
GLINDA OF OZ
In which are related the Exciting Experiences of Princess
Ozma of Oz, and Dorothy, in their hazardous journey
to the home of the Flatheads, and to the Magic
Isle of the Skeezers, and how they were
rescued from dire peril by the
sorcery of Glinda the
Good
by L. FRANK BAUM
"Royal Historian of Oz"
This Book
is Dedicated to
My Son
Robert Stanton Baum
LIST OF CHAPTERS
1 The Call of Duty
2 Ozma and Dorothy
3 The Mist Maidens
4 The Magic Tent
5 The Magic Stairway
6 Flathead Mountain
7 The Magic Isle
8 Queen Coo-ee-oh
9 Lady Aurex
10 Under Water
11 The Conquest of the Skeezers
12 The Diamond Swan
13 The Alarm Bell
14 Ozma's Counsellors
15 The Great Sorceress
16 The Enchanted Fishes
17 Under the Great Dome
18 The Cleverness of Ervic
19 Red Reera, the Yookoohoo..
20 A Puzzling Problem
21 The Three Adepts
22 The Sunken Island
23 The Magic Words
24 Glinda's Triumph
The Call to Duty
Glinda, the good Sorceress of Oz, sat in the grand
court of her palace, surrounded by her maids of honor
-- a hundred of the most beautiful girls of the
Fairyland of Oz. The palace court was built of rare
marbles, exquisitely polished. Fountains tinkled
musically here and there; the vast colonnade, open to
the south, allowed the maidens, as they raised their
heads from their embroideries, to gaze upon a vista of
rose-hued fields and groves of trees bearing fruits or
laden with sweet-scented flowers. At times one of the
girls would start a song, the others joining in the
chorus, or one would rise and dance, gracefully swaying
to the music of a harp played by a companion. And then
Glinda smiled, glad to see her maids mixing play with
work.
Presently among the fields an object was seen moving,
threading the broad path that led to the castle gate.
Some of the girls looked upon this object enviously;
the Sorceress merely gave it a glance and nodded her
stately head as if pleased, for it meant the coming of
her friend and mistress -- the only one in all the land
that Glinda bowed to.
Then up the path trotted a wooden animal attached to
a red wagon, and as the quaint steed halted at the gate
there descended from the wagon two young girls, Ozma,
Ruler of Oz, and her companion, Princess Dorothy. Both
were dressed in simple white muslin gowns, and as they
ran up the marble steps of the palace they laughed and
chatted as gaily as if they were not the most important
persons in the world's loveliest fairyland.
The maids of honor had risen and stood with bowed
heads to greet the royal Ozma, while Glinda came
forward with outstretched arms to greet her guests.
"We've just come on a visit, you know," said Ozma.
"Both Dorothy and I were wondering how we should pass
the day when we happened to think we'd not been to your
Quadling Country for weeks, so we took the Sawhorse and
rode straight here."
"And we came so fast," added Dorothy, "that our hair
is blown all fuzzy, for the Sawhorse makes a wind of
his own. Usually it's a day's journey from the Em'rald
City, but I don't s'pose we were two hours on the way."
"You are most welcome," said Glinda the Sorceress,
and led them through the court to her magnificent
reception hall. Ozma took the arm of her hostess, but
Dorothy lagged behind, kissing some of the maids she
knew best, talking with others, and making them all
feel that she was their friend. When at last she joined
Glinda and Ozma in the reception hall, she found them
talking earnestly about the condition of the people,
and how to make them more happy and contented --
although they were already the happiest and most
contented folks in all the world.
This interested Ozma, of course, but it didn't
interest Dorothy very much, so the little girl ran over
to a big table on which was lying open Glinda's Great
Book of Records.
This Book is one of the greatest treasures in Oz, and
the Sorceress prizes it more highly than any of her
magical possessions. That is the reason it is firmly
attached to the big marble table by means of golden
chains, and whenever Glinda leaves home she locks the
Great Book together with five jeweled padlocks, and
carries the keys safely hidden in her bosom.
I do not suppose there is any magical thing in any
fairyland to compare with the Record Book, on the pages
of which are constantly being printed a record of every
event that happens in any part of the world, at exactly
the moment it happens. And the records are always
truthful, although sometimes they do not give as many
details as one could wish. But then, lots of things
happen, and so the records have to be brief or even
Glinda's Great Book could not hold them all.
Glinda looked at the records several times each day,
and Dorothy, whenever she visited the Sorceress, loved
to look in the Book and see what was happening
everywhere. Not much was recorded about the Land of Oz,
which is usually peaceful and uneventful, but today
Dorothy found something which interested her. Indeed,
the printed letters were appearing on the page even
while she looked.
"This is funny!" she exclaimed. "Did you know,
Ozma, that there were people in your Land of Oz
called Skeezers?"
"Yes," replied Ozma, coming to her side, "I know that
on Professor Wogglebug's Map of the Land of Oz there is
a place marked 'Skeezer,' but what the Skeezers are
like I do not know. No one I know has ever seen them or
heard of them. The Skeezer Country is 'way at the upper
edge of the Gillikin Country, with the sandy,
impassable desert on one side and the mountains of
Oogaboo on another side. That is a part of the Land of
Oz of which I know very little."
"I guess no one else knows much about it either,
unless it's the Skeezers themselves," remarked Dorothy.
"But the Book says: 'The Skeezers of Oz have declared
war on the Flatheads of Oz, and there is likely to be
fighting and much trouble as the result.'"
"Is that all the Book says?" asked Ozma.
"Every word," said Dorothy, and Ozma and Glinda both
looked at the Record and seemed surprised and
perplexed.
"Tell me, Glinda," said Ozma, "who are the
Flatheads?"
"I cannot, your Majesty," confessed the Sorceress.
"Until now I never have heard of them, nor have I ever
heard the Skeezers mentioned. In the faraway corners of
Oz are hidden many curious tribes of people, and those
who never leave their own countries and never are
visited by those from our favored part of Oz, naturally
are unknown to me. However, if you so desire, I can
learn through my arts of sorcery something of the
Skeezers and the Flatheads."
"I wish you would," answered Ozma seriously. "You
see, Glinda, if these are Oz people they are my
subjects and I cannot allow any wars or troubles in the
Land I rule, if I can possibly help it."
"Very well, your Majesty," said the Sorceress, "I
will try to get some information to guide you. Please
excuse me for a time, while I retire to my Room of
Magic and Sorcery."
"May I go with you?" asked Dorothy, eagerly.
"No, Princess," was the reply. "It would spoil the
charm to have anyone present."
So Glinda locked herself in her own Room of Magic and
Dorothy and Ozma waited patiently for her to come out
again.
In about an hour Glinda appeared, looking grave and
thoughtful.
"Your Majesty," she said to Ozma, "the Skeezers live
on a Magic Isle in a great lake. For that reason --
because the Skeezers deal in magic -- I can learn
little about them."
"Why, I didn't know there was a lake in that part of
Oz," exclaimed Ozma. "The map shows a river running
through the Skeezer Country, but no lake."
"That is because the person who made the map never
had visited that part of the country," explained the
Sorceress. "The lake surely is there, and in the lake
is an island -- a Magic Isle -- and on that island live
the people called the Skeezers."
"What are they like?" inquired the Ruler of Oz.
"My magic cannot tell me that," confessed Glinda,
"for the magic of the Skeezers prevents anyone outside
of their domain knowing anything about them."
"The Flatheads must know, if they're going to fight
the Skeezers," suggested Dorothy
"Perhaps so," Glinda replied, "but I can get little
information concerning the Flatheads, either. They are
people who inhabit a mountain just south of the Lake of
the Skeezers. The mountain has steep sides and a broad,
hollow top, like a basin, and in this basin the
Flatheads have their dwellings. They also are magic-workers and usually keep to themselves and allow no one
from outside to visit them. I have learned that the
Flatheads number about one hundred people -- men, women
and children -- while the Skeezers number just one
hundred and one."
"What did they quarrel about, and why do they wish to
fight one another?" was Ozma's next question.
"I cannot tell your Majesty that," said Glinda.
"But see here!" cried Dorothy, "it's against the law
for anyone but Glinda and the Wizard to work magic in
the Land of Oz, so if these two strange people are
magic-makers they are breaking the law and ought to be
punished!" Ozma smiled upon her little friend.
"Those who do not know me or my laws," she said,
"cannot be expected to obey my laws. If we know nothing
of the Skeezers or the Flatheads, it is likely that
they know nothing of us."
"But they ought to know, Ozma, and we ought to know.
Who's going to tell them, and how are we going to make
them behave?"
"That," returned Ozma, "is what I am now considering.
What would you advise, Glinda?"
The Sorceress took a little time to consider this
question, before she made reply. Then she said: "Had
you not learned of the existence of the Flatheads and
the Skeezers, through my Book of Records, you would
never have worried about them or their quarrels. So, if
you pay no attention to these peoples, you may never
hear of them again."
"But that wouldn't be right," declared Ozma. "I am
Ruler of all the Land of Oz, which includes the
Gillikin Country, the Quadling Country, the Winkie
Country and the Munchkin Country, as well as the
Emerald City, and being the Princess of this fairyland
it is my duty to make all my people -- wherever they
may be -- happy and content and to settle their
disputes and keep them from quarreling. So, while the
Skeezers and Flatheads may not know me or that I am
their lawful Ruler, I now know that they inhabit my
kingdom and are my subjects, so I would not be doing my
duty if I kept away from them and allowed them to
fight."
"That's a fact, Ozma," commented Dorothy.
"You've got to go up to the Gillikin Country and make
these people behave themselves and make up their
quarrels. But how are you going to do it?"
"That is what is puzzling me also, your Majesty,"
said the Sorceress. "It may be dangerous for you to go
into those strange countries, where the people are
possibly fierce and warlike."
"I am not afraid," said Ozma, with a smile.
"'Tisn't a question of being 'fraid," argued Dorothy.
"Of course we know you're a fairy, and can't be killed
or hurt, and we know you've a lot of magic of your own
to help you. But, Ozma dear, in spite of all this
you've been in trouble before, on account of wicked
enemies, and it isn't right for the Ruler of all Oz to
put herself in danger."
"Perhaps I shall be in no danger at all," returned
Ozma, with a little laugh. "You mustn't imagine danger,
Dorothy, for one should only imagine nice things, and
we do not know that the Skeezers and Flatheads are
wicked people or my enemies. Perhaps they would be good
and listen to reason."
"Dorothy is right, your Majesty," asserted the
Sorceress. "It is true we know nothing of these faraway
subjects, except that they intend to fight one another,
and have a certain amount of magic power at their
command. Such folks do not like to submit to
interference and they are more likely to resent your
coming among them than to receive you kindly and
graciously, as is your due."
"If you had an army to take with you," added Dorothy,
"it wouldn't be so bad; but there isn't such a thing as
an army in all Oz."
"I have one soldier," said Ozma.
"Yes, the soldier with the green whiskers; but he's
dreadful 'fraid of his gun and never loads it. I'm sure
he'd run rather than fight. And one soldier, even if he
were brave, couldn't do much against two hundred and
one Flatheads and Skeezers."
"What then, my friends, would you suggest?" inquired
Ozma.
"I advise you to send the Wizard of Oz to them, and
let him inform them that it is against the laws of Oz
to fight, and that you command them to settle their
differences and become friends," proposed Glinda. "Let
the Wizard tell them they will be punished if they
refuse to obey the commands of the Princess of all the
Land of Oz."
Ozma shook her head, to indicate that the advice was
not to her satisfaction.
"If they refuse, what then?" she asked. "I should be
obliged to carry out my threat and punish them, and
that would be an unpleasant and difficult thing to do.
I am sure it would be better for me to go peacefully,
without an army and armed only with my authority as
Ruler, and plead with them to obey me. Then, if they
prove obstinate I could resort to other means to win
their obedience."
"It's a ticklish thing, anyhow you look at it,"
sighed Dorothy. "I'm sorry now that I noticed the
Record in the Great Book."
"But can't you realize, my dear, that I must do my
duty, now that I am aware of this trouble?" asked Ozma.
"I am fully determined to go at once to the Magic Isle
of the Skeezers and to the enchanted mountain of the
Flatheads, and prevent war and strife between their
inhabitants. The only question to decide is whether it
is better for me to go alone, or to assemble a party of
my friends and loyal supporters to accompany me."
"If you go I want to go, too," declared Dorothy.
"Whatever happens it's going to be fun -- 'cause all
excitement is fun -- and I wouldn't miss it for the
world!"
Neither Ozma nor Glinda paid any attention to this
statement, for they were gravely considering the
serious aspect of this proposed adventure.
"There are plenty of friends who would like to go
with you," said the Sorceress, "but none of them would
afford your Majesty any protection in case you were in
danger. You are yourself the most powerful fairy in Oz,
although both I and the Wizard have more varied arts of
magic at our command. However, you have one art that no
other in all the world can equal -- the art of winning
hearts and making people love to bow to your gracious
presence. For that reason I believe you can accomplish
more good alone than with a large number of subjects in
your train."
"I believe that also," agreed the Princess. "I shall
be quite able to take care of myself, you know, but
might not be able to protect others so well. I do not
look for opposition, however. I shall speak to these
people in kindly words and settle their dispute --
whatever it may be -- in a just manner."
"Aren't you going to take me?" pleaded Dorothy.
"You'll need some companion, Ozma."
The Princess smiled upon her little friend.
"I see no reason why you should not accompany me,"
was her reply. "Two girls are not very warlike and they
will not suspect us of being on any errand but a kindly
and peaceful one. But, in order to prevent war and
strife between these angry peoples, we must go to them
at once. Let us return immediately to the Emerald City
and prepare to start on our journey early tomorrow
morning."
Glinda was not quite satisfied with this plan, but
could not think of any better way to meet the problem.
She knew that Ozma, with all her gentleness and sweet
disposition, was accustomed to abide by any decision
she had made and could not easily be turned from her
purpose. Moreover she could see no great danger to the
fairy Ruler of Oz in the undertaking, even though the
unknown people she was to visit proved obstinate. But
Dorothy was not a fairy; she was a little girl who had
come from Kansas to live in the Land of Oz. Dorothy
might encounter dangers that to Ozma would be as
nothing but to an "Earth child" would be very serious.
The very fact that Dorothy lived in Oz, and had been
made a Princess by her friend Ozma, prevented her from
being killed or suffering any great bodily pain as long
as she lived in that fairyland. She could not grow big,
either, and would always remain the same little girl
who had come to Oz, unless in some way she left that
fairyland or was spirited away from it. But Dorothy was
a mortal, nevertheless, and might possibly be
destroyed, or hidden where none of her friends could
ever find her. She could, for instance be cut into
pieces, and the pieces, while still alive and free from
pain, could be widely scattered; or she might be buried
deep underground or "destroyed" in other ways by evil
magicians, were she not properly protected. These facts
Glinda was considering while she paced with stately
tread her marble hall.
Finally the good Sorceress paused and drew a ring
from her finger, handing it to Dorothy.
"Wear this ring constantly until your return," she
said to the girl. "If serious danger threatens you,
turn the ring around on your finger once to the right
and another turn to the left. That will ring the alarm
bell in my palace and I will at once come to your
rescue. But do not use the ring unless you are actually
in danger of destruction. While you remain with
Princess Ozma I believe she will be able to protect you
from all lesser ills."
"Thank you, Glinda," responded Dorothy gratefully, as
she placed the ring on her finger. "I'm going to wear
my Magic Belt which I took from the Nome King, too, so
I guess I'll be safe from anything the Skeezers and
Flatheads try to do to me."
Ozma had many arrangements to make before she could
leave her throne and her palace in the Emerald City,
even for a trip of a few days, so she bade goodbye to
Glinda and with Dorothy climbed into the Red Wagon. A
word to the wooden Sawhorse started that astonishing
creature on the return journey, and so swiftly did he
run that Dorothy was unable to talk or do anything but
hold tight to her seat all the way back to the Emerald
City.
Ozma and Dorothy
Residing in Ozma's palace at this time was a live
Scarecrow, a most remarkable and intelligent creature
who had once ruled the Land of Oz for a brief period
and was much loved and respected by all the people.
Once a Munchkin farmer had stuffed an old suit of
clothes with straw and put stuffed boots on the feet
and used a pair of stuffed cotton gloves for hands. The
head of the Scarecrow was a stuffed sack fastened to
the body, with eyes, nose, mouth and ears painted on
the sack. When a hat had been put on the head, the
thing was a good imitation of a man. The farmer placed
the Scarecrow on a pole in his cornfield and it came to
life in a curious manner. Dorothy, who was passing by
the field, was hailed by the live Scarecrow and lifted
him off his pole. He then went with her to the Emerald
City, where the Wizard of Oz gave him some excellent
brains, and the Scarecrow soon became an important
personage.
Ozma considered the Scarecrow one of her best friends
and most loyal subjects, so the morning after her visit
to Glinda she asked him to take her place as Ruler of
the Land of Oz while she was absent on a journey, and
the Scarecrow at once consented without asking any
questions.
Ozma had warned Dorothy to keep their journey a
secret and say nothing to anyone about the Skeezers and
Flatheads until their return, and Dorothy promised to
obey. She longed to tell her girl friends, tiny Trot
and Betsy Bobbin, of the adventure they were
undertaking, but refrained from saying a word on the
subject although both these girls lived with her in
Ozma's palace.
Indeed, only Glinda the Sorceress knew they were
going, until after they had gone, and even the
Sorceress didn't know what their errand might be.
Princess Ozma took the Sawhorse and the Red Wagon,
although she was not sure there was a wagon road all
the way to the Lake of the Skeezers. The Land of Oz is
a pretty big place, surrounded on all sides by a Deadly
Desert which it is impossible to cross, and the Skeezer
Country, according to the map, was in the farthest
northwestern part of Oz, bordering on the north desert.
As the Emerald City was exactly in the center of Oz, it
was no small journey from there to the Skeezers.
Around the Emerald City the country is thickly
settled in every direction, but the farther away you
get from the city the fewer people there are, until
those parts that border on the desert have small
populations. Also those faraway sections are little
known to the Oz people, except in the south, where
Glinda lives and where Dorothy has often wandered on
trips of exploration.
The least known of all is the Gillikin Country, which
harbors many strange bands of people among its
mountains and valleys and forests and streams, and Ozma
was now bound for the most distant part of the Gillikin
Country.
"I am really sorry," said Ozma to Dorothy, as they
rode away in the Red Wagon, "not to know more about the
wonderful Land I rule. It is my duty to be acquainted
with every tribe of people and every strange and hidden
country in all Oz, but I am kept so busy at my palace
making laws and planning for the comforts of those who
live near the Emerald City, that I do not often find
time to make long journeys."
"Well," replied Dorothy, "we'll prob'bly find out a
lot on this trip, and we'll learn all about the
Skeezers and Flatheads, anyhow. Time doesn't make much
diff'rence in the Land of Oz, 'cause we don't grow up,
or get old, or become sick and die, as they do other
places; so, if we explore one place at a time, we'll
by-an'-by know all about every nook and corner in Oz."
Dorothy wore around her waist the Nome King's Magic
Belt, which protected her from harm, and the Magic Ring
which Glinda had given her was on her finger. Ozma had
merely slipped a small silver wand into the bosom of
her gown, for fairies do not use chemicals and herbs
and the tools of wizards and sorcerers to perform their
magic. The Silver Wand was Ozma's one weapon of offense
and defense and by its use she could accomplish many
things.
They had left the Emerald City just at sunrise and
the Sawhorse traveled very swiftly over the roads
towards the north, but in a few hours the wooden animal
had to slacken his pace because the farm houses had
become few and far between and often there were no
paths at all in the direction they wished to follow. At
such times they crossed the fields, avoiding groups of
trees and fording the streams and rivulets whenever
they came to them. But finally they reached a broad
hillside closely covered with scrubby brush, through
which the wagon could not pass.
"It will be difficult even for you and me to get
through without tearing our dresses," said Ozma, "so we
must leave the Sawhorse and the Wagon here until our
return."
"That's all right," Dorothy replied, "I'm tired
riding, anyhow. Do you s'pose, Ozma, we're anywhere
near the Skeezer Country?"
"I cannot tell, Dorothy dear, but I know we've been
going in the right direction, so we are sure to find it
in time."
The scrubby brush was almost like a grove of small
trees, for it reached as high as the heads of the two
girls, neither of whom was very tall. They were obliged
to thread their way in and out, until Dorothy was
afraid they would get lost, and finally they were
halted by a curious thing that barred their further
progress. It was a huge web -- as if woven by gigantic
spiders -- and the delicate, lacy film was fastened
stoutly to the branches of the bushes and continued to
the right and left in the form of a half circle. The
threads of this web were of a brilliant purple color
and woven into numerous artistic patterns, but it
reached from the ground to branches above the heads of
the girls and formed a sort of fence that hedged them
in.
"It doesn't look very strong, though," said Dorothy.
"I wonder if we couldn't break through." She tried but
found the web stronger than it seemed. All her efforts
could not break a single thread.
"We must go back, I think, and try to get around this
peculiar web," Ozma decided.
So they turned to the right and, following the web
found that it seemed to spread in a regular circle. On
and on they went until finally Ozma said they had
returned to the exact spot from which they had started.
"Here is a handkerchief you dropped when we were here
before," she said to Dorothy.
"In that case, they must have built the web behind
us, after we walked into the trap," exclaimed the
little girl.
"True," agreed Ozma, "an enemy has tried to imprison
us."
"And they did it, too," said Dorothy. "I wonder who
it was."
"It's a spider-web, I'm quite sure," returned Ozma,
"but it must be the work of enormous spiders."
"Quite right!" cried a voice behind them. Turning
quickly around they beheld a huge purple spider sitting
not two yards away and regarding them with its small
bright eyes.
Then there crawled from the bushes a dozen more great
purple spiders, which saluted the first one and said:
"The web is finished, O King, and the strangers are
our prisoners."
Dorothy did not like the looks of these spiders at
all. They had big heads, sharp claws, small eyes and
fuzzy hair all over their purple bodies.
"They look wicked," she whispered to Ozma. "What
shall we do?"
Ozma gazed upon the spiders with a serious face.
"What is your object in making us prisoners?" she
inquired.
"We need someone to keep house for us," answered the
Spider King. "There is sweeping and dusting to be done,
and polishing and washing of dishes, and that is work
my people dislike to do. So we decided that if any
strangers came our way we would capture them and make
them our servants."
"I am Princess Ozma, Ruler of all Oz," said the girl
with dignity.
"Well, I am King of all Spiders," was the reply, "and
that makes me your master. Come with me to my palace
and I will instruct you in your work."
"I won't," said Dorothy indignantly. "We won't have
anything to do with you."
"We'll see about that," returned the Spider in a
severe tone, and the next instant he made a dive
straight at Dorothy, opening the claws in his legs as
if to grab and pinch her with the sharp points. But the
girl was wearing her Magic Belt and was not harmed. The
Spider King could not even touch her. He turned swiftly
and made a dash at Ozma, but she held her Magic Wand
over his head and the monster recoiled as if it had
been struck.
"You'd better let us go," Dorothy advised him, "for
you see you can't hurt us."
"So I see," returned the Spider King angrily. "Your
magic is greater than mine. But I'll not help you to
escape. If you can break the magic web my people have
woven you may go; if not you must stay here and
starve." With that the Spider King uttered a peculiar
whistle and all the spiders disappeared.
"There is more magic in my fairyland than I dreamed
of," remarked the beautiful Ozma, with a sigh of regret.
"It seems that my laws have not been obeyed, for even
these monstrous spiders defy me by means of Magic."
"Never mind that now," said Dorothy; "let's see what
we can do to get out of this trap."
They now examined the web with great care and were
amazed at its strength. Although finer than the finest
silken hairs, it resisted all their efforts to work
through, even though both girls threw all their weight
against it.
"We must find some instrument which will cut the
threads of the web," said Ozma, finally. "Let us look
about for such a tool."
So they wandered among the bushes and finally came to
a shallow pool of water, formed by a small bubbling
spring. Dorothy stooped to get a drink and discovered
in the water a green crab, about as big as her hand.
The crab had two big, sharp claws, and as soon as
Dorothy saw them she had an idea that those claws could
save them.
"Come out of the water," she called to the crab; "I
want to talk to you."
Rather lazily the crab rose to the surface and caught
hold of a bit of rock. With his head above the water he
said in a cross voice:
"What do you want?"
"We want you to cut the web of the purple spiders
with your claws, so we can get through it," answered
Dorothy. "You can do that, can't you?"
"I suppose so," replied the crab. "But if I do what
will you give me?"
"What do you wish?" Ozma inquired.
"I wish to be white, instead of green," said the
crab. "Green crabs are very common, and white ones are
rare; besides the purple spiders, which infest this
hillside, are afraid of white crabs. Could you make me
white if I should agree to cut the web for you?"
"Yes," said Ozma, "I can do that easily. And, so you
may know I am speaking the truth, I will change your
color now."
She waved her silver wand over the pool and the crab
instantly became snow-white -- all except his eyes,
which remained black. The creature saw his reflection
in the water and was so delighted that he at once
climbed out of the pool and began moving slowly toward
the web, by backing away from the pool. He moved so
very slowly that Dorothy cried out impatiently: "Dear
me, this will never do!" Caching the crab in her hands
she ran with him to the web.
She had to hold him up even then, so he could reach
with his claws strand after strand of the filmy purple
web, which he was able to sever with one nip.
When enough of the web had been cut to allow them to
pass, Dorothy ran back to the pool and placed the white
crab in the water, after which she rejoined Ozma. They
were just in time to escape through the web, for
several of the purple spiders now appeared, having
discovered that their web had been cut, and had the
girls not rushed through the opening the spiders would
have quickly repaired the cuts and again imprisoned
them.
Ozma and Dorothy ran as fast as they could and
although the angry spiders threw a number of strands of
web after them, hoping to lasso them or entangle them
in the coils, they managed to escape and clamber to the
top of the hill.
The Mist Maidens
From the top of the hill Ozma and Dorothy looked down
into the valley beyond and were surprised to find it
filled with a floating mist that was as dense as smoke.
Nothing in the valley was visible except these rolling
waves of mist, but beyond, on the other side, rose a
grassy hill that appeared quite beautiful.
"Well," said Dorothy, "what are we to do, Ozma? Walk
down into that thick fog, an' prob'bly get lost in it,
or wait till it clears away?"
"I'm not sure it will clear away, however long we
wait," replied Ozma, doubtfully. "If we wish to get on,
I think we must venture into the mist."
"But we can't see where we're going, or what we're
stepping on," protested Dorothy. "There may be
dreadful things mixed up in that fog, an' I'm scared
just to think of wading into it."
Even Ozma seemed to hesitate. She was silent and
thoughtful for a little while, looking at the rolling
drifts that were so gray and forbidding. Finally she
said:
"I believe this is a Mist Valley, where these moist
clouds always remain, for even the sunshine above does
not drive them away. Therefore the Mist Maids must live
here, and they are fairies and should answer my call."
She placed her two hands before her mouth, forming a
hollow with them, and uttered a clear, thrilling, bird-like cry. It floated far out over the mist waves and
presently was answered by a similar sound, as of a far-off echo.
Dorothy was much impressed. She had seen many strange
things since coming to this fairy country, but here was
a new experience. At ordinary times Ozma was just like
any little girl one might chance to meet -- simple,
merry, lovable as could be -- yet with a certain
reserve that lent her dignity in her most joyous moods.
There were times, however, when seated on her throne
and commanding her subjects, or when her fairy powers
were called into use, when Dorothy and all others about
her stood in awe of their lovely girl Ruler and
realized her superiority.
Ozma waited. Presently out from the billows rose
beautiful forms, clothed in fleecy, trailing garments
of gray that could scarcely be distinguished from the
mist. Their hair was mist-color, too; only their
gleaming arms and sweet, pallid faces proved they were
living, intelligent creatures answering the call of a
sister fairy.
Like sea nymphs they rested on the bosom of the
clouds, their eyes turned questioningly upon the two
girls who stood upon the bank. One came quite near and
to her Ozma said:
"Will you please take us to the opposite hillside? We
are afraid to venture into the mist. I am Princess Ozma
of Oz, and this is my friend Dorothy, a Princess of
Oz."
The Mist Maids came nearer, holding out their arms.
Without hesitation Ozma advanced and allowed them to
embrace her and Dorothy plucked up courage to follow.
Very gently the Mist Maids held them. Dorothy thought
the arms were cold and misty -- they didn't seem real
at all -- yet they supported the two girls above the
surface of the billows and floated with them so swiftly
to the green hillside opposite that the girls were
astonished to find themselves set upon the grass before
they realized they had fairly started.
"Thank you!" said Ozma gratefully, and Dorothy also
added her thanks for the service.
The Mist Maids made no answer, but they smiled and
waved their hands in goodbye as again they floated out
into the mist and disappeared from view.
The Magic Tent
"Well," said Dorothy with a laugh, "that was easier
than I expected. It's worth while, sometimes, to be a
real fairy. But I wouldn't like to be that kind, and
live in a dreadful fog all the time."
They now climbed the bank and found before them a
delightful plain that spread for miles in all
directions. Fragrant wild flowers were scattered
throughout the grass; there were bushes bearing lovely
blossoms and luscious fruits; now and then a group of
stately trees added to the beauty of the landscape. But
there were no dwellings or signs of life.
The farther side of the plain was bordered by a row
of palms, and just in front of the palms rose a queerly
shaped hill that towered above the plain like a
mountain. The sides of this hill were straight up and
down; it was oblong in shape and the top seemed flat
and level.
"Oh, ho!" cried Dorothy; "I'll bet that's the
mountain Glinda told us of, where the Flatheads live."
"If it is," replied Ozma, "the Lake of the Skeezers
must be just beyond the line of palm trees. Can you
walk that far, Dorothy?"
"Of course, in time," was the prompt answer. "I'm
sorry we had to leave the Sawhorse and the Red Wagon
behind us, for they'd come in handy just now; but with
the end of our journey in sight a tramp across these
pretty green fields won't tire us a bit."
It was a longer tramp than they suspected, however,
and night overtook them before they could reach the
flat mountain. So Ozma proposed they camp for the night
and Dorothy was quite ready to approve. She didn't like
to admit to her friend she was tired, but she told
herself that her legs "had prickers in 'em," meaning
they had begun to ache.
Usually when Dorothy started on a journey of
exploration or adventure, she carried with her a basket
of food, and other things that a traveler in a strange
country might require, but to go away with Ozma was
quite a different thing, as experience had taught her.
The fairy Ruler of Oz only needed her silver wand --
tipped at one end with a great sparkling emerald -- to
provide through its magic all that they might need.
Therefore Ozma, having halted with her companion and
selected a smooth, grassy spot on the plain, waved her
wand in graceful curves and chanted some mystic words
in her sweet voice, and in an instant a handsome tent
appeared before them. The canvas was striped purple and
white, and from the center pole fluttered the royal
banner of Oz.
"Come, dear," said Ozma, taking Dorothy's hand, "I am
hungry and I'm sure you must be also; so let us go in
and have our feast."
On entering the tent they found a table set for two,
with snowy linen, bright silver and sparkling
glassware, a vase of roses in the center and many
dishes of delicious food, some smoking hot, waiting to
satisfy their hunger. Also, on either side of the tent
were beds, with satin sheets, warm blankets and pillows
filled with swansdown. There were chairs, too, and
tall lamps that lighted the interior of the tent with a
soft, rosy glow.
Dorothy, resting herself at her fairy friend's
command, and eating her dinner with unusual enjoyment,
thought of the wonders of magic. If one were a fairy
and knew the secret laws of nature and the mystic words
and ceremonies that commanded those laws, then a simple
wave of a silver wand would produce instantly all that
men work hard and anxiously for through weary years.
And Dorothy wished in her kindly, innocent heart, that
all men and women could be fairies with silver wands,
and satisfy all their needs without so much work and
worry, for then, she imagined, they would have all
their working hours to be happy in. But Ozma, looking
into her friend's face and reading those thoughts, gave
a laugh and said:
"No, no, Dorothy, that wouldn't do at all. Instead of
happiness your plan would bring weariness to the world.
If every one could wave a wand and have his wants
fulfilled there would be little to wish for. There
would be no eager striving to obtain the difficult, for
nothing would then be difficult, and the pleasure of
earning something longed for, and only to be secured by
hard work and careful thought, would be utterly lost.
There would be nothing to do you see, and no interest
in life and in our fellow creatures. That is all that
makes life worth our while -- to do good deeds and to
help those less fortunate than ourselves."
"Well, you're a fairy, Ozma. Aren't you happy?" asked
Dorothy
"Yes, dear, because I can use my fairy powers to make
others happy. Had I no kingdom to rule, and no subjects
to look after, I would be miserable. Also, you must
realize that while I am a more powerful fairy than any
other inhabitant of Oz, I am not as powerful as Glinda
the Sorceress, who has studied many arts of magic that
I know nothing of. Even the little Wizard of Oz can do
some things I am unable to accomplish, while I can
accomplish things unknown to the Wizard. This is to
explain that I'm not all-powerful, by any means. My
magic is simply fairy magic, and not sorcery or
wizardry."
"All the same," said Dorothy, "I'm mighty glad you
could make this tent appear, with our dinners and beds
all ready for us."
Ozma smiled.
"Yes, it is indeed wonderful," she agreed. "Not all
fairies know that sort of magic, but some fairies can
do magic that fills me with astonishment. I think that
is what makes us modest and unassuming -- the fact that
our magic arts are divided, some being given each of
us. I'm glad I don't know everything, Dorothy, and that
there still are things in both nature and in wit for me
to marvel at."
Dorothy couldn't quite understand this, so she said
nothing more on the subject and presently had a new
reason to marvel. For when they had quite finished
their meal table and contents disappeared in a flash.
"No dishes to wash, Ozma!" she said with a laugh. "I
guess you'd make a lot of folks happy if you could
teach 'em just that one trick."
For an hour Ozma told stories, and talked with
Dorothy about various people in whom they were
interested. And then it was bedtime, and they undressed
and crept into their soft beds and fell asleep almost
as soon as their heads touched their pillows.
The Magic Stairway
The flat mountain looked much nearer in the clear
light of the morning sun, but Dorothy and Ozma knew
there was a long tramp before them, even yet. They
finished dressing only to find a warm, delicious
breakfast awaiting them, and having eaten they left the
tent and started toward the mountain which was their
first goal. After going a little way Dorothy looked
back and found that the fairy tent had entirely
disappeared. She was not surprised, for she knew this
would happen.
"Can't your magic give us a horse an' wagon, or an
automobile?" inquired Dorothy.
"No, dear; I'm sorry that such magic is beyond my
power," confessed her fairy friend.
"Perhaps Glinda could," said Dorothy thoughtfully.
"Glinda has a stork chariot that carries her through
the air," said Ozma, "but even our great Sorceress
cannot conjure up other modes of travel. Don't forget
what I told you last night, that no one is powerful
enough to do everything."
"Well, I s'pose I ought to know that, having lived so
long in the Land of Oz," replied Dorothy; "but I can't
do any magic at all, an' so I can't figure out e'zactly
how you an' Glinda an' the Wizard do it."
"Don't try," laughed Ozma. "But you have at least one
magical art, Dorothy: you know the trick of winning all
hearts."
"No, I don't," said Dorothy earnestly. "If I really
can do it, Ozma, I am sure I don't know how I do it."
It took them a good two hours to reach the foot of
the round, flat mountain, and then they found the
sides so steep that they were like the wall of a house.
"Even my purple kitten couldn't climb 'em," remarked
Dorothy, gazing upward.
"But there is some way for the Flatheads to get down
and up again," declared Ozma; "otherwise they couldn't
make war with the Skeezers, or even meet them and
quarrel with them."
"That's so, Ozma. Let's walk around a ways; perhaps
we'll find a ladder or something."
They walked quite a distance, for it was a big
mountain, and as they circled around it and came to the
side that faced the palm trees, they suddenly
discovered an entrance way cut out of the rock wall.
This entrance was arched overhead and not very deep
because it merely led to a short flight of stone
stairs.
"Oh, we've found a way to the top at last," announced
Ozma, and the two girls turned and walked straight
toward the entrance. Suddenly they bumped against
something and stood still, unable to proceed farther.
"Dear me!" exclaimed Dorothy, rubbing her nose, which
had struck something hard, although she could not see
what it was; "this isn't as easy as it looks. What has
stopped us, Ozma? Is it magic of some sort?"
Ozma was feeling around, her bands outstretched
before her.
"Yes, dear, it is magic," she replied. "The Flatheads
had to have a way from their mountain top from the
plain below, but to prevent enemies from rushing up the
stairs to conquer them, they have built, at a small
distance before the entrance a wall of solid stone, the
stones being held in place by cement, and then they
made the wall invisible."
"I wonder why they did that?" mused Dorothy. "A wall
would keep folks out anyhow, whether it could be seen
or not, so there wasn't any use making it invisible.
Seems to me it would have been better to have left it
solid, for then no one would have seen the entrance
behind it. Now anybody can see the entrance, as we did.
And prob'bly anybody that tries to go up the stairs
gets bumped, as we did."
Ozma made no reply at once. Her face was grave and
thoughtful.
"I think I know the reason for making the wall
invisible," she said after a while. "The Flatheads use
the stairs for coming down and going up. If there was a
solid stone wall to keep them from reaching the plain
they would themselves be imprisoned by the wall. So
they had to leave some place to get around the wall,
and, if the wall was visible, all strangers or enemies
would find the place to go around it and then the wall
would be useless. So the Flatheads cunningly made their
wall invisible, believing that everyone who saw the
entrance to the mountain would walk straight toward it,
as we did, and find it impossible to go any farther. I
suppose the wall is really high and thick, and can't be
broken through, so those who find it in their way are
obliged to go away again."
"Well," said Dorothy, "if there's a way around the
wall, where is it?"
"We must find it," returned Ozma, and began feeling
her way along the wall. Dorothy followed and began to
get discouraged when Ozma had walked nearly a quarter
of a mile away from the entrance. But now the invisible
wall curved in toward the side of the mountain and
suddenly ended, leaving just space enough between the
wall and the mountain for an ordinary person to pass
through.
The girls went in, single file, and Ozma explained
that they were now behind the barrier and could go
back to the entrance. They met no further obstructions.
"Most people, Ozma, wouldn't have figured this thing
out the way you did," remarked Dorothy. "If I'd been
alone the invisible wall surely would have stumped me."
Reaching the entrance they began to mount the stone
stairs. They went up ten stairs and then down five
stairs, following a passage cut from the rock. The
stairs were just wide enough for the two girls to walk
abreast, arm in arm. At the bottom of the five stairs
the passage turned to the right, and they ascended ten
more stairs, only to find at the top of the flight five
stairs leading straight down again. Again the passage
turned abruptly, this time to the left, and ten more
stairs led upward.
The passage was now quite dark, for they were in the
heart of the mountain and all daylight had been shut
out by the turns of the passage. However, Ozma drew her
silver wand from her bosom and the great jewel at its
end gave out a lustrous, green-tinted light which
lighted the place well enough for them to see their way
plainly.
Ten steps up, five steps down, and a turn, this way
or that. That was the program, and Dorothy figured that
they were only gaining five stairs upward each trip
that they made.
"Those Flatheads must be funny people," she said to
Ozma. "They don't seem to do anything in a bold
straightforward manner. In making this passage they
forced everyone to walk three times as far as is
necessary. And of course this trip is just as tiresome
to the Flatheads as it is to other folks."
"That is true," answered Ozma; "yet it is a clever
arrangement to prevent their being surprised by
intruders. Every time we reach the tenth step of a
flight, the pressure of our feet on the stone makes a
bell ring on top of the mountain, to warn the Flatheads
of our coming."
"How do you know that?" demanded Dorothy, astonished.
"I've heard the bell ever since we started," Ozma
told her. "You could not hear it, I know, but when I am
holding my wand in my hand I can hear sounds a great
distance off."
"Do you hear anything on top of the mountain 'cept
the bell?" inquired Dorothy
"Yes. The people are calling to one another in alarm
and many footsteps are approaching the place where we
will reach the flat top of the mountain."
This made Dorothy feel somewhat anxious. "I'd thought
we were going to visit just common, ordinary people,"
she remarked, "but they're pretty clever, it seems, and
they know some kinds of magic, too. They may be
dangerous, Ozma. P'raps we'd better stayed at home."
Finally the upstairs-and-downstairs passage seemed
coming to an end, for daylight again appeared ahead of
the two girls and Ozma replaced her wand in the bosom
of her gown. The last ten steps brought them to the
surface, where they found themselves surrounded by
such a throng of queer people that for a time they
halted, speechless, and stared into the faces that
confronted them.
Dorothy knew at once why these mountain people were
called Flatheads. Their heads were really flat on top,
as if they had been cut off just above the eyes and
ears. Also the heads were bald, with no hair on top at
all, and the ears were big and stuck straight out, and
the noses were small and stubby, while the mouths of
the Flatheads were well shaped and not unusual. Their
eyes were perhaps their best feature, being large and
bright and a deep violet in color.
The costumes of the Flatheads were all made of metals
dug from their mountain. Small gold, silver, tin and
iron discs, about the size of pennies, and very thin,
were cleverly wired together and made to form knee
trousers and jackets for the men and skirts and waists
for the women. The colored metals were skillfully mixed
to form stripes and checks of various sorts, so that
the costumes were quite gorgeous and reminded Dorothy
of pictures she had seen of Knights of old clothed
armor.
Aside from their flat heads, these people were not
really bad looking. The men were armed with bows and
arrows and had small axes of steel stuck in their metal
belts. They wore no hats nor ornaments.
Flathead Mountain
When they saw that the intruders on their mountain
were only two little girls, the Flatheads grunted with
satisfaction and drew back, permitting them to see what
the mountain top looked like. It was shaped like a
saucer, so that the houses and other buildings -- all
made of rocks -- could not be seen over the edge by
anyone standing in the plain below.
But now a big fat Flathead stood before the girls and
in a gruff voice demanded:
"What are you doing here? Have the Skeezers sent you
to spy upon us?"
"I am Princess Ozma, Ruler of all the Land of Oz."
"Well, I've never heard of the Land of Oz, so you may
be what you claim," returned the Flathead.
"This is the Land of Oz -- part of it, anyway,"
exclaimed Dorothy. "So Princess Ozma rules you Flathead
people, as well as all the other people in Oz."
The man laughed, and all the others who stood around
laughed, too. Some one in the crowd called:
"She'd better not tell the Supreme Dictator about
ruling the Flatheads. Eh, friends?"
"No, indeed!" they all answered in positive tones.
"Who is your Supreme Dictator?" answered Ozma.
"I think I'll let him tell you that himself,"
answered the man who had first spoken. "You have broken
our laws by coming here; and whoever you are the
Supreme Dictator must fix your punishment. Come along
with me."
He started down a path and Ozma and Dorothy followed
him without protest, as they wanted to see the most
important person in this queer country. The houses they
passed seemed pleasant enough and each had a little
yard in which were flowers and vegetables. Walls of
rock separated the dwellings, and all the paths were
paved with smooth slabs of rock. This seemed their only
building material and they utilized it cleverly for
every purpose.
Directly in the center of the great saucer stood a
larger building which the Flathead informed the girls
was the palace of the Supreme Dictator. He led them
through an entrance hall into a big reception room,
where they sat upon stone benches and awaited the
coming of the Dictator. Pretty soon he entered from
another room -- a rather lean and rather old Flathead,
dressed much like the others of this strange race, and
only distinguished from them by the sly and cunning
expression of his face. He kept his eyes half closed
and looked through the slits of them at Ozma and
Dorothy, who rose to receive him.
"Are you the Supreme Dictator of the Flatheads?"
inquired Ozma.
"Yes, that's me," he said, rubbing his hands slowly
together. "My word is law. I'm the head of the
Flatheads on this flat headland."
"I am Princess Ozma of Oz, and I have come from the
Emerald City to --"
"Stop a minute," interrupted the Dictator, and turned
to the man who had brought the girls there. "Go away,
Dictator Felo Flathead!" he commanded. "Return to your
duty and guard the Stairway. I will look after these
strangers." The man bowed and departed, and Dorothy
asked wonderingly:
"Is he a Dictator, too?"
"Of course," was the answer. "Everybody here is a
dictator of something or other. They're all office
holders. That's what keeps them contented. But I'm the
Supreme Dictator of all, and I'm elected once a year.
This is a democracy, you know, where the people are
allowed to vote for their rulers. A good many others
would like to be Supreme Dictator, but as I made a law
that I am always to count the votes myself, I am always
elected."
"What is your name?" asked Ozma.
"I am called the Su-dic, which is short for Supreme
Dictator. I sent that man away because the moment you
mentioned Ozma of Oz, and the Emerald City, I knew who
you are. I suppose I'm the only Flathead that ever
heard of you, but that's because I have more brains
than the rest."
Dorothy was staring hard at the Su-dic.
"I don't see how you can have any brains at all," she
remarked, "because the part of your head is gone where
brains are kept."
"I don't blame you for thinking that," he said. "Once
the Flatheads had no brains because, as you say, there
is no upper part to their heads, to hold brains. But
long, long ago a band of fairies flew over this country
and made it all a fairyland, and when they came to the
Flatheads the fairies were sorry to find them all very
stupid and quite unable to think. So, as there was no
good place in their bodies in which to put brains the
Fairy Queen gave each one of us a nice can of brains to
carry in his pocket and that made us just as
intelligent as other people. See," he continued, "here
is one of the cans of brains the fairies gave us." He
took from a pocket a bright tin can having a pretty red
label on it which said: Concentrated Brains, Extra
Quality."
"And does every Flathead have the same kind of
brains?" asked Dorothy.
"Yes, they're all alike. Here's another can." From
another pocket he produced a second can of brains.
"Did the fairies give you a double supply?" inquired
Dorothy.
"No, but one of the Flatheads thought he wanted to be
the Su-dic and tried to get my people to rebel against
me, so I punished him by taking away his brains. One
day my wife scolded me severely, so I took away her can
of brains. She didn't like that and went out and robbed
several women of their brains. Then I made a law that
if anyone stole another's brains, or even tried to
borrow them, he would forfeit his own brains to the Su-dic. So each one is content with his own canned brains
and my wife and I are the only ones on the mountain
with more than one can. I have three cans and that
makes me very clever -- so clever that I'm a good
Sorcerer, if I do say it myself. My poor wife had four
cans of brains and became a remarkable witch, but alas!
that was before those terrible enemies, the Skeezers,
transformed her into a Golden Pig."
"Good gracious!" cried Dorothy; "is your wife really
a Golden Pig?"
"She is. The Skeezers did it and so I have declared
war on them. In revenge for making my wife a Pig I
intend to ruin their Magic Island and make the Skeezers
the slaves of the Flatheads!"
The Su-dic was very angry now; his eyes flashed and
his face took on a wicked and fierce expression. But
Ozma said to him, very sweetly and in a friendly voice:
"I am sorry to hear this. Will you please tell me
more about your troubles with the Skeezers? Then
perhaps I can help you."
She was only a girl, but there was dignity in her
pose and speech which impressed the Su-dic.
"If you are really Princess Ozma of Oz," the Flathead
said, "you are one of that band of fairies who, under
Queen Lurline, made all Oz a Fairyland. I have heard
that Lurline left one of her own fairies to rule Oz,
and gave the fairy the name of Ozma."
"If you knew this why did you not come to me at the
Emerald City and tender me your loyalty and obedience?"
asked the Ruler of Oz.
"Well, I only learned the fact lately, and I've been
too busy to leave home," he explained, looking at the
floor instead of into Ozma's eyes. She knew he had
spoken a falsehood, but only said:
"Why did you quarrel with the Skeezers?"
"It was this way," began the Su-dic, glad to change
the subject. "We Flatheads love fish, and as we have no
fish on this mountain we would sometimes go to the Lake
of the Skeezers to catch fish. This made the Skeezers
angry, for they declared the fish in their lake
belonged to them and were under their protection and
they forbade us to catch them. That was very mean and
unfriendly in the Skeezers, you must admit, and when we
paid no attention to their orders they set a guard on
the shore of the lake to prevent our fishing.
"Now, my wife, Rora Flathead, having four cans of
brains, had become a wonderful witch, and fish being
brain food, she loved to eat fish better than any one
of us. So she vowed she would destroy every fish in the
lake, unless the Skeezers let us catch what we wanted.
They defied us, so Rora prepared a kettleful of magic
poison and went down to the lake one night to dump it
all in the water and poison the fish. It was a clever
idea, quite worthy of my dear wife, but the Skeezer
Queen -- a young lady named Coo-ee-oh -- hid on the
bank of the lake and taking Rora unawares, transformed
her into a Golden Pig. The poison was spilled on the
ground and wicked Queen Coo-ee-oh, not content with her
cruel transformation, even took away my wife's four
cans of brains, so she is now a common grunting pig
without even brains enough to know her own name."
"Then," said Ozma thoughtfully, "the Queen of the
Skeezers must be a Sorceress."
"Yes," said the Su-dic, "but she doesn't know much
magic, after all. She is not as powerful as Rora
Flathead was, nor half as powerful as I am now, as
Queen Coo-ee-oh will discover when we fight our great
battle and destroy her."
"The Golden Pig can't be a witch any more, of
course," observed Dorothy.
"No; even had Queen Coo-ee-oh left her the four cans
of brains, poor Rora, in a pig's shape, couldn't do any
witchcraft. A witch has to use her fingers, and a pig
has only cloven hoofs."
"It seems a sad story," was Ozma's comment, "and all
the trouble arose because the Flatheads wanted fish
that did not belong to them."
"As for that," said the Su-dic, again angry, "I made
a law that any of my people could catch fish in the
Lake of the Skeezers, whenever they wanted to. So the
trouble was through the Skeezers defying my law."
"You can only make laws to govern your own people,"
asserted Ozma sternly. "I, alone, am empowered to make
laws that must be obeyed by all the peoples of Oz."
"Pooh!" cried the Su-dic scornfully. "You can't make
me obey your laws, I assure you. I know the extent of
your powers, Princess Ozma of Oz, and I know that I am
more powerful than you are. To prove it I shall keep
you and your companion prisoners in this mountain until
after we have fought and conquered the Skeezers. Then,
if you promise to be good, I may let you go home
again."
Dorothy was amazed by this effrontery and defiance of
the beautiful girl Ruler of Oz, whom all until now had
obeyed without question. But Ozma, still unruffled and
dignified, looked at the Su-dic and said:
"You did not mean that. You are angry and speak
unwisely, without reflection. I came here from my
palace in the Emerald City to prevent war and to make
peace between you and the Skeezers. I do not approve of
Queen Coo-ee-oh's action in transforming your wife Rora
into a pig, nor do I approve of Rora's cruel attempt to
poison the fishes in the lake. No one has the right to
work magic in my dominions without my consent, so the
Flatheads and the Skeezers have both broken my laws --
which must be obeyed."
"If you want to make peace," said the Su-dic, "make
the Skeezers restore my wife to her proper form and
give back her four cans of brains. Also make them agree
to allow us to catch fish in their lake."
"No," returned Ozma, "I will not do that, for it
would be unjust. I will have the Golden Pig again
transformed into your wife Rora, and give her one can
of brains, but the other three cans must be restored to
those she robbed. Neither may you catch fish in the
Lake of the Skeezers, for it is their lake and the fish
belong to them. This arrangement is just and honorable,
and you must agree to it."
"Never!" cried the Su-dic. Just then a pig came
running into the room, uttering dismal grunts. It was
made of solid gold, with joints at the bends of the
legs and in the neck and jaws. The Golden Pig's eyes
were rubies, and its teeth were polished ivory.
"There!" said the Su-dic, "gaze on the evil work of
Queen Coo-ee-oh, and then say if you can prevent my
making war on the Skeezers. That grunting beast was
once my wife -- the most beautiful Flathead on our
mountain and a skillful witch. Now look at her!"
"Fight the Skeezers, fight the Skeezers, fight the
Skeezers!" grunted the Golden Pig.
"I will fight the Skeezers," exclaimed the Flathead
chief, "and if a dozen Ozmas of Oz forbade me I would
fight just the same."
"Not if I can prevent it!" asserted Ozma.
"You can't prevent it. But since you threaten me,
I'll have you confined in the bronze prison until the
war is over," said the Su-dic. He whistled and four
stout Flatheads, armed with axes and spears, entered
the room and saluted him. Turning to the men he said:
"Take these two girls, bind them with wire ropes and
cast them into the bronze prison."
The four men bowed low and one of them asked:
"Where are the two girls, most noble Su-dic?"
The Su-dic turned to where Ozma and Dorothy had stood
but they had vanished!
The Magic Isle
Ozma, seeing it was useless to argue with the Supreme
Dictator of the Flatheads. had been considering how
best to escape from his power. She realized that his
sorcery might be difficult to overcome, and when he
threatened to cast Dorothy and her into a bronze prison
she slipped her hand into her bosom and grasped her
silver wand. With the other hand she grasped the hand
of Dorothy, but these motions were so natural that the
Su-dic did not notice them. Then when he turned to meet
his four soldiers, Ozma instantly rendered both herself
and Dorothy invisible and swiftly led her companion
around the group of Flatheads and out of the room. As
they reached the entry and descended the stone steps,
Ozma whispered:
"Let us run, dear! We are invisible, so no one will
see us."
Dorothy understood and she was a good runner. Ozma
had marked the place where the grand stairway that led
to the plain was located, so they made directly for it.
Some people were in the paths but these they dodged
around. One or two Flatheads heard the pattering of
footsteps of the girls on the stone pavement and
stopped with bewildered looks to gaze around them, but
no one interfered with the invisible fugitives.
The Su-dic had lost no time in starting the chase. He
and his men ran so fast that they might have overtaken
the girls before they reached the stairway had not the
Golden Pig suddenly run across their path. The Su-dic
tripped over the pig and fell flat, and his four men
tripped over him and tumbled in a heap. Before they
could scramble up and reach the mouth of the passage it
was too late to stop the two girls.
There was a guard on each side of the stairway, but
of course they did not see Ozma and Dorothy as they
sped past and descended the steps. Then they had to go
up five steps and down another ten, and so on, in the
same manner in which they had climbed to the top of the
mountain. Ozma lighted their way with her wand and they
kept on without relaxing their speed until they reached
the bottom. Then they ran to the right and turned the
corner of the invisible wall just as the Su-dic and his
followers rushed out of the arched entrance and looked
around in an attempt to discover the fugitives.
Ozma now knew they were safe, so she told Dorothy to
stop and both of them sat down on the grass until they
could breathe freely and become rested from their mad
flight.
As for the Su-dic, he realized he was foiled and soon
turned and climbed his stairs again. He was very angry
-- angry with Ozma and angry with himself -- because,
now that he took time to think, he remembered that he
knew very well the art of making people invisible, and
visible again, and if he had only thought of it in time
he could have used his magic knowledge to make the
girls visible and so have captured them easily.
However, it was now too late for regrets and he
determined to make preparations at once to march all
his forces against the Skeezers.
"What shall we do next?" asked Dorothy, when they
were rested.
"Let us find the Lake of the Skeezers," replied Ozma.
"From what that dreadful Su-dic said I imagine the
Skeezers are good people and worthy of our friendship,
and if we go to them we may help them to defeat the
Flatheads."
"I s'pose we can't stop the war now," remarked
Dorothy reflectively, as they walked toward the row of
palm trees.
"No; the Su-dic is determined to fight the Skeezers,
so all we can do is to warn them of their danger and
help them as much as possible."
"Of course you'll punish the Flatheads," said
Dorothy.
"Well, I do not think the Flathead people are as much
to blame as their Supreme Dictator," was the answer.
"If he is removed from power and his unlawful magic
taken from him, the people will probably be good and
respect the laws of the Land of Oz, and live at peace
with all their neighbors in the future."
"I hope so," said Dorothy with a sigh of doubt
The palms were not far from the mountain and the
girls reached them after a brisk walk. The huge trees
were set close together, in three rows, and had been
planted so as to keep people from passing them, but the
Flatheads had cut a passage through this barrier and
Ozma found the path and led Dorothy to the other side.
Beyond the palms they discovered a very beautiful
scene. Bordered by a green lawn was a great lake fully
a mile from shore to shore, the waters of which were
exquisitely blue and sparkling, with little wavelets
breaking its smooth surface where the breezes touched
it. In the center of this lake appeared a lovely
island, not of great extent but almost entirely covered
by a huge round building with glass walls and a high
glass dome which glittered brilliantly in the sunshine.
Between the glass building and the edge of the island
was no grass, flowers or shrubbery, but only an expanse
of highly polished white marble. There were no boats on
either shore and no signs of life could be seen
anywhere on the island.
"Well," said Dorothy, gazing wistfully at the island,
we've found the Lake of the Skeezers and their Magic
Isle. I guess the Skeezers are in that big glass
palace, but we can't get at 'em."
Queen Coo-ee-oh
Princess Ozma considered the situation gravely. Then
she tied her handkerchief to her wand and, standing at
the water's edge, waved the handkerchief like a flag,
as a signal. For a time they could observe no response.
"I don't see what good that will do," said Dorothy.
"Even if the Skeezers are on that island and see us,
and know we're friends, they haven't any boats to come
and get us."
But the Skeezers didn't need boats, as the girls soon
discovered. For on a sudden an opening appeared at the
base of the palace and from the opening came a slender
shaft of steel, reaching out slowly but steadily across
the water in the direction of the place where they
stood. To the girls this steel arrangement looked like
a triangle, with the base nearest the water. It came
toward them in the form of an arch, stretching out from
the palace wall until its end reached the bank and
rested there, while the other end still remained on the
island.
Then they saw that it was a bridge, consisting of a
steel footway just broad enough to walk on, and two
slender guide rails, one on either side, which were
connected with the footway by steel bars. The bridge
looked rather frail and Dorothy feared it would not
bear their weight, but Ozma at once called, "Come on!"
and started to walk across, holding fast to the rail on
either side. So Dorothy summoned her courage and
followed after. Before Ozma had taken three steps she
halted and so forced Dorothy to halt, for the bridge
was again moving and returning to the island.
"We need not walk after all," said Ozma. So they
stood still in their places and let the steel bridge
draw them onward. Indeed, the bridge drew them well
into the glass-domed building which covered the island,
and soon they found themselves standing in a marble
room where two handsomely dressed young men stood on a
platform to receive them.
Ozma at once stepped from the end of the bridge to
the marble platform, followed by Dorothy, and then the
bridge disappeared with a slight clang of steel and a
marble slab covered the opening from which it had
emerged.
The two young men bowed profoundly to Ozma, and one
of them said:
"Queen Coo-ee-oh bids you welcome, O Strangers. Her
Majesty is waiting to receive you in her palace."
"Lead on," replied Ozma with dignity.
But instead of "leading on," the platform of marble
began to rise, carrying them upward through a square
hole above which just fitted it. A moment later they
found themselves within the great glass dome that
covered almost all of the island.
Within this dome was a little village, with houses,
streets, gardens and parks. The houses were of colored
marbles, prettily designed, with many stained-glass
windows, and the streets and gardens seemed well cared
for. Exactly under the center of the lofty dome was a
small park filled with brilliant flowers, with an
elaborate fountain, and facing this park stood a
building larger and more imposing than the others.
Toward this building the young men escorted Ozma and
Dorothy.
On the streets and in the doorways or open windows of
the houses were men, women and children, all richly
dressed. These were much like other people in different
parts of the Land of Oz, except that instead of seeming
merry and contented they all wore expressions of much
solemnity or of nervous irritation. They had beautiful
homes, splendid clothes, and ample food, but Dorothy at
once decided something was wrong with their lives and
that they were not happy. She said nothing, however,
but looked curiously at the Skeezers.
At the entrance of the palace Ozma and Dorothy were
met by two other young men, in uniform and armed with
queer weapons that seemed about halfway between pistols
and guns, but were like neither. Their conductors bowed
and left them, and the two in uniforms led the girls
into the palace.
In a beautiful throne room, surrounded by a dozen or
more young men and women, sat the Queen of the
Skeezers, Coo-ee-oh. She was a girl who looked older
than Ozma or Dorothy -- fifteen or sixteen, at least --
and although she was elaborately dressed as if she were
going to a ball she was too thin and plain of feature
to be pretty. But evidently Queen Coo-ee-oh did not
realize this fact, for her air and manner betrayed her
as proud and haughty and with a high regard for her own
importance. Dorothy at once decided she was "snippy"
and that she would not like Queen Coo-ee-oh as a
companion.
The Queen's hair was as black as her skin was white
and her eyes were black, too. The eyes, as she calmly
examined Ozma and Dorothy, had a suspicious and
unfriendly look in them, but she said quietly:
"I know who you are, for I have consulted my Magic
Oracle, which told me that one calls herself Princess
Ozma, the Ruler of all the Land of Oz, and the other is
Princess Dorothy of Oz, who came from a country called
Kansas. I know nothing of the Land of Oz, and I know
nothing of Kansas."
"Why, this is the Land of Oz!" cried Dorothy. "It's a
part of the Land of Oz, anyhow, whether you know it or
not."
"Oh, in-deed!" answered Queen Coo-ee-oh, scornfully.
"I suppose you will claim next that this Princess Ozma,
ruling the Land of Oz, rules me!"
"Of course," returned Dorothy. "There's no doubt of
it."
The Queen turned to Ozma.
"Do you dare make such a claim?" she asked.
By this time Ozma had made up her mind as to the
character of this haughty and disdainful creature,
whose self-pride evidently led her to believe herself
superior to all others.
"I did not come here to quarrel with your Majesty,"
said the girl Ruler of Oz, quietly. "What and who I am
is well established, and my authority comes from the
Fairy Queen Lurline, of whose band I was a member when
Lurline made all Oz a Fairyland. There are several
countries and several different peoples in this broad
land, each of which has its separate rulers, Kings,
Emperors and Queens. But all these render obedience to
my laws and acknowledge me as the supreme Ruler."
"If other Kings and Queens are fools that does not
interest me in the least," replied Coo-ee-oh,
disdainfully. "In the Land of the Skeezers I alone am
supreme. You are impudent to think I would defer to you
-- or to anyone else."
"Let us not speak of this now, please," answered
Ozma. "Your island is in danger, for a powerful foe is
preparing to destroy it."
"Pah! The Flatheads. I do not fear them."
"Their Supreme Dictator is a Sorcerer."
"My magic is greater than his. Let the Flatheads
come! They will never return to their barren mountain-top. I will see to that."
Ozma did not like this attitude, for it meant that
the Skeezers were eager to fight the Flatheads, and
Ozma's object in coming here was to prevent fighting
and induce the two quarrelsome neighbors to make peace.
She was also greatly disappointed in Coo-ee-oh, for the
reports of Su-dic had led her to imagine the Queen more
just and honorable than were the Flatheads. Indeed Ozma
reflected that the girl might be better at heart than
her self-pride and overbearing manner indicated, and in
any event it would be wise not to antagonize her but to
try to win her friendship.
"I do not like wars, your Majesty," said Ozma. "In
the Emerald City, where I rule thousands of people, and
in the countries near to the Emerald City, where
thousands more acknowledge my rule, there is no army at
all, because there is no quarreling and no need to
fight. If differences arise between my people, they
come to me and I judge the cases and award justice to
all. So, when I learned there might be war between two
faraway people of Oz, I came here to settle the dispute
and adjust the quarrel."
"No one asked you to come," declared Queen Coo-ee-oh.
"It is my business to settle this dispute, not yours.
You say my island is a part of the Land of Oz, which
you rule, but that is all nonsense, for I've never
heard of the Land of Oz, nor of you. You say you are a
fairy, and that fairies gave you command over me. I
don't believe it! What I do believe is that you are an
impostor and have come here to stir up trouble among my
people, who are already becoming difficult to manage.
You two girls may even be spies of the vile Flatheads,
for all I know, and may be trying to trick me. But
understand this," she added, proudly rising from her
jeweled throne to confront them, "I have magic powers
greater than any fairy possesses, and greater than any
Flathead possesses. I am a Krumbic Witch -- the only
Krumbic Witch in the world -- and I fear the magic of
no other creature that exists! You say you rule
thousands. I rule one hundred and one Skeezers. But
every one of them trembles at my word. Now that Ozma of
Oz and Princess Dorothy are here, I shall rule one
hundred and three subjects, for you also shall bow
before my power. More than that, in ruling you I also
rule the thousands you say you rule."
Dorothy was very indignant at this speech.
"I've got a pink kitten that sometimes talks like
that," she said, "but after I give her a good whipping
she doesn't think she's so high and mighty after all.
If you only knew who Ozma is you'd be scared to death
to talk to her like that!"
Queen Coo-ee-oh gave the girl a supercilious look.
Then she turned again to Ozma.
"I happen to know," said she, "that the Flatheads
intend to attack us tomorrow, but we are ready for
them. Until the battle is over, I shall keep you two
strangers prisoners on my island, from which there is
no chance for you to escape."
She turned and looked around the band of courtiers
who stood silently around her throne.
"Lady Aurex," she continued, singling out one of the
young women, "take these children to your house and
care for them, giving them food and lodging. You may
allow them to wander anywhere under the Great Dome, for
they are harmless. After I have attended to the
Flatheads I will consider what next to do with these
foolish girls."
She resumed her seat and the Lady Aurex bowed low and
said in a humble manner:
"I obey your Majesty's commands." Then to Ozma and
Dorothy she added, "Follow me," and turned to leave the
throne room.
Dorothy looked to see what Ozma would do. To her
surprise and a little to her disappointment Ozma turned
and followed Lady Aurex. So Dorothy trailed after them,
but not without giving a parting, haughty look toward
Queen Coo-ee-oh, who had her face turned the other way
and did not see the disapproving look
Lady Aurex
Lady Aurex led Ozma and Dorothy along a street to a
pretty marble house near to one edge of the great glass
dome that covered the village. She did not speak to the
girls until she had ushered them into a pleasant room,
comfortably furnished, nor did any of the solemn people
they met on the street venture to speak.
When they were seated Lady Aurex asked if they were
hungry, and finding they were summoned a maid and
ordered food to be brought.
This Lady Aurex looked to be about twenty years old,
although in the Land of Oz where people have never
changed in appearance since the fairies made it a
fairyland -- where no one grows old or dies -- it is
always difficult to say how many years anyone has
lived. She had a pleasant, attractive face, even though
it was solemn and sad as the faces of all Skeezers
seemed to be, and her costume was rich and elaborate,
as became a lady in waiting upon the Queen.
Ozma had observed Lady Aurex closely and now asked
her in a gentle tone:
"Do you, also, believe me to be an impostor?"
"I dare not say," replied Lady Aurex in a low tone.
"Why are you afraid to speak freely?" inquired Ozma.
"The Queen punishes us if we make remarks that she
does not like."
"Are we not alone then, in this house?"
"The Queen can hear everything that is spoken on this
island -- even the slightest whisper," declared Lady
Aurex. "She is a wonderful witch, as she has told you,
and it is folly to criticise her or disobey her
commands."
Ozma looked into her eyes and saw that she would like
to say more if she dared. So she drew from her bosom
her silver wand, and having muttered a magic phrase in
a strange tongue, she left the room and walked slowly
around the outside of the house, making a complete
circle and waving her wand in mystic curves as she
walked. Lady Aurex watched her curiously and, when Ozma
had again entered the room and seated herself, she
asked:
"What have you done?"
"I've enchanted this house in such a manner that
Queen Coo-ee-oh, with all her witchcraft, cannot hear
one word we speak within the magic circle I have made,"
replied Ozma. "We may now speak freely and as loudly as
we wish, without fear of the Queen's anger."
Lady Aurex brightened at this.
"Can I trust you?" she asked.
"Ev'rybody trusts Ozma," exclaimed Dorothy. "She is
true and honest, and your wicked Queen will be sorry
she insulted the powerful Ruler of all the Land of Oz."
"The Queen does not know me yet," said Ozma, "but I
want you to know me, Lady Aurex, and I want you to tell
me why you, and all the Skeezers, are unhappy. Do not
fear Coo-ee-oh's anger, for she cannot hear a word we
say, I assure you."
Lady Aurex was thoughtful a moment; then she said: "I
shall trust you, Princess Ozma, for I believe you are
what you say you are -- our supreme Ruler. If you knew
the dreadful punishments our Queen inflicts upon us,
you would not wonder we are so unhappy. The Skeezers
are not bad people; they do not care to quarrel and
fight, even with their enemies the Flatheads; but they
are so cowed and fearful of Coo-ee-oh that they obey
her slightest word, rather than suffer her anger."
"Hasn't she any heart, then?" asked Dorothy.
"She never displays mercy. She loves no one but
herself," asserted Lady Aurex, but she trembled as she
said it, as if afraid even yet of her terrible Queen.
"That's pretty bad," said Dorothy, shaking her head
gravely. "I see you've a lot to do here, Ozma, in this
forsaken corner of the Land of Oz. First place, you've
got to take the magic away from Queen Coo-ee-oh, and
from that awful Su-dic, too. My idea is that neither of
them is fit to rule anybody, 'cause they're cruel and
hateful. So you'll have to give the Skeezers and
Flatheads new rulers and teach all their people that
they're part of the Land of Oz and must obey, above
all, the lawful Ruler, Ozma of Oz. Then, when you've
done that, we can go back home again."
Ozma smiled at her little friend's earnest counsel,
but Lady Aurex said in an anxious tone:
"I am surprised that you suggest these reforms while
you are yet prisoners on this island and in Coo-ee-oh's
power. That these things should be done, there is no
doubt, but just now a dreadful war is likely to break
out, and frightful things may happen to us all. Our
Queen has such conceit that she thinks she can overcome
the Su-dic and his people, but it is said Su-dic's
magic is very powerful, although not as great as that
possessed by his wife Rora, before Coo-ee-oh
transformed her into a Golden Pig."
"I don't blame her very much for doing that,"
remarked Dorothy, "for the Flatheads were wicked to try
to catch your beautiful fish and the Witch Rora wanted
to poison all the fishes in the lake."
"Do you know the reason?" asked the Lady Aurex.
"I don't s'pose there was any reason, 'cept just
wickedness," replied Dorothy.
"Tell us the reason," said Ozma earnestly.
"Well, your Majesty, once -- a long time ago -- the
Flatheads and the Skeezers were friendly. They visited
our island and we visited their mountain, and
everything was pleasant between the two peoples. At
that time the Flatheads were ruled by three Adepts in
Sorcery, beautiful girls who were not Flatheads, but
had wandered to the Flat Mountain and made their home
there. These three Adepts used their magic only for
good, and the mountain people gladly made them their
rulers. They taught the Flatheads how to use their
canned brains and how to work metals into clothing that
would never wear out, and many other things that added
to their happiness and content.
"Coo-ee-oh was our Queen then, as now, but she knew
no magic and so had nothing to be proud of. But the
three Adepts were very kind to Coo-ee-oh. They built
for us this wonderful dome of glass and our houses of
marble and taught us to make beautiful clothing and
many other things. Coo-ee-oh pretended to be very
grateful for these favors, but it seems that all the
time she was jealous of the three Adepts and secretly
tried to discover their arts of magic. In this she was
more clever than anyone suspected. She invited the
three Adepts to a banquet one day, and while they were
feasting Coo-ee-oh stole their charms and magical
instruments and transformed them into three fishes -- a
gold fish, a silver fish and a bronze fish. While the
poor fishes were gasping and flopping helplessly on the
floor of the banquet room one of them said
reproachfully: 'You will be punished for this, Coo-ee-oh, for if one of us dies or is destroyed, you will
become shrivelled and helpless, and all your stolen
magic will depart from you.' Frightened by this threat,
Coo-ee-oh at once caught up the three fish and ran with
them to the shore of the lake, where she cast them into
the water. This revived the three Adepts and they swam
away and disappeared.
"I, myself, witnessed this shocking scene," continued
Lady Aurex, "and so did many other Skeezers. The news
was carried to the Flatheads, who then turned from
friends to enemies. The Su-dic and his wife Rora were
the only ones on the mountain who were glad the three
Adepts had been lost to them, and they at once became
Rulers of the Flatheads and stole their canned brains
from others to make themselves the more powerful. Some
of the Adepts' magic tools had been left on the
mountain, and these Rora seized and by the use of them
she became a witch.
"The result of Coo-ee-oh's treachery was to make both
the Skeezers and the Flatheads miserable instead of
happy. Not only were the Su-dic and his wife cruel to
their people, but our Queen at once became proud and
arrogant and treated us very unkindly. All the Skeezers
knew she had stolen her magic powers and so she hated
us and made us humble ourselves before her and obey her
slightest word. If we disobeyed, or did not please her,
or if we talked about her when we were in our own homes
she would have us dragged to the whipping post in her
palace and lashed with knotted cords. That is why we
fear her so greatly."
This story filled Ozma's heart with sorrow and
Dorothy's heart with indignation.
"I now understand," said Ozma, "why the fishes in the
lake have brought about war between the Skeezers and
the Flatheads."
"Yes," Lady Aurex answered, "now that you know the
story it is easy to understand. The Su-dic and his wife
came to our lake hoping to catch the silver fish, or
gold fish, or bronze fish -- any one of them would do -
- and by destroying it deprive Coo-ee-oh of her magic.
Then they could easily conquer her. Also they had
another reason for wanting to catch the fish -- they
feared that in some way the three Adepts might regain
their proper forms and then they would be sure to
return to the mountain and punish Rora and the Su-dic.
That was why Rora finally tried to poison all the
fishes in the lake, at the time Coo-ee-oh transformed
her into a Golden Pig. Of course this attempt to
destroy the fishes frightened the Queen, for her safety
lies in keeping the three fishes alive."
"I s'pose Coo-ee-oh will fight the Flatheads with all
her might," observed Dorothy.
"And with all her magic," added Ozma, thoughtfully.
"I do not see how the Flatheads can get to this
island to hurt us," said Lady Aurex.
"They have bows and arrows, and I guess they mean to
shoot the arrows at your big dome, and break all the
glass in it," suggested Dorothy.
But Lady Aurex shook her head with a smile.
"They cannot do that," she replied.
"Why not?"
"I dare not tell you why, but if the Flatheads come
tomorrow morning you will yourselves see the reason."
"I do not think they will attempt to harm the
island," Ozma declared. "I believe they will first
attempt to destroy the fishes, by poison or some other
means. If they succeed in that, the conquest of the
island will not be difficult."
"They have no boats," said Lady Aurex, "and Coo-ee-oh, who has long expected this war, has been preparing
for it in many astonishing ways. I almost wish the
Flatheads would conquer us, for then we would be free
from our dreadful Queen; but I do not wish to see the
three transformed fishes destroyed, for in them lies
our only hope of future happiness."
"Ozma will take care of you, whatever happens,"
Dorothy assured her. But the Lady Aurex, not knowing
the extent of Ozma's power -- which was, in fact, not
so great as Dorothy imagined -- could not take much
comfort in this promise.
It was evident there would be exciting times on the
morrow, if the Flatheads really attacked the Skeezers
of the Magic Isle.
Under Water
When night fell all the interior of the Great Dome,
streets and houses, became lighted with brilliant
incandescent lamps, which rendered it bright as day.
Dorothy thought the island must look beautiful by night
from the outer shore of the lake. There was revelry and
feasting in the Queen's palace, and the music of the
royal band could be plainly heard in Lady Aurex's
house, where Ozma and Dorothy remained with their
hostess and keeper. They were prisoners, but treated
with much consideration.
Lady Aurex gave them a nice supper and when they
wished to retire showed them to a pretty room with
comfortable beds and wished them a good night and
pleasant dreams.
"What do you think of all this, Ozma?" Dorothy
anxiously inquired when they were alone.
"I am glad we came," was the reply, "for although
there may be mischief done tomorrow, it was necessary
I should know about these people, whose leaders are
wild and lawless and oppress their subjects with
injustice and cruelties. My task, therefore, is to
liberate the Skeezers and the Flatheads and secure for
them freedom and happiness. I have no doubt I can
accomplish this in time."
"Just now, though, we're in a bad fix," asserted
Dorothy. "If Queen Coo-ee-oh conquers tomorrow, she
won't be nice to us, and if the Su-dic conquers, he'll
be worse."
"Do not worry, dear," said Ozma, "I do not think we
are in danger, whatever happens, and the result of our
adventure is sure to be good."
Dorothy was not worrying, especially. She had
confidence in her friend, the fairy Princess of Oz, and
she enjoyed the excitement of the events in which she
was taking part. So she crept into bed and fell asleep
as easily as if she had been in her own cosy room in
Ozma's palace.
A sort of grating, grinding sound awakened her. The
whole island seemed to tremble and sway, as it might do
in an earthquake. Dorothy sat up in bed, rubbing her
eyes to get the sleep out of them, and then found it
was daybreak.
Ozma was hurriedly dressing herself.
"What is it?" asked Dorothy, jumping out of bed.
"I'm not sure," answered Ozma "but it feels as if the
island is sinking."
As soon as possible they finished dressing, while the
creaking and swaying continued. Then they rushed into
the living room of the house and found Lady Aurex,
fully dressed, awaiting them.
"Do not be alarmed," said their hostess. "Coo-ee-oh
has decided to submerge the island, that is all. But it
proves the Flatheads are coming to attack us."
"What do you mean by sub-sub-merging the island?"
asked Dorothy.
"Come here and see," was the reply.
Lady Aurex led them to a window which faced the side
of the great dome which covered all the village, and
they could see that the island was indeed sinking, for
the water of the lake was already half way up the side
of the dome. Through the glass could be seen swimming
fishes, and tall stalks of swaying seaweeds, for the
water was clear as crystal and through it they could
distinguish even the farther shore of the lake.
"The Flatheads are not here yet," said Lady Aurex.
"They will come soon, but not until all of this dome is
under the surface of the water."
"Won't the dome leak?" Dorothy inquired anxiously.
"No, indeed."
"Was the island ever sub-sub-sunk before?"
"Oh, yes; on several occasions. But Coo-ee-oh doesn't
care to do that often, for it requires a lot of hard
work to operate the machinery. The dome was built so
that the island could disappear. I think," she
continued, "that our Queen fears the Flatheads will
attack the island and try to break the glass of the
dome."
"Well, if we're under water, they can't fight us, and
we can't fight them," asserted Dorothy.
"They could kill the fishes, however," said Ozma
gravely
"We have ways to fight, also, even though our island
is under water," claimed Lady Aurex. "I cannot tell you
all our secrets, but this island is full of surprises.
Also our Queen's magic is astonishing."
"Did she steal it all from the three Adepts in
Sorcery that are now fishes?"
"She stole the knowledge and the magic tools, but she
has used them as the three Adepts never would have
done."
By this time the top of the dome was quite under
water and suddenly the island stopped sinking and
became stationary.
"See!" cried Lady Aurex, pointing to the shore. "The
Flatheads have come."
On the bank, which was now far above their heads, a
crowd of dark figures could be seen.
"Now let us see what Coo-ee-oh will do to oppose
them," continued Lady Aurex, in a voice that betrayed
her excitement.
The Flatheads, pushing their way through the line of
palm trees, had reached the shore of the lake just as
the top of the island's dome disappeared beneath the
surface. The water now flowed from shore to shore, but
through the clear water the dome was still visible and
the houses of the Skeezers could be dimly seen through
the panes of glass.
"Good!" exclaimed the Su-dic, who had armed all his
followers and had brought with him two copper vessels,
which he carefully set down upon the ground beside him.
"If Coo-ee-oh wants to hide instead of fighting our job
will be easy, for in one of these copper vessels I have
enough poison to kill every fish in the lake."
"Kill them, then, while we have time, and then we can
go home again," advised one of the chief officers.
"Not yet," objected the Su-dic. "The Queen of the
Skeezers has defied me, and I want to get her into my
power, as well as to destroy her magic. She transformed
my poor wife into a Golden Pig, and I must have revenge
for that, whatever else we do."
"Look out!" suddenly exclaimed the officers, pointing
into the lake; "something's going to happen."
From the submerged dome a door opened and something
black shot swiftly out into the water. The door
instantly closed behind it and the dark object cleaved
its way through the water, without rising to the
surface, directly toward the place where the Flatheads
were standing.
"What is that?" Dorothy asked the Lady Aurex.
"That is one of the Queen's submarines," was the
reply. "It is all enclosed, and can move under water.
Coo-ee-oh has several of these boats which are kept in
little rooms in the basement under our village. When
the island is submerged, the Queen uses these boats to
reach the shore, and I believe she now intends to fight
the Flatheads with them."
The Su-dic and his people knew nothing of Coo-ee-oh's
submarines, so they watched with surprise as the underwater boat approached them. When it was quite near the
shore it rose to the surface and the top parted and
fell back, disclosing a boat full of armed Skeezers. At
the head was the Queen, standing up in the bow and
holding in one hand a coil of magic rope that gleamed
like silver.
The boat halted and Coo-ee-oh drew back her arm to
throw the silver rope toward the Su-dic, who was now
but a few feet from her. But the wily Flathead leader
quickly realized his danger and before the Queen could
throw the rope he caught up one of the copper vessels
and dashed its contents full in her face!
The Conquest of the Skeezers
Queen Coo-ee-oh dropped the rope, tottered and fell
headlong into the water, sinking beneath the surface,
while the Skeezers in the submarine assist her and only
stared at the ripples in the water where she had
disappeared. A moment later there arose to the surface
a beautiful White Swan. This Swan was of large size,
very gracefully formed, and scattered all over its
white feathers were tiny diamonds, so thickly placed
that as the rays of the morning sun fell upon them the
entire body of the Swan glistened like one brilliant
diamond. The head of the Diamond Swan had a bill of
polished gold and its eyes were two sparkling
amethysts.
"Hooray!" cried the Su-dic, dancing up and down with
wicked glee. "My poor wife, Rora, is avenged at last.
You made her a Golden Pig, Coo-ee-oh, and now I have
made you a Diamond Swan. Float on your lake forever, if
you like, for your web feet can do no more magic and
you are as powerless as the Pig you made of my wife!
"Villain! Scoundrel!" croaked the Diamond Swan. "You
will be punished for this. Oh, what a fool I was to let
you enchant me!
"A fool you were, and a fool you are!" laughed the
Su-dic, dancing madly in his delight. And then he
carelessly tipped over the other copper vessel with his
heel and its contents spilled on the sands and were
lost to the last drop.
The Su-dic stopped short and looked at the overturned
vessel with a rueful countenance.
"That's too bad -- too bad!" he exclaimed
sorrowfully. "I've lost all the poison I had to kill
the fishes with, and I can't make any more because only
my wife knew the secret of it, and she is now a foolish
Pig and has forgotten all her magic."
"Very well," said the Diamond Swan scornfully, as she
floated upon the water and swam gracefully here and
there. I'm glad to see you are foiled. Your punishment
is just beginning, for although you have enchanted me
and taken away my powers of sorcery you have still the
three magic fishes to deal with, and they'll destroy
you in time, mark my words."
The Su-dic stared at the Swan a moment. Then he
yelled to his men:
"Shoot her! Shoot the saucy bird!"
They let fly some arrows at the Diamond Swan, but she
dove under the water and the missiles fell harmless.
When Coo-ce-oh rose to the surface she was far from the
shore and she swiftly swam across the lake to where no
arrows or spears could reach her.
The Su-dic rubbed his chin and thought what to do
next. Near by floated the submarine in which the Queen
had come, but the Skeezers who were in it were puzzled
what to do with themselves. Perhaps they were not sorry
their cruel mistress had been transformed into a
Diamond Swan, but the transformation had left them
quite helpless. The underwater boat was not operated
by machinery, but by certain mystic words uttered by
Coo-ee-oh. They didn't know how to submerge it, or how
to make the watertight shield cover them again, or how
to make the boat go back to the castle, or make it
enter the little basement room where it was usually
kept. As a matter of fact, they were now shut out of
their village under the Great Dome and could not get
back again. So one of the men called to the Supreme
Dictator of the Flatheads, saying:
"Please make us prisoners and take us to your
mountain, and feed and keep us, for we have nowhere to
go."
Then the Su-dic laughed and answered:
"Not so. I can't be bothered by caring for a lot of
stupid Skeezers. Stay where you are, or go wherever you
please, so long as you keep away from our mountain." He
turned to his men and added: "We have conquered Queen
Coo-ee-oh and made her a helpless swan. The Skeezers
are under water and may stay there. So, having won the
war, let us go home again and make merry and feast,
having after many years proved the Flatheads to be
greater and more powerful than the Skeezers."
So the Flatheads marched away and passed through the
row of palms and went back to their mountain, where the
Su-dic and a few of his officers feasted and all the
others were forced to wait on them.
"I'm sorry we couldn't have roast pig," said the Su-dic, "but as the only pig we have is made of gold, we
can't eat her. Also the Golden Pig happens to be my
wife, and even were she not gold I am sure she would be
too tough to eat."
The Diamond Swan
When the Flatheads had gone away the Diamond Swan
swam back to the boat and one of the young Skeezers
named Ervic said to her eagerly:
"How can we get back to the island, your Majesty?"
"Am I not beautiful?" asked Coo-ee-oh, arching her
neck gracefully and spreading her diamond-sprinkled
wings. "I can see my reflection in the water, and I'm
sure there is no bird nor beast, nor human as
magnificent as I am!"
"How shall we get back to the island, your Majesty?"
pleaded Ervic.
"When my fame spreads throughout the land, people
will travel from all parts of this lake to look upon my
loveliness," said Coo-ee-oh, shaking her feathers to
make the diamonds glitter more brilliantly.
"But, your Majesty, we must go home and we do not
know how to get there," Ervic persisted.
"My eyes," remarked the Diamond Swan, "are
wonderfully blue and bright and will charm all
beholders."
"Tell us how to make the boat go -- how to get back
into the island," begged Ervic and the others cried
just as earnestly: "Tell us, Coo-ee-oh; tell us!"
"I don't know," replied the Queen in a careless tone.
"You are a magic-worker, a sorceress, a witch!"
"I was, of course, when I was a girl," she said,
bending her head over the clear water to catch her
reflection in it; "but now I've forgotten all such
foolish things as magic. Swans are lovelier than girls,
especially when they're sprinkled with diamonds. Don't
you think so?" And she gracefully swam away, without
seeming to care whether they answered or not.
Ervic and his companions were in despair. They saw
plainly that Coo-ee-oh could not or would not help
them. The former Queen had no further thought for her
island, her people, or her wonderful magic; she was
only intent on admiring her own beauty.
"Truly," said Ervic, in a gloomy voice, "the
Flatheads have conquered us!"
Some of these events had been witnessed by Ozma
and Dorothy and Lady Aurex, who had left the house
and gone close to the glass of the dome, in order to see
what was going on. Many of the Skeezers had also
crowded against the dome, wondering what would
happen next. Although their vision was to an extent
blurred by the water and the necessity of looking
upward at an angle, they had observed the main points
of the drama enacted above. They saw Queen Coo-ee-oh's submarine come to the surface and open; they
saw the Queen standing erect to throw her magic rope;
they saw her sudden transformation into a Diamond
Swan, and a cry of amazement went up from the
Skeezers inside the dome.
"Good!" exclaimed Dorothy. "I hate that old Su-dic,
but I'm glad Coo-ee-oh is punished."
"This is a dreadful misfortune!" cried Lady Aurex,
pressing her hands upon her heart.
"Yes," agreed Ozma, nodding her head thoughtfully;
"Coo-ee-oh's misfortune will prove a terrible blow to
her people."
"What do you mean by that?" asked Dorothy in
surprise. "Seems to me the Skeezers are in luck to lose
their cruel Queen."
"If that were all you would be right," responded Lady
Aurex; "and if the island were above water it would not
be so serious. But here we all are, at the bottom of
the lake, and fast prisoners in this dome."
"Can't you raise the island?" inquired Dorothy.
"No. Only Coo-ee-oh knew how to do that," was the
answer.
"We can try," insisted Dorothy. "If it can be made to
go down, it can be made to come up. The machinery is
still here, I suppose.
"Yes; but the machinery works by magic, and Coo-ee-oh
would never share her secret power with any one of us."
Dorothy's face grew grave; but she was thinking.
"Ozma knows a lot of magic," she said.
"But not that kind of magic," Ozma replied.
"Can't you learn how, by looking at the machinery?"
"I'm afraid not, my dear. It isn't fairy magic at
all; it is witchcraft."
"Well," said Dorothy, turning to Lady Aurex, "you say
there are other sub-sub-sinking boats. We can get in
one of those, and shoot out to the top of the water,
like Coo-ee-oh did, and so escape. And then we can help
to rescue all the Skeezers down here."
"No one knows how to work the underwater boats but
the Queen," declared Lady Aurex.
"Isn't there any door or window in this dome that we
could open?"
"No; and, if there were, the water would rush in
to flood the dome, and we could not get out."
"The Skeezers," said Ozma, "could not drown; they
only get wet and soggy and in that condition they would
be very uncomfortable and unhappy. But you are a mortal
girl, Dorothy, and if your Magic Belt protected you
from death you would have to lie forever at the bottom
of the lake."
"No, I'd rather die quickly," asserted the little
girl. "But there are doors in the basement that open --
to let out the bridges and the boats -- and that would
not flood the dome, you know."
"Those doors open by a magic word, and only Coo-ee-oh
knows the word that must be uttered," said Lady Aurex.
"Dear me!" exclaimed Dorothy, "that dreadful Queen's
witchcraft upsets all my plans to escape. I guess I'll
give it up, Ozma, and let you save us."
Ozma smiled, but her smile was not so cheerful as
usual. The Princess of Oz found herself confronted with
a serious problem, and although she had no thought of
despairing she realized that the Skeezers and their
island, as well as Dorothy and herself, were in grave
trouble and that unless she could find a means to save
them they would be lost to the Land of Oz for all
future time.
"In such a dilemma," said she, musingly, "nothing is
gained by haste. Careful thought may aid us, and so may
the course of events. The unexpected is always likely
to happen, and cheerful patience is better than
reckless action."
"All right," returned Dorothy; "take your time, Ozma;
there's no hurry. How about some breakfast, Lady
Aurex?"
Their hostess led them back to the house, where she
ordered her trembling servants to prepare and serve
breakfast. All the Skeezers were frightened and anxious
over the transformation of their Queen into a swan.
Coo-ee-oh was feared and hated, but they had depended
on her magic to conquer the Flatheads and she was the
only one who could raise their island to the surface of
the lake again.
Before breakfast was over several of the leading
Skeezers came to Aurex to ask her advice and to
question Princess Ozma, of whom they knew nothing
except that she claimed to be a fairy and the Ruler of
all the land, including the Lake of the Skeezers.
"If what you told Queen Coo-ee-oh was the truth,"
they said to her, "you are our lawful mistress, and we
may depend on you to get us out of our difficulties."
"I will try to do that" Ozma graciously assured them,
"but you must remember that the powers of fairies are
granted them to bring comfort and happiness to all who
appeal to them. On the contrary, such magic as Coo-ee-oh knew and practiced is unlawful witchcraft and her
arts are such as no fairy would condescend to use.
However, it is sometimes necessary to consider evil in
order to accomplish good, and perhaps by studying Coo-ee-oh's tools and charms of witchcraft I may be able to
save us. Do you promise to accept me as your Ruler and
to obey my commands?"
They promised willingly.
"Then," continued Ozma, "I will go to Coo-ee-oh's
palace and take possession of it. Perhaps what I find
there will be of use to me. In the meantime tell all
the Skeezers to fear nothing, but have patience. Let
them return to their homes and perform their daily
tasks as usual. Coo-ee-oh's loss may not prove a
misfortune, but rather a blessing."
This speech cheered the Skeezers amazingly. Really,
they had no one now to depend upon but Ozma, and in
spite of their dangerous position their hearts were
lightened by the transformation and absence of their
cruel Queen.
They got out their brass band and a grand procession
escorted Ozma and Dorothy to the palace, where all of
Coo-ee-oh's former servants were eager to wait upon
them. Ozma invited Lady Aurex to stay at the palace
also, for she knew all about the Skeezers and their
island and had also been a favorite of the former
Queen, so her advice and information were sure to prove
valuable.
Ozma was somewhat disappointed in what she found in
the palace. One room of Coo-ee-oh's private suite was
entirely devoted to the practice of witchcraft, and
here were countless queer instruments and jars of
ointments and bottles of potions labeled with queer
names, and strange machines that Ozma could not guess
the use of, and pickled toads and snails and lizards,
and a shelf of books that were written in blood, but in
a language which the Ruler of Oz did not know.
"I do not see," said Ozma to Dorothy, who accompanied
her in her search, "how Coo-ee-oh knew the use of the
magic tools she stole from the three Adept Witches.
Moreover, from all reports these Adepts practiced only
good witchcraft, such as would be helpful to their
people, while Coo-ee-oh performed only evil."
"Perhaps she turned the good things to evil uses?"
suggested Dorothy.
"Yes, and with the knowledge she gained Coo-ee-oh
doubtless invented many evil things quite unknown to
the good Adepts, who are now fishes," added Ozma. "It
is unfortunate for us that the Queen kept her secrets
so closely guarded, for no one but herself could use
any of these strange things gathered in this room."
"Couldn't we capture the Diamond Swan and make her
tell the secrets?" asked Dorothy.
"No; even were we able to capture her, Coo-ee-oh now
has forgotten all the magic she ever knew. But until we
ourselves escape from this dome we could not capture
the Swan, and were we to escape we would have no use for
Coo-ee-oh's magic."
"That's a fact," admitted Dorothy. "But -- say, Ozma,
here's a good idea! Couldn't we capture the three
fishes -- the gold and silver and bronze ones, and
couldn't you transform 'em back to their own shapes,
and then couldn't the three Adepts get us out of here?"
"You are not very practical, Dorothy dear. It would
be as hard for us to capture the three fishes, from
among all the other fishes in the lake, as to capture
the Swan."
"But if we could, it would be more help to us,"
persisted the little girl.
"That is true," answered Ozma, smiling at her
friend's eagerness. "You find a way to catch the fish,
and I'll promise when they are caught to restore them
to their proper forms."
"I know you think I can't do it," replied Dorothy,
"but I'm going to try."
She left the palace and went to a place where she
could look through a clear pane of the glass dome into
the surrounding water. Immediately she became
interested in the queer sights that met her view.
The Lake of the Skeezers was inhabited by fishes of
many kinds and many sizes. The water was so transparent
that the girl could see for a long distance and the
fishes came so close to the glass of the dome that
sometimes they actually touched it. On the white sands
at the bottom of the lake were star-fish, lobsters,
crabs and many shell fish of strange shapes and with
shells of gorgeous hues. The water foliage was of
brilliant colors and to Dorothy it resembled a splendid
garden.
But the fishes were the most interesting of all. Some
were big and lazy, floating slowly along or lying at
rest with just their fins waving. Many with big round
eyes looked full at the girl as she watched them and
Dorothy wondered if they could hear her through the
glass if she spoke to them. In Oz, where all the
animals and birds can talk, many fishes are able to
talk also, but usually they are more stupid than birds
and animals because they think slowly and haven't much
to talk about.
In the Lake of the Skeezers the fish of smaller size
were more active than the big ones and darted quickly
in and out among the swaying weeds, as if they had
important business and were in a hurry. It was among
the smaller varieties that Dorothy hoped to spy the
gold and silver and bronze fishes. She had an idea the
three would keep together, being companions now as they
were in their natural forms, but such a multitude of
fishes constantly passed, the scene shifting every
moment, that she was not sure she would notice them
even if they appeared in view. Her eyes couldn't look
in all directions and the fishes she sought might be on
the other side of the dome, or far away in the lake.
"P'raps, because they were afraid of Coo-ee-oh,
they've hid themselves somewhere, and don't know their
enemy has been transformed," she reflected.
She watched the fishes for a long time, until she
became hungry and went back to the palace for lunch.
But she was not discouraged.
"Anything new, Ozma?" she asked.
"No, dear. Did you discover the three fishes?"
"Not yet. But there isn't anything better for me to
do, Ozma, so I guess I'll go back and watch again."
The Alarm Bell
Glinda, the Good, in her palace in the Quadling
Country, had many things to occupy her mind, for not
only did she look after the weaving and embroidery of
her bevy of maids, and assist all those who came to her
to implore her help -- beasts and birds as well as
people -- but she was a close student of the arts of
sorcery and spent much time in her Magical Laboratory,
where she strove to find a remedy for every evil and to
perfect her skill in magic.
Nevertheless, she did not forget to look in the Great
Book of Records each day to see if any mention was made
of the visit of Ozma and Dorothy to the Enchanted
Mountain of the Flatheads and the Magic Isle of the
Skeezers. The Records told her that Ozma had arrived at
the mountain, that she had escaped, with her companion,
and gone to the island of the Skeezers, and that Queen
Coo-ee-oh had submerged the island so that it was
entirely under water. Then came the statement that the
Flatheads had come to the lake to poison the fishes and
that their Supreme Dictator had transformed Queen Coo-ee-oh into a swan.
No other details were given in the Great Book and so
Glinda did not know that since Coo-ee-oh had forgotten
her magic none of the Skeezers knew how to raise the
island to the surface again. So Glinda was not worried
about Ozma and Dorothy until one morning, while she sat
with her maids, there came a sudden clang of the
great alarm bell. This was so unusual that every maid
gave a start and even the Sorceress for a moment could
not think what the alarm meant.
Then she remembered the ring she had given Dorothy
when she left the palace to start on her venture. In
giving the ring Glinda had warned the little girl not
to use its magic powers unless she and Ozma were in
real danger, but then she was to turn it on her finger
once to the right and once to the left and Glinda's
alarm bell would ring.
So the Sorceress now knew that danger threatened her
beloved Ruler and Princess Dorothy, and she hurried to
her magic room to seek information as to what sort of
danger it was. The answer to her question was not very
satisfactory, for it was only: "Ozma and Dorothy are
prisoners in the great Dome of the Isle of the
Skeezers, and the Dome is under the water of the lake."
"Hasn't Ozma the power to raise the island to the
surface?" inquired Glinda.
"No," was the reply, and the Record refused to say
more except that Queen Coo-ee-oh, who alone could
command the island to rise, had been transformed by the
Flathead Su-dic into a Diamond Swan.
Then Glinda consulted the past records of the
Skeezers in the Great Book. After diligent search she
discovered that Coo-ee-oh was a powerful sorceress who
had gained most of her power by treacherously
transforming the Adepts of Magic, who were visiting
her, into three fishes -- gold, silver and bronze --
after which she had them cast into the lake.
Glinda reflected earnestly on this information and
decided that someone must go to Ozma's assistance.
While there was no great need of haste, because Ozma
and Dorothy could live in a submerged dome a long time,
it was evident they could not get out until someone was
able to raise the island.
The Sorceress looked through all her recipes and
books of sorcery, but could find no magic that would
raise a sunken island. Such a thing had never before
been required in sorcery. Then Glinda made a little
island, covered by a glass dome, and sunk it in a pond
near her castle, and experimented in magical ways to
bring it to the surface. She made several such
experiments, but all were failures. It seemed a simple
thing to do, yet she could not do it.
Nevertheless, the wise Sorceress did not despair of
finding a way to liberate her friends. Finally she
concluded that the best thing to do was to go to the
Skeezer country and examine the lake. While there she
was more likely to discover a solution to the problem
that bothered her, and to work out a plan for the
rescue of Ozma and Dorothy.
So Glinda summoned her storks and her aerial chariot,
and telling her maids she was going on a journey and
might not soon return, she entered the chariot and was
carried swiftly to the Emerald City.
In Princess Ozma's palace the Scarecrow was now
acting as Ruler of the Land of Oz. There wasn't much
for him to do, because all the affairs of state moved
so smoothly, but he was there in case anything
unforeseen should happen.
Glinda found the Scarecrow playing croquet with Trot
and Betsy Bobbin, two little girls who lived at the
palace under Ozma's protection and were great friends
of Dorothy and much loved by all the Oz people.
"Something's happened!" cried Trot, as the chariot of
the Sorceress descended near them. "Glinda never comes
here 'cept something's gone wrong."
"I hope no harm has come to Ozma, or Dorothy," said
Betsy anxiously, as the lovely Sorceress stepped down
from her chariot.
Glinda approached the Scarecrow and told him of the
dilemma of Ozma and Dorothy and she added: "We must
save them, somehow, Scarecrow."
"Of course," replied the Scarecrow, stumbling over a
wicket and falling flat on his painted face.
The girls picked him up and patted his straw stuffing
into shape, and he continued, as if nothing had
occurred: "But you'll have to tell me what to do, for I
never have raised a sunken island in all my life."
"We must have a Council of State as soon as
possible," proposed the Sorceress. "Please send
messengers to summon all of Ozma's counsellors to this
palace. Then we can decide what is best to be done."
The Scarecrow lost no time in doing this. Fortunately
most of the royal counsellors were in the Emerald City
or near to it, so they all met in the throne room of
the palace that same evening.
Ozma's Counsellors
No Ruler ever had such a queer assortment of advisers
as the Princess Ozma had gathered about her throne.
Indeed, in no other country could such amazing people
exist. But Ozma loved them for their peculiarities and
could trust every one of them.
First there was the Tin Woodman. Every bit of him was
tin, brightly polished. All his joints were kept well
oiled and moved smoothly. He carried a gleaming axe to
prove he was a woodman, but seldom had cause to use it
because he lived in a magnificent tin castle in the
Winkie Country of Oz and was the Emperor of all the
Winkies. The Tin Woodman's name was Nick Chopper. He
had a very good mind, but his heart was not of much
account, so he was very careful to do nothing unkind or
to hurt anyone's feelings.
Another counsellor was Scraps, the Patchwork Girl of
Oz, who was made of a gaudy patchwork quilt, cut into
shape and stuffed with cotton. This Patchwork Girl was
very intelligent, but so full of fun and mad pranks
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 and in her seemingly
careless remarks much wisdom could often be found.
Then there was the Shaggy Man -- shaggy from head to
foot, hair and whiskers, clothes and shoes -- but very
kind and gentle and one of Ozma's most loyal
supporters.
Tik-Tok was there, a copper man with machinery inside
him, so cleverly constructed that he moved, spoke and
thought by three separate clock-works. Tik-Tok was very
reliable because he always did exactly what he was
wound up to do, but his machinery was liable to run
down at times and then he was quite helpless until
wound up again.
A different sort of person was Jack Pumpkinhead, one
of Ozma's oldest friends and her companion on many
adventures. Jack's body was very crude and awkward,
being formed of limbs of trees of different sizes,
jointed with wooden pegs. But it was a substantial body
and not likely to break or wear out, and when it was
dressed the clothes covered much of its roughness. The
head of Jack Pumpkinhead was, as you have guessed, a
ripe pumpkin, with the eyes, nose and mouth carved upon
one side. The pumpkin was stuck on Jack's wooden neck
and was liable to get turned sidewise or backward and
then he would have to straighten it with his wooden
hands.
The worst thing about this sort of a head was that it
did not keep well and was sure to spoil sooner or
later. So Jack's main business was to grow a field of
fine pumpkins each year, and always before his old head
spoiled he would select a fresh pumpkin from the field
and carve the features on it very neatly, and have it
ready to replace the old head whenever it became
necessary. He didn't always carve it the same way, so
his friends never knew exactly what sort of an
expression they would find on his face. But there was
no mistaking him, because he 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 was Cap'n Bill and he had come to the
Land of Oz with Trot, and had been made welcome on
account of his cleverness, honesty and good nature. He
wore a wooden leg to replace the one he had lost and
was a great friend of all the children in Oz because he
could whittle all sorts of toys 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 a little bug, who became
magnified to the size of a man and always remained so.
The "T. E." meant that he was Thoroughly Educated. He
was at the head of Princess Ozma's Royal Athletic
College, and so that the students would not have to
study and so lose much time that could be devoted to
athletic sports, such as football, baseball and the
like, Professor Wogglebug had invented the famous
Educational Pills. If one of the college students took
a Geography Pill after breakfast, he knew his geography
lesson in an instant; if he took a Spelling Pill he at
once knew his spelling lesson, and an Arithmetic Pill
enabled the student to do any kind of sum without
having to think about it.
These useful pills made the college very popular and
taught the boys and girls of Oz their lessons in the
easiest possible way. In spite of this, Professor
Wogglebug was not a favorite outside his college, for
he was very conceited and admired himself so much and
displayed his cleverness and learning so constantly,
that no one cared to associate with him. Ozma found him
of value in her councils, nevertheless.
Perhaps the most splendidly dressed of all those
present was a great frog as large as a man, called the
Frogman, who was noted for his wise sayings. He had
come to the Emerald City from the Yip Country of Oz and
was a guest of honor. His long-tailed coat was of
velvet, his vest of satin and his trousers of finest
silk. There were diamond buckles on 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 it tired one's eyes to look at him for long, until
one became used to his splendor.
The best farmer in all Oz was Uncle Henry, who was
Dorothy's own uncle, 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 and fruits and
grains and was of much use to Ozma in keeping the Royal
Storehouses well filled. He, too, was a counsellor.
The reason I mention the little Wizard of Oz last is
because he was the most important man in the Land of
Oz. He wasn't a big man in size but he was a man in
power and intelligence and second only to Glinda the
Good in all the mystic arts of magic. Glinda had taught
him, and the Wizard and the Sorceress were the only
ones in Oz permitted by law to practice wizardry and
sorcery, which they applied only to good uses and for
the benefit of the people.
The Wizard wasn't exactly handsome but he was
pleasant to look at. His bald head was as shiny as if
it had been varnished; there was always a merry twinkle
in his eyes and he was as spry as a schoolboy. Dorothy
says the reason the Wizard is not as powerful as Glinda
is because Glinda didn't teach him all she knows, but
what the Wizard knows he knows very well and so he
performs some very remarkable magic. The ten I have
mentioned assembled, with the Scarecrow and Glinda, in
Ozma's throne room, right after dinner that evening,
and the Sorceress told them all she knew of the plight
of Ozma and Dorothy
"Of course we must rescue them," she continued, "and
the sooner they are rescued the better pleased they
will be; but what we must now determine is how they can
be saved. That is why I have called you together in
council."
"The easiest way," remarked the Shaggy Man, "is to
raise the sunken island 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 sunken island."
"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 Jack Pumpkinhead.
"Why not pump the water out of the lake?" suggested
the Patchwork Girl with a laugh.
"Do be sensible!" pleaded Glinda. "This is a serious
matter, and we must give it serious thought."
"How big is the lake and how big is the island?" was
the Frogman's question.
"None of us can tell, for we have not been there."
"In that case," said the Scarecrow, "it appears to me
we ought to go to 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 jerky machine voice.
"The question is which of us shall go, and how many
of us?" said the Wizard.
"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," said the Wizard.
"We all feel like that," Uncle Henry said.
Finally one and all present decided to go to the
Skeezer country, with Glinda and the little Wizard to
lead them. Magic must meet magic in order to conquer
it, so these two skillful magic-workers were necessary
to insure the success of the expedition.
They were all ready to start at a moment's notice,
for none had any affairs of importance to attend to.
Jack was wearing a newly made Pumpkinhead and the
Scarecrow had recently been stuffed with fresh straw.
Tik-Tok's machinery was in good running order and the
Tin Woodman always was well oiled.
"It is quite a long journey," said Glinda, "and while
I might travel quickly to the Skeezer country by means
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 and we will plan to leave the
Emerald City at sunrise tomorrow."
The Great Sorceress
Betsy and Trot, when they heard of the rescue
expedition, begged the Wizard to permit them to join it
and he consented. The Glass Cat, overhearing the
conversation, wanted to go also and to this the Wizard
made no objection.
This Glass Cat was one of the real curiosities of Oz.
It had been made and brought to life by a clever
magician named Dr. Pipt, who was not now permitted to
work magic and was an ordinary citizen of the Emerald
City. The cat was of transparent glass, through which
one could plainly see its ruby heart beating and its
pink brains whirling around in the top of the head.
The Glass Cat's eyes were emeralds; its fluffy tail
was of spun glass and very beautiful. The ruby heart,
while pretty to look at, was hard and cold and the
Glass Cat's disposition was not pleasant at all times.
It scorned to catch mice, did not eat, and was
extremely lazy. If you complimented the remarkable cat
on her beauty, she would be very friendly, for she
loved admiration above everything. The pink brains were
always working and their owner was indeed more
intelligent than most common cats.
Three other additions to the rescue party were made
the next morning, just as they were setting out upon
their journey. The first was a little boy called Button
Bright, because he had no other name that anyone could
remember. He was a fine, manly little fellow, well
mannered and good humored, who had only one bad fault.
He was continually getting lost. To be sure, Button
Bright got found as often as he got lost, but when he
was missing his friends could not help being anxious
about him.
"Some day," predicted the Patchwork Girl, "he won't
be found, and that will be the last of him." But that
didn't worry Button Bright, who was so careless that he
did not seem to be able to break the habit of getting
lost.
The second addition to the party was a Munchkin boy
of about Button Bright's age, named Ojo. He was often
called "Ojo the Lucky," because good fortune followed
him wherever he went. He and Button Bright were close
friends, although of such different natures, and Trot
and Betsy were fond of both.
The third and last to join the expedition was an
enormous lion, one of Ozma's regular guardians and the
most important and intelligent beast in all Oz. He
called himself the Cowardly Lion, saying that every
little danger scared him so badly that his heart
thumped against his ribs, but all who knew him knew
that the Cowardly Lion's fears were coupled with
bravery and that however much he might be frightened he
summoned courage to meet every danger he encountered.
Often he had saved Dorothy and Ozma in times of peril,
but afterward he moaned and trembled and wept because
he had been so scared.
"If Ozma needs help, I'm going to help her," said the
great beast. "Also, I suspect the rest of you may need
me on the journey -- especially Trot and Betsy -- for
you may pass through a dangerous part of the country. I
know that wild Gillikin country pretty well. Its
forests harbor many ferocious beasts."
They were glad the Cowardly Lion was to join them,
and in good spirits the entire party formed a
procession and marched out of the Emerald City amid the
shouts of the people, who wished them success and a
safe return with their beloved Ruler.
They followed a different route from that taken by
Ozma and Dorothy, for they went through the Winkie
Country and up north toward Oogaboo. But before they
got there they swerved to the left and entered the
Great Gillikin Forest, the nearest thing to a
wilderness in all Oz. Even the Cowardly Lion had to
admit that certain parts of this forest were unknown to
him, although he had often wandered among the trees,
and the Scarecrow and Tin Woodman, who were great
travelers, never had been there at all.
The forest was only reached after a tedious tramp,
for some of the Rescue Expedition were quite awkward on
their feet. The Patchwork Girl was as light as a
feather and very spry; the Tin Woodman covered the
ground as easily as Uncle Henry and the Wizard; but
Tik-Tok moved slowly and the slightest obstruction in
the road would halt him until the others cleared it
away. Then, too, Tik-Tok's machinery kept running down,
so Betsy and Trot took turns in winding it up.
The Scarecrow was more clumsy but less bother, for
although he often stumbled and fell he could scramble
up again and a little patting of his straw-stuffed body
would put him in good shape again.
Another awkward one was Jack Pumpkinhead, for walking
would jar his head around on his neck and then he would
be likely to go in the wrong direction. But the Frogman
took Jack's arm and then he followed the path more
easily.
Cap'n Bill's wooden leg didn't prevent him from
keeping up with the others and the old sailor could
walk as far as any of them.
When they entered the forest the Cowardly Lion took
the lead. There was no path here for men, but many
beasts had made paths of their own which only the eyes
of the Lion, practiced in woodcraft, could discern. So
he stalked ahead and wound his way in and out, the
others following in single file, Glinda being next to
the Lion.
There are dangers in the forest, of course, but as
the huge Lion headed the party he kept the wild
denizens of the wilderness from bothering the
travelers. Once, to be sure, an enormous leopard sprang
upon the Glass Cat and caught her in his powerful jaws,
but he broke several of his teeth and with howls of
pain and dismay dropped his prey and vanished among the
trees.
"Are you hurt?" Trot anxiously inquired of the Glass
Cat.
"How silly!" exclaimed the creature in an irritated
tone of voice; "nothing can hurt glass, and I'm too
solid to break easily. But I'm annoyed at that
leopard's impudence. He has no respect for beauty or
intelligence. If he had noticed my pink brains work,
I'm sure he would have realized I'm too important to be
grabbed in a wild beast's jaws."
"Never mind," said Trot consolingly; "I'm sure he
won't do it again."
They were almost in the center of the forest when
Ojo, the Munchkin boy, suddenly said: "Why, where's
Button Bright?"
They halted and looked around them. Button Bright was
not with the party.
Dear me," remarked Betsy, "I expect he's lost again!"
"When did you see him last, Ojo?"inquired Glinda.
"It was some time ago," replied Ojo. "He was trailing
along at the end and throwing twigs at the squirrels in
the trees. Then I went to talk to Betsy and Trot, and
just now I noticed he was gone."
"This is too bad," declared the Wizard, "for it is
sure to delay our journey. We must find Button Bright
before we go any farther, for this forest is full of
ferocious beasts that would not hesitate to tear the
boy to pieces."
"But what shall we do?" asked the Scarecrow. "If any
of us leaves the party to search for Button Bright he
or she might fall a victim to the beasts, and if the
Lion leaves us we will have no protector.
"The Glass Cat could go," suggested the Frogman.
"The beasts can do her no harm, as we have discovered."
The Wizard turned to Glinda.
"Cannot your sorcery discover where Button Bright
is?" he asked.
"I think so," replied the Sorceress.
She called to Uncle Henry, who had been carrying her
wicker box, to bring it to her, and when he obeyed she
opened it and drew out a small round mirror. On the
surface of the glass she dusted a white powder and then
wiped it away with her handkerchief and looked in the
mirror. It reflected a part of the forest, and there,
beneath a wide-spreading tree, Button Bright was lying
asleep. On one side of him crouched a tiger, ready to
spring; on the other side was a big gray wolf, its
bared fangs glistening in a wicked way.
"Goodness me!" cried Trot, looking over Glinda's
shoulder. "They'll catch and kill him sure."
Everyone crowded around for a glimpse at the magic
mirror.
"Pretty bad -- pretty bad!" said the Scarecrow
sorrowfully.
"Comes of getting lost!" said Cap'n Bill, sighing.
"Guess he's a goner!" said the Frogman, wiping his
eyes on his purple silk handkerchief.
"But where is he? Can't we save him?" asked Ojo the
Lucky.
"If we knew where he is we could probably save him,"
replied the little Wizard, "but that tree looks so much
like all the other trees, that we can't tell whether
it's far away or near by."
"Look at Glinda!" exclaimed Betsy
Glinda, having handed the mirror to the Wizard, had
stepped aside and was making strange passes with her
outstretched arms and reciting in low, sweet tones a
mystical incantation. Most of them watched the
Sorceress with anxious eyes, despair giving way to the
hope that she might be able to save their friend. the
Wizard, however, watched the scene in the mirror, while
over his shoulders peered Trot, the Scarecrow and the
Shaggy Man.
What they saw was more strange than Glinda's actions.
The tiger started to spring on the sleeping boy, but
suddenly lost its power to move and lay flat upon the
ground. The gray wolf seemed unable to lift its feet
from the ground. It pulled first at one leg and then at
another, and finding itself strangely confined to the
spot began to back and snarl angrily. They couldn't
hear the barkings and snarls, but they could see the
creature's mouth open and its thick lips move. Button
Bright, however, being but a few feet away from the
wolf, heard its cries of rage, which wakened him from
his untroubled sleep. The boy sat up and looked first
at the tiger and then at the wolf. His face showed that
for a moment he was quite frightened, but he soon saw
that the beasts were unable to approach him and so he
got upon his feet and examined them curiously, with a
mischievous smile upon his face. Then he deliberately
kicked the tiger's head with his foot and catching up a
fallen branch of a tree he went to the wolf and gave it
a good whacking. Both the beasts were furious at such
treatment but could not resent it.
Button Bright now threw down the stick and with his
hands in his pockets wandered carelessly away.
"Now," said Glinda, "let the Glass Cat run and find
him. He is in that direction," pointing the way, "but
how far off I do not know. Make haste and lead him back
to us as quickly as you can."
The Glass Cat did not obey everyone's orders, but she
really feared the great Sorceress, so as soon as the
words were spoken the crystal animal darted away and
was quickly lost to sight.
The Wizard handed the mirror back to Glinda, for the
woodland scene had now faded from the glass. Then those
who cared to rest sat down to await Button Bright's
coming. It was not long before be appeared through the
trees and as he rejoined his friends he said in a
peevish tone:
"Don't ever send that Glass Cat to find me again. She
was very impolite and, if we didn't all know that she
had no manners, I'd say she insulted me."
Glinda turned upon the boy sternly.
"You have caused all of us much anxiety and
annoyance," said she. "Only my magic saved you from
destruction. I forbid you to get lost again."
"Of course," he answered. "It won't be my fault if I
get lost again; but it wasn't my fault this time."
The Enchanted Fishes
I must now tell you what happened to Ervic and the
three other Skeezers who were left floating in the iron
boat after Queen Coo-ee-oh had been transformed into a
Diamond Swan by the magic of the Flathead Su-dic.
The four Skeezers were all young men and their leader
was Ervic. Coo-ee-oh had taken them with her in the
boat to assist her if she captured the Flathead chief,
as she hoped to do by means of her silver rope. They
knew nothing about the witchcraft that moved the
submarine and so, when left floating upon the lake,
were at a loss what to do. The submarine could not be
submerged by them or made to return to the sunken
island. There were neither oars nor sails in the boat,
which was not anchored but drifted quietly upon the
surface of the lake.
The Diamond Swan had no further thought or care for
her people. She had sailed over to the other side of
the lake and all the calls and pleadings of Ervic and
his companions were unheeded by the vain bird. As there
was nothing else for them to do, they sat quietly in
their boat and waited as patiently as they could for
someone to come to their aid.
The Flatheads had refused to help them and had gone
back to their mountain. All the Skeezers were
imprisoned in the Great Dome and could not help even
themselves. When evening came, they saw the Diamond
Swan, still keeping to the opposite shore of the lake,
walk out of the water to the sands, shake her diamond-sprinkled feathers, and then disappear among the bushes
to seek a resting place for the night.
"I'm hungry," said Ervic.
"I'm cold," said another Skeezer.
"I'm tired," said a third.
"I'm afraid," said the last one of them.
But it did them no good to complain. Night fell and
the moon rose and cast a silvery sheen over the surface
of the water.
"Go to sleep," said Ervic to his companions. "I'll
stay awake and watch, for we may be rescued in some
unexpected way.
So the other three laid themselves down in the bottom
of the boat and were soon fast asleep.
Ervic watched. He rested himself by leaning over the
bow of the boat, his face near to the moonlit water,
and thought dreamily of the day's surprising events and
wondered what would happen to the prisoners in the
Great Dome.
Suddenly a tiny goldfish popped its head above the
surface of the lake, not more than a foot from his
eyes. A silverfish then raised its head beside that of
the goldfish, and a moment later a bronzefish lifted
its head beside the others. The three fish, all in a
row, looked earnestly with their round, bright eyes
into the astonished eyes of Ervic the Skeezer.
"We are the three Adepts whom Queen Coo-ee-oh
betrayed and wickedly transformed," said the goldfish,
its voice low and soft but distinctly heard in the
stillness of the night.
"I know of our Queen's treacherous deed," replied
Ervic, "and I am sorry for your misfortune. Have you
been in the lake ever since?"
"Yes," was the reply.
"I -- I hope you are well -- and comfortable,"
stammered Ervic, not knowing what else to say.
"We knew that some day Ooo-ee-oh would meet with the
fate she so richly deserves," declared the bronzefish.
"We have waited and watched for this time. Now if you
will promise to help us and will be faithful and true,
you can aid us in regaining our natural forms, and save
yourself and all your people from the dangers that now
threaten you."
"Well," said Ervic, "you can depend on my doing the
best I can. But I'm no witch, nor magician, you must
know."
"All we ask is that you obey our instructions,"
returned the silverfish. "We know that you are honest
and that you served Coo-ee-oh only because you were
obliged to in order to escape her anger. Do as we
command and all will be well."
"I promise!" exclaimed the young man. "Tell me what I
am to do first."
"You will find in the bottom of your boat the silver
cord which dropped from Coo-ee-oh's hand when she was
transformed," said the goldfish. "Tie one end of that
cord to the bow of your boat and drop the other end to
us in the water. Together we will pull your boat to the
shore."
Ervic much doubted that the three small fishes could
move so heavy a boat, but he did as he was told and the
fishes all seized their end of the silver cord in their
mouths and headed toward the nearest shore, which was
the very place where the Flatheads had stood when they
conquered Queen Coo-ee-oh.
At first the boat did not move at all, although the
fishes pulled with all their strength. But presently
the strain began to tell. Very slowly the boat crept
toward the shore, gaining more speed at every moment. A
couple of yards away from the sandy beach the fishes
dropped the cord from their mouths and swam to one
side, while the iron boat, being now under way,
continued to move until its prow grated upon the sands.
Ervic leaned over the side and said to the fishes:
"What next?"
"You will find upon the sand," said the silverfish,
"a copper kettle, which the Su-dic forgot when he went
away. Cleanse it thoroughly in the water of the lake,
for it has had poison in it. When it is cleaned, fill
it with fresh water and hold it over the side of the
boat, so that we three may swim into the kettle. We
will then instruct you further."
"Do you wish me to catch you, then?" asked Ervic in
surprise.
"Yes," was the reply.
So Ervic jumped out of the boat and found the copper
kettle. Carrying it a little way down the beach, he
washed it well, scrubbing away every drop of the poison
it had contained with sand from the shore
Then he went back to the boat.
Ervic's comrades were still sound asleep and knew
nothing of the three fishes or what strange happenings
were taking place about them. Ervic dipped the kettle
in the lake, holding fast to the handle until it was
under water. The gold and silver and bronze fishes
promptly swam into the kettle. The young Skeezer then
lifted it, poured out a little of the water so it would
not spill over the edge, and said to the fishes: "What
next?"
"Carry the kettle to the shore. Take one hundred
steps to the east, along the edge of the lake, and then
you will see a path leading through the meadows, up
hill and down dale. Follow the path until you come to a
cottage which is painted a purple color with white
trimmings. When you stop at the gate of this cottage we
will tell you what to do next. Be careful, above all,
not to stumble and spill the water from the kettle, or
you would destroy us and all you have done would be in
vain."
The goldfish issued these commands and Ervic promised
to be careful and started to obey. He left his sleeping
comrades in the boat, stepping cautiously over their
bodies, and on reaching the shore took exactly one
hundred steps to the east. Then he looked for the path
and the moonlight was so bright that he easily
discovered it, although it was hidden from view by tall
weeds until one came full upon it. This path was very
narrow and did not seem to be much used, but it was
quite distinct and Ervic had no difficulty in following
it. He walked through a broad meadow, covered with tall
grass and weeds, up a hill and down into a valley and
then up another hill and down again.
It seemed to Ervic that he had walked miles and
miles. Indeed the moon sank low and day was beginning
to dawn when finally he discovered by the roadside a
pretty little cottage, painted purple with white
trimmings. It was a lonely place -- no other buildings
were anywhere about and the ground was not tilled at
all. No farmer lived here, that was certain. Who would
care to dwell in such an isolated place?
But Ervic did not bother his head long with such
questions. He went up to the gate that led to the
cottage, set the copper kettle carefully down and
bending over it asked:
"What next?"
Under the Great Dome
When Glinda the Good and her followers of the Rescue
Expedition came in sight of the Enchanted Mountain of
the Flatheads, it was away to the left of them, for the
route they had taken through the Great Forest was some
distance from that followed by Ozma and Dorothy.
They halted awhile to decide whether they should call
upon the Supreme Dictator first, or go on to the Lake
of the Skeezers.
"If we go to the mountain," said the Wizard, "we may
get into trouble with that wicked Su-dic, and then we
would be delayed in rescuing Ozma and Dorothy. So I
think our best plan will be to go to the Skeezer
Country, raise the sunken island and save our friends
and the imprisoned Skeezers. Afterward we can visit the
mountain and punish the cruel magician of the
Flatheads."
"That is sensible," approved the Shaggy Man. "I quite
agree with you."
The others, too, seemed to think the Wizard's plan
the best, and Glinda herself commended it, so on they
marched toward the line of palm trees that hid the
Skeezers' lake from view.
Pretty soon they came to the palms. These were set
closely together, the branches, which came quite to the
ground, being so tightly interlaced that even the Glass
Cat could scarcely find a place to squeeze through. The
path which the Flatheads used was some distance away.
"Here's a job for the Tin Woodman," said the
Scarecrow.
So the Tin Woodman, who was always glad to be of use,
set to work with his sharp, gleaming axe, which he
always carried, and in a surprisingly short time had
chopped away enough branches to permit them all to pass
easily through the trees.
Now the clear waters of the beautiful lake were
before them and by looking closely they could see the
outlines of the Great Dome of the sunken island, far
from shore and directly in the center of the lake.
Of course every eye was at first fixed upon this
dome, where Ozma and Dorothy and the Skeezers were
still fast prisoners. But soon their attention was
caught by a more brilliant sight, for here was the
Diamond Swan swimming just before them, its long neck
arched proudly, the amethyst eyes gleaming and all the
diamond-sprinkled feathers glistening splendidly under
the rays of the sun.
"That," said Glinda, "is the transformation of Queen
Coo-ce-oh, the haughty and wicked witch who betrayed
the three Adepts at Magic and treated her people like
slaves."
"She's wonderfully beautiful now," remarked the
Frogman.
"It doesn't seem like much of a punishment," said
Trot. "The Flathead Su-dic ought to have made her a
toad."
"I am sure Coo-ee-oh is punished," said Glinda, "for
she has lost all her magic power and her grand palace
and can no longer misrule the poor Skeezers."
"Let us call to her, and hear what she has to say,"
proposed the Wizard.
So Glinda beckoned the Diamond Swan, which swam
gracefully to a position near them. Before anyone could
speak Coo-ee-oh called to them in a rasping voice --
for the voice of a swan is always harsh and unpleasant
-- and said with much pride:
"Admire me, Strangers! Admire the lovely Coo-ee-oh,
the handsomest creature in all Oz. Admire me!"
"Handsome is as handsome does," replied the
Scarecrow. "Are your deeds lovely, Coo-ce-oh?"
"Deeds? What deeds can a swan do but swim around and
give pleasure to all beholders?" said the sparkling
bird.
"Have you forgotten your former life? Have you
forgotten your magic and witchcraft?" inquired the
Wizard.
"Magic -- witchcraft? Pshaw, who cares for such silly
things?" retorted Coo-ee-oh. "As for my past life, it
seems like an unpleasant dream. I wouldn't go back to
it if I could. Don't you admire my beauty, Strangers?"
"Tell us, Coo-ee-oh," said Glinda earnestly, "if you
can recall enough of your witchcraft to enable us to
raise the sunken island to the surface of the lake.
Tell us that and I'll give you a string of pearls to
wear around your neck and add to your beauty."
"Nothing can add to my beauty, for I'm the most
beautiful creature anywhere in the whole world."
"But how can we raise the island?"
"I don't know and I don't care. If ever I knew I've
forgotten, and I'm glad of it," was the response. "Just
watch me circle around and see me glitter!
"It's no use," said Button Bright; "the old Swan is
too much in love with herself to think of anything
else."
"That's a fact," agreed Betsy with a sigh; "but we've
got to get Ozma and Dorothy out of that lake, somehow
or other."
"And we must do it in our own way," added the
Scarecrow.
"But how?" asked Uncle Henry in a grave voice, for he
could not bear to think of his dear niece Dorothy being
out there under water; "how shall we do it?"
"Leave that to Glinda," advised the Wizard, realizing
he was helpless to do it himself.
"If it were just an ordinary sunken island," said the
powerful sorceress, "there would be several ways by
which I might bring it to the surface again. But this
is a Magic Isle, and by some curious art of witchcraft,
unknown to any but Queen Coo-ce-oh, it obeys certain
commands of magic and will not respond to any other. I
do not despair in the least, but it will require some
deep study to solve this difficult problem. If the Swan
could only remember the witchcraft that she invented
and knew as a woman, I could force her to tell me the
secret, but all her former knowledge is now forgotten."
"It seems to me," said the Wizard after a brief
silence had followed Glinda's speech, "that there are
three fishes in this lake that used to be Adepts at
Magic and from whom Coo-ee-oh stole much of her
knowledge. If we could find those fishes and return
them to their former shapes, they could doubtless tell
us what to do to bring the sunken island to the
surface."
"I have thought of those fishes," replied Glinda,
"but among so many fishes as this lake contains how are
we to single them out?"
You will understand, of course, that had Glinda been
at home in her castle, where the Great Book of Records
was, she would have known that Ervic the Skeezer
already had taken the gold and silver and bronze fishes
from the lake. But that act had been recorded in the
Book after Glinda had set out on this journey, so it
was all unknown to her.
"I think I see a boat yonder on the shore," said Ojo
the Munchkin boy, pointing to a place around the edge
of the lake. "If we could get that boat and row all
over the lake, calling to the magic fishes, we might be
able to find them."
"Let us go to the boat," said the Wizard.
They walked around the lake to where the boat was
stranded upon the beach, but found it empty. It was a
mere shell of blackened steel, with a collapsible roof
that, when in position, made the submarine watertight,
but at present the roof rested in slots on either side
of the magic craft. There were no oars or sails, no
machinery to make the boat go, and although Glinda
promptly realized it was meant to be operated by
witchcraft, she was not acquainted with that sort of
magic.
"However," said she, "the boat is merely a boat, and
I believe I can make it obey a command of sorcery, as
well as it did the command of witchcraft. After I have
given a little thought to the matter, the boat will
take us wherever we desire to go."
"Not all of us," returned the Wizard, "for it won't
hold so many. But, most noble Sorceress, provided you
can make the boat go, of what use will it be to us?"
"Can't we use it to catch the three fishes?" asked
Button Bright.
"It will not be necessary to use the boat for that
purpose," replied Glinda. "Wherever in the lake the
enchanted fishes may be, they will answer to my call.
What I am trying to discover is how the boat came to be
on this shore, while the island on which it belongs is
under water yonder. Did Coo-ee-oh come here in the boat
to meet the Flatheads before the island was sunk, or
afterward?"
No one could answer that question, of course; but
while they pondered the matter three young men advanced
from the line of trees, and rather timidly bowed to the
strangers.
"Who are you, and where did you come from?" inquired
the Wizard.
"We are Skeezers," answered one of them, "and our
home is on the Magic Isle of the Lake. We ran away when
we saw you coming, and hid behind the trees, but as you
are Strangers and seem to be friendly we decided to
meet you, for we are in great trouble and need
assistance."
"If you belong on the island, why are you here?"
demanded Glinda.
So they told her all the story: How the Queen had
defied the Flatheads and submerged the whole island so
that her enemies could not get to it or destroy it;
how, when the Flatheads came to the shore, Coo-ee-oh
had commanded them, together with their friend Ervic,
to go with her in the submarine to conquer the Su-dic,
and how the boat had shot out from the basement of the
sunken isle, obeying a magic word, and risen to the
surface, where it opened and floated upon the water.
Then followed the account of how the Su-dic had
transformed Coo-ee-oh into a swan, after which she had
forgotten all the witchcraft she ever knew. The young
men told how, in the night when they were asleep, their
comrade Ervic had mysteriously disappeared, while the
boat in some strange manner had floated to the shore
and stranded upon the beach.
That was all they knew. They had searched in vain for
three days for Ervic. As their island was under water
and they could not get back to it, the three Skeezers
had no place to go, and so had waited patiently beside
their boat for something to happen.
Being questioned by Glinda and the Wizard, they told
all they knew about Ozma and Dorothy and declared the
two girls were still in the village under the Great
Dome. They were quite safe and would be well cared for
by Lady Aurex, now that the Queen who opposed them was
out of the way.
When they had gleaned all the information they could
from these Skeezers, the Wizard said to Glinda:
"If you find you can make this boat obey your
sorcery, you could have it return to the island,
submerge itself, and enter the door in the basement
from which it came. But I cannot see that our going to
the sunken island would enable our friends to escape.
We would only Join them as prisoners."
"Not so, friend Wizard," replied Glinda. "If the boat
would obey my commands to enter the basement door, it
would also obey my commands to come out again, and I
could bring Ozma and Dorothy back with me."
"And leave all of our people still imprisoned?" asked
one of the Skeezers reproachfully.
"By making several trips in the boat, Glinda could
fetch all your people to the shore," replied the
Wizard.
"But what could they do then?" inquired another
Skeezer. "They would have no homes and no place to go,
and would be at the mercy of their enemies, the
Flatheads."
"That is true," said Glinda the Good. "And as these
people are Ozma's subjects, I think she would refuse to
escape with Dorothy and leave the others behind, or to
abandon the island which is the lawful home of the
Skeezers. I believe the best plan will be to summon the
three fishes and learn from them how to raise the
island."
The little Wizard seemed to think that this was
rather a forlorn hope.
"How will you summon them," he asked the lovely
Sorceress, "and how can they hear you?"
"That is something we must consider carefully,"
responded stately Glinda, with a serene smile. "I
think I can find a way."
All of Ozma's counsellors applauded this sentiment,
for they knew well the powers of the Sorceress.
"Very well," agreed the Wizard. "Summon them, most
noble Glinda."
The Cleverness of Ervic
We must now return to Ervic the Skeezer, who, when he
had set down the copper kettle containing the three
fishes at the gate of the lonely cottage, had asked,
"What next?"
The goldfish stuck its head above the water in the
kettle and said in its small but distinct voice:
"You are to lift the latch, open the door, and walk
boldly into the cottage. Do not be afraid of anything
you see, for however you seem to be threatened with
dangers, nothing can harm you. The cottage is the home
of a powerful Yookoohoo, named Reera the Red, who
assumes all sorts of forms, sometimes changing her form
several times in a day, according to her fancy. What
her real form may be we do not know. This strange
creature cannot be bribed with treasure, or coaxed
through friendship, or won by pity. She has never
assisted anyone, or done wrong to anyone, that we know
of. All her wonderful powers are used for her own
selfish amusement. She will order you out of the house
but you must refuse to go. Remain and watch Reera
closely and try to see what she uses to accomplish her
transformations. If you can discover the secret
whisper it to us and we will then tell you what to do
next."
"That sounds easy," returned Ervic, who had listened
carefully. "But are you sure she will not hurt me, or
try to transform me?"
"She may change your form," replied the goldfish,
"but do not worry if that happens, for we can break
that enchantment easily. You may be sure that nothing
will harm you, so you must not be frightened at
anything you see or hear."
Now Ervic was as brave as any ordinary young man, and
he knew the fishes who spoke to him were truthful and
to be relied upon, nevertheless he experienced a
strange sinking of the heart as he picked up the kettle
and approached the door of the cottage. His hand
trembled as he raised the latch, but he was resolved to
obey his instructions. He pushed the door open, took
three strides into the middle of the one room the
cottage contained, and then stood still and looked
around him.
The sights that met his gaze were enough to frighten
anyone who had not been properly warned. On the floor
just before Ervic lay a great crocodile, its red eyes
gleaming wickedly and its wide open mouth displaying
rows of sharp teeth. Horned toads hopped about; each
of the four upper corners of the room was festooned
with a thick cobweb, in the center of which sat a
spider as big around as a washbasin, and armed with
pincher-like claws; a red-and-green lizard was
stretched at full length on the window-sill and black
rats darted in and out of the holes they had gnawed in
the floor of the cottage.
But the most startling thing was a huge gray ape
which sat upon a bench and knitted. It wore a lace cap,
such as old ladies wear, and a little apron of lace,
but no other clothing. Its eyes were bright and looked
as if coals were burning in them. The ape moved as
naturally as an ordinary person might, and on Ervic's
entrance stopped knitting and raised its head to look
at him.
"Get out!" cried a sharp voice, seeming to come from
the ape's mouth.
Ervic saw another bench, empty, just beyond him, so
he stepped over the crocodile, sat down upon the bench
and carefully placed the kettle beside him.
"Get out!" again cried the voice.
Ervic shook his head.
"No," said he, "I'm going to stay."
The spiders left their four corners, dropped to the
floor and made a rush toward the young Skeezer,
circling around his legs with their pinchers extended.
Ervic paid no attention to them. An enormous black rat
ran up Ervic's body, passed around his shoulders and
uttered piercing squeals in his ears, but he did not
wince. The green-and-red lizard, coming from the
window-sill, approached Ervic and began spitting a
flaming fluid at him, but Ervic merely stared at the
creature and its flame did not touch him.
The crocodile raised its tail and, swinging around,
swept Ervic off the bench with a powerful blow. But the
Skeezer managed to save the kettle from upsetting and
he got up, shook off the horned toads that were
crawling over him and resumed his seat on the bench.
All the creatures, after this first attack, remained
motionless, as if awaiting orders. The old gray ape
knitted on, not looking toward Ervic now, and the young
Skeezer stolidly kept his seat. He expected something
else to happen, but nothing did. A full hour passed and
Ervic was growing nervous.
"What do you want?" the ape asked at last.
"Nothing," said Ervic.
"You may have that!" retorted the ape, and at this
all the strange creatures in the room broke into a
chorus of cackling laughter.
Another long wait.
"Do you know who I am?" questioned the ape.
"You must be Reera the Red -- the Yookoohoo," Ervic
answered.
"Knowing so much, you must also know that I do not
like strangers. Your presence here in my home annoys
me. Do you not fear my anger?"
"No," said the young man.
"Do you intend to obey me, and leave this house?"
"No," replied Ervic, just as quietly as the Yookoohoo
had spoken.
The ape knitted for a long time before resuming the
conversation.
"Curiosity," it said, "has led to many a man's
undoing. I suppose in some way you have learned that I
do tricks of magic, and so through curiosity you have
come here. You may have been told that I do not injure
anyone, so you are bold enough to disobey my commands
to go away. You imagine that you may witness some of
the rites of witchcraft, and that they may amuse you.
Have I spoken truly?"
"Well," remarked Ervic, who had been pondering on the
strange circumstances of his coming here, "you are
right in some ways, but not in others. I am told that
you work magic only for your own amusement. That seems
to me very selfish. Few people understand magic. I'm
told that you are the only real Yookoohoo in all Oz.
Why don't you amuse others as well as yourself?"
"What right have you to question my actions?"
"None at all."
"And you say you are not here to demand any
favors of me?"
"For myself I want nothing from you."
"You are wise in that. I never grant favors."
"That doesn't worry me," declared Ervic.
"But you are curious? You hope to witness some of my
magic transformations?"
"If you wish to perform any magic, go ahead," said
Ervic. "It may interest me and it may not. If you'd
rather go on with your knitting, it's all the same to
me. I am in no hurry at all."
This may have puzzled Red Reera, but the face beneath
the lace cap could show no expression, being covered
with hair. Perhaps in all her career the Yookoohoo had
never been visited by anyone who, like this young man,
asked for nothing, expected nothing, and had no reason
for coming except curiosity. This attitude practically
disarmed the witch and she began to regard the Skeezer
in a more friendly way. She knitted for some time,
seemingly in deep thought, and then she arose and
walked to a big cupboard that stood against the wall of
the room. When the cupboard door was opened Ervic could
see a lot of drawers inside, and into one of these
drawers -- the second from the bottom -- Reera thrust a
hairy hand.
Until now Ervic could see over the bent form of the
ape, but suddenly the form, with its back to him,
seemed to straighten up and blot out the cupboard of
drawers. The ape had changed to the form of a woman,
dressed in the pretty Gillikin costume, and when she
turned around he saw that it was a young woman, whose
face was quite attractive.
"Do you like me better this way?" Reera inquired with
a smile.
"You look better," he said calmly, "but I'm not sure
I like you any better."
She laughed, saying: "During the heat of the day I
like to be an ape, for an ape doesn't wear any clothes
to speak of. But if one has gentlemen callers it is
proper to dress up."
Ervic noticed her right hand was closed, as if she
held something in it. She shut the cupboard door, bent
over the crocodile and in a moment the creature had
changed to a red wolf. It was not pretty even now, and
the wolf crouched beside its mistress as a dog might
have done. Its teeth looked as dangerous as had those
of the crocodile.
Next the Yookoohoo went about touching all the
lizards and toads, and at her touch they became
kittens. The rats she changed into chipmunks. Now the
only horrid creatures remaining were the four great
spiders, which hid themselves behind their thick webs.
"There!" Reera cried, "now my cottage presents a more
comfortable appearance. I love the toads and lizards
and rats, because most people hate them, but I would
tire of them if they always remained the same.
Sometimes I change their forms a dozen times a day."
"You are clever," said Ervic. "I did not hear you
utter any incantations or magic words. All you did was
to touch the creatures."
"Oh, do you think so?" she replied. "Well, touch them
yourself, if you like, and see if you can change their
forms."
"No," said the Skeezer, "I don't understand magic and
if I did I would not try to imitate your skill. You are
a wonderful Yookoohoo, while I am only a common
Skeezer."
This confession seemed to please Reera, who liked to
have her witchcraft appreciated.
"Will you go away now?" she asked. "I prefer to be
alone."
"I prefer to stay here," said Ervic.
"In another person's home, where you are not wanted?"
"Yes."
"Is not your curiosity yet satisfied?" demanded
Reera, with a smile.
"I don't know. Is there anything else you can do?"
"Many things. But why should I exhibit my powers to a
stranger?"
"I can think of no reason at all," he replied.
She looked at him curiously.
"You want no power for yourself, you say, and you're
too stupid to be able to steal my secrets. This isn't a
pretty cottage, while outside are sunshine, broad
prairies and beautiful wildflowers. Yet you insist on
sitting on that bench and annoying me with your
unwelcome presence. What have you in that kettle?"
"Three fishes," he answered readily.
"Where did you get them?"
"I caught them in the Lake of the Skeezers."
"What do you intend to do with the fishes?"
"I shall carry them to the home of a friend of mine
who has three children. The children will love to have
the fishes for pets."
She came over to the bench and looked into the
kettle, where the three fishes were swimming quietly in
the water.
"They're pretty," said Reera. "Let me transform them
into something else."
"No," objected the Skeezer.
"I love to transform things; it's so interesting. And
I've never transformed any fishes in all my life."
"Let them alone," said Ervic.
"What shapes would you prefer them to have? I can
make them turtles, or cute little sea-horses; or I
could make them piglets, or rabbits, or guinea-pigs;
or, if you like I can make chickens of them, or eagles,
or bluejays."
"Let them alone!" repeated Ervic.
"You're not a very pleasant visitor," laughed Red
Reera. "People accuse me of being cross and crabbed
and unsociable, and they are quite right. If you had
come here pleading and begging for favors, and half
afraid of my Yookoohoo magic, I'd have abused you until
you ran away; but you're quite different from that.
You're the unsociable and crabbed and disagreeable one,
and so I like you, and bear with your grumpiness. It's
time for my midday meal; are you hungry?"
"No," said Ervic, although he really desired food.
"Well, I am," Reera declared and clapped her hands
together. Instantly a table appeared, spread with linen
and bearing dishes of various foods, some smoking hot.
There were two plates laid, one at each end of the
table, and as soon as Reera seated herself all her
creatures gathered around her, as if they were
accustomed to be fed when she ate. The wolf squatted at
her right hand and the kittens and chipmunks gathered
at her left.
"Come, Stranger, sit down and eat," she called
cheerfully, "and while we're eating let us decide into
what forms we shall change your fishes."
"They're all right as they are," asserted Ervic,
drawing up his bench to the table. "The fishes are
beauties -- one gold, one silver and one bronze.
Nothing that has life is more lovely than a beautiful
fish."
"What! Am I not more lovely?" Reera asked, smiling at
his serious face.
"I don't object to you -- for a Yookoohoo, you know,"
he said, helping himself to the food and eating with
good appetite.
"And don't you consider a beautiful girl more lovely
than a fish, however pretty the fish may be?"
"Well," replied Ervic, after a period of thought,
"that might be. If you transformed my three fish into
three girls -- girls who would be Adepts at Magic, you
know they might please me as well as the fish do. You
won't do that of course, because you can't, with all
your skill. And, should you be able to do so, I fear my
troubles would be more than I could bear. They would
not consent to be my slaves -- especially if they were
Adepts at Magic -- and so they would command me to obey
them. No, Mistress Reeraq let us not transform the
fishes at all."
The Skeezer had put his case with remarkable
cleverness. He realized that if he appeared anxious for
such a transformation the Yookoohoo would not perform
it, yet he had skillfully suggested that they be made
Adepts at Magic.
Red Reera, the Yookoohoo
After the meal was over and Reera had fed her pets,
including the four monster spiders which had come down
from their webs to secure their share, she made the
table disappear from the floor of the cottage.
"I wish you'd consent to my transforming your
fishes," she said, as she took up her knitting again.
The Skeezer made no reply. He thought it unwise to
hurry matters. All during the afternoon they sat
silent. Once Reera went to her cupboard and after
thrusting her hand into the same drawer as before,
touched the wolf and transformed it into a bird with
gorgeous colored feathers. This bird was larger than a
parrot and of a somewhat different form, but Ervic had
never seen one like it before.
"Sing!" said Reera to the bird, which had perched
itself on a big wooden peg -- as if it had been in the
cottage before and knew just what to do.
And the bird sang jolly, rollicking songs with words
to them -- just as a person who had been carefully
trained might do. The songs were entertaining and Ervic
enjoyed listening to them. In an hour or so the bird
stopped singing, tucked its head under its wing and
went to sleep. Reera continued knitting but seemed
thoughtful.
Now Ervic had marked this cupboard drawer well and
had concluded that Reera took something from it which
enabled her to perform her transformations. He thought
that if he managed to remain in the cottage, and Reera
fell asleep, he could slyly open the cupboard, take a
portion of whatever was in the drawer, and by dropping
it into the copper kettle transform the three fishes
into their natural shapes. Indeed, he had firmly
resolved to carry out this plan when the Yookoohoo put
down her knitting and walked toward the door.
"I'm going out for a few minutes," said she; "do you
wish to go with me, or will you remain here?"
Ervic did not answer but sat quietly on his bench. So
Reera went out and closed the cottage door.
As soon as she was gone, Ervic rose and tiptoed to
the cupboard.
"Take care! Take care!" cried several voices, coming
from the kittens and chipmunks. "If you touch anything
we'll tell the Yookoohoo!"
Ervic hesitated a moment but, remembering that he
need not consider Reera's anger if he succeeded in
transforming the fishes, he was about to open the
cupboard when he was arrested by the voices of the
fishes, which stuck their heads above the water in the
kettle and called out:
"Come here, Ervic!"
So he went back to the kettle and bent over it
"Let the cupboard alone," said the goldfish to him
earnestly. "You could not succeed by getting that magic
powder, for only the Yookoohoo knows how to use it. The
best way is to allow her to transform us into three
girls, for then we will have our natural shapes and be
able to perform all the Arts of Magic we have learned
and well understand. You are acting wisely and in the
most effective manner. We did not know you were so
intelligent, or that Reera could be so easily deceived
by you. Continue as you have begun and try to persuade
her to transform us. But insist that we be given the
forms of girls."
The goldfish ducked its head down just as Reera re-entered the cottage. She saw Ervic bent over the
kettle, so she came and joined him.
"Can your fishes talk?" she asked.
"Sometimes," he replied, "for all fishes in the Land
of Oz know how to speak. Just now they were asking me
for some bread. They are hungry."
"Well, they can have some bread," said Reera. "But it
is nearly supper-time, and if you would allow me to
transform your fishes into girls they could join us at
the table and have plenty of food much nicer than
crumbs. Why not let me transform them?"
"Well," said Ervic, as if hesitating, "ask the
fishes. If they consent, why -- why, then, I'll think
it over."
Reera bent over the kettle and asked:
"Can you hear me, little fishes?"
All three popped their heads above water.
"We can hear you," said the bronzefish.
"I want to give you other forms, such as rabbits, or
turtles or girls, or something; but your master, the
surly Skeezer, does not wish me to. However, he has
agreed to the plan if you will consent."
"We'd like to be girls," said the silverfish.
"No, no!" exclaimed Ervic.
"If you promise to make us three beautiful girls,
we will consent," said the goldfish.
"No, no!" exclaimed Ervic again.
"Also make us Adepts at Magic," added the bronzefish.
"I don't know exactly what that means," replied Reera
musingly, "but as no Adept at Magic is as powerful as
Yookoohoo, I'll add that to the transformation."
"We won't try to harm you, or to interfere with your
magic in any way," promised the goldfish. "On the
contrary, we will be your friends."
"Will you agree to go away and leave me alone in my
cottage, whenever I command you to do so?" asked Reera.
"We promise that," cried the three fishes.
"Don't do it! Don't consent to the transformation,"
urged Ervic.
"They have already consented," said the Yookoohoo,
laughing in his face, "and you have promised me to
abide by their decision. So, friend Skeezer, I shall
perform the transformation whether you like it or not."
Ervic seated himself on the bench again, a deep scowl
on his face but joy in his heart. Reera moved over to
the cupboard, took something from the drawer and
returned to the copper kettle. She was clutching
something tightly in her right hand, but with her left
she reached within the kettle, took out the three
fishes and laid them carefully on the floor, where they
gasped in distress at being out of water.
Reera did not keep them in misery more than a few
seconds, for she touched each one with her right hand
and instantly the fishes were transformed into three
tall and slender young women, with fine, intelligent
faces and clothed in handsome, clinging gowns. The one
who had been a goldfish had beautiful golden hair and
blue eyes and was exceedingly fair of skin; the one who
had been a bronzefish had dark brown hair and clear
gray eyes and her complexion matched these lovely
features. The one who had been a silverfish had snow-white hair of the finest texture and deep brown eyes.
The hair contrasted exquisitely with her pink cheeks
and ruby-red lips, nor did it make her look a day older
than her two companions.
As soon as they secured these girlish shapes, all
three bowed low to the Yookoohoo and said:
"We thank you, Reera."
Then they bowed to the Skeezer and said:
"We thank you, Ervic."
"Very good!" cried the Yookoohoo, examining her work
with critical approval. "You are much better and more
interesting than fishes, and this ungracious Skeezer
would scarcely allow me to do the transformations. You
surely have nothing to thank him for. But now let us
dine in honor of the occasion."
She clapped her hands together and again a table
loaded with food appeared in the cottage. It was a
longer table, this time, and places were set for the
three Adepts as well as for Reera and Ervic.
"Sit down, friends, and eat your fill," said the
Yookoohoo, but instead of seating herself at the head
of the table she went to the cupboard, saying to the
Adepts: "Your beauty and grace, my fair friends, quite
outshine my own. So that I may appear properly at the
banquet table I intend, in honor of this occasion, to
take upon myself my natural shape."
Scarcely had she finished this speech when Reera
transformed herself into a young woman fully as lovely
as the three Adepts. She was not quite so tall as they,
but her form was more rounded and more handsomely
clothed, with a wonderful jeweled girdle and a necklace
of shining pearls. Her hair was a bright auburn red,
and her eyes large and dark.
"Do you claim this is your natural form?" asked Ervic
of the Yookoohoo.
"Yes," she replied. "This is the only form I am
really entitled to wear. But I seldom assume it because
there is no one here to admire or appreciate it and I
get tired admiring it myself."
"I see now why you are named Reera the Red," remarked
Ervic.
"It is on account of my red hair," she explained
smiling. "I do not care for red hair myself, which is
one reason I usually wear other forms."
"It is beautiful," asserted the young man; and then
remembering the other women present he added: "But, of
course, all women should not have red hair, because
that would make it too common. Gold and silver and
brown hair are equally handsome."
The smiles that he saw interchanged between the four
filled the poor Skeezer with embarrassment, so he fell
silent and attended to eating his supper, leaving the
others to do the talking. The three Adepts frankly told
Reera who they were. how they became fishes and how
they had planned secretly to induce the Yookoohoo to
transform them. They admitted that they had feared, had
they asked her to help, that she would have refused
them.
"You were quite right," returned the Yookoohoo. "I
make it my rule never to perform magic to assist
others, for if I did there would always be crowd at my
cottage demanding help and I hate crowds and want to be
left alone."
"However, now that you are restored to your proper
shapes, I do not regret my action and I hope you will
be of use in saving the Skeezer people by raising their
island to the surface of the lake, where it really
belongs. But you must promise me that after you go away
you will never come here again, nor tell anyone what I
have done for you."
The three Adepts and Ervic thanked the Yookoohoo
warmly. They promised to remember her wish that they
should not come to her cottage again and so, with a
goodbye, took their departure.
A Puzzling Problem
Glinda the Good, having decided to try her sorcery
upon the abandoned submarine, so that it would obey her
commands, asked all of her party, including the
Skeezers, to withdraw from the shore of the take to the
line of palm trees. She kept with her only the little
Wizard of Oz, who was her pupil and knew how to assist
her in her magic rites. When they two were alone beside
the stranded boat, Glinda said to the Wizard:
"I shall first try my magic recipe No. 1163, which is
intended to make inanimate objects move at my command.
Have you a skeropythrope with you?"
"Yes, I always carry one in my bag," replied the
Wizard. He opened his black bag of magic tools and took
out a brightly polished skeropythrope, which he handed
to the Sorceress. Glinda had also brought a small
wicker bag, containing various requirements of sorcery,
and from this she took a parcel of powder and a vial of
liquid. She poured the liquid into the skeropythrope
and added the powder. At once the skeropythrope began
to sputter and emit sparks of a violet color, which
spread in all directions. The Sorceress instantly
stepped into the middle of the boat and held the
instrument so that the sparks fell all around her and
covered every bit of the blackened steel boat. At the
same time Glinda crooned a weird incantation in the
language of sorcery, her voice sounding low and
musical.
After a little the violet sparks ceased, and those
that had fallen upon the boat had disappeared and left
no mark upon its surface. The ceremony was ended and
Glinda returned the skeropythrope to the Wizard, who
put it away in his black bag.
"That ought to do the business all right," he said
confidently
"Let us make a trial and see," she replied.
So they both entered the boat and seated themselves.
Speaking in a tone of command the Sorceress said to
the boat: "Carry us across the lake, to the farther
shore."
At once the boat backed off the sandy beach, turned
its prow and moved swiftly over the water.
"Very good -- very good indeed!" cried the Wizard,
when the boat slowed up at the shore opposite from that
whence they had departed. "Even Coo-ee-oh, with all
her witchcraft, could do no better."
The Sorceress now said to the boat:
"Close up, submerge and carry us to the basement door
of the sunken island -- the door from which you emerged
at the command of Queen Coo-ee-oh."
The boat obeyed. As it sank into the water the top
sections rose from the sides and joined together over
the heads of Glinda and the Wizard, who were thus
enclosed in a water-proof chamber. There were four
glass windows in this covering, one on each side and
one on either end, so that the passengers could see
exactly where they were going. Moving under water more
slowly than on the surface, the submarine gradually
approached the island and halted with its bow pressed
against the huge marble door in the basement under the
Dome. This door was tightly closed and it was evident
to both Glinda and the Wizard that it would not open to
admit the underwater boat unless a magic word was
spoken by them or someone from within the basement of
the island. But what was this magic word? Neither of
them knew.
"I'm afraid," said the Wizard regretfully, "that we
can't get in, after all. Unless your sorcery can
discover the word to open the marble door."
"That is probably some word only known to Coo-ce-oh,"
replied the Sorceress. "I may be able to discover what
it is, but that will require time. Let us go back
again to our companions."
"It seems a shame, after we have made the boat obey
us, to be balked by just a marble door," grumbled the
Wizard.
At Glinda's command the boat rose until it was on a
level with the glass dome that covered the Skeezer
village, when the Sorceress made it slowly circle all
around the Great Dome.
Many faces were pressed against the glass from the
inside, eagerly watching the submarine, and in one
place were Dorothy and Ozma, who quickly recognized
Glinda and the Wizard through the glass windows of the
boat. Glinda saw them, too, and held the boat close to
the Dome while the friends exchanged greetings in
pantomime. Their voices, unfortunately, could not be
heard through the Dome and the water and the side of
the boat. The Wizard tried to make the girls
understand, through signs, that he and Glinda had come
to their rescue, and Ozma and Dorothy understood this
from the very fact that the Sorceress and the Wizard
had appeared. The two girl prisoners were smiling and
in safety, and knowing this Glinda felt she could take
all the time necessary in order to effect their final
rescue.
As nothing more could be done just then, Glinda
ordered the boat to return to shore and it obeyed
readily. First it ascended to the surface of the water,
then the roof parted and fell into the slots at the
side of the boat, and then the magic craft quickly made
the shore and beached itself on the sands at the very
spot from which it had departed at Glinda's command.
All the Oz people and the Skeezers at once ran to the
boat to ask if they had reached the island, and whether
they had seen Ozma and Dorothy. The Wizard told them of
the obstacle they had met in the way of a marble door,
and how Glinda would now undertake to find a magic way
to conquer the door.
Realizing that it would require several days to
succeed in reaching the island raising it and
liberating their friends and the Skeezer people, Glinda
now prepared a camp half way between the lake shore and
the palm trees.
The Wizard's wizardry made a number of tents appear
and the sorcery of the Sorceress furnished these tents
all complete, with beds, chairs, tables, flags, lamps
and even books with which to pass idle hours. All the
tents had the Royal Banner of Oz flying from the
centerpoles and one big tent, not now occupied, had
Ozma's own banner moving in the breeze.
Betsy and Trot had a tent to themselves, and Button
Bright and Ojo had another. The Scarecrow and the Tin
Woodman paired together in one tent and so did Jack
Pumpkinhead and the Shaggy Man, Cap'n Bill and Uncle
Henry, Tik-Tok and Professor Wogglebug. Glinda had the
most splendid tent of all, except that reserved for
Ozma, while the Wizard had a little one of his own.
Whenever it was meal time, tables loaded with food
magically appeared in the tents of those who were in
the habit of eating, and these complete arrangements
made the rescue party just comfortable as they would
have been in their own homes.
Far into the night Glinda sat in her tent studying a
roll of mystic scrolls in search of a word that would
open the basement door of the island and admit her to
the Great Dome. She also made many magical experiments,
hoping to discover something that would aid her. Yet
the morning found the powerful Sorceress still
unsuccessful.
Glinda's art could have opened any ordinary door, you
may be sure, but you must realize that this marble door
of the island had been commanded not to open save in
obedience to one magic word, and therefore all other
magic words could have no effect upon it. The magic
word that guarded the door had probably been invented
by Coo-ee-oh, who had now forgotten it. The only way,
then, to gain entrance to the sunken island was to
break the charm that held the door fast shut. If this
could be done no magic would be required to open it.
The next day the Sorceress and the Wizard again
entered the boat and made it submerge and go to the
marble door, which they tried in various ways to open,
but without success.
"We shall have to abandon this attempt, I think,"
said Glinda. "The easiest way to raise the island would
be for us to gain admittance to the Dome and then
descend to the basement and see in what manner
Coo-ee-oh made the entire island sink or rise at her
command. It naturally occurred to me that the easiest
way to gain admittance would be by having the boat take
us into the basement through the marble door from which
Coo-ee-oh launched it. But there must be other ways to
get inside the Dome and join Ozma and Dorothy, and such
ways we must find by study and the proper use of our
powers of magic."
"It won't be easy," declared the Wizard, "for we must
not forget that Ozma herself understands considerable
magic, and has doubtless tried to raise the island or
find other means of escape from it and failed."
"That is true," returned Glinda, "but Ozma's magic is
fairy magic, while you are a Wizard and I am a
Sorceress. In this way the three of us have a great
variety of magic to work with, and if we should all
fail it will be because the island is raised and
lowered by a magic power none of us is acquainted with.
My idea therefore is to seek -- by such magic as we
possess -- to accomplish our object in another way."
They made the circle of the Dome again in their boat,
and once more saw Ozma and Dorothy through their
windows and exchanged signals with the two imprisoned
girls.
Ozma realized that her friends were doing all in
their power to rescue her and smiled an encouragement
to their efforts. Dorothy seemed a little anxious but
was trying to be as brave as her companion.
After the boat had returned to the camp and Glinda
was seated in her tent, working out various ways by
which Ozma and Dorothy could be rescued, the Wizard
stood on the shore dreamily eying the outlines of the
Great Dome which showed beneath the clear water, when
he raised his eyes and saw a group of strange people
approaching from around the lake. Three were young
women of stately presence, very beautifully dressed,
who moved with remarkable grace. They were followed at
a little distance by a good-looking young Skeezer.
The Wizard saw at a glance that these people might be
very important, so he advanced to meet them. The three
maidens received him graciously and the one with the
golden hair said:
"I believe you are the famous Wizard of Oz, of whom I
have often heard. We are seeking Glinda, the Sorceress,
and perhaps you can lead us to her."
"I can, and will, right gladly," answered the Wizard.
"Follow me, please."
The little Wizard was puzzled as to the identity of
the three lovely visitors but he gave no sign that
might embarrass them.
He understood they did not wish to be questioned, and
so he made no remarks as he led the way to Glinda's
tent.
With a courtly bow the Wizard ushered the three
visitors into the gracious presence of Glinda, the
Good.
The Three Adepts
The Sorceress looked up from her work as the three
maidens entered, and something in their appearance and
manner led her to rise and bow to them in her most
dignified manner. The three knelt an instant before the
great Sorceress and then stood upright and waited for
her to speak.
"Whoever you may be," said Glinda, "I bid you
welcome."
"My name is Audah," said one.
"My name is Aurah," said another.
"My name is Aujah," said the third.
Glinda had never heard these names before, but
looking closely at the three she asked:
"Are you witches or workers in magic?"
"Some of the secret arts we have gleaned from
Nature," replied the brownhaired maiden modestly, "but
we do not place our skill beside that of the Great
Sorceress, Glinda the Good."
"I suppose you are aware it is unlawful to practice
magic in the Land of Oz, without the permission of our
Ruler, Princess Ozma?"
"No, we were not aware of that," was the reply. "We
have heard of Ozma, who is the appointed Ruler of all
this great fairyland, but her laws have not reached us,
as yet."
Glinda studied the strange maidens thoughtfully; then
she said to them:
"Princess Ozma is even now imprisoned in the Skeezer
village. for the whole island with its Great Dome, was
sunk to the bottom of the lake by the witchcraft of
Coo-ee-oh, whom the Flathead Su-dic transformed into a
silly swan. I am seeking some way to overcome
Coo-ee-oh's magic and raise the isle to the surface
again. Can you help me do this?"
The maidens exchanged glances, and the white-haired
one replied
"We do not know; but we will try to assist you."
"It seems," continued Glinda musingly, "that
Coo-ee-oh derived most of her witchcraft from three
Adepts at Magic, who at one time ruled the Flatheads.
While the Adepts were being entertained by Coo-ee-oh at
a banquet in her palace, she cruelly betrayed them and
after transforming them into fishes cast them into the
lake.
"If I could find these three fishes and return them
to their natural shapes -- they might know what magic
Coo-ee-oh used to sink the island. I was about to go to
the shore and call these fishes to me when you arrived.
So, if you will join me, we will try to find them."
The maidens exchanged smiles now, and the golden-haired one, Audah, said to Glinda:
"It will not be necessary to go to the lake. We are
the three fishes."
"Indeed!" cried Glinda. "Then you are the three
Adepts at Magic, restored to your proper forms?"
"We are the three Adepts," admitted Aujah.
"Then," said Glinda, "my task is half accomplished.
But who destroyed the transformation that made you
fishes?"
"We have promised not to tell," answered Aurah; "but
this young Skeezer was largely responsible for our
release; he is brave and clever, and we owe him our
gratitude."
Glinda looked at Ervic, who stood modestly behind the
Adepts, hat in hand. "He shall be properly rewarded,"
she declared, "for in helping you he has helped us all,
and perhaps saved his people from being imprisoned
forever in the sunken isle."
The Sorceress now asked her guests to seat themselves
and a long talk followed, in which the Wizard of Oz
shared.
"We are quite certain," said Aurah, "that if we could
get inside the Dome we could discover Coo-ee-oh's
secrets, for in all her work, after we became fishes,
she used the formulas and incantations and arts that
she stole from us. She may have added to these things,
but they were the foundation of all her work."
"What means do you suggest for our getting into the
Dome?" inquired Glinda.
The three Adepts hesitated to reply, for they had not
yet considered what could be done to reach the inside
of the Great Dome. While they were in deep thought, and
Glinda and the Wizard were quietly awaiting their
suggestions, into the tent rushed Trot and Betsy,
dragging between them the Patchwork Girl.
"Oh, Glinda," cried Trot, "Scraps has thought of a
way to rescue Ozma and Dorothy and all of the
Skeezers."
The three Adepts could not avoid laughing merrily,
for not only were they amused by the queer form of the
Patchwork Girl, but Trot's enthusiastic speech struck
them as really funny. If the Great Sorceress and the
famous Wizard and the three talented Adepts at Magic
were unable as yet to solve the important problem of
the sunken isle, there was little chance for a patched
girl stuffed with cotton to succeed.
But Glinda, smiling indulgently at the earnest faces
turned toward her, patted the children's heads and
said:
"Scraps is very clever. Tell us what she has thought
of, my dear."
"Well," said Trot, "Scraps says that if you could dry
up all the water in the lake the island would be on dry
land, an' everyone could come and go whenever they
liked."
Glinda smiled again, but the Wizard said to the
girls:
"If we should dry up the lake, what would become of
all the beautiful fishes that now live in the water?"
"Dear me! That's so," admitted Betsy, crestfallen; "we
never thought of that, did we Trot?"
"Couldn't you transform 'em into polliwogs?" asked
Scraps, turning a somersault and then standing on one
leg. "You could give them a little, teeny pond to swim
in, and they'd be just as happy as they are as fishes."
"No indeed!" replied the Wizard, severely. "It is
wicked to transform any living creatures without their
consent, and the lake is the home of the fishes and
belongs to them."
"All right," said Scraps, making a face at him; "I
don't care."
"It's too bad," sighed Trot, "for I thought we'd
struck a splendid idea."
"So you did," declared Glinda, her face now grave and
thoughtful. "There is something in the Patchwork Girl's
idea that may be of real value to us."
"I think so, too," agreed the golden-haired Adept.
"The top of the Great Dome is only a few feet below the
surface of the water. If we could reduce the level of
the lake until the Dome sticks a little above the
water, we could remove some of the glass and let
ourselves down into the village by means of ropes."
"And there would be plenty of water left for the
fishes to swim in," added the white-haired maiden.
"If we succeed in raising the island we could fill up
the lake again," suggested the brownhaired Adept.
"I believe," said the Wizard, rubbing his hands
together in delight, "that the Patchwork Girl has shown
us the way to success."
The girls were looking curiously at the three
beautiful Adepts, wondering who they were, so Glinda
introduced them to Trot and Betsy and Scraps, and then
sent the children away while she considered how to
carry the new idea into effect.
Not much could be done that night, so the Wizard
prepared another tent for the Adepts, and in the
evening Glinda held a reception and invited all her
followers to meet the new arrivals. The Adepts were
greatly astonished at the extraordinary personages
presented to them, and marveled that Jack Pumpkinhead
and the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman and Tik-Tok could
really live and think and talk just like other people.
They were especially pleased with the lively Patchwork
Girl and loved to watch her antics.
It was quite a pleasant party, for Glinda served some
dainty refreshments to those who could eat, and the
Scarecrow recited some poems, and the Cowardly Lion
sang a song in his deep bass voice. The only thing
that marred their joy was the thought that their
beloved Ozma and dear little Dorothy were yet confined
in the Great Dome of the Sunken island.
The Sunken Island
As soon as they had breakfasted the next morning,
Glinda and the Wizard and the three Adepts went down to
the shore of the lake and formed a line with their
faces toward the submerged island. All the others came
to watch them, but stood at a respectful distance in
the background.
At the right of the Sorceress stood Audah and Aurah,
while at the left stood the Wizard and Aujah. Together
they stretched their arms over the water's edge and in
unison the five chanted a rhythmic incantation.
This chant they repeated again and again, swaying
their arms gently from side to side, and in a few
minutes the watchers behind them noticed that the lake
had begun to recede from the shore. Before long the
highest point of the dome appeared above the water.
Gradually the water fell, making the dome appear to
rise. When it was three or four feet above the surface
Glinda gave the signal to stop, for their work had been
accomplished.
The blackened submarine was now entirely out of
water, but Uncle Henry and Cap'n Bill managed to push
it into the lake. Glinda, the Wizard, Ervic and the
Adepts got into the boat, taking with them a coil of
strong rope, and at the command of the Sorceress the
craft cleaved its way through the water toward the part
of the Dome which was now visible.
"There's still plenty of water for the fish to swim
in," observed the Wizard as they rode along. "They
might like more but I'm sure they can get along until
we have raised the island and can fill up the lake
again."
The boat touched gently on the sloping glass of the
Dome, and the Wizard took some tools from his black bag
and quickly removed one large pane of glass, thus
making a hole large enough for their bodies to pass
through. Stout frames of steel supported the glass of
the Dome, and around one of these frames the Wizard
tied the end of a rope.
"I'll go down first," said he, "for while I'm not as
spry as Cap'n Bill I'm sure I can manage it easily. Are
you sure the rope is long enough to reach the bottom?"
"Quite sure," replied the Sorceress.
So the Wizard let down the rope and climbing through
the opening lowered himself down, hand over hand,
clinging to the rope with his legs and feet. Below in
the streets of the village were gathered all the
Skeezers, men, women and children, and you may be sure
that Ozma and Dorothy, with Lady Aurex, were filled
with joy that their friends were at last coming to
their rescue.
The Queen's palace, now occupied by Ozma, was
directly in the center of the Dome, so that when the
rope was let down the end of it came just in front of
the palace entrance. Several Skeezers held fast to the
rope's end to steady it and the Wizard reached the
ground in safety. He hugged first Ozma and then
Dorothy, while all the Skeezers cheered as loud as they
could.
The Wizard now discovered that the rope was long
enough to reach from the top of the Dome to the ground
when doubled, so he tied a chair to one end of the rope
and called to Glinda to sit in the chair while he and
some of the Skeezers lowered her to the pavement. In
this way the Sorceress reached the ground quite
comfortably and the three Adepts and Ervic soon
followed her.
The Skeezers quickly recognized the three Adepts at
Magic, whom they had learned to respect before their
wicked Queen betrayed them, and welcomed them as
friends. All the inhabitants of the village had been
greatly frightened by their imprisonment under water,
but now realized that an attempt was to be made to
rescue them.
Glinda, the Wizard and the Adepts followed Ozma and
Dorothy into the palace, and they asked Lady Aurex and
Ervic to join them. After Ozma had told of her
adventures in trying to prevent war between the
Flatheads and the Skeezers, and Glinda had told all
about the Rescue Expedition and the restoration of the
three Adepts by the help of Ervic, a serious
consultation was held as to how the island could be
made to rise.
"I've tried every way in my power," said Ozma, "but
Coo-ee-oh used a very unusual sort of magic which I do
not understand. She seems to have prepared her
witchcraft in such a way that a spoken word is
necessary to accomplish her designs, and these spoken
words are known only to herself."
"That is a method we taught her," declared Aurah the
Adept.
"I can do no more, Glinda," continued Ozma, "so I
wish you would try what your sorcery can accomplish."
"First, then," said Glinda, "let us visit the
basement of the island, which I am told is underneath
the village."
A flight of marble stairs led from one of Coo-ee-oh's
private rooms down to the basement, but when the party
arrived all were puzzled by what they saw. In the
center of a broad, low room, stood a mass of great cog-wheels, chains and pulleys, all interlocked and seeming
to form a huge machine; but there was no engine or
other motive power to make the wheels turn.
"This, I suppose, is the means by which the island is
lowered or raised," said Ozma, "but the magic word
which is needed to move the machinery is unknown to
us."
The three Adepts were carefully examining the mass of
wheels, and soon the golden-haired one said:
"These wheels do not control the island at all. On
the contrary, one set of them is used to open the doors
of the little rooms where the submarines are kept, as
may be seen from the chains and pulleys used. Each boat
is kept in a little room with two doors, one to the
basement room where we are now and the other letting
into the lake.
"When Coo-ee-oh used the boat in which she attacked
the Flatheads, she first commanded the basement door to
open and with her followers she got into the boat and
made the top close over them. Then the basement door
being closed, the outer door was slowly opened, letting
the water fill the room to float the boat, which then
left the island, keeping under water."
"But how could she expect to get back again?" asked
the Wizard.
"Why the boat would enter the room filled with water
and after the outer door was closed a word of command
started a pump which pumped all the water from the
room. Then the boat would open and Coo-ee-oh could
enter the basement."
"I see," said the Wizard. "It is a clever
contrivance, but won't work unless one knows the magic
words."
"Another part of this machinery," explained the
white-haired Adept, "is used to extend the bridge from
the island to the mainland. The steel bridge is in a
room much like that in which the boats are kept, and at
Coo-ce-oh's command it would reach out, joint by joint,
until its far end touched the shore of the lake. The
same magic command would make the bridge return to its
former position. Of course the bridge could not be used
unless the island was on the surface of the water."
"But how do you suppose Coo-ee-oh managed to sink the
island, and make it rise again?" inquired Glinda.
This the Adepts could not yet explain. As nothing
more could be learned from the basement they mounted
the steps to the Queen's private suite again, and Ozma
showed them to a special room where Coo-ee-oh kept her
magical instruments and performed all her arts of
witchcraft.
The Magic Words
Many interesting things were to be seen in the Room
of Magic, including much that had been stolen from the
Adepts when they were transformed to fishes, but they
had to admit that Coo-ee-oh had a rare genius for
mechanics, and had used her knowledge in inventing a
lot of mechanical apparatus that ordinary witches,
wizards and sorcerers could not understand.
They all carefully inspected this room, taking care
to examine every article they came across.
"The island," said Glinda thoughtfully, "rests on a
base of solid marble. When it is submerged, as it is
now, the base of the island is upon the bottom of the
lake. What puzzles me is how such a great weight can be
lifted and suspended in the water, even by magic."
"I now remember," returned Aujah, "that one of the
arts we taught Coo-ee-oh was the way to expand steel,
and I think that explains how the island is raised and
lowered. I noticed in the basement a big steel pillar
that passed through the floor and extended upward to
this palace. Perhaps the end of it is concealed in this
very room. If the lower end of the steel pillar is
firmly embedded in the bottom of the lake, Coo-ee-oh
could utter a magic word that would make the pillar
expand, and so lift the entire island to the level of
the water."
"I've found the end of the steel pillar. It's just
here," announced the Wizard, pointing to one side of
the room where a great basin of polished steel seemed
to have been set upon the floor.
They all gathered around, and Ozma said:
"Yes, I am quite sure that is the upper end of the
pillar that supports the island. I noticed it when I
first came here. It has been hollowed out, you see, and
something has been burned in the basin, for the fire
has left its marks. I wondered what was under the great
basin and got several of the Skeezers to come up here
and try to lift it for me. They were strong men, but
could not move it at all."
"It seems to me," said Audah the Adept, "that we have
discovered the manner in which Coo-ee-oh raised the
island. She would burn some sort of magic powder in the
basin, utter the magic word, and the pillar would
lengthen out and lift the island with it."
"What's this?" asked Dorothy, who had been searching
around with the others, and now noticed a slight hollow
in the wall, near to where the steel basin stood. As
she spoke Dorothy pushed her thumb into the hollow and
instantly a small drawer popped out from the wall.
The three Adepts, Glinda and the Wizard sprang
forward and peered into the drawer. It was half filled
with a grayish powder, the tiny grains of which
constantly moved as if impelled by some living force.
"It may be some kind of radium," said the Wizard.
"No," replied Glinda, "it is more wonderful than even
radium, for I recognize it as a rare mineral powder
called Gaulau by the sorcerers. I wonder how Coo-ee-oh
discovered it and where she obtained it."
"There is no doubt," said Aujah the Adept, "that this
is the magic powder Coo-ee-oh burned in the basin. If
only we knew the magic word, I am quite sure we could
raise the island."
"How can we discover the magic word?" asked Ozma,
turning to Glinda as she spoke.
"That we must now seriously consider," answered the
Sorceress.
So all of them sat down in the Room of Magic and
began to think. It was so still that after a while
Dorothy grew nervous. The little girl never could keep
silent for long, and at the risk of displeasing her
magic-working friends she suddenly said:
"Well, Coo-ee-oh used just three magic words, one to
make the bridge work, and one to make the submarines go
out of their holes, and one to raise and lower the
island. Three words. And Coo-ee-oh's name is made up of
just three words. One is 'Coo,' and one is 'ee,' and
one is 'oh.'
The Wizard frowned but Glinda looked wonderingly at
the young girl and Ozma cried out:
"A good thought, Dorothy dear! You may have solved
our problem."
"I believe it is worth a trial," agreed Glinda. "It
would be quite natural for Coo-ee-oh to divide her
name into three magic syllables, and Dorothy's
suggestion seems like an inspiration."
The three Adepts also approved the trial but the
brownhaired one said:
"We must be careful not to use the wrong word, and
send the bridge out under water. The main thing, if
Dorothy's idea is correct, is to hit upon the one word
that moves the island."
"Let us experiment," suggested the Wizard.
In the drawer with the moving gray powder was a tiny
golden cup, which they thought was used for measuring.
Glinda filled this cup with the powder and carefully
poured it into the shallow basin, which was the top of
the great steel pillar supporting the island. Then
Aurah the Adept lighted a taper and touched it to the
powder, which instantly glowed fiery red and tumbled
about the basin with astonishing energy. While the
grains of powder still glowed red the Sorceress bent
over it and said in a voice of command: "Coo!"
They waited motionless to see what would happen.
There was a grating noise and a whirl of machinery, but
the island did not move a particle.
Dorothy rushed to the window, which overlooked
the glass side of the dome.
"The boats!" she exclaimed. "The boats are all
loose an' sailing under water."
"We've made a mistake," said the Wizard gloomily.
"But it's one which shows we are on the right track,"
declared Aujah the Adept. "We know now that Coo-ee-oh
used the syllables of her name for the magic words."
"If 'Coo' sends out the boats, it is probable that
ee' works the bridge," suggested Ozma. "So the last
part of the name may raise the island."
"Let us try that next then," proposed the Wizard.
He scraped the embers of the burned powder out of the
basin and Glinda again filled the golden cup from the
drawer and placed it on top the steel pillar. Aurah
lighted it with her taper and Ozma bent over the basin
and murmured the long drawn syllable: "Oh-h-h!"
Instantly the island trembled and with a weird
groaning noise it moved upward -- slowly, very slowly,
but with a steady motion, while all the company stood
by in awed silence. It was a wonderful thing, even to
those skilled in the arts of magic, wizardry and
sorcery, to realize that a single word could raise that
great, heavy island, with its immense glass Dome.
"Why, we're way above the lake now!" exclaimed
Dorothy from the window, when at last the island ceased
to move.
"That is because we lowered the level of the water,"
explained Glinda.
They could hear the Skeezers cheering lustily in the
streets of the village as they realized that they were
saved.
"Come," said Ozma eagerly, "let us go down and join
the people."
"Not just yet," returned Glinda, a happy smile upon
her lovely face, for she was overjoyed at their
success. "First let us extend the bridge to the
mainland, where our friends from the Emerald City are
waiting."
It didn't take long to put more powder in the basin,
light it and utter the syllable "EE!" The result was
that a door in the basement opened and the steel bridge
moved out, extended itself joint by joint, and finally
rested its far end on the shore of the lake just in
front of the encampment.
"Now," said Glinda, "we can go up and receive the
congratulations of the Skeezers and of our friends of
the Rescue Expedition."
Across the water, on the shore of the lake, the
Patchwork Girl was waving them a welcome.
Glinda's Triumph
Of course all those who had joined Glinda's
expedition at once crossed the bridge to the island,
where they were warmly welcomed by the Skeezers. Before
all the concourse of people Princess Ozma made a speech
from a porch of the palace and demanded that they
recognize her as their lawful Ruler and promise to obey
the laws of the Land of Oz. In return she agreed to
protect them from all future harm and declared they
would no longer be subjected to cruelty and abuse.
This pleased the Skeezers greatly, and when Ozma told
them they might elect a Queen to rule over them, who in
turn would be subject to Ozma of Oz, they voted for
Lady Aurex, and that same day the ceremony of crowning
the new Queen was held and Aurex was installed as
mistress of the palace.
For her Prime Minister the Queen selected Ervic, for
the three Adepts had told of his good judgment,
faithfulness and cleverness, and all the Skeezers
approved the appointment.
Glinda, the Wizard and the Adepts stood on the bridge
and recited an incantation that quite filled the lake
with water again, and the Scarecrow and the Patchwork
Girl climbed to the top of the Great Dome and replaced
the pane of glass that had been removed to allow Glinda
and her followers to enter.
When evening came Ozma ordered a great feast
prepared, to which every Skeezer was invited. The
village was beautifully decorated and brilliantly
lighted and there was music and dancing until a late
hour to celebrate the liberation of the people. For the
Skeezers had been freed, not only from the water of the
lake but from the cruelty of their former Queen.
As the people from the Emerald City prepared the next
morning to depart Queen Aurex said to Ozma:
"There is only one thing I now fear for my people,
and that is the enmity of the terrible Su-dic of the
Flatheads. He is liable to come here at any time and
try to annoy us, and my Skeezers are peaceful folks and
unable to fight the wild and wilful Flatheads."
"Do not worry," returned Ozma, reassuringly. "We
intend to stop on our way at the Flatheads' Enchanted
Mountain and punish the Su-dic for his misdeeds."
That satisfied Aurex and when Ozma and her followers
trooped over the bridge to the shore, having taken
leave of their friends, all the Skeezers cheered them
and waved their hats and handkerchiefs, and the band
played and the departure was indeed a ceremony long to
be remembered.
The three Adepts at Magic, who had formerly ruled the
Flatheads wisely and considerately, went with Princess
Ozma and her people, for they had promised Ozma to stay
on the mountain and again see that the laws were
enforced.
Glinda had been told all about the curious Flatheads
and she had consulted with the Wizard and formed a plan
to render them more intelligent and agreeable.
When the party reached the mountain Ozma and Dorothy
showed them how to pass around the invisible wall --
which had been built by the Flatheads after the Adepts
were transformed -- and how to gain the up-and-down
stairway that led to the mountain top.
The Su-dic had watched the approach of the party from
the edge of the mountain and was frightened when he saw
that the three Adepts had recovered their natural forms
and were coming back to their former home. He realized
that his power would soon be gone and yet he determined
to fight to the last. He called all the Flatheads
together and armed them, and told them to arrest all
who came up the stairway and hurl them over the edge of
the mountain to the plain below. But although they
feared the Supreme Dictator, who had threatened to
punish them if they did not obey his commands, as soon
as they saw the three Adepts they threw down their arms
and begged their former rulers to protect them.
The three Adepts assured the excited Flatheads that
they had nothing to fear.
Seeing that his people had rebelled the Su-dic ran
away and tried to hide, but the Adepts found him and
had him cast into a prison, all his cans of brains
being taken away from him.
After this easy conquest of the Su-dic, Glinda told
the Adepts of her plan, which had already been approved
by Ozma of Oz, and they joyfully agreed to it. So,
during the next few days, the great Sorceress
transformed, in a way, every Flathead on the mountain.
Taking them one at a time, she had the can of brains
that belonged to each one opened and the contents
spread on the flat head, after which, by means of her
arts of sorcery, she caused the head to grow over the
brains -- in the manner most people wear them -- and
they were thus rendered as intelligent and good looking
as any of the other inhabitants of the Land of Oz.
When all had been treated in this manner there were
no more Flatheads at all, and the Adepts decided to
name their people Mountaineers. One good result of
Glinda's sorcery was that no one could now be deprived
of the brains that belonged to him and each person had
exactly the share he was entitled to.
Even the Su-dic was given his portion of brains and
his flat head made round, like the others, but he was
deprived of all power to work further mischief, and
with the Adepts constantly watching him he would be
forced to become obedient and humble.
The Golden Pig, which ran grunting about the streets,
with no brains at all, was disenchanted by Glinda, and
in her woman's form was given brains and a round head.
This wife of the Su-dic had once been even more wicked
than her evil husband, but she had now forgotten all
her wickedness and was likely to be a good woman
thereafter.
These things being accomplished in a satisfactory
manner, Princess Ozma and her people bade farewell to
the three Adepts and departed for the Emerald City,
well pleased with their interesting adventures.
They returned by the road over which Ozma and Dorothy
had come, stopping to get the Sawhorse and the Red
Wagon where they had left them.
"I'm very glad I went to see these peoples," said
Princess Ozma, "for I not only prevented any further
warfare between them, but they have been freed from the
rule of the Su-dic and Coo-ee-oh and are now happy and
loyal subjects of the Land of Oz. Which proves that it
is always wise to do one's duty, however unpleasant
that duty may seem to be."
The Wonderful Oz Books by L. Frank Baum:
The Wizard of Oz
The Land of Oz
Ozma of Oz
Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz
The Road to Oz
The Emerald city of Oz
The Patchwork Girl of Oz
Tik-Tok of Oz
The Scarecrow of Oz
Rinkitink in Oz
The Lost Princess of Oz
The Tin Woodman of Oz
The Magic of Oz
Glinda of Oz

