Oz 14: Glinda of Oz by L. Frank Baum
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more varied arts of magic at our command . however, you_have one art that no other in all the world can equal -- the art of winning hearts and making people love to bow to your gracious presence . for_that reason I believe you_can accomplish more good alone than with a large number of subjects in your train ."

"I believe that also," agreed the princess ." I_shall_be quite able to_take care of myself, you_know, but might_not_be_able to protect others so_well . I_do_not look for opposition, however . I_shall speak to_these people in kindly words and settle their dispute -- whatever it may_be -- in a just manner ."

"Aren't you going to_take me ? " pleaded Dorothy ." you'll need some companion, Ozma ."

the princess smiled upon her little friend .

" I_see no reason why you_should_not accompany me," was her reply ." two girls are_not very warlike and they_will_not suspect us of being on any errand but a kindly and peaceful one . but, in_order to_prevent war and strife between_these angry peoples, we_must go to_them at once . let_us return immediately to_the emerald city and prepare to start on_our journey early tomorrow morning ."

Glinda was not quite satisfied with_this plan, but could_not think of any better way to meet the problem . she knew that Ozma, with all her gentleness and sweet disposition, was accustomed to abide by any decision she had made and could_not easily be turned from her purpose . moreover she_could see no great danger to_the fairy ruler of Oz in_the undertaking, even though the unknown people she was to visit proved obstinate . but Dorothy was not a fairy; she was a little girl who had come from Kansas to live in_the land of Oz . Dorothy might encounter dangers that to Ozma would_be as nothing but to an " earth child" would_be very serious .

the very fact that Dorothy lived in Oz, and had_been made a princess by her friend Ozma, prevented her from being killed or suffering any great bodily pain as long as she lived in_that fairyland . she_could_not grow big, either, and would always remain the same little girl who had come to Oz, unless in some way she left that fairyland or was spirited away from_it . but Dorothy was a mortal, nevertheless, and might possibly be destroyed, or hidden where none of her friends could ever find her . she_could, for instance be cut into pieces, and_the pieces, while still alive and free from pain, could_be widely scattered; or she might_be buried deep underground or " destroyed" in other ways by evil magicians, were she not properly protected . these facts Glinda was considering while she paced with stately tread her marble hall .

finally the good sorceress paused and drew a ring from her finger, handing it to Dorothy .

" wear this ring constantly until your return," she said to_the girl ." if serious danger threatens you, turn the ring around on_your finger once to_the right and another turn to_the left . that_will ring the alarm bell in my palace and_I_will at once come to your rescue . but do_not use the ring unless you_are actually in danger of destruction . while you remain with princess Ozma I believe she will_be_able to protect you from all lesser ills ."

" thank_you, Glinda," responded Dorothy gratefully, as she placed the ring on her finger ."I'm going to wear my magic belt which i_took from_the Nome king, too, so I guess I'll be safe from anything the Skeezers and Flatheads try to_do to_me ."

Ozma had many arrangements to_make before she_could leave her throne and her palace in_the emerald city, even for a trip of a few_days, so she bade goodbye to Glinda and with Dorothy climbed into_the red wagon .a word to_the wooden sawhorse started that astonishing creature on_the return journey, and so swiftly did he run that Dorothy was unable to_talk or do anything but hold tight to her seat all the way back to_the emerald city .

chapter two

Ozma and Dorothy

Residing in Ozma's palace at_this_time was a live Scarecrow, a most remarkable and intelligent creature who had once ruled the land of Oz for a brief period and was much loved and respected by all the people . once aMunchkin farmer had stuffed an old suit of clothes with straw and put stuffed boots on_the feet and used a pair of stuffed cotton gloves for hands . the head of_the Scarecrow was a stuffed sack fastened to_the body, with eyes, nose, mouth and ears painted on_the sack . when a hat had_been put on_the head, the thing was a good imitation of a man . the farmer placed the Scarecrow on a pole in_his cornfield and it came to life in a curious manner . Dorothy, who was passing by_the field, was hailed by_the live Scarecrow and lifted him off his pole . he then went with her to_the emerald city, where the wizard of Oz gave him some excellent brains, and_the Scarecrow soon became an important personage .

Ozma considered the Scarecrow one of her best friends and most loyal subjects, so the morning after her visit to Glinda she asked him to_take her place as ruler of_the land of Oz while she was absent on a journey, and_the Scarecrow at once consented without asking any questions .

Ozma had warned Dorothy to_keep their journey a secret and say nothing to anyone about_the Skeezers and Flatheads until their return, and Dorothy promised to obey . she longed to_tell her girl friends, tiny trot and Betsy bobbin, of_the adventure they were undertaking, but refrained from saying a word on_the_subject although both these girls lived with her in Ozma's palace .

indeed, only Glinda the sorceress knew they were going, until after they had gone, and even the sorceress didn't know what their errand might_be .

princess Ozma took the sawhorse and_the red wagon, although she was not sure there_was a wagon road all the way to_the lake of_the Skeezers . the land of Oz is a pretty big place, surrounded on all sides by a deadly desert which it_is impossible to cross, and_the Skeezer country, according to_the map, was in_the farthest northwestern part of Oz, bordering on_the north desert . as_the emerald city was exactly in_the center of Oz, it_was no small journey from there to_the Skeezers .

around the emerald city the country is thickly settled in every direction, but the farther away you get from_the city the fewer people there_are, until those parts that border on_the desert have small populations . also those faraway sections are little known to_the Oz people, except in_the south, where Glinda lives and where Dorothy has often wandered on trips of exploration .

the least known of all is_the Gillikin country, which harbors many strange bands of people among its mountains and valleys and forests and streams, and Ozma was now bound for_the most distant part of_the Gillikin country .

" I_am really sorry," said Ozma to Dorothy, as_they rode away in_the red wagon, " not to_know more about_the wonderful land I rule . it_is my duty to_be acquainted with every tribe of people and every strange and hidden country in all Oz, but I_am kept so busy at my palace making laws and planning for_the comforts of_those who live near the emerald city, that I_do_not often find time to_make long journeys ."

" well," replied Dorothy, " we'll prob'bly find out alot on_this trip, and we'll learn all about_the Skeezers and Flatheads, anyhow . time doesn't make much diff'rence in_the land of Oz, ' cause we don't grow up, or get old, or become sick and die, as they_do other places; so, if_we explore one place at_a_time, we'll by- an'- by know all about every nook and corner in Oz ."

Dorothy wore around her waist the Nome king's magic belt, which protected her from harm, and_the magic ring which Glinda had given her was on her finger .Ozma had merely slipped a small silver wand into_the bosom of her gown, for fairies do_not use chemicals and herbs and_the tools of wizards and sorcerers to perform their magic . the silver wand was Ozma's one weapon of offense and defense and by its use she_could accomplish many things .

they had left the emerald city just at sunrise and_the sawhorse traveled very swiftly over the roads towards the north, but in a few hours the wooden animal had to slacken his pace because the farm houses had become few and far between and often there were no paths at all in_the direction they wished to_follow . at such times they crossed the fields, avoiding groups of trees and fording the streams and rivulets whenever they came to_them . but finally they reached a broad hillside closely covered with scrubby brush, through which the wagon could_not pass .

" it_will_be difficult even for_you and me to_get through without tearing our dresses," said Ozma, " so we_must leave the sawhorse and_the wagon here until our return ."

" that's all right," Dorothy replied, "I'm tired riding, anyhow . do_you s' pose, Ozma, we're anywhere near the Skeezer country ? "

" I_cannot tell, Dorothy dear, but I_know we've been going in_the right direction, so we_are_sure to_find it in_time ."

the scrubby brush was almost like a grove of small trees, for_it reached as high as_the heads of_the two girls, neither of whom was very tall . they were obliged to thread their way in and out, until Dorothy was afraid they_would get lost, and finally they were halted by a curious thing that barred their further progress . it_was a huge web -- as_if woven by gigantic spiders -- and_the delicate, lacy film was fastened stoutly to_the branches of_the bushes and continued to_the right and left in_the form of a half circle . the threads of_this web were of a brilliant purple color and woven into numerous artistic patterns, but it reached from_the ground to branches above the heads of_the girls and formed a sort of fence that hedged them in .

" it doesn't look very strong, though," said Dorothy ."I wonder if_we couldn't break through ." she tried but found the web stronger than it seemed . all her efforts could_not break a single thread .

" we_must go back, i_think, and try to_get around this peculiar web," Ozma decided .

so they turned to_the right and, following the web found that_it seemed to spread in a regular circle . on and on they went until finally Ozma said they had returned to_the exact spot from_which they had started ." here_is a handkerchief you dropped when we were here before," she said to Dorothy .

" in_that case, they_must_have built the web behind us, after we walked into_the trap," exclaimed the little girl .

" true," agreed Ozma, " an enemy has tried to imprison us ."

" and_they did it, too," said Dorothy ."I wonder who it_was ."

" it's a spider- web, I'm quite_sure," returned Ozma, " but it must_be the work of enormous spiders ."

" quite right ! " cried a voice behind them .Turning quickly around they beheld a huge purple spider sitting not two yards away and regarding them with its small bright eyes .

then there crawled from_the bushes a dozen more great purple spiders, which saluted the first one and said:

" the web is finished, O king, and_the strangers are our prisoners ."

Dorothy did_not like the looks of_these spiders at all . they had big heads, sharp claws, small eyes and fuzzy hair all over their purple bodies .

" they look wicked," she whispered to Ozma ." what shall we_do ? "

Ozma gazed upon_the spiders with a serious face .

" what_is your object in making us prisoners ? " she inquired .

" we_need someone to_keep house for_us," answered the spider king ." there_is sweeping and dusting to_be_done, and polishing and washing of dishes, and_that is work my people dislike to_do . so we decided that if any strangers came our way we_would capture them and make them our servants ."

" I_am princess Ozma, ruler of all Oz," said the girl with dignity .

" well, I_am king of all Spiders," was_the reply, " and_that makes me your master . come with me to my palace and_I_will instruct you in your work ."

"I won't," said Dorothy indignantly ." we won't have anything to_do with_you ."

" we'll see about_that," returned the spider in a severe tone, and_the next instant he_made a dive straight at Dorothy, opening the claws in_his legs as_if to grab and pinch her with_the sharp points . but the girl was wearing her magic belt and was not harmed . the spider king could_not even touch her . he turned swiftly and made a dash at Ozma, but she held her magic wand over his head and_the monster recoiled as_if it had_been struck .

" you'd better let_us go," Dorothy advised him, " for you_see you_can't hurt us ."

" so I_see," returned the spider king angrily ." your magic is greater than mine . but I'll not help_you to escape . if_you_can break the magic web my people have woven you_may go; if_not you_must stay here and starve ." with_that the spider king uttered a peculiar whistle and all the spiders disappeared .

" there_is more magic in my fairyland than I dreamed of," remarked the beautiful Ozma, with a sigh of regret ." it seems that my laws have_not_been obeyed, for even these monstrous spiders defy me by_means of magic ."

" never mind that now," said Dorothy; " let's see what we_can do to_get out of_this trap ."

they now examined the web with great care and were amazed at its strength . although finer than_the finest silken hairs, it resisted all their efforts to work through, even though both girls threw all their weight against it .

" we_must find some instrument which will cut the threads of_the web," said Ozma, finally ." let_us look about for such

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