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Gail Hamilton - "Gala Days"

William H. Prescott - "The History Of The Conquest Of Peru"

a Platonic Imitator (see Appendix II) - "Eryxias"

George MacDonald - "Donal Grant"

The Emerald City of Oz

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




"Excuse me if I go edgewise," remarked the Captain as they came to a
slight hill. "I can get along faster that way and not flutter so much."

"That's all right," said Dorothy. "We don't mind how you go, I'm sure."

At one side of the street was a paper pump, and a paper boy was
pumping paper water into a paper pail. The Yellow Hen happened to
brush against this boy with her wing, and he flew into the air and
fell into a paper tree, where he stuck until the Wizard gently pulled
him out. At the same time, the pail went into the air, spilling the
paper water, while the paper pump bent nearly double.

"Goodness me!" said the Hen. "If I should flop my wings I believe
I'd knock over the whole village!"

"Then don't flop them--please don't!" entreated the Captain. "Miss
Cuttenclip would be very much distressed if her village was spoiled."

"Oh, I'll be careful," promised Billina.

"Are not all these paper girls and women named Miss Cuttenclips?"
inquired Omby Amby.

"No indeed," answered the Captain, who was walking better since he
began to move edgewise. "There is but one Miss Cuttenclip, who is our
Queen, because she made us all. These girls are Cuttenclips, to be
sure, but their names are Emily and Polly and Sue and Betty and such
things. Only the Queen is called Miss Cuttenclip."

"I must say that this place beats anything I ever heard of," observed
Aunt Em. "I used to play with paper dolls myself, an' cut 'em out;
but I never thought I'd ever see such things alive."

"I don't see as it's any more curious than hearing hens talk,"
returned Uncle Henry.

"You're likely to see many queer things in the Land of Oz, sir," said
the Wizard. "But a fairy country is extremely interesting when you
get used to being surprised."

"Here we are!" called the Captain, stopping before a cottage.

This house was made of wood, and was remarkably pretty in design. In
the Emerald City it would have been considered a tiny dwelling,
indeed; but in the midst of this paper village it seemed immense.
Real flowers were in the garden and real trees grew beside it. Upon
the front door was a sign reading:


MISS CUTTENCLIP.


Just as they reached the porch the front door opened and a little
girl stood before them. She appeared to be about the same age as
Dorothy, and smiling upon her visitors she said, sweetly:

"You are welcome."

All the party seemed relieved to find that here was a real girl, of
flesh and blood. She was very dainty and pretty as she stood there
welcoming them. Her hair was a golden blonde and her eyes turquoise
blue. She had rosy cheeks and lovely white teeth. Over her simple
white lawn dress she wore an apron with pink and white checks, and in
one hand she held a pair of scissors.

"May we see Miss Cuttenclip, please?" asked Dorothy.

"I am Miss Cuttenclip," was the reply. "Won't you come in?"

She held the door open while they all entered a pretty sitting-room
that was littered with all sorts of paper--some stiff, some thin, and
some tissue. The sheets and scraps were of all colors. Upon a table
were paints and brushes, while several pair of scissors, of different
sizes, were lying about.

"Sit down, please," said Miss Cuttenclip, clearing the paper scraps
off some of the chairs. "It is so long since I have had any visitors
that I am not properly prepared to receive them. But I'm sure you
will pardon my untidy room, for this is my workshop."

"Do you make all the paper dolls?" inquired Dorothy.

"Yes; I cut them out with my scissors, and paint the faces and some of
the costumes. It is very pleasant work, and I am happy making my
paper village grow."

"But how do the paper dolls happen to be alive?" asked Aunt Em.

"The first dolls I made were not alive," said Miss Cuttenclip. "I
used to live near the castle of a great Sorceress named Glinda the
Good, and she saw my dolls and said they were very pretty. I told her
I thought I would like them better if they were alive, and the next
day the Sorceress brought me a lot of magic paper. 'This is live
paper,' she said, 'and all the dolls you cut out of it will be alive,
and able to think and to talk. When you have used it all up, come to
me and I will give you more.'

"Of course I was delighted with this present," continued Miss
Cuttenclip, "and at once set to work and made several paper dolls,
which, as soon as they were cut out, began to walk around and talk to
me. But they were so thin that I found that any breeze would blow
them over and scatter them dreadfully; so Glinda found this lonely
place for me, where few people ever come. She built the wall to keep
any wind from blowing away my people, and told me I could build a
paper village here and be its Queen. That is why I came here and
settled down to work and started the village you now see. It was many
years ago that I built the first houses, and I've kept pretty busy and
made my village grow finely; and I need not tell you that I am very
happy in my work."

"Many years ago!" exclaimed Aunt Em. "Why, how old are you, child?"

"I never keep track of the years," said Miss Cuttenclip, laughing.
"You see, I don't grow up at all, but stay just the same as I was when
first I came here. Perhaps I'm older even than you are, madam; but I
couldn't say for sure."

They looked at the lovely little girl wonderingly, and the Wizard asked:

"What happens to your paper village when it rains?"

"It does not rain here," replied Miss Cuttenclip. "Glinda keeps all
the rain storms away; so I never worry about my dolls getting wet. But
now, if you will come with me, it will give me pleasure to show you
over my paper kingdom. Of course you must go slowly and carefully,
and avoid making any breeze."

They left the cottage and followed their guide through the various
streets of the village. It was indeed an amazing place, when one
considered that it was all made with scissors, and the visitors were
not only greatly interested but full of admiration for the skill of
little Miss Cuttenclip.

In one place a large group of especially nice paper dolls assembled to
greet their Queen, whom it was easy to see they loved early. These
dolls marched and danced before the visitors, and then they all waved
their paper handkerchiefs and sang in a sweet chorus a song called
"The Flag of Our Native Land."

At the conclusion of the song they ran up a handsome paper flag on a
tall flagpole, and all of the people of the village gathered around to
cheer as loudly as they could--although, of course, their voices were
not especially strong.

Miss Cuttenclip was about to make her subjects a speech in reply to
this patriotic song, when the Shaggy Man happened to sneeze.

He was a very loud and powerful sneezer at any time, and he had tried
so hard to hold in this sneeze that when it suddenly exploded the
result was terrible.

The paper dolls were mowed down by dozens, and flew and fluttered in
wild confusion in every direction, tumbling this way and that and
getting more or less wrinkled and bent.

A wail of terror and grief came from the scattered throng, and Miss
Cuttenclip exclaimed:

"Dear me! dear me!" and hurried at once to the rescue of her
overturned people.

"Oh, Shaggy Man! How could you?" asked Dorothy, reproachfully.

"I couldn't help it--really I couldn't," protested the Shaggy Man,
looking quite ashamed. "And I had no idea it took so little to upset
these paper dolls."

"So little!" said Dorothy. "Why, it was 'most as bad as a Kansas
cyclone." And then she helped Miss Cuttenclip rescue the paper folk
and stand them on their feet again. Two of the cardboard houses had
also tumbled over, and the little Queen said she would have to repair
them and paste them together before they could be lived in again.

And now, fearing they might do more damage to the flimsy paper people,
they decided to go away. But first they thanked Miss Cuttenclip very
warmly for her courtesy and kindness to them.

"Any friend of Princess Ozma is always welcome here--unless he
sneezes," said the Queen with a rather severe look at the Shaggy Man,
who hung his head. "I like to have visitors admire my wonderful
village, and I hope you will call again."

Miss Cuttenclip herself led them to the door in the wall, and as they
passed along the street the paper dolls peeped at them half fearfully
from the doors and windows. Perhaps they will never forget the Shaggy
Man's awful sneeze, and I am sure they were all glad to see the meat
people go away.



11. How the General Met the First and Foremost


On leaving the Growleywogs General Guph had to recross the Ripple
Lands, and he did not find it a pleasant thing to do. Perhaps having
his whiskers pulled out one by one and being used as a pin-cushion for
the innocent amusement of a good natured jailer had not improved the
quality of Guph's temper, for the old Nome raved and raged at the
recollection of the wrongs he had suffered, and vowed to take vengeance
upon the Growleywogs after he had used them for his purposes and Oz
had been conquered. He went on in this furious way until he was half
across the Ripple Land. Then he became seasick, and the rest of the
way this naughty Nome was almost as miserable as he deserved to be.

But when he reached the plains again and the ground was firm under his
feet he began to feel better, and instead of going back home he
turned directly west. A squirrel, perched in a tree, saw him take this
road and called to him warningly: "Look out!" But he paid no
attention. An eagle paused in its flight through the air to look at
him wonderingly and say: "Look out!" But on he went.

No one can say that Guph was not brave, for he had determined to visit
those dangerous creatures the Phanfasms, who resided upon the very
top of the dread Mountain of Phantastico. The Phanfasms were Erbs,
and so dreaded by mortals and immortals alike that no one had been
near their mountain home for several thousand years. Yet General Guph
hoped to induce them to join in his proposed warfare against the good
and happy Oz people.

Guph knew very well that the Phanfasms would be almost as dangerous to
the Nomes as they would to the Ozites, but he thought himself so
clever that he believed he could manage these strange creatures and
make them obey him. And there was no doubt at all that if he could
enlist the services of the Phanfasms, their tremendous power, united
to the strength of the Growleywogs and the cunning of the Whimsies
would doom the Land of Oz to absolute destruction.

So the old Nome climbed the foothills and trudged along the wild
mountain paths until he came to a big gully that encircled the
Mountain of Phantastico and marked the boundary line of the dominion
of the Phanfasms. This gully was about a third of the way up the
mountain, and it was filled to the brim with red-hot molten lava in
which swam fire-serpents and poisonous salamanders. The heat from
this mass and its poisonous smell were both so unbearable that even
birds hesitated to fly over the gully, but circled around it. All
living things kept away from the mountain.

Now Guph had heard, during his long lifetime, many tales of these
dreaded Phanfasms; so he had heard of this barrier of melted lava, and
also he had been told that there was a narrow bridge that spanned it
in one place. So he walked along the edge until he found the bridge.
It was a single arch of gray stone, and lying flat upon the bridge was
a scarlet alligator, seemingly fast asleep.

When Guph stumbled over the rocks in approaching the bridge the
creature opened its eyes, from which tiny flames shot in all
directions, and after looking at the intruder very wickedly the
scarlet alligator closed its eyelids again and lay still.

Guph saw there was no room for him to pass the alligator on the narrow
bridge, so he called out to it:

"Good morning, friend. I don't wish to hurry you, but please tell me
if you are coming down, or going up?"

"Neither," snapped the alligator, clicking its cruel jaws together.

The General hesitated.

"Are you likely to stay there long?" he asked.

"A few hundred years or so," said the alligator.

Guph softly rubbed the end of his nose and tried to think what to do.

"Do you know whether the First and Foremost Phanfasm of Phantastico is
at home or not?" he presently inquired.

"I expect he is, seeing he is always at home," replied the alligator.

"Ah; who is that coming down the mountain?" asked the Nome,
gazing upward.

The alligator turned to look over its shoulder, and at once Guph ran
to the bridge and leaped over the sentinel's back before it could turn
back again. The scarlet monster made a snap at the Nome's left foot,
but missed it by fully an inch.

"Ah ha!" laughed the General, who was now on the mountain path.
"I fooled you that time."

"So you did; and perhaps you fooled yourself," retorted the alligator.
"Go up the mountain, if you dare, and find out what the First and
Foremost will do to you!"

"I will," declared Guph, boldly; and on he went up the path.

At first the scene was wild enough, but gradually it grew more and
more awful in appearance. All the rocks had the shapes of frightful
beings and even the tree trunks were gnarled and twisted like serpents.

Suddenly there appeared before the Nome a man with the head of an owl.
His body was hairy like that of an ape, and his only clothing was a
scarlet scarf twisted around his waist. He bore a huge club in his
hand and his round owl eyes blinked fiercely upon the intruder.

"What are you doing here?" he demanded, threatening Guph with his club.

"I've come to see the First and Foremost Phanfasm of Phantastico,"
replied the General, who did not like the way this creature looked at
him, but still was not afraid.

"Ah; you shall see him!" the man said, with a sneering laugh. "The
First and Foremost shall decide upon the best way to punish you."

"He will not punish me," returned Guph, calmly, "for I have come here
to do him and his people a rare favor. Lead on, fellow, and take me
directly to your master."

The owl-man raised his club with a threatening gesture.

"If you try to escape," he said, "beware--"

But here the General interrupted him.

"Spare your threats," said he, "and do not be impertinent, or I will
have you severely punished. Lead on, and keep silent!"

This Guph was really a clever rascal, and it seems a pity he was so
bad, for in a good cause he might have accomplished much. He realized
that he had put himself into a dangerous position by coming to this
dreadful mountain, but he also knew that if he showed fear he was
lost. So he adopted a bold manner as his best defense. The wisdom of
this plan was soon evident, for the Phanfasm with the owl's head
turned and led the way up the mountain.

At the very top was a level plain upon which were heaps of rock that
at first glance seemed solid. But on looking closer Guph discovered
that these rock heaps were dwellings, for each had an opening.

Not a person was to be seen outside the rock huts. All was silent.

The owl-man led the way among the groups of dwellings to one standing
in the center. It seemed no better and no worse than any of the
others. Outside the entrance to this rock heap the guide gave a low
wail that sounded like "Lee-ow-ah!"

Suddenly there bounded from the opening another hairy man. This one
wore the head of a bear. In his hand he bore a brass hoop. He glared
at the stranger in evident surprise.

"Why have you captured this foolish wanderer and brought him here?"
he demanded, addressing the owl-man.

"I did not capture him," was the answer. "He passed the scarlet
alligator and came here of his own free will and accord."

The First and Foremost looked at the General.

"Have you tired of life, then?" he asked.

"No indeed," answered Guph. "I am a Nome, and the Chief General of
King Roquat the Red's great army of Nomes. I come of a long-lived
race, and I may say that I expect to live a long time yet. Sit down,
you Phanfasms--if you can find a seat in this wild haunt--and listen
to what I have to say."

With all his knowledge and bravery General Guph did not know that the
steady glare from the bear eyes was reading his inmost thoughts as
surely as if they had been put into words. He did not know that these
despised rock heaps of the Phanfasms were merely deceptions to his own
eyes, nor could he guess that he was standing in the midst of one of
the most splendid and luxurious cities ever built by magic power. All
that he saw was a barren waste of rock heaps, a hairy man with an
owl's head and another with a bear's head. The sorcery of the
Phanfasms permitted him to see no more.

Suddenly the First and Foremost swung his brass hoop and caught Guph
around the neck with it. The next instant, before the General could
think what had happened to him, he was dragged inside the rock hut.
Here, his eyes still blinded to realities, he perceived only a dim
light, by which the hut seemed as rough and rude inside as it was
outside. Yet he had a strange feeling that many bright eyes were
fastened upon him and that he stood in a vast and extensive hall.

The First and Foremost now laughed grimly and released his prisoner.

"If you have anything to say that is interesting," he remarked,
"speak out ,before I strangle you."

So Guph spoke out. He tried not to pay any attention to a strange
rustling sound that he heard, as of an unseen multitude drawing near to
listen to his words. His eyes could see only the fierce bear-man, and
to him he addressed his speech. First he told of his plan to conquer
the Land of Oz and plunder the country of its riches and enslave its
people, who, being fairies, could not be killed. After relating all
this, and telling of the tunnel the Nome King was building, he said he
had come to ask the First and Foremost to join the Nomes, with his band
of terrible warriors, and help them to defeat the Oz people.

The General spoke very earnestly and impressively, but when he had
finished the bear-man began to laugh as if much amused, and his laughter
seemed to be echoed by a chorus of merriment from an unseen multitude.
Then, for the first time, Guph began to feel a trifle worried.

"Who else has promised to help you?" finally asked the First and Foremost.

"The Whimsies," replied the General.

Again the bear-headed Phanfasm laughed.

"Any others?" he inquired.

"Only the Growleywogs," said Guph.

This answer set the First and Foremost laughing anew.

"What share of the spoils am I to have?" was the next question.

"Anything you like, except King Roquat's Magic Belt," replied Guph.

At this the Phanfasm set up a roar of laughter, which had its echo in
the unseen chorus, and the bear-man seemed so amused that he actually
rolled upon the ground and shouted with merriment.

"Oh, these blind and foolish Nomes!" he said. "How big they seem to
themselves and how small they really are!"

Suddenly he arose and seized Guph's neck with one hairy paw, dragging
him out of the hut into the open.

Here he gave a curious wailing cry, and, as if in answer, from all the
rocky huts on the mountain-top came flocking a horde of Phanfasms, all
with hairy bodies, but wearing heads of various animals, birds and
reptiles. All were ferocious and repulsive-looking to the deceived
eyes of the Nome, and Guph could not repress a shudder of disgust as
he looked upon them.

The First and Foremost slowly raised his arms, and in a twinkling his
hairy skin fell from him and he appeared before the astonished Nome
as a beautiful woman, clothed in a flowing gown of pink gauze. In her
dark hair flowers were entwined, and her face was noble and calm.

At the same instant the entire band of Phanfasms was transformed into
a pack of howling wolves, running here and there as they snarled and
showed their ugly yellow fangs.

The woman now raised her arms, even as the man-bear had done, and in
a twinkling the wolves became crawling lizards, while she herself
changed into a huge butterfly.

Guph had only time to cry out in fear and take a step backward to
avoid the lizards when another transformation occurred, and all
returned instantly to the forms they had originally worn.

Then the First and Foremost, who had resumed his hairy body and
bear head, turned to the Nome and asked

"Do you still demand our assistance?"

"More than ever," answered the General, firmly.

"Then tell me: what can you offer the Phanfasms that they have not
already?" inquired the First and Foremost.

Guph hesitated. He really did not know what to say. The Nome King's
vaunted Magic Belt seemed a poor thing compared to the astonishing
magical powers of these people. Gold, jewels and slaves they might
secure in any quantity without especial effort. He felt that he was
dealing with powers greatly beyond him. There was but one argument
that might influence the Phanfasms, who were creatures of evil.

"Permit me to call your attention to the exquisite joy of making the
happy unhappy," said he at last. "Consider the pleasure of destroying
innocent and harmless people."

"Ah! you have answered me," cried the First and Foremost. "For that
reason alone we will aid you. Go home, and tell your bandy-legged king
that as soon as his tunnel is finished the Phanfasms will be with him
and lead his legions to the conquest of Oz. The deadly desert alone
has kept us from destroying Oz long ago, and your underground tunnel
is a clever thought. Go home, and prepare for our coming!"

Guph was very glad to be permitted to go with this promise. The owl-man
led him back down the mountain path and ordered the scarlet alligator to
crawl away and allow the Nome to cross the bridge in safety.

After the visitor had gone a brilliant and gorgeous city appeared upon
the mountain top, clearly visible to the eyes of the gaily dressed
multitude of Phanfasms that lived there. And the First and Foremost,
beautifully arrayed, addressed the others in these words:

"It is time we went into the world and brought sorrow and dismay to
its people. Too long have we remained for ourselves upon this
mountain top, for while we are thus secluded many nations have grown
happy and prosperous, and the chief joy of the race of Phanfasms is to
destroy happiness. So I think it is lucky that this messenger from
the Nomes arrived among us just now, to remind us that the opportunity
has come for us to make trouble. We will use King Roquat's tunnel to
conquer the Land of Oz. Then we will destroy the Whimsies, the
Growleywogs and the Nomes, and afterward go out to ravage and annoy
and grieve the whole world."

The multitude of evil Phanfasms eagerly applauded this plan,
which they fully approved.

I am told that the Erbs are the most powerful and merciless of all
the evil spirits, and the Phanfasms of Phantastico belong to the
race of Erbs.



12. How they Matched the Fuddles


Dorothy and her fellow travelers rode away from the Cuttenclip village
and followed the indistinct path as far as the sign-post. Here they
took the main road again and proceeded pleasantly through the pretty
farming country. When evening came they stopped at a dwelling and were
joyfully welcomed and given plenty to eat and good beds for the night.

Early next morning, however, they were up and eager to start, and
after a good breakfast they bade their host good-bye and climbed into
the red wagon, to which the Sawhorse had been hitched all night.
Being made of wood, this horse never got tired nor cared to lie down.
Dorothy was not quite sure whether he ever slept or not, but it was
certain that he never did when anybody was around.

The weather is always beautiful in Oz, and this morning the air was
cool and refreshing and the sunshine brilliant and delightful.

In about an hour they came to a place where another road branched off.
There was a sign-post here which read:


THIS WAY TO FUDDLECUMJIG


"Oh, here is where we turn," said Dorothy, observing the sign.

"What! Are we going to Fuddlecumjig?" asked the Captain General.

"Yes; Ozma thought we might enjoy the Fuddles. They are said to be
very interesting," she replied.

"No one would suspect it from their name," said Aunt Em. "Who are
they, anyhow? More paper things?"

"I think not," answered Dorothy, laughing; "but I can't say 'zactly,
Aunt Em, what they are. We'll find out when we get there."

"Perhaps the Wizard knows," suggested Uncle Henry.

"No; I've never been there before," said the Wizard. "But I've often
heard of Fuddlecumjig and the Fuddles, who are said to be the most
peculiar people in all the Land of Oz."

"In what way?" asked the Shaggy Man.

"I don't know, I'm sure," said the Wizard.

Just then, as they rode along the pretty green lane toward
Fuddlecumjig, they espied a kangaroo sitting by the roadside. The
poor animal had its face covered with both its front paws and was
crying so bitterly that the tears coursed down its cheeks in two tiny
streams and trickled across the road, where they formed a pool in a
small hollow.

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