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diff --git a/old/07woz10h.htm b/old/07woz10h.htm deleted file mode 100644 index e80f86e..0000000 --- a/old/07woz10h.htm +++ /dev/null @@ -1,8099 +0,0 @@ -<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"> -<html> -<head> -<title>The Patchwork Girl of Oz</title> -<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content= -"text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> -<style type="text/css"> -<!-- -body {margin:10%; text-align:justify} -blockquote {font-size:14pt} -P {font-size:14pt} ---> -</style> -</head> -<body> -*Project Gutenberg's Etext of The Patchwork Girl of Oz by Baum* -#7 in the L. Frank Baum's Wonderful World Of Oz Series We are now -naming the files as they are numbered in the books-i.e. This is -#7 in the series so the file name is 07wozxxx.xxx, where the x's -are place holders for editon # and file type such as 07woz10.txt -and 07woz10.zip, when we do a .htm, 07woz10h.htm <br> -<p>Copyright laws are changing all over the world, be sure to -check the copyright laws for your country before posting these -files!!<br> -</p> - -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. -<br> -<p>**Welcome To The World of Free Plain Vanilla Electronic -Texts**<br> -</p> - -**Etexts Readable By Both Humans and By Computers, Since 1971** -<br> -<p>*These Etexts Prepared By Hundreds of Volunteers and -Donations*<br> -</p> - -Information on contacting Project Gutenberg to get Etexts, and -further information is included below. 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If you don't derive profits, no -royalty is due. Royalties are payable to "Project Gutenberg -Association/Carnegie-Mellon University" within the 60 days -following each date you prepare (or were legally required to -prepare) your annual (or equivalent periodic) tax return. <br> -<p>WHAT IF YOU *WANT* TO SEND MONEY EVEN IF YOU DON'T HAVE TO? -The Project gratefully accepts contributions in money, time, -scanning machines, OCR software, public domain etexts, royalty -free copyright licenses, and every other sort of contribution you -can think of. Money should be paid to "Project Gutenberg -Association / Carnegie-Mellon University".<br> -</p> - -*END*THE SMALL PRINT! FOR PUBLIC DOMAIN ETEXTS*Ver.04.29.93*END* -<br> -<p><br> -</p> - -<br><br><br> -<h1>THE PATCHWORK GIRL OF OZ</h1> - -<br><br> - -<h2>By L. FRANK BAUM</h2> - - <br><br><br><br> - - -<p>Affectionately dedicated to my young friend Sumner Hamilton -Britton of Chicago<br> -</p> -<br> -<h1 id="ref_1">Prologue<br> -</h1> - -<p>Through the kindness of Dorothy Gale of Kansas, afterward -Princess Dorothy of Oz, an humble writer in the United States of -America was once appointed Royal Historian of Oz, with the -privilege of writing the chronicle of that wonderful fairyland. -But after making six books about the adventures of those -interesting but queer people who live in the Land of Oz, the -Historian learned with sorrow that by an edict of the Supreme -Ruler, Ozma of Oz, her country would thereafter be rendered -invisible to all who lived outside its borders and that all -communication with Oz would, in the future, be cut off.<br> -</p> - -The children who had learned to look for the books about Oz and -who loved the stories about the gay and happy people inhabiting -that favored country, were as sorry as their Historian that there -would be no more books of Oz stories. They wrote many letters -asking if the Historian did not know of some adventures to write -about that had happened before the Land of Oz was shut out from -all the rest of the world. But he did not know of any. Finally -one of the children inquired why we couldn't hear from Princess -Dorothy by wireless telegraph, which would enable her to -communicate to the Historian whatever happened in the far-off -Land of Oz without his seeing her, or even knowing just where Oz -is. <br> -<p>That seemed a good idea; so the Historian rigged up a high -tower in his back yard, and took lessons in wireless telegraphy -until he understood it, and then began to call "Princess Dorothy -of Oz" by sending messages into the air.<br> -</p> - -Now, it wasn't likely that Dorothy would be looking for wireless -messages or would heed the call; but one thing the Historian was -sure of, and that was that the powerful Sorceress, Glinda, would -know what he was doing and that he desired to communicate with -Dorothy. For Glinda has a big book in which is recorded every -event that takes place anywhere in the world, just the moment -that it happens, and so of course the book would tell her about -the wireless message. <br> -<p>And that was the way Dorothy heard that the Historian wanted -to speak with her, and there was a Shaggy Man in the Land of Oz -who knew how to telegraph a wireless reply. The result was that -the Historian begged so hard to be told the latest news of Oz, so -that he could write it down for the children to read, that -Dorothy asked permission of Ozma and Ozma graciously -consented.<br> -</p> - -That is why, after two long years of waiting, another Oz story is -now presented to the children of America. This would not have -been possible had not some clever man invented the "wireless" and -an equally clever child suggested the idea of reaching the -mysterious Land of Oz by its means. <br> -<p>L. Frank Baum.<br> -</p> - -"OZCOT" at Hollywood in California <br> -<p><br> -</p> - -The Patchwork Girl of Oz <br> -<h1 id="ref_2">Chapter One</h1> - -<br> -Ojo and Unc Nunkie <br> -<p>"Where's the butter, Unc Nunkie?" asked Ojo.<br> -</p> - -Unc looked out of the window and stroked his long beard. Then he -turned to the Munchkin boy and shook his head. <br> -<p>"Isn't," said he.<br> -</p> - -"Isn't any butter? That's too bad, Unc. Where's the jam then?" -inquired Ojo, standing on a stool so he could look through all -the shelves of the cupboard. But Unc Nunkie shook his head again. -<br> -<p>"Gone," he said.<br> -</p> - -"No jam, either? And no cake--no jelly--no apples--nothing but -bread?" <br> -<p>"All," said Unc, again stroking his beard as he gazed from the -window.<br> -</p> - -The little boy brought the stool and sat be side his uncle, -munching the dry bread slowly and seeming in deep thought. <br> -<p>"Nothing grows in our yard but the bread tree," he mused, "and -there are only two more loaves on that tree; and they're not ripe -yet. Tell me, Unc; why are we so poor?"<br> -</p> - -The old Munchkin turned and looked at Ojo. He had kindly eyes, -but he hadn't smiled or laughed in so long that the boy had -forgotten that Unc Nunkie could look any other way than solemn. -And Unc never spoke any more words than he was obliged to, so his -little nephew, who lived alone with him, had learned to -understand a great deal from one word. <br> -<p>"Why are we so poor, Unc?" repeated the<br> -</p> - -"Not," said the old Munchkin. <br> -<p>"I think we are," declared Ojo. "What have we got?"<br> -</p> - -"House," said Unc Nunkie. <br> -<p>"I know; but everyone in the Land of Oz has a place to live. -What else, Unc?"<br> -</p> - -"Bread." <br> -<p>"I'm eating the last loaf that's ripe. There; I've put aside -your share, Unc. It's on the table, so you can eat it when you -get hungry. But when that is gone, what shall we eat, Unc?"<br> -</p> - -The old man shifted in his chair but merely shook his head. <br> -<p>"Of course," said Ojo, who was obliged to talk because his -uncle would not, "no one starves in the Land of Oz, either. There -is plenty for everyone, you know; only, if it isn't just where -you happen to be, you must go where it is."<br> -</p> - -The aged Munchkin wriggled again and stared at his small nephew -as if disturbed by his argument. <br> -<p>"By tomorrow morning," the boy went on, we must go where there -is something to eat, or we shall grow very hungry and become very -unhappy."<br> -</p> - -"Where?" asked Unc. <br> -<p>"Where shall we go? I don't know, I'm sure," replied Ojo. "But -you must know, Unc. You must have traveled, in your time, because -you're so old. I don't remember it, because ever since I could -remember anything we've lived right here in this lonesome, round -house, with a little garden back of it and the thick woods all -around. All I've ever seen of the great Land of Oz, Unc dear, is -the view of that mountain over at the south, where they say the -Hammerheads live--who won't let anybody go by them--and that -mountain at the north, where they say nobody lives."<br> -</p> - -"One," declared Unc, correcting him. <br> -<p>"Oh, yes; one family lives there, I've heard. That's the -Crooked Magician, who is named Dr. Pipt, and his wife Margolotte. -One year you told me about them; I think it took you a whole -year, Unc, to say as much as I've just said about the Crooked -Magician and his wife. They live high up on the mountain, and the -good Munchkin Country, where the fruits and flowers grow, is just -the other side. It's funny you and I should live here all alone, -in the middle of the forest, Isn't it?"<br> -</p> - -"Yes," said Unc. <br> -<p>"Then let's go away and visit the Munchkin Country and its -jolly, good-natured people. I'd love to get a sight of something -besides woods, Unc Nunkie."<br> -</p> - -"Too little," said Unc. <br> -<p>"Why, I'm not so little as I used to be," answered the boy -earnestly. "I think I can walk as far and as fast through the -woods as you can, Unc. And now that nothing grows in our back -yard that is good to eat, we must go where there is food."<br> -</p> - -Unc Nunkie made no reply for a time. Then he shut down the window -and turned his chair to face the room, for the sun was sinking -behind the tree-tops and it was growing cool. <br> -<p>By and by Ojo lighted the fire and the logs blazed freely in -the broad fireplace. The two sat in the firelight a long -time--the old, whitebearded Munchkin and the little boy. Both -were thinking. When it grew quite dark out-side, Ojo said:<br> -</p> - -"Eat your bread, Unc, and then we will go to bed." <br> -<p>But Unc Nunkie did not eat the bread; neither did he go -directly to bed. Long after his little nephew was sound asleep in -the corner of the room the old man sat by the fire, thinking.<br> -</p> - -<br> -<h1 id="ref_3">Chapter Two</h1> - -<br> -The Crooked Magician <br> -<p>Just at dawn next morning Unc Nunkie laid his hand tenderly on -Ojo's head and awakened him.<br> -</p> - -"Come," he said. <br> -<p>Ojo dressed. He wore blue silk stockings, blue knee pants with -gold buckles, a blue ruffled waist and a jacket of bright blue -braided with gold. His shoes were of blue leather and turned up -at the toes, which were pointed. His hat had a peaked crown and a -flat brim, and around the brim was a row of tiny golden bells -that tinkled when he moved. This was the native costume of those -who inhabited the Munchkin Country of the Land of Oz, so Unc -Nunkie's dress was much like that of his nephew. Instead of -shoes, the old man wore boots with turnover tops and his blue -coat had wide cuffs of gold braid.<br> -</p> - -The boy noticed that his uncle had not eaten the bread, and -supposed the old man had not been hungry. Ojo was hungry, though; -so he divided the piece of bread upon the table and ate his half -for breakfast, washing it down with fresh, cool water from the -brook. Unc put the other piece of bread in his jacket pocket, -after which he again said, as he walked out through the doorway: -"Come." <br> -<p>Ojo was well pleased. He was dreadfully tired of living all -alone in the woods and wanted to travel and see people. For a -long time he had wished to explore the beautiful Land of Oz in -which they lived. When they were outside, Unc simply latched the -door and started up the path. No one would disturb their little -house, even if anyone came so far into the thick forest while -they were gone.<br> -</p> - -At the foot of the mountain that separated the Country of the -Munchkins from the Country of the Gillikins, the path divided. -One way led to the left and the other to the right--straight up -the mountain. Unc Nunkie took this right--hand path and Ojo -followed without asking why. He knew it would take them to the -house of the Crooked Magician, whom he had never seen but who was -their nearest neighbor. <br> -<p>All the morning they trudged up the mountain path and at noon -Unc and Ojo sat on a fallen tree-trunk and ate the last of the -bread which the old Munchkin had placed in his pocket. Then they -started on again and two hours later came in sight of the house -of Dr. Pipt.<br> -</p> - -It was a big house, round, as were all the Munchkin houses, and -painted blue, which is the distinctive color of the Munchkin -Country of Oz. There was a pretty garden around the house, where -blue trees and blue flowers grew in abundance and in one place -were beds of blue cabbages, blue carrots and blue lettuce, all of -which were delicious to eat. In Dr. Pipt's garden grew buntrees, -cake-trees, cream-puff bushes, blue buttercups which yielded -excellent blue butter and a row of chocolate-caramel plants. -Paths of blue gravel divided the vegetable and flower beds and a -wider path led up to the front door. The place was in a clearing -on the mountain, but a little way off was the grim forest, which -completely surrounded it. <br> -<p>Unc knocked at the door of the house and a chubby, -pleasant-faced woman, dressed all in blue, opened it and greeted -the visitors with a smile.<br> -</p> - -"Ah," said Ojo; "you must be Dame Margolotte, the good wife of -Dr. Pipt." <br> -<p>"I am, my dear, and all strangers are welcome to my home."<br> -</p> - -"May we see the famous Magician, Madam?" <br> -<p>"He is very busy just now," she said, shaking her head -doubtfully. "But come in and let me give you something to eat, -for you must have traveled far in order to get our lonely -place."<br> -</p> - -"We have," replied Ojo, as he and Unc entered the house. "We have -come from a far lonelier place than this." <br> -<p>"A lonelier place! And in the Munchkin Country?" she -exclaimed. "Then it must be somewhere in the Blue Forest."<br> -</p> - -"It is, good Dame Margolotte." <br> -<p>"Dear me!" she said, looking at the man, "you must be Unc -Nunkie, known as the Silent One." Then she looked at the boy. -"And you must be Ojo the Unlucky," she added.<br> -</p> - -"Yes," said Unc. <br> -<p>"I never knew I was called the Unlucky," said Ojo, soberly; -"but it is really a good name for me."<br> -</p> - -"Well," remarked the woman, as she bustled around the room and -set the table and brought food from the cupboard, "you were -unlucky to live all alone in that dismal forest, which is much -worse than the forest around here; but perhaps your luck will -change, now you are away from it. If, during your travels, you -can manage to lose that 'Un' at the beginning of your name -Unlucky,' you will then become Ojo the Lucky, which will be a -great improvement." <br> -<p>"How can I lose that 'Un,' Dame Margolotte?"<br> -</p> - -"I do not know how, but you must keep the matter in mind and -perhaps the chance will come to you," she replied. <br> -<p>Ojo had never eaten such a fine meal in all his life. There -was a savory stew, smoking hot, a dish of blue peas, a bowl of -sweet milk of a delicate blue tint and a blue pudding with blue -plums in it. When the visitors had eaten heartily of this fare -the woman said to them:<br> -</p> - -"Do you wish to see Dr. Pipt on business or for pleasure?" <br> -<p>Unc shook his head.<br> -</p> - -"We are traveling," replied Ojo, "and we stopped at your house -just to rest and refresh ourselves. I do not think Unc Nunkie -cares very much to see the famous Crooked Magician; but for my -part I am curious to look at such a great man. <br> -<p>The woman seemed thoughtful.<br> -</p> - -"I remember that Unc Nunkie and my husband used to be friends, -many years ago," she said, "so perhaps they will be glad to meet -again. The Magician is very busy, as I said, but if you will -promise not to disturb him you may come into his workshop and -watch him prepare a wonderful charm." <br> -<p>"Thank you," replied the boy, much pleased. "I would like to -do that."<br> -</p> - -She led the way to a great domed hall at the back of the house, -which was the Magician's workshop. There was a row of windows -extending nearly around the sides of the circular room, which -rendered the place very light, and there was a back door in -addition to the one leading to the front part of the house. -Before the row of windows a broad seat was built and there were -some chairs and benches in the room besides. At one end stood a -great fireplace, in which a blue log was blazing with a blue -flame, and over the fire hung four kettles in a row, all bubbling -and steaming at a great rate. The Magician was stirring all four -of these kettles at the same time, two with his hands and two -with his feet, to the latter, wooden ladles being strapped, for -this man was so very crooked that his legs were as handy as his -arms. <br> -<p>Unc Nunkie came forward to greet his old friend, but not being -able to shake either his hands or his feet, which were all -occupied in stirring, he patted the Magician's bald head and -asked: "What?"<br> -</p> - -"Ah, it's the Silent One," remarked Dr. Pipt, without looking up, -"and he wants to know what I'm making. Well, when it is quite -finished this compound will be the wonderful Powder of Life, -which no one knows how to make but myself. Whenever it is -sprinkled on anything, that thing will at once come to life, no -matter what it is. It takes me several years to make this magic -Powder, but at this moment I am pleased to say it is nearly done. -You see, I am making it for my good wife Margolotte, who wants to -use some of it for a purpose of her own. Sit down and make -yourself comfortable, Unc Nunkie, and after I've finished my task -I will talk to you. <br> -<p>"You must know," said Margolottte, when they were all seated -together on the broad window-seat, "that my husband foolishly -gave away all the Powder of Life he first made to old Mombi the -Witch, who used to live in the Country of the Gillikins, to the -north of here. Mombi gave to Dr. Pipt a Powder of Perpetual Youth -in exchange for his Powder of Life, but she cheated him wickedly, -for the Powder of Youth was no good and could work no magic at -all."<br> -</p> - -"Perhaps the Powder of Life couldn't either," said Ojo. <br> -<p>"Yes; it is perfection," she declared. "The first lot we -tested on our Glass Cat, which not only began to live but has -lived ever since. She's somewhere around the house now."<br> -</p> - -"A Glass Cat!" exclaimed Ojo, astonished. <br> -<p>"Yes; she makes a very pleasant companion, but admires herself -a little more than is considered modest, and she positively -refuses to catch mice," explained Margolotte. "My husband made -the cat some pink brains, but they proved to be too highbred and -particular for a cat, so she thinks it is undignified in her to -catch mice. Also she has a pretty blood-red heart, but it is made -of stone--a ruby, I think--and so is rather hard and unfeeling. I -think the next Class Cat the Magician makes will have neither -brains nor heart, for then it will not object to catching mice -and may prove of some use to us."<br> -</p> - -"What did old Mombi the Witch do with the Powder of Life your -husband gave her?" asked the boy. <br> -<p>"She brought Jack Pumpkinhead to life, for one thing," was the -reply. "I suppose you've heard of jack Pumpkinhead. He is now -living near the Emerald City and is a great favorite with the -Princess Ozma, who rules all the Land of Oz."<br> -</p> - -"No; I've never heard of him," remarked Ojo. "I'm afraid I don't -know much about the Land of Oz. You see, I've lived all my life -with Unc Nunkie, the Silent One, and there was no one to tell me -anything." <br> -<p>"That is one reason you are Ojo the Unlucky," said the woman, -in a sympathetic tone. "The more one knows, the luckier he is, -for knowledge is the greatest gift in life."<br> -</p> - -"But tell me, please, what you intend to do With this new lot of -the Powder of Life, which Dr. Pipt is making. He said his wife -wanted it for some especial purpose. <br> -<p>"So I do," she answered. "I want it to bring my Patchwork Girl -to life."<br> -</p> - -"Oh! A Patchwork Girl? What is that?" Ojo asked, for this seemed -even more strange and unusual than a Glass Cat. <br> -<p>"I think I must show you my Patchwork Girl," said Margolotte, -laughing at the boy's astonishment, "for she is rather difficult -to explain. But first I will tell you that for many years I have -longed for a servant to help me with the housework and to cook -the meals and wash the dishes. No servant will come here because -the place is so lonely and out-of-the-way, so my clever husband, -the Crooked Magician, proposed that I make a girl out of some -sort of material and he would make her live by sprinkling over -her the Powder of Life. This seemed an excellent suggestion and -at once Dr. Pipt set to work to make a new batch of his magic -powder. He has been at it a long, long while, and so I have had -plenty of time to make the girl. Yet that task was not so easy as -you may suppose. At first I couldn't think what to make her of, -but finally in searching through a chest I came across an old -patchwork quilt, which my grandmother once made when she was -young.<br> -</p> - -"What is a patchwork quilt?" asked Ojo. <br> -<p>"A bed-quilt made of patches of different kinds and colors of -cloth, all neatly sewed together. The patches are of all shapes -and sizes, so a patchwork quilt is a very pretty and gorgeous -thing to look at. Sometimes it is called a 'crazyquilt,' because -the patches and colors are so mixed up. We never have used my -grand-mother's manycolored patchwork quilt, hand-some as it is, -for we Munchkins do not care for any color other than blue, so it -has been packed away in the chest for about a hundred years. When -I found it, I said to myself that it would do nicely for my -servant girl, for when she was brought to life she would not be -proud nor haughty, as the Glass Cat is, for such a dreadful -mixture of colors would discourage her from trying to, be as -dignified as the blue Munchkins are.<br> -</p> - -"Is blue the only respectable color, then?" inquired Ojo. <br> -<p>"Yes, for a Munchkin. All our country is blue, you know. But -in other parts of Oz the people favor different colors. At the -Emerald City, where our Princess Ozma lives, green is the popular -color. But all Munchkins prefer blue to anything else and when my -housework girl is brought to life she will find herself to be of -so many unpopular colors that she'll never dare be rebellious or -impudent, as servants are sometimes liable to be when they are -made the same way their mistresses are."<br> -</p> - -Unc Nunkie nodded approval. <br> -<p>"Good idea," he said; and that was a long speech for Unc -Nunkie because it was two words.<br> -</p> - -"So I cut up the quilt," continued Margolotte, "and made from it -a very well-shaped girl, which I stuffed with cotton-wadding. I -will show you what a good job I did," and she went to a tall -cupboard and threw open the doors. <br> -<p>Then back she came, lugging in her arms the Patchwork Girl, -which she set upon the bench and propped up so that the figure -would not tumble over.<br> -</p> - -<br> -<h1 id="ref_4">Chapter Three</h1> - -<br> -The Patchwork Girl <br> -<p>Ojo examined this curious contrivance with wonder. The -Patchwork Girl was taller than he, when she stood upright, and -her body was plump and rounded because it had been so neatly -stuffed with cotton. Margolotte had first made the girl's form -from the patchwork quilt and then she had dressed it with a -patchwork skirt and an apron with pockets in it-using the same -gay material throughout. Upon the feet she had sewn a pair of red -leather shoes with pointed toes. All the fingers and thumbs of -the girl's hands had been carefully formed and stuffed and -stitched at the edges, with gold plates at the ends to serve as -finger-nails.<br> -</p> - -"She will have to work, when she comes to life," said Marglotte. -<br> -<p>The head of the Patchwork Girl was the most curious part of -her. While she waited for her husband to finish making his Powder -of Life the woman had found ample time to complete the head as -her fancy dictated, and she realized that a good servant's head -must be properly constructed. The hair was of brown yarn and hung -down on her neck in several neat braids. Her eyes were two silver -suspender-buttons cut from a pair of the Magician's old trousers, -and they were sewed on with black threads, which formed the -pupils of the eyes. Margolotte had puzzled over the ears for some -time, for these were important if the servant was to hear -distinctly, but finally she had made them out of thin plates of -gold and attached them in place by means of stitches through tiny -holes bored in the metal. Gold is the most common metal in the -Land of Oz and is used for many purposes because it is soft and -pliable.<br> -</p> - -The woman had cut a slit for the Patchwork Girl's mouth and sewn -two rows of white pearls in it for teeth, using a strip of -scarlet plush for a tongue. This mouth Ojo considered very -artistic and lifelike, and Margolotte was pleased when the boy -praised it. There were almost too many patches on the face of the -girl for her to be considered strictly beautiful, for one cheek -was yellow and the other red, her chin blue, her forehead purple -and the center, where her nose had been formed and padded, a -bright yellow. <br> -<p>"You ought to have had her face all pink," suggested the -boy.<br> -</p> - -"I suppose so; but I had no pink cloth," replied the woman. -"Still, I cannot see as it matters much, for I wish my Patchwork -Girl to be useful rather than ornamental. If I get tired looking -at her patched face I can whitewash it." <br> -<p>"Has she any brains?" asked Ojo.<br> -</p> - -"No; I forgot all about the brains!" exclaimed the woman. "I am -glad you reminded me of them, for it is not too late to supply -them, by any means. Until she is brought to life I can do -anything I please with this girl. But I must be careful not to -give her too much brains, and those she has must be such as are -fitted to the station she is to occupy in life. In other words, -her brains mustn't be very good." <br> -<p>"Wrong," said Unc Nunkie.<br> -</p> - -"No; I am sure I am right about that," returned the woman. <br> -<p>"He means," explained Ojo, "that unless your servant has good -brains she won't know how to obey you properly, nor do the things -you ask her to do."<br> -</p> - -"Well, that may be true," agreed Margolotte; "but, on the -contrary, a servant with too much brains is sure to become -independent and highand-mighty and feel above her work. This is a -very delicate task, as I said, and I must take care to give the -girl just the right quantity of the right sort of brains. I want -her to know just enough, but not too much." <br> -<p>With this she went to another cupboard which was filled With -shelves. All the shelves were lined With blue glass bottles, -neatly labeled by the Magician to show what they contained. One -whole shelf was marked: "Brain Furniture," and the bottles on -this shelf were labeled as follows: "Obedience," "Cleverness," -"Judgment," "Courage," "Ingenuity," "Amiability," "Learning," -"Truth," "Poesy," "Self Reliance."<br> -</p> - -"Let me see," said Margolotte; "of those qualities she must have -'Obedience' first of all," and she took down the bottle bearing -that label and poured from it upon a dish several grains of the -contents. "'Amiability' is also good and 'Truth.'" She poured -into the dish a quantity from each of these bottles. "I think -that will do," she continued, "for the other qualities are not -needed in a servant." <br> -<p>Unc Nunkie, who with Ojo stood beside her, touched the bottle -marked "Cleverness."<br> -</p> - -"Little," said he. <br> -<p>"A little 'Cleverness'? Well, perhaps you are right, sir," -said she, and was about to take down the bottle when the Crooked -Magician suddenly called to her excitedly from the fireplace.<br> -</p> - -"Quick, Margolotte! Come and help me." <br> -<p>She ran to her husband's side at once and helped him lift the -four kettles from the fire. Their contents had all boiled away, -leaving in the bottom of each kettle a few grains of fine white -powder. Very carefully the Magician removed this powder, placing -it all together in a golden dish, where he mixed it with a golden -spoon. When the mixture was complete there was scarcely a -handful, all told.<br> -</p> - -"That," said Dr. Pipt, in a pleased and triumphant tone, "is the -wonderful Powder of Life, which I alone in the world know how to -make. It has taken me nearly six years to prepare these precious -grains of dust, but the little heap on that dish is worth the -price of a kingdom and many a king would give all he has to -possess it. When it has become cooled I will place it in a small -bottle; but meantime I must watch it carefully, lest a gust of -wind blow it away or scatter it.' <br> -<p>Unc Nunkie, Margolotte and the Magician all stood looking at -the marvelous Powder, but Ojo was more interested just then in -the Patchwork Girl's brains. Thinking it both unfair and unkind -to deprive her of any good qualities that were handy, the boy -took down every bottle on the shelf and poured some of the -contents in Margolotte's dish. No one saw him do this, for all -were looking at the Powder of Life; but soon the woman remembered -what she had been doing, and came back to the cupboard.<br> -</p> - -"Let's see," she remarked; "I was about to give my girl a little -'Cleverness,' which is the Doctor's substitute for -'Intelligence'--a quality he has not yet learned how to -manufacture." Taking down the bottle of "Cleverness" she added -some of the powder to the heap on the dish. Ojo became a bit -uneasy at this, for he had already put quite a lot of the -"Cleverness" powder in the dish; but he dared not interfere and -so he comforted himself with the thought that one cannot have too -much cleverness. <br> -<p>Margolotte now carried the dish of brains to the bench. -Ripping the seam of the patch on the girl's forehead, she placed -the powder within the head and then sewed up the seam as neatly -and securely as before.<br> -</p> - -"My girl is all ready for your Powder of Life, my dear," she said -to her husband. But the Magician replied: <br> -<p>"This powder must not be used before tomorrow morning; but I -think it is now cool enough to be bottled."<br> -</p> - -He selected a small gold bottle with a pepperbox top, so that the -powder might be sprinkled on any object through the small holes. -Very carefully he placed the Powder of Life in the gold bottle -and then locked it up in a drawer of his cabinet. <br> -<p>"At last," said he, rubbing his hands together gleefully, "I -have ample leisure for a good talk with my old friend Unc Nunkie. -So let us sit down cosily and enjoy ourselves. After stirring -those four kettles for six years I am glad to have a little -rest."<br> -</p> - -"You will have to do most of the talking," said Ojo, "for Unc is -called the Silent One and uses few words." <br> -<p>"I know; but that renders your uncle a most agreeable -companion and gossip," declared Dr. Pipt. "Most people talk too -much, so it is a relief to find one who talks too little."<br> -</p> - -Ojo looked at the Magician with much awe and curiosity. <br> -<p>"Don't you find it very annoying to be so crooked?" he -asked.<br> -</p> - -"No; I am quite proud of my person," was the reply. "I suppose I -am the only Crooked Magician in all the world. Some others are -accused of being crooked, but I am the only genuine." <br> -<p>He was really very crooked and Ojo wondered how he managed to -do so many things with such a twisted body. When he sat down upon -a crooked chair that had been made to fit him, one knee was under -his chin and the other near the small of his back; but he was a -cheerful man and his face bore a pleasant and agreeable -expression.<br> -</p> - -"I am not allowed to perform magic, except for my own amusement," -he told his visitors, as he lighted a pipe with a crooked stem -and began to smoke. "Too many people were working magic in the -Land of Oz, and so our lovely Princess Ozma put a stop to it. I -think she was quite right. There were several wicked Witches who -caused a lot of trouble; but now they are all out of business and -only the great Sorceress, Glinda the Good, is permitted to -practice her arts, which never harm anybody. The Wizard of Oz, -who used to be a humbug and knew no magic at all, has been taking -lessons of Glinda, and I'm told he is getting to be a pretty good -Wizard; but he is merely the assistant of the great Sorceress. -I've the right to make a servant girl for my wife, you know, or a -Glass Cat to catch our mice--which she refuses to do--but I am -forbidden to work magic for others, or to use it as a -profession." <br> -<p>"Magic must be a very interesting study," said Ojo.<br> -</p> - -"It truly is," asserted the Magician. "In my time I've performed -some magical feats that were worthy of the skill of Glinda the -Good. For instance, there's the Powder of Life, and my Liquid of -Petrifaction, which is contained in that bottle on the shelf -yonder-over the window." <br> -<p>"What does the Liquid of Petrifaction do?" inquired the -boy.<br> -</p> - -"Turns everything it touches to solid marble. It's an invention -of my own, and I find it very useful. Once two of those dreadful -Kalidahs, with bodies like bears and heads like tigers, came here -from the forest to attack us; but I sprinkled some of that Liquid -on them and instantly they turned to marble. I now use them as -ornamental statuary in my garden. This table looks to you like -wood, and once it really was wood; but I sprinkled a few drops of -the Liquid of Petrifaction on it and now it is marble. It will -never break nor wear out. <br> -<p>"Fine!" said Unc Nunkie, wagging his head and stroking his -long gray beard.<br> -</p> - -"Dear me; what a chatterbox you're getting to be, Unc," remarked -the Magician, who was pleased with the compliment. But just then -there came a scratching at the back door and a shrill voice -cried: <br> -<p>"Let me in! Hurry up, can't you? Let me in!"<br> -</p> - -Margolotte got up and went to the door. <br> -<p>"Ask like a good cat, then," she said.<br> -</p> - -"Meeee-ow-w-w! There; does that suit your royal highness?" asked -the voice, in scornful accents. <br> -<p>"Yes; that's proper cat talk," declared the woman, and opened -the door. At once a cat entered, came to the center of the room -and stopped short at the sight of strangers. Ojo and Unc Nunkie -both stared at it with wide open eyes, for surely no such curious -creature had ever existed before-even in the Land of Oz.<br> -</p> - -<br> -<h1 id="ref_5">Chapter Four</h1> - -<br> -The Glass Cat <br> -<p>The cat was made of glass, so clear and transparent that you -could see through it as easily as through a window. In the top of -its head, however, Was a mass of delicate pink balls which looked -like jewels, and it had a heart made of a blood-red ruby. The -eyes were two large emeralds, but aside from these colors all the -rest of the animal was clear glass, and it had a spunglass tail -that was really beautiful.<br> -</p> - -"Well, Doc Pipt, do you mean to introduce us, or not?" demanded -the cat, in a tone of annoyance. "Seems to me you are forgetting -your manners." <br> -<p>"Excuse me," returned the Magician. "This is Unc Nunkie, the -descendant of the former kings of the Munchkins, before this -country be came a part of the Land of Oz."<br> -</p> - -"He needs a haircut," observed the cat, washing its face. <br> -<p>"True," replied Unc, with a low chuckle of amusement.<br> -</p> - -"But he has lived alone in the heart of the forest for many -years," the Magician explained; "and, although that is a -barbarous country, there are no barbers there." <br> -<p>"Who is the dwarf?" asked the cat.<br> -</p> - -"That is not a dwarf, but a boy," answered the Magician. "You -have never seen a boy before. He is now small because he is -young. With more years he will grow big and become as tall as Unc -Nunkie." <br> -<p>"Oh. Is that magic?" the glass animal inquired.<br> -</p> - -"Yes; but it is Nature's magic, which is more wonderful than any -art known to man. For instance, my magic made you, and made you -live; and it was a poor job because you are useless and a bother -to me; but I can't make you grow. You will always be the same -size--and the same saucy, inconsiderate Glass Cat, with pink -brains and a hard ruby heart." <br> -<p>"No one can regret more than I the fact that you made me," -asserted the cat, crouching upon the floor and slowly swaying its -spun-glass tail from side to side. "Your world is a very -uninteresting place. I've wandered through your gardens and in -the forest until I'm tired of it all, and when I come into the -house the conversation of your fat wife and of yourself bores me -dreadfully."<br> -</p> - -"That is because I gave you different brains from those we -ourselves possess--and much too good for a cat," returned Dr. -Pipt. <br> -<p>"Can't you take 'em out, then, and replace em with pebbles, so -that I won't feel above my station in life?" asked the cat, -pleadingly.<br> -</p> - -"Perhaps so. I'll try it, after I've brought the Patchwork Girl -to life," he said. <br> -<p>The cat walked up to the bench on which the Patchwork Girl -reclined and looked at her attentively.<br> -</p> - -"Are you going to make that dreadful thing live?" she asked. <br> -<p>The Magician nodded.<br> -</p> - -"It is intended to be my wife's servant maid," he said. "When she -is alive she will do all our work and mind the house. But you are -not to order her around, Bungle, as you do us. You must treat the -Patchwork Girl respectfully." <br> -<p>"I won't. I couldn't respect such a bundle of scraps under any -circumstances."<br> -</p> - -"If you don't, there will be more scraps than you will like," -cried Margolotte, angrily. <br> -<p>"Why didn't you make her pretty to look at?" asked the cat. -"You made me pretty--very pretty, indeed--and I love to watch my -pink brains roll around when they're working, and to see my -precious red heart beat." She went to a long mirror, as she said -this, and stood before it, looking at herself with an air of much -pride. "But that poor patched thing will hate herself, when she's -once alive," continued the cat. "If I were you I'd use her for a -mop, and make another servant that is prettier."<br> -</p> - -"You have a perverted taste," snapped Margolotte, much annoyed at -this frank criticism. "I think the Patchwork Girl is beautiful, -considering what she's made of. Even the rainbow hasn't as many -colors, and you must admit that the rainbow is a pretty thing." -<br> -<p>The Glass Cat yawned and stretched herself upon the floor.<br> -</p> - -"Have your own way," she said. "I'm sorry for the Patchwork Girl, -that's all." <br> -<p>Ojo and Unc Nunkie slept that night in the Magician's house, -and the boy was glad to stay because he was anxious to see the -Patchwork Girl brought to life. The Glass Cat was also a -wonderful creature to little Ojo, who had never seen or known -anything of magic before, although he had lived in the Fairyland -of Oz ever since he was born. Back there in the woods nothing -unusual ever happened. Unc Nunkie, who might have been King of -the Munchkins, had not his people united with all the other -countries of Oz in acknowledging Ozma as their Sole ruler, had -retired into this forgotten forest nook with his baby nephew and -they had lived all alone there. Only that the neglected garden -had failed to grow food for them, they would always have lived in -the solitary Blue Forest; but now they had started out to mingle -with other people, and the first place they came to proved so -interesting that Ojo could scarcely sleep a wink all night.<br> -</p> - -Margolotte was an excellent cook and gave them a fine breakfast. -While they were all engaged in eating, the good woman said: <br> -<p>"This is the last meal I shall have to cook for some time, for -right after breakfast Dr. Pipt has promised to bring my new -servant to life. I shall let her wash the breakfast dishes and -sweep and dust the house. What a relief it will be!"<br> -</p> - -"It will, indeed, relieve you of much drudgery," said the -Magician. "By the way, Margolotte, I thought I saw you getting -some brains from the cupboard, while I was busy with my kettles. -What qualities have you given your new servant?" <br> -<p>"Only those that an humble servant requires," she answered. "I -do not wish her to feel above her station, as the Glass Cat does. -That would make her discontented and unhappy, for of course she -must always be a servant."<br> -</p> - -Ojo was somewhat disturbed as he listened to this, and the boy -began to fear he had done wrong in adding all those different -qualities of brains to the lot Margolotte had prepared for the -servant. But it was too late now for regret, since all the brains -were securely sewn up inside the Patchwork Girl's head. He might -have confessed what he had done and thus allowed Margolotte and -her husband to change the brains; but he was afraid of incurring -their anger. He believed that Unc had seen him add to the brains, -and Unc had not said a word against it; but then, Unc never did -say anything unless it was absolutely necessary. <br> -<p>As soon as breakfast was over they all went into the -Magician's big workshop, where the Glass Cat was lying before the -mirror and the Patchwork Girl lay limp and lifeless upon the -bench.<br> -</p> - -"Now, then," said Dr. Pipt, in a brisk tone, "we shall perform -one of the greatest feats of magic possible to man, even in this -marvelous Land of Oz. In no other country could it be done at -all. I think we ought to have a little music while the Patchwork -Girl comes to life. It is pleasant to reflect that the first -sounds her golden ears will hear will be delicious music. <br> -<p>As he spoke he went to a phonograph, which screwed fast to a -small table, and wound up the spring of the instrument and -adjusted the big gold horn.<br> -</p> - -"The music my servant will usually hear," remarked Margolotte, -"will be my orders to do her work. But I see no harm in allowing -her to listen to this unseen band while she wakens to her first -realization of life. My orders will beat the band, afterward." -<br> -<p>The phonograph was now playing a stirring march tune and the -Magician unlocked his cabinet and took out the gold bottle -containing the Powder of Life.<br> -</p> - -They all bent over the bench on which the Patchwork Girl -reclined. Unc Nunkie and Margolotte stood behind, near the -windows, Ojo at one side and the Magician in front, where he -would have freedom to sprinkle the powder. The Glass Cat came -near, too, curious to watch the important scene. <br> -<p>"All ready?" asked Dr. Pipt.<br> -</p> - -"All is ready," answered his wife. <br> -<p>So the Magician leaned over and shook from the bottle some -grains of the wonderful Powder, and they fell directly on the -Patchwork Girl's head and arms.<br> -</p> - -<br> -<h1 id="ref_6">Chapter Five</h1> - -<br> -A Terrible Accident <br> -<p><br> -</p> - -"It will take a few minutes for this powder to do its work," -remarked the Magician, sprinkling the body up and down with much -care. <br> -<p>But suddenly the Patchwork Girl threw up one arm, which -knocked the bottle of powder from the crooked man's hand and sent -it flying across the room. Unc Nunkie and Margolotte were so -startled that they both leaped backward and bumped together, and -Unc's head joggled the shelf above them and upset the bottle -containing the Liquid of Petrifaction.<br> -</p> - -The Magician uttered such a wild cry that Ojo jumped away and the -Patchwork Girl sprang after him and clasped her stuffed arms -around him in terror. The Glass Cat snarled and hid under the -table, and so it was that when the powerful Liquid of -Petrifaction was spilled it fell only upon the wife of the -Magician and the uncle of Ojo. With these two the charm worked -promptly. They stood motionless and stiff as marble statues, in -exactly the positions they were in when the Liquid struck them. -<br> -<p>Ojo pushed the Patchwork Girl away and ran to Unc Nunkie, -filled with a terrible fear for the only friend and protector he -had ever known. When he grasped Unc's hand it was cold and hard. -Even the long gray beard was solid marble. The Crooked Magician -was dancing around the room in a frenzy of despair, calling upon -his wife to forgive him, to speak to him, to come to life -again!<br> -</p> - -The Patchwork Girl, quickly recovering from her fright, now came -nearer and looked from one to another of the people with deep -interest. Then she looked at herself and laughed. Noticing the -mirror, she stood before it and examined her extraordinary -features with amazement--her button eyes, pearl bead teeth and -puffy nose. Then, addressing her reflection in the glass, she -exclaimed: <br> -<p>"Whee, but there's a gaudy dame! Makes a paint-box blush with -shame. Razzle-dazzle, fizzle-fazzle! Howdy-do, Miss -What's-your-name?"<br> -</p> - -<br> -<p>She bowed, and the reflection bowed. Then she laughed again, -long and merrily, and the Glass Cat crept out from under the -table and said:<br> -</p> - -"I don't blame you for laughing at yourself. Aren't you horrid?" -<br> -<p>"Horrid?" she replied. "Why, I'm thoroughly delightful. I'm an -Original, if you please, and therefore incomparable. Of all the -comic, absurd, rare and amusing creatures the world contains, I -must be the supreme freak. Who but poor Margolotte could have -managed to invent such an unreasonable being as I? But I'm -glad--I'm awfully glad!--that I'm just what I am, and nothing -else."<br> -</p> - -"Be quiet, will you?" cried the frantic Magician; "be quiet and -let me think! If I don't think I shall go mad." <br> -<p>"Think ahead," said the Patchwork Girl, seating herself in a -chair. "Think all you want to. I don't mind."<br> -</p> - -"Gee! but I'm fired playing that tune," called the phonograph, -speaking through its horn in a brazen, scratchy voice. "If you -don't mind, Pipt, old boy, I'll cut it out and take a rest." <br> -<p>The Magician looked gloomily at the musicmachine.<br> -</p> - -"What dreadful luck!" he wailed, despondently. "The Powder of -Life must have fallen on the phonograph." <br> -<p>He went up to it and found that the gold bottle that contained -the precious powder had dropped upon the stand and scattered its -life-giving grains over the machine. The phonograph was very much -alive, and began dancing a jig with the legs of the table to -which it was attached, and this dance so annoyed Dr. Pipt that he -kicked the thing into a corner and pushed a bench against it, to -hold it quiet.<br> -</p> - -"You were bad enough before," said the Magician, resentfully; -"but a live phonograph is enough to drive every sane person in -the Land of Oz stark crazy." <br> -<p>"No insults, please," answered the phonograph in a surly, -tone. "You did it, my boy; don't blame me. "<br> -</p> - -"You've bungled everything, Dr. Pipt," added the Glass Cat, -contemptuously. <br> -<p>"Except me," said the Patchwork Girl, jumping up to whirl -merrily around the room.<br> -</p> - -"I think," said Ojo, almost ready to cry through grief over Unc -Nunkie's sad fate, "it must all be my fault, in some way. I'm -called Ojo the Unlucky, you know." <br> -<p>"That's nonsense, kiddie," retorted the Patchwork Girl -cheerfully. "No one can be unlucky who has the intelligence to -direct his own actions. The unlucky ones are those who beg for a -chance to think, like poor Dr. Pipt here. What's the row about, -anyway, Mr. Magic-maker?"<br> -</p> - -"The Liquid of Petrifaction has accidentally fallen upon my dear -wife and Unc Nunkie and turned them into marble," he sadly -replied. <br> -<p>"Well, why don't you sprinkle some of that powder on them and -bring them to life again?" asked the Patchwork Girl.<br> -</p> - -The Magician gave a jump. <br> -<p>"Why, I hadn't thought of that!" he joyfully cried, and -grabbed up the golden bottle, with which he ran to -Margolotte.<br> -</p> - -Said the Patchwork Girl: <br> -<p>"Higgledy, piggledy, deeWhat fools magicians be! His head's so -thick He can't think quick, So he takes advice from me."<br> -</p> - -<br> -<p>Standing upon the bench, for he was so crooked he could not -reach the top of his wife's head in any other way, Dr. Pipt began -shaking the bottle. But not a grain of powder came out. He pulled -off the cover, glanced within, and then threw the bottle from him -with a wail of despair.<br> -</p> - -"Gone-gone! Every bit gone," he cried. "Wasted on that miserable -phonograph when it might have saved my dear wife!" <br> -<p>Then the Magician bowed his head on his crooked arms and began -to cry.<br> -</p> - -Ojo was sorry for him. He went up to the sorrowful man and said -softly: <br> -<p>"You can make more Powder of Life, Dr. Pipt."<br> -</p> - -"Yes; but it will take me six years--six long, weary years of -stirring four kettles with both feet and both hands," was the -agonized reply. "Six years! while poor Margolotte stands watching -me as a marble image. " <br> -<p>"Can't anything else be done?" asked the Patchwork Girl.<br> -</p> - -The Magician shook his head. Then he seemed to remember something -and looked up. <br> -<p>"There is one other compound that would destroy the magic -spell of the Liquid of Petrifaction and restore my wife and Unc -Nunkie to life," said he. "It may be hard to find the things I -need to make this magic compound, but if they were found I could -do in an instant what will otherwise take six long, weary years -of stirring kettles with both hands and both feet."<br> -</p> - -"All right; let's find the things, then," suggested the Patchwork -Girl. "That seems a lot more sensible than those stirring times -with the kettles." <br> -<p>"That's the idea, Scraps," said the Glass Cat, approvingly. -"I'm glad to find you have decent brains. Mine are exceptionally -good. You can see em work; they're pink."<br> -</p> - -"Scraps?" repeated the girl. "Did you call me 'Scraps'? Is that -my name?" <br> -<p>"I--I believe my poor wife had intended to name you -'Angeline,'" said the Magician.<br> -</p> - -"But I like 'Scraps' best," she replied with a laugh. "It fits me -better, for my patchwork is all scraps, and nothing else. Thank -you for naming me, Miss Cat. Have you any name of your own?" <br> -<p>"I have a foolish name that Margolotte once gave me, but which -is quite undignified for one of my importance," answered the cat. -"She called me 'Bungle.'"<br> -</p> - -"Yes," sighed the Magician; "you were a sad bungle, taken all in -all. I was wrong to make you as I did, for a more useless, -conceited and brittle thing never before existed." <br> -<p>"I'm not so brittle as you think," retorted the cat. "I've -been alive a good many years, for Dr. Pipt experimented on me -with the first magic Powder of Life he ever made, and so far I've -never broken or cracked or chipped any part of me."<br> -</p> - -"You seem to have a chip on your shoulder," laughed the Patchwork -Girl, and the cat went to the mirror to see. <br> -<p>"Tell me," pleaded Ojo, speaking to the Crooked Magician, -"what must we find to make the compound that will save Unc -Nunkie?"<br> -</p> - -"First," was the reply, "I must have a sixleaved clover. That can -only be found in the green country around the Emerald City, and -six-leaved clovers are very scarce, even there." <br> -<p>"I'll find it for you," promised Ojo.<br> -</p> - -"The next thing," continued the Magician, "is the left wing of a -yellow butterfly. That color can only be found in the yellow -country of the Winkies, West of the Emerald City." <br> -<p>"I'll find it," declared Ojo. "Is that all?"<br> -</p> - -"Oh, no; I'll get my Book of Recipes and see what comes next." -<br> -<p>Saying this, the Magician unlocked a drawer of his cabinet and -drew out a small book covered with blue leather. Looking through -the pages he found the recipe he wanted and said: "I must have a -gill of water from a dark well."<br> -</p> - -"What kind of a well is that, sir?" asked the boy. <br> -<p>"One where the light of day never penetrates. The water must -be put in a gold bottle and brought to me without any light ever -reaching it.<br> -</p> - -"I'll get the water from the dark well," said Ojo. <br> -<p>"Then I must have three hairs from the tip of a Woozy's tail, -and a drop of oil from a live man's body."<br> -</p> - -Ojo looked grave at this. <br> -<p>"What is a Woozy, please?" he inquired.<br> -</p> - -"Some sort of an animal. I've never seen one, so I can't describe -it," replied the Magician. <br> -<p>"If I can find a Woozy, I'll get the hairs from its tail," -said Ojo. "But is there ever any oil in a man's body?"<br> -</p> - -The Magician looked in the book again, to make sure. <br> -<p>"That's what the recipe calls for," he replied, "and of course -we must get everything that is called for, or the charm won't -work. The book doesn't say 'blood'; it says 'oil,' and there must -be oil somewhere in a live man's body or the book wouldn't ask -for it."<br> -</p> - -"All right," returned Ojo, trying not to feel discouraged; "I'll -try to find it." <br> -<p>The Magician looked at the little Munchkin boy in a doubtful -way and said:<br> -</p> - -"All this will mean a long journey for you; perhaps several long -journeys; for you must search through several of the different -countries of Oz in order to get the things I need." <br> -<p>"I know it, sir; but I must do my best to save Unc -Nunkie."<br> -</p> - -"And also my poor wife Margolotte. If you save one you will save -the other, for both stand there together and the same compound -will restore them both to life. Do the best you can, Ojo, and -while you are gone I shall begin the six years job of making a -new batch of the Powder of Life. Then, if you should unluckily -fail to secure any one of the things needed, I will have lost no -time. But if you succeed you must return here as quickly as you -can, and that will save me much tiresome stirring of four kettles -with both feet and both hands." <br> -<p>"I will start on my journey at once, sir," said the boy.<br> -</p> - -"And I will go with you," declared the Patchwork Girl. <br> -<p>"No, no!" exclaimed the Magician. "You have no right to leave -this house. You are only a servant and have not been -discharged."<br> -</p> - -Scraps, who had been dancing up and down the room, stopped and -looked at him. <br> -<p>"What is a servant?" she asked.<br> -</p> - -"One who serves. A--a Sort of slave," he explained. <br> -<p>"Very well," said the Patchwork Girl, "I'm going to serve you -and your wife by helping Ojo find the things you need. You need a -lot, you know, such as are not easily found."<br> -</p> - -"It is true," sighed Dr. Pipt. "I am well aware that Ojo has -undertaken a serious task." <br> -<p>Scraps laughed, and resuming her dance she said:<br> -</p> - -"Here's a job for a boy of brains: A drop of oil from a live -man's veins; A six-leaved clover; three nice hairs From a Woozy's -tail, the book declares Are needed for the magic spell, And water -from a pitch-dark well. The yellow wing of a butterfly To find -must Ojo also try, And if he gets them without harm, Doc Pipt -will make the magic charm; But if he doesn't get 'em, Unc Will -always stand a marble chunk." <br> -<p>The Magician looked at her thoughtfully.<br> -</p> - -"Poor Margolotte must have given you some of the quality of -poesy, by mistake," he said. "And, if that is true, I didn't make -a very good article when I prepared it, or else you got an -overdose or an underdose. However, I believe I shall let you go -with Ojo, for my poor wife will not need your services until she -is restored to life. Also I think you may be able to help the -boy, for your head seems to contain some thoughts I did not -expect to find in it. But be very careful of yourself, for you're -a souvenir of my dear Margolotte. Try not to get ripped, or your -stuffing may fall out. One of your eyes seems loose, and you may -have to sew it on tighter. If you talk too much you'll wear out -your scarlet plush tongue, which ought to have been hemmed on the -edges. And remember you belong to me and must return here as soon -as your mission is accomplished." <br> -<p>"I'm going with Scraps and Ojo," announced the Glass Cat.<br> -</p> - -"You can't," said the Magician. <br> -<p>"Why not?"<br> -</p> - -"You'd get broken in no time, and you couldn't be a bit of use to -the boy and the Patchwork Girl." <br> -<p>"I beg to differ with you," returned the cat, in a haughty -tone. "Three heads are better than two, and my pink brains are -beautiful. You can see em work."<br> -</p> - -"Well, go along," said the Magician, irritably. "You're only an -annoyance, anyhow, and I'm glad to get rid of you." <br> -<p>"Thank you for nothing, then," answered the cat, stiffly.<br> -</p> - -Dr. Pipt took a small basket from a cupboard and packed several -things in it. Then he handed it to Ojo. <br> -<p>"Here is some food and a bundle of charms," he said. "It is -all I can give you, but I am sure you will find friends on your -journey who will assist you in your search. Take care of the -Patchwork Girl and bring her safely back, for she ought to prove -useful to my wife. As for the Glass Cat-properly named Bungle--if -she bothers you I now give you my permission to break her in two, -for she is not respectful and does not obey me. I made a mistake -in giving her the pink brains, you see.<br> -</p> - -Then Ojo went to Unc Nunkie and kissed the old man's marble face -very tenderly. <br> -<p>"I'm going to try to save you, Unc," he said, just as if the -marble image could hear him; and then he shook the crooked hand -of the Crooked Magician, who was already busy hanging the four -kettles in the fireplace, and picking up his basket left the -house.<br> -</p> - -The Patchwork Girl followed him, and after them came the Glass -Cat. <br> -<p><br> -</p> - -<h1 id="ref_7">Chapter Six</h1> - -<br> -<p>The Journey<br> -</p> - -Ojo had never traveled before and so he only knew that the path -down the mountainside led into the open Munchkin Country, where -large numbers of people dwelt. Scraps was quite new and not -supposed to know anything of the Land of Oz, while the Glass Cat -admitted she had never wandered very far away from the Magician's -house. There was only one path before them, at the beginning, so -they could not miss their way, and for a time they walked through -the thick forest in silent thought, each one impressed with the -importance of the adventure they had undertaken. <br> -<p>Suddenly the Patchwork Girl laughed. It was funny to see her -laugh, because her cheeks wrinkled up, her nose tipped, her -silver button eyes twinkled and her mouth curled at the corners -in a comical way.<br> -</p> - -"Has something pleased you?" asked Ojo, who was feeling solemn -and joyless through thinking upon his uncle's sad fate. <br> -<p>"Yes," she answered. "Your world pleases me, for it's a queer -world, and life in it is queerer still. Here am I, made from an -old bedquilt and intended to be a slave to Margolotte, rendered -free as air by an accident that none of you could foresee. I am -enjoying life and seeing the world, while the woman who made me -is standing helpless as a block of wood. If that isn't funny -enough to laugh at, I don't know what is."<br> -</p> - -"You're not seeing much of the world yet, my poor, innocent -Scraps," remarked the Cat. "The world doesn't consist wholly of -the trees that are on all sides of us." <br> -<p>"But they're part of it; and aren't they pretty trees?" -returned Scraps, bobbing her head until her brown yarn curls -fluttered in the breeze. "Growing between them I can see lovely -ferns and wild-flowers, and soft green mosses. If the rest of -your world is half as beautiful I shall be glad I'm alive."<br> -</p> - -"I don't know what the rest of the world is like, I'm sure," said -the cat; "but I mean to find out." <br> -<p>"I have never been out of the forest," Ojo added; "but to me -the trees are gloomy and sad and the wild-flowers seem lonesome. -It must be nicer where there are no trees and there is room for -lots of people to live together."<br> -</p> - -"I wonder if any of the people we shall meet will be as splendid -as I am," said the Patchwork Girl. "All I have seen, so far, have -pale, colorless skins and clothes as blue as the country they -live in, while I am of many gorgeous colors-face and body and -clothes. That is why I am bright and contented, Ojo, while you -are blue and sad." <br> -<p>"I think I made a mistake in giving you so many sorts of -brains," observed the boy. "Perhaps, as the Magician said, you -have an over-dose, and they may not agree with you."<br> -</p> - -"What had you to do with my brains?" asked Scraps. <br> -<p>"A lot," replied Ojo. "Old Margolotte meant to give you only a -few--just enough to keep you going--but when she wasn't looking I -added a good many more, of the best kinds I could find in the -Magician's cupboard."<br> -</p> - -"Thanks," said the girl, dancing along the path ahead of Ojo and -then dancing back to his side. "If a few brains are good, many -brains must be better." <br> -<p>"But they ought to be evenly balanced," said the boy, "and I -had no time to be careful. From the way you're acting, I guess -the dose was badly mixed."<br> -</p> - -"Scraps hasn't enough brains to hurt her, so don't worry," -remarked the cat, which was trotting along in a very dainty and -graceful manner. "The only brains worth considering are mine, -which are pink. You can see 'em work." <br> -<p>After walking a long time they came to a little brook that -trickled across the path, and here Ojo sat down to rest and eat -something from his basket. He found that the Magician had given -him part of a loaf of bread and a slice of cheese. He broke off -some of the bread and was surprised to find the loaf just as -large as it was before. It was the same way with the cheese: -however much he broke off from the slice, it remained exactly the -same size.<br> -</p> - -"Ah," said he, nodding wisely; "that's magic. Dr. Pipt has -enchanted the bread and the cheese, so it will last me all -through my journey, however much I eat." <br> -<p>"Why do you put those things into your mouth?" asked Scraps, -gazing at him in astonishment. "Do you need more stuffing? Then -why don't you use cotton, such as I am stuffed with?"<br> -</p> - -"I don't need that kind," said Ojo. <br> -<p>"But a mouth is to talk with, isn't it?"<br> -</p> - -"It is also to eat with," replied the boy. "If I didn't put food -into my mouth, and eat it, I would get hungry and starve. <br> -<p>"Ah, I didn't know that," she said. "Give me some."<br> -</p> - -Ojo handed her a bit of the bread and she put it in her mouth. -<br> -<p>"What next?" she asked, scarcely able to speak.<br> -</p> - -"Chew it and swallow it," said the boy. <br> -<p>Scraps tried that. Her pearl teeth were unable to chew the -bread and beyond her mouth there was no opening. Being unable to -swallow she threw away the bread and laughed.<br> -</p> - -"I must get hungry and starve, for I can't eat," she said. <br> -<p>"Neither can I," announced the cat; "but I'm not fool enough -to try. Can't you understand that you and I are superior people -and not made like these poor humans?"<br> -</p> - -"Why should I understand that, or anything else?" asked the girl. -"Don't bother my head by asking conundrums, I beg of you. Just -let me discover myself in my own way." <br> -<p>With this she began amusing herself by leaping across the -brook and hack again.<br> -</p> - -"Be careful, or you'll fall in the water," warned Ojo. <br> -<p>"Never mind."<br> -</p> - -"You'd better. If you get wet you'll be soggy and can't walk. -Your colors might run, too," he said. <br> -<p>"Don't my colors run whenever I run?" she asked.<br> -</p> - -"Not in the way I mean. If they get wet, the reds and greens and -yellows and purples of your patches might run into each other and -become just a blur--no color at all, you know." <br> -<p>"Then," said the Patchwork Girl, "I'll be careful, for if I -spoiled my splendid colors I would cease to be beautiful."<br> -</p> - -"Pah!" sneered the Glass Cat, "such colors are not beautiful; -they're ugly, and in bad taste. Please notice that my body has no -color at all. I'm transparent, except for my exquisite red heart -and my lovely pink brains--you can see 'em work." <br> -<p>"Shoo-shoo-shoo!" cried Scraps, dancing around and laughing. -"And your horrid green eyes, Miss Bungle! You can't see your -eyes, but we can, and I notice you're very proud of what little -color you have. Shoo, Miss Bungle, shoo-shoo-shoo! If you were -all colors and many colors, as I am, you'd be too stuck up for -anything." She leaped over the cat and back again, and the -startled Bungle crept close to a tree to escape her. This made -Scraps laugh more heartily than ever, and she said:<br> -</p> - -"Whoop-tedoodle-doo! The cat has lost her shoe. Her tootsie's -bare, but she don't care, So what's the odds to you?" <br> -<p><br> -</p> - -"Dear me, Ojo," said the cat; "don't you think the creature is a -little bit crazy?" <br> -<p>"It may be," he answered, with a puzzled look.<br> -</p> - -"If she continues her insults I'll scratch off her -suspender-button eyes," declared the cat. <br> -<p>"Don't quarrel, please," pleaded the boy, rising to resume the -journey. "Let us be good comrades and as happy and cheerful as -possible, for we are likely to meet with plenty of trouble on our -way."<br> -</p> - -It was nearly sundown when they came to the edge of the forest -and saw spread out before them a delightful landscape. There were -broad blue fields stretching for miles over the valley, which was -dotted everywhere with pretty, blue domed houses, none of which, -however, was very near to the place where they stood. Just at the -point where the path left the forest stood a tiny house covered -with leaves from the trees, and before this stood a Munchkin man -with an axe in his hand. He seemed very much surprised when Ojo -and Scraps and the Glass Cat came out of the woods, but as the -Patchwork Girl approached nearer he sat down upon a bench and -laughed so hard that he could not speak for a long time. <br> -<p>This man was a woodchopper and lived all alone in the little -house. He had bushy blue whiskers and merry blue eyes and his -blue clothes were quite old and worn.<br> -</p> - -"Mercy me!" exclaimed the woodchopper, when at last he could stop -laughing. "Who would think such a funny harlequin lived in the -Land of Oz? Where did you come from, Crazy-quilt?" <br> -<p>"Do you mean me?" asked the Patchwork Girl.<br> -</p> - -"Of course," he replied. <br> -<p>"You misjudge my ancestry. I'm not a crazyquilt; I'm -patchwork," she said.<br> -</p> - -"There's no difference," he replied, beginning to laugh again. -"When my old grandmother sews such things together she calls it a -crazy-quilt; but I never thought such a jumble could come to -life." <br> -<p>"It was the Magic Powder that did it," explained Ojo.<br> -</p> - -"Oh, then you have come from the Crooked Magician on the -mountain. I might have known it, for--Well, I declare! here's a -glass cat. But the Magician will get in trouble for this; it's -against the law for anyone to work magic except Glinda the Good -and the royal Wizard of Oz. If you people--or things--or glass -spectacles--or crazyquilts--or whatever you are, go near the -Emerald City, you'll be arrested." <br> -<p>"We're going there, anyhow," declared Scraps, sitting upon the -bench and swinging her stuffed legs.<br> -</p> - -"If any of us takes a rest, We'll be arrested sure, And get no -restitution 'Cause the rest we must endure." <br> -<p>"I see," said the woodchopper, nodding; "you're as crazy as -the crazy-quilt you're made of."<br> -</p> - -"She really is crazy," remarked the Glass Cat. "But that isn't to -he wondered at when you remember how many different things she's -made of. For my part, I'm made of pure glass--except my jewel -heart and my pretty pink brains. Did you notice my brains, -stranger? You can see em work." <br> -<p>"So I can," replied the woodchopper; "but I can't see that -they accomplish much. A glass cat is a useless sort of thing, but -a Patchwork Girl is really useful. She makes me laugh, and -laughter is the best thing in life. There was once a woodchopper, -a friend of mine, who was made all of tin, and I used to laugh -every time I saw him."<br> -</p> - -"A tin woodchopper?" said Ojo. "That is strange." <br> -<p>"My friend wasn't always tin," said the man, "but he was -careless with his axe, and used to chop himself very badly. -Whenever he lost an arm or a leg he had it replaced with tin; so -after a while he was all tin."<br> -</p> - -"And could he chop wood then?" asked the boy. <br> -<p>"He could if he didn't rust his tin joints. But one day he met -Dorothy in the forest and went with her to the Emerald City, -where he made his fortune. He is now one of the favorites of -Princess Ozma, and she has made him the Emperor of the -Winkies--the Country where all is yellow."<br> -</p> - -"Who is Dorothy?" inquired the Patchwork Girl. <br> -<p>"A little maid who used to live in Kansas, but is now a -Princess of Oz. She's Ozma's best friend, they say, and lives -with her in the royal palace."<br> -</p> - -"Is Dorothy made of tin?" inquired Ojo. <br> -<p>"Is she patchwork, like me?" inquired Scraps.<br> -</p> - -"No," said the man; "Dorothy is flesh, just as I am. I know of -only one tin person, and that is Nick Chopper, the Tin Woodman; -and there will never be but one Patchwork Girl, for any magician -that sees you will refuse to make another one like you." <br> -<p>"I suppose we shall see the Tin Woodman, for we are going to -the Country of the Winkies," said the boy.<br> -</p> - -"What for?" asked the woodchopper. <br> -<p>"To get the left wing of a yellow butterfly."<br> -</p> - -"It is a long journey," declared the man, "and you will go -through lonely parts of Oz and cross rivers and traverse dark -forests before you get there." <br> -<p>"Suits me all right," said Scraps. "I'll get a chance to see -the country."<br> -</p> - -"You're crazy, girl. Better crawl into a rag-bag and hide there; -or give yourself to some little girl to play with. Those who -travel are likely to meet trouble; that's why I stay at home." -<br> -<p>The woodchopper then invited them all to stay the night at his -little hut, but they were anxious to get on and so left him and -continued along the path, which was broader, now, and more -distinct.<br> -</p> - -They expected to reach some other house before it grew dark, but -the twilight was brief and Ojo soon began to fear they had made a -mistake in leaving the woodchopper. <br> -<p>"I can scarcely see the path," he said at last. "Can you see -it, Scraps?"<br> -</p> - -"No," replied the Patchwork Girl, who was holding fast to the -boy's arm so he could guide her. <br> -<p>"I can see," declared the Glass Cat. "My eyes are better than -yours, and my pink brains--"<br> -</p> - -"Never mind your pink brains, please," said Ojo hastily; "just -run ahead and show us the way. Wait a minute and I'll tie a -string to you; for then you can lead us." <br> -<p>He got a string from his pocket and tied it around the cat's -neck, and after that the creature guided them along the path. -They had proceeded in this way for about an hour when a twinkling -blue light appeared ahead of them.<br> -</p> - -"Good! there's a house at last," cried Ojo. "When we reach it the -good people will surely welcome us and give us a night's -lodging." But however far they walked the light seemed to get no -nearer, so by and by the cat stopped short, saying: <br> -<p>"I think the light is traveling, too, and we shall never be -able to catch up with it. But here is a house by the roadside, so -why go farther?"<br> -</p> - -"Where is the house, Bungle?" <br> -<p>"Just here beside us, Scraps."<br> -</p> - -Ojo was now able to see a small house near the pathway. It was -dark and silent, but the boy was tired and wanted to rest, so he -went up to the door and knocked. <br> -<p>"Who is there?" cried a voice from within.<br> -</p> - -"I am Ojo the Unlucky, and with me are Miss Scraps Patchwork and -the Glass Cat," he replied. <br> -<p>"What do you want?" asked the Voice.<br> -</p> - -"A place to sleep," said Ojo. <br> -<p>"Come in, then; but don't make any noise, and you must go -directly to bed," returned the Voice.<br> -</p> - -Ojo unlatched the door and entered. It was very dark inside and -he could see nothing at all. But the cat exclaimed: "Why, there's -no one here!" <br> -<p>"There must be," said the boy. "Some one spoke to me."<br> -</p> - -"I can see everything in the room," replied the cat, "and no one -is present but ourselves. But here are three beds, all made up, -so we may as well go to sleep." <br> -<p>"What is sleep?" inquired the Patchwork Girl.<br> -</p> - -"It's what you do when you go to bed," said Ojo. <br> -<p>"But why do you go to bed?" persisted the Patchwork Girl.<br> -</p> - -"Here, here! You are making altogether too much noise," cried the -Voice they had heard before. "Keep quiet, strangers, and go to -bed." <br> -<p>The cat, which could see in the dark, looked sharply around -for the owner of the Voice, hut could discover no one, although -the Voice had seemed close beside them. She arched her back a -little and seemed afraid. Then she whispered to Ojo: "Come!" and -led him to a bed.<br> -</p> - -With his hands the boy felt of the bed and found it was big and -soft, with feather pillows and plenty of blankets. So he took off -his shoes and hat and crept into the bed. Then the cat led Scraps -to another bed and the Patchwork Girl was puzzled to know what to -do with it. <br> -<p>"Lie down and keep quiet," whispered the cat, warningly.<br> -</p> - -"Can't I sing?" asked Scraps. <br> -<p>"Can't I whistle?" asked Scraps.<br> -</p> - -"Can't I dance till morning, if I want to?" asked Scraps. <br> -<p>"You must keep quiet," said the cat, in a soft voice.<br> -</p> - -"I don't want to," replied the Patchwork Girl, speaking as loudly -as usual. "What right have you to order me around? If I want to -talk, or yell, or whistle--" <br> -<p>Before she could say anything more an unseen hand seized her -firmly and threw her out of the door, which closed behind her -with a sharp slam. She found herself bumping and rolling in the -road and when she got up and tried to open the door of the house -again she found it locked.<br> -</p> - -"What has happened to Scraps?" asked Ojo. <br> -<p>"Never mind. Let's go to sleep, or something will happen to -us," answered the Glass Cat.<br> -</p> - -So Ojo snuggled down in his bed and fell asleep, and he was so -tired that he never wakened until broad daylight. <br> -<p><br> -</p> - -<h1 id="ref_8">Chapter Seven</h1> - -<br> -<p>The Troublesome Phonograph<br> -</p> - -<br> -<p>When the boy opened his eyes next morning he looked carefully -around the room. These small Munchkin houses seldom had more than -one room in them. That in which Ojo now found himself had three -beds, set all in a row on one side of it. The Glass Cat lay -asleep on one bed, Ojo was in the second, and the third was -neatly made up and smoothed for the day. On the other side of the -room was a round table on which breakfast was already placed, -smoking hot. Only one chair was drawn up to the table, where a -place was set for one person. No one seemed to be in the room -except the boy and Bungle.<br> -</p> - -Ojo got up and put on his shoes. Finding a toilet stand at the -head of his bed he washed his face and hands and brushed his -hair. Then he went to the table and said: <br> -<p>"I wonder if this is my breakfast?"<br> -</p> - -"Eat it!" commanded a Voice at his side, so near that Ojo jumped; -But no person could he see. <br> -<p>He was hungry, and the breakfast looked good; so he sat down -and ate all he wanted. Then, rising, he took his hat and wakened -the Glass Cat.<br> -</p> - -"Come on, Bungle," said he; "we must go. <br> -<p>He cast another glance about the room and, speaking to the -air, he said: "Whoever lives here has been kind to me, and I'm -much obliged."<br> -</p> - -There was no answer, so he took his basket and went out the door, -the cat following him. In the middle of the path sat the -Patchwork Girl, playing with pebbles she had picked up. <br> -<p>"Oh, there you are!" she exclaimed cheerfully. "I thought you -were never coming out. It has been daylight a long time."<br> -</p> - -"What did you do all night?" asked the boy. <br> -<p>"Sat here and watched the stars and the moon," she replied. -"They're interesting. I never saw them before, you know."<br> -</p> - -"Of course not," said Ojo. <br> -<p>"You were crazy to act so badly and get thrown outdoors," -remarked Bungle, as they renewed their journey.<br> -</p> - -"That's all right," said Scraps. "If I hadn't been thrown out I -wouldn't have seen the stars, nor the big gray wolf." <br> -<p>"What wolf?" inquired Ojo.<br> -</p> - -"The one that came to the door of the house three times during -the night." <br> -<p>"I don't see why that should be," said the boy, thoughtfully; -"there was plenty to eat in that house, for I had a fine -breakfast, and I slept in a nice bed."<br> -</p> - -"Don't you feel tired?" asked the Patchwork Girl, noticing that -the boy yawned. <br> -<p>"Why, yes; I'm as tired as I was last night; and yet I slept -very well."<br> -</p> - -"And aren't you hungry?" <br> -<p>"It's strange," replied Ojo. "I had a good breakfast, and yet -I think I'll now eat some of my crackers and cheese."<br> -</p> - -Scraps danced up and down the path. Then she sang: <br> -<p>"Kizzle-kazzle-kore; The wolf is at the door, There's nothing -to eat but a bone without meat, And a bill from the grocery -store."<br> -</p> - -<br> -<p>"What does that mean?" asked Ojo.<br> -</p> - -"Don't ask me," replied Scraps. "I say what comes into my head, -but of course I know nothing of a grocery store or bones without -meat or very much else." <br> -<p>"No," said the cat; "she's stark, staring, raving crazy, and -her brains can't be pink, for they don't work properly."<br> -</p> - -"Bother the brains!" cried Scraps. "Who cares for 'em, anyhow? -Have you noticed how beautiful my patches are in this sunlight?" -<br> -<p>Just then they heard a sound as of footsteps pattering along -the path behind them and all three turned to see what was coming. -To their astonishment they beheld a small round table running as -fast as its four spindle legs could carry it, and to the top was -screwed fast a phonograph with a big gold horn.<br> -</p> - -"Hold on!" shouted the phonograph. "Wait for me!" <br> -<p>"Goodness me; it's that music thing which the Crooked Magician -scattered the Powder of Life over," said Ojo.<br> -</p> - -"So it is," returned Bungle, in a grumpy tone of voice; and then, -as the phonograph overtook them, the Glass Cat added sternly: -"What are you doing here, anyhow?" <br> -<p>"I've run away," said the music thing. "After you left, old -Dr. Pipt and I had a dreadful quarrel and he threatened to smash -me to pieces if I didn't keep quiet. Of course I wouldn't do -that, because a talking-machine is supposed to talk and make a -noise--and sometimes music. So I slipped out of the house while -the Magician was stirring his four kettles and I've been running -after you all night. Now that I've found such pleasant company, I -can talk and play tunes all I want to."<br> -</p> - -Ojo was greatly annoyed by this unwelcome addition to their -party. At first he did not know what to say to the newcomer, but -a little thought decided him not to make friends. <br> -<p>"We are traveling on important business," he declared, "and -you'll excuse me if I say we can't be bothered."<br> -</p> - -"How very impolite!" exclaimed the phonograph. <br> -<p>"I'm sorry; but it's true," said the boy. "You'll have to go -somewhere else."<br> -</p> - -"This is very unkind treatment, I must say, whined the -phonograph, in an injured tone. "Everyone seems to hate me, and -yet I was intended to amuse people." <br> -<p>"It isn't you we hate, especially," observed the Glass Cat; -"it's your dreadful music. When I lived in the same room with you -I was much annoyed by your squeaky horn. It growls and grumbles -and clicks and scratches so it spoils the music, and your -machinery rumbles so that the racket drowns every tune you -attempt."<br> -</p> - -"That isn't my fault; it's the fault of my records. I must admit -that I haven't a clear record," answered the machine. <br> -<p>"Just the same, you'll have to go away," said Ojo.<br> -</p> - -"Wait a minute," cried Scraps. "This music thing interests me. I -remember to have heard music when I first came to life, and I -would like to hear it again. What is your name, my poor abused -phonograph?" <br> -<p>"Victor Columbia Edison," it answered.<br> -</p> - -"Well, I shall call you 'Vic' for short," said the Patchwork -Girl. "Go ahead and play something." <br> -<p>"It'll drive you crazy," warned the cat.<br> -</p> - -"I'm crazy now, according to your statement. Loosen up and reel -out the music, Vic." <br> -<p>"The only record I have with me," explained the phonograph, -"is one the Magician attached just before we had our quarrel. -It's a highly classical composition."<br> -</p> - -"A what?" inquired Scraps. <br> -<p>"It is classical music, and is considered the best and most -puzzling ever manufactured. You're supposed to like it, whether -you do or not, and if you don't, the proper thing is to look as -if you did. Understand?"<br> -</p> - -"Not in the least," said Scraps. <br> -<p>"Then, listen!"<br> -</p> - -At once the machine began to play and in a few minutes Ojo put -his hands to his ears to shut out the sounds and the cat snarled -and Scraps began to Jaugh. <br> -<p>"Cut it out, Vic," she said. "That's enough."<br> -</p> - -But the phonograph continued playing the dreary tune, so Ojo -seized the crank, jerked it free and threw it into the road. -However, the moment the crank struck the ground it hounded back -to the machine again and began winding it up. And still the music -played. <br> -<p>"Let's run!" cried Scraps, and they all started and ran down -the path as fast as they could go. But the phonograph was right -behind them and could run and play at the same time. It called -out, reproachfully:<br> -</p> - -"What's the matter? Don't you love classical music?" <br> -<p>"No, Vic," said Scraps, halting. "We will passical the -classical and preserve what joy we have left. I haven't any -nerves, thank goodness, but your music makes my cotton -shrink."<br> -</p> - -"Then turn over my record. There's a rag-time tune on the other -side," said the machine. <br> -<p>"What's rag-time?"<br> -</p> - -"The opposite of classical." <br> -<p>"All right," said Scraps, and turned over the record.<br> -</p> - -The phonograph now began to play a jerky jumble of sounds which -proved so bewildering that after a moment Scraps stuffed her -patchwork apron into the gold horn and cried: "Stop--stop! That's -the other extreme. It's extremely bad!" <br> -<p>Muffled as it was, the phonograph played on.<br> -</p> - -"If you don't shut off that music I'll smash your record," -threatened Ojo. <br> -<p>The music stopped, at that, and the machine turned its horn -from one to another and said with great indignation: "What's the -matter now? Is it possible you can't appreciate ragtime?"<br> -</p> - -"Scraps ought to, being rags herself," said the cat; "but I -simply can't stand it; it makes my whiskers curl." <br> -<p>"It is, indeed, dreadful!" exclaimed Ojo, with a shudder.<br> -</p> - -"It's enough to drive a crazy lady mad," murmured the Patchwork -Girl. "I'll tell you what, Vic," she added as she smoothed out -her apron and put it on again, "for some reason or other you've -missed your guess. You're not a concert; you're a nuisance. " -<br> -<p>"Music hath charms to soothe the savage breast," asserted the -phonograph sadly.<br> -</p> - -"Then we're not savages. I advise you to go home and beg the -Magician's pardon." <br> -<p>"Never! He'd smash me."<br> -</p> - -"That's what we shall do, if you stay here," Ojo declared. <br> -<p>"Run along, Vic, and bother some one else," advised Scraps. -"Find some one who is real wicked, and stay with him till he -repents. In that way you can do some good in the world."<br> -</p> - -The music thing turned silently away and trotted down a side -path, toward a distant Munchkin village. <br> -<p>"Is that the way we go?" asked Bungle anxiously.<br> -</p> - -"No," said Ojo; "I think we shall keep straight ahead, for this -path is the widest and best. When we come to some house we will -inquire the way to the Emerald City." <br> -<p><br> -</p> - -<h1 id="ref_9">Chapter Eight</h1> - -<br> -<p>The foolish Owl and the Wise Donkey<br> -</p> - -On they went, and half an hour's steady walking brought them to a -house somewhat better than the two they had already passed. It -stood close to the roadside and over the door was a sign that -read: "Miss Foolish Owl and Mr. Wise Donkey: Public Advisers." -<br> -<p>When Ojo read this sign aloud Scraps said laughingly: "Well, -here is a place to get all the advice we want, maybe more than we -need. Let's go in."<br> -</p> - -The boy knocked at the door. <br> -<p>"Come in!" called a deep bass voice.<br> -</p> - -So they opened the door and entered the house, where a little -light-brown donkey, dressed in a blue apron and a blue cap, was -engaged in dusting the furniture with a blue cloth. On a shelf -over the window sat a great blue owl with a blue sunbonnet on her -head, blinking her big round eyes at the visitors. <br> -<p>"Good morning," said the donkey, in his deep voice, which -seemed bigger than he was. "Did you come to us for advice?"<br> -</p> - -"Why, we came, anyhow," replied Scraps, "and now we are here we -may as well have some advice. It's free, isn't it?" <br> -<p>"Certainly," said the donkey. "Advice doesn't cost -anything--unless you follow it. Permit me to say, by the way, -that you are the queerest lot of travelers that ever came to my -shop. Judging you merely by appearances, I think you'd better -talk to the Foolish Owl yonder."<br> -</p> - -They turned to look at the bird, which fluttered its wings and -stared back at them with its big eyes. <br> -<p>"Hoot-ti-toot-ti-toot!" cried the owl.<br> -</p> - -"Fiddle-cum-foo, Howdy-do? Riddle-cum, tiddle-cum, -Too-ra-la-loo!" <br> -<p>"That beats your poetry, Scraps," said Ojo.<br> -</p> - -"It's just nonsense!" declared the Glass Cat. <br> -<p>"But it's good advice for the foolish," said the donkey, -admiringly. "Listen to my partner, and you can't go wrong.<br> -</p> - -Said the owl in a grumbling voice: <br> -<p>"Patchwork Girl has come to life; No one's sweetheart, no -one's wife; Lacking sense and loving fun, She'll be snubbed by -everyone."<br> -</p> - -"Quite a compliment! Quite a compliment, I declare," exclaimed -the donkey, turning to look at Scraps. "You are certainly a -wonder, my dear, and I fancy you'd make a splendid pincushion. If -you belonged to me, I'd wear smoked glasses when I looked at -you." <br> -<p>"Why?" asked the Patchwork Girl.<br> -</p> - -"Because you are so gay and gaudy." <br> -<p>"It is my beauty that dazzles you," she asserted. "You -Munchkin people all strut around in your stupid blue color, while -I--"<br> -</p> - -"You are wrong in calling me a Munchkin," interrupted the donkey, -"for I was born in the Land of Mo and came to visit the Land of -Oz on the day it was shut off from all the rest of the world. So -here I am obliged to stay, and I confess it is a very pleasant -country to live in." <br> -<p>"Hoot-ti-toot!" cried the owl;<br> -</p> - -"Ojo's searching for a charm, 'Cause Unc Nunkie's come to harm. -Charms are scarce; they're hard to get; Ojo's got a job, you -bet!" <br> -<p>"Is the owl so very foolish?" asked the boy.<br> -</p> - -"Extremely so," replied the donkey. "Notice what vulgar -expressions she uses. But I admire the owl for the reason that -she is positively foolish. Owls are supposed to be so very wise, -generally, that a foolish one is unusual, and you perhaps know -that anything or anyone unusual is sure to be interesting to the -wise." <br> -<p>The owl flapped its wings again, muttering these words:<br> -</p> - -"It's hard to be a glassy cat-No cat can be more hard than that; -She's so transparent, every act Is clear to us, and that's a -fact." <br> -<p>"Have you noticed my pink brains?" inquired Bungle, proudly. -"You can see 'em work."<br> -</p> - -"Not in the daytime," said the donkey. "She can't see very well -by day, poor thing. But her advice is excellent. I advise you all -to follow it." <br> -<p>"The owl hasn't given us any advice, as yet," the boy -declared.<br> -</p> - -"No? Then what do you call all those sweet poems?" <br> -<p>"Just foolishness," replied Ojo. "Scraps does the same -thing."<br> -</p> - -"Foolishness! Of course! To be sure! The Foolish Owl must be -foolish or she wouldn't be the Foolish Owl. You are very -complimentary to my partner, indeed," asserted the donkey, -rubbing his front hoofs together as if highly pleased. <br> -<p>"The sign says that you are wise," remarked Scraps to the -donkey. "I wish you would prove it."<br> -</p> - -"With great pleasure," returned the beast. "Put me to the test, -my dear Patches, and I'll prove my wisdom in the wink of an eye. -<br> -<p>"What is the best way to get to the Emerald City?" asked -Ojo.<br> -</p> - -"Walk," said the donkey. <br> -<p>"I know; but what road shall I take?" was the boy's next -question.<br> -</p> - -"The road of yellow bricks, of course. It leads directly to the -Emerald City." <br> -<p>"And how shall we find the road of yellow bricks?"<br> -</p> - -"By keeping along the path you have been following. You'll come -to the yellow bricks pretty soon, and you'll know them when you -see them because they're the only yellow things in the blue -country." <br> -<p>"Thank you," said the boy. "At last you have told me -something."<br> -</p> - -"Is that the extent of your wisdom?" asked Scraps. <br> -<p>"No," replied the donkey; "I know many other things, but they -wouldn't interest you. So I'll give you a last word of advice: -move on, for the sooner you do that the sooner you'll get to the -Emerald City of Oz."<br> -</p> - -"Hoot-ti-toot-ti-toot-ti-too!" screeched the owl; <br> -<p>"Off you go! fast or slow, Where you're going you don't know. -Patches, Bungle, Muchkin lad, Facing fortunes good and bad, -Meeting dangers grave and sad, Sometimes worried, sometimes -glad-Where you're going you don't know, Nor do I, but off you -go!"<br> -</p> - -"Sounds like a hint, to me," said the Patchwork Girl. <br> -<p>"Then let's take it and go," replied Ojo.<br> -</p> - -They said good-bye to the Wise Donkey and the Foolish Owl and at -once resumed their journey. <br> -<p><br> -</p> - -<h1 id="ref_10">Chapter Nine</h1> - -<br> -<p>They Meet the Woozy<br> -</p> - -<br> -<p>"There seem to be very few houses around here, after all," -remarked Ojo, after they had walked for a time in silence.<br> -</p> - -"Never mind," said Scraps; "we are not looking for houses, but -rather the road of yellow bricks. Won't it be funny to run across -something yellow in this dismal blue country?" <br> -<p>"There are worse colors than yellow in this country," asserted -the Glass Cat, in a spiteful tone.<br> -</p> - -"Oh; do you mean the pink pebbles you call your brains, and your -red heart and green eyes?" asked the Patchwork Girl. <br> -<p>"No; I mean you, if you must know it," growled the cat.<br> -</p> - -"You're jealous!" laughed Scraps. "You'd give your whiskers for a -lovely variegated complexion like mine." <br> -<p>"I wouldn't!" retorted the cat. "I've the clearest complexion -in the world, and I don't employ a beauty-doctor, either."<br> -</p> - -"I see you don't," said Scraps. <br> -<p>"Please don't quarrel," begged Ojo. "This is an important -journey, and quarreling makes me discouraged. To be brave, one -must be cheerful, so I hope you will be as good-tempered as -possible."<br> -</p> - -They had traveled some distance when suddenly they faced a high -fence which barred any further progress straight ahead. It ran -directly across the road and enclosed a small forest of tall -trees, set close together. When the group of adventurers peered -through the bars of the fence they thought this forest looked -more gloomy and forbidding than any they had ever seen before. -<br> -<p>They soon discovered that the path they had been following now -made a bend and passed around the enclosure, but what made Ojo -stop and look thoughtful was a sign painted on the fence which -read:<br> -</p> - -"BEWARE OF THE WOOZY!" <br> -<p>"That means," he said, "that there's a Woozy inside that -fence, and the Woozy must be a dangerous animal or they wouldn't -tell people to beware of it."<br> -</p> - -"Let's keep out, then," replied Scraps. "That path is outside the -fence, and Mr. Woozy may have all his little forest to himself, -for all we care." <br> -<p>"But one of our errands is to find a Woozy," Ojo explained. -"The Magician wants me to get three hairs from the end of a -Woozy's tail."<br> -</p> - -"Let's go on and find some other Woozy," suggested the cat. "This -one is ugly and dangerous, or they wouldn't cage him up. Maybe we -shall find another that is tame and gentle." <br> -<p>"Perhaps there isn't any other, at all," answered Ojo. "The -sign doesn't say: 'Beware a Woozy'; it says: 'Beware the Woozy,' -which may, mean there's only one in all the Land of Oz.<br> -</p> - -"Then," said Scraps, "suppose we go in and find him? Very likely -if we ask him politely to let us pull three hairs out of the tip -of his tail he won't hurt us." <br> -<p>"It would hurt him, I'm sure, and that would make him cross," -said the cat.<br> -</p> - -"You needn't worry, Bungle," remarked the Patchwork Girl; "for if -there is danger you can climb a tree. Ojo and I are not afraid; -are we, Ojo?" <br> -<p>"I am, a little," the boy admitted; "but this danger must be -faced, if we intend to save poor<br> -</p> - -Unc Nunkie. How shall we get over the fence?" <br> -<p>"Climb," answered Scraps, and at once she began climbing up -the rows of bars. Ojo followed and found it more easy than he had -expected. When they got to the top of the fence they began to get -down on the other side and soon were in the forest. The Glass -Cat, being small, crept between the lower bars and joined -them.<br> -</p> - -Here there was no path of any sort, so they entered the woods, -the boy leading the way, and wandered through the trees until -they were nearly in the center of the forest. They now came upon -a clear space in which stood a rocky cave. <br> -<p>So far they had met no living creature, but when Ojo saw the -cave he knew it must be the den of the Woozy.<br> -</p> - -It is hard to face any savage beast without a sinking of the -heart, but still more terrifying is it to face an unknown beast, -which you have never seen even a picture of. So there is little -wonder that the pulses of the Munchkin boy beat fast as he and -his companions stood facing the cave. The opening was perfectly -square, and about big enough to admit a goat. <br> -<p>"I guess the Woozy is asleep," said Scraps. "Shall I throw in -a stone, to waken him?"<br> -</p> - -"No; please don't," answered Ojo, his voice trembling a little. -"I'm in no hurry." <br> -<p>But he had not long to wait, for the Woozy heard the sound of -voices and came trotting out of his cave. As this is the only -Woozy that has ever lived, either in the Land of Oz or out of it, -I must describe it to you.<br> -</p> - -The creature was all squares and flat surfaces and edges. Its -head was an exact square, like one of the building-blocks a child -plays with; therefore it had no ears, but heard sounds through -two openings in the upper corners. Its nose, being in the center -of a square surface, was flat, while the mouth was formed by the -opening of the lower edge of the block. The body of the Woozy was -much larger than its head, but was likewise block-shaped--being -twice as long as it was wide and high. The tail was square and -stubby and perfectly straight, and the four legs were made in the -same way, each being four-sided. The animal was covered with a -thick, smooth skin and had no hair at all except at the extreme -end of its tail, where there grew exactly three stiff, stubby -hairs. The beast was dark blue in color and his face was not -fierce nor ferocious in expression, but rather good-humored and -droll. <br> -<p>Seeing the strangers, the Woozy folded his hind legs as if -they Lad been hinged and sat down to look his visitors over.<br> -</p> - -"Well, well," he exclaimed; "what a queer lot you are! at first I -thought some of those miserable Munchkin farmers had come to -annoy me, but I am relieved to find you in their stead. It is -plain to me that you are a remarkable group--as remarkable in -your way as I am in mine--and so you are welcome to my domain. -Nice place, isn't it? But lonesome-dreadfully lonesome." <br> -<p>"Why did they shut you up here?" asked Scraps, who was -regarding the queer, square creature with much curiosity.<br> -</p> - -"Because I eat up all the honey-bees which the Munchkin farmers -who live around here keep to make them honey." <br> -<p>"Are you fond of eating honey-bees?" inquired the boy.<br> -</p> - -"Very. They are really delicious. But the farmers did not like to -lose their bees and so they tried to destroy me. Of course they -couldn't do that." <br> -<p>"Why not?"<br> -</p> - -"My skin is so thick and tough that nothing can get through it to -hurt me. So, finding they could not destroy me, they drove me -into this forest and built a fence around me. Unkind, wasn't it?" -<br> -<p>"But what do you eat now?" asked Ojo.<br> -</p> - -"Nothing at all. I've tried the leaves from the trees and the -mosses and creeping vines, but they don't seem to suit my taste. -So, there being no honey-bees here, I've eaten nothing for years. -<br> -<p>"You must be awfully hungry," said the boy. "I've got some -bread and cheese in my basket. Would you like that kind of -food?"<br> -</p> - -"Give me a nibble and I will try it; then I can tell you better -whether it is grateful to my appetite," returned the Woozy. <br> -<p>So the boy opened his basket and broke a piece off the loaf of -bread. He tossed it toward the Woozy, who cleverly caught it in -his mouth and ate it in a twinkling.<br> -</p> - -"That's rather good," declared the animal. "Any more?" <br> -<p>"Try some cheese," said Ojo, and threw down a piece.<br> -</p> - -The Woozy ate that, too, and smacked its long, thin lips. <br> -<p>"That's mighty good!" it exclaimed. "Any more?"<br> -</p> - -"Plenty," replied Ojo. So he sat down on a Stump and fed the -Woozy bread and cheese for a long time; for, no matter how much -the boy broke off, the loaf and the slice remained just as big. -<br> -<p>"That'll do," said the Woozy, at last; "I'm quite full. I hope -the strange food won't give me indigestion.<br> -</p> - -"I hope not," said Ojo. "It's what I eat." <br> -<p>"Well, I must say I'm much obliged, and I'm glad you came," -announced the beast. "Is there anything I can do in return for -your kindness?"<br> -</p> - -"Yes," said Ojo earnestly, "you have it in your power to do me a -great favor, if you will." <br> -<p>"What is it?" asked the Woozy. "Name the favor and I will -grant it."<br> -</p> - -"I--I want three hairs from the tip of your tail," said Ojo, with -some hesitation. <br> -<p>"Three hairs! Why, that's all I have--on my tail or anywhere -else," exclaimed the beast.<br> -</p> - -"I know; but I want them very much." <br> -<p>"They are my sole ornaments, my prettiest feature," said the -Woozy, uneasily. "If I give up those three hairs I--I'm just a -blockhead."<br> -</p> - -"Yet I must have them," insisted the boy, firmly, and he then -told the Woozy all about the accident to Unc Nunkie and -Margolotte, and how the three hairs were to be a part of the -magic charm that would restore them to life. The beast listened -with attention and when Ojo had finished the recital it said, -with a sigh. <br> -<p>"I always keep my word, for I pride myself on being square. So -you may have the three hairs, and welcome. I think, under such -circumstances, it would be selfish in me to refuse you."<br> -</p> - -"Thank you! Thank you very much," cried the boy, joyfully. "May I -pull out the hairs now?" <br> -<p>"Any time you like," answered the Woozy.<br> -</p> - -So Ojo went up to the queer creature and taking hold of one of -the hairs began to pull. He pulled harder. He pulled with all his -might; but the hair remained fast. <br> -<p>"What's the trouble?" asked the Woozy, which Ojo had dragged -here and there all around the clearing in his endeavor to pull -out the hair.<br> -</p> - -"It won't come," said the boy, panting. <br> -<p>"I was afraid of that," declared the beast. "You'll have to -pull harder."<br> -</p> - -"I'll help you," exclaimed Scraps, coming to the boy's side. "You -pull the hair, and I'll pull you, and together we ought to get it -out easily." <br> -<p>"Wait a jiffy," called the Woozy, and then it went to a tree -and hugged it with its front paws, so that its body couldn't be -dragged around by the pull. "All ready, now. Go ahead!"<br> -</p> - -Ojo grasped the hair with both hands and pulled with all his -strength, while Scraps seized the boy around his waist and added -her strength to his. But the hair wouldn't budge. Instead, it -slipped out of Ojo's hands and he and Scraps both rolled upon the -ground in a heap and never stopped until they bumped against the -rocky cave. <br> -<p>"Give it up," advised the Glass Cat, as the boy arose and -assisted the Patchwork Girl to her feet. "A dozen strong men -couldn't pull out those Hairs. I believe they're clinched on the -under side of the Woozy's thick skin."<br> -</p> - -"Then what shall I do?" asked the boy, despairingly. "If on our -return I fail to take these three hairs to the Crooked Magician, -the other things I have come to seek will be of no use at all, -and we cannot restore Unc Nunkie and Margolotte to life." <br> -<p>"They're goners, I guess," said the Patchwork Girl.<br> -</p> - -"Never mind," added the cat. "I can't see that old Unc and -Margolotte are worth all this trouble, anyhow." <br> -<p>But Ojo did not feel that way. He was so disheartened that he -sat down upon a stump and began to cry.<br> -</p> - -The Woozy looked at the boy thoughtfully. <br> -<p>"Why don't you take me with you?" asked the beast. "Then, when -at last you get to the Magician's house, he can surely find some -way to pull out those three hairs."<br> -</p> - -Ojo was overjoyed at this suggestion. <br> -<p>"That's it!" he cried, wiping away the tears and springing to -his feet with a smile. "If I take the three hairs to the -Magician, it won't matter if they are still in your body."<br> -</p> - -"It can't matter in the least," agreed the Woozy. <br> -<p>"Come on, then," said the boy, picking up his basket; "let us -start at once. I have several other things to find, you -know."<br> -</p> - -But the Class Cat gave a little laugh and inquired in her -scornful way: <br> -<p>"How do you intend to get the beast out of this forest?"<br> -</p> - -That puzzled them all for a time. <br> -<p>"Let us go to the fence, and then we may find a way," -suggested Scraps. So they walked through the forest to the fence, -reaching it at a point exactly opposite that where they had -entered the enclosure.<br> -</p> - -"How did you get in?" asked the Woozy. <br> -<p>"We climbed over," answered Ojo.<br> -</p> - -"I can't do that," said the beast. "I'm a very swift runner, for -I can overtake a honey-bee as it flies; and I can jump very high, -which is the reason they made such a tall fence to keep me in. -But I can't climb at all, and I'm too big to squeeze between the -bars of the fence." <br> -<p>Ojo tried to think what to do.<br> -</p> - -"Can you dig?" he asked. <br> -<p>"No," answered the Woozy, "for I have no claws. My feet are -quite flat on the bottom of them. Nor can I gnaw away the boards, -as I have no teeth."<br> -</p> - -"You're not such a terrible creature, after all," remarked -Scraps. <br> -<p>"You haven't heard me growl, or you wouldn't say that," -declared the Woozy. "When I growl, the sound echoes like thunder -all through the valleys and woodlands, and children tremble with -fear, and women cover their heads with their aprons, and big men -run and hide. I suppose there is nothing in the world so terrible -to listen to as the growl of a Woosy."<br> -</p> - -"Please don't growl, then," begged Ojo, earnestly. <br> -<p>"There is no danger of my growling, for I am not angry. Only -when angry do I utter my fearful, ear-splitting, soul-shuddering -growl. Also, when I am angry, my eyes flash fire, whether I growl -or not."<br> -</p> - -"Real fire?" asked Ojo. <br> -<p>"Of course, real fire. Do you suppose they'd flash imitation -fire?" inquired the Woozy, in an injured tone.<br> -</p> - -"In that case, I've solved the riddle," cried Scraps, dancing -with glee. "Those fence-boards are made of wood, and if the Woozy -stands close to the fence and lets his eyes flash fire, they -might set fire to the fence and burn it up. Then he could walk -away with us easily, being free." <br> -<p>"Ah, I have never thought of that plan, or I would have been -free long ago," said the Woozy. "But I cannot flash fire from my -eyes unless I am very angry."<br> -</p> - -"Can't you get angry 'bout something, please?" asked Ojo. <br> -<p>"I'll try. You just say 'Krizzle-Kroo' to me."<br> -</p> - -"Will that make you angry?" inquired the boy~. <br> -<p>"Terribly angry."<br> -</p> - -"What does it mean?" asked Scraps. <br> -<p>"I don't know; that's what makes me so angry," re-plied the -Woozy.<br> -</p> - -He then stood close to the fence, with his head near one of the -boards, and Scraps called out "Krizzle-Kroo!" Then Ojo said -"Krizzle-Kroo!" and the Glass Cat said "Krizzle-Kroo!" The Woozy -began to tremble with anger and small sparks darted from his -eyes. Seeing this, they all cried "Krizzle-Kroo!" together, and -that made the beast's eyes flash fire so fiercely that the -fence-board caught the sparks and began to smoke. Then it burst -into flame, and the Woozy stepped back and said triumphantly: -<br> -<p>"Aha! That did the business, all right. It was a happy thought -for you to yell all together, for that made me as angry as I have -ever been. Fine sparks, weren't they?"<br> -</p> - -"Reg'lar fireworks," replied Scraps, admiringly. <br> -<p>In a few moments the board had burned to a distance of several -feet, leaving an opening big enough for them all to pass through. -Ojo broke some branches from a tree and with them whipped the -fire until it was extinguished.<br> -</p> - -"We don't want to burn the whole fence down," said he, "for the -flames would attract the attention of the Munchkin farmers, who -would then come and capture the Woozy again. I guess they'll be -rather surprised when they find he's escaped." <br> -<p>"So they will," declared the Woozy, chuckling gleefully. "When -they find I'm gone the farmers will be badly scared, for they'll -expect me to eat up their honey-bees, as I did before."<br> -</p> - -"That reminds me," said the boy, "that you must promise not to -eat honey-bees while you are in our company." <br> -<p>"None at all?"<br> -</p> - -"Not a bee. You would get us all into trouble, and we can't -afford to have any more trouble than is necessary. I'll feed you -all the bread and cheese you want, and that must satisfy you." -<br> -<p>"All right; I'll promise," said the Woozy, cheerfully. "And -when I promise anything you can depend on it, 'cause I'm -square."<br> -</p> - -"I don't see what difference that makes," observed the Patchwork -Girl, as they found the path and continued their journey. "The -shape doesn't make a thing honest, does it?" <br> -<p>"Of course it does," returned the Woozy, very decidedly. "No -one could trust that Crooked Magician, for instance, just because -he is crooked; but a square Woozy couldn't do anything crooked if -he wanted to."<br> -</p> - -"I am neither square nor crooked," said Scraps, looking down at -her plump body. <br> -<p>"No; you're round, so you're liable to do anything," asserted -the Woozy. "Do not blame me, Miss Gorgeous, if I regard you with -suspicion. Many a satin ribbon has a cotton back."<br> -</p> - -Scraps didn't understand this, but she had an uneasy misgiving -that she had a cotton back herself. It would settle down, at -times, and make her squat and dumpy, and then she had to roll -herself in the road until her body stretched out again. <br> -<p><br> -</p> - -<h1 id="ref_11">Chapter Ten</h1> - -<br> -<p>Shaggy Man to the Rescue<br> -</p> - -They had not gone very far before Bungle, who had run on ahead, -came bounding back to say that the road of yellow bricks was just -before them. At once they hurried forward to see what this famous -road looked like. <br> -<p>It was a broad road, but not straight, for it wandered over -hill and dale and picked out the easiest places to go. All its -length and breadth was paved with smooth bricks of a bright -yellow color, so it was smooth and level except in a few places -where the bricks had crumbled or been removed, leaving holes that -might cause the unwary to stumble.<br> -</p> - -"I wonder," said Ojo, looking up and down the road, "which way to -go." <br> -<p>"Where are you bound for?" asked the Woozy.<br> -</p> - -"The Emerald City," he replied. <br> -<p>"Then go west," said the Woozy. "I know this road pretty well, -for I've chased many a honey-bee over it."<br> -</p> - -"Have you ever been to the Emerald City?" asked Scraps. <br> -<p>"No. I am very shy by nature, as you may have noticed, so I -haven't mingled much in society."<br> -</p> - -"Are you afraid of men?" inquired the Patchwork Girl. <br> -<p>"Me? With my heart-rending growl-my horrible, shudderful -growl? I should say not. I am not afraid of anything," declared -the Woozy.<br> -</p> - -"I wish I could say the same," sighed Ojo. "I don't think we need -be afraid when we get to the Emerald City, for Unc Nunkie has -told me that Ozma, our girl Ruler, is very lovely and kind, and -tries to help everyone who is in trouble. But they say there are -many dangers lurking on the road to the great Fairy City, and so -we must be very careful." <br> -<p>"I hope nothing will break me," said the Glass Cat, in a -nervous voice. "I'm a little brittle, you know, and can't stand -many hard knocks."<br> -</p> - -"If anything should fade the colors of my lovely patches it would -break my heart," said the Patchwork Girl. <br> -<p>"I'm not sure you have a heart," Ojo reminded her.<br> -</p> - -"Then it would break my cotton," persisted Scraps. "Do you think -they are all fast colors, Ojo?" she asked anxiously. <br> -<p>"They seem fast enough when you run," he replied; and then, -looking ahead of them, he exclaimed: "Oh, what lovely trees!"<br> -</p> - -They were certainly pretty to look upon and the travelers hurried -forward to observe them more closely. <br> -<p>"Why, they are not trees at all," said Scraps; "they are just -monstrous plants."<br> -</p> - -That is what they really were: masses of great broad leaves which -rose from the ground far into the air, until they towered twice -as high as the top of the Patchwork Girl's head, who was a little -taller than Ojo. The plants formed rows on both sides of the road -and from each plant rose a dozen or more of the big broad leaves, -which swayed continually from side to side, although no wind was -blowing. But the most curious thing about the swaying leaves was -their color. They seemed to have a general groundwork of blue, -but here and there other colors glinted at times through the -blue--gorgeous yellows, turning to pink, purple, orange and -scarlet, mingled with more sober browns and grays--each appearing -as a blotch or stripe anywhere on a leaf and then disappearing, -to be replaced by some other color of a different shape. The -changeful coloring of the great leaves was very beautiful, but it -was bewildering, as well, and the novelty of the scene drew our -travelers close to the line of plants, where they stood watching -them with rapt interest. <br> -<p>Suddenly a leaf bent lower than usual and touched the -Patchwork Girl. Swiftly it enveloped her in its embrace, covering -her completely in its thick folds, and then it swayed back upon -its stem.<br> -</p> - -"Why, she's gone!" gasped Ojo, in amazement, and listening -carefully he thought he could hear the muffled screams of Scraps -coming from the center of the folded leaf. But, before he could -think what he ought to do to save her, another leaf bent down and -captured the Glass Cat, rolling around the little creature until -she was completely hidden, and then straightening up again upon -its stem. <br> -<p>"Look out," cried the Woozy. "Run! Run fast, or you are -lost."<br> -</p> - -Ojo turned and saw the Woozy running swiftly up the road. But the -last leaf of the row of plants seized the beast even as he ran -and instantly he disappeared from sight. <br> -<p>The boy had no chance to escape. Half a dozen of the great -leaves were bending toward him from different directions and as -he stood hesitating one of them clutched him in its embrace. In a -flash he was in the dark. Then he felt himself gently lifted -until he was swaying in the air, with the folds of the leaf -hugging him on all sides.<br> -</p> - -At first he struggled hard to escape, crying out in anger: "Let -me go! Let me go!" But neither struggles nor protests had any -effect whatever. The leaf held him firmly and he was a prisoner." -<br> -<p>Then Ojo quieted himself and tried to think. Despair fell upon -him when he remembered that all his little party had been -captured, even as he was, and there was none to save them.<br> -</p> - -"I might have expected it," he sobbed, miserably. "I'm Ojo the -Unlucky, and something dreadful was sure to happen to me." <br> -<p>He pushed against the leaf that held him and found it to be -soft, but thick and firm. It was like a great bandage all around -him and he found it difficult to move his body or limbs in order -to change their position.<br> -</p> - -The minutes passed and became hours. Ojo wondered how long one -could live in such a condition and if the leaf would gradually -sap his strength and even his life, in order to feed itself. The -little Munchkin boy had never heard of any person dying in the -Land of Oz, but he knew one could suffer a great deal of pain. -His greatest fear at this time was that he would always remain -imprisoned in the beautiful leaf and never see the light of day -again. <br> -<p>No sound came to him through the leaf; all around was intense -silence. Ojo wondered if Scraps had stopped screaming, or if the -folds of the leaf prevented his hearing her. By and by he thought -he heard a whistle, as of some one whistling a tune. Yes; it -really must be some one whistling, he decided, for he could -follow the strains of a pretty Munchkin melody that Unc Nunkie -used to sing to him. The sounds were low and sweet and, although -they reached Ojo's ears very faintly, they were clear and -harmonious.<br> -</p> - -Could the leaf whistle, Ojo wondered? Nearer and nearer came the -sounds and then they seemed to be just the other side of the leaf -that was hugging him. <br> -<p>Suddenly the whole leaf toppled and fell, carrying the boy -with it, and while he sprawled at full length the folds slowly -relaxed and set him free. He scrambled quickly to his feet and -found that a strange man was standing before him--a man so -curious in appearance that the boy stared with round eyes.<br> -</p> - -He was a big man, with shaggy whiskers, shaggy eyebrows, shaggy -hair--but kindly blue eyes that were gentle as those of a cow. On -his head was a green velvet hat with a jeweled band, which was -all shaggy around the brim. Rich but shaggy laces were at his -throat; a coat with shaggy edges was decorated with diamond -buttons; the velvet breeches had jeweled buckles at the knees and -shags all around the bottoms. On his breast hung a medallion -bearing a picture of Princess Dorothy of Oz, and in his hand, as -he stood looking at Ojo, was a sharp knife shaped like a dagger. -<br> -<p>"Oh!" exclaimed Ojo, greatly astonished at the sight of this -stranger; and then he added: "Who has saved me, sir?"<br> -</p> - -"Can't you see?" replied the other, with a smile; "I'm the Shaggy -Man." <br> -<p>"Yes; I can see that," said the boy, nodding. "Was it you who -rescued me from the leaf?"<br> -</p> - -"None other, you may be sure. But take care, or I shall have to -rescue you again." <br> -<p>Ojo gave a jump, for he saw several broad leaves leaning -toward him; but the Shaggy Man began to whistle again, and at the -sound the leaves all straightened up on their stems and kept -still.<br> -</p> - -The man now took Ojo's arm and led him up the road, past the last -of the great plants, and not till he was safely beyond their -reach did he cease his whistling. <br> -<p>"You see, the music charms 'em," said he. "Singing or -whistling--it doesn't matter which-makes 'em behave, and nothing -else will. I always whistle as I go by 'em and so they always let -me alone. Today as I went by, whistling, I saw a leaf curled and -knew there must be something inside it. I cut down the leaf with -my knife and--out you popped. Lucky I passed by, wasn't it?"<br> -</p> - -"You were very kind," said Ojo, "and I thank you. Will you please -rescue my companions, also?" <br> -<p>"What companions?" asked the Shaggy Man.<br> -</p> - -"The leaves grabbed them all," said the boy. "There's a Patchwork -Girl and--" <br> -<p>"A what?"<br> -</p> - -"A girl made of patchwork, you know. She's alive and her name is -Scraps. And there's a Glass Cat--" <br> -<p>"Glass?" asked the Shaggy Man.<br> -</p> - -"All glass." <br> -<p>"And alive?"<br> -</p> - -"Yes," said Ojo; "she has pink brains. And there's a Woozy--" -<br> -<p>"What's a Woozy?" inquired the Shaggy Man.<br> -</p> - -"Why, I--I--can't describe it," answered the boy, greatly -perplexed. "But it's a queer animal with three hairs on the tip -of its tail that won't come out and--" <br> -<p>"What won't come out?" asked the Shaggy Man; "the tail?"<br> -</p> - -"The hairs won't come out. But you'll see the Woozy, if you'll -please rescue it, and then you'll know just what it is." <br> -<p>"Of course," said the Shaggy Man, nodding his shaggy head. And -then he walked back among the plants, still whistling, and found -the three leaves which were curled around Ojo's traveling -companions. The first leaf he cut down released Scraps, and on -seeing her the Shaggy Man threw back his shaggy head, opened wide -his mouth and laughed so shaggily and yet so merrily that Scraps -liked him at once. Then he took off his hat and made her a low -bow, saying:<br> -</p> - -"My dear, you're a wonder. I must introduce you to my friend the -Scarecrow." <br> -<p>When he cut down the second leaf he rescued the Glass Cat, and -Bungle was so frightened that she scampered away like a streak -and soon had joined Ojo, when she sat beside him panting and -trembling. The last plant of all the row had captured the Woozy, -and a big bunch in the center of the curled leaf showed plainly -where he was. With his sharp knife the Shaggy Man sliced off the -stem of the leaf and as it fell and unfolded out trotted the -Woozy and escaped beyond the reach of any more of the dangerous -plants.<br> -</p> - -<br> -<h1 id="ref_12">Chapter Eleven</h1> - -<br> -A Good Friend <br> -<p>Soon the entire party was gathered on the road of yellow -bricks, quite beyond the reach of the beautiful but treacherous -plants. The Shaggy Man, staring first at one and then at the -other, seemed greatly pleased and interested.<br> -</p> - -"I've seen queer things since I came to the Land of Oz," said he, -"but never anything queerer than this band of adventurers. Let us -sit down a while, and have a talk and get acquainted." <br> -<p>"Haven't you always lived in the Land of Oz?" asked the -Munchkin boy.<br> -</p> - -"No; I used to live in the big, outside world. But I came here -once with Dorothy, and Ozma let me stay." <br> -<p>"How do you like Oz?" asked Scraps. "Isn't the country and the -climate grand?"<br> -</p> - -"It's the finest country in all the world, even if it is a -fairyland. and I'm happy every minute I live in it," said the -Shaggy Man. "But tell me something about yourselves." <br> -<p>So Ojo related the story of his visit to the house of the -Crooked Magician, and how he met there the Class Cat, and how the -Patchwork Girl was brought to life and of the terrible accident -to Unc Nunkie and Margdotte. Then he told how he had set out to -find the five different things which the Magician needed to make -a charm that would restore the marble figures to life, one -requirement being three hairs from a Woozy's tail.<br> -</p> - -"We found the Woozy," explained the boy, "and he agreed to give -us the three hairs; but we couldn't pull them out. So we had to -bring the Woozy along with us." <br> -<p>"I see," returned the Shaggy Man, who had listened with -interest to the story. "But perhaps I, who am big and strong, can -pull those three hairs from the Woozy's tail."<br> -</p> - -"Try it, if you like," said the Woozy. <br> -<p>So the Shaggy Man tried it, but pull as hard as he could he -failed to get the hairs out of the Woozy's tail. So he sat down -again and wiped his shaggy face with a shaggy silk handkerchief -and said:<br> -</p> - -"It doesn't matter. If you can keep the Woozy until you get the -rest of the things you need, you can take the beast and his three -hairs to the Crooked Magician and let him find a way to extract -'em. What are the other things you are to find?" <br> -<p>"One," said Ojo, "is a six-leaved clover."<br> -</p> - -"You ought to find that in the fields around the Emerald City," -said the Shaggy Man. "There is a Law against picking six-leaved -clovers, but I think I can get Ozma to let you have one." <br> -<p>"Thank you," replied Ojo. "The next thing is the left wing of -a yellow butterfly."<br> -</p> - -"For that you must go to the Winkle Country," the Shaggy Man -declared. "I've never noticed any butterflies there, but that is -the yellow country of Oz and it's ruled, by a good friend of -mine, the Tin Woodman." <br> -<p>"Oh, I've heard of him!" exclaimed Ojo. "He must be a -wonderful man."<br> -</p> - -"So he is, and his heart is wonderfully kind. I'm sure the Tin -Woodman will do all in his power to help you to save your Unc -Nunkie and poor Margolotte." <br> -<p>"The next thing I must find," said the Munchkin boy, "is a -gill of water from a dark well."<br> -</p> - -"Indeed! Well, that is more difficult," said the Shaggy Man, -scratching his left ear in a puzzled way. "I've never heard of a -dark well; have you?" <br> -<p>"No," said Ojo.<br> -</p> - -"Do you know where one may be found?" inquired the Shaggy Man. -<br> -<p>"I can't imagine," said Ojo.<br> -</p> - -"Then we must ask the Scarecrow." <br> -<p>"The Scarecrow! But surely, sir, a scarecrow can't know -anything."<br> -</p> - -"Most scarecrows don't, I admit," answered the Shaggy Man. "But -this Scarecrow of whom I speak is very intelligent. He claims to -possess the best brains in all Oz." <br> -<p>"Better than mine?" asked Scraps.<br> -</p> - -"Better than mine?" echoed the Glass Cat. "Mine are pink, and you -can see 'em work." <br> -<p>"Well, you can't see the Scarecrow's brains work, but they do -a lot of clever thinking," asserted the Shaggy Man. "If anyone -knows where a dark well is, it's my friend the Scarecrow."<br> -</p> - -"Where does he live?" inquired Ojo. <br> -<p>"He has a splendid castle in the Winkle Country, near to the -palace of his friend the Tin Woodman, and he is often to be found -in the Emerald City, where he visits Dorothy at the royal -palace."<br> -</p> - -"Then we will ask him about the dark well," said Ojo. <br> -<p>"But what else does this Crooked Magician want?" asked the -Shaggy Man.<br> -</p> - -"A drop of oil from a live man's body." <br> -<p>"Oh; but there isn't such a thing."<br> -</p> - -"That is what I thought," replied Ojo; "but the Crooked Magician -said it wouldn't be called for by the recipe if it couldn't be -found, and therefore I must search until I find it." <br> -<p>"I wish you good luck," said the Shaggy Man, shaking his head -doubtfully; "but I imagine you'll have a hard job getting a drop -of oil from a live man's body. There's blood in a body, but no -oil."<br> -</p> - -"There's cotton in mine," said Scraps, dancing a little jig. <br> -<p>"I don't doubt it," returned the Shaggy Man admiringly. -"You're a regular comforter and as sweet as patchwork can be. All -you lack is dignity."<br> -</p> - -"I hate dignity," cried Scraps, kicking a pebble high in the air -and then trying to catch it as it fell. "Half the fools and all -the wise folks are dignified, and I'm neither the one nor the -other." <br> -<p>"She's just crazy," explained the Glass Cat.<br> -</p> - -The Shaggy Man laughed. <br> -<p>"She's delightful, in her way," he said. "I'm sure Dorothy -will be pleased with her, and the Scarecrow will dote on her. Did -you say you were traveling toward the Emerald City?"<br> -</p> - -"Yes," replied Ojo. "I thought that the best place to go, at -first, because the six-leaved clover may be found there." <br> -<p>"I'll go with you," said the Shaggy Man, "and show you the -way."<br> -</p> - -"Thank you," exclaimed Ojo. "I hope it won't put you out any." -<br> -<p>"No," said the other, "I wasn't going anywhere in particular. -I've been a rover all my life, and although Ozma has given me a -suite of beautiful rooms in her palace I still get the wandering -fever once in a while and start out to roam the country over. -I've been away from the Emerald City several weeks, this time, -and now that I've met you and your friends I'm sure it will -interest me to accompany you to the great city of Oz and -introduce you to my friends."<br> -</p> - -"That will be very nice," said the boy, gratefully. <br> -<p>"I hope your friends are not dignified," observed Scraps.<br> -</p> - -"Some are, and some are not," he answered; "but I never criticise -my friends. If they are really true friends; they may be anything -they like, for all of me." <br> -<p>"There's some sense in that," said Scraps, nodding her queer -head in approval. "Come on, and let's get to the Emerald City as -soon as possible." With this she ran up the path, skipping and -dancing, and then turned to await them.<br> -</p> - -"It is quite a distance from here to the Emerald City," remarked -the Shaggy Man, "so we shall not get there to-day, nor to-morrow. -Therefore let us take the jaunt in an easy manner. I'm an old -traveler and have found that I never gain anything by being in a -hurry. 'Take it easy' is my motto. If you can't take it easy, -take it as easy as you can." <br> -<p>After walking some distance over the road of yellow bricks Ojo -said he was hungry and would stop to eat some bread and cheese. -He offered a portion of the food to the Shaggy Man, who thanked -him but refused it.<br> -</p> - -"When I start out on my travels," said he, "I carry along enough -square meals to last me several weeks. Think I'll indulge in one -now, as long as we're stopping anyway." <br> -<p>Saying this, he took a bottle from his pocket and shook from -it a tablet about the size of one of Ojo's finger-nails.<br> -</p> - -"That," announced the Shaggy Man, "is a square meal, in condensed -form. Invention of the great Professor Woggle-Bug, of the Royal -College of Athletics. It contains soup, fish, roast meat, salad, -apple-dumplings, ice cream and chocolatedrops, all boiled down to -this small size, so it can be conveniently carried and swallowed -when you are hungry and need a square meal." <br> -<p>"I'm square," said the Woozy. "Give me one, please."<br> -</p> - -So the Shaggy Man gave the Woozy a tablet from his bottle and the -beast ate it in a twinkling. <br> -<p>"You have now had a six course dinner," declared the Shaggy -Man.<br> -</p> - -"Pshaw!" said the Woozy, ungratefully, "I want to taste -something. There's no fun in that sort of eating." <br> -<p>"One should only eat to sustain life," replied the Shaggy Man, -"and that tablet is equal to a peck of other food."<br> -</p> - -"I don't care for it. I want something I can chew and taste," -grumbled the Woozy. <br> -<p>"You are quite wrong, my poor beast," said the Shaggy Man in a -tone of pity. "Think how tired your jaws would get chewing a -square meal like this, if it were not condensed to the size of a -small tablet--which you can swallow in a jiffy."<br> -</p> - -"Chewing isn't tiresome; it's fun, maintained the Woozy. "I -always chew the honey-bees when I catch them. Give me some bread -and cheese, Ojo." <br> -<p>"No, no! You've already eaten a big dinner!" protested the -Shaggy Man.<br> -</p> - -"May be," answered the Woozy; "but I guess I'll fool myself by -munching some bread and cheese. I may not be hungry, having eaten -all those things you gave me, but I consider this eating business -a matter of taste, and I like to realize what's going into me." -<br> -<p>Ojo gave the beast what he wanted, but the Shaggy Man shook -his shaggy head reproachfully and said there was no animal so -obstinate or hard to convince as a Woozy.<br> -</p> - -At this moment a patter of footsteps was heard, and looking up -they saw the live phonograph standing before them. It seemed to -have passed through many adventures since Ojo and his comrades -last saw the machine, for the varnish of its wooden case was all -marred and dented and scratched in a way that gave it an aged and -disreputable appearance. <br> -<p>"Dear me!" exclaimed Ojo, staring hard. "What has happened to -you?"<br> -</p> - -"Nothing much," replied the phonograph in a sad and depressed -voice. "I've had enough things thrown at me, since I left you, to -stock a department store and furnish half a dozen -bargain-counters." <br> -<p>"Are you so broken up that you can't play?" asked Scraps.<br> -</p> - -"No; I still am able to grind out delicious music. Just now I've -a record on tap that is really superb," said the phonograph, -growing more cheerful. <br> -<p>"That is too bad," remarked Ojo. "We've no objection to you as -a machine, you know; but as a music-maker we hate you."<br> -</p> - -"Then why was I ever invented?" demanded the machine, in a tone -of indignant protest. <br> -<p>They looked at one another inquiringly, but no one could -answer such a puzzling question. Finally the Shaggy Man said:<br> -</p> - -"I'd like to hear the phonograph play." <br> -<p>Ojo sighed. "We've been very happy since we met you, sir," he -said.<br> -</p> - -"I know. But a little misery, at times, makes one appreciate -happiness more. Tell me, Phony, what is this record like, which -you say you have on tap?" <br> -<p>"It's a popular song, sir. In all civilized lands the common -people have gone wild over it."<br> -</p> - -"Makes civilized folks wild folks, eh? Then it's dangerous." <br> -<p>"Wild with joy, I mean," explained the phonograph. "Listen. -This song will prove a rare treat to you, I know. It made the -author rich--for an author. It is called 'My Lulu.'"<br> -</p> - -Then the phonograph began to play. A strain of odd, jerky sounds -was followed by these words, sung by a man through his nose with -great vigor of expression: <br> -<p>"Ah wants mah Lulu, mah coal-black Lulu; Ah wants mah loo-loo, -loo-loo, loo-loo, Lu! Ah loves mah Lulu, mah coal-black Lulu, -There ain't nobody else loves loo-loo, Lu!"<br> -</p> - -"Here-shut that off!" cried the Shaggy Man, springing to his -feet. "What do you mean by such impertinence?" <br> -<p>"It's the latest popular song," declared the phonograph, -speaking in a sulky tone of voice.<br> -</p> - -"A popular song?" <br> -<p>"Yes. One that the feeble-minded can remember the words of and -those ignorant of music can whistle or sing. That makes a popular -song popular, and the time is coming when it will take the place -of all other songs."<br> -</p> - -"That time won't come to us, just yet," said the Shaggy Man, -sternly: "I'm something of a singer myself, and I don't intend to -be throttled by any Lulus like your coal-black one. I shall take -you all apart, Mr. Phony, and scatter your pieces far and wide -over the country, as a matter of kindness to the people you might -meet if allowed to run around loose. Having performed this -painful duty I shall--" <br> -<p>But before he could say more the phonograph turned and dashed -up the road as fast as its four table-legs could carry it, and -soon it had entirely disappeared from their view.<br> -</p> - -The Shaggy Man sat down again and seemed well pleased. "Some one -else will save me the trouble of scattering that phonograph," -said he; "for it is not possible that such a music-maker can last -long in the Land of Oz. When you are rested, friends, let us go -on our way." <br> -<p>During the afternoon the travelers found themselves in a -lonely and uninhabited part of the country. Even the fields were -no longer cultivated and the country began to resemble a -wilderness. The road of yellow bricks seemed to have been -neglected and became uneven and more difficult to walk upon. -Scrubby under-brush grew on either side of the way. while huge -rocks were scattered around in abundance.<br> -</p> - -But this did not deter Ojo and his friends from trudging on, and -they beguiled the journey with jokes and cheerful conversation. -Toward evening they reached a crystal spring which gushed from a -tall rock by the roadside and near this spring stood a deserted -cabin. Said the Shaggy Man, halting here: <br> -<p>"We may as well pass the night here, where there is shelter -for our heads and good water to drink. Road beyond here is pretty -bad; worst we shall have to travel; so let's wait until morning -before we tackle it."<br> -</p> - -They agreed to this and Ojo found some brushwood in the cabin and -made a fire on the hearth. The fire delighted Scraps, who danced -before it until Ojo warned her she might set fire to herself and -burn up. After that the Patchwork Girl kept at a respectful -distance from the darting flames, but the Woozy lay down before -the fire like a big dog and seemed to enjoy its warmth. <br> -<p>For supper the Shaggy Man ate one of his tablets, but Ojo -stuck to his bread and cheese as the most satisfying food. He -also gave a portion to the Woozy.<br> -</p> - -When darkness came on and they sat in a circle on the cabin -floor, facing the firelight--there being no furniture of any sort -in the place--Ojo said to the Shaggy Man: <br> -<p>"Won't you tell us a story?"<br> -</p> - -"I'm not good at stories," was the reply; "but I sing like a -bird." <br> -<p>"Raven, or crow?" asked the Glass Cat.<br> -</p> - -"Like a song bird. I'll prove it. I'll sing a song I composed -myself. Don't tell anyone I'm a poet; they might want me to write -a book. Don't tell 'em I can sing, or they'd want me to make -records for that awful phonograph. Haven't time to be a public -benefactor, so I'll just sing you this little song for your own -amusement." <br> -<p>They were glad enough to be entertained, and listened with -interest while the Shaggy Man chanted the following verses to a -tune that was not unpleasant:<br> -</p> - -"I'll sing a song of Ozland, where wondrous creatures dwell And -fruits and flowers and shady bowers abound in every dell, Where -magic is a science and where no one shows surprise If some -amazing thing takes place before his very eyes. <br> -<p>Our Ruler's a bewitching girl whom fairies love to please; -She's always kept her magic sceptre to enforce decrees To make -her people happy, for her heart is kind and true And to aid the -needy and distressed is what she longs to do.<br> -</p> - -And then there's Princess Dorothy, as sweet as any rose, A lass -from Kansas, where they don't grow fairies, I Suppose; And -there's the brainy Scarecrow, with a body stuffed with straw, Who -utters words of wisdom rare that fill us all with awe. <br> -<p>I'll not forget Nick Chopper, the Woodman made of Tin, Whose -tender heart thinks killing time is quite a dreadful sin, Nor old -Professor Woggle-Bug, who's highly magnified And looks so big to -everyone that he is filled with pride.<br> -</p> - -Jack Pumpkinhead's a dear old chum who might be called a chump, -But won renown by riding round upon a magic Gump; The Sawhorse is -a splendid steed and though he's made of wood He does as many -thrilling stunts as any meat horse could. <br> -<p>And now I'll introduce a beast that ev'ryone adores-The -Cowardly Lion shakes with fear 'most ev'ry time he roars, And yet -he does the bravest things that any lion might, Because he knows -that cowardice is not considered right.<br> -</p> - -There's Tik-tok-he's a clockwork man and quite a funny sight-He -talks and walks mechanically, when he's wound up tight; And we've -a Hungry Tiger who would babies love to eat But never does -because we feed him other kinds of meat. <br> -<p>It's hard to name all of the freaks this noble Land's -acquired; 'Twould make my song so very long that you would soon -be tired; But give attention while I mention one wise Yellow Hen -And Nine fine Tiny Piglets living in a golden pen.<br> -</p> - -Just search the whole world over--sail the seas from coast to -coast-No other nation in creation queerer folk can boast; And now -our rare museum will include a Cat of Glass, A Woozy, and--last -but not least--a crazy Patchwork Lass." <br> -<p><br> -</p> - -Ojo was so pleased with this song that he applauded the singer by -clapping his hands, and Scraps followed suit by clapping her -padded fingers together. although they made no noise. The cat -pounded on the floor with her glass paws--gently, so as not to -break them--and the Woozy. which had been asleep, woke up to ask -what the row was about. <br> -<p>"I seldom sing in public, for fear they might want me to start -an opera company," remarked the Shaggy Man, who was pleased to -know his effort was appreciated. "Voice, just now is a little out -of training; rusty, perhaps."<br> -</p> - -"Tell me," said the Patchwork Girl earnestly, "do all those queer -people you mention really live in the Land of Oz?" <br> -<p>"Every one of 'em. I even forgot one thing: Dorothy's Pink -Kitten."<br> -</p> - -"For goodness sake!" exclaimed Bungle, sitting up and looking -interested. "A Pink Kitten? How absurd! Is it glass?" <br> -<p>"No; just ordinary kitten."<br> -</p> - -"Then it can't amount to much. I have pink brains, and you can -see 'em work." <br> -<p>"Dorothy's kitten is all pink--brains and all-except blue -eyes. Name's Eureka. Great favorite at the royal palace," said -the Shaggy Man, yawning.<br> -</p> - -The Glass Cat seemed annoyed. <br> -<p>"Do you think a pink kitten--common meat--is as pretty as I -am?" she asked.<br> -</p> - -"Can't say. Tastes differ, you know," replied the Shaggy Man, -yawning again. "But here's a pointer that may be of service to -you: make friends with Eureka and you'll be solid at the palace." -<br> -<p>"I'm solid now; solid glass."<br> -</p> - -"You don't understand," rejoined the Shaggy Man, sleepily. -"Anyhow, make friends with the Pink Kitten and you'll be all -right. If the Pink Kitten despises you, look out for breakers." -<br> -<p>"Would anyone at the royal palace break a Glass Cat?"<br> -</p> - -"Might. You never can tell. Advise you to purr soft and look -humble--if you can. And now I'm going to bed." <br> -<p>Bungle considered the Shaggy Man's advice so carefully that -her pink brains were busy long after the others of the party were -fast asleep.<br> -</p> - -<br> -<h1 id="ref_13">Chapter Twelve</h1> - -<br> -The Giant Porcupine <br> -<p>Next morning they started out bright and early to follow the -road of yellow bricks toward the Emerald City. The little -Munchkin boy was beginning to feel tired from the long walk, and -he had a great many things to think of and consider besides the -events of the journey. At the wonderful Emerald City, which he -would presently reach, were so many strange and curious people -that he was half afraid of meeting them and wondered if they -would prove friendly and kind. Above all else, he could not drive -from his mind the important errand on which he had come, and he -was determined to devote every energy to finding the things that -were necessary to prepare the magic recipe. He believed that -until dear Unc Nunkie was restored to life he could feel no joy -in anything, and often he wished that Unc could be with him, to -see all the astonishing things Ojo was seeing. But alas Unc -Nunkie was now a marble statue in the house of the Crooked -Magician and Ojo must not falter in his efforts to save him.<br> -</p> - -The country through which they were passing was still rocky and -deserted, with here and there a bush or a tree to break the -dreary landscape. Ojo noticed one tree, especially, because it -had such long, silky leaves and was so beautiful in shape. As he -approached it he studied the tree earnestly, wondering if any -fruit grew on it or if it bore pretty flowers. <br> -<p>Suddenly he became aware that he had been looking at that tree -a long time--at least for five minutes--and it had remained in -the same position, although the boy had continued to walk -steadily on. So he stopped short. and when he stopped, the tree -and all the landscape, as well as his companions, moved on before -him and left him far behind.<br> -</p> - -Ojo uttered such a cry of astonishment that it aroused the Shaggy -Man, who also halted. The others then stopped, too, and walked -back to the boy. <br> -<p>"What's wrong?" asked the Shaggy Man.<br> -</p> - -"Why, we're not moving forward a bit, no matter how fast we -walk," declared Ojo. "Now that we have stopped, we are moving -backward! Can't you see? Just notice that rock." <br> -<p>Scraps looked down at her feet and said: "The yellow bricks -are not moving."<br> -</p> - -"But the whole road is," answered Ojo. <br> -<p>"True; quite true," agreed the Shaggy Man. "I know all about -the tricks of this road, but I have been thinking of something -else and didn't realize where we were."<br> -</p> - -"It will carry us back to where we started from," predicted Ojo, -beginning to be nervous. <br> -<p>"No," replied the Shaggy Man; "it won't do that, for I know a -trick to beat this tricky road. I've traveled this way before, -you know. Turn around, all of you, and walk backward."<br> -</p> - -"What good will that do?" asked the cat. <br> -<p>"You'll find out, if you obey me," said the Shaggy Man.<br> -</p> - -So they all turned their backs to the direction in which they -wished to go and began walking backward. In an instant Ojo -noticed they were gaining ground and as they proceeded in this -curious way they soon passed the tree which had first attracted -his attention to their difficulty. <br> -<p>"How long must we keep this up, Shags?" asked Scraps, who was -constantly tripping and tumbling down, only to get up again with -a laugh at her mishap.<br> -</p> - -"Just a little way farther," replied the Shaggy Man. <br> -<p>A few minutes later he called to them to turn about quickly -and step forward, and as they obeyed the order they found -themselves treading solid ground.<br> -</p> - -"That task is well over," observed the Shaggy Man. "It's a little -tiresome to walk backward, but that is the only way to pass this -part of the road, which has a trick of sliding back and carrying -with it anyone who is walking upon it." <br> -<p>With new courage and energy they now trudged forward and after -a time came to a place where the road cut through a low hill, -leaving high banks on either side of it. They were traveling -along this cut, talking together, when the Shaggy Man seized -Scraps with one arm and Ojo with another and shouted: "Stop!"<br> -</p> - -"What's wrong now?" asked the Patchwork Girl. <br> -<p>"See there!" answered the Shaggy Man, pointing with his -finger.<br> -</p> - -Directly in the center of the road lay a motionless object that -bristled all over with sharp quills, which resembled arrows. The -body was as big as a ten-bushel basket, but the projecting quills -made it appear to be four times bigger. <br> -<p>"Well, what of it?" asked Scraps.<br> -</p> - -"That is Chiss, who causes a lot of trouble along this road," was -the reply. <br> -<p>"Chiss! What is Chiss?<br> -</p> - -"I think it is merely an overgrown porcupine, but here in Oz they -consider Chiss an evil spirit. He's different from a reg'lar -porcupine, because he can throw his quills in any direction, -which an American porcupine cannot do. That's what makes old -Chiss so dangerous. If we get too near, he'll fire those quills -at us and hurt us badly." <br> -<p>"Then we will be foolish to get too near, said Scraps.<br> -</p> - -"I'm not afraid," declared the Woozy. "The Chiss is cowardly, I'm -sure, and if it ever heard my awful, terrible, frightful growl, -it would be scared stiff." <br> -<p>"Oh; can you growl?" asked the Shaggy Man.<br> -</p> - -"That is the only ferocious thing about me," asserted the Woozy -with evident pride. "My growl makes an earthquake blush and the -thunder ashamed of itself. If I growled at that creature you call -Chiss, it would immediately think the world had cracked in two -and bumped against the sun and moon, and that would cause the -monster to run as far and as fast as its legs could carry it." -<br> -<p>"In that case," said the Shaggy Man, "you are now able to do -us all a great favor. Please growl."<br> -</p> - -"But you forget," returned the Woozy; "my tremendous growl would -also frighten you, and if you happen to have heart disease you -might expire." <br> -<p>"True; but we must take that risk," decided the Shaggy Man, -bravely. "Being warned of what is to occur we must try to bear -the terrific noise of your growl; but Chiss won't expect it, and -it will scare him away."<br> -</p> - -The Woozy hesitated. <br> -<p>"I'm fond of you all, and I hate to shock you," it said.<br> -</p> - -"Never mind," said Ojo. <br> -<p>"You may be made deaf."<br> -</p> - -"If so, we will forgive you. <br> -<p>"Very well, then," said the Woozy in a determined voice, and -advanced a few steps toward the giant porcupine. Pausing to look -back, it asked: "All ready?"<br> -</p> - -"All ready!" they answered. <br> -<p>"Then cover up your ears and brace yourselves firmly. Now, -then--look out!"<br> -</p> - -The Woozy turned toward Chiss, opened wide its mouth and said: -<br> -<p>"Quee-ee-ee-eek."<br> -</p> - -"Go ahead and growl," said Scraps. <br> -<p>"Why, I--I did growl!" retorted the Woozy, who seemed much -astonished.<br> -</p> - -"What, that little squeak?" she cried. <br> -<p>"It is the most awful growl that ever was heard, on land or -sea, in caverns or in the sky," protested the Woozy. "I wonder -you stood the shock so well. Didn't you feel the ground tremble? -I suppose Chiss is now quite dead with fright."<br> -</p> - -The Shaggy Man laughed merrily. <br> -<p>"Poor Wooz!" said he; "your growl wouldn't scare a fly."<br> -</p> - -The Woozy seemed to be humiliated and surprised. It hung its head -a moment, as if in shame or sorrow, but then it said with renewed -confidence: "Anyhow, my eyes can flash fire; and good fire, too; -good enough to set fire to a fence!" <br> -<p>"That is true," declared Scraps; "I saw it done myself. But -your ferocious growl isn't as loud as the tick of a beetle--or -one of Ojo's snores when he's fast asleep."<br> -</p> - -"Perhaps," said the Woozy, humbly, "I have been mistaken about my -growl. It has always sounded very fearful to me, but that may, -have been because it was so close to my ears." <br> -<p>"Never mind," Ojo said soothingly; "it is a great talent to be -able to flash fire from your eyes. No one else can do that."<br> -</p> - -As they stood hesitating what to do Chiss stirred and suddenly a -shower of quills came flying toward them, almost filling the air, -they were so many. Scraps realized in an instant that they had -gone too near to Chiss for safety, so she sprang in front of Ojo -and shielded him from the darts, which stuck their points into -her own body until she resembled one of those targets they shoot -arrows at in archery games. The Shaggy Man dropped flat on his -face to avoid the shower, but one quill struck him in the leg and -went far in. As for the Glass Cat, the quills rattled off her -body without making even a scratch, and the skin of the Woozy was -so thick and tough that he was not hurt at all. <br> -<p>When the attack was over they all ran to the Shaggy Man, who -was moaning and groaning, and Scraps promptly pulled the quill -out of his leg. Then up he jumped and ran over to Chiss, putting -his foot on the monster's neck and holding it a prisoner. The -body of the great porcupine was now as smooth as leather, except -for the holes where the quills had been, for it had shot every -single quill in that one wicked shower.<br> -</p> - -"Let me go!" it shouted angrily. "How dare you put your foot on -Chiss?" <br> -<p>"I'm going to do worse than that, old boy," replied the Shaggy -Man. "You have annoyed travelers on this road long enough, and -now I shall put an end to you."<br> -</p> - -"You can't!" returned Chiss. "Nothing can kill me, as you know -perfectly well." <br> -<p>"Perhaps that is true," said the Shaggy Man in a tone of -disappointment. "Seems to me I've been told before that you can't -be killed. But if I let you go, what will you do?"<br> -</p> - -"Pick up my quills again," said Chiss in a sulky voice. <br> -<p>"And then shoot them at more travelers? No; that won't do. You -must promise me to stop throwing quills at people."<br> -</p> - -"I won't promise anything of the sort," declared Chiss. <br> -<p>"Why not?"<br> -</p> - -"Because it is my nature to throw quills, and every animal must -do what Nature intends it to do. It isn't fair for you to blame -me. If it were wrong for me to throw quills, then I wouldn't be -made with quills to throw. The proper thing for you to do is to -keep out of my way. <br> -<p>"Why, there's some sense in that argument, admitted the Shaggy -Man, thoughtfully; "but people who are strangers, and don't know -you are here, won't be able to keep out of your way."<br> -</p> - -"Tell you what," said Scraps, who was trying to pull the quills -out of her own body, "let's gather up all the quills and take -them away with us; then old Chiss won't have any left to throw at -people." <br> -<p>"Ah, that's a clever idea. You and Ojo must gather up the -quills while I hold Chiss a prisoner; for, if I let him go he -will get some of his quills and be able to throw them again."<br> -</p> - -So Scraps and Ojo picked up all the quills and tied them in a -bundle so they might easily be carried. After this the Shaggy Man -released Chiss and let him go, knowing that he was harmless to -injure anyone. <br> -<p>"It's the meanest trick I ever heard of," muttered the -porcupine gloomily. "How would you like it, Shaggy Man, if I took -all your shags away from you?"<br> -</p> - -"If I threw my shags and hurt people, you would be welcome to -capture them," was the reply. <br> -<p>Then they walked on and left Chiss standing in the road sullen -and disconsolate. The Shaggy Man limped as he walked, for his -wound still hurt him, and Scraps was much annoyed be cause the -quills had left a number of small holes in her patches.<br> -</p> - -When they came to a flat stone by the roadside the Shaggy Man sat -down to rest, and then Ojo opened his basket and took out the -bundle of charms the Crooked Magician had given him. <br> -<p>"I am Ojo the Unlucky," he said, "or we would never have met -that dreadful porcupine. But I will see if I can find anything -among these charms which will cure your leg."<br> -</p> - -Soon he discovered that one of the charms was labelled: "For -flesh wounds," and this the boy separated from the others. It was -only a bit of dried root, taken from some unknown shrub, but the -boy rubbed it upon the wound made by the quill and in a few -moments the place was healed entirely and the Shaggy Man's leg -was as good as ever. <br> -<p>"Rub it on the holes in my patches," suggested Scraps, and Ojo -tried it, but without any effect.<br> -</p> - -"The charm you need is a needle and thread," said the Shaggy Man. -"But do not worry, my dear; those holes do not look badly, at -all." <br> -<p>"They'll let in the air, and I don't want people to think I'm -airy, or that I've been stuck up," said the Patchwork Girl.<br> -</p> - -"You were certainly stuck up until we pulled Out those quills," -observed Ojo, with a laugh. <br> -<p>So now they went on again and coming presently to a pond of -muddy water they tied a heavy stone to the bundle of quills and -sunk it to the bottom of the pond, to avoid carrying it -farther.<br> -</p> - -<br> -<h1 id="ref_14">Chapter Thirteen</h1> - -<br> -Scraps and the Scarecrow <br> -<p>From here on the country improved and the desert places began -to give way to fertile spots; still no houses were yet to be seen -near the road. There were some hills, with valleys between them, -and on reaching the top of one of these hills the travelers found -before them a high wall, running to the right and the left as far -as their eyes could reach. Immediately in front of them, where -the wall crossed the roadway, stood a gate having stout iron bars -that extended from top to bottom. They found, on coming nearer, -that this gate was locked with a great padlock, rusty through -lack of use.<br> -</p> - -"Well," said Scraps, "I guess we'll stop here." <br> -<p>"It's a good guess," replied Ojo. "Our way is barred by this -great wall and gate. It looks as if no one had passed through in -many years.<br> -</p> - -"Looks are deceiving," declared the Shaggy Man, laughing at their -disappointed faces, "and this barrier is the most deceiving thing -in all Oz." <br> -<p>"It prevents our going any farther, anyhow," said Scraps. -"There is no one to mind the gate and let people through, and -we've no key to the padlock."<br> -</p> - -"True," replied Ojo, going a little nearer to peep through the -bars of the gate. "What shall we do, Shaggy Man? If we had wings -we might fly over the wall, but we cannot climb it and unless we -get to the Emerald City I won't be able to find the things to -restore Unc Nunkie to life." <br> -<p>"All very true," answered the Shaggy Man, quietly; "but I know -this gate, having passed through it many times."<br> -</p> - -"How?" they all eagerly inquired. <br> -<p>"I'll show you how," said he. He stood Ojo in the middle of -the road and placed Scraps just behind him, with her padded hands -on his shoulders. After the Patchwork Girl came the Woozy, who -held a part of her skirt in his mouth. Then, last of all, was the -Glass Cat, holding fast to the Woozy's tail with her glass -jaws.<br> -</p> - -"Now," said the Shaggy Man, "you must all shut your eyes tight, -and keep them shut until I tell you to open them." <br> -<p>"I can't," objected Scraps. "My eyes are buttons, and they -won't shut."<br> -</p> - -So the Shaggy Man tied his red handkerchief over the Patchwork -Girl's eyes and examined all the others to make sure they had -their eyes fast shut and could see nothing. <br> -<p>"What's the game, anyhow--blind-man's-buff?" asked Scraps.<br> -</p> - -"Keep quiet!" commanded the Shaggy Man, sternly. "All ready? Then -follow me." <br> -<p>He took Ojo's hand and led him forward over the road of yellow -bricks, toward the gate. Holding fast to one another they all -followed in a row, expecting every minute to bump against the -iron bars. The Shaggy Man also had his eyes closed, but marched -straight ahead, nevertheless, and after he had taken one hundred -steps, by actual count, he stopped and said:<br> -</p> - -"Now you may open your eyes." <br> -<p>They did so, and to their astonishment found the wall and the -gateway far behind them, while in front the former Blue Country -of the Munchkins had given way to green fields, with pretty -farm-houses scattered among them.<br> -</p> - -"That wall," explained the Shaggy Man, "is what is called an -optical illusion. It is quite real while you have your eyes open, -but if you are not looking at it the barrier doesn't exist at -all. It's the same way with many other evils in life; they seem -to exist, and yet it's all seeming and not true. You will notice -that the wall--or what we thought was a wall--separates the -Munchkin Country from the green country that surrounds the -Emerald City, which lies exactly in the center of Oz. There are -two roads of yellow bricks through the Munchkin Country, but the -one we followed is the best of the two. Dorothy once traveled the -other way, and met with more dangers than we did. But all our -troubles are over for the present, as another day's journey will -bring us to the great Emerald City." <br> -<p>They were delighted to know this, and proceeded with new -courage. In a couple of hours they stopped at a farmhouse, where -the people were very hospitable and invited them to dinner. The -farm folk regarded Scraps with much curiosity but no great -astonishment, for they were accustomed to seeing extraordinary -people in the Land of Oz.<br> -</p> - -The woman of this house got her needle and thread and sewed up -the holes made by the porcupine quills in the Patchwork Girl's -body, after which Scraps was assured she looked as beautiful as -ever. <br> -<p>"You ought to have a hat to wear," remarked the woman, "for -that would keep the sun from fading the colors of your face. I -have some patches and scraps put away, and if you will wait two -or three days I'll make you a lovely hat that will match the rest -of you."<br> -</p> - -"Never mind the hat," said Scraps, shaking her yarn braids; "it's -a kind offer, but we can't stop. I can't see that my colors have -faded a particle, as yet; can you?" <br> -<p>"Not much," replied the woman. "You are still very gorgeous, -in spite of your long journey."<br> -</p> - -The children of the house wanted to keep the Class Cat to play -with, so Bungle was offered a good home if she would remain; but -the cat was too much interested in Ojo's adventures and refused -to stop. <br> -<p>"Children are rough playmates," she remarked to the Shaggy -Man, "and although this home is more pleasant than that of the -Crooked Magician I fear I would soon be smashed to pieces by the -boys and girls."<br> -</p> - -After they had rested themselves they renewed their journey, -finding the road now smooth and pleasant to walk upon and the -country growing more beautiful the nearer they drew to the -Emerald City. <br> -<p>By and by Ojo began to walk on the green grass, looking -carefully around him.<br> -</p> - -"What are you trying to find?" asked Scraps. <br> -<p>"A six-leaved clover," said he.<br> -</p> - -"Don't do that!" exclaimed the Shaggy Man, earnestly. "It's -against the Law to pick a sixleaved clover. You must wait until -you get Ozma's consent." <br> -<p>"She wouldn't know it," declared the boy.<br> -</p> - -"Ozma knows many things," said the Shaggy Man. "In her room is a -Magic Picture that shows any scene in the Land of Oz where -strangers or travelers happen to be. She may be watching the -picture of us even now, and noticing everything that we do." <br> -<p>"Does she always watch the Magic Picture?" asked Ojo.<br> -</p> - -"Not always, for she has many other things to do; but, as I said, -she may be watching us this very minute." <br> -<p>"I don't care," said Ojo, in an obstinate tone of voice; -"Ozma's only a girl."<br> -</p> - -The Shaggy Man looked at him in surprise. <br> -<p>"You ought to care for Ozma," said he, "if you expect to save -your uncle. For, if you displease our powerful Ruler, your -journey will surely prove a failure; whereas, if you make a -friend of Ozma, she will gladly assist you. As for her being a -girl, that is another reason why you should obey her laws, if you -are courteous and polite. Everyone in Oz loves Ozma and hates her -enemies, for she is as just as she is powerful."<br> -</p> - -Ojo sulked a while, but finally returned to the road and kept -away from the green clover. The boy was moody and bad tempered -for an hour or two afterward, because he could really see no harm -in picking a six-leaved clover, if he found one, and in spite of -what the Shaggy Man had said he considered Ozma's law to be -unjust. <br> -<p>They presently came to a beautiful grove of tall and stately -trees, through which the road wound in sharp curves--first one -way and then another. As they were walking through this grove -they heard some one in the distance singing, and the sounds grew -nearer and nearer until they could distinguish the words, -although the bend in the road still hid the singer. The song was -something like this:<br> -</p> - -"Here's to the hale old bale of straw That's cut from the waving -grain, The sweetest sight man ever saw In forest, dell or plain. -It fills me with a crunkling joy A straw-stack to behold, For -then I pad this lucky boy With strands of yellow gold." <br> -<p>"Ah!" exclaimed the Shaggy Man; "here comes my friend the -Scarecrow.<br> -</p> - -"What, a live Scarecrow?" asked Ojo. <br> -<p>"Yes; the one I told you of. He's a splendid fellow, and very -intelligent. You'll like him, I'm sure.<br> -</p> - -Just then the famous Scarecrow of Oz came around the bend in the -road, riding astride a wooden Sawhorse which was so small that -its rider's legs nearly touched the ground. <br> -<p>The Scarecrow wore the blue dress of the Munchkins, in which -country he was made, and on his head was set a peaked hat with a -flat brim trimmed with tinkling bells. A rope was tied around his -waist to hold him in shape. for he was stuffed with straw in -every part of him except the top of his head, where at one time -the Wizard of Oz had placed sawdust, mixed with needles and pins, -to sharpen his wits. The head itself was merely a bag of cloth, -fastened to the body at the neck, and on the front of this bag -was painted the face--ears, eyes, nose and mouth.<br> -</p> - -The Scarecrow's face was very interesting, for it bore a comical -and yet winning expression, although one eye was a bit larger -than the other and ears were not mates. The Munchkin farmer who -had made the Scarecrow had neglected to sew him together with -close stitches and therefore some of the straw with which he was -stuffed was inclined to stick out between the seams. His hands -consisted of padded white gloves, with the fingers long and -rather limp, and on his feet he wore Munchkin boots of blue -leather with broad turns at the tops of them. <br> -<p>The Sawhorse was almost as curious as its rider. It had been -rudely made, in the beginning, to saw logs upon, so that its body -was a short length of a log, and its legs were stout branches -fitted into four holes made in the body. The tail was formed by a -small branch that had been left on the log, while the head was a -gnarled bump on one end of the body. Two knots of wood formed the -eyes, and the mouth was a gash chopped in the log. When the -Sawhorse first came to life it had no ears at all, and so could -not hear; but the boy who then owned him had whittled two ears -out of bark and stuck them in the head, after which the Sawhorse -heard very distinctly.<br> -</p> - -This queer wooden horse was a great favorite with Princess Ozma, -who had caused the bottoms of its legs to be shod with plates of -gold, so the wood would not wear away. Its saddle was made of -cloth-of-gold richly encrusted with precious gems. It had never -worn a bridle. <br> -<p>As the Scarecrow came in sight of the party of travelers, he -reined in his wooden steed and dismounted, greeting the Shaggy -Man with a smiling nod. Then he turned to stare at the Patchwork -Girl in wonder, while she in turn stared at him.<br> -</p> - -"Shags," he whispered, drawing the Shaggy Man aside, "pat me into -shape, there's a good fellow!" <br> -<p>While his friend punched and patted the Scarecrow's body, to -smooth out the humps, Scraps turned to Ojo and whispered: "Roll -me out, please; I've sagged down dreadfully from walking so much -and men like to see a stately figure."<br> -</p> - -She then fell upon the ground and the boy rolled her back and -forth like a rolling-pin, until the cotton had filled all the -spaces in her patchwork covering and the body had lengthened to -its fullest extent. Scraps and the Scarecrow both finished their -hasty toilets at the same time, and again they faced each other. -<br> -<p>"Allow me, Miss Patchwork," said the Shaggy Man, "to present -my friend, the Right Royal Scarecrow of Oz. Scarecrow, this is -Miss Scraps Patches; Scraps, this is the Scarecrow. -Scarecrow--Scraps; Scraps--Scarecrow."<br> -</p> - -They both bowed with much dignity. <br> -<p>"Forgive me for staring so rudely," said the Scarecrow, "but -you are the most beautiful sight my eyes have ever beheld."<br> -</p> - -"That is a high compliment from one who is himself so beautiful," -murmured Scraps, casting down her suspender-button eyes by -lowering her head. "But, tell me, good sir, are you not a trifle -lumpy?" <br> -<p>"Yes, of course; that's my straw, you know. It bunches up, -sometimes, in spite of all my efforts to keep it even. Doesn't -your straw ever bunch?"<br> -</p> - -"Oh, I'm stuffed with cotton," said Scraps. "It never bunches, -but it's inclined to pack down and make me sag." <br> -<p>"But cotton is a high-grade stuffing. I may say it is even -more stylish, not to say aristocratic, than straw," said the -Scarecrow politely. "Still, it is but proper that one so -entrancingly lovely should have the best stuffing there is going. -I-er--I'm so glad I've met you, Miss Scraps! Introduce us again, -Shaggy."<br> -</p> - -"Once is enough," replied the Shaggy Man, laughing at his -friend's enthusiasm. <br> -<p>"Then tell me where you found her, and--Dear me, what a queer -cat! What are you made of--gelatine?"<br> -</p> - -"Pure glass," answered the cat, proud to have attracted the -Scarecrow's attention. "I am much more beautiful than the -Patchwork Girl. I'm transparent, and Scraps isn't; I've pink -brains-you can see 'em work; and I've a ruby heart, finely -polished, while Scraps hasn't any heart at all." <br> -<p>"No more have I," said the Scarecrow, shaking hands with -Scraps, as if to congratulate her on the fact. "I've a friend, -the Tin Woodman, who has a heart, but I find I get along pretty -well without one. And so--Well, well! here's a little Munchkin -boy, too. Shake hands, my little man. How are you?"<br> -</p> - -Ojo placed his hand in the flabby stuffed glove that served the -Scarecrow for a hand, and the Scarecrow pressed it so cordially -that the straw in his glove crackled. <br> -<p>Meantime, the Woozy had approached the Sawhorse and begun to -sniff at it. The Sawhorse resented this familiarity and with a -sudden kick pounded the Woozy squarely on its Lead with one -gold-shod foot.<br> -</p> - -"Take that, you monster!" it cried angrily. <br> -<p>The Woozy never even winked.<br> -</p> - -"To be sure," he said; "I'll take anything I have to. But don't -make me angry, you wooden beast, or my eyes will flash fire and -burn you up." <br> -<p>The Sawhorse rolled its knot eyes wickedly and kicked again, -but the Woozy trotted away and said to the Scarecrow:<br> -</p> - -"What a sweet disposition that creature has! I advise you to chop -it up for kindling-wood and use me to ride upon. My back is flat -and you can't fall off." <br> -<p>"I think the trouble is that you haven't been properly -introduced," said the Scarecrow, regarding the Woozy with much -wonder, for he had never seen such a queer animal before.<br> -</p> - -"The Sawhorse is the favorite steed of Princess Ozma, the Ruler -of the Land of Oz, and he lives in a stable decorated with pearls -and emeralds, at the rear of the royal palace. He is swift as the -wind, untiring, and is kind to his friends. All the people of Oz -respect the Sawhorse highly, and when I visit Ozma she sometimes -allows me to ride him--as I am doing to-day. Now you know what an -important personage the Sawhorse is, and if some one--perhaps -your-self--will tell me your name, your rank and station, and -your history, it will give me pleasure to relate them to the -Sawhorse. This will lead to mutual respect and friendship." <br> -<p>The Woozy was somewhat abashed by this speech and did not know -how to reply. But Ojo said:<br> -</p> - -"This square beast is called the Woozy, and he isn't of much -importance except that he has three hairs growing on the tip of -his tail." <br> -<p>The Scarecrow looked and saw that this was true.<br> -</p> - -"But," said he, in a puzzled way, "what makes those three hairs -important? The Shaggy Man has thousands of hairs, but no one has -ever accused him of being important." <br> -<p>So Ojo related the sad story of Unc Nunkie's transformation -into a marble statue, and told how he had set out to find the -things the Crooked Magician wanted, in order to make a charm that -would restore his uncle to life. One of the requirements was -three hairs from a Woozy's tail, but not being able to pull out -the hairs they had been obliged to take the Woozy with them.<br> -</p> - -The Scarecrow looked grave as he listened and he shook his head -several times, as if in disapproval. <br> -<p>"We must see Ozma about this matter," he said. "That Crooked -Magician is breaking the Law by practicing magic without a -license, and I'm not sure Ozma will allow him to restore your -uncle to life."<br> -</p> - -"Already I have warned the boy of that," declared the Shaggy Man. -<br> -<p>At this Ojo began to cry. "I want my Unc Nunkie!" he -exclaimed. "I know how he can be restored to life, and I'm going -to do it--Ozma or no Ozma! What right has this girl Ruler to keep -my Unc Nunkie a statue forever?"<br> -</p> - -"Don't worry about that just now," advised the Scarecrow. "Go on -to the Emerald City, and when you reach it have the Shaggy Man -take you to see Dorothy. Tell her your story and I'm sure she -will help you. Dorothy is Ozma's best friend, and if you can win -her to your side your uncle is pretty safe to live again." Then -he turned to the Woozy and said: "I'm afraid you are not -important enough to be introduced to the Sawhorse, after all." -<br> -<p>"I'm a better beast than he is," retorted the Woozy, -indignantly. "My eyes can flash fire, and his can't."<br> -</p> - -"Is this true?" inquired the Scarecrow, turning to the Munchkin -boy. <br> -<p>"Yes," said Ojo, and told how the Woozy had set fire to the -fence.<br> -</p> - -"Have you any other accomplishments?" asked the Scarecrow. <br> -<p>"I have a most terrible growl--that is, sometimes," said the -Woozy, as Scraps laughed merrily and the Shaggy Man smiled. But -the Patchwork Girl's laugh made the Scarecrow forget all about -the Woozy. He said to her:<br> -</p> - -"What an admirable young lady you are, and what jolly good -company! We must be better acquainted, for never before have I -met a girl with such exquisite coloring or such natural, artless -manners." <br> -<p>"No wonder they call you the Wise Scarecrow," replied -Scraps.<br> -</p> - -"When you arrive at the Emerald City I will see you again," -continued the Scarecrow. "Just now I am going to call upon an old -friend--an ordinary young lady named Jinjur--who has Promised to -repaint my left ear for me. You may have noticed that the paint -on my left ear has peeled off and faded, which affects my hearing -on that side. Jinjur always fixes me up when I get weatherworn." -<br> -<p>"When do you expect to return to the Emerald City?" asked the -Shaggy Man.<br> -</p> - -"I'll be there this evening, for I'm anxious to have a long talk -with Miss Scraps. How is it, Sawhorse; are you equal to a swift -run?" <br> -<p>"Anything that suits you suits me," returned the wooden -horse.<br> -</p> - -So the Scarecrow mounted to the jeweled saddle and waved his hat, -when the Sawhorse darted away so swiftly that they were out of -sight in an instant. <br> -<p><br> -</p> - -<h1 id="ref_15">Chapter Fourteen</h1> - -<br> -<p>Ojo Breaks the Law<br> -</p> - -"What a queer man," remarked the Munchkin boy, when the party had -resumed its journey. <br> -<p>"And so nice and polite," added Scraps, bobbing her Lead. "I -think he is the handsomest man I've seen since I came to -life."<br> -</p> - -"Handsome is as handsome does," quoted the Shaggy Man; "but we -must admit that no living scarecrow is handsomer. The chief merit -of my friend is that he is a great thinker, and in Oz it is -considered good policy to follow his advice." <br> -<p>"I didn't notice any brains in his head," observed the Glass -Cat.<br> -</p> - -"You can't see 'em work, but they're there, all right," declared -the Shaggy Man. "I hadn't much confidence in his brains myself, -when first I came to Oz, for a humbug Wizard gave them to him; -but I was soon convinced that the Scarecrow is really wise; and, -unless his brains make him so, such wisdom is unaccountable." -<br> -<p>"Is the Wizard of Oz a humbug?" asked Ojo.<br> -</p> - -"Not now. He was once, but he has reformed and now assists Glinda -the Good, who is the Royal Sorceress of Oz and the only one -licensed to practice magic or sorcery. Glinda has taught our old -Wizard a good many clever things, so he is no longer a humbug." -<br> -<p>They walked a little while in silence and then Ojo said:<br> -</p> - -"If Ozma forbids the Crooked Magician to restore Unc Nunkie to -life, what shall I do?" <br> -<p>The Shaggy Man shook his head.<br> -</p> - -"In that case you can't do anything," he said. "But don't be -discouraged yet. We will go to Princess Dorothy and tell her your -troubles, and then we will let her talk to Ozma. Dorothy has the -kindest little heart in the world, and she has been through so -many troubles herself that she is sure to sympathize with you." -<br> -<p>"Is Dorothy the little girl who came here from Kansas?" asked -the boy.<br> -</p> - -"Yes. In Kansas she was Dorothy Gale. I used to know her there, -and she brought me to the Land of Oz. But now Ozma has made her a -Princess, and Dorothy's Aunt Em and Uncle Henry are here, too." -Here the Shaggy Man uttered a long sigh, and then he continued: -"It's a queer country, this Land of Oz; but I like it, -nevertheless." <br> -<p>"What is queer about it?" asked Scraps.<br> -</p> - -"You, for instance," said he. <br> -<p>"Did you see no girls as beautiful as I am in your own -country?" she inquired.<br> -</p> - -"None with the same gorgeous, variegated beauty," he confessed. -"In America a girl stuffed with cotton wouldn't be alive, nor -would anyone think of making a girl out of a patchwork quilt." -<br> -<p>"What a queer country America must be!" she exclaimed in great -surprise. "The Scarecrow, whom you say is wise, told me I am the -most beautiful creature he has ever seen."<br> -</p> - -"I know; and perhaps you are-from a scarecrow point of view," -replied the Shaggy Man; but why he smiled as he said it Scraps -could not imagine. <br> -<p>As they drew nearer to the Emerald City the travelers were -filled with admiration for the splendid scenery they beheld. -Handsome houses stood on both sides of the road and each had a -green lawn before it as well as a pretty flower garden.<br> -</p> - -"In another hour," said the Shaggy Man, "we shall come in sight -of the walls of the Royal City." <br> -<p>He was walking ahead, with Scraps, and behind them came the -Woozy and the Glass Cat. Ojo had lagged behind, for in spite of -the warnings he had received the boy's eyes were fastened on the -clover that bordered the road of yellow bricks and he was eager -to discover if such a thing as a six-leaved clover really -existed.<br> -</p> - -Suddenly he stopped short and bent over to examine the ground -more closely. Yes; here at last was a clover with six spreading -leaves. He counted them carefully, to make sure. In an instant -his heart leaped with joy, for this was one of the important -things he had come for--one of the things that would restore dear -Unc Nunkie to life. <br> -<p>He glanced ahead and saw that none of his companions was -looking back. Neither were any other people about, for it was -midway between two houses. The temptation was too strong to be -resisted.<br> -</p> - -"I might search for weeks and weeks, and never find another -six-leaved clover," he told himself, and quickly plucking the -stem from the plant he placed the prized clover in his basket, -covering it with the other things he carried there. Then, trying -to look as if nothing had happened, he hurried forward and -overtook his comrades. <br> -<p>The Emerald City, which is the most splendid as well as the -most beautiful city in any fairyland, is surrounded by a high, -thick wall of green marble, polished smooth and set with -glistening emeralds. There are four gates, one facing the -Munchkin Country, one facing the Country of the Winkies, one -facing the Country of the Quadlings and one facing the Country of -the Gillikins. The Emerald City lies directly in the center of -these four important countries of Oz. The gates had bars of pure -gold, and on either side of each gateway were built high towers, -from which floated gay banners. Other towers were set at -distances along the walls, which were broad enough for four -people to walk abreast upon.<br> -</p> - -This enclosure, all green and gold and glittering with precious -gems, was indeed a wonderful sight to greet our travelers, who -first observed it from the top of a little hill; but beyond the -wall was the vast city it surrounded, and hundreds of jeweled -spires, domes and minarets, flaunting flags and banners, reared -their crests far above the towers of the gateways. In the center -of the city our friends could see the tops of many magnificent -trees, some nearly as tall as the spires of the buildings, and -the Shaggy Man told them that these trees were in the royal -gardens of Princess Ozma. <br> -<p>They stood a long time on the hilltop, feasting their eyes on -the splendor of the Emerald City.<br> -</p> - -"Whee!" exclaimed Scraps, clasping her padded hands in ecstacy, -"that'll do for me to live in, all right. No more of the Munchkin -Country for these patches--and no more of the Crooked Magician!" -<br> -<p>"Why, you belong to Dr. Pipt," replied Ojo, looking at her in -amazement. "You were made for a servant, Scraps, so you are -personal property and not your own mistress."<br> -</p> - -"Bother Dr. Pipt! If he wants me, let him come here and get me. -I'll not go back to his den of my own accord; that's certain. -Only one place in the Land of Oz is fit to live in, and that's -the Emerald City. It's lovely! It's almost as beautiful as I am, -Ojo." <br> -<p>"In this country," remarked the Shaggy Man, "people live -wherever our Ruler tells them to. It wouldn't do to have everyone -live in the Emerald City, you know, for some must plow the land -and raise grains and fruits and vegetables, while others chop -wood in the forests, or fish in the rivers, or herd the sheep and -the cattle."<br> -</p> - -"Poor things!" said Scraps. <br> -<p>"I'm not sure they are not happier than the city people," -replied the Shaggy Man. "There's a freedom and independence in -country life that not even the Emerald City can give one. I know -that lots of the city people would like to get back to the land. -The Scarecrow lives in the country, and so do the Tin Woodman and -Jack Pumpkinhead; yet all three would be welcome to live in -Ozma's palace if they cared to. Too much splendor becomes -tiresome, you know. But, if we're to reach the Emerald City -before sundown, we must hurry, for it is yet a long way off."<br> -</p> - -The entrancing sight of the city had put new energy into them all -and they hurried forward with lighter steps than before. There -was much to interest them along the roadway, for the houses were -now set more closely together and they met a good many people who -were coming or going from one place or another. All these seemed -happy-faced, pleasant people, who nodded graciously to the -strangers as they Passed, and exchanged words of greeting. <br> -<p>At last they reached the great gateway, just as the sun was -setting and adding its red glow to the glitter of the emeralds on -the green walls and spires. Somewhere inside the city a band -could be heard playing sweet music; a soft, subdued hum, as of -many voices, reached their ears; from the neighboring yards came -the low mooing of cows waiting to be milked.<br> -</p> - -They were almost at the gate when the golden bars slid back and a -tall soldier stepped out and faced them. Ojo thought he had never -seen so tall a man before. The soldier wore a handsome green and -gold uniform, with a tall hat in which was a waving plume, and he -had a belt thickly encrusted with jewels. But the most peculiar -thing about him was his long green beard, which fell far below -his waist and perhaps made him seem taller than he really was. -<br> -<p>"Halt!" said the Soldier with the Green Whiskers, not in a -stern voice but rather in a friendly tone.<br> -</p> - -They halted before he spoke and stood looking at him. <br> -<p>"Good evening, Colonel," said the Shaggy Man. "What's the news -since I left? Anything important?"<br> -</p> - -"Billina has hatched out thirteen new chickens," replied the -Soldier with the Green Whiskers, "and they're the cutest little -fluffy yellow balls you ever saw. The Yellow Hen is mighty proud -of those children, I can tell you." <br> -<p>"She has a right to be," agreed the Shaggy Man. "Let me see; -that's about seven thousand chicks she has hatched out; isn't it, -General?"<br> -</p> - -"That, at least," was the reply. "You will have to visit Billina -and congratulate her." <br> -<p>"It will give me pleasure to do that," said the Shaggy Man. -"But you will observe that I have brought some strangers home -with me. I am going to take them to see Dorothy."<br> -</p> - -"One moment, please," said the soldier, barring their way as they -started to enter the gate. "I am on duty, and I have orders to -execute. Is anyone in your party named Ojo the Unlucky?" <br> -<p>"Why, that's me!" cried Ojo, astonished at hearing his name on -the lips of a stranger.<br> -</p> - -The Soldier with the Green Whiskers nodded. "I thought so," said -he, "and I am sorry to announce that it is my painful duty to -arrest you." <br> -<p>"Arrest me!" exclaimed the boy. "What for?"<br> -</p> - -"I haven't looked to see," answered the soldier. Then he drew a -paper from his breast pocket and glanced at it. "Oh, yes; you are -to be arrested for willfully breaking one of the Laws of Oz." -<br> -<p>"Breaking a law!" said Scraps. "Nonsense, Soldier; you're -joking."<br> -</p> - -"Not this time," returned the soldier, with a sigh. "My dear -child what are you, a rummage sale or a guess-me quick?--in me -you be hold the Body Guard of our gracious Ruler, Princess Ozma, -as well as the Royal Army of Oz and the Police Force of the -Emerald City." <br> -<p>"And only one man!" exclaimed the Patchwork Girl.<br> -</p> - -"Only one, and plenty enough. In my official positions I've had -nothing to do for a good many years--so long that I began to fear -I was absolutely useless--until today. An hour ago I was called -to the presence of her Highness, Ozma of Oz, and told to arrest a -boy named Ojo the Unlucky, who was journeying from the Munchkin -Country to the Emerald City and would arrive in a short time. -This command so astonished me that I nearly fainted, for it is -the first time anyone has merited arrest since I can remember. -You are rightly named Ojo the Unlucky. my poor boy, since you -have broken a Law of Oz. <br> -<p>"But you are wrong," said Scraps. "Ozma is wrong--you are all -wrong--for Ojo has broken no Law."<br> -</p> - -"Then he will soon be free again," replied the Soldier with the -Green Whiskers. "Anyone accused of crime is given a fair trial by -our Ruler and has every chance to prove his innocence. But just -now Ozma's orders must be obeyed." <br> -<p>With this he took from his pocket a pair of handcuffs made of -gold and set with rubies and diamonds, and these he snapped over -Ojo's wrists.<br> -</p> - -<br> -<h1 id="ref_16">Chapter Fifteen</h1> - -<br> -Ozma's Prisoner <br> -<p>The boy was so bewildered by this calamity that he made no -resistance at all. He knew very well he was guilty, but it -surprised him that Ozma also knew it. He wondered how she had -found out so soon that he had picked the six-leaved clover. He -handed his basket to Scraps and said:<br> -</p> - -"Keep that, until I get out of prison. If I never get out, take -it to the Crooked Magician, to whom it belongs." <br> -<p>The Shaggy Man had been gazing earnestly in the boy's face, -uncertain whether to defend him or not; but something he read in -Ojo's expression made him draw back and refuse to interfere to -save him. The Shaggy Man was greatly surprised and grieved, but -he knew that Ozma never made mistakes and so Ojo must really have -broken the Law of Oz.<br> -</p> - -The Soldier with the Green Whiskers now led them all through the -gate and into a little room built in the wall. Here sat a jolly -little man, richly dressed in green and having around his neck a -heavy gold chain to which a number of great golden keys were -attached. This was the Guardian of the Gate and at the moment -they entered his room he was playing a tune upon a mouth-organ. -<br> -<p>"Listen!" he said, holding up his hand for silence. "I've just -composed a tune called 'The Speckled Alligator.' It's in -patch-time, which is much superior to rag-time, and I've composed -it in honor of the Patchwork Girl, who has just arrived."<br> -</p> - -"How did you know I had arrived?" asked Scraps, much interested. -<br> -<p>"It's my business to know who's coming, for I'm the Guardian -of the Gate. Keep quiet while I play you 'The Speckled -Alligator.'"<br> -</p> - -It wasn't a very bad tune, nor a very good one, but all listened -respectfully while he shut his eyes and swayed his head from side -to side and blew the notes from the little instrument. When it -was all over the Soldier with the Green Whiskers said: <br> -<p>"Guardian, I have here a prisoner."<br> -</p> - -"Good gracious! A prisoner?" cried the little man, jumping up -from his chair. "Which one? Not the Shaggy Man?" <br> -<p>"No; this boy."<br> -</p> - -"Ah; I hope his fault is as small as himself," said the Guardian -of the Gate. "But what can he have done, and what made him do -it?" <br> -<p>"Can't say," replied the soldier. "All I know is that he has -broken the Law."<br> -</p> - -"But no one ever does that!" <br> -<p>"Then he must be innocent, and soon will be released. I hope -you are right, Guardian. Just now I am ordered to take him to -prison. Get me a prisoner's robe from your Official -Wardrobe."<br> -</p> - -The Guardian unlocked a closet and took from it a white robe, -which the soldier threw over Ojo. It covered him from head to -foot, but had two holes just in front of his eyes, so he could -see where to go. In this attire the boy presented a very quaint -appearance. <br> -<p>As the Guardian unlocked a gate leading from his room into the -streets of the Emerald City, the Shaggy Man said to Scraps:<br> -</p> - -"I think I shall take you directly to Dorothy, as the Scarecrow -advised, and the Glass Cat and the Woozy may come with us. Ojo -must go to prison with the Soldier with the Green Whiskers, but -he will he well treated and you need not worry about him." <br> -<p>"What will they do with him?" asked Scraps.<br> -</p> - -"That I cannot tell. Since I came to the Land of Oz no one has -ever been arrested or imprisoned-until Ojo broke the Law." <br> -<p>"Seems to me that girl Ruler of yours is making a big fuss -over nothing," remarked Scraps, tossing her yarn hair out of her -eyes with a jerk of her patched head. "I don't know what Ojo has -done, but it couldn't be anything very, bad, for you and I were -with him all the time."<br> -</p> - -The Shaggy Man made no reply to this speech and presently the -Patchwork Girl forgot all about Ojo in her admiration of the -wonderful city she had entered. <br> -<p>They soon separated from the Munchkin boy, who was led by the -Soldier with the Green Whiskers down a side street toward the -prison. Ojo felt very miserable and greatly ashamed of himself, -but he was beginning to grow angry because he was treated in such -a disgraceful manner. Instead of entering the splendid Emerald -City as a respectable traveler who was entitled to a welcome and -to hospitality, he was being brought in as a criminal, handcuffed -and in a robe that told all he met of his deep disgrace.<br> -</p> - -Ojo was by nature gentle and affectionate and if he had disobeyed -the Law of Oz it was to restore his dear Unc Nunkie to life. His -fault was more thoughtless than wicked, but that did not alter -the fact that he had committed a fault. At first he had felt -sorrow and remorse, but the more he thought about the unjust -treatment he had received--unjust merely because he considered it -so--the more he resented his arrest, blaming Ozma for making -foolish laws and then punishing folks who broke them. Only a -six-leaved clover! A tiny green plant growing neglected and -trampled under foot. What harm could there be in picking it? Ojo -began to think Ozma must be a very bad and oppressive Ruler for -such a lovely fairyland as Oz. The Shaggy Man said the people -loved her; but how could they? <br> -<p>The little Munchkin boy was so busy thinking these -things--which many guilty prisoners have thought before him--that -he scarcely noticed all the splendor of the city streets through -which they passed. Whenever they met any of the happy, smiling -people, the boy turned his head away in shame, although none knew -who was beneath the robe.<br> -</p> - -By and by they reached a house built just beside the great city -wall, but in a quiet, retired place. It was a pretty house, -neatly painted and with many windows. Before it was a garden -filled with blooming flowers. The Soldier with the Green Whiskers -led Ojo up the gravel path to the front door, on which he -knocked. <br> -<p>A woman opened the door and, seeing Ojo in his white robe, -exclaimed:<br> -</p> - -"Goodness me! A prisoner at last. But what a small one, Soldier." -<br> -<p>"The size doesn't matter, Tollydiggle, my dear. The fact -remains that he is a prisoner," said the soldier. "And, this -being the prison, and you the jailer, it is my duty to place the -prisoner in your charge."<br> -</p> - -"True. Come in, then, and I'll give you a receipt for him." <br> -<p>They entered the house and passed through a hall to a large -circular room, where the woman pulled the robe off from Ojo and -looked at him with kindly interest. The boy, on his part, was -gazing around him in amazement, for never had he dreamed of such -a magnificent apartment as this in which he stood. The roof of -the dome was of colored glass, worked into beautiful designs. The -walls were paneled with plates of<br> -</p> - -gold decorated with gems of great size and many colors, and upon -the tiled floor were soft rags delightful to walk upon. The -furniture was framed in gold and upholstered in satin brocade and -it consisted of easy chairs, divans and stools in great variety. -Also there were several tables with mirror tops and cabinets -filled with rare and curious things. In one place a case filled -with books stood against the wall, and elsewhere Ojo saw a -cupboard containing all sorts of games. <br> -<p>"May I stay here a little while before I go to prison?" asked -the boy, pleadingly.<br> -</p> - -"Why, this is your prison," replied Tollydiggle, "and in me -behold your jailor. Take off those handcuffs, Soldier, for it is -impossible for anyone to escape from this house." <br> -<p>"I know that very well," replied the soldier and at once -unlocked the handcuffs and released the prisoner.<br> -</p> - -The woman touched a button on the wall and lighted a big -chandelier that hung suspended from the ceiling, for it was -growing dark outside. Then she seated herself at a desk and -asked: <br> -<p>"What name?"<br> -</p> - -"Ojo the Unlucky," answered the Soldier with the Green Whiskers. -<br> -<p>"Unlucky? Ah, that accounts for it," said she. "What -crime?"<br> -</p> - -"Breaking a Law of Oz." <br> -<p>"All right. There's your receipt, Soldier; and now I'm -responsible for the prisoner. I'm glad of it, for this is the -first time I've ever had anything to do, in my official -capacity," remarked the jailer, in a pleased tone.<br> -</p> - -"It's the same with me, Tollydiggle," laughed the soldier. "But -my task is finished and I must go and report to Ozma that I've -done my duty like a faithful Police Force, a loyal Army and an -honest Body-Guard--as I hope I am." <br> -<p>Saying this, be nodded farewell to Tollydiggle and Ojo and -went away.<br> -</p> - -"Now, then," said the woman briskly, "I must get you some supper, -for you are doubtless hungry. What would you prefer: planked -whitefish, omelet with jelly or mutton-chops with gravy?" <br> -<p>Ojo thought about it. Then he said: "I'll take the chops, if -you please."<br> -</p> - -"Very well; amuse yourself while I'm gone; I won't be long," and -then she went out by a door and left the prisoner alone. <br> -<p>Ojo was much astonished, for not only was this unlike any -prison he had ever heard of, but he was being treated more as a -guest than a criminal. There were many windows and they bad no -locks. There were three doors to the room and none were bolted. -He cautiously opened one of the doors and found it led into a -hallway. But he had no intention of trying to escape. If his -jailor was willing to trust him in this way he would not betray -her trust, and moreover a hot supper was being prepared for him -and his prison was very pleasant and comfortable. So he took a -book from the case and sat down in a big chair to look at the -pictures.<br> -</p> - -This amused him until the woman came in with a large tray and -spread a cloth on one of the tables. Then she arranged his -supper, which proved the most varied and delicious meal Ojo had -ever eaten in his life. <br> -<p>Tollydiggle sat near him while he ate, sewing on some fancy -work she held in her lap. When he had finished she cleared the -table and then read to him a story from one of the books.<br> -</p> - -"Is this really a prison?" he asked, when she had finished -reading. <br> -<p>"Indeed it is," she replied. "It is the only prison in the -Land of Oz."<br> -</p> - -"And am I a prisoner?" <br> -<p>"Bless the child! Of course."<br> -</p> - -"Then why is the prison so fine, and why are you so kind to me?" -he earnestly asked. <br> -<p>Tollydiggle seemed surprised by the question, but she -presently answered:<br> -</p> - -"We consider a prisoner unfortunate. He is unfortunate in two -ways--because he has done something wrong and because he is -deprived of his liberty. Therefore we should treat him kindly, -because of his misfortune, for otherwise he would become hard and -bitter and would not be sorry he had done wrong. Ozma thinks that -one who has committed a fault did so because he was not strong -and brave; therefore she puts him in prison to make him strong -and brave. When that is accomplished he is no longer a prisoner, -but a good and loyal citizen and everyone is glad that he is now -strong enough to resist doing wrong. You see, it is kindness that -makes one strong and brave; and so we are kind to our prisoners." -<br> -<p>Ojo thought this over very carefully. "I had an idea," said -he, "that prisoners were always treated harshly, to punish -them."<br> -</p> - -"That would be dreadful!" cried Tollydiggle. "Isn't one punished -enough in knowing he has done wrong? Don't you wish, Ojo, with -all your heart, that you had not been disobedient and broken a -Law of Oz?" <br> -<p>"I--I hate to be different from other people," he -admitted.<br> -</p> - -"Yes; one likes to be respected as highly as his neighbors are," -said the woman. "When you are tried and found guilty, you will be -obliged to make amends, in some way. I don't know just what Ozma -will do to you, because this is the first time one of us has -broken a Law; but you may be sure she will be just and merciful. -Here in the Emerald City people are too happy and contented ever -to do wrong; but perhaps you came from some faraway corner of our -land, and having no love for Ozma carelessly broke one of her -Laws." <br> -<p>"Yes," said Ojo, "I've lived all my life in the heart of a -lonely forest, where I saw no one but dear Unc Nunkie."<br> -</p> - -"I thought so," said Tollydiggle. "But now we have talked enough, -so let us play a game until bedtime." <br> -<p><br> -</p> - -<h1 id="ref_17">Chapter Sixteen</h1> - -<br> -<p>Princess Dorothy<br> -</p> - -Dorothy Gale was sitting in one of her rooms in the royal palace, -while curled up at her feet was a little black dog with a shaggy -coat and very bright eyes. She wore a plain white frock, without -any jewels or other ornaments except an emeraldgreen hair-ribbon, -for Dorothy was a simple little girl and had not been in the -least spoiled by the magnificence surrounding her. Once the child -had lived on the Kansas prairies, but she seemed marked for -adventure for she had made seven trips to the Land of Oz before -she came to live there for good. Her very best friend was the -beautiful Ozma of Oz, who loved Dorothy so well that she kept her -in her own palace, so as to be near her. The girl's Uncle Henry -and Aunt Em--the only relatives she had in the world--had also -been brought here by Ozma and given a pleasant home. Dorothy knew -almost everybody in Oz, and it was she who had discovered the -Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman and the Cowardly Lion, as well as -Tik-tok the Clockwork Man. Her life was very pleasant now, and -although she had been made a Princess of Oz by her friend Ozma -she did not care much to be a Princess and remained as sweet as -when she had been plain Dorothy Gale of Kansas. <br> -<p>Dorothy was reading in a book this evening when Jellia Jamb, -the favorite servant-maid of the palace, came to say that the -Shaggy Man wanted to see her.<br> -</p> - -"All right," said Dorothy; "tell him to come right up." <br> -<p>"But he has some queer creatures with him--some of the -queerest I've ever laid eyes on," reported Jellia.<br> -</p> - -"Never mind; let 'em all come up," replied Dorothy. <br> -<p>But when the door opened to admit not only the Shaggy Man, but -Scraps, the Woozy and the Glass Cat, Dorothy jumped up and looked -at her strange visitors in amazement. The Patchwork Girl was the -most curious of all and Dorothy was uncertain at first whether -Scraps was really alive or only a dream or a nightmare. Toto, her -dog, slowly uncurled himself and going to the Patchwork Girl -sniffed at her inquiringly; but soon he lay down again, as if to -say he had no interest in such an irregular creation.<br> -</p> - -"You're a new one to me," Dorothy said reflectively, addressing -the Patchwork Girl. "I can't imagine where you've come from." -<br> -<p>"Who, me?" asked Scraps, looking around the pretty room -instead of at the girl. "Oh, I came from a bed-quilt, I guess. -That's what they say, anyhow. Some call it a crazy-quilt and some -a patchwork quilt. But my name is Scraps--and now you know all -about me."<br> -</p> - -"Not quite all," returned Dorothy with a smile. "I wish you'd -tell me how you came to be alive." <br> -<p>"That's an easy job," said Scraps, sitting upon a big -upholstered chair and making the springs bounce her up and down. -"Margolotte wanted a slave, so she made me out of an old -bed-quilt she didn't use. Cotton stuffing, suspender-button eyes, -red velvet tongue, pearl beads for teeth. The Crooked Magician -made a Powder of Life, sprinkled me with it and--here I am. -Perhaps you've noticed my different colors. A very refined and -educated gentleman named the Scarecrow, whom I met, told me I am -the most beautiful creature in all Oz, and I believe it."<br> -</p> - -"Oh! Have you met our Scarecrow, then?" asked Dorothy, a little -puzzled to understand the brief history related. <br> -<p>"Yes; isn't he jolly?"<br> -</p> - -"The Scarecrow has many good qualities," replied Dorothy. "But -I'm sorry to hear all this 'bout the Crooked Magician. Ozma'll be -mad as hops when she hears he's been doing magic again. She told -him not to." <br> -<p>"He only practices magic for the benefit of his own family," -explained Bungle, who was keeping at a respectful distance from -the little black dog.<br> -</p> - -"Dear me," said Dorothy; "I hadn't noticed you before. Are you -glass, or what?" <br> -<p>"I'm glass, and transparent, too, which is more than can be -said of some folks," answered the cat. "Also I have some lovely -pink brains; you can see 'em work."<br> -</p> - -"Oh; is that so? Come over here and let me see." <br> -<p>The Class Cat hesitated, eyeing the dog.<br> -</p> - -"Send that beast away and I will," she said. <br> -<p>"Beast! Why, that's my dog Toto, an' he's the kindest dog in -all the world. Toto knows a good many things, too; 'most as much -as I do, I guess."<br> -</p> - -"Why doesn't he say anything?" asked Bungle. <br> -<p>"He can't talk, not being a fairy dog," explained Dorothy. -"He's just a common United States dog; but that's a good deal; -and I understand him, and he understands me, just as well as if -he could talk."<br> -</p> - -Toto, at this, got up and rubbed his head softly against -Dorothy's hand, which she held out to him, and he looked up into -her face as if he had understood every word she had said. <br> -<p>"This cat, Toto," she said to him, "is made of glass, so you -mustn't bother it, or chase it, any more than you do my Pink -Kitten. It's prob'ly brittle and might break if it bumped against -anything."<br> -</p> - -"Woof!" said Toto, and that meant he understood. <br> -<p>The Glass Cat was so proud of her pink brains that she -ventured to come close to Dorothy, in order that the girl might -"see 'em work." This was really interesting, but when Dorothy -patted the cat she found the glass cold and hard and -unresponsive, so she decided at once that Bungle would never do -for a pet.<br> -</p> - -"What do you know about the Crooked Magician who lives on the -mountain?" asked Dorothy. <br> -<p>"He made me," replied the cat; "so I know all about him. The -Patchwork Girl is new--three or four days old--but I've lived -with Dr. Pipt for years; and, though I don't much care for him, I -will say that he has always refused to work magic for any of the -people who come to his house. He thinks there's no harm in doing -magic things for his own family, and he made me out of glass -because the meat cats drink too much milk. He also made Scraps -come to life so she could do the housework for his wife -Margolotte."<br> -</p> - -"Then why did you both leave him?" asked Dorothy. <br> -<p>"I think you'd better let me explain that," interrupted the -Shaggy Man, and then he told Dorothy all of Ojo's story and how -Unc Nunkie and Margolotte had accidentally been turned to marble -by the Liquid of Petrifaction. Then he related how the boy had -started out in search of the things needed to make the magic -charm, which would restore the unfortunates to life, and how he -had found the Woozy and taken him along because he could not pull -the three hairs out of its tail. Dorothy listened to all this -with much interest, and thought that so far Ojo had acted very -well. But when the Shaggy Man told her of the Munchkin boy's -arrest by the Soldier with the Green Whiskers, because he was -accused of wilfully breaking a Law of Oz, the little girl was -greatly shocked.<br> -</p> - -"What do you s'pose he's done?" she asked. <br> -<p>"I fear he has picked a six-leaved clover," answered the -Shaggy Man, sadly. "I did not see him do it, and I warned him -that to do so was against the Law; but perhaps that is what he -did, nevertheless."<br> -</p> - -"I'm sorry 'bout that," said Dorothy gravely, "for now there will -be no one to help his poor uncle and Margolotte 'cept this -Patchwork Girl, the Woozy and the Glass Cat." <br> -<p>"Don't mention it," said Scraps. "That's no affair of mine. -Margolotte and Unc Nunkie are perfect strangers to me, for the -moment I came to life they came to marble."<br> -</p> - -"I see," remarked Dorothy with a sigh of regret; "the woman -forgot to give you a heart." <br> -<p>"I'm glad she did," retorted the Patchwork Girl. "A heart must -be a great annoyance to one. It makes a person feel sad or sorry -or devoted or sympathetic--all of which sensations interfere with -one's happiness."<br> -</p> - -"I have a heart," murmured the Glass Cat. "It's made of a ruby; -but I don't imagine I shall let it bother me about helping Unc -Nunkie and Margolotte." <br> -<p>"That's a pretty hard heart of yours," said Dorothy. "And the -Woozy, of course--"<br> -</p> - -"Why, as for me," observed the Woozy, who was reclining on the -floor with his legs doubled under him, so that he looked much -like a square box, "I have never seen those unfortunate people -you are speaking of, and yet I am sorry for them, having at times -been unfortunate myself. When I was shut up in that forest I -longed for some one to help me, and by and by Ojo came and did -help me. So I'm willing to help his uncle. I'm only a stupid -beast, Dorothy, but I can't help that, and if you'll tell me what -to do to help Ojo and his uncle, I'll gladly do it." <br> -<p>Dorothy walked over and patted the Woozy on his square -head.<br> -</p> - -"You're not pretty," she said, "but I like you. What are you able -to do; anything 'special?" <br> -<p>"I can make my eyes flash fire--real fire--when I'm angry. -When anyone says: 'Krizzle-Kroo' to me I get angry, and then my -eyes flash fire."<br> -</p> - -"I don't see as fireworks could help Ojo's uncle," remarked -Dorothy. "Can you do anything else?" <br> -<p>"I--I thought I bad a very terrifying growl," said the Woozy, -with hesitation; "but perhaps I was mistaken."<br> -</p> - -"Yes," said the Shaggy Man, "you were certainly wrong about -that." Then he turned to Dorothy and added: "What will become of -the Munchkin boy?" <br> -<p>"I don't know," she said, shaking her head thoughtfully. "Ozma -will see him 'bout it, of course, and then she'll punish him. But -how, I don't know, 'cause no one ever has been punished in Oz -since I knew anything about the place. Too bad, Shaggy Man, isn't -it?"<br> -</p> - -While they were talking Scraps had been roaming around the room -and looking at all the pretty things it contained. She had -carried Ojo's basket in her hand, until now, when she decided to -see what was inside it. She found the bread and cheese, which she -had no use for, and the bundle of charms, which were curious but -quite a mystery to her. Then, turning these over, she came upon -the six-leaved clover which the boy had plucked. <br> -<p>Scraps was quick-witted, and although she had no heart she -recognized the fact that Ojo was her first friend. She knew at -once that because the boy had taken the clover he bad been -imprisoned, and she understood that Ojo had given her the basket -so they would not find the clover in his possession and have -proof of his crime. So, turning her head to see that no one -noticed her, she took the clover from the basket and dropped it -into a golden vase that stood on Dorothy's table. Then she came -forward and said to Dorothy:<br> -</p> - -"I wouldn't care to help Ojo's uncle, but I will help Ojo. He did -not break the Law--no one can prove he did--and that -green-whiskered soldier had no right to arrest him." <br> -<p>"Ozma ordered the boy's arrest," said Dorothy, "and of course -she knew what she was doing. But if you can prove Ojo is innocent -they will set him free at once.<br> -</p> - -"They'll have to prove him guilty, won't they?'' asked Scraps. -<br> -<p>"I s'pose so."<br> -</p> - -"Well, they can't do that," declared the Patchwork Girl. <br> -<p>As it was nearly time for Dorothy to dine with Ozma, which she -did every evening, she rang for a servant and ordered the Woozy -taken to a nice room and given plenty of such food as he liked -best.<br> -</p> - -"That's honey-bees," said the Woozy. <br> -<p>"You can't eat honey-bees, but you'll be given something just -as nice," Dorothy told him. Then she had the Glass Cat taken to -another room for the night and the Patchwork Girl she kept in one -of her own rooms, for she was much interested in the strange -creature and wanted to talk with her again and try to understand -her better.<br> -</p> - -<br> -<h1 id="ref_18">Chapter Seventeen</h1> - -<br> -Ozma and Her Friends <br> -<p>The Shaggy Man had a room of his own in the royal palace, so -there he went to change his shaggy suit of clothes for another -just as shaggy but not so dusty from travel. He selected a -costume of peagreen and pink satin and velvet, with embroidered -shags on all the edges and iridescent pearls for ornaments. Then -he bathed in an alabaster pool and brushed his shaggy hair and -whiskers the wrong way to make them still more shaggy. This -accomplished, and arrayed in his splendid shaggy garments, he -went to Ozma's banquet hall and found the Scarecrow, the Wizard -and Dorothy already assembled there. The Scarecrow had made a -quick trip and returned to the Emerald City with his left ear -freshly painted.<br> -</p> - -A moment later, while they all stood in waiting, a servant threw -open a door, the orchestra struck up a tune and Ozma of Oz -entered. <br> -<p>Much has been told and written concerning the beauty of person -and character of this sweet girl Ruler of the Land of Oz--the -richest, the happiest and most delightful fairyland of which we -have any knowledge. Yet with all her queenly qualities Ozma was a -real girl and enjoyed the things in life that other real girls -enjoy. When she sat on her splendid emerald throne in the great -Throne Room of her palace and made laws and settled disputes and -tried to keep all her subjects happy and contented, she was as -dignified and demure as any queen might be; but when she had -thrown aside her jeweled robe of state and her sceptre, and had -retired to her private apartments, the girl-joyous, light-hearted -and free--replaced the sedate Ruler.<br> -</p> - -In the banquet hall to-night were gathered only old and trusted -friends, so here Ozma was herself--a mere girl. She greeted -Dorothy with a kiss, the Shaggy Man with a smile, the little old -Wizard with a friendly handshake and then she pressed the -Scarecrow's stuffed arm and cried merrily: <br> -<p>"What a lovely left ear! Why, it's a hundred times better than -the old one."<br> -</p> - -"I'm glad you like it," replied the Scarecrow, well pleased. -"Jinjur did a neat job, didn't she? And my hearing is now -perfect. Isn't it wonderful what a little paint will do, if it's -properly applied?" <br> -<p>"It really is wonderful," she agreed, as they all took their -seats; "but the Sawhorse must have his legs twinkle to have -carried you so far in one day. I didn't expect you back before -tomorrow, at the earliest."<br> -</p> - -"Well," said the Scarecrow, "I met a charming girl on the road -and wanted to see more of her, so I hurried back." <br> -<p>Ozma laughed.<br> -</p> - -"I know," she returned; "it's the Patchwork Girl. She is -certainly bewildering, if not strictly beautiful." <br> -<p>"Have you seen her, then?" the straw man eagerly asked.<br> -</p> - -"Only in my Magic Picture, which shows me all scenes of interest -in the Land of Oz." <br> -<p>"I fear the picture didn't do her justice," said the -Scarecrow.<br> -</p> - -"It seemed to me that nothing could be more gorgeous," declared -Ozma. "Whoever made that patchwork quilt, from which Scraps was -formed, must have selected the gayest and brightest bits of cloth -that ever were woven. <br> -<p>"I am glad you like her," said the Scarecrow in a satisfied -tone. Although the straw man did not eat, not being made so he -could, he often dined with Ozma and her companions, merely for -the pleasure of talking with them. He sat at the table and had a -napkin and plate, but the servants knew better than to offer him -food. After a little while he asked: "Where is the Patchwork Girl -now?"<br> -</p> - -"In my room," replied Dorothy. "I've taken a fancy to her; she's -so queer and-and-uncommon." <br> -<p>"She's half crazy, I think," added the Shaggy Man.<br> -</p> - -"But she is so beautiful!" exclaimed the Scarecrow, as if that -fact disarmed all criticism. They all laughed at his enthusiasm, -but the Scarecrow was quite serious. Seeing that he was -interested in Scraps they forbore to say anything against her. -The little band of friends Ozma had gathered around her was so -quaintly assorted that much care must be exercised to avoid -hurting their feelings or making any one of them unhappy. It was -this considerate kindness that held them close friends and -enabled them to enjoy one another's society. <br> -<p>Another thing they avoided was conversing on unpleasant -subjects, and for that reason Ojo and his troubles were not -mentioned during the dinner. The Shaggy Man, however, related his -adventures with the monstrous plants which had seized and -enfolded the travelers, and told how he had robbed Chiss, the -giant porcupine, of the quills which it was accustomed to throw -at people. Both Dorothy and Ozma were pleased with this exploit -and thought it served Chiss right.<br> -</p> - -Then they talked of the Woozy, which was the most remarkable -animal any of them had ever before seen--except, perhaps, the -live Sawhorse. Ozma had never known that her dominions contained -such a thing as a Woozy, there being but one in existence and -this being confined in his forest for many years. Dorothy said -she believed the Woozy was a good beast, honest and faithful; hut -she added that she did not care much for the Glass Cat. <br> -<p>"Still," said the Shaggy Man, "the Glass Cat is very pretty -and if she were not so conceited over her pink brains no one -would object to her as a companion.<br> -</p> - -The Wizard had been eating silently until now, when he looked up -and remarked: <br> -<p>"That Powder of Life which is made by the Crooked Magician is -really a wonderful thing. But Dr. Pipt does not know its true -value and he uses it in the most foolish ways."<br> -</p> - -"I must see about that," said Ozma, gravely. Then she smiled -again and continued in a lighter tone: "It was Dr. Pipt's famous -Powder of Life that enabled me to become the Ruler of Oz." <br> -<p>"I've never heard that story," said the Shaggy Man, looking at -Ozma questioningly.<br> -</p> - -"Well, when I was a baby girl I was stolen by an old Witch named -Mombi and transformed into a boy," began the girl Ruler. "I did -not know who I was and when I grew big enough to work, the Witch -made me wait upon her and carry wood for the fire and hoe in the -garden. One day she came back from a journey bringing some of the -Powder of Life, which Dr. Pipt had given her. I had made a -pumpkinheaded man and set it up in her path to frighten her, for -I was fond of fun and hated the Witch. But she knew what the -figure was and to test her Powder of Life she sprinkled some of -it on the man I had made. It came to life and is now our dear -friend Jack Pumpkinhead. That night I ran away with Jack to -escape punishment, and I took old Mombi's Powder of Life with me. -During our journey we came upon a wooden Sawhorse standing by the -road and I used the magic powder to bring it to life. The -Sawhorse has been with me ever since. When I got to the Emerald -City the good Sorceress, Glinda, knew who I was and restored me -to my proper person, when I became the rightful Ruler of this -land. So you see had not old Mombi brought home the Powder of -Life I might never have run away from her and become Ozma of Oz, -nor would we have had Jack Pumpkinhead and the Sawhorse to -comfort and amuse us." <br> -<p>That story interested the Shaggy Man very much, as well as the -others, who had often heard it before. The dinner being now -concluded, they all went to Ozma's drawing-room, where they -passed a pleasant evening before it came time to retire.<br> -</p> - -<br> -<h1 id="ref_19">Chapter Eighteen</h1> - -<br> -Ojo is Forgiven <br> -<p>The next morning the Soldier with the Green Whiskers went to -the prison and took Ojo away to the royal palace, where he was -summoned to appear before the girl Ruler for judgment. Again the -soldier put upon the boy the jeweled handcuffs and white -prisoner's robe with the peaked top and holes for the eyes. Ojo -was so ashamed, both of his disgrace and the fault he had -committed, that he was glad to be covered up in this way, so that -people could not see him or know who he was. He followed the -Soldier with the Green Whiskers very willingly, anxious that his -fate might be decided as soon as possible.<br> -</p> - -The inhabitants of the Emerald City were polite people and never -jeered at the unfortunate; but it was so long since they bad seen -a prisoner that they cast many curious looks toward the boy and -many of them hurried away to the royal palace to be present -during the trial. <br> -<p>When Ojo was escorted into the great Throne Room of the palace -he found hundreds of people assembled there. In the magnificent -emerald throne, which sparkled with countless jewels, sat Ozma of -Oz in her Robe of State, which was embroidered with emeralds and -pearls. On her right, but a little lower, was Dorothy, and on her -left the Scarecrow. Still lower, but nearly in front of Ozma, sat -the wonderful Wizard of Oz and on a small table beside him was -the golden vase from Dorothy's room, into which Scraps had -dropped the stolen clover.<br> -</p> - -At Ozma's feet crouched two enormous beasts, each the largest and -most powerful of its kind. Although these beasts were quite free, -no one present was alarmed by them; for the Cowardly Lion and the -Hungry Tiger were well known and respected in the Emerald City -and they always guarded the Ruler when she held high court in the -Throne Room. There was still another beast present, but this one -Dorothy held in her arms, for it was her constant companion, the -little dog Toto. Toto knew the Cowardly Lion and the Hungry Tiger -and often played and romped with them, for they were good -friends. <br> -<p>Seated on ivory chairs before Ozma, with a clear space between -them and the throne, were many of the nobility of the Emerald -City, lords and ladies in beautiful costumes, and officials of -the kingdom in the royal uniforms of Oz. Behind these courtiers -were others of less importance, filling the great hall to the -very doors.<br> -</p> - -At the same moment that the Soldier with the Green Whiskers -arrived with Ojo, the Shaggy Man entered from a side door, -escorting the Patchwork Girl, the Woozy and the Glass Cat. All -these came to the vacant space before the throne and stood facing -the Ruler. <br> -<p>"Hullo, Ojo," said Scraps; "how are you?"<br> -</p> - -"All right," he replied; but the scene awed the boy and his voice -trembled a little with fear. Nothing could awe the Patchwork -Girl, and although the Woozy was somewhat uneasy in these -splendid surroundings the Glass Cat was delighted with the -sumptuousness of the court and the impressiveness of the -occasion--pretty big words but quite expressive. <br> -<p>At a sign from Ozma the soldier removed Ojo's white robe and -the boy stood face to face with the girl who was to decide his -punishment. He saw at a glance how lovely and sweet she was, and -his heart gave a bound of joy, for he hoped she would be -merciful.<br> -</p> - -Ozma sat looking at the prisoner a long time. Then she said -gently: <br> -<p>"One of the Laws of Oz forbids anyone to pick a six-leaved -clover. You are accused of having broken this Law, even after you -had been warned not to do so.<br> -</p> - -Ojo hung his head and while he hesitated how to reply the -Patchwork Girl stepped forward and spoke for him. <br> -<p>"All this fuss is about nothing at all," she said, facing Ozma -unabashed. "You can't prove he picked the six-leaved clover, so -you've no right to accuse him of it. Search him, if you like, but -you won't find the clover; look in his basket and you'll find -it's not there. He hasn't got it, so I demand that you set this -poor Munchkin boy free."<br> -</p> - -The people of Oz listened to this defiance in amazement and -wondered at the queer Patchwork Girl who dared talk so boldly to -their Ruler. But Ozma sat silent and motionless and it was the -little Wizard who answered Scraps. <br> -<p>"So the clover hasn't been picked, eh?" he said. "I think it -has. I think the boy hid it in his basket, and then gave the -basket to you. I also think you dropped the clover into this -vase, which stood in Princess Dorothy's room, hoping to get rid -of it so it would not prove the boy guilty. You're a stranger -here, Miss Patches, and so you don't know that nothing can be -hidden from our powerful Ruler's Magic Picture--nor from the -watchful eyes of the humble Wizard of Oz. Look, all of you!" With -these words he waved his hands toward the vase on the table, -which Scraps now noticed for the first time.<br> -</p> - -From the mouth of the vase a plant sprouted, slowly growing -before their eyes until it became a beautiful bush, and on the -topmost branch appeared the six-leaved clover which Ojo had -unfortunately picked. <br> -<p>The Patchwork Girl looked at the clover and said: "Oh, so -you've found it. Very well; prove he picked it, if you can."<br> -</p> - -Ozma turned to Ojo. <br> -<p>"Did you pick the six-leaved clover?" she asked.<br> -</p> - -"Yes," he replied. "I knew it was against the Law, but I wanted -to save Unc Nunkie and I was afraid if I asked your consent to -pick it you would refuse me." <br> -<p>"What caused you to think that?" asked the Ruler.<br> -</p> - -"Why, it seemed to me a foolish law, unjust and unreasonable. -Even now I can see no harm in picking a six-leaved clover. And -I--I had not seen the Emerald City, then, nor you, and I thought -a girl who would make such a silly Law would not be likely to -help anyone in trouble." <br> -<p>Ozma regarded him musingly, her chin resting upon her hand; -but she was not angry. On the contrary she smiled a little at her -thoughts and then grew sober again.<br> -</p> - -"I suppose a good many laws seem foolish to those people who do -not understand them," she said; "but no law is ever made without -some purpose, and that purpose is usually to protect all the -people and guard their welfare. As you are a stranger, I will -explain this Law which to you seems so foolish. Years ago there -were many Witches and Magicians in the Land of Oz, and one of the -things they often used in making their magic charms and -transformations was a six-leaved clover. These Witches and -Magicians caused so much trouble among my people, often using -their powers for evil rather than good, that I decided to forbid -anyone to practice magic or sorcery except Glinda the Good and -her assistant, the Wizard of Oz, both of whom I can trust to use -their arts only to benefit my people and to make them happier. -Since I issued that Law the Land of Oz has been far more peaceful -and quiet; but I learned that some of the Witches and Magicians -were still practicing magic on the sly and using the six-leaved -clovers to make their potions and charms. Therefore I made -another Law forbidding anyone from plucking a six-leaved clover -or from gathering other plants and herbs which the Witches boil -in their kettles to work magic with. That has almost put an end -to wicked sorcery in our land, so you see the Law was not a -foolish one, but wise and just; and, in any event, it is wrong to -disobey a Law." <br> -<p>Ojo knew she was right and felt greatly mortified to realize -he had acted and spoken so ridiculously. But he raised his head -and looked Ozma in the face, saying:<br> -</p> - -"I am sorry I have acted wrongly and broken your Law. I did it to -save Unc Nunkie, and thought I would not be found out. But I am -guilty of this act and whatever punishment you think I deserve I -will suffer willingly." <br> -<p>Ozma smiled more brightly, then, and nodded graciously.<br> -</p> - -"You are forgiven," she said. "For, although you have committed a -serious fault, you are now penitent and I think you have been -punished enough. Soldier, release Ojo the Lucky and--" <br> -<p>"I beg your pardon; I'm Ojo the Unlucky," said the boy.<br> -</p> - -"At this moment you are lucky," said she. "Release him, Soldier, -and let him go free." <br> -<p>The people were glad to hear Ozma's decree and murmured their -approval. As the royal audience was now over, they began to leave -the Throne Room and soon there were none remaining except Ojo and -his friends and Ozma and her favorites.<br> -</p> - -The girl Ruler now asked Ojo to sit down and tell her all his -story, which he did, beginning at the time he had left his home -in the forest and ending with his arrival at the Emerald City and -his arrest. Ozma listened attentively and was thoughtful for some -moments after the boy had finished speaking. Then she said: <br> -<p>"The Crooked Magician was wrong to make the Glass Cat and the -Patchwork Girl, for it was against the Law. And if he had not -unlawfully kept the bottle of Liquid of Petrifaction standing on -his shelf, the accident to his wife Margolotte and to Unc Nunkie -could not have occurred. I can understand, however, that Ojo, who -loves his uncle, will be unhappy unless he can save him. Also I -feel it is wrong to leave those two victims standing as marble -statues, when they ought to be alive. So I propose we allow Dr. -Pipt to make the magic charm which will save them, and that we -assist Ojo to find the things he is seeking. What do you think, -Wizard?"<br> -</p> - -"That is perhaps the best thing to do," replied the Wizard. "But -after the Crooked Magician has restored those poor people to life -you must take away his magic powers." <br> -<p>"I will," promised Ozma.<br> -</p> - -"Now tell me, please, what magic things must you find?" continued -the Wizard, addressing Ojo. <br> -<p>"The three hairs from the Woozy's tail I have," said the boy. -"That is, I have the Woozy, and the hairs are in his tail. The -six-leaved clover I--I--"<br> -</p> - -"You may take it and keep it," said Ozma. "That will not be -breaking the Law, for it is already picked, and the crime of -picking it is forgiven." <br> -<p>"Thank you!" cried Ojo gratefully. Then he continued: "The -next thing, I must find is a gill of water from a dark well.'<br> -</p> - -The Wizard shook his head. "That," said he, "will be a hard task, -but if you travel far enough you may discover it." <br> -<p>"I am willing to travel for years, if it will save Unc -Nunkie," declared Ojo, earnestly.<br> -</p> - -"Then you'd better begin your journey at once," advised the -Wizard. <br> -<p>Dorothy bad been listening with interest to this conversation. -Now she turned to Ozma and asked: "May I go with Ojo, to help -him?"<br> -</p> - -"Would you like to?" returned Ozma. <br> -<p>"Yes. I know Oz pretty well, but Ojo doesn't know it at all. -I'm sorry for his uncle and poor Margolotte and I'd like to help -save them. May I go?"<br> -</p> - -"If you wish to," replied Ozma. <br> -<p>"If Dorothy goes, then I must go to take care of her," said -the Scarecrow, decidedly. "A dark well can only be discovered in -some out-of-the-way place, and there may be dangers there."<br> -</p> - -"You have my permission to accompany Dorothy," said Ozma. "And -while you are gone I will take care of the Patchwork Girl." <br> -<p>"I'll take care of myself," announced Scraps, "for I'm going -with the Scarecrow and Dorothy. I promised Ojo to help him find -the things he wants and I'll stick to my promise."<br> -</p> - -"Very well," replied Ozma. "But I see no need for Ojo to take the -Glass Cat and the Woozy." <br> -<p>"I prefer to remain here," said the cat. "I've nearly been -nicked half a dozen times, already, and if they're going into -dangers it's best for me to keep away from them."<br> -</p> - -"Let Jellia Jamb keep her till Ojo returns," suggested Dorothy. -"We won't need to take the Woozy, either, but he ought to be -saved because of the three hairs in his tail." <br> -<p>"Better take me along," said the Woozy. "My eyes can flash -fire, you know, and I can growl--a little."<br> -</p> - -"I'm sure you'll be safer here," Ozma decided, and the Woozy made -no further objection to the plan. <br> -<p>After consulting together they decided that Ojo and his party -should leave the very next day to search for the gill of water -from a dark well, so they now separated to make preparations for -the journey.<br> -</p> - -Ozma gave the Munchkin boy a room in the palace for that night -and the afternoon he passed with Dorothy--getting acquainted, as -she said--and receiving advice from the Shaggy Man as to where -they must go. The Shaggy Man had wandered in many parts of Oz, -and so had Dorothy, for that matter, yet neither of them knew -where a dark well was to be found. <br> -<p>"If such a thing is anywhere in the settled parts of Oz," said -Dorothy, "we'd prob'ly have heard of it long ago. If it's in the -wild parts of the country, no one there would need a dark well. -P'raps there isn't such a thing."<br> -</p> - -"Oh, there must he!" returned Ojo, positively; "or else the -recipe of Dr. Pipt wouldn't call for it." <br> -<p>"That's true," agreed Dorothy; "and, if it's anywhere in the -Land of Oz, we're bound to find it."<br> -</p> - -"Well, we're bound to search for it, anyhow," said the Scarecrow. -"As for finding it, we must trust to luck." <br> -<p>"Don't do that," begged Ojo, earnestly. "I'm called Ojo the -Unlucky, you know."<br> -</p> - -<br> -<h1 id="ref_20">Chapter Nineteen</h1> - -<br> -Trouble with the Tottenhots <br> -<p>A day's journey from the Emerald City brought the little band -of adventurers to the home of Jack Pumpkinhead, which was a house -formed from the shell of an immense pumpkin. Jack had made it -himself and was very proud of it. There was a door, and several -windows, and through the top was stuck a stovepipe that led from -a small stove inside. The door was reached by a flight of three -steps and there was a good floor on which was arranged some -furniture that was quite comfortable.<br> -</p> - -It is certain that Jack Pumpkinhead might have had a much finer -house to live in bad he wanted it, for Ozma loved the stupid -fellow, who had been her earliest companion; but Jack preferred -his pumpkin house, as it matched himself very well, and in this -he was not so stupid, after all. <br> -<p>The body of this remarkable person was made of wood, branches -of trees of various sizes having been used for the purpose. This -wooden framework was covered by a red shirt--with white spots in -it--blue trousers, a yellow vest, a jacket of green-and-gold and -stout leather shoes. The neck was a sharpened stick on which the -pumpkin head was set, and the eyes, ears, nose and mouth were -carved on the skin of the pumpkin, very like a child's -jack-o'-lantern.<br> -</p> - -The house of this interesting creation stood in the center of a -vast pumpkin-field, where the vines grew in profusion and bore -pumpkins of extraordinary size as well as those which were -smaller. Some of the pumpkins now ripening on the vines were -almost as large as Jack's house, and he told Dorothy he intended -to add another pumpkin to his mansion. <br> -<p>The travelers were cordially welcomed to this quaint domicile -and invited to pass the night there, which they had planned to -do. The Patchwork Girl was greatly interested in Jack and -examined him admiringly.<br> -</p> - -"You are quite handsome," she said; "but not as really beautiful -as the Scarecrow." <br> -<p>Jack turned, at this, to examine the Scarecrow critically, and -his old friend slyly winked one painted eye at him.<br> -</p> - -"There is no accounting for tastes," remarked the Pumpkinhead, -with a sigh. "An old crow once told me I was very fascinating, -but of course the bird might have been mistaken. Yet I have -noticed that the crows usually avoid the Scarecrow, who is a very -honest fellow, in his way, but stuffed. I am not stuffed, you -will observe; my body is good solid hickory." <br> -<p>"I adore stuffing," said the Patchwork Girl.<br> -</p> - -"Well, as for that, my head is stuffed with pumpkin-seeds," -declared Jack. "I use them for brains, and when they are fresh I -am intellectual. Just now, I regret to say, my seeds are rattling -a bit, so I must soon get another head." <br> -<p>"Oh; do you change your head?" asked Ojo.<br> -</p> - -"To be sure. Pumpkins are not permanent, more's the pity, and in -time they spoil. That is why I grow such a great field of -pumpkins--that I may select a new head whenever necessary." <br> -<p>"Who carves the faces on them?" inquired the boy.<br> -</p> - -"I do that myself. I lift off my old head, place it on a table -before me, and use the face for a pattern to go by. Sometimes the -faces I carve are better than others--more expressive and -cheerful, you know--but I think they average very well." <br> -<p>Before she had started on the journey Dorothy had packed a -knapsack with the things she might need, and this knapsack the -Scarecrow carried strapped to his back. The little girl wore a -plain gingham dress and a checked sunbonnet, as she knew they -were best fitted for travel. Ojo also had brought along his -basket, to which Ozma had added a bottle of "Square Meal Tablets" -and some fruit. But Jack Pumpkinhead grew a lot of things in his -garden besides pumpkins, so he cooked for them a fine vegetable -soup and gave Dorothy, Ojo and Toto, the only ones who found it -necessary to eat, a pumpkin pie and some green cheese. For beds -they must use the sweet dried grasses which Jack had strewn along -one side of the room, but that satisfied Dorothy and Ojo very -well. Toto, of course, slept beside his little mistress.<br> -</p> - -The Scarecrow, Scraps and the Pumpkinhead were tireless and had -no need to sleep, so they sat up and talked together all night; -but they stayed outside the house, under the bright stars, and -talked in low tones so as not to disturb the sleepers. During the -conversation the Scarecrow explained their quest for a dark well, -and asked Jack's advice where to find it. <br> -<p>The Pumpkinhead considered the matter gravely.<br> -</p> - -"That is going to be a difficult task," said he, "and if I were -you I'd take any ordinary well and enclose it, so as to make it -dark." <br> -<p>"I fear that wouldn't do," replied the Scarecrow. "The well -must be naturally dark, and the water must never have seen the -light of day, for otherwise the magic charm might not work at -all."<br> -</p> - -"How much of the water do you need?" asked Jack. <br> -<p>"A gill."<br> -</p> - -"How much is a gill?" <br> -<p>"Why--a gill is a gill, of course," answered the Scarecrow, -who did not wish to display his ignorance.<br> -</p> - -"I know!" cried Scraps. "Jack and Jill went up the hill to -fetch--" <br> -<p>"No, no; that's wrong," interrupted the Scarecrow. "There are -two kinds of gills, I think; one is a girl, and the other -is--"<br> -</p> - -"A gillyflower," said Jack. <br> -<p>"No; a measure."<br> -</p> - -"How big a measure?" <br> -<p>"Well, I'll ask Dorothy."<br> -</p> - -So next morning they asked Dorothy, and she said: <br> -<p>"I don't just know how much a gill is, but I've brought along -a gold flask that holds a pint. That's more than a gill, I'm -sure, and the Crooked Magician may measure it to suit himself. -But the thing that's bothering us most, Jack, is to find the -well."<br> -</p> - -Jack gazed around the landscape, for he was standing in the -doorway of his house. <br> -<p>"This is a flat country, so you won t find any dark wells -here," said he. "You must go into the mountains, where rocks and -caverns are.<br> -</p> - -"And where is that?" asked Ojo. <br> -<p>"In the Quadling Country, which lies south of here," replied -the Scarecrow. "I've known all along that we must go to the -mountains."<br> -</p> - -"So have I," said Dorothy. <br> -<p>"But--goodness me!--the Quadling Country is full of dangers," -declared Jack. "I've never been there myself, but--"<br> -</p> - -"I have," said the Scarecrow. "I've faced the dreadful -Hammerheads, which have no arms and butt you like a goat; and -I've faced the Fighting Trees, which bend down their branches to -pound and whip you, and had many other adventures there." <br> -<p>"It's a wild country," remarked Dorothy, soberly, "and if we -go there we're sure to have troubles of our own. But I guess -we'll have to go, if we want that gill of water from the dark -well."<br> -</p> - -So they said good-bye to the Pumpkinhead and resumed their -travels, heading now directly toward the South Country, where -mountains and rocks and caverns and forests of great trees -abounded. This part of the Land of Oz, while it belonged to Ozma -and owed her allegiance, was so wild and secluded that many queer -peoples hid in its jungles and lived in their own way, without -even a knowledge that they had a Ruler in the Emerald City. If -they were left alone, these creatures never troubled the -inhabitants of the rest of Oz, but those who invaded their -domains encountered many dangers from them. <br> -<p>It was a two days journey from Jack Pumkinhead's house to the -edge of the Quadling Country, for neither Dorothy nor Ojo could -walk very fast and they often stopped by the wayside to rest. The -first night they slept on the broad fields, among the buttercups -and daisies, and the Scarecrow covered the children with a gauze -blanket taken from his knapsack, so they would not be chilled by -the night air. Toward evening of the second day they reached a -sandy plain where walking was difficult; but some distance before -them they saw a group of palm trees, with many curious black dots -under them; so they trudged bravely on to reach that place by -dark and spend the night under the shelter of the trees.<br> -</p> - -The black dots grew larger as they advanced and although the -light was dim Dorothy thought they looked like big kettles turned -upside down. Just beyond this place a jumble of huge, jagged -rocks lay scattered, rising to the mountains behind them. <br> -<p>Our travelers preferred to attempt to climb these rocks by -daylight, and they realized that for a time this would be their -last night on the plains.<br> -</p> - -Twilight had fallen by the time they came to the trees, beneath -which were the black, circular objects they had marked from a -distance. Dozens of them were scattered around and Dorothy bent -near to one, which was about as tall as she was, to examine it -more closely. As she did so the top flew open and out popped a -dusky creature, rising its length into the air and then plumping -down upon the ground just beside the little girl. Another and -another popped out of the circular, pot-like dwelling, while from -all the other black objects came popping more creatures--very -like jumping-jacks when their boxes are unhooked--until fully a -hundred stood gathered around our little group of travelers. <br> -<p>By this time Dorothy had discovered they were people, tiny and -curiously formed, but still people. Their skins were dusky and -their hair stood straight up, like wires, and was brilliant -scarlet in color. Their bodies were bare except for skins -fastened around their waists and they wore bracelets on their -ankles and wrists, and necklaces, and great pendant earrings.<br> -</p> - -Toto crouched beside his mistress and wailed as if he did not -like these strange creatures a bit. Scraps began to mutter -something about "hopity, poppity, jumpity, dump!" but no one paid -any attention to her. Ojo kept close to the Scarecrow and the -Scarecrow kept close to Dorothy; but the little girl turned to -the queer creatures and asked: <br> -<p>"Who are you?"<br> -</p> - -They answered this question all together, in a sort of chanting -chorus, the words being as follows: <br> -<p>"We're the jolly Tottenhots; We do not like the day, But in -the night 'tis our delight To gambol, skip and play.<br> -</p> - -"We hate the sun and from it run, The moon is cool and clear, So -on this spot each Tottenhot Waits for it to appear. <br> -<p>"We're ev'ry one chock full of fun, And full of mischief, too; -But if you're gay and with us play We'll do no harm to you.<br> -</p> - -<br> -<p>"Glad to meet you, Tottenhots," said the Scarecrow solemnly. -"But you mustn't expect us to play with you all night, for we've -traveled all day and some of us are tired."<br> -</p> - -"And we never gamble," added the Patchwork Girl. "It's against -the Law." <br> -<p>These remarks were greeted with shouts of laughter by the -impish creatures and one seized the Scarecrow's arm and was -astonished to find the straw man whirl around so easily. So the -Tottenhot raised the Scarecrow high in the air and tossed him -over the heads of the crowd. Some one caught him and tossed him -back, and so with shouts of glee they continued throwing the -Scarecrow here and there, as if he had been a basket-ball.<br> -</p> - -Presently another imp seized Scraps and began to throw her about, -in the same way. They found her a little heavier than the -Scarecrow but still light enough to be tossed like a -sofa-cushion, and they were enjoying the sport immensely when -Dorothy, angry and indignant at the treatment her friends were -receiving, rushed among the Tottenhots and began slapping and -pushing them until she had rescued the Scarecrow and the -Patchwork Girl and held them close on either side of her. Perhaps -she would not have accomplished this victory so easily had not -Toto helped her, barking and snapping at the bare legs of the -imps until they were glad to flee from his attack. As for Ojo, -some of the creatures had attempted to toss him, also, but -finding his body too heavy they threw him to the ground and a row -of the imps sat on him and held him from assisting Dorothy in her -battle. <br> -<p>The little brown folks were much surprised at being attacked -by the girl and the dog, and one or two who had been slapped -hardest began to cry. Then suddenly they gave a shout, all -together, and disappeared in a flash into their various houses, -the tops of which closed with a series of pops that sounded like -a bunch of firecrackers being exploded.<br> -</p> - -The adventurers now found themselves alone, and Dorothy asked -anxiously: <br> -<p>"Is anybody hurt?"<br> -</p> - -"Not me," answered the Scarecrow. "They have given my straw a -good shaking up and taken all the lumps out of it. I am now in -splendid condition and am really obliged to the Tottenhots for -their kind treatment." <br> -<p>"I feel much the same way," said Scraps. "My cotton stuffing -had sagged a good deal with the day's walking and they've -loosened it up until I feel as plump as a sausage. But the play -was a little rough and I'd had quite enough of it when you -interfered."<br> -</p> - -"Six of them sat on me," said Ojo, "but as they are so little -they didn't hurt me much." <br> -<p>Just then the roof of the house in front of them opened and a -Tottenhot stuck his head out, very cautiously, and looked at the -strangers.<br> -</p> - -"Can't you, take a joke?" he asked, reproachfully; "haven t you -any fun in you at all?" <br> -<p>"If I had such a quality," replied the Scarecrow, "your people -would have knocked it out of me. But I don't bear grudges. I -forgive you."<br> -</p> - -"So do I," added Scraps. "That is, if you behave yourselves after -this." <br> -<p>"It was just a little rough-house, that's all," said the -Tottenhot. "But the question is not if we will behave, but if you -will behave? We can't be shut up here all night, because this is -our time to play; nor do we care to come out and be chewed up by -a savage beast or slapped by an angry girl. That slapping hurts -like sixty; some of my folks are crying about it. So here's the -proposition: you let us alone and we'll let you alone."<br> -</p> - -"You began it," declared Dorothy. <br> -<p>"Well, you ended it, so we won't argue the matter. May we come -out again? Or are you still cruel and slappy?"<br> -</p> - -"Tell you what we'll do," said Dorothy. "We're all tired and want -to sleep until morning. If you'll let us get into your house, and -stay there until daylight, you can play outside all you want to." -<br> -<p>"That's a bargain!" cried the Tottenhot eagerly, and he gave a -queer whistle that brought his people popping out of their houses -on all sides. When the house before them was vacant, Dorothy and -Ojo leaned over the hole and looked in, but could see nothing -because it was so dark. But if the Tottenhots slept there all day -the children thought they could sleep there at night, so Ojo -lowered himself down and found it was not very deep."<br> -</p> - -"There's a soft cushion all over," said he. "Come on in." <br> -<p>Dorothy handed Toto to the boy and then climbed in herself. -After her came Scraps and the Scarecrow, who did not wish to -sleep but preferred to keep out of the way of the mischievous -Tottenhots.<br> -</p> - -There seemed no furniture in the round den, but soft cushions -were strewn about the floor and these they found made very -comfortable beds. They did not close the hole in the roof but -left it open to admit air. It also admitted the shouts and -ceaseless laughter of the impish Tottenhots as they played -outside, but Dorothy and Ojo, being weary from their journey, -were soon fast asleep. <br> -<p>Toto kept an eye open, however, and uttered low, threatening -growls whenever the racket made by the creatures outside became -too boisterous; and the Scarecrow and the Patchwork Girl sat -leaning against the wall and talked in whispers all night long. -No one disturbed the travelers until daylight, when in popped the -Tottenhot who owned the place and invited them to vacate his -premises.<br> -</p> - -<br> -<h1 id="ref_21">Chapter Twenty</h1> - -<br> -The Captive Yoop <br> -<p>As they were preparing to leave, Dorothy asked: "Can you tell -us where there is a dark well?"<br> -</p> - -"Never heard of such a thing," said the Tottenhot. "We live our -lives in the dark, mostly, and sleep in the day-time; but we've -never seen a dark well, or anything like one." <br> -<p>"Does anyone live on those mountains beyond here?" asked the -Scarecrow.<br> -</p> - -"Lots of people. But you'd better not visit them. We never go -there," was the reply. <br> -<p>"What are the people like?" Dorothy inquired.<br> -</p> - -"Can't say. We've been told to keep away from the mountain paths, -and so we obey. This sandy desert is good enough for us, and -we're not disturbed here," declared the Tottenhot. <br> -<p>So they left the man snuggling down to sleep in his dusky -dwelling, and went out into the sunshine, taking the path that -led toward the rocky places. They soon found it hard climbing, -for the rocks were uneven and full of sharp points and edges, and -now there was no path at all. Clambering here and there among the -boulders they kept steadily on, gradually rising higher and -higher until finally they came to a great rift in a part of the -mountain, where the rock seemed to have split in two and left -high walls on either side.<br> -</p> - -"S'pose we go this way," suggested Dorothy; it's much easier -walking than to climb over the hills." <br> -<p>"How about that sign?" asked Ojo.<br> -</p> - -"What sign?" she inquired. <br> -<p>The Munchkin boy pointed to some words painted on the wall of -rock beside them, which Dorothy had not noticed. The words -read:<br> -</p> - -"LOOK OUT FOR YOOP." <br> -<p>The girl eyed this sign a moment and turned to the Scarecrow, -asking:<br> -</p> - -"Who is Yoop; or what is Yoop?" <br> -<p>The straw man shook his head. Then looked at Toto and the dog -said "Woof!"<br> -</p> - -"Only way to find out is to go on, Scraps." <br> -<p>This being quite true, they went on. As they proceeded, the -walls of rock on either side grew higher and higher. Presently -they came upon another sign which read:<br> -</p> - -"BEWARE THE CAPTIVE YOOP." <br> -<p>"Why, as for that," remarked Dorothy, "if Yoop is a captive -there's no need to beware of him. Whatever Yoop happens to be, -I'd much rather have him a captive than running around -loose."<br> -</p> - -"So had I," agreed the Scarecrow, with a nod of his painted head. -<br> -<p>"Still," said Scraps, reflectively:<br> -</p> - -"Yoop-te-hoop-te-loop-te-goop! Who put noodles in the soup? We -may beware but we don't care, And dare go where we scare the -Yoop." <br> -<p><br> -</p> - -"Dear me! Aren't you feeling a little queer, just now?" Dorothy -asked the Patchwork Girl. <br> -<p>"Not queer, but crazy," said Ojo. "When she says those things -I'm sure her brains get mixed somehow and work the wrong way.<br> -</p> - -"I don't see why we are told to beware the Yoop unless he is -dangerous," observed the Scarecrow in a puzzled tone. <br> -<p>"Never mind; we'll find out all about him when we get to where -he is," replied the little girl.<br> -</p> - -The narrow canyon turned and twisted this way and that, and the -rift was so small that they were able to touch both walls at the -same time by stretching out their arms. Toto had run on ahead, -frisking playfully, when suddenly he uttered a sharp bark of fear -and came running back to them with his tail between his legs, as -dogs do when they are frightened. <br> -<p>"Ah," said the Scarecrow, who was leading the way, "we must be -near Yoop."<br> -</p> - -Just then, as he rounded a sharp turn, the Straw man stopped so -suddenly that all the others bumped against him. <br> -<p>"What is it?" asked Dorothy, standing on tip-toes to look over -his shoulder. But then she saw what it was and cried "Oh!" in a -tone of astonishment.<br> -</p> - -In one of the rock walls--that at their left-was hollowed a great -cavern, in front of which was a row of thick iron bars, the tops -and bottoms being firmly fixed in the solid rock. Over this -cavern was a big sign, which Dorothy read with much curiosity, -speaking the words aloud that all might know what they said: <br> -<p>"MISTER YOOP--HIS CAVE<br> -</p> - -The Largest Untamed Giant in Captivity. Height, 21 Feet.--(And -yet he has but 2 feet.) Weight, 1640 Pounds.--(But he waits all -the time.) Age, 400 Years 'and Up' (as they say in the <br> -<p>Department Store advertisements). Temper, Fierce and -Ferocious.--(Except when asleep.) Appetite, Ravenous.--(Prefers -Meat People and Orange Marmalade.)<br> -</p> - -P. S.--Don't feed the Giant yourself." <br> -<p><br> -</p> - -"Very well," said Ojo, with a sigh; "let's go back." <br> -<p>"It's a long way back," declared Dorothy.<br> -</p> - -"So it is," remarked the Scarecrow, "and it means a tedious climb -over those sharp rocks if we can t use this passage. I think it -will be best to run by the Giant's cave as fast as we can go. -Mister Yoop seems to be asleep just now." <br> -<p>But the Giant wasn't asleep. He suddenly appeared at the front -of his cavern, seized the iron bars in his great hairy hands and -shook them until they rattled in their sockets. Yoop was so tall -that our friends had to tip their heads way back to look into his -face, and they noticed he was dressed all in pink velvet, with -silver buttons and braid. The Giant's boots were of pink leather -and had tassels on them and his hat was decorated with an -enormous pink ostrich feather, carefully curled.<br> -</p> - -"Yo--ho!" he said in a deep bass voice; "I smell dinner." <br> -<p>"I think you are mistaken," replied the Scarecrow. "There is -no orange marmalade around here."<br> -</p> - -"Ah, but I eat other things," asserted Mister Yoop. "That is, I -eat them when I can get them. But this is a lonely place, and no -good meat has passed by my cave for many years; so I'm hungry." -<br> -<p>"Haven't you eaten anything in many years?" asked Dorothy.<br> -</p> - -"Nothing except six ants and a monkey. I thought the monkey would -taste like meat people, but the flavor was different. I hope you -will taste better, for you seem plump and tender." <br> -<p>"Oh, I'm not going to be eaten," said Dorothy.<br> -</p> - -"Why not?" <br> -<p>"I shall keep out of your way," she answered.<br> -</p> - -"How heartless!" wailed the Giant, shaking the bars again. -"Consider how many years it is since I've eaten a single plump -little girl! They tell me meat is going up, but if I can manage -to catch you I'm sure it will soon be going down. And I'll catch -you if I can." <br> -<p>With this the Giant pushed his big arms, which looked like -tree-trunks (except that treetrunks don't wear pink velvet) -between the iron bars, and the arms were so long that they -touched the opposite wall of the rock passage. Then he extended -them as far as he could reach toward our travelers and found he -could almost touch the Scarecrow--but not quite.<br> -</p> - -"Come a little nearer, please," begged the Giant. <br> -<p>"I'm a Scarecrow."<br> -</p> - -"A Scarecrow? Ugh! I don't care a straw for a scarecrow. Who is -that bright-colored delicacy behind you?" <br> -<p>"Me?" asked Scraps. "I'm a Patchwork Girl, and I'm stuffed -with cotton."<br> -</p> - -"Dear me," sighed the Giant in a disapointed tone; "that reduces -my dinner from four to two-and the dog. I'll save the dog for -dessert." <br> -<p>Toto growled, keeping a good distance away.<br> -</p> - -"Back up," said the Scarecrow to those behind him. "Let us go -back a little way and talk this over. <br> -<p>So they turned and went around the bend in the passage, where -they were out of sight of the cave and Mister Yoop could not hear -them.<br> -</p> - -"My idea," began the Scarecrow, when they had halted, "is to make -a dash past the cave, going on a run. <br> -<p>"He'd grab us," said Dorothy.<br> -</p> - -"Well, he can't grab but one at a time, and I'll go first. As -soon as he grabs me the rest of you can slip past him, out of his -reach, and he will soon let me go because I am not fit to eat." -<br> -<p>They decided to try this plan and Dorothy took Toto in her -arms, so as to protect him. She followed just after the -Scarecrow. Then came Ojo, with Scarps the last of the four. Their -hearts beat a little faster than usual as they again approached -the Giant's cave, this time moving swiftly forward.<br> -</p> - -It turned out about the way the Scarecrow had planned. Mister -Yoop was quite astonished to see them come flying toward him, and -thrusting his arms between the bars he seized the Scarecrow in a -firm grip. In the next instant he realized, from the way the -straw crunched between his fingers, that he had captured the -non-eatable man, but during that instant of delay Dorothy and Ojo -had slipped by the Giant and were out of reach. Uttering a howl -of rage the monster threw the Scarecrow after them with one hand -and grabbed Scraps with the other. <br> -<p>The poor Scarecrow went whirling through the air and so -cleverly was he aimed that he struck Ojo's back and sent the boy -tumbling head over heels, and he tripped Dorothy and sent her, -also, sprawling upon the ground. Toto flew out of the little -girl's arms and landed some distance ahead, and all were so dazed -that it was a moment before they could scramble to their feet -again. When they did so they turned to look toward the Giant's -cave, and at that moment the ferocious Mister Yoop threw the -Patchwork Girl at them.<br> -</p> - -Down went all three again, in a heap, with Scraps on top. The -Giant roared so terribly that for a time they were afraid he had -broken loose; but he hadn't. So they sat in the road and looked -at one another in a rather bewildered way, and then began to feel -glad. <br> -<p>"We did it!" exclaimed the Scarecrow, with satisfaction. "And -now we are free to go on our way.<br> -</p> - -"Mister Yoop is very impolite," declared Scraps. "He jarred me -terribly. It's lucky my stitches are so fine and strong, for -otherwise such harsh treatment might rip me up the back." <br> -<p>"Allow me to apologize for the Giant," said the Scarecrow, -raising the Patchwork Girl to her feet and dusting her skirt with -his stuffed hands. "Mister Yoop is a perfect stranger to me, but -I fear, from the rude manner in which he has acted, that he is no -gentleman."<br> -</p> - -Dorothy and Ojo laughed at this statement and Toto barked as if -he understood the joke, after which they all felt better and -resumed the journey in high spirits. <br> -<p>"Of course," said the little girl, when they had walked a way -along the passage, "it was lucky for us the Giant was caged; for, -if he had happened to be loose, he--he--"<br> -</p> - -"Perhaps, in that case, he wouldn't be hungry any more," said Ojo -gravely. <br> -<p><br> -</p> - -<h1 id="ref_22">Chapter Twenty-One</h1> - -<br> -<p>Hip Hopper the Champion<br> -</p> - -They must have had good courage to climb all those rocks, for -after getting out of the canyon they encountered more rock hills -to he surmounted. Toto could jump from one rock to another quite -easily, but the others had to creep and climb with care, so that -after a whole day of such work Dorothy and Ojo found themselves -very tired. <br> -<p>As they gazed upward at the great mass of tumbled rocks that -covered the steep incline, Dorothy gave a little groan and -said:<br> -</p> - -"That's going to be a ter'ble hard climb, Scarecrow. I wish we -could find the dark well without so much trouble." <br> -<p>"Suppose," said Ojo, "you wait here and let me do the -climbing, for it's on my account we're searching for the dark -well. Then, if I don't find anything, I'll come back and join -you.<br> -</p> - -"No," replied the little girl, shaking her head positively, -"we'll all go together, for that way we can help each other. If -you went alone, something might happen to you, Ojo." <br> -<p>So they began the climb and found it indeed difficult, for a -way. But presently, in creeping over the big crags, they found a -path at their feet which wound in and out among the masses of -rock and was quite smooth and easy to walk upon. As the path -gradually ascended the mountain, although in a roundabout way, -they decided to follow it.<br> -</p> - -"This must be the road to the Country of the Hoppers," said the -Scarecrow. <br> -<p>"Who are the Hoppers?" asked Dorothy.<br> -</p> - -"Some people Jack Pumpkinhead told me about," he replied. <br> -<p>"I didn't hear him," replied the girl.<br> -</p> - -"No; you were asleep," explained the Scarecrow. "But he told -Scraps and me that the hoppers and the Horners live on this -mountain." <br> -<p>"He said in the mountain," declared Scraps; "but of course he -meant on it."<br> -</p> - -"Didn't he say what the Hoppers and Horners were like?" inquired -Dorothy. <br> -<p>"No; he only said they were two separate nations, and that the -Horners were the most important."<br> -</p> - -"Well, if we go to their country we'll find out all about 'em," -said the girl. "But I've never heard Ozma mention those people, -so they can't be very important." <br> -<p>"Is this mountain in the Land of Oz?" asked Scraps.<br> -</p> - -"Course it is," answered Dorothy. "It's in the South Country of -the Quadlings. When one comes to the edge of Oz, in any -direction, there is nothing more to be seen at all. Once you -could see sandy desert all around Oz; but now it's diff'rent, and -no other people can see us, any more than we can see them." <br> -<p>"If the mountain is under Ozma's rule, why doesn't she know -about the Hoppers and the Horners?" Ojo asked.<br> -</p> - -"Why, it's a fairyland," explained Dorothy, "and lots of queer -people live in places so tucked away that those in the Emerald -City never even hear of 'em. In the middle of the country it's -diff'rent, but when you get around the edges you're sure to run -into strange little corners that surprise you. I know, for I've -traveled in Oz a good deal, and os has the Scarecrow." <br> -<p>"Yes," admitted the straw man, "I've been considerable of a -traveler, in my time, and I like to explore strange places. I -find I learn much more by traveling than by staying at home."<br> -</p> - -During this conversation they had been walking up the steep -pathway and now found themselves well up on the mountain. They -could see nothing around them, for the rocks beside their path -were higher than their heads. Nor could they see far in front of -them, because the path was so crooked. But suddenly they stopped, -because the path ended and there was no place to go. Ahead was a -big rock lying against the side of the mountain, and this blocked -the way completely. <br> -<p>"There wouldn't be a path, though, if it didn't go somewhere," -said the Scarecrow, wrinkling his forehead in deep thought.<br> -</p> - -"This is somewhere, isn't it?" asked the Patchwork Girl, laughing -at the bewildered looks of the others. <br> -<p>"The path is locked, the way is blocked, Yet here we've -innocently flocked; And now we're here it's rather queer There's -no front door that can be knocked."<br> -</p> - -"Please don't, Scraps," said Ojo. "You make me nervous. <br> -<p>"Well," said Dorothy, "I'm glad of a little rest, for that's a -drea'ful steep path."<br> -</p> - -As she spoke she leaned against the edge of the big rock that -stood in their way. To her surprise it slowly swung backward and -showed behind it a dark hole that looked like the mouth of a -tunnel. <br> -<p>"Why, here's where the path goes to!" she exclaimed.<br> -</p> - -"So it is," answered the Scarecrow. "But the question is, do we -want to go where the path does?" <br> -<p>"It's underground; right inside the mountain," said Ojo, -peering into the dark hole. "perhaps there's a well there; and, -if there is, it's sure to be a dark one."<br> -</p> - -"Why, that's true enough!" cried Dorothy with eagerness. "Let's -go in, Scarecrow; 'cause, if others have gone, we're pretty safe -to go, too." <br> -<p>Toto looked in and barked, but he did not venture to enter -until the Scarecrow had bravely gone first. Scraps followed -closely after the straw man and then Ojo and Dorothy timidly -stepped inside the tunnel. As soon as all of them had passed the -big rock, it slowly turned and filled up the opening again; but -now they were no longer in the dark, for a soft, rosy light -enabled them to see around them quite distinctly.<br> -</p> - -It was only a passage, wide enough for two of them to walk -abreast--with Toto in between them--and it had a high, arched -roof. They could not see where the light which flooded the place -so pleasantly came from, for there were no lamps anywhere -visible. The passage ran straight for a little way and then made -a bend to the right and another sharp turn to the left, after -which it went straight again. But there were no side passages, so -they could not lose their way. <br> -<p>After proceeding some distance, Toto, who had gone on ahead, -began to bark loudly. They ran around a bend to see what was the -matter and found a man sitting on the floor of the passage and -leaning his back against the wall. He had probably been asleep -before Toto's barks aroused him, for he was now rubbing his eyes -and staring at the little dog with all his might.<br> -</p> - -There was something about this man that Toto objected to, and -when he slowly rose to his foot they saw what it was. He had but -one leg, set just below the middle of his round, fat body; but it -was a stout leg and had a broad, flat foot at the bottom of it, -on which the man seemed to stand very well. He had never had but -this one leg, which looked something like a pedestal, and when -Toto ran up and made a grab at the man's ankle he hopped first -one way and then another in a very active manner, looking so -frightened that Scraps laughed aloud. <br> -<p>Toto was usually a well behaved dog, but this time he was -angry and snapped at the man's leg again and again. This filled -the poor fellow with fear, and in hopping out of Toto's reach he -suddenly lost his balance and tumbled heel over head upon the -floor. When he sat up he kicked Toto on the nose and made the dog -howl angrily, but Dorothy now ran forward and caught Toto's -collar, holding him back.<br> -</p> - -"Do you surrender?" she asked the man. <br> -<p>"Who? Me?" asked the Hopper.<br> -</p> - -"Yes; you," said the little girl. <br> -<p>"Am I captured?" he inquired.<br> -</p> - -"Of course. My dog has captured you," she said. <br> -<p>"Well," replied the man, "if I'm captured I must surrender, -for it's the proper thing to do. I like to do everything proper, -for it saves one a lot of trouble."<br> -</p> - -"It does, indeed," said Dorothy. "Please tell us who you are. -<br> -<p>"I'm Hip Hopper--Hip Hopper, the Champion."<br> -</p> - -"Champion what?" she asked in surprise. <br> -<p>"Champion wrestler. I'm a very strong man, and that ferocious -animal which you are so kindly holding is the first living thing -that has ever conquered me."<br> -</p> - -"And you are a Hopper?" she continued. <br> -<p>"Yes. My people live in a great city not far from here. Would -you like to visit it?"<br> -</p> - -"I'm not sure," she said with hesitation. "Have you any dark -wells in your city?" <br> -<p>"I think not. We have wells, you know, hut they're all well -lighted, and a well lighted well cannot well be a dark well. But -there may be such a thing as a very dark well in the Horner -Country, which is a black spot on the face of the earth."<br> -</p> - -"Where is the Horner Country?" Ojo inquired. <br> -<p>"The other side of the mountain. There's a fence between the -Hopper Country and the Horner Country, and a gate in the fence; -but you can't pass through just now, because we are at war with -the Horners."<br> -</p> - -"That's too bad," said the Scarecrow. "What seems to be the -trouble?" <br> -<p>"Why, one of them made a very insulting remark about my -people. He said we were lacking in understanding, because we had -only one leg to a person. I can't see that legs have anything to -do with understanding things. The Homers each have two legs, just -as you have. That's one leg too many, it seems to me."<br> -</p> - -"No," declared Dorothy, "it's just the right number." <br> -<p>"You don't need them," argued the Hopper, obstinately. "You've -only one head, and one body, and one nose and mouth. Two legs are -quite unnecessary, and they spoil one's shape."<br> -</p> - -"But how can you walk, with only one leg?" asked Ojo. <br> -<p>"Walk! Who wants to walk?" exclaimed the man. "Walking is a -terribly awkward way to travel. I hop, and so do all my people. -It's so much more graceful and agreeable than walking."<br> -</p> - -"I don't agree with you," said the Scarecrow. "But tell me, is -there any way to get to the Horner Country without going through -the city of the Hoppers?" <br> -<p>"Yes; there is another path from the rocky lowlands, outside -the mountain, that leads straight to the entrance of the Horner -Country. But it's a long way around, so you'd better come with -me. Perhaps they will allow you to go through the gate; but we -expect to conquer them this afternoon, if we get time, and then -you may go and come as you please."<br> -</p> - -They thought it best to take the Hopper's advice, and asked him -to lead the way. This he did in a series of hops, and he moved so -swiftly in this strange manner that those with two legs had to -run to keep up with him. <br> -<p><br> -</p> - -<h1 id="ref_23">Chapter Twenty-Two</h1> - -<br> -<p>The Joking Horners<br> -</p> - -It was not long before they left the passage and came to a great -cave, so high that it must have reached nearly to the top of the -mountain within which it lay. It was a magnificent cave, -illumined by the soft, invisible light, so that everything in it -could be plainly seen. The walls were of polished marble, white -with veins of delicate colors running through it, and the roof -was arched and fantastic and beautiful. <br> -<p>Built beneath this vast dome was a pretty village--not very -large, for there seemed not more than fifty houses -altogether--and the dwellings were of marble and artistically -designed. No grass nor flowers nor trees grew in this cave, so -the yards surrounding the houses carved in designs both were -smooth and bare and had low walls around them to mark their -boundaries.<br> -</p> - -In the streets and the yards of the houses were many people all -having one leg growing below their bodies and all hopping here -and there whenever they moved. Even the children stood firmly -upon their single legs and never lost their balance. <br> -<p>"All hail, Champion!" cried a man in the first group of -Hoppers they met; "whom have you captured?"<br> -</p> - -"No one," replied the Champion in a gloomy voice; "these -strangers have captured me." <br> -<p>"Then," said another, "we will rescue you, and capture them, -for we are greater in number."<br> -</p> - -"No," answered the Champion, "I can't allow it. I've surrendered, -and it isn't polite to capture those you've surrendered to." <br> -<p>"Never mind that," said Dorothy. "We will give you your -liberty and set you free."<br> -</p> - -"Really?" asked the Champion in joyous tones. <br> -<p>"Yes," said the little girl; "your people may need you to help -conquer the Horners."<br> -</p> - -At this all the Hoppers looked downcast and sad. Several more had -joined the group by this time and quite a crowd of curious men, -women and children surrounded the strangers. <br> -<p>"This war with our neighbors is a terrible thing," remarked -one of the women. "Some one is almost sure to get hurt."<br> -</p> - -"Why do you say that, madam?" inquired the Scarecrow. <br> -<p>"Because the horns of our enemies are sharp, and in battle -they will try to stick those horns into our warriors," she -replied.<br> -</p> - -"How many horns do the Horners have?" asked Dorothy. <br> -<p>"Each has one horn in the center of his fore head," was the -answer.<br> -</p> - -"Oh, then they're unicorns," declared the Scarecrow. <br> -<p>"No; they're Horners. We never go to war with them if we can -help it, on account of their dangerous horns; but this insult was -so great and so unprovoked that our brave men decided to fight, -in order to be revenged," said the woman.<br> -</p> - -"What weapons do you fight with?" the Scarecrow asked. <br> -<p>"We have no weapons," explained the Champion. "Whenever we -fight the Horners, our plan is to push them back, for our arms -are longer than theirs."<br> -</p> - -"Then you are better armed," said Scraps. <br> -<p>"Yes; but they have those terrible horns, and unless we are -careful they prick us with the points," returned the Champion -with a shudder. "That makes a war with them dangerous, and a -dangerous war cannot be a pleasant one."<br> -</p> - -"I see very clearly," remarked the Scarecrow, "that you are going -to have trouble in conquering those Horners--unless we help you." -<br> -<p>"Oh!" cried the Hoppers in a chorus; "can you help us? Please -do! We will be greatly obliged! It would please us very much!" -and by these exclamations the Scarecrow knew that his speech had -met with favor.<br> -</p> - -"How far is it to the Horner Country?" he asked. <br> -<p>"Why, it's just the other side of the fence," they answered, -and the Champion added:<br> -</p> - -"Come with me, please, and I'll show you the Horners." <br> -<p>So they followed the Champion and several others through the -streets and just beyond the village came to a very high picket -fence, built all of marble, which seemed to divide the great cave -into two equal parts.<br> -</p> - -But the part inhabited by the Horners was in no way as grand in -appearance as that of the Hoppers. Instead of being marble, the -walls and roof were of dull gray rock and the square houses were -plainly made of the same material. But in extent the city was -much larger than that of the Hoppers and the streets were -thronged with numerous people who busied themselves in various -ways. <br> -<p>Looking through the open pickets of the fence our friends -watched the Horners, who did not know they were being watched by -strangers, and found them very unusual in appearance. They were -little folks in size and had bodies round as balls and short legs -and arms. Their heads were round, too, and they had long, pointed -ears and a horn set in the center of the forehead. The horns did -not seem very terrible, for they were not more than six inches -long; but they were ivory white and sharp pointed, and no wonder -the Hoppers feared them.<br> -</p> - -The skins of the Horners were light brown, but they wore -snow-white robes and were bare footed. Dorothy thought the most -striking thing about them was their hair, which grew in three -distinct colors on each and every head--red, yellow and green. -The red was at the bottom and sometimes hung over their eyes; -then came a broad circle of yellow and the green was at the top -and formed a brush-shaped topknot. <br> -<p>None of the Horners was yet aware of the presence of -strangers, who watched the little brown people for a time and -then went to the big gate in the center of the dividing fence. It -was locked on both sides and over the latch was a sign -reading:<br> -</p> - -"WAR IS DECLARED" <br> -<p>"Can't we go through?" asked Dorothy.<br> -</p> - -"Not now," answered the Champion. <br> -<p>"I think," said the Scarecrow, "that if I could talk with -those Horners they would apologize to you, and then there would -be no need to fight."<br> -</p> - -"Can't you talk from this side?" asked the Champion. <br> -<p>"Not so well," replied the Scarecrow. "Do you suppose you -could throw me over that fence? It is high, but I am very -light."<br> -</p> - -"We can try it," said the Hopper. "I am perhaps the strongest man -in my country, so I'll undertake to do the throwing. But I won't -promise you will land on your feet." <br> -<p>"No matter about that," returned the Scarecrow. "Just toss me -over and I'll be satisfied."<br> -</p> - -So the Champion picked up the Scarecrow and balanced him a -moment, to see how much he weighed, and then with all his -strength tossed him high into the air. <br> -<p>Perhaps if the Scarecrow had been a trifle heavier he would -have been easier to throw and would have gone a greater distance; -but, as it was, instead of going over the fence he landed just on -top of it, and one of the sharp pickets caught him in the middle -of his back and held him fast prisoner. Had he been face downward -the Scarecrow might have managed to free himself, but lying on -his back on the picket his hands waved in the air of the Horner -Country while his feet kicked the air of the Hopper Country; so -there he was.<br> -</p> - -"Are you hurt?" called the Patchwork Girl anxiously. <br> -<p>"Course not," said Dorothy. "But if he wig-gles that way he -may tear his clothes. How can we get him down, Mr. Champion?"<br> -</p> - -The Champion shook his head. <br> -<p>"I don't know," he confessed. "If he could scare Horners as -well as he does crows, it might be a good idea to leave him -there."<br> -</p> - -"This is terrible," said Ojo, almost ready to cry. "I s'pose it's -because I am Ojo the Unlucky that everyone who tries to help me -gets into trouble." <br> -<p>"You are lucky to have anyone to help you," declared Dorothy. -"But don't worry. We'll rescue the Scarecrow somehow."<br> -</p> - -"I know how," announced Scraps. "Here, Mr. Champion; just throw -me up to the Scarecrow. I'm nearly as light as he is, and when -I'm on top the fence I'll pull our friend off the picket and toss -him down to you." <br> -<p>"All right," said the Champion, and he picked up the Patchwork -Girl and threw her in the same manner he had the Scarecrow. He -must have used more strength this time, however, for Scraps -sailed far over the top of the fence and, without being able to -grab the Scarecrow at all, tumbled to the ground in the Horner -Country, where her stuffed body knocked over two men and a woman -and made a crowd that had collected there run like rabbits to get -away from her.<br> -</p> - -Seeing the next moment that she was harmless, the people slowly -returned and gathered around the Patchwork Girl, regarding her -with astonishment. One of them wore a jeweled star in his hair, -just above his horn, and this seemed a person of importance. He -spoke for the rest of his people, who treated him with great -respect. <br> -<p>"Who are you, Unknown Being?" he asked.<br> -</p> - -"Scraps," she said, rising to her feet and patting her cotton -wadding smooth where it had bunched up. <br> -<p>"And where did you come from?" he continued.<br> -</p> - -"Over the fence. Don't be silly. There's no other place I could -have come from," she replied. <br> -<p>He looked at her thoughtfully.<br> -</p> - -"You are not a Hopper," said he, "for you have two legs. They're -not very well shaped, but they are two in number. And that -strange creature on top the fence--why doesn't he stop -kicking?--must be your brother, or father, or son, for he also -has two legs." <br> -<p>"You must have been to visit the Wise Donkey," said Scraps, -laughing so merrily that the crowd smiled with her, in sympathy. -"But that reminds me, Captain--or King--"<br> -</p> - -"I am Chief of the Horners, and my name is Jak." <br> -<p>"Of course; Little Jack Horner; I might have known it. But the -reason I volplaned over the fence was so I could have a talk with -you about the Hoppers."<br> -</p> - -"What about the Hoppers?" asked the Chief, frowning. <br> -<p>"You've insulted them, and you'd better beg their pardon," -said Scraps. "If you don't, they'll probably hop over here and -conquer you.<br> -</p> - -"We're not afraid--as long as the gate is locked," declared the -Chief. "And we didn't insult them at all. One of us made a joke -that the stupid Hoppers couldn't see." <br> -<p>The Chief smiled as he said this and the smile made his face -look quite jolly.<br> -</p> - -"What was the joke?" asked Scraps. <br> -<p>"A Horner said they have less understanding than we, because -they've only one leg. Ha, ha! You see the point, don't you? If -you stand on your legs, and your legs are under you, then--ha, -ha, ha!-then your legs are your under-standing. Hee, bee, hee! -Ho, ho! My, but that's a fine joke. And the stupid Hoppers -couldn't see it! They couldn't see that with only one leg they -must have less under-standing than we who have two legs. Ha, ha, -ha! Hee, bee! Ho, ho!" The Chief wiped the tears of laughter from -his eyes with the bottom hem of his white robe, and all the other -Horners wiped their eyes on their robes, for they had laughed -just as heartily as their Chief at the absurd joke.<br> -</p> - -"Then," said Scraps, "their understanding of the understanding -you meant led to the misunderstanding." <br> -<p>"Exactly; and so there's no need for us to apologize," -returned the Chief.<br> -</p> - -"No need for an apology, perhaps, but much need for an -explanation," said Scraps decidedly. "You don't want war, do -you?" <br> -<p>"Not if we can help it," admitted Jak Horner. "The question -is, who's going to explain the joke to the Horners? You know it -spoils any joke to be obliged to explain it, and this is the best -joke I ever heard."<br> -</p> - -"Who made the joke?" asked Scraps. <br> -<p>"Diksey Horner. He is working in the mines, just now, but -he'll be home before long. Suppose we wait and talk with him -about it? Maybe he'll be willing to explain his joke to the -Hoppers."<br> -</p> - -"All right," said Scraps. "I'll wait, if Diksey isn't too long." -<br> -<p>"No, he's short; he's shorter than I am. Ha, ha, ha! Say! -that's a better joke than Diksey's. He won't be too long, because -he's short. Hee, hee, ho!"<br> -</p> - -The other Horners who were standing by roared with laughter and -seemed to like their Chief's joke as much as he did. Scraps -thought it was odd that they could be so easily amused, but -decided there could be little harm in people who laughed so -merrily. <br> -<p><br> -</p> - -<h1 id="ref_24">Chapter Twenty-Three</h1> - -<br> -<p>Peace Is Declared<br> -</p> - -"Come with me to my dwelling and I'll introduce you to my -daughters," said the Chief. "We're bringing them up according to -a book of rules that was written by one of our leading old -bachelors, and everyone says they're a remarkable lot of girls." -<br> -<p>So Scraps accompanied him along the street to a house that -seemed on the outside exceptionally grimy and dingy. The streets -of this city were not paved nor had any attempt been made to -beautify the houses or their surroundings, and having noticed -this condition Scraps was astonished when the Chief ushered her -into his home.<br> -</p> - -Here was nothing grimy or faded, indeed. On the contrary, the -room was of dazzling brilliance and beauty, for it was lined -throughout with an exquisite metal that resembled translucent -frosted silver. The surface of this metal was highly ornamented -in raised designs representing men, animals, flowers and trees, -and from the metal itself was radiated the soft light which -flooded the room. All the furniture was made of the same glorious -metal, and Scraps asked what it was. <br> -<p>"That's radium," answered the Chief. "We Horners spend all our -time digging radium from the mines under this mountain, and we -use it to decorate our homes and make them pretty and cosy. It is -a medicine, too, and no one can ever be sick who lives near -radium."<br> -</p> - -"Have you plenty of it?" asked the Patchwork Girl. <br> -<p>"More than we can use. All the houses in this city are -decorated with it, just the same as mine is."<br> -</p> - -don't you use it on your streets, then, and the outside of your -houses, to make them as pretty as they are within?" she inquired. -<br> -<p>"Outside? Who cares for the outside of anything?" asked the -Chief. "We Horners don't live on the outside of our homes; we -live inside. Many people are like those stupid Hoppers, who love -to make an outside show. I suppose you strangers thought their -city more beautiful than ours, because you judged from -appearances and they have handsome marble houses and marble -streets; but if you entered one of their stiff dwellings you -would find it bare and uncomfortable, as all their show is on the -outside. They have an idea that what is not seen by others is not -important, but with us the rooms we live in are our chief delight -and care, and we pay no attention to outside show."<br> -</p> - -"Seems to me," said Scraps, musingly, "it would be better to make -it all pretty--inside and out." <br> -<p>"Seems? Why, you're all seams, my girl!" said the Chief; and -then he laughed heartily at his latest joke and a chorus of small -voices echoed the chorus with "tee-hee-hee! ha, ha!"<br> -</p> - -Scraps turned around and found a row of girls seated in radium -chairs ranged along one wall of the room. There were nineteen of -them, by actual count, and they were of all sizes from a tiny -child to one almost a grown woman. All were neatly dressed in -spotless white robes and had brown skins, horns on their -foreheads and threecolored hair. <br> -<p>"These," said the Chief, "are my sweet daughters. My dears, I -introduce to you Miss Scraps Patchwork, a lady who is traveling -in foreign parts to increase her store of wisdom."<br> -</p> - -The nineteen Horner girls all arose and made a polite curtsey, -after which they resumed their seats and rearranged their robes -properly. <br> -<p>"Why do they sit so still, and all in a row?" asked -Scraps.<br> -</p> - -"Because it is ladylike and proper," replied the Chief. <br> -<p>"But some are just children, poor things! Don't they ever run -around and play and laugh, and have a good time?"<br> -</p> - -"No, indeed," said the Chief. "That would he improper in young -ladies, as well as in those who will sometime become young -ladies. My daughters are being brought up according to the rules -and regulations laid down by a leading bachelor who has given the -subject much study and is himself a man of taste and culture. -Politeness is his great hobby, and he claims that if a child is -allowed to do an impolite thing one cannot expect the grown -person to do anything better." <br> -<p>"Is it impolite to romp and shout and be jolly?" asked -Scraps.<br> -</p> - -"Well, sometimes it is, and sometimes it isn't," replied the -Horner, after considering the question. "By curbing such -inclinations in my daughters we keep on the safe side. Once in a -while I make a good joke, as you have heard, and then I permit my -daughters to laugh decorously; but they are never allowed to make -a joke themselves." <br> -<p>"That old bachelor who made the rules ought to be skinned -alive!" declared Scraps, and would have said more on the subject -had not the door opened to admit a little Horner man whom the -Chief introduced as Diksey.<br> -</p> - -"What's up, Chief?" asked Diksey, winking nineteen times at the -nineteen girls, who demurely cast down their eyes because their -father was looking. <br> -<p>The Chief told the man that his joke had not been understood -by the dull Hoppers, who had become so angry that they had -declared war. So the only way to avoid a terrible battle was to -explain the joke so they could understand it.<br> -</p> - -"All right," replied Diksey, who seemed a goodnatured man; "I'll -go at once to the fence and explain. I don't want any war with -the Hoppers, for wars between nations always cause hard -feelings." <br> -<p>So the Chief and Diksey and Scraps left the house and went -back to the marble picket fence. The Scarecrow was still stuck on -the top of his picket but had now ceased to struggle. On the -other side of the fence were Dorothy and Ojo, looking between the -pickets; and there, also, were the Champion and many other -Hoppers.<br> -</p> - -Diksey went close to the fence and said: <br> -<p>"My good Hoppers, I wish to explain that what I said about you -was a joke. You have but one leg each, and we have two legs each. -Our legs are under us, whether one or two, and we stand on them. -So, when I said you had less understanding than we, I did not -mean that you had less understanding, you understand, but that -you had less standundering, so to speak. Do you understand -that?"<br> -</p> - -The Hoppers thought it over carefully. Then one said: <br> -<p>"That is clear enough; but where does the joke come in?'"<br> -</p> - -Dorothy laughed, for she couldn't help it, although all the -others were solemn enough. <br> -<p>"I'll tell you where the joke comes in," she said, and took -the Hoppers away to a distance, where the Horners could not hear -them. "You know," she then explained, "those neighbors of yours -are not very bright, poor things, and what they think is a joke -isn't a joke at all--it's true, don't you see?"<br> -</p> - -"True that we have less understanding?" asked the Champion. <br> -<p>"Yes; it's true because you don't understand such a poor joke; -if you did, you'd be no wiser than they are."<br> -</p> - -"Ah, yes; of course," they answered, looking very wise. <br> -<p>"So I'll tell you what to do," continued Dorothy. "Laugh at -their poor joke and tell 'em it's pretty good for a Horner. Then -they won't dare say you have less understanding, because you -understand as much as they do."<br> -</p> - -The Hoppers looked at one another questioningly and blinked their -eyes and tried to think what it all meant; but they couldn't -figure it out. <br> -<p>"What do you think, Champion?" asked one of them.<br> -</p> - -"I think it is dangerous to think of this thing any more than we -can help," he replied. "Let us do as this girl says and laugh -with the Horners, so as to make them believe we see the joke. -Then there will be peace again and no need to fight." <br> -<p>They readily agreed to this and returned to the fence laughing -as loud and as hard as they could, although they didn't feel like -laughing a bit. The Horners were much surprised.<br> -</p> - -"That's a fine joke--for a Horner--and we are much pleased with -it," said the Champion, speaking between the pickets. "But please -don't do it again." <br> -<p>"I won't," promised Diksey. "If I think of another such joke -I'll try to forget it."<br> -</p> - -"Good!" cried the Chief Horner. "The war is over and peace is -declared." <br> -<p>There was much joyful shouting on both sides of the fence and -the gate was unlocked and thrown wide open, so that Scraps was -able to rejoin her friends.<br> -</p> - -"What about the Scarecrow?" she asked Dorothy. <br> -<p>"We must get him down, somehow or other," was the reply.<br> -</p> - -"Perhaps the Horners can find a way," suggested Ojo. So they all -went through the gate and Dorothy asked the Chief Horner how they -could get the Scarecrow off the fence. The Chief didn't know how, -but Diksey said: <br> -<p>"A ladder's the thing."<br> -</p> - -"Have you one?" asked Dorothy. <br> -<p>"To be sure. We use ladders in our mines," said he. Then he -ran away to get the ladder, and while he was gone the Horners -gathered around and welcomed the strangers to their country, for -through them a great war had been avoided.<br> -</p> - -In a little while Diksey came back with a tall ladder which he -placed against the fence. Ojo at once climbed to the top of the -ladder and Dorothy went about halfway up and Scraps stood at the -foot of it. Toto ran around it and barked. Then Ojo pulled the -Scarecrow away from the picket and passed him down to Dorothy, -who in turn lowered him to the Patchwork Girl. <br> -<p>As soon as he was on his feet and standing on solid ground the -Scarecrow said:<br> -</p> - -"Much obliged. I feel much better. I'm not stuck on that picket -any more." <br> -<p>The Horners began to laugh, thinking this was a joke, but the -Scarecrow shook himself and<br> -</p> - -patted his straw a little and said to Dorothy: "Is there much of -a hole in my back?" <br> -<p>The little girl examined him carefully.<br> -</p> - -"There's quite a hole," she said. "But I've got a needle and -thread in the knapsack and I'll sew you up again." <br> -<p>"Do so," he begged earnestly, and again the Hoppers laughed, -to the Scarecrow's great annoyance.<br> -</p> - -While Dorothy was sewing up the hole in the straw man's back -Scraps examined the other parts of him. <br> -<p>"One of his legs is ripped, too!" she exclaimed.<br> -</p> - -"Oho!" cried little Diksey; "that's bad. Give him the needle and -thread and let him mend his ways." <br> -<p>"Ha, ha, ha!" laughed the Chief, and the other Homers at once -roared with laughter.<br> -</p> - -"What's funny?" inquired the Scarecrow sternly. <br> -<p>"Don't you see?" asked Diksey, who had laughed even harder -than the others. "That's a joke. It's by odds the best joke I -ever made. You walk with your legs, and so that's the way you -walk, and your legs are the ways. See? So, when you mend your -legs, you mend your ways. Ho, ho, ho! hee, hee! I'd no idea I -could make such a fine joke!"<br> -</p> - -"Just wonderful!" echoed the Chief. "How do you manage to do it, -Diksey?" <br> -<p>"I don't know," said Diksey modestly. "Perhaps it's the -radium, but I rather think it's my splendid intellect."<br> -</p> - -If you don't quit it," the Scarecrow told him, "there'll be a -worse war than the one you've escaped from." <br> -<p>Ojo had been deep in thought, and now he asked the Chief: "Is -there a dark well in any part of your country?"<br> -</p> - -"A dark well? None that ever I heard of," was the answer. <br> -<p>"Oh, yes," said Diksey, who overheard the boy's question. -"There's a very dark well down in my radium mine."<br> -</p> - -"Is there any water in it?" Ojo eagerly asked. <br> -<p>"Can't say; I've never looked to see. But we can find -out."<br> -</p> - -So, as soon as the Scarecrow was mended, they decided to go with -Diksey to the mine. When Dorothy had patted the straw man into -shape again he declared he felt as good as new and equal to -further adventures. <br> -<p>"Still," said he, "I prefer not to do picket duty again. High -life doesn't seem to agree with my constitution." And then they -hurried away to escape the laughter of the Homers, who thought -this was another joke.<br> -</p> - -<br> -<h1 id="ref_25">Chapter Twenty-Four</h1> - -<br> -Ojo Finds the Darkwell <br> -<p>They now followed Diksey to the farther end of the great cave, -beyond the Horner city, where there were several round, dark -holes leading into the ground in a slanting direction. Diksey -went to one of these holes and said:<br> -</p> - -"Here is the mine in which lies the dark well you are seeking. -Follow me and step care fully and I'll lead you to the place." -<br> -<p>He went in first and after him came Ojo, and then Dorothy, -with the Scarecrow behind her. The Patchwork Girl entered last of -all, for Toto kept close beside his little mistress.<br> -</p> - -A few steps beyond the mouth of the opening it was pitch dark. -"You won't lose your way, though," said the Homer, "for there's -only one way to go. The mine's mine and I know every step of the -way. How's that for a joke, eh? The mine's mine." Then he -chuckled gleefully as they followed him silently down the steep -slant. The hole was just big enough to permit them to walk -upright, although the Scarecrow, being much the taller of the -party, often had to bend his head to keep from hitting the top. -<br> -<p>The floor of the tunnel was difficult to walk upon because it -had been worn smooth as glass, and pretty soon Scraps, who was -some distance behind the others, slipped and fell head foremost. -At once she began to slide downward, so swiftly that when she -came to the Scarecrow she knocked him off his feet and sent him -tumbling against Dorothy, who tripped up Ojo. The boy fell -against the Horner, so that all went tumbling down the slide in a -regular mix-up, unable to see where they were going because of -the darkness.<br> -</p> - -Fortunately, when they reached the bottom the Scarecrow and -Scraps were in front, and the others bumped against them, so that -no one was hurt. They found themselves in a vast cave which was -dimly lighted by the tiny grains of radium that lay scattered -among the loose rocks. <br> -<p>"Now," said Diksey, when they had all re gained their feet, "I -will show you where the dark well is. This is a big place, but if -we hold fast to each other we won't get lost."<br> -</p> - -They took hold of hands and the Homer led them into a dark -corner, where he halted. <br> -<p>"Be careful," said he warningly. "The well is at your -feet."<br> -</p> - -"All right," replied Ojo, and kneeling down he felt in the well -with his hand and found that it contained a quantity of water. -"Where's the gold flask, Dorothy?" he asked, and the little girl -handed him the flask, which she had brought with her. <br> -<p>Ojo knelt again and by feeling carefully in the dark managed -to fill the flask with the unseen water that was in the well. -Then he screwed the top of the flask firmly in place and put the -precious water in his pocket.<br> -</p> - -"All right!" he said again, in a glad voice; "now we can go -back." <br> -<p>They returned to the mouth of the tunnel and began to creep -cautiously up the incline. This time they made Scraps stay -behind, for fear she would slip again; but they all managed to -get up in safety and the Munchkin boy was very happy when he -stood in the Horner city and realized that the water from the -dark well, which he and his friends had traveled so far to -secure, was safe in his jacket pocket.<br> -</p> - -<br> -<h1 id="ref_26">Chapter Twenty-Five</h1> - -<br> -They Bribe the Lazy Quadling <br> -<p>"Now," said Dorothy, as they stood on the mountain path, -having left behind them the cave in which dwelt the Hoppers and -the Horners, "I think we must find a road into the Country of the -Winkies, for there is where Ojo wants to go next."<br> -</p> - -"Is there such a road?" asked the Scarecrow. <br> -<p>"I don't know," she replied. "I s'pose we can go back the way -we came, to Jack Pumpkinhead's house, and then turn into the -Winkie Country; but that seems like running 'round a haystack, -doesn't it?"<br> -</p> - -"Yes," said the Scarecrow. "What is the next thing Ojo must get?" -<br> -<p>"A yellow butterfly," answered the boy.<br> -</p> - -"That means the Winkie Country, all right, for it's the yellow -country of Oz," remarked Dorothy. "I think, Scarecrow, we ought -to take him to the Tin Woodman, for he's the Emp'ror of the -Winkies and will help us to find what Ojo wants." <br> -<p>"Of course," replied the Scarecrow, brightening at the -suggestion. "The Tin Woodman will do anything we ask him, for -he's one of my dearest friends. I believe we can take a crosscut -into his country and so get to his castle a day sooner than if we -travel back the way we came."<br> -</p> - -"I think so, too," said the girl; "and that means we must keep to -the left." <br> -<p>They were obliged to go down the mountain before they found -any path that led in the direction they wanted to go, but among -the tumbled rocks at the foot of the mountain was a faint trail -which they decided to follow. Two or three hours walk along this -trail brought them to a clear, level country, where there were a -few farms and some scattered houses. But they knew they were -still in the Country of the Quadlings, because everything had a -bright red color. Not that the trees and grasses were red, but -the fences and houses were painted that color and all the -wild-flowers that bloomed by the wayside had red blossoms. This -part of the Quadling Country seemed peaceful and prosperous, if -rather lonely, and the road was more distinct and easier to -follow.<br> -</p> - -But just as they were congratulating themselves upon the progress -they had made they came upon a broad river which swept along -between high banks, and here the road ended and there was no -bridge of any sort to allow them to cross. <br> -<p>"This is queer," mused Dorothy, looking at the water -reflectively. "Why should there be any road, if the river stops -everyone walking along it?"<br> -</p> - -"Wow!" said Toto, gazing earnestly into her face. <br> -<p>"That's the best answer you'll get," declared the Scarecrow, -with his comical smile, "for no one knows any more than Toto -about this road."<br> -</p> - -Said Scraps: <br> -<p>"Ev'ry time I see a river, I have chills that make me shiver, -For I never can forget All the water's very wet. If my patches -get a soak It will be a sorry joke; So to swim I'll never try -Till I find the water dry."<br> -</p> - -"Try to control yourself, Scraps," said Ojo; you re getting crazy -again. No one intends to swim that river." <br> -<p>"No," decided Dorothy, "we couldn't swim it if we tried. It's -too big a river, and the water moves awful fast."<br> -</p> - -"There ought to be a ferryman with a boat," said the Scarecrow; -"but I don't see any." <br> -<p>"Couldn't we make a raft?" suggested Ojo.<br> -</p> - -"There's nothing to make one of," answered Dorothy. <br> -<p>"Wow!" said Toto again, and Dorothy saw he was looking along -the bank of the river.<br> -</p> - -"Why, he sees a house over there!" cried the little girl. "I -wonder we didn't notice it ourselves. Let's go and ask the people -how to get 'cross the river." <br> -<p>A quarter of a mile along the bank stood a small, round house, -painted bright red, and as it was on their side of the river they -hurried toward it. A chubby little man, dressed all in red, came -out to greet them, and with him were two children, also in red -costumes. The man's eyes were big and staring as he examined the -Scarecrow and the Patchwork Girl, and the children shyly hid -behind him and peeked timidly at Toto.<br> -</p> - -"Do you live here, my good man?" asked the Scarecrow. <br> -<p>"I think I do, Most Mighty Magician," replied the Quadling, -bowing low; "but whether I'm awake or dreaming I can't be -positive, so I'm not sure where I live. If you'll kindly pinch me -I'll find out all about it!'<br> -</p> - -"You're awake," said Dorothy, "and this is no magician, but just -the Scarecrow." <br> -<p>"But he's alive," protested the man, "and he oughtn't to be, -you know. And that other dreadful person--the girl who is all -patches--seems to be alive, too."<br> -</p> - -"Very much so," declared Scraps, making a face at him. "But that -isn't your affair, you know." <br> -<p>"I've a right to be surprised, haven't I?" asked the man -meekly.<br> -</p> - -"I'm not sure; but anyhow you've no right to say I'm dreadful. -The Scarecrow, who is a gentleman of great wisdom, thinks I'm -beautiful," retorted Scraps. <br> -<p>"Never mind all that," said Dorothy. "Tell us, good Quadling, -how we can get across the river."<br> -</p> - -"I don't know," replied the Quadling. <br> -<p>"Don't you ever cross it?" asked the girl.<br> -</p> - -"Never." <br> -<p>"Don't travelers cross it?"<br> -</p> - -"Not to my knowledge," said he. <br> -<p>They were much surprised to hear this, and the man added: -"It's a pretty big river, and the current is strong. I know a man -who lives on the opposite bank, for I've seen him there a good -many years; but we've never spoken because neither of us has ever -crossed over."<br> -</p> - -"That's queer," said the Scarecrow. "Don't you own a boat?" <br> -<p>The man shook his head.<br> -</p> - -"Nor a raft?" <br> -<p>"Where does this river go to?" asked Dorothy.<br> -</p> - -"That way," answered the man, pointing with one hand, "it goes -into the Country of the Winkies, which is ruled by the Tin -Emperor, who must be a mighty magician because he's all made of -tin, and yet he's alive. And that way," pointing with the other -hand, "the river runs between two mountains where dangerous -people dwell." <br> -<p>The Scarecrow looked at the water before them.<br> -</p> - -"The current flows toward the Winkie Country"' said he; "and so, -if we had a boat, or a raft, the river would float us there more -quickly and more easily than we could walk." <br> -<p>"That is true," agreed Dorothy; and then they all looked -thoughtful and wondered what could be done.<br> -</p> - -"Why can't the man make us a raft?" asked Ojo. <br> -<p>"Will you?" inquired Dorothy, turning to the Quadling.<br> -</p> - -The chubby man shook his head. <br> -<p>"I'm too lazy," he said. "My wife says I'm the laziest man in -all Oz, and she is a truthful woman. I hate work of any kind, and -making a raft is hard work."<br> -</p> - -"I'll give you my em'rald ring," promised the girl. <br> -<p>"No; I don't care for emeralds. If it were a ruby, which is -the color I like best, I might work a little while."<br> -</p> - -"I've got some Square Meal Tablets," said the Scarecrow. "Each -one is the same as a dish of soup, a fried fish, a mutton -pot-pie, lobster salad, charlotte russe and lemon jelly--all made -into one little tablet that you can swallow without trouble." -<br> -<p>"Without trouble!" exclaimed the Quadling, much interested; -"then those tablets would be fine for a lazy man. It's such hard -work to chew when you eat."<br> -</p> - -"I'll give you six of those tablets if you'll help us make a -raft," promised the Scarecrow. "They're a combination of food -which people who eat are very fond of. I never eat, you know, -being straw; but some of my friends eat regularly. What do you -say to my offer, Quadling?" <br> -<p>"I'll do it," decided the man. "I'll help, and you can do most -of the work. But my wife has gone fishing for red eels to-day, so -some of you will have to mind the children."<br> -</p> - -Scraps promised to do that, and the children were not so shy when -the Patchwork Girl sat down to play with them. They grew to like -Toto, too, and the little dog allowed them to pat him on his -head, which gave the little ones much joy. <br> -<p>There were a number of fallen trees near the house and the -Quadling got his axe and chopped them into logs of equal length. -He took his wife's clothesline to bind these logs together, so -that they would form a raft, and Ojo found some strips of wood -and nailed them along the tops of the logs, to render them more -firm. The Scarecrow and Dorothy helped roll the logs together and -carry the strips of wood, but it took so long to make the raft -that evening came just as it was finished, and with evening the -Quadling's wife returned from her fishing.<br> -</p> - -The woman proved to be cross and bad-tempered, perhaps because -she had only caught one red eel during all the day. When she -found that her husband had used her clothesline, and the logs she -had wanted for firewood, and the boards she had intended to mend -the shed with, and a lot of gold nails, she became very angry. -Scraps wanted to shake the woman, to make her behave, but Dorothy -talked to her in a gentle tone and told the Quadling's wife she -was a Princess of Oz and a friend of Ozma and that when she got -back to the Emerald City she would send them a lot of things to -repay them for the raft, including a new clothesline. This -promise pleased the woman and she soon became more pleasant, -saying they could stay the night at her house and begin their -voyage on the river next morning. <br> -<p>This they did, spending a pleasant evening with the Quadling -family and being entertained with such hospitality as the poor -people were able to offer them. The man groaned a good deal and -said he had overworked himself by chopping the logs, but the -Scarecrow gave him two more tablets than he had promised, which -seemed to comfort the lazy fellow.<br> -</p> - -<br> -<h1 id="ref_27">Chapter Twenty-Six</h1> - -<br> -The Trick River <br> -<p>Next morning they pushed the raft into the water and all got -aboard. The Quadling man had to hold the log craft fast while -they took their places, and the flow of the river was so powerful -that it nearly tore the raft from his hands. As soon as they were -all seated upon the logs he let go and away it floated and the -adventurers had begun their voyage toward the Winkie Country.<br> -</p> - -The little house of the Quadlings was out of sight almost before -they had cried their goodbyes, and the Scarecrow said in a -pleased voice: "It won't take us long to get to the Winkie -Country, at this rate." <br> -<p>They had floated several miles down the stream and were -enjoying the ride when suddenly the raft slowed up, stopped -short, and then began to float back the way it had come.<br> -</p> - -"Why, what's wrong?" asked Dorothy, in astonishment; but they -were all just as bewildered as she was and at first no one could -answer the question. Soon, however, they realized the truth: that -the current of the river had reversed and the water was now -flowing in the opposite direction-toward the mountains. <br> -<p>They began to recognize the scenes they had passed, and by and -by they came in sight of the little house of the Quadlings again. -The man was standing on the river bank and he called to them:<br> -</p> - -"How do you do? Glad to see you again. I forgot to tell you that -the river changes its direction every little while. Sometimes it -flows one way, and sometimes the other." <br> -<p>They had no time to answer him, for the raft was swept past -the house and a long distance on the other side of it.<br> -</p> - -"We're going just the way we don't want to go," said Dorothy, -"and I guess the best thing we can do is to get to land before -we're carried any farther." <br> -<p>But they could not get to land. They had no oars, nor even a -pole to guide the raft with. The logs which bore them floated in -the middle of the stream and were held fast in that position by -the strong current.<br> -</p> - -So they sat still and waited and, even while they were wondering -what could be done, the raft slowed down, stopped, and began -drifting the other way--in the direction it had first followed. -After a time they repassed the Quadling house and the man was -still standing on the bank. He cried out to them: <br> -<p>"Good day! Glad to see you again. I expect I shall see you a -good many times, as you go by, unless you happen to swim -ashore."<br> -</p> - -By that time they had left him behind and were headed once more -straight toward the Winkie Country. <br> -<p>"This is pretty hard luck," said Ojo in a discouraged voice. -"The Trick River keeps changing, it seems, and here we must float -back and forward forever, unless we manage in some way to get -ashore."<br> -</p> - -"Can you swim?" asked Dorothy. <br> -<p>"No; I'm Ojo the Unlucky."<br> -</p> - -"Neither can I. Toto can swim a little, but that won't help us to -get to shore." <br> -<p>"I don't know whether I could swim, or not," remarked Scraps; -"but if I tried it I'd surely ruin my lovely patches."<br> -</p> - -"My straw would get soggy in the water and I would sink," said -the Scarecrow. <br> -<p>So there seemed no way out of their dilemma and being helpless -they simply sat still. Ojo, who was on the front of the raft, -looked over into the water and thought he saw some large fishes -swimming about. He found a loose end of the clothesline which -fastened the logs together, and taking a gold nail from his -pocket he bent it nearly double, to form a hook, and tied it to -the end of the line. Having baited the hook with some bread which -he broke from his loaf, he dropped the line into the water and -almost instantly it was seized by a great fish.<br> -</p> - -They knew it was a great fish, because it pulled so hard on the -line that it dragged the raft forward even faster than the -current of the river had carried it. The fish was frightened, and -it was a strong swimmer. As the other end of the clothesline was -bound around the logs he could not get it away, and as he had -greedily swallowed the gold hook at the first bite he could not -get rid of that, either. <br> -<p>When they reached the place where the current had before -changed, the fish was still swimming ahead in its wild attempt to -escape. The raft slowed down, yet it did not stop, because the -fish would not let it. It continued to move in the same direction -it had been going. As the current reversed and rushed backward on -its course it failed to drag the raft with it. Slowly, inch by -inch, they floated on, and the fish tugged and tugged and kept -them going.<br> -</p> - -"I hope he won't give up," said Ojo anxiously. "If the fish can -hold out until the current changes again, we'll be all right." -<br> -<p>The fish did not give up, but held the raft bravely on its -course, till at last the water in the river shifted again and -floated them the way they wanted to go. But now the captive fish -found its strength failing. Seeking a refuge, it began to drag -the raft toward the shore. As they did not wish to land in this -place the boy cut the rope with his pocket-knife and set the fish -free, just in time to prevent the raft from grounding.<br> -</p> - -The next time the river backed up the Scarecrow managed to seize -the branch of a tree that overhung the water and they all -assisted him to hold fast and prevent the raft from being carried -backward. While they waited here, Ojo spied a long broken branch -lying upon the bank, so he leaped ashore and got it. When he had -stripped off the side shoots he believed he could use the branch -as a pole, to guide the raft in case of emergency. <br> -<p>They clung to the tree until they found the water flowing the -right way, when they let go and permitted the raft to resume its -voyage. In spite of these pauses they were really making good -progress toward the Winkie Country and having found a way to -conquer the adverse current their spirits rose considerably. They -could see little of the country through which they were passing, -because of the high banks, and they met with no boats or other -craft upon the surface of the river.<br> -</p> - -Once more the trick river reversed its current, but this time the -Scarecrow was on guard and used the pole to push the raft toward -a big rock which lay in the water. He believed the rock would -prevent their floating backward with the current, and so it did. -They clung to this anchorage until the water resumed its proper -direction, when they allowed the raft to drift on. <br> -<p>Floating around a bend they saw ahead a high bank of water, -extending across the entire river, and toward this they were -being irresistibly carried. There being no way to arrest the -progress of the raft they clung fast to the logs and let the -river sweep them on. Swiftly the raft climbed the bank of water -and slid down on the other side, plunging its edge deep into the -water and drenching them all with spray.<br> -</p> - -As again the raft righted and drifted on, Dorothy and Ojo laughed -at the ducking they had received; but Scraps was much dismayed -and the Scarecrow took out his handkerchief and wiped the water -off the Patchwork Girl's patches as well as he was able to. The -sun soon dried her and the colors of her patches proved good, for -they did not run together nor did they fade. <br> -<p>After passing the wall of water the current did not change or -flow backward any more but continued to sweep them steadily -forward. The banks of the river grew lower, too, permitting them -to see more of the country, and presently they discovered yellow -buttercups and dandelions growing amongst the grass, from which -evidence they knew they had reached the Winkie Country.<br> -</p> - -"Don't you think we ought to land?" Dorothy asked the Scarecrow. -<br> -<p>"Pretty soon," he replied. "The Tin Woodman's castle is in the -southern part of the Winkie Country, and so it can't be a great -way from here."<br> -</p> - -Fearing they might drift too far, Dorothy and Ojo now stood up -and raised the Scarecrow in their arms, as high as they could, -thus allowing him a good view of the country. For a time he saw -nothing he recognized, but finally he cried: <br> -<p>"There it is! There it is!"<br> -</p> - -"What?" asked Dorothy. <br> -<p>"The Tin Woodman's tin castle. I can see its turrets -glittering in the sun. It's quite a way off, but we'd better land -as quickly as we can."<br> -</p> - -They let him down and began to urge the raft toward the shore by -means of the pole. It obeyed very well, for the current was more -sluggish now, and soon they had reached the bank and landed -safely. <br> -<p>The Winkie Country was really beautiful, and across the fields -they could see afar the silvery sheen of the tin castle. With -light hearts they hurried toward it, being fully rested by their -long ride on the river.<br> -</p> - -By and by they began to cross an immense field of splendid yellow -lilies, the delicate fragrance of which was very delightful. <br> -<p>"How beautiful they are!" cried Dorothy, stopping to admire -the perfection of these exquisite flowers.<br> -</p> - -"Yes," said the Scarecrow, reflectively, "but we must be careful -not to crush or injure any of these lilies." <br> -<p>"Why not?" asked Ojo.<br> -</p> - -"The Tin Woodman is very kind-hearted," was the reply, "and he -hates to see any living thing hurt in any way. <br> -<p>"Are flowers alive?" asked Scraps.<br> -</p> - -"Yes, of course. And these flowers belong to the Tin Woodman. So, -in order not to offend him, we must not tread on a single -blossom." <br> -<p>"Once," said Dorothy, "the Tin Woodman stepped on a beetle and -killed the little creature. That made him very unhappy and he -cried until his tears rusted his joints, so he couldn't move -'em."<br> -</p> - -"What did he do then?" asked Ojo. <br> -<p>"Put oil on them, until the joints worked smooth again.<br> -</p> - -"Oh!" exclaimed the boy, as if a great discovery had flashed -across his mind. But he did not tell anybody what the discovery -was and kept the idea to himself. <br> -<p>It was a long walk, but a pleasant one, and they did not mind -it a bit. Late in the afternoon they drew near to the wonderful -tin castle of the Emperor of the Winkies, and Ojo and Scraps, who -had never seen it before, were filled with amazement.<br> -</p> - -Tin abounded in the Winkie Country and the Winkies were said to -be the most skillful tinsmiths in all the world. So the Tin -Woodman had employed them in building his magnificent castle, -which was all of tin, from the ground to the tallest turret, and -so brightly polished that it glittered in the sun's rays more -gorgeously than silver. Around the grounds of the castle ran a -tin wall, with tin gates; but the gates stood wide open because -the Emperor had no enemies to disturb him. <br> -<p>When they entered the spacious grounds our travelers found -more to admire. Tin fountains sent sprays of clear water far into -the air and there were many beds of tin flowers, all as perfectly -formed as any natural flowers might be. There were tin trees, -too, and here and there shady bowers of tin, with tin benches and -chairs to sit upon. Also, on the sides of the pathway leading up -to the front door of the castle, were rows of tin statuary, very -cleverly executed. Among these Ojo recognized statues of Dorothy, -Toto, the Scarecrow, the Wizard, the Shaggy Man, Jack Pumpkinhead -and Ozma, all standing upon neat pedestals of tin.<br> -</p> - -Toto was well acquainted with the residence of the Tin Woodman -and, being assured a joyful welcome, he ran ahead and barked so -loudly at the front door that the Tin Woodman heard him and came -out in person to see if it were really his old friend Toto. Next -moment the tin man had clasped the Scarecrow in a warm embrace -and then turned to hug Dorothy. But now his eye was arrested by -the strange sight of the Patchwork Girl, and he gazed upon her in -mingled wonder and admiration. <br> -<p><br> -</p> - -<h1 id="ref_28">Chapter Twenty-Seven</h1> - -<br> -<p>The Tin Woodman Objects<br> -</p> - -The Tin Woodman was one of the most important personages in all -Oz. Though Emperor of the Winkies, he owed allegiance to Ozma, -who ruled all the land, and the girl and the tin man were warm -personal friends. He was something of a dandy and kept his tin -body brilliantly polished and his tin joints well oiled. Also he -was very courteous in manner and so kind and gentle that everyone -loved him. The Emperor greeted Ojo and Scraps with cordial -hospitality and ushered the entire party into his handsome tin -parlor, where all the furniture and pictures were made of tin. -The walls were paneled with tin and from the tin ceiling hung tin -chandeliers. <br> -<p>The Tin Woodman wanted to know, first of all, where Dorothy -had found the Patchwork Girl, so between them the visitors told -the story of how Scraps was made, as well as the accident to -Margolotte and Unc Nunkie and how Ojo had set out upon a journey -to procure the things needed for the Crooked Magician's magic -charm. Then Dorothy told of their adventures in the Quadling -Country and how at last they succeeded in getting the water from -a dark well.<br> -</p> - -While the little girl was relating these adventures the Tin -Woodman sat in an easy chair listening with intense interest, -while the others sat grouped around him. Ojo, however, had kept -his eyes fixed upon the body of the tin Emperor, and now he -noticed that under the joint of his left knee a tiny drop of oil -was forming. He watched this drop of oil with a fast-beating -heart, and feeling in his pocket brought out a tiny vial of -crystal, which he held secreted in his hand. <br> -<p>Presently the Tin Woodman changed his position, and at once -Ojo, to the astonishment of all, dropped to the floor and held -his crystal vial under the Emperor's knee joint. Just then the -drop of oil fell, and they boy caught it in his bottle and -immediately corked it tight. Then, with a red face and -embarrassed manner, he rose to confront the others.<br> -</p> - -"What in the world were you doing?" asked the Tin Woodman. <br> -<p>"I caught a drop of oil that fell from your knee-joint," -confessed Ojo.<br> -</p> - -"A drop of oil!" exclaimed the Tin Woodman. "Dear me, how -careless my valet must have been in oiling me this morning. I'm -afraid I shall have to scold the fellow, for I can't be dropping -oil wherever I go." <br> -<p>"Never mind," said Dorothy. Ojo seems glad to have the oil, -for some reason."<br> -</p> - -"Yes," declared the Munchkin boy, "I am glad. For one of the -things the Crooked Magician sent me to get was a drop of oil from -a live man's body. I had no idea, at first, that there was such a -thing; but it's now safe in the little crystal vial." <br> -<p>"You are very welcome to it, indeed," said the Tin Woodman. -"Have you now secured all the things you were in search of?"<br> -</p> - -"Not quite all," answered Ojo. "There were five things I had to -get, and I have found four of them. I have the three hairs in the -tip of a Woozy's tail, a six-leaved clover, a gill of water from -a dark well and a drop of oil from a live man's body. The last -thing is the easiest of all to get, and I'm sure that my dear Unc -Nunkie--and good Margolotte, as well--will soon be restored to -life." <br> -<p>The Munchkin boy said this with much pride and pleasure.<br> -</p> - -"Good!" exclaimed the Tin Woodman; "I congratulate you. But what -is the fifth and last thing you need, in order to complete the -magic charm?" <br> -<p>"The left wing of a yellow butterfly," said Ojo. "In this -yellow country, and with your kind assistance, that ought to be -very easy to find."<br> -</p> - -The Tin Woodman stared at him in amazement. <br> -<p>"Surely you are joking!" he said.<br> -</p> - -"No," replied Ojo, much surprised; "I am in earnest." <br> -<p>"But do you think for a moment that I would permit you, or -anyone else, to pull the left wing from a yellow butterfly?" -demanded the Tin Woodman sternly.<br> -</p> - -"Why not, sir?" <br> -<p>"Why not? You ask me why not? It would be cruel--one of the -most cruel and heartless deeds I ever heard of," asserted the Tin -Woodman. "The butterflies are among the prettiest of all created -things, and they are very sensitive to pain. To tear a wing from -one would cause it exquisite torture and it would soon die in -great agony. I would not permit such a wicked deed under any -circumstances!"<br> -</p> - -Ojo was astounded at hearing this. Dorothy, too, looked grave and -disconcerted, but she knew in her heart that the Tin Woodman was -right. The Scarecrow nodded his head in approval of his friend's -speech, so it was evident that he agreed with the Emperor's -decision. Scraps looked from one to another in perplexity. <br> -<p>"Who cares for a butterfly?" she asked.<br> -</p> - -"Don't you?" inquired the Tin Woodman. <br> -<p>"Not the snap of a finger, for I have no heart," said the -Patchwork Girl. "But I want to help Ojo, who is my friend, to -rescue the uncle whom he loves, and I'd kill a dozen useless -butterflies to enable him to do that."<br> -</p> - -The Tin Woodman sighed regretfully. <br> -<p>"You have kind instincts," he said, "and with a heart you -would indeed be a fine creature. I cannot blame you for your -heartless remark, as you cannot understand the feelings of those -who possess hearts. I, for instance, have a very neat and -responsive heart which the wonderful Wizard of Oz once gave me, -and so I shall never--never-never permit a poor yellow butterfly -to be tortured by anyone."<br> -</p> - -"The yellow country of the Winkies," said Ojo sadly, "is the only -place in Oz where a yellow butterfly can be found." <br> -<p>"I'm glad of that," said the Tin Woodman. "As I rule the -Winkie Country, I can protect my butterflies."<br> -</p> - -Unless I get the wing--just one left wing--" said Ojo miserably, -"I can't save Unc Nunkie." <br> -<p>"Then he must remain a marble statue forever," declared the -Tin Emperor, firmly.<br> -</p> - -Ojo wiped his eyes, for he could not hold back the tears. <br> -<p>"I'll tell you what to do," said Scraps. "We'll take a whole -yellow butterfly, alive and well, to the Crooked Magician, and -let him pull the left wing off."<br> -</p> - -"No, you won't," said the Tin Woodman. "You can't have one of my -dear little butterflies to treat in that way. <br> -<p>"Then what in the world shall we do?" asked Dorothy.<br> -</p> - -They all became silent and thoughtful. No one spoke for a long -time. Then the Tin Woodman suddenly roused himself and said: <br> -<p>"We must all go back to the Emerald City and ask Ozma's -advice. She's a wise little girl, our Ruler, and she may find a -way to help Ojo save his Unc Nunkie."<br> -</p> - -So the following morning the party started on the journey to the -Emerald City, which they reached in due time without any -important adventure. It was a sad journey for Ojo, for without -the wing of the yellow butterfly he saw no way to save Unc -Nunkie--unless he waited six years for the Crooked Magician to -make a new lot of the Powder of Life. The boy was utterly -discouraged, and as he walked along he groaned aloud. <br> -<p>"Is anything hurting you?" inquired the Tin Woodman in a -kindly tone, for the Emperor was with the party.<br> -</p> - -"I'm Ojo the Unlucky," replied the boy. "I might have known I -would fail in anything I tried to do." <br> -<p>"Why are you Ojo the Unlucky?" asked the tin man.<br> -</p> - -"Because I was born on a Friday." <br> -<p>"Friday is not unlucky," declared the Emperor. "It's just one -of seven days. Do you suppose all the world becomes unlucky -one-seventh of the time?"<br> -</p> - -"It was the thirteenth day of the month," said Ojo. <br> -<p>"Thirteen! Ah, that is indeed a lucky number," replied the Tin -Woodman. "All my good luck seems to happen on the thirteenth. I -suppose most people never notice the good luck that comes to them -with the number 13, and yet if the least bit of bad luck falls on -that day, they blame it to the number, and not to the proper -cause."<br> -</p> - -"Thirteen's my lucky number, too," remarked the Scarecrow <br> -<p>"And mine," said Scraps. "I've just thirteen patches on my -head."<br> -</p> - -"But," continued Ojo, "I'm left-handed." <br> -<p>"Many of our greatest men are that way," asserted the Emperor. -"To be left-handed is usually to be two-handed; the right-handed -people are usually one-handed."<br> -</p> - -"And I've a wart under my right arm," said Ojo. <br> -<p>"How lucky!" cried the Tin Woodman. "If it were on the end of -your nose it might be unlucky, but under your arm it is luckily -out of the way."<br> -</p> - -"For all those reasons," said the Munchkin boy, "I have been -called Ojo the Unlucky." <br> -<p>"Then we must turn over a new leaf and call you henceforth Ojo -the Lucky," declared the tin man. "Every reason you have given is -absurd. But I have noticed that those who continually dread ill -luck and fear it will overtake them, have no time to take -advantage of any good fortune that comes their way. Make up your -mind to be Ojo the Lucky."<br> -</p> - -"How can I?" asked the boy, "when all my attempts to save my dear -uncle have failed?" <br> -<p>"Never give up, Ojo," advised Dorothy. "No one ever knows -what's going to happen next."<br> -</p> - -Ojo did not reply, but he was so dejected that even their arrival -at the Emerald City failed to interest him. <br> -<p>The people joyfully cheered the appearance of the Tin Woodman, -the Scarecrow and Dorothy, who were all three general favorites, -and on entering the royal palace word came to them from Ozma that -she would at once grant them an audience.<br> -</p> - -Dorothy told the girl Ruler how successful they had been in their -quest until they came to the item of the yellow butterfly, which -the Tin Woodman positively refused to sacrifice to the magic -potion. <br> -<p>"He is quite right," said Ozma, who did not seem a bit -surprised. "Had Ojo told me that one of the things he sought was -the wing of a yellow butterfly I would have informed him, before -he started out, that he could never secure it. Then you would -have been saved the troubles and annoyances of your long -journey."<br> -</p> - -"I didn't mind the journey at all," said Dorothy; "it was fun." -<br> -<p>"As it has turned out," remarked Ojo, "I can never get the -things the Crooked Magician sent me for; and so, unless I wait -the six years for him to make the Powder of Life, Unc Nunkie -cannot be saved."<br> -</p> - -Ozma smiled. <br> -<p>"Dr. Pipt will make no more Powder of Life, I promise you," -said she. "I have sent for him and had him brought to this -palace, where he now is, and his four kettles have been destroyed -and his book of recipes burned up. I have also had brought here -the marble statues of your uncle and of Margolotte, which are -standing in the next room.<br> -</p> - -They were all greatly astonished at this announcement. <br> -<p>"Oh, let me see Unc Nunkie! Let me see him at once, please!" -cried Ojo eagerly.<br> -</p> - -"Wait a moment," replied Ozma, "for I have something more to say. -Nothing that happens in the Land of Oz escapes the notice of our -wise Sorceress, Glinda the Good. She knew all about the -magic-making of Dr. Pipt, and how he had brought the Glass Cat -and the Patchwork Girl to life, and the accident to Unc Nunkie -and Margolotte, and of Ojo's quest and his journey with Dorothy. -Glinda also knew that Ojo would fail to find all the things he -sought, so she sent for our Wizard and instructed him what to do. -Something is going to happen in this palace, presently, and that -'something' will, I am sure, please you all. And now," continued -the girl Ruler, rising from her chair, "you may follow me into -the next room." <br> -<p><br> -</p> - -<h1 id="ref_29">Chapter Twenty-Eight</h1> - -<br> -<p>The Wonderful Wizard of Oz<br> -</p> - -When Ojo entered the room he ran quickly to the statue of Unc -Nunkie and kissed the marble face affectionately. <br> -<p>"I did my best, Unc," he said, with a sob, "but it was no -use!"<br> -</p> - -Then he drew back and looked around the room, and the sight of -the assembled company quite amazed him. <br> -<p>Aside from the marble statues of Unc Nunkie and Margolotte, -the Glass Cat was there, curled up on a rug; and the Woozy was -there, sitting on its square hind legs and looking on the scene -with solemn interest; and there was the Shaggy Man, in a suit of -shaggy pea-green satin, and at a table sat the little Wizard, -looking quite important and as if he knew much more than he cared -to tell.<br> -</p> - -Last of all, Dr. Pipt was there, and the Crooked Magician sat -humped up in a chair, seeming very dejected but keeping his eyes -fixed on the lifeless form of his wife Margolotte, whom he fondly -loved but whom he now feared was lost to him forever. <br> -<p>Ozma took a chair which Jellia Jamb wheeled forward for the -Ruler, and back of her stood the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman and -Dorothy, as well as the Cowardly Lion and the Hungry Tiger. The -Wizard now arose and made a low bow to Ozma and another less -deferent bow to the assembled company.<br> -</p> - -"Ladies and gentlemen and beasts," he said, "I beg to announce -that our Gracious Ruler has permitted me to obey the commands of -the great Sorceress, Glinda the Good, whose humble Assistant I am -proud to be. We have discovered that the Crooked Magician has -been indulging in his magical arts contrary to Law, and -therefore, by Royal Edict, I hereby deprive him of all power to -work magic in the future. He is no longer a crooked magician, but -a simple Munchkin; he is no longer even crooked, but a man like -other men. <br> -<p>As he pronounced these words the Wizard waved his hand toward -Dr. Pipt and instantly every crooked limb straightened out and -became perfect. The former magician, with a cry of joy, sprang to -his feet, looked at himself in wonder, and then fell back in his -chair and watched the Wizard with fascinated interest.<br> -</p> - -"The Glass Cat, which Dr. Pipt lawlessly made," continued the -Wizard, "is a pretty cat, but its pink brains made it so -conceited that it was a disagreeable companion to everyone. So -the other day I took away the pink brains and replaced them with -transparent ones, and now the Glass Cat is so modest and well -behaved that Ozma has decided to keep her in the palace as a -pet." <br> -<p>"I thank you," said the cat, in a soft voice.<br> -</p> - -"The Woozy has proved himself a good Woozy and a faithful -friend," the Wizard went on, "so we will send him to the Royal -Menagerie, where he will have good care and plenty to eat all his -life." <br> -<p>"Much obliged," said the Woozy. "That beats being fenced up in -a lonely forest and starved."<br> -</p> - -"As for the Patchwork Girl," resumed the Wizard, "she is so -remarkable in appearance, and so clever and good tempered, that -our Gracious Ruler intends to preserve her carefully, as one of -the curiosities of the curious Land of Oz. Scraps may live in the -palace, or wherever she pleases, and be nobody's servant but her -own." <br> -<p>"That's all right," said Scraps.<br> -</p> - -"We have all been interested in Ojo," the little Wizard -continued, "because his love for his unfortunate uncle has led -him bravely to face all sorts of dangers, in order that he might -rescue him. The Munchkin boy has a loyal and generous heart and -has done his best to restore Unc Nunkie to life. He has failed, -but there are others more powerful than the Crooked Magician, and -there are more ways than Dr. Pipt knew of to destroy the charm of -the Liquid of Petrifaction. Glinda the Good has told me of one -way, and you shall now learn how great is the knowledge and power -of our peerless Sorceress." <br> -<p>As he said this the Wizard advanced to the statue of Margolote -and made a magic pass, at the same time muttering a magic word -that none could hear distinctly. At once the woman moved, turned -her head wonderingly this way and that, to note all who stood -before her, and seeing Dr. Pipt, ran forward and threw herself -into her husband's outstretched arms.<br> -</p> - -Then the Wizard made the magic pass and spoke the magic word -before the statue of Unc Nunkie. The old Munchkin immediately -came to life and with a low bow to the Wizard said: "Thanks." -<br> -<p>But now Ojo rushed up and threw his arms joyfully about his -uncle, and the old man hugged his little nephew tenderly and -stroked his hair and wiped away the boy's tears with a -handkerchief, for Ojo was crying from pure happiness.<br> -</p> - -Ozma came forward to congratulate them. <br> -<p>"I have given to you, my dear Ojo and Unc Nunkie, a nice house -just outside the walls of the Emerald City," she said, "and there -you shall make your future home and be under my protection."<br> -</p> - -"Didn't I say you were Ojo the Lucky?" asked the Tin Woodman, as -everyone crowded around to shake Ojo's hand. <br> -<p>"Yes; and it is true!" replied Ojo, gratefully.<br> -</p> - -<br> -<p><br> -</p> - -The Wonderful Oz Books by L. Frank Baum <br> -<p>THE WIZARD OF OZ THE LAND OF OZ OZMA OF OZ DOROTHY AND THE -WIZARD IN OZ THE ROAD TO OZ THE EMERALD CITY OF OZ THE PATCHWORK -GIRL OF OZ TIK-TOK OF OZ THE SCARECROW OF OZ RINKITINK IN OZ THE -LOST PRINCESS OF OZ THE TIN WOODMAN OF OZ THE MAGIC OF OZ GLINDA -OF OZ<br> -</p> - -<br> -<p><br> -</p> - -End of Project Gutenberg's Etext of The Patchwork Girl of Oz by -Baum <br> -</body> -</html> - - |