Oz 17: The Cowardly Lion of Oz by Ruth Plumly Thompson
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shook them out with_such violence that_they rolled all the way to_the bottom . the cowardly lion jumped up first and hurriedly placed himself in front of Bob . though he_was trembling even more than usual, he_knew that he_was a better fighter than these helpless mortals . and_that there would_be fighting he_felt reasonably sure, for a great crowd was coming noisily toward them .

Notta nervously jerked Bob to_his feet and stood beside the cowardly lion . there_was no time for disguising ." we'll just start with rule two," panted the clown, running his finger hurriedly ' round his collar ." let's be ex-tre-eemly polite . that's the way to meet strangers ."

" all right," agreed the cowardly lion in a rather choked voice, " you meet 'em with politeness, and if_that fails, I'll meet 'em with something else ." he gnashed his teeth to_keep them from chattering . as_the first of_the company reached the foot of_the hill Bob gave a little scream, but Notta calmly stepped forward .

"Ladies and gentlemen ! " began the clown in_his best circus manner, " let me introduce you to_the most famous lion in_the_world, the cowardly lion of Oz, as brave as he_is cowardly; allow me to_present Bob up, the brightest little boy in_the United_States, and myself, a harmless clown whose tricks have astonished the crowned heads of two continents .Ladies and gentlemen, let-"

" two creatures and a beast," called the leader of_the company, interrupting Notta in_the middle of a sentence ." two creatures and a beast," repeated the others, staring dully at_the newcomers . the cowardly lion growled threateningly at_this and Notta began running over all the jokes that he_knew . as for Bob, he_was too amazed to_do anything but stare, for_these were certainly the most curious beings he had ever seen in_his life .

to_begin with, they had feathers instead of hair . these feathers were small and fine and grew smoothly back from their foreheads, becoming longer at_the back and curling softly behind the ears . their eyes were perfectly round and their noses almost like bird beaks . otherwise they were the same as regular folks, except in their manner of walking, for their feet turned in so_much that_they had to hop, putting one foot down and then hopping over it . before Notta could start a joke, the leader of_these singular creatures motioned to two behind him . they immediately stepped forward, unfurling as_they_did so a large banner .

" unwelcome to Un," said the banner in crooked yellow letters .

" no use being polite then," rumbled the cowardly lion and, taking matters into his own paws, he_gave such a thundering roar that_the very ground trembled .

" ginger poppa ! " gasped the clown, almost as frightened as_the Featherheads . the effect on_the crowd was simply breath-taking .Beginning at_the back of_their necks, their feathers slowly rose straight on end until each head looked like a huge and quivering feather duster . the cowardly lion tried to roar again, but the best that he_could manage was a chuckle .Notta took one look, then fell up against a tree and laughed until the tears rolled down his cheeks . even Bob giggled ." try 'em again," wheezed the cowardly lion ." i_think they'll listen to_you now ." Wiping his eyes on_his sleeve, Notta stepped forward and addressed the leader .

" could you tell us a little about_this interesting country of yours, and_the quickest way out of it ? " he inquired politely . slowly the feathers on_the heads of_the . crowd began to settle .

"' taint a country, it's askyle," answered the Featherhead, blinking rapidly .

"A skyle ? " repeated the clown, glancing doubtfully at_the cowardly lion, who appeared to_be as puzzled as he_was ." what_is askyle ? " asked Notta curiously .

" this_is," snapped the leader disagreeably ." you're as ignorant as a fish, aren't you ? " then as_the cowardly lion gave athreatening growl he continued grudgingly, "A skyle is an isle in_the sky, and anyone who has studied skyography ought to_know that .I suppose you don't even know what an isle is ? " he looked contemptuously at_the three strangers .

" I_do . an isle is a small body of land entirely surrounded by water," cried Bob, delighted to_find that geography was of some use after all .

" well," said the Featherhead uneasily, " then I guess you'll understand when I tell you that askyle is a small body of land entirely surrounded by air ."

" air ! " spluttered Notta ." I_say, how does one get off askyle ? "

" you'll soon find that out ! " muttered the Featherhead, and all the others began nodding and clucking for all the world like a company of hens .

" what do_you call yourselves ? " asked the cowardly lion . now that he_knew how to frighten them, he no longer felt afraid .

" we're Uns, we_are, and nobody but Uns are allowed on_this skyle . we'll have to_take you along to_the palace and_his royal Skyness will decide what's to_be_done with_you ."

" another king," groaned the clown .

"Isn't it time to run ? " asked Bob, tugging at Notta's pantaloon, for_the Uns were drawing closer this_time, paying no attention to_the roars of_the cowardly lion .

" no use running, Bob . we_might fall off . perhaps this king is a better fellow than his subjects .

" take us to your king ! " cried the clown, settling his cap determinedly .Hopping and muttering, the Uns formed two crooked lines, and with_the three travelers in_the center marched away to_the palace . there were many tall trees on_the skyle of Un and, more remarkable still, every tree had a rough boxlike structure built in its branches, like enormous bird houses . they were reached by rough ladders and_the Uns seemed to_be as_much at home on_the branches as on_the ground .

some_of_the women standing on lower branches were hanging clothes on upper ones as calmly as ordinary folk string the washing up in_the yard . but, as Notta whispered to Bob, what could one expect of Featherheads ?

the skyle itself was rocky and barren and there seemed to_be no farms, buildings nor industries of any kind ." what do_you do here for aliving ? " asked Notta, turning to_the Un beside him .

" fish, mostly," said the Un .

" what for ? " asked the cowardly lion, treading on Notta's heels in_his eagerness to hear .

"Birds," sniffed the Un, looking over his shoulder scornfully ." what did you_think we'd fish for ? "

"Oh, but you couldn't fish for birds," objected Bob up, stopping short, while Notta burst into a loud roar of laughter . the Un glared at all three .

" the air's full of 'em," he announced sharply, and then, as_the clown continued to laugh immoderately, his feathers began to ruffle with rage .

" you're idiots ! " he screamed, thrusting his sharp beak almost in Notta's face ."Idiots ! " echoed all the other Uns immediately . several trod on_the clown's toes and, seeing that Bob was rather pale, Notta hastily changed the subject . not long after_that they came to_the palace . to Bob it looked like a huge barn stuck between four trees . it_was about ten feet from_the ground and from_the top of each tree fluttered a bright yellow flag bearing the word, UN .

the cowardly lion trembled a good_deal as_they went up the rickety green ladder, but with a little help from Notta he managed it, and next instant they were in_the presence of_the king ." two creatures and a beast, your Skyness ! " announced the leader of_the delegation . then stepping close to Notta he shouted at_the top of_his voice, " his majesty, I- wish-I- was, king of Un ! " Notta's cap fell off and he clapped his hand to_his ear . the cowardly lion made a little spring at_the Un and had the pleasure of seeing the king's feathers rise erect upon his head and wave to and fro .

" approach, creatures and beast," commanded I- wish-I- was in a slightly shaky voice . he_was sitting on a high wooden perch, swinging his feet .Grouped about him were a number of Uns in bright green uniforms that exactly matched their feather hair .Notta made a deep bow and Bob and_the cowardly lion moved forward together .

" how did you come to_come here ? " asked I- wish-I- was, adjusting a pair of spectacles on_his terrible beak .

" we didn't come to_come at all," said Notta hastily ." we were standing under a tree, watching it knit-a very strange sight, your Skyness will agree ."

" why shouldn't it knit ? " snapped the king impatiently ." there's no law against it, is_there ? in_fact, if_it were_not for_that tree, we'd be in a pretty state for fishing nets ."

" well, we were caught in_the tree's net, the net flew up and here we_are," finished Notta, determined not to quarrel if he_could help it .

"A mighty poor catch, I call you," muttered the king complainingly . he turned to_his guard to_see whether they agreed with_him and_they all nodded so hard it made Bob dizzy .

" are_you willing to_become Uns ? " he asked gloomily .

"I'll not grow feathers for anybody," growled the cowardly lion, shaking his paw at I- wish-I- was .

" wait till you've tried," answered the king loftily ." but what I mean is_this: each of you_must do something unish, for we_are all Uns here .I'm unfair any Un will tell you that . bill, there," he pointed proudly at_the commander of_the guard, " bill, he's ungrateful ." then he waved to_the Un beside him ." and Tom's unkind . see what I mean ? we're all Uns together ." the king rubbed his clawlike hands gleefully .

" but I never heard of_such a place ! " gasped Notta .

" of_course not ! Un's positively unheard of," confided the king, smoothing back his feathers complacently .Bob's eyes grew rounder and rounder, Notta swallowed, and_the cowardly lion tilted one ear forward to_be_sure he_was hearing aright .

" why, you're Uns already," said I- wish-I- was, with a mean little chuckle .

" you," he pointed his long thin finger at Notta, " are unnatural . you," he pointed to_the cowardly lion, " are unpleasant . and you," he wiggled his finger teasingly at Bob, " you're uninteresting ! "

" thanks ! " said the clown, taking off his cap ." and besides that," cried I- wish-I- was, his voice rising to a shrill squeak, " you're all uninvited ."

" and bound to_be unlucky," gurgled bill of_the guard .

" and terribly unhappy," squealed another, dancing up and down .

" and terrifically uncomfortable," added a third . hereupon the Uns began hopping frantically about, each shouting something unish, till Bob covered his ears and_the cowardly lion began to lash his tail with fury .

" stop ! stop ! " shouted the clown, stamping his foot ."I believe this_is_the unpleasantest island I've ever been on ." loud cheers from_the Uns interrupted him here ." and if_you_will tell us the way off we'll go at once .

I- wish-I- was raised his claw for silence, pulled a pad from_his pocket, a long feather quill from_his head and, dipping it in ink, wrote something in a great hurry . this he handed to_the commander of_the guard and Notta looking over his shoulder read, " push them off at_the first opportunity ." the guard, not knowing that_the clown had read the message, bowed and began whispering to_his comrades, while Notta scratched his ear and wondered what he_should do .

" could your Skyness give_us a bite to eat ? " he asked presently . that, he reflected, would give him time to_think .

" certainly not," answered the king, snapping his birdlike eyes ." if_you're hungry, go fish, the same as_the rest of us do . bill, give them some rods ." he winked wickedly at_the green guardsman .Notta saw him make a little push in_the air . bill with a chuckle winked back; then brought three rods and reels and handed them to_the clown .

"Oh ! " cried Bob up, "I'd love to_go fishing ."

" where do_you fish around here ? " asked Notta, wrinkling up his forehead .

" just go to_the edge of_the skyle and drop your line over," said the king, and nudged the Un nearest him . at_this all the Uns began nudging and winking first one eye and then the other ." come on," whispered Notta and, tucking the rods under his arm, ran toward the door . the cowardly lion, in_his haste to_follow, fell all the way down the ladder, but at a quick word from Notta jumped up, and as Bob joined them they all started on a run for a little clump of trees ."I tell you," puffed the clown, pausing at_length to mop his brow, " they_are bad Uns, sure enough . they mean to push us off the skyle . that's why they sent us fishing ."

" just let 'em try it ! " roared the cowardly lion, shaking his mane . he had skinned his knees in_his fall down the ladder and was feeling quite ready for a battle .

" but shall we go fishing or not ? " asked the clown uncertainly .Bob up said nothing, but he looked wistfully at_the fishing rods .Bob had never been fishing in_his life, and even the thought of being pushed off the skyle did_not seem as dreadful as being deprived of_this pleasure .Notta saw the look .

"I'm hungry as a lion," said the clown suddenly, " and we've lost Mustafa's packets somewhere between Oz and Un ."

" well, you're not as hungry as_this lion," rumbled the cowardly lion, with a wink at Bob ." it must_be long past noon . let's risk it . you fish and I'll watch, and if any of_these Uns start pushing us- ." the cowardly lion gave a roar and shook his paws threateningly at_the palace of I- wish-I- was .

chapter 11 a strange Fishing party

to_their surprise, none_of_the Uns followed them, and in about an hour they had come to_the edge of_the skyle . the cowardly lion shuddered as he looked down into_the clear blue air, and even Notta had a queer feeling in_the pit of_his stomach as_the white clouds went rolling and tumbling past them .

" do_you_think we'll catch any birds, Notta ? " asked Bob up, venturing so near the edge that_the cowardly lion gave a roar of terror ." remember you're not a bird," he warned .

"I'll fix him," said Notta .Cutting the line from one_of_the rods he doubled it many_times and fastened Bob securely to_the tree . with what_was left, he_made

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