_How_ THEY DRANK AT THE FORBIDDEN FOUNTAIN
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
The Scarecrow had no need to sleep; neither had the Tin Woodman orTiktok or Jack Pumpkinhead. So they all wandered out into the palacegrounds and stood beside the sparkling water of the Forbidden Fountainuntil daybreak. During this time they indulged in occasionalconversation.
"Nothing could make me forget what I know," remarked the Scarecrow,gazing into the fountain, "for I cannot drink the Water of Oblivion orwater of any kind. And I am glad that this is so, for I consider mywisdom unexcelled."
"You are cer-tain-ly- ve-ry wise," agreed Tiktok. "For my part, I canon-ly think by ma-chin-er-y, so I do not pre-tend to know as much as youdo."
"My tin brains are very bright, but that is all I claim for them," saidNick Chopper, modestly. "Yet I do not aspire to being very wise, for Ihave noticed that the happiest people are those who do not let theirbrains oppress them."
"Mine never worry me," Jack Pumpkinhead acknowledged. "There are manyseeds of thought in my head, but they do not sprout easily. I am gladthat it is so, for if I occupied my days in thinking I should have notime for anything else."
In this cheery mood they passed the hours until the first golden streaksof dawn appeared in the sky. Then Ozma joined them, as fresh and lovelyas ever and robed in one of her prettiest gowns.
"Our enemies have not yet arrived," said the Scarecrow, after greetingaffectionately the sweet and girlish Ruler.
"They will soon be here," she said, "for I have just glanced at my MagicPicture, and have seen them coughing and choking with the dust in thetunnel."
"Oh, is there dust in the tunnel?" asked the Tin Woodman.
"Yes; Ozma placed it there by means of the Magic Belt," explained theScarecrow, with one of his broad smiles.
Then Dorothy came to them, Uncle Henry and Aunt Em following close afterher. The little girl's eyes were heavy because she had had a sleeplessand anxious night. Toto walked by her side, but the little dog's spiritswere very much subdued. Billina, who was always up by daybreak, was notlong in joining the group by the fountain.
The Wizard and the Shaggy Man next arrived, and soon after appeared OmbyAmby, dressed in his best uniform.
"There lies the tunnel," said Ozma, pointing to a part of the groundjust before the Forbidden Fountain, "and in a few moments the dreadfulinvaders will break through the earth and swarm over the land. Let usall stand on the other side of the Fountain and watch to see whathappens."
At once they followed her suggestion and moved around the fountain ofthe Water of Oblivion. There they stood silent and expectant until theearth beyond gave way with a sudden crash and up leaped the powerfulform of the First and Foremost, followed by all his grim warriors.
As the leader sprang forward his gleaming eyes caught the play of thefountain and he rushed toward it and drank eagerly of the sparklingwater. Many of the other Phanfasms drank, too, in order to clear theirdry and dusty throats. Then they stood around and looked at one anotherwith simple, wondering smiles.
The First and Foremost saw Ozma and her companions beyond the fountain,but instead of making an effort to capture her he merely stared at herin pleased admiration of her beauty--for he had forgotten where he wasand why he had come there.
But now the Grand Gallipoot arrived, rushing from the tunnel with ahoarse cry of mingled rage and thirst. He too saw the fountain andhastened to drink of its forbidden waters. The other Growleywogs werenot slow to follow suit, and even before they had finished drinking theChief of the Whimsies and his people came to push them away, while theyone and all cast off their false heads that they might slake theirthirst at the fountain.
When the Nome King and General Guph arrived they both made a dash todrink, but the General was so mad with thirst that he knocked his Kingover, and while Roquat lay sprawling upon the ground the General drankheartily of the Water of Oblivion.
This rude act of his General made the Nome King so angry that for amoment he forgot he was thirsty and rose to his feet to glare upon thegroup of terrible warriors he had brought here to assist him. He sawOzma and her people, too, and yelled out:
"Why don't you capture them? Why don't you conquer Oz, you idiots? Whydo you stand there like a lot of dummies?"
But the great warriors had become like little children. They hadforgotten all their enmity against Ozma and against Oz. They had evenforgotten who they themselves were, or why they were in this strange andbeautiful country. As for the Nome King, they did not recognize him,and wondered who he was.
The sun came up and sent its flood of silver rays to light the faces ofthe invaders. The frowns and scowls and evil looks were all gone. Eventhe most monstrous of the creatures there assembled smiled innocentlyand seemed light-hearted and content merely to be alive.
Not so with Roquat, the Nome King. He had not drunk from the ForbiddenFountain and all his former rage against Ozma and Dorothy now inflamedhim as fiercely as ever. The sight of General Guph babbling like a happychild and playing with his hands in the cool waters of the fountainastonished and maddened Red Roquat. Seeing that his terrible allies andhis own General refused to act, the Nome King turned to order his greatarmy of Nomes to advance from the tunnel and seize the helpless Ozpeople.
But the Scarecrow suspected what was in the King's mind and spoke a wordto the Tin Woodman. Together they ran at Roquat and grabbing him uptossed him into the great basin of the fountain.
The Nome King's body was round as a ball, and it bobbed up and down inthe Water of Oblivion while he spluttered and screamed with fear lest heshould drown. And when he cried out his mouth filled with water, whichran down his throat, so that straightway he forgot all he had formerlyknown just as completely as had all the other invaders.
Ozma and Dorothy could not refrain from laughing to see their dreadedenemies become as harmless as babes. There was no danger now that Ozwould be destroyed. The only question remaining to solve was how to getrid of this horde of intruders.
The Shaggy Man kindly pulled the Nome King out of the fountain and sethim upon his thin legs. Roquat was dripping wet, but he chattered andlaughed and wanted to drink more of the water. No thought of injuringany person was now in his mind.
Before he left the tunnel he had commanded his fifty thousand Nomes toremain there until he ordered them to advance, as he wished to give hisallies time to conquer Oz before he appeared with his own army. Ozma didnot wish all these Nomes to overrun her land, so she advanced to KingRoquat and taking his hand in her own said gently:
"Who are you? What is your name?"
"I don't know," he replied, smiling at her. "Who are you, my dear?"
"My name is Ozma," she said; "and your name is Roquat."
"Oh, is it?" he replied, seeming pleased.
"Yes; you are King of the Nomes," she said.
"Ah; I wonder what the Nomes are!" returned the King, as if puzzled.
"They are underground elves, and that tunnel over there is full ofthem," she answered. "You have a beautiful cavern at the other end ofthe tunnel, so you must go to your Nomes and say: 'March home!' Thenfollow after them and in time you will reach the pretty cavern where youlive."
The Nome King was much pleased to learn this, for he had forgotten hehad a cavern. So he went to the tunnel and said to his army: "Marchhome!" At once the Nomes turned and marched back through the tunnel, andthe King followed after them, laughing with delight to find his ordersso readily obeyed.
The Wizard went to General Guph, who was trying to count his fingers,and told him to follow the Nome King, who was his master. Guph meeklyobeyed, and so all the Nomes quitted the Land of Oz forever.
But there were still the Phanfasms and Whimsies and Growleywogs standingaround in groups, and they were so many that they filled the gardens andtrampled upon the flowers and grass because they did not know that thetender plants would be injured by their clumsy feet. But in all otherrespects they were perfectly harmless and played together like childrenor gazed with pleasure
upon the pretty sights of the royal gardens.
After counseling with the Scarecrow Ozma sent Omby Amby to the palacefor the Magic Belt, and when the Captain General returned with it theRuler of Oz at once clasped the precious Belt around her waist.
"I wish all these strange people--the Whimsies and the Growleywogs andthe Phanfasms--safe back in their own homes!" she said.
It all happened in a twinkling, for of course the wish was no soonerspoken than it was granted.
All the hosts of the invaders were gone, and only the trampled grassshowed that they had ever been in the Land of Oz.
_How_ GLINDA WORKED A MAGIC SPELL
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
"That was better than fighting," said Ozma, when all our friends wereassembled in the palace after the exciting events of the morning; andeach and every one agreed with her.
"No one was hurt," said the Wizard, delightedly.
"And no one hurt us," added Aunt Em.
"But, best of all," said Dorothy, "the wicked people have all forgottentheir wickedness, and will not wish to hurt any one after this."
"True, Princess," declared the Shaggy Man. "It seems to me that to havereformed all those evil characters is more important than to have savedOz."
"Nevertheless," remarked the Scarecrow, "I am glad Oz is saved. I cannow go back to my new mansion and live happily."
"And I am glad and grateful that my pumpkin farm is saved," said Jack.
"For my part," added the Tin Woodman, "I cannot express my joy that mylovely tin castle is not to be demolished by wicked enemies."
"Still," said Tiktok, "o-ther en-e-mies may come to Oz some day."
"Why do you allow your clock-work brains to interrupt our joy?" askedOmby Amby, frowning at the machine man.
"I say what I am wound up to say," answered Tiktok.
"And you are right," declared Ozma. "I myself have been thinking of thisvery idea, and it seems to me there are entirely too many ways forpeople to get to the Land of Oz. We used to think the deadly desert thatsurrounds us was enough protection; but that is no longer the case. TheWizard and Dorothy have both come here through the air, and I am toldthe earth people have invented airships that can fly anywhere they wishthem to go."
"Why, sometimes they do, and sometimes they don't," asserted Dorothy.
"But in time the airships may cause us trouble," continued Ozma, "for ifthe earth folk learn how to manage them we would be overrun withvisitors who would ruin our lovely, secluded fairyland."
"That is true enough," agreed the Wizard.
"Also the desert fails to protect us in other ways," Ozma went on,thoughtfully. "Johnny Dooit once made a sandboat that sailed across it,and the Nome King made a tunnel under it. So I believe something oughtto be done to cut us off from the rest of the world entirely, so that noone in the future will ever be able to intrude upon us."
"How will you do that?" asked the Scarecrow.
"I do not know; but in some way I am sure it can be accomplished.To-morrow I will make a journey to the castle of Glinda the Good, andask her advice."
"May I go with you?" asked Dorothy, eagerly.
"Of course, my dear Princess; and also I invite any of our friends herewho would like to undertake the journey."
They all declared they wished to accompany their girl Ruler, for thiswas indeed an important mission, since the future of the Land of Oz to agreat extent depended upon it. So Ozma gave orders to her servants toprepare for the journey on the morrow.
That day she watched her Magic Picture, and when it showed her that allthe Nomes had returned through the tunnel to their underground caverns,Ozma used the Magic Belt to close up the tunnel, so that the earthunderneath the desert sands became as solid as it was before the Nomesbegan to dig.
Early the following morning a gay cavalcade set out to visit the famousSorceress, Glinda the Good. Ozma and Dorothy rode in a chariot drawn bythe Cowardly Lion and the Hungry Tiger, while the Sawhorse drew the redwagon in which rode the rest of the party.
With hearts light and free from care they traveled merrily along throughthe lovely and fascinating Land of Oz, and in good season reached thestately castle in which resided the Sorceress.
Glinda knew that they were coming.
"I have been reading about you in my Magic Book," she said, as shegreeted them in her gracious way.
"What is your Magic Book like?" inquired Aunt Em, curiously.
"It is a record of everything that happens," replied the Sorceress. "Assoon as an event takes place, anywhere in the world, it is immediatelyfound printed in my Magic Book. So when I read its pages I am wellinformed."
"Did it tell how our enemies drank the Water of 'Blivion?" askedDorothy.
"Yes, my dear; it told all about it. And also it told me you were allcoming to my castle, and why."
"Then," said Ozma, "I suppose you know what is in my mind, and that I amseeking a way to prevent any one in the future from discovering the Landof Oz."
"Yes; I know that. And while you were on your journey I have thoughtof a way to accomplish your desire. For it seems to me unwise to allowtoo many outside people to come here. Dorothy, with her uncle and aunt,has now returned to Oz to live always, and there is no reason why weshould leave any way open for others to travel uninvited to ourfairyland. Let us make it impossible for any one ever to communicatewith us in any way, after this. Then we may live peacefully andcontentedly."
"Your advice is wise," returned Ozma. "I thank you, Glinda, for yourpromise to assist me."
"But how can you do it?" asked Dorothy. "How can you keep every one fromever finding Oz?"
"By making our country invisible to all eyes but our own," replied theSorceress, smiling. "I have a magic charm powerful enough to accomplishthat wonderful feat, and now that we have been warned of our danger bythe Nome King's invasion, I believe we must not hesitate to separateourselves forever from all the rest of the world."
"I agree with you," said the Ruler of Oz.
"Won't it make any difference to us?" asked Dorothy, doubtfully.
"No, my dear," Glinda answered, assuringly. "We shall still be able tosee each other and everything in the Land of Oz. It won't affect us atall; but those who fly through the air over our country will look downand see nothing at all. Those who come to the edge of the desert, ortry to cross it, will catch no glimpse of Oz, or know in what directionit lies. No one will try to tunnel to us again because we cannot be seenand therefore cannot be found. In other words, the Land of Oz willentirely disappear from the knowledge of the rest of the world."
"That's all right," said Dorothy, cheerfully. "You may make Oz invis'bleas soon as you please, for all I care."
"It is already invisible," Glinda stated. "I knew Ozma's wishes, andperformed the Magic Spell before you arrived."
Ozma seized the hand of the Sorceress and pressed it gratefully.
"Thank you!" she said.
_How_ THE STORY OF OZ CAME TO AN END
CHAPTER THIRTY
The writer of these Oz stories has received a little note from PrincessDorothy of Oz which, for a time, has made him feel rather discontented.The note was written on a broad white feather from a stork's wing, andit said:
_"You will never hear anything more about Oz, because we are now cut off forever from all the rest of the world. But Toto and I will always love you and all the other children who love us._
"DOROTHY GALE."
This seemed to me too bad, at first, for Oz is a very interestingfairyland. Still, we have no right to feel grieved, for we have hadenough of the history of the Land of Oz to fill six story books, andfrom its quaint people and their strange adventures we have been able tolearn many useful and amusing things.
So good luck to little Dorothy and her companions. May they live long intheir invisible country and be very happy!
THE END
* * * * *
Transcriber's notes:
Punctuation and spelling were m
ade consistent when a predominantpreference was found in this book; otherwise they were not changed.
Simple typographical errors were corrected.
Chapter names are parts of their illustrations. In this eBook, theyprecede the indications of where those illustrations occur.
The Emerald City of Oz Page 29