The Hidden Valley of Oz

by L. Frank Baum

  And when he was not able to find Jam, he was dreadfully angry. He still stalks about the valley looking behind trees and bushes and in every conceivable place, hoping that Jam may still be here. If he thought that he could catch him, I know that he would drop everything and go at once to the place where the boy was supposed to have been seen."

  "We hoped he would feel that way," said the Scarecrow. "You see, we must get him away from his castle long enough for the Tin Woodman to chop down the magic muffin tree."

  "For many years we have known that the tree was the source of his power, but we do not know just what that power is."

  "Look at me, kiddo, and you'll soon understand everything," Percy said. "If you remember, I was just an ordinary sized little white rat, that is, until I ate one of the magic muffins."

  "Do you mean that it made you grow that large?"

  Asked the purple-clad man in astonishment.

  "Right you are, kiddo," answered the rat.

  "Then is Terp just an ordinary-sized man who has eaten magic muffins?"

  "We think that is the case," said Dorothy.

  "That must be the reason that he guards the tree so carefully."

  "Yes. You see, the effect of the muffin is not permanent," Jam explained. "Percy has to keep eating some of the muffin in order to stay this large."

  "And we believe that this is also true with Terp for you know that he eats the muffins every morning for his breakfast."

  "Then, if you, noble Tin Man," and here the little man bowed low before Nick Chopper, "can destroy the tree, you will destroy the giant."

  "Exactly," said the Tin Woodman. "We have one other grave problem, however. We do not know just how long it takes for the effect of the muffins to wear off. Percy can go more than a day without eating the magic food to retain his size, and it may take several days for Terp to become our height again.

  We feel that it will not be too difficult to chop down the tree if Terp is enticed away from his home, but what is going to happen when he returns and finds that his magic tree is gone?"

  "Ah, that is indeed a problem, "mused the slave" for Terp will be so angry that he may destroy all of us before he ceases to be a giant."

  "We thought that maybe you would know of some way that we might capture Terp and keep him confined until he loses the effect of the muffin," Dorothy said, smiling prettily at the little man.

  "Is there any place where he might be kept a prisoner until it is safe to let him out?"

  The little man stood silent for some time, deep in thought. Then suddenly his face lighted up and he smiled.

  "I think I know the place," he said.

  "Where is it?" Asked the Tin Woodman and the Scarecrow together.

  "The smokestack of the jam factory down in the valley," said the Gilliken. "It is very large at the bottom and there is a large opening through which Terp could squeeze. There is room for him to stand up in it, but he cannot climb out of the top, because the stack tapers, and the opening at the top is too small for him to crawl through."

  "But how are you going to get Terp to go into the smokestack?" Dorothy inquired.

  "Yes," said the Scarecrow. "Won't he suspect something is wrong if you try to force him into such a peculiar place?"

  Again a silence fell, and all concentrated on thinking up some way to get Terp into the smokestack.

  "Won't the smokestack be filled with smoke?"

  Asked the Cowardly Lion.

  "I wouldn't want to go in a place like that," the Hungry Tiger stated positively.

  "The fires are put out at night, so there is no danger of getting smoked or burned, if we wait until dark to do this."

  "Where is this opening into the smokestack?"

  Asked the Scarecrow, for he was beginning to have some ideas.

  "It's really the door to the furnace," the Gilliken replied.

  "Do you have a door on the furnace that can be closed?" Continued the straw man.

  "Oh, yes, it is a heavy iron door that several of us have to move because it is so large."

  "Then why can't you close the door after Terp has crawled into the smokestack?" Asked the Scarecrow.

  "In that way, you will have him trapped there until you wish to let him out."

  "I believe we can do it," the little man said eagerly. "But," he added, "how can we get him into the smokestack in the first place?"

  "You can tell him that I have climbed up into it and that no one else can reach me, because you are not tall enough," suggested Jam.

  "Excellent, excellent," exclaimed Nick Chopper.

  "First you must get Terp away from the castle and allow us enough time to dispose of the monster and chop down the magic muffin tree, and then you must lead him back to the factory and persuade him to crawl into the smokestack. Once he is inside, you and your friends must slam the door shut and bar it from the outside. Then he can be kept captive there until he has lost his great size."

  "Tonight we shall do this, oh famous woodchopper," said the Gilliken. "But now I must return to the vineyard, for Terp will be coming this way soon and if I am not working, I shall be punished severely.

  As soon as night falls, I will come to the palace and tell Terp that the boy, Jam, has been seen in the hills at the far side of the valley, and then you can destroy the tree."

  He then took his leave of the group, and hastened back to his companions. Jam and his friends concealed themselves in the forest and waited for the giant to make his rounds. Before long, they heard the sound of his great boots tramping along the path, and he came into sight when he stopped for his inspection of the vineyard. He was indeed a terrible sight, for he towered above the vines and the workers and was as tall as some of the trees in the forest.

  Jam trembled with fear lest they be discovered. But Terp had apparently decided that the little boy had escaped him, for he had ceased looking for him.

  Dorothy thought the great man with his shaggy black hair and beard was very wicked looking. She hoped their plans would go according to schedule for if they were discovered, all would be lost. She felt sure that Terp would destroy them immediately rather than risk losing any more of his captives.

  "He's worse looking than the Yoop," she said in a soft voice, and the Tin Woodman and the Scarecrow agreed with her.

  "He doesn't seem to have any magic powers, except the secret of growth," commented the Scarecrow, "so perhaps we will have very little trouble with him, once he is shut up in the smokestack."

  And down in the valley the smokestack was sending forth great black clouds, unaware that it was to play such an important part in this strange adventure.

  Chapter 20

  The End of the Magic Muffin Tree

  AFTER Terp had finished his inspection of his vineyard, he strode off toward his castle, reaching down and picking choice bunches of the luscious, ripe fruit as he walked. Terp was so large that he ate the grapes a bunch at a time, just as an ordinary person would eat a single grape. The Gillikens all bowed low to him as he traveled through the valley, for none of them wished to bring the giant's wrath down upon himself.

  When he was out of sight, the little Gilliken hastened back to the hiding place in the wood and said "You are probably hungry. I will have my wife pack a basket of food for you, and I will bring it here to you at my first opportunity. I think you should remain hidden here until dusk, when it will be safe for you to venture nearer the castle."

  "It would be very nice of you to bring us food,"

  Dorothy told him, "for we are hungry, and we have no way of getting any food for ourselves."

  "If we go out looking for grub, Terp might get us kiddo."

  "I think you are right," the Scarecrow said to the farmer. "We will all be careful to stay out of sight for if Terp should see us, our plan would be ruined."

  The Gilliken then took leave of them, and hurried away to his home. After a time he returned, carrying a large lunch basket with him. Looking around to make sure no one was watching him, he brought the lun
ch to Jam and Dorothy. His wife had made them delicious sandwiches of home-made bread and butter and grape jam. There were several kinds of fruits, two kinds of cookies, and a chocolate pie.

  Jam, Dorothy, and Percy ate and ate until all the lunch was gone. The Cowardly Lion and the Hungry Tiger disappeared. Apparently they were lucky and found food in the forest, for when they returned they were licking their chops, and the Hungry Tiger sat up on his haunches and washed his face with his paws.

  Their friend and ally had returned to his work in the vineyard, telling them that he would go to the giant's castle as soon as it was dark and inform him that Jam had been seen on the other side of the valley.

  Then the party sat down in the woods to wait for nightfall, carefully hiding in a secluded dell beside a rippling stream. Jam and Dorothy, lulled by the murmur of the water, stretched out on the mossy bank and fell fast asleep. And so the afternoon passed, and the yellow sun sank low in the west, casting long shadows across the faces of the weary travelers.

  Twilight found our little band wending their way toward the purple marble castle that loomed like a big blot on the landscape. The Cowardly Lion went in front to lead the way, followed by the Tin Woodnian, his axe poised ready for action, the Scarecrow Jam, Dorothy, and Percy, with the Hungry Tiger guarding the rear. By the time darkness had fallen they were hiding in the woods within sight of the purple building, watching it carefully for any signs of activity. Suddenly they heard shouting, and Terp rushed out into the courtyard, followed by a group of his slaves who were carrying flaming torches that cast an eerie light over the gardens.

  "Ah ha," he roared, "so the little boy thought to elude me, Terp, the Terrible."

  The reply could not be heard, but soon a procession was formed with Terp at the head, and it wound off down the hillside into the valley in the direction of the place where Jam was supposed to have been seen.

  "Our friend must have stuck to his bargain," Jam said excitedly. "See, they are leaving the palace."

  "Good," said the Tin Woodman. "As soon as they have gone a little farther we will see if we cannot do something about the monster and chop down the tree."

  A clear, silvery light began to illumine the darkness as the moon rose over the edge of the horizon and soon there was enough light for all of them to see quite well.

  "We might have been better off in the dark," said Percy, for his white fur showed very clearly in the moonlight, and the rays were reflected from the shining surface of the Tin Woodman's body.

  "Perhaps we can use the light to our advantage,"

  suggested the wise Scarecrow, whose brains had been hard at work. "What happens when you twirl your axe around swiftly, my friend?" He asked Nick Chopper.

  The Tin Woodman began twirling his gleaming blade rapidly, and as the moonlight struck it, it made a pinwheel of brilliance.

  "It is possible that you will be able to hypnotize the monster with that whirling blade," the Scarecrow suggested. "That is a device often used by sorcerers and magicians. If so, you will be able to move in closely and chop down the tree very easily."

  "Certainly it is worth a try, "said the tin man" and since the monster can do less damage to me than to most of you, let me go into the courtyard by myself and see if I can succeed alone."

  "I think that I should go with you," objected the Scarecrow," for someone will have to work hard at the hypnotizing business. I believe that we can convince the monster that he is harmless as a kitten and then he will give us no trouble."

  "That's an excellent idea," cried Dorothy.

  "Do you think it will work?" Asked Jam.

  "I don't know," said the Tin Woodman, "but it's worth trying."

  "But it's no good just hypnotizing the owl head,"

  the Cowardly Lion reminded them. "When the wolf head awakes, the monster will be as fierce as ever."

  "That's right, kiddo," agreed Percy.

  "The hypnotizing isn't going to work, after all,"

  sighed Jam.

  But the Scarecrow was thinking hard, and the Tin Woodman and Dorothy waited confidently for their old friend to come up with a solution to the problem.

  "Have you ever heard of mass hypnotism?" Asked the Scarecrow suddenly.

  "No," said Jam and Dorothy together. "What's that?"

  "It's hypnotizing a whole group of people at the same time," explained the straw man.

  "I get it, kiddo," interrupted Percy. "You're going to hypnotize both heads at once!"

  "That's right," the Scarecrow told them, a smile on his painted face. "It should be as easy to do two heads as one."

  "Two heads are better than one, they always say kiddo," laughed Percy, twitching his whiskers in glee.

  "You'll have to wake up the wolf head," Jam said.

  "Otherwise this double hypnotizing won't work."

  "That should be easy," Dorothy said. "All we have to do is shout loudly, and the wolf head will come to in a hurry."

  The time had come for action, so the Tin Woodman and the Scarecrow started toward Terp's. They all followed them close to the castle, staying in the shadow of the walls and slipping along as quietly as little mice. When they could see the monster chained to the tree in the center of the courtyard they all stopped, letting the Tin Woodman and the Scarecrow go on alone. As Nick Chopper stepped out of the shadow, he began twirling his axe with all his might spinning the bright steel blade around and around.

  The moonlight that fell on it was reflected as a dazzling light that caught the eye of the owl head that guarded the tree at night, and the monster watched the light intently, not realizing that someone was behind the glittering spectacle, for the gleaming axe had almost blinded him. At a motion from the Scarecrow, all of them shouted loudly, waking the vicious wolf head. But it, too, fell under the spell of the Tin Woodman' s axe. He moved slowly from side to side and the monster's heads, with unblinking eyes moved slowly too, following the light.

  When he saw this, the stuffed Scarecrow knew that the great monster was hypnotized. He stepped quietly forward and began talking in a low, monotonous voice.

  "You are harmless, you are harmless, you are harmless," he intoned, extending both his hands toward the monster.

  "Call you hear me?" He asked in firm tones.

  "Yes, we hear you," murmured the owland wolfheads in unison.

  "You will henceforth be as harmless as a little kitten," continued the Scarecrow.

  "We'll be as harmless as a kitten," repeated the monster's heads.

  "Never again will you be a fierce, ferocious monster," the Scarecrow went on.

  "Never again will we be a fierce, ferocious monster, "droned the heads.

  The Tin Woodman now stopped twirling his axe and slowly the great monster's heads stopped staring. They blinked their eyes and shook their heads.

  "Who are these nice people?" Asked the owl head.

  "I don't know, but I'm happy to meet them," the wolf head replied.

  When Jam and the rest heard this, they let out a cheer and ran over to where the Tin Woodman and the Scarecrow stood under the tree, chatting with the tamed beast.

  "And now," said the Tin Woodman, "to the important task of chopping down this tree that has caused so much misery in this beautiful valley."

  "Hey, wait a minute, kiddo," cried Percy, "let me pick a couple of the magic muffins first. They might lose their strength after the tree is cut down, and I'm due to start shrinking any minute now."

  As if by magic, no sooner had he uttered these words than he began to grow visibly smaller.

  "See," he cried," I figured this was coming."

  "Climb up and get another muffin for yourself Percy," said Jam, "and then let our friend, Nick Chopper, get to work on the tree."

  Percy quickly climbed up into the branches and picked two of the muffins which he held tightly in his sharp front teeth as he climbed down out of the tree. When he reached the ground, he had shrunk to half his former size, to the amazement of all except Jam and the Tin Woodman who had seen h
im small before. Sitting on the ground, he nibbled a bit of one of the muffins, and as soon as he had swallowed it, he shot up to his large size again.

  "Amazing!" Gasped Dorothy.

  "My goodness, gracious," cried the Scarecrow.

  "Think how big we'd be if we ate some of the muffins," laughed the Cowardly Lion to the Hungry Tiger.

  The big striped beast replied, "I don't want to be any bigger than I am. My appetite is insatiable now.

  Think what it would be if I were ten times as large as I now am, "and he shuddered to himself.

  The Scarecrow then unfastened the chain that bound the monster to the tree. Once freed, the great beast bade them goodbye and lumbered off toward the forest, waving to them with his alligator tail.

  And that was the last they ever saw of him.

  "Stand back now, "ordered the Tin Woodman" and let me get at this chopping job, "and he began wielding his axe with vigor, making the chips fly in all directions. Even though the trunk of the tree was thick and tough, Nick Chopper was such a good wood chopper that he was making his last strokes in less time than it takes to tell.

  "Stand clear!" He cried as the tree swayed and fell to the ground with a loud crash.

  The muffins on it immediately withered up until they were tiny bits of bread, and a sudden gust of wind that came swooping into the courtyard picked them up and blew them all away.

  "It's a good thing I got the muffins before the tree was cut down," said Percy. "With two of them, I have enough of the magic bread to keep my large size until I can get to the Emerald City and see this famous Wizard of Oz."

  Chapter 21

  Terp Is Trapped

  MEANWHILE Terp, the Terrible, was searching diligently through the forest on the slopes at the other end of the valley, hoping to find Jam behind each tree and bush and rock.

  As he looked, he kept muttering, "Where is he?

  Where is he? Where is my Jam for breakfast? "But of course he could not find Jam, who was at Terp's castle at that very moment After searching over the slopes for some time without finding Jam, Terp began to fume with rage at the Gillikens, crying out that he didn't believe that anyone had seen Jam at all.