Oz 11: The Lost Princess of Oz by L. Frank Baum
Section [1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20]
.

upon a raised platform at one side was a heavy table on_which lay Glinda's great book of Records, but the platform was firmly fastened to_the floor and_the table was fastened to_the platform and_the book was chained fast to_the table, just as it had_been when it_was kept in Glinda's palace . on_the wall over the table hung Ozma's magic picture . on a row of shelves at_the opposite side of_the hall stood all the chemicals and essences of magic and all the magical instruments that had_been stolen from Glinda and Ozma and_the wizard, with glass doors covering the shelves so_that no one could get at them .

and in a far corner sat Ugu the shoemaker, his feet lazily extended, his skinny hands clasped behind his head . he_was leaning back at his ease and calmly smoking a long pipe . around the magician was a sort of cage, seemingly made of golden bars set wide apart, and at his feet, also within_the cage, reposed the long- sought diamond- studded dishpan of Cayke the Cookie Cook . princess Ozma of Oz was nowhere to_be seen .

" well, well," said Ugu when_the invaders had stood in silence for a moment, staring about_them ." this visit is an unexpected pleasure, I assure you . I_knew you were coming, and I_know why you_are here . you_are_not welcome, for I_cannot use any of you to my advantage, but as_you_have insisted on coming, I_hope_you_will make_the afternoon call as brief as possible . it won't take long to transact your business with me . you_will ask me for Ozma, and my reply will_be that you_may find her-- if_you_can ."

" sir," answered the wizard in a tone of rebuke, " you_are a very wicked and cruel person .I suppose you imagine, because you_have stolen this poor woman's dishpan and all the best magic in Oz, that you_are more powerful than we_are and will_be_able to triumph over us ."

" yes," said Ugu the shoemaker, slowly filling his pipe with fresh tobacco from a silver bowl that stood beside him, " that_is exactly what I imagine . it_will do_you no good to demand from me the girl who was formerly the ruler of Oz, because i_will_not tell you where I_have hidden her, and you_can't guess in a thousand years . neither will I restore to_you any of_the magic I_have captured . I_am not so foolish . but bear this in mind: I mean to_be the ruler of Oz myself, hereafter, so I advise you to_be careful how you address your future monarch ."

"Ozma is still ruler of Oz, wherever you_may_have hidden her," declared the wizard ." and bear this in mind, miserable shoemaker: we intend to_find her and to rescue her in_time, but our first duty and pleasure will_be to conquer you and then punish you for your misdeeds ."

" very_well, go ahead and conquer," said Ugu ."I'd really like to_see how you_can do_it ."

now although the little wizard had spoken so boldly, he had at_the moment no idea how they_might conquer the magician . he had that morning given the Frogman, at his request, a dose of zosozo from_his bottle, and_the Frogman had promised to fight a good fight if_it_was necessary, but the wizard knew that strength alone could_not avail against magical arts . the toy bear king seemed to_have some pretty good magic, however, and_the wizard depended to an extent on_that . but something ought_to_be_done right away, and_the wizard didn't know what it_was .

while he considered this perplexing question and_the others stood looking at him as their leader, a queer thing happened . the floor of_the great circular hall on_which they were standing suddenly began to tip . instead of being flat and level, it became a slant, and_the slant grew steeper and steeper until none_of_the party could manage to stand upon it . presently they all slid down to_the wall, which_was now under them, and then it became evident that_the whole vast room was slowly turning upside down ! only Ugu the shoemaker, kept in place by_the bars of_his golden cage, remained in_his former position, and_the wicked magician seemed to enjoy the surprise of_his victims immensely .

first they all slid down to_the wall back of_them, but as_the room continued to_turn over, they next slid down the wall and found themselves at_the bottom of_the great dome, bumping against the big chandelier which, like everything else, was now upside down . the turning movement now stopped, and_the room became stationary . looking far up, they saw Ugu suspended in_his cage at_the very top, which had once been the floor .

"Ah," said he, grinning down at them, " the way to conquer is to act, and he who acts promptly is sure to win . this makes a very_good prison, from_which I_am_sure you_cannot escape . please amuse yourselves in any_way you like, but I_must beg you to excuse me, as I_have business in another part of_my castle ."

Saying this, he opened a trap door in_the floor of_his cage ( which_was now over his head) and climbed through it and disappeared from their view . the diamond dishpan still remained in_the cage, but the bars kept it from falling down on their heads .

" well, I declare," said the patchwork girl, seizing one_of_the bars of_the chandelier and swinging from_it, " we_must Peg one for_the shoemaker, for he has trapped us very cleverly ."

" get off my foot, please," said the lion to_the sawhorse .

" and oblige me, Mr mule," remarked the woozy, " by taking your tail out of_my left eye ."

" it's rather crowded down here," explained Dorothy, " because the dome is rounding and we_have all slid into_the middle of it . but let_us keep as quiet as possible until we_can think what's best to_be_done ."

" dear, dear ! " wailed Cayke, " i_wish I had my darling dishpan," and she held her arms longingly toward it .

" i_wish I had the magic on those shelves up there," sighed the wizard .

"Don't you s' pose we_could get to_it ? " asked trot anxiously .

" we'd have to fly," laughed the patchwork girl .

but the wizard took the suggestion seriously, and so did the Frogman . they talked it over and soon planned an attempt to reach the shelves where the magical instruments were . first the Frogman lay against the rounding dome and braced his foot on_the stem of_the chandelier; then the wizard climbed over him and lay on_the dome with_his feet on_the Frogman's shoulders; the Cookie Cook came next; then button- bright climbed to_the woman's shoulders; then Dorothy climbed up and Betsy and trot, and finally the patchwork girl, and all their lengths made a long line that reached far up the dome, but not far enough for Scraps to touch the shelves .

" wait a minute . perhaps I_can reach the magic," called the bear king, and began scrambling up the bodies of_the others . but when he_came to_the Cookie Cook, his soft paws tickled her side so_that she squirmed and upset the whole line . down they came, tumbling in a heap against the animals, and although no one was much hurt, it_was a bad mix- up, and_the Frogman, who was at_the bottom, almost lost his temper before he_could get on_his feet again .

Cayke positively refused to_try what she called " the pyramid act" again, and as_the wizard was now convinced they_could_not reach the magic tools in_that manner, the attempt was abandoned ." but something must_be_done," said the wizard, and then he turned to_the lavender bear and asked, "Cannot your majesty's magic help_us to escape from here ? "

" my magic powers are limited," was_the reply ." when i_was stuffed, the fairies stood by and slyly dropped some magic into my stuffing . therefore I_can do any of_the magic that's inside me, but nothing else . you, however, are a wizard, and a wizard should_be able to_do anything ."

" your majesty forgets that my tools of magic have_been stolen," said the wizard sadly, " and a wizard without tools is as helpless as a carpenter without a hammer or saw ."

"Don't give up," pleaded button- bright, "20' cause if_we_can't get out of_this queer prison, we'll all starve to death ."

" not I ! " laughed the patchwork girl, now standing on top of_the chandelier at_the place that was meant to_be the bottom of it .

"Don't talk of_such dreadful things," said trot, shuddering ." we came here to capture the shoemaker, didn't we ? "

" yes, and to save Ozma," said Betsy .

" and here we_are, captured ourselves, and my darling dishpan up there in plain sight ! " wailed the Cookie Cook, wiping her eyes on_the tail of_the Frogman's coat .

" hush ! " called the lion with a low, deep growl ." give the wizard time to_think ."

" he has plenty of_time," said Scraps ." what he_needs is_the Scarecrow's brains ."

after all, it_was little Dorothy who came to_their rescue, and her ability to save them was almost as_much a surprise to_the girl as it_was to her friends . Dorothy had_been secretly testing the powers of her magic belt, which she had once captured from_the Nome king, and experimenting with it in various ways ever_since she had started on_this eventful journey . at different times she had stolen away from_the others of her party and in solitude had tried to_find out what the magic belt could do and what it could_not do . there were alot of things it could_not do, she discovered, but she learned some things about_the belt which even her girl friends did_not suspect she knew .

for_one_thing, she had remembered that when_the Nome king owned it, the magic belt used to perform transformations, and by thinking hard she had finally recalled the way in_which such transformations had_been accomplished . better than this, however, was_the discovery that_the magic belt would grant its wearer one wish a day . all she need do was close her right eye and wiggle her left toe and then draw a long breath and make her wish . yesterday she had wished in secret for a box of caramels, and instantly found the box beside her . today she had saved her daily wish in_case she might need it in an emergency, and_the time had now come when she_must use the wish to enable her to escape with her friends from_the prison in_which Ugu had caught them .

so without telling anyone what she intended to_do-- for she had only used the wish once and could_not_be certain how powerful the magic belt might_be-- Dorothy closed her right eye and wiggled her left big toe and drew a long breath and wished with all her might . the next moment the room began to revolve again, as slowly as before, and by degrees they all slid to_the side wall and down the wall to_the floor-- all but Scraps, who was so astonished that she still clung to_the chandelier . when_the big hall was in its proper position again and_the others stood firmly upon_the floor of it, they looked far up the dome and saw the patchwork girl swinging from_the chandelier .

" good gracious ! " cried Dorothy ." how ever will_you get down ? "

" won't the room keep turning ? " asked Scraps .

" I_hope not .I believe it has stopped for good," said princess Dorothy .

" then stand from under, so you won't get hurt ! " shouted the PatchworkGirl, and as_soon_as they had obeyed this request, she let go the chandelier and came tumbling down heels over head and twisting and turning in a very exciting manner . plump ! she fell on_the tiled floor, and_they ran to her and rolled her and patted her into shape again .

chapter 23

the Defiance of UGU the shoemaker

the delay caused by Scraps had prevented anyone from running to_the shelves to secure the magic instruments so badly needed . even Cayke neglected to_get her diamond- studded dishpan because she was watching the patchwork girl . and now the magician had opened his trap door and appeared in_his golden cage again, frowning angrily because his prisoners had_been able to_turn their upside- down prison right side up ." which of you has dared defy my magic ? " he shouted in a terrible voice .

" it_was I," answered Dorothy calmly .

" then I_shall destroy you, for you_are only an earth girl and no fairy," he_said, and began to mumble some magic words .

Dorothy now realized that Ugu must_be treated as an enemy, so she advanced toward the corner in_which he sat, saying as she went, " I_am not afraid of you, Mr shoemaker, and i_think you'll be sorry, pretty soon, that you're such a bad man . you_can't destroy me, and I won't destroy you, but I'm going to punish you for your wickedness ."

Ugu laughed, a laugh that was not nice to hear, and then he waved his hand . Dorothy was halfway across the room when suddenly a wall of glass rose before her and stopped her progress . through_the glass she_could see the magician sneering at her because she was a weak little girl, and this provoked her . although the glass wall obliged her to halt, she instantly pressed both hands to her magic belt and cried in a loud voice, "Ugu the

Section [1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20]