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Johann Wolfgang von Goethe - "Wilhelm Meisters Lehrjahre Buch 5"

Alexandre Dumas, PŠre - "La Tulipe Noire [abridged]"

Benjamin Rumford - "ESSAYS, Political, Economical and Philosophical. Volume 1."

Aristotle - "Poetics"

The Emerald City of Oz

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




"Tell us how!" cried the Tin Woodman.

"Not now," said the Scarecrow. "You may all go to bed, and I advise
you to forget your worries just as completely as if you had drunk of
the Water of Oblivion in the Forbidden Fountain. I'm going to stay
here and tell my plan to Ozma alone, but if you will all be at the
Forbidden Fountain at daybreak, you'll see how easily we will save the
kingdom when our enemies break through the crust of earth and come
from the tunnel."

So they went away and let the Scarecrow and Ozma alone; but Dorothy
could not sleep a wink all night.

"He is only a Scarecrow," she said to herself, "and I'm not sure that
his mixed brains are as clever as he thinks they are."

But she knew that if the Scarecrow's plan failed they were all lost;
so she tried to have faith in him.



27. How the Fierce Warriors Invaded Oz


The Nome King and his terrible allies sat at the banquet table until
midnight. There was much quarreling between the Growleywogs and
Phanfasms, and one of the wee-headed Whimsies got angry at General
Guph and choked him until he nearly stopped breathing. Yet no one was
seriously hurt, and the Nome King felt much relieved when the clock
struck twelve and they all sprang up and seized their weapons.

"Aha!" shouted the First and Foremost. "Now to conquer the Land of Oz!"

He marshaled his Phanfasms in battle array and at his word of command
they marched into the tunnel and began the long journey through it to
the Emerald City. The First and Foremost intended to take all the
treasures of Oz for himself; to kill all who could be killed and
enslave the rest; to destroy and lay waste the whole country, and
afterward to conquer and enslave the Nomes, the Growleywogs and the
Whimsies. And he knew his power was sufficient to enable him to do
all these things easily.

Next marched into the tunnel the army of gigantic Growleywogs, with
their Grand Gallipoot at their head. They were dreadful beings,
indeed, and longed to get to Oz that they might begin to pilfer and
destroy. The Grand Gallipoot was a little afraid of the First and
Foremost, but had a cunning plan to murder or destroy that powerful
being and secure the wealth of Oz for himself. Mighty little of the
plunder would the Nome King get, thought the Grand Gallipoot.

The Chief of the Whimsies now marched his false-headed forces into the
tunnel. In his wicked little head was a plot to destroy both the
First and Foremost and the Grand Gallipoot. He intended to let them
conquer Oz, since they insisted on going first; but he would afterward
treacherously destroy them, as well as King Roquat, and keep all the
slaves and treasure of Ozma's kingdom for himself.

After all his dangerous allies had marched into the tunnel the Nome
King and General Guph started to follow them, at the head of fifty
thousand Nomes, all fully armed.

"Guph," said the King, "those creatures ahead of us mean mischief.
They intend to get everything for themselves and leave us nothing."

"I know," replied the General; "but they are not as clever as they
think they are. When you get the Magic Belt you must at once wish
the Whimsies and Growleywogs and Phanfasms all back into their own
countries--and the Belt will surely take them there."

"Good!" cried the King. "An excellent plan, Guph. I'll do it.
While they are conquering Oz I'll get the Magic Belt, and then
only the Nomes will remain to ravage the country."

So you see there was only one thing that all were agreed upon--that
Oz should be destroyed.

On, on, on the vast ranks of invaders marched, filling the tunnel from
side to side. With a steady tramp, tramp, they advanced, every step
taking them nearer to the beautiful Emerald City.

"Nothing can save the Land of Oz!" thought the First and Foremost,
scowling until his bear face was as black as the tunnel.

"The Emerald City is as good as destroyed already!" muttered the Grand
Gallipoot, shaking his war club fiercely.

"In a few hours Oz will be a desert!" said the Chief of the Whimsies,
with an evil laugh.

"My dear Guph," remarked the Nome King to his General, "at last my
vengeance upon Ozma of Oz and her people is about to be accomplished."

"You are right!" declared the General. "Ozma is surely lost."

And now the First and Foremost, who was in advance and nearing the
Emerald City, began to cough and to sneeze.

"This tunnel is terribly dusty," he growled, angrily. "I'll punish
that Nome King for not having it swept clean. My throat and eyes are
getting full of dust and I'm as thirsty as a fish!"

The Grand Gallipoot was coughing too, and his throat was parched and dry.

"What a dusty place!" he cried. "I'll be glad when we reach Oz,
where we can get a drink."

"Who has any water?" asked the Whimsie Chief, gasping and choking.
But none of his followers carried a drop of water, so he hastened
on to get through the dusty tunnel to the Land of Oz.

"Where did all this dust come from?" demanded General Guph, trying
hard to swallow but finding his throat so dry he couldn't.

"I don't know," answered the Nome King. "I've been in the tunnel
every day while it was being built, but I never noticed any dust before."

"Let's hurry!" cried the General. "I'd give half the gold in Oz for a
drink of water."

The dust grew thicker and thicker, and the throats and eyes and noses
of the invaders were filled with it. But not one halted or turned back.
They hurried forward more fierce and vengeful than ever.



28. How They Drank at the Forbidden Fountain


The Scarecrow had no need to sleep; neither had the Tin Woodman or Tiktok
or Jack Pumpkinhead. So they all wandered out into the palace grounds
and stood beside the sparkling water of the Forbidden Fountain until
daybreak. During this time they indulged in occasional conversation.

"Nothing could make me forget what I know," remarked the Scarecrow,
gazing into the fountain, "for I cannot drink the Water of Oblivion or
water of any kind. And I am glad that this is so, for I consider my
wisdom unexcelled."

"You are cer-tain-ly ve-ry wise," agreed Tiktok. "For my part, I can
on-ly think by ma-chin-er-y, so I do not pre-tend to know as much as
you do."

"My tin brains are very bright, but that is all I claim for them,"
said Nick Chopper, modestly. "Yet I do not aspire to being very wise,
for I have noticed that the happiest people are those who do not let
their brains oppress them."

"Mine never worry me," Jack Pumpkinhead acknowledged. "There are
many seeds of thought in my head, but they do not sprout easily. I am
glad that it is so, for if I occupied my days in thinking I should
have no time for anything else."

In this cheery mood they passed the hours until the first golden
streaks of dawn appeared in the sky. Then Ozma joined them, as fresh
and lovely as ever and robed in one of her prettiest gowns.

"Our enemies have not yet arrived," said the Scarecrow, after greeting
affectionately the sweet and girlish Ruler.

"They will soon be here," she said, "for I have just glanced at my
Magic Picture, and have seen them coughing and choking with the dust
in the tunnel."

"Oh, is there dust in the tunnel?" asked the Tin Woodman.

"Yes; Ozma placed it there by means of the Magic Belt," explained the
Scarecrow, with one of his broad smiles.

Then Dorothy came to them, Uncle Henry and Aunt Em following close
after her. The little girl's eyes were heavy because she had had a
sleepless and anxious night. Toto walked by her side, but the little
dog's spirits were very much subdued. Billina, who was always up by
daybreak, was not long in joining the group by the fountain.

The Wizard and the Shaggy Man next arrived, and soon after appeared
Omby Amby, dressed in his best uniform.

"There lies the tunnel," said Ozma, pointing to a part of the ground
just before the Forbidden Fountain, "and in a few moments the dreadful
invaders will break through the earth and swarm over the land. Let us all
stand on the other side of the Fountain and watch to see what happens."

At once they followed her suggestion and moved around the fountain of
the Water of Oblivion. There they stood silent and expectant until
the earth beyond gave way with a sudden crash and up leaped the powerful
form of the First and Foremost, followed by all his grim warriors.

As the leader sprang forward his gleaming eyes caught the play of the
fountain and he rushed toward it and drank eagerly of the sparkling
water. Many of the other Phanfasms drank, too, in order to clear
their dry and dusty throats. Then they stood around and looked at
one another with simple, wondering smiles.

The First and Foremost saw Ozma and her companions beyond the
fountain, but instead of making an effort to capture her he merely
stared at her in pleased admiration of her beauty--for he had
forgotten where he was and why he had come there.

But now the Grand Gallipoot arrived, rushing from the tunnel with a
hoarse cry of mingled rage and thirst. He too saw the fountain and
hastened to drink of its forbidden waters. The other Growleywogs were
not slow to follow suit, and even before they had finished drinking
the Chief of the Whimsies and his people came to push them away, while
they one and all cast off their false heads that they might slake
their thirst at the fountain.

When the Nome King and General Guph arrived they both made a dash to
drink, but the General was so mad with thirst that he knocked his King
over, and while Roquat lay sprawling upon the ground the General
drank heartily of the Water of Oblivion.

This rude act of his General made the Nome King so angry that for a
moment he forgot he was thirsty and rose to his feet to glare upon the
group of terrible warriors he had brought here to assist him. He saw
Ozma and her people, too, and yelled out:

"Why don't you capture them? Why don't you conquer Oz, you idiots?
Why do you stand there like a lot of dummies?"

But the great warriors had become like little children. They had
forgotten all their enmity against Ozma and against Oz. They had even
forgotten who they themselves were, or why they were in this strange
and beautiful country. As for the Nome King, they did not recognize
him, and wondered who he was.

The sun came up and sent its flood of silver rays to light the faces
of the invaders. The frowns and scowls and evil looks were all gone.
Even the most monstrous of the creatures there assembled smiled
innocently and seemed light-hearted and content merely to be alive.

Not so with Roquat, the Nome King. He had not drunk from the
Forbidden Fountain and all his former rage against Ozma and Dorothy
now inflamed him as fiercely as ever. The sight of General Guph
babbling like a happy child and playing with his hands in the cool
waters of the fountain astonished and maddened Red Roquat. Seeing
that his terrible allies and his own General refused to act, the Nome
King turned to order his great army of Nomes to advance from the
tunnel and seize the helpless Oz people.

But the Scarecrow suspected what was in the King's mind and spoke a
word to the Tin Woodman. Together they ran at Roquat and grabbing him
up tossed him into the great basin of the fountain.

The Nome King's body was round as a ball, and it bobbed up and down in
the Water of Oblivion while he spluttered and screamed with fear lest
he should drown. And when he cried out, his mouth filled with water,
which ran down his throat, so that straightway he forgot all he had
formerly known just as completely as had all the other invaders.

Ozma and Dorothy could not refrain from laughing to see their dreaded
enemies become as harmless as babies. There was no danger now that Oz
would be destroyed. The only question remaining to solve was how to
get rid of this horde of intruders.

The Shaggy Man kindly pulled the Nome King out of the fountain and set
him upon his thin legs. Roquat was dripping wet, but he chattered and
laughed and wanted to drink more of the water. No thought of injuring
any person was now in his mind.

Before he left the tunnel he had commanded his fifty thousand Nomes
to remain there until he ordered them to advance, as he wished to give
his allies time to conquer Oz before he appeared with his own army.
Ozma did not wish all these Nomes to overrun her land, so she advanced
to King Roquat and taking his hand in her own said gently:

"Who are you? What is your name?"

"I don't know," he replied, smiling at her. "Who are you, my dear?"

"My name is Ozma," she said; "and your name is Roquat."

"Oh, is it?" he replied, seeming pleased.

"Yes; you are King of the Nomes," she said.

"Ah; I wonder what the Nomes are!" returned the King, as if puzzled.

"They are underground elves, and that tunnel over there is full of
them," she answered. "You have a beautiful cavern at the other end of
the tunnel, so you must go to your Nomes and say: 'March home!' Then
follow after them and in time you will reach the pretty cavern where
you live."

The Nome King was much pleased to learn this, for he had forgotten he
had a cavern. So he went to the tunnel and said to his army: 'March
home!' At once the Nomes turned and marched back through the tunnel,
and the King followed after them, laughing with delight to find his
orders so readily obeyed.

The Wizard went to General Guph, who was trying to count his fingers,
and told him to follow the Nome King, who was his master. Guph meekly
obeyed, and so all the Nomes quitted the Land of Oz forever.

But there were still the Phanfasms and Whimsies and Growleywogs
standing around in groups, and they were so many that they filled the
gardens and trampled upon the flowers and grass because they did not
know that the tender plants would be injured by their clumsy feet.
But in all other respects they were perfectly harmless and played
together like children or gazed with pleasure upon the pretty sights
of the royal gardens.

After counseling with the Scarecrow Ozma sent Omby Amby to the palace
for the Magic Belt, and when the Captain General returned with it the
Ruler of Oz at once clasped the precious Belt around her waist.

"I wish all these strange people--the Whimsies and the Growleywogs and
the Phanfasms--safe back in their own homes!" she said.

It all happened in a twinkling, for of course the wish was no sooner
spoken than it was granted.

All the hosts of the invaders were gone, and only the trampled grass
showed that they had ever been in the Land of Oz.



29. How Glinda Worked a Magic Spell


"That was better than fighting," said Ozma, when all our friends were
assembled in the palace after the exciting events of the morning; and
each and every one agreed with her.

"No one was hurt," said the Wizard, delightedly.

"And no one hurt us," added Aunt Em.

"But, best of all," said Dorothy, "the wicked people have all
forgotten their wickedness, and will not wish to hurt any one
after this."

"True, Princess," declared the Shaggy Man. "It seems to me that to
have reformed all those evil characters is more important than to have
saved Oz."

"Nevertheless," remarked the Scarecrow, "I am glad Oz is saved. I can
now go back to my new mansion and live happily."

"And I am glad and grateful that my pumpkin farm is saved," said Jack.

"For my part," added the Tin Woodman, "I cannot express my joy that my
lovely tin castle is not to be demolished by wicked enemies."

"Still," said Tiktok, "o-ther en-e-mies may come to Oz some day."

"Why do you allow your clock-work brains to interrupt our joy?" asked
Omby Amby, frowning at the machine man.

"I say what I am wound up to say," answered Tiktok.

"And you are right," declared Ozma. "I myself have been thinking of
this very idea, and it seems to me there are entirely too many ways
for people to get to the Land of Oz. We used to think the deadly
desert that surrounds us was enough protection; but that is no longer
the case. The Wizard and Dorothy have both come here through the air,
and I am told the earth people have invented airships that can fly
anywhere they wish them to go."

"Why, sometimes they do, and sometimes they don't," asserted Dorothy.

"But in time the airships may cause us trouble," continued Ozma,
"for if the earth folk learn how to manage them we would be overrun
with visitors who would ruin our lovely, secluded fairyland."

"That is true enough," agreed the Wizard.

"Also the desert fails to protect us in other ways," Ozma went on,
thoughtfully. "Johnny Dooit once made a sand-boat that sailed across
it, and the Nome King made a tunnel under it. So I believe something
ought to be done to cut us off from the rest of the world entirely,
so that no one in the future will ever be able to intrude upon us."

"How will you do that?" asked the Scarecrow.

"I do not know; but in some way I am sure it can be accomplished.
To-morrow I will make a journey to the castle of Glinda the Good,
and ask her advice."

"May I go with you?" asked Dorothy, eagerly.

"Of course, my dear Princess; and I also invite any of our friends
here who would like to undertake the journey."

They all declared they wished to accompany their girl Ruler, for this
was indeed an important mission, since the future of the Land of Oz to
a great extent depended upon it. So Ozma gave orders to her servants
to prepare for the journey on the morrow.

That day she watched her Magic Picture, and when it showed her that
all the Nomes had returned through the tunnel to their underground
caverns, Ozma used the Magic Belt to close up the tunnel, so that the
earth underneath the desert sands became as solid as it was before the
Nomes began to dig.

Early the following morning a gay cavalcade set out to visit the
famous Sorceress, Glinda the Good. Ozma and Dorothy rode in a chariot
drawn by the Cowardly Lion and the Hungry Tiger, while the Sawhorse
drew the red wagon in which rode the rest of the party.

With hearts light and free from care they traveled merrily along
through the lovely and fascinating Land of Oz, and in good season
reached the stately castle in which resided the Sorceress.

Glinda knew that they were coming.

"I have been reading about you in my Magic Book," she said,
as she greeted them in her gracious way.

"What is your Magic Book like?" inquired Aunt Em, curiously.

"It is a record of everything that happens," replied the Sorceress.
"As soon as an event takes place, anywhere in the world, it is
immediately found printed in my Magic Book. So when I read its pages
I am well informed."

"Did it tell you how our enemies drank the Water of 'Blivion?"
asked Dorothy.

"Yes, my dear; it told all about it. And also it told me you were
all coming to my castle, and why."

"Then," said Ozma, "I suppose you know what is in my mind, and that
I am seeking a way to prevent any one in the future from discovering
the Land of Oz."

"Yes; I know that. And while you were on your journey I have thought
of a way to accomplish your desire. For it seems to me unwise to
allow too many outside people to come here. Dorothy, with her uncle
and aunt, has now returned to Oz to live always, and there is no
reason why we should leave any way open for others to travel uninvited
to our fairyland. Let us make it impossible for any one ever to
communicate with us in any way, after this. Then we may live
peacefully and contentedly."

"Your advice is wise," returned Ozma. "I thank you, Glinda, for your
promise to assist me."

"But how can you do it?" asked Dorothy. "How can you keep every one
from ever finding Oz?"

"By making our country invisible to all eyes but our own," replied the
Sorceress, smiling. "I have a magic charm powerful enough to
accomplish that wonderful feat, and now that we have been warned of
our danger by the Nome King's invasion, I believe we must not hesitate
to separate ourselves forever from all the rest of the world."

"I agree with you," said the Ruler of Oz.

"Won't it make any difference to us?" asked Dorothy, doubtfully.

"No, my dear," Glinda answered, assuringly. "We shall still be able
to see each other and everything in the Land of Oz. It won't affect
us at all; but those who fly through the air over our country will
look down and see nothing at all. Those who come to the edge of the
desert, or try to cross it, will catch no glimpse of Oz, or know in
what direction it lies. No one will try to tunnel to us again because
we cannot be seen and therefore cannot be found. In other words, the
Land of Oz will entirely disappear from the knowledge of the rest of
the world."

"That's all right," said Dorothy, cheerfully. "You may make Oz
invis'ble as soon as you please, for all I care."

"It is already invisible," Glinda stated. "I knew Ozma's wishes,
and performed the Magic Spell before you arrived."

Ozma seized the hand of the Sorceress and pressed it gratefully.

"Thank you!" she said.



30. How the Story of Oz Came to an End


The writer of these Oz stories has received a little note from
Princess Dorothy of Oz which, for a time, has made him feel rather
disconcerted. The note was written on a broad, white feather from a
stork's wing, and it said:


"YOU WILL NEVER HEAR ANYTHING MORE ABOUT OZ, BECAUSE WE ARE NOW CUT
OFF FOREVER FROM ALL THE REST OF THE WORLD. BUT TOTO AND I WILL
ALWAYS LOVE YOU AND ALL THE OTHER CHILDREN WHO LOVE US.

"DOROTHY GALE."


This seemed to me too bad, at first, for Oz is a very interesting
fairyland. Still, we have no right to feel grieved, for we have had
enough of the history of the Land of Oz to fill six story books, and
from its quaint people and their strange adventures we have been able
to learn many useful and amusing things.

So good luck to little Dorothy and her companions. May they live long
in their invisible country and be very happy!

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