Oz 14: Glinda of Oz by L. Frank Baum
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a golden Pig ? "

" she_is . the Skeezers did it and so I_have declared war on them . in revenge for making my wife a Pig I intend to ruin their magic island and make_the Skeezers the slaves of_the Flatheads ! "

the Su-dic was very angry now; his eyes flashed and_his face took on a wicked and fierce expression . but Ozma said to him, very sweetly and in a friendly voice:

" I_am sorry to hear this . will_you_please tell me more about_your troubles with_the Skeezers ? then perhaps I_can help_you ."

she was only a girl, but there_was dignity in her pose and speech which impressed the Su-dic .

" if_you_are really princess Ozma of Oz," the flathead said, " you_are one of_that band of fairies who, under queen Lurline, made all Oz a fairyland . I_have heard that Lurline left one of her own fairies to rule Oz, and gave the fairy the name of Ozma ."

" if you_knew this why did you not come to_me at_the emerald city and tender me your loyalty and obedience ? " asked the ruler of Oz .

" well, I only learned the fact lately, and I've been too busy to leave home," he explained, looking at_the floor instead of into Ozma's eyes . she knew he had spoken a falsehood, but only said:

" why did you quarrel with_the Skeezers ? "

" it was_this way," began the Su-dic, glad to_change the subject ." we Flatheads love fish, and as we_have no fish on_this mountain we_would sometimes go to_the lake of_the Skeezers to catch fish . this made the Skeezers angry, for they declared the fish in their lake belonged to_them and were under their protection and_they forbade us to catch them . that was very mean and unfriendly in_the Skeezers, you_must admit, and when we paid no attention to_their orders they set a guard on_the shore of_the lake to_prevent our fishing .

" now, my wife, Rora flathead, having four cans of brains, had become a wonderful witch, and fish being brain food, she loved to eat fish better than any_one of us . so she vowed she_would destroy every fish in_the lake, unless the Skeezers let_us catch what we wanted . they defied us, so Rora prepared akettleful of magic poison and went down to_the lake one night to dump it all in_the water and poison the fish . it_was a clever idea, quite worthy of_my dear wife, but the Skeezer queen -- a young lady named Coo-ee-oh -- hid on_the bank of_the lake and taking Rora unawares, transformed her into a golden Pig . the poison was spilled on_the ground and wicked queen Coo-ee-oh, not content with her cruel transformation, even took away my wife's four cans of brains, so she_is now a common grunting Pig without even brains enough to_know her own name ."

" then," said Ozma thoughtfully, " the queen of_the Skeezers must_be a sorceress ."

" yes," said the Su-dic, " but she doesn't know much magic, after all . she_is_not as powerful as Rora flathead was, nor half as powerful as I_am now, as queen Coo-ee-oh will discover when we fight our great battle and destroy her ."

" the golden Pig can't be a witch any more, of_course," observed Dorothy .

" no; even had queen Coo-ee-oh left her the four cans of brains, poor Rora, in a Pig's shape, couldn't do any witchcraft .a witch has_to use her fingers, and a Pig has only cloven hoofs ."

" it seems a sad story," was Ozma's comment, " and all the trouble arose because the Flatheads wanted fish that did_not belong to_them ."

" as for_that," said the Su-dic, again angry, " I_made a law that any of_my people could catch fish in_the lake of_the Skeezers, whenever they wanted to . so the trouble was through_the Skeezers defying my law ."

" you_can only make laws to govern your own people," asserted Ozma sternly ."I, alone, am empowered to_make laws that_must be obeyed by all the peoples of Oz ."

"Pooh ! " cried the Su-dic scornfully ." you_can't make me obey your laws, I assure you . I_know the extent of your powers, princess Ozma of Oz, and I_know that I_am more powerful than you_are . to_prove it I_shall keep you and your companion prisoners in_this mountain until after we_have fought and conquered the Skeezers . then, if_you promise to_be good, I_may let you go home again ."

Dorothy was amazed by_this effrontery and Defiance of_the beautiful girl ruler of Oz, whom all until now had obeyed without question . but Ozma, still unruffled and dignified, looked at_the Su-dic and said:

" you_did_not mean that . you_are angry and speak unwisely, without reflection . I_came here from my palace in_the emerald city to_prevent war and to_make peace between you and_the Skeezers . I_do_not approve of queen Coo-ee-oh's action in transforming your wife Rora into a Pig, nor do I approve of Rora's cruel attempt to poison the fishes in_the lake . no one has_the right to work magic in my dominions without my consent, so the Flatheads and_the Skeezers have both broken my laws -- which_must be obeyed ."

" if_you_want to_make peace," said the Su-dic, " make_the Skeezers restore my wife to her proper form and give back her four cans of brains . also make them agree to allow us to catch fish in their lake ."

" no," returned Ozma, " i_will_not do_that, for_it would_be unjust . i_will_have the golden Pig again transformed into your wife Rora, and give her one can of brains, but the other three cans must_be restored to_those she robbed . neither may you catch fish in_the lake of_the Skeezers, for_it is their lake and_the fish belong to_them . this arrangement is just and honorable, and you_must agree to_it ."

" never ! " cried the Su-dic . just then a Pig came running into_the room, uttering dismal grunts . it was_made of solid gold, with joints at_the bends of_the legs and in_the neck and jaws . the golden Pig's eyes were rubies, and its teeth were polished ivory .

" there ! " said the Su-dic, " gaze on_the evil work of queen Coo-ee-oh, and then say if_you_can prevent my making war on_the Skeezers . that grunting beast was once my wife -- the most beautiful flathead on_our mountain and a skillful witch . now look at her ! "

" fight the Skeezers, fight the Skeezers, fight the Skeezers ! " grunted the golden Pig .

" i_will fight the Skeezers," exclaimed the flathead chief, " and if a dozen Ozmas of Oz forbade me i_would fight just the same ."

" not if I_can prevent it ! " asserted Ozma .

" you_can't prevent it . but since you threaten me, I'll have_you confined in_the bronze prison until the war is over," said the Su-dic . he whistled and four stout Flatheads, armed with axes and spears, entered the room and saluted him .Turning to_the men he_said: " take these two girls, bind them with wire ropes and cast them into_the bronze prison ."

the four men bowed low and one_of_them asked:

" where are the two girls, most noble Su-dic ? "

the Su-dic turned to where Ozma and Dorothy had stood but they had vanished !

chapter Seven

the magic isle

Ozma, seeing it_was useless to argue with_the supreme dictator of_the Flatheads . had_been considering how best to escape from_his power . she realized that his sorcery might_be difficult to overcome, and when he threatened to cast Dorothy and her into a bronze prison she slipped her hand into her bosom and grasped her silver wand . with_the other hand she grasped the hand of Dorothy, but these motions were so natural that_the Su-dic did_not notice them . then when he turned to meet his four soldiers, Ozma instantly rendered both herself and Dorothy invisible and swiftly led her companion around the group of Flatheads and out_of_the room . as_they reached the entry and descended the stone steps, Ozma whispered:

" let_us run, dear ! we_are invisible, so no one will see us ."

Dorothy understood and she was a good runner .Ozma had marked the place where the grand stairway that led to_the plain was located, so they made directly for_it . some people were in_the paths but these they dodged around . one_or_two Flatheads heard the pattering of footsteps of_the girls on_the stone pavement and stopped with bewildered looks to gaze around them, but no one interfered with_the invisible fugitives .

the Su-dic had lost no time in starting the chase . he and_his men ran so fast that they_might have overtaken the girls before_they reached the stairway had_not the golden Pig suddenly run across their path . the Su-dic tripped over the Pig and fell flat, and_his four men tripped over him and tumbled in a heap . before_they could scramble up and reach the mouth of_the passage it_was too late to stop the two girls .

there_was a guard on each side of_the stairway, but of_course they_did_not see Ozma and Dorothy as_they sped past and descended the steps . then they had to_go up five steps and down another ten, and so on, in_the same manner in_which they had climbed to_the top of_the mountain .Ozma lighted their way with her wand and_they kept on without relaxing their speed until they reached the bottom . then they ran to_the right and turned the corner of_the invisible wall just as_the Su-dic and_his followers rushed out_of_the arched entrance and looked around in an attempt to discover the fugitives .

Ozma now knew they were safe, so she told Dorothy to stop and both of_them sat down on_the grass until they_could breathe freely and become rested from their mad flight .

as for_the Su-dic, he realized he_was foiled and soon turned and climbed his stairs again . he_was very angry -- angry with Ozma and angry with himself -- because, now that he_took time to_think, he remembered that he_knew very_well the art of making people invisible, and visible again, and if he had only thought of it in_time he could_have used his magic knowledge to make_the girls visible and so have captured them easily . however, it_was now too late for regrets and he determined to_make preparations at once to march all his forces against the Skeezers .

" what shall we_do next ? " asked Dorothy, when_they were rested .

" let_us find the lake of_the Skeezers," replied Ozma ." from what that dreadful Su-dic said I imagine the Skeezers are good people and worthy of_our friendship, and if_we go to_them we_may help them to defeat the Flatheads ."

"I s' pose we_can't stop the war now," remarked Dorothy reflectively, as_they walked toward the row of palm trees .

" no; the Su-dic is determined to fight the Skeezers, so all we_can do is to warn them of_their danger and help them as_much as possible ."

" of_course you'll punish the Flatheads," said Dorothy .

" well, I_do_not_think the flathead people are as_much to blame as their supreme dictator," was_the answer ." if he_is removed from power and_his unlawful magic taken from_him, the people will probably be good and respect the laws of_the land of Oz, and live at peace with all their neighbors in_the_future ."

" I_hope so," said Dorothy with a sigh of doubt

the palms were_not far from_the mountain and_the girls reached them after a brisk walk . the huge trees were set close together, in three rows, and had_been planted so as to_keep people from passing them, but the Flatheads had cut a passage through_this barrier and Ozma found the path and led Dorothy to_the other side .

beyond the palms they discovered a very beautiful scene . bordered by a green lawn was a great lake fully a mile from shore to shore, the waters of_which were exquisitely blue and sparkling, with little wavelets breaking its smooth surface where the breezes touched it . in_the center of_this lake appeared a lovely island, not of great extent but almost entirely covered by a huge round building with glass walls and a high glass dome which glittered brilliantly in_the sunshine . between_the glass building and_the edge of_the island was no grass, flowers or shrubbery, but only an expanse of highly polished white marble . there were no boats on either shore and no signs of life could_be seen anywhere on_the island .

" well," said Dorothy, gazing wistfully at_the island, we've found the lake of_the Skeezers and their magic isle .I guess the Skeezers are in_that big glass palace, but we_can't get at 'em ."

chapter Eight

queen Coo-ee-oh

princess Ozma considered the situation gravely . then she tied her handkerchief to her wand and, standing at_the water's edge, waved the handkerchief like a flag, as a signal . for a time they_could observe no response .

"I don't see what good that_will do," said Dorothy ." even if_the Skeezers are on_that island and_see us, and know we're friends, they haven't any boats to_come and get us ."

but the Skeezers didn't need boats, as_the girls soon discovered . for on a sudden an opening appeared at_the base of_the palace and from_the opening came a slender shaft of steel, reaching out slowly but steadily across the water in_the direction of_the place where they stood . to_the girls this steel arrangement looked like a triangle, with_the base nearest the water . it came toward them in_the form of an arch, stretching out from_the palace wall until its end reached the bank and rested there, while the other end still remained on_the island .

then they saw that_it_was a bridge, consisting of a steel footway just broad enough to walk on, and two slender guide rails, one on either side, which were connected with_the footway by steel bars . the bridge looked rather frail and Dorothy feared it would_not bear their weight, but Ozma at once called, " come on ! " and started to walk across, holding fast to_the rail on either side . so Dorothy summoned her courage and followed after . before Ozma had taken three steps she halted and so forced Dorothy to halt, for_the bridge was again moving and returning to_the island .

" we_need not walk after all," said Ozma . so they stood still in their places and let the steel bridge draw them onward . indeed, the bridge

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