L. Frank Baum - Oz 38

by The Shaggy Man Of Oz

  “Twiffle,” the boy shouted, “you’re a wonder!” Twiffle grinned from ear to ear. “It was you who gave me the idea,” he reminded Tom modestly. “But we must plan very carefully,” he went on,

  becoming serious. “Remember, there is only a slim chance that our plan will work. We must take that chance and hope for the best. As there is nothing we can do until tonight when the play is again presented, we should make use of this time to work out every single detail of our plan.”

  Twiffle and Tom went over their plan again and again. Nevertheless, the day seemed to Tom one of the longest he had ever spent. The long hours of waiting were broken only three times C4 when Lady Cue brought in Tom’s meals. The food was quite good, but a bit mixed up. For breakfast the befuddled Lady brought Tom a large slice of roast beef with corn flakes and apple pie. Lunch consisted of fried eggs, mashed potatoes and doughnuts, while dinner was made up of broiled apricots, strawberry shortcake and graham crackers. But Tom was hungry and didn’t mind the strange assortment of foods too much. He managed to eat everything, even though Lady Cue brought him six spoons with each meal and no knives or forks.

  When Lady Cue appeared with the evening meal, Tom was a bit worried because they had not been asked to dine with the Lords and Ladies in the Royal Dining Room. Could this mean they would not be invited to the play? If so, then their plan of rescue would be ruined. Twiffle was not worried. He was sure they would be asked to share the King and Queen’s Royal Box, if only as a form of punishment, since they would be compelled to see Twink as one of the puppets on the stage. Twiffle proved to be right. Early in the evening Lady Cue appeared in the doorway and led them again to the theater.

  King Ticket and Queen Curtain were already settled in the Royal Box when Tom and Twiffle arrived. Except to give them an icy stare, the monarchs paid no attention to their guests. Twiffle winked at Tom, but both of them were

  quaking lest Twiffle’s plan might not work. If it did not work, they would be worse off than ever. If possible, the play C4 it was the same one C4 was even worse than on the previous night. The players went through their parts in a dreamlike fashion, chanting their lines woodenly. Scenery fell apart, the curtain came down at the wrong moments, and everything possible went wrong. But King Ticket and Queen Curtain were enchanted. Along with the Lords and Ladies they applauded vociferously and reacted to the ridiculous performance with even more enthusiasm than they had displayed the night before.

  This night, Tom had no trouble in keeping awake. He squirmed about in his seat with impatience, waiting until Twink and the Shaggy Man would appear. This didn’t happen until the play was well into the fourth and last act. As on the night before, the Shaggy Man wandered blindly onto the stage, speaking the same lines in an almost indistinguishable voice. A moment later Tom tensed with excitement. A new character had been added. It was Twink. Her eyes stared as she moved mechanically across the stage, murmuring the words of her lines. Tom took a deep breath and glanced at Twiffle. The time had come to act. Twiffle nodded. In the next moment Tom climbed to the wide rail that encircled the Royal Box. Poised there for a moment, he gave a leap and landed on the stage. Without hesitating a moment he dashed to the Shaggy Man, and to the amazement of everyone in the audience except Twiffle went through the Shaggy Man’s pockets. Tom gave an exultant cry. He had found what he wanted. He held the Love Magnet before him, waving it first at the Shaggy Man and then at Twink.

  Shaggy and Twink started, then rubbed their eyes and stared about them

  unbelievingly. Meanwhile, Tom was busy. He didn’t hesitate until he had exposed the Love Magnet to the gaze of each of the enchanted actors and actresses. As each one looked at the Love Magnet, he lost his glassy stare and came to life. In a few seconds the stage was filled, not with dummies but with human beings, bewildered but freed from the thralldom of King Ticket and Queen Curtain’s evil spell. As they recovered, several of them threw their arms around Tom, while all gazed at the boy with fondness and love in their eyes. Twink suddenly realized how greatly she loved her brother, and the first thing the Shaggy Man said was, “A great boy, that Tom!”

  Meanwhile, King Ticket and Queen Curtain, as well as the entire audience of Lords and Ladies, had risen to their feet. None of them spoke. The real drama suddenly being lived on the stage held them fascinated. At this very moment, Tom advanced to the front center of the stage and with all eyes upon him flashed the Love Magnet before the audience. A vast sigh went through the theater. And then there was a confused babel (sic! C4 babble) as the Lords and Ladies crowded into the aisle, each of them bent upon reaching the stage and embracing Tom, who, they realized suddenly, was quite the most lovable person they had ever beheld.

  King Ticket leaped from the Royal Box onto the stage, hurrying toward Tom. “My dear boy,” he exclaimed, “how could I have been so blind? Isn’t there something I can do for you? Name it, and you shall have it! My Kingdom is yours for the asking!”

  Queen Curtain was standing in the box, arms outstretched appealingly to Tom. “You darling boy!” she cried. “How wonderful it is that you have come to visit us!”

  Twiffle was sitting quietly in the Royal Box, grinning broadly. “Wouldn’t old Conjo be surprised,” he thought, “if he knew how well the Love Magnet has done its work? Tom really is quite a boy!”

  CHAPTER 14

  THE VALLEY OF LOVE

  That night there was a great feast in the Grand Dining Room of the castle. Tom was the guest of honor, sitting at the head of the table between King Ticket and Queen Curtain. Twink, feeling very proud of her brother, sat at the Queen’s right with the Shaggy Man and Twiffle at her side. In addition to the Lords and Ladies of the castle, all the people who had formerly been actors and actresses were seated about the table. There were speeches, merrymaking and much laughter while everyone enjoyed course after course of the delicious food served. King Ticket and Queen Curtain talked together during the feast, seeming to discuss something on which they finally appeared to reach a decision.

  King Ticket arose and, banging with a silver fork against a drinking goblet, obtained the attention and silence of the merrymakers. “My dear friends,” began the King, beaming on his audience. “Good Queen Curtain and I have been discussing a proposal which we are sure will meet with your approval. You are well aware that although we did not know it, we, the people of the Valley of Romance, have been living in a bondage that was even greater than that which we cast over the poor unfortunates who wandered into the castle. For we lived without knowing the meaning of true romance and love. We found our only pleasure in artificial romance as we saw it on the stage. We had

  no love for each other, no romance among ourselves. Now all this is changed. Not only do we now appreciate and know the true meaning of real love, but the people whom we enslaved are freed and happy once more. We have one person to thank for this: Tom, who with the Love Magnet brought us our present joy and happiness. Queen Curtain and I propose that we yield our thrones and that Tom become the new King of the Valley of Romance.” The applause was tremendous. Apparently everyone in the Grand Dining Room favored King Ticket’s startling plan. But Tom leaped to his feet and exclaimed, “Your Highnesses, Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you for this great honor, but I cannot be your King. Maybe I’ll never get the chance to be a king again. But the important thing for Twink and me is to find our way home. The Shaggy Man has promised that Ozma of Oz will send us home if we can only reach Oz. That is the thing we want most. Anyway, I have no right to be your King. I don’t know anything about the job, and you should really be grateful to the Love Magnet for making you happy, not me. Now that you folks know the meaning of real love, I’m sure King Ticket will make you a fine King and Queen Curtain will be a real Queen.”

  Again the applause resounded. At last King Ticket rose again, expressing his regret that Tom could not remain with them to be their King. King Ticket promised that he would do his best to be a kind and loving monarch. His first move, he said, would be to grant complete fr
eedom to the people who had wandered to the castle and had become slaves on the Stage of False Romance. These people, he said, might return to dwell as Lords and Ladies in the Castle of Romance.

  Since they would have no further use for the theater, King ticket promised

  to have the seats removed and the theater remodeled into a real Temple of Learning where each of his subjects might learn some craft or art that would be useful or pleasing to his fellows. Here they would meet each day and study and work at their arts and crafts, enjoying companionship and the satisfaction of real accomplishment and creation.

  “If you do manage to get to the Land of Oz,” King Ticket said to the Shaggy Man, “I wonder if you would ask Professor Wogglebug if he would like to come to our Temple of Learning as a visiting Professor? I am sure there are many things he could teach us that would be both interesting and useful.” Shaggy promised to extend the invitation to the learned Wogglebug, who was head of the Royal College of Oz.

  In spite of all the excitement, Twink and Tom were nodding by the time the feasting and speechmaking were ended. Everyone bade them a happy goodnight, and Lady Cue conducted them once more to their rooms. The Love Magnet had wrought its change on Lady Cue, too. Gone was her former befuddled state in which she was not at all sure of anything or anyone. Now she was a charming, gracious lady with the manners of a cordial and perfect hostess. Shaggy and the children were fast asleep almost as soon as their heads

  touched the soft pillows. Twiffle passed the night looking at the pictures in the books on the living room shelves. By the middle of the following morning they were ready to begin their adventures again. They found that King Ticket, Queen Curtain, the Lords and Ladies and the former actors and actresses, many of whom had decided to make their homes in the Valley of Romance, were gathered in the courtyard to bid them farewell. King Ticket gave them general directions for traveling to reach the Deadly Desert. That

  was the nearest he could come to directing them to the Land of Oz. Just as they were about to leave, Lady Cue arrived breathlessly on the scene. She was so excited that she nearly lapsed into her old bewildered state. “I C4 I C4 I have been so busy all morning cooking this for you that I was afraid I would miss you.” Lady Cue looked anxiously at Shaggy and his friends as though she couldn’t believe they were still there. As she spoke, she handed Shaggy a large lunch basket filled with deliciously prepared good things to eat. Shaggy, Twink, Tom and even Twiffle C4 who didn’t eat C4 thanked Lady Cue warmly for her thoughtfulness. They were glad she had not changed entirely, for they had grown fond of her. As they turned away from her and started once again on their journey, Lady Cue was staring after them and dabbing at her eyes with a dishcloth. Waving goodbye, the little band of adventurers followed the stream to the south as it wound through the green and peaceful Valley of Romance. When they were almost out of sight of the Castle of Romance, Twink looked back and saw the delicately fashioned spires shimmering in the sun. “Now,” the girl said, “it is truly as beautiful a castle as it looks.”

  CHAPTER 15

  THE KING OF THE FAIRY BEAVERS

  Beyond the valley, the country became rugged and rolling, with outcroppings of grey rock, while the river narrowed, grew deeper, and flowed much more swiftly. It was well into the afternoon when the Shaggy Man suggested that they rest under a gnarled tree near the river bank and enjoy their luncheon. They were all glad for the rest on the grass which grew high and

  coarse over the countryside, and the food which Lady Cue had packed for them was both satisfying and delicious.

  Twink took a long look at the rather forbidding scenery about them. In the distance loomed dark mountain peaks, while trees became fewer and fewer. “Doesn’t look like there’s a living thing within miles!” said the little girl a bit disconsolately.

  “In a way, that’s a good sign,” replied the Shaggy Man. “For the nearer we come to the Deadly Desert, the more wild and desolate the country is. From the looks of things here, I wouldn’t be surprised if we were near the Kingdom of the Nomes.”

  “Have you any idea how we can get to Oz once we arrive at the Deadly Desert?” asked Twiffle.

  “No,” said the Shaggy Man, “I haven’t. But one can never tell what will happen when traveling in a fairy country, and I figure the closer we re to the Deadly Desert, the closer we are to Oz. Now if I just hadn’t lost Ozma’s Magic Compass C4 But there’s no use crying over spilt milk.” “Did I understand you to say you are going to the Land of Oz?” The words were spoken in a small, clear voice. At the same time the tall grass just in front of Shaggy and his friends parted, and a beaver stepped out and viewed them fearlessly. Twink was amazed to see that the beaver wore a small golden crown on his head, while in his right paw he carried a slender beech rod.

  “Yes,” said the Shaggy Man, calmly regarding the beaver while he continued to munch a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. “That is, we hope to get to the Land of Oz. First we must find some way to cross the Deadly Desert.” The beaver was silent for a moment, then he said, “Will you take me to Oz

  with you?”

  “Take you with us!” exclaimed the Shaggy Man. “Why, we aren’t at all sure we can get there ourselves. But why do you want to go to Oz? I can tell by your crown that you’re a King of some sort and not an ordinary beaver.” “I am the King of the Fairy Beavers,” announced the little animal a bit proudly. “None of us are ordinary beavers, since we are fairy creatures. And as for why I want to visit Oz C4 well, I have heard wonderful tales of that famous fairyland, and I have long dreamed of visiting it.” “Seems to me,” observed Tom, “that since you are a Fairy King, your magic powers could take you to Oz.”

  “No,” replied the beaver King, “my magic is mostly water magic, and that would be less than useless on the fiery sands of the Deadly Desert. But that isn’t the main reason that keeps me from visiting Oz.” “What is it, then?” asked Shaggy. “I have not been invited,” replied the beaver King simply. “I am sure that if Ozma knew enough about that, she would fix it,” said the Shaggy Man kindly.

  “Do you think so?” asked the beaver. “Do you really think Ozma would invite me? I hoped you would say that, for it gives me courage to put forth a suggestion I have in mind.” “What is that?” asked Shaggy.

  “If you, the famous Shaggy Man of Oz, were to invite me to visit Oz, then everything would be quite proper, wouldn’t it?”

  “I suppose it would,” admitted the Shaggy Man, smiling. “But how do you propose to get to Oz, since we can’t cross the Desert?”

  “Then you really invite me to accompany you? That is wonderful! As for the Deadly Desert, I have a plan which might work.” “How did you know who the Shaggy Man was?” asked Twink. “Oh, everyone knows about the Shaggy Man of Oz, and when I saw you here discussing your journey to Oz, I was almost sure this could be none other than the famous Shaggy Man.” Shaggy looked modestly at the ground. Twiffle asked, “Just how far are we from this Deadly Desert?” “Quite a distance,” replied the beaver King. “The Desert lies just beyond our own Kingdom, which is in the hills and mountains you see in the distance.”

  “And what is your plan for crossing it?” asked the Shaggy Man.

  “Come to my palace, where you will be comfortable,” said the King, “and we

  will discuss my plan.”

  “It must be a long walk,” sighed Twink. “And the farther we go toward the Desert, the rockier and grayer the country becomes.” “Oh, we shan’t walk. It will be much quicker to ride,” declared the beaver King. With that, the King of the Fairy Beavers walked to the edge of the stream and uttered a shrill whistle. Shaggy and his friends followed the little animal. A few hundred feet below them, the river curved to the left. Around this bend in the stream they could now see some twenty little heads C4 beavers swimming swiftly upstream and pulling after them a barge-like boat with a canopy to shut out the rays of the sun. In a few moments the boat was drawing near the shore on which they stood. Twink could see that each of the littl
e beavers wore a harness connected to the boat by a rope of woven reeds. The boat itself was brightly painted and filled with soft,

  silken cushions.

  “You will be my guests on the journey down the river to my Kingdom, where it will give me great pleasure to welcome you to my humble abode.” Twink, Tom, the Shaggy Man and Twiffle stepped into the boat. The Shaggy Man had to stoop a bit to miss the canopy, but once they were seated on the soft cushions there was room for all. The King of the Fairy Beavers hitched himself into the front of the harness with the other beavers. “I hope you’ll forgive me for not riding with you,” he said, “but when I have guests, I like to do my share of the work C4 we beavers always enjoy working together, you know, and occasions like this give me an opportunity to forget I’m a King.” The boat moved swiftly down the river, pulled easily by the team of strong little animals.

  “Well, this certainly beats walking, your Majesty,” said the Shaggy Man as he sighed with content and settled back among the cushions.

  CHAPTER 16

  IN BEAVER LAND

  Tom, who was especially fond of animals, longed to hold one of the little beavers and fondle it to his heart’s content. And what fun it would be, the boy thought, just to jump into the stream and swim along with the busily paddling, happy-looking little animals. But Tom contented himself with marveling at the ease with which the beavers pulled the boat. Although the journey consumed more than an hour, it did not seem nearly that long to the travelers, who were kept busy watching the changing scenery as the boat sped swiftly downstream. The banks of the river grew much steeper,

  and they could see scarcely any trees, while grey rocks jutted from the earth and forbidding mountain peaks loomed only a few miles distant. The beavers swam out of the current of the river and drew the boat into a placid pool among the rocks. At the far end of the pool there was a stairway leading from a wooden landing to a wicket (sic C4 “wicker”?) door set in the face of a cliff of grey stone that ran steeply down to the pond’s edge. The fairy beavers seemed to be full of energy and untired by the journey, as they chattered among themselves, drawing the boat to the landing and making it secure.