. "i came from kansas." "huh!" cried the princess, scornfully. "you are a foolish child, and i cannot allow you to annoy me. run away, you little goose, and bother some one else." dorothy was so indignant that for a moment she could find no words to reply. but she rose from her chair, and was about to leave the room when the princess, who had been scanning the girl's face, stopped her by saying, more gently: "come nearer to me." dorothy obeyed, without a thought of fear, and stood before the princess while langwidere examined her face with careful attention. "you are rather attractive," said the lady, presently. "not at all beautiful, you understand, but you have a certain style of prettiness that is different from that of any of my thirty heads. so i believe i'll take your head and give you no. 26 for it." "well, i b'lieve you won't!" exclaimed dorothy. [illustration: "well i b'lieve you wont!" exclaimed dorothy] "it will do you no good to refuse," continued the princess; "for i need your head for my collection, and in the land of ev my will is law. i never have cared much for no. 26, and you will find that it is very little worn. besides, it will do you just as well as the one you're wearing, for all practical purposes." "i don't know anything about your no. 26, and i don't want to," said dorothy, firmly. "i'm not used to taking cast-off things, so i'll just keep my own head." "you refuse?" cried the princess, with a frown. "of course i do," was the reply. "then," said langwidere, "i shall lock you up in a tower until you decide to obey me. nanda," turning to her maid, "call my army." nanda rang a silver bell, and at once a big fat colonel in a bright red uniform entered the room, followed by ten lean soldiers, who all looked sad and discouraged and saluted the princess in a very melancholy fashion. "carry that girl to the north tower and lock her up!" cried the princess, pointing to dorothy. "to hear is to obey," answered the big red colonel, and caught the child by her arm. but at that moment tiktok raised his dinner-pail and pounded it so forcibly against the colonel's head that the big officer sat down upon the floor with a sudden bump, looking both dazed and very much astonished. "help!" he shouted, and the ten lean soldiers sprang to assist their leader. there was great excitement for the next few moments, and tiktok had knocked down seven of the army, who were sprawling in every direction upon the carpet, when suddenly the machine paused, with the dinner-pail raised for another blow, and remained perfectly motionless. "my ac-tion has run down," he called to dorothy. "wind me up, quick." she tried to obey, but the big colonel had by this time managed to get upon his feet again, so he grabbed fast hold of the girl and she was helpless to escape. "this is too bad," said the machine. "i ought to have run six hours lon-ger, at least, but i sup-pose my long walk and my fight with the wheel-ers made me run down fast-er than us-u-al." "well, it can't be helped," said dorothy, with a sigh. "will you exchange heads with me?" demanded the princess. "no, indeed!" cried dorothy. "then lock her up," said langwidere to her soldiers, and they led dorothy to a high tower at the north of the palace and locked her securely within. the soldiers afterward tried to lift tiktok, but they found the machine so solid and heavy that they could not stir it. so they left him standing in the center of the drawing-room. "people will think i have a new statue," said langwidere, "so it won't matter in the least, and nanda can keep him well polished." "what shall we do with the hen?" asked the colonel, who had just discovered billina in the work-basket. "put her in the chicken-house," answered the princess. "some day i'll have her fried for breakfast." "she looks rather tough, your highness," said nanda, doubtfully. "that is a base slander!" cried billina, struggling frantically in the colonel's arms. "but the breed of chickens i come from is said to be poison to all princesses." "then," remarked langwidere, "i will not fry the hen, but keep her to lay eggs; and if she doesn't do her duty i'll have her drowned in the horse trough." [illustration] ozma of oz to the rescue [illustration] nanda brought dorothy bread and water for her supper and she slept upon a hard stone couch with a single pillow and a silken coverlet. in the morning she leaned out of the window of her prison in the tower to see if there was any way to escape. the room was not so very high up, when compared with our modern buildings, but it was far enough above the trees and farm houses to give her a good view of the surrounding country. to the east she saw the forest, with the sands beyond it and the ocean beyond that. there was even a dark speck upon the shore that she thought might be the chicken-coop in which she had arrived at this singular country. then she looked to the north, and saw a deep but narrow valley lying between two rocky mountains, and a third mountain that shut off the valley at the further end. westward the fertile land of ev suddenly ended a little way from the palace, and the girl could see miles and miles of sandy desert that stretched further than her eyes could reach. it was this desert, she thought, with much interest, that alone separated her from the wonderful land of oz, and she remembered sorrowfully that she had been told no one had ever been able to cross this dangerous waste but herself. once a cyclone had carried her across it, and a magical pair of silver shoes had carried her back again. but now she had neither a cyclone nor silver shoes to assist her, and her condition was sad indeed. for she had become the prisoner of a disagreeable princess who insisted that she must exchange her head for another one that she was not used to, and which might not fit her at all. really, there seemed no hope of help for her from her old friends in the land of oz. thoughtfully she gazed from her narrow window. on all the desert not a living thing was stirring. wait, though! something surely _was_ stirring on the desert--something her eyes had not observed at first. now it seemed like a cloud; now it seemed like a spot of silver; now it seemed to be a mass of rainbow colors that moved swiftly toward her. what _could_ it be, she wondered? then, gradually, but in a brief space of time nevertheless, the vision drew near enough to dorothy to make out what it was. a broad green carpet was unrolling itself upon the desert, while advancing across the carpet was a wonderful procession that made the girl open her eyes in amazement as she gazed. first came a magnificent golden chariot, drawn by a great lion and an immense tiger, who stood shoulder to shoulder and trotted along as gracefully as a well-matched team of thoroughbred horses. and standing upright within the chariot was a beautiful girl clothed in flowing robes of silver gauze and wearing a jeweled diadem upon her dainty head. she held in one hand the satin ribbons that guided her astonishing team, and in the other an ivory wand that separated at the top into two prongs, the prongs being tipped by the letters "o" and "z", made of glistening diamonds set closely together. the girl seemed neither older nor larger than dorothy herself, and at once the prisoner in the tower guessed, that the lovely driver of the chariot must be that ozma of oz of whom she had so lately heard from tiktok. following close behind the chariot dorothy saw her old friend the scarecrow, riding calmly astride a wooden saw-horse, which pranced and trotted as naturally as any meat horse could have done. and then came nick chopper, the tin woodman, with his funnel-shaped cap tipped carelessly over his left ear, his gleaming axe over his right shoulder, and his whole body sparkling as brightly as it had ever done in the old days when first she knew him. the tin woodman was on foot, marching at the head of a company of twenty-seven soldiers, of whom some were lean and some fat, some short and some tall; but all the twenty-seven were dressed in handsome uniforms of various designs and colors, no two being alike in any respect. behind the soldiers the green carpet rolled itself up again, so that there was always just enough of it for the procession to walk upon, in order that their feet might not come in contact with the deadly, life-destroying sands of the desert. [illustration: the magic carpet] dorothy knew at once it was a magic carpet she beheld, and her heart beat high with hope and joy as she realized she was soon to be rescued and allowed to greet her dearly beloved friends of oz--the scarecrow, the tin woodman and the cowardly lion. indeed, the girl felt herself as good as rescued as soon as she recognized those in the procession, for she well knew the courage and loyalty of her old comrades, and also believed that any others who came from their marvelous country would prove to be pleasant and reliable acquaintances. as soon as the last bit of desert was passed and all the procession, from the beautiful and dainty ozma to the last soldier, had reached the grassy meadows of the land of ev, the magic carpet rolled itself together and entirely disappeared. then the chariot driver turned her lion and tiger into a broad roadway leading up to the palace, and the others followed, while dorothy still gazed from her tower window in eager excitement. they came quite close to the front door of the palace and then halted, the scarecrow dismounting from his saw-horse to approach the sign fastened to the door, that he might read what it said. dorothy, just above him, could keep silent no longer. [illustration] "here i am!" she shouted, as loudly as she could. "here's dorothy!" "dorothy who?" asked the scarecrow, tipping his head to look upward until he nearly lost his balance and tumbled over backward. "dorothy gale, of course. your friend from kansas," she answered. "why, hello, dorothy!" said the scarecrow. "what in the world are you doing up there?" "nothing," she called down, "because there's nothing to do. save me, my friend--save me!" "you seem to be quite safe now," replied the scarecrow. "but i'm a prisoner. i'm locked in, so that i can't get out," she pleaded. "that's all right," said the scarecrow. "you might be worse off, little dorothy. just consider the matter. you can't get drowned, or be run over by a wheeler, or fall out of an apple-tree. some folks would think they were lucky to be up there." "well, i don't," declared the girl, "and i want to get down immed'i'tly and see you and the tin woodman and the cowardly lion." "very well," said the scarecrow, nodding. "it shall be just as you say, little friend. who locked you up?" "the princess langwidere, who is a horrid creature," she answered. at this ozma, who had been listening carefully to the conversation, called to dorothy from her chariot, asking: "why did the princess lock you up, my dear?" "because," exclaimed dorothy, "i wouldn't let her have my head for her collection, and take an old, cast-off head in exchange for it." [illustration: "save me, my friend--save me!"] "i do not blame you," exclaimed ozma, promptly. "i will see the princess at once, and oblige her to liberate you." "oh, thank you very, very much!" cried dorothy, who as soon as she heard the sweet voice of the girlish ruler of oz knew that she would soon learn to love her dearly. ozma now drove her chariot around to the third door of the wing, upon which the tin woodman boldly proceeded to knock. as soon as the maid opened the door ozma, bearing in her hand her ivory wand, stepped into the hall and made her way at once to the drawing-room, followed by all her company, except the lion, and the tiger. and the twenty-seven soldiers made such a noise and a clatter that the little maid nanda ran away screaming to her mistress, whereupon the princess langwidere, roused to great anger by this rude invasion of her palace, came running into the drawing room without any assistance whatever. there she stood before the slight and delicate form of the little girl from oz and cried out;-"how dare you enter my palace unbidden? leave this room at once, or i will bind you and all your people in chains, and throw you into my darkest dungeons!" [illustration] "what a dangerous lady!" murmured the scarecrow, in a soft voice. "she seems a little nervous," replied the tin woodman. but ozma only smiled at the angry princess. "sit down, please," she said, quietly. "i have traveled a long way to see you, and you must listen to what i have to say." "must!" screamed the princess, her black eyes flashing with fury--for she still wore her no. 17 head. "must, to _me_!" "to be sure," said ozma. "i am ruler of the land of oz, and i am powerful enough to destroy all your kingdom, if i so wish. yet i did not come here to do harm, but rather to free the royal family of ev from the thrall of the noma king, the news having reached me that he is holding the queen and her children prisoners." hearing these words, langwidere suddenly became quiet. "i wish you could, indeed, free my aunt and her ten royal children," said she, eagerly. "for if they were restored to their proper forms and station they could rule the kingdom of ev themselves, and that would save me a lot of worry and trouble. at present there are at least ten minutes every day that i must devote to affairs of state, and i would like to be able to spend my whole time in admiring my beautiful heads." "then we will presently discuss this matter," said ozma, "and try to find a way to liberate your aunt and cousins. but first you must liberate another prisoner--the little girl you have locked up in your tower." [illustration: "what a dangerous lady!" murmured the scarecrow] "of course," said langwidere, readily. "i had forgotten all about her. that was yesterday, you know, and a princess cannot be expected to remember today what she did yesterday. come with me, and i will release the prisoner at once." so ozma followed her, and they passed up the stairs that led to the room in the tower. while they were gone ozma's followers remained in the drawing-room, and the scarecrow was leaning against a form that he had mistaken for a copper statue when a harsh, metallic voice said suddenly in his ear: "get off my foot, please. you are scratch-ing my pol-ish." "oh, excuse me!" he replied, hastily drawing back. "are you alive?" "no," said tiktok, "i am on-ly a ma-chine. but i can think and speak and act, when i am pro-per-ly wound up. just now my ac-tion is run down, and dor-o-thy has the key to it." "that's all right," replied the scarecrow. "dorothy will soon be free, and then she'll attend to your works. but it must be a great misfortune not to be alive. i'm sorry for you." "why?" asked tiktok. "because you have no brains, as i have," said the scarecrow. "oh, yes, i have," returned tiktok. "i am fit-ted with smith & tin-ker's improved com-bi-na-tion steel brains. they are what make me think. what sort of brains are you fit-ted with?" "i don't know," admitted the scarecrow. "they were given to me by the great wizard of oz, and i didn't get a chance to examine them before he put them in. but they work splendidly and my conscience is very active. have you a conscience?" "no," said tiktok. "and no heart, i suppose?" added the tin woodman, who had been listening with interest to this conversation. "no," said tiktok. "then," continued the tin woodman, "i regret to say that you are greatly inferior to my friend the scarecrow, and to myself. for we are both alive, and he has brains which do not need to be wound up, while i have an excellent heart that is continually beating in my bosom." "i con-grat-u-late you," replied tiktok. "i can-not help be-ing your in-fer-i-or for i am a mere ma-chine. when i am wound up i do my du-ty by go-ing just as my ma-chin-er-y is made to go. you have no i-de-a how full of ma-chin-er-y i am." "i can guess," said the scarecrow, looking at the machine man curiously. "some day i'd like to take you apart and see just how you are made." "do not do that, i beg of you," said tiktok; "for you could not put me to-geth-er a-gain, and my use-ful-ness would be de-stroyed." "oh! are you useful?" asked the scarecrow, surprised. "ve-ry," said tiktok. "in that case," the scarecrow kindly promised, "i won't fool with your interior at all. for i am a poor mechanic, and might mix you up." "thank you," said tiktok. just then ozma re-entered the room, leading dorothy by the hand and followed closely by the princess langwidere. [illustration] the hungry tiger [illustration] the first thing dorothy did was to rush into the embrace of the scarecrow, whose painted face beamed with delight as he pressed her form to his straw-padded bosom. then the tin woodman embraced her--very gently, for he knew his tin arms might hurt her if he squeezed too roughly. these greetings having been exchanged, dorothy took the key to tiktok from her pocket and wound up the machine man's action, so that he could bow properly when introduced to the rest of the company. while doing this she told them now useful tiktok had been to her, and both the scarecrow and the tin woodman shook hands with the machine once more and thanked him for protecting their friend. then dorothy asked: "where is billina?" "i don't know," said the scarecrow. "who is billina?" "she's a yellow hen who is another friend of mine," answered the girl, anxiously. "i wonder what has become of her?" "she is in the chicken house, in the back yard," said the princess. "my drawing-room is no place for hens." without waiting to hear more dorothy ran to get billina, and just outside the door she came upon the cowardly lion, still hitched to the chariot beside the great tiger. the cowardly lion had a big bow of blue ribbon fastened to the long hair between his ears, and the tiger wore a bow of red ribbon on his tail, just in front of the bushy end. in an instant dorothy was hugging the huge lion joyfully. "i'm _so_ glad to see you again!" she cried. "i am also glad to see you, dorothy," said the lion. "we've had some fine adventures together, haven't we?" "yes, indeed," she replied. "how are you?" "as cowardly as ever," the beast answered in a meek voice. "every little thing scares me and makes my heart beat fast. but let me introduce to you a new friend of mine, the hungry tiger." [illustration] "oh! are you hungry?" she asked, turning to the other beast, who was just then yawning so widely that he displayed two rows of terrible teeth and a mouth big enough to startle anyone. "dreadfully hungry," answered the tiger, snapping his jaws together with a fierce click. "then why don't you eat something?" she asked. "it's no use," said the tiger sadly. "i've tried that, but i always get hungry again." "why, it is the same with me," said dorothy. "yet i keep on eating." "but you eat harmless things, so it doesn't matter," replied the tiger. "for my part, i'm a savage beast, and have an appetite for all sorts of poor little living creatures, from a chipmonk to fat babies. "how dreadful!" said dorothy. "isn't it, though?" returned the hungry tiger, licking his lips with his long red tongue. "fat babies! don't they sound delicious? but i've never eaten any, because my conscience tells me it is wrong. if i had no conscience i would probably eat the babies and then get hungry again, which would mean that i had sacrificed the poor babies for nothing. no; hungry i was born, and hungry i shall die. but i'll not have any cruel deeds on my conscience to be sorry for." "i think you are a very good tiger," said dorothy, patting the huge head of the beast. "in that you are mistaken," was the reply. "i am a good beast, perhaps, but a disgracefully bad tiger. for it is the nature of tigers to be cruel and ferocious, and in refusing to eat harmless living creatures i am acting as no good tiger has ever before acted. that is why i left the forest and joined my friend the cowardly lion." [illustration: the hungry tiger] "but the lion is not really cowardly," said dorothy. "i have seen him act as bravely as can be." "all a mistake, my dear," protested the lion gravely. "to others i may have seemed brave, at times, but i have never been in any danger that i was not afraid." "nor i," said dorothy, truthfully. "but i must go and set free billina, and then i will see you again." she ran around to the back yard of the palace and soon found the chicken house, being guided to it by a loud cackling and crowing and a distracting hubbub of sounds such as chickens make when they are excited. something seemed to be wrong in the chicken house, and when dorothy looked through the slats in the door she saw a group of hens and roosters huddled in one corner and watching what appeared to be a whirling ball of feathers. it bounded here and there about the chicken house, and at first dorothy could not tell what it was, while the screeching of the chickens nearly deafened her. but suddenly the bunch of feathers stopped whirling, and then, to her amazement, the girl saw billina crouching upon the prostrate form of a speckled rooster. for an instant they both remained motionless, and then the yellow hen shook her wings to settle the feathers and walked toward the door with a strut of proud defiance and a cluck of victory, while the speckled rooster limped away to the group of other chickens, trailing his crumpled plumage in the dust as he went. "why, billina!" cried dorothy, in a shocked voice; "have you been fighting?" "i really think i have," retorted billina. "do you think i'd let that speckled villain of a rooster lord it over _me_, and claim to run this chicken house, as long as i'm able to peck and scratch? not if my name is bill!" "it isn't bill, it's billina; and you're talking slang, which is very undig'n'fied," said dorothy, reprovingly. "come here, billina, and i'll let you out; for ozma of oz is here, and has set us free." so the yellow hen came to the door, which dorothy unlatched for her to pass through, and the other chickens silently watched them from their corner without offering to approach nearer. the girl lifted her friend in her arms and exclaimed: "oh, billina! how dreadful you look. you've lost a lot of feathers, and one of your eyes is nearly pecked out, and your comb is bleeding!" "that's nothing," said billina. "just look at the speckled rooster! didn't i do him up brown?" dorothy shook her head. "i don't 'prove of this, at all," she said, carrying billina away toward the palace. "it isn't a good thing for you to 'sociate with those common chickens. they would soon spoil your good manners, and you wouldn't be respec'able any more." "i didn't ask to associate with them," replied billina. "it is that cross old princess who is to blame. but i was raised in the united states, and i won't allow any one-horse chicken of the land of ev to run over me and put on airs, as long as i can lift a claw in self-defense." "very well, billina," said dorothy. "we won't talk about it any more." soon they came to the cowardly lion and the hungry tiger to whom the girl introduced the yellow hen. "glad to meet any friend of dorothy's," said the lion, politely. "to judge by your present appearance, you are not a coward, as i am." [illustration: "why, billina!" cried dorothy; "have you been fighting?"] "your present appearance makes my mouth water," said the tiger, looking at billina greedily. "my, my! how good you would taste if i could only crunch you between my jaws. but don't worry. you would only appease my appetite for a moment; so it isn't worth while to eat you." "thank you," said the hen, nestling closer in dorothy's arms. "besides, it wouldn't be right," continued the tiger, looking steadily at billina and clicking his jaws together. "of course not," cried dorothy, hastily. "billina is my friend, and you mustn't ever eat her under any circ'mstances." "i'll try to remember that," said the tiger; "but i'm a little absent-minded, at times." then dorothy carried her pet into the drawing-room of the palace, where tiktok, being invited to do so by ozma, had seated himself between the scarecrow and the tin woodman. opposite to them sat ozma herself and the princess langwidere, and beside them there was a vacant chair for dorothy. around this important group was ranged the army of oz, and as dorothy looked at the handsome uniforms of the twenty-seven she said: "why, they seem to be all officers." "they are, all except one," answered the tin woodman. "i have in my army eight generals, six colonels, seven majors and five captains, besides one private for them to command. i'd like to promote the private, for i believe no private should ever be in public life; and i've also noticed that officers usually fight better and are more reliable than common soldiers. besides, the officers are more important looking, and lend dignity to our army." "no doubt you are right," said dorothy, seating herself beside ozma. "and now," announced the girlish ruler of oz, "we will hold a solemn conference to decide the best manner of liberating the royal family of this fair land of ev from their long imprisonment." [illustration] the royal family of ev [illustration] the tin woodman was the first to address the meeting. "to begin with," said he, "word came to our noble and illustrous ruler, ozma of oz, that the wife and ten children--five boys and five girls--of the former king of ev, by name evoldo, have been enslaved by the nome king and are held prisoners in his underground palace. also that there was no one in ev powerful enough to release them. naturally our ozma wished to undertake the adventure of liberating the poor prisoners; but for a long time she could find no way to cross the great desert between the two countries. finally she went to a friendly sorceress of our land named glinda the good, who heard the story and at once presented ozma a magic carpet, which would continually unroll beneath our feet and so make a comfortable path for us to cross the desert. as soon as she had received the carpet our gracious ruler ordered me to assemble our army, which i did. you behold in these bold warriors the pick of all the finest soldiers of oz; and, if we are obliged to fight the nome king, every officer as well as the private, will battle fiercely unto death." then tiktok spoke. "why should you fight the nome king?" he asked. "he has done no wrong." "no wrong!" cried dorothy. "isn't it wrong to imprison a queen mother and her ten children?" "they were sold to the nome king by king ev-ol-do," replied tiktok. "it was the king of ev who did wrong, and when he re-al-ized what he had done he jumped in-to the sea and drowned him-self." "this is news to me," said ozma, thoughtfully. "i had supposed the nome king was all to blame in the matter. but, in any case, he must be made to liberate the prisoners." "my uncle evoldo was a very wicked man," declared the princess langwidere. "if he had drowned himself before he sold his family, no one would have cared. but he sold them to the powerful nome king in exchange for a long life, and afterward destroyed the life by jumping into the sea." "then," said ozma, "he did not get the long life, and the nome king must give up the prisoners. where are they confined?" "no one knows, exactly," replied the princess. "for the king, whose name is roquat of the rocks, owns a splendid palace underneath the great mountain which is at the north end of this kingdom, and he has transformed the queen and her children into ornaments and bric-a-brac with which to decorate his rooms." "i'd like to know," said dorothy, "who this nome king is?" "i will tell you," replied ozma. "he is said to be the ruler of the underground world, and commands the rocks and all that the rocks contain. under his rule are many thousands of the nomes, who are queerly shaped but powerful sprites that labor at the furnaces and forges of their king, making gold and silver and other metals which they conceal in the crevices of the rocks, so that those living upon the earth's surface can only find them with great difficulty. also they make diamonds and rubies and emeralds, which they hide in the ground; so that the kingdom of the nomes is wonderfully rich, and all we have of precious stones and silver and gold is what we take from the earth and rocks where the nome king has hidden them." "i understand," said dorothy, nodding her little head wisely. "for the reason that we often steal his treasures," continued ozma, "the ruler of the underground world is not fond of those who live upon the earth's surface, and never appears among us. if we wish to see king roquat of the rocks, we must visit his own country, where he is all powerful, and therefore it will be a dangerous undertaking." "but, for the sake of the poor prisoners," said dorothy, "we ought to do it." "we shall do it," replied the scarecrow, "although it requires a lot of courage for me to go near to the furnaces of the nome king. for i am only stuffed with straw, and a single spark of fire might destroy me entirely." "the furnaces may also melt my tin," said the tin woodman; "but i am going." "i can't bear heat," remarked the princess langwidere, yawning lazily, "so i shall stay at home. but i wish you may have success in your undertaking, for i am heartily tired of ruling this stupid kingdom, and i need more leisure in which to admire my beautiful heads." "we do not need you," said ozma. "for, if with the aid of my brave followers i cannot accomplish my purpose, then it would be useless for you to undertake the journey." "quite true," sighed the princess. "so, if you'll excuse me, i will now retire to my cabinet. i've worn this head quite awhile, and i want to change it for another." when she had left them (and you may be sure no one was sorry to see her go) ozma said to tiktok: "will you join our party?" "i am the slave of the girl dor-oth-y, who res-cued me from pris-on," replied the machine. "where she goes i will go." "oh, i am going with my friends, of course," said dorothy, quickly. "i wouldn't miss the fun for anything. will you go, too, billina?" "to be sure," said billina in a careless tone. she was smoothing down the feathers of her back and not paying much attention. [illustration: "i can't bear heat," remarked langwidere] "heat is just in her line," remarked the scarecrow. "if she is nicely roasted, she will be better than ever." "then," said ozma, "we will arrange to start for the kingdom of the nomes at daybreak tomorrow. and, in the meantime, we will rest and prepare ourselves for the journey." although princess langwidere did not again appear to her guests, the palace servants waited upon the strangers from oz and did everything in their power to make the party comfortable. there were many vacant rooms at their disposal, and the brave army of twenty-seven was easily provided for and liberally feasted. the cowardly lion and the hungry tiger were unharnessed from the chariot and allowed to roam at will throughout the palace, where they nearly frightened the servants into fits, although they did no harm at all. at one time dorothy found the little maid nanda crouching in terror in a corner, with the hungry tiger standing before her. "you certainly look delicious," the beast was saying. "will you kindly give me permission to eat you?" "no, no, no!" cried the maid in reply. "then," said the tiger, yawning frightfully, "please to get me about thirty pounds of tenderloin steak, cooked rare, with a peck of boiled potatoes on the side, and five gallons of ice-cream for dessert." "i--i'll do the best i can!" said nanda, and she ran away as fast as she could go. "are you so very hungry?" asked dorothy, in wonder. "you can hardly imagine the size of my appetite," replied the tiger, sadly. "it seems to fill my whole body, from the end of my throat to the tip of my tail. i am very sure the appetite doesn't fit me, and is too large for the size of my body. some day, when i meet a dentist with a pair of forceps, i'm going to have it pulled." "what, your tooth?" asked dorothy. "no, my appetite," said the hungry tiger. [illustration: dorothy related to them her own adventures] the little girl spent most of the afternoon talking with the scarecrow and the tin woodman, who related to her all that had taken place in the land of oz since dorothy had left it. she was much interested in the story of ozma, who had been, when a baby, stolen by a wicked old witch and transformed into a boy. she did not know that she had ever been a girl until she was restored to her natural form by a kind sorceress. then it was found that she was the only child of the former ruler of oz, and was entitled to rule in his place. ozma had many adventures, however, before she regained her father's throne, and in these she was accompanied by a pumpkin-headed man, a highly magnified and thoroughly educated woggle-bug, and a wonderful sawhorse that had been brought to life by means of a magic powder. the scarecrow and the tin woodman had also assisted her; but the cowardly lion, who ruled the great forest as the king of beasts, knew nothing of ozma until after she became the reigning princess of oz. then he journeyed to the emerald city to see her, and on hearing she was about to visit the land of ev to set free the royal family of that country, the cowardly lion begged to go with her, and brought along his friend, the hungry tiger, as well. having heard this story, dorothy related to them her own adventures, and then went out with her friends to find the sawhorse, which ozma had caused to be shod with plates of gold, so that its legs would not wear out. they came upon the sawhorse standing motionless beside the garden gate, but when dorothy was introduced to him he bowed politely and blinked his eyes, which were knots of wood, and wagged his tail, which was only the branch of a tree. "what a remarkable thing, to be alive!" exclaimed dorothy. "i quite agree with you," replied the sawhorse, in a rough but not unpleasant voice. "a creature like me has no business to live, as we all know. but it was the magic powder that did it, so i cannot justly be blamed." [illustration] "of course not," said dorothy. "and you seem to be of some use, 'cause i noticed the scarecrow riding upon your back." "oh, yes; i'm of use," returned the sawhorse; "and i never tire, never have to be fed, or cared for in any way." "are you intel'gent?" asked the girl. "not very," said the creature. "it would be foolish to waste intelligence on a common sawhorse, when so many professors need it. but i know enough to obey my masters, and to gid-dup, or whoa, when i'm told to. so i'm pretty well satisfied." that night dorothy slept in a pleasant little bedchamber next to that occupied by ozma of oz, and billina perched upon the foot of the bed and tucked her head under her wing and slept as soundly in that position as did dorothy upon her soft cushions. but before daybreak every one was awake and stirring, and soon the adventurers were eating a hasty breakfast in the great dining-room of the palace. ozma sat at the head of a long table, on a raised platform, with dorothy on her right hand and the scarecrow on her left. the scarecrow did not eat, of course; but ozma placed him near her so that she might ask his advice about the journey while she ate. lower down the table were the twenty-seven warriors of oz, and at the end of the room the lion and the tiger were eating out of a kettle that had been placed upon the floor, while billina fluttered around to pick up any scraps that might be scattered. it did not take long to finish the meal, and then the lion and the tiger were harnessed to the chariot and the party was ready to start for the nome king's palace. first rode ozma, with dorothy beside her in the golden chariot and holding billina fast in her arms. then came the scarecrow on the sawhorse, with the tin woodman and tiktok marching side by side just behind him. after these tramped the army, looking brave and handsome in their splendid uniforms. the generals commanded the colonels and the colonels commanded the majors and the majors commanded the captains and the captains commanded the private, who marched with an air of proud importance because it required so many officers to give him his orders. and so the magnificent procession left the palace and started along the road just as day was breaking, and by the time the sun came out they had made good progress toward the valley that led to the nome king's domain. the giant with the hammer [illustration] the road led for a time through a pretty farm country, and then past a picnic grove that was very inviting. but the procession continued to steadily advance until billina cried in an abrupt and commanding manner: "wait--wait!" ozma stopped her chariot so suddenly that the scarecrow's sawhorse nearly ran into it, and the ranks of the army tumbled over one another before they could come to a halt. immediately the yellow hen struggled from dorothy's arms and flew into a clump of bushes by the roadside. "what's the matter?" called the tin woodman, anxiously. "why, billina wants to lay her egg, that's all," said dorothy. "lay her egg!" repeated the tin woodman, in astonishment. "yes; she lays one every morning, about this time; and it's quite fresh," said the girl. "but does your foolish old hen suppose that this entire cavalcade, which is bound on an important adventure, is going to stand still while she lays her egg?" enquired the tin woodman, earnestly. "what else can we do?" asked the girl. "it's a habit of billina's and she can't break herself of it." "then she must hurry up," said the tin woodman, impatiently. "no, no!" exclaimed the scarecrow. "if she hurries she may lay scrambled eggs." "that's nonsense," said dorothy. "but billina won't be long, i'm sure." so they stood and waited, although all were restless and anxious to proceed. and by and by the yellow hen came from the bushes saying: "kut-kut, kut, ka-daw-kutt!" kut, kut, kut--ka-daw-kut!" "what is she doing--singing her lay?" asked the scarecrow. "for-ward--march!" shouted the tin woodman, waving his axe, and the procession started just as dorothy had once more grabbed billina in her arms. [illustration] "isn't anyone going to get my egg?" cried the hen, in great excitement. "i'll get it," said the scarecrow; and at his command the sawhorse pranced into the bushes. the straw man soon found the egg, which he placed in his jacket pocket. the cavalcade, having moved rapidly on, was even then far in advance; but it did not take the sawhorse long to catch up with it, and presently the scarecrow was riding in his accustomed place behind ozma's chariot. "what shall i do with the egg?" he asked dorothy. "i do not know," the girl answered. "perhaps the hungry tiger would like it." [illustration] "it would not be enough to fill one of my back teeth," remarked the tiger. "a bushel of them, hard boiled, might take a little of the edge off my appetite; but one egg isn't good for anything at all, that i know of." "no; it wouldn't even make a sponge cake," said the scarecrow, thoughtfully. "the tin woodman might carry it with his axe and hatch it; but after all i may as well keep it myself for a souvenir." so he left it in his pocket. [illustration] they had now reached that part of the valley that lay between the two high mountains which dorothy had seen from her tower window. at the far end was the third great mountain, which blocked the valley and was the northern edge of the land of ev. it was underneath this mountain that the nome king's palace was said to be; but it would be some time before they reached that place. the path was becoming rocky and difficult for the wheels of the chariot to pass over, and presently a deep gulf appeared at their feet which was too wide for them to leap. so ozma took a small square of green cloth from her pocket and threw it upon the ground. at once it became the magic carpet, and unrolled itself far enough for all the cavalcade to walk upon. the chariot now advanced, and the green carpet unrolled before it, crossing the gulf on a level with its banks, so that all passed over in safety. "that's easy enough," said the scarecrow. "i wonder what will happen next." he was not long in making the discovery, for the sides of the mountain came closer together until finally there was but a narrow path between them, along which ozma and her party were forced to pass in single file. they now heard a low and deep "thump!----thump!----thump!" which echoed throughout the valley and seemed to grow louder as they advanced. then, turning a corner of rock, they saw before them a huge form, which towered above the path for more than a hundred feet. the form was that of a gigantic man built out of plates of cast iron, and it stood with one foot on either side of the narrow road and swung over its right shoulder an immense iron mallet, with which it constantly pounded the earth. these resounding blows explained the thumping sounds they had heard, for the mallet was much bigger than a barrel, and where it struck the path between the rocky sides of the mountain it filled all the space through which our travelers would be obliged to pass. of course they at once halted, a safe distance away from the terrible iron mallet. the magic carpet would do them no good in this case, for it was only meant to protect them from any dangers upon the ground beneath their feet, and not from dangers that appeared in the air above them. "wow!" said the cowardly lion, with a shudder. "it makes me dreadfully nervous to see that big hammer pounding so near my head. one blow would crush me into a door-mat." "the ir-on gi-ant is a fine fel-low," said tiktok, "and works as stead-i-ly as a clock. he was made for the nome king by smith & tin-ker, who made me, and his du-ty is to keep folks from find-ing the un-der-ground pal-ace. is he not a great work of art?" "can he think, and speak, as you do?" asked ozma, regarding the giant with wondering eyes. "no," replied the machine; "he is on-ly made to pound the road, and has no think-ing or speak-ing at-tach-ment. but he pounds ve-ry well, i think." "too well," observed the scarecrow. "he is keeping us from going farther. is there no way to stop his machinery?" "on-ly the nome king, who has the key, can do that," answered tiktok. "then," said dorothy, anxiously, "what shall we do?" "excuse me for a few minutes," said the scarecrow, "and i will think it over." he retired, then, to a position in the rear, where he turned his painted face to the rocks and began to think. meantime the giant continued to raise his iron mallet high in the air and to strike the path terrific blows that echoed through the mountains like the roar of a cannon. each time the mallet lifted, however, there was a moment when the path beneath the monster was free, and perhaps the scarecrow had noticed this, for when he came back to the others he said: "the matter is a very simple one, after all. we have but to run under the hammer, one at a time, when it is lifted, and pass to the other side before it falls again." [illustration: the tiger went next] "it will require quick work, if we escape the blow," said the tin woodman, with a shake of his head. "but it really seems the only thing to be done. who will make the first attempt?" they looked at one another hesitatingly for a moment. then the cowardly lion, who was trembling like a leaf in the wind, said to them: "i suppose the head of the procession must go first--and that's me. but i'm terribly afraid of the big hammer!" "what will become of me?" asked ozma. "you might rush under the hammer yourself, but the chariot would surely be crushed." "we must leave the chariot," said the scarecrow. "but you two girls can ride upon the backs of the lion and the tiger." so this was decided upon, and ozma, as soon as the lion was unfastened from the chariot, at once mounted the beast's back and said she was ready. "cling fast to his mane," advised dorothy. "i used to ride him myself, and that's the way i held on." so ozma clung fast to the mane, and the lion crouched in the path and eyed the swinging mallet carefully until he knew just the instant it would begin to rise in the air. then, before anyone thought he was ready, he made a sudden leap straight between the iron giant's legs, and before the mallet struck the ground again the lion and ozma were safe on the other side. the tiger went next. dorothy sat upon his back and locked her arms around his striped neck, for he had no mane to cling to. he made the leap straight and true as an arrow from a bow, and ere dorothy realized it she was out of danger and standing by ozma's side. now came the scarecrow on the sawhorse, and while they made the dash in safety they were within a hair's breadth of being caught by the descending hammer. tiktok walked up to the very edge of the spot the hammer struck, and as it was raised for the next blow he calmly stepped forward and escaped its descent. that was an idea for the tin woodman to follow, and he also crossed in safety while the great hammer was in the air. but when it came to the twenty-six officers and the private, their knees were so weak that they could not walk a step. "in battle we are wonderfully courageous," said one of the generals, "and our foes find us very terrible to face. but war is one thing and this is another. when it comes to being pounded upon the head by an iron hammer, and smashed into pancakes, we naturally object." "make a run for it," urged the scarecrow. "our knees shake so that we cannot run," answered a captain. "if we should try it we would all certainly be pounded to a jelly." "well, well!" sighed the cowardly lion, "i see, friend tiger, that we must place ourselves in great danger to rescue this bold army. come with me, and we will do the best we can." so, ozma and dorothy having already dismounted from their backs, the lion and the tiger leaped back again under the awful hammer and returned with two generals clinging to their necks. they repeated this daring passage twelve times, when all the officers had been carried beneath the giant's legs and landed safely on the further side. by that time the beasts were very tired, and panted so hard that their tongues hung out of their great mouths. "but what is to become of the private?" asked ozma. "oh, leave him there to guard the chariot," said the lion. "i'm tired out, and won't pass under that mallet again." [illustration: the wooden horse was careless] the officers at once protested that they must have the private with them, else there would be no one for them to command. but neither the lion or the tiger would go after him, and so the scarecrow sent the sawhorse. either the wooden horse was careless, or it failed to properly time the descent of the hammer, for the mighty weapon caught it squarely upon its head, and thumped it against the ground so powerfully that the private flew off its back high into the air, and landed upon one of the giant's cast-iron arms. here he clung desperately while the arm rose and fell with each one of the rapid strokes. the scarecrow dashed in to rescue his sawhorse, and had his left foot smashed by the hammer before he could pull the creature out of danger. they then found that the sawhorse had been badly dazed by the blow; for while the hard wooden knot of which his head was formed could not be crushed by the hammer, both his ears were broken off and he would be unable to hear a sound until some new ones were made for him. also his left knee was cracked, and had to be bound up with a string. billina having fluttered under the hammer, it now remained only to rescue the private who was riding upon the iron giant's arm, high in the air. the scarecrow lay flat upon the ground and called to the man to jump down upon his body, which was soft because it was stuffed with straw. this the private managed to do, waiting until a time when he was nearest the ground and then letting himself drop upon the scarecrow. he accomplished the feat without breaking any bones, and the scarecrow declared he was not injured in the least. therefore, the tin woodman having by this time fitted new ears to the sawhorse, the entire party proceeded upon its way, leaving the giant to pound the path behind them. [illustration] the nome king [illustration] by and by, when they drew near to the mountain that blocked their path and which was the furthermost edge of the kingdom of ev, the way grew dark and gloomy for the reason that the high peaks on either side shut out the sunshine. and it was very silent, too, as there were no birds to sing or squirrels to chatter, the trees being left far behind them and only the bare rocks remaining. ozma and dorothy were a little awed by the silence, and all the others were quiet and grave except the sawhorse, which, as it trotted along with the scarecrow upon his back, hummed a queer song, of which this was the chorus: "would a wooden horse in a woodland go? aye, aye! i sigh, he would, although had he not had a wooden head he'd mount the mountain top instead." but no one paid any attention to this because they were now close to the nome king's dominions, and his splendid underground palace could not be very far away. suddenly they heard a shout of jeering laughter, and stopped short. they would have to stop in a minute, anyway, for the huge mountain barred their further progress and the path ran close up to a wall of rock and ended. "who was that laughing?" asked ozma. there was no reply, but in the gloom they could see strange forms flit across the face of the rock. whatever the creations might be they seemed very like the rock itself, for they were the color of rocks and their shapes were as rough and rugged as if they had been broken away from the side of the mountain. they kept close to the steep cliff facing our friends, and glided up and down, and this way and that, with a lack of regularity that was quite confusing. and they seemed not to need places to rest their feet, but clung to the surface of the rock as a fly does to a window-pane, and were never still for a moment. "do not mind them," said tiktok, as dorothy shrank back. "they are on-ly the nomes." "and what are nomes?" asked the girl, half frightened. "they are rock fair-ies, and serve the nome king," replied the machine. "but they will do us no harm. you must call for the king, be-cause with-out him you can ne-ver find the en-trance to the pal-ace." "_you_ call," said dorothy to ozma. just then the nomes laughed again, and the sound was so weird and disheartening that the twenty-six officers commanded the private to "right-about-face!" and they all started to run as fast as they could. the tin woodman at once pursued his army and cried "halt!" and when they had stopped their flight he asked: "where are you going?" "i--i find i've forgotten the brush for my whiskers," said a general, trembling with fear. "s-s-so we are g-going back after it!" "that is impossible," replied the tin woodman. "for the giant with the hammer would kill you all if you tried to pass him." "oh! i'd forgotten the giant," said the general, turning pale. "you seem to forget a good many things," remarked the tin woodman. "i hope you won't forget that you are brave men." "never!" cried the general, slapping his gold-embroidered chest. "never!" cried all the other officers, indignantly slapping their chests. "for my part," said the private, meekly, "i must obey my officers; so when i am told to run, i run; and when i am told to fight, i fight." "that is right," agreed the tin woodman. "and now you must all come back to ozma, and obey _her_ orders. and if you try to run away again i will have her reduce all the twenty-six officers to privates, and make the private your general." this terrible threat so frightened them that they at once returned to where ozma was standing beside the cowardly lion. then ozma cried out in a loud voice: "i demand that the nome king appear to us!" there was no reply, except that the shifting nomes upon the mountain laughed in derision. "you must not command the nome king," said tiktok, "for you do not rule him, as you do your own peo-ple." [illustration: only the mocking laughter replied to her] so ozma called again, saying: "i request the nome king to appear to us." only the mocking laughter replied to her, and the shadowy nomes continued to flit here and there upon the rocky cliff. "try en-treat-y," said tiktok to ozma. "if he will not come at your re-quest, then the nome king may list-en to your plead-ing." ozma looked around her proudly. "do you wish your ruler to plead with this wicked nome king?" she asked. "shall ozma of oz humble herself to a creature who lives in an underground kingdom?" "no!" they all shouted, with big voices; and the scarecrow added: "if he will not come, we will dig him out of his hole, like a fox, and conquer his stubbornness. but our sweet little ruler must always maintain her dignity, just as i maintain mine." "i'm not afraid to plead with him," said dorothy. "i'm only a little girl from kansas, and we've got more dignity at home than we know what to do with. _i'll_ call the nome king." "do," said the hungry tiger; "and if he makes hash of you i'll willingly eat you for breakfast tomorrow morning." so dorothy stepped forward and said: "_please_ mr. nome king, come here and see us." the nomes started to laugh again; but a low growl came from the mountain, and in a flash they had all vanished from sight and were silent. then a door in the rock opened, and a voice cried: [illustration] "enter!" "isn't it a trick?" asked the tin woodman. "never mind," replied ozma. "we came here to rescue the poor queen of ev and her ten children, and we must run some risks to do so." "the nome king is hon-est and good na-tured," said tiktok. "you can trust him to do what is right." so ozma led the way, hand in hand with dorothy, and they passed through the arched doorway of rock and entered a long passage which was lighted by jewels set in the walls and having lamps behind them. there was no one to escort them, or to show them the way, but all the party pressed through the passage until they came to a round, domed cavern that was grandly furnished. in the center of this room was a throne carved out of a solid boulder of rock, rude and rugged in shape but glittering with great rubies and diamonds and emeralds on every part of its surface. and upon the throne sat the nome king. this important monarch of the underground world was a little fat man clothed in gray-brown garments that were the exact color of the rock throne in which he was seated. his bushy hair and flowing beard were also colored like the rocks, and so was his face. he wore no crown of any sort, and his only ornament was a broad, jewel-studded belt that encircled his fat little body. as for his features, they seemed kindly and good humored, and his eyes were turned merrily upon his visitors as ozma and dorothy stood before him with their followers ranged in close order behind them. "why, he looks just like santa claus--only he isn't the same color!" whispered dorothy to her friend; but the nome king heard the speech, and it made him laugh aloud. "'he had a red face and a round little belly that shook when he laughed like a bowl full of jelly!'" quoth the monarch, in a pleasant voice; and they could all see that he really did shake like jelly when he laughed. both ozma and dorothy were much relieved to find the nome king so jolly, and a minute later he waved his right hand and the girls each found a cushioned stool at her side. "sit down, my dears," said the king, "and tell me why you have come all this way to see me, and what i can do to make you happy." while they seated themselves the nome king picked up a pipe, and taking a glowing red coal out of his pocket he placed it in the bowl of the pipe and began puffing out clouds of smoke that curled in rings above his head. dorothy thought this made the little monarch look more like santa claus than ever; but ozma now began speaking, and every one listened intently to her words. "your majesty," said she, "i am the ruler of the land of oz, and i have come here to ask you to release the good queen of ev and her ten children, whom you have enchanted and hold as your prisoners." [illustration] "oh, no; you are mistaken about that," replied the king. "they are not my prisoners, but my slaves, whom i purchased from the king of ev." "but that was wrong," said ozma. "according to the laws of ev, the king can do no wrong," answered the monarch, eyeing a ring of smoke he had just blown from his mouth; "so that he had a perfect right to sell his family to me in exchange for a long life." "you cheated him, though," declared dorothy; "for the king of ev did not have a long life. he jumped into the sea and was drowned." "that was not my fault," said the nome king, crossing his legs and smiling contentedly. "i gave him the long life, all right; but he destroyed it." "then how could it be a long life?" asked dorothy. "easily enough," was the reply. "now suppose, my dear, that i gave you a pretty doll in exchange for a lock of your hair, and that after you had received the doll you smashed it into pieces and destroyed it. could you say that i had not given you a pretty doll?" "no," answered dorothy. "and could you, in fairness, ask me to return to you the lock of hair, just because you had smashed the doll?" "no," said dorothy, again. "of course not," the nome king returned. "nor will i give up the queen and her children because the king of ev destroyed his long life by jumping into the sea. they belong to me and i shall keep them." [illustration: "they belong to me and i shall keep them"] "but you are treating them cruelly," said ozma, who was much distressed by the king's refusal. "in what way?" he asked. "by making them your slaves," said she. "cruelty," remarked the monarch, puffing out wreathes of smoke and watching them float into the air, "is a thing i can't abide. so, as slaves must work hard, and the queen of ev and her children were delicate and tender, i transformed them all into articles of ornament and bric-a-brac and scattered them around the various rooms of my palace. instead of being obliged to labor, they merely decorate my apartments, and i really think i have treated them with great kindness." "but what a dreadful fate is theirs!" exclaimed ozma, earnestly. "and the kingdom of ev is in great need of its royal family to govern it. if you will liberate them, and restore them to their proper forms, i will give you ten ornaments to replace each one you lose." the nome king looked grave. "suppose i refuse?" he asked. "then," said ozma, firmly, "i am here with my friends and my army to conquer your kingdom and oblige you to obey my wishes." the nome king laughed until he choked; and he choked until he coughed; and he coughed until his face turned from grayish-brown to bright red. and then he wiped his eyes with a rock-colored handkerchief and grew grave again. "you are as brave as you are pretty, my dear," he said to ozma. "but you have little idea of the extent of the task you have undertaken. come with me for a moment." he arose and took ozma's hand, leading her to a little door at one side of the room. this he opened and they stepped out upon a balcony, from whence they obtained a wonderful view of the underground world. a vast cave extended for miles and miles under the mountain, and in every direction were furnaces and forges glowing brightly and nomes hammering upon precious metals or polishing gleaming jewels. all around the walls of the cave were thousands of doors of silver and gold, built into the solid rock, and these extended in rows far away into the distance, as far as ozma's eyes could follow them. while the little maid from oz gazed wonderingly upon this scene the nome king uttered a shrill whistle, and at once all the silver and gold doors flew open and solid ranks of nome soldiers marched out from every one. so great were their numbers that they quickly filled the immense underground cavern and forced the busy workmen to abandon their tasks. although this tremendous army consisted of rock-colored nomes, all squat and fat, they were clothed in glittering armor of polished steel, inlaid with beautiful gems. upon his brow each wore a brilliant electric light, and they bore sharp spears and swords and battle-axes of solid bronze. it was evident they were perfectly trained, for they stood in straight rows, rank after rank, with their weapons held erect and true, as if awaiting but the word of command to level them upon their foes. "this," said the nome king, "is but a small part of my army. no ruler upon earth has ever dared to fight me, and no ruler ever will, for i am too powerful to oppose." he whistled again, and at once the martial array filed through the silver and gold doorways and disappeared, after which the workmen again resumed their labors at the furnaces. then, sad and discouraged, ozma of oz turned to her friends, and the nome king calmly reseated himself on his rock throne. [illustration: "this is but a small part of my army"] "it would be foolish for us to fight," the girl said to the tin woodman. "for our brave twenty-seven would be quickly destroyed. i'm sure i do not know how to act in this emergency." "ask the king where his kitchen is," suggested the tiger. "i'm hungry as a bear." "i might pounce upon the king and tear him in pieces," remarked the cowardly lion. "try it," said the monarch, lighting his pipe with another hot coal which he took from his pocket. the lion crouched low and tried to spring upon the nome king; but he hopped only a little way into the air and came down again in the same place, not being able to approach the throne by even an inch. "it seems to me," said the scarecrow, thoughtfully, "that our best plan is to wheedle his majesty into giving up his slaves, since he is too great a magician to oppose." "this is the most sensible thing any of you have suggested," declared the nome king. "it is folly to threaten me, but i'm so kind-hearted that i cannot stand coaxing or wheedling. if you really wish to accomplish anything by your journey, my dear ozma, you must coax me." "very well," said ozma, more cheerfully. "let us be friends, and talk this over in a friendly manner." "to be sure," agreed the king, his eyes twinkling merrily. "i am very anxious," she continued, "to liberate the queen of ev and her children who are now ornaments and bric-a-brac in your majesty's palace, and to restore them to their people. tell me, sir, how this may be accomplished." the king remained thoughtful for a moment, after which he asked: "are you willing to take a few chances and risks yourself, in order to set free the people of ev?" "yes, indeed!" answered ozma, eagerly. "then," said the nome king, "i will make you this offer: you shall go alone and unattended into my palace and examine carefully all that the rooms contain. then you shall have permission to touch eleven different objects, pronouncing at the time the word 'ev,' and if any one of them, or more than one, proves to be the transformation of the queen of ev or any of her ten children, then they will instantly be restored to their true forms and may leave my palace and my kingdom in your company, without any objection whatever. it is possible for you, in this way, to free the entire eleven; but if you do not guess all the objects correctly, and some of the slaves remain transformed, then each one of your friends and followers may, in turn, enter the palace and have the same privileges i grant you." "oh, thank you! thank you for this kind offer!" said ozma, eagerly. "i make but one condition," added the nome king, his eyes twinkling. "what is it?" she enquired. "if none of the eleven objects you touch proves to be the transformation of any of the royal family of ev, then, instead of freeing them, you will yourself become enchanted, and transformed into an article of bric-a-brac or an ornament. this is only fair and just, and is the risk you declared you were willing to take." [illustration] the eleven guesses [illustration] hearing this condition imposed by the nome king, ozma became silent and thoughtful, and all her friends looked at her uneasily. "don't you do it!" exclaimed dorothy. "if you guess wrong, you will be enslaved yourself." "but i shall have eleven guesses," answered ozma. "surely i ought to guess one object in eleven correctly; and, if i do, i shall rescue one of the royal family and be safe myself. then the rest of you may attempt it, and soon we shall free all those who are enslaved." "what if we fail?" enquired the scarecrow. "i'd look nice as a piece of bric-a-brac, wouldn't i?" "we must not fail!" cried ozma, courageously. "having come all this distance to free these poor people, it would be weak and cowardly in us to abandon the adventure. therefore i will accept the nome king's offer, and go at once into the royal palace." "come along, then, my dear," said the king, climbing down from his throne with some difficulty, because he was so fat; "i'll show you the way." he approached a wall of the cave and waved his hand. instantly an opening appeared, through which ozma, after a smiling farewell to her friends, boldly passed. she found herself in a splendid hall that was more beautiful and grand than anything she had ever beheld. the ceilings were composed of great arches that rose far above her head, and all the walls and floors were of polished marble exquisitely tinted in many colors. thick velvet carpets were on the floor and heavy silken draperies covered the arches leading to the various rooms of the palace. the furniture was made of rare old woods richly carved and covered with delicate satins, and the entire palace was lighted by a mysterious rosy glow that seemed to come from no particular place but flooded each apartment with its soft and pleasing radiance. ozma passed from one room to another, greatly delighted by all she saw. the lovely palace had no other occupant, for the nome king had left her at the entrance, which closed behind her, and in all the magnificent rooms there appeared to be no other person. upon the mantels, and on many shelves and brackets and tables, were clustered ornaments of every description, seemingly made out of all sorts of metals, glass, china, stones and marbles. there were vases, and figures of men and animals, and graven platters and bowls, and mosaics of precious gems, and many other things. pictures, too, were on the walls, and the underground palace was quite a museum of rare and curious and costly objects. after her first hasty examination of the rooms ozma began to wonder which of all the numerous ornaments they contained were the transformations of the royal family of ev. there was nothing to guide her, for everything seemed without a spark of life. so she must guess blindly; and for the first time the girl came to realize how dangerous was her task, and how likely she was to lose her own freedom in striving to free others from the bondage of the nome king. no wonder the cunning monarch laughed good naturedly with his visitors, when he knew how easily they might be entrapped. [illustration: ozma shut her eyes tightly and advanced] but ozma, having undertaken the venture, would not abandon it. she looked at a silver candelabra that had ten branches, and thought: "this may be the queen of ev and her ten children." so she touched it and uttered aloud the word "ev," as the nome king had instructed her to do when she guessed. but the candelabra remained as it was before. then she wandered into another room and touched a china lamb, thinking it might be one of the children she sought. but again she was unsuccessful. three guesses; four guesses; five, six, seven, eight, nine and ten she made, and still not one of them was right! the girl shivered a little and grew pale even under the rosy light; for now but one guess remained, and her own fate depended upon the result. she resolved not to be hasty, and strolled through all the rooms once more, gazing earnestly upon the various ornaments and trying to decide which she would touch. finally, in despair, she decided to leave it entirely to chance. she faced the doorway of a room, shut her eyes tightly, and then, thrusting aside the heavy draperies, she advanced blindly with her right arm outstretched before her. slowly, softly she crept forward until her hand came in contact with an object upon a small round table. she did not know what it was, but in a low voice she pronounced the word "ev." the rooms were quite empty of life after that. the nome king had gained a new ornament. for upon the edge of the table rested a pretty grasshopper, that seemed to have been formed from a single emerald. it was all that remained of ozma of oz. in the throne room just beyond the palace the nome king suddenly looked up and smiled. "next!" he said, in his pleasant voice. dorothy, the scarecrow, and the tin woodman, who had been sitting in anxious silence, each gave a start of dismay and stared into one another's eyes. "has she failed?" asked tiktok. "so it seems," answered the little monarch, cheerfully. "but that is no reason one of you should not succeed. the next may have twelve guesses, instead of eleven, for there are now twelve persons transformed into ornaments. well, well! which of you goes next?" "i'll go," said dorothy. "not so," replied the tin woodman. "as commander of ozma's army, it is my privilege to follow her and attempt her rescue." "away you go, then," said the scarecrow. "but be careful, old friend." "i will," promised the tin woodman; and then he followed the nome king to the entrance to the palace and the rock closed behind him. [illustration] the nome king laughs [illustration] in a moment the king returned to his throne and relighted his pipe, and the rest of the little band of adventurers settled themselves for another long wait. they were greatly disheartened by the failure of their girl ruler, and the knowledge that she was now an ornament in the nome king's palace--a dreadful, creepy place in spite of all its magnificence. without their little leader they did not know what to do next, and each one, down to the trembling private of the army, began to fear he would soon be more ornamental than useful. suddenly the nome king began laughing. "ha, ha, ha! he, he, he! ho, ho, ho!" "what's happened?" asked the scarecrow. "why, your friend, the tin woodman, has become the funniest thing you can imagine," replied the king, wiping the tears of merriment from his eyes. "no one would ever believe he could make such an amusing ornament. next!" they gazed at each other with sinking hearts. one of the generals began to weep dolefully. "what are you crying for?" asked the scarecrow, indignant at such a display of weakness. "he owed me six weeks back pay," said the general, "and i hate to lose him." "then you shall go and find him," declared the scarecrow. "me!" cried the general, greatly alarmed. "certainly. it is your duty to follow your commander. march!" "i won't," said the general. "i'd like to, of course; but i just simply _won't_." the scarecrow looked enquiringly at the nome king. "never mind," said the jolly monarch. "if he doesn't care to enter the palace and make his guesses i'll throw him into one of my fiery furnaces." "i'll go!--of course i'm going," yelled the general, as quick as scat. "where is the entrance--where is it? let me go at once!" so the nome king escorted him into the palace, and again returned to await the result. what the general did, no one can tell; but it was not long before the king called for the next victim, and a colonel was forced to try his fortune. thus, one after another, all of the twenty-six officers filed into the palace and made their guesses--and became ornaments. meantime the king ordered refreshments to be served to those waiting, and at his command a rudely shaped nome entered, bearing a tray. this nome was not unlike the others that dorothy had seen, but he wore a heavy gold chain around his neck to show that he was the chief steward of the nome king, and he assumed an air of much importance, and even told his majesty not to eat too much cake late at night, or he would be ill. dorothy, however, was hungry, and she was not afraid of being ill; so she ate several cakes and found them good, and also she drank a cup of excellent coffee made of a richly flavored clay, browned in the furnaces and then ground fine, and found it most refreshing and not at all muddy. of all the party which had started upon this adventure, the little kansas girl was now left alone with the scarecrow, tiktok, and the private for counsellors and companions. of course the cowardly lion and the hungry tiger were still there, but they, having also eaten some of the cakes, had gone to sleep at one side of the cave, while upon the other side stood the sawhorse, motionless and silent, as became a mere thing of wood. billina had quietly walked around and picked up the crumbs of cake which had been scattered, and now, as it was long after bed-time, she tried to find some dark place in which to go to sleep. presently the hen espied a hollow underneath the king's rocky throne, and crept into it unnoticed. she could still hear the chattering of those around her, but it was almost dark underneath the throne, so that soon she had fallen fast asleep. "next!" called the king, and the private, whose turn it was to enter the fatal palace, shook hands with dorothy and the scarecrow and bade them a sorrowful good-bye, and passed through the rocky portal. they waited a long time, for the private was in no hurry to become an ornament and made his guesses very slowly. the nome king, who seemed to know, by some magical power, all that took place in his beautiful rooms of his palace, grew impatient finally and declared he would sit up no longer. "i love ornaments," said he, "but i can wait until tomorrow to get more of them; so, as soon as that stupid private is transformed, we will all go to bed and leave the job to be finished in the morning." "is it so very late?" asked dorothy. "why, it is after midnight," said the king, "and that strikes me as being late enough. there is neither night nor day in my kingdom, because it is under the earth's surface, where the sun does not shine. but we have to sleep, just the same as the up-stairs people do, and for my part i'm going to bed in a few minutes." indeed, it was not long after this that the private made his last guess. of course he guessed wrongly, and of course he at once became an ornament. so the king was greatly pleased, and clapped his hands to summon his chief steward. "show these guests to some of the sleeping apartments," he commanded, "and be quick about it, too, for i'm dreadfully sleepy myself." "you've no business to sit up so late," replied the steward, gruffly. "you'll be as cross as a griffin tomorrow morning." [illustration: soon she had fallen fast asleep] his majesty made no answer to this remark, and the chief steward led dorothy through another doorway into a long hall, from which several plain but comfortable sleeping rooms opened. the little girl was given the first room, and the scarecrow and tiktok the next--although they never slept--and the lion and the tiger the third. the sawhorse hobbled after the steward into a fourth room, to stand stiffly in the center of it until morning. each night was rather a bore to the scarecrow, tiktok and the sawhorse; but they had learned from experience to pass the time patiently and quietly, since all their friends who were made of flesh had to sleep and did not like to be disturbed. when the chief steward had left them alone the scarecrow remarked, sadly: "i am in great sorrow over the loss of my old comrade, the tin woodman. we have had many dangerous adventures together, and escaped them all, and now it grieves me to know he has become an ornament, and is lost to me forever." "he was al-ways an or-na-ment to so-ci-e-ty," said tiktok. "true; but now the nome king laughs at him, and calls him the funniest ornament in all the palace. it will hurt my poor friend's pride to be laughed at," continued the scarecrow, sadly. "we will make rath-er ab-surd or-na-ments, our-selves, to-mor-row," observed the machine, in his monotonous voice. just then dorothy ran into their room, in a state of great anxiety, crying: "where's billina? have you seen billina? is she here?" "no," answered the scarecrow. "then what has become of her?" asked the girl. "why, i thought she was with you," said the scarecrow. "yet i do not remember seeing the yellow hen since she picked up the crumbs of cake." "we must have left her in the room where the king's throne is," decided dorothy, and at once she turned and ran down the hall to the door through which they had entered. but it was fast closed and locked on the other side, and the heavy slab of rock proved to be so thick that no sound could pass through it. so dorothy was forced to return to her chamber. the cowardly lion stuck his head into her room to try to console the girl for the loss of her feathered friend. "the yellow hen is well able to take care of herself," said he; "so don't worry about her, but try to get all the sleep you can. it has been a long and weary day, and you need rest." "i'll prob'ly get lots of rest tomorrow, when i become an orn'ment," said dorothy, sleepily. but she lay down upon her couch, nevertheless, and in spite of all her worries was soon in the land of dreams. [illustration] dorothy tries to be brave [illustration] meantime the chief steward had returned to the throne room, where he said to the king: "you are a fool to waste so much time upon these people." "what!" cried his majesty, in so enraged a voice that it awoke billina, who was asleep under his throne. "how dare you call me a fool?" "because i like to speak the truth," said the steward. "why didn't you enchant them all at once, instead of allowing them to go one by one into the palace and guess which ornaments are the queen of ev and her children?" "why, you stupid rascal, it is more fun this way," returned the king, "and it serves to keep me amused for a long time." "but suppose some of them happen to guess aright," persisted the steward; "then you would lose your old ornaments and these new ones, too." "there is no chance of their guessing aright," replied the monarch, with a laugh. "how could they know that the queen of ev and her family are all ornaments of a royal purple color?" "but there are no other purple ornaments in the palace," said the steward. "there are many other colors, however, and the purple ones are scattered throughout the rooms, and are of many different shapes and sizes. take my word for it, steward, they will never think of choosing the purple ornaments." billina, squatting under the throne, had listened carefully to all this talk, and now chuckled softly to herself as she heard the king disclose his secret. "still, you are acting foolishly by running the chance," continued the steward, roughly; "and it is still more foolish of you to transform all those people from oz into green ornaments." [illustration: "how dare you call me a fool?"] "i did that because they came from the emerald city," replied the king; "and i had no green ornaments in my collection until now. i think they will look quite pretty, mixed with the others. don't you?" the steward gave an angry grunt. "have your own way, since you are the king," he growled. "but if you come to grief through your carelessness, remember that i told you so. if i wore the magic belt which enables you to work all your transformations, and gives you so much other power, i am sure i would make a much wiser and better king than you are." "oh, cease your tiresome chatter!" commanded the king, getting angry again. "because you are my chief steward you have an idea you can scold me as much as you please. but the very next time you become impudent, i will send you to work in the furnaces, and get another nome to fill your place. now follow me to my chamber, for i am going to bed. and see that i am wakened early tomorrow morning. i want to enjoy the fun of transforming the rest of these people into ornaments." "what color will you make the kansas girl?" asked the steward. "gray, i think," said his majesty. "and the scarecrow and the machine man?" "oh, they shall be of solid gold, because they are so ugly in real life." then the voices died away, and billina knew that the king and his steward had left the room. she fixed up some of her tail feathers that were not straight, and then tucked her head under her wing again and went to sleep. in the morning dorothy and the lion and tiger were given their breakfast in their rooms, and afterward joined the king in his throne room. the tiger complained bitterly that he was half starved, and begged to go into the palace and become an ornament, so that he would no longer suffer the pangs of hunger. "haven't you had your breakfast?" asked the nome king. "oh, i had just a bite," replied the beast. "but what good is a bite, to a hungry tiger?" "he ate seventeen bowls of porridge, a platter full of fried sausages, eleven loaves of bread and twenty-one mince pies," said the steward. "what more do you want?" demanded the king. "a fat baby. i want a fat baby," said the hungry tiger. "a nice, plump, juicy, tender, fat baby. but, of course, if i had one, my conscience would not allow me to eat it. so i'll have to be an ornament and forget my hunger." "impossible!" exclaimed the king. "i'll have no clumsy beasts enter my palace, to overturn and break all my pretty nick-nacks. when the rest of your friends are transformed you can return to the upper world, and go about your business." "as for that we have no business, when our friends are gone," said the lion. "so we do not care much what becomes of us." dorothy begged to be allowed to go first into the palace, but tiktok firmly maintained that the slave should face danger before the mistress. the scarecrow agreed with him in that, so the nome king opened the door for the machine man, who tramped into the palace to meet his fate. then his majesty returned to his throne and puffed his pipe so contentedly that a small cloud of smoke formed above his head. bye and bye he said: "i'm sorry there are so few of you left. very soon, now, my fun will be over, and then for amusement i shall have nothing to do but admire my new ornaments." "it seems to me," said dorothy, "that you are not so honest as you pretend to be." [illustration: the nome king puffed his pipe] "how's that?" asked the king. "why, you made us think it would be easy to guess what ornaments the people of ev were changed into." "it _is_ easy," declared the monarch, "if one is a good guesser. but it appears that the members of your party are all poor guessers." "what is tiktok doing now?" asked the girl, uneasily. "nothing," replied the king, with a frown. "he is standing perfectly still, in the middle of a room." "oh, i expect he's run down," said dorothy. "i forgot to wind him up this morning. how many guesses has he made?" "all that he is allowed except one," answered the king. "suppose you go in and wind him up, and then you can stay there and make your own guesses." "all right," said dorothy. "it is my turn next," declared the scarecrow. "why, you don't want to go away and leave me all alone, do you?" asked the girl. "besides, if i go now i can wind up tiktok, so that he can make his last guess." "very well, then," said the scarecrow, with a sigh. "run along, little dorothy, and may good luck go with you!" so dorothy, trying to be brave in spite of her fears, passed through the doorway into the gorgeous rooms of the palace. the stillness of the place awed her, at first, and the child drew short breaths, and pressed her hand to her heart, and looked all around with wondering eyes. yes, it was a beautiful place; but enchantments lurked in every nook and corner, and she had not yet grown accustomed to the wizardries of these fairy countries, so different from the quiet and sensible common-places of her own native land. slowly she passed through several rooms until she came upon tiktok, standing motionless. it really seemed, then, that she had found a friend in this mysterious palace, so she hastened to wind up the machine man's action and speech and thoughts. "thank you, dor-oth-y," were his first words. "i have now one more guess to make." "oh, be very careful, tiktok; won't you?" cried the girl. "yes. but the nome king has us in his power, and he has set a trap for us. i fear we are all lost," he answered. "i fear so, too," said dorothy, sadly. "if smith & tin-ker had giv-en me a guess-ing clock-work at-tach-ment," continued tiktok, "i might have de-fied the nome king. but my thoughts are plain and sim-ple, and are not of much use in this case." "do the best you can," said dorothy, encouragingly, "and if you fail i will watch and see what shape you are changed into." so tiktok touched a yellow glass vase that had daisies painted on one side, and he spoke at the same time the word "ev." in a flash the machine man had disappeared, and although the girl looked quickly in every direction, she could not tell which of the many ornaments the room contained had a moment before been her faithful friend and servant. so all she could do was to accept the hopeless task set her, and make her guesses and abide by the result. "it can't hurt very much," she thought, "for i haven't heard any of them scream or cry out--not even the poor officers. dear me! i wonder if uncle henry or aunt em will ever know i have become an orn'ment in the nome king's palace, and must stand forever and ever in one place and look pretty--'cept when i'm moved to be dusted. it isn't the way i thought i'd turn out, at all; but i s'pose it can't be helped." she walked through all the rooms once more, and examined with care all the objects they contained; but there were so many, they bewildered her, and she decided, after all, as ozma had done, that it could be only guess work at the best, and that the chances were much against her guessing aright. timidly she touched an alabaster bowl and said: "ev." "that's one failure, anyhow," she thought. "but how am i to know which thing is enchanted, and which is not?" next she touched the image of a purple kitten that stood on the corner of a mantel, and as she pronounced the word "ev" the kitten disappeared, and a pretty, fair-haired boy stood beside her. at the same time a bell rang somewhere in the distance, and as dorothy started back, partly in surprise and partly in joy, the little one exclaimed: "where am i? and who are you? and what has happened to me?" "well, i declare!" said dorothy. "i've really done it." "done what?" asked the boy. [illustration] "saved myself from being an ornament," replied the girl, with a laugh, "and saved you from being forever a purple kitten." "a purple kitten?" he repeated. "there _is_ no such thing." "i know," she answered. "but there was, a minute ago. don't you remember standing on a corner of the mantel?" "of course not. i am a prince of ev, and my name is evring," the little one announced, proudly. "but my father, the king, sold my mother and all her children to the cruel ruler of the nomes, and after that i remember nothing at all." "a purple kitten can't be 'spected to remember, evring," said dorothy. "but now you are yourself again, and i'm going to try to save some of your brothers and sisters, and perhaps your mother, as well. so come with me." she seized the child's hand and eagerly hurried here and there, trying to decide which object to choose next. the third guess was another failure, and so was the fourth and the fifth. little evring could not imagine what she was doing, but he trotted along beside her very willingly, for he liked the new companion he had found. dorothy's further quest proved unsuccessful; but after her first disappointment was over, the little girl was filled with joy and thankfulness to think that after all she had been able to save one member of the royal family of ev, and could restore the little prince to his sorrowing country. now she might return to the terrible nome king in safety, carrying with her the prize she had won in the person of the fair-haired boy. so she retraced her steps until she found the entrance to the palace, and as she approached, the massive doors of rock opened of their own accord, allowing both dorothy and evring to pass the portals and enter the throne room. [illustration] billina frightens the nome king [illustration] now when dorothy had entered the palace to make her guesses and the scarecrow was left with the nome king, the two sat in moody silence for several minutes. then the monarch exclaimed, in a tone of satisfaction: "very good!" "who is very good?" asked the scarecrow. "the machine man. he won't need to be wound up any more, for he has now become a very neat ornament. very neat, indeed." "how about dorothy?" the scarecrow enquired. "oh, she will begin to guess, pretty soon," said the king, cheerfully. "and then she will join my collection, and it will be your turn." the good scarecrow was much distressed by the thought that his little friend was about to suffer the fate of ozma and the rest of their party; but while he sat in gloomy reverie a shrill voice suddenly cried: "kut, kut, kut--ka-daw-kutt! kut, kut, kut--ka-daw-kutt!" the nome king nearly jumped off his seat, he was so startled. "good gracious! what's that?" he yelled. "why, it's billina," said the scarecrow. "what do you mean by making a noise like that?" shouted the king, angrily, as the yellow hen came from under the throne and strutted proudly about the room. "i've got a right to cackle, i guess," replied billina. "i've just laid my egg.' "what! laid an egg! in my throne room! how dare you do such a thing?" asked the king, in a voice of fury. "i lay eggs wherever i happen to be," said the hen, ruffling her feathers and then shaking them into place. "but--thunder-ation! don't you know that eggs are poison?" roared the king, while his rock-colored eyes stuck out in great terror. "poison! well, i declare," said billina, indignantly. "i'll have you know all my eggs are warranted strictly fresh and up to date. poison, indeed!" "you don't understand," retorted the little monarch, nervously. "eggs belong only to the outside world--to the world on the earth's surface, where you came from. here, in my underground kingdom, they are rank poison, as i said, and we nomes can't bear them around." "well, you'll have to bear this one around," declared billina; "for i've laid it." "where?" asked the king. "under your throne," said the hen. the king jumped three feet into the air, so anxious was he to get away from the throne. "take it away! take it away at once!" he shouted. "i can't," said billina. "i havn't any hands." "i'll take the egg," said the scarecrow. "i'm making a collection of billina's eggs. there's one in my pocket now, that she laid yesterday." hearing this, the monarch hastened to put a good distance between himself and the scarecrow, who was about to reach under the throne for the egg when the hen suddenly cried: "stop!" "what's wrong?" asked the scarecrow. "don't take the egg unless the king will allow me to enter the palace and guess as the others have done," said billina. "pshaw!" returned the king. "you're only a hen. how could you guess my enchantments?" "i can try, i suppose," said billina. "and, if i fail, you will have another ornament." "a pretty ornament you'd make, wouldn't you?" growled the king. "but you shall have your way. it will properly punish you for daring to lay an egg in my presence. after the scarecrow is enchanted you shall follow him into the palace. but how will you touch the objects?" "with my claws," said the hen; "and i can speak the word 'ev' as plainly as anyone. also i must have the right to guess the enchantments of my friends, and to release them if i succeed." "very well," said the king. "you have my promise." "then," said billina to the scarecrow, "you may get the egg." [illustration: "don't you know that eggs are poison?"] he knelt down and reached underneath the throne and found the egg, which he placed in another pocket of his jacket, fearing that if both eggs were in one pocket they would knock together and get broken. just then a bell above the throne rang briskly, and the king gave another nervous jump. "well, well!" said he, with a rueful face; "the girl has actually done it." "done what?" asked the scarecrow. "she has made one guess that is right, and broken one of my neatest enchantments. by ricketty, it's too bad! i never thought she would do it." "do i understand that she will now return to us in safety?" enquired the scarecrow, joyfully wrinkling his painted face into a broad smile. "of course," said the king, fretfully pacing up and down the room. "i always keep my promises, no matter how foolish they are. but i shall make an ornament of the yellow hen to replace the one i have just lost." "perhaps you will, and perhaps you won't," murmured billina, calmly. "i may surprise you by guessing right." "guessing right?" snapped the king. "how should you guess right, where your betters have failed, you stupid fowl?" billina did not care to answer this question, and a moment later the doors flew open and dorothy entered, leading the little prince evring by the hand. [illustration] the scarecrow welcomed the girl with a close embrace, and he would have embraced evring, too, in his delight. but the little prince was shy, and shrank away from the painted scarecrow because he did not yet know his many excellent qualities. [illustration: "by ricketty, it's too bad!"] but there was little time for the friends to talk, because the scarecrow must now enter the palace. dorothy's success had greatly encouraged him, and they both hoped he would manage to make at least one correct guess. however, he proved as unfortunate as the others except dorothy, and although he took a good deal of time to select his objects, not one did the poor scarecrow guess aright. so he became a solid gold card-receiver, and the beautiful but terrible palace awaited its next visitor. "it's all over," remarked the king, with a sigh of satisfaction; "and it has been a very amusing performance, except for the one good guess the kansas girl made. i am richer by a great many pretty ornaments. "it is my turn, now," said billina, briskly. "oh, i'd forgotten you," said the king. "but you needn't go if you don't wish to. i will be generous, and let you off." "no you won't," replied the hen. "i insist upon having my guesses, as you promised." "then go ahead, you absurd feathered fool!" grumbled the king, and he caused the opening that led to the palace to appear once more. "don't go, billina," said dorothy, earnestly. "it isn't easy to guess those orn'ments, and only luck saved me from being one myself. stay with me, and we'll go back to the land of ev together. i'm sure this little prince will give us a home." "indeed i will," said evring, with much dignity. "don't worry, my dear," cried billina, with a cluck that was meant for a laugh. "i may not be human, but i'm no fool, if i _am_ a chicken." "oh, billina!" said dorothy, "you haven't been a chicken in a long time. not since you--you've been--grown up." "perhaps that's true," answered billina, thoughtfully. "but if a kansas farmer sold me to some one, what would he call me?--a hen or a chicken!" "you are not a kansas farmer, billina," replied the girl, "and you said--" "never mind that, dorothy. i'm going. i won't say good-bye, because i'm coming back. keep up your courage, for i'll see you a little later." then billina gave several loud "cluck-clucks" that seemed to make the fat little king _more_ nervous than ever, and marched through the entrance into the enchanted palace. "i hope i've seen the last of _that_ bird," declared the monarch, seating himself again in his throne and mopping the perspiration from his forehead with his rock-colored handkerchief. "hens are bothersome enough at their best, but when they can talk they're simply dreadful." "billina's my friend," said dorothy quietly. "she may not always be 'zactly polite; but she _means_ well, i'm sure." [illustration] purple, green and gold [illustration] the yellow hen, stepping high and with an air of vast importance, walked slowly over the rich velvet carpets of the splendid palace, examining everything she met with her sharp little eyes. billina had a right to feel important; for she alone shared the nome king's secret and knew how to tell the objects that were transformations from those that had never been alive. she was very sure that her guesses would be correct, but before she began to make them she was curious to behold all the magnificence of this underground palace, which was perhaps one of the most splendid and beautiful places in any fairyland. as she went through the rooms she counted the purple ornaments; and although some were small and hidden in queer places, billina spied them all, and found the entire ten scattered about the various rooms. the green ornaments she did not bother to count, for she thought she could find them all when the time came. finally, having made a survey of the entire palace and enjoyed its splendor, the yellow hen returned to one of the rooms where she had noticed a large purple footstool. she placed a claw upon this and said "ev," and at once the footstool vanished and a lovely lady, tall and slender and most beautifully robed, stood before her. the lady's eyes were round with astonishment for a moment, for she could not remember her transformation, nor imagine what had restored her to life. "good morning, ma'am," said billina, in her sharp voice. "you're looking quite well, considering your age." "who speaks?" demanded the queen of ev, drawing herself up proudly. "why, my name's bill, by rights," answered the hen, who was now perched upon the back of a chair; "although dorothy has put scollops on it and made it billina. but the name doesn't matter. i've saved you from the nome king, and you are a slave no longer." "then i thank you for the gracious favor," said the queen, with a graceful courtesy. "but, my children--tell me, i beg of you--where are my children?" and she clasped her hands in anxious entreaty. "don't worry," advised billina, pecking at a tiny bug that was crawling over the chair back. "just at present they are out of mischief and perfectly safe, for they can't even wiggle." "what mean you, o kindly stranger?" asked the queen, striving to repress her anxiety. "they're enchanted," said billina, "just as you have been--all, that is, except the little fellow dorothy picked out. and the chances are that they have been good boys and girls for some time, because they couldn't help it." "oh, my poor darlings!" cried the queen, with a sob of anguish. "not at all," returned the hen. "don't let their condition make you unhappy, ma'am, because i'll soon have them crowding 'round to bother and worry you as naturally as ever. come with me, if you please, and i'll show you how pretty they look." she flew down from her perch and walked into the next room, the queen following. as she passed a low table a small green grasshopper caught her eye, and instantly billina pounced upon it and snapped it up in her sharp bill. for grasshoppers are a favorite food with hens, and they usually must be caught quickly, before they can hop away. it might easily have been the end of ozma of oz, had she been a real grasshopper instead of an emerald one. but billina found the grasshopper hard and lifeless, and suspecting it was not good to eat she quickly dropped it instead of letting it slide down her throat. "i might have known better," she muttered to herself, "for where there is no grass there can be no live grasshoppers. this is probably one of the king's transformations." a moment later she approached one of the purple ornaments, and while the queen watched her curiously the hen broke the nome king's enchantment and a sweet-faced girl, whose golden hair fell in a cloud over her shoulders, stood beside them. "evanna!" cried the queen, "my own evanna!" and she clasped the girl to her bosom and covered her face with kisses. "that's all right," said billina, contentedly. "am i a good guesser, mr. nome king? well, i guess!" then she disenchanted another girl, whom the queen addressed as evrose, and afterwards a boy named evardo, who was older than his brother evring. indeed, the yellow hen kept the good queen exclaiming and embracing for some time, until five princesses and four princes, all looking very much alike except for the difference in size, stood in a row beside their happy mother. the princesses were named, evanna, evrose, evella, evirene and evedna, while the princes were evrob, evington, evardo and evroland. of these evardo was the eldest and would inherit his father's throne and be crowned king of ev when he returned to his own country. he was a grave and quiet youth, and would doubtless rule his people wisely and with justice. [illustration: the queen of ev thanks billina] billina, having restored all of the royal family of ev to their proper forms, now began to select the green ornaments which were the transformations of the people of oz. she had little trouble in finding these, and before long all the twenty-six officers, as well as the private, were gathered around the yellow hen, joyfully congratulating her upon their release. the thirty-seven people who were now alive in the rooms of the palace knew very well that they owed their freedom to the cleverness of the yellow hen, and they were earnest in thanking her for saving them from the magic of the nome king. "now," said billina, "i must find ozma. she is sure to be here, somewhere, and of course she is green, being from oz. so look around, you stupid soldiers, and help me in my search." for a while, however, they could discover nothing more that was green. but the queen, who had kissed all her nine children once more and could now find time to take an interest in what was going on, said to the hen: "mayhap, my gentle friend, it is the grasshopper whom you seek." "of course it's the grasshopper!" exclaimed billina. "i declare, i'm nearly as stupid as these brave soldiers. wait here for me, and i'll go back and get it." so she went into the room where she had seen the grasshopper, and presently ozma of oz, as lovely and dainty as ever, entered and approached the queen of ev, greeting her as one high born princess greets another. "but where are my friends, the scarecrow and the tin woodman?" asked the girl ruler, when these courtesies had been exchanged. "i'll hunt them up," replied billina. "the scarecrow is solid gold, and so is tiktok; but i don't exactly know what the tin woodman is, because the nome king said he had been transformed into something funny." ozma eagerly assisted the hen in her quest, and soon the scarecrow and the machine man, being ornaments of shining gold, were discovered and restored to their accustomed forms. but, search as they might, in no place could they find a funny ornament that might be the transformation of the tin woodman. "only one thing can be done," said ozma, at last, "and that is to return to the nome king and oblige him to tell us what has become of our friend." "perhaps he won't," suggested billina. "he must," returned ozma, firmly. "the king has not treated us honestly, for under the mask of fairness and good nature he entrapped us all, and we would have been forever enchanted had not our wise and clever friend, the yellow hen, found a way to save us." "the king is a villain," declared the scarecrow. "his laugh is worse than another man's frown," said the private, with a shudder. "i thought he was hon-est, but i was mis-tak-en," remarked tiktok. "my thoughts are us-u-al-ly cor-rect, but it is smith & tin-ker's fault if they some-times go wrong or do not work prop-er-ly." "smith & tinker made a very good job of you," said ozma, kindly. "i do not think they should be blamed if you are not quite perfect." "thank you," replied tiktok. "then," said billina, in her brisk little voice, "let us all go back to the nome king, and see what he has to say for himself." so they started for the entrance, ozma going first, with the queen and her train of little princes and princesses following. then came tiktok, and the scarecrow with billina perched upon his straw-stuffed shoulder. the twenty-seven officers and the private brought up the rear. as they reached the hall the doors flew open before them; but then they all stopped and stared into the domed cavern with faces of astonishment and dismay. for the room was filled with the mail-clad warriors of the nome king, rank after rank standing in orderly array. the electric lights upon their brows gleamed brightly, their battle-axes were poised as if to strike down their foes; yet they remained motionless as statues, awaiting the word of command. and in the center of this terrible army sat the little king upon his throne of rock. but he neither smiled nor laughed. instead, his face was distorted with rage, and most dreadful to behold. [illustration] the scarecrow wins the fight [illustration] after billina had entered the palace dorothy and evring sat down to await the success or failure of her mission, and the nome king occupied his throne and smoked his long pipe for a while in a cheerful and contented mood. then the bell above the throne, which sounded whenever an enchantment was broken, began to ring, and the king gave a start of annoyance and exclaimed, "rocketty-ricketts!" when the bell rang a second time the king shouted angrily, "smudge and blazes!" and at a third ring he screamed in a fury, "hippikaloric!" which must be a dreadful word because we don't know what it means. after that the bell went on ringing time after time; but the king was now so violently enraged that he could not utter a word, but hopped out of his throne and all around the room in a mad frenzy, so that he reminded dorothy of a jumping-jack. the girl was, for her part, filled with joy at every peal of the bell, for it announced the fact that billina had transformed one more ornament into a living person. dorothy was also amazed at billina's success, for she could not imagine how the yellow hen was able to guess correctly from all the bewildering number of articles clustered in the rooms of the palace. but after she had counted ten, and the bell continued to ring, she knew that not only the royal family of ev, but ozma and her followers also, were being restored to their natural forms, and she was so delighted that the antics of the angry king only made her laugh merrily. perhaps the little monarch could not be more furious than he was before, but the girl's laughter nearly drove him frantic, and he roared at her like a savage beast. then, as he found that all his enchantments were likely to be dispelled and his victims every one set free, he suddenly ran to the little door that opened upon the balcony and gave the shrill whistle that summoned his warriors. at once the army filed out of the gold and silver doors in great numbers, and marched up a winding stairs and into the throne room, led by a stern featured nome who was their captain. when they had nearly filled the throne room they formed ranks in the big underground cavern below, and then stood still until they were told what to do next. dorothy had pressed back to one side of the cavern when the warriors entered, and now she stood holding little prince evring's hand while the great lion crouched upon one side and the enormous tiger crouched an the other side. "seize that girl!" shouted the king to his captain, and a group of warriors sprang forward to obey. but both the lion and tiger snarled so fiercely and bared their strong, sharp teeth so threateningly, that the men drew back in alarm. "don't mind them!" cried the nome king; "they cannot leap beyond the places where they now stand." "but they can bite those who attempt to touch the girl," said the captain. "i'll fix that," answered the king. "i'll enchant them again, so that they can't open their jaws." he stepped out of the throne to do this, but just then the sawhorse ran up behind him and gave the fat monarch a powerful kick with both his wooden hind legs. "ow! murder! treason!" yelled the king, who had been hurled against several of his warriors and was considerably bruised. "who did that?" "i did," growled the sawhorse, viciously. "you let dorothy alone, or i'll kick you again." "we'll see about that," replied the king, and at once he waved his hand toward the sawhorse and muttered a magical word. "aha!" he continued; "_now_ let us see you move, you wooden mule!" but in spite of the magic the sawhorse moved; and he moved so quickly toward the king, that the fat little man could not get out of his way. thump--_bang!_ came the wooden heels, right against his round body, and the king flew into the air and fell upon the head of his captain, who let him drop flat upon the ground. "well, well!" said the king, sitting up and looking surprised. "why didn't my magic belt work, i wonder?" "the creature is made of wood," replied the captain. "your magic will not work on wood, you know." "ah, i'd forgotten that," said the king, getting up and limping to his throne. "very well, let the girl alone. she can't escape us, anyway." the warriors, who had been rather confused by these incidents, now formed their ranks again, and the sawhorse pranced across the room to dorothy and took a position beside the hungry tiger. at that moment the doors that led to the palace flew open and the people of ev and the people of oz were disclosed to view. they paused, astonished, at sight of the warriors and the angry nome king, seated in their midst. "surrender!" cried the king, in a loud voice. "you are my prisoners." "go 'long!" answered billina, from the scarecrow's shoulder. "you promised me that if i guessed correctly my friends and i might depart in safety. and you always keep your promises." "i said you might leave the palace in safety," retorted the king; "and so you may, but you cannot leave my dominions. you are my prisoners, and i will hurl you all into my underground dungeons, where the volcanic fires glow and the molten lava flows in every direction, and the air is hotter than blue blazes." [illustration: "help, help!" screamed the king] "that will be the end of me, all right," said the scarecrow, sorrowfully. "one small blaze, blue or green, is enough to reduce me to an ash-heap." "do you surrender?" demanded the king. billina whispered something in the scarecrow's ear that made him smile and put his hands in his jacket pockets. "no!" returned ozma, boldly answering the king. then she said to her army: "forward, my brave soldiers, and fight for your ruler and yourselves, unto death!" "pardon me, most royal ozma," replied one of her generals; "but i find that i and my brother officers all suffer from heart disease, and the slightest excitement might kill us. if we fight we may get excited. would it not be well for us to avoid this grave danger?" "soldiers should not have heart disease," said ozma. "private soldiers are not, i believe, afflicted that way," declared another general, twirling his moustache thoughtfully. "if your royal highness desires, we will order our private to attack yonder warriors." "do so," replied ozma. "for-ward--march!" cried all the generals, with one voice. "for-ward--march!" yelled the colonels. "for-ward--march!" shouted the majors. "for-ward--march!" commanded the captains. and at that the private leveled his spear and dashed furiously upon the foe. the captain of the nomes was so surprised by this sudden onslaught that he forgot to command his warriors to fight, so that the ten men in the first row, who stood in front of the private's spear, fell over like so many toy soldiers. the spear could not go through their steel armor, however, so the warriors scrambled to their feet again, and by that time the private had knocked over another row of them. then the captain brought down his battle-axe with such a strong blow that the private's spear was shattered and knocked from his grasp, and he was helpless to fight any longer. the nome king had left his throne and pressed through his warriors to the front ranks, so he could see what was going on; but as he faced ozma and her friends the scarecrow, as if aroused to action by the valor of the private, drew one of billina's eggs from his right jacket pocket and hurled it straight at the little monarch's head. it struck him squarely in his left eye, where the egg smashed and scattered, as eggs will, and covered his face and hair and beard with its sticky contents. "help, help!" screamed the king, clawing with his fingers at the egg, in a struggle to remove it. "an egg! an egg! run for your lives!" shouted the captain of the nomes, in a voice of horror. and how they _did_ run! the warriors fairly tumbled over one another in their efforts to escape the fatal poison of that awful egg, and those who could not rush down the winding stair fell off the balcony into the great cavern beneath, knocking over those who stood below them. even while the king was still yelling for help his throne room became emptied of every one of his warriors, and before the monarch had managed to clear the egg away from his left eye the scarecrow threw the second egg against his right eye, where it smashed and blinded him entirely. the king was unable to flee because he could not see which way to run; so he stood still and howled and shouted and screamed in abject fear. while this was going on, billina flew over to dorothy, and perching herself upon the lion's back the hen whispered eagerly to the girl: "get his belt! get the nome king's jeweled belt! it unbuckles in the back. quick, dorothy--quick!" the fate of the tin woodman [illustration] dorothy obeyed. she ran at once behind the nome king, who was still trying to free his eyes from the egg, and in a twinkling she had unbuckled his splendid jeweled belt and carried it away with her to her place beside the tiger and lion, where, because she did not know what else to do with it, she fastened it around her own slim waist. just then the chief steward rushed in with a sponge and a bowl of water, and began mopping away the broken eggs from his master's face. in a few minutes, and while all the party stood looking on, the king regained the use of his eyes, and the first thing he did was to glare wickedly upon the scarecrow and exclaim: "i'll make you suffer for this, you hay-stuffed dummy! don't you know eggs are poison to nomes?" "really," said the scarecrow, "they _don't_ seem to agree with you, although i wonder why." "they were strictly fresh and above suspicion," said billina. "you ought to be glad to get them." "i'll transform you all into scorpions!" cried the king, angrily, and began waving his arms and muttering magic words. but none of the people became scorpions, so the king stopped and looked at them in surprise. "what's wrong?" he asked. "why, you are not wearing your magic belt," replied the chief steward, after looking the king over carefully. "where is it? what have you done with it?" the nome king clapped his hand to his waist, and his rock colored face turned white as chalk. "it's gone," he cried, helplessly. "it's gone, and i am ruined!" dorothy now stepped forward and said: "royal ozma, and you, queen of ev, i welcome you and your people back to the land of the living. billina has saved you from your troubles, and now we will leave this drea'ful place, and return to ev as soon as poss'ble." while the child spoke they could all see that she wore the magic belt, and a great cheer went up from all her friends, which was led by the voices of the scarecrow and the private. but the nome king did not join them. he crept back onto his throne like a whipped dog, and lay there bitterly bemoaning his defeat. "but we have not yet found my faithful follower, the tin woodman," said ozma to dorothy, "and without him i do not wish to go away." "nor i," replied dorothy, quickly. "wasn't he in the palace?" "he must be there," said billina; "but i had no clew to guide me in guessing the tin woodman, so i must have missed him." "we will go back into the rooms," said dorothy. "this magic belt, i am sure, will help us to find our dear old friend." so she re-entered the palace, the doors of which still stood open, and everyone followed her except the nome king, the queen of ev and prince evring. the mother had taken the little prince in her lap and was fondling and kissing him lovingly, for he was her youngest born. but the others went with dorothy, and when she came to the middle of the first room the girl waved her hand, as she had seen the king do, and commanded the tin woodman, whatever form he might then have, to resume his proper shape. no result followed this attempt, so dorothy went into another room and repeated it, and so through all the rooms of the palace. yet the tin woodman did not appear to them, nor could they imagine which among the thousands of ornaments was their transformed friend. sadly they returned to the throne room, where the king, seeing that they had met with failure, jeered at dorothy, saying: "you do not know how to use my belt, so it is of no use to you. give it back to me and i will let you go free--you and all the people who came with you. as for the royal family of ev, they are my slaves, and shall remain here." "i shall keep the belt," said dorothy. "but how can you escape, without my consent?" asked the king. "easily enough," answered the girl. "all we need to do is to walk out the way that we came in." [illustration: dorothy and billina argue with the king] "oh, that's all, is it?" sneered the king. "well, where is the passage through which you entered this room?" they all looked around, but could not discover the place, for it had long since been closed. dorothy, however, would not be dismayed. she waved her hand toward the seemingly solid wall of the cavern and said: "i command the passage to open!" instantly the order was obeyed; the opening appeared and the passage lay plainly before them. the king was amazed, and all the others overjoyed. "why, then, if the belt obeys you, were we unable to discover the tin woodman?" asked ozma. "i can't imagine," said dorothy. "see here, girl," proposed the king, eagerly; "give me the belt, and i will tell you what shape the tin woodman was changed into, and then you can easily find him." dorothy hesitated, but billina cried out: "don't you do it! if the nome king gets the belt again he will make every one of us prisoners, for we will be in his power. only by keeping the belt, dorothy, will you ever be able to leave this place in safety." "i think that is true," said the scarecrow. "but i have another idea, due to my excellent brains. let dorothy transform the king into a goose-egg unless he agrees to go into the palace and bring out to us the ornament which is our friend nick chopper, the tin woodman." "a goose-egg!" echoed the horrified king. "how dreadful!" [illustration] "well, a goose-egg you will be unless you go and fetch us the ornament we want," declared billina, with a joyful chuckle. "you can see for yourself that dorothy is able to use the magic belt all right," added the scarecrow. the nome king thought it over and finally consented, for he did not want to be a goose-egg. so he went into the palace to get the ornament which was the transformation of the tin woodman, and they all awaited his return with considerable impatience, for they were anxious to leave this underground cavern and see the sunshine once more. but when the nome king came back he brought nothing with him except a puzzled and anxious expression upon his face. "he's gone!" he said. "the tin woodman is nowhere in the palace." "are you sure?" asked ozma, sternly. "i'm very sure," answered the king, trembling, "for i know just what i transformed him into, and exactly where he stood. but he is not there, and please don't change me into a goose-egg, because i've done the best i could." they were all silent for a time, and then dorothy said: "there is no use punishing the nome king any more, and i'm 'fraid we'll have to go away without our friend." "if he is not here, we cannot rescue him," agreed the scarecrow, sadly. "poor nick! i wonder what has become of him." "and he owed me six weeks back pay!" said one of the generals, wiping the tears from his eyes with his gold-laced coat sleeve. very sorrowfully they determined to return to the upper world without their former companion, and so ozma gave the order to begin the march through the passage. the army went first, and then the royal family of ev, and afterward came dorothy, ozma, billina, the scarecrow and tiktok. they left the nome king scowling at them from his throne, and had no thought of danger until ozma chanced to look back and saw a large number of the warriors following them in full chase, with their swords and spears and axes raised to strike down the fugitives as soon as they drew near enough. evidently the nome king had made this last attempt to prevent their escaping him; but it did him no good, for when dorothy saw the danger they were in she stopped and waved her hand and whispered a command to the magic belt. [illustration] instantly the foremost warriors became eggs, which rolled upon the floor of the cavern in such numbers that those behind could not advance without stepping upon them. but, when they saw the eggs, all desire to advance departed from the warriors, and they turned and fled madly into the cavern, and refused to go back again. our friends had no farther trouble in reaching the end of the passage, and soon were standing in the outer air upon the gloomy path between the two high mountains. but the way to ev lay plainly before them, and they fervently hoped that they had seen the last of the nome king and of his dreadful palace. the cavalcade was led by ozma, mounted on the cowardly lion, and the queen of ev, who rode upon the back of the tiger. the children of the queen walked behind her, hand in hand. dorothy rode the sawhorse, while the scarecrow walked and commanded the army in the absence of the tin woodman. presently the way began to lighten and more of the sunshine to come in between the two mountains. and before long they heard the "thump! thump! thump!" of the giant's hammer upon the road. "how may we pass the monstrous man of iron?" asked the queen, anxious for the safety of her children. but dorothy solved the problem by a word to the magic belt. the giant paused, with his hammer held motionless in the air, thus allowing the entire party to pass between his cast-iron legs in safety. the king of ev [illustration] if there were any shifting, rock-colored nomes on the mountain side now, they were silent and respectful, for our adventurers were not annoyed, as before, by their impudent laughter. really the nomes had nothing to laugh at, since the defeat of their king. on the other side they found ozma's golden chariot, standing as they had left it. soon the lion and the tiger were harnessed to the beautiful chariot, in which was enough room for ozma and the queen and six of the royal children. little evring preferred to ride with dorothy upon the sawhorse, which had a long back. the prince had recovered from his shyness and had become very fond of the girl who had rescued him, so they were fast friends and chatted pleasantly together as they rode along. billina was also perched upon the head of the wooden steed, which seemed not to mind the added weight in the least, and the boy was full of wonder that a hen could talk, and say such sensible things. when they came to the gulf, ozma's magic carpet carried them all over in safety; and now they began to pass the trees, in which birds were singing; and the breeze that was wafted to them from the farms of ev was spicy with flowers and new-mown hay; and the sunshine fell full upon them, to warm them and drive away from their bodies the chill and dampness of the underground kingdom of the nomes. "i would be quite content," said the scarecrow to tiktok, "were only the tin woodman with us. but it breaks my heart to leave him behind." "he was a fine fel-low," replied tiktok, "al-though his ma-ter-i-al was not ve-ry du-ra-ble." "oh, tin is an excellent material," the scarecrow hastened to say; "and if anything ever happened to poor nick chopper he was always easily soldered. besides, he did not have to be wound up, and was not liable to get out of order." "i some-times wish," said tiktok, "that i was stuffed with straw, as you are. it is hard to be made of cop-per." "i have no reason to complain of my lot," replied the scarecrow. "a little fresh straw, now and then, makes me as good as new. but i can never be the polished gentleman that my poor departed friend, the tin woodman, was." you may be sure the royal children of ev and their queen mother were delighted at seeing again their beloved country; and when the towers of the palace of ev came into view they could not forbear cheering at the sight. little evring, riding in front of dorothy, was so overjoyed that he took a curious tin whistle from his pocket and blew a shrill blast that made the sawhorse leap and prance in sudden alarm. "what is that?" asked billina, who had been obliged to flutter her wings in order to keep her seat upon the head of the frightened sawhorse. "that's my whistle," said prince evring, holding it out upon his hand. it was in the shape of a little fat pig, made of tin and painted green. the whistle was in the tail of the pig. "where did you get it?" asked the yellow hen, closely examining the toy with her bright eyes. "why, i picked it up in the nome king's palace, while dorothy was making her guesses, and i put it in my pocket," answered the little prince. [illustration] billina laughed; or at least she made the peculiar cackle that served her for a laugh. "no wonder i couldn't find the tin woodman," she said; "and no wonder the magic belt didn't make him appear, or the king couldn't find him, either!" "what do you mean?" questioned dorothy. "why, the prince had him in his pocket," cried billina, cackling again. "i did not!" protested little evring. "i only took the whistle." "well, then, watch me," returned the hen, and reaching out a claw she touched the whistle and said "ev." swish! "good afternoon," said the tin woodman, taking off his funnel cap and bowing to dorothy and the prince. "i think i must have been asleep for the first time since i was made of tin, for i do not remember our leaving the nome king." "you have been enchanted," answered the girl, throwing an arm around her old friend and hugging him tight in her joy. "but it's all right, now." "i want my whistle!" said the little prince, beginning to cry. "hush!" cautioned billina. "the whistle is lost, but you may have another when you get home." [illustration: "your future ruler, king evardo fifteenth"] the scarecrow had fairly thrown himself upon the bosom of his old comrade, so surprised and delighted was he to see him again, and tiktok squeezed the tin woodman's hand so earnestly that he dented some of his fingers. then they had to make way for ozma to welcome the tin man, and the army caught sight of him and set up a cheer, and everybody was delighted and happy. for the tin woodman was a great favorite with all who knew him, and his sudden recovery after they had thought he was lost to them forever was indeed a pleasant surprise. before long, the cavalcade arrived at the royal palace, where a great crowd of people had gathered to welcome their queen and her ten children. there was much shouting and cheering, and the people threw flowers in their path, and every face wore a happy smile. they found the princess langwidere in her mirrored chamber, where she was admiring one of her handsomest heads--one with rich chestnut hair, dreamy walnut eyes and a shapely hickorynut nose. she was very glad to be relieved of her duties to the people of ev, and the queen graciously permitted her to retain her rooms and her cabinet of heads as long as she lived. then the queen took her eldest son out upon a balcony that overlooked the crowd of subjects gathered below, and said to them: "here is your future ruler, king evardo fifteenth. he is fifteen years of age, has fifteen silver buckles on his jacket and is the fifteenth evardo to rule the land of ev." the people shouted their approval fifteen times, and even the wheelers, some of whom were present, loudly promised to obey the new king. so the queen placed a big crown of gold, set with rubies, upon evardo's head, and threw an ermine robe over his shoulders, and proclaimed him king; and he bowed gratefully to all his subjects and then went away to see if he could find any cake in the royal pantry. ozma of oz and her people, as well as dorothy, tiktok and billina, were splendidly entertained by the queen mother, who owed all her happiness to their kind offices; and that evening the yellow hen was publicly presented with a beautiful necklace of pearls and sapphires, as a token of esteem from the new king. [illustration] the emerald city [illustration] dorothy decided to accept ozma's invitation to return with her to the land of oz. there was no greater chance of her getting home from ev than from oz, and the little girl was anxious to see once more the country where she had encountered such wonderful adventures. by this time uncle henry would have reached australia in his ship, and had probably given her up for lost; so he couldn't worry any more than he did if she stayed away from him a while longer. so she would go to oz. they bade good-bye to the people of ev, and the king promised ozma that he would ever be grateful to her and render the land of oz any service that might lie within his power. and then they approached the edge of the dangerous desert, and ozma threw down the magic carpet, which at once unrolled far enough for all of them to walk upon it without being crowded. tiktok, claiming to be dorothy's faithful follower because he belonged to her, had been permitted to join the party, and before they started the girl wound up his machinery as far as possible, and the copper man stepped off as briskly as any one of them. ozma also invited billina to visit the land of oz, and the yellow hen was glad enough to go where new sights and scenes awaited her. they began the trip across the desert early in the morning, and as they stopped only long enough for billina to lay her daily egg, before sunset they espied the green slopes and wooded hills of the beautiful land of oz. they entered it in the munchkin territory, and the king of the munchkins met them at the border and welcomed ozma with great respect, being very pleased by her safe return. for ozma of oz ruled the king of the munchkins, the king of the winkies, the king of the quadlings and the king of the gillikins just as those kings ruled their own people; and this supreme ruler of the land of oz lived in a great town of her own, called the emerald city, which was in the exact center of the four kingdoms of the land of oz. the munchkin king entertained them at his palace that night, and in the morning they set out for the emerald city, travelling over a road of yellow brick that led straight to the jewel-studded gates. everywhere the people turned out to greet their beloved ozma and to hail joyfully the scarecrow, the tin woodman and the cowardly lion, who were popular favorites. dorothy, too, remembered some of the people, who had befriended her on the occasion of her first visit to oz, and they were well pleased to see the little kansas girl again, and showered her with compliments and good wishes. at one place, where they stopped to refresh themselves, ozma accepted a bowl of milk from the hands of a pretty dairy-maid. then she looked at the girl more closely, and exclaimed: "why, it's jinjur--isn't it!" "yes, your highness," was the reply, as jinjur dropped a low curtsy. and dorothy looked wonderingly at this lively appearing person, who had once assembled an army of women and driven the scarecrow from the throne of the emerald city, and even fought a battle with the powerful army of glinda the sorceress. "i've married a man who owns nine cows," said jinjur to ozma, "and now i am happy and contented and willing to lead a quiet life and mind my own business." [illustration] "where is your husband?" asked ozma. "he is in the house, nursing a black eye," replied jinjur, calmly. "the foolish man would insist upon milking the red cow when i wanted him to milk the white one; but he will know better next time, i am sure." then the party moved on again, and after crossing a broad river on a ferry and passing many fine farm houses that were dome shaped and painted a pretty green color, they came in sight of a large building that was covered with flags and bunting. "i don't remember that building," said dorothy. "what is it?" "that is the college of art and athletic perfection," replied ozma. "i had it built quite recently, and the woggle-bug is its president. it keeps him busy, and the young men who attend the college are no worse off than they were before. you see, in this country are a number of youths who do not like to work, and the college is an excellent place for them." and now they came in sight of the emerald city, and the people flocked out to greet their lovely ruler. there were several bands and many officers and officials of the realm, and a crowd of citizens in their holiday attire. thus the beautiful ozma was escorted by a brilliant procession to her royal city, and so great was the cheering that she was obliged to constantly bow to the right and left to acknowledge the greetings of her subjects. [illustration: "i promote you to be captain-general"] that evening there was a grand reception in the royal palace, attended by the most important persons of oz, and jack pumpkinhead, who was a little over-ripe but still active, read an address congratulating ozma of oz upon the success of her generous mission to rescue the royal family of a neighboring kingdom. then magnificent gold medals set with precious stones were presented to each of the twenty-six officers; and the tin woodman was given a new axe studded with diamonds; and the scarecrow received a silver jar of complexion powder. dorothy was presented with a pretty coronet and made a princess of oz, and tiktok received two bracelets set with eight rows of very clear and sparkling emeralds. afterward they sat down to a splendid feast, and ozma put dorothy at her right and billina at her left, where the hen sat upon a golden roost and ate from a jeweled platter. then were placed the scarecrow, the tin woodman and tiktok, with baskets of lovely flowers before them, because they did not require food. the twenty-six officers were at the lower end of the table, and the lion and the tiger also had seats, and were served on golden platters, that held a half a bushel at one time. the wealthiest and most important citizens of the emerald city were proud to wait upon these famous adventurers, and they were assisted by a sprightly little maid named jellia jamb, whom the scarecrow pinched upon her rosy cheeks and seemed to know very well. during the feast ozma grew thoughtful, and suddenly she asked: "where is the private?" "oh, he is sweeping out the barracks," replied one of the generals, who was busy eating a leg of a turkey. "but i have ordered him a dish of bread and molasses to eat when his work is done." "let him be sent for," said the girl ruler. while they waited for this command to be obeyed, she enquired: "have we any other privates in the armies?" "oh, yes," replied the tin woodman, "i believe there are three, altogether." the private now entered, saluting his officers and the royal ozma very respectfully. "what is your name, my man?" asked the girl. "omby amby," answered the private. "then, omby amby," said she, "i promote you to be captain general of all the armies of my kingdom, and especially to be commander of my body guard at the royal palace." "it is very expensive to hold so many offices," said the private, hesitating. "i have no money with which to buy uniforms." "you shall be supplied from the royal treasury," said ozma. then the private was given a seat at the table, where the other officers welcomed him cordially, and the feasting and merriment were resumed. suddenly jellia jamb exclaimed: "there is nothing more to eat! the hungry tiger has consumed everything!" "but that is not the worst of it," declared the tiger, mournfully. "somewhere or somehow, i've actually lost my appetite!" [illustration] dorothy's magic belt [illustration] dorothy passed several very happy weeks in the land of oz as the guest of the royal ozma, who delighted to please and interest the little kansas girl. many new acquaintances were formed and many old ones renewed, and wherever she went dorothy found herself among friends. one day, however, as she sat in ozma's private room, she noticed hanging upon the wall a picture which constantly changed in appearance, at one time showing a meadow and at another time a forest, a lake or a village. "how curious!" she exclaimed, after watching the shifting scenes for a few moments. "yes," said ozma, "that is really a wonderful invention in magic. if i wish to see any part of the world or any person living, i need only express the wish and it is shown in the picture." "may i use it?" asked dorothy, eagerly. "of course, my dear." "then i'd like to see the old kansas farm, and aunt em," said the girl. instantly the well remembered farmhouse appeared in the picture, and aunt em could be seen quite plainly. she was engaged in washing dishes by the kitchen window and seemed quite well and contented. the hired men and the teams were in the harvest fields behind the house, and the corn and wheat seemed to the child to be in prime condition. on the side porch dorothy's pet dog, toto, was lying fast asleep in the sun, and to her surprise old speckles was running around with a brood of twelve new chickens trailing after her. "everything seems all right at home," said dorothy, with a sigh of relief. "now i wonder what uncle henry is doing." the scene in the picture at once shifted to australia, where, in a pleasant room in sydney, uncle henry was seated in an easy chair, solemnly smoking his briar pipe. he looked sad and lonely, and his hair was now quite white and his hands and face thin and wasted. "oh!" cried dorothy, in an anxious voice, "i'm sure uncle henry isn't getting any better, and it's because he is worried about me. ozma, dear, i must go to him at once!" "how can you?" asked ozma. "i don't know," replied dorothy; "but let us go to glinda the good. i'm sure she will help me, and advise me how to get to uncle henry." ozma readily agreed to this plan and caused the sawhorse to be harnessed to a pretty green and pink phaeton, and the two girls rode away to visit the famous sorceress. glinda received them graciously, and listened to dorothy's story with attention. "i have the magic belt, you know," said the little girl. "if i buckled it around my waist and commanded it to take me to uncle henry, wouldn't it do it?" "i think so," replied glinda, with a smile. "and then," continued dorothy, "if i ever wanted to come back here again, the belt would bring me." [illustration: "that is a wise plan," replied glinda] "in that you are wrong," said the sorceress. "the belt has magical powers only while it is in some fairy country, such as the land of oz, or the land of ev. indeed, my little friend, were you to wear it and wish yourself in australia, with your uncle, the wish would doubtless be fulfilled, because it was made in fairyland. but you would not find the magic belt around you when you arrived at your destination." "what would become of it?" asked the girl. "it would be lost, as were your silver shoes when you visited oz before, and no one would ever see it again. it seems too bad to destroy the use of the magic belt in that way, doesn't it?" "then," said dorothy, after a moment's thought, "i will give the magic belt to ozma, for she can use it in her own country. and she can wish me transported to uncle henry without losing the belt." "that is a wise plan," replied glinda. so they rode back to the emerald city, and on the way it was arranged that every saturday morning ozma would look at dorothy in her magic picture, wherever the little girl might chance to be. and, if she saw dorothy make a certain signal, then ozma would know that the little kansas girl wanted to revisit the land of oz, and by means of the nome king's magic belt would wish that she might instantly return. this having been agreed upon, dorothy bade good-bye to all her friends. tiktok wanted to go to australia, too; but dorothy knew that the machine man would never do for a servant in a civilized country, and the chances were that his machinery wouldn't work at all. so she left him in ozma's care. billina, on the contrary, preferred the land of oz to any other country, and refused to accompany dorothy. "the bugs and ants that i find here are the finest flavored in the world," declared the yellow hen, "and there are plenty of them. so here i shall end my days; and i must say, dorothy, my dear, that you are very foolish to go back into that stupid, humdrum world again." "uncle henry needs me," said dorothy, simply; and every one except billina thought it was right that she should go. all dorothy's friends of the land of oz--both old and new--gathered in a group in front of the palace to bid her a sorrowful good-bye and to wish her long life and happiness. after much hand shaking, dorothy kissed ozma once more, and then handed her the nome king's magic belt, saying: "now, dear princess, when i wave my handkerchief, please wish me with uncle henry. i'm aw'fly sorry to leave you--and the scarecrow--and the tin woodman--and the cowardly lion--and tiktok--and--and everybody--but i do want my uncle henry! so good-bye, all of you." [illustration] then the little girl stood on one of the big emeralds which decorated the courtyard, and after looking once again at each of her friends, waved her handkerchief. * * * * * "no," said dorothy, "i wasn't drowned at all. and i've come to nurse you and take care of you, uncle henry, and you must promise to get well as soon as poss'ble." uncle henry smiled and cuddled his little niece close in his lap. "i'm better already, my darling," said he. [illustration] * * * * * books by l. frank baum illustrated by john r. neill each book handsomely bound in artistic pictorial cover. $1.25 per volume. the land of oz an account of the adventures of the scarecrow, the tin woodman, jack punpkinhead, the animated saw-horse, the highly magnified woggle-bug, the gump and many other delightful characters. nearly 150 black-and-white illustrations and sixteen full-page pictures in color. ozma of oz the story tells "more about dorothy," as well as those famous characters, the scarecrow, the tin woodman and the cowardly lion, and something of several new creations equally delightful, including tiktok the machine man, the yellow hen, the nome king and the hungry tiger. forty-one full-page colored pictures; twenty-two half pages in color and fifty black-and-white text pictures. dorothy and the wizard in oz in this book dorothy, with zeb, a little boy friend, and jim, the cab horse, are swallowed up in an earthquake and reach a strange vegetable land, whence they escape to the land of oz, and meet all their old friends. among the new characters are eureka, dorothy's pink kitten, and the nine tiny piglets. gorgeously illustrated with sixteen full color pages and numerous black-and-white pictures. the road to oz tells how to reach the magic city of oz over a road leading through lands of many colors, peopled with odd characters, surcharged with adventure suitable for the minds and imaginations of young children. the manufacture represents an entirely new idea--the paper used is of various colors to indicate the several countries traversed by the road leading to oz and the emerald city. unique and gorgeous jacket in colors and gold. the emerald city of oz in this story, the nome king threatens to capture the emerald city. ozma and dorothy, with the help of glinda the good defeat his plan. all the old characters and many new ones enliven this story. 16 full-page pictures in four colors and green bronze. 100 black-and-white illustrations. jacket in four colors and aluminum and green bronze. the patchwork girl of oz in many ways the most successful of the oz books. a new and fascinating character, the patchwork girl, and ojo, a new boy, have adventures of lively interest. over 100 full-page pictures in full color and in black and white. full-length chapter heads in full color. jacket in four colors; cover in four stampings. ozma of oz a record of her adventures with dorothy gale of kansas, the yellow hen, the scarecrow, the tin woodman, tiktok, the cowardly lion and the hungry tiger; besides other good people too numerous to mention faithfully recorded herein by l. frank baum the author of the wizard of oz, the land of oz, etc. contents --author's note- 1. the girl in the chicken coop 2. the yellow hen 3. letters in the sand 4. tiktok, the machine man 5. dorothy opens the dinner pail 6. the heads of langwidere 7. ozma of oz to the rescue 8. the hungry tiger 9. the royal family of ev 10. the giant with the hammer 11. the nome king 12. the eleven guesses 13. the nome king laughs 14. dorothy tries to be brave 15. billina frightens the nome king 16. purple, green and gold 17. the scarecrow wins the fight 18. the fate of the tin woodman 19. the king of ev 20. the emerald city 21. dorothy's magic belt author's note my friends the children are responsible for this new "oz book," as they were for the last one, which was called the land of oz. their sweet little letters plead to know "more about dorothy"; and they ask: "what became of the cowardly lion?" and "what did ozma do afterward?"--meaning, of course, after she became the ruler of oz. and some of them suggest plots to me, saying: "please have dorothy go to the land of oz again"; or, "why don't you make ozma and dorothy meet, and have a good time together?" indeed, could i do all that my little friends ask, i would be obliged to write dozens of books to satisfy their demands. and i wish i could, for i enjoy writing these stories just as much as the children say they enjoy reading them. well, here is "more about dorothy," and about our old friends the scarecrow and the tin woodman, and about the cowardly lion, and ozma, and all the rest of them; and here, likewise, is a good deal about some new folks that are queer and unusual. one little friend, who read this story before it was printed, said to me: "billina is real ozzy, mr. baum, and so are tiktok and the hungry tiger." if this judgment is unbiased and correct, and the little folks find this new story "real ozzy," i shall be very glad indeed that i wrote it. but perhaps i shall get some more of those very welcome letters from my readers, telling me just how they like "ozma of oz." i hope so, anyway. l. frank baum. macatawa, 1907. 1. the girl in the chicken coop the wind blew hard and joggled the water of the ocean, sending ripples across its surface. then the wind pushed the edges of the ripples until they became waves, and shoved the waves around until they became billows. the billows rolled dreadfully high: higher even than the tops of houses. some of them, indeed, rolled as high as the tops of tall trees, and seemed like mountains; and the gulfs between the great billows were like deep valleys. all this mad dashing and splashing of the waters of the big ocean, which the mischievous wind caused without any good reason whatever, resulted in a terrible storm, and a storm on the ocean is liable to cut many queer pranks and do a lot of damage. at the time the wind began to blow, a ship was sailing far out upon the waters. when the waves began to tumble and toss and to grow bigger and bigger the ship rolled up and down, and tipped sidewise--first one way and then the other--and was jostled around so roughly that even the sailor-men had to hold fast to the ropes and railings to keep themselves from being swept away by the wind or pitched headlong into the sea. and the clouds were so thick in the sky that the sunlight couldn't get through them; so that the day grew dark as night, which added to the terrors of the storm. the captain of the ship was not afraid, because he had seen storms before, and had sailed his ship through them in safety; but he knew that his passengers would be in danger if they tried to stay on deck, so he put them all into the cabin and told them to stay there until after the storm was over, and to keep brave hearts and not be scared, and all would be well with them. now, among these passengers was a little kansas girl named dorothy gale, who was going with her uncle henry to australia, to visit some relatives they had never before seen. uncle henry, you must know, was not very well, because he had been working so hard on his kansas farm that his health had given way and left him weak and nervous. so he left aunt em at home to watch after the hired men and to take care of the farm, while he traveled far away to australia to visit his cousins and have a good rest. dorothy was eager to go with him on this journey, and uncle henry thought she would be good company and help cheer him up; so he decided to take her along. the little girl was quite an experienced traveller, for she had once been carried by a cyclone as far away from home as the marvelous land of oz, and she had met with a good many adventures in that strange country before she managed to get back to kansas again. so she wasn't easily frightened, whatever happened, and when the wind began to howl and whistle, and the waves began to tumble and toss, our little girl didn't mind the uproar the least bit. "of course we'll have to stay in the cabin," she said to uncle henry and the other passengers, "and keep as quiet as possible until the storm is over. for the captain says if we go on deck we may be blown overboard." no one wanted to risk such an accident as that, you may be sure; so all the passengers stayed huddled up in the dark cabin, listening to the shrieking of the storm and the creaking of the masts and rigging and trying to keep from bumping into one another when the ship tipped sidewise. dorothy had almost fallen asleep when she was aroused with a start to find that uncle henry was missing. she couldn't imagine where he had gone, and as he was not very strong she began to worry about him, and to fear he might have been careless enough to go on deck. in that case he would be in great danger unless he instantly came down again. the fact was that uncle henry had gone to lie down in his little sleeping-berth, but dorothy did not know that. she only remembered that aunt em had cautioned her to take good care of her uncle, so at once she decided to go on deck and find him, in spite of the fact that the tempest was now worse than ever, and the ship was plunging in a really dreadful manner. indeed, the little girl found it was as much as she could do to mount the stairs to the deck, and as soon as she got there the wind struck her so fiercely that it almost tore away the skirts of her dress. yet dorothy felt a sort of joyous excitement in defying the storm, and while she held fast to the railing she peered around through the gloom and thought she saw the dim form of a man clinging to a mast not far away from her. this might be her uncle, so she called as loudly as she could: "uncle henry! uncle henry!" but the wind screeched and howled so madly that she scarce heard her own voice, and the man certainly failed to hear her, for he did not move. dorothy decided she must go to him; so she made a dash forward, during a lull in the storm, to where a big square chicken-coop had been lashed to the deck with ropes. she reached this place in safety, but no sooner had she seized fast hold of the slats of the big box in which the chickens were kept than the wind, as if enraged because the little girl dared to resist its power, suddenly redoubled its fury. with a scream like that of an angry giant it tore away the ropes that held the coop and lifted it high into the air, with dorothy still clinging to the slats. around and over it whirled, this way and that, and a few moments later the chicken-coop dropped far away into the sea, where the big waves caught it and slid it up-hill to a foaming crest and then down-hill into a deep valley, as if it were nothing more than a plaything to keep them amused. dorothy had a good ducking, you may be sure, but she didn't lose her presence of mind even for a second. she kept tight hold of the stout slats and as soon as she could get the water out of her eyes she saw that the wind had ripped the cover from the coop, and the poor chickens were fluttering away in every direction, being blown by the wind until they looked like feather dusters without handles. the bottom of the coop was made of thick boards, so dorothy found she was clinging to a sort of raft, with sides of slats, which readily bore up her weight. after coughing the water out of her throat and getting her breath again, she managed to climb over the slats and stand upon the firm wooden bottom of the coop, which supported her easily enough. "why, i've got a ship of my own!" she thought, more amused than frightened at her sudden change of condition; and then, as the coop climbed up to the top of a big wave, she looked eagerly around for the ship from which she had been blown. it was far, far away, by this time. perhaps no one on board had yet missed her, or knew of her strange adventure. down into a valley between the waves the coop swept her, and when she climbed another crest the ship looked like a toy boat, it was such a long way off. soon it had entirely disappeared in the gloom, and then dorothy gave a sigh of regret at parting with uncle henry and began to wonder what was going to happen to her next. just now she was tossing on the bosom of a big ocean, with nothing to keep her afloat but a miserable wooden hen-coop that had a plank bottom and slatted sides, through which the water constantly splashed and wetted her through to the skin! and there was nothing to eat when she became hungry--as she was sure to do before long--and no fresh water to drink and no dry clothes to put on. "well, i declare!" she exclaimed, with a laugh. "you're in a pretty fix, dorothy gale, i can tell you! and i haven't the least idea how you're going to get out of it!" as if to add to her troubles the night was now creeping on, and the gray clouds overhead changed to inky blackness. but the wind, as if satisfied at last with its mischievous pranks, stopped blowing this ocean and hurried away to another part of the world to blow something else; so that the waves, not being joggled any more, began to quiet down and behave themselves. it was lucky for dorothy, i think, that the storm subsided; otherwise, brave though she was, i fear she might have perished. many children, in her place, would have wept and given way to despair; but because dorothy had encountered so many adventures and come safely through them it did not occur to her at this time to be especially afraid. she was wet and uncomfortable, it is true; but, after sighing that one sigh i told you of, she managed to recall some of her customary cheerfulness and decided to patiently await whatever her fate might be. by and by the black clouds rolled away and showed a blue sky overhead, with a silver moon shining sweetly in the middle of it and little stars winking merrily at dorothy when she looked their way. the coop did not toss around any more, but rode the waves more gently--almost like a cradle rocking--so that the floor upon which dorothy stood was no longer swept by water coming through the slats. seeing this, and being quite exhausted by the excitement of the past few hours, the little girl decided that sleep would be the best thing to restore her strength and the easiest way in which she could pass the time. the floor was damp and she was herself wringing wet, but fortunately this was a warm climate and she did not feel at all cold. so she sat down in a corner of the coop, leaned her back against the slats, nodded at the friendly stars before she closed her eyes, and was asleep in half a minute. 2. the yellow hen a strange noise awoke dorothy, who opened her eyes to find that day had dawned and the sun was shining brightly in a clear sky. she had been dreaming that she was back in kansas again, and playing in the old barn-yard with the calves and pigs and chickens all around her; and at first, as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes, she really imagined she was there. "kut-kut-kut, ka-daw-kut! kut-kut-kut, ka-daw-kut!" ah; here again was the strange noise that had awakened her. surely it was a hen cackling! but her wide-open eyes first saw, through the slats of the coop, the blue waves of the ocean, now calm and placid, and her thoughts flew back to the past night, so full of danger and discomfort. also she began to remember that she was a waif of the storm, adrift upon a treacherous and unknown sea. "kut-kut-kut, ka-daw-w-w--kut!" "what's that?" cried dorothy, starting to her feet. "why, i've just laid an egg, that's all," replied a small, but sharp and distinct voice, and looking around her the little girl discovered a yellow hen squatting in the opposite corner of the coop. "dear me!" she exclaimed, in surprise; "have you been here all night, too?" "of course," answered the hen, fluttering her wings and yawning. "when the coop blew away from the ship i clung fast to this corner, with claws and beak, for i knew if i fell into the water i'd surely be drowned. indeed, i nearly drowned, as it was, with all that water washing over me. i never was so wet before in my life!" "yes," agreed dorothy, "it was pretty wet, for a time, i know. but do you feel comfor'ble now?" "not very. the sun has helped to dry my feathers, as it has your dress, and i feel better since i laid my morning egg. but what's to become of us, i should like to know, afloat on this big pond?" "i'd like to know that, too," said dorothy. "but, tell me; how does it happen that you are able to talk? i thought hens could only cluck and cackle." "why, as for that," answered the yellow hen thoughtfully, "i've clucked and cackled all my life, and never spoken a word before this morning, that i can remember. but when you asked a question, a minute ago, it seemed the most natural thing in the world to answer you. so i spoke, and i seem to keep on speaking, just as you and other human beings do. strange, isn't it?" "very," replied dorothy. "if we were in the land of oz, i wouldn't think it so queer, because many of the animals can talk in that fairy country. but out here in the ocean must be a good long way from oz." "how is my grammar?" asked the yellow hen, anxiously. "do i speak quite properly, in your judgment?" "yes," said dorothy, "you do very well, for a beginner." "i'm glad to know that," continued the yellow hen, in a confidential tone; "because, if one is going to talk, it's best to talk correctly. the red rooster has often said that my cluck and my cackle were quite perfect; and now it's a comfort to know i am talking properly." "i'm beginning to get hungry," remarked dorothy. "it's breakfast time; but there's no breakfast." "you may have my egg," said the yellow hen. "i don't care for it, you know." "don't you want to hatch it?" asked the little girl, in surprise. "no, indeed; i never care to hatch eggs unless i've a nice snug nest, in some quiet place, with a baker's dozen of eggs under me. that's thirteen, you know, and it's a lucky number for hens. so you may as well eat this egg." "oh, i couldn't poss'bly eat it, unless it was cooked," exclaimed dorothy. "but i'm much obliged for your kindness, just the same." "don't mention it, my dear," answered the hen, calmly, and began preening her feathers. for a moment dorothy stood looking out over the wide sea. she was still thinking of the egg, though; so presently she asked: "why do you lay eggs, when you don't expect to hatch them?" "it's a habit i have," replied the yellow hen. "it has always been my pride to lay a fresh egg every morning, except when i'm moulting. i never feel like having my morning cackle till the egg is properly laid, and without the chance to cackle i would not be happy." "it's strange," said the girl, reflectively; "but as i'm not a hen i can't be 'spected to understand that." "certainly not, my dear." then dorothy fell silent again. the yellow hen was some company, and a bit of comfort, too; but it was dreadfully lonely out on the big ocean, nevertheless. after a time the hen flew up and perched upon the topmost slat of the coop, which was a little above dorothy's head when she was sitting upon the bottom, as she had been doing for some moments past. "why, we are not far from land!" exclaimed the hen. "where? where is it?" cried dorothy, jumping up in great excitement. "over there a little way," answered the hen, nodding her head in a certain direction. "we seem to be drifting toward it, so that before noon we ought to find ourselves upon dry land again." "i shall like that!" said dorothy, with a little sigh, for her feet and legs were still wetted now and then by the sea-water that came through the open slats. "so shall i," answered her companion. "there is nothing in the world so miserable as a wet hen." the land, which they seemed to be rapidly approaching, since it grew more distinct every minute, was quite beautiful as viewed by the little girl in the floating hen-coop. next to the water was a broad beach of white sand and gravel, and farther back were several rocky hills, while beyond these appeared a strip of green trees that marked the edge of a forest. but there were no houses to be seen, nor any sign of people who might inhabit this unknown land. "i hope we shall find something to eat," said dorothy, looking eagerly at the pretty beach toward which they drifted. "it's long past breakfast time, now." "i'm a trifle hungry, myself," declared the yellow hen. "why don't you eat the egg?" asked the child. "you don't need to have your food cooked, as i do." "do you take me for a cannibal?" cried the hen, indignantly. "i do not know what i have said or done that leads you to insult me!" "i beg your pardon, i'm sure mrs.--mrs.--by the way, may i inquire your name, ma'am?" asked the little girl. "my name is bill," said the yellow hen, somewhat gruffly. "bill! why, that's a boy's name." "what difference does that make?" "you're a lady hen, aren't you?" "of course. but when i was first hatched out no one could tell whether i was going to be a hen or a rooster; so the little boy at the farm where i was born called me bill, and made a pet of me because i was the only yellow chicken in the whole brood. when i grew up, and he found that i didn't crow and fight, as all the roosters do, he did not think to change my name, and every creature in the barn-yard, as well as the people in the house, knew me as 'bill.' so bill i've always been called, and bill is my name." "but it's all wrong, you know," declared dorothy, earnestly; "and, if you don't mind, i shall call you 'billina.' putting the 'eena' on the end makes it a girl's name, you see." "oh, i don't mind it in the least," returned the yellow hen. "it doesn't matter at all what you call me, so long as i know the name means me." "very well, billina. my name is dorothy gale--just dorothy to my friends and miss gale to strangers. you may call me dorothy, if you like. we're getting very near the shore. do you suppose it is too deep for me to wade the rest of the way?" "wait a few minutes longer. the sunshine is warm and pleasant, and we are in no hurry." "but my feet are all wet and soggy," said the girl. "my dress is dry enough, but i won't feel real comfor'ble till i get my feet dried." she waited, however, as the hen advised, and before long the big wooden coop grated gently on the sandy beach and the dangerous voyage was over. it did not take the castaways long to reach the shore, you may be sure. the yellow hen flew to the sands at once, but dorothy had to climb over the high slats. still, for a country girl, that was not much of a feat, and as soon as she was safe ashore dorothy drew off her wet shoes and stockings and spread them upon the sun-warmed beach to dry. then she sat down and watched billina, who was pick-pecking away with her sharp bill in the sand and gravel, which she scratched up and turned over with her strong claws. "what are you doing?" asked dorothy. "getting my breakfast, of course," murmured the hen, busily pecking away. "what do you find?" inquired the girl, curiously. "oh, some fat red ants, and some sand-bugs, and once in a while a tiny crab. they are very sweet and nice, i assure you." "how dreadful!" exclaimed dorothy, in a shocked voice. "what is dreadful?" asked the hen, lifting her head to gaze with one bright eye at her companion. "why, eating live things, and horrid bugs, and crawly ants. you ought to be 'shamed of yourself!" "goodness me!" returned the hen, in a puzzled tone; "how queer you are, dorothy! live things are much fresher and more wholesome than dead ones, and you humans eat all sorts of dead creatures." "we don't!" said dorothy. "you do, indeed," answered billina. "you eat lambs and sheep and cows and pigs and even chickens." "but we cook 'em," said dorothy, triumphantly. "what difference does that make?" "a good deal," said the girl, in a graver tone. "i can't just 'splain the diff'rence, but it's there. and, anyhow, we never eat such dreadful things as bugs." "but you eat the chickens that eat the bugs," retorted the yellow hen, with an odd cackle. "so you are just as bad as we chickens are." this made dorothy thoughtful. what billina said was true enough, and it almost took away her appetite for breakfast. as for the yellow hen, she continued to peck away at the sand busily, and seemed quite contented with her bill-of-fare. finally, down near the water's edge, billina stuck her bill deep into the sand, and then drew back and shivered. "ow!" she cried. "i struck metal, that time, and it nearly broke my beak." "it prob'bly was a rock," said dorothy, carelessly. "nonsense. i know a rock from metal, i guess," said the hen. "there's a different feel to it." "but there couldn't be any metal on this wild, deserted seashore," persisted the girl. "where's the place? i'll dig it up, and prove to you i'm right." billina showed her the place where she had "stubbed her bill," as she expressed it, and dorothy dug away the sand until she felt something hard. then, thrusting in her hand, she pulled the thing out, and discovered it to be a large sized golden key--rather old, but still bright and of perfect shape. "what did i tell you?" cried the hen, with a cackle of triumph. "can i tell metal when i bump into it, or is the thing a rock?" "it's metal, sure enough," answered the child, gazing thoughtfully at the curious thing she had found. "i think it is pure gold, and it must have lain hidden in the sand for a long time. how do you suppose it came there, billina? and what do you suppose this mysterious key unlocks?" "i can't say," replied the hen. "you ought to know more about locks and keys than i do." dorothy glanced around. there was no sign of any house in that part of the country, and she reasoned that every key must fit a lock and every lock must have a purpose. perhaps the key had been lost by somebody who lived far away, but had wandered on this very shore. musing on these things the girl put the key in the pocket of her dress and then slowly drew on her shoes and stockings, which the sun had fully dried. "i b'lieve, billina," she said, "i'll have a look 'round, and see if i can find some breakfast." 3. letters in the sand walking a little way back from the water's edge, toward the grove of trees, dorothy came to a flat stretch of white sand that seemed to have queer signs marked upon its surface, just as one would write upon sand with a stick. "what does it say?" she asked the yellow hen, who trotted along beside her in a rather dignified fashion. "how should i know?" returned the hen. "i cannot read." "oh! can't you?" "certainly not; i've never been to school, you know." "well, i have," admitted dorothy; "but the letters are big and far apart, and it's hard to spell out the words." but she looked at each letter carefully, and finally discovered that these words were written in the sand: "beware the wheelers!" "that's rather strange," declared the hen, when dorothy had read aloud the words. "what do you suppose the wheelers are?" "folks that wheel, i guess. they must have wheelbarrows, or baby-cabs or hand-carts," said dorothy. "perhaps they're automobiles," suggested the yellow hen. "there is no need to beware of baby-cabs and wheelbarrows; but automobiles are dangerous things. several of my friends have been run over by them." "it can't be auto'biles," replied the girl, "for this is a new, wild country, without even trolley-cars or tel'phones. the people here haven't been discovered yet, i'm sure; that is, if there are any people. so i don't b'lieve there can be any auto'biles, billina." "perhaps not," admitted the yellow hen. "where are you going now?" "over to those trees, to see if i can find some fruit or nuts," answered dorothy. she tramped across the sand, skirting the foot of one of the little rocky hills that stood near, and soon reached the edge of the forest. at first she was greatly disappointed, because the nearer trees were all punita, or cotton-wood or eucalyptus, and bore no fruit or nuts at all. but, bye and bye, when she was almost in despair, the little girl came upon two trees that promised to furnish her with plenty of food. one was quite full of square paper boxes, which grew in clusters on all the limbs, and upon the biggest and ripest boxes the word "lunch" could be read, in neat raised letters. this tree seemed to bear all the year around, for there were lunch-box blossoms on some of the branches, and on others tiny little lunch-boxes that were as yet quite green, and evidently not fit to eat until they had grown bigger. the leaves of this tree were all paper napkins, and it presented a very pleasing appearance to the hungry little girl. but the tree next to the lunch-box tree was even more wonderful, for it bore quantities of tin dinner-pails, which were so full and heavy that the stout branches bent underneath their weight. some were small and dark-brown in color; those larger were of a dull tin color; but the really ripe ones were pails of bright tin that shone and glistened beautifully in the rays of sunshine that touched them. dorothy was delighted, and even the yellow hen acknowledged that she was surprised. the little girl stood on tip-toe and picked one of the nicest and biggest lunch-boxes, and then she sat down upon the ground and eagerly opened it. inside she found, nicely wrapped in white papers, a ham sandwich, a piece of sponge-cake, a pickle, a slice of new cheese and an apple. each thing had a separate stem, and so had to be picked off the side of the box; but dorothy found them all to be delicious, and she ate every bit of luncheon in the box before she had finished. "a lunch isn't zactly breakfast," she said to billina, who sat beside her curiously watching. "but when one is hungry one can eat even supper in the morning, and not complain." "i hope your lunch-box was perfectly ripe," observed the yellow hen, in a anxious tone. "so much sickness is caused by eating green things." "oh, i'm sure it was ripe," declared dorothy, "all, that is, 'cept the pickle, and a pickle just has to be green, billina. but everything tasted perfectly splendid, and i'd rather have it than a church picnic. and now i think i'll pick a dinner-pail, to have when i get hungry again, and then we'll start out and 'splore the country, and see where we are." "haven't you any idea what country this is?" inquired billina. "none at all. but listen: i'm quite sure it's a fairy country, or such things as lunch-boxes and dinner-pails wouldn't be growing upon trees. besides, billina, being a hen, you wouldn't be able to talk in any civ'lized country, like kansas, where no fairies live at all." "perhaps we're in the land of oz," said the hen, thoughtfully. "no, that can't be," answered the little girl; "because i've been to the land of oz, and it's all surrounded by a horrid desert that no one can cross." "then how did you get away from there again?" asked billina. "i had a pair of silver shoes, that carried me through the air; but i lost them," said dorothy. "ah, indeed," remarked the yellow hen, in a tone of unbelief. "anyhow," resumed the girl, "there is no seashore near the land of oz, so this must surely be some other fairy country." while she was speaking she selected a bright and pretty dinner-pail that seemed to have a stout handle, and picked it from its branch. then, accompanied by the yellow hen, she walked out of the shadow of the trees toward the sea-shore. they were part way across the sands when billina suddenly cried, in a voice of terror: "what's that?" dorothy turned quickly around, and saw coming out of a path that led from between the trees the most peculiar person her eyes had ever beheld. it had the form of a man, except that it walked, or rather rolled, upon all fours, and its legs were the same length as its arms, giving them the appearance of the four legs of a beast. yet it was no beast that dorothy had discovered, for the person was clothed most gorgeously in embroidered garments of many colors, and wore a straw hat perched jauntily upon the side of its head. but it differed from human beings in this respect, that instead of hands and feet there grew at the end of its arms and legs round wheels, and by means of these wheels it rolled very swiftly over the level ground. afterward dorothy found that these odd wheels were of the same hard substance that our finger-nails and toe-nails are composed of, and she also learned that creatures of this strange race were born in this queer fashion. but when our little girl first caught sight of the first individual of a race that was destined to cause her a lot of trouble, she had an idea that the brilliantly-clothed personage was on roller-skates, which were attached to his hands as well as to his feet. "run!" screamed the yellow hen, fluttering away in great fright. "it's a wheeler!" "a wheeler?" exclaimed dorothy. "what can that be?" "don't you remember the warning in the sand: 'beware the wheelers'? run, i tell you--run!" so dorothy ran, and the wheeler gave a sharp, wild cry and came after her in full chase. looking over her shoulder as she ran, the girl now saw a great procession of wheelers emerging from the forest--dozens and dozens of them--all clad in splendid, tight-fitting garments and all rolling swiftly toward her and uttering their wild, strange cries. "they're sure to catch us!" panted the girl, who was still carrying the heavy dinner-pail she had picked. "i can't run much farther, billina." "climb up this hill,--quick!" said the hen; and dorothy found she was very near to the heap of loose and jagged rocks they had passed on their way to the forest. the yellow hen was even now fluttering among the rocks, and dorothy followed as best she could, half climbing and half tumbling up the rough and rugged steep. she was none too soon, for the foremost wheeler reached the hill a moment after her; but while the girl scrambled up the rocks the creature stopped short with howls of rage and disappointment. dorothy now heard the yellow hen laughing, in her cackling, henny way. "don't hurry, my dear," cried billina. "they can't follow us among these rocks, so we're safe enough now." dorothy stopped at once and sat down upon a broad boulder, for she was all out of breath. the rest of the wheelers had now reached the foot of the hill, but it was evident that their wheels would not roll upon the rough and jagged rocks, and therefore they were helpless to follow dorothy and the hen to where they had taken refuge. but they circled all around the little hill, so the child and billina were fast prisoners and could not come down without being captured. then the creatures shook their front wheels at dorothy in a threatening manner, and it seemed they were able to speak as well as to make their dreadful outcries, for several of them shouted: "we'll get you in time, never fear! and when we do get you, we'll tear you into little bits!" "why are you so cruel to me?" asked dorothy. "i'm a stranger in your country, and have done you no harm." "no harm!" cried one who seemed to be their leader. "did you not pick our lunch-boxes and dinner-pails? have you not a stolen dinner-pail still in your hand?" "i only picked one of each," she answered. "i was hungry, and i didn't know the trees were yours." "that is no excuse," retorted the leader, who was clothed in a most gorgeous suit. "it is the law here that whoever picks a dinner-pail without our permission must die immediately." "don't you believe him," said billina. "i'm sure the trees do not belong to these awful creatures. they are fit for any mischief, and it's my opinion they would try to kill us just the same if you hadn't picked a dinner-pail." "i think so, too," agreed dorothy. "but what shall we do now?" "stay where we are," advised the yellow hen. "we are safe from the wheelers until we starve to death, anyhow; and before that time comes a good many things can happen." 4. tiktok the machine man after an hour or so most of the band of wheelers rolled back into the forest, leaving only three of their number to guard the hill. these curled themselves up like big dogs and pretended to go to sleep on the sands; but neither dorothy nor billina were fooled by this trick, so they remained in security among the rocks and paid no attention to their cunning enemies. finally the hen, fluttering over the mound, exclaimed: "why, here's a path!" so dorothy at once clambered to where billina sat, and there, sure enough, was a smooth path cut between the rocks. it seemed to wind around the mound from top to bottom, like a cork-screw, twisting here and there between the rough boulders but always remaining level and easy to walk upon. indeed, dorothy wondered at first why the wheelers did not roll up this path; but when she followed it to the foot of the mound she found that several big pieces of rock had been placed directly across the end of the way, thus preventing any one outside from seeing it and also preventing the wheelers from using it to climb up the mound. then dorothy walked back up the path, and followed it until she came to the very top of the hill, where a solitary round rock stood that was bigger than any of the others surrounding it. the path came to an end just beside this great rock, and for a moment it puzzled the girl to know why the path had been made at all. but the hen, who had been gravely following her around and was now perched upon a point of rock behind dorothy, suddenly remarked: "it looks something like a door, doesn't it?" "what looks like a door?" enquired the child. "why, that crack in the rock, just facing you," replied billina, whose little round eyes were very sharp and seemed to see everything. "it runs up one side and down the other, and across the top and the bottom." "what does?" "why, the crack. so i think it must be a door of rock, although i do not see any hinges." "oh, yes," said dorothy, now observing for the first time the crack in the rock. "and isn't this a key-hole, billina?" pointing to a round, deep hole at one side of the door. "of course. if we only had the key, now, we could unlock it and see what is there," replied the yellow hen. "may be it's a treasure chamber full of diamonds and rubies, or heaps of shining gold, or--" "that reminds me," said dorothy, "of the golden key i picked up on the shore. do you think that it would fit this key-hole, billina?" "try it and see," suggested the hen. so dorothy searched in the pocket of her dress and found the golden key. and when she had put it into the hole of the rock, and turned it, a sudden sharp snap was heard; then, with a solemn creak that made the shivers run down the child's back, the face of the rock fell outward, like a door on hinges, and revealed a small dark chamber just inside. "good gracious!" cried dorothy, shrinking back as far as the narrow path would let her. for, standing within the narrow chamber of rock, was the form of a man--or, at least, it seemed like a man, in the dim light. he was only about as tall as dorothy herself, and his body was round as a ball and made out of burnished copper. also his head and limbs were copper, and these were jointed or hinged to his body in a peculiar way, with metal caps over the joints, like the armor worn by knights in days of old. he stood perfectly still, and where the light struck upon his form it glittered as if made of pure gold. "don't be frightened," called billina, from her perch. "it isn't alive." "i see it isn't," replied the girl, drawing a long breath. "it is only made out of copper, like the old kettle in the barn-yard at home," continued the hen, turning her head first to one side and then to the other, so that both her little round eyes could examine the object. "once," said dorothy, "i knew a man made out of tin, who was a woodman named nick chopper. but he was as alive as we are, 'cause he was born a real man, and got his tin body a little at a time--first a leg and then a finger and then an ear--for the reason that he had so many accidents with his axe, and cut himself up in a very careless manner." "oh," said the hen, with a sniff, as if she did not believe the story. "but this copper man," continued dorothy, looking at it with big eyes, "is not alive at all, and i wonder what it was made for, and why it was locked up in this queer place." "that is a mystery," remarked the hen, twisting her head to arrange her wing-feathers with her bill. dorothy stepped inside the little room to get a back view of the copper man, and in this way discovered a printed card that hung between his shoulders, it being suspended from a small copper peg at the back of his neck. she unfastened this card and returned to the path, where the light was better, and sat herself down upon a slab of rock to read the printing. "what does it say?" asked the hen, curiously. dorothy read the card aloud, spelling out the big words with some difficulty; and this is what she read: +-----------------------------------------------------------------+ | | | smith & tinker's | | patent double-action, extra-responsive, | | thought-creating, perfect-talking | | mechanical man | | fitted with our special clock-work attachment. | | thinks, speaks, acts, and does everything but live. | | manufactured only at our works at evna, land of ev. | | all infringements will be promptly prosecuted according to law. | | | +-----------------------------------------------------------------+ "how queer!" said the yellow hen. "do you think that is all true, my dear?" "i don't know," answered dorothy, who had more to read. "listen to this, billina:" +--------------------------------------------------+ | | | directions for using: | | for thinking:--wind the clock-work man under his | | left arm, (marked no. 1.) | | for speaking:--wind the clock-work man under his | | right arm, (marked no. 2.) | | for walking and action:--wind clock-work in the | | middle of his back, (marked no. 3.) | | n. b.--this mechanism is guaranteed to work | | perfectly for a thousand years. | | | +--------------------------------------------------+ "well, i declare!" gasped the yellow hen, in amazement; "if the copper man can do half of these things he is a very wonderful machine. but i suppose it is all humbug, like so many other patented articles." "we might wind him up," suggested dorothy, "and see what he'll do." "where is the key to the clock-work?" asked billina. "hanging on the peg where i found the card." "then," said the hen, "let us try him, and find out if he will go. he is warranted for a thousand years, it seems; but we do not know how long he has been standing inside this rock." dorothy had already taken the clock key from the peg. "which shall i wind up first?" she asked, looking again at the directions on the card. "number one, i should think," returned billina. "that makes him think, doesn't it?" "yes," said dorothy, and wound up number one, under the left arm. "he doesn't seem any different," remarked the hen, critically. "why, of course not; he is only thinking, now," said dorothy. "i wonder what he is thinking about." "i'll wind up his talk, and then perhaps he can tell us," said the girl. so she wound up number two, and immediately the clock-work man said, without moving any part of his body except his lips: "good morn-ing, lit-tle girl. good morn-ing, mrs. hen." the words sounded a little hoarse and creaky, and they were uttered all in the same tone, without any change of expression whatever; but both dorothy and billina understood them perfectly. "good morning, sir," they answered, politely. "thank you for res-cu-ing me," continued the machine, in the same monotonous voice, which seemed to be worked by a bellows inside of him, like the little toy lambs and cats the children squeeze so that they will make a noise. "don't mention it," answered dorothy. and then, being very curious, she asked: "how did you come to be locked up in this place?" "it is a long sto-ry," replied the copper man; "but i will tell it to you brief-ly. i was pur-chased from smith & tin-ker, my man-u-fac-tur-ers, by a cru-el king of ev, named ev-ol-do, who used to beat all his serv-ants un-til they died. how-ev-er, he was not a-ble to kill me, be-cause i was not a-live, and one must first live in or-der to die. so that all his beat-ing did me no harm, and mere-ly kept my cop-per bod-y well pol-ished. "this cru-el king had a love-ly wife and ten beau-ti-ful chil-dren--five boys and five girls--but in a fit of an-ger he sold them all to the nome king, who by means of his mag-ic arts changed them all in-to oth-er forms and put them in his un-der-ground pal-ace to or-na-ment the rooms. "af-ter-ward the king of ev re-gret-ted his wick-ed ac-tion, and tried to get his wife and chil-dren a-way from the nome king, but with-out a-vail. so, in de-spair, he locked me up in this rock, threw the key in-to the o-cean, and then jumped in af-ter it and was drowned." "how very dreadful!" exclaimed dorothy. "it is, in-deed," said the machine. "when i found my-self im-pris-oned i shout-ed for help un-til my voice ran down; and then i walked back and forth in this lit-tle room un-til my ac-tion ran down; and then i stood still and thought un-til my thoughts ran down. af-ter that i re-mem-ber noth-ing un-til you wound me up a-gain." "it's a very wonderful story," said dorothy, "and proves that the land of ev is really a fairy land, as i thought it was." "of course it is," answered the copper man. "i do not sup-pose such a per-fect ma-chine as i am could be made in an-y place but a fair-y land." "i've never seen one in kansas," said dorothy. "but where did you get the key to un-lock this door?" asked the clock-work voice. "i found it on the shore, where it was prob'ly washed up by the waves," she answered. "and now, sir, if you don't mind, i'll wind up your action." "that will please me ve-ry much," said the machine. so she wound up number three, and at once the copper man in a somewhat stiff and jerky fashion walked out of the rocky cavern, took off his copper hat and bowed politely, and then kneeled before dorothy. said he: "from this time forth i am your o-be-di-ent ser-vant. what-ev-er you com-mand, that i will do will-ing-ly--if you keep me wound up." "what is your name?" she asked. "tik-tok," he replied. "my for-mer mas-ter gave me that name be-cause my clock-work al-ways ticks when it is wound up." "i can hear it now," said the yellow hen. "so can i," said dorothy. and then she added, with some anxiety: "you don't strike, do you?" "no," answered tiktok; "and there is no a-larm con-nec-ted with my ma-chin-er-y. i can tell the time, though, by speak-ing, and as i nev-er sleep i can wak-en you at an-y hour you wish to get up in the morn-ing." "that's nice," said the little girl; "only i never wish to get up in the morning." "you can sleep until i lay my egg," said the yellow hen. "then, when i cackle, tiktok will know it is time to waken you." "do you lay your egg very early?" asked dorothy. "about eight o'clock," said billina. "and everybody ought to be up by that time, i'm sure." 5. dorothy opens the dinner pail "now tiktok," said dorothy, "the first thing to be done is to find a way for us to escape from these rocks. the wheelers are down below, you know, and threaten to kill us." "there is no rea-son to be a-fraid of the wheel-ers," said tiktok, the words coming more slowly than before. "why not?" she asked. "be-cause they are ag-g-g--gr-gr-r-r-" he gave a sort of gurgle and stopped short, waving his hands frantically until suddenly he became motionless, with one arm in the air and the other held stiffly before him with all the copper fingers of the hand spread out like a fan. "dear me!" said dorothy, in a frightened tone. "what can the matter be?" "he's run down, i suppose," said the hen, calmly. "you couldn't have wound him up very tight." "i didn't know how much to wind him," replied the girl; "but i'll try to do better next time." she ran around the copper man to take the key from the peg at the back of his neck, but it was not there. "it's gone!" cried dorothy, in dismay. "what's gone?" asked billina. "the key." "it probably fell off when he made that low bow to you," returned the hen. "look around, and see if you cannot find it again." dorothy looked, and the hen helped her, and by and by the girl discovered the clock-key, which had fallen into a crack of the rock. at once she wound up tiktok's voice, taking care to give the key as many turns as it would go around. she found this quite a task, as you may imagine if you have ever tried to wind a clock, but the machine man's first words were to assure dorothy that he would now run for at least twenty-four hours. "you did not wind me much, at first," he calmly said, "and i told you that long sto-ry a-bout king ev-ol-do; so it is no won-der that i ran down." she next rewound the action clock-work, and then billina advised her to carry the key to tiktok in her pocket, so it would not get lost again. "and now," said dorothy, when all this was accomplished, "tell me what you were going to say about the wheelers." "why, they are noth-ing to be fright-en'd at," said the machine. "they try to make folks be-lieve that they are ver-y ter-ri-ble, but as a mat-ter of fact the wheel-ers are harm-less e-nough to an-y one that dares to fight them. they might try to hurt a lit-tle girl like you, per-haps, be-cause they are ver-y mis-chiev-ous. but if i had a club they would run a-way as soon as they saw me." "haven't you a club?" asked dorothy. "no," said tiktok. "and you won't find such a thing among these rocks, either," declared the yellow hen. "then what shall we do?" asked the girl. "wind up my think-works tight-ly, and i will try to think of some oth-er plan," said tiktok. so dorothy rewound his thought machinery, and while he was thinking she decided to eat her dinner. billina was already pecking away at the cracks in the rocks, to find something to eat, so dorothy sat down and opened her tin dinner-pail. in the cover she found a small tank that was full of very nice lemonade. it was covered by a cup, which might also, when removed, be used to drink the lemonade from. within the pail were three slices of turkey, two slices of cold tongue, some lobster salad, four slices of bread and butter, a small custard pie, an orange and nine large strawberries, and some nuts and raisins. singularly enough, the nuts in this dinner-pail grew already cracked, so that dorothy had no trouble in picking out their meats to eat. she spread the feast upon the rock beside her and began her dinner, first offering some of it to tiktok, who declined because, as he said, he was merely a machine. afterward she offered to share with billina, but the hen murmured something about "dead things" and said she preferred her bugs and ants. "do the lunch-box trees and the dinner-pail trees belong to the wheelers?" the child asked tiktok, while engaged in eating her meal. "of course not," he answered. "they be-long to the roy-al fam-il-y of ev, on-ly of course there is no roy-al fam-il-y just now be-cause king ev-ol-do jumped in-to the sea and his wife and ten chil-dren have been trans-formed by the nome king. so there is no one to rule the land of ev, that i can think of. per-haps it is for this rea-son that the wheel-ers claim the trees for their own, and pick the lunch-eons and din-ners to eat them-selves. but they be-long to the king, and you will find the roy-al "e" stamped up-on the bot-tom of ev-er-y din-ner pail." dorothy turned the pail over, and at once discovered the royal mark upon it, as tiktok had said. "are the wheelers the only folks living in the land of ev?" enquired the girl. "no; they on-ly in-hab-it a small por-tion of it just back of the woods," replied the machine. "but they have al-ways been mis-chiev-ous and im-per-ti-nent, and my old mas-ter, king ev-ol-do, used to car-ry a whip with him, when he walked out, to keep the crea-tures in or-der. when i was first made the wheel-ers tried to run o-ver me, and butt me with their heads; but they soon found i was built of too sol-id a ma-ter-i-al for them to in-jure." "you seem very durable," said dorothy. "who made you?" "the firm of smith & tin-ker, in the town of evna, where the roy-al pal-ace stands," answered tiktok. "did they make many of you?" asked the child. "no; i am the on-ly au-to-mat-ic me-chan-i-cal man they ev-er com-plet-ed," he replied. "they were ver-y won-der-ful in-ven-tors, were my mak-ers, and quite ar-tis-tic in all they did." "i am sure of that," said dorothy. "do they live in the town of evna now?" "they are both gone," replied the machine. "mr. smith was an art-ist, as well as an in-vent-or, and he paint-ed a pic-ture of a riv-er which was so nat-ur-al that, as he was reach-ing a-cross it to paint some flow-ers on the op-po-site bank, he fell in-to the wa-ter and was drowned." "oh, i'm sorry for that!" exclaimed the little girl. "mis-ter tin-ker," continued tiktok, "made a lad-der so tall that he could rest the end of it a-gainst the moon, while he stood on the high-est rung and picked the lit-tle stars to set in the points of the king's crown. but when he got to the moon mis-ter tin-ker found it such a love-ly place that he de-cid-ed to live there, so he pulled up the lad-der af-ter him and we have nev-er seen him since." "he must have been a great loss to this country," said dorothy, who was by this time eating her custard pie. "he was," acknowledged tiktok. "also he is a great loss to me. for if i should get out of or-der i do not know of an-y one a-ble to re-pair me, be-cause i am so com-pli-cat-ed. you have no i-de-a how full of ma-chin-er-y i am." "i can imagine it," said dorothy, readily. "and now," continued the machine, "i must stop talk-ing and be-gin think-ing a-gain of a way to es-cape from this rock." so he turned half way around, in order to think without being disturbed. "the best thinker i ever knew," said dorothy to the yellow hen, "was a scarecrow." "nonsense!" snapped billina. "it is true," declared dorothy. "i met him in the land of oz, and he traveled with me to the city of the great wizard of oz, so as to get some brains, for his head was only stuffed with straw. but it seemed to me that he thought just as well before he got his brains as he did afterward." "do you expect me to believe all that rubbish about the land of oz?" enquired billina, who seemed a little cross--perhaps because bugs were scarce. "what rubbish?" asked the child, who was now finishing her nuts and raisins. "why, your impossible stories about animals that can talk, and a tin woodman who is alive, and a scarecrow who can think." "they are all there," said dorothy, "for i have seen them." "i don't believe it!" cried the hen, with a toss of her head. "that's 'cause you're so ign'rant," replied the girl, who was a little offended at her friend billina's speech. "in the land of oz," remarked tiktok, turning toward them, "an-y-thing is pos-si-ble. for it is a won-der-ful fair-y coun-try." "there, billina! what did i say?" cried dorothy. and then she turned to the machine and asked in an eager tone: "do you know the land of oz, tiktok?" "no; but i have heard a-bout it," said the cop-per man. "for it is on-ly sep-a-ra-ted from this land of ev by a broad des-ert." dorothy clapped her hands together delightedly. "i'm glad of that!" she exclaimed. "it makes me quite happy to be so near my old friends. the scarecrow i told you of, billina, is the king of the land of oz." "par-don me. he is not the king now," said tiktok. "he was when i left there," declared dorothy. "i know," said tiktok, "but there was a rev-o-lu-tion in the land of oz, and the scare-crow was de-posed by a sol-dier wo-man named gen-er-al jin-jur. and then jin-jur was de-posed by a lit-tle girl named oz-ma, who was the right-ful heir to the throne and now rules the land un-der the ti-tle of oz-ma of oz." "that is news to me," said dorothy, thoughtfully. "but i s'pose lots of things have happened since i left the land of oz. i wonder what has become of the scarecrow, and of the tin woodman, and the cowardly lion. and i wonder who this girl ozma is, for i never heard of her before." but tiktok did not reply to this. he had turned around again to resume his thinking. dorothy packed the rest of the food back into the pail, so as not to be wasteful of good things, and the yellow hen forgot her dignity far enough to pick up all of the scattered crumbs, which she ate rather greedily, although she had so lately pretended to despise the things that dorothy preferred as food. by this time tiktok approached them with his stiff bow. "be kind e-nough to fol-low me," he said, "and i will lead you a-way from here to the town of ev-na, where you will be more com-for-ta-ble, and al-so i will pro-tect you from the wheel-ers." "all right," answered dorothy, promptly. "i'm ready!" 6. the heads of langwidere they walked slowly down the path between the rocks, tiktok going first, dorothy following him, and the yellow hen trotting along last of all. at the foot of the path the copper man leaned down and tossed aside with ease the rocks that encumbered the way. then he turned to dorothy and said: "let me car-ry your din-ner-pail." she placed it in his right hand at once, and the copper fingers closed firmly over the stout handle. then the little procession marched out upon the level sands. as soon as the three wheelers who were guarding the mound saw them, they began to shout their wild cries and rolled swiftly toward the little group, as if to capture them or bar their way. but when the foremost had approached near enough, tiktok swung the tin dinner-pail and struck the wheeler a sharp blow over its head with the queer weapon. perhaps it did not hurt very much, but it made a great noise, and the wheeler uttered a howl and tumbled over upon its side. the next minute it scrambled to its wheels and rolled away as fast as it could go, screeching with fear at the same time. "i told you they were harm-less," began tiktok; but before he could say more another wheeler was upon them. crack! went the dinner-pail against its head, knocking its straw hat a dozen feet away; and that was enough for this wheeler, also. it rolled away after the first one, and the third did not wait to be pounded with the pail, but joined its fellows as quickly as its wheels would whirl. the yellow hen gave a cackle of delight, and flying to a perch upon tiktok's shoulder, she said: "bravely done, my copper friend! and wisely thought of, too. now we are free from those ugly creatures." but just then a large band of wheelers rolled from the forest, and relying upon their numbers to conquer, they advanced fiercely upon tiktok. dorothy grabbed billina in her arms and held her tight, and the machine embraced the form of the little girl with his left arm, the better to protect her. then the wheelers were upon them. rattlety, bang! bang! went the dinner-pail in every direction, and it made so much clatter bumping against the heads of the wheelers that they were much more frightened than hurt and fled in a great panic. all, that is, except their leader. this wheeler had stumbled against another and fallen flat upon his back, and before he could get his wheels under him to rise again, tiktok had fastened his copper fingers into the neck of the gorgeous jacket of his foe and held him fast. "tell your peo-ple to go a-way," commanded the machine. the leader of the wheelers hesitated to give this order, so tiktok shook him as a terrier dog does a rat, until the wheeler's teeth rattled together with a noise like hailstones on a window pane. then, as soon as the creature could get its breath, it shouted to the others to roll away, which they immediately did. "now," said tiktok, "you shall come with us and tell me what i want to know." "you'll be sorry for treating me in this way," whined the wheeler. "i'm a terribly fierce person." "as for that," answered tiktok, "i am only a ma-chine, and can-not feel sor-row or joy, no mat-ter what hap-pens. but you are wrong to think your-self ter-ri-ble or fierce." "why so?" asked the wheeler. "be-cause no one else thinks as you do. your wheels make you help-less to in-jure an-y one. for you have no fists and can not scratch or e-ven pull hair. nor have you an-y feet to kick with. all you can do is to yell and shout, and that does not hurt an-y one at all." the wheeler burst into a flood of tears, to dorothy's great surprise. "now i and my people are ruined forever!" he sobbed; "for you have discovered our secret. being so helpless, our only hope is to make people afraid of us, by pretending we are very fierce and terrible, and writing in the sand warnings to beware the wheelers. until now we have frightened everyone, but since you have discovered our weakness our enemies will fall upon us and make us very miserable and unhappy." "oh, no," exclaimed dorothy, who was sorry to see this beautifully dressed wheeler so miserable; "tiktok will keep your secret, and so will billina and i. only, you must promise not to try to frighten children any more, if they come near to you." "i won't--indeed i won't!" promised the wheeler, ceasing to cry and becoming more cheerful. "i'm not really bad, you know; but we have to pretend to be terrible in order to prevent others from attacking us." "that is not ex-act-ly true," said tiktok, starting to walk toward the path through the forest, and still holding fast to his prisoner, who rolled slowly along beside him. "you and your peo-ple are full of mis-chief, and like to both-er those who fear you. and you are of-ten im-pu-dent and dis-a-gree-a-ble, too. but if you will try to cure those faults i will not tell any-one how help-less you are." "i'll try, of course," replied the wheeler, eagerly. "and thank you, mr. tiktok, for your kindness." "i am on-ly a ma-chine," said tiktok. "i can not be kind an-y more than i can be sor-ry or glad. i can on-ly do what i am wound up to do." "are you wound up to keep my secret?" asked the wheeler, anxiously. "yes; if you be-have your-self. but tell me: who rules the land of ev now?" asked the machine. "there is no ruler," was the answer, "because every member of the royal family is imprisoned by the nome king. but the princess langwidere, who is a niece of our late king evoldo, lives in a part of the royal palace and takes as much money out of the royal treasury as she can spend. the princess langwidere is not exactly a ruler, you see, because she doesn't rule; but she is the nearest approach to a ruler we have at present." "i do not re-mem-ber her," said tiktok. "what does she look like?" "that i cannot say," replied the wheeler, "although i have seen her twenty times. for the princess langwidere is a different person every time i see her, and the only way her subjects can recognize her at all is by means of a beautiful ruby key which she always wears on a chain attached to her left wrist. when we see the key we know we are beholding the princess." "that is strange," said dorothy, in astonishment. "do you mean to say that so many different princesses are one and the same person?" "not exactly," answered the wheeler. "there is, of course, but one princess; but she appears to us in many forms, which are all more or less beautiful." "she must be a witch," exclaimed the girl. "i do not think so," declared the wheeler. "but there is some mystery connected with her, nevertheless. she is a very vain creature, and lives mostly in a room surrounded by mirrors, so that she can admire herself whichever way she looks." no one answered this speech, because they had just passed out of the forest and their attention was fixed upon the scene before them--a beautiful vale in which were many fruit trees and green fields, with pretty farm-houses scattered here and there and broad, smooth roads that led in every direction. in the center of this lovely vale, about a mile from where our friends were standing, rose the tall spires of the royal palace, which glittered brightly against their background of blue sky. the palace was surrounded by charming grounds, full of flowers and shrubbery. several tinkling fountains could be seen, and there were pleasant walks bordered by rows of white marble statuary. all these details dorothy was, of course, unable to notice or admire until they had advanced along the road to a position quite near to the palace, and she was still looking at the pretty sights when her little party entered the grounds and approached the big front door of the king's own apartments. to their disappointment they found the door tightly closed. a sign was tacked to the panel which read as follows: +----------------------------+ | | | owner absent. | | | | please knock at the third | | door in the left wing. | | | +----------------------------+ "now," said tiktok to the captive wheeler, "you must show us the way to the left wing." "very well," agreed the prisoner, "it is around here at the right." "how can the left wing be at the right?" demanded dorothy, who feared the wheeler was fooling them. "because there used to be three wings, and two were torn down, so the one on the right is the only one left. it is a trick of the princess langwidere to prevent visitors from annoying her." then the captive led them around to the wing, after which the machine man, having no further use for the wheeler, permitted him to depart and rejoin his fellows. he immediately rolled away at a great pace and was soon lost to sight. tiktok now counted the doors in the wing and knocked loudly upon the third one. it was opened by a little maid in a cap trimmed with gay ribbons, who bowed respectfully and asked: "what do you wish, good people?" "are you the princess langwidere?" asked dorothy. "no, miss; i am her servant," replied the maid. "may i see the princess, please?" "i will tell her you are here, miss, and ask her to grant you an audience," said the maid. "step in, please, and take a seat in the drawing-room." so dorothy walked in, followed closely by the machine. but as the yellow hen tried to enter after them, the little maid cried "shoo!" and flapped her apron in billina's face. "shoo, yourself!" retorted the hen, drawing back in anger and ruffling up her feathers. "haven't you any better manners than that?" "oh, do you talk?" enquired the maid, evidently surprised. "can't you hear me?" snapped billina. "drop that apron, and get out of the doorway, so that i may enter with my friends!" "the princess won't like it," said the maid, hesitating. "i don't care whether she likes it or not," replied billina, and fluttering her wings with a loud noise she flew straight at the maid's face. the little servant at once ducked her head, and the hen reached dorothy's side in safety. "very well," sighed the maid; "if you are all ruined because of this obstinate hen, don't blame me for it. it isn't safe to annoy the princess langwidere." "tell her we are waiting, if you please," dorothy requested, with dignity. "billina is my friend, and must go wherever i go." without more words the maid led them to a richly furnished drawing-room, lighted with subdued rainbow tints that came in through beautiful stained-glass windows. "remain here," she said. "what names shall i give the princess?" "i am dorothy gale, of kansas," replied the child; "and this gentleman is a machine named tiktok, and the yellow hen is my friend billina." the little servant bowed and withdrew, going through several passages and mounting two marble stairways before she came to the apartments occupied by her mistress. princess langwidere's sitting-room was paneled with great mirrors, which reached from the ceiling to the floor; also the ceiling was composed of mirrors, and the floor was of polished silver that reflected every object upon it. so when langwidere sat in her easy chair and played soft melodies upon her mandolin, her form was mirrored hundreds of times, in walls and ceiling and floor, and whichever way the lady turned her head she could see and admire her own features. this she loved to do, and just as the maid entered she was saying to herself: "this head with the auburn hair and hazel eyes is quite attractive. i must wear it more often than i have done of late, although it may not be the best of my collection." "you have company, your highness," announced the maid, bowing low. "who is it?" asked langwidere, yawning. "dorothy gale of kansas, mr. tiktok and billina," answered the maid. "what a queer lot of names!" murmured the princess, beginning to be a little interested. "what are they like? is dorothy gale of kansas pretty?" "she might be called so," the maid replied. "and is mr. tiktok attractive?" continued the princess. "that i cannot say, your highness. but he seems very bright. will your gracious highness see them?" "oh, i may as well, nanda. but i am tired admiring this head, and if my visitor has any claim to beauty i must take care that she does not surpass me. so i will go to my cabinet and change to no. 17, which i think is my best appearance. don't you?" "your no. 17 is exceedingly beautiful," answered nanda, with another bow. again the princess yawned. then she said: "help me to rise." so the maid assisted her to gain her feet, although langwidere was the stronger of the two; and then the princess slowly walked across the silver floor to her cabinet, leaning heavily at every step upon nanda's arm. now i must explain to you that the princess langwidere had thirty heads--as many as there are days in the month. but of course she could only wear one of them at a time, because she had but one neck. these heads were kept in what she called her "cabinet," which was a beautiful dressing-room that lay just between langwidere's sleeping-chamber and the mirrored sitting-room. each head was in a separate cupboard lined with velvet. the cupboards ran all around the sides of the dressing-room, and had elaborately carved doors with gold numbers on the outside and jeweled-framed mirrors on the inside of them. when the princess got out of her crystal bed in the morning she went to her cabinet, opened one of the velvet-lined cupboards, and took the head it contained from its golden shelf. then, by the aid of the mirror inside the open door, she put on the head--as neat and straight as could be--and afterward called her maids to robe her for the day. she always wore a simple white costume, that suited all the heads. for, being able to change her face whenever she liked, the princess had no interest in wearing a variety of gowns, as have other ladies who are compelled to wear the same face constantly. of course the thirty heads were in great variety, no two formed alike but all being of exceeding loveliness. there were heads with golden hair, brown hair, rich auburn hair and black hair; but none with gray hair. the heads had eyes of blue, of gray, of hazel, of brown and of black; but there were no red eyes among them, and all were bright and handsome. the noses were grecian, roman, retrousse and oriental, representing all types of beauty; and the mouths were of assorted sizes and shapes, displaying pearly teeth when the heads smiled. as for dimples, they appeared in cheeks and chins, wherever they might be most charming, and one or two heads had freckles upon the faces to contrast the better with the brilliancy of their complexions. one key unlocked all the velvet cupboards containing these treasures--a curious key carved from a single blood-red ruby--and this was fastened to a strong but slender chain which the princess wore around her left wrist. when nanda had supported langwidere to a position in front of cupboard no. 17, the princess unlocked the door with her ruby key and after handing head no. 9, which she had been wearing, to the maid, she took no. 17 from its shelf and fitted it to her neck. it had black hair and dark eyes and a lovely pearl-and-white complexion, and when langwidere wore it she knew she was remarkably beautiful in appearance. there was only one trouble with no. 17; the temper that went with it (and which was hidden somewhere under the glossy black hair) was fiery, harsh and haughty in the extreme, and it often led the princess to do unpleasant things which she regretted when she came to wear her other heads. but she did not remember this today, and went to meet her guests in the drawing-room with a feeling of certainty that she would surprise them with her beauty. however, she was greatly disappointed to find that her visitors were merely a small girl in a gingham dress, a copper man that would only go when wound up, and a yellow hen that was sitting contentedly in langwidere's best work-basket, where there was a china egg used for darning stockings. (it may surprise you to learn that a princess ever does such a common thing as darn stockings. but, if you will stop to think, you will realize that a princess is sure to wear holes in her stockings, the same as other people; only it isn't considered quite polite to mention the matter.) "oh!" said langwidere, slightly lifting the nose of no. 17. "i thought some one of importance had called." "then you were right," declared dorothy. "i'm a good deal of 'portance myself, and when billina lays an egg she has the proudest cackle you ever heard. as for tiktok, he's the--" "stop--stop!" commanded the princess, with an angry flash of her splendid eyes. "how dare you annoy me with your senseless chatter?" "why, you horrid thing!" said dorothy, who was not accustomed to being treated so rudely. the princess looked at her more closely. "tell me," she resumed, "are you of royal blood?" "better than that, ma'am," said dorothy. "i came from kansas." "huh!" cried the princess, scornfully. "you are a foolish child, and i cannot allow you to annoy me. run away, you little goose, and bother some one else." dorothy was so indignant that for a moment she could find no words to reply. but she rose from her chair, and was about to leave the room when the princess, who had been scanning the girl's face, stopped her by saying, more gently: "come nearer to me." dorothy obeyed, without a thought of fear, and stood before the princess while langwidere examined her face with careful attention. "you are rather attractive," said the lady, presently. "not at all beautiful, you understand, but you have a certain style of prettiness that is different from that of any of my thirty heads. so i believe i'll take your head and give you no. 26 for it." "well, i b'lieve you won't!" exclaimed dorothy. "it will do you no good to refuse," continued the princess; "for i need your head for my collection, and in the land of ev my will is law. i never have cared much for no. 26, and you will find that it is very little worn. besides, it will do you just as well as the one you're wearing, for all practical purposes." "i don't know anything about your no. 26, and i don't want to," said dorothy, firmly. "i'm not used to taking cast-off things, so i'll just keep my own head." "you refuse?" cried the princess, with a frown. "of course i do," was the reply. "then," said langwidere, "i shall lock you up in a tower until you decide to obey me. nanda," turning to her maid, "call my army." nanda rang a silver bell, and at once a big fat colonel in a bright red uniform entered the room, followed by ten lean soldiers, who all looked sad and discouraged and saluted the princess in a very melancholy fashion. "carry that girl to the north tower and lock her up!" cried the princess, pointing to dorothy. "to hear is to obey," answered the big red colonel, and caught the child by her arm. but at that moment tiktok raised his dinner-pail and pounded it so forcibly against the colonel's head that the big officer sat down upon the floor with a sudden bump, looking both dazed and very much astonished. "help!" he shouted, and the ten lean soldiers sprang to assist their leader. there was great excitement for the next few moments, and tiktok had knocked down seven of the army, who were sprawling in every direction upon the carpet, when suddenly the machine paused, with the dinner-pail raised for another blow, and remained perfectly motionless. "my ac-tion has run down," he called to dorothy. "wind me up, quick." she tried to obey, but the big colonel had by this time managed to get upon his feet again, so he grabbed fast hold of the girl and she was helpless to escape. "this is too bad," said the machine. "i ought to have run six hours lon-ger, at least, but i sup-pose my long walk and my fight with the wheel-ers made me run down fast-er than us-u-al." "well, it can't be helped," said dorothy, with a sigh. "will you exchange heads with me?" demanded the princess. "no, indeed!" cried dorothy. "then lock her up," said langwidere to her soldiers, and they led dorothy to a high tower at the north of the palace and locked her securely within. the soldiers afterward tried to lift tiktok, but they found the machine so solid and heavy that they could not stir it. so they left him standing in the center of the drawing-room. "people will think i have a new statue," said langwidere, "so it won't matter in the least, and nanda can keep him well polished." "what shall we do with the hen?" asked the colonel, who had just discovered billina in the work-basket. "put her in the chicken-house," answered the princess. "someday i'll have her fried for breakfast." "she looks rather tough, your highness," said nanda, doubtfully. "that is a base slander!" cried billina, struggling frantically in the colonel's arms. "but the breed of chickens i come from is said to be poison to all princesses." "then," remarked langwidere, "i will not fry the hen, but keep her to lay eggs; and if she doesn't do her duty i'll have her drowned in the horse trough." 7. ozma of oz to the rescue nanda brought dorothy bread and water for her supper, and she slept upon a hard stone couch with a single pillow and a silken coverlet. in the morning she leaned out of the window of her prison in the tower to see if there was any way to escape. the room was not so very high up, when compared with our modern buildings, but it was far enough above the trees and farm houses to give her a good view of the surrounding country. to the east she saw the forest, with the sands beyond it and the ocean beyond that. there was even a dark speck upon the shore that she thought might be the chicken-coop in which she had arrived at this singular country. then she looked to the north, and saw a deep but narrow valley lying between two rocky mountains, and a third mountain that shut off the valley at the further end. westward the fertile land of ev suddenly ended a little way from the palace, and the girl could see miles and miles of sandy desert that stretched further than her eyes could reach. it was this desert, she thought, with much interest, that alone separated her from the wonderful land of oz, and she remembered sorrowfully that she had been told no one had ever been able to cross this dangerous waste but herself. once a cyclone had carried her across it, and a magical pair of silver shoes had carried her back again. but now she had neither a cyclone nor silver shoes to assist her, and her condition was sad indeed. for she had become the prisoner of a disagreeable princess who insisted that she must exchange her head for another one that she was not used to, and which might not fit her at all. really, there seemed no hope of help for her from her old friends in the land of oz. thoughtfully she gazed from her narrow window. on all the desert not a living thing was stirring. wait, though! something surely was stirring on the desert--something her eyes had not observed at first. now it seemed like a cloud; now it seemed like a spot of silver; now it seemed to be a mass of rainbow colors that moved swiftly toward her. what could it be, she wondered? then, gradually, but in a brief space of time nevertheless, the vision drew near enough to dorothy to make out what it was. a broad green carpet was unrolling itself upon the desert, while advancing across the carpet was a wonderful procession that made the girl open her eyes in amazement as she gazed. first came a magnificent golden chariot, drawn by a great lion and an immense tiger, who stood shoulder to shoulder and trotted along as gracefully as a well-matched team of thoroughbred horses. and standing upright within the chariot was a beautiful girl clothed in flowing robes of silver gauze and wearing a jeweled diadem upon her dainty head. she held in one hand the satin ribbons that guided her astonishing team, and in the other an ivory wand that separated at the top into two prongs, the prongs being tipped by the letters "o" and "z", made of glistening diamonds set closely together. the girl seemed neither older nor larger than dorothy herself, and at once the prisoner in the tower guessed that the lovely driver of the chariot must be that ozma of oz of whom she had so lately heard from tiktok. following close behind the chariot dorothy saw her old friend the scarecrow, riding calmly astride a wooden saw-horse, which pranced and trotted as naturally as any meat horse could have done. and then came nick chopper, the tin woodman, with his funnel-shaped cap tipped carelessly over his left ear, his gleaming axe over his right shoulder, and his whole body sparkling as brightly as it had ever done in the old days when first she knew him. the tin woodman was on foot, marching at the head of a company of twenty-seven soldiers, of whom some were lean and some fat, some short and some tall; but all the twenty-seven were dressed in handsome uniforms of various designs and colors, no two being alike in any respect. behind the soldiers the green carpet rolled itself up again, so that there was always just enough of it for the procession to walk upon, in order that their feet might not come in contact with the deadly, life-destroying sands of the desert. dorothy knew at once it was a magic carpet she beheld, and her heart beat high with hope and joy as she realized she was soon to be rescued and allowed to greet her dearly beloved friends of oz--the scarecrow, the tin woodman and the cowardly lion. indeed, the girl felt herself as good as rescued as soon as she recognized those in the procession, for she well knew the courage and loyalty of her old comrades, and also believed that any others who came from their marvelous country would prove to be pleasant and reliable acquaintances. as soon as the last bit of desert was passed and all the procession, from the beautiful and dainty ozma to the last soldier, had reached the grassy meadows of the land of ev, the magic carpet rolled itself together and entirely disappeared. then the chariot driver turned her lion and tiger into a broad roadway leading up to the palace, and the others followed, while dorothy still gazed from her tower window in eager excitement. they came quite close to the front door of the palace and then halted, the scarecrow dismounting from his saw-horse to approach the sign fastened to the door, that he might read what it said. dorothy, just above him, could keep silent no longer. "here i am!" she shouted, as loudly as she could. "here's dorothy!" "dorothy who?" asked the scarecrow, tipping his head to look upward until he nearly lost his balance and tumbled over backward. "dorothy gale, of course. your friend from kansas," she answered. "why, hello, dorothy!" said the scarecrow. "what in the world are you doing up there?" "nothing," she called down, "because there's nothing to do. save me, my friend--save me!" "you seem to be quite safe now," replied the scarecrow. "but i'm a prisoner. i'm locked in, so that i can't get out," she pleaded. "that's all right," said the scarecrow. "you might be worse off, little dorothy. just consider the matter. you can't get drowned, or be run over by a wheeler, or fall out of an apple-tree. some folks would think they were lucky to be up there." "well, i don't," declared the girl, "and i want to get down immed'i'tly and see you and the tin woodman and the cowardly lion." "very well," said the scarecrow, nodding. "it shall be just as you say, little friend. who locked you up?" "the princess langwidere, who is a horrid creature," she answered. at this ozma, who had been listening carefully to the conversation, called to dorothy from her chariot, asking: "why did the princess lock you up, my dear?" "because," exclaimed dorothy, "i wouldn't let her have my head for her collection, and take an old, cast-off head in exchange for it." "i do not blame you," exclaimed ozma, promptly. "i will see the princess at once, and oblige her to liberate you." "oh, thank you very, very much!" cried dorothy, who as soon as she heard the sweet voice of the girlish ruler of oz knew that she would soon learn to love her dearly. ozma now drove her chariot around to the third door of the wing, upon which the tin woodman boldly proceeded to knock. as soon as the maid opened the door ozma, bearing in her hand her ivory wand, stepped into the hall and made her way at once to the drawing-room, followed by all her company, except the lion and the tiger. and the twenty-seven soldiers made such a noise and a clatter that the little maid nanda ran away screaming to her mistress, whereupon the princess langwidere, roused to great anger by this rude invasion of her palace, came running into the drawing-room without any assistance whatever. there she stood before the slight and delicate form of the little girl from oz and cried out;-"how dare you enter my palace unbidden? leave this room at once, or i will bind you and all your people in chains, and throw you into my darkest dungeons!" "what a dangerous lady!" murmured the scarecrow, in a soft voice. "she seems a little nervous," replied the tin woodman. but ozma only smiled at the angry princess. "sit down, please," she said, quietly. "i have traveled a long way to see you, and you must listen to what i have to say." "must!" screamed the princess, her black eyes flashing with fury--for she still wore her no. 17 head. "must, to me!" "to be sure," said ozma. "i am ruler of the land of oz, and i am powerful enough to destroy all your kingdom, if i so wish. yet i did not come here to do harm, but rather to free the royal family of ev from the thrall of the nome king, the news having reached me that he is holding the queen and her children prisoners." hearing these words, langwidere suddenly became quiet. "i wish you could, indeed, free my aunt and her ten royal children," said she, eagerly. "for if they were restored to their proper forms and station they could rule the kingdom of ev themselves, and that would save me a lot of worry and trouble. at present there are at least ten minutes every day that i must devote to affairs of state, and i would like to be able to spend my whole time in admiring my beautiful heads." "then we will presently discuss this matter," said ozma, "and try to find a way to liberate your aunt and cousins. but first you must liberate another prisoner--the little girl you have locked up in your tower." "of course," said langwidere, readily. "i had forgotten all about her. that was yesterday, you know, and a princess cannot be expected to remember today what she did yesterday. come with me, and i will release the prisoner at once." so ozma followed her, and they passed up the stairs that led to the room in the tower. while they were gone ozma's followers remained in the drawing-room, and the scarecrow was leaning against a form that he had mistaken for a copper statue when a harsh, metallic voice said suddenly in his ear: "get off my foot, please. you are scratch-ing my pol-ish." "oh, excuse me!" he replied, hastily drawing back. "are you alive?" "no," said tiktok, "i am on-ly a ma-chine. but i can think and speak and act, when i am pro-per-ly wound up. just now my ac-tion is run down, and dor-o-thy has the key to it." "that's all right," replied the scarecrow. "dorothy will soon be free, and then she'll attend to your works. but it must be a great misfortune not to be alive. i'm sorry for you." "why?" asked tiktok. "because you have no brains, as i have," said the scarecrow. "oh, yes, i have," returned tiktok. "i am fit-ted with smith & tin-ker's im-proved com-bi-na-tion steel brains. they are what make me think. what sort of brains are you fit-ted with?" "i don't know," admitted the scarecrow. "they were given to me by the great wizard of oz, and i didn't get a chance to examine them before he put them in. but they work splendidly and my conscience is very active. have you a conscience?" "no," said tiktok. "and no heart, i suppose?" added the tin woodman, who had been listening with interest to this conversation. "no," said tiktok. "then," continued the tin woodman, "i regret to say that you are greatly inferior to my friend the scarecrow, and to myself. for we are both alive, and he has brains which do not need to be wound up, while i have an excellent heart that is continually beating in my bosom." "i con-grat-u-late you," replied tiktok. "i can-not help be-ing your in-fer-i-or for i am a mere ma-chine. when i am wound up i do my du-ty by go-ing just as my ma-chin-er-y is made to go. you have no i-de-a how full of ma-chin-er-y i am." "i can guess," said the scarecrow, looking at the machine man curiously. "some day i'd like to take you apart and see just how you are made." "do not do that, i beg of you," said tiktok; "for you could not put me to-geth-er a-gain, and my use-ful-ness would be de-stroyed." "oh! are you useful?" asked the scarecrow, surprised. "ve-ry," said tiktok. "in that case," the scarecrow kindly promised, "i won't fool with your interior at all. for i am a poor mechanic, and might mix you up." "thank you," said tiktok. just then ozma re-entered the room, leading dorothy by the hand and followed closely by the princess langwidere. 8. the hungry tiger the first thing dorothy did was to rush into the embrace of the scarecrow, whose painted face beamed with delight as he pressed her form to his straw-padded bosom. then the tin woodman embraced her--very gently, for he knew his tin arms might hurt her if he squeezed too roughly. these greetings having been exchanged, dorothy took the key to tiktok from her pocket and wound up the machine man's action, so that he could bow properly when introduced to the rest of the company. while doing this she told them how useful tiktok had been to her, and both the scarecrow and the tin woodman shook hands with the machine once more and thanked him for protecting their friend. then dorothy asked: "where is billina?" "i don't know," said the scarecrow. "who is billina?" "she's a yellow hen who is another friend of mine," answered the girl, anxiously. "i wonder what has become of her?" "she is in the chicken house, in the back yard," said the princess. "my drawing-room is no place for hens." without waiting to hear more dorothy ran to get billina, and just outside the door she came upon the cowardly lion, still hitched to the chariot beside the great tiger. the cowardly lion had a big bow of blue ribbon fastened to the long hair between his ears, and the tiger wore a bow of red ribbon on his tail, just in front of the bushy end. in an instant dorothy was hugging the huge lion joyfully. "i'm so glad to see you again!" she cried. "i am also glad to see you, dorothy," said the lion. "we've had some fine adventures together, haven't we?" "yes, indeed," she replied. "how are you?" "as cowardly as ever," the beast answered in a meek voice. "every little thing scares me and makes my heart beat fast. but let me introduce to you a new friend of mine, the hungry tiger." "oh! are you hungry?" she asked, turning to the other beast, who was just then yawning so widely that he displayed two rows of terrible teeth and a mouth big enough to startle anyone. "dreadfully hungry," answered the tiger, snapping his jaws together with a fierce click. "then why don't you eat something?" she asked. "it's no use," said the tiger sadly. "i've tried that, but i always get hungry again." "why, it is the same with me," said dorothy. "yet i keep on eating." "but you eat harmless things, so it doesn't matter," replied the tiger. "for my part, i'm a savage beast, and have an appetite for all sorts of poor little living creatures, from a chipmunk to fat babies." "how dreadful!" said dorothy. "isn't it, though?" returned the hungry tiger, licking his lips with his long red tongue. "fat babies! don't they sound delicious? but i've never eaten any, because my conscience tells me it is wrong. if i had no conscience i would probably eat the babies and then get hungry again, which would mean that i had sacrificed the poor babies for nothing. no; hungry i was born, and hungry i shall die. but i'll not have any cruel deeds on my conscience to be sorry for." "i think you are a very good tiger," said dorothy, patting the huge head of the beast. "in that you are mistaken," was the reply. "i am a good beast, perhaps, but a disgracefully bad tiger. for it is the nature of tigers to be cruel and ferocious, and in refusing to eat harmless living creatures i am acting as no good tiger has ever before acted. that is why i left the forest and joined my friend the cowardly lion." "but the lion is not really cowardly," said dorothy. "i have seen him act as bravely as can be." "all a mistake, my dear," protested the lion gravely. "to others i may have seemed brave, at times, but i have never been in any danger that i was not afraid." "nor i," said dorothy, truthfully. "but i must go and set free billina, and then i will see you again." she ran around to the back yard of the palace and soon found the chicken house, being guided to it by a loud cackling and crowing and a distracting hubbub of sounds such as chickens make when they are excited. something seemed to be wrong in the chicken house, and when dorothy looked through the slats in the door she saw a group of hens and roosters huddled in one corner and watching what appeared to be a whirling ball of feathers. it bounded here and there about the chicken house, and at first dorothy could not tell what it was, while the screeching of the chickens nearly deafened her. but suddenly the bunch of feathers stopped whirling, and then, to her amazement, the girl saw billina crouching upon the prostrate form of a speckled rooster. for an instant they both remained motionless, and then the yellow hen shook her wings to settle the feathers and walked toward the door with a strut of proud defiance and a cluck of victory, while the speckled rooster limped away to the group of other chickens, trailing his crumpled plumage in the dust as he went. "why, billina!" cried dorothy, in a shocked voice; "have you been fighting?" "i really think i have," retorted billina. "do you think i'd let that speckled villain of a rooster lord it over me, and claim to run this chicken house, as long as i'm able to peck and scratch? not if my name is bill!" "it isn't bill, it's billina; and you're talking slang, which is very undig'n'fied," said dorothy, reprovingly. "come here, billina, and i'll let you out; for ozma of oz is here, and has set us free." so the yellow hen came to the door, which dorothy unlatched for her to pass through, and the other chickens silently watched them from their corner without offering to approach nearer. the girl lifted her friend in her arms and exclaimed: "oh, billina! how dreadful you look. you've lost a lot of feathers, and one of your eyes is nearly pecked out, and your comb is bleeding!" "that's nothing," said billina. "just look at the speckled rooster! didn't i do him up brown?" dorothy shook her head. "i don't 'prove of this, at all," she said, carrying billina away toward the palace. "it isn't a good thing for you to 'sociate with those common chickens. they would soon spoil your good manners, and you wouldn't be respec'able any more." "i didn't ask to associate with them," replied billina. "it is that cross old princess who is to blame. but i was raised in the united states, and i won't allow any one-horse chicken of the land of ev to run over me and put on airs, as long as i can lift a claw in self-defense." "very well, billina," said dorothy. "we won't talk about it any more." soon they came to the cowardly lion and the hungry tiger to whom the girl introduced the yellow hen. "glad to meet any friend of dorothy's," said the lion, politely. "to judge by your present appearance, you are not a coward, as i am." "your present appearance makes my mouth water," said the tiger, looking at billina greedily. "my, my! how good you would taste if i could only crunch you between my jaws. but don't worry. you would only appease my appetite for a moment; so it isn't worth while to eat you." "thank you," said the hen, nestling closer in dorothy's arms. "besides, it wouldn't be right," continued the tiger, looking steadily at billina and clicking his jaws together. "of course not," cried dorothy, hastily. "billina is my friend, and you mustn't ever eat her under any circ'mstances." "i'll try to remember that," said the tiger; "but i'm a little absent-minded, at times." then dorothy carried her pet into the drawing-room of the palace, where tiktok, being invited to do so by ozma, had seated himself between the scarecrow and the tin woodman. opposite to them sat ozma herself and the princess langwidere, and beside them there was a vacant chair for dorothy. around this important group was ranged the army of oz, and as dorothy looked at the handsome uniforms of the twenty-seven she said: "why, they seem to be all officers." "they are, all except one," answered the tin woodman. "i have in my army eight generals, six colonels, seven majors and five captains, besides one private for them to command. i'd like to promote the private, for i believe no private should ever be in public life; and i've also noticed that officers usually fight better and are more reliable than common soldiers. besides, the officers are more important looking, and lend dignity to our army." "no doubt you are right," said dorothy, seating herself beside ozma. "and now," announced the girlish ruler of oz, "we will hold a solemn conference to decide the best manner of liberating the royal family of this fair land of ev from their long imprisonment." 9. the royal family of ev the tin woodman was the first to address the meeting. "to begin with," said he, "word came to our noble and illustrious ruler, ozma of oz, that the wife and ten children--five boys and five girls--of the former king of ev, by name evoldo, have been enslaved by the nome king and are held prisoners in his underground palace. also that there was no one in ev powerful enough to release them. naturally our ozma wished to undertake the adventure of liberating the poor prisoners; but for a long time she could find no way to cross the great desert between the two countries. finally she went to a friendly sorceress of our land named glinda the good, who heard the story and at once presented ozma a magic carpet, which would continually unroll beneath our feet and so make a comfortable path for us to cross the desert. as soon as she had received the carpet our gracious ruler ordered me to assemble our army, which i did. you behold in these bold warriors the pick of all the finest soldiers of oz; and, if we are obliged to fight the nome king, every officer as well as the private, will battle fiercely unto death." then tiktok spoke. "why should you fight the nome king?" he asked. "he has done no wrong." "no wrong!" cried dorothy. "isn't it wrong to imprison a queen mother and her ten children?" "they were sold to the nome king by king ev-ol-do," replied tiktok. "it was the king of ev who did wrong, and when he re-al-ized what he had done he jumped in-to the sea and drowned him-self." "this is news to me," said ozma, thoughtfully. "i had supposed the nome king was all to blame in the matter. but, in any case, he must be made to liberate the prisoners." "my uncle evoldo was a very wicked man," declared the princess langwidere. "if he had drowned himself before he sold his family, no one would have cared. but he sold them to the powerful nome king in exchange for a long life, and afterward destroyed the life by jumping into the sea." "then," said ozma, "he did not get the long life, and the nome king must give up the prisoners. where are they confined?" "no one knows, exactly," replied the princess. "for the king, whose name is roquat of the rocks, owns a splendid palace underneath the great mountain which is at the north end of this kingdom, and he has transformed the queen and her children into ornaments and bric-a-brac with which to decorate his rooms." "i'd like to know," said dorothy, "who this nome king is?" "i will tell you," replied ozma. "he is said to be the ruler of the underground world, and commands the rocks and all that the rocks contain. under his rule are many thousands of the nomes, who are queerly shaped but powerful sprites that labor at the furnaces and forges of their king, making gold and silver and other metals which they conceal in the crevices of the rocks, so that those living upon the earth's surface can only find them with great difficulty. also they make diamonds and rubies and emeralds, which they hide in the ground; so that the kingdom of the nomes is wonderfully rich, and all we have of precious stones and silver and gold is what we take from the earth and rocks where the nome king has hidden them." "i understand," said dorothy, nodding her little head wisely. "for the reason that we often steal his treasures," continued ozma, "the ruler of the underground world is not fond of those who live upon the earth's surface, and never appears among us. if we wish to see king roquat of the rocks, we must visit his own country, where he is all powerful, and therefore it will be a dangerous undertaking." "but, for the sake of the poor prisoners," said dorothy, "we ought to do it." "we shall do it," replied the scarecrow, "although it requires a lot of courage for me to go near to the furnaces of the nome king. for i am only stuffed with straw, and a single spark of fire might destroy me entirely." "the furnaces may also melt my tin," said the tin woodman; "but i am going." "i can't bear heat," remarked the princess langwidere, yawning lazily, "so i shall stay at home. but i wish you may have success in your undertaking, for i am heartily tired of ruling this stupid kingdom, and i need more leisure in which to admire my beautiful heads." "we do not need you," said ozma. "for, if with the aid of my brave followers i cannot accomplish my purpose, then it would be useless for you to undertake the journey." "quite true," sighed the princess. "so, if you'll excuse me, i will now retire to my cabinet. i've worn this head quite awhile, and i want to change it for another." when she had left them (and you may be sure no one was sorry to see her go) ozma said to tiktok: "will you join our party?" "i am the slave of the girl dor-oth-y, who rescued me from pris-on," replied the machine. "where she goes i will go." "oh, i am going with my friends, of course," said dorothy, quickly. "i wouldn't miss the fun for anything. will you go, too, billina?" "to be sure," said billina in a careless tone. she was smoothing down the feathers of her back and not paying much attention. "heat is just in her line," remarked the scarecrow. "if she is nicely roasted, she will be better than ever." "then" said ozma, "we will arrange to start for the kingdom of the nomes at daybreak tomorrow. and, in the meantime, we will rest and prepare ourselves for the journey." although princess langwidere did not again appear to her guests, the palace servants waited upon the strangers from oz and did everything in their power to make the party comfortable. there were many vacant rooms at their disposal, and the brave army of twenty-seven was easily provided for and liberally feasted. the cowardly lion and the hungry tiger were unharnessed from the chariot and allowed to roam at will throughout the palace, where they nearly frightened the servants into fits, although they did no harm at all. at one time dorothy found the little maid nanda crouching in terror in a corner, with the hungry tiger standing before her. "you certainly look delicious," the beast was saying. "will you kindly give me permission to eat you?" "no, no, no!" cried the maid in reply. "then," said the tiger, yawning frightfully, "please to get me about thirty pounds of tenderloin steak, cooked rare, with a peck of boiled potatoes on the side, and five gallons of ice-cream for dessert." "i--i'll do the best i can!" said nanda, and she ran away as fast as she could go. "are you so very hungry?" asked dorothy, in wonder. "you can hardly imagine the size of my appetite," replied the tiger, sadly. "it seems to fill my whole body, from the end of my throat to the tip of my tail. i am very sure the appetite doesn't fit me, and is too large for the size of my body. some day, when i meet a dentist with a pair of forceps, i'm going to have it pulled." "what, your tooth?" asked dorothy. "no, my appetite," said the hungry tiger. the little girl spent most of the afternoon talking with the scarecrow and the tin woodman, who related to her all that had taken place in the land of oz since dorothy had left it. she was much interested in the story of ozma, who had been, when a baby, stolen by a wicked old witch and transformed into a boy. she did not know that she had ever been a girl until she was restored to her natural form by a kind sorceress. then it was found that she was the only child of the former ruler of oz, and was entitled to rule in his place. ozma had many adventures, however, before she regained her father's throne, and in these she was accompanied by a pumpkin-headed man, a highly magnified and thoroughly educated woggle-bug, and a wonderful sawhorse that had been brought to life by means of a magic powder. the scarecrow and the tin woodman had also assisted her; but the cowardly lion, who ruled the great forest as the king of beasts, knew nothing of ozma until after she became the reigning princess of oz. then he journeyed to the emerald city to see her, and on hearing she was about to visit the land of ev to set free the royal family of that country, the cowardly lion begged to go with her, and brought along his friend, the hungry tiger, as well. having heard this story, dorothy related to them her own adventures, and then went out with her friends to find the sawhorse, which ozma had caused to be shod with plates of gold, so that its legs would not wear out. they came upon the sawhorse standing motionless beside the garden gate, but when dorothy was introduced to him he bowed politely and blinked his eyes, which were knots of wood, and wagged his tail, which was only the branch of a tree. "what a remarkable thing, to be alive!" exclaimed dorothy. "i quite agree with you," replied the sawhorse, in a rough but not unpleasant voice. "a creature like me has no business to live, as we all know. but it was the magic powder that did it, so i cannot justly be blamed." "of course not," said dorothy. "and you seem to be of some use, 'cause i noticed the scarecrow riding upon your back." "oh, yes; i'm of use," returned the sawhorse; "and i never tire, never have to be fed, or cared for in any way." "are you intel'gent?" asked the girl. "not very," said the creature. "it would be foolish to waste intelligence on a common sawhorse, when so many professors need it. but i know enough to obey my masters, and to gid-dup, or whoa, when i'm told to. so i'm pretty well satisfied." that night dorothy slept in a pleasant little bed-chamber next to that occupied by ozma of oz, and billina perched upon the foot of the bed and tucked her head under her wing and slept as soundly in that position as did dorothy upon her soft cushions. but before daybreak every one was awake and stirring, and soon the adventurers were eating a hasty breakfast in the great dining-room of the palace. ozma sat at the head of a long table, on a raised platform, with dorothy on her right hand and the scarecrow on her left. the scarecrow did not eat, of course; but ozma placed him near her so that she might ask his advice about the journey while she ate. lower down the table were the twenty-seven warriors of oz, and at the end of the room the lion and the tiger were eating out of a kettle that had been placed upon the floor, while billina fluttered around to pick up any scraps that might be scattered. it did not take long to finish the meal, and then the lion and the tiger were harnessed to the chariot and the party was ready to start for the nome king's palace. first rode ozma, with dorothy beside her in the golden chariot and holding billina fast in her arms. then came the scarecrow on the sawhorse, with the tin woodman and tiktok marching side by side just behind him. after these tramped the army, looking brave and handsome in their splendid uniforms. the generals commanded the colonels and the colonels commanded the majors and the majors commanded the captains and the captains commanded the private, who marched with an air of proud importance because it required so many officers to give him his orders. and so the magnificent procession left the palace and started along the road just as day was breaking, and by the time the sun came out they had made good progress toward the valley that led to the nome king's domain. 10. the giant with the hammer the road led for a time through a pretty farm country, and then past a picnic grove that was very inviting. but the procession continued to steadily advance until billina cried in an abrupt and commanding manner: "wait--wait!" ozma stopped her chariot so suddenly that the scarecrow's sawhorse nearly ran into it, and the ranks of the army tumbled over one another before they could come to a halt. immediately the yellow hen struggled from dorothy's arms and flew into a clump of bushes by the roadside. "what's the matter?" called the tin woodman, anxiously. "why, billina wants to lay her egg, that's all," said dorothy. "lay her egg!" repeated the tin woodman, in astonishment. "yes; she lays one every morning, about this time; and it's quite fresh," said the girl. "but does your foolish old hen suppose that this entire cavalcade, which is bound on an important adventure, is going to stand still while she lays her egg?" enquired the tin woodman, earnestly. "what else can we do?" asked the girl. "it's a habit of billina's and she can't break herself of it." "then she must hurry up," said the tin woodman, impatiently. "no, no!" exclaimed the scarecrow. "if she hurries she may lay scrambled eggs." "that's nonsense," said dorothy. "but billina won't be long, i'm sure." so they stood and waited, although all were restless and anxious to proceed. and by and by the yellow hen came from the bushes saying: "kut-kut, kut, ka-daw-kutt! kut, kut, kut--ka-daw-kut!" "what is she doing--singing her lay?" asked the scarecrow. "for-ward--march!" shouted the tin woodman, waving his axe, and the procession started just as dorothy had once more grabbed billina in her arms. "isn't anyone going to get my egg?" cried the hen, in great excitement. "i'll get it," said the scarecrow; and at his command the sawhorse pranced into the bushes. the straw man soon found the egg, which he placed in his jacket pocket. the cavalcade, having moved rapidly on, was even then far in advance; but it did not take the sawhorse long to catch up with it, and presently the scarecrow was riding in his accustomed place behind ozma's chariot. "what shall i do with the egg?" he asked dorothy. "i do not know," the girl answered. "perhaps the hungry tiger would like it." "it would not be enough to fill one of my back teeth," remarked the tiger. "a bushel of them, hard boiled, might take a little of the edge off my appetite; but one egg isn't good for anything at all, that i know of." "no; it wouldn't even make a sponge cake," said the scarecrow, thoughtfully. "the tin woodman might carry it with his axe and hatch it; but after all i may as well keep it myself for a souvenir." so he left it in his pocket. they had now reached that part of the valley that lay between the two high mountains which dorothy had seen from her tower window. at the far end was the third great mountain, which blocked the valley and was the northern edge of the land of ev. it was underneath this mountain that the nome king's palace was said to be; but it would be some time before they reached that place. the path was becoming rocky and difficult for the wheels of the chariot to pass over, and presently a deep gulf appeared at their feet which was too wide for them to leap. so ozma took a small square of green cloth from her pocket and threw it upon the ground. at once it became the magic carpet, and unrolled itself far enough for all the cavalcade to walk upon. the chariot now advanced, and the green carpet unrolled before it, crossing the gulf on a level with its banks, so that all passed over in safety. "that's easy enough," said the scarecrow. "i wonder what will happen next." he was not long in making the discovery, for the sides of the mountain came closer together until finally there was but a narrow path between them, along which ozma and her party were forced to pass in single file. they now heard a low and deep "thump!--thump!--thump!" which echoed throughout the valley and seemed to grow louder as they advanced. then, turning a corner of rock, they saw before them a huge form, which towered above the path for more than a hundred feet. the form was that of a gigantic man built out of plates of cast iron, and it stood with one foot on either side of the narrow road and swung over its right shoulder an immense iron mallet, with which it constantly pounded the earth. these resounding blows explained the thumping sounds they had heard, for the mallet was much bigger than a barrel, and where it struck the path between the rocky sides of the mountain it filled all the space through which our travelers would be obliged to pass. of course they at once halted, a safe distance away from the terrible iron mallet. the magic carpet would do them no good in this case, for it was only meant to protect them from any dangers upon the ground beneath their feet, and not from dangers that appeared in the air above them. "wow!" said the cowardly lion, with a shudder. "it makes me dreadfully nervous to see that big hammer pounding so near my head. one blow would crush me into a door-mat." "the ir-on gi-ant is a fine fel-low," said tiktok, "and works as stead-i-ly as a clock. he was made for the nome king by smith & tin-ker, who made me, and his du-ty is to keep folks from find-ing the un-der-ground pal-ace. is he not a great work of art?" "can he think, and speak, as you do?" asked ozma, regarding the giant with wondering eyes. "no," replied the machine; "he is on-ly made to pound the road, and has no think-ing or speak-ing at-tach-ment. but he pounds ve-ry well, i think." "too well," observed the scarecrow. "he is keeping us from going farther. is there no way to stop his machinery?" "on-ly the nome king, who has the key, can do that," answered tiktok. "then," said dorothy, anxiously, "what shall we do?" "excuse me for a few minutes," said the scarecrow, "and i will think it over." he retired, then, to a position in the rear, where he turned his painted face to the rocks and began to think. meantime the giant continued to raise his iron mallet high in the air and to strike the path terrific blows that echoed through the mountains like the roar of a cannon. each time the mallet lifted, however, there was a moment when the path beneath the monster was free, and perhaps the scarecrow had noticed this, for when he came back to the others he said: "the matter is a very simple one, after all. we have but to run under the hammer, one at a time, when it is lifted, and pass to the other side before it falls again." "it will require quick work, if we escape the blow," said the tin woodman, with a shake of his head. "but it really seems the only thing to be done. who will make the first attempt?" they looked at one another hesitatingly for a moment. then the cowardly lion, who was trembling like a leaf in the wind, said to them: "i suppose the head of the procession must go first--and that's me. but i'm terribly afraid of the big hammer!" "what will become of me?" asked ozma. "you might rush under the hammer yourself, but the chariot would surely be crushed." "we must leave the chariot," said the scarecrow. "but you two girls can ride upon the backs of the lion and the tiger." so this was decided upon, and ozma, as soon as the lion was unfastened from the chariot, at once mounted the beast's back and said she was ready. "cling fast to his mane," advised dorothy. "i used to ride him myself, and that's the way i held on." so ozma clung fast to the mane, and the lion crouched in the path and eyed the swinging mallet carefully until he knew just the instant it would begin to rise in the air. then, before anyone thought he was ready, he made a sudden leap straight between the iron giant's legs, and before the mallet struck the ground again the lion and ozma were safe on the other side. the tiger went next. dorothy sat upon his back and locked her arms around his striped neck, for he had no mane to cling to. he made the leap straight and true as an arrow from a bow, and ere dorothy realized it she was out of danger and standing by ozma's side. now came the scarecrow on the sawhorse, and while they made the dash in safety they were within a hair's breadth of being caught by the descending hammer. tiktok walked up to the very edge of the spot the hammer struck, and as it was raised for the next blow he calmly stepped forward and escaped its descent. that was an idea for the tin woodman to follow, and he also crossed in safety while the great hammer was in the air. but when it came to the twenty-six officers and the private, their knees were so weak that they could not walk a step. "in battle we are wonderfully courageous," said one of the generals, "and our foes find us very terrible to face. but war is one thing and this is another. when it comes to being pounded upon the head by an iron hammer, and smashed into pancakes, we naturally object." "make a run for it," urged the scarecrow. "our knees shake so that we cannot run," answered a captain. "if we should try it we would all certainly be pounded to a jelly." "well, well," sighed the cowardly lion, "i see, friend tiger, that we must place ourselves in great danger to rescue this bold army. come with me, and we will do the best we can." so, ozma and dorothy having already dismounted from their backs, the lion and the tiger leaped back again under the awful hammer and returned with two generals clinging to their necks. they repeated this daring passage twelve times, when all the officers had been carried beneath the giant's legs and landed safely on the further side. by that time the beasts were very tired, and panted so hard that their tongues hung out of their great mouths. "but what is to become of the private?" asked ozma. "oh, leave him there to guard the chariot," said the lion. "i'm tired out, and won't pass under that mallet again." the officers at once protested that they must have the private with them, else there would be no one for them to command. but neither the lion or the tiger would go after him, and so the scarecrow sent the sawhorse. either the wooden horse was careless, or it failed to properly time the descent of the hammer, for the mighty weapon caught it squarely upon its head, and thumped it against the ground so powerfully that the private flew off its back high into the air, and landed upon one of the giant's cast-iron arms. here he clung desperately while the arm rose and fell with each one of the rapid strokes. the scarecrow dashed in to rescue his sawhorse, and had his left foot smashed by the hammer before he could pull the creature out of danger. they then found that the sawhorse had been badly dazed by the blow; for while the hard wooden knot of which his head was formed could not be crushed by the hammer, both his ears were broken off and he would be unable to hear a sound until some new ones were made for him. also his left knee was cracked, and had to be bound up with a string. billina having fluttered under the hammer, it now remained only to rescue the private who was riding upon the iron giant's arm, high in the air. the scarecrow lay flat upon the ground and called to the man to jump down upon his body, which was soft because it was stuffed with straw. this the private managed to do, waiting until a time when he was nearest the ground and then letting himself drop upon the scarecrow. he accomplished the feat without breaking any bones, and the scarecrow declared he was not injured in the least. therefore, the tin woodman having by this time fitted new ears to the sawhorse, the entire party proceeded upon its way, leaving the giant to pound the path behind them. 11. the nome king by and by, when they drew near to the mountain that blocked their path and which was the furthermost edge of the kingdom of ev, the way grew dark and gloomy for the reason that the high peaks on either side shut out the sunshine. and it was very silent, too, as there were no birds to sing or squirrels to chatter, the trees being left far behind them and only the bare rocks remaining. ozma and dorothy were a little awed by the silence, and all the others were quiet and grave except the sawhorse, which, as it trotted along with the scarecrow upon his back, hummed a queer song, of which this was the chorus: "would a wooden horse in a woodland go? aye, aye! i sigh, he would, although had he not had a wooden head he'd mount the mountain top instead." but no one paid any attention to this because they were now close to the nome king's dominions, and his splendid underground palace could not be very far away. suddenly they heard a shout of jeering laughter, and stopped short. they would have to stop in a minute, anyway, for the huge mountain barred their further progress and the path ran close up to a wall of rock and ended. "who was that laughing?" asked ozma. there was no reply, but in the gloom they could see strange forms flit across the face of the rock. whatever the creations might be they seemed very like the rock itself, for they were the color of rocks and their shapes were as rough and rugged as if they had been broken away from the side of the mountain. they kept close to the steep cliff facing our friends, and glided up and down, and this way and that, with a lack of regularity that was quite confusing. and they seemed not to need places to rest their feet, but clung to the surface of the rock as a fly does to a window-pane, and were never still for a moment. "do not mind them," said tiktok, as dorothy shrank back. "they are on-ly the nomes." "and what are nomes?" asked the girl, half frightened. "they are rock fair-ies, and serve the nome king," replied the machine. "but they will do us no harm. you must call for the king, be-cause with-out him you can ne-ver find the en-trance to the pal-ace." "you call," said dorothy to ozma. just then the nomes laughed again, and the sound was so weird and disheartening that the twenty-six officers commanded the private to "right-about-face!" and they all started to run as fast as they could. the tin woodman at once pursued his army and cried "halt!" and when they had stopped their flight he asked: "where are you going?" "i--i find i've forgotten the brush for my whiskers," said a general, trembling with fear. "s-s-so we are g-going back after it!" "that is impossible," replied the tin woodman. "for the giant with the hammer would kill you all if you tried to pass him." "oh! i'd forgotten the giant," said the general, turning pale. "you seem to forget a good many things," remarked the tin woodman. "i hope you won't forget that you are brave men." "never!" cried the general, slapping his gold-embroidered chest. "never!" cried all the other officers, indignantly slapping their chests. "for my part," said the private, meekly, "i must obey my officers; so when i am told to run, i run; and when i am told to fight, i fight." "that is right," agreed the tin woodman. "and now you must all come back to ozma, and obey her orders. and if you try to run away again i will have her reduce all the twenty-six officers to privates, and make the private your general." this terrible threat so frightened them that they at once returned to where ozma was standing beside the cowardly lion. then ozma cried out in a loud voice: "i demand that the nome king appear to us!" there was no reply, except that the shifting nomes upon the mountain laughed in derision. "you must not command the nome king," said tiktok, "for you do not rule him, as you do your own peo-ple." so ozma called again, saying: "i request the nome king to appear to us." only the mocking laughter replied to her, and the shadowy nomes continued to flit here and there upon the rocky cliff. "try en-treat-y," said tiktok to ozma. "if he will not come at your re-quest, then the nome king may list-en to your plead-ing." ozma looked around her proudly. "do you wish your ruler to plead with this wicked nome king?" she asked. "shall ozma of oz humble herself to a creature who lives in an underground kingdom?" "no!" they all shouted, with big voices; and the scarecrow added: "if he will not come, we will dig him out of his hole, like a fox, and conquer his stubbornness. but our sweet little ruler must always maintain her dignity, just as i maintain mine." "i'm not afraid to plead with him," said dorothy. "i'm only a little girl from kansas, and we've got more dignity at home than we know what to do with. i'll call the nome king." "do," said the hungry tiger; "and if he makes hash of you i'll willingly eat you for breakfast tomorrow morning." so dorothy stepped forward and said: "please mr. nome king, come here and see us." the nomes started to laugh again; but a low growl came from the mountain, and in a flash they had all vanished from sight and were silent. then a door in the rock opened, and a voice cried: "enter!" "isn't it a trick?" asked the tin woodman. "never mind," replied ozma. "we came here to rescue the poor queen of ev and her ten children, and we must run some risks to do so." "the nome king is hon-est and good na-tured," said tiktok. "you can trust him to do what is right." so ozma led the way, hand in hand with dorothy, and they passed through the arched doorway of rock and entered a long passage which was lighted by jewels set in the walls and having lamps behind them. there was no one to escort them, or to show them the way, but all the party pressed through the passage until they came to a round, domed cavern that was grandly furnished. in the center of this room was a throne carved out of a solid boulder of rock, rude and rugged in shape but glittering with great rubies and diamonds and emeralds on every part of its surface. and upon the throne sat the nome king. this important monarch of the underground world was a little fat man clothed in gray-brown garments that were the exact color of the rock throne in which he was seated. his bushy hair and flowing beard were also colored like the rocks, and so was his face. he wore no crown of any sort, and his only ornament was a broad, jewel-studded belt that encircled his fat little body. as for his features, they seemed kindly and good humored, and his eyes were turned merrily upon his visitors as ozma and dorothy stood before him with their followers ranged in close order behind them. "why, he looks just like santa claus--only he isn't the same color!" whispered dorothy to her friend; but the nome king heard the speech, and it made him laugh aloud. "'he had a red face and a round little belly that shook when he laughed like a bowl full of jelly!'" quoth the monarch, in a pleasant voice; and they could all see that he really did shake like jelly when he laughed. both ozma and dorothy were much relieved to find the nome king so jolly, and a minute later he waved his right hand and the girls each found a cushioned stool at her side. "sit down, my dears," said the king, "and tell me why you have come all this way to see me, and what i can do to make you happy." while they seated themselves the nome king picked up a pipe, and taking a glowing red coal out of his pocket he placed it in the bowl of the pipe and began puffing out clouds of smoke that curled in rings above his head. dorothy thought this made the little monarch look more like santa claus than ever; but ozma now began speaking, and every one listened intently to her words. "your majesty," said she, "i am the ruler of the land of oz, and i have come here to ask you to release the good queen of ev and her ten children, whom you have enchanted and hold as your prisoners." "oh, no; you are mistaken about that," replied the king. "they are not my prisoners, but my slaves, whom i purchased from the king of ev." "but that was wrong," said ozma. "according to the laws of ev, the king can do no wrong," answered the monarch, eying a ring of smoke he had just blown from his mouth; "so that he had a perfect right to sell his family to me in exchange for a long life." "you cheated him, though," declared dorothy; "for the king of ev did not have a long life. he jumped into the sea and was drowned." "that was not my fault," said the nome king, crossing his legs and smiling contentedly. "i gave him the long life, all right; but he destroyed it." "then how could it be a long life?" asked dorothy. "easily enough," was the reply. "now suppose, my dear, that i gave you a pretty doll in exchange for a lock of your hair, and that after you had received the doll you smashed it into pieces and destroyed it. could you say that i had not given you a pretty doll?" "no," answered dorothy. "and could you, in fairness, ask me to return to you the lock of hair, just because you had smashed the doll?" "no," said dorothy, again. "of course not," the nome king returned. "nor will i give up the queen and her children because the king of ev destroyed his long life by jumping into the sea. they belong to me and i shall keep them." "but you are treating them cruelly," said ozma, who was much distressed by the king's refusal. "in what way?" he asked. "by making them your slaves," said she. "cruelty," remarked the monarch, puffing out wreathes of smoke and watching them float into the air, "is a thing i can't abide. so, as slaves must work hard, and the queen of ev and her children were delicate and tender, i transformed them all into articles of ornament and bric-a-brac and scattered them around the various rooms of my palace. instead of being obliged to labor, they merely decorate my apartments, and i really think i have treated them with great kindness." "but what a dreadful fate is theirs!" exclaimed ozma, earnestly. "and the kingdom of ev is in great need of its royal family to govern it. if you will liberate them, and restore them to their proper forms, i will give you ten ornaments to replace each one you lose." the nome king looked grave. "suppose i refuse?" he asked. "then," said ozma, firmly, "i am here with my friends and my army to conquer your kingdom and oblige you to obey my wishes." the nome king laughed until he choked; and he choked until he coughed; and he coughed until his face turned from grayish-brown to bright red. and then he wiped his eyes with a rock-colored handkerchief and grew grave again. "you are as brave as you are pretty, my dear," he said to ozma. "but you have little idea of the extent of the task you have undertaken. come with me for a moment." he arose and took ozma's hand, leading her to a little door at one side of the room. this he opened and they stepped out upon a balcony, from whence they obtained a wonderful view of the underground world. a vast cave extended for miles and miles under the mountain, and in every direction were furnaces and forges glowing brightly and nomes hammering upon precious metals or polishing gleaming jewels. all around the walls of the cave were thousands of doors of silver and gold, built into the solid rock, and these extended in rows far away into the distance, as far as ozma's eyes could follow them. while the little maid from oz gazed wonderingly upon this scene the nome king uttered a shrill whistle, and at once all the silver and gold doors flew open and solid ranks of nome soldiers marched out from every one. so great were their numbers that they quickly filled the immense underground cavern and forced the busy workmen to abandon their tasks. although this tremendous army consisted of rock-colored nomes, all squat and fat, they were clothed in glittering armor of polished steel, inlaid with beautiful gems. upon his brow each wore a brilliant electric light, and they bore sharp spears and swords and battle-axes of solid bronze. it was evident they were perfectly trained, for they stood in straight rows, rank after rank, with their weapons held erect and true, as if awaiting but the word of command to level them upon their foes. "this," said the nome king, "is but a small part of my army. no ruler upon earth has ever dared to fight me, and no ruler ever will, for i am too powerful to oppose." he whistled again, and at once the martial array filed through the silver and gold doorways and disappeared, after which the workmen again resumed their labors at the furnaces. then, sad and discouraged, ozma of oz turned to her friends, and the nome king calmly reseated himself on his rock throne. "it would be foolish for us to fight," the girl said to the tin woodman. "for our brave twenty-seven would be quickly destroyed. i'm sure i do not know how to act in this emergency." "ask the king where his kitchen is," suggested the tiger. "i'm hungry as a bear." "i might pounce upon the king and tear him in pieces," remarked the cowardly lion. "try it," said the monarch, lighting his pipe with another hot coal which he took from his pocket. the lion crouched low and tried to spring upon the nome king; but he hopped only a little way into the air and came down again in the same place, not being able to approach the throne by even an inch. "it seems to me," said the scarecrow, thoughtfully, "that our best plan is to wheedle his majesty into giving up his slaves, since he is too great a magician to oppose." "this is the most sensible thing any of you have suggested," declared the nome king. "it is folly to threaten me, but i'm so kind-hearted that i cannot stand coaxing or wheedling. if you really wish to accomplish anything by your journey, my dear ozma, you must coax me." "very well," said ozma, more cheerfully. "let us be friends, and talk this over in a friendly manner." "to be sure," agreed the king, his eyes twinkling merrily. "i am very anxious," she continued, "to liberate the queen of ev and her children who are now ornaments and bric-a-brac in your majesty's palace, and to restore them to their people. tell me, sir, how this may be accomplished." the king remained thoughtful for a moment, after which he asked: "are you willing to take a few chances and risks yourself, in order to set free the people of ev?" "yes, indeed!" answered ozma, eagerly. "then," said the nome king, "i will make you this offer: you shall go alone and unattended into my palace and examine carefully all that the rooms contain. then you shall have permission to touch eleven different objects, pronouncing at the time the word 'ev,' and if any one of them, or more than one, proves to be the transformation of the queen of ev or any of her ten children, then they will instantly be restored to their true forms and may leave my palace and my kingdom in your company, without any objection whatever. it is possible for you, in this way, to free the entire eleven; but if you do not guess all the objects correctly, and some of the slaves remain transformed, then each one of your friends and followers may, in turn, enter the palace and have the same privileges i grant you." "oh, thank you! thank you for this kind offer!" said ozma, eagerly. "i make but one condition," added the nome king, his eyes twinkling. "what is it?" she enquired. "if none of the eleven objects you touch proves to be the transformation of any of the royal family of ev, then, instead of freeing them, you will yourself become enchanted, and transformed into an article of bric-a-brac or an ornament. this is only fair and just, and is the risk you declared you were willing to take." 12. the eleven guesses hearing this condition imposed by the nome king, ozma became silent and thoughtful, and all her friends looked at her uneasily. "don't you do it!" exclaimed dorothy. "if you guess wrong, you will be enslaved yourself." "but i shall have eleven guesses," answered ozma. "surely i ought to guess one object in eleven correctly; and, if i do, i shall rescue one of the royal family and be safe myself. then the rest of you may attempt it, and soon we shall free all those who are enslaved." "what if we fail?" enquired the scarecrow. "i'd look nice as a piece of bric-a-brac, wouldn't i?" "we must not fail!" cried ozma, courageously. "having come all this distance to free these poor people, it would be weak and cowardly in us to abandon the adventure. therefore i will accept the nome king's offer, and go at once into the royal palace." "come along, then, my dear," said the king, climbing down from his throne with some difficulty, because he was so fat; "i'll show you the way." he approached a wall of the cave and waved his hand. instantly an opening appeared, through which ozma, after a smiling farewell to her friends, boldly passed. she found herself in a splendid hall that was more beautiful and grand than anything she had ever beheld. the ceilings were composed of great arches that rose far above her head, and all the walls and floors were of polished marble exquisitely tinted in many colors. thick velvet carpets were on the floor and heavy silken draperies covered the arches leading to the various rooms of the palace. the furniture was made of rare old woods richly carved and covered with delicate satins, and the entire palace was lighted by a mysterious rosy glow that seemed to come from no particular place but flooded each apartment with its soft and pleasing radiance. ozma passed from one room to another, greatly delighted by all she saw. the lovely palace had no other occupant, for the nome king had left her at the entrance, which closed behind her, and in all the magnificent rooms there appeared to be no other person. upon the mantels, and on many shelves and brackets and tables, were clustered ornaments of every description, seemingly made out of all sorts of metals, glass, china, stones and marbles. there were vases, and figures of men and animals, and graven platters and bowls, and mosaics of precious gems, and many other things. pictures, too, were on the walls, and the underground palace was quite a museum of rare and curious and costly objects. after her first hasty examination of the rooms ozma began to wonder which of all the numerous ornaments they contained were the transformations of the royal family of ev. there was nothing to guide her, for everything seemed without a spark of life. so she must guess blindly; and for the first time the girl came to realize how dangerous was her task, and how likely she was to lose her own freedom in striving to free others from the bondage of the nome king. no wonder the cunning monarch laughed good naturedly with his visitors, when he knew how easily they might be entrapped. but ozma, having undertaken the venture, would not abandon it. she looked at a silver candelabra that had ten branches, and thought: "this may be the queen of ev and her ten children." so she touched it and uttered aloud the word "ev," as the nome king had instructed her to do when she guessed. but the candelabra remained as it was before. then she wandered into another room and touched a china lamb, thinking it might be one of the children she sought. but again she was unsuccessful. three guesses; four guesses; five, six, seven, eight, nine and ten she made, and still not one of them was right! the girl shivered a little and grew pale even under the rosy light; for now but one guess remained, and her own fate depended upon the result. she resolved not to be hasty, and strolled through all the rooms once more, gazing earnestly upon the various ornaments and trying to decide which she would touch. finally, in despair, she decided to leave it entirely to chance. she faced the doorway of a room, shut her eyes tightly, and then, thrusting aside the heavy draperies, she advanced blindly with her right arm outstretched before her. slowly, softly she crept forward until her hand came in contact with an object upon a small round table. she did not know what it was, but in a low voice she pronounced the word "ev." the rooms were quite empty of life after that. the nome king had gained a new ornament. for upon the edge of the table rested a pretty grasshopper, that seemed to have been formed from a single emerald. it was all that remained of ozma of oz. in the throne room just beyond the palace the nome king suddenly looked up and smiled. "next!" he said, in his pleasant voice. dorothy, the scarecrow, and the tin woodman, who had been sitting in anxious silence, each gave a start of dismay and stared into one another's eyes. "has she failed?" asked tiktok. "so it seems," answered the little monarch, cheerfully. "but that is no reason one of you should not succeed. the next may have twelve guesses, instead of eleven, for there are now twelve persons transformed into ornaments. well, well! which of you goes next?" "i'll go," said dorothy. "not so," replied the tin woodman. "as commander of ozma's army, it is my privilege to follow her and attempt her rescue." "away you go, then," said the scarecrow. "but be careful, old friend." "i will," promised the tin woodman; and then he followed the nome king to the entrance to the palace and the rock closed behind him. 13. the nome king laughs in a moment the king returned to his throne and relighted his pipe, and the rest of the little band of adventurers settled themselves for another long wait. they were greatly disheartened by the failure of their girl ruler, and the knowledge that she was now an ornament in the nome king's palace--a dreadful, creepy place in spite of all its magnificence. without their little leader they did not know what to do next, and each one, down to the trembling private of the army, began to fear he would soon be more ornamental than useful. suddenly the nome king began laughing. "ha, ha, ha! he, he, he! ho, ho, ho!" "what's happened?" asked the scarecrow. "why, your friend, the tin woodman, has become the funniest thing you can imagine," replied the king, wiping the tears of merriment from his eyes. "no one would ever believe he could make such an amusing ornament. next!" they gazed at each other with sinking hearts. one of the generals began to weep dolefully. "what are you crying for?" asked the scarecrow, indignant at such a display of weakness. "he owed me six weeks back pay," said the general, "and i hate to lose him." "then you shall go and find him," declared the scarecrow. "me!" cried the general, greatly alarmed. "certainly. it is your duty to follow your commander. march!" "i won't," said the general. "i'd like to, of course; but i just simply won't." the scarecrow looked enquiringly at the nome king. "never mind," said the jolly monarch. "if he doesn't care to enter the palace and make his guesses i'll throw him into one of my fiery furnaces." "i'll go!--of course i'm going," yelled the general, as quick as scat. "where is the entrance--where is it? let me go at once!" so the nome king escorted him into the palace, and again returned to await the result. what the general did, no one can tell; but it was not long before the king called for the next victim, and a colonel was forced to try his fortune. thus, one after another, all of the twenty-six officers filed into the palace and made their guesses--and became ornaments. meantime the king ordered refreshments to be served to those waiting, and at his command a rudely shaped nome entered, bearing a tray. this nome was not unlike the others that dorothy had seen, but he wore a heavy gold chain around his neck to show that he was the chief steward of the nome king, and he assumed an air of much importance, and even told his majesty not to eat too much cake late at night, or he would be ill. dorothy, however, was hungry, and she was not afraid of being ill; so she ate several cakes and found them good, and also she drank a cup of excellent coffee made of a richly flavored clay, browned in the furnaces and then ground fine, and found it most refreshing and not at all muddy. of all the party which had started upon this adventure, the little kansas girl was now left alone with the scarecrow, tiktok, and the private for counsellors and companions. of course the cowardly lion and the hungry tiger were still there, but they, having also eaten some of the cakes, had gone to sleep at one side of the cave, while upon the other side stood the sawhorse, motionless and silent, as became a mere thing of wood. billina had quietly walked around and picked up the crumbs of cake which had been scattered, and now, as it was long after bed-time, she tried to find some dark place in which to go to sleep. presently the hen espied a hollow underneath the king's rocky throne, and crept into it unnoticed. she could still hear the chattering of those around her, but it was almost dark underneath the throne, so that soon she had fallen fast asleep. "next!" called the king, and the private, whose turn it was to enter the fatal palace, shook hands with dorothy and the scarecrow and bade them a sorrowful good-bye, and passed through the rocky portal. they waited a long time, for the private was in no hurry to become an ornament and made his guesses very slowly. the nome king, who seemed to know, by some magical power, all that took place in his beautiful rooms of his palace, grew impatient finally and declared he would sit up no longer. "i love ornaments," said he, "but i can wait until tomorrow to get more of them; so, as soon as that stupid private is transformed, we will all go to bed and leave the job to be finished in the morning." "is it so very late?" asked dorothy. "why, it is after midnight," said the king, "and that strikes me as being late enough. there is neither night nor day in my kingdom, because it is under the earth's surface, where the sun does not shine. but we have to sleep, just the same as the up-stairs people do, and for my part i'm going to bed in a few minutes." indeed, it was not long after this that the private made his last guess. of course he guessed wrongly, and of course he at once became an ornament. so the king was greatly pleased, and clapped his hands to summon his chief steward. "show these guests to some of the sleeping apartments," he commanded, "and be quick about it, too, for i'm dreadfully sleepy myself." "you've no business to sit up so late," replied the steward, gruffly. "you'll be as cross as a griffin tomorrow morning." his majesty made no answer to this remark, and the chief steward led dorothy through another doorway into a long hall, from which several plain but comfortable sleeping rooms opened. the little girl was given the first room, and the scarecrow and tiktok the next--although they never slept--and the lion and the tiger the third. the sawhorse hobbled after the steward into a fourth room, to stand stiffly in the center of it until morning. each night was rather a bore to the scarecrow, tiktok and the sawhorse; but they had learned from experience to pass the time patiently and quietly, since all their friends who were made of flesh had to sleep and did not like to be disturbed. when the chief steward had left them alone the scarecrow remarked, sadly: "i am in great sorrow over the loss of my old comrade, the tin woodman. we have had many dangerous adventures together, and escaped them all, and now it grieves me to know he has become an ornament, and is lost to me forever." "he was al-ways an or-na-ment to so-ci-e-ty," said tiktok. "true; but now the nome king laughs at him, and calls him the funniest ornament in all the palace. it will hurt my poor friend's pride to be laughed at," continued the scarecrow, sadly. "we will make rath-er ab-surd or-na-ments, our-selves, to-mor-row," observed the machine, in his monotonous voice. just then dorothy ran into their room, in a state of great anxiety, crying: "where's billina? have you seen billina? is she here?" "no," answered the scarecrow. "then what has become of her?" asked the girl. "why, i thought she was with you," said the scarecrow. "yet i do not remember seeing the yellow hen since she picked up the crumbs of cake." "we must have left her in the room where the king's throne is," decided dorothy, and at once she turned and ran down the hall to the door through which they had entered. but it was fast closed and locked on the other side, and the heavy slab of rock proved to be so thick that no sound could pass through it. so dorothy was forced to return to her chamber. the cowardly lion stuck his head into her room to try to console the girl for the loss of her feathered friend. "the yellow hen is well able to take care of herself," said he; "so don't worry about her, but try to get all the sleep you can. it has been a long and weary day, and you need rest." "i'll prob'ly get lots of rest tomorrow, when i become an orn'ment," said dorothy, sleepily. but she lay down upon her couch, nevertheless, and in spite of all her worries was soon in the land of dreams. 14. dorothy tries to be brave meantime the chief steward had returned to the throne room, where he said to the king: "you are a fool to waste so much time upon these people." "what!" cried his majesty, in so enraged a voice that it awoke billina, who was asleep under his throne. "how dare you call me a fool?" "because i like to speak the truth," said the steward. "why didn't you enchant them all at once, instead of allowing them to go one by one into the palace and guess which ornaments are the queen of ev and her children?" "why, you stupid rascal, it is more fun this way," returned the king, "and it serves to keep me amused for a long time." "but suppose some of them happen to guess aright," persisted the steward; "then you would lose your old ornaments and these new ones, too." "there is no chance of their guessing aright," replied the monarch, with a laugh. "how could they know that the queen of ev and her family are all ornaments of a royal purple color?" "but there are no other purple ornaments in the palace," said the steward. "there are many other colors, however, and the purple ones are scattered throughout the rooms, and are of many different shapes and sizes. take my word for it, steward, they will never think of choosing the purple ornaments." billina, squatting under the throne, had listened carefully to all this talk, and now chuckled softly to herself as she heard the king disclose his secret. "still, you are acting foolishly by running the chance," continued the steward, roughly; "and it is still more foolish of you to transform all those people from oz into green ornaments." "i did that because they came from the emerald city," replied the king; "and i had no green ornaments in my collection until now. i think they will look quite pretty, mixed with the others. don't you?" the steward gave an angry grunt. "have your own way, since you are the king," he growled. "but if you come to grief through your carelessness, remember that i told you so. if i wore the magic belt which enables you to work all your transformations, and gives you so much other power, i am sure i would make a much wiser and better king than you are." "oh, cease your tiresome chatter!" commanded the king, getting angry again. "because you are my chief steward you have an idea you can scold me as much as you please. but the very next time you become impudent, i will send you to work in the furnaces, and get another nome to fill your place. now follow me to my chamber, for i am going to bed. and see that i am wakened early tomorrow morning. i want to enjoy the fun of transforming the rest of these people into ornaments." "what color will you make the kansas girl?" asked the steward. "gray, i think," said his majesty. "and the scarecrow and the machine man?" "oh, they shall be of solid gold, because they are so ugly in real life." then the voices died away, and billina knew that the king and his steward had left the room. she fixed up some of her tail feathers that were not straight, and then tucked her head under her wing again and went to sleep. in the morning dorothy and the lion and tiger were given their breakfast in their rooms, and afterward joined the king in his throne room. the tiger complained bitterly that he was half starved, and begged to go into the palace and become an ornament, so that he would no longer suffer the pangs of hunger. "haven't you had your breakfast?" asked the nome king. "oh, i had just a bite," replied the beast. "but what good is a bite, to a hungry tiger?" "he ate seventeen bowls of porridge, a platter full of fried sausages, eleven loaves of bread and twenty-one mince pies," said the steward. "what more do you want?" demanded the king. "a fat baby. i want a fat baby," said the hungry tiger. "a nice, plump, juicy, tender, fat baby. but, of course, if i had one, my conscience would not allow me to eat it. so i'll have to be an ornament and forget my hunger." "impossible!" exclaimed the king. "i'll have no clumsy beasts enter my palace, to overturn and break all my pretty nick-nacks. when the rest of your friends are transformed you can return to the upper world, and go about your business." "as for that, we have no business, when our friends are gone," said the lion. "so we do not care much what becomes of us." dorothy begged to be allowed to go first into the palace, but tiktok firmly maintained that the slave should face danger before the mistress. the scarecrow agreed with him in that, so the nome king opened the door for the machine man, who tramped into the palace to meet his fate. then his majesty returned to his throne and puffed his pipe so contentedly that a small cloud of smoke formed above his head. bye and bye he said: "i'm sorry there are so few of you left. very soon, now, my fun will be over, and then for amusement i shall have nothing to do but admire my new ornaments." "it seems to me," said dorothy, "that you are not so honest as you pretend to be." "how's that?" asked the king. "why, you made us think it would be easy to guess what ornaments the people of ev were changed into." "it is easy," declared the monarch, "if one is a good guesser. but it appears that the members of your party are all poor guessers." "what is tiktok doing now?" asked the girl, uneasily. "nothing," replied the king, with a frown. "he is standing perfectly still, in the middle of a room." "oh, i expect he's run down," said dorothy. "i forgot to wind him up this morning. how many guesses has he made?" "all that he is allowed except one," answered the king. "suppose you go in and wind him up, and then you can stay there and make your own guesses." "all right," said dorothy. "it is my turn next," declared the scarecrow. "why, you don't want to go away and leave me all alone, do you?" asked the girl. "besides, if i go now i can wind up tiktok, so that he can make his last guess." "very well, then," said the scarecrow, with a sigh. "run along, little dorothy, and may good luck go with you!" so dorothy, trying to be brave in spite of her fears, passed through the doorway into the gorgeous rooms of the palace. the stillness of the place awed her, at first, and the child drew short breaths, and pressed her hand to her heart, and looked all around with wondering eyes. yes, it was a beautiful place; but enchantments lurked in every nook and corner, and she had not yet grown accustomed to the wizardries of these fairy countries, so different from the quiet and sensible common-places of her own native land. slowly she passed through several rooms until she came upon tiktok, standing motionless. it really seemed, then, that she had found a friend in this mysterious palace, so she hastened to wind up the machine man's action and speech and thoughts. "thank you, dor-oth-y," were his first words. "i have now one more guess to make." "oh, be very careful, tiktok; won't you?" cried the girl. "yes. but the nome king has us in his power, and he has set a trap for us. i fear we are all lost." he answered. "i fear so, too," said dorothy, sadly. "if smith & tin-ker had giv-en me a guess-ing clock-work at-tach-ment," continued tiktok, "i might have de-fied the nome king. but my thoughts are plain and sim-ple, and are not of much use in this case." "do the best you can," said dorothy, encouragingly, "and if you fail i will watch and see what shape you are changed into." so tiktok touched a yellow glass vase that had daisies painted on one side, and he spoke at the same time the word "ev." in a flash the machine man had disappeared, and although the girl looked quickly in every direction, she could not tell which of the many ornaments the room contained had a moment before been her faithful friend and servant. so all she could do was to accept the hopeless task set her, and make her guesses and abide by the result. "it can't hurt very much," she thought, "for i haven't heard any of them scream or cry out--not even the poor officers. dear me! i wonder if uncle henry or aunt em will ever know i have become an orn'ment in the nome king's palace, and must stand forever and ever in one place and look pretty--'cept when i'm moved to be dusted. it isn't the way i thought i'd turn out, at all; but i s'pose it can't be helped." she walked through all the rooms once more, and examined with care all the objects they contained; but there were so many, they bewildered her, and she decided, after all, as ozma had done, that it could be only guess work at the best, and that the chances were much against her guessing aright. timidly she touched an alabaster bowl and said: "ev." "that's one failure, anyhow," she thought. "but how am i to know which thing is enchanted, and which is not?" next she touched the image of a purple kitten that stood on the corner of a mantel, and as she pronounced the word "ev" the kitten disappeared, and a pretty, fair-haired boy stood beside her. at the same time a bell rang somewhere in the distance, and as dorothy started back, partly in surprise and partly in joy, the little one exclaimed: "where am i? and who are you? and what has happened to me?" "well, i declare!" said dorothy. "i've really done it." "done what?" asked the boy. "saved myself from being an ornament," replied the girl, with a laugh, "and saved you from being forever a purple kitten." "a purple kitten?" he repeated. "there is no such thing." "i know," she answered. "but there was, a minute ago. don't you remember standing on a corner of the mantel?" "of course not. i am a prince of ev, and my name is evring," the little one announced, proudly. "but my father, the king, sold my mother and all her children to the cruel ruler of the nomes, and after that i remember nothing at all." "a purple kitten can't be 'spected to remember, evring," said dorothy. "but now you are yourself again, and i'm going to try to save some of your brothers and sisters, and perhaps your mother, as well. so come with me." she seized the child's hand and eagerly hurried here and there, trying to decide which object to choose next. the third guess was another failure, and so was the fourth and the fifth. little evring could not imagine what she was doing, but he trotted along beside her very willingly, for he liked the new companion he had found. dorothy's further quest proved unsuccessful; but after her first disappointment was over, the little girl was filled with joy and thankfulness to think that after all she had been able to save one member of the royal family of ev, and could restore the little prince to his sorrowing country. now she might return to the terrible nome king in safety, carrying with her the prize she had won in the person of the fair-haired boy. so she retraced her steps until she found the entrance to the palace, and as she approached, the massive doors of rock opened of their own accord, allowing both dorothy and evring to pass the portals and enter the throne room. 15. billina frightens the nome king now when dorothy had entered the palace to make her guesses and the scarecrow was left with the nome king, the two sat in moody silence for several minutes. then the monarch exclaimed, in a tone of satisfaction: "very good!" "who is very good?" asked the scarecrow. "the machine man. he won't need to be wound up any more, for he has now become a very neat ornament. very neat, indeed." "how about dorothy?" the scarecrow enquired. "oh, she will begin to guess, pretty soon," said the king, cheerfully. "and then she will join my collection, and it will be your turn." the good scarecrow was much distressed by the thought that his little friend was about to suffer the fate of ozma and the rest of their party; but while he sat in gloomy reverie a shrill voice suddenly cried: "kut, kut, kut--ka-daw-kutt! kut, kut, kut--ka-daw-kutt!" the nome king nearly jumped off his seat, he was so startled. "good gracious! what's that?" he yelled. "why, it's billina," said the scarecrow. "what do you mean by making a noise like that?" shouted the king, angrily, as the yellow hen came from under the throne and strutted proudly about the room. "i've got a right to cackle, i guess," replied billina. "i've just laid my egg." "what! laid an egg! in my throne room! how dare you do such a thing?" asked the king, in a voice of fury. "i lay eggs wherever i happen to be," said the hen, ruffling her feathers and then shaking them into place. "but--thunder-ation! don't you know that eggs are poison?" roared the king, while his rock-colored eyes stuck out in great terror. "poison! well, i declare," said billina, indignantly. "i'll have you know all my eggs are warranted strictly fresh and up to date. poison, indeed!" "you don't understand," retorted the little monarch, nervously. "eggs belong only to the outside world--to the world on the earth's surface, where you came from. here, in my underground kingdom, they are rank poison, as i said, and we nomes can't bear them around." "well, you'll have to bear this one around," declared billina; "for i've laid it." "where?" asked the king. "under your throne," said the hen. the king jumped three feet into the air, so anxious was he to get away from the throne. "take it away! take it away at once!" he shouted. "i can't," said billina. "i haven't any hands." "i'll take the egg," said the scarecrow. "i'm making a collection of billina's eggs. there's one in my pocket now, that she laid yesterday." hearing this, the monarch hastened to put a good distance between himself and the scarecrow, who was about to reach under the throne for the egg when the hen suddenly cried: "stop!" "what's wrong?" asked the scarecrow. "don't take the egg unless the king will allow me to enter the palace and guess as the others have done," said billina. "pshaw!" returned the king. "you're only a hen. how could you guess my enchantments?" "i can try, i suppose," said billina. "and, if i fail, you will have another ornament." "a pretty ornament you'd make, wouldn't you?" growled the king. "but you shall have your way. it will properly punish you for daring to lay an egg in my presence. after the scarecrow is enchanted you shall follow him into the palace. but how will you touch the objects?" "with my claws," said the hen; "and i can speak the word 'ev' as plainly as anyone. also i must have the right to guess the enchantments of my friends, and to release them if i succeed." "very well," said the king. "you have my promise." "then," said billina to the scarecrow, "you may get the egg." he knelt down and reached underneath the throne and found the egg, which he placed in another pocket of his jacket, fearing that if both eggs were in one pocket they would knock together and get broken. just then a bell above the throne rang briskly, and the king gave another nervous jump. "well, well!" said he, with a rueful face; "the girl has actually done it." "done what?" asked the scarecrow. "she has made one guess that is right, and broken one of my neatest enchantments. by ricketty, it's too bad! i never thought she would do it." "do i understand that she will now return to us in safety?" enquired the scarecrow, joyfully wrinkling his painted face into a broad smile. "of course," said the king, fretfully pacing up and down the room. "i always keep my promises, no matter how foolish they are. but i shall make an ornament of the yellow hen to replace the one i have just lost." "perhaps you will, and perhaps you won't," murmured billina, calmly. "i may surprise you by guessing right." "guessing right?" snapped the king. "how could you guess right, where your betters have failed, you stupid fowl?" billina did not care to answer this question, and a moment later the doors flew open and dorothy entered, leading the little prince evring by the hand. the scarecrow welcomed the girl with a close embrace, and he would have embraced evring, too, in his delight. but the little prince was shy, and shrank away from the painted scarecrow because he did not yet know his many excellent qualities. but there was little time for the friends to talk, because the scarecrow must now enter the palace. dorothy's success had greatly encouraged him, and they both hoped he would manage to make at least one correct guess. however, he proved as unfortunate as the others except dorothy, and although he took a good deal of time to select his objects, not one did the poor scarecrow guess aright. so he became a solid gold card-receiver, and the beautiful but terrible palace awaited its next visitor. "it's all over," remarked the king, with a sigh of satisfaction; "and it has been a very amusing performance, except for the one good guess the kansas girl made. i am richer by a great many pretty ornaments." "it is my turn, now," said billina, briskly. "oh, i'd forgotten you," said the king. "but you needn't go if you don't wish to. i will be generous, and let you off." "no you won't," replied the hen. "i insist upon having my guesses, as you promised." "then go ahead, you absurd feathered fool!" grumbled the king, and he caused the opening that led to the palace to appear once more. "don't go, billina," said dorothy, earnestly. "it isn't easy to guess those orn'ments, and only luck saved me from being one myself. stay with me and we'll go back to the land of ev together. i'm sure this little prince will give us a home." "indeed i will," said evring, with much dignity. "don't worry, my dear," cried billina, with a cluck that was meant for a laugh. "i may not be human, but i'm no fool, if i am a chicken." "oh, billina!" said dorothy, "you haven't been a chicken in a long time. not since you--you've been--grown up." "perhaps that's true," answered billina, thoughtfully. "but if a kansas farmer sold me to some one, what would he call me?--a hen or a chicken!" "you are not a kansas farmer, billina," replied the girl, "and you said--" "never mind that, dorothy. i'm going. i won't say good-bye, because i'm coming back. keep up your courage, for i'll see you a little later." then billina gave several loud "cluck-clucks" that seemed to make the fat little king more nervous than ever, and marched through the entrance into the enchanted palace. "i hope i've seen the last of that bird," declared the monarch, seating himself again in his throne and mopping the perspiration from his forehead with his rock-colored handkerchief. "hens are bothersome enough at their best, but when they can talk they're simply dreadful." "billina's my friend," said dorothy quietly. "she may not always be 'zactly polite; but she means well, i'm sure." 16. purple, green, and gold the yellow hen, stepping high and with an air of vast importance, walked slowly over the rich velvet carpets of the splendid palace, examining everything she met with her sharp little eyes. billina had a right to feel important; for she alone shared the nome king's secret and knew how to tell the objects that were transformations from those that had never been alive. she was very sure that her guesses would be correct, but before she began to make them she was curious to behold all the magnificence of this underground palace, which was perhaps one of the most splendid and beautiful places in any fairyland. as she went through the rooms she counted the purple ornaments; and although some were small and hidden in queer places, billina spied them all, and found the entire ten scattered about the various rooms. the green ornaments she did not bother to count, for she thought she could find them all when the time came. finally, having made a survey of the entire palace and enjoyed its splendor, the yellow hen returned to one of the rooms where she had noticed a large purple footstool. she placed a claw upon this and said "ev," and at once the footstool vanished and a lovely lady, tall and slender and most beautifully robed, stood before her. the lady's eyes were round with astonishment for a moment, for she could not remember her transformation, nor imagine what had restored her to life. "good morning, ma'am," said billina, in her sharp voice. "you're looking quite well, considering your age." "who speaks?" demanded the queen of ev, drawing herself up proudly. "why, my name's bill, by rights," answered the hen, who was now perched upon the back of a chair; "although dorothy has put scollops on it and made it billina. but the name doesn't matter. i've saved you from the nome king, and you are a slave no longer." "then i thank you for the gracious favor," said the queen, with a graceful courtesy. "but, my children--tell me, i beg of you--where are my children?" and she clasped her hands in anxious entreaty. "don't worry," advised billina, pecking at a tiny bug that was crawling over the chair back. "just at present they are out of mischief and perfectly safe, for they can't even wiggle." "what mean you, o kindly stranger?" asked the queen, striving to repress her anxiety. "they're enchanted," said billina, "just as you have been--all, that is, except the little fellow dorothy picked out. and the chances are that they have been good boys and girls for some time, because they couldn't help it." "oh, my poor darlings!" cried the queen, with a sob of anguish. "not at all," returned the hen. "don't let their condition make you unhappy, ma'am, because i'll soon have them crowding 'round to bother and worry you as naturally as ever. come with me, if you please, and i'll show you how pretty they look." she flew down from her perch and walked into the next room, the queen following. as she passed a low table a small green grasshopper caught her eye, and instantly billina pounced upon it and snapped it up in her sharp bill. for grasshoppers are a favorite food with hens, and they usually must be caught quickly, before they can hop away. it might easily have been the end of ozma of oz, had she been a real grasshopper instead of an emerald one. but billina found the grasshopper hard and lifeless, and suspecting it was not good to eat she quickly dropped it instead of letting it slide down her throat. "i might have known better," she muttered to herself, "for where there is no grass there can be no live grasshoppers. this is probably one of the king's transformations." a moment later she approached one of the purple ornaments, and while the queen watched her curiously the hen broke the nome king's enchantment and a sweet-faced girl, whose golden hair fell in a cloud over her shoulders, stood beside them. "evanna!" cried the queen, "my own evanna!" and she clasped the girl to her bosom and covered her face with kisses. "that's all right," said billina, contentedly. "am i a good guesser, mr. nome king? well, i guess!" then she disenchanted another girl, whom the queen addressed as evrose, and afterwards a boy named evardo, who was older than his brother evring. indeed, the yellow hen kept the good queen exclaiming and embracing for some time, until five princesses and four princes, all looking very much alike except for the difference in size, stood in a row beside their happy mother. the princesses were named, evanna, evrose, evella, evirene and evedna, while the princes were evrob, evington, evardo and evroland. of these evardo was the eldest and would inherit his father's throne and be crowned king of ev when he returned to his own country. he was a grave and quiet youth, and would doubtless rule his people wisely and with justice. billina, having restored all of the royal family of ev to their proper forms, now began to select the green ornaments which were the transformations of the people of oz. she had little trouble in finding these, and before long all the twenty-six officers, as well as the private, were gathered around the yellow hen, joyfully congratulating her upon their release. the thirty-seven people who were now alive in the rooms of the palace knew very well that they owed their freedom to the cleverness of the yellow hen, and they were earnest in thanking her for saving them from the magic of the nome king. "now," said billina, "i must find ozma. she is sure to be here, somewhere, and of course she is green, being from oz. so look around, you stupid soldiers, and help me in my search." for a while, however, they could discover nothing more that was green. but the queen, who had kissed all her nine children once more and could now find time to take an interest in what was going on, said to the hen: "mayhap, my gentle friend, it is the grasshopper whom you seek." "of course it's the grasshopper!" exclaimed billina. "i declare, i'm nearly as stupid as these brave soldiers. wait here for me, and i'll go back and get it." so she went into the room where she had seen the grasshopper, and presently ozma of oz, as lovely and dainty as ever, entered and approached the queen of ev, greeting her as one high born princess greets another. "but where are my friends, the scarecrow and the tin woodman?" asked the girl ruler, when these courtesies had been exchanged. "i'll hunt them up," replied billina. "the scarecrow is solid gold, and so is tiktok; but i don't exactly know what the tin woodman is, because the nome king said he had been transformed into something funny." ozma eagerly assisted the hen in her quest, and soon the scarecrow and the machine man, being ornaments of shining gold, were discovered and restored to their accustomed forms. but, search as they might, in no place could they find a funny ornament that might be the transformation of the tin woodman. "only one thing can be done," said ozma, at last, "and that is to return to the nome king and oblige him to tell us what has become of our friend." "perhaps he won't," suggested billina. "he must," returned ozma, firmly. "the king has not treated us honestly, for under the mask of fairness and good nature he entrapped us all, and we would have been forever enchanted had not our wise and clever friend, the yellow hen, found a way to save us." "the king is a villain," declared the scarecrow. "his laugh is worse than another man's frown," said the private, with a shudder. "i thought he was hon-est, but i was mis-tak-en," remarked tiktok. "my thoughts are us-u-al-ly cor-rect, but it is smith & tin-ker's fault if they some-times go wrong or do not work prop-er-ly." "smith & tinker made a very good job of you," said ozma, kindly. "i do not think they should be blamed if you are not quite perfect." "thank you," replied tiktok. "then," said billina, in her brisk little voice, "let us all go back to the nome king, and see what he has to say for himself." so they started for the entrance, ozma going first, with the queen and her train of little princes and princesses following. then came tiktok, and the scarecrow with billina perched upon his straw-stuffed shoulder. the twenty-seven officers and the private brought up the rear. as they reached the hall the doors flew open before them; but then they all stopped and stared into the domed cavern with faces of astonishment and dismay. for the room was filled with the mail-clad warriors of the nome king, rank after rank standing in orderly array. the electric lights upon their brows gleamed brightly, their battle-axes were poised as if to strike down their foes; yet they remained motionless as statues, awaiting the word of command. and in the center of this terrible army sat the little king upon his throne of rock. but he neither smiled nor laughed. instead, his face was distorted with rage, and most dreadful to behold. 17. the scarecrow wins the fight after billina had entered the palace dorothy and evring sat down to await the success or failure of her mission, and the nome king occupied his throne and smoked his long pipe for a while in a cheerful and contented mood. then the bell above the throne, which sounded whenever an enchantment was broken, began to ring, and the king gave a start of annoyance and exclaimed, "rocketty-ricketts!" when the bell rang a second time the king shouted angrily, "smudge and blazes!" and at a third ring he screamed in a fury, "hippikaloric!" which must be a dreadful word because we don't know what it means. after that the bell went on ringing time after time; but the king was now so violently enraged that he could not utter a word, but hopped out of his throne and all around the room in a mad frenzy, so that he reminded dorothy of a jumping-jack. the girl was, for her part, filled with joy at every peal of the bell, for it announced the fact that billina had transformed one more ornament into a living person. dorothy was also amazed at billina's success, for she could not imagine how the yellow hen was able to guess correctly from all the bewildering number of articles clustered in the rooms of the palace. but after she had counted ten, and the bell continued to ring, she knew that not only the royal family of ev, but ozma and her followers also, were being restored to their natural forms, and she was so delighted that the antics of the angry king only made her laugh merrily. perhaps the little monarch could not be more furious than he was before, but the girl's laughter nearly drove him frantic, and he roared at her like a savage beast. then, as he found that all his enchantments were likely to be dispelled and his victims every one set free, he suddenly ran to the little door that opened upon the balcony and gave the shrill whistle that summoned his warriors. at once the army filed out of the gold and silver doors in great numbers, and marched up a winding stairs and into the throne room, led by a stern featured nome who was their captain. when they had nearly filled the throne room they formed ranks in the big underground cavern below, and then stood still until they were told what to do next. dorothy had pressed back to one side of the cavern when the warriors entered, and now she stood holding little prince evring's hand while the great lion crouched upon one side and the enormous tiger crouched on the other side. "seize that girl!" shouted the king to his captain, and a group of warriors sprang forward to obey. but both the lion and tiger snarled so fiercely and bared their strong, sharp teeth so threateningly, that the men drew back in alarm. "don't mind them!" cried the nome king; "they cannot leap beyond the places where they now stand." "but they can bite those who attempt to touch the girl," said the captain. "i'll fix that," answered the king. "i'll enchant them again, so that they can't open their jaws." he stepped out of the throne to do this, but just then the sawhorse ran up behind him and gave the fat monarch a powerful kick with both his wooden hind legs. "ow! murder! treason!" yelled the king, who had been hurled against several of his warriors and was considerably bruised. "who did that?" "i did," growled the sawhorse, viciously. "you let dorothy alone, or i'll kick you again." "we'll see about that," replied the king, and at once he waved his hand toward the sawhorse and muttered a magical word. "aha!" he continued; "now let us see you move, you wooden mule!" but in spite of the magic the sawhorse moved; and he moved so quickly toward the king, that the fat little man could not get out of his way. thump--bang! came the wooden heels, right against his round body, and the king flew into the air and fell upon the head of his captain, who let him drop flat upon the ground. "well, well!" said the king, sitting up and looking surprised. "why didn't my magic belt work, i wonder?" "the creature is made of wood," replied the captain. "your magic will not work on wood, you know." "ah, i'd forgotten that," said the king, getting up and limping to his throne. "very well, let the girl alone. she can't escape us, anyway." the warriors, who had been rather confused by these incidents, now formed their ranks again, and the sawhorse pranced across the room to dorothy and took a position beside the hungry tiger. at that moment the doors that led to the palace flew open and the people of ev and the people of oz were disclosed to view. they paused, astonished, at sight of the warriors and the angry nome king, seated in their midst. "surrender!" cried the king, in a loud voice. "you are my prisoners." "go 'long!" answered billina, from the scarecrow's shoulder. "you promised me that if i guessed correctly my friends and i might depart in safety. and you always keep your promises." "i said you might leave the palace in safety," retorted the king; "and so you may, but you cannot leave my dominions. you are my prisoners, and i will hurl you all into my underground dungeons, where the volcanic fires glow and the molten lava flows in every direction, and the air is hotter than blue blazes." "that will be the end of me, all right," said the scarecrow, sorrowfully. "one small blaze, blue or green, is enough to reduce me to an ash-heap." "do you surrender?" demanded the king. billina whispered something in the scarecrow's ear that made him smile and put his hands in his jacket pockets. "no!" returned ozma, boldly answering the king. then she said to her army: "forward, my brave soldiers, and fight for your ruler and yourselves, unto death!" "pardon me, most royal ozma," replied one of her generals; "but i find that i and my brother officers all suffer from heart disease, and the slightest excitement might kill us. if we fight we may get excited. would it not be well for us to avoid this grave danger?" "soldiers should not have heart disease," said ozma. "private soldiers are not, i believe, afflicted that way," declared another general, twirling his moustache thoughtfully. "if your royal highness desires, we will order our private to attack yonder warriors." "do so," replied ozma. "for-ward--march!" cried all the generals, with one voice. "for-ward--march!" yelled the colonels. "for-ward--march!" shouted the majors. "for-ward--march!" commanded the captains. and at that the private leveled his spear and dashed furiously upon the foe. the captain of the nomes was so surprised by this sudden onslaught that he forgot to command his warriors to fight, so that the ten men in the first row, who stood in front of the private's spear, fell over like so many toy soldiers. the spear could not go through their steel armor, however, so the warriors scrambled to their feet again, and by that time the private had knocked over another row of them. then the captain brought down his battle-axe with such a strong blow that the private's spear was shattered and knocked from his grasp, and he was helpless to fight any longer. the nome king had left his throne and pressed through his warriors to the front ranks, so he could see what was going on; but as he faced ozma and her friends the scarecrow, as if aroused to action by the valor of the private, drew one of billina's eggs from his right jacket pocket and hurled it straight at the little monarch's head. it struck him squarely in his left eye, where the egg smashed and scattered, as eggs will, and covered his face and hair and beard with its sticky contents. "help, help!" screamed the king, clawing with his fingers at the egg, in a struggle to remove it. "an egg! an egg! run for your lives!" shouted the captain of the nomes, in a voice of horror. and how they did run! the warriors fairly tumbled over one another in their efforts to escape the fatal poison of that awful egg, and those who could not rush down the winding stair fell off the balcony into the great cavern beneath, knocking over those who stood below them. even while the king was still yelling for help his throne room became emptied of every one of his warriors, and before the monarch had managed to clear the egg away from his left eye the scarecrow threw the second egg against his right eye, where it smashed and blinded him entirely. the king was unable to flee because he could not see which way to run; so he stood still and howled and shouted and screamed in abject fear. while this was going on, billina flew over to dorothy, and perching herself upon the lion's back the hen whispered eagerly to the girl: "get his belt! get the nome king's jeweled belt! it unbuckles in the back. quick, dorothy--quick!" 18. the fate of the tin woodman dorothy obeyed. she ran at once behind the nome king, who was still trying to free his eyes from the egg, and in a twinkling she had unbuckled his splendid jeweled belt and carried it away with her to her place beside the tiger and lion, where, because she did not know what else to do with it, she fastened it around her own slim waist. just then the chief steward rushed in with a sponge and a bowl of water, and began mopping away the broken eggs from his master's face. in a few minutes, and while all the party stood looking on, the king regained the use of his eyes, and the first thing he did was to glare wickedly upon the scarecrow and exclaim: "i'll make you suffer for this, you hay-stuffed dummy! don't you know eggs are poison to nomes?" "really," said the scarecrow, "they don't seem to agree with you, although i wonder why." "they were strictly fresh and above suspicion," said billina. "you ought to be glad to get them." "i'll transform you all into scorpions!" cried the king, angrily, and began waving his arms and muttering magic words. but none of the people became scorpions, so the king stopped and looked at them in surprise. "what's wrong?" he asked. "why, you are not wearing your magic belt," replied the chief steward, after looking the king over carefully. "where is it? what have you done with it?" the nome king clapped his hand to his waist, and his rock colored face turned white as chalk. "it's gone," he cried, helplessly. "it's gone, and i am ruined!" dorothy now stepped forward and said: "royal ozma, and you, queen of ev, i welcome you and your people back to the land of the living. billina has saved you from your troubles, and now we will leave this drea'ful place, and return to ev as soon as poss'ble." while the child spoke they could all see that she wore the magic belt, and a great cheer went up from all her friends, which was led by the voices of the scarecrow and the private. but the nome king did not join them. he crept back onto his throne like a whipped dog, and lay there bitterly bemoaning his defeat. "but we have not yet found my faithful follower, the tin woodman," said ozma to dorothy, "and without him i do not wish to go away." "nor i," replied dorothy, quickly. "wasn't he in the palace?" "he must be there," said billina; "but i had no clue to guide me in guessing the tin woodman, so i must have missed him." "we will go back into the rooms," said dorothy. "this magic belt, i am sure, will help us to find our dear old friend." so she re-entered the palace, the doors of which still stood open, and everyone followed her except the nome king, the queen of ev and prince evring. the mother had taken the little prince in her lap and was fondling and kissing him lovingly, for he was her youngest born. but the others went with dorothy, and when she came to the middle of the first room the girl waved her hand, as she had seen the king do, and commanded the tin woodman, whatever form he might then have, to resume his proper shape. no result followed this attempt, so dorothy went into another room and repeated it, and so through all the rooms of the palace. yet the tin woodman did not appear to them, nor could they imagine which among the thousands of ornaments was their transformed friend. sadly they returned to the throne room, where the king, seeing that they had met with failure, jeered at dorothy, saying: "you do not know how to use my belt, so it is of no use to you. give it back to me and i will let you go free--you and all the people who came with you. as for the royal family of ev, they are my slaves, and shall remain here." "i shall keep the belt," said dorothy. "but how can you escape, without my consent?" asked the king. "easily enough," answered the girl. "all we need to do is to walk out the way that we came in." "oh, that's all, is it?" sneered the king. "well, where is the passage through which you entered this room?" they all looked around, but could not discover the place, for it had long since been closed. dorothy, however, would not be dismayed. she waved her hand toward the seemingly solid wall of the cavern and said: "i command the passage to open!" instantly the order was obeyed; the opening appeared and the passage lay plainly before them. the king was amazed, and all the others overjoyed. "why, then, if the belt obeys you, were we unable to discover the tin woodman?" asked ozma. "i can't imagine," said dorothy. "see here, girl," proposed the king, eagerly; "give me the belt, and i will tell you what shape the tin woodman was changed into, and then you can easily find him." dorothy hesitated, but billina cried out: "don't you do it! if the nome king gets the belt again he will make every one of us prisoners, for we will be in his power. only by keeping the belt, dorothy, will you ever be able to leave this place in safety." "i think that is true," said the scarecrow. "but i have another idea, due to my excellent brains. let dorothy transform the king into a goose-egg unless he agrees to go into the palace and bring out to us the ornament which is our friend nick chopper, the tin woodman." "a goose-egg!" echoed the horrified king. "how dreadful!" "well, a goose-egg you will be unless you go and fetch us the ornament we want," declared billina, with a joyful chuckle. "you can see for yourself that dorothy is able to use the magic belt all right," added the scarecrow. the nome king thought it over and finally consented, for he did not want to be a goose-egg. so he went into the palace to get the ornament which was the transformation of the tin woodman, and they all awaited his return with considerable impatience, for they were anxious to leave this underground cavern and see the sunshine once more. but when the nome king came back he brought nothing with him except a puzzled and anxious expression upon his face. "he's gone!" he said. "the tin woodman is nowhere in the palace." "are you sure?" asked ozma, sternly. "i'm very sure," answered the king, trembling, "for i know just what i transformed him into, and exactly where he stood. but he is not there, and please don't change me into a goose-egg, because i've done the best i could." they were all silent for a time, and then dorothy said: "there is no use punishing the nome king any more, and i'm 'fraid we'll have to go away without our friend." "if he is not here, we cannot rescue him," agreed the scarecrow, sadly. "poor nick! i wonder what has become of him." "and he owed me six weeks back pay!" said one of the generals, wiping the tears from his eyes with his gold-laced coat sleeve. very sorrowfully they determined to return to the upper world without their former companion, and so ozma gave the order to begin the march through the passage. the army went first, and then the royal family of ev, and afterward came dorothy, ozma, billina, the scarecrow and tiktok. they left the nome king scowling at them from his throne, and had no thought of danger until ozma chanced to look back and saw a large number of the warriors following them in full chase, with their swords and spears and axes raised to strike down the fugitives as soon as they drew near enough. evidently the nome king had made this last attempt to prevent their escaping him; but it did him no good, for when dorothy saw the danger they were in she stopped and waved her hand and whispered a command to the magic belt. instantly the foremost warriors became eggs, which rolled upon the floor of the cavern in such numbers that those behind could not advance without stepping upon them. but, when they saw the eggs, all desire to advance departed from the warriors, and they turned and fled madly into the cavern, and refused to go back again. our friends had no further trouble in reaching the end of the passage, and soon were standing in the outer air upon the gloomy path between the two high mountains. but the way to ev lay plainly before them, and they fervently hoped that they had seen the last of the nome king and of his dreadful palace. the cavalcade was led by ozma, mounted on the cowardly lion, and the queen of ev, who rode upon the back of the tiger. the children of the queen walked behind her, hand in hand. dorothy rode the sawhorse, while the scarecrow walked and commanded the army in the absence of the tin woodman. presently the way began to lighten and more of the sunshine to come in between the two mountains. and before long they heard the "thump! thump! thump!" of the giant's hammer upon the road. "how may we pass the monstrous man of iron?" asked the queen, anxious for the safety of her children. but dorothy solved the problem by a word to the magic belt. the giant paused, with his hammer held motionless in the air, thus allowing the entire party to pass between his cast-iron legs in safety. 19. the king of ev if there were any shifting, rock-colored nomes on the mountain side now, they were silent and respectful, for our adventurers were not annoyed, as before, by their impudent laughter. really the nomes had nothing to laugh at, since the defeat of their king. on the other side they found ozma's golden chariot, standing as they had left it. soon the lion and the tiger were harnessed to the beautiful chariot, in which was enough room for ozma and the queen and six of the royal children. little evring preferred to ride with dorothy upon the sawhorse, which had a long back. the prince had recovered from his shyness and had become very fond of the girl who had rescued him, so they were fast friends and chatted pleasantly together as they rode along. billina was also perched upon the head of the wooden steed, which seemed not to mind the added weight in the least, and the boy was full of wonder that a hen could talk, and say such sensible things. when they came to the gulf, ozma's magic carpet carried them all over in safety; and now they began to pass the trees, in which birds were singing; and the breeze that was wafted to them from the farms of ev was spicy with flowers and new-mown hay; and the sunshine fell full upon them, to warm them and drive away from their bodies the chill and dampness of the underground kingdom of the nomes. "i would be quite content," said the scarecrow to tiktok, "were only the tin woodman with us. but it breaks my heart to leave him behind." "he was a fine fel-low," replied tiktok, "al-though his ma-ter-i-al was not ve-ry du-ra-ble." "oh, tin is an excellent material," the scarecrow hastened to say; "and if anything ever happened to poor nick chopper he was always easily soldered. besides, he did not have to be wound up, and was not liable to get out of order." "i some-times wish," said tiktok, "that i was stuffed with straw, as you are. it is hard to be made of cop-per." "i have no reason to complain of my lot," replied the scarecrow. "a little fresh straw, now and then, makes me as good as new. but i can never be the polished gentleman that my poor departed friend, the tin woodman, was." you may be sure the royal children of ev and their queen mother were delighted at seeing again their beloved country; and when the towers of the palace of ev came into view they could not forbear cheering at the sight. little evring, riding in front of dorothy, was so overjoyed that he took a curious tin whistle from his pocket and blew a shrill blast that made the sawhorse leap and prance in sudden alarm. "what is that?" asked billina, who had been obliged to flutter her wings in order to keep her seat upon the head of the frightened sawhorse. "that's my whistle," said prince evring, holding it out upon his hand. it was in the shape of a little fat pig, made of tin and painted green. the whistle was in the tail of the pig. "where did you get it?" asked the yellow hen, closely examining the toy with her bright eyes. "why, i picked it up in the nome king's palace, while dorothy was making her guesses, and i put it in my pocket," answered the little prince. billina laughed; or at least she made the peculiar cackle that served her for a laugh. "no wonder i couldn't find the tin woodman," she said; "and no wonder the magic belt didn't make him appear, or the king couldn't find him, either!" "what do you mean?" questioned dorothy. "why, the prince had him in his pocket," cried billina, cackling again. "i did not!" protested little evring. "i only took the whistle." "well, then, watch me," returned the hen, and reaching out a claw she touched the whistle and said "ev." swish! "good afternoon," said the tin woodman, taking off his funnel cap and bowing to dorothy and the prince. "i think i must have been asleep for the first time since i was made of tin, for i do not remember our leaving the nome king." "you have been enchanted," answered the girl, throwing an arm around her old friend and hugging him tight in her joy. "but it's all right, now." "i want my whistle!" said the little prince, beginning to cry. "hush!" cautioned billina. "the whistle is lost, but you may have another when you get home." the scarecrow had fairly thrown himself upon the bosom of his old comrade, so surprised and delighted was he to see him again, and tiktok squeezed the tin woodman's hand so earnestly that he dented some of his fingers. then they had to make way for ozma to welcome the tin man, and the army caught sight of him and set up a cheer, and everybody was delighted and happy. for the tin woodman was a great favorite with all who knew him, and his sudden recovery after they had thought he was lost to them forever was indeed a pleasant surprise. before long the cavalcade arrived at the royal palace, where a great crowd of people had gathered to welcome their queen and her ten children. there was much shouting and cheering, and the people threw flowers in their path, and every face wore a happy smile. they found the princess langwidere in her mirrored chamber, where she was admiring one of her handsomest heads--one with rich chestnut hair, dreamy walnut eyes and a shapely hickorynut nose. she was very glad to be relieved of her duties to the people of ev, and the queen graciously permitted her to retain her rooms and her cabinet of heads as long as she lived. then the queen took her eldest son out upon a balcony that overlooked the crowd of subjects gathered below, and said to them: "here is your future ruler, king evardo fifteenth. he is fifteen years of age, has fifteen silver buckles on his jacket and is the fifteenth evardo to rule the land of ev." the people shouted their approval fifteen times, and even the wheelers, some of whom were present, loudly promised to obey the new king. so the queen placed a big crown of gold, set with rubies, upon evardo's head, and threw an ermine robe over his shoulders, and proclaimed him king; and he bowed gratefully to all his subjects and then went away to see if he could find any cake in the royal pantry. ozma of oz and her people, as well as dorothy, tiktok and billina, were splendidly entertained by the queen mother, who owed all her happiness to their kind offices; and that evening the yellow hen was publicly presented with a beautiful necklace of pearls and sapphires, as a token of esteem from the new king. 20. the emerald city dorothy decided to accept ozma's invitation to return with her to the land of oz. there was no greater chance of her getting home from ev than from oz, and the little girl was anxious to see once more the country where she had encountered such wonderful adventures. by this time uncle henry would have reached australia in his ship, and had probably given her up for lost; so he couldn't worry any more than he did if she stayed away from him a while longer. so she would go to oz. they bade good-bye to the people of ev, and the king promised ozma that he would ever be grateful to her and render the land of oz any service that might lie within his power. and then they approached the edge of the dangerous desert, and ozma threw down the magic carpet, which at once unrolled far enough for all of them to walk upon it without being crowded. tiktok, claiming to be dorothy's faithful follower because he belonged to her, had been permitted to join the party, and before they started the girl wound up his machinery as far as possible, and the copper man stepped off as briskly as any one of them. ozma also invited billina to visit the land of oz, and the yellow hen was glad enough to go where new sights and scenes awaited her. they began the trip across the desert early in the morning, and as they stopped only long enough for billina to lay her daily egg, before sunset they espied the green slopes and wooded hills of the beautiful land of oz. they entered it in the munchkin territory, and the king of the munchkins met them at the border and welcomed ozma with great respect, being very pleased by her safe return. for ozma of oz ruled the king of the munchkins, the king of the winkies, the king of the quadlings and the king of the gillikins just as those kings ruled their own people; and this supreme ruler of the land of oz lived in a great town of her own, called the emerald city, which was in the exact center of the four kingdoms of the land of oz. the munchkin king entertained them at his palace that night, and in the morning they set out for the emerald city, travelling over a road of yellow brick that led straight to the jewel-studded gates. everywhere the people turned out to greet their beloved ozma, and to hail joyfully the scarecrow, the tin woodman and the cowardly lion, who were popular favorites. dorothy, too, remembered some of the people, who had befriended her on the occasion of her first visit to oz, and they were well pleased to see the little kansas girl again, and showered her with compliments and good wishes. at one place, where they stopped to refresh themselves, ozma accepted a bowl of milk from the hands of a pretty dairy-maid. then she looked at the girl more closely, and exclaimed: "why, it's jinjur--isn't it!" "yes, your highness," was the reply, as jinjur dropped a low curtsy. and dorothy looked wonderingly at this lively appearing person, who had once assembled an army of women and driven the scarecrow from the throne of the emerald city, and even fought a battle with the powerful army of glinda the sorceress. "i've married a man who owns nine cows," said jinjur to ozma, "and now i am happy and contented and willing to lead a quiet life and mind my own business." "where is your husband?" asked ozma. "he is in the house, nursing a black eye," replied jinjur, calmly. "the foolish man would insist upon milking the red cow when i wanted him to milk the white one; but he will know better next time, i am sure." then the party moved on again, and after crossing a broad river on a ferry and passing many fine farm houses that were dome shaped and painted a pretty green color, they came in sight of a large building that was covered with flags and bunting. "i don't remember that building," said dorothy. "what is it?" "that is the college of art and athletic perfection," replied ozma. "i had it built quite recently, and the woggle-bug is its president. it keeps him busy, and the young men who attend the college are no worse off than they were before. you see, in this country are a number of youths who do not like to work, and the college is an excellent place for them." and now they came in sight of the emerald city, and the people flocked out to greet their lovely ruler. there were several bands and many officers and officials of the realm, and a crowd of citizens in their holiday attire. thus the beautiful ozma was escorted by a brilliant procession to her royal city, and so great was the cheering that she was obliged to constantly bow to the right and left to acknowledge the greetings of her subjects. that evening there was a grand reception in the royal palace, attended by the most important persons of oz, and jack pumpkinhead, who was a little overripe but still active, read an address congratulating ozma of oz upon the success of her generous mission to rescue the royal family of a neighboring kingdom. then magnificent gold medals set with precious stones were presented to each of the twenty-six officers; and the tin woodman was given a new axe studded with diamonds; and the scarecrow received a silver jar of complexion powder. dorothy was presented with a pretty coronet and made a princess of oz, and tiktok received two bracelets set with eight rows of very clear and sparkling emeralds. afterward they sat down to a splendid feast, and ozma put dorothy at her right and billina at her left, where the hen sat upon a golden roost and ate from a jeweled platter. then were placed the scarecrow, the tin woodman and tiktok, with baskets of lovely flowers before them, because they did not require food. the twenty-six officers were at the lower end of the table, and the lion and the tiger also had seats, and were served on golden platters, that held a half a bushel at one time. the wealthiest and most important citizens of the emerald city were proud to wait upon these famous adventurers, and they were assisted by a sprightly little maid named jellia jamb, whom the scarecrow pinched upon her rosy cheeks and seemed to know very well. during the feast ozma grew thoughtful, and suddenly she asked: "where is the private?" "oh, he is sweeping out the barracks," replied one of the generals, who was busy eating a leg of a turkey. "but i have ordered him a dish of bread and molasses to eat when his work is done." "let him be sent for," said the girl ruler. while they waited for this command to be obeyed, she enquired: "have we any other privates in the armies?" "oh, yes," replied the tin woodman, "i believe there are three, altogether." the private now entered, saluting his officers and the royal ozma very respectfully. "what is your name, my man?" asked the girl. "omby amby," answered the private. "then, omby amby," said she, "i promote you to be captain general of all the armies of my kingdom, and especially to be commander of my body guard at the royal palace." "it is very expensive to hold so many offices," said the private, hesitating. "i have no money with which to buy uniforms." "you shall be supplied from the royal treasury," said ozma. then the private was given a seat at the table, where the other officers welcomed him cordially, and the feasting and merriment were resumed. suddenly jellia jamb exclaimed: "there is nothing more to eat! the hungry tiger has consumed everything!" "but that is not the worst of it," declared the tiger, mournfully. "somewhere or somehow, i've actually lost my appetite!" 21. dorothy's magic belt dorothy passed several very happy weeks in the land of oz as the guest of the royal ozma, who delighted to please and interest the little kansas girl. many new acquaintances were formed and many old ones renewed, and wherever she went dorothy found herself among friends. one day, however, as she sat in ozma's private room, she noticed hanging upon the wall a picture which constantly changed in appearance, at one time showing a meadow and at another time a forest, a lake or a village. "how curious!" she exclaimed, after watching the shifting scenes for a few moments. "yes," said ozma, "that is really a wonderful invention in magic. if i wish to see any part of the world or any person living, i need only express the wish and it is shown in the picture." "may i use it?" asked dorothy, eagerly. "of course, my dear." "then i'd like to see the old kansas farm, and aunt em," said the girl. instantly the well remembered farmhouse appeared in the picture, and aunt em could be seen quite plainly. she was engaged in washing dishes by the kitchen window and seemed quite well and contented. the hired men and the teams were in the harvest fields behind the house, and the corn and wheat seemed to the child to be in prime condition. on the side porch dorothy's pet dog, toto, was lying fast asleep in the sun, and to her surprise old speckles was running around with a brood of twelve new chickens trailing after her. "everything seems all right at home," said dorothy, with a sigh of relief. "now i wonder what uncle henry is doing." the scene in the picture at once shifted to australia, where, in a pleasant room in sydney, uncle henry was seated in an easy chair, solemnly smoking his briar pipe. he looked sad and lonely, and his hair was now quite white and his hands and face thin and wasted. "oh!" cried dorothy, in an anxious voice, "i'm sure uncle henry isn't getting any better, and it's because he is worried about me. ozma, dear, i must go to him at once!" "how can you?" asked ozma. "i don't know," replied dorothy; "but let us go to glinda the good. i'm sure she will help me, and advise me how to get to uncle henry." ozma readily agreed to this plan and caused the sawhorse to be harnessed to a pretty green and pink phaeton, and the two girls rode away to visit the famous sorceress. glinda received them graciously, and listened to dorothy's story with attention. "i have the magic belt, you know," said the little girl. "if i buckled it around my waist and commanded it to take me to uncle henry, wouldn't it do it?" "i think so," replied glinda, with a smile. "and then," continued dorothy, "if i ever wanted to come back here again, the belt would bring me." "in that you are wrong," said the sorceress. "the belt has magical powers only while it is in some fairy country, such as the land of oz, or the land of ev. indeed, my little friend, were you to wear it and wish yourself in australia, with your uncle, the wish would doubtless be fulfilled, because it was made in fairyland. but you would not find the magic belt around you when you arrived at your destination." "what would become of it?" asked the girl. "it would be lost, as were your silver shoes when you visited oz before, and no one would ever see it again. it seems too bad to destroy the use of the magic belt in that way, doesn't it?" "then," said dorothy, after a moment's thought, "i will give the magic belt to ozma, for she can use it in her own country. and she can wish me transported to uncle henry without losing the belt." "that is a wise plan," replied glinda. so they rode back to the emerald city, and on the way it was arranged that every saturday morning ozma would look at dorothy in her magic picture, wherever the little girl might chance to be. and, if she saw dorothy make a certain signal, then ozma would know that the little kansas girl wanted to revisit the land of oz, and by means of the nome king's magic belt would wish that she might instantly return. this having been agreed upon, dorothy bade good-bye to all her friends. tiktok wanted to go to australia; too, but dorothy knew that the machine man would never do for a servant in a civilized country, and the chances were that his machinery wouldn't work at all. so she left him in ozma's care. billina, on the contrary, preferred the land of oz to any other country, and refused to accompany dorothy. "the bugs and ants that i find here are the finest flavored in the world," declared the yellow hen, "and there are plenty of them. so here i shall end my days; and i must say, dorothy, my dear, that you are very foolish to go back into that stupid, humdrum world again." "uncle henry needs me," said dorothy, simply; and every one except billina thought it was right that she should go. all dorothy's friends of the land of oz--both old and new--gathered in a group in front of the palace to bid her a sorrowful good-bye and to wish her long life and happiness. after much hand shaking, dorothy kissed ozma once more, and then handed her the nome king's magic belt, saying: "now, dear princess, when i wave my handkerchief, please wish me with uncle henry. i'm aw'fly sorry to leave you--and the scarecrow--and the tin woodman--and the cowardly lion--and tiktok--and--and everybody--but i do want my uncle henry! so good-bye, all of you." then the little girl stood on one of the big emeralds which decorated the courtyard, and after looking once again at each of her friends, waved her handkerchief. "no," said dorothy, "i wasn't drowned at all. and i've come to nurse you and take care of you, uncle henry, and you must promise to get well as soon as poss'ble." uncle henry smiled and cuddled his little niece close in his lap. "i'm better already, my darling," said he. the tin woodman of oz by l. frank baum a faithful story of the astonishing adventure undertaken by the tin woodman, assisted by woot the wanderer, the scarecrow of oz, and polychrome, the rainbow's daughter by l. frank baum "royal historian of oz" this book is dedicated to the son of my son frank alden baum to my readers i know that some of you have been waiting for this story of the tin woodman, because many of my correspondents have asked me, time and again what ever became of the "pretty munchkin girl" whom nick chopper was engaged to marry before the wicked witch enchanted his axe and he traded his flesh for tin. i, too, have wondered what became of her, but until woot the wanderer interested himself in the matter the tin woodman knew no more than we did. however, he found her, after many thrilling adventures, as you will discover when you have read this story. i am delighted at the continued interest of both young and old in the oz stories. a learned college professor recently wrote me to ask: "for readers of what age are your books intended?" it puzzled me to answer that properly, until i had looked over some of the letters i have received. one says: "i'm a little boy 5 years old, and i just love your oz stories. my sister, who is writing this for me, reads me the oz books, but i wish i could read them myself." another letter says: "i'm a great girl 13 years old, so you'll be surprised when i tell you i am not too old yet for the oz stories." here's another letter: "since i was a young girl i've never missed getting a baum book for christmas. i'm married, now, but am as eager to get and read the oz stories as ever." and still another writes: "my good wife and i, both more than 70 years of age, believe that we find more real enjoyment in your oz books than in any other books we read." considering these statements, i wrote the college professor that my books are intended for all those whose hearts are young, no matter what their ages may be. i think i am justified in promising that there will be some astonishing revelations about the magic of oz in my book for 1919. always your loving and grateful friend, l. frank baum. royal historian of oz. "ozcot" at hollywood in california 1918. list of chapters 1 woot the wanderer 2 the heart of the tin woodman 3 roundabout 4 the loons of loonville 5 mrs. yoop, the giantess 6 the magic of a yookoohoo 7 the lace apron 8 the menace of the forest 9 the quarrelsome dragons 10 tommy kwikstep 11 jinjur's ranch 12 ozma and dorothy 13 the restoration 14 the green monkey 15 the man of tin 16 captain fyter 17 the workshop of ku-klip 18 the tin woodman talks to himself 19 the invisible country 20 over night 21 polychrome's magic 22 nimmie amee 23 through the tunnel 24 the curtain falls chapter one woot the wanderer the tin woodman sat on his glittering tin throne in the handsome tin hall of his splendid tin castle in the winkie country of the land of oz. beside him, in a chair of woven straw, sat his best friend, the scarecrow of oz. at times they spoke to one another of curious things they had seen and strange adventures they had known since first they two had met and become comrades. but at times they were silent, for these things had been talked over many times between them, and they found themselves contented in merely being together, speaking now and then a brief sentence to prove they were wide awake and attentive. but then, these two quaint persons never slept. why should they sleep, when they never tired? and now, as the brilliant sun sank low over the winkie country of oz, tinting the glistening tin towers and tin minarets of the tin castle with glorious sunset hues, there approached along a winding pathway woot the wanderer, who met at the castle entrance a winkie servant. the servants of the tin woodman all wore tin helmets and tin breastplates and uniforms covered with tiny tin discs sewed closely together on silver cloth, so that their bodies sparkled as beautifully as did the tin castle--and almost as beautifully as did the tin woodman himself. woot the wanderer looked at the man servant--all bright and glittering--and at the magnificent castle--all bright and glittering--and as he looked his eyes grew big with wonder. for woot was not very big and not very old and, wanderer though he was, this proved the most gorgeous sight that had ever met his boyish gaze. "who lives here?" he asked. "the emperor of the winkies, who is the famous tin woodman of oz," replied the servant, who had been trained to treat all strangers with courtesy. "a tin woodman? how queer!" exclaimed the little wanderer. "well, perhaps our emperor is queer," admitted the servant; "but he is a kind master and as honest and true as good tin can make him; so we, who gladly serve him, are apt to forget that he is not like other people." "may i see him?" asked woot the wanderer, after a moment's thought. "if it please you to wait a moment, i will go and ask him," said the servant, and then he went into the hall where the tin woodman sat with his friend the scarecrow. both were glad to learn that a stranger had arrived at the castle, for this would give them something new to talk about, so the servant was asked to admit the boy at once. by the time woot the wanderer had passed through the grand corridors--all lined with ornamental tin--and under stately tin archways and through the many tin rooms all set with beautiful tin furniture, his eyes had grown bigger than ever and his whole little body thrilled with amazement. but, astonished though he was, he was able to make a polite bow before the throne and to say in a respectful voice: "i salute your illustrious majesty and offer you my humble services." "very good!" answered the tin woodman in his accustomed cheerful manner. "tell me who you are, and whence you come." "i am known as woot the wanderer," answered the boy, "and i have come, through many travels and by roundabout ways, from my former home in a far corner of the gillikin country of oz." "to wander from one's home," remarked the scarecrow, "is to encounter dangers and hardships, especially if one is made of meat and bone. had you no friends in that corner of the gillikin country? was it not homelike and comfortable?" to hear a man stuffed with straw speak, and speak so well, quite startled woot, and perhaps he stared a bit rudely at the scarecrow. but after a moment he replied: "i had home and friends, your honorable strawness, but they were so quiet and happy and comfortable that i found them dismally stupid. nothing in that corner of oz interested me, but i believed that in other parts of the country i would find strange people and see new sights, and so i set out upon my wandering journey. i have been a wanderer for nearly a full year, and now my wanderings have brought me to this splendid castle." "i suppose," said the tin woodman, "that in this year you have seen so much that you have become very wise." "no," replied woot, thoughtfully, "i am not at all wise, i beg to assure your majesty. the more i wander the less i find that i know, for in the land of oz much wisdom and many things may be learned." "to learn is simple. don't you ask questions?" inquired the scarecrow. "yes; i ask as many questions as i dare; but some people refuse to answer questions." "that is not kind of them," declared the tin woodman. "if one does not ask for information he seldom receives it; so i, for my part, make it a rule to answer any civil question that is asked me." "so do i," added the scarecrow, nodding. "i am glad to hear this," said the wanderer, "for it makes me bold to ask for something to eat." "bless the boy!" cried the emperor of the winkies; "how careless of me not to remember that wanderers are usually hungry. i will have food brought you at once." saying this he blew upon a tin whistle that was suspended from his tin neck, and at the summons a servant appeared and bowed low. the tin woodman ordered food for the stranger, and in a few minutes the servant brought in a tin tray heaped with a choice array of good things to eat, all neatly displayed on tin dishes that were polished till they shone like mirrors. the tray was set upon a tin table drawn before the throne, and the servant placed a tin chair before the table for the boy to seat himself. "eat, friend wanderer," said the emperor cordially, "and i trust the feast will be to your liking. i, myself, do not eat, being made in such manner that i require no food to keep me alive. neither does my friend the scarecrow. but all my winkie people eat, being formed of flesh, as you are, and so my tin cupboard is never bare, and strangers are always welcome to whatever it contains." the boy ate in silence for a time, being really hungry, but after his appetite was somewhat satisfied, he said: "how happened your majesty to be made of tin, and still be alive?" "that," replied the tin man, "is a long story." "the longer the better," said the boy. "won't you please tell me the story?" "if you desire it," promised the tin woodman, leaning back in his tin throne and crossing his tin legs. "i haven't related my history in a long while, because everyone here knows it nearly as well as i do. but you, being a stranger, are no doubt curious to learn how i became so beautiful and prosperous, so i will recite for your benefit my strange adventures." "thank you," said woot the wanderer, still eating. "i was not always made of tin," began the emperor, "for in the beginning i was a man of flesh and bone and blood and lived in the munchkin country of oz. there i was, by trade, a woodchopper, and contributed my share to the comfort of the oz people by chopping up the trees of the forest to make firewood, with which the women would cook their meals while the children warmed themselves about the fires. for my home i had a little hut by the edge of the forest, and my life was one of much content until i fell in love with a beautiful munchkin girl who lived not far away." "what was the munchkin girl's name?" asked woot. "nimmie amee. this girl, so fair that the sunsets blushed when their rays fell upon her, lived with a powerful witch who wore silver shoes and who had made the poor child her slave. nimmie amee was obliged to work from morning till night for the old witch of the east, scrubbing and sweeping her hut and cooking her meals and washing her dishes. she had to cut firewood, too, until i found her one day in the forest and fell in love with her. after that, i always brought plenty of firewood to nimmie amee and we became very friendly. finally i asked her to marry me, and she agreed to do so, but the witch happened to overhear our conversation and it made her very angry, for she did not wish her slave to be taken away from her. the witch commanded me never to come near nimmie amee again, but i told her i was my own master and would do as i pleased, not realizing that this was a careless way to speak to a witch. "the next day, as i was cutting wood in the forest, the cruel witch enchanted my axe, so that it slipped and cut off my right leg." "how dreadful!" cried woot the wanderer. "yes, it was a seeming misfortune," agreed the tin man, "for a one-legged woodchopper is of little use in his trade. but i would not allow the witch to conquer me so easily. i knew a very skillful mechanic at the other side of the forest, who was my friend, so i hopped on one leg to him and asked him to help me. he soon made me a new leg out of tin and fastened it cleverly to my meat body. it had joints at the knee and at the ankle and was almost as comfortable as the leg i had lost." "your friend must have been a wonderful workman!" exclaimed woot. "he was, indeed," admitted the emperor. "he was a tinsmith by trade and could make anything out of tin. when i returned to nimmie amee, the girl was delighted and threw her arms around my neck and kissed me, declaring she was proud of me. the witch saw the kiss and was more angry than before. when i went to work in the forest, next day, my axe, being still enchanted, slipped and cut off my other leg. again i hopped--on my tin leg--to my friend the tinsmith, who kindly made me another tin leg and fastened it to my body. so i returned joyfully to nimmie amee, who was much pleased with my glittering legs and promised that when we were wed she would always keep them oiled and polished. but the witch was more furious than ever, and as soon as i raised my axe to chop, it twisted around and cut off one of my arms. the tinsmith made me a tin arm and i was not much worried, because nimmie amee declared she still loved me." chapter two the heart of the tin woodman the emperor of the winkies paused in his story to reach for an oil-can, with which he carefully oiled the joints in his tin throat, for his voice had begun to squeak a little. woot the wanderer, having satisfied his hunger, watched this oiling process with much curiosity, but begged the tin man to go on with his tale. "the witch with the silver shoes hated me for having defied her," resumed the emperor, his voice now sounding clear as a bell, "and she insisted that nimmie amee should never marry me. therefore she made the enchanted axe cut off my other arm, and the tinsmith also replaced that member with tin, including these finely-jointed hands that you see me using. but, alas! after that, the axe, still enchanted by the cruel witch, cut my body in two, so that i fell to the ground. then the witch, who was watching from a near-by bush, rushed up and seized the axe and chopped my body into several small pieces, after which, thinking that at last she had destroyed me, she ran away laughing in wicked glee. "but nimmie amee found me. she picked up my arms and legs and head, and made a bundle of them and carried them to the tinsmith, who set to work and made me a fine body of pure tin. when he had joined the arms and legs to the body, and set my head in the tin collar, i was a much better man than ever, for my body could not ache or pain me, and i was so beautiful and bright that i had no need of clothing. clothing is always a nuisance, because it soils and tears and has to be replaced; but my tin body only needs to be oiled and polished. "nimmie amee still declared she would marry me, as she still loved me in spite of the witch's evil deeds. the girl declared i would make the brightest husband in all the world, which was quite true. however, the wicked witch was not yet defeated. when i returned to my work the axe slipped and cut off my head, which was the only meat part of me then remaining. moreover, the old woman grabbed up my severed head and carried it away with her and hid it. but nimmie amee came into the forest and found me wandering around helplessly, because i could not see where to go, and she led me to my friend the tinsmith. the faithful fellow at once set to work to make me a tin head, and he had just completed it when nimmie amee came running up with my old head, which she had stolen from the witch. but, on reflection, i considered the tin head far superior to the meat one--i am wearing it yet, so you can see its beauty and grace of outline--and the girl agreed with me that a man all made of tin was far more perfect than one formed of different materials. the tinsmith was as proud of his workmanship as i was, and for three whole days, all admired me and praised my beauty. being now completely formed of tin, i had no more fear of the wicked witch, for she was powerless to injure me. nimmie amee said we must be married at once, for then she could come to my cottage and live with me and keep me bright and sparkling. "'i am sure, my dear nick,' said the brave and beautiful girl--my name was then nick chopper, you should be told--'that you will make the best husband any girl could have. i shall not be obliged to cook for you, for now you do not eat; i shall not have to make your bed, for tin does not tire or require sleep; when we go to a dance, you will not get weary before the music stops and say you want to go home. all day long, while you are chopping wood in the forest, i shall be able to amuse myself in my own way--a privilege few wives enjoy. there is no temper in your new head, so you will not get angry with me. finally, i shall take pride in being the wife of the only live tin woodman in all the world!' which shows that nimmie amee was as wise as she was brave and beautiful." "i think she was a very nice girl," said woot the wanderer. "but, tell me, please, why were you not killed when you were chopped to pieces?" "in the land of oz," replied the emperor, "no one can ever be killed. a man with a wooden leg or a tin leg is still the same man; and, as i lost parts of my meat body by degrees, i always remained the same person as in the beginning, even though in the end i was all tin and no meat." "i see," said the boy, thoughtfully. "and did you marry nimmie amee?" "no," answered the tin woodman, "i did not. she said she still loved me, but i found that i no longer loved her. my tin body contained no heart, and without a heart no one can love. so the wicked witch conquered in the end, and when i left the munchkin country of oz, the poor girl was still the slave of the witch and had to do her bidding day and night." "where did you go?" asked woot. "well, i first started out to find a heart, so i could love nimmie amee again; but hearts are more scarce than one would think. one day, in a big forest that was strange to me, my joints suddenly became rusted, because i had forgotten to oil them. there i stood, unable to move hand or foot. and there i continued to stand--while days came and went--until dorothy and the scarecrow came along and rescued me. they oiled my joints and set me free, and i've taken good care never to rust again." "who was this dorothy?" questioned the wanderer. "a little girl who happened to be in a house when it was carried by a cyclone all the way from kansas to the land of oz. when the house fell, in the munchkin country, it fortunately landed on the wicked witch and smashed her flat. it was a big house, and i think the witch is under it yet." "no," said the scarecrow, correcting him, "dorothy says the witch turned to dust, and the wind scattered the dust in every direction." "well," continued the tin woodman, "after meeting the scarecrow and dorothy, i went with them to the emerald city, where the wizard of oz gave me a heart. but the wizard's stock of hearts was low, and he gave me a kind heart instead of a loving heart, so that i could not love nimmie amee any more than i did when i was heartless." "couldn't the wizard give you a heart that was both kind and loving?" asked the boy. "no; that was what i asked for, but he said he was so short on hearts, just then, that there was but one in stock, and i could take that or none at all. so i accepted it, and i must say that for its kind it is a very good heart indeed." "it seems to me," said woot, musingly, "that the wizard fooled you. it can't be a very kind heart, you know." "why not?" demanded the emperor. "because it was unkind of you to desert the girl who loved you, and who had been faithful and true to you when you were in trouble. had the heart the wizard gave you been a kind heart, you would have gone back home and made the beautiful munchkin girl your wife, and then brought her here to be an empress and live in your splendid tin castle." the tin woodman was so surprised at this frank speech that for a time he did nothing but stare hard at the boy wanderer. but the scarecrow wagged his stuffed head and said in a positive tone: "this boy is right. i've often wondered, myself, why you didn't go back and find that poor munchkin girl." then the tin woodman stared hard at his friend the scarecrow. but finally he said in a serious tone of voice: "i must admit that never before have i thought of such a thing as finding nimmie amee and making her empress of the winkies. but it is surely not too late, even now, to do this, for the girl must still be living in the munchkin country. and, since this strange wanderer has reminded me of nimmie amee, i believe it is my duty to set out and find her. surely it is not the girl's fault that i no longer love her, and so, if i can make her happy, it is proper that i should do so, and in this way reward her for her faithfulness." "quite right, my friend!" agreed the scarecrow. "will you accompany me on this errand?" asked the tin emperor. "of course," said the scarecrow. "and will you take me along?" pleaded woot the wanderer in an eager voice. "to be sure," said the tin woodman, "if you care to join our party. it was you who first told me it was my duty to find and marry nimmie amee, and i'd like you to know that nick chopper, the tin emperor of the winkies, is a man who never shirks his duty, once it is pointed out to him." "it ought to be a pleasure, as well as a duty, if the girl is so beautiful," said woot, well pleased with the idea of the adventure. "beautiful things may be admired, if not loved," asserted the tin man. "flowers are beautiful, for instance, but we are not inclined to marry them. duty, on the contrary, is a bugle call to action, whether you are inclined to act, or not. in this case, i obey the bugle call of duty." "when shall we start?" inquired the scarecrow, who was always glad to embark upon a new adventure. "i don't hear any bugle, but when do we go?" "as soon as we can get ready," answered the emperor. "i'll call my servants at once and order them to make preparations for our journey." chapter three roundabout woot the wanderer slept that night in the tin castle of the emperor of the winkies and found his tin bed quite comfortable. early the next morning he rose and took a walk through the gardens, where there were tin fountains and beds of curious tin flowers, and where tin birds perched upon the branches of tin trees and sang songs that sounded like the notes of tin whistles. all these wonders had been made by the clever winkie tinsmiths, who wound the birds up every morning so that they would move about and sing. after breakfast the boy went into the throne room, where the emperor was having his tin joints carefully oiled by a servant, while other servants were stuffing sweet, fresh straw into the body of the scarecrow. woot watched this operation with much interest, for the scarecrow's body was only a suit of clothes filled with straw. the coat was buttoned tight to keep the packed straw from falling out and a rope was tied around the waist to hold it in shape and prevent the straw from sagging down. the scarecrow's head was a gunnysack filled with bran, on which the eyes, nose and mouth had been painted. his hands were white cotton gloves stuffed with fine straw. woot noticed that even when carefully stuffed and patted into shape, the straw man was awkward in his movements and decidedly wobbly on his feet, so the boy wondered if the scarecrow would be able to travel with them all the way to the forests of the munchkin country of oz. the preparations made for this important journey were very simple. a knapsack was filled with food and given woot the wanderer to carry upon his back, for the food was for his use alone. the tin woodman shouldered an axe which was sharp and brightly polished, and the scarecrow put the emperor's oil-can in his pocket, that he might oil his friend's joints should they need it. "who will govern the winkie country during your absence?" asked the boy. "why, the country will run itself," answered the emperor. "as a matter of fact, my people do not need an emperor, for ozma of oz watches over the welfare of all her subjects, including the winkies. like a good many kings and emperors, i have a grand title, but very little real power, which allows me time to amuse myself in my own way. the people of oz have but one law to obey, which is: 'behave yourself,' so it is easy for them to abide by this law, and you'll notice they behave very well. but it is time for us to be off, and i am eager to start because i suppose that that poor munchkin girl is anxiously awaiting my coming." "she's waited a long time already, seems to me," remarked the scarecrow, as they left the grounds of the castle and followed a path that led eastward. "true," replied the tin woodman; "but i've noticed that the last end of a wait, however long it has been, is the hardest to endure; so i must try to make nimmie amee happy as soon as possible." "ah; that proves you have a kind heart," remarked the scarecrow, approvingly. "it's too bad he hasn't a loving heart," said woot. "this tin man is going to marry a nice girl through kindness, and not because he loves her, and somehow that doesn't seem quite right." "even so, i am not sure it isn't best for the girl," said the scarecrow, who seemed very intelligent for a straw man, "for a loving husband is not always kind, while a kind husband is sure to make any girl content." "nimmie amee will become an empress!" announced the tin woodman, proudly. "i shall have a tin gown made for her, with tin ruffles and tucks on it, and she shall have tin slippers, and tin earrings and bracelets, and wear a tin crown on her head. i am sure that will delight nimmie amee, for all girls are fond of finery." "are we going to the munchkin country by way of the emerald city?" inquired the scarecrow, who looked upon the tin woodman as the leader of the party. "i think not," was the reply. "we are engaged upon a rather delicate adventure, for we are seeking a girl who fears her former lover has forgotten her. it will be rather hard for me, you must admit, when i confess to nimmie amee that i have come to marry her because it is my duty to do so, and therefore the fewer witnesses there are to our meeting the better for both of us. after i have found nimmie amee and she has managed to control her joy at our reunion, i shall take her to the emerald city and introduce her to ozma and dorothy, and to betsy bobbin and tiny trot, and all our other friends; but, if i remember rightly, poor nimmie amee has a sharp tongue when angry, and she may be a trifle angry with me, at first, because i have been so long in coming to her." "i can understand that," said woot gravely. "but how can we get to that part of the munchkin country where you once lived without passing through the emerald city?" "why, that is easy," the tin man assured him. "i have a map of oz in my pocket," persisted the boy, "and it shows that the winkie country, where we now are, is at the west of oz, and the munchkin country at the east, while directly between them lies the emerald city." "true enough; but we shall go toward the north, first of all, into the gillikin country, and so pass around the emerald city," explained the tin woodman. "that may prove a dangerous journey," replied the boy. "i used to live in one of the top corners of the gillikin country, near to oogaboo, and i have been told that in this northland country are many people whom it is not pleasant to meet. i was very careful to avoid them during my journey south." "a wanderer should have no fear," observed the scarecrow, who was wobbling along in a funny, haphazard manner, but keeping pace with his friends. "fear does not make one a coward," returned woot, growing a little red in the face, "but i believe it is more easy to avoid danger than to overcome it. the safest way is the best way, even for one who is brave and determined." "do not worry, for we shall not go far to the north," said the emperor. "my one idea is to avoid the emerald city without going out of our way more than is necessary. once around the emerald city we will turn south into the munchkin country, where the scarecrow and i are well acquainted and have many friends." "i have traveled some in the gillikin country," remarked the scarecrow, "and while i must say i have met some strange people there at times, i have never yet been harmed by them." "well, it's all the same to me," said woot, with assumed carelessness. "dangers, when they cannot be avoided, are often quite interesting, and i am willing to go wherever you two venture to go." so they left the path they had been following and began to travel toward the northeast, and all that day they were in the pleasant winkie country, and all the people they met saluted the emperor with great respect and wished him good luck on his journey. at night they stopped at a house where they were well entertained and where woot was given a comfortable bed to sleep in. "were the scarecrow and i alone," said the tin woodman, "we would travel by night as well as by day; but with a meat person in our party, we must halt at night to permit him to rest." "meat tires, after a day's travel," added the scarecrow, "while straw and tin never tire at all. which proves," said he, "that we are somewhat superior to people made in the common way." woot could not deny that he was tired, and he slept soundly until morning, when he was given a good breakfast, smoking hot. "you two miss a great deal by not eating," he said to his companions. "it is true," responded the scarecrow. "we miss suffering from hunger, when food cannot be had, and we miss a stomachache, now and then." as he said this, the scarecrow glanced at the tin woodman, who nodded his assent. all that second day they traveled steadily, entertaining one another the while with stories of adventures they had formerly met and listening to the scarecrow recite poetry. he had learned a great many poems from professor wogglebug and loved to repeat them whenever anybody would listen to him. of course woot and the tin woodman now listened, because they could not do otherwise--unless they rudely ran away from their stuffed comrade. one of the scarecrow's recitations was like this: "what sound is so sweet as the straw from the wheat when it crunkles so tender and low? it is yellow and bright, so it gives me delight to crunkle wherever i go. "sweet, fresh, golden straw! there is surely no flaw in a stuffing so clean and compact. it creaks when i walk, and it thrills when i talk, and its fragrance is fine, for a fact. "to cut me don't hurt, for i've no blood to squirt, and i therefore can suffer no pain; the straw that i use doesn't lump up or bruise, though it's pounded again and again! "i know it is said that my beautiful head has brains of mixed wheat-straw and bran, but my thoughts are so good i'd not change, if i could, for the brains of a common meat man. "content with my lot, i'm glad that i'm not like others i meet day by day; if my insides get musty, or mussed-up, or dusty, i get newly stuffed right away." chapter four the loons of loonville toward evening, the travelers found there was no longer a path to guide them, and the purple hues of the grass and trees warned them that they were now in the country of the gillikins, where strange peoples dwelt in places that were quite unknown to the other inhabitants of oz. the fields were wild and uncultivated and there were no houses of any sort to be seen. but our friends kept on walking even after the sun went down, hoping to find a good place for woot the wanderer to sleep; but when it grew quite dark and the boy was weary with his long walk, they halted right in the middle of a field and allowed woot to get his supper from the food he carried in his knapsack. then the scarecrow laid himself down, so that woot could use his stuffed body as a pillow, and the tin woodman stood up beside them all night, so the dampness of the ground might not rust his joints or dull his brilliant polish. whenever the dew settled on his body he carefully wiped it off with a cloth, and so in the morning the emperor shone as brightly as ever in the rays of the rising sun. they wakened the boy at daybreak, the scarecrow saying to him: "we have discovered something queer, and therefore we must counsel together what to do about it." "what have you discovered?" asked woot, rubbing the sleep from his eyes with his knuckles and giving three wide yawns to prove he was fully awake. "a sign," said the tin woodman. "a sign, and another path." "what does the sign say?" inquired the boy. "it says that 'all strangers are warned not to follow this path to loonville,'" answered the scarecrow, who could read very well when his eyes had been freshly painted. "in that case," said the boy, opening his knapsack to get some breakfast, "let us travel in some other direction." but this did not seem to please either of his companions. "i'd like to see what loonville looks like," remarked the tin woodman. "when one travels, it is foolish to miss any interesting sight," added the scarecrow. "but a warning means danger," protested woot the wanderer, "and i believe it sensible to keep out of danger whenever we can." they made no reply to this speech for a while. then said the scarecrow: "i have escaped so many dangers, during my lifetime, that i am not much afraid of anything that can happen." "nor am i!" exclaimed the tin woodman, swinging his glittering axe around his tin head, in a series of circles. "few things can injure tin, and my axe is a powerful weapon to use against a foe. but our boy friend," he continued, looking solemnly at woot, "might perhaps be injured if the people of loonville are really dangerous; so i propose he waits here while you and i, friend scarecrow, visit the forbidden city of loonville." "don't worry about me," advised woot, calmly. "wherever you wish to go, i will go, and share your dangers. during my wanderings i have found it more wise to keep out of danger than to venture in, but at that time i was alone, and now i have two powerful friends to protect me." so, when he had finished his breakfast, they all set out along the path that led to loonville. "it is a place i have never heard of before," remarked the scarecrow, as they approached a dense forest. "the inhabitants may be people, of some sort, or they may be animals, but whatever they prove to be, we will have an interesting story to relate to dorothy and ozma on our return." the path led into the forest, but the big trees grew so closely together and the vines and underbrush were so thick and matted that they had to clear a path at each step in order to proceed. in one or two places the tin man, who went first to clear the way, cut the branches with a blow of his axe. woot followed next, and last of the three came the scarecrow, who could not have kept the path at all had not his comrades broken the way for his straw-stuffed body. presently the tin woodman pushed his way through some heavy underbrush, and almost tumbled headlong into a vast cleared space in the forest. the clearing was circular, big and roomy, yet the top branches of the tall trees reached over and formed a complete dome or roof for it. strangely enough, it was not dark in this immense natural chamber in the woodland, for the place glowed with a soft, white light that seemed to come from some unseen source. in the chamber were grouped dozens of queer creatures, and these so astonished the tin man that woot had to push his metal body aside, that he might see, too. and the scarecrow pushed woot aside, so that the three travelers stood in a row, staring with all their eyes. the creatures they beheld were round and ball-like; round in body, round in legs and arms, round in hands and feet and round of head. the only exception to the roundness was a slight hollow on the top of each head, making it saucer-shaped instead of dome-shaped. they wore no clothes on their puffy bodies, nor had they any hair. their skins were all of a light gray color, and their eyes were mere purple spots. their noses were as puffy as the rest of them. "are they rubber, do you think?" asked the scarecrow, who noticed that the creatures bounded, as they moved, and seemed almost as light as air. "it is difficult to tell what they are," answered woot, "they seem to be covered with warts." the loons--for so these folks were called--had been doing many things, some playing together, some working at tasks and some gathered in groups to talk; but at the sound of strange voices, which echoed rather loudly through the clearing, all turned in the direction of the intruders. then, in a body, they all rushed forward, running and bounding with tremendous speed. the tin woodman was so surprised by this sudden dash that he had no time to raise his axe before the loons were on them. the creatures swung their puffy hands, which looked like boxing-gloves, and pounded the three travelers as hard as they could, on all sides. the blows were quite soft and did not hurt our friends at all, but the onslaught quite bewildered them, so that in a brief period all three were knocked over and fell flat upon the ground. once down, many of the loons held them, to prevent their getting up again, while others wound long tendrils of vines about them, binding their arms and legs to their bodies and so rendering them helpless. "aha!" cried the biggest loon of all; "we've got 'em safe; so let's carry 'em to king bal and have 'em tried, and condemned and perforated!" they had to drag their captives to the center of the domed chamber, for their weight, as compared with that of the loons, prevented their being carried. even the scarecrow was much heavier than the puffy loons. but finally the party halted before a raised platform, on which stood a sort of throne, consisting of a big, wide chair with a string tied to one arm of it. this string led upward to the roof of the dome. arranged before the platform, the prisoners were allowed to sit up, facing the empty throne. "good!" said the big loon who had commanded the party. "now to get king bal to judge these terrible creatures we have so bravely captured." as he spoke he took hold of the string and began to pull as hard as he could. one or two of the others helped him and pretty soon, as they drew in the cord, the leaves above them parted and a loon appeared at the other end of the string. it didn't take long to draw him down to the throne, where he seated himself and was tied in, so he wouldn't float upward again. "hello," said the king, blinking his purple eyes at his followers; "what's up now!" "strangers, your majesty--strangers and captives," replied the big loon, pompously. "dear me! i see 'em. i see 'em very plainly," exclaimed the king, his purple eyes bulging out as he looked at the three prisoners. "what curious animals! are they dangerous, do you think, my good panta?" "i'm 'fraid so, your majesty. of course, they may not be dangerous, but we mustn't take chances. enough accidents happen to us poor loons as it is, and my advice is to condemn and perforate 'em as quickly as possible." "keep your advice to yourself," said the monarch, in a peeved tone. "who's king here, anyhow? you or me?" "we made you our king because you have less common sense than the rest of us," answered panta loon, indignantly. "i could have been king myself, had i wanted to, but i didn't care for the hard work and responsibility." as he said this, the big loon strutted back and forth in the space between the throne of king bal and the prisoners, and the other loons seemed much impressed by his defiance. but suddenly there came a sharp report and panta loon instantly disappeared, to the great astonishment of the scarecrow, the tin woodman and woot the wanderer, who saw on the spot where the big fellow had stood a little heap of flabby, wrinkled skin that looked like a collapsed rubber balloon. "there!" exclaimed the king; "i expected that would happen. the conceited rascal wanted to puff himself up until he was bigger than the rest of you, and this is the result of his folly. get the pump working, some of you, and blow him up again." "we will have to mend the puncture first, your majesty," suggested one of the loons, and the prisoners noticed that none of them seemed surprised or shocked at the sad accident to panta. "all right," grumbled the king. "fetch til to mend him." one or two ran away and presently returned, followed by a lady loon wearing huge, puffed-up rubber skirts. also she had a purple feather fastened to a wart on the top of her head, and around her waist was a sash of fibre-like vines, dried and tough, that looked like strings. "get to work, til," commanded king bal. "panta has just exploded." the lady loon picked up the bunch of skin and examined it carefully until she discovered a hole in one foot. then she pulled a strand of string from her sash, and drawing the edges of the hole together, she tied them fast with the string, thus making one of those curious warts which the strangers had noticed on so many loons. having done this, til loon tossed the bit of skin to the other loons and was about to go away when she noticed the prisoners and stopped to inspect them. "dear me!" said til; "what dreadful creatures. where did they come from?" "we captured them," replied one of the loons. "and what are we going to do with them?" inquired the girl loon. "perhaps we'll condemn 'em and puncture 'em," answered the king. "well," said she, still eyeing the "i'm not sure they'll puncture. let's try it, and see." one of the loons ran to the forest's edge and quickly returned with a long, sharp thorn. he glanced at the king, who nodded his head in assent, and then he rushed forward and stuck the thorn into the leg of the scarecrow. the scarecrow merely smiled and said nothing, for the thorn didn't hurt him at all. then the loon tried to prick the tin woodman's leg, but the tin only blunted the point of the thorn. "just as i thought," said til, blinking her purple eyes and shaking her puffy head; but just then the loon stuck the thorn into the leg of woot the wanderer, and while it had been blunted somewhat, it was still sharp enough to hurt. "ouch!" yelled woot, and kicked out his leg with so much energy that the frail bonds that tied him burst apart. his foot caught the loon--who was leaning over him--full on his puffy stomach, and sent him shooting up into the air. when he was high over their heads he exploded with a loud "pop" and his skin fell to the ground. "i really believe," said the king, rolling his spotlike eyes in a frightened way, "that panta was right in claiming these prisoners are dangerous. is the pump ready?" some of the loons had wheeled a big machine in front of the throne and now took panta's skin and began to pump air into it. slowly it swelled out until the king cried "stop!" "no, no!" yelled panta, "i'm not big enough yet." "you're as big as you're going to be," declared the king. "before you exploded you were bigger than the rest of us, and that caused you to be proud and overbearing. now you're a little smaller than the rest, and you will last longer and be more humble." "pump me up--pump me up!" wailed panta "if you don't you'll break my heart." "if we do we'll break your skin," replied the king. so the loons stopped pumping air into panta, and pushed him away from the pump. he was certainly more humble than before his accident, for he crept into the background and said nothing more. "now pump up the other one," ordered the king. til had already mended him, and the loons set to work to pump him full of air. during these last few moments none had paid much attention to the prisoners, so woot, finding his legs free, crept over to the tin woodman and rubbed the bonds that were still around his arms and body against the sharp edge of the axe, which quickly cut them. the boy was now free, and the thorn which the loon had stuck into his leg was lying unnoticed on the ground, where the creature had dropped it when he exploded. woot leaned forward and picked up the thorn, and while the loons were busy watching the pump, the boy sprang to his feet and suddenly rushed upon the group. "pop"--"pop"--"pop!" went three of the loons, when the wanderer pricked them with his thorn, and at the sounds the others looked around and saw their danger. with yells of fear they bounded away in all directions, scattering about the clearing, with woot the wanderer in full chase. while they could run much faster than the boy, they often stumbled and fell, or got in one another's way, so he managed to catch several and prick them with his thorn. it astonished him to see how easily the loons exploded. when the air was let out of them they were quite helpless. til loon was one of those who ran against his thorn and many others suffered the same fate. the creatures could not escape from the enclosure, but in their fright many bounded upward and caught branches of the trees, and then climbed out of reach of the dreaded thorn. woot was getting pretty tired chasing them, so he stopped and came over, panting, to where his friends were sitting, still bound. "very well done, my wanderer," said the tin woodman. "it is evident that we need fear these puffed-up creatures no longer, so be kind enough to unfasten our bonds and we will proceed upon our journey." woot untied the bonds of the scarecrow and helped him to his feet. then he freed the tin woodman, who got up without help. looking around them, they saw that the only loon now remaining within reach was bal loon, the king, who had remained seated in his throne, watching the punishment of his people with a bewildered look in his purple eyes. "shall i puncture the king?" the boy asked his companions. king bal must have overheard the question, for he fumbled with the cord that fastened him to the throne and managed to release it. then he floated upward until he reached the leafy dome, and parting the branches he disappeared from sight. but the string that was tied to his body was still connected with the arm of the throne, and they knew they could pull his majesty down again, if they wanted to. "let him alone," suggested the scarecrow. "he seems a good enough king for his peculiar people, and after we are gone, the loons will have something of a job to pump up all those whom woot has punctured." "every one of them ought to be exploded," declared woot, who was angry because his leg still hurt him. "no," said the tin woodman, "that would not be just fair. they were quite right to capture us, because we had no business to intrude here, having been warned to keep away from loonville. this is their country, not ours, and since the poor things can't get out of the clearing, they can harm no one save those who venture here out of curiosity, as we did." "well said, my friend," agreed tile scarecrow. "we really had no right to disturb their peace and comfort; so let us go away." they easily found the place where they had forced their way into the enclosure, so the tin woodman pushed aside the underbrush and started first along the path. the scarecrow followed next and last came woot, who looked back and saw that the loons were still clinging to their perches on the trees and watching their former captives with frightened eyes. "i guess they're glad to see the last of us," remarked the boy, and laughing at the happy ending of the adventure, he followed his comrades along the path. chapter five mrs. yoop, the giantess when they had reached the end of the path, where they had first seen the warning sign, they set off across the country in an easterly direction. before long they reached rolling lands, which were a succession of hills and valleys where constant climbs and descents were required, and their journey now became tedious, because on climbing each hill, they found before them nothing in the valley below it except grass, or weeds or stones. up and down they went for hours, with nothing to relieve the monotony of the landscape, until finally, when they had topped a higher hill than usual, they discovered a cup-shaped valley before them in the center of which stood an enormous castle, built of purple stone. the castle was high and broad and long, but had no turrets and towers. so far as they could see, there was but one small window and one big door on each side of the great building. "this is strange!" mused the scarecrow. "i'd no idea such a big castle existed in this gillikin country. i wonder who lives here?" "it seems to me, from this distance," remarked the tin woodman, "that it's the biggest castle i ever saw. it is really too big for any use, and no one could open or shut those big doors without a stepladder." "perhaps, if we go nearer, we shall find out whether anybody lives there or not," suggested woot. "looks to me as if nobody lived there." on they went, and when they reached the center of the valley, where the great stone castle stood, it was beginning to grow dark. so they hesitated as to what to do. "if friendly people happen to live here," said woot. "i shall be glad of a bed; but should enemies occupy the place, i prefer to sleep upon the ground." "and if no one at all lives here," added the scarecrow, "we can enter, and take possession, and make ourselves at home." while speaking he went nearer to one of the great doors, which was three times as high and broad as any he had ever seen in a house before, and then he discovered, engraved in big letters upon a stone over the doorway, the words: "yoop castle" "oho!" he exclaimed; "i know the place now. this was probably the home of mr. yoop, a terrible giant whom i have seen confined in a cage, a long way from here. therefore this castle is likely to be empty and we may use it in any way we please." "yes, yes," said the tin emperor, nodding; "i also remember mr. yoop. but how are we to get into his deserted castle? the latch of the door is so far above our heads that none of us can reach it." they considered this problem for a while, and then woot said to the tin man: "if i stand upon your shoulders, i think i can unlatch the door." "climb up, then," was the reply, and when the boy was perched upon the tin shoulders of nick chopper, he was just able to reach the latch and raise it. at once the door swung open, its great hinges making a groaning sound as if in protest, so woot leaped down and followed his companions into a big, bare hallway. scarcely were the three inside, however, when they heard the door slam shut behind them, and this astonished them because no one had touched it. it had closed of its own accord, as if by magic. moreover, the latch was on the outside, and the thought occurred to each one of them that they were now prisoners in this unknown castle. "however," mumbled the scarecrow, "we are not to blame for what cannot be helped; so let us push bravely ahead and see what may be seen." it was quite dark in the hallway, now that the outside door was shut, so as they stumbled along a stone passage they kept close together, not knowing what danger was likely to befall them. suddenly a soft glow enveloped them. it grew brighter, until they could see their surroundings distinctly. they had reached the end of the passage and before them was another huge door. this noiselessly swung open before them, without the help of anyone, and through the doorway they observed a big chamber, the walls of which were lined with plates of pure gold, highly polished. this room was also lighted, although they could discover no lamps, and in the center of it was a great table at which sat an immense woman. she was clad in silver robes embroidered with gay floral designs, and wore over this splendid raiment a short apron of elaborate lace-work. such an apron was no protection, and was not in keeping with the handsome gown, but the huge woman wore it, nevertheless. the table at which she sat was spread with a white cloth and had golden dishes upon it, so the travelers saw that they had surprised the giantess while she was eating her supper. she had her back toward them and did not even turn around, but taking a biscuit from a dish she began to butter it and said in a voice that was big and deep but not especially unpleasant: "why don't you come in and allow the door to shut? you're causing a draught, and i shall catch cold and sneeze. when i sneeze, i get cross, and when i get cross i'm liable to do something wicked. come in, you foolish strangers; come in!" being thus urged, they entered the room and approached the table, until they stood where they faced the great giantess. she continued eating, but smiled in a curious way as she looked at them. woot noticed that the door had closed silently after they had entered, and that didn't please him at all. "well," said the giantess, "what excuse have you to offer?" "we didn't know anyone lived here, madam," explained the scarecrow; "so, being travelers and strangers in these parts, and wishing to find a place for our boy friend to sleep, we ventured to enter your castle." "you knew it was private property, i suppose?" said she, buttering another biscuit. "we saw the words, 'yoop castle,' over the door, but we knew that mr. yoop is a prisoner in a cage in a far-off part of the land of oz, so we decided there was no one now at home and that we might use the castle for the night." "i see," remarked the giantess, nodding her head and smiling again in that curious way--a way that made woot shudder. "you didn't know that mr. yoop was married, or that after he was cruelly captured his wife still lived in his castle and ran it to suit herself." "who captured mr. yoop?" asked woot, looking gravely at the big woman. "wicked enemies. people who selfishly objected to yoop's taking their cows and sheep for his food. i must admit, however, that yoop had a bad temper, and had the habit of knocking over a few houses, now and then, when he was angry. so one day the little folks came in a great crowd and captured mr. yoop, and carried him away to a cage somewhere in the mountains. i don't know where it is, and i don't care, for my husband treated me badly at times, forgetting the respect a giant owes to a giantess. often he kicked me on my shins, when i wouldn't wait on him. so i'm glad he is gone." "it's a wonder the people didn't capture you, too," remarked woot. "well, i was too clever for them," said she, giving a sudden laugh that caused such a breeze that the wobbly scarecrow was almost blown off his feet and had to grab his friend nick chopper to steady himself. "i saw the people coming," continued mrs. yoop, "and knowing they meant mischief i transformed myself into a mouse and hid in a cupboard. after they had gone away, carrying my shin-kicking husband with them, i transformed myself back to my former shape again, and here i've lived in peace and comfort ever since." "are you a witch, then?" inquired woot. "well, not exactly a witch," she replied, "but i'm an artist in transformations. in other words, i'm more of a yookoohoo than a witch, and of course you know that the yookoohoos are the cleverest magic-workers in the world." the travelers were silent for a time, uneasily considering this statement and the effect it might have on their future. no doubt the giantess had wilfully made them her prisoners; yet she spoke so cheerfully, in her big voice, that until now they had not been alarmed in the least. by and by the scarecrow, whose mixed brains had been working steadily, asked the woman: "are we to consider you our friend, mrs. yoop, or do you intend to be our enemy?" "i never have friends," she said in a matter-of-fact tone, "because friends get too familiar and always forget to mind their own business. but i am not your enemy; not yet, anyhow. indeed, i'm glad you've come, for my life here is rather lonely. i've had no one to talk to since i transformed polychrome, the daughter of the rainbow, into a canary-bird." "how did you manage to do that?" asked the tin woodman, in amazement. "polychrome is a powerful fairy!" "she was," said the giantess; "but now she's a canary-bird. one day after a rain, polychrome danced off the rainbow and fell asleep on a little mound in this valley, not far from my castle. the sun came out and drove the rainbow away, and before poly wakened, i stole out and transformed her into a canary-bird in a gold cage studded with diamonds. the cage was so she couldn't fly away. i expected she'd sing and talk and we'd have good times together; but she has proved no company for me at all. ever since the moment of her transformation, she has refused to speak a single word." "where is she now?" inquired woot, who had heard tales of lovely polychrome and was much interested in her. "the cage is hanging up in my bedroom," said the giantess, eating another biscuit. the travelers were now more uneasy and suspicious of the giantess than before. if polychrome, the rainbow's daughter, who was a real fairy, had been transformed and enslaved by this huge woman, who claimed to be a yookoohoo, what was liable to happen to them? said the scarecrow, twisting his stuffed head around in mrs. yoop's direction: "do you know, ma'am, who we are?" "of course," said she; "a straw man, a tin man and a boy." "we are very important people," declared the tin woodman. "all the better," she replied. "i shall enjoy your society the more on that account. for i mean to keep you here as long as i live, to amuse me when i get lonely. and," she added slowly, "in this valley no one ever dies." they didn't like this speech at all, so the scarecrow frowned in a way that made mrs. yoop smile, while the tin woodman looked so fierce that mrs. yoop laughed. the scarecrow suspected she was going to laugh, so he slipped behind his friends to escape the wind from her breath. from this safe position he said warningly: "we have powerful friends who will soon come to rescue us." "let them come," she returned, with an accent of scorn. "when they get here they will find neither a boy, nor a tin man, nor a scarecrow, for tomorrow morning i intend to transform you all into other shapes, so that you cannot be recognized." this threat filled them with dismay. the good-natured giantess was more terrible than they had imagined. she could smile and wear pretty clothes and at the same time be even more cruel than her wicked husband had been. both the scarecrow and the tin woodman tried to think of some way to escape from the castle before morning, but she seemed to read their thoughts and shook her head. "don't worry your poor brains," said she. "you can't escape me, however hard you try. but why should you wish to escape? i shall give you new forms that are much better than the ones you now have. be contented with your fate, for discontent leads to unhappiness, and unhappiness, in any form, is the greatest evil that can befall you." "what forms do you intend to give us?" asked woot earnestly. "i haven't decided, as yet. i'll dream over it tonight, so in the morning i shall have made up my mind how to transform you. perhaps you'd prefer to choose your own transformations?" "no," said woot, "i prefer to remain as i am." "that's funny," she retorted. "you are little, and you're weak; as you are, you're not much account, anyhow. the best thing about you is that you're alive, for i shall be able to make of you some sort of live creature which will be a great improvement on your present form." she took another biscuit from a plate and dipped it in a pot of honey and calmly began eating it. the scarecrow watched her thoughtfully. "there are no fields of grain in your valley," said he; "where, then, did you get the flour to make your biscuits?" "mercy me! do you think i'd bother to make biscuits out of flour?" she replied. "that is altogether too tedious a process for a yookoohoo. i set some traps this afternoon and caught a lot of field-mice, but as i do not like to eat mice, i transformed them into hot biscuits for my supper. the honey in this pot was once a wasp's nest, but since being transformed it has become sweet and delicious. all i need do, when i wish to eat, is to take something i don't care to keep, and transform it into any sort of food i like, and eat it. are you hungry?" "i don't eat, thank you," said the scarecrow. "nor do i," said the tin woodman. "i have still a little natural food in my knapsack," said woot the wanderer, "and i'd rather eat that than any wasp's nest." "every one to his taste," said the giantess carelessly, and having now finished her supper she rose to her feet, clapped her hands together, and the supper table at once disappeared. chapter six the magic of a yookoohoo woot had seen very little of magic during his wanderings, while the scarecrow and the tin woodman had seen a great deal of many sorts in their lives, yet all three were greatly impressed by mrs. yoop's powers. she did not affect any mysterious airs or indulge in chants or mystic rites, as most witches do, nor was the giantess old and ugly or disagreeable in face or manner. nevertheless, she frightened her prisoners more than any witch could have done. "please be seated," she said to them, as she sat herself down in a great arm-chair and spread her beautiful embroidered skirts for them to admire. but all the chairs in the room were so high that our friends could not climb to the seats of them. mrs. yoop observed this and waved her hand, when instantly a golden ladder appeared leaning against a chair opposite her own. "climb up," said she, and they obeyed, the tin man and the boy assisting the more clumsy scarecrow. when they were all seated in a row on the cushion of the chair, the giantess continued: "now tell me how you happened to travel in this direction, and where you came from and what your errand is." so the tin woodman told her all about nimmie amee, and how he had decided to find her and marry her, although he had no loving heart. the story seemed to amuse the big woman, who then began to ask the scarecrow questions and for the first time in her life heard of ozma of oz, and of dorothy and jack pumpkinhead and dr. pipt and tik-tok and many other oz people who are well known in the emerald city. also woot had to tell his story, which was very simple and did not take long. the giantess laughed heartily when the boy related their adventure at loonville, but said she knew nothing of the loons because she never left her valley. "there are wicked people who would like to capture me, as they did my giant husband, mr. yoop," said she; "so i stay at home and mind my own business." "if ozma knew that you dared to work magic without her consent, she would punish you severely," declared the scarecrow, "for this castle is in the land of oz, and no persons in the land of oz are permitted to work magic except glinda the good and the little wizard who lives with ozma in the emerald city." "that for your ozma!" exclaimed the giantess, snapping her fingers in derision. "what do i care for a girl whom i have never seen and who has never seen me?" "but ozma is a fairy," said the tin woodman, "and therefore she is very powerful. also, we are under ozma's protection, and to injure us in any way would make her extremely angry." "what i do here, in my own private castle in this secluded valley--where no one comes but fools like you--can never be known to your fairy ozma," returned the giantess. "do not seek to frighten me from my purpose, and do not allow yourselves to be frightened, for it is best to meet bravely what cannot be avoided. i am now going to bed, and in the morning i will give you all new forms, such as will be more interesting to me than the ones you now wear. good night, and pleasant dreams." saying this, mrs. yoop rose from her chair and walked through a doorway into another room. so heavy was the tread of the giantess that even the walls of the big stone castle trembled as she stepped. she closed the door of her bedroom behind her, and then suddenly the light went out and the three prisoners found themselves in total darkness. the tin woodman and the scarecrow didn't mind the dark at all, but woot the wanderer felt worried to be left in this strange place in this strange manner, without being able to see any danger that might threaten. "the big woman might have given me a bed, anyhow," he said to his companions, and scarcely had he spoken when he felt something press against his legs, which were then dangling from the seat of the chair. leaning down, he put out his hand and found that a bedstead had appeared, with mattress, sheets and covers, all complete. he lost no time in slipping down upon the bed and was soon fast asleep. during the night the scarecrow and the emperor talked in low tones together, and they got out of the chair and moved all about the room, feeling for some hidden spring that might open a door or window and permit them to escape. morning found them still unsuccessful in the quest and as soon as it was daylight woot's bed suddenly disappeared, and he dropped to the floor with a thump that quickly wakened him. and after a time the giantess came from her bedroom, wearing another dress that was quite as elaborate as the one in which she had been attired the evening before, and also wearing the pretty lace apron. having seated herself in a chair, she said: "i'm hungry; so i'll have breakfast at once." she clapped her hands together and instantly the table appeared before her, spread with snowy linen and laden with golden dishes. but there was no food upon the table, nor anything else except a pitcher of water, a bundle of weeds and a handful of pebbles. but the giantess poured some water into her coffee-pot, patted it once or twice with her hand, and then poured out a cupful of steaming hot coffee. "would you like some?" she asked woot. he was suspicious of magic coffee, but it smelled so good that he could not resist it; so he answered: "if you please, madam." the giantess poured out another cup and set it on the floor for woot. it was as big as a tub, and the golden spoon in the saucer beside the cup was so heavy the boy could scarcely lift it. but woot managed to get a sip of the coffee and found it delicious. mrs. yoop next transformed the weeds into a dish of oatmeal, which she ate with good appetite. "now, then," said she, picking up the pebbles. "i'm wondering whether i shall have fish-balls or lamb-chops to complete my meal. which would you prefer, woot the wanderer?" "if you please, i'll eat the food in my knapsack," answered the boy. "your magic food might taste good, but i'm afraid of it." the woman laughed at his fears and transformed the pebbles into fish-balls. "i suppose you think that after you had eaten this food it would turn to stones again and make you sick," she remarked; "but that would be impossible. nothing i transform ever gets back to its former shape again, so these fish-balls can never more be pebbles. that is why i have to be careful of my transformations," she added, busily eating while she talked, "for while i can change forms at will i can never change them back again--which proves that even the powers of a clever yookoohoo are limited. when i have transformed you three people, you must always wear the shapes that i have given you." "then please don't transform us," begged woot, "for we are quite satisfied to remain as we are." "i am not expecting to satisfy you, but intend to please myself," she declared, "and my pleasure is to give you new shapes. for, if by chance your friends came in search of you, not one of them would be able to recognize you." her tone was so positive that they knew it would be useless to protest. the woman was not unpleasant to look at; her face was not cruel; her voice was big but gracious in tone; but her words showed that she possessed a merciless heart and no pleadings would alter her wicked purpose. mrs. yoop took ample time to finish her breakfast and the prisoners had no desire to hurry her, but finally the meal was concluded and she folded her napkin and made the table disappear by clapping her hands together. then she turned to her captives and said: "the next thing on the programme is to change your forms." "have you decided what forms to give us?" asked the scarecrow, uneasily. "yes; i dreamed it all out while i was asleep. this tin man seems a very solemn person "--indeed, the tin woodman was looking solemn, just then, for he was greatly disturbed--"so i shall change him into an owl." all she did was to point one finger at him as she spoke, but immediately the form of the tin woodman began to change and in a few seconds nick chopper, the emperor of the winkies, had been transformed into an owl, with eyes as big as saucers and a hooked beak and strong claws. but he was still tin. he was a tin owl, with tin legs and beak and eyes and feathers. when he flew to the back of a chair and perched upon it, his tin feathers rattled against one another with a tinny clatter. the giantess seemed much amused by the tin owl's appearance, for her laugh was big and jolly. "you're not liable to get lost," said she, "for your wings and feathers will make a racket wherever you go. and, on my word, a tin owl is so rare and pretty that it is an improvement on the ordinary bird. i did not intend to make you tin, but i forgot to wish you to be meat. however, tin you were, and tin you are, and as it's too late to change you, that settles it." until now the scarecrow had rather doubted the possibility of mrs. yoop's being able to transform him, or his friend the tin woodman, for they were not made as ordinary people are. he had worried more over what might happen to woot than to himself, but now he began to worry about himself. "madam," he said hastily, "i consider this action very impolite. it may even be called rude, considering we are your guests." "you are not guests, for i did not invite you here," she replied. "perhaps not; but we craved hospitality. we threw ourselves upon your mercy, so to speak, and we now find you have no mercy. therefore, if you will excuse the expression, i must say it is downright wicked to take our proper forms away from us and give us others that we do not care for." "are you trying to make me angry?" she asked, frowning. "by no means," said the scarecrow; "i'm just trying to make you act more ladylike." "oh, indeed! in my opinion, mr. scarecrow, you are now acting like a bear--so a bear you shall be!" again the dreadful finger pointed, this time in the scarecrow's direction, and at once his form began to change. in a few seconds he had become a small brown bear, but he was stuffed with straw as he had been before, and when the little brown bear shuffled across the floor he was just as wobbly as the scarecrow had been and moved just as awkwardly. woot was amazed, but he was also thoroughly frightened. "did it hurt?" he asked the little brown bear. "no, of course not," growled the scarecrow in the bear's form; "but i don't like walking on four legs; it's undignified." "consider my humiliation!" chirped the tin owl, trying to settle its tin feathers smoothly with its tin beak. "and i can't see very well, either. the light seems to hurt my eyes." "that's because you are an owl," said woot. "i think you will see better in the dark." "well," remarked the giantess, "i'm very well pleased with these new forms, for my part, and i'm sure you will like them better when you get used to them. so now," she added, turning to the boy, "it is your turn." "don't you think you'd better leave me as i am?" asked woot in a trembling voice. "no," she replied, "i'm going to make a monkey of you. i love monkeys--they're so cute!--and i think a green monkey will be lots of fun and amuse me when i am sad." woot shivered, for again the terrible magic finger pointed, and pointed directly his way. he felt himself changing; not so very much, however, and it didn't hurt him a bit. he looked down at his limbs and body and found that his clothes were gone and his skin covered with a fine, silk-like green fur. his hands and feet were now those of a monkey. he realized he really was a monkey, and his first feeling was one of anger. he began to chatter as monkeys do. he bounded to the seat of a giant chair, and then to its back and with a wild leap sprang upon the laughing giantess. his idea was to seize her hair and pull it out by the roots, and so have revenge for her wicked transformations. but she raised her hand and said: "gently, my dear monkey--gently! you're not angry; you're happy as can be!" woot stopped short. no; he wasn't a bit angry now; he felt as good-humored and gay as ever he did when a boy. instead of pulling mrs. yoop's hair, he perched on her shoulder and smoothed her soft cheek with his hairy paw. in return, she smiled at the funny green animal and patted his head. "very good," said the giantess. "let us all become friends and be happy together. how is my tin owl feeling?" "quite comfortable," said the owl. "i don't like it, to be sure, but i'm not going to allow my new form to make me unhappy. but, tell me, please: what is a tin owl good for?" "you are only good to make me laugh," replied the giantess. "will a stuffed bear also make you laugh?" inquired the scarecrow, sitting back on his haunches to look up at her. "of course," declared the giantess; "and i have added a little magic to your transformations to make you all contented with wearing your new forms. i'm sorry i didn't think to do that when i transformed polychrome into a canary-bird. but perhaps, when she sees how cheerful you are, she will cease to be silent and sullen and take to singing. i will go get the bird and let you see her." with this, mrs. yoop went into the next room and soon returned bearing a golden cage in which sat upon a swinging perch a lovely yellow canary. "polychrome," said the giantess, "permit me to introduce to you a green monkey, which used to be a boy called woot the wanderer, and a tin owl, which used to be a tin woodman named nick chopper, and a straw-stuffed little brown bear which used to be a live scarecrow." "we already know one another," declared the scarecrow. "the bird is polychrome, the rainbow's daughter, and she and i used to be good friends." "are you really my old friend, the scarecrow?" asked; the bird, in a sweet, low voice. "there!" cried mrs. yoop; "that's the first time she has spoken since she was transformed." "i am really your old friend," answered the scarecrow; "but you must pardon me for appearing just now in this brutal form." "i am a bird, as you are, dear poly," said the tin woodman; "but, alas! a tin owl is not as beautiful as a canary-bird." "how dreadful it all is!" sighed the canary. "couldn't you manage to escape from this terrible yookoohoo?" "no," answered the scarecrow, "we tried to escape, but failed. she first made us her prisoners and then transformed us. but how did she manage to get you, polychrome?" "i was asleep, and she took unfair advantage of me," answered the bird sadly. "had i been awake, i could easily have protected myself." "tell me," said the green monkey earnestly, as he came close to the cage, "what must we do, daughter of the rainbow, to escape from these transformations? can't you help us, being a fairy?" "at present i am powerless to help even myself," replied the canary. "that's the exact truth!" exclaimed the giantess, who seemed pleased to hear the bird talk, even though it complained; "you are all helpless and in my power, so you may as well make up your minds to accept your fate and be content. remember that you are transformed for good, since no magic on earth can break your enchantments. i am now going out for my morning walk, for each day after breakfast i walk sixteen times around my castle for exercise. amuse yourselves while i am gone, and when i return i hope to find you all reconciled and happy." so the giantess walked to the door by which our friends had entered the great hall and spoke one word: "open!" then the door swung open and after mrs. yoop had passed out it closed again with a snap as its powerful bolts shot into place. the green monkey had rushed toward the opening, hoping to escape, but he was too late and only got a bump on his nose as the door slammed shut. chapter seven the lace apron "now," said the canary, in a tone more brisk than before, "we may talk together more freely, as mrs. yoop cannot hear us. perhaps we can figure out a way to escape." "open!" said woot the monkey, still facing the door; but his command had no effect and he slowly rejoined the others. "you cannot open any door or window in this enchanted castle unless you are wearing the magic apron," said the canary. "what magic apron do you mean?" asked the tin owl, in a curious voice. "the lace one, which the giantess always wears. i have been her prisoner, in this cage, for several weeks, and she hangs my cage in her bedroom every night, so that she can keep her eye on me," explained polychrome the canary. "therefore i have discovered that it is the magic apron that opens the doors and windows, and nothing else can move them. when she goes to bed, mrs. yoop hangs her apron on the bedpost, and one morning she forgot to put it on when she commanded the door to open, and the door would not move. so then she put on the lace apron and the door obeyed her. that was how i learned the magic power of the apron." "i see--i see!" said the little brown bear, wagging his stuffed head. "then, if we could get the apron from mrs. yoop, we could open the doors and escape from our prison." "that is true, and it is the plan i was about to suggest," replied polychrome the canary-bird. "however, i don't believe the owl could steal the apron, or even the bear, but perhaps the monkey could hide in her room at night and get the apron while she is asleep." "i'll try it!" cried woot the monkey. "i'll try it this very night, if i can manage to steal into her bedroom." "you mustn't think about it, though," warned the bird, "for she can read your thoughts whenever she cares to do so. and do not forget, before you escape, to take me with you. once i am out of the power of the giantess, i may discover a way to save us all." "we won't forget our fairy friend," promised the boy; "but perhaps you can tell me how to get into the bedroom." "no," declared polychrome, "i cannot advise you as to that. you must watch for a chance, and slip in when mrs. yoop isn't looking." they talked it over for a while longer and then mrs. yoop returned. when she entered, the door opened suddenly, at her command, and closed as soon as her huge form had passed through the doorway. during that day she entered her bedroom several times, on one errand or another, but always she commanded the door to close behind her and her prisoners found not the slightest chance to leave the big hall in which they were confined. the green monkey thought it would be wise to make a friend of the big woman, so as to gain her confidence, so he sat on the back of her chair and chattered to her while she mended her stockings and sewed silver buttons on some golden shoes that were as big as row-boats. this pleased the giantess and she would pause at times to pat the monkey's head. the little brown bear curled up in a corner and lay still all day. the owl and the canary found they could converse together in the bird language, which neither the giantess nor the bear nor the monkey could understand; so at times they twittered away to each other and passed the long, dreary day quite cheerfully. after dinner mrs. yoop took a big fiddle from a big cupboard and played such loud and dreadful music that her prisoners were all thankful when at last she stopped and said she was going to bed. after cautioning the monkey and bear and owl to behave themselves during the night, she picked up the cage containing the canary and, going to the door of her bedroom, commanded it to open. just then, however, she remembered she had left her fiddle lying upon a table, so she went back for it and put it away in the cupboard, and while her back was turned the green monkey slipped through the open door into her bedroom and hid underneath the bed. the giantess, being sleepy, did not notice this, and entering her room she made the door close behind her and then hung the bird-cage on a peg by the window. then she began to undress, first taking off the lace apron and laying it over the bedpost, where it was within easy reach of her hand. as soon as mrs. yoop was in bed the lights all went out, and woot the monkey crouched under the bed and waited patiently until he heard the giantess snoring. then he crept out and in the dark felt around until he got hold of the apron, which he at once tied around his own waist. next, woot tried to find the canary, and there was just enough moonlight showing through the window to enable him to see where the cage hung; but it was out of his reach. at first he was tempted to leave polychrome and escape with his other friends, but remembering his promise to the rainbow's daughter woot tried to think how to save her. a chair stood near the window, and this--showing dimly in the moonlight--gave him an idea. by pushing against it with all his might, he found he could move the giant chair a few inches at a time. so he pushed and pushed until the chair was beneath the bird-cage, and then he sprang noiselessly upon the seat--for his monkey form enabled him to jump higher than he could do as a boy--and from there to the back of the chair, and so managed to reach the cage and take it off the peg. then down he sprang to the floor and made his way to the door. "open!" he commanded, and at once the door obeyed and swung open, but his voice wakened mrs. yoop, who gave a wild cry and sprang out of bed with one bound. the green monkey dashed through the doorway, carrying the cage with him, and before the giantess could reach the door it slammed shut and imprisoned her in her own bed-chamber! the noise she made, pounding upon the door, and her yells of anger and dreadful threats of vengeance, filled all our friends with terror, and woot the monkey was so excited that in the dark he could not find the outer door of the hall. but the tin owl could see very nicely in the dark, so he guided his friends to the right place and when all were grouped before the door woot commanded it to open. the magic apron proved as powerful as when it had been worn by the giantess, so a moment later they had rushed through the passage and were standing in the fresh night air outside the castle, free to go wherever they willed. chapter eight the menace of the forest "quick!" cried polychrome the canary; "we must hurry, or mrs. yoop may find some way to recapture us, even now. let us get out of her valley as soon as possible." so they set off toward the east, moving as swiftly as they could, and for a long time they could hear the yells and struggles of the imprisoned giantess. the green monkey could run over the ground very swiftly, and he carried with him the bird-cage containing polychrome the rain-bow's daughter. also the tin owl could skip and fly along at a good rate of speed, his feathers rattling against one another with a tinkling sound as he moved. but the little brown bear, being stuffed with straw, was a clumsy traveler and the others had to wait for him to follow. however, they were not very long in reaching the ridge that led out of mrs. yoop's valley, and when they had passed this ridge and descended into the next valley they stopped to rest, for the green monkey was tired. "i believe we are safe, now," said polychrome, when her cage was set down and the others had all gathered around it, "for mrs. yoop dares not go outside of her own valley, for fear of being captured by her enemies. so we may take our time to consider what to do next." "i'm afraid poor mrs. yoop will starve to death, if no one lets her out of her bedroom," said woot, who had a heart as kind as that of the tin woodman. "we've taken her magic apron away, and now the doors will never open." "don't worry about that," advised polychrome. "mrs. yoop has plenty of magic left to console her." "are you sure of that?" asked the green monkey. "yes, for i've been watching her for weeks," said the canary. "she has six magic hairpins, which she wears in her hair, and a magic ring which she wears on her thumb and which is invisible to all eyes except those of a fairy, and magic bracelets on both her ankles. so i am positive that she will manage to find a way out of her prison." "she might transform the door into an archway," suggested the little brown bear. "that would be easy for her," said the tin owl; "but i'm glad she was too angry to think of that before we got out of her valley." "well, we have escaped the big woman, to be sure," remarked the green monkey, "but we still wear the awful forms the cruel yookoohoo gave us. how are we going to get rid of these shapes, and become ourselves again?" none could answer that question. they sat around the cage, brooding over the problem, until the monkey fell asleep. seeing this, the canary tucked her head under her wing and also slept, and the tin owl and the brown bear did not disturb them until morning came and it was broad daylight. "i'm hungry," said woot, when he wakened, for his knapsack of food had been left behind at the castle. "then let us travel on until we can find something for you to eat," returned the scarecrow bear. "there is no use in your lugging my cage any farther," declared the canary. "let me out, and throw the cage away. then i can fly with you and find my own breakfast of seeds. also i can search for water, and tell you where to find it." so the green monkey unfastened the door of the golden cage and the canary hopped out. at first she flew high in the air and made great circles overhead, but after a time she returned and perched beside them. "at the east in the direction we were following," announced the canary, "there is a fine forest, with a brook running through it. in the forest there may be fruits or nuts growing, or berry bushes at its edge, so let us go that way." they agreed to this and promptly set off, this time moving more deliberately. the tin owl, which had guided their way during the night, now found the sunshine very trying to his big eyes, so he shut them tight and perched upon the back of the little brown bear, which carried the owl's weight with ease. the canary sometimes perched upon the green monkey's shoulder and sometimes fluttered on ahead of the party, and in this manner they traveled in good spirits across that valley and into the next one to the east of it. this they found to be an immense hollow, shaped like a saucer, and on its farther edge appeared the forest which polychrome had seen from the sky. "come to think of it," said the tin owl, waking up and blinking comically at his friends, "there's no object, now, in our traveling to the munchkin country. my idea in going there was to marry nimmie amee, but however much the munchkin girl may have loved a tin woodman, i cannot reasonably expect her to marry a tin owl." "there is some truth in that, my friend," remarked the brown bear. "and to think that i, who was considered the handsomest scarecrow in the world, am now condemned to be a scrubby, no-account beast, whose only redeeming feature is that he is stuffed with straw!" "consider my case, please," said woot. "the cruel giantess has made a monkey of a boy, and that is the most dreadful deed of all!" "your color is rather pretty," said the brown bear, eyeing woot critically. "i have never seen a pea-green monkey before, and it strikes me you are quite gorgeous." "it isn't so bad to be a bird," asserted the canary, fluttering from one to another with a free and graceful motion, "but i long to enjoy my own shape again." "as polychrome, you were the loveliest maiden i have ever seen--except, of course, ozma," said the tin owl; "so the giantess did well to transform you into the loveliest of all birds, if you were to be transformed at all. but tell me, since you are a fairy, and have a fairy wisdom: do you think we shall be able to break these enchantments?" "queer things happen in the land of oz," replied the canary, again perching on the green monkey's shoulder and turning one bright eye thoughtfully toward her questioner. "mrs. yoop has declared that none of her transformations can ever be changed, even by herself, but i believe that if we could get to glinda the good sorceress, she might find a way to restore us to our natural shapes. glinda, as you know, is the most powerful sorceress in the world, and there are few things she cannot do if she tries." "in that case," said the little brown bear, "let us return southward and try to get to glinda's castle. it lies in the quadling country, you know, so it is a good way from here." "first, however, let us visit the forest and search for something to eat," pleaded woot. so they continued on to the edge of the forest, which consisted of many tall and beautiful trees. they discovered no fruit trees, at first, so the green monkey pushed on into the forest depths and the others followed close behind him. they were traveling quietly along, under the shade of the trees, when suddenly an enormous jaguar leaped upon them from a limb and with one blow of his paw sent the little brown bear tumbling over and over until he was stopped by a tree-trunk. instantly they all took alarm. the tin owl shrieked: "hoot--hoot!" and flew straight up to the branch of a tall tree, although he could scarcely see where he was going. the canary swiftly darted to a place beside the owl, and the green monkey sprang up, caught a limb, and soon scrambled to a high perch of safety. the jaguar crouched low and with hungry eyes regarded the little brown bear, which slowly got upon its feet and asked reproachfully: "for goodness' sake, beast, what were you trying to do?" "trying to get my breakfast," answered the jaguar with a snarl, "and i believe i've succeeded. you ought to make a delicious meal--unless you happen to be old and tough." "i'm worse than that, considered as a breakfast," said the bear, "for i'm only a skin stuffed with straw, and therefore not fit to eat." "indeed!" cried the jaguar, in a disappointed voice; "then you must be a magic bear, or enchanted, and i must seek my breakfast from among your companions." with this he raised his lean head to look up at the tin owl and the canary and the monkey, and he lashed his tail upon the ground and growled as fiercely as any jaguar could. "my friends are enchanted, also," said the little brown bear. "all of them?" asked the jaguar. "yes. the owl is tin, so you couldn't possibly eat him. the canary is a fairy--polychrome, the daughter of the rainbow--and you never could catch her because she can easily fly out of your reach." "there still remains the green monkey," remarked the jaguar hungrily. "he is neither made of tin nor stuffed with straw, nor can he fly. i'm pretty good at climbing trees, myself, so i think i'll capture the monkey and eat him for my breakfast." woot the monkey, hearing this speech from his perch on the tree, became much frightened, for he knew the nature of jaguars and realized they could climb trees and leap from limb to limb with the agility of cats. so he at once began to scamper through the forest as fast as he could go, catching at a branch with his long monkey arms and swinging his green body through space to grasp another branch in a neighboring tree, and so on, while the jaguar followed him from below, his eyes fixed steadfastly on his prey. but presently woot got his feet tangled in the lace apron, which he was still wearing, and that tripped him in his flight and made him fall to the ground, where the jaguar placed one huge paw upon him and said grimly: "i've got you, now!" the fact that the apron had tripped him made woot remember its magic powers, and in his terror he cried out: "open!" without stopping to consider how this command might save him. but, at the word, the earth opened at the exact spot where he lay under the jaguar's paw, and his body sank downward, the earth closing over it again. the last thing woot the monkey saw, as he glanced upward, was the jaguar peering into the hole in astonishment. "he's gone!" cried the beast, with a long-drawn sigh of disappointment; "he's gone, and now i shall have no breakfast." the clatter of the tin owl's wings sounded above him, and the little brown bear came trotting up and asked: "where is the monkey? have you eaten him so quickly?" "no, indeed," answered the jaguar. "he disappeared into the earth before i could take one bite of him!" and now the canary perched upon a stump, a little way from the forest beast, and said: "i am glad our friend has escaped you; but, as it is natural for a hungry beast to wish his breakfast, i will try to give you one." "thank you," replied the jaguar. "you're rather small for a full meal, but it's kind of you to sacrifice yourself to my appetite." "oh, i don't intend to be eaten, i assure you," said the canary, "but as i am a fairy i know something of magic, and though i am now transformed into a bird's shape, i am sure i can conjure up a breakfast that will satisfy you." "if you can work magic, why don't you break the enchantment you are under and return to your proper form?" inquired the beast doubtingly. "i haven't the power to do that," answered the canary, "for mrs. yoop, the giantess who transformed me, used a peculiar form of yookoohoo magic that is unknown to me. however, she could not deprive me of my own fairy knowledge, so i will try to get you a breakfast." "do you think a magic breakfast would taste good, or relieve the pangs of hunger i now suffer?" asked the jaguar. "i am sure it would. what would you like to eat?" "give me a couple of fat rabbits," said the beast. "rabbits! no, indeed. i'd not allow you to eat the dear little things," declared polychrome the canary. "well, three or four squirrels, then," pleaded the jaguar. "do you think me so cruel?" demanded the canary, indignantly. "the squirrels are my especial friends." "how about a plump owl?" asked the beast. "not a tin one, you know, but a real meat owl." "neither beast nor bird shall you have," said polychrome in a positive voice. "give me a fish, then; there's a river a little way off," proposed the jaguar. "no living thing shall be sacrificed to feed you," returned the canary. "then what in the world do you expect me to eat?" said the jaguar in a scornful tone. "how would mush-and-milk do?" asked the canary. the jaguar snarled in derision and lashed his tail against the ground angrily. "give him some scrambled eggs on toast, poly," suggested the bear scarecrow. "he ought to like that." "i will," responded the canary, and fluttering her wings she made a flight of three circles around the stump. then she flew up to a tree and the bear and the owl and the jaguar saw that upon the stump had appeared a great green leaf upon which was a large portion of scrambled eggs on toast, smoking hot. "there!" said the bear; "eat your breakfast, friend jaguar, and be content." the jaguar crept closer to the stump and sniffed the fragrance of the scrambled eggs. they smelled so good that he tasted them, and they tasted so good that he ate the strange meal in a hurry, proving he had been really hungry. "i prefer rabbits," he muttered, licking his chops, "but i must admit the magic breakfast has filled my stomach full, and brought me comfort. so i'm much obliged for the kindness, little fairy, and i'll now leave you in peace." saying this, he plunged into the thick underbrush and soon disappeared, although they could hear his great body crashing through the bushes until he was far distant. "that was a good way to get rid of the savage beast, poly," said the tin woodman to the canary; "but i'm surprised that you didn't give our friend woot a magic breakfast, when you knew he was hungry." "the reason for that," answered polychrome, "was that my mind was so intent on other things that i quite forgot my power to produce food by magic. but where is the monkey boy?" "gone!" said the scarecrow bear, solemnly. "the earth has swallowed him up." chapter nine the quarrelsome dragons the green monkey sank gently into the earth for a little way and then tumbled swiftly through space, landing on a rocky floor with a thump that astonished him. then he sat up, found that no bones were broken, and gazed around him. he seemed to be in a big underground cave, which was dimly lighted by dozens of big round discs that looked like moons. they were not moons, however, as woot discovered when he had examined the place more carefully. they were eyes. the eyes were in the heads of enormous beasts whose bodies trailed far behind them. each beast was bigger than an elephant, and three times as long, and there were a dozen or more of the creatures scattered here and there about the cavern. on their bodies were big scales, as round as pie-plates, which were beautifully tinted in shades of green, purple and orange. on the ends of their long tails were clusters of jewels. around the great, moon-like eyes were circles of diamonds which sparkled in the subdued light that glowed from the eyes. woot saw that the creatures had wide mouths and rows of terrible teeth and, from tales he had heard of such beings, he knew he had fallen into a cavern inhabited by the great dragons that had been driven from the surface of the earth and were only allowed to come out once in a hundred years to search for food. of course he had never seen dragons before, yet there was no mistaking them, for they were unlike any other living creatures. woot sat upon the floor where he had fallen, staring around, and the owners of the big eyes returned his look, silently and motionless. finally one of the dragons which was farthest away from him asked, in a deep, grave voice: "what was that?" and the greatest dragon of all, who was just in front of the green monkey, answered in a still deeper voice: "it is some foolish animal from outside." "is it good to eat?" inquired a smaller dragon beside the great one. "i'm hungry." "hungry!" exclaimed all the dragons, in a reproachful chorus; and then the great one said chidingly: "tut-tut, my son! you've no reason to be hungry at this time." "why not?" asked the little dragon. "i haven't eaten anything in eleven years." "eleven years is nothing," remarked another dragon, sleepily opening and closing his eyes; "i haven't feasted for eighty-seven years, and i dare not get hungry for a dozen or so years to come. children who eat between meals should be broken of the habit." "all i had, eleven years ago, was a rhinoceros, and that's not a full meal at all," grumbled the young one. "and, before that, i had waited sixty-two years to be fed; so it's no wonder i'm hungry." "how old are you now?" asked woot, forgetting his own dangerous position in his interest in the conversation. "why, i'm--i'm--how old am i, father?" asked the little dragon. "goodness gracious! what a child to ask questions. do you want to keep me thinking all the time? don't you know that thinking is very bad for dragons?" returned the big one, impatiently. "how old am i, father?" persisted the small dragon. "about six hundred and thirty, i believe. ask your mother." "no; don't!" said an old dragon in the background; "haven't i enough worries, what with being wakened in the middle of a nap, without being obliged to keep track of my children's ages?" "you've been fast asleep for over sixty years, mother," said the child dragon. "how long a nap do you wish?" "i should have slept forty years longer. and this strange little green beast should be punished for falling into our cavern and disturbing us." "i didn't know you were here, and i didn't know i was going to fall in," explained woot. "nevertheless, here you are," said the great dragon, "and you have carelessly wakened our entire tribe; so it stands to reason you must be punished." "in what way?" inquired the green monkey, trembling a little. "give me time and i'll think of a way. you're in no hurry, are you?" asked the great dragon. "no, indeed," cried woot. "take your time. i'd much rather you'd all go to sleep again, and punish me when you wake up in a hundred years or so." "let me eat him!" pleaded the littlest dragon. "he is too small," said the father. "to eat this one green monkey would only serve to make you hungry for more, and there are no more." "quit this chatter and let me get to sleep," protested another dragon, yawning in a fearful manner, for when he opened his mouth a sheet of flame leaped forth from it and made woot jump back to get out of its way. in his jump he bumped against the nose of a dragon behind him, which opened its mouth to growl and shot another sheet of flame at him. the flame was bright, but not very hot, yet woot screamed with terror and sprang forward with a great bound. this time he landed on the paw of the great chief dragon, who angrily raised his other front paw and struck the green monkey a fierce blow. woot went sailing through the air and fell sprawling upon the rocky floor far beyond the place where the dragon tribe was grouped. all the great beasts were now thoroughly wakened and aroused, and they blamed the monkey for disturbing their quiet. the littlest dragon darted after woot and the others turned their unwieldy bodies in his direction and followed, flashing from their eyes and mouths flames which lighted up the entire cavern. woot almost gave himself up for lost, at that moment, but he scrambled to his feet and dashed away to the farthest end of the cave, the dragons following more leisurely because they were too clumsy to move fast. perhaps they thought there was no need of haste, as the monkey could not escape from the cave. but, away up at the end of the place, the cavern floor was heaped with tumbled rocks, so woot, with an agility born of fear, climbed from rock to rock until he found himself crouched against the cavern roof. there he waited, for he could go no farther, while on over the tumbled rocks slowly crept the dragons--the littlest one coming first because he was hungry as well as angry. the beasts had almost reached him when woot, remembering his lace apron--now sadly torn and soiled--recovered his wits and shouted: "open!" at the cry a hole appeared in the roof of the cavern, just over his head, and through it the sunlight streamed full upon the green monkey. the dragons paused, astonished at the magic and blinking at the sunlight, and this gave woot time to climb through the opening. as soon as he reached the surface of the earth the hole closed again, and the boy monkey realized, with a thrill of joy, that he had seen the last of the dangerous dragon family. he sat upon the ground, still panting hard from his exertions, when the bushes before him parted and his former enemy, the jaguar, appeared. "don't run," said the woodland beast, as woot sprang up; "you are perfectly safe, so far as i am concerned, for since you so mysteriously disappeared i have had my breakfast. i am now on my way home to sleep the rest of the day." "oh, indeed!" returned the green monkey, in a tone both sorry and startled. "which of my friends did you manage to eat?" "none of them," returned the jaguar, with a sly grin "i had a dish of magic scrambled eggs--on toast--and it wasn't a bad feast, at all. there isn't room in me for even you, and i don't regret it because i judge, from your green color, that you are not ripe, and would make an indifferent meal. we jaguars have to be careful of our digestions. farewell, friend monkey. follow the path i made through the bushes and you will find your friends." with this the jaguar marched on his way and woot took his advice and followed the trail he had made until he came to the place where the little brown bear, and the tin owl, and the canary were conferring together and wondering what had become of their comrade, the green monkey. chapter ten tommy kwikstep "our best plan," said the scarecrow bear, when the green monkey had related the story of his adventure with the dragons, "is to get out of this gillikin country as soon as we can and try to find our way to the castle of glinda, the good sorceress. there are too many dangers lurking here to suit me, and glinda may be able to restore us to our proper forms." "if we turn south now," the tin owl replied, "we might go straight into the emerald city. that's a place i wish to avoid, for i'd hate to have my friends see me in this sad plight," and he blinked his eyes and fluttered his tin wings mournfully. "but i am certain we have passed beyond emerald city," the canary assured him, sailing lightly around their heads. "so, should we turn south from here, we would pass into the munchkin country, and continuing south we would reach the quadling country where glinda's castle is located." "well, since you're sure of that, let's start right away," proposed the bear. "it's a long journey, at the best, and i'm getting tired of walking on four legs." "i thought you never tired, being stuffed with straw," said woot. "i mean that it annoys me, to be obliged to go on all fours, when two legs are my proper walking equipment," replied the scarecrow. "i consider it beneath my dignity. in other words, my remarkable brains can tire, through humiliation, although my body cannot tire." "that is one of the penalties of having brains," remarked the tin owl with a sigh. "i have had no brains since i was a man of meat, and so i never worry. nevertheless, i prefer my former manly form to this owl's shape and would be glad to break mrs. yoop's enchantment as soon as possible. i am so noisy, just now, that i disturb myself," and he fluttered his wings with a clatter that echoed throughout the forest. so, being all of one mind, they turned southward, traveling steadily on until the woods were left behind and the landscape turned from purple tints to blue tints, which assured them they had entered the country of the munchkins. "now i feel myself more safe," said the scarecrow bear. "i know this country pretty well, having been made here by a munchkin farmer and having wandered over these lovely blue lands many times. seems to me, indeed, that i even remember that group of three tall trees ahead of us; and, if i do, we are not far from the home of my friend jinjur." "who is jinjur?" asked woot, the green monkey. "haven't you heard of jinjur?" exclaimed the scarecrow, in surprise. "no," said woot. "is jinjur a man, a woman, a beast or a bird?" "jinjur is a girl," explained the scarecrow bear. "she's a fine girl, too, although a bit restless and liable to get excited. once, a long time ago, she raised an army of girls and called herself 'general jinjur.' with her army she captured the emerald city, and drove me out of it, because i insisted that an army in oz was highly improper. but ozma punished the rash girl, and afterward jinjur and i became fast friends. now jinjur lives peacefully on a farm, near here, and raises fields of cream-puffs, chocolate-caramels and macaroons. they say she's a pretty good farmer, and in addition to that she's an artist, and paints pictures so perfect that one can scarcely tell them from nature. she often repaints my face for me, when it gets worn or mussy, and the lovely expression i wore when the giantess transformed me was painted by jinjur only a month or so ago." "it was certainly a pleasant expression," agreed woot. "jinjur can paint anything," continued the scarecrow bear, with enthusiasm, as they walked along together. "once, when i came to her house, my straw was old and crumpled, so that my body sagged dreadfully. i needed new straw to replace the old, but jinjur had no straw on all her ranch and i was really unable to travel farther until i had been restuffed. when i explained this to jinjur, the girl at once painted a straw-stack which was so natural that i went to it and secured enough straw to fill all my body. it was a good quality of straw, too, and lasted me a long time." this seemed very wonderful to woot, who knew that such a thing could never happen in any place but a fairy country like oz. the munchkin country was much nicer than the gillikin country, and all the fields were separated by blue fences, with grassy lanes and paths of blue ground, and the land seemed well cultivated. they were on a little hill looking down upon this favored country, but had not quite reached the settled parts, when on turning a bend in the path they were halted by a form that barred their way. a more curious creature they had seldom seen, even in the land of oz, where curious creatures abound. it had the head of a young man--evidently a munchkin--with a pleasant face and hair neatly combed. but the body was very long, for it had twenty legs--ten legs on each side--and this caused the body to stretch out and lie in a horizontal position, so that all the legs could touch the ground and stand firm. from the shoulders extended two small arms; at least, they seemed small beside so many legs. this odd creature was dressed in the regulation clothing of the munchkin people, a dark blue coat neatly fitting the long body and each pair of legs having a pair of sky-blue trousers, with blue-tinted stockings and blue leather shoes turned up at the pointed toes. "i wonder who you are?" said polychrome the canary, fluttering above the strange creature, who had probably been asleep on the path. "i sometimes wonder, myself, who i am," replied the many-legged young man; "but, in reality, i am tommy kwikstep, and i live in a hollow tree that fell to the ground with age. i have polished the inside of it, and made a door at each end, and that's a very comfortable residence for me because it just fits my shape." "how did you happen to have such a shape?" asked the scarecrow bear, sitting on his haunches and regarding tommy kwikstep with a serious look. "is the shape natural?" "no; it was wished on me," replied tommy, with a sigh. "i used to be very active and loved to run errands for anyone who needed my services. that was how i got my name of tommy kwikstep. i could run an errand more quickly than any other boy, and so i was very proud of myself. one day, however, i met an old lady who was a fairy, or a witch, or something of the sort, and she said if i would run an errand for her--to carry some magic medicine to another old woman--she would grant me just one wish, whatever the wish happened to be. of course i consented and, taking the medicine, i hurried away. it was a long distance, mostly up hill, and my legs began to grow weary. without thinking what i was doing i said aloud: 'dear me; i wish i had twenty legs!' and in an instant i became the unusual creature you see beside you. twenty legs! twenty on one man! you may count them, if you doubt my word." "you've got 'em, all right," said woot the monkey, who had already counted them. "after i had delivered the magic medicine to the old woman, i returned and tried to find the witch, or fairy, or whatever she was, who had given me the unlucky wish, so she could take it away again. i've been searching for her ever since, but never can i find her," continued poor tommy kwikstep, sadly. "i suppose," said the tin owl, blinking at him, "you can travel very fast, with those twenty legs." "at first i was able to," was the reply; "but i traveled so much, searching for the fairy, or witch, or whatever she was, that i soon got corns on my toes. now, a corn on one toe is not so bad, but when you have a hundred toes--as i have--and get corns on most of them, it is far from pleasant. instead of running, i now painfully crawl, and although i try not to be discouraged i do hope i shall find that witch or fairy, or whatever she was, before long." "i hope so, too," said the scarecrow. "but, after all, you have the pleasure of knowing you are unusual, and therefore remarkable among the people of oz. to be just like other persons is small credit to one, while to be unlike others is a mark of distinction." "that sounds very pretty," returned tommy kwikstep, "but if you had to put on ten pair of trousers every morning, and tie up twenty shoes, you would prefer not to be so distinguished." "was the witch, or fairy, or whatever she was, an old person, with wrinkled skin and half her teeth gone?" inquired the tin owl. "no," said tommy kwikstep. "then she wasn't old mombi," remarked the transformed emperor. "i'm not interested in who it wasn't, so much as i am in who it was," said the twenty-legged young man. "and, whatever or whomsoever she was, she has managed to keep out of my way." "if you found her, do you suppose she'd change you back into a two-legged boy?" asked woot. "perhaps so, if i could run another errand for her and so earn another wish." "would you really like to be as you were before?" asked polychrome the canary, perching upon the green monkey's shoulder to observe tommy kwikstep more attentively. "i would, indeed," was the earnest reply. "then i will see what i can do for you," promised the rainbow's daughter, and flying to the ground she took a small twig in her bill and with it made several mystic figures on each side of tommy kwikstep. "are you a witch, or fairy, or something of the sort?" he asked as he watched her wonderingly. the canary made no answer, for she was busy, but the scarecrow bear replied: "yes; she's something of the sort, and a bird of a magician." the twenty-legged boy's transformation happened so queerly that they were all surprised at its method. first, tommy kwikstep's last two legs disappeared; then the next two, and the next, and as each pair of legs vanished his body shortened. all this while polychrome was running around him and chirping mystical words, and when all the young man's legs had disappeared but two he noticed that the canary was still busy and cried out in alarm: "stop--stop! leave me two of my legs, or i shall be worse off than before." "i know," said the canary. "i'm only removing with my magic the corns from your last ten toes." "thank you for being so thoughtful," he said gratefully, and now they noticed that tommy kwikstep was quite a nice looking young fellow. "what will you do now?" asked woot the monkey. "first," he answered, "i must deliver a note which i've carried in my pocket ever since the witch, or fairy, or whatever she was, granted my foolish wish. and i am resolved never to speak again without taking time to think carefully on what i am going to say, for i realize that speech without thought is dangerous. and after i've delivered the note, i shall run errands again for anyone who needs my services." so he thanked polychrome again and started away in a different direction from their own, and that was the last they saw of tommy kwikstep. chapter eleven jinjur's ranch as they followed a path down the blue-grass hillside, the first house that met the view of the travelers was joyously recognized by the scarecrow bear as the one inhabited by his friend jinjur, so they increased their speed and hurried toward it. on reaching the place, how ever, they found the house deserted. the front door stood open, but no one was inside. in the garden surrounding the house were neat rows of bushes bearing cream-puffs and macaroons, some of which were still green, but others ripe and ready to eat. farther back were fields of caramels, and all the land seemed well cultivated and carefully tended. they looked through the fields for the girl farmer, but she was nowhere to be seen. "well," finally remarked the little brown bear, "let us go into the house and make ourselves at home. that will be sure to please my friend jinjur, who happens to be away from home just now. when she returns, she will be greatly surprised." "would she care if i ate some of those ripe cream-puffs?" asked the green monkey. "no, indeed; jinjur is very generous. help yourself to all you want," said the scarecrow bear. so woot gathered a lot of the cream-puffs that were golden yellow and filled with a sweet, creamy substance, and ate until his hunger was satisfied. then he entered the house with his friends and sat in a rocking-chair--just as he was accustomed to do when a boy. the canary perched herself upon the mantel and daintily plumed her feathers; the tin owl sat on the back of another chair; the scarecrow squatted on his hairy haunches in the middle of the room. "i believe i remember the girl jinjur," remarked the canary, in her sweet voice. "she cannot help us very much, except to direct us on our way to glinda's castle, for she does not understand magic. but she's a good girl, honest and sensible, and i'll be glad to see her." "all our troubles," said the owl with a deep sigh, "arose from my foolish resolve to seek nimmie amee and make her empress of the winkies, and while i wish to reproach no one, i must say that it was woot the wanderer who put the notion into my head." "well, for my part, i am glad he did," responded the canary. "your journey resulted in saving me from the giantess, and had you not traveled to the yoop valley, i would still be mrs. yoop's prisoner. it is much nicer to be free, even though i still bear the enchanted form of a canary-bird." "do you think we shall ever be able to get our proper forms back again?" asked the green monkey earnestly. polychrome did not make reply at once to this important question, but after a period of thoughtfulness she said: "i have been taught to believe that there is an antidote for every magic charm, yet mrs. yoop insists that no power can alter her transformations. i realize that my own fairy magic cannot do it, although i have thought that we sky fairies have more power than is accorded to earth fairies. the yookoohoo magic is admitted to be very strange in its workings and different from the magic usually practiced, but perhaps glinda or ozma may understand it better than i. in them lies our only hope. unless they can help us, we must remain forever as we are." "a canary-bird on a rainbow wouldn't be so bad," asserted the tin owl, winking and blinking with his round tin eyes, "so if you can manage to find your rainbow again you need have little to worry about." "that's nonsense, friend chopper," exclaimed woot. "i know just how polychrome feels. a beautiful girl is much superior to a little yellow bird, and a boy--such as i was--far better than a green monkey. neither of us can be happy again unless we recover our rightful forms." "i feel the same way," announced the stuffed bear. "what do you suppose my friend the patchwork girl would think of me, if she saw me wearing this beastly shape?" "she'd laugh till she cried," admitted the tin owl. "for my part, i'll have to give up the notion of marrying nimmie amee, but i'll try not to let that make me unhappy. if it's my duty, i'd like to do my duty, but if magic prevents my getting married i'll flutter along all by myself and be just as contented." their serious misfortunes made them all silent for a time, and as their thoughts were busy in dwelling upon the evils with which fate had burdened them, none noticed that jinjur had suddenly appeared in the doorway and was looking at them in astonishment. the next moment her astonishment changed to anger, for there, in her best rocking-chair, sat a green monkey. a great shiny owl perched upon another chair and a brown bear squatted upon her parlor rug. jinjur did not notice the canary, but she caught up a broomstick and dashed into the room, shouting as she came: "get out of here, you wild creatures! how dare you enter my house?" with a blow of her broom she knocked the brown bear over, and the tin owl tried to fly out of her reach and made a great clatter with his tin wings. the green monkey was so startled by the sudden attack that he sprang into the fireplace--where there was fortunately no fire--and tried to escape by climbing up the chimney. but he found the opening too small, and so was forced to drop down again. then he crouched trembling in the fireplace, his pretty green hair all blackened with soot and covered with ashes. from this position woot watched to see what would happen next. "stop, jinjur--stop!" cried the brown bear, when the broom again threatened him. "don't you know me? i'm your old friend the scarecrow?" "you're trying to deceive me, you naughty beast! i can see plainly that you are a bear, and a mighty poor specimen of a bear, too," retorted the girl. "that's because i'm not properly stuffed," he assured her. "when mrs. yoop transformed me, she didn't realize i should have more stuffing." "who is mrs. yoop?" inquired jinjur, pausing with the broom still upraised. "a giantess in the gillikin country." "oh; i begin to understand. and mrs. yoop transformed you? you are really the famous scarecrow of oz." "i was, jinjur. just now i'm as you see me--a miserable little brown bear with a poor quality of stuffing. that tin owl is none other than our dear tin woodman--nick chopper, the emperor of the winkies--while this green monkey is a nice little boy we recently became acquainted with, woot the wanderer." "and i," said the canary, flying close to jinjur, "am polychrome, the daughter of the rainbow, in the form of a bird." "goodness me!" cried jinjur, amazed; "that giantess must be a powerful sorceress, and as wicked as she is powerful." "she's a yookoohoo," said polychrome. "fortunately, we managed to escape from her castle, and we are now on our way to glinda the good to see if she possesses the power to restore us to our former shapes." "then i must beg your pardons; all of you must forgive me," said jinjur, putting away the broom. "i took you to be a lot of wild, unmannerly animals, as was quite natural. you are very welcome to my home and i'm sorry i haven't the power to help you out of your troubles. please use my house and all that i have, as if it were your own." at this declaration of peace, the bear got upon his feet and the owl resumed his perch upon the chair and the monkey crept out of the fireplace. jinjur looked at woot critically, and scowled. "for a green monkey," said she, "you're the blackest creature i ever saw. and you'll get my nice clean room all dirty with soot and ashes. whatever possessed you to jump up the chimney?" "i--i was scared," explained woot, somewhat ashamed. "well, you need renovating, and that's what will happen to you, right away. come with me!" she commanded. "what are you going to do?" asked woot. "give you a good scrubbing," said jinjur. now, neither boys nor monkeys relish being scrubbed, so woot shrank away from the energetic girl, trembling fearfully. but jinjur grabbed him by his paw and dragged him out to the back yard, where, in spite of his whines and struggles, she plunged him into a tub of cold water and began to scrub him with a stiff brush and a cake of yellow soap. this was the hardest trial that woot had endured since he became a monkey, but no protest had any influence with jinjur, who lathered and scrubbed him in a business-like manner and afterward dried him with a coarse towel. the bear and the owl gravely watched this operation and nodded approval when woot's silky green fur shone clear and bright in the afternoon sun. the canary seemed much amused and laughed a silvery ripple of laughter as she said: "very well done, my good jinjur; i admire your energy and judgment. but i had no idea a monkey could look so comical as this monkey did while he was being bathed." "i'm not a monkey!" declared woot, resentfully; "i'm just a boy in a monkey's shape, that's all." "if you can explain to me the difference," said jinjur, "i'll agree not to wash you again--that is, unless you foolishly get into the fireplace. all persons are usually judged by the shapes in which they appear to the eyes of others. look at me, woot; what am i?" woot looked at her. "you're as pretty a girl as i've ever seen," he replied. jinjur frowned. that is, she tried hard to frown. "come out into the garden with me," she said, "and i'll give you some of the most delicious caramels you ever ate. they're a new variety, that no one can grow but me, and they have a heliotrope flavor." chapter twelve ozma and dorothy in her magnificent palace in the emerald city, the beautiful girl ruler of all the wonderful land of oz sat in her dainty boudoir with her friend princess dorothy beside her. ozma was studying a roll of manuscript which she had taken from the royal library, while dorothy worked at her embroidery and at times stooped to pat a shaggy little black dog that lay at her feet. the little dog's name was toto, and he was dorothy's faithful companion. to judge ozma of oz by the standards of our world, you would think her very young--perhaps fourteen or fifteen years of age--yet for years she had ruled the land of oz and had never seemed a bit older. dorothy appeared much younger than ozma. she had been a little girl when first she came to the land of oz, and she was a little girl still, and would never seem to be a day older while she lived in this wonderful fairyland. oz was not always a fairyland, i am told. once it was much like other lands, except it was shut in by a dreadful desert of sandy wastes that lay all around it, thus preventing its people from all contact with the rest of the world. seeing this isolation, the fairy band of queen lurline, passing over oz while on a journey, enchanted the country and so made it a fairyland. and queen lurline left one of her fairies to rule this enchanted land of oz, and then passed on and forgot all about it. from that moment no one in oz ever died. those who were old remained old; those who were young and strong did not change as years passed them by; the children remained children always, and played and romped to their hearts' content, while all the babies lived in their cradles and were tenderly cared for and never grew up. so people in oz stopped counting how old they were in years, for years made no difference in their appearance and could not alter their station. they did not get sick, so there were no doctors among them. accidents might happen to some, on rare occasions, it is true, and while no one could die naturally, as other people do, it was possible that one might be totally destroyed. such incidents, however, were very unusual, and so seldom was there anything to worry over that the oz people were as happy and contented as can be. another strange thing about this fairy land of oz was that whoever managed to enter it from the outside world came under the magic spell of the place and did not change in appearance as long as they lived there. so dorothy, who now lived with ozma, seemed just the same sweet little girl she had been when first she came to this delightful fairyland. perhaps all parts of oz might not be called truly delightful, but it was surely delightful in the neighborhood of the emerald city, where ozma reigned. her loving influence was felt for many miles around, but there were places in the mountains of the gillikin country, and the forests of the quadling country, and perhaps in far-away parts of the munchkin and winkie countries, where the inhabitants were somewhat rude and uncivilized and had not yet come under the spell of ozma's wise and kindly rule. also, when oz first became a fairyland, it harbored several witches and magicians and sorcerers and necromancers, who were scattered in various parts, but most of these had been deprived of their magic powers, and ozma had issued a royal edict forbidding anyone in her dominions to work magic except glinda the good and the wizard of oz. ozma herself, being a real fairy, knew a lot of magic, but she only used it to benefit her subjects. this little explanation will help you to understand better the story you are reaching, but most of it is already known to those who are familiar with the oz people whose adventures they have followed in other oz books. ozma and dorothy were fast friends and were much together. everyone in oz loved dorothy almost as well as they did their lovely ruler, for the little kansas girl's good fortune had not spoiled her or rendered her at all vain. she was just the same brave and true and adventurous child as before she lived in a royal palace and became the chum of the fairy ozma. in the room in which the two sat--which was one of ozma's private suite of apartments--hung the famous magic picture. this was the source of constant interest to little dorothy. one had but to stand before it and wish to see what any person was doing, and at once a scene would flash upon the magic canvas which showed exactly where that person was, and like our own moving pictures would reproduce the actions of that person as long as you cared to watch them. so today, when dorothy tired of her embroidery, she drew the curtains from before the magic picture and wished to see what her friend button bright was doing. button bright, she saw, was playing ball with ojo, the munchkin boy, so dorothy next wished to see what her aunt em was doing. the picture showed aunt em quietly engaged in darning socks for uncle henry, so dorothy wished to see what her old friend the tin woodman was doing. the tin woodman was then just leaving his tin castle in the company of the scarecrow and woot the wanderer. dorothy had never seen this boy before, so she wondered who he was. also she was curious to know where the three were going, for she noticed woot's knapsack and guessed they had started on a long journey. she asked ozma about it, but ozma did not know. that afternoon dorothy again saw the travelers in the magic picture, but they were merely tramping through the country and dorothy was not much interested in them. a couple of days later, however, the girl, being again with ozma, wished to see her friends, the scarecrow and the tin woodman in the magic picture, and on this occasion found them in the great castle of mrs. yoop, the giantess, who was at the time about to transform them. both dorothy and ozma now became greatly interested and watched the transformations with indignation and horror. "what a wicked giantess!" exclaimed dorothy. "yes," answered ozma, "she must be punished for this cruelty to our friends, and to the poor boy who is with them." after this they followed the adventure of the little brown bear and the tin owl and the green monkey with breathless interest, and were delighted when they escaped from mrs. yoop. they did not know, then, who the canary was, but realized it must be the transformation of some person of consequence, whom the giantess had also enchanted. when, finally, the day came when the adventurers headed south into the munchkin country, dorothy asked anxiously: "can't something be done for them, ozma? can't you change 'em back into their own shapes? they've suffered enough from these dreadful transformations, seems to me." "i've been studying ways to help them, ever since they were transformed," replied ozma. "mrs. yoop is now the only yookoohoo in my dominions, and the yookoohoo magic is very peculiar and hard for others to understand, yet i am resolved to make the attempt to break these enchantments. i may not succeed, but i shall do the best i can. from the directions our friends are taking, i believe they are going to pass by jinjur's ranch, so if we start now we may meet them there. would you like to go with me, dorothy?" "of course," answered the little girl; "i wouldn't miss it for anything." "then order the red wagon," said ozma of oz, "and we will start at once." dorothy ran to do as she was bid, while ozma went to her magic room to make ready the things she believed she would need. in half an hour the red wagon stood before the grand entrance of the palace, and before it was hitched the wooden sawhorse, which was ozma's favorite steed. this sawhorse, while made of wood, was very much alive and could travel swiftly and without tiring. to keep the ends of his wooden legs from wearing down short, ozma had shod the sawhorse with plates of pure gold. his harness was studded with brilliant emeralds and other jewels and so, while he himself was not at all handsome, his outfit made a splendid appearance. since the sawhorse could understand her spoken words, ozma used no reins to guide him. she merely told him where to go. when she came from the palace with dorothy, they both climbed into the red wagon and then the little dog, toto, ran up and asked: "are you going to leave me behind, dorothy?" dorothy looked at ozma, who smiled in return and said: "toto may go with us, if you wish him to." so dorothy lifted the little dog into the wagon, for, while he could run fast, he could not keep up with the speed of the wonderful sawhorse. away they went, over hills and through meadows, covering the ground with astonishing speed. it is not surprising, therefore, that the red wagon arrived before jinjur's house just as that energetic young lady had finished scrubbing the green monkey and was about to lead him to the caramel patch. chapter thirteen the restoration the tin owl gave a hoot of delight when he saw the red wagon draw up before jinjur's house, and the brown bear grunted and growled with glee and trotted toward ozma as fast as he could wobble. as for the canary, it flew swiftly to dorothy's shoulder and perched there, saying in her ear: "thank goodness you have come to our rescue!" "but who are you?" asked dorothy "don't you know?" returned the canary. "no; for the first time we noticed you in the magic picture, you were just a bird, as you are now. but we've guessed that the giant woman had transformed you, as she did the others." "yes; i'm polychrome, the rainbow's daughter," announced the canary. "goodness me!" cried dorothy. "how dreadful." "well, i make a rather pretty bird, i think," returned polychrome, "but of course i'm anxious to resume my own shape and get back upon my rainbow." "ozma will help you, i'm sure," said dorothy. "how does it feel, scarecrow, to be a bear?" she asked, addressing her old friend. "i don't like it," declared the scarecrow bear. "this brutal form is quite beneath the dignity of a wholesome straw man." "and think of me," said the owl, perching upon the dashboard of the red wagon with much noisy clattering of his tin feathers. "don't i look horrid, dorothy, with eyes several sizes too big for my body, and so weak that i ought to wear spectacles?" "well," said dorothy critically, as she looked him over, "you're nothing to brag of, i must confess. but ozma will soon fix you up again." the green monkey had hung back, bashful at meeting two lovely girls while in the form of a beast; but jinjur now took his hand and led him forward while she introduced him to ozma, and woot managed to make a low bow, not really ungraceful, before her girlish majesty, the ruler of oz. "you have all been forced to endure a sad experience," said ozma, "and so i am anxious to do all in my power to break mrs. yoop's enchantments. but first tell me how you happened to stray into that lonely valley where yoop castle stands." between them they related the object of their journey, the scarecrow bear telling of the tin woodman's resolve to find nimmie amee and marry her, as a just reward for her loyalty to him. woot told of their adventures with the loons of loonville, and the tin owl described the manner in which they had been captured and transformed by the giantess. then polychrome related her story, and when all had been told, and dorothy had several times reproved toto for growling at the tin owl, ozma remained thoughtful for a while, pondering upon what she had heard. finally she looked up, and with one of her delightful smiles, said to the anxious group: "i am not sure my magic will be able to restore every one of you, because your transformations are of such a strange and unusual character. indeed, mrs. yoop was quite justified in believing no power could alter her enchantments. however, i am sure i can restore the scarecrow to his original shape. he was stuffed with straw from the beginning, and even the yookoohoo magic could not alter that. the giantess was merely able to make a bear's shape of a man's shape, but the bear is stuffed with straw, just as the man was. so i feel confident i can make a man of the bear again." "hurrah!" cried the brown bear, and tried clumsily to dance a jig of delight. "as for the tin woodman, his case is much the same," resumed ozma, still smiling. "the power of the giantess could not make him anything but a tin creature, whatever shape she transformed him into, so it will not be impossible to restore him to his manly form. anyhow, i shall test my magic at once, and see if it will do what i have promised." she drew from her bosom a small silver wand and, making passes with the wand over the head of the bear, she succeeded in the brief space of a moment in breaking his enchantment. the original scarecrow of oz again stood before them, well stuffed with straw and with his features nicely painted upon the bag which formed his head. the scarecrow was greatly delighted, as you may suppose, and he strutted proudly around while the powerful fairy, ozma of oz, broke the enchantment that had transformed the tin woodman and made a tin owl into a tin man again. "now, then," chirped the canary, eagerly; "i'm next, ozma!" "but your case is different," replied ozma, no longer smiling but wearing a grave expression on her sweet face. "i shall have to experiment on you, polychrome, and i may fail in all my attempts." she then tried two or three different methods of magic, hoping one of them would succeed in breaking polychrome's enchantment, but still the rainbow's daughter remained a canary-bird. finally, however, she experimented in another way. she transformed the canary into a dove, and then transformed the dove into a speckled hen, and then changed the speckled hen into a rabbit, and then the rabbit into a fawn. and at the last, after mixing several powders and sprinkling them upon the fawn, the yookoohoo enchantment was suddenly broken and before them stood one of the daintiest and loveliest creatures in any fairyland in the world. polychrome was as sweet and merry in disposition as she was beautiful, and when she danced and capered around in delight, her beautiful hair floated around her like a golden mist and her many-hued raiment, as soft as cobwebs, reminded one of drifting clouds in a summer sky. woot was so awed by the entrancing sight of this exquisite sky fairy that he quite forgot his own sad plight until be noticed ozma gazing upon him with an intent expression that denoted sympathy and sorrow. dorothy whispered in her friend's ear, but the ruler of oz shook her head sadly. jinjur, noticing this and understanding ozma's looks, took the paw of the green monkey in her own hand and patted it softly. "never mind," she said to him. "you are a very beautiful color, and a monkey can climb better than a boy and do a lot of other things no boy can ever do." "what's the matter?" asked woot, a sinking feeling at his heart. "is ozma's magic all used up?" ozma herself answered him. "your form of enchantment, my poor boy," she said pityingly, "is different from that of the others. indeed, it is a form that is impossible to alter by any magic known to fairies or yookoohoos. the wicked giantess was well aware, when she gave you the form of a green monkey, that the green monkey must exist in the land of oz for all future time." woot drew a long sigh. "well, that's pretty hard luck," he said bravely, "but if it can't be helped i must endure it; that's all. i don't like being a monkey, but what's the use of kicking against my fate?" they were all very sorry for him, and dorothy anxiously asked ozma: "couldn't glinda save him?" "no," was the reply. "glinda's power in transformations is no greater than my own. before i left my palace i went to my magic room and studied woot's case very carefully. i found that no power can do away with the green monkey. he might transfer, or exchange his form with some other person, it is true; but the green monkey we cannot get rid of by any magic arts known to science." "but--see here," said the scarecrow, who had listened intently to this explanation, "why not put the monkey's form on some one else?" "who would agree to make the change?" asked ozma. "if by force we caused anyone else to become a green monkey, we would be as cruel and wicked as mrs. yoop. and what good would an exchange do?" she continued. "suppose, for instance, we worked the enchantment, and made toto into a green monkey. at the same moment woot would become a little dog." "leave me out of your magic, please," said toto, with a reproachful growl. "i wouldn't become a green monkey for anything." "and i wouldn't become a dog," said woot. "a green monkey is much better than a dog, it seems to me." "that is only a matter of opinion," answered toto. "now, here's another idea," said the scarecrow. "my brains are working finely today, you must admit. why not transform toto into woot the wanderer, and then have them exchange forms? the dog would become a green monkey and the monkey would have his own natural shape again." "to be sure!" cried jinjur. "that's a fine idea." "leave me out of it," said toto. "i won't do it." "wouldn't you be willing to become a green monkey--see what a pretty color it is--so that this poor boy could be restored to his own shape?" asked jinjur, pleadingly. "no," said toto. "i don't like that plan the least bit," declared dorothy, "for then i wouldn't have any little dog." "but you'd have a green monkey in his place," persisted jinjur, who liked woot and wanted to help him. "i don't want a green monkey," said dorothy positively. "don't speak of this again, i beg of you," said woot. "this is my own misfortune and i would rather suffer it alone than deprive princess dorothy of her dog, or deprive the dog of his proper shape. and perhaps even her majesty, ozma of oz, might not be able to transform anyone else into the shape of woot the wanderer." "yes; i believe i might do that," ozma returned; "but woot is quite right; we are not justified in inflicting upon anyone--man or dog--the form of a green monkey. also it is certain that in order to relieve the boy of the form he now wears, we must give it to someone else, who would be forced to wear it always." "i wonder," said dorothy, thoughtfully, "if we couldn't find someone in the land of oz who would be willing to become a green monkey? seems to me a monkey is active and spry, and he can climb trees and do a lot of clever things, and green isn't a bad color for a monkey--it makes him unusual." "i wouldn't ask anyone to take this dreadful form," said woot; "it wouldn't be right, you know. i've been a monkey for some time, now, and i don't like it. it makes me ashamed to be a beast of this sort when by right of birth i'm a boy; so i'm sure it would be wicked to ask anyone else to take my place." they were all silent, for they knew he spoke the truth. dorothy was almost ready to cry with pity and ozma's sweet face was sad and disturbed. the scarecrow rubbed and patted his stuffed head to try to make it think better, while the tin woodman went into the house and began to oil his tin joints so that the sorrow of his friends might not cause him to weep. weeping is liable to rust tin, and the emperor prided himself upon his highly polished body--now doubly dear to him because for a time he had been deprived of it. polychrome had danced down the garden paths and back again a dozen times, for she was seldom still a moment, yet she had heard ozma's speech and understood very well woot's unfortunate position. but the rainbow's daughter, even while dancing, could think and reason very clearly, and suddenly she solved the problem in the nicest possible way. coming close to ozma, she said: "your majesty, all this trouble was caused by the wickedness of mrs. yoop, the giantess. yet even now that cruel woman is living in her secluded castle, enjoying the thought that she has put this terrible enchantment on woot the wanderer. even now she is laughing at our despair because we can find no way to get rid of the green monkey. very well, we do not wish to get rid of it. let the woman who created the form wear it herself, as a just punishment for her wickedness. i am sure your fairy power can give to mrs. yoop the form of woot the wanderer--even at this distance from her--and then it will be possible to exchange the two forms. mrs. yoop will become the green monkey, and woot will recover his own form again." ozma's face brightened as she listened to this clever proposal. "thank you, polychrome," said she. "the task you propose is not so easy as you suppose, but i will make the attempt, and perhaps i may succeed." chapter fourteen the green monkey they now entered the house, and as an interested group, watched jinjur, at ozma's command, build a fire and put a kettle of water over to boil. the ruler of oz stood before the fire silent and grave, while the others, realizing that an important ceremony of magic was about to be performed, stood quietly in the background so as not to interrupt ozma's proceedings. only polychrome kept going in and coming out, humming softly to herself as she danced, for the rainbow's daughter could not keep still for long, and the four walls of a room always made her nervous and ill at ease. she moved so noiselessly, however, that her movements were like the shifting of sunbeams and did not annoy anyone. when the water in the kettle bubbled, ozma drew from her bosom two tiny packets containing powders. these powders she threw into the kettle and after briskly stirring the contents with a branch from a macaroon bush, ozma poured the mystic broth upon a broad platter which jinjur had placed upon the table. as the broth cooled it became as silver, reflecting all objects from its smooth surface like a mirror. while her companions gathered around the table, eagerly attentive--and dorothy even held little toto in her arms that he might see--ozma waved her wand over the mirror-like surface. at once it reflected the interior of yoop castle, and in the big hall sat mrs. yoop, in her best embroidered silken robes, engaged in weaving a new lace apron to replace the one she had lost. the giantess seemed rather uneasy, as if she had a faint idea that someone was spying upon her, for she kept looking behind her and this way and that, as though expecting danger from an unknown source. perhaps some yookoohoo instinct warned her. woot saw that she had escaped from her room by some of the magical means at her disposal, after her prisoners had escaped her. she was now occupying the big hall of her castle as she used to do. also woot thought, from the cruel expression on the face of the giantess, that she was planning revenge on them, as soon as her new magic apron was finished. but ozma was now making passes over the platter with her silver wand, and presently the form of the giantess began to shrink in size and to change its shape. and now, in her place sat the form of woot the wanderer, and as if suddenly realizing her transformation mrs. yoop threw down her work and rushed to a looking-glass that stood against the wall of her room. when she saw the boy's form reflected as her own, she grew violently angry and dashed her head against the mirror, smashing it to atoms. just then ozma was busy with her magic wand, making strange figures, and she had also placed her left hand firmly upon the shoulder of the green monkey. so now, as all eyes were turned upon the platter, the form of mrs. yoop gradually changed again. she was slowly transformed into the green monkey, and at the same time woot slowly regained his natural form. it was quite a surprise to them all when they raised their eyes from the platter and saw woot the wanderer standing beside ozma. and, when they glanced at the platter again, it reflected nothing more than the walls of the room in jinjur's house in which they stood. the magic ceremonial was ended, and ozma of oz had triumphed over the wicked giantess. "what will become of her, i wonder?" said dorothy, as she drew a long breath. "she will always remain a green monkey," replied ozma, "and in that form she will be unable to perform any magical arts whatsoever. she need not be unhappy, however, and as she lives all alone in her castle she probably won't mind the transformation very much after she gets used to it." "anyhow, it serves her right," declared dorothy, and all agreed with her. "but," said the kind hearted tin woodman, "i'm afraid the green monkey will starve, for mrs. yoop used to get her food by magic, and now that the magic is taken away from her, what can she eat?" "why, she'll eat what other monkeys do," returned the scarecrow. "even in the form of a green monkey, she's a very clever person, and i'm sure her wits will show her how to get plenty to eat." "don't worry about her," advised dorothy. "she didn't worry about you, and her condition is no worse than the condition she imposed on poor woot. she can't starve to death in the land of oz, that's certain, and if she gets hungry at times it's no more than the wicked thing deserves. let's forget mrs. yoop; for, in spite of her being a yookoohoo, our fairy friends have broken all of her transformations." chapter fifteen the man of tin ozma and dorothy were quite pleased with woot the wanderer, whom they found modest and intelligent and very well mannered. the boy was truly grateful for his release from the cruel enchantment, and he promised to love, revere and defend the girl ruler of oz forever afterward, as a faithful subject. "you may visit me at my palace, if you wish," said ozma, "where i will be glad to introduce you to two other nice boys, ojo the munchkin and button-bright." "thank your majesty," replied woot, and then he turned to the tin woodman and inquired: "what are your further plans, mr. emperor? will you still seek nimmie amee and marry her, or will you abandon the quest and return to the emerald city and your own castle?" the tin woodman, now as highly polished and well-oiled as ever, reflected a while on this question and then answered: "well, i see no reason why i should not find nimmie amee. we are now in the munchkin country, where we are perfectly safe, and if it was right for me, before our enchantment, to marry nimmie amee and make her empress of the winkies, it must be right now, when the enchantment has been broken and i am once more myself. am i correct, friend scarecrow?" "you are, indeed," answered the scarecrow. "no one can oppose such logic." "but i'm afraid you don't love nimmie amee," suggested dorothy. "that is just because i can't love anyone," replied the tin woodman. "but, if i cannot love my wife, i can at least be kind to her, and all husbands are not able to do that." "do you s'pose nimmie amee still loves you, after all these years?" asked dorothy. "i'm quite sure of it, and that is why i am going to her to make her happy. woot the wanderer thinks i ought to reward her for being faithful to me after my meat body was chopped to pieces and i became tin. what do you think, ozma?" ozma smiled as she said: "i do not know your nimmie amee, and so i cannot tell what she most needs to make her happy. but there is no harm in your going to her and asking her if she still wishes to marry you. if she does, we will give you a grand wedding at the emerald city and, afterward, as empress of the winkies, nimmie amee would become one of the most important ladies in all oz." so it was decided that the tin woodman would continue his journey, and that the scarecrow and woot the wanderer should accompany him, as before. polychrome also decided to join their party, somewhat to the surprise of all. "i hate to be cooped up in a palace," she said to ozma, "and of course the first time i meet my rainbow i shall return to my own dear home in the skies, where my fairy sisters are even now awaiting me and my father is cross because i get lost so often. but i can find my rainbow just as quickly while traveling in the munchkin country as i could if living in the emerald city--or any other place in oz--so i shall go with the tin woodman and help him woo nimmie amee." dorothy wanted to go, too, but as the tin woodman did not invite her to join his party, she felt she might be intruding if she asked to be taken. she hinted, but she found he didn't take the hint. it is quite a delicate matter for one to ask a girl to marry him, however much she loves him, and perhaps the tin woodman did not desire to have too many looking on when he found his old sweetheart, nimmie amee. so dorothy contented herself with the thought that she would help ozma prepare a splendid wedding feast, to be followed by a round of parties and festivities when the emperor of the winkies reached the emerald city with his bride. ozma offered to take them all in the red wagon to a place as near to the great munchkin forest as a wagon could get. the red wagon was big enough to seat them all, and so, bidding good-bye to jinjur, who gave woot a basket of ripe cream-puffs and caramels to take with him, ozma commanded the wooden sawhorse to start, and the strange creature moved swiftly over the lanes and presently came to the road of yellow bricks. this road led straight to a dense forest, where the path was too narrow for the red wagon to proceed farther, so here the party separated. ozma and dorothy and toto returned to the emerald city, after wishing their friends a safe and successful journey, while the tin woodman, the scarecrow, woot the wanderer and polychrome, the rainbow's daughter, prepared to push their way through the thick forest. however, these forest paths were well known to the tin man and the scarecrow, who felt quite at home among the trees. "i was born in this grand forest," said nick chopper, the tin emperor, speaking proudly, "and it was here that the witch enchanted my axe and i lost different parts of my meat body until i became all tin. here, also--for it is a big forest--nimmie amee lived with the wicked witch, and at the other edge of the trees stands the cottage of my friend ku-klip, the famous tinsmith who made my present beautiful form." "he must be a clever workman," declared woot, admiringly. "he is simply wonderful," declared the tin woodman. "i shall be glad to make his acquaintance," said woot. "if you wish to meet with real cleverness," remarked the scarecrow, "you should visit the munchkin farmer who first made me. i won't say that my friend the emperor isn't all right for a tin man, but any judge of beauty can understand that a scarecrow is far more artistic and refined." "you are too soft and flimsy," said the tin woodman. "you are too hard and stiff," said the scarecrow, and this was as near to quarreling as the two friends ever came. polychrome laughed at them both, as well she might, and woot hastened to change the subject. at night they all camped underneath the trees. the boy ate cream-puffs for supper and offered polychrome some, but she preferred other food and at daybreak sipped the dew that was clustered thick on the forest flowers. then they tramped onward again, and presently the scarecrow paused and said: "it was on this very spot that dorothy and i first met the tin woodman, who was rusted so badly that none of his joints would move. but after we had oiled him up, he was as good as new and accompanied us to the emerald city." "ah, that was a sad experience," asserted the tin woodman soberly. "i was caught in a rainstorm while chopping down a tree for exercise, and before i realized it, i was firmly rusted in every joint. there i stood, axe in hand, but unable to move, for days and weeks and months! indeed, i have never known exactly how long the time was; but finally along came dorothy and i was saved. see! this is the very tree i was chopping at the time i rusted." "you cannot be far from your old home, in that case," said woot. "no; my little cabin stands not a great way off, but there is no occasion for us to visit it. our errand is with nimmie amee, and her house is somewhat farther away, to the left of us." "didn't you say she lives with a wicked witch, who makes her a slave?" asked the boy. "she did, but she doesn't," was the reply. "i am told the witch was destroyed when dorothy's house fell on her, so now nimmie amee must live all alone. i haven't seen her, of course, since the witch was crushed, for at that time i was standing rusted in the forest and had been there a long time, but the poor girl must have felt very happy to be free from her cruel mistress." "well," said the scarecrow, "let's travel on and find nimmie amee. lead on, your majesty, since you know the way, and we will follow." so the tin woodman took a path that led through the thickest part of the forest, and they followed it for some time. the light was dim here, because vines and bushes and leafy foliage were all about them, and often the tin man had to push aside the branches that obstructed their way, or cut them off with his axe. after they had proceeded some distance, the emperor suddenly stopped short and exclaimed: "good gracious!" the scarecrow, who was next, first bumped into his friend and then peered around his tin body, and said in a tone of wonder: "well, i declare!" woot the wanderer pushed forward to see what was the matter, and cried out in astonishment: "for goodness' sake!" then the three stood motionless, staring hard, until polychrome's merry laughter rang out behind them and aroused them from their stupor. in the path before them stood a tin man who was the exact duplicate of the tin woodman. he was of the same size, he was jointed in the same manner, and he was made of shining tin from top to toe. but he stood immovable, with his tin jaws half parted and his tin eyes turned upward. in one of his hands was held a long, gleaming sword. yes, there was the difference, the only thing that distinguished him from the emperor of the winkies. this tin man bore a sword, while the tin woodman bore an axe. "it's a dream; it must be a dream!" gasped woot. "that's it, of course," said the scarecrow; "there couldn't be two tin woodmen." "no," agreed polychrome, dancing nearer to the stranger, "this one is a tin soldier. don't you see his sword?" the tin woodman cautiously put out one tin hand and felt of his double's arm. then he said in a voice that trembled with emotion: "who are you, friend?" there was no reply "can't you see he's rusted, just as you were once?" asked polychrome, laughing again. "here, nick chopper, lend me your oil-can a minute!" the tin woodman silently handed her his oil-can, without which he never traveled, and polychrome first oiled the stranger's tin jaws and then worked them gently to and fro until the tin soldier said: "that's enough. thank you. i can now talk. but please oil my other joints." woot seized the oil-can and did this, but all the others helped wiggle the soldier's joints as soon as they were oiled, until they moved freely. the tin soldier seemed highly pleased at his release. he strutted up and down the path, saying in a high, thin voice: "the soldier is a splendid man when marching on parade, and when he meets the enemy he never is afraid. he rights the wrongs of nations, his country's flag defends, the foe he'll fight with great delight, but seldom fights his friends." chapter sixteen captain fyter "are you really a soldier?" asked woot, when they had all watched this strange tin person parade up and down the path and proudly flourish his sword. "i was a soldier," was the reply, "but i've been a prisoner to mr. rust so long that i don't know exactly what i am." "but--dear me!" cried the tin woodman, sadly perplexed; "how came you to be made of tin?" "that," answered the soldier, "is a sad, sad story i was in love with a beautiful munchkin girl, who lived with a wicked witch. the witch did not wish me to marry the girl, so she enchanted my sword, which began hacking me to pieces. when i lost my legs i went to the tinsmith, ku-klip, and he made me some tin legs. when i lost my arms, ku-klip made me tin arms, and when i lost my head he made me this fine one out of tin. it was the same way with my body, and finally i was all tin. but i was not unhappy, for ku-klip made a good job of me, having had experience in making another tin man before me." "yes," observed the tin woodman, "it was ku-klip who made me. but, tell me, what was the name of the munchkin girl you were in love with?" "she is called nimmie amee," said the tin soldier. hearing this, they were all so astonished that they were silent for a time, regarding the stranger with wondering looks. finally the tin woodman ventured to ask: "and did nimmie amee return your love?" "not at first," admitted the soldier. "when first i marched into the forest and met her, she was weeping over the loss of her former sweetheart, a woodman whose name was nick chopper." "that is me," said the tin woodman. "she told me he was nicer than a soldier, because he was all made of tin and shone beautifully in the sun. she said a tin man appealed to her artistic instincts more than an ordinary meat man, as i was then. but i did not despair, because her tin sweetheart had disappeared, and could not be found. and finally nimmie amee permitted me to call upon her and we became friends. it was then that the wicked witch discovered me and became furiously angry when i said i wanted to marry the girl. she enchanted my sword, as i said, and then my troubles began. when i got my tin legs, nimmie amee began to take an interest in me; when i got my tin arms, she began to like me better than ever, and when i was all made of tin, she said i looked like her dear nick chopper and she would be willing to marry me. "the day of our wedding was set, and it turned out to be a rainy day. nevertheless i started out to get nimmie amee, because the witch had been absent for some time, and we meant to elope before she got back. as i traveled the forest paths the rain wetted my joints, but i paid no attention to this because my thoughts were all on my wedding with beautiful nimmie amee and i could think of nothing else until suddenly my legs stopped moving. then my arms rusted at the joints and i became frightened and cried for help, for now i was unable to oil myself. no one heard my calls and before long my jaws rusted, and i was unable to utter another sound. so i stood helpless in this spot, hoping some wanderer would come my way and save me. but this forest path is seldom used, and i have been standing here so long that i have lost all track of time. in my mind i composed poetry and sang songs, but not a sound have i been able to utter. but this desperate condition has now been relieved by your coming my way and i must thank you for my rescue." "this is wonderful!" said the scarecrow, heaving a stuffy, long sigh. "i think ku-klip was wrong to make two tin men, just alike, and the strangest thing of all is that both you tin men fell in love with the same girl." "as for that," returned the soldier, seriously, "i must admit i lost my ability to love when i lost my meat heart. ku-klip gave me a tin heart, to be sure, but it doesn't love anything, as far as i can discover, and merely rattles against my tin ribs, which makes me wish i had no heart at all." "yet, in spite of this condition, you were going to marry nimmie amee?" "well, you see i had promised to marry her, and i am an honest man and always try to keep my promises. i didn't like to disappoint the poor girl, who had been disappointed by one tin man already." "that was not my fault," declared the emperor of the winkies, and then he related how he, also, had rusted in the forest and after a long time had been rescued by dorothy and the scarecrow and had traveled with them to the emerald city in search of a heart that could love. "if you have found such a heart, sir," said the soldier, "i will gladly allow you to marry nimmie amee in my place." "if she loves you best, sir," answered the woodman, "i shall not interfere with your wedding her. for, to be quite frank with you, i cannot yet love nimmie amee as i did before i became tin." "still, one of you ought to marry the poor girl," remarked woot; "and, if she likes tin men, there is not much choice between you. why don't you draw lots for her?" "that wouldn't be right," said the scarecrow. "the girl should be permitted to choose her own husband," asserted polychrome. "you should both go to her and allow her to take her choice. then she will surely be happy." "that, to me, seems a very fair arrangement," said the tin soldier. "i agree to it," said the tin woodman, shaking the hand of his twin to show the matter was settled. "may i ask your name, sir?" he continued. "before i was so cut up," replied the other, "i was known as captain fyter, but afterward i was merely called 'the tin soldier.'" "well, captain, if you are agreeable, let us now go to nimmie amee's house and let her choose between us." "very well; and if we meet the witch, we will both fight her--you with your axe and i with my sword." "the witch is destroyed," announced the scarecrow, and as they walked away he told the tin soldier of much that had happened in the land of oz since he had stood rusted in the forest. "i must have stood there longer than i had imagined," he said thoughtfully. chapter seventeen the workshop of ku-klip it was not more than a two hours' journey to the house where nimmie amee had lived, but when our travelers arrived there they found the place deserted. the door was partly off its hinges, the roof had fallen in at the rear and the interior of the cottage was thick with dust. not only was the place vacant, but it was evident that no one had lived there for a long time. "i suppose," said the scarecrow, as they all stood looking wonderingly at the ruined house, "that after the wicked witch was destroyed, nimmie amee became lonely and went somewhere else to live." "one could scarcely expect a young girl to live all alone in a forest," added woot. "she would want company, of course, and so i believe she has gone where other people live." "and perhaps she is still crying her poor little heart out because no tin man comes to marry her," suggested polychrome. "well, in that case, it is the clear duty of you two tin persons to seek nimmie amee until you find her," declared the scarecrow. "i do not know where to look for the girl," said the tin soldier, "for i am almost a stranger to this part of the country." "i was born here," said the tin woodman, "but the forest has few inhabitants except the wild beasts. i cannot think of anyone living near here with whom nimmie amee might care to live." "why not go to ku-klip and ask him what has become of the girl?" proposed polychrome. that struck them all as being a good suggestion, so once more they started to tramp through the forest, taking the direct path to ku-klip's house, for both the tin twins knew the way, having followed it many times. ku-klip lived at the far edge of the great forest, his house facing the broad plains of the munchkin country that lay to the eastward. but, when they came to this residence by the forest's edge, the tinsmith was not at home. it was a pretty place, all painted dark blue with trimmings of lighter blue. there was a neat blue fence around the yard and several blue benches had been placed underneath the shady blue trees which marked the line between forest and plain. there was a blue lawn before the house, which was a good sized building. ku-klip lived in the front part of the house and had his work-shop in the back part, where he had also built a lean-to addition, in order to give him more room. although they found the tinsmith absent on their arrival, there was smoke coming out of his chimney, which proved that he would soon return. "and perhaps nimmie amee will be with him," said the scarecrow in a cheerful voice. while they waited, the tin woodman went to the door of the workshop and, finding it unlocked, entered and looked curiously around the room where he had been made. "it seems almost like home to me," hie told his friends, who had followed him in. "the first time i came here i had lost a leg, so i had to carry it in my hand while i hopped on the other leg all the way from the place in the forest where the enchanted axe cut me. i remember that old ku-klip carefully put my meat leg into a barrel--i think that is the same barrel, still standing in the corner yonder--and then at once he began to make a tin leg for me. he worked fast and with skill, and i was much interested in the job." "my experience was much the same," said the tin soldier. "i used to bring all the parts of me, which the enchanted sword had cut away, here to the tinsmith, and ku-klip would put them into the barrel." "i wonder," said woot, "if those cast-off parts of you two unfortunates are still in that barrel in the corner?" "i suppose so." replied the tin woodman. "in the land of oz no part of a living creature can ever be destroyed." "if that is true, how was that wicked witch destroyed?" inquired woot. "why, she was very old and was all dried up and withered before oz became a fairyland," explained the scarecrow. "only her magic arts had kept her alive so long, and when dorothy's house fell upon her she just turned to dust, and was blown away and scattered by the wind. i do not think, however, that the parts cut away from these two young men could ever be entirely destroyed and, if they are still in those barrels, they are likely to be just the same as when the enchanted axe or sword severed them." "it doesn't matter, however," said the tin woodman; "our tin bodies are more brilliant and durable, and quite satisfy us." "yes, the tin bodies are best," agreed the tin soldier. "nothing can hurt them." "unless they get dented or rusted," said woot, but both the tin men frowned on him. scraps of tin, of all shapes and sizes, lay scattered around the workshop. also there were hammers and anvils and soldering irons and a charcoal furnace and many other tools such as a tinsmith works with. against two of the side walls had been built stout work-benches and in the center of the room was a long table. at the end of the shop, which adjoined the dwelling, were several cupboards. after examining the interior of the workshop until his curiosity was satisfied, woot said: "i think i will go outside until ku-klip comes. it does not seem quite proper for us to take possession of his house while he is absent." "that is true," agreed the scarecrow, and they were all about to leave the room when the tin woodman said: "wait a minute," and they halted in obedience to the command. chapter eighteen the tin woodman talks to himself the tin woodman had just noticed the cupboards and was curious to know what they contained, so he went to one of them and opened the door. there were shelves inside, and upon one of the shelves which was about on a level with his tin chin the emperor discovered a head--it looked like a doll's head, only it was larger, and he soon saw it was the head of some person. it was facing the tin woodman and as the cupboard door swung back, the eyes of the head slowly opened and looked at him. the tin woodman was not at all surprised, for in the land of oz one runs into magic at every turn. "dear me!" said the tin woodman, staring hard. "it seems as if i had met you, somewhere, before. good morning, sir!" "you have the advantage of me," replied the head. "i never saw you before in my life." "still, your face is very familiar," persisted the tin woodman. "pardon me, but may i ask if you--eh--eh--if you ever had a body?" "yes, at one time," answered the head, "but that is so long ago i can't remember it. did you think," with a pleasant smile, "that i was born just as i am? that a head would be created without a body?" "no, of course not," said the other. "but how came you to lose your body?" "well, i can't recollect the details; you'll have to ask ku-klip about it," returned the head. "for, curious as it may seem to you, my memory is not good since my separation from the rest of me. i still possess my brains and my intellect is as good as ever, but my memory of some of the events i formerly experienced is quite hazy." "how long have you been in this cupboard?" asked the emperor. "i don't know." "haven't you a name?" "oh, yes," said the head; "i used to be called nick chopper, when i was a woodman and cut down trees for a living." "good gracious!" cried the tin woodman in astonishment. "if you are nick chopper's head, then you are me--or i'm you--or--or--what relation are we, anyhow?" "don't ask me," replied the head. "for my part, i'm not anxious to claim relationship with any common, manufactured article, like you. you may be all right in your class, but your class isn't my class. you're tin." the poor emperor felt so bewildered that for a time he could only stare at his old head in silence. then he said: "i must admit that i wasn't at all bad looking before i became tin. you're almost handsome--for meat. if your hair was combed, you'd be quite attractive." "how do you expect me to comb my hair without help?" demanded the head, indignantly. "i used to keep it smooth and neat, when i had arms, but after i was removed from the rest of me, my hair got mussed, and old ku-klip never has combed it for me." "i'll speak to him about it," said the tin woodman. "do you remember loving a pretty munchkin girl named nimmie amee?" "no," answered the head. "that is a foolish question. the heart in my body--when i had a body--might have loved someone, for all i know, but a head isn't made to love; it's made to think." "oh; do you think, then?" "i used to think." "you must have been shut up in this cupboard for years and years. what have you thought about, in all that time?" "nothing. that's another foolish question. a little reflection will convince you that i have had nothing to think about, except the boards on the inside of the cupboard door, and it didn't take me long to think of everything about those boards that could be thought of. then, of course, i quit thinking." "and are you happy?" "happy? what's that?" "don't you know what happiness is?" inquired the tin woodman. "i haven't the faintest idea whether it's round or square, or black or white, or what it is. and, if you will pardon my lack of interest in it, i will say that i don't care." the tin woodman was much puzzled by these answers. his traveling companions had grouped themselves at his back, and had fixed their eyes on the head and listened to the conversation with much interest, but until now, they had not interrupted because they thought the tin woodman had the best right to talk to his own head and renew acquaintance with it. but now the tin soldier remarked: "i wonder if my old head happens to be in any of these cupboards," and he proceeded to open all the cupboard doors. but no other head was to be found on any of the shelves. "oh, well; never mind," said woot the wanderer; "i can't imagine what anyone wants of a cast-off head, anyhow." "i can understand the soldier's interest," asserted polychrome, dancing around the grimy workshop until her draperies formed a cloud around her dainty form. "for sentimental reasons a man might like to see his old head once more, just as one likes to revisit an old home." "and then to kiss it good-bye," added the scarecrow. "i hope that tin thing won't try to kiss me good-bye!" exclaimed the tin woodman's former head. "and i don't see what right you folks have to disturb my peace and comfort, either." "you belong to me," the tin woodman declared. "i do not!" "you and i are one." "we've been parted," asserted the head. "it would be unnatural for me to have any interest in a man made of tin. please close the door and leave me alone." "i did not think that my old head could be so disagreeable," said the emperor. "i--i'm quite ashamed of myself; meaning you." "you ought to be glad that i've enough sense to know what my rights are," retorted the head. "in this cupboard i am leading a simple life, peaceful and dignified, and when a mob of people in whom i am not interested disturb me, they are the disagreeable ones; not i." with a sigh the tin woodman closed and latched the cupboard door and turned away. "well," said the tin soldier, "if my old head would have treated me as coldly and in so unfriendly a manner as your old head has treated you, friend chopper, i'm glad i could not find it." "yes; i'm rather surprised at my head, myself," replied the tin woodman, thoughtfully. "i thought i had a more pleasant disposition when i was made of meat." but just then old ku-klip the tinsmith arrived, and he seemed surprised to find so many visitors. ku-klip was a stout man and a short man. he had his sleeves rolled above his elbows, showing muscular arms, and he wore a leathern apron that covered all the front of him, and was so long that woot was surprised he didn't step on it and trip whenever he walked. and ku-klip had a gray beard that was almost as long as his apron, and his head was bald on top and his ears stuck out from his head like two fans. over his eyes, which were bright and twinkling, he wore big spectacles. it was easy to see that the tinsmith was a kind hearted man, as well as a merry and agreeable one. "oh-ho!" he cried in a joyous bass voice; "here are both my tin men come to visit me, and they and their friends are welcome indeed. i'm very proud of you two characters, i assure you, for you are so perfect that you are proof that i'm a good workman. sit down. sit down, all of you--if you can find anything to sit on--and tell me why you are here." so they found seats and told him all of their adventures that they thought he would like to know. ku-klip was glad to learn that nick chopper, the tin woodman, was now emperor of the winkies and a friend of ozma of oz, and the tinsmith was also interested in the scarecrow and polychrome. he turned the straw man around, examining him curiously, and patted him on all sides, and then said: "you are certainly wonderful, but i think you would be more durable and steady on your legs if you were made of tin. would you like me to--" "no, indeed!" interrupted the scarecrow hastily; "i like myself better as i am." but to polychrome the tinsmith said: "nothing could improve you, my dear, for you are the most beautiful maiden i have ever seen. it is pure happiness just to look at you." "that is praise, indeed, from so skillful a workman," returned the rainbow's daughter, laughing and dancing in and out the room. "then it must be this boy you wish me to help," said ku-klip, looking at woot. "no," said woot, "we are not here to seek your skill, but have merely come to you for information." then, between them, they related their search for nimmie amee, whom the tin woodman explained he had resolved to marry, yet who had promised to become the bride of the tin soldier before he unfortunately became rusted. and when the story was told, they asked ku-klip if he knew what had become of nimmie amee. "not exactly," replied the old man, "but i know that she wept bitterly when the tin soldier did not come to marry her, as he had promised to do. the old witch was so provoked at the girl's tears that she beat nimmie amee with her crooked stick and then hobbled away to gather some magic herbs, with which she intended to transform the girl into an old hag, so that no one would again love her or care to marry her. it was while she was away on this errand that dorothy's house fell on the wicked witch, and she turned to dust and blew away. when i heard this good news, i sent nimmie amee to find the silver shoes which the witch had worn, but dorothy had taken them with her to the emerald city." "yes, we know all about those silver shoes," said the scarecrow. "well," continued ku-klip, "after that, nimmie amee decided to go away from the forest and live with some people she was acquainted with who had a house on mount munch. i have never seen the girl since." "do you know the name of the people on mount munch, with whom she went to live?" asked the tin woodman. "no, nimmie amee did not mention her friend's name, and i did not ask her. she took with her all that she could carry of the goods that were in the witch's house, and she told me i could have the rest. but when i went there i found nothing worth taking except some magic powders that i did not know how to use, and a bottle of magic glue." "what is magic glue?" asked woot. "it is a magic preparation with which to mend people when they cut themselves. one time, long ago, i cut off one of my fingers by accident, and i carried it to the witch, who took down her bottle and glued it on again for me. see!" showing them his finger, "it is as good as ever it was. no one else that i ever heard of had this magic glue, and of course when nick chopper cut himself to pieces with his enchanted axe and captain fyter cut himself to pieces with his enchanted sword, the witch would not mend them, or allow me to glue them together, because she had herself wickedly enchanted the axe and sword. nothing remained but for me to make them new parts out of tin; but, as you see, tin answered the purpose very well, and i am sure their tin bodies are a great improvement on their meat bodies." "very true," said the tin soldier. "i quite agree with you," said the tin woodman. "i happened to find my old head in your cupboard, a while ago, and certainly it is not as desirable a head as the tin one i now wear." "by the way," said the tin soldier, "what ever became of my old head, ku-klip?" "and of the different parts of our bodies?" added the tin woodman. "let me think a minute," replied ku-klip. "if i remember right, you two boys used to bring me most of your parts, when they were cut off, and i saved them in that barrel in the corner. you must not have brought me all the parts, for when i made chopfyt i had hard work finding enough pieces to complete the job. i finally had to finish him with one arm." "who is chopfyt?" inquired woot. "oh, haven't i told you about chopfyt?" exclaimed ku-klip. "of course not! and he's quite a curiosity, too. you'll be interested in hearing about chopfyt. this is how he happened: "one day, after the witch had been destroyed and nimmie amee had gone to live with her friends on mount munch, i was looking around the shop for something and came upon the bottle of magic glue which i had brought from the old witch's house. it occurred to me to piece together the odds and ends of you two people, which of course were just as good as ever, and see if i couldn't make a man out of them. if i succeeded, i would have an assistant to help me with my work, and i thought it would be a clever idea to put to some practical use the scraps of nick chopper and captain fyter. there were two perfectly good heads in my cupboard, and a lot of feet and legs and parts of bodies in the barrel, so i set to work to see what i could do. "first, i pieced together a body, gluing it with the witch's magic glue, which worked perfectly. that was the hardest part of my job, however, because the bodies didn't match up well and some parts were missing. but by using a piece of captain fyter here and a piece of nick chopper there, i finally got together a very decent body, with heart and all the trimmings complete." "whose heart did you use in making the body?" asked the tin woodman anxiously. "i can't tell, for the parts had no tags on them and one heart looks much like another. after the body was completed, i glued two fine legs and feet onto it. one leg was nick chopper's and one was captain fyter's and, finding one leg longer than the other, i trimmed it down to make them match. i was much disappointed to find that i had but one arm. there was an extra leg in the barrel, but i could find only one arm. having glued this onto the body, i was ready for the head, and i had some difficulty in making up my mind which head to use. finally i shut my eyes and reached out my hand toward the cupboard shelf, and the first head i touched i glued upon my new man." "it was mine!" declared the tin soldier, gloomily. "no, it was mine," asserted ku-klip, "for i had given you another in exchange for it--the beautiful tin head you now wear. when the glue had dried, my man was quite an interesting fellow. i named him chopfyt, using a part of nick chopper's name and a part of captain fyter's name, because he was a mixture of both your cast-off parts. chopfyt was interesting, as i said, but he did not prove a very agreeable companion. he complained bitterly because i had given him but one arm--as if it were my fault!--and he grumbled because the suit of blue munchkin clothes, which i got for him from a neighbor, did not fit him perfectly." "ah, that was because he was wearing my old head," remarked the tin soldier. "i remember that head used to be very particular about its clothes." "as an assistant," the old tinsmith continued, "chopfyt was not a success. he was awkward with tools and was always hungry. he demanded something to eat six or eight times a day, so i wondered if i had fitted his insides properly. indeed, chopfyt ate so much that little food was left for myself; so, when he proposed, one day, to go out into the world and seek adventures, i was delighted to be rid of him. i even made him a tin arm to take the place of the missing one, and that pleased him very much, so that we parted good friends." "what became of chopfyt after that?" the scarecrow inquired. "i never heard. he started off toward the east, into the plains of the munchkin country, and that was the last i ever saw of him." "it seems to me," said the tin woodman reflectively, "that you did wrong in making a man out of our cast-off parts. it is evident that chopfyt could, with justice, claim relationship with both of us." "don't worry about that," advised ku-klip cheerfully; "it is not likely that you will ever meet the fellow. and, if you should meet him, he doesn't know who he is made of, for i never told him the secret of his manufacture. indeed, you are the only ones who know of it, and you may keep the secret to yourselves, if you wish to." "never mind chopfyt," said the scarecrow. "our business now is to find poor nimmie amee and let her choose her tin husband. to do that, it seems, from the information ku-klip has given us, we must travel to mount munch." "if that's the programme, let us start at once," suggested woot. so they all went outside, where they found polychrome dancing about among the trees and talking with the birds and laughing as merrily as if she had not lost her rainbow and so been separated from all her fairy sisters. they told her they were going to mount munch, and she replied: "very well; i am as likely to find my rainbow there as here, and any other place is as likely as there. it all depends on the weather. do you think it looks like rain?" they shook their heads, and polychrome laughed again and danced on after them when they resumed their journey. chapter nineteen the invisible country they were proceeding so easily and comfortably on their way to mount munch that woot said in a serious tone of voice: "i'm afraid something is going to happen." "why?" asked polychrome, dancing around the group of travelers. "because," said the boy, thoughtfully, "i've noticed that when we have the least reason for getting into trouble, something is sure to go wrong. just now the weather is delightful; the grass is beautifully blue and quite soft to our feet; the mountain we are seeking shows clearly in the distance and there is no reason anything should happen to delay us in getting there. our troubles all seem to be over, and--well, that's why i'm afraid," he added, with a sigh. "dear me!" remarked the scarecrow, "what unhappy thoughts you have, to be sure. this is proof that born brains cannot equal manufactured brains, for my brains dwell only on facts and never borrow trouble. when there is occasion for my brains to think, they think, but i would be ashamed of my brains if they kept shooting out thoughts that were merely fears and imaginings, such as do no good, but are likely to do harm." "for my part," said the tin woodman, "i do not think at all, but allow my velvet heart to guide me at all times." "the tinsmith filled my hollow head with scraps and clippings of tin," said the soldier, "and he told me they would do nicely for brains, but when i begin to think, the tin scraps rattle around and get so mixed that i'm soon bewildered. so i try not to think. my tin heart is almost as useless to me, for it is hard and cold, so i'm sure the red velvet heart of my friend nick chopper is a better guide." "thoughtless people are not unusual," observed the scarecrow, "but i consider them more fortunate than those who have useless or wicked thoughts and do not try to curb them. your oil can, friend woodman, is filled with oil, but you only apply the oil to your joints, drop by drop, as you need it, and do not keep spilling it where it will do no good. thoughts should be restrained in the same way as your oil, and only applied when necessary, and for a good purpose. if used carefully, thoughts are good things to have." polychrome laughed at him, for the rainbow's daughter knew more about thoughts than the scarecrow did. but the others were solemn, feeling they had been rebuked, and tramped on in silence. suddenly woot, who was in the lead, looked around and found that all his comrades had mysteriously disappeared. but where could they have gone to? the broad plain was all about him and there were neither trees nor bushes that could hide even a rabbit, nor any hole for one to fall into. yet there he stood, alone. surprise had caused him to halt, and with a thoughtful and puzzled expression on his face he looked down at his feet. it startled him anew to discover that he had no feet. he reached out his hands, but he could not see them. he could feel his hands and arms and body; he stamped his feet on the grass and knew they were there, but in some strange way they had become invisible. while woot stood, wondering, a crash of metal sounded in his ears and he heard two heavy bodies tumble to the earth just beside him. "good gracious!" exclaimed the voice of the tin woodman. "mercy me!" cried the voice of the tin soldier. "why didn't you look where you were going?" asked the tin woodman reproachfully. "i did, but i couldn't see you," said the tin soldier. "something has happened to my tin eyes. i can't see you, even now, nor can i see anyone else!" "it's the same way with me," admitted the tin woodman. woot couldn't see either of them, although he heard them plainly, and just then something smashed against him unexpectedly and knocked him over; but it was only the straw-stuffed body of the scarecrow that fell upon him and while he could not see the scarecrow he managed to push him off and rose to his feet just as polychrome whirled against him and made him tumble again. sitting upon the ground, the boy asked: "can you see us, poly?" "no, indeed," answered the rainbow's daughter; "we've all become invisible." "how did it happen, do you suppose?" inquired the scarecrow, lying where he had fallen. "we have met with no enemy," answered poly-chrome, "so it must be that this part of the country has the magic quality of making people invisible--even fairies falling under the charm. we can see the grass, and the flowers, and the stretch of plain before us, and we can still see mount munch in the distance; but we cannot see ourselves or one another." "well, what are we to do about it?" demanded woot. "i think this magic affects only a small part of the plain," replied polychrome; "perhaps there is only a streak of the country where an enchantment makes people become invisible. so, if we get together and hold hands, we can travel toward mount munch until the enchanted streak is passed." "all right," said woot, jumping up, "give me your hand, polychrome. where are you?" "here," she answered. "whistle, woot, and keep whistling until i come to you." so woot whistled, and presently polychrome found him and grasped his hand. "someone must help me up," said the scarecrow, lying near them; so they found the straw man and sat him upon his feet, after which he held fast to polychrome's other hand. nick chopper and the tin soldier had managed to scramble up without assistance, but it was awkward for them and the tin woodman said: "i don't seem to stand straight, somehow. but my joints all work, so i guess i can walk." guided by his voice, they reached his side, where woot grasped his tin fingers so they might keep together. the tin soldier was standing near by and the scarecrow soon touched him and took hold of his arm. "i hope you're not wobbly," said the straw man, "for if two of us walk unsteadily we will be sure to fall." "i'm not wobbly," the tin soldier assured him, "but i'm certain that one of my legs is shorter than the other. i can't see it, to tell what's gone wrong, but i'll limp on with the rest of you until we are out of this enchanted territory." they now formed a line, holding hands, and turning their faces toward mount munch resumed their journey. they had not gone far, however, when a terrible growl saluted their ears. the sound seemed to come from a place just in front of them, so they halted abruptly and remained silent, listening with all their ears. "i smell straw!" cried a hoarse, harsh voice, with more growls and snarls. "i smell straw, and i'm a hip-po-gy-raf who loves straw and eats all he can find. i want to eat this straw! where is it? where is it?" the scarecrow, hearing this, trembled but kept silent. all the others were silent, too, hoping that the invisible beast would be unable to find them. but the creature sniffed the odor of the straw and drew nearer and nearer to them until he reached the tin woodman, on one end of the line. it was a big beast and it smelled of the tin woodman and grated two rows of enormous teeth against the emperor's tin body. "bah! that's not straw," said the harsh voice, and the beast advanced along the line to woot. "meat! pooh, you're no good! i can't eat meat," grumbled the beast, and passed on to polychrome. "sweetmeats and perfume--cobwebs and dew! nothing to eat in a fairy like you," said the creature. now, the scarecrow was next to polychrome in the line, and he realized if the beast devoured his straw he would be helpless for a long time, because the last farmhouse was far behind them and only grass covered the vast expanse of plain. so in his fright he let go of polychrome's hand and put the hand of the tin soldier in that of the rainbow's daughter. then he slipped back of the line and went to the other end, where he silently seized the tin woodman's hand. meantime, the beast had smelled the tin soldier and found he was the last of the line. "that's funny!" growled the hip-po-gy-raf; "i can smell straw, but i can't find it. well, it's here, somewhere, and i must hunt around until i do find it, for i'm hungry." his voice was now at the left of them, so they started on, hoping to avoid him, and traveled as fast as they could in the direction of mount munch. "i don't like this invisible country," said woot with a shudder. "we can't tell how many dreadful, invisible beasts are roaming around us, or what danger we'll come to next." "quit thinking about danger, please," said the scarecrow, warningly. "why?" asked the boy. "if you think of some dreadful thing, it's liable to happen, but if you don't think of it, and no one else thinks of it, it just can't happen. do you see?" "no," answered woot. "i won't be able to see much of anything until we escape from this enchantment." but they got out of the invisible strip of country as suddenly as they had entered it, and the instant they got out they stopped short, for just before them was a deep ditch, running at right angles as far as their eyes could see and stopping all further progress toward mount munch. "it's not so very wide," said woot, "but i'm sure none of us can jump across it." polychrome began to laugh, and the scarecrow said: "what's the matter?" "look at the tin men!" she said, with another burst of merry laughter. woot and the scarecrow looked, and the tin men looked at themselves. "it was the collision," said the tin woodman regretfully. "i knew something was wrong with me, and now i can see that my side is dented in so that i lean over toward the left. it was the soldier's fault; he shouldn't have been so careless." "it is your fault that my right leg is bent, making it shorter than the other, so that i limp badly," retorted the soldier. "you shouldn't have stood where i was walking." "you shouldn't have walked where i was standing," replied the tin woodman. it was almost a quarrel, so polychrome said soothingly: "never mind, friends; as soon as we have time i am sure we can straighten the soldier's leg and get the dent out of the woodman's body. the scarecrow needs patting into shape, too, for he had a bad tumble, but our first task is to get over this ditch." "yes, the ditch is the most important thing, just now," added woot. they were standing in a row, looking hard at the unexpected barrier, when a fierce growl from behind them made them all turn quickly. out of the invisible country marched a huge beast with a thick, leathery skin and a surprisingly long neck. the head on the top of this neck was broad and flat and the eyes and mouth were very big and the nose and ears very small. when the head was drawn down toward the beast's shoulders, the neck was all wrinkles, but the head could shoot up very high indeed, if the creature wished it to. "dear me!" exclaimed the scarecrow, "this must be the hip-po-gy-raf." "quite right," said the beast; "and you're the straw which i'm to eat for my dinner. oh, how i love straw! i hope you don't resent my affectionate appetite?" with its four great legs it advanced straight toward the scarecrow, but the tin woodman and the tin soldier both sprang in front of their friend and flourished their weapons. "keep off!" said the tin woodman, warningly, "or i'll chop you with my axe." "keep off!" said the tin soldier, "or i'll cut you with my sword." "would you really do that?" asked the hip-po-gy-raf, in a disappointed voice. "we would," they both replied, and the tin woodman added: "the scarecrow is our friend, and he would be useless without his straw stuffing. so, as we are comrades, faithful and true, we will defend our friend's stuffing against all enemies." the hip-po-gy-raf sat down and looked at them sorrowfully. "when one has made up his mind to have a meal of delicious straw, and then finds he can't have it, it is certainly hard luck," he said. "and what good is the straw man to you, or to himself, when the ditch keeps you from going any further?" "well, we can go back again," suggested woot. "true," said the hip-po; "and if you do, you'll be as disappointed as i am. that's some comfort, anyhow." the travelers looked at the beast, and then they looked across the ditch at the level plain beyond. on the other side the grass had grown tall, and the sun had dried it, so there was a fine crop of hay that only needed to be cut and stacked. "why don't you cross over and eat hay?" the boy asked the beast. "i'm not fond of hay," replied the hip-po-gy-raf; "straw is much more delicious, to my notion, and it's more scarce in this neighborhood, too. also i must confess that i can't get across the ditch, for my body is too heavy and clumsy for me to jump the distance. i can stretch my neck across, though, and you will notice that i've nibbled the hay on the farther edge--not because i liked it, but because one must eat, and if one can't get the sort of food he desires, he must take what is offered or go hungry." "ah, i see you are a philosopher," remarked the scarecrow. "no, i'm just a hip-po-gy-raf," was the reply. polychrome was not afraid of the big beast. she danced close to him and said: "if you can stretch your neck across the ditch, why not help us over? we can sit on your big head, one at a time, and then you can lift us across." "yes; i can, it is true," answered the hip-po; "but i refuse to do it. unless--" he added, and stopped short. "unless what?" asked polychrome. "unless you first allow me to eat the straw with which the scarecrow is stuffed." "no," said the rainbow's daughter, "that is too high a price to pay. our friend's straw is nice and fresh, for he was restuffed only a little while ago." "i know," agreed the hip-po-gy-raf. "that's why i want it. if it was old, musty straw, i wouldn't care for it." "please lift us across," pleaded polychrome. "no," replied the beast; "since you refuse my generous offer, i can be as stubborn as you are." after that they were all silent for a time, but then the scarecrow said bravely: "friends, let us agree to the beast's terms. give him my straw, and carry the rest of me with you across the ditch. once on the other side, the tin soldier can cut some of the hay with his sharp sword, and you can stuff me with that material until we reach a place where there is straw. it is true i have been stuffed with straw all my life and it will be somewhat humiliating to be filled with common hay, but i am willing to sacrifice my pride in a good cause. moreover, to abandon our errand and so deprive the great emperor of the winkies--or this noble soldier--of his bride, would be equally humiliating, if not more so." "you're a very honest and clever man!" exclaimed the hip-po-gy-raf, admiringly. "when i have eaten your head, perhaps i also will become clever." "you're not to eat my head, you know," returned the scarecrow hastily. "my head isn't stuffed with straw and i cannot part with it. when one loses his head he loses his brains." "very well, then; you may keep your head," said the beast. the scarecrow's companions thanked him warmly for his loyal sacrifice to their mutual good, and then he laid down and permitted them to pull the straw from his body. as fast as they did this, the hip-po-gy-raf ate up the straw, and when all was consumed polychrome made a neat bundle of the clothes and boots and gloves and hat and said she would carry them, while woot tucked the scarecrow's head under his arm and promised to guard its safety. "now, then," said the tin woodman, "keep your promise, beast, and lift us over the ditch." "m-m-m-mum, but that was a fine dinner!" said the hip-po, smacking his thick lips in satisfaction, "and i'm as good as my word. sit on my head, one at a time, and i'll land you safely on the other side." he approached close to the edge of the ditch and squatted down. polychrome climbed over his big body and sat herself lightly upon the flat head, holding the bundle of the scarecrow's raiment in her hand. slowly the elastic neck stretched out until it reached the far side of the ditch, when the beast lowered his head and permitted the beautiful fairy to leap to the ground. woot made the queer journey next, and then the tin soldier and the tin woodman went over, and all were well pleased to have overcome this serious barrier to their progress. "now, soldier, cut the hay," said the scarecrow's head, which was still held by woot the wanderer. "i'd like to, but i can't stoop over, with my bent leg, without falling," replied captain fyter. "what can we do about that leg, anyhow?" asked woot, appealing to polychrome. she danced around in a circle several times without replying, and the boy feared she had not heard him; but the rainbow's daughter was merely thinking upon the problem, and presently she paused beside the tin soldier and said: "i've been taught a little fairy magic, but i've never before been asked to mend tin legs with it, so i'm not sure i can help you. it all depends on the good will of my unseen fairy guardians, so i'll try, and if i fail, you will be no worse off than you are now." she danced around the circle again, and then laid both hands upon the twisted tin leg and sang in her sweet voice: "fairy powers, come to my aid! this bent leg of tin is made; make it straight and strong and true, and i'll render thanks to you." "ah!" murmured captain fyter in a glad voice, as she withdrew her hands and danced away, and they saw he was standing straight as ever, because his leg was as shapely and strong as it had been before his accident. the tin woodman had watched polychrome with much interest, and he now said: "please take the dent out of my side, poly, for i am more crippled than was the soldier." so the rainbow's daughter touched his side lightly and sang: "here's a dent by accident; such a thing was never meant. fairy powers, so wondrous great, make our dear tin woodman straight!" "good!" cried the emperor, again standing erect and strutting around to show his fine figure. "your fairy magic may not be able to accomplish all things, sweet polychrome, but it works splendidly on tin. thank you very much." "the hay--the hay!" pleaded the scarecrow's head. "oh, yes; the hay," said woot. "what are you waiting for, captain fyter?" at once the tin soldier set to work cutting hay with his sword and in a few minutes there was quite enough with which to stuff the scarecrow's body. woot and polychrome did this and it was no easy task because the hay packed together more than straw and as they had little experience in such work their job, when completed, left the scarecrow's arms and legs rather bunchy. also there was a hump on his back which made woot laugh and say it reminded him of a camel, but it was the best they could do and when the head was fastened on to the body they asked the scarecrow how he felt. "a little heavy, and not quite natural," he cheerfully replied; "but i'll get along somehow until we reach a straw-stack. don't laugh at me, please, because i'm a little ashamed of myself and i don't want to regret a good action." they started at once in the direction of mount munch, and as the scarecrow proved very clumsy in his movements, woot took one of his arms and the tin woodman the other and so helped their friend to walk in a straight line. and the rainbow's daughter, as before, danced ahead of them and behind them and all around them, and they never minded her odd ways, because to them she was like a ray of sunshine. chapter twenty over night the land of the munchkins is full of surprises, as our travelers had already learned, and although mount munch was constantly growing larger as they advanced toward it, they knew it was still a long way off and were not certain, by any means, that they had escaped all danger or encountered their last adventure. the plain was broad, and as far as the eye could see, there seemed to be a level stretch of country between them and the mountain, but toward evening they came upon a hollow, in which stood a tiny blue munchkin dwelling with a garden around it and fields of grain filling in all the rest of the hollow. they did not discover this place until they came close to the edge of it, and they were astonished at the sight that greeted them because they had imagined that this part of the plain had no inhabitants. "it's a very small house," woot declared. "i wonder who lives there?" "the way to find out is to knock on the door and ask," replied the tin woodman. "perhaps it is the home of nimmie amee." "is she a dwarf?" asked the boy. "no, indeed; nimmie amee is a full sized woman." "then i'm sure she couldn't live in that little house," said woot. "let's go down," suggested the scarecrow. "i'm almost sure i can see a straw-stack in the back yard." they descended the hollow, which was rather steep at the sides, and soon came to the house, which was indeed rather small. woot knocked upon a door that was not much higher than his waist, but got no reply. he knocked again, but not a sound was heard. "smoke is coming out of the chimney," announced polychrome, who was dancing lightly through the garden, where cabbages and beets and turnips and the like were growing finely. "then someone surely lives here," said woot, and knocked again. now a window at the side of the house opened and a queer head appeared. it was white and hairy and had a long snout and little round eyes. the ears were hidden by a blue sunbonnet tied under the chin. "oh; it's a pig!" exclaimed woot. "pardon me; i am mrs. squealina swyne, wife of professor grunter swyne, and this is our home," said the one in the window. "what do you want?" "what sort of a professor is your husband?" inquired the tin woodman curiously. "he is professor of cabbage culture and corn perfection. he is very famous in his own family, and would be the wonder of the world if he went abroad," said mrs. swyne in a voice that was half proud and half irritable. "i must also inform you intruders that the professor is a dangerous individual, for he files his teeth every morning until they are sharp as needles. if you are butchers, you'd better run away and avoid trouble." "we are not butchers," the tin woodman assured her. "then what are you doing with that axe? and why has the other tin man a sword?" "they are the only weapons we have to defend our friends from their enemies," explained the emperor of the winkies, and woot added: "do not be afraid of us, mrs. swyne, for we are harmless travelers. the tin men and the scarecrow never eat anything and polychrome feasts only on dewdrops. as for me, i'm rather hungry, but there is plenty of food in your garden to satisfy me." professor swyne now joined his wife at the window, looking rather scared in spite of the boy's assuring speech. he wore a blue munchkin hat, with pointed crown and broad brim, and big spectacles covered his eyes. he peeked around from behind his wife and after looking hard at the strangers, he said: "my wisdom assures me that you are merely travelers, as you say, and not butchers. butchers have reason to be afraid of me, but you are safe. we cannot invite you in, for you are too big for our house, but the boy who eats is welcome to all the carrots and turnips he wants. make yourselves at home in the garden and stay all night, if you like; but in the morning you must go away, for we are quiet people and do not care for company." "may i have some of your straw?" asked the scarecrow. "help yourself," replied professor swyne. "for pigs, they're quite respectable," remarked woot, as they all went toward the straw-stack. "i'm glad they didn't invite us in," said captain fyter. "i hope i'm not too particular about my associates, but i draw the line at pigs." the scarecrow was glad to be rid of his hay, for during the long walk it had sagged down and made him fat and squatty and more bumpy than at first. "i'm not specially proud," he said, "but i love a manly figure, such as only straw stuffing can create. i've not felt like myself since that hungry hip-po ate my last straw." polychrome and woot set to work removing the hay and then they selected the finest straw, crisp and golden, and with it stuffed the scarecrow anew. he certainly looked better after the operation, and he was so pleased at being reformed that he tried to dance a little jig, and almost succeeded. "i shall sleep under the straw-stack tonight," woot decided, after he had eaten some of the vegetables from the garden, and in fact he slept very well, with the two tin men and the scarecrow sitting silently beside him and polychrome away somewhere in the moonlight dancing her fairy dances. at daybreak the tin woodman and the tin soldier took occasion to polish their bodies and oil their joints, for both were exceedingly careful of their personal appearance. they had forgotten the quarrel due to their accidental bumping of one another in the invisible country, and being now good friends the tin woodman polished the tin soldier's back for him and then the tin soldier polished the tin woodman's back. for breakfast the wanderer ate crisp lettuce and radishes, and the rainbow's daughter, who had now returned to her friends, sipped the dewdrops that had formed on the petals of the wild-flowers. as they passed the little house to renew their journey, woot called out: "good-bye, mr. and mrs. swyne!" the window opened and the two pigs looked out. "a pleasant journey," said the professor. "have you any children?" asked the scarecrow, who was a great friend of children. "we have nine," answered the professor; "but they do not live with us, for when they were tiny piglets the wizard of oz came here and offered to care for them and to educate them. so we let him have our nine tiny piglets, for he's a good wizard and can be relied upon to keep his promises." "i know the nine tiny piglets," said the tin woodman. "so do i," said the scarecrow. "they still live in the emerald city, and the wizard takes good care of them and teaches them to do all sorts of tricks." "did they ever grow up?" inquired mrs. squealina swyne, in an anxious voice. "no," answered the scarecrow; "like all other children in the land of oz, they will always remain children, and in the case of the tiny piglets that is a good thing, because they would not be nearly so cute and cunning if they were bigger." "but are they happy?" asked mrs. swyne. "everyone in the emerald city is happy," said the tin woodman. "they can't help it." then the travelers said good-bye, and climbed the side of the basin that was toward mount munch. chapter twenty-one polychrome's magic on this morning, which ought to be the last of this important journey, our friends started away as bright and cheery as could be, and woot whistled a merry tune so that polychrome could dance to the music. on reaching the top of the hill, the plain spread out before them in all its beauty of blue grasses and wildflowers, and mount munch seemed much nearer than it had the previous evening. they trudged on at a brisk pace, and by noon the mountain was so close that they could admire its appearance. its slopes were partly clothed with pretty evergreens, and its foot-hills were tufted with a slender waving bluegrass that had a tassel on the end of every blade. and, for the first time, they perceived, near the foot of the mountain, a charming house, not of great size but neatly painted and with many flowers surrounding it and vines climbing over the doors and windows. it was toward this solitary house that our travelers now directed their steps, thinking to inquire of the people who lived there where nimmie amee might be found. there were no paths, but the way was quite open and clear, and they were drawing near to the dwelling when woot the wanderer, who was then in the lead of the little party, halted with such an abrupt jerk that he stumbled over backward and lay flat on his back in the meadow. the scarecrow stopped to look at the boy. "why did you do that?" he asked in surprise. woot sat up and gazed around him in amazement. "i--i don't know!" he replied. the two tin men, arm in arm, started to pass them when both halted and tumbled, with a great clatter, into a heap beside woot. polychrome, laughing at the absurd sight, came dancing up and she, also, came to a sudden stop, but managed to save herself from falling. everyone of them was much astonished, and the scarecrow said with a puzzled look: "i don't see anything." "nor i," said woot; "but something hit me, just the same." "some invisible person struck me a heavy blow," declared the tin woodman, struggling to separate himself from the tin soldier, whose legs and arms were mixed with his own. "i'm not sure it was a person," said polychrome, looking more grave than usual. "it seems to me that i merely ran into some hard substance which barred my way. in order to make sure of this, let me try another place." she ran back a way and then with much caution advanced in a different place, but when she reached a position on a line with the others she halted, her arms outstretched before her. "i can feel something hard--something smooth as glass," she said, "but i'm sure it is not glass." "let me try," suggested woot, getting up; but when he tried to go forward, he discovered the same barrier that polychrome had encountered. "no," he said, "it isn't glass. but what is it?" "air," replied a small voice beside him. "solid air; that's all." they all looked downward and found a sky-blue rabbit had stuck his head out of a burrow in the ground. the rabbit's eyes were a deeper blue than his fur, and the pretty creature seemed friendly and unafraid. "air!" exclaimed woot, staring in astonishment into the rabbit's blue eyes; "whoever heard of air so solid that one cannot push it aside?" "you can't push this air aside," declared the rabbit, "for it was made hard by powerful sorcery, and it forms a wall that is intended to keep people from getting to that house yonder." "oh; it's a wall, is it?" said the tin woodman. "yes, it is really a wall," answered the rabbit, "and it is fully six feet thick." "how high is it?" inquired captain fyter, the tin soldier. "oh, ever so high; perhaps a mile," said the rabbit. "couldn't we go around it?" asked woot. "of course, for the wall is a circle," explained the rabbit. "in the center of the circle stands the house, so you may walk around the wall of solid air, but you can't get to the house." "who put the air wall around the house?" was the scarecrow's question. "nimmie amee did that." "nimmie amee!" they all exclaimed in surprise. "yes," answered the rabbit. "she used to live with an old witch, who was suddenly destroyed, and when nimmie amee ran away from the witch's house, she took with her just one magic formula--pure sorcery it was--which enabled her to build this air wall around her house--the house yonder. it was quite a clever idea, i think, for it doesn't mar the beauty of the landscape, solid air being invisible, and yet it keeps all strangers away from the house." "does nimmie amee live there now?" asked the tin woodman anxiously. "yes, indeed," said the rabbit. "and does she weep and wail from morning till night?" continued the emperor. "no; she seems quite happy," asserted the rabbit. the tin woodman seemed quite disappointed to hear this report of his old sweetheart, but the scarecrow reassured his friend, saying: "never mind, your majesty; however happy nimmie amee is now, i'm sure she will be much happier as empress of the winkies." "perhaps," said captain fyter, somewhat stiffly, "she will be still more happy to become the bride of a tin soldier." "she shall choose between us, as we have agreed," the tin woodman promised; "but how shall we get to the poor girl?" polychrome, although dancing lightly back and forth, had listened to every word of the conversation. now she came forward and sat herself down just in front of the blue rabbit, her many-hued draperies giving her the appearance of some beautiful flower. the rabbit didn't back away an inch. instead, he gazed at the rainbow's daughter admiringly. "does your burrow go underneath this wall of air?" asked polychrome. "to be sure," answered the blue rabbit; "i dug it that way so i could roam in these broad fields, by going out one way, or eat the cabbages in nimmie amee's garden by leaving my burrow at the other end. i don't think nimmie amee ought to mind the little i take from her garden, or the hole i've made under her magic wall. a rabbit may go and come as he pleases, but no one who is bigger than i am could get through my burrow." "will you allow us to pass through it, if we are able to?" inquired polychrome. "yes, indeed," answered the blue rabbit. "i'm no especial friend of nimmie amee, for once she threw stones at me, just because i was nibbling some lettuce, and only yesterday she yelled 'shoo!' at me, which made me nervous. you're welcome to use my burrow in any way you choose." "but this is all nonsense!" declared woot the wanderer. "we are every one too big to crawl through a rabbit's burrow." "we are too big now," agreed the scarecrow, "but you must remember that polychrome is a fairy, and fairies have many magic powers." woot's face brightened as he turned to the lovely daughter of the rainbow. "could you make us all as small as that rabbit?" he asked eagerly. "i can try," answered polychrome, with a smile. and presently she did it--so easily that woot was not the only one astonished. as the now tiny people grouped themselves before the rabbit's burrow the hole appeared to them like the entrance to a tunnel, which indeed it was. "i'll go first," said wee polychrome, who had made herself grow as small as the others, and into the tunnel she danced without hesitation. a tiny scarecrow went next and then the two funny little tin men. "walk in; it's your turn," said the blue rabbit to woot the wanderer. "i'm coming after, to see how you get along. this will be a regular surprise party to nimmie amee." so woot entered the hole and felt his way along its smooth sides in the dark until he finally saw the glimmer of daylight ahead and knew the journey was almost over. had he remained his natural size, the distance could have been covered in a few steps, but to a thumb-high woot it was quite a promenade. when he emerged from the burrow he found himself but a short distance from the house, in the center of the vegetable garden, where the leaves of rhubarb waving above his head seemed like trees. outside the hole, and waiting for him, he found all his friends. "so far, so good!" remarked the scarecrow cheerfully. "yes; so far, but no farther," returned the tin woodman in a plaintive and disturbed tone of voice. "i am now close to nimmie amee, whom i have come ever so far to seek, but i cannot ask the girl to marry such a little man as i am now." "i'm no bigger than a toy soldier!" said captain fyter, sorrowfully. "unless polychrome can make us big again, there is little use in our visiting nimmie amee at all, for i'm sure she wouldn't care for a husband she might carelessly step on and ruin." polychrome laughed merrily. "if i make you big, you can't get out of here again," said she, "and if you remain little nimmie amee will laugh at you. so make your choice." "i think we'd better go back," said woot seriously "no," said the tin woodman, stoutly, "i have decided that it's my duty to make nimmie amee happy, in case she wishes to marry me." "so have i," announced captain fyter. "a good soldier never shrinks from doing his duty." "as for that," said the scarecrow, "tin doesn't shrink any to speak of, under any circumstances. but woot and i intend to stick to our comrades, whatever they decide to do, so we will ask polychrome to make us as big as we were before." polychrome agreed to this request and in half a minute all of them, including herself, had been enlarged again to their natural sizes. they then thanked the blue rabbit for his kind assistance, and at once approached the house of nimme amee. chapter twenty-two nimmie amee we may be sure that at this moment our friends were all anxious to see the end of the adventure that had caused them so many trials and troubles. perhaps the tin woodman's heart did not beat any faster, because it was made of red velvet and stuffed with sawdust, and the tin soldier's heart was made of tin and reposed in his tin bosom without a hint of emotion. however, there is little doubt that they both knew that a critical moment in their lives had arrived, and that nimmie amee's decision was destined to influence the future of one or the other. as they assumed their natural sizes and the rhubarb leaves that had before towered above their heads now barely covered their feet, they looked around the garden and found that no person was visible save themselves. no sound of activity came from the house, either, but they walked to the front door, which had a little porch built before it, and there the two tinmen stood side by side while both knocked upon the door with their tin knuckles. as no one seemed eager to answer the summons they knocked again; and then again. finally they heard a stir from within and someone coughed. "who's there?" called a girl's voice. "it's i!" cried the tin twins, together. "how did you get there?" asked the voice. they hesitated how to reply, so woot answered for them: "by means of magic." "oh," said the unseen girl. "are you friends, or foes?" "friends!" they all exclaimed. then they heard footsteps approach the door, which slowly opened and revealed a very pretty munchkin girl standing in the doorway. "nimmie amee!" cried the tin twins. "that's my name," replied the girl, looking at them in cold surprise. "but who can you be?" "don't you know me, nimmie?" said the tin woodman. "i'm your old sweetheart, nick chopper!" "don't you know me, my dear?" said the tin soldier. "i'm your old sweetheart, captain fyter!" nimmie amee smiled at them both. then she looked beyond them at the rest of the party and smiled again. however, she seemed more amused than pleased. "come in," she said, leading the way inside. "even sweethearts are forgotten after a time, but you and your friends are welcome." the room they now entered was cosy and comfortable, being neatly furnished and well swept and dusted. but they found someone there besides nimmie amee. a man dressed in the attractive munchkin costume was lazily reclining in an easy chair, and he sat up and turned his eves on the visitors with a cold and indifferent stare that was almost insolent. he did not even rise from his seat to greet the strangers, but after glaring at them he looked away with a scowl, as if they were of too little importance to interest him. the tin men returned this man's stare with interest, but they did not look away from him because neither of them seemed able to take his eyes off this munchkin, who was remarkable in having one tin arm quite like their own tin arms. "seems to me," said captain fyter, in a voice that sounded harsh and indignant, "that you, sir, are a vile impostor!" "gently--gently!" cautioned the scarecrow; "don't be rude to strangers, captain." "rude?" shouted the tin soldier, now very much provoked; "why, he's a scoundrel--a thief! the villain is wearing my own head!" "yes," added the tin woodman, "and he's wearing my right arm! i can recognize it by the two warts on the little finger." "good gracious!" exclaimed woot. "then this must be the man whom old ku-klip patched together and named chopfyt." the man now turned toward them, still scowling. "yes, that is my name," he said in a voice like a growl, "and it is absurd for you tin creatures, or for anyone else, to claim my head, or arm, or any part of me, for they are my personal property." "you? you're a nobody!" shouted captain fyter. "you're just a mix-up," declared the emperor. "now, now, gentlemen," interrupted nimmie amee, "i must ask you to be more respectful to poor chopfyt. for, being my guests, it is not polite for you to insult my husband." "your husband!" the tin twins exclaimed in dismay. "yes," said she. "i married chopfyt a long time ago, because my other two sweethearts had deserted me." this reproof embarrassed both nick chopper and captain fyter. they looked down, shamefaced, for a moment, and then the tin woodman explained in an earnest voice: "i rusted." "so did i," said the tin soldier. "i could not know that, of course," asserted nimmie amee. "all i knew was that neither of you came to marry me, as you had promised to do. but men are not scarce in the land of oz. after i came here to live, i met mr. chopfyt, and he was the more interesting because he reminded me strongly of both of you, as you were before you became tin. he even had a tin arm, and that reminded me of you the more. "no wonder!" remarked the scarecrow. "but, listen, nimmie amee!" said the astonished woot; "he really is both of them, for he is made of their cast-off parts." "oh, you're quite wrong," declared polychrome, laughing, for she was greatly enjoying the confusion of the others. "the tin men are still themselves, as they will tell you, and so chopfyt must be someone else." they looked at her bewildered, for the facts in the case were too puzzling to be grasped at once. "it is all the fault of old ku-klip," muttered the tin woodman. "he had no right to use our castoff parts to make another man with." "it seems he did it, however," said nimmie amee calmly, "and i married him because he resembled you both. i won't say he is a husband to be proud of, because he has a mixed nature and isn't always an agreeable companion. there are times when i have to chide him gently, both with my tongue and with my broomstick. but he is my husband, and i must make the best of him." "if you don't like him," suggested the tin woodman, "captain fyter and i can chop him up with our axe and sword, and each take such parts of the fellow as belong to him. then we are willing for you to select one of us as your husband." "that is a good idea," approved captain fyter, drawing his sword. "no," said nimmie amee; "i think i'll keep the husband i now have. he is now trained to draw the water and carry in the wood and hoe the cabbages and weed the flower-beds and dust the furniture and perform many tasks of a like character. a new husband would have to be scolded--and gently chided--until he learns my ways. so i think it will be better to keep my chopfyt, and i see no reason why you should object to him. you two gentlemen threw him away when you became tin, because you had no further use for him, so you cannot justly claim him now. i advise you to go back to your own homes and forget me, as i have forgotten you." "good advice!" laughed polychrome, dancing. "are you happy?" asked the tin soldier. "of course i am," said nimmie amee; "i'm the mistress of all i survey--the queen of my little domain." "wouldn't you like to be the empress of the winkies?" asked the tin woodman. "mercy, no," she answered. "that would be a lot of bother. i don't care for society, or pomp, or posing. all i ask is to be left alone and not to be annoyed by visitors." the scarecrow nudged woot the wanderer. "that sounds to me like a hint," he said. "looks as if we'd had our journey for nothing," remarked woot, who was a little ashamed and disappointed because he had proposed the journey. "i am glad, however," said the tin woodman, "that i have found nimmie amee, and discovered that she is already married and happy. it will relieve me of any further anxiety concerning her." "for my part," said the tin soldier, "i am not sorry to be free. the only thing that really annoys me is finding my head upon chopfyt's body." "as for that, i'm pretty sure it is my body, or a part of it, anyway," remarked the emperor of the winkies. "but never mind, friend soldier; let us be willing to donate our cast-off members to insure the happiness of nimmie amee, and be thankful it is not our fate to hoe cabbages and draw water--and be chided--in the place of this creature chopfyt." "yes," agreed the soldier, "we have much to be thankful for." polychrome, who had wandered outside, now poked her pretty head through an open window and exclaimed in a pleased voice: "it's getting cloudy. perhaps it is going to rain!" chapter twenty-three through the tunnel it didn't rain just then, although the clouds in the sky grew thicker and more threatening. polychrome hoped for a thunder-storm, followed by her rainbow, but the two tin men did not relish the idea of getting wet. they even preferred to remain in nimmie amee's house, although they felt they were not welcome there, rather than go out and face the coming storm. but the scarecrow, who was a very thoughtful person, said to his friends: "if we remain here until after the storm, and polychrome goes away on her rainbow, then we will be prisoners inside the wall of solid air; so it seems best to start upon our return journey at once. if i get wet, my straw stuffing will be ruined, and if you two tin gentlemen get wet, you may perhaps rust again, and become useless. but even that is better than to stay here. once we are free of the barrier, we have woot the wanderer to help us, and he can oil your joints and restuff my body, if it becomes necessary, for the boy is made of meat, which neither rusts nor gets soggy or moldy." "come along, then!" cried polychrome from the window, and the others, realizing the wisdom of the scarecrow's speech, took leave of nimmie amee, who was glad to be rid of them, and said good-bye to her husband, who merely scowled and made no answer, and then they hurried from the house. "your old parts are not very polite, i must say," remarked the scarecrow, when they were in the garden. "no," said woot, "chopfyt is a regular grouch. he might have wished us a pleasant journey, at the very least." "i beg you not to hold us responsible for that creature's actions," pleaded the tin woodman. "we are through with chopfyt and shall have nothing further to do with him." polychrome danced ahead of the party and led them straight to the burrow of the blue rabbit, which they might have had some difficulty in finding without her. there she lost no time in making them all small again. the blue rabbit was busy nibbling cabbage leaves in nimmie amee's garden, so they did not ask his permission but at once entered the burrow. even now the raindrops were beginning to fall, but it was quite dry inside the tunnel and by the time they had reached the other end, outside the circular wall of solid air, the storm was at its height and the rain was coming down in torrents. "let us wait here," proposed polychrome, peering out of the hole and then quickly retreating. "the rainbow won't appear until after the storm and i can make you big again in a jiffy, before i join my sisters on our bow." "that's a good plan," said the scarecrow approvingly. "it will save me from getting soaked and soggy." "it will save me from rusting," said the tin soldier. "it will enable me to remain highly polished," said the tin woodman. "oh, as for that, i myself prefer not to get my pretty clothes wet," laughed the rainbow's daughter. "but while we wait i will bid you all adieu. i must also thank you for saving me from that dreadful giantess, mrs. yoop. you have been good and patient comrades and i have enjoyed our adventures together, but i am never so happy as when on my dear rainbow." "will your father scold you for getting left on the earth?" asked woot. "i suppose so," said polychrome gaily; "i'm always getting scolded for my mad pranks, as they are called. my sisters are so sweet and lovely and proper that they never dance off our rainbow, and so they never have any adventures. adventures to me are good fun, only i never like to stay too long on earth, because i really don't belong here. i shall tell my father the rainbow that i'll try not to be so careless again, and he will forgive me because in our sky mansions there is always joy and happiness." they were indeed sorry to part with their dainty and beautiful companion and assured her of their devotion if they ever chanced to meet again. she shook hands with the scarecrow and the tin men and kissed woot the wanderer lightly upon his forehead. and then the rain suddenly ceased, and as the tiny people left the burrow of the blue rabbit, a glorious big rainbow appeared in the sky and the end of its arch slowly descended and touched the ground just where they stood. woot was so busy watching a score of lovely maidens--sisters of polychrome--who were leaning over the edge of the bow, and another score who danced gaily amid the radiance of the splendid hues, that he did not notice he was growing big again. but now polychrome joined her sisters on the rainbow and the huge arch lifted and slowly melted away as the sun burst from the clouds and sent its own white beams dancing over the meadows. "why, she's gone!" exclaimed the boy, and turned to see his companions still waving their hands in token of adieu to the vanished polychrome. chapter twenty-four the curtain falls well, the rest of the story is quickly told, for the return journey of our adventurers was without any important incident. the scarecrow was so afraid of meeting the hip-po-gy-raf, and having his straw eaten again, that he urged his comrades to select another route to the emerald city, and they willingly consented, so that the invisible country was wholly avoided. of course, when they reached the emerald city their first duty was to visit ozma's palace, where they were royally entertained. the tin soldier and woot the wanderer were welcomed as warmly as any strangers might be who had been the traveling companions of ozma's dear old friends, the scarecrow and the tin woodman. at the banquet table that evening they related the manner in which they had discovered nimmie amee, and told how they had found her happily married to chopfyt, whose relationship to nick chopper and captain fyter was so bewildering that they asked ozma's advice what to do about it. "you need not consider chopfyt at all," replied the beautiful girl ruler of oz. "if nimmie amee is content with that misfit man for a husband, we have not even just cause to blame ku-klip for gluing him together." "i think it was a very good idea," added little dorothy, "for if ku-klip hadn't used up your castoff parts, they would have been wasted. it's wicked to be wasteful, isn't it?" "well, anyhow," said woot the wanderer, "chopfyt, being kept a prisoner by his wife, is too far away from anyone to bother either of you tin men in any way. if you hadn't gone where he is and discovered him, you would never have worried about him." "what do you care, anyhow," betsy bobbin asked the tin woodman, "so long as nimmie amee is satisfied?" "and just to think," remarked tiny trot, "that any girl would rather live with a mixture like chopfyt, on far-away mount munch, than to be the empress of the winkies!" "it is her own choice," said the tin woodman contentedly; "and, after all, i'm not sure the winkies would care to have an empress." it puzzled ozma, for a time, to decide what to do with the tin soldier. if he went with the tin woodman to the emperor's castle, she felt that the two tin men might not be able to live together in harmony, and moreover the emperor would not be so distinguished if he had a double constantly beside him. so she asked captain fyter if he was willing to serve her as a soldier, and he promptly declared that nothing would please him more. after he had been in her service for some time, ozma sent him into the gillikin country, with instructions to keep order among the wild people who inhabit some parts of that unknown country of oz. as for woot, being a wanderer by profession, he was allowed to wander wherever he desired, and ozma promised to keep watch over his future journeys and to protect the boy as well as she was able, in case he ever got into more trouble. all this having been happily arranged, the tin woodman returned to his tin castle, and his chosen comrade, the scarecrow, accompanied him on the way. the two friends were sure to pass many pleasant hours together in talking over their recent adventures, for as they neither ate nor slept they found their greatest amusement in conversation. the famous 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 the tin woodman of oz a faithful story of the astonishing adventure undertaken by the tin woodman, assisted by woot the wanderer, the scarecrow of oz, and polychrome, the rainbow's daughter by l. frank baum "royal historian of oz" author of all the oz books illustrated by john r. neill the reilly & britton co. chicago [illustration: copyright 1918 by l. frank baum _all rights reserved_] _made in u. s. a._ [illustration: this book is dedicated to the son of my son =frank alden baum=] [illustration: ozma] [illustration] to my readers i know that some of you have been waiting for this story of the tin woodman, because many of my correspondents have asked me, time and again, what ever became of the "pretty munchkin girl" whom nick chopper was engaged to marry before the wicked witch enchanted his axe and he traded his flesh for tin. i, too, have wondered what became of her, but until woot the wanderer interested himself in the matter the tin woodman knew no more than we did. however, he found her, after many thrilling adventures, as you will discover when you have read this story. i am delighted at the continued interest of both young and old in the oz stories. a learned college professor recently wrote me to ask: "for readers of what age are your books intended?" it puzzled me to answer that properly, until i had looked over some of the letters i have received. one says: "i'm a little boy 5 years old, and i just love your oz stories. my sister, who is writing this for me, reads me the oz books, but i wish i could read them myself." another letter says: "i'm a great girl 13 years old, so you'll be surprised when i tell you i am not too old yet for the oz stories." here's another letter: "since i was a young girl i've never missed getting a baum book for christmas. i'm married, now, but am as eager to get and read the oz stories as ever." and still another writes: "my good wife and i, both more than 70 years of age, believe that we find more real enjoyment in your oz books than in any other books we read." considering these statements, i wrote the college professor that my books are intended for all those whose hearts are young, no matter what their ages may be. and while on this subject of letters i am reminded that a good many of my correspondents neglect to slip a 3-cent postage-stamp into their letters, for the answer. you are sending but one letter, you know, while i get so many hundreds of letters that to prepay postage on all the answers to them would be no small burden to me. i think i am justified in promising that there will be some astonishing revelations about the magic of oz in my book for 1919. always your loving and grateful friend, l. frank baum, royal historian of oz. "ozcot" at hollywood in california 1918. list of chapters [illustration] 1 woot the wanderer 13 2 the heart of the tin woodman 25 3 roundabout 35 4 the loons of loonville 46 5 mrs. yoop, the giantess 66 6 the magic of a yookoohoo 81 7 the lace apron 99 8 the menace of the forest 107 9 the quarrelsome dragons 122 10 tommy kwikstep 131 11 jinjur's ranch 143 12 ozma and dorothy 155 13 the restoration 165 14 the green monkey 179 15 the man of tin 185 16 captain fyter 195 17 the workshop of ku-klip 201 18 the tin woodman talks to himself 209 19 the invisible country 229 20 over night 251 21 polychrome's magic 260 22 nimmie amee 271 23 through the tunnel 280 24 the curtain falls 285 [illustration: woot _in court dress_] woot the wanderer [illustration] chapter 1 the tin woodman sat on his glittering tin throne in the handsome tin hall of his splendid tin castle in the winkie country of the land of oz. beside him, in a chair of woven straw, sat his best friend, the scarecrow of oz. at times they spoke to one another of curious things they had seen and strange adventures they had known since first they two had met and become comrades. but at times they were silent, for these things had been talked over many times between them, and they found themselves contented in merely being together, speaking now and then a brief sentence to prove they were wide awake and attentive. but then, these two quaint persons never slept. why should they sleep, when they never tired? and now, as the brilliant sun sank low over the winkie country of oz, tinting the glistening tin towers and tin minarets of the tin castle with glorious sunset hues, there approached along a winding pathway woot the wanderer, who met at the castle entrance a winkie servant. the servants of the tin woodman all wore tin helmets and tin breastplates and uniforms covered with tiny tin discs sewed closely together on silver cloth, so that their bodies sparkled as beautifully as did the tin castle--and almost as beautifully as did the tin woodman himself. woot the wanderer looked at the man servant--all bright and glittering--and at the magnificent castle--all bright and glittering--and as he looked his eyes grew big with wonder. for woot was not very big and not very old and, wanderer though he was, this proved the most gorgeous sight that had ever met his boyish gaze. "who lives here?" he asked. "the emperor of the winkies, who is the famous tin woodman of oz," replied the servant, who had been trained to treat all strangers with courtesy. "a tin woodman? how queer!" exclaimed the little wanderer. "well, perhaps our emperor is queer," admitted the servant; "but he is a kind master and as honest and true as good tin can make him; so we, who gladly serve him, are apt to forget that he is not like other people." "may i see him?" asked woot the wanderer, after a moment's thought. "if it please you to wait a moment, i will go and ask him," said the servant, and then he went into the hall where the tin woodman sat with his friend the scarecrow. both were glad to learn that a stranger had arrived at the castle, for this would give them something new to talk about, so the servant was asked to admit the boy at once. by the time woot the wanderer had passed through the grand corridors--all lined with ornamental tin--and under stately tin archways and through the many tin rooms all set with beautiful tin furniture, his eyes had grown bigger than ever and his whole little body thrilled with amazement. but, astonished though he was, he was able to make a polite bow before the throne and to say in a respectful voice: "i salute your illustrious majesty and offer you my humble services." "very good!" answered the tin woodman in his accustomed cheerful manner. "tell me who you are, and whence you come." "i am known as woot the wanderer," answered the boy, "and i have come, through many travels and by roundabout ways, from my former home in a far corner of the gillikin country of oz." "to wander from one's home," remarked the scarecrow, "is to encounter dangers and hardships, especially if one is made of meat and bone. had you no friends in that corner of the gillikin country? was it not homelike and comfortable?" to hear a man stuffed with straw speak, and speak so well, quite startled woot, and perhaps he stared a bit rudely at the scarecrow. but after a moment he replied: "i had home and friends, your honorable strawness, but they were so quiet and happy and comfortable that i found them dismally stupid. nothing in that corner of oz interested me, but i believed that in other parts of the country i would find strange people and see new sights, and so i set out upon my wandering journey. i have been a wanderer for nearly a full year, and now my wanderings have brought me to this splendid castle." "i suppose," said the tin woodman, "that in this year you have seen so much that you have become very wise." "no," replied woot, thoughtfully, "i am not at all wise, i beg to assure your majesty. the more i wander the less i find that i know, for in the land of oz much wisdom and many things may be learned." "to learn is simple. don't you ask questions?" inquired the scarecrow. "yes; i ask as many questions as i dare; but some people refuse to answer questions." "that is not kind of them," declared the tin woodman. "if one does not ask for information he seldom receives it; so i, for my part, make it a rule to answer any civil question that is asked me." "so do i," added the scarecrow, nodding. "i am glad to hear this," said the wanderer, "for it makes me bold to ask for something to eat." [illustration] "bless the boy!" cried the emperor of the winkies; "how careless of me not to remember that wanderers are usually hungry. i will have food brought you at once." saying this he blew upon a tin whistle that was suspended from his tin neck, and at the summons a servant appeared and bowed low. the tin woodman ordered food for the stranger, and in a few minutes the servant brought in a tin tray heaped with a choice array of good things to eat, all neatly displayed on tin dishes that were polished till they shone like mirrors. the tray was set upon a tin table drawn before the throne, and the servant placed a tin chair before the table for the boy to seat himself. "eat, friend wanderer," said the emperor cordially, "and i trust the feast will be to your liking. i, myself, do not eat, being made in such manner that i require no food to keep me alive. neither does my friend the scarecrow. but all my winkie people eat, being formed of flesh, as you are, and so my tin cupboard is never bare, and strangers are always welcome to whatever it contains." the boy ate in silence for a time, being really hungry, but after his appetite was somewhat satisfied, he said: "how happened your majesty to be made of tin, and still be alive?" "that," replied the tin man, "is a long story." [illustration] "the longer the better," said the boy. "won't you please tell me the story?" "if you desire it," promised the tin woodman, leaning back in his tin throne and crossing his tin legs. "i haven't related my history in a long while, because everyone here knows it nearly as well as i do. but you, being a stranger, are no doubt curious to learn how i became so beautiful and prosperous, so i will recite for your benefit my strange adventures." "thank you," said woot the wanderer, still eating. "i was not always made of tin," began the emperor, "for in the beginning i was a man of flesh and bone and blood and lived in the munchkin country of oz. there i was, by trade, a woodchopper, and contributed my share to the comfort of the oz people by chopping up the trees of the forest to make firewood, with which the women would cook their meals while the children warmed themselves about the fires. for my home i had a little hut by the edge of the forest, and my life was one of much content until i fell in love with a beautiful munchkin girl who lived not far away." "what was the munchkin girl's name?" asked woot. "nimmie amee. this girl, so fair that the sunsets blushed when their rays fell upon her, lived with a powerful witch who wore silver shoes and who had made the poor child her slave. nimmie amee was obliged to work from morning till night for the old witch of the east, scrubbing and sweeping her hut and cooking her meals and washing her dishes. she had to cut firewood, too, until i found her one day in the forest and fell in love with her. after that, i always brought plenty of firewood to nimmie amee and we became very friendly. finally i asked her to marry me, and she agreed to do so, but the witch happened to overhear our conversation and it made her very angry, for she did not wish her slave to be taken away from her. the witch commanded me never to come near nimmie amee again, but i told her i was my own master and would do as i pleased, not realizing that this was a careless way to speak to a witch. "the next day, as i was cutting wood in the forest, the cruel witch enchanted my axe, so that it slipped and cut off my right leg." "how dreadful!" cried woot the wanderer. "yes, it was a seeming misfortune," agreed the tin man, "for a one-legged woodchopper is of little use in his trade. but i would not allow the witch to conquer me so easily. i knew a very skillful mechanic at the other side of the forest, who was my friend, so i hopped on one leg to him and asked him to help me. he soon made me a new leg out of tin and fastened it cleverly to my meat body. it had joints at the knee and at the ankle and was almost as comfortable as the leg i had lost." "your friend must have been a wonderful workman!" exclaimed woot. "he was, indeed," admitted the emperor. "he was a tinsmith by trade and could make anything out of tin. when i returned to nimmie amee, the girl was delighted and threw her arms around my neck and kissed me, declaring she was proud of me. the witch saw the kiss and was more angry than before. when i went to work in the forest, next day, my axe, being still enchanted, slipped and cut off my other leg. again i hopped--on my tin leg--to my friend the tinsmith, who kindly made me another tin leg and fastened it to my body. so i returned joyfully to nimmie amee, who was much pleased with my glittering legs and promised that when we were wed she would always keep them oiled and polished. but the witch was more furious than ever, and as soon as i raised my axe to chop, it twisted around and cut off one of my arms. the tinsmith made me a tin arm and i was not much worried, because nimmie amee declared she still loved me." [illustration] the heart of the tin woodman [illustration] chapter 2 the emperor of the winkies paused in his story to reach for an oil-can, with which he carefully oiled the joints in his tin throat, for his voice had begun to squeak a little. woot the wanderer, having satisfied his hunger, watched this oiling process with much curiosity, but begged the tin man to go on with his tale. "the witch with the silver shoes hated me for having defied her," resumed the emperor, his voice now sounding clear as a bell, "and she insisted that nimmie amee should never marry me. therefore she made the enchanted axe cut off my other arm, and the tinsmith also replaced that member with tin, including these finely-jointed hands that you see me using. but, alas! after that, the axe, still enchanted by the cruel witch, cut my body in two, so that i fell to the ground. then the witch, who was watching from a near-by bush, rushed up and seized the axe and chopped my body into several small pieces, after which, thinking that at last she had destroyed me, she ran away laughing in wicked glee. "but nimmie amee found me. she picked up my arms and legs and head, and made a bundle of them and carried them to the tinsmith, who set to work and made me a fine body of pure tin. when he had joined the arms and legs to the body, and set my head in the tin collar, i was a much better man than ever, for my body could not ache or pain me, and i was so beautiful and bright that i had no need of clothing. clothing is always a nuisance, because it soils and tears and has to be replaced; but my tin body only needs to be oiled and polished. [illustration] "nimmie amee still declared she would marry me, as she still loved me in spite of the witch's evil deeds. the girl declared i would make the brightest husband in all the world, which was quite true. however, the wicked witch was not yet defeated. when i returned to my work the axe slipped and cut off my head, which was the only meat part of me then remaining. moreover, the old woman grabbed up my severed head and carried it away with her and hid it. but nimmie amee came into the forest and found me wandering around helplessly, because i could not see where to go, and she led me to my friend the tinsmith. the faithful fellow at once set to work to make me a tin head, and he had just completed it when nimmie amee came running up with my old head, which she had stolen from the witch. but, on reflection, i considered the tin head far superior to the meat one--i am wearing it yet, so you can see its beauty and grace of outline--and the girl agreed with me that a man all made of tin was far more perfect than one formed of different materials. the tinsmith was as proud of his workmanship as i was, and for three whole days, all admired me and praised my beauty. "being now completely formed of tin, i had no more fear of the wicked witch, for she was powerless to injure me. nimmie amee said we must be married at once, for then she could come to my cottage and live with me and keep me bright and sparkling. "'i am sure, my dear nick,' said the brave and beautiful girl--my name was then nick chopper, you should be told--'that you will make the best husband any girl could have. i shall not be obliged to cook for you, for now you do not eat; i shall not have to make your bed, for tin does not tire or require sleep; when we go to a dance, you will not get weary before the music stops and say you want to go home. all day long, while you are chopping wood in the forest, i shall be able to amuse myself in my own way--a privilege few wives enjoy. there is no temper in your new head, so you will not get angry with me. finally, i shall take pride in being the wife of the only live tin woodman in all the world!' which shows that nimmie amee was as wise as she was brave and beautiful." "i think she was a very nice girl," said woot the wanderer. "but, tell me, please, why were you not killed when you were chopped to pieces?" "in the land of oz," replied the emperor, "no one can ever be killed. a man with a wooden leg or a tin leg is still the same man; and, as i lost parts of my meat body by degrees, i always remained the same person as in the beginning, even though in the end i was all tin and no meat." "i see," said the boy, thoughtfully. "and did you marry nimmie amee?" "no," answered the tin woodman, "i did not. she said she still loved me, but i found that i no longer loved her. my tin body contained no heart, and without a heart no one can love. so the wicked witch conquered in the end, and when i left the munchkin country of oz, the poor girl was still the slave of the witch and had to do her bidding day and night." "where did you go?" asked woot. "well, i first started out to find a heart, so i could love nimmie amee again; but hearts are more scarce than one would think. one day, in a big forest that was strange to me, my joints suddenly became rusted, because i had forgotten to oil them. there i stood, unable to move hand or foot. and there i continued to stand--while days came and went--until dorothy and the scarecrow came along and rescued me. they oiled my joints and set me free, and i've taken good care never to rust again." "who was this dorothy?" questioned the wanderer. "a little girl who happened to be in a house when it was carried by a cyclone all the way from kansas to the land of oz. when the house fell, in the munchkin country, it fortunately landed on the wicked witch and smashed her flat. it was a big house, and i think the witch is under it yet." "no," said the scarecrow, correcting him, "dorothy says the witch turned to dust, and the wind scattered the dust in every direction." "well," continued the tin woodman, "after meeting the scarecrow and dorothy, i went with them to the emerald city, where the wizard of oz gave me a heart. but the wizard's stock of hearts was low, and he gave me a kind heart instead of a loving heart, so that i could not love nimmie amee any more than i did when i was heartless." "couldn't the wizard give you a heart that was both kind and loving?" asked the boy. "no; that was what i asked for, but he said he was so short on hearts, just then, that there was but one in stock, and i could take that or none at all. so i accepted it, and i must say that for its kind it is a very good heart indeed." "it seems to me," said woot, musingly, "that the wizard fooled you. it can't be a very kind heart, you know." "why not?" demanded the emperor. "because it was unkind of you to desert the girl who loved you, and who had been faithful and true to you when you were in trouble. had the heart the wizard gave you been a kind heart, you would have gone back home and made the beautiful munchkin girl your wife, and then brought her here to be an empress and live in your splendid tin castle." the tin woodman was so surprised at this frank speech that for a time he did nothing but stare hard at the boy wanderer. but the scarecrow wagged his stuffed head and said in a positive tone: "this boy is right. i've often wondered, myself, why you didn't go back and find that poor munchkin girl." then the tin woodman stared hard at his friend the scarecrow. but finally he said in a serious tone of voice: "i must admit that never before have i thought of such a thing as finding nimmie amee and making her empress of the winkies. but it is surely not too late, even now, to do this, for the girl must still be living in the munchkin country. and, since this strange wanderer has reminded me of nimmie amee, i believe it is my duty to set out and find her. surely it is not the girl's fault that i no longer love her, and so, if i can make her happy, it is proper that i should do so, and in this way reward her for her faithfulness." [illustration] "quite right, my friend!" agreed the scarecrow. "will you accompany me on this errand?" asked the tin emperor. "of course," said the scarecrow. "and will you take me along?" pleaded woot the wanderer in an eager voice. "to be sure," said the tin woodman, "if you care to join our party. it was you who first told me it was my duty to find and marry nimmie amee, and i'd like you to know that nick chopper, the tin emperor of the winkies, is a man who never shirks his duty, once it is pointed out to him." "it ought to be a pleasure, as well as a duty, if the girl is so beautiful," said woot, well pleased with the idea of the adventure. "beautiful things may be admired, if not loved," asserted the tin man. "flowers are beautiful, for instance, but we are not inclined to marry them. duty, on the contrary, is a bugle call to action, whether you are inclined to act, or not. in this case, i obey the bugle call of duty." "when shall we start?" inquired the scarecrow, who was always glad to embark upon a new adventure. "i don't hear any bugle, but when do we go?" "as soon as we can get ready," answered the emperor. "i'll call my servants at once and order them to make preparations for our journey." roundabout [illustration] chapter 3 woot the wanderer slept that night in the tin castle of the emperor of the winkies and found his tin bed quite comfortable. early the next morning he rose and took a walk through the gardens, where there were tin fountains and beds of curious tin flowers, and where tin birds perched upon the branches of tin trees and sang songs that sounded like the notes of tin whistles. all these wonders had been made by the clever winkie tinsmiths, who wound the birds up every morning so that they would move about and sing. after breakfast the boy went into the throne room, where the emperor was having his tin joints carefully oiled by a servant, while other servants were stuffing sweet, fresh straw into the body of the scarecrow. woot watched this operation with much interest, for the scarecrow's body was only a suit of clothes filled with straw. the coat was buttoned tight to keep the packed straw from falling out and a rope was tied around the waist to hold it in shape and prevent the straw from sagging down. the scarecrow's head was a gunnysack filled with bran, on which the eyes, nose and mouth had been painted. his hands were white cotton gloves stuffed with fine straw. woot noticed that even when carefully stuffed and patted into shape, the straw man was awkward in his movements and decidedly wobbly on his feet, so the boy wondered if the scarecrow would be able to travel with them all the way to the forests of the munchkin country of oz. the preparations made for this important journey were very simple. a knapsack was filled with food and given woot the wanderer to carry upon his back, for the food was for his use alone. the tin woodman shouldered an axe which was sharp and brightly polished, and the scarecrow put the emperor's oil-can in his pocket, that he might oil his friend's joints should they need it. [illustration: i don't hear any bugle] "who will govern the winkie country during your absence?" asked the boy. "why, the country will run itself," answered the emperor. "as a matter of fact, my people do not need an emperor, for ozma of oz watches over the welfare of all her subjects, including the winkies. like a good many kings and emperors, i have a grand title, but very little real power, which allows me time to amuse myself in my own way. the people of oz have but one law to obey, which is: 'behave yourself,' so it is easy for them to abide by this law, and you'll notice they behave very well. but it is time for us to be off, and i am eager to start because i suppose that that poor munchkin girl is anxiously awaiting my coming." "she's waited a long time already, seems to me," remarked the scarecrow, as they left the grounds of the castle and followed a path that led eastward. "true," replied the tin woodman; "but i've noticed that the last end of a wait, however long it has been, is the hardest to endure; so i must try to make nimmie amee happy as soon as possible." "ah; that proves you have a kind heart," remarked the scarecrow, approvingly. "it's too bad he hasn't a loving heart," said woot. "this tin man is going to marry a nice girl through kindness, and not because he loves her, and somehow that doesn't seem quite right." "even so, i am not sure it isn't best for the girl," said the scarecrow, who seemed very intelligent for a straw man, "for a loving husband is not always kind, while a kind husband is sure to make any girl content." "nimmie amee will become an empress!" announced the tin woodman, proudly. "i shall have a tin gown made for her, with tin ruffles and tucks on it, and she shall have tin slippers, and tin earrings and bracelets, and wear a tin crown on her head. i am sure that will delight nimmie amee, for all girls are fond of finery." "are we going to the munchkin country by way of the emerald city?" inquired the scarecrow, who looked upon the tin woodman as the leader of the party. "i think not," was the reply. "we are engaged upon a rather delicate adventure, for we are seeking a girl who fears her former lover has forgotten her. it will be rather hard for me, you must admit, when i confess to nimmie amee that i have come to marry her because it is my duty to do so, and therefore the fewer witnesses there are to our meeting the better for both of us. after i have found nimmie amee and she has managed to control her joy at our reunion, i shall take her to the emerald city and introduce her to ozma and dorothy, and to betsy bobbin and tiny trot, and all our other friends; but, if i remember rightly, poor nimmie amee has a sharp tongue when angry, and she may be a trifle angry with me, at first, because i have been so long in coming to her." "i can understand that," said woot gravely. "but how can we get to that part of the munchkin country where you once lived without passing through the emerald city?" "why, that is easy," the tin man assured him. "i have a map of oz in my pocket," persisted the boy, "and it shows that the winkie country, where we now are, is at the west of oz, and the munchkin country at the east, while directly between them lies the emerald city." "true enough; but we shall go toward the north, first of all, into the gillikin country, and so pass around the emerald city," explained the tin woodman. "that may prove a dangerous journey," replied the boy. "i used to live in one of the top corners of the gillikin country, near to oogaboo, and i have been told that in this northland country are many people whom it is not pleasant to meet. i was very careful to avoid them during my journey south." "a wanderer should have no fear," observed the scarecrow, who was wabbling along in a funny, haphazard manner, but keeping pace with his friends. [illustration] "fear does not make one a coward," returned woot, growing a little red in the face, "but i believe it is more easy to avoid danger than to overcome it. the safest way is the best way, even for one who is brave and determined." "do not worry, for we shall not go far to the north," said the emperor. "my one idea is to avoid the emerald city without going out of our way more than is necessary. once around the emerald city we will turn south into the munchkin country, where the scarecrow and i are well acquainted and have many friends." "i have traveled some in the gillikin country," remarked the scarecrow, "and while i must say i have met some strange people there at times, i have never yet been harmed by them." "well, it's all the same to me," said woot, with assumed carelessness. "dangers, when they cannot be avoided, are often quite interesting, and i am willing to go wherever you two venture to go." so they left the path they had been following and began to travel toward the northeast, and all that day they were in the pleasant winkie country, and all the people they met saluted the emperor with great respect and wished him good luck on his journey. at night they stopped at a house where they were well entertained and where woot was given a comfortable bed to sleep in. "were the scarecrow and i alone," said the tin woodman, "we would travel by night as well as by day; but with a meat person in our party, we must halt at night to permit him to rest." [illustration] "meat tires, after a day's travel," added the scarecrow, "while straw and tin never tire at all. which proves," said he, "that we are somewhat superior to people made in the common way." woot could not deny that he was tired, and he slept soundly until morning, when he was given a good breakfast, smoking hot. "you two miss a great deal by not eating," he said to his companions. "it is true," responded the scarecrow. "we miss suffering from hunger, when food cannot be had, and we miss a stomach-ache, now and then." as he said this, the scarecrow glanced at the tin woodman, who nodded his assent. all that second day they traveled steadily, entertaining one another the while with stories of adventures they had formerly met and listening to the scarecrow recite poetry. he had learned a great many poems from professor wogglebug and loved to repeat them whenever anybody would listen to him. of course woot and the tin woodman now listened, because they could not do otherwise--unless they rudely ran away from their stuffed comrade. one of the scarecrow's recitations was like this: "what sound is so sweet as the straw from the wheat when it crunkles so tender and low? it is yellow and bright, so it gives me delight to crunkle wherever i go. "sweet, fresh, golden straw! there is surely no flaw in a stuffing so clean and compact. it creaks when i walk, and it thrills when i talk, and its fragrance is fine, for a fact. "to cut me don't hurt, for i've no blood to squirt, and i therefore can suffer no pain; the straw that i use doesn't lump up or bruise, though it's pounded again and again! "i know it is said that my beautiful head has brains of mixed wheat-straw and bran, but my thoughts are so good i'd not change, if i could, for the brains of a common meat man. "content with my lot, i'm glad that i'm not like others i meet day by day; if my insides get musty, or mussed-up, or dusty, i get newly stuffed right away." [illustration] the loons of loonville [illustration] chapter 4 toward evening, the travelers found there was no longer a path to guide them, and the purple hues of the grass and trees warned them that they were now in the country of the gillikins, where strange peoples dwelt in places that were quite unknown to the other inhabitants of oz. the fields were wild and uncultivated and there were no houses of any sort to be seen. but our friends kept on walking even after the sun went down, hoping to find a good place for woot the wanderer to sleep; but when it grew quite dark and the boy was weary with his long walk, they halted right in the middle of a field and allowed woot to get his supper from the food he carried in his knapsack. then the scarecrow laid himself down, so that woot could use his stuffed body as a pillow, and the tin woodman stood up beside them all night, so the dampness of the ground might not rust his joints or dull his brilliant polish. whenever the dew settled on his body he carefully wiped it off with a cloth, and so in the morning the emperor shone as brightly as ever in the rays of the rising sun. they wakened the boy at daybreak, the scarecrow saying to him: "we have discovered something queer, and therefore we must counsel together what to do about it." "what have you discovered?" asked woot, rubbing the sleep from his eyes with his knuckles and giving three wide yawns to prove he was fully awake. "a sign," said the tin woodman. "a sign, and another path." "what does the sign say?" inquired the boy. "it says that 'all strangers are warned not to follow this path to loonville,'" answered the scarecrow, who could read very well when his eyes had been freshly painted. [illustration: all strangers are warned not to follow this path to loonville] "in that case," said the boy, opening his knapsack to get some breakfast, "let us travel in some other direction." but this did not seem to please either of his companions. "i'd like to see what loonville looks like," remarked the tin woodman. "when one travels, it is foolish to miss any interesting sight," added the scarecrow. "but a warning means danger," protested woot the wanderer, "and i believe it sensible to keep out of danger whenever we can." they made no reply to this speech for a while. then said the scarecrow: "i have escaped so many dangers, during my lifetime, that i am not much afraid of anything that can happen." "nor am i!" exclaimed the tin woodman, swinging his glittering axe around his tin head, in a series of circles. "few things can injure tin, and my axe is a powerful weapon to use against a foe. but our boy friend," he continued, looking solemnly at woot, "might perhaps be injured if the people of loonville are really dangerous; so i propose he waits here while you and i, friend scarecrow, visit the forbidden city of loonville." "don't worry about me," advised woot, calmly. "wherever you wish to go, i will go, and share your dangers. during my wanderings i have found it more wise to keep out of danger than to venture in, but at that time i was alone, and now i have two powerful friends to protect me." so, when he had finished his breakfast, they all set out along the path that led to loonville. "it is a place i have never heard of before," remarked the scarecrow, as they approached a dense forest. "the inhabitants may be people, of some sort, or they may be animals, but whatever they prove to be, we will have an interesting story to relate to dorothy and ozma on our return." the path led into the forest, but the big trees grew so closely together and the vines and underbrush were so thick and matted that they had to clear a path at each step in order to proceed. in one or two places the tin man, who went first to clear the way, cut the branches with a blow of his axe. woot followed next, and last of the three came the scarecrow, who could not have kept the path at all had not his comrades broken the way for his straw-stuffed body. presently the tin woodman pushed his way through some heavy underbrush, and almost tumbled headlong into a vast cleared space in the forest. the clearing was circular, big and roomy, yet the top branches of the tall trees reached over and formed a complete dome or roof for it. strangely enough, it was not dark in this immense natural chamber in the woodland, for the place glowed with a soft, white light that seemed to come from some unseen source. in the chamber were grouped dozens of queer creatures, and these so astonished the tin man that woot had to push his metal body aside, that he might see, too. and the scarecrow pushed woot aside, so that the three travelers stood in a row, staring with all their eyes. the creatures they beheld were round and ball-like; round in body, round in legs and arms, round in hands and feet and round of head. the only exception to the roundness was a slight hollow on the top of each head, making it saucer-shaped instead of dome-shaped. they wore no clothes on their puffy bodies, nor had they any hair. their skins were all of a light gray color, and their eyes were mere purple spots. their noses were as puffy as the rest of them. "are they rubber, do you think?" asked the scarecrow, who noticed that the creatures bounded, as they moved, and seemed almost as light as air. "it is difficult to tell what they are," answered woot, "they seem to be covered with warts." the loons--for so these folks were called--had been doing many things, some playing together, some working at tasks and some gathered in groups to talk; but at the sound of strange voices, which echoed rather loudly through the clearing, all turned in the direction of the intruders. then, in a body, they all rushed forward, running and bounding with tremendous speed. the tin woodman was so surprised by this sudden dash that he had no time to raise his axe before the loons were on them. the creatures swung their puffy hands, which looked like boxing-gloves, and pounded the three travelers as hard as they could, on all sides. the blows were quite soft and did not hurt our friends at all, but the onslaught quite bewildered them, so that in a brief period all three were knocked over and fell flat upon the ground. once down, many of the loons held them, to prevent their getting up again, while others wound long tendrils of vines about them, binding their arms and legs to their bodies and so rendering them helpless. "aha!" cried the biggest loon of all; "we've got 'em safe; so let's carry 'em to king bal and have 'em tried, and condemned and perforated!" they had to drag their captives to the center of the domed chamber, for their weight, as compared with that of the loons, prevented their being carried. even the scarecrow was much heavier than the puffy loons. but finally the party halted before a raised platform, on which stood a sort of throne, consisting of a big, wide chair with a string tied to one arm of it. this string led upward to the roof of the dome. arranged before the platform, the prisoners were allowed to sit up, facing the empty throne. "good!" said the big loon who had commanded the party. "now to get king bal to judge these terrible creatures we have so bravely captured." as he spoke he took hold of the string and began to pull as hard as he could. one or two of the others helped him and pretty soon, as they drew in the cord, the leaves above them parted and a loon appeared at the other end of the string. it didn't take long to draw him down to the throne, where he seated himself and was tied in, so he wouldn't float upward again. "hello," said the king, blinking his purple eyes at his followers; "what's up now!" "strangers, your majesty--strangers and captives," replied the big loon, pompously. "dear me! i see 'em. i see 'em very plainly," exclaimed the king, his purple eyes bulging out as he looked at the three prisoners. "what curious animals! are they dangerous, do you think, my good panta?" "i'm 'fraid so, your majesty. of course, they may _not_ be dangerous, but we mustn't take chances. enough accidents happen to us poor loons as it is, and my advice is to condemn and perforate 'em as quickly as possible." "keep your advice to yourself," said the monarch, in a peeved tone. "who's king here, anyhow? you or me?" "we made you our king because you have less common sense than the rest of us," answered panta loon, indignantly. "i could have been king myself, had i wanted to, but i didn't care for the hard work and responsibility." as he said this, the big loon strutted back and forth in the space between the throne of king bal and the prisoners, and the other loons seemed much impressed by his defiance. but suddenly there came a sharp report and panta loon instantly disappeared, to the great astonishment of the scarecrow, the tin woodman and woot the wanderer, who saw on the spot where the big fellow had stood a little heap of flabby, wrinkled skin that looked like a collapsed rubber balloon. "there!" exclaimed the king; "i expected that would happen. the conceited rascal wanted to puff himself up until he was bigger than the rest of you, and this is the result of his folly. get the pump working, some of you, and blow him up again." "we will have to mend the puncture first, your majesty," suggested one of the loons, and the prisoners noticed that none of them seemed surprised or shocked at the sad accident to panta. "all right," grumbled the king. "fetch til to mend him." one or two ran away and presently returned, followed by a lady loon wearing huge, puffed-up rubber skirts. also she had a purple feather fastened to a wart on the top of her head, and around her waist was a sash of fibre-like vines, dried and tough, that looked like strings. "get to work, til," commanded king bal. "panta has just exploded." the lady loon picked up the bunch of skin and examined it carefully until she discovered a hole in one foot. then she pulled a strand of string from her sash, and drawing the edges of the hole together, she tied them fast with the string, thus making one of those curious warts which the strangers had noticed on so many loons. having done this, til loon tossed the bit of skin to the other loons and was about to go away when she noticed the prisoners and stopped to inspect them. "dear me!" said til; "what dreadful creatures. where did they come from?" "we captured them," replied one of the loons. "and what are we going to do with them?" inquired the girl loon. "perhaps we'll condemn 'em and puncture 'em," answered the king. "well," said she, still eyeing the captives, "i'm not sure they'll puncture. let's try it, and see." one of the loons ran to the forest's edge and quickly returned with a long, sharp thorn. he glanced at the king, who nodded his head in assent, and then he rushed forward and stuck the thorn into the leg of the scarecrow. the scarecrow merely smiled and said nothing, for the thorn didn't hurt him at all. then the loon tried to prick the tin woodman's leg, but the tin only blunted the point of the thorn. [illustration] "just as i thought," said til, blinking her purple eyes and shaking her puffy head; but just then the loon stuck the thorn into the leg of woot the wanderer, and while it had been blunted somewhat, it was still sharp enough to hurt. "ouch!" yelled woot, and kicked out his leg with so much energy that the frail bonds that tied him burst apart. his foot caught the loon--who was leaning over him--full on his puffy stomach, and sent him shooting up into the air. when he was high over their heads he exploded with a loud "pop" and his skin fell to the ground. "i really believe," said the king, rolling his spot-like eyes in a frightened way, "that panta was right in claiming these prisoners are dangerous. is the pump ready?" some of the loons had wheeled a big machine in front of the throne and now took panta's skin and began to pump air into it. slowly it swelled out until the king cried "stop!" "no, no!" yelled panta, "i'm not big enough yet." "you're as big as you're going to be," declared the king. "before you exploded you were bigger than the rest of us, and that caused you to be proud and overbearing. now you're a little smaller than the rest, and you will last longer and be more humble." "pump me up--pump me up!" wailed panta. "if you don't you'll break my heart." "if we do we'll break your skin," replied the king. so the loons stopped pumping air into panta, and pushed him away from the pump. he was certainly more humble than before his accident, for he crept into the background and said nothing more. [illustration] "now pump up the other one," ordered the king. til had already mended him, and the loons set to work to pump him full of air. during these last few moments none had paid much attention to the prisoners, so woot, finding his legs free, crept over to the tin woodman and rubbed the bonds that were still around his arms and body against the sharp edge of the axe, which quickly cut them. the boy was now free, and the thorn which the loon had stuck into his leg was lying unnoticed on the ground, where the creature had dropped it when he exploded. woot leaned forward and picked up the thorn, and while the loons were busy watching the pump, the boy sprang to his feet and suddenly rushed upon the group. "pop"--"pop"--"pop!" went three of the loons, when the wanderer pricked them with his thorn, and at the sounds the others looked around and saw their danger. with yells of fear they bounded away in all directions, scattering about the clearing, with woot the wanderer in full chase. while they could run much faster than the boy, they often stumbled and fell, or got in one another's way, so he managed to catch several and prick them with his thorn. it astonished him to see how easily the loons exploded. when the air was let out of them they were quite helpless. til loon was one of those who ran against his thorn and many others suffered the same fate. the creatures could not escape from the enclosure, but in their fright many bounded upward and caught branches of the trees, and then climbed out of reach of the dreaded thorn. woot was getting pretty tired chasing them, so he stopped and came over, panting, to where his friends were sitting, still bound. "very well done, my wanderer," said the tin woodman. "it is evident that we need fear these puffed-up creatures no longer, so be kind enough to unfasten our bonds and we will proceed upon our journey." woot untied the bonds of the scarecrow and helped him to his feet. then he freed the tin woodman, who got up without help. looking around them, they saw that the only loon now remaining within reach was bal loon, the king, who had remained seated in his throne, watching the punishment of his people with a bewildered look in his purple eyes. "shall i puncture the king?" the boy asked his companions. [illustration] king bal must have overheard the question, for he fumbled with the cord that fastened him to the throne and managed to release it. then he floated upward until he reached the leafy dome, and parting the branches he disappeared from sight. but the string that was tied to his body was still connected with the arm of the throne, and they knew they could pull his majesty down again, if they wanted to. "let him alone," suggested the scarecrow. "he seems a good enough king for his peculiar people, and after we are gone, the loons will have something of a job to pump up all those whom woot has punctured." "every one of them ought to be exploded," declared woot, who was angry because his leg still hurt him. "no," said the tin woodman, "that would not be just fair. they were quite right to capture us, because we had no business to intrude here, having been warned to keep away from loonville. this is their country, not ours, and since the poor things can't get out of the clearing, they can harm no one save those who venture here out of curiosity, as we did." "well said, my friend," agreed the scarecrow. "we really had no right to disturb their peace and comfort; so let us go away." they easily found the place where they had forced their way into the enclosure, so the tin woodman pushed aside the underbrush and started first along the path. the scarecrow followed next and last came woot, who looked back and saw that the loons were still clinging to their perches on the trees and watching their former captives with frightened eyes. "i guess they're glad to see the last of us," remarked the boy, and laughing at the happy ending of the adventure, he followed his comrades along the path. [illustration] mrs. yoop, the giantess [illustration] chapter 5 when they had reached the end of the path, where they had first seen the warning sign, they set off across the country in an easterly direction. before long they reached rolling lands, which were a succession of hills and valleys where constant climbs and descents were required, and their journey now became tedious, because on climbing each hill, they found before them nothing in the valley below it--except grass, or weeds or stones. up and down they went for hours, with nothing to relieve the monotony of the landscape, until finally, when they had topped a higher hill than usual, they discovered a cup-shaped valley before them in the center of which stood an enormous castle, built of purple stone. the castle was high and broad and long, but had no turrets and towers. so far as they could see, there was but one small window and one big door on each side of the great building. "this is strange!" mused the scarecrow. "i'd no idea such a big castle existed in this gillikin country. i wonder who lives here?" "it seems to me, from this distance," remarked the tin woodman, "that it's the biggest castle i ever saw. it is really too big for any use, and no one could open or shut those big doors without a stepladder." "perhaps, if we go nearer, we shall find out whether anybody lives there or not," suggested woot. "looks to me as if nobody lived there." on they went, and when they reached the center of the valley, where the great stone castle stood, it was beginning to grow dark. so they hesitated as to what to do. "if friendly people happen to live here," said woot, "i shall be glad of a bed; but should enemies occupy the place, i prefer to sleep upon the ground." "and if no one at all lives here," added the scarecrow, "we can enter, and take possession, and make ourselves at home." while speaking he went nearer to one of the great doors, which was three times as high and broad as any he had ever seen in a house before, and then he discovered, engraved in big letters upon a stone over the doorway, the words: "yoop castle" "oho!" he exclaimed; "i know the place now. this was probably the home of mr. yoop, a terrible giant whom i have seen confined in a cage, a long way from here. therefore this castle is likely to be empty and we may use it in any way we please." "yes, yes," said the tin emperor, nodding; "i also remember mr. yoop. but how are we to get into his deserted castle? the latch of the door is so far above our heads that none of us can reach it." they considered this problem for a while, and then woot said to the tin man: [illustration] "if i stand upon your shoulders, i think i can unlatch the door." "climb up, then," was the reply, and when the boy was perched upon the tin shoulders of nick chopper, he was just able to reach the latch and raise it. at once the door swung open, its great hinges making a groaning sound as if in protest, so woot leaped down and followed his companions into a big, bare hallway. scarcely were the three inside, however, when they heard the door slam shut behind them, and this astonished them because no one had touched it. it had closed of its own accord, as if by magic. moreover, the latch was on the outside, and the thought occurred to each one of them that they were now prisoners in this unknown castle. "however," mumbled the scarecrow, "we are not to blame for what cannot be helped; so let us push bravely ahead and see what may be seen." it was quite dark in the hallway, now that the outside door was shut, so as they stumbled along a stone passage they kept close together, not knowing what danger was likely to befall them. suddenly a soft glow enveloped them. it grew brighter, until they could see their surroundings distinctly. they had reached the end of the passage and before them was another huge door. this noiselessly swung open before them, without the help of anyone, and through the doorway they observed a big chamber, the walls of which were lined with plates of pure gold, highly polished. this room was also lighted, although they could discover no lamps, and in the center of it was a great table at which sat an immense woman. she was clad in silver robes embroidered with gay floral designs, and wore over this splendid raiment a short apron of elaborate lace-work. such an apron was no protection, and was not in keeping with the handsome gown, but the huge woman wore it, nevertheless. the table at which she sat was spread with a white cloth and had golden dishes upon it, so the travelers saw that they had surprised the giantess while she was eating her supper. she had her back toward them and did not even turn around, but taking a biscuit from a dish she began to butter it and said in a voice that was big and deep but not especially unpleasant: "why don't you come in and allow the door to shut? you're causing a draught, and i shall catch cold and sneeze. when i sneeze, i get cross, and when i get cross i'm liable to do something wicked. come in, you foolish strangers; come in!" being thus urged, they entered the room and approached the table, until they stood where they faced the great giantess. she continued eating, but smiled in a curious way as she looked at them. woot noticed that the door had closed silently after they had entered, and that didn't please him at all. "well," said the giantess, "what excuse have you to offer?" "we didn't know anyone lived here, madam," explained the scarecrow; "so, being travelers and strangers in these parts, and wishing to find a place for our boy friend to sleep, we ventured to enter your castle." "you knew it was private property, i suppose?" said she, buttering another biscuit. "we saw the words, 'yoop castle,' over the door, but we knew that mr. yoop is a prisoner in a cage in a far-off part of the land of oz, so we decided there was no one now at home and that we might use the castle for the night." "i see," remarked the giantess, nodding her head and smiling again in that curious way--a way that made woot shudder. "you didn't know that mr. yoop was married, or that after he was cruelly captured his wife still lived in his castle, and ran it to suit herself." "who captured mr. yoop?" asked woot, looking gravely at the big woman. "wicked enemies. people who selfishly objected to yoop's taking their cows and sheep for his food. i must admit, however, that yoop had a bad temper, and had the habit of knocking over a few houses, now and then, when he was angry. so one day the little folks came in a great crowd and captured mr. yoop, and carried him away to a cage somewhere in the mountains. i don't know where it is, and i don't care, for my husband treated me badly at times, forgetting the respect a giant owes to a giantess. often he kicked me on my shins, when i wouldn't wait on him. so i'm glad he is gone." "it's a wonder the people didn't capture you, too," remarked woot. "well, i was too clever for them," said she, giving a sudden laugh that caused such a breeze that the wobbly scarecrow was almost blown off his feet and had to grab his friend nick chopper to steady himself. "i saw the people coming," continued mrs. yoop, "and knowing they meant mischief i transformed myself into a mouse and hid in a cupboard. after they had gone away, carrying my shin-kicking husband with them, i transformed myself back to my former shape again, and here i've lived in peace and comfort ever since." "are you a witch, then?" inquired woot. "well, not exactly a witch," she replied, "but i'm an artist in transformations. in other words, i'm more of a yookoohoo than a witch, and of course you know that the yookoohoos are the cleverest magic-workers in the world." the travelers were silent for a time, uneasily considering this statement and the effect it might have on their future. no doubt the giantess had wilfully made them her prisoners; yet she spoke so cheerfully, in her big voice, that until now they had not been alarmed in the least. by and by the scarecrow, whose mixed brains had been working steadily, asked the woman: "are we to consider you our friend, mrs. yoop, or do you intend to be our enemy?" "i never have friends," she said in a matter-of-fact tone, "because friends get too familiar and always forget to mind their own business. but i am not your enemy; not yet, anyhow. indeed, i'm glad you've come, for my life here is rather lonely. i've had no one to talk to since i transformed polychrome, the daughter of the rainbow, into a canary-bird." "how did you manage to do that?" asked the tin woodman, in amazement. "polychrome is a powerful fairy!" "she _was_," said the giantess; "but now she's a canary-bird. one day after a rain, polychrome danced off the rainbow and fell asleep on a little mound in this valley, not far from my castle. the sun came out and drove the rainbow away, and before poly wakened, i stole out and transformed her into a canary-bird in a gold cage studded with diamonds. the cage was so she couldn't fly away. i expected she'd sing and talk and we'd have good times together; but she has proved no company for me at all. ever since the moment of her transformation, she has refused to speak a single word." "where is she now?" inquired woot, who had heard tales of lovely polychrome and was much interested in her. "the cage is hanging up in my bedroom," said the giantess, eating another biscuit. the travelers were now more uneasy and suspicious of the giantess than before. if polychrome, the rainbow's daughter, who was a real fairy, had been transformed and enslaved by this huge woman, who claimed to be a yookoohoo, what was liable to happen to _them_? said the scarecrow, twisting his stuffed head around in mrs. yoop's direction: "do you know, ma'am, who we are?" "of course," said she; "a straw man, a tin man and a boy." "we are very important people," declared the tin woodman. "all the better," she replied. "i shall enjoy your society the more on that account. for i mean to keep you here as long as i live, to amuse me when i get lonely. and," she added slowly, "in this valley no one ever dies." they didn't like this speech at all, so the scarecrow frowned in a way that made mrs. yoop smile, while the tin woodman looked so fierce that mrs. yoop laughed. the scarecrow suspected she was going to laugh, so he slipped behind his friends to escape the wind from her breath. from this safe position he said warningly: "we have powerful friends who will soon come to rescue us." [illustration] "let them come," she returned, with an accent of scorn. "when they get here they will find neither a boy, nor a tin man, nor a scarecrow, for tomorrow morning i intend to transform you all into other shapes, so that you cannot be recognized." this threat filled them with dismay. the good-natured giantess was more terrible than they had imagined. she could smile and wear pretty clothes and at the same time be even more cruel than her wicked husband had been. both the scarecrow and the tin woodman tried to think of some way to escape from the castle before morning, but she seemed to read their thoughts and shook her head. "don't worry your poor brains," said she. "you can't escape me, however hard you try. but why should you wish to escape? i shall give you new forms that are much better than the ones you now have. be contented with your fate, for discontent leads to unhappiness, and unhappiness, in any form, is the greatest evil that can befall you." "what forms do you intend to give us?" asked woot earnestly. "i haven't decided, as yet. i'll dream over it tonight, so in the morning i shall have made up my mind how to transform you. perhaps you'd prefer to choose your own transformations?" "no," said woot, "i prefer to remain as i am." "that's funny," she retorted. "you are little, and you're weak; as you are, you're not much account, anyhow. the best thing about you is that you're alive, for i shall be able to make of you some sort of live creature which will be a great improvement on your present form." [illustration] she took another biscuit from a plate and dipped it in a pot of honey and calmly began eating it. the scarecrow watched her thoughtfully. "there are no fields of grain in your valley," said he; "where, then, did you get the flour to make your biscuits?" "mercy me! do you think i'd bother to make biscuits out of flour?" she replied. "that is altogether too tedious a process for a yookoohoo. i set some traps this afternoon and caught a lot of field-mice, but as i do not like to eat mice, i transformed them into hot biscuits for my supper. the honey in this pot was once a wasp's nest, but since being transformed it has become sweet and delicious. all i need do, when i wish to eat, is to take something i don't care to keep, and transform it into any sort of food i like, and eat it. are you hungry?" "i don't eat, thank you," said the scarecrow. "nor do i," said the tin woodman. "i have still a little natural food in my knapsack," said woot the wanderer, "and i'd rather eat that than any wasp's nest." "every one to his taste," said the giantess carelessly, and having now finished her supper she rose to her feet, clapped her hands together, and the supper table at once disappeared. the magic of a yookoohoo [illustration] chapter 6 woot had seen very little of magic during his wanderings, while the scarecrow and the tin woodman had seen a great deal of many sorts in their lives, yet all three were greatly impressed by mrs. yoop's powers. she did not affect any mysterious airs or indulge in chants or mystic rites, as most witches do, nor was the giantess old and ugly or disagreeable in face or manner. nevertheless, she frightened her prisoners more than any witch could have done. "please be seated," she said to them, as she sat herself down in a great arm-chair and spread her beautiful embroidered skirts for them to admire. but all the chairs in the room were so high that our friends could not climb to the seats of them. mrs. yoop observed this and waved her hand, when instantly a golden ladder appeared leaning against a chair opposite her own. "climb up," said she, and they obeyed, the tin man and the boy assisting the more clumsy scarecrow. when they were all seated in a row on the cushion of the chair, the giantess continued: "now tell me how you happened to travel in this direction, and where you came from and what your errand is." so the tin woodman told her all about nimmie amee, and how he had decided to find her and marry her, although he had no loving heart. the story seemed to amuse the big woman, who then began to ask the scarecrow questions and for the first time in her life heard of ozma of oz, and of dorothy and jack pumpkinhead and dr. pipt and tik-tok and many other oz people who are well known in the emerald city. also woot had to tell his story, which was very simple and did not take long. the giantess laughed heartily when the boy related their adventure at loonville, but said she knew nothing of the loons because she never left her valley. "there are wicked people who would like to capture me, as they did my giant husband, mr. yoop," said she; "so i stay at home and mind my own business." "if ozma knew that you dared to work magic without her consent, she would punish you severely," declared the scarecrow, "for this castle is in the land of oz, and no persons in the land of oz are permitted to work magic except glinda the good and the little wizard who lives with ozma in the emerald city." "_that_ for your ozma!" exclaimed the giantess, snapping her fingers in derision. "what do i care for a girl whom i have never seen and who has never seen me?" "but ozma is a fairy," said the tin woodman, "and therefore she is very powerful. also, we are under ozma's protection, and to injure us in any way would make her extremely angry." "what i do here, in my own private castle in this secluded valley--where no one comes but fools like you--can never be known to your fairy ozma," returned the giantess. "do not seek to frighten me from my purpose, and do not allow yourselves to be frightened, for it is best to meet bravely what cannot be avoided. i am now going to bed, and in the morning i will give you all new forms, such as will be more interesting to me than the ones you now wear. good night, and pleasant dreams." saying this, mrs. yoop rose from her chair and walked through a doorway into another room. so heavy was the tread of the giantess that even the walls of the big stone castle trembled as she stepped. she closed the door of her bedroom behind her, and then suddenly the light went out and the three prisoners found themselves in total darkness. the tin woodman and the scarecrow didn't mind the dark at all, but woot the wanderer felt worried to be left in this strange place in this strange manner, without being able to see any danger that might threaten. "the big woman might have given me a bed, anyhow," he said to his companions, and scarcely had he spoken when he felt something press against his legs, which were then dangling from the seat of the chair. leaning down, he put out his hand and found that a bedstead had appeared, with mattress, sheets and covers, all complete. he lost no time in slipping down upon the bed and was soon fast asleep. during the night the scarecrow and the emperor talked in low tones together, and they got out of the chair and moved all about the room, feeling for some hidden spring that might open a door or window and permit them to escape. morning found them still unsuccessful in the quest and as soon as it was daylight woot's bed suddenly disappeared, and he dropped to the floor with a thump that quickly wakened him. and after a time the giantess came from her bedroom, wearing another dress that was quite as elaborate as the one in which she had been attired the evening before, and also wearing the pretty lace apron. having seated herself in a chair, she said: "i'm hungry; so i'll have breakfast at once." she clapped her hands together and instantly the table appeared before her, spread with snowy linen and laden with golden dishes. but there was no food upon the table, nor anything else except a pitcher of water, a bundle of weeds and a handful of pebbles. but the giantess poured some water into her coffee-pot, patted it once or twice with her hand, and then poured out a cupful of steaming hot coffee. "would you like some?" she asked woot. he was suspicious of magic coffee, but it smelled so good that he could not resist it; so he answered: "if you please, madam." the giantess poured out another cup and set it on the floor for woot. it was as big as a tub, and the golden spoon in the saucer beside the cup was so heavy the boy could scarcely lift it. but woot managed to get a sip of the coffee and found it delicious. mrs. yoop next transformed the weeds into a dish of oatmeal, which she ate with good appetite. "now, then," said she, picking up the pebbles, "i'm wondering whether i shall have fish-balls or lamb-chops to complete my meal. which would you prefer, woot the wanderer?" "if you please, i'll eat the food in my knapsack," answered the boy. "your magic food might taste good, but i'm afraid of it." the woman laughed at his fears and transformed the pebbles into fish-balls. [illustration] "i suppose you think that after you had eaten this food it would turn to stones again and make you sick," she remarked; "but that would be impossible. _nothing i transform ever gets back to its former shape again_, so these fish-balls can never more be pebbles. that is why i have to be careful of my transformations," she added, busily eating while she talked, "for while i can change forms at will i can never change them back again--which proves that even the powers of a clever yookoohoo are limited. when i have transformed you three people, you must always wear the shapes that i have given you." "then please don't transform us," begged woot, "for we are quite satisfied to remain as we are." "i am not expecting to satisfy you, but intend to please myself," she declared, "and my pleasure is to give you new shapes. for, if by chance your friends came in search of you, not one of them would be able to recognize you." her tone was so positive that they knew it would be useless to protest. the woman was not unpleasant to look at; her face was not cruel; her voice was big but gracious in tone; but her words showed that she possessed a merciless heart and no pleadings would alter her wicked purpose. mrs. yoop took ample time to finish her breakfast and the prisoners had no desire to hurry her, but finally the meal was concluded and she folded her napkin and made the table disappear by clapping her hands together. then she turned to her captives and said: "the next thing on the programme is to change your forms." "have you decided what forms to give us?" asked the scarecrow, uneasily. "yes; i dreamed it all out while i was asleep. this tin man seems a very solemn person"--indeed, the tin woodman _was_ looking solemn, just then, for he was greatly disturbed--"so i shall change him into an owl." all she did was to point one finger at him as she spoke, but immediately the form of the tin woodman began to change and in a few seconds nick chopper, the emperor of the winkies, had been transformed into an owl, with eyes as big as saucers and a hooked beak and strong claws. but he was still tin. he was a tin owl, with tin legs and beak and eyes and feathers. when he flew to the back of a chair and perched upon it, his tin feathers rattled against one another with a tinny clatter. the giantess seemed much amused by the tin owl's appearance, for her laugh was big and jolly. "you're not liable to get lost," said she, "for your wings and feathers will make a racket wherever you go. and, on my word, a tin owl is so rare and pretty that it is an improvement on the ordinary bird. i did not intend to make you tin, but i forgot to wish you to be meat. however, tin you were, and tin you are, and as it's too late to change you, that settles it." until now the scarecrow had rather doubted the possibility of mrs. yoop's being able to transform him, or his friend the tin woodman, for they were not made as ordinary people are. he had worried more over what might happen to woot than to himself, but now he began to worry about himself. "madam," he said hastily, "i consider this action very impolite. it may even be called rude, considering we are your guests." "you are not guests, for i did not invite you here," she replied. "perhaps not; but we craved hospitality. we threw ourselves upon your mercy, so to speak, and we now find you have no mercy. therefore, if you will excuse the expression, i must say it is downright wicked to take our proper forms away from us and give us others that we do not care for." "are you trying to make me angry?" she asked, frowning. "by no means," said the scarecrow; "i'm just trying to make you act more ladylike." [illustration] "oh, indeed! in _my_ opinion, mr. scarecrow, you are now acting like a bear--so a bear you shall be!" again the dreadful finger pointed, this time in the scarecrow's direction, and at once his form began to change. in a few seconds he had become a small brown bear, but he was stuffed with straw as he had been before, and when the little brown bear shuffled across the floor he was just as wobbly as the scarecrow had been and moved just as awkwardly. woot was amazed, but he was also thoroughly frightened. "did it hurt?" he asked the little brown bear. "no, of course not," growled the scarecrow in the bear's form; "but i don't like walking on four legs; it's undignified." "consider _my_ humiliation!" chirped the tin owl, trying to settle its tin feathers smoothly with its tin beak. "and i can't see very well, either. the light seems to hurt my eyes." "that's because you are an owl," said woot. "i think you will see better in the dark." "well," remarked the giantess, "i'm very well pleased with these new forms, for my part, and i'm sure you will like them better when you get used to them. so now," she added, turning to the boy, "it is _your_ turn." "don't you think you'd better leave me as i am?" asked woot in a trembling voice. "no," she replied, "i'm going to make a monkey of you. i love monkeys--they're so cute!--and i think a green monkey will be lots of fun and amuse me when i am sad." woot shivered, for again the terrible magic finger pointed, and pointed directly his way. he felt himself changing; not so very much, however, and it didn't hurt him a bit. he looked down at his limbs and body and found that his clothes were gone and his skin covered with a fine, silk-like green fur. his hands and feet were now those of a monkey. he realized he really _was_ a monkey, and his first feeling was one of anger. he began to chatter as monkeys do. he bounded to the seat of a giant chair, and then to its back and with a wild leap sprang upon the laughing giantess. his idea was to seize her hair and pull it out by the roots, and so have revenge for her wicked transformations. but she raised her hand and said: "gently, my dear monkey--gently! you're not angry; you're happy as can be!" woot stopped short. no; he wasn't a bit angry now; he felt as good-humored and gay as ever he did when a boy. instead of pulling mrs. yoop's hair, he perched on her shoulder and smoothed her soft cheek with his hairy paw. in return, she smiled at the funny green animal and patted his head. "very good," said the giantess. "let us all become friends and be happy together. how is my tin owl feeling?" "quite comfortable," said the owl. "i don't like it, to be sure, but i'm not going to allow my new form to make me unhappy. but, tell me, please: what is a tin owl good for?" "you are only good to make me laugh," replied the giantess. "will a stuffed bear also make you laugh?" inquired the scarecrow, sitting back on his haunches to look up at her. "of course," declared the giantess; "and i have added a little magic to your transformations to make you all contented with wearing your new forms. i'm sorry i didn't think to do that when i transformed polychrome into a canary-bird. but perhaps, when she sees how cheerful you are, she will cease to be silent and sullen and take to singing. i will go get the bird and let you see her." with this, mrs. yoop went into the next room and soon returned bearing a golden cage in which sat upon a swinging perch a lovely yellow canary. [illustration] "polychrome," said the giantess, "permit me to introduce to you a green monkey, which used to be a boy called woot the wanderer, and a tin owl, which used to be a tin woodman named nick chopper, and a straw-stuffed little brown bear which used to be a live scarecrow." "we already know one another," declared the scarecrow. "the bird is polychrome, the rainbow's daughter, and she and i used to be good friends." "are you really my old friend, the scarecrow?" asked the bird, in a sweet, low voice. "there!" cried mrs. yoop; "that's the first time she has spoken since she was transformed." "i am really your old friend," answered the scarecrow; "but you must pardon me for appearing just now in this brutal form." "i am a bird, as you are, dear poly," said the tin woodman; "but, alas! a tin owl is not as beautiful as a canary-bird." "how dreadful it all is!" sighed the canary. "couldn't you manage to escape from this terrible yookoohoo?" "no," answered the scarecrow, "we tried to escape, but failed. she first made us her prisoners and then transformed us. but how did she manage to get _you_, polychrome?" "i was asleep, and she took unfair advantage of me," answered the bird sadly. "had i been awake, i could easily have protected myself." "tell me," said the green monkey earnestly, as he came close to the cage, "what must we do, daughter of the rainbow, to escape from these transformations? can't you help us, being a fairy?" [illustration] "at present i am powerless to help even myself," replied the canary. "that's the exact truth!" exclaimed the giantess, who seemed pleased to hear the bird talk, even though it complained; "you are all helpless and in my power, so you may as well make up your minds to accept your fate and be content. remember that you are transformed for good, since no magic on earth can break your enchantments. i am now going out for my morning walk, for each day after breakfast i walk sixteen times around my castle for exercise. amuse yourselves while i am gone, and when i return i hope to find you all reconciled and happy." so the giantess walked to the door by which our friends had entered the great hall and spoke one word: "open!" then the door swung open and after mrs. yoop had passed out it closed again with a snap as its powerful bolts shot into place. the green monkey had rushed toward the opening, hoping to escape, but he was too late and only got a bump on his nose as the door slammed shut. the lace apron [illustration] chapter 7 "now," said the canary, in a tone more brisk than before, "we may talk together more freely, as mrs. yoop cannot hear us. perhaps we can figure out a way to escape." "open!" said woot the monkey, still facing the door; but his command had no effect and he slowly rejoined the others. "you cannot open any door or window in this enchanted castle unless you are wearing the magic apron," said the canary. "what magic apron do you mean?" asked the tin owl, in a curious voice. "the lace one, which the giantess always wears. i have been her prisoner, in this cage, for several weeks, and she hangs my cage in her bedroom every night, so that she can keep her eye on me," explained polychrome the canary. "therefore i have discovered that it is the magic apron that opens the doors and windows, and nothing else can move them. when she goes to bed, mrs. yoop hangs her apron on the bedpost, and one morning she forgot to put it on when she commanded the door to open, and the door would not move. so then she put on the lace apron and the door obeyed her. that was how i learned the magic power of the apron." "i see--i see!" said the little brown bear, wagging his stuffed head. "then, if we could get the apron from mrs. yoop, we could open the doors and escape from our prison." "that is true, and it is the plan i was about to suggest," replied polychrome the canary-bird. "however, i don't believe the owl could steal the apron, or even the bear, but perhaps the monkey could hide in her room at night and get the apron while she is asleep." "i'll try it!" cried woot the monkey. "i'll try it this very night, if i can manage to steal into her bedroom." "you mustn't think about it, though," warned the bird, "for she can read your thoughts whenever she cares to do so. and do not forget, before you escape, to take me with you. once i am out of the power of the giantess, i may discover a way to save us all." "we won't forget our fairy friend," promised the boy; "but perhaps you can tell me how to get into the bedroom." "no," declared polychrome, "i cannot advise you as to that. you must watch for a chance, and slip in when mrs. yoop isn't looking." they talked it over for a while longer and then mrs. yoop returned. when she entered, the door opened suddenly, at her command, and closed as soon as her huge form had passed through the doorway. during that day she entered her bedroom several times, on one errand or another, but always she commanded the door to close behind her and her prisoners found not the slightest chance to leave the big hall in which they were confined. the green monkey thought it would be wise to make a friend of the big woman, so as to gain her confidence, so he sat on the back of her chair and chattered to her while she mended her stockings and sewed silver buttons on some golden shoes that were as big as row-boats. this pleased the giantess and she would pause at times to pat the monkey's head. the little brown bear curled up in a corner and lay still all day. the owl and the canary found they could converse together in the bird language, which neither the giantess nor the bear nor the monkey could understand; so at times they twittered away to each other and passed the long, dreary day quite cheerfully. after dinner mrs. yoop took a big fiddle from a big cupboard and played such loud and dreadful music that her prisoners were all thankful when at last she stopped and said she was going to bed. [illustration] after cautioning the monkey and bear and owl to behave themselves during the night, she picked up the cage containing the canary and, going to the door of her bedroom, commanded it to open. just then, however, she remembered she had left her fiddle lying upon a table, so she went back for it and put it away in the cupboard, and while her back was turned the green monkey slipped through the open door into her bedroom and hid underneath the bed. the giantess, being sleepy, did not notice this, and entering her room she made the door close behind her and then hung the bird-cage on a peg by the window. then she began to undress, first taking off the lace apron and laying it over the bedpost, where it was within easy reach of her hand. as soon as mrs. yoop was in bed the lights all went out, and woot the monkey crouched under the bed and waited patiently until he heard the giantess snoring. then he crept out and in the dark felt around until he got hold of the apron, which he at once tied around his own waist. next, woot tried to find the canary, and there was just enough moonlight showing through the window to enable him to see where the cage hung; but it was out of his reach. at first he was tempted to leave polychrome and escape with his other friends, but remembering his promise to the rainbow's daughter woot tried to think how to save her. a chair stood near the window, and this--showing dimly in the moonlight--gave him an idea. by pushing against it with all his might, he found he could move the giant chair a few inches at a time. so he pushed and pushed until the chair was beneath the bird-cage, and then he sprang noiselessly upon the seat--for his monkey form enabled him to jump higher than he could do as a boy--and from there to the back of the chair, and so managed to reach the cage and take it off the peg. then down he sprang to the floor and made his way to the door. [illustration] "open!" he commanded, and at once the door obeyed and swung open. but his voice wakened mrs. yoop, who gave a wild cry and sprang out of bed with one bound. the green monkey dashed through the doorway, carrying the cage with him, and before the giantess could reach the door it slammed shut and imprisoned her in her own bed-chamber! the noise she made, pounding upon the door, and her yells of anger and dreadful threats of vengeance, filled all our friends with terror, and woot the monkey was so excited that in the dark he could not find the outer door of the hall. but the tin owl could see very nicely in the dark, so he guided his friends to the right place and when all were grouped before the door woot commanded it to open. the magic apron proved as powerful as when it had been worn by the giantess, so a moment later they had rushed through the passage and were standing in the fresh night air outside the castle, free to go wherever they willed. the menace of the forest [illustration] chapter 8 "quick!" cried polychrome the canary; "we must hurry, or mrs. yoop may find some way to recapture us, even now. let us get out of her valley as soon as possible." so they set off toward the east, moving as swiftly as they could, and for a long time they could hear the yells and struggles of the imprisoned giantess. the green monkey could run over the ground very swiftly, and he carried with him the bird-cage containing polychrome the rainbow's daughter. also the tin owl could skip and fly along at a good rate of speed, his feathers rattling against one another with a tinkling sound as he moved. but the little brown bear, being stuffed with straw, was a clumsy traveler and the others had to wait for him to follow. however, they were not very long in reaching the ridge that led out of mrs. yoop's valley, and when they had passed this ridge and descended into the next valley they stopped to rest, for the green monkey was tired. "i believe we are safe, now," said polychrome, when her cage was set down and the others had all gathered around it, "for mrs. yoop dares not go outside of her own valley, for fear of being captured by her enemies. so we may take our time to consider what to do next." "i'm afraid poor mrs. yoop will starve to death, if no one lets her out of her bedroom," said woot, who had a heart as kind as that of the tin woodman. "we've taken her magic apron away, and now the doors will never open." "don't worry about that," advised polychrome. "mrs. yoop has plenty of magic left to console her." "are you sure of that?" asked the green monkey. "yes, for i've been watching her for weeks," said the canary. "she has six magic hairpins, which she wears in her hair, and a magic ring which she wears on her thumb and which is invisible to all eyes except those of a fairy, and magic bracelets on both her ankles. so i am positive that she will manage to find a way out of her prison." "she might transform the door into an archway," suggested the little brown bear. "that would be easy for her," said the tin owl; "but i'm glad she was too angry to think of that before we got out of her valley." "well, we have escaped the big woman, to be sure," remarked the green monkey, "but we still wear the awful forms the cruel yookoohoo gave us. how are we going to get rid of these shapes, and become ourselves again?" none could answer that question. they sat around the cage, brooding over the problem, until the monkey fell asleep. seeing this, the canary tucked her head under her wing and also slept, and the tin owl and the brown bear did not disturb them until morning came and it was broad daylight. "i'm hungry," said woot, when he wakened, for his knapsack of food had been left behind at the castle. "then let us travel on until we can find something for you to eat," returned the scarecrow bear. "there is no use in your lugging my cage any farther," declared the canary. "let me out, and throw the cage away. then i can fly with you and find my own breakfast of seeds. also i can search for water, and tell you where to find it." so the green monkey unfastened the door of the golden cage and the canary hopped out. at first she flew high in the air and made great circles overhead, but after a time she returned and perched beside them. "at the east, in the direction we were following," announced the canary, "there is a fine forest, with a brook running through it. in the forest there may be fruits or nuts growing, or berry bushes at its edge, so let us go that way." [illustration] they agreed to this and promptly set off, this time moving more deliberately. the tin owl, which had guided their way during the night, now found the sunshine very trying to his big eyes, so he shut them tight and perched upon the back of the little brown bear, which carried the owl's weight with ease. the canary sometimes perched upon the green monkey's shoulder and sometimes fluttered on ahead of the party, and in this manner they traveled in good spirits across that valley and into the next one to the east of it. this they found to be an immense hollow, shaped like a saucer, and on its farther edge appeared the forest which polychrome had seen from the sky. "come to think of it," said the tin owl, waking up and blinking comically at his friends, "there's no object, now, in our traveling to the munchkin country. my idea in going there was to marry nimmie amee, but however much the munchkin girl may have loved a tin woodman, i cannot reasonably expect her to marry a tin owl." "there is some truth in that, my friend," remarked the brown bear. "and to think that i, who was considered the handsomest scarecrow in the world, am now condemned to be a scrubby, no-account beast, whose only redeeming feature is that he is stuffed with straw!" "consider _my_ case, please," said woot. "the cruel giantess has made a monkey of a boy, and that is the most dreadful deed of all!" "your color is rather pretty," said the brown bear, eyeing woot critically. "i have never seen a pea-green monkey before, and it strikes me you are quite gorgeous." "it isn't so bad to be a bird," asserted the canary, fluttering from one to another with a free and graceful motion, "but i long to enjoy my own shape again." "as polychrome, you were the loveliest maiden i have ever seen--except, of course, ozma," said the tin owl; "so the giantess did well to transform you into the loveliest of all birds, if you were to be transformed at all. but tell me, since you are a fairy, and have a fairy wisdom: do you think we shall be able to break these enchantments?" "queer things happen in the land of oz," replied the canary, again perching on the green monkey's shoulder and turning one bright eye thoughtfully toward her questioner. "mrs. yoop has declared that none of her transformations can ever be changed, even by herself, but i believe that if we could get to glinda, the good sorceress, she might find a way to restore us to our natural shapes. glinda, as you know, is the most powerful sorceress in the world, and there are few things she cannot do if she tries." "in that case," said the little brown bear, "let us return southward and try to get to glinda's castle. it lies in the quadling country, you know, so it is a good way from here." "first, however, let us visit the forest and search for something to eat," pleaded woot. so they continued on to the edge of the forest, which consisted of many tall and beautiful trees. they discovered no fruit trees, at first, so the green monkey pushed on into the forest depths and the others followed close behind him. they were traveling quietly along, under the shade of the trees, when suddenly an enormous jaguar leaped upon them from a limb and with one blow of his paw sent the little brown bear tumbling over and over until he was stopped by a tree-trunk. instantly they all took alarm. the tin owl shrieked: "hoot--hoot!" and flew straight up to the branch of a tall tree, although he could scarcely see where he was going. the canary swiftly darted to a place beside the owl, and the green monkey sprang up, caught a limb, and soon scrambled to a high perch of safety. the jaguar crouched low and with hungry eyes regarded the little brown bear, which slowly got upon its feet and asked reproachfully: "for goodness' sake, beast, what were you trying to do?" "trying to get my breakfast," answered the jaguar with a snarl, "and i believe i've succeeded. you ought to make a delicious meal--unless you happen to be old and tough." "i'm worse than that, considered as a breakfast," said the bear, "for i'm only a skin stuffed with straw, and therefore not fit to eat." "indeed!" cried the jaguar, in a disappointed voice; "then you must be a magic bear, or enchanted, and i must seek my breakfast from among your companions." with this he raised his lean head to look up at the tin owl and the canary and the monkey, and he lashed his tail upon the ground and growled as fiercely as any jaguar could. "my friends are enchanted, also," said the little brown bear. "all of them?" asked the jaguar. "yes. the owl is tin, so you couldn't possibly eat him. the canary is a fairy--polychrome, the daughter of the rainbow--and you never could catch her because she can easily fly out of your reach." "there still remains the green monkey," remarked the jaguar hungrily. "he is neither made of tin nor stuffed with straw, nor can he fly. i'm pretty good at climbing trees, myself, so i think i'll capture the monkey and eat him for my breakfast." woot the monkey, hearing this speech from his perch on the tree, became much frightened, for he knew the nature of jaguars and realized they could climb trees and leap from limb to limb with the agility of cats. so he at once began to scamper through the forest as fast as he could go, catching at a branch with his long monkey arms and swinging his green body through space to grasp another branch in a neighboring tree, and so on, while the jaguar followed him from below, his eyes fixed steadfastly on his prey. but presently woot got his feet tangled in the lace apron, which he was still wearing, and that tripped him in his flight and made him fall to the ground, where the jaguar placed one huge paw upon him and said grimly: "i've got you, now!" the fact that the apron had tripped him made woot remember its magic powers, and in his terror he cried out: "open!" without stopping to consider how this command might save him. but, at the word, the earth opened at the exact spot where he lay under the jaguar's paw, and his body sank downward, the earth closing over it again. the last thing woot the monkey saw, as he glanced upward, was the jaguar peering into the hole in astonishment. [illustration] "he's gone!" cried the beast, with a long-drawn sigh of disappointment; "he's gone, and now i shall have no breakfast." the clatter of the tin owl's wings sounded above him, and the little brown bear came trotting up and asked: "where is the monkey? have you eaten him so quickly?" "no, indeed," answered the jaguar. "he disappeared into the earth before i could take one bite of him!" and now the canary perched upon a stump, a little way from the forest beast, and said: "i am glad our friend has escaped you; but, as it is natural for a hungry beast to wish his breakfast, i will try to give you one." "thank you," replied the jaguar. "you're rather small for a full meal, but it's kind of you to sacrifice yourself to my appetite." "oh, i don't intend to be eaten, i assure you," said the canary, "but as i am a fairy i know something of magic, and though i am now transformed into a bird's shape, i am sure i can conjure up a breakfast that will satisfy you." "if you can work magic, why don't you break the enchantment you are under and return to your proper form?" inquired the beast doubtingly. "i haven't the power to do that," answered the canary, "for mrs. yoop, the giantess who transformed me, used a peculiar form of yookoohoo magic that is unknown to me. however, she could not deprive me of my own fairy knowledge, so i will try to get you a breakfast." "do you think a magic breakfast would taste good, or relieve the pangs of hunger i now suffer?" asked the jaguar. "i am sure it would. what would you like to eat?" "give me a couple of fat rabbits," said the beast. "rabbits! no, indeed. i'd not allow you to eat the dear little things," declared polychrome the canary. "well, three or four squirrels, then," pleaded the jaguar. "do you think me so cruel?" demanded the canary, indignantly. "the squirrels are my especial friends." "how about a plump owl?" asked the beast. "not a tin one, you know, but a real meat owl." "neither beast nor bird shall you have," said polychrome in a positive voice. "give me a fish, then; there's a river a little way off," proposed the jaguar. "no living thing shall be sacrificed to feed you," returned the canary. "then what in the world do you expect me to eat?" said the jaguar in a scornful tone. "how would mush-and-milk do?" asked the canary. the jaguar snarled in derision and lashed his tail against the ground angrily. [illustration] "give him some scrambled eggs on toast, poly," suggested the bear scarecrow. "he ought to like that." "i will," responded the canary, and fluttering her wings she made a flight of three circles around the stump. then she flew up to a tree and the bear and the owl and the jaguar saw that upon the stump had appeared a great green leaf upon which was a large portion of scrambled eggs on toast, smoking hot. "there!" said the bear; "eat your breakfast, friend jaguar, and be content." the jaguar crept closer to the stump and sniffed the fragrance of the scrambled eggs. they smelled so good that he tasted them, and they tasted so good that he ate the strange meal in a hurry, proving he had been really hungry. "i prefer rabbits," he muttered, licking his chops, "but i must admit the magic breakfast has filled my stomach full, and brought me comfort. so i'm much obliged for the kindness, little fairy, and i'll now leave you in peace." saying this, he plunged into the thick underbrush and soon disappeared, although they could hear his great body crashing through the bushes until he was far distant. "that was a good way to get rid of the savage beast, poly," said the tin woodman to the canary; "but i'm surprised that you didn't give our friend woot a magic breakfast, when you knew he was hungry." "the reason for that," answered polychrome, "was that my mind was so intent on other things that i quite forgot my power to produce food by magic. but where _is_ the monkey boy?" "gone!" said the scarecrow bear, solemnly. "the earth has swallowed him up." [illustration] the quarrelsome dragons [illustration] chapter 9 the green monkey sank gently into the earth for a little way and then tumbled swiftly through space, landing on a rocky floor with a thump that astonished him. then he sat up, found that no bones were broken, and gazed around him. he seemed to be in a big underground cave, which was dimly lighted by dozens of big round discs that looked like moons. they were not moons, however, as woot discovered when he had examined the place more carefully. they were eyes. the eyes were in the heads of enormous beasts whose bodies trailed far behind them. each beast was bigger than an elephant, and three times as long, and there were a dozen or more of the creatures scattered here and there about the cavern. on their bodies were big scales, as round as pie-plates, which were beautifully tinted in shades of green, purple and orange. on the ends of their long tails were clusters of jewels. around the great, moon-like eyes were circles of diamonds which sparkled in the subdued light that glowed from the eyes. woot saw that the creatures had wide mouths and rows of terrible teeth and, from tales he had heard of such beings, he knew he had fallen into a cavern inhabited by the great dragons that had been driven from the surface of the earth and were only allowed to come out once in a hundred years to search for food. of course he had never seen dragons before, yet there was no mistaking them, for they were unlike any other living creatures. woot sat upon the floor where he had fallen, staring around, and the owners of the big eyes returned his look, silently and motionless. finally one of the dragons which was farthest away from him asked, in a deep, grave voice: "what was that?" and the greatest dragon of all, who was just in front of the green monkey, answered in a still deeper voice: "it is some foolish animal from outside." "is it good to eat?" inquired a smaller dragon beside the great one. "i'm hungry." "hungry!" exclaimed all the dragons, in a reproachful chorus; and then the great one said chidingly: "tut-tut, my son! you've no reason to be hungry at _this_ time." "why not?" asked the little dragon. "i haven't eaten anything in eleven years." "eleven years is nothing," remarked another dragon, sleepily opening and closing his eyes; "_i_ haven't feasted for eighty-seven years, and i dare not get hungry for a dozen or so years to come. children who eat between meals should be broken of the habit." "all i had, eleven years ago, was a rhinoceros, and that's not a full meal at all," grumbled the young one. "and, before that, i had waited sixty-two years to be fed; so it's no wonder i'm hungry." "how old are you now?" asked woot, forgetting his own dangerous position in his interest in the conversation. "why, i'm--i'm-how old am i, father?" asked the little dragon. "goodness gracious! what a child to ask questions. do you want to keep me thinking all the time? don't you know that thinking is very bad for dragons?" returned the big one, impatiently. "how old am i, father?" persisted the small dragon. "about six hundred and thirty, i believe. ask your mother." "no; don't!" said an old dragon in the background; "haven't i enough worries, what with being wakened in the middle of a nap, without being obliged to keep track of my children's ages?" "you've been fast asleep for over sixty years, mother," said the child dragon. "how long a nap do you wish?" "i should have slept forty years longer. and this strange little green beast should be punished for falling into our cavern and disturbing us." "i didn't know you were here, and i didn't know i was going to fall in," explained woot. "nevertheless, here you are," said the great dragon, "and you have carelessly wakened our entire tribe; so it stands to reason you must be punished." "in what way?" inquired the green monkey, trembling a little. "give me time and i'll think of a way. you're in no hurry, are you?" asked the great dragon. "no, indeed," cried woot. "take your time. i'd much rather you'd all go to sleep again, and punish me when you wake up in a hundred years or so." "let me eat him!" pleaded the littlest dragon. "he is too small," said the father. "to eat this one green monkey would only serve to make you hungry for more, and there _are_ no more." "quit this chatter and let me get to sleep," protested another dragon, yawning in a fearful manner, for when he opened his mouth a sheet of flame leaped forth from it and made woot jump back to get out of its way. [illustration] in his jump he bumped against the nose of a dragon behind him, which opened its mouth to growl and shot another sheet of flame at him. the flame was bright, but not very hot, yet woot screamed with terror and sprang forward with a great bound. this time he landed on the paw of the great chief dragon, who angrily raised his other front paw and struck the green monkey a fierce blow. woot went sailing through the air and fell sprawling upon the rocky floor far beyond the place where the dragon tribe was grouped. all the great beasts were now thoroughly wakened and aroused, and they blamed the monkey for disturbing their quiet. the littlest dragon darted after woot and the others turned their unwieldy bodies in his direction and followed, flashing from their eyes and mouths flames which lighted up the entire cavern. woot almost gave himself up for lost, at that moment, but he scrambled to his feet and dashed away to the farthest end of the cave, the dragons following more leisurely because they were too clumsy to move fast. perhaps they thought there was no need of haste, as the monkey could not escape from the cave. but, away up at the end of the place, the cavern floor was heaped with tumbled rocks, so woot, with an agility born of fear, climbed from rock to rock until he found himself crouched against the cavern roof. there he waited, for he could go no farther, while on over the tumbled rocks slowly crept the dragons--the littlest one coming first because he was hungry as well as angry. the beasts had almost reached him when woot, remembering his lace apron--now sadly torn and soiled--recovered his wits and shouted: "open!" at the cry a hole appeared in the roof of the cavern, just over his head, and through it the sunlight streamed full upon the green monkey. the dragons paused, astonished at the magic and blinking at the sunlight, and this gave woot time to climb through the opening. as soon as he reached the surface of the earth the hole closed again, and the boy monkey realized, with a thrill of joy, that he had seen the last of the dangerous dragon family. he sat upon the ground, still panting hard from his exertions, when the bushes before him parted and his former enemy, the jaguar, appeared. "don't run," said the woodland beast, as woot sprang up; "you are perfectly safe, so far as i am concerned, for since you so mysteriously disappeared i have had my breakfast. i am now on my way home, to sleep the rest of the day." "oh, indeed!" returned the green monkey, in a tone both sorry and startled. "which of my friends did you manage to eat?" "none of them," returned the jaguar, with a sly grin. "i had a dish of magic scrambled eggs--on toast--and it wasn't a bad feast, at all. there isn't room in me for even you, and i don't regret it because i judge, from your green color, that you are not ripe, and would make an indifferent meal. we jaguars have to be careful of our digestions. farewell, friend monkey. follow the path i made through the bushes and you will find your friends." with this the jaguar marched on his way and woot took his advice and followed the trail he had made until he came to the place where the little brown bear, and the tin owl, and the canary were conferring together and wondering what had become of their comrade, the green monkey. [illustration] tommy kwikstep [illustration] chapter 10 "our best plan," said the scarecrow bear, when the green monkey had related the story of his adventure with the dragons, "is to get out of this gillikin country as soon as we can and try to find our way to the castle of glinda, the good sorceress. there are too many dangers lurking here to suit me, and glinda may be able to restore us to our proper forms." "if we turn south now," the tin owl replied, "we might go straight into the emerald city. that's a place i wish to avoid, for i'd hate to have my friends see me in this sad plight," and he blinked his eyes and fluttered his tin wings mournfully. "but i am certain we have passed _beyond_ emerald city," the canary assured him, sailing lightly around their heads. "so, should we turn south from here, we would pass into the munchkin country, and continuing south we would reach the quadling country where glinda's castle is located." "well, since you're sure of that, let's start right away," proposed the bear. "it's a long journey, at the best, and i'm getting tired of walking on four legs." "i thought you never tired, being stuffed with straw," said woot. "i mean that it annoys me, to be obliged to go on all fours, when two legs are my proper walking equipment," replied the scarecrow. "i consider it beneath my dignity. in other words, my remarkable brains can tire, through humiliation, although my body cannot tire." "that is one of the penalties of having brains," remarked the tin owl with a sigh. "i have had no brains since i was a man of meat, and so i never worry. nevertheless, i prefer my former manly form to this owl's shape and would be glad to break mrs. yoop's enchantment as soon as possible. i am so noisy, just now, that i disturb myself," and he fluttered his wings with a clatter that echoed throughout the forest. so, being all of one mind, they turned southward, traveling steadily on until the woods were left behind and the landscape turned from purple tints to blue tints, which assured them they had entered the country of the munchkins. "now i feel myself more safe," said the scarecrow bear. "i know this country pretty well, having been made here by a munchkin farmer and having wandered over these lovely blue lands many times. seems to me, indeed, that i even remember that group of three tall trees ahead of us; and, if i do, we are not far from the home of my friend jinjur." "who is jinjur?" asked woot, the green monkey. "haven't you heard of jinjur?" exclaimed the scarecrow, in surprise. "no," said woot. "is jinjur a man, a woman, a beast or a bird?" "jinjur is a girl," explained the scarecrow bear. "she's a fine girl, too, although a bit restless and liable to get excited. once, a long time ago, she raised an army of girls and called herself 'general jinjur.' with her army she captured the emerald city, and drove me out of it, because i insisted that an army in oz was highly improper. but ozma punished the rash girl, and afterward jinjur and i became fast friends. now jinjur lives peacefully on a farm, near here, and raises fields of cream-puffs, chocolate-caramels and macaroons. they say she's a pretty good farmer, and in addition to that she's an artist, and paints pictures so perfect that one can scarcely tell them from nature. she often repaints my face for me, when it gets worn or mussy, and the lovely expression i wore when the giantess transformed me was painted by jinjur only a month or so ago." "it was certainly a pleasant expression," agreed woot. "jinjur can paint anything," continued the scarecrow bear, with enthusiasm, as they walked along together. "once, when i came to her house, my straw was old and crumpled, so that my body sagged dreadfully. i needed new straw to replace the old, but jinjur had no straw on all her ranch and i was really unable to travel farther until i had been restuffed. when i explained this to jinjur, the girl at once painted a straw-stack which was so natural that i went to it and secured enough straw to fill all my body. it was a good quality of straw, too, and lasted me a long time." this seemed very wonderful to woot, who knew that such a thing could never happen in any place but a fairy country like oz. the munchkin country was much nicer than the gillikin country, and all the fields were separated by blue fences, with grassy lanes and paths of blue ground, and the land seemed well cultivated. they were on a little hill looking down upon this favored country, but had not quite reached the settled parts, when on turning a bend in the path they were halted by a form that barred their way. a more curious creature they had seldom seen, even in the land of oz, where curious creatures abound. it had the head of a young man--evidently a munchkin--with a pleasant face and hair neatly combed. but the body was very long, for it had twenty legs--ten legs on each side--and this caused the body to stretch out and lie in a horizontal position, so that all the legs could touch the ground and stand firm. from the shoulders extended two small arms; at least, they seemed small beside so many legs. this odd creature was dressed in the regulation clothing of the munchkin people, a dark blue coat neatly fitting the long body and each pair of legs having a pair of sky-blue trousers, with blue-tinted stockings and blue leather shoes turned up at the pointed toes. "i wonder who you are?" said polychrome the canary, fluttering above the strange creature, who had probably been asleep on the path. "i sometimes wonder, myself, who i am," replied the many-legged young man; "but, in reality, i am tommy kwikstep, and i live in a hollow tree that fell to the ground with age. i have polished the inside of it, and made a door at each end, and that's a very comfortable residence for me because it just fits my shape." "how did you happen to have such a shape?" asked the scarecrow bear, sitting on his haunches and regarding tommy kwikstep with a serious look. "is the shape natural?" [illustration] "no; it was wished on me," replied tommy, with a sigh. "i used to be very active and loved to run errands for anyone who needed my services. that was how i got my name of tommy kwikstep. i could run an errand more quickly than any other boy, and so i was very proud of myself. one day, however, i met an old lady who was a fairy, or a witch, or something of the sort, and she said if i would run an errand for her--to carry some magic medicine to another old woman--she would grant me just one wish, whatever the wish happened to be. of course i consented and, taking the medicine, i hurried away. it was a long distance, mostly up hill, and my legs began to grow weary. without thinking what i was doing i said aloud: 'dear me; i wish i had twenty legs!' and in an instant i became the unusual creature you see beside you. twenty legs! twenty on one man! you may count them, if you doubt my word." "you've got 'em, all right," said woot the monkey, who had already counted them. "after i had delivered the magic medicine to the old woman, i returned and tried to find the witch, or fairy, or whatever she was, who had given me the unlucky wish, so she could take it away again. i've been searching for her ever since, but never can i find her," continued poor tommy kwikstep, sadly. "i suppose," said the tin owl, blinking at him, "you can travel very fast, with those twenty legs." "at first i was able to," was the reply; "but i traveled so much, searching for the fairy, or witch, or whatever she was, that i soon got corns on my toes. now, a corn on one toe is not so bad, but when you have a hundred toes--as i have--and get corns on most of them, it is far from pleasant. instead of running, i now painfully crawl, and although i try not to be discouraged i do hope i shall find that witch or fairy, or whatever she was, before long." "i hope so, too," said the scarecrow. "but, after all, you have the pleasure of knowing you are unusual, and therefore remarkable among the people of oz. to be just like other persons is small credit to one, while to be unlike others is a mark of distinction." "that _sounds_ very pretty," returned tommy kwikstep, "but if you had to put on ten pair of trousers every morning, and tie up twenty shoes, you would prefer not to be so distinguished." "was the witch, or fairy, or whatever she was, an old person, with wrinkled skin, and half her teeth gone?" inquired the tin owl. "no," said tommy kwikstep. "then she wasn't old mombi," remarked the transformed emperor. "i'm not interested in who it _wasn't_, so much as i am in who it _was_," said the twenty-legged young man. "and, whatever or whomsoever she was, she has managed to keep out of my way." "if you found her, do you suppose she'd change you back into a two-legged boy?" asked woot. "perhaps so, if i could run another errand for her and so earn another wish." "would you really like to be as you were before?" asked polychrome the canary, perching upon the green monkey's shoulder to observe tommy kwikstep more attentively. "i would, indeed," was the earnest reply. "then i will see what i can do for you," promised the rainbow's daughter, and flying to the ground she took a small twig in her bill and with it made several mystic figures on each side of tommy kwikstep. "are _you_ a witch, or fairy, or something of the sort?" he asked as he watched her wonderingly. the canary made no answer, for she was busy, but the scarecrow bear replied: "yes; she's something of the sort, and a bird of a magician." [illustration] the twenty-legged boy's transformation happened so queerly that they were all surprised at its method. first, tommy kwikstep's last two legs disappeared; then the next two, and the next, and as each pair of legs vanished his body shortened. all this while polychrome was running around him and chirping mystical words, and when all the young man's legs had disappeared but two he noticed that the canary was still busy and cried out in alarm: "stop--stop! leave me _two_ of my legs, or i shall be worse off than before." "i know," said the canary. "i'm only removing with my magic the corns from your last ten toes." "thank you for being so thoughtful," he said gratefully, and now they noticed that tommy kwikstep was quite a nice looking young fellow. "what will you do now?" asked woot the monkey. "first," he answered, "i must deliver a note which i've carried in my pocket ever since the witch, or fairy, or whatever she was, granted my foolish wish. and i am resolved never to speak again without taking time to think carefully on what i am going to say, for i realize that speech without thought is dangerous. and after i've delivered the note, i shall run errands again for anyone who needs my services." so he thanked polychrome again and started away in a different direction from their own, and that was the last they saw of tommy kwikstep. jinjur's ranch [illustration] chapter 11 as they followed a path down the blue-grass hillside, the first house that met the view of the travelers was joyously recognized by the scarecrow bear as the one inhabited by his friend jinjur, so they increased their speed and hurried toward it. on reaching the place, however, they found the house deserted. the front door stood open, but no one was inside. in the garden surrounding the house were neat rows of bushes bearing cream-puffs and macaroons, some of which were still green, but others ripe and ready to eat. farther back were fields of caramels, and all the land seemed well cultivated and carefully tended. they looked through the fields for the girl farmer, but she was nowhere to be seen. "well," finally remarked the little brown bear, "let us go into the house and make ourselves at home. that will be sure to please my friend jinjur, who happens to be away from home just now. when she returns, she will be greatly surprised." "would she care if i ate some of those ripe cream-puffs?" asked the green monkey. "no, indeed; jinjur is very generous. help yourself to all you want," said the scarecrow bear. so woot gathered a lot of the cream-puffs that were golden yellow and filled with a sweet, creamy substance, and ate until his hunger was satisfied. then he entered the house with his friends and sat in a rocking-chair--just as he was accustomed to do when a boy. the canary perched herself upon the mantel and daintily plumed her feathers; the tin owl sat on the back of another chair; the scarecrow squatted on his hairy haunches in the middle of the room. "i believe i remember the girl jinjur," remarked the canary, in her sweet voice. "she cannot help us very much, except to direct us on our way to glinda's castle, for she does not understand magic. but she's a good girl, honest and sensible, and i'll be glad to see her." [illustration] "all our troubles," said the owl with a deep sigh, "arose from my foolish resolve to seek nimmie amee and make her empress of the winkies, and while i wish to reproach no one, i must say that it was woot the wanderer who put the notion into my head." "well, for my part, i am glad he did," responded the canary. "your journey resulted in saving me from the giantess, and had you not traveled to the yoop valley, i would still be mrs. yoop's prisoner. it is much nicer to be free, even though i still bear the enchanted form of a canary-bird." "do you think we shall ever be able to get our proper forms back again?" asked the green monkey earnestly. polychrome did not make reply at once to this important question, but after a period of thoughtfulness she said: "i have been taught to believe that there is an antidote for every magic charm, yet mrs. yoop insists that no power can alter her transformations. i realize that my own fairy magic cannot do it, although i have thought that we sky fairies have more power than is accorded to earth fairies. the yookoohoo magic is admitted to be very strange in its workings and different from the magic usually practiced, but perhaps glinda or ozma may understand it better than i. in them lies our only hope. unless they can help us, we must remain forever as we are." "a canary-bird on a rainbow wouldn't be so bad," asserted the tin owl, winking and blinking with his round tin eyes, "so if you can manage to find your rainbow again you need have little to worry about." "that's nonsense, friend chopper," exclaimed woot. "i know just how polychrome feels. a beautiful girl is much superior to a little yellow bird, and a boy--such as i was--far better than a green monkey. neither of us can be happy again unless we recover our rightful forms." "i feel the same way," announced the stuffed bear. "what do you suppose my friend the patchwork girl would think of me, if she saw me wearing this beastly shape?" "she'd laugh till she cried," admitted the tin owl. "for my part, i'll have to give up the notion of marrying nimmie amee, but i'll try not to let that make me unhappy. if it's my duty, i'd like to do my duty, but if magic prevents my getting married i'll flutter along all by myself and be just as contented." their serious misfortunes made them all silent for a time, and as their thoughts were busy in dwelling upon the evils with which fate had burdened them, none noticed that jinjur had suddenly appeared in the doorway and was looking at them in astonishment. the next moment her astonishment changed to anger, for there, in her best rocking-chair, sat a green monkey. a great shiny owl perched upon another chair and a brown bear squatted upon her parlor rug. jinjur did not notice the canary, but she caught up a broomstick and dashed into the room, shouting as she came: "get out of here, you wild creatures! how dare you enter my house?" with a blow of her broom she knocked the brown bear over, and the tin owl tried to fly out of her reach and made a great clatter with his tin wings. the green monkey was so startled by the sudden attack that he sprang into the fireplace--where there was fortunately no fire--and tried to escape by climbing up the chimney. but he found the opening too small, and so was forced to drop down again. then he crouched trembling in the fireplace, his pretty green hair all blackened with soot and covered with ashes. from this position woot watched to see what would happen next. "stop, jinjur--stop!" cried the brown bear, when the broom again threatened him. "don't you know me? i'm your old friend the scarecrow?" "you're trying to deceive me, you naughty beast! i can see plainly that you are a bear, and a mighty poor specimen of a bear, too," retorted the girl. "that's because i'm not properly stuffed," he assured her. "when mrs. yoop transformed me, she didn't realize i should have more stuffing." "who is mrs. yoop?" inquired jinjur, pausing with the broom still upraised. "a giantess in the gillikin country." "oh; i begin to understand. and mrs. yoop transformed you? you are really the famous scarecrow of oz?" "i _was_, jinjur. just now i'm as you see me--a miserable little brown bear with a poor quality of stuffing. that tin owl is none other than our dear tin woodman--nick chopper, the emperor of the winkies--while this green monkey is a nice little boy we recently became acquainted with, woot the wanderer." "and i," said the canary, flying close to jinjur, "am polychrome, the daughter of the rainbow, in the form of a bird." "goodness me!" cried jinjur, amazed; "that giantess must be a powerful sorceress, and as wicked as she is powerful." [illustration] "she's a yookoohoo," said polychrome. "fortunately, we managed to escape from her castle, and we are now on our way to glinda the good to see if she possesses the power to restore us to our former shapes." "then i must beg your pardons; all of you must forgive me," said jinjur, putting away the broom. "i took you to be a lot of wild, unmannerly animals, as was quite natural. you are very welcome to my home and i'm sorry i haven't the power to help you out of your troubles. please use my house and all that i have, as if it were your own." at this declaration of peace, the bear got upon his feet and the owl resumed his perch upon the chair and the monkey crept out of the fireplace. jinjur looked at woot critically, and scowled. "for a green monkey," said she, "you're the blackest creature i ever saw. and you'll get my nice clean room all dirty with soot and ashes. whatever possessed you to jump up the chimney?" "i--i was scared," explained woot, somewhat ashamed. "well, you need renovating, and that's what will happen to you, right away. come with me!" she commanded. [illustration] "what are you going to do?" asked woot. "give you a good scrubbing," said jinjur. now, neither boys nor monkeys relish being scrubbed, so woot shrank away from the energetic girl, trembling fearfully. but jinjur grabbed him by his paw and dragged him out to the back yard, where, in spite of his whines and struggles, she plunged him into a tub of cold water and began to scrub him with a stiff brush and a cake of yellow soap. this was the hardest trial that woot had endured since he became a monkey, but no protest had any influence with jinjur, who lathered and scrubbed him in a business-like manner and afterward dried him with a coarse towel. the bear and the owl gravely watched this operation and nodded approval when woot's silky green fur shone clear and bright in the afternoon sun. the canary seemed much amused and laughed a silvery ripple of laughter as she said: "very well done, my good jinjur; i admire your energy and judgment. but i had no idea a monkey could look so comical as this monkey did while he was being bathed." "i'm _not_ a monkey!" declared woot, resentfully; "i'm just a boy in a monkey's shape, that's all." "if you can explain to me the difference," said jinjur, "i'll agree not to wash you again--that is, unless you foolishly get into the fireplace. all persons are usually judged by the shapes in which they appear to the eyes of others. look at _me_, woot; what am _i_?" woot looked at her. "you're as pretty a girl as i've ever seen," he replied. jinjur frowned. that is, she tried hard to frown. "come out into the garden with me," she said, "and i'll give you some of the most delicious caramels you ever ate. they're a new variety, that no one can grow but me, and they have a heliotrope flavor." ozma and dorothy [illustration] chapter 12 in her magnificent palace in the emerald city, the beautiful girl ruler of all the wonderful land of oz sat in her dainty boudoir with her friend princess dorothy beside her. ozma was studying a roll of manuscript which she had taken from the royal library, while dorothy worked at her embroidery and at times stooped to pat a shaggy little black dog that lay at her feet. the little dog's name was toto, and he was dorothy's faithful companion. to judge ozma of oz by the standards of our world, you would think her very young--perhaps fourteen or fifteen years of age--yet for years she had ruled the land of oz and had never seemed a bit older. dorothy appeared much younger than ozma. she had been a little girl when first she came to the land of oz, and she was a little girl still, and would never seem to be a day older while she lived in this wonderful fairyland. oz was not always a fairyland, i am told. once it was much like other lands, except it was shut in by a dreadful desert of sandy wastes that lay all around it, thus preventing its people from all contact with the rest of the world. seeing this isolation, the fairy band of queen lurline, passing over oz while on a journey, enchanted the country and so made it a fairyland. and queen lurline left one of her fairies to rule this enchanted land of oz, and then passed on and forgot all about it. from that moment no one in oz ever died. those who were old remained old; those who were young and strong did not change as years passed them by; the children remained children always, and played and romped to their hearts' content, while all the babies lived in their cradles and were tenderly cared for and never grew up. so people in oz stopped counting how old they were in years, for years made no difference in their appearance and could not alter their station. they did not get sick, so there were no doctors among them. accidents might happen to some, on rare occasions, it is true, and while no one could die naturally, as other people do, it was possible that one might be totally destroyed. such incidents, however, were very unusual, and so seldom was there anything to worry over that the oz people were as happy and contented as can be. another strange thing about this fairy land of oz was that whoever managed to enter it from the outside world came under the magic spell of the place and did not change in appearance as long as they lived there. so dorothy, who now lived with ozma, seemed just the same sweet little girl she had been when first she came to this delightful fairyland. perhaps all parts of oz might not be called truly delightful, but it was surely delightful in the neighborhood of the emerald city, where ozma reigned. her loving influence was felt for many miles around, but there were places in the mountains of the gillikin country, and the forests of the quadling country, and perhaps in far-away parts of the munchkin and winkie countries, where the inhabitants were somewhat rude and uncivilized and had not yet come under the spell of ozma's wise and kindly rule. also, when oz first became a fairyland, it harbored several witches and magicians and sorcerers and necromancers, who were scattered in various parts, but most of these had been deprived of their magic powers, and ozma had issued a royal edict forbidding anyone in her dominions to work magic except glinda the good and the wizard of oz. ozma herself, being a real fairy, knew a lot of magic, but she only used it to benefit her subjects. this little explanation will help you to understand better the story you are reading, but most of it is already known to those who are familiar with the oz people whose adventures they have followed in other oz books. ozma and dorothy were fast friends and were much together. everyone in oz loved dorothy almost as well as they did their lovely ruler, for the little kansas girl's good fortune had not spoiled her or rendered her at all vain. she was just the same brave and true and adventurous child as before she lived in a royal palace and became the chum of the fairy ozma. in the room in which the two sat--which was one of ozma's private suite of apartments--hung the famous magic picture. this was the source of constant interest to little dorothy. one had but to stand before it and wish to see what any person was doing, and at once a scene would flash upon the magic canvas which showed exactly where that person was, and like our own moving pictures would reproduce the actions of that person as long as you cared to watch them. so today, when dorothy tired of her embroidery, she drew the curtains from before the magic picture and wished to see what her friend button bright was doing. button bright, she saw, was playing ball with ojo, the munchkin boy, so dorothy next wished to see what her aunt em was doing. the picture showed aunt em quietly engaged in darning socks for uncle henry, so dorothy wished to see what her old friend the tin woodman was doing. the tin woodman was then just leaving his tin castle in the company of the scarecrow and woot the wanderer. dorothy had never seen this boy before, so she wondered who he was. also she was curious to know where the three were going, for she noticed woot's knapsack and guessed they had started on a long journey. she asked ozma about it, but ozma did not know. that afternoon dorothy again saw the travelers in the magic picture, but they were merely tramping through the country and dorothy was not much interested in them. a couple of days later, however, the girl, being again with ozma, wished to see her friends, the scarecrow and the tin woodman in the magic picture, and on this occasion found them in the great castle of mrs. yoop, the giantess, who was at the time about to transform them. both dorothy and ozma now became greatly interested and watched the transformations with indignation and horror. "what a wicked giantess!" exclaimed dorothy. "yes," answered ozma, "she must be punished for this cruelty to our friends, and to the poor boy who is with them." after this they followed the adventure of the little brown bear and the tin owl and the green monkey with breathless interest, and were delighted when they escaped from mrs. yoop. they did not know, then, who the canary was, but realized it must be the transformation of some person of consequence, whom the giantess had also enchanted. [illustration] when, finally, the day came when the adventurers headed south into the munchkin country, dorothy asked anxiously: "can't something be done for them, ozma? can't you change 'em back into their own shapes? they've suffered enough from these dreadful transformations, seems to me." "i've been studying ways to help them, ever since they were transformed," replied ozma. "mrs. yoop is now the only yookoohoo in my dominions, and the yookoohoo magic is very peculiar and hard for others to understand, yet i am resolved to make the attempt to break these enchantments. i may not succeed, but i shall do the best i can. from the directions our friends are taking, i believe they are going to pass by jinjur's ranch, so if we start now we may meet them there. would you like to go with me, dorothy?" "of course," answered the little girl; "i wouldn't miss it for anything." "then order the red wagon," said ozma of oz, "and we will start at once." dorothy ran to do as she was bid, while ozma went to her magic room to make ready the things she believed she would need. in half an hour the red wagon stood before the grand entrance of the palace, and before it was hitched the wooden sawhorse, which was ozma's favorite steed. [illustration] this sawhorse, while made of wood, was very much alive and could travel swiftly and without tiring. to keep the ends of his wooden legs from wearing down short, ozma had shod the sawhorse with plates of pure gold. his harness was studded with brilliant emeralds and other jewels and so, while he himself was not at all handsome, his outfit made a splendid appearance. since the sawhorse could understand her spoken words, ozma used no reins to guide him. she merely told him where to go. when she came from the palace with dorothy, they both climbed into the red wagon and then the little dog, toto, ran up and asked: "are you going to leave me behind, dorothy?" dorothy looked at ozma, who smiled in return and said: "toto may go with us, if you wish him to." so dorothy lifted the little dog into the wagon, for, while he could run fast, he could not keep up with the speed of the wonderful sawhorse. away they went, over hills and through meadows, covering the ground with astonishing speed. it is not surprising, therefore, that the red wagon arrived before jinjur's house just as that energetic young lady had finished scrubbing the green monkey and was about to lead him to the caramel patch. the restoration [illustration] chapter 13 the tin owl gave a hoot of delight when he saw the red wagon draw up before jinjur's house, and the brown bear grunted and growled with glee and trotted toward ozma as fast as he could wobble. as for the canary, it flew swiftly to dorothy's shoulder and perched there, saying in her ear: "thank goodness you have come to our rescue!" "but who are you?" asked dorothy. "don't you know?" returned the canary. "no; for the first time we noticed you in the magic picture, you were just a bird, as you are now. but we've guessed that the giant woman had transformed you, as she did the others." "yes; i'm polychrome, the rainbow's daughter," announced the canary. "goodness me!" cried dorothy. "how dreadful." "well, i make a rather pretty bird, i think," returned polychrome, "but of course i'm anxious to resume my own shape and get back upon my rainbow." "ozma will help you, i'm sure," said dorothy. "how does it feel, scarecrow, to be a bear?" she asked, addressing her old friend. "i don't like it," declared the scarecrow bear. "this brutal form is quite beneath the dignity of a wholesome straw man." "and think of me," said the owl, perching upon the dashboard of the red wagon with much noisy clattering of his tin feathers. "don't i look horrid, dorothy, with eyes several sizes too big for my body, and so weak that i ought to wear spectacles?" "well," said dorothy critically, as she looked him over, "you're nothing to brag of, i must confess. but ozma will soon fix you up again." the green monkey had hung back, bashful at meeting two lovely girls while in the form of a beast; but jinjur now took his hand and led him forward while she introduced him to ozma, and woot managed to make a low bow, not really ungraceful, before her girlish majesty, the ruler of oz. "you have all been forced to endure a sad experience," said ozma, "and so i am anxious to do all in my power to break mrs. yoop's enchantments. but first tell me how you happened to stray into that lonely valley where yoop castle stands." between them they related the object of their journey, the scarecrow bear telling of the tin woodman's resolve to find nimmie amee and marry her, as a just reward for her loyalty to him. woot told of their adventures with the loons of loonville, and the tin owl described the manner in which they had been captured and transformed by the giantess. then polychrome related her story, and when all had been told, and dorothy had several times reproved toto for growling at the tin owl, ozma remained thoughtful for a while, pondering upon what she had heard. finally she looked up, and with one of her delightful smiles, said to the anxious group: "i am not sure my magic will be able to restore every one of you, because your transformations are of such a strange and unusual character. indeed, mrs. yoop was quite justified in believing no power could alter her enchantments. however, i am sure i can restore the scarecrow to his original shape. he was stuffed with straw from the beginning, and even the yookoohoo magic could not alter that. the giantess was merely able to make a bear's shape of a man's shape, but the bear is stuffed with straw, just as the man was. so i feel confident i can make a man of the bear again." "hurrah!" cried the brown bear, and tried clumsily to dance a jig of delight. "as for the tin woodman, his case is much the same," resumed ozma, still smiling. "the power of the giantess could not make him anything but a tin creature, whatever shape she transformed him into, so it will not be impossible to restore him to his manly form. anyhow, i shall test my magic at once, and see if it will do what i have promised." [illustration] she drew from her bosom a small silver wand and, making passes with the wand over the head of the bear, she succeeded in the brief space of a moment in breaking his enchantment. the original scarecrow of oz again stood before them, well stuffed with straw and with his features nicely painted upon the bag which formed his head. the scarecrow was greatly delighted, as you may suppose, and he strutted proudly around while the powerful fairy, ozma of oz, broke the enchantment that had transformed the tin woodman and made a tin owl into a tin man again. "now, then," chirped the canary, eagerly; "i'm next, ozma!" "but your case is different," replied ozma, no longer smiling but wearing a grave expression on her sweet face. "i shall have to experiment on you, polychrome, and i may fail in all my attempts." she then tried two or three different methods of magic, hoping one of them would succeed in breaking polychrome's enchantment, but still the rainbow's daughter remained a canary-bird. finally, however, she experimented in another way. she transformed the canary into a dove, and then transformed the dove into a speckled hen, and then changed the speckled hen into a rabbit, and then the rabbit into a fawn. and at the last, after mixing several powders and sprinkling them upon the fawn, the yookoohoo enchantment was suddenly broken and before them stood one of the daintiest and loveliest creatures in any fairyland in the world. polychrome was as sweet and merry in disposition as she was beautiful, and when she danced and capered around in delight, her beautiful hair floated around her like a golden mist and her many-hued raiment, as soft as cobwebs, reminded one of drifting clouds in a summer sky. woot was so awed by the entrancing sight of this exquisite sky fairy that he quite forgot his own sad plight until he noticed ozma gazing upon him with an intent expression that denoted sympathy and sorrow. dorothy whispered in her friend's ear, but the ruler of oz shook her head sadly. jinjur, noticing this and understanding ozma's looks, took the paw of the green monkey in her own hand and patted it softly. "never mind," she said to him. "you are a very beautiful color, and a monkey can climb better than a boy and do a lot of other things no boy can ever do." "what's the matter?" asked woot, a sinking feeling at his heart. "is ozma's magic all used up?" [illustration] ozma herself answered him. "your form of enchantment, my poor boy," she said pityingly, "is different from that of the others. indeed, it is a form that is impossible to alter by any magic known to fairies or yookoohoos. the wicked giantess was well aware, when she gave you the form of a green monkey, that the green monkey must exist in the land of oz for all future time." woot drew a long sigh. "well, that's pretty hard luck," he said bravely, "but if it can't be helped i must endure it; that's all. i don't like being a monkey, but what's the use of kicking against my fate?" they were all very sorry for him, and dorothy anxiously asked ozma: "couldn't glinda save him?" "no," was the reply. "glinda's power in transformations is no greater than my own. before i left my palace i went to my magic room and studied woot's case very carefully. i found that no power can do away with the green monkey. he might transfer, or exchange his form with some other person, it is true; but the green monkey we cannot get rid of by any magic arts known to science." "but--see here," said the scarecrow, who had listened intently to this explanation, "why not put the monkey's form on some one else?" "who would agree to make the change?" asked ozma. "if by force we caused anyone else to become a green monkey, we would be as cruel and wicked as mrs. yoop. and what good would an exchange do?" she continued. "suppose, for instance, we worked the enchantment, and made toto into a green monkey. at the same moment woot would become a little dog." "leave me out of your magic, please," said toto, with a reproachful growl. "i wouldn't become a green monkey for anything." "and i wouldn't become a dog," said woot. "a green monkey is much better than a dog, it seems to me." "that is only a matter of opinion," answered toto. "now, here's another idea," said the scarecrow. "my brains are working finely today, you must admit. why not transform toto into woot the wanderer, and then have them exchange forms? the dog would become a green monkey and the monkey would have his own natural shape again." "to be sure!" cried jinjur. "that's a fine idea." "leave me out of it," said toto. "i won't do it." "wouldn't you be willing to become a green monkey--see what a pretty color it is--so that this poor boy could be restored to his own shape?" asked jinjur, pleadingly. "no," said toto. "i don't like that plan the least bit," declared dorothy, "for then i wouldn't have any little dog." "but you'd have a green monkey in his place," persisted jinjur, who liked woot and wanted to help him. "i don't want a green monkey," said dorothy positively. "don't speak of this again, i beg of you," said woot. "this is my own misfortune and i would rather suffer it alone than deprive princess dorothy of her dog, or deprive the dog of his proper shape. and perhaps even her majesty, ozma of oz, might not be able to transform anyone else into the shape of woot the wanderer." "yes; i believe i might do that," ozma returned; "but woot is quite right; we are not justified in inflicting upon anyone--man or dog--the form of a green monkey. also it is certain that in order to relieve the boy of the form he now wears, we must give it to someone else, who would be forced to wear it always." "i wonder," said dorothy, thoughtfully, "if we couldn't find someone in the land of oz who would be willing to become a green monkey? seems to me a monkey is active and spry, and he can climb trees and do a lot of clever things, and green isn't a bad color for a monkey--it makes him unusual." "i wouldn't ask anyone to take this dreadful form," said woot; "it wouldn't be right, you know. i've been a monkey for some time, now, and i don't like it. it makes me ashamed to be a beast of this sort when by right of birth i'm a boy; so i'm sure it would be wicked to ask anyone else to take my place." they were all silent, for they knew he spoke the truth. dorothy was almost ready to cry with pity and ozma's sweet face was sad and disturbed. the scarecrow rubbed and patted his stuffed head to try to make it think better, while the tin woodman went into the house and began to oil his tin joints so that the sorrow of his friends might not cause him to weep. weeping is liable to rust tin, and the emperor prided himself upon his highly polished body--now doubly dear to him because for a time he had been deprived of it. polychrome had danced down the garden paths and back again a dozen times, for she was seldom still a moment, yet she had heard ozma's speech and understood very well woot's unfortunate position. but the rainbow's daughter, even while dancing, could think and reason very clearly, and suddenly she solved the problem in the nicest possible way. coming close to ozma, she said: "your majesty, all this trouble was caused by the wickedness of mrs. yoop, the giantess. yet even now that cruel woman is living in her secluded castle, enjoying the thought that she has put this terrible enchantment on woot the wanderer. even now she is laughing at our despair because we can find no way to get rid of the green monkey. very well, we do not wish to get rid of it. let the woman who created the form wear it herself, as a just punishment for her wickedness. i am sure your fairy power can give to mrs. yoop the form of woot the wanderer--even at this distance from her--and then it will be possible to exchange the two forms. mrs. yoop will become the green monkey, and woot will recover his own form again." [illustration] ozma's face brightened as she listened to this clever proposal. "thank you, polychrome," said she. "the task you propose is not so easy as you suppose, but i will make the attempt, and perhaps i may succeed." [illustration] the green monkey [illustration] chapter 14 they now entered the house, and as an interested group, watched jinjur, at ozma's command, build a fire and put a kettle of water over to boil. the ruler of oz stood before the fire silent and grave, while the others, realizing that an important ceremony of magic was about to be performed, stood quietly in the background so as not to interrupt ozma's proceedings. only polychrome kept going in and coming out, humming softly to herself as she danced, for the rainbow's daughter could not keep still for long, and the four walls of a room always made her nervous and ill at ease. she moved so noiselessly, however, that her movements were like the shifting of sunbeams and did not annoy anyone. when the water in the kettle bubbled, ozma drew from her bosom two tiny packets containing powders. these powders she threw into the kettle and after briskly stirring the contents with a branch from a macaroon bush, ozma poured the mystic broth upon a broad platter which jinjur had placed upon the table. as the broth cooled it became as silver, reflecting all objects from its smooth surface like a mirror. while her companions gathered around the table, eagerly attentive--and dorothy even held little toto in her arms that he might see--ozma waved her wand over the mirror-like surface. at once it reflected the interior of yoop castle, and in the big hall sat mrs. yoop, in her best embroidered silken robes, engaged in weaving a new lace apron to replace the one she had lost. [illustration] the giantess seemed rather uneasy, as if she had a faint idea that someone was spying upon her, for she kept looking behind her and this way and that, as though expecting danger from an unknown source. perhaps some yookoohoo instinct warned her. woot saw that she had escaped from her room by some of the magical means at her disposal, after her prisoners had escaped her. she was now occupying the big hall of her castle as she used to do. also woot thought, from the cruel expression on the face of the giantess, that she was planning revenge on them, as soon as her new magic apron was finished. but ozma was now making passes over the platter with her silver wand, and presently the form of the giantess began to shrink in size and to change its shape. and now, in her place sat the form of woot the wanderer, and as if suddenly realizing her transformation mrs. yoop threw down her work and rushed to a looking-glass that stood against the wall of her room. when she saw the boy's form reflected as her own, she grew violently angry and dashed her head against the mirror, smashing it to atoms. just then ozma was busy with her magic wand, making strange figures, and she had also placed her left hand firmly upon the shoulder of the green monkey. so now, as all eyes were turned upon the platter, the form of mrs. yoop gradually changed again. she was slowly transformed into the green monkey, and at the same time woot slowly regained his natural form. it was quite a surprise to them all when they raised their eyes from the platter and saw woot the wanderer standing beside ozma. and, when they glanced at the platter again, it reflected nothing more than the walls of the room in jinjur's house in which they stood. the magic ceremonial was ended, and ozma of oz had triumphed over the wicked giantess. "what will become of her, i wonder?" said dorothy, as she drew a long breath. "she will always remain a green monkey," replied ozma, "and in that form she will be unable to perform any magical arts whatsoever. she need not be unhappy, however, and as she lives all alone in her castle she probably won't mind the transformation very much after she gets used to it." "anyhow, it serves her right," declared dorothy, and all agreed with her. "but," said the kind hearted tin woodman, "i'm afraid the green monkey will starve, for mrs. yoop used to get her food by magic, and now that the magic is taken away from her, what can she eat?" "why, she'll eat what other monkeys do," returned the scarecrow. "even in the form of a green monkey, she's a very clever person, and i'm sure her wits will show her how to get plenty to eat." "don't worry about her," advised dorothy. "she didn't worry about you, and her condition is no worse than the condition she imposed on poor woot. she can't starve _to death_ in the land of oz, that's certain, and if she gets hungry at times it's no more than the wicked thing deserves. let's forget mrs. yoop; for, in spite of her being a yookoohoo, our fairy friends have broken all of her transformations." [illustration] the man of tin [illustration] chapter 15 ozma and dorothy were quite pleased with woot the wanderer, whom they found modest and intelligent and very well mannered. the boy was truly grateful for his release from the cruel enchantment, and he promised to love, revere and defend the girl ruler of oz forever afterward, as a faithful subject. "you may visit me at my palace, if you wish," said ozma, "where i will be glad to introduce you to two other nice boys, ojo the munchkin and button-bright." "thank your majesty," replied woot, and then he turned to the tin woodman and inquired: "what are your further plans, mr. emperor? will you still seek nimmie amee and marry her, or will you abandon the quest and return to the emerald city and your own castle?" the tin woodman, now as highly polished and well-oiled as ever, reflected a while on this question and then answered: "well, i see no reason why i should not find nimmie amee. we are now in the munchkin country, where we are perfectly safe, and if it was right for me, before our enchantment, to marry nimmie amee and make her empress of the winkies, it must be right now, when the enchantment has been broken and i am once more myself. am i correct, friend scarecrow?" "you are, indeed," answered the scarecrow. "no one can oppose such logic." "but i'm afraid you don't love nimmie amee," suggested dorothy. "that is just because i can't love anyone," replied the tin woodman. "but, if i cannot love my wife, i can at least be kind to her, and all husbands are not able to do that." "do you s'pose nimmie amee still loves you, after all these years?" asked dorothy. "i'm quite sure of it, and that is why i am going to her to make her happy. woot the wanderer thinks i ought to reward her for being faithful to me after my meat body was chopped to pieces and i became tin. what do _you_ think, ozma?" ozma smiled as she said: "i do not know your nimmie amee, and so i cannot tell what she most needs to make her happy. but there is no harm in your going to her and asking her if she still wishes to marry you. if she does, we will give you a grand wedding at the emerald city and, afterward, as empress of the winkies, nimmie amee would become one of the most important ladies in all oz." so it was decided that the tin woodman would continue his journey, and that the scarecrow and woot the wanderer should accompany him, as before. polychrome also decided to join their party, somewhat to the surprise of all. "i hate to be cooped up in a palace," she said to ozma, "and of course the first time i meet my rainbow i shall return to my own dear home in the skies, where my fairy sisters are even now awaiting me and my father is cross because i get lost so often. but i can find my rainbow just as quickly while traveling in the munchkin country as i could if living in the emerald city--or any other place in oz--so i shall go with the tin woodman and help him woo nimmie amee." dorothy wanted to go, too, but as the tin woodman did not invite her to join his party, she felt she might be intruding if she asked to be taken. she hinted, but she found he didn't take the hint. it is quite a delicate matter for one to ask a girl to marry him, however much she loves him, and perhaps the tin woodman did not desire to have too many looking on when he found his old sweetheart, nimmie amee. so dorothy contented herself with the thought that she would help ozma prepare a splendid wedding feast, to be followed by a round of parties and festivities when the emperor of the winkies reached the emerald city with his bride. ozma offered to take them all in the red wagon to a place as near to the great munchkin forest as a wagon could get. the red wagon was big enough to seat them all, and so, bidding good-bye to jinjur, who gave woot a basket of ripe cream-puffs and caramels to take with him, ozma commanded the wooden sawhorse to start, and the strange creature moved swiftly over the lanes and presently came to the road of yellow bricks. this road led straight to a dense forest, where the path was too narrow for the red wagon to proceed farther, so here the party separated. ozma and dorothy and toto returned to the emerald city, after wishing their friends a safe and successful journey, while the tin woodman, the scarecrow, woot the wanderer and polychrome, the rainbow's daughter, prepared to push their way through the thick forest. however, these forest paths were well known to the tin man and the scarecrow, who felt quite at home among the trees. "i was born in this grand forest," said nick chopper, the tin emperor, speaking proudly, "and it was here that the witch enchanted my axe and i lost different parts of my meat body until i became all tin. here, also--for it is a big forest--nimmie amee lived with the wicked witch, and at the other edge of the trees stands the cottage of my friend ku-klip, the famous tinsmith who made my present beautiful form." "he must be a clever workman," declared woot, admiringly. "he is simply wonderful," declared the tin woodman. "i shall be glad to make his acquaintance," said woot. "if you wish to meet with real cleverness," remarked the scarecrow, "you should visit the munchkin farmer who first made _me_. i won't say that my friend the emperor isn't all right for a tin man, but any judge of beauty can understand that a scarecrow is far more artistic and refined." "you are too soft and flimsy," said the tin woodman. "you are too hard and stiff," said the scarecrow, and this was as near to quarreling as the two friends ever came. polychrome laughed at them both, as well she might, and woot hastened to change the subject. at night they all camped underneath the trees. the boy ate cream-puffs for supper and offered polychrome some, but she preferred other food and at daybreak sipped the dew that was clustered thick on the forest flowers. then they tramped onward again, and presently the scarecrow paused and said: "it was on this very spot that dorothy and i first met the tin woodman, who was rusted so badly that none of his joints would move. but after we had oiled him up, he was as good as new and accompanied us to the emerald city." "ah, that was a sad experience," asserted the tin woodman soberly. "i was caught in a rainstorm while chopping down a tree for exercise, and before i realized it, i was firmly rusted in every joint. there i stood, axe in hand, but unable to move, for days and weeks and months! indeed, i have never known exactly how long the time was; but finally along came dorothy and i was saved. see! this is the very tree i was chopping at the time i rusted." "you cannot be far from your old home, in that case," said woot. "no; my little cabin stands not a great way off, but there is no occasion for us to visit it. our errand is with nimmie amee, and her house is somewhat farther away, to the left of us." "didn't you say she lives with a wicked witch, who makes her a slave?" asked the boy. "she did, but she doesn't," was the reply. "i am told the witch was destroyed when dorothy's house fell on her, so now nimmie amee must live all alone. i haven't seen her, of course, since the witch was crushed, for at that time i was standing rusted in the forest and had been there a long time, but the poor girl must have felt very happy to be free from her cruel mistress." "well," said the scarecrow, "let's travel on and find nimmie amee. lead on, your majesty, since you know the way, and we will follow." so the tin woodman took a path that led through the thickest part of the forest, and they followed it for some time. the light was dim here, because vines and bushes and leafy foliage were all about them, and often the tin man had to push aside the branches that obstructed their way, or cut them off with his axe. after they had proceeded some distance, the emperor suddenly stopped short and exclaimed: "good gracious!" the scarecrow, who was next, first bumped into his friend and then peered around his tin body, and said in a tone of wonder: "well, i declare!" woot the wanderer pushed forward to see what was the matter, and cried out in astonishment: [illustration] "for goodness' sake!" then the three stood motionless, staring hard, until polychrome's merry laughter rang out behind them and aroused them from their stupor. in the path before them stood a tin man who was the exact duplicate of the tin woodman. he was of the same size, he was jointed in the same manner, and he was made of shining tin from top to toe. but he stood immovable, with his tin jaws half parted and his tin eyes turned upward. in one of his hands was held a long, gleaming sword. yes, _there_ was the difference, the only thing that distinguished him from the emperor of the winkies. this tin man bore a sword, while the tin woodman bore an axe. "it's a dream; it _must_ be a dream!" gasped woot. "that's it, of course," said the scarecrow; "there couldn't be _two_ tin woodmen." "no," agreed polychrome, dancing nearer to the stranger, "this one is a tin soldier. don't you see his sword?" the tin woodman cautiously put out one tin hand and felt of his double's arm. then he said in a voice that trembled with emotion: "who are you, friend?" there was no reply. "can't you see he's rusted, just as you were once?" asked polychrome, laughing again. "here, nick chopper, lend me your oil-can a minute!" the tin woodman silently handed her his oil-can, without which he never traveled, and polychrome first oiled the stranger's tin jaws and then worked them gently to and fro until the tin soldier said: "that's enough. thank you. i can now talk. but please oil my other joints." woot seized the oil-can and did this, but all the others helped wiggle the soldier's joints as soon as they were oiled, until they moved freely. the tin soldier seemed highly pleased at his release. he strutted up and down the path, saying in a high, thin voice: "the soldier is a splendid man when marching on parade, and when he meets the enemy he never is afraid. he rights the wrongs of nations, his country's flag defends, the foe he'll fight with great delight, but seldom fights his friends." captain fyter [illustration] chapter 16 "are you really a soldier?" asked woot, when they had all watched this strange tin person parade up and down the path and proudly flourish his sword. "i _was_ a soldier," was the reply, "but i've been a prisoner to mr. rust so long that i don't know exactly _what_ i am." "but--dear me!" cried the tin woodman, sadly perplexed; "how came you to be made of tin?" "that," answered the soldier, "is a sad, sad story. i was in love with a beautiful munchkin girl, who lived with a wicked witch. the witch did not wish me to marry the girl, so she enchanted my sword, which began hacking me to pieces. when i lost my legs i went to the tinsmith, ku-klip, and he made me some tin legs. when i lost my arms, ku-klip made me tin arms, and when i lost my head he made me this fine one out of tin. it was the same way with my body, and finally i was all tin. but i was not unhappy, for ku-klip made a good job of me, having had experience in making another tin man before me." "yes," observed the tin woodman, "it was ku-klip who made me. but, tell me, what was the name of the munchkin girl you were in love with?" "she is called nimmie amee," said the tin soldier. hearing this, they were all so astonished that they were silent for a time, regarding the stranger with wondering looks. finally the tin woodman ventured to ask: "and did nimmie amee return your love?" "not at first," admitted the soldier. "when first i marched into the forest and met her, she was weeping over the loss of her former sweetheart, a woodman whose name was nick chopper." "that is me," said the tin woodman. "she told me he was nicer than a soldier, because he was all made of tin and shone beautifully in the sun. she said a tin man appealed to her artistic instincts more than an ordinary meat man, as i was then. but i did not despair, because her tin sweetheart had disappeared, and could not be found. and finally nimmie amee permitted me to call upon her and we became friends. it was then that the wicked witch discovered me and became furiously angry when i said i wanted to marry the girl. she enchanted my sword, as i said, and then my troubles began. when i got my tin legs, nimmie amee began to take an interest in me; when i got my tin arms, she began to like me better than ever, and when i was all made of tin, she said i looked like her dear nick chopper and she would be willing to marry me. "the day of our wedding was set, and it turned out to be a rainy day. nevertheless i started out to get nimmie amee, because the witch had been absent for some time, and we meant to elope before she got back. as i traveled the forest paths the rain wetted my joints, but i paid no attention to this because my thoughts were all on my wedding with beautiful nimmie amee and i could think of nothing else until suddenly my legs stopped moving. then my arms rusted at the joints and i became frightened and cried for help, for now i was unable to oil myself. no one heard my calls and before long my jaws rusted, and i was unable to utter another sound. so i stood helpless in this spot, hoping some wanderer would come my way and save me. but this forest path is seldom used, and i have been standing here so long that i have lost all track of time. in my mind i composed poetry and sang songs, but not a sound have i been able to utter. but this desperate condition has now been relieved by your coming my way and i must thank you for my rescue." "this is wonderful!" said the scarecrow, heaving a stuffy, long sigh. "i think ku-klip was wrong to make two tin men, just alike, and the strangest thing of all is that both you tin men fell in love with the same girl." "as for that," returned the soldier, seriously, "i must admit i lost my ability to love when i lost my meat heart. ku-klip gave me a tin heart, to be sure, but it doesn't love anything, as far as i can discover, and merely rattles against my tin ribs, which makes me wish i had no heart at all." "yet, in spite of this condition, you were going to marry nimmie amee?" "well, you see i had promised to marry her, and i am an honest man and always try to keep my promises. i didn't like to disappoint the poor girl, who had been disappointed by one tin man already." "that was not my fault," declared the emperor of the winkies, and then he related how he, also, had rusted in the forest and after a long time had been rescued by dorothy and the scarecrow and had traveled with them to the emerald city in search of a heart that could love. "if you have found such a heart, sir," said the soldier, "i will gladly allow you to marry nimmie amee in my place." "if she loves you best, sir," answered the woodman, "i shall not interfere with your wedding her. for, to be quite frank with you, i cannot yet love nimmie amee as i did before i became tin." "still, one of you ought to marry the poor girl," remarked woot; "and, if she likes tin men, there is not much choice between you. why don't you draw lots for her?" "that wouldn't be right," said the scarecrow. "the girl should be permitted to choose her own husband," asserted polychrome. "you should both go to her and allow her to take her choice. then she will surely be happy." "that, to me, seems a very fair arrangement," said the tin soldier. "i agree to it," said the tin woodman, shaking the hand of his twin to show the matter was settled. "may i ask your name, sir?" he continued. "before i was so cut up," replied the other, "i was known as captain fyter, but afterward i was merely called 'the tin soldier.'" "well, captain, if you are agreeable, let us now go to nimmie amee's house and let her choose between us." "very well; and if we meet the witch, we will both fight her--you with your axe and i with my sword." "the witch is destroyed," announced the scarecrow, and as they walked away he told the tin soldier of much that had happened in the land of oz since he had stood rusted in the forest. "i must have stood there longer than i had imagined," he said thoughtfully. the workshop of ku-klip [illustration] chapter 17 it was not more than a two hours' journey to the house where nimmie amee had lived, but when our travelers arrived there they found the place deserted. the door was partly off its hinges, the roof had fallen in at the rear and the interior of the cottage was thick with dust. not only was the place vacant, but it was evident that no one had lived there for a long time. [illustration] "i suppose," said the scarecrow, as they all stood looking wonderingly at the ruined house, "that after the wicked witch was destroyed, nimmie amee became lonely and went somewhere else to live." "one could scarcely expect a young girl to live all alone in a forest," added woot. "she would want company, of course, and so i believe she has gone where other people live." "and perhaps she is still crying her poor little heart out because no tin man comes to marry her," suggested polychrome. "well, in that case, it is the clear duty of you two tin persons to seek nimmie amee until you find her," declared the scarecrow. "i do not know where to look for the girl," said the tin soldier, "for i am almost a stranger to this part of the country." "i was born here," said the tin woodman, "but the forest has few inhabitants except the wild beasts. i cannot think of anyone living near here with whom nimmie amee might care to live." "why not go to ku-klip and ask him what has become of the girl?" proposed polychrome. that struck them all as being a good suggestion, so once more they started to tramp through the forest, taking the direct path to ku-klip's house, for both the tin twins knew the way, having followed it many times. ku-klip lived at the far edge of the great forest, his house facing the broad plains of the munchkin country that lay to the eastward. but, when they came to this residence by the forest's edge, the tinsmith was not at home. it was a pretty place, all painted dark blue with trimmings of lighter blue. there was a neat blue fence around the yard and several blue benches had been placed underneath the shady blue trees which marked the line between forest and plain. there was a blue lawn before the house, which was a good sized building. ku-klip lived in the front part of the house and had his work-shop in the back part, where he had also built a lean-to addition, in order to give him more room. although they found the tinsmith absent on their arrival, there was smoke coming out of his chimney, which proved that he would soon return. "and perhaps nimmie amee will be with him," said the scarecrow in a cheerful voice. while they waited, the tin woodman went to the door of the workshop and, finding it unlocked, entered and looked curiously around the room where he had been made. "it seems almost like home to me," he told his friends, who had followed him in. "the first time i came here i had lost a leg, so i had to carry it in my hand while i hopped on the other leg all the way from the place in the forest where the enchanted axe cut me. i remember that old ku-klip carefully put my meat leg into a barrel--i think that is the same barrel, still standing in the corner yonder--and then at once he began to make a tin leg for me. he worked fast and with skill, and i was much interested in the job." "my experience was much the same," said the tin soldier. "i used to bring all the parts of me, which the enchanted sword had cut away, here to the tinsmith, and ku-klip would put them into the barrel." "i wonder," said woot, "if those cast-off parts of you two unfortunates are still in that barrel in the corner?" "i suppose so," replied the tin woodman. "in the land of oz no part of a living creature can ever be destroyed." "if that is true, how was that wicked witch destroyed?" inquired woot. "why, she was very old and was all dried up and withered before oz became a fairyland," explained the scarecrow. "only her magic arts had kept her alive so long, and when dorothy's house fell upon her she just turned to dust, and was blown away and scattered by the wind. i do not think, however, that the parts cut away from these two young men could ever be entirely destroyed and, if they are still in those barrels, they are likely to be just the same as when the enchanted axe or sword severed them." "it doesn't matter, however," said the tin woodman; "our tin bodies are more brilliant and durable, and quite satisfy us." "yes, the tin bodies are best," agreed the tin soldier. "nothing can hurt them." "unless they get dented or rusted," said woot, but both the tin men frowned on him. scraps of tin, of all shapes and sizes, lay scattered around the workshop. also there were hammers and anvils and soldering irons and a charcoal furnace and many other tools such as a tinsmith works with. against two of the side walls had been built stout work-benches and in the center of the room was a long table. at the end of the shop, which adjoined the dwelling, were several cupboards. after examining the interior of the workshop until his curiosity was satisfied, woot said: "i think i will go outside until ku-klip comes. it does not seem quite proper for us to take possession of his house while he is absent." "that is true," agreed the scarecrow, and they were all about to leave the room when the tin woodman said: "wait a minute," and they halted in obedience to the command. [illustration] the tin woodman talks to himself [illustration] chapter 18 the tin woodman had just noticed the cupboards and was curious to know what they contained, so he went to one of them and opened the door. there were shelves inside, and upon one of the shelves which was about on a level with his tin chin the emperor discovered a head--it looked like a doll's head, only it was larger, and he soon saw it was the head of some person. it was facing the tin woodman and as the cupboard door swung back, the eyes of the head slowly opened and looked at him. the tin woodman was not at all surprised, for in the land of oz one runs into magic at every turn. "dear me!" said the tin woodman, staring hard. "it seems as if i had met you, somewhere, before. good morning, sir!" "you have the advantage of me," replied the head. "i never saw you before in my life." "still, your face is very familiar," persisted the tin woodman. "pardon me, but may i ask if you--eh--eh--if you ever had a body?" "yes, at one time," answered the head, "but that is so long ago i can't remember it. did you think," with a pleasant smile, "that i was born just as i am? that a head would be created without a body?" "no, of course not," said the other. "but how came you to lose your body?" "well, i can't recollect the details; you'll have to ask ku-klip about it," returned the head. "for, curious as it may seem to you, my memory is not good since my separation from the rest of me. i still possess my brains and my intellect is as good as ever, but my memory of some of the events i formerly experienced is quite hazy." [illustration] "how long have you been in this cupboard?" asked the emperor. "i don't know." "haven't you a name?" "oh, yes," said the head; "i used to be called nick chopper, when i was a woodman and cut down trees for a living." "good gracious!" cried the tin woodman in astonishment. "if you are nick chopper's head, then you are _me_--or i'm _you_--or--or-what relation _are_ we, anyhow?" "don't ask me," replied the head. "for my part, i'm not anxious to claim relationship with any common, manufactured article, like you. you may be all right in your class, but your class isn't my class. you're tin." the poor emperor felt so bewildered that for a time he could only stare at his old head in silence. then he said: "i must admit that i wasn't at all bad looking before i became tin. you're almost handsome--for meat. if your hair was combed, you'd be quite attractive." "how do you expect me to comb my hair without help?" demanded the head, indignantly. "i used to keep it smooth and neat, when i had arms, but after i was removed from the rest of me, my hair got mussed, and old ku-klip never has combed it for me." "i'll speak to him about it," said the tin woodman. "do you remember loving a pretty munchkin girl named nimmie amee?" "no," answered the head. "that is a foolish question. the heart in my body--when i had a body--might have loved someone, for all i know, but a head isn't made to love; it's made to think." "oh; do you think, then?" "i used to think." "you must have been shut up in this cupboard for years and years. what have you thought about, in all that time?" "nothing. that's another foolish question. a little reflection will convince you that i have had nothing to think about, except the boards on the inside of the cupboard door, and it didn't take me long to think of everything about those boards that could be thought of. then, of course, i quit thinking." "and are you happy?" "happy? what's that?" "don't you know what happiness is?" inquired the tin woodman. "i haven't the faintest idea whether it's round or square, or black or white, or what it is. and, if you will pardon my lack of interest in it, i will say that i don't care." the tin woodman was much puzzled by these answers. his traveling companions had grouped themselves at his back, and had fixed their eyes on the head and listened to the conversation with much interest, but until now, they had not interrupted because they thought the tin woodman had the best right to talk to his own head and renew acquaintance with it. but now the tin soldier remarked: "i wonder if _my_ old head happens to be in any of these cupboards," and he proceeded to open all the cupboard doors. but no other head was to be found on any of the shelves. "oh, well; never mind," said woot the wanderer; "i can't imagine what anyone wants of a cast-off head, anyhow." "i can understand the soldier's interest," asserted polychrome, dancing around the grimy workshop until her draperies formed a cloud around her dainty form. "for sentimental reasons a man might like to see his old head once more, just as one likes to revisit an old home." "and then to kiss it good-bye," added the scarecrow. "i hope that tin thing won't try to kiss _me_ goodbye!" exclaimed the tin woodman's former head. "and i don't see what right you folks have to disturb my peace and comfort, either." "you belong to me," the tin woodman declared. "i do not!" "you and i are one." "we've been parted," asserted the head. "it would be unnatural for me to have any interest in a man made of tin. please close the door and leave me alone." "i did not think that my old head could be so disagreeable," said the emperor. "i--i'm quite ashamed of myself; meaning _you_." "you ought to be glad that i've enough sense to know what my rights are," retorted the head. "in this cupboard i am leading a simple life, peaceful and dignified, and when a mob of people in whom i am not interested disturb me, _they_ are the disagreeable ones; not i." with a sigh the tin woodman closed and latched the cupboard door and turned away. "well," said the tin soldier, "if my old head would have treated me as coldly and in so unfriendly a manner as your old head has treated you, friend chopper, i'm glad i could not find it." "yes; i'm rather surprised at my head, myself," replied the tin woodman, thoughtfully. "i thought i had a more pleasant disposition when i was made of meat." but just then old ku-klip the tinsmith arrived, and he seemed surprised to find so many visitors. ku-klip was a stout man and a short man. he had his sleeves rolled above his elbows, showing muscular arms, and he wore a leathern apron that covered all the front of him, and was so long that woot was surprised he didn't step on it and trip whenever he walked. and ku-klip had a gray beard that was almost as long as his apron, and his head was bald on top and his ears stuck out from his head like two fans. over his eyes, which were bright and twinkling, he wore big spectacles. it was easy to see that the tinsmith was a kind hearted man, as well as a merry and agreeable one. "oh-ho!" he cried in a joyous bass voice; "here are both my tin men come to visit me, and they and their friends are welcome indeed. i'm very proud of you two characters, i assure you, for you are so perfect that you are proof that i'm a good workman. sit down. sit down, all of you--if you can find anything to sit on--and tell me why you are here." so they found seats and told him all of their adventures that they thought he would like to know. ku-klip was glad to learn that nick chopper, the tin woodman, was now emperor of the winkies and a friend of ozma of oz, and the tinsmith was also interested in the scarecrow and polychrome. he turned the straw man around, examining him curiously, and patted him on all sides, and then said: "you are certainly wonderful, but i think you would be more durable and steady on your legs if you were made of tin. would you like me to--" "no, indeed!" interrupted the scarecrow hastily; "i like myself better as i am." but to polychrome the tinsmith said: "nothing could improve _you_, my dear, for you are the most beautiful maiden i have ever seen. it is pure happiness just to look at you." [illustration] "that is praise, indeed, from so skillful a workman," returned the rainbow's daughter, laughing and dancing in and out the room. "then it must be this boy you wish me to help," said ku-klip, looking at woot. "no," said woot, "we are not here to seek your skill, but have merely come to you for information." then, between them, they related their search for nimmie amee, whom the tin woodman explained he had resolved to marry, yet who had promised to become the bride of the tin soldier before he unfortunately became rusted. and when the story was told, they asked ku-klip if he knew what had become of nimmie amee. "not exactly," replied the old man, "but i know that she wept bitterly when the tin soldier did not come to marry her, as he had promised to do. the old witch was so provoked at the girl's tears that she beat nimmie amee with her crooked stick and then hobbled away to gather some magic herbs, with which she intended to transform the girl into an old hag, so that no one would again love her or care to marry her. it was while she was away on this errand that dorothy's house fell on the wicked witch, and she turned to dust and blew away. when i heard this good news, i sent nimmie amee to find the silver shoes which the witch had worn, but dorothy had taken them with her to the emerald city." [illustration] "yes, we know all about those silver shoes," said the scarecrow. "well," continued ku-klip, "after that, nimmie amee decided to go away from the forest and live with some people she was acquainted with who had a house on mount munch. i have never seen the girl since." "do you know the name of the people on mount munch, with whom she went to live?" asked the tin woodman. "no, nimmie amee did not mention her friend's name, and i did not ask her. she took with her all that she could carry of the goods that were in the witch's house, and she told me i could have the rest. but when i went there i found nothing worth taking except some magic powders that i did not know how to use, and a bottle of magic glue." "what is magic glue?" asked woot. "it is a magic preparation with which to mend people when they cut themselves. one time, long ago, i cut off one of my fingers by accident, and i carried it to the witch, who took down her bottle and glued it on again for me. see!" showing them his finger, "it is as good as ever it was. no one else that i ever heard of had this magic glue, and of course when nick chopper cut himself to pieces with his enchanted axe and captain fyter cut himself to pieces with his enchanted sword, the witch would not mend them, or allow me to glue them together, because she had herself wickedly enchanted the axe and sword. nothing remained but for me to make them new parts out of tin; but, as you see, tin answered the purpose very well, and i am sure their tin bodies are a great improvement on their meat bodies." "very true," said the tin soldier. "i quite agree with you," said the tin woodman. "i happened to find my old head in your cupboard, a while ago, and certainly it is not as desirable a head as the tin one i now wear." "by the way," said the tin soldier, "what ever became of _my_ old head, ku-klip?" "and of the different parts of our bodies?" added the tin woodman. "let me think a minute," replied ku-klip. "if i remember right, you two boys used to bring me most of your parts, when they were cut off, and i saved them in that barrel in the corner. you must not have brought me all the parts, for when i made chopfyt i had hard work finding enough pieces to complete the job. i finally had to finish him with one arm." "who is chopfyt?" inquired woot. "oh, haven't i told you about chopfyt?" exclaimed ku-klip. "of course not! and he's quite a curiosity, too. you'll be interested in hearing about chopfyt. this is how he happened: "one day, after the witch had been destroyed and nimmie amee had gone to live with her friends on mount munch, i was looking around the shop for something and came upon the bottle of magic glue which i had brought from the old witch's house. it occurred to me to piece together the odds and ends of you two people, which of course were just as good as ever, and see if i couldn't make a man out of them. if i succeeded, i would have an assistant to help me with my work, and i thought it would be a clever idea to put to some practical use the scraps of nick chopper and captain fyter. there were two perfectly good heads in my cupboard, and a lot of feet and legs and parts of bodies in the barrel, so i set to work to see what i could do. "first, i pieced together a body, gluing it with the witch's magic glue, which worked perfectly. that was the hardest part of my job, however, because the bodies didn't match up well and some parts were missing. but by using a piece of captain fyter here and a piece of nick chopper there, i finally got together a very decent body, with heart and all the trimmings complete." "whose heart did you use in making the body?" asked the tin woodman anxiously. [illustration: meat glue] "i can't tell, for the parts had no tags on them and one heart looks much like another. after the body was completed, i glued two fine legs and feet onto it. one leg was nick chopper's and one was captain fyter's and, finding one leg longer than the other, i trimmed it down to make them match. i was much disappointed to find that i had but one arm. there was an extra leg in the barrel, but i could find only one arm. having glued this onto the body, i was ready for the head, and i had some difficulty in making up my mind which head to use. finally i shut my eyes and reached out my hand toward the cupboard shelf, and the first head i touched i glued upon my new man." "it was mine!" declared the tin soldier, gloomily. "no, it was mine," asserted ku-klip, "for i had given you another in exchange for it--the beautiful tin head you now wear. when the glue had dried, my man was quite an interesting fellow. i named him chopfyt, using a part of nick chopper's name and a part of captain fyter's name, because he was a mixture of both your cast-off parts. chopfyt was interesting, as i said, but he did not prove a very agreeable companion. he complained bitterly because i had given him but one arm--as if it were my fault!--and he grumbled because the suit of blue munchkin clothes, which i got for him from a neighbor, did not fit him perfectly." [illustration] "ah, that was because he was wearing my old head," remarked the tin soldier. "i remember that head used to be very particular about its clothes." "as an assistant," the old tinsmith continued, "chopfyt was not a success. he was awkward with tools and was always hungry. he demanded something to eat six or eight times a day, so i wondered if i had fitted his insides properly. indeed, chopfyt ate so much that little food was left for myself; so, when he proposed, one day, to go out into the world and seek adventures, i was delighted to be rid of him. i even made him a tin arm to take the place of the missing one, and that pleased him very much, so that we parted good friends." "what became of chopfyt after that?" the scarecrow inquired. "i never heard. he started off toward the east, into the plains of the munchkin country, and that was the last i ever saw of him." "it seems to me," said the tin woodman reflectively, "that you did wrong in making a man out of our cast-off parts. it is evident that chopfyt could, with justice, claim relationship with both of us." "don't worry about that," advised ku-klip cheerfully; "it is not likely that you will ever meet the fellow. and, if you should meet him, he doesn't know who he is made of, for i never told him the secret of his manufacture. indeed, you are the only ones who know of it, and you may keep the secret to yourselves, if you wish to." "never mind chopfyt," said the scarecrow. "our business now is to find poor nimmie amee and let her choose her tin husband. to do that, it seems, from the information ku-klip has given us, we must travel to mount munch." "if that's the programme, let us start at once," suggested woot. so they all went outside, where they found polychrome dancing about among the trees and talking with the birds and laughing as merrily as if she had not lost her rainbow and so been separated from all her fairy sisters. they told her they were going to mount munch, and she replied: "very well; i am as likely to find my rainbow there as here, and any other place is as likely as there. it all depends on the weather. do you think it looks like rain?" they shook their heads, and polychrome laughed again and danced on after them when they resumed their journey. the invisible country [illustration] chapter 19 they were proceeding so easily and comfortably on their way to mount munch that woot said in a serious tone of voice: "i'm afraid something is going to happen." "why?" asked polychrome, dancing around the group of travelers. "because," said the boy, thoughtfully, "i've noticed that when we have the least reason for getting into trouble, something is sure to go wrong. just now the weather is delightful; the grass is beautifully blue and quite soft to our feet; the mountain we are seeking shows clearly in the distance and there is no reason anything should happen to delay us in getting there. our troubles all seem to be over, and--well, that's why i'm afraid," he added, with a sigh. "dear me!" remarked the scarecrow, "what unhappy thoughts you have, to be sure. this is proof that born brains cannot equal manufactured brains, for _my_ brains dwell only on facts and never borrow trouble. when there is occasion for my brains to think, they think, but i would be ashamed of my brains if they kept shooting out thoughts that were merely fears and imaginings, such as do no good, but are likely to do harm." "for my part," said the tin woodman, "i do not think at all, but allow my velvet heart to guide me at all times." "the tinsmith filled my hollow head with scraps and clippings of tin," said the soldier, "and he told me they would do nicely for brains, but when i begin to think, the tin scraps rattle around and get so mixed that i'm soon bewildered. so i try not to think. my tin heart is almost as useless to me, for it is hard and cold, so i'm sure the red velvet heart of my friend nick chopper is a better guide." "thoughtless people are not unusual," observed the scarecrow, "but i consider them more fortunate than those who have useless or wicked thoughts and do not try to curb them. your oil can, friend woodman, is filled with oil, but you only apply the oil to your joints, drop by drop, as you need it, and do not keep spilling it where it will do no good. thoughts should be restrained in the same way as your oil, and only applied when necessary, and for a good purpose. if used carefully, thoughts are good things to have." polychrome laughed at him, for the rainbow's daughter knew more about thoughts than the scarecrow did. but the others were solemn, feeling they had been rebuked, and tramped on in silence. suddenly woot, who was in the lead, looked around and found that all his comrades had mysteriously disappeared. but where could they have gone to? the broad plain was all about him and there were neither trees nor bushes that could hide even a rabbit, nor any hole for one to fall into. yet there he stood, alone. surprise had caused him to halt, and with a thoughtful and puzzled expression on his face he looked down at his feet. it startled him anew to discover that he had no feet. he reached out his hands, but he could not see them. he could feel his hands and arms and body; he stamped his feet on the grass and knew they were there, but in some strange way they had become invisible. while woot stood, wondering, a crash of metal sounded in his ears and he heard two heavy bodies tumble to the earth just beside him. "good gracious!" exclaimed the voice of the tin woodman. "mercy me!" cried the voice of the tin soldier. "why didn't you look where you were going?" asked the tin woodman reproachfully. "i did, but i couldn't see you," said the tin soldier. "something has happened to my tin eyes. i can't see you, even now, nor can i see anyone else!" "it's the same way with me," admitted the tin woodman. [illustration] woot couldn't see either of them, although he heard them plainly, and just then something smashed against him unexpectedly and knocked him over; but it was only the straw-stuffed body of the scarecrow that fell upon him and while he could not see the scarecrow he managed to push him off and rose to his feet just as polychrome whirled against him and made him tumble again. sitting upon the ground, the boy asked: "can _you_ see us, poly?" "no, indeed," answered the rainbow's daughter; "we've all become invisible." "how did it happen, do you suppose?" inquired the scarecrow, lying where he had fallen. "we have met with no enemy," answered polychrome, "so it must be that this part of the country has the magic quality of making people invisible--even fairies falling under the charm. we can see the grass, and the flowers, and the stretch of plain before us, and we can still see mount munch in the distance; but we cannot see ourselves or one another." "well, what are we to do about it?" demanded woot. "i think this magic affects only a small part of the plain," replied polychrome; "perhaps there is only a streak of the country where an enchantment makes people become invisible. so, if we get together and hold hands, we can travel toward mount munch until the enchanted streak is passed." "all right," said woot, jumping up, "give me your hand, polychrome. where are you?" "here," she answered. "whistle, woot, and keep whistling until i come to you." so woot whistled, and presently polychrome found him and grasped his hand. "someone must help me up," said the scarecrow, lying near them; so they found the straw man and sat him upon his feet, after which he held fast to polychrome's other hand. nick chopper and the tin soldier had managed to scramble up without assistance, but it was awkward for them and the tin woodman said: "i don't seem to stand straight, somehow. but my joints all work, so i guess i can walk." guided by his voice, they reached his side, where woot grasped his tin fingers so they might keep together. the tin soldier was standing near by and the scarecrow soon touched him and took hold of his arm. "i hope you're not wobbly," said the straw man, "for if two of us walk unsteadily we will be sure to fall." "i'm not wobbly," the tin soldier assured him, "but i'm certain that one of my legs is shorter than the other. i can't see it, to tell what's gone wrong, but i'll limp on with the rest of you until we are out of this enchanted territory." they now formed a line, holding hands, and turning their faces toward mount munch resumed their journey. they had not gone far, however, when a terrible growl saluted their ears. the sound seemed to come from a place just in front of them, so they halted abruptly and remained silent, listening with all their ears. "i smell straw!" cried a hoarse, harsh voice, with more growls and snarls. "i smell straw, and i'm a hip-po-gy-raf who loves straw and eats all he can find. i want to eat _this_ straw! where is it? where is it?" the scarecrow, hearing this, trembled but kept silent. all the others were silent, too, hoping that the invisible beast would be unable to find them. but the creature sniffed the odor of the straw and drew nearer and nearer to them until he reached the tin woodman, on one end of the line. it was a big beast and it smelled of the tin woodman and grated two rows of enormous teeth against the emperor's tin body. "bah! that's not straw," said the harsh voice, and the beast advanced along the line to woot. "meat! pooh, you're no good! i can't eat meat," grumbled the beast, and passed on to polychrome. "sweetmeats and perfume--cobwebs and dew! nothing to eat in a fairy like you," said the creature. now, the scarecrow was next to polychrome in the line, and he realized if the beast devoured his straw he would be helpless for a long time, because the last farmhouse was far behind them and only grass covered the vast expanse of plain. so in his fright he let go of polychrome's hand and put the hand of the tin soldier in that of the rainbow's daughter. then he slipped back of the line and went to the other end, where he silently seized the tin woodman's hand. meantime, the beast had smelled the tin soldier and found he was the last of the line. "that's funny!" growled the hip-po-gy-raf; "i can smell straw, but i can't find it. well, it's here, somewhere, and i must hunt around until i _do_ find it, for i'm hungry." his voice was now at the left of them, so they started on, hoping to avoid him, and traveled as fast as they could in the direction of mount munch. "i don't like this invisible country," said woot with a shudder. "we can't tell how many dreadful, invisible beasts are roaming around us, or what danger we'll come to next." "quit thinking about danger, please," said the scarecrow, warningly. "why?" asked the boy. "if you think of some dreadful thing, it's liable to happen, but if you don't think of it, and no one else thinks of it, it just _can't_ happen. do you see?" "no," answered woot. "i won't be able to see much of anything until we escape from this enchantment." but they got out of the invisible strip of country as suddenly as they had entered it, and the instant they got out they stopped short, for just before them was a deep ditch, running at right angles as far as their eyes could see and stopping all further progress toward mount munch. "it's not so very wide," said woot, "but i'm sure none of us can jump across it." polychrome began to laugh, and the scarecrow said: "what's the matter?" "look at the tin men!" she said, with another burst of merry laughter. woot and the scarecrow looked, and the tin men looked at themselves. "it was the collision," said the tin woodman regretfully. "i knew something was wrong with me, and now i can see that my side is dented in so that i lean over toward the left. it was the soldier's fault; he shouldn't have been so careless." "it is your fault that my right leg is bent, making it shorter than the other, so that i limp badly," retorted the soldier. "you shouldn't have stood where i was walking." "you shouldn't have walked where i was standing," replied the tin woodman. it was almost a quarrel, so polychrome said soothingly: "never mind, friends; as soon as we have time i am sure we can straighten the soldier's leg and get the dent out of the woodman's body. the scarecrow needs patting into shape, too, for he had a bad tumble, but our first task is to get over this ditch." "yes, the ditch is the most important thing, just now," added woot. they were standing in a row, looking hard at the unexpected barrier, when a fierce growl from behind them made them all turn quickly. out of the invisible country marched a huge beast with a thick, leathery skin and a surprisingly long neck. the head on the top of this neck was broad and flat and the eyes and mouth were very big and the nose and ears very small. when the head was drawn down toward the beast's shoulders, the neck was all wrinkles, but the head could shoot up very high indeed, if the creature wished it to. "dear me!" exclaimed the scarecrow, "this must be the hip-po-gy-raf." "quite right," said the beast; "and you're the straw which i'm to eat for my dinner. oh, how i love straw! i hope you don't resent my affectionate appetite?" with its four great legs it advanced straight toward the scarecrow, but the tin woodman and the tin soldier both sprang in front of their friend and flourished their weapons. "keep off!" said the tin woodman, warningly, "or i'll chop you with my axe." "keep off!" said the tin soldier, "or i'll cut you with my sword." "would you really do that?" asked the hip-po-gy-raf, in a disappointed voice. [illustration] [illustration] "we would," they both replied, and the tin woodman added: "the scarecrow is our friend, and he would be useless without his straw stuffing. so, as we are comrades, faithful and true, we will defend our friend's stuffing against all enemies." the hip-po-gy-raf sat down and looked at them sorrowfully. "when one has made up his mind to have a meal of delicious straw, and then finds he can't have it, it is certainly hard luck," he said. "and what good is the straw man to you, or to himself, when the ditch keeps you from going any further?" "well, we can go back again," suggested woot. "true," said the hip-po; "and if you do, you'll be as disappointed as i am. that's some comfort, anyhow." the travelers looked at the beast, and then they looked across the ditch at the level plain beyond. on the other side the grass had grown tall, and the sun had dried it, so there was a fine crop of hay that only needed to be cut and stacked. "why don't you cross over and eat hay?" the boy asked the beast. "i'm not fond of hay," replied the hip-po-gy-raf; "straw is much more delicious, to my notion, and it's more scarce in this neighborhood, too. also i must confess that i can't get across the ditch, for my body is too heavy and clumsy for me to jump the distance. i can stretch my neck across, though, and you will notice that i've nibbled the hay on the farther edge--not because i liked it, but because one must eat, and if one can't get the sort of food he desires, he must take what is offered or go hungry." "ah, i see you are a philosopher," remarked the scarecrow. "no, i'm just a hip-po-gy-raf," was the reply. polychrome was not afraid of the big beast. she danced close to him and said: "if you can stretch your neck across the ditch, why not help us over? we can sit on your big head, one at a time, and then you can lift us across." "yes; i _can_, it is true," answered the hip-po; "but i refuse to do it. unless--" he added, and stopped short. "unless what?" asked polychrome. "unless you first allow me to eat the straw with which the scarecrow is stuffed." "no," said the rainbow's daughter, "that is too high a price to pay. our friend's straw is nice and fresh, for he was restuffed only a little while ago." "i know," agreed the hip-po-gy-raf. "that's why i want it. if it was old, musty straw, i wouldn't care for it." "_please_ lift us across," pleaded polychrome. "no," replied the beast; "since you refuse my generous offer, i can be as stubborn as you are." after that they were all silent for a time, but then the scarecrow said bravely: "friends, let us agree to the beast's terms. give him my straw, and carry the rest of me with you across the ditch. once on the other side, the tin soldier can cut some of the hay with his sharp sword, and you can stuff me with that material until we reach a place where there is straw. it is true i have been stuffed with straw all my life and it will be somewhat humiliating to be filled with common hay, but i am willing to sacrifice my pride in a good cause. moreover, to abandon our errand and so deprive the great emperor of the winkies--or this noble soldier--of his bride, would be equally humiliating, if not more so." "you're a very honest and clever man!" exclaimed the hip-po-gy-raf, admiringly. "when i have eaten your head, perhaps i also will become clever." "you're not to eat my head, you know," returned the scarecrow hastily. "my head isn't stuffed with straw and i cannot part with it. when one loses his head he loses his brains." "very well, then; you may keep your head," said the beast. the scarecrow's companions thanked him warmly for his loyal sacrifice to their mutual good, and then he laid down and permitted them to pull the straw from his body. as fast as they did this, the hip-po-gy-raf ate up the straw, and when all was consumed polychrome made a neat bundle of the clothes and boots and gloves and hat and said she would carry them, while woot tucked the scarecrow's head under his arm and promised to guard its safety. "now, then," said the tin woodman, "keep your promise, beast, and lift us over the ditch." "m-m-m-mum, but that was a fine dinner!" said the hip-po, smacking his thick lips in satisfaction, "and i'm as good as my word. sit on my head, one at a time, and i'll land you safely on the other side." he approached close to the edge of the ditch and squatted down. polychrome climbed over his big body and sat herself lightly upon the flat head, holding the bundle of the scarecrow's raiment in her hand. slowly the elastic neck stretched out until it reached the far side of the ditch, when the beast lowered his head and permitted the beautiful fairy to leap to the ground. woot made the queer journey next, and then the tin soldier and the tin woodman went over, and all were well pleased to have overcome this serious barrier to their progress. "now, soldier, cut the hay," said the scarecrow's head, which was still held by woot the wanderer. "i'd like to, but i can't stoop over, with my bent leg, without falling," replied captain fyter. "what can we do about that leg, anyhow?" asked woot, appealing to polychrome. she danced around in a circle several times without replying, and the boy feared she had not heard him; but the rainbow's daughter was merely thinking upon the problem, and presently she paused beside the tin soldier and said: "i've been taught a little fairy magic, but i've never before been asked to mend tin legs with it, so i'm not sure i can help you. it all depends on the good will of my unseen fairy guardians, so i'll try, and if i fail, you will be no worse off than you are now." [illustration] she danced around the circle again, and then laid both hands upon the twisted tin leg and sang in her sweet voice: "fairy powers, come to my aid! this bent leg of tin is made; make it straight and strong and true, and i'll render thanks to you." "ah!" murmured captain fyter in a glad voice, as she withdrew her hands and danced away, and they saw he was standing straight as ever, because his leg was as shapely and strong as it had been before his accident. the tin woodman had watched polychrome with much interest, and he now said: "please take the dent out of my side, poly, for i am more crippled than was the soldier." so the rainbow's daughter touched his side lightly and sang: "here's a dent by accident; such a thing was never meant. fairy powers, so wondrous great, make our dear tin woodman straight!" "good!" cried the emperor, again standing erect and strutting around to show his fine figure. "your fairy magic may not be able to accomplish all things, sweet polychrome, but it works splendidly on tin. thank you very much." "the hay--the hay!" pleaded the scarecrow's head. "oh, yes; the hay," said woot. "what are you waiting for, captain fyter?" at once the tin soldier set to work cutting hay with his sword and in a few minutes there was quite enough with which to stuff the scarecrow's body. woot and polychrome did this and it was no easy task because the hay packed together more than straw and as they had little experience in such work their job, when completed, left the scarecrow's arms and legs rather bunchy. also there was a hump on his back which made woot laugh and say it reminded him of a camel, but it was the best they could do and when the head was fastened on to the body they asked the scarecrow how he felt. "a little heavy, and not quite natural," he cheerfully replied; "but i'll get along somehow until we reach a straw-stack. don't laugh at me, please, because i'm a little ashamed of myself and i don't want to regret a good action." they started at once in the direction of mount munch, and as the scarecrow proved very clumsy in his movements, woot took one of his arms and the tin woodman the other and so helped their friend to walk in a straight line. and the rainbow's daughter, as before, danced ahead of them and behind them and all around them, and they never minded her odd ways, because to them she was like a ray of sunshine. [illustration] over night [illustration] chapter 20 the land of the munchkins is full of surprises, as our travelers had already learned, and although mount munch was constantly growing larger as they advanced toward it, they knew it was still a long way off and were not certain, by any means, that they had escaped all danger or encountered their last adventure. the plain was broad, and as far as the eye could see, there seemed to be a level stretch of country between them and the mountain, but toward evening they came upon a hollow, in which stood a tiny blue munchkin dwelling with a garden around it and fields of grain filling in all the rest of the hollow. they did not discover this place until they came close to the edge of it, and they were astonished at the sight that greeted them because they had imagined that this part of the plain had no inhabitants. "it's a very small house," woot declared. "i wonder who lives there?" "the way to find out is to knock on the door and ask," replied the tin woodman. "perhaps it is the home of nimmie amee." "is she a dwarf?" asked the boy. "no, indeed; nimmie amee is a full sized woman." "then i'm sure she couldn't live in that little house," said woot. "let's go down," suggested the scarecrow. "i'm almost sure i can see a straw-stack in the back yard." they descended the hollow, which was rather steep at the sides, and soon came to the house, which was indeed rather small. woot knocked upon a door that was not much higher than his waist, but got no reply. he knocked again, but not a sound was heard. "smoke is coming out of the chimney," announced polychrome, who was dancing lightly through the garden, where cabbages and beets and turnips and the like were growing finely. "then someone surely lives here," said woot, and knocked again. now a window at the side of the house opened and a queer head appeared. it was white and hairy and had a long snout and little round eyes. the ears were hidden by a blue sunbonnet tied under the chin. "oh; it's a pig!" exclaimed woot. "pardon me; i am mrs. squealina swyne, wife of professor grunter swyne, and this is our home," said the one in the window. "what do you want?" "what sort of a professor is your husband?" inquired the tin woodman curiously. "he is professor of cabbage culture and corn perfection. he is very famous in his own family, and would be the wonder of the world if he went abroad," said mrs. swyne in a voice that was half proud and half irritable. "i must also inform you intruders that the professor is a dangerous individual, for he files his teeth every morning until they are sharp as needles. if you are butchers, you'd better run away and avoid trouble." "we are not butchers," the tin woodman assured her. "then what are you doing with that axe? and why has the other tin man a sword?" "they are the only weapons we have to defend our friends from their enemies," explained the emperor of the winkies, and woot added: "do not be afraid of us, mrs. swyne, for we are harmless travelers. the tin men and the scarecrow never eat anything and polychrome feasts only on dewdrops. as for me, i'm rather hungry, but there is plenty of food in your garden to satisfy me." professor swyne now joined his wife at the window, looking rather scared in spite of the boy's assuring speech. he wore a blue munchkin hat, with pointed crown and broad brim, and big spectacles covered his eyes. he peeked around from behind his wife and after looking hard at the strangers, he said: "my wisdom assures me that you are merely travelers, as you say, and not butchers. butchers have reason to be afraid of me, but you are safe. we cannot invite you in, for you are too big for our house, but the boy who eats is welcome to all the carrots and turnips he wants. make yourselves at home in the garden and stay all night, if you like; but in the morning you must go away, for we are quiet people and do not care for company." "may i have some of your straw?" asked the scarecrow. "help yourself," replied professor swyne. "for pigs, they're quite respectable," remarked woot, as they all went toward the straw-stack. "i'm glad they didn't invite us in," said captain fyter. "i hope i'm not too particular about my associates, but i draw the line at pigs." the scarecrow was glad to be rid of his hay, for during the long walk it had sagged down and made him fat and squatty and more bumpy than at first. "i'm not specially proud," he said, "but i love a manly figure, such as only straw stuffing can create. i've not felt like myself since that hungry hip-po ate my last straw." polychrome and woot set to work removing the hay and then they selected the finest straw, crisp and golden, and with it stuffed the scarecrow anew. he certainly looked better after the operation, and he was so pleased at being reformed that he tried to dance a little jig, and almost succeeded. [illustration] "i shall sleep under the straw-stack tonight," woot decided, after he had eaten some of the vegetables from the garden, and in fact he slept very well, with the two tin men and the scarecrow sitting silently beside him and polychrome away somewhere in the moonlight dancing her fairy dances. at daybreak the tin woodman and the tin soldier took occasion to polish their bodies and oil their joints, for both were exceedingly careful of their personal appearance. they had forgotten the quarrel due to their accidental bumping of one another in the invisible country, and being now good friends the tin woodman polished the tin soldier's back for him and then the tin soldier polished the tin woodman's back. for breakfast the wanderer ate crisp lettuce and radishes, and the rainbow's daughter, who had now returned to her friends, sipped the dewdrops that had formed on the petals of the wild-flowers. as they passed the little house to renew their journey, woot called out: "good-bye, mr. and mrs. swyne!" the window opened and the two pigs looked out. "a pleasant journey," said the professor. "have you any children?" asked the scarecrow, who was a great friend of children. "we have nine," answered the professor; "but they do not live with us, for when they were tiny piglets the wizard of oz came here and offered to care for them and to educate them. so we let him have our nine tiny piglets, for he's a good wizard and can be relied upon to keep his promises." "i know the nine tiny piglets," said the tin woodman. "so do i," said the scarecrow. "they still live in the emerald city, and the wizard takes good care of them and teaches them to do all sorts of tricks." "did they ever grow up?" inquired mrs. squealina swyne, in an anxious voice. "no," answered the scarecrow; "like all other children in the land of oz, they will always remain children, and in the case of the tiny piglets that is a good thing, because they would not be nearly so cute and cunning if they were bigger." "but are they happy?" asked mrs. swyne. "everyone in the emerald city is happy," said the tin woodman. "they can't help it." then the travelers said good-bye, and climbed the side of the basin that was toward mount munch. polychrome's magic [illustration] chapter 21 on this morning, which ought to be the last of this important journey, our friends started away as bright and cheery as could be, and woot whistled a merry tune so that polychrome could dance to the music. on reaching the top of the hill, the plain spread out before them in all its beauty of blue grasses and wildflowers, and mount munch seemed much nearer than it had the previous evening. they trudged on at a brisk pace, and by noon the mountain was so close that they could admire its appearance. its slopes were partly clothed with pretty evergreens, and its foot-hills were tufted with a slender waving bluegrass that had a tassel on the end of every blade. and, for the first time, they perceived, near the foot of the mountain, a charming house, not of great size but neatly painted and with many flowers surrounding it and vines climbing over the doors and windows. it was toward this solitary house that our travelers now directed their steps, thinking to inquire of the people who lived there where nimmie amee might be found. there were no paths, but the way was quite open and clear, and they were drawing near to the dwelling when woot the wanderer, who was then in the lead of the little party, halted with such an abrupt jerk that he stumbled over backward and lay flat on his back in the meadow. the scarecrow stopped to look at the boy. "why did you do that?" he asked in surprise. woot sat up and gazed around him in amazement. "i--i don't know!" he replied. the two tin men, arm in arm, started to pass them, when both halted and tumbled, with a great clatter, into a heap beside woot. polychrome, laughing at the absurd sight, came dancing up and she, also, came to a sudden stop, but managed to save herself from falling. everyone of them was much astonished, and the scarecrow said with a puzzled look: "i don't see anything." "nor i," said woot; "but something hit me, just the same." "some invisible person struck me a heavy blow," declared the tin woodman, struggling to separate himself from the tin soldier, whose legs and arms were mixed with his own. "i'm not sure it was a person," said polychrome, looking more grave than usual. "it seems to me that i merely ran into some hard substance which barred my way. in order to make sure of this, let me try another place." she ran back a way and then with much caution advanced in a different place, but when she reached a position on a line with the others she halted, her arms outstretched before her. [illustration] "i can feel something hard--something smooth as glass," she said, "but i'm sure it is not glass." "let me try," suggested woot, getting up; but when he tried to go forward, he discovered the same barrier that polychrome had encountered. "no," he said, "it isn't glass. but what is it?" "air," replied a small voice beside him. "solid air; that's all." they all looked downward and found a sky-blue rabbit had stuck his head out of a burrow in the ground. the rabbit's eyes were a deeper blue than his fur, and the pretty creature seemed friendly and unafraid. "air!" exclaimed woot, staring in astonishment into the rabbit's blue eyes; "whoever heard of air so solid that one cannot push it aside?" "you can't push _this_ air aside," declared the rabbit, "for it was made hard by powerful sorcery, and it forms a wall that is intended to keep people from getting to that house yonder." "oh; it's a wall, is it?" said the tin woodman. "yes, it is really a wall," answered the rabbit, "and it is fully six feet thick." "how high is it?" inquired captain fyter, the tin soldier. "oh, ever so high; perhaps a mile," said the rabbit. "couldn't we go around it?" asked woot. "of course, for the wall is a circle," explained the rabbit. "in the center of the circle stands the house, so you may walk around the wall of solid air, but you can't get to the house." "who put the air wall around the house?" was the scarecrow's question. "nimmie amee did that." "nimmie amee!" they all exclaimed in surprise. "yes," answered the rabbit. "she used to live with an old witch, who was suddenly destroyed, and when nimmie amee ran away from the witch's house, she took with her just one magic formula--pure sorcery it was--which enabled her to build this air wall around her house--the house yonder. it was quite a clever idea, i think, for it doesn't mar the beauty of the landscape, solid air being invisible, and yet it keeps all strangers away from the house." "does nimmie amee live there now?" asked the tin woodman anxiously. "yes, indeed," said the rabbit. "and does she weep and wail from morning till night?" continued the emperor. "no; she seems quite happy," asserted the rabbit. the tin woodman seemed quite disappointed to hear this report of his old sweetheart, but the scarecrow reassured his friend, saying: [illustration] "never mind, your majesty; however happy nimmie amee is now, i'm sure she will be much happier as empress of the winkies." "perhaps," said captain fyter, somewhat stiffly, "she will be still more happy to become the bride of a tin soldier." "she shall choose between us, as we have agreed," the tin woodman promised; "but how shall we get to the poor girl?" polychrome, although dancing lightly back and forth, had listened to every word of the conversation. now she came forward and sat herself down just in front of the blue rabbit, her many-hued draperies giving her the appearance of some beautiful flower. the rabbit didn't back away an inch. instead, he gazed at the rainbow's daughter admiringly. "does your burrow go underneath this wall of air?" asked polychrome. "to be sure," answered the blue rabbit; "i dug it that way so i could roam in these broad fields, by going out one way, or eat the cabbages in nimmie amee's garden by leaving my burrow at the other end. i don't think nimmie amee ought to mind the little i take from her garden, or the hole i've made under her magic wall. a rabbit may go and come as he pleases, but no one who is bigger than i am could get through my burrow." "will you allow us to pass through it, if we are able to?" inquired polychrome. "yes, indeed," answered the blue rabbit. "i'm no especial friend of nimmie amee, for once she threw stones at me, just because i was nibbling some lettuce, and only yesterday she yelled 'shoo!' at me, which made me nervous. you're welcome to use my burrow in any way you choose." "but this is all nonsense!" declared woot the wanderer. "we are every one too big to crawl through a rabbit's burrow." "we are too big _now_," agreed the scarecrow, "but you must remember that polychrome is a fairy, and fairies have many magic powers." woot's face brightened as he turned to the lovely daughter of the rainbow. "could you make us all as small as that rabbit?" he asked eagerly. "i can try," answered polychrome, with a smile. and presently she did it--so easily that woot was not the only one astonished. as the now tiny people grouped themselves before the rabbit's burrow the hole appeared to them like the entrance to a tunnel, which indeed it was. "i'll go first," said wee polychrome, who had made herself grow as small as the others, and into the tunnel she danced without hesitation. a tiny scarecrow went next and then the two funny little tin men. "walk in; it's your turn," said the blue rabbit to woot the wanderer. "i'm coming after, to see how you get along. this will be a regular surprise party to nimmie amee." so woot entered the hole and felt his way along its smooth sides in the dark until he finally saw the glimmer of daylight ahead and knew the journey was almost over. had he remained his natural size, the distance could have been covered in a few steps, but to a thumb-high woot it was quite a promenade. when he emerged from the burrow he found himself but a short distance from the house, in the center of the vegetable garden, where the leaves of rhubarb waving above his head seemed like trees. outside the hole, and waiting for him, he found all his friends. "so far, so good!" remarked the scarecrow cheerfully. "yes; _so far_, but no farther," returned the tin woodman in a plaintive and disturbed tone of voice. "i am now close to nimmie amee, whom i have come ever so far to seek, but i cannot ask the girl to marry such a little man as i am now." "i'm no bigger than a toy soldier!" said captain fyter, sorrowfully. "unless polychrome can make us big again, there is little use in our visiting nimmie amee at all, for i'm sure she wouldn't care for a husband she might carelessly step on and ruin." polychrome laughed merrily. "if i make you big, you can't get out of here again," said she, "and if you remain little nimmie amee will laugh at you. so make your choice." "i think we'd better go back," said woot seriously. "no," said the tin woodman, stoutly, "i have decided that it's my duty to make nimmie amee happy, in case she wishes to marry me." "so have i," announced captain fyter. "a good soldier never shrinks from doing his duty." "as for that," said the scarecrow, "tin doesn't shrink any to speak of, under any circumstances. but woot and i intend to stick to our comrades, whatever they decide to do, so we will ask polychrome to make us as big as we were before." polychrome agreed to this request and in half a minute all of them, including herself, had been enlarged again to their natural sizes. they then thanked the blue rabbit for his kind assistance, and at once approached the house of nimmie amee. nimmie amee [illustration] chapter 22 we may be sure that at this moment our friends were all anxious to see the end of the adventure that had caused them so many trials and troubles. perhaps the tin woodman's heart did not beat any faster, because it was made of red velvet and stuffed with sawdust, and the tin soldier's heart was made of tin and reposed in his tin bosom without a hint of emotion. however, there is little doubt that they both knew that a critical moment in their lives had arrived, and that nimmie amee's decision was destined to influence the future of one or the other. as they assumed their natural sizes and the rhubarb leaves that had before towered above their heads now barely covered their feet, they looked around the garden and found that no person was visible save themselves. no sound of activity came from the house, either, but they walked to the front door, which had a little porch built before it, and there the two tinmen stood side by side while both knocked upon the door with their tin knuckles. as no one seemed eager to answer the summons they knocked again; and then again. finally they heard a stir from within and someone coughed. "who's there?" called a girl's voice. "it's i!" cried the tin twins, together. "how did you get there?" asked the voice. they hesitated how to reply, so woot answered for them: "by means of magic." "oh," said the unseen girl. "are you friends, or foes?" "friends!" they all exclaimed. then they heard footsteps approach the door, which slowly opened and revealed a very pretty munchkin girl standing in the doorway. "nimmie amee!" cried the tin twins. "that's my name," replied the girl, looking at them in cold surprise. "but who can _you_ be?" "don't you know me, nimmie?" said the tin woodman. "i'm your old sweetheart, nick chopper!" "don't you know _me_, my dear?" said the tin soldier. "i'm your old sweetheart, captain fyter!" nimmie amee smiled at them both. then she looked beyond them at the rest of the party and smiled again. however, she seemed more amused than pleased. "come in," she said, leading the way inside. "even sweethearts are forgotten after a time, but you and your friends are welcome." the room they now entered was cosy and comfortable, being neatly furnished and well swept and dusted. but they found someone there besides nimmie amee. a man dressed in the attractive munchkin costume was lazily reclining in an easy chair, and he sat up and turned his eyes on the visitors with a cold and indifferent stare that was almost insolent. he did not even rise from his seat to greet the strangers, but after glaring at them he looked away with a scowl, as if they were of too little importance to interest him. the tin men returned this man's stare with interest, but they did not look away from him because neither of them seemed able to take his eyes off this munchkin, who was remarkable in having one tin arm--quite like their own tin arms. "seems to me," said captain fyter, in a voice that sounded harsh and indignant, "that you, sir, are a vile impostor!" "gently--gently!" cautioned the scarecrow; "don't be rude to strangers, captain." "rude?" shouted the tin soldier, now very much provoked; "why, he's a scoundrel--a thief! _the villain is wearing my own head!_" "yes," added the tin woodman, "and he's wearing my right arm! i can recognize it by the two warts on the little finger." "good gracious!" exclaimed woot. "then this must be the man whom old ku-klip patched together and named chopfyt." the man now turned toward them, still scowling. [illustration] "yes, that is my name," he said in a voice like a growl, "and it is absurd for you tin creatures, or for anyone else, to claim my head, or arm, or any part of me, for they are my personal property." "you? you're a nobody!" shouted captain fyter. [illustration] "you're just a mix-up," declared the emperor. "now, now, gentlemen," interrupted nimmie amee, "i must ask you to be more respectful to poor chopfyt. for, being my guests, it is not polite for you to insult my husband." "your husband!" the tin twins exclaimed in dismay. "yes," said she. "i married chopfyt a long time ago, because my other two sweethearts had deserted me." this reproof embarrassed both nick chopper and captain fyter. they looked down, shamefaced, for a moment, and then the tin woodman explained in an earnest voice: "i rusted." "so did i," said the tin soldier. "i could not know that, of course," asserted nimmie amee. "all i knew was that neither of you came to marry me, as you had promised to do. but men are not scarce in the land of oz. after i came here to live, i met mr. chopfyt, and he was the more interesting because he reminded me strongly of both of you, as you were before you became tin. he even had a tin arm, and that reminded me of you the more." "no wonder!" remarked the scarecrow. "but, listen, nimmie amee!" said the astonished woot; "he really _is_ both of them, for he is made of their cast-off parts." "oh, you're quite wrong," declared polychrome, laughing, for she was greatly enjoying the confusion of the others. "the tin men are still themselves, as they will tell you, and so chopfyt must be someone else." they looked at her bewildered, for the facts in the case were too puzzling to be grasped at once. "it is all the fault of old ku-klip," muttered the tin woodman. "he had no right to use our cast-off parts to make another man with." "it seems he did it, however," said nimmie amee calmly, "and i married him because he resembled you both. i won't say he is a husband to be proud of, because he has a mixed nature and isn't always an agreeable companion. there are times when i have to chide him gently, both with my tongue and with my broomstick. but he is my husband, and i must make the best of him." "if you don't like him," suggested the tin woodman, "captain fyter and i can chop him up with our axe and sword, and each take such parts of the fellow as belong to him. then we are willing for you to select one of us as your husband." "that is a good idea," approved captain fyter, drawing his sword. "no," said nimmie amee; "i think i'll keep the husband i now have. he is now trained to draw the water and carry in the wood and hoe the cabbages and weed the flower-beds and dust the furniture and perform many tasks of a like character. a new husband would have to be scolded--and gently chided--until he learns my ways. so i think it will be better to keep my chopfyt, and i see no reason why you should object to him. you two gentlemen threw him away when you became tin, because you had no further use for him, so you cannot justly claim him now. i advise you to go back to your own homes and forget me, as i have forgotten you." "good advice!" laughed polychrome, dancing. "are you happy?" asked the tin soldier. "of course i am," said nimmie amee; "i'm the mistress of all i survey--the queen of my little domain." "wouldn't you like to be the empress of the winkies?" asked the tin woodman. "mercy, no," she answered. "that would be a lot of bother. i don't care for society, or pomp, or posing. all i ask is to be left alone and not to be annoyed by visitors." the scarecrow nudged woot the wanderer. "that sounds to me like a hint," he said. "looks as if we'd had our journey for nothing," remarked woot, who was a little ashamed and disappointed because he had proposed the journey. "i am glad, however," said the tin woodman, "that i have found nimmie amee, and discovered that she is already married and happy. it will relieve me of any further anxiety concerning her." "for my part," said the tin soldier, "i am not sorry to be free. the only thing that really annoys me is finding my head upon chopfyt's body." "as for that, i'm pretty sure it is _my_ body, or a part of it, anyway," remarked the emperor of the winkies. "but never mind, friend soldier; let us be willing to donate our cast-off members to insure the happiness of nimmie amee, and be thankful it is not our fate to hoe cabbages and draw water--and be chided--in the place of this creature chopfyt." "yes," agreed the soldier, "we have much to be thankful for." polychrome, who had wandered outside, now poked her pretty head through an open window and exclaimed in a pleased voice: "it's getting cloudy. perhaps it is going to rain!" through the tunnel [illustration] chapter 23 it didn't rain just then, although the clouds in the sky grew thicker and more threatening. polychrome hoped for a thunder-storm, followed by her rainbow, but the two tin men did not relish the idea of getting wet. they even preferred to remain in nimmie amee's house, although they felt they were not welcome there, rather than go out and face the coming storm. but the scarecrow, who was a very thoughtful person, said to his friends: "if we remain here until after the storm, and polychrome goes away on her rainbow, then we will be prisoners inside the wall of solid air; so it seems best to start upon our return journey at once. if i get wet, my straw stuffing will be ruined, and if you two tin gentlemen get wet, you may perhaps rust again, and become useless. but even that is better than to stay here. once we are free of the barrier, we have woot the wanderer to help us, and he can oil your joints and restuff my body, if it becomes necessary, for the boy is made of meat, which neither rusts nor gets soggy or moldy." "come along, then!" cried polychrome from the window, and the others, realizing the wisdom of the scarecrow's speech, took leave of nimmie amee, who was glad to be rid of them, and said good-bye to her husband, who merely scowled and made no answer, and then they hurried from the house. "your old parts are not very polite, i must say," remarked the scarecrow, when they were in the garden. "no," said woot, "chopfyt is a regular grouch. he might have wished us a pleasant journey, at the very least." "i beg you not to hold us responsible for that creature's actions," pleaded the tin woodman. "we are through with chopfyt and shall have nothing further to do with him." polychrome danced ahead of the party and led them straight to the burrow of the blue rabbit, which they might have had some difficulty in finding without her. there she lost no time in making them all small again. the blue rabbit was busy nibbling cabbage leaves in nimmie amee's garden, so they did not ask his permission but at once entered the burrow. even now the raindrops were beginning to fall, but it was quite dry inside the tunnel and by the time they had reached the other end, outside the circular wall of solid air, the storm was at its height and the rain was coming down in torrents. "let us wait here," proposed polychrome, peering out of the hole and then quickly retreating. "the rainbow won't appear until after the storm and i can make you big again in a jiffy, before i join my sisters on our bow." "that's a good plan," said the scarecrow approvingly. "it will save me from getting soaked and soggy." "it will save me from rusting," said the tin soldier. "it will enable me to remain highly polished," said the tin woodman. "oh, as for that, i myself prefer not to get my pretty clothes wet," laughed the rainbow's daughter. "but while we wait i will bid you all adieu. i must also thank you for saving me from that dreadful giantess, mrs. yoop. you have been good and patient comrades and i have enjoyed our adventures together, but i am never so happy as when on my dear rainbow." "will your father scold you for getting left on the earth?" asked woot. "i suppose so," said polychrome gaily; "i'm always getting scolded for my mad pranks, as they are called. my sisters are so sweet and lovely and proper that they never dance off our rainbow, and so they never have any adventures. adventures to me are good fun, only i never like to stay too long on earth, because i really don't belong here. i shall tell my father the rainbow that i'll try not to be so careless again, and he will forgive me because in our sky mansions there is always joy and happiness." they were indeed sorry to part with their dainty and beautiful companion and assured her of their devotion if they ever chanced to meet again. she shook hands with the scarecrow and the tin men and kissed woot the wanderer lightly upon his forehead. and then the rain suddenly ceased, and as the tiny people left the burrow of the blue rabbit, a glorious big rainbow appeared in the sky and the end of its arch slowly descended and touched the ground just where they stood. woot was so busy watching a score of lovely maidens--sisters of polychrome--who were leaning over the edge of the bow, and another score who danced gaily amid the radiance of the splendid hues, that he did not notice he was growing big again. but now polychrome joined her sisters on the rainbow and the huge arch lifted and slowly melted away as the sun burst from the clouds and sent its own white beams dancing over the meadows. "why, she's gone!" exclaimed the boy, and turned to see his companions still waving their hands in token of adieu to the vanished polychrome. [illustration] the curtain falls [illustration] chapter 24 well, the rest of the story is quickly told, for the return journey of our adventurers was without any important incident. the scarecrow was so afraid of meeting the hip-po-gy-raf, and having his straw eaten again, that he urged his comrades to select another route to the emerald city, and they willingly consented, so that the invisible country was wholly avoided. of course, when they reached the emerald city their first duty was to visit ozma's palace, where they were royally entertained. the tin soldier and woot the wanderer were welcomed as warmly as any strangers might be who had been the traveling companions of ozma's dear old friends, the scarecrow and the tin woodman. at the banquet table that evening they related the manner in which they had discovered nimmie amee, and told how they had found her happily married to chopfyt, whose relationship to nick chopper and captain fyter was so bewildering that they asked ozma's advice what to do about it. "you need not consider chopfyt at all," replied the beautiful girl ruler of oz. "if nimmie amee is content with that misfit man for a husband, we have not even just cause to blame ku-klip for gluing him together." "i think it was a very good idea," added little dorothy, "for if ku-klip hadn't used up your cast-off parts, they would have been wasted. it's wicked to be wasteful, isn't it?" "well, anyhow," said woot the wanderer, "chopfyt, being kept a prisoner by his wife, is too far away from anyone to bother either of you tin men in any way. if you hadn't gone where he is and discovered him, you would never have worried about him." "what do you care, anyhow," betsy bobbin asked the tin woodman, "so long as nimmie amee is satisfied?" "and just to think," remarked tiny trot, "that any girl would rather live with a mixture like chopfyt, on far-away mount munch, than to be the empress of the winkies!" "it is her own choice," said the tin woodman contentedly; "and, after all, i'm not sure the winkies would care to have an empress." it puzzled ozma, for a time, to decide what to do with the tin soldier. if he went with the tin woodman to the emperor's castle, she felt that the two tin men might not be able to live together in harmony, and moreover the emperor would not be so distinguished if he had a double constantly beside him. so she asked captain fyter if he was willing to serve her as a soldier, and he promptly declared that nothing would please him more. after he had been in her service for some time, ozma sent him into the gillikin country, with instructions to keep order among the wild people who inhabit some parts of that unknown country of oz. as for woot, being a wanderer by profession, he was allowed to wander wherever he desired, and ozma promised to keep watch over his future journeys and to protect the boy as well as she was able, in case he ever got into more trouble. all this having been happily arranged, the tin woodman returned to his tin castle, and his chosen comrade, the scarecrow, accompanied him on the way. the two friends were sure to pass many pleasant hours together in talking over their recent adventures, for as they neither ate nor slept they found their greatest amusement in conversation. the end [illustration] the royal book of oz in which the scarecrow goes to search for his family tree and discovers that he is the long lost emperor of the silver island, and how he was rescued and brought back to oz by dorothy and the cowardly lion by l. frank baum enlarged and edited by ruth plumly thompson illustrated by john r. neill the reilly & lee co. chicago _printed in the united states of america_ copyright, 1921 by the reilly & britton co. all rights reserved dear children: you will remember that, in the front part of glinda of oz, the publishers told you that when mr. baum went away from this world he left behind some unfinished notes about the princess ozma and dorothy and the jolly people of the wonderful land of oz. the publishers promised that they would try to put these notes together into a new oz book for you. well, here it is--the royal book of oz. i am sure that mr. baum would be pleased that ruth plumly thompson, who has known and loved the oz stories ever since she was a little girl, has made this new oz story, with all the oz folks in it and true to life. you see i am mrs. baum, the wife of the royal historian of oz, and so i know how he feels about everything. now, about the story: of course, we all knew the scarecrow was a very fine fellow, but surely we never guessed he ascended from an emperor. most of us descend from our ancestors, but the scarecrow really ascended. the scarecrow had a most exciting and adventurous time on the silver isle and dorothy and the cowardly lion just ran out of one adventure into another trying to rescue him. they made some charming new friends in their travels--sir hokus of pokes, the doubtful dromedary, and the comfortable camel. you'll find them very unusual and likable. they have the same peculiar, delightful and informal natures that we love in all the queer oz people. of course every one of us is happy that john r. neill has drawn the funny and lovely pictures for the new book. mr. neill surely is the royal painter of oz. this note is intended for all the children of america, who knew and loved mr. baum, and it goes to each of you with his love and mine. maud g. baum. ozcot hollywood, california in the spring, 1921 list of chapters 1 professor wogglebug's great idea 2 the scarecrow's family tree 3 down the magic bean pole 4 dorothy's lonely breakfast 5 sir hokus of pokes 6 singing their way out of pokes 7 the scarecrow is hailed as emperor! 8 the scarecrow studies the silver island 9 "save us with your magic, exalted one!" 10 princess ozma and betsy bobbin talk it over 11 sir hokus overcometh the giant 12 dorothy and sir hokus come to fix city 13 dancing beds and the road that unrolled 14 sons and grandsons greet the scarecrow 15 the three princes plot to undo the emperor 16 dorothy and her guardians meet new friends 17 doubty and camy vanish into space 18 dorothy finds the scarecrow! 19 planning to fly from the silver island 20 dorothy upsets the ceremony of the island 21 the escape from the silver island 22 the flight of the parasol 23 safe at last in the land of oz 24 homeward bound to the emerald city chapter 1 professor wogglebug's great idea "the very thing!" exclaimed professor wogglebug, bounding into the air and upsetting his gold inkwell. "the very next idea!" "who--me?" a round-faced little munchkin boy stuck his head in the door and regarded professor wogglebug solemnly. he was working his way through the professor's athletic college, and one of his duties was to wait upon this eminent educator of oz. "certainly not!" snapped professor wogglebug. "you're a nobody or a nothing. stop gaping and fetch me my hat. i'm off to the emerald city. and mind the pupils take their history pills regularly while i'm gone," he added, clapping his tall hat zif held out to him on the back of his head. "yes, sir!" said the little munchkin respectfully. "don't hurry back, sir!" this last remark the professor did not hear, for he was already half way down the college steps. "ozma will be delighted with the idea. how clever i am!" he murmured, twirling his antennae and walking rapidly down the pleasant blue lane. the professor, whose college of art and athletic perfection is in the southwestern part of the munchkin country, is the biggest bug in oz, or in anyplace else, for that matter. he has made education painless by substituting school pills for books. his students take latin, history and spelling pills; they swallow knowledge of every kind with ease and pleasure and spend the rest of their time in sport. no wonder he is so well thought of in oz! no wonder he thinks so well of himself! swinging his cane jauntily, the professor hurried toward the yellow brick road that leads to the emerald city, and by nightfall had reached the lovely capital of oz. oz!--that marvelous country where no one grows old--where animals and birds talk as sensibly as people, and adventures happen every day. indeed, of all fairylands in the world, oz is the most delightful, and of all fairy cities, the emerald city is the most beautiful. a soft green light shone for miles about, and the gemmed turrets and spires of the palace flashed more brightly than the stars. but its loveliness was familiar to professor wogglebug, and without a pause he proceeded to ozma's palace and was at once admitted to the great hall. a roar of merriment greeted his ears. ozma, the lovely girl ruler of oz, was having a party, and the room was full of most surprising people--surprising to some, that is, but old friends to most of us. jack, holding tightly to his pumpkin head, was running as fast as his wooden feet and wobbly legs would take him from dorothy. a game of blind-man's-buff was in full swing, and scraps and tik-tok, the scarecrow and nick chopper, the glass cat and the cowardly lion, the wizard of oz and the wooden sawhorse, cap'n bill and betsy bobbin, billina and the hungry tiger were tumbling over each other in an effort to keep away from the blindfolded little girl. but dorothy was too quick for them. with a sudden whirl, she spun 'round and grasped a coatsleeve. "the scarecrow!" she laughed triumphantly. "i can tell by the way he skwoshes--and now _he's_ it!" "i'm always _it!"_ chuckled the droll person. "but--hah! behold the learned professor standing so aloofly in our midst." no one had noticed professor wogglebug, who had been quietly watching the game. "i don't like to interrupt the party," he began, approaching ozma's throne apologetically, "but i've just had a most brilliant idea!" "what? another?" murmured the scarecrow, rolling up his eyes. "where did you lose it?" asked jack pumpkinhead, edging forward anxiously. "lose it! who said i'd lost it?" snapped the professor, glaring at poor jack. "well, you said you'd had it, and had is the past tense, so--" jack's voice trailed off uncertainly, and ozma, seeing he was embarrassed, begged the professor to explain. "your highness!" began professor wogglebug, while the company settled down in a resigned circle on the floor, "as oz is the most interesting and delightful country on the continent of imagination and its people the most unusual and talented, i am about to compile a royal book which will give the names and history of all our people. in other words, i am to be the great, grand genealogist of oz!" "whatever that is," the scarecrow whispered in dorothy's ear. "and," the professor frowned severely on the scarecrow, "with your majesty's permission, i shall start at once!" "please do," said the scarecrow with a wave toward the door, "and we will go on with the party!" scraps, the patchwork girl, who had been staring fixedly at the professor with her silver suspender-button eyes, now sprang to her feet: "what is a genealogist? it's something no one here has missed; what puts such notions in your head? turn out your toes--or go to bed!" she shouted gaily, then, catching ozma's disapproving glance, fell over backwards. "i don't understand it at all," said jack pumpkinhead in a depressed voice. "i'm afraid my head's too ripe." "nor i," said tik-tok, the copper clockwork man. "please wind me up a lit-tle tight-er dor-o-thy, i want to think!" dorothy obligingly took a key suspended from a hook on his back and wound him up under his left arm. everybody began to talk at once, and what with the cowardly lion's deep growl and tik-tok's squeaky voice and all the rest of the tin and meat and wooden voices, the confusion was terrible. "wait!" cried ozma, clapping her hands. immediately the room grew so still that one could hear tik-tok's machinery whirring 'round. "now!" said ozma, "one at a time, please, and let us hear from the scarecrow first." the scarecrow rose. "i think, your highness," he said modestly, "that anyone who has studied his geozify already knows who we are and--" "who you are?" broke in the wogglebug scornfully--"of course they do--but _i_ shall tell them who you _were!"_ "who i were?" gasped the scarecrow in a dazed voice, raising his cotton glove to his forehead. "who i were? well, who were i?" "that's just the point," said professor wogglebug. "who were you? who were your ancestors? where is your family? where is your family tree? from what did you descend?" at each question, the scarecrow looked more embarrassed. he repeated the last one several times. "from what did i descend? from what did i descend? why, from a bean pole!" he cried. this was perfectly true, for dorothy, a little girl blown by a kansas cyclone to the kingdom of oz, had discovered the scarecrow in a farmer's cornfield and had lifted him down from his pole. together they had made the journey to the emerald city, where the wizard of oz had fitted him out with a fine set of brains. at one time, he had ruled oz and was generally considered its cleverest citizen. before he could reply further, the patchwork girl, who was simply irrepressible, burst out: "an ex-straw-ordinary man is he! a bean pole for his family tree, a cornishman, upon my soul, descended from a tall, thin pole!" "nonsense!" said professor wogglebug sharply, "being stuffed with straw may make him extraordinary, but it is quite plain that the scarecrow was nobody before he was himself. he has no ancestors, no family; only a bean pole for a family tree, and is therefore entitled to the merest mention in the royal book of oz!" "how about my brains?" asked the scarecrow in a hurt voice. "aren't they enough?" "brains have simply nothing to do with royalty!" professor wogglebug waved his fountain pen firmly. "now--" "but see here, wasn't i ruler of oz?" put in the scarecrow anxiously. "a ruler but _never_ a royalty!" snapped out the professor. "now, if you will all answer my questions as i call your names, i'll get the necessary data and be off." he took out a small memorandum book. "your highness," he bowed to ozma, "need not bother. i have already entered your name at the head of the list. being descended as you are from a long line of fairies, your family tree is the oldest and most illustrious in oz." "princess dorothy!" at the sound of her name, the little girl stood up. "i know you are from kansas and were created a princess of oz by our gracious ruler, but can you tell me anything of your ancestors in america?" demanded the professor, staring over the top of his thick glasses. "you'll have to ask uncle henry and aunt em," said dorothy rather sulkily. the professor had hurt the feelings of her best friend, the scarecrow, and ancestors did not interest her one little bit. "very well," said the professor, writing industriously in his book. "i'll just enter you as 'dorothy, princess of oz and sixth cousin to a president!'" "i'm not!" dorothy shook her head positively. "oh, everyone in america can claim that!" said the professor easily. "nick chopper!" now up rose our old friend the tin woodman, who had also been discovered by dorothy on her first trip to the fairyland of oz. "you were a man of meat at one time and a woodman by trade?" queried professor wogglebug, poising his pen in the air. "i am a tin woodman, and you may enter me in your book under the name of smith, for a tin smith made me, and as royal emperor of the winkies, i do not care to go back to my meat connections," said the tin woodman in a dignified voice. the company applauded, and the cowardly lion thumped the floor with his tail. "smith is a very good name. i can work up a whole chapter on that," smiled the professor. the tin woodman _had_ once been a regular person, but a wicked witch enchanted his ax, and first it chopped off one leg, then the other, and next both arms and his head. after each accident, nick went to a tinsmith for repairs, and finally was entirely made of tin. nowhere but in oz could such a thing happen. but no one can be killed in this marvelous country, and nick, with his tin body, went gaily on living and was considered so distinguished that the winkies had begged him to be their emperor. "scraps!" called the professor as nick sat stiffly down beside dorothy. the patchwork girl pirouetted madly to the front. putting one finger in her mouth, she sang: "i'm made of patches, as you see. a clothes tree is my family tree but, pshaw! it's all the same to me!" a clothes tree? even professor wogglebug grinned. who could help laughing at scraps? made of odd pieces of goods and brought to life by the powder of life, the comical girl was the jolliest person imaginable. "put me down as a man of me-tal!" drawled tik-tok the copper man as the laugh following scraps' rhyme had subsided. tik-tok was still another of dorothy's discoveries, and this marvelous machine man, guaranteed to last a thousand years, could think, walk, and talk when properly wound. the cowardly lion was entered as a king in his own right. one after the other, the celebrities of oz came forward to answer professor wogglebug's questions. the professor wrote rapidly in his little book. ozma listened attentively to each one, and they all seemed interested except the scarecrow. slumped down beside dorothy, he stared morosely at the ceiling, his jolly face all wrinkled down on one side. "if i only knew who i were!" he muttered over and over. "i must think!" "don't you mind." dorothy patted his shoulder kindly. "royalties are out of date, and i'll bet the professor's family tree was a milkweed!" but the scarecrow refused to be comforted, and long after the company had retired he sat hunched sadly in his corner. "i'll do it! i'll do it!" he exclaimed at last, rising unsteadily to his feet. jellia jamb, ozma's little waiting maid, returning somewhat later to fetch a handkerchief her mistress had dropped, was surprised to see him running through the long hall. "why, where are you going?" asked jellia. "to find my family tree!" said the scarecrow darkly, and drawing himself up to his full height, he fell through the doorway. chapter 2 the scarecrow's family tree the moon shone brightly, but everyone in the emerald city was fast asleep! through the deserted streets hurried the scarecrow. for the first time since his discovery by little dorothy, he was really unhappy. living as he did in a fairyland, he had taken many things for granted and had rather prided himself on his unusual appearance. indeed, not until professor wogglebug's rude remarks concerning his family had he given his past a thought. "i am the only person in oz without a family!" he reflected sorrowfully. "even the cowardly lion has kingly parents and a palm tree! but i must keep thinking. my brains have never failed me yet. who was i? who were i? who were i?" often he thought so hard that he forgot to look where he was going and ran headlong into fences, stumbled down gutters, and over stiles. but fortunately, the dear fellow could not hurt himself, and he would struggle up, pat his straw into shape, and walk straightway into something else. he made good time in between falls, however, and was soon well on his way down the yellow brick road that ran through the munchkin country. for he had determined to return to the munchkin farm where dorothy had first discovered him and try to find some traces of his family. now being stuffed with straw had many advantages, for requiring neither food nor sleep the scarecrow could travel night and day without interruption. the stars winked out one by one, and by the time the cocks of the munchkin farmers began to crow, he had come to the banks of a broad blue river! the scarecrow took off his hat and scratched his head thoughtfully. crossing rivers is no easy matter in oz, for there isn't a ferry in the kingdom, and unless one is a good swimmer or equipped with some of the wizard's magic it is mighty troublesome. water does not agree with the scarecrow at all, and as for swimming, he can no more swim than a bag of meal. but he was too wise a person to give up merely because a thing appeared to be impossible. it was for just such emergencies that his excellent brains had been given to him. "if nick chopper were here, he would build a raft in no time," murmured the scarecrow, "but as he is not, i must think of another way!" turning his back on the river, which distracted his mind, he began to think with all his might. before he could collect his thoughts, there was a tremendous crash, and next minute he was lying face down in the mud. several little crashes followed, and a shower of water. then a wet voice called out with a cheerful chuckle: "come on out, my dear rattles. not a bad place at all, and here's breakfast already waiting!" "breakfast!" the scarecrow turned over cautiously. a huge and curious creature was slashing through the grass toward him. a smaller and still more curious one followed. both were extremely damp and had evidently just come out of the river. "good morning!" quavered the scarecrow, sitting up with a jerk and at the same time reaching for a stick that lay just behind him. "i won't eat it if it talks--so there!" the smaller creature stopped and stared fixedly at the scarecrow. the scarecrow, hearing this, tried to think of something else to say, but the appearance of the two was so amazing that, as he told dorothy afterwards, he was struck dumb. the larger was at least two hundred feet long and made entirely of blocks of wood. on each block was a letter of the alphabet. the head was a huge square block with a serpent's face and long, curling, tape-measure tongue. the little one was very much smaller and seemed to consist of hundreds of rattles, wood, celluloid, and rubber, fastened together with wires. every time it moved, the rattles tinkled. its face, however, was not unpleasant, so the scarecrow took heart and made a deep bow. "and i'm not going to eat anything that squirms." this time it was the big serpent who spoke. "thank you!" said the scarecrow, bowing several times more. "you relieve my mind. i've never been a breakfast yet, and i'd rather not begin. but if i cannot be your breakfast, let me be your friend!" he extended his arms impulsively. there was something so jolly about the scarecrow's smile that the two creatures became friendly at once, and moreover told him the story of their lives. "as you have doubtless noted," began the larger creature, "i am an a-b-sea serpent. i am employed in the nursery of the mer children to teach them their letters. my friend, here, is a rattlesnake, and it is his business to amuse the mer babies while the mermaids are mer-marketing. once a year, we take a vacation, and proceeding from the sea depths up a strange river, we came out upon this shore. perhaps you, sir, will be able to tell us where we are?" "you are in the munchkin country of the land of oz," explained the scarecrow politely. "it is a charming place for a vacation. i would show you about myself if i were not bound on an important mission." here the scarecrow sighed deeply. "have you a family?" he asked the a-b-sea serpent curiously. "yes, indeed," replied the monster, snapping its tape-measure tongue in and out, "i have five great-grandmothers, twenty-one grandnieces, seven brothers, and six sisters-in-law!" "ah!" murmured the scarecrow, clasping his hands tragically, "how i envy you. i have no one--no aunts--no ancestors--no family--no family tree but a bean pole. i am, alas, a man without a _past!"_ the scarecrow looked so dejected that the rattlesnake thought he was going to cry. "oh, cheer up!" it begged in a distressed voice. "think of your _presence_--here--i give you permission to shake me!" the scarecrow was so affected by this kind offer that he cheered up immediately. "no past but a presence--i'll remember that!" he swelled out his straw chest complacently, and leaning over, stroked the rattlesnake on the head. "are you good at riddles?" asked the rattlesnake timidly. "well," answered the scarecrow judiciously, "i have very good brains, given me by the famous wizard of oz." "then why is the a-b-sea serpent like a city?" asked the rattlesnake promptly. the scarecrow thought hard for several seconds. "because it is made up of blocks!" he roared triumphantly. "that's easy; now it's my turn. why is the a-b-sea serpent such a slow talker?" "give it up!" said the rattlesnake after shaking himself several times. "because his tongue is a tape measure, and he has to measure his words!" cried the scarecrow, snapping his clumsy fingers. "and that's a good one, if i did make it myself. i must remember to tell it to dorothy!" then he sobered quite suddenly, for the thought of dorothy brought back the purpose of his journey. interrupting the rattlesnake in the midst of a new riddle, he explained how anxious he was to return to the little farm where he had been discovered and try to find some traces of his family. "and the real riddle," he sighed with a wave of his hand, "is how to cross this river." "that's easy and no riddle at all," rumbled the a-b-sea serpent, who had been listening attentively to the scarecrow's remarks. "i'll stretch across, and you can walk over." suiting the action to the word, he began backing very cautiously toward the river so as not to shake the scarecrow off his feet. "mind your p's and q's!" called the rattlesnake warningly. it was well that he spoke, for the a-b-sea serpent had doubled the p and q blocks under, and they were ready to snap off. finally, however, he managed to make a bridge of himself, and the scarecrow stepped easily over the blocks, the huge serpent holding himself rigid. just as he reached y, the unfortunate creature sneezed, and all the blocks rattled together. up flew the scarecrow and escaped falling into the stream only by the narrowest margin. "blockhead!" shrilled the rattlesnake, who had taken a great fancy to the scarecrow. "i'm all right," cried the scarecrow rather breathlessly. "thank you very much!" he sprang nimbly up the bank. "hope you have a pleasant vacation!" "can't, with a rattlepate like that." the a-b-sea serpent nodded glumly in the rattlesnake's direction. "now don't quarrel," begged the scarecrow. "you are both charming and unusual, and if you follow that yellow road, you will come to the emerald city, and ozma will be delighted to welcome you." "the emerald city! we must see that, my dear rattles." forgetting his momentary displeasure, the a-b-sea serpent pulled himself out of the river, and waving his x y z blocks in farewell to the scarecrow, went clattering down the road, the little rattlesnake rattling along behind him. as for the scarecrow, he continued his journey, and the day was so delightful and the country so pleasant that he almost forgot he had no family. he was treated everywhere with the greatest courtesy and had innumerable invitations from the hospitable munchkins. he was anxious to reach his destination, however, so he refused them all, and traveling night and day came without further mishap or adventure late on the second evening to the little munchkin farm where dorothy had first discovered him. he was curious to know whether the pole on which he had been hoisted to scare away the crows still stood in the cornfield and whether the farmer who had made him could tell him anything further about his history. "it is a shame to waken him," thought the kind scarecrow. "i'll just take a look in the cornfield." the moon shone so brightly that he had no trouble finding his way about. with a little cry of pleasure, he pushed his way through the dry cornstalks. there in the center of the field stood a tall pole--the very identical bean pole from which he had descended. "all the family or family tree i've got!" cried the scarecrow, running toward it with emotion. "what's that?" a window in the farmhouse was thrown up, and a sleepy munchkin thrust out his head. "what are you doing?" he called crossly. "thinking!" said the scarecrow, leaning heavily against the bean pole. "well, don't do it out loud," snapped the farmer. then, catching a better view of the scarecrow, he cried in surprise: "why, it's you!-come right in, my dear fellow, and give us the latest news from the emerald city. i'll fetch a candle!" the farmer was very proud of the scarecrow. he had made him long ago by stuffing one of his old suits with straw, painting a jolly face on a sack, stuffing that, and fastening the two together. red boots, a hat, and yellow gloves had finished his man--and nothing could have been jollier than the result. later on, when the scarecrow had run off with dorothy and got his brains from the wizard of oz and become ruler of the emerald city, the little farmer had felt highly gratified. the scarecrow, however, was not in a humor for conversation. he wanted to think in peace. "don't bother!" he called up. "i'm going to spend the night here. i'll see you in the morning." "all right! take care of yourself," yawned the farmer, and drew in his head. for a long time the scarecrow stood perfectly still beside the bean pole--thinking. then he got a spade from the shed and began clearing away the cornstalks and dried leaves from around the base of the pole. it was slow work, for his fingers were clumsy, but he persevered. then a wonderful idea came to him. "perhaps if i dig down a bit, i may discover--" he got no further, for at the word "discover," he pushed the spade down with all his might. there was a loud crash. the bottom dropped out of things, and the scarecrow fell through. "gr-eat cornstalks!" cried the scarecrow, throwing up his arms. to his surprise, they came in contact with a stout pole, which he embraced. it was a lifesaver, for he was shooting down into the darkness at a great rate. "why!" he gasped as soon as he regained his breath, for he was falling at a terrific rate of speed, "why, i believe i'm sliding down the _bean pole!"_ chapter 3 down the magic bean pole hugging the bean pole for dear life, the scarecrow slid rapidly downward, everything was dark, but at times a confused roaring sounded in his ears. "father, i hear something falling past!" shouted a gruff voice all at once. "then reach out and pull it in," growled a still deeper voice. there was a flash of light, a door opened suddenly, and a giant hand snatched the air just above the scarecrow's head. "it's a good thing i haven't a heart to fail me," murmured the scarecrow, glancing up fearfully and clinging more tightly to the pole. "though i fall, i shall not falter. but where under the earth am i falling to?" at that minute, a door opened far below, and someone called up: "who are you? have out your toll and be ready to salute the royal ruler of the middlings!" the scarecrow had learned in the course of his many and strange adventures that it was best to accede to every request that was reasonable or possible. realizing that unless he answered at once he would fall past his strange questioners, he shouted amiably: "i am the scarecrow of oz, sliding down my family tree!" the words echoed oddly in the narrow passageway, and by the time he reached the word "tree" the scarecrow could make out two large brown men leaning from a door somewhere below. next minute he came to a sharp stop. a board had shot out and closed off the passageway. so sudden was the stop that the scarecrow was tossed violently upward. while he endeavored to regain his balance, the two middlings eyed him curiously. "so this is the kind of thing they grow on top," said one, holding a lantern close to the scarecrow's head. "toll, toll!" droned the other, holding out a horribly twisted hand. "one moment, your royal middleness!" cried the scarecrow, backing as far away from the lantern as he could, for with a straw stuffing one cannot be too careful of fire. he felt in his pocket for an emerald he had picked up in the emerald city a few days before and handed it gingerly to the muddy monarch. "why do you call me middleness?" the king demanded angrily, taking the emerald. "is your kingdom not in the middle of the earth, and are you not royalty? what could be more proper than royal middleness?" asked the scarecrow, flecking the dust from his hat. now that he had a better view, he saw that _the two were entirely men of mud,_ and very roughly put together. dried grass hair stood erect upon each head, and their faces were large and lumpy and had a disconcerting way of changing shape. indeed, when the king leaned over to examine the scarecrow, his features were so soft they seemed to run into his cheek, which hung down alarmingly, while his nose turned sideways and lengthened at least an inch! muddle pushed the king's nose back and began spreading his cheek into place. instead of hands and feet, the middlings had gnarled and twisted roots which curled up in a perfectly terrifying manner. their teeth were gold, and their eyes shone like small electric lights. they wore stiff coats of dried mud, buttoned clumsily with lumps of coal, and the king had a tall mud crown. altogether, the scarecrow thought he had never seen more disagreeable looking creatures. "what he needs," spluttered the king, fingering the jewel greedily, "is a coat of mud! shall we pull him in, muddle?" "he's very poorly made, your mudjesty. can you work, carescrow?" asked muddle, thumping him rudely in the chest. "scarecrow, if you please!" the scarecrow drew himself up and spoke with great difficulty. "i can work with my head!" he added proudly. "your head!" roared the king. "did you hear that, muddle? he works with his head. what's the matter with your hands?" again the king lunged forward, and this time his face fell on the other side and had bulged enormously before muddle could pat it into shape. they began whispering excitedly together, but the scarecrow made no reply, for looking over their shoulder he glimpsed a dark, forbidding cavern lighted only by the flashing red eyes of thousands of middlings. they appeared to be digging, and above the rattle of the shovels and picks came the hoarse voice of one of them singing the middling national air. or so the scarecrow gathered from the words: "oh, chop the brown clods as they fall with a thud! three croaks for the middlings, who stick in the mud. oh, mud, rich and wormy! oh, mud, sweet and squirmy! oh what is so lovely as mud! oh what is so lovely as mud! three croaks for the middlings, who delve all the day in their beautiful kingdom of soft mud and clay!" the croaks that came at the end of the song were so terrifying that the scarecrow shivered in spite of himself. "ugh! hardly a place for a pleasant visit!" he gasped, flattening himself against the wall of the passage. feeling that matters had gone far enough, he repeated in a loud voice: "i am the scarecrow of oz and desire to continue my fall. i have paid my toll and unless your royal middleness release me--" "might as well drop him--a useless creature!" whispered muddle, and before the king had time to object, he jerked the board back. "fall on!" he screeched maliciously, and the scarecrow shot down into the darkness, the hoarse screams of the two middlings echoing after him through the gloom. no use trying to think! the poor scarecrow bumped and banged from side to side of the passage. it was all he could do to keep hold of the bean pole, so swiftly was he falling. "a good thing i'm not made of meat like little dorothy," he wheezed breathlessly. his gloves were getting worn through from friction with the pole, and the rush of air past his ears was so confusing that he gave up all idea of thinking. even magic brains refuse to work under such conditions. down--down--down he plunged till he lost all count of time. down--down--down--hours and hours! would he never stop? then suddenly it grew quite light, and he flashed through what appeared to be a hole in the roof of a huge silver palace, whirled down several stories and landed in a heap on the floor of a great hall. in one hand he clutched a small fan, and in the other a parasol that had snapped off the beanstalk just before he reached the palace roof. shaken and bent over double though he was, the scarecrow could see that he had fallen into a company of great magnificence. he had a confused glimpse of silken clad courtiers, embroidered screens, inlaid floors, and flashing silver lanterns, when there was a thundering bang that hurled him halfway to the roof again. falling to a sitting position and still clinging to the bean pole, he saw two giant kettle drums nearby, still vibrating from the terrible blows they had received. the company were staring at him solemnly, and as he attempted to rise, they fell prostrate on their faces. up flew the poor flimsy scarecrow again, such was the draught, and this time landed on his face. he was beginning to feel terribly annoyed, but before he could open his mouth or stand up, a deep voice boomed: "he has come!" "he has come!" shrilled the rest of the company, thumping their heads on the stone floor. the language seemed strange to the scarecrow, but oddly enough, he could understand it perfectly. keeping a tight grasp on the bean pole, he gazed at the prostrate assemblage, too astonished to speak. they looked exactly like the pictures of some chinamen he had seen in one of dorothy's picture books back in oz, but instead of being yellow, their skin was a curious gray, and the hair of old and young alike was silver and worn in long, stiff queues. before he had time to observe any more, an old, old courtier hobbled forward and beckoned imperiously to a page at the door. the page immediately unfurled a huge silk umbrella and, running forward, held it over the scarecrow's head. "welcome home, sublime and noble ancestor! welcome, honorable and exalted sir." the old gentleman made several deep salaams. "welcome, immortal and illustrious ancestor! welcome, ancient and serene father!" cried the others, banging their heads hard on the floor--so hard that their queues flew into the air. "ancestor! father!" mumbled the scarecrow in a puzzled voice. then, collecting himself somewhat, he made a deep bow, and sweeping off his hat with a truly royal gesture began: "i am indeed honored--" but he got no farther. the silken clad courtiers sprang to their feet in a frenzy of joy. a dozen seized him bodily and carried him to a great silver throne room. "the same beautiful voice!" cried the ancient gentleman, clasping his hands in an ecstasy of feeling. "it is he! the emperor! the emperor has returned! long live the emperor!" shouted everyone at once. the confusion grew worse and worse. "ancestor! father! emperor!" the scarecrow could scarcely believe his ears. "for a fallen man, i am rising like yeast!" he murmured to himself. half a dozen courtiers had run outdoors to spread the wonderful news, and soon silver gongs and bells began ringing all over the kingdom, and cries of "the emperor! the emperor!" added to the general excitement. holding fast to the sides of the throne and still grasping the little fan and parasol, the scarecrow sat blinking with embarrassment. "if they would just stop emperoring, i could ask them who i am," thought the poor scarecrow. as if in answer to his thoughts, the tottery old nobleman raised his long arm, and at once the hall became absolutely silent. "now!" sighed the scarecrow, leaning forward. "now i shall hear something of interest." chapter 4 dorothy's lonely breakfast dorothy, who occupied one of the coziest apartments in ozma's palace, wakened the morning after the party with a feeling of great uneasiness. at breakfast, the scarecrow was missing. although he, the tin woodman and scraps did not require food, they always livened up the table with their conversation. ordinarily dorothy would have thought nothing of the scarecrow's absence, but she could not forget his distressed expression when professor wogglebug had so rudely remarked on his family tree. the professor himself had left before breakfast, and everybody but dorothy had forgotten all about the royal book of oz. already many of ozma's guests who did not live in the palace were preparing to depart, but dorothy could not get over her feeling of uneasiness. the scarecrow was her very best friend, and it was not like him to go without saying goodbye. so she hunted through the gardens and in every room of the palace and questioned all the servants. unfortunately, jellia jamb, who was the only one who had seen the scarecrow go, was with her mistress. ozma always breakfasted alone and spent the morning over state matters. knowing how busy she was, dorothy did not like to disturb her. betsy bobbin and trot, real little girls like dorothy, also lived in the fairy palace, and ozma was a great chum for them. but the kingdom of oz had to be governed in between times, and they all knew that unless ozma had the mornings to herself, she could not play with them in the afternoons. so dorothy searched by herself. "perhaps i didn't look hard enough," thought the little girl, and searched the palace all over again. "don't worry," advised the tin woodman, who was playing checkers with scraps. "he's probably gone home." "he is a man of brains; why worry because he's left us in a hurry?" chuckled scraps with a careless wave of her hand, and dorothy, laughing in spite of herself, ran out to have another look in the garden. "that is just what he has done, and if i hurry, i may overtake him. anyway, i believe i'll go and pay him a visit," thought dorothy. trot and betsy bobbin were swinging in one of the royal hammocks, and when dorothy invited them to go along, they explained that they were going on a picnic with the tin woodman. so without waiting to ask anyone else or even whistling for toto, her little dog, dorothy skipped out of the garden. the cowardly lion, half asleep under a rose bush, caught a glimpse of her blue dress flashing by, and bounding to his feet thudded after her. "where are you going?" he asked, stifling a giant yawn. "to visit the scarecrow," explained dorothy. "he looked so unhappy last night. i am afraid he is worrying about his family tree, and i thought p'raps i could cheer him up." the cowardly lion stretched luxuriously. "i'll go too," he rumbled, giving himself a shake. "but it's the first time i ever heard of the scarecrow worrying." "but you see," dorothy said gently, "professor wogglebug told him he had no family." "family! family fiddlesticks! hasn't he got us?" the cowardly lion stopped and waved his tail indignantly. "why, you dear old thing!" dorothy threw her arms around his neck. "you've given me a lovely idea!" the cowardly lion tried not to look pleased. "well, as long as i've given it to you, you might tell me what it is," he suggested mildly. "why," said dorothy, skipping along happily, "we'll let him adopt us and be his really relations. i'll be his sister, and you'll be--" "his cousin--that is, if you think he wouldn't mind having a great coward like me for a cousin," finished the cowardly lion in an anxious voice. "do you still feel as cowardly as ever?" asked dorothy sympathetically. "more so!" sighed the great beast, glancing apprehensively over his shoulder. this made dorothy laugh, for although the lion trembled like a cup custard at the approach of danger, he always managed to fight with great valor, and the little girl felt safer with him than with the whole army of oz, who never were frightened but who always ran away. now anyone who is at all familiar with his geozify knows that the fairyland of oz is divided into four parts, exactly like a parchesi board, with the emerald city in the very center, the purple gillikin country to the north, the red quadling country to the south, the blue munchkin country to the east, and the yellow country of the winkies to the west. it was toward the west that dorothy and the cowardly lion turned their steps, for it was in the winkie country that the scarecrow had built his gorgeous golden tower in exactly the shape of a huge ear of corn. dorothy ran along beside the cowardly lion, chatting over their many adventures in oz, and stopping now and then to pick buttercups and daisies that dotted the roadside. she tied a big bunch to the tip of her friend's tail and twined some more in his mane, so that he presented a very festive appearance indeed. then, when she grew tired, she climbed on his big back, and swiftly they jogged through the pleasant land of the winkies. the people waved to them from windows and fields, for everyone loved little dorothy and the big lion, and as they passed a neat yellow cottage, a little winkie lady came running down the path with a cup of tea in one hand and a bucket in the other. "i saw you coming and thought you might be thirsty," she called hospitably. dorothy drank her cup without alighting. "we're in an awful hurry; we're visiting the scarecrow," she exclaimed apologetically. the lion drank his bucket of tea at one gulp. it was so hot that it made his eyes water. "how i loathe tea! if i hadn't been such a coward, i'd have upset the bucket," groaned the lion as the little winkie lady went back into her house. "but no, i was afraid of hurting her feelings. ugh, what a terrible thing it is to be a coward!" "nonsense!" said dorothy, wiping her eyes with her handkerchief. "you're not a coward, you're just polite. but let's run very fast so we can reach the scarecrow's in time for lunch." so like the wind away raced the cowardly lion, dorothy holding fast to his mane, with her curls blowing straight out behind, and in exactly two oz hours and seventeen winkie minutes they came to the dazzling corn-ear residence of their old friend. hurrying through the cornfields that surrounded his singular mansion, dorothy and the cowardly lion rushed through the open door. "we've come for lunch," announced dorothy. "and i'm hungry enough to eat crow," rumbled the lion. then both stopped in dismay, for the big reception room was empty. from a room above came a shuffling of feet, and blink, the scarecrow's gentlemanly housekeeper, came running down the stairs. "where's the scarecrow?" asked dorothy anxiously. "isn't he here?" "here! isn't he there? isn't he in the emerald city?" gasped the little winkie, putting his specs on upside down. "no--at least, i don't think so. oh, dear, i just felt that something had happened to him!" wailed dorothy, sinking into an ebony armchair and fanning herself with a silk sofa cushion. "now don't be alarmed." the cowardly lion rushed to dorothy's side and knocked three vases and a clock off a little table, just to show how calm he was. "think of his brains! the scarecrow has never come to harm yet, and all we have to do is to return to the emerald city and look in ozma's magic picture. then, when we know where he is, we can go and find him and tell him about our little adoption plan," he added, looking hopefully at dorothy. "the scarecrow himself couldn't have spoken more sensibly," observed blink with a great sigh of relief, and even dorothy felt better. in ozma's palace, as many of you know, there is a magic picture, and when ozma or dorothy want to see any of their friends, they have merely to wish to see them, and instantly the picture shows the person wished for and exactly what he is doing at that certain time. "of course!" sighed dorothy. "why didn't i think of it myself?" "better have some lunch before you start back," suggested blink, and bustling about had soon set out an appetizing repast. dorothy was too busy worrying about the scarecrow to have much appetite, but the cowardly lion swallowed seventeen roasts and a bucket of corn syrup. "to give me courage!" he explained to dorothy, licking his chops. "there's nothing that makes me so cowardly as an empty stomach!" it was quite late in the afternoon before they could get away. blink insisted on putting up a lunch, and it took some time to make enough sandwiches for the cowardly lion. but at last it was ready and packed into an old hat box belonging to mops, the scarecrow's cook. then dorothy, balancing the box carefully on her lap, climbed on the cowardly lion's back, and assuring blink that they would return in a few days with his master, they bade him farewell. blink almost spoiled things by bursting into tears, but he managed to restrain himself long enough to say goodbye, and dorothy and the cowardly lion, feeling a little solemn themselves, started toward the emerald city. "my, but it's growing dark," said dorothy after they had gone several miles. "i believe it's going to storm." scarcely had she finished speaking before there was a terrific crash of thunder. the cowardly lion promptly sat down. off of his back bounced the sandwich box and into the sandwich box rolled dorothy, head first. "how terribly upsetting," coughed the cowardly lion. "i should say it was!" dorothy crawled indignantly out of the hat box and began wiping the butter from her nose. "you've simply ruined the supper!" "it was my heart," explained the cowardly lion sorrowfully. "it jumped so hard that it upset me, but climb on my back again, and i'll run very fast to some place of shelter." "but where are you?" dorothy asked in real alarm, for it had grown absolutely dark. "here," quavered the cowardly lion, and guided by his voice, dorothy stumbled over to him and climbed again on his back. one crash of thunder followed another, and at each crash the cowardly lion leapt forward a bit faster until they fairly flew through the dark. "it won't take us long to reach the emerald city at this rate!" called dorothy, but the wind tossed the words far behind her, and seeing that conversation was impossible, she clung fast to the lion's mane and began thinking about the scarecrow. the thunder continued at frequent intervals, but there was no rain, and after they had been running for what seemed to dorothy hours and hours, a sudden terrific bump sent her flying over the lion's head into a bush. too breathless to speak, she felt herself carefully all over. then, finding that she was still in one piece, she called to the cowardly lion. she could hear him moaning and muttering about his heart. "any bones broken?" she asked anxiously. "only my head," groaned the lion dismally. just then the darkness lifted as suddenly as it had fallen, and dorothy saw him leaning against a tree with his eyes closed. there was a big bump on his head. with a little cry of sympathy, dorothy hurried toward him, when all at once something strange about their surroundings struck her. "why, where are we?" cried the little girl, stopping short. the lion's eyes flew open, and forgetting all about his bump, he looked around in dismay. no sign of the emerald city anywhere. indeed, they were in a great, dim forest, and considering the number of trees, it is a wonder that they had not run into one long ago. "i must have run the wrong way," faltered the cowardly lion in a distressed voice. "you couldn't help that; anyone would lose his way in the dark," said dorothy generously. "but i wish we hadn't fallen in the sandwiches. i'm hungry!" "so am i. do you think anyone lives in this forest, dorothy?" dorothy did not answer, for just then she caught sight of a big sign nailed to one of the trees. "turn to the right," directed the sign. "oh, come on!" cried dorothy, cheering up immediately. "i believe we're going to have another adventure." "i'd rather have some supper," sighed the cowardly lion wistfully, "but unless we want to spend the night here, we might as well move along. i'm to be fed up on adventure, i suppose." "turn to the left," advised the next sign, and the two turned obediently and hurried on, trying to keep a straight course through the trees. in a fairyland like oz, where there are no trains or trolleys or even horses for traveling ('cepting ozma's sawhorse), there are bound to be unexplored portions. and though dorothy had been at one time or another in almost every part of oz, the country through which they were now passing was totally unfamiliar to her. night was coming on, and it was growing so dark that she could hardly read the third sign when they presently came upon it. "don't sing," directed the sign sternly. "sing!" snapped dorothy indignantly, "who wants to sing?" "we might as well keep to the left," said the cowardly lion in a resigned voice, and they walked along for some time in silence. the trees were thinning out, and as they came to the edge of the forest, another sign confronted them. "slow down," read dorothy with great difficulty. "what nonsense! if we slow down, how shall we ever get anywhere?" "wait a minute," mused the cowardly lion, half closing his eyes. "aren't there two roads just ahead, one going up and one going down? we're to take the down road, i suppose. 'slow down,' isn't that what it says?" slow down it surely was, for the road was so steep and full of stones that dorothy and the cowardly lion had to pick their way with utmost care. but even bad roads must end somewhere, and coming suddenly to the edge of the woods, they saw a great city lying just below. a dim light burned over the main gate, and toward this the cowardly lion and dorothy hurried as fast as they could. this was not very fast, for an unaccountable drowsiness was stealing over them. slowly and more slowly, the tired little girl and her great four-footed companion advanced toward the dimly lighted gate. they were so drowsy that they had ceased to talk. but they dragged on. "hah, hoh, hum!" yawned the cowardly lion. "what makes my feet so heavy?" he stopped short and examined each of his four feet sleepily. dorothy swallowed a yawn and tried to run, but a walk was all she could manage. "hah, hoh, hum!" she gaped, stumbling along with her eyes closed. by the time they had reached the gate, they were yawning so hard that the cowardly lion had nearly dislocated his jaw, and dorothy was perfectly breathless. holding to the lion's mane to steady herself, dorothy blinked up uncertainly at the sign over the gate. "hah--here we are--hoh!" she held her hand wearily before her mouth. then, with a great effort, she read the words of the sign. "um--great--grand and mighty slow kingdom of pokes! uh-hah--pokes! do you hear? hah, hoh, hu, uum!" dorothy looked about in alarm, despite her sleepiness. "do you hear?" she repeated anxiously as no answer came through the gloom. the cowardly lion did not hear. he had fallen down and was fast asleep, and so in another minute was dorothy, her head pillowed against his kind, comfortable, cowardly heart. fast asleep at the gates of a strange gray city! chapter 5 sir hokus of pokes it was long past sunup before dorothy awoke. she rubbed her eyes, yawned once or twice, and then shook the cowardly lion. the gates of the city were open, and although it looked even grayer in the daytime than it looked at night, the travelers were too hungry to be particular. a large placard was posted just inside: this is pokes! don't run! don't sing! talk slowly! don't whistle! _order of the chief poker._ read dorothy. "how cheerful! hah, hoh, hum-mm!" "don't!" begged the cowardly lion with tears in his eyes. "if i yawn again, i'll swallow my tail, and if i don't have something to eat soon, i'll do it anyway. let's hurry! there's something queer about this place, dorothy! ah, hah, hoh, hum-mm!" stifling their yawns, the two started down the long, narrow street. the houses were of gray stone, tall and stiff with tiny barred windows. it was absolutely quiet, and not a person was in sight. but when they turned the corner, they saw a crowd of queer-looking people creeping toward them. these singular individuals stopped between each step and stood perfectly still, and dorothy was so surprised at their unusual appearance that she laughed right in the middle of a yawn. in the first place, they never lifted their feet, but pushed them along like skates. the women were dressed in gray polka-dot dresses with huge poke bonnets that almost hid their fat, sleepy, wide-mouthed faces. most of them had pet snails on strings, and so slowly did they move that it looked as though the snails were tugging them along. the men were dressed like a party of congressmen, but instead of high hats wore large red nightcaps, and they were all as solemn as owls. it seemed impossible for them to keep both eyes open at the same time, and at first dorothy thought they were winking at her. but as the whole company continued to stare fixedly with one open eye, she burst out laughing. at the unexpected sound (for no one had ever laughed in pokes before), the women picked up their snails in a great fright, and the men clapped their fingers to their ears or to the places where their ears were under the red nightcaps. "these must be the slow pokes," giggled dorothy, nudging the cowardly lion. "let's go to meet them, for they'll never reach us at the rate they are coming!" "there's something wrong with my feet," rumbled the cowardly lion without looking up. "hah, hoh, hum! what's the use of hurrying?" the fact of the matter was that they couldn't hurry if they tried. indeed, they could hardly lift their feet at all. "i wish the scarecrow were with us," sighed the cowardly lion, shuffling along unhappily. "he never grows sleepy, and he always knows what to do." "no use wishing," yawned dorothy. "i only hope he's not as lost as we are." by struggling hard, they just managed to keep moving, and by the time they came up with the slow pokes, they were completely worn out. a cross-looking poke held up his arm threateningly, and dorothy and the cowardly lion stopped. "you--" said the poke; then closed his mouth and stood staring vacantly for a whole minute. "are--" he brought out the word with a perfectly enormous yawn, and dorothy began fanning the cowardly lion with her hat, for he showed signs of falling asleep again. "what?" she asked crossly. "under--" sighed the poke after a long pause, and dorothy, seeing that there was no hurrying him, began counting to herself. just as she reached sixty, the poke pushed back his red nightcap and shouted: "arrest!" "arrest!" shouted all the other pokes so loud that the cowardly lion roused himself with a start, and the pet snails stuck out their heads. "a rest? a rest is not what we want! we want breakfast!" growled the lion irritably and started to roar, but a yawn spoiled it. (one simply cannot look fierce by yawning.) "you--" began the poke. but dorothy could not stand hearing the same slow speech again. putting her fingers in her ears, she shouted back: "what for?" the pokes regarded her sternly. some even opened both eyes. then the one who had first addressed them, covering a terrific gape with one hand, pointed with the other to a sign on a large post at the corner of the street. "speed limit 1/4 mile an hour" said the sign. "we're arrested for speeding!" shouted dorothy in the cowardly lion's ear. "did you say feeding?" asked the poor lion, waking up with a start. "if i go to sleep again before i'm fed, i'll starve to death!" "then keep awake," yawned dorothy. by this time, the pokes had surrounded them and were waving them imperiously ahead. they looked so threatening that dorothy and the cowardly lion began to creep in the direction of a gloomy, gray castle. of the journey neither of them remembered a thing, for with the gaping and yawning pokes it was almost impossible to keep awake. but they must have walked in their sleep, for the next thing dorothy knew, a harsh voice called slowly: "poke--him!" greatly alarmed, dorothy opened her eyes. they were in a huge stone hall hung all over with rusty armor, and seated on a great stone chair, snoring so loudly that all the steel helmets rattled, was a knight. the tallest and crossest of the pokes rushed at him with a long poker, giving him such a shove that he sprawled to the floor. "so--" yawned the cowardly lion, awakened by the clatter, "knight has fallen!" "prisoners--sir hokus!" shouted the chief poker, lifting the knight's plume and speaking into the helmet as if he were telephoning. the knight arose with great dignity, and after straightening his armor, let down his visor, and dorothy saw a kind, timid face with melancholy blue eyes--not at all pokish, as she explained to ozma later. "what means this unwonted clamor?" asked sir hokus, peering curiously at the prisoners. "we're sorry to waken you," said dorothy politely, "but could you please give us some breakfast?" "a lot!" added the cowardly lion, licking his chops. "it's safer for me to sing," said the knight mournfully, and throwing back his head, he roared in a high, hoarse voice: "don't yawn! don't yawn! we're out of breath- begone--begone or die the death!" the cowardly lion growled threateningly and began lashing his tail. "if he weren't in a can, i'd eat him," he rumbled, "but i never could abide tinned meat." "he's not in a can, he's in armor," explained dorothy, too interested to pay much attention to the cowardly lion, for at the first note of the knight's song, the pokes began scowling horribly, and by the time he had finished they were backing out of the room faster than dorothy ever imagined they could go. "so that's why the sign said don't sing," thought dorothy to herself. the air seemed clearer somehow, and she no longer felt sleepy. when the last poke had disappeared, the knight sighed and climbed gravely back on his stone chair. "my singing makes them very wroth. in faith, they cannot endure music; it wakens them," explained sir hokus. "but hold, 'twas food you asked of me. breakfast, i believe you called it." with an uneasy glance at the cowardly lion, who was sniffing the air hungrily, the knight banged on his steel armor with his sword, and a fat, lazy poke shuffled slowly into the hall. "pid, bring the stew," roared sir hokus as the poke stood blinking at them dully. "stew, pid!" he repeated loudly, and began to hum under his breath, at which pid fairly ran out of the room, returning in a few minutes with a large yellow bowl. this he handed ungraciously to dorothy. then he brought a great copper tub of the stuff for the cowardly lion and retired sulkily. dorothy thought she had never tasted anything more delicious. the cowardly lion was gulping down his share with closed eyes, and both, i am very sorry to say, forgot even to thank sir hokus. "are you perchance a damsel in distress?" quite startled, dorothy looked up from her bowl and saw the knight regarding her wistfully. "she's in pokes, and that's the same thing," said the cowardly lion without opening his eyes. "we're lost," began the little girl, "but--" there was something so quaint and gentle about the knight, that she soon found herself talking to him like an old friend. she told him all of their adventures since leaving the emerald city and even told about the disappearance of the scarecrow. "passing strange, yet how refreshing," murmured sir hokus. "and if i seem a little behind times, you must not blame me. for centuries, i have dozed in this gray castle, and it cometh over me that things have greatly changed. this beast now, he talks quite manfully, and this kingdom that you mention, this oz? never heard of it!" "never heard of oz?" gasped the little girl. "why, you're a subject of oz, and pokes is in oz, though i don't know just where." here dorothy gave him a short history of the fairy country, and of the many adventures she had had since she had come there. sir hokus listened with growing melancholy. "to think," he sighed mournfully, "that i was prisoner here while all that was happening!" "are _you_ a prisoner?" asked dorothy in surprise. "i thought you were king of the pokes!" "uds daggers!" thundered sir hokus so suddenly that dorothy jumped. "i am a _knight!"_ seeing her startled expression, he controlled himself. "i was a knight," he continued brokenly. "long centuries ago, mounted on my goodly steed, i fared from my father's castle to offer my sword to a mighty king. his name?" sir hokus tapped his forehead uncertainly. "go to, i have forgot." "could it have been king arthur?" exclaimed dorothy, wide-eyed with interest. "why, just think of your being still alive!" "that's just the point," choked the knight. "i've been alive--still, so still that i've forgotten everything. why, i can't even remember how i used to talk," he confessed miserably. "but how did you get here?" rumbled the cowardly lion, who did not like being left out of the conversation. "i had barely left my father's castle before i met a stranger," said sir hokus, sitting up very straight, "who challenged me to battle. i spurred my horse forward, our lances met, and the stranger was unseated. but by my faith, 'twas no mortal knight." sir hokus sighed deeply and lapsed into silence. "what happened?" asked dorothy curiously, for sir hokus seemed to have forgotten them. "the knight," said he with another mighty sigh, "struck the ground with his lance and cried, 'live wretch, for centuries in the stupidest country out of the world,' and disappeared. and here--here i am!" with a despairing gesture, sir hokus arose, big tears splashing down his armor. "i feel that i am brave, very brave, but how am i to know until i have encountered danger? ah, friends, behold in me a knight who has never had a real adventure, never killed a dragon, nor championed a lady, nor gone on a quest!" dropping on his knees before the little girl, sir hokus took her hand. "let me go with you on this quest for the valiant scarecrow. let me be your good night!" he begged eagerly. "good night," coughed the cowardly lion, who, to tell the truth, was feeling a bit jealous. but dorothy was thrilled, and as sir hokus continued to look at her pleadingly, she took off her hair ribbon and bound it 'round his arm. "you shall be my own true knight, and i your lady fair!" she announced solemnly, and exactly as she had read in books. at this interesting juncture the cowardly lion gave a tremendous yawn, and sir hokus with an exclamation of alarm jumped to his feet. the pokes had returned to the hall, and dorothy felt herself falling asleep again. up, up, my lieges and away! we take the field again- for ladies fair we fight today and king! up, up, my merry men! shrilled the knight as if he were leading an army to battle. the pokes opened both eyes, but did not immediately retire. sir hokus bravely swallowed a yawn and hastily clearing his throat shouted another song, which he evidently made up on the spur of the moment: avaunt! be off! be gone--methinks we'll be asleep in forty winks! this time the pokes left sullenly, but the effect of their presence had thrown dorothy, the cowardly lion, and the knight into a violent fit of the gapes. "if i fall asleep, nothing can save you," said sir hokus in an agitated voice. "hah, hoh, hum! hah--!" the knight's eyes closed. "don't do it, don't do it!" begged dorothy, shaking him violently. "can't we run away?" "i've been trying for five centuries," wailed the knight in a discouraged voice, "but i always fall asleep before i reach the gate, and they bring me back here. they're rather fond of me in their slow way," he added apologetically. "couldn't you keep singing?" asked the cowardly lion anxiously, for the prospect of a five-century stay in pokes was more than he could bear. "couldn't we _all_ sing?" suggested dorothy. "surely all three of us won't fall asleep at once." "i'm not much of a singer," groaned the cowardly lion, beginning to tremble, "but i'm willing to do my share!" "i like you," said sir hokus, going over and thumping the cowardly lion approvingly on the back. "you ought to be knighted!" the lion blinked his eyes, for sir hokus' iron fist bruised him severely, but knowing it was kindly meant, he bore it bravely. "i am henceforth a beknighted lion," he whispered to dorothy while sir hokus was straightening his armor. next the knight took down an iron poker, which he handed to dorothy. "to wake us up with," he explained. "and now, lady dorothy, if you are ready, we will start on the quest for the honorable scarecrow, and remember, everybody sing--_sing for your life!"_ chapter 6 singing their way out of pokes taking a deep breath, sir hokus, the cowardly lion and dorothy burst out of the hall singing at the top of their voices. "three blind mice--!" sang dorothy. "across the plain!" shouted sir hokus. "i am the cowardly lion of oz!" roared the lion. the pokes were so taken aback at the horrid sounds that they ran scurrying right and left. in another minute the three were out of the castle and singing their way through the gloomy garden. dorothy stuck to the three blind mice. sir hokus sang verse after verse of an old english ballad, and the cowardly lion roared and gurgled a song of his own making, which, considering it was a first attempt, was not so bad: i am the cowardly lion of oz! be good! begone! beware! becoz when i am scared full fierce i be; br--rah--grr--ruff, look out for me! the pokes stumbled this way and that, and all went well until they rushed into a company of pokes who were playing croquet. the slowness with which they raised their mallets fascinated dorothy, and she stopped to watch them in spite of herself. "don't stop! sing!" growled the cowardly lion in the middle of a line. to make up for lost time, dorothy closed her eyes and sang harder than ever, but alas! next instant she fell over a wicket, which so deprived her of breath that she could barely scramble up, let alone sing. as soon as she stopped singing, the pokes paused in their flight, and as soon as they paused dorothy began to gape. singing for dear life, sir hokus jerked dorothy by the arm, and the cowardly lion roared so loud that the pokes covered their ears and began backing away. "there was a knight! come on, come on!" sang sir hokus, and dorothy came, and in a few minutes was able to take up the "three blind mice" again. but running and singing at the same time is not an easy task. and running through pokes is like trying to run through water. (you know how hard that is?) "three blind mice--uh--hah--three blind--mice--uh-hah--i can't sing another note! thu--ree--!" gasped poor dorothy, stumbling along, while the cowardly lion was puffing like an engine. the pokes in the garden had recovered from their first alarm and were following at a safe distance. the gates of the city were only a short distance off, but it seemed to dorothy that she could not go another step. a large group of pokes had gathered at the gates, and unless they could sing their way through, they would fall asleep and be carried ignominiously back to the castle. "now!" wheezed sir hokus, "remember, it is for the scarecrow!" all of them swallowed, took a deep breath, and put their last remaining strength into their voices. but a wily poke who had stuffed some cotton in his ears now approached pushing a little cart. "take--!" he drawled, and before dorothy realized what she was doing, she had accepted a cone from the poke. "hah, hoh, hum! why, it's hokey pokey!" spluttered dorothy, and with a deep sigh of delight she took a large bite of the pink ice cream. how cool it felt on her dry throat! she opened her mouth for a second taste, yawned terrifically, and fell with a thud to the stone pavement. "dorothy!" wailed sir hokus, stopping short in his song and bending over the little girl. the poor cowardly lion gave a gulp of despair and began running around the two, roaring and singing in a choked voice. the pokes nodded to each other in a pleased fashion, and the chief poker started cautiously toward them with a long, thick rope. the cowardly lion redoubled his efforts. then, seeing sir hokus about to fall, he jumped on the knight with all his strength. down crashed sir hokus, his armor clanging against the stones that paved the gateway. "sing!" roared the cowardly lion, glaring at him fiercely. the fall wakened the poor knight, but he had not the strength to rise. sitting on the hard stones and looking reproachfully at the cowardly lion, he began his ballad in a half-hearted fashion. the cowardly lion's heart was like to burst between lack of breath and fear, but making one last tremendous effort and still roaring his song, he bounded at the chief poker, seized the rope, and was back before the stupid creature had time to yawn. "tie it around your waist; take dorothy in your arms!" gasped the cowardly lion out of the corner of his mouth. sir hokus, though completely dazed, had just enough presence of mind to obey, and the next minute the cowardly lion, growling between his teeth like a good fellow, was dashing through the group of pokes, the other end of the rope in his mouth. bumpety bump--bump--bump! bangety-bang-bang! went sir hokus over the cobbles, holding his helmet with one hand and dorothy fast in the other arm. the pokes fell this way and that, and such was the determination of the cowardly lion that he never stopped till he was out of the gate and halfway up the rough road they had so recently traveled. then with a mighty sigh, he dropped the rope, rolled over and over down the hill, and lay panting with exhaustion at the bottom. the bumping over the cobbles had wakened sir hokus thoroughly. indeed, the poor knight was black and blue, and his armor dented and scraped frightfully in important places. dorothy, considerably shaken, opened her eyes and began feebly singing "three blind mice." "no need," puffed sir hokus, lifting her off his lap and rising stiffly. "yon noble beast has rescued us." "won't the pokes come up here?" asked dorothy, staring around a bit dizzily. "they cannot live out of the kingdom," said the knight, and dorothy drew a big sigh of relief. sir hokus, however, was looking very grave. "i have failed on my first adventure. had it not been for the cowardly lion, we would now be prisoners in pokes," he murmured sadly. then he unfastened the plume from his helmet. "it beseemeth me not to wear it," sighed the knight mournfully, and though dorothy tried her best to comfort him, he refused to put it back. finally, she fastened the plume to her dress, and they went down to the cowardly lion. there was a little spring nearby, and after they had poured six helmets of water over his head, the lion opened his eyes. "been in a good many fights," gasped the lion, "but i never fought one like this. singing, bah!" "noble sir, how can i ever repay you?" faltered the knight. "alas, that i have failed in the hour of trial!" "why, it wasn't a question of courage at all," rumbled the cowardly lion, greatly embarrassed. "i had the loudest voice and the most breath, that's all! you got the rough end of it." sir hokus looked ruefully at his armor. the back was entirely squashed. "never mind!" said the knight bravely. "it is the front one presents to the foe." "now you're talking like a real knight," said dorothy. "a while ago you said, 'yon' and 'beseemeth,' and first thing you know the talk will all come back to you." sir hokus' honest face shone with pleasure. "odds bludgeons and truncheons! the little maid is right!" he exclaimed, striking an attitude. "and once it does, the rest will be easy." "don't say rest to me," begged the cowardly lion, getting slowly to his feet. "hah, hoh, hum! just to think of it makes me yawn. now don't you think we had better start off?" "if you're rested," began dorothy. the cowardly lion put his paw over his ear and looked so comical that both dorothy and sir hokus laughed heartily. "if you're ready," amended dorothy, and the three adventurers started up the steep road. "the first thing to do," said the little girl, "is to get back to the emerald city as quickly as we can." at this very minute glinda, the good sorceress of oz, in her palace in the quadling country, was puzzling over an entry in the magic record book. this book tells everything that is happening in the world and out, and while it does not give details, it is a very useful possession. "the emperor of the silver islands," read glinda, "has returned to his people." "now who is the emperor of the silver islands?" she asked herself. she puzzled about it for a long while, and then, deciding that it had nothing to do with the fairy kingdom of oz, she closed the book and went for a walk in the palace garden. dorothy and sir hokus and the cowardly lion had meanwhile reached the first sign in the dim forest, the sign directing travelers to pokes. two roads branched out through the forest, and after much debating they took the wider. "do you 'spose this leads to the emerald city?" asked cowardly lion dubiously. "time will tell, time will tell," said sir hokus cheerfully. "yes," murmured the cowardly lion, "time will tell. but what?" chapter 7 the scarecrow is hailed as emperor! leaning forward on the great throne, the scarecrow waited impatiently for the ancient gentleman to speak. the gray-skinned courtiers were eyeing him expectantly, and just as the suspense became almost unendurable, the old man threw up his arms and cried sharply: "the prophecy of the magic beanstalk has been fulfilled. in this radiant and sublime scarecrowcus, the spirit of chang wang woe, the mighty, has returned. and i, the grand chew chew of the realm, prostrate myself before this wonderful scarecrowcus, emperor of the silver islands." so, likewise, did all the company present, and the scarecrow, taken unawares, flew up several feet and landed in a heap on the steps leading to the throne. he climbed back hurriedly, picking up the fan and parasol that he had plucked from the beanstalk. "i wish professor wogglebug could hear this," said the scarecrow, settling himself complacently. "but i must watch out, and remember to hold on." the grand chew chew was the first to rise, and folding his arms, he asked solemnly: "what are your commands, ancient and honorable scarecrowcus?" "if you'd just omit the cus," begged the scarecrow in an embarrassed voice, "i believe i could think better. am i in china, or where? are you chinamen, or what?" "we are silvermen," said the grand chew chew impressively, "and a much older race than our chinese cousins. they are people of the sun. we are people of the stars. has your highness so soon forgotten?" "i am afraid," said the scarecrow, rubbing his chin reflectively, "that i have." he gazed slowly around the great throne room. ozma's palace itself was not more dazzling. the floor of dull silver blocks was covered with rich blue rugs. furniture, chairs, screens and everything were made of silver inlaid with precious stones. filigreed silver lanterns hung from the high ceilings, and tall silver vases filled with pink and blue blossoms filled the rooms with their perfume. blue flags embroidered with silver stars fluttered from the walls and the tips of the pikebearers' spears, and silver seemed to be so plentiful that even shoes were fashioned of it. faintly through the windows came the sweet tones of a hundred silver chimes, and altogether the scarecrow was quite dazed by his apparent good fortune. surely they had called him emperor, but how could that be? he turned to address the grand chew chew; then as he saw out of the corner of his eye that the assemblage were making ready to fall upon their faces, he exclaimed in a hoarse whisper: "may i speak to you alone?" the grand chew chew waved his hand imperiously, and the courtiers with a great crackling of silver brocade backed from the hall. "very kind of them to bow, but i wish they wouldn't," sighed the scarecrow, sinking back on the great throne. "it blows one about so. i declare, if another person falls at my feet, i'll have nervous prostration." again he took a long survey of the hall, then turned to the grand chew chew. "would you mind," he asked simply, "telling me again who i am and how?" "who and how? who--you are, illustrious sir, the emperor chang wang woe, or to be more exact, his spirit!" "i have always been a spirited person," observed the scarecrow dubiously, "but never a spirit without a person. i must insist on being a person." "how?" the grand chew chew proceeded without noticing the scarecrow's remarks. "fifty years ago--after your extreme highness had defeated in battle the king of the golden islands--a magician entered the realm. this magician, in the employ of this wicked king, entered a room in the palace where your highness lay sleeping and by an act of necromancy changed you to a crocus!" "ouch!" exclaimed the scarecrow, shuddering involuntarily. "and had it not been for the empress, your faithful wife, you would have been lost forever to the empire." "wife?" gasped the scarecrow faintly. "have i a wife?" "if your highness will permit me to finish," begged the grand chew chew with great dignity. the scarecrow nodded. "your wife, tsing tsing, the beautiful, took the crocus, which was fading rapidly, and planted it in a silver bowl in the center of this very hall and for three days kept it fresh with her tears. waking on the third morning, the empress was amazed to see in place of the crocus a giant bean pole that extended to the roof of the palace and disappeared among the clouds." "ah!" murmured the scarecrow, looking up, "my family tree!" "beside the bean pole lay a crumpled parchment." the grand chew chew felt in the sleeve of his kimono and brought out a bit of crumpled silver paper, and adjusting his horn spectacles, read slowly. "into the first being who touches this magic pole--on the other side of the world--the spirit of emperor chang wang woe will enter. and fifty years from this day, he will return--to save his people." the grand chew chew took off his specs and folded up the paper. "the day has come! you have come down the bean pole, and are undoubtedly that being who has gone from emperor to crocus to scarecrowcus. i have ruled the islands these fifty years; have seen to the education of your sons and grandsons. and now, gracious and exalted master, as i am an old man i ask you to relieve me from the cares of state." "sons! grandsons!" choked the scarecrow, beginning to feel very much alarmed indeed. "how old am i?" "your highness," said the grand chew chew with a deep salaam, "is as old as i. in other words, you are in the ripe and glorious eighty-fifth year of your majesty's illustrious and useful age." "eighty five!" gasped the scarecrow, staring in dismay at the gray, wrinkled face of the old silverman. "now see here, chew chew, are you sure of that?" "quite sure, immortal and honored master!" the scarecrow could not help but be convinced of the truth of the grand chew chew's story. the pole in the munchkin farmer's cornfield was none other than the magic beanstalk, and he, thrust on the pole by the farmer to scare away the crows, had received the spirit of the emperor chang wang woe. "which accounts for my cleverness," he thought gloomily. now, surely he should have been pleased, for he had come in search of a family, but the acquisition of an empire, sons and grandsons, and old age, all in a trice, fairly took his breath away. "does the prophecy say anything about restoring my imperial person?" he asked anxiously, for the thought of looking like chew chew was not a cheerful one. "alas, no!" sighed the grand chew chew sorrowfully. "but we have very clever wizards on the island, and i shall set them at work on the problem at once." "now don't be in such a rush," begged the scarecrow, secretly determined to lock up the wizards at the first opportunity. "i'm rather fond of this shape. you see, it requires no food and never grows tired--or old!" "the royal robes will in a measure conceal it," murmured the grand chew chew politely, and clapped his hands. a little servitor bounced into the hall. "a royal robe, quick silver, for his radiant highness," snapped the grand chew chew. in a moment quick silver had returned with a magnificent purple satin robe embroidered in silver threads and heavy with jewels, and a hat of silver cloth with upturned brim. the scarecrow wrapped himself in the purple robe, took off his old munchkin hat, and substituted the imperial headpiece. "how do i look, chew?" he asked anxiously. "quite like your old imperial self, except--" the old prime minister ran unsteadily out of the room. there was a muffled scream from the hall, and the next instant he returned with a long, shiny, silver queue which he had evidently clipped from the head of one of the servants. removing the scarecrow's hat, he pinned the queue to the back, set it on the scarecrow's head, and stood regarding him with great satisfaction. "ah, if the empress could only see you!" he murmured rapturously. "where--where is she?" asked the scarecrow, looking around nervously. his long, care-free life in oz had somewhat unfitted him, he reflected, for family life. "alas!" sighed the grand chew chew, wiping his eyes on the sleeve of his kimono, "she has returned to her silver ancestors." "then show me her picture," commanded the scarecrow, visibly affected. the grand chew chew stepped to a side wall, and pulling on a silken cord, disclosed the picture of a large, gray lady with curiously small eyes and a curiously large nose. "is she not beautiful?" asked the grand chew chew, bowing his head. "beautiful--er--er, beautiful!" gulped the scarecrow. he thought of lovely little ozma and dear little dorothy, and all at once felt terribly upset and homesick. he had no recollection of the silver island or his life here whatever. who was he, anyway--the scarecrow of oz or emperor chang wang woe? he couldn't be both. "ah!" whispered the grand chew chew, seeing his agitation. "you remember her?" the scarecrow shook his head, with an inward shudder. "now show me myself, chew," he asked curiously. pulling the cord of a portrait beside the empress, chew chew revealed the picture of chang wang woe as he had been fifty years ago. his face was bland and jolly, and to be perfectly truthful, quite like the scarecrow's in shape and expression. "i am beside myself," murmured the scarecrow dazedly--which in truth he was. "you were--er--are a very royal and handsome person," stammered the grand chew chew. the scarecrow, stepping off the throne to examine himself more closely, dropped the little fan and parasol. he had really not had time to examine them since they snapped off the beanstalk, and now, looking at them carefully, he found them extremely pretty. "dorothy will like these," thought the scarecrow, slipping them into a large inside pocket of his robe. already, in the back of his head, was a queer notion that he would at some time or other return to oz. he started to give the grand chew chew a spirited description of that wonderful country, but the ancient gentleman yawned and, waving his hands toward the door, interrupted him with: "would not your supreme highness care to inspect your present dominions?" "i suppose i may as well!" with a deep sigh, the scarecrow took the grand chew chew's arm and, holding up his royal kimono (which was rather long) with the other hand, walked unsteadily down the great salon. they were about to pass into the garden when a little fat silverman slid around the door, a huge silver drumstick upraised in his right hand and a great drum hung about his neck. the drummer beamed on the scarecrow. chang wang woe, the beautiful, the beautiful has come! sublime and silver scarecrow, let sound the royal drum! chanted the little man in a high, thin voice, and started to bring the drumstick down upon the huge head of his noisy instrument. "no you don't!" cried the scarecrow, leaping forward and catching his arm. "i positively forbid it!" "then i shall have no work!" screamed the drummer, falling on his face. "ah, gracious master, don't you remember me?" "yes," said the scarecrow kindly, "who are you?" "oh, don't you remember little happy toko?" wheezed the little man, the tears rolling down his cheeks. "i was only a boy, but you used to be fond of me." "why, of course, my dear tappy," said the scarecrow, not liking to hurt the little fellow's feelings. "but why do you beat the drum?" "it is customary to sound the drum at the approach of your royal highness," put in the grand chew chew importantly. "was customary," said the scarecrow firmly. "my dear tappy oko, never sound it in my presence again; it is too upsetting." which was true enough, for one blow of the drum sent the flimsy scarecrow flying into the air. "you're dismissed, happy," snapped the grand chew chew. at this, the little silver islander began weeping and roaring with distress. "stop! what else can you do besides beat a drum?" asked the scarecrow kindly. "i can sing, stand on my head, and tell jokes," sniffed happy toko, shuffling from one foot to the other. "very good," said the scarecrow. "you are henceforth imperial punster to my person. come along, we're going to look over the island." the grand chew chew frowned so terribly that happy toko's knees shook with terror. "it is not fitting for a slave to accompany the grand chew chew and the emperor," he hissed angrily. the scarecrow looked surprised, for the kingdom of oz is quite democratic, and no one is considered better than another. but seeing this was not the time to argue, he winked broadly behind the grand chew chew's back. "i'll see you again, tappy my boy," he called genially, and passed out into the garden, where a magnificent silver palanquin, surrounded by pikemen and shieldbearers, awaited him. chapter 8 the scarecrow studies the silver island two days had passed since the scarecrow had fallen into his kingdom. he was not finding his royal duties as pleasant as he had anticipated. the country was beautiful enough, but being emperor of the silver islands was not the simple affair that ruling oz had been. the pigtail on the back of his hat was terribly distracting, and he was always tripping over his kimono, to which he could not seem to accustom himself. his subjects were extremely quarrelsome, always pulling one another's queues or stealing fruit, umbrellas, and silver polish. his ministers, the grand chew chew, the chief chow chow, and general mugwump, were no better, and keeping peace in the palace took all the scarecrow's cleverness. in the daytime he tried culprits in the royal court, interviewed his seventeen secretaries, rode out in the royal palanquin, and made speeches to visiting princes. at night he sat in the great silver salon and by the light of the lanterns studied the book of ceremonies. his etiquette, the grand chew chew informed him, was shocking. he was always doing something wrong, dodging the imperial umbrella, speaking kindly to a palace servant, or walking unattended in the gardens. the royal palace itself was richly furnished, and the scarecrow had more than five hundred robes of state. the gardens, with their sparkling waterfalls, glowing orange trees, silver temples, towers and bridges, were too lovely for words. poppies, roses, lotus and other lilies perfumed the air, and at night a thousand silver lanterns turned them to a veritable fairyland. the grass and trees were green as in other lands, but the sky as always full of tiny silver clouds, the waters surrounding the island were of a lovely liquid silver, and as all the houses and towers were of this gleaming metal, the effect was bewildering and beautiful. but the silver islanders themselves were too stupid to appreciate this beauty. "and what use is it all when i have no one to enjoy it with me," sighed the scarecrow. "and no time to _play!"_ in oz no one thought it queer if ozma, the little queen, jumped rope with dorothy or betsy bobbin, or had a quiet game of croquet with the palace cook. but here, alas, everything was different. if the scarecrow so much as ventured a game of ball with the gardener's boy, the whole court was thrown into an uproar. at first, the scarecrow tried to please everybody, but finding that nothing pleased the people in the palace, he decided to please himself. "i don't care a kinkajou if i am the emperor, i'm going to talk to whom i please!" he exclaimed on the second night, and shaking his glove at a bronze statue, he threw the book of ceremonies into the fountain. the next morning, therefore, he ascended the throne with great firmness. immediately, the courtiers prostrated themselves, and the scarecrow's arms and legs blew about wildly. "stand up at once," puffed the scarecrow when he had regained his balance. "you are giving me nervous prostration. chew, kindly issue an edict forbidding prostrations. anyone caught bowing in my presence again shall lose--" the courtiers looked alarmed "--his pigtail!" finished the scarecrow. "and now, chew, you will take my place, please. i am going for a walk with tappy oko." the grand chew chew's mouth fell open with surprise, but seeing the scarecrow's determined expression, he dared not disobey, and he immediately began making strange marks on a long, red parchment. happy toko trembled as the scarecrow emperor took his arm, and the courtiers stared at one another in dismay as the two walked quietly out into the garden. nothing happened, however, and tappy, regaining his composure, took out a little silver flute and started a lively tune. "i had to take matters into my own hands, tappy," said the scarecrow, listening to the music with a pleased expression. "are there any words to that song?" "yes, illustrious and supreme sir!" two spoons went down a por-ce-lane, to meet a china saucer, a 'talking china in a way to break a white man's jaw, sir! sang happy, and finished by standing gravely on his head. "your majesty used to be very fond of this song," spluttered happy. (it is difficult to speak while upside down, and if you don't think so, try it!) "ah!" said the scarecrow, beginning to feel more cheerful, "tell me something about myself and my family, tappy oko." "happy toko, if it pleases your supreme amiability," corrected the little silver man, somersaulting to a standstill beside the scarecrow. "it does and it doesn't," murmured the scarecrow. "there is something about you that reminds me of a pudding, and you tapped the drum, didn't you? i believe i shall call you tappy oko, if you don't mind!" the scarecrow seated himself on a silver bench and motioned for the imperial punster to sit down beside him. tappy oko sat down fearfully, first making sure that he was not observed. "saving your imperial presence, this is not permitted," said tappy uneasily. "never mind about my imperial presence," chuckled the scarecrow. "tell me about my imperial past." "ah!" said tappy oko, rolling up his eyes, "you were one of the most magnificent and magnanimous of monarchs." "was i?" asked the scarecrow in a pleased voice. "you distributed rice among the poor, and advice among the rich, and fought many glorious battles," continued the little man. "i composed a little song about you. perhaps you would like to hear it?" the scarecrow nodded, and tappy, throwing back his head, chanted with a will: chang wang woe did draw the bow- and twist the queues of a thousand foe! "in oz," murmured the scarecrow reflectively as tappy finished, "i twisted the necks of a flock of wild crows--that was before i had my excellent brains, too. oh, i'm a fighting man, there's no doubt about it. but tell me, tappy, where did i meet my wife?" "in the water!" chuckled tappy oko, screwing up his eyes. "never!" the scarecrow looked out over the harbor and then down at his lumpy figure. "your majesty forgets you were then a man like me--er--not stuffed with straw, i mean," exclaimed happy, looking embarrassed. "she was fishing," continued the little punster, "when a huge silver fish became entangled in her line. she stood up, the fish gave a mighty leap and pulled her out of the boat. your majesty, having seen the whole affair from the bank, plunged bravely into the water and, swimming out, rescued her, freed the fish, and in due time made her your bride. i've made a song about that, also." "let's hear it," said the scarecrow. and this is what happy sung: tsing tsing, a silver fisher's daughter, was fishing in the silver water. the moon shone on her silver hair and there were fishes everywhere! then came a mighty silver fish, it seized her line and with a swish of silver fins upset her boat. tsing tsing could neither swim nor float. she raised her silver voice in fear and who her call of help should hear but chang wang woe, the emperor, who saved and married her, what's more! "did i really?" asked the scarecrow, feeling quite flattered by happy's song. "yes," said happy positively, "and invited me to the wedding, though i was only a small boy." "was chew chew there?" the scarecrow couldn't help wondering how the old nobleman had taken his marriage with a poor fisherman's daughter. happy chuckled at the memory. "he had a princess all picked out for you," he confided merrily: and there he stood in awful pride and scorned the father of the bride! "hoh!" roared the scarecrow, falling off the bench. "that's the ozziest thing i've heard since i landed in the silver islands. tappy, my boy, i believe we are going to be friends! but let's forget the past and think of the present!" the scarecrow embraced his imperial punster on the spot. "let's find something jolly to do," he suggested. "would your extreme highness care for kites?" asked happy. "'tis a favorite sport here!" "would i! but wait, i will disguise myself." hiding his royal hat under the bench, he put on happy toko's broad-rimmed peasant hat. it turned down all 'round and almost hid his face. then he turned his robe inside out and declared himself ready. they passed through a small silver town before they reached the field where the kites were to be flown, and the scarecrow was delighted with its picturesque and quaint appearance. the streets were narrow and full of queer shops. silver lanterns and little pennants hung from each door, the merchants and maidens in their gay sedans and the people afoot made a bright and lively picture. "if i could just live here instead of in the palace," mused the scarecrow, pausing before a modest rice shop. it is dangerous to stop in the narrow streets, and happy jerked his master aside just in time to prevent his being trodden on by a huge camel. it sniffed at the scarecrow suspiciously, and they were forced to flatten themselves against a wall to let it pass. happy anxiously hurried the emperor through the town, and they soon arrived at the kite flying field. a great throng had gathered to watch the exhibition, and there were more kites than one would see in a lifetime here. huge fish, silver paper dragons, birds--every sort and shape of kite was tugging at its string, and hundreds of silver islanders--boys, girls and grown-ups-were looking on. "how interesting," said the scarecrow, fascinated by a huge dragon that floated just over his head. "i wish dorothy could see this, i do indeed!" but the dragon kite seemed almost alive, and horrors! just as it swooped down, a hook in the tail caught in the scarecrow's collar, and before happy toko could even wink, the emperor of the silver islands was sailing towards the clouds. the scarecrow, as you must know, weighs almost nothing, and the people shouted with glee, for they thought him a dummy man and part of the performance. but happy toko ran after the kite as fast as his fat little legs would carry him. "alas, alas, i shall lose my position!" wailed happy toko, quite convinced that the scarecrow would be dashed to pieces on the rocks. "oh, putty head that i am to set myself against the grand chew chew!" the scarecrow, however, after recovering from the first shock, began to enjoy himself. holding fast to the dragon's tail, he looked down with great interest upon his dominions. rocks, mountains, tall silver pagodas, drooping willow trees, flashed beneath him. truly a beautiful island! his gaze strayed over the silver waters surrounding the island, and he was astonished to see a great fleet sailing into the harbor--a great fleet of singular vessels with silken sails. "what's this?" thought the scarecrow. but just then the dragon kite became suddenly possessed. it jerked him up, it jerked him down, and shook him this way and that. his hat flew off, his arms and legs whirled wildly, and pieces of straw began to float downward. then the hook ripped and tore through his coat and, making a terrible slit in his back, came out. down, down, down flashed the scarecrow and landed in a heap on the rocks. poor happy toko rushed toward him with streaming eyes. "oh radiant and immortal scarecrowcus, what have they done to you?" he moaned, dropping on his knees beside the flimsy shape of the emperor. "merely knocked out my honorable stuffing," mumbled the scarecrow. "now tappy, my dear fellow, will you just turn me over? there's a rock in my eye that keeps me from thinking." happy toko, at the sound of a voice from the rumpled heap of clothing, gave a great leap. "is there any straw about?" asked the scarecrow anxiously. "why don't you turn me over?" "it's his ghost," moaned happy toko, and because he dared not disobey a royal ghost, he turned the scarecrow over with trembling hands. "don't be alarmed," said the scarecrow, smiling reassuringly. "i'm not breakable like you meat people. a little straw will make me good as new. a little straw--straw, do you hear?" for happy's pigtail was still on end, and he was shaking so that his silver shoes clattered on the rocks. "i command you to fetch straw!" cried the scarecrow at last, in an angry voice. happy dashed away. when he returned with an arm full of straw, the scarecrow managed to convince him that he was quite alive. "it is impossible to kill a person from oz," he explained proudly, "and that is why my present figure is so much more satisfactory than yours. i do not have to eat or sleep and can always be repaired. have you some safety pins?" happy produced several and under the scarecrow's direction stuffed out his chest and pinned up his rents. "let us return," said the scarecrow. "i've had enough pleasure for one day, and can't you sing something, tappy?" running and fright had somewhat affected happy's voice, but he squeaked out a funny little song, and the two, keeping time to the tune, came without further mishap to the imperial gardens. happy had just set the royal hat upon the scarecrow's head and brushed off his robes when a company of courtiers dashed out of the palace door and came running toward them. "great cornstarch!" exclaimed the scarecrow, sitting heavily down on the silver bench. "what's the matter now? here are all the pig-heads on the island, and look how old chew chew is puffing!" "one would expect a chew chew to puff," observed happy slyly. "one would--" but he got no further, for the whole company was upon them. "save us! save us!" wailed the courtiers, forgetting the royal edict and falling on their faces. "what from?" asked the scarecrow, holding fast to the silver bench. "the king--the king of the golden islands!" shrieked the grand chew chew. "ah yes!" murmured the scarecrow, frowning thoughtfully. "was that his fleet coming into the harbor?" the grand chew chew jumped up in astonishment. "how could your highness see the fleet from here?" he stuttered. "not from here--there," said the scarecrow, pointing upward and winking at happy toko. "my highness goes very high, you see!" "your majesty does not seem to realize the seriousness of the matter," choked the grand chew chew. "he will set fire to the island and make us all slaves." at this, the courtiers began banging their heads distractedly on the grass. "set fire to the island!" exclaimed the scarecrow, jumping to his feet. "then peace to _my_ ashes! tappy, will you see that they are sent back to oz?" "save us! save us!" screamed the frightened silvermen. "the prophecy of the beanstalk has promised that you would save us. you are the emperor chang wang woe," persisted the grand chew chew, waving his long arms. "woe is me," murmured the scarecrow, clasping his yellow gloves. "but let me think." chapter 9 "save us with your magic, exalted one!" for several minutes, the scarecrow sat perfectly still while the company stood shaking in their shoes. then he asked loudly, "where is the imperial army?" "it has retired to the caves at the end of the island," quavered the grand chew chew. "i thought as much," said the scarecrow. "but never mind, there are quite a lot of us." "us!" spluttered a tall silverman indignantly. "we are not common soldiers." "no, very uncommon ones, but you have hard heads and long nails, and i dare say will manage somehow. come on, let's go. chew, you may take the lead." "go!" shrieked the grand chew chew. "us?" the courtiers began backing away in alarm. "where--er--what--are your highness' plans?" "why, just to conquer the king of the golden islands and send him back home," said the scarecrow, smiling engagingly. "that's what you wanted, isn't it?" "but it is not honorable for noblemen to fight. it--" "oh, of course, if you prefer burning--" the scarecrow rose unsteadily and started for the garden gates. not a person stirred. the scarecrow looked back, and his reproachful face was too much for happy toko. "i'll come, exalted and radiant scarecrowcus! wait, honorable and valiant sir!" "bring a watering can, if you love me," called the scarecrow over his shoulder, and happy, snatching one from a frightened gardener, dashed after his master. "if things get too hot, i'd like to know that you can put me out," said the scarecrow, his voice quivering with emotion. "you shall be rewarded for this, my brave tappy." happy did not answer, for his teeth were chattering so he could not speak. the harbor lay just below the imperial palace, and the scarecrow and happy hurried on through the crowds of fleeing silvermen, their household goods packed upon their heads. some cheered faintly for chang wang woe, but none offered to follow, save the faithful happy. "is this king old?" asked the scarecrow, looking anxiously at the small boats full of warriors that were putting out from the fleet. "he is the son of the king whom your majesty conquered fifty years ago," gulped happy. "ha--has your imperial highness any--plan?" "not yet," said the scarecrow cheerfully, "but i'm thinking very hard." "then, goodbye to silver island!" choked happy toko, dropping the watering can with a crash. "never mind," said the scarecrow kindly. "if they shoot me and i catch fire, i'll jump in the water and you must fish me out, tappy. now please don't talk any more. i must think!" poor happy toko had nothing else to say, for he considered his day finished. the first of the invaders were already landing on the beach, and standing up in a small boat, encased in glittering gold armor, was the king of the golden islands, himself. the sun was quite hot, and there was a smell of gunpowder in the air. now the scarecrow had encountered many dangers in oz and had usually thought his way out of them, but as they came nearer and nearer to the shore and no idea presented itself, he began to feel extremely nervous. a bullet fired from the king's boat tore through his hat, and the smoke made him more anxious than ever about his straw stuffing. he felt hurriedly in his pocket, and his clumsy fingers closed over the little fan he had plucked from the bean pole. partly from agitation and partly because he did not know what else to do, the scarecrow flipped the fan open. at that minute, a mighty roar went up from the enemy, for at the first motion of the fan they had been jerked fifty feet into the air, and there they hung suspended over their ships, kicking and squealing for dear life. the scarecrow was as surprised as they, and as for happy toko, he fell straightway on his nose! "magic!" exclaimed the scarecrow. "someone is helping us," and he began fanning himself gently with the little fan, waiting to see what would happen next. at each wave of the fan, the king of the golden islands and his men flew higher until at last not one of them could be seen from the shore. "the fan. the magic is in the fan!" gasped happy toko, jumping up and embracing the scarecrow. "why, what do you mean?" asked the scarecrow, closing the fan with a snap. happy's answer was drowned in a huge splash. as soon as the fan was closed, down whirled the king's army into the sea, and each man struck the water with such force that the spray rose high as a skyscraper. and not till then did the scarecrow realize the power of the little fan he had been saving for dorothy. "saved!" screamed happy toko, dancing up and down. "hurrah for the emperor!" the emperor, without a plan, has won the victory with a fan. the silver islanders had paused in their flight at the queer noises coming from the harbor, and now all of them, hearing tappy oko's cries, came crowding down to the shore and were soon cheering themselves hoarse. no wonder! the drenched soldiers of the king were climbing swiftly back into their boats, and when they were all aboard, the scarecrow waved his fan sidewise (he did not want to blow them up again), and the ships swept out of the harbor so fast that the water churned to silver suds behind them, and they soon were out of sight. "ah!" cried the grand chew chew, arriving breathlessly at this point, "we have won the day!" "so we have!" chuckled the scarecrow, putting his arm around happy toko. "call the brave army and decorate the generals!" "it shall be done," said the grand chew chew, frowning at happy. "there shall be a great celebration, a feast, and fireworks." "fireworks," quavered the scarecrow, clutching his imperial punster. by this time, the silver islanders were crowding around the emperor, shouting and squealing for joy, and before he could prevent it, they had placed him on their shoulders and carried him in triumph to the palace. he managed to signal happy, and happy nodded reassuringly and ran off as fast as his fat little legs could patter. he arrived at the palace almost as soon as the scarecrow, lugging a giant silver watering can, and, sitting calmly on the steps of the throne, fanned himself with his hat. the scarecrow eyed the watering can with satisfaction. "now let them have their old fireworks," he muttered under his breath, and settled himself comfortably. the grand chew chew was hopping about like a ditched kite, arranging for the celebration. the courtiers were shaking hands with themselves and forming in a long line. a great table was being set in the hall. "what a fuss they are making over nothing," said the scarecrow to happy toko. "now in oz when we win a victory, we all play some jolly game and sit down to dinner with ozma. why, they haven't even set a place for you, happy!" "i'd rather sit here, amiable master," sighed happy toko happily. "is the little fan safely closed?" the scarecrow felt in his pocket to make sure, then leaned forward in surprise. the royal silver army were marching stiffly into the hall, and the courtiers were bobbing and bowing and cheering like mad. the general came straight to the great silver throne, clicked his silver heels, bowed, and stood at attention. "well," said the scarecrow, surveying this splendid person curiously, "what is it?" "they have come for their decorations," announced the grand chew chew, stepping up with a large silver platter full of medals. "but i thought tappy oko and i saved the island," chuckled the scarecrow, nudging the imperial punster. "had the imperial army not retired and left the field to you, there would have been no victory," faltered the general in a timid voice. "therefore, in a way we are responsible for the victory. a great general always knows when to retire." "there's something in that," admitted the scarecrow, scratching his head thoughtfully. "go ahead and decorate 'em, chew chew!" this the grand chew chew proceeded to do, making such a long speech to each soldier that half of the court fell asleep and the scarecrow fidgeted uncomfortably. "they remind me of the army of oz," he confided to happy toko, "but we never have long speeches in oz. i declare, i wish i could go to sleep, too, and that's something i have never seen any use in before." "they've just begun," yawned happy toko, nearly rolling down the steps of the throne, and happy was not far wrong, for all afternoon one after the other of the courtiers arose and droned about the great victory, and as they all addressed themselves to the scarecrow, he was forced to listen politely. when the speeches were over, there was still the grand banquet to be got through, and as the silver islanders ate much the same fare as their chinese cousins, you can imagine the poor scarecrow's feelings. "ugh!" shivered the scarecrow as the strange dishes appeared, "i'm glad none of my friends are here. how fortunate that i'm stuffed with straw!" the broiled mice, the stewed shark fins and the bird nest soup made him stare. he had ordered happy toko to be placed at his side, and to watch him happily at work with his silver chopsticks and porcelain spoon was the only satisfaction he got out of the feast. "and what is that?" he asked, pointing to a steaming bowl that had just been placed before happy. "minced cat, your highness," replied happy, sprinkling it generously with silver polish. "cat?" shrieked the scarecrow, pouncing to his feet in horror. "do you mean to tell me you are eating a poor, innocent, little cat?" "not a poor one at all. a very rich one, i should say," replied happy toko with his mouth full. "ah, had your highness only your old body, how you would enjoy this!" "never!" shouted the scarecrow so loudly that all of the courtiers looked up in surprise. "how dare you eat innocent cats?" indignantly he thought of dorothy's pet kitten back in oz. oz--why had he ever left that wonderful country? "your highness has eaten hundreds," announced the grand chew chew calmly. "hundreds!" the scarecrow dropped back into his chair, too shocked for speech. he, the scarecrow of oz, had eaten hundreds of cats! what would dorothy say to that? ugh! this was his first experience with silver island fare. he had always spent the dinner hours in the garden. he sighed, and looked wistfully at the bean pole in the center of the hall. every minute he was feeling less and less like the emperor of the silver island and more and more like the plain scarecrow of oz. "your majesty seems out of spirits," said happy toko as he placed himself and the huge watering can beside the emperor's bench in the garden later in the evening. "i wish i were," said the scarecrow. "to have an emperor's spirit wished on you is no joke, my dear tappy. it's a blinking bore!" at that moment, the fireworks commenced. the garden, ablaze with many shaped silver lanterns, looked more like fairyland than ever. but each rocket made the scarecrow wince. showers of stars and butterflies fell 'round his head, fiery dragons leaped over the trees, and in all the fourth of july celebrations you could imagine there were never such marvelous fireworks as these. no wonder happy toko, gazing in delight, forgot his promises to his royal master. soon the scarecrow's fears were realized, and his straw stuffing began to smoke. "put me out! put me out!" cried the scarecrow, as a shower of sparks settled in his lap. the royal band made such a din and the courtiers such a clatter that happy did not hear. all of the silver islanders were intent on the display, and they forgot all about their unhappy and smoking emperor. "help! water! water! fire!" screamed the scarecrow, jumping off his throne and knocking happy head over heels. thus brought to his senses, happy hurriedly seized the watering can and sprinkled its contents on the smoking emperor. "am i out?" gasped the emperor anxiously. "a fine way to celebrate a victory, lighting me up like a roman candle!" "yes, dear master," said the repentant happy, helping the dripping scarecrow to his feet, "it only scorched your royal robe. and it's all over, anyway. let us go in." the dripping emperor was quite ready to follow his imperial punster's advice. "now that i am put out, let us by all means go in," said the scarecrow gloomily, and the two slipped off without anyone noticing their departure. "i'm afraid i'll have to have some new stuffing tomorrow," observed the scarecrow, sinking dejectedly on his throne. "tappy, my dear boy, after this never leave me alone, do you hear?" happy toko made no reply. he had fallen asleep beside the imperial throne. the scarecrow might have called his court, but he was in no mood for more of the silver islanders' idea of a good time. he longed for the dear friends of his loved land of oz. one by one the lights winked out in the gardens, and the noisy company dispersed, and soon no one in the palace was awake but the scarecrow. his straw was wet and soggy, and even his excellent brains felt damp and dull. "if it weren't for tappy oko, how lonely i should be." he stared through the long, dim, empty hall with its shimmering silver screens and vases. "i wonder what little dorothy is doing," sighed the scarecrow wistfully. chapter 10 princess ozma and betsy bobbin talk it over "dorothy must be having a lovely time at the scarecrow's," remarked betsy bobbin to ozma one afternoon as they sat reading in the royal gardens several days after dorothy's departure from the emerald city of oz. "one always has a jolly time at the scarecrow's," laughed the little queen of oz. "i must look in my magic picture and see what they are doing. too bad she missed the a-b-sea serpent and rattlesnakes. weren't they the funniest creatures?" both the little girls (for ozma is really just a little girl) went off into a gale of laughter. the two queer creatures had followed the scarecrow's advice and had spent their vacation in the emerald city, and partly because they were so dazzled by their surroundings and partly because they have no sort of memories whatever, they never mentioned the scarecrow himself or said anything about his plan to hunt his family tree. they talked incessantly of the mer city and told innumerable a-b-sea stories to scraps and the tin woodman and the children of the emerald city. when they were ready to go, the a-b-sea serpent snapped off its x block for ozma. x, he said, meant almost everything, and pretty well expressed his gratitude to the lovely little ruler of oz. ozma in turn gave each of the visitors an emerald collar, and that very morning they had started back to the munchkin river, and all the celebrities of oz had gotten up to see them off. "maybe they'll come again some time," said betsy bobbin, swinging her feet. "but look, ozma, here comes a messenger." a messenger it surely was, dressed in the quaint red costume of the quadlings. it was from glinda, the good sorceress, and caused the princess to sigh with vexation. "tell jack pumpkinhead to harness the sawhorse to the red wagon," said ozma after glancing hastily at the little note. "the horners and hoppers are at war again. and tell the wizard to make ready for a journey." "may i come, too,?" asked betsy. ozma nodded with a troubled little frown, and betsy bustled off importantly. not many little girls are called upon to help settle wars and rule a country as wonderful as oz. the horners and hoppers are a quarrelsome and curious folk living in the quadling mountains, and soon ozma, jack pumpkinhead, betsy and the wizard of oz were rattling off at the best speed the sawhorse could manage. this was pretty fast, for the little horse, being made of wood and magically brought to life, never tires and could outrun anything on legs in the fairy kingdom of oz. but the fact that interests us is that ozma did not look in the magic picture or see what exciting adventures the scarecrow and dorothy really were having! as for professor wogglebug, who had caused all the trouble, he was busily at work on the twelfth chapter of the royal book of oz, which he had modestly headed: h. m. wogglebug t.e., prince of bugs, cultured and eminent educator and also great grand and general genealogist of oz. chapter 11 sir hokus overcometh the giant "i don't believe we'll ever find the way out of this forest." dorothy stopped with a discouraged little sigh and leaned against a tree. they had followed the road for several hours. first it had been fine and wide, but it had gradually dwindled to a crooked little path that wound crazily in and out through the trees. although it was almost noonday, not a ray of sun penetrated through the dim green depths. "methinks," said sir hokus, peering into the gloom ahead, "that a great adventure is at hand." the cowardly lion put back his ears. "what makes you methink so?" he rumbled anxiously. "hark thee!" said sir hokus, holding up his finger warningly. from a great way off sounded a curious thumping. it was coming nearer and nearer. "good gracious!" cried dorothy, catching hold of the cowardly lion's mane. "this is worse than pokes!" "perchance it is a dragon," exulted the knight, drawing his short sword. "ah, how it would refresh me to slay a dragon!" "i don't relish dragons myself. scorched my tongue on one once," said the cowardly lion huskily. "but i'll fight with you, brother hokus. stand back, dorothy dear." as the thuds grew louder, the knight fairly danced up and down with excitement. "approach, villain!" he roared lustily. "approach till i impale thee on my lance. ah, had i but a horse!" "i'd let you ride on my back if it weren't for that hard tin suit," said the cowardly lion. "but cheer up, my dear hokus, your voice is a little hoarse." dorothy giggled nervously, then seized hold of a small tree, for the whole forest was rocking. "how now!" gasped the knight. there was a terrific quake that threw sir hokus on his face and sent every hair in the lion's mane on end, and then a great foot came crashing down through the treetops not three paces from the little party. before they could even swallow, a giant hand flashed down-ward, jerked up a handful of trees by the roots, and disappeared, while a voice from somewhere way above shouted: what are little humans for? to feed the giant bangladore. broiled or toasted, baked or roasted, i smell three or maybe four! "you hear that?" quavered the cowardly lion. sir hokus did not answer. his helmet had been jammed down by his fall, and he was tugging it upward with both hands. frightened though dorothy was, she ran to the knight's assistance. "have at you!" cried sir hokus as soon as the opening in his helmet was opposite his eyes. "forward!" "my heart is beating a retreat," gulped the cowardly lion, but he bounded boldly after sir hokus. "varlet!" hissed the knight, and raising his sword gave a mighty slash at the giant's ankle, which was broad as three tree trunks, while the cowardly lion gave a great spring and sank his teeth in the giant's huge leg. "ouch!" roared the giant in a voice that shook every leaf in the forest. "you stop, or i'll tell my father!" with that, he gave a hop that sent sir hokus flying into the treetops, stumbled over a huge rock, and came crashing to the earth, smashing trees like grass blades. at the giant's first scream, dorothy shut her eyes and, putting her hands over her ears, had run as far and as fast as she could. at the awful crash, she stopped short, opened her eyes, and stared 'round giddily. the giant was flat on his back, but as he was stretched as far as four city blocks, only half of him was visible. the cowardly lion still clung to his leg, and he was gurgling and struggling in a way dorothy could not understand. she looked around in a panic for the knight. just then, sir hokus dropped from the branch of a tree. "uds daggers!" he puffed, looking ruefully at his sword, which had snapped off at the handle, "'tis a pretty rogue!" "don't you think we'd better run?" shiver dorothy, thinking of the giant's song. "not while i wear these colors!" exclaimed sir hokus, proudly touching dorothy's hair ribbon, which still adorned his arm. "come, my good lion, let us dispatch this braggart and saucy monster." "father!" screamed the giant, making no attempt to move. "he seems to be frightened, himself," whispered dorothy to the knight. "but whatever is the matter with the cowardly lion?" at that minute, the cowardly lion gave a great jerk and began backing with his four feet braced. the piece of giant leg that he had hold of stretched and stretched, and while sir hokus and dorothy stared in amazement, it snapped off and the cowardly lion rolled head over paws. "taffy!" roared the cowardly lion, sitting up and trying to open his jaws, which were firmly stuck together. "taffy!" at this, sir hokus sprang nimbly on the giant's leg, ran up his chest, and perched bravely on his peppermint collar. "surrender, knave!" he demanded threateningly. dorothy, seeing she could do nothing to help the cowardly lion, followed. on her way up, she broke off a tiny piece of his coat and found it most delicious chocolate. "why, he's all made of candy!" she cried excitedly. "oh, hush!" sobbed the giant, rolling his great sourball eyes. "i'd be eaten in a minute if it were known." "you were mighty anxious to eat us a while ago," said dorothy, looking longingly at the giant's coat buttons. they seemed to be large marshmallows. "go away!" screamed the giant, shaking so that dorothy slid into his vest pocket. "no one under forty feet is allowed in this forest!" dorothy climbed crossly out of the giant's pocket. "we didn't come because we wanted to," she assured him, wiping the chocolate off her nose. "odds bodikins! i cannot fight a great baby like this," sighed sir hokus, dodging just in time a great, sugary tear that had rolled down the giant's nose. "he's got to apologize for that song, though." "wait!" cried dorothy suddenly. "i have an idea. if you set us down on the edge of the forest and give us all your vest buttons for lunch, we won't tell anyone you're made of candy. we'll let you go," she called loudly, for the giant had begun to sob again. "won't you? will you?" sniffed the foolish giant. "never sing that song again!" commanded the knight sternly. "no, sir," answered the giant meekly. "did your dog chew much of my leg, sir?" then, before dorothy or sir hokus had time to way a word, they were snatched up in sticky fingers and next minute were dropped with a thump in a large field of daisies. "oh!" spluttered dorothy as the giant made off on his taffy legs. "oh, we've forgotten the cowardly lion!" but at that minute, the giant reappeared, and the lion was dropped beside them. "what's this? what's this?" growled the cowardly lion, looking around wildly. "we got him to lift us out of the forest," explained dorothy. "have you swallowed the taffy?" the lion was still dizzy from his ride and only shook his head feebly. sir hokus sighed and sat heavily down on a large rock. "there is no sort of honor, methinks, in overcoming a candy giant," he observed, looking wistfully at the plume still pinned to dorothy's dress. "ah, had it but been a proper fight!" "you didn't know he was candy. i think you were just splendid." jumping up, dorothy fastened the plume in the knight's helmet. "and you're talking just beautifully, more like a knight every minute," she added with conviction. sir hokus tried not to look pleased. "give me a meat enemy! my teeth ache yet! first singing, then candy-leg pulling! gr-ugh! what next?" growled the cowardly lion. "why, lunch, if you feel like eating," said dorothy, beginning to give out the vest buttons which the giant had obediently ripped off and left for them. they _were_ marshmallows, the size of pie plates, and dorothy and sir hokus found them quite delicious. the cowardly lion, however, after a doubtful sniff and sneeze from the powdered sugar, declined and went off to find something more to his taste. "we had better take some of these along," said dorothy when she and sir hokus had eaten several. "we may need them later." "everything is yellow, so we must be in the winkie country," announced the cowardly lion, who had just returned from his lunch. "there's a road, too." "mayhap it will take us to the jeweled city of your gracious queen." sir hokus shaded his eyes and stared curiously at the long lane stretching invitingly ahead of them. "well, anyway, we're out of the forest and pokes, and maybe we'll meet someone who will tell us about the scarecrow. come on!" cried dorothy gaily. "i think we're on the right track this time." chapter 12 dorothy and sir hokus come to fix city the afternoon went pleasantly for the three travelers. the road was wide and shady and really seemed a bit familiar. dorothy rode comfortably on the cowardly lion's back and to pass the time told sir hokus all about oz. he was particularly interested in the scarecrow. "grammercy! he should be knighted!" he exclaimed, slapping his knee, as dorothy told how the clever straw man had helped outwit the gnome king when that wicked little rascal had tried to keep them prisoners in his underground kingdom. "but, go to! where is the gallant man now?" the knight sobered quickly. "mayhap in need of a strong arm! mayhap at the mercy of some terrible monster!" "oh, i hope not!" cried dorothy, dismayed at so dark a picture. "why, oh why, did he bother about his family tree?" "trust the scarecrow to take care of himself," said the cowardly lion in a gruff voice. nevertheless, he quickened his steps. "the sooner we reach the emerald city, the sooner we'll know where he is!" the country through which they were passing was beautiful, but quite deserted. about five o'clock, they came to a clear little stream, and after dorothy and sir hokus had washed their faces and the cowardly lion had taken a little plunge, they all felt refreshed. later they came to a fine pear orchard, and as no one was about they helped themselves generously. the more dorothy and the cowardly lion saw of sir hokus, the fonder of him they grew. he was so kind-hearted and so polite. "he'll be great company for us back in the emerald city," whispered the cowardly lion as the knight went off to get dorothy a drink from a little spring. "that is, if he forgets this grammercy, bludgeon stuff." "i think it sounds lovely," said dorothy, "and he's remembering more of it all the time. but i wonder why there are no people here. i do hope we meet some before night." but no person did they meet. as it grew darker, sir hokus' armor began to creak in a quite frightful manner. armor is not meant for walking, and the poor knight was stiff and tired, but he made no complaint. "need oiling, don't you?" asked the cowardly lion, peering anxiously at him through the gloom. "joints in my armor a bit rusty," puffed sir hokus, easing one foot and then the other. "ah, had i my good horse!" he expressively waved a piece of the giant's button at which he had been nibbling. "better climb up behind dorothy," advised the cowardly lion, but sir hokus shook his head, for he knew the lion was tired, too. "i'll manage famously. this very night i may find me a steed!" "how?" asked the lion with a yawn. "if i sleep beneath these trees, i may have a knight mare," chuckled sir hokus triumphantly. "br-rrr!" roared the cowardly lion while dorothy clapped her hands. but they were not to sleep beneath the trees after all, for a sudden turn in the road brought them right to the gates of another city. they knew it must be a city because a huge, lighted sign hung over the gate. "fix city," read dorothy. "what a funny name!" "maybe they can fix us up," rumbled the lion, winking at sir hokus. "perchance we shall hear news of the valiant scarecrow!" cried the knight, and limping forward he thumped on the gate with his mailed fist. dorothy and the cowardly lion pressed close behind him and waited impatiently for someone to open the gate. a bell rang loud back in the town. the next instant, the gates flew open so suddenly that the three adventurers were flung violently on their faces. "out upon them!" blustered sir hokus, getting up stiffly and running to help dorothy. "what way is this to welcome strangers?" he pulled the little girl hastily to her feet, then they all ran forward, for the gates were swinging shut again. it was almost as light as day, for lanterns were everywhere, but strangely enough they seemed to dart about like huge fireflies, and dorothy ducked involuntarily as a red one bobbed down almost in her face. then she gasped in real earnest and caught hold of sir hokus. "uds daggers!" wheezed the knight. two large bushes were running down the path, and right in front of dorothy the larger caught the smaller and began pulling out its leaves. "leave off! leave off!" screamed the little bush. "that's what i'm doing," said the big bush savagely. "there won't be a leaf on when i get through with you." "unhand him, villain!" cried sir hokus, waving his sword at the large bush. the two bushes looked up in surprise, and when they saw dorothy, the cowardly lion and sir hokus, they fell into each other's branches and burst into the most uproarious laughter. "my dear magnolia, this is rich! oh, dear fellow, wait till sit sees this; he will be convulsed!" quite forgetting their furious quarrel, the two went rollicking down the path together, stopping every few minutes to look back and laugh at the three strangers. "is this usual?" asked sir hokus, looking quite dazed. "i never heard of bushes talking or running around, but i confess i'm a few centuries behind times!" "neither did i!" exclaimed dorothy. "but then--almost anything's likely to happen in oz." "if these lanterns don't look out something will happen. i'll break 'em to bits," growled the cowardly lion, who had been dodging half a dozen at once. "how would we look--out?" sniffed one, flying at dorothy. "you could light out--or go out," giggled the little girl. "we never go out unless we're put out," cried another, but as the cowardly lion made a few springs, they flew high into the air and began talking indignantly among themselves. by this time, the three had become accustomed to the changing lights. "i wonder where the people are," said dorothy, peering down a wide avenue. "there don't seem to be any houses. oh, look!" three tables set for dinner with the most appetizing viands were walking jauntily down the street, talking fluent china. "there must be people!" cried dorothy. "one dinner for each of us," rumbled the cowardly lion, licking his chops. "come on!" "perchance they will invite us. if we follow the dinners, we'll come to the diners," said sir hokus mildly. "right--as usual." the cowardly lion looked embarrassed, for he had intended pouncing on the tables without further ceremony. "hush! let's go quietly. if they hear us, they may run and upset the dishes," warned dorothy. so the three walked softly after the dinner tables, their curiosity about the people of fix growing keener at every step. several chairs, a sofa and a clothes tree rushed past them, but as dorothy said later to ozma, after talking bushes, nothing surprised them. the tables turned the corner at the end of the avenue three abreast, and the sight that greeted dorothy and her comrades was strange indeed. down each side of a long street as far as they could see stood rows and rows of people. each one was in the exact center of a chalked circle, and they were so still that dorothy thought they must be statues. but no sooner had the three tables made their appearance than bells began ringing furiously all up and down the street, and dinner tables and chairs came running from every direction. all the inhabitants of fix city looked alike. they had large, round heads, broad placid faces, double chins, and no waists whatever. their feet were flat and about three times as long as the longest you have ever seen. the women wore plain mother hubbard dresses and straw sailor hats, and the men gingham suits. while the three friends were observing all this, the tables had been taking their places. one stopped before each fix, and the chairs, after much bumping and quarreling, placed themselves properly. at a signal from the fix in the center, the whole company sat down without so much as moving their feet. dorothy, sir hokus and the cowardly lion had been too interested to speak, but at this minute a whole flock of the mischievous lanterns clustered over their heads, and at the sudden blare of light the whole street stopped eating and stared. "oh!" cried the fix nearest them, pointing with his fork, "look at the runabouts!" "this way, please! this way, please! don't bark your shins. don't take any more steps than you can help!" boomed an important voice from the middle of the street. so down the center marched the three, feeling--as the cowardly lion put it--exactly like a circus. "stop! names, please!" the fix next to the center put up his knife commandingly. sir hokus stepped forward with a bow: "princess dorothy of oz, the cowardly lion of oz." "and sir hokus of pokes," roared the lion as the knight modestly stepped back without announcing himself. "sir pokus of hoax, howardly kion of boz, and little girl beginning with d," bellowed the fix, "meet his royal highness, king fix it, and the noble fixitives." "little girl beginning with d! that's too long," complained the king, who, with the exception of his crown, looked like all the rest of them, "i'll leave out the middle. what do you want, little with d?" "my name is dorothy, and if your highness could give us some dinner and tell us something about the scarecrow and--" "one thing at a time, please," said the king reprovingly. "what does poker want, and boz? have they anything to spend?" "only the night, an' it please your gracious highness," said sir hokus with his best bow. "it doesn't please me especially," said the king, taking a sip of water. "and there! you've brought up another question. how do you want to spend it?" he folded his hands helplessly on the table and looked appealingly at the fix next to him. "how am i to settle all these questions, sticken? first they come running around like crazy chairs, and--" "you might ring for a settle," suggested sticken, looking curiously at sir hokus. the king leaned back with a sigh of relief, then touched a bell. there were at least twenty bells set on a high post at his right hand, and all of the fixes seemed to have similar bell posts. "he's talking perfect nonsense," said dorothy angrily. the cowardly lion began to roll his eyes ominously. "let me handle this, my dear. i'm used to kings," whispered sir hokus. "most of 'em talk nonsense. but if he grows wroth, we'll have all the furniture in the place around our ears. now just--" bump! sir hokus and dorothy sat down quite suddenly. the settle had arrived and hit them smartly behind the knees. the cowardly lion dodged just in time and lay down with a growl beside it. "now that you're settled," began the king in a resigned voice, "we might try again. what is your motto?" this took even sir hokus by surprise, but before he could answer, the king snapped out: "come late and stay early! how's that?" "very good," said sir hokus with a wink at dorothy. "next time, don't come at all," mumbled sticken plaster, his mouth full of biscuit. "and you wanted?" the king asked uneasily. "dinner for three," said the knight promptly and with another bow. "now that's talking." the king looked admiringly at sir hokus. "this little with d had matters all tangled up. one time at a thing! that's my motto!" leaning over, the king pressed another button. by this time, the fixes had lost interest in the visitors and went calmly on with their dinners. three tables came pattering up, and the settle drew itself up of its own accord. dorothy placed the cowardly lion's dinner on the ground, and then she and sir hokus enjoyed the first good meal they had had since they left pokes. they were gradually becoming used to their strange surroundings. "you ask him about the scarecrow," begged dorothy. everybody had finished, and the tables were withdrawing in orderly groups. the king was leaning sleepily back in his chair. "ahem," began the knight, rising stiffly, "has your majesty seen aught of a noble scarecrow? and could your supreme fixity tell us aught--" the king's eyes opened. "you're out of turn," he interrupted crossly. "we're only to the second question. how will you spend the night?" "in sleep," answered sir hokus promptly, "if your majesty permits." "i do," said the king solemnly. "that gets me out of entertaining. early to bed and late to rise, that's my motto. next! it's your turn," he added irritably as sir hokus did not immediately answer. "have you seen aught of the noble scarecrow?" asked sir hokus, and all of them waited anxiously for the king's reply. "i don't know about _the_ scarecrow. i've seen _a_ scarecrow, and a sensible chap he was, hanging still like a reasonable person and letting chairs and tables chase themselves 'round." "where was he?" asked sir hokus in great agitation. "in a picture," said the king. "wait, i'll ring for it." "no use," said the knight in a disappointed voice. "we're looking for a man." "would you mind telling me why you are all so still, and why all your furniture runs around?" asked dorothy, who was growing a little restless. "you forget where you are, and you're out of turn. but i'll overlook it this once," said the king. "have you ever noticed, little with d, that furniture lasts longer than people?" "why, yes," admitted dorothy. "well, there you are!" king fix sit folded his hands and regarded her complacently. "here we manage things better. we stand still and let the furniture run around and wear itself out. how does it strike you?" "it seem sensible," acknowledged dorothy. "but don't you ever grow tired of standing still?" "i've heard of growing hair and flowers and corn, but never of growing tired. what is it?" asked sticken plaster, leaning toward dorothy. "i think she's talked enough," said the king, closing his eyes. sir hokus had been staring anxiously at the king for some time. now he came close to the monarch's side, and standing on tiptoe whispered hoarsely: "hast any dragons here?" "did you say wagons?" asked the king, opening his eyes with a terrible yawn. "dragons!" hissed the knight. "never heard of 'em," said the king. the cowardly lion chuckled behind his whiskers, and sir hokus in great confusion stepped back. "what time is it?" demanded the king suddenly. he touched a bell, and next minute a whole company of clocks came running down the street. the big ones pushed the little ones, and a grandfather clock ran so fast that it tripped over a cobblestone and fell on its face, which cracked all the way across. "you've plenty of time; why don't you take it?" called the king angrily, while two clothes trees helped the clock to its feet. "they're all different," giggled dorothy, nudging the cowardly lion. some pointed to eight o'clock, some to nine, and others to half past ten. "why shouldn't they be different?" asked sticken haughtily. "some run faster than others!" "pass the time, please," said the king, looking hard at dorothy. "the lazy lump!" growled the cowardly lion. but dorothy picked up the nearest little clock and handed it to king fix sit. "i thought so," yawned the king, pointing at the clock. at this, everybody began ringing bells till dorothy was obliged to cover her ears. in an instant, the whole street was filled with beds, "rolling up just as if they were taxis," laughed dorothy to sir hokus. the knight smiled faintly, but as he had never seen a taxi, he could not appreciate dorothy's remark. "here come your beds," said the king shortly. "tell them to take you around the corner. i can't abide snoring." "i don't snore, thank you," said dorothy angrily, but the king had stepped into his bed and drawn the curtains tight. "we might as well go to bed, i 'spose," said the little girl. "i'm so tired!" the three beds were swaying restlessly in the middle of the street. they were tall, four-post affairs with heavy chintz hangings. dorothy chose the blue one, and sir hokus lifted her up carefully and then went off to catch his bed, which had gotten into an argument with a lamppost. when he spoke to it sharply, it left off and came trotting over to him. the cowardly lion, contrary to his usual custom, leaped into his bed, and soon the three four-posters were walking quietly down the street, evidently following the king's instructions. dorothy slipped off her shoes and dress and nestled comfortably down among the soft covers. "just like sleeping in a train," she thought drowsily. "what a lot i shall have to tell the scarecrow and ozma when i get home." "good night!" said the bed politely. "good night!" said dorothy, too nearly asleep to even think it strange for a bed to talk. "good night!" chapter 13 dancing beds and the roads that unrolled "it must be a shipwreck," thought dorothy, sitting up in alarm. she seemed to be tossing about wildly. "time for little girls to get up," grumbled a harsh voice that seemed to come from the pillows. dorothy rubbed her eyes. one of the bedposts was addressing her, and the big four-poster itself was dancing a regular jig. "oh, stop!" cried dorothy, holding on to the post to keep from bouncing out. "can't you see i'm awake?" "well, i go off duty now, and you'll have to hurry," said the bed sulkily. "i'm due at the lecture at nine." "lecture?" gasped dorothy. "what's so queer about that?" demanded the bed coldly. "i've got to keep well posted, haven't i? i belong to a polished set, i do. hurry up, little girl, or i'll throw you out." "i'm glad my bed doesn't talk to me in this impertinent fashion," thought dorothy, slipping into her dress and combing her hair with her side comb. "imagine being ordered about by a bed! i wonder if sir hokus is up." parting the curtains, she jumped down, and the bed, without even saying goodbye, took itself off. sir hokus was sitting on a stile, polishing his armor with a pillowslip he had taken from his bed, and the cowardly lion was lying beside him lazily thumping his tail and making fun of the passing furniture. "have you had breakfast?" asked dorothy, joining her friends. "we were waiting for your ladyship," chuckled the cowardly lion. "would you mind ordering two for me, hokus? i find one quite insufficient." sir hokus threw away the pillowslip, and talking cheerfully they walked toward king fix sit's circle. the beds had been replaced by breakfast tables, and the whole street was eating busily. "good morning, king," said sir hokus. "four breakfasts, please." the king rang a bell four times without looking up from his oatmeal. seeing that he did not wish to be disturbed, the three waited quietly for their tables. "in some ways," said dorothy, contentedly munching a hot roll, "in some ways this is a very comfortable place." "in sooth 'tis that," mumbled sir hokus, his mouth full of baked apple. as for the cowardly lion, he finished his two breakfasts in no time. "and now," said sir hokus as the tables walked off, "let us continue our quest. could'st tell us the way to the emerald city, my good king fix?" "if you go, go away. and if you stay, stay away. that's my motto," answered king fix shortly. "i can't have people running around here like common furniture," he added in a grieved voice. all the fix its nodded vigorously. "let them take their stand or their departure," said sticken plaster firmly. the king felt in his pocket and brought out three pieces of chalk. "go to the end of the street. choose a place and draw your circle. in five minutes you will find it impossible to move out of the circle, and you will be saved all this unnecessary motion." "but we don't want to come to a standstill," objected dorothy. "no, by my good sword!" spluttered the knight, glaring around nervously. then, seeing the king looked displeased, he made a low bow. "if your highness could graciously direct us out of the city--" "buy a piece of road and go where it takes you," snapped the king. seeing no more was to be got out of him, they started down the long street. "i wonder what they do when it rains?" said dorothy, looking curiously at the solemn rows of people. "call for roofs, silly!" snapped a fix, staring at her rudely. "if you would spend your time thinking instead of walking, you'd know more." "go to, and swallow a gooseberry!" roared the knight, waving his sword at the fix, and dorothy, fearing an encounter, begged him to come on, which he did--though with many backward glances. fix city seemed to consist of one long street, and they had soon come to the very end. "uds daggers!" gasped sir hokus. "great palm trees," roared the cowardly lion. as for dorothy, she could do nothing but stare. the street ended surely enough, and beyond there was nothing at all. that is, nothing but air. "well," said the cowardly lion, backing a few paces, "this is a pretty fix." "glad you like it," said a wheezy voice. the three travelers turned in surprise. a huge fix was regarding them with interest. his circle, which was the last in the row, was about twenty times as large as the other circles, and on the edge stood a big sign:' "don't you remember, the king said something about buying a road," said dorothy in an excited undertone to the knight. "can'st direct us to a road, my good man?" asked sir hokus with a bow. the fix jerked his thumb back at the sign. "what kind of a road to you want?" he asked hoarsely. "a road that will take us back to the emerald city, please," said dorothy. "i can't guarantee anything like that," declared the fix, shaking his head. "our roads go where they please, and you'll have to go where they take you. do you want to go on or off?" "on," shivered the cowardly lion, looking with a shudder over the precipice at the end of the street. "what kind of a road will you have? make up your minds, please. i am busy." "what kind of roads have you?" asked dorothy timidly. it was her first experience at buying roads, and she felt a bit perplexed. "sunny, shady, straight, crooked, and cross-roads," snapped the fix. "we wouldn't want a cross one," said dorothy positively. "have you any with trees at both sides and water at the end?" "how many yards?" asked the fix, taking a pair of shears as large as himself off a long counter beside him. "five miles," said sir hokus as dorothy looked confused. "that ought to take us somewhere!" the fix rang one of the bells in the counter. the next minute, a big trap door in the ground opened, and a perfectly huge roll bounced out at his feet. "get on," commanded the fix in such a sharp tone that the three jumped to obey. holding fast to sir hokus, dorothy stepped on the piece of road that had already unrolled. the cowardly lion, looking very anxious, followed. no sooner had they done so than the road gave a terrific leap forward that stretched the three flat upon their backs and started unwinding from its spool at a terrifying speed. as it unrolled, tall trees snapped erect on each side and began laughing derisively at the three travelers huddled together in the middle. "g-g-glad we only took five miles," stuttered dorothy to the knight, whose armor was rattling like a ford. the cowardly lion had wound his tail around a tree and dug his claws into the road, for he had no intention of falling off into nothingness. as for the road, it snapped along at about a mile a minute, and before they had time to grow accustomed to this singular mode of travel, it gave a final jump that sent them circling into the air, and began rapidly winding itself up. down, down, down whirled dorothy, falling with a resounding splash into a broad stream of water. then down, down, down again, almost to the bottom. "help!" screamed dorothy as her head rose above water, and she began striking out feebly. but the fall through the air had taken all her breath. "what do you want?" a thin, neat little man was watching her anxiously from the bank, making careful notes in a book that he held in one hand. "help! save me!" choked dorothy, feeling herself going down in the muddy stream again. "wait! i'll look it up under the 'h's," called the little man, making a trumpet of his hands. "are you an island? an island is a body of land entirely surrounded by water, but this seems to be a some-body," dorothy heard him mutter as he whipped over several pages of his book. "sorry," he called back, shaking his head slowly, "but this is the wrong day. i only save lives on monday." "stand aside, mem, you villain!" a second little man exactly like the first except that he was exceedingly untidy plunged into the stream. "it's no use," thought dorothy, closing her eyes, for he had jumped in far below the spot where she had fallen and was making no progress whatever. the waters rushed over her head the second time. then she felt herself being dragged upward. when she opened her eyes, the cowardly lion was standing over her. "are you all right?" he rumbled anxiously. "i came as soon as i could. fell in way upstream. seen hokus?" "oh, he'll drown," cried dorothy, forgetting her own narrow escape. "he can't swim in that heavy armor!" "never fear, i'll get him," puffed the cowardly lion, and without waiting to catch his breath he plunged back into the stream. the little man who only saved lives on monday now approached timidly. "i'd like to get a statement from you, if you don't mind. it might help me in the future." "you might have helped me in the present," said dorothy, wringing out her dress. "you ought to be ashamed of yourself." "i'll make a note of that," said the little man earnestly. "but how did you feel when you went down?" he waited, his pencil poised over the little book. "go away," cried dorothy in disgust. "but my dear young lady--" "i'm not your dear young lady. oh, dear, why doesn't the cowardly lion come back?" "go away, mem." the second little man, dripping wet, came up hurriedly. "i was only trying to get a little information," grumbled mem sulkily. "i'm sorry i couldn't swim faster," said the wet little man, approaching dorothy apologetically. "well, thank you for trying," said dorothy. "is he your brother? and could you tell me where you are? you're dressed in yellow, so i 'spose it must be somewhere in the winkie country." "right in both cases," chuckled the little fellow. "my name is ran and his name is memo." he jerked his thumb at the retiring twin. "randum and memo--see?" "i think i do," said dorothy, half closing her eyes. "is that why he's always taking notes?" "exactly," said ran. "i do everything at random, and he does everything at memorandum." "it must be rather confusing," said dorothy. then as she caught sight of the cowardly lion dragging sir hokus, she jumped up excitedly. ran, however, took one look at the huge beast and then fled, calling for mem at the top of his voice. and that is the last dorothy saw of these singular twins. the lion dropped sir hokus in a limp heap. when dorothy unfastened his armor, gallons of water rushed out. "sho good of--of--you," choked the poor knight, trying to straighten up. "save your breath, old fellow," said the cowardly lion, regarding him affectionately. "oh, why did i ask for water on the end of the road?" sighed dorothy. "but, anyway, we're in some part of the winkie country." sir hokus, though still spluttering, was beginning to revive. "yon noble bheast shall be knighted. uds daggers! that's the shecond time he's shaved my life!" rising unsteadily, he tottered over to the lion and struck him a sharp blow on the shoulder. "rishe, shir cowardly lion," he cried hoarsely, and fell headlong, and before dorothy or the lion had recovered from their surprise he was fast asleep, mumbling happily of dragons and bludgeons. "we'll have to wait till he gets rested," said dorothy. "and until i get dry." she began running up and down, then stopped suddenly before the lion. "and there's something else for professor wogglebug to put in his book, sir cowardly lion." "oh, that!" mumbled the cowardly lion, looking terribly embarrassed. "whoever heard of a cowardly knight? nonsense!" "no, it isn't nonsense," said dorothy stoutly. "you're a knight from now on. won't the scarecrow be pleased?" "if we ever find him," sighed the lion, settling himself beside sir hokus. "we will," said dorothy gaily. "i just feel it." chapter 14 sons and grandsons greet the scarecrow although the scarecrow had been on silver island only a few days, he had already instituted many reforms, and thanks to his cleverness the people were more prosperous than ever before. cheers greeted him wherever he went, and even old chew chew was more agreeable and no longer made bitter remarks to happy toko. the scarecrow himself, however, had four new wrinkles and was exceedingly melancholy. he missed the carefree life in oz, and every minute that he was not ruling the island he was thinking about his old home and dear, jolly comrades in the emerald city. "i almost hope they will look in the magic picture and wish me back again," he mused pensively. "but it is my duty to stay here. i have a family to support." so he resolved to put the best face he could on the matter, and happy toko did his utmost to cheer up his royal master. the second morning after the great victory, he came running into the silver throne room in a great state of excitement. "the honorable offspring have arriven!" announced happy, turning a somersault. "come, ancient and amiable sir, and gaze upon your sons and grandsons!" the scarecrow sprang joyously from his silver throne, upsetting a bowl of silver fish and three silver vases. at last a real family! ever since his arrival, the three princes and their fifteen little sons had been cruising on the royal pleasure barge, so that the scarecrow had not caught a glimpse of them. "this is the happiest moment of my life!" he exclaimed, clasping his yellow gloves and watching the door intently. happy looked a little uneasy, for he knew the three princes to be exceedingly haughty and overbearing, but he said nothing, and next minute the scarecrow's family stepped solemnly into the royal presence. "children!" cried the scarecrow, and with his usual impetuousness rushed forward and flung his arms around the first richly clad prince. "take care! take care, ancient and honorable papa!" cried the young silverman, backing away. "such excitement is not good for one of your advanced years." he drew himself away firmly and, adjusting a huge pair of silver spectacles, regarded the scarecrow attentively. "ah, how you have changed!" "he looks very feeble, too fang, but may he live long to rule this flowery island and our humble selves!" said the second prince, bowing stiffly. "do you not find the affairs of state fatiguing, darling papa?" inquired the third prince, fingering a jeweled chain that hung around his neck. "i, as your eldest son, shall be delighted to relieve you should you wish to retire. get back ten paces, you!" he roared at happy toko. the poor scarecrow had been so taken aback by this cool reception that he just stared in disbelief. "if the three honorable princes will retire themselves, i will speak with my grandsons," he said dryly, bowing in his most royal manner. the three princes exchanged startled glances. then, with three low salaams, they retired backward from the hall. "and now, my dears--!" the scarecrow looked wistfully at his fifteen silken-clad little grandsons. their silver hair, plaited tightly into little queues, stood out stiffly on each side of their heads and gave them a very curious appearance. at his first word, the fifteen fell dutifully on their noses. as soon as they were right side up, the scarecrow, beginning at the end of the row, addressed a joking question to each in his most approved oz style. but over they went again, and answered merely: "yes, gracious grand-papapapah!" or "no honorable grandpapapapah!" and the constant bobbing up and down and papahing so confused the poor scarecrow that he nearly gave up the conversation. "it's no use trying to talk to these children," he wailed in disgust, "they're so solemn. don't you ever laugh?" he cried in exasperation, for he had told them stories that would have sent the oz youngsters into hysterics. "it is not permissible for a prince to laugh at the remarks of his honorable grandparent," whispered happy toko, while the fifteen little princes banged their heads solemnly on the floor. "honorable fiddlesticks!" exclaimed the scarecrow, slumping back on his throne. "bring cushions." happy toko ran off nimbly, and soon the fifteen little princes were seated in a circle at the scarecrow's feet. "to prevent prostrations," said the scarecrow. "yes, old grandpapapapapah!" chorused the princes, bending over as far as they could. "wait!" said the scarecrow hastily, "i'll tell you a story. once upon a time, to a beautiful country called oz, which is surrounded on all sides by a deadly desert, there came a little girl named dorothy. a terrible gale--well, what's the matter now?" the scarecrow stopped short, for the oldest prince had jerked a book out of his sleeve and was flipping over the pages industriously. "it is not on the map, great grand papapapah," he announced solemnly, and all of the other little princes shook their heads and said dully, "not on the map." "not on the map--oz? of course it's not. do you suppose we want all the humans in creation coming there?" calming down, the scarecrow tried to continue his story, but every time he mentioned oz, the little princes shook their heads stubbornly and whispered, "not on the map," till the usually good-tempered scarecrow flew into perfect passion. "not on the map, you little villains!" he screamed, forgetting they were his grandsons. "what difference does that make? are your heads solid silver?" "we do not believe in oz," announced the oldest prince serenely. "there is no such place." "no such place as oz--happy, do you hear that?" the scarecrow's voice fairly crackled with indignation. "why, i thought everybody believed in oz!" "perhaps your highness can convince them later," suggested the imperial punster. "this way, offspring." his master, he felt, had had enough family for one day. so the fifteen little princes, with fifteen stiff little bows, took themselves back to the royal nursery. as for the scarecrow, he paced disconsolately up and down his magnificent throne room, tripping over his kimona at every other step. "you're a good boy, tappy," said the scarecrow as happy returned, "but i tell you being a grandparent is not what i thought it would be. did you hear them tell me right to my face they did not believe in oz? and my sons--ugh!" "fault of their bringing up," said happy toko comfortingly. "if your serene highness would just tell me more of that illustrious country!" happy knew that nothing cheered the scarecrow like talking of oz, and to tell the truth happy himself never tired of the scarecrow's marvelous stories. so the two slipped quietly into the palace gardens, and the scarecrow related for the fourteenth time the story of his discovery by dorothy and the story of ozma, and almost forgot that he was an emperor. "your highness knows the history of oz by heart," said happy admiringly as the scarecrow paused. "i couldn't do that," said the scarecrow gently, "for you see, happy, i have no heart." "then i wish we all had none!" exclaimed happy toko, rolling up his eyes. the scarecrow looked embarrassed, so the little punster threw back his head and sang a song he had been making up while the scarecrow had been telling his stories: the scarecrow was standing alone in a field, inviting the crows to keep off, when the straw in his chest began tickling his vest and he couldn't resist a loud cough. the noise that was heard so surprised ev'ry bird, that the flock flew away in a fright, but the scarecrow looked pleased, and he said "if i'd sneezed it wouldn't have been so polite." "ho!" roared the scarecrow, "you're almost as good at making verses as scraps, write that down for me, tappy. i'd like to show it to her." "hush!" whispered happy, holding up his finger warningly. the scarecrow turned so suddenly that the silver pigtail pinned to the back of his hat wound itself tightly around his neck. no wonder! on the other side of the hedge the three princes were walking up and down, conversing in indignant whispers. "what a horrible shape our honorable papa has reappeared in. i hear that it never wears out," muttered one. "he may continue just as he is for years and years. how am i ever to succeed him, i'd like to know. why, he may outlive us all!" "we might throw him into the silver river," said the second hopefully. "no use," choked the third. "i was just talking to the imperial soothsayer, and he tells me that no one from this miserable kingdom of oz can be destroyed. but i have a plan. incline your royal ears-listen." the voices dropped to such a low whisper that neither happy nor the scarecrow could hear one word. "treason!" spluttered happy, making ready to spring through the hedge, but the scarecrow seized him by the arm and drew him away. "i don't believe they like their poor papa," exclaimed the scarecrow when they were safely back in the throne room. "i'm feeling older than a kinkajou. ah, happy oko, why did i ever slide down my family tree? it has brought me nothing but unhappiness." chapter 15 the three princes plot to undo the emperor "let me help your imperial serenity!" "bring a cane!" "carefully, now!" the three royal princes, with every show of affection, were supporting the scarecrow to the silver bench in the garden where he usually sat during luncheon. "are you quite comfortable?" asked the elder. "here, happy, you rogue, fetch a scarf for his imperial highness. you must be careful, dear papa scarecrow. at your age, drafts are dangerous." the rascally prince wound the scarf about the scarecrow's neck. "what do you suppose they are up to?" asked the scarecrow, staring after the three suspiciously. "why this sudden devotion? it upsets my imperial serenity a lot." "trying to make you feel old," grumbled happy. several hours had passed since they had overheard the conversation in the garden. the scarecrow had decided to watch his sons closely and fall in with any plan they suggested so they would suspect nothing. then, when the time came, he would act. just what he would do he did not know, but his excellent brains would not, he felt sure, desert him. happy toko sat as close to the scarecrow as he could and scowled terribly whenever the princes approached, which was every minute or so during the afternoon. "how is the scarecrow's celestial old head?" "does he suffer from honorable gout?" "should they fetch the imperial doctor?" the scarecrow, who had never thought of age in his whole straw life, became extremely nervous. was he really old? did his head ache? when no one was looking, he felt himself carefully all over. then something of his old time oz spirit returned. seizing the cushion that his eldest son was placing at his back, he hurled it over his head. leaping from his throne, he began turning handsprings in a careless and sprightly manner. "don't you worry about your honorable old papa," chuckled the scarecrow, winking at happy toko. "he's good for a couple of centuries!" the three princes stared sourly at this exhibition of youth. "but your heart," objected the eldest prince. "have none," laughed the scarecrow. snatching off the silver cord from around his waist, he began skipping rope up and down the hall. the princes, tapping their foreheads significantly, retired, and the scarecrow, throwing his arm around happy toko, began whispering in his ear. he had a plan himself. they would see! * * * * * meanwhile, off in his dark cave in one of the silver mountains, the grand gheewizard of the silver island was stirring a huge kettle of magic. every few moments he paused to read out of a great yellow book that he had propped up on the mantle. the fire in the huge grate leaped fiercely under the big, black pot, and the sputtering candles on each side of the book sent creepy shadows into the dark cave. dark chests, books, bundles of herbs, and heaps of gold and silver were everywhere. whenever the gheewizard turned his back, a rheumatic silver-scaled old dragon would crawl toward the fire and swallow a mouthful of coals, until the old gheewizard caught him in the act and chained him to a ring in the corner of the cave. "be patient, little joy of my heart! our fortune is about to be made," hissed the wizened little man, waving a long iron spoon at the dragon. "you shall have a bucket of red-hot coals every hour and i a silver cap with a tassel. have not the royal princes promised it?" the dragon shuffled about and finally went to sleep, smoking sulkily. "is it finished, son of a yellow dog?" through the narrow opening of the cave, the youngest prince stuck his head. "i am working as fast as i can, honorable prince, but the elixir must boil yet one more night. tomorrow, when the sun shines on the first bar of your celestial window, come, and all will be ready." "are you sure you have found it?" asked the prince, withdrawing his head, for the smoking dragon and steam from the kettle made him cough. "quite sure," wheezed the grand gheewizard, and fell to stirring the kettle with all his might. * * * * * the scarecrow, although busy with trials in the great courtroom of the palace, felt that something unusual was in the air. the princes kept nodding to one another, and the grand chew chew and general mugwump had their heads together at every opportunity. "something's going to happen, tappy. i feel it in my straw," whispered the scarecrow as he finished trying the last case. at that very minute, the grand chew chew arose and held up his hand for silence. everybody paused in their way to the exits and looked with surprise at the old silverman. "i have to announce," said the grand chew chew in a solemn voice, "that the great and imperial chang wang woe will tomorrow be restored to his own rightful shape. the grand gheewizard of the realm has discovered a magic formula to break the enchantment and free him from this distressing scarecrow body. behold for the last the scarecrow of oz. tomorrow he will be our old and glorious emperor!" "old and glorious?" gasped the scarecrow, nearly falling from his throne. "tappy! i forgot to lock up the wizards. great cornstarch! tomorrow i will be eighty-five years old." such cheers greeted the grand chew chew's announcement that no one even noticed the scarecrow's distress. "i, also, have an announcement!" cried the eldest prince, standing up proudly. "to make the celebration of my royal papa's restoration complete, we have chosen the lovely and charming orange blossom for his bride." "bride!" gulped the scarecrow. "but i do not approve of second marriages. i refuse to--" no one paid the slightest attention to the scarecrow's remarks. "hold my hand, tappy," sighed the scarecrow weakly. "it may be your last chance." then he sat up and stared in good earnest, for the prince was leading forward a tall, richly clad lady. "orange blossom!" muttered the scarecrow under his breath. "he means lemon peel! silver grandmother, tappy!" orange blossom was a cross-looking princess of seventy-five, at least. "she is a sister of the king of the golden islands," whispered general mugwump. "of a richness surpassing your own. let me felicitate your highness." "fan me, tappy! fan me!" gasped the scarecrow. then he straightened himself suddenly. the time had come for action. he would say nothing to anyone, but that night he would escape and try to find his way back to oz, family or no family! he bowed graciously to princess orange blossom, to the grand chew chew, and to his sons. "let everything be made ready for the ceremony, and may tomorrow indeed bring me to myself," he repeated solemnly. nothing was talked of that evening but the emperor's impending marriage and the grand gheewizard's discovery. the scarecrow seemed the least excited person in the palace. sitting on his throne, he pretended to read the royal silver journal, but he was really waiting impatiently for the courtiers to retire. finally, when the last one had bowed himself out and only happy toko remained in the throne room, the scarecrow began making his plans. "it's no use, tappy," said he, tying up a few little trinkets for dorothy in a silk handkerchief, "i'd rather be straw than meat. i'd rather be a plain scarecrow in oz than emperor of the earth! they may be my sons, but all they want is my death. i'm going back to my old friends. i'd rather--". he got no farther. a huge slave seized him suddenly from behind, while another caught happy toko around his fat little waist. "tie them fast," said the eldest prince, smiling wickedly at the scarecrow. "here, tie him to the beanstalk. merely a part of the grand gheewizard's formula," he exclaimed maliciously as the struggling scarecrow was bound securely to his family tree. "good night, dear papa scarecrow. tomorrow you will be your old self again, and in a few short years _i_ will be emperor of the silver islands!" "this rather upsets our plans, eh tappy?" wheezed the scarecrow after a struggle with his bonds. "pigs! weasels!" choked tappy. "what are we to do?" "alas!" groaned the scarecrow. "tomorrow there will be no scarecrow in oz. what will dorothy and ozma think? and once i am changed into my old imperial self, i can never make the journey to the emerald city. eighty-six is too old for traveling." "has your majesty forgotten the wonderful brains given to you by the wizard of oz?" "i had--for a moment," confessed the scarecrow. "be quiet, tappy, while i think." pressing his head against the magic beanpole, the scarecrow thought and thought, harder than he had ever done in the course of his adventurous life, and in the great, silent hall happy toko struggled to set himself free. chapter 16 dorothy and her guardians meet new friends while all these exciting things were happening to the poor scarecrow, dorothy, sir hokus and the cowardly lion had been having adventures of their own. for three days, they had wandered through a deserted part of the winkie country, subsisting largely on berries, sleeping under trees, and looking in vain for a road to lead them back to the emerald city. on the second day, they had encountered an ancient woodsman, too old and deaf to give them any information. he did, however, invite them into his hut and give them a good dinner and a dozen sandwiches to carry away with them. "but, oh, for a good old pasty!" sighed sir hokus late on the third afternoon as they finished the last of the crumbly sandwiches. "do you know," said dorothy, looking through the straggly fields and woods ahead, "i believe we've been going in the wrong direction again." "again!" choked the cowardly lion. "you mean still. i've been in a good many parts of oz, but this--this is the worst." "not even one little dragon!" sir hokus shook his head mournfully. then, seeing that dorothy was tired and discouraged, he pretended to strum on a guitar and sang in his high-pitched voice: a rusty knight in steel bedite and lady dot, so fair, sir lion bold, with mane of gold and might besides to spa--ha--hare! and might beside to spare! the dauntless three, a company of wit and bravery are, who seek the valiant scarecrow man, who seek him near and fa--har--har, who seek him near and fa--har! "oh, i like that!" cried dorothy, jumping up and giving sir hokus a little squeeze. "only you should have said trusty knight." the cowardly lion shook his golden mane. "let's do a little reconnoitering, hokus," he said carelessly. he felt he must live up to the song somehow. "perhaps we'll find a sign." "i don't believe in signs anymore," laughed dorothy, "but i'm coming too." sir hokus' song had cheered them all, and it wasn't the first time the knight had helped make the best of a tiresome journey. "the air seemeth to grow very hot," observed sir hokus after they had walked along silently for a time. "hast noticed it, sir cowardly?" "no, but i've swallowed some of it," coughed the cowardly lion, looking suspiciously through the trees. "i'll just step forward and see what it is," said the knight. as he disappeared, the truth dawned on dorothy. "wait! wait! don't go! please, please, sir hokus, come back, come back!" cried the little girl, running after him as fast as she could. "what's the matter?" rumbled the cowardly lion, thudding behind her. then both, coming suddenly out of the woods, gave a terrible scream, which so startled sir hokus that he fell over backwards. just in time, too, for another step would have taken him straight on to the deadly desert, which destroys every living thing and keeps all intruders away from oz. "what befell?" puffed sir hokus, getting to his feet. naturally, he knew nothing of the poisonous sands. "you did," wheezed the cowardly lion in an agitated voice. "was it a dragon?" asked the knight, limping toward them hopefully. "sit down!" the cowardly lion mopped his brow with his tail. "one step on that desert and it would have been one long goodnight." "i should say it would!" shuddered dorothy, and explained to sir hokus the deadly nature of the sands. "and do you know what this means?" dorothy was nearer to tears than even i like to think about. "it means we've come in exactly the wrong direction and are farther away from the emerald city than we were when we started." "and seek him near and fa--hah--har," mumbled sir hokus with a very troubled light in his kindly blue eyes. "and seek him near and far." "fah--har--har! i should say it was," said the cowardly lion bitterly. "but you needn't sing it." "no, i s'pose not. uds helmets and hauberks! i s'pose not!" the knight lapsed into a discouraged silence, and all three sat and stared drearily at the stretch of desert before them and thought gloomily of the rough country behind. "it's a caravan," wheezed a hoarse voice. "i doubt that, camy, i doubt it very much." the shrill nasal voices so startled the three travelers that they swung about in astonishment. "great dates and deserts!" burst out the cowardly lion, jumping up. and on the whole, this exclamation was entirely suitable, for ambling toward them were a long-legged camel and a wobbly-necked dromedary. "at last! a steed!" cried the knight, bounding to his feet. "i doubt that." the dromedary stopped and looked at him coldly. "try me," said the camel amiably. "i'm more comfortable." "i doubt that, too." "the doubtful dromedary wept, as o'er the desert sands he stept, association with the sphinx has made him doubtful, so he thinks!" chortled the knight with his head on one side. "how did you know?" asked the dromedary, opening his eyes wide. "it just occurred to me," admitted sir hokus, clearing his throat modestly. "i doubt that. somebody told you," said the doubtful dromedary bitterly. "pon my honor," said sir hokus. "i doubt it, i doubt it very much," persisted the dromedary, wagging his head sorrowfully. "you seem to doubt everything!" dorothy laughed in spite of herself, and the dromedary regarded her sulkily. "he does," said the camel. "it makes him very doubtful company. now, i like to be comfortable and happy, and you can't be if you're always doubting things and people and places. eh, my dear?" "where did you comfortable and doubtful parties come from?" asked the cowardly lion. "strangers here?" "well, yes," admitted the camel, nibbling the branch of a tree. "there was a terrific sandstorm, and after blowing and blowing and blowing, we found ourselves in this little wood. the odd part of it is that you talk in our language. never knew a two-leg to understand a word of camelia before." "you're not talking camelia, you're talking ozish," laughed dorothy. "all animals can talk here." "well, now, that's very comfortable, i must say," sighed the camel, "and if you'd just tell me where to go, it would be more comfortable still." "i doubt that," snapped the dromedary. "they're no caravan." "where do you want to go?" asked the cowardly lion, ignoring the doubtful dromedary. "anywhere, just so we keep moving. we're used to being told when to start and stop, and life is mighty lonely without our karwan bashi," sighed the comfortable camel. "why, i didn't know you smoked!" exclaimed dorothy in surprise. she thought the camel was referring to a brand of tobacco. "he means his camel driver," whispered sir hokus, eyeing the soft, pillowed seat on the camel's back longingly. besides the seat, great sacks and bales of goods hung from its sides. the doubtful dromedary was similarly loaded. "goodness!" exclaimed dorothy. a sudden idea had struck her. "you haven't anything to eat in those sacks, have you?" "plenty, my child--plenty!" answered the camel calmly. "three cheers for the comfortable camel!" roared the cowardly lion, while sir hokus, following the camel's directions, carefully unfastened a large, woven basket from one of the sacks on its side. "you may be my karwan bashi," announced the comfortable camel judiciously as sir hokus paused for breath. "hear that, lady dot?" sir hokus swept the camel a bow and fairly beamed with pleasure. dorothy, meanwhile, had set out an appetizing repast on a small, rocky ledge--a regular feast, it appeared to the hungry travelers. there were loaves of black bread, figs, dates, cheese, and a curious sort of dried meat which the cowardly lion swallowed in great quantities. "isn't this cozy?" said dorothy, forgetting the long, weary way ahead. "my, i'm glad we met you!" "very comforting to us, too, my dear," said the camel, swaying complacently. "isn't it, doubty?" "there are some silk cushions in my right-hand saddle sack, but i doubt very much whether you'll like 'em," mumbled the dromedary gruffly. "out with them!" cried sir hokus, pouncing on the doubtful dromedary, and in a minute each of the party had a cushion and was as snug as possible. "could anything have been more fortunate?" exulted the knight. "we can now resume our journey properly mounted." "i think i'll ride the cowardly lion," said dorothy, looking uneasily at the high seat on the camel's back. "let's start before it grows any darker." they had eaten to heart's content, and now, packing up the remainder of the feast, the little party made ready to start. sir hokus, using the cowardly lion as a footstool, mounted the camel, and then dorothy climbed on her old friend's back, and the little caravan moved slowly through the forest. "there's a tent in my left-hand saddle sack, but i doubt very much whether you can put it up," said the doubtful dromedary, falling in behind the comfortable camel. "i doubt it very much indeed." "how now, what means this doubting?" called sir hokus from his perilous seat. "i'll pitch it when the time comes." "mind you don't pitch out when the camel goes!" called the cowardly lion, who would have his little joke. sir hokus, to tell the truth, was feeling tossed about and dizzy, but he was too polite to mention the fact. as they proceeded, dorothy told the comfortable camel all about the scarecrow and oz. an occasional word jolted down from above told her that the knight was singing. they had gone possibly a mile when dorothy pointed in excitement to a road just ahead. "we must have missed it before! wait, i'll see what it's like." jumping down from the cowardly lion's back, she peered curiously at the narrow, tree-lined path. "why, here's a sign!" "what of?" asked the comfortable camel, lurching forward eagerly and nearly unseating the knight. w i s h w a y read dorothy in a puzzled voice. "looks like a pretty good road," said the comfortable camel, squinting up its eyes. "i doubt it, camy, i doubt it very much," said the doubtful dromedary tremulously. "what does my dear karwan bashi think?" asked the comfortable camel, looking adoringly back at the knight. "it is unwise to go back when the journey lieth forward," said the knight, and immediately returned to his song. so, single file, the little company turned in at the narrow path, the comfortable camel advancing with timid steps and the doubtful dromedary bobbing his head dubiously. chapter 17 doubty and camy vanish into space for a short time, everything went well. then dorothy, turning to see how sir hokus was getting along, discovered that the doubtful dromedary had disappeared. "why, where in the world?" exclaimed dorothy. the comfortable camel craned his wobbly neck and, when he saw that his friend was gone, burst into tears. his sobs heaved sir hokus clear out of his seat and flung him, helmet first, into the dust. "go to!" exploded the knight, sitting up. "if i were a bird, riding in yon nest would be easier." the last of his sentence ended in a hoarse croak. sir hokus vanished, and a great raven flopped down in the center of the road. "oh, where is my dear karwan bashi? oh, where is doubty?" screamed the comfortable camel, running around in frenzied circles. "i wish i'd never come on this path!" "magic!" gasped dorothy, clutching the cowardly lion's mane. the comfortable camel had melted into air before their very eyes. "i doubt it, i doubt it very much!" coughed a faint voice close to her ear. dorothy ducked her head involuntarily as a big yellow butterfly settled on the cowardly lion's ear. "our doubtful friend," whispered the lion weakly. "oh, be careful, dorothy dear. we may turn into frogs or something worse any minute." dorothy and the cowardly lion had had experiences with magic transformations, and the little girl, pressing her fingers to her eyes, tried to think of something to do. the raven was making awkward attempts to fly and cawing "go to, now!" every other second. "oh, i wish dear sir hokus were himself again," wailed dorothy after trying in vain to recall some magic sentences. presto! the knight stood before them, a bit breathless from flying, but hearty as ever. "i see! i see!" said the cowardly lion with a little prance. "every wish you make on this road comes true. remember the sign: 'wish way.' i wish the comfortable camel were back. i wish the doubtful dromedary were himself again," muttered the cowardly lion rapidly, and in an instant the two creatures were standing in the path. "uds bodikins! so i did wish myself a bird!" gasped the knight, rubbing his gauntlets together excitedly. "there you are! there you are!" cried the comfortable camel, stumbling toward him and resting his foolish head on his shoulder. "dear, dear karwan bashi! and doubty, old fellow, there you are too! ah, how comfortable this all is." "not two--one," wheezed the doubtful dromedary. "and camy, i doubt very much whether i'd care for butterflying. i just happened to wish myself one!" "don't make any more wishes," said the cowardly lion sternly. "methinks a proper wish might serve us well," observed sir hokus. he had been pacing up and down in great excitement. "why not wish--" "oh, stop!" begged dorothy. "wait till we've thought it all out. wishing's awfully particular work!" "one person better speak for the party," said the cowardly lion. "now, i suggest--" "oh, be careful!" screamed dorothy again. "i wish you would all stop wishing!" sir hokus looked at her reproachfully. no wonder. at dorothy's words, they all found themselves unable to speak. the doubtful dromedary's eyes grew rounder and rounder. for the first time in its life, it was unable to doubt anything. "now i'll have to do it all," thought dorothy, and closing her eyes she tried to think of the very best wish for everybody concerned. it was night and growing darker. the cowardly lion, the camel and dromedary and sir hokus peered anxiously at the little girl, wondering what in the world was going to happen. being wished around is no joke. for five minutes dorothy thought and thought. then, standing in the middle of the road, she made her wish in a clear, distinct voice. it was not a very long wish. to be exact, it had only eight words. eight--short--little words! but stars! no sooner were they out of dorothy's mouth than the earth opened with a splintering crash and swallowed up the whole company! chapter 18 dorothy finds the scarecrow! the next thing dorothy knew, she was sitting on the hard floor of a great, dark hall. one lantern burned feebly, and in the dim, silvery light she could just make out the comfortable camel scrambling awkwardly to his feet. "i smell straw," sniffed the camel softly. "i doubt very much whether i am going to like this place." the voice of the doubtful dromedary came hesitatingly through the gloom. "by sword and scepter!" gasped the knight, "are you there, sir cowardly?" "thank goodness, they are!" said dorothy. wishing other people about is a risky and responsible business. "they're all here, but i wonder where here is." she jumped up, but at a shuffle of feet drew back. "pigs! weasels!" shrilled an angry voice, and a fat little man hurled himself at sir hokus, who happened to have fallen in the lead. "uds trudgeons and bludgeons and maugre thy head!" roared the knight, shaking him off like a fly. "tappy, tappy, my dear boy. caution! what's all this?" at the sound of that dear, familiar voice dorothy's heart gave a skip of joy, and without stopping to explain she rushed forward. "dorothy!" cried the scarecrow, stepping on his kimona and falling off his silvery throne. "lights, tappy! more lights, at once!" but tappy was too busy backing away from sir hokus of pokes. "approach, vassal!" thundered the knight, who under-stood not a word of tappy's speech. "approach! i think i've been insulted!" he drew his sword and glared angrily through the darkness, and tappy, having backed as far as possible, fell heels over pigtail into the silver fountain. at the loud splash, dorothy hastened to the rescue. "they're friends, and we've found the scarecrow, we've found the scarecrow!" she seized sir hokus and shook him till his armor rattled. "tappy! tappy!" called the scarecrow. "where in the world did he pagota?" that's exactly what he said, but to dorothy it sounded like no language at all. "why," she cried in dismay, "it's the scarecrow, but i can't understand a word he's saying!" "i think he must be talking turkey," droned the comfortable camel, "or donkey! i knew a donkey once, a very uncomfortable party, i--" "i doubt it's donkey," put in the dromedary importantly, but no one paid any attention to the two beasts. for happy toko had at last dragged himself out of the fountain and set fifteen lanterns glowing. "oh!" gasped dorothy as the magnificent silver throne room was flooded with light, "where are we?" the scarecrow had picked himself up, and with outstretched arms came running toward her talking a perfect niagara of silver islandish. "have you forgotten your ozish so soon?" rumbled the cowardly lion reproachfully as dorothy flung her arms around the scarecrow. the scarecrow, seeing the cowardly lion for the first time, fairly fell upon his neck. then he brushed his clumsy hand across his forehead. "wasn't i talking ozish?" he asked in a puzzled voice. "oh, now you are!" exclaimed dorothy. and sure enough, the scarecrow was talking plain ozish again. (which i don't mind telling you is also plain english.) the knight had been watching this little reunion with hardly repressed emotion. advancing hastily, he dropped on one knee. "my good sword and lance are ever at thy service, my lord scarecrow!" he exclaimed feelingly. "who is this impulsive person?" gulped the scarecrow, staring in undisguised astonishment at the kneeling figure of the sir hokus of pokes. "he's my knight errant, and he's taken such good care of me," explained dorothy eagerly. "splendid fellow," hissed the cowardly lion in the scarecrow's other painted ear, "if he does talk odds and ends." "any friend of little dorothy's is my friend," said the scarecrow, shaking hands with sir hokus warmly. "but what i want to know is how you all got here." "first tell us where we are," begged the little girl, for the scarecrow's silver hat and queue filled her with alarm. "you are on the silver island," said the scarecrow slowly. "and i am the emperor--or his good-for-nothing spirit--and tomorrow," the scarecrow glared around wildly, "tomorrow i'll be eighty-five going on eighty-six." his voice broke and ended in a barely controlled sob. "doubt that," drawled the doubtful dromedary sleepily. "eighty-five years old!" gasped dorothy. "why, no one in oz grows any older!" "we are no longer in oz." the scarecrow shook his head sadly. then, fixing the group with a puzzled stare, he exclaimed, "but how did you get here?" "on a _wish_," said the knight in a hollow voice. "yes," said dorothy, "we've been hunting you all over oz, and at last we came to wish way, and i said 'i wish we were all with the scarecrow,' just like that--and next minute--" "we fell and fell--and fell--and fell," wheezed the comfortable camel. "and fell--and fell--and fell--and fell," droned the dromedary, "and--" "here you are," finished the scarecrow hastily, for the dromedary showed signs of going on forever. "now tell us every single thing that has happened to you," demanded dorothy eagerly. happy toko had recognized dorothy and the cowardly lion from the scarecrow's description, and he now approached with an arm full of cushions. these he set in a circle on the floor, with one for the scarecrow in the center, and with a warning finger on his lips placed himself behind his master. "tappy is right!" exclaimed the scarecrow. "we must be as quiet as possible, for a great danger hangs over me." without more ado, he told them of his amazing fall down the beanstalk; of his adventures on silver island; of his sons and grandsons and the gheewizard's elixir which would turn him from a lively scarecrow into an old, old emperor. all that i have told you, he told dorothy, up to the very point where his eldest son had bound him to the bean pole and tied up poor, faithful happy toko. happy, it seems, had at last managed to free himself, and they were about to make their escape when dorothy and her party had fallen into the throne room. the comfortable camel and doubtful dromedary lis-tened politely at first, but worn out by their exciting adventures, fell asleep in the middle of the story. nothing could have exceeded dorothy's dismay to learn that the jolly scarecrow of oz, whom she had discovered herself, was in reality chang wang woe, emperor of silver island. "oh, this spoils everything!" wailed the little girl. (the thought of oz without the scarecrow was unthinkable.) "it spoils everything! we were going to adopt you and be your truly family. weren't we?" the cowardly lion nodded. "i was going to be your cousin," he mumbled in a choked voice, "but now that you have a family of your own--" the lion miserably slunk down beside dorothy. sir hokus looked fierce and rattled his sword, but he could think of nothing that would help them out of their trouble. "to-morrow there won't be any scarecrow in oz!" wailed dorothy. "oh, dear! oh, dear!" and the little girl began to cry as if her heart would break. "stop! stop!" begged the scarecrow, while sir hokus awkwardly patted dorothy on the back. "i'd rather have you for my family any day. i don't care a kinkajou for being emperor, and as for my sons, they are unnatural villains who make my life miserable by telling me how old i am!" "just like a poem i once read," said dorothy, brightening up: "you are old, father william," the young man said, "and your hair has become very white, and yet you incessantly stand on your head! do you think, at your age, it is right?" "that's it, that's it exactly!" exclaimed the scarecrow as dorothy finished repeating the verse. "'you are old, father scarecrow!' that's all i hear. i did stand on my head, too. and dorothy, i can't seem to get used to being a grandparent," added the scarecrow in a melancholy voice. "it's turning my straws gray." he plucked several from his chest and held them out to her. "why, those little villains don't even believe in oz! 'it's not on the map, old grandpapapapapah!'" he mumbled, imitating the tones of his little grandsons so cleverly that dorothy laughed in spite of herself. "this is what becomes of pride!" the scarecrow extended his hands expressively. "most people who hunt up their family trees are in for a fall, and i've had mine." "but who do you want to be?" asked the knight gravely. "a scarecrow in oz--or the--er--emperor that you were?" "i don't care who i were!" in his excitement, the scarecrow lost his grammar completely. "i want to be who i am. i want to be myself." "but which one?" asked the cowardly lion, who was still a bit confused. "why, my best self, of course," said the scarecrow with a bright smile. the sight of his old friends had quite restored his cheerfulness. "i've been here long enough to know that i am a better scarecrow than an emperor." "why, how simple it is!" sighed dorothy contentedly. "professor wogglebug was all wrong. it's not what you were, but what you are-it's being yourself that counts." "by my halidom, the little maid is right!" said sir hokus, slapping his knee in delight. "let your gheewizard but try his transformations! out on him! but what says yon honest henchman?" happy toko, although he understood no word of the conversation, had been watching the discussion with great interest. he had been trying to attract the scarecrow's attention for some time, but the knight was the only one who had noticed him. "what is it, tappy?" asked the scarecrow, dropping easily back into silver islandish. "honored master, the dawn approaches and with it the royal princes and the grand gheewizard--and your bride!" happy paused significantly. the scarecrow shuddered. "let's go back to oz!" said the cowardly lion uneasily. the scarecrow was feeling in the pocket of his old munchkin suit which he always wore under his robes of state. "here!" said he, giving a little pill to happy toko. "it's one of professor wogglebug's language pills," he exclaimed to dorothy, "and will enable him to speak and understand ozish." happy swallowed the pill gravely. "greetings, honorable ozites!" he said politely as soon as the pill was down. dorothy clapped her hands in delight, for it was so comfortable to have him speak their own language. "i could never have stood it here without tappy oko!" the scarecrow looked fondly at his imperial punster. "queer name he has," rumbled the cowardly lion, looking at happy toko as if he had thoughts of eating him. "methinks he should be knighted," rumbled sir hokus, beaming on the little silverman. "rise, sir pudding!" "the sun will do that in a minute or more, and then, then we shall all be thrown into prison!" wailed happy toko dismally. "we were going to escape in a small boat," explained the scarecrow, "but--" it was not necessary for him to finish. a boat large enough to hold dorothy, the cowardly lion, the scarecrow, happy toko, the camel and the dromedary could not very well be launched in secret. "oh, dear!" sighed dorothy, "if i'd only wished you and all of us back in the emerald city!" "you wished very well, lady dot," said the knight. "when i think of what i was going to wish for--" "what were you going to wish, hokus?" asked the cowardly lion curiously. "for a dragon!" faltered the knight, looking terribly ashamed. "a dragon!" gasped dorothy. "why, what good would that have done us?" "wait!" interrupted the scarecrow. "i have thought of something! why not climb my family tree? it is a long, long way, but at the top lies oz!" "grammercy, a pretty plan!" exclaimed sir hokus, peering up at the bean pole. "wouldn't that be social climbing?" chuckled happy toko, recovering his spirits with a bound. the cowardly lion said nothing, but heaved a mighty sigh which no one heard, for they were all running toward the bean pole. it was a good family tree to climb, sure enough, for there were handy little notches in the stalk. "you go first!" sir hokus helped dorothy up. when she had gone a few steps, the scarecrow, holding his robes carefully, followed, then honest happy toko. "i'll go last," said sir hokus bravely, and had just set his foot on the first notch when a hoarse scream rang through the hall. chapter 19 planning to fly from the silver island it was the comfortable camel. waking suddenly, he found himself deserted. "oh, where is my dear karwan bashi?" he roared dismally. "come back! come back!" "hush up, can't you?" rumbled the cowardly lion. "do you want dorothy and everybody to be thrown into prison on our account? we can't climb the bean pole and will have to wait here and face it out." "but how uncomfortable," wailed the camel. he began to sob heavily. dorothy, although highest up the bean pole, heard all of this distinctly. "oh," she cried remorsefully, "we can't desert the cowardly lion like this. i never thought about him." "spoken like the dear little maid you are," said the knight. "the good beast never reminded us of it, either. there's bravery for you!" "let us descend at once, i'll not move a step without the cowardly lion!" in his agitation, the scarecrow lost his balance and fell headlong to the ground, knocking sir hokus's helmet terribly askew as he passed. the others made haste to follow him and were soon gathered gravely at the foot of the beanstalk. "i'll have to think of some other plan," said the scarecrow, looking nervously at the sky, which showed, through the long windows, the first streaks of dawn. the comfortable camel controlled its sobs with difficulty and pressed as close to sir hokus as it could. the doubtful dromedary was still asleep. "it would have been a terrible climb," mused the scarecrow, thinking of his long, long fall down the pole. "ah, i have it!" "what?" asked dorothy anxiously. "i wonder i did not think of it before. ah, my brains are working better! i will abdicate," exclaimed the scarecrow triumphantly. "i will abdicate, make a farewell speech, and return with you to oz!" "what if they refuse to let your radiant highness go?" put in happy toko tremulously. "what if the gheewizard should work his magic before you finished your speech?" "then we'll make a dash for it!" said sir hokus, twirling his sword recklessly. "i'm with you," said the cowardly lion huskily, "but you needn't have come back for me." "all right!" said the scarecrow cheerfully. "and now that everything's settled so nicely, we might as well enjoy the little time left. put out the lights, tappy. dorothy and i will sit on the throne, and the rest of you come as close as possible." sir hokus wakened the doubtful dromedary and pulled and tugged it across the hall, where it immediately fell down asleep again. the comfortable camel ambled about eating the flowers out of the vases. the cowardly lion had placed himself at dorothy's feet, and sir hokus and happy toko seated themselves upon the first step of the gorgeous silver throne. then, while they waited for morning, dorothy told the scarecrow all about the pokes and fix city, and the scarecrow told once again of his victory over the king of the golden islands. "where is the magic fan now?" asked dorothy at the end of the story. the scarecrow smiled broadly, and feeling in a deep pocket brought out the little fan and also the parasol he had plucked from the beanstalk. "do you know," he said smiling, "so much has happened i haven't thought of them since the battle. i was saving them for you, dorothy." "for me!" exclaimed the little girl in delight. "let me see them!" the scarecrow handed them over obligingly, but happy toko trembled so violently that he rolled down the steps of the throne. "i beg of you!" he scrambled to his feet and held up his hands in terror. "i beg of you, don't open that fan!" "she's used to magic, tappy. you needn't worry," said the scarecrow easily. "of course i am," said dorothy with great dignity. "but this'll be mighty useful if anyone tries to conquer oz again. we can just fan 'em away." dorothy pulled a hair from the cowardly lion's mane, and winding it around the little fan, put it carefully in the pocket of her dress. the parasol she hung by its ribbon to her arm. "perhaps ozma will look in the magic picture and wish us all back again," said the little girl after they had sat for a time in silence. "i doubt it." the dromedary stirred and mumbled in its sleep. "singular beast, that!" ejaculated the knight. "doubting never gets one anywhere." "hush!" warned the scarecrow. "i hear footsteps!" "come here." sir hokus called hoarsely to the camel, who was eating a paper lantern at the other end of the room. the beast ran awkwardly over to the throne, and swallowing the lantern with a convulsive gulp, settled down beside the dromedary. "whatever happens, we must stick together," said the knight emphatically. "ah--!" dorothy held fast to the scarecrow with one hand and to the throne with the other. the sun had risen at last. there was a loud crash of drums and trumpets, a rush of feet, and into the hall marched the most splendid company dorothy had seen in her whole life of adventures. chapter 20 dorothy upsets the ceremony of the island "a caravan!" whistled the comfortable camel, lurching to his feet. "how nice!" "i doubt that!" the dromedary's eyes flew open, and he stared sleepily at the magnificent procession of silver islanders. first came the musicians, playing their shining silver trumpets and flutes. the grand chew chew and general mugwump followed, attired in brilliant silk robes of state. then came the three princes, glittering with jeweled chains and medals, and the fifteen little princes, like so many silver butterflies in their satin kimonas. next appeared a palanquin bearing the veiled princess orange blossom, followed by a whole company of splendid courtiers and after them as many of the everyday silver islanders as the hall would hold. there was a moment of silence. then the whole assemblage, contrary to the scarecrow's edict, fell upon their faces. "my!" exclaimed dorothy, impressed in spite of herself. "are you sure you want to give up all this?" "great emperor, beautiful as the sun, wise as the stars, and radiant as the clouds, the ceremony of restoration is about to begin!" quavered the grand chew chew, rising slowly. then he paused, for he was suddenly confused by the strange company around the scarecrow's throne. "treachery!" hissed the eldest prince to the others. "we left him tied to the bean pole. ancient papa scarecrow needs watching! who are these curious objects he has gathered about him, pray?" now by some magic which even i cannot explain, the people from oz found they could understand all that was being said. when dorothy heard herself called an object and saw the wicked faces of the three princes and the stupid little grandsons, she no longer wondered at the scarecrow's decision. the scarecrow himself bowed calmly. "first," said he cheerfully, "let me introduce my friends and visitors from oz." the silver islanders, who really loved the scarecrow, bowed politely as he called out the names of dorothy and the others. but the three silver princes scowled and whispered indignantly among themselves. "i am growing very wroth!" choked sir hokus to the cowardly lion. "let the ceremony proceed!" called the eldest prince harshly, before the scarecrow had finished his introductions. "let the proper body of his serene highness be immediately restored. way for the grand gheewizard! way for the grand gheewizard!" "one moment," put in the scarecrow in a dignified voice. "i have something to say." the silver islanders clapped loudly at this, and dorothy felt a bit reassured. perhaps they would listen to reason after all and let the scarecrow depart peacefully. how they were ever to escape if they didn't, the little girl could not see. "my dear children," began the scarecrow in his jolly voice, "nothing could have been more wonderful than my return to this lovely island, but in the years i have been away from you i have changed very much, and i find i no longer care for being emperor. so with your kind permission, i will keep the excellent body i now have and will abdicate in favor of my eldest son and return with my friends to oz. for in oz i really belong." a dead silence followed the scarecrow's speech--then perfect pandemonium. "no! no! you are a good emperor! we will not let you go!" shrieked the people. "you are our honorable little father. the prince shall be emperor after you have peacefully returned to your ancestors, but not now. no! no! we will not have it!" "i feared this!" quavered happy toko. "it is not the emperor, but the scarecrow who speaks!" shrilled the grand chew chew craftily. "he knows not what he says. but after the transformation--ah, you shall see!" the company calmed down at this. "let the ceremony proceed! way for the grand gheewizard!" they cried exultantly. "chew chew," wailed the scarecrow, "you're off the track!" but it was too late. no one would listen. "i'll have to think of something else," muttered the scarecrow, sinking dejectedly back on his throne. "oh!" shuddered dorothy, clutching the scarecrow, "here he comes!" "way for the grand gheewizard! way for the grand gheewizard!" the crowd parted. hobbling toward the throne came the ugly little gheewizard of the silver island holding a large silver vase high above his head, and after him--! when sir hokus caught a glimpse of what came after, he leaped clean over the comfortable camel. "uds daggers!" roared the knight. "_at last!"_ he rushed forward violently. there was a sharp thrust of his good sword, then an explosion like twenty giant firecrackers in one, and the room became quite black with smoke. before anyone realized what had happened, sir hokus was back, dragging something after him and shouting exuberantly, "a dragon! i have slain a dragon! what happiness!" everyone was coughing and spluttering from the smoke, but as it cleared dorothy saw that it was indeed a dragon sir hokus had slain, the rheumatic dragon of the old gheewizard himself. "why didn't you get the wizard?" rumbled the cowardly lion angrily. "must have exploded," said the comfortable camel, sniffing the skin daintily. "treason!" yelled the three princes, while the grand gheewizard flung himself on the stone floor and began tearing strand after strand from his silver pigtail. "he has killed the little joy of my hearth!" screeched the old man. "i will turn him to a cat, a miserable yellow cat, and roast him for dinner!" "oh!" cried dorothy, looking at sir hokus sorrowfully. "how could you?" the slaying of the dragon had thrown the whole hall into utmost confusion. sir hokus turned a little pale under his armor, but faced the angry mob without flinching. "oh, my dear karwan bashi, this is so uncomfortable!" wheezed the camel, glancing back of him with frightened eyes. "there's a shiny dagger in my left-hand saddlesack. i doubt very much whether they would like it," coughed the doubtful dromedary, pressing close to the knight. "on with the ceremony!" cried the eldest prince, seeing that the excitement was giving the scarecrow's friends too much time to think. "the son of an iron pot shall be punished later!" "that's right!" cried a voice from the crowd. "let the emperor be restored!" "i guess it's all over," gulped the scarecrow. "give my love to ozma and tell her i tried to come back." in helpless terror, the little company watched the gheewizard approach. one could fight real enemies, but _magic!_ even sir hokus, brave as he was, felt that nothing could be done. "one move and you shall be so many prunes," shrilled the angry old man, fixing the people from oz with his wicked little eyes. the great room was so still you could have heard a pin drop. even the doubtful dromedary had not the heart to doubt the wizard's power, but stood rigid as a statue. the wizard advanced slowly, holding the sealed vase carefully over his head. the poor scarecrow regarded it with gloomy fascination. one more moment and he would be an old, old silverman. better to be lost forever! he held convulsively to dorothy. as for dorothy herself, she was trembling with fright and grief. when the grand gheewizard raised the vase higher and higher and made ready to hurl it at the scarecrow, disregarding his dire threat she gave a shrill scream and threw up both hands. "great grandmothers!" gasped the scarecrow, jumping to his feet. as dorothy had thrown up her arms, the little parasol swinging at her wrist had jerked open. up, up, up, and out through the broken skylight in the roof sailed the little princess of oz! the grand gheewizard, startled as anyone, failed to throw the vase. every neck was craned upward, and everyone was gasping with astonishment. the oldest prince, as usual, was the first to recover. "don't stand staring like an idiot! now's your chance!" he hissed angrily in the gheewizard's ear. "i didn't come here to be harried and hurried by foreigners," sobbed the little man. "how is one to work magic when interrupted every other minute? i want my little dragon." "oh, come on now, just throw it. i'll get you another dragon," begged the prince, his hands trembling with excitement. in the face of this new disaster, the scarecrow had forgotten all about the gheewizard. he and the cowardly lion and sir hokus were running distractedly around the great throne trying to think up a way to rescue dorothy. as for the doubtful dromedary, he was doubting everything in a loud, bitter voice, while the comfortable camel fairly snorted with sorrow. "there! now's your chance," whispered the prince. the scarecrow, with his back to the crowd, was gesturing frantically. taking a firm hold on the neck of the vase and with a long incantation which there is no use at all in repeating, the gheewizard flung the bottle straight at the scarecrow's head. but scarcely had it left his hand before there was a flash and a flutter and down came dorothy and the magic parasol right on top of the vase. zip! the vase flew in quite another direction, and next minute had burst over the luckless heads of the three plotting princes, while dorothy floated gently to earth. sir hokus embraced the scarecrow, and the scarecrow hugged the cowardly lion, and i don't wonder at all. for no sooner had the magic elixir touched the princes, than two of them became silver pigs and the eldest a weasel. they had been turned to their true shapes instead of the scarecrow. and while the company hopped about in alarm, they ran squealing from the hall and disappeared in the gardens. "seize the gheewizard and take him to his cave," ordered the scarecrow, asserting his authority for the first time since the proceedings has started. he had noticed the old man making queer signs and passes toward sir hokus. a dozen took hold of the struggling gheewizard and hurried him out of the hall. sir hokus, at the request of the scarecrow, clapped his iron gauntlets for silence. "you will agree with me, i'm sure," said the scarecrow in a slightly unsteady voice, "that magic is a serious matter to meddle with. if you will all return quietly to your homes, i will try to find a way out of our difficulties." the silver islanders listened respectfully and after a little arguing among themselves backed out of the throne room. to tell the truth, they were anxious to spread abroad the tale of the morning's happenings. princess orange blossom, however, refused to depart. magic or no magic, she had come to marry the emperor, and she would not leave till the ceremony had been performed. "but my dear old lady, would you wish to marry a scarecrow?" coaxed the emperor. "all men are scarecrows," snapped the princess sourly. "then why marry at all?" rumbled the cowardly lion, making a playful leap at her palanquin. this was too much. the princess swooned on the spot, and the scarecrow, taking advantage of her unconscious condition, ordered her chair bearers to carry her away as far and as fast as they could run. "now," said the scarecrow when the last of the company had disappeared, "let us talk this over." chapter 21 the escape from the silver island "well!" gasped dorothy, fanning herself with her hat, "i never was so s'prised in my life!" "nor i," exclaimed the scarecrow. "the grand gheewizard will be suing you for parassault and battery. but how did it happen?" "well," began dorothy, "as soon as the parasol opened, i flew up so fast that i could hardly breathe. then, after i'd gone ever so far, it came to me that if the parasol went up when it was up, it would come down when it was down. i couldn't leave you all in such a fix-so i closed it, and--" "came down!" finished the scarecrow with a wave of his hand. "you always do the right thing in the right place, my dear." "it was lucky i hit the vase, wasn't it?" sighed dorothy. "but i'm rather sorry about the princes." "served 'em right," growled the cowardly lion. "they'll make very good pigs!" "but who's to rule the island?" demanded sir hokus, turning his gaze reluctantly from the smoking dragonskin. "this will require thought," said the scarecrow pensively. "let us all think." "i doubt that i can ever think again." the doubtful dromedary wagged his head from side to side in a dazed fashion. "just leave it to our dear karwan bashi." the comfortable camel nodded complacently at the knight and began plucking sly wisps from the scarecrow's boot top. for a short time there was absolute silence. then sir hokus, who had been thinking tremendously with his elbows on his knees, burst out, "why not sir pudding, here? why not this honest punster? who but happy toko deserves the throne?" "the very person!" cried the scarecrow, clasping his yellow gloves, and taking off his silver hat, he set it impulsively upon the head of the fat little silver islander. "he'll make a lovely emperor," said dorothy. "he's so kind-hearted and jolly. and now the scarecrow can abdicate and come home to oz." they all looked triumphantly at the imperial punster, but happy toko, snatching off the royal hat, burst into tears. "don't leave me behind, amiable master!" he sobbed disconsolately. "oh, how i shall miss you!" "but don't you see," coaxed dorothy, "the scarecrow needs you here more than anyplace, and think of all the fine clothes you will have and how rich you will be!" "and tappy, my dear boy," said the scarecrow, putting his arm around happy toko, "you might not like oz any more than i like silver island. then think--if everything goes well, you can visit me--just as one emperor visits another!" "and you won't forget me?" sniffed happy, beginning to like the idea of being emperor. "never!" cried the scarecrow with an impressive wave. "and if anything goes wrong, will you help me out?" questioned happy uncertainly. "we'll look in the magic picture of oz every month," declared dorothy, "and if you need us we'll surely find some way to help you." "an' you ever require a trusty sword, odds bodikins!" exclaimed sir hokus, pressing tappy's hand, "i'm your man!" "all right, dear master!" happy slowly picked up the imperial hat and set it sideways on his head. "i'll do my best." "i don't doubt it at all," said the doubtful dromedary to everyone's surprise. "three cheers for the emperor! long live the emperor of the silver island," rumbled the cowardly lion, and everybody from oz, even the camel and dromedary, fell upon their knees before happy toko. "you may have my bride, too, tappy," chuckled the scarecrow with a wink at dorothy. "and tappy," he asked, sobering suddenly, "will you have my grandsons brought up like real children? just as soon as i return, i shall send them all the books of oz." happy bowed, too confused and excited for speech. "now," said the scarecrow, seizing dorothy's hand, "i can return to oz with an easy mind." "doubt that," said the doubtful dromedary. "you needn't!" announced dorothy. "i've thought it all out." in a few short sentences she outlined her plan. "bravo!" roared the cowardly lion, and now the little party began in real earnest the preparation for the journey back to oz. first, happy brought them a delicious luncheon, with plenty of twigs and hay for the camel and dromedary and meat for the cowardly lion. the scarecrow packed into the camel's sacks a few little souvenirs for the people of oz. then they dressed happy toko in the scarecrow's most splendid robe and ordered him to sit upon the throne. next, the scarecrow rang for one of the palace servants and ordered the people of the silver islands to assemble in the hall. presently the silvermen began to come trooping in, packing the great throne room until it could hold no more. everyone was chattering excitedly. it was quite a different company that greeted them. the scarecrow, cheerful and witty in his old munchkin suit, dorothy and sir hokus smiling happily, and the three animal members of the party fairly blinking with contentment. "this," said the scarecrow pleasantly when everyone was quiet, "is your new emperor, to whom i ask you to pledge allegiance." he waved proudly in the direction of happy toko, who, to tell the truth, presented a truly royal appearance. "it is not possible for me to remain with you, but i shall always watch over this delightful island and with the magic fan vanquish all its enemies and punish all offenders." happy toko bowed to his subjects. the silver islanders exchanged startled glances, then, as the scarecrow carelessly lifted the fan, they fell prostrate to the earth. "ah!" said the scarecrow with a broad wink at happy. "this is delightful. you agree with me, i see. now then, three cheers for tappy oko, imperial emperor of the silver island." the cheers were given with a will, and happy in acknowledgement made a speech that has since been written into the royal book of state as a masterpiece of eloquence. having arranged affairs so satisfactorily, the scarecrow embraced happy toko with deep emotion. dorothy and sir hokus shook hands with him and wished him every success and happiness. then the little party from oz walked deliberately to the bean pole in the center of the hall. the silver islanders were still a bit dazed by the turn affairs had taken and stared in astonishment as the scarecrow and sir hokus fastened thick ropes around the cowardly lion, the doubtful dromedary and the comfortable camel. similar ropes they tied around their own waists and dorothy's, and the ends of all were fastened securely to the handle of the magic parasol, which dorothy held carefully. "goodbye, everybody!" called the little girl, suddenly opening the parasol. "goodbye!" cried the genial scarecrow, waving his hand. too stupefied for speech, the assemblage gaped with amazement as the party floated gently upward. up--up--and out of sight whirled the entire party. chapter 22 the flight of the parasol holding the handle of the parasol, dorothy steered it with all the skill of an aviator, and in several minutes after their start the party had entered the deep, black passage down which the scarecrow had fallen. each one of the adventurers was fastened to the parasol with ropes of different length so that none of them bumped together, but even with all the care in the world it was not possible to keep them from bumping the sides of the tube. the comfortable camel grunted plaintively from time to time, and dorothy could hear the doubtful dromedary complaining bitterly in the darkness. it was pitch dark, but by keeping one hand in touch with the bean pole, dorothy managed to hold the parasol in the center. "how long will it take?" she called breathlessly to the scarecrow, who was dangling just below. "hours!" wheezed the scarecrow, holding fast to his hat. "i hope none of the parties on this line hear us," he added nervously, thinking of the middlings. "what recks it?" blustered sir hokus. "hast forgotten my trusty sword?" but his words were completely drowned in the rattle of his armor. "hush!" warned the scarecrow, "or we'll be pulled in." so for almost an hour, they flew up the dark, chimney-like tube with only an occasional groan as one or another scraped against the rough sides of the passage. then, before they knew what was happening, the parasol crashed into something, half closed, and the whole party started to fall head over heels over helmets. "o!" gasped dorothy, turning a complete somersault, "catch hold of the bean pole, somebody!" "put up the parasol!" shrieked the scarecrow. just then dorothy, finding herself right side up, grasped the pole herself and snapped the parasol wide open. up, up, up they soared again, faster than ever! "we're flying up much faster than i fell down. we must be at the top!" called the scarecrow hoarsely, "and somebody has closed the opening!" chapter 23 safe at last in the land of oz "must we keep bumping until we bump through?" panted dorothy anxiously. "no, by my hilts!" roared sir hokus, and setting his foot in a notch of the beanstalk, he cut with his sword the rope that bound him to the parasol. "put the parasol down half way, and i'll climb ahead and cut an opening." with great difficulty dorothy partially lowered the parasol, and instantly their speed diminished. indeed, they barely moved at all, and the knight had soon passed them on his climb to the top. "are you there?" rumbled the cowardly lion anxiously. a great clod of earth landed on his head, filling his eyes and mouth with mud. "ugh!" roared the lion. "it's getting light! it's getting light!" screamed dorothy, and in her excitement snapped the parasol up. sir hokus, having cut with his sword a large circular hole in the thin crust of earth covering the tube, was about to step out when the parasol, hurling up from below, caught him neatly on its top, and out burst the whole party and sailed up almost to the clouds! "welcome to oz!" cried dorothy, looking down happily on the dear familiar munchkin landscape. "home at last!" exulted the scarecrow, wafting a kiss downward. "let's get down to earth before we knock the sun into a cocked hat," gasped the cowardly lion, for dorothy, in her excitement, had forgotten to lower the parasol. now the little girl lowered the parasol carefully at first, then faster and faster and finally shut it altogether. sir hokus took a high dive from the top. down tumbled the others, over and over. but fortunately for all, there was a great haystack below, and upon this they landed in a jumbled heap close to the magic bean pole. as it happened, there was no one in sight. up they jumped in a trice, and while the comfortable camel and doubtful dromedary munched contentedly at the hay, sir hokus and the scarecrow placed some loose boards over the opening around the bean pole and covered them with dirt and cornstalks. "i will get ozma to close it properly with the magic belt," said the scarecrow gravely. "it wouldn't do to have people sliding down my family tree and scaring poor tappy. as for me, i shall never leave oz again!" "i hope not," growled the cowardly lion, tenderly examining his scratched hide. "but if you hadn't, i'd never have had such lovely adventures or found sir hokus and the comfortable camel and doubtful dromedary," said dorothy. "and what a lot i have to tell ozma! let's go straight to the emerald city." "it's quite a journey," explained the scarecrow to sir hokus, who was cleaning off his armor with a handful of straw. "i go where lady dot goes," replied the knight, smiling affectionately at the little girl and straightening the ragged hair ribbon which he still wore on his arm. "don't forget me, dear karwan bashi," wheezed the comfortable camel, putting his head on the knight's shoulder. "you're a sentimental dunce, camy. i doubt whether they'll take us at all!" the doubtful dromedary looked wistfully at dorothy. "go to, now!" cried sir hokus, putting an arm around each neck. "you're just like two of the family!" "it will be very comfortable to go to now," sighed the camel. "we're all a big, jolly family here," said the scarecrow, smiling brightly, "and oz is the friendliest country in the world." "right," said the cowardly lion, "but let's get started!" he stretched his tired muscles and began limping stiffly toward the yellow brick road. "wait," cried dorothy, "have you forgotten the parasol?" "i wish i could," groaned the cowardly lion, rolling his eyes. sir hokus, with folded arms, was gazing regretfully at the bean pole. "it has been a brave quest," he sighed, "but now, i take it, our adventures are over!" absently, the knight felt in his boot-top and drawing out a small red bean popped it into his mouth. just before reaching the top of the tube, he had pulled a handful of them from the beanstalk, but the others had fallen out when he dove into the hay. "shall we use the parasol again, lady dot?" he asked, still staring pensively at the bean pole. "shall--?" he got no farther, nor did dorothy answer his question. instead, she gave a loud scream and clutched the scarecrow's arm. the scarecrow, taken by surprise, fell over backward, and the comfortable camel, raising his head inquiringly, gave a bellow of terror. from the knight's shoulders a green branch had sprung, and while the company gazed in round-eyed amazement it stretched toward the bean pole, attached itself firmly, and then shot straight up into the air, the knight kicking and struggling on the end. in another second, he was out of sight. "come back! come back!" screamed the comfortable camel, running around distractedly. "i doubt we'll ever see him again!" groaned the doubtful dromedary, craning his neck upward. "do something! do something!" begged dorothy. at which the scarecrow jumped up and dashed toward the little farmhouse. "i'll get an ax," he called over his shoulder, "and chop down the bean pole." "no, don't do that!" roared the cowardly lion, starting after him. "do you want to break him to pieces?" "oh! oh! can't you think of something else?" cried dorothy. "and hurry, or he'll be up to the moon!" the scarecrow put both hands to his head and stared around wildly. then, with a triumphant wave of his hat, declared himself ready to act. "the parasol!" cried the late emperor of silver island. "quick, dorothy, put up the parasol!" snatching the parasol, which lay at the foot of the bean pole, dorothy snapped it open, and the scarecrow just had time to make a flying leap and seize the handle before it soared upward, and in a trice they, too, had disappeared. "doubty! doubty!" wailed the comfortable camel, crowding up to his humpbacked friend, "we're having a pack of trouble. my knees are all a-tremble!" "now don't you worry," advised the cowardly lion, sitting down resignedly. "i'm frightened myself, but that's because i'm so cowardly. queer things happen in oz, but they usually turn out all right. why, hokus is just growing up with the country, that's all, just growing up with the country." "doubt that," sniffed the doubtful dromedary faintly. "he was grown up in the beginning." "but think of the scarecrow's brains. you leave things to the scarecrow." but it was no use. both beasts began to roar dismally. "i don't want a plant. i want my karwan bashi," sobbed the comfortable camel broken-heartedly. "well, don't drown me," begged the cowardly lion, moving out of the way of the camel's tears. "say, what's that draft?" what indeed? in the trees overhead, a very cyclone whistled, and before the three had even time to catch their breath, they were blown high into the air and the next instant were hurtling toward the emerald city like three furry cannonballs, faster and faster. chapter 24 homeward bound to the emerald city dorothy and the scarecrow, clinging fast to the magic parasol, had followed the knight almost to the clouds. at first, it looked as if they would never catch up with him, so swiftly was the branch growing, but it was not long before the little umbrella began to gain, and in several minutes more they were beside sir hokus himself. "beshrew me, now!" gasped the knight, stretching out his hand toward dorothy. "can'st stop this reckless plant?" "give me your sword," commanded the scarecrow, "and i'll cut you off." dorothy, with great difficulty, kept the parasol close to the knight while the scarecrow reached for the sword. but sir hokus backed away in alarm. "'tis part of me, an' you cut it off, i will be cut off, too. 'tis rooted in my back," he puffed. "what shall we do?" cried dorothy in distress. "maybe if we take hold of his hands we can keep him from going any higher." the scarecrow, jamming down his hat so it wouldn't blow off, nodded approvingly, and each holding the parasol with one hand gave the other to the knight. and when dorothy pointed the parasol down, to her great delight sir hokus came also, the thin green branch growing just about as fast as they moved. just then the little fan, which had been rolling around merrily in dorothy's pocket, slipped out and fell straight down toward the three unsuspecting beasts below. draft! no wonder! but dorothy never missed it, and quite unconscious of such a calamity anxiously talked over the knight's predicament with the scarecrow. they both decided that the best plan was to fly straight to the emerald city and have ozma release the knight from the enchanted beanstalk. "i'm sorry you got tangled up in my family tree, old fellow," said the scarecrow after they had flown some time in silence, "but this makes us relations, doesn't it?" he winked broadly at the knight. "so it does," said sir hokus jovially. "i'm a branch of your family now. yet methinks i should not have swallowed that bean." "bean?" questioned dorothy. "what bean?" the knight carefully explained how he had plucked a handful of red beans from the beanstalk just before reaching the top of the tube and how he had eaten one. "so that's what started you growing!" exclaimed dorothy in surprise. "alas, yes!" admitted the knight. "i've never felt more grown-up in my life," he finished solemnly. "an adventurous country, this oz!" "i should say it was," chuckled the scarecrow. "but isn't it almost time we were reaching the emerald city, dorothy?" "i think i'm going in the right direction," answered the little girl, "but i'll fly a little lower to be sure." "not too fast! not too fast!" warned sir hokus, looking nervously over his shoulder at his long, wriggling stem. "there's ozma's palace!" cried the scarecrow all at once. "and there's ozma!" screamed dorothy, peering down delightedly. "and scraps and tik-tok and everybody!" she pointed the parasol straight down, when a sharp tug from sir hokus jerked them all back. they were going faster than the poor knight was growing, so dorothy lowered the parasol half way, and slowly they floated toward the earth, landing gently in one of the flower beds of ozma's lovely garden. "come along and meet the folks," said the scarecrow as dorothy closed the parasol. but sir hokus clutched him in alarm. "hold! hold!" gasped the knight. "i've stopped growing, but if you leave me i'll shoot up into the air again." the scarecrow and dorothy looked at each other in dismay. sure enough, the knight had stopped growing, and it was all they could do to hold him down to earth, for the stubborn branch of beanstalk was trying to straighten up. they had fallen quite a distance from the palace itself, and all the people of oz had their backs turned, so had not seen their singular arrival. "hello!" called the scarecrow loudly. then "help! help!" as the knight jerked him twice into the air. but ozma, trot, jack pumpkinhead and all the rest were staring upward and talking so busily among themselves that they did not hear either dorothy's or the scarecrow's cries. first one, then the other was snatched off his feet, and although sir hokus, with tears in his eyes, begged them to leave him to his fate, they held on with all their might. just as it looked as if they all three would fly into the air again, the little wizard of oz happened to turn around. "look! look!" he cried, tugging ozma's sleeve. "why, it's dorothy!" gasped ozma, rubbing her eyes. "it's dorothy and--" "help! help!" screamed the scarecrow, waving one arm wildly. without waiting another second, all the celebrities of oz came running toward the three adventurers. "somebody heavy come take hold!" puffed dorothy, out of breath with her efforts to keep sir hokus on the ground. the ozites, seeing that help was needed at once, suppressed their curiosity. "i'm heavy," said tik-tok solemnly, clasping the knight's arm. the tin woodman seized his other hand, and dorothy sank down exhausted on the grass. princess ozma pressed forward. "what does it all mean? where did you come from?" asked the little queen of oz, staring in amazement at the strange spectacle before her. "and who is this medieval person?" asked professor wogglebug, pushing forward importantly. (he had returned to the palace to collect more data for the royal book of oz.) "he doesn't look evil to me," giggled scraps, dancing up to sir hokus, her suspender button eyes snapping with fun. "he isn't," said dorothy indignantly, for sir hokus was too shaken about to answer. "he's my knight errant." "ah, i see," replied professor wogglebug. "a case of 'when knighthood was in flower.'" and would you believe it--the beanstalk at that minute burst into a perfect shower of red blossoms that came tumbling down over everyone. before they had recovered from their surprise, the branch snapped off close to the knight's armor, and tik-tok, the tin woodman and sir hokus rolled over in a heap. the branch itself whistled through the air and disappeared. "oh," cried dorothy, hugging the knight impulsively, "i'm so glad." "are you all right?" asked the scarecrow anxiously. "good as ever!" announced sir hokus, and indeed all traces of the magic stalk had disappeared from his shoulders. "dorothy!" cried ozma again. "what does it all mean?" "merely that i slid down my family tree and that dorothy and this knight rescued me," said the scarecrow calmly. "and he's a real royalty--so there!" cried dorothy with a wave at the scarecrow and making a little face at professor wogglebug. "meet his supreme highness, chang wang woe of silver island, who had abdicated his throne and returned to be a plain scarecrow in oz!" then, as the eminent educator of oz stood gaping at the scarecrow, "oh, ozma, i've so much to tell you!" "begin! begin!" cried the little wizard. "for everything's mighty mysterious. first, the cowardly lion and two unknown beasts shoot through the air and stop just outside the third-story windows, and there they hang although i've tried all my magic to get them down. then you and the scarecrow drop in with a strange knight!" "oh, the poor cowardly lion!" gasped dorothy as the wizard finished speaking. "the magic fan!" she felt hurriedly in her pocket. "it's gone!" "it must have slipped out of your pocket and blown them here, and they'll never come down till that fan is closed," cried the scarecrow in an agitated voice. all of this was greek to ozma and the others, but when dorothy begged the little queen to send for her magic belt, she did it without question. this belt dorothy had captured from the gnome king, and it enabled the wearer to wish people and objects wherever one wanted them. "i wish the magic fan to close and to come safely back to me," said dorothy as soon as she had clasped the belt around her waist. no sooner were the words out before there was a loud crash and a series of roars and groans. everybody started on a run for the palace, sir hokus ahead of all the rest. the fan had mysteriously returned to dorothy's pocket. the three animals had fallen into a huge cluster of rose bushes and, though badly scratched and frightened, were really unhurt. "i doubt that i'll like oz," quavered the doubtful dromedary, lurching toward sir hokus. "you might have been more careful of that fan," growled the cowardly lion reproachfully, plucking thorns from his hide. the comfortable camel was so overjoyed to see the knight that he rested his head on sir hokus's shoulder and began weeping down his armor. and now that their adventures seemed really over, what explanations were to be made! sitting on the top step of the palace with all of them around her, dorothy told the whole wonderful story of the scarecrow's family tree. when her breath gave out, the scarecrow took up the tale himself, and as they all realized how nearly they had lost their jolly comrade, many of the party shed real tears. indeed, nick chopper hugged the scarecrow till there was not a whole straw in his body. "never leave us again," begged ozma, and the scarecrow, crossing nick chopper's heart (he had none of his own), promised that he never would. and what a welcome they gave sir hokus, the doubtful dromedary and the comfortable camel! only professor wogglebug seemed disturbed. during the strange recital, he had grown quieter and quieter and finally, with an embarrassed cough, had excused himself and hurried into the palace. he went directly to the study, and seating himself at a desk opened a large book, none other than _the royal book of oz_. dipping an emerald pen in the ink, he began a new chapter headed thus: his imperial majesty, the scarecrow late emperor and imperial sovereign of silver island then, flipping over several pages to a chapter headed "princess dorothy!", he wrote carefully at the end, "dorothy, princess and royal discoverer of oz." meanwhile, below stairs, the scarecrow was distributing his gifts. there were silver chains for everyone in the palace and shining silver slippers for ozma, betsy bobbin, trot and dorothy, and a bottle of silver polish for nick chopper. dorothy presented ozma with the magic fan and parasol, and they were safely put away by jellia jamb with the other magic treasures of oz. next, because they were all curious to see the scarecrow's wonderful kingdom, they hurried upstairs to look in the magic picture. "show us the emperor of silver island," commanded ozma. immediately the beautiful silver throne room appeared. happy toko had removed his imperial hat and was standing on his head to the great delight of the whole court, and a host of little silver islander boys were peeking in at the windows. "now doesn't that look cheerful?" asked the scarecrow delightedly. "i knew he'd make a good emperor." "i wish we would hear what he's saying," said dorothy. "oh, do look at chew chew!" the grand chew chew was standing beside the throne scowling horribly. "i think i can arrange for you to hear," muttered the wizard of oz, and taking a queer magic instrument from his pocket, he whispered "aohbeeobbuy." instantly they heard the jolly voice of happy toko singing: oh shine his shoes of silver, and brush his silver queue, for i am but an emperor and he's the grand chew chew! ozma laughed heartily as the picture faded away, and so did the others. indeed, there was so much to ask and wonder about that it seemed as if they never would finish talking. "let's have a party--an old-fashioned oz party," proposed ozma when the excitement had calmed down a bit. and an old-fashioned party it was, with places for everybody and a special table for the cowardly lion, the hungry tiger, toto, the glass cat, the comfortable camel, the doubtful dromedary and all the other dear creatures of that amazing kingdom. sir hokus insisted upon stirring up a huge pasty for the occasion, and there were songs, speeches and cheers for everyone, not forgetting the doubtful dromedary. at the cheering he rose with an embarrassed jerk of his long neck. "in my left-hand saddle-sack," he said gruffly, "there is a quantity of silken shawls and jewels. i doubt whether they are good enough, but i would like dorothy and queen ozma to have them." "hear! hear!" cried the scarecrow, pounding on the table with his knife. then everything grew quiet as ozma told how she, with the help of glinda, the good sorceress, had stopped the war between the horners and hoppers. when she had finished, sir hokus sprang up impulsively. "i prithee, lovely lady, never trouble your royal head about wars again. from now on, i will do battle for you and little dorothy and oz, and _i_ will be your good knight every day." at this, the applause was tremendous. ye good knight of oz, full of courage and vim, will do battle for us, and we'll take care of him! shouted scraps, who was becoming more excited every minute. "i'll lend you some of my polish for your armor, old fellow," said nick chopper as the knight sat down, beaming with pleasure. "well," said ozma with a smile when everyone had feasted and talked to heart's content, "is everybody happy?" "i am!" cried the comfortable camel. "for here i am perfectly comfortable." "i am!" cried dorothy, putting her arm around the scarecrow, who sat next to her. "for i have found my old friend and made some new ones." "i'm happy!" cried the scarecrow, waving his glass, "because there is no age in oz, and i am still my old ozish self." "as for me," said the knight, "i am happy, for i have served a lady, gone on a quest, and _slain a dragon! ozma, and oz forever!_ images of public domain material from the google books project.) transcriber notes text emphasis id denoted as _italics_ and =bold=. +--------------------------------------------------------------+ | | | the | | | | scarecrow of oz | | | | | | | | by | | | | l. frank baum | | | +--------------------------------------------------------------+ [illustration] ===== the famous oz books ===== since 1900, when l. frank baum introduced to the children of america the wonderful wizard of oz and all the other exciting characters who inhabit the land of oz, these delightful fairy tales have stimulated the imagination of millions of young readers. these are stories which are genuine fantasy creative, funny, tender, exciting and surprising. filled with the rarest and most absurd creatures, each of the 14 volumes which now comprise the series, has been eagerly sought out by generation after generation until to-day they are known to all except the very young or those who were never young at all. when, in a recent survey, the =new york times= polled a group of teen agers on the books they liked best when they were young, the oz books topped the list. the famous 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 chicago the reilly & lee co. _publishers_ [illustration: the scarecrow _of_ oz] dedicated to "the uplifters" of los angeles, california, in grateful appreciation of the pleasure i have derived from association with them, and in recognition of their sincere endeavor to uplift humanity through kindness, consideration and good-fellowship. they are big men all of them and all with the generous hearts of little children. l. frank baum [illustration] +--------------------------------------------------------------+ | | | the | | | | =scarecrow of oz= | | | | | | by | | | | l. frank baum | | | | author of | | | | the road to oz, dorothy and the wizard in oz, the emerald | | city of oz, the land of oz, ozma of oz. the patchwork girl | | of oz, tik-tok of oz | | | | | | | | [illustration] | | | | | | | | illustrated by | | john r. neill | | | | | | =the reilly & lee co= | | chicago | | | +--------------------------------------------------------------+ +--------------------------------------------------------------+ | | | copyright | | | | 1915 by | | | | l frank baum | | | | all | | | | rights reserved | | | +--------------------------------------------------------------+ [illustration] 'twixt you and me the army of children which besieged the postoffice, conquered the postmen and delivered to me its imperious commands, insisted that trot and cap'n bill be admitted to the land of oz, where trot could enjoy the society of dorothy, betsy bobbin and ozma, while the one-legged sailor-man might become a comrade of the tin woodman, the shaggy man, tik-tok and all the other quaint people who inhabit this wonderful fairyland. it was no easy task to obey this order and land trot and cap'n bill safely in oz, as you will discover by reading this book. indeed, it required the best efforts of our dear old friend, the scarecrow, to save them from a dreadful fate on the journey; but the story leaves them happily located in ozma's splendid palace and dorothy has promised me that button-bright and the three girls are sure to encounter, in the near future, some marvelous adventures in the land of oz, which i hope to be permitted to relate to you in the next oz book. meantime, i am deeply grateful to my little readers for their continued enthusiasm over the oz stories, as evinced in the many letters they send me, all of which are lovingly cherished. it takes more and more oz books every year to satisfy the demands of old and new readers, and there have been formed many "oz reading societies," where the oz books owned by different members are read aloud. all this is very gratifying to me and encourages me to write more oz stories. when the children have had enough of them, i hope they will let me know, and then i'll try to write something different. l. frank baum "royal historian of oz." "ozcot" at hollywood in california, 1915. [illustration] list of chapters 1 the great whirlpool 18 2 cavern under the sea 22 3 the ork 33 4 daylight at last! 52 5 the little old man of the island 62 6 the flight of the midgets 82 7 the bumpy man 89 8 button-bright is lost, and found again 101 9 the kingdom of jinxland 119 10 pon, the gardener's boy 131 11 the wicked king and googly-goo 138 12 the wooden-legged grasshopper 151 13 glinda the good and the scarecrow of oz 167 14 the frozen heart 178 15 trot meets the scarecrow 195 16 pon summons the king to surrender 204 17 the ork rescues button-bright 213 18 the scarecrow meets an enemy 220 19 the conquest of the witch 230 20 queen gloria 241 21 dorothy, betsy and ozma 255 22 the waterfall 264 23 the land of oz 273 24 the royal reception 278 [illustration] [illustration] [illustration: cap'n bill] chapter 1 the great whirlpool "seems to me," said cap'n bill, as he sat beside trot under the big acacia tree, looking out over the blue ocean, "seems to me, trot, as how the more we know, the more we find we don't know." "i can't quite make that out, cap'n bill," answered the little girl in a serious voice, after a moment's thought, during which her eyes followed those of the old sailor-man across the glassy surface of the sea. "seems to me that all we learn is jus' so much gained." "i know; it looks that way at first sight," said the sailor, nodding his head; "but those as knows the least have a habit of thinkin' they know all there is to know, while them as knows the most admits what a turr'ble big world this is. it's the knowing ones that realize one lifetime ain't long enough to git more'n a few dips o' the oars of knowledge." trot didn't answer. she was a very little girl, with big, solemn eyes and an earnest, simple manner. cap'n bill had been her faithful companion for years and had taught her almost everything she knew. he was a wonderful man, this cap'n bill. not so very old, although his hair was grizzled--what there was of it. most of his head was bald as an egg and as shiny as oilcloth, and this made his big ears stick out in a funny way. his eyes had a gentle look and were pale blue in color, and his round face was rugged and bronzed. cap'n bill's left leg was missing, from the knee down, and that was why the sailor no longer sailed the seas. the wooden leg he wore was good enough to stump around with on land, or even to take trot out for a row or a sail on the ocean, but when it came to "runnin' up aloft" or performing active duties on shipboard, the old sailor was not equal to the task. the loss of his leg had ruined his career and the old sailor found comfort in devoting himself to the education and companionship of the little girl. [illustration: the old sailor devoted himself to the education of the little girl.] the accident to cap'n bill's leg had happened at about the time trot was born, and ever since that he had lived with trot's mother as "a star boarder," having enough money saved up to pay for his weekly "keep." he loved the baby and often held her on his lap; her first ride was on cap'n bill's shoulders, for she had no baby-carriage; and when she began to toddle around, the child and the sailor became close comrades and enjoyed many strange adventures together. it is said the fairies had been present at trot's birth and had marked her forehead with their invisible mystic signs, so that she was able to see and do many wonderful things. the acacia tree was on top of a high bluff, but a path ran down the bank in a zigzag way to the water's edge, where cap'n bill's boat was moored to a rock by means of a stout cable. it had been a hot, sultry afternoon, with scarcely a breath of air stirring, so cap'n bill and trot had been quietly sitting beneath the shade of the tree, waiting for the sun to get low enough for them to take a row. they had decided to visit one of the great caves which the waves had washed out of the rocky coast during many years of steady effort. the caves were a source of continual delight to both the girl and the sailor, who loved to explore their awesome depths. "i b'lieve, cap'n," remarked trot, at last, "that it's time for us to start." the old man cast a shrewd glance at the sky, the sea and the motionless boat. then he shook his head. "mebbe it's time, trot," he answered, "but i don't jes' like the looks o' things this afternoon." "what's wrong?" she asked wonderingly. "can't say as to that. things is too quiet to suit me, that's all. no breeze, not a ripple a-top the water, nary a gull a-flyin' anywhere, an' the end o' the hottest day o' the year. i ain't no weather-prophet, trot, but any sailor would know the signs is ominous." "there's nothing wrong that i can see," said trot. "if there was a cloud in the sky even as big as my thumb, we might worry about it; but--look, cap'n!--the sky is as clear as can be." he looked again and nodded. "p'r'aps we can make the cave, all right," he agreed, not wishing to disappoint her. "it's only a little way out, an' we'll be on the watch; so come along, trot." together they descended the winding path to the beach. it was no trouble for the girl to keep her footing on the steep way, but cap'n bill, because of his wooden leg, had to hold on to rocks and roots now and then to save himself from tumbling. on a level path he was as spry as anyone, but to climb up hill or down required some care. they reached the boat safely and while trot was untying the rope cap'n bill reached into a crevice of the rock and drew out several tallow candles and a box of wax matches, which he thrust into the capacious pockets of his "sou'wester." this sou'wester was a short coat of oilskin which the old sailor wore on all occasions--when he wore a coat at all--and the pockets always contained a variety of objects, useful and ornamental, which made even trot wonder where they all came from and why cap'n bill should treasure them. the jackknives--a big one and a little one--the bits of cord, the fishhooks, the nails: these were handy to have on certain occasions. but bits of shell, and tin boxes with unknown contents, buttons, pincers, bottles of curious stones and the like, seemed quite unnecessary to carry around. that was cap'n bill's business, however, and now that he added the candles and the matches to his collection trot made no comment, for she knew these last were to light their way through the caves. the sailor always rowed the boat, for he handled the oars with strength and skill. trot sat in the stern and steered. the place where they embarked was a little bight or circular bay, and the boat cut across a much larger bay toward a distant headland where the caves were located, right at the water's edge. they were nearly a mile from shore and about half-way across the bay when trot suddenly sat up straight and exclaimed: "what's that, cap'n?" he stopped rowing and turned half around to look. [illustration] "that, trot," he slowly replied, "looks to me mighty like a whirlpool." "what makes it, cap'n?" "a whirl in the air makes the whirl in the water. i was afraid as we'd meet with trouble, trot. things didn't look right. the air was too still." "it's coming closer," said the girl. the old man grabbed the oars and began rowing with all his strength. "'tain't comin' closer to us, trot," he gasped; "it's we that are comin' closer to the whirlpool. the thing is drawin' us to it like a magnet!" trot's sun-bronzed face was a little paler as she grasped the tiller firmly and tried to steer the boat away; but she said not a word to indicate fear. the swirl of the water as they came nearer made a roaring sound that was fearful to listen to. so fierce and powerful was the whirlpool that it drew the surface of the sea into the form of a great basin, slanting downward toward the center, where a big hole had been made in the ocean--a hole with walls of water that were kept in place by the rapid whirling of the air. the boat in which trot and cap'n bill were riding was just on the outer edge of this saucer-like slant, and the old sailor knew very well that unless he could quickly force the little craft away from the rushing current they would soon be drawn into the great black hole that yawned in the middle. so he exerted all his might and pulled as he had never pulled before. he pulled so hard that the left oar snapped in two and sent cap'n bill sprawling upon the bottom of the boat. he scrambled up quickly enough and glanced over the side. then he looked at trot, who sat quite still, with a serious, far-away look in her sweet eyes. the boat was now speeding swiftly of its own accord, following the line of the circular basin round and round and gradually drawing nearer to the great hole in the center. any further effort to escape the whirlpool was useless, and realizing this fact cap'n bill turned toward trot and put an arm around her, as if to shield her from the awful fate before them. he did not try to speak, because the roar of the waters would have drowned the sound of his voice. these two faithful comrades had faced dangers before, but nothing to equal that which now faced them. yet cap'n bill, noting the look in trot's eyes and remembering how often she had been protected by unseen powers, did not quite give way to despair. the great hole in the dark water--now growing nearer and nearer--looked very terrifying; but they were both brave enough to face it and await the result of the adventure. [illustration] chapter 2 the cavern under the sea the circles were so much smaller at the bottom of the basin, and the boat moved so much more swiftly, that trot was beginning to get dizzy with the motion, when suddenly the boat made a leap and dived headlong into the murky depths of the hole. whirling like tops, but still clinging together, the sailor and the girl were separated from their boat and plunged down--down--down--into the farthermost recesses of the great ocean. at first their fall was swift as an arrow, but presently they seemed to be going more moderately and trot was almost sure that unseen arms were about her, supporting her and protecting her. she could see nothing, because the water filled her eyes and blurred her vision, but she clung fast to cap'n bill's sou'wester, while other arms clung fast to her, and so they gradually sank down and down until a full stop was made, when they began to ascend again. but it seemed to trot that they were not rising straight to the surface from where they had come. the water was no longer whirling them and they seemed to be drawn in a slanting direction through still, cool ocean depths. and then--in much quicker time than i have told it--up they popped to the surface and were cast at full length upon a sandy beach, where they lay choking and gasping for breath and wondering what had happened to them. trot was the first to recover. disengaging herself from cap'n bill's wet embrace and sitting up, she rubbed the water from her eyes and then looked around her. a soft, bluish-green glow lighted the place, which seemed to be a sort of cavern, for above and on either side of her were rugged rocks. they had been cast upon a beach of clear sand, which slanted upward from the pool of water at their feet--a pool which doubtless led into the big ocean that fed it. above the reach of the waves of the pool were more rocks, and still more and more, into the dim windings and recesses of which the glowing light from the water did not penetrate. the place looked grim and lonely, but trot was thankful that she was still alive and had suffered no severe injury during her trying adventure under water. at her side cap'n bill was sputtering and coughing, trying to get rid of the water he had swallowed. both of them were soaked through, yet the cavern was warm and comfortable and a wetting did not dismay the little girl in the least. she crawled up the slant of sand and gathered in her hand a bunch of dried seaweed, with which she mopped the face of cap'n bill and cleared the water from his eyes and ears. presently the old man sat up and stared at her intently. then he nodded his bald head three times and said in a gurgling voice: "mighty good, trot; mighty good! we didn't reach davy jones's locker that time, did we? though why we didn't, an' why we're here, is more'n i kin make out." "take it easy, cap'n," she replied. "we're safe enough, i guess, at least for the time being." he squeezed the water out of the bottoms of his loose trousers and felt of his wooden leg and arms and head, and finding he had brought all of his person with him he gathered courage to examine closely their surroundings. "where d'ye think we are, trot?" he presently asked. "can't say, cap'n. p'r'aps in one of our caves." he shook his head. "no," said he, "i don't think that, at all. the distance we came up didn't seem half as far as the distance we went down; an' you'll notice there ain't any outside entrance to this cavern whatever. it's a reg'lar dome over this pool o' water, and unless there's some passage at the back, up yonder, we're fast pris'ners." trot looked thoughtfully over her shoulder. "when we're rested," she said, "we will crawl up there and see if there's a way to get out." cap'n bill reached in the pocket of his oilskin coat and took out his pipe. it was still dry, for he kept it in an oilskin pouch with his tobacco. his matches were in a tight tin box, so in a few moments the old sailor was smoking contentedly. trot knew it helped him to think when he was in any difficulty. also, the pipe did much to restore the old sailor's composure, after his long ducking and his terrible fright--a fright that was more on trot's account than his own. the sand was dry where they sat, and soaked up the water that dripped from their clothing. when trot had squeezed the wet out of her hair she began to feel much like her old self again. by and by they got upon their feet and crept up the incline to the scattered boulders above. some of these were of huge size, but by passing between some and around others, they were able to reach the extreme rear of the cavern. "yes," said trot, with interest, "here's a round hole." "and it's black as night inside it," remarked cap'n bill. "just the same," answered the girl, "we ought to explore it, and see where it goes, 'cause it's the only poss'ble way we can get out of this place." cap'n bill eyed the hole doubtfully. "it may be a way out o' here, trot," he said, "but it may be a way into a far worse place than this. i'm not sure but our best plan is to stay right here." trot wasn't sure, either, when she thought of it in that light.. after awhile she made her way back to the sands again, and cap'n bill followed her. as they sat down, the child looked thoughtfully at the sailor's bulging pockets. [illustration: trot] "how much food have we got, cap'n?" she asked. "half a dozen ship's biscuits an' a hunk o' cheese," he replied. "want some now, trot?" she shook her head, saying: "that ought to keep us alive 'bout three days if we're careful of it." "longer'n that, trot," said cap'n bill, but his voice was a little troubled and unsteady. "but if we stay here we're bound to starve in time," continued the girl, "while if we go into the dark hole--" "some things are more hard to face than starvation," said the sailor-man, gravely. "we don't know what's inside that dark hole. trot, nor where it might lead us to." "there's a way to find that out," she persisted. instead of replying, cap'n bill began searching in his pockets. he soon drew out a little package of fishhooks and a long line. trot watched him join them together. then he crept a little way up the slope and turned over a big rock. two or three small crabs began scurrying away over the sands and the old sailor caught them and put one on his hook and the others in his pocket. coming back to the pool he swung the hook over his shoulder and circled it around his head and cast it nearly into the center of the water, where he allowed it to sink gradually, paying out the line as far as it would go. when the end was reached, he began drawing it in again, until the crab bait was floating on the surface. trot watched him cast the line a second time, and a third. she decided that either there were no fishes in the pool or they would not bite the crab bait. but cap'n bill was an old fisherman and not easily discouraged. when the crab got away he put another on the hook. when the crabs were all gone he climbed up the rocks and found some more. meantime trot tired of watching him and lay down upon the sands, where she fell fast asleep. during the next two hours her clothing dried completely, as did that of the old sailor. they were both so used to salt water that there was no danger of taking cold. finally the little girl was wakened by a splash beside her and a grunt of satisfaction from cap'n bill. she opened her eyes to find that the cap'n had landed a silver-scaled fish weighing about two pounds. this cheered her considerably and she hurried to scrape together a heap of seaweed, while cap'n bill cut up the fish with his jackknife and got it ready for cooking. they had cooked fish with seaweed before. cap'n bill wrapped his fish in some of the weed and dipped it in the water to dampen it. then he lighted a match and set fire to trot's heap, which speedily burned down to a glowing bed of ashes. then they laid the wrapped fish on the ashes, covered it with more seaweed, and allowed this to catch fire and burn to embers. after feeding the fire with seaweed for some time, the sailor finally decided that their supper was ready, so he scattered the ashes and drew out the bits of fish, still encased in their smoking wrappings. when these wrappings were removed, the fish was found thoroughly cooked and both trot and cap'n bill ate of it freely. it had a slight flavor of seaweed and would have been better with a sprinkling of salt. the soft glow which until now had lighted the cavern, began to grow dim, but there was a great quantity of seaweed in the place, so after they had eaten their fish they kept the fire alive for a time by giving it a handful of fuel now and then. from an inner pocket the sailor drew a small flask of battered metal and unscrewing the cap handed it to trot. she took but one swallow of the water, although she wanted more, and she noticed that cap'n bill merely wet his lips with it. "s'pose," said she, staring at the glowing seaweed fire and speaking slowly, "that we can catch all the fish we need; how 'bout the drinking-water, cap'n?" he moved uneasily but did not reply. both of them were thinking about the dark hole, but while trot had little fear of it the old man could not overcome his dislike to enter the place. he knew that trot was right, though. to remain in the cavern, where they now were, could only result in slow but sure death. it was nighttime upon the earth's surface, so the little girl became drowsy and soon fell asleep. after a time the old sailor slumbered on the sands beside her. it was very still and nothing disturbed them for hours. when at last they awoke the cavern was light again. they had divided one of the biscuits and were munching it for breakfast when they were startled by a sudden splash in the pool. looking toward it they saw emerging from the water the most curious creature either of them had ever beheld. it wasn't a fish, trot decided, nor was it a beast. it had wings, though, and queer wings they were: shaped like an inverted chopping-bowl and covered with tough skin instead of feathers. it had four legs--much like the legs of a stork, only double the number--and its head was shaped a good deal like that of a poll parrot, with a beak that curved downward in front and upward at the edges, and was half bill and half mouth. but to call it a bird was out of the question, because it had 110 feathers whatever except a crest of wavy plumes of a scarlet color on the very top of its head. the strange creature must have weighed as much as cap'n bill, and as it floundered and struggled to get out of the water to the sandy beach it was so big and unusual that both trot and her companion stared at it in wonder--in wonder that was not unmixed with fear. [illustration] [illustration] chapter 3 the ork the eyes that regarded them, as the creature stood dripping before them, were bright and mild in expression, and the queer addition to their party made no attempt to attack them and seemed quite as surprised by the meeting as they were. "i wonder," whispered trot, "what it is." "who, me?" exclaimed the creature in a shrill, high-pitched voice. "why, i'm an ork." "oh!" said the girl. "but what is an ork?" "i am," he repeated, a little proudly, as he shook the water from his funny wings; "and if ever an ork was glad to be out of the water and on dry land again, you can be mighty sure that i'm that especial, individual ork!" "have you been in the water long?" inquired cap'n bill, thinking it only polite to show an interest in the strange creature.. "why, this last ducking was about ten minutes, i believe, and that's about nine minutes and sixty seconds too long for comfort," was the reply. "but last night i was in an awful pickle, i assure you. the whirlpool caught me, and--" "oh, were you in the whirlpool, too?" asked trot eagerly. he gave her a glance that was somewhat reproachful. "i believe i was mentioning the fact, young lady, when your desire to talk interrupted me," said the ork. "i am not usually careless in my actions, but that whirlpool was so busy yesterday that i thought i'd see what mischief it was up to. so i flew a little too near it and the suction of the air drew me down into the depths of the ocean. water and i are natural enemies, and it would have conquered me this time had not a bevy of pretty mermaids come to my assistance and dragged me away from the whirling water and far up into a cavern, where they deserted me." "why, that's about the same thing that happened to us," cried trot. "was your cavern like this one?" "i haven't examined this one yet," answered the ork; "but if they happen to be alike i shudder at our fate, for the other one was a prison, with no outlet except by means of the water. i stayed there all night, however, and this morning i plunged into the pool, as far down as i could go, and then swam as hard and as far as i could. the rocks scraped my back, now and then, and i barely escaped the clutches of an ugly sea-monster; but by and by i came to the surface to catch my breath, and found myself here. that's the whole story, and as i see you have something to eat i entreat you to give me a share of it. the truth is, i'm half starved." with these words the ork squatted down beside them. very reluctantly cap'n bill drew another biscuit from his pocket and held it out. the ork promptly seized it in one of its front claws and began to nibble the biscuit in much the same manner a parrot might have done. "we haven't much grub," said the sailor-man, "but we're willin' to share it with a comrade in distress." "that's right," returned the ork, cocking its head sidewise in a cheerful manner, and then for a few minutes there was silence while they all ate of the biscuits. after a while trot said: "i've never seen or heard of an ork before. are there many of you?" "we are rather few and exclusive, i believe," was the reply. "in the country where i was born we are the absolute rulers of all living things, from ants to elephants." "what country is that?" asked cap'n bill. "orkland." "where does it lie?" "i don't know, exactly. you see, i have a restless nature, for some reason, while all the rest of my race are quiet and contented orks and seldom stray far from home. from childhood days i loved to fly long distances away, although father often warned me that i would get into trouble by so doing. "'it's a big world, flipper, my son,' he would say, 'and i've heard that in parts of it live queer two-legged creatures called men, who war upon all other living things and would have little respect for even an ork.' "this naturally aroused my curiosity and after i had completed my education and left school i decided to fly out into the world and try to get a glimpse of the creatures called men. so i left home without saying good-bye, an act i shall always regret. adventures were many, i found. i sighted men several times, but have never before been so close to them as now. also i had to fight my way through the air, for i met gigantic birds, with fluffy feathers all over them, which attacked me fiercely. besides, it kept me busy escaping from floating airships. in my rambling i had lost all track of distance or direction, so that when i wanted to go home i had no idea where my country was located. i've now been trying to find it for several months and it was during one of my flights over the ocean that i met the whirlpool and became its victim." trot and cap'n bill listened to this recital with much interest, and from the friendly tone and harmless appearance of the ork they judged he was not likely to prove so disagreeable a companion as at first they had feared he might be. the ork sat upon its haunches much as a cat does, but used the finger-like claws of its front legs almost as cleverly as if they were hands. perhaps the most curious thing about the creature was its tail, or what ought to have been its tail. this queer arrangement of skin, bones and muscle was shaped like the propellers used on boats and airships, having fan-like surfaces and being pivoted to its body. cap'n bill knew something of mechanics, and observing the propeller-like tail of the ork he said: "i s'pose you're a pretty swift flyer?" "yes, indeed; the orks are admitted to be kings of the air." "your wings don't seem to amount to much," remarked trot. "well, they are not very big," admitted the ork, waving the four hollow skins gently to and fro, "but they serve to support my body in the air while i speed along by means of my tail. still, taken altogether, i'm very handsomely formed, don't you think?" trot did not like to reply, but cap'n bill nodded gravely. "for an ork," said he, "you're a wonder. i've never seen one afore, but i can imagine you're as good as any." that seemed to please the creature and it began walking around the cavern, making its way easily up the slope. while it was gone, trot and cap'n bill each took another sip from the water-flask, to wash down their breakfast. "why, here's a hole--an exit--an outlet!" exclaimed the ork from above. "we know," said trot. "we found it last night." "well, then, let's be off," continued the ork, after sticking its head into the black hole and sniffing once or twice. "the air seems fresh and sweet, and it can't lead us to any worse place than this." [illustration] the girl and the sailor-man got up and climbed to the side of the ork. "we'd about decided to explore this hole before you came," explained cap'n bill; "but it's a dangerous place to navigate in the dark, so wait till i light a candle." "what is a candle?" inquired the ork. "you'll see in a minute," said trot. the old sailor drew one of the candles from his right-side pocket and the tin matchbox from his left-side pocket. when he lighted the match the ork gave a startled jump and eyed the flame suspiciously; but cap'n bill proceeded to light the candle and the action interested the ork very much. "light," it said, somewhat nervously, "is valuable in a hole of this sort. the candle is not dangerous, i hope?" "sometimes it burns your fingers," answered trot, "but that's about the worst it can do--'cept to blow out when you don't want it to." cap'n bill shielded the flame with his hand and crept into the hole. it wasn't any too big for a grown man, but after he had crawled a few feet it grew larger. trot came close behind him and then the ork followed. "seems like a reg'lar tunnel," muttered the sailor-man, who was creeping along awkwardly because of his wooden leg. the rocks, too, hurt his knees. for nearly half an hour the three moved slowly along the tunnel, which made many twists and turns and sometimes slanted downward and sometimes upward. finally cap'n bill stopped short, with an exclamation of disappointment, and held the flickering candle far ahead to light the scene. "what's wrong?' demanded trot, who could see nothing because the sailor's form completely filled the hole. "why, we've come to the end of our travels, i guess," he replied. "is the hole blocked?" inquired the ork. "no; it's wuss nor that," replied cap'n bill sadly. "i'm on the edge of a precipice. wait a minute an' i'll move along and let you see for yourselves. be careful, trot, not to fall." then he crept forward a little and moved to one side, holding the candle so that the girl could see to follow him. the ork came next and now all three knelt on a narrow ledge of rock which dropped straight away and left a huge black space which the tiny flame of the candle could not illuminate. "h-m!" said the ork, peering over the edge; "this doesn't look very promising, i'll admit. but let me take your candle, and i'll fly down and see what's below us." "aren't you afraid?" asked trot. "certainly i'm afraid," responded the ork. "but if we intend to escape we can't stay on this shelf forever. so, as i notice you poor creatures cannot fly, it is my duty to explore the place for you." cap'n bill handed the ork the candle, which had now burned to about half its length. the ork took it in one claw rather cautiously and then tipped its body forward and slipped over the edge. they heard a queer buzzing sound, as the tail revolved, and a brisk flapping of the peculiar wings, but they were more interested just then in following with their eyes the tiny speck of light which marked the location of the candle. this light first made a great circle, then dropped slowly downward and suddenly was extinguished, leaving everything before them black as ink. "hi, there! how did that happen?" cried the ork. "it blew out, i guess," shouted cap'n bill. "fetch it here." "i can't see where you are," said the ork. so cap'n bill got out another candle and lighted it, and its flame enabled the ork to fly back to them. it alighted on the edge and held out the bit of candle. "what made it stop burning?" asked the creature. "the wind," said trot. "you must be more careful, this time." "what's the place like?" inquired cap'n bill. "i don't know, yet; but there must be a bottom to it, so i'll try to find it." with this the ork started out again and this time sank downward more slowly. down, down, down it went, till the candle was a mere spark, and then it headed away to the left and trot and cap'n bill lost all sight of it. [illustration] in a few minutes, however, they saw the spark of light again, and as the sailor still held the second lighted candle the ork made straight toward them. it was only a few yards distant when suddenly it dropped the candle with a cry of pain and next moment alighted, fluttering wildly, upon the rocky ledge. "what's the matter?" asked trot. "it bit me!" wailed the ork. "i don't like your candles. the thing began to disappear slowly as soon as i took it in my claw, and it grew smaller and smaller until just now it turned and bit me--a most unfriendly thing to do. oh--oh! ouch, what a bite!" "that's the nature of candles, i'm sorry to say," explained cap'n bill, with a grin. "you have to handle 'em mighty keerful. but tell us, what did you find down there?" "i found a way to continue our journey," said the ork, nursing tenderly the claw which had been burned. "just below us is a great lake of black water, which looked so cold and wicked that it made me shudder; but away at the left there's a big tunnel, which we can easily walk through. i don't know where it leads to, of course, but we must follow it and find out." "why, we can't get to it," protested the little girl. "we can't fly, as you do, you must remember." "no, that's true," replied the ork musingly. "your bodies are built very poorly, it seems to me, since all you can do is crawl upon the earth's surface. but you may ride upon my back, and in that way t can promise you a safe journey to the tunnel." "are you strong enough to carry us?" asked cap'n bill, doubtfully. "yes, indeed; i'm strong enough to carry a dozen of you, if you could find a place to sit," was the reply; "but there's only room between my wings for one at a time, so i'll have to make two trips." "all right; i'll go first," decided cap'n bill. he lit another candle for trot to hold while they were gone and to light the ork on his return to her, and then the old sailor got upon the ork's back, where he sat with his wooden leg sticking straight out sidewise. "if you start to fall, clasp your arms around my neck," advised the creature. "if i start to fall, it's good night an' pleasant dreams," said cap'n bill. "all ready?" asked the ork. "start the buzz-tail," said cap'n bill, with a tremble in his voice. but the ork flew away so gently that the old man never even tottered in his seat. trot watched the light of cap'n bill's candle till it disappeared in the far distance. she didn't like to be left alone on this dangerous ledge, with a lake of black water hundreds of feet below her; but she was a brave little girl and waited patiently for the return of the ork. it came even sooner than she had expected and the creature said to her: "your friend is safe in the tunnel. now, then, get aboard and i'll carry you to him in a jiffy." i'm sure not many little girls would have cared to take that awful ride through the huge black cavern on the back of a skinny ork. trot didn't care for it, herself, but it just had to be done and so she did it as courageously as possible. her heart beat fast and she was so nervous she could scarcely hold the candle in her fingers as the ork sped swiftly through the darkness. it seemed like a long ride to her, yet in reality the ork covered the distance in a wonderfully brief period of time and soon trot stood safely beside cap'n bill on the level floor of a big arched tunnel. the sailor-man was very glad to greet his little comrade again and both were grateful to the ork for his assistance. "i dunno where this tunnel leads to," remarked cap'n bill, "but it surely looks more promisin' than that other hole we crept through." "when the ork is rested," said trot, "we'll travel on and see what happens." "rested!" cried the ork, as scornfully as his shrill voice would allow. "that bit of flying didn't tire me at all. i'm used to flying days at a time, without ever once stopping." "then let's move on," proposed cap'n bill. he still held in his hand one lighted candle, so trot blew out the other flame and placed her candle in the sailor's big pocket. she knew it was not wise to burn two candles at once. the tunnel was straight and smooth and very easy to walk through, so they made good progress. trot thought that the tunnel began about two miles from the cavern where they had been cast by the whirlpool, but now it was impossible to guess the miles traveled, for they walked steadily for hours and hours without any change in their surroundings. finally cap'n bill stopped to rest. "there's somethin' queer about this 'ere tunnel, i'm certain," he declared, wagging his head dolefully. "here's three candles gone a'ready, an' only three more left us, yet the tunnel's the same as it was when we started. an' how long it's goin' to keep up, no one knows." "couldn't we walk without a light?" asked trot. "the way seems safe enough." "it does right now," was the reply, "but we can't tell when we are likely to come to another gulf, or somethin' jes' as dangerous. in that case we'd be killed afore we knew it." "suppose i go ahead?" suggested the ork. "i don't fear a fall, you know, and if anything happens i'll call out and warn you." "that's a good idea," declared trot, and cap'n bill thought so, too. so the ork started off ahead, quite in the dark, and hand in hand the two followed him. when they had walked in this way for a good long time the ork halted and demanded food. cap'n bill had not mentioned food because there was so little left--only three biscuits and a lump of cheese about as big as his two fingers--but he gave the ork half of a biscuit, sighing as he did so. the creature didn't care for the cheese, so the sailor divided it between himself and trot. they lighted a candle and sat down in the tunnel while they ate. "my feet hurt me," grumbled the ork. "i'm not used to walking and this rocky passage is so uneven and lumpy that it hurts me to walk upon it." "can't you fly along?" asked trot. "no; the roof is too low," said the ork. after the meal they resumed their journey, which trot began to fear would never end. when cap'n bill noticed how tired the little girl was, he paused and lighted a match and looked at his big silver watch. "why, it's night!" he exclaimed. "we've tramped all day, an' still we're in this awful passage, which mebbe goes straight through the middle of the world, an' mebbe is a circle--in which case we can keep walkin' till doomsday. not knowin' what's before us so well as we know what's behind us, i propose we make a stop, now, an' try to sleep till mornin'." "that will suit me," asserted the ork, with a groan. "my feet are hurting me dreadfully and for the last few miles i've been limping with pain." "my foot hurts, too," said the sailor, looking for a smooth place on the rocky floor to sit down. "_your_ foot!" cried the ork. "why, you've only one to hurt you, while i have four. so i suffer four times as much as you possibly can. here; hold the candle while i look at the bottoms of my claws. i declare," he said, examining them by the flickering light, "there are bunches of pain all over them!" "p'r'aps," said trot, who was very glad to sit down beside her companions, "you've got corns." "corns? nonsense! orks never have corns," protested the creature, rubbing its sore feet tenderly. "then mebbe they're--they're--what do you call 'em, cap'n bill? something 'bout the pilgrim's progress, you know." "bunions," said cap'n bill. "oh, yes; mebbe you've got bunions." "it is possible," moaned the ork. "but whatever they are, another day of such walking on them would drive me crazy." "i'm sure they'll feel better by mornin'," said cap'n bill, encouragingly. "go to sleep an' try to forget your sore feet." the ork cast a reproachful look at the sailor-man, who didn't see it. then the creature asked plaintively: "do we eat now, or do we starve?" "there's only half a biscuit left for you," answered cap'n bill. "no one knows how long we'll have to stay in this dark tunnel, where there's nothing whatever to eat; so i advise you to save that morsel o' food till later." "give it me now!" demanded the ork. "if i'm going to starve, i'll do it all at once--not by degrees." cap'n bill produced the biscuit and the creature ate it in a trice. trot was rather hungry and whispered to cap'n bill that she'd take part of her share; but the old man secretly broke his own half-biscuit in two, saving trot's share for a time of greater need. he was beginning to be worried over the little girl's plight and long after she was asleep and the ork was snoring in a rather disagreeable manner, cap'n bill sat with his back to a rock and smoked his pipe and tried to think of some way to escape from this seemingly endless tunnel. but after a time he also slept, for hobbling on a wooden leg all day was tiresome, and there in the dark slumbered the three adventurers for many hours, until the ork roused itself and kicked the old sailor with one foot. "it must be another day," said he. [illustration] [illustration] chapter 4 daylight at last cap'n bill rubbed his eyes, lit a match and consulted his watch. "nine o'clock. yes, i guess it's another day, sure enough. shall we go on?' he asked. "of course," replied the ork. "unless this tunnel is different from everything else in the world, and has no end, we'll find a way out of it sooner or later." the sailor gently wakened trot. she felt much rested by her long sleep and sprang to her feet eagerly. "let's start, cap'n," was all she said. they resumed the journey and had only taken a few steps when the ork cried "wow!" and made a great fluttering of its wings and whirling of its tail. the others, who were following a short distance behind, stopped abruptly. "what's the matter?" asked cap'n bill. "give us a light," was the reply. "i think we've come to the end of the tunnel." then, while cap'n bill lighted a candle, the creature added: "if that is true, we needn't have wakened so soon, for we were almost at the end of this place when we went to sleep." the sailor-man and trot came forward with a light. a wall of rock really faced the tunnel, but now they saw that the opening made a sharp turn to the left. so they followed on, by a narrower passage, and then made another sharp turn--this time to the right. "blow out the light, cap'n," said the ork, in a pleased voice. "we've struck daylight." daylight at last! a shaft of mellow light fell almost at their feet as trot and the sailor turned the corner of the passage, but it came from above, and raising their eyes they found they were at the bottom of a deep, rocky well, with the top far, far above their heads. and here the passage ended. [illustration] for a while they gazed in silence, at least two of them being filled with dismay at the sight. but the ork merely whistled softly and said cheerfully: "that was the toughest journey i ever had the misfortune to undertake, and i'm glad it's over. yet, unless i can manage to fly to the top of this pit, we are entombed here forever." "do you think there is room enough for you to fly in?" asked the little girl anxiously; and cap'n bill added: "it's a straight-up shaft, so i don't see how you'll ever manage it." "were i an ordinary bird--one of those horrid feathered things--i wouldn't even make the attempt to fly out," said the ork. "but my mechanical propeller tail can accomplish wonders, and whenever you're ready i'll show you a trick that is worth while." "oh!" exclaimed trot; "do you intend to take us up, too?" "why not?" "i thought," said cap'n bill, "as you'd go first, an' then send somebody to help us by lettin' down a rope." "ropes are dangerous," replied the ork, "and i might not be able to find one to reach all this distance. besides, it stands to reason that if i can get out myself i can also carry you two with me." "well, i'm not afraid," said trot, who longed to be on the earth's surface again. "s'pose we fall?'' suggested cap'n bill, doubtfully. "why, in that case we would all fall together," returned the ork. "get aboard, little girl; sit across my shoulders and put both your arms around my neck." trot obeyed and when she was seated on the ork, cap'n bill inquired: "how 'bout me, mr. ork?" "why, i think you'd best grab hold of my rear legs and let me carry you up in that manner," was the reply. cap'n bill looked way up at the top of the well, and then he looked at the ork's slender, skinny legs and heaved a deep sigh. "it's goin' to be some dangle, i guess; but if you don't waste too much time on the way up, i may be able to hang on," said he. "all ready, then!" cried the ork, and at once his whirling tail began to revolve. trot felt herself rising into the air; when the creature's legs left the ground cap'n bill grasped two of them firmly and held on for dear life. the ork's body was tipped straight upward, and trot had to embrace the neck very tightly to keep from sliding off. even in this position the ork had trouble in escaping the rough sides of the well. several times it exclaimed "wow!" as it bumped its back, or a wing hit against some jagged projection; but the tail kept whirling with remarkable swiftness and the daylight grew brighter and brighter. it was, indeed, a long journey from the bottom to the top, yet almost before trot realized they had come so far, they popped out of the hole into the clear air and sunshine and a moment later the ork alighted gently upon the ground. [illustration] the release was so sudden that even with the creature's care for its passengers cap'n bill struck the earth with a shock that sent him rolling heel over head; but by the time trot had slid down from her seat the old sailor-man was sitting up and looking around him with much satisfaction. "it's sort o' pretty here," said he. "earth is a beautiful place!" cried trot. "i wonder where on earth we are?' pondered the ork, turning first one bright eye and then the other to this side and that. trees there were, in plenty, and shrubs and flowers and green turf. but there were no houses; there were no paths; there was no sign of civilization whatever. "just before i settled down on the ground i thought i caught a view of the ocean," said the ork. "let's see if i was right." then he flew to a little hill, near by, and trot and cap'n bill followed him more slowly. when they stood on the top of the hill they could see the blue waves of the ocean in front of them, to the right of them, and at the left of them. behind the hill was a forest that shut out the view. "i hope it ain't an island, trot," said cap'n bill gravely. "if it is, i s'pose we're prisoners," she replied. "ezzackly so, trot." "but, even so, it's better than those terr'ble underground tunnels and caverns," declared the girl. "you are right, little one," agreed the ork. "anything above ground is better than the best that lies under ground. so let's not quarrel with our fate but be thankful we've escaped." "we are, indeed!" she replied. "but i wonder if we can find something to eat in this place?" "let's explore an' find out," proposed cap'n bill. "those trees over at the left look like cherry-trees." on the way to them the explorers had to walk through a tangle of vines and cap'n bill, who went first, stumbled and pitched forward on his face. "why, it's a melon!" cried trot delightedly, as she saw what had caused the sailor to fall. [illustration] cap'n bill rose to his foot, for he was not at all hurt, and examined the melon. then he took his big jackknife from his pocket and cut the melon open. it was quite ripe and looked delicious; but the old man tasted it before he permitted trot to eat any. deciding it was good he gave her a big slice and then offered the ork some. the creature looked at the fruit somewhat disdainfully, at first, but once he had tasted its flavor he ate of it as heartily as did the others. among the vines they discovered many other melons, and trot said gratefully: "well, there's no danger of our starving, even if this _is_ an island." "melons," remarked cap'n bill, "are both food an' water. we couldn't have struck anything better." farther on they came to the cherry-trees, where they obtained some of the fruit, and at the edge of the little forest were wild plums. the forest itself consisted entirely of nut trees--walnuts, filberts, almonds and chestnuts--so there would be plenty of wholesome food for them while they remained there. cap'n bill and trot decided to walk through the forest, to discover what was on the other side of it, but the ork's feet were still so sore and "lumpy" from walking on the rocks that the creature said he preferred to fly over the tree-tops and meet them on the other side. the forest was not large, so by walking briskly for fifteen minutes they reached its farthest edge and saw before them the shore of the ocean. "it's an island, all right," said trot, with a sigh. "yes, and a pretty island, too," said cap'n bill, trying to conceal his disappointment on trot's account. "i guess, partner, if the wuss comes to the wuss, i could build a raft--or even a boat--from those trees, so's we could sail away in it." the little girl brightened at this suggestion. "i don't see the ork anywhere," she remarked, looking around. then her eyes lighted upon something and she exclaimed: "oh, cap'n bill! isn't that a house, over there to the left?" cap'n bill, looking closely, saw a shed-like structure built at one edge of the forest. "seems like it, trot. not that i'd call it much of a house, but it's a buildin', all right. let's go over an' see if it's occypied." [illustration] [illustration] chapter 5 the little old man of the island a few steps brought them to the shed, which was merely a roof of boughs built over a square space, with some branches of trees fastened to the sides to keep off the wind. the front was quite open and faced the sea, and as our friends came nearer they observed a little man, with a long pointed beard, sitting motionless on a stool and staring thoughtfully out over the water. "get out of the way, please," he called in a fretful voice. "can't you see you are obstructing my view?" "good morning," said cap'n bill, politely. "it isn't a good morning!" snapped the little man. "i've seen plenty of mornings better than this. do you call it a good morning when i'm pestered with such a crowd as you?" trot was astonished to hear such words from a stranger whom they had greeted quite properly, and cap'n bill grew red at the little man's rudeness. but the sailor said, in a quiet tone of voice: "are you the only one as lives on this 'ere island?" "your grammar's bad," was the reply. "but this is my own exclusive island, and i'll thank you to get off it as soon as possible." "we'd like to do that," said trot, and then she and cap'n bill turned away and walked down to the shore, to see if any other land was in sight. the little man rose and followed them, although both were now too provoked to pay any attention to him. "nothin' in sight, partner," reported cap'n bill, shading his eyes with his hand; "so we'll have to stay here for a time, anyhow. it isn't a bad place, trot, by any means." "that's all you know about it!" broke in the little man. "the trees are altogether too green and the rocks are harder than they ought to be. i find the sand very grainy and the water dreadfully wet. every breeze makes a draught and the sun shines in the daytime, when there's no need of it, and disappears just as soon as it begins to get dark. if you remain here you'll find the island very unsatisfactory." trot turned to look at him, and her sweet face was grave and curious. "i wonder who you are," she said. "my name is pessim," said he, with an air of pride. "i'm called the observer." "oh. what do you observe?" asked the little girl. "everything i see," was the reply, in a more surly tone. then pessim drew back with a startled exclamation and looked at some footprints in the sand. "why, good gracious me!' he cried in distress. "what's the matter now?' asked cap'n bill. "someone has pushed the earth in! don't you see it?" "it isn't pushed in far enough to hurt anything," said trot, examining the footprints. "everything hurts that isn't right," insisted the man. "if the earth were pushed in a mile, it would be a great calamity, wouldn't it?" "i s'pose so," admitted the little girl. "well, here it is pushed in a full inch! that's a twelfth of a foot, or a little more than a millionth part of a mile. therefore it is one-millionth part of a calamity--oh, dear! how dreadful!" said pessim in a wailing voice. "try to forget it, sir," advised cap'n bill, soothingly. "it's beginning to rain. let's get under your shed and keep dry." "raining! is it really raining?' asked pessim, beginning to weep. "it is," answered cap'n bill, as the drops began to descend, "and i don't see any way to stop it--although i'm some observer myself." "no; we can't stop it, i fear," said the man. "are you very busy just now?" "i won't be after i get to the shed," replied the sailor-man. "then do me a favor, please," begged pessim, walking briskly along behind them, for they were hastening to the shed. "depends on what it is," said cap'n bill. "i wish you would take my umbrella down to the shore and hold it over the poor fishes till it stops raining. i'm afraid they'll get wet," said pessim. trot laughed, but cap'n bill thought the little man was poking fun at him and so he scowled upon pessim in a way that showed he was angry. they reached the shed before getting very wet, although the rain was now coming down in big drops. the roof of the shed protected them and while they stood watching the rainstorm something buzzed in and circled around pessim's head. at once the observer began beating it away with his hands, crying out: "a bumblebee! a bumblebee! the queerest bumblebee i ever saw!" cap'n bill and trot both looked at it and the little girl said in surprise: "dear me! it's a wee little ork!" "that's what it is, sure enough," exclaimed cap'n bill. really, it wasn't much bigger than a big bumblebee, and when it came toward trot she allowed it to alight on her shoulder. "it's me, all right," said a very small voice in her ear; "but i'm in an awful pickle, just the same!" "what, are you _our_ ork, then?" demanded the girl, much amazed. "no, i'm my own ork. but i'm the only ork you know," replied the tiny creature. "what's happened to you?" asked the sailor, putting his head close to trot's shoulder in order to hear the reply better. pessim also put his head close, and the ork said: [illustration] "you will remember that when i left you i started to fly over the trees, and just as i got to this side of the forest i saw a bush that was loaded down with the most luscious fruit you can imagine. the fruit was about the size of a gooseberry and of a lovely lavender color. so i swooped down and picked off one in my bill and ate it. at once i began to grow small. i could feel myself shrinking, shrinking away, and it frightened me terribly, so that i alighted on the ground to think over what was happening. in a few seconds i had shrunk to the size you now see me; but there i remained, getting no smaller, indeed, but no larger. it is certainly a dreadful affliction! after i had recovered somewhat from the shock i began to search for you. it is not so easy to find one's way when a creature is so small, but fortunately i spied you here in this shed and came to you at once." cap'n bill and trot were much astonished at this story and felt grieved for the poor ork, but the little man pessim seemed to think it a good joke. he began laughing when he heard the story and laughed until he choked, after which he lay down on the ground and rolled and laughed again, while the tears of merriment coursed down his wrinkled cheeks. "oh, dear! oh, dear!" he finally gasped, sitting up and wiping his eyes. "this is too rich! it's almost too joyful to be true." "i don't see anything funny about it," remarked trot indignantly. "you would if you'd had my experience," said pessim, getting upon his feet and gradually resuming his solemn and dissatisfied expression of countenance. "the same thing happened to me." "oh, did it? and how did you happen to come to this island?" asked the girl. "i didn't come; the neighbors brought me," replied the little man, with a frown at the recollection. "they said i was quarrelsome and fault-finding and blamed me because i told them all the things that went wrong, or never were right, and because i told them how things ought to be. so they brought me here and left me all alone, saying that if i quarreled with myself, no one else would be made unhappy. absurd, wasn't it?" "seems to me," said cap'n bill, "those neighbors did the proper thing." "well," resumed pessim, "when i found myself king of this island i was obliged to live upon fruits, and i found many fruits growing here that i had never seen before. i tasted several and found them good and wholesome. but one day i ate a lavender berry--as the ork did--and immediately i grew so small that i was scarcely two inches high. it was a very unpleasant condition and like the ork i became frightened. i could not walk very well nor very far, for every lump of earth in my way seemed a mountain, every blade of grass a tree and every grain of sand a rocky boulder. for several days i stumbled around in an agony of fear. once a tree toad nearly gobbled me up, and if i ran out from the shelter of the bushes the gulls and cormorants swooped down upon me. finally i decided to eat another berry and become nothing at all, since life, to one as small as i was, had become a dreary nightmare. "at last i found a small tree that i thought bore the same fruit as that i had eaten. the berry was dark purple instead of light lavender, but otherwise it was quite similar. being unable to climb the tree, i was obliged to wait underneath it until a sharp breeze arose and shook the limbs so that a berry fell. instantly i seized it and taking a last view of the world--as i then thought--i ate the berry in a twinkling. then, to my surprise, i began to grow big again, until i became of my former stature, and so i have since remained. needless to say, i have never eaten again of the lavender fruit, nor do any of the beasts or birds that live upon this island eat it." they had all three listened eagerly to this amazing tale, and when it was finished the ork exclaimed: "do you think, then, that the deep purple berry is the antidote for the lavender one?" "i'm sure of it," answered pessim. "then lead me to the tree at once!" begged the ork, "for this tiny form i now have terrifies me greatly." pessim examined the ork closely. [illustration] "you are ugly enough as you are," said he. "were you any larger you might be dangerous." "oh, no," trot assured him; "the ork has been our good friend. please take us to the tree." then pessim consented, although rather reluctantly. he led them to the right, which was the east side of the island, and in a few minutes brought them near to the edge of the grove which faced the shore of the ocean. here stood a small tree bearing berries of a deep purple color. the fruit looked very enticing and cap'n bill reached up and selected one that seemed especially plump and ripe. the ork had remained perched upon trot's shoulder but now it flew down to the ground. it was so difficult for cap'n bill to kneel down, with his wooden leg, that the little girl took the berry from him and held it close to the ork's head. "it's too big to go into my mouth," said the little creature, looking at the fruit sidewise. "you'll have to make sev'ral mouthfuls of it, i guess," said trot; and that is what the ork did. he pecked at the soft, ripe fruit with his bill and ate it up very quickly, because it was good. even before he had finished the berry they could see the ork begin to grow. in a few minutes he had regained his natural size and was strutting before them, quite delighted with his transformation. "well, well! what do you think of me now?" he asked proudly. "you are very skinny and remarkably ugly," declared pessim. "you are a poor judge of orks," was the reply. "anyone can see that i'm much handsomer than those dreadful things called birds, which are all fluff and feathers." "their feathers make soft beds," asserted pessim. "and my skin would make excellent drumheads," retorted the ork. "nevertheless, a plucked bird or a skinned ork would be of no value to himself, so we needn't brag of our usefulness after we are dead. but for the sake of argument, friend pessim, i'd like to know what good _you_ would be, were you not alive?" "never mind that," said cap'n bill. "he isn't much good as he is." "i am king of this island, allow me to say, and you're intruding on my property," declared the little man, scowling upon them. "if you don't like me--and i'm sure you don't, for no one else does--why don't you go away and leave me to myself?" "well, the ork can fly, but we can't," explained trot, in answer. "we don't want to stay here a bit, but i don't see how we can get away." "you can go back into the hole you came from." cap'n bill shook his head; trot shuddered at the thought; the ork laughed aloud. "you may be king here," the creature said to pessim, "but we intend to run this island to suit ourselves, for we are three and you are one, and the balance of power lies with us." the little man made no reply to this, although as they walked back to the shed his face wore its fiercest scowl. cap'n bill gathered a lot of leaves and, assisted by trot, prepared two nice beds in opposite corners of the shed. pessim slept in a hammock which he swung between two trees. they required no dishes, as all their food consisted of fruits and nuts picked from the trees; they made no fire, for the weather was warm and there was nothing to cook; the shed had no furniture other than the rude stool which the little man was accustomed to sit upon. he called it his "throne" and they let him keep it. so they lived upon the island for three days, and rested and ate to their hearts' content. still, they were not at all happy in this life because of pessim. he continually found fault with them, and all that they did, and all their surroundings. he could see nothing good or admirable in all the world and trot soon came to understand why the little man's former neighbors had brought him to this island and left him there, all alone, so he could not annoy anyone. it was their misfortune that they had been led to this place by their adventures, for often they would have preferred the company of a wild beast to that of pessim. on the fourth day a happy thought came to the ork. they had all been racking their brains for a possible way to leave the island, and discussing this or that method, without finding a plan that was practical. cap'n bill had said he could make a raft of the trees, big enough to float them all, but he had no tools except those two pocketknives and it was not possible to chop down trees with such small blades. "and s'pose we got afloat on the ocean," said trot, "where would we drift to, and how long would it take us to get there?" cap'n bill was forced to admit he didn't know. the ork could fly away from the island any time it wished to, but the queer creature was loyal to his new friends and refused to leave them in such a lonely, forsaken place. it was when trot urged him to go, on this fourth morning, that the ork had his happy thought. "i will go," said he, "if you two will agree to ride upon my back." "we are too heavy; you might drop us," objected cap'n bill. "yes, you are rather heavy for a long journey," acknowledged the ork, "but you might eat of those lavender berries and become so small that i could carry you with ease." this quaint suggestion startled trot and she looked gravely at the speaker while she considered it, but cap'n bill gave a scornful snort and asked: "what would become of us afterward! we wouldn't be much good if we were some two or three inches high. no, mr. ork, i'd rather stay here, as i am, than be a hop-o'-my-thumb somewhere else." "why couldn't you take some of the dark purple berries along with you, to eat after we had reached our destination?" inquired the ork. "then you could grow big again whenever you pleased." trot clapped her hands with delight. "that's it!" she exclaimed. "let's do it, cap'n bill." the old sailor did not like the idea at first, but he thought it over carefully and the more he thought the better it seemed. "how could you manage to carry us, if we were so small?" he asked. "i could put you in a paper bag, and tie the bag around my neck." "but we haven't a paper bag," objected trot. the ork looked at her. "there's your sunbonnet," it said presently, "which is hollow in the middle and has two strings that you could tie around my neck." [illustration] trot took off her sunbonnet and regarded it critically. yes, it might easily hold both her and cap'n bill, after they had eaten the lavender berries and been reduced in size. she tied the strings around the ork's neck and the sunbonnet made a bag in which two tiny people might ride without danger of falling out. so she said: "i b'lieve we'll do it that way, cap'n." cap'n bill groaned but could make no logical objection except that the plan seemed to him quite dangerous--and dangerous in more ways than one. "i think so, myself," said trot soberly. "but nobody can stay alive without getting into danger sometimes, and danger doesn't mean getting hurt, cap'n; it only means we _might_ get hurt. so i guess we'll have to take the risk." "let's go and find the berries," said the ork. they said nothing to pessim, who was sitting on his stool and scowling dismally as he stared at the ocean, but started at once to seek the trees that bore the magic fruits. the ork remembered very well where the lavender berries grew and led his companions quickly to the spot. cap'n bill gathered two berries and placed them carefully in his pocket. then they went around to the east side of the island and found the tree that bore the dark purple berries. "i guess i'll take four of these," said the sailor-man, "so in case one doesn't make us grow big we can eat another." "better take six," advised the ork. "it's well to be on the safe side, and i'm sure these trees grow nowhere else in all the world." so cap'n bill gathered six of the purple berries and with their precious fruit they returned to the shed to bid good-bye to pessim. perhaps they would not have granted the surly little man this courtesy had they not wished to use him to tie the sunbonnet around the ork's neck. when pessim learned they were about to leave him he at first looked greatly pleased, but he suddenly recollected that nothing ought to please him and so began to grumble about being left alone. "we knew it wouldn't suit you," remarked cap'n bill. "it didn't suit you to have us here, and it won't suit you to have us go away." "that is quite true," admitted pessim. "i haven't been suited since i can remember; so it doesn't matter to me in the least whether you go or stay." he was interested in their experiment, however, and willingly agreed to assist, although he prophesied they would fall out of the sunbonnet on their way and be either drowned in the ocean or crushed upon some rocky shore. this uncheerful prospect did not daunt trot, but it made cap'n bill quite nervous. "i will eat my berry first," said trot, as she placed her sunbonnet on the ground, in such manner that they could get into it. then she ate the lavender berry and in a few seconds became so small that cap'n bill picked her up gently with his thumb and one finger and placed her in the middle of the sunbonnet. then he placed beside her the six purple berries--each one being about as big as the tiny trot's head--and all preparations being now made the old sailor ate his lavender berry and became very small--wooden leg and all! cap'n bill stumbled sadly in trying to climb over the edge of the sunbonnet and pitched in beside trot headfirst, which caused the unhappy pessim to laugh with glee. then the king of the island picked up the sunbonnet--so rudely that he shook its occupants like peas in a pod--and tied it, by means of its strings, securely around the ork's neck. "i hope, trot, you sewed those strings on tight," said cap'n bill anxiously. "why, we are not very heavy, you know," she replied, "so i think the stitches will hold. but be careful and not crush the berries, cap'n." "one is jammed already," he said, looking at them. "all ready?" asked the ork. "yes!" they cried together, and pessim came close to the sunbonnet and called out to them: "you'll be smashed or drowned, i'm sure you will! but farewell, and good riddance to you." the ork was provoked by this unkind speech, so he turned his tail toward the little man and made it revolve so fast that the rush of air tumbled pessim over backward and he rolled several times upon the ground before he could stop himself and sit up. by that time the ork was high in the air and speeding swiftly over the ocean. [illustration] [illustration] chapter 6 the flight of the midgets cap'n bill and trot rode very comfortably in the sunbonnet. the motion was quite steady, for they weighed so little that the ork flew without effort. yet they were both somewhat nervous about their future fate and could not help wishing they were safe on land and their natural size again. "you're terr'ble small, trot," remarked cap'n bill, looking at his companion. "same to you, cap'n," she said with a laugh; "but as long as we have the purple berries we needn't worry about our size." "in a circus," mused the old man, "we'd be curiosities. but in a sunbonnet--high up in the air--sailin' over a big, unknown ocean--they ain't no word in any booktionary to describe us." "why, we're midgets, that's all," said the little girl. the ork flew silently for a long time. the slight swaying of the sunbonnet made cap'n bill drowsy, and he began to doze. trot, however, was wide awake, and after enduring the monotonous journey as long as she was able she called out: "don't you see land anywhere, mr. ork?" "not yet," he answered. "this is a big ocean and i've no idea in which direction the nearest land to that island lies; but if i keep flying in a straight line i'm sure to reach some place some time." that seemed reasonable, so the little people in the sunbonnet remained as patient as possible; that is, cap'n bill dozed and trot tried to remember her geography lessons so she could figure out what land they were likely to arrive at. for hours and hours the ork flew steadily, keeping to the straight line and searching with his eyes the horizon of the ocean for land. cap'n bill was fast asleep and snoring and trot had laid her head on his shoulder to rest it when suddenly the ork exclaimed: "there! i've caught a glimpse of land, at last." at this announcement they roused themselves. cap'n bill stood up and tried to peek over the edge of the sunbonnet. "what does it look like?" he inquired. "looks like another island," said the ork; "but i can judge it better in a minute or two." "i don't care much for islands, since we visited that other one," declared trot. soon the ork made another announcement. "it is surely an island, and a little one, too," said he. "but i won't stop, because i see a much bigger land straight ahead of it." "that's right," approved cap'n bill. "the bigger the land, the better it will suit us." "it's almost a continent," continued the ork after a brief silence, during which he did not decrease the speed of his flight. "i wonder if it can be orkland, the place i have been seeking so long?" "i hope not," whispered trot to cap'n bill--so softly that the ork could not hear her--"for i shouldn't like to be in a country where only orks live. this one ork isn't a bad companion, but a lot of him wouldn't be much fun." after a few more minutes of flying the ork called out in a sad voice: "no! this is not my country. it's a place i have never seen before, although i have wandered far and wide. it seems to be all mountains and deserts and green valleys and queer cities and lakes and rivers--mixed up in a very puzzling way." "most countries are like that," commented cap'n bill. "are you going to land?" "pretty soon," was the reply. "there is a mountain peak just ahead of me. what do you say to our landing on that?" "all right," agreed the sailor-man, for both he and trot were getting tired of riding in the sunbonnet and longed to set foot on solid ground again. so in a few minutes the ork slowed down his speed and then came to a stop so easily that they were scarcely jarred at all. then the creature squatted down until the sunbonnet rested on the ground, and began trying to unfasten with its claws the knotted strings. this proved a very clumsy task, because the strings were tied at the back of the ork's neck, just where his claws would not easily reach. after much fumbling he said: "i'm afraid i can't let you out, and there is no one near to help me." this was at first discouraging, but after a little thought cap'n bill said: "if you don't mind, trot, i can cut a slit in your sunbonnet with my knife." "do," she replied. "the slit won't matter, 'cause i can sew it up again afterward, when i am big." so cap'n bill got out his knife, which was just as small, in proportion, as he was, and after considerable trouble managed to cut a long slit in the sunbonnet. first he squeezed through the opening himself and then helped trot to get out. [illustration] when they stood on firm ground again their first act was to begin eating the dark purple berries which they had brought with them. two of these trot had guarded carefully during the long journey, by holding them in her lap, for their safety meant much to the tiny people. "i'm not very hungry," said the little girl as she handed a berry to cap'n bill, "but hunger doesn't count, in this case. it's like taking medicine to make you well, so we must manage to eat 'em, somehow or other." but the berries proved quite pleasant to taste and as cap'n bill and trot nibbled at their edges their forms began to grow in size--slowly but steadily. the bigger they grew the easier it was for them to eat the berries, which of course became smaller to them, and by the time the fruit was eaten our friends had regained their natural size. the little girl was greatly relieved when she found herself as large as she had ever been, and cap'n bill shared her satisfaction; for, although they had seen the effect of the berries on the ork, they had not been sure the magic fruit would have the same effect on human beings, or that the magic would work in any other country than that in which the berries grew. "what shall we do with the other four berries?" asked trot, as she picked up her sunbonnet, marveling that she had ever been small enough to ride in it. "they're no good to us now, are they, cap'n?" "i'm not sure as to that," he replied. "if they were eaten by one who had never eaten the lavender berries, they might have no effect at all; but then, contrarywise, they might. one of 'em has got badly jammed, so i'll throw it away, but the other three i b'lieve i'll carry with me. they're magic things, you know, and may come handy to us some time." he now searched in his big pockets and drew out a small wooden box with a sliding cover. the sailor had kept an assortment of nails, of various sizes, in this box, but those he now dumped loosely into his pocket and in the box placed the three sound purple berries. when this important matter was attended to they found time to look about them and see what sort of place the ork had landed them in. [illustration] [illustration] chapter 7 the bumpy man the mountain on which they had alighted was not a barren waste, but had on its sides patches of green grass, some bushes, a few slender trees and here and there masses of tumbled rocks. the sides of the slope seemed rather steep, but with care one could climb up or down them with ease and safety. the view from where they now stood showed pleasant valleys and fertile hills lying below the heights. trot thought she saw some houses of queer shapes scattered about the lower landscape, and there were moving dots that might be people or animals, yet were too far away for her to see them clearly. not far from the place where they stood was the top of the mountain, which seemed to be flat, so the ork proposed to his companions that he would fly up and see what was there. "that's a good idea," said trot, "'cause it's getting toward evening and we'll have to find a place to sleep." the ork had not been gone more than a few minutes when they saw him appear on the edge of the top which was nearest them. "come on up!" he called. so trot and cap'n bill began to ascend the steep slope and it did not take them long to reach the place where the ork awaited them. their first view of the mountain-top pleased them very much. it was a level space of wider extent than they had guessed and upon it grew grass of a brilliant green color. in the very center stood a house built of stone and very neatly constructed. no one was in sight, but smoke was coming from the chimney, so with one accord all three began walking toward the house. "i wonder," said trot, "in what country we are, and if it's very far from my home in california." "can't say as to that, partner," answered cap'n bill, "but i'm mighty certain we've come a long way since we struck that whirlpool." "yes," she agreed, with a sigh, "it must be miles and miles!" "distance means nothing," said the ork. "i have flown pretty much all over the world, trying to find my home, and it is astonishing how many little countries there are, hidden away in the cracks and corners of this big globe of earth. if one travels, he may find some new country at every turn, and a good many of them have never yet been put upon the maps." "p'raps this is one of them," suggested trot. they reached the house after a brisk walk and cap'n bill knocked upon the door. it was at once opened by a rugged looking man who had "bumps all over him," as trot afterward declared. there were bumps on his head, bumps on his body and bumps on his arms and legs and hands. even his fingers had bumps on the ends of them. for dress he wore an old gray suit of fantastic design, which fitted him very badly because of the bumps it covered but could not conceal. but the bumpy man's eyes were kind and twinkling in expression and as soon as he saw his visitors he bowed low and said in a rather bumpy voice: "happy day! come in and shut the door, for it grows cool when the sun goes down. winter is now upon us." "why, it isn't cold a bit, outside," said trot, "so it can't be winter yet." "you will change your mind about that in a little while," declared the bumpy man. "my bumps always tell me the state of the weather, and they feel just now as if a snowstorm was coming this way. but make yourselves at home, strangers. supper is nearly ready and there is food enough for all." inside the house there was but one large room, simply but comfortably furnished. it had benches, a table and a fireplace, all made of stone. on the hearth a pot was bubbling and steaming, and trot thought it had a rather nice smell. the visitors seated themselves upon the benches--except the ork, which squatted by the fireplace--and the bumpy man began stirring the kettle briskly. "may i ask what country this is, sir?' inquired cap'n bill. "goodness me--fruit-cake and apple-sauce!--don't you know where you are?' asked the bumpy man, as he stopped stirring and looked at the speaker in surprise. "no," admitted cap'n bill. "we've just arrived." "lost your way?" questioned the bumpy man. "not exactly," said cap'n bill. "we didn't have any way to lose." "ah!" said the bumpy man, nodding his bumpy head. "this," he announced, in a solemn, impressive voice, "is the famous land of mo." "oh!" exclaimed the sailor and the girl, both in one breath. but, never having heard of the land of mo, they were no wiser than before. "i thought that would startle you," remarked the bumpy man, well pleased, as he resumed his stirring. the ork watched him a while in silence and then asked: "who may _you_ be?" "me?" answered the bumpy man. "haven't you heard of me? gingerbread and lemon-juice! i'm known, far and wide, as the mountain ear." they all received this information in silence at first, for they were trying to think what he could mean. finally trot mustered up courage to ask: "what is a mountain ear, please?" for answer the man turned around and faced them, waving the spoon with which he had been stirring the kettle, as he recited the following verses in a singsong tone of voice: "here's a mountain, hard of hearing, that's sad-hearted and needs cheering, so my duty is to listen to all sounds that nature makes, so the hill won't get uneasy- get to coughing, or get sneezy- for this monster bump, when frightened, is quite liable to quakes. "_you_ can hear a bell that's ringing; _i_ can feel some people's singing; but a mountain isn't sensible of what goes on, and so when i hear a blizzard blowing or it's raining hard, or snowing, i tell it to the mountain and the mountain seems to know. "thus i benefit all people while i'm living on this steeple, for i keep the mountain steady so my neighbors all may thrive. with my list'ning and my shouting i prevent this mount from spouting, and that makes me so important that i'm glad that i'm alive." when he had finished these lines of verse the bumpy man turned again to resume his stirring. the ork laughed softly and cap'n bill whistled to himself and trot made up her mind that the mountain ear must be a little crazy. but the bumpy man seemed satisfied that he had explained his position fully and presently he placed four stone plates upon the table and then lifted the kettle from the fire and poured some of its contents on each of the plates. cap'n bill and trot at once approached the table, for they were hungry, but when she examined her plate the little girl exclaimed: "why, it's molasses candy!" "to be sure," returned the bumpy man, with a pleasant smile. "eat it quick, while it's hot, for it cools very quickly this winter weather." with this he seized a stone spoon and began putting the hot molasses candy into his mouth, while the others watched him in astonishment. "doesn't it burn you?" asked the girl. "no indeed," said he. "why don't you eat? aren't you hungry?" "yes," she replied, "i am hungry. but we usually eat our candy when it is cold and hard. we always pull molasses candy before we eat it." "ha, ha, ha!" laughed the mountain ear. "what a funny idea! where in the world did you come from?" "california," she said. "california! pooh! there isn't any such place. i've heard of every place in the land of mo, but i never before heard of california." [illustration] "it isn't in the land of mo," she explained. "then it isn't worth talking about," declared the bumpy man, helping himself again from the steaming kettle, for he had been eating all the time he talked. "for my part," sighed cap'n bill, "i'd like a decent square meal, once more, just by way of variety. in the last place there was nothing but fruit to eat, and here it's worse, for there's nothing but candy." "molasses candy isn't so bad," said trot. "mine's nearly cool enough to pull, already. wait a bit, cap'n, and you can eat it." a little later she was able to gather the candy from the stone plate and begin to work it back and forth with her hands. the mountain ear was greatly amazed at this and watched her closely. it was really good candy and pulled beautifully, so that trot was soon ready to cut it into chunks for eating. cap'n bill condescended to eat one or two pieces and the ork ate several, but the bumpy man refused to try it. trot finished the plate of candy herself and then asked for a drink of water. "water?" said the mountain ear wonderingly. "what is that?" "something to drink. don't you have water in mo?" "none that ever i heard of," said he. "but i can give you some fresh lemonade. i caught it in a 'jar the last time it rained, which was only day before yesterday." "oh, does it rain lemonade here?" she inquired. "always; and it is very refreshing and healthful." [illustration ] with this he brought from a cupboard a stone jar and a dipper, and the girl found it very nice lemonade, indeed. cap'n bill liked it, too; but the ork would not touch it. "if there is no water in this country, i cannot stay here for long," the creature declared. "water means life to man and beast and bird." "there must be water in lemonade," said trot. "yes," answered the ork, "i suppose so; but there are other things in it, too, and they spoil the good water." the day's adventures had made our wanderers tired, so the bumpy man brought them some blankets in which they rolled themselves and then lay down before the fire, which their host kept alive with fuel all through the night. trot wakened several times and found the mountain ear always alert and listening intently for the slightest sound. but the little girl could hear no sound at all except the snores of cap'n bill. [illustration] chapter 8 button-bright is lost and found again "wake up--wake up!" called the voice of the bumpy man. "didn't i tell you winter was coming? i could hear it coming with my left ear, and the proof is that it is now snowing hard outside." "is it?" said trot, rubbing her eyes and creeping out of her blanket. "where i live, in california, i have never seen snow, except far away on the tops of high mountains." "well, this is the top of a high mountain," returned the bumpy one, "and for that reason we get our heaviest snowfalls right here." the little girl went to the window and looked out. the air was filled with falling white flakes, so large in size and so queer in form that she was puzzled. "are you certain this is snow?" she asked. "to be sure. i must get my snow-shovel and turn out to shovel a path. would you like to come with me?" "yes," she said, and followed the bumpy man out when he opened the door. then she exclaimed: "why, it isn't cold a bit!" "of course not," replied the man. "it was cold last night, before the snowstorm; but snow, when it falls, is always crisp and warm." trot gathered a handful of it. "why, it's popcorn? 7 she cried. "certainly; all snow is popcorn. what did you expect it to be?" "popcorn is not snow in my country." "well, it is the only snow we have in the land of mo, so you may as well make the best of it," said he, a little impatiently. "i'm not responsible for the absurd things that happen in your country, and when you're in mo you must do as the momen do. eat some of our snow, and you will find it is good. the only fault i find with our snow is that we get too much of it at times." with this the bumpy man set to work shoveling a path and he was so quick and industrious that he piled up the popcorn in great banks on either side of the trail that led to the mountain-top from the plains below. while he worked, trot ate popcorn and found it crisp and slightly warm, as well as nicely salted and buttered. presently cap'n bill came out of the house and joined her. "what's this?" he asked. "mo snow," said she. "but it isn't real snow, although it falls from the sky. it's popcorn." cap'n bill tasted it; then he sat down in the path and began to eat. the ork came out and pecked away with its bill as fast as it could. they all liked popcorn and they all were hungry this morning. meantime the flakes of "mo snow" came down so fast that the number of them almost darkened the air. the bumpy man was now shoveling quite a distance down the mountain-side, while the path behind him rapidly filled up with fresh-fallen popcorn. suddenly trot heard him call out: "goodness gracious--mince pie and pancakes!--here is some one buried in the snow." she ran toward him at once and the others followed, wading through the corn and crunching it underneath their feet. the mo snow was pretty deep where the bumpy man was shoveling and from beneath a great bank of it he had uncovered a pair of feet. "dear me! someone has been lost in the storm," said cap'n bill. "i hope he is still alive. let's pull him out and see." he took hold of one foot and the bumpy man took hold of the other. then they both pulled and out from the heap of popcorn came a little boy. he was dressed in a brown velvet jacket and knickerbockers, with brown stockings, buckled shoes and a blue shirt-waist that had frills down its front. when drawn from the heap the boy was chewing a mouthful of popcorn and both his hands were full of it. so at first he couldn't speak to his rescuers but lay quite still and eyed them calmly until he had swallowed his mouthful. then he said: "get my cap," and stuffed more popcorn into his mouth. while the bumpy man began shoveling into the corn-bank to find the boy's cap, trot was laughing joyfully and cap'n bill had a broad grin on his face. the ork looked from one to another and asked: "who is this stranger?" "why, it's button-bright, of course," answered trot. "if anyone ever finds a lost boy, he can make up his mind it's button-bright. but how he ever came to be lost in this far-away country is more'n i can make out." "where does he belong?" inquired the ork. [illustration] "his home used to be in philadelphia, i think; but i'm quite sure button-bright doesn't belong anywhere." "that's right," said the boy, nodding his head as he swallowed the second mouthful. "everyone belongs somewhere," remarked the ork. "not me," insisted button-bright. "i'm half-way 'round the world from philadelphia, and i've lost my magic umbrella, that used to carry me anywhere. stands to reason that if i can't get back i haven't any home. but i don't care much. this is a pretty good country, trot. i've had lots of fun here." by this time the mountain ear had secured the boy's cap and was listening to the conversation with much interest. "it seems you know this poor, snow-covered castaway," he said. "yes, indeed," answered trot. "we made a journey together to sky island, once, and were good friends." "well, then i'm glad i saved his life," said the bumpy man. "much obliged, mr. knobs," said button-bright, sitting up and staring at him, "but i don't believe you've saved anything except some popcorn that i might have eaten had you not disturbed me. it was nice and warm in that bank of popcorn, and there was plenty to eat. what made you dig me out? and what makes you so bumpy everywhere?" "as for the bumps," replied the man, looking at himself with much pride, "i was born with them and i suspect they were a gift from the fairies. they make me look rugged and big, like the mountain i serve." "all right," said button-bright and began eating popcorn again. it had stopped snowing, now, and great flocks of birds were gathering around the mountain-side, eating the popcorn with much eagerness and scarcely noticing the people at all. there were birds of every size and color, most of them having gorgeous feathers and plumes. "just look at them!" exclaimed the ork scornfully. "aren't they dreadful creatures, all covered with feathers?" "i think they're beautiful," said trot, and this made the ork so indignant that he went back into the house and sulked. button-bright reached out his hand and caught a big bird by the leg. at once it rose into the air and it was so strong that it nearly carried the little boy with it. he let go the leg in a hurry and the bird flew down again and began to eat of the popcorn, not being frightened in the least. this gave cap'n bill an idea. he felt in his pocket and drew out several pieces of stout string. moving very quietly, so as to not alarm the birds, he crept up to several of the biggest ones and tied cords around their legs, thus making them prisoners. the birds were so intent on their eating that they did not notice what had happened to them, and when about twenty had been captured in this manner cap'n bill tied the ends of all the strings together and fastened them to a huge stone, so they could not escape. the bumpy man watched the old sailor's actions with much curiosity. "the birds will be quiet until they've eaten up all the snow," he said, "but then they will want to fly away to their homes. tell me, sir, what will the poor things do when they find they can't fly?" "it may worry 'em a little," replied cap'n bill, "but they're not going to be hurt if they take it easy and behave themselves." our friends had all made a good breakfast of the delicious popcorn and now they walked toward the house again. button-bright walked beside trot and held her hand in his, because they were old friends and he liked the little girl very much. the boy was not so old as trot, and small as she was he was half a head shorter in height. the most remarkable thing about button-bright was that he was always quiet and composed, whatever happened, and nothing was ever able to astonish him. trot liked him because he was not rude and never tried to plague her. cap'n bill liked him because he had found the boy cheerful and brave at all times, and willing to do anything he was asked to do. when they came to the house trot sniffed the air and asked: "don't i smell perfume?'" [illustration] "i think you do," said the bumpy man. "you smell violets, and that proves there is a breeze springing up from the south. all our winds and breezes are perfumed and for that reason we are glad to have them blow in our direction. the south breeze always has a violet odor; the north breeze has the fragrance of wild roses; the east breeze is perfumed with lilies-of-the-valley and the west wind with lilac blossoms. so we need no weather-vane to tell us which way the wind is blowing. we have only to smell the perfume and it informs us at once." inside the house they found the ork, and button-bright regarded the strange, bird-like creature with curious interest. after examining it closely for a time he asked: "which way does your tail whirl?" "either way," said the ork. button-bright put out his hand and tried to spin it. "don't do that!" exclaimed the ork. "why not?' inquired the boy. "because it happens to be my tail, and i reserve the right to whirl it myself," explained the ork. "let's go out and fly somewhere," proposed button-bright. "i want to see how the tail works." "not now," said the ork. "i appreciate your interest in me, which i fully deserve; but i only fly when i am going somewhere, and if i got started i might not stop." "that reminds me," remarked cap'n bill, "to ask you, friend ork, how we are going to get away from here?" "get away!" exclaimed the bumpy man. "why don't you stay here? you won't find any nicer place than mo." "have you been anywhere else, sir?" "no; i can't say that i have," admitted the mountain ear. "then permit me to say you're no judge," declared cap'n bill. "but you haven't answered my question, friend ork. how are we to get away from this mountain?" the ork reflected a while before he answered. "i might carry one of you--the boy or the girl--upon my back," said he, "but three big people are more than i can manage, although i have carried two of you for a short distance. you ought not to have eaten those purple berries so soon." "p'r'aps we did make a mistake," cap'n bill acknowledged. "or we might have brought some of those lavender berries with us, instead of so many purple ones," suggested trot regretfully. cap'n bill made no reply to this statement, which showed he did not fully agree with the little girl; but he fell into deep thought, with wrinkled brows, and finally he said: "if those purple berries would make anything grow bigger, whether it'd eaten the lavender ones or not, i could find a way out of our troubles." they did not understand this speech and looked at the old sailor as if expecting him to explain what he meant. but just then a chorus of shrill cries rose from outside. "here! let me go--let me go!" the voices seemed to say. "why are we insulted in this way? mountain ear, come and help us!" trot ran to the window and looked out. "it's the birds you caught, cap'n," she said. "i didn't know they could talk." "oh, yes; all the birds in mo are educated to talk," said the bumpy man. then he looked at cap'n bill uneasily and added: "won't you let the poor things go?" "i'll see," replied the sailor, and walked out to where the birds were fluttering and complaining because the strings would not allow them to fly away. "listen to me!" he cried, and at once they became still. "we three people who are strangers in your land want to go to some other country, and we want three of you birds to carry us there. we know we are asking a great favor, but it's the only way we can think of--excep' walkin', an' i'm not much good at that because i've a wooden leg. besides, trot an' button-bright are too small to undertake a long and tiresome journey. now, tell me: which three of you birds will consent to carry us?" [illustration] the birds looked at one another as if greatly astonished. then one of them replied: "you must be crazy, old man. not one of us is big enough to fly with even the smallest of your party." "i'll fix the matter of size," promised cap'n bill. "if three of you will agree to carry us, i'll make you big an' strong enough to do it, so it won't worry you a bit." the birds considered this gravely. living in a magic country, they had no doubt but that the strange one-legged man could do what he said. after a little, one of them asked: "if you make us big, would we stay big always?" "i think so," replied cap'n bill. they chattered a while among themselves and then the bird that had first spoken said: "til go, for one." "so will i," said another; and after a pause a third said: "i'll go, too." perhaps more would have volunteered, for it seemed that for some reason they all longed to be bigger than they were; but three were enough for cap'n bill's purpose and so he promptly released all the others, who immediately flew away. the three that remained were cousins, and all were of the same brilliant plumage and in size about as large as eagles. when trot questioned them she found they were quite young, having only abandoned their nests a few weeks before. they were strong young birds, with clear, brave eyes, and the little girl decided they were the most beautiful of all the feathered creatures she had ever seen. [illustration] cap'n bill now took from his pocket the wooden box with the sliding cover and removed the three purple berries, which were still in good condition. "eat these," he said, and gave one to each of the birds. they obeyed, finding the fruit very pleasant to taste. in a few seconds they began to grow in size and grew so fast that trot feared they would never stop. but they finally did stop growing, and then they were much larger than the ork, and nearly the size of full-grown ostriches. cap'n bill was much pleased by this result. "you can carry us now, all right," said he. the birds strutted around with pride, highly pleased with their immense size. "i don't see, though," said trot doubtfully, "how we're going to ride on their backs without falling off." "we're not going to ride on their backs," answered cap'n bill. "i'm going to make swings for us to ride in." he then asked the bumpy man for some rope, but the man had no rope. he had, however, an old suit of gray clothes which he gladly presented to cap'n bill, who cut the cloth into strips and twisted it so that it was almost as strong as rope. with this material he attached to each bird a swing that dangled below its feet, and button-bright made a trial flight in one of them to prove that it was safe and comfortable. when all this had been arranged one of the birds asked: "where do you wish us to take you?" "why, just follow the ork," said cap'n bill. "he will be our leader, and wherever the ork flies you are to fly, and wherever the ork lands you are to land. is that satisfactory?" [illustration] the birds declared it was quite satisfactory, so cap'n bill took counsel with the ork. "on our way here," said that peculiar creature, "i noticed a broad, sandy desert at the left of me, on which was no living thing." "then we'd better keep away from it," replied the sailor. "not so," insisted the ork. "i have found, on my travels, that the most pleasant countries often lie in the midst of deserts; so i think it would be wise for us to fly over this desert and discover what lies beyond it. for in the direction we came from lies the ocean, as we well know, and beyond here is this strange land of mo, which we do not care to explore. on one side, as we can see from this mountain, is a broad expanse of plain, and on the other the desert. for my part, i vote for the desert." "what do you say, trot?" inquired cap'n bill. "it's all the same to me," she replied. no one thought of asking button-bright's opinion, so it was decided to fly over the desert. they bade good-bye to the bumpy man and thanked him for his kindness and hospitality. then they seated themselves in the swings--one for each bird--and told the ork to start away and they would follow. the whirl of the ork's tail astonished the birds at first, but after he had gone a short distance they rose in the air, carrying their passengers easily, and flew with strong, regular strokes of their great wings in the wake of their leader. [illustration] chapter 9 the kingdom of jinxland trot rode with more comfort than she had expected, although the swing swayed so much that she had to hold on tight with both hands. cap'n bill's bird followed the ork, and trot came next, with button-bright trailing behind her. it was quite an imposing procession, but unfortunately there was no one to see it, for the ork had headed straight for the great sandy desert and in a few minutes after starting they were flying high over the broad waste, where no living thing could exist. the little girl thought this would be a bad place for the birds to lose strength, or for the cloth ropes to give way; but although she could not help feeling a trifle nervous and fidgety she had confidence in the huge and brilliantly plumaged bird that bore her, as well as in cap'n bill's knowledge of how to twist and fasten a rope so it would hold. that was a remarkably big desert. there was nothing to relieve the monotony of view and every minute seemed an hour and every hour a day. disagreeable fumes and gases rose from the sands, which would have been deadly to the travelers had they not been so high in the air. as it was, trot was beginning to feel sick, when a breath of fresher air filled her nostrils and on looking ahead she saw a great cloud of pink-tinted mist. even while she wondered what it could be, the ork plunged boldly into the mist and the other birds followed. she could see nothing for a time, nor could the bird which carried her see where the ork had gone, but it kept flying as sturdily as ever and in a few moments the mist was passed and the girl saw a most beautiful landscape spread out below her, extending as far as her eye could reach. she saw bits of forest, verdure clothed hills, fields of waving grain, fountains, rivers and lakes; and throughout the scene were scattered groups of pretty houses and a few grand castles and palaces. over all this delightful landscape--which from trot's high perch seemed like a magnificent painted picture--was a rosy glow such as we sometimes see in the west at sunset. in this case, however, it was not in the west only, but everywhere. no wonder the ork paused to circle slowly over this lovely country. the other birds followed his action, all eyeing the place with equal delight. then, as with one accord, the four formed a group and slowly sailed downward. this brought them to that part of the newly-discovered land which bordered on the desert's edge; but it was just as pretty here as anywhere, so the ork and the birds alighted and the three passengers at once got out of their swings. "oh, cap'n bill, isn't this fine an' dandy?" exclaimed trot rapturously. "how lucky we were to discover this beautiful country!" "the country seems rather high class, i'll admit, trot," replied the old sailor-man, looking around him, "but we don't know, as yet, what its people are like." "no one could live in such a country without being happy and good--i'm sure of that," she said earnestly. "don't you think so, button-bright?" "i'm not thinking, just now," answered the little boy. "it tires me to think, and i never seem to gain anything by it. when we see the people who live here we will know what they are like, and no 'mount of thinking will make them any different." "that's true enough," said the ork. "but now i want to make a proposal. while you are getting acquainted with this new country, which looks as if it contains everything to make one happy, i would like to fly along--all by myself--and see if i can find my home on the other side of the great desert. if i do, i will stay there, of course. but if i fail to find orkland i will return to you in a week, to see if i can do anything more to assist you." they were sorry to lose their queer companion, but could offer no objection to the plan; so the ork bade them good-bye and rising swiftly in the air, he flew over the country and was soon lost to view in the distance. the three birds which had carried our friends now begged permission to return by the way they had come, to their own homes, saying they were anxious to show their families how big they had become. so cap'n bill and trot and button-bright all thanked them gratefully for their assistance and soon the birds began their long flight toward the land of mo. being now left to themselves in this strange land, the three comrades selected a pretty pathway and began walking along it. they believed this path would lead them to a splendid castle which they espied in the distance, the turrets of which towered far above the tops of the trees which surrounded it. it did not seem very far away, so they sauntered on slowly, admiring the beautiful ferns and flowers that lined the pathway and listening to the singing of the birds and the soft chirping of the grasshoppers. [illustration] presently the path wound over a little hill. in a valley that lay beyond the hill was a tiny cottage surrounded by flower beds and fruit trees. on the shady porch of the cottage they saw, as they approached, a pleasant faced woman sitting amidst a group of children, to whom she was telling stories. the children quickly discovered the strangers and ran toward them with exclamations of astonishment, so that trot and her friends became the center of a curious group, all chattering excitedly. cap'n bill's wooden leg seemed to arouse the wonder of the children, as they could not understand why he had not two meat legs. this attention seemed to please the old sailor, who patted the heads of the children kindly and then, raising his hat to the woman, he inquired: "can you tell us, madam, just what country this is?" she stared hard at all three of the strangers as she replied briefly: "jinxland." "oh!" exclaimed cap'n bill, with a puzzled look. "and where is jinxland, please?" "in the quadling country," said she. "what!" cried trot, in sudden excitement. "do you mean to say this is the quadling country of the land of oz?" "to be sure i do," the woman answered. "every bit of land that is surrounded by the great desert is the land of oz, as you ought to know as well as i do; but i'm sorry to say that jinxland is separated from the rest of the quadling country by that row of high mountains you see yonder, which have such steep sides that no one can cross them. so we live here all by ourselves, and are ruled by our own king, instead of by ozma of oz." "i've been to the land of oz before," said button-bright, "but i've never been here." "did you ever hear of jinxland before?' asked trot. "no," said button-bright. "it is on the map of oz, though," asserted the woman, "and it's a fine country, i assure you. if only," she added, and then paused to look around her with a frightened expression. "if only--" here she stopped again, as if not daring to go on with her speech. "if only what, ma'am?" asked cap'n bill. the woman sent the children into the house. then she came closer to the strangers and whispered: "if only we had a different king, we would be very happy and contented." "what's the matter with your king?" asked trot, curiously. but the woman seemed frightened to have said so much. she retreated to her porch, merely saying: "the king punishes severely any treason on the part of his subjects." "what's treason?" asked button-bright. "in this case," replied cap'n bill, "treason seems to consist of knockin' the king; but i guess we know his disposition now as well as if the lady had said more." "i wonder," said trot, going up to the woman, "if you could spare us something to eat. we haven't had anything but popcorn and lemonade for a long time." "bless your heart! of course i can spare you some food," the woman answered, and entering her cottage she soon returned with a tray loaded with sandwiches, cakes and cheese. one of the children drew a bucket of clear, cold water from a spring and the three wanderers ate heartily and enjoyed the good things immensely. when button-bright could eat no more he filled the pockets of his jacket with cakes and cheese, and not even the children objected to this. indeed they all seemed pleased to see the strangers eat, so cap'n bill decided that no matter what the king of jinxland was like, the people would prove friendly and hospitable. [illustration] "whose castle is that, yonder, ma'am?" he asked, waving his hand toward the towers that rose above the trees. "it belongs to his majesty, king krewl," she said. "oh, indeed; and does he live there?" "when he is not out hunting with his fierce courtiers and war captains," she replied. "is he hunting now?" trot inquired. "i do not know, my dear. the less we know about the king's actions the safer we are." it was evident the woman did not like to talk about king krewl and so, having finished their meal, they said good-bye and continued along the pathway. "don't you think we'd better keep away from that king's castle, cap'n?" asked trot. "well," said he, "king krewl would find out, sooner or later, that we are in his country, so we may as well face the music now. perhaps he isn't quite so bad as that woman thinks he is. kings aren't always popular with their people, you know, even if they do the best they know how." "ozma is pop'lar," said button-bright. "ozma is diff'rent from any other ruler, from all i've heard," remarked trot musingly, as she walked beside the boy. "and, after all, we are really in the land of oz, where ozma rules ev'ry king and ev'rybody else. i never heard of anybody getting hurt in her dominions, did you, button-bright?" "not when she knows about it," he replied. "but those birds landed us in just the wrong place, seems to me. they might have carried us right on, over that row of mountains, to the em'rald city." "true enough," said cap'n bill; "but they didn't, an' so we must make the best of jinxland. let's try not to be afraid." "oh, i'm not very scared," said button-bright, pausing to look at a pink rabbit that popped its head out of a hole in the field near by. "nor am i," added trot. "really, cap'n, i'm so glad to be anywhere at all in the wonderful fairyland of oz that i think i'm the luckiest girl in all the world. dorothy lives in the em'rald city, you know, and so does the scarecrow and the tin woodman and tik-tok and the shaggy man--and all the rest of 'em that we've heard so much about not to mention ozma, who must be the sweetest and loveliest girl in all the world!" "take your time, trot," advised button-bright. "you don't have to say it all in one breath, you know. and you haven't mentioned half of the curious people in the em'rald city." "that 'ere em'rald city," said cap'n bill impressively, "happens to be on the other side o' those mountains, that we're told no one is able to cross. i don't want to discourage of you, trot, but we're a'most as much separated from your ozma an' dorothy as we were when we lived in californy." there was so much truth in this statement that they all walked on in silence for some time. finally they reached the grove of stately trees that bordered the grounds of the king's castle. they had gone half-way through it when the sound of sobbing, as of someone in bitter distress, reached their ears and caused them to halt abruptly. [illustration] [illustration] chapter 10 pon, the gardener's boy it was button-bright who first discovered, lying on his face beneath a broad spreading tree near the pathway, a young man whose body shook with the force of his sobs. he was dressed in a long brown smock and had sandals on his feet, betokening one in humble life. his head was bare and showed a shock of brown, curly hair. button-bright looked down on the young man and said: "who cares, anyhow?" "i do!" cried the young man, interrupting his sobs to roll over, face upward, that he might see who had spoken. "i care, for my heart is broken!" "can't you get another one?" asked the little boy. "i don't want another!" wailed the young man. by this time trot and cap'n bill arrived at the spot and the girl leaned over and said in a sympathetic voice: "tell us your troubles and perhaps we may help you." the youth sat up, then, and bowed politely. afterward he got upon his feet, but still kept wringing his hands as he tried to choke down his sobs. trot thought he was very brave to control such awful agony so well. "my name is pon," he began. "i'm the gardener's boy." "then the gardener of the king is your father, i suppose," said trot. "not my father, but my master," was the reply. "i do the work and the gardener gives the orders. and it was not my fault, in the least, that the princess gloria fell in love with me." "did she, really?" asked the little girl. "i don't see why," remarked button-bright, staring at the youth. "and who may the princess gloria be?" inquired cap'n bill. "she is the niece of king krewl, who is her guardian. the princess lives in the castle and is the loveliest and sweetest maiden in all jinxland. she is fond of flowers and used to walk in the gardens with her attendants. at such times, if i was working at my tasks, i used to cast down my eyes as gloria passed me; but one day i glanced up and found her gazing at me with a very tender look in her eyes. the next day she dismissed her attendants and, coming to my side, began to talk with me. she said i had touched her heart as no other young man had ever done. i kissed her hand. just then the king came around a bend in the walk. he struck me with his fist and kicked me with his foot. then he seized the arm of the princess and rudely dragged her into the castle." "wasn't he awful!" gasped trot indignantly. "he is a very abrupt king," said pon, "so it was the least i could expect. up to that time i had not thought of loving princess gloria, but realizing it would be impolite not to return her love, i did so. we met at evening, now and then, and she told me the king wanted her to marry a rich courtier named googly-goo, who is old enough to be gloria's father. she has refused googly-goo thirty-nine times, but he still persists and has brought many rich presents to bribe the king. on that account king krewl has commanded his niece to marry the old man, but the princess has assured me, time and again, that she will wed only me. this morning we happened to meet in the grape arbor and as i was respectfully saluting the cheek of the princess, two of the king's guards seized me and beat me terribly before the very eyes of gloria, whom the king himself held back so she could not interfere." [illustration] "why, this king must be a monster!" cried trot. "he is far worse than that," said pon, mournfully. "but, see here," interrupted cap'n bill, who had listened carefully to pon. "this king may not be so much to blame, after all. kings are proud folks, because they're so high an' mighty, an' it isn't reasonable for a royal princess to marry a common gardener's boy." "it isn't right," declared button-bright. "a princess should marry a prince." "i'm not a common gardener's boy," protested pon. "if i had my rights i would be the king instead of krewl. as it is, i'm a prince, and as royal as any man in jinxland." "how does that come?" asked cap'n bill. "my father used to be the king and krewl was his prime minister. but one day while out hunting, king phearse--that was my father's name--had a quarrel with krewl and tapped him gently on the nose with the knuckles of his closed hand. this so provoked the wicked krewl that he tripped my father backward, so that he fell into a deep pond. at once krewl threw in a mass of heavy stones, which so weighted down my poor father that his body could not rise again to the surface. it is impossible to kill anyone in this land, as perhaps you know, but when my father was pressed down into the mud at the bottom of the deep pool and the stones held him so he could never escape, he was of no more use to himself or the world than if he had died. knowing this, krewl proclaimed himself king, taking possession of the royal castle and driving all my father's people out. i was a small boy, then, but when i grew up i became a gardener. i have served king krewl without his knowing that i am the son of the same king phearse whom he so cruelly made away with." "my, but that's a terr'bly exciting story!" said trot, drawing a long breath. "but tell us, pon, who was gloria's father?" "oh, he was the king before my father," replied pon. "father was prime minister for king kynd, who was gloria's father. she was only a baby when king kynd fell into the great gulf that lies just this side of the mountains--the same mountains that separate jinxland from the rest of the land of oz. it is said the great gulf has no bottom; but, however that may be, king kynd has never been seen again and my father became king in his place." "seems to me," said trot, "that if gloria had her rights she would be queen of jinxland." "well, her father was a king," admitted pon, "and so was my father; so we are of equal rank, although she's a great lady and i'm a humble gardener's boy. i can't see why we should not marry if we want to--except that king krewl won't let us." "it's a sort of mixed-up mess, taken altogether," remarked cap'n bill. "but we are on our way to visit king krewl, and if we get a chance, young man, we'll put in a good word for you." "do, please!" begged pon. "was it the flogging you got that broke your heart?' inquired button-bright. "why, it helped to break it, of course," said pon. "i'd get it fixed up, if i were you," advised the boy, tossing a pebble at a chipmunk in a tree. "you ought to give gloria just as good a heart as she gives you." "that's common sense," agreed cap'n bill. so they left the gardener's boy standing beside the path, and resumed their journey toward the castle. [illustration] [illustration] chapter 11 the wicked king and googly-goo when our friends approached the great doorway of the castle they found it guarded by several soldiers dressed in splendid uniforms. they were armed with swords and lances. cap'n bill walked straight up to them and asked: "does the king happen to be at home?" "his magnificent and glorious majesty, king krewl, is at present inhabiting his royal castle," was the stiff reply. "then i guess we'll go in an' say how-d'ye-do," continued cap'n bill, attempting to enter the doorway. but a soldier barred his way with a lance. "who are you, what are your names, and where do you come from? 7 demanded the soldier. "you wouldn't know if we told you," returned the sailor, "seein' as we're strangers in a strange land." "oh, if you are strangers you will be permitted to enter," said the soldier, lowering his lance. "his majesty is very fond of strangers." "do many strangers come here?" asked trot. "you are the first that ever came to our country," said the man. "but his majesty has often said that if strangers ever arrived in jinxland he would see that they had a very exciting time." cap'n bill scratched his chin thoughtfully. he wasn't very favorably impressed by this last remark. but he decided that as there was no way of escape from jinxland it would be wise to confront--the king boldly and try to win his favor. so they entered the castle, escorted by one of the soldiers. it was certainly a fine castle, with many large rooms, all beautifully furnished. the passages were winding and handsomely decorated, and after following several of these the soldier led them into an open court that occupied the very center of the huge building. it was surrounded on every side by high turreted walls, and contained beds of flowers, fountains and walks of many colored marbles which were matched together in quaint designs. in an open space near the middle of the court they saw a group of courtiers and their ladies, who surrounded a lean man who wore upon his head a jeweled crown. his face was hard and sullen and through the slits of his half-closed eyelids the eyes glowed like coals of fire. he was dressed in brilliant satins and velvets and was seated in a golden throne-chair. this personage was king krewl, and as soon as cap'n bill saw him the old sailor knew at once that he was not going to like the king of jinxland. "hello! who's here?" said his majesty, with a deep scowl. "strangers, sire," answered the soldier, bowing so low that his forehead touched the marble tiles. "strangers, eh? well, well; what an unexpected visit! advance, strangers, and give an account of yourselves." the king's voice was as harsh as his features. trot shuddered a little but cap'n bill calmly replied: "there ain't much for us to say, 'cept as we've arrived to look over your country an' see how we like it. judgin' from the way you speak, you don't know who we are, or you'd be jumpin' up to shake hands an' offer us seats. kings usually treat us pretty well, in the great big outside world where we come from, but in this little kingdom which don't amount to much, anyhow folks don't seem to 'a' got much culchure." the king listened with amazement to this bold speech, first with a frown and then gazing at the two children and the old sailor with evident curiosity. the courtiers were dumb with fear, for no one had ever dared speak in such a manner to their self-willed, cruel king before. his majesty, however, was somewhat frightened, for cruel people are always cowards, and he feared these mysterious strangers might possess magic powers that would destroy him unless he treated them well. so he commanded his people to give the new arrivals seats, and they obeyed with trembling haste. after being seated, cap'n bill lighted his pipe and began puffing smoke from it, a sight so strange to them that it filled them all with wonder. presently the king asked: "how did you penetrate to this hidden country? did you cross the desert or the mountains?" "desert," answered cap'n bill, as if the task were too easy to be worth talking about. "indeed! no one has ever been able to do that before," said the king. "well, it's easy enough, if you know how," asserted cap'n bill, so carelessly that it greatly impressed his hearers. the king shifted in his throne uneasily. he was more afraid of these strangers than before. "do you intend to stay long in jinxland?" was his next anxious question. "depends on how we like it," said cap'n bill. "just now i might suggest to your majesty to order some rooms got ready for us in your dinky little castle here. and a royal banquet, with some fried onions an' pickled tripe, would set easy on our stomicks an' make us a bit happier than we are now." "your wishes shall be attended to," said king krewl, but his eyes flashed from between their slits in a wicked way that made trot hope the food wouldn't be poisoned. at the king's command several of his attendants hastened away to give the proper orders to the castle servants and no sooner were they gone than a skinny old man entered the courtyard and bowed before the king. this disagreeable person was dressed in rich velvets, with many furbelows and laces. he was covered with golden chains, finely wrought rings and jeweled ornaments. he walked with mincing steps and glared at all the courtiers as if he considered himself far superior to any or all of them. [illustration] "well, well, your majesty; what news--what news?" he demanded, in a shrill, cracked voice. the king gave him a surly look. "no news, lord googly-goo, except that strangers have arrived," he said. googly-goo cast a contemptuous glance at cap'n bill and a disdainful one at trot and button-bright. then he said: "strangers do not interest me, your majesty. but the princess gloria is very interesting--very interesting, indeed! what does she say, sire? will she marry me?" "ask her," retorted the king. "i have, many times; and every time she has refused." "well?" said the king harshly. "well," said googly-goo in a jaunty tone, "a bird that _can_ sing, and _won't_ sing, must be _made_ to sing." "huh!" sneered the king. "that's easy, with a bird; but a girl is harder to manage." "still," persisted googly-goo, "we must overcome difficulties. the chief trouble is that gloria fancies she loves that miserable gardener's boy, pon. suppose we throw pon into the great gulf, your majesty?" "it would do you no good," returned the king. "she would still love him." "too bad, too bad!" sighed googly-goo. "i have laid aside more than a bushel of precious gems--each worth a king's ransom--to present to your majesty on the day i wed gloria." the king's eyes sparkled, for he loved wealth above everything; but the next moment he frowned deeply again. "it won't help us to kill pon," he muttered. "what we must do is kill gloria's love for pon." "that is better, if you can find a way to do it," agreed googly-goo. "everything would come right if you could kill gloria's love for that gardener's boy. really, sire, now that i come to think of it, there must be fully a bushel and a half of those jewels!" just then a messenger entered the court to say that the banquet was prepared for the strangers. so cap'n bill, trot and button-bright entered the castle and were taken to a room where a fine feast was spread upon the table. "i don't like that lord googly-goo," remarked trot as she was busily eating. "nor i," said cap'n bill. "but from the talk we heard i guess the gardener's boy won't get the princess." "perhaps not," returned the girl; "but i hope old googly doesn't get her, either." "the king means to sell her for all those jewels," observed button-bright, his mouth half full of cake and jam. "poor princess!" sighed trot. "i'm sorry for her, although i've never seen her. but if she says no to googly-goo, and means it, what can they do?" "don't let us worry about a strange princess," advised cap'n bill. "i've a notion we're not too safe, ourselves, with this cruel king." the two children felt the same way and all three were rather solemn during the remainder of the meal. when they had eaten, the servants escorted them to their rooms. cap'n bill's room was way to one end of the castle, very high up, and trot's room was at the opposite end, rather low down. as for button-bright, they placed him in the middle, so that all were as far apart as they could possibly be. they didn't like this arrangement very well, but all the rooms were handsomely furnished and being guests of the king they dared not complain. after the strangers had left the courtyard the king and googly-goo had a long talk together, and the king said: [illustration] "i cannot force gloria to marry you just now, because those strangers may interfere. i suspect that the wooden-legged man possesses great magical powers, or he would never have been able to carry himself and those children across the deadly desert." "i don't like him; he looks dangerous," answered googly-goo. "but perhaps you are mistaken about his being a wizard. why don't you test his powers?" "how?" asked the king. "send for the wicked witch. she will tell you in a moment whether that wooden-legged person is a common man or a magician." "ha! that's a good idea," cried the king. "why didn't i think of the wicked witch before? but the woman demands rich rewards for her services." "never mind; i will pay her," promised the wealthy googly-goo. so a servant was dispatched to summon the wicked witch, who lived but a few leagues from king krewl's castle. while they awaited her, the withered old courtier proposed that they pay a visit to princess gloria and see if she was not now in a more complaisant mood. so the two started away together and searched the castle over without finding gloria. at last googly-goo suggested she might be in the rear garden, which was a large park filled with bushes and trees and surrounded by a high wall. and what was their anger, when they turned a corner of the path, to find in a quiet nook the beautiful princess, and kneeling before her, pon, the gardener's boy! with a roar of rage the king dashed forward; but pon had scaled the wall by means of a ladder, which still stood in its place, and when he saw the king coming he ran up the ladder and made good his escape. but this left gloria confronted by her angry guardian, the king, and by old googly-goo, who was trembling with a fury he could not express in words. seizing the princess by her arm the king dragged her back to the castle. pushing her into a room on the lower floor he locked the door upon the unhappy girl. and at that moment the arrival of the wicked witch was announced. [illustration] hearing this, the king smiled, as a tiger smiles, showing his teeth. and googly-goo smiled, as a serpent smiles, for he had no teeth except a couple of fangs. and having frightened each other with these smiles the two dreadful men went away to the royal council chamber to meet the wicked witch. [illustration: queen gloria] [illustration] chapter 12 the wooden-legged grass-hopper now it so happened that trot, from the window of her room, had witnessed the meeting of the lovers in the garden and had seen the king come and drag gloria away. the little girl's heart went out in sympathy for the poor princess, who seemed to her to be one of the sweetest and loveliest young ladies she had ever seen, so she crept along the passages and from a hidden niche saw gloria locked in her room. the key was still in the lock, so when the king had gone away, followed by googly-goo, trot stole up to the door, turned the key and entered. the princess lay prone upon a couch, sobbing bitterly. trot went up to her and smoothed her hair and tried to comfort her. "don't cry," she said. "i've unlocked the door, so you can go away any time you want to." "it isn't that," sobbed the princess. "i am unhappy because they will not let me love pon, the gardener's boy!" "well, never mind; pon isn't any great shakes, anyhow, seems to me," said trot soothingly. "there are lots of other people you can love." gloria rolled over on the couch and looked at the little girl reproachfully. "pon has won my heart, and i can't help loving him," she explained. then with sudden indignation she added: "but i'll never love googly-goo--never, as long as i live!" "i should say not!" replied trot. "pon may not be much good, but old googly is very, very bad. hunt around, and i'm sure you'll find someone worth your love. you're very pretty, you know, and almost anyone ought to love you." "you don't understand, my dear," said gloria, as she wiped the tears from her eyes with a dainty lace handkerchief bordered with pearls. "when you are older you will realize that a young lady cannot decide whom she will love, or choose the most worthy. her heart alone decides for her, and whomsoever her heart selects, she must love, whether he amounts to much or not." trot was a little puzzled by this speech, which seemed to her unreasonable; but she made no reply and presently gloria's grief softened and she began to question the little girl about herself and her adventures. trot told her how they had happened to come to jinxland, and all about cap'n bill and the ork and pessim and the bumpy man. while they were thus conversing together, getting more and more friendly as they became better acquainted, in the council chamber the king and googly-goo were talking with the wicked witch. this evil creature was old and ugly. she had lost one eye and wore a black patch over it, so the people of jinxland had named her "blinkie." of course witches are forbidden to exist in the land of oz, but jinxland was so far removed from the center of ozma's dominions, and so absolutely cut off from it by the steep mountains and the bottomless gulf, that the laws of oz were not obeyed very well in that country. so there were several witches in jinxland who were the terror of the people, but king krewl favored them and permitted them to exercise their evil sorcery. blinkie was the leader of all the other witches and therefore the most hated and feared. the king used her witchcraft at times to assist him in carrying out his cruelties and revenge, but he was always obliged to pay blinkie large sums of money or heaps of precious jewels before she would undertake an enchantment. this made him hate the old woman almost as much as his subjects did, but to-day lord googly-goo had agreed to pay the witch's price, so the king greeted her with gracious favor. "can you destroy the love of princess gloria for the gardener's boy?" inquired his majesty. the wicked witch thought about it before she replied: "that's a hard question to answer. i can do lots of clever magic, but love is a stubborn thing to conquer. when you think you've killed it, it's liable to bob up again as strong as ever. i believe love and cats have nine lives. in other words, killing love is a hard job, even for a skillful witch, but i believe i can do something that will answer your purpose just as well." "what is that?" asked the king. [illustration] "i can freeze the girl's heart. i've got a special incantation for that, and when gloria's heart is thoroughly frozen she can no longer love pon." "just the thing!" exclaimed googly-goo, and the king was likewise much pleased. they bargained a long time as to the price, but finally the old courtier agreed to pay the wicked witch's demands. it was arranged that they should take gloria to blinkie's house the next day, to have her heart frozen. then king krewl mentioned to the old hag the strangers who had that day arrived in jinxland, and said to her: "i think the two children--the boy and the girl--are unable to harm me, but i have a suspicion that the wooden-legged man is a powerful wizard." the witch's face wore a troubled look when she heard this. "if you are right," she said, "this wizard might spoil my incantation and interfere with me in other ways. so it will be best for me to meet this stranger at once and match my magic against his, to decide which is the stronger." "all right," said the king. "come with me and i will lead you to the man's room." googly-goo did not accompany them, as he was obliged to go home to get the money and jewels he had promised to pay old blinkie, so the other two climbed several flights of stairs and went through many passages until they came to the room occupied by cap'n bill. the sailor-man, finding his bed soft and inviting, and being tired with the adventures he had experienced, had decided to take a nap. when the wicked witch and the king softly opened his door and entered, cap'n bill was snoring with such vigor that he did not hear them at all. blinkie approached the bed and with her one eye anxiously stared at the sleeping stranger. "ah," she said in a soft whisper, "i believe you are right, king krewl. the man looks to me like a very powerful wizard. but by good luck i have caught him asleep, so i shall transform him before he wakes up, giving him such a form that he will be unable to oppose me." "careful!" cautioned the king, also speaking low. "if he discovers what you are doing he may destroy you, and that would annoy me because i need you to attend to gloria." but the wicked witch realized as well as he did that she must be careful. she carried over her arm a black bag, from which she now drew several packets carefully wrapped in paper. three of these she selected, replacing the others in the bag. two of the packets she mixed together and then she cautiously opened the third. "better stand back, your majesty," she advised, "for if this powder falls on you you might be transformed yourself." the king hastily retreated to the end of the room. as blinkie mixed the third powder with the others she waved her hands over it, mumbled a few words, and then backed away as quickly as she could. cap'n bill was slumbering peacefully, all unconscious of what was going on. puff! a great cloud of smoke rolled over the bed and completely hid him from view. when the smoke rolled away, both blinkie and the king saw that the body of the stranger had quite disappeared, while in his place, crouching in the middle of the bed, was a little gray grasshopper. one curious thing about this grasshopper was that the last joint of its left leg was made of wood. another curious thing--considering it was a grasshopper--was that it began talking, crying out in a tiny but sharp voice: "here--you people! what do you mean by treating me so? put me back where i belong, at once, or you'll be sorry!" [illustration] the cruel king turned pale at hearing the grasshopper's threats, but the wicked witch merely laughed in derision. then she raised her stick and aimed a vicious blow at the grasshopper, but before the stick struck the bed the tiny hopper made a marvelous jump--marvelous, indeed, when we consider that it had a wooden leg. it rose in the air and sailed across the room and passed right through the open window, where it disappeared from their view. "good!" shouted the king. "we are well rid of this desperate wizard." and then they both laughed heartily at the success of the incantation, and went away to complete their horrid plans. after trot had visited a time with princess gloria, the little girl went to button-bright's room but did not find him there. then she went to cap'n bill's room, but he was not there because the witch and the king had been there before her. so she made her way downstairs and questioned the servants. they said they had seen the little boy go out into the garden, some time ago, but the old man with the wooden leg they had not seen at all. therefore trot, not knowing what else to do, rambled through the great gardens, seeking for button-bright or cap'n bill and not finding either of them. this part of the garden, which lay before the castle, was not walled in, but extended to the roadway, and the paths were open to the edge of the forest; so, after two hours of vain search for her friends, the little girl returned to the castle. but at the doorway a soldier stopped her. "i live here," said trot, "so it's all right to let me in. the king has given me a room." "well, he has taken it back again," was the soldier's reply. "his majesty's orders are to turn you away if you attempt to enter. i am also ordered to forbid the boy, your companion, to again enter the king's castle." "how 'bout cap'n bill'?' she inquired. "why, it seems he has mysteriously disappeared," replied the soldier, shaking his head ominously. "where he has gone to, i can't make out, but i can assure you he is no longer in this castle. i'm sorry, little girl, to disappoint you. don't blame me; i must obey my master's orders." now, all her life trot had been accustomed to depend on cap'n bill, so when this good friend was suddenly taken from her she felt very miserable and forlorn indeed. she was brave enough not to cry before the soldier, or even to let him see her grief and anxiety, but after she was turned away from the castle she sought a quiet bench in the garden and for a time sobbed as if her heart would break. it was button-bright who found her, at last, just as the sun had set and the shades of evening were falling. he also had been turned away from the king's castle, when he tried to enter it, and in the park he came across trot. "never mind," said the boy. "we can find a place to sleep." "i want cap'n bill," wailed the girl. "well, so do i," was the reply. "but we haven't got him. where do you s'pose he is, trot?" "i don't s'pose anything. he's gone, an' that's all i know 'bout it." button-bright sat on the bench beside her and thrust his hands in the pockets of his knickerbockers. then he reflected somewhat gravely for him. "cap'n bill isn't around here," he said, letting his eyes wander over the dim garden, "so we must go somewhere else if we want to find him. besides, it's fast getting dark, and if we want to find a place to sleep we must get busy while we can see where to go." he rose from the bench as he said this and trot also jumped up, drying her eyes on her apron. then she walked beside him out of the grounds of the king's castle. they did not go by the main path, but passed through an opening in a hedge and found themselves in a small but well-worn roadway. following this for some distance, along a winding way, they came upon no house or building that would afford them refuge for the night. it became so dark that they could scarcely see their way, and finally trot stopped and suggested that they camp under a tree. [illustration] "all right," said button-bright, "i've often found that leaves make a good warm blanket. but--look there, trot!--isn't that a light flashing over yonder?" "it certainly is, button-bright. let's go over and see if it's a house. whoever lives there couldn't treat us worse than the king did." to reach the light they had to leave the road, so they stumbled over hillocks and brushwood, hand in hand, keeping the tiny speck of light always in sight. they were rather forlorn little waifs, outcasts in a strange country and forsaken by their only friend and guardian, cap'n bill. so they were very glad when finally they reached a small cottage and, looking in through its one window, saw pon, the gardener's boy, sitting by a fire of twigs. as trot opened the door and walked boldly in, pon sprang up to greet them. they told him of cap'n bill's disappearance and how they had been turned out of the king's castle. as they finished the story pon shook his head sadly. "king krewl is plotting mischief, i fear," said he, "for to-day he sent for old blinkie, the wicked witch, and with my own eyes i saw her come from the castle and hobble away toward her hut. she had been with the king and googly-goo, and i was afraid they were going to work some enchantment on gloria so she would no longer love me. but perhaps the witch was only called to the castle to enchant your friend, cap'n bill." "could she do that?" asked trot, horrified by the suggestion. "i suppose so, for old blinkie can do a lot of wicked magical things." "what sort of an enchantment could she put on cap'n bill?" "i don't know. but he has disappeared, so i'm pretty certain she has done something dreadful to him. but don't worry. if it has happened, it can't be helped, and if it hasn't happened we may be able to find him in the morning." with this pon went to the cupboard and brought food for them. trot was far too worried to eat, but button-bright made a good supper from the simple food and then lay down before the fire and went to sleep. the little girl and the gardener's boy, however, sat for a long time staring into the fire, busy with their thoughts. but at last trot, too, became sleepy and pon gently covered her with the one blanket he possessed. then he threw more wood on the fire and laid himself down before it, next to button-bright. soon all three were fast asleep. they were in a good deal of trouble; but they were young, and sleep was good to them because for a time it made them forget. [illustration] [illustration] chapter 13 glinda the good and the scarecrow of oz that country south of the emerald city, in the land of oz, is known as the quadling country, and in the very southernmost part of it stands a splendid palace in which lives glinda the good. glinda is the royal sorceress of oz. she has wonderful magical powers and uses them only to benefit the subjects of ozma's kingdom. even the famous wizard of oz pays tribute to her, for glinda taught him all the real magic he knows, and she is his superior in all sorts of sorcery. everyone loves glinda, from the dainty and exquisite ruler, ozma, down to the humblest inhabitant of oz, for she is always kindly and helpful and willing to listen to their troubles, however busy she may be. no one knows her age, but all can see how beautiful and stately she is. her hair is like red gold and finer than the finest silken strands. her eyes are blue as the sky and always frank and smiling. her cheeks are the envy of peach-blows and her mouth is enticing as a rosebud. glinda is tall and wears splendid gowns that trail behind her as she walks. she wears no jewels, for her beauty would shame them. for attendants glinda has half a hundred of the loveliest girls in oz. they are gathered from all over oz, from among the winkies, the munchkins, the gillikins and the quadlings, as well as from ozma's magnificent emerald city, and it is considered a great favor to be allowed to serve the royal sorceress. among the many wonderful things in glinda's palace is the great book of records. in this book is inscribed everything that takes place in all the world, just the instant it happens; so that by referring to its pages glinda knows what is taking place far and near, in every country that exists. in this way she learns when and where she can help any in distress or danger, and although her duties are confined to assisting those who inhabit the land of oz, she is always interested in what takes place in the unprotected outside world. [illustration: the most popular man in the land of oz] so it was that on a certain evening glinda sat in her library, surrounded by a bevy of her maids, who were engaged in spinning, weaving and embroidery, when an attendant announced the arrival at the palace of the scarecrow. this personage was one of the most famous and popular in all the land of oz. his body was merely a suit of munchkin clothes stuffed with straw, but his head was a round sack filled with bran, with which the wizard of oz had mixed some magic brains of a very superior sort. the eyes, nose and mouth of the scarecrow were painted upon the front of the sack, as were his ears, and since this quaint being had been endowed with life, the expression of his face was very interesting, if somewhat comical. the scarecrow was good all through, even to his brains, and while he was naturally awkward in his movements and lacked the neat symmetry of other people, his disposition was so kind and considerate and he was so obliging and honest, that all who knew him loved him, and there were few people in oz who had not met our scarecrow and made his acquaintance. he lived part of the time in ozma's palace at the emerald city, part of the time in his own corncob castle in the winkie country, and part of the time he traveled over all oz, visiting with the people and playing with the children, whom he dearly loved. it was on one of his wandering journeys that the scarecrow had arrived at glinda's palace, and the sorceress at once made him welcome. as he sat beside her, talking of his adventures, he asked: "what's new in the way of news?" glinda opened her great book of records and read some of the last pages. "here is an item quite curious and interesting," she announced, an accent of surprise in her voice. "three people from the big outside world have arrived in jinxland." "where is jinxland?' inquired the scarecrow. "very near here, a little to the east of us," she said. "in fact, jinxland is a little slice taken off the quadling country, but separated from it by a range of high mountains, at the foot of which lies a wide, deep gulf that is supposed to be impassable." "then jinxland is really a part of the land of oz," said he. "yes," returned glinda, "but oz people know nothing of it, except what is recorded here in my book." "what does the book say about it?' asked the scarecrow. "it is ruled by a wicked man called king krewl, although he has no right to the title. most of the people are good, but they are very timid and live in constant fear of their fierce ruler. there are also several wicked witches who keep the inhabitants of jinxland in a state of terror." "do those witches have any magical powers?" inquired the scarecrow. "yes, they seem to understand witchcraft in its most evil form, for one of them has just transformed a respectable and honest old sailor--one of the strangers who arrived there--into a grasshopper. this same witch, blinkie by name, is also planning to freeze the heart of a beautiful jinxland girl named princess gloria." "why, that's a dreadful thing to do!" exclaimed the scarecrow. glinda's face was very grave. she read in her book how trot and button-bright were turned out of the king's castle, and how they found refuge in the hut of pon, the gardener's boy. "i'm afraid those helpless earth people will endure much suffering in jinxland, even if the wicked king and the witches permit them to live," said the good sorceress, thoughtfully. "i wish i might help them." "can i do anything?" asked the scarecrow, anxiously. "if so, tell me what to do, and til do it." [illustration] for a few moments glinda did not reply, but sat musing over the records. then she said: "i am going to send you to jinxland, to protect trot and button-bright and cap'n bill." "all right," answered the scarecrow in a cheerful voice. "i know button-bright already, for he has been in the land of oz before. you remember he went away from the land of oz in one of our wizard's big bubbles." "yes," said glinda, "i remember that." then she carefully instructed the scarecrow what to do and gave him certain magical things which he placed in the pockets of his ragged munchkin coat. "as you have no need to sleep," said she, "you may as well start at once." "the night is the same as day to me," he replied, "except that i cannot see my way so well in the dark." "i will furnish a light to guide you," promised the sorceress. so the scarecrow bade her good-bye and at once started on his journey. by morning he had reached the mountains that separated the quadling country from jinxland. the sides of these mountains were too steep to climb, but the scarecrow took a small rope from his pocket and tossed one end upward, into the air. the rope unwound itself for hundreds of feet, until it caught upon a peak of rock at the very top of a mountain, for it was a magic rope furnished him by glinda. the scarecrow climbed the rope and, after pulling it up, let it down on the other side of the mountain range. when he descended the rope on this side he found himself in jinxland, but at his feet yawned the great gulf, which must be crossed before he could proceed any farther. [illustration] [illustration] the scarecrow knelt down and examined the ground carefully, and in a moment he discovered a fuzzy brown spider that had rolled itself into a ball. so he took two tiny pills from his pocket and laid them beside the spider, which unrolled itself and quickly ate up the pills. then the scarecrow said in a voice of command: "spin!" and the spider obeyed instantly. [illustration] in a few moments the little creature had spun two slender but strong strands that reached way across the gulf, one being five or six feet above the other. when these were completed the scarecrow started across the tiny bridge, walking upon one strand as a person walks upon a rope, and holding to the upper strand with his hands to prevent him from losing his balance and toppling over into the gulf. the tiny threads held him safely, thanks to the strength given them by the magic pills. presently he was safe across and standing on the plains of jinxland. far away he could see the towers of the king's castle and toward this he at once began to walk. [illustration] chapter 14 the frozen heart in the hut of pon, the gardener's boy, button-bright was the first to waken in the morning. leaving his companions still asleep, he went out into the fresh morning air and saw some blackberries growing on bushes in a field not far away. going to the bushes he found the berries ripe and sweet, so he began eating them. more bushes were scattered over the fields, so the boy wandered on, from bush to bush, without paying any heed to where he was wandering. then a butterfly fluttered by. he gave chase to it and followed it a long way. when finally he paused to look around him, button-bright could see no sign of pon's house, nor had he the slightest idea in which direction it lay. "well, i'm lost again," he remarked to himself. "but never mind; i've been lost lots of times. someone is sure to find me." trot was a little worried about button-bright when she awoke and found him gone. knowing how careless he was, she believed that he had strayed away, but felt that he would come back in time, because he had a habit of not staying lost. pon got the little girl some food for her breakfast and then together they went out of the hut and stood in the sunshine. pon's house was some distance off the road, but they could see it from where they stood and both gave a start of surprise when they discovered two soldiers walking along the roadway and escorting princess gloria between them. the poor girl had her hands bound together, to prevent her from struggling, and the soldiers rudely dragged her forward when her steps seemed to lag. behind this group came king krewl, wearing his jeweled crown and swinging in his hand a slender golden staff with a ball of clustered gems at one end. "where are they going?'' asked trot. "to the house of the wicked witch, i fear," pon replied. "come, let us follow them, for i am sure they intend to harm my dear gloria." "won't they see us?" she asked timidly. "we won't let them. i know a short cut through the trees to blinkie's house," said he. so they hurried away through the trees and reached the house of the witch ahead of the king and his soldiers. hiding themselves in the shrubbery, they watched the approach of poor gloria and her escort, all of whom passed so near to them that pon could have put out a hand and touched his sweetheart, had he dared to. blinkie's house had eight sides, with a door and a window in each side. smoke was coming out of the chimney and as the guards brought gloria to one of the doors it was opened by the old witch in person. she chuckled with evil glee and rubbed her skinny hands together to show the delight with which she greeted her victim, for blinkie was pleased to be able to perform her wicked rites on one so fair and sweet as the princess. gloria struggled to resist when they bade her enter the house, so the soldiers forced her through the doorway and even the king gave her a shove as he followed close behind. pon was so incensed at the cruelty shown gloria that he forgot all caution and rushed forward to enter the house also; but one of the soldiers prevented him, pushing the gardener's boy away with violence and slamming the door in his face. "never mind," said trot soothingly, as pon rose from where he had fallen. "you couldn't do much to help the poor princess if you were inside. how unfortunate it is that you are in love with her!" "true," he answered sadly, "it is indeed my misfortune. if i did not love her, it would be none of my business what the king did to his niece gloria; but the unlucky circumstance of my loving her makes it my duty to defend her." "i don't see how you can, duty or no duty," observed trot. "no; i am powerless, for they are stronger than i. but we might peek in through the window and see what they are doing." trot was somewhat curious, too, so they crept up to one of the windows and looked in, and it so happened that those inside the witch's house were so busy they did not notice that pon and trot were watching them. gloria had been tied to a stout post in the center of the room and the king was giving the wicked witch a quantity of money and jewels, which googly-goo had provided in payment. when this had been done the king said to her: "are you perfectly sure you can freeze this maiden's heart, so that she will no longer love that low gardener's boy?" "sure as witchcraft, your majesty," the creature replied. "then get to work," said the king. "there may be some unpleasant features about the ceremony that would annoy me, so i'll bid you good day and leave you to carry out your contract. one word, however: if you fail, i shall burn you at the stake!" then he beckoned to his soldiers to follow him, and throwing wide the door of the house walked out. this action was so sudden that king krewl almost caught trot and pon eavesdropping, but they managed to run around the house before he saw them. away he marched, up the road, followed by his men, heartlessly leaving gloria to the mercies of old blinkie. [illustration] when they again crept up to the window, trot and pon saw blinkie gloating over her victim. although nearly fainting from fear, the proud princess gazed with haughty defiance into the face of the wicked creature; but she was bound so tightly to the post that she could do no more to express her loathing. pretty soon blinkie went to a kettle that was swinging by a chain over the fire and tossed into it several magical compounds. the kettle gave three flashes, and at every flash another witch appeared in the room. these hags were very ugly but when one-eyed blinkie whispered her orders to them they grinned with joy as they began dancing around gloria. first one and then another cast something into the kettle, when to the astonishment of the watchers at the window all three of the old women were instantly transformed into maidens of exquisite beauty, dressed in the daintiest costumes imaginable. only their eyes could not be disguised, and an evil glare still shone in their depths. but if the eyes were cast down or hidden, one could not help but admire these beautiful creatures, even with the knowledge that they were mere illusions of witchcraft. trot certainly admired them, for she had never seen anything so dainty and bewitching, but her attention was quickly drawn to their deeds instead of their persons, and then horror replaced admiration. into the kettle old blinkie poured another mess from a big brass bottle she took from a chest, and this made the kettle begin to bubble and smoke violently. one by one the beautiful witches approached to stir the contents of the kettle and to mutter a magic charm. their movements were graceful and rhythmic and the wicked witch who had called them to her aid watched them with an evil grin upon her wrinkled face. finally the incantation was complete. the kettle ceased bubbling and together the witches lifted it from the fire. then blinkie brought a wooden ladle and filled it from the contents of the kettle. going with the spoon to princess gloria she cried: "love no more! magic art now will freeze your mortal heart!" with this she dashed the contents of the ladle full upon gloria's breast. trot saw the body of the princess become transparent, so that her beating heart showed plainly. but now the heart turned from a vivid red to gray, and then to white. a layer of frost formed about it and tiny icicles clung to its surface. then slowly the body of the girl became visible again and the heart was hidden from view. gloria seemed to have fainted, but now she recovered and, opening her beautiful eyes, stared coldly and without emotion at the group of witches confronting her. blinkie and the others knew by that one cold look that their charm had been successful. they burst into a chorus of wild laughter and the three beautiful ones began dancing again, while blinkie unbound the princess and set her free. trot rubbed her eyes to prove that she was wide awake and seeing clearly, for her astonishment was great when the three lovely maidens turned into ugly, crooked hags again, leaning on broomsticks and canes. they jeered at gloria, but the princess regarded them with cold disdain. being now free, she walked to a door, opened it and passed out. and the witches let her go. trot and pon had been so intent upon this scene that in their eagerness they had pressed quite hard against the window. just as gloria went out of the house the window-sash broke loose from its fastenings and fell with a crash into the room. the witches uttered a chorus of screams and then, seeing that their magical incantation had been observed, they rushed for the open window with uplifted broomsticks and canes. but pon was off like the wind, and trot followed at his heels. fear lent them strength to run, to leap across ditches, to speed up the hills and to vault the low fences as a deer would. [illustration] the band of witches had dashed through the window in pursuit; but blinkie was so old, and the others so crooked and awkward, that they soon realized they would be unable to overtake the fugitives. so the three who had been summoned by the wicked witch put their canes or broomsticks between their legs and flew away through the air, quickly disappearing against the blue sky. blinkie, however, was so enraged at pon and trot that she hobbled on in the direction they had taken, fully determined to catch them, in time, and to punish them terribly for spying upon her witchcraft. when pon and trot had run so far that they were confident they had made good their escape, they sat down near the edge of a forest to get their breath again, for both were panting hard from their exertions. trot was the first to recover speech, and she said to her companion: "my! wasn't it tenable?" "the most terrible thing i ever saw," pon agreed. "and they froze gloria's heart; so now she can't love you any more." "well, they froze her heart, to be sure," admitted pon, "but i'm in hopes i can melt it with my love." "where do you s'pose gloria is?' asked the girl, after a pause. "she left the witch's house just before we did. perhaps she has gone back to the king's castle," he said. "i'm pretty sure she started off in a different direction," declared trot. "i looked over my shoulder, as i ran, to see how close the witches were, and i'm sure i saw gloria walking slowly away toward the north." "then let us circle around that way," proposed pon, "and perhaps we shall meet her." trot agreed to this and they left the grove and began to circle around toward the north, thus drawing nearer and nearer to old blinkie's house again. the wicked witch did not suspect this change of direction, so when she came to the grove she passed through it and continued on. pon and trot had reached a place less than half a mile from the witch's house when they saw gloria walking toward them. the princess moved with great dignity and with no show of haste whatever, holding her head high and looking neither to right nor left. pon rushed forward, holding out his arms as if to embrace her and calling her sweet names. but gloria gazed upon him coldly and repelled him with a haughty gesture. at this the poor gardener's boy sank upon his knees and hid his face in his arms, weeping bitter tears; but the princess was not at all moved by his distress. passing him by, she drew her skirts aside, as if unwilling they should touch him, and then she walked up the path a way and hesitated, as if uncertain where to go next. trot was grieved by pon's sobs and indignant because gloria treated him so badly. but she remembered why. "i guess your heart is frozen, all right," she said to the princess. gloria nodded gravely, in reply, and then turned her back upon the little girl. "can't you like even me?" asked trot, half pleadingly. "no," said gloria. "your voice sounds like a refrig'rator," sighed the little girl. "i'm awful sorry for you, 'cause you were sweet an' nice to me before this happened. you can't help it, of course; but it's a dreadful thing, jus' the same." "my heart is frozen to all mortal loves," announced gloria, calmly. "i do not love even myself." [illustration] "that's too bad," said trot, "for, if you can't love anybody, you can't expect anybody to love you." "i do!" cried pon. "i shall always love her." "well, you're just a gardener's boy," replied trot, "and i didn't think you 'mounted to much, from the first. i can love the old princess gloria, with a warm heart an' nice manners, but this one gives me the shivers." "it's her icy heart, that's all," said pon. "that's enough," insisted trot. "seeing her heart isn't big enough to skate on, i can't see that she's of any use to anyone. for my part, i'm goin' to try to find button-bright an' cap'n bill." "i will go with you," decided pon. "it is evident that gloria no longer loves me and that her heart is frozen too stiff for me to melt it with my own love; therefore i may as well help you to find your friends." as trot started off, pon cast one more imploring look at the princess, who returned it with a chilly stare. so he followed after the little girl. as for the princess, she hesitated a moment and then turned in the same direction the others had taken, but going far more slowly. soon she heard footsteps pattering behind her, and up came googly-goo, a little out of breath with running. "stop, gloria!" he cried. "i have come to take you back to my mansion, where we are to be married." she looked at him wonderingly a moment, then tossed her head disdainfully and walked on. but googly-goo kept beside her. "what does this mean?" he demanded. "haven't you discovered that you no longer love that gardener's boy, who stood in my way?" "yes; i have discovered it," she replied. "my heart is frozen to all mortal loves. i cannot love you, or pon, or the cruel king my uncle, or even myself. go your way, googly-goo, for i will wed no one at all." he stopped in dismay when he heard this, but in another minute he exclaimed angrily: "you _must_ wed me, princess gloria, whether you want to or not! i paid to have your heart frozen; i also paid the king to permit our marriage. if you now refuse me it will mean that i have been robbed--robbed--robbed of my precious money and jewels!" he almost wept with despair, but she laughed a cold, bitter laugh and passed on. googly-goo caught at her arm, as if to restrain her, but she whirled and dealt him a blow that sent him reeling into a ditch beside the path. here he lay for a long time, half covered by muddy water, dazed with surprise. finally the old courtier arose, dripping, and climbed from the ditch. the princess had gone; so, muttering threats of vengeance upon her, upon the king and upon blinkie, old googly-goo hobbled back to his mansion to have the mud removed from his costly velvet clothes. [illustration] [illustration] chapter 15 trot meets the scarecrow trot and pon covered many leagues of ground, searching through forests, in fields and in many of the little villages of jinxland, but could find no trace of either cap'n bill or button-bright. finally they paused beside a cornfield and sat upon a stile to rest. pon took some apples from his pocket and gave one to trot. then he began eating another himself, for this was their time for luncheon. when his apple was finished pon tossed the core into the field. "tchuk-tchuk!" said a strange voice. "what do you mean by hitting me in the eye with an apple-core?" then rose up the form of the scarecrow, who had hidden himself in the cornfield while he examined pon and trot and decided whether they were worthy to be helped. "excuse me," said pon. "i didn't know you were there." "how did you happen to be there, anyhow?" asked trot. the scarecrow came forward with awkward steps and stood beside them. "ah, you are the gardener's boy," he said to pon. then he turned to trot. "and you are the little girl who came to jinxland riding on a big bird, and who has had the misfortune to lose her friend, cap'n bill, and her chum, button-bright." "why, how did you know all that?" she inquired. "i know a lot of things," replied the scarecrow, winking at her comically. "my brains are the carefully-assorted, double-distilled, high-efficiency sort that the wizard of oz makes. he admits, himself, that my brains are the best he ever manufactured." "i think i've heard of you," said trot slowly, as she looked the scarecrow over with much interest; "but you used to live in the land of oz." "oh, i do now," he replied cheerfully. "i've just come over the mountains from the quadling country to see if i can be of any help to you." "who, me?" asked pon. "no, the strangers from the big world. it seems they need looking after." "i'm doing that myself," said pon, a little ungraciously. "if you will pardon me for saying so, i don't see how a scarecrow with painted eyes can look after anyone." "if you don't see that, you are more blind than the scarecrow," asserted trot. "he's a fairy man, pon, and comes from the fairyland of oz, so he can do 'most anything. i hope," she added, turning to the scarecrow, "you can find cap'n bill for me." "i will try, anyhow," he promised. "but who is that old woman who is running toward us and shaking her stick at us?" trot and pon turned around and both uttered an exclamation of fear. the next instant they took to their heels and ran fast up the path. for it was old blinkie, the wicked witch, who had at last traced them to this place. her anger was so great that she was determined not to abandon the chase of pon and trot until she had caught and punished them. the scarecrow understood at once that the old woman meant harm to his new friends, so as she drew near he stepped before her. his appearance was so sudden and unexpected that blinkie ran into him and toppled him over, but she tripped on his straw body and went rolling in the path beside him. [illustration] the scarecrow sat up and said: "i beg your pardon!" but she whacked him with her stick and knocked him flat again. then, furious with rage, the old witch sprang upon her victim and began pulling the straw out of his body. the poor scarecrow was helpless to resist and in a few moments all that was left of him was an empty suit of clothes and a heap of straw beside it. fortunately, blinkie did not harm his head, for it rolled into a little hollow and escaped her notice. fearing that pon and trot would escape her, she quickly resumed the chase and disappeared over the brow of a hill, following the direction in which she had seen them go. only a short time elapsed before a gray grasshopper with a wooden leg came hopping along and lit directly on the upturned face of the scarecrow's head. "pardon me, but you are resting yourself upon my nose," remarked the scarecrow. [illustration] "oh! are you alive?" asked the grasshopper. "that is a question i have never been able to decide," said the scarecrow's head. "when my body is properly stuffed i have animation and can move around as well as any live person. the brains in the head you are now occupying as a throne, are of very superior quality and do a lot of very clever thinking. but whether that is being alive, or not, i cannot prove to you; for one who lives is liable to death, while i am only liable to destruction." "seems to me," said the grasshopper, rubbing his nose with his front legs, "that in your case it doesn't matter--unless you're destroyed already." "i am not; all i need is re-stuffing," declared the scarecrow; "and if pon and trot escape the witch, and come back here, i am sure they will do me that favor." "tell me! are trot and pon around here?" inquired the grasshopper, its small voice trembling with excitement. the scarecrow did not answer at once, for both his eyes were staring straight upward at a beautiful face that was slightly bent over his head. it was, indeed, princess gloria, who had wandered to this spot, very much surprised when she heard the scarecrow's head talk and the tiny gray grasshopper answer it. "this," said the scarecrow, still staring at her, "must be the princess who loves pon, the gardener's boy." "oh, indeed!" exclaimed the grasshopper--who of course was cap'n bill--as he examined the young lady curiously. "no," said gloria frigidly, "i do not love pon, or anyone else, for the wicked witch has frozen my heart." "what a shame!" cried the scarecrow. "one so lovely should be able to love. but would you mind, my dear, stuffing that straw into my body again?" the dainty princess glanced at the straw and at the well-worn blue munchkin clothes and shrank back in disdain. but she was spared from refusing the scarecrow's request by the appearance of trot and pon, who had hidden in some bushes just over the brow of the hill and waited until old blinkie had passed them by. their hiding place was on the same side as the witch's blind eye, and she rushed on in the chase of the girl and the youth without being aware that they had tricked her. [illustration] trot was shocked at the scarecrow's sad condition and at once began putting the straw back into his body. pon, at sight of gloria, again appealed to her to take pity on him, but the frozen-hearted princess turned coldly away and with a sigh the gardener's boy began to assist trot. neither of them at first noticed the small grasshopper, which at their appearance had skipped off the scarecrow's nose and was now clinging to a wisp of grass beside the path, where he was not likely to be stepped upon. not until the scarecrow had been neatly restuffed and set upon his feet again when he bowed to his restorers and expressed his thanks did the grasshopper move from his perch. then he leaped lightly into the path and called out: "trot--trot! look at me. i'm cap'n bill! see what the wicked witch has done to me." the voice was small, to be sure, but it reached trot's ears and startled her greatly. she looked intently at the grasshopper, her eyes wide with fear at first; then she knelt down and, noticing the wooden leg, she began to weep sorrowfully. "oh, cap'n bill--dear cap'n bill! what a cruel thing to do!'' she sobbed. "don't cry, trot," begged the grasshopper. "it didn't hurt any, and it doesn't hurt now. but it's mighty inconvenient an' humiliatin', to say the least." "i wish," said the girl indignantly, while trying hard to restrain her tears, "that i was big 'nough an' strong 'nough to give that horrid witch a good beating. she ought to be turned into a toad for doing this to you, cap'n bill!" "never mind," urged the scarecrow, in a comforting voice, "such a transformation doesn't last always, and as a general thing there's some way to break the enchantment. i'm sure glinda could do it, in a jiffy." "who is glinda?" inquired cap'n bill. then the scarecrow told them all about glinda, not forgetting to mention her beauty and goodness and her wonderful powers of magic. he also explained how the royal sorceress had sent him to jinxland especially to help the strangers, whom she knew to be in danger because of the wiles of the cruel king and the wicked witch. [illustration] [illustration] chapter 16 pon summons the king to surrender gloria had drawn near to the group to listen to their talk, and it seemed to interest her in spite of her frigid manner. they knew, of course, that the poor princess could not help being cold and reserved, so they tried not to blame her. "i ought to have come here a little sooner," said the scarecrow, regretfully; "but glinda sent me as soon as she discovered you were here and were likely to get into trouble. and now that we are all together--except button-bright, over whom it is useless to worry--i propose we hold a council of war, to decide what is best to be done." that seemed a wise thing to do, so they all sat down upon the grass, including gloria, and the grasshopper perched upon trot's shoulder and allowed her to stroke him gently with her hand. "in the first place," began the scarecrow, "this king krewl is a usurper and has no right to rule this kingdom of jinxland." "that is true," said pon, eagerly. "my father was king before him, and i--" "you are a gardener's boy," interrupted the scarecrow. "your father had no right to rule, either, for the rightful king of this land was the father of princess gloria, and only she is entitled to sit upon the throne of jinxland." "good!" exclaimed trot. "but what'll we do with king krewl? i s'pose he won't give up the throne unless he has to." "no, of course not," said the scarecrow. "therefore it will be our duty to _make_ him give up the throne." "how?" asked trot. "give me time to think," was the reply. "that's what my brains are for. i don't know whether you people ever think, or not, but my brains are the best that the wizard of oz ever turned out, and if i give them plenty of time to work, the result usually surprises me." "take your time, then," suggested trot. "there's no hurry." "thank you," said the straw man, and sat perfectly still for half an hour. during this interval the grasshopper whispered in trot's ear, to which he was very close, and trot whispered back to the grasshopper sitting upon her shoulder. pon cast loving glances at gloria, who paid not the slightest heed to them. finally the scarecrow laughed aloud. "brains working?" inquired trot. "yes. they seem in fine order to-day. we will conquer king krewl and put gloria upon his throne as queen of jinxland." "fine!" cried the little girl, clapping her hands together gleefully. "but how?" "leave the _how_ to me," said the scarecrow proudly. "as a conqueror i'm a wonder. we will, first of all, write a message to send to king krewl, asking him to surrender. if he refuses, then we will make him surrender." "why ask him, when we _know_ he'll refuse?" inquired pon. "why, we must be polite, whatever we do," explained the scarecrow. "it would be very rude to conquer a king without proper notice." [illustration] they found it difficult to write a message without paper, pen and ink, none of which was at hand; so it was decided to send pon as a messenger, with instructions to ask the king, politely but firmly, to surrender. pon was not anxious to be the messenger. indeed, he hinted that it might prove a dangerous mission. but the scarecrow was now the acknowledged head of the army of conquest, and he would listen to no refusal. so off pon started for the king's castle, and the others accompanied him as far as his hut, where they had decided to await the gardener's boy's return. i think it was because pon had known the scarecrow such a short time that he lacked confidence in the straw man's wisdom. it was easy to say: "we will conquer king krewl," but when pon drew near to the great castle he began to doubt the ability of a straw-stuffed man, a girl, a grasshopper and a frozen-hearted princess to do it. as for himself, he had never thought of defying the king before. that was why the gardener's boy was not very bold when he entered the castle and passed through to the enclosed court where the king was just then seated, with his favorite courtiers around him. none prevented pon's entrance, because he was known to be the gardener's boy, but when the king saw him he began to frown fiercely. he considered pon to be to blame for all his trouble with princess gloria, who since her heart had been frozen had escaped to some unknown place, instead of returning to the castle to wed googly-goo, as she had been expected to do. so the king bared his teeth angrily as he demanded: [illustration] "what have you done with princess gloria?" "nothing, your majesty! i have done nothing at all," answered pon in a faltering voice. "she does not love me any more and even refuses to speak to me." "then why are you here, you rascal?" roared the king. pon looked first one way and then another, but saw no means of escape; so he plucked up courage. "i am here to summon your majesty to surrender." "what!" shouted the king. "surrender? surrender to whom?" pon's heart sank to his boots. "to the scarecrow," he replied. some of the courtiers began to titter, but king krewl was greatly annoyed. he sprang up and began to beat poor pon with the golden staff he carried. pon howled lustily and would have run away had not two of the soldiers held him until his majesty was exhausted with punishing the boy. then they let him go and he left the castle and returned along the road, sobbing at every step because his body was so sore and aching. "well," said the scarecrow, "did the king surrender?" "no; but he gave me a good drubbing!" sobbed poor pon. trot was very sorry for pon, but gloria did not seem affected in any way by her lover's anguish. the grasshopper leaped to the scarecrow's shoulder and asked him what he was going to do next. "conquer," was the reply. "but i will go alone, this time, for beatings cannot hurt me at all; nor can lance thrusts--or sword cuts--or arrow pricks." "why is that?" inquired trot. "because i have no nerves, such as you meat people possess. even grasshoppers have nerves, but straw doesn't; so whatever they do--except just one thing--they cannot injure me. therefore i expect to conquer king krewl with ease." "what is that one thing you excepted?" asked trot. "they will never think of it, so never mind. and now, if you will kindly excuse me for a time, i'll go over to the castle and do my conquering." "you have no weapons," pon reminded him. "true," said the scarecrow. "but if i carried weapons i might injure someone--perhaps seriously--and that would make me unhappy. i will just borrow that riding-whip, which i see in the corner of your hut, if you don't mind. it isn't exactly proper to walk with a riding-whip, but i trust you will excuse the inconsistency." pon handed him the whip and the scarecrow bowed to all the party and left the hut, proceeding leisurely along the way to the king's castle. [illustration] [illustration] chapter 17 the ork rescues button-bright i must now tell you what had become of button-bright since he wandered away in the morning and got lost. this small boy, as perhaps you have discovered, was almost as destitute of nerves as the scarecrow. nothing ever astonished him much; nothing ever worried him or made him unhappy. good fortune or bad fortune he accepted with a quiet smile, never complaining, whatever happened. this was one reason why button-bright was a favorite with all who knew him--and perhaps it was the reason why he so often got into difficulties, or found himself lost. to-day, as he wandered here and there, over hill and down dale, he missed trot and cap'n bill, of whom he was fond, but nevertheless he was not unhappy. the birds sang merrily and the wildflowers were beautiful and the breeze had a fragrance of new-mown hay. "the only bad thing about this country is its king," he reflected; "but the country isn't to blame for that." a prairie-dog stuck its round head out of a mound of earth and looked at the boy with bright eyes. "walk around my house, please," it said, "and then you won't harm it or disturb the babies." "all right," answered button-bright, and took care not to step on the mound. he went on, whistling merrily, until a petulant voice cried: "oh, stop it! please stop that noise. it gets on my nerves." button-bright saw an old gray owl sitting in the crotch of a tree, and he replied with a laugh: "all right, old fussy," and stopped whistling until he had passed out of the owl's hearing. at noon he came to a farmhouse where an aged couple lived. they gave him a good dinner and treated him kindly, but the man was deaf and the woman was dumb, so they could answer no questions to guide him on the way to port's house. when he left them he was just as much lost as he had been before. every grove of trees he saw from a distance he visited, for he remembered that the king's castle was near a grove of trees and pon's hut was near the king's castle; but always he met with disappointment. finally, passing through one of these groves, he came out into the open and found himself face to face with the ork. "hello!" said button-bright. "where did _you_ come from?" [illustration] "from orkland," was the reply. "i've found my own country, at last, and it is not far from here, either. i would have come back to you sooner, to see how you are getting along, had not my family and friends welcomed my return so royally that a great celebration was held in my honor. so i couldn't very well leave orkland again until the excitement was over." "can you find your way back home again?" asked the boy. "yes, easily; for now i know exactly where it is. but where are trot and cap'n bill?" button-bright related to the ork their adventures since it had left them in jinxland, telling of trot's fear that the king had done something wicked to cap'n bill, and of pon's love for gloria, and how trot and button-bright had been turned out of the king's castle. that was all the news that the boy had, but it made the ork anxious for the safety of his friends. "we must go to them at once, for they may need us," he said. "i don't know where to go," confessed button-bright. "i'm lost." "well, i can take you back to the hut of the gardener's boy," promised the ork, "for when i fly high in the air i can look down and easily spy the king's castle. that was how i happened to spy you, just entering the grove; so i flew down and waited until you came out." "how can you carry me?" asked the boy. "you'll have to sit straddle my shoulders and put your arms around my neck. do you think you can keep from falling off?" "til try," said button-bright. so the ork squatted down and the boy took his seat and held on tight. then the skinny creature's tail began whirling and up they went, far above all the tree-tops. after the ork had circled around once or twice, its sharp eyes located the towers of the castle and away it flew, straight toward the place. as it hovered in the air, near by the castle, button-bright pointed out pon's hut, so they landed just before it and trot came running out to greet them. gloria was introduced to the ork, who was surprised to find cap'n bill transformed into a grasshopper. "how do you like it?" asked the creature. "why, it worries me a good deal," answered cap'n bill, perched upon trot's shoulder. "i'm always afraid o' bein' stepped on, and i don't like the flavor of grass an' can't seem to get used to it. it's my nature to eat grass, you know, but i begin to suspect it's an acquired taste." "can you give molasses?" asked the ork. "i guess i'm not that kind of a grasshopper," replied cap'n bill. "but i can't say what i might do if i was squeezed--which i hope i won't be." "well," said the ork, "it's a great pity, and i'd like to meet that cruel king and his wicked witch and punish them both severely. you're awfully small, cap'n bill, but i think i would recognize you anywhere by your wooden leg." then the ork and button-bright were told all about gloria's frozen heart and how the scarecrow had come from the land of oz to help them. the ork seemed rather disturbed when it learned that the scarecrow had gone alone to conquer king krewl. "i'm afraid he'll make a fizzle of it," said the skinny creature, "and there's no telling what that terrible king might do to the poor scarecrow, who seems like a very interesting person. so i believe i'll take a hand in this conquest myself." "how?" asked trot. "wait and see," was the reply. "but, first of all, i must fly home again--back to my own country--so if you'll forgive my leaving you so soon, i'll be off at once. stand away from my tail, please, so that the wind from it, when it revolves, won't knock you over." they gave the creature plenty of room and away it went like a flash and soon disappeared in the sky. "i wonder," said button-bright, looking solemnly after the ork, "whether he'll ever come back again." "of course he will!" returned trot. "the ork's a pretty good fellow, and we can depend on him. an' mark my words, button-bright, whenever our ork does come back, there's one cruel king in jinxland that'll wish he hadn't." [illustration] [illustration] chapter 18 the scarecrow meets an enemy the scarecrow was not a bit afraid of king krewl. indeed, he rather enjoyed the prospect of conquering the evil king and putting gloria on the throne of jinxland in his place. so he advanced boldly to the royal castle and demanded admittance. seeing that he was a stranger, the soldiers allowed him to enter. he made his way straight to the throne room, where at that time his majesty was settling the disputes among his subjects. "who are you?" demanded the king. "i'm the scarecrow of oz, and i command you to surrender yourself my prisoner." [illustration] "why should i do that?" inquired the king, much astonished at the straw man's audacity. "because i've decided you are too cruel a king to rule so beautiful a country. you must remember that jinxland is a part of oz, and therefore you owe allegiance to ozma of oz, whose friend and servant i am." now, when he heard this, king krewl was much disturbed in mind, for he knew the scarecrow spoke the truth. but no one had ever before come to jinxland from the land of oz and the king did not intend to be put out of his throne if he could help it. therefore he gave a harsh, wicked laugh of derision and said: "i'm busy, now. stand out of my way, scarecrow, and i'll talk with you by and by." but the scarecrow turned to the assembled courtiers and people and called in a loud voice: "i hereby declare, in the name of ozma of oz, that this man is no longer ruler of jinxland. from this moment princess gloria is your rightful queen, and i ask all of you to be loyal to her and to obey her commands." the people looked fearfully at the king, whom they all hated in their hearts, but likewise feared. krewl was now in a terrible rage and he raised his golden sceptre and struck the scarecrow so heavy a blow that he fell to the floor. but he was up again, in an instant, and with pon's riding-whip he switched the king so hard that the wicked monarch roared with pain as much as with rage, calling on his soldiers to capture the scarecrow. they tried to do that, and thrust their lances and swords into the straw body, but without doing any damage except to make holes in the scarecrow's clothes. however, they were many against one and finally old googly-goo brought a rope which he wound around the scarecrow, binding his legs together and his arms to his sides, and after that the fight was over. the king stormed and danced around in a dreadful fury, for he had never been so switched since he was a boy--and perhaps not then. he ordered the scarecrow thrust into the castle prison, which was no task at all because one man could carry him easily, bound as he was. even after the prisoner was removed the king could not control his anger. he tried to figure out some way to be revenged upon the straw man, but could think of nothing that could hurt him. at last, when the terrified people and the frightened courtiers had all slunk away, old googly-goo approached the king with a malicious grin upon his face. "i'll tell you what to do," said he. "build a big bonfire and burn the scarecrow up, and that will be the end of him." the king was so delighted with this suggestion that he hugged old googly-goo in his joy. "of course!" he cried. "the very thing. why did i not think of it my self?" so he summoned his soldiers and retainers and bade them prepare a great bonfire in an open space in the castle park. also he sent word to all his people to assemble and witness the destruction of the scarecrow who had dared to defy his power. before long a vast throng gathered in the park and the servants had heaped up enough fuel to make a fire that might be seen for miles away--even in the daytime. when all was prepared, the king had his throne brought out for him to sit upon and enjoy the spectacle, and then he sent his soldiers to fetch the scarecrow. [illustration] now the one thing in all the world that the straw man really feared was fire. he knew he would burn very easily and that his ashes wouldn't amount to much afterward. it wouldn't hurt him to be destroyed in such a manner, but he realized that many people in the land of oz, and especially dorothy and the royal ozma, would feel sad if they learned that their old friend the scarecrow was no longer in existence. in spite of this, the straw man was brave and faced his fiery fate like a hero. when they marched him out before the concourse of people he turned to the king with great calmness and said: "this wicked deed will cost you your throne, as well as much suffering, for my friends will avenge my destruction." "your friends are not here, nor will they know what i have done to you, when you are gone and cannot tell them," answered the king in a scornful voice. then he ordered the scarecrow bound to a stout stake that he had had driven into the ground, and the materials for the fire were heaped all around him. when this had been done, the king's brass band struck up a lively tune and old googly-goo came forward with a lighted match and set fire to the pile. [illustration] at once the flames shot up and crept closer and closer toward the scarecrow. the king and all his people were so intent upon this terrible spectacle that none of them noticed how the sky grew suddenly dark. perhaps they thought that the loud buzzing sound--like the noise of a dozen moving railway trains--came from the blazing fagots; that the rush of wind was merely a breeze. but suddenly down swept a flock of orks, half a hundred of them at the least, and the powerful currents of air caused by their revolving tails sent the bonfire scattering in every direction, so that not one burning brand ever touched the scarecrow. but that was not the only effect of this sudden tornado. king krewl was blown out of his throne and went tumbling heels over head until he landed with a bump against the stone wall of his own castle, and before he could rise a big ork sat upon him and held him pressed flat to the ground. old googly-goo shot up into the air like a rocket and landed on a tree, where he hung by the middle on a high limb, kicking the air with his feet and clawing the air with his hands, and howling for mercy like the coward he was. the people pressed back until they were jammed close together, while all the soldiers were knocked over and sent sprawling to the earth. the excitement was great for a few minutes, and every frightened inhabitant of jinxland looked with awe and amazement at the great orks whose descent had served to rescue the scarecrow and conquer king krewl at one and the same time. the ork, who was the leader of the band, soon had the scarecrow free of his bonds. then he said: "well, we were just in time to save you, which is better than being a minute too late. you are now the master here, and we are determined to see your orders obeyed." with this the ork picked up krewl's golden crown, which had fallen off his head, and placed it upon the head of the scarecrow, who in his awkward way then shuffled over to the throne and sat down in it. seeing this, a rousing cheer broke from the crowd of people, who tossed their hats and waved their handkerchiefs and hailed the scarecrow as their king. the soldiers joined the people in the cheering, for now they fully realized that their hated master was conquered and it would be wise to show their good will to the conqueror. some of them bound krewl with ropes and dragged him forward, dumping his body on the ground before the scarecrow's throne. googly-goo struggled until he finally slid off the limb of the tree and came tumbling to the ground. he then tried to sneak away and escape, but the soldiers seized and bound him beside krewl. "the tables are turned," said the scarecrow, swelling out his chest until the straw within it crackled pleasantly, for he was highly pleased; "but it was you and your people who did it, friend ork, and from this time you may count me your humble servant." [illustration] [illustration] chapter 19 the conquest of the witch now as soon as the conquest of king krewl had taken place, one of the orks had been dispatched to pon's house with the joyful news. at once gloria and pon and trot and button-bright hastened toward the castle. they were somewhat surprised by the sight that met their eyes, for there was the scarecrow, crowned king, and all the people kneeling humbly before him. so they likewise bowed low to the new ruler and then stood beside the throne. cap'n bill, as the gray grasshopper, was still perched upon trot's shoulder, but now he hopped to the shoulder of the scarecrow and whispered into the painted ear: "i thought gloria was to be queen of jinxland." the scarecrow shook his head. "not yet," he answered. "no queen with a frozen heart is fit to rule any country." then he turned to his new friend, the ork, who was strutting about, very proud of what he had done, and said: "do you suppose you, or your followers, could find old blinkie the witch?" "where is she?" asked the ork. "somewhere in jinxland, i'm sure." "then," said the ork, "we shall certainly be able to find her." "it will give me great pleasure," declared the scarecrow. "when you have found her, bring her here to me, and i will then decide what to do with her." the ork called his followers together and spoke a few words to them in a low tone. a moment after they rose into the air--so suddenly that the scarecrow, who was very light in weight, was blown quite out of his throne and into the arms of pon, who replaced him carefully upon his seat. there was an eddy of dust and ashes, too, and the grasshopper only saved himself from being whirled into the crowd of people by jumping into a tree, from where a series of hops soon brought him back to trot's shoulder again. the orks were quite out of sight by this time, so the scarecrow made a speech to the people and presented gloria to them, whom they knew well already and were fond of. but not all of them knew of her frozen heart, and when the scarecrow related the story of the wicked witch's misdeeds, which had been encouraged and paid for by krewl and googly-goo, the people were very indignant. meantime the fifty orks had scattered all over jinxland, which is not a very big country, and their sharp eyes were peering into every valley and grove and gully. finally one of them spied a pair of heels sticking out from underneath some bushes, and with a shrill whistle to warn his comrades that the witch was found the ork flew down and dragged old blinkie from her hiding-place. then two or three of the orks seized the clothing of the wicked woman in their strong claws and, lifting her high in the air, where she struggled and screamed to no avail, they flew with her straight to the royal castle and set her down before the throne of the scarecrow. [illustration] [illustration] "good!" exclaimed the straw man, nodding his stuffed head with satisfaction. "now we can proceed to business. mistress witch, i am obliged to request, gently but firmly, that you undo all the wrongs you have done by means of your witchcraft." "pah!" cried old blinkie in a scornful voice. "i defy you all! by my magic powers i can turn you all into pigs, rooting in the mud, and i'll do it if you are not careful." "i think you are mistaken about that," said the scarecrow, and rising from his throne he walked with wobbling steps to the side of the wicked witch. "before i left the land of oz, glinda the royal sorceress gave me a box, which i was not to open except in an emergency. but i feel pretty sure that this occasion is an emergency; don't you, trot?' he asked, turning toward the little girl. "why, we've got to do _something_," replied trot seriously. "things seem in an awful muddle here, jus' now, and they'll be worse if we don't stop this witch from doing more harm to people." "that is my idea, exactly," said the scarecrow, and taking a small box from his pocket he opened the cover and tossed the contents toward blinkie. the old woman shrank back, pale and trembling, as a fine white dust settled all about her. under its influence she seemed to the eyes of all observers to shrivel and grow smaller. "oh, dear--oh, dear!" she wailed, wringing her hands in fear. "haven't you the antidote, scarecrow? didn't the great sorceress give you another box?" "she did," answered the scarecrow. "then give it me--quick!" pleaded the witch. "give it me--and i'll do anything you ask me to!" "you will do what i ask first," declared the scarecrow, firmly. the witch was shriveling and growing smaller every moment. "be quick, then!" she cried. "tell me what i must do and let me do it, or it will be too late." "you made trot's friend, cap'n bill, a grasshopper. i command you to give him back his proper form again," said the scarecrow. "where is he? where's the grasshopper? quick--quick!" she screamed. cap'n bill, who had been deeply interested in this conversation, gave a great leap from trot's shoulder and landed on that of the scarecrow. blinkie saw him alight and at once began to make magic passes and to mumble magic incantations. she was in a desperate hurry, knowing that she had no time to waste, and the grasshopper was so suddenly transformed into the old sailor-man, cap'n bill, that he had no opportunity to jump off the scarecrow's shoulder; so his great weight bore the stuffed scarecrow to the ground. no harm was done, however, and the straw man got up and brushed the dust from his clothes while trot delightedly embraced cap'n bill. "the other box! quick! give me the other box," begged blinkie, who had now shrunk to half her former size. "not yet," said the scarecrow. "you must first melt princess gloria's frozen heart." "i can't; it's an awful job to do that! i can't," asserted the witch, in an agony of fear--for still she was growing smaller. "you must!" declared the scarecrow, firmly. the witch cast a shrewd look at him and saw that he meant it; so she began dancing around gloria in a frantic manner. the princess looked coldly on, as if not at all interested in the proceedings, while blinkie tore a handful of hair from her own head and ripped a strip of cloth from the bottom of her gown. then the witch sank upon her knees, took a purple powder from her black bag and sprinkled it over the hair and cloth. "i hate to do it--i hate to do it!" she wailed, "for there is no more of this magic compound in all the world. but i must sacrifice it to save my own life. a match! give me a match, quick!" and panting from lack of breath she gazed imploringly from one to another. [illustration] cap'n bill was the only one who had a match, but he lost no time in handing it to blinkie, who quickly set fire to the hair and the cloth and the purple powder. at once a purple cloud enveloped gloria, and this gradually turned to a rosy pink color--brilliant and quite transparent. through the rosy cloud they could all see the beautiful princess, standing proud and erect. then her heart became visible, at first frosted with ice but slowly growing brighter and warmer until all the frost had disappeared and it was beating as softly and regularly as any other heart. and now the cloud dispersed and disclosed gloria, her face suffused with joy, smiling tenderly upon the friends who were grouped about her. poor pon stepped forward--timidly, fearing a repulse, but with pleading eyes and arms fondly outstretched toward his former sweetheart--and the princess saw him and her sweet face lighted with a radiant smile. without an instant's hesitation she threw herself into pon's arms and this reunion of two loving hearts was so affecting that the people turned away and lowered their eyes so as not to mar the sacred joy of the faithful lovers. but blinkie's small voice was shouting to the scarecrow for help. "the antidote!" she screamed. "give me the other box--quick!" the scarecrow looked at the witch with his quaint, painted eyes and saw that she was now no taller than his knee. so he took from his pocket the second box and scattered its contents on blinkie. she ceased to grow any smaller, but she could never regain her former size, and this the wicked old woman well knew. [illustration] she did not know, however, that the second powder had destroyed all her power to work magic, and seeking to be revenged upon the scarecrow and his friends she at once began to mumble a charm so terrible in its effect that it would have destroyed half the population of jinxland--had it worked. but it did not work at all, to the amazement of old blinkie. and by this time the scarecrow noticed what the little witch was trying to do, and said to her: "go home, blinkie, and behave yourself. you are no longer a witch, but an ordinary old woman, and since you are powerless to do more evil i advise you to try to do some good in the world. believe me, it is more fun to accomplish a good act than an evil one, as you will discover when once you have tried it." but blinkie was at that moment filled with grief and chagrin at losing her magic powers. she started away toward her home, sobbing and bewailing her fate, and not one who saw her go was at all sorry for her. [illustration] chapter 20 queen gloria next morning the scarecrow called upon all the courtiers and the people to assemble in the throne room of the castle, where there was room enough for all that were able to attend. they found the straw man seated upon the velvet cushions of the throne, with the king's glittering crown still upon his stuffed head. on one side of the throne, in a lower chair, sat gloria, looking radiantly beautiful and fresh as a new-blown rose. on the other side sat pon, the gardener's boy, still dressed in his old smock frock and looking sad and solemn; for pon could not make himself believe that so splendid a princess would condescend to love him when she had come to her own and was seated upon a throne. trot and cap'n bill sat at the feet of the scarecrow and were much interested in the proceedings. button-bright had lost himself before breakfast, but came into the throne room before the ceremonies were over. back of the throne stood a row of the great orks, with their leader in the center, and the entrance to the palace was guarded by more orks, who were regarded with wonder and awe. when all were assembled, the scarecrow stood up and made a speech. he told how gloria's father, the good king kynd, who had once ruled them and been loved by everyone, had been destroyed by king phearse, the father of pon, and how king phearse had been destroyed by king krewl. this last king had been a bad ruler, as they knew very well, and the scarecrow declared that the only one in all jinxland who had the right to sit upon the throne was princess gloria, the daughter of king kynd. "but," he added, "it is not for me, a stranger, to say who shall rule you. you must decide for yourselves, or you will not be content. so choose now who shall be your future ruler." and they all shouted: "the scarecrow! the scarecrow shall rule us!" which proved that the stuffed man had made himself very popular by his conquest of king krewl, and the people thought they would like him for their king. but the scarecrow shook his head so vigorously that it became loose, and trot had to pin it firmly to his body again. "no," said he, "i belong in the land of oz, where i am the humble servant of the lovely girl who rules us all the royal ozma. you must choose one of your own inhabitants to rule over jinxland. who shall it be?" they hesitated for a moment, and some few cried: "pon!" but many more shouted: "gloria!" so the scarecrow took gloria's hand and led her to the throne, where he first seated her and then took the glittering crown off his own head and placed it upon that of the young lady, where it nestled prettily amongst her soft curls. the people cheered and shouted then, kneeling before their new queen; but gloria leaned down and took pon's hand in both her own and raised him to the seat beside her. "you shall have both a king and a queen to care for you and to protect you, my dear subjects," she said in a sweet voice, while her face glowed with happiness; "for pon was a king's son before he became a gardener's boy, and because i love him he is to be my royal consort." that pleased them all, especially pon, who realized that this was the most important moment of his life. trot and button-bright and cap'n bill all congratulated him on winning the beautiful gloria; but the ork sneezed twice and said that in his opinion the young lady might have done better. then the scarecrow ordered the guards to bring in the wicked krewl, king no longer, and when he appeared, loaded with chains and dressed in fustian, the people hissed him and drew back as he passed so their garments would not touch him. krewl was not haughty or overbearing any more; on the contrary he seemed very meek and in great fear of the fate his conquerors had in store for him. but gloria and pon were too happy to be revengeful and so they offered to appoint krewl to the position of gardener's boy at the castle, pon having resigned to become king. but they said he must promise to reform his wicked ways and to do his duty faithfully, and he must change his name from krewl to grewl. all this the man eagerly promised to do, and so when pon retired to a room in the castle to put on princely raiment, the old brown smock he had formerly worn was given to grewl, who then went out into the garden to water the roses. [illustration] the remainder of that famous day, which was long remembered in jinxland, was given over to feasting and merrymaking. in the evening there was a grand dance in the courtyard, where the brass band played a new piece of music called the "ork trot" which was dedicated to "our glorious gloria, the queen." while the queen and pon were leading this dance, and all the jinxland people were having a good time, the strangers were gathered in a group in the park outside the castle. cap'n bill, trot, button-bright and the scarecrow were there, and so was their old friend the ork; but of all the great flock of orks which had assisted in the conquest but three remained in jinxland, besides their leader, the others having returned to their own country as soon as gloria was crowned queen. to the young ork who had accompanied them in their adventures cap'n bill said: "you've surely been a friend in need, and we're mighty grateful to you for helping us. i might have been a grasshopper yet if it hadn't been for you, an' i might remark that bein' a grasshopper isn't much fun." "if it hadn't been for you, friend ork," said the scarecrow, "i fear i could not have conquered king krewl." "no," agreed trot, "you'd have been just a heap of ashes by this time." "and i might have been lost yet," added button-bright. "much obliged, mr. ork." "oh, that's all right," replied the ork. "friends must stand together, you know, or they wouldn't be friends. but now i must leave you and be off to my own country, where there's going to be a surprise party on my uncle, and i've promised to attend it." "dear me," said the scarecrow, regretfully. "that is very unfortunate." "why so?" asked the ork. "i hoped you would consent to carry us over those mountains, into the land of oz. my mission here is now finished and i want to get back to the emerald city." "how did you cross the mountains before?" inquired the ork. "i scaled the cliffs by means of a rope, and crossed the great gulf on a strand of spider web. of course i can return in the same manner, but it would be a hard journey and perhaps an impossible one for trot and button-bright and cap'n bill. so i thought that if you had the time you and your people would carry us over the mountains and land us all safely on the other side, in the land of oz." the ork thoughtfully considered the matter for a while. then he said: "i mustn't break my promise to be present at the surprise party; but, tell me, could you go to oz to-night?" "what, now?" exclaimed trot. "it is a fine moonlight night," said the ork, "and i've found in my experience that there's no time so good as right away. the fact is," he explained, "it's a long journey to orkland and i and my cousins here are all rather tired by our day's work. but if you will start now, and be content to allow us to carry you over the mountains and dump you on the other side, just say the word and--off we go!" cap'n bill and trot looked at one another questioningly. the little girl was eager to visit the famous fairyland of oz and the old sailor had endured such hardships in jinxland that he would be glad to be out of it. "it's rather impolite of us not to say good-bye to the new king and queen," remarked the scarecrow, "but i'm sure they're too happy to miss us, and i assure you it will be much easier to fly on the backs of the orks over those steep mountains than to climb them as i did." "all right; let's go!" trot decided. "but where's button-bright?" just at this important moment button-bright was lost again, and they all scattered in search of him. he had been standing beside them just a few minutes before, but his friends had an exciting hunt for him before they finally discovered the boy seated among the members of the band, beating the end of the bass drum with the bone of a turkey-leg that he had taken from the table in the banquet room. "hello, trot," he said, looking up at the little girl when she found him. "this is the first chance i ever had to pound a drum with a regular drum stick. and i ate all the meat off the bone myself." "come quick. we're going to the land of oz." "oh, what's the hurry?" said button-bright; but she seized his arm and dragged him away to the park, where the others were waiting. trot climbed upon the back of her old friend, the ork leader, and the others took their seats on the backs of his three cousins. as soon as all were placed and clinging to the skinny necks of the creatures, the revolving tails began to whirl and up rose the four monster orks and sailed away toward the mountains. they were so high in the air that when they passed the crest of the highest peak it seemed far below them. no sooner were they well across the barrier than the orks swooped downward and landed their passengers upon the ground. "here we are, safe in the land of oz!' cried the scarecrow joyfully. "oh, are we?" asked trot, looking around her curiously. she could see the shadows of stately trees and the outlines of rolling hills; beneath her feet was soft turf, but otherwise the subdued light of the moon disclosed nothing clearly. "seems jus' like any other country," was cap'n bill's comment. [illustration] "but it isn't," the scarecrow assured him. "you are now within the borders of the most glorious fairyland in all the world. this part of it is just a corner of the quadling country, and the least interesting portion of it. it's not very thickly settled, around here, i'll admit, but--" he was interrupted by a sudden whir and a rush of air as the four orks mounted into the sky. "good night!" called the shrill voices of the strange creatures, and although trot shouted "good night!" as loudly as she could, the little girl was almost ready to cry because the orks had not waited to be properly thanked for all their kindness to her and to cap'n bill. but the orks were gone, and thanks for good deeds do not amount to much except to prove one's politeness. "well, friends," said the scarecrow, "we mustn't stay here in the meadows all night, so let us find a pleasant place to sleep. not that it matters to me, in the least, for i never sleep; but i know that meat people like to shut their eyes and lie still during the dark hours." "i'm pretty tired," admitted trot, yawning as she followed the straw man along a tiny path, "so, if you don't find a house handy, cap'n bill and i will sleep under the trees, or even on this soft grass." but a house was not very far off, although when the scarecrow stumbled upon it there was no light in it whatever. cap'n bill knocked on the door several times, and there being no response the scarecrow boldly lifted the latch and walked in, followed by the others. and no sooner had they entered than a soft light filled the room. trot couldn't tell where it came from, for no lamp of any sort was visible, but she did not waste much time on this problem, because directly in the center of the room stood a table set for three, with lots of good food on it and several of the dishes smoking hot. [illustration] the little girl and button-bright both uttered exclamations of pleasure, but they looked in vain for any cook stove or fireplace, or for any person who might have prepared for them this delicious feast. "it's fairyland," muttered the boy, tossing his cap in a corner and seating himself at the table. "this supper smells 'most as good as that turkey-leg i had in jinxland. please pass the muffins, cap'n bill." trot thought it was strange that no people but themselves were in the house, but on the wall opposite the door was a gold frame bearing in big letters the word: "welcome." so she had no further hesitation in eating of the food so mysteriously prepared for them. "but there are only places for three!' she exclaimed. "three are quite enough," said the scarecrow. "i never eat, because i am stuffed full already, and i like my nice clean straw better than i do food." trot and the sailor-man were hungry and made a hearty meal, for not since they had left home had they tasted such good food. it was surprising that button-bright could eat so soon after his feast in jinxland, but the boy always ate whenever there was an opportunity. "if i don't eat now," he said, "the next time i'm hungry i'll wish i had." "really, cap'n," remarked trot, when she found a dish of ice-cream appear beside her plate, "i b'lieve this is fairyland, sure enough." "there's no doubt of it, trot," he answered gravely. "i've been here before," said button-bright, "so i know." after supper they discovered three tiny bedrooms adjoining the big living room of the house, and in each room was a comfortable white bed with downy pillows. you may be sure that the tired mortals were not long in bidding the scarecrow good night and creeping into their beds, where they slept soundly until morning. for the first time since they set eyes on the terrible whirlpool, trot and cap'n bill were free from anxiety and care. button-bright never worried about anything. the scarecrow, not being able to sleep, looked out of the window and tried to count the stars. [illustration] chapter 21 dorothy, betsy and ozma i suppose many of my readers have read descriptions of the beautiful and magnificent emerald city of oz, so i need not describe it here, except to state that never has any city in any fairyland ever equalled this one in stately splendor. it lies almost exactly in the center of the land of oz, and in the center of the emerald city rises the wall of glistening emeralds that surrounds the palace of ozma. the palace is almost a city in itself and is inhabited by many of the ruler's especial friends and those who have won her confidence and favor. as for ozma herself, there are no words in any dictionary i can find that are fitted to describe this young girl's beauty of mind and person. merely to see her is to love her for her charming face and manners; to know her is to love her for her tender sympathy, her generous nature, her truth and honor. born of a long line of fairy queens, ozma is as nearly perfect as any fairy may be, and she is noted for her wisdom as well as for her other qualities. her happy subjects adore their girl ruler and each one considers her a comrade and protector. at the time of which i write, ozma's best friend and most constant companion was a little kansas girl named dorothy, a mortal who had come to the land of oz in a very curious manner and had been offered a home in ozma's palace. furthermore, dorothy had been made a princess of oz, and was as much at home in the royal palace as was the gentle ruler. she knew almost every part of the great country and almost all of its numerous inhabitants. next to ozma she was loved better than anyone in all oz, for dorothy was simple and sweet, seldom became angry and had such a friendly, chummy way that she made friends wherever she wandered. it was she who first brought the scarecrow and the tin woodman and the cowardly lion to the emerald city. dorothy had also introduced to ozma the shaggy man and the hungry tiger, as well as billina the yellow hen, eureka the pink kitten, and many other delightful characters and creatures. coming as she did from our world, dorothy was much like many other girls we know; so there were times when she was not so wise as she might have been, and other times when she was obstinate and got herself into trouble. but life in a fairyland had taught the little girl to accept all sorts of surprising things as matters-of-course, for while dorothy was no fairy--but just as mortal as we are--she had seen more wonders than most mortals ever do. another little girl from our outside world also lived in ozma's palace. this was betsy bobbin, whose strange adventures had brought her to the emerald city, where ozma had cordially welcomed her. betsy was a shy little thing and could never get used to the marvels that surrounded her, but she and dorothy were firm friends and thought themselves very fortunate in being together in this delightful country. one day dorothy and betsy were visiting ozma in the girl ruler's private apartment, and among the things that especially interested them was ozma's magic picture, set in a handsome frame and hung upon the wall of the room. this picture was a magic one because it constantly changed its scenes and showed events and adventures happening in all parts of the world. thus it was really a "moving picture" of life, and if the one who stood before it wished to know what any absent person was doing, the picture instantly showed that person, with his or her surroundings. the two girls were not wishing to see anyone in particular, on this occasion, but merely enjoyed watching the shifting scenes, some of which were exceedingly curious and remarkable. suddenly dorothy exclaimed: "why, there's button-bright!" and this drew ozma also to look at the picture, for she and dorothy knew the boy well. "who is button-bright?" asked betsy, who had never met him. "why, he's the little boy who is just getting off the back of that strange flying creature," exclaimed dorothy. then she turned to ozma and asked: "what is that thing, ozma? a bird? i've never seen anything like it before." [illustration] "it is an ork," answered ozma, for they were watching the scene where the ork and the three big birds were first landing their passengers in jinxland, after the long flight across the desert. "i wonder," added the girl ruler, musingly, "why those strangers dare venture into that unfortunate country, which is ruled by a wicked king." "that girl, and the one-legged man, seem to be mortals from the outside world," said dorothy. "the man isn't one-legged," corrected betsy; "he has one wooden leg." "it's almost as bad," declared dorothy, watching cap'n bill stump around. "they are three mortal adventurers," said ozma, "and they seem worthy and honest. but i fear they will be treated badly in jinxland, and if they meet with any misfortune there it will reflect upon me, for jinxland is a part of my dominions." "can't we help them in any way?" inquired dorothy. "that seems like a nice little girl. i'd be sorry if anything happened to her." "let us watch the picture for awhile," suggested ozma, and so they all drew chairs before the magic picture and followed the adventures of trot and cap'n bill and button-bright. presently the scene shifted and showed their friend the scarecrow crossing the mountains into jinxland, and that somewhat relieved ozma's anxiety, for she knew at once that glinda the good had sent the scarecrow to protect the strangers. the adventures in jinxland proved very interesting to the three girls in ozma's palace, who during the succeeding days spent much of their time in watching the picture. it was like a story to them. [illustration: dorothy] "that girl's a reg'lar trump!' exclaimed dorothy, referring to trot, and ozma answered: "she's a dear little thing, and i'm sure nothing very bad will happen to her. the old sailor is a fine character, too, for he has never once grumbled over being a grasshopper, as so many would have done." when the scarecrow was so nearly burned up the girls all shivered a little, and they clapped their hands in joy when the flock of orks came and saved him. so it was that when all the exciting adventures in jinxland were over and the four orks had begun their flight across the mountains to carry the mortals into the land of oz, ozma called the wizard to her and asked him to prepare a place for the strangers to sleep. the famous wizard of oz was a quaint little man who inhabited the royal palace and attended to all the magical things that ozma wanted done. he was not as powerful as glinda, to be sure, but he could do a great many wonderful things. he proved this by placing a house in the uninhabited part of the quadling country where the orks landed cap'n bill and trot and button-bright, and fitting it with all the comforts i have described in the last chapter. next morning dorothy said to ozma: "oughtn't we to go meet the strangers, so we can show them the way to the emerald city? i'm sure that little girl will feel shy in this beautiful land, and i know if 'twas me i'd like somebody to give me a welcome." ozma smiled at her little friend and answered: "you and betsy may go to meet them, if you wish, but i can not leave my palace just now, as i am to have a conference with jack pumpkinhead and professor wogglebug on important matters. you may take the sawhorse and the red wagon, and if you start soon you will be able to meet the scarecrow and the strangers at glinda's palace." "oh, thank you!" cried dorothy, and went away to tell betsy and to make preparations for the journey. [illustration: betsy] [illustration] chapter 22 the waterfall glinda's castle was a long way from the mountains, but the scarecrow began the journey cheerfully, since time was of no great importance in the land of oz and he had recently made the trip and knew the way. it never mattered much to button-bright where he was or what he was doing; the boy was content in being alive and having good companions to share his wanderings. as for trot and cap'n bill, they now found themselves so comfortable and free from danger, in this fine fairyland, and they were so awed and amazed by the adventures they were encountering, that the journey to glinda's castle was more like a pleasure trip than a hardship, so many wonderful things were there to see. button-bright had been in oz before, but never in this part of it, so the scarecrow was the only one who knew the paths and could lead them. they had eaten a hearty breakfast, which they found already prepared for them and awaiting them on the table when they arose from their refreshing sleep, so they left the magic house in a contented mood and with hearts lighter and more happy than they had known for many a day. as they marched along through the fields, the sun shone brightly and the breeze was laden with delicious fragrance, for it carried with it the breath of millions of wildflowers. at noon, when they stopped to rest by the banks of a pretty river, trot said with a long-drawn breath that was much like a sigh: "i wish we'd brought with us some of the food that was left from our breakfast, for i'm getting hungry again." scarcely had she spoken when a table rose up before them, as if from the ground itself, and it was loaded with fruits and nuts and cakes and many other good things to eat. the little girl's eyes opened wide at this display of magic, and cap'n bill was not sure that the things were actually there and fit to eat until he had taken them in his hand and tasted them. but the scarecrow said with a laugh: "someone is looking after your welfare, that is certain, and from the looks of this table i suspect my friend the wizard has taken us in his charge. i've known him to do things like this before, and if we are in the wizard's care you need not worry about your future." "who's worrying?" inquired button-bright, already at the table and busily eating. the scarecrow looked around the place while the others were feasting, and finding many things unfamiliar to him he shook his head and remarked: "i must have taken the wrong path, back in that last valley, for on my way to jinxland i remember that i passed around the foot of this river, where there was a great waterfall." "did the river make a bend, after the waterfall?" asked cap'n bill. "no, the river disappeared. only a pool of whirling water showed what had become of the river; but i suppose it is under ground, somewhere, and will come to the surface again in another part of the country." "well," suggested trot, as she finished her luncheon, "as there is no way to cross this river, i s'pose we'll have to find that waterfall, and go around it." "exactly," replied the scarecrow; so they soon renewed their journey, following the river for a long time until the roar of the waterfall sounded in their ears. by and by they came to the waterfall itself, a sheet of silver dropping far, far down into a tiny lake which seemed to have no outlet. from the top of the fall, where they stood, the banks gradually sloped away, so that the descent by land was quite easy, while the river could do nothing but glide over an edge of rock and tumble straight down to the depths below. "you see," said the scarecrow, leaning over the brink, "this is called by our oz people the great waterfall, because it is certainly the highest one in all the land; but i think--help!" [illustration] he had lost his balance and pitched headforemost into the river. they saw a flash of straw and blue clothes, and the painted face looking upward in surprise. the next moment the scarecrow was swept over the waterfall and plunged into the basin below. the accident had happened so suddenly that for a moment they were all too horrified to speak or move. "quick! we must go to help him or he will be drowned," trot exclaimed. even while speaking she began to descend the bank to the pool below, and cap'n bill followed as swiftly as his wooden leg would let him. button-bright came more slowly, calling to the girl: "he can't drown, trot; he's a scarecrow." but she wasn't sure a scarecrow couldn't drown and never relaxed her speed until she stood on the edge of the pool, with the spray dashing in her face. cap'n bill, puffing and panting, had just voice enough to ask, as he reached her side: "see him, trot?" "not a speck of him. oh, cap'n, what do you s'pose has become of him?" "i s'pose," replied the sailor, "that he's in that water, more or less far down, and i'm 'fraid it'll make his straw pretty soggy. but as fer his bein' drowned, i agree with button-bright that it can't be done." [illustration] there was small comfort in this assurance and trot stood for some time searching with her eyes the bubbling water, in the hope that the scarecrow would finally come to the surface. presently she heard button-bright calling: "come here, trot!" and looking around she saw that the boy had crept over the wet rocks to the edge of the waterfall and seemed to be peering behind it. making her way toward him, she asked: "what do you see?" "a cave," he answered. "let's go in. perhaps we'll find the scarecrow there." she was a little doubtful of that, but the cave interested her, and so did it cap'n bill. there was just space enough at the edge of the sheet of water for them to crowd in behind it, but after that dangerous entrance they found room enough to walk upright and after a time they came to an opening in the w r all of rock. approaching this opening, they gazed within it and found a series of steps, cut so that they might easily descend into the cavern. trot turned to look inquiringly at her companions. the falling water made such din and roaring that her voice could not be heard. cap'n bill nodded his head, but before he could enter the cave, button-bright was before him, clambering down the steps without a particle of fear. so the others followed the boy. the first steps were wet with spray, and slippery, but the remainder were quite dry. a rosy light seemed to come from the interior of the cave, and this lighted their way. after the steps there was a short tunnel, high enough for them to walk erect in, and then they reached the cave itself and paused in wonder and admiration. they stood on the edge of a vast cavern, the walls and domed roof of which were lined with countless rubies, exquisitely cut and flashing sparkling rays from one to another. this caused a radiant light that permitted the entire cavern to be distinctly seen, and the effect was so marvelous that trot drew in her breath with a sort of a gasp, and stood quite still in wonder. but the walls and roof of the cavern were merely a setting for a more wonderful scene. in the center was a bubbling cauldron of water, for here the river rose again, splashing and dashing till its spray rose high in the air, where it took the ruby color of the jewels and seemed like a seething mass of flame. and while they gazed into the tumbling, tossing water, the body of the scarecrow suddenly rose in the center, struggling and kicking, and the next instant wholly disappeared from view. "my, but he's wet!" exclaimed button-bright; but none of the others heard him. trot and cap'n bill discovered that a broad ledge--covered, like the walls, with glittering rubies--ran all around the cavern; so they followed this gorgeous path to the rear and found where the water made its final dive underground, before it disappeared entirely. where it plunged into this dim abyss the river was black and dreary looking, and they stood gazing in awe until just beside them the body of the scarecrow again popped up from the water. [illustration] [illustration] chapter 23 the land of oz the straw man's appearance on the water was so sudden that it startled trot, but cap'n bill had the presence of mind to stick his wooden leg out over the water and the scarecrow made a desperate clutch and grabbed the leg with both hands. he managed to hold on until trot and button-bright knelt down and seized his clothing, but the children would have been powerless to drag the soaked scarecrow ashore had not cap'n bill now assisted them. when they laid him on the ledge of rubies he was the most useless looking scarecrow you can imagine--his straw sodden and dripping with water, his clothing wet and crumpled, while even the sack upon which his face was painted had become so wrinkled that the old jolly expression of their stuffed friend's features was entirely gone. but he could still speak, and when trot bent down her ear she heard him say: "get me out of here as soon as you can." that seemed a wise thing to do, so cap'n bill lifted his head and shoulders, and trot and button-bright each took a leg; among them they partly carried and partly dragged the damp scarecrow out of the ruby cavern, along the tunnel, and up the flight of rock steps. it was somewhat difficult to get him past the edge of the waterfall, but they succeeded, after much effort, and a few minutes later laid their poor comrade on a grassy bank where the sun shone upon him freely and he was beyond the reach of the spray. cap'n bill now knelt down and examined the straw that the scarecrow was stuffed with. "i don't believe it'll be of much use to him, any more," said he, "for it's full of polliwogs an' fish eggs, an' the water has took all the crinkle out o' the straw an' ruined it. i guess, trot, that the best thing for us to do is to empty out all his body an' carry his head an' clothes along the road till we come to a field or a house where we can get some fresh straw." "yes, cap'n," she agreed, "there's nothing else to be done. but how shall we ever find the road to glinda's palace, without the scarecrow to guide us?" "that's easy," said the scarecrow, speaking in a rather feeble but distinct voice. "if cap'n bill will carry my head on his shoulders, eyes front, i can tell him which way to go." so they followed that plan and emptied all the old, wet straw out of the scarecrow's body. then the sailor-man wrung out the clothes and laid them in the sun till they were quite dry. trot took charge of the head and pressed the wrinkles out of the face as it dried, so that after a while the scarecrow's expression became natural again, and as jolly as before. this work consumed some time, but when it was completed they again started upon their journey, button-bright carrying the boots and hat, trot the bundle of clothes, and cap'n bill the head. the scarecrow, having regained his composure and being now in a good humor, despite his recent mishaps, beguiled their way with stories of the land of oz. [illustration] it was not until the next morning, however, that they found straw with which to restuff the scarecrow. that evening they came to the same little house they had slept in before, only now it was magically transferred to a new place. the same bountiful supper as before was found smoking hot upon the table and the same cosy beds were ready for them to sleep in. they rose early and after breakfast went out of doors, and there, lying just beside the house, was a heap of clean, crisp straw. ozma had noticed the scarecrow's accident in her magic picture and had notified the wizard to provide the straw, for she knew the adventurers were not likely to find straw in the country through which they were now traveling. they lost no time in stuffing the scarecrow anew, and he was greatly delighted at being able to walk around again and to assume the leadership of the little party. "really," said trot, "i think you're better than you were before, for you are fresh and sweet all through and rustle beautifully when you move." "thank you, my dear," he replied gratefully. "i always feel like a new man when i'm freshly stuffed. no one likes to get musty, you know, and even good straw may be spoiled by age." "it was water that spoiled you, the last time," remarked button-bright, "which proves that too much bathing is as bad as too little. but, after all, scarecrow, water is not as dangerous for you as fire." "all things are good in moderation," declared the scarecrow. "but now, let us hurry on, or we shall not reach glinda's palace by nightfall." [illustration] [illustration] chapter 24 the royal reception at about four o'clock of that same day the red wagon drew up at the entrance to glinda's palace and dorothy and betsy jumped out. ozma's red wagon was almost a chariot, being inlaid with rubies and pearls, and it was drawn by ozma's favorite steed, the wooden sawhorse. "shall i unharness you," asked dorothy, "so you can come in and visit?" "no," replied the sawhorse. "til just stand here and think. take your time. thinking doesn't seem to bore me at all." "what will you think of?" inquired betsy. "of the acorn that grew the tree from which i was made." so they left the wooden animal and went in to see glinda, who welcomed the little girls in her most cordial manner. "i knew you were on your way," said the good sorceress when they were seated in her library, "for i learned from my record book that you intended to meet trot and button-bright on their arrival here." "is the strange little girl named trot?' asked dorothy. "yes; and her companion, the old sailor, is named cap'n bill. i think we shall like them very much, for they are just the kind of people to enjoy and appreciate our fairyland and i do not see any way, at present, for them to return again to the outside world." "well, there's room enough here for them, i'm sure," said dorothy. "betsy and i are already eager to welcome trot. it will keep us busy for a year, at least, showing her all the wonderful things in oz." glinda smiled. "i have lived here many years," said she, "and i have not seen all the wonders of oz vet." meantime the travelers were drawing near to the palace, and when they first caught sight of its towers trot realized that it was far more grand and imposing than was the king's castle in jinxland. the nearer they came, the more beautiful the palace appeared, and when finally the scarecrow led them up the great marble steps, even button-bright was filled with awe. "i don't see any soldiers to guard the place," said the little girl. "there is no need to guard glinda's palace," replied the scarecrow. "we have no wicked people in oz, that we know of, and even if there were any, glinda's magic would be powerful enough to protect her." button-bright was now standing on the top steps of the entrance, and he suddenly exclaimed: "why, there's the sawhorse and the red wagon! hip, hooray!" and next moment he was rushing down to throw his arms around the neck of the wooden horse, which good-naturedly permitted this familiarity when it recognized in the boy an old friend. button-bright's shout had been heard inside the palace, so now dorothy and betsy came running out to embrace their beloved friend, the scarecrow, and to welcome trot and cap'n bill to the land of oz. "we've been watching you for a long time, in ozma's magic picture," said dorothy, "and ozma has sent us to invite you to her own palace in the em'rald city. i don't know if you realize how lucky you are to get that invitation, but you'll understand it better after you've seen the royal palace and the em'rald city." glinda now appeared in person to lead all the party into her azure reception room. trot was a little afraid of the stately sorceress, but gained courage by holding fast to the hands of betsy and dorothy. cap'n bill had no one to help him feel at ease, so the old sailor sat stiffly on the edge of his chair and said: "yes, ma'am," or "no, ma'am," when he was spoken to, and was greatly embarrassed by so much splendor. the scarecrow had lived so much in palaces that he felt quite at home, and he chatted to glinda and the oz girls in a merry, light-hearted way. he told all about his adventures in jinxland, and at the great waterfall, and on the journey hither--most of which his hearers knew already--and then he asked dorothy and betsy what had happened in the emerald city since he had left there. they all passed the evening and the night at glinda's palace, and the sorceress was so gracious to cap'n bill that the old man by degrees regained his self-possession and began to enjoy himself. trot had already come to the conclusion that in dorothy and betsy she had found two delightful comrades, and button-bright was just as much at home here as he had been in the fields of jinxland or when he was buried in the popcorn snow of the land of mo. the next morning they arose bright and early and after breakfast bade good-bye to the kind sorceress, whom trot and cap'n bill thanked earnestly for sending the scarecrow to jinxland to rescue them. then they all climbed into the red wagon. there was room for all on the broad seats, and when all had taken their places--dorothy, trot and betsy on the rear seat and cap'n bill, button-bright and the scarecrow in front--they called "gid-dap!" to the sawhorse and the wooden steed moved briskly away, pulling the red wagon with ease. it was now that the strangers began to perceive the real beauties of the land of oz, for they were passing through a more thickly settled part of the country and the population grew more dense as they drew nearer to the emerald city. everyone they met had a cheery word or a smile for the scarecrow, dorothy and betsy bobbin, and some of them remembered button-bright and welcomed him back to their country. it was a happy party, indeed, that journeyed in the red wagon to the emerald city, and trot already began to hope that ozma would permit her and cap'n bill to live always in the land of oz. when they reached the great city they were more amazed than ever, both by the concourse of people in their quaint and picturesque costumes, and by the splendor of the city itself. but the magnificence of the royal palace quite took their breath away, until ozma received them in her own pretty apartment and by her charming manners and assuring smiles made them feel they were no longer strangers. trot was given a lovely little room next to that of dorothy, while cap'n bill had the cosiest sort of a room next to trot's and overlooking the gardens. and that evening ozma gave a grand banquet and reception in honor of the new arrivals. while trot had read of many of the people she then met, cap'n bill was less familiar with them and many of the unusual characters introduced to him that evening caused the old sailor to open his eyes wide in astonishment. [illustration] [illustration] he had thought the live scarecrow about as curious as anyone could be, but now he met the tin woodman, who was all made of tin, even to his heart, and carried a gleaming axe over his shoulder wherever he went. then there was jack pumpkinhead, whose head was a real pumpkin with the face carved upon it; and professor wogglebug, who had the shape of an enormous bug but was dressed in neat fitting garments. the professor was an interesting talker and had very polite manners, but his face was so comical that it made cap'n bill smile to look at it. a great friend of dorothy and ozma seemed to be a machine man called tik-tok, who ran down several times during the evening and had to be wound up again by someone before he could move or speak. at the reception appeared the shaggy man and his brother, both very popular in oz, as well as dorothy's uncle henry and aunt em, two happy old people who lived in a pretty cottage near the palace. but what perhaps seemed most surprising to both trot and cap'n bill was the number of peculiar animals admitted into ozma's parlors, where they not only conducted themselves quite properly but were able to talk as well as anyone. there was the cowardly lion, an immense beast with a beautiful mane; and the hungry tiger, who smiled continually; and eureka the pink kitten, who lay curled upon a cushion and had rather supercilious manners; and the wooden sawhorse; and nine tiny piglets that belonged to the wizard; and a mule named hank, who belonged to betsy bobbin. a fuzzy little terrier dog, named toto, lay at dorothy's feet but seldom took part in the conversation, although he listened to every word that was said. but the most wonderful of all to trot was a square beast with a winning smile, that squatted in a corner of the room and wagged his square head at everyone in quite a jolly way. betsy told trot that this unique beast was called the woozy, and there was no other like him in all the world. cap'n bill and trot had both looked around expectantly for the wizard of oz, but the evening was far advanced before the famous little man entered the room. but he went up to the strangers at once and said: "i know you, but you don't know me; so let's get acquainted." and they did get acquainted, in a very short time, and before the evening was over trot felt that she knew every person and animal present at the reception, and that they were all her good friends. suddenly they looked around for button-bright, but he was nowhere to be found. "dear me!" cried trot. "he's lost again." "never mind, my dear," said ozma, with her charming smile, "no one can go far astray in the land of oz, and if button-bright isn't lost occasionally, he isn't happy." [illustration] * * * * * transcriber notes all illustrations were placed so as to not split paragraphs. the color illustrations were grouped together (between pages 32 and 33) in the printed version; but have been moved to the relevent point within the story. minor typos corrected. the scarecrow of oz by l. frank baum dedicated to "the uplifters" of los angeles, california, in grateful appreciation of the pleasure i have derived from association with them, and in recognition of their sincere endeavor to uplift humanity through kindness, consideration and good-fellowship. they are big men--all of them--and all with the generous hearts of little children. l. frank baum 'twixt you and me the army of children which besieged the postoffice, conquered the postmen and delivered to me its imperious commands, insisted that trot and cap'n bill be admitted to the land of oz, where trot could enjoy the society of dorothy, betsy bobbin and ozma, while the one-legged sailor-man might become a comrade of the tin woodman, the shaggy man, tik-tok and all the other quaint people who inhabit this wonderful fairyland. it was no easy task to obey this order and land trot and cap'n bill safely in oz, as you will discover by reading this book. indeed, it required the best efforts of our dear old friend, the scarecrow, to save them from a dreadful fate on the journey; but the story leaves them happily located in ozma's splendid palace and dorothy has promised me that button-bright and the three girls are sure to encounter, in the near future, some marvelous adventures in the land of oz, which i hope to be permitted to relate to you in the next oz book. meantime, i am deeply grateful to my little readers for their continued enthusiasm over the oz stories, as evinced in the many letters they send me, all of which are lovingly cherished. it takes more and more oz books every year to satisfy the demands of old and new readers, and there have been formed many "oz reading societies," where the oz books owned by different members are read aloud. all this is very gratifying to me and encourages me to write more stories. when the children have had enough of them, i hope they will let me know, and then i'll try to write something different. l. frank baum "royal historian of oz." "ozcot" at hollywood in california, 1915. list of chapters 1 the great whirlpool 2 the cavern under the sea 3 the ork 4 daylight at last 5 the little old man of the island 6 the flight of the midgets 7 the bumpy man 8 button-bright is lost, and found again 9 the kingdom of jinxland 10 pon, the gardener's boy 11 the wicked king and googly-goo 12 the wooden-legged grass-hopper 13 glinda the good and the scarecrow of oz 14 the frozen heart 15 trot meets the scarecrow 16 pon summons the king to surrender 17 the ork rescues button-bright 18 the scarecrow meets an enemy 19 the conquest of the witch 20 queen gloria 21 dorothy, betsy and ozma 22 the waterfall 23 the land of oz 24 the royal reception chapter one the great whirlpool "seems to me," said cap'n bill, as he sat beside trot under the big acacia tree, looking out over the blue ocean, "seems to me, trot, as how the more we know, the more we find we don't know." "i can't quite make that out, cap'n bill," answered the little girl in a serious voice, after a moment's thought, during which her eyes followed those of the old sailor-man across the glassy surface of the sea. "seems to me that all we learn is jus' so much gained." "i know; it looks that way at first sight," said the sailor, nodding his head; "but those as knows the least have a habit of thinkin' they know all there is to know, while them as knows the most admits what a turr'ble big world this is. it's the knowing ones that realize one lifetime ain't long enough to git more'n a few dips o' the oars of knowledge." trot didn't answer. she was a very little girl, with big, solemn eyes and an earnest, simple manner. cap'n bill had been her faithful companion for years and had taught her almost everything she knew. he was a wonderful man, this cap'n bill. not so very old, although his hair was grizzled--what there was of it. most of his head was bald as an egg and as shiny as oilcloth, and this made his big ears stick out in a funny way. his eyes had a gentle look and were pale blue in color, and his round face was rugged and bronzed. cap'n bill's left leg was missing, from the knee down, and that was why the sailor no longer sailed the seas. the wooden leg he wore was good enough to stump around with on land, or even to take trot out for a row or a sail on the ocean, but when it came to "runnin' up aloft" or performing active duties on shipboard, the old sailor was not equal to the task. the loss of his leg had ruined his career and the old sailor found comfort in devoting himself to the education and companionship of the little girl. the accident to cap'n bill's leg bad happened at about the time trot was born, and ever since that he had lived with trot's mother as "a star boarder," having enough money saved up to pay for his weekly "keep." he loved the baby and often held her on his lap; her first ride was on cap'n bill's shoulders, for she had no baby-carriage; and when she began to toddle around, the child and the sailor became close comrades and enjoyed many strange adventures together. it is said the fairies had been present at trot's birth and had marked her forehead with their invisible mystic signs, so that she was able to see and do many wonderful things. the acacia tree was on top of a high bluff, but a path ran down the bank in a zigzag way to the water's edge, where cap'n bill's boat was moored to a rock by means of a stout cable. it had been a hot, sultry afternoon, with scarcely a breath of air stirring, so cap'n bill and trot had been quietly sitting beneath the shade of the tree, waiting for the sun to get low enough for them to take a row. they had decided to visit one of the great caves which the waves had washed out of the rocky coast during many years of steady effort. the caves were a source of continual delight to both the girl and the sailor, who loved to explore their awesome depths. "i b'lieve, cap'n," remarked trot, at last, "that it's time for us to start." the old man cast a shrewd glance at the sky, the sea and the motionless boat. then he shook his head. "mebbe it's time, trot," he answered, "but i don't jes' like the looks o' things this afternoon." "what's wrong?" she asked wonderingly. "can't say as to that. things is too quiet to suit me, that's all. no breeze, not a ripple a-top the water, nary a gull a-flyin' anywhere, an' the end o' the hottest day o' the year. i ain't no weather-prophet, trot, but any sailor would know the signs is ominous." "there's nothing wrong that i can see," said trot. "if there was a cloud in the sky even as big as my thumb, we might worry about it; but--look, cap'n!--the sky is as clear as can be." he looked again and nodded. "p'r'aps we can make the cave, all right," he agreed, not wishing to disappoint her. "it's only a little way out, an' we'll be on the watch; so come along, trot." together they descended the winding path to the beach. it was no trouble for the girl to keep her footing on the steep way, but cap'n bill, because of his wooden leg, had to hold on to rocks and roots now and then to save himself from tumbling. on a level path he was as spry as anyone, but to climb up hill or down required some care. they reached the boat safely and while trot was untying the rope cap'n bill reached into a crevice of the rock and drew out several tallow candles and a box of wax matches, which he thrust into the capacious pockets of his "sou'wester." this sou'wester was a short coat of oilskin which the old sailor wore on all occasions--when he wore a coat at all--and the pockets always contained a variety of objects, useful and ornamental, which made even trot wonder where they all came from and why cap'n bill should treasure them. the jackknives--a big one and a little one--the bits of cord, the fishhooks, the nails: these were handy to have on certain occasions. but bits of shell, and tin boxes with unknown contents, buttons, pincers, bottles of curious stones and the like, seemed quite unnecessary to carry around. that was cap'n bill's business, however, and now that he added the candles and the matches to his collection trot made no comment, for she knew these last were to light their way through the caves. the sailor always rowed the boat, for he handled the oars with strength and skill. trot sat in the stern and steered. the place where they embarked was a little bight or circular bay, and the boat cut across a much larger bay toward a distant headland where the caves were located, right at the water's edge. they were nearly a mile from shore and about halfway across the bay when trot suddenly sat up straight and exclaimed: "what's that, cap'n?" he stopped rowing and turned half around to look. "that, trot," he slowly replied, "looks to me mighty like a whirlpool." "what makes it, cap'n?" "a whirl in the air makes the whirl in the water. i was afraid as we'd meet with trouble, trot. things didn't look right. the air was too still." "it's coming closer," said the girl. the old man grabbed the oars and began rowing with all his strength. "'tain't comin' closer to us, trot," he gasped; "it's we that are comin' closer to the whirlpool. the thing is drawin' us to it like a magnet!" trot's sun-bronzed face was a little paler as she grasped the tiller firmly and tried to steer the boat away; but she said not a word to indicate fear. the swirl of the water as they came nearer made a roaring sound that was fearful to listen to. so fierce and powerful was the whirlpool that it drew the surface of the sea into the form of a great basin, slanting downward toward the center, where a big hole had been made in the ocean--a hole with walls of water that were kept in place by the rapid whirling of the air. the boat in which trot and cap'n bill were riding was just on the outer edge of this saucer-like slant, and the old sailor knew very well that unless he could quickly force the little craft away from the rushing current they would soon be drawn into the great black hole that yawned in the middle. so he exerted all his might and pulled as he had never pulled before. he pulled so hard that the left oar snapped in two and sent cap'n bill sprawling upon the bottom of the boat. he scrambled up quickly enough and glanced over the side. then he looked at trot, who sat quite still, with a serious, far-away look in her sweet eyes. the boat was now speeding swiftly of its own accord, following the line of the circular basin round and round and gradually drawing nearer to the great hole in the center. any further effort to escape the whirlpool was useless, and realizing this fact cap'n bill turned toward trot and put an arm around her, as if to shield her from the awful fate before them. he did not try to speak, because the roar of the waters would have drowned the sound of his voice. these two faithful comrades had faced dangers before, but nothing to equal that which now faced them. yet cap'n bill, noting the look in trot's eyes and remembering how often she had been protected by unseen powers, did not quite give way to despair. the great hole in the dark water--now growing nearer and nearer--looked very terrifying; but they were both brave enough to face it and await the result of the adventure. chapter two the cavern under the sea the circles were so much smaller at the bottom of the basin, and the boat moved so much more swiftly, that trot was beginning to get dizzy with the motion, when suddenly the boat made a leap and dived headlong into the murky depths of the hole. whirling like tops, but still clinging together, the sailor and the girl were separated from their boat and plunged down--down--down--into the farthermost recesses of the great ocean. at first their fall was swift as an arrow, but presently they seemed to be going more moderately and trot was almost sure that unseen arms were about her, supporting her and protecting her. she could see nothing, because the water filled her eyes and blurred her vision, but she clung fast to cap'n bill's sou'wester, while other arms clung fast to her, and so they gradually sank down and down until a full stop was made, when they began to ascend again. but it seemed to trot that they were not rising straight to the surface from where they had come. the water was no longer whirling them and they seemed to be drawn in a slanting direction through still, cool ocean depths. and then--in much quicker time than i have told it--up they popped to the surface and were cast at full length upon a sandy beach, where they lay choking and gasping for breath and wondering what had happened to them. trot was the first to recover. disengaging herself from cap'n bill's wet embrace and sitting up, she rubbed the water from her eyes and then looked around her. a soft, bluish-green glow lighted the place, which seemed to be a sort of cavern, for above and on either side of her were rugged rocks. they had been cast upon a beach of clear sand, which slanted upward from the pool of water at their feet--a pool which doubtless led into the big ocean that fed it. above the reach of the waves of the pool were more rocks, and still more and more, into the dim windings and recesses of which the glowing light from the water did not penetrate. the place looked grim and lonely, but trot was thankful that she was still alive and had suffered no severe injury during her trying adventure under water. at her side cap'n bill was sputtering and coughing, trying to get rid of the water he had swallowed. both of them were soaked through, yet the cavern was warm and comfortable and a wetting did not dismay the little girl in the least. she crawled up the slant of sand and gathered in her hand a bunch of dried seaweed, with which she mopped the face of cap'n bill and cleared the water from his eyes and ears. presently the old man sat up and stared at her intently. then he nodded his bald head three times and said in a gurgling voice: "mighty good, trot; mighty good! we didn't reach davy jones's locker that time, did we? though why we didn't, an' why we're here, is more'n i kin make out." "take it easy, cap'n," she replied. "we're safe enough, i guess, at least for the time being." he squeezed the water out of the bottoms of his loose trousers and felt of his wooden leg and arms and head, and finding he had brought all of his person with him he gathered courage to examine closely their surroundings. "where d'ye think we are, trot?" he presently asked. "can't say, cap'n. p'r'aps in one of our caves." he shook his head. "no," said he, "i don't think that, at all. the distance we came up didn't seem half as far as the distance we went down; an' you'll notice there ain't any outside entrance to this cavern whatever. it's a reg'lar dome over this pool o' water, and unless there's some passage at the back, up yonder, we're fast pris'ners." trot looked thoughtfully over her shoulder. "when we're rested," she said, "we will crawl up there and see if there's a way to get out." cap'n bill reached in the pocket of his oilskin coat and took out his pipe. it was still dry, for he kept it in an oilskin pouch with his tobacco. his matches were in a tight tin box, so in a few moments the old sailor was smoking contentedly. trot knew it helped him to think when he was in any difficulty. also, the pipe did much to restore the old sailor's composure, after his long ducking and his terrible fright--a fright that was more on trot's account than his own. the sand was dry where they sat, and soaked up the water that dripped from their clothing. when trot had squeezed the wet out of her hair she began to feel much like her old self again. by and by they got upon their feet and crept up the incline to the scattered boulders above. some of these were of huge size, but by passing between some and around others, they were able to reach the extreme rear of the cavern. "yes," said trot, with interest, "here's a round hole." "and it's black as night inside it," remarked cap'n bill. "just the same," answered the girl, "we ought to explore it, and see where it goes, 'cause it's the only poss'ble way we can get out of this place." cap'n bill eyed the hole doubtfully "it may be a way out o' here, trot," he said, "but it may be a way into a far worse place than this. i'm not sure but our best plan is to stay right here." trot wasn't sure, either, when she thought of it in that light. after awhile she made her way back to the sands again, and cap'n bill followed her. as they sat down, the child looked thoughtfully at the sailor's bulging pockets. "how much food have we got, cap'n?" she asked. "half a dozen ship's biscuits an' a hunk o' cheese," he replied. "want some now, trot?" she shook her head, saying: "that ought to keep us alive 'bout three days if we're careful of it." "longer'n that, trot," said cap'n bill, but his voice was a little troubled and unsteady. "but if we stay here we're bound to starve in time," continued the girl, "while if we go into the dark hole--" "some things are more hard to face than starvation," said the sailor-man, gravely. "we don't know what's inside that dark hole: trot, nor where it might lead us to." "there's a way to find that out," she persisted. instead of replying, cap'n bill began searching in his pockets. he soon drew out a little package of fish-hooks and a long line. trot watched him join them together. then he crept a little way up the slope and turned over a big rock. two or three small crabs began scurrying away over the sands and the old sailor caught them and put one on his hook and the others in his pocket. coming back to the pool he swung the hook over his shoulder and circled it around his head and cast it nearly into the center of the water, where he allowed it to sink gradually, paying out the line as far as it would go. when the end was reached, he began drawing it in again, until the crab bait was floating on the surface. trot watched him cast the line a second time, and a third. she decided that either there were no fishes in the pool or they would not bite the crab bait. but cap'n bill was an old fisherman and not easily discouraged. when the crab got away he put another on the hook. when the crabs were all gone he climbed up the rocks and found some more. meantime trot tired of watching him and lay down upon the sands, where she fell fast asleep. during the next two hours her clothing dried completely, as did that of the old sailor. they were both so used to salt water that there was no danger of taking cold. finally the little girl was wakened by a splash beside her and a grunt of satisfaction from cap'n bill. she opened her eyes to find that the cap'n had landed a silver-scaled fish weighing about two pounds. this cheered her considerably and she hurried to scrape together a heap of seaweed, while cap'n bill cut up the fish with his jackknife and got it ready for cooking. they had cooked fish with seaweed before. cap'n bill wrapped his fish in some of the weed and dipped it in the water to dampen it. then he lighted a match and set fire to trot's heap, which speedily burned down to a glowing bed of ashes. then they laid the wrapped fish on the ashes, covered it with more seaweed, and allowed this to catch fire and burn to embers. after feeding the fire with seaweed for some time, the sailor finally decided that their supper was ready, so he scattered the ashes and drew out the bits of fish, still encased in their smoking wrappings. when these wrappings were removed, the fish was found thoroughly cooked and both trot and cap'n bill ate of it freely. it had a slight flavor of seaweed and would have been better with a sprinkling of salt. the soft glow which until now had lighted the cavern, began to grow dim, but there was a great quantity of seaweed in the place, so after they had eaten their fish they kept the fire alive for a time by giving it a handful of fuel now and then. from an inner pocket the sailor drew a small flask of battered metal and unscrewing the cap handed it to trot. she took but one swallow of the water although she wanted more, and she noticed that cap'n bill merely wet his lips with it. "s'pose," said she, staring at the glowing seaweed fire and speaking slowly, "that we can catch all the fish we need; how 'bout the drinking-water, cap'n?" he moved uneasily but did not reply. both of them were thinking about the dark hole, but while trot had little fear of it the old man could not overcome his dislike to enter the place. he knew that trot was right, though. to remain in the cavern, where they now were, could only result in slow but sure death. it was nighttime up on the earth's surface, so the little girl became drowsy and soon fell asleep. after a time the old sailor slumbered on the sands beside her. it was very still and nothing disturbed them for hours. when at last they awoke the cavern was light again. they had divided one of the biscuits and were munching it for breakfast when they were startled by a sudden splash in the pool. looking toward it they saw emerging from the water the most curious creature either of them had ever beheld. it wasn't a fish, trot decided, nor was it a beast. it had wings, though, and queer wings they were: shaped like an inverted chopping-bowl and covered with tough skin instead of feathers. it had four legs--much like the legs of a stork, only double the number--and its head was shaped a good deal like that of a poll parrot, with a beak that curved downward in front and upward at the edges, and was half bill and half mouth. but to call it a bird was out of the question, because it had no feathers whatever except a crest of wavy plumes of a scarlet color on the very top of its head. the strange creature must have weighed as much as cap'n bill, and as it floundered and struggled to get out of the water to the sandy beach it was so big and unusual that both trot and her companion stared at it in wonder--in wonder that was not unmixed with fear. chapter three the ork the eyes that regarded them, as the creature stood dripping before them, were bright and mild in expression, and the queer addition to their party made no attempt to attack them and seemed quite as surprised by the meeting as they were. "i wonder," whispered trot, "what it is." "who, me?" exclaimed the creature in a shrill, high-pitched voice. "why, i'm an ork." "oh!" said the girl. "but what is an ork?" "i am," he repeated, a little proudly, as he shook the water from his funny wings; "and if ever an ork was glad to be out of the water and on dry land again, you can be mighty sure that i'm that especial, individual ork!" "have you been in the water long?" inquired cap'n bill, thinking it only polite to show an interest in the strange creature. "why, this last ducking was about ten minutes, i believe, and that's about nine minutes and sixty seconds too long for comfort," was the reply. "but last night i was in an awful pickle, i assure you. the whirlpool caught me, and--" "oh, were you in the whirlpool, too?" asked trot eagerly. he gave her a glance that was somewhat reproachful. "i believe i was mentioning the fact, young lady, when your desire to talk interrupted me," said the ork. "i am not usually careless in my actions, but that whirlpool was so busy yesterday that i thought i'd see what mischief it was up to. so i flew a little too near it and the suction of the air drew me down into the depths of the ocean. water and i are natural enemies, and it would have conquered me this time had not a bevy of pretty mermaids come to my assistance and dragged me away from the whirling water and far up into a cavern, where they deserted me." "why, that's about the same thing that happened to us," cried trot. "was your cavern like this one?" "i haven't examined this one yet," answered the ork; "but if they happen to be alike i shudder at our fate, for the other one was a prison, with no outlet except by means of the water. i stayed there all night, however, and this morning i plunged into the pool, as far down as i could go, and then swam as hard and as far as i could. the rocks scraped my back, now and then, and i barely escaped the clutches of an ugly sea-monster; but by and by i came to the surface to catch my breath, and found myself here. that's the whole story, and as i see you have something to eat i entreat you to give me a share of it. the truth is, i'm half starved." with these words the ork squatted down beside them. very reluctantly cap'n bill drew another biscuit from his pocket and held it out. the ork promptly seized it in one of its front claws and began to nibble the biscuit in much the same manner a parrot might have done. "we haven't much grub," said the sailor-man, "but we're willin' to share it with a comrade in distress." "that's right," returned the ork, cocking its head sidewise in a cheerful manner, and then for a few minutes there was silence while they all ate of the biscuits. after a while trot said: "i've never seen or heard of an ork before. are there many of you?" "we are rather few and exclusive, i believe," was the reply. "in the country where i was born we are the absolute rulers of all living things, from ants to elephants." "what country is that?" asked cap'n bill. "orkland." "where does it lie?" "i don't know, exactly. you see, i have a restless nature, for some reason, while all the rest of my race are quiet and contented orks and seldom stray far from home. from childhood days i loved to fly long distances away, although father often warned me that i would get into trouble by so doing. "'it's a big world, flipper, my son,' he would say, 'and i've heard that in parts of it live queer two-legged creatures called men, who war upon all other living things and would have little respect for even an ork.' "this naturally aroused my curiosity and after i had completed my education and left school i decided to fly out into the world and try to get a glimpse of the creatures called men. so i left home without saying good-bye, an act i shall always regret. adventures were many, i found. i sighted men several times, but have never before been so close to them as now. also i had to fight my way through the air, for i met gigantic birds, with fluffy feathers all over them, which attacked me fiercely. besides, it kept me busy escaping from floating airships. in my rambling i had lost all track of distance or direction, so that when i wanted to go home i had no idea where my country was located. i've now been trying to find it for several months and it was during one of my flights over the ocean that i met the whirlpool and became its victim." trot and cap'n bill listened to this recital with much interest, and from the friendly tone and harmless appearance of the ork they judged he was not likely to prove so disagreeable a companion as at first they had feared he might be. the ork sat upon its haunches much as a cat does, but used the finger-like claws of its front legs almost as cleverly as if they were hands. perhaps the most curious thing about the creature was its tail, or what ought to have been its tail. this queer arrangement of skin, bones and muscle was shaped like the propellers used on boats and airships, having fan-like surfaces and being pivoted to its body. cap'n bill knew something of mechanics, and observing the propeller-like tail of the ork he said: "i s'pose you're a pretty swift flyer?" "yes, indeed; the orks are admitted to be kings of the air." "your wings don't seem to amount to much," remarked trot. "well, they are not very big," admitted the ork, waving the four hollow skins gently to and fro, "but they serve to support my body in the air while i speed along by means of my tail. still, taken altogether, i'm very handsomely formed, don't you think?" trot did not like to reply, but cap'n bill nodded gravely. "for an ork," said he, "you're a wonder. i've never seen one afore, but i can imagine you're as good as any." that seemed to please the creature and it began walking around the cavern, making its way easily up the slope. while it was gone, trot and cap'n bill each took another sip from the water-flask, to wash down their breakfast. "why, here's a hole--an exit--an outlet!" exclaimed the ork from above. "we know," said trot. "we found it last night." "well, then, let's be off," continued the ork, after sticking its head into the black hole and sniffing once or twice. "the air seems fresh and sweet, and it can't lead us to any worse place than this." the girl and the sailor-man got up and climbed to the side of the ork. "we'd about decided to explore this hole before you came," explained cap'n bill; "but it's a dangerous place to navigate in the dark, so wait till i light a candle." "what is a candle?" inquired the ork. "you'll see in a minute," said trot. the old sailor drew one of the candles from his right-side pocket and the tin matchbox from his left-side pocket. when he lighted the match the ork gave a startled jump and eyed the flame suspiciously; but cap'n bill proceeded to light the candle and the action interested the ork very much. "light," it said, somewhat nervously, "is valuable in a hole of this sort. the candle is not dangerous, i hope?" "sometimes it burns your fingers," answered trot, "but that's about the worst it can do--'cept to blow out when you don't want it to." cap'n bill shielded the flame with his hand and crept into the hole. it wasn't any too big for a grown man, but after he had crawled a few feet it grew larger. trot came close behind him and then the ork followed. "seems like a reg'lar tunnel," muttered the sailor-man, who was creeping along awkwardly because of his wooden leg. the rocks, too, hurt his knees. for nearly half an hour the three moved slowly along the tunnel, which made many twists and turns and sometimes slanted downward and sometimes upward. finally cap'n bill stopped short, with an exclamation of disappointment, and held the flickering candle far ahead to light the scene. "what's wrong?" demanded trot, who could see nothing because the sailor's form completely filled the hole. "why, we've come to the end of our travels, i guess," he replied. "is the hole blocked?" inquired the ork. "no; it's wuss nor that," replied cap'n bill sadly. "i'm on the edge of a precipice. wait a minute an' i'll move along and let you see for yourselves. be careful, trot, not to fall." then he crept forward a little and moved to one side, holding the candle so that the girl could see to follow him. the ork came next and now all three knelt on a narrow ledge of rock which dropped straight away and left a huge black space which the tiny flame of the candle could not illuminate. "h-m!" said the ork, peering over the edge; "this doesn't look very promising, i'll admit. but let me take your candle, and i'll fly down and see what's below us." "aren't you afraid?" asked trot. "certainly i'm afraid," responded the ork. "but if we intend to escape we can't stay on this shelf forever. so, as i notice you poor creatures cannot fly, it is my duty to explore the place for you." cap'n bill handed the ork the candle, which had now burned to about half its length. the ork took it in one claw rather cautiously and then tipped its body forward and slipped over the edge. they heard a queer buzzing sound, as the tail revolved, and a brisk flapping of the peculiar wings, but they were more interested just then in following with their eyes the tiny speck of light which marked the location of the candle. this light first made a great circle, then dropped slowly downward and suddenly was extinguished, leaving everything before them black as ink. "hi, there! how did that happen?" cried the ork. "it blew out, i guess," shouted cap'n bill. "fetch it here." "i can't see where you are," said the ork. so cap'n bill got out another candle and lighted it, and its flame enabled the ork to fly back to them. it alighted on the edge and held out the bit of candle. "what made it stop burning?" asked the creature. "the wind," said trot. "you must be more careful, this time." "what's the place like?" inquired cap'n bill. "i don't know, yet; but there must be a bottom to it, so i'll try to find it." with this the ork started out again and this time sank downward more slowly. down, down, down it went, till the candle was a mere spark, and then it headed away to the left and trot and cap'n bill lost all sight of it. in a few minutes, however, they saw the spark of light again, and as the sailor still held the second lighted candle the ork made straight toward them. it was only a few yards distant when suddenly it dropped the candle with a cry of pain and next moment alighted, fluttering wildly, upon the rocky ledge. "what's the matter?" asked trot. "it bit me!" wailed the ork. "i don't like your candles. the thing began to disappear slowly as soon as i took it in my claw, and it grew smaller and smaller until just now it turned and bit me--a most unfriendly thing to do. oh--oh! ouch, what a bite!" "that's the nature of candles, i'm sorry to say," explained cap'n bill, with a grin. "you have to handle 'em mighty keerful. but tell us, what did you find down there?" "i found a way to continue our journey," said the ork, nursing tenderly the claw which had been burned. "just below us is a great lake of black water, which looked so cold and wicked that it made me shudder; but away at the left there's a big tunnel, which we can easily walk through. i don't know where it leads to, of course, but we must follow it and find out." "why, we can't get to it," protested the little girl. "we can't fly, as you do, you must remember." "no, that's true," replied the ork musingly. "your bodies are built very poorly, it seems to me, since all you can do is crawl upon the earth's surface. but you may ride upon my back, and in that way i can promise you a safe journey to the tunnel." "are you strong enough to carry us?" asked cap'n bill, doubtfully. "yes, indeed; i'm strong enough to carry a dozen of you, if you could find a place to sit," was the reply; "but there's only room between my wings for one at a time, so i'll have to make two trips." "all right; i'll go first," decided cap'n bill. he lit another candle for trot to hold while they were gone and to light the ork on his return to her, and then the old sailor got upon the ork's back, where he sat with his wooden leg sticking straight out sidewise. "if you start to fall, clasp your arms around my neck," advised the creature. "if i start to fall, it's good night an' pleasant dreams," said cap'n bill. "all ready?" asked the ork. "start the buzz-tail," said cap'n bill, with a tremble in his voice. but the ork flew away so gently that the old man never even tottered in his seat. trot watched the light of cap'n bill's candle till it disappeared in the far distance. she didn't like to be left alone on this dangerous ledge, with a lake of black water hundreds of feet below her; but she was a brave little girl and waited patiently for the return of the ork. it came even sooner than she had expected and the creature said to her: "your friend is safe in the tunnel. now, then, get aboard and i'll carry you to him in a jiffy." i'm sure not many little girls would have cared to take that awful ride through the huge black cavern on the back of a skinny ork. trot didn't care for it, herself, but it just had to be done and so she did it as courageously as possible. her heart beat fast and she was so nervous she could scarcely hold the candle in her fingers as the ork sped swiftly through the darkness. it seemed like a long ride to her, yet in reality the ork covered the distance in a wonderfully brief period of time and soon trot stood safely beside cap'n bill on the level floor of a big arched tunnel. the sailor-man was very glad to greet his little comrade again and both were grateful to the ork for his assistance. "i dunno where this tunnel leads to," remarked cap'n bill, "but it surely looks more promisin' than that other hole we crept through." "when the ork is rested," said trot, "we'll travel on and see what happens." "rested!" cried the ork, as scornfully as his shrill voice would allow. "that bit of flying didn't tire me at all. i'm used to flying days at a time, without ever once stopping." "then let's move on," proposed cap'n bill. he still held in his hand one lighted candle, so trot blew out the other flame and placed her candle in the sailor's big pocket. she knew it was not wise to burn two candles at once. the tunnel was straight and smooth and very easy to walk through, so they made good progress. trot thought that the tunnel began about two miles from the cavern where they had been cast by the whirlpool, but now it was impossible to guess the miles traveled, for they walked steadily for hours and hours without any change in their surroundings. finally cap'n bill stopped to rest. "there's somethin' queer about this 'ere tunnel, i'm certain," he declared, wagging his head dolefully. "here's three candles gone a'ready, an' only three more left us, yet the tunnel's the same as it was when we started. an' how long it's goin' to keep up, no one knows." "couldn't we walk without a light?" asked trot. "the way seems safe enough." "it does right now," was the reply, "but we can't tell when we are likely to come to another gulf, or somethin' jes' as dangerous. in that case we'd be killed afore we knew it." "suppose i go ahead?" suggested the ork. "i don't fear a fall, you know, and if anything happens i'll call out and warn you." "that's a good idea," declared trot, and cap'n bill thought so, too. so the ork started off ahead, quite in the dark, and hand in band the two followed him. when they had walked in this way for a good long time the ork halted and demanded food. cap'n bill had not mentioned food because there was so little left--only three biscuits and a lump of cheese about as big as his two fingers--but he gave the ork half of a biscuit, sighing as he did so. the creature didn't care for the cheese, so the sailor divided it between himself and trot. they lighted a candle and sat down in the tunnel while they ate. "my feet hurt me," grumbled the ork. "i'm not used to walking and this rocky passage is so uneven and lumpy that it hurts me to walk upon it." "can't you fly along?" asked trot. "no; the roof is too low," said the ork. after the meal they resumed their journey, which trot began to fear would never end. when cap'n bill noticed how tired the little girl was, he paused and lighted a match and looked at his big silver watch. "why, it's night!" he exclaimed. "we've tramped all day, an' still we're in this awful passage, which mebbe goes straight through the middle of the world, an' mebbe is a circle--in which case we can keep walkin' till doomsday. not knowin' what's before us so well as we know what's behind us, i propose we make a stop, now, an' try to sleep till mornin'." "that will suit me," asserted the ork, with a groan. "my feet are hurting me dreadfully and for the last few miles i've been limping with pain." "my foot hurts, too," said the sailor, looking for a smooth place on the rocky floor to sit down. "your foot!" cried the ork. "why, you've only one to hurt you, while i have four. so i suffer four times as much as you possibly can. here; hold the candle while i look at the bottoms of my claws. i declare," he said, examining them by the flickering light, "there are bunches of pain all over them!" "p'r'aps," said trot, who was very glad to sit down beside her companions, "you've got corns." "corns? nonsense! orks never have corns," protested the creature, rubbing its sore feet tenderly. "then mebbe they're--they're-what do you call 'em, cap'n bill? something 'bout the pilgrim's progress, you know." "bunions," said cap'n bill. "oh, yes; mebbe you've got bunions." "it is possible," moaned the ork. "but whatever they are, another day of such walking on them would drive me crazy." "i'm sure they'll feel better by mornin'," said cap'n bill, encouragingly. "go to sleep an' try to forget your sore feet." the ork cast a reproachful look at the sailor-man, who didn't see it. then the creature asked plaintively: "do we eat now, or do we starve?" "there's only half a biscuit left for you," answered cap'n bill. "no one knows how long we'll have to stay in this dark tunnel, where there's nothing whatever to eat; so i advise you to save that morsel o' food till later." "give it me now!" demanded the ork. "if i'm going to starve, i'll do it all at once--not by degrees." cap'n bill produced the biscuit and the creature ate it in a trice. trot was rather hungry and whispered to cap'n bill that she'd take part of her share; but the old man secretly broke his own half-biscuit in two, saving trot's share for a time of greater need. he was beginning to be worried over the little girl's plight and long after she was asleep and the ork was snoring in a rather disagreeable manner, cap'n bill sat with his back to a rock and smoked his pipe and tried to think of some way to escape from this seemingly endless tunnel. but after a time he also slept, for hobbling on a wooden leg all day was tiresome, and there in the dark slumbered the three adventurers for many hours, until the ork roused itself and kicked the old sailor with one foot. "it must be another day," said he. chapter four daylight at last cap'n bill rubbed his eyes, lit a match and consulted his watch. "nine o'clock. yes, i guess it's another day, sure enough. shall we go on?" he asked. "of course," replied the ork. "unless this tunnel is different from everything else in the world, and has no end, we'll find a way out of it sooner or later." the sailor gently wakened trot. she felt much rested by her long sleep and sprang to her feet eagerly. "let's start, cap'n," was all she said. they resumed the journey and had only taken a few steps when the ork cried "wow!" and made a great fluttering of its wings and whirling of its tail. the others, who were following a short distance behind, stopped abruptly. "what's the matter?" asked cap'n bill. "give us a light," was the reply. "i think we've come to the end of the tunnel." then, while cap'n bill lighted a candle, the creature added: "if that is true, we needn't have wakened so soon, for we were almost at the end of this place when we went to sleep." the sailor-man and trot came forward with a light. a wall of rock really faced the tunnel, but now they saw that the opening made a sharp turn to the left. so they followed on, by a narrower passage, and then made another sharp turn this time to the right. "blow out the light, cap'n," said the ork, in a pleased voice. "we've struck daylight." daylight at last! a shaft of mellow light fell almost at their feet as trot and the sailor turned the corner of the passage, but it came from above, and raising their eyes they found they were at the bottom of a deep, rocky well, with the top far, far above their heads. and here the passage ended. for a while they gazed in silence, at least two of them being filled with dismay at the sight. but the ork merely whistled softly and said cheerfully: "that was the toughest journey i ever had the misfortune to undertake, and i'm glad it's over. yet, unless i can manage to fly to the top of this pit, we are entombed here forever." "do you think there is room enough for you to fly in?" asked the little girl anxiously; and cap'n bill added: "it's a straight-up shaft, so i don't see how you'll ever manage it." "were i an ordinary bird--one of those horrid feathered things--i wouldn't even make the attempt to fly out," said the ork. "but my mechanical propeller tail can accomplish wonders, and whenever you're ready i'll show you a trick that is worth while." "oh!" exclaimed trot; "do you intend to take us up, too?" "why not?" "i thought," said cap'n bill, "as you'd go first, an' then send somebody to help us by lettin' down a rope." "ropes are dangerous," replied the ork, "and i might not be able to find one to reach all this distance. besides, it stands to reason that if i can get out myself i can also carry you two with me." "well, i'm not afraid," said trot, who longed to be on the earth's surface again. "s'pose we fall?" suggested cap'n bill, doubtfully. "why, in that case we would all fall together," returned the ork. "get aboard, little girl; sit across my shoulders and put both your arms around my neck." trot obeyed and when she was seated on the ork, cap'n bill inquired: "how 'bout me, mr. ork?" "why, i think you'd best grab hold of my rear legs and let me carry you up in that manner," was the reply. cap'n bill looked way up at the top of the well, and then he looked at the ork's slender, skinny legs and heaved a deep sigh. "it's goin' to be some dangle, i guess; but if you don't waste too much time on the way up, i may be able to hang on," said he. "all ready, then!" cried the ork, and at once his whirling tail began to revolve. trot felt herself rising into the air; when the creature's legs left the ground cap'n bill grasped two of them firmly and held on for dear life. the ork's body was tipped straight upward, and trot had to embrace the neck very tightly to keep from sliding off. even in this position the ork had trouble in escaping the rough sides of the well. several times it exclaimed "wow!" as it bumped its back, or a wing hit against some jagged projection; but the tail kept whirling with remarkable swiftness and the daylight grew brighter and brighter. it was, indeed, a long journey from the bottom to the top, yet almost before trot realized they had come so far, they popped out of the hole into the clear air and sunshine and a moment later the ork alighted gently upon the ground. the release was so sudden that even with the creature's care for its passengers cap'n bill struck the earth with a shock that sent him rolling heel over head; but by the time trot had slid down from her seat the old sailor-man was sitting up and looking around him with much satisfaction. "it's sort o' pretty here," said he. "earth is a beautiful place!" cried trot. "i wonder where on earth we are?" pondered the ork, turning first one bright eye and then the other to this side and that. trees there were, in plenty, and shrubs and flowers and green turf. but there were no houses; there were no paths; there was no sign of civilization whatever. "just before i settled down on the ground i thought i caught a view of the ocean," said the ork. "let's see if i was right." then he flew to a little hill, near by, and trot and cap'n bill followed him more slowly. when they stood on the top of the hill they could see the blue waves of the ocean in front of them, to the right of them, and at the left of them. behind the hill was a forest that shut out the view. "i hope it ain't an island, trot," said cap'n bill gravely. "if it is, i s'pose we're prisoners," she replied. "ezzackly so, trot." "but, 'even so, it's better than those terr'ble underground tunnels and caverns," declared the girl. "you are right, little one," agreed the ork. "anything above ground is better than the best that lies under ground. so let's not quarrel with our fate but be thankful we've escaped." "we are, indeed!" she replied. "but i wonder if we can find something to eat in this place?" "let's explore an' find out," proposed cap'n bill. "those trees over at the left look like cherry-trees." on the way to them the explorers had to walk through a tangle of vines and cap'n bill, who went first, stumbled and pitched forward on his face. "why, it's a melon!" cried trot delightedly, as she saw what had caused the sailor to fall. cap'n bill rose to his foot, for he was not at all hurt, and examined the melon. then he took his big jackknife from his pocket and cut the melon open. it was quite ripe and looked delicious; but the old man tasted it before he permitted trot to eat any. deciding it was good he gave her a big slice and then offered the ork some. the creature looked at the fruit somewhat disdainfully, at first, but once he had tasted its flavor he ate of it as heartily as did the others. among the vines they discovered many other melons, and trot said gratefully: "well, there's no danger of our starving, even if this is an island." "melons," remarked cap'n bill, "are both food an' water. we couldn't have struck anything better." farther on they came to the cherry trees, where they obtained some of the fruit, and at the edge of the little forest were wild plums. the forest itself consisted entirely of nut trees--walnuts, filberts, almonds and chestnuts--so there would be plenty of wholesome food for them while they remained there. cap'n bill and trot decided to walk through the forest, to discover what was on the other side of it, but the ork's feet were still so sore and "lumpy" from walking on the rocks that the creature said he preferred to fly over the tree-tops and meet them on the other side. the forest was not large, so by walking briskly for fifteen minutes they reached its farthest edge and saw before them the shore of the ocean. "it's an island, all right," said trot, with a sigh. "yes, and a pretty island, too," said cap'n bill, trying to conceal his disappointment on trot's account. "i guess, partner, if the wuss comes to the wuss, i could build a raft--or even a boat--from those trees, so's we could sail away in it." the little girl brightened at this suggestion. "i don't see the ork anywhere," she remarked, looking around. then her eyes lighted upon something and she exclaimed: "oh, cap'n bill! isn't that a house, over there to the left?" cap'n bill, looking closely, saw a shed-like structure built at one edge of the forest. "seems like it, trot. not that i'd call it much of a house, but it's a buildin', all right. let's go over an' see if it's occypied." chapter five the little old man of the island a few steps brought them to the shed, which was merely a roof of boughs built over a square space, with some branches of trees fastened to the sides to keep off the wind. the front was quite open and faced the sea, and as our friends came nearer they observed a little man, with a long pointed beard, sitting motionless on a stool and staring thoughtfully out over the water. "get out of the way, please," he called in a fretful voice. "can't you see you are obstructing my view?" "good morning," said cap'n bill, politely. "it isn't a good morning!" snapped the little man. "i've seen plenty of mornings better than this. do you call it a good morning when i'm pestered with such a crowd as you?" trot was astonished to hear such words from a stranger whom they had greeted quite properly, and cap'n bill grew red at the little man's rudeness. but the sailor said, in a quiet tone of voice: "are you the only one as lives on this 'ere island?" "your grammar's bad," was the reply. "but this is my own exclusive island, and i'll thank you to get off it as soon as possible." "we'd like to do that," said trot, and then she and cap'n bill turned away and walked down to the shore, to see if any other land was in sight. the little man rose and followed them, although both were now too provoked to pay any attention to him. "nothin' in sight, partner," reported cap'n bill, shading his eyes with his hand; "so we'll have to stay here for a time, anyhow. it isn't a bad place, trot, by any means." "that's all you know about it!" broke in the little man. "the trees are altogether too green and the rocks are harder than they ought to be. i find the sand very grainy and the water dreadfully wet. every breeze makes a draught and the sun shines in the daytime, when there's no need of it, and disappears just as soon as it begins to get dark. if you remain here you'll find the island very unsatisfactory." trot turned to look at him, and her sweet face was grave and curious. "i wonder who you are," she said. "my name is pessim," said he, with an air of pride. "i'm called the observer." "oh. what do you observe?" asked the little girl. "everything i see," was the reply, in a more surly tone. then pessim drew back with a startled exclamation and looked at some footprints in the sand. "why, good gracious me!" he cried in distress. "what's the matter now?" asked cap'n bill. "someone has pushed the earth in! don't you see it? "it isn't pushed in far enough to hurt anything," said trot, examining the footprints. "everything hurts that isn't right," insisted the man. "if the earth were pushed in a mile, it would be a great calamity, wouldn't it?" "i s'pose so," admitted the little girl. "well, here it is pushed in a full inch! that's a twelfth of a foot, or a little more than a millionth part of a mile. therefore it is one-millionth part of a calamity--oh, dear! how dreadful!" said pessim in a wailing voice. "try to forget it, sir," advised cap'n bill, soothingly. "it's beginning to rain. let's get under your shed and keep dry." "raining! is it really raining?" asked pessim, beginning to weep. "it is," answered cap'n bill, as the drops began to descend, "and i don't see any way to stop it--although i'm some observer myself." "no; we can't stop it, i fear," said the man. "are you very busy just now?" "i won't be after i get to the shed," replied the sailor-man. "then do me a favor, please," begged pessim, walking briskly along behind them, for they were hastening to the shed. "depends on what it is," said cap'n bill. "i wish you would take my umbrella down to the shore and hold it over the poor fishes till it stops raining. i'm afraid they'll get wet," said pessim. trot laughed, but cap'n bill thought the little man was poking fun at him and so he scowled upon pessim in a way that showed he was angry. they reached the shed before getting very wet, although the rain was now coming down in big drops. the roof of the shed protected them and while they stood watching the rainstorm something buzzed in and circled around pessim's head. at once the observer began beating it away with his hands, crying out: "a bumblebee! a bumblebee! the queerest bumblebee i ever saw!" cap'n bill and trot both looked at it and the little girl said in surprise: "dear me! it's a wee little ork!" "that's what it is, sure enough," exclaimed cap'n bill. really, it wasn't much bigger than a big bumblebee, and when it came toward trot she allowed it to alight on her shoulder. "it's me, all right," said a very small voice in her ear; "but i'm in an awful pickle, just the same!" "what, are you our ork, then?" demanded the girl, much amazed. "no, i'm my own ork. but i'm the only ork you know," replied the tiny creature. "what's happened to you?" asked the sailor, putting his head close to trot's shoulder in order to hear the reply better. pessim also put his head close, and the ork said: "you will remember that when i left you i started to fly over the trees, and just as i got to this side of the forest i saw a bush that was loaded down with the most luscious fruit you can imagine. the fruit was about the size of a gooseberry and of a lovely lavender color. so i swooped down and picked off one in my bill and ate it. at once i began to grow small. i could feel myself shrinking, shrinking away, and it frightened me terribly, so that i lighted on the ground to think over what was happening. in a few seconds i had shrunk to the size you now see me; but there i remained, getting no smaller, indeed, but no larger. it is certainly a dreadful affliction! after i had recovered somewhat from the shock i began to search for you. it is not so easy to find one's way when a creature is so small, but fortunately i spied you here in this shed and came to you at once." cap'n bill and trot were much astonished at this story and felt grieved for the poor ork, but the little man pessim seemed to think it a good joke. he began laughing when he heard the story and laughed until he choked, after which he lay down on the ground and rolled and laughed again, while the tears of merriment coursed down his wrinkled cheeks. "oh, dear! oh, dear!" he finally gasped, sitting up and wiping his eyes. "this is too rich! it's almost too joyful to be true." "i don't see anything funny about it," remarked trot indignantly. "you would if you'd had my experience," said pessim, getting upon his feet and gradually resuming his solemn and dissatisfied expression of countenance. "the same thing happened to me." "oh, did it? and how did you happen to come to this island?" asked the girl. "i didn't come; the neighbors brought me," replied the little man, with a frown at the recollection. "they said i was quarrelsome and fault-finding and blamed me because i told them all the things that went wrong, or never were right, and because i told them how things ought to be. so they brought me here and left me all alone, saying that if i quarreled with myself, no one else would be made unhappy. absurd, wasn't it?" "seems to me," said cap'n bill, "those neighbors did the proper thing." "well," resumed pessim, "when i found myself king of this island i was obliged to live upon fruits, and i found many fruits growing here that i had never seen before. i tasted several and found them good and wholesome. but one day i ate a lavender berry--as the ork did--and immediately i grew so small that i was scarcely two inches high. it was a very unpleasant condition and like the ork i became frightened. i could not walk very well nor very far, for every lump of earth in my way seemed a mountain, every blade of grass a tree and every grain of sand a rocky boulder. for several days i stumbled around in an agony of fear. once a tree toad nearly gobbled me up, and if i ran out from the shelter of the bushes the gulls and cormorants swooped down upon me. finally i decided to eat another berry and become nothing at all, since life, to one as small as i was, had become a dreary nightmare. "at last i found a small tree that i thought bore the same fruit as that i had eaten. the berry was dark purple instead of light lavender, but otherwise it was quite similar. being unable to climb the tree, i was obliged to wait underneath it until a sharp breeze arose and shook the limbs so that a berry fell. instantly i seized it and taking a last view of the world--as i then thought--i ate the berry in a twinkling. then, to my surprise, i began to grow big again, until i became of my former stature, and so i have since remained. needless to say, i have never eaten again of the lavender fruit, nor do any of the beasts or birds that live upon this island eat it." they had all three listened eagerly to this amazing tale, and when it was finished the ork exclaimed: "do you think, then, that the deep purple berry is the antidote for the lavender one?" "i'm sure of it," answered pessim. "then lead me to the tree at once!" begged the ork, "for this tiny form i now have terrifies me greatly." pessim examined the ork closely "you are ugly enough as you are," said he. "were you any larger you might be dangerous." "oh, no," trot assured him; "the ork has been our good friend. please take us to the tree." then pessim consented, although rather reluctantly. he led them to the right, which was the east side of the island, and in a few minutes brought them near to the edge of the grove which faced the shore of the ocean. here stood a small tree bearing berries of a deep purple color. the fruit looked very enticing and cap'n bill reached up and selected one that seemed especially plump and ripe. the ork had remained perched upon trot's shoulder but now it flew down to the ground. it was so difficult for cap'n bill to kneel down, with his wooden leg, that the little girl took the berry from him and held it close to the ork's head. "it's too big to go into my mouth," said the little creature, looking at the fruit sidewise. "you'll have to make sev'ral mouthfuls of it, i guess," said trot; and that is what the ork did. he pecked at the soft, ripe fruit with his bill and ate it up very quickly, because it was good. even before he had finished the berry they could see the ork begin to grow. in a few minutes he had regained his natural size and was strutting before them, quite delighted with his transformation. "well, well! what do you think of me now?" he asked proudly. "you are very skinny and remarkably ugly," declared pessim. "you are a poor judge of orks," was the reply. "anyone can see that i'm much handsomer than those dreadful things called birds, which are all fluff and feathers." "their feathers make soft beds," asserted pessim. "and my skin would make excellent drumheads," retorted the ork. "nevertheless, a plucked bird or a skinned ork would be of no value to himself, so we needn't brag of our usefulness after we are dead. but for the sake of argument, friend pessim, i'd like to know what good you would be, were you not alive?" "never mind that," said cap'n bill. "he isn't much good as he is." "i am king of this island, allow me to say, and you're intruding on my property," declared the little man, scowling upon them. "if you don't like me--and i'm sure you don't, for no one else does--why don't you go away and leave me to myself?" "well, the ork can fly, but we can't," explained trot, in answer. "we don't want to stay here a bit, but i don't see how we can get away." "you can go back into the hole you came from." cap'n bill shook his head; trot shuddered at the thought; the ork laughed aloud. "you may be king here," the creature said to pessim, "but we intend to run this island to suit ourselves, for we are three and you are one, and the balance of power lies with us." the little man made no reply to this, although as they walked back to the shed his face wore its fiercest scowl. cap'n bill gathered a lot of leaves and, assisted by trot, prepared two nice beds in opposite corners of the shed. pessim slept in a hammock which he swung between two trees. they required no dishes, as all their food consisted of fruits and nuts picked from the trees; they made no fire, for the weather was warm and there was nothing to cook; the shed had no furniture other than the rude stool which the little man was accustomed to sit upon. he called it his "throne" and they let him keep it. so they lived upon the island for three days, and rested and ate to their hearts' content. still, they were not at all happy in this life because of pessim. he continually found fault with them, and all that they did, and all their surroundings. he could see nothing good or admirable in all the world and trot soon came to understand why the little man's former neighbors had brought him to this island and left him there, all alone, so he could not annoy anyone. it was their misfortune that they had been led to this place by their adventures, for often they would have preferred the company of a wild beast to that of pessim. on the fourth day a happy thought came to the ork. they had all been racking their brains for a possible way to leave the island, and discussing this or that method, without finding a plan that was practical. cap'n bill had said he could make a raft of the trees, big enough to float them all, but he had no tools except those two pocketknives and it was not possible to chop down tree with such small blades. "and s'pose we got afloat on the ocean," said trot, "where would we drift to, and how long would it take us to get there?" cap'n bill was forced to admit he didn't know. the ork could fly away from the island any time it wished to, but the queer creature was loyal to his new friends and refused to leave them in such a lonely, forsaken place. it was when trot urged him to go, on this fourth morning, that the ork had his happy thought. "i will go," said he, "if you two will agree to ride upon my back." "we are too heavy; you might drop us," objected cap'n bill. "yes, you are rather heavy for a long journey," acknowledged the ork, "but you might eat of those lavender berries and become so small that i could carry you with ease." this quaint suggestion startled trot and she looked gravely at the speaker while she considered it, but cap'n bill gave a scornful snort and asked: "what would become of us afterward? we wouldn't be much good if we were some two or three inches high. no, mr. ork, i'd rather stay here, as i am, than be a hop-o'-my-thumb somewhere else." "why couldn't you take some of the dark purple berries along with you, to eat after we had reached our destination?" inquired the ork. "then you could grow big again whenever you pleased." trot clapped her hands with delight. "that's it!" she exclaimed. "let's do it, cap'n bill." the old sailor did not like the idea at first, but he thought it over carefully and the more he thought the better it seemed. "how could you manage to carry us, if we were so small?" he asked. "i could put you in a paper bag, and tie the bag around my neck." "but we haven't a paper bag," objected trot. the ork looked at her. "there's your sunbonnet," it said presently, "which is hollow in the middle and has two strings that you could tie around my neck." trot took off her sunbonnet and regarded it critically. yes, it might easily hold both her and cap'n bill, after they had eaten the lavender berries and been reduced in size. she tied the strings around the ork's neck and the sunbonnet made a bag in which two tiny people might ride without danger of falling out. so she said: "i b'lieve we'll do it that way, cap'n." cap'n bill groaned but could make no logical objection except that the plan seemed to him quite dangerous--and dangerous in more ways than one. "i think so, myself," said trot soberly. "but nobody can stay alive without getting into danger sometimes, and danger doesn't mean getting hurt, cap'n; it only means we might get hurt. so i guess we'll have to take the risk." "let's go and find the berries," said the ork. they said nothing to pessim, who was sitting on his stool and scowling dismally as he stared at the ocean, but started at once to seek the trees that bore the magic fruits. the ork remembered very well where the lavender berries grew and led his companions quickly to the spot. cap'n bill gathered two berries and placed them carefully in his pocket. then they went around to the east side of the island and found the tree that bore the dark purple berries. "i guess i'll take four of these," said the sailor-man, "so in case one doesn't make us grow big we can eat another." "better take six," advised the ork. "it's well to be on the safe side, and i'm sure these trees grow nowhere else in all the world." so cap'n bill gathered six of the purple berries and with their precious fruit they returned to the shed to big good-bye to pessim. perhaps they would not have granted the surly little man this courtesy had they not wished to use him to tie the sunbonnet around the ork's neck. when pessim learned they were about to leave him he at first looked greatly pleased, but he suddenly recollected that nothing ought to please him and so began to grumble about being left alone. "we knew it wouldn't suit you," remarked cap'n bill. "it didn't suit you to have us here, and it won't suit you to have us go away." "that is quite true," admitted pessim. "i haven't been suited since i can remember; so it doesn't matter to me in the least whether you go or stay." he was interested in their experiment, however, and willingly agreed to assist, although he prophesied they would fall out of the sunbonnet on their way and be either drowned in the ocean or crushed upon some rocky shore. this uncheerful prospect did not daunt trot, but it made cap'n bill quite nervous. "i will eat my berry first," said trot, as she placed her sunbonnet on the ground, in such manner that they could get into it. then she ate the lavender berry and in a few seconds became so small that cap'n bill picked her up gently with his thumb and one finger and placed her in the middle of the sunbonnet. then he placed beside her the six purple berries--each one being about as big as the tiny trot's head--and all preparations being now made the old sailor ate his lavender berry and became very small--wooden leg and all! cap'n bill stumbled sadly in trying to climb over the edge of the sunbonnet and pitched in beside trot headfirst, which caused the unhappy pessim to laugh with glee. then the king of the island picked up the sunbonnet--so rudely that he shook its occupants like peas in a pod--and tied it, by means of its strings, securely around the ork's neck. "i hope, trot, you sewed those strings on tight," said cap'n bill anxiously. "why, we are not very heavy, you know," she replied, "so i think the stitches will hold. but be careful and not crush the berries, cap'n." "one is jammed already," he said, looking at them. "all ready?" asked the ork. "yes!" they cried together, and pessim came close to the sunbonnet and called out to them: "you'll be smashed or drowned, i'm sure you will! but farewell, and good riddance to you." the ork was provoked by this unkind speech, so he turned his tail toward the little man and made it revolve so fast that the rush of air tumbled pessim over backward and he rolled several times upon the ground before he could stop himself and sit up. by that time the ork was high in the air and speeding swiftly over the ocean. chapter six the flight of the midgets cap'n bill and trot rode very comfortably in the sunbonnet. the motion was quite steady, for they weighed so little that the ork flew without effort. yet they were both somewhat nervous about their future fate and could not help wishing they were safe on land and their natural size again. "you're terr'ble small, trot," remarked cap'n bill, looking at his companion. "same to you, cap'n," she said with a laugh; "but as long as we have the purple berries we needn't worry about our size." "in a circus," mused the old man, "we'd be curiosities. but in a sunbonnet--high up in the air--sailin' over a big, unknown ocean--they ain't no word in any booktionary to describe us." "why, we're midgets, that's all," said the little girl. the ork flew silently for a long time. the slight swaying of the sunbonnet made cap'n bill drowsy, and he began to doze. trot, however, was wide awake, and after enduring the monotonous journey as long as she was able she called out: "don't you see land anywhere, mr. ork?" "not yet," he answered. "this is a big ocean and i've no idea in which direction the nearest land to that island lies; but if i keep flying in a straight line i'm sure to reach some place some time." that seemed reasonable, so the little people in the sunbonnet remained as patient as possible; that is, cap'n bill dozed and trot tried to remember her geography lessons so she could figure out what land they were likely to arrive at. for hours and hours the ork flew steadily, keeping to the straight line and searching with his eyes the horizon of the ocean for land. cap'n bill was fast asleep and snoring and trot had laid her head on his shoulder to rest it when suddenly the ork exclaimed: "there! i've caught a glimpse of land, at last." at this announcement they roused themselves. cap'n bill stood up and tried to peek over the edge of the sunbonnet. "what does it look like?" he inquired. "looks like another island," said the ork; "but i can judge it better in a minute or two." "i don't care much for islands, since we visited that other one," declared trot. soon the ork made another announcement. "it is surely an island, and a little one, too," said he. "but i won't stop, because i see a much bigger land straight ahead of it." "that's right," approved cap'n bill. "the bigger the land, the better it will suit us." "it's almost a continent," continued the ork after a brief silence, during which he did not decrease the speed of his flight. "i wonder if it can be orkland, the place i have been seeking so long?" "i hope not," whispered trot to cap'n bill--so softly that the ork could not hear her--"for i shouldn't like to be in a country where only orks live. this one ork isn't a bad companion, but a lot of him wouldn't be much fun." after a few more minutes of flying the ork called out in a sad voice: "no! this is not my country. it's a place i have never seen before, although i have wandered far and wide. it seems to be all mountains and deserts and green valleys and queer cities and lakes and rivers--mixed up in a very puzzling way." "most countries are like that," commented cap'n bill. "are you going to land?" "pretty soon," was the reply. "there is a mountain peak just ahead of me. what do you say to our landing on that?" "all right," agreed the sailor-man, for both he and trot were getting tired of riding in the sunbonnet and longed to set foot on solid ground again. so in a few minutes the ork slowed down his speed and then came to a stop so easily that they were scarcely jarred at all. then the creature squatted down until the sunbonnet rested on the ground, and began trying to unfasten with its claws the knotted strings. this proved a very clumsy task, because the strings were tied at the back of the ork's neck, just where his claws would not easily reach. after much fumbling he said: "i'm afraid i can't let you out, and there is no one near to help me." this was at first discouraging, but after a little thought cap'n bill said: "if you don't mind, trot, i can cut a slit in your sunbonnet with my knife." "do," she replied. "the slit won't matter, 'cause i can sew it up again afterward, when i am big." so cap'n bill got out his knife, which was just as small, in proportion, as he was, and after considerable trouble managed to cut a long slit in the sunbonnet. first he squeezed through the opening himself and then helped trot to get out. when they stood on firm ground again their first act was to begin eating the dark purple berries which they had brought with them. two of these trot had guarded carefully during the long journey, by holding them in her lap, for their safety meant much to the tiny people. "i'm not very hungry," said the little girl as she handed a berry to cap'n bill, "but hunger doesn't count, in this case. it's like taking medicine to make you well, so we must manage to eat 'em, somehow or other." but the berries proved quite pleasant to taste and as cap'n bill and trot nibbled at their edges their forms began to grow in size--slowly but steadily. the bigger they grew the easier it was for them to eat the berries, which of course became smaller to them, and by the time the fruit was eaten our friends had regained their natural size. the little girl was greatly relieved when she found herself as large as she had ever been, and cap'n bill shared her satisfaction; for, although they had seen the effect of the berries on the ork, they had not been sure the magic fruit would have the same effect on human beings, or that the magic would work in any other country than that in which the berries grew. "what shall we do with the other four berries?" asked trot, as she picked up her sunbonnet, marveling that she had ever been small enough to ride in it. "they're no good to us now, are they, cap'n?" "i'm not sure as to that," he replied. "if they were eaten by one who had never eaten the lavender berries, they might have no effect at all; but then, contrarywise, they might. one of 'em has got badly jammed, so i'll throw it away, but the other three i b'lieve i'll carry with me. they're magic things, you know, and may come handy to us some time." he now searched in his big pockets and drew out a small wooden box with a sliding cover. the sailor had kept an assortment of nails, of various sizes, in this box, but those he now dumped loosely into his pocket and in the box placed the three sound purple berries. when this important matter was attended to they found time to look about them and see what sort of place the ork had landed them in. chapter seven the bumpy man the mountain on which they had alighted was not a barren waste, but had on its sides patches of green grass, some bushes, a few slender trees and here and there masses of tumbled rocks. the sides of the slope seemed rather steep, but with care one could climb up or down them with ease and safety. the view from where they now stood showed pleasant valleys and fertile hills lying below the heights. trot thought she saw some houses of queer shapes scattered about the lower landscape, and there were moving dots that might be people or animals, yet were too far away for her to see them clearly. not far from the place where they stood was the top of the mountain, which seemed to be flat, so the ork proposed to his companions that he would fly up and see what was there. "that's a good idea," said trot, "'cause it's getting toward evening and we'll have to find a place to sleep." the ork had not been gone more than a few minutes when they saw him appear on the edge of the top which was nearest them. "come on up!" he called. so trot and cap'n bill began to ascend the steep slope and it did not take them long to reach the place where the ork awaited them. their first view of the mountain top pleased them very much. it was a level space of wider extent than they had guessed and upon it grew grass of a brilliant green color. in the very center stood a house built of stone and very neatly constructed. no one was in sight, but smoke was coming from the chimney, so with one accord all three began walking toward the house. "i wonder," said trot, "in what country we are, and if it's very far from my home in california." "can't say as to that, partner," answered cap'n bill, "but i'm mighty certain we've come a long way since we struck that whirlpool." "yes," she agreed, with a sigh, "it must be miles and miles!" "distance means nothing," said the ork. "i have flown pretty much all over the world, trying to find my home, and it is astonishing how many little countries there are, hidden away in the cracks and corners of this big globe of earth. if one travels, he may find some new country at every turn, and a good many of them have never yet been put upon the maps." "p'raps this is one of them," suggested trot. they reached the house after a brisk walk and cap'n bill knocked upon the door. it was at once opened by a rugged looking man who had "bumps all over him," as trot afterward declared. there were bumps on his head, bumps on his body and bumps on his arms and legs and hands. even his fingers had bumps on the ends of them. for dress he wore an old gray suit of fantastic design, which fitted him very badly because of the bumps it covered but could not conceal. but the bumpy man's eyes were kind and twinkling in expression and as soon as he saw his visitors he bowed low and said in a rather bumpy voice: "happy day! come in and shut the door, for it grows cool when the sun goes down. winter is now upon us." "why, it isn't cold a bit, outside," said trot, "so it can't be winter yet." "you will change your mind about that in a little while," declared the bumpy man. "my bumps always tell me the state of the weather, and they feel just now as if a snowstorm was coming this way. but make yourselves at home, strangers. supper is nearly ready and there is food enough for all." inside the house there was but one large room, simply but comfortably furnished. it had benches, a table and a fireplace, all made of stone. on the hearth a pot was bubbling and steaming, and trot thought it had a rather nice smell. the visitors seated themselves upon the benches--except the ork. which squatted by the fireplace--and the bumpy man began stirring the kettle briskly. "may i ask what country this is, sir?" inquired cap'n bill. "goodness me--fruit-cake and apple-sauce!--don't you know where you are?" asked the bumpy man, as he stopped stirring and looked at the speaker in surprise. "no," admitted cap'n bill. "we've just arrived." "lost your way?" questioned the bumpy man. "not exactly," said cap'n bill. "we didn't have any way to lose." "ah!" said the bumpy man, nodding his bumpy head. "this," he announced, in a solemn, impressive voice, "is the famous land of mo." "oh!" exclaimed the sailor and the girl, both in one breath. but, never having heard of the land of mo, they were no wiser than before. "i thought that would startle you," remarked the bumpy man, well pleased, as he resumed his stirring. the ork watched him a while in silence and then asked: "who may you be?" "me?" answered the bumpy man. "haven't you heard of me? gingerbread and lemon-juice! i'm known, far and wide, as the mountain ear." they all received this information in silence at first, for they were trying to think what he could mean. finally trot mustered up courage to ask: "what is a mountain ear, please?" for answer the man turned around and faced them, waving the spoon with which he had been stirring the kettle, as he recited the following verses in a singsong tone of voice: "here's a mountain, hard of hearing, that's sad-hearted and needs cheering, so my duty is to listen to all sounds that nature makes, so the hill won't get uneasy- get to coughing, or get sneezy- for this monster bump, when frightened, is quite liable to quakes. "you can hear a bell that's ringing; i can feel some people's singing; but a mountain isn't sensible of what goes on, and so when i hear a blizzard blowing or it's raining hard, or snowing, i tell it to the mountain and the mountain seems to know. "thus i benefit all people while i'm living on this steeple, for i keep the mountain steady so my neighbors all may thrive. with my list'ning and my shouting i prevent this mount from spouting, and that makes me so important that i'm glad that i'm alive." when he had finished these lines of verse the bumpy man turned again to resume his stirring. the ork laughed softly and cap'n bill whistled to himself and trot made up her mind that the mountain ear must be a little crazy. but the bumpy man seemed satisfied that he had explained his position fully and presently he placed four stone plates upon the table and then lifted the kettle from the fire and poured some of its contents on each of the plates. cap'n bill and trot at once approached the table, for they were hungry, but when she examined her plate the little girl exclaimed: "why, it's molasses candy!" "to be sure," returned the bumpy man, with a pleasant smile. "eat it quick, while it's hot, for it cools very quickly this winter weather." with this he seized a stone spoon and began putting the hot molasses candy into his mouth, while the others watched him in astonishment. "doesn't it burn you?" asked the girl. "no indeed," said he. "why don't you eat? aren't you hungry?" "yes," she replied, "i am hungry. but we usually eat our candy when it is cold and hard. we always pull molasses candy before we eat it." "ha, ha, ha!" laughed the mountain ear. "what a funny idea! where in the world did you come from?" "california," she said. "california! pooh! there isn't any such place. i've heard of every place in the land of mo, but i never before heard of california." "it isn't in the land of mo," she explained. "then it isn't worth talking about," declared the bumpy man, helping himself again from the steaming kettle, for he had been eating all the time he talked. "for my part," sighed cap'n bill, "i'd like a decent square meal, once more, just by way of variety. in the last place there was nothing but fruit to eat, and here it's worse, for there's nothing but candy." "molasses candy isn't so bad," said trot. "mine's nearly cool enough to pull, already. wait a bit, cap'n, and you can eat it." a little later she was able to gather the candy from the stone plate and begin to work it back and forth with her hands. the mountain ear was greatly amazed at this and watched her closely. it was really good candy and pulled beautifully, so that trot was soon ready to cut it into chunks for eating. cap'n bill condescended to eat one or two pieces and the ork ate several, but the bumpy man refused to try it. trot finished the plate of candy herself and then asked for a drink of water. "water?" said the mountain ear wonderingly. "what is that?" "something to drink. don't you have water in mo?" "none that ever i heard of," said he. "but i can give you some fresh lemonade. i caught it in a jar the last time it rained, which was only day before yesterday." "oh, does it rain lemonade here?" she inquired. "always; and it is very refreshing and healthful." with this he brought from a cupboard a stone jar and a dipper, and the girl found it very nice lemonade, indeed. cap'n bill liked it, too; but the ork would not touch it. "if there is no water in this country, i cannot stay here for long," the creature declared. "water means life to man and beast and bird." "there must be water in lemonade," said trot. "yes," answered the ork, "i suppose so; but there are other things in it, too, and they spoil the good water." the day's adventures had made our wanderers tired, so the bumpy man brought them some blankets in which they rolled themselves and then lay down before the fire, which their host kept alive with fuel all through the night. trot wakened several times and found the mountain ear always alert and listening intently for the slightest sound. but the little girl could hear no sound at all except the snores of cap'n bill. chapter eight button-bright is lost and found again "wake up--wake up!" called the voice of the bumpy man. "didn't i tell you winter was coming? i could hear it coming with my left ear, and the proof is that it is now snowing hard outside." "is it?" said trot, rubbing her eyes and creeping out of her blanket. "where i live, in california, i have never seen snow, except far away on the tops of high mountains." "well, this is the top of a high mountain," returned the bumpy one, "and for that reason we get our heaviest snowfalls right here." the little girl went to the window and looked out. the air was filled with falling white flakes, so large in size and so queer in form that she was puzzled. "are you certain this is snow?" she asked. "to be sure. i must get my snow-shovel and turn out to shovel a path. would you like to come with me?" "yes," she said, and followed the bumpy man out when he opened the door. then she exclaimed: "why, it isn't cold a bit!" "of course not," replied the man. "it was cold last night, before the snowstorm; but snow, when it falls, is always crisp and warm." trot gathered a handful of it. "why, it's popcorn?" she cried. "certainly; all snow is popcorn. what did you expect it to be?" "popcorn is not snow in my country." "well, it is the only snow we have in the land of mo, so you may as well make the best of it," said he, a little impatiently. "i'm not responsible for the absurd things that happen in your country, and when you're in mo you must do as the momen do. eat some of our snow, and you will find it is good. the only fault i find with our snow is that we get too much of it at times." with this the bumpy man set to work shoveling a path and he was so quick and industrious that he piled up the popcorn in great banks on either side of the trail that led to the mountain-top from the plains below. while he worked, trot ate popcorn and found it crisp and slightly warm, as well as nicely salted and buttered. presently cap'n bill came out of the house and joined her. "what's this?" he asked. "mo snow," said she. "but it isn't real snow, although it falls from the sky. it's popcorn." cap'n bill tasted it; then he sat down in the path and began to eat. the ork came out and pecked away with its bill as fast as it could. they all liked popcorn and they all were hungry this morning. meantime the flakes of "mo snow" came down so fast that the number of them almost darkened the air. the bumpy man was now shoveling quite a distance down the mountain-side, while the path behind him rapidly filled up with fresh-fallen popcorn. suddenly trot heard him call out: "goodness gracious--mince pie and pancakes!--here is some one buried in the snow." she ran toward him at once and the others followed, wading through the corn and crunching it underneath their feet. the mo snow was pretty deep where the bumpy man was shoveling and from beneath a great bank of it he had uncovered a pair of feet. "dear me! someone has been lost in the storm," said cap'n bill. "i hope he is still alive. let's pull him out and see." he took hold of one foot and the bumpy man took hold of the other. then they both pulled and out from the heap of popcorn came a little boy. he was dressed in a brown velvet jacket and knickerbockers, with brown stockings, buckled shoes and a blue shirt-waist that had frills down its front. when drawn from the heap the boy was chewing a mouthful of popcorn and both his hands were full of it. so at first he couldn't speak to his rescuers but lay quite still and eyed them calmly until he had swallowed his mouthful. then he said: "get my cap," and stuffed more popcorn into his mouth. while the bumpy man began shoveling into the corn-bank to find the boy's cap, trot was laughing joyfully and cap'n bill had a broad grin on his face. the ork looked from one to another and asked: "who is this stranger?" "why, it's button-bright, of course," answered trot. "if anyone ever finds a lost boy, he can make up his mind it's button-bright. but how he ever came to be lost in this far-away country is more'n i can make out." "where does he belong?" inquired the ork. "his home used to be in philadelphia, i think; but i'm quite sure button-bright doesn't belong anywhere." "that's right," said the boy, nodding his head as he swallowed the second mouthful. "everyone belongs somewhere," remarked the ork. "not me," insisted button-bright. "i'm half way round the world from philadelphia, and i've lost my magic umbrella, that used to carry me anywhere. stands to reason that if i can't get back i haven't any home. but i don't care much. this is a pretty good country, trot. i've had lots of fun here." by this time the mountain ear had secured the boy's cap and was listening to the conversation with much interest. "it seems you know this poor, snow-covered cast-away," he said. "yes, indeed," answered trot. "we made a journey together to sky island, once, and were good friends." "well, then i'm glad i saved his life," said the bumpy man. "much obliged, mr. knobs," said button-bright, sitting up and staring at him, "but i don't believe you've saved anything except some popcorn that i might have eaten had you not disturbed me. it was nice and warm in that bank of popcorn, and there was plenty to eat. what made you dig me out? and what makes you so bumpy everywhere?" "as for the bumps," replied the man, looking at himself with much pride, "i was born with them and i suspect they were a gift from the fairies. they make me look rugged and big, like the mountain i serve." "all right," said button-bright and began eating popcorn again. it had stopped snowing, now, and great flocks of birds were gathering around the mountain-side, eating the popcorn with much eagerness and scarcely noticing the people at all. there were birds of every size and color, most of them having gorgeous feathers and plumes. "just look at them!" exclaimed the ork scornfully. "aren't they dreadful creatures, all covered with feathers?" "i think they're beautiful," said trot, and this made the ork so indignant that he went back into the house and sulked. button-bright reached out his hand and caught a big bird by the leg. at once it rose into the air and it was so strong that it nearly carried the little boy with it. he let go the leg in a hurry and the bird flew down again and began to eat of the popcorn, not being frightened in the least. this gave cap'n bill an idea. he felt in his pocket and drew out several pieces of stout string. moving very quietly, so as to not alarm the birds, he crept up to several of the biggest ones and tied cords around their legs, thus making them prisoners. the birds were so intent on their eating that they did not notice what had happened to them, and when about twenty had been captured in this manner cap'n bill tied the ends of all the strings together and fastened them to a huge stone, so they could not escape. the bumpy man watched the old sailor's actions with much curiosity. "the birds will be quiet until they've eaten up all the snow," he said, "but then they will want to fly away to their homes. tell me, sir, what will the poor things do when they find they can't fly?" "it may worry 'em a little," replied cap'n bill, "but they're not going to be hurt if they take it easy and behave themselves." our friends had all made a good breakfast of the delicious popcorn and now they walked toward the house again. button-bright walked beside trot and held her hand in his, because they were old friends and he liked the little girl very much. the boy was not so old as trot, and small as she was he was half a head shorter in height. the most remarkable thing about button-bright was that he was always quiet and composed, whatever happened, and nothing was ever able to astonish him. trot liked him because he was not rude and never tried to plague her. cap'n bill liked him because he had found the boy cheerful and brave at all times, and willing to do anything he was asked to do. when they came to the house trot sniffed the air and asked "don't i smell perfume?" "i think you do," said the bumpy man. "you smell violets, and that proves there is a breeze springing up from the south. all our winds and breezes are perfumed and for that reason we are glad to have them blow in our direction. the south breeze always has a violet odor; the north breeze has the fragrance of wild roses; the east breeze is perfumed with lilies-of-the-valley and the west wind with lilac blossoms. so we need no weathervane to tell us which way the wind is blowing. we have only to smell the perfume and it informs us at once." inside the house they found the ork, and button-bright regarded the strange, birdlike creature with curious interest. after examining it closely for a time he asked: "which way does your tail whirl?" "either way," said the ork. button-bright put out his hand and tried to spin it. "don't do that!" exclaimed the ork. "why not?" inquired the boy. "because it happens to be my tail, and i reserve the right to whirl it myself," explained the ork. "let's go out and fly somewhere," proposed button-bright. "i want to see how the tail works." "not now," said the ork. "i appreciate your interest in me, which i fully deserve; but i only fly when i am going somewhere, and if i got started i might not stop." "that reminds me," remarked cap'n bill, "to ask you, friend ork, how we are going to get away from here?" "get away!" exclaimed the bumpy man. "why don't you stay here? you won't find any nicer place than mo." "have you been anywhere else, sir?" "no; i can't say that i have," admitted the mountain ear. "then permit me to say you're no judge," declared cap'n bill. "but you haven't answered my question, friend ork. how are we to get away from this mountain?" the ork reflected a while before he answered. "i might carry one of you--the boy or the girl--upon my back," said he, "but three big people are more than i can manage, although i have carried two of you for a short distance. you ought not to have eaten those purple berries so soon." "p'r'aps we did make a mistake," cap'n bill acknowledged. "or we might have brought some of those lavender berries with us, instead of so many purple ones," suggested trot regretfully. cap'n bill made no reply to this statement, which showed he did not fully agree with the little girl; but he fell into deep thought, with wrinkled brows, and finally he said: "if those purple berries would make anything grow bigger, whether it'd eaten the lavender ones or not, i could find a way out of our troubles." they did not understand this speech and looked at the old sailor as if expecting him to explain what he meant. but just then a chorus of shrill cries rose from outside. "here! let me go--let me go!" the voices seemed to say. "why are we insulted in this way? mountain ear, come and help us!" trot ran to the window and looked out. "it's the birds you caught, cap'n," she said. "i didn't know they could talk." "oh, yes; all the birds in mo are educated to talk," said the bumpy man. then he looked at cap'n bill uneasily and added: "won't you let the poor things go?" "i'll see," replied the sailor, and walked out to where the birds were fluttering and complaining because the strings would not allow them to fly away. "listen to me!" he cried, and at once they became still. "we three people who are strangers in your land want to go to some other country, and we want three of you birds to carry us there. we know we are asking a great favor, but it's the only way we can think of--excep' walkin', an' i'm not much good at that because i've a wooden leg. besides, trot an' button-bright are too small to undertake a long and tiresome journey. now, tell me: which three of you birds will consent to carry us?" the birds looked at one another as if greatly astonished. then one of them replied: "you must be crazy, old man. not one of us is big enough to fly with even the smallest of your party." "i'll fix the matter of size," promised cap'n bill. "if three of you will agree to carry us, i'll make you big an' strong enough to do it, so it won't worry you a bit." the birds considered this gravely. living in a magic country, they had no doubt but that the strange one-legged man could do what he said. after a little, one of them asked: "if you make us big, would we stay big always?" "i think so," replied cap'n bill. they chattered a while among themselves and then the bird that had first spoken said: "i'll go, for one." "so will i," said another; and after a pause a third said: "i'll go, too." perhaps more would have volunteered, for it seemed that for some reason they all longed to be bigger than they were; but three were enough for cap'n bill's purpose and so he promptly released all the others, who immediately flew away. the three that remained were cousins, and all were of the same brilliant plumage and in size about as large as eagles. when trot questioned them she found they were quite young, having only abandoned their nests a few weeks before. they were strong young birds, with clear, brave eyes, and the little girl decided they were the most beautiful of all the feathered creatures she had ever seen. cap'n bill now took from his pocket the wooden box with the sliding cover and removed the three purple berries, which were still in good condition. "eat these," he said, and gave one to each of the birds. they obeyed, finding the fruit very pleasant to taste. in a few seconds they began to grow in size and grew so fast that trot feared they would never stop. but they finally did stop growing, and then they were much larger than the ork, and nearly the size of full-grown ostriches. cap'n bill was much pleased by this result. "you can carry us now, all right," said he. the birds strutted around with pride, highly pleased with their immense size. "i don't see, though," said trot doubtfully, "how we're going to ride on their backs without falling off." "we're not going to ride on their backs," answered cap'n bill. "i'm going to make swings for us to ride in." he then asked the bumpy man for some rope, but the man had no rope. he had, however, an old suit of gray clothes which he gladly presented to cap'n bill, who cut the cloth into strips and twisted it so that it was almost as strong as rope. with this material he attached to each bird a swing that dangled below its feet, and button-bright made a trial flight in one of them to prove that it was safe and comfortable. when all this had been arranged one of the birds asked: "where do you wish us to take you?" "why, just follow the ork," said cap'n bill. "he will be our leader, and wherever the ork flies you are to fly, and wherever the ork lands you are to land. is that satisfactory?" the birds declared it was quite satisfactory, so cap'n bill took counsel with the ork. "on our way here," said that peculiar creature, "i noticed a broad, sandy desert at the left of me, on which was no living thing." "then we'd better keep away from it," replied the sailor. "not so," insisted the ork. "i have found, on my travels, that the most pleasant countries often lie in the midst of deserts; so i think it would be wise for us to fly over this desert and discover what lies beyond it. for in the direction we came from lies the ocean, as we well know, and beyond here is this strange land of mo, which we do not care to explore. on one side, as we can see from this mountain, is a broad expanse of plain, and on the other the desert. for my part, i vote for the desert." "what do you say, trot?" inquired cap'n bill. "it's all the same to me," she replied. no one thought of asking button-bright's opinion, so it was decided to fly over the desert. they bade good-bye to the bumpy man and thanked him for his kindness and hospitality. then they seated themselves in the swings--one for each bird--and told the ork to start away and they would follow. the whirl of the ork's tail astonished the birds at first, but after he had gone a short distance they rose in the air, carrying their passengers easily, and flew with strong, regular strokes of their great wings in the wake of their leader. chapter nine the kingdom of jinxland trot rode with more comfort than she had expected, although the swing swayed so much that she had to hold on tight with both hands. cap'n bill's bird followed the ork, and trot came next, with button-bright trailing behind her. it was quite an imposing procession, but unfortunately there was no one to see it, for the ork had headed straight for the great sandy desert and in a few minutes after starting they were flying high over the broad waste, where no living thing could exist. the little girl thought this would be a bad place for the birds to lose strength, or for the cloth ropes to give way; but although she could not help feeling a trifle nervous and fidgety she had confidence in the huge and brilliantly plumaged bird that bore her, as well as in cap'n bill's knowledge of how to twist and fasten a rope so it would hold. that was a remarkably big desert. there was nothing to relieve the monotony of view and every minute seemed an hour and every hour a day. disagreeable fumes and gases rose from the sands, which would have been deadly to the travelers had they not been so high in the air. as it was, trot was beginning to feel sick, when a breath of fresher air filled her nostrils and on looking ahead she saw a great cloud of pink-tinted mist. even while she wondered what it could be, the ork plunged boldly into the mist and the other birds followed. she could see nothing for a time, nor could the bird which carried her see where the ork had gone, but it kept flying as sturdily as ever and in a few moments the mist was passed and the girl saw a most beautiful landscape spread out below her, extending as far as her eye could reach. she saw bits of forest, verdure clothed hills, fields of waving grain, fountains, rivers and lakes; and throughout the scene were scattered groups of pretty houses and a few grand castles and palaces. over all this delightful landscape--which from trot's high perch seemed like a magnificent painted picture--was a rosy glow such as we sometimes see in the west at sunset. in this case, however, it was not in the west only, but everywhere. no wonder the ork paused to circle slowly over this lovely country. the other birds followed his action, all eyeing the place with equal delight. then, as with one accord, the four formed a group and slowly sailed downward. this brought them to that part of the newly-discovered land which bordered on the desert's edge; but it was just as pretty here as anywhere, so the ork and the birds alighted and the three passengers at once got out of their swings. "oh, cap'n bill, isn't this fine an' dandy?" exclaimed trot rapturously. "how lucky we were to discover this beautiful country!" "the country seems rather high class, i'll admit, trot," replied the old sailor-man, looking around him, "but we don't know, as yet, what its people are like." "no one could live in such a country without being happy and good--i'm sure of that," she said earnestly. "don't you think so, button-bright?" "i'm not thinking, just now," answered the little boy. "it tires me to think, and i never seem to gain anything by it. when we see the people who live here we will know what they are like, and no 'mount of thinking will make them any different." "that's true enough," said the ork. "but now i want to make a proposal. while you are getting acquainted with this new country, which looks as if it contains everything to make one happy, i would like to fly along--all by myself--and see if i can find my home on the other side of the great desert. if i do, i will stay there, of course. but if i fail to find orkland i will return to you in a week, to see if i can do anything more to assist you." they were sorry to lose their queer companion, but could offer no objection to the plan; so the ork bade them good-bye and rising swiftly in the air, he flew over the country and was soon lost to view in the distance. the three birds which had carried our friends now begged permission to return by the way they had come, to their own homes, saying they were anxious to show their families how big they had become. so cap'n bill and trot and button-bright all thanked them gratefully for their assistance and soon the birds began their long flight toward the land of mo. being now left to themselves in this strange land, the three comrades selected a pretty pathway and began walking along it. they believed this path would lead them to a splendid castle which they espied in the distance, the turrets of which towered far above the tops of the trees which surrounded it. it did not seem very far away, so they sauntered on slowly, admiring the beautiful ferns and flowers that lined the pathway and listening to the singing of the birds and the soft chirping of the grasshoppers. presently the path wound over a little hill. in a valley that lay beyond the hill was a tiny cottage surrounded by flower beds and fruit trees. on the shady porch of the cottage they saw, as they approached, a pleasant faced woman sitting amidst a group of children, to whom she was telling stories. the children quickly discovered the strangers and ran toward them with exclamations of astonishment, so that trot and her friends became the center of a curious group, all chattering excitedly. cap'n bill's wooden leg seemed to arouse the wonder of the children, as they could not understand why he had not two meat legs. this attention seemed to please the old sailor, who patted the heads of the children kindly and then, raising his hat to the woman, he inquired: "can you tell us, madam, just what country this is?" she stared hard at all three of the strangers as she replied briefly: "jinxland." "oh!" exclaimed cap'n bill, with a puzzled look. "and where is jinxland, please?" "in the quadling country," said she. "what!" cried trot, in sudden excitement. "do you mean to say this is the quadling country of the land of oz?" "to be sure i do," the woman answered. "every bit of land that is surrounded by the great desert is the land of oz, as you ought to know as well as i do; but i'm sorry to say that jinxland is separated from the rest of the quadling country by that row of high mountains you see yonder, which have such steep sides that no one can cross them. so we live here all by ourselves, and are ruled by our own king, instead of by ozma of oz." "i've been to the land of oz before," said button-bright, "but i've never been here." "did you ever hear of jinxland before?" asked trot. "no," said button-bright. "it is on the map of oz, though," asserted the woman, "and it's a fine country, i assure you. if only," she added, and then paused to look around her with a frightened expression. "if only--" here she stopped again, as if not daring to go on with her speech. "if only what, ma'am?" asked cap'n bill. the woman sent the children into the house. then she came closer to the strangers and whispered: "if only we had a different king, we would be very happy and contented." "what's the matter with your king?" asked trot, curiously. but the woman seemed frightened to have said so much. she retreated to her porch, merely saying: "the king punishes severely any treason on the part of his subjects." "what's treason?" asked button-bright. "in this case," replied cap'n bill, "treason seems to consist of knockin' the king; but i guess we know his disposition now as well as if the lady had said more." "i wonder," said trot, going up to the woman, "if you could spare us something to eat. we haven't had anything but popcorn and lemonade for a long time." "bless your heart! of course i can spare you some food," the woman answered, and entering her cottage she soon returned with a tray loaded with sandwiches, cakes and cheese. one of the children drew a bucket of clear, cold water from a spring and the three wanderers ate heartily and enjoyed the good things immensely. when button-bright could eat no more he filled the pockets of his jacket with cakes and cheese, and not even the children objected to this. indeed they all seemed pleased to see the strangers eat, so cap'n bill decided that no matter what the king of jinxland was like, the people would prove friendly and hospitable. "whose castle is that, yonder, ma'am?" he asked, waving his hand toward the towers that rose above the trees. "it belongs to his majesty, king krewl." she said. "oh, indeed; and does he live there?" "when he is not out hunting with his fierce courtiers and war captains," she replied. "is he hunting now?" trot inquired. "i do not know, my dear. the less we know about the king's actions the safer we are." it was evident the woman did not like to talk about king krewl and so, having finished their meal, they said good-bye and continued along the pathway. "don't you think we'd better keep away from that king's castle, cap'n?" asked trot. "well," said he, "king krewl would find out, sooner or later, that we are in his country, so we may as well face the music now. perhaps he isn't quite so bad as that woman thinks he is. kings aren't always popular with their people, you know, even if they do the best they know how." "ozma is pop'lar," said button-bright. "ozma is diff'rent from any other ruler, from all i've heard," remarked trot musingly, as she walked beside the boy. "and, after all, we are really in the land of oz, where ozma rules ev'ry king and ev'rybody else. i never heard of anybody getting hurt in her dominions, did you, button-bright?" "not when she knows about it," he replied. "but those birds landed us in just the wrong place, seems to me. they might have carried us right on, over that row of mountains, to the em'rald city." "true enough," said cap'n bill; "but they didn't, an' so we must make the best of jinxland. let's try not to be afraid." "oh, i'm not very scared," said button-bright, pausing to look at a pink rabbit that popped its head out of a hole in the field near by. "nor am i," added trot. "really, cap'n, i'm so glad to be anywhere at all in the wonderful fairyland of oz that i think i'm the luckiest girl in all the world. dorothy lives in the em'rald city, you know, and so does the scarecrow and the tin woodman and tik-tok and the shaggy man--and all the rest of 'em that we've heard so much about--not to mention ozma, who must be the sweetest and loveliest girl in all the world!" "take your time, trot," advised button-bright. "you don't have to say it all in one breath, you know. and you haven't mentioned half of the curious people in the em'rald city." "that 'ere em'rald city," said cap'n bill impressively, "happens to be on the other side o' those mountains, that we're told no one is able to cross. i don't want to discourage of you, trot, but we're a'most as much separated from your ozma an' dorothy as we were when we lived in californy." there was so much truth in this statement that they all walked on in silence for some time. finally they reached the grove of stately trees that bordered the grounds of the king's castle. they had gone halfway through it when the sound of sobbing, as of someone in bitter distress, reached their ears and caused them to halt abruptly. chapter ten pon, the gardener's boy it was button-bright who first discovered, lying on his face beneath a broad spreading tree near the pathway, a young man whose body shook with the force of his sobs. he was dressed in a long brown smock and had sandals on his feet, betokening one in humble life. his head was bare and showed a shock of brown, curly hair. button-bright looked down on the young man and said: "who cares, anyhow?" "i do!" cried the young man, interrupting his sobs to roll over, face upward, that he might see who had spoken. "i care, for my heart is broken!" "can't you get another one?" asked the little boy. "i don't want another!" wailed the young man. by this time trot and cap'n bill arrived at the spot and the girl leaned over and said in a sympathetic voice: "tell us your troubles and perhaps we may help you." the youth sat up, then, and bowed politely. afterward he got upon his feet, but still kept wringing his hands as he tried to choke down his sobs. trot thought he was very brave to control such awful agony so well. "my name is pon," he began. "i'm the gardener's boy." "then the gardener of the king is your father, i suppose," said trot. "not my father, but my master," was the reply "i do the work and the gardener gives the orders. and it was not my fault, in the least, that the princess gloria fell in love with me." "did she, really?" asked the little girl. "i don't see why," remarked button-bright, staring at the youth. "and who may the princess gloria be?" inquired cap'n bill. "she is the niece of king krewl, who is her guardian. the princess lives in the castle and is the loveliest and sweetest maiden in all jinxland. she is fond of flowers and used to walk in the gardens with her attendants. at such times, if i was working at my tasks, i used to cast down my eyes as gloria passed me; but one day i glanced up and found her gazing at me with a very tender look in her eyes. the next day she dismissed her attendants and, coming to my side, began to talk with me. she said i had touched her heart as no other young man had ever done. i kissed her hand. just then the king came around a bend in the walk. he struck me with his fist and kicked me with his foot. then he seized the arm of the princess and rudely dragged her into the castle." "wasn't he awful!" gasped trot indignantly. "he is a very abrupt king," said pon, "so it was the least i could expect. up to that time i had not thought of loving princess gloria, but realizing it would be impolite not to return her love, i did so. we met at evening, now and then, and she told me the king wanted her to marry a rich courtier named googly-goo, who is old enough to be gloria's father. she has refused googly-goo thirty-nine times, but he still persists and has brought many rich presents to bribe the king. on that account king krewl has commanded his niece to marry the old man, but the princess has assured me, time and again, that she will wed only me. this morning we happened to meet in the grape arbor and as i was respectfully saluting the cheek of the princess, two of the king's guards seized me and beat me terribly before the very eyes of gloria, whom the king himself held back so she could not interfere." "why, this king must be a monster!" cried trot. "he is far worse than that," said pon, mournfully. "but, see here," interrupted cap'n bill, who had listened carefully to pon. "this king may not be so much to blame, after all. kings are proud folks, because they're so high an' mighty, an' it isn't reasonable for a royal princess to marry a common gardener's boy." "it isn't right," declared button-bright. "a princess should marry a prince." "i'm not a common gardener's boy," protested pon. "if i had my rights i would be the king instead of krewl. as it is, i'm a prince, and as royal as any man in jinxland." "how does that come?" asked cap'n bill. "my father used to be the king and krewl was his prime minister. but one day while out hunting, king phearse--that was my father's name--had a quarrel with krewl and tapped him gently on the nose with the knuckles of his closed hand. this so provoked the wicked krewl that he tripped my father backward, so that he fell into a deep pond. at once krewl threw in a mass of heavy stones, which so weighted down my poor father that his body could not rise again to the surface. it is impossible to kill anyone in this land, as perhaps you know, but when my father was pressed down into the mud at the bottom of the deep pool and the stones held him so he could never escape, he was of no more use to himself or the world than if he had died. knowing this, krewl proclaimed himself king, taking possession of the royal castle and driving all my father's people out. i was a small boy, then, but when i grew up i became a gardener. i have served king krewl without his knowing that i am the son of the same king phearse whom he so cruelly made away with." "my, but that's a terr'bly exciting story!" said trot, drawing a long breath. "but tell us, pon, who was gloria's father?" "oh, he was the king before my father," replied pon. "father was prime minister for king kynd, who was gloria's father. she was only a baby when king kynd fell into the great gulf that lies just this side of the mountains--the same mountains that separate jinxland from the rest of the land of oz. it is said the great gulf has no bottom; but, however that may be, king kynd has never been seen again and my father became king in his place." "seems to me," said trot, "that if gloria had her rights she would be queen of jinxland." "well, her father was a king," admitted pon, "and so was my father; so we are of equal rank, although she's a great lady and i'm a humble gardener's boy. i can't see why we should not marry if we want to except that king krewl won't let us." "it's a sort of mixed-up mess, taken altogether," remarked cap'n bill. "but we are on our way to visit king krewl, and if we get a chance, young man, we'll put in a good word for you." "do, please!" begged pon. "was it the flogging you got that broke your heart?" inquired button-bright. "why, it helped to break it, of course," said pon. "i'd get it fixed up, if i were you," advised the boy, tossing a pebble at a chipmunk in a tree. "you ought to give gloria just as good a heart as she gives you." "that's common sense," agreed cap'n bill. so they left the gardener's boy standing beside the path, and resumed their journey toward the castle. chapter eleven the wicked king and googly-goo when our friends approached the great doorway of the castle they found it guarded by several soldiers dressed in splendid uniforms. they were armed with swords and lances. cap'n bill walked straight up to them and asked: "does the king happen to be at home?" "his magnificent and glorious majesty, king krewl, is at present inhabiting his royal castle," was the stiff reply. "then i guess we'll go in an' say how-d'ye-do," continued cap'n bill, attempting to enter the doorway. but a soldier barred his way with a lance. "who are you, what are your names, and where do you come from?" demanded the soldier. "you wouldn't know if we told you," returned the sailor, "seein' as we're strangers in a strange land." "oh, if you are strangers you will be permitted to enter," said the soldier, lowering his lance. "his majesty is very fond of strangers." "do many strangers come here?" asked trot. "you are the first that ever came to our country," said the man. "but his majesty has often said that if strangers ever arrived in jinxland he would see that they had a very exciting time." cap'n bill scratched his chin thoughtfully. he wasn't very favorably impressed by this last remark. but he decided that as there was no way of escape from jinxland it would be wise to confront the king boldly and try to win his favor. so they entered the castle, escorted by one of the soldiers. it was certainly a fine castle, with many large rooms, all beautifully furnished. the passages were winding and handsomely decorated, and after following several of these the soldier led them into an open court that occupied the very center of the huge building. it was surrounded on every side by high turreted walls, and contained beds of flowers, fountains and walks of many colored marbles which were matched together in quaint designs. in an open space near the middle of the court they saw a group of courtiers and their ladies, who surrounded a lean man who wore upon his head a jeweled crown. his face was hard and sullen and through the slits of his half-closed eyelids the eyes glowed like coals of fire. he was dressed in brilliant satins and velvets and was seated in a golden throne-chair. this personage was king krewl, and as soon as cap'n bill saw him the old sailor knew at once that he was not going to like the king of jinxland. "hello! who's here?" said his majesty, with a deep scowl. "strangers, sire," answered the soldier, bowing so low that his forehead touched the marble tiles. "strangers, eh? well, well; what an unexpected visit! advance, strangers, and give an account of yourselves." the king's voice was as harsh as his features. trot shuddered a little but cap'n bill calmly replied: "there ain't much for us to say, 'cept as we've arrived to look over your country an' see how we like it. judgin' from the way you speak, you don't know who we are, or you'd be jumpin' up to shake hands an' offer us seats. kings usually treat us pretty well, in the great big outside world where we come from, but in this little kingdom--which don't amount to much, anyhow--folks don't seem to 'a' got much culchure." the king listened with amazement to this bold speech, first with a frown and then gazing at the two children and the old sailor with evident curiosity. the courtiers were dumb with fear, for no one had ever dared speak in such a manner to their self-willed, cruel king before. his majesty, however, was somewhat frightened, for cruel people are always cowards, and he feared these mysterious strangers might possess magic powers that would destroy him unless he treated them well. so he commanded his people to give the new arrivals seats, and they obeyed with trembling haste. after being seated, cap'n bill lighted his pipe and began puffing smoke from it, a sight so strange to them that it filled them all with wonder. presently the king asked: "how did you penetrate to this hidden country? did you cross the desert or the mountains?" "desert," answered cap'n bill, as if the task were too easy to be worth talking about. "indeed! no one has ever been able to do that before," said the king. "well, it's easy enough, if you know how," asserted cap'n bill, so carelessly that it greatly impressed his hearers. the king shifted in his throne uneasily. he was more afraid of these strangers than before. "do you intend to stay long in jinxland?" was his next anxious question. "depends on how we like it," said cap'n bill. "just now i might suggest to your majesty to order some rooms got ready for us in your dinky little castle here. and a royal banquet, with some fried onions an' pickled tripe, would set easy on our stomicks an' make us a bit happier than we are now." "your wishes shall be attended to," said king krewl, but his eyes flashed from between their slits in a wicked way that made trot hope the food wouldn't be poisoned. at the king's command several of his attendants hastened away to give the proper orders to the castle servants and no sooner were they gone than a skinny old man entered the courtyard and bowed before the king. this disagreeable person was dressed in rich velvets, with many furbelows and laces. he was covered with golden chains, finely wrought rings and jeweled ornaments. he walked with mincing steps and glared at all the courtiers as if he considered himself far superior to any or all of them. "well, well, your majesty; what news--what news?" he demanded, in a shrill, cracked voice. the king gave him a surly look. "no news, lord googly-goo, except that strangers have arrived," he said. googly-goo cast a contemptuous glance at cap'n bill and a disdainful one at trot and button-bright. then he said: "strangers do not interest me, your majesty. but the princess gloria is very interesting--very interesting, indeed! what does she say, sire? will she marry me?" "ask her," retorted the king. "i have, many times; and every time she has refused." "well?" said the king harshly. "well," said googly-goo in a jaunty tone, "a bird that can sing, and won't sing, must be made to sing." "huh!" sneered the king. "that's easy, with a bird; but a girl is harder to manage." "still," persisted googly-goo, "we must overcome difficulties. the chief trouble is that gloria fancies she loves that miserable gardener's boy, pon. suppose we throw pon into the great gulf, your majesty?" "it would do you no good," returned the king. "she would still love him." "too bad, too bad!" sighed googly-goo. "i have laid aside more than a bushel of precious gems--each worth a king's ransom--to present to your majesty on the day i wed gloria." the king's eyes sparkled, for he loved wealth above everything; but the next moment he frowned deeply again. "it won't help us to kill pon," he muttered. "what we must do is kill gloria's love for pon." "that is better, if you can find a way to do it," agreed googly-goo. "everything would come right if you could kill gloria's love for that gardener's boy. really, sire, now that i come to think of it, there must be fully a bushel and a half of those jewels!" just then a messenger entered the court to say that the banquet was prepared for the strangers. so cap'n bill, trot and button-bright entered the castle and were taken to a room where a fine feast was spread upon the table. "i don't like that lord googly-goo," remarked trot as she was busily eating. "nor i," said cap'n bill. "but from the talk we heard i guess the gardener's boy won't get the princess." "perhaps not," returned the girl; "but i hope old googly doesn't get her, either." "the king means to sell her for all those jewels," observed button-bright, his mouth half full of cake and jam. "poor princess!" sighed trot. "i'm sorry for her, although i've never seen her. but if she says no to googly-goo, and means it, what can they do?" "don't let us worry about a strange princess," advised cap'n bill. "i've a notion we're not too safe, ourselves, with this cruel king." the two children felt the same way and all three were rather solemn during the remainder of the meal. when they had eaten, the servants escorted them to their rooms. cap'n bill's room was way to one end of the castle, very high up, and trot's room was at the opposite end, rather low down. as for button-bright, they placed him in the middle, so that all were as far apart as they could possibly be. they didn't like this arrangement very well, but all the rooms were handsomely furnished and being guests of the king they dared not complain. after the strangers had left the courtyard the king and googly-goo had a long talk together, and the king said: "i cannot force gloria to marry you just now, because those strangers may interfere. i suspect that the wooden-legged man possesses great magical powers, or he would never have been able to carry himself and those children across the deadly desert." "i don't like him; he looks dangerous," answered googly-goo. "but perhaps you are mistaken about his being a wizard. why don't you test his powers?" "how?" asked the king. "send for the wicked witch. she will tell you in a moment whether that wooden-legged person is a common man or a magician." "ha! that's a good idea," cried the king. "why didn't i think of the wicked witch before? but the woman demands rich rewards for her services." "never mind; i will pay her," promised the wealthy googly-goo. so a servant was dispatched to summon the wicked witch, who lived but a few leagues from king krewl's castle. while they awaited her, the withered old courtier proposed that they pay a visit to princess gloria and see if she was not now in a more complaisant mood. so the two started away together and searched the castle over without finding gloria. at last googly-goo suggested she might be in the rear garden, which was a large park filled with bushes and trees and surrounded by a high wall. and what was their anger, when they turned a corner of the path, to find in a quiet nook the beautiful princess, and kneeling before her, pon, the gardener's boy! with a roar of rage the king dashed forward; but pon had scaled the wall by means of a ladder, which still stood in its place, and when he saw the king coming he ran up the ladder and made good his escape. but this left gloria confronted by her angry guardian, the king, and by old googly-goo, who was trembling with a fury he could not express in words. seizing the princess by her arm the king dragged her back to the castle. pushing her into a room on the lower floor he locked the door upon the unhappy girl. and at that moment the arrival of the wicked witch was announced. hearing this, the king smiled, as a tiger smiles, showing his teeth. and googly-goo smiled, as a serpent smiles, for he had no teeth except a couple of fangs. and having frightened each other with these smiles the two dreadful men went away to the royal council chamber to meet the wicked witch. chapter twelve the wooden-legged grass-hopper now it so happened that trot, from the window of her room, had witnessed the meeting of the lovers in the garden and had seen the king come and drag gloria away. the little girl's heart went out in sympathy for the poor princess, who seemed to her to be one of the sweetest and loveliest young ladies she had ever seen, so she crept along the passages and from a hidden niche saw gloria locked in her room. the key was still in the lock, so when the king had gone away, followed by googly-goo, trot stole up to the door, turned the key and entered. the princess lay prone upon a couch, sobbing bitterly. trot went up to her and smoothed her hair and tried to comfort her. "don't cry," she said. "i've unlocked the door, so you can go away any time you want to." "it isn't that," sobbed the princess. "i am unhappy because they will not let me love pon, the gardener's boy!" "well, never mind; pon isn't any great shakes, anyhow, seems to me," said trot soothingly. "there are lots of other people you can love." gloria rolled over on the couch and looked at the little girl reproachfully. "pon has won my heart, and i can't help loving him," she explained. then with sudden indignation she added: "but i'll never love googly-goo--never, as long as i live!" "i should say not!" replied trot. "pon may not be much good, but old googly is very, very bad. hunt around, and i'm sure you'll find someone worth your love. you're very pretty, you know, and almost anyone ought to love you." "you don't understand, my dear," said gloria, as she wiped the tears from her eyes with a dainty lace handkerchief bordered with pearls. "when you are older you will realize that a young lady cannot decide whom she will love, or choose the most worthy. her heart alone decides for her, and whomsoever her heart selects, she must love, whether he amounts to much or not." trot was a little puzzled by this speech, which seemed to her unreasonable; but she made no reply and presently gloria's grief softened and she began to question the little girl about herself and her adventures. trot told her how they had happened to come to jinxland, and all about cap'n bill and the ork and pessim and the bumpy man. while they were thus conversing together, getting more and more friendly as they became better acquainted, in the council chamber the king and googly-goo were talking with the wicked witch. this evil creature was old and ugly. she had lost one eye and wore a black patch over it, so the people of jinxland had named her "blinkie." of course witches are forbidden to exist in the land of oz, but jinxland was so far removed from the center of ozma's dominions, and so absolutely cut off from it by the steep mountains and the bottomless gulf, that the laws of oz were not obeyed very well in that country. so there were several witches in jinxland who were the terror of the people, but king krewl favored them and permitted them to exercise their evil sorcery. blinkie was the leader of all the other witches and therefore the most hated and feared. the king used her witchcraft at times to assist him in carrying out his cruelties and revenge, but he was always obliged to pay blinkie large sums of money or heaps of precious jewels before she would undertake an enchantment. this made him hate the old woman almost as much as his subjects did, but to-day lord googly-goo had agreed to pay the witch's price, so the king greeted her with gracious favor. "can you destroy the love of princess gloria for the gardener's boy?" inquired his majesty. the wicked witch thought about it before she replied: "that's a hard question to answer. i can do lots of clever magic, but love is a stubborn thing to conquer. when you think you've killed it, it's liable to bob up again as strong as ever. i believe love and cats have nine lives. in other words, killing love is a hard job, even for a skillful witch, but i believe i can do something that will answer your purpose just as well." "what is that?" asked the king. "i can freeze the girl's heart. i've got a special incantation for that, and when gloria's heart is thoroughly frozen she can no longer love pon." "just the thing!" exclaimed googly-goo, and the king was likewise much pleased. they bargained a long time as to the price, but finally the old courtier agreed to pay the wicked witch's demands. it was arranged that they should take gloria to blinkie's house the next day, to have her heart frozen. then king krewl mentioned to the old hag the strangers who had that day arrived in jinxland, and said to her: "i think the two children--the boy and the girl--are unable to harm me, but i have a suspicion that the wooden-legged man is a powerful wizard." the witch's face wore a troubled look when she heard this. "if you are right," she said, "this wizard might spoil my incantation and interfere with me in other ways. so it will be best for me to meet this stranger at once and match my magic against his, to decide which is the stronger." "all right," said the king. "come with me and i will lead you to the man's room." googly-goo did not accompany them, as he was obliged to go home to get the money and jewels he had promised to pay old blinkie, so the other two climbed several flights of stairs and went through many passages until they came to the room occupied by cap'n bill. the sailor-man, finding his bed soft and inviting, and being tired with the adventures he had experienced, had decided to take a nap. when the wicked witch and the king softly opened his door and entered, cap'n bill was snoring with such vigor that he did not hear them at all. blinkie approached the bed and with her one eye anxiously stared at the sleeping stranger. "ah," she said in a soft whisper, "i believe you are right, king krewl. the man looks to me like a very powerful wizard. but by good luck i have caught him asleep, so i shall transform him before he wakes up, giving him such a form that he will be unable to oppose me." "careful!" cautioned the king, also speaking low. "if he discovers what you are doing he may destroy you, and that would annoy me because i need you to attend to gloria." but the wicked witch realized as well as he did that she must be careful. she carried over her arm a black bag, from which she now drew several packets carefully wrapped in paper. three of these she selected, replacing the others in the bag. two of the packets she mixed together, and then she cautiously opened the third. "better stand back, your majesty," she advised, "for if this powder falls on you you might be transformed yourself." the king hastily retreated to the end of the room. as blinkie mixed the third powder with the others she waved her hands over it, mumbled a few words, and then backed away as quickly as she could. cap'n bill was slumbering peacefully, all unconscious of what was going on. puff! a great cloud of smoke rolled over the bed and completely hid him from view. when the smoke rolled away, both blinkie and the king saw that the body of the stranger had quite disappeared, while in his place, crouching in the middle of the bed, was a little gray grasshopper. one curious thing about this grasshopper was that the last joint of its left leg was made of wood. another curious thing--considering it was a grasshopper--was that it began talking, crying out in a tiny but sharp voice: "here--you people! what do you mean by treating me so? put me back where i belong, at once, or you'll be sorry!" the cruel king turned pale at hearing the grasshopper's threats, but the wicked witch merely laughed in derision. then she raised her stick and aimed a vicious blow at the grasshopper, but before the stick struck the bed the tiny hopper made a marvelous jump--marvelous, indeed, when we consider that it had a wooden leg. it rose in the air and sailed across the room and passed right through the open window, where it disappeared from their view. "good!" shouted the king. "we are well rid of this desperate wizard." and then they both laughed heartily at the success of the incantation, and went away to complete their horrid plans. after trot had visited a time with princess gloria, the little girl went to button-bright's room but did not find him there. then she went to cap'n bill's room, but he was not there because the witch and the king had been there before her. so she made her way downstairs and questioned the servants. they said they had seen the little boy go out into the garden, some time ago, but the old man with the wooden leg they had not seen at all. therefore trot, not knowing what else to do, rambled through the great gardens, seeking for button-bright or cap'n bill and not finding either of them. this part of the garden, which lay before the castle, was not walled in, but extended to the roadway, and the paths were open to the edge of the forest; so, after two hours of vain search for her friends, the little girl returned to the castle. but at the doorway a soldier stopped her. "i live here," said trot, "so it's all right to let me in. the king has given me a room." "well, he has taken it back again," was the soldier's reply. "his majesty's orders are to turn you away if you attempt to enter. i am also ordered to forbid the boy, your companion, to again enter the king's castle." "how 'bout cap'n bill?" she inquired. "why, it seems he has mysteriously disappeared," replied the soldier, shaking his head ominously. "where he has gone to, i can't make out, but i can assure you he is no longer in this castle. i'm sorry, little girl, to disappoint you. don't blame me; i must obey my master's orders." now, all her life trot had been accustomed to depend on cap'n bill, so when this good friend was suddenly taken from her she felt very miserable and forlorn indeed. she was brave enough not to cry before the soldier, or even to let him see her grief and anxiety, but after she was turned away from the castle she sought a quiet bench in the garden and for a time sobbed as if her heart would break. it was button-bright who found her, at last, just as the sun had set and the shades of evening were falling. he also had been turned away from the king's castle, when he tried to enter it, and in the park he came across trot. "never mind," said the boy. "we can find a place to sleep." "i want cap'n bill," wailed the girl. "well, so do i," was the reply. "but we haven't got him. where do you s'pose he is, trot? "i don't s'pose anything. he's gone, an' that's all i know 'bout it." button-bright sat on the bench beside her and thrust his hands in the pockets of his knickerbockers. then he reflected somewhat gravely for him. "cap'n bill isn't around here," he said, letting his eyes wander over the dim garden, "so we must go somewhere else if we want to find him. besides, it's fast getting dark, and if we want to find a place to sleep we must get busy while we can see where to go." he rose from the bench as he said this and trot also jumped up, drying her eyes on her apron. then she walked beside him out of the grounds of the king's castle. they did not go by the main path, but passed through an opening in a hedge and found themselves in a small but well-worn roadway. following this for some distance, along a winding way, they came upon no house or building that would afford them refuge for the night. it became so dark that they could scarcely see their way, and finally trot stopped and suggested that they camp under a tree. "all right," said button-bright, "i've often found that leaves make a good warm blanket. but--look there, trot!--isn't that a light flashing over yonder?" "it certainly is, button-bright. let's go over and see if it's a house. whoever lives there couldn't treat us worse than the king did." to reach the light they had to leave the road, so they stumbled over hillocks and brushwood, hand in hand, keeping the tiny speck of light always in sight. they were rather forlorn little waifs, outcasts in a strange country and forsaken by their only friend and guardian, cap'n bill. so they were very glad when finally they reached a small cottage and, looking in through its one window, saw pon, the gardener's boy, sitting by a fire of twigs. as trot opened the door and walked boldly in, pon sprang up to greet them. they told him of cap'n bill's disappearance and how they had been turned out of the king's castle. as they finished the story pon shook his head sadly. "king krewl is plotting mischief, i fear," said he, "for to-day he sent for old blinkie, the wicked witch, and with my own eyes i saw her come from the castle and hobble away toward her hut. she had been with the king and googly-goo, and i was afraid they were going to work some enchantment on gloria so she would no longer love me. but perhaps the witch was only called to the castle to enchant your friend, cap'n bill." "could she do that?" asked trot, horrified by the suggestion. "i suppose so, for old blinkie can do a lot of wicked magical things." "what sort of an enchantment could she put on cap'n bill?" "i don't know. but he has disappeared, so i'm pretty certain she has done something dreadful to him. but don't worry. if it has happened, it can't be helped, and if it hasn't happened we may be able to find him in the morning." with this pon went to the cupboard and brought food for them. trot was far too worried to eat, but button-bright made a good supper from the simple food and then lay down before the fire and went to sleep. the little girl and the gardener's boy, however, sat for a long time staring into the fire, busy with their thoughts. but at last trot, too, became sleepy and pon gently covered her with the one blanket he possessed. then he threw more wood on the fire and laid himself down before it, next to button-bright. soon all three were fast asleep. they were in a good deal of trouble; but they were young, and sleep was good to them because for a time it made them forget. chapter thirteen glinda the good and the scarecrow of oz that country south of the emerald city, in the land of oz, is known as the quadling country, and in the very southernmost part of it stands a splendid palace in which lives glinda the good. glinda is the royal sorceress of oz. she has wonderful magical powers and uses them only to benefit the subjects of ozma's kingdom. even the famous wizard of oz pays tribute to her, for glinda taught him all the real magic he knows, and she is his superior in all sorts of sorcery everyone loves glinda, from the dainty and exquisite ruler, ozma, down to the humblest inhabitant of oz, for she is always kindly and helpful and willing to listen to their troubles, however busy she may be. no one knows her age, but all can see how beautiful and stately she is. her hair is like red gold and finer than the finest silken strands. her eyes are blue as the sky and always frank and smiling. her cheeks are the envy of peach-blows and her mouth is enticing as a rosebud. glinda is tall and wears splendid gowns that trail behind her as she walks. she wears no jewels, for her beauty would shame them. for attendants glinda has half a hundred of the loveliest girls in oz. they are gathered from all over oz, from among the winkies, the munchkins, the gillikins and the quadlings, as well as from ozma's magnificent emerald city, and it is considered a great favor to be allowed to serve the royal sorceress. among the many wonderful things in glinda's palace is the great book of records. in this book is inscribed everything that takes place in all the world, just the instant it happens; so that by referring to its pages glinda knows what is taking place far and near, in every country that exists. in this way she learns when and where she can help any in distress or danger, and although her duties are confined to assisting those who inhabit the land of oz, she is always interested in what takes place in the unprotected outside world. so it was that on a certain evening glinda sat in her library, surrounded by a bevy of her maids, who were engaged in spinning, weaving and embroidery, when an attendant announced the arrival at the palace of the scarecrow. this personage was one of the most famous and popular in all the land of oz. his body was merely a suit of munchkin clothes stuffed with straw, but his head was a round sack filled with bran, with which the wizard of oz had mixed some magic brains of a very superior sort. the eyes, nose and mouth of the scarecrow were painted upon the front of the sack, as were his ears, and since this quaint being had been endowed with life, the expression of his face was very interesting, if somewhat comical. the scarecrow was good all through, even to his brains, and while he was naturally awkward in his movements and lacked the neat symmetry of other people, his disposition was so kind and considerate and he was so obliging and honest, that all who knew him loved him, and there were few people in oz who had not met our scarecrow and made his acquaintance. he lived part of the time in ozma's palace at the emerald city, part of the time in his own corncob castle in the winkie country, and part of the time he traveled over all oz, visiting with the people and playing with the children, whom he dearly loved. it was on one of his wandering journeys that the scarecrow had arrived at glinda's palace, and the sorceress at once made him welcome. as he sat beside her, talking of his adventures, he asked: "what's new in the way of news?" glinda opened her great book of records and read some of the last pages. "here is an item quite curious and interesting," she announced, an accent of surprise in her voice. "three people from the big outside world have arrived in jinxland." "where is jinxland?" inquired the scarecrow. "very near here, a little to the east of us," she said. "in fact, jinxland is a little slice taken off the quadling country, but separated from it by a range of high mountains, at the foot of which lies a wide, deep gulf that is supposed to be impassable." "then jinxland is really a part of the land of oz," said he. "yes," returned glinda, "but oz people know nothing of it, except what is recorded here in my book." "what does the book say about it?" asked the scarecrow. "it is ruled by a wicked man called king krewl, although he has no right to the title. most of the people are good, but they are very timid and live in constant fear of their fierce ruler. there are also several wicked witches who keep the inhabitants of jinxland in a state of terror." "do those witches have any magical powers?" inquired the scarecrow. "yes, they seem to understand witchcraft in its most evil form, for one of them has just transformed a respectable and honest old sailor--one of the strangers who arrived there--into a grasshopper. this same witch, blinkie by name, is also planning to freeze the heart of a beautiful jinxland girl named princess gloria." "why, that's a dreadful thing to do!" exclaimed the scarecrow. glinda's face was very grave. she read in her book how trot and button-bright were turned out of the king's castle, and how they found refuge in the hut of pon, the gardener's boy. "i'm afraid those helpless earth people will endure much suffering in jinxland, even if the wicked king and the witches permit them to live," said the good sorceress, thoughtfully. "i wish i might help them." "can i do anything?" asked the scarecrow, anxiously. "if so, tell me what to do, and i'll do it." for a few moments glinda did not reply, but sat musing over the records. then she said: "i am going to send you to jinxland, to protect trot and button-bright and cap'n bill." "all right," answered the scarecrow in a cheerful voice. "i know button-bright already, for he has been in the land of oz before. you remember he went away from the land of oz in one of our wizard's big bubbles." "yes," said glinda, "i remember that." then she carefully instructed the scarecrow what to do and gave him certain magical things which he placed in the pockets of his ragged munchkin coat. "as you have no need to sleep," said she, "you may as well start at once." "the night is the same as day to me," he replied, "except that i cannot see my way so well in the dark." "i will furnish a light to guide you," promised the sorceress. so the scarecrow bade her good-bye and at once started on his journey. by morning he had reached the mountains that separated the quadling country from jinxland. the sides of these mountains were too steep to climb, but the scarecrow took a small rope from his pocket and tossed one end upward, into the air. the rope unwound itself for hundreds of feet, until it caught upon a peak of rock at the very top of a mountain, for it was a magic rope furnished him by glinda. the scarecrow climbed the rope and, after pulling it up, let it down on the other side of the mountain range. when he descended the rope on this side he found himself in jinxland, but at his feet yawned the great gulf, which must be crossed before he could proceed any farther. the scarecrow knelt down and examined the ground carefully, and in a moment he discovered a fuzzy brown spider that had rolled itself into a ball. so he took two tiny pills from his pocket and laid them beside the spider, which unrolled itself and quickly ate up the pills. then the scarecrow said in a voice of command: "spin!" and the spider obeyed instantly. in a few moments the little creature had spun two slender but strong strands that reached way across the gulf, one being five or six feet above the other. when these were completed the scarecrow started across the tiny bridge, walking upon one strand as a person walks upon a rope, and holding to the upper strand with his hands to prevent him from losing his balance and toppling over into the gulf. the tiny threads held him safely, thanks to the strength given them by the magic pills. presently he was safe across and standing on the plains of jinxland. far away he could see the towers of the king's castle and toward this he at once began to walk. chapter fourteen the frozen heart in the hut of pon, the gardener's boy, button-bright was the first to waken in the morning. leaving his companions still asleep, he went out into the fresh morning air and saw some blackberries growing on bushes in a field not far away. going to the bushes he found the berries ripe and sweet, so he began eating them. more bushes were scattered over the fields, so the boy wandered on, from bush to bush, without paying any heed to where he was wandering. then a butterfly fluttered by. he gave chase to it and followed it a long way. when finally he paused to look around him, button-bright could see no sign of pon's house, nor had he the slightest idea in which direction it lay. "well, i'm lost again," he remarked to himself. "but never mind; i've been lost lots of times. someone is sure to find me." trot was a little worried about button-bright when she awoke and found him gone. knowing how careless he was, she believed that he had strayed away, but felt that he would come back in time, because he had a habit of not staying lost. pon got the little girl some food for her breakfast and then together they went out of the hut and stood in the sunshine. pon's house was some distance off the road, but they could see it from where they stood and both gave a start of surprise when they discovered two soldiers walking along the roadway and escorting princess gloria between them. the poor girl had her hands bound together, to prevent her from struggling, and the soldiers rudely dragged her forward when her steps seemed to lag. behind this group came king krewl, wearing his jeweled crown and swinging in his hand a slender golden staff with a ball of clustered gems at one end. "where are they going?" asked trot. "to the house of the wicked witch, i fear," pon replied. "come, let us follow them, for i am sure they intend to harm my dear gloria." "won't they see us?" she asked timidly. "we won't let them. i know a short cut through the trees to blinkie's house," said he. so they hurried away through the trees and reached the house of the witch ahead of the king and his soldiers. hiding themselves in the shrubbery, they watched the approach of poor gloria and her escort, all of whom passed so near to them that pon could have put out a hand and touched his sweetheart, had he dared to. blinkie's house had eight sides, with a door and a window in each side. smoke was coming out of the chimney and as the guards brought gloria to one of the doors it was opened by the old witch in person. she chuckled with evil glee and rubbed her skinny hands together to show the delight with which she greeted her victim, for blinkie was pleased to be able to perform her wicked rites on one so fair and sweet as the princess. gloria struggled to resist when they bade her enter the house, so the soldiers forced her through the doorway and even the king gave her a shove as he followed close behind. pon was so incensed at the cruelty shown gloria that he forgot all caution and rushed forward to enter the house also; but one of the soldiers prevented him, pushing the gardener's boy away with violence and slamming the door in his face. "never mind," said trot soothingly, as pon rose from where he had fallen. "you couldn't do much to help the poor princess if you were inside. how unfortunate it is that you are in love with her!" "true," he answered sadly, "it is indeed my misfortune. if i did not love her, it would be none of my business what the king did to his niece gloria; but the unlucky circumstance of my loving her makes it my duty to defend her." "i don't see how you can, duty or no duty," observed trot. "no; i am powerless, for they are stronger than i. but we might peek in through the window and see what they are doing." trot was somewhat curious, too, so they crept up to one of the windows and looked in, and it so happened that those inside the witch's house were so busy they did not notice that pon and trot were watching them. gloria had been tied to a stout post in the center of the room and the king was giving the wicked witch a quantity of money and jewels, which googly-goo had provided in payment. when this had been done the king said to her: "are you perfectly sure you can freeze this maiden's heart, so that she will no longer love that low gardener's boy?" "sure as witchcraft, your majesty," the creature replied. "then get to work," said the king. "there may be some unpleasant features about the ceremony that would annoy me, so i'll bid you good day and leave you to carry out your contract. one word, however: if you fail, i shall burn you at the stake!" then he beckoned to his soldiers to follow him, and throwing wide the door of the house walked out. this action was so sudden that king krewl almost caught trot and pon eavesdropping, but they managed to run around the house before he saw them. away he marched, up the road, followed by his men, heartlessly leaving gloria to the mercies of old blinkie. when they again crept up to the window, trot and pon saw blinkie gloating over her victim. although nearly fainting from fear, the proud princess gazed with haughty defiance into the face of the wicked creature; but she was bound so tightly to the post that she could do no more to express her loathing. pretty soon blinkie went to a kettle that was swinging by a chain over the fire and tossed into it several magical compounds. the kettle gave three flashes, and at every flash another witch appeared in the room. these hags were very ugly but when one-eyed blinkie whispered her orders to them they grinned with joy as they began dancing around gloria. first one and then another cast something into the kettle, when to the astonishment of the watchers at the window all three of the old women were instantly transformed into maidens of exquisite beauty, dressed in the daintiest costumes imaginable. only their eyes could not be disguised, and an evil glare still shone in their depths. but if the eyes were cast down or hidden, one could not help but admire these beautiful creatures, even with the knowledge that they were mere illusions of witchcraft. trot certainly admired them, for she had never seen anything so dainty and bewitching, but her attention was quickly drawn to their deeds instead of their persons, and then horror replaced admiration. into the kettle old blinkie poured another mess from a big brass bottle she took from a chest, and this made the kettle begin to bubble and smoke violently. one by one the beautiful witches approached to stir the contents of the kettle and to mutter a magic charm. their movements were graceful and rhythmic and the wicked witch who had called them to her aid watched them with an evil grin upon her wrinkled face. finally the incantation was complete. the kettle ceased bubbling and together the witches lifted it from the fire. then blinkie brought a wooden ladle and filled it from the contents of the kettle. going with the spoon to princess gloria she cried: "love no more! magic art now will freeze your mortal heart!" with this she dashed the contents of the ladle full upon gloria's breast. trot saw the body of the princess become transparent, so that her beating heart showed plainly. but now the heart turned from a vivid red to gray, and then to white. a layer of frost formed about it and tiny icicles clung to its surface. then slowly the body of the girl became visible again and the heart was hidden from view. gloria seemed to have fainted, but now she recovered and, opening her beautiful eyes, stared coldly and without emotion at the group of witches confronting her. blinkie and the others knew by that one cold look that their charm had been successful. they burst into a chorus of wild laughter and the three beautiful ones began dancing again, while blinkie unbound the princess and set her free. trot rubbed her eyes to prove that she was wide awake and seeing clearly, for her astonishment was great when the three lovely maidens turned into ugly, crooked hags again, leaning on broomsticks and canes. they jeered at gloria, but the princess regarded them with cold disdain. being now free, she walked to a door, opened it and passed out. and the witches let her go. trot and pon had been so intent upon this scene that in their eagerness they had pressed quite hard against the window. just as gloria went out of the house the window-sash broke loose from its fastenings and fell with a crash into the room. the witches uttered a chorus of screams and then, seeing that their magical incantation had been observed, they rushed for the open window with uplifted broomsticks and canes. but pon was off like the wind, and trot followed at his heels. fear lent them strength to run, to leap across ditches, to speed up the hills and to vault the low fences as a deer would. the band of witches had dashed through the window in pursuit; but blinkie was so old, and the others so crooked and awkward, that they soon realized they would be unable to overtake the fugitives. so the three who had been summoned by the wicked witch put their canes or broomsticks between their legs and flew away through the air, quickly disappearing against the blue sky. blinkie, however, was so enraged at pon and trot that she hobbled on in the direction they had taken, fully determined to catch them, in time, and to punish them terribly for spying upon her witchcraft. when pon and trot had run so far that they were confident they had made good their escape, they sat down near the edge of a forest to get their breath again, for both were panting hard from their exertions. trot was the first to recover speech, and she said to her companion: "my! wasn't it terr'ble?" "the most terrible thing i ever saw," pon agreed. "and they froze gloria's heart; so now she can't love you any more." "well, they froze her heart, to be sure," admitted pon, "but i'm in hopes i can melt it with my love." "where do you s'pose gloria is?" asked the girl, after a pause. "she left the witch's house just before we did. perhaps she has gone back to the king's castle," he said. "i'm pretty sure she started off in a diff'rent direction," declared trot. "i looked over my shoulder, as i ran, to see how close the witches were, and i'm sure i saw gloria walking slowly away toward the north." "then let us circle around that way," proposed pon, "and perhaps we shall meet her." trot agreed to this and they left the grove and began to circle around toward the north, thus drawing nearer and nearer to old blinkie's house again. the wicked witch did not suspect this change of direction, so when she came to the grove she passed through it and continued on. pon and trot had reached a place less than half a mile from the witch's house when they saw gloria walking toward them. the princess moved with great dignity and with no show of haste whatever, holding her head high and looking neither to right nor left. pon rushed forward, holding out his arms as if to embrace her and calling her sweet names. but gloria gazed upon him coldly and repelled him with a haughty gesture. at this the poor gardener's boy sank upon his knees and hid his face in his arms, weeping bitter tears; but the princess was not at all moved by his distress. passing him by, she drew her skirts aside, as if unwilling they should touch him, and then she walked up the path a way and hesitated, as if uncertain where to go next. trot was grieved by pon's sobs and indignant because gloria treated him so badly. but she remembered why. "i guess your heart is frozen, all right," she said to the princess. gloria nodded gravely, in reply, and then turned her back upon the little girl. "can't you like even me?" asked trot, half pleadingly. "no," said gloria. "your voice sounds like a refrig'rator," sighed the little girl. "i'm awful sorry for you, 'cause you were sweet an' nice to me before this happened. you can't help it, of course; but it's a dreadful thing, jus' the same." "my heart is frozen to all mortal loves," announced gloria, calmly. "i do not love even myself." "that's too bad," said trot, "for, if you can't love anybody, you can't expect anybody to love you." "i do!" cried pon. "i shall always love her." "well, you're just a gardener's boy," replied trot, "and i didn't think you 'mounted to much, from the first. i can love the old princess gloria, with a warm heart an' nice manners, but this one gives me the shivers." "it's her icy heart, that's all," said pon. "that's enough," insisted trot. "seeing her heart isn't big enough to skate on, i can't see that she's of any use to anyone. for my part, i'm goin' to try to find button-bright an' cap'n bill." "i will go with you," decided pon. "it is evident that gloria no longer loves me and that her heart is frozen too stiff for me to melt it with my own love; therefore i may as well help you to find your friends." as trot started off, pon cast one more imploring look at the princess, who returned it with a chilly stare. so he followed after the little girl. as for the princess, she hesitated a moment and then turned in the same direction the others had taken, but going far more slowly. soon she heard footsteps pattering behind her, and up came googly-goo, a little out of breath with running. "stop, gloria!" he cried. "i have come to take you back to my mansion, where we are to be married." she looked at him wonderingly a moment, then tossed her head disdainfully and walked on. but googly-goo kept beside her. "what does this mean?" he demanded. "haven't you discovered that you no longer love that gardener's boy, who stood in my way?" "yes; i have discovered it," she replied. "my heart is frozen to all mortal loves. i cannot love you, or pon, or the cruel king my uncle, or even myself. go your way, googly-goo, for i will wed no one at all." he stopped in dismay when he heard this, but in another minute he exclaimed angrily: "you must wed me, princess gloria, whether you want to or not! i paid to have your heart frozen; i also paid the king to permit our marriage. if you now refuse me it will mean that i have been robbed--robbed--robbed of my precious money and jewels!" he almost wept with despair, but she laughed a cold, bitter laugh and passed on. googly-goo caught at her arm, as if to restrain her, but she whirled and dealt him a blow that sent him reeling into a ditch beside the path. here he lay for a long time, half covered by muddy water, dazed with surprise. finally the old courtier arose, dripping, and climbed from the ditch. the princess had gone; so, muttering threats of vengeance upon her, upon the king and upon blinkie, old googly-goo hobbled back to his mansion to have the mud removed from his costly velvet clothes. chapter fifteen trot meets the scarecrow trot and pon covered many leagues of ground, searching through forests, in fields and in many of the little villages of jinxland, but could find no trace of either cap'n bill or button-bright. finally they paused beside a cornfield and sat upon a stile to rest. pon took some apples from his pocket and gave one to trot. then he began eating another himself, for this was their time for luncheon. when his apple was finished pon tossed the core into the field. "tchuk-tchuk!" said a strange voice. "what do you mean by hitting me in the eye with an apple-core?" then rose up the form of the scarecrow, who had hidden himself in the cornfield while he examined pon and trot and decided whether they were worthy to be helped. "excuse me," said pon. "i didn't know you were there." "how did you happen to be there, anyhow?" asked trot. the scarecrow came forward with awkward steps and stood beside them. "ah, you are the gardener's boy," he said to pon. then he turned to trot. "and you are the little girl who came to jinxland riding on a big bird, and who has had the misfortune to lose her friend, cap'n bill, and her chum, button-bright." "why, how did you know all that?" she inquired. "i know a lot of things," replied the scarecrow, winking at her comically. "my brains are the carefully-assorted, double-distilled, high-efficiency sort that the wizard of oz makes. he admits, himself, that my brains are the best he ever manufactured." "i think i've heard of you," said trot slowly, as she looked the scarecrow over with much interest; "but you used to live in the land of oz." "oh, i do now," he replied cheerfully. "i've just come over the mountains from the quadling country to see if i can be of any help to you." "who, me?" asked pon. "no, the strangers from the big world. it seems they need looking after." "i'm doing that myself," said pon, a little ungraciously. "if you will pardon me for saying so, i don't see how a scarecrow with painted eyes can look after anyone." "if you don't see that, you are more blind than the scarecrow," asserted trot. "he's a fairy man, pon, and comes from the fairyland of oz, so he can do 'most anything. i hope," she added, turning to the scarecrow, "you can find cap'n bill for me." "i will try, anyhow," he promised. "but who is that old woman who is running toward us and shaking her stick at us?" trot and pon turned around and both uttered an exclamation of fear. the next instant they took to their heels and ran fast up the path. for it was old blinkie, the wicked witch, who had at last traced them to this place. her anger was so great that she was determined not to abandon the chase of pon and trot until she had caught and punished them. the scarecrow understood at once that the old woman meant harm to his new friends, so as she drew near he stepped before her. his appearance was so sudden and unexpected that blinkie ran into him and toppled him over, but she tripped on his straw body and went rolling in the path beside him. the scarecrow sat up and said: "i beg your pardon!" but she whacked him with her stick and knocked him flat again. then, furious with rage, the old witch sprang upon her victim and began pulling the straw out of his body. the poor scarecrow was helpless to resist and in a few moments all that was left of him was an empty suit of clothes and a heap of straw beside it. fortunately, blinkie did not harm his head, for it rolled into a little hollow and escaped her notice. fearing that pon and trot would escape her, she quickly resumed the chase and disappeared over the brow of a hill, following the direction in which she had seen them go. only a short time elapsed before a gray grasshopper with a wooden leg came hopping along and lit directly on the upturned face of the scarecrow's head. "pardon me, but you are resting yourself upon my nose," remarked the scarecrow. "oh! are you alive?" asked the grasshopper. "that is a question i have never been able to decide," said the scarecrow's head. "when my body is properly stuffed i have animation and can move around as well as any live person. the brains in the head you are now occupying as a throne, are of very superior quality and do a lot of very clever thinking. but whether that is being alive, or not, i cannot prove to you; for one who lives is liable to death, while i am only liable to destruction." "seems to me," said the grasshopper, rubbing his nose with his front legs, "that in your case it doesn't matter--unless you're destroyed already." "i am not; all i need is re-stuffing," declared the scarecrow; "and if pon and trot escape the witch, and come back here, i am sure they will do me that favor." "tell me! are trot and pon around here?" inquired the grasshopper, its small voice trembling with excitement. the scarecrow did not answer at once, for both his eyes were staring straight upward at a beautiful face that was slightly bent over his head. it was, indeed, princess gloria, who had wandered to this spot, very much surprised when she heard the scarecrow's head talk and the tiny gray grasshopper answer it. "this," said the scarecrow, still staring at her, "must be the princess who loves pon, the gardener's boy." "oh, indeed!" exclaimed the grasshopper--who of course was cap'n bill--as he examined the young lady curiously. "no," said gloria frigidly, "i do not love pon, or anyone else, for the wicked witch has frozen my heart." "what a shame!" cried the scarecrow. "one so lovely should be able to love. but would you mind, my dear, stuffing that straw into my body again?" the dainty princess glanced at the straw and at the well-worn blue munchkin clothes and shrank back in disdain. but she was spared from refusing the scarecrow's request by the appearance of trot and pon, who had hidden in some bushes just over the brow of the hill and waited until old blinkie had passed them by. their hiding place was on the same side as the witch's blind eye, and she rushed on in the chase of the girl and the youth without being aware that they had tricked her. trot was shocked at the scarecrow's sad condition and at once began putting the straw back into his body. pon, at sight of gloria, again appealed to her to take pity on him, but the frozen-hearted princess turned coldly away and with a sigh the gardener's boy began to assist trot. neither of them at first noticed the small grasshopper, which at their appearance had skipped off the scarecrow's nose and was now clinging to a wisp of grass beside the path, where he was not likely to be stepped upon. not until the scarecrow had been neatly restuffed and set upon his feet again--when he bowed to his restorers and expressed his thanks--did the grasshopper move from his perch. then he leaped lightly into the path and called out: "trot--trot! look at me. i'm cap'n bill! see what the wicked witch has done to me." the voice was small, to be sure, but it reached trot's ears and startled her greatly. she looked intently at the grasshopper, her eyes wide with fear at first; then she knelt down and, noticing the wooden leg, she began to weep sorrowfully. "oh, cap'n bill--dear cap'n bill! what a cruel thing to do!" she sobbed. "don't cry, trot," begged the grasshopper. "it didn't hurt any, and it doesn't hurt now. but it's mighty inconvenient an' humiliatin', to say the least." "i wish," said the girl indignantly, while trying hard to restrain her tears, "that i was big 'nough an' strong 'nough to give that horrid witch a good beating. she ought to be turned into a toad for doing this to you, cap'n bill!" "never mind," urged the scarecrow, in a comforting voice, "such a transformation doesn't last always, and as a general thing there's some way to break the enchantment. i'm sure glinda could do it, in a jiffy." "who is glinda?" inquired cap'n bill. then the scarecrow told them all about glinda, not forgetting to mention her beauty and goodness and her wonderful powers of magic. he also explained how the royal sorceress had sent him to jinxland especially to help the strangers, whom she knew to be in danger because of the wiles of the cruel king and the wicked witch. chapter sixteen pon summons the king to surrender gloria had drawn near to the group to listen to their talk, and it seemed to interest her in spite of her frigid manner. they knew, of course, that the poor princess could not help being cold and reserved, so they tried not to blame her. "i ought to have come here a little sooner," said the scarecrow, regretfully; "but glinda sent me as soon as she discovered you were here and were likely to get into trouble. and now that we are all together--except button-bright, over whom it is useless to worry--i propose we hold a council of war, to decide what is best to be done." that seemed a wise thing to do, so they all sat down upon the grass, including gloria, and the grasshopper perched upon trot's shoulder and allowed her to stroke him gently with her hand. "in the first place," began the scarecrow, "this king krewl is a usurper and has no right to rule this kingdom of jinxland." "that is true," said pon, eagerly. "my father was king before him, and i--" "you are a gardener's boy," interrupted the scarecrow. "your father had no right to rule, either, for the rightful king of this land was the father of princess gloria, and only she is entitled to sit upon the throne of jinxland." "good!" exclaimed trot. "but what'll we do with king krewl? i s'pose he won't give up the throne unless he has to." "no, of course not," said the scarecrow. "therefore it will be our duty to make him give up the throne." "how?" asked trot. "give me time to think," was the reply. "that's what my brains are for. i don't know whether you people ever think, or not, but my brains are the best that the wizard of oz ever turned out, and if i give them plenty of time to work, the result usually surprises me." "take your time, then," suggested trot. "there's no hurry." "thank you," said the straw man, and sat perfectly still for half an hour. during this interval the grasshopper whispered in trot's ear, to which he was very close, and trot whispered back to the grasshopper sitting upon her shoulder. pon cast loving glances at gloria, who paid not the slightest heed to them. finally the scarecrow laughed aloud. "brains working?" inquired trot. "yes. they seem in fine order to-day. we will conquer king krewl and put gloria upon his throne as queen of jinxland." "fine!" cried the little girl, clapping her hands together gleefully. "but how?" "leave the how to me," said the scarecrow proudly. "as a conqueror i'm a wonder. we will, first of all, write a message to send to king krewl, asking him to surrender. if he refuses, then we will make him surrender." "why ask him, when we know he'll refuse?" inquired pon. "why, we must be polite, whatever we do," explained the scarecrow. "it would be very rude to conquer a king without proper notice." they found it difficult to write a message without paper, pen and ink, none of which was at hand; so it was decided to send pon as a messenger, with instructions to ask the king, politely but firmly, to surrender. pon was not anxious to be the messenger. indeed, he hinted that it might prove a dangerous mission. but the scarecrow was now the acknowledged head of the army of conquest, and he would listen to no refusal. so off pon started for the king's castle, and the others accompanied him as far as his hut, where they had decided to await the gardener's boy's return. i think it was because pon had known the scarecrow such a short time that he lacked confidence in the straw man's wisdom. it was easy to say: "we will conquer king krewl," but when pon drew near to the great castle he began to doubt the ability of a straw-stuffed man, a girl, a grasshopper and a frozen-hearted princess to do it. as for himself, he had never thought of defying the king before. that was why the gardener's boy was not very bold when he entered the castle and passed through to the enclosed court where the king was just then seated, with his favorite courtiers around him. none prevented pon's entrance, because he was known to be the gardener's boy, but when the king saw him he began to frown fiercely. he considered pon to be to blame for all his trouble with princess gloria, who since her heart had been frozen had escaped to some unknown place, instead of returning to the castle to wed googly-goo, as she had been expected to do. so the king bared his teeth angrily as he demanded: "what have you done with princess gloria?" "nothing, your majesty! i have done nothing at all," answered pon in a faltering voice. "she does not love me any more and even refuses to speak to me." "then why are you here, you rascal?" roared the king. pon looked first one way and then another, but saw no means of escape; so he plucked up courage. "i am here to summon your majesty to surrender." "what!" shouted the king. "surrender? surrender to whom?" pon's heart sank to his boots. "to the scarecrow," he replied. some of the courtiers began to titter, but king krewl was greatly annoyed. he sprang up and began to beat poor pon with the golden staff he carried. pon howled lustily and would have run away had not two of the soldiers held him until his majesty was exhausted with punishing the boy. then they let him go and he left the castle and returned along the road, sobbing at every step because his body was so sore and aching. "well," said the scarecrow, "did the king surrender?" "no; but he gave me a good drubbing!" sobbed poor pon. trot was very sorry for pon, but gloria did not seem affected in any way by her lover's anguish. the grasshopper leaped to the scarecrow's shoulder and asked him what he was going to do next. "conquer," was the reply. "but i will go alone, this time, for beatings cannot hurt me at all; nor can lance thrusts--or sword cuts--or arrow pricks." "why is that?" inquired trot. "because i have no nerves, such as you meat people possess. even grasshoppers have nerves, but straw doesn't; so whatever they do--except just one thing--they cannot injure me. therefore i expect to conquer king krewl with ease." "what is that one thing you excepted?" asked trot. "they will never think of it, so never mind. and now, if you will kindly excuse me for a time, i'll go over to the castle and do my conquering." "you have no weapons," pon reminded him. "true," said the scarecrow. "but if i carried weapons i might injure someone--perhaps seriously--and that would make me unhappy. i will just borrow that riding-whip, which i see in the corner of your hut, if you don't mind. it isn't exactly proper to walk with a riding-whip, but i trust you will excuse the inconsistency." pon handed him the whip and the scarecrow bowed to all the party and left the hut, proceeding leisurely along the way to the king's castle. chapter seventeen the ork rescues button-bright i must now tell you what had become of button-bright since he wandered away in the morning and got lost. this small boy, as perhaps you have discovered, was almost as destitute of nerves as the scarecrow. nothing ever astonished him much; nothing ever worried him or made him unhappy. good fortune or bad fortune he accepted with a quiet smile, never complaining, whatever happened. this was one reason why button-bright was a favorite with all who knew him--and perhaps it was the reason why he so often got into difficulties, or found himself lost. to-day, as he wandered here and there, over hill and down dale, he missed trot and cap'n bill, of whom he was fond, but nevertheless he was not unhappy. the birds sang merrily and the wildflowers were beautiful and the breeze had a fragrance of new-mown hay. "the only bad thing about this country is its king," he reflected; "but the country isn't to blame for that." a prairie-dog stuck its round head out of a mound of earth and looked at the boy with bright eyes. "walk around my house, please," it said, "and then you won't harm it or disturb the babies." "all right," answered button-bright, and took care not to step on the mound. he went on, whistling merrily, until a petulant voice cried: "oh, stop it! please stop that noise. it gets on my nerves." button-bright saw an old gray owl sitting in the crotch of a tree, and he replied with a laugh: "all right, old fussy," and stopped whistling until he had passed out of the owl's hearing. at noon he came to a farmhouse where an aged couple lived. they gave him a good dinner and treated him kindly, but the man was deaf and the woman was dumb, so they could answer no questions to guide him on the way to pon's house. when he left them he was just as much lost as he had been before. every grove of trees he saw from a distance he visited, for he remembered that the king's castle was near a grove of trees and pon's hut was near the king's castle; but always he met with disappointment. finally, passing through one of these groves, he came out into the open and found himself face to face with the ork. "hello!" said button-bright. "where did you come from?" "from orkland," was the reply. "i've found my own country, at last, and it is not far from here, either. i would have come back to you sooner, to see how you are getting along, had not my family and friends welcomed my return so royally that a great celebration was held in my honor. so i couldn't very well leave orkland again until the excitement was over." "can you find your way back home again?" asked the boy. "yes, easily; for now i know exactly where it is. but where are trot and cap'n bill?" button-bright related to the ork their adventures since it had left them in jinxland, telling of trot's fear that the king had done something wicked to cap'n bill, and of pon's love for gloria, and how trot and button-bright had been turned out of the king's castle. that was all the news that the boy had, but it made the ork anxious for the safety of his friends. "we must go to them at once, for they may need us," he said. "i don't know where to go," confessed button-bright. "i'm lost." "well, i can take you back to the hut of the gardener's boy," promised the ork, "for when i fly high in the air i can look down and easily spy the king's castle. that was how i happened to spy you, just entering the grove; so i flew down and waited until you came out." "how can you carry me?" asked the boy. "you'll have to sit straddle my shoulders and put your arms around my neck. do you think you can keep from falling off?" "i'll try," said button-bright. so the ork squatted down and the boy took his seat and held on tight. then the skinny creature's tail began whirling and up they went, far above all the tree-tops. after the ork had circled around once or twice, its sharp eyes located the towers of the castle and away it flew, straight toward the place. as it hovered in the air, near by the castle, button-bright pointed out pon's hut, so they landed just before it and trot came running out to greet them. gloria was introduced to the ork, who was surprised to find cap'n bill transformed into a grasshopper. "how do you like it?" asked the creature. "why, it worries me good deal," answered cap'n bill, perched upon trot's shoulder. "i'm always afraid o' bein' stepped on, and i don't like the flavor of grass an' can't seem to get used to it. it's my nature to eat grass, you know, but i begin to suspect it's an acquired taste." "can you give molasses?" asked the ork. "i guess i'm not that kind of a grasshopper," replied cap'n bill. "but i can't say what i might do if i was squeezed--which i hope i won't be." "well," said the ork, "it's a great pity, and i'd like to meet that cruel king and his wicked witch and punish them both severely. you're awfully small, cap'n bill, but i think i would recognize you anywhere by your wooden leg." then the ork and button-bright were told all about gloria's frozen heart and how the scarecrow had come from the land of oz to help them. the ork seemed rather disturbed when it learned that the scarecrow had gone alone to conquer king krewl. "i'm afraid he'll make a fizzle of it," said the skinny creature, "and there's no telling what that terrible king might do to the poor scarecrow, who seems like a very interesting person. so i believe i'll take a hand in this conquest myself." "how?" asked trot. "wait and see," was the reply. "but, first of all, i must fly home again--back to my own country--so if you'll forgive my leaving you so soon, i'll be off at once. stand away from my tail, please, so that the wind from it, when it revolves, won't knock you over." they gave the creature plenty of room and away it went like a flash and soon disappeared in the sky. "i wonder," said button-bright, looking solemnly after the ork, "whether he'll ever come back again." "of course he will!" returned trot. "the ork's a pretty good fellow, and we can depend on him. an' mark my words, button-bright, whenever our ork does come back, there's one cruel king in jinxland that'll wish he hadn't." chapter eighteen the scarecrow meets an enemy the scarecrow was not a bit afraid of king krewl. indeed, he rather enjoyed the prospect of conquering the evil king and putting gloria on the throne of jinxland in his place. so he advanced boldly to the royal castle and demanded admittance. seeing that he was a stranger, the soldiers allowed him to enter. he made his way straight to the throne room, where at that time his majesty was settling the disputes among his subjects. "who are you?" demanded the king. "i'm the scarecrow of oz, and i command you to surrender yourself my prisoner." "why should i do that?" inquired the king, much astonished at the straw man's audacity. "because i've decided you are too cruel a king to rule so beautiful a country. you must remember that jinxland is a part of oz, and therefore you owe allegiance to ozma of oz, whose friend and servant i am." now, when he heard this, king krewl was much disturbed in mind, for he knew the scarecrow spoke the truth. but no one had ever before come to jinxland from the land of oz and the king did not intend to be put out of his throne if he could help it. therefore he gave a harsh, wicked laugh of derision and said: "i'm busy, now. stand out of my way, scarecrow, and i'll talk with you by and by." but the scarecrow turned to the assembled courtiers and people and called in a loud voice: "i hereby declare, in the name of ozma of oz, that this man is no longer ruler of jinxland. from this moment princess gloria is your rightful queen, and i ask all of you to be loyal to her and to obey her commands." the people looked fearfully at the king, whom they all hated in their hearts, but likewise feared. krewl was now in a terrible rage and he raised his golden sceptre and struck the scarecrow so heavy a blow that he fell to the floor. but he was up again, in an instant, and with pon's riding-whip he switched the king so hard that the wicked monarch roared with pain as much as with rage, calling on his soldiers to capture the scarecrow. they tried to do that, and thrust their lances and swords into the straw body, but without doing any damage except to make holes in the scarecrow's clothes. however, they were many against one and finally old googly-goo brought a rope which he wound around the scarecrow, binding his legs together and his arms to his sides, and after that the fight was over. the king stormed and danced around in a dreadful fury, for he had never been so switched since he was a boy--and perhaps not then. he ordered the scarecrow thrust into the castle prison, which was no task at all because one man could carry him easily, bound as he was. even after the prisoner was removed the king could not control his anger. he tried to figure out some way to be revenged upon the straw man, but could think of nothing that could hurt him. at last, when the terrified people and the frightened courtiers had all slunk away, old googly-goo approached the king with a malicious grin upon his face. "i'll tell you what to do," said he. "build a big bonfire and burn the scarecrow up, and that will be the end of him." the king was so delighted with this suggestion that he hugged old googly-goo in his joy. "of course!" he cried. "the very thing. why did i not think of it myself?" so he summoned his soldiers and retainers and bade them prepare a great bonfire in an open space in the castle park. also he sent word to all his people to assemble and witness the destruction of the scarecrow who had dared to defy his power. before long a vast throng gathered in the park and the servants had heaped up enough fuel to make a fire that might be seen for miles away--even in the daytime. when all was prepared, the king had his throne brought out for him to sit upon and enjoy the spectacle, and then he sent his soldiers to fetch the scarecrow. now the one thing in all the world that the straw man really feared was fire. he knew he would burn very easily and that his ashes wouldn't amount to much afterward. it wouldn't hurt him to be destroyed in such a manner, but he realized that many people in the land of oz, and especially dorothy and the royal ozma, would feel sad if they learned that their old friend the scarecrow was no longer in existence. in spite of this, the straw man was brave and faced his fiery fate like a hero. when they marched him out before the concourse of people he turned to the king with great calmness and said: "this wicked deed will cost you your throne, as well as much suffering, for my friends will avenge my destruction." "your friends are not here, nor will they know what i have done to you, when you are gone and can-not tell them," answered the king in a scornful voice. then he ordered the scarecrow bound to a stout stake that he had had driven into the ground, and the materials for the fire were heaped all around him. when this had been done, the king's brass band struck up a lively tune and old googly-goo came forward with a lighted match and set fire to the pile. at once the flames shot up and crept closer and closer toward the scarecrow. the king and all his people were so intent upon this terrible spectacle that none of them noticed how the sky grew suddenly dark. perhaps they thought that the loud buzzing sound--like the noise of a dozen moving railway trains--came from the blazing fagots; that the rush of wind was merely a breeze. but suddenly down swept a flock of orks, half a hundred of them at the least, and the powerful currents of air caused by their revolving tails sent the bonfire scattering in every direction, so that not one burning brand ever touched the scarecrow. but that was not the only effect of this sudden tornado. king krewl was blown out of his throne and went tumbling heels over head until he landed with a bump against the stone wall of his own castle, and before he could rise a big ork sat upon him and held him pressed flat to the ground. old googly-goo shot up into the air like a rocket and landed on a tree, where he hung by the middle on a high limb, kicking the air with his feet and clawing the air with his hands, and howling for mercy like the coward he was. the people pressed back until they were jammed close together, while all the soldiers were knocked over and sent sprawling to the earth. the excitement was great for a few minutes, and every frightened inhabitant of jinxland looked with awe and amazement at the great orks whose descent had served to rescue the scarecrow and conquer king krewl at one and the same time. the ork, who was the leader of the band, soon had the scarecrow free of his bonds. then he said: "well, we were just in time to save you, which is better than being a minute too late. you are now the master here, and we are determined to see your orders obeyed." with this the ork picked up krewl's golden crown, which had fallen off his head, and placed it upon the head of the scarecrow, who in his awkward way then shuffled over to the throne and sat down in it. seeing this, a rousing cheer broke from the crowd of people, who tossed their hats and waved their handkerchiefs and hailed the scarecrow as their king. the soldiers joined the people in the cheering, for now they fully realized that their hated master was conquered and it would be wise to show their good will to the conqueror. some of them bound krewl with ropes and dragged him forward, dumping his body on the ground before the scarecrow's throne. googly-goo struggled until he finally slid off the limb of the tree and came tumbling to the ground. he then tried to sneak away and escape, but the soldiers seized and bound him beside krewl. "the tables are turned," said the scarecrow, swelling out his chest until the straw within it crackled pleasantly, for he was highly pleased; "but it was you and your people who did it, friend ork, and from this time you may count me your humble servant." chapter nineteen the conquest of the witch now as soon as the conquest of king krewl had taken place, one of the orks had been dispatched to pon's house with the joyful news. at once gloria and pon and trot and button-bright hastened toward the castle. they were somewhat surprised by the sight that met their eyes, for there was the scarecrow, crowned king, and all the people kneeling humbly before him. so they likewise bowed low to the new ruler and then stood beside the throne. cap'n bill, as the gray grasshopper, was still perched upon trot's shoulder, but now he hopped to the shoulder of the scarecrow and whispered into the painted ear: "i thought gloria was to be queen of jinxland." the scarecrow shook his head. "not yet," he answered. "no queen with a frozen heart is fit to rule any country." then he turned to his new friend, the ork, who was strutting about, very proud of what he had done, and said: "do you suppose you, or your followers, could find old blinkie the witch?" "where is she?" asked the ork. "somewhere in jinxland, i'm sure." "then," said the ork, "we shall certainly be able to find her." "it will give me great pleasure," declared the scarecrow. "when you have found her, bring her here to me, and i will then decide what to do with her." the ork called his followers together and spoke a few words to them in a low tone. a moment after they rose into the air--so suddenly that the scarecrow, who was very light in weight, was blown quite out of his throne and into the arms of pon, who replaced him carefully upon his seat. there was an eddy of dust and ashes, too, and the grasshopper only saved himself from being whirled into the crowd of people by jumping into a tree, from where a series of hops soon brought him back to trot's shoulder again. the orks were quite out of sight by this time, so the scarecrow made a speech to the people and presented gloria to them, whom they knew well already and were fond of. but not all of them knew of her frozen heart, and when the scarecrow related the story of the wicked witch's misdeeds, which had been encouraged and paid for by krewl and googly-goo, the people were very indignant. meantime the fifty orks had scattered all over jinx land, which is not a very big country, and their sharp eyes were peering into every valley and grove and gully. finally one of them spied a pair of heels sticking out from underneath some bushes, and with a shrill whistle to warn his comrades that the witch was found the ork flew down and dragged old blinkie from her hiding-place. then two or three of the orks seized the clothing of the wicked woman in their strong claws and, lifting her high in the air, where she struggled and screamed to no avail, they flew with her straight to the royal castle and set her down before the throne of the scarecrow. "good!" exclaimed the straw man, nodding his stuffed head with satisfaction. "now we can proceed to business. mistress witch, i am obliged to request, gently but firmly, that you undo all the wrongs you have done by means of your witchcraft." "pah!" cried old blinkie in a scornful voice. "i defy you all! by my magic powers i can turn you all into pigs, rooting in the mud, and i'll do it if you are not careful." "i think you are mistaken about that," said the scarecrow, and rising from his throne he walked with wobbling steps to the side of the wicked witch. "before i left the land of oz, glinda the royal sorceress gave me a box, which i was not to open except in an emergency. but i feel pretty sure that this occasion is an emergency; don't you, trot?" he asked, turning toward the little girl. "why, we've got to do something," replied trot seriously. "things seem in an awful muddle here, jus' now, and they'll be worse if we don't stop this witch from doing more harm to people." "that is my idea, exactly," said the scarecrow, and taking a small box from his pocket he opened the cover and tossed the contents toward blinkie. the old woman shrank back, pale and trembling, as a fine white dust settled all about her. under its influence she seemed to the eyes of all observers to shrivel and grow smaller. "oh, dear--oh, dear!" she wailed, wringing her hands in fear. "haven't you the antidote, scarecrow? didn't the great sorceress give you another box?" "she did," answered the scarecrow. "then give it me--quick!" pleaded the witch. "give it me--and i'll do anything you ask me to!" "you will do what i ask first," declared the scarecrow, firmly. the witch was shriveling and growing smaller every moment. "be quick, then!" she cried. "tell me what i must do and let me do it, or it will be too late." "you made trot's friend, cap'n bill, a grasshopper. i command you to give him back his proper form again," said the scarecrow. "where is he? where's the grasshopper? quick--quick!" she screamed. cap'n bill, who had been deeply interested in this conversation, gave a great leap from trot's shoulder and landed on that of the scarecrow. blinkie saw him alight and at once began to make magic passes and to mumble magic incantations. she was in a desperate hurry, knowing that she had no time to waste, and the grasshopper was so suddenly transformed into the old sailor-man, cap'n bill, that he had no opportunity to jump off the scarecrow's shoulder; so his great weight bore the stuffed scarecrow to the ground. no harm was done, however, and the straw man got up and brushed the dust from his clothes while trot delightedly embraced cap'n bill. "the other box! quick! give me the other box," begged blinkie, who had now shrunk to half her former size. "not yet," said the scarecrow. "you must first melt princess gloria's frozen heart." "i can't; it's an awful job to do that! i can't," asserted the witch, in an agony of fear--for still she was growing smaller. "you must!" declared the scarecrow, firmly. the witch cast a shrewd look at him and saw that he meant it; so she began dancing around gloria in a frantic manner. the princess looked coldly on, as if not at all interested in the proceedings, while blinkie tore a handful of hair from her own head and ripped a strip of cloth from the bottom of her gown. then the witch sank upon her knees, took a purple powder from her black bag and sprinkled it over the hair and cloth. "i hate to do it--i hate to do it!" she wailed, "for there is no more of this magic compound in all the world. but i must sacrifice it to save my own life. a match! give me a match, quick!" and panting from lack of breath she gazed imploringly from one to another. cap'n bill was the only one who had a match, but he lost no time in handing it to blinkie, who quickly set fire to the hair and the cloth and the purple powder. at once a purple cloud enveloped gloria, and this gradually turned to a rosy pink color--brilliant and quite transparent. through the rosy cloud they could all see the beautiful princess, standing proud and erect. then her heart became visible, at first frosted with ice but slowly growing brighter and warmer until all the frost had disappeared and it was beating as softly and regularly as any other heart. and now the cloud dispersed and disclosed gloria, her face suffused with joy, smiling tenderly upon the friends who were grouped about her. poor pon stepped forward--timidly, fearing a repulse, but with pleading eyes and arms fondly outstretched toward his former sweetheart--and the princess saw him and her sweet face lighted with a radiant smile. without an instant's hesitation she threw herself into pon's arms and this reunion of two loving hearts was so affecting that the people turned away and lowered their eyes so as not to mar the sacred joy of the faithful lovers. but blinkie's small voice was shouting to the scarecrow for help. "the antidote!" she screamed. "give me the other box--quick!" the scarecrow looked at the witch with his quaint, painted eyes and saw that she was now no taller than his knee. so he took from his pocket the second box and scattered its contents on blinkie. she ceased to grow any smaller, but she could never regain her former size, and this the wicked old woman well knew. she did not know, however, that the second powder had destroyed all her power to work magic, and seeking to be revenged upon the scarecrow and his friends she at once began to mumble a charm so terrible in its effect that it would have destroyed half the population of jinxland--had it worked. but it did not work at all, to the amazement of old blinkie. and by this time the scarecrow noticed what the little witch was trying to do, and said to her: "go home, blinkie, and behave yourself. you are no longer a witch, but an ordinary old woman, and since you are powerless to do more evil i advise you to try to do some good in the world. believe me, it is more fun to accomplish a good act than an evil one, as you will discover when once you have tried it." but blinkie was at that moment filled with grief and chagrin at losing her magic powers. she started away toward her home, sobbing and bewailing her fate, and not one who saw her go was at all sorry for her. chapter twenty queen gloria next morning the scarecrow called upon all the courtiers and the people to assemble in the throne room of the castle, where there was room enough for all that were able to attend. they found the straw man seated upon the velvet cushions of the throne, with the king's glittering crown still upon his stuffed head. on one side of the throne, in a lower chair, sat gloria, looking radiantly beautiful and fresh as a new-blown rose. on the other side sat pon, the gardener's boy, still dressed in his old smock frock and looking sad and solemn; for pon could not make himself believe that so splendid a princess would condescend to love him when she had come to her own and was seated upon a throne. trot and cap'n bill sat at the feet of the scarecrow and were much interested in the proceedings. button-bright had lost himself before breakfast, but came into the throne room before the ceremonies were over. back of the throne stood a row of the great orks, with their leader in the center, and the entrance to the palace was guarded by more orks, who were regarded with wonder and awe. when all were assembled, the scarecrow stood up and made a speech. he told how gloria's father, the good king kynd, who had once ruled them and been loved by everyone, had been destroyed by king phearce, the father of pon, and how king phearce had been destroyed by king krewl. this last king had been a bad ruler, as they knew very well, and the scarecrow declared that the only one in all jinxland who had the right to sit upon the throne was princess gloria, the daughter of king kynd. "but," he added, "it is not for me, a stranger, to say who shall rule you. you must decide for yourselves, or you will not be content. so choose now who shall be your future ruler." and they all shouted: "the scarecrow! the scarecrow shall rule us!" which proved that the stuffed man had made himself very popular by his conquest of king krewl, and the people thought they would like him for their king. but the scarecrow shook his head so vigorously that it became loose, and trot had to pin it firmly to his body again. "no," said he, "i belong in the land of oz, where i am the humble servant of the lovely girl who rules us all--the royal ozma. you must choose one of your own inhabitants to rule over jinxland. who shall it be?" they hesitated for a moment, and some few cried: "pon!" but many more shouted: "gloria!" so the scarecrow took gloria's hand and led her to the throne, where he first seated her and then took the glittering crown off his own head and placed it upon that of the young lady, where it nestled prettily amongst her soft curls. the people cheered and shouted then, kneeling before their new queen; but gloria leaned down and took pon's hand in both her own and raised him to the seat beside her. "you shall have both a king and a queen to care for you and to protect you, my dear subjects," she said in a sweet voice, while her face glowed with happiness; "for pon was a king's son before he became a gardener's boy, and because i love him he is to be my royal consort." that pleased them all, especially pon, who realized that this was the most important moment of his life. trot and button-bright and cap'n will all congratulated him on winning the beautiful gloria; but the ork sneezed twice and said that in his opinion the young lady might have done better. then the scarecrow ordered the guards to bring in the wicked krewl, king no longer, and when he appeared, loaded with chains and dressed in fustian, the people hissed him and drew back as he passed so their garments would not touch him. krewl was not haughty or overbearing any more; on the contrary he seemed very meek and in great fear of the fate his conquerors had in store for him. but gloria and pon were too happy to be revengeful and so they offered to appoint krewl to the position of gardener's boy at the castle, pon having resigned to become king. but they said he must promise to reform his wicked ways and to do his duty faithfully, and he must change his name from krewl to grewl. all this the man eagerly promised to do, and so when pon retired to a room in the castle to put on princely raiment, the old brown smock he had formerly worn was given to grewl, who then went out into the garden to water the roses. the remainder of that famous day, which was long remembered in jinxland, was given over to feasting and merrymaking. in the evening there was a grand dance in the courtyard, where the brass band played a new piece of music called the "ork trot" which was dedicated to "our glorious gloria, the queen." while the queen and pon were leading this dance, and all the jinxland people were having a good time, the strangers were gathered in a group in the park outside the castle. cap'n bill, trot, button-bright and the scarecrow were there, and so was their old friend the ork; but of all the great flock of orks which had assisted in the conquest but three remained in jinxland, besides their leader, the others having returned to their own country as soon as gloria was crowned queen. to the young ork who had accompanied them in their adventures cap'n bill said: "you've surely been a friend in need, and we're mighty grateful to you for helping us. i might have been a grasshopper yet if it hadn't been for you, an' i might remark that bein' a grasshopper isn't much fun." "if it hadn't been for you, friend ork," said the scarecrow, "i fear i could not have conquered king krewl." "no," agreed trot, "you'd have been just a heap of ashes by this time." "and i might have been lost yet," added button-bright. "much obliged, mr. ork." "oh, that's all right," replied the ork. "friends must stand together, you know, or they wouldn't be friends. but now i must leave you and be off to my own country, where there's going to be a surprise party on my uncle, and i've promised to attend it." "dear me," said the scarecrow, regretfully. "that is very unfortunate." "why so?" asked the ork. "i hoped you would consent to carry us over those mountains, into the land of oz. my mission here is now finished and i want to get back to the emerald city." "how did you cross the mountains before?" inquired the ork. "i scaled the cliffs by means of a rope, and crossed the great gulf on a strand of spider web. of course i can return in the same manner, but it would be a hard journey--and perhaps an impossible one--for trot and button-bright and cap'n bill. so i thought that if you had the time you and your people would carry us over the mountains and land us all safely on the other side, in the land of oz." the ork thoughtfully considered the matter for a while. then he said: "i mustn't break my promise to be present at the surprise party; but, tell me, could you go to oz to-night?" "what, now?" exclaimed trot. "it is a fine moonlight night," said the ork, "and i've found in my experience that there's no time so good as right away. the fact is," he explained, "it's a long journey to orkland and i and my cousins here are all rather tired by our day's work. but if you will start now, and be content to allow us to carry you over the mountains and dump you on the other side, just say the word and--off we go!" cap'n bill and trot looked at one another questioningly. the little girl was eager to visit the famous fairyland of oz and the old sailor had endured such hardships in jinxland that he would be glad to be out of it. "it's rather impolite of us not to say good-bye to the new king and queen," remarked the scarecrow, "but i'm sure they're too happy to miss us, and i assure you it will be much easier to fly on the backs of the orks over those steep mountains than to climb them as i did." "all right; let's go!" trot decided. "but where's button-bright?" just at this important moment button-bright was lost again, and they all scattered in search of him. he had been standing beside them just a few minutes before, but his friends had an exciting hunt for him before they finally discovered the boy seated among the members of the band, beating the end of the bass drum with the bone of a turkey-leg that he had taken from the table in the banquet room. "hello, trot," he said, looking up at the little girl when she found him. "this is the first chance i ever had to pound a drum with a reg'lar drum stick. and i ate all the meat off the bone myself." "come quick. we're going to the land of oz." "oh, what's the hurry?" said button-bright; but she seized his arm and dragged him away to the park, where the others were waiting. trot climbed upon the back of her old friend, the ork leader, and the others took their seats on the backs of his three cousins. as soon as all were placed and clinging to the skinny necks of the creatures, the revolving tails began to whirl and up rose the four monster orks and sailed away toward the mountains. they were so high in the air that when they passed the crest of the highest peak it seemed far below them. no sooner were they well across the barrier than the orks swooped downward and landed their passengers upon the ground. "here we are, safe in the land of oz!" cried the scarecrow joyfully. "oh, are we?" asked trot, looking around her curiously. she could see the shadows of stately trees and the outlines of rolling hills; beneath her feet was soft turf, but otherwise the subdued light of the moon disclosed nothing clearly. "seems jus' like any other country," was cap'n bill's comment. "but it isn't," the scarecrow assured him. "you are now within the borders of the most glorious fairyland in all the world. this part of it is just a corner of the quadling country, and the least interesting portion of it. it's not very thickly settled, around here, i'll admit, but--" he was interrupted by a sudden whir and a rush of air as the four orks mounted into the sky. "good night!" called the shrill voices of the strange creatures, and although trot shouted "good night!" as loudly as she could, the little girl was almost ready to cry because the orks had not waited to be properly thanked for all their kindness to her and to cap'n bill. but the orks were gone, and thanks for good deeds do not amount to much except to prove one's politeness. "well, friends," said the scarecrow, "we mustn't stay here in the meadows all night, so let us find a pleasant place to sleep. not that it matters to me, in the least, for i never sleep; but i know that meat people like to shut their eyes and lie still during the dark hours." "i'm pretty tired," admitted trot, yawning as she followed the straw man along a tiny path, "so, if you don't find a house handy, cap'n bill and i will sleep under the trees, or even on this soft grass." but a house was not very far off, although when the scarecrow stumbled upon it there was no light in it whatever. cap'n bill knocked on the door several times, and there being no response the scarecrow boldly lifted the latch and walked in, followed by the others. and no sooner had they entered than a soft light filled the room. trot couldn't tell where it came from, for no lamp of any sort was visible, but she did not waste much time on this problem, because directly in the center of the room stood a table set for three, with lots of good food on it and several of the dishes smoking hot. the little girl and button-bright both uttered exclamations of pleasure, but they looked in vain for any cook stove or fireplace, or for any person who might have prepared for them this delicious feast. "it's fairyland," muttered the boy, tossing his cap in a corner and seating himself at the table. "this supper smells 'most as good as that turkey-leg i had in jinxland. please pass the muffins, cap'n bill." trot thought it was strange that no people but themselves were in the house, but on the wall opposite the door was a gold frame bearing in big letters the word: "welcome." so she had no further hesitation in eating of the food so mysteriously prepared for them. "but there are only places for three!" she exclaimed. "three are quite enough," said the scarecrow. "i never eat, because i am stuffed full already, and i like my nice clean straw better than i do food." trot and the sailor-man were hungry and made a hearty meal, for not since they had left home had they tasted such good food. it was surprising that button-bright could eat so soon after his feast in jinxland, but the boy always ate whenever there was an opportunity. "if i don't eat now," he said, "the next time i'm hungry i'll wish i had." "really, cap'n," remarked trot, when she found a dish of ice-cream appear beside her plate, "i b'lieve this is fairyland, sure enough." "there's no doubt of it, trot," he answered gravely "i've been here before," said button-bright, "so i know." after supper they discovered three tiny bedrooms adjoining the big living room of the house, and in each room was a comfortable white bed with downy pillows. you may be sure that the tired mortals were not long in bidding the scarecrow good night and creeping into their beds, where they slept soundly until morning. for the first time since they set eyes on the terrible whirlpool, trot and cap'n bill were free from anxiety and care. button-bright never worried about anything. the scarecrow, not being able to sleep, looked out of the window and tried to count the stars. chapter twenty-one dorothy, betsy and ozma i suppose many of my readers have read descriptions of the beautiful and magnificent emerald city of oz, so i need not describe it here, except to state that never has any city in any fairyland ever equalled this one in stately splendor. it lies almost exactly in the center of the land of oz, and in the center of the emerald city rises the wall of glistening emeralds that surrounds the palace of ozma. the palace is almost a city in itself and is inhabited by many of the ruler's especial friends and those who have won her confidence and favor. as for ozma herself, there are no words in any dictionary i can find that are fitted to describe this young girl's beauty of mind and person. merely to see her is to love her for her charming face and manners; to know her is to love her for her tender sympathy, her generous nature, her truth and honor. born of a long line of fairy queens, ozma is as nearly perfect as any fairy may be, and she is noted for her wisdom as well as for her other qualities. her happy subjects adore their girl ruler and each one considers her a comrade and protector. at the time of which i write, ozma's best friend and most constant companion was a little kansas girl named dorothy, a mortal who had come to the land of oz in a very curious manner and had been offered a home in ozma's palace. furthermore, dorothy had been made a princess of oz, and was as much at home in the royal palace as was the gentle ruler. she knew almost every part of the great country and almost all of its numerous inhabitants. next to ozma she was loved better than anyone in all oz, for dorothy was simple and sweet, seldom became angry and had such a friendly, chummy way that she made friends where-ever she wandered. it was she who first brought the scarecrow and the tin woodman and the cowardly lion to the emerald city. dorothy had also introduced to ozma the shaggy man and the hungry tiger, as well as billina the yellow hen, eureka the pink kitten, and many other delightful characters and creatures. coming as she did from our world, dorothy was much like many other girls we know; so there were times when she was not so wise as she might have been, and other times when she was obstinate and got herself into trouble. but life in a fairy-land had taught the little girl to accept all sorts of surprising things as matters-of-course, for while dorothy was no fairy--but just as mortal as we are--she had seen more wonders than most mortals ever do. another little girl from our outside world also lived in ozma's palace. this was betsy bobbin, whose strange adventures had brought her to the emerald city, where ozma had cordially welcomed her. betsy was a shy little thing and could never get used to the marvels that surrounded her, but she and dorothy were firm friends and thought themselves very fortunate in being together in this delightful country. one day dorothy and betsy were visiting ozma in the girl ruler's private apartment, and among the things that especially interested them was ozma's magic picture, set in a handsome frame and hung upon the wall of the room. this picture was a magic one because it constantly changed its scenes and showed events and adventures happening in all parts of the world. thus it was really a "moving picture" of life, and if the one who stood before it wished to know what any absent person was doing, the picture instantly showed that person, with his or her surroundings. the two girls were not wishing to see anyone in particular, on this occasion, but merely enjoyed watching the shifting scenes, some of which were exceedingly curious and remarkable. suddenly dorothy exclaimed: "why, there's button-bright!" and this drew ozma also to look at the picture, for she and dorothy knew the boy well. "who is button-bright?" asked betsy, who had never met him. "why, he's the little boy who is just getting off the back of that strange flying creature," exclaimed dorothy. then she turned to ozma and asked: "what is that thing, ozma? a bird? i've never seen anything like it before." "it is an ork," answered ozma, for they were watching the scene where the ork and the three big birds were first landing their passengers in jinxland after the long flight across the desert. "i wonder," added the girl ruler, musingly, "why those strangers dare venture into that unfortunate country, which is ruled by a wicked king." "that girl, and the one-legged man, seem to be mortals from the outside world," said dorothy. "the man isn't one-legged," corrected betsy; "he has one wooden leg." "it's almost as bad," declared dorothy, watching cap'n bill stump around. "they are three mortal adventurers," said ozma, "and they seem worthy and honest. but i fear they will be treated badly in jinxland, and if they meet with any misfortune there it will reflect upon me, for jinxland is a part of my dominions." "can't we help them in any way?" inquired dorothy. "that seems like a nice little girl. i'd be sorry if anything happened to her." "let us watch the picture for awhile," suggested ozma, and so they all drew chairs before the magic picture and followed the adventures of trot and cap'n bill and button-bright. presently the scene shifted and showed their friend the scarecrow crossing the mountains into jinxland, and that somewhat relieved ozma's anxiety, for she knew at once that glinda the good had sent the scarecrow to protect the strangers. the adventures in jinxland proved very interesting to the three girls in ozma's palace, who during the succeeding days spent much of their time in watching the picture. it was like a story to them. "that girl's a reg'lar trump!" exclaimed dorothy, referring to trot, and ozma answered: "she's a dear little thing, and i'm sure nothing very bad will happen to her. the old sailor is a fine character, too, for he has never once grumbled over being a grasshopper, as so many would have done." when the scarecrow was so nearly burned up the girls all shivered a little, and they clapped their hands in joy when the flock of orks came and saved him. so it was that when all the exciting adventures in jinxland were over and the four orks had begun their flight across the mountains to carry the mortals into the land of oz, ozma called the wizard to her and asked him to prepare a place for the strangers to sleep. the famous wizard of oz was a quaint little man who inhabited the royal palace and attended to all the magical things that ozma wanted done. he was not as powerful as glinda, to be sure, but he could do a great many wonderful things. he proved this by placing a house in the uninhabited part of the quadling country where the orks landed cap'n bill and trot and button-bright, and fitting it with all the comforts i have described in the last chapter. next morning dorothy said to ozma: "oughtn't we to go meet the strangers, so we can show them the way to the emerald city? i'm sure that little girl will feel shy in this beautiful land, and i know if 'twas me i'd like somebody to give me a welcome." ozma smiled at her little friend and answered: "you and betsy may go to meet them, if you wish, but i can not leave my palace just now, as i am to have a conference with jack pumpkinhead and professor wogglebug on important matters. you may take the sawhorse and the red wagon, and if you start soon you will be able to meet the scarecrow and the strangers at glinda's palace." "oh, thank you!" cried dorothy, and went away to tell betsy and to make preparations for the journey. chapter twenty-two the waterfall glinda's castle was a long way from the mountains, but the scarecrow began the journey cheerfully, since time was of no great importance in the land of oz and he had recently made the trip and knew the way. it never mattered much to button-bright where he was or what he was doing; the boy was content in being alive and having good companions to share his wanderings. as for trot and cap'n bill, they now found themselves so comfortable and free from danger, in this fine fairyland, and they were so awed and amazed by the adventures they were encountering, that the journey to glinda's castle was more like a pleasure trip than a hardship, so many wonderful things were there to see. button-bright had been in oz before, but never in this part of it, so the scarecrow was the only one who knew the paths and could lead them. they had eaten a hearty breakfast, which they found already prepared for them and awaiting them on the table when they arose from their refreshing sleep, so they left the magic house in a contented mood and with hearts lighter and more happy than they had known for many a day. as they marched along through the fields, the sun shone brightly and the breeze was laden with delicious fragrance, for it carried with it the breath of millions of wildflowers. at noon, when they stopped to rest by the bank of a pretty river, trot said with a long-drawn breath that was much like a sigh: "i wish we'd brought with us some of the food that was left from our breakfast, for i'm getting hungry again." scarcely had she spoken when a table rose up before them, as if from the ground itself, and it was loaded with fruits and nuts and cakes and many other good things to eat. the little girl's eyes opened wide at this display of magic, and cap'n bill was not sure that the things were actually there and fit to eat until he had taken them in his hand and tasted them. but the scarecrow said with a laugh: "someone is looking after your welfare, that is certain, and from the looks of this table i suspect my friend the wizard has taken us in his charge. i've known him to do things like this before, and if we are in the wizard's care you need not worry about your future." "who's worrying?" inquired button-bright, already at the table and busily eating. the scarecrow looked around the place while the others were feasting, and finding many things unfamiliar to him he shook his head and remarked: "i must have taken the wrong path, back in that last valley, for on my way to jinxland i remember that i passed around the foot of this river, where there was a great waterfall." "did the river make a bend, after the waterfall?" asked cap'n bill. "no, the river disappeared. only a pool of whirling water showed what had become of the river; but i suppose it is under ground, somewhere, and will come to the surface again in another part of the country." "well," suggested trot, as she finished her luncheon, "as there is no way to cross this river, i s'pose we'll have to find that waterfall, and go around it." "exactly," replied the scarecrow; so they soon renewed their journey, following the river for a long time until the roar of the waterfall sounded in their ears. by and by they came to the waterfall itself, a sheet of silver dropping far, far down into a tiny lake which seemed to have no outlet. from the top of the fall, where they stood, the banks gradually sloped away, so that the descent by land was quite easy, while the river could do nothing but glide over an edge of rock and tumble straight down to the depths below. "you see," said the scarecrow, leaning over the brink, "this is called by our oz people the great waterfall, because it is certainly the highest one in all the land; but i think--help!" he had lost his balance and pitched headforemost into the river. they saw a flash of straw and blue clothes, and the painted face looking upward in surprise. the next moment the scarecrow was swept over the waterfall and plunged into the basin below. the accident had happened so suddenly that for a moment they were all too horrified to speak or move. "quick! we must go to help him or he will be drowned," trot exclaimed. even while speaking she began to descend the bank to the pool below, and cap'n bill followed as swiftly as his wooden leg would let him. button-bright came more slowly, calling to the girl: "he can't drown, trot; he's a scarecrow." but she wasn't sure a scarecrow couldn't drown and never relaxed her speed until she stood on the edge of the pool, with the spray dashing in her face. cap'n bill, puffing and panting, had just voice enough to ask, as he reached her side: "see him, trot?" "not a speck of him. oh, cap'n, what do you s'pose has become of him?" "i s'pose," replied the sailor, "that he's in that water, more or less far down, and i'm 'fraid it'll make his straw pretty soggy. but as fer his bein' drowned, i agree with button-bright that it can't be done." there was small comfort in this assurance and trot stood for some time searching with her eyes the bubbling water, in the hope that the scarecrow would finally come to the surface. presently she heard button-bright calling: "come here, trot!" and looking around she saw that the boy had crept over the wet rocks to the edge of the waterfall and seemed to be peering behind it. making her way toward him, she asked: "what do you see?" "a cave," he answered. "let's go in. p'r'aps we'll find the scarecrow there." she was a little doubtful of that, but the cave interested her, and so did it cap'n bill. there was just space enough at the edge of the sheet of water for them to crowd in behind it, but after that dangerous entrance they found room enough to walk upright and after a time they came to an opening in the wall of rock. approaching this opening, they gazed within it and found a series of steps, cut so that they might easily descend into the cavern. trot turned to look inquiringly at her companions. the falling water made such din and roaring that her voice could not be heard. cap'n bill nodded his head, but before he could enter the cave, button-bright was before him, clambering down the steps without a particle of fear. so the others followed the boy. the first steps were wet with spray, and slippery, but the remainder were quite dry. a rosy light seemed to come from the interior of the cave, and this lighted their way. after the steps there was a short tunnel, high enough for them to walk erect in, and then they reached the cave itself and paused in wonder and admiration. they stood on the edge of a vast cavern, the walls and domed roof of which were lined with countless rubies, exquisitely cut and flashing sparkling rays from one to another. this caused a radiant light that permitted the entire cavern to be distinctly seen, and the effect was so marvelous that trot drew in her breath with a sort of a gasp, and stood quite still in wonder. but the walls and roof of the cavern were merely a setting for a more wonderful scene. in the center was a bubbling caldron of water, for here the river rose again, splashing and dashing till its spray rose high in the air, where it took the ruby color of the jewels and seemed like a seething mass of flame. and while they gazed into the tumbling, tossing water, the body of the scarecrow suddenly rose in the center, struggling and kicking, and the next instant wholly disappeared from view. "my, but he's wet!" exclaimed button-bright; but none of the others heard him. trot and cap'n bill discovered that a broad ledge--covered, like the walls, with glittering rubies--ran all around the cavern; so they followed this gorgeous path to the rear and found where the water made its final dive underground, before it disappeared entirely. where it plunged into this dim abyss the river was black and dreary looking, and they stood gazing in awe until just beside them the body of the scarecrow again popped up from the water. chapter twenty three the land of oz the straw man's appearance on the water was so sudden that it startled trot, but cap'n bill had the presence of mind to stick his wooden leg out over the water and the scarecrow made a desperate clutch and grabbed the leg with both hands. he managed to hold on until trot and button-bright knelt down and seized his clothing, but the children would have been powerless to drag the soaked scarecrow ashore had not cap'n bill now assisted them. when they laid him on the ledge of rubies he was the most useless looking scarecrow you can imagine--his straw sodden and dripping with water, his clothing wet and crumpled, while even the sack upon which his face was painted had become so wrinkled that the old jolly expression of their stuffed friend's features was entirely gone. but he could still speak, and when trot bent down her ear she heard him say: "get me out of here as soon as you can." that seemed a wise thing to do, so cap'n bill lifted his head and shoulders, and trot and button-bright each took a leg; among them they partly carried and partly dragged the damp scarecrow out of the ruby cavern, along the tunnel, and up the flight of rock steps. it was somewhat difficult to get him past the edge of the waterfall, but they succeeded, after much effort, and a few minutes later laid their poor comrade on a grassy bank where the sun shone upon him freely and he was beyond the reach of the spray. cap'n bill now knelt down and examined the straw that the scarecrow was stuffed with. "i don't believe it'll be of much use to him, any more," said he, "for it's full of polliwogs an' fish eggs, an' the water has took all the crinkle out o' the straw an ruined it. i guess, trot, that the best thing for us to do is to empty out all his body an' carry his head an' clothes along the road till we come to a field or a house where we can get some fresh straw." "yes, cap'n," she agreed, "there's nothing else to be done. but how shall we ever find the road to glinda's palace, without the scarecrow to guide us?" "that's easy," said the scarecrow, speaking in a rather feeble but distinct voice. "if cap'n bill will carry my head on his shoulders, eyes front, i can tell him which way to go." so they followed that plan and emptied all the old, wet straw out of the scarecrow's body. then the sailor-man wrung out the clothes and laid them in the sun till they were quite dry. trot took charge of the head and pressed the wrinkles out of the face as it dried, so that after a while the scarecrow's expression became natural again, and as jolly as before. this work consumed some time, but when it was completed they again started upon their journey, button-bright carrying the boots and hat, trot the bundle of clothes, and cap'n bill the head. the scarecrow, having regained his composure and being now in a good humor, despite his recent mishaps, beguiled their way with stories of the land of oz. it was not until the next morning, however, that they found straw with which to restuff the scarecrow. that evening they came to the same little house they had slept in before, only now it was magically transferred to a new place. the same bountiful supper as before was found smoking hot upon the table and the same cosy beds were ready for them to sleep in. they rose early and after breakfast went out of doors, and there, lying just beside the house, was a heap of clean, crisp straw. ozma had noticed the scarecrow's accident in her magic picture and had notified the wizard to provide the straw, for she knew the adventurers were not likely to find straw in the country through which they were now traveling. they lost no time in stuffing the scarecrow anew, and he was greatly delighted at being able to walk around again and to assume the leadership of the little party. "really," said trot, "i think you're better than you were before, for you are fresh and sweet all through and rustle beautifully when you move." "thank you, my dear," he replied gratefully. "i always feel like a new man when i'm freshly stuffed. no one likes to get musty, you know, and even good straw may be spoiled by age." "it was water that spoiled you, the last time," remarked button-bright, "which proves that too much bathing is as bad as too little. but, after all, scarecrow, water is not as dangerous for you as fire." "all things are good in moderation," declared the scarecrow. "but now, let us hurry on, or we shall not reach glinda's palace by nightfall." chapter twenty-four the royal reception at about four o'clock of that same day the red wagon drew up at the entrance to glinda's palace and dorothy and betsy jumped out. ozma's red wagon was almost a chariot, being inlaid with rubies and pearls, and it was drawn by ozma's favorite steed, the wooden sawhorse. "shall i unharness you," asked dorothy, "so you can come in and visit?" "no," replied the sawhorse. "i'll just stand here and think. take your time. thinking doesn't seem to bore me at all." "what will you think of?" inquired betsy. "of the acorn that grew the tree from which i was made." so they left the wooden animal and went in to see glinda, who welcomed the little girls in her most cordial manner. "i knew you were on your way," said the good sorceress when they were seated in her library, "for i learned from my record book that you intended to meet trot and button-bright on their arrival here." "is the strange little girl named trot?" asked dorothy. "yes; and her companion, the old sailor, is named cap'n bill. i think we shall like them very much, for they are just the kind of people to enjoy and appreciate our fairyland and i do not see any way, at present, for them to return again to the outside world." "well, there's room enough here for them, i'm sure," said dorothy. "betsy and i are already eager to welcome trot. it will keep us busy for a year, at least, showing her all the wonderful things in oz." glinda smiled. "i have lived here many years," said she, "and i have not seen all the wonders of oz yet." meantime the travelers were drawing near to the palace, and when they first caught sight of its towers trot realized that it was far more grand and imposing than was the king's castle in jinxland. the nearer they came, the more beautiful the palace appeared, and when finally the scarecrow led them up the great marble steps, even button-bright was filled with awe. "i don't see any soldiers to guard the place," said the little girl. "there is no need to guard glinda's palace," replied the scarecrow. "we have no wicked people in oz, that we know of, and even if there were any, glinda's magic would be powerful enough to protect her." button-bright was now standing on the top steps of the entrance, and he suddenly exclaimed: "why, there's the sawhorse and the red wagon! hip, hooray!" and next moment he was rushing down to throw his arms around the neck of the wooden horse, which good-naturedly permitted this familiarity when it recognized in the boy an old friend. button-bright's shout had been heard inside the palace, so now dorothy and betsy came running out to embrace their beloved friend, the scarecrow, and to welcome trot and cap'n bill to the land of oz. "we've been watching you for a long time, in ozma's magic picture," said dorothy, "and ozma has sent us to invite you to her own palace in the em'rald city. i don't know if you realize how lucky you are to get that invitation, but you'll understand it better after you've seen the royal palace and the em'rald city." glinda now appeared in person to lead all the party into her azure reception room. trot was a little afraid of the stately sorceress, but gained courage by holding fast to the hands of betsy and dorothy. cap'n bill had no one to help him feel at ease, so the old sailor sat stiffly on the edge of his chair and said: "yes, ma'am," or "no, ma'am," when he was spoken to, and was greatly embarrassed by so much splendor. the scarecrow had lived so much in palaces that he felt quite at home, and he chatted to glinda and the oz girls in a merry, light-hearted way. he told all about his adventures in jinxland, and at the great waterfall, and on the journey hither--most of which his hearers knew already--and then he asked dorothy and betsy what had happened in the emerald city since he had left there. they all passed the evening and the night at glinda's palace, and the sorceress was so gracious to cap'n bill that the old man by degrees regained his self-possession and began to enjoy himself. trot had already come to the conclusion that in dorothy and betsy she had found two delightful comrades, and button-bright was just as much at home here as he had been in the fields of jinxland or when he was buried in the popcorn snow of the land of mo. the next morning they arose bright and early and after breakfast bade good-bye to the kind sorceress, whom trot and cap'n bill thanked earnestly for sending the scarecrow to jinxland to rescue them. then they all climbed into the red wagon. there was room for all on the broad seats, and when all had taken their places--dorothy, trot and betsy on the rear seat and cap'n bill, button-bright and the scarecrow in front--they called "gid-dap!" to the sawhorse and the wooden steed moved briskly away, pulling the red wagon with ease. it was now that the strangers began to perceive the real beauties of the land of oz, for they were passing through a more thickly settled part of the country and the population grew more dense as they drew nearer to the emerald city. everyone they met had a cheery word or a smile for the scarecrow, dorothy and betsy bobbin, and some of them remembered button-bright and welcomed him back to their country. it was a happy party, indeed, that journeyed in the red wagon to the emerald city, and trot already began to hope that ozma would permit her and cap'n bill to live always in the land of oz. when they reached the great city they were more amazed than ever, both by the concourse of people in their quaint and picturesque costumes, and by the splendor of the city itself. but the magnificence of the royal palace quite took their breath away, until ozma received them in her own pretty apartment and by her charming manners and assuring smiles made them feel they were no longer strangers. trot was given a lovely little room next to that of dorothy, while cap'n bill had the cosiest sort of a room next to trot's and overlooking the gardens. and that evening ozma gave a grand banquet and reception in honor of the new arrivals. while trot had read of many of the people she then met, cap'n bill was less familiar with them and many of the unusual characters introduced to him that evening caused the old sailor to open his eyes wide in astonishment. he had thought the live scarecrow about as curious as anyone could be, but now he met the tin woodman, who was all made of tin, even to his heart, and carried a gleaming axe over his shoulder wherever he went. then there was jack pumpkinhead, whose head was a real pumpkin with the face carved upon it; and professor wogglebug, who had the shape of an enormous bug but was dressed in neat fitting garments. the professor was an interesting talker and had very polite manners, but his face was so comical that it made cap'n bill smile to look at it. a great friend of dorothy and ozma seemed to be a machine man called tik-tok, who ran down several times during the evening and had to be wound up again by someone before he could move or speak. at the reception appeared the shaggy man and his brother, both very popular in oz, as well as dorothy's uncle henry and aunt em, two happy old people who lived in a pretty cottage near the palace. but what perhaps seemed most surprising to both trot and cap'n bill was the number of peculiar animals admitted into ozma's parlors, where they not only conducted themselves quite properly but were able to talk as well as anyone. there was the cowardly lion, an immense beast with a beautiful mane; and the hungry tiger, who smiled continually; and eureka the pink kitten, who lay curled upon a cushion and had rather supercilious manners; and the wooden sawhorse; and nine tiny piglets that belonged to the wizard; and a mule named hank, who belonged to betsy bobbin. a fuzzy little terrier dog, named toto, lay at dorothy's feet but seldom took part in the conversation, although he listened to every word that was said. but the most wonderful of all to trot was a square beast with a winning smile, that squatted in a corner of the room and wagged his square head at everyone in quite a jolly way. betsy told trot that this unique beast was called the woozy, and there was no other like him in all the world. cap'n bill and trot had both looked around expectantly for the wizard of oz, but the evening was far advanced before the famous little man entered the room. but he went up to the strangers at once and said: "i know you, but you don't know me; so let's get acquainted." and they did get acquainted, in a very short time, and before the evening was over trot felt that she knew every person and animal present at the reception, and that they were all her good friends. suddenly they looked around for button-bright, but he was nowhere to be found. "dear me!" cried trot. "he's lost again." "never mind, my dear," said ozma, with her charming smile, "no one can go far astray in the land of oz, and if button-bright isn't lost occasionally, he isn't happy." 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 