Oz 06: Emerald City of Oz by L. Frank Baum
Section [1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23]
conquer Oz before he appeared with_his own army .Ozma did_not wish all these Nomes to overrun her land, so she advanced to king Roquat and taking his hand in her own said gently:

" who_are you ? what_is your_name ? "

"I don't know," he replied, smiling at her ." who_are you, my dear ? "

" my name is Ozma," she said; " and your_name is Roquat ."

"Oh, is_it ? " he replied, seeming pleased .

" yes; you_are king of_the Nomes," she said .

"Ah; I wonder what the Nomes are ! " returned the king, as_if puzzled .

" they_are underground elves, and_that tunnel over there_is full of_them," she answered ." you_have a beautiful cavern at_the other end of_the tunnel, so you_must go to your Nomes and say: ' march home ! ' then follow after them and in_time you_will reach the pretty cavern where you live ."

the Nome king was much pleased to learn this, for he had forgotten he had a cavern . so he went to_the tunnel and said to_his army: ' march home ! ' at once the Nomes turned and marched back through_the tunnel, and_the king followed after them, laughing with delight to_find his orders so readily obeyed .

the wizard went to general Guph, who was trying to count his fingers, and told him to_follow the Nome king, who was his master .Guph meekly obeyed, and so all the Nomes quitted the land of Oz forever .

but there were still the Phanfasms and Whimsies and Growleywogs standing around in groups, and_they were so_many that_they filled the gardens and trampled upon_the flowers and grass because they_did_not know that_the tender plants would_be injured by their clumsy feet . but in all other respects they were perfectly harmless and played together like children or gazed with pleasure upon_the pretty sights of_the royal gardens .

after counseling with_the Scarecrow Ozma sent Omby Amby to_the palace for_the magic belt, and when_the captain general returned with it the ruler of Oz at once clasped the precious belt around her waist .

" i_wish all these strange people-- the Whimsies and_the Growleywogs and_the Phanfasms-- safe back in their own homes ! " she said .

it all happened in atwinkling, for of_course the wish was no sooner spoken than it_was granted .

all the hosts of_the invaders were gone, and only the trampled grass showed that_they had ever been in_the land of Oz .

29 . how Glinda worked a magic spell

" that was better than fighting," said Ozma, when all our friends were assembled in_the palace after_the exciting events of_the morning; and each and every_one agreed with her .

" no one was hurt," said the wizard, delightedly .

" and no one hurt us," added aunt Em .

" but, best of all," said Dorothy, " the wicked people have all forgotten their wickedness, and will not wish to hurt any_one after_this ."

" true, princess," declared the shaggy man ." it seems to_me that to_have reformed all those evil characters is more important than to_have saved Oz ."

" nevertheless," remarked the Scarecrow, " I_am_glad Oz is saved . I_can now go back to my new mansion and live happily ."

" and I_am_glad and grateful that my pumpkin farm is saved," said jack .

" for_my part," added the tin woodman, " I_cannot express my joy that my lovely tin castle is_not to_be demolished by wicked enemies ."

" still," said Tiktok, "o-ther en-e-mies may come to Oz some day ."

" why do_you allow your clock- work brains to interrupt our joy ? " asked Omby Amby, frowning at_the machine man .

" I_say what I_am wound up to_say," answered Tiktok .

" and you_are right," declared Ozma ."I myself have_been thinking of_this very idea, and it seems to_me there_are entirely too many ways for people to_get to_the land of Oz . we used to_think the deadly desert that surrounds us was enough protection; but that_is no longer the case . the wizard and Dorothy have both come here through_the air, and I_am told the earth people have invented airships that_can fly anywhere they wish them to_go ."

" why, sometimes they_do, and sometimes they don't," asserted Dorothy .

" but in_time the airships may cause us trouble," continued Ozma, " for if_the earth folk learn how to manage them we_would_be overrun with visitors who_would ruin our lovely, secluded fairyland ."

" that_is true enough," agreed the wizard .

" also the desert fails to protect us in other ways," Ozma went on, thoughtfully ."Johnny Dooit once made a sand- boat that sailed across it, and_the Nome king made a tunnel under it . so I believe something ought_to_be_done to cut us off from_the rest of_the world entirely, so_that no one in_the_future will ever be_able to intrude upon us ."

" how will_you do_that ? " asked the Scarecrow .

" I_do_not know; but in some way I_am_sure it can_be accomplished . to- morrow i_will make a journey to_the castle of Glinda the good, and ask her advice ."

" may I go with_you ? " asked Dorothy, eagerly .

" of_course, my dear princess; and I also invite any of_our friends here who_would like to undertake the journey ."

they all declared they wished to accompany their girl ruler, for_this was indeed an important mission, since_the future of_the land of Oz to a great extent depended upon it . so Ozma gave orders to her servants to_prepare for_the journey on_the morrow .

that day she watched her magic picture, and when it showed her that all the Nomes had returned through_the tunnel to_their underground caverns, Ozma used the magic belt to close up the tunnel, so that_the earth underneath the desert sands became as solid as it_was before_the Nomes began to dig .

early the following morning a gay cavalcade set out to visit the famous sorceress, Glinda the good .Ozma and Dorothy rode in a chariot drawn by_the cowardly lion and_the hungry tiger, while the sawhorse drew the red wagon in_which rode the rest of_the party .

with hearts light and free from care they traveled merrily along through_the lovely and fascinating land of Oz, and in good season reached the stately castle in_which resided the sorceress .

Glinda knew that_they were coming .

" I_have_been reading about you in my magic book," she said, as she greeted them in her gracious way .

" what_is your magic book like ? " inquired aunt Em, curiously .

" it_is a record of everything that happens," replied the sorceress ." as_soon_as an event takes place, anywhere in_the_world, it_is immediately found printed in my magic book . so when I_read its pages I_am well informed ."

" did it tell you how our enemies drank the water of 'Blivion ? " asked Dorothy .

" yes, my dear; it told all about_it . and also it told me you were all coming to my castle, and why ."

" then," said Ozma, "I suppose you_know what_is in my mind, and_that I_am seeking a way to_prevent any_one in_the_future from discovering the land of Oz ."

" yes; I_know that . and while you were on_your journey I_have thought of a way to accomplish your desire . for_it seems to_me unwise to allow too many outside people to_come here . Dorothy, with her uncle and aunt, has now returned to Oz to live always, and there_is no reason why we_should leave any_way open for others to travel uninvited to our fairyland . let_us_make it impossible for any_one ever to communicate with_us in any_way, after_this . then we_may live peacefully and contentedly ."

" your advice is wise," returned Ozma ." i_thank_you, Glinda, for your promise to assist me ."

" but how can_you do_it ? " asked Dorothy ." how can_you keep every_one from ever finding Oz ? "

" by making our country invisible to all eyes but our own," replied the sorceress, smiling ." I_have a magic charm powerful enough to accomplish that wonderful feat, and now that we_have_been warned of_our danger by_the Nome king's invasion, I believe we_must not hesitate to separate ourselves forever from all the rest of_the world ."

"I agree with_you," said the ruler of Oz .

" won't it make any difference to_us ? " asked Dorothy, doubtfully .

" no, my dear," Glinda answered, assuringly ." we_shall still be_able to_see each_other and everything in_the land of Oz . it won't affect us at all; but those who fly through_the air over our country will look down and_see nothing at all . those who come to_the edge of_the desert, or try to cross it, will catch no glimpse of Oz, or know in what direction it lies . no one will try to tunnel to_us again because we_cannot_be seen and therefore cannot_be found . in other words, the land of Oz will entirely disappear from_the knowledge of_the rest of_the world ."

" that's all right," said Dorothy, cheerfully ." you_may make Oz invis'ble as_soon_as you please, for all I care ."

" it_is already invisible," Glinda stated ." I_knew Ozma's wishes, and performed the magic spell before_you arrived ."

Ozma seized the hand of_the sorceress and pressed it gratefully .

" thank_you ! " she said .

30 . how the story of Oz came to an end

the writer of_these Oz stories has received a little note from princess Dorothy of Oz which, for a time, has_made him feel rather disconcerted . the note was written on a broad, white feather from a stork's wing, and it said:

" you_will never hear anything more about OZ, because we_are now cut off forever from all the rest of_the world . but TOTO and_I_will always love you and all the other children who love us .

" Dorothy gale ."

this seemed to_me too bad, at first, for Oz is a very interesting fairyland . still, we_have no right to_feel grieved, for we_have_had enough of_the history of_the land of Oz to_fill six story books, and from its quaint people and their strange adventures we_have_been_able to learn many useful and amusing things .

so good luck to little Dorothy and her companions . may they live long in their invisible country and be very happy !

Section [1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23]