Oz 11: The Lost Princess of Oz by L. Frank Baum
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the shoemaker, by_the magic virtues of_the magic belt, I command you to_become a dove ! "

the magician instantly realized he_was being enchanted, for he_could feel his form changing . he struggled desperately against the enchantment, mumbling magic words and making magic passes with_his hands . and in one_way he succeeded in defeating Dorothy's purpose, for while his form soon changed to_that of a gray dove, the dove was of an enormous size, bigger even than Ugu had_been as a man, and this feat he had_been able to accomplish before his powers of magic wholly deserted him .

and_the dove was not gentle, as doves usually are, for Ugu was terribly enraged at_the little girl's success . his books had told him nothing of_the Nome king's magic belt, the country of_the Nomes being outside the land of Oz . he_knew, however, that he_was likely to_be conquered unless he_made a fierce fight, so he spread his wings and rose in_the air and flew directly toward Dorothy . the wall of glass had disappeared the instant Ugu became transformed .

Dorothy had meant to command the belt to transform the magician into a dove of peace, but in her excitement she forgot to_say more than " dove," and now Ugu was not a dove of peace by any means, but rather a spiteful dove of war . his size made his sharp beak and claws very dangerous, but Dorothy was not afraid when he_came darting toward her with_his talons outstretched and_his sword- like beak open . she knew the magic belt would protect its wearer from harm .

but the Frogman did_not know that fact and became alarmed at_the little girl's seeming danger . so he_gave a sudden leap and leaped full upon_the back of_the great dove . then began a desperate struggle . the dove was as strong as Ugu had_been, and in size it_was considerably bigger than_the Frogman . but the Frogman had eaten the zosozo, and it had made him fully as strong as Ugu the dove . at_the first leap he bore the dove to_the floor, but the giant bird got free and began to bite and claw the Frogman, beating him down with its great wings whenever he attempted to rise . the thick, tough skin of_the big frog was not easily damaged, but Dorothy feared for her champion, and by again using the transformation power of_the magic belt, she made the dove grow small until it_was no larger than a canary bird .Ugu had_not lost his knowledge of magic when he_lost his shape as a man, and he now realized it_was hopeless to oppose the power of_the magic belt and knew that his only hope of escape lay in instant action . so he quickly flew into_the golden jeweled dishpan he had stolen from Cayke the Cookie Cook, and as birds can talk as_well as beasts or men in_the fairyland of Oz, he muttered the magic word that was required and wished himself in_the country of_the Quadlings, which_was as far away from_the wicker castle as he believed he_could get .

our friends did_not know, of_course, what Ugu was about to_do . they saw the dishpan tremble an instant and then disappear, the dove disappearing with it, and although they waited expectantly for some minutes for_the magician's return, Ugu did_not come back again ."Seems to_me," said the wizard in a cheerful voice, " that we_have conquered the wicked magician more quickly than we expected to ."

"Don't say ' we .' Dorothy did it ! " cried the patchwork girl, turning three somersaults in succession and then walking around on her hands ."Hurrah for Dorothy ! "

" i_thought you said you_did_not know how to use the magic of_the Nome king's belt," said the wizard to Dorothy .

"I didn't know at_that_time," she replied, " but afterward I remembered how the Nome king once used the magic belt to enchant people and transform 'em into ornaments and all sorts of things, so I tried some enchantments in secret, and after a while I transformed the sawhorse into a potato masher and back again, and_the cowardly lion into apussycat and back again, and then I_knew the thing would work all right ."

" when did you perform those enchantments ? " asked the wizard, much surprised .

" one night when all the rest of you were asleep but Scraps, and she had gone chasing moonbeams ."

" well," remarked the wizard, " your discovery has certainly saved us alot of trouble, and we_must all thank the Frogman, too, for making such a good fight . the dove's shape had Ugu's evil disposition inside it, and_that made the monster bird dangerous ."

the Frogman was looking sad because the bird's talons had torn his pretty clothes, but he bowed with much dignity at_this well- deserved praise .Cayke, however, had squatted on_the floor and was sobbing bitterly ." my precious dishpan is gone ! " she wailed ." gone, just as I had found it again ! "

" never mind," said trot, trying to comfort her, " it's sure to_be somewhere, so we'll cert'nly run across it some day ."

" yes indeed," added Betsy, " now that we_have Ozma's magic picture, we_can tell just where the dove went with your dishpan . they all approached the magic picture, and Dorothy wished it to show the enchanted form of Ugu the shoemaker, wherever it might_be . at once there appeared in_the frame of_the picture ascene in_the far Quadling country, where the dove was perched disconsolately on_the limb of a tree and_the jeweled dishpan lay on_the ground just underneath the limb .

" but where is_the place ? how far or how near ? " asked Cayke anxiously .

" the book of Records will tell us that," answered the wizard . so they looked in_the great book and read the following:

"Ugu the magician, being transformed into a dove by princess Dorothy of Oz, has used the magic of_the golden dishpan to carry him instantly to_the northeast corner of_the Quadling country ."

"Don't worry, Cayke, for_the Scarecrow and_the tin woodman are in_that part of_the country looking for Ozma, and_they'll surely find your dishpan ."

" good gracious ! " exclaimed button- bright ." we've forgot all about Ozma . let's find out where the magician hid her ."

back to_the magic picture they trooped, but when_they wished to_see Ozma wherever she might_be hidden, only a round black spot appeared in_the center of_the canvas ."I don't see how that_can_be Ozma ! " said Dorothy, much puzzled .

" it seems_to_be the best the magic picture can do, however," said the wizard, no less surprised ." if_it's an enchantment, looks as if_the magician had transformed Ozma into a chunk of pitch ."

chapter 24

the little pink bear SPEAKS truly

for several minutes they all stood staring at_the black spot on_the canvas of_the magic picture, wondering what it could mean ."P'r'aps we'd better ask_the little pink bear about Ozma," suggested trot .

"Pshaw ! " said button- bright ." he don't know anything ."

" he never makes a mistake," declared the king .

" he_did once, surely," said Betsy ." but perhaps he wouldn't make a mistake again ."

" he won't have the chance," grumbled the bear king .

" we_might hear what he has_to say," said Dorothy ." it won't do any harm to ask_the pink bear where Ozma is ."

" i_will_not have him questioned," declared the king in a surly voice ." I_do_not intend to allow my little pink bear to_be again insulted by your foolish doubts . he never makes a mistake ."

"Didn't he say Ozma was in_that hole in_the ground ? " asked Betsy .

" he_did, and I_am certain she was there," replied the lavender bear .

Scraps laughed jeeringly, and_the others saw there_was no use arguing with_the stubborn bear king, who seemed to_have absolute faith in_his pink bear . the wizard, who knew that magical things can usually be depended upon and_that the little pink bear was able to answer questions by some remarkable power of magic, thought it wise to apologize to_the lavender bear for_the unbelief of_his friends, at_the same time urging the king to consent to question the pink bear once more .Cayke and_the Frogman also pleaded with_the big bear, who finally agreed, although rather ungraciously, to_put the little bear's wisdom to_the test once more . so he sat the little one on_his knee and turned the crank, and_the wizard himself asked the questions in a very respectful tone of voice ." where is Ozma ? " was his first query .

" here in_this room," answered the little pink bear .

they all looked around the room, but of_course did_not see her ." in what part of_the room is she ? " was_the wizard's next question .

" in button- bright's pocket," said the little pink bear .

this reply amazed them all, you_may_be_sure, and although the three girls smiled and Scraps yelled "Hoo- ray ! " in derision, the wizard turned to consider the matter with grave thoughtfulness ." in_which one of button- bright's pockets is Ozma ? " he presently inquired .

" in_the left- hand jacket pocket," said the little pink bear .

" the pink one has gone crazy ! " exclaimed button- bright, staring hard at_the little bear on_the big bear's knee .

" I_am not so sure of_that," declared the wizard ." if Ozma proves to_be really in your pocket, then the little pink bear spoke truly when he_said Ozma was in_that hole in_the ground . for at_that_time you were also in_the hole, and after we had pulled you out of it, the little pink bear said Ozma was not in_the hole ."

" he never makes a mistake," asserted the bear king stoutly .

" empty that pocket, button- bright, and let's see what's in_it," requested Dorothy .

so button- bright laid the contents of_his left jacket pocket on_the table . these proved to_be a Peg top, a bunch of string, a small rubber ball and a golden peach pit ." what's this ? " asked the wizard, picking up the peach pit and examining it closely .

"Oh," said the boy, "I saved that to show to_the girls, and then forgot all about_it . it came out of a lonesome peach that I_found in_the orchard back yonder, and which I ate while i_was lost . it looks like gold, and I never saw a peach pit like it before ."

" nor I," said the wizard, " and_that makes it seem suspicious ."

all heads were bent over the golden peach pit . the wizard turned it over several_times and then took out his pocket knife and pried the pit open . as_the two halves fell apart, a pink, cloud- like haze came pouring from_the golden peach pit, almost filling the big room, and from_the haze a form took shape and settled beside them . then, as_the haze faded away, a sweet voice said, " thank_you, my friends ! " and there before them stood their lovely girl ruler, Ozma of Oz .

with a cry of delight, Dorothy rushed forward and embraced her .Scraps turned gleeful flipflops all around the room . button- bright gave a low whistle of astonishment . the Frogman took off his tall hat and bowed low before_the beautiful girl who had_been freed from her enchantment in so startling a manner . for a time, no sound was heard beyond the low murmur of delight that came from_the amazed group, but presently the growl of_the big lavender bear grew louder, and he_said in a tone of triumph, " he never makes a mistake ! "

chapter 25

OZMA of OZ

" it's funny," said Toto, standing before his friend the lion and wagging his tail, " but I've found my growl at last ! I_am positive now that_it_was the cruel magician who stole it ."

" let's hear your growl," requested the lion .

"G-r-r-r-r-r ! " said Toto .

" that_is fine," declared the big beast ." it isn't as loud or as deep as_the growl of_the big lavender bear, but it_is a very respectable growl for a small dog . where did you find it, Toto ? "

" i_was smelling in_the corner yonder," said Toto, " when suddenly a mouse ran out-- and I growled ."

the others were all busy congratulating Ozma, who was very happy at being released from_the confinement of_the golden peach pit, where the magician had placed her with_the notion that she never could_be found or liberated .

" and only to_think," cried Dorothy, " that button- bright has_been carrying you in_his pocket all this_time, and we never knew it ! "

" the little pink bear told you," said the bear king, " but you wouldn't believe him ."

" never mind, my dears," said Ozma graciously, " all is well that ends well, and you couldn't be expected to_know i_was inside the peach pit . indeed, I feared i_would remain a captive much longer than I_did, for Ugu is a bold and clever magician, and he had hidden me very securely ."

" you were in a fine peach," said button- bright, " the best I ever ate ."

" the magician was foolish to make_the peach so tempting," remarked the wizard, " but Ozma would lend beauty to any transformation ."

" how did you manage to conquer Ugu the shoemaker ? " inquired the girl ruler of Oz .

Dorothy started to_tell the story, and trot helped her, and button- bright wanted to relate it in_his own way, and_the wizard tried to_make it clear to Ozma, and Betsy had to remind them of important things they left out, and all together there_was such a chatter that_it_was a wonder that Ozma understood any of it

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