Oz 22: The Giant Horse of Oz by Ruth Plumly Thompson
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shore of_the island and as he sank exhausted on_the rocks the king and_his army came marching back . they had tramped boldly into_the monster's cave, but had of_course found neither Quiberon nor trot . as_they knew nothing of_the caves beyond the water fall they had sadly turned homeward . the king at_least was sad, the others, while they said nothing of it, were secretly delighted to_find themselves alive .

"Quiberon has gone," declared Cheeriobed gravely ." the mortal maiden also has vanished . but as_you_have saved Philador I_shall say nothing of_the stealing of_the golden pear . there_is naught to_do now but wait for_the coming of Ozma and_the little prince . and no_doubt Ozma will_find a way to save this mortal child ."

" no_doubt," muttered Akbad and, as_the king shaking his head went on up_to_the palace, the soothsayer flew into a tall tree and tried to_think up the excuses he_would offer his majesty when Ozma failed to appear .

as for Cheeriobed, troubled though he_was over the disappearance of_the little mortal, he_could_not help but think that_the worst of_his misfortunes were over . almost cheerfully, he bustled about giving orders for a grand reception to welcome Ozma to_his island kingdom and bidding the royal household have everything in readiness for Philador's return .

chapter 7

the Trials of Tattypoo

on_the same evening Philador and Akbad flew off from_the Ozure Isles, the good witch of_the north sat quietly before her fire, spinning silver from straw . from_time to_time Agnes, her pet dragon, would toss a log on_the blaze and set it glowing with her fiery breath . the cat with two tails purred drowsily in_the chimney corner and nothing could_have_been cozier than this little room in_the good witch's hut . and Tattypoo was content .Ruling over the north country, settling disputes between its small kingdoms, and advising the Gillikens, about everything from birthday parties to preserves, filled her time most pleasantly . the door of_the good witch's hut was never bolted and no one, coming for help or advice, had ever been turned away . so though her skin was drawn and wrinkled and her hair white as snow, and_the little hut plainly, even poorly furnished, Tattypoo was perfectly happy .

but Agnes, the amiable dragon, was not .Agnes longed for grandeur and style and felt that_the ruler of all the Gillikens should wear a crown or live in a castle .Agnes, while not exactly conceited, felt that her own beauty was utterly wasted in_this little hut . she longed to flash her silver scales and switch her tail at_the fine courts of Oz . but Tattypoo was neither vain nor ambitious and only chuckled when Agnes complained of_the poorness of_their dwelling, the plainness of_the food and_the lack of servants to wait upon them . she had lived so_long in_the purple forest on_the Gilliken mountain side that she had grown to love every tree and tumbling brook and even the witch's little cottage .

at_the_time the wizard first came to Oz it_was ruled over, as_you well know, by four witches . little Dorothy's house fell on_the wicked witch of_the east, and later this same little Dorothy had put out with a pail of water the wicked witch of_the west .Glinda the good sorceress had conquered the bad witch of_the south and Tattypoo had conquered Mombi, the wicked witch of_the north, not before she had stolen Cheeriobed's queen, however, and done many mischievous transformations . at first Mombi had_been deprived of her magic powers but after her last attempt to capture the emerald city she, too, had_been put out with a pail of water, so_that Tattypoo was_the only witch of any power or consequence in Oz . and as she explained over and over again to Agnes, being a good witch in an important country like Oz was honor enough for her, and as long as she used her magic powers for good and so_long as_the Gillikens were peaceful and prosperous under her rule, she_would be perfectly satisfied and happy .

Agnes, in_spite of her vanity, was as good a dragon as Tattypoo was a witch and had really earned her title of_the amiable dragon . for Agnes had never devoured any captive maidens, burned down a village or threatened a kingdom . she was a small cozy sort of a dragon, too, taking up only about half a room and wearing rubbers to_keep her claws from scratching the floor . she had wandered into Tattypoo's hut the very day the good witch had conquered Mombi, and had lived with her ever_since . she was so good tempered and companionable, Tattypoo put up quite cheerfully with her occasional dissatisfied spells .

tonight, Agnes was feeling particularly dissatisfied . in_the morning Tattypoo had disenchanted a poor forest maiden . the girl had knocked on_the door and asked for food .Tattypoo after one look realized she was under some evil spell and immediately consulted her books of sorcery .a few magic potions and passes had changed the maiden to her rightful self . and she had_been no less_than a king's daughter, whom Tattypoo had sent home on a fast wish to her father's castle .

" if_you_can change poor girls to princesses, why don't you_do something for_yourself ? " complained Agnes, giving the fire a vicious poke ."I don't mind being a dragon .Dragons are unusual and interesting, but witches are ugly and out of style . were you always a witch ? do_you always intend to_be a witch ? were you never young or pretty at all ? " Agnes' question made Tattypoo pause . the hum of_the spinning wheel ceased as she tried to recall the past . had she ever been young or pretty ? Letting the silver threads slide through her fingers, she gazed thoughtfully into_the fire, but it_was all dim and hazy and_the good witch could remember nothing of her youth or the days before she had come to_the purple forest . she remembered distinctly her first meeting with Mombi . the wicked witch was changing awoodcutter into a tree stump and Tattypoo, running forward, had put a stop to_it . her magic proved stronger than Mombi's so it had_not_been hard to overpower her . not_only that, but she had driven Mombi out_of_the forest and taken possession of her hut and magic tools . later, the Gillikens had come in crowds to thank Tattypoo and beg her to rule over them in Mombi's place . so Tattypoo had stayed on, undoing as_much of Mombi's mischief as she_could and growing fonder and fonder of_the peace loving Gillikens . she had always been so busy helping other people, she had never thought about herself at all, but tonight Agnes' question made her vaguely unhappy and she began to_feel really annoyed that she_could remember nothing of her own past .

" I_must_have been young, once," murmured Tattypoo, absently leaning down to stroke the cat with two tails ." even witches are young .

" of_course they_are," sniffed the dragon impatiently, " and if I had your magic powers, I'd be young again ."

" it wouldn't be right to practice magic for_my own benefit," answered Tattypoo in a shocked voice ." it's against the law ."

" is_there any law against youth and beauty ? " demanded Agnes tartly, but the good witch kept shaking her head and muttering over and over, " it wouldn't be right . it wouldn't be right ."

" well, at_least you_could_see how you used to look," said Agnes, waving her tail toward the stairway ." surely there_is no law against that ? "

" how ? " asked Tattypoo, leaning back in her chair and fixing her mild blue eyes full upon_the amiable dragon .

" why, the witch's window ! let's have a look through_the witch's window ! " coaxed Agnes, and sliding across the floor she began pulling her silver length up the rickety steps of_the cottage .Tattypoo, reaching for her staff, hobbled hurnedly after her .

"I never thought of_the window," panted Tattypoo feeling extremely excited and fluttery . in_the attic of Mombi's hut was a curious dormer window, its two leaded panes opening out upon_the slanting roof . one pane was of blue glass and one of pink .Tattypoo had often consulted the witch's window, when her subjects needed to_know about_the past or the future . one look through_the blue pane showed the person looking out the past, and one look through_the pink pane showed the future . it_was curious that Tattypoo had lived in_the hut all these years and never looked out the witch's window, but as I_said a minute ago, she was so happy and so busy she never thought of herself at all . and now, it_was largely to satisfy Agnes that she tiptoed over to_the dormer window . first she pushed back her cap ruffles and straightened her specs .

" well ? " asked Agnes, pulling herself laboriously up on_the sill ." what do you_see ? " instead of answering Tattypoo gave a terrible scream and jumped right out the window . yes, she did .

" stop ! help ! what_are you doing ! " shrieked the poor dragon, falling half way out herself . but the good witch had disappeared, staff, cap, spectacles and all . and in her desperate concern for her unfortunate mistress, Agnes lost her balance and, falling out the witch's window, disappeared as quickly and completely as Tattypoo . so of_course, there_was no one to answer the door .

"Rap ! Rap ! Rap ! " the knocker rose and fell . then the latch was lifted cautiously and in stepped a small boy . it was_the prince of_the Ozure Isles, for_the blue gull had brought him straight to_the good witch's door .

"Tattypoo ! " called Philador softly ." where are_you, Tattypoo ? " but there_was no reply- only the rush of a black shape as_the cat with two tails scampered across the cottage floor and jumped out_of_the low window .

chapter 8

the man in_the bottle

the firelight lit up the little cottage quite cheerfully and after looking all over and even taking a candle end into_the attic, Philador curled up in a big easy chair to await the return of_the good witch ." she's probably out visiting a neighbor," decided the little prince sleepily . the chair was so comfortable, and Philador so drowsy from_his long fly through_the night air, he soon fell fast asleep and dreamed he had found his royal mother and saved his father's kingdom .a soft thud in_his lap wakened him next morning and starting up in alarm he looked straight into_the green eyes of_the cat with two tails .

" well," sniffed the cat, transferring herself to_the arm of_the chair, " since you_are still here you_may as_well fetch me my breakfast ."

" but where's Tattypoo ? " cried Philador, rubbing his eyes and trying not to show his astonishment at a two tailed cat .

" gone ! " announced the cat calmly washing her face .

" gone ! " exclaimed the little prince jumping to_his feet in great distress ." why, where has she gone ? "

"Oh, she probably fell down the well," muttered the cat, walking unconcernedly toward the kitchen .

" you don't really mean that she fell down the well ? " begged Philador, running distractedly after_the unfeeling creature ." not really ? "

" how should I_know ? " yawned the cat ." the milk is in_that chest, boy . just pour me a full saucer, will_you ? " her eyes glittered so cruelly and she sharpened her claws so suggestively on_the rug, Philador hastily opened the chest, took out ajug of milk and poured her a full saucer . then dropping into a kitchen chair he wondered what in Oz to_do next . he had counted so entirely on Tattypoo's help that without her he_felt utterly lost and bewildered . the witch's cat looked at him curiously from_time to_time and after she had finished her milk, deigned to_speak ." there_might_be a message on_the slate by_the stove," she announced stepping daintily through_the open door into_the forest . immediately Philador rushed over to_the stove . sure enough, there_was a slate hanging on_the wall, but there_was nothing written on_it . with a sigh the little boy was turning away, when_the pencil hanging on a cord beside the slate moved upward and began to write on_the smooth black surface .Philador's scalp prickled uncomfortably at_this odd occurrence, but recovering himself quickly, he leaned forward to read the message .

" the good witch of_the north will never return ! " stated the pencil mournfully, and falling the full length of_the cord swung excitedly to and fro . such a message was almost worse than none and Philador stared in horror at_the gloomy announcement . if Tattypoo never was coming back, how could she help him save the kingdom, and without Tattypoo to help him how was he to save the Ozure Isles all by himself ? the slate must_have been of a magic sort, for while the little prince stood dismally wondering what to_do, the pencil began scribbling a second message .

" go to_the emerald city, Ozma of Oz will help_you," wrote the pencil in a firm, decided hand .Philador waited a few_minutes to_see whether any more advice was coming but the pencil dropped beside the slate and refused to write another word . with only two days left before Quiberon would destroy his father's kingdom, the little boy did_not see how he_was ever to reach the emerald city in_time, especially as he_did_not even know in_which direction it lay . going over to_the little window he drew aside the checked curtain and looked out . deep and impenetrable, the purple forest loomed up on all sides, and with a long sigh Philador let the curtain drop and went back to_his chair . but it_was not long before his natural courage and cheerfulness began to reassert itself . surely the good witch's slate would_not advise him to_go to_the emerald city if_the journey

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