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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/486-h.zip b/486-h.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..1243a89 --- /dev/null +++ b/486-h.zip diff --git a/486-h/486-h.htm b/486-h/486-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6bcd806 --- /dev/null +++ b/486-h/486-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,7978 @@ +<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"> +<HTML> +<HEAD> + +<META HTTP-EQUIV="Content-Type" CONTENT="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> + +<TITLE> +The Project Gutenberg E-text of Ozma of Oz, by L. Frank Baum +</TITLE> + +<STYLE TYPE="text/css"> +BODY { color: Black; + background: White; + margin-right: 10%; + margin-left: 10%; + font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; + text-align: justify } + +P {text-indent: 4% } + +P.noindent {text-indent: 0% } + +P.poem {text-indent: 0%; + margin-left: 10%; + font-size: small } + +P.finis { text-align: center ; + text-indent: 0% ; + margin-left: 0% ; + margin-right: 0% } + + +</STYLE> + +</HEAD> + +<BODY> + + +<pre> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Ozma of Oz, by L. Frank Baum + + +<table summary="" style="margin-right: auto; margin-left: auto" cellpadding="4" border="3"> +<tr> +<td> +THIS EBOOK WAS ONE OF PROJECT GUTENBERG'S EARLY FILES PRODUCED AT A +TIME WHEN PROOFING METHODS AND TOOLS WERE NOT WELL DEVELOPED. THERE IS +AN IMPROVED ILLUSTRATED EDITION OF THIS TITLE WHICH MAY VIEWED AT EBOOK <big><b><a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/33361/33361-h/33361-h.htm"> +[ #33361 ]</a></b></big> +</td> +</tr> +</table> + + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Ozma of Oz + +Author: L. Frank Baum + +Posting Date: July 21, 2008 [EBook #486] +Release Date: April, 1996 +[Last updated January 17, 2011] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK OZMA OF OZ *** + + + + +Produced by John N. White and Dennis Amundson. + + + + + +</pre> + + +<BR><BR> + +<H1 ALIGN="center"> +Ozma of Oz +</H1> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +A Record of Her Adventures with Dorothy Gale of<BR> +Kansas, the Yellow Hen, the Scarecrow, the Tin<BR> +Woodman, Tiktok, the Cowardly Lion and<BR> +the Hungry Tiger; Besides Other Good<BR> +People too Numerous to Mention<BR> +Faithfully Recorded Herein<BR> +</H3> + +<BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +by +</H3> + +<H2 ALIGN="center"> +L. Frank Baum +</H2> + +<BR><BR> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +The Author of The Wizard of Oz, The Land of Oz, etc. +</H4> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<H2 ALIGN="center"> +Contents +</H2> + +<P> +<A HREF="#chap00">--Author's Note--</A><BR> +1. <A HREF="#chap01">The Girl in the Chicken Coop</A><BR> +2. <A HREF="#chap02">The Yellow Hen</A><BR> +3. <A HREF="#chap03">Letters in the Sand</A><BR> +4. <A HREF="#chap04">Tiktok, the Machine Man</A><BR> +5. <A HREF="#chap05">Dorothy Opens the Dinner Pail</A><BR> +6. <A HREF="#chap06">The Heads of Langwidere</A><BR> +7. <A HREF="#chap07">Ozma of Oz to the Rescue</A><BR> +8. <A HREF="#chap08">The Hungry Tiger</A><BR> +9. <A HREF="#chap09">The Royal Family of Ev</A><BR> +10. <A HREF="#chap10">The Giant with the Hammer</A><BR> +11. <A HREF="#chap11">The Nome King</A><BR> +12. <A HREF="#chap12">The Eleven Guesses</A><BR> +13. <A HREF="#chap13">The Nome King Laughs</A><BR> +14. <A HREF="#chap14">Dorothy Tries to be Brave</A><BR> +15. <A HREF="#chap15">Billina Frightens the Nome King</A><BR> +16. <A HREF="#chap16">Purple, Green and Gold</A><BR> +17. <A HREF="#chap17">The Scarecrow Wins the Fight</A><BR> +18. <A HREF="#chap18">The Fate of the Tin Woodman</A><BR> +19. <A HREF="#chap19">The King of Ev</A><BR> +20. <A HREF="#chap20">The Emerald City</A><BR> +21. <A HREF="#chap21">Dorothy's Magic Belt</A><BR> +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap00"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +Author's Note +</H3> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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." +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +L. FRANK BAUM. +<BR> +MACATAWA, 1907. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap01"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +1. The Girl in the Chicken Coop +</H3> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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: +</P> + +<P> +"Uncle Henry! Uncle Henry!" +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +"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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +"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!" +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap02"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +2. The Yellow Hen +</H3> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +"Kut-kut-kut, ka-daw-kut! Kut-kut-kut, ka-daw-kut!" +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +"Kut-kut-kut, ka-daw-w-w--kut!" +</P> + +<P> +"What's that?" cried Dorothy, starting to her feet. +</P> + +<P> +"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. +</P> + +<P> +"Dear me!" she exclaimed, in surprise; "have YOU been here all night, +too?" +</P> + +<P> +"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!" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes," agreed Dorothy, "it was pretty wet, for a time, I know. But do +you feel comfor'ble now?" +</P> + +<P> +"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?" +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"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?" +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"How is my grammar?" asked the yellow hen, anxiously. "Do I speak +quite properly, in your judgment?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes," said Dorothy, "you do very well, for a beginner." +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"I'm beginning to get hungry," remarked Dorothy. "It's breakfast time; +but there's no breakfast." +</P> + +<P> +"You may have my egg," said the yellow hen. "I don't care for it, you +know." +</P> + +<P> +"Don't you want to hatch it?" asked the little girl, in surprise. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"Don't mention it, my dear," answered the hen, calmly, and began +preening her feathers. +</P> + +<P> +For a moment Dorothy stood looking out over the wide sea. She was +still thinking of the egg, though; so presently she asked: +</P> + +<P> +"Why do you lay eggs, when you don't expect to hatch them?" +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"It's strange," said the girl, reflectively; "but as I'm not a hen I +can't be 'spected to understand that." +</P> + +<P> +"Certainly not, my dear." +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +"Why, we are not far from land!" exclaimed the hen. +</P> + +<P> +"Where? Where is it?" cried Dorothy, jumping up in great excitement. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"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. +</P> + +<P> +"So shall I," answered her companion. "There is nothing in the world +so miserable as a wet hen." +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"I'm a trifle hungry, myself," declared the yellow hen. +</P> + +<P> +"Why don't you eat the egg?" asked the child. "You don't need to have +your food cooked, as I do." +</P> + +<P> +"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!" +</P> + +<P> +"I beg your pardon, I'm sure Mrs.--Mrs.--by the way, may I inquire your +name, ma'am?" asked the little girl. +</P> + +<P> +"My name is Bill," said the yellow hen, somewhat gruffly. +</P> + +<P> +"Bill! Why, that's a boy's name." +</P> + +<P> +"What difference does that make?" +</P> + +<P> +"You're a lady hen, aren't you?" +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"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?" +</P> + +<P> +"Wait a few minutes longer. The sunshine is warm and pleasant, and we +are in no hurry." +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +"What are you doing?" asked Dorothy. +</P> + +<P> +"Getting my breakfast, of course," murmured the hen, busily pecking +away. +</P> + +<P> +"What do you find?" inquired the girl, curiously. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"How dreadful!" exclaimed Dorothy, in a shocked voice. +</P> + +<P> +"What is dreadful?" asked the hen, lifting her head to gaze with one +bright eye at her companion. +</P> + +<P> +"Why, eating live things, and horrid bugs, and crawly ants. You ought +to be 'SHAMED of yourself!" +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"We don't!" said Dorothy. +</P> + +<P> +"You do, indeed," answered Billina. "You eat lambs and sheep and cows +and pigs and even chickens." +</P> + +<P> +"But we cook 'em," said Dorothy, triumphantly. +</P> + +<P> +"What difference does that make?" +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +Finally, down near the water's edge, Billina stuck her bill deep into +the sand, and then drew back and shivered. +</P> + +<P> +"Ow!" she cried. "I struck metal, that time, and it nearly broke my +beak." +</P> + +<P> +"It prob'bly was a rock," said Dorothy, carelessly. +</P> + +<P> +"Nonsense. I know a rock from metal, I guess," said the hen. "There's +a different feel to it." +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +"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?" +</P> + +<P> +"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?" +</P> + +<P> +"I can't say," replied the hen. "You ought to know more about locks +and keys than I do." +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +"I b'lieve, Billina," she said, "I'll have a look 'round, and see if I +can find some breakfast." +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap03"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +3. Letters in the Sand +</H3> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +"What does it say?" she asked the yellow hen, who trotted along beside +her in a rather dignified fashion. +</P> + +<P> +"How should I know?" returned the hen. "I cannot read." +</P> + +<P> +"Oh! Can't you?" +</P> + +<P> +"Certainly not; I've never been to school, you know." +</P> + +<P> +"Well, I have," admitted Dorothy; "but the letters are big and far +apart, and it's hard to spell out the words." +</P> + +<P> +But she looked at each letter carefully, and finally discovered that +these words were written in the sand: +</P> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +"BEWARE THE WHEELERS!" +</H3> + +<BR> + +<P> +"That's rather strange," declared the hen, when Dorothy had read aloud +the words. "What do you suppose the Wheelers are?" +</P> + +<P> +"Folks that wheel, I guess. They must have wheelbarrows, or baby-cabs +or hand-carts," said Dorothy. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"Perhaps not," admitted the yellow hen. "Where are you going now?" +</P> + +<P> +"Over to those trees, to see if I can find some fruit or nuts," +answered Dorothy. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +The leaves of this tree were all paper napkins, and it presented a very +pleasing appearance to the hungry little girl. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +Dorothy was delighted, and even the yellow hen acknowledged that she +was surprised. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"Haven't you any idea what country this is?" inquired Billina. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"Perhaps we're in the Land of Oz," said the hen, thoughtfully. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"Then how did you get away from there again?" asked Billina. +</P> + +<P> +"I had a pair of silver shoes, that carried me through the air; but I +lost them," said Dorothy. +</P> + +<P> +"Ah, indeed," remarked the yellow hen, in a tone of unbelief. +</P> + +<P> +"Anyhow," resumed the girl, "there is no seashore near the Land of Oz, +so this must surely be some other fairy country." +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +They were part way across the sands when Billina suddenly cried, in a +voice of terror: +</P> + +<P> +"What's that?" +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +"Run!" screamed the yellow hen, fluttering away in great fright. "It's +a Wheeler!" +</P> + +<P> +"A Wheeler?" exclaimed Dorothy. "What can that be?" +</P> + +<P> +"Don't you remember the warning in the sand: 'Beware the Wheelers'? +Run, I tell you--run!" +</P> + +<P> +So Dorothy ran, and the Wheeler gave a sharp, wild cry and came after +her in full chase. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +Dorothy now heard the yellow hen laughing, in her cackling, henny way. +</P> + +<P> +"Don't hurry, my dear," cried Billina. "They can't follow us among +these rocks, so we're safe enough now." +</P> + +<P> +Dorothy stopped at once and sat down upon a broad boulder, for she was +all out of breath. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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: +</P> + +<P> +"We'll get you in time, never fear! And when we do get you, we'll tear +you into little bits!" +</P> + +<P> +"Why are you so cruel to me?" asked Dorothy. "I'm a stranger in your +country, and have done you no harm." +</P> + +<P> +"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?" +</P> + +<P> +"I only picked one of each," she answered. "I was hungry, and I didn't +know the trees were yours." +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"I think so, too," agreed Dorothy. "But what shall we do now?" +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap04"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +4. Tiktok the Machine Man +</H3> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +Finally the hen, fluttering over the mound, exclaimed: "Why, here's a +path!" +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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: +</P> + +<P> +"It looks something like a door, doesn't it?" +</P> + +<P> +"What looks like a door?" enquired the child. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"What does?" +</P> + +<P> +"Why, the crack. So I think it must be a door of rock, although I do +not see any hinges." +</P> + +<P> +"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. +</P> + +<P> +"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--" +</P> + +<P> +"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?" +</P> + +<P> +"Try it and see," suggested the hen. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +"Good gracious!" cried Dorothy, shrinking back as far as the narrow +path would let her. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +"Don't be frightened," called Billina, from her perch. "It isn't +alive." +</P> + +<P> +"I see it isn't," replied the girl, drawing a long breath. +</P> + +<P> +"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. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"Oh," said the hen, with a sniff, as if she did not believe the story. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"That is a mystery," remarked the hen, twisting her head to arrange her +wing-feathers with her bill. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +"What does it say?" asked the hen, curiously. +</P> + +<P> +Dorothy read the card aloud, spelling out the big words with some +difficulty; and this is what she read: +</P> + +<PRE> + +-----------------------------------------------------------------+ + | | + | 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. | + | | + +-----------------------------------------------------------------+ +</PRE> + +<BR> + +<P> +"How queer!" said the yellow hen. "Do you think that is all true, my +dear?" +</P> + +<P> +"I don't know," answered Dorothy, who had more to read. "Listen to +this, Billina:" +</P> + +<PRE> + +--------------------------------------------------+ + | | + | 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. | + | | + +--------------------------------------------------+ +</PRE> + +<BR> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"We might wind him up," suggested Dorothy, "and see what he'll do." +</P> + +<P> +"Where is the key to the clock-work?" asked Billina. +</P> + +<P> +"Hanging on the peg where I found the card." +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +Dorothy had already taken the clock key from the peg. +</P> + +<P> +"Which shall I wind up first?" she asked, looking again at the +directions on the card. +</P> + +<P> +"Number One, I should think," returned Billina. "That makes him think, +doesn't it?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes," said Dorothy, and wound up Number One, under the left arm. +</P> + +<P> +"He doesn't seem any different," remarked the hen, critically. +</P> + +<P> +"Why, of course not; he is only thinking, now," said Dorothy. +</P> + +<P> +"I wonder what he is thinking about." +</P> + +<P> +"I'll wind up his talk, and then perhaps he can tell us," said the girl. +</P> + +<P> +So she wound up Number Two, and immediately the clock-work man said, +without moving any part of his body except his lips: +</P> + +<P> +"Good morn-ing, lit-tle girl. Good morn-ing, Mrs. Hen." +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +"Good morning, sir," they answered, politely. +</P> + +<P> +"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. +</P> + +<P> +"Don't mention it," answered Dorothy. And then, being very curious, +she asked: "How did you come to be locked up in this place?" +</P> + +<P> +"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. +</P> + +<P> +"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. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"How very dreadful!" exclaimed Dorothy. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"I've never seen one in Kansas," said Dorothy. +</P> + +<P> +"But where did you get the key to un-lock this door?" asked the +clock-work voice. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"That will please me ve-ry much," said the machine. +</P> + +<P> +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: +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"What is your name?" she asked. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"I can hear it now," said the yellow hen. +</P> + +<P> +"So can I," said Dorothy. And then she added, with some anxiety: "You +don't strike, do you?" +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"That's nice," said the little girl; "only I never wish to get up in +the morning." +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"Do you lay your egg very early?" asked Dorothy. +</P> + +<P> +"About eight o'clock," said Billina. "And everybody ought to be up by +that time, I'm sure." +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap05"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +5. Dorothy Opens the Dinner Pail +</H3> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"There is no rea-son to be a-fraid of the Wheel-ers," said Tiktok, the +words coming more slowly than before. +</P> + +<P> +"Why not?" she asked. +</P> + +<P> +"Be-cause they are ag-g-g--gr-gr-r-r-" +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +"Dear me!" said Dorothy, in a frightened tone. "What can the matter +be?" +</P> + +<P> +"He's run down, I suppose," said the hen, calmly. "You couldn't have +wound him up very tight." +</P> + +<P> +"I didn't know how much to wind him," replied the girl; "but I'll try +to do better next time." +</P> + +<P> +She ran around the copper man to take the key from the peg at the back +of his neck, but it was not there. +</P> + +<P> +"It's gone!" cried Dorothy, in dismay. +</P> + +<P> +"What's gone?" asked Billina. +</P> + +<P> +"The key." +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +"And now," said Dorothy, when all this was accomplished, "tell me what +you were going to say about the Wheelers." +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"Haven't you a club?" asked Dorothy. +</P> + +<P> +"No," said Tiktok. +</P> + +<P> +"And you won't find such a thing among these rocks, either," declared +the yellow hen. +</P> + +<P> +"Then what shall we do?" asked the girl. +</P> + +<P> +"Wind up my think-works tight-ly, and I will try to think of some +oth-er plan," said Tiktok. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +"Do the lunch-box trees and the dinner-pail trees belong to the +Wheelers?" the child asked Tiktok, while engaged in eating her meal. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +Dorothy turned the pail over, and at once discovered the royal mark +upon it, as Tiktok had said. +</P> + +<P> +"Are the Wheelers the only folks living in the Land of Ev?" enquired +the girl. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"You seem very durable," said Dorothy. "Who made you?" +</P> + +<P> +"The firm of Smith & Tin-ker, in the town of Evna, where the roy-al +pal-ace stands," answered Tiktok. +</P> + +<P> +"Did they make many of you?" asked the child. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"I am sure of that," said Dorothy. "Do they live in the town of Evna +now?" +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, I'm sorry for that!" exclaimed the little girl. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"He must have been a great loss to this country," said Dorothy, who was +by this time eating her custard pie. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"I can imagine it," said Dorothy, readily. +</P> + +<P> +"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. +</P> + +<P> +"The best thinker I ever knew," said Dorothy to the yellow hen, "was a +scarecrow." +</P> + +<P> +"Nonsense!" snapped Billina. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"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. +</P> + +<P> +"What rubbish?" asked the child, who was now finishing her nuts and +raisins. +</P> + +<P> +"Why, your impossible stories about animals that can talk, and a tin +woodman who is alive, and a scarecrow who can think." +</P> + +<P> +"They are all there," said Dorothy, "for I have seen them." +</P> + +<P> +"I don't believe it!" cried the hen, with a toss of her head. +</P> + +<P> +"That's 'cause you're so ign'rant," replied the girl, who was a little +offended at her friend Billina's speech. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"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?" +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +Dorothy clapped her hands together delightedly. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"Par-don me. He is not the king now," said Tiktok. +</P> + +<P> +"He was when I left there," declared Dorothy. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +But Tiktok did not reply to this. He had turned around again to resume +his thinking. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +By this time Tiktok approached them with his stiff bow. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"All right," answered Dorothy, promptly. "I'm ready!" +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap06"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +6. The Heads of Langwidere +</H3> + +<P> +They walked slowly down the path between the rocks, Tiktok going first, +Dorothy following him, and the yellow hen trotting along last of all. +</P> + +<P> +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: +</P> + +<P> +"Let me car-ry your din-ner-pail." +</P> + +<P> +She placed it in his right hand at once, and the copper fingers closed +firmly over the stout handle. +</P> + +<P> +Then the little procession marched out upon the level sands. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +"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. +</P> + +<P> +The yellow hen gave a cackle of delight, and flying to a perch upon +Tiktok's shoulder, she said: +</P> + +<P> +"Bravely done, my copper friend! and wisely thought of, too. Now we +are free from those ugly creatures." +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +"Tell your peo-ple to go a-way," commanded the machine. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +"Now," said Tiktok, "you shall come with us and tell me what I want to +know." +</P> + +<P> +"You'll be sorry for treating me in this way," whined the Wheeler. +"I'm a terribly fierce person." +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"Why so?" asked the Wheeler. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +The Wheeler burst into a flood of tears, to Dorothy's great surprise. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"I'll try, of course," replied the Wheeler, eagerly. "And thank you, +Mr. Tiktok, for your kindness." +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"Are you wound up to keep my secret?" asked the Wheeler, anxiously. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes; if you be-have your-self. But tell me: who rules the Land of Ev +now?" asked the machine. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"I do not re-mem-ber her," said Tiktok. "What does she look like?" +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"That is strange," said Dorothy, in astonishment. "Do you mean to say +that so many different princesses are one and the same person?" +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"She must be a witch," exclaimed the girl. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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: +</P> + +<PRE> + +----------------------------+ + | | + | OWNER ABSENT. | + | | + | Please Knock at the Third | + | Door in the Left Wing. | + | | + +----------------------------+ +</PRE> + +<BR> + +<P> +"Now," said Tiktok to the captive Wheeler, "you must show us the way to +the Left Wing." +</P> + +<P> +"Very well," agreed the prisoner, "it is around here at the right." +</P> + +<P> +"How can the left wing be at the right?" demanded Dorothy, who feared +the Wheeler was fooling them. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +Tiktok now counted the doors in the wing and knocked loudly upon the +third one. +</P> + +<P> +It was opened by a little maid in a cap trimmed with gay ribbons, who +bowed respectfully and asked: +</P> + +<P> +"What do you wish, good people?" +</P> + +<P> +"Are you the Princess Langwidere?" asked Dorothy. +</P> + +<P> +"No, miss; I am her servant," replied the maid. +</P> + +<P> +"May I see the Princess, please?" +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +"Shoo, yourself!" retorted the hen, drawing back in anger and ruffling +up her feathers. "Haven't you any better manners than that?" +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, do you talk?" enquired the maid, evidently surprised. +</P> + +<P> +"Can't you hear me?" snapped Billina. "Drop that apron, and get out of +the doorway, so that I may enter with my friends!" +</P> + +<P> +"The Princess won't like it," said the maid, hesitating. +</P> + +<P> +"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. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"Tell her we are waiting, if you please," Dorothy requested, with +dignity. "Billina is my friend, and must go wherever I go." +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +"Remain here," she said. "What names shall I give the Princess?" +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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: +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"You have company, Your Highness," announced the maid, bowing low. +</P> + +<P> +"Who is it?" asked Langwidere, yawning. +</P> + +<P> +"Dorothy Gale of Kansas, Mr. Tiktok and Billina," answered the maid. +</P> + +<P> +"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?" +</P> + +<P> +"She might be called so," the maid replied. +</P> + +<P> +"And is Mr. Tiktok attractive?" continued the Princess. +</P> + +<P> +"That I cannot say, Your Highness. But he seems very bright. Will +Your Gracious Highness see them?" +</P> + +<P> +"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?" +</P> + +<P> +"Your No. 17 is exceedingly beautiful," answered Nanda, with another +bow. +</P> + +<P> +Again the Princess yawned. Then she said: +</P> + +<P> +"Help me to rise." +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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.) +</P> + +<P> +"Oh!" said Langwidere, slightly lifting the nose of No. 17. "I thought +some one of importance had called." +</P> + +<P> +"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--" +</P> + +<P> +"Stop--Stop!" commanded the Princess, with an angry flash of her +splendid eyes. "How dare you annoy me with your senseless chatter?" +</P> + +<P> +"Why, you horrid thing!" said Dorothy, who was not accustomed to being +treated so rudely. +</P> + +<P> +The Princess looked at her more closely. +</P> + +<P> +"Tell me," she resumed, "are you of royal blood?" +</P> + +<P> +"Better than that, ma'am," said Dorothy. "I came from Kansas." +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +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: +</P> + +<P> +"Come nearer to me." +</P> + +<P> +Dorothy obeyed, without a thought of fear, and stood before the +Princess while Langwidere examined her face with careful attention. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"Well, I b'lieve you won't!" exclaimed Dorothy. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"You refuse?" cried the Princess, with a frown. +</P> + +<P> +"Of course I do," was the reply. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +"Carry that girl to the North Tower and lock her up!" cried the +Princess, pointing to Dorothy. +</P> + +<P> +"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. +</P> + +<P> +"Help!" he shouted, and the ten lean soldiers sprang to assist their +leader. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +"My ac-tion has run down," he called to Dorothy. "Wind me up, quick." +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"Well, it can't be helped," said Dorothy, with a sigh. +</P> + +<P> +"Will you exchange heads with me?" demanded the Princess. +</P> + +<P> +"No, indeed!" cried Dorothy. +</P> + +<P> +"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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"What shall we do with the hen?" asked the colonel, who had just +discovered Billina in the work-basket. +</P> + +<P> +"Put her in the chicken-house," answered the Princess. "Someday I'll +have her fried for breakfast." +</P> + +<P> +"She looks rather tough, Your Highness," said Nanda, doubtfully. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap07"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +7. Ozma of Oz to the Rescue +</H3> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +What COULD it be, she wondered? +</P> + +<P> +Then, gradually, but in a brief space of time nevertheless, the vision +drew near enough to Dorothy to make out what it was. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +Dorothy, just above him, could keep silent no longer. +</P> + +<P> +"Here I am!" she shouted, as loudly as she could. "Here's Dorothy!" +</P> + +<P> +"Dorothy who?" asked the Scarecrow, tipping his head to look upward +until he nearly lost his balance and tumbled over backward. +</P> + +<P> +"Dorothy Gale, of course. Your friend from Kansas," she answered. +</P> + +<P> +"Why, hello, Dorothy!" said the Scarecrow. "What in the world are you +doing up there?" +</P> + +<P> +"Nothing," she called down, "because there's nothing to do. Save me, +my friend--save me!" +</P> + +<P> +"You seem to be quite safe now," replied the Scarecrow. +</P> + +<P> +"But I'm a prisoner. I'm locked in, so that I can't get out," she +pleaded. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"Very well," said the Scarecrow, nodding. "It shall be just as you +say, little friend. Who locked you up?" +</P> + +<P> +"The princess Langwidere, who is a horrid creature," she answered. +</P> + +<P> +At this Ozma, who had been listening carefully to the conversation, +called to Dorothy from her chariot, asking: +</P> + +<P> +"Why did the Princess lock you up, my dear?" +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"I do not blame you," exclaimed Ozma, promptly. "I will see the +Princess at once, and oblige her to liberate you." +</P> + +<P> +"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. +</P> + +<P> +Ozma now drove her chariot around to the third door of the wing, upon +which the Tin Woodman boldly proceeded to knock. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +There she stood before the slight and delicate form of the little girl +from Oz and cried out;-- +</P> + +<P> +"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!" +</P> + +<P> +"What a dangerous lady!" murmured the Scarecrow, in a soft voice. +</P> + +<P> +"She seems a little nervous," replied the Tin Woodman. +</P> + +<P> +But Ozma only smiled at the angry Princess. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"Must!" screamed the Princess, her black eyes flashing with fury--for +she still wore her No. 17 head. "Must, to ME!" +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +Hearing these words, Langwidere suddenly became quiet. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +So Ozma followed her, and they passed up the stairs that led to the +room in the tower. +</P> + +<P> +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: +</P> + +<P> +"Get off my foot, please. You are scratch-ing my pol-ish." +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, excuse me!" he replied, hastily drawing back. "Are you alive?" +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"Why?" asked Tiktok. +</P> + +<P> +"Because you have no brains, as I have," said the Scarecrow. +</P> + +<P> +"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?" +</P> + +<P> +"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?" +</P> + +<P> +"No," said Tiktok. +</P> + +<P> +"And no heart, I suppose?" added the Tin Woodman, who had been +listening with interest to this conversation. +</P> + +<P> +"No," said Tiktok. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"Oh! are you useful?" asked the Scarecrow, surprised. +</P> + +<P> +"Ve-ry," said Tiktok. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"Thank you," said Tiktok. +</P> + +<P> +Just then Ozma re-entered the room, leading Dorothy by the hand and +followed closely by the Princess Langwidere. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap08"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +8. The Hungry Tiger +</H3> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +Then Dorothy asked: "Where is Billina?" +</P> + +<P> +"I don't know," said the Scarecrow. "Who is Billina?" +</P> + +<P> +"She's a yellow hen who is another friend of mine," answered the girl, +anxiously. "I wonder what has become of her?" +</P> + +<P> +"She is in the chicken house, in the back yard," said the Princess. +"My drawing-room is no place for hens." +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +In an instant Dorothy was hugging the huge Lion joyfully. +</P> + +<P> +"I'm SO glad to see you again!" she cried. +</P> + +<P> +"I am also glad to see you, Dorothy," said the Lion. "We've had some +fine adventures together, haven't we?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, indeed," she replied. "How are you?" +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"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. +</P> + +<P> +"Dreadfully hungry," answered the Tiger, snapping his jaws together +with a fierce click. +</P> + +<P> +"Then why don't you eat something?" she asked. +</P> + +<P> +"It's no use," said the Tiger sadly. "I've tried that, but I always +get hungry again." +</P> + +<P> +"Why, it is the same with me," said Dorothy. "Yet I keep on eating." +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"How dreadful!" said Dorothy. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"I think you are a very good tiger," said Dorothy, patting the huge +head of the beast. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"But the Lion is not really cowardly," said Dorothy. "I have seen him +act as bravely as can be." +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"Nor I," said Dorothy, truthfully. "But I must go and set free Billina, +and then I will see you again." +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +"Why, Billina!" cried Dorothy, in a shocked voice; "have you been +fighting?" +</P> + +<P> +"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!" +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +The girl lifted her friend in her arms and exclaimed: +</P> + +<P> +"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!" +</P> + +<P> +"That's nothing," said Billina. "Just look at the speckled rooster! +Didn't I do him up brown?" +</P> + +<P> +Dorothy shook her head. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"Very well, Billina," said Dorothy. "We won't talk about it any more." +</P> + +<P> +Soon they came to the Cowardly Lion and the Hungry Tiger to whom the +girl introduced the Yellow Hen. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"Thank you," said the hen, nestling closer in Dorothy's arms. +</P> + +<P> +"Besides, it wouldn't be right," continued the Tiger, looking steadily +at Billina and clicking his jaws together. +</P> + +<P> +"Of course not," cried Dorothy, hastily. "Billina is my friend, and +you mustn't ever eat her under any circ'mstances." +</P> + +<P> +"I'll try to remember that," said the Tiger; "but I'm a little +absent-minded, at times." +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +Around this important group was ranged the Army of Oz, and as Dorothy +looked at the handsome uniforms of the Twenty-Seven she said: +</P> + +<P> +"Why, they seem to be all officers." +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"No doubt you are right," said Dorothy, seating herself beside Ozma. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap09"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +9. The Royal Family of Ev +</H3> + +<P> +The Tin Woodman was the first to address the meeting. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +Then Tiktok spoke. +</P> + +<P> +"Why should you fight the Nome King?" he asked. "He has done no wrong." +</P> + +<P> +"No wrong!" cried Dorothy. "Isn't it wrong to imprison a queen mother +and her ten children?" +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"Then," said Ozma, "he did not get the long life, and the Nome King +must give up the prisoners. Where are they confined?" +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"I'd like to know," said Dorothy, "who this Nome King is?" +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"I understand," said Dorothy, nodding her little head wisely. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"But, for the sake of the poor prisoners," said Dorothy, "we ought to +do it." +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"The furnaces may also melt my tin," said the Tin Woodman; "but I am +going." +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +When she had left them (and you may be sure no one was sorry to see her +go) Ozma said to Tiktok: +</P> + +<P> +"Will you join our party?" +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"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?" +</P> + +<P> +"To be sure," said Billina in a careless tone. She was smoothing down +the feathers of her back and not paying much attention. +</P> + +<P> +"Heat is just in her line," remarked the Scarecrow. "If she is nicely +roasted, she will be better than ever." +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +"You certainly look delicious," the beast was saying. "Will you kindly +give me permission to eat you?" +</P> + +<P> +"No, no, no!" cried the maid in reply. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"I--I'll do the best I can!" said Nanda, and she ran away as fast as +she could go. +</P> + +<P> +"Are you so very hungry?" asked Dorothy, in wonder. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"What, your tooth?" asked Dorothy. +</P> + +<P> +"No, my appetite," said the Hungry Tiger. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +"What a remarkable thing, to be alive!" exclaimed Dorothy. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"Of course not," said Dorothy. "And you seem to be of some use, 'cause +I noticed the Scarecrow riding upon your back." +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, yes; I'm of use," returned the Sawhorse; "and I never tire, never +have to be fed, or cared for in any way." +</P> + +<P> +"Are you intel'gent?" asked the girl. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap10"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +10. The Giant with the Hammer +</H3> + +<P> +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: +</P> + +<P> +"Wait--wait!" +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +"What's the matter?" called the Tin Woodman, anxiously. +</P> + +<P> +"Why, Billina wants to lay her egg, that's all," said Dorothy. +</P> + +<P> +"Lay her egg!" repeated the Tin Woodman, in astonishment. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes; she lays one every morning, about this time; and it's quite +fresh," said the girl. +</P> + +<P> +"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. +</P> + +<P> +"What else can we do?" asked the girl. "It's a habit of Billina's and +she can't break herself of it." +</P> + +<P> +"Then she must hurry up," said the Tin Woodman, impatiently. +</P> + +<P> +"No, no!" exclaimed the Scarecrow. "If she hurries she may lay +scrambled eggs." +</P> + +<P> +"That's nonsense," said Dorothy. "But Billina won't be long, I'm sure." +</P> + +<P> +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: +</P> + +<P> +"Kut-kut, kut, ka-daw-kutt! Kut, kut, kut--ka-daw-kut!" +</P> + +<P> +"What is she doing--singing her lay?" asked the Scarecrow. +</P> + +<P> +"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. +</P> + +<P> +"Isn't anyone going to get my egg?" cried the hen, in great excitement. +</P> + +<P> +"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. +</P> + +<P> +"What shall I do with the egg?" he asked Dorothy. +</P> + +<P> +"I do not know," the girl answered. "Perhaps the Hungry Tiger would +like it." +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +"That's easy enough," said the Scarecrow. "I wonder what will happen +next." +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"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?" +</P> + +<P> +"Can he think, and speak, as you do?" asked Ozma, regarding the giant +with wondering eyes. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"Too well," observed the Scarecrow. "He is keeping us from going +farther. Is there no way to stop his machinery?" +</P> + +<P> +"On-ly the Nome King, who has the key, can do that," answered Tiktok. +</P> + +<P> +"Then," said Dorothy, anxiously, "what shall we do?" +</P> + +<P> +"Excuse me for a few minutes," said the Scarecrow, "and I will think it +over." +</P> + +<P> +He retired, then, to a position in the rear, where he turned his +painted face to the rocks and began to think. +</P> + +<P> +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: +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"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?" +</P> + +<P> +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: +</P> + +<P> +"I suppose the head of the procession must go first--and that's me. +But I'm terribly afraid of the big hammer!" +</P> + +<P> +"What will become of me?" asked Ozma. "You might rush under the hammer +yourself, but the chariot would surely be crushed." +</P> + +<P> +"We must leave the chariot," said the Scarecrow. "But you two girls +can ride upon the backs of the Lion and the Tiger." +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +"Cling fast to his mane," advised Dorothy. "I used to ride him myself, +and that's the way I held on." +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"Make a run for it," urged the Scarecrow. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +"But what is to become of the private?" asked Ozma. +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, leave him there to guard the chariot," said the Lion. "I'm tired +out, and won't pass under that mallet again." +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap11"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +11. The Nome King +</H3> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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: +</P> + +<P CLASS="poem"> +"Would a wooden horse in a woodland go?<BR> +Aye, aye! I sigh, he would, although<BR> +Had he not had a wooden head<BR> +He'd mount the mountain top instead."<BR> +</P> + +<BR> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +"Who was that laughing?" asked Ozma. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +"Do not mind them," said Tiktok, as Dorothy shrank back. "They are +on-ly the Nomes." +</P> + +<P> +"And what are Nomes?" asked the girl, half frightened. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"YOU call," said Dorothy to Ozma. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +The Tin Woodman at once pursued his army and cried "halt!" and when +they had stopped their flight he asked: "Where are you going?" +</P> + +<P> +"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!" +</P> + +<P> +"That is impossible," replied the Tin Woodman. "For the giant with the +hammer would kill you all if you tried to pass him." +</P> + +<P> +"Oh! I'd forgotten the giant," said the general, turning pale. +</P> + +<P> +"You seem to forget a good many things," remarked the Tin Woodman. "I +hope you won't forget that you are brave men." +</P> + +<P> +"Never!" cried the general, slapping his gold-embroidered chest. +</P> + +<P> +"Never!" cried all the other officers, indignantly slapping their +chests. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +This terrible threat so frightened them that they at once returned to +where Ozma was standing beside the Cowardly Lion. +</P> + +<P> +Then Ozma cried out in a loud voice: +</P> + +<P> +"I demand that the Nome King appear to us!" +</P> + +<P> +There was no reply, except that the shifting Nomes upon the mountain +laughed in derision. +</P> + +<P> +"You must not command the Nome King," said Tiktok, "for you do not rule +him, as you do your own peo-ple." +</P> + +<P> +So Ozma called again, saying: +</P> + +<P> +"I request the Nome King to appear to us." +</P> + +<P> +Only the mocking laughter replied to her, and the shadowy Nomes +continued to flit here and there upon the rocky cliff. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +Ozma looked around her proudly. +</P> + +<P> +"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?" +</P> + +<P> +"No!" they all shouted, with big voices; and the Scarecrow added: +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"Do," said the Hungry Tiger; "and if he makes hash of you I'll +willingly eat you for breakfast tomorrow morning." +</P> + +<P> +So Dorothy stepped forward and said: +</P> + +<P> +"PLEASE Mr. Nome King, come here and see us." +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +Then a door in the rock opened, and a voice cried: +</P> + +<P> +"Enter!" +</P> + +<P> +"Isn't it a trick?" asked the Tin Woodman. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"The Nome King is hon-est and good na-tured," said Tiktok. "You can +trust him to do what is right." +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +"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. +</P> + +<P CLASS="poem"> +"'He had a red face and a round little belly<BR> +That shook when he laughed like a bowl full of jelly!'"<BR> +</P> + +<BR> + +<P> +quoth the monarch, in a pleasant voice; and they could all see that he +really did shake like jelly when he laughed. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"But that was wrong," said Ozma. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"Then how could it be a long life?" asked Dorothy. +</P> + +<P> +"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?" +</P> + +<P> +"No," answered Dorothy. +</P> + +<P> +"And could you, in fairness, ask me to return to you the lock of hair, +just because you had smashed the doll?" +</P> + +<P> +"No," said Dorothy, again. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"But you are treating them cruelly," said Ozma, who was much distressed +by the King's refusal. +</P> + +<P> +"In what way?" he asked. +</P> + +<P> +"By making them your slaves," said she. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +The Nome King looked grave. +</P> + +<P> +"Suppose I refuse?" he asked. +</P> + +<P> +"Then," said Ozma, firmly, "I am here with my friends and my army to +conquer your kingdom and oblige you to obey my wishes." +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +Then, sad and discouraged, Ozma of Oz turned to her friends, and the +Nome King calmly reseated himself on his rock throne. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"Ask the King where his kitchen is," suggested the Tiger. "I'm hungry +as a bear." +</P> + +<P> +"I might pounce upon the King and tear him in pieces," remarked the +Cowardly Lion. +</P> + +<P> +"Try it," said the monarch, lighting his pipe with another hot coal +which he took from his pocket. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"Very well," said Ozma, more cheerfully. "Let us be friends, and talk +this over in a friendly manner." +</P> + +<P> +"To be sure," agreed the King, his eyes twinkling merrily. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +The king remained thoughtful for a moment, after which he asked: +</P> + +<P> +"Are you willing to take a few chances and risks yourself, in order to +set free the people of Ev?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, indeed!" answered Ozma, eagerly. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, thank you! thank you for this kind offer!" said Ozma, eagerly. +</P> + +<P> +"I make but one condition," added the Nome King, his eyes twinkling. +</P> + +<P> +"What is it?" she enquired. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap12"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +12. The Eleven Guesses +</H3> + +<P> +Hearing this condition imposed by the Nome King, Ozma became silent and +thoughtful, and all her friends looked at her uneasily. +</P> + +<P> +"Don't you do it!" exclaimed Dorothy. "If you guess wrong, you will be +enslaved yourself." +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"What if we fail?" enquired the Scarecrow. "I'd look nice as a piece +of bric-a-brac, wouldn't I?" +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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! +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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." +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +In the throne room just beyond the palace the Nome King suddenly looked +up and smiled. +</P> + +<P> +"Next!" he said, in his pleasant voice. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +"Has she failed?" asked Tiktok. +</P> + +<P> +"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?" +</P> + +<P> +"I'll go," said Dorothy. +</P> + +<P> +"Not so," replied the Tin Woodman. "As commander of Ozma's army, it is +my privilege to follow her and attempt her rescue." +</P> + +<P> +"Away you go, then," said the Scarecrow. "But be careful, old friend." +</P> + +<P> +"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. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap13"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +13. The Nome King Laughs +</H3> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +Suddenly the Nome King began laughing. +</P> + +<P> +"Ha, ha, ha! He, he, he! Ho, ho, ho!" +</P> + +<P> +"What's happened?" asked the Scarecrow. +</P> + +<P> +"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!" +</P> + +<P> +They gazed at each other with sinking hearts. One of the generals +began to weep dolefully. +</P> + +<P> +"What are you crying for?" asked the Scarecrow, indignant at such a +display of weakness. +</P> + +<P> +"He owed me six weeks back pay," said the general, "and I hate to lose +him." +</P> + +<P> +"Then you shall go and find him," declared the Scarecrow. +</P> + +<P> +"Me!" cried the general, greatly alarmed. +</P> + +<P> +"Certainly. It is your duty to follow your commander. March!" +</P> + +<P> +"I won't," said the general. "I'd like to, of course; but I just +simply WON'T." +</P> + +<P> +The Scarecrow looked enquiringly at the Nome King. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"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!" +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +Thus, one after another, all of the twenty-six officers filed into the +palace and made their guesses--and became ornaments. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +"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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"Is it so very late?" asked Dorothy. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +"Show these guests to some of the sleeping apartments," he commanded, +"and be quick about it, too, for I'm dreadfully sleepy myself." +</P> + +<P> +"You've no business to sit up so late," replied the Steward, gruffly. +"You'll be as cross as a griffin tomorrow morning." +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +When the Chief Steward had left them alone the Scarecrow remarked, +sadly: +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"He was al-ways an or-na-ment to so-ci-e-ty," said Tiktok. +</P> + +<P> +"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. +</P> + +<P> +"We will make rath-er ab-surd or-na-ments, our-selves, to-mor-row," +observed the machine, in his monotonous voice. +</P> + +<P> +Just then Dorothy ran into their room, in a state of great anxiety, +crying: +</P> + +<P> +"Where's Billina? Have you seen Billina? Is she here?" +</P> + +<P> +"No," answered the Scarecrow. +</P> + +<P> +"Then what has become of her?" asked the girl. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"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. +</P> + +<P> +The Cowardly Lion stuck his head into her room to try to console the +girl for the loss of her feathered friend. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"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. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap14"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +14. Dorothy Tries to be Brave +</H3> + +<P> +Meantime the Chief Steward had returned to the throne room, where he +said to the King: +</P> + +<P> +"You are a fool to waste so much time upon these people." +</P> + +<P> +"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?" +</P> + +<P> +"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?" +</P> + +<P> +"Why, you stupid rascal, it is more fun this way," returned the King, +"and it serves to keep me amused for a long time." +</P> + +<P> +"But suppose some of them happen to guess aright," persisted the +Steward; "then you would lose your old ornaments and these new ones, +too." +</P> + +<P> +"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?" +</P> + +<P> +"But there are no other purple ornaments in the palace," said the +Steward. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"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?" +</P> + +<P> +The Steward gave an angry grunt. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"What color will you make the Kansas girl?" asked the Steward. +</P> + +<P> +"Gray, I think," said his Majesty. +</P> + +<P> +"And the Scarecrow and the machine man?" +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, they shall be of solid gold, because they are so ugly in real +life." +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +"Haven't you had your breakfast?" asked the Nome King. +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, I had just a bite," replied the beast. "But what good is a bite, +to a hungry tiger?" +</P> + +<P> +"He ate seventeen bowls of porridge, a platter full of fried sausages, +eleven loaves of bread and twenty-one mince pies," said the Steward. +</P> + +<P> +"What more do you want?" demanded the King. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +Bye and bye he said: +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"It seems to me," said Dorothy, "that you are not so honest as you +pretend to be." +</P> + +<P> +"How's that?" asked the King. +</P> + +<P> +"Why, you made us think it would be easy to guess what ornaments the +people of Ev were changed into." +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"What is Tiktok doing now?" asked the girl, uneasily. +</P> + +<P> +"Nothing," replied the King, with a frown. "He is standing perfectly +still, in the middle of a room." +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, I expect he's run down," said Dorothy. "I forgot to wind him up +this morning. How many guesses has he made?" +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"All right," said Dorothy. +</P> + +<P> +"It is my turn next," declared the Scarecrow. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"Very well, then," said the Scarecrow, with a sigh. "Run along, little +Dorothy, and may good luck go with you!" +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +"Thank you, Dor-oth-y," were his first words. "I have now one more +guess to make." +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, be very careful, Tiktok; won't you?" cried the girl. +</P> + +<P> +"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. +</P> + +<P> +"I fear so, too," said Dorothy, sadly. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"Do the best you can," said Dorothy, encouragingly, "and if you fail I +will watch and see what shape you are changed into." +</P> + +<P> +So Tiktok touched a yellow glass vase that had daisies painted on one +side, and he spoke at the same time the word "Ev." +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +So all she could do was to accept the hopeless task set her, and make +her guesses and abide by the result. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +Timidly she touched an alabaster bowl and said: "Ev." +</P> + +<P> +"That's one failure, anyhow," she thought. "But how am I to know which +thing is enchanted, and which is not?" +</P> + +<P> +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: +</P> + +<P> +"Where am I? And who are you? And what has happened to me?" +</P> + +<P> +"Well, I declare!" said Dorothy. "I've really done it." +</P> + +<P> +"Done what?" asked the boy. +</P> + +<P> +"Saved myself from being an ornament," replied the girl, with a laugh, +"and saved you from being forever a purple kitten." +</P> + +<P> +"A purple kitten?" he repeated. "There IS no such thing." +</P> + +<P> +"I know," she answered. "But there was, a minute ago. Don't you +remember standing on a corner of the mantel?" +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap15"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +15. Billina Frightens the Nome King +</H3> + +<P> +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: +</P> + +<P> +"Very good!" +</P> + +<P> +"Who is very good?" asked the Scarecrow. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"How about Dorothy?" the Scarecrow enquired. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +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: +</P> + +<P> +"Kut, kut, kut--ka-daw-kutt! Kut, kut, kut--ka-daw-kutt!" +</P> + +<P> +The Nome King nearly jumped off his seat, he was so startled. +</P> + +<P> +"Good gracious! What's that?" he yelled. +</P> + +<P> +"Why, it's Billina," said the Scarecrow. +</P> + +<P> +"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. +</P> + +<P> +"I've got a right to cackle, I guess," replied Billina. "I've just +laid my egg." +</P> + +<P> +"What! Laid an egg! In my throne room! How dare you do such a +thing?" asked the King, in a voice of fury. +</P> + +<P> +"I lay eggs wherever I happen to be," said the hen, ruffling her +feathers and then shaking them into place. +</P> + +<P> +"But--thunder-ation! Don't you know that eggs are poison?" roared the +King, while his rock-colored eyes stuck out in great terror. +</P> + +<P> +"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!" +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"Well, you'll have to bear this one around," declared Billina; "for +I've laid it." +</P> + +<P> +"Where?" asked the King. +</P> + +<P> +"Under your throne," said the hen. +</P> + +<P> +The King jumped three feet into the air, so anxious was he to get away +from the throne. +</P> + +<P> +"Take it away! Take it away at once!" he shouted. +</P> + +<P> +"I can't," said Billina. "I haven't any hands." +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +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: +</P> + +<P> +"Stop!" +</P> + +<P> +"What's wrong?" asked the Scarecrow. +</P> + +<P> +"Don't take the egg unless the King will allow me to enter the palace +and guess as the others have done," said Billina. +</P> + +<P> +"Pshaw!" returned the King. "You're only a hen. How could you guess +my enchantments?" +</P> + +<P> +"I can try, I suppose," said Billina. "And, if I fail, you will have +another ornament." +</P> + +<P> +"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?" +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"Very well," said the King. "You have my promise." +</P> + +<P> +"Then," said Billina to the Scarecrow, "you may get the egg." +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +Just then a bell above the throne rang briskly, and the King gave +another nervous jump. +</P> + +<P> +"Well, well!" said he, with a rueful face; "the girl has actually done +it." +</P> + +<P> +"Done what?" asked the Scarecrow. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"Do I understand that she will now return to us in safety?" enquired +the Scarecrow, joyfully wrinkling his painted face into a broad smile. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"Perhaps you will, and perhaps you won't," murmured Billina, calmly. +"I may surprise you by guessing right." +</P> + +<P> +"Guessing right?" snapped the King. "How could you guess right, where +your betters have failed, you stupid fowl?" +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +So he became a solid gold card-receiver, and the beautiful but terrible +palace awaited its next visitor. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"It is my turn, now," said Billina, briskly. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"No you won't," replied the hen. "I insist upon having my guesses, as +you promised." +</P> + +<P> +"Then go ahead, you absurd feathered fool!" grumbled the King, and he +caused the opening that led to the palace to appear once more. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"Indeed I will," said Evring, with much dignity. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, Billina!" said Dorothy, "you haven't been a chicken in a long +time. Not since you--you've been--grown up." +</P> + +<P> +"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!" +</P> + +<P> +"You are not a Kansas farmer, Billina," replied the girl, "and you +said--" +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"Billina's my friend," said Dorothy quietly. "She may not always be +'zactly polite; but she MEANS well, I'm sure." +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap16"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +16. Purple, Green, and Gold +</H3> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +"Good morning, ma'am," said Billina, in her sharp voice. "You're +looking quite well, considering your age." +</P> + +<P> +"Who speaks?" demanded the Queen of Ev, drawing herself up proudly. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"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. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"What mean you, O kindly stranger?" asked the Queen, striving to +repress her anxiety. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, my poor darlings!" cried the Queen, with a sob of anguish. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +"Evanna!" cried the Queen, "my own Evanna!" and she clasped the girl to +her bosom and covered her face with kisses. +</P> + +<P> +"That's all right," said Billina, contentedly. "Am I a good guesser, +Mr. Nome King? Well, I guess!" +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +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: +</P> + +<P> +"Mayhap, my gentle friend, it is the grasshopper whom you seek." +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +"But where are my friends, the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman?" asked +the girl Ruler, when these courtesies had been exchanged. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"Perhaps he won't," suggested Billina. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"The King is a villain," declared the Scarecrow. +</P> + +<P> +"His laugh is worse than another man's frown," said the private, with a +shudder. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"Thank you," replied Tiktok. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap17"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +17. The Scarecrow Wins the Fight +</H3> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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!" +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +"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. +</P> + +<P> +"Don't mind them!" cried the Nome King; "they cannot leap beyond the +places where they now stand." +</P> + +<P> +"But they can bite those who attempt to touch the girl," said the +captain. +</P> + +<P> +"I'll fix that," answered the King. "I'll enchant them again, so that +they can't open their jaws." +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +"Ow! Murder! Treason!" yelled the King, who had been hurled against +several of his warriors and was considerably bruised. "Who did that?" +</P> + +<P> +"I did," growled the Sawhorse, viciously. "You let Dorothy alone, or +I'll kick you again." +</P> + +<P> +"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!" +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +"Well, well!" said the King, sitting up and looking surprised. "Why +didn't my magic belt work, I wonder?" +</P> + +<P> +"The creature is made of wood," replied the captain. "Your magic will +not work on wood, you know." +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +"Surrender!" cried the King, in a loud voice. "You are my prisoners." +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"Do you surrender?" demanded the King. +</P> + +<P> +Billina whispered something in the Scarecrow's ear that made him smile +and put his hands in his jacket pockets. +</P> + +<P> +"No!" returned Ozma, boldly answering the King. Then she said to her +army: +</P> + +<P> +"Forward, my brave soldiers, and fight for your Ruler and yourselves, +unto death!" +</P> + +<P> +"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?" +</P> + +<P> +"Soldiers should not have heart disease," said Ozma. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"Do so," replied Ozma. +</P> + +<P> +"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. +</P> + +<P> +And at that the private leveled his spear and dashed furiously upon the +foe. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +"Help, help!" screamed the King, clawing with his fingers at the egg, +in a struggle to remove it. +</P> + +<P> +"An egg! an egg! Run for your lives!" shouted the captain of the +Nomes, in a voice of horror. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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: +</P> + +<P> +"Get his belt! Get the Nome King's jeweled belt! It unbuckles in the +back. Quick, Dorothy--quick!" +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap18"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +18. The Fate of the Tin Woodman +</H3> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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: +</P> + +<P> +"I'll make you suffer for this, you hay-stuffed dummy! Don't you know +eggs are poison to Nomes?" +</P> + +<P> +"Really," said the Scarecrow, "they DON'T seem to agree with you, +although I wonder why." +</P> + +<P> +"They were strictly fresh and above suspicion," said Billina. "You +ought to be glad to get them." +</P> + +<P> +"I'll transform you all into scorpions!" cried the King, angrily, and +began waving his arms and muttering magic words. +</P> + +<P> +But none of the people became scorpions, so the King stopped and looked +at them in surprise. +</P> + +<P> +"What's wrong?" he asked. +</P> + +<P> +"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?" +</P> + +<P> +The Nome King clapped his hand to his waist, and his rock colored face +turned white as chalk. +</P> + +<P> +"It's gone," he cried, helplessly. "It's gone, and I am ruined!" +</P> + +<P> +Dorothy now stepped forward and said: +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"Nor I," replied Dorothy, quickly. "Wasn't he in the palace?" +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"We will go back into the rooms," said Dorothy. "This magic belt, I am +sure, will help us to find our dear old friend." +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +Sadly they returned to the throne room, where the King, seeing that +they had met with failure, jeered at Dorothy, saying: +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"I shall keep the belt," said Dorothy. +</P> + +<P> +"But how can you escape, without my consent?" asked the King. +</P> + +<P> +"Easily enough," answered the girl. "All we need to do is to walk out +the way that we came in." +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, that's all, is it?" sneered the King. "Well, where is the passage +through which you entered this room?" +</P> + +<P> +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: +</P> + +<P> +"I command the passage to open!" +</P> + +<P> +Instantly the order was obeyed; the opening appeared and the passage +lay plainly before them. +</P> + +<P> +The King was amazed, and all the others overjoyed. +</P> + +<P> +"Why, then, if the belt obeys you, were we unable to discover the Tin +Woodman?" asked Ozma. +</P> + +<P> +"I can't imagine," said Dorothy. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +Dorothy hesitated, but Billina cried out: +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"A goose-egg!" echoed the horrified King. "How dreadful!" +</P> + +<P> +"Well, a goose-egg you will be unless you go and fetch us the ornament +we want," declared Billina, with a joyful chuckle. +</P> + +<P> +"You can see for yourself that Dorothy is able to use the magic belt +all right," added the Scarecrow. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +"He's gone!" he said. "The Tin Woodman is nowhere in the palace." +</P> + +<P> +"Are you sure?" asked Ozma, sternly. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +They were all silent for a time, and then Dorothy said: +</P> + +<P> +"There is no use punishing the Nome King any more, and I'm 'fraid we'll +have to go away without our friend." +</P> + +<P> +"If he is not here, we cannot rescue him," agreed the Scarecrow, sadly. +"Poor Nick! I wonder what has become of him." +</P> + +<P> +"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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +The army went first, and then the royal family of Ev, and afterward +came Dorothy, Ozma, Billina, the Scarecrow and Tiktok. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +"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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap19"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +19. The King of Ev +</H3> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"He was a fine fel-low," replied Tiktok, "al-though his ma-ter-i-al was +not ve-ry du-ra-ble." +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"I some-times wish," said Tiktok, "that I was stuffed with straw, as +you are. It is hard to be made of cop-per." +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +"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. +</P> + +<P> +"That's my whistle," said Prince Evring, holding it out upon his hand. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +"Where did you get it?" asked the yellow hen, closely examining the toy +with her bright eyes. +</P> + +<P> +"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. +</P> + +<P> +Billina laughed; or at least she made the peculiar cackle that served +her for a laugh. +</P> + +<P> +"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!" +</P> + +<P> +"What do you mean?" questioned Dorothy. +</P> + +<P> +"Why, the Prince had him in his pocket," cried Billina, cackling again. +</P> + +<P> +"I did not!" protested little Evring. "I only took the whistle." +</P> + +<P> +"Well, then, watch me," returned the hen, and reaching out a claw she +touched the whistle and said "Ev." +</P> + +<P> +Swish! +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"I want my whistle!" said the little Prince, beginning to cry. +</P> + +<P> +"Hush!" cautioned Billina. "The whistle is lost, but you may have +another when you get home." +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +Then the Queen took her eldest son out upon a balcony that overlooked +the crowd of subjects gathered below, and said to them: +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +The people shouted their approval fifteen times, and even the Wheelers, +some of whom were present, loudly promised to obey the new King. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap20"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +20. The Emerald City +</H3> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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: +</P> + +<P> +"Why, it's Jinjur--isn't it!" +</P> + +<P> +"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. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"Where is your husband?" asked Ozma. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +"I don't remember that building," said Dorothy. "What is it?" +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +During the feast Ozma grew thoughtful, and suddenly she asked: +</P> + +<P> +"Where is the private?" +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"Let him be sent for," said the girl ruler. +</P> + +<P> +While they waited for this command to be obeyed, she enquired: +</P> + +<P> +"Have we any other privates in the armies?" +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, yes," replied the Tin Woodman, "I believe there are three, +altogether." +</P> + +<P> +The private now entered, saluting his officers and the royal Ozma very +respectfully. +</P> + +<P> +"What is your name, my man?" asked the girl. +</P> + +<P> +"Omby Amby," answered the private. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"It is very expensive to hold so many offices," said the private, +hesitating. "I have no money with which to buy uniforms." +</P> + +<P> +"You shall be supplied from the royal treasury," said Ozma. +</P> + +<P> +Then the private was given a seat at the table, where the other +officers welcomed him cordially, and the feasting and merriment were +resumed. +</P> + +<P> +Suddenly Jellia Jamb exclaimed: +</P> + +<P> +"There is nothing more to eat! The Hungry Tiger has consumed +everything!" +</P> + +<P> +"But that is not the worst of it," declared the Tiger, mournfully. +"Somewhere or somehow, I've actually lost my appetite!" +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap21"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +21. Dorothy's Magic Belt +</H3> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +"How curious!" she exclaimed, after watching the shifting scenes for a +few moments. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"May I use it?" asked Dorothy, eagerly. +</P> + +<P> +"Of course, my dear." +</P> + +<P> +"Then I'd like to see the old Kansas farm, and Aunt Em," said the girl. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +"Everything seems all right at home," said Dorothy, with a sigh of +relief. "Now I wonder what Uncle Henry is doing." +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +"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!" +</P> + +<P> +"How can you?" asked Ozma. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +Glinda received them graciously, and listened to Dorothy's story with +attention. +</P> + +<P> +"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?" +</P> + +<P> +"I think so," replied Glinda, with a smile. +</P> + +<P> +"And then," continued Dorothy, "if I ever wanted to come back here +again, the belt would bring me." +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"What would become of it?" asked the girl. +</P> + +<P> +"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?" +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"That is a wise plan," replied Glinda. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +Billina, on the contrary, preferred the Land of Oz to any other +country, and refused to accompany Dorothy. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +"Uncle Henry needs me," said Dorothy, simply; and every one except +Billina thought it was right that she should go. +</P> + +<P> +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: +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<BR> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +Uncle Henry smiled and cuddled his little niece close in his lap. +</P> + +<P> +"I'm better already, my darling," said he. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR><BR> + + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Ozma of Oz, by L. 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Frank Baum + +Posting Date: July 21, 2008 [EBook #486] +Release Date: April, 1996 +[Last updated January 17, 2011] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK OZMA OF OZ *** + + + + +Produced by John N. White and Dennis Amundson. + + + + + + + + + +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. + + + + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Ozma of Oz, by L. Frank Baum + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK OZMA OF OZ *** + +***** This file should be named 486.txt or 486.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/4/8/486/ + +Produced by John N. 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Etext was scanned in +from an unabridged edition of the text. + + + + + +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 quiet 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. + + + + + +This is the end of the Project Gutenberg Edition of Ozma of Oz + diff --git a/old/ozmoz10.zip b/old/ozmoz10.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..9ea348f --- /dev/null +++ b/old/ozmoz10.zip diff --git a/old/ozmoz10h.htm b/old/ozmoz10h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d9a2434 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/ozmoz10h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,4416 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"> +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> +<head> +<meta name="generator" content= +"HTML Tidy for Mac OS X (vers 1st December 2004), see www.w3.org" /> +<meta http-equiv="content-type" content= +"text/html; charset=us-ascii" /> +<title>Ozma of Oz, by L. Frank Baum.</title> + +<style type="text/css"> +/*<![CDATA[*/ + <!-- + body {font-family:Georgia,serif;margin-left: 15%; margin-right: 15%;} + p {text-align: justify;} + h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6 {text-align: center;font-variant:small-caps;} + pre {font-family:Courier,monospaced;font-size: 0.8em;} + hr {width: 50%;} + hr.full {width: 100%;} + hr.short {width:25%;} + h2 {padding-top:1.5em;} + ol {margin-left:10%;font-variant:small-caps;} + .returnTOC {text-align:right;font-size:.7em;} + .cen {text-align:center;} + .rgt {text-align:right;} + .poem {margin-left:10%; margin-right:10%; margin-bottom: 1em; text-align: left;} + .poem .stanza {margin: 1em 0em 1em 0em;} + .poem p {margin: 0; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} + .poem p.i2 {margin-left: 1em;} + a:link {color:blue; text-decoration:none} + a:visited {color:blue; text-decoration:none} + a:hover {color:red} + --> +/*]]>*/ +</style> +</head> +<body> +<pre> +**The Project Gutenberg Etext of Ozma of Oz, by L. Frank Baum** +#6 in our L. Frank Baum series +#5 in the Oz series + +Copyright laws are changing all over the world, be sure to check +the copyright laws for your country before posting these files!! + +Please take a look at the important information in this header. +We encourage you to keep this file on your own disk, keeping an +electronic path open for the next readers. Do not remove this. + + +**Welcome To The World of Free Plain Vanilla Electronic Texts** + +**Etexts Readable By Both Humans and By Computers, Since 1971** + +*These Etexts Prepared By Hundreds of Volunteers and Donations* + +Information on contacting Project Gutenberg to get Etexts, and +further information is included below. We need your donations. + + +Ozma of Oz + +by L. Frank Baum + +April, 1996 [Etext #486] + + +**The Project Gutenberg Etext of Ozma of Oz, by L. Frank Baum** +*****This file should be named ozmoz10.txt or ozmoz10.zip****** + +Corrected EDITIONS of our etexts get a new NUMBER, ozmoz11.txt. +VERSIONS based on separate sources get new LETTER, ozmoz10a.txt. + + +This etext was created by John N White, and was proofed by +Dennis Amundson, Fargo, North Dakota. Etext was scanned in +from an unabridged edition of the text. + + +</pre> +<h1>Ozma of Oz</h1> +<h3>A Record of Her Adventures with Dorothy Gale of<br /> +Kansas, the Yellow Hen, the Scarecrow, the Tin<br /> +Woodman, Tiktok, the Cowardly Lion and<br /> +the Hungry Tiger; Besides Other Good<br /> +People too Numerous to Mention<br /> +Faithfully Recorded Herein</h3> +<h2>by L. Frank Baum</h2> +<h4>The Author of The Wizard of Oz, The Land of Oz, etc.</h4> +<hr /> +<h2><a id="Contents" name="Contents"></a>Contents</h2> +<ol start="0"> +<li style="list-style-type: none;"><a href= +"#AuthorNote">—Author’s Note—</a></li> +<li><a href="#Ch_1">The Girl in the Chicken Coop</a></li> +<li><a href="#Ch_2">The Yellow Hen</a></li> +<li><a href="#Ch_3">Letters in the Sand</a></li> +<li><a href="#Ch_4">Tiktok, the Machine Man</a></li> +<li><a href="#Ch_5">Dorothy Opens the Dinner Pail</a></li> +<li><a href="#Ch_6">The Heads of Langwidere</a></li> +<li><a href="#Ch_7">Ozma of Oz to the Rescue</a></li> +<li><a href="#Ch_8">The Hungry Tiger</a></li> +<li><a href="#Ch_9">The Royal Family of Ev</a></li> +<li><a href="#Ch_10">The Giant with the Hammer</a></li> +<li><a href="#Ch_11">The Nome King</a></li> +<li><a href="#Ch_12">The Eleven Guesses</a></li> +<li><a href="#Ch_13">The Nome King Laughs</a></li> +<li><a href="#Ch_14">Dorothy Tries to be Brave</a></li> +<li><a href="#Ch_15">Billina Frightens the Nome King</a></li> +<li><a href="#Ch_16">Purple, Green and Gold</a></li> +<li><a href="#Ch_17">The Scarecrow Wins the Fight</a></li> +<li><a href="#Ch_18">The Fate of the Tin Woodman</a></li> +<li><a href="#Ch_19">The King of Ev</a></li> +<li><a href="#Ch_20">The Emerald City</a></li> +<li><a href="#Ch_21">Dorothy’s Magic Belt</a></li> +</ol> +<hr /> +<h2><a id="AuthorNote" name="AuthorNote"></a>Author’s +Note</h2> +<p class="returnTOC"><a href="#Contents">Return to Table of +Contents</a></p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.”</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p class="rgt">L. FRANK BAUM.<br /> +MACATAWA, 1907.</p> +<hr /> +<h2><a id="Ch_1" name="Ch_1"></a>1. The Girl in the Chicken +Coop</h2> +<p class="returnTOC"><a href="#Contents">Return to Table of +Contents</a></p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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:</p> +<p>“Uncle Henry! Uncle Henry!”</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>“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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>“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!”</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<h2><a id="Ch_2" name="Ch_2"></a>2. The Yellow Hen</h2> +<p class="returnTOC"><a href="#Contents">Return to Table of +Contents</a></p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>“Kut-kut-kut, ka-daw-kut! Kut-kut-kut, +ka-daw-kut!”</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>“Kut-kut-kut, ka-daw-w-w—kut!”</p> +<p>“What’s that?” cried Dorothy, starting to her +feet.</p> +<p>“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.</p> +<p>“Dear me!” she exclaimed, in surprise; “have +YOU been here all night, too?”</p> +<p>“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!”</p> +<p>“Yes,” agreed Dorothy, “it was pretty wet, for +a time, I know. But do you feel comfor’ble now?”</p> +<p>“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?”</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“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?”</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“How is my grammar?” asked the yellow hen, +anxiously. “Do I speak quite properly, in your +judgment?”</p> +<p>“Yes,” said Dorothy, “you do very well, for a +beginner.”</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“I’m beginning to get hungry,” remarked +Dorothy. “It’s breakfast time; but there’s no +breakfast.”</p> +<p>“You may have my egg,” said the yellow hen. “I +don’t care for it, you know.”</p> +<p>“Don’t you want to hatch it?” asked the little +girl, in surprise.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“Don’t mention it, my dear,” answered the hen, +calmly, and began preening her feathers.</p> +<p>For a moment Dorothy stood looking out over the wide sea. She +was still thinking of the egg, though; so presently she asked:</p> +<p>“Why do you lay eggs, when you don’t expect to hatch +them?”</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“It’s strange,” said the girl, reflectively; +“but as I’m not a hen I can’t be ’spected +to understand that.”</p> +<p>“Certainly not, my dear.”</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>“Why, we are not far from land!” exclaimed the +hen.</p> +<p>“Where? Where is it?” cried Dorothy, jumping up in +great excitement.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“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.</p> +<p>“So shall I,” answered her companion. “There +is nothing in the world so miserable as a wet hen.”</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“I’m a trifle hungry, myself,” declared the +yellow hen.</p> +<p>“Why don’t you eat the egg?” asked the child. +“You don’t need to have your food cooked, as I +do.”</p> +<p>“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!”</p> +<p>“I beg your pardon, I’m sure +Mrs.—Mrs.—by the way, may I inquire your name, +ma’am?” asked the little girl.</p> +<p>“My name is Bill,” said the yellow hen, somewhat +gruffly.</p> +<p>“Bill! Why, that’s a boy’s name.”</p> +<p>“What difference does that make?”</p> +<p>“You’re a lady hen, aren’t you?”</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“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?”</p> +<p>“Wait a few minutes longer. The sunshine is warm and +pleasant, and we are in no hurry.”</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>“What are you doing?” asked Dorothy.</p> +<p>“Getting my breakfast, of course,” murmured the hen, +busily pecking away.</p> +<p>“What do you find?” inquired the girl, +curiously.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“How dreadful!” exclaimed Dorothy, in a shocked +voice.</p> +<p>“What is dreadful?” asked the hen, lifting her head +to gaze with one bright eye at her companion.</p> +<p>“Why, eating live things, and horrid bugs, and crawly +ants. You ought to be ’SHAMED of yourself!”</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“We don’t!” said Dorothy.</p> +<p>“You do, indeed,” answered Billina. “You eat +lambs and sheep and cows and pigs and even chickens.”</p> +<p>“But we cook ’em,” said Dorothy, +triumphantly.</p> +<p>“What difference does that make?”</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>Finally, down near the water’s edge, Billina stuck her +bill deep into the sand, and then drew back and shivered.</p> +<p>“Ow!” she cried. “I struck metal, that time, +and it nearly broke my beak.”</p> +<p>“It prob’bly was a rock,” said Dorothy, +carelessly.</p> +<p>“Nonsense. I know a rock from metal, I guess,” said +the hen. “There’s a different feel to it.”</p> +<p>“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,”</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>“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?”</p> +<p>“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?”</p> +<p>“I can’t say,” replied the hen. “You +ought to know more about locks and keys than I do.”</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>“I b’lieve, Billina,” she said, +“I’ll have a look ’round, and see if I can find +some breakfast.”</p> +<h2><a id="Ch_3" name="Ch_3"></a>3. Letters in the Sand</h2> +<p class="returnTOC"><a href="#Contents">Return to Table of +Contents</a></p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>“What does it say?” she asked the yellow hen, who +trotted along beside her in a rather dignified fashion.</p> +<p>“How should I know?” returned the hen. “I +cannot read.”</p> +<p>“Oh! Can’t you?”</p> +<p>“Certainly not; I’ve never been to school, you +know.”</p> +<p>“Well, I have,” admitted Dorothy; “but the +letters are big and far apart, and it’s hard to spell out the +words.”</p> +<p>But she looked at each letter carefully, and finally discovered +that these words were written in the sand:</p> +<p class="cen">“BEWARE THE WHEELERS!”</p> +<p>“That’s rather strange,” declared the hen, +when Dorothy had read aloud the words. “What do you suppose +the Wheelers are?”</p> +<p>“Folks that wheel, I guess. They must have wheelbarrows, +or baby-cabs or hand-carts,” said Dorothy.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“Perhaps not,” admitted the yellow hen. “Where +are you going now?”</p> +<p>“Over to those trees, to see if I can find some fruit or +nuts,” answered Dorothy.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>The leaves of this tree were all paper napkins, and it presented +a very pleasing appearance to the hungry little girl.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>Dorothy was delighted, and even the yellow hen acknowledged that +she was surprised.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“Haven’t you any idea what country this is?” +inquired Billina.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“Perhaps we’re in the Land of Oz,” said the +hen, thoughtfully.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“Then how did you get away from there again?” asked +Billina.</p> +<p>“I had a pair of silver shoes, that carried me through the +air; but I lost them,” said Dorothy.</p> +<p>“Ah, indeed,” remarked the yellow hen, in a tone of +unbelief.</p> +<p>“Anyhow,” resumed the girl, “there is no +seashore near the Land of Oz, so this must surely be some other +fairy country.”</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>They were part way across the sands when Billina suddenly cried, +in a voice of terror:</p> +<p>“What’s that?”</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>“Run!” screamed the yellow hen, fluttering away in +great fright. “It’s a Wheeler!”</p> +<p>“A Wheeler?” exclaimed Dorothy. “What can that +be?”</p> +<p>“Don’t you remember the warning in the sand: +‘Beware the Wheelers’? Run, I tell +you—run!”</p> +<p>So Dorothy ran, and the Wheeler gave a sharp, wild cry and came +after her in full chase.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>Dorothy now heard the yellow hen laughing, in her cackling, +henny way.</p> +<p>“Don’t hurry, my dear,” cried Billina. +“They can’t follow us among these rocks, so we’re +safe enough now.”</p> +<p>Dorothy stopped at once and sat down upon a broad boulder, for +she was all out of breath.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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:</p> +<p>“We’ll get you in time, never fear! And when we do +get you, we’ll tear you into little bits!”</p> +<p>“Why are you so cruel to me?” asked Dorothy. +“I’m a stranger in your country, and have done you no +harm.”</p> +<p>“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?”</p> +<p>“I only picked one of each,” she answered. “I +was hungry, and I didn’t know the trees were +yours.”</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“I think so, too,” agreed Dorothy. “But what +shall we do now?”</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<h2><a id="Ch_4" name="Ch_4"></a>4. Tiktok the Machine Man</h2> +<p class="returnTOC"><a href="#Contents">Return to Table of +Contents</a></p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>Finally the hen, fluttering over the mound, exclaimed: +“Why, here’s a path!”</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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:</p> +<p>“It looks something like a door, doesn’t +it?”</p> +<p>“What looks like a door?” enquired the child.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“What does?”</p> +<p>“Why, the crack. So I think it must be a door of rock, +although I do not see any hinges.”</p> +<p>“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.</p> +<p>“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—”</p> +<p>“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?”</p> +<p>“Try it and see,” suggested the hen.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>“Good gracious!” cried Dorothy, shrinking back as +far as the narrow path would let her.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>“Don’t be frightened,” called Billina, from +her perch. “It isn’t alive.”</p> +<p>“I see it isn’t,” replied the girl, drawing a +long breath.</p> +<p>“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.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“Oh,” said the hen, with a sniff, as if she did not +believe the story.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“That is a mystery,” remarked the hen, twisting her +head to arrange her wing-feathers with her bill.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>“What does it say?” asked the hen, curiously.</p> +<p>Dorothy read the card aloud, spelling out the big words with +some difficulty; and this is what she read:</p> +<p class="cen" style="border:thin black solid;">SMITH & +TINKER’S<br /> +Patent Double-Action, Extra-Responsive,<br /> +Thought-Creating, Perfect-Talking<br /> +MECHANICAL MAN<br /> +Fitted with our Special Clock-Work Attachment.<br /> +Thinks, Speaks, Acts, and Does Everything but Live.<br /> +Manufactured only at our Works at Evna, Land of Ev.<br /> +All infringements will be promptly Prosecuted according to Law</p> +<p>“How queer!” said the yellow hen. “Do you +think that is all true, my dear?”</p> +<p>“I don’t know,” answered Dorothy, who had more +to read. “Listen to this, Billina:”</p> +<p class="cen" style="border:thin black solid;">DIRECTIONS FOR +USING:<br /> +For THINKING:—Wind the Clock-work Man under his left +arm,<br /> +(marked No. 1.)<br /> +For SPEAKING:—Wind the Clock-work Man under his right +arm,<br /> +(marked No. 2.)<br /> +For WALKING and ACTION:—Wind Clock-work in the middle of his +back,<br /> +(marked No. 3.)<br /> +N. B.—This Mechanism is guaranteed to work perfectly for a +thousand years.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“We might wind him up,” suggested Dorothy, +“and see what he’ll do.”</p> +<p>“Where is the key to the clock-work?” asked +Billina.</p> +<p>“Hanging on the peg where I found the card.”</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>Dorothy had already taken the clock key from the peg.</p> +<p>“Which shall I wind up first?” she asked, looking +again at the directions on the card.</p> +<p>“Number One, I should think,” returned Billina. +“That makes him think, doesn’t it?”</p> +<p>“Yes,” said Dorothy, and wound up Number One, under +the left arm.</p> +<p>“He doesn’t seem any different,” remarked the +hen, critically.</p> +<p>“Why, of course not; he is only thinking, now,” said +Dorothy.</p> +<p>“I wonder what he is thinking about.”</p> +<p>“I’ll wind up his talk, and then perhaps he can tell +us,” said the girl.</p> +<p>So she wound up Number Two, and immediately the clock-work man +said, without moving any part of his body except his lips:</p> +<p>“Good morn-ing, lit-tle girl. Good morn-ing, Mrs. +Hen.”</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>“Good morning, sir,” they answered, politely.</p> +<p>“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.</p> +<p>“Don’t mention it,” answered Dorothy. And +then, being very curious, she asked: “How did you come to be +locked up in this place?”</p> +<p>“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.</p> +<p>“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.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“How very dreadful!” exclaimed Dorothy.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“I’ve never seen one in Kansas,” said +Dorothy.</p> +<p>“But where did you get the key to un-lock this +door?” asked the clock-work voice.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“That will please me ve-ry much,” said the +machine.</p> +<p>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:</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“What is your name?” she asked.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“I can hear it now,” said the yellow hen.</p> +<p>“So can I,” said Dorothy. And then she added, with +some anxiety: “You don’t strike, do you?”</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“That’s nice,” said the little girl; +“only I never wish to get up in the morning.”</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“Do you lay your egg very early?” asked Dorothy.</p> +<p>“About eight o’clock,” said Billina. +“And everybody ought to be up by that time, I’m +sure.”</p> +<h2><a id="Ch_5" name="Ch_5"></a>5. Dorothy Opens the Dinner +Pail</h2> +<p class="returnTOC"><a href="#Contents">Return to Table of +Contents</a></p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“There is no rea-son to be a-fraid of the +Wheel-ers,” said Tiktok, the words coming more slowly than +before.</p> +<p>“Why not?” she asked.</p> +<p>“Be-cause they are ag-g-g—gr-gr-r-r-“</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>“Dear me!” said Dorothy, in a frightened tone. +“What can the matter be?”</p> +<p>“He’s run down, I suppose,” said the hen, +calmly. “You couldn’t have wound him up very +tight.”</p> +<p>“I didn’t know how much to wind him,” replied +the girl; “but I’ll try to do better next +time.”</p> +<p>She ran around the copper man to take the key from the peg at +the back of his neck, but it was not there.</p> +<p>“It’s gone!” cried Dorothy, in dismay.</p> +<p>“What’s gone?” asked Billina.</p> +<p>“The key.”</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>“And now,” said Dorothy, when all this was +accomplished, “tell me what you were going to say about the +Wheelers.”</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“Haven’t you a club?” asked Dorothy.</p> +<p>“No,” said Tiktok.</p> +<p>“And you won’t find such a thing among these rocks, +either,” declared the yellow hen.</p> +<p>“Then what shall we do?” asked the girl.</p> +<p>“Wind up my think-works tight-ly, and I will try to think +of some oth-er plan,” said Tiktok.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>“Do the lunch-box trees and the dinner-pail trees belong +to the Wheelers?” the child asked Tiktok, while engaged in +eating her meal.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>Dorothy turned the pail over, and at once discovered the royal +mark upon it, as Tiktok had said.</p> +<p>“Are the Wheelers the only folks living in the Land of +Ev?” enquired the girl.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“You seem very durable,” said Dorothy. “Who +made you?”</p> +<p>“The firm of Smith & Tin-ker, in the town of Evna, +where the roy-al pal-ace stands,” answered Tiktok.</p> +<p>“Did they make many of you?” asked the child.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“I am sure of that,” said Dorothy. “Do they +live in the town of Evna now?”</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“Oh, I’m sorry for that!” exclaimed the little +girl.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“He must have been a great loss to this country,” +said Dorothy, who was by this time eating her custard pie.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“I can imagine it,” said Dorothy, readily.</p> +<p>“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.</p> +<p>“The best thinker I ever knew,” said Dorothy to the +yellow hen, “was a scarecrow.”</p> +<p>“Nonsense!” snapped Billina.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“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.</p> +<p>“What rubbish?” asked the child, who was now +finishing her nuts and raisins.</p> +<p>“Why, your impossible stories about animals that can talk, +and a tin woodman who is alive, and a scarecrow who can +think.”</p> +<p>“They are all there,” said Dorothy, “for I +have seen them.”</p> +<p>“I don’t believe it!” cried the hen, with a +toss of her head.</p> +<p>“That’s ’cause you’re so +ign’rant,” replied the girl, who was a little offended +at her friend Billina’s speech.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“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?”</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>Dorothy clapped her hands together delightedly.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“Par-don me. He is not the king now,” said +Tiktok.</p> +<p>“He was when I left there,” declared Dorothy.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>But Tiktok did not reply to this. He had turned around again to +resume his thinking.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>By this time Tiktok approached them with his stiff bow.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“All right,” answered Dorothy, promptly. +“I’m ready!”</p> +<h2><a id="Ch_6" name="Ch_6"></a>6. The Heads of Langwidere</h2> +<p class="returnTOC"><a href="#Contents">Return to Table of +Contents</a></p> +<p>They walked slowly down the path between the rocks, Tiktok going +first, Dorothy following him, and the yellow hen trotting along +last of all.</p> +<p>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:</p> +<p>“Let me car-ry your din-ner-pail.”</p> +<p>She placed it in his right hand at once, and the copper fingers +closed firmly over the stout handle.</p> +<p>Then the little procession marched out upon the level sands.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>“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.</p> +<p>The yellow hen gave a cackle of delight, and flying to a perch +upon Tiktok’s shoulder, she said:</p> +<p>“Bravely done, my copper friend! and wisely thought of, +too. Now we are free from those ugly creatures.”</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>“Tell your peo-ple to go a-way,” commanded the +machine.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>“Now,” said Tiktok, “you shall come with us +and tell me what I want to know.”</p> +<p>“You’ll be sorry for treating me in this way,” +whined the Wheeler. “I’m a terribly fierce +person.”</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“Why so?” asked the Wheeler.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>The Wheeler burst into a flood of tears, to Dorothy’s +great surprise.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“I’ll try, of course,” replied the Wheeler, +eagerly. “And thank you, Mr. Tiktok, for your +kindness.”</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“Are you wound up to keep my secret?” asked the +Wheeler, anxiously.</p> +<p>“Yes; if you be-have your-self. But tell me: who rules the +Land of Ev now?” asked the machine.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“I do not re-mem-ber her,” said Tiktok. “What +does she look like?”</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“That is strange,” said Dorothy, in astonishment. +“Do you mean to say that so many different princesses are one +and the same person?”</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“She must be a witch,” exclaimed the girl.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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:</p> +<p class="cen" style= +"border:thin black solid;width:60%;margin:auto;">OWNER +ABSENT.<br /> +<br /> +Please Knock at the Third<br /> +Door in the Left Wing.</p> +<p>“Now,” said Tiktok to the captive Wheeler, +“you must show us the way to the Left Wing.”</p> +<p>“Very well,” agreed the prisoner, “it is +around here at the right.”</p> +<p>“How can the left wing be at the right?” demanded +Dorothy, who feared the Wheeler was fooling them.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>Tiktok now counted the doors in the wing and knocked loudly upon +the third one.</p> +<p>It was opened by a little maid in a cap trimmed with gay +ribbons, who bowed respectfully and asked:</p> +<p>“What do you wish, good people?”</p> +<p>“Are you the Princess Langwidere?” asked +Dorothy.</p> +<p>“No, miss; I am her servant,” replied the maid.</p> +<p>“May I see the Princess, please?”</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>“Shoo, yourself!” retorted the hen, drawing back in +anger and ruffling up her feathers. “Haven’t you any +better manners than that?”</p> +<p>“Oh, do you talk?” enquired the maid, evidently +surprised.</p> +<p>“Can’t you hear me?” snapped Billina. +“Drop that apron, and get out of the doorway, so that I may +enter with my friends!”</p> +<p>“The Princess won’t like it,” said the maid, +hesitating.</p> +<p>“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.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“Tell her we are waiting, if you please,” Dorothy +requested, with dignity. “Billina is my friend, and must go +wherever I go.”</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>“Remain here,” she said. “What names shall I +give the Princess?”</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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:</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“You have company, Your Highness,” announced the +maid, bowing low.</p> +<p>“Who is it?” asked Langwidere, yawning.</p> +<p>“Dorothy Gale of Kansas, Mr. Tiktok and Billina,” +answered the maid.</p> +<p>“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?”</p> +<p>“She might be called so,” the maid replied.</p> +<p>“And is Mr. Tiktok attractive?” continued the +Princess.</p> +<p>“That I cannot say, Your Highness. But he seems very +bright. Will Your Gracious Highness see them?”</p> +<p>“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?”</p> +<p>“Your No. 17 is exceedingly beautiful,” answered +Nanda, with another bow.</p> +<p>Again the Princess yawned. Then she said:</p> +<p>“Help me to rise.”</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.)</p> +<p>“Oh!” said Langwidere, slightly lifting the nose of +No. 17. “I thought some one of importance had +called.”</p> +<p>“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—”</p> +<p>“Stop—Stop!” commanded the Princess, with an +angry flash of her splendid eyes. “How dare you annoy me with +your senseless chatter?”</p> +<p>“Why, you horrid thing!” said Dorothy, who was not +accustomed to being treated so rudely.</p> +<p>The Princess looked at her more closely.</p> +<p>“Tell me,” she resumed, “are you of royal +blood?”</p> +<p>“Better than that, ma’am,” said Dorothy. +“I came from Kansas.”</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>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:</p> +<p>“Come nearer to me.”</p> +<p>Dorothy obeyed, without a thought of fear, and stood before the +Princess while Langwidere examined her face with careful +attention.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“Well, I b’lieve you won’t!” exclaimed +Dorothy.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“You refuse?” cried the Princess, with a frown.</p> +<p>“Of course I do,” was the reply.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>“Carry that girl to the North Tower and lock her +up!” cried the Princess, pointing to Dorothy.</p> +<p>“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.</p> +<p>“Help!” he shouted, and the ten lean soldiers sprang +to assist their leader.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>“My ac-tion has run down,” he called to Dorothy. +“Wind me up, quick.”</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“Well, it can’t be helped,” said Dorothy, with +a sigh.</p> +<p>“Will you exchange heads with me?” demanded the +Princess.</p> +<p>“No, indeed!” cried Dorothy.</p> +<p>“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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“What shall we do with the hen?” asked the colonel, +who had just discovered Billina in the work-basket.</p> +<p>“Put her in the chicken-house,” answered the +Princess. “Someday I’ll have her fried for +breakfast.”</p> +<p>“She looks rather tough, Your Highness,” said Nanda, +doubtfully.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<h2><a id="Ch_7" name="Ch_7"></a>7. Ozma of Oz to the Rescue</h2> +<p class="returnTOC"><a href="#Contents">Return to Table of +Contents</a></p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>What COULD it be, she wondered?</p> +<p>Then, gradually, but in a brief space of time nevertheless, the +vision drew near enough to Dorothy to make out what it was.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>Dorothy, just above him, could keep silent no longer.</p> +<p>“Here I am!” she shouted, as loudly as she could. +“Here’s Dorothy!”</p> +<p>“Dorothy who?” asked the Scarecrow, tipping his head +to look upward until he nearly lost his balance and tumbled over +backward.</p> +<p>“Dorothy Gale, of course. Your friend from Kansas,” +she answered.</p> +<p>“Why, hello, Dorothy!” said the Scarecrow. +“What in the world are you doing up there?”</p> +<p>“Nothing,” she called down, “because +there’s nothing to do. Save me, my friend—save +me!”</p> +<p>“You seem to be quite safe now,” replied the +Scarecrow.</p> +<p>“But I’m a prisoner. I’m locked in, so that I +can’t get out,” she pleaded.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“Very well,” said the Scarecrow, nodding. “It +shall be just as you say, little friend. Who locked you +up?”</p> +<p>“The princess Langwidere, who is a horrid creature,” +she answered.</p> +<p>At this Ozma, who had been listening carefully to the +conversation, called to Dorothy from her chariot, asking:</p> +<p>“Why did the Princess lock you up, my dear?”</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“I do not blame you,” exclaimed Ozma, promptly. +“I will see the Princess at once, and oblige her to liberate +you.”</p> +<p>“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.</p> +<p>Ozma now drove her chariot around to the third door of the wing, +upon which the Tin Woodman boldly proceeded to knock.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>There she stood before the slight and delicate form of the +little girl from Oz and cried out;—</p> +<p>“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!”</p> +<p>“What a dangerous lady!” murmured the Scarecrow, in +a soft voice.</p> +<p>“She seems a little nervous,” replied the Tin +Woodman.</p> +<p>But Ozma only smiled at the angry Princess.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“Must!” screamed the Princess, her black eyes +flashing with fury—for she still wore her No. 17 head. +“Must, to ME!”</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>Hearing these words, Langwidere suddenly became quiet.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>So Ozma followed her, and they passed up the stairs that led to +the room in the tower.</p> +<p>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:</p> +<p>“Get off my foot, please. You are scratch-ing my +pol-ish.”</p> +<p>“Oh, excuse me!” he replied, hastily drawing back. +“Are you alive?”</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“Why?” asked Tiktok.</p> +<p>“Because you have no brains, as I have,” said the +Scarecrow.</p> +<p>“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?”</p> +<p>“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?”</p> +<p>“No,” said Tiktok.</p> +<p>“And no heart, I suppose?” added the Tin Woodman, +who had been listening with interest to this conversation.</p> +<p>“No,” said Tiktok.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“Oh! are you useful?” asked the Scarecrow, +surprised.</p> +<p>“Ve-ry,” said Tiktok.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“Thank you,” said Tiktok.</p> +<p>Just then Ozma re-entered the room, leading Dorothy by the hand +and followed closely by the Princess Langwidere.</p> +<h2><a id="Ch_8" name="Ch_8"></a>8. The Hungry Tiger</h2> +<p class="returnTOC"><a href="#Contents">Return to Table of +Contents</a></p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>Then Dorothy asked: “Where is Billina?”</p> +<p>“I don’t know,” said the Scarecrow. “Who +is Billina?”</p> +<p>“She’s a yellow hen who is another friend of +mine,” answered the girl, anxiously. “I wonder what has +become of her?”</p> +<p>“She is in the chicken house, in the back yard,” +said the Princess. “My drawing-room is no place for +hens.”</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>In an instant Dorothy was hugging the huge Lion joyfully.</p> +<p>“I’m SO glad to see you again!” she cried.</p> +<p>“I am also glad to see you, Dorothy,” said the Lion. +“We’ve had some fine adventures together, haven’t +we?”</p> +<p>“Yes, indeed,” she replied. “How are +you?”</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“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.</p> +<p>“Dreadfully hungry,” answered the Tiger, snapping +his jaws together with a fierce click.</p> +<p>“Then why don’t you eat something?” she +asked.</p> +<p>“It’s no use,” said the Tiger sadly. +“I’ve tried that, but I always get hungry +again.”</p> +<p>“Why, it is the same with me,” said Dorothy. +“Yet I keep on eating.”</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“How dreadful!” said Dorothy.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“I think you are a very good tiger,” said Dorothy, +patting the huge head of the beast.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“But the Lion is not really cowardly,” said Dorothy. +“I have seen him act as bravely as can be.”</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“Nor I,” said Dorothy, truthfully. “But I must +go and set free Billina, and then I will see you again.”</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>“Why, Billina!” cried Dorothy, in a shocked voice; +“have you been fighting?”</p> +<p>“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!”</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>The girl lifted her friend in her arms and exclaimed:</p> +<p>“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!”</p> +<p>“That’s nothing,” said Billina. “Just +look at the speckled rooster! Didn’t I do him up +brown?”</p> +<p>Dorothy shook her head.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“Very well, Billina,” said Dorothy. “We +won’t talk about it any more.”</p> +<p>Soon they came to the Cowardly Lion and the Hungry Tiger to whom +the girl introduced the Yellow Hen.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“Thank you,” said the hen, nestling closer in +Dorothy’s arms.</p> +<p>“Besides, it wouldn’t be right,” continued the +Tiger, looking steadily at Billina and clicking his jaws +together.</p> +<p>“Of course not,” cried Dorothy, hastily. +“Billina is my friend, and you mustn’t ever eat her +under any circ’mstances.”</p> +<p>“I’ll try to remember that,” said the Tiger; +“but I’m a little absent-minded, at times.”</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>Around this important group was ranged the Army of Oz, and as +Dorothy looked at the handsome uniforms of the Twenty-Seven she +said:</p> +<p>“Why, they seem to be all officers.”</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“No doubt you are right,” said Dorothy, seating +herself beside Ozma.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<h2><a id="Ch_9" name="Ch_9"></a>9. The Royal Family of Ev</h2> +<p class="returnTOC"><a href="#Contents">Return to Table of +Contents</a></p> +<p>The Tin Woodman was the first to address the meeting.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>Then Tiktok spoke.</p> +<p>“Why should you fight the Nome King?” he asked. +“He has done no wrong.”</p> +<p>“No wrong!” cried Dorothy. “Isn’t it +wrong to imprison a queen mother and her ten children?”</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“Then,” said Ozma, “he did not get the long +life, and the Nome King must give up the prisoners. Where are they +confined?”</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“I’d like to know,” said Dorothy, “who +this Nome King is?”</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“I understand,” said Dorothy, nodding her little +head wisely.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“But, for the sake of the poor prisoners,” said +Dorothy, “we ought to do it.”</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“The furnaces may also melt my tin,” said the Tin +Woodman; “but I am going.”</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>When she had left them (and you may be sure no one was sorry to +see her go) Ozma said to Tiktok:</p> +<p>“Will you join our party?”</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“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?”</p> +<p>“To be sure,” said Billina in a careless tone. She +was smoothing down the feathers of her back and not paying much +attention.</p> +<p>“Heat is just in her line,” remarked the Scarecrow. +“If she is nicely roasted, she will be better than +ever.”</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>“You certainly look delicious,” the beast was +saying. “Will you kindly give me permission to eat +you?”</p> +<p>“No, no, no!” cried the maid in reply.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“I—I’ll do the best I can!” said Nanda, +and she ran away as fast as she could go.</p> +<p>“Are you so very hungry?” asked Dorothy, in +wonder.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“What, your tooth?” asked Dorothy.</p> +<p>“No, my appetite,” said the Hungry Tiger.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>“What a remarkable thing, to be alive!” exclaimed +Dorothy.</p> +<p>“I quiet 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.”</p> +<p>“Of course not,” said Dorothy. “And you seem +to be of some use, ‘cause I noticed the Scarecrow riding upon +your back.”</p> +<p>“Oh, yes; I’m of use,” returned the Sawhorse; +“and I never tire, never have to be fed, or cared for in any +way.”</p> +<p>“Are you intel’gent?” asked the girl.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<h2><a id="Ch_10" name="Ch_10"></a>10. The Giant with the +Hammer</h2> +<p class="returnTOC"><a href="#Contents">Return to Table of +Contents</a></p> +<p>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:</p> +<p>“Wait—wait!”</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>“What’s the matter?” called the Tin Woodman, +anxiously.</p> +<p>“Why, Billina wants to lay her egg, that’s +all,” said Dorothy.</p> +<p>“Lay her egg!” repeated the Tin Woodman, in +astonishment.</p> +<p>“Yes; she lays one every morning, about this time; and +it’s quite fresh,” said the girl.</p> +<p>“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.</p> +<p>“What else can we do?” asked the girl. +“It’s a habit of Billina’s and she can’t +break herself of it.”</p> +<p>“Then she must hurry up,” said the Tin Woodman, +impatiently.</p> +<p>“No, no!” exclaimed the Scarecrow. “If she +hurries she may lay scrambled eggs.”</p> +<p>“That’s nonsense,” said Dorothy. “But +Billina won’t be long, I’m sure.”</p> +<p>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:</p> +<p>“Kut-kut, kut, ka-daw-kutt! Kut, kut, +kut—ka-daw-kut!”</p> +<p>“What is she doing—singing her lay?” asked the +Scarecrow.</p> +<p>“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.</p> +<p>“Isn’t anyone going to get my egg?” cried the +hen, in great excitement.</p> +<p>“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.</p> +<p>“What shall I do with the egg?” he asked +Dorothy.</p> +<p>“I do not know,” the girl answered. “Perhaps +the Hungry Tiger would like it.”</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>“That’s easy enough,” said the Scarecrow. +“I wonder what will happen next.”</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“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?”</p> +<p>“Can he think, and speak, as you do?” asked Ozma, +regarding the giant with wondering eyes.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“Too well,” observed the Scarecrow. “He is +keeping us from going farther. Is there no way to stop his +machinery?”</p> +<p>“On-ly the Nome King, who has the key, can do that,” +answered Tiktok.</p> +<p>“Then,” said Dorothy, anxiously, “what shall +we do?”</p> +<p>“Excuse me for a few minutes,” said the Scarecrow, +“and I will think it over.”</p> +<p>He retired, then, to a position in the rear, where he turned his +painted face to the rocks and began to think.</p> +<p>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:</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“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?”</p> +<p>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:</p> +<p>“I suppose the head of the procession must go +first—and that’s me. But I’m terribly afraid of +the big hammer!”</p> +<p>“What will become of me?” asked Ozma. “You +might rush under the hammer yourself, but the chariot would surely +be crushed.”</p> +<p>“We must leave the chariot,” said the Scarecrow. +“But you two girls can ride upon the backs of the Lion and +the Tiger.”</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>“Cling fast to his mane,” advised Dorothy. “I +used to ride him myself, and that’s the way I held +on.”</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“Make a run for it,” urged the Scarecrow.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>“But what is to become of the private?” asked +Ozma.</p> +<p>“Oh, leave him there to guard the chariot,” said the +Lion. “I’m tired out, and won’t pass under that +mallet again.”</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<h2><a id="Ch_11" name="Ch_11"></a>11. The Nome King</h2> +<p class="returnTOC"><a href="#Contents">Return to Table of +Contents</a></p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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:</p> +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p>“Would a wooden horse in a woodland go?</p> +<p class="i2">Aye, aye! I sigh, he would, although</p> +<p>Had he not had a wooden head</p> +<p class="i2">He’d mount the mountain top instead.”</p> +</div> +</div> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>“Who was that laughing?” asked Ozma.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>“Do not mind them,” said Tiktok, as Dorothy shrank +back. “They are on-ly the Nomes.”</p> +<p>“And what are Nomes?” asked the girl, half +frightened.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“YOU call,” said Dorothy to Ozma.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>The Tin Woodman at once pursued his army and cried +“halt!” and when they had stopped their flight he +asked: “Where are you going?”</p> +<p>“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!”</p> +<p>“That is impossible,” replied the Tin Woodman. +“For the giant with the hammer would kill you all if you +tried to pass him.”</p> +<p>“Oh! I’d forgotten the giant,” said the +general, turning pale.</p> +<p>“You seem to forget a good many things,” remarked +the Tin Woodman. “I hope you won’t forget that you are +brave men.”</p> +<p>“Never!” cried the general, slapping his +gold-embroidered chest.</p> +<p>“Never!” cried all the other officers, indignantly +slapping their chests.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>This terrible threat so frightened them that they at once +returned to where Ozma was standing beside the Cowardly Lion.</p> +<p>Then Ozma cried out in a loud voice:</p> +<p>“I demand that the Nome King appear to us!”</p> +<p>There was no reply, except that the shifting Nomes upon the +mountain laughed in derision.</p> +<p>“You must not command the Nome King,” said Tiktok, +“for you do not rule him, as you do your own +peo-ple.”</p> +<p>So Ozma called again, saying:</p> +<p>“I request the Nome King to appear to us.”</p> +<p>Only the mocking laughter replied to her, and the shadowy Nomes +continued to flit here and there upon the rocky cliff.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>Ozma looked around her proudly.</p> +<p>“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?”</p> +<p>“No!” they all shouted, with big voices; and the +Scarecrow added:</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“Do,” said the Hungry Tiger; “and if he makes +hash of you I’ll willingly eat you for breakfast tomorrow +morning.”</p> +<p>So Dorothy stepped forward and said:</p> +<p>“PLEASE Mr. Nome King, come here and see us.”</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>Then a door in the rock opened, and a voice cried:</p> +<p>“Enter!”</p> +<p>“Isn’t it a trick?” asked the Tin Woodman.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“The Nome King is hon-est and good na-tured,” said +Tiktok. “You can trust him to do what is right.”</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>“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.</p> +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p>“‘He had a red face and a round little belly</p> +<p class="i2">That shook when he laughed like a bowl full of +jelly!’”</p> +</div> +</div> +<p>quoth the monarch, in a pleasant voice; and they could all see +that he really did shake like jelly when he laughed.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“But that was wrong,” said Ozma.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“Then how could it be a long life?” asked +Dorothy.</p> +<p>“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?”</p> +<p>“No,” answered Dorothy.</p> +<p>“And could you, in fairness, ask me to return to you the +lock of hair, just because you had smashed the doll?”</p> +<p>“No,” said Dorothy, again.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“But you are treating them cruelly,” said Ozma, who +was much distressed by the King’s refusal.</p> +<p>“In what way?” he asked.</p> +<p>“By making them your slaves,” said she.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>The Nome King looked grave.</p> +<p>“Suppose I refuse?” he asked.</p> +<p>“Then,” said Ozma, firmly, “I am here with my +friends and my army to conquer your kingdom and oblige you to obey +my wishes.”</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>Then, sad and discouraged, Ozma of Oz turned to her friends, and +the Nome King calmly reseated himself on his rock throne.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“Ask the King where his kitchen is,” suggested the +Tiger. “I’m hungry as a bear.”</p> +<p>“I might pounce upon the King and tear him in +pieces,” remarked the Cowardly Lion.</p> +<p>“Try it,” said the monarch, lighting his pipe with +another hot coal which he took from his pocket.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“Very well,” said Ozma, more cheerfully. “Let +us be friends, and talk this over in a friendly manner.”</p> +<p>“To be sure,” agreed the King, his eyes twinkling +merrily.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>The king remained thoughtful for a moment, after which he +asked:</p> +<p>“Are you willing to take a few chances and risks yourself, +in order to set free the people of Ev?”</p> +<p>“Yes, indeed!” answered Ozma, eagerly.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“Oh, thank you! thank you for this kind offer!” said +Ozma, eagerly.</p> +<p>“I make but one condition,” added the Nome King, his +eyes twinkling.</p> +<p>“What is it?” she enquired.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<h2><a id="Ch_12" name="Ch_12"></a>12. The Eleven Guesses</h2> +<p class="returnTOC"><a href="#Contents">Return to Table of +Contents</a></p> +<p>Hearing this condition imposed by the Nome King, Ozma became +silent and thoughtful, and all her friends looked at her +uneasily.</p> +<p>“Don’t you do it!” exclaimed Dorothy. +“If you guess wrong, you will be enslaved +yourself.”</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“What if we fail?” enquired the Scarecrow. +“I’d look nice as a piece of bric-a-brac, +wouldn’t I?”</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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!</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.”</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>In the throne room just beyond the palace the Nome King suddenly +looked up and smiled.</p> +<p>“Next!” he said, in his pleasant voice.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>“Has she failed?” asked Tiktok.</p> +<p>“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?”</p> +<p>“I’ll go,” said Dorothy.</p> +<p>“Not so,” replied the Tin Woodman. “As +commander of Ozma’s army, it is my privilege to follow her +and attempt her rescue.”</p> +<p>“Away you go, then,” said the Scarecrow. “But +be careful, old friend.”</p> +<p>“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.</p> +<h2><a id="Ch_13" name="Ch_13"></a>13. The Nome King Laughs</h2> +<p class="returnTOC"><a href="#Contents">Return to Table of +Contents</a></p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>Suddenly the Nome King began laughing.</p> +<p>“Ha, ha, ha! He, he, he! Ho, ho, ho!”</p> +<p>“What’s happened?” asked the Scarecrow.</p> +<p>“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!”</p> +<p>They gazed at each other with sinking hearts. One of the +generals began to weep dolefully.</p> +<p>“What are you crying for?” asked the Scarecrow, +indignant at such a display of weakness.</p> +<p>“He owed me six weeks back pay,” said the general, +“and I hate to lose him.”</p> +<p>“Then you shall go and find him,” declared the +Scarecrow.</p> +<p>“Me!” cried the general, greatly alarmed.</p> +<p>“Certainly. It is your duty to follow your commander. +March!”</p> +<p>“I won’t,” said the general. “I’d +like to, of course; but I just simply WON’T.”</p> +<p>The Scarecrow looked enquiringly at the Nome King.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“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!”</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>Thus, one after another, all of the twenty-six officers filed +into the palace and made their guesses— and became +ornaments.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>“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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“Is it so very late?” asked Dorothy.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>“Show these guests to some of the sleeping +apartments,” he commanded, “and be quick about it, too, +for I’m dreadfully sleepy myself.”</p> +<p>“You’ve no business to sit up so late,” +replied the Steward, gruffly. “You’ll be as cross as a +griffin tomorrow morning.”</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>When the Chief Steward had left them alone the Scarecrow +remarked, sadly:</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“He was al-ways an or-na-ment to so-ci-e-ty,” said +Tiktok.</p> +<p>“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.</p> +<p>“We will make rath-er ab-surd or-na-ments, our-selves, +to-mor-row,” observed the machine, in his monotonous +voice.</p> +<p>Just then Dorothy ran into their room, in a state of great +anxiety, crying:</p> +<p>“Where’s Billina? Have you seen Billina? Is she +here?”</p> +<p>“No,” answered the Scarecrow.</p> +<p>“Then what has become of her?” asked the girl.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“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.</p> +<p>The Cowardly Lion stuck his head into her room to try to console +the girl for the loss of her feathered friend.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“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.</p> +<h2><a id="Ch_14" name="Ch_14"></a>14. Dorothy Tries to be +Brave</h2> +<p class="returnTOC"><a href="#Contents">Return to Table of +Contents</a></p> +<p>Meantime the Chief Steward had returned to the throne room, +where he said to the King:</p> +<p>“You are a fool to waste so much time upon these +people.”</p> +<p>“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?”</p> +<p>“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?”</p> +<p>“Why, you stupid rascal, it is more fun this way,” +returned the King, “and it serves to keep me amused for a +long time.”</p> +<p>“But suppose some of them happen to guess aright,” +persisted the Steward; “then you would lose your old +ornaments and these new ones, too.”</p> +<p>“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?”</p> +<p>“But there are no other purple ornaments in the +palace,” said the Steward.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“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?”</p> +<p>The Steward gave an angry grunt.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“What color will you make the Kansas girl?” asked +the Steward.</p> +<p>“Gray, I think,” said his Majesty.</p> +<p>“And the Scarecrow and the machine man?”</p> +<p>“Oh, they shall be of solid gold, because they are so ugly +in real life.”</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>“Haven’t you had your breakfast?” asked the +Nome King.</p> +<p>“Oh, I had just a bite,” replied the beast. +“But what good is a bite, to a hungry tiger?”</p> +<p>“He ate seventeen bowls of porridge, a platter full of +fried sausages, eleven loaves of bread and twenty-one mince +pies,” said the Steward.</p> +<p>“What more do you want?” demanded the King.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>Bye and bye he said:</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“It seems to me,” said Dorothy, “that you are +not so honest as you pretend to be.”</p> +<p>“How’s that?” asked the King.</p> +<p>“Why, you made us think it would be easy to guess what +ornaments the people of Ev were changed into.”</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“What is Tiktok doing now?” asked the girl, +uneasily.</p> +<p>“Nothing,” replied the King, with a frown. “He +is standing perfectly still, in the middle of a room.”</p> +<p>“Oh, I expect he’s run down,” said Dorothy. +“I forgot to wind him up this morning. How many guesses has +he made?”</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“All right,” said Dorothy.</p> +<p>“It is my turn next,” declared the Scarecrow.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“Very well, then,” said the Scarecrow, with a sigh. +“Run along, little Dorothy, and may good luck go with +you!”</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>“Thank you, Dor-oth-y,” were his first words. +“I have now one more guess to make.”</p> +<p>“Oh, be very careful, Tiktok; won’t you?” +cried the girl.</p> +<p>“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.</p> +<p>“I fear so, too,” said Dorothy, sadly.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“Do the best you can,” said Dorothy, encouragingly, +“and if you fail I will watch and see what shape you are +changed into.”</p> +<p>So Tiktok touched a yellow glass vase that had daisies painted +on one side, and he spoke at the same time the word +“Ev.”</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>So all she could do was to accept the hopeless task set her, and +make her guesses and abide by the result.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>Timidly she touched an alabaster bowl and said: +“Ev.”</p> +<p>“That’s one failure, anyhow,” she thought. +“But how am I to know which thing is enchanted, and which is +not?”</p> +<p>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:</p> +<p>“Where am I? And who are you? And what has happened to +me?”</p> +<p>“Well, I declare!” said Dorothy. “I’ve +really done it.”</p> +<p>“Done what?” asked the boy.</p> +<p>“Saved myself from being an ornament,” replied the +girl, with a laugh, “and saved you from being forever a +purple kitten.”</p> +<p>“A purple kitten?” he repeated. “There IS no +such thing.”</p> +<p>“I know,” she answered. “But there was, a +minute ago. Don’t you remember standing on a corner of the +mantel?”</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<h2><a id="Ch_15" name="Ch_15"></a>15. Billina Frightens the Nome +King</h2> +<p class="returnTOC"><a href="#Contents">Return to Table of +Contents</a></p> +<p>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:</p> +<p>“Very good!”</p> +<p>“Who is very good?” asked the Scarecrow.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“How about Dorothy?” the Scarecrow enquired.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>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:</p> +<p>“Kut, kut, kut—ka-daw-kutt! Kut, kut, +kut—ka-daw-kutt!”</p> +<p>The Nome King nearly jumped off his seat, he was so +startled.</p> +<p>“Good gracious! What’s that?” he yelled.</p> +<p>“Why, it’s Billina,” said the Scarecrow.</p> +<p>“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.</p> +<p>“I’ve got a right to cackle, I guess,” replied +Billina. “I’ve just laid my egg.”</p> +<p>“What! Laid an egg! In my throne room! How dare you do +such a thing?” asked the King, in a voice of fury.</p> +<p>“I lay eggs wherever I happen to be,” said the hen, +ruffling her feathers and then shaking them into place.</p> +<p>“But—thunder-ation! Don’t you know that eggs +are poison?” roared the King, while his rock-colored eyes +stuck out in great terror.</p> +<p>“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!”</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“Well, you’ll have to bear this one around,” +declared Billina; “for I’ve laid it.”</p> +<p>“Where?” asked the King.</p> +<p>“Under your throne,” said the hen.</p> +<p>The King jumped three feet into the air, so anxious was he to +get away from the throne.</p> +<p>“Take it away! Take it away at once!” he +shouted.</p> +<p>“I can’t,” said Billina. “I +haven’t any hands.”</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>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:</p> +<p>“Stop!”</p> +<p>“What’s wrong?” asked the Scarecrow.</p> +<p>“Don’t take the egg unless the King will allow me to +enter the palace and guess as the others have done,” said +Billina.</p> +<p>“Pshaw!” returned the King. “You’re only +a hen. How could you guess my enchantments?”</p> +<p>“I can try, I suppose,” said Billina. “And, if +I fail, you will have another ornament.”</p> +<p>“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?”</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“Very well,” said the King. “You have my +promise.”</p> +<p>“Then,” said Billina to the Scarecrow, “you +may get the egg.”</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>Just then a bell above the throne rang briskly, and the King +gave another nervous jump.</p> +<p>“Well, well!” said he, with a rueful face; +“the girl has actually done it.”</p> +<p>“Done what?” asked the Scarecrow.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“Do I understand that she will now return to us in +safety?” enquired the Scarecrow, joyfully wrinkling his +painted face into a broad smile.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“Perhaps you will, and perhaps you won’t,” +murmured Billina, calmly. “I may surprise you by guessing +right.”</p> +<p>“Guessing right?” snapped the King. “How could +you guess right, where your betters have failed, you stupid +fowl?”</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>So he became a solid gold card-receiver, and the beautiful but +terrible palace awaited its next visitor.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“It is my turn, now,” said Billina, briskly.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“No you won’t,” replied the hen. “I +insist upon having my guesses, as you promised.”</p> +<p>“Then go ahead, you absurd feathered fool!” grumbled +the King, and he caused the opening that led to the palace to +appear once more.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“Indeed I will,” said Evring, with much dignity.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“Oh, Billina!” said Dorothy, “you +haven’t been a chicken in a long time. Not since +you—you’ve been—grown up.”</p> +<p>“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!”</p> +<p>“You are not a Kansas farmer, Billina,” replied the +girl, “and you said—”</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“Billina’s my friend,” said Dorothy quietly. +“She may not always be ‘zactly polite; but she MEANS +well, I’m sure.”</p> +<h2><a id="Ch_16" name="Ch_16"></a>16. Purple, Green, and Gold</h2> +<p class="returnTOC"><a href="#Contents">Return to Table of +Contents</a></p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>“Good morning, ma’am,” said Billina, in her +sharp voice. “You’re looking quite well, considering +your age.”</p> +<p>“Who speaks?” demanded the Queen of Ev, drawing +herself up proudly.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“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.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“What mean you, O kindly stranger?” asked the Queen, +striving to repress her anxiety.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“Oh, my poor darlings!” cried the Queen, with a sob +of anguish.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>“Evanna!” cried the Queen, “my own +Evanna!” and she clasped the girl to her bosom and covered +her face with kisses.</p> +<p>“That’s all right,” said Billina, contentedly. +“Am I a good guesser, Mr. Nome King? Well, I +guess!”</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>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:</p> +<p>“Mayhap, my gentle friend, it is the grasshopper whom you +seek.”</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>“But where are my friends, the Scarecrow and the Tin +Woodman?” asked the girl Ruler, when these courtesies had +been exchanged.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“Perhaps he won’t,” suggested Billina.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“The King is a villain,” declared the Scarecrow.</p> +<p>“His laugh is worse than another man’s frown,” +said the private, with a shudder.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“Thank you,” replied Tiktok.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<h2><a id="Ch_17" name="Ch_17"></a>17. The Scarecrow Wins the +Fight</h2> +<p class="returnTOC"><a href="#Contents">Return to Table of +Contents</a></p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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!”</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>“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.</p> +<p>“Don’t mind them!” cried the Nome King; +“they cannot leap beyond the places where they now +stand.”</p> +<p>“But they can bite those who attempt to touch the +girl,” said the captain.</p> +<p>“I’ll fix that,” answered the King. +“I’ll enchant them again, so that they can’t open +their jaws.”</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>“Ow! Murder! Treason!” yelled the King, who had been +hurled against several of his warriors and was considerably +bruised. “Who did that?”</p> +<p>“I did,” growled the Sawhorse, viciously. “You +let Dorothy alone, or I’ll kick you again.”</p> +<p>“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!”</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>“Well, well!” said the King, sitting up and looking +surprised. “Why didn’t my magic belt work, I +wonder?”</p> +<p>“The creature is made of wood,” replied the captain. +“Your magic will not work on wood, you know.”</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>“Surrender!” cried the King, in a loud voice. +“You are my prisoners.”</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“Do you surrender?” demanded the King.</p> +<p>Billina whispered something in the Scarecrow’s ear that +made him smile and put his hands in his jacket pockets.</p> +<p>“No!” returned Ozma, boldly answering the King. Then +she said to her army:</p> +<p>“Forward, my brave soldiers, and fight for your Ruler and +yourselves, unto death!”</p> +<p>“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?”</p> +<p>“Soldiers should not have heart disease,” said +Ozma.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“Do so,” replied Ozma.</p> +<p>“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.</p> +<p>And at that the private leveled his spear and dashed furiously +upon the foe.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>“Help, help!” screamed the King, clawing with his +fingers at the egg, in a struggle to remove it.</p> +<p>“An egg! an egg! Run for your lives!” shouted the +captain of the Nomes, in a voice of horror.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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:</p> +<p>“Get his belt! Get the Nome King’s jeweled belt! It +unbuckles in the back. Quick, Dorothy—quick!”</p> +<h2><a id="Ch_18" name="Ch_18"></a>18. The Fate of the Tin +Woodman</h2> +<p class="returnTOC"><a href="#Contents">Return to Table of +Contents</a></p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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:</p> +<p>“I’ll make you suffer for this, you hay-stuffed +dummy! Don’t you know eggs are poison to Nomes?”</p> +<p>“Really,” said the Scarecrow, “they +DON’T seem to agree with you, although I wonder +why.”</p> +<p>“They were strictly fresh and above suspicion,” said +Billina. “You ought to be glad to get them.”</p> +<p>“I’ll transform you all into scorpions!” cried +the King, angrily, and began waving his arms and muttering magic +words.</p> +<p>But none of the people became scorpions, so the King stopped and +looked at them in surprise.</p> +<p>“What’s wrong?” he asked.</p> +<p>“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?”</p> +<p>The Nome King clapped his hand to his waist, and his rock +colored face turned white as chalk.</p> +<p>“It’s gone,” he cried, helplessly. +“It’s gone, and I am ruined!”</p> +<p>Dorothy now stepped forward and said:</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“Nor I,” replied Dorothy, quickly. +“Wasn’t he in the palace?”</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“We will go back into the rooms,” said Dorothy. +“This magic belt, I am sure, will help us to find our dear +old friend.”</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>Sadly they returned to the throne room, where the King, seeing +that they had met with failure, jeered at Dorothy, saying:</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“I shall keep the belt,” said Dorothy.</p> +<p>“But how can you escape, without my consent?” asked +the King.</p> +<p>“Easily enough,” answered the girl. “All we +need to do is to walk out the way that we came in.”</p> +<p>“Oh, that’s all, is it?” sneered the King. +“Well, where is the passage through which you entered this +room?”</p> +<p>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:</p> +<p>“I command the passage to open!”</p> +<p>Instantly the order was obeyed; the opening appeared and the +passage lay plainly before them.</p> +<p>The King was amazed, and all the others overjoyed.</p> +<p>“Why, then, if the belt obeys you, were we unable to +discover the Tin Woodman?” asked Ozma.</p> +<p>“I can’t imagine,” said Dorothy.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>Dorothy hesitated, but Billina cried out:</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“A goose-egg!” echoed the horrified King. “How +dreadful!”</p> +<p>“Well, a goose-egg you will be unless you go and fetch us +the ornament we want,” declared Billina, with a joyful +chuckle.</p> +<p>“You can see for yourself that Dorothy is able to use the +magic belt all right,” added the Scarecrow.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>“He’s gone!” he said. “The Tin Woodman +is nowhere in the palace.”</p> +<p>“Are you sure?” asked Ozma, sternly.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>They were all silent for a time, and then Dorothy said:</p> +<p>“There is no use punishing the Nome King any more, and +I’m ’fraid we’ll have to go away without our +friend.”</p> +<p>“If he is not here, we cannot rescue him,” agreed +the Scarecrow, sadly. “Poor Nick! I wonder what has become of +him.”</p> +<p>“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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>The army went first, and then the royal family of Ev, and +afterward came Dorothy, Ozma, Billina, the Scarecrow and +Tiktok.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>“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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<h2><a id="Ch_19" name="Ch_19"></a>19. The King of Ev</h2> +<p class="returnTOC"><a href="#Contents">Return to Table of +Contents</a></p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“He was a fine fel-low,” replied Tiktok, +“al-though his ma-ter-i-al was not ve-ry +du-ra-ble.”</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“I some-times wish,” said Tiktok, “that I was +stuffed with straw, as you are. It is hard to be made of +cop-per.”</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>“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.</p> +<p>“That’s my whistle,” said Prince Evring, +holding it out upon his hand.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>“Where did you get it?” asked the yellow hen, +closely examining the toy with her bright eyes.</p> +<p>“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.</p> +<p>Billina laughed; or at least she made the peculiar cackle that +served her for a laugh.</p> +<p>“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!”</p> +<p>“What do you mean?” questioned Dorothy.</p> +<p>“Why, the Prince had him in his pocket,” cried +Billina, cackling again.</p> +<p>“I did not!” protested little Evring. “I only +took the whistle.”</p> +<p>“Well, then, watch me,” returned the hen, and +reaching out a claw she touched the whistle and said +“Ev.”</p> +<p>Swish!</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“I want my whistle!” said the little Prince, +beginning to cry.</p> +<p>“Hush!” cautioned Billina. “The whistle is +lost, but you may have another when you get home.”</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>Then the Queen took her eldest son out upon a balcony that +overlooked the crowd of subjects gathered below, and said to +them:</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>The people shouted their approval fifteen times, and even the +Wheelers, some of whom were present, loudly promised to obey the +new King.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<h2><a id="Ch_20" name="Ch_20"></a>20. The Emerald City</h2> +<p class="returnTOC"><a href="#Contents">Return to Table of +Contents</a></p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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:</p> +<p>“Why, it’s Jinjur—isn’t it!”</p> +<p>“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.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“Where is your husband?” asked Ozma.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>“I don’t remember that building,” said +Dorothy. “What is it?”</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>During the feast Ozma grew thoughtful, and suddenly she +asked:</p> +<p>“Where is the private?”</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“Let him be sent for,” said the girl ruler.</p> +<p>While they waited for this command to be obeyed, she +enquired:</p> +<p>“Have we any other privates in the armies?”</p> +<p>“Oh, yes,” replied the Tin Woodman, “I believe +there are three, altogether.”</p> +<p>The private now entered, saluting his officers and the royal +Ozma very respectfully.</p> +<p>“What is your name, my man?” asked the girl.</p> +<p>“Omby Amby,” answered the private.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“It is very expensive to hold so many offices,” said +the private, hesitating. “I have no money with which to buy +uniforms.”</p> +<p>“You shall be supplied from the royal treasury,” +said Ozma.</p> +<p>Then the private was given a seat at the table, where the other +officers welcomed him cordially, and the feasting and merriment +were resumed.</p> +<p>Suddenly Jellia Jamb exclaimed:</p> +<p>“There is nothing more to eat! The Hungry Tiger has +consumed everything!”</p> +<p>“But that is not the worst of it,” declared the +Tiger, mournfully. “Somewhere or somehow, I’ve actually +lost my appetite!”</p> +<h2><a id="Ch_21" name="Ch_21"></a>21. Dorothy’s Magic +Belt</h2> +<p class="returnTOC"><a href="#Contents">Return to Table of +Contents</a></p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>“How curious!” she exclaimed, after watching the +shifting scenes for a few moments.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“May I use it?” asked Dorothy, eagerly.</p> +<p>“Of course, my dear.”</p> +<p>“Then I’d like to see the old Kansas farm, and Aunt +Em,” said the girl.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>“Everything seems all right at home,” said Dorothy, +with a sigh of relief. “Now I wonder what Uncle Henry is +doing.”</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>“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!”</p> +<p>“How can you?” asked Ozma.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>Glinda received them graciously, and listened to Dorothy’s +story with attention.</p> +<p>“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?”</p> +<p>“I think so,” replied Glinda, with a smile.</p> +<p>“And then,” continued Dorothy, “if I ever +wanted to come back here again, the belt would bring me.”</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“What would become of it?” asked the girl.</p> +<p>“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?”</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“That is a wise plan,” replied Glinda.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>Billina, on the contrary, preferred the Land of Oz to any other +country, and refused to accompany Dorothy.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>“Uncle Henry needs me,” said Dorothy, simply; and +every one except Billina thought it was right that she should +go.</p> +<p>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:</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +<p>Uncle Henry smiled and cuddled his little niece close in his +lap.</p> +<p>“I’m better already, my darling,” said he.</p> +<hr class="full" /> +<pre> +This is the end of the Project Gutenberg Edition of Ozma of Oz +</pre> +</body> +</html> diff --git a/old/ozmoz10h.zip b/old/ozmoz10h.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..5f19843 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/ozmoz10h.zip diff --git a/old/ozmoz10l.lit b/old/ozmoz10l.lit Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..bd55aa8 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/ozmoz10l.lit diff --git a/old/ozmoz10l.zip b/old/ozmoz10l.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..6f910f1 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/ozmoz10l.zip diff --git a/old/ozmoz10p.prc b/old/ozmoz10p.prc Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..a896a04 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/ozmoz10p.prc diff --git a/old/ozmoz10p.zip b/old/ozmoz10p.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..c88726b --- /dev/null +++ b/old/ozmoz10p.zip |