Complete Works of L. Frank Baum

by L. Frank Baum

  Fortunately, the ground where the tent had been pitched, being Just before the city gates, was hard and smooth; and while the Ant still crawled about, Glinda discovered it and ran quickly forward to effect its capture But, Just as her hand was descending, the Witch, now fairly frantic with fear, made her last transformation, and in the form of a huge Griffin sprang through the wall of the tent — tearing the silk asunder in her rush — and in a moment had darted away with the speed of a whirlwind.

  Glinda did not hesitate to follow. She sprang upon the back of the Saw-Horse and cried:

  “Now you shall prove that you have a right to be alive! Run — run — run!”

  The Saw-Horse ran. Like a flash he followed the Griffin, his wooden legs moving so fast that they twinkled like the rays of a star. Before our friends could recover from their surprise both the Griffin and the Saw-Horse had dashed out of sight.

  “Come! Let us follow!” cried the Scarecrow.

  They ran to the place where the Gump was lying and quickly tumbled aboard.

  “Fly!” commanded Tip, eagerly.

  “Where to?” asked the Gump, in its calm voice.

  “I don’t know,” returned Tip, who was very nervous at the delay; “but if you will mount into the air I think we can discover which way Glinda has gone.”

  “Very well,” returned the Gump, quietly; and it spread its great wings and mounted high into the air.

  Far away, across the meadows, they could now see two tiny specks, speeding one after the other; and they knew these specks must be the Griffin and the Saw-Horse. So Tip called the Gump’s attention to them and bade the creature try to overtake the Witch and the Sorceress. But, swift as was the Gump’s flight, the pursued and pursuer moved more swiftly yet, and within a few moments were blotted out against the dim horizon.

  “Let us continue to follow them, nevertheless,” said the Scarecrow. “for the Land of Oz is of small extent, and sooner or later they must both come to a halt.”

  Old Mombi had thought herself very wise to choose the form of a Griffin, for its legs were exceedingly fleet and its strength more enduring than that of other animals. But she had not reckoned on the untiring energy of the Saw-Horse, whose wooden limbs could run for days without slacking their speed. Therefore, after an hour’s hard running, the Griffin’s breath began to fail, and it panted and gasped painfully, and moved more slowly than before. Then it reached the edge of the desert and began racing across the deep sands. But its tired feet sank far into the sand, and in a few minutes the Griffin fell forward, completely exhausted, and lay still upon the desert waste.

  Glinda came up a moment later, riding the still vigorous Saw-Horse; and having unwound a slender golden thread from her girdle the Sorceress threw it over the head of the panting and helpless Griffin, and so destroyed the magical power of Mombi’s transformation.

  For the animal, with one fierce shudder, disappeared from view, while in its place was discovered the form of the old Witch, glaring savagely at the serene and beautiful face of the Sorceress.

  Princess Ozma of Oz

  “You are my prisoner, and it is useless for you to struggle any longer,” said Glinda, in her soft, sweet voice. “Lie still a moment, and rest yourself, and then I will carry you back to my tent.”

  “Why do you seek me?” asked Mombi, still scarce able to speak plainly for lack of breath. “What have I done to you, to be so persecuted?”

  “You have done nothing to me,” answered the gentle Sorceress; “but I suspect you have been guilty of several wicked actions; and if I find it is true that you have so abused your knowledge of magic, I intend to punish you severely.”

  “I defy you!” croaked the old hag. “You dare not harm me!”

  Just then the Gump flew up to them and alighted upon the desert sands beside Glinda. Our friends were delighted to find that Mombi had finally been captured, and after a hurried consultation it was decided they should all return to the camp in the Gump. So the Saw-Horse was tossed aboard, and then Glinda still holding an end of the golden thread that was around Mombi’s neck, forced her prisoner to climb into the sofas. The others now followed, and Tip gave the word to the Gump to return.

  The Journey was made in safety, Mombi sitting in her place with a grim and sullen air; for the old hag was absolutely helpless so long as the magical thread encircled her throat. The army hailed Glinda’s return with loud cheers, and the party of friends soon gathered again in the royal tent, which had been neatly repaired during their absence.

  “Now,” said the Sorceress to Mombi, “I want you to tell us why the Wonderful Wizard of Oz paid you three visits, and what became of the child, Ozma, which so curiously disappeared.”

  The Witch looked at Glinda defiantly, but said not a word.

  “Answer me!” cried the Sorceress.

  But still Mombi remained silent.

  “Perhaps she doesn’t know,” remarked Jack.

  “I beg you will keep quiet,” said Tip. “You might spoil everything with your foolishness.”

  “Very well, dear father!” returned the Pumpkinhead, meekly.

  “How glad I am to be a Woggle-Bug!” murmured the Highly Magnified Insect, softly. “No one can expect wisdom to flow from a pumpkin.”

  “Well,” said the Scarecrow, “what shall we do to make Mombi speak? Unless she tells us what we wish to know her capture will do us no good at all.”

  “Suppose we try kindness,” suggested the Tin Woodman. “I’ve heard that anyone can be conquered with kindness, no matter how ugly they may be.”

  At this the Witch turned to glare upon him so horribly that the Tin Woodman shrank back abashed.

  Glinda had been carefully considering what to do, and now she turned to Mombi and said:

  “You will gain nothing, I assure you, by thus defying us. For I am determined to learn the truth about the girl Ozma, and unless you tell me all that you know, I will certainly put you to death.”

  “Oh, no! Don’t do that!” exclaimed the Tin Woodman. “It would be an awful thing to kill anyone — even old Mombi!”

  “But it is merely a threat,” returned Glinda. “I shall not put Mombi to death, because she will prefer to tell me the truth.”

  “Oh, I see!” said the tin man, much relieved.

  “Suppose I tell you all that you wish to know,”. said Mombi, speaking so suddenly that she startled them all. “What will you do with me then?”

  “In that case,” replied Glinda, “I shall merely ask you to drink a powerful draught which will cause you to forget all the magic you have ever learned.”

  “Then I would become a helpless old woman!”

  “But you would be alive,” suggested the Pumpkinhead, consolingly.

  “Do try to keep silent!” said Tip, nervously.

  “I’ll try,” responded Jack; “but you will admit that it’s a good thing to be alive.”

  “Especially if one happens to be Thoroughly Educated,” added the Woggle-Bug, nodding approval.

  “You may make your choice,” Glinda said to old Mombi, “between death if you remain silent, and the loss of your magical powers if you tell me the truth. But I think you will prefer to live.”

  Mombi cast an uneasy glance at the Sorceress, and saw that she was in earnest, and not to be trifled with. So she replied, slowly:

  “I will answer your questions.”

  “That is what I expected,” said Glinda, pleasantly. “You have chosen wisely, I assure you.”

  She then motioned to one of her Captains, who brought her a beautiful golden casket. From this the Sorceress drew an immense white pearl, attached to a slender chain which she placed around her neck in such a way that the pearl rested upon her bosom, directly over her heart.

  “Now,” said she, “I will ask my first question: Why did the Wizard pay you three visits?”

  “Because I would not come to him,” answered Mombi.

  “That is no answer,” said Glinda, sternly. “Tell me the truth.”

 
; “Well,” returned Mombi, with downcast eyes, “he visited me to learn the way I make tea-biscuits.”

  “Look up!” commanded the Sorceress.

  Mombi obeyed.

  “What is the color of my pearl?” demanded Glinda.

  “Why — it is black!” replied the old Witch, in a tone of wonder.

  “Then you have told me a falsehood!” cried Glinda, angrily. “Only when the truth is spoken will my magic pearl remain a pure white in color.”

  Mombi now saw how useless it was to try to deceive the Sorceress; so she said, meanwhile scowling at her defeat:

  “The Wizard brought to me the girl Ozma, who was then no more than a baby, and begged me to conceal the child.”

  “That is what I thought,” declared Glinda, calmly. “What did he give you for thus serving him?”

  “He taught me all the magical tricks he knew. Some were good tricks, and some were only frauds; but I have remained faithful to my promise.”

  “What did you do with the girl?” asked Glinda; and at this question everyone bent forward and listened eagerly for the reply.

  “I enchanted her,” answered Mombi.

  “In what way?”

  “I transformed her into — into — ”

  “Into what?” demanded Glinda, as the Witch hesitated.

  “Into a boy!” said Mombi, in a low tone.

  “A boy!” echoed every voice; and then, because they knew that this old woman had reared Tip from childhood, all eyes were turned to where the boy stood.

  “Yes,” said the old Witch, nodding her head; “that is the Princess Ozma — the child brought to me by the Wizard who stole her father’s throne. That is the rightful ruler of the Emerald City!” and she pointed her long bony finger straight at the boy.

  “I!” cried Tip, in amazement. “Why, I’m no Princess Ozma — I’m not a girl!”

  Glinda smiled, and going to Tip she took his small brown hand within her dainty white one.

  “You are not a girl just now” said she, gently, “because Mombi transformed you into a boy. But you were born a girl, and also a Princess; so you must resume your proper form, that you may become Queen of the Emerald City.”

  “Oh, let Jinjur be the Queen!” exclaimed Tip, ready to cry. “I want to stay a boy, and travel with the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman, and the Woggle-Bug, and Jack — yes! and my friend the Saw-Horse — and the Gump! I don’t want to be a girl!”

  “Never mind, old chap,” said the Tin Woodman, soothingly; “it don’t hurt to be a girl, I’m told; and we will all remain your faithful friends just the same. And, to be honest with you, I’ve always considered girls nicer than boys.”

  “They’re just as nice, anyway,” added the Scarecrow, patting Tip affectionately upon the head.

  “And they are equally good students,” proclaimed the Woggle-Bug. “I should like to become your tutor, when you are transformed into a girl again.”

  “But — see here!” said Jack Pumpkinhead, with a gasp: “if you become a girl, you can’t be my dear father any more!”

  “No,” answered Tip, laughing in spite of his anxiety. “and I shall not be sorry to escape the relationship.” Then he added, hesitatingly, as he turned to Glinda: “I might try it for awhile,-just to see how it seems, you know. But if I don’t like being a girl you must promise to change me into a boy again.”

  “Really,” said the Sorceress, “that is beyond my magic. I never deal in transformations, for they are not honest, and no respectable sorceress likes to make things appear to be what they are not. Only unscrupulous witches use the art, and therefore I must ask Mombi to effect your release from her charm, and restore you to your proper form. It will be the last opportunity she will have to practice magic.”

  Now that the truth about Princes Ozma had been discovered, Mombi did not care what became of Tip; but she feared Glinda’s anger, and the boy generously promised to provide for Mombi in her old age if he became the ruler of the Emerald City. So the Witch consented to effect the transformation, and preparations for the event were at once made.

  Glinda ordered her own royal couch to be placed in the center of the tent. It was piled high with cushions covered with rose-colored silk, and from a golden railing above hung many folds of pink gossamer, completely concealing the interior of the couch.

  The first act of the Witch was to make the boy drink a potion which quickly sent him into a deep and dreamless sleep. Then the Tin Woodman and the Woggle-Bug bore him gently to the couch, placed him upon the soft cushions, and drew the gossamer hangings to shut him from all earthly view.

  The Witch squatted upon the ground and kindled a tiny fire of dried herbs, which she drew from her bosom. When the blaze shot up and burned clearly old Mombi scattered a handful of magical powder over the fire, which straightway gave off a rich violet vapor, filling all the tent with its fragrance and forcing the Saw-Horse to sneeze — although he had been warned to keep quiet.

  Then, while the others watched her curiously, the hag chanted a rhythmical verse in words which no one understood, and bent her lean body seven times back and forth over the fire. And now the incantation seemed complete, for the Witch stood upright and cried the one word “Yeowa!” in a loud voice.

  The vapor floated away; the atmosphere became, clear again; a whiff of fresh air filled the tent, and the pink curtains of the couch trembled slightly, as if stirred from within.

  Glinda walked to the canopy and parted the silken hangings. Then she bent over the cushions, reached out her hand, and from the couch arose the form of a young girl, fresh and beautiful as a May morning. Her eyes sparkled as two diamonds, and her lips were tinted like a tourmaline. All adown her back floated tresses of ruddy gold, with a slender jeweled circlet confining them at the brow. Her robes of silken gauze floated around her like a cloud, and dainty satin slippers shod her feet.

  At this exquisite vision Tip’s old comrades stared in wonder for the space of a full minute, and then every head bent low in honest admiration of the lovely Princess Ozma. The girl herself cast one look into Glinda’s bright face, which glowed with pleasure and satisfaction, and then turned upon the others. Speaking the words with sweet diffidence, she said:

  “I hope none of you will care less for me than you did before. I’m just the same Tip, you know; only — only — ”

  “Only you’re different!” said the Pumpkinhead; and everyone thought it was the wisest speech he had ever made.

  The Riches of Content

  When the wonderful tidings reached the ears of Queen Jinjur — how Mombi the Witch had been captured; how she had confessed her crime to Glinda; and how the long-lost Princess Ozma had been discovered in no less a personage than the boy Tip — she wept real tears of grief and despair.

  “To think,” she moaned, “that after having ruled as Queen, and lived in a palace, I must go back to scrubbing floors and churning butter again! It is too horrible to think of! I will never consent!”

  So when her soldiers, who spent most of their time making fudge in the palace kitchens, counseled Jinjur to resist, she listened to their foolish prattle and sent a sharp defiance to Glinda the Good and the Princess Ozma. The result was a declaration of war, and the very next day Glinda marched upon the Emerald City with pennants flying and bands playing, and a forest of shining spears, sparkling brightly beneath the sun’s rays.

  But when it came to the walls this brave assembly made a sudden halt; for Jinjur had closed and barred every gateway, and the walls of the Emerald City were builded high and thick with many blocks of green marble. Finding her advance thus baffled, Glinda bent her brows in deep thought, while the Woggle-Bug said, in his most positive tone:

  “We must lay siege to the city, and starve it into submission. It is the only thing we can do.”

  “Not so,” answered the Scarecrow. “We still have the Gump, and the Gump can still fly”

  The Sorceress turned quickly at this speech, and her face now wore a bright smile.

  “Y
ou are right,” she exclaimed, “and certainly have reason to be proud of your brains. Let us go to the Gump at once!”

  So they passed through the ranks of the army until they came to the place, near the Scarecrow’s tent, where the Gump lay. Glinda and Princess Ozma mounted first, and sat upon the sofas. Then the Scarecrow and his friends climbed aboard, and still there was room for a Captain and three soldiers, which Glinda considered sufficient for a guard.

  Now, at a word from the Princess, the queer Thing they had called the Gump flopped its palm-leaf wings and rose into the air, carrying the party of adventurers high above the walls. They hovered over the palace, and soon perceived Jinjur reclining in a hammock in the courtyard, where she was comfortably reading a novel with a green cover and eating green chocolates, confident that the walls would protect her from her enemies. Obeying a quick command, the Gump alighted safely in this very courtyard, and before Jinjur had time to do more than scream, the Captain and three soldiers leaped out and made the former Queen a prisoner, locking strong chains upon both her wrists.

  That act really ended the war; for the Army of Revolt submitted as soon as they knew Jinjur to be a captive, and the Captain marched in safety through the streets and up to the gates of the city, which she threw wide open. Then the bands played their most stirring music while Glinda’s army marched into the city, and heralds proclaimed the conquest of the audacious Jinjur and the accession of the beautiful Princess Ozma to the throne of her royal ancestors.

  At once the men of the Emerald City cast off their aprons. And it is said that the women were so tired eating of their husbands’ cooking that they all hailed the conquest of Jinjur with Joy. Certain it is that, rushing one and all to the kitchens of their houses, the good wives prepared so delicious a feast for the weary men that harmony was immediately restored in every family.

  Ozma’s first act was to oblige the Army of Revolt to return to her every emerald or other gem stolen from the public streets and buildings; and so great was the number of precious stones picked from their settings by these vain girls, that every one of the royal jewelers worked steadily for more than a month to replace them in their settings.