The Lost Princess of Oz

by L. Frank Baum

  Button-Bright Loses Himself

  CHAPTER 11

  The Patchwork Girl, who never slept and who could see very well in thedark, had wandered among the rocks and bushes all night long, with theresult that she was able to tell some good news the next morning.

  "Over the crest of the hill before us," she said, "is a big grove oftrees of many kinds, on which all sorts of fruits grow. If you will gothere you will find a nice breakfast awaiting you."

  This made them eager to start, so as soon as the blankets were foldedand strapped to the back of the Sawhorse they all took their places onthe animals and set out for the big grove Scraps had told them of.

  As soon as they got over the brow of the hill they discovered it to be areally immense orchard, extending for miles to the right and left ofthem. As their way led straight through the trees they hurried forwardas fast as possible.

  The first trees they came to bore quinces, which they did not like. Thenthere were rows of citron trees and then crab apples and afterward limesand lemons. But beyond these they found a grove of big golden oranges,juicy and sweet, and the fruit hung low on the branches, so they couldpluck it easily.

  They helped themselves freely and all ate oranges as they continued ontheir way. Then, a little farther along, they came to some trees bearingfine red apples, which they also feasted on, and the Wizard stopped herelong enough to tie a lot of the apples in one end of a blanket.

  "We do not know what will happen to us after we leave this delightfulorchard," he said, "so I think it wise to carry a supply of apples withus. We can't starve as long as we have apples, you know."

  Scraps wasn't riding the Woozy just now. She loved to climb the treesand swing herself by the branches from one tree to another. Some of thechoicest fruit was gathered by the Patchwork Girl from the very highestlimbs and tossed down to the others.

  Suddenly Trot asked: "Where's Button-Bright?" and when the others lookedfor him they found the boy had disappeared.

  "Dear me!" cried Dorothy. "I guess he's lost again, and that will meanour waiting here until we can find him."

  "It's a good place to wait," suggested Betsy, who had found a plum treeand was eating some of its fruit.

  "How can you wait here, and find Button-Bright, at one and the sametime?" inquired the Patchwork Girl, hanging by her toes on a limb justover the heads of the three mortal girls.

  "Perhaps he'll come back here," answered Dorothy.

  "If he tries that, he'll prob'ly lose his way," said Trot. "I've knownhim to do that, lots of times. It's losing his way that gets him lost."

  "Very true," said the Wizard. "So all the rest of you must stay herewhile I go look for the boy."

  "Won't _you_ get lost, too?" asked Betsy.

  "I hope not, my dear."

  "Let _me_ go," said Scraps, dropping lightly to the ground. "I can't getlost, and I'm more likely to find Button-Bright than any of you."

  Without waiting for permission she darted away through the trees andsoon disappeared from their view.

  "Dorothy," said Toto, squatting beside his little mistress, "I've lostmy growl."

  "How did that happen?" she asked.

  "I don't know," replied Toto. "Yesterday morning the Woozy nearlystepped on me and I tried to growl at him and found I couldn't growl abit."

  "Can you bark?" inquired Dorothy.

  "Oh, yes, indeed!"

  "Then never mind the growl," said she.

  "But what will I do when I get home to the Glass Cat and the PinkKitten?" asked the little dog in an anxious voice.

  "They won't mind, if you can't growl at them, I'm sure," said Dorothy."I'm sorry for you, of course, Toto, for it's just those things we can'tdo that we want to do most of all; but before we get back you may findyour growl again."

  "Do you think the person who stole Ozma stole my growl?"

  Dorothy smiled.

  "Perhaps, Toto."

  "Then he's a scoundrel!" cried the little dog.

  "Anyone who would steal Ozma is as bad as bad can be," agreed Dorothy,"and when we remember that our dear friend, the lovely Ruler of Oz, islost, we ought not to worry over just a growl."

  Toto was not entirely satisfied with this remark, for the more hethought upon his lost growl the more important his misfortune became.When no one was looking he went away among the trees and tried his bestto growl--even a little bit--but could not manage to do so. All he coulddo was bark, and a bark cannot take the place of a growl, so he sadlyreturned to the others.

  Now, Button-Bright had no idea that he was lost, at first. He had merelywandered from tree to tree, seeking the finest fruit, until hediscovered he was alone in the great orchard. But that didn't worry himjust then and seeing some apricot trees farther on he went to them; thenhe discovered some cherry trees; just beyond these were some tangerines.

  "We've found 'most ev'ry kind of fruit but peaches," he said tohimself, "so I guess there are peaches here, too, if I can find thetrees."

  He searched here and there, paying no attention to his way, until hefound that the trees surrounding him bore only nuts. He put some walnutsin his pockets and kept on searching and at last--right among the nuttrees--he came upon one solitary peach tree. It was a graceful,beautiful tree, but although it was thickly leaved it bore no fruitexcept one large, splendid peach, rosy-cheeked and fuzzy and just rightto eat.

  Button-Bright had some trouble getting that lonesome peach, for it hungfar out of reach; but he climbed the tree nimbly and crept out on thebranch on which it grew and after several trials, during which he was indanger of falling, he finally managed to pick it. Then he got back tothe ground and decided the fruit was well worth his trouble. It wasdelightfully fragrant and when he bit into it he found it the mostdelicious morsel he had ever tasted.

  "I really ought to divide it with Trot and Dorothy and Betsy," he said;"but p'rhaps there are plenty more in some other part of the orchard."

  In his heart he doubted this statement, for this was a solitary peachtree, while all the other fruits grew upon many trees set close to oneanother; but that one luscious bite made him unable to resist eating therest of it and soon the peach was all gone except the pit.

  Button-Bright was about to throw this peach-pit away when he noticedthat it was of pure gold. Of course this surprised him, but so manythings in the Land of Oz were surprising that he did not give muchthought to the golden peach-pit. He put it in his pocket, however, toshow to the girls, and five minutes afterward had forgotten all aboutit.

  For now he realized that he was far separated from his companions, andknowing that this would worry them and delay their journey, he began toshout as loud as he could. His voice did not penetrate very far amongall those trees, and after shouting a dozen times and getting no answerhe sat down on the ground and said:

  "Well, I'm lost again. It's too bad, but I don't see how it can behelped."

  As he leaned his back against a tree he looked up and saw a Bluefinchfly down from the sky and alight upon a branch just before him. The birdlooked and looked at him. First it looked with one bright eye and thenturned its head and looked at him with the other eye. Then,fluttering its wings a little, it said:

  "Oho! so you've eaten the enchanted peach, have you?"

  "Was it enchanted?" asked Button-Bright.

  "Of course," replied the Bluefinch. "Ugu the Shoemaker did that."

  "But why? And how was it enchanted? And what will happen to one who eatsit?" questioned the boy.

  "Ask Ugu the Shoemaker; he knows," said the bird, pruning its featherswith its bill.

  "And who is Ugu the Shoemaker?"

  "The one who enchanted the peach, and placed it here--in the exactcenter of the Great Orchard--so no one would ever find it. We birdsdidn't dare to eat it; we are too wise for that. But you areButton-Bright, from the Emerald City, and you--_you_--YOU ate theenchanted peach! You must explain to Ugu the Shoemaker why you didthat."

  And then, before the boy could ask any more questions, the bird flewaway and le
ft him alone.

  Button-Bright was not much worried to find that the peach he had eatenwas enchanted. It certainly had tasted very good and his stomach didn'tache a bit. So again he began to reflect upon the best way to rejoin hisfriends.

  "Whichever direction I follow is likely to be the wrong one," he said tohimself, "so I'd better stay just where I am and let _them_ find_me_--if they can."

  A White Rabbit came hopping through the orchard and paused a little wayoff to look at him.

  "Don't be afraid," said Button-Bright; "I won't hurt you."

  "Oh, I'm not afraid for myself," returned the White Rabbit. "It's youI'm worried about."

  "Yes; I'm lost," said the boy.

  "I fear you are, indeed," answered the Rabbit. "Why on earth did you eatthe enchanted peach?"

  The boy looked at the excited little animal thoughtfully.

  "There were two reasons," he explained. "One reason was that I likepeaches, and the other reason was that I didn't know it was enchanted."

  "That won't save you from Ugu the Shoemaker," declared the White Rabbitand it scurried away before the boy could ask any more questions.

  "Rabbits and birds," he thought, "are timid creatures and seem afraid ofthis shoemaker--whoever he may be. If there was another peach half asgood as that other, I'd eat it in spite of a dozen enchantments or ahundred shoemakers!"

  Just then Scraps came dancing along and saw him sitting at the foot ofthe tree.

  "Oh, here you are!" she said. "Up to your old tricks, eh? Don't you knowit's impolite to get lost and keep everybody waiting for you? Comealong, and I'll lead you back to Dorothy and the others."

  Button-Bright rose slowly to accompany her.

  "That wasn't much of a loss," he said cheerfully. "I haven't been gonehalf a day, so there's no harm done."

  Dorothy, however, when the boy rejoined the party, gave him a goodscolding.

  "When we're doing such an important thing as searching for Ozma," saidshe, "it's naughty for you to wander away and keep us from getting on.S'pose she's a pris'ner--in a dungeon cell!--do you want to keep ourdear Ozma there any longer than we can help?"

  "If she's in a dungeon cell, how are you going to get her out?" inquiredthe boy.

  "Never you mind; we'll leave that to the Wizard; he's sure to find away."

  The Wizard said nothing, for he realized that without his magic tools hecould do no more than any other person. But there was no use remindinghis companions of that fact; it might discourage them.

  "The important thing just now," he remarked, "is to find Ozma; and, asour party is again happily reunited, I propose we move on."

  As they came to the edge of the Great Orchard the sun was setting andthey knew it would soon be dark. So it was decided to camp under thetrees, as another broad plain was before them. The Wizard spread theblankets on a bed of soft leaves and presently all of them except Scrapsand the Sawhorse were fast asleep. Toto snuggled close to his friend theLion, and the Woozy snored so loudly that the Patchwork Girl covered hissquare head with her apron to deaden the sound.