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fairy Princess who ruled Oz, and now each of these girls had a cozy little
apartment in the royal palace. Toto had come with Dorothy, but the rest of the
company were of more or less magic extraction.
The Scarecrow, a stuffed straw person, with a marvelous set of mixed
brains given to him by the Wizard of Oz, was Dorothy's favorite. In fact she
had discovered him herself upon a Munchkin farm, lifted him down from his
bean pole and brought him to the Emerald City. Tik Tok was a wonderful man
made entirely of copper, who could talk, think and act as well as the next
fellow when properly wound. You would have been amazed to hear the giant
story he was ticking off at this very minute. As for Scraps, she had been made
by a magician's wife out of old pieces of patch-work and magically brought to
life. Her bright patches, yarn hair and silver suspender button eyes gave
Scraps so comical an expression that just to look at her tickled one's funny
bone. Her head was full of nonsense rhymes and she was so amusing and
cheerful that Ozma insisted upon her living with the rest of the celebrities in
the Emerald City.
Sir Hokus of Pokes was a comparative newcomer in the capital city of
Oz. Yet the Knight was so old that it would give me lumbago just to try to
count up his birthdays. He dated back to King Arthur, in fact, and had been
wished into the Land of Oz centuries before by an enemy sorcerer. Dorothy
had found and rescued him, with the Cowardly Lion's help, from Pokes, the
dullest Kingdom of Oz. As there were no other Knights in the Emerald City,
Sir Hokus was much stared at and admired. Even the Soldier with the Green
Whiskers, the one and only soldier and entire army of Oz-yes, even the soldier
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with the Green Whiskers saluted Sir Hokus when he passed. Ozma, herself,
felt more secure since the Knight had come to live in the palace. He was well
versed in adventure and always courageous and courteous, withal.
But, while I've been telling you all this, Tik Tok had finished his story of
a three-legged giant who lived in Ev.
"And where is Ev?" puffed Sir Hokus, planting himself before Tik Tok.
"Ev," began Tik Tok in his precise fashion, "is to the north-west of here
on the other side of the im-" There was a whirr and a click and the copper
man stood motionless and soundless, his round eyes fixed solemnly on the
Knight.
"Pass-able desert," finished the Scarecrow, jumping up and kindly
winding all of Tik Tok's keys as if nothing had happened.
"Pass-able desert," continued the Copper Man.
"That's where the old Gnome King used to live," piped Betsy Bobbin,
bouncing up and down upon the sofa, "under the mountains of Ev, and he
threw us down a tube and tried to melt you in a crucible, didn't he, Tok Tok?"
"He was a ve-ry bad per-son," said the Copper Man.
"Ruggedo was a wicked King,
'Tho' now he's good as pie,
But none the less,
I must confess,
He has a wicked eye!"
burst out Scraps, who was tired of sitting still listening to giant Stories.
But Sir Hokus could not be got off the subject of giants. "To Ev!"
thundered the Knight, raising his sword. "To-morrow I'm off to Ev to conquer
this terrible monster. Large as a mountain, you say, Tik Tok? Well, what care
I for mountains? I, Sir Hokus of Pokes, will slay him!"
"Hurrah for the giant killer!" giggled Scraps, turning a somersault and
nearly falling in the fire.
"Let's go to bed!" said Dorothy uneasily. She had for the last few
minutes been hearing strange rumbles. Of course it could not be giants; still
the conversation, she concluded, had better be finished by sunlight.
But it never was, for at that moment there was a deafening crash. The
lights went out; the whole castle shivered; furniture fell every which way.
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Down clattered Sir Hokus, falling with a terrible clangor on top of the Copper
Man. Down rolled the little girls and the Scarecrow and Scraps. Down
tumbled every-body.
"Cyclone!" gasped Dorothy, who had experienced several in Kansas.
"Giants!" stuttered Betsy Bobbin, clutching Trot.
The Wizard of Oz tried to reassure the agitated company. He told them
there was no cause for alarm, and that they would soon find out what was the
trouble. The soothing words of the Wizard were scarcely heard.
What the others said was lost in the noise that followed. Thumps-
bangs-rashes-screams came from every room in the rocking palace.
"We're flying! The whole castle's flying up in the air!" screamed
Dorothy. Then she subsided, as an emerald clock and three pictures came
thumping down on her head.
What had happened? No one could say. Dorothy, Betsy Bobbin and Trot
had fainted dead away. The Scarecrow and Sir Hokus were tangled up on the
floor, clasped in each other's arms.
The confusion was terrific. Only the Wizard was still calm and smiling.
CHAPTER 8
Woe in the Emerald City
The Soldier with the Green Whiskers finished his breakfast slowly,
combed his beard, pinned on all of his medals and solemnly issued forth from
his little house at the garden gates.
"Forward march!" snapped the soldier. He had to give himself orders,
being the only man, general or private in the army. And forward march he
did. It was his custom to report to Ozma every morning to receive his orders
for the day. When he had gone through the little patch of trees that separated
his cottage from the palace, the Soldier with the Green Whiskers gave a great
leap.
"Halt! Break ranks!" roared the Grand Army of Oz, clutching his beard [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]