Glinda of Oz

by L. Frank Baum

  CHAPTER 14

  Ozma's Counsellors

  No Ruler ever had such a queer assortment of advisers as the PrincessOzma had gathered about her throne. Indeed, in no other country couldsuch amazing people exist. But Ozma loved them for theirpeculiarities and could trust every one of them.

  First there was the Tin Woodman. Every bit of him was tin, brightlypolished. All his joints were kept well oiled and moved smoothly. Hecarried a gleaming axe to prove he was a woodman, but seldom had causeto use it because he lived in a magnificent tin castle in the WinkieCountry of Oz and was the Emperor of all the Winkies. The TinWoodman's name was Nick Chopper. He had a very good mind, but hisheart was not of much account, so he was very careful to do nothingunkind or to hurt anyone's feelings.

  Another counsellor was Scraps, the Patchwork Girl of Oz, who was madeof a gaudy patchwork quilt, cut into shape and stuffed with cotton.This Patchwork Girl was very intelligent, but so full of fun and madpranks that a lot of more stupid folks thought she must be crazy.Scraps was jolly under all conditions, however grave they might be,but her laughter and good spirits were of value in cheering others andin her seemingly careless remarks much wisdom could often be found.

  Then there was the Shaggy Man--shaggy from head to foot, hair andwhiskers, clothes and shoes--but very kind and gentle and one ofOzma's most loyal supporters.

  Tik-Tok was there, a copper man with machinery inside him, so cleverlyconstructed that he moved, spoke and thought by three separateclock-works. Tik-Tok was very reliable because he always did exactlywhat he was wound up to do, but his machinery was liable to run downat times and then he was quite helpless until wound up again.

  A different sort of person was Jack Pumpkinhead, one of Ozma's oldestfriends and her companion on many adventures. Jack's body was verycrude and awkward, being formed of limbs of trees of different sizes,jointed with wooden pegs. But it was a substantial body and not likelyto break or wear out, and when it was dressed the clothes covered muchof its roughness. The head of Jack Pumpkinhead was, as you haveguessed, a ripe pumpkin, with the eyes, nose and mouth carved upon oneside. The pumpkin was stuck on Jack's wooden neck and was liable toget turned sidewise or backward and then he would have to straightenit with his wooden hands.

  The worst thing about this sort of a head was that it did not keepwell and was sure to spoil sooner or later. So Jack's main businesswas to grow a field of fine pumpkins each year, and always before hisold head spoiled he would select a fresh pumpkin from the field andcarve the features on it very neatly, and have it ready to replace theold head whenever it became necessary. He didn't always carve it thesame way, so his friends never knew exactly what sort of an expressionthey would find on his face. But there was no mistaking him, becausehe was the only pumpkin-headed man alive in the Land of Oz.

  A one-legged sailor-man was a member of Ozma's council. His name wasCap'n Bill and he had come to the Land of Oz with Trot, and had beenmade welcome on account of his cleverness, honesty and good-nature. Hewore a wooden leg to replace the one he had lost and was a greatfriend of all the children in Oz because he could whittle all sorts oftoys out of wood with his big jack-knife.

  Professor H. M. Wogglebug, T. E., was another member of the council.The "H. M." meant Highly Magnified, for the Professor was once alittle bug, who became magnified to the size of a man and alwaysremained so. The "T. E." meant that he was Thoroughly Educated. He wasat the head of Princess Ozma's Royal Athletic College, and so that thestudents would not have to study and so lose much time that could bedevoted to athletic sports, such as football, baseball and the like,Professor Wogglebug had invented the famous Educational Pills. If oneof the college students took a Geography Pill after breakfast, he knewhis geography lesson in an instant; if he took a Spelling Pill he atonce knew his spelling lesson, and an Arithmetic Pill enabled thestudent to do any kind of sum without having to think about it.

  These useful pills made the college very popular and taught the boysand girls of Oz their lessons in the easiest possible way. In spite ofthis, Professor Wogglebug was not a favorite outside his college, forhe was very conceited and admired himself so much and displayed hiscleverness and learning so constantly, that no one cared to associatewith him. Ozma found him of value in her councils, nevertheless.

  Perhaps the most splendidly dressed of all those present was a greatfrog as large as a man, called the Frogman, who was noted for his wisesayings. He had come to the Emerald City from the Yip Country of Ozand was a guest of honor. His long-tailed coat was of velvet, his vestof satin and his trousers of finest silk. There were diamond buckleson his shoes and he carried a gold-headed cane and a high silk hat.All of the bright colors were represented in his rich attire, so ittired one's eyes to look at him for long, until one became used to hissplendor.

  The best farmer in all Oz was Uncle Henry, who was Dorothy's ownuncle, and who now lived near the Emerald City with his wife Aunt Em.Uncle Henry taught the Oz people how to grow the finest vegetables andfruits and grains and was of much use to Ozma in keeping the RoyalStorehouses well filled. He, too, was a counsellor.

  The reason I mention the little Wizard of Oz last is because he wasthe most important man in the Land of Oz. He wasn't a big man in size,but he was a big man in power and intelligence and second only toGlinda the Good in all the mystic arts of magic. Glinda had taughthim, and the Wizard and the Sorceress were the only ones in Ozpermitted by law to practice wizardry and sorcery, which they appliedonly to good uses and for the benefit of the people.

  The Wizard wasn't exactly handsome but he was pleasant to look at. Hisbald head was as shiny as if it had been varnished; there was always amerry twinkle in his eyes and he was as spry as a schoolboy. Dorothysays the reason the Wizard is not as powerful as Glinda is becauseGlinda didn't teach him all she knows, but what the Wizard knows heknows very well and so he performs some very remarkable magic.

  The ten I have mentioned assembled, with the Scarecrow and Glinda, inOzma's throne room, right after dinner that evening, and the Sorceresstold them all she knew of the plight of Ozma and Dorothy.

  "Of course we must rescue them," she continued, "and the sooner theyare rescued the better pleased they will be; but what we must nowdetermine is how they can be saved. That is why I have called youtogether in council."

  "The easiest way," remarked the Shaggy Man, "is to raise the sunkenisland of the Skeezers to the top of the water again."

  "Tell me how?" said Glinda.

  "I don't know how, your Highness, for I have never raised a sunkenisland."

  "We might all get under it and lift," suggested Professor Wogglebug.

  "How can we get under it when it rests on the bottom of the lake?"asked the Sorceress.

  "Couldn't we throw a rope around it and pull it ashore?" inquired JackPumpkinhead.

  "Why not pump the water out of the lake?" suggested the Patchwork Girlwith a laugh.

  "Do be sensible!" pleaded Glinda. "This is a serious matter, and wemust give it serious thought."

  "How big is the lake and how big is the island?" was the Frogman'squestion.

  "None of us can tell, for we have not been there."

  "In that case," said the Scarecrow, "it appears to me we ought to goto the Skeezer country and examine it carefully."

  "Quite right," agreed the Tin Woodman.

  "We-will-have-to-go-there-any-how," remarked Tik-Tok in his jerkymachine voice.

  "The question is which of us shall go, and how many of us?" said theWizard.

  "I shall go of course," declared the Scarecrow.

  "And I," said Scraps.

  "It is my duty to Ozma to go," asserted the Tin Woodman.

  "I could not stay away, knowing our loved Princess is in danger," saidthe Wizard.

  "We all feel like that," Uncle Henry said.

  Finally one and all present decided to go to the Skeezer country, withGlinda and the little Wizard to lead them. Magic must meet magic inorder to conquer it, so these two skillful magic-workers werenecessary
to insure the success of the expedition.

  They were all ready to start at a moment's notice, for none had anyaffairs of importance to attend to. Jack was wearing a newly madePumpkin-head and the Scarecrow had recently been stuffed with freshstraw. Tik-Tok's machinery was in good running order and the TinWoodman always was well oiled. "It is quite a long journey," saidGlinda, "and while I might travel quickly to the Skeezer country bymeans of my stork chariot the rest of you will be obliged to walk. So,as we must keep together, I will send my chariot back to my castle andwe will plan to leave the Emerald City at sunrise to-morrow."