Oz 16: Kabumpo in Oz by Ruth Plumly Thompson
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another, and another, till not a figure head was in sight . even the figure Heads at_the windows of_the houses tumbled out and dashed madly around the corner . before_they could return, Kabumpo snatched up Pompa and tore through_the deserted streets of Rith Metic till he_came to_the black iron gate at_the other end of_the city .Butting it open with_his head, the elegant elephant dashed through and never stopped running till he_was miles away from there .

" have to rest a bit and eat some leaves," puffed Kabumpo, at last slowing down ."Whe-w ! "

" wish I_could eat leaves," sighed the prince, as Kabumpo began lunching off the tree tops ." but, never mind, we're out of Rith Metic ! Wasn't it lucky that Cottabus followed us ? I never would_have thought of getting out of sums by somersaulting . would you ? "

" only sensible thing it ever said, probably," answered the elegant elephant, with_his mouth full of leaves ." there's alot more to_be learned by traveling than by studying, my boy .Somer-saults for sums- let's always remember that ! "

Pompa did_not answer . he slid down Kabumpo's trunk and began hunting anxiously around for something to eat . not far away he_found a large nut tree and, gathering a handful of nuts, he sat down and began to crack them on a white marble slab near by . next instant Kabumpo heard a thud and a muffled cry .

the prince of Pumperdink had vanished, as_if by magic .

" where are_you ? " screamed the elegant elephant, pounding through_the brush ."Pompa ! Pompa ! he's disappeared," gasped Kabumpo, rushing over to_the marble slab . there_was not a sign of_the royal prince of Pumperdink anywhere, but carved carefully on_the white stone were these words:

please knock before_you fall in .

" fall in ! " snorted Kabumpo, his eyes rolling wildly ." great Gooch ! "

chapter 6

Ruggedo's history in Six Rocks

on_the same night that prince Pompa and Kabumpo had disappeared from Pumperdink, a little gray gnome crouched in a deep chamber, tunneled under the emerald city, laboriously carving letters on a big rock . it_was Ruggedo, the old gnome king, carving and grumbling and grumbling and carving, and pausing every few_minutes to light his pipe with a hot coal which he kept in_his pocket for_that purpose .a big emerald lamp cast a glow over the strange cavern and made the gnome look like a bad green goblin, which he_was .

" wag ! " screamed the gnome, suddenly throwing down the chisel, " where are_you, you long-eared villain ? " there_was a slight stir at_the back of_the cave and a rabbit, of about_the same size as_the gnome, shuffled slowly forward .

" what you_want ? " he asked, rubbing one eye with_his paw .

" bring me a cup of melted mud, idiot ! " roared the gnome, pounding on_the rock ." and serve it to_me on my throne at once ! "

" now, see here," the rabbit twitched his nose rapidly, "I'll get you a cup of melted mud, but don't you call me an idiot .I don't mind working for_one, nor digging for_one and listening to_his foolishness, but nobody can call me an idiot- not even a make- believe king ! "

"Oh, you make me tired ! " fumed the gnome ." then go to sleep," advised the rabbit with a yawn ." what's the use of trying to pretend you're a king, Rug ? Ho, ho ! king over one wooden doll, six rocks and twenty-seven sofa cushions ! you_may_have been a king once, but now you're just a plain gnome and nothing else, and if_you go and sit quietly in your plain rocking chair I'll bring you a cup of plain mud ."

with a chuckle, the rabbit retired, and Ruggedo, spluttering with fury, flounced into a doll's broken rocker that was set in_the exact center of_the cave .

" here I_give that rabbit everything I steal and he won't even allow me the little luxury of calling him an idiot or of pulling his ears . how can I pretend to_be a king without an ear to pull ? " grumbled the gnome .

" what_are you grinning at ? " Bouncing out of_his chair, Ruggedo flew at a merry- faced wooden doll who sat propped up against the wall and shook her till her head turned round backwards and her arms and legs flew every which_way . then he hurled her violently into a corner . quite out of breath he sank back in_his chair and stared angrily about .

when wag returned the gnome snatched the tin cup of melted mud and tossed it down with one gulp . then, flinging the cup at_the doll, he went back to work .

the rabbit shook his head mournfully and, picking up the wooden doll, straightened her out and placed her on a cushion . then, yawning again, he lit a candle and started for_the passage at_the back of_the cave .

" how are_you getting on ? " he asked, pausing to look over the gnome's shoulder with a grin .

" fine ! " answered Ruggedo, forgetting to scowl ."I'm up_to_the sixth rock and expect to finish to- night ."

" who do_you_think will read it ? " asked the rabbit, putting back both ears and stroking his whiskers . then he_gave a great spring, just escaped the chisel Ruggedo had flung at his head, and pattered away into_the darkness . for several minutes the gnome danced up and down with fury . then, as_there_was no one to pinch or shake, he started to work harder than ever on_the sixth rock of_his history . there were six of_the great Stones set in a row on one side of_the cavern and_the carving on them had taken the old gnome king the best part of two years . the letters were crooked and roughly chiseled, but quite readable . on_the first rock he had carved:

history of Ruggedo in Six Rocks Ruggedo the rough- king of_the Gnomes one_time metal monarch, at other times aLimoneag, a goose, a nut, and now a common gnome by order of Ozma of Oz .

the second rock told of Ruggedo's magnificent kingdom under the mountains of Ev, of_the thousands of gnomes he had ruled and_the great treasure of precious gems he had possessed, in those good old days before he_was banished from_his dominions .

the third rock told of_his transformation of_the queen of Ev and her children into ornaments for_his palace and of_their rescue by a party from Oz, through_the cleverness of Billina, a yellow hen . it told of_the loss of_his magic belt which_was captured at_this same time by Dorothy, a little girl from Kansas .

the fourth rock related how Ruggedo had tried to conquer Oz and recovered his belt; how all of_his plans failed and how he tumbled into_the fountain of oblivion and forgot all about his campaign .

the fifth rock had taken Ruggedo the longest to carve, for_it gave the story of_his banishment by_the great Jinn Titihoochoo . you_have probably read this story yourself . how Tik Tok, Betsy bobbin, Shaggyman and polychrome, trying to_find shaggy's brother, hidden in_the gnome king's metal forest, were thrown down a long tube to_the other side of_the world, and how the owner of_the tube sent Quox, the dragon, to punish Ruggedo by banishment from_his kingdom and how Kaliko was_made king of_the Gnomes .

the sixth rock told of Ruggedo's last attempt to capture Oz .Meeting Kiki Aru, aHighup boy who knew a magic transformation word, Ruggedo suggested that_they change themselves to Limoneags queer beasts with lion heads, monkey tails and eagle wings get all the beasts of Oz to help and march on_the emerald city . but this plan failed, too .Kiki lost his temper and changed Ruggedo to a goose, the wizard of Oz discovered the magic word and changed both the conspirators to nuts . later on they were changed back to_their normal shapes, but again Ruggedo was plunged into_the fountain of oblivion and again forgot his wicked plans . this ended the rock history, except for a short sentence stating that Ruggedo now lived in_the emerald city .

but the magic of_the fountain of oblivion had soon worn off and it_was not long before Ruggedo began to remember his past wicked-ness . that_is why he decided to carve his life story in rock, so_that it would_be handy should he ever fall into_the forgetful fountain again . and it had taken six rocks to_tell all of_his adventures . he had_not carved these stories just as_they had happened, nor ever called himself wicked, but he had told most of_the facts, leaving out the parts most unflattering to himself . and now it_was finished- his whole history in six rocks .Throwing down his chisel for_the_last time, Ruggedo straightened up and regarded his work with glowing pride .

"I don't believe there's another history like this in all Oz," puffed the gnome, tugging at his silver beard .

" it's a good thing," chuckled wag, who had come back to eat a carrot ."Oz would_not_be a very happy place if there were many folks like you .

he seated himself quietly on_the first rock of Ruggedo's history, and began nibbling his carrot .

" get up ! how dare you sit on my history ? " Ruggedo stamped his foot and started threateningly toward wag .

" all right," said the rabbit, " it's too hard, anyway .

" of_course it's hard," stormed Ruggedo ."I've had a hard life; hard as_those rocks . everybody's been against me from_the very start, and all because I'm so little," he finished bitterly .

" no, because you_are so wicked," said the rabbit calmly ." now, don't throw your pipe at me, for you_know it's the truth ."

Ruggedo glared at_the rabbit for a minute, then rushed over to_the wooden doll, and began shaking her furiously . he always vented his rage on_the wooden doll .

" stop that," screamed wag, " or I'll leave upon_the spot . you ought_to_be ashamed of yourself . you old scrabble- scratch ."

" she's not alive," snapped Ruggedo sulkily .

" how do_you_know ? " retorted the rabbit ." anyway, she's a jolly creature .I'm not going to_have her banging around . here you've taken her away from her little mother, and she hasn't even anyone to rock her to sleep ."

"I'll rock her to sleep," screamed Ruggedo, maliciously . and flinging the doll on_the floor he began hurling small rocks at_the helpless little figure .

Scrambling to_his feet, wag rescued the wooden doll again, and Ruggedo, who really was afraid the rabbit would leave him, subsided into his rocking chair . then reaching up_to a small shelf over his head, he pulled down an accordion . at_the first doleful wheeze wag gave a great hop, dropped Peg and disappeared into his room in_the farthest corner of_the cave .

after his last attempt to capture Oz, the gnome had_been given a small cottage to live in, just outside the emerald city . but Ruggedo could_not bear life above ground . the sunlight hurt his eyes, and_the contented, happy faces of_the people hurt his feelings, for he_was exactly what wag had called him- an old scrabble- scratch . so, while he pretended to live in_the little cottage, according to Ozma's orders, he really spent most of_his time in_this deep, dark cave . he entered it by a secret passage, opening from_his cellar .

Digging the long passage had_been the hardest work Ruggedo had ever done in_his bad little life . while toiling one day, he had bumped into_the underground burrow of wag, awandering rabbit of Oz, and after a deal of bargaining, the rabbit had agreed to help him . wag was to receive a ruby a month for_his services, for_the gnome still had a large bag of precious stones, which he had brought from_the old kingdom . after_the bargain with wag was_made, the passage progressed rapidly, for_the rabbit was an expert digger .

it_was Ruggedo's idea to tunnel himself out a secret chamber, directly under Ozma's palace, and there establish a kingdom of_his own . but when_they had almost reached the spot, the earth began to crumble away, and a few strokes of Ruggedo's spade revealed a great dark cavern, already tunneled by someone else . it_was huge and_the exact shape of_the royal palace . this Ruggedo discovered by careful measurement, and also that_it_was directly beneath the gorgeous green edifice, so that_the footsteps of_the servants could_be heard faintly, pattering to and fro .

this dark, underground retreat suited the former gnome king exactly and, without stopping to wonder to_whom it had belonged, Ruggedo gleefully took possession . for almost two years he had lived here without anyone suspecting it, but so_far his kingdom had_not progressed very_well . wag had tried to coax some of_his rabbit relations to_serve the old gnome as subjects, but Ruggedo, besides his terrible temper, had a mean habit of pulling their ears, so that_the whole crew had deserted the first week . he had pulled wag's ears once, but the rabbit tore out apawful of_his whiskers, and bit him so severely in_the leg that Ruggedo had never dared to_try it again . wag had stayed partly because Ruggedo amused him and partly because of_the bribes, for every day, in fear of losing his only retainer, Ruggedo brought wag something from_the emerald city- something he had stolen ! in return, wag waited on_the bad little gnome and listened to_his grumblings against everybody in Oz . all the furnishings of_this strange cave had_been stolen from various houses in_the emerald city . the twenty-seven brocade cushions had_been taken, one at_a_time from_the palace; the green emerald lamp also . every day Ruggedo ran innocently about_the city, pretending to visit this_one and_that, and every day cups, spoons, and candlesticks disappeared .

the doll's rocker, which Ruggedo insisted upon calling his throne, he had taken from Betsy bobbin, a little girl who lived with Ozma in_the palace . he had lugged it through_the secret passage with great difficulty . the wooden doll had_been stolen from trot,

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