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ARTHUR JUDSON BROWN - "New Forces in Old China"

Charles Dickens - "Three Ghost Stories"

Henry J. Coke - "Tracks of a Rolling Stone"

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe - "Wilhelm Meisters Lehrjahre Buch 1"

The Emerald City of Oz

L >> L. Frank Baum >> The Emerald City of Oz




"Would they bite on hooks?" asked Aunt Em, curiously.

The Tin Woodman seemed hurt at this question.

"Madam," said he, "do you suppose I would allow anyone to catch my
beautiful fishes, even if they were foolish enough to bite on hooks?
No, indeed! Every created thing is safe from harm in my domain, and I
would as soon think of killing my little friend Dorothy as killing one
of my tin fishes."

"The Emperor is very kind-hearted, ma'am," explained the Wizard. "If
a fly happens to light upon his tin body he doesn't rudely brush it
off, as some people might do; he asks it politely to find some other
resting place."

"What does the fly do then?" enquired Aunt Em.

"Usually it begs his pardon and goes away," said the Wizard, gravely.
"Flies like to be treated politely as well as other creatures, and
here in Oz they understand what we say to them, and behave very nicely."

"Well," said Aunt Em, "the flies in Kansas, where I came from, don't
understand anything but a swat. You have to smash 'em to make 'em
behave; and it's the same way with 'skeeters. Do you have 'skeeters
in Oz?"

"We have some very large mosquitoes here, which sing as beautifully as
song birds," replied the Tin Woodman. "But they never bite or annoy
our people, because they are well fed and taken care of. The reason
they bite people in your country is because they are hungry--poor things!"

"Yes," agreed Aunt Em; "they're hungry, all right. An' they ain't
very particular who they feed on. I'm glad you've got the 'skeeters
educated in Oz."

That evening after dinner they were entertained by the Emperor's Tin
Cornet Band, which played for them several sweet melodies. Also the
Wizard did a few sleight-of-hand tricks to amuse the company; after
which they all retired to their cozy tin bedrooms and slept soundly
until morning.

After breakfast Dorothy said to the Tin Woodman:

"If you'll tell us which way to go we'll visit the Scarecrow on
our way home."

"I will go with you, and show you the way," replied the Emperor;
"for I must journey to-day to the Emerald City."

He looked so anxious, as he said this, that the little girl asked:

"There isn't anything wrong with Ozma, is there?"

"Not yet," said he; "but I'm afraid the time has come when I must
tell you some very bad news, little friend."

"Oh, what is it?" cried Dorothy.

"Do you remember the Nome King?" asked the Tin Woodman.

"I remember him very well," she replied.

"The Nome King has not a kind heart," said the Emperor, sadly, "and he
has been harboring wicked thoughts of revenge, because we once defeated
him and liberated his slaves and you took away his Magic Belt. So he
has ordered his Nomes to dig a long tunnel underneath the deadly
desert, so that he may march his hosts right into the Emerald City.
When he gets there he intends to destroy our beautiful country."

Dorothy was much surprised to hear this.

"How did Ozma find out about the tunnel?" she asked.

"She saw it in her Magic Picture."

"Of course," said Dorothy; "I might have known that. And what is she
going to do?"

"I cannot tell," was the reply.

"Pooh!" cried the Yellow Hen. "We're not afraid of the Nomes. If we
roll a few of our eggs down the tunnel they'll run away back home as
fast as they can go."

"Why, that's true enough!" exclaimed Dorothy. "The Scarecrow once
conquered all the Nome King's army with some of Billina's eggs."

"But you do not understand all of the dreadful plot," continued the
Tin Woodman. "The Nome King is clever, and he knows his Nomes would
run from eggs; so he has bargained with many terrible creatures to
help him. These evil spirits are not afraid of eggs or anything else,
and they are very powerful. So the Nome King will send them through
the tunnel first, to conquer and destroy, and then the Nomes will
follow after to get their share of the plunder and slaves."

They were all startled to hear this, and every face wore a troubled look.

"Is the tunnel all ready?" asked Dorothy.

"Ozma sent me word yesterday that the tunnel was all completed except
for a thin crust of earth at the end. When our enemies break through
this crust, they will be in the gardens of the royal palace, in the
heart of the Emerald City. I offered to arm all my Winkies and march
to Ozma's assistance; but she said no."

"I wonder why?" asked Dorothy.

"She answered that all the inhabitants of Oz, gathered together, were
not powerful enough to fight and overcome the evil forces of the Nome
King. Therefore she refuses to fight at all."

"But they will capture and enslave us, and plunder and ruin all our
lovely land!" exclaimed the Wizard, greatly disturbed by this statement.

"I fear they will," said the Tin Woodman, sorrowfully. "And I also
fear that those who are not fairies, such as the Wizard, and Dorothy,
and her uncle and aunt, as well as Toto and Billina, will be speedily
put to death by the conquerors."

"What can be done?" asked Dorothy, shuddering a little at the prospect
of this awful fate.

"Nothing can be done!" gloomily replied the Emperor of the Winkies.
"But since Ozma refuses my army I will go myself to the Emerald City.
The least I may do is to perish beside my beloved Ruler."



25. How the Scarecrow Displayed His Wisdom


This amazing news had saddened every heart and all were now anxious
to return to the Emerald City and share Ozma's fate. So they started
without loss of time, and as the road led past the Scarecrow's new
mansion they determined to make a brief halt there and confer with him.

"The Scarecrow is probably the wisest man in all Oz," remarked the Tin
Woodman, when they had started upon their journey. "His brains are
plentiful and of excellent quality, and often he has told me things I
might never have thought of myself. I must say I rely a great deal
upon the Scarecrow's brains in this emergency."

The Tin Woodman rode on the front seat of the wagon, where Dorothy sat
between him and the Wizard.

"Has the Scarecrow heard of Ozma's trouble?" asked the Captain General.

"I do not know, sir," was the reply.

"When I was a private," said Omby Amby, "I was an excellent army, as I
fully proved in our war against the Nomes. But now there is not a
single private left in our army, since Ozma made me the Captain
General, so there is no one to fight and defend our lovely Ruler."

"True," said the Wizard. "The present army is composed only of
officers, and the business of an officer is to order his men to fight.
Since there are no men there can be no fighting."

"Poor Ozma!" whispered Dorothy, with tears in her sweet eyes. "It's
dreadful to think of all her lovely fairy country being destroyed. I
wonder if we couldn't manage to escape and get back to Kansas by means
of the Magic Belt? And we might take Ozma with us and all work hard
to get money for her, so she wouldn't be so VERY lonely and unhappy
about the loss of her fairyland."

"Do you think there would be any work for ME in Kansas?"
asked the Tin Woodman.

"If you are hollow, they might use you in a canning factory,"
suggested Uncle Henry. "But I can't see the use of your working for a
living. You never eat or sleep or need a new suit of clothes."

"I was not thinking of myself," replied the Emperor, with dignity.
"I merely wondered if I could not help to support Dorothy and Ozma."

As they indulged in these sad plans for the future they journeyed in
sight of the Scarecrow's new mansion, and even though filled with care
and worry over the impending fate of Oz, Dorothy couldn't help a
feeling of wonder at the sight she saw.

The Scarecrow's new house was shaped like an immense ear of corn. The
rows of kernels were made of solid gold, and the green upon which the
ear stood upright was a mass of sparkling emeralds. Upon the very top
of the structure was perched a figure representing the Scarecrow
himself, and upon his extended arms, as well as upon his head, were
several crows carved out of ebony and having ruby eyes. You may
imagine how big this ear of corn was when I tell you that a single
gold kernel formed a window, swinging outward upon hinges, while a row
of four kernels opened to make the front entrance. Inside there were
five stories, each story being a single room.

The gardens around the mansion consisted of cornfields, and Dorothy
acknowledged that the place was in all respects a very appropriate
home for her good friend the Scarecrow.

"He would have been very happy here, I'm sure," she said, "if only the
Nome King had left us alone. But if Oz is destroyed of course this
place will be destroyed too."

"Yes," replied the Tin Woodman, "and also my beautiful tin castle,
that has been my joy and pride."

"Jack Pumpkinhead's house will go too," remarked the Wizard, "as well
as Professor Wogglebug's Athletic College, and Ozma's royal palace,
and all our other handsome buildings."

"Yes, Oz will indeed become a desert when the Nome King gets through
with it," sighed Omby Amby.

The Scarecrow came out to meet them and gave them all a hearty welcome.

"I hear you have decided always to live in the Land of Oz, after this,"
he said to Dorothy; "and that will delight my heart, for I have greatly
disliked our frequent partings. But why are you all so downcast?"

"Have you heard the news?" asked the Tin Woodman.

"No news to make me sad," replied the Scarecrow.

Then Nick Chopper told his friend of the Nome King's tunnel, and how
the evil creatures of the North had allied themselves with the
underground monarch for the purpose of conquering and destroying Oz.
"Well," said the Scarecrow, "it certainly looks bad for Ozma, and all
of us. But I believe it is wrong to worry over anything before it
happens. It is surely time enough to be sad when our country is
despoiled and our people made slaves. So let us not deprive ourselves
of the few happy hours remaining to us."

"Ah! that is real wisdom," declared the Shaggy Man, approvingly.
"After we become really unhappy we shall regret these few hours
that are left to us, unless we enjoy them to the utmost."

"Nevertheless," said the Scarecrow, "I shall go with you to the
Emerald City and offer Ozma my services."

"She says we can do nothing to oppose our enemies," announced
the Tin Woodman.

"And doubtless she is right, sir," answered the Scarecrow. "Still,
she will appreciate our sympathy, and it is the duty of Ozma's friends
to stand by her side when the final disaster occurs."

He then led them into his queer mansion and showed them the beautiful
rooms in all the five stories. The lower room was a grand reception
hall, with a hand-organ in one corner. This instrument the Scarecrow,
when alone, could turn to amuse himself, as he was very fond of music.
The walls were hung with white silk, upon which flocks of black crows
were embroidered in black diamonds. Some of the chairs were made in the
shape of big crows and upholstered with cushions of corn-colored silk.

The second story contained a fine banquet room, where the Scarecrow
might entertain his guests, and the three stories above that were
bed-chambers exquisitely furnished and decorated.

"From these rooms," said the Scarecrow, proudly, "one may obtain fine
views of the surrounding cornfields. The corn I grow is always husky,
and I call the ears my regiments, because they have so many kernels.
Of course I cannot ride my cobs, but I really don't care shucks about that.
Taken altogether, my farm will stack up with any in the neighborhood."

The visitors partook of some light refreshment and then hurried away
to resume the road to the Emerald City. The Scarecrow found a seat in
the wagon between Omby Amby and the Shaggy Man, and his weight did not
add much to the load because he was stuffed with straw.

"You will notice I have one oat-field on my property," he remarked, as
they drove away. "Oat-straw is, I have found, the best of all straws
to re-stuff myself with when my interior gets musty or out of shape."

"Are you able to re-stuff yourself without help?" asked Aunt Em. "I
should think that after the straw was taken out of you there wouldn't
be anything left but your clothes."

"You are almost correct, madam," he answered. "My servants do the
stuffing, under my direction. For my head, in which are my excellent
brains, is a bag tied at the bottom. My face is neatly painted upon
one side of the bag, as you may see. My head does not need re-stuffing,
as my body does, for all that it requires is to have the face touched up
with fresh paint occasionally."

It was not far from the Scarecrow's mansion to the farm of Jack
Pumpkinhead, and when they arrived there both Uncle Henry and Aunt Em
were much impressed. The farm was one vast pumpkin field, and some of
the pumpkins were of enormous size. In one of them, which had been
neatly hollowed out, Jack himself lived, and he declared that it was a
very comfortable residence. The reason he grew so many pumpkins was
in order that he might change his head as often as it became wrinkled
or threatened to spoil.

The pumpkin-headed man welcomed his visitors joyfully and offered them
several delicious pumpkin pies to eat.

"I don't indulge in pumpkin pies myself, for two reasons," he said.
"One reason is that were I to eat pumpkins I would become a cannibal,
and the other reason is that I never eat, not being hollow inside."

"Very good reasons," agreed the Scarecrow.

They told Jack Pumpkinhead of the dreadful news about the Nome King,
and he decided to go with them to the Emerald City and help comfort Ozma.

"I had expected to live here in ease and comfort for many centuries,"
said Jack, dolefully; "but of course if the Nome King destroys
everything in Oz I shall be destroyed too. Really, it seems too bad,
doesn't it?"

They were soon on their journey again, and so swiftly did the Sawhorse
draw the wagon over the smooth roads that before twilight fell they
had reached the royal palace in the Emerald City, and were at their
journey's end.



26. How Ozma Refused to Fight for Her Kingdom


Ozma was in her rose garden picking a bouquet when the party arrived,
and she greeted all her old and new friends as smilingly and sweetly
as ever.

Dorothy's eyes were full of tears as she kissed the lovely Ruler
of Oz, and she whispered to her:

"Oh, Ozma, Ozma! I'm SO sorry!"

Ozma seemed surprised.

"Sorry for what, Dorothy?" she asked.

"For all your trouble about the Nome King," was the reply.

Ozma laughed with genuine amusement.

"Why, that has not troubled me a bit, dear Princess," she replied.
Then, looking around at the sad faces of her friends, she added:
"Have you all been worrying about this tunnel?"

"We have!" they exclaimed in a chorus.

"Well, perhaps it is more serious than I imagined," admitted the fair
Ruler; "but I haven't given the matter much thought. After dinner we
will all meet together and talk it over."

So they went to their rooms and prepared for dinner, and Dorothy
dressed herself in her prettiest gown and put on her coronet, for she
thought that this might be the last time she would ever appear as a
Princess of Oz.

The Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman and Jack Pumpkinhead all sat at the
dinner table, although none of them was made so he could eat. Usually
they served to enliven the meal with their merry talk, but to-night
all seemed strangely silent and uneasy.

As soon as the dinner was finished Ozma led the company to her own
private room in which hung the Magic Picture. When they had seated
themselves the Scarecrow was the first to speak.

"Is the Nome King's tunnel finished, Ozma?" he asked.

"It was completed to-day," she replied. "They have built it right
under my palace grounds, and it ends in front of the Forbidden
Fountain. Nothing but a crust of earth remains to separate our
enemies from us, and when they march here, they will easily break
through this crust and rush upon us."

"Who will assist the Nome King?" inquired the Scarecrow.

"The Whimsies, the Growleywogs and the Phanfasms," she replied. "I
watched to-day in my Magic Picture the messengers whom the Nome King
sent to all these people to summon them to assemble in his great caverns."

"Let us see what they are doing now," suggested the Tin Woodman.

So Ozma wished to see the Nome King's cavern, and at once the
landscape faded from the Magic Picture and was replaced by the
scene then being enacted in the jeweled cavern of King Roquat.

A wild and startling scene it was which the Oz people beheld.

Before the Nome King stood the Chief of the Whimsies and the Grand
Gallipoot of the Growleywogs, surrounded by their most skillful
generals. Very fierce and powerful they looked, so that even the Nome
King and General Guph, who stood beside his master, seemed a bit
fearful in the presence of their allies.

Now a still more formidable creature entered the cavern. It was the
First and Foremost of the Phanfasms and he proudly sat down in King
Roquat's own throne and demanded the right to lead his forces through
the tunnel in advance of all the others. The First and Foremost now
appeared to all eyes in his hairy skin and the bear's head. What his
real form was even Roquat did not know.

Through the arches leading into the vast series of caverns that lay
beyond the throne room of King Roquat could be seen ranks upon ranks
of the invaders--thousands of Phanfasms, Growleywogs and Whimsies
standing in serried lines, while behind them were massed the thousands
upon thousands of General Guph's own army of Nomes.

"Listen!" whispered Ozma. "I think we can hear what they are saying."

So they kept still and listened.

"Is all ready?" demanded the First and Foremost, haughtily.

"The tunnel is finally completed," replied General Guph.

"How long will it take us to march to the Emerald City?" asked the
Grand Gallipoot of the Growleywogs.

"If we start at midnight," replied the Nome King, "we shall arrive at
the Emerald City by daybreak. Then, while all the Oz people are
sleeping, we will capture them and make them our slaves. After that
we will destroy the city itself and march through the Land of Oz,
burning and devastating as we go."

"Good!" cried the First and Foremost. "When we get through with Oz
it will be a desert wilderness. Ozma shall be my slave."

"She shall be MY slave!" shouted the Grand Gallipoot, angrily.

"We'll decide that by and by," said King Roquat hastily. "Don't let
us quarrel now, friends. First let us conquer Oz, and then we will
divide the spoils of war in a satisfactory manner."

The First and Foremost smiled wickedly; but he only said:

"I and my Phanfasms go first, for nothing on earth can oppose our power."

They all agreed to that, knowing the Phanfasms to be the mightiest of
the combined forces. King Roquat now invited them to attend a banquet
he had prepared, where they might occupy themselves in eating and
drinking until midnight arrived.

As they had now seen and heard all of the plot against them that
they cared to, Ozma allowed her Magic Picture to fade away.
Then she turned to her friends and said:

"Our enemies will be here sooner than I expected. What do you
advise me to do?"

"It is now too late to assemble our people," said the Tin Woodman,
despondently. "If you had allowed me to arm and drill my Winkies,
we might have put up a good fight and destroyed many of our enemies
before we were conquered."

"The Munchkins are good fighters, too," said Omby Amby; "and so are
the Gillikins."

"But I do not wish to fight," declared Ozma, firmly. "No one has
the right to destroy any living creatures, however evil they may be,
or to hurt them or make them unhappy. I will not fight, even to
save my kingdom."

"The Nome King is not so particular," remarked the Scarecrow. "He
intends to destroy us all and ruin our beautiful country."

"Because the Nome King intends to do evil is no excuse for my doing
the same," replied Ozma.

"Self-preservation is the first law of nature," quoted the Shaggy Man.

"True," she said, readily. "I would like to discover a plan to save
ourselves without fighting."

That seemed a hopeless task to them, but realizing that Ozma was
determined not to fight, they tried to think of some means that might
promise escape.

"Couldn't we bribe our enemies, by giving them a lot of emeralds
and gold?" asked Jack Pumpkinhead.

"No, because they believe they are able to take everything we have,"
replied the Ruler.

"I have thought of something," said Dorothy.

"What is it, dear?" asked Ozma.

"Let us use the Magic Belt to wish all of us in Kansas. We will put
some emeralds in our pockets, and can sell them in Topeka for enough
to pay off the mortgage on Uncle Henry's farm. Then we can all live
together and be happy."

"A clever idea!" exclaimed the Scarecrow.

"Kansas is a very good country. I've been there," said the Shaggy Man.

"That seems to me an excellent plan," approved the Tin Woodman.

"No!" said Ozma, decidedly. "Never will I desert my people and leave
them to so cruel a fate. I will use the Magic Belt to send the rest
of you to Kansas, if you wish, but if my beloved country must be
destroyed and my people enslaved I will remain and share their fate."

"Quite right," asserted the Scarecrow, sighing. "I will remain with you."

"And so will I," declared the Tin Woodman and the Shaggy Man and Jack
Pumpkinhead, in turn. Tiktok, the machine man, also said he intended
to stand by Ozma. "For," said he, "I should be of no use at all
in Kan-sas."

"For my part," announced Dorothy, gravely, "if the Ruler of Oz must not
desert her people, a Princess of Oz has no right to run away, either.
I'm willing to become a slave with the rest of you; so all we can do
with the Magic Belt is to use it to send Uncle Henry and Aunt Em back
to Kansas."

"I've been a slave all my life," Aunt Em replied, with considerable
cheerfulness, "and so has Henry. I guess we won't go back to Kansas,
anyway. I'd rather take my chances with the rest of you."

Ozma smiled upon them all gratefully.

"There is no need to despair just yet," she said. "I'll get up early
to-morrow morning and be at the Forbidden Fountain when the fierce
warriors break through the crust of the earth. I will speak to them
pleasantly and perhaps they won't be so very bad, after all."

"Why do they call it the Forbidden Fountain?" asked Dorothy, thoughtfully.

"Don't you know, dear?" returned Ozma, surprised.

"No," said Dorothy. "Of course I've seen the fountain in the palace
grounds, ever since I first came to Oz; and I've read the sign which
says: 'All Persons are Forbidden to Drink at this Fountain.' But I
never knew WHY they were forbidden. The water seems clear and
sparkling and it bubbles up in a golden basin all the time."

"That water," declared Ozma, gravely, "is the most dangerous thing
in all the Land of Oz. It is the Water of Oblivion."

"What does that mean?" asked Dorothy.

"Whoever drinks at the Forbidden Fountain at once forgets everything
he has ever known," Ozma asserted.

"It wouldn't be a bad way to forget our troubles," suggested Uncle Henry.

"That is true; but you would forget everything else, and become as
ignorant as a baby," returned Ozma.

"Does it make one crazy?" asked Dorothy.

"No; it only makes one forget," replied the girl Ruler. "It is said
that once--long, long ago--a wicked King ruled Oz, and made himself
and all his people very miserable and unhappy. So Glinda, the Good
Sorceress, placed this fountain here, and the King drank of its water
and forgot all his wickedness. His mind became innocent and vacant,
and when he learned the things of life again they were all good
things. But the people remembered how wicked their King had been, and
were still afraid of him. Therefore, he made them all drink of the
Water of Oblivion and forget everything they had known, so that they
became as simple and innocent as their King. After that, they all
grew wise together, and their wisdom was good, so that peace and
happiness reigned in the land. But for fear some one might drink of
the water again, and in an instant forget all he had learned, the King
put that sign upon the fountain, where it has remained for many
centuries up to this very day."

They had all listened intently to Ozma's story, and when she finished
speaking there was a long period of silence while all thought upon the
curious magical power of the Water of Oblivion.

Finally the Scarecrow's painted face took on a broad smile that
stretched the cloth as far as it would go.

"How thankful I am," he said, "that I have such an excellent
assortment of brains!"

"I gave you the best brains I ever mixed," declared the Wizard,
with an air of pride.

"You did, indeed!" agreed the Scarecrow, "and they work so splendidly
that they have found a way to save Oz--to save us all!"

"I'm glad to hear that," said the Wizard. "We never needed saving
more than we do just now."

"Do you mean to say you can save us from those awful Phanfasms,
and Growleywogs and Whimsies?" asked Dorothy eagerly.

"I'm sure of it, my dear," asserted the Scarecrow, still smiling genially.

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