The Magic of OZ _ Phù thuỷ xứ OZ (tiếng Anh)

10. Stuck Fast
The day was nearly gone when, at last, the raft was ready.
"It ain''t so very big," said the old sailor, "but I don''t weigh much, an'' you, Trot, don''t weigh half as much as I do, an'' the glass ***** don''t count."
"But it''s safe, isn''t it?" inquired the girl.
"Yes; it''s good enough to carry us to the island an'' back again, an'' that''s about all we can expect of it." Saying this, Cap''n Bill pushed the raft into the water, and when it was afloat, stepped upon it and held out his hand to Trot, who quickly followed him. The Glass Cat boarded the raft last of all.
The sailor had cut a long pole, and had also whittled a flat paddle, and with these he easily propelled the raft across the river. As they approached the island, the Wonderful Flower became more plainly visible, and they quickly decided that the Glass Cat had not praised it too highly. The colors of the flowers that bloomed in quick succession were strikingly bright and beautiful, and the shapes of the blossoms were varied and curious. Indeed, they did not resemble ordinary flowers at all.
So intently did Trot and Cap''n Bill gaze upon the Golden Flower-pot that held the Magic Flower that they scarcely noticed the island itself until the raft beached upon its sands.
But then the girl exclaimed: "How funny it is, Cap''n Bill, that nothing else grows here excep'' the Magic Flower."
Then the sailor glanced at the island and saw that it was all bare ground, without a weed, a stone or a blade of grass. Trot, eager to examine the Flower closer, sprang from the raft and ran up the bank until she reached the Golden Flower-pot. Then she stood beside it motionless and filled with wonder. Cap''n Bill joined her, coming more leisurely, and he, too, stood in silent admiration for a time.
"Ozma will like this," remarked the Glass Cat, sitting down to watch the shifting hues of the flowers. "I''m sure she won''t have as fine a birthday present from anyone else."
"Do you ''spose it''s very heavy, Cap''n? And can we get it home without breaking it?" asked Trot anxiously.
"Well, I''ve lifted many bigger things than that," he replied; "but let''s see what it weighs."
He tried to take a step forward, but could not lift his meat foot from the ground. His wooden leg seemed free enough, but the other would not budge.
"I seem stuck, Trot," he said, with a perplexed look at his foot.
"It ain''t mud, an'' it ain''t glue, but somethin''s holdin'' me down."
The girl attempted to lift her own feet, to go nearer to her friend, but the ground held them as fast as it held Cap''n Bill''s foot. She tried to slide them, or to twist them around, but it was no use; she could not move either foot a hair''s breadth.
"This is funny!" she exclaimed. "What do you ''spose has happened to us, Cap''n Bill?"
"I''m tryin'' to make out," he answered. "Take off your shoes, Trot. P''raps it''s the leather soles that''s stuck to the ground."
She leaned down and unlaced her shoes, but found she could not pull her feet out of them. The Glass Cat, which was walking around as naturally as ever, now said:
"Your foot has got roots to it, Cap''n, and I can see the roots going into the ground, where they spread out in all directions. It''s the same way with Trot. That''s why you can''t move. The roots hold you fast."
Cap''n Bill was rather fat and couldn''t see his own feet very well, but he squatted down and examined Trot''s feet and decided that the Glass Cat was right.
"This is hard luck," he declared, in a voice that showed he was uneasy at the discovery. "We''re pris''ners, Trot, on this funny island, an'' I''d like to know how we''re ever goin'' to get loose, so''s we can get home again."
"Now I know why the Kalidah laughed at us," said the girl, "and why he said none of the beasts ever came to this island. The horrid creature knew we''d be caught, and wouldn''t warn us."
In the meantime, the Kalidah, although pinned fast to the earth by Cap''n Bill''s stake, was facing the island, and now the ugly expression which passed over its face when it defied and sneered at Cap''n Bill and Trot, had changed to one of amusement and curiosity. When it saw the adventurers had actually reached the island and were standing beside the Magic Flower, it heaved a breath of satisfaction--a long, deep breath that swelled its deep chest until the beast could feel the stake that held him move a little, as if withdrawing itself from the ground.
"Ah ha!" murmured the Kalidah, "a little more of this will set me free and allow me to escape!"
So he began breathing as hard as he could, puffing out his chest as much as possible with each indrawing breath, and by doing this he managed to raise the stake with each powerful breath, until at last the Kalidah--using the muscles of his four legs as well as his deep breaths--found itself free of the sandy soil. The stake was sticking right through him, however, so he found a rock deeply set in the bank and pressed the sharp point of the stake upon the surface of this rockuntil he had driven it clear through his body. Then, by getting the stake tangled among some thorny bushes, and wiggling his body, he managed to draw it out altogether.
"There!" he exclaimed, "except for those two holes in me, I''m as good as ever; but I must admit that that old wooden-legged fellow saved both himself and the girl by making me a prisoner."
Now the Kalidahs, although the most disagreeable creatures in the Land of Oz, were nevertheless magical inhabitants of a magical Fairyland, and in their natures a certain amount of good was mingled with the evil. This one was not very revengeful, and now that his late foes were in danger of perishing, his anger against them faded away.
"Our own Kalidah King," he reflected, "has certain magical powers of his own. Perhaps he knows how to fill up these two holes in my body."
So without paying any more attention to Trot and Cap''n Bill than they were paying to him, he entered the forest and trotted along a secret path that led to the hidden lair of all the Kalidahs. While the Kalidah was making good its escape Cap''n Bill took his pipe from his pocket and filled it with tobacco and lighted it. Then, as he puffed out the smoke, he tried to think what could be done.
"The Glass Cat seems all right," he said, "an'' my wooden leg didn''ttake roots and grow, either. So it''s only flesh that gets caught."
"It''s magic that does it, Cap''n!"
"I know, Trot, and that''s what sticks me. We''re livin'' in a magic country, but neither of us knows any magic an'' so we can''t help ourselves."
"Couldn''t the Wizard of Oz help us--or Glinda the Good?" asked the little girl.
"Ah, now we''re beginnin'' to reason," he answered. "I''d probably thought o'' that, myself, in a minute more. By good luck the Glass Cat is free, an'' so it can run back to the Emerald City an'' tell the Wizard about our fix, an'' ask him to come an'' help us get loose."
"Will you go?" Trot asked the cat, speaking very earnestly.
"I''m no messenger, to be sent here and there," asserted the curious animal in a sulky tone of voice.
"Well," said Cap''n Bill, "you''ve got to go home, anyhow, ''cause you don''t want to stay here, I take it. And, when you get home, it wouldn''t worry you much to tell the Wizard what''s happened to us."
"That''s true," said the cat, sitting on its haunches and lazily washing its face with one glass paw. "I don''t mind telling the Wizard--when I get home."
"Won''t you go now?" pleaded Trot. "We don''t want to stay here any longer than we can help, and everybody in Oz will be interested in you, and call you a hero, and say nice things about you because you helped your friends out of trouble."
That was the best way to manage the Glass Cat, which was so vain that it loved to be praised.
"I''m going home right away," said the creature, "and I''ll tell the Wizard to come and help you."
Saying this, it walked down to the water and disappeared under the surface. Not being able to manage the raft alone, the Glass Cat walked on the bottom of the river as it had done when it visited the island before, and soon they saw it appear on the farther bank and trot into the forest, where it was quickly lost to sight among the trees.
Then Trot heaved a deep sigh.
"Cap''n," said she, "we''re in a bad fix. There''s nothing here to eat, and we can''t even lie down to sleep. Unless the Glass Cat hurries, and the Wizard hurries, I don''t know what''s going to become of us!"

11. The Beasts of the Forest of Gugu
That was a wonderful gathering of wild animals in the Forest of Gugu next sunrise. Rango, the Gray Ape, had even called his monkey sentinels away from the forest edge, and every beast, little and big, was in the great clearing where meetings were held on occasions of great importance.
In the center of the clearing stood a great shelving rock, having a flat, inclined surface, and on this sat the stately Leopard Gugu, who was King of the Forest. On the ground beneath him squatted Bru the Bear, Loo the Unicorn, and Rango the Gray Ape, the King''s three Counselors, and in front of them stood the two strange beasts who had called themselves Li-Mon-Eags, but were really the transformations of Ruggedo the Nome, and Kiki Aru the Hyup.
Then came the beasts--rows and rows and rows of them! The smallest beasts were nearest the King''s rock throne; then there were wolves and foxes, lynxes and hyenas, and the like; behind them were gathered the monkey tribes, who were hard to keep in order because they teased the other animals and were full of mischievous tricks. Back of the monkeys were the pumas, jaguars, tigers and lions, and their kind; next the bears, all sizes and colors; after them bisons, wild asses, zebras and unicorns; farther on the rhinoceri and hippopotami, and at the far edge of the forest, close to the trees that shut in the clearing, was a row of thick-skinned elephants, still as statues but
with eyes bright and intelligent.
Many other kinds of beasts, too numerous to mention, were there, and some were unlike any beasts we see in the menageries and zoos in our country. Some were from the mountains west of the forest, and some from the plains at the east, and some from the river; but all present acknowledged the leadership of Gugu, who for many years had ruled them wisely and forced all to obey the laws.
When the beasts had taken their places in the clearing and the rising sun was shooting its first bright rays over the treetops, King Gugu rose on his throne. The Leopard''s giant form, towering above all the others, caused a sudden hush to fall on the assemblage.
"Brothers," he said in his deep voice, "a stranger has come among us, a beast of curious form who is a great magician and is able to change the shapes of men or beasts at his will. This stranger has ome to us, with another of his kind, from out of the sky, to warn us f a danger which threatens us all, and to offer us a way to escape from that danger. He says he is our friend, and he has proved to me and to my Counselors his magic powers. Will you listen to what he has to say to you--to the message he has brought from the sky?"
"Let him speak!" came in a great roar from the great company of assembled beasts.
So Ruggedo the Nome sprang upon the flat rock beside Gugu the King, and another roar, gentle this time, showed how astonished the beasts were at the sight of his curious form. His lion''s face was surrounded by a mane of pure white hair; his eagle''s wings were attached to the shoulders of his monkey body and were so long that they nearly touched the ground; he had powerful arms and legs in ad***ion to the wings, and at the end of his long, strong tail was a golden ball. Never had any beast beheld such a curious creature before, and so the very sight of the stranger, who was said to be a great magician, filled all present with awe and wonder.
Kiki stayed down below and, half hidden by the shelf of rock, was scarcely noticed. The boy realized that the old Nome was helpless without his magic power, but he also realized that Ruggedo was the best talker. So he was willing the Nome should take the lead.
"Beasts of the Forest of Gugu," began Ruggedo the Nome, "my comrade and I are your friends. We are magicians, and from our home in the sky we can look down into the Land of Oz and see everything that is going on. Also we can hear what the people below us are saying. That is how we heard Ozma, who rules the Land of Oz, say to her people:
''The beasts in the Forest of Gugu are lazy and are of no use to us. Let us go to their forest and make them all our prisoners. Let us tie them with ropes, and beat them with sticks, until they work for us and become our willing slaves.'' And when the people heard Ozma of Oz say this, they were glad and raised a great shout and said:
''We will do it! We will make the beasts of the Forest of Gugu our slaves!''"
The wicked old Nome could say no more, just then, for such a fierce roar of anger rose from the multitude of beasts that his voice was drowned by the clamor. Finally the roar died away, like distant thunder, and Ruggedo the Nome went on with his speech.
"Having heard the Oz people plot against your liberty, we watched to see what they would do, and saw them all begin making ropes--ropes long and short--with which to snare our friends the beasts. You are angry, but we also were angry, for when the Oz people became the enemies of the beasts they also became our enemies; for we, too, are beasts, although we live in the sky. And my comrade and I said: ''We will save our friends and have revenge on the Oz people,'' and so we came here to tell you of your danger and of our plan to save you."
"We can save ourselves," cried an old Elephant. "We can fight."
"The Oz people are fairies, and you can''t fight against magic unless you also have magic," answered the Nome.
"Tell us your plan!" shouted the huge Tiger, and the other beasts echoed his words, crying: "Tell us your plan."
"My plan is simple," replied Ruggedo. "By our magic we will transform all you animals into men and women--like the Oz people--and we will transform all the Oz people into beasts. You can then live in the fine houses of the Land of Oz, and eat the fine food of the Oz people, and wear their fine clothes, and sing and dance and be happy.
And the Oz people, having become beasts, will have to live here in the forest and hunt and fight for food, and often go hungry, as you now do, and have no place to sleep but a bed of leaves or a hole in the ground. Having become men and women, you beasts will have all the comforts you desire, and having become beasts, the Oz people will be very miserable. That is our plan, and if you agree to it, we will all march at once into the Land of Oz and quickly conquer our enemies."
When the stranger ceased speaking, a great silence fell on the assemblage, for the beasts were thinking of what he had said. Finally one of the walruses asked:
"Can you really transform beasts into men, and men into beasts?"
"He can--he can!" cried Loo the Unicorn, prancing up and down in an excited manner. "He transformed ME, only last evening, and he can transform us all."
Gugu the King now stepped forward.
"You have heard the stranger speak," said he, "and now you must answer him. It is for you to decide. Shall we agree to this plan, or not?"
"Yes!" shouted some of the animals.
"No!" shouted others.
And some were yet silent.
Gugu looked around the great circle.
"Take more time to think," he suggested. "Your answer is very important. Up to this time we have had no trouble with the Oz people, but we are proud and free, and never will become slaves. Think carefully, and when you are ready to answer, I will hear you."

12. Kiki Uses His Magic
Then arose a great confusion of sounds as all the animals began talking to their fellows. The monkeys chattered and the bears growled and the voices of the jaguars and lions rumbled, and the wolves yelped and the elephants had to trumpet loudly to make their voices heard.
Such a hubbub had never been known in the forest before, and each beast argued with his neighbor until it seemed the noise would never cease. Ruggedo the Nome waved his arms and fluttered his wings to try to make them listen to him again, but the beasts paid no attention. Some wanted to fight the Oz people, some wanted to be transformed, and some
wanted to do nothing at all.
The growling and confusion had grown greater than ever when in a flash silence fell on all the beasts present, the arguments were hushed, and all gazed in astonishment at a strange sight.
For into the circle strode a great Lion--bigger and more powerful than any other lion there--and on his back rode a little girl who smiled fearlessly at the multitude of beasts. And behind the Lion and the little girl came another beast--a monstrous Tiger, who bore upon his back a funny little man carrying a black bag. Right past the rows of wondering beasts the strange animals walked, advancing until they stood just before the rock throne of Gugu.
Then the little girl and the funny little man dismounted, and the great Lion demanded in a loud voice:
"Who is King in this forest?"
"I am!" answered Gugu, looking steadily at the other. "I am Gugu the Leopard, and I am King of this forest."
"Then I greet Your Majesty with great respect," said the Lion.
"Perhaps you have heard of me, Gugu. I am called the ''Cowardly Lion,'' and I am King of all Beasts, the world over."
Gugu''s eyes flashed angrily.
"Yes," said he, "I have heard of you. You have long claimed to be King of Beasts, but no beast who is a coward can be King over me."
"He isn''t a coward, Your Majesty," asserted the little girl, "He''s just cowardly, that''s all."
Gugu looked at her. All the other beasts were looking at her, too.
"Who are you?" asked the King.
"Me? Oh, I''m just Dorothy," she answered.
"How dare you come here?" demanded the King.
"Why, I''m not afraid to go anywhere, if the Cowardly Lion is with me," she said. "I know him pretty well, and so I can trust him. He''s always afraid, when we get into trouble, and that''s why he''s cowardly; but he''s a terrible fighter, and that''s why he isn''t a coward. He doesn''t like to fight, you know, but when he HAS to, there isn''t any beast living that can conquer him."
Gugu the King looked at the big, powerful form of the Cowardly Lion, and knew she spoke the truth. Also the other Lions of the forest now came forward and bowed low before the strange Lion.
"We welcome Your Majesty," said one. "We have known you many years ago, before you went to live at the Emerald City, and we have seen you fight the terrible Kalidahs and conquer them, so we know you are the King of all Beasts."
"It is true," replied the Cowardly Lion; "but I did not come here to rule the beasts of this forest. Gugu is King here, and I believe he is a good King and just and wise. I come, with my friends, to be the guest of Gugu, and I hope we are welcome."
That pleased the great Leopard, who said very quickly:
"Yes; you, at least, are welcome to my forest. But who are these strangers with you?"
"Dorothy has introduced herself," replied the Lion, "and you are sure to like her when you know her better. This man is the Wizard ofOz, a friend of mine who can do wonderful tricks of magic. And here is my true and tried friend, the Hungry Tiger, who lives with me in the Emerald City."
"Is he ALWAYS hungry?" asked Loo the Unicorn.
"I am," replied the Tiger, answering the question himself. "I am always hungry for fat babies."
"Can''t you find any fat babies in Oz to eat?" inquired Loo, the Unicorn.
"There are plenty of them, of course," said the Tiger, "but unfortunately I have such a tender conscience that it won''t allow me to eat babies. So I''m always hungry for ''em and never can eat ''em, because my conscience won''t let me."
Now of all the surprised beasts in that clearing, not one was so much surprised at the sudden appearance of these four strangers as Ruggedo the Nome. He was frightened, too, for he recognized them as his most powerful enemies; but he also realized that they could not know he was the former King of the Nomes, because of the beast''s form he wore, which disguised him so effectually. So he took courage and resolved that the Wizard and Dorothy should not defeat his plans.
It was hard to tell, just yet, what the vast assemblage of beasts thought of the new arrivals. Some glared angrily at them, but more of them seemed to be curious and wondering. All were interested, however, and they kept very quiet and listened carefully to all that was said.
Kiki Aru, who had remained unnoticed in the shadow of the rock, was at first more alarmed by the coming of the strangers than even Ruggedo was, and the boy told himself that unless he acted quickly and without waiting to ask the advice of the old Nome, their conspiracy was likely to be discovered and all their plans to conquer and rule Oz be defeated. Kiki didn''t like the way Ruggedo acted either, for theformer King of the Nomes wanted to do everything his own way, and made the boy, who alone possessed the power of transformations, obey his orders as if he were a slave.
Another thing that disturbed Kiki Aru was the fact that a real Wizard had arrived, who was said to possess many magical powers, and this Wizard carried his tools in a black bag, and was the friend of the Oz people, and so would probably try to prevent war between the beasts of the forest and the people of Oz.
All these things passed through the mind of the Hyup boy while the Cowardly Lion and Gugu the King were talking together, and that was why he now began to do several strange things.
He had found a place, near to the point where he stood, where there was a deep hollow in the rock, so he put his face into this hollow and whispered softly, so he would not be heard:
"I want the Wizard of Oz to become a fox--Pyrzqxgl!"
The Wizard, who had stood smilingly beside his friends, suddenly felt his form change to that of a fox, and his black bag fell to the ground. Kiki reached out an arm and seized the bag, and the Fox cried as loud as it could:
"Treason! There''s a traitor here with magic powers!"
Everyone was startled at this cry, and Dorothy, seeing her old friend''s plight, screamed and exclaimed: "Mercy me!"
But the next instant the little girl''s form had changed to that of a lamb with fleecy white wool, and Dorothy was too bewildered to do anything but look around her in wonder.
The Cowardly Lion''s eyes now flashed fire; he crouched low and lashed the ground with his tail and gazed around to discover who the treacherous magician might be. But Kiki, who had kept his face in the hollow rock, again whispered the magic word, and the great lion disappeared and in his place stood a little boy dressed in Munchkin costume. The little Munchkin boy was as angry as the lion had been, but he was small and helpless.
Ruggedo the Nome saw what was happening and was afraid Kiki would spoil all his plans, so he leaned over the rock and shouted: "Stop, Kiki--stop!"
Kiki would not stop, however. Instead, he transformed the Nome into a goose, to Ruggedo''s horror and dismay. But the Hungry Tiger had witnessed all these transformations, and he was watching to see which of those present was to blame for them. When Ruggedo spoke to Kiki, the Hungry Tiger knew that he was the magician, so he made a suddenspring and hurled his great body full upon the form of the Li-Mon-Eag crouching against the rock. Kiki didn''t see the Tiger coming because his face was still in the hollow, and the heavy body of the tiger bore him to the earth just as he said "Pyrzqxgl!" for the fifth time.
So now the tiger which was crushing him changed to a rabbit, and relieved of its weight, Kiki sprang up and, spreading his eagle''s wings, flew into the branches of a tree, where no beast could easily reach him. He was not an instant too quick in doing this, for Gugu the King had crouched on the rock''s edge and was about to spring on the boy.
From his tree Kiki transformed Gugu into a fat Gillikin woman, and laughed aloud to see how the woman pranced with rage, and how astonished all the beasts were at their King''s new shape.
The beasts were frightened, too, fearing they would share the fate of Gugu, so a stampede began when Rango the Gray Ape sprang into the forest, and Bru the Bear and Loo the Unicorn followed as quickly as they could. The elephants backed into the forest, and all the other animals, big and little, rushed after them, scattering through the jungles until the clearing was far behind. The monkeys scrambled into the trees and swung themselves from limb to limb, to avoid being trampled upon by the bigger beasts, and they were so quick that they distanced all the rest. A panic of fear seemed to have overtaken the forest people and they got as far away from the terrible Magician as they possibly could.
But the transformed ones stayed in the clearing, being so astonished and bewildered by their new shapes that they could only look at one another in a dazed and helpless fashion, although each one was greatly annoyed at the trick that had been played on him.
"Who are you?" the Munchkin boy asked the Rabbit; and "Who are you?" the Fox asked the Lamb; and "Who are you?" the Rabbit asked the fat Gillikin woman.
"I''m Dorothy," said the woolly Lamb.
"I''m the Wizard," said the Fox.
"I''m the Cowardly Lion," said the Munchkin boy.
"I''m the Hungry Tiger," said the Rabbit.
"I''m Gugu the King," said the fat Woman.
But when they asked the Goose who he was, Ruggedo the Nome would not tell them.
"I''m just a Goose," he replied, "and what I was before, I cannot remember."

13. The Loss of the Black Bag
Kiki Aru, in the form of the Li-Mon-Eag, had scrambled into the high, thick branches of the tree, so no one could see him, and there he opened the Wizard''s black bag, which he had carried away in his flight. He was curious to see what the Wizard''s magic tools looked like, and hoped he could use some of them and so secure more power; but after he had taken the articles, one by one, from the bag, he had to admit they were puzzles to him. For, unless he understood their uses, they were of no value whatever. Kiki Aru, the Hyup boy, was no wizard or magician at all, and could do nothing unusual except to use the Magic Word he had stolen from his father on Mount Munch. So he hung the Wizard''s black bag on a branch of the tree and then climbeddown to the lower limbs that he might see what the victims of histransformations were doing.
They were all on top of the flat rock, talking together in tones so low that Kiki could not hear what they said.
"This is certainly a misfortune," remarked the Wizard in the Fox''s form, "but our transformations are a sort of enchantment which is very easy to break--when you know how and have the tools to do it with.
The tools are in my Black Bag; but where is the Bag?"
No one knew that, for none had seen Kiki Aru fly away with it.
"Let''s look and see if we can find it," suggested Dorothy the Lamb.
So they left the rock, and all of them searched the clearning high and low without finding the Bag of Magic Tools. The Goose searched as earnestly as the others, for if he could discover it, he meant to hide it where the Wizard could never find it, because if the Wizard changed him back to his proper form, along with the others, he would then be recognized as Ruggedo the Nome, and they would send him out of the Land of Oz and so ruin all his hopes of conquest.
Ruggedo was not really sorry, now that he thought about it, that Kiki had transformed all these Oz folks. The forest beasts, it was true, had been so frightened that they would now never consent to be transformed into men, but Kiki could transform them against their will, and once they were all in human forms, it would not be impossible to induce them to conquer the Oz people.
So all was not lost, thought the old Nome, and the best thing for him to do was to rejoin the Hyup boy who had the secret of the transformations. So, having made sure the Wizard''s black bag was not in the clearing, the Goose wandered away through the trees when the others were not looking, and when out of their hearing, he began calling, "Kiki Aru! Kiki Aru! Quack--quack! Kiki Aru!"
The Boy and the Woman, the Fox, the Lamb, and the Rabbit, not being able to find the bag, went back to the rock, all feeling exceedingly strange.
"Where''s the Goose?" asked the Wizard.
"He must have run away," replied Dorothy. "I wonder who he was?"
"I think," said Gugu the King, who was the fat Woman, "that the Goose was the stranger who proposed that we make war upon the Oz people. If so, his transformation was merely a trick to deceive us, and he has now gone to join his comrade, that wicked Li-Mon-Eag who obeyed all his commands."
"What shall we do now?" asked Dorothy. "Shall we go back to the Emerald City, as we are, and then visit Glinda the Good and ask her to break the enchantments?"
"I think so," replied the Wizard Fox. "And we can take Gugu the King with us, and have Glinda restore him to his natural shape. But I hate to leave my Bag of Magic Tools behind me, for without it I shall lose much of my power as a Wizard. Also, if I go back to the Emerald City in the shape of a Fox, the Oz people will think I''m a poor Wizard and will lose their respect for me."
"Let us make still another search for your tools," suggested the Cowardly Lion, "and then, if we fail to find the Black Bag anywhere in this forest, we must go back home as we are."
"Why did you come here, anyway?" inquired Gugu.
"We wanted to borrow a dozen monkeys, to use on Ozma''s birthday," explained the Wizard. "We were going to make them small, and train them to do tricks, and put them inside Ozma''s birthday cake."
"Well," said the Forest King, "you would have to get the consent of Rango the Gray Ape, to do that. He commands all the tribes of monkeys."
"I''m afraid it''s too late, now," said Dorothy, regretfully. "It was a splendid plan, but we''ve got troubles of our own, and I don''t like being a lamb at all."
"You''re nice and fuzzy," said the Cowardly Lion.
"That''s nothing," declared Dorothy. "I''ve never been ''specially proud of myself, but I''d rather be the way I was born than anything else in the whole world."
The Glass Cat, although it had some disagreeable ways and manners, nevertheless realized that Trot and Cap''n Bill were its friends and so was quite disturbed at the fix it had gotten them into by leading them to the Isle of the Magic Flower. The ruby heart of the Glass Cat was cold and hard, but still it was a heart, and to have a heart of any sort is to have some consideration for others. But the queer transparent creature didn''t want Trot and Cap''n Bill to know it was sorry for them, and therefore it moved very slowly until it had crossed the river and was out of sight among the trees of the forest.
Then it headed straight toward the Emerald City, and trotted so fast that it was like a crystal streak crossing the valleys and plains.
Being glass, the cat was tireless, and with no reason to delay its journey, it reached Ozma''s palace in wonderfully quick time.
"Where''s the Wizard?" it asked the Pink Kitten, which was curled up in the sunshine on the lowest step of the palace entrance.
"Don''t bother me," lazily answered the Pink Kitten, whose name was Eureka.
"I must find the Wizard at once!" said the Glass Cat.
"Then find him," advised Eureka, and went to sleep again.
The Glass Cat darted up the stairway and came upon Toto, Dorothy''s little black dog.
"Where''s the Wizard?" asked the Cat.
"Gone on a journey with Dorothy," replied Toto.
"When did they go, and where have they gone?" demanded the Cat.
"They went yesterday, and I heard them say they would go to the Great Forest in the Munchkin Country."
"Dear me," said the Glass Cat; "that is a long journey."
"But they rode on the Hungry Tiger and the Cowardly Lion," explained Toto, "and the Wizard carried his Black Bag of Magic Tools."
The Glass Cat knew the Great Forest of Gugu well, for it had traveled through this forest many times in its journeys through the Land of Oz. And it reflected that the Forest of Gugu was nearer to the Isle of the Magic Flower than the Emerald City was, and so, if it could manage to find the Wizard, it could lead him across the Gillikin Country to where Trot and Cap''n Bill were prisoned. It was a wild country and little traveled, but the Glass Cat knew every path. So very little time need be lost, after all.
Without stopping to ask any more questions the Cat darted out of the palace and away from the Emerald City, taking the most direct route to the Forest of Gugu. Again the creature flashed through the country like a streak of light, and it would surprise you to know how quickly it reached the edge of the Great Forest.
There were no monkey guards among the trees to cry out a warning, and this was so unusual that it astonished the Glass Cat. Going farther into the forest it presently came upon a wolf, which at first bounded away in terror. But then, seeing it was only a Glass Cat, the Wolf stopped, and the Cat could see it was trembling, as if from a terrible fright.
"What''s the matter?" asked the Cat.
"A dreadful Magician has come among us!" exclaimed the Wolf, "and he''s changing the forms of all the beasts--quick as a wink--and making them all his slaves."
The Glass Cat smiled and said:
"Why, that''s only the Wizard of Oz. He may be having some fun with you forest people, but the Wizard wouldn''t hurt a beast for anything."
"I don''t mean the Wizard," explained the Wolf. "And if the Wizard of Oz is that funny little man who rode a great Tiger into the clearing, he''s been transformed himself by the terrible Magician."
"The Wizard transformed? Why, that''s impossible," declared the Glass Cat.
"No; it isn''t. I saw him with my own eyes, changed into the form of a Fox, and the girl who was with him was changed to a woolly Lamb."
The Glass Cat was indeed surprised.
"When did that happen?" it asked.
"Just a little while ago in the clearing. All the animals had met there, but they ran away when the Magician began his transformations, and I''m thankful I escaped with my natural shape. But I''m still afraid, and I''m going somewhere to hide."
With this the Wolf ran on, and the Glass Cat, which knew where the big clearing was, went toward it. But now it walked more slowly, and its pink brains rolled and tumbled around at a great rate because it was thinking over the amazing news the Wolf had told it.
When the Glass Cat reached the clearing, it saw a Fox, a Lamb, a Rabbit, a Munchkin boy and a fat Gillikin woman, all wandering around in an aimless sort of way, for they were again searching for the Black Bag of Magic Tools.
The Cat watched them a moment and then it walked slowly into the open space. At once the Lamb ran toward it, crying: "Oh, Wizard, here''s the Glass Cat!"
"Where, Dorothy?" asked the Fox.
"Here!"
The Boy and the Woman and the Rabbit now joined the Fox and the Lamb, and they all stood before the Glass Cat and speaking together, almost like a chorus, asked: "Have you seen the Black Bag?"
"Often," replied the Glass Cat, "but not lately."
"It''s lost," said the Fox, "and we must find it."
"Are you the Wizard?" asked the Cat.
"Yes."
"And who are these others?"
"I''m Dorothy," said the Lamb.
"I''m the Cowardly Lion," said the Munchkin boy.
"I''m the Hungry Tiger," said the Rabbit.
"I''m Gugu, King of the Forest," said the fat Woman.
The Glass Cat sat on its hind legs and began to laugh. "My, what a funny lot!" exclaimed the Creature. "Who played this joke on you?"
"It''s no joke at all," declared the Wizard. "It was a cruel, wicked transformation, and the Magician that did it has the head of a lion, the body of a monkey, the wings of an eagle and a round ball on the end of his tail. "
The Glass Cat laughed again. "That Magician must look funnier than you do," it said. "Where is he now?"
"Somewhere in the forest," said the Cowardly Lion. "He just jumped into that tall maple tree over there, for he can climb like a monkey and fly like an eagle, and then he disappeared in the forest."
"And there was another Magician, just like him, who was his friend," added Dorothy, "but they probably quarreled, for the wickedest one changed his friend into the form of a Goose."
"What became of the Goose?" asked the Cat, looking around.
"He must have gone away to find his friend," answered Gugu the King.
"But a Goose can''t travel very fast, so we could easily find him if we wanted to."
"The worst thing of all," said the Wizard, "is that my Black Bag is lost. It disappeared when I was transformed. If I could find it I could easily break these enchantments by means of my magic, and we would resume our own forms again. Will you help us search for the Black Bag, Friend Cat?"
"Of course," replied the Glass Cat. "But I expect the strange Magician carried it away with him. If he''s a magician, he knows you need that Bag, and perhaps he''s afraid of your magic. So he''s probably taken the Bag with him, and you won''t see it again unless you find the Magician."
"That sounds reasonable," remarked the Lamb, which was Dorothy.
"Those pink brains of yours seem to be working pretty well to-day."
"If the Glass Cat is right," said the Wizard in a solemn voice, "there''s more trouble ahead of us. That Magician is dangerous, and if we go near him he may transform us into shapes not as nice as these."
"I don''t see how we could be any WORSE off," growled Gugu, who was indignant because he was forced to appear in the form of a fat woman.
"Anyway," said the Cowardly Lion, "our best plan is to find the Magician and try to get the Black Bag from him. We may manage to steal it, or perhaps we can argue him into giving it to us."
"Why not find the Goose, first?" asked Dorothy. "The Goose will be angry at the Magician, and he may be able to help us."
"That isn''t a bad idea," returned the Wizard. "Come on, Friends; let''s find that Goose. We will separate and search in different directions, and the first to find the Goose must bring him here, where we will all meet again in an hour."

14. The Wizard Learns the Magic Word
Now, the Goose was the transformation of old Ruggedo, who was at one time King of the Nomes, and he was even more angry at Kiki Aru than were the others who shapes had been changed. The Nome detested anything in the way of a bird, because birds lay eggs and eggs are feared by all the Nomes more than anything else in the world. A goose is a foolish bird, too, and Ruggedo was dreadfully ashamed of the shape he was forced to wear. And it would make him shudder to reflect that the Goose might lay an egg!
So the Nome was afraid of himself and afraid of everything around him. If an egg touched him he could then be destroyed, and almost any animal he met in the forest might easily conquer him. And that would be the end of old Ruggedo the Nome.
Aside from these fears, however, he was filled with anger against Kiki, whom he had meant to trap by cleverly stealing from him the Magic Word. The boy must have been crazy to spoil everything the way he did, but Ruggedo knew that the arrival of the Wizard had scared Kiki, and he was not sorry the boy had transformed the Wizard and Dorothy and made them helpless. It was his own transformation that annoyed him and made him indignant, so he ran about the forest hunting for Kiki, so that he might get a better shape and coax the boy to follow his plans to conquer the Land of Oz.
Kiki Aru hadn''t gone very far away, for he had surprised himself as well as the others by the quick transformations and was puzzled as to what to do next. Ruggedo the Nome was overbearing and tricky, and Kiki knew he was not to be depended on; but the Nome could plan and plot, which the Hyup boy was not wise enough to do, and so, when he looked down through the branches of a tree and saw a Goose waddling along below and heard it cry out, "Kiki Aru! Quack--quack! Kiki Aru!" the boy answered in a low voice, "Here I am," and swung himself down to the lowest limb of the tree.
The Goose looked up and saw him.
"You''ve bungled things in a dreadful way!" exclaimed the Goose. "Why did you do it?"
"Because I wanted to," answered Kiki. "You acted as if I was your slave, and I wanted to show these forest people that I am more powerful than you."
The Goose hissed softly, but Kiki did not hear that.
Old Ruggedo quickly recovered his wits and muttered to himself:
"This boy is the goose, although it is I who wear the goose''s shape. I will be gentle with him now, and fierce with him when I have him in my power."
Then he said aloud to Kiki: "Well, hereafter I will be content to acknowledge you the master. You bungled things, as I said, but we can still conquer Oz."
"How?" asked the boy.
"First give me back the shape of the Li-Mon-Eag, and then we can talk together more conveniently," suggested the Nome.
"Wait a moment, then," said Kiki, and climbed higher up the tree. There he whispered the Magic Word and the Goose became a Li-Mon-Eag, as he had been before.
"Good!" said the Nome, well pleased, as Kiki joined him by dropping down from the tree. "Now let us find a quiet place where we can talk without being overheard by the beasts."
So the two started away and crossed the forest until they came to a place where the trees were not so tall nor so close together, and among these scattered trees was another clearing, not so large as the first one, where the meeting of the beasts had been held. Standing on the edge of this clearing and looking across it, they saw the trees on the farther side full of monkeys, who were chattering together at a great rate of the sights they had witnessed at the meeting.
The old Nome whispered to Kiki not to enter the clearing or allow the monkeys to see them.
"Why not?" asked the boy, drawing back.
"Because those monkeys are to be our army--the army which will conquer Oz," said the Nome. "Sit down here with me, Kiki, and keep quiet, and I will explain to you my plan."
Now, neither Kiki Aru nor Ruggedo had noticed that a sly Fox had followed them all the way from the tree where the Goose had been transformed to the Li-Mon-Eag. Indeed, this Fox, who was none other than the Wizard of Oz, had witnessed the transformation of the Goose and now decided he would keep watch on the conspirators and see what they would do next.
A Fox can move through a forest very softly, without making any noise, and so the Wizard''s enemies did not suspect his presence. But when they sat down by the edge of the clearing, to talk, with their backs toward him, the Wizard did not know whether to risk being seen, by creeping closer to hear what they said, or whether it would be better for him to hide himself until they moved on again.
While he considered this question he discovered near him a great tree which had a hollow trunk, and there was a round hole in this tree, about three feet above the ground. The Wizard Fox decided it would be safer for him to hide inside the hollow tree, so he sprang into the hole and crouched down in the hollow, so that his eyes just came to the edge of the hole by which he had entered, and from here he watched the forms of the two Li-Mon-Eags.
"This is my plan," said the Nome to Kiki, speaking so low that the Wizard could only hear the rumble of his voice. "Since you can transform anything into any form you wish, we will transform these monkeys into an army, and with that army we will conquer the Oz people."
"The monkeys won''t make much of an army," objected Kiki.
"We need a great army, but not a numerous one," responded the Nome.
"You will transform each monkey into a giant man, dressed in a fine uniform and armed with a sharp sword. There are fifty monkeys over there and fifty giants would make as big an army as we need."
"What will they do with the swords?" asked Kiki. "Nothing can kill the Oz people."
"True," said Ruggedo. "The Oz people cannot be killed, but they can be cut into small pieces, and while every piece will still be alive, we can scatter the pieces around so that they will be quite helpless.Therefore, the Oz people will be afraid of the swords of our army, and we will conquer them with ease."
"That seems like a good idea," replied the boy, approvingly. "And in such a case, we need not bother with the other beasts of the forest."
"No; you have frightened the beasts, and they would no longer consent to assist us in conquering Oz. But those monkeys are foolish creatures, and once they are transformed to Giants, they will do just as we say and obey our commands. Can you transform them all at once?"
"No, I must take one at a time," said Kiki. "But the fifty transformations can be made in an hour or so. Stay here, Ruggedo, and I will change the first monkey--that one at the left, on the end of the limb--into a Giant with a sword."
"Where are you going?" asked the Nome.
"I must not speak the Magic Word in the presence of another person," declared Kiki, who was determined not to allow his treacherous companion to learn his secret, "so I will go where you cannot hear me."
Ruggedo the Nome was disappointed, but he hoped still to catch the boy unawares and surprise the Magic Word. So he merely nodded his lion head, and Kiki got up and went back into the forest a short distance. Here he spied a hollow tree, and by chance it was the same hollow tree in which the Wizard of Oz, now in the form of a Fox, had hidden himself.
As Kiki ran up to the tree the Fox ducked its head, so that it was out of sight in the dark hollow beneath the hole, and then Kiki put his face into the hole and whispered: "I want that monkey on the branch at the left to become a Giant man fifty feet tall, dressed in a uniform and with a sharp sword--Pyrzqxgl!"
Then he ran back to Ruggedo, but the Wizard Fox had heard quite plainly every word that he had said.
The monkey was instantly transformed into the Giant, and the Giant was so big that as he stood on the ground his head was higher than the trees of the forest. The monkeys raised a great chatter but did not seem to understand that the Giant was one of themselves.
"Good!" cried the Nome. "Hurry, Kiki, and transform the others."
So Kiki rushed back to the tree and putting his face to the hollow, whispered: "I want the next monkey to be just like the first--Pyrzqxgl!"
Again the Wizard Fox heard the Magic Word, and just how it was pronounced. But he sat still in the hollow and waited to hear it again, so it would be impressed on his mind and he would not forget it.
Kiki kept running to the edge of the forest and back to the hollow tree again until he had whispered the Magic Word six times and six monkeys had been changed to six great Giants. Then the Wizard decided he would make an experiment and use the Magic Word himself. So, while Kiki was running back to the Nome, the Fox stuck his head out of the hollow and said softly: "I want that creature who is running to become a hickory-nut--Pyrzqxgl!"
Instantly the Li-Mon-Eag form of Kiki Aru the Hyup disappeared and a small hickory-nut rolled upon the ground a moment and then lay still.
The Wizard was delighted, and leaped from the hollow just as Ruggedo looked around to see what had become of Kiki. The Nome saw the Fox
but no Kiki, so he hastily rose to his feet. The Wizard did not know how powerful the queer beast might be, so he resolved to take no chances.
"I want this creature to become a walnut--Pyrzqxgl!" he said aloud.
But he did not pronounce the Magic Word in quite the right way, and Ruggedo''s form did not change. But the Nome knew at once that "Pyrzqxgl!" was the Magic Word, so he rushed at the Fox and cried: "I want you to become a Goose--Pyrzqxgl!"
But the Nome did not pronounce the word aright, either, having never heard it spoken but once before, and then with a wrong accent. So the Fox was not transformed, but it had to run away to escape being caught by the angry Nome.
Ruggedo now began pronouncing the Magic Word in every way he could think of, hoping to hit the right one, and the Fox, hiding in a bush, was somewhat troubled by the fear that he might succeed. However, the Wizard, who was used to magic arts, remained calm and soon remembered exactly how Kiki Aru had pronounced the word. So he repeated the sentence he had before uttered and Ruggedo the Nome became an ordinary walnut.
The Wizard now crept out from the bush and said: "I want my own form again--Pyrzqxgl!"
Instantly he was the Wizard of Oz, and after picking up the hickory-nut and the walnut, and carefully placing them in his pocket, he ran back to the big clearing.
Dorothy the Lamb uttered a bleat of delight when she saw her old friend restored to his natural shape. The others were all there, not having found the Goose. The fat Gillikin woman, the Munchkin boy, the Rabbit and the Glass Cat crowded around the Wizard and asked what had happened.
Before he explained anything of his adventure, he transformed them all--except, of course, the Glass Cat--into their natural shapes, and when their joy permitted them to quiet somewhat, he told how he had by chance surprised the Magician''s secret and been able to change the two Li-Mon-Eags into shapes that could not speak, and therefore would be unable to help themselves. And the little Wizard showed his astonished friends the hickory-nut and the walnut to prove that he had spoken the truth.
"But--see here!"--exclaimed Dorothy. "What has become of those Giant Soldiers who used to be monkeys?"
"I forgot all about them!" admitted the Wizard; "but I suppose they are still standing there in the forest."

15. The Lonesome Duck
Trot and Cap''n Bill stood before the Magic Flower, actually rooted to the spot.
"Aren''t you hungry, Cap''n?" asked the little girl, with a long sigh, for she had been standing there for hours and hours.
"Well," replied the sailor-man, "I ain''t sayin'' as I couldn''t EAT, Trot--if a dinner was handy--but I guess old folks don''t get as hungry as young folks do."
"I''m not sure ''bout that, Cap''n Bill," she said thoughtfully. "Age MIGHT make a diff''rence, but seems to me SIZE would make a bigger diff''rence. Seeing you''re twice as big as me, you ought to be twice as hungry."
"I hope I am," he rejoined, "for I can stand it a while longer. I do hope the Glass Cat will hurry, and I hope the Wizard won''t waste time a-comin'' to us."
Trot sighed again and watched the wonderful Magic Flower, because there was nothing else to do. Just now a lovely group of pink peonies budded and bloomed, but soon they faded away, and a mass of deep blue lilies took their place. Then some yellow chrysanthemums blossomed on the plant, and when they had opened all their petals and reached perfection, they gave way to a lot of white floral balls spotted with crimson--a flower Trot had never seen before.
"But I get awful tired watchin'' flowers an'' flowers an'' flowers," she said impatiently.
"They''re might pretty," observed Cap''n Bill.
"I know; and if a person could come and look at the Magic Flower just when she felt like it, it would be a fine thing, but to HAVE TO stand and watch it, whether you want to or not, isn''t so much fun. I wish, Cap''n Bill, the thing would grow fruit for a while instead of flowers."
Scarcely had she spoken when the white balls with crimson spots faded away and a lot of beautiful ripe peaches took their place. With a cry of mingled surprise and delight Trot reached out and plucked a peach from the bush and began to eat it, finding it delicious. Cap''n Bill was somewhat dazed at the girl''s wish being granted so quickly, so before he could pick a peach they had faded away and bananas took their place. "Grab one, Cap''n!" exclaimed Trot, and even while eating the peach she seized a banana with her other hand and tore it from the bush.
The old sailor was still bewildered. He put out a hand indeed, but he was too late, for now the bananas disappeared and lemons took their place. "Pshaw!" cried Trot. "You can''t eat those things; but watch out, Cap''n, for something else."
Cocoanuts next appeared, but Cap''n Bill shook his head. "Ca''n''t crack ''em," he remarked, "''cause we haven''t anything handy to smash ''em with."
"Well, take one, anyhow," advised Trot; but the cocoanuts were gone now, and a deep, purple, pear-shaped fruit which was unknown to themtook their place. Again Cap''n Bill hesitated, and Trot said to him:
"You ought to have captured a peach and a banana, as I did. If you''re not careful, Cap''n, you''ll miss all your chances. Here, I''ll divide my banana with you."
Even as she spoke, the Magic Plant was covered with big red apples, growing on every branch, and Cap''n Bill hesitated no longer. He grabbed with both hands and picked two apples, while Trot had only time to secure one before they were gone.
"It''s curious," remarked the sailor, munching his apple, "how these fruits keep good when you''ve picked ''em, but dis''pear inter thin air if they''re left on the bush."
"The whole thing is curious," declared the girl, "and it couldn''t exist in any country but this, where magic is so common. Those are limes. Don''t pick ''em, for they''d pucker up your mouth and--Ooo! here come plums!" and she tucked her apple in her apron pocket and captured three plums--each one almost as big as an egg--before they disappeared.
Cap''n Bill got some too, but both were too hungry to fast any longer, so they began eating their apples and plums and let the magic bush bear all sorts of fruits, one after another. The Cap''n stopped once to pick a fine cantaloupe, which he held under his arm, and Trot, having finished her plums, got a handful of cherries and an orange; but when almost every sort of fruit had appeared on the bush, the crop ceased and only flowers, as before, bloomed upon it.
"I wonder why it changed back," mused Trot, who was not worried because she had enough fruit to satisfy her hunger.
"Well, you only wished it would bear fruit ''for a while,''" said the sailor, "and it did. P''raps if you''d said ''forever,'' Trot, it would have always been fruit."
"But why should MY wish be obeyed?" asked the girl. "I''m not a fairy or a wizard or any kind of a magic-maker."
"I guess," replied Cap''n Bill, "that this little island is a magic island, and any folks on it can tell the bush what to produce, an'' it''ll produce it."
"Do you think I could wish for anything else, Cap''n and get it?" she inquired anxiously.
"What are you thinkin'' of, Trot?"
"I''m thinking of wishing that these roots on our feet would disappear, and let us free."
"Try it, Trot."
So she tried it, and the wish had no effect whatever.
"Try it yourself, Cap''n," she suggested.
Then Cap''n Bill made the wish to be free, with no better result.
"No," said he, "it''s no use; the wishes only affect the Magic Plant; but I''m glad we can make it bear fruit, ''cause now we know we won''t starve before the Wizard gets to us."
"But I''m gett''n'' tired standing here so long," complained the girl. "If I could only lift one foot, and rest it, I''d feel better."
"Same with me, Trot. I''ve noticed that if you''ve got to do a thing, and can''t help yourself, it gets to be a hardship mighty quick."
"Folks that can raise their feet don''t appreciate what a blessing it is," said Trot thoughtfully. "I never knew before what fun it is to raise one foot, an'' then another, any time you feel like it."
"There''s lots o'' things folks don''t ''preciate," replied the sailor-man. "If somethin'' would ''most stop your breath, you''d think breathin'' easy was the finest thing in life. When a person''s well, he don''t realize how jolly it is, but when he gets sick he ''members the time he was well, an'' wishes that time would come back. Most folks forget to thank God for givin'' ''em two good legs, till they lose one o'' ''em, like I did; and then it''s too late, ''cept to praise God for leavin'' one."
"Your wooden leg ain''t so bad, Cap''n," she remarked, looking at it critically. "Anyhow, it don''t take root on a Magic Island, like our meat legs do."
"I ain''t complainin''," said Cap''n Bill. "What''s that swimmin'' towards us, Trot?" he added, looking over the Magic Flower and across the water.
The girl looked, too, and then she replied.
"It''s a bird of some sort. It''s like a duck, only I never saw a duck have so many colors."
The bird swam swiftly and gracefully toward the Magic Isle, and as it drew nearer its gorgeously colored plumage astonished them. The feathers were of many hues of glistening greens and blues and purples, and it had a yellow head with a red plume, and pink, white and violet in its tail. When it reached the Isle, it came ashore and approached them, waddling slowly and turning its head first to one side and then to the other, so as to see the girl and the sailor better.
"You''re strangers," said the bird, coming to a halt near them, "and you''ve been caught by the Magic Isle and made prisoners."
"Yes," returned Trot, with a sigh; "we''re rooted. But I hope we won''t grow."
"You''ll grow small," said the Bird. "You''ll keep growing smaller every day, until bye and bye there''ll be nothing left of you. That''s the usual way, on this Magic Isle."
"How do you know about it, and who are you, anyhow?" asked Cap''n Bill.
"I''m the Lonesome Duck," replied the bird. "I suppose you''ve heard of me?"
"No," said Trot, "I can''t say I have. What makes you lonesome?"
"Why, I haven''t any family or any relations," returned the Duck.
"Haven''t you any friends?"
"Not a friend. And I''ve nothing to do. I''ve lived a long time, and I''ve got to live forever, because I belong in the Land of Oz, where no living thing dies. Think of existing year after year, with no friends, no family, and nothing to do! Can you wonder I''m lonesome?"
"Why don''t you make a few friends, and find something to do?" inquired Cap''n Bill.
"I can''t make friends because everyone I meet--bird, beast, or person--is disagreeable to me. In a few minutes I shall be unable to ear your society longer, and then I''ll go away and leave you, said he Lonesome Duck. "And, as for doing anything, there''s no use in it.
All I meet are doing something, so I have decided it''s common and ninteresting and I prefer to remain lonesome."
"Don''t you have to hunt for your food?" asked Trot.
"No. In my diamond palace, a little way up the river, food is magically supplied me; but I seldom eat, because it is so common."
"You must be a Magician Duck," remarked Cap''n Bill.
"Why so?"
"Well, ordinary ducks don''t have diamond palaces an'' magic food, like you do."
"True; and that''s another reason why I''m lonesome. You must remember I''m the only Duck in the Land of Oz, and I''m not like any other duck in the outside world."
"Seems to me you LIKE bein'' lonesome," observed Cap''n Bill.
"I can''t say I like it, exactly," replied the Duck, "but since it seems to be my fate, I''m rather proud of it."
"How do you s''pose a single, solitary Duck happened to be in the Land of Oz?" asked Trot, wonderingly.
"I used to know the reason, many years ago, but I''ve quite forgotten it," declared the Duck. "The reason for a thing is never so important as the thing itself, so there''s no use remembering anything but the fact that I''m lonesome."
"I guess you''d be happier if you tried to do something," asserted Trot. "If you can''t do anything for yourself, you can do things for others, and then you''d get lots of friends and stop being lonesome."
"Now you''re getting disagreeable," said the Lonesome Duck, "and I shall have to go and leave you."
"Can''t you help us any," pleaded the girl. "If there''s anything magic about you, you might get us out of this scrape."
"I haven''t any magic strong enough to get you off the Magic Isle," replied the Lonesome Duck. "What magic I possess is very simple, but I find it enough for my own needs."
"If we could only sit down a while, we could stand it better," said Trot, "but we have nothing to sit on."
"Then you will have to stand it," said the Lonesome Duck.
"P''raps you''ve enough magic to give us a couple of stools," suggested Cap''n Bill.
"A duck isn''t supposed to know what stools are," was the reply.
"But you''re diff''rent from all other ducks."
"That is true." The strange creature seemed to reflect for a moment, looking at them sharply from its round black eyes. Then it said: "Sometimes, when the sun is hot, I grow a toadstool to shelter me from its rays. Perhaps you could sit on toadstools."
"Well, if they were strong enough, they''d do," answered Cap''n Bill.
"Then, before I do I''ll give you a couple," said the Lonesome Duck, and began waddling about in a small circle. It went around the circle to the right three times, and then it went around to the left three times. Then it hopped backward three times and forward three times.
"What are you doing?" asked Trot.
"Don''t interrupt. This is an incantation," replied the Lonesome Duck, but now it began making a succession of soft noises that sounded like quacks and seemed to mean nothing at all. And it kept up these sounds so long that Trot finally exclaimed: "Can''t you hurry up and finish that ''cantation? If it takes all summer to make a couple of toadstools, you''re not much of a magician."
"I told you not to interrupt," said the Lonesome Duck, sternly.
"If you get TOO disagreeable, you''ll drive me away before I finish this incantation."
Trot kept quiet, after the rebuke, and the Duck resumed the quacky muttering. Cap''n Bill chuckled a little to himself and remarked to Trot in a whisper: "For a bird that ain''t got anything to do, this Lonesome Duck is makin'' consider''ble fuss. An'' I ain''t sure, after all, as toadstools would be worth sittin'' on."
Even as he spoke, the sailor-man felt something touch him from behind and, turning his head, he found a big toadstool in just the right place and of just the right size to sit upon. There was one behind Trot, too, and with a cry of pleasure the little girl sank back upon it and found it a very comfortable seat--solid, yet almost like a cushion. Even Cap''n Bill''s weight did not break his toadstool down, and when both were seated, they found that the Lonesome Duck had waddled away and was now at the water''s edge.
"Thank you, ever so much!" cried Trot, and the sailor called out:
"Much obliged!"
But the Lonesome Duck paid no attention. Without even looking in their direction again, the gaudy fowl entered the water and swam gracefully away.

16. The Glass Cat Finds the Black Bag
When the six monkeys were transformed by Kiki Aru into six giant soldiers fifty feet tall, their heads came above the top of the trees, which in this part of the forest were not so high as in some other parts; and, although the trees were somewhat scattered, the bodies of the giant soldiers were so big that they quite filled the spaces in which they stood and the branches pressed them on every side.
Of course, Kiki was foolish to have made his soldiers so big, for now they could not get out of the forest. Indeed, they could not stir a step, but were imprisoned by the trees. Even had they been in the little clearing they could not have made their way out of it, but they were a little beyond the clearing. At first, the other monkeys who had not been enchanted were afraid of the soldiers, and hastily quitted the place; but soon finding that the great men stood stock still, although grunting indignantly at their transformation, the band of monkeys returned to the spot and looked at them curiously, not
guessing that they were really monkeys and their own friends.
The soldiers couldn''t see them, their heads being above the trees; they could not even raise their arms or draw their sharp swords, so closely were they held by the leafy branches. So the monkeys, finding the giants helpless, began climbing up their bodies, and presently all the band were perched on the shoulders of the giants and peering into their faces.
"I''m Ebu, your father," cried one soldier to a monkey who had perched upon his left ear, "but some cruel person has enchanted me."
"I''m your Uncle Peeker," said another soldier to another monkey. So, very soon all the monkeys knew the truth and were sorry for their friends and relations and angry at the person--whoever it was--who had transformed them. There was a great chattering among the tree-tops, and the noise attracted other monkeys, so that the clearing and all the trees around were full of them.
Rango the Gray Ape, who was the Chief of all the monkey tribes of the forest, heard the uproar and came to see what was wrong with his people. And Rango, being wiser and more experienced, at once knew that the strange magician who looked like a mixed-up beast was responsible for the transformations. He realized that the six giant soldiers were helpless prisoners, because of their size, and knew he was powerless to release them. So, although he feared to meet the terrible magician, he hurried away to the Great Clearing to tell Gugu the King what had happened and to try to find the Wizard of Oz and get him to save his six enchanted subjects.
Rango darted into the Great Clearing just as the Wizard had restored all the enchanted ones around him to their proper shapes, and the Gray Ape was glad to hear that the wicked magician-beast had been conquered
.
"But now, O mighty Wizard, you must come with me to where six of my people are transformed into six great giant men," he said, "for if they are allowed to remain there, their happiness and their future lives will be ruined."
The Wizard did not reply at once, for he was thinking this a good opportunity to win Rango''s consent to his taking some monkeys to the Emerald City for Ozma''s birthday cake.
"It is a great thing you ask of me, O Rango the Gray Ape," said he, "for the bigger the giants are the more powerful their enchantment, and the more difficult it will be to restore them to their natural forms. However, I will think it over."
Then the Wizard went to another part of the clearing and sat on a log and appeared to be in deep thought.
The Glass Cat had been greatly interested in the Gray Ape''s story and was curious to see what the giant soldiers looked like. Hearing that their heads extended above the tree-tops, the Glass Cat decided that if it climbed the tall avocado tree that stood at the side of the clearing, it might be able to see the giants'' heads. So, without mentioning her errand, the crystal creature went to the tree and, by sticking her sharp glass claws in the bark, easily climbed the tree to its very top and, looking over the forest, saw the six giant heads,
although they were now a long way off. It was, indeed, a remarkable sight, for the huge heads had immense soldier caps on them, with red and yellow plumes and looked very fierce and terrible, although the monkey hearts of the giants were at that moment filled with fear.
Having satisfied her curiosity, the Glass Cat began to climb down from the tree more slowly. Suddenly she discerned the Wizard''s black bag hanging from a limb of the tree. She grasped the black bag in her glass teeth, and although it was rather heavy for so small an animal, managed to get it free and to carry it safely down to the ground.
Then she looked around for the Wizard and seeing him seated upon the stump she hid the black bag among some leaves and then went over to where the Wizard sat.
"I forgot to tell you," said the Glass Cat, "that Trot and Cap''n Bill are in trouble, and I came here to hunt you up and get you to go and rescue them."
"Good gracious, Cat! Why didn''t you tell me before?" exclaimed the Wizard.
"For the reason that I found so much excitement here that I forgot Trot and Cap''n Bill."
"What''s wrong with them?" asked the Wizard.
Then the Glass Cat explained how they had gone to get the Magic Flower for Ozma''s birthday gift and had been trapped by the magic of the queer island. The Wizard was really alarmed, but he shook his head and said sadly:
"I''m afraid I can''t help my dear friends, because I''ve lost my black bag."
"If I find it, will you go to them?" asked the creature.
"Of course," replied the Wizard. "But I do not think that a Glass Cat with nothing but pink brains can succeed when all the rest of us have failed."
"Don''t you admire my pink brains?" demanded the Cat.
"They''re pretty," admitted the Wizard, "but they''re not regular brains, you know, and so we don''t expect them to amount to much."
"But if I find your black bag--and find it inside of five minutes--will you admit my pink brains are better than your common human brains?"
"Well, I''ll admit they''re better HUNTERS," said the Wizard, reluctantly, "but you can''t do it. We''ve searched everywhere, and the black bag isn''t to be found."
"That shows how much you know!" retorted the Glass Cat, scornfully.
"Watch my brains a minute, and see them whirl around."
The Wizard watched, for he was anxious to regain his black bag, and the pink brains really did whirl around in a remarkable manner.
"Now, come with me," commanded the Glass Cat, and led the Wizard straight to the spot where it had covered the bag with leaves.
"According to my brains," said the creature, "your black bag ought to be here."
Then it scratched at the leaves and uncovered the bag, which the Wizard promptly seized with a cry of delight. Now that he had regained his Magic Tools, he felt confident he could rescue Trot and Cap''n Bill.
Rango the Gray Ape was getting impatient. He now approached the Wizard and said:
"Well, what do you intend to do about those poor enchanted monkeys?"
"I''ll make a bargain with you, Rango," replied the little man. "If you will let me take a dozen of your monkeys to the Emerald City, and keep them until after Ozma''s birthday, I''ll break the enchantment of the six Giant Soldiers and return them to their natural forms."
But the Gray Ape shook his head.
"I can''t do it," he declared. "The monkeys would be very lonesome and unhappy in the Emerald City and your people would tease them and throw stones at them, which would cause them to fight and bite."
"The people won''t see them till Ozma''s birthday dinner," promised the Wizard. "I''ll make them very small--about four inches high, and I''ll keep them in a pretty cage in my own room, where they will be safe from harm. I''ll feed them the nicest kind of food, train them to do some clever tricks, and on Ozma''s birthday I''ll hide the twelve little monkeys inside a cake. When Ozma cuts the cake the monkeys will jump out on to the table and do their tricks. The next day I will bring them back to the forest and make them big as ever, and they''ll have some exciting stories to tell their friends. What do you say, Rango?"
"I say no!" answered the Gray Ape. "I won''t have my monkeys enchanted and made to do tricks for the Oz people."
"Very well," said the Wizard calmly; "then I''ll go. Come, Dorothy," he called to the little girl, "let''s start on our journey."
"Aren''t you going to save those six monkeys who are giant soldiers?" asked Rango, anxiously.
"Why should I?" returned the Wizard. "If you will not do me the favor I ask, you cannot expect me to favor you."
"Wait a minute," said the Gray Ape. "I''ve changed my mind. If you will treat the twelve monkeys nicely and bring them safely back to the forest, I''ll let you take them."
"Thank you," replied the Wizard, cheerfully. "We''ll go at once and save those giant soldiers."
So all the party left the clearing and proceeded to the place where the giants still stood among the trees. Hundreds of monkeys, apes, baboons and orangoutangs had gathered round, and their wild chatter could be heard a mile away. But the Gray Ape soon hushed the babel of sounds, and the Wizard lost no time in breaking the enchantments.
First one and then another giant soldier disappeared and became an ordinary monkey again, and the six were shortly returned to their friends in their proper forms.
This action made the Wizard very popular with the great army of monkeys, and when the Gray Ape announced that the Wizard wanted to borrow twelve monkeys to take to the Emerald City for a couple of weeks, and asked for volunteers, nearly a hundred offered to go, so great was their confidence in the little man who had saved their comrades.
The Wizard selected a dozen that seemed intelligent and good-tempered, and then he opened his black bag and took out a queerly shaped dish that was silver on the outside and gold on the inside.
Into this dish he poured a powder and set fire to it. It made a thick smoke that quite enveloped the twelve monkeys, as well as the form of the Wizard, but when the smoke cleared away the dish had been changed to a golden cage with silver bars, and the twelve monkeys had become about three inches high and were all seated comfortably inside the cage.
The thousands of hairy animals who had witnessed this act of magic were much astonished and applauded the Wizard by barking aloud and shaking the limbs of the trees in which they sat. Dorothy said: "That was a fine trick, Wizard!" and the Gray Ape remarked: "You are certainly the most wonderful magician in all the Land of Oz!"
"Oh, no," modestly replied the little man. "Glinda''s magic is better than mine, but mine seems good enough to use on ordinary occasions. And now, Rango, we will say good-bye, and I promise to return your monkeys as happy and safe as they are now."
The Wizard rode on the back of the Hungry Tiger and carried the cage of monkeys very carefully, so as not to joggle them. Dorothy rode on the back of the Cowardly Lion, and the Glass Cat trotted, as before, to show them the way.
Gugu the King crouched upon a log and watched them go, but as he bade them farewell, the enormous Leopard said:
"I know now that you are the friends of beasts and that the forest people may trust you. Whenever the Wizard of Oz and Princess Dorothy enter the Forest of Gugu hearafter, they will be as welcome and as safe with us as ever they are in the Emerald City."

17. A Remarkable Journey
"You see," explained the Glass Cat, "that Magic Isle where Trot and Cap''n Bill are stuck is also in this Gillikin Country--over at the east side of it, and it''s no farther to go across-lots from here than it is from here to the Emerald City. So we''ll save time by cutting across the mountains."
"Are you sure you know the way?" asked Dorothy.
"I know all the Land of Oz better than any other living creature knows it," asserted the Glass Cat.
"Go ahead, then, and guide us," said the Wizard. "We''ve left our poor friends helpless too long already, and the sooner we rescue them the happier they''ll be."
"Are you sure you can get ''em out of their fix?" the little girl inquired.
"I''ve no doubt of it," the Wizard assured her. "But I can''t tell what sort of magic I must use until I get to the place and discover just how they are enchanted."
"I''ve heard of that Magic Isle where the Wonderful Flower grows," remarked the Cowardly Lion. "Long ago, when I used to live in the forests, the beasts told stories about the Isle and how the Magic Flower was placed there to entrap strangers--men or beasts."
"Is the Flower really wonderful?" questioned Dorothy.
"I have heard it is the most beautiful plant in the world," answered the Lion. "I have never seen it myself, but friendly beasts have told me that they have stood on the shore of the river and looked across at the plant in the gold flower-pot and seen hundreds of flowers, of all sorts and sizes, blossom upon it in quick succession. It is said that if one picks the flowers while they are in bloom they will remain perfect for a long time, but if they are not picked they soon disappear and are replaced by other flowers. That, in my opinion, make the Magic Plant the most wonderful in existence."
"But these are only stories," said the girl. "Has any of your friends ever picked a flower from the wonderful plant?"
"No," admitted the Cowardly Lion, "for if any living thing ventures upon the Magic Isle, where the golden flower-pot stands, that man or beast takes root in the soil and cannot get away again."
"What happens to them, then?" asked Dorothy.
"They grow smaller, hour by hour and day by day, and finally disappear entirely."
"Then," said the girl anxiously, "we must hurry up, or Cap''n Bill an'' Trot will get too small to be comf''table."
They were proceeding at a rapid pace during this conversation, for the Hungry Tiger and the Cowardly Lion were obliged to move swiftly in order to keep pace with the Glass Cat. After leaving the Forest of Gugu they crossed a mountain range, and then a broad plain, after which they reached another forest, much smaller than that where Gugu ruled.
"The Magic Isle is in this forest," said the Glass Cat, "but the river is at the other side of the forest. There is no path through the trees, but if we keep going east, we will find the river, and then it will be easy to find the Magic Isle."
"Have you ever traveled this way before?" inquired the Wizard.
"Not exactly," admitted the Cat, "but I know we shall reach the river if we go east through the forest."
"Lead on, then," said the Wizard.
The Glass Cat started away, and at first it was easy to pass between the trees; but before long the underbrush and vines became thick and tangled, and after pushing their way through these obstacles for a time, our travelers came to a place where even the Glass Cat could not push through.
"We''d better go back and find a path," suggested the Hungry Tiger.
"I''m s''prised at you," said Dorothy, eyeing the Glass Cat severely.
"I''m surprised, myself," replied the Cat. "But it''s a long way around the forest to where the river enters it, and I thought we could save time by going straight through."
"No one can blame you," said the Wizard, "and I think, instead of turning back, I can make a path that will allow us to proceed."
He opened his black bag and after searching among his magic tools drew out a small axe, made of some metal so highly polished that it glittered brightly even in the dark forest. The Wizard laid the little axe on the ground and said in a commanding voice:
"Chop, Little Axe, chop clean and true;
A path for our feet you must quickly hew.
Chop till this tangle of jungle is passed;
Chop to the east, Little Axe--chop fast!"
Then the little axe began to move and flashed its bright blade right and left, clearing a way through vine and brush and scattering the tangled barrier so quickly that the Lion and the Tiger, carrying Dorothy and the Wizard and the cage of monkeys on their backs, were able to stride through the forest at a fast walk. The brush seemed to melt away before them and the little axe chopped so fast that their eyes only saw a twinkling of the blade. Then, suddenly, the forest was open again, and the little axe, having obeyed its orders, lay still upon the ground.
The Wizard picked up the magic axe and after carefully wiping it with his silk handkerchief put it away in his black bag. Then they went on and in a short time reached the river.
"Let me see," said the Glass Cat, looking up and down the stream, "I think we are below the Magic Isle; so we must go up the stream until we come to it."
So up the stream they traveled, walking comfortably on the river bank, and after a while the water broadened and a sharp bend appeared in the river, hiding all below from their view. They walked briskly along, however, and had nearly reached the bend when a voice cried warningly: "Look out!"
The travelers halted abruptly and the Wizard said: "Look out for what?"
"You almost stepped on my Diamond Palace," replied the voice, and a duck with gorgeously colored feathers appeared before them. "Beasts and men are terribly clumsy," continued the Duck in an irritated tone, "and you''ve no business on this side of the River, anyway. What are you doing here?"
"We''ve come to rescue some friends of ours who are stuck fast on the Magic Isle in this river," explained Dorothy.
"I know ''em," said the Duck. "I''ve been to see ''em, and they''re stuck fast, all right. You may as well go back home, for no power can save them."
"This is the Wonderful Wizard of Oz," said Dorothy, pointing to the little man.
"Well, I''m the Lonesome Duck," was the reply, as the fowl strutted up and down to show its feathers to best advantage. "I''m the great Forest Magician, as any beast can tell you, but even I have no powerto destroy the dreadful charm of the Magic Isle."
"Are you lonesome because you''re a magician?" inquired Dorothy.
"No; I''m lonesome because I have no family and no friends. But I like to be lonesome, so please don''t offer to be friendly with me. Go away, and try not to step on my Diamond Palace."
"Where is it?" asked the girl.
"Behind this bush."
Dorothy hopped off the lion''s back and ran around the bush to see the Diamond Palace of the Lonesome Duck, although the gaudy fowl protested in a series of low quacks. The girl found, indeed, a glistening dome formed of clearest diamonds, neatly cemented together, with a doorway at the side just big enough to admit the duck.
"Where did you find so many diamonds?" asked Dorothy, wonderingly.
"I know a place in the mountains where they are thick as pebbles," said the Lonesome Duck, "and I brought them here in my bill, one by one and put them in the river and let the water run over them until they were brightly polished. Then I built this palace, and I''m positive it''s the only Diamond Palace in all the world."
"It''s the only one I know of," said the little girl; "but if you live in it all alone, I don''t see why it''s any better than a wooden palace, or one of bricks or cobble-stones."
"You''re not supposed to understand that," retorted the Lonesome Duck. "But I might tell you, as a matter of education, that a home of any sort should be beautiful to those who live in it, and should not be intended to please strangers. The Diamond Palace is my home, and I like it. So I don''t care a quack whether YOU like it or not."
"Oh, but I do!" exclaimed Dorothy. "It''s lovely on the outside, but--" Then she stopped speaking, for the Lonesome Duck had entered his palace through the little door without even saying good-bye. So Dorothy returned to her friends and they resumed their journey.
"Do you think, Wizard, the Duck was right in saying no magic can rescue Trot and Cap''n Bill?" asked the girl in a worried tone of voice. "No, I don''t think the Lonesome Duck was right in saying that," answered the Wizard, gravely, "but it is possible that their enchantment will be harder to overcome than I expected. I''ll do my best, of course, and no one can do more than his best."
That didn''t entirely relieve Dorothy''s anxiety, but she said nothing more, and soon, on turning the bend in the river, they came in sight of the Magic Isle.
"There they are!" exclaimed Dorothy eagerly.
"Yes, I see them," replied the Wizard, nodding. "They are sitting on two big toadstools."
"That''s queer," remarked the Glass Cat. "There were no toadstools there when I left them."
"What a lovely flower!" cried Dorothy in rapture, as her gaze fell on the Magic Plant.
"Never mind the Flower, just now," advised the Wizard. "The most important thing is to rescue our friends."
By this time they had arrived at a place just opposite the Magic Isle, and now both Trot and Cap''n Bill saw the arrival of their friends and called to them for help.
"How are you?" shouted the Wizard, putting his hands to his mouth so they could hear him better across the water.
"We''re in hard luck," shouted Cap''n Bill, in reply. "We''re anchored here and can''t move till you find a way to cut the hawser."
"What does he mean by that?" asked Dorothy.
"We can''t move our feet a bit!" called Trot, speaking as loud as she could.
"Why not?" inquired Dorothy.
"They''ve got roots on ''em," explained Trot.
It was hard to talk from so great a distance, so the Wizard said to the Glass Cat:
"Go to the island and tell our friends to be patient, for we have come to save them. It may take a little time to release them, for the Magic of the Isle is new to me and I shall have to experiment. But tell them I''ll hurry as fast as I can."
So the Glass Cat walked across the river under the water to tell Trot and Cap''n Bill not to worry, and the Wizard at once opened his black bag and began to make his preparations.

18. The Magic of the Wizard
He first set up a small silver tripod and placed a gold basin at the top of it. Into this basin he put two powders--a pink one and a sky-blue one--and poured over them a yellow liquid from a crystal vial. Then he mumbled some magic words, and the powders began to sizzle and burn and send out a cloud of violet smoke that floated across the river and completely enveloped both Trot and Cap''n Bill, as well as the toadstools on which they sat, and even the Magic Plant in the gold flower-pot. Then, after the smoke had disappeared into air, the Wizard called out to the prisoners:
"Are you free?"
Both Trot and Cap''n Bill tried to move their feet and failed.
"No!" they shouted in answer.
The Wizard rubbed his bald head thoughtfully and then took some other magic tools from the bag.
First he placed a little black ball in a silver pistol and shot it toward the Magic Isle. The ball exploded just over the head of Trot and scattered a thousand sparks over the little girl.
"Oh!" said the Wizard, "I guess that will set her free."
But Trot''s feet were still rooted in the ground of the Magic Isle, and the disappointed Wizard had to try something else.
For almost an hour he worked hard, using almost every magic tool in his black bag, and still Cap''n Bill and Trot were not rescued.
"Dear me!" exclaimed Dorothy, "I''m ''fraid we''ll have to go to Glinda, after all."
That made the little Wizard blush, for it shamed him to think that his magic was not equal to that of the Magic Isle.
"I won''t give up yet, Dorothy," he said, "for I know a lot of wizardry that I haven''t yet tried. I don''t know what magician enchanted this little island, or what his powers were, but I DO know that I can break any enchantment known to the ordinary witches and magicians that used to inhabit the Land of Oz. It''s like unlocking a door; all you need is to find the right key."
"But ''spose you haven''t the right key with you." suggested Dorothy; "what then?"
"Then we''ll have to make the key," he answered.
The Glass Cat now came back to their side of the river, walking under the water, and said to the Wizard: "They''re getting frightened over there on the island because they''re both growing smaller every minute. Just now, when I left them, both Trot and Cap''n Bill were only about half their natural sizes."
"I think," said the Wizard reflectively, "that I''d better go to the shore of the island, where I can talk to them and work to better advantage. How did Trot and Cap''n Bill get to the island?"
"On a raft," answered the Glass Cat. "It''s over there now on the beach."
"I suppose you''re not strong enough to bring the raft to this side, are you?"
"No; I couldn''t move it an inch," said the Cat.
"I''ll try to get it for you," volunteered the Cowardly Lion. "I''m dreadfully scared for fear the Magic Isle will capture me, too; but I''ll try to get the raft and bring it to this side for you."
"Thank you, my friend," said the Wizard.
So the Lion plunged into the river and swam with powerful strokes across to where the raft was beached upon the island. Placing one paw on the raft, he turned and struck out with his other three legs and so strong was the great beast that he managed to drag the raft from off the beach and propel it slowly to where the Wizard stood on the river bank.
"Good!" exclaimed the little man, well pleased.
"May I go across with you?" asked Dorothy.
The Wizard hesitated.
"If you''ll take care not to leave the raft or step foot on the island, you''ll be quite safe," he decided. So the Wizard told the Hungry Tiger and the Cowardly Lion to guard the cage of monkeys until he returned, and then he and Dorothy got upon the raft. The paddle which Cap''n Bill had made was still there, so the little Wizard paddled the clumsy raft across the water and ran it upon the beach of the Magic Isle as close to the place where Cap''n Bill and Trot were rooted as he could.
Dorothy was shocked to see how small the prisoners had become, and Trot said to her friends: "If you can''t save us soon, there''ll be nothing left of us."
"Be patient, my dear," counseled the Wizard, and took the little axe from his black bag.
"What are you going to do with that?" asked Cap''n Bill.
"It''s a magic axe," replied the Wizard, "and when I tell it to chop, it will chop those roots from your feet and you can run to the raft before they grow again."
"Don''t!" shouted the sailor in alarm. "Don''t do it! Those roots are all flesh roots, and our bodies are feeding ''em while they''re growing into the ground."
"To cut off the roots," said Trot, "would be like cutting off our fingers and toes."
The Wizard put the little axe back in the black bag and took out a pair of silver pincers.
"Grow--grow--grow!" he said to the pincers, and at once they grew and extended until they reached from the raft to the prisoners.
"What are you going to do now?" demanded Cap''n Bill, fearfully eyeing the pincers.
"This magic tool will pull you up, roots and all, and land you on this raft," declared the Wizard.
"Don''t do it!" pleaded the sailor, with a shudder. "It would hurt us awfully."
"It would be just like pulling teeth to pull us up by the roots," explained Trot.
"Grow small!" said the Wizard to the pincers, and at once they became small and he threw them into the black bag.
"I guess, friends, it''s all up with us, this time," remarked Cap''n Bill, with a dismal sigh.
"Please tell Ozma, Dorothy," said Trot, "that we got into trouble trying to get her a nice birthday present. Then she''ll forgive us.The Magic Flower is lovely and wonderful, but it''s just a lure to catch folks on this dreadful island and then destroy them. You''ll have a nice birthday party, without us, I''m sure; and I hope, Dorothy, that none of you in the Emerald City will forget me--or dear ol'' Cap''n Bill."

19. Dorothy and the Bumble Bees
Dorothy was greatly distressed and had hard work to keep the tears from her eyes.
"Is that all you can do, Wizard?" she asked the little man.
"It''s all I can think of just now," he replied sadly. "But I intend to keep on thinking as long--as long--well, as long as thinking will do any good."
They were all silent for a time, Dorothy and the Wizard sitting thoughtfully on the raft, and Trot and Cap''n Bill sitting thoughtfully on the toadstools and growing gradually smaller and smaller in size.
Suddenly Dorothy said: "Wizard, I''ve thought of something!"
"What have you thought of?" he asked, looking at the little girl with interest.
"Can you remember the Magic Word that transforms people?" she asked.
"Of course," said he.
"Then you can transform Trot and Cap''n Bill into birds or bumblebees, and they can fly away to the other shore. When they''re there, you can transform ''em into their reg''lar shapes again!"
"Can you do that, Wizard?" asked Cap''n Bill, eagerly.
"I think so."
"Roots an'' all?" inquired Trot.
"Why, the roots are now a part of you, and if you were transformed to a bumblebee the whole of you would be transformed, of course, and you''d be free of this awful island."
"All right; do it!" cried the sailor-man. So the Wizard said slowly and distinctly:
"I want Trot and Cap''n Bill to become bumblebees--Pyrzqxgl!"
Fortunately, he pronounced the Magic Word in the right way, and instantly Trot and Cap''n Bill vanished from view, and up from the places where they had been flew two bumblebees.
"Hooray!" shouted Dorothy in delight; "they''re saved!"
"I guess they are," agreed the Wizard, equally delighted.
The bees hovered over the raft an instant and then flew across the river to where the Lion and the Tiger waited. The Wizard picked up the paddle and paddled the raft across as fast as he could. When it reached the river bank, both Dorothy and the Wizard leaped ashore andthe little man asked excitedly:
"Where are the bees?"
"The bees?" inquired the Lion, who was half asleep and did not know what had happened on the Magic Isle.
"Yes; there were two of them."
"Two bees?" said the Hungry Tiger, yawning. "Why, I ate one of them and the Cowardly Lion ate the other."
"Goodness gracious!" cried Dorothy horrified.
"It was little enough for our lunch," remarked the Tiger, "but the bees were the only things we could find."
"How dreadful!" wailed Dorothy, wringing her hands in despair.
"You''ve eaten Trot and Cap''n Bill."
But just then she heard a buzzing overhead and two bees alighted on her shoulder.
"Here we are," said a small voice in her ear. "I''m Trot, Dorothy."
"And I''m Cap''n Bill," said the other bee.
Dorothy almost fainted, with relief, and the Wizard, who was close by and had heard the tiny voices, gave a laugh and said:
"You are not the only two bees in the forest, it seems, but I advise you to keep away from the Lion and the Tiger until you regain your proper forms.â?
"Do it now, Wizard!" advised Dorothy. "They''re so small that you never can tell what might happen to ''em."
So the Wizard gave the command and pronounced the Magic Word, and in the instant Trot and Cap''n Bill stood beside them as natural as before they had met their fearful adventure. For they were no longer small in size, because the Wizard had transformed them from bumblebees into the shapes and sizes that nature had formerly given them. The ugly roots on their feet had disappeared with the transformation.
While Dorothy was hugging Trot, and Trot was softly crying because she was so happy, the Wizard shook hands with Cap''n Bill and congratulated him on his escape. The old sailor-man was so pleased that he also shook the Lion''s paw and took off his hat and bowed politely to the cage of monkeys.
Then Cap''n Bill did a curious thing. He went to a big tree and, taking out his knife, cut away a big, broad piece of thick bark. Then he sat down on the ground and after taking a roll of stout cord from his pocket--which seemed to be full of all sorts of thingsâ?"he proceeded to bind the flat piece of bark to the bottom of his good foot, over the leather sole.
"What''s that for?" inquired the Wizard.
"I hate to be stumped," replied the sailor-man; "so I''m goin'' back to that island."
"And get enchanted again?" exclaimed Trot, with evident disapproval.
"No; this time I''ll dodge the magic of the island. I noticed that my wooden leg didn''t get stuck, or take root, an'' neither did the glass feet of the Glass Cat. It''s only a thing that''s made of meat--like man an'' beasts--that the magic can hold an'' root to the ground. Our shoes are leather, an'' leather comes from a beast''s hide. Our stockin''s are wool, an'' wool comes from a sheep''s back. So, when we walked on the Magic Isle, our feet took root there an'' held us fast. But not my wooden leg. So now I''ll put a wooden bottom on my other foot an'' the magic can''t stop me."
"But why do you wish to go back to the island?" asked Dorothy.
"Didn''t you see the Magic Flower in the gold flower-pot?" returned Cap''n Bill.
"Of course I saw it, and it''s lovely and wonderful."
"Well, Trot an'' I set out to get the magic plant for a present to Ozma on her birthday, and I mean to get it an'' take it back with us to the Emerald City."
"That would be fine," cried Trot eagerly, "if you think you can do it, and it would be safe to try!"
"I''m pretty sure it is safe, the way I''ve fixed my foot," said the sailor, "an'' if I SHOULD happen to get caught, I s''pose the Wizard could save me again."
"I suppose I could," agreed the Wizard. "Anyhow, if you wish to try it, Cap''n Bill, go ahead and we''ll stand by and watch what happens."
So the sailor-man got upon the raft again and paddled over to the Magic Isle, landing as close to the golden flower-pot as he could.
They watched him walk across the land, put both arms around the flower-pot and lift it easily from its place. Then he carried it to the raft and set it down very gently. The removal did not seem to affect the Magic Flower in any way, for it was growing daffodils when Cap''n Bill picked it up and on the way to the raft it grew tulips and gladioli. During the time the sailor was paddling across the river to where his friends awaited him, seven different varieties of flowers bloomed in succession on the plant.
"I guess the Magician who put it on the island never thought that any one would carry it off," said Dorothy.
"He figured that only men would want the plant, and any man who went upon the island to get it would be caught by the enchantment," added the Wizard.
"After this," remarked Trot, "no one will care to go on the island, so it won''t be a trap any more."
"There," exclaimed Cap''n Bill, setting down the Magic Plant in triumph upon the river bank, "if Ozma gets a better birthday present than that, I''d like to know what it can be!"
"It''ll s''prise her, all right," declared Dorothy, standing in awed wonder before the gorgeous blossoms and watching them change from yellow roses to violets.
"It''ll s''prise ev''rybody in the Em''rald City," Trot asserted in glee, "and it''ll be Ozma''s present from Cap''n Bill and me."
"I think I ought to have a little cre***," objected the Glass Cat.
"I discovered the thing, and led you to it, and brought the Wizard here to save you when you got caught."
"That''s true," admitted Trot, "and I''ll tell Ozma the whole story, so she''ll know how good you''ve been."