Oz 19: The Lost King of Oz by Ruth Plumly Thompson
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me at all ."

"I'll nip off their tails, I'll snatch out their whiskers ! " raged Pajuka, thrusting his bill through_the bars of_their prison . the two had_been thrown unceremoniously into a small summer house at_the end of_the queen's garden . it_was surrounded by cat guards, so their chances for escape were cut off on every side .

" maybe something'll happen," sighed snip, pressing his nose against the slats . it had_been late afternoon when_they reached Catty Corners and in_the gathering gloom the giant cats, parading up and down, looked like some dreadful sort of goblins .Turning back to Pajuka for comfort, snip was horrified to_see that_the goose had drawn up one foot and closed his eyes .

"Don't fall asleep, Pajuka," begged the little boy, shaking him frantically ."Don't fall asleep and leave me all alone ."

" can't help it snip hah hoh ! this_is what comes of being a goose- hum ! " yawned the poor prime minister . he blinked rapidly, stamped both feet and fluttered his feathers, but it_was no use . his eyes simply would_not stay open .

" well, if I'm to_be eaten," gulped Pajuka sadly, with a last monstrous yawn, ' I_might as_well be asleep anyway ." Folding his head away dejectedly under his wing, he stood perfectly still . at_this snip felt so down-hearted that he sat on_the floor and took the goose in_his lap .

" wonder what Mombi's doing," he shuddered, trying to catch a glimpse of_the old witch through_the chinks in_the lattice . to_tell the truth, Mombi was in as tight acatty corner as snip .Having indulged her fondness for cats to_the fullest extent and, noting with alarm and approach of night, she had finally risen and bidding the Catty queen an affectionate farewell, declared herself ready to depart ." and_the goose and boy must come with me," croaked Mombi, grinning secretly at_the joke she had played on them .

" with_you," cried the Cat queen, springing up in alarm ." why, you dear, ugly old darling, do_you suppose I_am ever going to let you go ? never ! as for_the boy- who cares for boys ? he shall entertain us all day to- morrow .I'll call out my grand army of Maltesers, and_they shall maul and tease him to death . what fun . and_the goose ! I_could hug you for bringing that goose .

" but see here," panted Mombi in alarm, " I_need that goose .I'm taking him as a present to Ozma, the queen ."

" well, I'm a queen," sniffed the Cat crossly, and I don't give ayowl for Ozma . come on, let's pluck out his feathers ." and away across the garden scampered her majesty .Mombi picked up her basket and followed in great haste . she knew that without Pajuka she_would never recognize the king, nor regain her magic powers . therefore, though she had no great love for_the goose, she_must find some way to save him .

" wait ! " puffed the old witch, catching up with_the queen ." wait ! I, myself, will prepare a feast to_go with_the goose . I_am a famous cook and know more about roasts and sauces than anyone in Oz ." Mombi rolled her eyes boastfully .

" do_you ? " murmured the imperial Pussy, stopping short and l6oking admiringly at_the old witch .

" did your highness ever taste rice cream pudding ? " inquired Mombi mysteriously ." no goose should_be eaten without a dish of pudding beforehand .Keeps off the mullygrubs . just let me make you a delicious little rice cream pudding ! "

" rice cream pudding ? why that sounds delicious ! " purred the queen, waving her tail rapturously ." make enough for_us all, dear old ugliness, and I'll take acat nap while you_do ."

" where's the kitchen ? " demanded Mombi with a wicked grin . already she had thought of a way out of her difficulties . once in_the catty kitchen, really only an enclosed corner of_the garden with a stone fireplace and iron crane, Mombi set quickly to work .Filling the largest cauldron with rice cream from_the fountain, she poured in all the boxes of rice she had in her basket and all the raisins . then, setting it over the fire, which two tortoise shell cats kept at blazing point, she stirred and muttered and muttered and stirred, and just before it was_done dropped in_the contents of another of her purple cans .

meanwhile, news of_the coming treat had spread, and by_the_time the pudding was finished, the fences were simply crowded with cats, their eyes showing like green balls of fire in_the darkness . there were only a few dim lanterns in Catty Corners, for cats can_see quite as_well by night as by day . each cat had brought a saucer, and forming in an orderly procession, they lined up before_the old witch, while Mombi ladled out helping after helping of_the pudding, pausing every now_and_then to wipe her forehead on her sleeve and grin wickedly to herself .

none_of_the cats dared eat until the queen arrived, and when her highness finally did appear, a long sigh of anticipation went up from_the fences .Mombi had saved a particularly large helping for_the queen, and when her Maltese majesty lowered her chin over her saucer and all the other cats started lapping up the pudding, Mombi could hardly restrain her chuckles . the pudding really was delicious and_the queen lapped faster and faster, as did the rest, so_that in scarcely a moment the saucers were quite empty and_the company quite the reverse .

with half- closed eyes the queen lifted her head to thank Mombi but before she_could purr a purr, she, and_that whole collection of cats, simply catapulted into_the air and, while Mombi held her sides and rocked to and fro with malicious merriment, they rolled and tumbled toward the clouds like balloons released from their strings . no wonder ! in_that purple can was abaking powder powerful enough to raise an army-baking powder that_the old witch had_been collecting and refining for twenty years .

"Hah," snorted Mombi, rubbing her hands with satisfaction .Leaning over the fountain, she took a long drink of cream, for stirring the pudding had made her mighty thirsty . then, without thought of her luckless victims, she picked up her basket and hobbled off to_the summer house . snip, after waiting in terror for_the cats to_come for Pajuka, had finally dropped into an uneasy slumber, and when Mombi flashed a small lantern in_his eyes he almost jumped out of_his jacket .

" come along, you little lazy bones," grumbled the witch, jerking him roughly by_the sleeve ." is_that silly old goose asleep too ? "

"I'll carry him," said snip stiffly and, bending over, he picked Pajuka carefully up in_his arms . he_was quite an armful, but never stirred nor wakened at all . snip longed to_tell Mombi what he thought of her, but she looked so fierce he decided not to_try it .

" where are the cats ? " he shivered, tiptoeing nervously after_the old witch .Mombi waved her stick aloft, and you_can imagine the astonishment of_the little boy to_see a perfect cloud of cats sailing across the moon .

" gave 'em rice pudding and_they riz," wheezed the old witch gleefully .Having no one else to boast to, Mombi condescended to explain her trick to snip . snip, on_his part, was glad to escape from_the catty creatures, but he_could_not help feeling a bit sorry for_them .

" how long will they_have to stay up there ? " he inquired curiously .

" till it rains," grunted Mombi, swinging the lantern carelessly ." but come on, I_can't stand here talking all night . we'll never reach the emerald city at_this rate ."

" anyway," thought snip, stepping along carefully so as not to wake Pajuka, " anyway they_can eat their supper in_the milky way and won't it be raining cats when_they do come down though ! "

while Mombi stopped to straighten her hat, snip took a long drink from one_of_the cream fountains ." nobody knows when we'll get anything to eat, said the little button boy to himself .

" are we going to travel all night ? " he puffed, running to catch up with Mombi .

" mind your own buttons," hissed the old witch, lapsing into her usual ill- temper, and as she refused to_say another word, there_was nothing to_do but follow the uncertain flicker of her lantern . after an hour of zig-zagging along the fences, they reached the other side, unbolted the great iron doors in_the wall and found themselves in another forest .

snip thought surely Mombi would stop, but the old witch went muttering and mumbling along, her eyes gleaming like hot coals in_the darkness . every once in a while, she_would glance sideways at snip in a way that caused him great uneasiness . to_tell the truth, Mombi had about decided to rid herself of_the little button boy . he_knew too_much and might run off and tell Ozma her plans before she_could reach the emerald city, herself . with Pajuka's help, Mombi meant to_find the old king, if she_could, but when he had restored her magic powers Mombi intended to_be the real ruler of Oz .

so, hurrying along through_the inky forest, she began casting about in her mind for a way to destroy snip .

"I'll wait till I reach the center of_the forest," hissed Mombi, stumping along under the silent trees, " and then

" what did you say ? " asked snip anxiously .

" nothing," grunted Mombi, smiling sourly to herself, " at_least nothing that concerns you .

chapter 8

the mysterious message

SCRAPS, the patch work girl, danced crazily down the flower- bordered path in Ozma's lovely garden in_the emerald city, shouting this verse:

"Hank hankers for ahanky

to blow his funny nose,

Hank hankers for ahanky,

I hanker for a rose ! "

" I_do_not," brayed Hank, Betsy Bobbins' little mule, flapping his ears sulkily ." you don't know what you_are singing about, Scraps . go away and stop jeering me . how could I use ahanky, you silly girl ? "

"Hank, you're a crank ! " shouted Scraps, and capered on down the path, stopping to chin herself on a tulip tree and dropping in a wobbly heap beside the little table where Ozma, Betsy bobbin and trot were having breakfast .

" you shouldn't tease Hank like that," said Ozma, looking reproachfully at Scraps over her gold breakfast cup .

"I'll tease, I'll tease,

whom I please,

I'll cross my eyes

and cross my knees ! "

chortled Scraps, and she looked so comical doing both of_these crossings at once that_the little girls simply burst into laughter, while Hank, with a snort of disgust, galloped off at full speed .

" you're awful," sighed Betsy bobbin, nearly choking on her biscuit, and Betsy was pretty nearly right, for_this ridiculous maiden who lived luxuriously in Ozma's palace was_made entirely of patchwork . she had_been cut from an old quilt, stuffed and sewn together by a wizard's wife who intended her for a servant . but when_the wizard mixed up her brains, alot of fun and cleverness had got in, so_that Scraps had refused to_be a servant and had run off to_the emerald city . she was so comical and entertaining that Ozma had allowed her to remain at_the capitol, and Scraps is now one_of_the_most celebrated characters in_the castle .

Betsy bobbin was a little girl from_the United_States . she and Hank had_been ship- wrecked on_the shores of a strange land near Oz and, after some terrible adventures with_the old gnome king, had reached Oz itself and been taken in by_the kind-hearted little queen . trot also had come from America and liked Oz so_well she had never returned home . these two, with princess Dorothy, are the closest friends of_the fairy ruler, for Ozma herself is only a little girl fairy, and these four together have the merriest times imaginable .

Living in a green stone castle studded with emeralds is fun enough, dear knows, but living in a green stone castle with forty-nine courtiers, thirty-nine footmen, thirty-seven handmen, twenty-six serving maids, ten cooks and a flock of pages is luxury indeed, especially in a magical land where adventures are liable to happen every few_minutes . why, it's the most fun yet !

perhaps Dorothy is Ozma's prime favorite, for Dorothy was_the first little girl to discover Oz and has_been so mixed up in its magical history that Ozma would scarcely know how to rule her interesting subjects without her help . it_was of Dorothy that Ozma was thinking, as she watched Scraps turning reckless handsprings under the tulip trees .

"I wonder when Dorothy will return ? " sighed the little queen, pushing back her chair and signalling for_the thirty-ninth footman to remove the gold breakfast plates . Dorothy had gone on a short visit to perhaps city and already the others were longing for her return .

" let's ask_the Scarecrow," proposed Betsy, waving to_the jolly straw man who, arm- in- arm with sir Hokus of Pokes, was coming down the path . both these delightful fellows are great friends of Dorothy's . in_fact she discovered them . the Scarecrow she had lifted down from a pole on her very first trip to Oz . he had accompanied her to_the emerald city and been given a splendid set of brains by_the wizard of Oz, so_that he_is one_of_the wittiest and most able of Ozma's courtiers . he has a cozy corn- ear castle in_the Winkie country, but prefers to_spend most of_his time in_the capitol with_the girls . sir Hokus had_been rescued from Pokes by Dorothy on another of her wonderful adventures, and since_the knight had taken up his residence in_the palace Ozma felt more secure than ever before, for sir Hokus was a splendid swordsman and feared neither man nor monster . it_is people like Scraps, sir Hokus and_the Scarecrow who make life in_the emerald city so jolly and so different .

"Yoo hoo ! Don't you_think it's time Dorothy was back ? " called Betsy, as_the two came nearer .

" high time ! high time ! " answered the Scarecrow, waving his old blue hat up at_the clock in_the tallest tower of_the castle ." and we'll have a high time when she does come," he smiled gaily ."I've thought up a dozen new games and .. .. what's that ? " cried the Scarecrow, interrupting himself suddenly and blinking his painted eyes

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