Oz 06: Emerald City of Oz by L. Frank Baum
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attempt to satisfy the desire for information on_the_part of_the one who has_made the inquiry by--"

" dear me ! " exclaimed Dorothy, interrupting the speech ."I've lost all track of what you_are saying ."

"Don't let her begin over again, for goodness sake ! " cried aunt Em .

but the woman did_not begin again . she did_not even stop talking, but went right on as she had begun, the words flowing from her mouth in a stream .

"I'm quite_sure that if_we waited long enough and listened carefully, some_of_these people might_be able to_tell us something, in_time," said the wizard .

" let's don't wait," returned Dorothy ."I've heard of_the Rigmaroles, and wondered what they were like; but now I_know, and I'm ready to move on ."

" so am I," declared uncle Henry; " we're wasting time here ."

" why, we're all ready to_go," said the shaggy man, putting his fingers to_his ears to shut out the monotonous babble of_those around the wagon .

so the wizard spoke to_the sawhorse, who trotted nimbly through_the village and soon gained the open country on_the other side of it . Dorothy looked back, as_they rode away, and noticed that_the woman had_not yet finished her speech but was talking as glibly as ever, although no one was near to hear her .

" if those people wrote books," Omby Amby remarked with a smile, " it would take a whole library to_say the cow jumped over the moon ."

" perhaps some of 'em do write books," asserted the little wizard ."I've read a few rigmaroles that might_have come from_this very town ."

" some_of_the college lecturers and ministers are certainly related to_these people," observed the shaggy man; " and it seems to_me the land of Oz is a little ahead of_the United_States in some of_its laws . for here, if one can't talk clearly, and straight to_the point, they send_him to Rigmarole town; while uncle Sam lets him roam around wild and free, to torture innocent people ."

Dorothy was thoughtful . the Rigmaroles had made a strong impression upon her . she decided that whenever she spoke, after_this, she_would use only enough words to express what she wanted to_say .

23 . how they encountered the Flutterbudgets

they were soon among_the pretty hills and valleys again, and_the sawhorse sped up hill and down at a fast and easy pace, the roads being hard and smooth . mile after mile was speedily covered, and before_the ride had grown at all tiresome they sighted another village . the place seemed even larger than Rigmarole town, but was not so attractive in appearance .

" this must_be Flutterbudget center," declared the wizard ." you_see, it's no trouble at all to_find places if_you keep to_the right road ."

" what_are the Flutterbudgets like ? " inquired Dorothy .

" I_do_not know, my dear . but Ozma has_given them a town all their own, and I've heard that whenever one_of_the people becomes aFlutterbudget he_is sent to_this place to live ."

" that_is true," Omby Amby added; "Flutterbudget center and Rigmarole town are called ' the defensive Settlements of Oz .'"

the village they now approached was not built in a valley, but on top of a hill, and_the road they followed wound around the hill, like a corkscrew, ascending the hill easily until it came to_the town .

" look out ! " screamed a voice ." look out, or you'll run over my child ! "

they gazed around and saw a woman standing upon_the sidewalk nervously wringing her hands as she gazed at them appealingly .

" where is your child ? " asked the sawhorse .

" in_the house," said the woman, bursting into tears; " but if_it should happen to_be in_the road, and you ran over it, those great wheels would crush my darling to jelly .Oh dear ! oh dear ! think of_my darling child being crushed into jelly by_those great wheels ! "

"Gid-dap ! " said the wizard sharply, and_the sawhorse started on .

they had_not gone far before a man ran out of a house shouting wildly, " help ! help ! "

the sawhorse stopped short and_the wizard and uncle Henry and_the shaggy man and Omby Amby jumped out_of_the wagon and ran to_the poor man's assistance . Dorothy followed them as quickly as she_could .

" what's the matter ? " asked the wizard .

" help ! help ! " screamed the man; " my wife has cut her finger off and she's bleeding to death ! "

then he turned and rushed back to_the house, and all the party went with_him . they found a woman in_the front dooryard moaning and groaning as_if in great pain .

" be brave, madam ! " said the wizard, consolingly ." you won't die just because you_have cut off a finger, you_may_be_sure ."

" but I haven't cut off a finger ! " she sobbed .

" then what has happened ? " asked Dorothy .

"I--I pricked my finger with a needle while i_was sewing, and-- and_the blood came ! " she replied ." and now I'll have blood-poisoning, and_the doctors will cut off my finger, and that_will give_me a fever and I_shall die ! "

"Pshaw ! " said Dorothy; "I've pricked my finger many a time, and nothing happened ."

" really ? " asked the woman, brightening and wiping her eyes upon her apron .

" why, it's nothing at all," declared the girl ." you're more scared than hurt ."

"Ah, that's because she's aFlutterbudget," said the wizard, nodding wisely ." i_think I_know now what these people are like ."

" so do I," announced Dorothy .

"Oh, boo-hoo-hoo ! " sobbed the woman, giving way to a fresh burst of grief .

" what's wrong now ? " asked the shaggy man .

"Oh, suppose I had pricked my foot ! " she wailed ." then the doctors would_have cut my foot off, and I'd be lamed for life ! "

" surely, MA'am," replied the wizard, " and if_you'd pricked your nose they_might cut your head off . but you_see you didn't ."

" but I_might_have ! " she exclaimed, and began to cry again . so they left her and drove away in their wagon . and her husband came out and began calling " help ! " as he had before; but no one seemed to_pay any attention to him .

as_the travelers turned into another street they found a man walking excitedly up and down the pavement . he appeared to_be in a very nervous condition and_the wizard stopped him to ask:

" is anything wrong, sir ? "

" everything is wrong," answered the man, dismally ." I_can't sleep ."

" why_not ? " inquired Omby Amby .

" if I go to sleep I'll have to shut my eyes," he explained; " and if I shut my eyes they_may grow together, and then I'd be blind for life ! "

" did you ever hear of any_one's eyes growing together ? " asked Dorothy .

" no," said the man, "I never did . but it would_be a dreadful thing, wouldn't it ? and_the thought of it makes me so nervous I'm afraid to_go to sleep ."

" there's no help for this_case," declared the wizard; and_they went on .

at_the next street corner a woman rushed up to_them crying:

" save my baby ! Oh, good, kind people, save my baby ! "

" is_it in danger ? " asked Dorothy, noticing that_the child was clasped in her arms and seemed sleeping peacefully .

" yes, indeed," said the woman, nervously ." if i_should go into_the house and throw my child out_of_the window, it would roll way down to_the bottom of_the hill; and then if there were alot of tigers and bears down there, they_would tear my darling babe to pieces and eat it up ! "

" are there any tigers and bears in_this neighborhood ? " the wizard asked .

"I've never heard of any," admitted the woman, " but if there were--"

" have_you any idea of throwing your baby out_of_the window ? " questioned the little man .

" none at all," she said; " but if--"

" all your troubles are due to_those 'ifs'," declared the wizard ." if_you were_not aFlutterbudget you wouldn't worry ."

" there's another ' if'," replied the woman ." are_you aFlutterbudget, too ? "

" i_will_be, if I stay here long," exclaimed the wizard, nervously .

" another ' if' ! " cried the woman .

but the wizard did_not stop to argue with her . he_made the sawhorse canter all the way down the hill, and only breathed easily when_they were miles away from_the village .

after they had ridden in silence for a while Dorothy turned to_the little man and asked:

" do 'ifs' really make Flutterbudgets ? "

" i_think the 'ifs' help," he answered seriously ." foolish fears, and worries over nothing, with a mixture of nerves and ifs, will soon make aFlutterbudget of any_one ."

then there_was another long silence, for all the travelers were thinking over this statement, and nearly all decided it must_be true .

the country they were now passing through was everywhere tinted purple, the prevailing color of_the Gillikin country; but as_the sawhorse ascended a hill they found that upon_the other side everything was of a rich yellow hue .

"Aha ! " cried the captain general; " here_is_the country of_the Winkies . we_are just crossing the boundary line ."

" then we_may_be_able to lunch with_the tin woodman," announced the wizard, joyfully .

" must we lunch on tin ? " asked aunt Em .

"Oh, no;" replied Dorothy ." nick chopper knows how to feed meat people, and he_will give_us plenty of good things to eat, never fear .I've been to_his castle before ."

" is nick chopper the tin woodman's name ? " asked uncle Henry .

" yes; that's one of_his names," answered the little girl; " and another of_his names is 'Emp'ror of_the Winkies .' he's the king of_this country, you_know, but Ozma rules over all the countries of Oz ."

"Does the tin woodman keep any Flutterbudgets or Rigmaroles at his castle ? " inquired aunt Em, uneasily .

" no indeed," said Dorothy, positively ." he lives in a new tin castle, all full of lovely things ."

" i_should think it would rust," said uncle Henry .

" he has thousands of Winkies to_keep it polished for him," explained the wizard ." his people love to_do anything in their power for their beloved emperor, so there isn't a particle of rust on all the big castle ."

"I suppose they polish their emperor, too," said aunt Em .

" why, some_time_ago he had himself nickel- plated," the wizard answered; " so he only needs rubbing up once in a while . he's the brightest man in all the world, is dear nick chopper; and_the kindest-hearted ."

"I helped find him," said Dorothy, reflectively ." once the Scarecrow and I_found the tin woodman in_the woods, and he_was just rusted still, that_time, an' no mistake . but we oiled his joints an' got 'em good and slippery, and after_that he went with_us to visit the wizard at_the Em'rald city ."

" was_that the time the wizard scared you ? " asked aunt Em .

" he didn't treat us well, at first," acknowledged Dorothy; " for he_made us go away and destroy the wicked witch . but after we_found out he_was only a humbug wizard we were_not afraid of him ."

the wizard sighed and looked a little ashamed .

" when we_try to deceive people we always make mistakes," he_said ." but I'm getting to_be a real wizard now, and Glinda the good's magic, that I_am trying to practice, can never harm any_one ."

" you were always a good man," declared Dorothy, " even when_you were a bad wizard ."

" he's a good wizard now," asserted aunt Em, looking at_the little man admiringly ." the way he_made those tents grow out of handkerchiefs was just wonderful ! and didn't he enchant the wagon wheels so they'd find the road ? "

" all the people of Oz," said the captain general, " are very proud of_their wizard . he once made some soap-bubbles that astonished the world ."

the wizard blushed at_this praise, yet it pleased him . he no longer looked sad, but seemed to_have recovered his usual good humor .

the country through which they now rode was thickly dotted with farmhouses, and yellow grain waved in all the fields . many_of_the Winkies could_be seen working on their farms and_the wild and unsettled parts of Oz were by_this_time left far behind .

these Winkies appeared to_be happy, light-hearted folk, and all removed their caps and bowed low when_the red wagon with its load of travelers passed by .

it_was not long before_they saw something glittering in_the sunshine far ahead .

" see ! " cried Dorothy; " that's the tin castle, aunt Em ! "

and_the sawhorse, knowing his passengers were eager to arrive, broke into a swift trot that soon brought them to_their destination .

24 . how the tin woodman told the sad News

the tin woodman received princess Dorothy's party with much grace and cordiality, yet the little girl decided that something must_be worrying with her old friend, because he_was not so merry as usual .

but at first she said nothing about_this, for uncle Henry and aunt Em were fairly bubbling over with admiration for_the beautiful tin castle and its polished tin owner . so her suspicion that something unpleasant had happened was for a time forgotten .

" where is_the Scarecrow ? " she asked, when_they had all been ushered into_the big tin drawing- room of_the castle, the sawhorse being led around to_the tin stable in_the rear .

" why, our old friend has just moved into his new mansion," explained the tin woodman ." it_has_been a long_time in building, although my Winkies and many_other people from all parts of_the country have_been busily working upon it . at last, however, it_is completed, and_the Scarecrow took possession of_his new home just two days_ago ."

"I hadn't heard that he_wanted a home of_his own," said Dorothy ." why doesn't he live with Ozma in_the emerald city ? he used to, you_know; and i_thought he_was happy there ."

"

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