Oz 17: The Cowardly Lion of Oz by Ruth Plumly Thompson
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a brave man ? " he asked in aquavering voice .

" not very," chattered the huntsman, jumping up and backing cautiously toward a tree .

" well, you don't sound brave," continued the lion in a relieved voice ."A brave man would_not call for help . let go of_my tail, little boy . it's all a mistake .I don't want this huntsman after all ."

" he's not a huntsman," wailed the little boy, running over and clasping the man around the knees .

" not a huntsman ? " roared the cowardly lion, waving his tail very fast ." then what-"

"I'm a clown, you rude monster," spluttered the man indignantly .

a clown ! well, i_should say- and none other_than our old friend Notta bit more .Snatching off his hat and false whiskers, he swung Bob up into a tree and nimbly followed himself . when_they were both seated on a branch, far above the ground, he looked anxiously through_the leaves to_see what the lion would do next ." never saw such a country for lions ! " he puffed resentfully . the lion, with one paw shading his eyes, was looking up at them ." are_you afraid ? " he_called pleasantly ." are_you afraid ? well, don't be, for being a coward myself makes me very sympathetic ." at_the word coward Notta almost fell from_the tree .

"Bob," whispered the clown hoarsely, " it's the cowardly lion himself ! now we mustn't let him know we're going to capture him ."

" he's a very bad lion," interrupted Bob up tearfully ." he tried to bite you ! "

" what say ? " called the lion, who_could only hear an indistinct muttering .

" he_says you_are a very bad lion," repeated Notta, looking seriously at_the great creature below ." he's right," sighed the lion dolefully ." I_am a bad lion .a good lion would_have eaten you up by_this_time, but a bad lion often makes a good friend . come on down . it_was all a mistake ."

" are_you a friend of Dorothy's ? " asked Bob, leaning far out over the branch . at mention of Dorothy, the cowardly lion gave a guilty little jump .

" well, i_should say so . are_you friends of Dorothy's ? "

" no, but we're from_the same country," said the clown, " and if_you're quite_sure you don't want to eat me up, we'd like to ask_you a few questions ."

"I've never eaten a man in my life," roared the cowardly lion, rolling his eyes sadly .

" then why start on me ? " asked Notta, scratching his ear and winking at Bob up . now that_the incident was over it struck him as terribly funny to_be perched in a tree conversing with_the cowardly lion . he_wished some of_his old pals in_the circus could_see him . he'd never expect them to_believe it otherwise . so Notta and Bob climbed down and_the three regarded each_other with frank interest .

the cowardly lion had never seen a clown and_the clown had never seen a cowardly lion, so there_was much to_be explained and accounted for . first, Notta told of_their sudden transportation to Mudge, of Doorways, and everything else except Mustafa's determination to_have them capture the cowardly lion himself . they were on their way, explained the clown, to_the emerald city to_see whether or not Dorothy could find a way to send_them back to_the United_States .

"Ozma can do_that very easi1y with her magic belt," said the lion, " but i_will go with_you, for Oz is full of dangers for mortal folks like you, and Dorothy would_not want anything to happen to anyone from her country, I_am very sure . he then told them alot about_the marvelous land of Oz, with its four big countries and its many little ones .

" this," roared the cowardly lion with a sweep of_his paw, " is_the Munchkin country . to_the north is_the kingdom of_the Gillikens, to_the west is_the Winkie country and to_the south the Quadling country, ruled over by_the good sorceress, Glinda . but all of Oz is under the rule of Ozma ."

Bob's eyes grew rounder and rounder as he_told them how Dorothy was first blown to Oz by a cyclone, of her discovery of_the scarecrow, how she had lifted him down his pole and, with_the cowardly lion and tin woodman, traveled to_the emerald city, then ruled over by_the wizard of Oz . then he_told how Ozma, the little fairy ruler, who was_the real queen of Oz, had_been found and placed upon_the throne . then came the story of Scraps and sir Hokus and of Tik Tok, and of every_other amazing person living in_the amazing emerald city .

when_the cowardly lion paused for breath Bob was jumping up and down with excitement .

"Oh, I_do want_to_see Dorothy and_the Scarecrow ! let's hurry," cried the little orphan, throwing his arms ' round the cowardly lion's neck . the kind old cowardly lion blinked with pleasure .

"I'm glad you_did that," he rumbled in a husky voice, " for now I_know that you trust me, and_have forgotten all about_that unfortunate mistake ! "

" but why did you ask if i_was brave ? " mused the clown, who_could scarcely believe that_this merry little boy hugging the cowardly lion was_the same Bobbie Downs who had fallen into Mudge .

" because," the lion swallowed self- consciously, " because I_am looking for_the bravest man in Oz ."

" what_will you_do when_you find him ? " asked Notta, carefully folding up his huntsman suit and powdering his nose with another marshmallow .

" now, don't ask me that, please ." the cowardly lion raised his paw pleadingly and looked so uncomfortable Notta dropped the subject at once . he_felt a little uncomfortable himself, for he had determined, as_soon_as_the opportunity presented itself, to tie up the great creature and somehow or other deliver him to Mustafa . what else could he do ? the clown sighed regretfully, for already he had taken a great fancy to_the cowardly lion . but fancy or not, one could_not risk turning blue, and he had Bob up to_think of . to gain the lion's confidence he decided to travel with_him for a while toward the emerald city and, so_long as_they_did that with_the fixed purpose of capturing the cowardly lion, Mustafa's ring could_not turn black .

Notta said nothing of_his plans to Bob, for_the boy was so happy at_the thought of visiting the emerald city, and so delighted with_his new and interesting friend, he hated to spoil a bit of_his pleasure . so he merely opened another pack of Mustafa's sandwiches and_they all had a cheerful breakfast together . then, with Bob proudly riding the lion, they started off once again toward the north .

" would you mind telling me why you pretended to_be a huntsman ? " asked the cowardly lion . he had_been looking sideways at Notta for some_time, trying to puzzle the thing out for himself ." not at all," chuckled the clown, chinning himself on_the branch of a tree ."I disguised myself as a huntsman to frighten off any wild animals while we were asleep .I always disguise myself when there_is danger in_the wind-don't I, Bobbie ? " the little boy nodded his head solemnly .

"Does it help ? " asked the cowardly lion in an interested voice .Bob up looked thoughtful, but as_the clown nodded emphatically, he_said nothing . it seemed to Bob that Notta always picked the wrong disguise, but the clown was so confident and cheerful about_it he_could_not bear to discourage him . so he listened politely while Notta explained his rules of disguise, politeness, joke and run . when he had finished the cowardly lion shook his head .

"I suppose, said he, half closing his eyes, " that you_cannot help your disguises any more than I_can help my cowardice ."

" it isn't that I_am afraid," explained Notta hastily, " but I_can fight better when I'm not looking like myself . when I look like myself I_feel funny and when I_feel funny, I_can't fight ."

" well, with me," said the cowardly lion, who like most of us enjoyed talking about himself, " the funnier I look, the harder I fight . so don't frighten me, I beg of you, for when I'm frightened I fight terrifically ."

"I'll remember what you say," said Notta, turning a somersault, and wondering uneasily what the cowardly lion would do when he tried to capture him . but the thought of being captured never entered the lion's head . he_was rather glad_to_have the two strangers turn up this_way . it postponed that disagreeable business of eating a brave man . of_course, if_they should run across one on_the journey, well enough, but first it_was his plain duty to conduct this clown and little boy safely to_the emerald city .

Notta was so cheerful and jolly and made so_much fun out of everything that_the cowardly lion felt repaid for any trouble he_was taking and Bob up had_not_been so happy since they had fallen into_this bewildering country . toward noon, as_the sun grew rather hot, the cowardly lion turned into a small inviting wood which he_felt was a short cut to_the yellow brick road . but on_the very first tree, a large sign made them pause . the sign said, "Twenty trees to U ."

"I never heard of any country called U" mumbled the cowardly lion, blinking up at_the sign in surprise .

" there_was one just like this on_the road we came down yesterday," said Notta ."Bob and I wondered what it stood for ."

" well, I don't know," mused the lion ." that's the queer thing about Oz . even old residents like myself are often amazed to_find new countries and peoples where we never expected to_find them .According to_the maps there_are only scattered farms between here and_the emerald city . but so_long as we_have to_go through_this wood, we_might as_well see what U stands for ."

Bob was_the first to discover that every now_and_then the trees were numbered and, following them in_the order of_their numbers, took them deeper and deeper into_the forest . when_they reached the tree numbered nine-teen, they were alarmed to note that all the other numbers that had guided them had disappeared . the wood had meanwhile grown so dense that they_could hardly push on and, when Notta suggested that_they go back, they found they had lost the way entirely . the cowardly lion was full of stickers and thorns and, while Bob picked them out of_his woolly mane, the clown climbed the nineteenth tree to_make a little survey of_the country .

with a shout he_came scrambling down ." there's aclearing just beyond, and i_think I_made out twenty on_the tree in_the center," puffed Notta ." come on ! " the clown was growing more interested in_this strange country every_minute . he_could hardly wait to_see what_was going to happen next .

" let me go first . my hide doesn't tear as easily as yours," said the cowardly lion, and he began pushing through_the heavy thicket in_the direction pointed out by Notta .Holding up their arms to protect their faces, the others followed and in almost no time had come out on a small clearing . as_they looked the clown clutched Bob, while the cowardly lion blinked with astonishment . the twentieth tree was knitting furiously, holding in its long fingers nearly a hundred gleaming needles, and bending its witchy head every once in a while to examine the great, cloudy net that flowed all around it . for some moments they watched in puzzled silence . then Bob screamed, the cowardly lion roared and Notta gasped with alarm . for_the net suddenly swooped down and scooped them up like a school of fish . the tree gave a disagreeable little laugh, quickly knitted the top of_the net together and, lifting all its branches at once, tossed the luckless travelers high over its head .

Miraculously, as it struck the air, the big porous bag filled out like a balloon and went sailing upward at a terrible rate- the cowardly lion, Bob up and Notta rolling over and over in_the bottom and bumping and banging together in a most painful and unpleasant fashion .

chapter 10 on_the isle of Un

if_you_could just stop trembling," puffed the clown, trying to_keep out_of_the cowardly lion's way, " i_think it would help ."

" but how can I stop trembling when I_am so frightened," complained the lion, clutching the swaying net with all four paws .

"I'm frightened too ! " wailed Bob, who was rolling and bouncing first against one, then against the other .

" it seems to_me you're shaking about alot yourself," said the cowardly lion reproachfully, as Notta dove suddenly into his ribs ." what_are you trying to_do ? "

" my disguise ! " panted the clown, clutching at his chest ." if I_could only put on my disguise ."

"Aho ! " mumbled the cowardly lion, and stopped trembling long enough to grin . but just then the balloon calmed down, and changing its course sailed gently and levelly through_the sky, so that_the three huddled together in_the bottom were fairly comfortable .

"I guess U stands for up . you surely bobbed up this_time, didn't you ? " Notta winked merrily at_the little orphan, and then peered curiously through_the holes in_the net ." this reminds me of a balloon trip I once made for_the circus . wonder where we'll land ? "

" are we to land at all ? " sighed the cowardly lion unhappily . two of_his legs had slipped through holes in_the net and he_was feeling uneasy and uncomfortable ." climb on me, Bob, my boy . it_will_be a little softer . when_you've been in Oz as long as I_have, you'll take nothing for granted ." he looked mournfully at_the clown who was_that moment below him .

" then I'll just take it Oz is," laughed Notta ." why, here's land now ! and we're slowing down ." so they were, down down down, until they were over a rocky island . when_the net was almost resting on a little green hill, it turned completely and suddenly upside down, and shook

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