The Scarecrow of Oz ...........................................................................................................................................1

L. Frank Baum.........................................................................................................................................1

Chapter One. The Great Whirlpool ..........................................................................................................2

Chapter Two. The Cavern Under the Sea................................................................................................5

Chapter Three. The Ork...........................................................................................................................8

Chapter Four. Daylight at Last ...............................................................................................................15

Chapter Five. The Little Old Man of the Island .....................................................................................18

Chapter Six. The Flight of the Midgets.................................................................................................24

Chapter Seven. The Bumpy Man ...........................................................................................................27

Chapter Eight. ButtonBright is Lost and Found Again.......................................................................31

Chapter Nine. The Kingdom of Jinxland ...............................................................................................37

Chapter Ten. Pon, the Gardener's Boy ...................................................................................................40

Chapter Eleven. The Wicked King and GooglyGoo...........................................................................42

Chapter Twelve. The WoodenLegged GrassHopper........................................................................46

Chapter Thirteen. Glinda the Good and the Scarecrow of Oz...............................................................51

Chapter Fourteen. The Frozen Heart.....................................................................................................53

Chapter Fifteen. Trot Meets the Scarecrow...........................................................................................58

Chapter Sixteen. Pon Summons the King to Surrender .........................................................................60

Chapter Seventeen. The Ork Rescues ButtonBright...........................................................................63

Chapter Eighteen. The Scarecrow Meets an Enemy ..............................................................................65

Chapter Nineteen. The Conquest of the Witch......................................................................................68

Chapter Twenty. Queen Gloria ..............................................................................................................70

Chapter TwentyOne. Dorothy, Betsy and Ozma .................................................................................75

Chapter TwentyTwo. The Waterfall ....................................................................................................77

Chapter Twenty Three. The Land of Oz ................................................................................................79

Chapter TwentyFour. The Royal Reception ........................................................................................80

"Seems to me," said Cap'n Bill, as he sat beside Trot under the big acacia tree, looking out over the blue

ocean, "seems to me, Trot, as how the more we know, the more we find we don't know."

"I can't quite make that out, Cap'n Bill," answered the little girl in a serious voice, after a moment's thought,

during which her eyes followed those of the old sailorman across the glassy surface of the sea. "Seems to

"I know; it looks that way at first sight," said the sailor, nodding his head; "but those as knows the least have

a habit of thinkin' they know all there is to know, while them as knows the most admits what a turr'ble big

world this is. It's the knowing ones that realize one lifetime ain't long enough to git more'n a few dips o' the

Trot didn't answer. She was a very little girl, with big, solemn eyes and an earnest, simple manner. Cap'n Bill

had been her faithful companion for years and had taught her almost everything she knew.

He was a wonderful man, this Cap'n Bill. Not so very old, although his hair was grizzled what there was

of it. Most of his head was bald as an egg and as shiny as oilcloth, and this made his big ears stick out in a

funny way. His eyes had a gentle look and were pale blue in color, and his round face was rugged and

bronzed. Cap'n Bill's left leg was missing, from the knee down, and that was why the sailor no longer sailed

the seas. The wooden leg he wore was good enough to stump around with on land, or even to take Trot out

for a row or a sail on the ocean, but when it came to "runnin' up aloft" or performing active duties on

shipboard, the old sailor was not equal to the task. The loss of his leg had ruined his career and the old sailor

found comfort in devoting himself to the education and companionship of the little girl.

The accident to Cap'n Bill's leg bad happened at about the time Trot was born, and ever since that he had

lived with Trot's mother as "a star boarder," having enough money saved up to pay for his weekly "keep." He

loved the baby and often held her on his lap; her first ride was on Cap'n Bill's shoulders, for she had no

babycarriage; and when she began to toddle around, the child and the sailor became close comrades and

enjoyed many strange adventures together. It is said the fairies had been present at Trot's birth and had

marked her forehead with their invisible mystic signs, so that she was able to see and do many wonderful

The acacia tree was on top of a high bluff, but a path ran down the bank in a zigzag way to the water's edge,

where Cap'n Bill's boat was moored to a rock by means of a stout cable. It had been a hot, sultry afternoon,

with scarcely a breath of air stirring, so Cap'n Bill and Trot had been quietly sitting beneath the shade of the

They had decided to visit one of the great caves which the waves had washed out of the rocky coast during

many years of steady effort. The caves were a source of continual delight to both the girl and the sailor, who

The old man cast a shrewd glance at the sky, the sea and the motionless boat. Then he shook his head.

"Mebbe it's time, Trot," he answered, "but I don't jes' like the looks o' things this afternoon."

"Can't say as to that. Things is too quiet to suit me, that's all. No breeze, not a ripple atop the water, nary a

gull aflyin' anywhere, an' the end o' the hottest day o' the year. I ain't no weatherprophet, Trot, but any

"If there was a cloud in the sky even as big as my thumb, we might worry about it; but look, Cap'n! the

"P'r'aps we can make the cave, all right," he agreed, not wishing to disappoint her. "It's only a little way out,

Together they descended the winding path to the beach. It was no trouble for the girl to keep her footing on

the steep way, but Cap'n Bill, because of his wooden leg, had to hold on to rocks and roots now and then to

save himself from tumbling. On a level path he was as spry as anyone, but to climb up hill or down required

They reached the boat safely and while Trot was untying the rope Cap'n Bill reached into a crevice of the

rock and drew out several tallow candles and a box of wax matches, which he thrust into the capacious

pockets of his "sou'wester." This sou'wester was a short coat of oilskin which the old sailor wore on all

occasions when he wore a coat at all and the pockets always contained a variety of objects, useful and

ornamental, which made even Trot wonder where they all came from and why Cap'n Bill should treasure

them. The jackknives a big one and a little one the bits of cord, the fishhooks, the nails: these were

handy to have on certain occasions. But bits of shell, and tin boxes with unknown contents, buttons, pincers,

bottles of curious stones and the like, seemed quite unnecessary to carry around. That was Cap'n Bill's

business, however, and now that he added the candles and the matches to his collection Trot made no

comment, for she knew these last were to light their way through the caves. The sailor always rowed the boat,

for he handled the oars with strength and skill. Trot sat in the stern and steered. The place where they

embarked was a little bight or circular bay, and the boat cut across a much larger bay toward a distant

headland where the caves were located, right at the water's edge. They were nearly a mile from shore and

about halfway across the bay when Trot suddenly sat up straight and exclaimed: "What's that, Cap'n?"

"A whirl in the air makes the whirl in the water. I was afraid as we'd meet with trouble, Trot. Things didn't

"'Tain't comin' closer to us, Trot," he gasped; "it's we that are comin' closer to the whirlpool. The thing is

Trot's sunbronzed face was a little paler as she grasped the tiller firmly and tried to steer the boat away; but

The swirl of the water as they came nearer made a roaring sound that was fearful to listen to. So fierce and

powerful was the whirlpool that it drew the surface of the sea into the form of a great basin, slanting

downward toward the center, where a big hole had been made in the ocean a hole with walls of water that

The boat in which Trot and Cap'n Bill were riding was just on the outer edge of this saucerlike slant, and the

old sailor knew very well that unless he could quickly force the little craft away from the rushing current they

would soon be drawn into the great black hole that yawned in the middle. So he exerted all his might and

pulled as he had never pulled before. He pulled so hard that the left oar snapped in two and sent Cap'n Bill

He scrambled up quickly enough and glanced over the side. Then he looked at Trot, who sat quite still, with a

serious, faraway look in her sweet eyes. The boat was now speeding swiftly of its own accord, following the

line of the circular basin round and round and gradually drawing nearer to the great hole in the center. Any

further effort to escape the whirlpool was useless, and realizing this fact Cap'n Bill turned toward Trot and

put an arm around her, as if to shield her from the awful fate before them. He did not try to speak, because the

These two faithful comrades had faced dangers before, but nothing to equal that which now faced them. Yet

Cap'n Bill, noting the look in Trot's eyes and remembering how often she had been protected by unseen

The great hole in the dark water now growing nearer and nearer looked very terrifying; but they were

The circles were so much smaller at the bottom of the basin, and the boat moved so much more swiftly, that

Trot was beginning to get dizzy with the motion, when suddenly the boat made a leap and dived headlong

into the murky depths of the hole. Whirling like tops, but still clinging together, the sailor and the girl were

separated from their boat and plunged down down down into the farthermost recesses of the great

At first their fall was swift as an arrow, but presently they seemed to be going more moderately and Trot was

almost sure that unseen arms were about her, supporting her and protecting her. She could see nothing,

because the water filled her eyes and blurred her vision, but she clung fast to Cap'n Bill's sou'wester, while

other arms clung fast to her, and so they gradually sank down and down until a full stop was made, when they

But it seemed to Trot that they were not rising straight to the surface from where they had come. The water

was no longer whirling them and they seemed to be drawn in a slanting direction through still, cool ocean

depths. And then in much quicker time than I have told it up they popped to the surface and were cast

at full length upon a sandy beach, where they lay choking and gasping for breath and wondering what had

Trot was the first to recover. Disengaging herself from Cap'n Bill's wet embrace and sitting up, she rubbed

the water from her eyes and then looked around her. A soft, bluishgreen glow lighted the place, which

seemed to be a sort of cavern, for above and on either side of her were rugged rocks. They had been cast upon

a beach of clear sand, which slanted upward from the pool of water at their feet a pool which doubtless led

into the big ocean that fed it. Above the reach of the waves of the pool were more rocks, and still more and

more, into the dim windings and recesses of which the glowing light from the water did not penetrate.

The place looked grim and lonely, but Trot was thankful that she was still alive and had suffered no severe

injury during her trying adventure under water. At her side Cap'n Bill was sputtering and coughing, trying to

get rid of the water he had swallowed. Both of them were soaked through, yet the cavern was warm and

She crawled up the slant of sand and gathered in her hand a bunch of dried seaweed, with which she mopped

the face of Cap'n Bill and cleared the water from his eyes and ears. Presently the old man sat up and stared at

her intently. Then he nodded his bald head three times and said in a gurgling voice:

"Mighty good, Trot; mighty good! We didn't reach Davy Jones's locker that time, did we? Though why we

"Take it easy, Cap'n," she replied. "We're safe enough, I guess, at least for the time being."

He squeezed the water out of the bottoms of his loose trousers and felt of his wooden leg and arms and head,

and finding he had brought all of his person with him he gathered courage to examine closely their

He shook his head. "No," said he, "I don't think that, at all. The distance we came up didn't seem half as far as

the distance we went down; an' you'll notice there ain't any outside entrance to this cavern whatever. It's a

reg'lar dome over this pool o' water, and unless there's some passage at the back, up yonder, we're fast

"When we're rested," she said, "we will crawl up there and see if there's a way to get out."

Cap'n Bill reached in the pocket of his oilskin coat and took out his pipe. It was still dry, for he kept it in an

oilskin pouch with his tobacco. His matches were in a tight tin box, so in a few moments the old sailor was

smoking contentedly. Trot knew it helped him to think when he was in any difficulty. Also, the pipe did

much to restore the old sailor's composure, after his long ducking and his terrible fright a fright that was

The sand was dry where they sat, and soaked up the water that dripped from their clothing. When Trot had

squeezed the wet out of her hair she began to feel much like her old self again. By and by they got upon their

feet and crept up the incline to the scattered boulders above. Some of these were of huge size, but by passing

between some and around others, they were able to reach the extreme rear of the cavern.

Just the same," answered the girl, "we ought to explore it, and see where it goes, 'cause it's the only poss'ble

"It may be a way out o' here, Trot," he said, "but it may be a way into a far worse place than this. I'm not sure

Trot wasn't sure, either, when she thought of it in that light. After awhile she made her way back to the sands

again, and Cap'n Bill followed her. As they sat down, the child looked thoughtfully at the sailor's bulging

"Half a dozen ship's biscuits an' a hunk o' cheese," he replied. "Want some now, Trot?"

"Longer'n that, Trot," said Cap'n Bill, but his voice was a little troubled and unsteady.

"But if we stay here we're bound to starve in time," continued the girl, "while if we go into the dark hole "

"Some things are more hard to face than starvation," said the sailorman, gravely. "We don't know what's

Instead of replying, Cap'n Bill began searching in his pockets. He soon drew out a little package of fish

hooks and a long line. Trot watched him join them together. Then he crept a little way up the slope and turned

over a big rock. Two or three small crabs began scurrying away over the sands and the old sailor caught them

and put one on his hook and the others in his pocket. Coming back to the pool he swung the hook over his

shoulder and circled it around his head and cast it nearly into the center of the water, where he allowed it to

sink gradually, paying out the line as far as it would go. When the end was reached, he began drawing it in

Trot watched him cast the line a second time, and a third. She decided that either there were no fishes in the

pool or they would not bite the crab bait. But Cap'n Bill was an old fisherman and not easily discouraged.

When the crab got away he put another on the hook. When the crabs were all gone he climbed up the rocks

Meantime Trot tired of watching him and lay down upon the sands, where she fell fast asleep. During the

next two hours her clothing dried completely, as did that of the old sailor. They were both so used to salt

Finally the little girl was wakened by a splash beside her and a grunt of satisfaction from Cap'n Bill. She

opened her eyes to find that the Cap'n had landed a silverscaled fish weighing about two pounds. This

cheered her considerably and she hurried to scrape together a heap of seaweed, while Cap'n Bill cut up the

They had cooked fish with seaweed before. Cap'n Bill wrapped his fish in some of the weed and dipped it in

the water to dampen it. Then he lighted a match and set fire to Trot's heap, which speedily burned down to a

glowing bed of ashes. Then they laid the wrapped fish on the ashes, covered it with more seaweed, and

allowed this to catch fire and burn to embers. After feeding the fire with seaweed for some time, the sailor

finally decided that their supper was ready, so he scattered the ashes and drew out the bits of fish, still

When these wrappings were removed, the fish was found thoroughly cooked and both Trot and Cap'n Bill ate

of it freely. It had a slight flavor of seaweed and would have been better with a sprinkling of salt.

The soft glow which until now had lighted the cavern, began to grow dim, but there was a great quantity of

seaweed in the place, so after they had eaten their fish they kept the fire alive for a time by giving it a handful

From an inner pocket the sailor drew a small flask of battered metal and unscrewing the cap handed it to Trot.

She took but one swallow of the water although she wanted more, and she noticed that Cap'n Bill merely wet

"S'pose," said she, staring at the glowing seaweed fire and speaking slowly, "that we can catch all the fish we

He moved uneasily but did not reply. Both of them were thinking about the dark hole, but while Trot had

little fear of it the old man could not overcome his dislike to enter the place. He knew that Trot was right,

though. To remain in the cavern, where they now were, could only result in slow but sure death.

It was nighttime up on the earth's surface, so the little girl became drowsy and soon fell asleep. After a time

the old sailor slumbered on the sands beside her. It was very still and nothing disturbed them for hours. When

They had divided one of the biscuits and were munching it for breakfast when they were startled by a sudden

splash in the pool. Looking toward it they saw emerging from the water the most curious creature either of

them had ever beheld. It wasn't a fish, Trot decided, nor was it a beast. It had wings, though, and queer wings

they were: shaped like an inverted choppingbowl and covered with tough skin instead of feathers. It had

four legs much like the legs of a stork, only double the number and its head was shaped a good deal

like that of a poll parrot, with a beak that curved downward in front and upward at the edges, and was half

bill and half mouth. But to call it a bird was out of the question, because it had no feathers whatever except a

crest of wavy plumes of a scarlet color on the very top of its head. The strange creature must have weighed as

much as Cap'n Bill, and as it floundered and struggled to get out of the water to the sandy beach it was so big

and unusual that both Trot and her companion stared at it in wonder in wonder that was not unmixed with

The eyes that regarded them, as the creature stood dripping before them, were bright and mild in expression,

and the queer addition to their party made no attempt to attack them and seemed quite as surprised by the

"Who, me?" exclaimed the creature in a shrill, high pitched voice. "Why, I'm an Ork."

"I am," he repeated, a little proudly, as he shook the water from his funny wings; "and if ever an Ork was glad

to be out of the water and on dry land again, you can be mighty sure that I'm that especial, individual Ork!"

"Have you been in the water long?" inquired Cap'n Bill, thinking it only polite to show an interest in the

"why, this last ducking was about ten minutes, I believe, and that's about nine minutes and sixty seconds too

long for comfort," was the reply. "But last night I was in an awful pickle, I assure you. The whirlpool caught

"I believe I was mentioning the fact, young lady, when your desire to talk interrupted me," said the Ork. "I

am not usually careless in my actions, but that whirlpool was so busy yesterday that I thought I'd see what

mischief it was up to. So I flew a little too near it and the suction of the air drew me down into the depths of

the ocean. Water and I are natural enemies, and it would have conquered me this time had not a bevy of

pretty mermaids come to my assistance and dragged me away from the whirling water and far up into a

"Why, that's about the same thing that happened to us," cried Trot. "Was your cavern like this one?"

"I haven't examined this one yet," answered the Ork; "but if they happen to be alike I shudder at our fate, for

the other one was a prison, with no outlet except by means of the water. I stayed there all night, however, and

this morning I plunged into the pool, as far down as I could go, and then swam as hard and as far as I could.

The rocks scraped my back, now and then, and I barely escaped the clutches of an ugly sea monster; but by

and by I came to the surface to catch my breath, and found myself here. That's the whole story, and as I see

you have something to eat I entreat you to give me a share of it. The truth is, I'm half starved."

With these words the Ork squatted down beside them. Very reluctantly Cap'n Bill drew another biscuit from

his pocket and held it out. The Ork promptly seized it in one of its front claws and began to nibble the biscuit

"We haven't much grub," said the sailorman, "but we're willin' to share it with a comrade in distress."

"That's right," returned the Ork, cocking its head sidewise in a cheerful manner, and then for a few minutes

"We are rather few and exclusive, I believe," was the reply. "In the country where I was born we are the

"I don't know, exactly. You see, I have a restless nature, for some reason, while all the rest of my race are

quiet and contented Orks and seldom stray far from home. From childhood days I loved to fly long distances

away, although father often warned me that I would get into trouble by so doing.

"'It's a big world, Flipper, my son,' he would say, 'and I've heard that in parts of it live queer two legged

creatures called Men, who war upon all other living things and would have little respect for even an Ork.'

"This naturally aroused my curiosity and after I had completed my education and left school I decided to fly

out into the world and try to get a glimpse of the creatures called Men. So I left home without saying

goodbye, an act I shall always regret. Adventures were many, I found. I sighted men several times, but have

never before been so close to them as now. Also I had to fight my way through the air, for I met gigantic

birds, with fluffy feathers all over them, which attacked me fiercely. Besides, it kept me busy escaping from

floating airships. In my rambling I had lost all track of distance or direction, so that when I wanted to go

home I had no idea where my country was located. I've now been trying to find it for several months and it

was during one of my flights over the ocean that I met the whirlpool and became its victim."

Trot and Cap'n Bill listened to this recital with much interest, and from the friendly tone and harmless

appearance of the Ork they judged he was not likely to prove so disagreeable a companion as at first they had

The Ork sat upon its haunches much as a cat does, but used the fingerlike claws of its front legs almost as

cleverly as if they were hands. Perhaps the most curious thing about the creature was its tail, or what ought to

have been its tail. This queer arrangement of skin, bones and muscle was shaped like the propellers used on

boats and airships, having fanlike surfaces and being pivoted to its body. Cap'n Bill knew something of

"Well, they are not very big," admitted the Ork, waving the four hollow skins gently to and fro, "but they

serve to support my body in the air while I speed along by means of my tail. Still, taken altogether, I'm very

Trot did not like to reply, but Cap'n Bill nodded gravely. "For an Ork," said he, "you're a wonder. I've never

That seemed to please the creature and it began walking around the cavern, making its way easily up the

slope. while it was gone, Trot and Cap'n Bill each took another sip from the waterflask, to wash down their

"Well, then, let's be off," continued the Ork, after sticking its head into the black hole and sniffing once or

twice. "The air seems fresh and sweet, and it can't lead us to any worse place than this."

"We'd about decided to explore this hole before you came," explained Cap'n Bill; "but it's a dangerous place

The old sailor drew one of the candles from his rightside pocket and the tin matchbox from his left side

pocket. When he lighted the match the Ork gave a startled jump and eyed the flame suspiciously; but Cap'n

"Light," it said, somewhat nervously, "is valuable in a hole of this sort. The candle is not dangerous, I hope?"

"Sometimes it burns your fingers," answered Trot, "but that's about the worst it can do 'cept to blow out

Cap'n Bill shielded the flame with his hand and crept into the hole. It wasn't any too big for a grown man, but

after he had crawled a few feet it grew larger. Trot came close behind him and then the Ork followed.

"Seems like a reg'lar tunnel," muttered the sailor man, who was creeping along awkwardly because of his

For nearly half an hour the three moved slowly along the tunnel, which made many twists and turns and

sometimes slanted downward and sometimes upward. Finally Cap'n Bill stopped short, with an exclamation

"What's wrong?" demanded Trot, who could see nothing because the sailor's form completely filled the hole.

"No; it's wuss nor that," replied Cap'n Bill sadly. "I'm on the edge of a precipice. Wait a minute an' I'll move

Then he crept forward a little and moved to one side, holding the candle so that the girl could see to follow

him. The Ork came next and now all three knelt on a narrow ledge of rock which dropped straight away and

left a huge black space which the tiny flame of the candle could not illuminate.

"Hm!" said the Ork, peering over the edge; "this doesn't look very promising, I'll admit. But let me take

"Certainly I'm afraid," responded the Ork. "But if we intend to escape we can't stay on this shelf forever. So,

as I notice you poor creatures cannot fly, it is my duty to explore the place for you."

Cap'n Bill handed the Ork the candle, which had now burned to about half its length. The Ork took it in one

claw rather cautiously and then tipped its body forward and slipped over the edge. They heard a queer

buzzing sound, as the tail revolved, and a brisk flapping of the peculiar wings, but they were more interested

just then in following with their eyes the tiny speck of light which marked the location of the candle. This

light first made a great circle, then dropped slowly downward and suddenly was extinguished, leaving

So Cap'n Bill got out another candle and lighted it, and its flame enabled the Ork to fly back to them. It

With this the Ork started out again and this time sank downward more slowly. Down, down, down it went,

till the candle was a mere spark, and then it headed away to the left and Trot and Cap'n Bill lost all sight of it.

In a few minutes, however, they saw the spark of light again, and as the sailor still held the second lighted

candle the Ork made straight toward them. It was only a few yards distant when suddenly it dropped the

candle with a cry of pain and next moment alighted, fluttering wildly, upon the rocky ledge.

It bit me!" wailed the Ork. "I don't like your candles. The thing began to disappear slowly as soon as I took it

in my claw, and it grew smaller and smaller until just now it turned and bit me a most unfriendly thing to

"That's the nature of candles, I'm sorry to say," explained Cap'n Bill, with a grin. "You have to handle 'em

"I found a way to continue our journey," said the Ork, nursing tenderly the claw which had been burned. "Just

below us is a great lake of black water, which looked so cold and wicked that it made me shudder; but away

at the left there's a big tunnel, which we can easily walk through. I don't know where it leads to, of course, but

we must follow it and find out." "why, we can't get to it," protested the little girl. "We can't fly, as you do,

"No, that's true," replied the Ork musingly. "Your bodies are built very poorly, it seems to me, since all you

can do is crawl upon the earth's surface. But you may ride upon my back, and in that way I can promise you a

"Yes, indeed; I'm strong enough to carry a dozen of you, if you could find a place to sit," was the reply; "but

there's only room between my wings for one at a time, so I'll have to make two trips."

He lit another candle for Trot to hold while they were gone and to light the Ork on his return to her, and then

the old sailor got upon the Ork's back, where he sat with his wooden leg sticking straight out sidewise.

"Start the buzztail," said Cap'n Bill, with a tremble in his voice. But the Ork flew away so gently that the old

man never even tottered in his seat. Trot watched the light of Cap'n Bill's candle till it disappeared in the far

distance. She didn't like to be left alone on this dangerous ledge, with a lake of black water hundreds of feet

below her; but she was a brave little girl and waited patiently for the return of the Ork. It came even sooner

"Your friend is safe in the tunnel. Now, then, get aboard and I'll carry you to him in a jiffy."

I'm sure not many little girls would have cared to take that awful ride through the huge black cavern on the

back of a skinny Ork. Trot didn't care for it, herself, but it just had to be done and so she did it as

courageously as possible. Her heart beat fast and she was so nervous she could scarcely hold the candle in her

It seemed like a long ride to her, yet in reality the Ork covered the distance in a wonderfully brief period of

time and soon Trot stood safely beside Cap'n Bill on the level floor of a big arched tunnel. The sailorman

was very glad to greet his little comrade again and both were grateful to the Ork for his assistance.

"I dunno where this tunnel leads to," remarked Cap'n Bill, "but it surely looks more promisin' than that other

"Rested!" cried the Ork, as scornfully as his shrill voice would allow. "That bit of flying didn't tire me at all.

"Then let's move on," proposed Cap'n Bill. He still held in his hand one lighted candle, so Trot blew out the

other flame and placed her candle in the sailor's big pocket. She knew it was not wise to burn two candles at

The tunnel was straight and smooth and very easy to walk through, so they made good progress. Trot thought

that the tunnel began about two miles from the cavern where they had been cast by the whirlpool, but now it

was impossible to guess the miles traveled, for they walked steadily for hours and hours without any change

"There's somethin' queer about this 'ere tunnel, I'm certain," he declared, wagging his head dolefully. "Here's

three candles gone a'ready, an' only three more left us, yet the tunnel's the same as it was when we started.

"It does right now," was the reply, "but we can't tell when we are likely to come to another gulf, or somethin'

"Suppose I go ahead?" suggested the Ork. "I don't fear a fall, you know, and if anything happens I'll call out

"That's a good idea," declared Trot, and Cap'n Bill thought so, too. So the Ork started off ahead, quite in the

When they had walked in this way for a good long time the Ork halted and demanded food. Cap'n Bill had

not mentioned food because there was so little left only three biscuits and a lump of cheese about as big as

his two fingers but he gave the Ork half of a biscuit, sighing as he did so. The creature didn't care for the

cheese, so the sailor divided it between himself and Trot. They lighted a candle and sat down in the tunnel

"My feet hurt me," grumbled the Ork. "I'm not used to walking and this rocky passage is so uneven and

After the meal they resumed their journey, which Trot began to fear would never end. When Cap'n Bill

noticed how tired the little girl was, he paused and lighted a match and looked at his big silver watch.

"Why, it's night!" he exclaimed. "We've tramped all day, an' still we're in this awful passage, which mebbe

goes straight through the middle of the world, an' mebbe is a circle in which case we can keep walkin' till

doomsday. Not knowin' what's before us so well as we know what's behind us, I propose we make a stop,

"That will suit me," asserted the Ork, with a groan. "My feet are hurting me dreadfully and for the last few

"My foot hurts, too," said the sailor, looking for a smooth place on the rocky floor to sit down.

"Your foot!" cried the Ork. "why, you've only one to hurt you, while I have four. So I suffer four times as

much as you possibly can. Here; hold the candle while I look at the bottoms of my claws. I declare," he said,

examining them by the flickering light, "there are bunches of pain all over them!"

"P'r'aps," said Trot, who was very glad to sit down beside her companions, "you've got corns."

"Corns? Nonsense! Orks never have corns," protested the creature, rubbing its sore feet tenderly.

"Then mebbe they're they're What do you call 'em, Cap'n Bill? Something 'bout the Pilgrim's Progress,

"It is possible," moaned the Ork. "But whatever they are, another day of such walking on them would drive

"I'm sure they'll feel better by mornin'," said Cap'n Bill, encouragingly. "Go to sleep an' try to forget your

The Ork cast a reproachful look at the sailorman, who didn't see it. Then the creature asked plaintively: "Do

"There's only half a biscuit left for you," answered Cap'n Bill. "No one knows how long we'll have to stay in

this dark tunnel, where there's nothing whatever to eat; so I advise you to save that morsel o' food till later."

"Give it me now!" demanded the Ork. "If I'm going to starve, I'll do it all at once not by degrees."

Cap'n Bill produced the biscuit and the creature ate it in a trice. Trot was rather hungry and whispered to

Cap'n Bill that she'd take part of her share; but the old man secretly broke his own halfbiscuit in two, saving

He was beginning to be worried over the little girl's plight and long after she was asleep and the Ork was

snoring in a rather disagreeable manner, Cap'n Bill sat with his back to a rock and smoked his pipe and tried

to think of some way to escape from this seemingly endless tunnel. But after a time he also slept, for hobbling

on a wooden leg all day was tiresome, and there in the dark slumbered the three adventurers for many hours,

"Nine o'clock. Yes, I guess it's another day, sure enough. Shall we go on?" he asked.

"Of course," replied the Ork. "Unless this tunnel is different from everything else in the world, and has no

The sailor gently wakened Trot. She felt much rested by her long sleep and sprang to her feet eagerly.

They resumed the journey and had only taken a few steps when the Ork cried "Wow!" and made a great

fluttering of its wings and whirling of its tail. The others, who were following a short distance behind,

"Give us a light," was the reply. "I think we've come to the end of the tunnel." Then, while Cap'n Bill lighted

a candle, the creature added: "If that is true, we needn't have wakened so soon, for we were almost at the end

The sailorman and Trot came forward with a light. A wall of rock really faced the tunnel, but now they saw

that the opening made a sharp turn to the left. So they followed on, by a narrower passage, and then made

"Blow out the light, Cap'n," said the Ork, in a pleased voice. "We've struck daylight."

Daylight at last! A shaft of mellow light fell almost at their feet as Trot and the sailor turned the corner of the

passage, but it came from above, and raising their eyes they found they were at the bottom of a deep, rocky

For a while they gazed in silence, at least two of them being filled with dismay at the sight. But the Ork

"That was the toughest journey I ever had the misfortune to undertake, and I'm glad it's over. Yet, unless I can

"Do you think there is room enough for you to fly in?" asked the little girl anxiously; and Cap'n Bill added:

"Were I an ordinary bird one of those horrid feathered things I wouldn't even make the attempt to fly

out," said the Ork. "But my mechanical propeller tail can accomplish wonders, and whenever you're ready I'll

"I thought," said Cap'n Bill, "as you'd go first, an' then send somebody to help us by lettin' down a rope."

"Ropes are dangerous," replied the Ork, "and I might not be able to find one to reach all this distance.

Besides, it stands to reason that if I can get out myself I can also carry you two with me."

"Well, I'm not afraid," said Trot, who longed to be on the earth's surface again.

"Why, in that case we would all fall together," returned the Ork. "Get aboard, little girl; sit across my

"Why, I think you'd best grab hold of my rear legs and let me carry you up in that manner," was the reply.

Cap'n Bill looked way up at the top of the well, and then he looked at the Ork's slender, skinny legs and

"It's goin' to be some dangle, I guess; but if you don't waste too much time on the way up, I may be able to

"All ready, then!" cried the Ork, and at once his whirling tail began to revolve. Trot felt herself rising into the

air; when the creature's legs left the ground Cap'n Bill grasped two of them firmly and held on for dear life.

The Ork's body was tipped straight upward, and Trot had to embrace the neck very tightly to keep from

sliding off. Even in this position the Ork had trouble in escaping the rough sides of the well. Several times it

exclaimed "Wow!" as it bumped its back, or a wing hit against some jagged projection; but the tail kept

whirling with remarkable swiftness and the daylight grew brighter and brighter. It was, indeed, a long journey

from the bottom to the top, yet almost before Trot realized they had come so far, they popped out of the hole

into the clear air and sunshine and a moment later the Ork alighted gently upon the ground.

The release was so sudden that even with the creature's care for its passengers Cap'n Bill struck the earth with

a shock that sent him rolling heel over head; but by the time Trot had slid down from her seat the old

"I wonder where on earth we are?" pondered the Ork, turning first one bright eye and then the other to this

side and that. Trees there were, in plenty, and shrubs and flowers and green turf. But there were no houses;

"Just before I settled down on the ground I thought I caught a view of the ocean," said the Ork. "Let's see if I

was right." Then he flew to a little hill, near by, and Trot and Cap'n Bill followed him more slowly. When

they stood on the top of the hill they could see the blue waves of the ocean in front of them, to the right of

them, and at the left of them. Behind the hill was a forest that shut out the view.

"But, 'even so, it's better than those terr'ble underground tunnels and caverns," declared the girl.

"You are right, little one," agreed the Ork. "Anything above ground is better than the best that lies under

"We are, indeed!" she replied. "But I wonder if we can find something to eat in this place?"

"Let's explore an' find out," proposed Cap'n Bill. "Those trees over at the left look like cherrytrees."

On the way to them the explorers had to walk through a tangle of vines and Cap'n Bill, who went first,

"Why, it's a melon!" cried Trot delightedly, as she saw what had caused the sailor to fall.

Cap'n Bill rose to his foot, for he was not at all hurt, and examined the melon. Then he took his big jackknife

from his pocket and cut the melon open. It was quite ripe and looked delicious; but the old man tasted it

before he permitted Trot to eat any. Deciding it was good he gave her a big slice and then offered the Ork

some. The creature looked at the fruit somewhat disdainfully, at first, but once he had tasted its flavor he ate

of it as heartily as did the others. Among the vines they discovered many other melons, and Trot said

gratefully: "Well, there's no danger of our starving, even if this is an island."

"Melons," remarked Cap'n Bill, "are both food an' water. We couldn't have struck anything better."

Farther on they came to the cherry trees, where they obtained some of the fruit, and at the edge of the little

forest were wild plums. The forest itself consisted entirely of nut trees walnuts, filberts, almonds and

chestnuts so there would be plenty of wholesome food for them while they remained there.

Cap'n Bill and Trot decided to walk through the forest, to discover what was on the other side of it, but the

Ork's feet were still so sore and "lumpy" from walking on the rocks that the creature said he preferred to fly

over the treetops and meet them on the other side. The forest was not large, so by walking briskly for fifteen

minutes they reached its farthest edge and saw before them the shore of the ocean.

"Yes, and a pretty island, too," said Cap'n Bill, trying to conceal his disappointment on Trot's account. "I

guess, partner, if the wuss comes to the wuss, I could build a raft or even a boat from those trees, so's

The little girl brightened at this suggestion. "I don't see the Ork anywhere," she remarked, looking around.

Then her eyes lighted upon something and she exclaimed: "Oh, Cap'n Bill! Isn't that a house, over there to the

Cap'n Bill, looking closely, saw a shedlike structure built at one edge of the forest.

"Seems like it, Trot. Not that I'd call it much of a house, but it's a buildin', all right. Let's go over an' see if it's

A few steps brought them to the shed, which was merely a roof of boughs built over a square space, with

some branches of trees fastened to the sides to keep off the wind. The front was quite open and faced the sea,

and as our friends came nearer they observed a little man, with a long pointed beard, sitting motionless on a

"Get out of the way, please," he called in a fretful voice. "Can't you see you are obstructing my view?"

"It isn't a good morning!" snapped the little man. "I've seen plenty of mornings better than this. Do you call it

Trot was astonished to hear such words from a stranger whom they had greeted quite properly, and Cap'n Bill

grew red at the little man's rudeness. But the sailor said, in a quiet tone of voice:

"Your grammar's bad," was the reply. "But this is my own exclusive island, and I'll thank you to get off it as

"We'd like to do that," said Trot, and then she and Cap'n Bill turned away and walked down to the shore, to

The little man rose and followed them, although both were now too provoked to pay any attention to him.

Nothin' in sight, partner," reported Cap'n Bill, shading his eyes with his hand; "so we'll have to stay here for a

"That's all you know about it!" broke in the little man. "The trees are altogether too green and the rocks are

harder than they ought to be. I find the sand very grainy and the water dreadfully wet. Every breeze makes a

draught and the sun shines in the daytime, when there's no need of it, and disappears just as soon as it begins

"Everything I see," was the reply, in a more surly tone. Then Pessim drew back with a startled exclamation

and looked at some footprints in the sand. "Why, good gracious me!" he cried in distress.

"It isn't pushed in far enough to hurt anything," said Trot, examining the footprints.

"Everything hurts that isn't right," insisted the man. "If the earth were pushed in a mile, it would be a great

"Well, here it is pushed in a full inch! That's a twelfth of a foot, or a little more than a millionth part of a mile.

Therefore it is onemillionth part of a calamity Oh, dear! How dreadful!" said Pessim in a wailing voice.

"Try to forget it, sir," advised Cap'n Bill, soothingly. "It's beginning to rain. Let's get under your shed and

"It is," answered Cap'n Bill, as the drops began to descend, "and I don't see any way to stop it although

"Then do me a favor, please," begged Pessim, walking briskly along behind them, for they were hastening to

"I wish you would take my umbrella down to the shore and hold it over the poor fishes till it stops raining.

Trot laughed, but Cap'n Bill thought the little man was poking fun at him and so he scowled upon Pessim in a

They reached the shed before getting very wet, although the rain was now coming down in big drops. The

roof of the shed protected them and while they stood watching the rainstorm something buzzed in and circled

around Pessim's head. At once the Observer began beating it away with his hands, crying out:

Really, it wasn't much bigger than a big bumblebee, and when it came toward Trot she allowed it to alight on

"It's me, all right," said a very small voice in her ear; "but I'm in an awful pickle, just the same!"

"What's happened to you?" asked the sailor, putting his head close to Trot's shoulder in order to hear the reply

"You will remember that when I left you I started to fly over the trees, and just as I got to this side of the

forest I saw a bush that was loaded down with the most luscious fruit you can imagine. The fruit was about

the size of a gooseberry and of a lovely lavender color. So I swooped down and picked off one in my bill and

ate it. At once I began to grow small. I could feel myself shrinking, shrinking away, and it frightened me

terribly, so that I lighted on the ground to think over what was happening. In a few seconds I had shrunk to

the size you now see me; but there I remained, getting no smaller, indeed, but no larger. It is certainly a

dreadful affliction! After I had recovered somewhat from the shock I began to search for you. It is not so easy

to find one's way when a creature is so small, but fortunately I spied you here in this shed and came to you at

Cap'n Bill and Trot were much astonished at this story and felt grieved for the poor Ork, but the little man

Pessim seemed to think it a good joke. He began laughing when he heard the story and laughed until he

choked, after which he lay down on the ground and rolled and laughed again, while the tears of merriment

"Oh, dear! Oh, dear!" he finally gasped, sitting up and wiping his eyes. "This is too rich! It's almost too joyful

"You would if you'd had my experience," said Pessim, getting upon his feet and gradually resuming his

"I didn't come; the neighbors brought me," replied the little man, with a frown at the recollection. "They said

I was quarrelsome and faultfinding and blamed me because I told them all the things that went wrong, or

never were right, and because I told them how things ought to be. So they brought me here and left me all

alone, saying that if I quarreled with myself, no one else would be made unhappy. Absurd, wasn't it?"

"Well," resumed Pessim, "when I found myself King of this island I was obliged to live upon fruits, and I

found many fruits growing here that I had never seen before. I tasted several and found them good and

wholesome. But one day I ate a lavender berry as the Ork did and immediately I grew so small that I

was scarcely two inches high. It was a very unpleasant condition and like the Ork I became frightened. I

could not walk very well nor very far, for every lump of earth in my way seemed a mountain, every blade of

grass a tree and every grain of sand a rocky boulder. For several days I stumbled around in an agony of fear.

Once a tree toad nearly gobbled me up, and if I ran out from the shelter of the bushes the gulls and

cormorants swooped down upon me. Finally I decided to eat another berry and become nothing at all, since

"At last I found a small tree that I thought bore the same fruit as that I had eaten. The berry was dark purple

instead of light lavender, but otherwise it was quite similar. Being unable to climb the tree, I was obliged to

wait underneath it until a sharp breeze arose and shook the limbs so that a berry fell. Instantly I seized it and

taking a last view of the world as I then thought I ate the berry in a twinkling. Then, to my surprise, I

began to grow big again, until I became of my former stature, and so I have since remained. Needless to say, I

have never eaten again of the lavender fruit, nor do any of the beasts or birds that live upon this island eat it."

They had all three listened eagerly to this amazing tale, and when it was finished the Ork exclaimed:

"Do you think, then, that the deep purple berry is the antidote for the lavender one?"

"Then lead me to the tree at once!" begged the Ork, "for this tiny form I now have terrifies me greatly."

"You are ugly enough as you are," said he. "Were you any larger you might be dangerous."

"Oh, no," Trot assured him; "the Ork has been our good friend. Please take us to the tree."

Then Pessim consented, although rather reluctantly. He led them to the right, which was the east side of the

island, and in a few minutes brought them near to the edge of the grove which faced the shore of the ocean.

Here stood a small tree bearing berries of a deep purple color. The fruit looked very enticing and Cap'n Bill

The Ork had remained perched upon Trot's shoulder but now it flew down to the ground. It was so difficult

for Cap'n Bill to kneel down, with his wooden leg, that the little girl took the berry from him and held it close

"It's too big to go into my mouth," said the little creature, looking at the fruit sidewise.

"You'll have to make sev'ral mouthfuls of it, I guess," said Trot; and that is what the Ork did. He pecked at

the soft, ripe fruit with his bill and ate it up very quickly, because it was good.

Even before he had finished the berry they could see the Ork begin to grow. In a few minutes he had regained

his natural size and was strutting before them, quite delighted with his transformation.

"You are a poor judge of Orks," was the reply. "Anyone can see that I'm much handsomer than those dreadful

"Their feathers make soft beds," asserted Pessim. "And my skin would make excellent drumheads," retorted

the Ork. "Nevertheless, a plucked bird or a skinned Ork would be of no value to himself, so we needn't brag

of our usefulness after we are dead. But for the sake of argument, friend Pessim, I'd like to know what good

"I am King of this Island, allow me to say, and you're intruding on my property," declared the little man,

scowling upon them. "If you don't like me and I'm sure you don't, for no one else does why don't you

"Well, the Ork can fly, but we can't," explained Trot, in answer. "We don't want to stay here a bit, but I don't

Cap'n Bill shook his head; Trot shuddered at the thought; the Ork laughed aloud.

"You may be King here," the creature said to Pessim, "but we intend to run this island to suit ourselves, for

The little man made no reply to this, although as they walked back to the shed his face wore its fiercest scowl.

Cap'n Bill gathered a lot of leaves and, assisted by Trot, prepared two nice beds in opposite corners of the

They required no dishes, as all their food consisted of fruits and nuts picked from the trees; they made no fire,

for the weather was warm and there was nothing to cook; the shed had no furniture other than the rude stool

which the little man was accustomed to sit upon. He called it his "throne" and they let him keep it.

So they lived upon the island for three days, and rested and ate to their hearts' content. Still, they were not at

all happy in this life because of Pessim. He continually found fault with them, and all that they did, and all

their surroundings. He could see nothing good or admirable in all the world and Trot soon came to understand

why the little man's former neighbors had brought him to this island and left him there, all alone, so he could

not annoy anyone. It was their misfortune that they had been led to this place by their adventures, for often

On the fourth day a happy thought came to the Ork. They had all been racking their brains for a possible way

to leave the island, and discussing this or that method, without finding a plan that was practical. Cap'n Bill

had said he could make a raft of the trees, big enough to float them all, but he had no tools except those two

"And s'pose we got afloat on the ocean," said Trot, "where would we drift to, and how long would it take us

Cap'n Bill was forced to admit he didn't know. The Ork could fly away from the island any time it wished to,

but the queer creature was loyal to his new friends and refused to leave them in such a lonely, forsaken place.

It was when Trot urged him to go, on this fourth morning, that the Ork had his happy thought.

"Yes, you are rather heavy for a long journey," acknowledged the Ork, "but you might eat of those lavender

This quaint suggestion startled Trot and she looked gravely at the speaker while she considered it, but Cap'n

"What would become of us afterward? We wouldn't be much good if we were some two or three inches high.

No, Mr. Ork, I'd rather stay here, as I am, than be a hopo'my thumb somewhere else."

"Why couldn't you take some of the dark purple berries along with you, to eat after we had reached our

destination?" inquired the Ork. "Then you could grow big again whenever you pleased."

The old sailor did not like the idea at first, but he thought it over carefully and the more he thought the better

"There's your sunbonnet," it said presently, "which is hollow in the middle and has two strings that you could

Trot took off her sunbonnet and regarded it critically. Yes, it might easily hold both her and Cap'n Bill, after

they had eaten the lavender berries and been reduced in size. She tied the strings around the Ork's neck and

the sunbonnet made a bag in which two tiny people might ride without danger of falling out. So she said:

Cap'n Bill groaned but could make no logical objection except that the plan seemed to him quite dangerous

"I think so, myself," said Trot soberly. "But nobody can stay alive without getting into danger sometimes, and

danger doesn't mean getting hurt, Cap'n; it only means we might get hurt. So I guess we'll have to take the

They said nothing to Pessim, who was sitting on his stool and scowling dismally as he stared at the ocean, but

started at once to seek the trees that bore the magic fruits. The Ork remembered very well where the lavender

Cap'n Bill gathered two berries and placed them carefully in his pocket. Then they went around to the east

"I guess I'll take four of these," said the sailorman, so in case one doesn't make us grow big we can eat

"Better take six," advised the Ork. "It's well to be on the safe side, and I'm sure these trees grow nowhere else

So Cap'n Bill gathered six of the purple berries and with their precious fruit they returned to the shed to big

goodbye to Pessim. Perhaps they would not have granted the surly little man this courtesy had they not

When Pessim learned they were about to leave him he at first looked greatly pleased, but he suddenly

recollected that nothing ought to please him and so began to grumble about being left alone.

"We knew it wouldn't suit you," remarked Cap'n Bill. "It didn't suit you to have us here, and it won't suit you

"That is quite true," admitted Pessim. "I haven't been suited since I can remember; so it doesn't matter to me

He was interested in their experiment, however, and willingly agreed to assist, although he prophesied they

would fall out of the sunbonnet on their way and be either drowned in the ocean or crushed upon some rocky

shore. This uncheerful prospect did not daunt Trot, but it made Cap'n Bill quite nervous.

"I will eat my berry first," said Trot, as she placed her sunbonnet on the ground, in such manner that they

Then she ate the lavender berry and in a few seconds became so small that Cap'n Bill picked her up gently

with his thumb and one finger and placed her in the middle of the sunbonnet. Then he placed beside her the

six purple berries each one being about as big as the tiny Trot's head and all preparations being now

made the old sailor ate his lavender berry and became very small wooden leg and all!

Cap'n Bill stumbled sadly in trying to climb over the edge of the sunbonnet and pitched in beside Trot

headfirst, which caused the unhappy Pessim to laugh with glee. Then the King of the Island picked up the

sunbonnet so rudely that he shook its occupants like peas in a pod and tied it, by means of its strings,

"Why, we are not very heavy, you know," she replied, "so I think the stitches will hold. But be careful and

"Yes!" they cried together, and Pessim came close to the sunbonnet and called out to them: "You'll be

The Ork was provoked by this unkind speech, so he turned his tail toward the little man and made it revolve

so fast that the rush of air tumbled Pessim over backward and he rolled several times upon the ground before

he could stop himself and sit up. By that time the Ork was high in the air and speeding swiftly over the ocean.

Cap'n Bill and Trot rode very comfortably in the sunbonnet. The motion was quite steady, for they weighed

so little that the Ork flew without effort. Yet they were both somewhat nervous about their future fate and

"Same to you, Cap'n," she said with a laugh; "but as long as we have the purple berries we needn't worry

"In a circus," mused the old man, "we'd be curiosities. But in a sunbonnet high up in the air sailin' over

"Why, we're midgets, that's all," said the little girl. The Ork flew silently for a long time. The slight swaying

of the sunbonnet made Cap'n Bill drowsy, and he began to doze. Trot, however, was wide awake, and after

"Not yet," he answered. "This is a big ocean and I've no idea in which direction the nearest land to that island

lies; but if I keep flying in a straight line I'm sure to reach some place some time."

That seemed reasonable, so the little people in the sunbonnet remained as patient as possible; that is, Cap'n

Bill dozed and Trot tried to remember her geography lessons so she could figure out what land they were

For hours and hours the Ork flew steadily, keeping to the straight line and searching with his eyes the horizon

of the ocean for land. Cap'n Bill was fast asleep and snoring and Trot had laid her head on his shoulder to rest

At this announcement they roused themselves. Cap'n Bill stood up and tried to peek over the edge of the

"Looks like another island," said the Ork; "but I can judge it better in a minute or two."

"I don't care much for islands, since we visited that other one," declared Trot.

"It is surely an island, and a little one, too," said he. "But I won't stop, because I see a much bigger land

"That's right," approved Cap'n Bill. "The bigger the land, the better it will suit us."

"It's almost a continent," continued the Ork after a brief silence, during which he did not decrease the speed

of his flight. "I wonder if it can be Orkland, the place I have been seeking so long?"

"I hope not," whispered Trot to Cap'n Bill so softly that the Ork could not hear her "for I shouldn't like

to be in a country where only Orks live. This one Ork isn't a bad companion, but a lot of him wouldn't be

"No! this is not my country. It's a place I have never seen before, although I have wandered far and wide. It

seems to be all mountains and deserts and green valleys and queer cities and lakes and rivers mixed up in a

"Pretty soon," was the reply. "There is a mountain peak just ahead of me. What do you say to our landing on

"All right," agreed the sailorman, for both he and Trot were getting tired of riding in the sunbonnet and

So in a few minutes the Ork slowed down his speed and then came to a stop so easily that they were scarcely

jarred at all. Then the creature squatted down until the sunbonnet rested on the ground, and began trying to

This proved a very clumsy task, because the strings were tied at the back of the Ork's neck, just where his

"Do," she replied. "The slit won't matter, 'cause I can sew it up again afterward, when I am big."

So Cap'n Bill got out his knife, which was just as small, in proportion, as he was, and after considerable

trouble managed to cut a long slit in the sunbonnet. First he squeezed through the opening himself and then

When they stood on firm ground again their first act was to begin eating the dark purple berries which they

had brought with them. Two of these Trot had guarded carefully during the long journey, by holding them in

"I'm not very hungry," said the little girl as she handed a berry to Cap'n Bill, "but hunger doesn't count, in this

case. It's like taking medicine to make you well, so we must manage to eat 'em, somehow or other."

But the berries proved quite pleasant to taste and as Cap'n Bill and Trot nibbled at their edges their forms

began to grow in size slowly but steadily. The bigger they grew the easier it was for them to eat the

berries, which of course became smaller to them, and by the time the fruit was eaten our friends had regained

The little girl was greatly relieved when she found herself as large as she had ever been, and Cap'n Bill

shared her satisfaction; for, although they had seen the effect of the berries on the Ork, they had not been sure

the magic fruit would have the same effect on human beings, or that the magic would work in any other

"What shall we do with the other four berries?" asked Trot, as she picked up her sunbonnet, marveling that

she had ever been small. enough to ride in it. "They're no good to us now, are they, Cap'n?"

"I'm not sure as to that," he replied. "If they were eaten by one who had never eaten the lavender berries, they

might have no effect at all; but then, contrarywise, they might. One of 'em has got badly jammed, so I'll throw

it away, but the other three I b'lieve I'll carry with me. They're magic things, you know, and may come handy

He now searched in his big pockets and drew out a small wooden box with a sliding cover. The sailor had

kept an assortment of nails, of various sizes, in this box, but those he now dumped loosely into his pocket and

When this important matter was attended to they found time to look about them and see what sort of place the

The mountain on which they had alighted was not a barren waste, but had on its sides patches of green grass,

some bushes, a few slender trees and here and there masses of tumbled rocks. The sides of the slope seemed

rather steep, but with care one could climb up or down them with ease and safety. The view from where they

now stood showed pleasant valleys and fertile hills lying below the heights. Trot thought she saw some

houses of queer shapes scattered about the lower landscape, and there were moving dots that might be people

Not far from the place where they stood was the top of the mountain, which seemed to be flat, so the Ork

"That's a good idea," said Trot, "'cause it's getting toward evening and we'll have to find a place to sleep."

The Ork had not been gone more than a few minutes when they saw him appear on the edge of the top which

So Trot and Cap'n Bill began to ascend the steep slope and it did not take them long to reach the place where

Their first view of the mountain top pleased them very much. It was a level space of wider extent than they

had guessed and upon it grew grass of a brilliant green color. In the very center stood a house built of stone

and very neatly constructed. No one was in sight, but smoke was coming from the chimney, so with one

"I wonder," said Trot, "in what country we are, and if it's very far from my home in California." "Can't say as

to that, partner," answered Cap'n Bill, "but I'm mighty certain we've come a long way since we struck that

"Distance means nothing," said the Ork. "I have flown pretty much all over the world, trying to find my

home, and it is astonishing how many little countries there are, hidden away in the cracks and corners of this

big globe of Earth. If one travels, he may find some new country at every turn, and a good many of them have

They reached the house after a brisk walk and Cap'n Bill knocked upon the door. It was at once opened by a

rugged looking man who had "bumps all over him," as Trot afterward declared. There were bumps on his

head, bumps on his body and bumps on his arms and legs and hands. Even his fingers had bumps on the ends

of them. For dress he wore an old gray suit of fantastic design, which fitted him very badly because of the

But the Bumpy Man's eyes were kind and twinkling in expression and as soon as he saw his visitors he

"Happy day! Come in and shut the door, for it grows cool when the sun goes down. Winter is now upon us."

"You will change your mind about that in a little while," declared the Bumpy Man. "My bumps always tell

me the state of the weather, and they feel just now as if a snowstorm was coming this way. But make

yourselves at home, strangers. Supper is nearly ready and there is food enough for all."

Inside the house there was but one large room, simply but comfortably furnished. It had benches, a table and

a fireplace, all made of stone. On the hearth a pot was bubbling and steaming, and Trot thought it had a rather

nice smell. The visitors seated themselves upon the benches except the Ork. which squatted by the

"Goodness me fruitcake and applesauce! don't you know where you are?" asked the Bumpy Man, as

"Ah!" said the Bumpy Man, nodding his bumpy head. "This," he announced, in a solemn, impressive voice,

"Oh!" exclaimed the sailor and the girl, both in one breath. But, never having heard of the Land of Mo, they

"I thought that would startle you," remarked the Bumpy Man, well pleased, as he resumed his stirring. The

"Me?" answered the Bumpy Man. "Haven't you heard of me? Gingerbread and lemonjuice! I'm known, far

They all received this information in silence at first, for they were trying to think what he could mean. Finally

For answer the man turned around and faced them, waving the spoon with which he had been stirring the

That's sadhearted and needs cheering, So my duty is to listen to all sounds that Nature makes,

Get to coughing, or get sneezy For this monster bump, when frightened, is quite liable to quakes.

I can feel some people's singing; But a mountain isn't sensible of what goes on, and so

Or it's raining hard, or snowing, I tell it to the mountain and the mountain seems to know.

While I'm living on this steeple, For I keep the mountain steady so my neighbors all may thrive.

I prevent this mount from spouting, And that makes me so important that I'm glad that I'm alive."

When he had finished these lines of verse the Bumpy Man turned again to resume his stirring. The Ork

laughed softly and Cap'n Bill whistled to himself and Trot made up her mind that the Mountain Ear must be a

little crazy. But the Bumpy Man seemed satisfied that he had explained his position fully and presently he

placed four stone plates upon the table and then lifted the kettle from the fire and poured some of its contents

on each of the plates. Cap'n Bill and Trot at once approached the table, for they were hungry, but when she

"To be sure," returned the Bumpy Man, with a pleasant smile. "Eat it quick, while it's hot, for it cools very

With this he seized a stone spoon and began putting the hot molasses candy into his mouth, while the others

"Yes," she replied, "I am hungry. But we usually eat our candy when it is cold and hard. We always pull

"Ha, ha, ha!" laughed the Mountain Ear. "What a funny idea! Where in the world did you come from?"

"California! Pooh! there isn't any such place. I've heard of every place in the Land of Mo, but I never before

"Then it isn't worth talking about," declared the Bumpy Man, helping himself again from the steaming kettle,

"For my part," sighed Cap'n Bill, "I'd like a decent square meal, once more, just by way of variety. In the last

place there was nothing but fruit to eat, and here it's worse, for there's nothing but candy."

"Molasses candy isn't so bad," said Trot. "Mine's nearly cool enough to pull, already. Wait a bit, Cap'n, and

A little later she was able to gather the candy from the stone plate and begin to work it back and forth with

her hands. The Mountain Ear was greatly amazed at this and watched her closely. It was really good candy

and pulled beautifully, so that Trot was soon ready to cut it into chunks for eating.

Cap'n Bill condescended to eat one or two pieces and the Ork ate several, but the Bumpy Man refused to try

it. Trot finished the plate of candy herself and then asked for a drink of water.

"None that ever I heard of," said he. "But I can give you some fresh lemonade. I caught it in a jar the last time

With this he brought from a cupboard a stone jar and a dipper, and the girl found it very nice lemonade,

"If there is no water in this country, I cannot stay here for long," the creature declared. "Water means life to

"Yes," answered the Ork, "I suppose so; but there are other things in it, too, and they spoil the good water."

The day's adventures had made our wanderers tired, so the Bumpy Man brought them some blankets in which

they rolled themselves and then lay down before the fire, which their host kept alive with fuel all through the

night. Trot wakened several times and found the Mountain Ear always alert and listening intently for the

slightest sound. But the little girl could hear no sound at all except the snores of Cap'n Bill.

"Wake up wake up!" called the voice of the Bumpy Man. "Didn't I tell you winter was coming? I could

hear it coming with my left ear, and the proof is that it is now snowing hard outside."

"Is it?" said Trot, rubbing her eyes and creeping out of her blanket. "Where I live, in California, I have never

"Well, this is the top of a high mountain," returned the bumpy one, "and for that reason we get our heaviest

The little girl went to the window and looked out. The air was filled with falling white flakes, so large in size

"To be sure. I must get my snowshovel and turn out to shovel a path. Would you like to come with me?"

"Yes," she said, and followed the Bumpy Man out when he opened the door. Then she exclaimed: "Why, it

"Of course not," replied the man. "It was cold last night, before the snowstorm; but snow, when it falls, is

"Well, it is the only snow we have in the Land of Mo, so you may as well make the best of it," said he, a little

impatiently. "I'm not responsible for the absurd things that happen in your country, and when you're in Mo

you must do as the Momen do. Eat some of our snow, and you will find it is good. The only fault I find with

With this the Bumpy Man set to work shoveling a path and he was so quick and industrious that he piled up

the popcorn in great banks on either side of the trail that led to the mountaintop from the plains below.

While he worked, Trot ate popcorn and found it crisp and slightly warm, as well as nicely salted and buttered.

"Mo snow," said she. "But it isn't real snow, although it falls from the sky. It's popcorn."

Cap'n Bill tasted it; then he sat down in the path and began to eat. The Ork came out and pecked away with

its bill as fast as it could. They all liked popcorn and they all were hungry this morning.

Meantime the flakes of "Mo snow" came down so fast that the number of them almost darkened the air. The

Bumpy Man was now shoveling quite a distance down the mountain side, while the path behind him rapidly

"Goodness gracious mince pie and pancakes! here is some one buried in the snow."

She ran toward him at once and the others followed, wading through the corn and crunching it underneath

their feet. The Mo snow was pretty deep where the Bumpy Man was shoveling and from beneath a great bank

"Dear me! Someone has been lost in the storm," said Cap'n Bill. "I hope he is still alive. Let's pull him out

He took hold of one foot and the Bumpy Man took hold of the other. Then they both pulled and out from the

heap of popcorn came a little boy. He was dressed in a brown velvet jacket and knickerbockers, with brown

stockings, buckled shoes and a blue shirtwaist that had frills down its front. When drawn from the heap the

boy was chewing a mouthful of popcorn and both his hands were full of it. So at first he couldn't speak to his

rescuers but lay quite still and eyed them calmly until he had swallowed his mouthful. Then he said:

While the Bumpy Man began shoveling into the cornbank to find the boy's cap, Trot was laughing joyfully

and Cap'n Bill had a broad grin on his face. The Ork looked from one to another and asked:

"Why, it's ButtonBright, of course," answered Trot. "If anyone ever finds a lost boy, he can make up his

mind it's ButtonBright. But how he ever came to be lost in this faraway country is more'n I can make out."

"His home used to be in Philadelphia, I think; but I'm quite sure ButtonBright doesn't belong anywhere."

"That's right," said the boy, nodding his head as he swallowed the second mouthful.

"Not me," insisted ButtonBright. "I'm half way round the world from Philadelphia, and I've lost my Magic

Umbrella, that used to carry me anywhere. Stands to reason that if I can't get back I haven't any home. But I

don't care much. This is a pretty good country, Trot. I've had lots of fun here."

By this time the Mountain Ear had secured the boy's cap and was listening to the conversation with much

"Yes, indeed," answered Trot. "We made a journey together to Sky Island, once, and were good friends."

"Much obliged, Mr. Knobs," said ButtonBright, sitting up and staring at him, "but I don't believe you've

saved anything except some popcorn that I might have eaten had you not disturbed me. It was nice and warm

in that bank of popcorn, and there was plenty to eat. What made you dig me out? And what makes you so

"As for the bumps," replied the man, looking at himself with much pride, "I was born with them and I suspect

they were a gift from the fairies. They make me look rugged and big, like the mountain I serve."

It had stopped snowing, now, and great flocks of birds were gathering around the mountainside, eating the

popcorn with much eagerness and scarcely noticing the people at all. There were birds of every size and

"Just look at them!" exclaimed the Ork scornfully. "Aren't they dreadful creatures, all covered with feathers?"

"I think they're beautiful," said Trot, and this made the Ork so indignant that he went back into the house and

ButtonBright reached out his hand and caught a big bird by the leg. At once it rose into the air and it was so

strong that it nearly carried the little boy with it. He let go the leg in a hurry and the bird flew down again and

This gave Cap'n Bill an idea. He felt in his pocket and drew out several pieces of stout string. Moving very

quietly, so as to not alarm the birds, he crept up to several of the biggest ones and tied cords around their legs,

thus making them prisoners. The birds were so intent on their eating that they did not notice what had

happened to them, and when about twenty had been captured in this manner Cap'n Bill tied the ends of all the

"The birds will be quiet until they've eaten up all the snow," he said, "but then they will want to fly away to

their homes. Tell me, sir, what will the poor things do when they find they can't fly?"

"It may worry 'em a little," replied Cap'n Bill, "but they're not going to be hurt if they take it easy and behave

Our friends had all made a good breakfast of the delicious popcorn and now they walked toward the house

again. ButtonBright walked beside Trot and held her hand in his, because they were old friends and he liked

the little girl very much. The boy was not so old as Trot, and small as she was he was half a head shorter in

height. The most remarkable thing about ButtonBright was that he was always quiet and composed,

whatever happened, and nothing was ever able to astonish him. Trot liked him because he was not rude and

never tried to plague her. Cap'n Bill liked him because he had found the boy cheerful and brave at all times,

When they came to the house Trot sniffed the air and asked "Don't I smell perfume?"

"I think you do," said the Bumpy Man. "You smell violets, and that proves there is a breeze springing up

from the south. All our winds and breezes are perfumed and for that reason we are glad to have them blow in

our direction. The south breeze always has a violet odor; the north breeze has the fragrance of wild roses; the

east breeze is perfumed with liliesofthevalley and the west wind with lilac blossoms. So we need no

weathervane to tell us which way the wind is blowing. We have only to smell the perfume and it informs us

Inside the house they found the Ork, and ButtonBright regarded the strange, birdlike creature with curious

"Because it happens to be my tail, and I reserve the right to whirl it myself," explained the Ork.

"Let's go out and fly somewhere," proposed Button Bright. "I want to see how the tail works."

"Not now," said the Ork. "I appreciate your interest in me, which I fully deserve; but I only fly when I am

"That reminds me," remarked Cap'n Bill, "to ask you, friend Ork, how we are going to get away from here?"

"Get away!" exclaimed the Bumpy Man. "Why don't you stay here? You won't find any nicer place than Mo."

"Then permit me to say you're no judge," declared Cap'n Bill. "But you haven't answered my question, friend

"I might carry one of you the boy or the girl upon my back," said he, "but three big people are more

than I can manage, although I have carried two of you for a short distance. You ought not to have eaten those

"Or we might have brought some of those lavender berries with us, instead of so many purple ones,"

Cap'n Bill made no reply to this statement, which showed he did not fully agree with the little girl; but he fell

"If those purple berries would make anything grow bigger, whether it'd eaten the lavender ones or not, I could

They did not understand this speech and looked at the old sailor as if expecting him to explain what he meant.

"Here! Let me go let me go!" the voices seemed to say. "Why are we insulted in this way? Mountain Ear,

"Oh, yes; all the birds in Mo are educated to talk," said the Bumpy Man. Then he looked at Cap'n Bill

"I'll see," replied the sailor, and walked out to where the birds were fluttering and complaining because the

"Listen to me!" he cried, and at once they became still. "We three people who are strangers in your land want

to go to some other country, and we want three of you birds to carry us there. We know we are asking a great

favor, but it's the only way we can think of excep' walkin', an' I'm not much good at that because I've a

wooden leg. Besides, Trot an' ButtonBright are too small to undertake a long and tiresome journey. Now,

The birds looked at one another as if greatly astonished. Then one of them replied: "You must be crazy, old

"I'll fix the matter of size," promised Cap'n Bill. "If three of you will agree to carry us, I'll make you big an'

The birds considered this gravely. Living in a magic country, they had no doubt but that the strange one

They chattered a while among themselves and then the bird that had first spoken said: "I'll go, for one."

Perhaps more would have volunteered, for it seemed that for some reason they all longed to be bigger than

they were; but three were enough for Cap'n Bill's purpose and so he promptly released all the others, who

The three that remained were cousins, and all were of the same brilliant plumage and in size about as large as

eagles. When Trot questioned them she found they were quite young, having only abandoned their nests a

few weeks before. They were strong young birds, with clear, brave eyes, and the little girl decided they were

Cap'n Bill now took from his pocket the wooden box with the sliding cover and removed the three purple

"Eat these," he said, and gave one to each of the birds. They obeyed, finding the fruit very pleasant to taste. In

a few seconds they began to grow in size and grew so fast that Trot feared they would never stop. But they

finally did stop growing, and then they were much larger than the Ork, and nearly the size of fullgrown

"I don't see, though," said Trot doubtfully, "how we're going to ride on their backs without falling off."

"We're not going to ride on their backs," answered Cap'n Bill. "I'm going to make swings for us to ride in."

He then asked the Bumpy Man for some rope, but the man had no rope. He had, however, an old suit of gray

clothes which he gladly presented to Cap'n Bill, who cut the cloth into strips and twisted it so that it was

almost as strong as rope. With this material he attached to each bird a swing that dangled below its feet, and

Button Bright made a trial flight in one of them to prove that it was safe and comfortable. When all this had

"Why, just follow the Ork," said Cap'n Bill. "He will be our leader, and wherever the Ork flies you are to fly,

The birds declared it was quite satisfactory, so Cap'n Bill took counsel with the Ork.

"On our way here," said that peculiar creature, "I noticed a broad, sandy desert at the left of me, on which was

"Not so," insisted the Ork. "I have found, on my travels, that the most pleasant countries often lie in the midst

of deserts; so I think it would be wise for us to fly over this desert and discover what lies beyond it. For in the

direction we came from lies the ocean, as we well know, and beyond here is this strange Land of Mo, which

we do not care to explore. On one side, as we can see from this mountain, is a broad expanse of plain, and on

No one thought of asking ButtonBright's opinion, so it was decided to fly over the desert. They bade

goodbye to the Bumpy Man and thanked him for his kindness and hospitality. Then they seated themselves

in the swings one for each bird and told the Ork to start away and they would follow.

The whirl of the Ork's tail astonished the birds at first, but after he had gone a short distance they rose in the

air, carrying their passengers easily, and flew with strong, regular strokes of their great wings in the wake of

Trot rode with more comfort than she had expected, although the swing swayed so much that she had to hold

on tight with both hands. Cap'n Bill's bird followed the Ork, and Trot came next, with ButtonBright trailing

behind her. It was quite an imposing procession, but unfortunately there was no one to see it, for the Ork had

headed straight for the great sandy desert and in a few minutes after starting they were flying high over the

The little girl thought this would be a bad place for the birds to lose strength, or for the cloth ropes to give

way; but although she could not help feeling a trifle nervous and fidgety she had confidence in the huge and

brilliantly plumaged bird that bore her, as well as in Cap'n Bill's knowledge of how to twist and fasten a rope

That was a remarkably big desert. There was nothing to relieve the monotony of view and every minute

seemed an hour and every hour a day. Disagreeable fumes and gases rose from the sands, which would have

been deadly to the travelers had they not been so high in the air. As it was, Trot was beginning to feel sick,

when a breath of fresher air filled her nostrils and on looking ahead she saw a great cloud of pinktinted mist.

Even while she wondered what it could be, the Ork plunged boldly into the mist and the other birds followed.

She could see nothing for a time, nor could the bird which carried her see where the Ork had gone, but it kept

flying as sturdily as ever and in a few moments the mist was passed and the girl saw a most beautiful

She saw bits of forest, verdure clothed hills, fields of waving grain, fountains, rivers and lakes; and

throughout the scene were scattered groups of pretty houses and a few grand castles and palaces.

Over all this delightful landscape which from Trot's high perch seemed like a magnificent painted picture

was a rosy glow such as we sometimes see in the west at sunset. In this case, however, it was not in the

No wonder the Ork paused to circle slowly over this lovely country. The other birds followed his action, all

eyeing the place with equal delight. Then, as with one accord, the four formed a group and slowly sailed

downward. This brought them to that part of the newly discovered land which bordered on the desert's edge;

but it was just as pretty here as anywhere, so the Ork and the birds alighted and the three passengers at once

"Oh, Cap'n Bill, isn't this fine an' dandy?" exclaimed Trot rapturously. "How lucky we were to discover this

"The country seems rather high class, I'll admit, Trot," replied the old sailorman, looking around him, "but

"No one could live in such a country without being happy and good I'm sure of that," she said earnestly.

"I'm not thinking, just now," answered the little boy. "It tires me to think, and I never seem to gain anything

by it. When we see the people who live here we will know what they are like, and no 'mount of thinking will

"That's true enough," said the Ork. "But now I want to make a proposal. While you are getting acquainted

with this new country, which looks as if it contains everything to make one happy, I would like to fly along

all by myself and see if I can find my home on the other side of the great desert. If I do, I will stay there,

of course. But if I fail to find Orkland I will return to you in a week, to see if I can do anything more to assist

They were sorry to lose their queer companion, but could offer no objection to the plan; so the Ork bade them

goodbye and rising swiftly in the air, he flew over the country and was soon lost to view in the distance.

The three birds which had carried our friends now begged permission to return by the way they had come, to

their own homes, saying they were anxious to show their families how big they had become. So Cap'n Bill

and Trot and ButtonBright all thanked them gratefully for their assistance and soon the birds began their

long flight toward the Land of Mo. Being now left to themselves in this strange land, the three comrades

selected a pretty pathway and began walking along it. They believed this path would lead them to a splendid

castle which they espied in the distance, the turrets of which towered far above the tops of the trees which

surrounded it. It did not seem very far away, so they sauntered on slowly, admiring the beautiful ferns and

flowers that lined the pathway and listening to the singing of the birds and the soft chirping of the

Presently the path wound over a little hill. In a valley that lay beyond the hill was a tiny cottage surrounded

by flower beds and fruit trees. On the shady porch of the cottage they saw, as they approached, a pleasant

faced woman sitting amidst a group of children, to whom she was telling stories. The children quickly

discovered the strangers and ran toward them with exclamations of astonishment, so that Trot and her friends

became the center of a curious group, all chattering excitedly. Cap'n Bill's wooden leg seemed to arouse the

wonder of the children, as they could not understand why he had not two meat legs. This attention seemed to

please the old sailor, who patted the heads of the children kindly and then, raising his hat to the woman, he

She stared hard at all three of the strangers as she replied briefly: "Jinxland."

"Oh!" exclaimed Cap'n Bill, with a puzzled look. "And where is Jinxland, please?"

"What!" cried Trot, in sudden excitement. "Do you mean to say this is the Quadling Country of the Land of

"To be sure I do," the woman answered. "Every bit of land that is surrounded by the great desert is the Land

of Oz, as you ought to know as well as I do; but I'm sorry to say that Jinxland is separated from the rest of the

Quadling Country by that row of high mountains you see yonder, which have such steep sides that no one can

cross them. So we live here all by ourselves, and are ruled by our own King, instead of by Ozma of Oz."

"I've been to the Land of Oz before," said Button Bright, "but I've never been here."

"It is on the Map of Oz, though," asserted the woman, "and it's a fine country, I assure you. If only," she

added, and then paused to look around her with a frightened expression. "If only " here she stopped again,

The woman sent the children into the house. Then she came closer to the strangers and whispered: "If only

"What's the matter with your King?" asked Trot, curiously. But the woman seemed frightened to have said so

"In this case," replied Cap'n Bill, "treason seems to consist of knockin' the King; but I guess we know his

"I wonder," said Trot, going up to the woman, "if you could spare us something to eat. We haven't had

"Bless your heart! Of course I can spare you some food," the woman answered, and entering her cottage she

soon returned with a tray loaded with sandwiches, cakes and cheese. One of the children drew a bucket of

clear, cold water from a spring and the three wanderers ate heartily and enjoyed the good things immensely.

When ButtonBright could eat no more he filled the pockets of his jacket with cakes and cheese, and not

even the children objected to this. Indeed they all seemed pleased to see the strangers eat, so Cap'n Bill

decided that no matter what the King of Jinxland was like, the people would prove friendly and hospitable.

"Whose castle is that, yonder, ma'am?" he asked, waving his hand toward the towers that rose above the trees.

"When he is not out hunting with his fierce courtiers and war captains," she replied.

"I do not know, my dear. The less we know about the King's actions the safer we are."

It was evident the woman did not like to talk about King Krewl and so, having finished their meal, they said

"Don't you think we'd better keep away from that King's castle, Cap'n?" asked Trot.

"Well," said he, "King Krewl would find out, sooner or later, that we are in his country, so we may as well

face the music now. Perhaps he isn't quite so bad as that woman thinks he is. Kings aren't always popular

"Ozma is diff'rent from any other Ruler, from all I've heard," remarked Trot musingly, as she walked beside

the boy. "And, after all, we are really in the Land of Oz, where Ozma rules ev'ry King and ev'rybody else. I

"Not when she knows about it," he replied. "But those birds landed us in just the wrong place, seems to me.

They might have carried us right on, over that row of mountains, to the Em'rald City."

"True enough," said Cap'n Bill; "but they didn't, an' so we must make the best of Jinxland. Let's try not to be

"Oh, I'm not very scared," said ButtonBright, pausing to look at a pink rabbit that popped its head out of a

"Nor am I," added Trot. "Really, Cap'n, I'm so glad to be anywhere at all in the wonderful fairyland of Oz

that I think I'm the luckiest girl in all the world. Dorothy lives in the Em'rald City, you know, and so does the

Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman and TikTok and the Shaggy Man and all the rest of 'em that we've

heard so much about not to mention Ozma, who must be the sweetest and loveliest girl in all the world!"

"Take your time, Trot," advised ButtonBright. "You don't have to say it all in one breath, you know. And

"That 'ere Em'rald City," said Cap'n Bill impressively, "happens to be on the other side o' those mountains,

that we're told no one is able to cross. I don't want to discourage of you, Trot, but we're a'most as much

There was so much truth in this statement that they all walked on in silence for some time. Finally they

reached the grove of stately trees that bordered the grounds of the King's castle. They had gone halfway

through it when the sound of sobbing, as of someone in bitter distress, reached their ears and caused them to

It was ButtonBright who first discovered, lying on his face beneath a broad spreading tree near the pathway,

a young man whose body shook with the force of his sobs. He was dressed in a long brown smock and had

sandals on his feet, betokening one in humble life. His head was bare and showed a shock of brown, curly

"I do!" cried the young man, interrupting his sobs to roll over, face upward, that he might see who had

By this time Trot and Cap'n Bill arrived at the spot and the girl leaned over and said in a sympathetic voice:

The youth sat up, then, and bowed politely. Afterward he got upon his feet, but still kept wringing his hands

as he tried to choke down his sobs. Trot thought he was very brave to control such awful agony so well.

"I do the work and the gardener gives the orders. And it was not my fault, in the least, that the Princess Gloria

"She is the niece of King Krewl, who is her guardian. The Princess lives in the castle and is the loveliest and

sweetest maiden in all Jinxland. She is fond of flowers and used to walk in the gardens with her attendants.

At such times, if I was working at my tasks, I used to cast down my eyes as Gloria passed me; but one day I

glanced up and found her gazing at me with a very tender look in her eyes. The next day she dismissed her

attendants and, coming to my side, began to talk with me. She said I had touched her heart as no other young

man had ever done. I kissed her hand. Just then the King came around a bend in the walk. He struck me with

his fist and kicked me with his foot. Then he seized the arm of the Princess and rudely dragged her into the

"He is a very abrupt King," said Pon, "so it was the least I could expect. Up to that time I had not thought of

loving Princess Gloria, but realizing it would be impolite not to return her love, I did so. We met at evening,

now and then, and she told me the King wanted her to marry a rich courtier named GooglyGoo, who is old

enough to be Gloria's father. She has refused GooglyGoo thirtynine times, but he still persists and has

brought many rich presents to bribe the King. On that account King Krewl has commanded his niece to marry

the old man, but the Princess has assured me, time and again, that she will wed only me. This morning we

happened to meet in the grape arbor and as I was respectfully saluting the cheek of the Princess, two of the

King's guards seized me and beat me terribly before the very eyes of Gloria, whom the King himself held

"But, see here," interrupted Cap'n Bill, who had listened carefully to Pon. "This King may not be so much to

blame, after all. Kings are proud folks, because they're so high an' mighty, an' it isn't reasonable for a royal

"I'm not a common gardener's boy," protested Pon. "If I had my rights I would be the King instead of Krewl.

"My father used to be the King and Krewl was his Prime Minister. But one day while out hunting, King

Phearse that was my father's name had a quarrel with Krewl and tapped him gently on the nose with

the knuckles of his closed hand. This so provoked the wicked Krewl that he tripped my father backward, so

that he fell into a deep pond. At once Krewl threw in a mass of heavy stones, which so weighted down my

poor father that his body could not rise again to the surface. It is impossible to kill anyone in this land, as

perhaps you know, but when my father was pressed down into the mud at the bottom of the deep pool and the

stones held him so he could never escape, he was of no more use to himself or the world than if he had died.

Knowing this, Krewl proclaimed himself King, taking possession of the royal castle and driving all my

father's people out. I was a small boy, then, but when I grew up I became a gardener. I have served King

Krewl without his knowing that I am the son of the same King Phearse whom he so cruelly made away with."

"My, but that's a terr'bly exciting story!" said Trot, drawing a long breath. "But tell us, Pon, who was Gloria's

"Oh, he was the King before my father," replied Pon. "Father was Prime Minister for King Kynd, who was

Gloria's father. She was only a baby when King Kynd fell into the Great Gulf that lies just this side of the

mountains the same mountains that separate Jinxland from the rest of the Land of Oz. It is said the Great

Gulf has no bottom; but, however that may be, King Kynd has never been seen again and my father became

"Seems to me," said Trot, "that if Gloria had her rights she would be Queen of Jinxland."

"Well, her father was a King," admitted Pon, "and so was my father; so we are of equal rank, although she's a

great lady and I'm a humble gardener's boy. I can't see why we should not marry if we want to except that

"It's a sort of mixedup mess, taken altogether," remarked Cap'n Bill. "But we are on our way to visit King

"I'd get it fixed up, if I were you," advised the boy, tossing a pebble at a chipmunk in a tree. "You ought to

"That's common sense," agreed Cap'n Bill. So they left the gardener's boy standing beside the path, and

When our friends approached the great doorway of the castle they found it guarded by several soldiers

dressed in splendid uniforms. They were armed with swords and lances. Cap'n Bill walked straight up to

"His Magnificent and Glorious Majesty, King Krewl, is at present inhabiting his Royal Castle," was the stiff

"Then I guess we'll go in an' say howd'yedo," continued Cap'n Bill, attempting to enter the doorway. But a

"Who are you, what are your names, and where do you come from?" demanded the soldier.

"You wouldn't know if we told you," returned the sailor, "seein' as we're strangers in a strange land."

"Oh, if you are strangers you will be permitted to enter," said the soldier, lowering his lance. "His Majesty is

"You are the first that ever came to our country," said the man. "But his Majesty has often said that if

strangers ever arrived in Jinxland he would see that they had a very exciting time."

Cap'n Bill scratched his chin thoughtfully. He wasn't very favorably impressed by this last remark. But he

decided that as there was no way of escape from Jinxland it would be wise to confront the King boldly and

try to win his favor. So they entered the castle, escorted by one of the soldiers.

It was certainly a fine castle, with many large rooms, all beautifully furnished. The passages were winding

and handsomely decorated, and after following several of these the soldier led them into an open court that

occupied the very center of the huge building. It was surrounded on every side by high turreted walls, and

contained beds of flowers, fountains and walks of many colored marbles which were matched together in

quaint designs. In an open space near the middle of the court they saw a group of courtiers and their ladies,

who surrounded a lean man who wore upon his head a jeweled crown. His face was hard and sullen and

through the slits of his halfclosed eyelids the eyes glowed like coals of fire. He was dressed in brilliant

This personage was King Krewl, and as soon as Cap'n Bill saw him the old sailor knew at once that he was

"Strangers, Sire," answered the soldier, bowing so low that his forehead touched the marble tiles.

"Strangers, eh? Well, well; what an unexpected visit! Advance, strangers, and give an account of yourselves."

The King's voice was as harsh as his features. Trot shuddered a little but Cap'n Bill calmly replied:

"There ain't much for us to say, 'cept as we've arrived to look over your country an' see how we like it. Judgin'

from the way you speak, you don't know who we are, or you'd be jumpin' up to shake hands an' offer us seats.

Kings usually treat us pretty well, in the great big Outside World where we come from, but in this little

kingdom which don't amount to much, anyhow folks don't seem to 'a' got much culchure."

The King listened with amazement to this bold speech, first with a frown and then gazing at the two children

and the old sailor with evident curiosity. The courtiers were dumb with fear, for no one had ever dared speak

in such a manner to their selfwilled, cruel King before. His Majesty, however, was somewhat frightened, for

cruel people are always cowards, and he feared these mysterious strangers might possess magic powers that

would destroy him unless he treated them well. So he commanded his people to give the new arrivals seats,

After being seated, Cap'n Bill lighted his pipe and began puffing smoke from it, a sight so strange to them

"How did you penetrate to this hidden country? Did you cross the desert or the mountains?"

"Desert," answered Cap'n Bill, as if the task were too easy to be worth talking about.

"Well, it's easy enough, if you know how," asserted Cap'n Bill, so carelessly that it greatly impressed his

hearers. The King shifted in his throne uneasily. He was more afraid of these strangers than before.

"Depends on how we like it," said Cap'n Bill. "Just now I might suggest to your Majesty to order some rooms

got ready for us in your dinky little castle here. And a royal banquet, with some fried onions an' pickled tripe,

"Your wishes shall be attended to," said King Krewl, but his eyes flashed from between their slits in a wicked

way that made Trot hope the food wouldn't be poisoned. At the King's command several of his attendants

hastened away to give the proper orders to the castle servants and no sooner were they gone than a skinny old

This disagreeable person was dressed in rich velvets, with many furbelows and laces. He was covered with

golden chains, finely wrought rings and jeweled ornaments. He walked with mincing steps and glared at all

"Well, well, your Majesty; what news what news?" he demanded, in a shrill, cracked voice.

GooglyGoo cast a contemptuous glance at Cap'n Bill and a disdainful one at Trot and ButtonBright. Then

"Strangers do not interest me, your Majesty. But the Princess Gloria is very interesting very interesting,

"Well," said GooglyGoo in a jaunty tone, "a bird that can sing, and won't sing, must be made to sing."

"Huh!" sneered the King. "That's easy, with a bird; but a girl is harder to manage."

"Still," persisted GooglyGoo, "we must overcome difficulties. The chief trouble is that Gloria fancies she

loves that miserable gardener's boy, Pon. Suppose we throw Pon into the Great Gulf, your Majesty?"

"Too bad, too bad!" sighed GooglyGoo. "I have laid aside more than a bushel of precious gems each

The King's eyes sparkled, for he loved wealth above everything; but the next moment he frowned deeply

"It won't help us to kill Pon," he muttered. "What we must do is kill Gloria's love for Pon."

"That is better, if you can find a way to do it," agreed GooglyGoo. "Everything would come right if you

could kill Gloria's love for that gardener's boy. Really, Sire, now that I come to think of it, there must be fully

Just then a messenger entered the court to say that the banquet was prepared for the strangers. So Cap'n Bill,

Trot and ButtonBright entered the castle and were taken to a room where a fine feast was spread upon the

"Nor I," said Cap'n Bill. "But from the talk we heard I guess the gardener's boy won't get the Princess."

"Perhaps not," returned the girl; "but I hope old Googly doesn't get her, either."

"The King means to sell her for all those jewels," observed ButtonBright, his mouth half full of cake and

"Poor Princess!" sighed Trot. "I'm sorry for her, although I've never seen her. But if she says no to

"Don't let us worry about a strange Princess," advised Cap'n Bill. "I've a notion we're not too safe, ourselves,

The two children felt the same way and all three were rather solemn during the remainder of the meal.

When they had eaten, the servants escorted them to their rooms. Cap'n Bill's room was way to one end of the

castle, very high up, and Trot's room was at the opposite end, rather low down. As for ButtonBright, they

placed him in the middle, so that all were as far apart as they could possibly be. They didn't like this

arrangement very well, but all the rooms were handsomely furnished and being guests of the King they dared

After the strangers had left the courtyard the King and GooglyGoo had a long talk together, and the King

"I cannot force Gloria to marry you just now, because those strangers may interfere. I suspect that the

wooden legged man possesses great magical powers, or he would never have been able to carry himself and

"I don't like him; he looks dangerous," answered GooglyGoo. "But perhaps you are mistaken about his

"Send for the Wicked Witch. She will tell you in a moment whether that woodenlegged person is a common

"Ha! that's a good idea," cried the King. "Why didn't I think of the Wicked Witch before? But the woman

So a servant was dispatched to summon the Wicked Witch, who lived but a few leagues from King Krewl's

castle. While they awaited her, the withered old courtier proposed that they pay a visit to Princess Gloria and

see if she was not now in a more complaisant mood. So the two started away together and searched the castle

At last GooglyGoo suggested she might be in the rear garden, which was a large park filled with bushes and

trees and surrounded by a high wall. And what was their anger, when they turned a corner of the path, to find

in a quiet nook the beautiful Princess, and kneeling before her, Pon, the gardener's boy! With a roar of rage

the King dashed forward; but Pon had scaled the wall by means of a ladder, which still stood in its place, and

when he saw the King coming he ran up the ladder and made good his escape. But this left Gloria confronted

by her angry guardian, the King, and by old GooglyGoo, who was trembling with a fury he could not

Seizing the Princess by her arm the King dragged her back to the castle. Pushing her into a room on the lower

floor he locked the door upon the unhappy girl. And at that moment the arrival of the Wicked Witch was

Hearing this, the King smiled, as a tiger smiles, showing his teeth. And GooglyGoo smiled, as a serpent

smiles, for he had no teeth except a couple of fangs. And having frightened each other with these smiles the

two dreadful men went away to the Royal Council Chamber to meet the Wicked Witch.

Now it so happened that Trot, from the window of her room, had witnessed the meeting of the lovers in the

garden and had seen the King come and drag Gloria away. The little girl's heart went out in sympathy for the

poor Princess, who seemed to her to be one of the sweetest and loveliest young ladies she had ever seen, so

she crept along the passages and from a hidden niche saw Gloria locked in her room.

The key was still in the lock, so when the King had gone away, followed by GooglyGoo, Trot stole up to the

door, turned the key and entered. The Princess lay prone upon a couch, sobbing bitterly. Trot went up to her

"Don't cry," she said. "I've unlocked the door, so you can go away any time you want to."

"It isn't that," sobbed the Princess. "I am unhappy because they will not let me love Pon, the gardener's boy!"

"Well, never mind; Pon isn't any great shakes, anyhow, seems to me," said Trot soothingly. "There are lots of

"Pon has won my heart, and I can't help loving him," she explained. Then with sudden indignation she added:

"I should say not!" replied Trot. "Pon may not be much good, but old Googly is very, very bad. Hunt around,

and I'm sure you'll find someone worth your love. You're very pretty, you know, and almost anyone ought to

"You don't understand, my dear," said Gloria, as she wiped the tears from her eyes with a dainty lace

handkerchief bordered with pearls. "When you are older you will realize that a young lady cannot decide

whom she will love, or choose the most worthy. Her heart alone decides for her, and whomsoever her heart

Trot was a little puzzled by this speech, which seemed to her unreasonable; but she made no reply and

presently Gloria's grief softened and she began to question the little girl about herself and her adventures.

Trot told her how they had happened to come to Jinxland, and all about Cap'n Bill and the Ork and Pessim

While they were thus conversing together, getting more and more friendly as they became better acquainted,

in the Council Chamber the King and GooglyGoo were talking with the Wicked Witch.

This evil creature was old and ugly. She had lost one eye and wore a black patch over it, so the people of

Jinxland had named her "Blinkie." Of course witches are forbidden to exist in the Land of Oz, but Jinxland

was so far removed from the center of Ozma's dominions, and so absolutely cut off from it by the steep

mountains and the bottomless gulf, that the laws of Oz were not obeyed very well in that country. So there

were several witches in Jinxland who were the terror of the people, but King Krewl favored them and

Blinkie was the leader of all the other witches and therefore the most hated and feared. The King used her

witchcraft at times to assist him in carrying out his cruelties and revenge, but he was always obliged to pay

Blinkie large sums of money or heaps of precious jewels before she would undertake an enchantment. This

made him hate the old woman almost as much as his subjects did, but today Lord GooglyGoo had agreed

"Can you destroy the love of Princess Gloria for the gardener's boy?" inquired his Majesty.

"That's a hard question to answer. I can do lots of clever magic, but love is a stubborn thing to conquer. When

you think you've killed it, it's liable to bob up again as strong as ever. I believe love and cats have nine lives.

In other words, killing love is a hard job, even for a skillful witch, but I believe I can do something that will

"I can freeze the girl's heart. I've got a special incantation for that, and when Gloria's heart is thoroughly

They bargained a long time as to the price, but finally the old courtier agreed to pay the Wicked Witch's

demands. It was arranged that they should take Gloria to Blinkie's house the next day, to have her heart

Then King Krewl mentioned to the old hag the strangers who had that day arrived in Jinxland, and said to

"I think the two children the boy and the girl are unable to harm me, but I have a suspicion that the

"If you are right," she said, "this wizard might spoil my incantation and interfere with me in other ways. So it

will be best for me to meet this stranger at once and match my magic against his, to decide which is the

"All right," said the King. "Come with me and I will lead you to the man's room."

GooglyGoo did not accompany them, as he was obliged to go home to get the money and jewels he had

promised to pay old Blinkie, so the other two climbed several flights of stairs and went through many

The sailorman, finding his bed soft and inviting, and being tired with the adventures he had experienced,

had decided to take a nap. When the Wicked Witch and the King softly opened his door and entered, Cap'n

Blinkie approached the bed and with her one eye anxiously stared at the sleeping stranger.

"Ah," she said in a soft whisper, "I believe you are right, King Krewl. The man looks to me like a very

powerful wizard. But by good luck I have caught him asleep, so I shall transform him before he wakes up,

"Careful!" cautioned the King, also speaking low. "If he discovers what you are doing he may destroy you,

But the Wicked Witch realized as well as he did that she must be careful. She carried over her arm a black

bag, from which she now drew several packets carefully wrapped in paper. Three of these she selected,

replacing the others in the bag. Two of the packets she mixed together. and then she cautiously opened the

"Better stand back, your Majesty," she advised, "for if this powder falls on you you might be transformed

The King hastily retreated to the end of the room. As Blinkie mixed the third powder with the others she

waved her hands over it, mumbled a few words, and then backed away as quickly as she could.

Cap'n Bill was slumbering peacefully, all unconscious of what was going on. Puff! A great cloud of smoke

rolled over the bed and completely hid him from view. When the smoke rolled away, both Blinkie and the

King saw that the body of the stranger had quite disappeared, while in his place, crouching in the middle of

One curious thing about this grasshopper was that the last joint of its left leg was made of wood. Another

curious thing considering it was a grasshopper was that it began talking, crying out in a tiny but sharp

"Here you people! What do you mean by treating me so? Put me back where I belong, at once, or you'll be

The cruel King turned pale at hearing the grasshopper's threats, but the Wicked Witch merely laughed in

derision. Then she raised her stick and aimed a vicious blow at the grasshopper, but before the stick struck the

bed the tiny hopper made a marvelous jump marvelous, indeed, when we consider that it had a wooden

leg. It rose in the air and sailed across the room and passed right through the open window, where it

"Good!" shouted the King. "We are well rid of this desperate wizard." And then they both laughed heartily at

After Trot had visited a time with Princess Gloria, the little girl went to ButtonBright's room but did not find

him there. Then she went to Cap'n Bill's room, but he was not there because the witch and the King had been

there before her. So she made her way downstairs and questioned the servants. They said they had seen the

little boy go out into the garden, some time ago, but the old man with the wooden leg they had not seen at all.

Therefore Trot, not knowing what else to do, rambled through the great gardens, seeking for ButtonBright

or Cap'n Bill and not finding either of them. This part of the garden, which lay before the castle, was not

walled in, but extended to the roadway, and the paths were open to the edge of the forest; so, after two hours

"I live here," said Trot, "so it's all right to let me in. The King has given me a room."

"Well, he has taken it back again," was the soldier's reply. "His Majesty's orders are to turn you away if you

attempt to enter. I am also ordered to forbid the boy, your companion, to again enter the King's castle."

"Why, it seems he has mysteriously disappeared," replied the soldier, shaking his head ominously. "Where he

has gone to, I can't make out, but I can assure you he is no longer in this castle. I'm sorry, little girl, to

Now, all her life Trot had been accustomed to depend on Cap'n Bill, so when this good friend was suddenly

taken from her she felt very miserable and forlorn indeed. She was brave enough not to cry before the soldier,

or even to let him see her grief and anxiety, but after she was turned away from the castle she sought a quiet

It was ButtonBright who found her, at last, just as the sun had set and the shades of evening were falling. He

also had been turned away from the King's castle, when he tried to enter it, and in the park he came across

"Well, so do I," was the reply. "But we haven't got him. Where do you s'pose he is, Trot?

ButtonBright sat on the bench beside her and thrust his hands in the pockets of his knickerbockers. Then he

"Cap'n Bill isn't around here," he said, letting his eyes wander over the dim garden, "so we must go

somewhere else if we want to find him. Besides, it's fast getting dark, and if we want to find a place to sleep

He rose from the bench as he said this and Trot also jumped up, drying her eyes on her apron. Then she

walked beside him out of the grounds of the King's castle. They did not go by the main path, but passed

through an opening in a hedge and found themselves in a small but wellworn roadway. Following this for

some distance, along a winding way, they came upon no house or building that would afford them refuge for

the night. It became so dark that they could scarcely see their way, and finally Trot stopped and suggested

"All right," said ButtonBright, "I've often found that leaves make a good warm blanket. But look there,

"It certainly is, ButtonBright. Let's go over and see if it's a house. Whoever lives there couldn't treat us

To reach the light they had to leave the road, so they stumbled over hillocks and brushwood, hand in hand,

They were rather forlorn little waifs, outcasts in a strange country and forsaken by their only friend and

guardian, Cap'n Bill. So they were very glad when finally they reached a small cottage and, looking in

through its one window, saw Pon, the gardener's boy, sitting by a fire of twigs.

As Trot opened the door and walked boldly in, Pon sprang up to greet them. They told him of Cap'n Bill's

disappearance and how they had been turned out of the King's castle. As they finished the story Pon shook his

"King Krewl is plotting mischief, I fear," said he, "for today he sent for old Blinkie, the Wicked Witch, and

with my own eyes I saw her come from the castle and hobble away toward her hut. She had been with the

King and GooglyGoo, and I was afraid they were going to work some enchantment on Gloria so she would

no longer love me. But perhaps the witch was only called to the castle to enchant your friend, Cap'n Bill."

"I don't know. But he has disappeared, so I'm pretty certain she has done something dreadful to him. But don't

worry. If it has happened, it can't be helped, and if it hasn't happened we may be able to find him in the

With this Pon went to the cupboard and brought food for them. Trot was far too worried to eat, but

ButtonBright made a good supper from the simple food and then lay down before the fire and went to sleep.

The little girl and the gardener's boy, however, sat for a long time staring into the fire, busy with their

thoughts. But at last Trot, too, became sleepy and Pon gently covered her with the one blanket he possessed.

Then he threw more wood on the fire and laid himself down before it, next to Button Bright. Soon all three

were fast asleep. They were in a good deal of trouble; but they were young, and sleep was good to them

That country south of the Emerald City, in the Land of Oz, is known as the Quadling Country, and in the very

southernmost part of it stands a splendid palace in which lives Glinda the Good.

Glinda is the Royal Sorceress of Oz. She has wonderful magical powers and uses them only to benefit the

subjects of Ozma's kingdom. Even the famous Wizard of Oz pays tribute to her, for Glinda taught him all the

real magic he knows, and she is his superior in all sorts of sorcery Everyone loves Glinda, from the dainty

and exquisite Ruler, Ozma, down to the humblest inhabitant of Oz, for she is always kindly and helpful and

willing to listen to their troubles, however busy she may be. No one knows her age, but all can see how

beautiful and stately she is. Her hair is like red gold and finer than the finest silken strands. Her eyes are blue

as the sky and always frank and smiling. Her cheeks are the envy of peachblows and her mouth is enticing

as a rosebud. Glinda is tall and wears splendid gowns that trail behind her as she walks. She wears no jewels,

For attendants Glinda has half a hundred of the loveliest girls in Oz. They are gathered from all over Oz, from

among the Winkies, the Munchkins, the Gillikins and the Quadlings, as well as from Ozma's magnificent

Emerald City, and it is considered a great favor to be allowed to serve the Royal Sorceress.

Among the many wonderful things in Glinda's palace is the Great Book of Records. In this book is inscribed

everything that takes place in all the world, just the instant it happens; so that by referring to its pages Glinda

knows what is taking place far and near, in every country that exists. In this way she learns when and where

she can help any in distress or danger, and although her duties are confined to assisting those who inhabit the

Land of Oz, she is always interested in what takes place in the unprotected outside world.

So it was that on a certain evening Glinda sat in her library, surrounded by a bevy of her maids, who were

engaged in spinning, weaving and embroidery, when an attendant announced the arrival at the palace of the

This personage was one of the most famous and popular in all the Land of Oz. His body was merely a suit of

Munchkin clothes stuffed with straw, but his head was a round sack filled with bran, with which the Wizard

of Oz had mixed some magic brains of a very superior sort. The eyes, nose and mouth of the Scarecrow were

painted upon the front of the sack, as were his ears, and since this quaint being had been endowed with life,

The Scarecrow was good all through, even to his brains, and while he was naturally awkward in his

movements and lacked the neat symmetry of other people, his disposition was so kind and considerate and he

was so obliging and honest, that all who knew him loved him, and there were few people in Oz who had not

met our Scarecrow and made his acquaintance. He lived part of the time in Ozma's palace at the Emerald

City, part of the time in his own corncob castle in the Winkie Country, and part of the time he traveled over

all Oz, visiting with the people and playing with the children, whom he dearly loved.

It was on one of his wandering journeys that the Scarecrow had arrived at Glinda's palace, and the Sorceress

at once made him welcome. As he sat beside her, talking of his adventures, he asked:

"Here is an item quite curious and interesting," she announced, an accent of surprise in her voice. "Three

"Very near here, a little to the east of us," she said. "In fact, Jinxland is a little slice taken off the Quadling

Country, but separated from it by a range of high mountains, at the foot of which lies a wide, deep gulf that is

"Yes," returned Glinda, "but Oz people know nothing of it, except what is recorded here in my book."

"It is ruled by a wicked man called King Krewl, although he has no right to the title. Most of the people are

good, but they are very timid and live in constant fear of their fierce ruler. There are also several Wicked

"Yes, they seem to understand witchcraft in its most evil form, for one of them has just transformed a

respectable and honest old sailor one of the strangers who arrived there into a grasshopper. This same

witch, Blinkie by name, is also planning to freeze the heart of a beautiful Jinxland girl named Princess

Glinda's face was very grave. She read in her book how Trot and ButtonBright were turned out of the King's

"I'm afraid those helpless earth people will endure much suffering in Jinxland, even if the wicked King and

the witches permit them to live," said the good Sorceress, thoughtfully. "I wish I might help them."

"Can I do anything?" asked the Scarecrow, anxiously. "If so, tell me what to do, and I'll do it."

For a few moments Glinda did not reply, but sat musing over the records. Then she said: "I am going to send

"All right," answered the Scarecrow in a cheerful voice. "I know ButtonBright already, for he has been in

the Land of Oz before. You remember he went away from the Land of Oz in one of our Wizard's big

"Yes," said Glinda, "I remember that." Then she carefully instructed the Scarecrow what to do and gave him

certain magical things which he placed in the pockets of his ragged Munchkin coat.

"The night is the same as day to me," he replied, "except that I cannot see my way so well in the dark."

So the Scarecrow bade her goodbye and at once started on his journey. By morning he had reached the

mountains that separated the Quadling Country from Jinxland. The sides of these mountains were too steep to

climb, but the Scarecrow took a small rope from his pocket and tossed one end upward, into the air. The rope

unwound itself for hundreds of feet, until it caught upon a peak of rock at the very top of a mountain, for it

was a magic rope furnished him by Glinda. The Scarecrow climbed the rope and, after pulling it up, let it

down on the other side of the mountain range. When he descended the rope on this side he found himself in

Jinxland, but at his feet yawned the Great Gulf, which must be crossed before he could proceed any farther.

The Scarecrow knelt down and examined the ground carefully, and in a moment he discovered a fuzzy brown

spider that had rolled itself into a ball. So he took two tiny pills from his pocket and laid them beside the

spider, which unrolled itself and quickly ate up the pills. Then the Scarecrow said in a voice of command:

In a few moments the little creature had spun two slender but strong strands that reached way across the gulf,

one being five or six feet above the other. When these were completed the Scarecrow started across the tiny

bridge, walking upon one strand as a person walks upon a rope, and holding to the upper strand with his

hands to prevent him from losing his balance and toppling over into the gulf. The tiny threads held him

Presently he was safe across and standing on the plains of Jinxland. Far away he could see the towers of the

In the hut of Pon, the gardener's boy, ButtonBright was the first to waken in the morning. Leaving his

companions still asleep, he went out into the fresh morning air and saw some blackberries growing on bushes

in a field not far away. Going to the bushes he found the berries ripe and sweet, so he began eating them.

More bushes were scattered over the fields, so the boy wandered on, from bush to bush, without paying any

heed to where he was wandering. Then a butterfly fluttered by. He gave chase to it and followed it a long

way. When finally he paused to look around him, ButtonBright could see no sign of Pon's house, nor had he

"Well, I'm lost again," he remarked to himself. "But never mind; I've been lost lots of times. Someone is sure

Trot was a little worried about ButtonBright when she awoke and found him gone. Knowing how careless

he was, she believed that he had strayed away, but felt that he would come back in time, because he had a

habit of not staying lost. Pon got the little girl some food for her breakfast and then together they went out of

Pon's house was some distance off the road, but they could see it from where they stood and both gave a start

of surprise when they discovered two soldiers walking along the roadway and escorting Princess Gloria

between them. The poor girl had her hands bound together, to prevent her from struggling, and the soldiers

Behind this group came King Krewl, wearing his jeweled crown and swinging in his hand a slender golden

"Where are they going?" asked Trot. "To the house of the Wicked Witch, I fear," Pon replied. "Come, let us

"We won't let them. I know a short cut through the trees to Blinkie's house," said he.

So they hurried away through the trees and reached the house of the witch ahead of the King and his soldiers.

Hiding themselves in the shrubbery, they watched the approach of poor Gloria and her escort, all of whom

passed so near to them that Pon could have put out a hand and touched his sweetheart, had he dared to.

Blinkie's house had eight sides, with a door and a window in each side. Smoke was coming out of the

chimney and as the guards brought Gloria to one of the doors it was opened by the old witch in person. She

chuckled with evil glee and rubbed her skinny hands together to show the delight with which she greeted her

victim, for Blinkie was pleased to be able to perform her wicked rites on one so fair and sweet as the

Gloria struggled to resist when they bade her enter the house, so the soldiers forced her through the doorway

and even the King gave her a shove as he followed close behind. Pon was so incensed at the cruelty shown

Gloria that he forgot all caution and rushed forward to enter the house also; but one of the soldiers prevented

him, pushing the gardener's boy away with violence and slamming the door in his face.

"Never mind," said Trot soothingly, as Pon rose from where he had fallen. "You couldn't do much to help the

poor Princess if you were inside. How unfortunate it is that you are in love with her!"

"True," he answered sadly, "it is indeed my misfortune. If I did not love her, it would be none of my business

what the King did to his niece Gloria; but the unlucky circumstance of my loving her makes it my duty to

"No; I am powerless, for they are stronger than I. But we might peek in through the window and see what

Trot was somewhat curious, too, so they crept up to one of the windows and looked in, and it so happened

that those inside the witch's house were so busy they did not notice that Pon and Trot were watching them.

Gloria had been tied to a stout post in the center of the room and the King was giving the Wicked Witch a

quantity of money and jewels, which GooglyGoo had provided in payment. When this had been done the

"Are you perfectly sure you can freeze this maiden's heart, so that she will no longer love that low gardener's

"Then get to work," said the King. "There may be some unpleasant features about the ceremony that would

annoy me, so I'll bid you good day and leave you to carry out your contract. One word, however: If you fail, I

shall burn you at the stake!" Then he beckoned to his soldiers to follow him, and throwing wide the door of

This action was so sudden that King Krewl almost caught Trot and Pon eavesdropping, but they managed to

run around the house before he saw them. Away he marched, up the road, followed by his men, heartlessly

When they again crept up to the window, Trot and Pon saw Blinkie gloating over her victim. Although nearly

fainting from fear, the proud Princess gazed with haughty defiance into the face of the wicked creature; but

she was bound so tightly to the post that she could do no more to express her loathing.

Pretty soon Blinkie went to a kettle that was swinging by a chain over the fire and tossed into it several

magical compounds. The kettle gave three flashes, and at every flash another witch appeared in the room.

These hags were very ugly but when oneeyed Blinkie whispered her orders to them they grinned with joy as

they began dancing around Gloria. First one and then another cast something into the kettle, when to the

astonishment of the watchers at the window all three of the old women were instantly transformed into

maidens of exquisite beauty, dressed in the daintiest costumes imaginable. Only their eyes could not be

disguised, and an evil glare still shone in their depths. But if the eyes were cast down or hidden, one could not

help but admire these beautiful creatures, even with the knowledge that they were mere illusions of

Trot certainly admired them, for she had never seen anything so dainty and bewitching, but her attention was

quickly drawn to their deeds instead of their persons, and then horror replaced admiration. Into the kettle old

Blinkie poured another mess from a big brass bottle she took from a chest, and this made the kettle begin to

bubble and smoke violently. One by one the beautiful witches approached to stir the contents of the kettle and

to mutter a magic charm. Their movements were graceful and rhythmic and the Wicked Witch who had

Finally the incantation was complete. The kettle ceased bubbling and together the witches lifted it from the

fire. Then Blinkie brought a wooden ladle and filled it from the contents of the kettle. Going with the spoon

Trot saw the body of the Princess become transparent, so that her beating heart showed plainly. But now the

heart turned from a vivid red to gray, and then to white. A layer of frost formed about it and tiny icicles clung

to its surface. Then slowly the body of the girl became visible again and the heart was hidden from view.

Gloria seemed to have fainted, but now she recovered and, opening her beautiful eyes, stared coldly and

Blinkie and the others knew by that one cold look that their charm had been successful. They burst into a

chorus of wild laughter and the three beautiful ones began dancing again, while Blinkie unbound the Princess

Trot rubbed her eyes to prove that she was wide awake and seeing clearly, for her astonishment was great

when the three lovely maidens turned into ugly, crooked hags again, leaning on broomsticks and canes. They

jeered at Gloria, but the Princess regarded them with cold disdain. Being now free, she walked to a door,

Trot and Pon had been so intent upon this scene that in their eagerness they had pressed quite hard against the

window. Just as Gloria went out of the house the window sash broke loose from its fastenings and fell with

a crash into the room. The witches uttered a chorus of screams and then, seeing that their magical incantation

had been observed, they rushed for the open window with uplifted broomsticks and canes. But Pon was off

like the wind, and Trot followed at his heels. Fear lent them strength to run, to leap across ditches, to speed

The band of witches had dashed through the window in pursuit; but Blinkie was so old, and the others so

crooked and awkward, that they soon realized they would be unable to overtake the fugitives. So the three

who had been summoned by the Wicked Witch put their canes or broomsticks between their legs and flew

away through the air, quickly disappearing against the blue sky. Blinkie, however, was so enraged at Pon and

Trot that she hobbled on in the direction they had taken, fully determined to catch them, in time, and to

When Pon and Trot had run so far that they were confident they had made good their escape, they sat down

near the edge of a forest to get their breath again, for both were panting hard from their exertions. Trot was

"Well, they froze her heart, to be sure," admitted Pon, "but I'm in hopes I can melt it with my love."

"She left the witch's house just before we did. Perhaps she has gone back to the King's castle," he said.

"I'm pretty sure she started off in a diff'rent direction," declared Trot. "I looked over my shoulder, as I ran, to

see how close the witches were, and I'm sure I saw Gloria walking slowly away toward the north."

"Then let us circle around that way," proposed Pon, "and perhaps we shall meet her."

Trot agreed to this and they left the grove and began to circle around toward the north, thus drawing nearer

and nearer to old Blinkie's house again. The Wicked Witch did not suspect this change of direction, so when

Pon and Trot had reached a place less than half a mile from the witch's house when they saw Gloria walking

toward them. The Princess moved with great dignity and with no show of haste whatever, holding her head

Pon rushed forward, holding out his arms as if to embrace her and calling her sweet names. But Gloria gazed

upon him coldly and repelled him with a haughty gesture. At this the poor gardener's boy sank upon his knees

and hid his face in his arms, weeping bitter tears; but the Princess was not at all moved by his distress.

Passing him by, she drew her skirts aside, as if unwilling they should touch him, and then she walked up the

Trot was grieved by Pon's sobs and indignant because Gloria treated him so badly. But she remembered why.

"I guess your heart is frozen, all right," she said to the Princess. Gloria nodded gravely, in reply, and then

turned her back upon the little girl. "Can't you like even me?" asked Trot, half pleadingly.

"Your voice sounds like a refrig'rator," sighed the little girl. "I'm awful sorry for you, 'cause you were sweet

an' nice to me before this happened. You can't help it, of course; but it's a dreadful thing, jus' the same."

"My heart is frozen to all mortal loves," announced Gloria, calmly. "I do not love even myself."

"That's too bad," said Trot, "for, if you can't love anybody, you can't expect anybody to love you."

"Well, you're just a gardener's boy," replied Trot, "and I didn't think you 'mounted to much, from the first. I

can love the old Princess Gloria, with a warm heart an' nice manners, but this one gives me the shivers."

"That's enough," insisted Trot. "Seeing her heart isn't big enough to skate on, I can't see that she's of any use

"I will go with you," decided Pon. "It is evident that Gloria no longer loves me and that her heart is frozen too

stiff for me to melt it with my own love; therefore I may as well help you to find your friends."

As Trot started off, Pon cast one more imploring look at the Princess, who returned it with a chilly stare. So

As for the Princess, she hesitated a moment and then turned in the same direction the others had taken, but

going far more slowly. Soon she heard footsteps pattering behind her, and up came GooglyGoo. a little out

"Stop, Gloria!" he cried. "I have come to take you back to my mansion, where we are to be married."

She looked at him wonderingly a moment, then tossed her head disdainfully and walked on. But GooglyGoo

"What does this mean?" he demanded. "Haven't you discovered that you no longer love that gardener's boy,

"Yes; I have discovered it," she replied. "My heart is frozen to all mortal loves. I cannot love you, or Pon, or

the cruel King my uncle, or even myself. Go your way, GooglyGoo, for I will wed no one at all."

He stopped in dismay when he heard this, but in another minute he exclaimed angrily:

"You must wed me, Princess Gloria, whether you want to or not! I paid to have your heart frozen; I also paid

the King to permit our marriage. If you now refuse me it will mean that I have been robbed robbed

He almost wept with despair, but she laughed a cold, bitter laugh and passed on. GooglyGoo caught at her

arm, as if to restrain her, but she whirled and dealt him a blow that sent him reeling into a ditch beside the

path. Here he lay for a long time, half covered by muddy water, dazed with surprise.

Finally the old courtier arose, dripping, and climbed from the ditch. The Princess had gone; so, muttering

threats of vengeance upon her, upon the King and upon Blinkie, old GooglyGoo hobbled back to his

Trot and Pon covered many leagues of ground, searching through forests, in fields and in many of the little

villages of Jinxland, but could find no trace of either Cap'n Bill or ButtonBright. Finally they paused beside

a cornfield and sat upon a stile to rest. Pon took some apples from his pocket and gave one to Trot. Then he

began eating another himself, for this was their time for luncheon. When his apple was finished Pon tossed

"Tchuktchuk!" said a strange voice. "what do you mean by hitting me in the eye with an applecore?"

Then rose up the form of the Scarecrow, who had hidden himself in the cornfield while he examined Pon and

"Ah, you are the gardener's boy," he said to Pon. Then he turned to Trot. "And you are the little girl who

came to Jinxland riding on a big bird, and who has had the misfortune to lose her friend, Cap'n Bill, and her

"I know a lot of things," replied the Scarecrow, winking at her comically. "My brains are the Carefully

Assorted, DoubleDistilled, HighEfficiency sort that the Wizard of Oz makes. He admits, himself, that my

"I think I've heard of you," said Trot slowly, as she looked the Scarecrow over with much interest; "but you

"Oh, I do now," he replied cheerfully. "I've just come over the mountains from the Quadling Country to see if

"I'm doing that myself," said Pon, a little ungraciously. "If you will pardon me for saying so, I don't see how a

"If you don't see that, you are more blind than the Scarecrow," asserted Trot. "He's a fairy man, Pon, and

comes from the fairyland of Oz, so he can do 'most anything. I hope," she added, turning to the Scarecrow,

"I will try, anyhow," he promised. "But who is that old woman who is running toward us and shaking her

Trot and Pon turned around and both uttered an exclamation of fear. The next instant they took to their heels

and ran fast up the path. For it was old Blinkie, the Wicked Witch, who had at last traced them to this place.

Her anger was so great that she was determined not to abandon the chase of Pon and Trot until she had caught

and punished them. The Scarecrow understood at once that the old woman meant harm to his new friends, so

as she drew near he stepped before her. His appearance was so sudden and unexpected that Blinkie ran into

him and toppled him over, but she tripped on his straw body and went rolling in the path beside him.

The Scarecrow sat up and said: "I beg your pardon!" but she whacked him with her stick and knocked him

flat again. Then, furious with rage, the old witch sprang upon her victim and began pulling the straw out of

his body. The poor Scarecrow was helpless to resist and in a few moments all that was left of him was an

empty suit of clothes and a heap of straw beside it. Fortunately, Blinkie did not harm his head, for it rolled

into a little hollow and escaped her notice. Fearing that Pon and Trot would escape her, she quickly resumed

the chase and disappeared over the brow of a hill, following the direction in which she had seen them go.

Only a short time elapsed before a gray grasshopper with a wooden leg came hopping along and lit directly

"That is a question I have never been able to decide," said the Scarecrow's head. "When my body is properly

stuffed I have animation and can move around as well as any live person. The brains in the head you are now

occupying as a throne, are of very superior quality and do a lot of very clever thinking. But whether that is

being alive, or not, I cannot prove to you; for one who lives is liable to death, while I am only liable to

"Seems to me," said the grasshopper, rubbing his nose with his front legs, "that in your case it doesn't matter

"I am not; all I need is restuffing," declared the Scarecrow; "and if Pon and Trot escape the witch, and come

"Tell me! Are Trot and Pon around here?" inquired the grasshopper, its small voice trembling with

The Scarecrow did not answer at once, for both his eyes were staring straight upward at a beautiful face that

was slightly bent over his head. It was, indeed, Princess Gloria, who had wandered to this spot, very much

surprised when she heard the Scarecrow's head talk and the tiny gray grasshopper answer it.

"This," said the Scarecrow, still staring at her, "must be the Princess who loves Pon, the gardener's boy."

"Oh, indeed!" exclaimed the grasshopper who of course was Cap'n Bill as he examined the young lady

"No," said Gloria frigidly, "I do not love Pon, or anyone else, for the Wicked Witch has frozen my heart."

"What a shame!" cried the Scarecrow. "One so lovely should be able to love. But would you mind, my dear,

The dainty Princess glanced at the straw and at the wellworn blue Munchkin clothes and shrank back in

disdain. But she was spared from refusing the Scarecrow's request by the appearance of Trot and Pon, who

had hidden in some bushes just over the brow of the hill and waited until old Blinkie had passed them by.

Their hiding place was on the same side as the witch's blind eye, and she rushed on in the chase of the girl

Trot was shocked at the Scarecrow's sad condition and at once began putting the straw back into his body.

Pon, at sight of Gloria, again appealed to her to take pity on him, but the frozenhearted Princess turned

Neither of them at first noticed the small grasshopper, which at their appearance had skipped off the

Scarecrow's nose and was now clinging to a wisp of grass beside the path, where he was not likely to be

stepped upon. Not until the Scarecrow had been neatly restuffed and set upon his feet again when he

bowed to his restorers and expressed his thanks did the grasshopper move from his perch. Then he leaped

"Trot Trot! Look at me. I'm Cap'n Bill! See what the Wicked Witch has done to me."

The voice was small, to be sure, but it reached Trot's ears and startled her greatly. She looked intently at the

grasshopper, her eyes wide with fear at first; then she knelt down and, noticing the wooden leg, she began to

"Don't cry, Trot," begged the grasshopper. "It didn't hurt any, and it doesn't hurt now. But it's mighty

"I wish," said the girl indignantly, while trying hard to restrain her tears, "that I was big 'nough an' strong

'nough to give that horrid witch a good beating. She ought to be turned into a toad for doing this to you, Cap'n

"Never mind," urged the Scarecrow, in a comforting voice, "such a transformation doesn't last always, and as

a general thing there's some way to break the enchantment. I'm sure Glinda could do it, in a jiffy."

Then the Scarecrow told them all about Glinda, not forgetting to mention her beauty and goodness and her

wonderful powers of magic. He also explained how the Royal Sorceress had sent him to Jinxland especially

to help the strangers, whom she knew to be in danger because of the wiles of the cruel King and the Wicked

Gloria had drawn near to the group to listen to their talk, and it seemed to interest her in spite of her frigid

manner. They knew, of course, that the poor Princess could not help being cold and reserved, so they tried not

"I ought to have come here a little sooner," said the Scarecrow, regretfully; "but Glinda sent me as soon as

she discovered you were here and were likely to get into trouble. And now that we are all together except

ButtonBright, over whom it is useless to worry I propose we hold a council of war, to decide what is best

That seemed a wise thing to do, so they all sat down upon the grass, including Gloria, and the grasshopper

perched upon Trot's shoulder and allowed her to stroke him gently with her hand.

"In the first place," began the Scarecrow, "this King Krewl is a usurper and has no right to rule this Kingdom

"You are a gardener's boy," interrupted the Scarecrow. "Your father had no right to rule, either, for the

rightful King of this land was the father of Princess Gloria, and only she is entitled to sit upon the throne of

"Good!" exclaimed Trot. "But what'll we do with King Krewl? I s'pose he won't give up the throne unless he

"No, of course not," said the Scarecrow. "Therefore it will be our duty to make him give up the throne."

"Give me time to think," was the reply. "That's what my brains are for. I don't know whether you people ever

think, or not, but my brains are the best that the Wizard of Oz ever turned out, and if I give them plenty of

"Thank you," said the straw man, and sat perfectly still for half an hour. During this interval the grasshopper

whispered in Trot's ear, to which he was very close, and Trot whispered back to the grasshopper sitting upon

her shoulder. Pon cast loving glances at Gloria, who paid not the slightest heed to them.

"Yes. They seem in fine order today. We will conquer King Krewl and put Gloria upon his throne as Queen

"Fine!" cried the little girl, clapping her hands together gleefully. "But how?"

As a conqueror I'm a wonder. We will, first of all, write a message to send to King Krewl, asking him to

"Why, we must be polite, whatever we do," explained the Scarecrow. "It would be very rude to conquer a

They found it difficult to write a message without paper, pen and ink, none of which was at hand; so it was

decided to send Pon as a messenger, with instructions to ask the King, politely but firmly, to surrender.

Pon was not anxious to be the messenger. Indeed, he hinted that it might prove a dangerous mission. But the

Scarecrow was now the acknowledged head of the Army of Conquest, and he would listen to no refusal. So

off Pon started for the King's castle, and the others accompanied him as far as his hut, where they had decided

I think it was because Pon had known the Scarecrow such a short time that he lacked confidence in the straw

man's wisdom. It was easy to say: "We will conquer King Krewl," but when Pon drew near to the great castle

he began to doubt the ability of a strawstuffed man, a girl, a grasshopper and a frozenhearted Princess to

That was why the gardener's boy was not very bold when he entered the castle and passed through to the

enclosed court where the King was just then seated, with his favorite courtiers around him. None prevented

Pon's entrance, because he was known to be the gardener's boy, but when the King saw him he began to

frown fiercely. He considered Pon to be to blame for all his trouble with Princess Gloria, who since her heart

had been frozen had escaped to some unknown place, instead of returning to the castle to wed GoqglyGoo,

as she had been expected to do. So the King bared his teeth angrily as he demanded:

"Nothing, your Majesty! I have done nothing at all," answered Pon in a faltering voice. "She does not love me

Pon looked first one way and then another, but saw no means of escape; so he plucked up courage.

Some of the courtiers began to titter, but King Krewl was greatly annoyed. He sprang up and began to beat

poor Pon with the golden staff he carried. Pon howled lustily and would have run away had not two of the

soldiers held him until his Majesty was exhausted with punishing the boy. Then they let him go and he left

the castle and returned along the road, sobbing at every step because his body was so sore and aching.

Trot was very sorry for Pon, but Gloria did not seem affected in any way by her lover's anguish. The

grasshopper leaped to the Scarecrow's shoulder and asked him what he was going to do next.

"Conquer," was the reply. "But I will go alone, this time, for beatings cannot hurt me at all; nor can lance

"Because I have no nerves, such as you meat people possess. Even grasshoppers have nerves, but straw

doesn't; so whatever they do except just one thing they cannot injure me. Therefore I expect to conquer

"They will never think of it, so never mind. And now, if you will kindly excuse me for a time, I'll go over to

"True," said the Scarecrow. "But if I carried weapons I might injure someone perhaps seriously and

that would make me unhappy. I will just borrow that riding whip, which I see in the corner of your hut, if

you don't mind. It isn't exactly proper to walk with a ridingwhip, but I trust you will excuse the

Pon handed him the whip and the Scarecrow bowed to all the party and left the hut, proceeding leisurely

I must now tell you what had become of ButtonBright since he wandered away in the morning and got lost.

This small boy, as perhaps you have discovered, was almost as destitute of nerves as the Scarecrow. Nothing

ever astonished him much; nothing ever worried him or made him unhappy. Good fortune or bad fortune he

accepted with a quiet smile, never complaining, whatever happened. This was one reason why ButtonBright

was a favorite with all who knew him and perhaps it was the reason why he so often got into difficulties,

Today, as he wandered here and there, over hill and down dale, he missed Trot and Cap'n Bill, of whom he

was fond, but nevertheless he was not unhappy. The birds sang merrily and the wildflowers were beautiful

"The only bad thing about this country is its King," he reflected; "but the country isn't to blame for that."

A prairiedog stuck its round head out of a mound of earth and looked at the boy with bright eyes.

"Walk around my house, please," it said, "and then you won't harm it or disturb the babies."

"All right," answered ButtonBright, and took care not to step on the mound. He went on, whistling merrily,

ButtonBright saw an old gray owl sitting in the crotch of a tree, and he replied with a laugh: "All right, old

Fussy," and stopped whistling until he had passed out of the owl's hearing. At noon he came to a farmhouse

where an aged couple lived. They gave him a good dinner and treated him kindly, but the man was deaf and

the woman was dumb, so they could answer no questions to guide him on the way to Pon's house. When he

Every grove of trees he saw from a distance he visited, for he remembered that the King's castle was near a

grove of trees and Pon's hut was near the King's castle; but always he met with disappointment. Finally,

passing through one of these groves, he came out into the open and found himself face to face with the Ork.

"From Orkland," was the reply. "I've found my own country, at last, and it is not far from here, either. I

would have come back to you sooner, to see how you are getting along, had not my family and friends

welcomed my return so royally that a great celebration was held in my honor. So I couldn't very well leave

"Yes, easily; for now I know exactly where it is. But where are Trot and Cap'n Bill?"

ButtonBright related to the Ork their adventures since it had left them in Jinxland, telling of Trot's fear that

the King had done something wicked to Cap'n Bill, and of Pon's love for Gloria, and how Trot and

ButtonBright had been turned out of the King's castle. That was all the news that the boy had, but it made

"Well, I can take you back to the hut of the gardener's boy," promised the Ork, "for when I fly high in the air

I can look down and easily spy the King's castle. That was how I happened to spy you, just entering the

"You'll have to sit straddle my shoulders and put your arms around my neck. Do you think you can keep from

"I'll try," said ButtonBright. So the Ork squatted down and the boy took his seat and held on tight. Then the

skinny creature's tail began whirling and up they went, far above all the treetops.

After the Ork had circled around once or twice, its sharp eyes located the towers of the castle and away it

flew, straight toward the place. As it hovered in the air, near by the castle, ButtonBright pointed out Pon's

Gloria was introduced to the Ork, who was surprised to find Cap'n Bill transformed into a grasshopper.

"Why, it worries me good deal," answered Cap'n Bill, perched upon Trot's shoulder. "I'm always afraid o'

bein' stepped on, and I don't like the flavor of grass an' can't seem to get used to it. It's my nature to eat grass,

"I guess I'm not that kind of a grasshopper," replied Cap'n Bill. "But I can't say what I might do if I was

"Well," said the Ork, "it's a great pity, and I'd like to meet that cruel King and his Wicked Witch and punish

them both severely. You're awfully small, Cap'n Bill, but I think I would recognize you anywhere by your

Then the Ork and ButtonBright were told all about Gloria's frozen heart and how the Scarecrow had come

from the Land of Oz to help them. The Ork seemed rather disturbed when it learned that the Scarecrow had

"I'm afraid he'll make a fizzle of it," said the skinny creature, "and there's no telling what that terrible King

might do to the poor Scarecrow, who seems like a very interesting person. So I believe I'll take a hand in this

"Wait and see," was the reply. "But, first of all, I must fly home again back to my own country so if

you'll forgive my leaving you so soon, I'll be off at once. Stand away from my tail, please, so that the wind

They gave the creature plenty of room and away it went like a flash and soon disappeared in the sky.

"I wonder," said ButtonBright, looking solemnly after the Ork, "whether he'll ever come back again."

"Of course he will!" returned Trot. "The Ork's a pretty good fellow, and we can depend on him. An' mark my

words, ButtonBright, whenever our Ork does come back, there's one cruel King in Jinxland that'll wish he

The Scarecrow was not a bit afraid of King Krewl. Indeed, he rather enjoyed the prospect of conquering the

evil King and putting Gloria on the throne of Jinxland in his place. So he advanced boldly to the royal castle

Seeing that he was a stranger, the soldiers allowed him to enter. He made his way straight to the throne room,

"Why should I do that? " inquired the King, much astonished at the straw man's audacity.

"Because I've decided you are too cruel a King to rule so beautiful a country. You must remember that

Jinxland is a part of Oz, and therefore you owe allegiance to Ozma of Oz, whose friend and servant I am."

Now, when he heard this, King Krewl was much disturbed in mind, for he knew the Scarecrow spoke the

truth. But no one had ever before come to Jinxland from the Land of Oz and the King did not intend to be put

out of his throne if he could help it. Therefore he gave a harsh, wicked laugh of derision and said:

"I'm busy, now. Stand out of my way, Scarecrow, and I'll talk with you by and by."

But the Scarecrow turned to the assembled courtiers and people and called in a loud voice:

"I hereby declare, in the name of Ozma of Oz, that this man is no longer ruler of Jinxland. From this moment

Princess Gloria is your rightful Queen, and I ask all of you to be loyal to her and to obey her commands."

The people looked fearfully at the King, whom they all hated in their hearts, but likewise feared. Krewl was

now in a terrible rage and he raised his golden sceptre and struck the Scarecrow so heavy a blow that he fell

But he was up again, in an instant, and with Pon's ridingwhip he switched the King so hard that the wicked

monarch roared with pain as much as with rage, calling on his soldiers to capture the Scarecrow.

They tried to do that, and thrust their lances and swords into the straw body, but without doing any damage

except to make holes in the Scarecrow's clothes. However, they were many against one and finally old

GooglyGoo brought a rope which he wound around the Scarecrow, binding his legs together and his arms to

The King stormed and danced around in a dreadful fury, for he had never been so switched since he was a

boy and perhaps not then. He ordered the Scarecrow thrust into the castle prison, which was no task at all

Even after the prisoner was removed the King could not control his anger. He tried to figure out some way to

be revenged upon the straw man, but could think of nothing that could hurt him. At last, when the terrified

people and the frightened courtiers had all slunk away, old GooglyGoo approached the king with a

"I'll tell you what to do," said he. "Build a big bonfire and burn the Scarecrow up, and that will be the end of

The King was so delighted with this suggestion that he hugged old GooglyGoo in his joy

So he summoned his soldiers and retainers and bade them prepare a great bonfire in an open space in the

castle park. Also he sent word to all his people to assemble and witness the destruction of the Scarecrow who

had dared to defy his power. Before long a vast throng gathered in the park and the servants had heaped up

enough fuel to make a fire that might be seen for miles away even in the daytime.

When all was prepared, the King had his throne brought out for him to sit upon and enjoy the spectacle, and

Now the one thing in all the world that the straw man really feared was fire. He knew he would burn very

easily and that his ashes wouldn't amount to much afterward. It wouldn't hurt him to be destroyed in such a

manner, but he realized that many people in the Land of Oz, and especially Dorothy and the Royal Ozma,

would feel sad if they learned that their old friend the Scarecrow was no longer in existence.

In spite of this, the straw man was brave and faced his fiery fate like a hero. When they marched him out

before the concourse of people he turned to the King with great calmness and said:

"This wicked deed will cost you your throne, as well as much suffering, for my friends will avenge my

"Your friends are not here, nor will they know what I have done to you, when you are gone and cannot tell

Then he ordered the Scarecrow bound to a stout stake that he had had driven into the ground, and the

materials for the fire were heaped all around him. When this had been done, the King's brass band struck up a

lively tune and old GooglyGoo came forward with a lighted match and set fire to the pile.

At once the flames shot up and crept closer and closer toward the Scarecrow. The King and all his people

were so intent upon this terrible spectacle that none of them noticed how the sky grew suddenly dark. Perhaps

they thought that the loud buzzing sound like the noise of a dozen moving railway trains came from

the blazing fagots; that the rush of wind was merely a breeze. But suddenly down swept a flock of Orks, half

a hundred of them at the least, and the powerful currents of air caused by their revolving tails sent the bonfire

scattering in every direction, so that not one burning brand ever touched the Scarecrow.

But that was not the only effect of this sudden tornado. King Krewl was blown out of his throne and went

tumbling heels over head until he landed with a bump against the stone wall of his own castle, and before he

could rise a big Ork sat upon him and held him pressed flat to the ground. Old GooglyGoo shot up into the

air like a rocket and landed on a tree, where he hung by the middle on a high limb, kicking the air with his

feet and clawing the air with his hands, and howling for mercy like the coward he was.

The people pressed back until they were jammed close together, while all the soldiers were knocked over and

sent sprawling to the earth. The excitement was great for a few minutes, and every frightened inhabitant of

Jinxland looked with awe and amazement at the great Orks whose descent had served to rescue the Scarecrow

The Ork, who was the leader of the band, soon had the Scarecrow free of his bonds. Then he said: "Well, we

were just in time to save you, which is better than being a minute too late. You are now the master here, and

With this the Ork picked up Krewl's golden crown, which had fallen off his head, and placed it upon the head

of the Scarecrow, who in his awkward way then shuffled over to the throne and sat down in it.

Seeing this, a rousing cheer broke from the crowd of people, who tossed their hats and waved their

handkerchiefs and hailed the Scarecrow as their King. The soldiers joined the people in the cheering, for now

they fully realized that their hated master was conquered and it would be wise to show their good will to the

conqueror. Some of them bound Krewl with ropes and dragged him forward, dumping his body on the ground

before the Scarecrow's throne. GooglyGoo struggled until he finally slid off the limb of the tree and came

tumbling to the ground. He then tried to sneak away and escape, but the soldiers seized and bound him beside

"The tables are turned," said the Scarecrow, swelling out his chest until the straw within it crackled

pleasantly, for he was highly pleased; "but it was you and your people who did it, friend Ork, and from this

Now as soon as the conquest of King Krewl had taken place, one of the Orks had been dispatched to Pon's

house with the joyful news. At once Gloria and Pon and Trot and ButtonBright hastened toward the castle.

They were somewhat surprised by the sight that met their eyes, for there was the Scarecrow, crowned King,

and all the people kneeling humbly before him. So they likewise bowed low to the new ruler and then stood

beside the throne. Cap'n Bill, as the gray grasshopper, was still perched upon Trot's shoulder, but now he

"Not yet," he answered. "No Queen with a frozen heart is fit to rule any country." Then he turned to his new

friend, the Ork, who was strutting about, very proud of what he had done, and said: "Do you suppose you, or

"It will give me great pleasure," declared the Scarecrow. "When you have found her, bring her here to me.

The Ork called his followers together and spoke a few words to them in a low tone. A moment after they rose

into the air so suddenly that the Scarecrow, who was very light in weight, was blown quite out of his

throne and into the arms of Pon, who replaced him carefully upon his seat. There was an eddy of dust and

ashes, too, and the grasshopper only saved himself from being whirled into the crowd of people by jumping

into a tree, from where a series of hops soon brought him back to Trot's shoulder again. The Orks were quite

out of sight by this time, so the Scarecrow made a speech to the people and presented Gloria to them, whom

they knew well already and were fond of. But not all of them knew of her frozen heart, and when the

Scarecrow related the story of the Wicked Witch's misdeeds, which had been encouraged and paid for by

Meantime the fifty Orks had scattered all over Jinx land, which is not a very big country, and their sharp eyes

were peering into every valley and grove and gully. Finally one of them spied a pair of heels sticking out

from underneath some bushes, and with a shrill whistle to warn his comrades that the witch was found the

Ork flew down and dragged old Blinkie from her hidingplace. Then two or three of the Orks seized the

clothing of the wicked woman in their strong claws and, lifting her high in the air, where she struggled and

screamed to no avail, they flew with her straight to the royal castle and set her down before the throne of the

"Good!" exclaimed the straw man, nodding his stuffed head with satisfaction. "Now we can proceed to

business. Mistress Witch, I am obliged to request, gently but firmly, that you undo all the wrongs you have

"Pah!" cried old Blinkie in a scornful voice. "I defy you all! By my magic powers I can turn you all into pigs,

"I think you are mistaken about that," said the Scarecrow, and rising from his throne he walked with

wobbling steps to the side of the Wicked Witch. "Before I left the Land of Oz, Glinda the Royal Sorceress

gave me a box, which I was not to open except in an emergency. But I feel pretty sure that this occasion is an

"Why, we've got to do something," replied Trot seriously. "Things seem in an awful muddle here, jus' now,

and they'll be worse if we don't stop this witch from doing more harm to people."

"That is my idea, exactly," said the Scarecrow, and taking a small box from his pocket he opened the cover

The old woman shrank back, pale and trembling, as a fine white dust settled all about her. Under its influence

"Oh, dear oh, dear!" she wailed, wringing her hands in fear. "Haven't you the antidote, Scarecrow? Didn't

"Then give it me quick!" pleaded the witch. "Give it me and I'll do anything you ask me to!"

"Be quick, then!" she cried. "Tell me what I must do and let me do it, or it will be too late."

"You made Trot's friend, Cap'n Bill, a grasshopper. I command you to give him back his proper form again,"

Cap'n Bill, who had been deeply interested in this conversation, gave a great leap from Trot's shoulder and

landed on that of the Scarecrow. Blinkie saw him alight and at once began to make magic passes and to

mumble magic incantations. She was in a desperate hurry, knowing that she had no time to waste, and the

grasshopper was so suddenly transformed into the old sailorman, Cap'n Bill, that he had no opportunity to

jump off the Scarecrow's shoulder; so his great weight bore the stuffed Scarecrow to the ground. No harm

was done, however, and the straw man got up and brushed the dust from his clothes while Trot delightedly

"The other box! Quick! Give me the other box," begged Blinkie, who had now shrunk to half her former size.

"Not yet," said the Scarecrow. "You must first melt Princess Gloria's frozen heart."

"I can't; it's an awful job to do that! I can't," asserted the witch, in an agony of fear for still she was

The witch cast a shrewd look at him and saw that he meant it; so she began dancing around Gloria in a frantic

manner. The Princess looked coldly on, as if not at all interested in the proceedings, while Blinkie tore a

handful of hair from her own head and ripped a strip of cloth from the bottom of her gown. Then the witch

sank upon her knees, took a purple powder from her black bag and sprinkled it over the hair and cloth.

"I hate to do it I hate to do it!" she wailed, "for there is no more of this magic compound in all the world.

But I must sacrifice it to save my own life. A match! Give me a match, quick!" and panting from lack of

Cap'n Bill was the only one who had a match, but he lost no time in handing it to Blinkie, who quickly set

fire to the hair and the cloth and the purple powder. At once a purple cloud enveloped Gloria, and this

gradually turned to a rosy pink color brilliant and quite transparent. Through the rosy cloud they could all

see the beautiful Princess, standing proud and erect. Then her heart became visible, at first frosted with ice

but slowly growing brighter and warmer until all the frost had disappeared and it was beating as softly and

regularly as any other heart. And now the cloud dispersed and disclosed Gloria, her face suffused with joy,

Poor Pon stepped forward timidly, fearing a repulse, but with pleading eyes and arms fondly outstretched

toward his former sweetheart and the Princess saw him and her sweet face lighted with a radiant smile.

Without an instant's hesitation she threw herself into Pon's arms and this reunion of two loving hearts was so

affecting that the people turned away and lowered their eyes so as not to mar the sacred joy of the faithful

The Scarecrow looked at the witch with his quaint, painted eyes and saw that she was now no taller than his

knee. So he took from his pocket the second box and scattered its contents on Blinkie. She ceased to grow

any smaller, but she could never regain her former size, and this the wicked old woman well knew.

She did not know, however, that the second powder had destroyed all her power to work magic, and seeking

to be revenged upon the Scarecrow and his friends she at once began to mumble a charm so terrible in its

effect that it would have destroyed half the population of Jinxland had it worked. But it did not work at

all, to the amazement of old Blinkie. And by this time the Scarecrow noticed what the little witch was trying

"Go home, Blinkie, and behave yourself. You are no longer a witch, but an ordinary old woman, and since

you are powerless to do more evil I advise you to try to do some good in the world. Believe me, it is more fun

to accomplish a good act than an evil one, as you will discover when once you have tried it."

But Blinkie was at that moment filled with grief and chagrin at losing her magic powers. She started away

toward her home, sobbing and bewailing her fate, and not one who saw her go was at all sorry for her.

Next morning the Scarecrow called upon all the courtiers and the people to assemble in the throne room of

the castle, where there was room enough for all that were able to attend. They found the straw man seated

upon the velvet cushions of the throne, with the King's glittering crown still upon his stuffed head. On one

side of the throne, in a lower chair, sat Gloria, looking radiantly beautiful and fresh as a newblown rose. On

the other side sat Pon, the gardener's boy, still dressed in his old smock frock and looking sad and solemn; for

Pon could not make himself believe that so splendid a Princess would condescend to love him when she had

come to her own and was seated upon a throne. Trot and Cap'n Bill sat at the feet of the Scarecrow and were

much interested in the proceedings. ButtonBright had lost himself before breakfast, but came into the throne

room before the ceremonies were over. Back of the throne stood a row of the great Orks, with their leader in

the center, and the entrance to the palace was guarded by more Orks, who were regarded with wonder and

When all were assembled, the Scarecrow stood up and made a speech. He told how Gloria's father, the good

King Kynd, who had once ruled them and been loved by everyone, had been destroyed by King Phearce, the

father of Pon, and how King Phearce had been destroyed by King Krewl. This last King had been a bad ruler,

as they knew very well, and the Scarecrow declared that the only one in all Jinxland who had the right to sit

"But," he added, "it is not for me, a stranger, to say who shall rule you. You must decide for yourselves, or

Which proved that the stuffed man had made himself very popular by his conquest of King Krewl, and the

people thought they would like him for their King. But the Scarecrow shook his head so vigorously that it

"No," said he, "I belong in the Land of Oz, where I am the humble servant of the lovely girl who rules us all

the royal Ozma. You must choose one of your own inhabitants to rule over Jinxland. Who shall it be?"

They hesitated for a moment, and some few cried: "Pon!" but many more shouted: "Gloria!"

So the Scarecrow took Gloria's hand and led her to the throne, where he first seated her and then took the

glittering crown off his own head and placed it upon that of the young lady, where it nestled prettily amongst

her soft curls. The people cheered and shouted then, kneeling before their new Queen; but Gloria leaned

"You shall have both a King and a Queen to care for you and to protect you, my dear subjects," she said in a

sweet voice, while her face glowed with happiness; "for Pon was a King's son before he became a gardener's

That pleased them all, especially Pon, who realized that this was the most important moment of his life. Trot

and ButtonBright and Cap'n Will all congratulated him on winning the beautiful Gloria; but the Ork sneezed

Then the Scarecrow ordered the guards to bring in the wicked Krewl, King no longer, and when he appeared,

loaded with chains and dressed in fustian, the people hissed him and drew back as he passed so their

Krewl was not haughty or overbearing any more; on the contrary he seemed very meek and in great fear of

the fate his conquerors had in store for him. But Gloria and Pon were too happy to be revengeful and so they

offered to appoint Krewl to the position of gardener's boy at the castle, Pon having resigned to become King.

But they said he must promise to reform his wicked ways and to do his duty faithfully, and he must change

his name from Krewl to Grewl. All this the man eagerly promised to do, and so when Pon retired to a room in

the castle to put on princely raiment, the old brown smock he had formerly worn was given to Grewl, who

The remainder of that famous day, which was long remembered in Jinxland, was given over to feasting and

merrymaking. In the evening there was a grand dance in the courtyard, where the brass band played a new

piece of music called the "Ork Trot" which was dedicated to "Our Glorious Gloria, the Queen."

While the Queen and Pon were leading this dance, and all the Jinxland people were having a good time, the

strangers were gathered in a group in the park outside the castle. Cap'n Bill, Trot, ButtonBright and the

Scarecrow were there, and so was their old friend the Ork; but of all the great flock of Orks which had

assisted in the conquest but three remained in Jinxland, besides their leader, the others having returned to

their own country as soon as Gloria was crowned Queen. To the young Ork who had accompanied them in

"You've surely been a friend in need, and we're mighty grateful to you for helping us. I might have been a

grasshopper yet if it hadn't been for you, an' I might remark that bein' a grasshopper isn't much fun."

"If it hadn't been for you, friend Ork," said the Scarecrow, "I fear I could not have conquered King Krewl."

"Oh, that's all right," replied the Ork. "Friends must stand together, you know, or they wouldn't be friends.

But now I must leave you and be off to my own country, where there's going to be a surprise party on my

"I hoped you would consent to carry us over those mountains, into the Land of Oz. My mission here is now

"I scaled the cliffs by means of a rope, and crossed the Great Gulf on a strand of spider web. Of course I can

return in the same manner, but it would be a hard journey and perhaps an impossible one for Trot and

Button Bright and Cap'n Bill. So I thought that if you had the time you and your people would carry us over

"I mustn't break my promise to be present at the surprise party; but, tell me, could you go to Oz to night?"

"It is a fine moonlight night," said the Ork, "and I've found in my experience that there's no time so good as

right away. The fact is," he explained, "it's a long journey to Orkland and I and my cousins here are all rather

tired by our day's work. But if you will start now, and be content to allow us to carry you over the mountains

Cap'n Bill and Trot looked at one another questioningly. The little girl was eager to visit the famous fairyland

of Oz and the old sailor had endured such hardships in Jinxland that he would be glad to be out of it.

"It's rather impolite of us not to say goodbye to the new King and Queen," remarked the Scarecrow, "but I'm

sure they're too happy to miss us, and I assure you it will be much easier to fly on the backs of the Orks over

Just at this important moment ButtonBright was lost again, and they all scattered in search of him. He had

been standing beside them just a few minutes before, but his friends had an exciting hunt for him before they

finally discovered the boy seated among the members of the band, beating the end of the bass drum with the

"Hello, Trot," he said, looking up at the little girl when she found him. "This is the first chance I ever had to

pound a drum with a reg'lar drum stick. And I ate all the meat off the bone myself."

"Oh, what's the hurry?" said ButtonBright; but she seized his arm and dragged him away to the park, where

Trot climbed upon the back of her old friend, the Ork leader, and the others took their seats on the backs of

his three cousins. As soon as all were placed and clinging to the skinny necks of the creatures, the revolving

tails began to whirl and up rose the four monster Orks and sailed away toward the mountains. They were so

high in the air that when they passed the crest of the highest peak it seemed far below them. No sooner were

they well across the barrier than the Orks swooped downward and landed their passengers upon the ground.

She could see the shadows of stately trees and the outlines of rolling hills; beneath her feet was soft turf, but

"But it isn't," the Scarecrow assured him. "You are now within the borders of the most glorious fairyland in

all the world. This part of it is just a corner of the Quadling Country, and the least interesting portion of it. It's

He was interrupted by a sudden whir and a rush of air as the four Orks mounted into the sky.

"Good night!" called the shrill voices of the strange creatures, and although Trot shouted "Good night!" as

loudly as she could, the little girl was almost ready to cry because the Orks had not waited to be properly

But the Orks were gone, and thanks for good deeds do not amount to much except to prove one's politeness.

"Well, friends," said the Scarecrow, "we mustn't stay here in the meadows all night, so let us find a pleasant

place to sleep. Not that it matters to me, in the least, for I never sleep; but I know that meat people like to shut

"I'm pretty tired," admitted Trot, yawning as she followed the straw man along a tiny path, "so, if you don't

find a house handy, Cap'n Bill and I will sleep under the trees, or even on this soft grass."

But a house was not very far off, although when the Scarecrow stumbled upon it there was no light in it

whatever. Cap'n Bill knocked on the door several times, and there being no response the Scarecrow boldly

lifted the latch and walked in, followed by the others. And no sooner had they entered than a soft light filled

the room. Trot couldn't tell where it came from, for no lamp of any sort was visible, but she did not waste

much time on this problem, because directly in the center of the room stood a table set for three, with lots of

The little girl and ButtonBright both uttered exclamations of pleasure, but they looked in vain for any cook

stove or fireplace, or for any person who might have prepared for them this delicious feast.

"It's fairyland," muttered the boy, tossing his cap in a corner and seating himself at the table. "This supper

smells 'most as good as that turkeyleg I had in Jinxland. Please pass the muffins, Cap'n Bill."

Trot thought it was strange that no people but themselves were in the house, but on the wall opposite the door

So she had no further hesitation in eating of the food so mysteriously prepared for them.

"Three are quite enough," said the Scarecrow. "I never eat, because I am stuffed full already, and I like my

Trot and the sailorman were hungry and made a hearty meal, for not since they had left home had they

tasted such good food. It was surprising that ButtonBright could eat so soon after his feast in Jinxland, but

the boy always ate whenever there was an opportunity. "If I don't eat now," he said, "the next time I'm hungry

"Really, Cap'n," remarked Trot, when she found a dish of icecream appear beside her plate, "I b'lieve this is

After supper they discovered three tiny bedrooms adjoining the big living room of the house, and in each

room was a comfortable white bed with downy pillows. You may be sure that the tired mortals were not long

in bidding the Scarecrow good night and creeping into their beds, where they slept soundly until morning.

For the first time since they set eyes on the terrible whirlpool, Trot and Cap'n Bill were free from anxiety and

care. ButtonBright never worried about anything. The Scarecrow, not being able to sleep, looked out of the

I suppose many of my readers have read descriptions of the beautiful and magnificent Emerald City of Oz, so

I need not describe it here, except to state that never has any city in any fairyland ever equalled this one in

stately splendor. It lies almost exactly in the center of the Land of Oz, and in the center of the Emerald City

rises the wall of glistening emeralds that surrounds the palace of Ozma. The palace is almost a city in itself

and is inhabited by many of the Ruler's especial friends and those who have won her confidence and favor.

As for Ozma herself, there are no words in any dictionary I can find that are fitted to describe this young girl's

beauty of mind and person. Merely to see her is to love her for her charming face and manners; to know her is

to love her for her tender sympathy, her generous nature, her truth and honor. Born of a long line of Fairy

Queens, Ozma is as nearly perfect as any fairy may be, and she is noted for her wisdom as well as for her

other qualities. Her happy subjects adore their girl Ruler and each one considers her a comrade and protector.

At the time of which I write, Ozma's best friend and most constant companion was a little Kansas girl named

Dorothy, a mortal who had come to the Land of Oz in a very curious manner and had been offered a home in

Ozma's palace. Furthermore, Dorothy had been made a Princess of Oz, and was as much at home in the royal

palace as was the gentle Ruler. She knew almost every part of the great country and almost all of its

numerous inhabitants. Next to Ozma she was loved better than anyone in all Oz, for Dorothy was simple and

sweet, seldom became angry and had such a friendly, chummy way that she made friends whereever she

wandered. It was she who first brought the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman and the Cowardly Lion to the

Emerald City. Dorothy had also introduced to Ozma the Shaggy Man and the Hungry Tiger, as well as Billina

the Yellow Hen, Eureka the Pink Kitten, and many other delightful characters and creatures. Coming as she

did from our world, Dorothy was much like many other girls we know; so there were times when she was not

so wise as she might have been, and other times when she was obstinate and got herself into trouble. But life

in a fairyland had taught the little girl to accept all sorts of surprising things as mattersofcourse, for while

Dorothy was no fairy but just as mortal as we are she had seen more wonders than most mortals ever

Another little girl from our outside world also lived in Ozma's palace. This was Betsy Bobbin, whose strange

adventures had brought her to the Emerald City, where Ozma had cordially welcomed her. Betsy was a shy

little thing and could never get used to the marvels that surrounded her, but she and Dorothy were firm

friends and thought themselves very fortunate in being together in this delightful country.

One day Dorothy and Betsy were visiting Ozma in the girl Ruler's private apartment, and among the things

that especially interested them was Ozma's Magic Picture, set in a handsome frame and hung upon the wall of

the room. This picture was a magic one because it constantly changed its scenes and showed events and

adventures happening in all parts of the world. Thus it was really a "moving picture" of life, and if the one

who stood before it wished to know what any absent person was doing, the picture instantly showed that

The two girls were not wishing to see anyone in particular, on this occasion, but merely enjoyed watching the

shifting scenes, some of which were exceedingly curious and remarkable. Suddenly Dorothy exclaimed:

"Why, there's ButtonBright!" and this drew Ozma also to look at the picture, for she and Dorothy knew the

"Why, he's the little boy who is just getting off the back of that strange flying creature," exclaimed Dorothy.

Then she turned to Ozma and asked: "What is that thing, Ozma? A bird? I've never seen anything like it

"It is an Ork," answered Ozma, for they were watching the scene where the Ork and the three big birds were

first landing their passengers in Jinxland after the long flight across the desert. "I wonder," added the girl

Ruler, musingly, "why those strangers dare venture into that unfortunate country, which is ruled by a wicked

"That girl, and the onelegged man, seem to be mortals from the outside world," said Dorothy

"They are three mortal adventurers," said Ozma, "and they seem worthy and honest. But I fear they will be

treated badly in Jinxland, and if they meet with any misfortune there it will reflect upon me, for Jinxland is a

"Can't we help them in any way?" inquired Dorothy. "That seems like a nice little girl. I'd be sorry if anything

"Let us watch the picture for awhile," suggested Ozma, and so they all drew chairs before the Magic Picture

and followed the adventures of Trot and Cap'n Bill and ButtonBright. Presently the scene shifted and

showed their friend the Scarecrow crossing the mountains into Jinxland, and that somewhat relieved Ozma's

anxiety, for she knew at once that Glinda the Good had sent the Scarecrow to protect the strangers.

The adventures in Jinxland proved very interesting to the three girls in Ozma's palace, who during the

succeeding days spent much of their time in watching the picture. It was like a story to them.

"That girl's a reg'lar trump!" exclaimed Dorothy, referring to Trot, and Ozma answered:

"She's a dear little thing, and I'm sure nothing very bad will happen to her. The old sailor is a fine character,

too, for he has never once grumbled over being a grasshopper, as so many would have done."

When the Scarecrow was so nearly burned up the girls all shivered a little, and they clapped their hands in joy

So it was that when all the exciting adventures in Jinxland were over and the four Orks had begun their flight

across the mountains to carry the mortals into the Land of Oz, Ozma called the Wizard to her and asked him

The famous Wizard of Oz was a quaint little man who inhabited the royal palace and attended to all the

magical things that Ozma wanted done. He was not as powerful as Glinda, to be sure, but he could do a great

many wonderful things. He proved this by placing a house in the uninhabited part of the Quadling Country

where the Orks landed Cap'n Bill and Trot and ButtonBright, and fitting it with all the comforts I have

"Oughtn't we to go meet the strangers, so we can show them the way to the Emerald City? I'm sure that little

girl will feel shy in this beautiful land, and I know if 'twas me I'd like somebody to give me a welcome."

"You and Betsy may go to meet them, if you wish, but I can not leave my palace just now, as I am to have a

conference with Jack Pumpkinhead and Professor Wogglebug on important matters. You may take the

Sawhorse and the Red Wagon, and if you start soon you will be able to meet the Scarecrow and the strangers

"Oh, thank you!" cried Dorothy, and went away to tell Betsy and to make preparations for the journey.

Glinda's castle was a long way from the mountains, but the Scarecrow began the journey cheerfully, since

time was of no great importance in the Land of Oz and he had recently made the trip and knew the way. It

never mattered much to ButtonBright where he was or what he was doing; the boy was content in being

alive and having good companions to share his wanderings. As for Trot and Cap'n Bill, they now found

themselves so comfortable and free from danger, in this fine fairyland, and they were so awed and amazed by

the adventures they were encountering, that the journey to Glinda's castle was more like a pleasure trip than a

ButtonBright had been in Oz before, but never in this part of it, so the Scarecrow was the only one who

knew the paths and could lead them. They had eaten a hearty breakfast, which they found already prepared

for them and awaiting them on the table when they arose from their refreshing sleep, so they left the magic

house in a contented mood and with hearts lighter and more happy than they had known for many a day. As

they marched along through the fields, the sun shone brightly and the breeze was laden with delicious

At noon, when they stopped to rest by the bank of a pretty river, Trot said with a longdrawn breath that was

"I wish we'd brought with us some of the food that was left from our breakfast, for I'm getting hungry again."

Scarcely had she spoken when a table rose up before them, as if from the ground itself, and it was loaded with

fruits and nuts and cakes and many other good things to eat. The little girl's eyes opened wide at this display

of magic, and Cap'n Bill was not sure that the things were actually there and fit to eat until he had taken them

"Someone is looking after your welfare, that is certain, and from the looks of this table I suspect my friend

the Wizard has taken us in his charge. I've known him to do things like this before, and if we are in the

"Who's worrying?" inquired ButtonBright, already at the table and busily eating.

The Scarecrow looked around the place while the others were feasting, and finding many things unfamiliar to

"I must have taken the wrong path, back in that last valley, for on my way to Jinxland I remember that I

"No, the river disappeared. Only a pool of whirling water showed what had become of the river; but I

suppose it is under ground, somewhere, and will come to the surface again in another part of the country."

"Well," suggested Trot, as she finished her luncheon, "as there is no way to cross this river, I s'pose we'll have

"Exactly," replied the Scarecrow; so they soon renewed their journey, following the river for a long time until

the roar of the waterfall sounded in their ears. By and by they came to the waterfall itself, a sheet of silver

dropping far, far down into a tiny lake which seemed to have no outlet. From the top of the fall, where they

stood, the banks gradually sloped away, so that the descent by land was quite easy, while the river could do

nothing but glide over an edge of rock and tumble straight down to the depths below.

"You see," said the Scarecrow, leaning over the brink, "this is called by our Oz people the Great Waterfall,

He had lost his balance and pitched headforemost into the river. They saw a flash of straw and blue clothes,

and the painted face looking upward in surprise. The next moment the Scarecrow was swept over the

The accident had happened so suddenly that for a moment they were all too horrified to speak or move.

Even while speaking she began to descend the bank to the pool below, and Cap'n Bill followed as swiftly as

his wooden leg would let him. ButtonBright came more slowly, calling to the girl:

But she wasn't sure a Scarecrow couldn't drown and never relaxed her speed until she stood on the edge of the

pool, with the spray dashing in her face. Cap'n Bill, puffing and panting, had just voice enough to ask, as he

"I s'pose," replied the sailor, "that he's in that water, more or less far down, and I'm 'fraid it'll make his straw

pretty soggy. But as fer his bein' drowned, I agree with ButtonBright that it can't be done."

There was small comfort in this assurance and Trot stood for some time searching with her eyes the bubbling

water, in the hope that the Scarecrow would finally come to the surface. Presently she heard ButtonBright

calling: "Come here, Trot!" and looking around she saw that the boy had crept over the wet rocks to the edge

of the waterfall and seemed to be peering behind it. Making her way toward him, she asked:

She was a little doubtful of that, but the cave interested her, and so did it Cap'n Bill. There was just space

enough at the edge of the sheet of water for them to crowd in behind it, but after that dangerous entrance they

found room enough to walk upright and after a time they came to an opening in the wall of rock.

Approaching this opening, they gazed within it and found a series of steps, cut so that they might easily

Trot turned to look inquiringly at her companions. The falling water made such din and roaring that her voice

could not be heard. Cap'n Bill nodded his head, but before he could enter the cave, ButtonBright was before

him, clambering down the steps without a particle of fear. So the others followed the boy.

The first steps were wet with spray, and slippery, but the remainder were quite dry. A rosy light seemed to

come from the interior of the cave, and this lighted their way. After the steps there was a short tunnel, high

enough for them to walk erect in. and then they reached the cave itself and paused in wonder and admiration.

They stood on the edge of a vast cavern, the walls and domed roof of which were lined with countless rubies,

exquisitely cut and flashing sparkling rays from one to another. This caused a radiant light that permitted the

entire cavern to be distinctly seen, and the effect was so marvelous that Trot drew in her breath with a sort of

But the walls and roof of the cavern were merely a setting for a more wonderful scene. In the center was a

bubbling caldron of water, for here the river rose again, splashing and dashing till its spray rose high in the

air, where it took the ruby color of the jewels and seemed like a seething mass of flame. And while they

gazed into the tumbling, tossing water, the body of the Scarecrow suddenly rose in the center, struggling and

Trot and Cap'n Bill discovered that a broad ledge covered, like the walls, with glittering rubies ran all

around the cavern; so they followed this gorgeous path to the rear and found where the water made its final

dive underground, before it disappeared entirely. Where it plunged into this dim abyss the river was black and

dreary looking, and they stood gazing in awe until just beside them the body of the Scarecrow again popped

The straw man's appearance on the water was so sudden that it startled Trot, but Cap'n Bill had the presence

of mind to stick his wooden leg out over the water and the Scarecrow made a desperate clutch and grabbed

the leg with both hands. He managed to hold on until Trot and ButtonBright knelt down and seized his

clothing, but the children would have been powerless to drag the soaked Scarecrow ashore had not Cap'n Bill

now assisted them. When they laid him on the ledge of rubies he was the most useless looking Scarecrow you

can imagine his straw sodden and dripping with water, his clothing wet and crumpled, while even the sack

upon which his face was painted had become so wrinkled that the old jolly expression of their stuffed friend's

features was entirely gone. But he could still speak, and when Trot bent down her ear she heard him say:

That seemed a wise thing to do, so Cap'n Bill lifted his head and shoulders, and Trot and ButtonBright each

took a leg; among them they partly carried and partly dragged the damp Scarecrow out of the Ruby Cavern,

along the tunnel, and up the flight of rock steps. It was somewhat difficult to get him past the edge of the

waterfall, but they succeeded, after much effort, and a few minutes later laid their poor comrade on a grassy

bank where the sun shone upon him freely and he was beyond the reach of the spray.

Cap'n Bill now knelt down and examined the straw that the Scarecrow was stuffed with.

"I don't believe it'll be of much use to him, any more," said he, "for it's full of polliwogs an' fish eggs, an' the

water has took all the crinkle out o' the straw an ruined it. I guess, Trot, that the best thing for us to do is to

empty out all his body an' carry his head an' clothes along the road till we come to a field or a house where

"Yes, Cap'n," she agreed, "there's nothing else to be done. But how shall we ever find the road to Glinda's

"That's easy," said the Scarecrow, speaking in a rather feeble but distinct voice. "If Cap'n Bill will carry my

So they followed that plan and emptied all the old, wet straw out of the Scarecrow's body. Then the

sailorman wrung out the clothes and laid them in the sun till they were quite dry. Trot took charge of the

head and pressed the wrinkles out of the face as it dried, so that after a while the Scarecrow's expression

This work consumed some time, but when it was completed they again started upon their journey,

ButtonBright carrying the boots and hat, Trot the bundle of clothes, and Cap'n Bill the head. The Scarecrow,

having regained his composure and being now in a good humor, despite his recent mishaps, beguiled their

It was not until the next morning, however, that they found straw with which to restuff the Scarecrow. That

evening they came to the same little house they had slept in before, only now it was magically transferred to a

new place. The same bountiful supper as before was found smoking hot upon the table and the same cosy

They rose early and after breakfast went out of doors, and there, lying just beside the house, was a heap of

clean, crisp straw. Ozma had noticed the Scarecrow's accident in her Magic Picture and had notified the

Wizard to provide the straw, for she knew the adventurers were not likely to find straw in the country through

They lost no time in stuffing the Scarecrow anew, and he was greatly delighted at being able to walk around

"Really," said Trot, "I think you're better than you were before, for you are fresh and sweet all through and

"Thank you, my dear," he replied gratefully. "I always feel like a new man when I'm freshly stuffed. No one

"It was water that spoiled you, the last time," remarked ButtonBright, "which proves that too much bathing

is as bad as too little. But, after all, Scarecrow, water is not as dangerous for you as fire."

"All things are good in moderation," declared the Scarecrow. "But now, let us hurry on, or we shall not reach

At about four o'clock of that same day the Red Wagon drew up at the entrance to Glinda's palace and Dorothy

and Betsy jumped out. Ozma's Red Wagon was almost a chariot, being inlaid with rubies and pearls, and it

"No," replied the Sawhorse. "I'll just stand here and think. Take your time. Thinking doesn't seem to bore me

So they left the wooden animal and went in to see Glinda, who welcomed the little girls in her most cordial

"I knew you were on your way," said the good Sorceress when they were seated in her library, "for I learned

from my Record Book that you intended to meet Trot and Button Bright on their arrival here."

"Yes; and her companion, the old sailor, is named Cap'n Bill. I think we shall like them very much, for they

are just the kind of people to enjoy and appreciate our fairyland and I do not see any way, at present, for them

"Well, there's room enough here for them, I'm sure," said Dorothy. "Betsy and I are already eager to welcome

Trot. It will keep us busy for a year, at least, showing her all the wonderful things in Oz."

"I have lived here many years," said she, "and I have not seen all the wonders of Oz yet."

Meantime the travelers were drawing near to the palace, and when they first caught sight of its towers Trot

realized that it was far more grand and imposing than was the King's castle in Jinxland. The nearer they

came, the more beautiful the palace appeared, and when finally the Scarecrow led them up the great marble

"There is no need to guard Glinda's palace," replied the Scarecrow. "We have no wicked people in Oz, that

we know of, and even if there were any, Glinda's magic would be powerful enough to protect her."

ButtonBright was now standing on the top steps of the entrance, and he suddenly exclaimed:

"Why, there's the Sawhorse and the Red Wagon! Hip, hooray!" and next moment he was rushing down to

throw his arms around the neck of the wooden horse, which good naturedly permitted this familiarity when

ButtonBright's shout had been heard inside the palace, so now Dorothy and Betsy came running out to

embrace their beloved friend, the Scarecrow, and to welcome Trot and Cap'n Bill to the Land of Oz.

"We've been watching you for a long time, in Ozma's Magic Picture," said Dorothy, "and Ozma has sent us to

invite you to her own palace in the Em'rald City. I don't know if you realize how lucky you are to get that

invitation, but you'll understand it better after you've seen the royal palace and the Em'rald City."

Glinda now appeared in person to lead all the party into her Azure Reception Room. Trot was a little afraid of

the stately Sorceress, but gained courage by holding fast to the hands of Betsy and Dorothy. Cap'n Bill had no

one to help him feel at ease, so the old sailor sat stiffly on the edge of his chair and said:

"Yes, ma'am," or "No, ma'am," when he was spoken to, and was greatly embarrassed by so much splendor.

The Scarecrow had lived so much in palaces that he felt quite at home, and he chatted to Glinda and the Oz

girls in a merry, lighthearted way. He told all about his adventures in Jinxland, and at the Great Waterfall,

and on the journey hither most of which his hearers knew already and then he asked Dorothy and

They all passed the evening and the night at Glinda's palace, and the Sorceress was so gracious to Cap'n Bill

that the old man by degrees regained his selfpossession and began to enjoy himself. Trot had already come

to the conclusion that in Dorothy and Betsy she had found two delightful comrades, and ButtonBright was

just as much at home here as he had been in the fields of Jinxland or when he was buried in the popcorn snow

The next morning they arose bright and early and after breakfast bade goodbye to the kind Sorceress, whom

Trot and Cap'n Bill thanked earnestly for sending the Scarecrow to Jinxland to rescue them. Then they all

There was room for all on the broad seats, and when all had taken their places Dorothy, Trot and Betsy on

the rear seat and Cap'n Bill, ButtonBright and the Scarecrow in front they called "Giddap!" to the

Sawhorse and the wooden steed moved briskly away, pulling the Red Wagon with ease.

It was now that the strangers began to perceive the real beauties of the Land of Oz, for they were passing

through a more thickly settled part of the country and the population grew more dense as they drew nearer to

the Emerald City. Everyone they met had a cheery word or a smile for the Scarecrow, Dorothy and Betsy

Bobbin, and some of them remembered ButtonBright and welcomed him back to their country.

It was a happy party, indeed, that journeyed in the Red Wagon to the Emerald City, and Trot already began to

hope that Ozma would permit her and Cap'n Bill to live always in the Land of Oz.

When they reached the great city they were more amazed than ever, both by the concourse of people in their

quaint and picturesque costumes, and by the splendor of the city itself. But the magnificence of the Royal

Palace quite took their breath away, until Ozma received them in her own pretty apartment and by her

charming manners and assuring smiles made them feel they were no longer strangers.

Trot was given a lovely little room next to that of Dorothy, while Cap'n Bill had the cosiest sort of a room

next to Trot's and overlooking the gardens. And that evening Ozma gave a grand banquet and reception in

honor of the new arrivals. While Trot had read of many of the people she then met, Cap'n Bill was less

familiar with them and many of the unusual characters introduced to him that evening caused the old sailor to

He had thought the live Scarecrow about as curious as anyone could be, but now he met the Tin Woodman,

who was all made of tin, even to his heart, and carried a gleaming axe over his shoulder wherever he went.

Then there was Jack Pumpkinhead, whose head was a real pumpkin with the face carved upon it; and

Professor Wogglebug, who had the shape of an enormous bug but was dressed in neat fitting garments. The

Professor was an interesting talker and had very polite manners, but his face was so comical that it made

Cap'n Bill smile to look at it. A great friend of Dorothy and Ozma seemed to be a machine man called

TikTok, who ran down several times during the evening and had to be wound up again by someone before

At the reception appeared the Shaggy Man and his brother, both very popular in Oz, as well as Dorothy's

Uncle Henry and Aunt Em, two happy old people who lived in a pretty cottage near the palace.

But what perhaps seemed most surprising to both Trot and Cap'n Bill was the number of peculiar animals

admitted into Ozma's parlors, where they not only conducted themselves quite properly but were able to talk

There was the Cowardly Lion, an immense beast with a beautiful mane; and the Hungry Tiger, who smiled

continually; and Eureka the Pink Kitten, who lay curled upon a cushion and had rather supercilious manners;

and the wooden Sawhorse; and nine tiny piglets that belonged to the Wizard; and a mule named Hank, who

belonged to Betsy Bobbin. A fuzzy little terrier dog, named Toto, lay at Dorothy's feet but seldom took part

in the conversation, although he listened to every word that was said. But the most wonderful of all to Trot

was a square beast with a winning smile, that squatted in a corner of the room and wagged his square head at

everyone in quite a jolly way. Betsy told Trot that this unique beast was called the Woozy, and there was no

Cap'n Bill and Trot had both looked around expectantly for the Wizard of Oz, but the evening was far

advanced before the famous little man entered the room. But he went up to the strangers at once and said:

And they did get acquainted, in a very short time, and before the evening was over Trot felt that she knew

every person and animal present at the reception, and that they were all her good friends.

"Never mind, my dear," said Ozma, with her charming smile, "no one can go far astray in the Land of Oz,