"THE ROYAL BOOK OF OZ\n\nIn which the Scarecrow goes to search for his family tree and\ndiscovers that he is the Long Lost Emperor of the\nSilver Island, and how he was rescued and\nbrought back to Oz by Dorothy\nand the Cowardly Lion\n\nBY\n\nL. FRANK BAUM\n\n\nENLARGED AND EDITED\nBY\n\nRUTH PLUMLY THOMPSON\n\n\nILLUSTRATED BY\n\nJOHN R. NEILL\n\n\n\n\nThe Reilly & Lee Co.\nChicago\n\n\n_Printed in the United States of America_\n\n\nCopyright, 1921\nby\nThe Reilly & Britton Co.\n\nAll Rights Reserved\n\n\n\n\n\nDear Children:\n\nYou will remember that, in the front part of Glinda of Oz, the\nPublishers told you that when Mr. Baum went away from this world he\nleft behind some unfinished notes about the Princess Ozma and Dorothy\nand the jolly people of the Wonderful Land of Oz. The Publishers\npromised that they would try to put these notes together into a new\nOz book for you.\n\nWell, here it is--The Royal Book of Oz.\n\nI am sure that Mr. Baum would be pleased that Ruth Plumly Thompson,\nwho has known and loved the Oz Stories ever since she was a little\ngirl, has made this new Oz story, with all the Oz folks in it and\ntrue to life.\n\nYou see I am Mrs. Baum, the wife of the Royal Historian of Oz, and so\nI know how he feels about everything.\n\nNow, about the story:\n\nOf course, we all knew the Scarecrow was a very fine fellow, but\nsurely we never guessed he ascended from an emperor. Most of us\ndescend from our ancestors, but the Scarecrow really ASCENDED.\n\nThe Scarecrow had a most exciting and adventurous time on the Silver\nIsle and Dorothy and the Cowardly Lion just ran out of one adventure\ninto another trying to rescue him. They made some charming new\nfriends in their travels--Sir Hokus of Pokes, the Doubtful Dromedary,\nand the Comfortable Camel. You'll find them very unusual and likable.\nThey have the same peculiar, delightful and informal natures that we\nlove in all the queer Oz people.\n\nOf course every one of us is happy that John R. Neill has drawn the\nfunny and lovely pictures for the new book. Mr. Neill surely is the\nRoyal Painter of Oz.\n\nThis note is intended for all the children of America, who knew and\nloved Mr. Baum, and it goes to each of you with his love and mine.\n\n                 MAUD G. BAUM.\n\nOZCOT\nHOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA\nIN THE SPRING, 1921\n\n\n\nLIST OF CHAPTERS\n\n   1   Professor Wogglebug's Great Idea\n   2   The Scarecrow's Family Tree\n   3   Down the Magic Bean Pole\n   4   Dorothy's Lonely Breakfast\n   5   Sir Hokus of Pokes\n   6   Singing Their Way Out of Pokes\n   7   The Scarecrow Is Hailed As Emperor!\n   8   The Scarecrow Studies the Silver Island\n   9   \"Save Us With Your Magic, Exalted One!\"\n  10  Princess Ozma and Betsy Bobbin Talk It Over\n  11  Sir Hokus Overcometh the Giant\n  12  Dorothy and Sir Hokus Come to Fix City\n  13  Dancing Beds and the Road That Unrolled\n  14  Sons and Grandsons Greet the Scarecrow\n  15  The Three Princes Plot to Undo the Emperor\n  16  Dorothy and Her Guardians Meet New Friends\n  17  Doubty and Camy Vanish Into Space\n  18  Dorothy Finds the Scarecrow!\n  19  Planning to Fly From the Silver Island\n  20  Dorothy Upsets the Ceremony of the Island\n  21  The Escape From the Silver Island\n  22  The Flight of the Parasol\n  23  Safe at Last in the Land of Oz\n  24  Homeward Bound to the Emerald City\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 1\n\nPROFESSOR WOGGLEBUG'S GREAT IDEA\n\n\"The very thing!\" exclaimed Professor Wogglebug, bounding into the\nair and upsetting his gold inkwell. \"The very next idea!\"\n\n\"Who--me?\" A round-faced little Munchkin boy stuck his head in the\ndoor and regarded Professor Wogglebug solemnly. He was working his\nway through the Professor's Athletic college, and one of his duties\nwas to wait upon this eminent educator of Oz.\n\n\"Certainly not!\" snapped Professor Wogglebug. \"You're a nobody or a\nnothing. Stop gaping and fetch me my hat. I'm off to the Emerald\nCity. And mind the pupils take their history pills regularly while\nI'm gone,\" he added, clapping his tall hat Zif held out to him on the\nback of his head.\n\n\"Yes, sir!\" said the little Munchkin respectfully.\n\n\"Don't hurry back, sir!\" This last remark the Professor did not hear,\nfor he was already half way down the college steps.\n\n\"Ozma will be delighted with the idea. How clever I am!\" he murmured,\ntwirling his antennae and walking rapidly down the pleasant blue\nlane.\n\nThe Professor, whose College of Art and Athletic Perfection is in the\nsouthwestern part of the Munchkin country, is the biggest bug in Oz,\nor in anyplace else, for that matter. He has made education painless\nby substituting school pills for books. His students take Latin,\nhistory and spelling pills; they swallow knowledge of every kind with\nease and pleasure and spend the rest of their time in sport. No\nwonder he is so well thought of in Oz! No wonder he thinks so well of\nhimself!\n\nSwinging his cane jauntily, the Professor hurried toward the yellow\nbrick road that leads to the Emerald City, and by nightfall had\nreached the lovely capital of Oz.\n\nOz!--that marvelous country where no one grows old--where animals and\nbirds talk as sensibly as people, and adventures happen every day.\nIndeed, of all fairylands in the world, Oz is the most delightful,\nand of all fairy cities, the Emerald City is the most beautiful. A\nsoft green light shone for miles about, and the gemmed turrets and\nspires of the palace flashed more brightly than the stars. But its\nloveliness was familiar to Professor Wogglebug, and without a pause\nhe proceeded to Ozma's palace and was at once admitted to the great\nhall.\n\nA roar of merriment greeted his ears. Ozma, the lovely girl ruler of\nOz, was having a party, and the room was full of most surprising\npeople--surprising to some, that is, but old friends to most of us.\n\nJack, holding tightly to his pumpkin head, was running as fast as his\nwooden feet and wobbly legs would take him from Dorothy. A game of\nblind-man's-buff was in full swing, and Scraps and Tik-Tok, the\nScarecrow and Nick Chopper, the Glass Cat and the Cowardly Lion, the\nWizard of Oz and the wooden Sawhorse, Cap'n Bill and Betsy Bobbin,\nBillina and the Hungry Tiger were tumbling over each other in an\neffort to keep away from the blindfolded little girl.\n\nBut Dorothy was too quick for them. With a sudden whirl, she spun\n'round and grasped a coatsleeve.\n\n\"The Scarecrow!\" she laughed triumphantly. \"I can tell by the way he\nskwoshes--and now _he's_ it!\"\n\n\"I'm always _it!\"_ chuckled the droll person. \"But--hah! Behold the\nlearned Professor standing so aloofly in our midst.\"\n\nNo one had noticed Professor Wogglebug, who had been quietly watching\nthe game.\n\n\"I don't like to interrupt the party,\" he began, approaching Ozma's\nthrone apologetically, \"but I've just had a most brilliant idea!\"\n\n\"What? Another?\" murmured the Scarecrow, rolling up his eyes.\n\n\"Where did you lose it?\" asked Jack Pumpkinhead, edging forward\nanxiously.\n\n\"Lose it! Who said I'd lost it?\" snapped the Professor, glaring at\npoor Jack.\n\n\"Well, you said you'd had it, and had is the past tense, so--\" Jack's\nvoice trailed off uncertainly, and Ozma, seeing he was embarrassed,\nbegged the Professor to explain.\n\n\"Your Highness!\" began Professor Wogglebug, while the company settled\ndown in a resigned circle on the floor, \"As Oz is the most\ninteresting and delightful country on the Continent of Imagination\nand its people the most unusual and talented, I am about to compile a\nRoyal Book which will give the names and history of all our people.\nIn other words, I am to be the Great, Grand Genealogist of Oz!\"\n\n\"Whatever that is,\" the Scarecrow whispered in Dorothy's ear.\n\n\"And,\" the Professor frowned severely on the Scarecrow, \"with your\nMajesty's permission, I shall start at once!\"\n\n\"Please do,\" said the Scarecrow with a wave toward the door, \"and we\nwill go on with the party!\"\n\nScraps, the Patchwork Girl, who had been staring fixedly at the\nProfessor with her silver suspender-button eyes, now sprang to her\nfeet:\n\n      \"What is a genealogist?\n      It's something no one here has missed;\n      What puts such notions in your head?\n      Turn out your toes--or go to bed!\"\n\nshe shouted gaily, then, catching Ozma's disapproving glance, fell\nover backwards.\n\n\"I don't understand it at all,\" said Jack Pumpkinhead in a depressed\nvoice. \"I'm afraid my head's too ripe.\"\n\n\"Nor I,\" said Tik-Tok, the copper clockwork man. \"Please wind me up a\nlit-tle tight-er Dor-o-thy, I want to think!\"\n\nDorothy obligingly took a key suspended from a hook on his back and\nwound him up under his left arm. Everybody began to talk at once, and\nwhat with the Cowardly Lion's deep growl and Tik-Tok's squeaky voice\nand all the rest of the tin and meat and wooden voices, the confusion\nwas terrible.\n\n\"Wait!\" cried Ozma, clapping her hands.\n\nImmediately the room grew so still that one could hear Tik-Tok's\nmachinery whirring 'round.\n\n\"Now!\" said Ozma, \"One at a time, please, and let us hear from the\nScarecrow first.\"\n\nThe Scarecrow rose. \"I think, your Highness,\" he said modestly, \"that\nanyone who has studied his Geozify already knows who we are and--\"\n\n\"Who you are?\" broke in the Wogglebug scornfully--\"Of course they\ndo--but _I_ shall tell them who you _were!\"_\n\n\"Who I were?\" gasped the Scarecrow in a dazed voice, raising his\ncotton glove to his forehead. \"Who I were? Well, who were I?\"\n\n\"That's just the point,\" said Professor Wogglebug. \"Who were you? Who\nwere your ancestors? Where is your family? Where is your family tree?\nFrom what did you descend?\"\n\nAt each question, the Scarecrow looked more embarrassed. He repeated\nthe last one several times.\n\n\"From what did I descend? From what did I descend? Why, from a bean\npole!\" he cried.\n\nThis was perfectly true, for Dorothy, a little girl blown by a Kansas\ncyclone to the Kingdom of Oz, had discovered the Scarecrow in a\nfarmer's cornfield and had lifted him down from his pole. Together\nthey had made the journey to the Emerald City, where the Wizard of Oz\nhad fitted him out with a fine set of brains. At one time, he had\nruled Oz and was generally considered its cleverest citizen.\n\nBefore he could reply further, the Patchwork Girl, who was simply\nirrepressible, burst out:\n\n      \"An ex-straw-ordinary man is he!\n      A bean pole for his family tree,\n      A Cornishman, upon my soul,\n      Descended from a tall, thin Pole!\"\n\n\"Nonsense!\" said Professor Wogglebug sharply, \"Being stuffed with\nstraw may make him extraordinary, but it is quite plain that the\nScarecrow was nobody before he was himself. He has no ancestors, no\nfamily; only a bean pole for a family tree, and is therefore entitled\nto the merest mention in the Royal Book of Oz!\"\n\n\"How about my brains?\" asked the Scarecrow in a hurt voice. \"Aren't\nthey enough?\"\n\n\"Brains have simply nothing to do with royalty!\" Professor Wogglebug\nwaved his fountain pen firmly. \"Now--\"\n\n\"But see here, wasn't I ruler of Oz?\" put in the Scarecrow anxiously.\n\n\"A Ruler but _never_ a royalty!\" snapped out the Professor. \"Now, if\nyou will all answer my questions as I call your names, I'll get the\nnecessary data and be off.\"\n\nHe took out a small memorandum book.\n\n\"Your Highness,\" he bowed to Ozma, \"need not bother. I have already\nentered your name at the head of the list. Being descended as you are\nfrom a long line of fairies, your family tree is the oldest and most\nillustrious in Oz.\"\n\n\"Princess Dorothy!\"\n\nAt the sound of her name, the little girl stood up.\n\n\"I know you are from Kansas and were created a Princess of Oz by our\ngracious Ruler, but can you tell me anything of your ancestors in\nAmerica?\" demanded the Professor, staring over the top of his thick\nglasses.\n\n\"You'll have to ask Uncle Henry and Aunt Em,\" said Dorothy rather\nsulkily. The Professor had hurt the feelings of her best friend, the\nScarecrow, and ancestors did not interest her one little bit.\n\n\"Very well,\" said the Professor, writing industriously in his book.\n\"I'll just enter you as 'Dorothy, Princess of Oz and sixth cousin to\na President!'\"\n\n\"I'm not!\" Dorothy shook her head positively.\n\n\"Oh, everyone in America can claim that!\" said the Professor easily.\n\n\"Nick Chopper!\"\n\nNow up rose our old friend the Tin Woodman, who had also been\ndiscovered by Dorothy on her first trip to the Fairyland of Oz.\n\n\"You were a man of meat at one time and a woodman by trade?\" queried\nProfessor Wogglebug, poising his pen in the air.\n\n\"I am a Tin Woodman, and you may enter me in your book under the name\nof Smith, for a tin Smith made me, and as Royal Emperor of the\nWinkies, I do not care to go back to my meat connections,\" said the\nTin Woodman in a dignified voice.\n\nThe company applauded, and the Cowardly Lion thumped the floor with\nhis tail.\n\n\"Smith is a very good name. I can work up a whole chapter on that,\"\nsmiled the Professor. The Tin Woodman _had_ once been a regular person,\nbut a wicked witch enchanted his ax, and first it chopped off one\nleg, then the other, and next both arms and his head. After each\naccident, Nick went to a tinsmith for repairs, and finally was\nentirely made of tin. Nowhere but in Oz could such a thing happen.\nBut no one can be killed in this marvelous country, and Nick, with\nhis tin body, went gaily on living and was considered so\ndistinguished that the Winkies had begged him to be their Emperor.\n\n\"Scraps!\" called the Professor as Nick sat stiffly down beside\nDorothy.\n\nThe Patchwork Girl pirouetted madly to the front. Putting one finger\nin her mouth, she sang:\n\n      \"I'm made of patches, as you see.\n      A clothes tree is my family tree\n      But, pshaw! It's all the same to me!\"\n\nA clothes tree? Even Professor Wogglebug grinned. Who could help\nlaughing at Scraps? Made of odd pieces of goods and brought to life\nby the powder of life, the comical girl was the jolliest person\nimaginable.\n\n\"Put me down as a man of me-tal!\" drawled Tik-Tok the copper man as\nthe laugh following Scraps' rhyme had subsided. Tik-Tok was still\nanother of Dorothy's discoveries, and this marvelous machine man,\nguaranteed to last a thousand years, could think, walk, and talk when\nproperly wound.\n\nThe Cowardly Lion was entered as a King in his own right. One after\nthe other, the celebrities of Oz came forward to answer Professor\nWogglebug's questions. The Professor wrote rapidly in his little\nbook. Ozma listened attentively to each one, and they all seemed\ninterested except the Scarecrow. Slumped down beside Dorothy, he\nstared morosely at the ceiling, his jolly face all wrinkled down on\none side.\n\n\"If I only knew who I were!\" he muttered over and over. \"I must\nthink!\"\n\n\"Don't you mind.\" Dorothy patted his shoulder kindly. \"Royalties are\nout of date, and I'll bet the Professor's family tree was a\nmilkweed!\"\n\nBut the Scarecrow refused to be comforted, and long after the company\nhad retired he sat hunched sadly in his corner.\n\n\"I'll do it! I'll do it!\" he exclaimed at last, rising unsteadily to\nhis feet. Jellia Jamb, Ozma's little waiting maid, returning somewhat\nlater to fetch a handkerchief her mistress had dropped, was surprised\nto see him running through the long hall.\n\n\"Why, where are you going?\" asked Jellia.\n\n\"To find my family tree!\" said the Scarecrow darkly, and drawing\nhimself up to his full height, he fell through the doorway.\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 2\n\nTHE SCARECROW'S FAMILY TREE\n\nThe moon shone brightly, but everyone in the Emerald City was fast\nasleep! Through the deserted streets hurried the Scarecrow. For the\nfirst time since his discovery by little Dorothy, he was really\nunhappy. Living as he did in a Fairyland, he had taken many things\nfor granted and had rather prided himself on his unusual appearance.\nIndeed, not until Professor Wogglebug's rude remarks concerning his\nfamily had he given his past a thought.\n\n\"I am the only person in Oz without a family!\" he reflected\nsorrowfully. \"Even the Cowardly Lion has kingly parents and a palm\ntree! But I must keep thinking. My brains have never failed me yet.\nWho was I? Who were I? Who were I?\"\n\nOften he thought so hard that he forgot to look where he was going\nand ran headlong into fences, stumbled down gutters, and over stiles.\nBut fortunately, the dear fellow could not hurt himself, and he would\nstruggle up, pat his straw into shape, and walk straightway into\nsomething else. He made good time in between falls, however, and was\nsoon well on his way down the yellow brick road that ran through the\nMunchkin Country. For he had determined to return to the Munchkin\nfarm where Dorothy had first discovered him and try to find some\ntraces of his family.\n\nNow being stuffed with straw had many advantages, for requiring\nneither food nor sleep the Scarecrow could travel night and day\nwithout interruption. The stars winked out one by one, and by the\ntime the cocks of the Munchkin farmers began to crow, he had come to\nthe banks of a broad blue river!\n\nThe Scarecrow took off his hat and scratched his head thoughtfully.\nCrossing rivers is no easy matter in Oz, for there isn't a ferry in\nthe Kingdom, and unless one is a good swimmer or equipped with some\nof the Wizard's magic it is mighty troublesome. Water does not agree\nwith the Scarecrow at all, and as for swimming, he can no more swim\nthan a bag of meal.\n\nBut he was too wise a person to give up merely because a thing\nappeared to be impossible. It was for just such emergencies that his\nexcellent brains had been given to him.\n\n\"If Nick Chopper were here, he would build a raft in no time,\"\nmurmured the Scarecrow, \"but as he is not, I must think of another\nway!\"\n\nTurning his back on the river, which distracted his mind, he began to\nthink with all his might. Before he could collect his thoughts, there\nwas a tremendous crash, and next minute he was lying face down in the\nmud. Several little crashes followed, and a shower of water. Then a\nwet voice called out with a cheerful chuckle:\n\n\"Come on out, my dear Rattles. Not a bad place at all, and here's\nbreakfast already waiting!\"\n\n\"Breakfast!\" The Scarecrow turned over cautiously. A huge and curious\ncreature was slashing through the grass toward him. A smaller and\nstill more curious one followed. Both were extremely damp and had\nevidently just come out of the river.\n\n\"Good morning!\" quavered the Scarecrow, sitting up with a jerk and at\nthe same time reaching for a stick that lay just behind him.\n\n\"I won't eat it if it talks--so there!\" The smaller creature stopped\nand stared fixedly at the Scarecrow.\n\nThe Scarecrow, hearing this, tried to think of something else to say,\nbut the appearance of the two was so amazing that, as he told Dorothy\nafterwards, he was struck dumb. The larger was at least two hundred\nfeet long and made entirely of blocks of wood. On each block was a\nletter of the alphabet. The head was a huge square block with a\nserpent's face and long, curling, tape-measure tongue. The little\none was very much smaller and seemed to consist of hundreds of\nrattles, wood, celluloid, and rubber, fastened together with wires.\nEvery time it moved, the rattles tinkled. Its face, however, was not\nunpleasant, so the Scarecrow took heart and made a deep bow.\n\n\"And I'm not going to eat anything that squirms.\" This time it was\nthe big serpent who spoke.\n\n\"Thank you!\" said the Scarecrow, bowing several times more. \"You\nrelieve my mind. I've never been a breakfast yet, and I'd rather not\nbegin. But if I cannot be your breakfast, let me be your friend!\" He\nextended his arms impulsively.\n\nThere was something so jolly about the Scarecrow's smile that the two\ncreatures became friendly at once, and moreover told him the story of\ntheir lives.\n\n\"As you have doubtless noted,\" began the larger creature, \"I am an\nA-B-Sea Serpent. I am employed in the nursery of the Mer children to\nteach them their letters. My friend, here, is a Rattlesnake, and it\nis his business to amuse the Mer babies while the Mermaids are\nmer-marketing. Once a year, we take a vacation, and proceeding from the\nsea depths up a strange river, we came out upon this shore. Perhaps\nyou, Sir, will be able to tell us where we are?\"\n\n\"You are in the Munchkin Country of the Land of Oz,\" explained the\nScarecrow politely. \"It is a charming place for a vacation. I would\nshow you about myself if I were not bound on an important mission.\"\nHere the Scarecrow sighed deeply.\n\n\"Have you a family?\" he asked the A-B-Sea Serpent curiously.\n\n\"Yes, indeed,\" replied the monster, snapping its tape-measure tongue\nin and out, \"I have five great-grandmothers, twenty-one grandnieces,\nseven brothers, and six sisters-in-law!\"\n\n\"Ah!\" murmured the Scarecrow, clasping his hands tragically, \"How I\nenvy you. I have no one--no aunts--no ancestors--no family--no family\ntree but a bean pole. I am, alas, a man without a _past!\"_ The\nScarecrow looked so dejected that the Rattlesnake thought he was\ngoing to cry.\n\n\"Oh, cheer up!\" it begged in a distressed voice. \"Think of your\n_presence_--here--I give you permission to shake me!\" The Scarecrow\nwas so affected by this kind offer that he cheered up immediately.\n\n\"No past but a presence--I'll remember that!\" He swelled out his\nstraw chest complacently, and leaning over, stroked the Rattlesnake\non the head.\n\n\"Are you good at riddles?\" asked the Rattlesnake timidly.\n\n\"Well,\" answered the Scarecrow judiciously, \"I have very good brains,\ngiven me by the famous Wizard of Oz.\"\n\n\"Then why is the A-B-Sea Serpent like a city?\" asked the Rattlesnake\npromptly.\n\nThe Scarecrow thought hard for several seconds.\n\n\"Because it is made up of blocks!\" he roared triumphantly. \"That's\neasy; now it's my turn. Why is the A-B-Sea Serpent such a slow\ntalker?\"\n\n\"Give it up!\" said the Rattlesnake after shaking himself several\ntimes.\n\n\"Because his tongue is a tape measure, and he has to measure his\nwords!\" cried the Scarecrow, snapping his clumsy fingers. \"And that's\na good one, if I did make it myself. I must remember to tell it to\nDorothy!\"\n\nThen he sobered quite suddenly, for the thought of Dorothy brought\nback the purpose of his journey. Interrupting the Rattlesnake in the\nmidst of a new riddle, he explained how anxious he was to return to\nthe little farm where he had been discovered and try to find some\ntraces of his family.\n\n\"And the real riddle,\" he sighed with a wave of his hand, \"is how to\ncross this river.\"\n\n\"That's easy and no riddle at all,\" rumbled the A-B-Sea Serpent, who\nhad been listening attentively to the Scarecrow's remarks. \"I'll\nstretch across, and you can walk over.\" Suiting the action to the\nword, he began backing very cautiously toward the river so as not to\nshake the Scarecrow off his feet.\n\n\"Mind your P's and Q's!\" called the Rattlesnake warningly. It was\nwell that he spoke, for the A-B-Sea Serpent had doubled the P and Q\nblocks under, and they were ready to snap off. Finally, however, he\nmanaged to make a bridge of himself, and the Scarecrow stepped easily\nover the blocks, the huge serpent holding himself rigid. Just as he\nreached Y, the unfortunate creature sneezed, and all the blocks\nrattled together. Up flew the Scarecrow and escaped falling into the\nstream only by the narrowest margin.\n\n\"Blockhead!\" shrilled the Rattlesnake, who had taken a great fancy to\nthe Scarecrow.\n\n\"I'm all right,\" cried the Scarecrow rather breathlessly. \"Thank you\nvery much!\" He sprang nimbly up the bank. \"Hope you have a pleasant\nvacation!\"\n\n\"Can't, with a rattlepate like that.\" The A-B-Sea Serpent nodded\nglumly in the Rattlesnake's direction.\n\n\"Now don't quarrel,\" begged the Scarecrow. \"You are both charming and\nunusual, and if you follow that Yellow Road, you will come to the\nEmerald City, and Ozma will be delighted to welcome you.\"\n\n\"The Emerald City! We must see that, my dear Rattles.\" Forgetting his\nmomentary displeasure, the A-B-Sea Serpent pulled himself out of the\nriver, and waving his X Y Z blocks in farewell to the Scarecrow, went\nclattering down the road, the little Rattlesnake rattling along\nbehind him.\n\nAs for the Scarecrow, he continued his journey, and the day was so\ndelightful and the country so pleasant that he almost forgot he had\nno family. He was treated everywhere with the greatest courtesy and\nhad innumerable invitations from the hospitable Munchkins. He was\nanxious to reach his destination, however, so he refused them all,\nand traveling night and day came without further mishap or adventure\nlate on the second evening to the little Munchkin farm where Dorothy\nhad first discovered him. He was curious to know whether the pole on\nwhich he had been hoisted to scare away the crows still stood in the\ncornfield and whether the farmer who had made him could tell him\nanything further about his history.\n\n\"It is a shame to waken him,\" thought the kind Scarecrow. \"I'll just\ntake a look in the cornfield.\" The moon shone so brightly that he had\nno trouble finding his way about. With a little cry of pleasure, he\npushed his way through the dry cornstalks. There in the center of the\nfield stood a tall pole--the very identical bean pole from which he\nhad descended.\n\n\"All the family or family tree I've got!\" cried the Scarecrow,\nrunning toward it with emotion.\n\n\"What's that?\" A window in the farmhouse was thrown up, and a sleepy\nMunchkin thrust out his head. \"What are you doing?\" he called\ncrossly.\n\n\"Thinking!\" said the Scarecrow, leaning heavily against the bean\npole.\n\n\"Well, don't do it out loud,\" snapped the farmer. Then, catching a\nbetter view of the Scarecrow, he cried in surprise: \"Why, it's you!--\nCome right in, my dear fellow, and give us the latest news from the\nEmerald City. I'll fetch a candle!\"\n\nThe farmer was very proud of the Scarecrow. He had made him long ago\nby stuffing one of his old suits with straw, painting a jolly face on\na sack, stuffing that, and fastening the two together. Red boots, a\nhat, and yellow gloves had finished his man--and nothing could have\nbeen jollier than the result. Later on, when the Scarecrow had run\noff with Dorothy and got his brains from the Wizard of Oz and become\nruler of the Emerald City, the little farmer had felt highly\ngratified.\n\nThe Scarecrow, however, was not in a humor for conversation. He\nwanted to think in peace. \"Don't bother!\" he called up. \"I'm going to\nspend the night here. I'll see you in the morning.\"\n\n\"All right! Take care of yourself,\" yawned the farmer, and drew in\nhis head.\n\nFor a long time the Scarecrow stood perfectly still beside the bean\npole--thinking. Then he got a spade from the shed and began clearing\naway the cornstalks and dried leaves from around the base of the\npole. It was slow work, for his fingers were clumsy, but he\npersevered. Then a wonderful idea came to him.\n\n\"Perhaps if I dig down a bit, I may discover--\" He got no further,\nfor at the word \"discover,\" he pushed the spade down with all his\nmight. There was a loud crash. The bottom dropped out of things, and\nthe Scarecrow fell through.\n\n\"Gr-eat cornstalks!\" cried the Scarecrow, throwing up his arms. To\nhis surprise, they came in contact with a stout pole, which he\nembraced. It was a lifesaver, for he was shooting down into the\ndarkness at a great rate.\n\n\"Why!\" he gasped as soon as he regained his breath, for he was\nfalling at a terrific rate of speed, \"Why, I believe I'm sliding down\nthe _bean pole!\"_\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 3\n\nDOWN THE MAGIC BEAN POLE\n\nHugging the bean pole for dear life, the Scarecrow slid rapidly\ndownward, Everything was dark, but at times a confused roaring\nsounded in his ears.\n\n\"Father, I hear something falling past!\" shouted a gruff voice all at\nonce.\n\n\"Then reach out and pull it in,\" growled a still deeper voice. There\nwas a flash of light, a door opened suddenly, and a giant hand\nsnatched the air just above the Scarecrow's head.\n\n\"It's a good thing I haven't a heart to fail me,\" murmured the\nScarecrow, glancing up fearfully and clinging more tightly to the\npole. \"Though I fall, I shall not falter. But where under the earth\nam I falling to?\" At that minute, a door opened far below, and\nsomeone called up:\n\n\"Who are you? Have out your toll and be ready to salute the Royal\nRuler of the Middlings!\"\n\nThe Scarecrow had learned in the course of his many and strange\nadventures that it was best to accede to every request that was\nreasonable or possible. Realizing that unless he answered at once he\nwould fall past his strange questioners, he shouted amiably:\n\n\"I am the Scarecrow of Oz, sliding down my family tree!\" The words\nechoed oddly in the narrow passageway, and by the time he reached the\nword \"tree\" the Scarecrow could make out two large brown men leaning\nfrom a door somewhere below. Next minute he came to a sharp stop. A\nboard had shot out and closed off the passageway. So sudden was the\nstop that the Scarecrow was tossed violently upward. While he\nendeavored to regain his balance, the two Middlings eyed him\ncuriously.\n\n\"So this is the kind of thing they grow on top,\" said one, holding a\nlantern close to the Scarecrow's head.\n\n\"Toll, Toll!\" droned the other, holding out a horribly twisted hand.\n\n\"One moment, your Royal Middleness!\" cried the Scarecrow, backing as\nfar away from the lantern as he could, for with a straw stuffing one\ncannot be too careful of fire. He felt in his pocket for an emerald\nhe had picked up in the Emerald City a few days before and handed it\ngingerly to the Muddy monarch.\n\n\"Why do you call me Middleness?\" the King demanded angrily, taking\nthe emerald.\n\n\"Is your kingdom not in the middle of the earth, and are you not\nroyalty? What could be more proper than Royal Middleness?\" asked the\nScarecrow, flecking the dust from his hat.\n\nNow that he had a better view, he saw that _the two were entirely men\nof mud,_ and very roughly put together. Dried grass hair stood erect\nupon each head, and their faces were large and lumpy and had a\ndisconcerting way of changing shape. Indeed, when the King leaned\nover to examine the Scarecrow, his features were so soft they seemed\nto run into his cheek, which hung down alarmingly, while his nose\nturned sideways and lengthened at least an inch!\n\nMuddle pushed the King's nose back and began spreading his cheek into\nplace. Instead of hands and feet, the Middlings had gnarled and\ntwisted roots which curled up in a perfectly terrifying manner. Their\nteeth were gold, and their eyes shone like small electric lights.\nThey wore stiff coats of dried mud, buttoned clumsily with lumps of\ncoal, and the King had a tall mud crown. Altogether, the Scarecrow\nthought he had never seen more disagreeable looking creatures.\n\n\"What he needs,\" spluttered the King, fingering the jewel greedily,\n\"is a coat of mud! Shall we pull him in, Muddle?\"\n\n\"He's very poorly made, your Mudjesty. Can you work, Carescrow?\"\nasked Muddle, thumping him rudely in the chest.\n\n\"Scarecrow, if you please!\" The Scarecrow drew himself up and spoke\nwith great difficulty. \"I can work with my head!\" he added proudly.\n\n\"Your head!\" roared the King. \"Did you hear that, Muddle? He works\nwith his head. What's the matter with your hands?\" Again the King\nlunged forward, and this time his face fell on the other side and had\nbulged enormously before Muddle could pat it into shape. They began\nwhispering excitedly together, but the Scarecrow made no reply, for\nlooking over their shoulder he glimpsed a dark, forbidding cavern\nlighted only by the flashing red eyes of thousands of Middlings. They\nappeared to be digging, and above the rattle of the shovels and picks\ncame the hoarse voice of one of them singing the Middling National\nAir. Or so the Scarecrow gathered from the words:\n\n      \"Oh, chop the brown clods as they fall with a thud!\n      Three croaks for the Middlings, who stick in the Mud.\n      Oh, mud, rich and wormy! Oh, mud, sweet and squirmy!\n      Oh what is so lovely as Mud! Oh what is so lovely as Mud!\n      Three croaks for the Middlings, who delve all the day\n      In their beautiful Kingdom of soft mud and clay!\"\n\nThe croaks that came at the end of the song were so terrifying that\nthe Scarecrow shivered in spite of himself.\n\n\"Ugh! Hardly a place for a pleasant visit!\" he gasped, flattening\nhimself against the wall of the passage. Feeling that matters had\ngone far enough, he repeated in a loud voice:\n\n\"I am the Scarecrow of Oz and desire to continue my fall. I have paid\nmy toll and unless your Royal Middleness release me--\"\n\n\"Might as well drop him--a useless creature!\" whispered Muddle, and\nbefore the King had time to object, he jerked the board back. \"Fall\non!\" he screeched maliciously, and the Scarecrow shot down into the\ndarkness, the hoarse screams of the two Middlings echoing after him\nthrough the gloom.\n\nNo use trying to think! The poor Scarecrow bumped and banged from\nside to side of the passage. It was all he could do to keep hold of\nthe bean pole, so swiftly was he falling.\n\n\"A good thing I'm not made of meat like little Dorothy,\" he wheezed\nbreathlessly. His gloves were getting worn through from friction with\nthe pole, and the rush of air past his ears was so confusing that he\ngave up all idea of thinking. Even magic brains refuse to work under\nsuch conditions. Down--down--down he plunged till he lost all count\nof time. Down--down--down--hours and hours! Would he never stop?\nThen suddenly it grew quite light, and he flashed through what\nappeared to be a hole in the roof of a huge silver palace, whirled\ndown several stories and landed in a heap on the floor of a great\nhall. In one hand he clutched a small fan, and in the other a parasol\nthat had snapped off the beanstalk just before he reached the palace\nroof.\n\nShaken and bent over double though he was, the Scarecrow could see\nthat he had fallen into a company of great magnificence. He had a\nconfused glimpse of silken clad courtiers, embroidered screens,\ninlaid floors, and flashing silver lanterns, when there was a\nthundering bang that hurled him halfway to the roof again. Falling to\na sitting position and still clinging to the bean pole, he saw two\ngiant kettle drums nearby, still vibrating from the terrible blows\nthey had received.\n\nThe company were staring at him solemnly, and as he attempted to\nrise, they fell prostrate on their faces. Up flew the poor flimsy\nScarecrow again, such was the draught, and this time landed on his\nface. He was beginning to feel terribly annoyed, but before he could\nopen his mouth or stand up, a deep voice boomed:\n\n\"He has come!\"\n\n\"He has come!\" shrilled the rest of the company, thumping their heads\non the stone floor. The language seemed strange to the Scarecrow, but\noddly enough, he could understand it perfectly. Keeping a tight grasp\non the bean pole, he gazed at the prostrate assemblage, too\nastonished to speak. They looked exactly like the pictures of some\nChinamen he had seen in one of Dorothy's picture books back in Oz,\nbut instead of being yellow, their skin was a curious gray, and the\nhair of old and young alike was silver and worn in long, stiff\nqueues. Before he had time to observe any more, an old, old courtier\nhobbled forward and beckoned imperiously to a page at the door. The\npage immediately unfurled a huge silk umbrella and, running forward,\nheld it over the Scarecrow's head.\n\n\"Welcome home, sublime and noble Ancestor! Welcome, honorable and\nexalted Sir.\" The old gentleman made several deep salaams.\n\n\"Welcome, immortal and illustrious Ancestor! Welcome, ancient and\nserene Father!\" cried the others, banging their heads hard on the\nfloor--so hard that their queues flew into the air.\n\n\"Ancestor! Father!\" mumbled the Scarecrow in a puzzled voice. Then,\ncollecting himself somewhat, he made a deep bow, and sweeping off his\nhat with a truly royal gesture began: \"I am indeed honored--\" But he\ngot no farther. The silken clad courtiers sprang to their feet in a\nfrenzy of joy. A dozen seized him bodily and carried him to a great\nsilver throne room.\n\n\"The same beautiful voice!\" cried the ancient gentleman, clasping his\nhands in an ecstasy of feeling.\n\n\"It is he! The Emperor! The Emperor has returned! Long live the\nEmperor!\" shouted everyone at once. The confusion grew worse and\nworse.\n\n\"Ancestor! Father! Emperor!\" The Scarecrow could scarcely believe his\nears. \"For a fallen man, I am rising like yeast!\" he murmured to\nhimself. Half a dozen courtiers had run outdoors to spread the\nwonderful news, and soon silver gongs and bells began ringing all\nover the kingdom, and cries of \"The Emperor! The Emperor!\" added to\nthe general excitement. Holding fast to the sides of the throne and\nstill grasping the little fan and parasol, the Scarecrow sat blinking\nwith embarrassment.\n\n\"If they would just stop emperoring, I could ask them who I am,\"\nthought the poor Scarecrow. As if in answer to his thoughts, the\ntottery old nobleman raised his long arm, and at once the hall became\nabsolutely silent.\n\n\"Now!\" sighed the Scarecrow, leaning forward. \"Now I shall hear\nsomething of interest.\"\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 4\n\nDOROTHY'S LONELY BREAKFAST\n\nDorothy, who occupied one of the coziest apartments in Ozma's palace,\nwakened the morning after the party with a feeling of great\nuneasiness. At breakfast, the Scarecrow was missing. Although he, the\nTin Woodman and Scraps did not require food, they always livened up\nthe table with their conversation. Ordinarily Dorothy would have\nthought nothing of the Scarecrow's absence, but she could not forget\nhis distressed expression when Professor Wogglebug had so rudely\nremarked on his family tree. The Professor himself had left before\nbreakfast, and everybody but Dorothy had forgotten all about the\nRoyal Book of Oz.\n\nAlready many of Ozma's guests who did not live in the palace were\npreparing to depart, but Dorothy could not get over her feeling of\nuneasiness. The Scarecrow was her very best friend, and it was not\nlike him to go without saying goodbye. So she hunted through the\ngardens and in every room of the palace and questioned all the\nservants. Unfortunately, Jellia Jamb, who was the only one who had\nseen the Scarecrow go, was with her mistress. Ozma always breakfasted\nalone and spent the morning over state matters. Knowing how busy she\nwas, Dorothy did not like to disturb her. Betsy Bobbin and Trot, real\nlittle girls like Dorothy, also lived in the Fairy palace, and Ozma\nwas a great chum for them. But the Kingdom of Oz had to be governed\nin between times, and they all knew that unless Ozma had the mornings\nto herself, she could not play with them in the afternoons. So\nDorothy searched by herself.\n\n\"Perhaps I didn't look hard enough,\" thought the little girl, and\nsearched the palace all over again.\n\n\"Don't worry,\" advised the Tin Woodman, who was playing checkers with\nScraps. \"He's probably gone home.\"\n\n      \"He is a man of brains; why worry\n      Because he's left us in a hurry?\"\n\nchuckled Scraps with a careless wave of her hand, and Dorothy,\nlaughing in spite of herself, ran out to have another look in the\ngarden.\n\n\"That is just what he has done, and if I hurry, I may overtake him.\nAnyway, I believe I'll go and pay him a visit,\" thought Dorothy.\n\nTrot and Betsy Bobbin were swinging in one of the royal hammocks, and\nwhen Dorothy invited them to go along, they explained that they were\ngoing on a picnic with the Tin Woodman. So without waiting to ask\nanyone else or even whistling for Toto, her little dog, Dorothy\nskipped out of the garden.\n\nThe Cowardly Lion, half asleep under a rose bush, caught a glimpse of\nher blue dress flashing by, and bounding to his feet thudded after\nher.\n\n\"Where are you going?\" he asked, stifling a giant yawn.\n\n\"To visit the Scarecrow,\" explained Dorothy. \"He looked so unhappy\nlast night. I am afraid he is worrying about his family tree, and I\nthought p'raps I could cheer him up.\"\n\nThe Cowardly Lion stretched luxuriously. \"I'll go too,\" he rumbled,\ngiving himself a shake. \"But it's the first time I ever heard of the\nScarecrow worrying.\"\n\n\"But you see,\" Dorothy said gently, \"Professor Wogglebug told him he\nhad no family.\"\n\n\"Family! Family fiddlesticks! Hasn't he got us?\" The Cowardly Lion\nstopped and waved his tail indignantly.\n\n\"Why, you dear old thing!\" Dorothy threw her arms around his neck.\n\"You've given me a lovely idea!\" The Cowardly Lion tried not to look\npleased.\n\n\"Well, as long as I've given it to you, you might tell me what it\nis,\" he suggested mildly.\n\n\"Why,\" said Dorothy, skipping along happily, \"we'll let him adopt us\nand be his really relations. I'll be his sister, and you'll be--\"\n\n\"His cousin--that is, if you think he wouldn't mind having a great\ncoward like me for a cousin,\" finished the Cowardly Lion in an\nanxious voice.\n\n\"Do you still feel as cowardly as ever?\" asked Dorothy\nsympathetically.\n\n\"More so!\" sighed the great beast, glancing apprehensively over his\nshoulder. This made Dorothy laugh, for although the lion trembled\nlike a cup custard at the approach of danger, he always managed to\nfight with great valor, and the little girl felt safer with him than\nwith the whole army of Oz, who never were frightened but who always\nran away.\n\nNow anyone who is at all familiar with his geozify knows that the\nFairyland of Oz is divided into four parts, exactly like a parchesi\nboard, with the Emerald City in the very center, the purple Gillikin\nCountry to the north, the red Quadling Country to the south, the blue\nMunchkin Country to the east, and the yellow Country of the Winkies\nto the west. It was toward the west that Dorothy and the Cowardly\nLion turned their steps, for it was in the Winkie Country that the\nScarecrow had built his gorgeous golden tower in exactly the shape of\na huge ear of corn.\n\nDorothy ran along beside the Cowardly Lion, chatting over their many\nadventures in Oz, and stopping now and then to pick buttercups and\ndaisies that dotted the roadside. She tied a big bunch to the tip of\nher friend's tail and twined some more in his mane, so that he\npresented a very festive appearance indeed. Then, when she grew\ntired, she climbed on his big back, and swiftly they jogged through\nthe pleasant land of the Winkies. The people waved to them from\nwindows and fields, for everyone loved little Dorothy and the big\nlion, and as they passed a neat yellow cottage, a little Winkie Lady\ncame running down the path with a cup of tea in one hand and a bucket\nin the other.\n\n\"I saw you coming and thought you might be thirsty,\" she called\nhospitably. Dorothy drank her cup without alighting.\n\n\"We're in an awful hurry; we're visiting the Scarecrow,\" she\nexclaimed apologetically. The lion drank his bucket of tea at one\ngulp. It was so hot that it made his eyes water.\n\n\"How I loathe tea! If I hadn't been such a coward, I'd have upset the\nbucket,\" groaned the lion as the little Winkie Lady went back into\nher house. \"But no, I was afraid of hurting her feelings. Ugh, what a\nterrible thing it is to be a coward!\"\n\n\"Nonsense!\" said Dorothy, wiping her eyes with her handkerchief.\n\"You're not a coward, you're just polite. But let's run very fast so\nwe can reach the Scarecrow's in time for lunch.\"\n\nSo like the wind away raced the Cowardly Lion, Dorothy holding fast\nto his mane, with her curls blowing straight out behind, and in\nexactly two Oz hours and seventeen Winkie minutes they came to the\ndazzling corn-ear residence of their old friend. Hurrying through the\ncornfields that surrounded his singular mansion, Dorothy and the\nCowardly Lion rushed through the open door.\n\n\"We've come for lunch,\" announced Dorothy.\n\n\"And I'm hungry enough to eat crow,\" rumbled the lion. Then both\nstopped in dismay, for the big reception room was empty. From a room\nabove came a shuffling of feet, and Blink, the Scarecrow's\ngentlemanly housekeeper, came running down the stairs.\n\n\"Where's the Scarecrow?\" asked Dorothy anxiously. \"Isn't he here?\"\n\n\"Here! Isn't he there? Isn't he in the Emerald City?\" gasped the\nlittle Winkie, putting his specs on upside down.\n\n\"No--at least, I don't think so. Oh, dear, I just felt that something\nhad happened to him!\" wailed Dorothy, sinking into an ebony armchair\nand fanning herself with a silk sofa cushion.\n\n\"Now don't be alarmed.\" The Cowardly Lion rushed to Dorothy's side\nand knocked three vases and a clock off a little table, just to show\nhow calm he was. \"Think of his brains! The Scarecrow has never come\nto harm yet, and all we have to do is to return to the Emerald City\nand look in Ozma's Magic Picture. Then, when we know where he is, we\ncan go and find him and tell him about our little adoption plan,\" he\nadded, looking hopefully at Dorothy.\n\n\"The Scarecrow himself couldn't have spoken more sensibly,\" observed\nBlink with a great sigh of relief, and even Dorothy felt better.\n\nIn Ozma's palace, as many of you know, there is a Magic Picture, and\nwhen Ozma or Dorothy want to see any of their friends, they have\nmerely to wish to see them, and instantly the picture shows the\nperson wished for and exactly what he is doing at that certain time.\n\n\"Of course!\" sighed Dorothy. \"Why didn't I think of it myself?\"\n\n\"Better have some lunch before you start back,\" suggested Blink, and\nbustling about had soon set out an appetizing repast. Dorothy was too\nbusy worrying about the Scarecrow to have much appetite, but the\nCowardly Lion swallowed seventeen roasts and a bucket of corn syrup.\n\n\"To give me courage!\" he explained to Dorothy, licking his chops.\n\"There's nothing that makes me so cowardly as an empty stomach!\"\n\nIt was quite late in the afternoon before they could get away. Blink\ninsisted on putting up a lunch, and it took some time to make enough\nsandwiches for the Cowardly Lion. But at last it was ready and packed\ninto an old hat box belonging to Mops, the Scarecrow's cook. Then\nDorothy, balancing the box carefully on her lap, climbed on the\nCowardly Lion's back, and assuring Blink that they would return in a\nfew days with his master, they bade him farewell. Blink almost\nspoiled things by bursting into tears, but he managed to restrain\nhimself long enough to say goodbye, and Dorothy and the Cowardly\nLion, feeling a little solemn themselves, started toward the Emerald\nCity.\n\n\"My, but it's growing dark,\" said Dorothy after they had gone several\nmiles. \"I believe it's going to storm.\"\n\nScarcely had she finished speaking before there was a terrific crash\nof thunder. The Cowardly Lion promptly sat down. Off of his back\nbounced the sandwich box and into the sandwich box rolled Dorothy,\nhead first.\n\n\"How terribly upsetting,\" coughed the Cowardly Lion.\n\n\"I should say it was!\" Dorothy crawled indignantly out of the hat box\nand began wiping the butter from her nose. \"You've simply ruined the\nsupper!\"\n\n\"It was my heart,\" explained the Cowardly Lion sorrowfully. \"It\njumped so hard that it upset me, but climb on my back again, and I'll\nrun very fast to some place of shelter.\"\n\n\"But where are you?\" Dorothy asked in real alarm, for it had grown\nabsolutely dark.\n\n\"Here,\" quavered the Cowardly Lion, and guided by his voice, Dorothy\nstumbled over to him and climbed again on his back. One crash of\nthunder followed another, and at each crash the Cowardly Lion leapt\nforward a bit faster until they fairly flew through the dark.\n\n\"It won't take us long to reach the Emerald City at this rate!\"\ncalled Dorothy, but the wind tossed the words far behind her, and\nseeing that conversation was impossible, she clung fast to the lion's\nmane and began thinking about the Scarecrow. The thunder continued at\nfrequent intervals, but there was no rain, and after they had been\nrunning for what seemed to Dorothy hours and hours, a sudden terrific\nbump sent her flying over the lion's head into a bush. Too breathless\nto speak, she felt herself carefully all over. Then, finding that she\nwas still in one piece, she called to the Cowardly Lion. She could\nhear him moaning and muttering about his heart.\n\n\"Any bones broken?\" she asked anxiously.\n\n\"Only my head,\" groaned the lion dismally. Just then the darkness\nlifted as suddenly as it had fallen, and Dorothy saw him leaning\nagainst a tree with his eyes closed. There was a big bump on his\nhead. With a little cry of sympathy, Dorothy hurried toward him, when\nall at once something strange about their surroundings struck her.\n\n\"Why, where are we?\" cried the little girl, stopping short. The\nlion's eyes flew open, and forgetting all about his bump, he looked\naround in dismay. No sign of the Emerald City anywhere. Indeed, they\nwere in a great, dim forest, and considering the number of trees, it\nis a wonder that they had not run into one long ago.\n\n\"I must have run the wrong way,\" faltered the Cowardly Lion in a\ndistressed voice.\n\n\"You couldn't help that; anyone would lose his way in the dark,\" said\nDorothy generously. \"But I wish we hadn't fallen in the sandwiches.\nI'm hungry!\"\n\n\"So am I. Do you think anyone lives in this forest, Dorothy?\"\n\nDorothy did not answer, for just then she caught sight of a big sign\nnailed to one of the trees.\n\n\"Turn to the right,\" directed the sign.\n\n\"Oh, come on!\" cried Dorothy, cheering up immediately. \"I believe\nwe're going to have another adventure.\"\n\n\"I'd rather have some supper,\" sighed the Cowardly Lion wistfully,\n\"but unless we want to spend the night here, we might as well move\nalong. I'm to be fed up on adventure, I suppose.\"\n\n\"Turn to the left,\" advised the next sign, and the two turned\nobediently and hurried on, trying to keep a straight course through\nthe trees. In a Fairyland like Oz, where there are no trains or\ntrolleys or even horses for traveling ('cepting Ozma's sawhorse),\nthere are bound to be unexplored portions. And though Dorothy had\nbeen at one time or another in almost every part of Oz, the country\nthrough which they were now passing was totally unfamiliar to her.\nNight was coming on, and it was growing so dark that she could hardly\nread the third sign when they presently came upon it.\n\n\"Don't sing,\" directed the sign sternly.\n\n\"Sing!\" snapped Dorothy indignantly, \"Who wants to sing?\"\n\n\"We might as well keep to the left,\" said the Cowardly Lion in a\nresigned voice, and they walked along for some time in silence. The\ntrees were thinning out, and as they came to the edge of the forest,\nanother sign confronted them.\n\n\"Slow down,\" read Dorothy with great difficulty. \"What nonsense! If\nwe slow down, how shall we ever get anywhere?\"\n\n\"Wait a minute,\" mused the Cowardly Lion, half closing his eyes.\n\"Aren't there two roads just ahead, one going up and one going down?\nWe're to take the down road, I suppose. 'Slow down,' isn't that what\nit says?\"\n\nSlow down it surely was, for the road was so steep and full of stones\nthat Dorothy and the Cowardly Lion had to pick their way with utmost\ncare. But even bad roads must end somewhere, and coming suddenly to\nthe edge of the woods, they saw a great city lying just below. A dim\nlight burned over the main gate, and toward this the Cowardly Lion\nand Dorothy hurried as fast as they could. This was not very fast,\nfor an unaccountable drowsiness was stealing over them.\n\nSlowly and more slowly, the tired little girl and her great\nfour-footed companion advanced toward the dimly lighted gate. They were\nso drowsy that they had ceased to talk. But they dragged on.\n\n\"Hah, hoh, hum!\" yawned the Cowardly Lion. \"What makes my feet so\nheavy?\"\n\nHe stopped short and examined each of his four feet sleepily.\n\nDorothy swallowed a yawn and tried to run, but a walk was all she\ncould manage.\n\n\"Hah, hoh, hum!\" she gaped, stumbling along with her eyes closed.\n\nBy the time they had reached the gate, they were yawning so hard that\nthe Cowardly Lion had nearly dislocated his jaw, and Dorothy was\nperfectly breathless. Holding to the lion's mane to steady herself,\nDorothy blinked up uncertainly at the sign over the gate.\n\n\"Hah--here we are--Hoh!\" She held her hand wearily before her mouth.\n\nThen, with a great effort, she read the words of the sign.\n\n\"Um--Great--Grand and Mighty Slow Kingdom of Pokes! Uh-hah--Pokes! Do\nyou hear? Hah, hoh, hu, uum!\"\n\nDorothy looked about in alarm, despite her sleepiness.\n\n\"Do you hear?\" she repeated anxiously as no answer came through the\ngloom.\n\nThe Cowardly Lion did not hear. He had fallen down and was fast\nasleep, and so in another minute was Dorothy, her head pillowed\nagainst his kind, comfortable, cowardly heart. Fast asleep at the\ngates of a strange gray city!\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 5\n\nSIR HOKUS OF POKES\n\nIt was long past sunup before Dorothy awoke. She rubbed her eyes,\nyawned once or twice, and then shook the Cowardly Lion. The gates of\nthe city were open, and although it looked even grayer in the daytime\nthan it looked at night, the travelers were too hungry to be\nparticular. A large placard was posted just inside:\n\n      THIS IS POKES!\n      DON'T RUN!\n      DON'T SING!\n      TALK SLOWLY!\n      DON'T WHISTLE!\n              _Order of the Chief Poker._\n\nread Dorothy. \"How cheerful! Hah, hoh, hum-mm!\"\n\n\"Don't!\" begged the Cowardly Lion with tears in his eyes. \"If I yawn\nagain, I'll swallow my tail, and if I don't have something to eat\nsoon, I'll do it anyway. Let's hurry! There's something queer about\nthis place, Dorothy! Ah, hah, hoh, hum-mm!\"\n\nStifling their yawns, the two started down the long, narrow street.\nThe houses were of gray stone, tall and stiff with tiny barred\nwindows. It was absolutely quiet, and not a person was in sight. But\nwhen they turned the corner, they saw a crowd of queer-looking people\ncreeping toward them. These singular individuals stopped between each\nstep and stood perfectly still, and Dorothy was so surprised at their\nunusual appearance that she laughed right in the middle of a yawn.\n\nIn the first place, they never lifted their feet, but pushed them\nalong like skates. The women were dressed in gray polka-dot dresses\nwith huge poke bonnets that almost hid their fat, sleepy,\nwide-mouthed faces. Most of them had pet snails on strings, and so\nslowly did they move that it looked as though the snails were tugging\nthem along.\n\nThe men were dressed like a party of congressmen, but instead of high\nhats wore large red nightcaps, and they were all as solemn as owls.\nIt seemed impossible for them to keep both eyes open at the same\ntime, and at first Dorothy thought they were winking at her. But as\nthe whole company continued to stare fixedly with one open eye, she\nburst out laughing. At the unexpected sound (for no one had ever\nlaughed in Pokes before), the women picked up their snails in a great\nfright, and the men clapped their fingers to their ears or to the\nplaces where their ears were under the red nightcaps.\n\n\"These must be the Slow Pokes,\" giggled Dorothy, nudging the Cowardly\nLion. \"Let's go to meet them, for they'll never reach us at the rate\nthey are coming!\"\n\n\"There's something wrong with my feet,\" rumbled the Cowardly Lion\nwithout looking up. \"Hah, hoh, hum! What's the use of hurrying?\" The\nfact of the matter was that they couldn't hurry if they tried.\nIndeed, they could hardly lift their feet at all.\n\n\"I wish the Scarecrow were with us,\" sighed the Cowardly Lion,\nshuffling along unhappily. \"He never grows sleepy, and he always\nknows what to do.\"\n\n\"No use wishing,\" yawned Dorothy. \"I only hope he's not as lost as we\nare.\"\n\nBy struggling hard, they just managed to keep moving, and by the time\nthey came up with the Slow Pokes, they were completely worn out. A\ncross-looking Poke held up his arm threateningly, and Dorothy and the\nCowardly Lion stopped.\n\n\"You--\" said the Poke; then closed his mouth and stood staring\nvacantly for a whole minute.\n\n\"Are--\" He brought out the word with a perfectly enormous yawn, and\nDorothy began fanning the Cowardly Lion with her hat, for he showed\nsigns of falling asleep again.\n\n\"What?\" she asked crossly.\n\n\"Under--\" sighed the Poke after a long pause, and Dorothy, seeing\nthat there was no hurrying him, began counting to herself. Just as\nshe reached sixty, the Poke pushed back his red nightcap and shouted:\n\n\"Arrest!\"\n\n\"Arrest!\" shouted all the other Pokes so loud that the Cowardly Lion\nroused himself with a start, and the pet snails stuck out their\nheads. \"A rest? A rest is not what we want! We want breakfast!\"\ngrowled the lion irritably and started to roar, but a yawn spoiled\nit. (One simply cannot look fierce by yawning.)\n\n\"You--\" began the Poke. But Dorothy could not stand hearing the same\nslow speech again. Putting her fingers in her ears, she shouted back:\n\n\"What for?\"\n\nThe Pokes regarded her sternly. Some even opened both eyes. Then the\none who had first addressed them, covering a terrific gape with one\nhand, pointed with the other to a sign on a large post at the corner\nof the street.\n\n        \"Speed limit 1/4 mile an hour\" said the sign.\n\n\"We're arrested for speeding!\" shouted Dorothy in the Cowardly Lion's\near.\n\n\"Did you say feeding?\" asked the poor lion, waking up with a start.\n\"If I go to sleep again before I'm fed, I'll starve to death!\"\n\n\"Then keep awake,\" yawned Dorothy. By this time, the Pokes had\nsurrounded them and were waving them imperiously ahead. They looked\nso threatening that Dorothy and the Cowardly Lion began to creep in\nthe direction of a gloomy, gray castle. Of the journey neither of\nthem remembered a thing, for with the gaping and yawning Pokes it was\nalmost impossible to keep awake. But they must have walked in their\nsleep, for the next thing Dorothy knew, a harsh voice called slowly:\n\n\"Poke--him!\"\n\nGreatly alarmed, Dorothy opened her eyes. They were in a huge stone\nhall hung all over with rusty armor, and seated on a great stone\nchair, snoring so loudly that all the steel helmets rattled, was a\nKnight. The tallest and crossest of the Pokes rushed at him with a\nlong poker, giving him such a shove that he sprawled to the floor.\n\n\"So--\" yawned the Cowardly Lion, awakened by the clatter, \"Knight has\nfallen!\"\n\n\"Prisoners--Sir Hokus!\" shouted the Chief Poker, lifting the Knight's\nplume and speaking into the helmet as if he were telephoning.\n\nThe Knight arose with great dignity, and after straightening his\narmor, let down his visor, and Dorothy saw a kind, timid face with\nmelancholy blue eyes--not at all Pokish, as she explained to Ozma\nlater.\n\n\"What means this unwonted clamor?\" asked Sir Hokus, peering curiously\nat the prisoners.\n\n\"We're sorry to waken you,\" said Dorothy politely, \"but could you\nplease give us some breakfast?\"\n\n\"A lot!\" added the Cowardly Lion, licking his chops.\n\n\"It's safer for me to sing,\" said the Knight mournfully, and throwing\nback his head, he roared in a high, hoarse voice:\n\n      \"Don't yawn! Don't yawn!\n      We're out of breath--\n      Begone--BEGONE\n      Or die the death!\"\n\nThe Cowardly Lion growled threateningly and began lashing his tail.\n\n\"If he weren't in a can, I'd eat him,\" he rumbled, \"but I never could\nabide tinned meat.\"\n\n\"He's not in a can, he's in armor,\" explained Dorothy, too interested\nto pay much attention to the Cowardly Lion, for at the first note of\nthe Knight's song, the Pokes began scowling horribly, and by the time\nhe had finished they were backing out of the room faster than Dorothy\never imagined they could go.\n\n\"So that's why the sign said don't sing,\" thought Dorothy to herself.\nThe air seemed clearer somehow, and she no longer felt sleepy.\n\nWhen the last Poke had disappeared, the Knight sighed and climbed\ngravely back on his stone chair.\n\n\"My singing makes them very wroth. In faith, they cannot endure\nmusic; it wakens them,\" explained Sir Hokus. \"But hold, 'twas food\nyou asked of me. Breakfast, I believe you called it.\" With an uneasy\nglance at the Cowardly Lion, who was sniffing the air hungrily, the\nKnight banged on his steel armor with his sword, and a fat, lazy Poke\nshuffled slowly into the hall.\n\n\"Pid, bring the stew,\" roared Sir Hokus as the Poke stood blinking at\nthem dully.\n\n\"Stew, Pid!\" he repeated loudly, and began to hum under his breath,\nat which Pid fairly ran out of the room, returning in a few minutes\nwith a large yellow bowl. This he handed ungraciously to Dorothy.\nThen he brought a great copper tub of the stuff for the Cowardly Lion\nand retired sulkily.\n\nDorothy thought she had never tasted anything more delicious. The\nCowardly Lion was gulping down his share with closed eyes, and both,\nI am very sorry to say, forgot even to thank Sir Hokus.\n\n\"Are you perchance a damsel in distress?\"\n\nQuite startled, Dorothy looked up from her bowl and saw the Knight\nregarding her wistfully.\n\n\"She's in Pokes, and that's the same thing,\" said the Cowardly Lion\nwithout opening his eyes.\n\n\"We're lost,\" began the little girl, \"but--\"\n\nThere was something so quaint and gentle about the Knight, that she\nsoon found herself talking to him like an old friend. She told him\nall of their adventures since leaving the Emerald City and even told\nabout the disappearance of the Scarecrow.\n\n\"Passing strange, yet how refreshing,\" murmured Sir Hokus. \"And if I\nseem a little behind times, you must not blame me. For centuries, I\nhave dozed in this gray castle, and it cometh over me that things\nhave greatly changed. This beast now, he talks quite manfully, and\nthis Kingdom that you mention, this Oz? Never heard of it!\"\n\n\"Never heard of Oz?\" gasped the little girl. \"Why, you're a subject\nof Oz, and Pokes is in Oz, though I don't know just where.\"\n\nHere Dorothy gave him a short history of the Fairy country, and of\nthe many adventures she had had since she had come there. Sir Hokus\nlistened with growing melancholy.\n\n\"To think,\" he sighed mournfully, \"that I was prisoner here while all\nthat was happening!\"\n\n\"Are _you_ a prisoner?\" asked Dorothy in surprise. \"I thought you were\nKing of the Pokes!\"\n\n\"Uds daggers!\" thundered Sir Hokus so suddenly that Dorothy jumped.\n\"I am a _knight!\"_\n\nSeeing her startled expression, he controlled himself. \"I was a\nknight,\" he continued brokenly. \"Long centuries ago, mounted on my\ngoodly steed, I fared from my father's castle to offer my sword to a\nmighty king. His name?\" Sir Hokus tapped his forehead uncertainly.\n\"Go to, I have forgot.\"\n\n\"Could it have been King Arthur?\" exclaimed Dorothy, wide-eyed with\ninterest. \"Why, just think of your being still alive!\"\n\n\"That's just the point,\" choked the Knight. \"I've been alive--still,\nso still that I've forgotten everything. Why, I can't even remember\nhow I used to talk,\" he confessed miserably.\n\n\"But how did you get here?\" rumbled the Cowardly Lion, who did not\nlike being left out of the conversation.\n\n\"I had barely left my father's castle before I met a stranger,\" said\nSir Hokus, sitting up very straight, \"who challenged me to battle. I\nspurred my horse forward, our lances met, and the stranger was\nunseated. But by my faith, 'twas no mortal Knight.\" Sir Hokus sighed\ndeeply and lapsed into silence.\n\n\"What happened?\" asked Dorothy curiously, for Sir Hokus seemed to\nhave forgotten them.\n\n\"The Knight,\" said he with another mighty sigh, \"struck the ground\nwith his lance and cried, 'Live Wretch, for centuries in the\nstupidest country out of the world,' and disappeared. And here--here\nI am!\" With a despairing gesture, Sir Hokus arose, big tears\nsplashing down his armor.\n\n\"I feel that I am brave, very brave, but how am I to know until I\nhave encountered danger? Ah, friends, behold in me a Knight who has\nnever had a real adventure, never killed a dragon, nor championed a\nLady, nor gone on a Quest!\"\n\nDropping on his knees before the little girl, Sir Hokus took her\nhand. \"Let me go with you on this Quest for the valiant Scarecrow.\nLet me be your good Night!\" he begged eagerly.\n\n\"Good night,\" coughed the Cowardly Lion, who, to tell the truth, was\nfeeling a bit jealous. But Dorothy was thrilled, and as Sir Hokus\ncontinued to look at her pleadingly, she took off her hair ribbon and\nbound it 'round his arm.\n\n\"You shall be my own true Knight, and I your Lady Fair!\" she\nannounced solemnly, and exactly as she had read in books.\n\nAt this interesting juncture the Cowardly Lion gave a tremendous\nyawn, and Sir Hokus with an exclamation of alarm jumped to his feet.\nThe Pokes had returned to the hall, and Dorothy felt herself falling\nasleep again.\n\n      Up, up, my lieges and away!\n      We take the field again--\n      For Ladies fair we fight today\n      And KING! Up, up, my merry men!\n\nshrilled the Knight as if he were leading an army to battle. The\nPokes opened both eyes, but did not immediately retire. Sir Hokus\nbravely swallowed a yawn and hastily clearing his throat shouted\nanother song, which he evidently made up on the spur of the moment:\n\n      Avaunt! Be off! Be gone--Methinks\n      We'll be asleep in forty winks!\n\nThis time the Pokes left sullenly, but the effect of their presence\nhad thrown Dorothy, the Cowardly Lion, and the Knight into a violent\nfit of the gapes.\n\n\"If I fall asleep, nothing can save you,\" said Sir Hokus in an\nagitated voice. \"Hah, hoh, hum! Hah--!\"\n\nThe Knight's eyes closed.\n\n\"Don't do it, don't do it!\" begged Dorothy, shaking him violently.\n\"Can't we run away?\"\n\n\"I've been trying for five centuries,\" wailed the Knight in a\ndiscouraged voice, \"but I always fall asleep before I reach the gate,\nand they bring me back here. They're rather fond of me in their slow\nway,\" he added apologetically.\n\n\"Couldn't you keep singing?\" asked the Cowardly Lion anxiously, for\nthe prospect of a five-century stay in Pokes was more than he could\nbear.\n\n\"Couldn't we _all_ sing?\" suggested Dorothy. \"Surely all three of us\nwon't fall asleep at once.\"\n\n\"I'm not much of a singer,\" groaned the Cowardly Lion, beginning to\ntremble, \"but I'm willing to do my share!\"\n\n\"I like you,\" said Sir Hokus, going over and thumping the Cowardly\nLion approvingly on the back. \"You ought to be knighted!\"\n\nThe lion blinked his eyes, for Sir Hokus' iron fist bruised him\nseverely, but knowing it was kindly meant, he bore it bravely.\n\n\"I am henceforth a beknighted lion,\" he whispered to Dorothy while\nSir Hokus was straightening his armor. Next the Knight took down an\niron poker, which he handed to Dorothy.\n\n\"To wake us up with,\" he explained. \"And now, Lady Dorothy, if you\nare ready, we will start on the Quest for the honorable Scarecrow,\nand remember, everybody sing--_Sing for your life!\"_\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 6\n\nSINGING THEIR WAY OUT OF POKES\n\nTaking a deep breath, Sir Hokus, the Cowardly Lion and Dorothy burst\nout of the hall singing at the top of their voices.\n\n\"Three blind mice--!\" sang Dorothy.\n\n\"Across the plain!\" shouted Sir Hokus.\n\n\"I am the Cowardly Lion of Oz!\" roared the lion.\n\nThe Pokes were so taken aback at the horrid sounds that they ran\nscurrying right and left. In another minute the three were out of the\ncastle and singing their way through the gloomy garden. Dorothy stuck\nto the Three Blind Mice. Sir Hokus sang verse after verse of an old\nEnglish ballad, and the Cowardly Lion roared and gurgled a song of\nhis own making, which, considering it was a first attempt, was not so\nbad:\n\n      I am the Cowardly Lion of Oz!\n      Be good! Begone! Beware! Becoz\n      When I am scared full fierce I be;\n      Br--rah--grr--ruff, look out for me!\n\nThe Pokes stumbled this way and that, and all went well until they\nrushed into a company of Pokes who were playing croquet. The slowness\nwith which they raised their mallets fascinated Dorothy, and she\nstopped to watch them in spite of herself.\n\n\"Don't stop! Sing!\" growled the Cowardly Lion in the middle of a\nline. To make up for lost time, Dorothy closed her eyes and sang\nharder than ever, but alas! next instant she fell over a wicket,\nwhich so deprived her of breath that she could barely scramble up,\nlet alone sing. As soon as she stopped singing, the Pokes paused in\ntheir flight, and as soon as they paused Dorothy began to gape.\nSinging for dear life, Sir Hokus jerked Dorothy by the arm, and the\nCowardly Lion roared so loud that the Pokes covered their ears and\nbegan backing away.\n\n\"There was a Knight! Come on, come on!\" sang Sir Hokus, and Dorothy\ncame, and in a few minutes was able to take up the \"Three Blind Mice\"\nagain. But running and singing at the same time is not an easy task.\nAnd running through Pokes is like trying to run through water. (You\nknow how hard that is?)\n\n\"Three Blind Mice--uh--hah--Three Blind--Mice--uh-hah--I can't sing\nanother note! Thu--ree--!\" gasped poor Dorothy, stumbling along,\nwhile the Cowardly Lion was puffing like an engine. The Pokes in the\ngarden had recovered from their first alarm and were following at a\nsafe distance. The gates of the city were only a short distance off,\nbut it seemed to Dorothy that she could not go another step.\n\nA large group of Pokes had gathered at the gates, and unless they\ncould sing their way through, they would fall asleep and be carried\nignominiously back to the castle.\n\n\"Now!\" wheezed Sir Hokus, \"Remember, it is for the Scarecrow!\" All of\nthem swallowed, took a deep breath, and put their last remaining\nstrength into their voices. But a wily Poke who had stuffed some\ncotton in his ears now approached pushing a little cart.\n\n\"Take--!\" he drawled, and before Dorothy realized what she was doing,\nshe had accepted a cone from the Poke.\n\n\"Hah, hoh, hum! Why, it's hokey pokey!\" spluttered Dorothy, and with\na deep sigh of delight she took a large bite of the pink ice cream.\nHow cool it felt on her dry throat! She opened her mouth for a second\ntaste, yawned terrifically, and fell with a thud to the stone\npavement.\n\n\"Dorothy!\" wailed Sir Hokus, stopping short in his song and bending\nover the little girl. The poor Cowardly Lion gave a gulp of despair\nand began running around the two, roaring and singing in a choked\nvoice. The Pokes nodded to each other in a pleased fashion, and the\nChief Poker started cautiously toward them with a long, thick rope.\nThe Cowardly Lion redoubled his efforts. Then, seeing Sir Hokus about\nto fall, he jumped on the Knight with all his strength. Down crashed\nSir Hokus, his armor clanging against the stones that paved the\ngateway.\n\n\"Sing!\" roared the Cowardly Lion, glaring at him fiercely. The fall\nwakened the poor Knight, but he had not the strength to rise. Sitting\non the hard stones and looking reproachfully at the Cowardly Lion, he\nbegan his ballad in a half-hearted fashion. The Cowardly Lion's heart\nwas like to burst between lack of breath and fear, but making one\nlast tremendous effort and still roaring his song, he bounded at the\nChief Poker, seized the rope, and was back before the stupid creature\nhad time to yawn.\n\n\"Tie it around your waist; take Dorothy in your arms!\" gasped the\nCowardly Lion out of the corner of his mouth. Sir Hokus, though\ncompletely dazed, had just enough presence of mind to obey, and the\nnext minute the Cowardly Lion, growling between his teeth like a good\nfellow, was dashing through the group of Pokes, the other end of the\nrope in his mouth.\n\nBumpety bump--bump--bump! Bangety-bang-bang! went Sir Hokus over the\ncobbles, holding his helmet with one hand and Dorothy fast in the\nother arm. The Pokes fell this way and that, and such was the\ndetermination of the Cowardly Lion that he never stopped till he was\nout of the gate and halfway up the rough road they had so recently\ntraveled. Then with a mighty sigh, he dropped the rope, rolled over\nand over down the hill, and lay panting with exhaustion at the\nbottom.\n\nThe bumping over the cobbles had wakened Sir Hokus thoroughly.\nIndeed, the poor Knight was black and blue, and his armor dented and\nscraped frightfully in important places.\n\nDorothy, considerably shaken, opened her eyes and began feebly\nsinging \"Three Blind Mice.\"\n\n\"No need,\" puffed Sir Hokus, lifting her off his lap and rising\nstiffly.\n\n\"Yon noble beast has rescued us.\"\n\n\"Won't the Pokes come up here?\" asked Dorothy, staring around a bit\ndizzily.\n\n\"They cannot live out of the kingdom,\" said the Knight, and Dorothy\ndrew a big sigh of relief. Sir Hokus, however, was looking very\ngrave.\n\n\"I have failed on my first adventure. Had it not been for the\nCowardly Lion, we would now be prisoners in Pokes,\" he murmured\nsadly. Then he unfastened the plume from his helmet. \"It beseemeth me\nnot to wear it,\" sighed the Knight mournfully, and though Dorothy\ntried her best to comfort him, he refused to put it back. Finally,\nshe fastened the plume to her dress, and they went down to the\nCowardly Lion.\n\nThere was a little spring nearby, and after they had poured six\nhelmets of water over his head, the lion opened his eyes. \"Been in a\ngood many fights,\" gasped the lion, \"but I never fought one like\nthis. Singing, bah!\"\n\n\"Noble Sir, how can I ever repay you?\" faltered the Knight. \"Alas,\nthat I have failed in the hour of trial!\"\n\n\"Why, it wasn't a question of courage at all,\" rumbled the Cowardly\nLion, greatly embarrassed. \"I had the loudest voice and the most\nbreath, that's all! You got the rough end of it.\" Sir Hokus looked\nruefully at his armor. The back was entirely squashed.\n\n\n\"Never mind!\" said the Knight bravely. \"It is the front one presents\nto the foe.\"\n\n\"Now you're talking like a real Knight,\" said Dorothy. \"A while ago\nyou said, 'Yon' and 'beseemeth,' and first thing you know the talk\nwill all come back to you.\" Sir Hokus' honest face shone with\npleasure.\n\n\"Odds bludgeons and truncheons! The little maid is right!\" he\nexclaimed, striking an attitude. \"And once it does, the rest will be\neasy.\"\n\n\"Don't say rest to me,\" begged the Cowardly Lion, getting slowly to\nhis feet. \"Hah, hoh, hum! Just to think of it makes me yawn. Now\ndon't you think we had better start off?\"\n\n\"If you're rested,\" began Dorothy. The Cowardly Lion put his paw over\nhis ear and looked so comical that both Dorothy and Sir Hokus laughed\nheartily.\n\n\"If you're ready,\" amended Dorothy, and the three adventurers started\nup the steep road. \"The first thing to do,\" said the little girl, \"is\nto get back to the Emerald City as quickly as we can.\"\n\nAt this very minute Glinda, the Good Sorceress of Oz, in her palace\nin the Quadling Country, was puzzling over an entry in the Magic\nRecord Book. This book tells everything that is happening in the\nworld and out, and while it does not give details, it is a very\nuseful possession.\n\n\"The Emperor of the Silver Islands,\" read Glinda, \"has returned to\nhis people.\"\n\n\"Now who is the Emperor of the Silver Islands?\" she asked herself.\nShe puzzled about it for a long while, and then, deciding that it had\nnothing to do with the Fairy Kingdom of Oz, she closed the book and\nwent for a walk in the palace garden.\n\nDorothy and Sir Hokus and the Cowardly Lion had meanwhile reached the\nfirst sign in the dim forest, the sign directing travelers to Pokes.\nTwo roads branched out through the forest, and after much debating\nthey took the wider.\n\n\"Do you 'spose this leads to the Emerald City?\" asked Cowardly Lion\ndubiously.\n\n\"Time will tell, time will tell,\" said Sir Hokus cheerfully.\n\n\"Yes,\" murmured the Cowardly Lion, \"time will tell. But what?\"\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 7\n\nTHE SCARECROW IS HAILED AS EMPEROR!\n\nLeaning forward on the great throne, the Scarecrow waited impatiently\nfor the ancient gentleman to speak. The gray-skinned courtiers were\neyeing him expectantly, and just as the suspense became almost\nunendurable, the old man threw up his arms and cried sharply:\n\n\"The prophecy of the magic beanstalk has been fulfilled. In this\nradiant and sublime Scarecrowcus, the spirit of Chang Wang Woe, the\nmighty, has returned. And I, the Grand Chew Chew of the realm,\nprostrate myself before this wonderful Scarecrowcus, Emperor of the\nSilver Islands.\" So, likewise, did all the company present, and the\nScarecrow, taken unawares, flew up several feet and landed in a heap\non the steps leading to the throne. He climbed back hurriedly,\npicking up the fan and parasol that he had plucked from the\nbeanstalk.\n\n\"I wish Professor Wogglebug could hear this,\" said the Scarecrow,\nsettling himself complacently. \"But I must watch out, and remember to\nhold on.\"\n\nThe Grand Chew Chew was the first to rise, and folding his arms, he\nasked solemnly:\n\n\"What are your commands, Ancient and Honorable Scarecrowcus?\"\n\n\"If you'd just omit the Cus,\" begged the Scarecrow in an embarrassed\nvoice, \"I believe I could think better. Am I in China, or where? Are\nyou Chinamen, or what?\"\n\n\"We are Silvermen,\" said the Grand Chew Chew impressively, \"and a\nmuch older race than our Chinese cousins. They are people of the sun.\nWe are people of the stars. Has your Highness so soon forgotten?\"\n\n\"I am afraid,\" said the Scarecrow, rubbing his chin reflectively,\n\"that I have.\" He gazed slowly around the great throne room. Ozma's\npalace itself was not more dazzling. The floor of dull silver blocks\nwas covered with rich blue rugs. Furniture, chairs, screens and\neverything were made of silver inlaid with precious stones. Filigreed\nsilver lanterns hung from the high ceilings, and tall silver vases\nfilled with pink and blue blossoms filled the rooms with their\nperfume. Blue flags embroidered with silver stars fluttered from the\nwalls and the tips of the pikebearers' spears, and silver seemed to\nbe so plentiful that even shoes were fashioned of it. Faintly through\nthe windows came the sweet tones of a hundred silver chimes, and\naltogether the Scarecrow was quite dazed by his apparent good\nfortune. Surely they had called him Emperor, but how could that be?\nHe turned to address the Grand Chew Chew; then as he saw out of the\ncorner of his eye that the assemblage were making ready to fall upon\ntheir faces, he exclaimed in a hoarse whisper:\n\n\"May I speak to you alone?\" The Grand Chew Chew waved his hand\nimperiously, and the courtiers with a great crackling of silver\nbrocade backed from the hall.\n\n\"Very kind of them to bow, but I wish they wouldn't,\" sighed the\nScarecrow, sinking back on the great throne. \"It blows one about so.\nI declare, if another person falls at my feet, I'll have nervous\nprostration.\"\n\nAgain he took a long survey of the hall, then turned to the Grand\nChew Chew. \"Would you mind,\" he asked simply, \"telling me again who I\nam and how?\"\n\n\"Who and how? Who--You are, illustrious Sir, the Emperor Chang Wang\nWoe, or to be more exact, his spirit!\"\n\n\"I have always been a spirited person,\" observed the Scarecrow\ndubiously, \"but never a spirit without a person. I must insist on\nbeing a person.\"\n\n\"How?\" the Grand Chew Chew proceeded without noticing the Scarecrow's\nremarks. \"Fifty years ago--after your Extreme Highness had defeated\nin battle the King of the Golden Islands--a magician entered the\nrealm. This magician, in the employ of this wicked king, entered a\nroom in the palace where your Highness lay sleeping and by an act of\nnecromancy changed you to a crocus!\"\n\n\"Ouch!\" exclaimed the Scarecrow, shuddering involuntarily.\n\n\"And had it not been for the Empress, your faithful wife, you would\nhave been lost forever to the Empire.\"\n\n\"Wife?\" gasped the Scarecrow faintly. \"Have I a wife?\"\n\n\"If your Highness will permit me to finish,\" begged the Grand Chew\nChew with great dignity. The Scarecrow nodded. \"Your wife, Tsing\nTsing, the beautiful, took the crocus, which was fading rapidly, and\nplanted it in a silver bowl in the center of this very hall and for\nthree days kept it fresh with her tears. Waking on the third morning,\nthe Empress was amazed to see in place of the crocus a giant bean\npole that extended to the roof of the palace and disappeared among\nthe clouds.\"\n\n\"Ah!\" murmured the Scarecrow, looking up, \"My family tree!\"\n\n\"Beside the bean pole lay a crumpled parchment.\" The Grand Chew Chew\nfelt in the sleeve of his kimono and brought out a bit of crumpled\nsilver paper, and adjusting his horn spectacles, read slowly.\n\n\"Into the first being who touches this magic pole--on the other side\nof the world--the spirit of Emperor Chang Wang Woe will enter. And\nfifty years from this day, he will return--to save his people.\"\n\nThe Grand Chew Chew took off his specs and folded up the paper. \"The\nday has come! You have come down the bean pole, and are undoubtedly\nthat being who has gone from Emperor to crocus to Scarecrowcus. I\nhave ruled the Islands these fifty years; have seen to the education\nof your sons and grandsons. And now, gracious and exalted Master, as\nI am an old man I ask you to relieve me from the cares of state.\"\n\n\"Sons! Grandsons!\" choked the Scarecrow, beginning to feel very much\nalarmed indeed. \"How old am I?\"\n\n\"Your Highness,\" said the Grand Chew Chew with a deep salaam, \"is as\nold as I. In other words, you are in the ripe and glorious\neighty-fifth year of your Majesty's illustrious and useful age.\"\n\n\"Eighty five!\" gasped the Scarecrow, staring in dismay at the gray,\nwrinkled face of the old Silverman. \"Now see here, Chew Chew, are you\nsure of that?\"\n\n\"Quite sure, Immortal and Honored Master!\"\n\nThe Scarecrow could not help but be convinced of the truth of the\nGrand Chew Chew's story. The pole in the Munchkin farmer's cornfield\nwas none other than the magic beanstalk, and he, thrust on the pole\nby the farmer to scare away the crows, had received the spirit of the\nEmperor Chang Wang Woe. \"Which accounts for my cleverness,\" he\nthought gloomily. Now, surely he should have been pleased, for he had\ncome in search of a family, but the acquisition of an empire, sons\nand grandsons, and old age, all in a trice, fairly took his breath\naway.\n\n\"Does the prophecy say anything about restoring my imperial person?\"\nhe asked anxiously, for the thought of looking like Chew Chew was not\na cheerful one.\n\n\"Alas, no!\" sighed the Grand Chew Chew sorrowfully. \"But we have very\nclever wizards on the Island, and I shall set them at work on the\nproblem at once.\"\n\n\"Now don't be in such a rush,\" begged the Scarecrow, secretly\ndetermined to lock up the wizards at the first opportunity. \"I'm\nrather fond of this shape. You see, it requires no food and never\ngrows tired--or old!\"\n\n\"The royal robes will in a measure conceal it,\" murmured the Grand\nChew Chew politely, and clapped his hands. A little servitor bounced\ninto the hall.\n\n\"A royal robe, Quick Silver, for his Radiant Highness,\" snapped the\nGrand Chew Chew. In a moment Quick Silver had returned with a\nmagnificent purple satin robe embroidered in silver threads and heavy\nwith jewels, and a hat of silver cloth with upturned brim. The\nScarecrow wrapped himself in the purple robe, took off his old\nMunchkin hat, and substituted the Imperial headpiece.\n\n\"How do I look, Chew?\" he asked anxiously.\n\n\"Quite like your old Imperial Self, except--\" The old Prime Minister\nran unsteadily out of the room. There was a muffled scream from the\nhall, and the next instant he returned with a long, shiny, silver\nqueue which he had evidently clipped from the head of one of the\nservants. Removing the Scarecrow's hat, he pinned the queue to the\nback, set it on the Scarecrow's head, and stood regarding him with\ngreat satisfaction. \"Ah, if the Empress could only see you!\" he\nmurmured rapturously.\n\n\"Where--where is she?\" asked the Scarecrow, looking around nervously.\nHis long, care-free life in Oz had somewhat unfitted him, he\nreflected, for family life.\n\n\"Alas!\" sighed the Grand Chew Chew, wiping his eyes on the sleeve of\nhis kimono, \"She has returned to her silver ancestors.\"\n\n\"Then show me her picture,\" commanded the Scarecrow, visibly\naffected. The Grand Chew Chew stepped to a side wall, and pulling on\na silken cord, disclosed the picture of a large, gray lady with\ncuriously small eyes and a curiously large nose.\n\n\"Is she not beautiful?\" asked the Grand Chew Chew, bowing his head.\n\n\"Beautiful--er--er, beautiful!\" gulped the Scarecrow. He thought of\nlovely little Ozma and dear little Dorothy, and all at once felt\nterribly upset and homesick. He had no recollection of the Silver\nIsland or his life here whatever. Who was he, anyway--the Scarecrow\nof Oz or Emperor Chang Wang Woe? He couldn't be both.\n\n\"Ah!\" whispered the Grand Chew Chew, seeing his agitation. \"You\nremember her?\" The Scarecrow shook his head, with an inward shudder.\n\n\"Now show me myself, Chew,\" he asked curiously. Pulling the cord of a\nportrait beside the Empress, Chew Chew revealed the picture of Chang\nWang Woe as he had been fifty years ago. His face was bland and\njolly, and to be perfectly truthful, quite like the Scarecrow's in\nshape and expression. \"I am beside myself,\" murmured the Scarecrow\ndazedly--which in truth he was.\n\n\"You were--er--are a very royal and handsome person,\" stammered the\nGrand Chew Chew.\n\nThe Scarecrow, stepping off the throne to examine himself more\nclosely, dropped the little fan and parasol. He had really not had\ntime to examine them since they snapped off the beanstalk, and now,\nlooking at them carefully, he found them extremely pretty.\n\n\"Dorothy will like these,\" thought the Scarecrow, slipping them into\na large inside pocket of his robe. Already, in the back of his head,\nwas a queer notion that he would at some time or other return to Oz.\nHe started to give the Grand Chew Chew a spirited description of that\nwonderful country, but the ancient gentleman yawned and, waving his\nhands toward the door, interrupted him with:\n\n\"Would not your Supreme Highness care to inspect your present\ndominions?\"\n\n\"I suppose I may as well!\" With a deep sigh, the Scarecrow took the\nGrand Chew Chew's arm and, holding up his royal kimono (which was\nrather long) with the other hand, walked unsteadily down the great\nsalon. They were about to pass into the garden when a little fat\nSilverman slid around the door, a huge silver drumstick upraised in\nhis right hand and a great drum hung about his neck.\n\nThe drummer beamed on the Scarecrow.\n\n      Chang Wang Woe, the Beautiful,\n      The Beautiful has come!\n      Sublime and silver Scarecrow,\n      Let sound the royal drum!\n\nchanted the little man in a high, thin voice, and started to bring\nthe drumstick down upon the huge head of his noisy instrument.\n\n\"No you don't!\" cried the Scarecrow, leaping forward and catching his\narm.\n\n\"I positively forbid it!\"\n\n\"Then I shall have no work!\" screamed the drummer, falling on his\nface. \"Ah, Gracious Master, don't you remember me?\"\n\n\"Yes,\" said the Scarecrow kindly, \"who are you?\"\n\n\"Oh, don't you remember little Happy Toko?\" wheezed the little man,\nthe tears rolling down his cheeks. \"I was only a boy, but you used to\nbe fond of me.\"\n\n\"Why, of course, my dear Tappy,\" said the Scarecrow, not liking to\nhurt the little fellow's feelings. \"But why do you beat the drum?\"\n\n\"It is customary to sound the drum at the approach of your Royal\nHighness,\" put in the Grand Chew Chew importantly.\n\n\"Was customary,\" said the Scarecrow firmly. \"My dear Tappy Oko, never\nsound it in my presence again; it is too upsetting.\" Which was true\nenough, for one blow of the drum sent the flimsy Scarecrow flying\ninto the air.\n\n\"You're dismissed, Happy,\" snapped the Grand Chew Chew. At this, the\nlittle Silver Islander began weeping and roaring with distress.\n\n\"Stop! What else can you do besides beat a drum?\" asked the Scarecrow\nkindly.\n\n\"I can sing, stand on my head, and tell jokes,\" sniffed Happy Toko,\nshuffling from one foot to the other.\n\n\"Very good,\" said the Scarecrow. \"You are henceforth Imperial Punster\nto my Person. Come along, we're going to look over the Island.\"\n\nThe Grand Chew Chew frowned so terribly that Happy Toko's knees shook\nwith terror.\n\n\"It is not fitting for a slave to accompany the Grand Chew Chew and\nthe Emperor,\" he hissed angrily.\n\nThe Scarecrow looked surprised, for the Kingdom of Oz is quite\ndemocratic, and no one is considered better than another. But seeing\nthis was not the time to argue, he winked broadly behind the Grand\nChew Chew's back.\n\n\"I'll see you again, Tappy my boy,\" he called genially, and passed\nout into the garden, where a magnificent silver palanquin, surrounded\nby pikemen and shieldbearers, awaited him.\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 8\n\nTHE SCARECROW STUDIES THE SILVER ISLAND\n\nTwo days had passed since the Scarecrow had fallen into his Kingdom.\nHe was not finding his royal duties as pleasant as he had\nanticipated. The country was beautiful enough, but being Emperor of\nthe Silver Islands was not the simple affair that ruling Oz had been.\nThe pigtail on the back of his hat was terribly distracting, and he\nwas always tripping over his kimono, to which he could not seem to\naccustom himself. His subjects were extremely quarrelsome, always\npulling one another's queues or stealing fruit, umbrellas, and silver\npolish. His ministers, the Grand Chew Chew, the Chief Chow Chow, and\nGeneral Mugwump, were no better, and keeping peace in the palace took\nall the Scarecrow's cleverness.\n\nIn the daytime he tried culprits in the royal court, interviewed his\nseventeen secretaries, rode out in the royal palanquin, and made\nspeeches to visiting princes. At night he sat in the great silver\nsalon and by the light of the lanterns studied the Book of\nCeremonies. His etiquette, the Grand Chew Chew informed him, was\nshocking. He was always doing something wrong, dodging the Imperial\nUmbrella, speaking kindly to a palace servant, or walking unattended\nin the gardens.\n\nThe royal palace itself was richly furnished, and the Scarecrow had\nmore than five hundred robes of state. The gardens, with their\nsparkling waterfalls, glowing orange trees, silver temples, towers\nand bridges, were too lovely for words. Poppies, roses, lotus and\nother lilies perfumed the air, and at night a thousand silver\nlanterns turned them to a veritable fairyland.\n\nThe grass and trees were green as in other lands, but the sky as\nalways full of tiny silver clouds, the waters surrounding the island\nwere of a lovely liquid silver, and as all the houses and towers were\nof this gleaming metal, the effect was bewildering and beautiful.\n\nBut the Silver Islanders themselves were too stupid to appreciate\nthis beauty. \"And what use is it all when I have no one to enjoy it\nwith me,\" sighed the Scarecrow. \"And no time to _play!\"_\n\nIn Oz no one thought it queer if Ozma, the little Queen, jumped rope\nwith Dorothy or Betsy Bobbin, or had a quiet game of croquet with the\npalace cook. But here, alas, everything was different. If the\nScarecrow so much as ventured a game of ball with the gardener's boy,\nthe whole court was thrown into an uproar. At first, the Scarecrow\ntried to please everybody, but finding that nothing pleased the\npeople in the palace, he decided to please himself.\n\n\"I don't care a kinkajou if I am the Emperor, I'm going to talk to\nwhom I please!\" he exclaimed on the second night, and shaking his\nglove at a bronze statue, he threw the Book of Ceremonies into the\nfountain. The next morning, therefore, he ascended the throne with\ngreat firmness. Immediately, the courtiers prostrated themselves, and\nthe Scarecrow's arms and legs blew about wildly.\n\n\"Stand up at once,\" puffed the Scarecrow when he had regained his\nbalance.\n\n\"You are giving me nervous prostration. Chew, kindly issue an edict\nforbidding prostrations. Anyone caught bowing in my presence again\nshall lose--\" the courtiers looked alarmed \"--his pigtail!\" finished\nthe Scarecrow.\n\n\"And now, Chew, you will take my place, please. I am going for a walk\nwith Tappy Oko.\"\n\nThe Grand Chew Chew's mouth fell open with surprise, but seeing the\nScarecrow's determined expression, he dared not disobey, and he\nimmediately began making strange marks on a long, red parchment.\nHappy Toko trembled as the Scarecrow Emperor took his arm, and the\ncourtiers stared at one another in dismay as the two walked quietly\nout into the garden.\n\nNothing happened, however, and Tappy, regaining his composure, took\nout a little silver flute and started a lively tune.\n\n\"I had to take matters into my own hands, Tappy,\" said the Scarecrow,\nlistening to the music with a pleased expression. \"Are there any\nwords to that song?\"\n\n\"Yes, illustrious and Supreme Sir!\"\n\n      Two spoons went down a Por-ce-Lane,\n      To meet a China saucer,\n      A 'talking China in a way\n      To break a white man's jaw, Sir!\n\nsang Happy, and finished by standing gravely on his head.\n\n\"Your Majesty used to be very fond of this song,\" spluttered Happy.\n(It is difficult to speak while upside down, and if you don't think\nso, try it!)\n\n\"Ah!\" said the Scarecrow, beginning to feel more cheerful, \"Tell me\nsomething about myself and my family, Tappy Oko.\"\n\n\"Happy Toko, if it pleases your Supreme Amiability,\" corrected the\nlittle silver man, somersaulting to a standstill beside the\nScarecrow.\n\n\"It does and it doesn't,\" murmured the Scarecrow. \"There is something\nabout you that reminds me of a pudding, and you tapped the drum,\ndidn't you? I believe I shall call you Tappy Oko, if you don't mind!\"\n\nThe Scarecrow seated himself on a silver bench and motioned for the\nImperial Punster to sit down beside him. Tappy Oko sat down\nfearfully, first making sure that he was not observed.\n\n\"Saving your Imperial Presence, this is not permitted,\" said Tappy\nuneasily.\n\n\"Never mind about my Imperial Presence,\" chuckled the Scarecrow.\n\"Tell me about my Imperial Past.\"\n\n\"Ah!\" said Tappy Oko, rolling up his eyes, \"You were one of the most\nmagnificent and magnanimous of monarchs.\"\n\n\"Was I?\" asked the Scarecrow in a pleased voice.\n\n\"You distributed rice among the poor, and advice among the rich, and\nfought many glorious battles,\" continued the little man. \"I composed\na little song about you. Perhaps you would like to hear it?\"\n\nThe Scarecrow nodded, and Tappy, throwing back his head, chanted with\na will:\n\n      Chang Wang Woe did draw the bow--\n      And twist the queues of a thousand foe!\n\n\"In Oz,\" murmured the Scarecrow reflectively as Tappy finished, \"I\ntwisted the necks of a flock of wild crows--that was before I had my\nexcellent brains, too. Oh, I'm a fighting man, there's no doubt about\nit. But tell me, Tappy, where did I meet my wife?\"\n\n\"In the water!\" chuckled Tappy Oko, screwing up his eyes.\n\n\"Never!\" The Scarecrow looked out over the harbor and then down at\nhis lumpy figure.\n\n\"Your Majesty forgets you were then a man like me--er--not stuffed\nwith straw, I mean,\" exclaimed Happy, looking embarrassed. \"She was\nfishing,\" continued the little Punster, \"when a huge silver fish\nbecame entangled in her line. She stood up, the fish gave a mighty\nleap and pulled her out of the boat. Your Majesty, having seen the\nwhole affair from the bank, plunged bravely into the water and,\nswimming out, rescued her, freed the fish, and in due time made her\nyour bride. I've made a song about that, also.\"\n\n\"Let's hear it,\" said the Scarecrow. And this is what Happy sung:\n\n      Tsing Tsing, a Silver Fisher's daughter,\n      Was fishing in the silver water.\n      The moon shone on her silver hair\n      And there were fishes everywhere!\n\n      Then came a mighty silver fish,\n      It seized her line and with a swish\n      Of silver fins upset her boat.\n      Tsing Tsing could neither swim nor float.\n\n      She raised her silver voice in fear\n      And who her call of help should hear\n      But Chang Wang Woe, the Emperor,\n      Who saved and married her, what's more!\n\n\"Did I really?\" asked the Scarecrow, feeling quite flattered by\nHappy's song.\n\n\"Yes,\" said Happy positively, \"and invited me to the wedding, though\nI was only a small boy.\"\n\n\"Was Chew Chew there?\" The Scarecrow couldn't help wondering how the\nold Nobleman had taken his marriage with a poor fisherman's daughter.\n\nHappy chuckled at the memory. \"He had a Princess all picked out for\nyou,\" he confided merrily:\n\n      And there he stood in awful pride\n      And scorned the father of the bride!\n\n\"Hoh!\" roared the Scarecrow, falling off the bench. \"That's the\nOzziest thing I've heard since I landed in the Silver Islands. Tappy,\nmy boy, I believe we are going to be friends! But let's forget the\npast and think of the present!\"\n\nThe Scarecrow embraced his Imperial Punster on the spot. \"Let's find\nsomething jolly to do,\" he suggested.\n\n\"Would your Extreme Highness care for kites?\" asked Happy. \"'Tis a\nfavorite sport here!\"\n\n\"Would I! But wait, I will disguise myself.\" Hiding his royal hat\nunder the bench, he put on Happy Toko's broad-rimmed peasant hat. It\nturned down all 'round and almost hid his face. Then he turned his\nrobe inside out and declared himself ready.\n\nThey passed through a small silver town before they reached the field\nwhere the kites were to be flown, and the Scarecrow was delighted\nwith its picturesque and quaint appearance. The streets were narrow\nand full of queer shops. Silver lanterns and little pennants hung\nfrom each door, the merchants and maidens in their gay sedans and the\npeople afoot made a bright and lively picture.\n\n\"If I could just live here instead of in the palace,\" mused the\nScarecrow, pausing before a modest rice shop. It is dangerous to stop\nin the narrow streets, and Happy jerked his master aside just in time\nto prevent his being trodden on by a huge camel. It sniffed at the\nScarecrow suspiciously, and they were forced to flatten themselves\nagainst a wall to let it pass. Happy anxiously hurried the Emperor\nthrough the town, and they soon arrived at the kite flying field. A\ngreat throng had gathered to watch the exhibition, and there were\nmore kites than one would see in a lifetime here. Huge fish, silver\npaper dragons, birds--every sort and shape of kite was tugging at its\nstring, and hundreds of Silver Islanders--boys, girls and grown-ups--\nwere looking on.\n\n\"How interesting,\" said the Scarecrow, fascinated by a huge dragon\nthat floated just over his head. \"I wish Dorothy could see this, I do\nindeed!\"\n\nBut the dragon kite seemed almost alive, and horrors! Just as it\nswooped down, a hook in the tail caught in the Scarecrow's collar,\nand before Happy Toko could even wink, the Emperor of the Silver\nIslands was sailing towards the clouds. The Scarecrow, as you must\nknow, weighs almost nothing, and the people shouted with glee, for\nthey thought him a dummy man and part of the performance. But Happy\nToko ran after the kite as fast as his fat little legs would carry\nhim.\n\n\"Alas, alas, I shall lose my position!\" wailed Happy Toko, quite\nconvinced that the Scarecrow would be dashed to pieces on the rocks.\n\"Oh, putty head that I am to set myself against the Grand Chew Chew!\"\n\nThe Scarecrow, however, after recovering from the first shock, began\nto enjoy himself. Holding fast to the dragon's tail, he looked down\nwith great interest upon his dominions. Rocks, mountains, tall silver\npagodas, drooping willow trees, flashed beneath him. Truly a\nbeautiful island! His gaze strayed over the silver waters surrounding\nthe island, and he was astonished to see a great fleet sailing into\nthe harbor--a great fleet of singular vessels with silken sails.\n\n\"What's this?\" thought the Scarecrow. But just then the dragon kite\nbecame suddenly possessed. It jerked him up, it jerked him down, and\nshook him this way and that. His hat flew off, his arms and legs\nwhirled wildly, and pieces of straw began to float downward. Then the\nhook ripped and tore through his coat and, making a terrible slit in\nhis back, came out. Down, down, down flashed the Scarecrow and landed\nin a heap on the rocks. Poor Happy Toko rushed toward him with\nstreaming eyes.\n\n\"Oh radiant and immortal Scarecrowcus, what have they done to you?\"\nhe moaned, dropping on his knees beside the flimsy shape of the\nEmperor.\n\n\"Merely knocked out my honorable stuffing,\" mumbled the Scarecrow.\n\"Now Tappy, my dear fellow, will you just turn me over? There's a\nrock in my eye that keeps me from thinking.\"\n\nHappy Toko, at the sound of a voice from the rumpled heap of\nclothing, gave a great leap.\n\n\"Is there any straw about?\" asked the Scarecrow anxiously. \"Why don't\nyou turn me over?\"\n\n\"It's his ghost,\" moaned Happy Toko, and because he dared not disobey\na royal ghost, he turned the Scarecrow over with trembling hands.\n\n\"Don't be alarmed,\" said the Scarecrow, smiling reassuringly. \"I'm\nnot breakable like you meat people. A little straw will make me good\nas new. A little straw--straw, do you hear?\" For Happy's pigtail was\nstill on end, and he was shaking so that his silver shoes clattered\non the rocks.\n\n\"I command you to fetch straw!\" cried the Scarecrow at last, in an\nangry voice. Happy dashed away.\n\nWhen he returned with an arm full of straw, the Scarecrow managed to\nconvince him that he was quite alive. \"It is impossible to kill a\nperson from Oz,\" he explained proudly, \"and that is why my present\nfigure is so much more satisfactory than yours. I do not have to eat\nor sleep and can always be repaired. Have you some safety pins?\"\nHappy produced several and under the Scarecrow's direction stuffed\nout his chest and pinned up his rents.\n\n\"Let us return,\" said the Scarecrow. \"I've had enough pleasure for\none day, and can't you sing something, Tappy?\" Running and fright had\nsomewhat affected Happy's voice, but he squeaked out a funny little\nsong, and the two, keeping time to the tune, came without further\nmishap to the Imperial gardens. Happy had just set the royal hat upon\nthe Scarecrow's head and brushed off his robes when a company of\ncourtiers dashed out of the palace door and came running toward them.\n\n\"Great Cornstarch!\" exclaimed the Scarecrow, sitting heavily down on\nthe silver bench. \"What's the matter now? Here are all the Pig-heads\non the Island, and look how old Chew Chew is puffing!\"\n\n\"One would expect a Chew Chew to puff,\" observed Happy slyly. \"One\nwould--\" But he got no further, for the whole company was upon them.\n\n\"Save us! Save us!\" wailed the courtiers, forgetting the royal edict\nand falling on their faces.\n\n\"What from?\" asked the Scarecrow, holding fast to the silver bench.\n\n\"The King--the King of the Golden Islands!\" shrieked the Grand Chew\nChew.\n\n\"Ah yes!\" murmured the Scarecrow, frowning thoughtfully. \"Was that\nhis fleet coming into the harbor?\"\n\nThe Grand Chew Chew jumped up in astonishment. \"How could your\nHighness see the fleet from here?\" he stuttered.\n\n\"Not from here--there,\" said the Scarecrow, pointing upward and\nwinking at Happy Toko. \"My Highness goes very high, you see!\"\n\n\"Your Majesty does not seem to realize the seriousness of the\nmatter,\" choked the Grand Chew Chew. \"He will set fire to the island\nand make us all slaves.\" At this, the courtiers began banging their\nheads distractedly on the grass.\n\n\"Set fire to the island!\" exclaimed the Scarecrow, jumping to his\nfeet. \"Then peace to _my_ ashes! Tappy, will you see that they are sent\nback to Oz?\"\n\n\"Save us! Save us!\" screamed the frightened Silvermen.\n\n\"The prophecy of the beanstalk has promised that you would save us.\nYou are the Emperor Chang Wang Woe,\" persisted the Grand Chew Chew,\nwaving his long arms.\n\n\"Woe is me,\" murmured the Scarecrow, clasping his yellow gloves. \"But\nlet me think.\"\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 9\n\n\"SAVE US WITH YOUR MAGIC, EXALTED ONE!\"\n\nFor several minutes, the Scarecrow sat perfectly still while the\ncompany stood shaking in their shoes. Then he asked loudly, \"Where is\nthe Imperial Army?\"\n\n\"It has retired to the caves at the end of the Island,\" quavered the\nGrand Chew Chew.\n\n\"I thought as much,\" said the Scarecrow. \"But never mind, there are\nquite a lot of us.\"\n\n\"Us!\" spluttered a tall Silverman indignantly. \"We are not common\nsoldiers.\"\n\n\"No, very uncommon ones, but you have hard heads and long nails, and\nI dare say will manage somehow. Come on, let's go. Chew, you may take\nthe lead.\"\n\n\"Go!\" shrieked the Grand Chew Chew. \"Us?\" The Courtiers began backing\naway in alarm. \"Where--er--what--are your Highness' plans?\"\n\n\"Why, just to conquer the King of the Golden Islands and send him\nback home,\" said the Scarecrow, smiling engagingly. \"That's what you\nwanted, isn't it?\"\n\n\"But it is not honorable for noblemen to fight. It--\"\n\n\"Oh, of course, if you prefer burning--\" The Scarecrow rose\nunsteadily and started for the garden gates. Not a person stirred.\nThe Scarecrow looked back, and his reproachful face was too much for\nHappy Toko.\n\n\"I'll come, exalted and radiant Scarecrowcus! Wait, honorable and\nvaliant Sir!\"\n\n\"Bring a watering can, if you love me,\" called the Scarecrow over his\nshoulder, and Happy, snatching one from a frightened gardener, dashed\nafter his Master.\n\n\"If things get too hot, I'd like to know that you can put me out,\"\nsaid the Scarecrow, his voice quivering with emotion. \"You shall be\nrewarded for this, my brave Tappy.\"\n\nHappy did not answer, for his teeth were chattering so he could not\nspeak.\n\nThe harbor lay just below the Imperial Palace, and the Scarecrow and\nHappy hurried on through the crowds of fleeing Silvermen, their\nhousehold goods packed upon their heads. Some cheered faintly for\nChang Wang Woe, but none offered to follow, save the faithful Happy.\n\n\"Is this king old?\" asked the Scarecrow, looking anxiously at the\nsmall boats full of warriors that were putting out from the fleet.\n\n\"He is the son of the King whom your Majesty conquered fifty years\nago,\" gulped Happy. \"Ha--has your Imperial Highness any--plan?\"\n\n\"Not yet,\" said the Scarecrow cheerfully, \"but I'm thinking very\nhard.\"\n\n\"Then, goodbye to Silver Island!\" choked Happy Toko, dropping the\nwatering can with a crash.\n\n\"Never mind,\" said the Scarecrow kindly. \"If they shoot me and I\ncatch fire, I'll jump in the water and you must fish me out, Tappy.\nNow please don't talk any more. I must think!\"\n\nPoor Happy Toko had nothing else to say, for he considered his day\nfinished. The first of the invaders were already landing on the\nbeach, and standing up in a small boat, encased in glittering gold\narmor, was the King of the Golden Islands, himself. The sun was quite\nhot, and there was a smell of gunpowder in the air.\n\nNow the Scarecrow had encountered many dangers in Oz and had usually\nthought his way out of them, but as they came nearer and nearer to\nthe shore and no idea presented itself, he began to feel extremely\nnervous. A bullet fired from the king's boat tore through his hat,\nand the smoke made him more anxious than ever about his straw\nstuffing. He felt hurriedly in his pocket, and his clumsy fingers\nclosed over the little fan he had plucked from the bean pole.\n\nPartly from agitation and partly because he did not know what else to\ndo, the Scarecrow flipped the fan open. At that minute, a mighty roar\nwent up from the enemy, for at the first motion of the fan they had\nbeen jerked fifty feet into the air, and there they hung suspended\nover their ships, kicking and squealing for dear life. The Scarecrow\nwas as surprised as they, and as for Happy Toko, he fell straightway\non his nose!\n\n\"Magic!\" exclaimed the Scarecrow. \"Someone is helping us,\" and he\nbegan fanning himself gently with the little fan, waiting to see what\nwould happen next. At each wave of the fan, the King of the Golden\nIslands and his men flew higher until at last not one of them could\nbe seen from the shore.\n\n\"The fan. The magic is in the fan!\" gasped Happy Toko, jumping up and\nembracing the Scarecrow.\n\n\"Why, what do you mean?\" asked the Scarecrow, closing the fan with a\nsnap. Happy's answer was drowned in a huge splash. As soon as the fan\nwas closed, down whirled the king's army into the sea, and each man\nstruck the water with such force that the spray rose high as a\nskyscraper. And not till then did the Scarecrow realize the power of\nthe little fan he had been saving for Dorothy.\n\n\"Saved!\" screamed Happy Toko, dancing up and down. \"Hurrah for the\nEmperor!\"\n\n      The Emperor, without a plan,\n      Has won the victory with a fan.\n\nThe Silver Islanders had paused in their flight at the queer noises\ncoming from the harbor, and now all of them, hearing Tappy Oko's\ncries, came crowding down to the shore and were soon cheering\nthemselves hoarse. No wonder! The drenched soldiers of the king were\nclimbing swiftly back into their boats, and when they were all\naboard, the Scarecrow waved his fan sidewise (he did not want to blow\nthem up again), and the ships swept out of the harbor so fast that\nthe water churned to silver suds behind them, and they soon were out\nof sight.\n\n\"Ah!\" cried the Grand Chew Chew, arriving breathlessly at this point,\n\"We have won the day!\"\n\n\"So we have!\" chuckled the Scarecrow, putting his arm around Happy\nToko. \"Call the brave army and decorate the generals!\"\n\n\"It shall be done,\" said the Grand Chew Chew, frowning at Happy.\n\"There shall be a great celebration, a feast, and fireworks.\"\n\n\"Fireworks,\" quavered the Scarecrow, clutching his Imperial Punster.\nBy this time, the Silver Islanders were crowding around the Emperor,\nshouting and squealing for joy, and before he could prevent it, they\nhad placed him on their shoulders and carried him in triumph to the\npalace. He managed to signal Happy, and Happy nodded reassuringly and\nran off as fast as his fat little legs could patter. He arrived at\nthe palace almost as soon as the Scarecrow, lugging a giant silver\nwatering can, and, sitting calmly on the steps of the throne, fanned\nhimself with his hat. The Scarecrow eyed the watering can with\nsatisfaction.\n\n\"Now let them have their old fireworks,\" he muttered under his\nbreath, and settled himself comfortably. The Grand Chew Chew was\nhopping about like a ditched kite, arranging for the celebration. The\ncourtiers were shaking hands with themselves and forming in a long\nline. A great table was being set in the hall.\n\n\"What a fuss they are making over nothing,\" said the Scarecrow to\nHappy Toko. \"Now in Oz when we win a victory, we all play some jolly\ngame and sit down to dinner with Ozma. Why, they haven't even set a\nplace for you, Happy!\"\n\n\"I'd rather sit here, amiable Master,\" sighed Happy Toko happily. \"Is\nthe little fan safely closed?\"\n\nThe Scarecrow felt in his pocket to make sure, then leaned forward in\nsurprise. The Royal Silver Army were marching stiffly into the hall,\nand the courtiers were bobbing and bowing and cheering like mad.\n\nThe General came straight to the great silver throne, clicked his\nsilver heels, bowed, and stood at attention.\n\n\"Well,\" said the Scarecrow, surveying this splendid person curiously,\n\"what is it?\"\n\n\"They have come for their decorations,\" announced the Grand Chew\nChew, stepping up with a large silver platter full of medals.\n\n\"But I thought Tappy Oko and I saved the Island,\" chuckled the\nScarecrow, nudging the Imperial Punster.\n\n\"Had the Imperial Army not retired and left the field to you, there\nwould have been no victory,\" faltered the General in a timid voice.\n\"Therefore, in a way we are responsible for the victory. A great\ngeneral always knows when to retire.\"\n\n\"There's something in that,\" admitted the Scarecrow, scratching his\nhead thoughtfully. \"Go ahead and decorate 'em, Chew Chew!\"\n\nThis the Grand Chew Chew proceeded to do, making such a long speech\nto each soldier that half of the Court fell asleep and the Scarecrow\nfidgeted uncomfortably.\n\n\"They remind me of the Army of Oz,\" he confided to Happy Toko, \"but\nwe never have long speeches in Oz. I declare, I wish I could go to\nsleep, too, and that's something I have never seen any use in\nbefore.\"\n\n\"They've just begun,\" yawned Happy Toko, nearly rolling down the\nsteps of the throne, and Happy was not far wrong, for all afternoon\none after the other of the courtiers arose and droned about the great\nvictory, and as they all addressed themselves to the Scarecrow, he\nwas forced to listen politely. When the speeches were over, there was\nstill the grand banquet to be got through, and as the Silver\nIslanders ate much the same fare as their Chinese cousins, you can\nimagine the poor Scarecrow's feelings.\n\n\"Ugh!\" shivered the Scarecrow as the strange dishes appeared, \"I'm\nglad none of my friends are here. How fortunate that I'm stuffed with\nstraw!\" The broiled mice, the stewed shark fins and the bird nest\nsoup made him stare. He had ordered Happy Toko to be placed at his\nside, and to watch him happily at work with his silver chopsticks and\nporcelain spoon was the only satisfaction he got out of the feast.\n\n\"And what is that?\" he asked, pointing to a steaming bowl that had\njust been placed before Happy.\n\n\"Minced cat, your Highness,\" replied Happy, sprinkling it generously\nwith silver polish.\n\n\"Cat?\" shrieked the Scarecrow, pouncing to his feet in horror. \"Do\nyou mean to tell me you are eating a poor, innocent, little cat?\"\n\n\"Not a poor one at all. A very rich one, I should say,\" replied Happy\nToko with his mouth full. \"Ah, had your Highness only your old body,\nhow you would enjoy this!\"\n\n\"Never!\" shouted the Scarecrow so loudly that all of the Courtiers\nlooked up in surprise. \"How dare you eat innocent cats?\" Indignantly\nhe thought of Dorothy's pet kitten back in Oz. Oz--why had he ever\nleft that wonderful country?\n\n\"Your Highness has eaten hundreds,\" announced the Grand Chew Chew\ncalmly. \"Hundreds!\"\n\nThe Scarecrow dropped back into his chair, too shocked for speech.\nHe, the Scarecrow of Oz, had eaten hundreds of cats! What would\nDorothy say to that? Ugh! This was his first experience with Silver\nIsland fare. He had always spent the dinner hours in the garden. He\nsighed, and looked wistfully at the bean pole in the center of the\nhall. Every minute he was feeling less and less like the Emperor of\nthe Silver Island and more and more like the plain Scarecrow of Oz.\n\n\"Your Majesty seems out of spirits,\" said Happy Toko as he placed\nhimself and the huge watering can beside the Emperor's bench in the\ngarden later in the evening.\n\n\"I wish I were,\" said the Scarecrow. \"To have an Emperor's spirit\nwished on you is no joke, my dear Tappy. It's a blinking bore!\" At\nthat moment, the fireworks commenced. The garden, ablaze with many\nshaped silver lanterns, looked more like Fairyland than ever. But\neach rocket made the Scarecrow wince. Showers of stars and\nbutterflies fell 'round his head, fiery dragons leaped over the\ntrees, and in all the Fourth of July celebrations you could imagine\nthere were never such marvelous fireworks as these. No wonder Happy\nToko, gazing in delight, forgot his promises to his Royal Master.\n\nSoon the Scarecrow's fears were realized, and his straw stuffing\nbegan to smoke.\n\n\"Put me out! Put me out!\" cried the Scarecrow, as a shower of sparks\nsettled in his lap. The royal band made such a din and the courtiers\nsuch a clatter that Happy did not hear.\n\nAll of the Silver Islanders were intent on the display, and they\nforgot all about their unhappy and smoking Emperor.\n\n\"Help! Water! Water! Fire!\" screamed the Scarecrow, jumping off his\nthrone and knocking Happy head over heels. Thus brought to his\nsenses, Happy hurriedly seized the watering can and sprinkled its\ncontents on the smoking Emperor.\n\n\"Am I out?\" gasped the Emperor anxiously. \"A fine way to celebrate a\nvictory, lighting me up like a Roman candle!\"\n\n\"Yes, dear Master,\" said the repentant Happy, helping the dripping\nScarecrow to his feet, \"it only scorched your royal robe. And it's\nall over, anyway. Let us go in.\"\n\nThe dripping Emperor was quite ready to follow his Imperial Punster's\nadvice.\n\n\"Now that I am put out, let us by all means go in,\" said the\nScarecrow gloomily, and the two slipped off without anyone noticing\ntheir departure.\n\n\"I'm afraid I'll have to have some new stuffing tomorrow,\" observed\nthe Scarecrow, sinking dejectedly on his throne. \"Tappy, my dear boy,\nafter this never leave me alone, do you hear?\" Happy Toko made no\nreply. He had fallen asleep beside the Imperial Throne.\n\nThe Scarecrow might have called his court, but he was in no mood for\nmore of the Silver Islanders' idea of a good time. He longed for the\ndear friends of his loved Land of Oz.\n\nOne by one the lights winked out in the gardens, and the noisy\ncompany dispersed, and soon no one in the palace was awake but the\nScarecrow. His straw was wet and soggy, and even his excellent brains\nfelt damp and dull.\n\n\"If it weren't for Tappy Oko, how lonely I should be.\" He stared\nthrough the long, dim, empty hall with its shimmering silver screens\nand vases. \"I wonder what little Dorothy is doing,\" sighed the\nScarecrow wistfully.\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 10\n\nPRINCESS OZMA AND BETSY BOBBIN TALK IT OVER\n\n\"Dorothy must be having a lovely time at the Scarecrow's,\" remarked\nBetsy Bobbin to Ozma one afternoon as they sat reading in the Royal\nGardens several days after Dorothy's departure from the Emerald City\nof Oz.\n\n\"One always has a jolly time at the Scarecrow's,\" laughed the little\nQueen of Oz. \"I must look in my Magic Picture and see what they are\ndoing. Too bad she missed the A-B-Sea Serpent and Rattlesnakes.\nWeren't they the funniest creatures?\"\n\nBoth the little girls (for Ozma is really just a little girl) went\noff into a gale of laughter. The two queer creatures had followed the\nScarecrow's advice and had spent their vacation in the Emerald City,\nand partly because they were so dazzled by their surroundings and\npartly because they have no sort of memories whatever, they never\nmentioned the Scarecrow himself or said anything about his plan to\nhunt his family tree. They talked incessantly of the Mer City and\ntold innumerable A-B-Sea stories to Scraps and the Tin Woodman and\nthe children of the Emerald City. When they were ready to go, the\nA-B-Sea Serpent snapped off its X block for Ozma. X, he said, meant\nalmost everything, and pretty well expressed his gratitude to the\nlovely little ruler of Oz. Ozma in turn gave each of the visitors an\nemerald collar, and that very morning they had started back to the\nMunchkin River, and all the celebrities of Oz had gotten up to see\nthem off.\n\n\"Maybe they'll come again some time,\" said Betsy Bobbin, swinging her\nfeet. \"But look, Ozma, here comes a messenger.\" A messenger it surely\nwas, dressed in the quaint red costume of the Quadlings. It was from\nGlinda, the Good Sorceress, and caused the Princess to sigh with\nvexation.\n\n\"Tell Jack Pumpkinhead to harness the Sawhorse to the red wagon,\"\nsaid Ozma after glancing hastily at the little note. \"The Horners and\nHoppers are at war again. And tell the Wizard to make ready for a\njourney.\"\n\n\"May I come, too,?\" asked Betsy. Ozma nodded with a troubled little\nfrown, and Betsy bustled off importantly. Not many little girls are\ncalled upon to help settle wars and rule a country as wonderful as\nOz.\n\nThe Horners and Hoppers are a quarrelsome and curious folk living in\nthe Quadling mountains, and soon Ozma, Jack Pumpkinhead, Betsy and\nthe Wizard of Oz were rattling off at the best speed the Sawhorse\ncould manage. This was pretty fast, for the little horse, being made\nof wood and magically brought to life, never tires and could outrun\nanything on legs in the fairy Kingdom of Oz.\n\nBut the fact that interests us is that Ozma did not look in the Magic\nPicture or see what exciting adventures the Scarecrow and Dorothy\nreally were having!\n\nAs for Professor Wogglebug, who had caused all the trouble, he was\nbusily at work on the twelfth chapter of the Royal Book of Oz, which\nhe had modestly headed:\n\n           H. M. WOGGLEBUG T.E., PRINCE OF BUGS,\n\n            Cultured and Eminent Educator\n                  and also\n      Great Grand and General Genealogist of Oz.\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 11\n\nSIR HOKUS OVERCOMETH THE GIANT\n\n\"I don't believe we'll ever find the way out of this forest.\"\n\nDorothy stopped with a discouraged little sigh and leaned against a\ntree. They had followed the road for several hours. First it had been\nfine and wide, but it had gradually dwindled to a crooked little path\nthat wound crazily in and out through the trees. Although it was\nalmost noonday, not a ray of sun penetrated through the dim green\ndepths.\n\n\"Methinks,\" said Sir Hokus, peering into the gloom ahead, \"that a\ngreat adventure is at hand.\"\n\nThe Cowardly Lion put back his ears. \"What makes you methink so?\" he\nrumbled anxiously.\n\n\"Hark thee!\" said Sir Hokus, holding up his finger warningly. From a\ngreat way off sounded a curious thumping. It was coming nearer and\nnearer.\n\n\"Good gracious!\" cried Dorothy, catching hold of the Cowardly Lion's\nmane.\n\n\"This is worse than Pokes!\"\n\n\"Perchance it is a dragon,\" exulted the Knight, drawing his short\nsword. \"Ah, how it would refresh me to slay a dragon!\"\n\n\"I don't relish dragons myself. Scorched my tongue on one once,\" said\nthe Cowardly Lion huskily. \"But I'll fight with you, brother Hokus.\nStand back, Dorothy dear.\"\n\nAs the thuds grew louder, the Knight fairly danced up and down with\nexcitement. \"Approach, villain!\" he roared lustily.\n\n\"Approach till I impale thee on my lance. Ah, had I but a horse!\"\n\n\"I'd let you ride on my back if it weren't for that hard tin suit,\"\nsaid the Cowardly Lion. \"But cheer up, my dear Hokus, your voice is a\nlittle hoarse.\" Dorothy giggled nervously, then seized hold of a\nsmall tree, for the whole forest was rocking.\n\n\"How now!\" gasped the Knight. There was a terrific quake that threw\nSir Hokus on his face and sent every hair in the lion's mane on end,\nand then a great foot came crashing down through the treetops not\nthree paces from the little party. Before they could even swallow, a\ngiant hand flashed down-ward, jerked up a handful of trees by the\nroots, and disappeared, while a voice from somewhere way above\nshouted:\n\n      What are little humans for?\n      To feed the giant Bangladore.\n      Broiled or toasted, baked or roasted,\n      I smell three or maybe four!\n\n\"You hear that?\" quavered the Cowardly Lion. Sir Hokus did not\nanswer. His helmet had been jammed down by his fall, and he was\ntugging it upward with both hands. Frightened though Dorothy was, she\nran to the Knight's assistance.\n\n\"Have at you!\" cried Sir Hokus as soon as the opening in his helmet\nwas opposite his eyes. \"Forward!\"\n\n\"My heart is beating a retreat,\" gulped the Cowardly Lion, but he\nbounded boldly after Sir Hokus.\n\n\"Varlet!\" hissed the Knight, and raising his sword gave a mighty\nslash at the giant's ankle, which was broad as three tree trunks,\nwhile the Cowardly Lion gave a great spring and sank his teeth in the\ngiant's huge leg.\n\n\"Ouch!\" roared the giant in a voice that shook every leaf in the\nforest. \"You stop, or I'll tell my father!\" With that, he gave a hop\nthat sent Sir Hokus flying into the treetops, stumbled over a huge\nrock, and came crashing to the earth, smashing trees like grass\nblades. At the giant's first scream, Dorothy shut her eyes and,\nputting her hands over her ears, had run as far and as fast as she\ncould. At the awful crash, she stopped short, opened her eyes, and\nstared 'round giddily.\n\nThe giant was flat on his back, but as he was stretched as far as\nfour city blocks, only half of him was visible. The Cowardly Lion\nstill clung to his leg, and he was gurgling and struggling in a way\nDorothy could not understand.\n\nShe looked around in a panic for the Knight. Just then, Sir Hokus\ndropped from the branch of a tree.\n\n\"Uds daggers!\" he puffed, looking ruefully at his sword, which had\nsnapped off at the handle, \"'Tis a pretty rogue!\"\n\n\"Don't you think we'd better run?\" shiver Dorothy, thinking of the\ngiant's song.\n\n\"Not while I wear these colors!\" exclaimed Sir Hokus, proudly\ntouching Dorothy's hair ribbon, which still adorned his arm. \"Come,\nmy good Lion, let us dispatch this braggart and saucy monster.\"\n\n\"Father!\" screamed the giant, making no attempt to move.\n\n\"He seems to be frightened, himself,\" whispered Dorothy to the\nKnight. \"But whatever is the matter with the Cowardly Lion?\"\n\nAt that minute, the Cowardly Lion gave a great jerk and began backing\nwith his four feet braced. The piece of giant leg that he had hold of\nstretched and stretched, and while Sir Hokus and Dorothy stared in\namazement, it snapped off and the Cowardly Lion rolled head over\npaws.\n\n\"Taffy!\" roared the Cowardly Lion, sitting up and trying to open his\njaws, which were firmly stuck together.\n\n\"Taffy!\" At this, Sir Hokus sprang nimbly on the giant's leg, ran up\nhis chest, and perched bravely on his peppermint collar.\n\n\"Surrender, Knave!\" he demanded threateningly. Dorothy, seeing she\ncould do nothing to help the Cowardly Lion, followed. On her way up,\nshe broke off a tiny piece of his coat and found it most delicious\nchocolate.\n\n\"Why, he's all made of candy!\" she cried excitedly.\n\n\"Oh, hush!\" sobbed the giant, rolling his great sourball eyes. \"I'd\nbe eaten in a minute if it were known.\"\n\n\"You were mighty anxious to eat us a while ago,\" said Dorothy,\nlooking longingly at the giant's coat buttons. They seemed to be\nlarge marshmallows.\n\n\"Go away!\" screamed the giant, shaking so that Dorothy slid into his\nvest pocket. \"No one under forty feet is allowed in this forest!\"\n\nDorothy climbed crossly out of the giant's pocket. \"We didn't come\nbecause we wanted to,\" she assured him, wiping the chocolate off her\nnose.\n\n\"Odds bodikins! I cannot fight a great baby like this,\" sighed Sir\nHokus, dodging just in time a great, sugary tear that had rolled down\nthe giant's nose. \"He's got to apologize for that song, though.\"\n\n\"Wait!\" cried Dorothy suddenly. \"I have an idea. If you set us down\non the edge of the forest and give us all your vest buttons for\nlunch, we won't tell anyone you're made of candy. We'll let you go,\"\nshe called loudly, for the giant had begun to sob again.\n\n\"Won't you? Will you?\" sniffed the foolish giant.\n\n\"Never sing that song again!\" commanded the Knight sternly.\n\n\"No, Sir,\" answered the giant meekly. \"Did your dog chew much of my\nleg, Sir?\" Then, before Dorothy or Sir Hokus had time to way a word,\nthey were snatched up in sticky fingers and next minute were dropped\nwith a thump in a large field of daisies.\n\n\"Oh!\" spluttered Dorothy as the giant made off on his taffy legs.\n\"Oh, we've forgotten the Cowardly Lion!\" But at that minute, the\ngiant reappeared, and the lion was dropped beside them.\n\n\"What's this? What's this?\" growled the Cowardly Lion, looking around\nwildly.\n\n\"We got him to lift us out of the forest,\" explained Dorothy. \"Have\nyou swallowed the taffy?\" The lion was still dizzy from his ride and\nonly shook his head feebly.\n\nSir Hokus sighed and sat heavily down on a large rock. \"There is no\nsort of honor, methinks, in overcoming a candy giant,\" he observed,\nlooking wistfully at the plume still pinned to Dorothy's dress. \"Ah,\nhad it but been a proper fight!\"\n\n\"You didn't know he was candy. I think you were just splendid.\"\nJumping up, Dorothy fastened the plume in the Knight's helmet. \"And\nyou're talking just beautifully, more like a Knight every minute,\"\nshe added with conviction. Sir Hokus tried not to look pleased.\n\n\"Give me a meat enemy! My teeth ache yet! First singing, then\ncandy-leg pulling! Gr-ugh! What next?\" growled the Cowardly Lion.\n\n\"Why, lunch, if you feel like eating,\" said Dorothy, beginning to\ngive out the vest buttons which the giant had obediently ripped off\nand left for them. They _were_ marshmallows, the size of pie plates,\nand Dorothy and Sir Hokus found them quite delicious. The Cowardly\nLion, however, after a doubtful sniff and sneeze from the powdered\nsugar, declined and went off to find something more to his taste.\n\n\"We had better take some of these along,\" said Dorothy when she and\nSir Hokus had eaten several. \"We may need them later.\"\n\n\"Everything is yellow, so we must be in the Winkie Country,\"\nannounced the Cowardly Lion, who had just returned from his lunch.\n\"There's a road, too.\"\n\n\"Mayhap it will take us to the jeweled city of your gracious Queen.\"\nSir Hokus shaded his eyes and stared curiously at the long lane\nstretching invitingly ahead of them.\n\n\"Well, anyway, we're out of the forest and Pokes, and maybe we'll\nmeet someone who will tell us about the Scarecrow. Come on!\" cried\nDorothy gaily. \"I think we're on the right track this time.\"\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 12\n\nDOROTHY AND SIR HOKUS COME TO FIX CITY\n\nThe afternoon went pleasantly for the three travelers. The road was\nwide and shady and really seemed a bit familiar. Dorothy rode\ncomfortably on the Cowardly Lion's back and to pass the time told Sir\nHokus all about Oz. He was particularly interested in the Scarecrow.\n\n\"Grammercy! He should be knighted!\" he exclaimed, slapping his knee,\nas Dorothy told how the clever straw man had helped outwit the Gnome\nKing when that wicked little rascal had tried to keep them prisoners\nin his underground kingdom.\n\n\"But, go to! Where is the gallant man now?\" The Knight sobered\nquickly. \"Mayhap in need of a strong arm! Mayhap at the mercy of some\nterrible monster!\"\n\n\"Oh, I hope not!\" cried Dorothy, dismayed at so dark a picture. \"Why,\noh why, did he bother about his family tree?\"\n\n\"Trust the Scarecrow to take care of himself,\" said the Cowardly Lion\nin a gruff voice. Nevertheless, he quickened his steps. \"The sooner\nwe reach the Emerald City, the sooner we'll know where he is!\"\n\nThe country through which they were passing was beautiful, but quite\ndeserted. About five o'clock, they came to a clear little stream, and\nafter Dorothy and Sir Hokus had washed their faces and the Cowardly\nLion had taken a little plunge, they all felt refreshed. Later they\ncame to a fine pear orchard, and as no one was about they helped\nthemselves generously.\n\nThe more Dorothy and the Cowardly Lion saw of Sir Hokus, the fonder\nof him they grew. He was so kind-hearted and so polite.\n\n\"He'll be great company for us back in the Emerald City,\" whispered\nthe Cowardly Lion as the Knight went off to get Dorothy a drink from\na little spring. \"That is, if he forgets this grammercy, bludgeon\nstuff.\"\n\n\"I think it sounds lovely,\" said Dorothy, \"and he's remembering more\nof it all the time. But I wonder why there are no people here. I do\nhope we meet some before night.\" But no person did they meet. As it\ngrew darker, Sir Hokus' armor began to creak in a quite frightful\nmanner. Armor is not meant for walking, and the poor Knight was stiff\nand tired, but he made no complaint.\n\n\"Need oiling, don't you?\" asked the Cowardly Lion, peering anxiously\nat him through the gloom.\n\n\"Joints in my armor a bit rusty,\" puffed Sir Hokus, easing one foot\nand then the other. \"Ah, had I my good horse!\" He expressively waved\na piece of the giant's button at which he had been nibbling.\n\n\"Better climb up behind Dorothy,\" advised the Cowardly Lion, but Sir\nHokus shook his head, for he knew the lion was tired, too.\n\n\"I'll manage famously. This very night I may find me a steed!\"\n\n\"How?\" asked the lion with a yawn.\n\n\"If I sleep beneath these trees, I may have a Knight mare,\" chuckled\nSir Hokus triumphantly.\n\n\"Br-rrr!\" roared the Cowardly Lion while Dorothy clapped her hands.\nBut they were not to sleep beneath the trees after all, for a sudden\nturn in the road brought them right to the gates of another city.\nThey knew it must be a city because a huge, lighted sign hung over\nthe gate.\n\n\"Fix City,\" read Dorothy. \"What a funny name!\"\n\n\"Maybe they can fix us up,\" rumbled the lion, winking at Sir Hokus.\n\n\"Perchance we shall hear news of the valiant Scarecrow!\" cried the\nKnight, and limping forward he thumped on the gate with his mailed\nfist. Dorothy and the Cowardly Lion pressed close behind him and\nwaited impatiently for someone to open the gate.\n\nA bell rang loud back in the town. The next instant, the gates flew\nopen so suddenly that the three adventurers were flung violently on\ntheir faces.\n\n\"Out upon them!\" blustered Sir Hokus, getting up stiffly and running\nto help Dorothy. \"What way is this to welcome strangers?\" He pulled\nthe little girl hastily to her feet, then they all ran forward, for\nthe gates were swinging shut again.\n\nIt was almost as light as day, for lanterns were everywhere, but\nstrangely enough they seemed to dart about like huge fireflies, and\nDorothy ducked involuntarily as a red one bobbed down almost in her\nface. Then she gasped in real earnest and caught hold of Sir Hokus.\n\n\"Uds daggers!\" wheezed the Knight. Two large bushes were running down\nthe path, and right in front of Dorothy the larger caught the smaller\nand began pulling out its leaves.\n\n\"Leave off! Leave off!\" screamed the little bush.\n\n\"That's what I'm doing,\" said the big bush savagely. \"There won't be\na leaf on when I get through with you.\"\n\n\"Unhand him, villain!\" cried Sir Hokus, waving his sword at the large\nbush. The two bushes looked up in surprise, and when they saw\nDorothy, the Cowardly Lion and Sir Hokus, they fell into each other's\nbranches and burst into the most uproarious laughter.\n\n\"My dear Magnolia, this is rich! Oh, dear fellow, wait till Sit sees\nthis; he will be convulsed!\" Quite forgetting their furious quarrel,\nthe two went rollicking down the path together, stopping every few\nminutes to look back and laugh at the three strangers.\n\n\"Is this usual?\" asked Sir Hokus, looking quite dazed.\n\n\"I never heard of bushes talking or running around, but I confess I'm\na few centuries behind times!\"\n\n\"Neither did I!\" exclaimed Dorothy. \"But then--almost anything's\nlikely to happen in Oz.\"\n\n\"If these lanterns don't look out something will happen. I'll break\n'em to bits,\" growled the Cowardly Lion, who had been dodging half a\ndozen at once.\n\n\"How would we look--out?\" sniffed one, flying at Dorothy.\n\n\"You could light out--or go out,\" giggled the little girl.\n\n\"We never go out unless we're put out,\" cried another, but as the\nCowardly Lion made a few springs, they flew high into the air and\nbegan talking indignantly among themselves. By this time, the three\nhad become accustomed to the changing lights.\n\n\"I wonder where the people are,\" said Dorothy, peering down a wide\navenue. \"There don't seem to be any houses. Oh, look!\"\n\nThree tables set for dinner with the most appetizing viands were\nwalking jauntily down the street, talking fluent china.\n\n\"There must be people!\" cried Dorothy.\n\n\"One dinner for each of us,\" rumbled the Cowardly Lion, licking his\nchops. \"Come on!\"\n\n\"Perchance they will invite us. If we follow the dinners, we'll come\nto the diners,\" said Sir Hokus mildly.\n\n\"Right--as usual.\" The Cowardly Lion looked embarrassed, for he had\nintended pouncing on the tables without further ceremony.\n\n\"Hush! Let's go quietly. If they hear us, they may run and upset the\ndishes,\" warned Dorothy. So the three walked softly after the dinner\ntables, their curiosity about the people of Fix growing keener at\nevery step. Several chairs, a sofa and a clothes tree rushed past\nthem, but as Dorothy said later to Ozma, after talking bushes,\nnothing surprised them. The tables turned the corner at the end of\nthe avenue three abreast, and the sight that greeted Dorothy and her\ncomrades was strange indeed. Down each side of a long street as far\nas they could see stood rows and rows of people. Each one was in the\nexact center of a chalked circle, and they were so still that Dorothy\nthought they must be statues.\n\nBut no sooner had the three tables made their appearance than bells\nbegan ringing furiously all up and down the street, and dinner tables\nand chairs came running from every direction. All the inhabitants of\nFix City looked alike. They had large, round heads, broad placid\nfaces, double chins, and no waists whatever. Their feet were flat and\nabout three times as long as the longest you have ever seen. The\nwomen wore plain Mother Hubbard dresses and straw sailor hats, and\nthe men gingham suits.\n\nWhile the three friends were observing all this, the tables had been\ntaking their places. One stopped before each Fix, and the chairs,\nafter much bumping and quarreling, placed themselves properly. At a\nsignal from the Fix in the center, the whole company sat down without\nso much as moving their feet. Dorothy, Sir Hokus and the Cowardly\nLion had been too interested to speak, but at this minute a whole\nflock of the mischievous lanterns clustered over their heads, and at\nthe sudden blare of light the whole street stopped eating and stared.\n\n\"Oh!\" cried the Fix nearest them, pointing with his fork, \"Look at\nthe runabouts!\"\n\n\"This way, please! This way, please! Don't bark your shins. Don't\ntake any more steps than you can help!\" boomed an important voice\nfrom the middle of the street. So down the center marched the three,\nfeeling--as the Cowardly Lion put it--exactly like a circus.\n\n\"Stop! Names, please!\" The Fix next to the center put up his knife\ncommandingly. Sir Hokus stepped forward with a bow:\n\n\"Princess Dorothy of Oz, the Cowardly Lion of Oz.\"\n\n\"And Sir Hokus of Pokes,\" roared the Lion as the Knight modestly\nstepped back without announcing himself.\n\n\"Sir Pokus of Hoax, Howardly Kion of Boz, and Little Girl Beginning\nwith D,\" bellowed the Fix, \"meet His Royal Highness, King Fix It, and\nthe noble Fixitives.\"\n\n\"Little Girl Beginning with D! That's too long,\" complained the King,\nwho, with the exception of his crown, looked like all the rest of\nthem, \"I'll leave out the middle. What do you want, Little With D?\"\n\n\"My name is Dorothy, and if your Highness could give us some dinner\nand tell us something about the Scarecrow and--\"\n\n\"One thing at a time, please,\" said the King reprovingly. \"What does\nPoker want, and Boz? Have they anything to spend?\"\n\n\"Only the night, an' it please your Gracious Highness,\" said Sir\nHokus with his best bow.\n\n\"It doesn't please me especially,\" said the King, taking a sip of\nwater. \"And there! You've brought up another question. How do you\nwant to spend it?\"\n\nHe folded his hands helplessly on the table and looked appealingly at\nthe Fix next to him. \"How am I to settle all these questions,\nSticken? First they come running around like crazy chairs, and--\"\n\n\"You might ring for a settle,\" suggested Sticken, looking curiously\nat Sir Hokus. The King leaned back with a sigh of relief, then\ntouched a bell. There were at least twenty bells set on a high post\nat his right hand, and all of the Fixes seemed to have similar bell\nposts.\n\n\"He's talking perfect nonsense,\" said Dorothy angrily. The Cowardly\nLion began to roll his eyes ominously.\n\n\"Let me handle this, my dear. I'm used to Kings,\" whispered Sir\nHokus. \"Most of 'em talk nonsense. But if he grows wroth, we'll have\nall the furniture in the place around our ears. Now just--\"\n\nBump! Sir Hokus and Dorothy sat down quite suddenly. The settle had\narrived and hit them smartly behind the knees. The Cowardly Lion\ndodged just in time and lay down with a growl beside it.\n\n\"Now that you're settled,\" began the King in a resigned voice, \"we\nmight try again. What is your motto?\"\n\nThis took even Sir Hokus by surprise, but before he could answer, the\nKing snapped out:\n\n\"Come late and stay early! How's that?\"\n\n\"Very good,\" said Sir Hokus with a wink at Dorothy.\n\n\"Next time, don't come at all,\" mumbled Sticken Plaster, his mouth\nfull of biscuit.\n\n\"And you wanted?\" the King asked uneasily.\n\n\"Dinner for three,\" said the Knight promptly and with another bow.\n\n\"Now that's talking.\" The King looked admiringly at Sir Hokus. \"This\nLittle With D had matters all tangled up. One time at a thing! That's\nmy motto!\"\n\nLeaning over, the King pressed another button. By this time, the\nFixes had lost interest in the visitors and went calmly on with their\ndinners. Three tables came pattering up, and the settle drew itself\nup of its own accord. Dorothy placed the Cowardly Lion's dinner on\nthe ground, and then she and Sir Hokus enjoyed the first good meal\nthey had had since they left Pokes. They were gradually becoming used\nto their strange surroundings.\n\n\"You ask him about the Scarecrow,\" begged Dorothy. Everybody had\nfinished, and the tables were withdrawing in orderly groups. The King\nwas leaning sleepily back in his chair.\n\n\"Ahem,\" began the Knight, rising stiffly, \"has your Majesty seen\naught of a noble Scarecrow? And could your Supreme Fixity tell us\naught--\"\n\nThe King's eyes opened. \"You're out of turn,\" he interrupted crossly.\n\"We're only to the second question. How will you spend the night?\"\n\n\"In sleep,\" answered Sir Hokus promptly, \"if your Majesty permits.\"\n\n\"I do,\" said the King solemnly. \"That gets me out of entertaining.\nEarly to bed and late to rise, that's my motto. Next! It's your\nturn,\" he added irritably as Sir Hokus did not immediately answer.\n\n\"Have you seen aught of the noble Scarecrow?\" asked Sir Hokus, and\nall of them waited anxiously for the King's reply.\n\n\"I don't know about _the_ Scarecrow. I've seen _a_ Scarecrow, and a\nsensible chap he was, hanging still like a reasonable person and\nletting chairs and tables chase themselves 'round.\"\n\n\"Where was he?\" asked Sir Hokus in great agitation.\n\n\"In a picture,\" said the King. \"Wait, I'll ring for it.\"\n\n\"No use,\" said the Knight in a disappointed voice. \"We're looking for\na man.\"\n\n\"Would you mind telling me why you are all so still, and why all your\nfurniture runs around?\" asked Dorothy, who was growing a little\nrestless.\n\n\"You forget where you are, and you're out of turn. But I'll overlook\nit this once,\" said the King. \"Have you ever noticed, Little With D,\nthat furniture lasts longer than people?\"\n\n\"Why, yes,\" admitted Dorothy.\n\n\"Well, there you are!\" King Fix Sit folded his hands and regarded her\ncomplacently. \"Here we manage things better. We stand still and let\nthe furniture run around and wear itself out. How does it strike\nyou?\"\n\n\"It seem sensible,\" acknowledged Dorothy. \"But don't you ever grow\ntired of standing still?\"\n\n\"I've heard of growing hair and flowers and corn, but never of\ngrowing tired. What is it?\" asked Sticken Plaster, leaning toward\nDorothy.\n\n\"I think she's talked enough,\" said the King, closing his eyes.\n\nSir Hokus had been staring anxiously at the King for some time. Now\nhe came close to the monarch's side, and standing on tiptoe whispered\nhoarsely: \"Hast any dragons here?\"\n\n\"Did you say wagons?\" asked the King, opening his eyes with a\nterrible yawn.\n\n\"Dragons!\" hissed the Knight.\n\n\"Never heard of 'em,\" said the King. The Cowardly Lion chuckled\nbehind his whiskers, and Sir Hokus in great confusion stepped back.\n\n\"What time is it?\" demanded the King suddenly. He touched a bell, and\nnext minute a whole company of clocks came running down the street.\nThe big ones pushed the little ones, and a grandfather clock ran so\nfast that it tripped over a cobblestone and fell on its face, which\ncracked all the way across.\n\n\"You've plenty of time; why don't you take it?\" called the King\nangrily, while two clothes trees helped the clock to its feet.\n\n\"They're all different,\" giggled Dorothy, nudging the Cowardly Lion.\nSome pointed to eight o'clock, some to nine, and others to half past\nten.\n\n\"Why shouldn't they be different?\" asked Sticken haughtily. \"Some run\nfaster than others!\"\n\n\"Pass the time, please,\" said the King, looking hard at Dorothy.\n\n\"The lazy lump!\" growled the Cowardly Lion. But Dorothy picked up the\nnearest little clock and handed it to King Fix Sit.\n\n\"I thought so,\" yawned the King, pointing at the clock. At this,\neverybody began ringing bells till Dorothy was obliged to cover her\nears. In an instant, the whole street was filled with beds, \"rolling\nup just as if they were taxis,\" laughed Dorothy to Sir Hokus. The\nKnight smiled faintly, but as he had never seen a taxi, he could not\nappreciate Dorothy's remark.\n\n\"Here come your beds,\" said the King shortly. \"Tell them to take you\naround the corner. I can't abide snoring.\"\n\n\"I don't snore, thank you,\" said Dorothy angrily, but the King had\nstepped into his bed and drawn the curtains tight.\n\n\"We might as well go to bed, I 'spose,\" said the little girl. \"I'm so\ntired!\"\n\nThe three beds were swaying restlessly in the middle of the street.\nThey were tall, four-post affairs with heavy chintz hangings. Dorothy\nchose the blue one, and Sir Hokus lifted her up carefully and then\nwent off to catch his bed, which had gotten into an argument with a\nlamppost. When he spoke to it sharply, it left off and came trotting\nover to him. The Cowardly Lion, contrary to his usual custom, leaped\ninto his bed, and soon the three four-posters were walking quietly\ndown the street, evidently following the King's instructions.\n\nDorothy slipped off her shoes and dress and nestled comfortably down\namong the soft covers. \"Just like sleeping in a train,\" she thought\ndrowsily. \"What a lot I shall have to tell the Scarecrow and Ozma\nwhen I get home.\"\n\n\"Good night!\" said the bed politely.\n\n\"Good night!\" said Dorothy, too nearly asleep to even think it\nstrange for a bed to talk. \"Good night!\"\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 13\n\nDANCING BEDS AND THE ROADS THAT UNROLLED\n\n\"It must be a shipwreck,\" thought Dorothy, sitting up in alarm. She\nseemed to be tossing about wildly.\n\n\"Time for little girls to get up,\" grumbled a harsh voice that seemed\nto come from the pillows.\n\nDorothy rubbed her eyes. One of the bedposts was addressing her, and\nthe big four-poster itself was dancing a regular jig.\n\n\"Oh, stop!\" cried Dorothy, holding on to the post to keep from\nbouncing out.\n\n\"Can't you see I'm awake?\"\n\n\"Well, I go off duty now, and you'll have to hurry,\" said the bed\nsulkily. \"I'm due at the lecture at nine.\"\n\n\"Lecture?\" gasped Dorothy.\n\n\"What's so queer about that?\" demanded the bed coldly. \"I've got to\nkeep well posted, haven't I? I belong to a polished set, I do. Hurry\nup, little girl, or I'll throw you out.\"\n\n\"I'm glad my bed doesn't talk to me in this impertinent fashion,\"\nthought Dorothy, slipping into her dress and combing her hair with\nher side comb. \"Imagine being ordered about by a bed! I wonder if Sir\nHokus is up.\" Parting the curtains, she jumped down, and the bed,\nwithout even saying goodbye, took itself off.\n\nSir Hokus was sitting on a stile, polishing his armor with a\npillowslip he had taken from his bed, and the Cowardly Lion was lying\nbeside him lazily thumping his tail and making fun of the passing\nfurniture.\n\n\"Have you had breakfast?\" asked Dorothy, joining her friends.\n\n\"We were waiting for your Ladyship,\" chuckled the Cowardly Lion.\n\"Would you mind ordering two for me, Hokus? I find one quite\ninsufficient.\"\n\nSir Hokus threw away the pillowslip, and talking cheerfully they\nwalked toward King Fix Sit's circle. The beds had been replaced by\nbreakfast tables, and the whole street was eating busily.\n\n\"Good morning, King,\" said Sir Hokus. \"Four breakfasts, please.\"\n\nThe king rang a bell four times without looking up from his oatmeal.\nSeeing that he did not wish to be disturbed, the three waited quietly\nfor their tables.\n\n\"In some ways,\" said Dorothy, contentedly munching a hot roll, \"in\nsome ways this is a very comfortable place.\"\n\n\"In sooth 'tis that,\" mumbled Sir Hokus, his mouth full of baked\napple. As for the Cowardly Lion, he finished his two breakfasts in no\ntime. \"And now,\" said Sir Hokus as the tables walked off, \"let us\ncontinue our quest. Could'st tell us the way to the Emerald City, my\ngood King Fix?\"\n\n\"If you go, go away. And if you stay, stay away. That's my motto,\"\nanswered King Fix shortly. \"I can't have people running around here\nlike common furniture,\" he added in a grieved voice. All the Fix Its\nnodded vigorously.\n\n\"Let them take their stand or their departure,\" said Sticken Plaster\nfirmly.\n\nThe King felt in his pocket and brought out three pieces of chalk.\n\"Go to the end of the street. Choose a place and draw your circle. In\nfive minutes you will find it impossible to move out of the circle,\nand you will be saved all this unnecessary motion.\"\n\n\"But we don't want to come to a standstill,\" objected Dorothy.\n\n\"No, by my good sword!\" spluttered the Knight, glaring around\nnervously. Then, seeing the King looked displeased, he made a low\nbow. \"If your Highness could graciously direct us out of the city--\"\n\n\"Buy a piece of road and go where it takes you,\" snapped the King.\n\nSeeing no more was to be got out of him, they started down the long\nstreet.\n\n\"I wonder what they do when it rains?\" said Dorothy, looking\ncuriously at the solemn rows of people.\n\n\"Call for roofs, silly!\" snapped a Fix, staring at her rudely. \"If\nyou would spend your time thinking instead of walking, you'd know\nmore.\"\n\n\"Go to, and swallow a gooseberry!\" roared the Knight, waving his\nsword at the Fix, and Dorothy, fearing an encounter, begged him to\ncome on, which he did--though with many backward glances.\n\nFix City seemed to consist of one long street, and they had soon come\nto the very end.\n\n\"Uds daggers!\" gasped Sir Hokus.\n\n\"Great palm trees,\" roared the Cowardly Lion.\n\nAs for Dorothy, she could do nothing but stare. The street ended\nsurely enough, and beyond there was nothing at all. That is, nothing\nbut air.\n\n\"Well,\" said the Cowardly Lion, backing a few paces, \"this is a\npretty fix.\"\n\n\"Glad you like it,\" said a wheezy voice. The three travelers turned\nin surprise. A huge Fix was regarding them with interest. His circle,\nwhich was the last in the row, was about twenty times as large as the\nother circles, and on the edge stood a big sign:'\n\n\"Don't you remember, the King said something about buying a road,\"\nsaid Dorothy in an excited undertone to the Knight.\n\n\"Can'st direct us to a road, my good man?\" asked Sir Hokus with a\nbow. The Fix jerked his thumb back at the sign. \"What kind of a road\nto you want?\" he asked hoarsely.\n\n\"A road that will take us back to the Emerald City, please,\" said\nDorothy.\n\n\"I can't guarantee anything like that,\" declared the Fix, shaking his\nhead.\n\n\"Our roads go where they please, and you'll have to go where they\ntake you. Do you want to go on or off?\"\n\n\"On,\" shivered the Cowardly Lion, looking with a shudder over the\nprecipice at the end of the street.\n\n\"What kind of a road will you have? Make up your minds, please. I am\nbusy.\"\n\n\"What kind of roads have you?\" asked Dorothy timidly. It was her\nfirst experience at buying roads, and she felt a bit perplexed.\n\n\"Sunny, shady, straight, crooked, and cross-roads,\" snapped the Fix.\n\n\"We wouldn't want a cross one,\" said Dorothy positively. \"Have you\nany with trees at both sides and water at the end?\"\n\n\"How many yards?\" asked the Fix, taking a pair of shears as large as\nhimself off a long counter beside him.\n\n\"Five miles,\" said Sir Hokus as Dorothy looked confused. \"That ought\nto take us somewhere!\"\n\nThe Fix rang one of the bells in the counter. The next minute, a big\ntrap door in the ground opened, and a perfectly huge roll bounced out\nat his feet.\n\n\"Get on,\" commanded the Fix in such a sharp tone that the three\njumped to obey. Holding fast to Sir Hokus, Dorothy stepped on the\npiece of road that had already unrolled. The Cowardly Lion, looking\nvery anxious, followed. No sooner had they done so than the road gave\na terrific leap forward that stretched the three flat upon their\nbacks and started unwinding from its spool at a terrifying speed.\nAs it unrolled, tall trees snapped erect on each side and began\nlaughing derisively at the three travelers huddled together in the\nmiddle.\n\n\"G-g-glad we only took five miles,\" stuttered Dorothy to the Knight,\nwhose armor was rattling like a Ford.\n\nThe Cowardly Lion had wound his tail around a tree and dug his claws\ninto the road, for he had no intention of falling off into\nnothingness. As for the road, it snapped along at about a mile a\nminute, and before they had time to grow accustomed to this singular\nmode of travel, it gave a final jump that sent them circling into the\nair, and began rapidly winding itself up.\n\nDown, down, down whirled Dorothy, falling with a resounding splash\ninto a broad stream of water. Then down, down, down again, almost to\nthe bottom.\n\n\"Help!\" screamed Dorothy as her head rose above water, and she began\nstriking out feebly. But the fall through the air had taken all her\nbreath.\n\n\"What do you want?\" A thin, neat little man was watching her\nanxiously from the bank, making careful notes in a book that he held\nin one hand.\n\n\"Help! Save me!\" choked Dorothy, feeling herself going down in the\nmuddy stream again.\n\n\"Wait! I'll look it up under the 'H's,\" called the little man, making\na trumpet of his hands. \"Are you an island? An island is a body of\nland entirely surrounded by water, but this seems to be a some-body,\"\nDorothy heard him mutter as he whipped over several pages of his\nbook. \"Sorry,\" he called back, shaking his head slowly, \"but this is\nthe wrong day. I only save lives on Monday.\"\n\n\"Stand aside, Mem, you villain!\" A second little man exactly like the\nfirst except that he was exceedingly untidy plunged into the stream.\n\n\"It's no use,\" thought Dorothy, closing her eyes, for he had jumped\nin far below the spot where she had fallen and was making no progress\nwhatever. The waters rushed over her head the second time. Then she\nfelt herself being dragged upward.\n\nWhen she opened her eyes, the Cowardly Lion was standing over her.\n\"Are you all right?\" he rumbled anxiously. \"I came as soon as I\ncould. Fell in way upstream. Seen Hokus?\"\n\n\"Oh, he'll drown,\" cried Dorothy, forgetting her own narrow escape.\n\"He can't swim in that heavy armor!\"\n\n\"Never fear, I'll get him,\" puffed the Cowardly Lion, and without\nwaiting to catch his breath he plunged back into the stream. The\nlittle man who only saved lives on Monday now approached timidly.\n\"I'd like to get a statement from you, if you don't mind. It might\nhelp me in the future.\"\n\n\"You might have helped me in the present,\" said Dorothy, wringing out\nher dress. \"You ought to be ashamed of yourself.\"\n\n\"I'll make a note of that,\" said the little man earnestly. \"But how\ndid you feel when you went down?\" He waited, his pencil poised over\nthe little book.\n\n\"Go away,\" cried Dorothy in disgust.\n\n\"But my dear young lady--\"\n\n\"I'm not your dear young lady. Oh, dear, why doesn't the Cowardly\nLion come back?\"\n\n\"Go away, Mem.\" The second little man, dripping wet, came up\nhurriedly.\n\n\"I was only trying to get a little information,\" grumbled Mem\nsulkily.\n\n\"I'm sorry I couldn't swim faster,\" said the wet little man,\napproaching Dorothy apologetically.\n\n\"Well, thank you for trying,\" said Dorothy. \"Is he your brother? And\ncould you tell me where you are? You're dressed in yellow, so I\n'spose it must be somewhere in the Winkie Country.\"\n\n\"Right in both cases,\" chuckled the little fellow. \"My name is Ran\nand his name is Memo.\" He jerked his thumb at the retiring twin.\n\"Randum and Memo--see?\"\n\n\"I think I do,\" said Dorothy, half closing her eyes. \"Is that why\nhe's always taking notes?\"\n\n\"Exactly,\" said Ran. \"I do everything at Random, and he does\neverything at memorandum.\"\n\n\"It must be rather confusing,\" said Dorothy. Then as she caught sight\nof the Cowardly Lion dragging Sir Hokus, she jumped up excitedly.\nRan, however, took one look at the huge beast and then fled, calling\nfor Mem at the top of his voice. And that is the last Dorothy saw of\nthese singular twins.\n\nThe Lion dropped Sir Hokus in a limp heap. When Dorothy unfastened\nhis armor, gallons of water rushed out.\n\n\"Sho good of--of--you,\" choked the poor Knight, trying to straighten\nup.\n\n\"Save your breath, old fellow,\" said the Cowardly Lion, regarding him\naffectionately.\n\n\"Oh, why did I ask for water on the end of the road?\" sighed Dorothy.\n\"But, anyway, we're in some part of the Winkie Country.\"\n\nSir Hokus, though still spluttering, was beginning to revive. \"Yon\nnoble bheast shall be knighted. Uds daggers! That's the shecond time\nhe's shaved my life!\" Rising unsteadily, he tottered over to the Lion\nand struck him a sharp blow on the shoulder. \"Rishe, Shir Cowardly\nLion,\" he cried hoarsely, and fell headlong, and before Dorothy or\nthe lion had recovered from their surprise he was fast asleep,\nmumbling happily of dragons and bludgeons.\n\n\"We'll have to wait till he gets rested,\" said Dorothy. \"And until I\nget dry.\" She began running up and down, then stopped suddenly before\nthe Lion.\n\n\"And there's something else for Professor Wogglebug to put in his\nbook, Sir Cowardly Lion.\"\n\n\"Oh, that!\" mumbled the Cowardly Lion, looking terribly embarrassed.\n\"Whoever heard of a Cowardly Knight? Nonsense!\"\n\n\"No, it isn't nonsense,\" said Dorothy stoutly. \"You're a knight from\nnow on. Won't the Scarecrow be pleased?\"\n\n\"If we ever find him,\" sighed the Lion, settling himself beside Sir\nHokus.\n\n\"We will,\" said Dorothy gaily. \"I just feel it.\"\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 14\n\nSONS AND GRANDSONS GREET THE SCARECROW\n\nAlthough the Scarecrow had been on Silver Island only a few days, he\nhad already instituted many reforms, and thanks to his cleverness the\npeople were more prosperous than ever before. Cheers greeted him\nwherever he went, and even old Chew Chew was more agreeable and no\nlonger made bitter remarks to Happy Toko. The Scarecrow himself,\nhowever, had four new wrinkles and was exceedingly melancholy. He\nmissed the carefree life in Oz, and every minute that he was not\nruling the island he was thinking about his old home and dear, jolly\ncomrades in the Emerald City.\n\n\"I almost hope they will look in the Magic Picture and wish me back\nagain,\" he mused pensively. \"But it is my duty to stay here. I have a\nfamily to support.\" So he resolved to put the best face he could on\nthe matter, and Happy Toko did his utmost to cheer up his royal\nmaster. The second morning after the great victory, he came running\ninto the silver throne room in a great state of excitement.\n\n\"The honorable Offspring have arriven!\" announced Happy, turning a\nsomersault. \"Come, ancient and amiable Sir, and gaze upon your sons\nand grandsons!\" The Scarecrow sprang joyously from his silver throne,\nupsetting a bowl of silver fish and three silver vases. At last a\nreal family! Ever since his arrival, the three Princes and their\nfifteen little sons had been cruising on the royal pleasure barge, so\nthat the Scarecrow had not caught a glimpse of them.\n\n\"This is the happiest moment of my life!\" he exclaimed, clasping his\nyellow gloves and watching the door intently. Happy looked a little\nuneasy, for he knew the three Princes to be exceedingly haughty and\noverbearing, but he said nothing, and next minute the Scarecrow's\nfamily stepped solemnly into the royal presence.\n\n\"Children!\" cried the Scarecrow, and with his usual impetuousness\nrushed forward and flung his arms around the first richly clad\nPrince.\n\n\"Take care! Take care, ancient and honorable papa!\" cried the young\nSilverman, backing away. \"Such excitement is not good for one of your\nadvanced years.\" He drew himself away firmly and, adjusting a huge\npair of silver spectacles, regarded the Scarecrow attentively. \"Ah,\nhow you have changed!\"\n\n\"He looks very feeble, Too Fang, but may he live long to rule this\nflowery island and our humble selves!\" said the second Prince, bowing\nstiffly.\n\n\"Do you not find the affairs of state fatiguing, darling papa?\"\ninquired the third Prince, fingering a jeweled chain that hung around\nhis neck.\n\n\"I, as your eldest son, shall be delighted to relieve you should you\nwish to retire. Get back ten paces, you!\" he roared at Happy Toko.\n\nThe poor Scarecrow had been so taken aback by this cool reception\nthat he just stared in disbelief.\n\n\"If the three honorable Princes will retire themselves, I will speak\nwith my grandsons,\" he said dryly, bowing in his most royal manner.\nThe three Princes exchanged startled glances. Then, with three low\nsalaams, they retired backward from the hall.\n\n\"And now, my dears--!\" The Scarecrow looked wistfully at his fifteen\nsilken-clad little grandsons. Their silver hair, plaited tightly\ninto little queues, stood out stiffly on each side of their heads and\ngave them a very curious appearance. At his first word, the fifteen\nfell dutifully on their noses. As soon as they were right side up,\nthe Scarecrow, beginning at the end of the row, addressed a joking\nquestion to each in his most approved Oz style. But over they went\nagain, and answered merely:\n\n\"Yes, gracious Grand-papapapah!\" or \"No honorable Grandpapapapah!\"\nAnd the constant bobbing up and down and papahing so confused the\npoor Scarecrow that he nearly gave up the conversation.\n\n\"It's no use trying to talk to these children,\" he wailed in disgust,\n\"they're so solemn. Don't you ever laugh?\" he cried in exasperation,\nfor he had told them stories that would have sent the Oz youngsters\ninto hysterics.\n\n\"It is not permissible for a Prince to laugh at the remarks of his\nhonorable grandparent,\" whispered Happy Toko, while the fifteen\nlittle Princes banged their heads solemnly on the floor.\n\n\"Honorable fiddlesticks!\" exclaimed the Scarecrow, slumping back on\nhis throne. \"Bring cushions.\" Happy Toko ran off nimbly, and soon the\nfifteen little Princes were seated in a circle at the Scarecrow's\nfeet. \"To prevent prostrations,\" said the Scarecrow.\n\n\"Yes, old Grandpapapapapah!\" chorused the Princes, bending over as\nfar as they could.\n\n\"Wait!\" said the Scarecrow hastily, \"I'll tell you a story. Once upon\na time, to a beautiful country called Oz, which is surrounded on all\nsides by a deadly desert, there came a little girl named Dorothy. A\nterrible gale--Well, what's the matter now?\" The Scarecrow stopped\nshort, for the oldest Prince had jerked a book out of his sleeve and\nwas flipping over the pages industriously.\n\n\"It is not on the map, great Grand papapapah,\" he announced solemnly,\nand all of the other little Princes shook their heads and said dully,\n\"Not on the map.\"\n\n\"Not on the map--Oz? Of course it's not. Do you suppose we want all\nthe humans in creation coming there?\" Calming down, the Scarecrow\ntried to continue his story, but every time he mentioned Oz, the\nlittle Princes shook their heads stubbornly and whispered, \"Not on\nthe map,\" till the usually good-tempered Scarecrow flew into perfect\npassion.\n\n\"Not on the map, you little villains!\" he screamed, forgetting they\nwere his grandsons. \"What difference does that make? Are your heads\nsolid silver?\"\n\n\"We do not believe in Oz,\" announced the oldest Prince serenely.\n\"There is no such place.\"\n\n\"No such place as Oz--Happy, do you hear that?\" The Scarecrow's voice\nfairly crackled with indignation. \"Why, I thought everybody believed\nin Oz!\"\n\n\"Perhaps your Highness can convince them later,\" suggested the\nImperial Punster. \"This way, offspring.\" His Master, he felt, had had\nenough family for one day. So the fifteen little Princes, with\nfifteen stiff little bows, took themselves back to the royal nursery.\nAs for the Scarecrow, he paced disconsolately up and down his\nmagnificent throne room, tripping over his kimona at every other\nstep.\n\n\"You're a good boy, Tappy,\" said the Scarecrow as Happy returned,\n\"but I tell you being a grandparent is not what I thought it would\nbe. Did you hear them tell me right to my face they did not believe\nin Oz? And my sons--ugh!\"\n\n\"Fault of their bringing up,\" said Happy Toko comfortingly. \"If your\nserene Highness would just tell me more of that illustrious country!\"\nHappy knew that nothing cheered the Scarecrow like talking of Oz, and\nto tell the truth Happy himself never tired of the Scarecrow's\nmarvelous stories. So the two slipped quietly into the palace\ngardens, and the Scarecrow related for the fourteenth time the story\nof his discovery by Dorothy and the story of Ozma, and almost forgot\nthat he was an Emperor.\n\n\"Your Highness knows the history of Oz by heart,\" said Happy\nadmiringly as the Scarecrow paused.\n\n\"I couldn't do that,\" said the Scarecrow gently, \"for you see, Happy,\nI have no heart.\"\n\n\"Then I wish we all had none!\" exclaimed Happy Toko, rolling up his\neyes. The Scarecrow looked embarrassed, so the little Punster threw\nback his head and sang a song he had been making up while the\nScarecrow had been telling his stories:\n\n      The Scarecrow was standing alone in a field,\n      Inviting the crows to keep off,\n      When the straw in his chest began tickling his vest\n      And he couldn't resist a loud cough.\n\n      The noise that was heard so surprised ev'ry bird,\n      that the flock flew away in a fright,\n      But the Scarecrow looked pleased, and he said \"If I'd sneezed\n      It wouldn't have been so polite.\"\n\n\"Ho!\" roared the Scarecrow, \"You're almost as good at making verses\nas Scraps, Write that down for me, Tappy. I'd like to show it to\nher.\"\n\n\"Hush!\" whispered Happy, holding up his finger warningly. The\nScarecrow turned so suddenly that the silver pigtail pinned to the\nback of his hat wound itself tightly around his neck. No wonder! On\nthe other side of the hedge the three Princes were walking up and\ndown, conversing in indignant whispers.\n\n\"What a horrible shape our honorable Papa has reappeared in. I hear\nthat it never wears out,\" muttered one. \"He may continue just as he\nis for years and years. How am I ever to succeed him, I'd like to\nknow. Why, he may outlive us all!\"\n\n\"We might throw him into the silver river,\" said the second\nhopefully.\n\n\"No use,\" choked the third. \"I was just talking to the Imperial\nSoothsayer, and he tells me that no one from this miserable Kingdom\nof Oz can be destroyed. But I have a plan. Incline your Royal ears--\nlisten.\" The voices dropped to such a low whisper that neither Happy\nnor the Scarecrow could hear one word.\n\n\"Treason!\" spluttered Happy, making ready to spring through the\nhedge, but the Scarecrow seized him by the arm and drew him away.\n\n\"I don't believe they like their poor papa,\" exclaimed the Scarecrow\nwhen they were safely back in the throne room. \"I'm feeling older\nthan a Kinkajou. Ah, Happy Oko, why did I ever slide down my family\ntree? It has brought me nothing but unhappiness.\"\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 15\n\nTHE THREE PRINCES PLOT TO UNDO THE EMPEROR\n\n\"Let me help your Imperial Serenity!\"\n\n\"Bring a cane!\"\n\n\"Carefully, now!\"\n\nThe three royal Princes, with every show of affection, were\nsupporting the Scarecrow to the silver bench in the garden where he\nusually sat during luncheon.\n\n\"Are you quite comfortable?\" asked the elder. \"Here, Happy, you\nrogue, fetch a scarf for his Imperial Highness. You must be careful,\ndear Papa Scarecrow. At your age, drafts are dangerous.\" The rascally\nPrince wound the scarf about the Scarecrow's neck.\n\n\"What do you suppose they are up to?\" asked the Scarecrow, staring\nafter the three suspiciously. \"Why this sudden devotion? It upsets my\nImperial Serenity a lot.\"\n\n\"Trying to make you feel old,\" grumbled Happy. Several hours had\npassed since they had overheard the conversation in the garden. The\nScarecrow had decided to watch his sons closely and fall in with any\nplan they suggested so they would suspect nothing. Then, when the\ntime came, he would act. Just what he would do he did not know, but\nhis excellent brains would not, he felt sure, desert him. Happy Toko\nsat as close to the Scarecrow as he could and scowled terribly\nwhenever the Princes approached, which was every minute or so during\nthe afternoon.\n\n\"How is the Scarecrow's celestial old head?\"\n\n\"Does he suffer from honorable gout?\"\n\n\"Should they fetch the Imperial Doctor?\"\n\nThe Scarecrow, who had never thought of age in his whole straw life,\nbecame extremely nervous.\n\nWas he really old? Did his head ache? When no one was looking, he\nfelt himself carefully all over. Then something of his old time Oz\nspirit returned. Seizing the cushion that his eldest son was placing\nat his back, he hurled it over his head. Leaping from his throne, he\nbegan turning handsprings in a careless and sprightly manner.\n\n\"Don't you worry about your honorable old papa,\" chuckled the\nScarecrow, winking at Happy Toko. \"He's good for a couple of\ncenturies!\"\n\nThe three Princes stared sourly at this exhibition of youth.\n\n\"But your heart,\" objected the eldest Prince.\n\n\"Have none,\" laughed the Scarecrow. Snatching off the silver cord\nfrom around his waist, he began skipping rope up and down the hall.\nThe Princes, tapping their foreheads significantly, retired, and the\nScarecrow, throwing his arm around Happy Toko, began whispering in\nhis ear. He had a plan himself. They would see!\n\n* * * * *\n\nMeanwhile, off in his dark cave in one of the silver mountains, the\nGrand Gheewizard of the Silver Island was stirring a huge kettle of\nmagic. Every few moments he paused to read out of a great yellow book\nthat he had propped up on the mantle. The fire in the huge grate\nleaped fiercely under the big, black pot, and the sputtering candles\non each side of the book sent creepy shadows into the dark cave. Dark\nchests, books, bundles of herbs, and heaps of gold and silver were\neverywhere. Whenever the Gheewizard turned his back, a rheumatic\nsilver-scaled old dragon would crawl toward the fire and swallow a\nmouthful of coals, until the old Gheewizard caught him in the act and\nchained him to a ring in the corner of the cave.\n\n\"Be patient, little joy of my heart! Our fortune is about to be\nmade,\" hissed the wizened little man, waving a long iron spoon at the\ndragon. \"You shall have a bucket of red-hot coals every hour and I a\nsilver cap with a tassel. Have not the Royal Princes promised it?\"\nThe dragon shuffled about and finally went to sleep, smoking sulkily.\n\n\"Is it finished, son of a yellow dog?\" Through the narrow opening of\nthe cave, the youngest Prince stuck his head.\n\n\"I am working as fast as I can, Honorable Prince, but the elixir must\nboil yet one more night. Tomorrow, when the sun shines on the first\nbar of your celestial window, come, and all will be ready.\"\n\n\"Are you sure you have found it?\" asked the Prince, withdrawing his\nhead, for the smoking dragon and steam from the kettle made him\ncough.\n\n\"Quite sure,\" wheezed the Grand Gheewizard, and fell to stirring the\nkettle with all his might.\n\n* * * * *\n\nThe Scarecrow, although busy with trials in the great courtroom of\nthe palace, felt that something unusual was in the air. The Princes\nkept nodding to one another, and the Grand Chew Chew and General\nMugwump had their heads together at every opportunity.\n\n\n\"Something's going to happen, Tappy. I feel it in my straw,\"\nwhispered the Scarecrow as he finished trying the last case. At that\nvery minute, the Grand Chew Chew arose and held up his hand for\nsilence. Everybody paused in their way to the exits and looked with\nsurprise at the old Silverman.\n\n\"I have to announce,\" said the Grand Chew Chew in a solemn voice,\n\"that the Great and Imperial Chang Wang Woe will tomorrow be restored\nto his own rightful shape. The Grand Gheewizard of the realm has\ndiscovered a magic formula to break the enchantment and free him from\nthis distressing Scarecrow body. Behold for the last the Scarecrow of\nOz. Tomorrow he will be our old and glorious Emperor!\"\n\n\"Old and glorious?\" gasped the Scarecrow, nearly falling from his\nthrone.\n\n\"Tappy! I forgot to lock up the wizards. Great Cornstarch! Tomorrow I\nwill be eighty-five years old.\"\n\nSuch cheers greeted the Grand Chew Chew's announcement that no one\neven noticed the Scarecrow's distress.\n\n\"I, also, have an announcement!\" cried the eldest Prince, standing up\nproudly. \"To make the celebration of my royal Papa's restoration\ncomplete, we have chosen the lovely and charming Orange Blossom for\nhis bride.\"\n\n\"Bride!\" gulped the Scarecrow. \"But I do not approve of second\nmarriages. I refuse to--\"\n\nNo one paid the slightest attention to the Scarecrow's remarks.\n\n\"Hold my hand, Tappy,\" sighed the Scarecrow weakly. \"It may be your\nlast chance.\" Then he sat up and stared in good earnest, for the\nPrince was leading forward a tall, richly clad lady.\n\n\"Orange Blossom!\" muttered the Scarecrow under his breath. \"He means\nLemon Peel! Silver grandmother, Tappy!\" Orange Blossom was a\ncross-looking Princess of seventy-five, at least.\n\n\"She is a sister of the King of the Golden Islands,\" whispered\nGeneral Mugwump. \"Of a richness surpassing your own. Let me\nfelicitate your Highness.\"\n\n\"Fan me, Tappy! Fan me!\" gasped the Scarecrow. Then he straightened\nhimself suddenly. The time had come for action. He would say nothing\nto anyone, but that night he would escape and try to find his way\nback to Oz, family or no family! He bowed graciously to Princess\nOrange Blossom, to the Grand Chew Chew, and to his sons.\n\n\"Let everything be made ready for the ceremony, and may tomorrow\nindeed bring me to myself,\" he repeated solemnly. Nothing was talked\nof that evening but the Emperor's impending marriage and the Grand\nGheewizard's discovery. The Scarecrow seemed the least excited person\nin the palace. Sitting on his throne, he pretended to read the Royal\nSilver Journal, but he was really waiting impatiently for the\ncourtiers to retire. Finally, when the last one had bowed himself out\nand only Happy Toko remained in the throne room, the Scarecrow began\nmaking his plans.\n\n\"It's no use, Tappy,\" said he, tying up a few little trinkets for\nDorothy in a silk handkerchief, \"I'd rather be straw than meat. I'd\nrather be a plain Scarecrow in Oz than Emperor of the Earth! They may\nbe my sons, but all they want is my death. I'm going back to my old\nfriends. I'd rather--\". He got no farther. A huge slave seized him\nsuddenly from behind, while another caught Happy Toko around his fat\nlittle waist.\n\n\"Tie them fast,\" said the eldest Prince, smiling wickedly at the\nScarecrow. \"Here, tie him to the beanstalk. Merely a part of the\nGrand Gheewizard's formula,\" he exclaimed maliciously as the\nstruggling Scarecrow was bound securely to his family tree. \"Good\nnight, dear papa Scarecrow. Tomorrow you will be your old self again,\nand in a few short years _I_ will be Emperor of the Silver Islands!\"\n\n\"This rather upsets our plans, eh Tappy?\" wheezed the Scarecrow after\na struggle with his bonds.\n\n\"Pigs! Weasels!\" choked Tappy. \"What are we to do?\"\n\n\"Alas!\" groaned the Scarecrow. \"Tomorrow there will be no Scarecrow\nin Oz. What will Dorothy and Ozma think? And once I am changed into\nmy old Imperial self, I can never make the journey to the Emerald\nCity. Eighty-six is too old for traveling.\"\n\n\"Has your Majesty forgotten the wonderful brains given to you by the\nWizard of Oz?\"\n\n\"I had--for a moment,\" confessed the Scarecrow. \"Be quiet, Tappy,\nwhile I think.\" Pressing his head against the magic beanpole, the\nScarecrow thought and thought, harder than he had ever done in the\ncourse of his adventurous life, and in the great, silent hall Happy\nToko struggled to set himself free.\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 16\n\nDOROTHY AND HER GUARDIANS MEET NEW FRIENDS\n\nWhile all these exciting things were happening to the poor Scarecrow,\nDorothy, Sir Hokus and the Cowardly Lion had been having adventures\nof their own. For three days, they had wandered through a deserted\npart of the Winkie Country, subsisting largely on berries, sleeping\nunder trees, and looking in vain for a road to lead them back to the\nEmerald City. On the second day, they had encountered an ancient\nwoodsman, too old and deaf to give them any information. He did,\nhowever, invite them into his hut and give them a good dinner and a\ndozen sandwiches to carry away with them.\n\n\"But, oh, for a good old pasty!\" sighed Sir Hokus late on the third\nafternoon as they finished the last of the crumbly sandwiches.\n\n\"Do you know,\" said Dorothy, looking through the straggly fields and\nwoods ahead, \"I believe we've been going in the wrong direction\nagain.\"\n\n\"Again!\" choked the Cowardly Lion. \"You mean still. I've been in a\ngood many parts of Oz, but this--this is the worst.\"\n\n\"Not even one little dragon!\" Sir Hokus shook his head mournfully.\nThen, seeing that Dorothy was tired and discouraged, he pretended to\nstrum on a guitar and sang in his high-pitched voice:\n\n      A rusty Knight in steel bedite\n      And Lady Dot, so fair,\n      Sir Lion bold, with mane of gold\n      And might besides to spa--ha--hare!\n      And might beside to spare!\n      The dauntless three, a company\n      Of wit and bravery are,\n      Who seek the valiant Scarecrow man,\n      Who seek him near and fa--har--har,\n      Who seek him near and fa--har!\n\n\"Oh, I like that!\" cried Dorothy, jumping up and giving Sir Hokus a\nlittle squeeze. \"Only you should have said trusty Knight.\"\n\nThe Cowardly Lion shook his golden mane. \"Let's do a little\nreconnoitering, Hokus,\" he said carelessly. He felt he must live up\nto the song somehow. \"Perhaps we'll find a sign.\"\n\n\"I don't believe in signs anymore,\" laughed Dorothy, \"but I'm coming\ntoo.\" Sir Hokus' song had cheered them all, and it wasn't the first\ntime the Knight had helped make the best of a tiresome journey.\n\n\"The air seemeth to grow very hot,\" observed Sir Hokus after they had\nwalked along silently for a time. \"Hast noticed it, Sir Cowardly?\"\n\n\"No, but I've swallowed some of it,\" coughed the Cowardly Lion,\nlooking suspiciously through the trees.\n\n\"I'll just step forward and see what it is,\" said the Knight. As he\ndisappeared, the truth dawned on Dorothy.\n\n\"Wait! Wait! Don't go! Please, please, Sir Hokus, come back, come\nback!\" cried the little girl, running after him as fast as she could.\n\n\"What's the matter?\" rumbled the Cowardly Lion, thudding behind her.\nThen both, coming suddenly out of the woods, gave a terrible scream,\nwhich so startled Sir Hokus that he fell over backwards. Just in\ntime, too, for another step would have taken him straight on to the\nDeadly Desert, which destroys every living thing and keeps all\nintruders away from Oz.\n\n\"What befell?\" puffed Sir Hokus, getting to his feet. Naturally, he\nknew nothing of the poisonous sands.\n\n\"You did,\" wheezed the Cowardly Lion in an agitated voice.\n\n\"Was it a dragon?\" asked the Knight, limping toward them hopefully.\n\n\"Sit down!\" The Cowardly Lion mopped his brow with his tail. \"One\nstep on that desert and it would have been one long goodnight.\"\n\n\"I should say it would!\" shuddered Dorothy, and explained to Sir\nHokus the deadly nature of the sands. \"And do you know what this\nmeans?\" Dorothy was nearer to tears than even I like to think about.\n\"It means we've come in exactly the wrong direction and are farther\naway from the Emerald City than we were when we started.\"\n\n\"And seek him near and fa--hah--har,\" mumbled Sir Hokus with a very\ntroubled light in his kindly blue eyes.\n\n\"And seek him near and far.\"\n\n\"Fah--har--har! I should say it was,\" said the Cowardly Lion\nbitterly. \"But you needn't sing it.\"\n\n\"No, I s'pose not. Uds helmets and hauberks! I s'pose not!\" The\nKnight lapsed into a discouraged silence, and all three sat and\nstared drearily at the stretch of desert before them and thought\ngloomily of the rough country behind.\n\n\"It's a caravan,\" wheezed a hoarse voice.\n\n\"I doubt that, Camy, I doubt it very much.\" The shrill nasal voices\nso startled the three travelers that they swung about in\nastonishment.\n\n\"Great dates and deserts!\" burst out the Cowardly Lion, jumping up.\nAnd on the whole, this exclamation was entirely suitable, for ambling\ntoward them were a long-legged camel and a wobbly-necked dromedary.\n\n\"At last! A steed!\" cried the Knight, bounding to his feet.\n\n\"I doubt that.\" The dromedary stopped and looked at him coldly.\n\n\"Try me,\" said the camel amiably. \"I'm more comfortable.\"\n\n\"I doubt that, too.\"\n\n      \"The doubtful dromedary wept,\n      As o'er the desert sands he stept,\n      Association with the sphinx\n      Has made him doubtful, so he thinks!\"\n\nchortled the Knight with his head on one side.\n\n\"How did you know?\" asked the Dromedary, opening his eyes wide.\n\n\"It just occurred to me,\" admitted Sir Hokus, clearing his throat\nmodestly.\n\n\"I doubt that. Somebody told you,\" said the Doubtful Dromedary\nbitterly.\n\n\"Pon my honor,\" said Sir Hokus.\n\n\"I doubt it, I doubt it very much,\" persisted the Dromedary, wagging\nhis head sorrowfully.\n\n\"You seem to doubt everything!\" Dorothy laughed in spite of herself,\nand the Dromedary regarded her sulkily.\n\n\"He does,\" said the Camel. \"It makes him very doubtful company. Now,\nI like to be comfortable and happy, and you can't be if you're always\ndoubting things and people and places. Eh, my dear?\"\n\n\"Where did you comfortable and doubtful parties come from?\" asked the\nCowardly Lion. \"Strangers here?\"\n\n\"Well, yes,\" admitted the Camel, nibbling the branch of a tree.\n\"There was a terrific sandstorm, and after blowing and blowing and\nblowing, we found ourselves in this little wood. The odd part of it\nis that you talk in our language. Never knew a two-leg to understand\na word of Camelia before.\"\n\n\"You're not talking Camelia, you're talking Ozish,\" laughed Dorothy.\n\"All animals can talk here.\"\n\n\"Well, now, that's very comfortable, I must say,\" sighed the Camel,\n\"and if you'd just tell me where to go, it would be more comfortable\nstill.\"\n\n\"I doubt that,\" snapped the Dromedary. \"They're no caravan.\"\n\n\"Where do you want to go?\" asked the Cowardly Lion, ignoring the\nDoubtful Dromedary.\n\n\"Anywhere, just so we keep moving. We're used to being told when to\nstart and stop, and life is mighty lonely without our Karwan Bashi,\"\nsighed the Comfortable Camel.\n\n\"Why, I didn't know you smoked!\" exclaimed Dorothy in surprise. She\nthought the camel was referring to a brand of tobacco.\n\n\"He means his camel driver,\" whispered Sir Hokus, eyeing the soft,\npillowed seat on the camel's back longingly. Besides the seat, great\nsacks and bales of goods hung from its sides. The Doubtful Dromedary\nwas similarly loaded.\n\n\"Goodness!\" exclaimed Dorothy. A sudden idea had struck her. \"You\nhaven't anything to eat in those sacks, have you?\"\n\n\"Plenty, my child--plenty!\" answered the Camel calmly.\n\n\"Three cheers for the Comfortable Camel!\" roared the Cowardly Lion,\nwhile Sir Hokus, following the camel's directions, carefully\nunfastened a large, woven basket from one of the sacks on its side.\n\n\"You may be my Karwan Bashi,\" announced the Comfortable Camel\njudiciously as Sir Hokus paused for breath.\n\n\"Hear that, Lady Dot?\" Sir Hokus swept the camel a bow and fairly\nbeamed with pleasure. Dorothy, meanwhile, had set out an appetizing\nrepast on a small, rocky ledge--a regular feast, it appeared to the\nhungry travelers. There were loaves of black bread, figs, dates,\ncheese, and a curious sort of dried meat which the Cowardly Lion\nswallowed in great quantities.\n\n\"Isn't this cozy?\" said Dorothy, forgetting the long, weary way\nahead. \"My, I'm glad we met you!\"\n\n\"Very comforting to us, too, my dear,\" said the Camel, swaying\ncomplacently. \"Isn't it, Doubty?\"\n\n\"There are some silk cushions in my right-hand saddle sack, but I\ndoubt very much whether you'll like 'em,\" mumbled the Dromedary\ngruffly.\n\n\"Out with them!\" cried Sir Hokus, pouncing on the Doubtful Dromedary,\nand in a minute each of the party had a cushion and was as snug as\npossible.\n\n\"Could anything have been more fortunate?\" exulted the Knight. \"We\ncan now resume our journey properly mounted.\"\n\n\"I think I'll ride the Cowardly Lion,\" said Dorothy, looking uneasily\nat the high seat on the camel's back. \"Let's start before it grows\nany darker.\"\n\nThey had eaten to heart's content, and now, packing up the remainder\nof the feast, the little party made ready to start.\n\nSir Hokus, using the Cowardly Lion as a footstool, mounted the camel,\nand then Dorothy climbed on her old friend's back, and the little\ncaravan moved slowly through the forest.\n\n\"There's a tent in my left-hand saddle sack, but I doubt very much\nwhether you can put it up,\" said the Doubtful Dromedary, falling in\nbehind the Comfortable Camel. \"I doubt it very much indeed.\"\n\n\"How now, what means this doubting?\" called Sir Hokus from his\nperilous seat. \"I'll pitch it when the time comes.\"\n\n\"Mind you don't pitch out when the Camel goes!\" called the Cowardly\nLion, who would have his little joke. Sir Hokus, to tell the truth,\nwas feeling tossed about and dizzy, but he was too polite to mention\nthe fact. As they proceeded, Dorothy told the Comfortable Camel all\nabout the Scarecrow and Oz.\n\nAn occasional word jolted down from above told her that the Knight\nwas singing. They had gone possibly a mile when Dorothy pointed in\nexcitement to a road just ahead.\n\n\"We must have missed it before! Wait, I'll see what it's like.\"\nJumping down from the Cowardly Lion's back, she peered curiously at\nthe narrow, tree-lined path. \"Why, here's a sign!\"\n\n\"What of?\" asked the Comfortable Camel, lurching forward eagerly and\nnearly unseating the Knight.\n\n      W I S H   W A Y\n\nread Dorothy in a puzzled voice.\n\n\"Looks like a pretty good road,\" said the Comfortable Camel,\nsquinting up its eyes.\n\n\"I doubt it, Camy, I doubt it very much,\" said the Doubtful Dromedary\ntremulously.\n\n\"What does my dear Karwan Bashi think?\" asked the Comfortable Camel,\nlooking adoringly back at the Knight.\n\n\"It is unwise to go back when the journey lieth forward,\" said the\nKnight, and immediately returned to his song. So, single file, the\nlittle company turned in at the narrow path, the Comfortable Camel\nadvancing with timid steps and the Doubtful Dromedary bobbing his\nhead dubiously.\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 17\n\nDOUBTY AND CAMY VANISH INTO SPACE\n\nFor a short time, everything went well. Then Dorothy, turning to see\nhow Sir Hokus was getting along, discovered that the Doubtful\nDromedary had disappeared.\n\n\"Why, where in the world?\" exclaimed Dorothy. The Comfortable Camel\ncraned his wobbly neck and, when he saw that his friend was gone,\nburst into tears. His sobs heaved Sir Hokus clear out of his seat and\nflung him, helmet first, into the dust.\n\n\"Go to!\" exploded the Knight, sitting up. \"If I were a bird, riding\nin yon nest would be easier.\" The last of his sentence ended in a\nhoarse croak. Sir Hokus vanished, and a great raven flopped down in\nthe center of the road.\n\n\"Oh, where is my dear Karwan Bashi? Oh, where is Doubty?\" screamed\nthe Comfortable Camel, running around in frenzied circles. \"I wish\nI'd never come on this path!\"\n\n\"Magic!\" gasped Dorothy, clutching the Cowardly Lion's mane. The\nComfortable Camel had melted into air before their very eyes.\n\n\"I doubt it, I doubt it very much!\" coughed a faint voice close to\nher ear. Dorothy ducked her head involuntarily as a big yellow\nbutterfly settled on the Cowardly Lion's ear.\n\n\"Our doubtful friend,\" whispered the lion weakly. \"Oh, be careful,\nDorothy dear. We may turn into frogs or something worse any minute.\"\n\nDorothy and the Cowardly Lion had had experiences with magic\ntransformations, and the little girl, pressing her fingers to her\neyes, tried to think of something to do. The raven was making awkward\nattempts to fly and cawing \"Go to, now!\" every other second.\n\n\"Oh, I wish dear Sir Hokus were himself again,\" wailed Dorothy after\ntrying in vain to recall some magic sentences. Presto! The Knight\nstood before them, a bit breathless from flying, but hearty as ever.\n\n\"I see! I see!\" said the Cowardly Lion with a little prance. \"Every\nwish you make on this road comes true. Remember the sign: 'Wish Way.'\nI wish the Comfortable Camel were back. I wish the Doubtful Dromedary\nwere himself again,\" muttered the Cowardly Lion rapidly, and in an\ninstant the two creatures were standing in the path.\n\n\"Uds bodikins! So I did wish myself a bird!\" gasped the Knight,\nrubbing his gauntlets together excitedly.\n\n\"There you are! There you are!\" cried the Comfortable Camel,\nstumbling toward him and resting his foolish head on his shoulder.\n\"Dear, dear Karwan Bashi! And Doubty, old fellow, there you are too!\nAh, how comfortable this all is.\"\n\n\"Not two--one,\" wheezed the Doubtful Dromedary. \"And Camy, I doubt\nvery much whether I'd care for butterflying. I just happened to wish\nmyself one!\"\n\n\"Don't make any more wishes,\" said the Cowardly Lion sternly.\n\n\"Methinks a proper wish might serve us well,\" observed Sir Hokus. He\nhad been pacing up and down in great excitement. \"Why not wish--\"\n\n\"Oh, stop!\" begged Dorothy. \"Wait till we've thought it all out.\nWishing's awfully particular work!\"\n\n\"One person better speak for the party,\" said the Cowardly Lion.\n\"Now, I suggest--\"\n\n\"Oh, be careful!\" screamed Dorothy again. \"I wish you would all stop\nwishing!\" Sir Hokus looked at her reproachfully. No wonder. At\nDorothy's words, they all found themselves unable to speak. The\nDoubtful Dromedary's eyes grew rounder and rounder. For the first\ntime in its life, it was unable to doubt anything.\n\n\"Now I'll have to do it all,\" thought Dorothy, and closing her eyes\nshe tried to think of the very best wish for everybody concerned. It\nwas night and growing darker. The Cowardly Lion, the Camel and\nDromedary and Sir Hokus peered anxiously at the little girl,\nwondering what in the world was going to happen. Being wished around\nis no joke. For five minutes Dorothy thought and thought. Then,\nstanding in the middle of the road, she made her wish in a clear,\ndistinct voice. It was not a very long wish. To be exact, it had only\neight words. Eight--short--little words! But stars! No sooner were\nthey out of Dorothy's mouth than the earth opened with a splintering\ncrash and swallowed up the whole company!\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 18\n\nDOROTHY FINDS THE SCARECROW!\n\nThe next thing Dorothy knew, she was sitting on the hard floor of a\ngreat, dark hall. One lantern burned feebly, and in the dim, silvery\nlight she could just make out the Comfortable Camel scrambling\nawkwardly to his feet.\n\n\"I smell straw,\" sniffed the Camel softly.\n\n\"I doubt very much whether I am going to like this place.\" The voice\nof the Doubtful Dromedary came hesitatingly through the gloom.\n\n\"By sword and scepter!\" gasped the Knight, \"Are you there, Sir\nCowardly?\"\n\n\"Thank goodness, they are!\" said Dorothy. Wishing other people about\nis a risky and responsible business. \"They're all here, but I wonder\nwhere here is.\" She jumped up, but at a shuffle of feet drew back.\n\n\"Pigs! Weasels!\" shrilled an angry voice, and a fat little man hurled\nhimself at Sir Hokus, who happened to have fallen in the lead.\n\n\"Uds trudgeons and bludgeons and maugre thy head!\" roared the Knight,\nshaking him off like a fly.\n\n\"Tappy, Tappy, my dear boy. Caution! What's all this?\" At the sound\nof that dear, familiar voice Dorothy's heart gave a skip of joy, and\nwithout stopping to explain she rushed forward.\n\n\"Dorothy!\" cried the Scarecrow, stepping on his kimona and falling\noff his silvery throne. \"Lights, Tappy! More lights, at once!\" But\nTappy was too busy backing away from Sir Hokus of Pokes.\n\n\"Approach, vassal!\" thundered the Knight, who under-stood not a word\nof Tappy's speech. \"Approach! I think I've been insulted!\" He drew\nhis sword and glared angrily through the darkness, and Tappy, having\nbacked as far as possible, fell heels over pigtail into the silver\nfountain. At the loud splash, Dorothy hastened to the rescue.\n\n\"They're friends, and we've found the Scarecrow, we've found the\nScarecrow!\" She seized Sir Hokus and shook him till his armor\nrattled.\n\n\"Tappy! Tappy!\" called the Scarecrow. \"Where in the world did he\npagota?\" That's exactly what he said, but to Dorothy it sounded like\nno language at all.\n\n\"Why,\" she cried in dismay, \"it's the Scarecrow, but I can't\nunderstand a word he's saying!\"\n\n\"I think he must be talking Turkey,\" droned the Comfortable Camel,\n\"or donkey! I knew a donkey once, a very uncomfortable party, I--\"\n\n\"I doubt it's donkey,\" put in the Dromedary importantly, but no one\npaid any attention to the two beasts. For Happy Toko had at last\ndragged himself out of the fountain and set fifteen lanterns glowing.\n\n\"Oh!\" gasped Dorothy as the magnificent silver throne room was\nflooded with light, \"Where are we?\"\n\nThe Scarecrow had picked himself up, and with outstretched arms came\nrunning toward her talking a perfect Niagara of Silver Islandish.\n\n\"Have you forgotten your Ozish so soon?\" rumbled the Cowardly Lion\nreproachfully as Dorothy flung her arms around the Scarecrow. The\nScarecrow, seeing the Cowardly Lion for the first time, fairly fell\nupon his neck. Then he brushed his clumsy hand across his forehead.\n\n\"Wasn't I talking Ozish?\" he asked in a puzzled voice.\n\n\"Oh, now you are!\" exclaimed Dorothy. And sure enough, the Scarecrow\nwas talking plain Ozish again. (Which I don't mind telling you is\nalso plain English.)\n\nThe Knight had been watching this little reunion with hardly\nrepressed emotion. Advancing hastily, he dropped on one knee.\n\n\"My good sword and lance are ever at thy service, my Lord Scarecrow!\"\nhe exclaimed feelingly.\n\n\"Who is this impulsive person?\" gulped the Scarecrow, staring in\nundisguised astonishment at the kneeling figure of the Sir Hokus of\nPokes.\n\n\"He's my Knight Errant, and he's taken such good care of me,\"\nexplained Dorothy eagerly.\n\n\"Splendid fellow,\" hissed the Cowardly Lion in the Scarecrow's other\npainted ear, \"if he does talk odds and ends.\"\n\n\"Any friend of little Dorothy's is my friend,\" said the Scarecrow,\nshaking hands with Sir Hokus warmly. \"But what I want to know is how\nyou all got here.\"\n\n\"First tell us where we are,\" begged the little girl, for the\nScarecrow's silver hat and queue filled her with alarm.\n\n\"You are on the Silver Island,\" said the Scarecrow slowly. \"And I am\nthe Emperor--or his good-for-nothing spirit--and tomorrow,\" the\nScarecrow glared around wildly, \"tomorrow I'll be eighty-five going\non eighty-six.\" His voice broke and ended in a barely controlled sob.\n\n\"Doubt that,\" drawled the Doubtful Dromedary sleepily.\n\n\"Eighty-five years old!\" gasped Dorothy. \"Why, no one in Oz grows any\nolder!\"\n\n\"We are no longer in Oz.\" The Scarecrow shook his head sadly. Then,\nfixing the group with a puzzled stare, he exclaimed, \"But how did you\nget here?\"\n\n\"On a _wish_,\" said the Knight in a hollow voice.\n\n\"Yes,\" said Dorothy, \"we've been hunting you all over Oz, and at last\nwe came to Wish Way, and I said 'I wish we were all with the\nScarecrow,' just like that--and next minute--\"\n\n\"We fell and fell--and fell--and fell,\" wheezed the Comfortable\nCamel.\n\n\"And fell--and fell--and fell--and fell,\" droned the Dromedary,\n\"And--\"\n\n\"Here you are,\" finished the Scarecrow hastily, for the Dromedary\nshowed signs of going on forever.\n\n\"Now tell us every single thing that has happened to you,\" demanded\nDorothy eagerly.\n\nHappy Toko had recognized Dorothy and the Cowardly Lion from the\nScarecrow's description, and he now approached with an arm full of\ncushions. These he set in a circle on the floor, with one for the\nScarecrow in the center, and with a warning finger on his lips placed\nhimself behind his Master.\n\n\"Tappy is right!\" exclaimed the Scarecrow. \"We must be as quiet as\npossible, for a great danger hangs over me.\"\n\nWithout more ado, he told them of his amazing fall down the\nbeanstalk; of his adventures on Silver Island; of his sons and\ngrandsons and the Gheewizard's elixir which would turn him from a\nlively Scarecrow into an old, old Emperor. All that I have told you,\nhe told Dorothy, up to the very point where his eldest son had bound\nhim to the bean pole and tied up poor, faithful Happy Toko. Happy, it\nseems, had at last managed to free himself, and they were about to\nmake their escape when Dorothy and her party had fallen into the\nthrone room. The Comfortable Camel and Doubtful Dromedary lis-tened\npolitely at first, but worn out by their exciting adventures, fell\nasleep in the middle of the story.\n\nNothing could have exceeded Dorothy's dismay to learn that the jolly\nScarecrow of Oz, whom she had discovered herself, was in reality\nChang Wang Woe, Emperor of Silver Island.\n\n\"Oh, this spoils everything!\" wailed the little girl. (The thought of\nOz without the Scarecrow was unthinkable.) \"It spoils everything! We\nwere going to adopt you and be your truly family. Weren't we?\"\n\nThe Cowardly Lion nodded. \"I was going to be your cousin,\" he mumbled\nin a choked voice, \"but now that you have a family of your own--\" The\nlion miserably slunk down beside Dorothy.\n\nSir Hokus looked fierce and rattled his sword, but he could think of\nnothing that would help them out of their trouble.\n\n\"To-morrow there won't be any Scarecrow in Oz!\" wailed Dorothy. \"Oh,\ndear! Oh, dear!\" And the little girl began to cry as if her heart\nwould break.\n\n\"Stop! Stop!\" begged the Scarecrow, while Sir Hokus awkwardly patted\nDorothy on the back. \"I'd rather have you for my family any day. I\ndon't care a Kinkajou for being Emperor, and as for my sons, they are\nunnatural villains who make my life miserable by telling me how old I\nam!\"\n\n\"Just like a poem I once read,\" said Dorothy, brightening up:\n\n      \"You are old, Father William,\" the young man said,\n      \"And your hair has become very white,\n      And yet you incessantly stand on your head!\n      Do you think, at your age, it is right?\"\n\n\"That's it, that's it exactly!\" exclaimed the Scarecrow as Dorothy\nfinished repeating the verse. \"'You are old, Father Scarecrow!'\nThat's all I hear. I did stand on my head, too. And Dorothy, I can't\nseem to get used to being a grandparent,\" added the Scarecrow in a\nmelancholy voice. \"It's turning my straws gray.\" He plucked several\nfrom his chest and held them out to her. \"Why, those little villains\ndon't even believe in Oz! 'It's not on the map, old\nGrandpapapapapah!'\" he mumbled, imitating the tones of his little\ngrandsons so cleverly that Dorothy laughed in spite of herself.\n\n\"This is what becomes of pride!\" The Scarecrow extended his hands\nexpressively. \"Most people who hunt up their family trees are in for\na fall, and I've had mine.\"\n\n\"But who do you want to be?\" asked the Knight gravely. \"A Scarecrow\nin Oz--or the--er--Emperor that you were?\"\n\n\"I don't care who I were!\" In his excitement, the Scarecrow lost his\ngrammar completely. \"I want to be who I am. I want to be myself.\"\n\n\"But which one?\" asked the Cowardly Lion, who was still a bit\nconfused.\n\n\"Why, my best self, of course,\" said the Scarecrow with a bright\nsmile. The sight of his old friends had quite restored his\ncheerfulness. \"I've been here long enough to know that I am a better\nScarecrow than an Emperor.\"\n\n\"Why, how simple it is!\" sighed Dorothy contentedly. \"Professor\nWogglebug was all wrong. It's not what you were, but what you are--\nit's being yourself that counts.\"\n\n\"By my Halidom, the little maid is right!\" said Sir Hokus, slapping\nhis knee in delight. \"Let your Gheewizard but try his\ntransformations! Out on him! But what says yon honest henchman?\"\nHappy Toko, although he understood no word of the conversation, had\nbeen watching the discussion with great interest. He had been trying\nto attract the Scarecrow's attention for some time, but the Knight\nwas the only one who had noticed him.\n\n\"What is it, Tappy?\" asked the Scarecrow, dropping easily back into\nSilver Islandish.\n\n\"Honored Master, the dawn approaches and with it the Royal Princes\nand the Grand Gheewizard--and your bride!\" Happy paused\nsignificantly. The Scarecrow shuddered.\n\n\"Let's go back to Oz!\" said the Cowardly Lion uneasily.\n\nThe Scarecrow was feeling in the pocket of his old Munchkin suit\nwhich he always wore under his robes of state. \"Here!\" said he,\ngiving a little pill to Happy Toko. \"It's one of Professor\nWogglebug's language pills,\" he exclaimed to Dorothy, \"and will\nenable him to speak and understand Ozish.\" Happy swallowed the pill\ngravely.\n\n\"Greetings, honorable Ozites!\" he said politely as soon as the pill\nwas down. Dorothy clapped her hands in delight, for it was so\ncomfortable to have him speak their own language.\n\n\"I could never have stood it here without Tappy Oko!\" The Scarecrow\nlooked fondly at his Imperial Punster.\n\n\"Queer name he has,\" rumbled the Cowardly Lion, looking at Happy Toko\nas if he had thoughts of eating him.\n\n\"Methinks he should be knighted,\" rumbled Sir Hokus, beaming on the\nlittle Silverman. \"Rise, Sir Pudding!\"\n\n\"The sun will do that in a minute or more, and then, then we shall\nall be thrown into prison!\" wailed Happy Toko dismally.\n\n\"We were going to escape in a small boat,\" explained the Scarecrow,\n\"but--\" It was not necessary for him to finish. A boat large enough\nto hold Dorothy, the Cowardly Lion, the Scarecrow, Happy Toko, the\ncamel and the dromedary could not very well be launched in secret.\n\n\"Oh, dear!\" sighed Dorothy, \"If I'd only wished you and all of us\nback in the Emerald City!\"\n\n\"You wished very well, Lady Dot,\" said the Knight. \"When I think of\nwhat I was going to wish for--\"\n\n\"What were you going to wish, Hokus?\" asked the Cowardly Lion\ncuriously.\n\n\"For a dragon!\" faltered the Knight, looking terribly ashamed.\n\n\"A dragon!\" gasped Dorothy. \"Why, what good would that have done us?\"\n\n\"Wait!\" interrupted the Scarecrow. \"I have thought of something! Why\nnot climb my family tree? It is a long, long way, but at the top lies\nOz!\"\n\n\"Grammercy, a pretty plan!\" exclaimed Sir Hokus, peering up at the\nbean pole.\n\n\"Wouldn't that be social climbing?\" chuckled Happy Toko, recovering\nhis spirits with a bound. The Cowardly Lion said nothing, but heaved\na mighty sigh which no one heard, for they were all running toward\nthe bean pole. It was a good family tree to climb, sure enough, for\nthere were handy little notches in the stalk.\n\n\"You go first!\" Sir Hokus helped Dorothy up. When she had gone a few\nsteps, the Scarecrow, holding his robes carefully, followed, then\nhonest Happy Toko.\n\n\"I'll go last,\" said Sir Hokus bravely, and had just set his foot on\nthe first notch when a hoarse scream rang through the hall.\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 19\n\nPLANNING TO FLY FROM THE SILVER ISLAND\n\nIt was the Comfortable Camel. Waking suddenly, he found himself\ndeserted. \"Oh, where is my dear Karwan Bashi?\" he roared dismally.\n\"Come back! Come back!\"\n\n\"Hush up, can't you?\" rumbled the Cowardly Lion. \"Do you want Dorothy\nand everybody to be thrown into prison on our account? We can't climb\nthe bean pole and will have to wait here and face it out.\"\n\n\"But how uncomfortable,\" wailed the camel. He began to sob heavily.\nDorothy, although highest up the bean pole, heard all of this\ndistinctly. \"Oh,\" she cried remorsefully, \"we can't desert the\nCowardly Lion like this. I never thought about him.\"\n\n\"Spoken like the dear little Maid you are,\" said the Knight. \"The\ngood beast never reminded us of it, either. There's bravery for you!\"\n\n\"Let us descend at once, I'll not move a step without the Cowardly\nLion!\" In his agitation, the Scarecrow lost his balance and fell\nheadlong to the ground, knocking Sir Hokus's helmet terribly askew as\nhe passed. The others made haste to follow him and were soon gathered\ngravely at the foot of the beanstalk.\n\n\"I'll have to think of some other plan,\" said the Scarecrow, looking\nnervously at the sky, which showed, through the long windows, the\nfirst streaks of dawn. The Comfortable Camel controlled its sobs with\ndifficulty and pressed as close to Sir Hokus as it could. The\nDoubtful Dromedary was still asleep.\n\n\"It would have been a terrible climb,\" mused the Scarecrow, thinking\nof his long, long fall down the pole. \"Ah, I have it!\"\n\n\"What?\" asked Dorothy anxiously.\n\n\"I wonder I did not think of it before. Ah, my brains are working\nbetter! I will abdicate,\" exclaimed the Scarecrow triumphantly. \"I\nwill abdicate, make a farewell speech, and return with you to Oz!\"\n\n\"What if they refuse to let your radiant Highness go?\" put in Happy\nToko tremulously. \"What if the Gheewizard should work his magic\nbefore you finished your speech?\"\n\n\"Then we'll make a dash for it!\" said Sir Hokus, twirling his sword\nrecklessly.\n\n\"I'm with you,\" said the Cowardly Lion huskily, \"but you needn't have\ncome back for me.\"\n\n\"All right!\" said the Scarecrow cheerfully. \"And now that\neverything's settled so nicely, we might as well enjoy the little\ntime left. Put out the lights, Tappy. Dorothy and I will sit on the\nthrone, and the rest of you come as close as possible.\"\n\nSir Hokus wakened the Doubtful Dromedary and pulled and tugged it\nacross the hall, where it immediately fell down asleep again. The\nComfortable Camel ambled about eating the flowers out of the vases.\nThe Cowardly Lion had placed himself at Dorothy's feet, and Sir Hokus\nand Happy Toko seated themselves upon the first step of the gorgeous\nsilver throne.\n\nThen, while they waited for morning, Dorothy told the Scarecrow all\nabout the Pokes and Fix City, and the Scarecrow told once again of\nhis victory over the king of the Golden Islands.\n\n\"Where is the magic fan now?\" asked Dorothy at the end of the story.\n\nThe Scarecrow smiled broadly, and feeling in a deep pocket brought\nout the little fan and also the parasol he had plucked from the\nbeanstalk. \"Do you know,\" he said smiling, \"so much has happened I\nhaven't thought of them since the battle. I was saving them for you,\nDorothy.\"\n\n\"For me!\" exclaimed the little girl in delight. \"Let me see them!\"\nThe Scarecrow handed them over obligingly, but Happy Toko trembled so\nviolently that he rolled down the steps of the throne.\n\n\"I beg of you!\" He scrambled to his feet and held up his hands in\nterror. \"I beg of you, don't open that fan!\"\n\n\"She's used to magic, Tappy. You needn't worry,\" said the Scarecrow\neasily.\n\n\"Of course I am,\" said Dorothy with great dignity. \"But this'll be\nmighty useful if anyone tries to conquer Oz again. We can just fan\n'em away.\"\n\nDorothy pulled a hair from the Cowardly Lion's mane, and winding it\naround the little fan, put it carefully in the pocket of her dress.\nThe parasol she hung by its ribbon to her arm.\n\n\"Perhaps Ozma will look in the Magic Picture and wish us all back\nagain,\" said the little girl after they had sat for a time in\nsilence.\n\n\"I doubt it.\" The Dromedary stirred and mumbled in its sleep.\n\n\"Singular beast, that!\" ejaculated the Knight. \"Doubting never gets\none anywhere.\"\n\n\"Hush!\" warned the Scarecrow. \"I hear footsteps!\"\n\n\"Come here.\" Sir Hokus called hoarsely to the camel, who was eating a\npaper lantern at the other end of the room. The beast ran awkwardly\nover to the throne, and swallowing the lantern with a convulsive\ngulp, settled down beside the dromedary.\n\n\"Whatever happens, we must stick together,\" said the Knight\nemphatically. \"Ah--!\"\n\nDorothy held fast to the Scarecrow with one hand and to the throne\nwith the other. The sun had risen at last. There was a loud crash of\ndrums and trumpets, a rush of feet, and into the hall marched the\nmost splendid company Dorothy had seen in her whole life of\nadventures.\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 20\n\nDOROTHY UPSETS THE CEREMONY OF THE ISLAND\n\n\"A caravan!\" whistled the Comfortable Camel, lurching to his feet.\n\"How nice!\"\n\n\"I doubt that!\" The dromedary's eyes flew open, and he stared\nsleepily at the magnificent procession of Silver Islanders.\n\nFirst came the musicians, playing their shining silver trumpets and\nflutes. The Grand Chew Chew and General Mugwump followed, attired in\nbrilliant silk robes of state. Then came the three Princes,\nglittering with jeweled chains and medals, and the fifteen little\nPrinces, like so many silver butterflies in their satin kimonas. Next\nappeared a palanquin bearing the veiled Princess Orange Blossom,\nfollowed by a whole company of splendid courtiers and after them as\nmany of the everyday Silver Islanders as the hall would hold. There\nwas a moment of silence. Then the whole assemblage, contrary to the\nScarecrow's edict, fell upon their faces.\n\n\"My!\" exclaimed Dorothy, impressed in spite of herself. \"Are you sure\nyou want to give up all this?\"\n\n\"Great Emperor, beautiful as the sun, wise as the stars, and radiant\nas the clouds, the Ceremony of Restoration is about to begin!\"\nquavered the Grand Chew Chew, rising slowly. Then he paused, for he\nwas suddenly confused by the strange company around the Scarecrow's\nthrone.\n\n\"Treachery!\" hissed the eldest Prince to the others. \"We left him\ntied to the bean pole. Ancient Papa Scarecrow needs watching! Who are\nthese curious objects he has gathered about him, pray?\"\n\nNow by some magic which even I cannot explain, the people from Oz\nfound they could understand all that was being said. When Dorothy\nheard herself called an object and saw the wicked faces of the three\nPrinces and the stupid little grandsons, she no longer wondered at\nthe Scarecrow's decision.\n\nThe Scarecrow himself bowed calmly. \"First,\" said he cheerfully, \"let\nme introduce my friends and visitors from Oz.\"\n\nThe Silver Islanders, who really loved the Scarecrow, bowed politely\nas he called out the names of Dorothy and the others. But the three\nSilver Princes scowled and whispered indignantly among themselves.\n\n\"I am growing very wroth!\" choked Sir Hokus to the Cowardly Lion.\n\n\"Let the ceremony proceed!\" called the eldest Prince harshly, before\nthe Scarecrow had finished his introductions. \"Let the proper body of\nhis Serene Highness be immediately restored. Way for the Grand\nGheewizard! Way for the Grand Gheewizard!\"\n\n\"One moment,\" put in the Scarecrow in a dignified voice. \"I have\nsomething to say.\" The Silver Islanders clapped loudly at this, and\nDorothy felt a bit reassured. Perhaps they would listen to reason\nafter all and let the Scarecrow depart peacefully. How they were ever\nto escape if they didn't, the little girl could not see.\n\n\"My dear children,\" began the Scarecrow in his jolly voice, \"nothing\ncould have been more wonderful than my return to this lovely island,\nbut in the years I have been away from you I have changed very much,\nand I find I no longer care for being Emperor. So with your kind\npermission, I will keep the excellent body I now have and will\nabdicate in favor of my eldest son and return with my friends to Oz.\nFor in Oz I really belong.\"\n\nA dead silence followed the Scarecrow's speech--then perfect\npandemonium.\n\n\"No! No! You are a good Emperor! We will not let you go!\" shrieked\nthe people. \"You are our honorable little Father. The Prince shall be\nEmperor after you have peacefully returned to your ancestors, but not\nnow. No! No! We will not have it!\"\n\n\"I feared this!\" quavered Happy Toko.\n\n\"It is not the Emperor, but the Scarecrow who speaks!\" shrilled the\nGrand Chew Chew craftily. \"He knows not what he says. But after the\ntransformation--Ah, you shall see!\"\n\nThe company calmed down at this. \"Let the ceremony proceed! Way for\nthe Grand Gheewizard!\" they cried exultantly.\n\n\"Chew Chew,\" wailed the Scarecrow, \"you're off the track!\" But it was\ntoo late. No one would listen.\n\n\"I'll have to think of something else,\" muttered the Scarecrow,\nsinking dejectedly back on his throne.\n\n\"Oh!\" shuddered Dorothy, clutching the Scarecrow, \"Here he comes!\"\n\n\"Way for the Grand Gheewizard! Way for the Grand Gheewizard!\"\n\nThe crowd parted. Hobbling toward the throne came the ugly little\nGheewizard of the Silver Island holding a large silver vase high\nabove his head, and after him--!\n\nWhen Sir Hokus caught a glimpse of what came after, he leaped clean\nover the Comfortable Camel.\n\n\"Uds daggers!\" roared the Knight. \"_At last!\"_\nHe rushed forward violently. There was a sharp thrust of his good\nsword, then an explosion like twenty giant firecrackers in one,\nand the room became quite black with smoke. Before anyone\nrealized what had happened, Sir Hokus was back, dragging\nsomething after him and shouting exuberantly, \"A dragon! I have\nslain a dragon! What happiness!\"\n\nEveryone was coughing and spluttering from the smoke, but as it\ncleared Dorothy saw that it was indeed a dragon Sir Hokus had slain,\nthe rheumatic dragon of the old Gheewizard himself.\n\n\"Why didn't you get the wizard?\" rumbled the Cowardly Lion angrily.\n\n\"Must have exploded,\" said the Comfortable Camel, sniffing the skin\ndaintily.\n\n\"Treason!\" yelled the three Princes, while the Grand Gheewizard flung\nhimself on the stone floor and began tearing strand after strand from\nhis silver pigtail.\n\n\"He has killed the little joy of my hearth!\" screeched the old man.\n\"I will turn him to a cat, a miserable yellow cat, and roast him for\ndinner!\"\n\n\"Oh!\" cried Dorothy, looking at Sir Hokus sorrowfully. \"How could\nyou?\"\n\nThe slaying of the dragon had thrown the whole hall into utmost\nconfusion. Sir Hokus turned a little pale under his armor, but faced\nthe angry mob without flinching.\n\n\"Oh, my dear Karwan Bashi, this is so uncomfortable!\" wheezed the\ncamel, glancing back of him with frightened eyes.\n\n\"There's a shiny dagger in my left-hand saddlesack. I doubt very much\nwhether they would like it,\" coughed the Doubtful Dromedary, pressing\nclose to the Knight.\n\n\"On with the ceremony!\" cried the eldest Prince, seeing that the\nexcitement was giving the Scarecrow's friends too much time to think.\n\"The son of an iron pot shall be punished later!\"\n\n\"That's right!\" cried a voice from the crowd. \"Let the Emperor be\nrestored!\"\n\n\"I guess it's all over,\" gulped the Scarecrow. \"Give my love to Ozma\nand tell her I tried to come back.\"\n\nIn helpless terror, the little company watched the Gheewizard\napproach. One could fight real enemies, but _magic!_ Even Sir Hokus,\nbrave as he was, felt that nothing could be done.\n\n\"One move and you shall be so many prunes,\" shrilled the angry old\nman, fixing the people from Oz with his wicked little eyes. The great\nroom was so still you could have heard a pin drop. Even the Doubtful\nDromedary had not the heart to doubt the wizard's power, but stood\nrigid as a statue.\n\nThe wizard advanced slowly, holding the sealed vase carefully over\nhis head. The poor Scarecrow regarded it with gloomy fascination. One\nmore moment and he would be an old, old Silverman. Better to be lost\nforever! He held convulsively to Dorothy.\n\nAs for Dorothy herself, she was trembling with fright and grief. When\nthe Grand Gheewizard raised the vase higher and higher and made ready\nto hurl it at the Scarecrow, disregarding his dire threat she gave a\nshrill scream and threw up both hands.\n\n\"Great grandmothers!\" gasped the Scarecrow, jumping to his feet. As\nDorothy had thrown up her arms, the little parasol swinging at her\nwrist had jerked open. Up, up, up, and out through the broken\nskylight in the roof sailed the little Princess of Oz!\n\nThe Grand Gheewizard, startled as anyone, failed to throw the vase.\nEvery neck was craned upward, and everyone was gasping with\nastonishment.\n\nThe oldest Prince, as usual, was the first to recover. \"Don't stand\nstaring like an idiot! Now's your chance!\" he hissed angrily in the\nGheewizard's ear.\n\n\"I didn't come here to be harried and hurried by foreigners,\" sobbed\nthe little man. \"How is one to work magic when interrupted every\nother minute? I want my little dragon.\"\n\n\"Oh, come on now, just throw it. I'll get you another dragon,\" begged\nthe Prince, his hands trembling with excitement.\n\nIn the face of this new disaster, the Scarecrow had forgotten all\nabout the Gheewizard. He and the Cowardly Lion and Sir Hokus were\nrunning distractedly around the great throne trying to think up a way\nto rescue Dorothy. As for the Doubtful Dromedary, he was doubting\neverything in a loud, bitter voice, while the Comfortable Camel\nfairly snorted with sorrow.\n\n\"There! Now's your chance,\" whispered the Prince. The Scarecrow, with\nhis back to the crowd, was gesturing frantically.\n\nTaking a firm hold on the neck of the vase and with a long\nincantation which there is no use at all in repeating, the Gheewizard\nflung the bottle straight at the Scarecrow's head. But scarcely had\nit left his hand before there was a flash and a flutter and down came\nDorothy and the magic parasol right on top of the vase.\n\nZip! The vase flew in quite another direction, and next minute had\nburst over the luckless heads of the three plotting Princes, while\nDorothy floated gently to earth.\n\nSir Hokus embraced the Scarecrow, and the Scarecrow hugged the\nCowardly Lion, and I don't wonder at all. For no sooner had the magic\nelixir touched the Princes, than two of them became silver pigs and\nthe eldest a weasel. They had been turned to their true shapes\ninstead of the Scarecrow. And while the company hopped about in\nalarm, they ran squealing from the hall and disappeared in the\ngardens.\n\n\"Seize the Gheewizard and take him to his cave,\" ordered the\nScarecrow, asserting his authority for the first time since the\nproceedings has started. He had noticed the old man making queer\nsigns and passes toward Sir Hokus. A dozen took hold of the\nstruggling Gheewizard and hurried him out of the hall.\n\nSir Hokus, at the request of the Scarecrow, clapped his iron\ngauntlets for silence.\n\n\"You will agree with me, I'm sure,\" said the Scarecrow in a slightly\nunsteady voice, \"that magic is a serious matter to meddle with. If\nyou will all return quietly to your homes, I will try to find a way\nout of our difficulties.\"\n\nThe Silver Islanders listened respectfully and after a little arguing\namong themselves backed out of the throne room. To tell the truth,\nthey were anxious to spread abroad the tale of the morning's\nhappenings.\n\nPrincess Orange Blossom, however, refused to depart. Magic or no\nmagic, she had come to marry the Emperor, and she would not leave\ntill the ceremony had been performed.\n\n\"But my dear old Lady, would you wish to marry a Scarecrow?\" coaxed\nthe Emperor.\n\n\"All men are Scarecrows,\" snapped the Princess sourly.\n\n\"Then why marry at all?\" rumbled the Cowardly Lion, making a playful\nleap at her palanquin. This was too much. The Princess swooned on the\nspot, and the Scarecrow, taking advantage of her unconscious\ncondition, ordered her chair bearers to carry her away as far and as\nfast as they could run.\n\n\"Now,\" said the Scarecrow when the last of the company had\ndisappeared, \"let us talk this over.\"\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 21\n\nTHE ESCAPE FROM THE SILVER ISLAND\n\n\"Well!\" gasped Dorothy, fanning herself with her hat, \"I never was so\ns'prised in my life!\"\n\n\"Nor I,\" exclaimed the Scarecrow. \"The Grand Gheewizard will be suing\nyou for parassault and battery. But how did it happen?\"\n\n\"Well,\" began Dorothy, \"as soon as the parasol opened, I flew up so\nfast that I could hardly breathe. Then, after I'd gone ever so far,\nit came to me that if the parasol went up when it was up, it would\ncome down when it was down. I couldn't leave you all in such a fix--\nso I closed it, and--\"\n\n\"Came down!\" finished the Scarecrow with a wave of his hand. \"You\nalways do the right thing in the right place, my dear.\"\n\n\"It was lucky I hit the vase, wasn't it?\" sighed Dorothy. \"But I'm\nrather sorry about the Princes.\"\n\n\"Served 'em right,\" growled the Cowardly Lion. \"They'll make very\ngood pigs!\"\n\n\"But who's to rule the island?\" demanded Sir Hokus, turning his gaze\nreluctantly from the smoking dragonskin.\n\n\"This will require thought,\" said the Scarecrow pensively. \"Let us\nall think.\"\n\n\"I doubt that I can ever think again.\" The Doubtful Dromedary wagged\nhis head from side to side in a dazed fashion.\n\n\"Just leave it to our dear Karwan Bashi.\" The Comfortable Camel\nnodded complacently at the Knight and began plucking sly wisps from\nthe Scarecrow's boot top. For a short time there was absolute\nsilence.\n\nThen Sir Hokus, who had been thinking tremendously with his elbows on\nhis knees, burst out, \"Why not Sir Pudding, here? Why not this honest\nPunster? Who but Happy Toko deserves the throne?\"\n\n\"The very person!\" cried the Scarecrow, clasping his yellow gloves,\nand taking off his silver hat, he set it impulsively upon the head of\nthe fat little Silver Islander.\n\n\"He'll make a lovely Emperor,\" said Dorothy. \"He's so kind-hearted\nand jolly. And now the Scarecrow can abdicate and come home to Oz.\"\n\nThey all looked triumphantly at the Imperial Punster, but Happy Toko,\nsnatching off the royal hat, burst into tears.\n\n\"Don't leave me behind, amiable Master!\" he sobbed disconsolately.\n\"Oh, how I shall miss you!\"\n\n\"But don't you see,\" coaxed Dorothy, \"the Scarecrow needs you here\nmore than anyplace, and think of all the fine clothes you will have\nand how rich you will be!\"\n\n\"And Tappy, my dear boy,\" said the Scarecrow, putting his arm around\nHappy Toko, \"you might not like Oz any more than I like Silver\nIsland. Then think--if everything goes well, you can visit me--just\nas one Emperor visits another!\"\n\n\"And you won't forget me?\" sniffed Happy, beginning to like the idea\nof being Emperor.\n\n\"Never!\" cried the Scarecrow with an impressive wave.\n\n\"And if anything goes wrong, will you help me out?\" questioned Happy\nuncertainly.\n\n\"We'll look in the Magic Picture of Oz every month,\" declared\nDorothy, \"and if you need us we'll surely find some way to help you.\"\n\n\"An' you ever require a trusty sword, Odds Bodikins!\" exclaimed Sir\nHokus, pressing Tappy's hand, \"I'm your man!\"\n\n\"All right, dear Master!\" Happy slowly picked up the Imperial hat and\nset it sideways on his head. \"I'll do my best.\"\n\n\"I don't doubt it at all,\" said the Doubtful Dromedary to everyone's\nsurprise.\n\n\"Three cheers for the Emperor! Long live the Emperor of the Silver\nIsland,\" rumbled the Cowardly Lion, and everybody from Oz, even the\ncamel and dromedary, fell upon their knees before Happy Toko.\n\n\"You may have my bride, too, Tappy,\" chuckled the Scarecrow with a\nwink at Dorothy. \"And Tappy,\" he asked, sobering suddenly, \"will you\nhave my grandsons brought up like real children? Just as soon as I\nreturn, I shall send them all the Books of Oz.\"\n\nHappy bowed, too confused and excited for speech.\n\n\"Now,\" said the Scarecrow, seizing Dorothy's hand, \"I can return to\nOz with an easy mind.\"\n\n\"Doubt that,\" said the Doubtful Dromedary.\n\n\"You needn't!\" announced Dorothy. \"I've thought it all out.\" In a few\nshort sentences she outlined her plan.\n\n\"Bravo!\" roared the Cowardly Lion, and now the little party began in\nreal earnest the preparation for the journey back to Oz.\n\nFirst, Happy brought them a delicious luncheon, with plenty of twigs\nand hay for the camel and dromedary and meat for the Cowardly Lion.\nThe Scarecrow packed into the camel's sacks a few little souvenirs\nfor the people of Oz. Then they dressed Happy Toko in the Scarecrow's\nmost splendid robe and ordered him to sit upon the throne. Next, the\nScarecrow rang for one of the palace servants and ordered the people\nof the Silver Islands to assemble in the hall.\n\nPresently the Silvermen began to come trooping in, packing the great\nthrone room until it could hold no more. Everyone was chattering\nexcitedly.\n\nIt was quite a different company that greeted them. The Scarecrow,\ncheerful and witty in his old Munchkin suit, Dorothy and Sir Hokus\nsmiling happily, and the three animal members of the party fairly\nblinking with contentment.\n\n\"This,\" said the Scarecrow pleasantly when everyone was quiet, \"is\nyour new Emperor, to whom I ask you to pledge allegiance.\" He waved\nproudly in the direction of Happy Toko, who, to tell the truth,\npresented a truly royal appearance. \"It is not possible for me to\nremain with you, but I shall always watch over this delightful island\nand with the magic fan vanquish all its enemies and punish all\noffenders.\"\n\nHappy Toko bowed to his subjects.\n\nThe Silver Islanders exchanged startled glances, then, as the\nScarecrow carelessly lifted the fan, they fell prostrate to the\nearth.\n\n\"Ah!\" said the Scarecrow with a broad wink at Happy. \"This is\ndelightful. You agree with me, I see. Now then, three cheers for\nTappy Oko, Imperial Emperor of the Silver Island.\"\n\nThe cheers were given with a will, and Happy in acknowledgement made\na speech that has since been written into the Royal Book of state as\na masterpiece of eloquence.\n\nHaving arranged affairs so satisfactorily, the Scarecrow embraced\nHappy Toko with deep emotion. Dorothy and Sir Hokus shook hands with\nhim and wished him every success and happiness. Then the little party\nfrom Oz walked deliberately to the bean pole in the center of the\nhall.\n\nThe Silver Islanders were still a bit dazed by the turn affairs had\ntaken and stared in astonishment as the Scarecrow and Sir Hokus\nfastened thick ropes around the Cowardly Lion, the Doubtful Dromedary\nand the Comfortable Camel. Similar ropes they tied around their own\nwaists and Dorothy's, and the ends of all were fastened securely to\nthe handle of the magic parasol, which Dorothy held carefully.\n\n\"Goodbye, everybody!\" called the little girl, suddenly opening the\nparasol.\n\n\"Goodbye!\" cried the genial Scarecrow, waving his hand.\n\nToo stupefied for speech, the assemblage gaped with amazement as the\nparty floated gently upward. Up--up--and out of sight whirled the\nentire party.\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 22\n\nTHE FLIGHT OF THE PARASOL\n\nHolding the handle of the parasol, Dorothy steered it with all the\nskill of an aviator, and in several minutes after their start the\nparty had entered the deep, black passage down which the Scarecrow\nhad fallen. Each one of the adventurers was fastened to the parasol\nwith ropes of different length so that none of them bumped together,\nbut even with all the care in the world it was not possible to keep\nthem from bumping the sides of the tube. The Comfortable Camel\ngrunted plaintively from time to time, and Dorothy could hear the\nDoubtful Dromedary complaining bitterly in the darkness. It was pitch\ndark, but by keeping one hand in touch with the bean pole, Dorothy\nmanaged to hold the parasol in the center.\n\n\"How long will it take?\" she called breathlessly to the Scarecrow,\nwho was dangling just below.\n\n\"Hours!\" wheezed the Scarecrow, holding fast to his hat. \"I hope none\nof the parties on this line hear us,\" he added nervously, thinking of\nthe Middlings.\n\n\"What recks it?\" blustered Sir Hokus. \"Hast forgotten my trusty\nsword?\" But his words were completely drowned in the rattle of his\narmor.\n\n\"Hush!\" warned the Scarecrow, \"Or we'll be pulled in.\" So for almost\nan hour, they flew up the dark, chimney-like tube with only an\noccasional groan as one or another scraped against the rough sides of\nthe passage. Then, before they knew what was happening, the parasol\ncrashed into something, half closed, and the whole party started to\nfall head over heels over helmets.\n\n\"O!\" gasped Dorothy, turning a complete somersault, \"catch hold of\nthe bean pole, somebody!\"\n\n\"Put up the parasol!\" shrieked the Scarecrow. Just then Dorothy,\nfinding herself right side up, grasped the pole herself and snapped\nthe parasol wide open. Up, up, up they soared again, faster than\never!\n\n\"We're flying up much faster than I fell down. We must be at the\ntop!\" called the Scarecrow hoarsely, \"and somebody has closed the\nopening!\"\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 23\n\nSAFE AT LAST IN THE LAND OF OZ\n\n\"Must we keep bumping until we bump through?\" panted Dorothy\nanxiously.\n\n\"No, by my hilts!\" roared Sir Hokus, and setting his foot in a notch\nof the beanstalk, he cut with his sword the rope that bound him to\nthe parasol. \"Put the parasol down half way, and I'll climb ahead and\ncut an opening.\"\n\nWith great difficulty Dorothy partially lowered the parasol, and\ninstantly their speed diminished. Indeed, they barely moved at all,\nand the Knight had soon passed them on his climb to the top.\n\n\"Are you there?\" rumbled the Cowardly Lion anxiously. A great clod of\nearth landed on his head, filling his eyes and mouth with mud.\n\n\"Ugh!\" roared the lion.\n\n\"It's getting light! It's getting light!\" screamed Dorothy, and in\nher excitement snapped the parasol up.\n\nSir Hokus, having cut with his sword a large circular hole in the\nthin crust of earth covering the tube, was about to step out when the\nparasol, hurling up from below, caught him neatly on its top, and out\nburst the whole party and sailed up almost to the clouds!\n\n\"Welcome to Oz!\" cried Dorothy, looking down happily on the dear\nfamiliar Munchkin landscape.\n\n\"Home at last!\" exulted the Scarecrow, wafting a kiss downward.\n\n\"Let's get down to earth before we knock the sun into a cocked hat,\"\ngasped the Cowardly Lion, for Dorothy, in her excitement, had\nforgotten to lower the parasol.\n\nNow the little girl lowered the parasol carefully at first, then\nfaster and faster and finally shut it altogether.\n\nSir Hokus took a high dive from the top. Down tumbled the others,\nover and over. But fortunately for all, there was a great haystack\nbelow, and upon this they landed in a jumbled heap close to the magic\nbean pole. As it happened, there was no one in sight. Up they jumped\nin a trice, and while the Comfortable Camel and Doubtful Dromedary\nmunched contentedly at the hay, Sir Hokus and the Scarecrow placed\nsome loose boards over the opening around the bean pole and covered\nthem with dirt and cornstalks.\n\n\"I will get Ozma to close it properly with the Magic Belt,\" said the\nScarecrow gravely. \"It wouldn't do to have people sliding down my\nfamily tree and scaring poor Tappy. As for me, I shall never leave Oz\nagain!\"\n\n\"I hope not,\" growled the Cowardly Lion, tenderly examining his\nscratched hide.\n\n\"But if you hadn't, I'd never have had such lovely adventures or\nfound Sir Hokus and the Comfortable Camel and Doubtful Dromedary,\"\nsaid Dorothy. \"And what a lot I have to tell Ozma! Let's go straight\nto the Emerald City.\"\n\n\"It's quite a journey,\" explained the Scarecrow to Sir Hokus, who was\ncleaning off his armor with a handful of straw.\n\n\"I go where Lady Dot goes,\" replied the Knight, smiling\naffectionately at the little girl and straightening the ragged hair\nribbon which he still wore on his arm.\n\n\"Don't forget me, dear Karwan Bashi,\" wheezed the Comfortable Camel,\nputting his head on the Knight's shoulder.\n\n\"You're a sentimental dunce, Camy. I doubt whether they'll take us at\nall!\" The Doubtful Dromedary looked wistfully at Dorothy.\n\n\"Go to, now!\" cried Sir Hokus, putting an arm around each neck.\n\"You're just like two of the family!\"\n\n\"It will be very comfortable to go to now,\" sighed the camel.\n\n\"We're all a big, jolly family here,\" said the Scarecrow, smiling\nbrightly, \"and Oz is the friendliest country in the world.\"\n\n\"Right,\" said the Cowardly Lion, \"but let's get started!\" He\nstretched his tired muscles and began limping stiffly toward the\nyellow brick road.\n\n\"Wait,\" cried Dorothy, \"have you forgotten the parasol?\"\n\n\"I wish I could,\" groaned the Cowardly Lion, rolling his eyes.\n\nSir Hokus, with folded arms, was gazing regretfully at the bean pole.\n\"It has been a brave quest,\" he sighed, \"but now, I take it, our\nadventures are over!\" Absently, the Knight felt in his boot-top and\ndrawing out a small red bean popped it into his mouth. Just before\nreaching the top of the tube, he had pulled a handful of them from\nthe beanstalk, but the others had fallen out when he dove into the\nhay.\n\n\"Shall we use the parasol again, Lady Dot?\" he asked, still staring\npensively at the bean pole. \"Shall--?\"\n\nHe got no farther, nor did Dorothy answer his question. Instead, she\ngave a loud scream and clutched the Scarecrow's arm. The Scarecrow,\ntaken by surprise, fell over backward, and the Comfortable Camel,\nraising his head inquiringly, gave a bellow of terror. From the\nKnight's shoulders a green branch had sprung, and while the company\ngazed in round-eyed amazement it stretched toward the bean pole,\nattached itself firmly, and then shot straight up into the air, the\nKnight kicking and struggling on the end. In another second, he was\nout of sight.\n\n\"Come back! Come back!\" screamed the Comfortable Camel, running\naround distractedly.\n\n\"I doubt we'll ever see him again!\" groaned the Doubtful Dromedary,\ncraning his neck upward.\n\n\"Do something! Do something!\" begged Dorothy. At which the Scarecrow\njumped up and dashed toward the little farmhouse.\n\n\"I'll get an ax,\" he called over his shoulder, \"and chop down the\nbean pole.\"\n\n\"No, don't do that!\" roared the Cowardly Lion, starting after him.\n\"Do you want to break him to pieces?\"\n\n\"Oh! Oh! Can't you think of something else?\" cried Dorothy. \"And\nhurry, or he'll be up to the moon!\"\n\nThe Scarecrow put both hands to his head and stared around wildly.\nThen, with a triumphant wave of his hat, declared himself ready to\nact.\n\n\"The parasol!\" cried the late Emperor of Silver Island. \"Quick,\nDorothy, put up the parasol!\"\n\nSnatching the parasol, which lay at the foot of the bean pole,\nDorothy snapped it open, and the Scarecrow just had time to make a\nflying leap and seize the handle before it soared upward, and in a\ntrice they, too, had disappeared.\n\n\"Doubty! Doubty!\" wailed the Comfortable Camel, crowding up to his\nhumpbacked friend, \"we're having a pack of trouble. My knees are all\na-tremble!\"\n\n\"Now don't you worry,\" advised the Cowardly Lion, sitting down\nresignedly. \"I'm frightened myself, but that's because I'm so\ncowardly. Queer things happen in Oz, but they usually turn out all\nright. Why, Hokus is just growing up with the country, that's all,\njust growing up with the country.\"\n\n\"Doubt that,\" sniffed the Doubtful Dromedary faintly. \"He was grown\nup in the beginning.\"\n\n\"But think of the Scarecrow's brains. You leave things to the\nScarecrow.\" But it was no use. Both beasts began to roar dismally.\n\n\"I don't want a plant. I want my Karwan Bashi,\" sobbed the\nComfortable Camel broken-heartedly.\n\n\"Well, don't drown me,\" begged the Cowardly Lion, moving out of the\nway of the camel's tears. \"Say, what's that draft?\"\n\nWhat indeed? In the trees overhead, a very cyclone whistled, and\nbefore the three had even time to catch their breath, they were blown\nhigh into the air and the next instant were hurtling toward the\nEmerald City like three furry cannonballs, faster and faster.\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 24\n\nHOMEWARD BOUND TO THE EMERALD CITY\n\nDorothy and the Scarecrow, clinging fast to the magic parasol, had\nfollowed the Knight almost to the clouds. At first, it looked as if\nthey would never catch up with him, so swiftly was the branch\ngrowing, but it was not long before the little umbrella began to\ngain, and in several minutes more they were beside Sir Hokus himself.\n\n\"Beshrew me, now!\" gasped the Knight, stretching out his hand toward\nDorothy. \"Can'st stop this reckless plant?\"\n\n\"Give me your sword,\" commanded the Scarecrow, \"and I'll cut you\noff.\"\n\nDorothy, with great difficulty, kept the parasol close to the Knight\nwhile the Scarecrow reached for the sword. But Sir Hokus backed away\nin alarm.\n\n\"'Tis part of me, an' you cut it off, I will be cut off, too. 'Tis\nrooted in my back,\" he puffed.\n\n\"What shall we do?\" cried Dorothy in distress. \"Maybe if we take hold\nof his hands we can keep him from going any higher.\"\n\nThe Scarecrow, jamming down his hat so it wouldn't blow off, nodded\napprovingly, and each holding the parasol with one hand gave the\nother to the Knight. And when Dorothy pointed the parasol down, to\nher great delight Sir Hokus came also, the thin green branch growing\njust about as fast as they moved.\n\nJust then the little fan, which had been rolling around merrily in\nDorothy's pocket, slipped out and fell straight down toward the three\nunsuspecting beasts below. Draft! No wonder!\n\nBut Dorothy never missed it, and quite unconscious of such a calamity\nanxiously talked over the Knight's predicament with the Scarecrow.\nThey both decided that the best plan was to fly straight to the\nEmerald City and have Ozma release the Knight from the enchanted\nbeanstalk.\n\n\"I'm sorry you got tangled up in my family tree, old fellow,\" said\nthe Scarecrow after they had flown some time in silence, \"but this\nmakes us relations, doesn't it?\" He winked broadly at the Knight.\n\n\"So it does,\" said Sir Hokus jovially. \"I'm a branch of your family\nnow. Yet methinks I should not have swallowed that bean.\"\n\n\"Bean?\" questioned Dorothy. \"What bean?\" The Knight carefully\nexplained how he had plucked a handful of red beans from the\nbeanstalk just before reaching the top of the tube and how he had\neaten one.\n\n\"So that's what started you growing!\" exclaimed Dorothy in surprise.\n\n\"Alas, yes!\" admitted the Knight. \"I've never felt more grown-up in\nmy life,\" he finished solemnly. \"An adventurous country, this Oz!\"\n\n\"I should say it was,\" chuckled the Scarecrow. \"But isn't it almost\ntime we were reaching the Emerald City, Dorothy?\"\n\n\"I think I'm going in the right direction,\" answered the little girl,\n\"but I'll fly a little lower to be sure.\"\n\n\"Not too fast! Not too fast!\" warned Sir Hokus, looking nervously\nover his shoulder at his long, wriggling stem.\n\n\"There's Ozma's palace!\" cried the Scarecrow all at once.\n\n\"And there's Ozma!\" screamed Dorothy, peering down delightedly. \"And\nScraps and Tik-Tok and everybody!\"\n\nShe pointed the parasol straight down, when a sharp tug from Sir\nHokus jerked them all back. They were going faster than the poor\nKnight was growing, so Dorothy lowered the parasol half way, and\nslowly they floated toward the earth, landing gently in one of the\nflower beds of Ozma's lovely garden.\n\n\"Come along and meet the folks,\" said the Scarecrow as Dorothy closed\nthe parasol. But Sir Hokus clutched him in alarm.\n\n\"Hold! Hold!\" gasped the Knight. \"I've stopped growing, but if you\nleave me I'll shoot up into the air again.\"\n\nThe Scarecrow and Dorothy looked at each other in dismay. Sure\nenough, the Knight had stopped growing, and it was all they could do\nto hold him down to earth, for the stubborn branch of beanstalk was\ntrying to straighten up. They had fallen quite a distance from the\npalace itself, and all the people of Oz had their backs turned, so\nhad not seen their singular arrival.\n\n\"Hello!\" called the Scarecrow loudly. Then \"Help! Help!\" as the\nKnight jerked him twice into the air. But Ozma, Trot, Jack\nPumpkinhead and all the rest were staring upward and talking so\nbusily among themselves that they did not hear either Dorothy's or\nthe Scarecrow's cries. First one, then the other was snatched off his\nfeet, and although Sir Hokus, with tears in his eyes, begged them to\nleave him to his fate, they held on with all their might. Just as it\nlooked as if they all three would fly into the air again, the little\nWizard of Oz happened to turn around.\n\n\"Look! Look!\" he cried, tugging Ozma's sleeve.\n\n\"Why, it's Dorothy!\" gasped Ozma, rubbing her eyes. \"It's Dorothy\nand--\"\n\n\"Help! Help!\" screamed the Scarecrow, waving one arm wildly. Without\nwaiting another second, all the celebrities of Oz came running toward\nthe three adventurers.\n\n\"Somebody heavy come take hold!\" puffed Dorothy, out of breath with\nher efforts to keep Sir Hokus on the ground.\n\nThe Ozites, seeing that help was needed at once, suppressed their\ncuriosity.\n\n\"I'm heavy,\" said Tik-Tok solemnly, clasping the Knight's arm. The\nTin Woodman seized his other hand, and Dorothy sank down exhausted on\nthe grass.\n\nPrincess Ozma pressed forward.\n\n\"What does it all mean? Where did you come from?\" asked the little\nQueen of Oz, staring in amazement at the strange spectacle before\nher.\n\n\"And who is this medieval person?\" asked Professor Wogglebug, pushing\nforward importantly. (He had returned to the palace to collect more\ndata for the Royal Book of Oz.)\n\n\"He doesn't look evil to me,\" giggled Scraps, dancing up to Sir\nHokus, her suspender button eyes snapping with fun.\n\n\"He isn't,\" said Dorothy indignantly, for Sir Hokus was too shaken\nabout to answer. \"He's my Knight Errant.\"\n\n\"Ah, I see,\" replied Professor Wogglebug. \"A case of 'When Knighthood\nwas in flower.'\" And would you believe it--the beanstalk at that\nminute burst into a perfect shower of red blossoms that came tumbling\ndown over everyone. Before they had recovered from their surprise,\nthe branch snapped off close to the Knight's armor, and Tik-Tok, the\nTin Woodman and Sir Hokus rolled over in a heap. The branch itself\nwhistled through the air and disappeared.\n\n\"Oh,\" cried Dorothy, hugging the Knight impulsively, \"I'm so glad.\"\n\n\"Are you all right?\" asked the Scarecrow anxiously.\n\n\"Good as ever!\" announced Sir Hokus, and indeed all traces of the\nmagic stalk had disappeared from his shoulders.\n\n\"Dorothy!\" cried Ozma again. \"What does it all mean?\"\n\n\"Merely that I slid down my family tree and that Dorothy and this\nKnight rescued me,\" said the Scarecrow calmly.\n\n\"And he's a real Royalty--so there!\" cried Dorothy with a wave at the\nScarecrow and making a little face at Professor Wogglebug. \"Meet his\nSupreme Highness, Chang Wang Woe of Silver Island, who had abdicated\nhis throne and returned to be a plain Scarecrow in Oz!\"\n\nThen, as the eminent Educator of Oz stood gaping at the Scarecrow,\n\"Oh, Ozma, I've so much to tell you!\"\n\n\"Begin! Begin!\" cried the little Wizard. \"For everything's mighty\nmysterious. First, the Cowardly Lion and two unknown beasts shoot\nthrough the air and stop just outside the third-story windows, and\nthere they hang although I've tried all my magic to get them down.\nThen you and the Scarecrow drop in with a strange Knight!\"\n\n\"Oh, the poor Cowardly Lion!\" gasped Dorothy as the Wizard finished\nspeaking. \"The magic fan!\" She felt hurriedly in her pocket. \"It's\ngone!\"\n\n\"It must have slipped out of your pocket and blown them here, and\nthey'll never come down till that fan is closed,\" cried the Scarecrow\nin an agitated voice.\n\nAll of this was Greek to Ozma and the others, but when Dorothy begged\nthe little Queen to send for her Magic Belt, she did it without\nquestion. This belt Dorothy had captured from the Gnome King, and it\nenabled the wearer to wish people and objects wherever one wanted\nthem.\n\n\"I wish the magic fan to close and to come safely back to me,\" said\nDorothy as soon as she had clasped the belt around her waist. No\nsooner were the words out before there was a loud crash and a series\nof roars and groans. Everybody started on a run for the palace, Sir\nHokus ahead of all the rest. The fan had mysteriously returned to\nDorothy's pocket.\n\nThe three animals had fallen into a huge cluster of rose bushes and,\nthough badly scratched and frightened, were really unhurt.\n\n\"I doubt that I'll like Oz,\" quavered the Doubtful Dromedary,\nlurching toward Sir Hokus.\n\n\"You might have been more careful of that fan,\" growled the Cowardly\nLion reproachfully, plucking thorns from his hide. The Comfortable\nCamel was so overjoyed to see the Knight that he rested his head on\nSir Hokus's shoulder and began weeping down his armor.\n\nAnd now that their adventures seemed really over, what explanations\nwere to be made! Sitting on the top step of the palace with all of\nthem around her, Dorothy told the whole wonderful story of the\nScarecrow's family tree. When her breath gave out, the Scarecrow took\nup the tale himself, and as they all realized how nearly they had\nlost their jolly comrade, many of the party shed real tears. Indeed,\nNick Chopper hugged the Scarecrow till there was not a whole straw in\nhis body.\n\n\"Never leave us again,\" begged Ozma, and the Scarecrow, crossing Nick\nChopper's heart (he had none of his own), promised that he never\nwould.\n\nAnd what a welcome they gave Sir Hokus, the Doubtful Dromedary and\nthe Comfortable Camel! Only Professor Wogglebug seemed disturbed.\nDuring the strange recital, he had grown quieter and quieter and\nfinally, with an embarrassed cough, had excused himself and hurried\ninto the palace.\n\nHe went directly to the study, and seating himself at a desk opened a\nlarge book, none other than _The Royal Book of Oz_. Dipping an emerald\npen in the ink, he began a new chapter headed thus:\n\n         HIS IMPERIAL MAJESTY, THE SCARECROW\n\n      Late Emperor and Imperial Sovereign of\n                   Silver Island\n\nThen, flipping over several pages to a chapter headed \"Princess\nDorothy!\", he wrote carefully at the end, \"Dorothy, Princess and\nRoyal Discoverer of Oz.\"\n\nMeanwhile, below stairs, the Scarecrow was distributing his gifts.\nThere were silver chains for everyone in the palace and shining\nsilver slippers for Ozma, Betsy Bobbin, Trot and Dorothy, and a\nbottle of silver polish for Nick Chopper.\n\nDorothy presented Ozma with the magic fan and parasol, and they were\nsafely put away by Jellia Jamb with the other magic treasures of Oz.\n\nNext, because they were all curious to see the Scarecrow's wonderful\nKingdom, they hurried upstairs to look in the Magic Picture.\n\n\"Show us the Emperor of Silver Island,\" commanded Ozma. Immediately\nthe beautiful silver throne room appeared. Happy Toko had removed his\nimperial hat and was standing on his head to the great delight of the\nwhole court, and a host of little Silver Islander boys were peeking\nin at the windows.\n\n\"Now doesn't that look cheerful?\" asked the Scarecrow delightedly. \"I\nknew he'd make a good Emperor.\"\n\n\"I wish we would hear what he's saying,\" said Dorothy. \"Oh, do look\nat Chew Chew!\" The Grand Chew Chew was standing beside the throne\nscowling horribly.\n\n\"I think I can arrange for you to hear,\" muttered the Wizard of Oz,\nand taking a queer magic instrument from his pocket, he whispered\n\"Aohbeeobbuy.\"\n\nInstantly they heard the jolly voice of Happy Toko singing:\n\n      Oh shine his shoes of silver,\n      And brush his silver queue,\n      For I am but an Emperor\n      And he's the Grand Chew Chew!\n\nOzma laughed heartily as the picture faded away, and so did the\nothers. Indeed, there was so much to ask and wonder about that it\nseemed as if they never would finish talking.\n\n\"Let's have a party--an old-fashioned Oz party,\" proposed Ozma when\nthe excitement had calmed down a bit. And an old-fashioned party it\nwas, with places for everybody and a special table for the Cowardly\nLion, the Hungry Tiger, Toto, the Glass Cat, the Comfortable Camel,\nthe Doubtful Dromedary and all the other dear creatures of that\namazing Kingdom.\n\nSir Hokus insisted upon stirring up a huge pasty for the occasion,\nand there were songs, speeches and cheers for everyone, not\nforgetting the Doubtful Dromedary.\n\nAt the cheering he rose with an embarrassed jerk of his long neck.\n\"In my left-hand saddle-sack,\" he said gruffly, \"there is a quantity\nof silken shawls and jewels. I doubt whether they are good enough,\nbut I would like Dorothy and Queen Ozma to have them.\"\n\n\"Hear! Hear!\" cried the Scarecrow, pounding on the table with his\nknife. Then everything grew quiet as Ozma told how she, with the help\nof Glinda, the Good Sorceress, had stopped the war between the\nHorners and Hoppers.\n\nWhen she had finished, Sir Hokus sprang up impulsively. \"I prithee,\nlovely Lady, never trouble your royal head about wars again. From now\non, I will do battle for you and little Dorothy and Oz, and _I_ will be\nyour good Knight every day.\" At this, the applause was tremendous.\n\n     Ye good Knight of Oz, full of courage and vim,\n     Will do battle for us, and we'll take care of him!\n\nshouted Scraps, who was becoming more excited every minute.\n\n\"I'll lend you some of my polish for your armor, old fellow,\" said\nNick Chopper as the Knight sat down, beaming with pleasure.\n\n\"Well,\" said Ozma with a smile when everyone had feasted and talked\nto heart's content, \"is everybody happy?\"\n\n\"I am!\" cried the Comfortable Camel. \"For here I am perfectly\ncomfortable.\"\n\n\"I am!\" cried Dorothy, putting her arm around the Scarecrow, who sat\nnext to her. \"For I have found my old friend and made some new ones.\"\n\n\"I'm happy!\" cried the Scarecrow, waving his glass, \"because there is\nno age in Oz, and I am still my old Ozish self.\"\n\n\"As for me,\" said the Knight, \"I am happy, for I have served a Lady,\ngone on a Quest, and _Slain a Dragon! Ozma, and Oz forever!_"