Oz 21: The Gnome King of Oz by Ruth Plumly Thompson
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the gnome king of Oz

by ruth Plumly Thompson

this book is dedicated to my nephew Richard Shuff Thompson, Jr .

with lots of love and a little laugh, for a little boy almost three and a half ! if I had a wish, I'd wish it quick and keep him always " little Dick ."

list of Chapters

1 queen cross patch Flits
2 the new queen of_the Quilties
3 duties of_the Quilty queen
4 Peter Flies with an odd bird
5 sea Tips upside down in quake
6 Ruggedo Discovers pirate's treasure
7 Kaliko Falls as king of Gnomes
8 Peter Meets Kuma party
9 queen Scraps Meets Peter
10 escape from patch at last
11 Scraps Meets sultan of suds
12 friend Oztrich Offers to help
13 tune town Sings the Wanderers onward
14 Ozwold and_his friends rush on
15 Wumbo, wonder worker, at home
16 Kuma's hand is at work again
17 mystery in_the emerald city
18 the theft of_the magic belt
19 the wizard Makes the gnome king visible
20 Peter is made a prince of Oz

chapter 1

queen cross patch Flits

queen cross patch, the sixth, stood at her castle window staring crossly down at her cross- patch country . from above it looked like a huge patch- work quilt, spread over the rolling hills of_the Winkie country in Oz . each of her subjects had a separate cotton- patch, and as each patch produced a different color of cotton and each patch- worker dressed himself and_his family in_the color of_his patch and painted his house the same color too, you_can imagine the odd appearance of_the kingdom itself . the Quilties, as_the people of patch were pleased to_call themselves, did most of_the patch- work in Oz and, as_the Kingdoms of Oz are nearly all old- fashioned enough to use and appreciate patch- work quilts, there_was plenty of work to_be_done . not_only did the industrious Quilties gather the small cotton-patches from their garden patches and stitch them into gay quilts but they_did mending and darning as_well .

for miles around people brought their old clothes to queen cross patch for repairs, so_that patch was as busy and prosperous a little kingdom as_you_would find anywhere, but by no means a pleasant one . constant picking of_the scraps in their garden patches had made the Quilty men exceedingly scrappy, and constant stitching upon_the patch- work quilts had made the Quilty ladies extremely cross and crotchety . indeed, everything about_this little country was cross and patchy . all the roads were cross roads, and_the houses as patched and shabby as_the clothes of_the people who lived in_them .

but perhaps, of all the Quilties, the queen, herself, was_the crossest and patchiest . she even had a patch over her eye . she had strained it from too_much fine sewing . just now she was straining the other one in an effort to_see that all of her subjects were hard at work .Finding that_they were, she flounced across the room and sat down at her sewing table . here, grumbling and scolding to herself, she began sorting patches into separate piles, according to_their size and color . except for her majesty's mumbles and_the occasional snores of ascissor bird, who dozed on a perch by_the window, there_was not a sound in_the great chamber . but suddenly, with a shrill scream, the queen flung a handful of patches into_the air, toppled off her three-legged throne and went entirely to pieces extremely small pieces, too ." help ! " shrieked the Scissor bird, wakening with a bounce ." help ! help ! the queen has gone to pieces ! " at_the Scissor bird's sharp outcries, the prime Piecer and chief Scrapper of patch fairly rushed through_the doorway .

"I've been expecting this ! " groaned the prime Piecer, and taking a huge bite from_the chunk of beeswax he held in one hand began to chew it gloomily .

" well, if_you've been expecting it you're not surprised," sniffed the chief Scrapper crossly, " but it's too bad to_have it happen at_the busiest season of_the year . now we'll have to stop everything and find a new ruler . hold your bill, nipper ! "

Stamping his foot at_the Scissor bird, the chief Scrapper of patch marched stiffly from_the room . neither the prime Piecer nor the chief Scrapper seemed to_think it queer for_the queen to_go to pieces . and no_doubt this_is because, sooner or later, all of_the Quilties do_this very thing .Living in a fairy country and being magically constructed they_cannot die, so when_they wear out, they simply go to pieces . when aQuilty goes to pieces, his relatives or friends sweep up the scraps and put them away in' a tidy scrap- bag and in ten years or so he comes out_of_the bag as good as ever . this does seem a curious custom, but curious or not, that_is exactly what happens, and while Scrapper went to fetch the royal scrap- bag and Piecer the royal dust- pan, the Scissor bird flew out_of_the window to break the news to_the patchworking populace .

in a huge sewing circle, the Quilty Dames were stitching upon a quilt and in their separate garden patches, the Quilty men were busily picking cottonpatches . but as_the Scissor bird flew screaming overhead and_they realized that queen cross patch had gone to pieces at last, they all stopped working and looked fearfully at one another . who_would_be the next ruler of patch ? whenever a ruler went to pieces another was immediately chosen by_the method laid down in_the imperial scrap book and always one_of_the Quilties had_been chosen .

now, curiously enough, no one wanted to_be king or queen, for_the ruler of_this cross little country had to work six times as hard as anyone else and consequently went to pieces six times faster . therefore, dropping their thimbles and scissors, the Quilties started to run in every direction, pelting into houses and down cellars, creeping into barrels and hiding themselves behind trees- so_that when Piecer and Scrapper issued from_the palace not a person was in sight . they had carefully swept up queen cross patch and hung her in a closet, and now, grumbling a little for choosing a new sovereign was always a troublesome matter- they stepped sternly toward the cotton- wood to_the left of_the palace . in_this wood grew hundreds of spool cotton-trees enough, in_fact, to_furnish all the thread used in_the kingdom . there were pink spool cotton-trees, red spool cotton-trees, green spool cotton-trees, orange spool cotton-trees, and every_other color you_could imagine . in_the center of_the little cottonwood grew a somewhat taller tree, bearing always one golden spool . it_was to_this tree that_the prime Ministers of patch hurried, for_this golden spool was_the royal spool of succession, and when cut from_the tree led directly to_the next ruler of_the kingdom .

Piecer had a large rag- bag over his shoulder, for it_was usually necessary to capture a ruler by force; Scrapper had a pair of gold shears and now, standing on tiptoe, he snipped the golden spool from_the golden branch and held it expectantly in_his hand . there_was a regular speech written out in_the royal scrap book, and as Scrapper had already chosen three rulers, he_knew it by heart .

" unwind, Oh, royal spool of succession," commanded the little Quilty importantly, "Un- wind and lead us to_the imperial potentate of patch ! " as he_came to_the word " patch," Scrapper set the spool on_the ground and, keeping hold of_the golden thread, waited solemnly for something to happen . for a moment the spool lay quietly where he had placed it- then with a little bounce it began to unwind .Letting the gold thread slip through his fingers, Scrapper skipped nimbly after_the spool, Piecer following earnestly behind him . up one cross road and down another rolled the royal spool of succession, past the patched palace, past a dozen patched cottages, on and on and on .

as it passed each cottage, the Quilties within would give a roar of relief, for they knew that for_the_present the danger of being king or queen had passed the members of_their household .Sometimes the golden spool would roll right into_the front door of a cottage and Scrapper and Piecer, thinking their search over, would prepare to seize a sovereign but, just as_they_did, the spool would whirl out the back door and roll on merrily down the road . but never before in_the history of patch had it gone so_far nor so fast, so_that soon the fat Quilty ministers, panting along after it, were completely out of breath and temper . now the cotton-patches grew thinner and thinner, the little cottages farther and farther apart, and before_they half realized it, the golden spool was rolling briskly down a yellow brick highway and_the kingdom of patch lay far behind them .

" stop ! " grunted Piecer, letting go Scrapper's coat-tails to_which he up_to_this_time had dutifully clung ." stop ! I_can go no farther ."

"Don't leave me," wailed poor Scrapper, rolling his eyes backward in great distress . neither of_the Quilties had_been out of patch before and_the prospect was truly terrifying . now, whether the magic spool heard the two conversing is hard to_tell but, quite suddenly, it stopped and sinking down by_the roadway, Piecer and Scrapper began to mop their foreheads with their patched handkerchiefs and fan themselves with their hats .

" let's go back," quavered Piecer in a low voice .

" but we_cannot go back without a ruler," objected Scrapper, who was_the bolder of_the two ." if we_do_not find a ruler in four days you very_well know that patch and all of_the Quilties will go to pieces . do_you_want to_go to pieces ? " he asked severely .

" no ! " said Piecer mournfully, "I don't, but we'll go to pieces anyway, running on at_this rate . something is wrong," puffed the prime Piecer dolefully ." the spool never took us out_of_the kingdom before . it's twisted, I tell you, and dear knows where it_will take us ."

" it_will take us to_the next ruler," declared Scrapper, who had recovered some of_his breath and most of_his courage ." it_is our duty to_follow . come ! "

"Oh, very_well," sighed Piecer, rising to_his feet with a great groan, " but don't blame me if_it leads us into a forest and we_are torn to bits by bears ."

as Piecer finished this cheering speech the thread in Scrapper's hand gave a little pull . the golden spool had started off again . this_time, however, it rolled along more slowly and, in_spite of_their uneasiness, the two Quilties cast interested glances to_the right and left . it_was all so different from their own patched and shabby little kingdom . pleasant yellow cottages and farms dotted the landscape, and_the fields and meadows, full of buttercups and daisies, did_not look a bit dangerous . on_the hill a splendid tin castle shone and glittered in_the sun, and though Scrapper and Piecer were quite unaware of it, this_was the residence of_the tin woodman, who ruled over the land of_the east .

nowhere in Oz is_there a more cheerful land than_the country of_the Winkies . but just as_the two travellers were beginning to enjoy themselves, the spool turned sharply off the highway and plunged down a steep hill . the first jerk flung Scrapper on_his face, and as Piecer had hold of_his coat-tails he_lost his balance too, and over and over they rolled to_the bottom .

" now for_the next ruler ! " gasped Scrapper .Scrambling to_his feet, and without pausing to brush off the dust, he bounded after_the spool . it_was fairly whistling ahead now, bouncing over rocks and tree stumps, so that_the two patchy Statesmen, in their endeavor to_keep up with it, looked like a couple of boys playing leap frog . when it did stop Piecer was too giddy to_see, but Scrapper gave a loud roar of anger .

"I don't care what it says," shouted the little Quilty angrily, "I refuse to_take orders from acow . is_this our future sovereign ? " he demanded indignantly . the spool had stopped indeed, and under the very horns of a cross brown cow .

"Moo ! " bellowed the cow, lowering her head threateningly .

" that's just what we_will do," sniffed Scrapper, " move on ! " at Scrapper's words, the spool of succession, as_if it had_been waiting for a signal, zipped under the cow, dragging both ministers along, and from_the way it behaved in_the next half hour, I_am convinced that some mighty bad magic had gone into its making . it rushed furiously under fences, over which the breathless Quilties were forced to climb, ' round and ' round trees, till they were almost too dizzy to stand, up hills and down hills, through stickery bushes and over sharp stones . it even dragged them head first into a muddy river .

" let's go home," blubbered Piecer, shaking himself like a big dog .Fortunately the Quilties could swim, but swimming in quilted trousers and coats was no fun at all and, dripping water and mud, the two sovereign seekers felt more depressed than ever .

" it's bewitched," insisted Piecer, tugging at Scrapper's coat-tails ." let's go back ! "

but Scrapper stubbornly shook his head and trudged stubbornly after_the mischievous spool of succession . it_was unwinding quite deliber-ately now, but leading them deep into a dangerous looking forest .

" i_wish cross patch had never gone to pieces," moaned Piecer dismally ."I don't care who's imperial potentate . i_wish someone else had my position . i_wish-"

" there's a sign," interrupted Scrapper ." look ! it says ' emerald city, thirty-five miles' ."

" emerald city ! " panted Piecer, forgetting his weariness for a moment ." why, that's the capital of Oz .Patches and pincushions ! why, I never expected to_see the emerald city ! maybe our next queen's in_the capital, old fellow ! "

" well, then she ought to_make a capital queen," sighed Scrapper, leaning over to untwine a bramble from_his left shin, " but who wants to walk thirty-five miles ? "

as he straightened up, the gold spool whirled between two tall trees and came to a complete standstill on a short foot- path .a rustic railing ran along the edge of_the path and, taking hold of_the railing, Scrapper began looking anxiously around for_the future ruler of patch .

" do you_see anything ? " he queried, looking over his shoulder .

" no, but I_feel something," grunted Piecer, peering anxiously down at his feet ." beeswax and basting threads ! "

next instant both Quilties leapt into_the air . then, taking a firmer hold upon_the railing and

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