Chapter Ten
Tommy Kwikstep
"Our best plan," said the Scarecrow Bear, when the Green Monkey hadrelated the story of his adventure with the Dragons, "is to get out ofthis Gillikin Country as soon as we can and try to find our way to thecastle of Glinda, the Good Sorceress. There are too many dangerslurking here to suit me, and Glinda may be able to restore us to ourproper forms."
"If we turn south now," the Tin Owl replied, "we might go straight intothe Emerald City. That's a place I wish to avoid, for I'd hate to havemy friends see me in this sad plight," and he blinked his eyes andfluttered his tin wings mournfully.
"But I am certain we have passed beyond Emerald City," the Canaryassured him, sailing lightly around their heads. "So, should we turnsouth from here, we would pass into the Munchkin Country, andcontinuing south we would reach the Quadling Country where Glinda'scastle is located."
"Well, since you're sure of that, let's start right away," proposed theBear. "It's a long journey, at the best, and I'm getting tired ofwalking on four legs."
"I thought you never tired, being stuffed with straw," said Woot.
"I mean that it annoys me, to be obliged to go on all fours, when twolegs are my proper walking equipment," replied the Scarecrow. "Iconsider it beneath my dignity. In other words, my remarkable brainscan tire, through humiliation, although my body cannot tire."
"That is one of the penalties of having brains," remarked the Tin Owlwith a sigh. "I have had no brains since I was a man of meat, and so Inever worry. Nevertheless, I prefer my former manly form to this owl'sshape and would be glad to break Mrs. Yoop's enchantment as soon aspossible. I am so noisy, just now, that I disturb myself," and hefluttered his wings with a clatter that echoed throughout the forest.
So, being all of one mind, they turned southward, traveling steadily onuntil the woods were left behind and the landscape turned from purpletints to blue tints, which assured them they had entered the Country ofthe Munchkins.
"Now I feel myself more safe," said the Scarecrow Bear. "I know thiscountry pretty well, having been made here by a Munchkin farmer andhaving wandered over these lovely blue lands many times. Seems to me,indeed, that I even remember that group of three tall trees ahead ofus; and, if I do, we are not far from the home of my friend Jinjur."
"Who is Jinjur?" asked Woot, the Green Monkey.
"Haven't you heard of Jinjur?" exclaimed the Scarecrow, in surprise.
"No," said Woot. "Is Jinjur a man, a woman, a beast or a bird?"
"Jinjur is a girl," explained the Scarecrow Bear. "She's a fine girl,too, although a bit restless and liable to get excited. Once, a longtime ago, she raised an army of girls and called herself 'GeneralJinjur.' With her army she captured the Emerald City, and drove me outof it, because I insisted that an army in Oz was highly improper. ButOzma punished the rash girl, and afterward Jinjur and I became fastfriends. Now Jinjur lives peacefully on a farm, near here, and raisesfields of cream-puffs, chocolate-caramels and macaroons. They say she'sa pretty good farmer, and in addition to that she's an artist, andpaints pictures so perfect that one can scarcely tell them from nature.She often repaints my face for me, when it gets worn or mussy, and thelovely expression I wore when the Giantess transformed me was paintedby Jinjur only a month or so ago."
"It was certainly a pleasant expression," agreed Woot.
"Jinjur can paint anything," continued the Scarecrow Bear, withenthusiasm, as they walked along together. "Once, when I came to herhouse, my straw was old and crumpled, so that my body saggeddreadfully. I needed new straw to replace the old, but Jinjur had nostraw on all her ranch and I was really unable to travel farther untilI had been restuffed. When I explained this to Jinjur, the girl at oncepainted a straw-stack which was so natural that I went to it andsecured enough straw to fill all my body. It was a good quality ofstraw, too, and lasted me a long time."
This seemed very wonderful to Woot, who knew that such a thing couldnever happen in any place but a fairy country like Oz.
The Munchkin Country was much nicer than the Gillikin Country, and allthe fields were separated by blue fences, with grassy lanes and pathsof blue ground, and the land seemed well cultivated. They were on alittle hill looking down upon this favored country, but had not quitereached the settled parts, when on turning a bend in the path they werehalted by a form that barred their way.
A more curious creature they had seldom seen, even in the Land of Oz,where curious creatures abound. It had the head of a youngman--evidently a Munchkin--with a pleasant face and hair neatly combed.But the body was very long, for it had twenty legs--ten legs on eachside--and this caused the body to stretch out and lie in a horizontalposition, so that all the legs could touch the ground and stand firm.From the shoulders extended two small arms; at least, they seemed smallbeside so many legs.
This odd creature was dressed in the regulation clothing of theMunchkin people, a dark blue coat neatly fitting the long body and eachpair of legs having a pair of sky-blue trousers, with blue-tintedstockings and blue leather shoes turned up at the pointed toes.
"I wonder who you are?" said Polychrome the Canary, fluttering abovethe strange creature, who had probably been asleep on the path.
"I sometimes wonder, myself, who I am," replied the many-legged youngman; "but, in reality, I am Tommy Kwikstep, and I live in a hollow treethat fell to the ground with age. I have polished the inside of it, andmade a door at each end, and that's a very comfortable residence for mebecause it just fits my shape."
"How did you happen to have such a shape?" asked the Scarecrow Bear,sitting on his haunches and regarding Tommy Kwikstep with a seriouslook. "Is the shape natural?"
"No; it was wished on me," replied Tommy, with a sigh. "I used to bevery active and loved to run errands for anyone who needed my services.That was how I got my name of Tommy Kwikstep. I could run an errandmore quickly than any other boy, and so I was very proud of myself. Oneday, however, I met an old lady who was a fairy, or a witch, orsomething of the sort, and she said if I would run an errand forher--to carry some magic medicine to another old woman--she would grantme just one Wish, whatever the Wish happened to be. Of course Iconsented and, taking the medicine, I hurried away. It was a longdistance, mostly up hill, and my legs began to grow weary. Withoutthinking what I was doing I said aloud: 'Dear me; I wish I had twentylegs!' and in an instant I became the unusual creature you see besideyou. Twenty legs! Twenty on one man! You may count them, if you doubtmy word."
"You've got 'em, all right," said Woot the Monkey, who had alreadycounted them.
"After I had delivered the magic medicine to the old woman, I returnedand tried to find the witch, or fairy, or whatever she was, who hadgiven me the unlucky wish, so she could take it away again. I've beensearching for her ever since, but never can I find her," continued poorTommy Kwikstep, sadly.
"I suppose," said the Tin Owl, blinking at him, "you can travel veryfast, with those twenty legs."
"At first I was able to," was the reply; "but I traveled so much,searching for the fairy, or witch, or whatever she was, that I soon gotcorns on my toes. Now, a corn on one toe is not so bad, but when youhave a hundred toes--as I have--and get corns on most of them, it isfar from pleasant. Instead of running, I now painfully crawl, andalthough I try not to be discouraged I do hope I shall find that witchor fairy, or whatever she was, before long."
"I hope so, too," said the Scarecrow. "But, after all, you have thepleasure of knowing you are unusual, and therefore remarkable among thepeople of Oz. To be just like other persons is small credit to one,while to be unlike others is a mark of distinction."
"That sounds very pretty," returned Tommy Kwikstep, "but if you had toput on ten pair of trousers every morning, and tie up twenty shoes, youwould prefer not to be so distinguished."
"Was the witch, or fairy, or whatever she was, an old person, withwrinkled skin and half her teeth gone?" inquired the Tin Owl.
"No," said Tommy Kwikstep.
"Then she wasn't Old Mombi
," remarked the transformed Emperor.
"I'm not interested in who it wasn't, so much as I am in who it was,"said the twenty-legged young man. "And, whatever or whomsoever she was,she has managed to keep out of my way."
"If you found her, do you suppose she'd change you back into atwo-legged boy?" asked Woot.
"Perhaps so, if I could run another errand for her and so earn anotherwish."
"Would you really like to be as you were before?" asked Polychrome theCanary, perching upon the Green Monkey's shoulder to observe TommyKwikstep more attentively.
"I would, indeed," was the earnest reply.
"Then I will see what I can do for you," promised the Rainbow'sDaughter, and flying to the ground she took a small twig in her billand with it made several mystic figures on each side of Tommy Kwikstep.
"Are you a witch, or fairy, or something of the sort?" he asked as hewatched her wonderingly.
The Canary made no answer, for she was busy, but the Scarecrow Bearreplied: "Yes; she's something of the sort, and a bird of a magician."
The twenty-legged boy's transformation happened so queerly that theywere all surprised at its method. First, Tommy Kwikstep's last two legsdisappeared; then the next two, and the next, and as each pair of legsvanished his body shortened. All this while Polychrome was runningaround him and chirping mystical words, and when all the young man'slegs had disappeared but two he noticed that the Canary was still busyand cried out in alarm:
"Stop--stop! Leave me two of my legs, or I shall be worse off thanbefore."
"I know," said the Canary. "I'm only removing with my magic the cornsfrom your last ten toes."
"Thank you for being so thoughtful," he said gratefully, and now theynoticed that Tommy Kwikstep was quite a nice looking young fellow.
"What will you do now?" asked Woot the Monkey.
"First," he answered, "I must deliver a note which I've carried in mypocket ever since the witch, or fairy, or whatever she was, granted myfoolish wish. And I am resolved never to speak again without takingtime to think carefully on what I am going to say, for I realize thatspeech without thought is dangerous. And after I've delivered the note,I shall run errands again for anyone who needs my services."
So he thanked Polychrome again and started away in a differentdirection from their own, and that was the last they saw of TommyKwikstep.
The Tin Woodman of Oz Page 10