The Road to Oz ....................................................................................................................................................1

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

To My Readers .........................................................................................................................................1

1. The Way to Butterfield.......................................................................................................................2

2. Dorothy Meets ButtonBright............................................................................................................7

3. A Queer Village................................................................................................................................11

4. King Dox ...........................................................................................................................................15

5. The Rainbow's Daughter ...................................................................................................................19

6. The City Of Beasts ............................................................................................................................22

7. The Shaggy Man's Transformation ...................................................................................................25

8. The Musicker....................................................................................................................................30

9. Facing the Scoodlers .........................................................................................................................33

10. Escaping the SoupKettle ...............................................................................................................36

11. Johnny Dooit Does It......................................................................................................................40

12. The Deadly Desert Crossed............................................................................................................44

13. The Truth Pond...............................................................................................................................45

14. TikTok and Billina ........................................................................................................................48

15. The Emperor's Tin Castle...............................................................................................................51

16. Visiting the PumpkinField ............................................................................................................53

17. The Royal Chariot Arrives ..............................................................................................................55

18. The Emerald City ............................................................................................................................58

19. The Shaggy Man's Welcome..........................................................................................................60

20. Princess Ozma Of Oz ......................................................................................................................62

21. Dorothy Receives the Guests ..........................................................................................................65

22. Important Arrivals ...........................................................................................................................69

23. The Grand Banquet .........................................................................................................................72

24. The Birthday Celebration ................................................................................................................74

Well, my dears, here is what you have asked for: another "Oz Book" about Dorothy's strange adventures.

Toto is in this story, because you wanted him to be there, and many other characters which you will recognize

are in the story, too. Indeed, the wishes of my little correspondents have been considered as carefully as

possible, and if the story is not exactly as you would have written it yourselves, you must remember that a

story has to be a story before it can be written down, and the writer cannot change it much without spoiling it.

In the preface to "Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz" I said I would like to write some stories that were not "Oz"

stories, because I thought I had written about Oz long enough; but since that volume was published I have

been fairly deluged with letters from children imploring me to "write more about Dorothy," and "more about

Oz," and since I write only to please the children I shall try to respect their wishes.

There are some new characters in this book that ought to win your live. I'm very fond of the shaggy man

myself, and I think you will like him, too. As for Polychromethe Rainbow's Daughterand stupid little

ButtonBright, they seem to have brought a new element of fun into these Oz stories, and I am glad I

discovered them. Yet I am anxious to have you write and tell me how you like them.

Since this book was written I have received some very remarkable News from The Land of Oz, which has

greatly astonished me. I believe it will astonish you, too, my dears, when you hear it. But it is such a long and

exciting story that it must be saved for another bookand perhaps that book will be the last story that will

Dorothy looked him over. Yes, he was shaggy, all right, but there was a twinkle in his eye that seemed

"You cross the tenacre lot, follow the lane to the highway, go north to the five branches, and takelet me

"To be sure, miss; see as far as Butterfield, if you like," said the shaggy man.

"You take the branch next the willow stump, I b'lieve; or else the branch by the gopher holes; or else"

"Dear me!" cried Dorothy. "I shall have to show you the way, you're so stupid. Wait a minute till I run in the

The shaggy man waited. He had an oatstraw in his mouth, which he chewed slowly as if it tasted good; but

it didn't. There was an appletree beside the house, and some apples had fallen to the ground. The shaggy

man thought they would taste better than the oatstraw, so he walked over to get some. A little black dog

with bright brown eyes dashed out of the farmhouse and ran madly toward the shaggy man, who had

already picked up three apples and put them in one of the big wide pockets of his shaggy coat. The little dog

barked and made a dive for the shaggy man's leg; but he grabbed the dog by the neck and put it in his big

pocket along with the apples. He took more apples, afterward, for many were on the ground; and each one

that he tossed into his pocket hit the little dog somewhere upon the head or back, and made him growl. The

little dog's name was Toto, and he was sorry he had been put in the shaggy man's pocket.

Pretty soon Dorothy came out of the house with her sunbonnet, and she called out:

"Come on, Shaggy Man, if you want me to show you the road to Butterfield." She climbed the fence into the

tenacre lot and he followed her, walking slowly and stumbling over the little hillocks in the pasture as if he

"No, miss; it's my whiskers; they tire very easily in this warm weather," said he. "I wish it would snow, don't

"'Course not, Shaggy Man," replied Dorothy, giving him a severe look. "If it snowed in August it would spoil

the corn and the oats and the wheat; and then Uncle Henry wouldn't have any crops; and that would make

"Yes," replied Dorothy, climbing another fence; "I'll go as far as the highway with you."

"It isn't everyone who knows the road to Butterfield," Dorothy remarked as she tripped along the lane; "but

I've driven there many a time with Uncle Henry, and so I b'lieve I could find it blindfolded."

"Don't do that, miss," said the shaggy man earnestly; "you might make a mistake."

"I won't," she answered, laughing. "Here's the highway. Now it's the secondno, the third turn to the

leftor else it's the fourth. Let's see. The first one is by the elm tree, and the second is by the gopher holes;

"Then what?" he inquired, putting his hands in his coat pockets. Toto grabbed a finger and bit it; the shaggy

Dorothy did not notice. She was shading her eyes from the sun with her arm, looking anxiously down the

"Come on," she commanded. "It's only a little way farther, so I may as well show you."

After a while, they came to the place where five roads branched in different directions; Dorothy pointed to

"I thought you said that other was the road to Butterfield," said he, running his fingers through his shaggy

"Of course not. I wanted you to show me the road, so I shouldn't go there by mistake."

This answer astonished the little girl; and it made her provoked, too, to think she had taken all this trouble for

"There are a good many roads here," observed the shaggy man, turning slowly around, like a human

Dorothy turned around too, and gazed in surprise. There WERE a good many roads; more than she had ever

seen before. She tried to count them, knowing there ought to be five, but when she had counted seventeen she

grew bewildered and stopped, for the roads were as many as the spokes of a wheel and ran in every direction

from the place where they stood; so if she kept on counting she was likely to count some of the roads twice.

"Dear me!" she exclaimed. "There used to be only five roads, highway and all. And nowwhy, where's the

"Can't say, miss," he responded, sitting down upon the ground as if tired with standing. "Wasn't it here a

"I thought so," she answered, greatly perplexed. "And I saw the gopher holes, too, and the dead stump; but

they're not here now. These roads are all strangeand what a lot of them there are! Where do you suppose

"Roads," observed the shaggy man, "don't go anywhere. They stay in one place, so folks can walk on them."

He put his hand in his sidepocket and drew out an applequick, before Toto could bite him again. The

little dog got his head out this time and said "Bowwow!" so loudly that it made Dorothy jump.

With one hand the shaggy man held the apple, which he began eating, while with the other hand he pulled

Toto out of his pocket and dropped him to the ground. Of course Toto made for Dorothy at once, barking

joyfully at his release from the dark pocket. When the child had patted his head lovingly, he sat down before

her, his red tongue hanging out one side of his mouth, and looked up into her face with his bright brown eyes,

Dorothy didn't know. She looked around her anxiously for some familiar landmark; but everything was

strange. Between the branches of the many roads were green meadows and a few shrubs and trees, but she

couldn't see anywhere the farmhouse from which she had just come, or anything she had ever seen

beforeexcept the shaggy man and Toto. Besides this, she had turned around and around so many times

trying to find out where she was, that now she couldn't even tell which direction the farmhouse ought to be

"That's nothing to be afraid of," he replied, throwing away the core of his apple and beginning to eat another

one. "Each of these roads must lead somewhere, or it wouldn't be here. So what does it matter?"

"That is too bad," he said, shaking his shaggy head gravely. "I wish I could help you; but I can't. I'm a

"Seems as if I were, too," she said, sitting down beside him. "It's funny. A few minutes ago I was home, and I

"Have an apple," suggested the shaggy man, handing her one with pretty red cheeks.

"But you may be, tomorrow; then you'll be sorry you didn't eat the apple," said he.

"Perhaps there won't be any apple then," he returned, beginning to eat the redcheeked one himself. "Dogs

sometimes can find their way home better than people," he went on; "perhaps your dog can lead you back to

"Goodbye, Shaggy Man," called Dorothy, and ran after Toto. The little dog pranced briskly along for some

"Oh, don't 'spect ME to tell you anything; I don't know the way," she said. "You'll have to find it yourself."

But Toto couldn't. He wagged his tail, and sneezed, and shook his ears, and trotted back where they had left

the shaggy man. From here he started along another road; then came back and tried another; but each time he

found the way strange and decided it would not take them to the farmhouse. Finally, when Dorothy had

begun to tire with chasing after him, Toto sat down panting beside the shaggy man and gave up.

Dorothy sat down, too, very thoughtful. The little girl had encountered some queer adventures since she came

to live at the farm; but this was the queerest of them all. To get lost in fifteen minutes, so near to her home

and in the unromantic State of Kansas, was an experience that fairly bewildered her.

"Will your folks worry?" asked the shaggy man, his eyes twinkling in a pleasant way.

"I s'pose so," answered Dorothy with a sigh. "Uncle Henry says there's ALWAYS something happening to

me; but I've always come home safe at the last. So perhaps he'll take comfort and think I'll come home safe

"I'm sure you will," said the shaggy man, smilingly nodding at her. "Good little girls never come to any harm,

Dorothy looked at him curiously. His clothes were shaggy, his boots were shaggy and full of holes, and his

"Because a man lives there who owes me fifteen cents, and if I went to Butterfield and he saw me he'd want

"Money," declared the shaggy man, "makes people proud and haughty. I don't want to be proud and haughty.

All I want is to have people love me; and as long as I own the Love Magnet, everyone I meet is sure to love

"I'll show you, if you won't tell any one," he answered, in a low, mysterious voice.

The shaggy man searched in one pocket, carefully; and in another pocket; and in a third. At last he drew out a

small parcel wrapped in crumpled paper and tied with a cotton string. He unwound the string, opened the

parcel, and took out a bit of metal shaped like a horseshoe. It was dull and brown, and not very pretty.

"This, my dear," said he, impressively, "is the wonderful Love Magnet. It was given me by an Eskimo in the

Sandwich Islandswhere there are no sandwiches at alland as long as I carry it every living thing I meet

"Why didn't the Eskimo keep it?" she asked, looking at the Magnet with interest.

"He got tired of being loved and longed for some one to hate him. So he gave me the Magnet and the very

"He didn't say," replied the shaggy man, wrapping and tying the Love Magnet with great care and putting it

"Yes; we used to play ball together in the Caviar Islands. The bear loved me because I had the Love Magnet.

I couldn't blame him for eating the Eskimo, because it was his nature to do so."

"Once," said Dorothy, "I knew a Hungry Tiger who longed to eat fat babies, because it was his nature to; but

The shaggy man sat silent for several minutes, apparently considering the cases of the bear and the tiger,

while Toto watched him with an air of great interest. The little dog was doubtless thinking of his ride in the

"My name's Dorothy," said she, jumping up again, "but what are we going to do? We can't stay here forever,

"Let's take the seventh road," he suggested. "Seven is a lucky number for little girls named Dorothy."

So she counted seven roads, and the seventh looked just like all the others; but the shaggy man got up from

the ground where he had been sitting and started down this road as if sure it was the best way to go; and

The seventh road was a good road, and curved this way and that winding through green meadows and

fields covered with daisies and buttercups and past groups of shady trees. There were no houses of any sort to

Dorothy began to fear they were getting a good way from the farmhouse, since here everything was strange

to her; but it would do no good at all to go back where the other roads all met, because the next one they

She kept on beside the shaggy man, who whistled cheerful tunes to beguile the journey, until by and by they

followed a turn in the road and saw before them a big chestnut tree making a shady spot over the highway. In

the shade sat a little boy dressed in sailor clothes, who was digging a hole in the earth with a bit of wood. He

must have been digging some time, because the hole was already big enough to drop a football into.

Dorothy and Toto and the shaggy man came to a halt before the little boy, who kept on digging in a sober and

He looked up at her calmly. His face was round and chubby and his eyes were big, blue and earnest.

"Papa always said I was bright as a button; so mama always called me ButtonBright," he said.

"Never mind," said the shaggy man, smiling. "We'll call the boy ButtonBright, as his mama does. That name

"Why, he must be lost," she said to the shaggy man. She turned to the boy once more.

"But ButtonBright doesn't seem to know ANYthing," she declared. "Do you, ButtonBright?"

He shook his head, which had pretty curls all over it, and replied with perfect calmness:

Never before had Dorothy met with anyone who could give her so little information. The boy was evidently

lost, and his people would be sure to worry about him. He seemed two or three years younger than Dorothy,

and was prettily dressed, as if someone loved him dearly and took much pains to make him look well. How,

Near ButtonBright, on the ground, lay a sailor hat with a gilt anchor on the band. His sailor trousers were

long and wide at the bottom, and the broad collar of his blouse had gold anchors sewed on its corners. The

"You don't understand," cried Dorothy. "I mean, have you ever been on a big ship floating on a big ocean?"

"It's no use asking ButtonBright questions," said the shaggy man, who had been eating another apple; "but

someone ought to take care of the poor little chap, don't you think? So he'd better come along with us."

Toto had been looking with great curiosity in the hole which the boy was digging, and growing more and

more excited every minute, perhaps thinking that ButtonBright was after some wild animal. The little dog

began barking loudly and jumped into the hole himself, where he began to dig with his tiny paws, making the

earth fly in all directions. It spattered over the boy. Dorothy seized him and raised him to his feet, brushing

"Stop that, Toto!" she called. "There aren't any mice or woodchucks in that hole, so don't be foolish."

Toto stopped, sniffed at the hole suspiciously, and jumped out of it, wagging his tail as if he had done

"Well," said the shaggy man, "let's start on, or we won't get anywhere before night comes."

"I'm like ButtonBright. I don't know," answered the shaggy man, with a laugh. "But I've learned from long

experience that every road leads somewhere, or there wouldn't be any road; so it's likely that if we travel long

enough, my dear, we will come to some place or another in the end. What place it will be we can't even guess

ButtonBright took the shaggy man's hand willingly; for the shaggy man had the Love Magnet, you know,

which was the reason ButtonBright had loved him at once. They started on, with Dorothy on one side, and

Toto on the other, the little party trudging along more cheerfully than you might have supposed. The girl was

getting used to queer adventures, which interested her very much. Wherever Dorothy went Toto was sure to

go, like Mary's little lamb. ButtonBright didn't seem a bit afraid or worried because he was lost, and the

Before long they saw ahead of them a fine big arch spanning the road, and when they came nearer they found

that the arch was beautifully carved and decorated with rich colors. A row of peacocks with spread tails ran

along the top of it, and all the feathers were gorgeously painted. In the center was a large fox's head, and the

fox wore a shrewd and knowing expression and had large spectacles over its eyes and a small golden crown

While the travelers were looking with curiosity at this beautiful arch there suddenly marched out of it a

company of soldiersonly the soldiers were all foxes dressed in uniforms. They wore green jackets and

yellow pantaloons, and their little round caps and their high boots were a bright red color. Also, there was a

big red bow tied about the middle of each long, bushy tail. Each soldier was armed with a wooden sword

having an edge of sharp teeth set in a row, and the sight of these teeth at first caused Dorothy to shudder.

A captain marched in front of the company of foxsoldiers, his uniform embroidered with gold braid to make

Almost before our friends realized it the soldiers had surrounded them on all sides, and the captain was

"A prisoner is a captive," replied the foxcaptain, strutting up and down with much dignity.

"Good afternoon, captain," he said, bowing politely to all the foxes and very low to their commander. "I trust

The foxcaptain looked at the shaggy man, and his sharp features grew pleasant and smiling.

"We're pretty well, thank you, Shaggy Man," said he; and Dorothy knew that the Love Magnet was working

and that all the foxes now loved the shaggy man because of it. But Toto didn't know this, for he began

barking angrily and tried to bite the captain's hairy leg where it showed between his red boots and his yellow

"Stop, Toto!" cried the little girl, seizing the dog in her arms. "These are our friends."

"Why, so we are!" remarked the captain in tones of astonishment. "I thought at first we were enemies, but it

"King Dox of Foxville; the great and wise sovereign who rules over our community."

"Ah, why indeed?" exclaimed the captain, looking at ButtonBright admiringly. "If you don't ask questions

you will learn nothing. True enough. I was wrong. You're a very clever little boy, come to think of itvery

clever indeed. But now, friends, please come with me, for it is my duty to escort you at once to the royal

The soldiers marched back through the arch again, and with them marched the shaggy man, Dorothy, Toto,

and ButtonBright. Once through the opening they found a fine, big city spread out before them, all the

houses of carved marble in beautiful colors. The decorations were mostly birds and other fowl, such as

peacocks, pheasants, turkeys, prairiechickens, ducks, and geese. Over each doorway was carved a head

representing the fox who lived in that house, this effect being quite pretty and unusual.

As our friends marched along, some of the foxes came out on the porches and balconies to get a view of the

strangers. These foxes were all handsomely dressed, the girlfoxes and womenfoxes wearing gowns of

feathers woven together effectively and colored in bright hues which Dorothy thought were quite artistic and

ButtonBright stared until his eyes were big and round, and he would have stumbled and fallen more than

once had not the shaggy man grasped his hand tightly. They were all interested, and Toto was so excited he

wanted to bark every minute and to chase and fight every fox he caught sight of; but Dorothy held his little

wiggling body fast in her arms and commanded him to be good and behave himself. So he finally quieted

down, like a wise doggy, deciding there were too many foxes in Foxville to fight at one time.

Byandby they came to a big square, and in the center of the square stood the royal palace. Dorothy knew it

at once because it had over its great door the carved head of a fox just like the one she had seen on the arch,

There were many foxsoldiers guarding the door, but they bowed to the captain and admitted him without

question. The captain led them through many rooms, where richly dressed foxes were sitting on beautiful

chairs or sipping tea, which was being passed around by foxservants in white aprons. They came to a big

Beside this doorway stood a huge drum. The foxcaptain went to this drum and knocked his knees against

"You must all do exactly what I do," ordered the captain; so the shaggy man pounded the drum with his

knees, and so did Dorothy and so did ButtonBright. The boy wanted to keep on pounding it with his little fat

knees, because he liked the sound of it; but the captain stopped him. Toto couldn't pound the drum with his

knees and he didn't know enough to wag his tail against it, so Dorothy pounded the drum for him and that

The golden curtains drew back far enough to make an opening, through which marched the captain with the

The broad, long room they entered was decorated in gold with stainedglass windows of splendid colors. In

the corner of the room upon a richly carved golden throne, sat the foxking, surrounded by a group of other

foxes, all of whom wore great spectacles over their eyes, making them look solemn and important.

Dorothy knew the King at once, because she had seen his head carved on the arch and over the doorway of

the palace. Having met with several other kings in her travels, she knew what to do, and at once made a low

bow before the throne. The shaggy man bowed, too, and ButtonBright bobbed his head and said "Hello."

"Most wise and noble Potentate of Foxville," said the captain, addressing the King in a pompous voice, "I

humbly beg to report that I found these strangers on the road leading to your Foxy Majesty's dominions, and

"Soso," said the King, looking at them keenly. "What brought you here, strangers?"

The King didn't know about the Magnet, of course; but it made him love the shaggy man at once.

"Do just as you please about going away," he said; "but I'd like to show you the sights of my city and to

entertain your party while you are here. We feel highly honored to have little Dorothy with us, I assure you,

and we appreciate her kindness in making us a visit. For whatever country Dorothy visits is sure to become

"Why, everybody knows you, my dear," said the FoxKing. "Don't you realize that? You are quite an

"I regret to say that I do not," he answered, sadly; "but I hope to meet her soon. You know the Princess Ozma

"Yes; it is to be the most brilliant royal ceremony ever held in any city in Fairyland, and I hope you will try to

"I'm sure Ozma would invite you if I asked her," she said; "but how could you get to the Land of Oz and the

"What a queer notion!" cried the FoxKing, beginning to laugh. "Whatever made you think this is Kansas?"

"I left Uncle Henry's farm only about two hours ago; that's the reason," she said, rather perplexed.

"But, tell me, my dear, did you ever see so wonderful a city as Foxville in Kansas?" he questioned.

"And haven't you traveled from Oz to Kansas in less than half a jiffy, by means of the Silver Shoes and the

"Then why do you wonder that an hour or two could bring you to Foxville, which is nearer to Oz than it is to

"Are you a magician? or a fairy in disguise?" she asked. "Did you enchant me when you asked the way to

"Who ever heard of a shaggy fairy?" he replied. "No, Dorothy, my dear; I'm not to blame for this journey in

any way, I assure you. There's been something strange about me ever since I owned the Love Magnet; but I

don't know what it is any more than you do. I didn't try to get you away from home, at all. If you want to find

your way back to the farm I'll go with you willingly, and do my best to help you."

"Never mind," said the little girl, thoughtfully. "There isn't so much to see in Kansas as there is here, and I

guess Aunt Em won't be VERY much worried; that is, if I don't stay away too long."

"That's right," declared the FoxKing, nodding approval. "Be contented with your lot, whatever it happens to

be, if you are wise. Which reminds me that you have a new companion on this adventurehe looks very

It was amusing to note the expression on the face of King Dox as he looked the boy over, from his sailor hat

to his stubby shoes, and it was equally diverting to watch ButtonBright stare at the King in return. No fox

ever beheld a fresher, fairer child's face, and no child had ever before heard a fox talk, or met with one who

dressed so handsomely and ruled so big a city. I am sorry to say that no one had ever told the little boy much

about fairies of any kind; this being the case, it is easy to understand how much this strange experience

"Of course you don't. It's too short an acquaintance," returned his Majesty. "What do you suppose my name

"How should you? Well, I'll tell you. My private name is Dox, but a King can't be called by his private name;

he has to take one that is official. Therefore my official name is King Renard the Fourth. Renard with the

"How clever!" exclaimed the King, turning a pleased face toward his counselors. "This boy is indeed

remarkably bright. 'What's 'ren'?' he asks; and of course 'ren' is nothing at all, all by itself. Yes, he's very

"That question is what your Majesty might call foxy," said one of the counselors, an old grey fox.

"Good! Very good indeed! You certainly have a brilliant mind. Do you know why two and two make four?"

"Clever! clever indeed! Of course you don't know. Nobody knows why; we only know it's so, and can't tell

why it's so. ButtonBright, those curls and blue eyes do not go well with so much wisdom. They make you

look too youthful, and hide your real cleverness. Therefore, I will do you a great favor. I will confer upon you

As he spoke the King waved his paw toward the boy, and at once the pretty curls and fresh round face and big

blue eyes were gone, while in their place a fox's head appeared upon ButtonBright's shouldersa hairy

"Oh, don't do that!" cried Dorothy, shrinking back from her transformed companion with a shocked and

"Too late, my dear; it's done. But you also shall have a fox's head if you can prove you're as clever as

"I don't want it; it's dreadful!" she exclaimed; and, hearing this verdict, ButtonBright began to boohoo just

"How can you call that lovely head dreadful?" asked the King. "It's a much prettier face than he had before, to

my notion, and my wife says I'm a good judge of beauty. Don't cry, little foxboy. Laugh and be proud,

"I can't do that," he said; "I haven't the power, even if I wanted to. No, ButtonBright must wear his fox head,

Both the shaggy man and Dorothy looked grave and anxious, for they were sorrowful that such a misfortune

had overtaken their little companion. Toto barked at the foxboy once or twice, not realizing it was his

former friend who now wore the animal head; but Dorothy cuffed the dog and made him stop. As for the

foxes, they all seemed to think ButtonBright's new head very becoming and that their King had conferred a

great honor on this little stranger. It was funny to see the boy reach up to feel of his sharp nose and wide

mouth, and wail afresh with grief. He wagged his ears in a comical manner and tears were in his little black

eyes. But Dorothy couldn't laugh at her friend just yet, because she felt so sorry.

Just then three little foxprincesses, daughters of the King, entered the room, and when they saw

ButtonBright one exclaimed: "How lovely he is!" and the next one cried in delight: "How sweet he is!" and

the third princess clapped her hands with pleasure and said, "How beautiful he is!"

"In all the world there is not another face so pretty," declared the biggest foxprincess.

This praise did much to comfort the boy, and he looked around and tried to smile. It was a pitiful attempt,

because the fox face was new and stiff, and Dorothy thought his expression more stupid than before the

"I think we ought to be going now," said the shaggy man, uneasily, for he didn't know what the King might

"Don't leave us yet, I beg of you," pleaded King Renard. "I intend to have several days of feasting and

"Have it after we're gone, for we can't wait," said Dorothy, decidedly. But seeing this displeased the King,

she added: "If I'm going to get Ozma to invite you to her party I'll have to find her as soon as poss'ble, you

In spite of all the beauty of Foxville and the gorgeous dresses of its inhabitants, both the girl and the shaggy

man felt they were not quite safe there, and would be glad to see the last of it.

"But it is now evening," the King reminded them, "and you must stay with us until morning, anyhow.

Therefore, I invite you to be my guests at dinner, and to attend the theater afterward and sit in the royal box.

They consented to this, and some of the foxservants led them to a suite of lovely rooms in the big palace.

ButtonBright was afraid to be left alone, so Dorothy took him into her own room. While a maidfox dressed

the little girl's hairwhich was a bit tangledand put some bright, fresh ribbons in it, another maidfox

combed the hair on poor ButtonBright's face and head and brushed it carefully, tying a pink bow to each of

his pointed ears. The maids wanted to dress the children in fine costumes of woven feathers, such as all the

"A sailor suit and a fox head do not go well together," said one of the maids, "for no fox was ever a sailor that

"Alas, no," agreed the maid. "But you've got a lovely fox head on your skinny shoulders, and that's ALMOST

The boy, reminded of his misfortune, began to cry again. Dorothy petted and comforted him and promised to

"If we can manage to get to Ozma," she said, "the Princess will change you back to yourself in half a second;

so you just wear that fox head as comf't'bly as you can, dear, and don't worry about it at all. It isn't nearly as

pretty as your own head, no matter what the foxes say; but you can get along with it for a little while longer,

"Don't know," said ButtonBright, doubtfully; but he didn't cry any more after that.

Dorothy let the maids pin ribbons to her shoulders, after which they were ready for the King's dinner. When

they met the shaggy man in the splendid drawing room of the palace they found him just the same as before.

He had refused to give up his shaggy clothes for new ones, because if he did that he would no longer be the

shaggy man, he said, and he might have to get acquainted with himself all over again.

He told Dorothy he had brushed his shaggy hair and whiskers; but she thought he must have brushed them

As for the company of foxes assembled to dine with the strangers, they were most beautifully costumed, and

their rich dresses made Dorothy's simple gown and ButtonBright's sailor suit and the shaggy man's shaggy

clothes look commonplace. But they treated their guests with great respect and the King's dinner was a very

good dinner indeed. Foxes, as you know, are fond of chicken and other fowl; so they served chicken soup and

roasted turkey and stewed duck and fried grouse and broiled quail and goose pie, and as the cooking was

excellent the King's guests enjoyed the meal and ate heartily of the various dishes.

The party went to the theater, where they saw a play acted by foxes dressed in costumes of brilliantly colored

feathers. The play was about a foxgirl who was stolen by some wicked wolves and carried to their cave; and

just as they were about to kill her and eat her a company of foxsoldiers marched up, saved the girl, and put

"Don't mention Aesop to me, I beg of you!" exclaimed King Dox. "I hate that man's name. He wrote a good

deal about foxes, but always made them out cruel and wicked, whereas we are gentle and kind, as you may

"But his fables showed you to be wise and clever, and more shrewd than other animals," said the shaggy man,

"So we are. There is no question about our knowing more than men do," replied the King, proudly. "But we

employ our wisdom to do good, instead of harm; so that horrid Aesop did not know what he was talking

They did not like to contradict him, because they felt he ought to know the nature of foxes better than men

did; so they sat still and watched the play, and ButtonBright became so interested that for the time he forgot

Afterward they went back to the palace and slept in soft beds stuffed with feathers; for the foxes raised many

Dorothy wondered why the animals living in Foxville did not wear just their own hairy skins as wild foxes

do; when she mentioned it to King Dox he said they clothed themselves because they were civilized.

"But you were born without clothes," she observed, "and you don't seem to me to need them."

"So were human beings born without clothes," he replied; "and until they became civilized they wore only

their natural skins. But to become civilized means to dress as elaborately and prettily as possible, and to make

a show of your clothes so your neighbors will envy you, and for that reason both civilized foxes and civilized

"That is true," said the King, looking at him carefully; "but perhaps you are not civilized."

After a sound sleep and a good night's rest they had their breakfast with the King and then bade his Majesty

"You've been kind to us'cept poor ButtonBright," said Dorothy, "and we've had a nice time in Foxville."

"Then," said King Dox, "perhaps you'll be good enough to get me an invitation to Princess Ozma's birthday

"It's on the twentyfirst, remember," he continued; "and if you'll just see that I'm invited I'll find a way to

cross the Dreadful Desert into the marvelous Land of Oz. I've always wanted to visit the Emerald City, so I'm

sure it was fortunate you arrived here just when you did, you being Princess Ozma's friend and able to assist

The FoxKing had a delightful luncheon put up for them, which the shaggy man shoved in his pocket, and

the foxcaptain escorted them to an arch at the side of the village opposite the one by which they had entered.

"No; because we are watchful and able to protect ourselves," answered the captain. "But this road leads to

another village peopled by big, stupid beasts who might cause us trouble if they thought we were afraid of

"You will learn all about them when you arrive at their city. But do not be afraid of them. ButtonBright is so

wonderfully clever and has now such an intelligent face that I'm sure he will manage to find a way to protect

This made Dorothy and the shaggy man rather uneasy, for they had not so much confidence in the foxboy's

wisdom as the captain seemed to have. But as their escort would say no more about the beasts, they bade him

Toto, now allowed to run about as he pleased, was glad to be free again and able to bark at the birds and

chase the butterflies. The country around them was charming, yet in the pretty fields of wildflowers and

groves of leafy trees were no houses whatever, or sign of any inhabitants. Birds flew through the air and

cunning white rabbits darted amongst the tall grasses and green bushes; Dorothy noticed even the ants toiling

busily along the roadway, bearing gigantic loads of clover seed; but of people there were none at all.

They walked briskly on for an hour or two, for even little ButtonBright was a good walker and did not tire

easily. At length as they turned a curve in the road they beheld just before them a curious sight.

A little girl, radiant and beautiful, shapely as a fairy and exquisitely dressed, was dancing gracefully in the

middle of the lonely road, whirling slowly this way and that, her dainty feet twinkling in sprightly fashion.

She was clad in flowing, fluffy robes of soft material that reminded Dorothy of woven cobwebs, only it was

colored in soft tintings of violet, rose, topaz, olive, azure, and white, mingled together most harmoniously in

stripes which melted one into the other with soft blendings. Her hair was like spun gold and flowed around

her in a cloud, no strand being fastened or confined by either pin or ornament or ribbon.

Filled with wonder and admiration our friends approached and stood watching this fascinating dance. The girl

was no taller than Dorothy, although more slender; nor did she seem any older than our little heroine.

Suddenly she paused and abandoned the dance, as if for the first time observing the presence of strangers. As

she faced them, shy as a frightened fawn, poised upon one foot as if to fly the next instant, Dorothy was

astonished to see tears flowing from her violet eyes and trickling down her lovely rosehued cheeks. That the

dainty maiden should dance and weep at the same time was indeed surprising; so Dorothy asked in a soft,

"'Cause I've been lost before, and always got found again," answered Dorothy simply.

"But I've never been lost before," murmured the dainty maiden, "and I'm worried and afraid."

"Oh, that was just to keep warm," explained the maiden, quickly. "It was not because I felt happy or gay, I

Dorothy looked at her closely. Her gauzy flowing robes might not be very warm, yet the weather wasn't at all

"Oh!" said Dorothy with a gasp; "I didn't know the Rainbow had children. But I MIGHT have known it,

The little maiden smiled through her tears, came up to Dorothy, and placed her slender fingers in the Kansas

"I'm Dorothy; and this is my friend Shaggy Man, who owns the Love Magnet; and this is

ButtonBrightonly you don't see him as he really is because the FoxKing carelessly changed his head

into a fox head. But the real ButtonBright is good to look at, and I hope to get him changed back to himself,

The Rainbow's Daughter nodded cheerfully, no longer afraid of her new companions.

"But who is this?" she asked, pointing to Toto, who was sitting before her wagging his tail in the most

friendly manner and admiring the pretty maid with his bright eyes. "Is this, also, some enchanted person?"

"Oh no, PollyI may call you Polly, mayn't I? Your whole name's awful hard to say."

"Well, Polly, Toto's just a dog; but he has more sense than ButtonBright, to tell the truth; and I'm very fond

"But how did the Rainbow's Daughter ever get on this lonely road, and become lost?" asked the shaggy man,

"Why, my father stretched his rainbow over here this morning, so that one end of it touched this road," was

the reply; "and I was dancing upon the pretty rays, as I love to do, and never noticed I was getting too far

over the bend in the circle. Suddenly I began to slide, and I went faster and faster until at last I bumped on the

ground, at the very end. Just then father lifted the rainbow again, without noticing me at all, and though I

tried to seize the end of it and hold fast, it melted away entirely and I was left alone and helpless on the cold,

"It doesn't seem cold to me, Polly," said Dorothy; "but perhaps you're not warmly dressed."

"I'm so used to living nearer the sun," replied the Rainbow's Daughter, "that at first I feared I would freeze

down here. But my dance has warmed me some, and now I wonder how I am ever to get home again."

"Won't your father miss you, and look for you, and let down another rainbow for you?"

"Perhaps so, but he's busy just now because it rains in so many parts of the world at this season, and he has to

set his rainbow in a lot of different places. What would you advise me to do, Dorothy?"

"Come with us," was the answer. "I'm going to try to find my way to the Emerald City, which is in the fairy

Land of Oz. The Emerald City is ruled by a friend of mine, the Princess Ozma, and if we can manage to get

"Then I'll go with you," said the little maid; "for travel will help keep me warm, and father can find me in one

"Come along, then," said the shaggy man, cheerfully; and they started on once more. Polly walked beside

Dorothy a while, holding her new friend's hand as if she feared to let it go; but her nature seemed as light and

buoyant as her fleecy robes, for suddenly she darted ahead and whirled round in a giddy dance. Then she

tripped back to them with sparkling eyes and smiling cheeks, having regained her usual happy mood and

They found her a charming companion, and her dancing and laughter for she laughed at times like the

tinkling of a silver belldid much to enliven their journey and keep them contented.

When noon came they opened the FoxKing's basket of luncheon, and found a nice roasted turkey with

cranberry sauce and some slices of bread and butter. As they sat on the grass by the roadside the shaggy man

"Haven't you any dewdrops, or mistcakes, or cloudbuns?" asked Polychrome, longingly.

"'Course not," replied Dorothy. "We eat solid things, down here on the earth. But there's a bottle of cold tea.

"Well, I'm going to try, for I'm very hungry," she decided, and took a thin slice of the white breast of turkey

which the shaggy man cut for her, as well as a bit of bread and butter. When she tasted it Polychrome thought

the turkey was goodbetter even than mistcakes; but a little satisfied her hunger and she finished with a

"That's about as much as a fly would eat," said Dorothy, who was making a good meal herself. "But I know

"One is a scarecrow who's stuffed with straw, and the other a woodman made out of tin. They haven't any

"Oh yes," replied Dorothy; "and they're very clever and very nice, too. If we get to Oz I'll introduce them to

"Do you really expect to get to Oz?" inquired the shaggy man, taking a drink of cold tea.

"I don't know just what to 'spect," answered the child, seriously; "but I've noticed if I happen to get lost I'm

almost sure to come to the Land of Oz in the end, somehow 'r other; so I may get there this time. But I can't

"No; 'cause you're not a crow," she returned. "He has the loveliest smile you ever sawonly it's painted on

Luncheon being over they started again upon their journey, the shaggy man, Dorothy and ButtonBright

walking soberly along, side by side, and the Rainbow's Daughter dancing merrily before them.

Sometimes she darted along the road so swiftly that she was nearly out of sight, then she came tripping back

to greet them with her silvery laughter. But once she came back more sedately, to say:

"I 'spected that," returned Dorothy; "for the foxpeople warned us there was one on this road. It's filled with

stupid beasts of some sort, but we musn't be afraid of 'em 'cause they won't hurt us."

"All right," said ButtonBright; but Polychrome didn't know whether it was all right or not.

"Never mind," said the shaggy man; "as long as I carry the Love Magnet every living thing will love me, and

This comforted them somewhat, and they moved on again. Pretty soon they came to a signpost that read:

"Then we will cut some switches, and make them behave," he replied. At the first tree he cut himself a long,

Before long the road brought them to the gates of the city. There was a high wall all around, which had been

whitewashed, and the gate just before our travelers was a mere opening in the wall, with no bars across it. No

towers or steeples or domes showed above the enclosure, nor was any living thing to be seen as our friends

Suddenly, as they were about to boldly enter through the opening, there arose a harsh clamor of sound that

swelled and echoed on every side, until they were nearly deafened by the racket and had to put their fingers to

It was like the firing of many cannon, only there were no cannonballs or other missiles to be seen; it was

like the rolling of mighty thunder, only not a cloud was in the sky; it was like the roar of countless breakers

They hesitated to advance; but, as the noise did no harm, they entered through the whitewashed wall and

quickly discovered the cause of the turmoil. Inside were suspended many sheets of tin or thin iron, and

against these metal sheets a row of donkeys were pounding their heels with vicious kicks.

The shaggy man ran up to the nearest donkey and gave the beast a sharp blow with his switch.

"Stop that noise!" he shouted; and the donkey stopped kicking the metal sheet and turned its head to look

with surprise at the shaggy man. He switched the next donkey, and made him stop, and then the next, so that

gradually the rattling of heels ceased and the awful noise subsided. The donkeys stood in a group and eyed

"We were scaring away the foxes," said one of the donkeys, meekly. "Usually they run fast enough when they

"I beg to differ with you. There's one, anyhow," replied the donkey, sitting upright on its haunches and

waving a hoof toward ButtonBright. "We saw him coming and thought the whole army of foxes was

"ButtonBright isn't a fox," explained the shaggy man. "He's only wearing a fox head for a time, until he can

"Oh, I see," remarked the donkey, waving its left ear reflectively. "I'm sorry we made such a mistake, and had

The other donkeys by this time were sitting up and examining the strangers with big, glassy eyes. They made

a queer picture, indeed; for they wore wide, white collars around their necks and the collars had many

scallops and points. The gentlemendonkeys wore high pointed caps set between their great ears, and the

ladydonkeys wore sunbonnets with holes cut in the top for the ears to stick through. But they had no other

clothing except their hairy skins, although many wore gold and silver bangles on their front wrists and bands

of different metals on their rear ankles. When they were kicking they had braced themselves with their front

legs, but now they all stood or sat upright on their hind legs and used the front ones as arms. Having no

fingers or hands the beasts were rather clumsy, as you may guess; but Dorothy was surprised to observe how

Some of the donkeys were white, some were brown, or gray, or black, or spotted; but their hair was sleek and

smooth and their broad collars and caps gave them a neat, if whimsical, appearance.

"This is a nice way to welcome visitors, I must say!" remarked the shaggy man, in a reproachful tone.

"Oh, we did not mean to be impolite," replied a grey donkey which had not spoken before. "But you were not

"There is some truth in that," admitted the shaggy man; "but, now you are informed that we are important and

These big words delighted the donkeys, and made them bow to the shaggy man with great respect. Said the

"You shall be taken before his great and glorious Majesty King Kikabray, who will greet you as becomes

"Oh, we all know something, my child, or we shouldn't be donkeys," asserted the grey one, with dignity. "The

"Not at all, my child. If you will look in the Encyclopedia Donkaniara you will find I'm correct. But come; I

will myself lead you before our splendid, exalted, and most intellectual ruler."

All donkeys love big words, so it is no wonder the grey one used so many of them.

They found the houses of the town all low and square and built of bricks, neatly whitewashed inside and out.

The houses were not set in rows, forming regular streets, but placed here and there in a haphazard manner

"Stupid people must have streets and numbered houses in their cities, to guide them where to go," observed

the grey donkey, as he walked before the visitors on his hind legs, in an awkward but comical manner; "but

clever donkeys know their way about without such absurd marks. Moreover, a mixed city is much prettier

Dorothy did not agree with this, but she said nothing to contradict it. Presently she saw a sign on a house that

They came to a house where two youthful donkeys were whitewashing the wall, and Dorothy stopped a

moment to watch them. They dipped the ends of their tails, which were much like paintbrushes, into a pail

of whitewash, backed up against the house, and wagged their tails right and left until the whitewash was

rubbed on the wall, after which they dipped these funny brushes in the pail again and repeated the

"No, it's work," replied the old donkey; "but we make our youngsters do all the whitewashing, to keep them

"All donkeys are born wise," was the reply, "so the only school we need is the school of experience. Books

are only for those who know nothing, and so are obliged to learn things from other people."

"In other words, the more stupid one is, the more he thinks he knows," observed the shaggy man. The grey

donkey paid no attention to this speech because he had just stopped before a house which had painted over

the doorway a pair of hoofs, with a donkey tail between them and a rude crown and sceptre above.

"I'll see if his magnificent Majesty King Kikabray is at home," said he. He lifted his head and called

"Wheehaw! wheehaw! wheehaw!" three times, in a shocking voice, turning about and kicking with his

heels against the panel of the door. For a time there was no reply; then the door opened far enough to permit a

"They haven't been here, most stupendous Majesty," replied the grey one. "The new arrivals prove to be

He opened the door wide, and the party marched into a big room, which, Dorothy thought, looked quite

unlike a king's palace. There were mats of woven grasses on the floor and the place was clean and neat; but

his Majesty had no other furniture at allperhaps because he didn't need it. He squatted down in the center

of the room and a little brown donkey ran and brought a big gold crown which it placed on the monarch's

head, and a golden staff with a jeweled ball at the end of it, which the King held between his front hoofs as he

"Now then," said his Majesty, waving his long ears gently to and fro, "tell me why you are here, and what

you expect me to do for you." He eyed ButtonBright rather sharply, as if afraid of the little boy's queer head,

"Most noble and supreme ruler of Dunkiton," he said, trying not to laugh in the solemn King's face, "we are

strangers traveling through your dominions and have entered your magnificent city because the road led

through it, and there was no way to go around. All we desire is to pay our respects to your Majestythe

This polite speech pleased the King very much; indeed, it pleased him so much that it proved an unlucky

speech for the shaggy man. Perhaps the Love Magnet helped to win his Majesty's affections as well as the

flattery, but however this may be, the white donkey looked kindly upon the speaker and said:

"Only a donkey should be able to use such fine, big words, and you are too wise and admirable in all ways to

be a mere man. Also, I feel that I love you as well as I do my own favored people, so I will bestow upon you

As he spoke he waved his jeweled staff. Although the shaggy man cried out and tried to leap backward and

escape, it proved of no use. Suddenly his own head was gone and a donkey head appeared in its placea

brown, shaggy head so absurd and droll that Dorothy and Polly both broke into merry laughter, and even

"Dear me! dear me!" cried the shaggy man, feeling of his shaggy new head and his long ears. "What a

misfortunewhat a great misfortune! Give me back my own head, you stupid kingif you love me at all!"

"But I can't do that," was the reply. "My magic works only one way. I can DO things, but I can't UNdo them.

You'll have to find the Truth Pond, and bathe in its water, in order to get back your own head. But I advise

"Somewhere in the Land of Oz; but just the exact location of it I can not tell," was the answer.

"Don't worry, Shaggy Man," said Dorothy, smiling because her friend wagged his new ears so comically. "If

"I don't know," she replied, "but we've been told we are nearer the Land of Oz than to Kansas, and if that's so,

"Hawhaw! Do you know the mighty Princess Ozma?" asked the King, his tone both surprised and eager.

"Perhaps you can get me an invitation to Princess Ozma's birthday celebration, which will be the grandest

"Heehaw! You deserve punishment, rather than reward, for giving me this dreadful head," said the shaggy

"I wish you wouldn't say 'heehaw' so much," Polychrome begged him; "it makes cold chills run down my

"But I can't help it, my dear; my donkey head wants to bray continually," he replied. "Doesn't your fox head

"Don't know," said the boy, still staring at the shaggy man's ears. These seemed to interest him greatly, and

"What do you think, Polly? Shall I promise the donkey king an invitation to Ozma's party?" asked Dorothy of

the Rainbow's Daughter, who was flitting about the room like a sunbeam because she could never keep still.

"Do as you please, dear," answered Polychrome. "He might help to amuse the guests of the Princess."

"Then, if you will give us some supper and a place to sleep tonight, and let us get started on our journey

early tomorrow morning," said Dorothy to the King, "I'll ask Ozma to invite youif I happen to get to Oz."

"Good! Heehaw! Excellent!" cried Kikabray, much pleased. "You shall all have fine suppers and good

"Perhaps plain hay, or some sweet juicy grass would suit you better," suggested Kikabray, musingly.

"Well, you see we're not donkeys," she explained, "and so we're used to other food. The foxes gave us a nice

"I'd prefer apples and a ham sandwich," declared the shaggy man, "for although I've a donkey head, I still

"I think some beefsteak and chocolate layercake would taste best," said Dorothy.

"Heehaw! I declare!" exclaimed the King. "It seems each one of you wants a different food. How queer all

"Well," decided the King, "I suppose my Magic Staff will produce the things you crave; if you are lacking in

With this, he waved his staff with the jeweled ball, and before them instantly appeared a teatable, set with

linen and pretty dishes, and on the table were the very things each had wished for. Dorothy's beefsteak was

smoking hot, and the shaggy man's apples were plump and rosycheeked. The King had not thought to

provide chairs, so they all stood in their places around the table and ate with good appetite, being hungry. The

Rainbow's Daughter found three tiny dewdrops on a crystal plate, and ButtonBright had a big slice of apple

Afterward the King called the brown donkey, which was his favorite servant, and bade it lead his guests to

the vacant house where they were to pass the night. It had only one room and no furniture except beds of

clean straw and a few mats of woven grasses; but our travelers were contented with these simple things

because they realized it was the best the DonkeyKing had to offer them. As soon as it was dark they lay

At daybreak there was a dreadful noise throughout the city. Every donkey in the place brayed. When he heard

"Stop that!" said ButtonBright, in a cross voice. Both Dorothy and Polly looked at the shaggy man

"I couldn't help it, my dears," he said, as if ashamed of his bray; "but I'll try not to do it again."

Of coursed they forgave him, for as he still had the Love Magnet in his pocket they were all obliged to love

They did not see the King again, but Kikabray remembered them; for a table appeared again in their room

"I'll give you some of my beefsteak," proposed Dorothy; "there's plenty for us all."

That suited the boy better, but the shaggy man said he was content with his apples and sandwiches, although

he ended the meal by eating ButtonBright's pie. Polly liked her dewdrops and mistcakes better than any

other food, so they all enjoyed an excellent breakfast. Toto had the scraps left from the beefsteak, and he

Breakfast ended, they passed through the village to the side opposite that by which they had entered, the

brown servantdonkey guiding them through the maze of scattered houses. There was the road again, leading

"King Kikabray says you must not forget his invitation," said the brown donkey, as they passed through

Perhaps no one ever beheld a more strangely assorted group than the one which now walked along the road,

through pretty green fields and past groves of feathery peppertrees and fragrant mimosa. Polychrome, her

beautiful gauzy robes floating around her like a rainbow cloud, went first, dancing back and forth and darting

now here to pluck a wildflower or there to watch a beetle crawl across the path. Toto ran after her at times,

barking joyously the while, only to become sober again and trot along at Dorothy's heels. The little Kansas

girl walked holding ButtonBright's hand clasped in her own, and the wee boy with his fox head covered by

the sailor hat presented an odd appeaance. Strangest of all, perhaps, was the shaggy man, with his shaggy

donkey head, who shuffled along in the rear with his hands thrust deep in his big pockets.

None of the party was really unhappy. All were straying in an unknown land and had suffered more or less

annoyance and discomfort; but they realized they were having a fairy adventure in a fairy country, and were

About the middle of the forenoon they began to go up a long hill. Byandby this hill suddenly dropped

down into a pretty valley, where the travelers saw, to their surprise, a small house standing by the roadside.

It was the first house they had seen, and they hastened into the valley to discover who lived there. No one was

in sight as they approached, but when they began to get nearer the house they heard queer sounds coming

from it. They could not make these out at first, but as they became louder our friends thought they heard a

sort of music like that made by a wheezy handorgan; the music fell upon their ears in this way:

"Sounds to me like a playedout phonograph," said the shaggy man, lifting his enormous ears to listen.

"It's rather pretty, isn't it?" asked Polychrome, trying to dance to the strains.

came the music to their ears, more distinctly as they drew nearer the house. Presently, they saw a little fat

man sitting on a bench before the door. He wore a red, braided jacket that reached to his waist, a blue

waistcoat, and white trousers with gold stripes down the sides. On his bald head was perched a little, round,

red cap held in place by a rubber elastic underneath his chin. His face was round, his eyes a faded blue, and

he wore white cotton gloves. The man leaned on a stout goldheaded cane, bending forward on his seat to

Singularly enough, the musical sounds they had heard seemed to come from the inside of the fat man himself;

They came up and stood in a row, staring at him, and he stared back while the queer sounds came from him

Hearing this, the fat man sat up a little stiffer than before, as if he had received a compliment, and still came

The fat man looked at him sadly and began his reply. When he spoke the music changed and the words

It isn't a noise that you hear, But Music, harmonic and clear. My breath makes me play Like an organ, all

"That's all nonsense," declared the shaggy man; but now the music began again, and they all listened

My lungs are full of reeds like those In organs, therefore I suppose, If I breathe in or out my nose, The reeds

So as I breathe to live, you know, I squeeze out music as I go; I'm very sorry this is so Forgive my piping,

"Yes," replied the shaggy man; "we are only obliged to hear this music a short time, until we leave him and

go away; but the poor fellow must listen to himself as long as he lives, and that is enough to drive him crazy.

"Yes; if he had neighbors, they might do him an injury," responded the shaggy man.

I'm Allegro da Capo, a very famous man; Just find another, high or low, to match me if you can. Some people

try, but can't, to play And have to practice every day; But I've been musical always, since first my life began.

"Why, I b'lieve he's proud of it," exclaimed Dorothy; "and seems to me I've heard worse music than he

"I've forgotten, just now. But Mr. Da Capo is certainly a strange personisn't he?and p'r'aps he's the only

This praise seemed to please the little fat musicker, for he swelled out his chest, looked important and sang as

I wear no band around me, And yet I am a band! I do not strain to make my strains But, on the other hand,

My toot is always destitute Of flats or other errors; To see sharp and be natural are For me but minor terrors.

"I don't quite understand that," said Polychrome, with a puzzled look; "but perhaps it's because I'm

"Stop it, can't you?" he cried angrily; "or breathe in a whisper; or put a clothespin on your nose. Do

Music hath charms, and it may Soothe even the savage, they say; So if savage you feel Just list to my reel,

The shaggy man had to laugh at this, and when he laughed he stretched his donkey mouth wide open. Said

"I don't know how good his poetry is, but it seems to fit the notes, so that's all that can be 'xpected."

"I like it," said ButtonBright, who was staring hard at the musicker, his little legs spread wide apart. To the

"An organette," said the shaggy man. "But come, my dears; I think the best thing we can do is to continue on

our journey before ButtonBright swallows anything. We must try to find that Land of Oz, you know."

If you go to the Land of Oz Please take me along, because On Ozma's birthday I'm anxious to play The

"No thank you," said Dorothy; "we prefer to travel alone. But if I see Ozma I'll tell her you want to come to

Polly was already dancing along the road, far in advance, and the others turned to follow her. Toto did not

like the fat musicker and made a grab for his chubby leg. Dorothy quickly caught up the growling little dog

and hurried after her companions, who were walking faster than usual in order to get out of hearing. They had

to climb a hill, and until they got to the top they could not escape the musicker's monotonous piping:

As they passed the brow of the hill, however, and descended on the other side, the sounds gradually died

"I'm glad I don't have to live with the organman; aren't you, Polly?" said Dorothy.

"I hope your Princess Ozma won't invite him to her birthday celebration," remarked the shaggy man; "for the

fellow's music would drive her guests all crazy. You've given me an idea, ButtonBright; I believe the

The country wasn't so pretty now. Before the travelers appeared a rocky plain covered with hills on which

grew nothing green. They were nearing some low mountains, too, and the road, which before had been

ButtonBright's little feet stumbled more than once, and Polychrome ceased her dancing because the walking

It had become afternoon, yet there wasn't a thing for their luncheon except two apples which the shaggy man

had taken from the breakfast table. He divided these into four pieces and gave a portion to each of his

companions. Dorothy and ButtonBright were glad to get theirs; but Polly was satisfied with a small bite, and

"Do you know," asked the Rainbow's Daughter, "if this is the right road to the Emerald City?"

"No, I don't," replied Dorothy, "but it's the only road in this part of the country, so we may as well go to the

"It looks now as if it might end pretty soon," remarked the shaggy man; "and what shall we do if it does?"

"If I had my Magic Belt," replied Dorothy, thoughtfully, "it could do us a lot of good just now."

"It's a thing I captured from the Nome King one day, and it can do 'most any wonderful thing. But I left it

with Ozma, you know; 'cause magic won't work in Kansas, but only in fairy countries."

"I should think you'd know," said the little girl, gravely. "If it wasn't a fairy country you couldn't have a fox

head and the shaggy man couldn't have a donkey head, and the Rainbow's Daughter would be invis'ble."

"You don't seem to know anything, ButtonBright. Invis'ble is a thing you can't see."

"Then Toto's invis'ble," declared the boy, and Dorothy found he was right. Toto had disappeared from view,

but they could hear him barking furiously among the heaps of grey rock ahead of them.

They moved forward a little faster to see what the dog was barking at, and found perched upon a point of

rock by the roadside a curious creature. It had the form of a man, middlesized and rather slender and

graceful; but as it sat silent and motionless upon the peak they could see that its face was black as ink, and it

wore a black cloth costume made like a union suit and fitting tight to its skin. Its hands were black, too, and

its toes curled down, like a bird's. The creature was black all over except its hair, which was fine, and yellow,

banged in front across the black forehead and cut close at the sides. The eyes, which were fixed steadily upon

"What in the world do you s'pose that is?" asked Dorothy in a hushed voice, as the little group of travelers

The thing gave a jump and turned half around, sitting in the same place but with the other side of its body

facing them. Instead of being black, it was now pure white, with a face like that of a clown in a circus and

hair of a brilliant purple. The creature could bend either way, and its white toes now curled the same way the

"It has a face both front and back," whispered Dorothy, wonderingly; "only there's no back at all, but two

Having made the turn, the being sat motionless as before, while Toto barked louder at the white man than he

"Wonder if this works with strings," said Dorothy; but Polychrome cried "Look!" for another creature just

like the first had suddenly appeared sitting on another rock, its black side toward them. The two twisted their

heads around and showed a black face on the white side of one and a white face on the black side of the

"How curious," said Polychrome; "and how loose their heads seem to be! Are they friendly to us, do you

The creatures flopped first one way and then the other, showing black or white by turns; and now another

joined them, appearing on another rock. Our friends had come to a little hollow in the hills, and the place

where they now stood was surrounded by jagged peaks of rock, except where the road ran through.

"Lots of 'em!" cried ButtonBright; and so there werequite a row of the twosided black and white

Toto stopped barking and ran between Dorothy's feet, where he crouched down as if afraid. The creatures did

not look pleasant or friendly, to be sure, and the shaggy man's donkey face became solemn, indeed.

"Ask 'em who they are, and what they want," whispered Dorothy; so the shaggy man called out in a loud

"You!" they yelled, pointing their thin fingers at the group; and they all flopped around, so they were white,

"Goodness me!" said Dorothy, trembling a little; "the Scoodlers must be reg'lar cannibals."

"Hush, dear," said the little girl, trying to comfort him; "we don't any of us want to be soup. But don't worry;

"Will he?" asked Polychrome, who did not like the Scoodlers at all, and kept close to Dorothy.

Happening just then to feel the Love Magnet in his pocket, he said to the creatures, with more confidence:

"We love you in soup!" they yelled, and in a flash turned their white sides to the front.

"How dreadful!" said Dorothy. "This is a time, Shaggy Man, when you get loved too much."

"Don't want to be soup!" wailed ButtonBright again; and Toto began to whine dismally, as if he didn't want

"The only thing to do," said the shaggy man to his friends, in a low tone, "is to get out of this pocket in the

rocks as soon as we can, and leave the Scoodlers behind us. Follow me, my dears, and don't pay any attention

With this, he began to march along the road to the opening in the rocks ahead, and the others kept close

behind him. But the Scoodlers closed up in front, as if to bar their way, and so the shaggy man stooped down

and picked up a loose stone, which he threw at the creatures to scare them from the path.

At this the Scoodlers raised a howl. Two of them picked their heads from their shoulders and hurled them at

the shaggy man with such force that he fell over in a heap, greatly astonished. The two now ran forward with

swift leaps, caught up their heads, and put them on again, after which they sprang back to their positions on

The shaggy man got up and felt of himself to see if he was hurt; but he was not. One of the heads had struck

his breast and the other his left shoulder; yet though they had knocked him down, the heads were not hard

"Come on," he said firmly; "we've got to get out of here some way," and forward he started again.

The Scoodlers began yelling and throwing their heads in great numbers at our frightened friends. The shaggy

man was knocked over again, and so was ButtonBright, who kicked his heels against the ground and howled

as loud as he could, although he was not hurt a bit. One head struck Toto, who first yelped and then grabbed

The Scoodlers who had thrown their heads began to scramble down and run to pick them up, with wonderful

quickness; but the one whose head Toto had stolen found it hard to get it back again. The head couldn't see

the body with either pair of its eyes, because the dog was in the way, so the headless Scoodler stumbled

around over the rocks and tripped on them more than once in its effort to regain its top. Toto was trying to get

outside the rocks and roll the head down the hill; but some of the other Scoodlers came to the rescue of their

unfortunate comrade and pelted the dog with their own heads until he was obliged to drop his burden and

The little girl and the Rainbow's Daughter had both escaped the shower of heads, but they saw now that it

"We may as well submit," declared the shaggy man, in a rueful voice, as he got upon his feet again. He turned

"Come!" they cried, in a triumphant chorus, and at once sprang from the rocks and surrounded their captives

on all sides. One funny thing about the Scoodlers was they could walk in either direction, coming or going,

without turning around; because they had two faces and, as Dorothy said, "two front sides," and their feet

were shaped like the letter T upside down. They moved with great rapidity and there was something about

their glittering eyes and contrasting colors and removable heads that inspired the poor prisoners with horror,

But the creatures led their captives away from the rocks and the road, down the hill by a side path until they

came before a low mountain of rock that looked like a huge bowl turned upside down. At the edge of this

mountain was a deep gulfso deep that when you looked into it there was nothing but blackness below.

Across the gulf was a narrow bridge of rock, and at the other end of the bridge was an arched opening that led

Over this bridge the Scoodlers led their prisoners, through the opening into the mountain, which they found

to be an immense hollow dome lighted by several holes in the roof. All around the circular space were built

rock houses, set close together, each with a door in the front wall. None of these houses was more than six

feet wide, but the Scoodlers were thin people sidewise and did not need much room. So vast was the dome

that there was a large space in the middle of the cave, in front of all these houses, where the creatures might

It made Dorothy shudder to see a huge iron kettle suspended by a stout chain in the middle of the place, and

underneath the kettle a great heap of kindling wood and shavings, ready to light.

"What's that?" asked the shaggy man, drawing back as they approached this place, so that they were forced to

"The Soup Kettle!" yelled the Scoodlers, and then they shouted in the next breath:

ButtonBright, holding Dorothy's hand in one chubby fist and Polly's hand in the other, was so affected by

"Never mind," said the shaggy man, consolingly; "I ought to make enough soup to feed them all, I'm so big;

But the Scoodlers were not ready to make soup yet. They led the captives into a house at the farthest side of

"Who lives here?" asked the Rainbow's Daughter. The Scoodlers nearest her replied:

It made Dorothy hopeful to learn that a woman ruled over these fierce creatures, but a moment later they

were ushered by two or three of the escort into a gloomy, bare roomand her hope died away.

For the Queen of the Scoodlers proved to be much more dreadful in appearance than any of her people. One

side of her was fiery red, with jetblack hair and green eyes and the other side of her was bright yellow, with

crimson hair and black eyes. She wore a short skirt of red and yellow and her hair, instead of being banged,

was a tangle of short curls upon which rested a circular crown of silvermuch dented and twisted because

the Queen had thrown her head at so many things so many times. Her form was lean and bony and both her

"What have we here?" asked the Queen sharply, as our friends were made to stand before her.

"Ah, but you will be soon," retorted the Queen, a grim smile making her look more dreadful than before.

"Pardon me, most beautiful vision," said the shaggy man, bowing before the queen politely. "I must request

your Serene Highness to let us go our way without being made into soup. For I own the Love Magnet, and

"True," replied the Queen. "We love you very much; so much that we intend to eat your broth with real

"You won't be at all beautiful if you eat me," he said, shaking his head sadly. "Handsome is as handsome

"Take them away," she commanded the guard, "and at six o'clock run them through the meat chopper and

start the soup kettle boiling. And put plenty of salt in the broth this time, or I'll punish the cooks severely."

The Scoodlers led the captives away and shut them up in one of the houses, leaving only a single Scoodler to

The place was a sort of storehouse; containing bags of potatoes and baskets of carrots, onions and turnips.

"These," said their guard, pointing to the vegetables, "we use to flavor our soups with."

The prisoners were rather disheartened by this time, for they saw no way to escape and did not know how

soon it would be six o'clock and time for the meatchopper to begin work. But the shaggy man was brave and

"I'm going to fight for our lives," he whispered to the children, "for if I fail we will be no worse off than

before, and to sit here quietly until we are made into soup would be foolish and cowardly."

The Scoodler on guard stood near the doorway, turning first his white side toward them and then his black

side, as if he wanted to show to all of his greedy four eyes the sight of so many fat prisoners. The captives sat

in a sorrowful group at the other end of the roomexcept Polychrome, who danced back and forth in the

little place to keep herself warm, for she felt the chill of the cave. Whenever she approached the shaggy man

he would whisper something in her ear, and Polly would nod her pretty head as if she understood.

The shaggy man told Dorothy and ButtonBright to stand before him while he emptied the potatoes out of

one of the sacks. When this had been secretly done, little Polychrome, dancing near to the guard, suddenly

reached out her hand and slapped his face, the next instant whirling away from him quickly to rejoin her

The angry Scoodler at once picked off his head and hurled it at the Rainbow's Daughter; but the shaggy man

was expecting that, and caught the head very neatly, putting it in the sack, which he tied at the mouth. The

body of the guard, not having the eyes of its head to guide it, ran here and there in an aimless manner, and the

shaggy man easily dodged it and opened the door. Fortunately, there was no one in the big cave at that

moment, so he told Dorothy and Polly to run as fast as they could for the entrance, and out across the narrow

"I'll carry ButtonBright," he said, for he knew the little boy's legs were too short to run fast.

Dorothy picked up Toto and then seized Polly's hand and ran swiftly toward the entrance to the cave. The

shaggy man perched ButtonBright on his shoulders and ran after them. They moved so quickly and their

escape was so wholly unexpected that they had almost reached the bridge when one of the Scoodlers looked

The creature raised a shrill cry that brought all of its fellows bounding out of the numerous doors, and at once

they started in chase. Dorothy and Polly had reached the bridge and crossed it when the Scoodlers began

throwing their heads. One of the queer missiles struck the shaggy man on his back and nearly knocked him

over; but he was at the mouth of the cave now, so he set down ButtonBright and told the boy to run across

Then the shaggy man turned around and faced his enemies, standing just outside the opening, and as fast as

they threw their heads at him he caught them and tossed them into the black gulf below. The headless bodies

of the foremost Scoodlers kept the others from running close up, but they also threw their heads in an effort to

stop the escaping prisoners. The shaggy man caught them all and sent them whirling down into the black

gulf. Among them he noticed the crimson and yellow head of the Queen, and this he tossed after the others

Presently every Scoodler of the lot had thrown its head, and every head was down in the deep gulf, and now

the helpless bodies of the creatures were mixed together in the cave and wriggling around in a vain attempt to

discover what had become of their heads. The shaggy man laughed and walked across the bridge to rejoin his

"It's lucky I learned to play baseball when I was young," he remarked, "for I caught all those heads easily

and never missed one. But come along, little ones; the Scoodlers will never bother us or anyone else any

ButtonBright was still frightened and kept insisting, "I don't want to be soup!" for the victory had been

gained so suddenly that the boy could not realize they were free and safe. But the shaggy man assured him

that all danger of their being made into soup was now past, as the Scoodlers would be unable to eat soup for

So now, anxious to get away from the horrid gloomy cave as soon as possible, they hastened up the hillside

and regained the road just beyond the place where they had first met the Scoodlers; and you may be sure they

"It's getting awful rough walking," said Dorothy, as they trudged along. ButtonBright gave a deep sigh and

said he was hungry. Indeed, all were hungry, and thirsty, too; for they had eaten nothing but the apples since

breakfast; so their steps lagged and they grew silent and weary. At last they slowly passed over the crest of a

barren hill and saw before them a line of green trees with a strip of grass at their feet. An agreeable fragrance

Our travelers, hot and tired, ran forward on beholding this refreshing sight and were not long in coming to the

trees. Here they found a spring of pure bubbling water, around which the grass was full of wild strawberry

plants, their pretty red berries ripe and ready to eat. Some of the trees bore yellow oranges and some russet

pears, so the hungry adventurers suddenly found themselves provided with plenty to eat and to drink. They

lost no time in picking the biggest strawberries and ripest oranges and soon had feasted to their hearts'

content. Walking beyond the line of trees they saw before them a fearful, dismal desert, everywhere gray

sand. At the edge of this awful waste was a large, white sign with black letters neatly painted upon it and the

For the Deadly Sands will Turn Any Living Flesh to Dust in an instant. Beyond This Barrier is the

"Oh," said Dorothy, when the shaggy man had read the sign aloud; "I've seen this desert before, and it's true

"Then we musn't try it," answered the shaggy man thoughtfully. "But as we can't go ahead and there's no use

"I wish father would come for me," sighed the pretty Rainbow's Daughter, "I would take you all to live upon

the rainbow, where you could dance along its rays from morning till night, without a care or worry of any

"Don't want to dance," said ButtonBright, sitting down wearily upon the soft grass.

"It's very good of you, Polly," said Dorothy; "but there are other things that would suit me better than dancing

on rainbows. I'm 'fraid they'd be kind of soft an' squashy under foot, anyhow, although they're so pretty to

This didn't help to solve the problem, and they all fell silent and looked at one another questioningly.

"Really, I don't know what to do," muttered the shaggy man, gazing hard at Toto; and the little dog wagged

his tail and said "Bowwow!" just as if he could not tell, either, what to do. ButtonBright got a stick and

began to dig in the earth, and the others watched him for a while in deep thought. Finally, the shaggy man

"It's nearly evening, now; so we may as well sleep in this pretty place and get rested; perhaps by morning we

There was little chance to make beds for the children, but the leaves of the trees grew thickly and would serve

to keep off the night dews, so the shaggy man piled soft grasses in the thickest shade and when it was dark

Long after the others were asleep, however, the shaggy man sat in the starlight by the spring, gazing

thoughtfully into its bubbling waters. Suddenly he smiled and nodded to himself as if he had found a good

thought, after which he, too, laid himself down under a tree and was soon lost in slumber.

In the bright morning sunshine, as they ate of the strawberries and sweet juicy pears, Dorothy said:

"You ought to know SOME magic, being the Rainbow's Daughter," continued Dorothy, earnestly.

"But we who live on the rainbow among the fleecy clouds have no use for magic," replied Polychrome.

"What I'd like," said Dorothy, "is to find some way to cross the desert to the Land of Oz and its Emerald City.

I've crossed it already, you know, more than once. First a cyclone carried my house over, and some Silver

Shoes brought me back againin half a second. Then Ozma took me over on her Magic Carpet, and the

Nome King's Magic Belt took me home that time. You see it was magic that did it every time 'cept the first,

and we can't 'spect a cyclone to happen along and take us to the Emerald City now."

"That's why I wanted to find out if you could do any magic," said the little Kansas girl. "I'm sure I can't; and

I'm sure ButtonBright can't; and the only magic the shaggy man has is the Love Magnet, which won't help

"Don't be too sure of that, my dear," spoke the shaggy man, a smile on his donkey face. "I may not be able to

do magic myself, but I can call to us a powerful friend who loves me because I own the Love Magnet, and

The shaggy man took the Love Magnet from his pocket and unwrapped the paper that surrounded it. Holding

the charm in the palm of his hand he looked at it steadily and said these words:

"Well, here I am," said a cheery little voice; "but you shouldn't say you need me bad, 'cause I'm always,

At this they quickly whirled around to find a funny little man sitting on a big copper chest, puffing smoke

from a long pipe. His hair was grey, his whiskers were grey; and these whiskers were so long that he had

wound the ends of them around his waist and tied them in a hard knot underneath the leather apron that

reached from his chin nearly to his feet, and which was soiled and scratched as if it had been used a long

time. His nose was broad, and stuck up a little; but his eyes were twinkling and merry. The little man's hands

and arms were as hard and tough as the leather in his apron, and Dorothy thought Johnny Dooit looked as if

"Good morning, Johnny," said the shaggy man. "Thank you for coming to me so quickly."

"I never waste time," said the newcomer, promptly. "But what's happened to you? Where did you get that

donkey head? Really, I wouldn't have known you at all, Shaggy Man, if I hadn't looked at your feet."

The shaggy man introduced Johnny Dooit to Dorothy and Toto and ButtonBright and the Rainbow's

Daughter, and told him the story of their adventures, adding that they were anxious now to reach the Emerald

City in the Land of Oz, where Dorothy had friends who would take care of them and send them safe home

"But," said he, "we find that we can't cross this desert, which turns all living flesh that touches it into dust; so

Johnny Dooit puffed his pipe and looked carefully at the dreadful desert in front of themstretching so far

"In a sandboat, which has runners like a sled and sails like a ship. The wind will blow you swiftly across the

"Good!" cried Dorothy, clapping her hands delightedly. "That was the way the Magic Carpet took us across.

As he spoke, he knocked the ashes from his pipe and put it in his pocket. Then he unlocked the copper chest

and lifted the lid, and Dorothy saw it was full of shining tools of all sorts and shapes.

Johnny Dooit moved quickly nowso quickly that they were astonished at the work he was able to

accomplish. He had in his chest a tool for everything he wanted to do, and these must have been magic tools

The man hummed a little song as he worked, and Dorothy tried to listen to it. She thought the words were

The only way to do a thing Is do it when you can, And do it cheerfully, and sing And work and think and

plan. The only real unhappy one Is he who dares to shirk; The only really happy one Is he who cares to work.

Whatever Johnny Dooit was singing he was certainly doing things, and they all stood by and watched him in

He seized an axe and in a couple of chops felled a tree. Next he took a saw and in a few minutes sawed the

treetrunk into broad, long boards. He then nailed the boards together into the shape of a boat, about twelve

feet long and four feet wide. He cut from another tree a long, slender pole which, when trimmed of its

branches and fastened upright in the center of the boat, served as a mast. From the chest he drew a coil of

rope and a big bundle of canvas, and with thesestill humming his songhe rigged up a sail, arranging it so

Dorothy fairly gasped with wonder to see the thing grow so speedily before her eyes, and both ButtonBright

"It ought to be painted," said Johnny Dooit, tossing his tools back into the chest, "for that would make it look

prettier. But 'though I can paint it for you in three seconds it would take an hour to dry, and that's a waste of

"We don't care how it looks," said the shaggy man, "if only it will take us across the desert."

"It will do that," declared Johnny Dooit. "All you need worry about is tipping over. Did you ever sail a ship?"

"Good. Sail this boat the way you've seen a ship sailed, and you'll be across the sands before you know it."

With this he slammed down the lid of the chest, and the noise made them all wink. While they were winking

"Oh, that's too bad!" cried Dorothy; "I wanted to thank Johnny Dooit for all his kindness to us."

"He hasn't time to listen to thanks," replied the shaggy man; "but I'm sure he knows we are grateful. I suppose

They now looked more carefully at the sandboat, and saw that the bottom was modeled with two sharp

runners which would glide through the sand. The front of the sandboat was pointed like the bow of a ship,

It had been built just at the edge of the desert, so that all its length lay upon the gray sand except the after

"Get in, my dears," said the shaggy man; "I'm sure I can manage this boat as well as any sailor. All you need

Dorothy got in, Toto in her arms, and sat on the bottom of the boat just in front of the mast. ButtonBright sat

in front of Dorothy, while Polly leaned over the bow. The shaggy man knelt behind the mast. When all were

ready he raised the sail halfway. The wind caught it. At once the sandboat started forwardslowly at first,

then with added speed. The shaggy man pulled the sail way up, and they flew so fast over the Deadly Desert

that every one held fast to the sides of the boat and scarcely dared to breathe.

The sand lay in billows, and was in places very uneven, so that the boat rocked dangerously from side to side;

but it never quite tipped over, and the speed was so great that the shaggy man himself became frightened and

"It we're spilled in this sand, in the middle of the desert," Dorothy thought to herself, "we'll be nothing but

But they were not spilled, and byandby Polychrome, who was clinging to the bow and looking straight

ahead, saw a dark line before them and wondered what it was. It grew plainer every second, until she

discovered it to be a row of jagged rocks at the end of the desert, while high above these rocks she could see a

"Look out!" she screamed to the shaggy man. "Go slowly, or we shall smash into the rocks."

He heard her, and tried to pull down the sail; but the wind would not let go of the broad canvas and the ropes

Nearer and nearer they drew to the great rocks, and the shaggy man was in despair because he could do

They reached the edge of the desert and bumped squarely into the rocks. There was a crash as Dorothy,

ButtonBright, Toto and Polly flew up in the air in a curve like a skyrocket's, one after another landing high

upon the grass, where they rolled and tumbled for a time before they could stop themselves.

The shaggy man flew after them, head first, and lighted in a heap beside Toto, who, being much excited at the

time, seized one of the donkey ears between his teeth and shook and worried it as hard as he could, growling

angrily. The shaggy man made the little dog let go, and sat up to look around him.

Dorothy was feeling one of her front teeth, which was loosened by knocking against her knee as she fell.

Polly was looking sorrowfully at a rent in her pretty gauze gown, and ButtonBright's fox head had stuck fast

in a gopher hole and he was wiggling his little fat legs frantically in an effort to get free.

Otherwise they were unhurt by the adventure; so the shaggy man stood up and pulled ButtonBright out of

the hole and went to the edge of the desert to look at the sandboat. It was a mere mass of splinters now,

crushed out of shape against the rocks. The wind had torn away the sail and carried it to the top of a tall tree,

"'Course it must. We're across the desert, aren't we? And somewhere in the middle of Oz is the Emerald

"Let's hunt for them," he suggested. "There must be people somewhere; but perhaps they did not expect us,

They now made a more careful examination of the country around them. All was fresh and beautiful after the

sultriness of the desert, and the sunshine and sweet, crisp air were delightful to the wanderers. Little mounds

of yellowish green were away at the right, while on the left waved a group of tall leafy trees bearing yellow

blossoms that looked like tassels and pompoms. Among the grasses carpeting the ground were pretty

buttercups and cowslips and marigolds. After looking at these a moment Dorothy said reflectively:

"We must be in the Country of the Winkies, for the color of that country is yellow, and you will notice that

"But I thought this was the Land of Oz," replied the shaggy man, as if greatly disappointed.

"So it is," she declared; "but there are four parts to the Land of Oz. The North Country is purple, and it's the

Country of the Gillikins. The East Country is blue, and that's the Country of the Munchkins. Down at the

South is the red Country of the Quadlings, and here, in the West, the yellow Country of the Winkies. This is

"Why, he's the tin man I told you about. His name is Nick Chopper, and he has a lovely heart given him by

"The Wizard? Oh, he lives in the Emerald City, which is just in the middle of Oz, where the corners of the

"That's true," she replied; "so we'd better start on and see if we can find any of the Winkies. They're nice

people," she continued, as the little party began walking toward the group of trees, "and I came here once

with my friends the Scarecrow, and the Tin Woodman, and the Cowardly Lion, to fight a wicked witch who

"Why, I melted her with a bucket of water, and that was the end of her," replied Dorothy. "After that the

people were free, you know, and they made Nick Chopperthat's the Tin Woodmantheir Emp'ror."

"So she does; she rules the Emerald City and all the four countries of Oz; but each country has another little

ruler, not so big as Ozma. It's like the officers of an army, you see; the little rulers are all captains, and

By this time they had reached the trees, which stood in a perfect circle and just far enough apart so that their

thick branches touchedor "shook hands," as ButtonBright remarked. Under the shade of the trees they

found, in the center of the circle, a crystal pool, its water as still as glass. It must have been deep, too, for

"Why, it's a mirror!" she cried; for she could see all her pretty face and fluffy, rainbowtinted gown reflected

Dorothy bent over, too, and began to arrange her hair, blown by the desert wind into straggling tangles.

ButtonBright leaned over the edge next, and then began to cry, for the sight of his fox head frightened the

"I guess I won't look," remarked the shaggy man, sadly, for he didn't like his donkey head, either. While Polly

and Dorothy tried to comfort ButtonBright, the shaggy man sat down near the edge of the pool, where his

image could not be reflected, and stared at the water thoughtfully. As he did this he noticed a silver plate

fastened to a rock just under the surface of the water, and on the silver plate was engraved these words:

"Ah!" cried the shaggy man, springing to his feet with eager joy; "we've found it at last."

"The Truth Pond. Now, at last, I may get rid of this frightful head; for we were told, you remember, that only

"Of course," said Dorothy. "It will cure you both of your bad heads, I guess. Isn't it lucky we found it?"

"It is, indeed," replied the shaggy man. "I hated dreadfully to go to Princess Ozma looking like this; and she's

Just then a splash startled them, for ButtonBright, in his anxiety to see the pool that would "cure" him, had

stepped too near the edge and tumbled heels over head into the water. Down he went, out of sight entirely, so

He soon bobbed up, and the shaggy man seized him by his sailor collar and dragged him to the shore,

dripping and gasping for breath. They all looked upon the boy wonderingly, for the fox head with its sharp

nose and pointed ears was gone, and in its place appeared the chubby round face and blue eyes and pretty

curls that had belonged to ButtonBright before King Dox of Foxville transformed him.

"Oh, what a darling!" cried Polly, and would have hugged the little one had he not been so wet.

Their joyful exclamations made the child rub the water out of his eyes and look at his friends questioningly.

"You're all right now, dear," said Dorothy. "Come and look at yourself." She led him to the pool, and

although there were still a few ripples on the surface of the water he could see his reflection plainly.

"'Course it is," replied the girl, "and we're all as glad as you are, ButtonBright."

"Well," announced the shaggy man, "it's my turn next." He took off his shaggy coat and laid it on the grass

When he came up the donkey head had disappeared, and the shaggy man's own shaggy head was in its place,

with the water dripping in little streams from his shaggy whiskers. He scrambled ashore and shook himself to

get off some of the wet, and then leaned over the pool to look admiringly at his reflected face.

"I may not be strictly beautiful, even now," he said to his companions, who watched him with smiling faces;

"You're all right, Shaggy Man," declared Dorothy. "And ButtonBright is all right, too. So let's thank the

"I hate to leave it," murmured the shaggy man, with a sigh. "A truth pond wouldn't be a bad thing to carry

around with us." But he put on his coat and started with the others in search of some one to direct them on

They had not walked far across the flowerstrewn meadows when they came upon a fine road leading toward

"That way," said Dorothy, "must be the direction of the Emerald City. We'd better follow the road until we

The sun soon dried ButtonBright's sailor suit and the shaggy man's shaggy clothes, and so pleased were they

at regaining their own heads that they did not mind at all the brief discomfort of getting wet.

"It's good to be able to whistle again," remarked the shaggy man, "for those donkey lips were so thick I could

"You'll look more natural at the birthday celebration, too," said Dorothy, happy in seeing her friends so

Polychrome was dancing ahead in her usual sprightly manner, whirling gaily along the smooth, level road,

until she passed from sight around the curve of one of the mounds. Suddenly they heard her exclaim "Oh!"

There was no need for the Rainbow's Daughter to answer, for turning the bend in the road there came

advancing slowly toward them a funny round man made of burnished copper, gleaming brightly in the sun.

Perched on the copper man's shoulder sat a yellow hen, with fluffy feathers and a pearl necklace around her

"Oh, Tiktok!" cried Dorothy, running forward. When she came to him, the copper man lifted the little girl in

"Oh, Billina!" cried Dorothy, in a glad voice, and the yellow hen flew to her arms, to be hugged and petted by

Dorothy sat right down in the road, the yellow hen in her arms, and began to stroke Billina's back. Said the

Just then Toto, who had been growling to himself in a cross way, gave a sharp bark and flew at the yellow

hen, who ruffled her feathers and let out such an angry screech that Dorothy was startled.

"Stop, Toto! Stop that this minute!" she commanded. "Can't you see that Billina is my friend?" In spite of this

warning had she not grabbed Toto quickly by the neck the little dog would have done the yellow hen a

mischief, and even now he struggled madly to escape Dorothy's grasp. She slapped his ears once or twice and

told him to behave, and the yellow hen flew to Tiktok's shoulder again, where she was safe.

"Toto isn't a brute," replied Dorothy, "but at home Uncle Henry has to whip him sometimes for chasing the

chickens. Now look here, Toto," she added, holding up her finger and speaking sternly to him, "you've got to

understand that Billina is one of my dearest friends, and musn't be hurtnow or ever."

"Yes, he can," replied Dorothy; "he talks with his tail, and I know everything he says. If you could wag your

"It isn't nonsense at all. Just now Toto says he's sorry, and that he'll try to love you for my sake. Don't you,

"Wait a minute, dear," interrupted the little girl; "I've got to introduce you all, first. That's manners, Billina.

This," turning to her traveling companions, "is Mr. Tiktok, who works by machinery 'cause his thoughts

"No; each one separate. But he works just lovely, and Tiktok was a good friend to me once, and saved my

"Oh, no, but his machinery makes him just as good as alive." She turned to the copper man and said politely:

"Mr. Tiktok, these are my new friends: the shaggy man, and Polly the Rainbow's Daughter, and

ButtonBright, and Toto. Only Toto isn't a new friend, 'cause he's been to Oz before."

"Oh, I guess his speech needs winding!" said the little girl, running behind the copper man to get the key off a

hook at his back. She wound him up at a place under his right arm and he went on to say:

"Pardon me for running down. I was about to say I am pleased to meet Dorothy's friends, who must be

"And this is Billina," continued Dorothy, introducing the yellow hen, and they all bowed to her in turn.

"I've such wonderful news," said the hen, turning her head so that one bright eye looked full at Dorothy.

"I left them at home. But they're beauties, I assure you, and all wonderfully clever. I've named them

"It was so hard to tell them apart," explained the hen. "Now, when I call 'Dorothy,' they all come running to

me in a bunch; it's much easier, after all, than having a separate name for each."

"I'm just dying to see 'em, Billina," said Dorothy, eagerly. "But tell me, my friends, how did you happen to be

"I'll tell you," answered Tiktok, in his monotonous voice, all the sounds of his words being on one

level"Princess Ozma saw you in her magic picture, and knew you were coming here; so she sent

Billina and me to welcome you as she could not come herself; so thatfizidigle cumsoluting

"Good gracious! Whatever's the matter now?" cried Dorothy, as the copper man continued to babble these

unmeaning words, which no one could understand at all because they had no sense.

"Don't know," said ButtonBright, who was half scared. Polly whirled away to a distance and turned to look

"His thoughts have run down, this time," remarked Billina composedly, as she sat on Tiktok's shoulder and

pruned her sleek feathers. "When he can't think, he can't talk properly, any more than you can. You'll have to

Dorothy ran around and got the key again and wound up Tiktok under his left arm, after which he could

"Pardon me," he said, "but when my thoughts run down, my speech has no meaning, for words are formed

only by thought. I was about to say that Ozma sent us to welcome you and invite you to come straight

to the Emerald City. She was too busy to come herself, for she is preparing for her birthday

"I've heard of it," said Dorothy, "and I'm glad we've come in time to attend. Is it far from here to the Emerald

"Not very far," answered Tiktok, "and we have plenty of time. Tonight we will stop at the palace of

"Goody!" cried Dorothy. "I'd like to see dear Nick Chopper again. How's his heart?"

"It's fine," said Billina; "the Tin Woodman says it gets softer and kindlier every day. He's waiting at his castle

to welcome you, Dorothy; but he couldn't come with us because he's getting polished as bright as possible for

They proceeded on their journey in a friendly group, for Polychrome had discovered that the copper man was

harmless and was no longer afraid of him. ButtonBright was also reassured, and took quite a fancy to

Tiktok. He wanted the clockwork man to open himself, so that he might see the wheels go round; but that

was a thing Tiktok could not do. ButtonBright then wanted to wind up the copper man, and Dorothy

promised he should do so as soon as any part of the machinery ran down. This pleased ButtonBright, who

held fast to one of Tiktok's copper hands as he trudged along the road, while Dorothy walked on the other

side of her old friend and Billina perched by turns upon his shoulder or his copper hat. Polly once more

joyously danced ahead and Toto ran after her, barking with glee. The shaggy man was left to walk behind;

but he didn't seem to mind that a bit,and whistled merrily or looked curiously upon the pretty scenes they

At last they came to a hilltop from which the tin castle of Nick Chopper could plainly be seen, its towers

"How pretty!" exclaimed Dorothy. "I've never seen the Emp'ror's new house before."

"He built it because the old castle was damp, and likely to rust his tin body," said Billina. "All those towers

"No, dear," answered Dorothy; "it's better than that. It's the fairy dwelling of a fairy prince."

The grounds around Nick Chopper's new house were laid out in pretty flowerbeds, with fountains of crystal

water and statues of tin representing the Emperor's personal friends. Dorothy was astonished and delighted to

find a tin statue of herself standing on a tin pedestal at a bend in the avenue leading up to the entrance. It was

lifesize and showed her in her sunbonnet with her basket on her arm, just as she had first appeared in the

"Oh, Totoyou're there too!" she exclaimed; and sure enough there was the tin figure of Toto lying at the tin

Also, Dorothy saw figures of the Scarecrow, and the Wizard, and Ozma, and of many others, including

Tiktok. They reached the grand tin entrance to the tin castle, and the Tin Woodman himself came running

out of the door to embrace little Dorothy and give her a glad welcome. He welcomed her friends as well, and

the Rainbow's Daughter he declared to be the loveliest vision his tin eyes had ever beheld. He patted

ButtonBright's curly head tenderly, for he was fond of children, and turned to the shaggy man and shook

Nick Chopper, the Emperor of the Winkies, who was also known throughout the Land of Oz as the Tin

Woodman, was certainly a remarkable person. He was neatly made, all of tin, nicely soldered at the joints,

and his various limbs were cleverly hinged to his body so that he could use them nearly as well as if they had

been common flesh. Once, he told the shaggy man, he had been made all of flesh and bones, as other people

are, and then he chopped wood in the forests to earn his living. But the axe slipped so often and cut off parts

of himwhich he had replaced with tinthat finally there was no flesh left, nothing but tin; so he became a

real tin woodman. The wonderful Wizard of Oz had given him an excellent heart to replace his old one, and

he didn't at all mind being tin. Every one loved him, he loved every one; and he was therefore as happy as the

The Emperor was proud of his new tin castle, and showed his visitors through all the rooms. Every bit of the

furniture was made of brightly polished tinthe tables, chairs, beds, and alleven the floors and walls were

"I suppose," said he, "that there are no cleverer tinsmiths in all the world than the Winkies. It would be hard

"Money! Money in Oz!" cried the Tin Woodman. "What a queer idea! Did you suppose we are so vulgar as to

"If we used money to buy things with, instead of love and kindness and the desire to please one another, then

we should be no better than the rest of the world," declared the Tin Woodman. "Fortunately money is not

known in the Land of Oz at all. We have no rich, and no poor; for what one wishes the others all try to give

him, in order to make him happy, and no one in all Oz cares to have more than he can use."

"Good!" cried the shaggy man, greatly pleased to hear this. "I also despise moneya man in Butterfield

owes me fifteen cents, and I will not take it from him. The Land of Oz is surely the most favored land in all

The Tin Woodman listened with respectful attention. Already he loved the shaggy man, although he did not

"If you can prove to the Princess Ozma that you are honest and true and worthy of our friendship, you may

"And now," continued the Emperor, "you must all go to your rooms and prepare for dinner, which will

presently be served in the grand tin dininghall. I am sorry, Shaggy Man, that I can not offer you a change of

clothing; but I dress only in tin, myself, and I suppose that would not suit you."

They were shown to their rooms and permitted to make such toilets as they could, and soon they assembled

again in the grand tin dininghall, even Toto being present. For the Emperor was fond of Dorothy's little dog,

and the girl explained to her friends that in Oz all animals were treated with as much consideration as the

Toto behaved himself, and sat in a tin highchair beside Dorothy and ate his dinner from a tin platter.

Indeed, they all ate from tin dishes, but these were of pretty shapes and brightly polished; Dorothy thought

ButtonBright looked curiously at the man who had "no appetite inside him," for the Tin Woodman, although

he had prepared so fine a feast for his guests, ate not a mouthful himself, sitting patiently in his place to see

What pleased ButtonBright most about the dinner was the tin orchestra that played sweet music while the

company ate. The players were not tin, being just ordinary Winkies; but the instruments they played upon

were all tintin trumpets, tin fiddles, tin drums and cymbals and flutes and horns and all. They played so

nicely the "Shining Emperor Waltz," composed expressly in honor of the Tin Woodman by Mr. H. M.

Wogglebug, T.E., that Polly could not resist dancing to it. After she had tasted a few dewdrops, freshly

gathered for her, she danced gracefully to the music while the others finished their repast; and when she

whirled until her fleecy draperies of rainbow hues enveloped her like a cloud, the Tin Woodman was so

delighted that he clapped his tin hands until the noise of them drowned the sound of the cymbals.

Altogether it was a merry meal, although Polychrome ate little and the host nothing at all.

"I'm sorry the Rainbow's Daughter missed her mistcakes," said the Tin Woodman to Dorothy; "but by a

mistake Miss Polly's mistcakes were mislaid and not missed until now. I'll try to have some for her

They spent the evening telling stories, and the next morning left the splendid tin castle and set out upon the

road to the Emerald City. The Tin Woodman went with them, of course, having by this time been so brightly

polished that he sparkled like silver. His axe, which he always carried with him, had a steel blade that was tin

plated and a handle covered with tin plate beautifully engraved and set with diamonds.

The Winkies assembled before the castle gates and cheered their Emperor as he marched away, and it was

Dorothy let ButtonBright wind up the clockwork in the copper man this morninghis thinking machine

first, then his speech, and finally his action; so he would doubtless run perfectly until they had reached the

Emerald City. The copper man and the tin man were good friends, and not so much alike as you might think.

For one was alive and the other moved by means of machinery; one was tall and angular and the other short

and round. You could love the Tin Woodman because he had a fine nature, kindly and simple; but the

machine man you could only admire without loving, since to love such a thing as he was as impossible as to

love a sewingmachine or an automobile. Yet Tiktok was popular with the people of Oz because he was so

trustworthy, reliable and true; he was sure to do exactly what he was wound up to do, at all times and in all

circumstances. Perhaps it is better to be a machine that does its duty than a fleshandblood person who will

About noon the travelers reached a large field of pumpkinsa vegetable quite appropriate to the yellow

country of the Winkiesand some of the pumpkins which grew there were of remarkable size. Just before

they entered upon this field they saw three little mounds that looked like graves, with a pretty headstone to

"Nor do they; although if one is bad, he may be condemned and killed by the good citizens," he answered.

Dorothy ran over to the little graves and read the words engraved upon the tombstones. The first one said:

"Poor Jack!" sighed Dorothy. "I'm sorry he had to die in three parts, for I hoped to see him again."

"So you shall," declared the Tin Woodman, "since he is still alive. Come with me to his house, for Jack is

They walked over to a monstrous big, hollow pumpkin which had a door and windows cut through the rind.

There was a stovepipe running through the stem, and six steps had been built leading up to the front door.

They walked up to this door and looked in. Seated on a bench was a man clothed in a spotted shirt, a red vest,

and faded blue trousers, whose body was merely sticks of wood, jointed clumsily together. On his neck was

set a round, yellow pumpkin, with a face carved on it such as a boy often carves on a jacklantern.

This queer man was engaged in snapping slippery pumpkinseeds with his wooden fingers, trying to hit a

target on the other side of the room with them. He did not know he had visitors until Dorothy exclaimed:

He turned and saw them, and at once came forward to greet the little Kansas girl and Nick Chopper, and to be

ButtonBright was at first rather shy with the quaint Pumpkinhead, but Jack's face was so jolly and

"I thought a while ago that you were buried in three parts," said Dorothy, "but now I see you're just the same

"Not quite the same, my dear, for my mouth is a little more onesided than it used to be; but pretty nearly the

same. I've a new head, and this is the fourth one I've owned since Ozma first made me and brought me to life

"They spoiled and I buried them, for they were not even fit for pies. Each time Ozma has carved me a new

head just like the old one, and as my body is by far the largest part of me, I am still Jack Pumpkinhead, no

matter how often I change my upper end. Once we had a dreadful time to find another pumpkin, as they were

out of season, and so I was obliged to wear my old head a little longer than was strictly healthy. But after this

sad experience I resolved to raise pumpkins myself, so as never to be caught again without one handy; and

now I have this fine field that you see before you. Some grow pretty bigtoo big to be used for headsso I

"Not very. There isn't much left but the shell, you see, and it will last a long time yet."

"I think you are brighter than you used to be, Jack," said the Tin Woodman. "Your last head was a stupid

"Yes," said he, "I wouldn't miss it for anything. Ozma's my parent, you know, because she built my body and

carved my pumpkin head. I'll follow you to the Emerald City tomorrow, where we shall meet again. I can't

go today, because I have to plant fresh pumpkinseeds and water the young vines. But give my love to

The neat yellow houses of the Winkies were now to be seen standing here and there along the roadway,

giving the country a more cheerful and civilized look. They were farmhouses, though, and set far apart; for

in the Land of Oz there were no towns or villages except the magnificent Emerald City in its center.

Hedges of evergreen or of yellow roses bordered the broad highway and the farms showed the care of their

industrious inhabitants. The nearer the travelers came to the great city the more prosperous the country

became, and they crossed many bridges over the sparkling streams and rivulets that watered the lands.

"What sort of a Magic Powder was it that made your friend the Pumpkinhead live?"

"It was called the Powder of Life," was the answer; "and it was invented by a crooked Sorcerer who lived in

the mountains of the North Country. A Witch named Mombi got some of this powder from the crooked

Sorcerer and took it home with her. Ozma lived with the Witch then, for it was before she became our

Princess, while Mombi had transformed her into the shape of a boy. Well, while Mombi was gone to the

crooked Sorcerer's, the boy made this pumpkinheaded man to amuse himself, and also with the hope of

frightening the Witch with it when she returned. But Mombi was not scared, and she sprinkled the

Pumpkinhead with her Magic Powder of Life, to see if the Powder would work. Ozma was watching, and saw

the Pumpkinhead come to life; so that night she took the pepperbox containing the Powder and ran away

"Next day they found a wooden SawHorse standing by the roadside, and sprinkled it with the Powder. It

came to life at once, and Jack Pumpkinhead rode the SawHorse to the Emerald City."

"What became of the SawHorse, afterward?" asked the shaggy man, much interested in this story.

"Oh, it's alive yet, and you will probably meet it presently in the Emerald City. Afterward, Ozma used the last

of the Powder to bring the Flying Gump to life; but as soon as it had carried her away from her enemies the

"It's too bad the Powder of Life was all used up," remarked the shaggy man; "it would be a handy thing to

"I am not so sure of that, sir," answered the Tin Woodman. "A while ago the crooked Sorcerer who invented

the Magic Powder fell down a precipice and was killed. All his possessions went to a relativean old

woman named Dyna, who lives in the Emerald City. She went to the mountains where the Sorcerer had lived

and brought away everything she thought of value. Among them was a small bottle of the Powder of Life; but

of course Dyna didn't know it was a Magic Powder, at all. It happened she had once had a big blue bear for a

pet; but the bear choked to death on a fishbone one day, and she loved it so dearly that Dyna made a rug of its

skin, leaving the head and four paws on the hide. She kept the rug on the floor of her front parlor."

"I've seen rugs like that," said the shaggy man, nodding, "but never one made from a blue bear."

"Well," continued the Tin Woodman, "the old woman had an idea that the Powder in the bottle must be

mothpowder, because it smelled something like mothpowder; so one day she sprinkled it on her bear rug to

keep the moths out of it. She said, looking lovingly at the skin: 'I wish my dear bear were alive again!' To her

horror, the bear rug at once came to life, having been sprinkled with the Magic Powder; and now this live

"Well, it stands up on its four feet and walks all around, and gets in the way; and that spoils it for a rug. It

can't speak, although it is alive; for, while its head might say words, it has no breath in a solid body to push

the words out of its mouth. It's a very slimpsy affair altogether, that bear rug, and the old woman is sorry it

came to life. Every day she has to scold it, and make it lie down flat on the parlor floor to be walked upon;

but sometimes when she goes to market the rug will hump up its back skin, and stand on its four feet, and trot

"Well, she doesn't; because every one knows it isn't a real bear, but just a hollow skin, and so of no actual use

in the world except for a rug," answered the Tin Woodman. "Therefore I believe it is a good thing that all the

At noon they stopped at a farmhouse, where it delighted the farmer and his wife to be able to give them a

good luncheon. The farm people knew Dorothy, having seen her when she was in the country before, and

they treated the little girl with as much respect as they did the Emperor, because she was a friend of the

They had not proceeded far after leaving this farmhouse before coming to a high bridge over a broad river.

This river, the Tin Woodman informed them, was the boundary between the Country of the Winkies and the

territory of the Emerald City. The city itself was still a long way off, but all around it was a green meadow as

pretty as a wellkept lawn, and in this were neither houses nor farms to spoil the beauty of the scene.

From the top of the high bridge they could see far away the magnificent spires and splendid domes of the

superb city, sparkling like brilliant jewels as they towered above the emerald walls. The shaggy man drew a

deep breath of awe and amazement, for never had he dreamed that such a grand and beautiful place could

Polly was so pleased that her violet eyes sparkled like amethysts, and she danced away from her companions

across the bridge and into a group of feathery trees lining both the roadsides. These trees she stopped to look

at with pleasure and surprise, for their leaves were shaped like ostrich plumes, their feather edges beautifully

curled; and all the plumes were tinted in the same dainty rainbow hues that appeared in Polychrome's own

"Father ought to see these trees," she murmured; "they are almost as lovely as his own rainbows."

Then she gave a start of terror, for beneath the trees came stalking two great beasts, either one big enough to

crush the little Daughter of the Rainbow with one blow of his paws, or to eat her up with one snap of his

enormous jaws. One was a tawny lion, as tall as a horse, nearly; the other a striped tiger almost the same size.

Polly was too frightened to scream or to stir; she stood still with a wildly beating heart until Dorothy rushed

past her and with a glad cry threw her arms around the huge lion's neck, hugging and kissing the beast with

"Oh, I'm SO glad to see you again!" cried the little Kansas girl. "And the Hungry Tiger, too! How fine you're

"We certainly are, Dorothy," answered the Lion, in a deep voice that sounded pleasant and kind; "and we are

greatly pleased that you have come to Ozma's party. It's going to be a grand affair, I promise you."

"There will be lots of fat babies at the celebration, I hear," remarked the Hungry Tiger, yawning so that his

mouth opened dreadfully wide and showed all his big, sharp teeth; "but of course I can't eat any of 'em."

"Yes; it rules me like a tyrant," answered the Tiger, sorrowfully. "I can imagine nothing more unpleasant than

"You're fooling me!" said Dorothy, with a laugh. "I don't b'lieve you'd eat a baby if you lost your Conscience.

"The queerness doesn't matter so long as they're friends," was the answer. "This is the Cowardly Lion, who

isn't a coward at all, but just thinks he is. The Wizard gave him some courage once, and he has part of it left."

"You are very lovely, my dear," said he. "I hope we shall be friends when we are better acquainted."

"And this is the Hungry Tiger," continued Dorothy. "He says he longs to eat fat babies; but the truth is he is

never hungry at all, 'cause he gets plenty to eat; and I don't s'pose he'd hurt anybody even if he WAS hungry."

"Hush, Dorothy," whispered the Tiger; "you'll ruin my reputation if you are not more discreet. It isn't what we

are, but what folks think we are, that counts in this world. And come to think of it Miss Polly would make a

The others now came up, and the Tin Woodman greeted the Lion and the Tiger cordially. ButtonBright

yelled with fear when Dorothy first took his hand and led him toward the great beasts; but the girl insisted

they were kind and good, and so the boy mustered up courage enough to pat their heads; after they had

spoken to him gently and he had looked into their intelligent eyes his fear vanished entirely and he was so

delighted with the animals that he wanted to keep close to them and stroke their soft fur every minute.

As for the shaggy man, he might have been afraid if he had met the beasts alone, or in any other country, but

so many were the marvels in; the Land of Oz that he was no longer easily surprised, and Dorothy's friendship

for the Lion and Tiger was enough to assure him they were safe companions. Toto barked at the Cowardly

Lion in joyous greeting, for he knew the beast of old and loved him, and it was funny to see how gently the

Lion raised his huge paw to pat Toto's head. The little dog smelled of the Tiger's nose, and the Tiger politely

Tiktok and Billina knew the beasts well, so merely bade them good day and asked after their healths and

Now it was seen that the Cowardly Lion and the Hungry Tiger were drawing behind them a splendid golden

chariot, to which they were harnessed by golden cords. The body of the chariot was decorated on the outside

with designs in clusters of sparkling emeralds, while inside it was lined with a green and gold satin, and the

cushions of the seats were of green plush embroidered in gold with a crown, underneath which was a

"Yes," said the Cowardly Lion; "Ozma sent us to meet you here, for she feared you would be weary with

your long walk and she wished you to enter the City in a style becoming your exalted rank."

"What!" cried Polly, looking at Dorothy curiously. "Do you belong to the nobility?"

"Just in Oz I do," said the child, "'cause Ozma made me a Princess, you know. But when I'm home in Kansas

I'm only a country girl, and have to help with the churning and wipe the dishes while Aunt Em washes 'em.

"Well, I don't have to work any in Oz, either," said Dorothy. "It's kind of fun to be a Princess once in a while;

"Dorothy and Polychrome and ButtonBright are all to ride in the chariot," said the Lion. "So get in, my

dears, and be careful not to mar the gold or put your dusty feet on the embroidery."

ButtonBright was delighted to ride behind such a superb team, and he told Dorothy it made him feel like an

actor in a circus. As the strides of the animals brought them nearer to the Emerald City every one bowed

respectfully to the children, as well as to the Tin Woodman, Tiktok, and the shaggy man, who were

The Yellow Hen had perched upon the back of the chariot, where she could tell Dorothy more about her

wonderful chickens as they rode. And so the grand chariot came finally to the high wall surrounding the City,

These were opened by a cheerfullooking little man who wore green spectacles over his eyes. Dorothy

introduced him to her friends as the Guardian of the Gates, and they noticed a big bunch of keys suspended

on the golden chain that hung around his neck. The chariot passed through the outer gates into a fine arched

chamber built in the thick wall, and through the inner gates into the streets of the Emerald City.

Polychrome exclaimed in rapture at the wondrous beauty that met her eyes on every side as they rode through

this stately and imposing City, the equal of which has never been discovered, even in Fairyland.

ButtonBright could only say "My!" so amazing was the sight; but his eyes were wide open and he tried to

The shaggy man was fairly astounded at what he saw, for the graceful and handsome buildings were covered

with plates of gold and set with emeralds so splendid and valuable that in any other part of the world any one

of them would have been worth a fortune to its owner. The sidewalks were superb marble slabs polished as

smooth as glass, and the curbs that separated the walks from the broad street were also set thick with

clustered emeralds. There were many people on these walksmen, women and childrenall dressed in

handsome garments of silk or satin or velvet, with beautiful jewels. Better even than this: all seemed happy

and contented, for their faces were smiling and free from care, and music and laughter might be heard on

"To be sure they work," replied the Tin Woodman; "this fair city could not be built or cared for without labor,

nor could the fruit and vegetables and other food be provided for the inhabitants to eat. But no one works

more than half his time, and the people of Oz enjoy their labors as much as they do their play."

"It's wonderful!" declared the shaggy man. "I do hope Ozma will let me live here."

The chariot, winding through many charming streets, paused before a building so vast and noble and elegant

that even ButtonBright guessed at once that it was the Royal Palace. Its gardens and ample grounds were

surrounded by a separate wall, not so high or thick as the wall around the City, but more daintily designed

and built all of green marble. The gates flew open as the chariot appeared before them, and the Cowardly

Lion and Hungry Tiger trotted up a jeweled driveway to the front door of the palace and stopped short.

"Here we are!" said Dorothy, gaily, and helped ButtonBright from the chariot. Polychrome leaped out

lightly after them, and they were greeted by a crowd of gorgeously dressed servants who bowed low as the

visitors mounted the marble steps. At their head was a pretty little maid with dark hair and eyes, dressed all in

green embroidered with silver. Dorothy ran up to her with evident pleasure, and exclaimed:

"In her room, your Highness," replied the little maid demurely, for this was Ozma's favorite attendant. "She

wishes you to come to her as soon as you have rested and changed your dress, Princess Dorothy. And you

"He's gone into the Munchkin country to get some fresh straw to stuff himself with, in honor of Ozma's

celebration," replied the maid. "He returns to the Emerald City tomorrow, he said."

By this time, Toktok, the Tin Woodman, and the shaggy man had arrived and the chariot had gone around to

the back of the palace, Billina going with the Lion and Tiger to see her chickens after her absence from them.

"Come in, please," said Jellia Jamb; "it shall be our pleasant duty to escort all of you to the rooms prepared

The shaggy man hesitated. Dorothy had never known him to be ashamed of his shaggy looks before, but now

that he was surrounded by so much magnificence and splendor the shaggy man felt sadly out of place.

Dorothy assured him that all her friends were welcome at Ozma's palace, so he carefully dusted his shaggy

Tiktok lived at the Royal Palace and the Tin Woodman always had the same room whenever he visited

Ozma, so these two went at once to remove the dust of the journey from their shining bodies. Dorothy also

had a pretty suite of rooms which she always occupied when in the Emerald City; but several servants walked

ahead politely to show the way, although she was quite sure she could find the rooms herself. She took

ButtonBright with her, because he seemed too small to be left alone in such a big palace; but Jellia Jamb

herself ushered the beautiful Daughter of the Rainbow to her apartments, because it was easy to see that

Polychrome was used to splendid palaces and was therefore entitled to especial attention.

The shaggy man stood in the great hall, his shaggy hat in his hands, wondering what would become of him.

He had never been a guest in a fine palace before; perhaps he had never been a guest anywhere. In the big,

cold, outside world people did not invite shaggy men to their homes, and this shaggy man of ours had slept

more in haylofts and stables than in comfortable rooms. When the others left the great hall he eyed the

splendidly dressed servants of the Princess Ozma as if he expected to be ordered out; but one of them bowed

Through the big hall they went, up the grand staircase carpeted thick with velvet, and so along a wide

corridor to a carved doorway. Here the servant paused, and opening the door said with polite deference:

"Be good enough to enter, sir, and make yourself at home in the rooms our Royal Ozma has ordered prepared

for you. Whatever you see is for you to use and enjoy, as if your own. The Princess dines at seven, and I shall

be here in time to lead you to the drawingroom, where you will be privileged to meet the lovely Ruler of

He entered the room and shut the door, and for a time stood in bewilderment, admiring the grandeur before

He had been given one of the handsomest apartments in the most magnificent palace in the world, and you

can not wonder that his good fortune astonished and awed him until he grew used to his surroundings.

The furniture was upholstered in cloth of gold, with the royal crown embroidered upon it in scarlet. The rug

upon the marble floor was so thick and soft that he could not hear the sound of his own footsteps, and upon

the walls were splendid tapestries woven with scenes from the Land of Oz. Books and ornaments were

scattered about in profusion, and the shaggy man thought he had never seen so many pretty things in one

place before. In one corner played a tinkling fountain of perfumed water, and in another was a table bearing a

golden tray loaded with freshly gathered fruit, including several of the redcheeked apples that the shaggy

At the farther end of this charming room was an open doorway, and he crossed over to find himself in a

bedroom containing more comforts than the shaggy man had ever before imagined. The bedstead was of gold

and set with many brilliant diamonds, and the coverlet had designs of pearls and rubies sewed upon it. At one

side of the bedroom was a dainty dressingroom with closets containing a large assortment of fresh clothing;

and beyond this was the batha large room having a marble pool big enough to swim in, with white marble

steps leading down to the water. Around the edge of the pool were set rows of fine emeralds as large as

For a time the shaggy man gazed upon all this luxury with silent amazement. Then he decided, being wise in

his way, to take advantage of his good fortune. He removed his shaggy boots and his shaggy clothing, and

bathed in the pool with rare enjoyment. After he had dried himself with the soft towels he went into the

dressingroom and took fresh linen from the drawers and put it on, finding that everything fitted him exactly.

He examined the contents of the closets and selected an elegant suit of clothing. Strangely enough, everything

about it was shaggy, although so new and beautiful, and he sighed with contentment to realize that he could

now be finely dressed and still be the shaggy man. His coat was of rosecolored velvet, trimmed with shags

and bobtails, with buttons of bloodred rubies and golden shags around the edges. His vest was a shaggy

satin of a delicate cream color, and his kneebreeches of rose velvet trimmed like the coat. Shaggy creamy

stockings of silk, and shaggy slippers of rose leather with ruby buckles, completed his costume, and when he

was thus attired the shaggy man looked at himself in a long mirror with great admiration. On a table he found

a motherofpearl chest decorated with delicate silver vines and flowers of clustered rubies, and on the cover

The chest was not locked, so he opened it and was almost dazzled by the brilliance of the rich jewels it

contained. After admiring the pretty things, he took out a fine golden watch with a big chain, several

handsome fingerrings, and an ornament of rubies to pin upon the breast of his shaggy shirtbosom. Having

carefully brushed his hair and whiskers all the wrong way to make them look as shaggy as possible, the

shaggy man breathed a deep sigh of joy and decided he was ready to meet the Royal Princess as soon as she

sent for him. While he waited he returned to the beautiful sitting room and ate several of the redcheeked

Meanwhile, Dorothy had dressed herself in a pretty gown of soft grey embroidered with silver, and put a

blueandgold suit of satin upon little ButtonBright, who looked as sweet as a cherub in it. Followed by the

boy and Totothe dog with a new green ribbon around his neckshe hastened down to the splendid

drawingroom of the palace, where, seated upon an exquisite throne of carved malachite and nestled amongst

its green satin cushions was the lovely Princess Ozma, waiting eagerly to welcome her friend.

The royal historians of Oz, who are fine writers and know any number of big words, have often tried to

describe the rare beauty of Ozma and failed because the words were not good enough. So of course I cannot

hope to tell you how great was the charm of this little Princess, or how her loveliness put to shame all the

sparkling jewels and magnificent luxury that surrounded her in this her royal palace. Whatever else was

beautiful or dainty or delightful of itself faded to dullness when contrasted with Ozma's bewitching face, and

it has often been said by those who know that no other ruler in all the world can ever hope to equal the

Everything about Ozma attracted one, and she inspired love and the sweetest affection rather than awe or

ordinary admiration. Dorothy threw her arms around her little friend and hugged and kissed her rapturously,

and Toto barked joyfully and ButtonBright smiled a happy smile and consented to sit on the soft cushions

"Why didn't you send me word you were going to have a birthday party?" asked the little Kansas girl, when

"Who do you imagine, dear, mixed up those roads, so as to start you wandering in the direction of Oz?"

"I've watched you in my Magic Picture all the way here," declared Ozma, "and twice I thought I should have

to use the Magic Belt to save you and transport you to the Emerald City. Once was when the Scoodlers

caught you, and again when you reached the Deadly Desert. But the shaggy man was able to help you out

"No; I never saw him until you found him in the road, and then only in my Magic Picture."

"No, dear; the Rainbow's Daughter slid from her father's pretty arch just in time to meet you."

"Well," said Dorothy, "I've promised King Dox of Foxville and King Kikabray of Dunkiton that I'd ask

"I have already done that," returned Ozma, "because I thought it would please you to favor them."

"No; because he would be too noisy, and might interfere with the comfort of others. When music is not very

good, and is indulged in all the time, it is better that the performer should be alone," said the Princess.

"Well, there will be plenty of music at my celebration," promised Ozma; "so I've an idea ButtonBright won't

Just then Polychrome danced in, and Ozma rose to greet the Rainbow's Daughter in her sweetest and most

Dorothy thought she had never seen two prettier creatures together than these lovely maidens; but Polly knew

at once her own dainty beauty could not match that of Ozma, yet was not a bit jealous because this was so.

The Wizard of Oz was announced, and a driedup, little, old man, clothed all in black, entered the

drawingroom. His face was cheery and his eyes twinkling with humor, so Polly and ButtonBright were not

at all afraid of the wonderful personage whose fame as a humbug magician had spread throughout the world.

After greeting Dorothy with much affection, he stood modestly behind Ozma's throne and listened to the

Now the shaggy man appeared, and so startling was his appearance, all clad in shaggy new rainment, that

Dorothy cried "Oh!" and clasped her hands impulsively as she examined her friend with pleased eyes.

"He's still shaggy, all right," remarked ButtonBright; and Ozma nodded brightly because she had meant the

Dorothy led him toward the throne, as he was shy in such fine company, and presented him gracefully to the

"You are welcome to Oz," said the girl Ruler, in gracious accents. "But tell me, sir, where did you get the

"Oh, Shaggy Man!" cried Dorothy. "How dreadful! And you told me the Eskimo gave you the Love Magnet."

"I told you a falsehood, Dorothy," he said; "but now, having bathed in the Truth Pond, I must tell nothing but

"Because no one loved me, or cared for me," said the shaggy man, "and I wanted to be loved a great deal. It

was owned by a girl in Butterfield who was loved too much, so that the young men quarreled over her, which

made her unhappy. After I had stolen the Magnet from her, only one young man continued to love the girl,

"No, your Highness; I'm glad," he answered; "for it has pleased me to be loved, and if Dorothy had not cared

for me I could not have accompanied her to this beautiful Land of Oz, or met its kindhearted Ruler. Now

that I'm here, I hope to remain, and to become one of your Majesty's most faithful subjects."

"But in Oz we are loved for ourselves alone, and for our kindness to one another, and for our good deeds,"

"I'll give up the Love Magnet," said the shaggy man, eagerly; "Dorothy shall have it."

"Then I'll give it to the Wizard, for I'm sure the lovely Princess Ozma does not need it."

"All my people love the Wizard, too," announced the Princess, laughing; "so we will hang the Love Magnet

over the gates of the Emerald City, that whoever shall enter or leave the gates may be loved and loving."

Those assembled now went in to dinner, which you can imagine was a grand affair; and afterward Ozma

The Wizard took eight tiny white piglets from an inside pocket and set them on the table. One was dressed

like a clown, and performed funny antics, and the others leaped over the spoons and dishes and ran around

the table like racehorses, and turned handsprings and were so sprightly and amusing that they kept the

company in one roar of merry laughter. The Wizard had trained these pets to do many curious things, and

they were so little and so cunning and soft that Polychrome loved to pick them up as they passed near her

It was late when the entertainment ended, and they separated to go to their rooms.

"Tomorrow," said Ozma, "my invited guests will arrive, and you will find among them some interesting and

curious people, I promise you. The next day will be my birthday, and the festivities will be held on the broad

green just outside the gates of the City, where all my people can assemble without being crowded."

"Oh, he is sure to return tomorrow," answered Ozma. "He wanted new straw to stuff himself with, so he

Next morning Dorothy's breakfast was served in her own pretty sitting room, and she sent to invite Polly and

the shaggy man to join her and ButtonBright at the meal. They came gladly, and Toto also had breakfast

with them, so that the little party that had traveled together to Oz was once more reunited.

No sooner had they finished eating than they heard the distant blast of many trumpets, and the sound of a

brass band playing martial music; so they all went out upon the balcony. This was at the front of the palace

and overlooked the streets of the City, being higher than the wall that shut in the palace grounds. They saw

approaching down the street a band of musicians, playing as hard and loud as they could, while the people of

the Emerald City crowded the sidewalks and cheered so lustily that they almost drowned the noise of the

Dorothy looked to see what they were cheering at, and discovered that behind the band was the famous

Scarecrow, riding proudly upon the back of a wooden SawHorse which pranced along the street almost as

gracefully as if it had been made of flesh. Its hoofs, or rather the ends of its wooden legs, were shod with

plates of solid gold, and the saddle strapped to the wooden body was richly embroidered and glistened with

As he reached the palace the Scarecrow looked up and saw Dorothy, and at once waved his peaked hat at her

in greeting. He rode up to the front door and dismounted, and the band stopped playing and went away and

By the time Dorothy and her friends had reentered her room, the Scarecrow was there, and he gave the girl a

hearty embrace and shook the hands of the others with his own squashy hands, which were white gloves

The shaggy man, ButtonBright, and Polychrome stared hard at this celebrated person, who was

"Why, your face has been newly painted!" exclaimed Dorothy, when the first greetings were over.

"I had it touched up a bit by the Munchkin farmer who first made me," answered the Scarecrow, pleasantly.

"My complexion had become a bit grey and faded, you know, and the paint had peeled off one end of my

mouth, so I couldn't talk quite straight. Now I feel like myself again, and I may say without immodesty that

my body is stuffed with the loveliest oatstraw in all Oz." He pushed against his chest. "Hear me crunkle?"

ButtonBright was wonderfully attracted by the strawman, and so was Polly. The shaggy man treated him

Jellia Jamb now came to say that Ozma wanted Princess Dorothy to receive the invited guests in the

ThroneRoom, as they arrived. The Ruler was herself busy ordering the preparations for the morrow's

Dorothy willingly agreed, being the only other Princess in the Emerald City; so she went to the great

ThroneRoom and sat in Ozma's seat, placing Polly on one side of her and ButtonBright on the other. The

Scarecrow stood at the left of the throne and the Tin Woodman at the right, while the Wonderful Wizard and

The Cowardly Lion and the Hungry Tiger came in, with bright new bows of ribbon on their collars and tails.

After greeting Dorothy affectionately the huge beasts lay down at the foot of the throne.

"Oh yes, you do, dear," said Dorothy. "Tell the Scarecrow how you got your name."

"Papa always said I was bright as a button, so mama always called me ButtonBright," announced the boy.

"Your papa may have been right," he observed; "but there are many kinds of buttons, you see. There are

silver and gold buttons, which are highly polished and glitter brightly. There are pearl and rubber buttons, and

other kinds, with surfaces more or less bright. But there is still another sort of button which is covered with

dull cloth, and that must be the sort your papa meant when he said you were bright as a button. Don't you

Jack Pumpkinhead arrived, wearing a pair of new, white kid gloves; and he brought a birthday present for

Ozma consisting of a necklace of pumpkinseeds. In each seed was set a sparkling carolite, which is

considered the rarest and most beautiful gem that exists. The necklace was in a plush case and Jellia Jamb put

Next came a tall, beautiful woman clothed in a splendid trailing gown, trimmed with exquisite lace as fine as

cobweb. This was the important Sorceress known as Glinda the Good, who had been of great assistance to

both Ozma and Dorothy. There was no humbug about her magic, you may be sure, and Glinda was as kind as

she was powerful. She greeted Dorothy most lovingly, and kissed ButtonBright and Polly, and smiled upon

the shaggy man, after which Jellia Jamb led the Sorceress to one of the most magnificent rooms of the royal

The next arrival was Mr. H. M. WoggleBug, T.E.; the "H. M." meaning Highly Magnified and the "T.E."

meaning Thoroughly Educated. The WoggleBug was head professor at the Royal College of Oz, and he had

composed a fine Ode in honor of Ozma's birthday. This he wanted to read to them; but the Scarecrow

Soon they heard a clucking sound and a chorus of "cheep! cheep!" and a servant threw open the door to allow

Billina and her ten fluffy chicks to enter the ThroneRoom. As the Yellow Hen marched proudly at the head

of her family, Dorothy cried, "Oh, you lovely things!" and ran down from her seat to pet the little yellow

downy balls. Billina wore a pearl necklace, and around the neck of each chicken was a tiny gold chain

"Open the lockets, Dorothy," said Billina. The girl obeyed and found a picture of herself in each locket.

"They were named after you, my dear," continued the Yellow Hen, "so I wanted all my chickens to wear your

picture. Cluckcluck! come here, Dorothythis minute!" she cried, for the chickens were scattered and

They obeyed the call at once, and came running as fast as they could, fluttering their fluffy wings in a

It was lucky that Billina gathered the little ones under her soft breast just then, for Tiktok came in and

"You are quite the polished gentleman," said the Tin Woodman. "Stand up here beside the shaggy man,

Dorothy placed soft cushions in a corner for Billina and her chicks, and had just returned to the Throne and

seated herself when the playing of the royal band outside the palace announced the approach of distinguished

And my, how they did stare when the High Chamberlain threw open the doors and the visitors entered the

First walked a gingerbread man neatly formed and baked to a lovely brown tint. He wore a silk hat and

carried a candy cane prettily striped with red and yellow. His shirtfront and cuffs were white frosting, and

Behind the gingerbread man came a child with flaxen hair and merry blue eyes, dressed in white pajamas,

with sandals on the soles of its pretty bare feet. The child looked around smiling and thrust its hands into the

pockets of the pajamas. Close after it came a big rubber bear, walking erect on its hind feet. The bear had

Following these curious visitors were two tall, thin men and two short, fat men, all four dressed in gorgeous

Ozma's High Chamberlain now hurried forward to announce the names of the new arrivals, calling out in a

"His Gracious and Most Edible Majesty, King Dough the First, Ruler of the Two Kingdoms of Hiland and

Loland. Also the Head Boolywag of his Majesty, known as Chick the Cherub, and their faithful friend Para

These great personages bowed low as their names were called, and Dorothy hastened to introduce them to the

assembled company. They were the first foreign arrivals, and the friends of Princess Ozma were polite to

Chick the Cherub shook hands with every one, including Billina, and was so joyous and frank and full of

"Goodness me! what a queer lot of people you are," exclaimed the rubber bear, looking at the assembled

"We should never think of eating our visitors, if we were," declared the Scarecrow; "so please do not worry,

"Because I'm an Incubator Baby, and never had any parents," replied the Head Booleywag.

"I'm glad of that," answered the Cherub, "because they'll have more fun worrying you than if they were

King John Dough had brought for Ozma's birthday present a lovely gingerbread crown, with rows of small

pearls around it and a fine big pearl in each of its five points. After this had been received by Dorothy with

proper thanks and placed on the table with the other presents, the visitors from Hiland and Loland were

They had no sooner departed than the band before the palace began to play again, announcing more arrivals,

and as these were doubtless from foreign parts the High Chamberlain hurried back to receive them in his

First entered a band of Ryls from the Happy Valley, all merry little sprites like fairy elves. A dozen crooked

Knooks followed from the great Forest of Burzee. They had long whiskers and pointed caps and curling toes,

yet were no taller than ButtonBright's shoulder. With this group came a man so easy to recognize and so

important and dearly beloved throughout the known world, that all present rose to their feet and bowed their

heads in respectful homage, even before the High Chamberlain knelt to announce his name.

"The most Mighty and Loyal Friend of Children, His Supreme HighnessSanta Claus!" said the

"Well, well, well! Glad to see youglad to meet you all!" cried Santa Claus, briskly, as he trotted up the

He was round as an apple, with a fresh rosy face, laughing eyes, and a bushy beard as white as snow. A red

cloak trimmed with beautiful ermine hung from his shoulders and upon his back was a basket filled with

"Hello, Dorothy; still having adventures?" he asked in his jolly way, as he took the girl's hand in both his

"How did you know my name, Santa?" she replied, feeling more shy in the presence of this immortal saint

"Why, don't I see you every Christmas Eve, when you're asleep?" he rejoined, pinching her blushing cheek.

"And here's ButtonBright, I declare!" cried Santa Claus, holding up the boy to kiss him. "What a long way

"Certainly, my dear. Who else do you suppose brings him his Christmas neckties and stockings?" with a sly

"Then where does he live? We're just crazy to know, 'cause ButtonBright's lost," she said.

Santa laughed and laid his finger aside of his nose as if thinking what to reply. He leaned over and whispered

something in the Wizard's ear, at which the Wizard smiled and nodded as if he understood.

"Seems to me the Rainbow's Daughter is farther from home than any of you," he observed, looking at the

pretty maiden admiringly. "I'll have to tell your father where you are, Polly, and send him to get you."

"But just now we must all have a jolly good time at Ozma's party," said the old gentleman, turning to put his

presents on the table with the others already there. "It isn't often I find time to leave my castle, as you know;

but Ozma invited me and I just couldn't help coming to celebrate the happy occasion."

"These are my Ryls," pointing to the little sprites squatting around him. "Their business is to paint the colors

of the flowers when they bud and bloom; but I brought the merry fellows along to see Oz, and they've left

their paintpots behind them. Also I brought these crooked Knooks, whom I love. My dears, the Knooks are

much nicer than they look, for their duty is to water and care for the young trees of the forest, and they do

their work faithfully and well. It's hard work, though, and it makes my Knooks crooked and gnarled, like the

trees themselves; but their hearts are big and kind, as are the hearts of all who do good in our beautiful

"I've read of the Ryls and Knooks," said Dorothy, looking upon these little workers with interest.

Santa Claus turned to talk with the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman, and he also said a kind word to the

shaggy man, and afterward went away to ride the SawHorse around the Emerald City. "For," said he, "I

must see all the grand sights while I am here and have the chance, and Ozma has promised to let me ride the

"I left them at home, for it is too warm for them in this sunny country," he answered. "They're used to winter

In a flash he was gone, and the Ryls and Knooks with him; but they could all hear the golden hoofs of the

SawHorse ringing on the marble pavement outside, as he pranced away with his noble rider.

They looked earnestly to discover whom this queen might be, and saw advancing up the room an exquisite

wax doll dressed in dainty fluffs and ruffles and spangled gown. She was almost as big as ButtonBright, and

her cheeks and mouth and eyebrow were prettily painted in delicate colors. Her blue eyes stared a bit, being

of glass, yet the expression upon her Majesty's face was quite pleasant and decidedly winning. With the

Queen of Merryland were four wooden soldiers, two stalking ahead of her with much dignity and two

following behind, like a royal bodyguard. The soldiers were painted in bright colors and carried wooden

guns, and after them came a fat little man who attracted attention at once, although he seemed modest and

retiring. For he was made of candy, and carried a tin sugarsifter filled with powdered sugar, with which he

dusted himself frequently so that he wouldn't stick to things if he touched them. The High Chamberlain had

called him "The Candy Man of Merryland," and Dorothy saw that one of his thumbs looked as if it had been

bitten off by some one who was fond of candy and couldn't resist the temptation.

The wax doll Queen spoke prettily to Dorothy and the others, and sent her loving greetings to Ozma before

she retired to the rooms prepared for her. She had brought a birthday present wrapped in tissue paper and tied

with pink and blue ribbons, and one of the wooden soldiers placed it on the table with the other gifts. But the

Candy Man did not go to his room, because he said he preferred to stay and talk with the Scarecrow and

Tiktok and the Wizard and Tin Woodman, whom he declared the queerest people he had ever met.

ButtonBright was glad the Candy Man stayed in the Throne Room, because the boy thought this guest

The Braided Man now entered the room, having been fortunate enough to receive an invitation to the Princess

Ozma's party. He was from a cave halfway between the Invisible Valley and the Country of the Gargoyles,

and his hair and whiskers were so long that he was obliged to plait them into many braids that hung to his

"I've brought Princess Ozma a box of flutters for her birthday," said the Braided Man, earnestly; "and I hope

"I'm sure she will be greatly pleased," said Dorothy, who remembered the Braided Man well; and the Wizard

introduced the guest to the rest of the company and made him sit down in a chair and keep quiet, for, if

The band then played a welcome to another set of guests, and into the ThroneRoom swept the handsome

and stately Queen of Ev. Beside her was young King Evardo, and following them came the entire royal

family of five Princesses and four Princes of Ev. The Kingdom of Ev lay just across the Deadly Desert to the

North of Oz, and once Ozma and her people had rescued the Queen of Ev and her ten children from the

Nome King, who had enslaved them. Dorothy had been present on this adventure, so she greeted the royal

family cordially; and all the visitors were delighted to meet the little Kansas girl again. They knew Tiktok

and Billina, too, and the Scarecrow and Tin Woodman, as well as the Lion and Tiger; so there was a joyful

reunion, as you may imagine, and it was fully an hour before the Queen and her train retired to their rooms.

Perhaps they would not have gone then had not the band begun to play to announce new arrivals; but before

they left the great ThroneRoom King Evardo added to Ozma's birthday presents a diadem of diamonds set

The next comer proved to be King Renard of Foxville; or King Dox, as he preferred to be called. He was

magnificently dressed in a new feather costume and wore white kid mittens over his paws and a flower in his

King Dox thanked Dorothy fervently for getting him the invitation to come to Oz, which he all his life longed

to visit. He strutted around rather absurdly as he was introduced to all the famous people assembled in the

ThroneRoom, and when he learned that Dorothy was a Princess of Oz the Fox King insisted on kneeling at

her feet and afterward retired backwarda dangerous thing to do, as he might have stubbed his paw and

No sooner was he gone than the blasts of bugles and clatter of drums and cymbals announced important

visitors, and the High Chamberlain assumed his most dignified tone as he threw open the door and said

"Her Sublime and Resplendent Majesty, Queen Zixi of Ix! His Serene and Tremendous Majesty, King Bud of

That three such high and mighty royal personages should arrive at once was enough to make Dorothy and her

companions grow solemn and assume their best company manners; but when the exquisite beauty of Queen

Zixi met their eyes they thought they had never beheld anything so charming. Dorothy decided that Zixi must

be about sixteen years old, but the Wizard whispered to her that this wonderful queen had lived thousands of

King Bud of Noland and his dainty fairhaired sister, the Princess Fluff, were friends of Zixi, as their

kingdoms were adjoining, so they had traveled together from their faroff domains to do honor to Ozma of

Oz on the occasion of her birthday. They brought many splendid gifts; so the table was now fairly loaded

Dorothy and Polly loved the Princess Fluff the moment they saw her, and little King Bud was so frank and

boyish that ButtonBright accepted him as a chum at once and did not want him to go away. But it was after

noon now, and the royal guests must prepare their toilets for the grand banquet at which they were to

assemble that evening to meet the reigning Princess of this Fairyland; so Queen Zixi was shown to her room

by a troop of maidens led by Jellia Jamb, and Bud and Fluff presently withdrew to their own apartments.

"My! what a big party Ozma is going to have," exclaimed Dorothy. "I guess the palace will be chock full,

"But we must go to our rooms, pretty soon, to dress for the banquet," continued the girl.

"I don't have to dress," said the Candy Man from Merryland. "All I need do is to dust myself with fresh

"Tiktok always wears the same suits of clothes," said the Tin Woodman; "and so does our friend the

"Then I shall leave you four to welcome any new guests that come," said Dorothy; "for ButtonBright and I

"Well, there's King Kikabray of Dunkiton, and Johnny Dooit, and the Good Witch of the North. But

"We will receive them and give them a proper welcome," promised the Scarecrow. "So run along, little

I wish I could tell you how fine the company was that assembled that evening at Ozma's royal banquet. A

long table was spread in the center of the great dininghall of the palace and the splendor of the decorations

and the blaze of lights and jewels was acknowledged to be the most magnificent sight that any of the guests

The jolliest person present, as well as the most important, was of course old Santa Claus; so he was given the

seat of honor at one end of the table while at the other end sat Princess Ozma, the hostess.

John Dough, Queen Zixi, King Bud, the Queen of Ev and her son Evardo, and the Queen of Merryland had

At the upper end of the banquet room was a separate table provided for the animals. Toto sat at one end of

this table with a bib tied around his neck and a silver platter to eat from. At the other end was placed a small

stand, with a low rail around the edge of it, for Billina and her chicks. The rail kept the ten little Dorothys

from falling off the stand, while the Yellow Hen could easily reach over and take her food from her tray upon

the table. At other places sat the Hungry Tiger, the Cowardly Lion, the SawHorse, the Rubber Bear, the Fox

At the lower end of the great room was another table, at which sat the Ryls and Knooks who had come with

Santa Claus, the wooden soldiers who had come with the Queen of Merryland, and the Hilanders and

Lolanders who had come with John Dough. Here were also seated the officers of the royal palace and of

The splendid costumes of those at the three tables made a gorgeous and glittering display that no one present

was ever likely to forget; perhaps there has never been in any part of the world at any time another

assemblage of such wonderful people as that which gathered this evening to honor the birthday of the Ruler

When all members of ethe company were in their places an orchestra of five hundred pieces, in a balcony

overlooking the banquet room, began to play sweet and delightful music. Then a door draped with royal

green opened, and in came the fair and girlish Princess Ozma, who now greeted her guests in person for the

As she stood by her throne at the head of the banquet table every eye was turned eagerly upon the lovely

Princess, who was as dignified as she was bewitching, and who smiled upon all her old and new friends in a

Each guest had been served with a crystal goblet filled with lacasa, which is a sort of nectar famous in Oz and

nicer to drink than sodawater or lemonade. Santa now made a pretty speech in verse, congratulating Ozma

on having a birthday, and asking every one present to drink to the health and happiness of their dearly

beloved hostess. This was done with great enthusiasm by those who were made so they could drink at all, and

those who could not drink politely touched the rims of their goblets to their lips. All seated themselves at the

I am quite sure that only in Fairyland could such a delicious repast be prepared. The dishes were of precious

metals set with brilliant jewels and the good things to eat which were placed upon them were countless in

number and of exquisite flavor. Several present, such as the Candy Man, the Rubber Bear, Tiktok, and the

Scarecrow, were not made so they could eat, and the Queen of Merryland contented herself with a small dish

of sawdust; but these enjoyed the pomp and glitter of the gorgeous scene as much as did those who feasted.

The WoggleBug read his "Ode to Ozma," which was written in very good rhythm and was well received by

the company. The Wizard added to the entertainment by making a big pie appear before Dorothy, and when

the little girl cut the pie the nine tiny piglets leaped out of it and danced around the table, while the orchestra

played a merry tune. This amused the company very much, but they were even more pleased when

Polychrome, whose hunger had been easily satisfied, rose from the table and performed her graceful and

bewildering Rainbow Dance for them. When it was ended, the people clapped their hands and the animals

Johnny Dooit was present, and of course he proved he could do wonders in the way of eating, as well as in

everything else that he undertook to do; the Tin Woodman sang a love song, every one joining in the chorus;

and the wooden soldiers from Merryland gave an exhibition of a lightning drill with their wooden muskets;

the Ryls and Knooks danced the Fairy Circle; and the Rubber Bear bounced himself all around the room.

There was laughter and merriment on every side, and everybody was having a royal good time.

ButtonBright was so excited and interested that he paid little attention to his fine dinner and a great deal of

attention to his queer companions; and perhaps he was wise to do this, because he could eat at any other time.

The feasting and merrymaking continued until late in the evening, when they separated to meet again the next

morning and take part in the birthday celebration, to which this royal banquet was merely the introduction.

A clear, perfect day, with a gentle breeze and a sunny sky, greeted Princess Ozma as she wakened next

morning, the anniversary of her birth. While it was yet early all the city was astir and crowds of people came

from all parts of the Land of Oz to witness the festivities in honor of their girl Ruler's birthday.

The noted visitors from foreign countries, who had all been transported to the Emerald City by means of the

Magic Belt, were as much a show to the Ozites as were their own familiar celebrities, and the streets leading

from the royal palace to the jeweled gates were thronged with men, women, and children to see the

procession as it passed out to the green fields where the ceremonies were to take place.

First came a thousand young girlsthe prettiest in the landdressed in white muslin, with green sashes and

hair ribbons, bearing green baskets of red roses. As they walked they scattered these flowers upon the marble

pavements, so that the way was carpeted thick with roses for the procession to walk upon.

Then came the Rulers of the four Kingdoms of Oz: the Emperor of the Winkies, the Monarch of the

Munchkins, the King of the Quadlings and the Sovereign of the Gillikins, each wearing a long chain of

emeralds around his neck to show that he was a vassal of the Ruler of the Emerald City.

Next marched the Emerald City Cornet Band, clothed in greenandgold uniforms and playing the "Ozma

TwoStep." The Royal Army of Oz followed, consisting of twentyseven officers, from the CaptainGeneral

down to the Lieutenants. There were no privates in Ozma's Army because soldiers were not needed to fight

battles, but only to look important, and an officer always looks more imposing than a private.

While the people cheered and waved their hats and handkerchiefs, there came walking the Royal Princess

Ozma, looking so pretty and sweet that it is no wonder her people love her so dearly. She had decided she

would not ride in her chariot that day, as she preferred to walk in the procession with her favored subjects and

her guests. Just in front of her trotted the living Blue Bear Rug owned by old Dyna, which wobbled clumsily

on its four feet because there was nothing but the skin to support them, with a stuffed head at one end and a

stubby tail at the other. But whenever Ozma paused in her walk the Bear Rug would flop down flat upon the

Following the Princess stalked her two enormous beasts, the Cowardly Lion and the Hungry Tiger, and even

if the Army had not been there these two would have been powerful enough to guard their mistress from any

Next marched the invited guests, who were loudly cheered by the people of Oz along the road, and were

therefore obliged to bow to right and left almost every step of the way. First was Santa Claus, who, because

he was fat and not used to walking, rode the wonderful SawHorse. The merry old gentleman had a basket of

small toys with him, and he tossed the toys one by one to the children as he passed by. His Ryls and Knooks

Queen Zixi of Ix came after; then John Dough and the Cherub, with the rubber bear named Para Bruin

strutting between them on its hind legs; then the Queen of Merryland, escorted by her wooden soldiers; then

King Bud of Noland and his sister, the Princess Fluff; then the Queen of Ev and her ten royal children; then

the Braided Man and the Candy Man, side by side; then King Dox of Foxville and King Kikabray of

Dunkiton, who by this time had become good friends; and finally Johnny Dooit, in his leather apron, smoking

These wonderful personages were not more heartily cheered by the people than were those who followed

after them in the procession. Dorothy was a general favorite, and she walked arm in arm with the Scarecrow,

who was beloved by all. Then came Polychrome and ButtonBright, and the people loved the Rainbow's

pretty Daughter and the beautiful blueeyed boy as soon as they saw them. The shaggy man in his shaggy

new suit attracted much attention because he was such a novelty. With regular steps tramped the

machineman Tiktok, and there was more cheering when the Wizard of Oz followed in the procession. The

WoggleBug and Jack Pumpkinhead were next, and behind them Glinda the Sorceress and the Good Witch

of the North. Finally came Billina, with her brood of chickens to whom she clucked anxiously to keep them

Another band followed, this time the Tin Band of the Emperor of the Winkies, playing a beautiful march

called, "There's No Plate Like Tin." Then came the servants of the Royal Palace, in a long line, and behind

them all the people joined the procession and marched away through the emerald gates and out upon the

Here had been erected a splendid pavilion, with a grandstand big enough to seat all the royal party and those

who had taken part in the procession. Over the pavilion, which was of green silk and cloth of gold, countless

banners waved in the breeze. Just in front of this, and connected with it by a runway had been built a broad

platform, so that all the spectators could see plainly the entertainment provided for them.

The Wizard now became Master of Ceremonies, as Ozma had placed the conduct of the performance in his

hands. After the people had all congregated about the platform and the royal party and the visitors were

seated in the grandstand, the Wizard skillfully performed some feats of juggling glass balls and lighted

candles. He tossed a dozen or so of them high in the air and caught them one by one as they came down,

Then he introduced the Scarecrow, who did a swordswallowing act that aroused much interest. After this the

Tin Woodman gave an exhibition of Swinging the Axe, which he made to whirl around him so rapidly that

the eye could scarcely follow the motion of the gleaming blade. Glinda the Sorceress then stepped upon the

platform, and by her magic made a big tree grow in the middle of the space, made blossoms appear upon the

tree, and made the blossoms become delicious fruit called tamornas, and so great was the quantity of fruit

produced that when the servants climbed the tree and tossed it down to the crowd, there was enough to satisfy

Para Bruin, the rubber bear, climbed to a limb of the big tree, rolled himself into a ball, and dropped to the

platform, whence he bounded up again to the limb. He repeated this bouncing act several times, to the great

delight of all the children present. After he had finished, and bowed, and returned to his seat, Glinda waved

The Good Witch of the North amused the people by transforming ten stones into ten birds, the ten birds into

ten lambs, and the ten lambs into ten little girls, who gave a pretty dance and were then transformed into ten

Johnny Dooit next came on the platform with his toolchest, and in a few minutes built a great flying

machine; then put his chest in the machine and the whole thing flew away togetherJohnny and allafter

he had bid goodbye to those present and thanked the Princess for her hospitality.

The Wizard then announced the last act of all, which was considered really wonderful. He had invented a

machine to blow huge soapbubbles, as big as balloons, and this machine was hidden under the platform so

that only the rim of the big clay pipe to produce the bubbles showed above the flooring. The tank of

soapsuds, and the airpumps to inflate the bubbles, were out of sight beneath, so that when the bubbles began

to grow upon the floor of the platform it really seemed like magic to the people of Oz, who knew nothing

about even the common soapbubbles that our children blow with a penny clay pipe and a basin of

The Wizard had invented another thing. Usually, soapbubbles are frail and burst easily, lasting only a few

moments as they float in the air; but the Wizard added a sort of glue to his soapsuds, which made his bubbles

tough; and, as the glue dried rapidly when exposed to the air, the Wizard's bubbles were strong enough to

He began by blowingby means of his machinery and airpumpsseveral large bubbles which he allowed

to float upward into the sky, where the sunshine fell upon them and gave them iridescent hues that were most

beautiful. This aroused much wonder and delight because it was a new amusement to every one

presentexcept perhaps Dorothy and ButtonBright, and even they had never seen such big, strong bubbles

The Wizard then blew a bunch of small bubbles and afterward blew a big bubble around them so they were

left in the center of it; then he allowed the whole mass of pretty globes to float into the air and disappear in

"That is really fine!" declared Santa Claus, who loved toys and pretty things. "I think, Mr. Wizard, I shall

have you blow a bubble around me; then I can float away home and see the country spread out beneath me as

I travel. There isn't a spot on earth that I haven't visited, but I usually go in the nighttime, riding behind my

swift reindeer. Here is a good chance to observe the country by daylight, while I am riding slowly and at my

"Oh yes; I know enough magic to do that," replied Santa Claus. "You blow the bubble, with me inside of it,

"Very well, madam; you shall try the journey first," politely answered old Santa.

The pretty wax doll bade goodbye to the Princess Ozma and the others and stood on the platform while the

Wizard blew a big soapbubble around her. When completed, he allowed the bubble to float slowly upward,

and there could be seen the little Queen of Merryland standing in the middle of it and blowing kisses from her

fingers to those below. The bubble took a southerly direction, quickly floating out of sight.

"That's a very nice way to travel," said Princess Fluff. "I'd like to go home in a bubble, too."

So the Wizard blew a big bubble around Princess Fluff, and another around King Bud, her brother, and a

third one around Queen Zixi; and soon these three bubbles had mounted into the sky and were floating off in

The success of these ventures induced the other guests from foreign lands to undertake bubble journeys, also;

so the Wizard put them one by one inside his bubbles, and Santa Claus directed the way they should go,

"Why, so you shall!" cried Santa; "for I'm sure your father and mother will be glad to see you again. Mr.

Wizard, please blow a big, fine bubble for ButtonBright to ride in, and I'll agree to send him home to his

"I'm sorry," said Dorothy with a sigh, for she was fond of her little comrade; "but p'raps it's best for

She kissed the boy, and Ozma kissed him, too, and all the others waved their hands and said goodbye and

He sat down crosslegged on the platform, with his sailor hat tipped back on his head, and the Wizard blew a

A minute later it had mounted into the sky, sailing toward the west, and the last they saw of ButtonBright he

was still sitting in the middle of the shining globe and waving his sailor hat at those below.

"Will you ride in a bubble, or shall I send you and Toto home by means of the Magic Belt?" the Princess

"Guess I'll use the Belt," replied the little girl. "I'm sort of 'fraid of those bubbles."

"Bowwow!" said Toto, approvingly. He loved to bark at the bubbles as they sailed away, but he didn't care

Santa Claus decided to go next. He thanked Ozma for her hospitality and wished her many happy returns of

the day. Then the Wizard blew a bubble around his chubby little body and smaller bubbles around each of his

As the kind and generous friend of children mounted into the air the people all cheered at the top of their

voices, for they loved Santa Claus dearly; and the little man heard them through the walls of his bubble and

waved his hands in return as he smiled down upon them. The band played bravely while every one watched

"How 'bout you, Polly?" Dorothy asked her friend. "Are you 'fraid of bubbles, too?"

"No," answered Polychrome, smiling; "but Santa Claus promised to speak to my father as he passed through

Indeed, the little maid had scarcely made this speech when a sudden radiance filled the air, and while the

people looked on in wonder the end of a gorgeous rainbow slowly settled down upon the platform.

With a glad cry, the Rainbow's Daughter sprang from her seat and danced along the curve of the bow,

mounting gradually upward, while the folds of her gauzy gown whirled and floated around her like a cloud

"Goodbye Ozma! Goodbye Dorothy!" cried a voice they knew belonged to Polychrome; but now the little

maiden's form had melted wholly into the rainbow, and their eyes could no longer see her.

Suddenly, the end of the rainbow lifted and its colors slowly faded like mist before a breeze. Dorothy sighed

"I'm sorry to lose Polly," she said; "but I guess she's better off with her father; 'cause even the Land of Oz

"No indeed," replied the Princess; "but it has been delightful for us to know Polychrome for a little while,

The entertainment being now ended, all left the pavilion and formed their gay procession back to the Emerald

City again. Of Dorothy's recent traveling companions only Toto and the shaggy man remained, and Ozma

had decided to allow the latter to live in Oz for a time, at least. If he proved honest and true she promised to

They had a nice quiet dinner together and passed a pleasant evening with the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman,

When Dorothy bade them goodnight, she kissed them all goodbye at the same time. For Ozma had agreed

that while Dorothy slept she and Toto should be transported by means of the Magic Belt to her own little bed

in the Kansas farmhouse and the little girl laughed as she thought how astonished Uncle Henry and Aunt

Quite content to have had so pleasant an adventure, and a little tired by all the day's busy scenes, Dorothy

clasped Toto in her arms and lay down upon the pretty white bed in her room in Ozma's royal palace.