Oz 11: The Lost Princess of Oz by L. Frank Baum
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disappeared .

" for goodness sake ! " Dorothy, amazed, as indeed they all were .

chapter 9

the high COCO-LORUM of THI

and now the patchwork girl came dancing out_of_the wall again ." come on ! " she called ." it isn't there .

there isn't any wall at all ."

" what ? no wall ? " exclaimed the wizard .

" nothing like it," said Scraps ." it's a make- believe . you_see it, but it isn't . come on into_the city; we've been wasting our time ." with_this, she danced into_the wall again and once more disappeared . button- bright, who was rather venture- some, dashed away after her and also became invisible to_them . the others followed more cautiously, stretching out their hands to_feel the wall and finding, to_their astonishment, that they_could feel nothing because nothing opposed them . they walked on a few steps and found themselves in_the streets of a very beautiful city . behind them they again saw the wall, grim and forbidding as ever, but now they knew it_was merely an illusion prepared to_keep strangers from entering the city .

but the wall was soon forgotten, for in front of_them were a number of quaint people who stared at them in amazement as_if wondering where they had come from . our friends forgot their good manners for a time and returned the stares with interest, for so remarkable a people had never before been discovered in all the remarkable land of Oz . their heads were shaped like diamonds, and their bodies like hearts . all the hair they had was a little bunch at_the tip top of_their diamond- shaped heads, and their eyes were very large and round, and their noses and mouths very_small . their clothing was tight fitting and of brilliant colors, being handsomely embroidered in quaint designs with gold or silver threads; but on their feet they wore sandals with no stockings whatever . the expression of_their faces was pleasant enough, although they now showed surprise at_the appearance of strangers so unlike themselves, and_our friends thought they seemed quite harmless .

"I beg your pardon," said the wizard, speaking for_his party, " for intruding upon you uninvited, but we_are traveling on important business and find it necessary to visit your city . will_you kindly tell us by what name your city is called ? "

they looked at one another uncertainly, each expecting some other to answer . finally, a short one whose heart- shaped body was very broad replied, " we_have no occasion to_call our city anything . it_is where we live, that_is all ."

" but by what name do others call your city ? " asked the wizard .

" we_know of no others except yourselves," said the man . and then he inquired, " were you born with those queer forms you_have, or has some cruel magician transformed you to_them from your natural shapes ? "

" these are our natural shapes," declared the wizard, " and we consider them very_good shapes, too ."

the group of inhabitants was constantly being enlarged by others who joined it . all were evidently startled and uneasy at_the arrival of strangers ." have_you a king ? " asked Dorothy, who knew it_was better to_speak with someone in authority .

but the man shook his diamond- like head ." what_is a king ? " he asked .

"Isn't there anyone who rules over you ? " inquired the wizard .

" no," was_the reply, " each of us rules himself, or at_least tries to_do_so . it_is_not an easy thing to_do, as_you probably know ."

the wizard reflected .

" if_you_have disputes among you," said he after a little thought, " who settles them ? "

" the high Coco-Lorum," they answered in a chorus .

" and who_is he ? "

" the judge who enforces the laws," said the man who had first spoken .

" then he is_the principal person here ? " continued the wizard .

" well, i_would_not say that," returned the man in a puzzled way ." the high Coco-Lorum is a public servant . however, he represents the laws, which we_must all obey ."

" i_think," said the wizard, " we ought to_see your high Coco-Lorum and talk with_him . our mission here requires us to consult one high in authority, and_the high Coco-Lorum ought_to_be high, whatever else he_is ."

the inhabitants seemed to consider this proposition reasonable, for they nodded their diamond- shaped heads in approval . so the broad one who had_been their spokesman said, " follow me," and turning led the way along one_of_the streets . the entire party followed him, the natives falling in behind . the dwellings they passed were quite nicely planned and seemed comfortable and convenient . after leading them a few blocks, their conductor stopped before a house which_was neither better nor worse than_the others . the doorway was shaped to admit the strangely formed bodies of_these people, being narrow at_the top, broad in_the middle and tapering at_the bottom . the windows were made in much the same way, giving the house a most peculiar appearance . when their guide opened the gate, a music box concealed in_the gatepost began to play, and_the sound attracted the attention of_the high Coco-Lorum, who appeared at an open window and inquired, " what has happened now ? "

but in_the same moment his eyes fell upon_the strangers and he hastened to open the door and admit them-- all but the animals, which were left outside with_the throng of natives that had now gathered . for a small city there seemed to_be a large number of inhabitants, but they_did_not try to enter the house and contented themselves with staring curiously at_the strange animals .Toto followed Dorothy .

our friends entered a large room at_the front of_the house, where the high Coco-Lorum asked them to_be seated ." I_hope your mission here_is a peaceful one," he_said, looking a little worried, " for_the Thists are_not very_good fighters and object to being conquered ."

" are your people called Thists ? " asked Dorothy .

" yes . i_thought you_knew that . and we call our city Thi ."

"Oh ! "

." we_are Thists because we eat thistles, you_know," continued the high Coco-Lorum .

" do_you really eat those prickly things ? " inquired button- bright wonderingly .

" why_not ? " replied the other ." the sharp points of_the thistles cannot hurt us, because all our insides are gold- lined ."

" gold- lined ! "

" to_be_sure . our throats and stomachs are lined with solid gold, and we_find the thistles nourishing and good to eat . as a matter of fact, there_is nothing else in_our country that_is fit for food . all around the city of Thi grow countless thistles, and all we_need do is to_go and gather them . if_we wanted anything else to eat, we_would_have to plant it, and grow it, and harvest it, and that_would_be alot of trouble and make us work, which_is an occupation we detest ."

" but tell me, please," said the wizard, " how does it happen that your city jumps around so, from one part of_the country to another ? "

" the city doesn't jump . it doesn't move at all," declared the high Coco-Lorum ." however, i_will admit that_the land that surrounds it has a trick of turning this_way or that, and so if one is standing upon_the plain and facing north, he_is likely to_find himself suddenly facing west or east or south . but once you reach the thistle fields, you_are on solid ground ."

"Ah, I begin to understand," said the wizard, nodding his head ." but I_have another question to ask: how does it happen that_the Thists have no king to rule over them ? "

" hush ! " whispered the high Coco-Lorum, looking uneasily around to_make sure they were_not overheard ." in reality, I_am the king, but the people don't know it . they_think they rule themselves, but the fact is I_have everything my own way . no one else knows anything about our laws, and so I make_the laws to suit myself . if any oppose me or question my acts, I tell them it's the law and_that settles it . if I called myself king, however, and wore a crown and lived in royal style, the people would_not like me and might do me harm . as_the high Coco-Lorum of Thi, I_am considered a very agreeable person ."

" it seems a very clever arrangement," said the wizard ." and now, as_you_are the principal person in Thi, I beg you to_tell us if_the royal Ozma is a captive in your city ."

" no," answered the diamond- headed man ." we_have no captives . no strangers but yourselves are here, and we_have never before heard of_the royal Ozma ."

" she rules over all of Oz," said Dorothy, " and so she rules your city and you, because you_are in_the Winkie country, which_is a part of_the land of Oz ."

" it may_be," returned the high Coco-Lorum, " for we_do_not study geography and_have never inquired whether we live in_the land of Oz or not . and any ruler who rules us from a distance and unknown to_us is welcome to_the job . but what has happened to your royal Ozma ? "

" someone has stolen her," said the wizard ." do_you happen to_have any talented magician among your people, one who_is especially clever, you_know ? "

" no, none especially clever . we_do some magic, of_course, but it_is all of_the ordinary kind . I_do_not_think any of us has yet aspired to stealing Rulers, either by magic or otherwise ."

" then we've come a long way for nothing ! " exclaimed trot regretfully .

" but we_are going farther than this," asserted the patchwork girl, bending her stuffed body backward until her yarn hair touched the floor and then walking around on her hands with her feet in_the air .

the high Coco-Lorum watched Scraps admiringly .

" you_may go farther on, of_course," said he, " but I advise you not to . the Herkus live back of us, beyond the thistles and_the twisting lands, and they_are_not very nice people to meet, I assure you ."

" are they giants ? " asked Betsy .

" they_are worse than that," was_the reply ." they_have giants for their slaves and_they are so_much stronger than giants that_the poor slaves dare not rebel for fear of being torn to pieces ."

" how do_you_know ? " asked Scraps .

" everyone says so," answered the high Coco-Lorum .

" have_you seen the Herkus yourself ? " inquired Dorothy .

" no, but what everyone says must_be true, otherwise what would_be the use of_their saying it ? "

" we were told before we got here that you people hitch dragons to your chariots," said the little girl .

" so we_do," declared the high Coco-Lorum ." and_that reminds me that I ought to entertain you as strangers and my guests by taking you for a ride around our splendid city of Thi ." he touched a button, and a band began to play . at_least, they heard the music of a band, but couldn't tell where it came from ." that tune is_the order to my charioteer to bring around my dragon- chariot," said the high Coco-Lorum ." every time I_give an order, it_is in music, which_is a much more pleasant way to address servants than in cold, stern words ."

"Does this dragon of yours bite ? " asked button- bright .

" mercy no ! do_you_think I'd risk the safety of_my innocent people by using abiting dragon to draw my chariot ? I'm proud to_say that my dragon is harmless, unless his steering gear breaks, and he_was manufactured at_the famous dragon factory in_this city of Thi . here he comes, and you_may examine him for yourselves ."

they heard a low rumble and a shrill squeaking sound, and going out to_the front of_the house, they saw coming around the corner a car drawn by a gorgeous jeweled dragon, which moved its head to right and left and flashed its eyes like headlights of an automobile and uttered agrowling noise as it slowly moved toward them . when it stopped before_the high Coco-Lorum's house, Toto barked sharply at_the sprawling beast, but even tiny trot could_see that_the dragon was not alive . its scales were of gold, and each_one was set with sparkling jewels, while it walked in_such a stiff, regular manner that_it could_be nothing else than a machine . the chariot that trailed behind it_was likewise of gold and jewels, and when_they entered it, they found there were no seats . everyone was supposed to stand up while riding . the charioteer was a little, diamond- headed fellow who straddled the neck of_the dragon and moved the levers that made it go .

" this," said the high Coco-Lorum pompously, " is a wonderful invention . we_are all very proud of_our auto-dragons, many of_which are in use by our wealthy inhabitants . start the thing going, charioteer ! "

the charioteer did_not move .

" you forgot to order him in music," suggested Dorothy .

"Ah, so I_did ."

he touched a button and a music box in_the dragon's head began to play a tune . at once the little charioteer pulled over a lever, and_the dragon began to move, very slowly and groaning dismally as it drew the clumsy chariot after it .Toto trotted between_the wheels . the sawhorse, the mule, the lion and_the woozy followed after and had no trouble in keeping up with_the machine . indeed, they had to_go slow to_keep from running into_it . when_the wheels turned, another music box concealed somewhere under the chariot played a lively march tune which_was in striking contrast with_the dragging movement of_the strange vehicle, and button- bright decided that_the music he had heard when_they first sighted this city was nothing else than a chariot plodding

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