Oz 04: Dorthy and the Wizard in Oz by L. Frank Baum
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bodice and sleeves . her flesh was fine and smooth as polished ivory, and her poise expressed both dignity and grace .

" who is_this ? " asked the wizard, curiously .

the prince had_been staring hard at_the girl on_the bush . now he answered, with a touch of uneasiness in_his cold tones:

" she is_the ruler destined to_be my successor, for she_is a royal princess . when she becomes fully ripe I_must abandon the sovereignty of_the Mangaboos to her ."

"Isn't she ripe now ? " asked Dorothy .

he hesitated .

" not quite," said he, finally ." it_will_be several_days before she needs to_be picked, or at_least that_is my judgment . I_am in no hurry to resign my office and be planted, you_may_be_sure ."

" probably not," declared the wizard, nodding .

" this_is one_of_the_most unpleasant things about our vegetable lives," continued the prince, with a sigh, " that while we_are in_our full prime we_must give way to another, and be covered up in_the ground to sprout and grow and give birth to other people ."

"I'm sure the princess is ready to_be picked," asserted Dorothy, gazing hard at_the beautiful girl on_the bush ." she's as perfect as she_can be ."

" never mind," answered the prince, hastily, " she will_be all right for_a_few_days longer, and it_is best for_me to rule until I_can dispose of you strangers, who_have come to our land uninvited and must_be attended to at once ."

" what_are you going to_do with_us ? " asked Zeb .

" that_is a matter I_have_not quite decided upon," was_the reply ." i_think I_shall keep this wizard until a new sorcerer is ready to pick, for he seems quite skillful and may_be of use to_us . but the rest of you_must_be destroyed in some way, and you_cannot be planted, because I_do_not wish horses and cats and meat people growing all over our country ."

" you needn't worry," said Dorothy ." we wouldn't grow under ground, I'm sure ."

" but why destroy my friends ? " asked the little wizard ." why_not let them live ? "

" they_do_not belong here," returned the prince ." they_have no right to_be inside the earth at all ."

" we didn't ask to_come down here; we fell," said Dorothy .

" that_is no excuse," declared the prince, coldly .

the children looked at each_other in perplexity, and_the wizard sighed . eureka rubbed her paw on her face and said in her soft, purring voice:

" he won't need to destroy me, for if I don't get something to eat pretty soon I_shall starve to death, and so save him the trouble ."

" if he planted you, he might grow some cat-tails," suggested the wizard .

"Oh, eureka ! perhaps we_can find you some milk-weeds to eat," said the boy .

"Phoo ! " snarled the kitten; "I wouldn't touch the nasty things ! "

" you don't need milk, eureka," remarked Dorothy; " you_are big enough now to eat any kind of food ."

" if I_can get it," added eureka .

"I'm hungry myself," said Zeb ." but I noticed some strawberries growing in one_of_the gardens, and some melons in another place . these people don't eat such things, so perhaps on_our way back they_will let_us get them ."

" never mind your hunger," interrupted the prince ." I_shall order you destroyed in_a_few_minutes, so you_will_have no need to ruin our pretty melon vines and berry bushes . follow me, please, to meet your doom ."

5 . Dorothy Picks the princess

the words of_the cold and moist vegetable prince were_not very comforting, and as he spoke them he turned away and left the enclosure . the children, feeling sad and despondent, were about to_follow him when_the wizard touched Dorothy softly on her shoulder .

" wait ! " he whispered .

" what for ? " asked the girl .

" suppose we pick the royal princess," said the wizard ."I'm quite_sure she's ripe, and as_soon_as she comes to life she will_be the ruler, and may treat us better than that heartless prince intends to ."

" all right ! " exclaimed Dorothy, eagerly ." let's pick her while we_have the chance, before_the man with_the star comes back ."

so together they leaned over the great bush and each of_them seized one hand of_the lovely princess .

" pull ! " cried Dorothy, and as_they_did so the royal lady leaned toward them and_the stems snapped and separated from her feet . she was not at all heavy, so the wizard and Dorothy managed to lift her gently to_the ground .

the beautiful creature passed her hands over her eyes an instant, tucked in a stray lock of hair that had become disarranged, and after a look around the garden made those present a gracious bow and said, in a sweet but even toned voice:

" i_thank_you very_much ."

" we salute your royal highness ! " cried the wizard, kneeling and kissing her hand .

just then the voice of_the prince was heard calling upon them to hasten, and a moment later he returned to_the enclosure, followed by a number of_his people .

instantly the princess turned and faced him, and when he_saw that she was picked the prince stood still and began to tremble .

" sir," said the royal lady, with much dignity, " you_have wronged me greatly, and would_have wronged me still more had_not these strangers come to my rescue . I_have_been ready for picking all the past week, but because you were selfish and desired to_continue your unlawful rule, you left me to stand silent upon my bush ."

" I_did_not know that you were ripe," answered the prince, in a low voice .

" give_me the star of royalty ! " she commanded .

slowly he_took the shining star from_his own brow and placed it upon that of_the princess . then all the people bowed low to her, and_the prince turned and walked away alone . what became of him afterward our friends never knew .

the people of Mangaboo now formed themselves into a procession and marched toward the glass city to escort their new ruler to her palace and to perform those ceremonies proper to_the occasion . but while the people in_the procession walked upon_the ground the princess walked in_the air just above their heads, to show that she was a superior being and more exalted than her subjects .

no one now seemed to_pay any attention to_the strangers, so Dorothy and Zeb and_the wizard let the train pass on and then wandered by_themselves into_the vegetable gardens . they_did_not bother to cross the bridges over the brooks, but when_they came to a stream they stepped high and walked in_the air to_the other side . this_was a very interesting experience to_them, and Dorothy said:

"I wonder why it is_that we_can walk so easily in_the air ."

" perhaps," answered the wizard, " it_is because we_are close to_the center of_the earth, where the attraction of gravitation is very slight . but I've noticed that many queer things happen in fairy countries ."

" is_this a fairy country ? " asked the boy .

" of_course_it_is," returned Dorothy promptly ." only a fairy country could_have veg' table people; and only in a fairy country could eureka and Jim talk as we_do ."

" that's true," said Zeb, thoughtfully .

in_the vegetable gardens they found the strawberries and melons, and several_other unknown but delicious fruits, of_which they ate heartily . but the kitten bothered them constantly by demanding milk or meat, and called the wizard names because he_could_not bring her a dish of milk by_means of_his magical arts .

as_they sat upon_the grass watching Jim, who was still busily eating, eureka said:

"I don't believe you_are a wizard at all ! "

" no," answered the little man, " you_are quite right . in_the strict sense of_the word I_am not a wizard, but only a humbug ."

" the wizard of Oz has always been a humbug," agreed Dorothy ."I've known him for_a_long_time ."

" if that_is so," said the boy, " how could he do_that wonderful trick with_the nine tiny piglets ? "

"Don't know," said Dorothy, " but it must_have been humbug ."

" very true," declared the wizard, nodding at her ." it_was necessary to deceive that ugly sorcerer and_the prince, as_well as their stupid people; but I don't mind telling you, who_are my friends, that_the thing was only a trick ."

" but I_saw the little pigs with my own eyes ! " exclaimed Zeb .

" so did I," purred the kitten .

" to_be_sure," answered the wizard ." you saw them because they were there . they_are in my inside pocket now . but the pulling of_them apart and pushing them together again was only a sleight- of- hand trick ."

" let's see the pigs," said eureka, eagerly .

the little man felt carefully in_his pocket and pulled out the tiny piglets, setting them upon_the grass one by one, where they ran around and nibbled the tender blades .

" they're hungry, too," he_said .

"Oh, what cunning things ! " cried Dorothy, catching up one and petting it .

" be careful ! " said the piglet, with a squeal, " you're squeezing me ! "

" dear me ! " murmured the wizard, looking at his pets in astonishment ." they_can actually talk ! "

" may I eat one_of_them ? " asked the kitten, in apleading voice ."I'm awfully hungry ."

" why, eureka," said Dorothy, reproachfully, " what a cruel question ! it would_be dreadful to eat these dear little things ."

" i_should say so ! " grunted another of_the piglets, looking uneasily at_the kitten; "cats are cruel things ."

"I'm not cruel," replied the kitten, yawning ."I'm just hungry ."

" you_cannot eat my piglets, even if_you_are starving," declared the little man, in a stern voice ." they_are the only things I_have to_prove I'm a wizard ."

" how did they happen to_be so little ? " asked Dorothy ."I never saw such small pigs before ."

" they_are from_the island of Teenty-Weent," said the wizard, " where everything is small because it's a small island .a sailor brought them to Los_Angeles and I_gave him nine tickets to_the circus for_them ."

" but what am I going to eat ? " wailed the kitten, sitting in front of Dorothy and looking pleadingly into her face ." there_are no cows here to_give milk; or any mice, or even grasshoppers . and if I_can't eat the piglets you_may as_well plant me at once and raise catsup ."

" I_have an idea," said the wizard, " that_there_are fishes in_these brooks . do_you like fish ? "

" fish ! " cried the kitten ." do I like fish ? why, they're better than piglets-- or even milk ! "

" then I'll try to catch you some," said he .

" but won't they be veg' table, like everything else here ? " asked the kitten .

" i_think not .Fishes are_not animals, and_they are as cold and moist as_the vegetables themselves . there_is no reason, that I_can_see, why they_may not exist in_the waters of_this strange country ."

then the wizard bent a pin for a hook and took a long piece of string from_his pocket for a fish- line . the only bait he_could find was a bright red blossom from a flower; but he_knew fishes are easy to fool if anything bright attracts their attention, so he decided to_try the blossom .Having thrown the end of_his line in_the water of a nearby brook he soon felt a sharp tug that told him a fish had bitten and was caught on_the bent pin; so the little man drew in_the string and, sure enough, the fish came with it and was landed safely on_the shore, where it began to flop around in great excitement .

the fish was fat and round, and its scales glistened like beautifully cut jewels set close together; but there_was no time to examine it closely, for eureka made a jump and caught it between her claws, and in a few_moments it had entirely disappeared .

"Oh, eureka ! " cried Dorothy, " did you eat the bones ? "

" if_it had any bones, I ate them," replied the kitten, composedly, as it washed its face after_the meal ." but I don't think that fish had any bones, because I didn't feel them scratch my throat ."

" you were very greedy," said the girl .

" i_was very hungry," replied the kitten .

the little pigs had stood huddled in a group, watching this scene with frightened eyes .

"Cats are dreadful creatures ! " said one_of_them .

"I'm glad we_are_not fishes ! " said another .

"Don't worry," Dorothy murmured, soothingly, "I'll not let the kitten hurt you ."

then she happened to remember that in a corner of her suit- case were one_or_two crackers that were left over from her luncheon on_the train, and she went to_the buggy and brought them . eureka stuck up her nose at such food, but the tiny piglets squealed delightedly at_the sight of_the crackers and ate them up in ajiffy .

" now let_us go back to_the city," suggested the wizard ." that_is, if Jim has had enough of_the pink grass ."

the cab- horse, who was browsing near, lifted his head with a sigh .

"I've tried to eat alot while I had the chance," said he, " for_it's likely to_be a long while between meals in_this strange country . but I'm ready to_go, now, at any_time you wish ."

so, after_the wizard had put the piglets back into his inside pocket, where they cuddled up and went to sleep, the three climbed into_the buggy and Jim started back to_the town .

" where shall we stay ? " asked the girl .

" i_think I_shall take

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