Oz 04: Dorthy and the Wizard in Oz by L. Frank Baum
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was laughing at him; so in a fit of unreasonable anger he turned around and made a vicious kick that sent his rival tumbling head over heels upon_the ground, and broke off one of_its legs and its left ear .

an instant later the tiger crouched and launched its huge body through_the air swift and resistless as a ball from a cannon . the beast struck Jim full on_his shoulder and sent the astonished cab- horse rolling over and over, amid shouts of delight from_the spectators, who had_been horrified by_the ungracious act he had_been guilty of .

when Jim came to himself and sat upon his haunches he_found the cowardly lion crouched on one side of him and_the hungry tiger on_the other, and their eyes were glowing like balls of fire .

"I beg your pardon, I'm sure," said Jim, meekly ." i_was wrong to kick the sawhorse, and I_am sorry I became angry at him . he has won the race, and won it fairly; but what can a horse of flesh do against a tireless beast of wood ? "

Hearing this apology the tiger and_the lion stopped lashing their tails and retreated with dignified steps to_the side of_the princess .

" no one must injure one_of_our friends in_our presence," growled the lion; and Zeb ran to Jim and whispered that unless he controlled his temper in_the_future he_would probably be torn to pieces .

then the tin woodman cut a straight and strong limb from a tree with_his gleaming axe and made a new leg and a new ear for_the sawhorse; and when_they had_been securely fastened in place princess Ozma took the coronet from her own head and placed it upon that of_the winner of_the race . said she:

" my friend, I reward you for your swiftness by proclaiming you prince of Horses, whether of wood or of flesh; and hereafter all other horses-- in_the land of Oz, at_least-- must_be considered imitations, and you the real champion of your race ."

there_was more applause at_this, and then Ozma had the jewelled saddle replaced upon_the sawhorse and herself rode the victor back to_the city at_the head of_the grand procession .

"I ought_to_be a fairy," grumbled Jim, as he slowly drew the buggy home; " for to_be just an ordinary horse in a fairy country is_to_be of no account whatever . it's no place for_us, Zeb ."

" it's lucky we got here, though," said the boy; and Jim thought of_the dark cave, and agreed with_him .

18 . the trial of eureka the kitten

several_days of festivity and merry-making followed, for such old friends did_not often meet and there_was much to_be told and talked over between_them, and many amusements to_be enjoyed in_this delightful country .

Ozma was happy to_have Dorothy beside her, for girls of her own age with_whom it_was proper for_the princess to associate were very few, and often the youthful ruler of Oz was lonely for lack of companionship .

it was_the third morning after Dorothy's arrival, and she was sitting with Ozma and their friends in a reception room, talking over old times, when_the princess said to her maid:

" please go to my boudoir, Jellia, and get the white piglet I left on_the dressing- table . i_want to play with it ."

Jellia at once departed on_the errand, and she was gone so_long that_they had almost forgotten her mission when_the green robed maiden returned with a troubled face .

" the piglet is_not there, your highness," said she .

" not there ! " exclaimed Ozma ." are_you sure ? "

" I_have hunted in every part of_the room," the maid replied .

" was not the door closed ? " asked the princess .

" yes, your highness; I_am_sure it_was; for when I opened it Dorothy's white kitten crept out and ran up the stairs ."

Hearing this, Dorothy and_the wizard exchanged startled glances, for they remembered how often eureka had longed to eat a piglet . the little girl jumped up at once .

" come, Ozma," she said, anxiously; " let_us go ourselves to search for_the piglet ."

so the two went to_the dressing- room of_the princess and searched carefully in every corner and among_the vases and baskets and ornaments that stood about_the pretty boudoir . but not a trace could they find of_the tiny creature they sought .

Dorothy was nearly weeping, by_this_time, while Ozma was angry and indignant . when_they returned to_the others the princess said:

" there_is little doubt that my pretty piglet has_been eaten by_that horrid kitten, and if that_is true the offender must_be punished ."

"I don't b'lieve eureka would do such a dreadful thing ! " cried Dorothy, much distressed ." go and get my kitten, please, Jellia, and we'll hear what she has_to say about_it ."

the green maiden hastened away, but presently returned and said:

" the kitten will not come . she threatened to scratch my eyes out if I touched her ."

" where is she ? " asked Dorothy .

" under the bed in your own room," was_the reply .

so Dorothy ran to her room and found the kitten under the bed .

" come here, eureka ! " she said .

"I won't," answered the kitten, in a surly voice .

"Oh, eureka ! why are_you so bad ? "

the kitten did_not reply .

" if_you don't come to_me, right away," continued Dorothy, getting provoked, "I'll take my magic belt and wish you in_the country of_the Gurgles ."

" why do_you_want me ? " asked eureka, disturbed by_this threat .

" you_must go to princess Ozma . she wants to_talk to_you ."

" all right," returned the kitten, creeping out ."I'm not afraid of Ozma-- or anyone else ."

Dorothy carried her in her arms back to where the others sat in grieved and thoughtful silence .

" tell me, eureka," said the princess, gently: " did you eat my pretty piglet ? "

"I won't answer such a foolish question," asserted eureka, with a snarl .

"Oh, yes you_will, dear," Dorothy declared ." the piglet is gone, and you ran out_of_the room when Jellia opened the door . so, if_you_are innocent, eureka, you_must tell the princess how you came to_be in her room, and what has become of_the piglet ."

" who accuses me ? " asked the kitten, defiantly .

" no one," answered Ozma ." your actions alone accuse you . the fact is_that I left my little pet in my dressing- room lying asleep upon_the table; and you_must_have stolen in without my knowing it . when next the door was opened you ran out and hid yourself-- and_the piglet was gone ."

" that's none of_my business," growled the kitten .

"Don't be impudent, eureka," admonished Dorothy .

" it_is you who_are impudent," said eureka, " for accusing me of_such a crime when_you can't prove it except by guessing ."

Ozma was now greatly incensed by_the kitten's conduct . she summoned her captain- general, and when_the long, lean officer appeared she said:

" carry this cat away to prison, and keep her in safe confinement until she_is tried by law for_the crime of murder ."

so the captain- general took eureka from_the arms of_the now weeping Dorothy and in_spite of_the kitten's snarls and scratches carried it away to prison .

" what shall we_do now ? " asked the Scarecrow, with a sigh, for such a crime had cast a gloom over all the company .

" i_will summon the court to meet in_the throne room at three o'clock," replied Ozma ."I myself will_be the judge, and_the kitten shall_have a fair trial ."

" what_will happen if she_is guilty ? " asked Dorothy .

" she_must die," answered the princess .

"Nine times ? " enquired the Scarecrow .

" as many_times as is necessary," was_the reply ." i_will ask_the tin woodman to defend the prisoner, because he has such a kind heart I_am_sure he_will do his best to save her . and_the Woggle- bug shall be the public accuser, because he_is so learned that no one can deceive him ."

" who_will_be the jury ? " asked the tin woodman .

" there ought_to_be several animals on_the jury," said Ozma, " because animals understand each_other better than we people understand them . so the jury shall consist of_the cowardly lion, the hungry tiger, Jim the cab- horse, the yellow Hen, the Scarecrow, the wizard, Tik-tok the machine man, the sawhorse and Zeb of Hugson's ranch . that makes the nine which the law requires, and all my people shall be admitted to hear the testimony ."

they now separated to_prepare for_the sad ceremony; for whenever an appeal is made to law sorrow is almost certain to_follow-- even in a fairyland like Oz . but is must_be stated that_the people of_that land were generally so_well-behaved that there_was not a single lawyer amongst them, and it had_been years since any ruler had sat in judgment upon an offender of_the law . the crime of murder being the most dreadful crime of all, tremendous excitement prevailed in_the emerald city when_the news of eureka's arrest and trial became known .

the wizard, when he returned to_his own room, was exceedingly thoughtful . he had no_doubt eureka had eaten his piglet, but he realized that a kitten cannot_be depended upon at all times to act properly, since its nature is to destroy small animals and even birds for food, and_the tame cat that we keep in_our houses today is descended from_the wild cat of_the jungle--a very ferocious creature, indeed . the wizard knew that if Dorothy's pet was found guilty and condemned to death the little girl would_be made very unhappy; so, although he grieved over the piglet's sad fate as_much as any of_them, he resolved to save eureka's life .

Sending for_the tin woodman the wizard took him into a corner and whispered:

" my friend, it_is your duty to defend the white kitten and try to save her, but I_fear you_will fail because eureka has long wished to eat a piglet, to my certain knowledge, and my opinion is_that she has_been unable to resist the temptation . yet her disgrace and death would_not bring back the piglet, but only serve to_make Dorothy unhappy . so I intend to_prove the kitten's innocence by a trick ."

he drew from_his inside pocket one_of_the eight tiny piglets that were remaining and continued:

" this creature you_must hide in some safe place, and if_the jury decides that eureka is guilty you_may then produce this piglet and claim it_is_the one that was lost . all the piglets are exactly alike, so no one can dispute your word . this deception will save eureka's life, and then we_may all be happy again ."

" I_do_not like to deceive my friends," replied the tin woodman; " still, my kind heart urges me to save eureka's life, and I_can usually trust my heart to_do_the right thing . so i_will do as_you say, friend wizard ."

after some thought he placed the little Pig inside his funnel- shaped hat, and then put the hat upon his head and went back to_his room to_think over his speech to_the jury .

19 . the wizard Performs another trick

at three o'clock the throne room was crowded with citizens, men, women and children being eager to witness the great trial .

princess Ozma, dressed in her most splendid robes of state, sat in_the magnificent emerald throne, with her jewelled sceptre in her hand and her sparkling coronet upon her fair brow . behind her throne stood the twenty-eight officers of her army and many officials of_the royal household . at her right sat the queerly assorted jury--animals, animated dummies and people-- all gravely prepared to listen to what_was said . the kitten had_been placed in a large cage just before_the throne, where she sat upon her haunches and gazed through_the bars at_the crowds around her, with seeming unconcern .

and now, at a signal from Ozma, the Woggle- bug arose and addressed the jury . his tone was pompous and he strutted up and down in an absurd attempt to appear dignified .

" your royal highness and fellow Citizens," he began; " the small cat you_see a prisoner before_you is accused of_the crime of first murdering and then eating our esteemed ruler's fat piglet-- or else first eating and then murdering it . in either case a grave crime has_been committed which deserves a grave punishment ."

" do_you_mean my kitten must_be put in a grave ? " asked Dorothy .

"Don't interrupt, little girl," said the Woggle- bug ." when I get my thoughts arranged in good order I_do_not like to_have anything upset them or throw them into confusion ."

" if your thoughts were any good they wouldn't become confused," remarked the Scarecrow, earnestly ." my thoughts are always--"

" is_this a trial of thoughts, or of kittens ? " demanded the Woggle- bug .

" it's a trial of one kitten," replied the Scarecrow; " but your manner is a trial to_us all ."

" let the public accuser continue," called Ozma from her throne, " and I pray you_do_not interrupt him ."

" the criminal who now sits before_the court licking her paws," resumed the Woggle- bug, " has long desired to unlawfully eat the fat piglet, which_was no bigger than a mouse . and finally she made a wicked plan to satisfy her depraved appetite for pork . I_can_see her, in my mind's eye--"

" what's that ? " asked the Scarecrow .

" I_say I_can_see her in my mind's eye--"

" the mind has no eye," declared the Scarecrow ." it's blind ."

" your highness," cried the Woggle- bug, appealing to Ozma, " have I a mind's eye,

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