CHAPTER 24
Dorothy is Delighted
"Well," said Queen Ann, when all were again seated in Kaliko's royalcavern, "I wonder what we shall do next. If I could find my way back toOogaboo I'd take my army home at once, for I'm sick and tired of thesedreadful hardships."
"Don't you want to conquer the world?" asked Betsy.
"No; I've changed my mind about that," admitted the Queen. "The world istoo big for one person to conquer and I was happier with my own peoplein Oogaboo. I wish--Oh, how earnestly I wish--that I was back there thisminute!"
"So do I!" yelled every officer in a fervent tone.
Now, it is time for the reader to know that in the far-away Land of Ozthe lovely Ruler, Ozma, had been following the adventures of her ShaggyMan, and Tik-Tok, and all the others they had met. Day by day Ozma, withthe wonderful Wizard of Oz seated beside her, had gazed upon a MagicPicture in a radium frame, which occupied one side of the Ruler's cosyboudoir in the palace of the Emerald City. The singular thing about thisMagic Picture was that it showed whatever scene Ozma wished to see, withthe figures all in motion, just as it was taking place. So Ozma and theWizard had watched every action of the adventurers from the time Shaggyhad met shipwrecked Betsy and Hank in the Rose Kingdom, at which time theRose Princess, a distant cousin of Ozma, had been exiled by her heartlesssubjects.
When Ann and her people so earnestly wished to return to Oogaboo, Ozmawas sorry for them and remembered that Oogaboo was a corner of the Landof Oz. She turned to her attendant and asked:
"Can not your magic take these unhappy people to their old home, Wizard?"
"It can, Your Highness," replied the little Wizard.
"I think the poor Queen has suffered enough in her misguided effortto conquer the world," said Ozma, smiling at the absurdity of theundertaking, "so no doubt she will hereafter be contented in her ownlittle Kingdom. Please send her there, Wizard, and with her the officersand Files."
"How about the Rose Princess?" asked the Wizard.
"Send her to Oogaboo with Files," answered Ozma. "They have become suchgood friends that I am sure it would make them unhappy to separate them."
"Very well," said the Wizard, and without any fuss or mystery whatever heperformed a magical rite that was simple and effective. Therefore thoseseated in the Nome King's cavern were both startled and amazed when allthe people of Oogaboo suddenly disappeared from the room, and with themthe Rose Princess. At first they could not understand it at all; butpresently Shaggy suspected the truth, and believing that Ozma was nowtaking an interest in the party he drew from his pocket a tiny instrumentwhich he placed against his ear.
Ozma, observing this action in her Magic Picture, at once caught up asimilar instrument from a table beside her and held it to her own ear.The two instruments recorded the same delicate vibrations of sound andformed a wireless telephone, an invention of the Wizard. Those separatedby any distance were thus enabled to converse together with perfect easeand without any wire connection.
"Do you hear me, Shaggy Man?" asked Ozma.
"Yes, Your Highness," he replied.
"I have sent the people of Oogaboo back to their own little valley,"announced the Ruler of Oz; "so do not worry over their disappearance."
"That was very kind of you," said Shaggy. "But Your Highness must permitme to report that my own mission here is now ended. I have found my lostbrother, and he is now beside me, freed from the enchantment of uglinesswhich Ruggedo cast upon him. Tik-Tok has served me and my comradesfaithfully, as you requested him to do, and I hope you will now transportthe Clockwork Man back to your fairyland of Oz."
"I will do that," replied Ozma. "But how about yourself, Shaggy?"
"I have been very happy in Oz," he said, "but my duty to others forcesme to exile myself from that delightful land. I must take care of mynew-found brother, for one thing, and I have a new comrade in a dearlittle girl named Betsy Bobbin, who has no home to go to, and no otherfriends but me and a small donkey named Hank. I have promised Betsy neverto desert her as long as she needs a friend, and so I must give up thedelights of the Land of Oz forever."
He said this with a sigh of regret, and Ozma made no reply but laid thetiny instrument on her table, thus cutting off all further communicationwith the Shaggy Man. But the lovely Ruler of Oz still watched her magicpicture, with a thoughtful expression upon her face, and the littleWizard of Oz watched Ozma and smiled softly to himself.
In the cavern of the Nome King Shaggy replaced the wireless telephone inhis pocket and turning to Betsy said in as cheerful a voice as he couldmuster:
"Well, little comrade, what shall we do next?"
"I don't know, I'm sure," she answered with a puzzled face. "I'm kind ofsorry our adventures are over, for I enjoyed them, and now that Queen Annand her people are gone, and Polychrome is gone, and--dear me!--where'sTik-Tok, Shaggy?"
"He also has disappeared," said Shaggy, looking around the cavern andnodding wisely. "By this time he is in Ozma's palace in the Land of Oz,which is his home."
"Isn't it your home, too?" asked Betsy.
"It used to be, my dear; but now my home is wherever you and my brotherare. We are wanderers, you know, but if we stick together I am sure weshall have a good time."
"Then," said the girl, "let us get out of this stuffy, underground cavernand go in search of new adventures. I'm sure it has stopped raining."
"I'm ready," said Shaggy, and then they bade good-bye to King Kaliko, andthanked him for his assistance, and went out to the mouth of the passage.
The sky was now clear and a brilliant blue in color; the sun shonebrightly and even this rugged, rocky country seemed delightful aftertheir confinement underground. There were but four of them now--Betsy andHank, and Shaggy and his brother--and the little party made their waydown the mountain and followed a faint path that led toward the southwest.
During this time Ozma had been holding a conference with the Wizard, andlater with Tik-Tok, whom the magic of the Wizard had quickly transportedto Ozma's palace. Tik-Tok had only words of praise for Betsy Bobbin,"who," he said, "is al-most as nice as Dor-o-thy her-self."
"Let us send for Dorothy," said Ozma, and summoning her favorite maid,who was named Jellia Jamb, she asked her to request Princess Dorothy toattend her at once. So a few moments later Dorothy entered Ozma's roomand greeted her and the Wizard and Tik-Tok with the same gentle smile andsimple manner that had won for the little girl the love of everyone shemet.
"Did you want to see me, Ozma?" she asked.
"Yes, dear. I am puzzled how to act, and I want your advice."
"I don't b'lieve it's worth much," replied Dorothy, "but I'll do the bestI can. What is it all about, Ozma?"
"You all know," said the girl Ruler, addressing her three friends, "whata serious thing it is to admit any mortals into this fairyland of Oz. Itis true I have invited several mortals to make their home here, and allof them have proved true and loyal subjects. Indeed, no one of you threewas a native of Oz. Dorothy and the Wizard came here from the UnitedStates, and Tik-Tok came from the Land of Ev. But of course he is not amortal. Shaggy is another American, and he is the cause of all my worry,for our dear Shaggy will not return here and desert the new friends hehas found in his recent adventures, because he believes they need hisservices."
"Shaggy Man was always kind-hearted," remarked Dorothy. "But who arethese new friends he has found?"
"One is his brother, who for many years has been a prisoner of the NomeKing, our old enemy Ruggedo. This brother seems a kindly, honest fellow,but he has done nothing to entitle him to a home in the Land of Oz."
"Who else?" asked Dorothy.
"I have told you about Betsy Bobbin, the little girl who wasshipwrecked--in much the same way you once were--and has since beenfollowing the Shaggy Man in his search for his lost brother. You rememberher, do you not?"
"Oh, yes!" exclaimed Dorothy. "I've often watched her and Hank in theMagic Picture, you
know. She's a dear little girl, and old Hank is adarling! Where are they now?"
"Look and see," replied Ozma with a smile at her friend's enthusiasm.
Dorothy turned to the picture, which showed Betsy and Hank, with Shaggyand his brother, trudging along the rocky paths of a barren country.
"Seems to me," she said, musingly, "that they're a good way from anyplace to sleep, or any nice things to eat."
"You are right," said Tik-Tok. "I have been in that coun-try, and it is awil-der-ness."
"It is the country of the nomes," explained the Wizard, "who are somischievous that no one cares to live near them. I'm afraid Shaggy andhis friends will endure many hardships before they get out of that rockyplace, unless--"
He turned to Ozma and smiled.
"Unless I ask you to transport them all here?" she asked.
"Yes, your Highness."
"Could your magic do that?" inquired Dorothy.
"I think so," said the Wizard.
"Well," said Dorothy, "as far as Betsy and Hank are concerned, I'd liketo have them here in Oz. It would be such fun to have a girl playmate ofmy own age, you see. And Hank is such a dear little mule!"
Ozma laughed at the wistful expression in the girl's eyes, and then shedrew Dorothy to her and kissed her.
"Am I not your friend and playmate?" she asked.
Dorothy flushed.
"You know how dearly I love you, Ozma!" she cried. "But you're so busyruling all this Land of Oz that we can't always be together."
"I know, dear. My first duty is to my subjects, and I think it wouldbe a delight to us all to have Betsy with us. There's a pretty suiteof rooms just opposite your own where she can live, and I'll build agolden stall for Hank in the stable where the Sawhorse lives. Then we'llintroduce the mule to the Cowardly Lion and the Hungry Tiger, and I'msure they will soon become firm friends. But I cannot very well admitBetsy and Hank into Oz unless I also admit Shaggy's brother."
"And, unless you admit Shaggy's brother, you will keep out poor Shaggy,whom we are all very fond of," said the Wizard.
"Well, why not ad-mit him?" demanded Tik-Tok.
"The Land of Oz is not a refuge for all mortals in distress," explainedOzma. "I do not wish to be unkind to Shaggy Man, but his brother has noclaim on me."
"The Land of Oz isn't crowded," suggested Dorothy.
"Then you advise me to admit Shaggy's brother?" inquired Ozma.
"Well, we can't afford to lose our Shaggy Man, can we?"
"No, indeed!" returned Ozma. "What do you say, Wizard?"
"I'm getting my magic ready to transport them all."
"And you, Tik-Tok?"
"Shag-gy's broth-er is a good fel-low, and we can't spare Shag-gy."
"So, then, the question is settled," decided Ozma. "Perform your magic,Wizard!"
He did so, placing a silver plate upon a small standard and pouringupon the plate a small quantity of pink powder which was contained in acrystal vial. Then he muttered a rather difficult incantation which thesorceress Glinda the Good had taught him, and it all ended in a puff ofperfumed smoke from the silver plate. This smoke was so pungent that itmade both Ozma and Dorothy rub their eyes for a moment.
"You must pardon these disagreeable fumes," said the Wizard. "I assureyou the smoke is a very necessary part of my wizardry."
"Look!" cried Dorothy, pointing to the Magic Picture; "they're gone! Allof them are gone."
Indeed, the picture now showed the same rocky landscape as before, butthe three people and the mule had disappeared from it.
"They are gone," said the Wizard, polishing the silver plate and wrappingit in a fine cloth, "because they are here."
At that moment Jellia Jamb entered the room.
"Your Highness," she said to Ozma, "the Shaggy Man and another man are inthe waiting room and ask to pay their respects to you. Shaggy is cryinglike a baby, but he says they are tears of joy."
"Send them here at once, Jellia!" commanded Ozma.
"Also," continued the maid, "a girl and a small-sized mule havemysteriously arrived, but they don't seem to know where they are or howthey came here. Shall I send them here, too?"
"Oh, no!" exclaimed Dorothy, eagerly jumping up from her chair; "I'll goto meet Betsy myself, for she'll feel awful strange in this big palace."
And she ran down the stairs two at a time to greet her new friend, BetsyBobbin.
CHAPTER 25
The Land of Love
"Well, is 'hee-haw' all you are able to say?" inquired the Sawhorse, ashe examined Hank with his knot eyes and slowly wagged the branch thatserved him for a tail.
They were in a beautiful stable in the rear of Ozma's palace, where thewooden Sawhorse--very much alive--lived in a gold-paneled stall, andwhere there were rooms for the Cowardly Lion and the Hungry Tiger, whichwere filled with soft cushions for them to lie upon and golden troughsfor them to eat from.
Beside the stall of the Sawhorse had been placed another for Hank, themule. This was not quite so beautiful as the other, for the Sawhorsewas Ozma's favorite steed; but Hank had a supply of cushions for a bed(which the Sawhorse did not need because he never slept) and all thisluxury was so strange to the little mule that he could only stand stilland regard his surroundings and his queer companions with wonder andamazement.
The Cowardly Lion, looking very dignified, was stretched out uponthe marble floor of the stable, eyeing Hank with a calm and criticalgaze, while near by crouched the huge Hungry Tiger, who seemed equallyinterested in the new animal that had just arrived. The Sawhorse,standing stiffly before Hank, repeated his question:
"Is 'hee-haw' all you are able to say?"
Hank moved his ears in an embarrassed manner.
"I have never said anything else, until now," he replied; and then hebegan to tremble with fright to hear himself talk.
"I can well understand that," remarked the Lion, wagging his great headwith a swaying motion. "Strange things happen in this Land of Oz, as theydo everywhere else. I believe you came here from the cold, civilized,outside world, did you not?"
"I did," replied Hank. "One minute I was outside of Oz--and the nextminute I was inside! That was enough to give me a nervous shock, as youmay guess; but to find myself able to talk, as Betsy does, is a marvelthat staggers me."
"That is because you are in the Land of Oz," said the Sawhorse."All animals talk, in this favored country, and you must admit it ismore sociable than to bray your dreadful 'hee-haw,' which nobody canunderstand."
"Mules understand it very well," declared Hank.
"Oh, indeed! Then there must be other mules in your outside world," saidthe Tiger, yawning sleepily.
"There are a great many in America," said Hank. "Are you the only Tigerin Oz?"
"No," acknowledged the Tiger, "I have many relatives living in the JungleCountry; but I am the only Tiger living in the Emerald City."
"There are other Lions, too," said the Sawhorse; "but I am the onlyhorse, of any description, in this favored Land."
"That is why this Land is favored," said the Tiger. "You must understand,friend Hank, that the Sawhorse puts on airs because he is shod withplates of gold, and because our beloved Ruler, Ozma of Oz, likes to rideupon his back."
"Betsy rides upon _my_ back," declared Hank proudly.
"Who is Betsy?"
"The dearest, sweetest girl in all the world!"
The Sawhorse gave an angry snort and stamped his golden feet. The Tigercrouched and growled. Slowly the great Lion rose to his feet, his manebristling.
"Friend Hank," said he, "either you are mistaken in judgment or you arewillfully trying to deceive us. The dearest, sweetest girl in the worldis our Dorothy, and I will fight anyone--animal or human--who dares todeny it!"
"So will I!" snarled the Tiger, showing two rows of enormous white teeth.
"You are all wrong!" asserted the Sawhorse in a voice of scorn. "No girlliving can compare with my mistress, Ozma of Oz!"
/> Hank slowly turned around until his heels were toward the others. Then hesaid stubbornly:
"I am not mistaken in my statement, nor will I admit there can be asweeter girl alive than Betsy Bobbin. If you want to fight, come on--I'mready for you!"
While they hesitated, eyeing Hank's heels doubtfully, a merry peal oflaughter startled the animals and turning their heads they beheld threelovely girls standing just within the richly carved entrance to thestable. In the center was Ozma, her arms encircling the waists of Dorothyand Betsy, who stood on either side of her. Ozma was nearly half a headtaller than the two other girls, who were almost of one size. Unobserved,they had listened to the talk of the animals, which was a very strangeexperience indeed to little Betsy Bobbin.
"You foolish beasts!" exclaimed the Ruler of Oz, in a gentle but chidingtone of voice. "Why should you fight to defend us, who are all threeloving friends and in no sense rivals? Answer me!" she continued, asthey bowed their heads sheepishly.
"I have the right to express my opinion, your Highness," pleaded the Lion.
"And so have the others," replied Ozma. "I am glad you and the HungryTiger love Dorothy best, for she was your first friend and companion.Also I am pleased that my Sawhorse loves me best, for together we haveendured both joy and sorrow. Hank has proved his faith and loyalty bydefending his own little mistress; and so you are all right in oneway, but wrong in another. Our Land of Oz is a Land of Love, and herefriendship outranks every other quality. Unless you can all be friends,you cannot retain our love."
They accepted this rebuke very meekly.
"All right," said the Sawhorse, quite cheerfully; "shake hoofs, friendMule."
Hank touched his hoof to that of the wooden horse.
"Let us be friends and rub noses," said the Tiger. So Hank modestlyrubbed noses with the big beast.
The Lion merely nodded and said, as he crouched before the mule:
"Any friend of a friend of our beloved Ruler is a friend of the CowardlyLion. That seems to cover your case. If ever you need help or advice,friend Hank, call on me."
"Why, this is as it should be," said Ozma, highly pleased to see them sofully reconciled. Then she turned to her companions: "Come, my dears, letus resume our walk."
As they turned away Betsy said wonderingly:
"Do all the animals in Oz talk as we do?"
"Almost all," answered Dorothy. "There's a Yellow Hen here, and she cantalk, and so can her chickens; and there's a Pink Kitten upstairs in myroom who talks very nicely; but I've a little fuzzy black dog, namedToto, who has been with me in Oz a long time, and he's never said asingle word but 'Bow-wow!'"
"Do you know why?" asked Ozma.
"Why, he's a Kansas dog; so I s'pose he's different from these fairyanimals," replied Dorothy.
"Hank isn't a fairy animal, any more than Toto," said Ozma, "yet as soonas he came under the spell of our fairyland he found he could talk. Itwas the same way with Billina, the Yellow Hen whom you brought here atone time. The same spell has affected Toto, I assure you; but he's a wiselittle dog and while he knows everything that is said to him he prefersnot to talk."
"Goodness me!" exclaimed Dorothy. "I never s'pected Toto was fooling meall this time." Then she drew a small silver whistle from her pocket andblew a shrill note upon it. A moment later there was a sound of scurryingfootsteps, and a shaggy black dog came running up the path.
Dorothy knelt down before him and shaking her finger just above his noseshe said:
"Toto, haven't I always been good to you?"
Toto looked up at her with his bright black eyes and wagged his tail.
"Bow-wow!" he said, and Betsy knew at once that meant yes, as well asDorothy and Ozma knew it, for there was no mistaking the tone of Toto'svoice.
"That's a dog answer," said Dorothy. "How would you like it, Toto, if Isaid nothing to you but 'bow-wow'?"
Toto's tail was wagging furiously now, but otherwise he was silent.
"Really, Dorothy," said Betsy, "he can talk with his bark and his tailjust as well as we can. Don't you understand such dog language?"
"Of course I do," replied Dorothy. "But Toto's got to be more sociable.See here, sir!" she continued, addressing the dog, "I've just learned,for the first time, that you can say words--if you want to. Don't youwant to, Toto?"
"Woof!" said Toto, and that meant "no."
"Not just one word, Toto, to prove you're as good as any other animal inOz?"
"Woof!"
"Just one word, Toto--and then you may run away."
He looked at her steadily a moment.
"All right. Here I go!" he said, and darted away as swift as an arrow.
Dorothy clapped her hands in delight, while Betsy and Ozma both laughedheartily at her pleasure and the success of her experiment. Arm in armthey sauntered away through the beautiful gardens of the palace, wheremagnificent flowers bloomed in abundance and fountains shot their silverysprays far into the air. And by and by, as they turned a corner, theycame upon Shaggy Man and his brother, who were seated together upon agolden bench.
The two arose to bow respectfully as the Ruler of Oz approached them.
"How are you enjoying our Land of Oz?" Ozma asked the stranger.
"I am very happy here, Your Highness," replied Shaggy's brother. "AlsoI am very grateful to you for permitting me to live in this delightfulplace."
"You must thank Shaggy for that," said Ozma. "Being his brother, I havemade you welcome here."
"When you know Brother better," said Shaggy earnestly, "you will be gladhe has become one of your loyal subjects. I am just getting acquaintedwith him myself, and I find much in his character to admire."
Leaving the brothers, Ozma and the girls continued their walk. PresentlyBetsy exclaimed:
"Shaggy's brother can't ever be as happy in Oz as _I_ am. Do youknow, Dorothy, I didn't believe any girl could ever have such a goodtime--_anywhere_--as I'm having now?"
"I know," answered Dorothy. "I've felt that way myself, lots of times."
"I wish," continued Betsy, dreamily, "that every little girl in the worldcould live in the Land of Oz; and every little boy, too!"
Ozma laughed at this.
"It is quite fortunate for us, Betsy, that your wish cannot be granted,"said she, "for all that army of girls and boys would crowd us so that wewould have to move away."
"Yes," agreed Betsy, after a little thought, "I guess that's true."
* * * * *
Transcriber's note:
All illustrations were placed so as to not split paragraphs.
Three presumed typographical errors were corrected:
p. 176, rooks to rocks ("on the rough =rocks=.");
p. 203, any to my ("... get off =my= left toe ...");
and p. 233, comma to question mark ("What could you find to eat here=?=").
All usage of "every one" and "everyone" were both retained.
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