Oz 13: The Magic of Oz by L. Frank Baum
Section [1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17]
see in_the menageries and zoos in_our country . some were from_the mountains west of_the forest, and some from_the plains at_the east, and some from_the river; but all present acknowledged the leadership of Gugu, who for many years had ruled them wisely and forced all to obey the laws .

when_the beasts had taken their places in_the clearing and_the rising sun was shooting its first bright rays over the treetops, king Gugu rose on_his throne . the leopard's giant form, towering above all the others, caused a sudden hush to_fall on_the assemblage .

"Brothers," he_said in_his deep voice, "a stranger has_come among us, a beast of curious form who_is a great magician and_is able to_change the shapes of men or beasts at his will . this stranger has_come to_us, with another of_his kind, from out_of_the sky, to warn us of a danger which threatens us all, and to offer us a way to escape from_that danger . he_says he_is our friend, and he has proved to_me and to my Counselors his magic powers . will_you listen to what he has_to say to_you-- to_the message he has brought from_the sky ? "

" let him speak ! " came in a great roar from_the great company of assembled beasts .

so Ruggedo the Nome sprang upon_the flat rock beside Gugu the king, and another roar, gentle this_time, showed how astonished the beasts were at_the sight of_his curious form . his lion's face was surrounded by amane of pure white hair; his eagle's wings were attached to_the shoulders of_his monkey body and were so_long that_they nearly touched the ground; he had powerful arms and legs in_addition_to_the wings, and at_the end of_his long, strong tail was a golden ball . never had any beast beheld such a curious creature before, and so the very sight of_the stranger, who was said to_be a great magician, filled all present with awe and wonder .

Kiki stayed down below and, half hidden by_the shelf of rock, was scarcely noticed . the boy realized that_the old Nome was helpless without his magic power, but he also realized that Ruggedo was_the best talker . so he_was willing the Nome should take_the lead .

"Beasts of_the forest of Gugu," began Ruggedo the Nome, " my comrade and I are your friends . we_are magicians, and from_our home in_the sky we_can look down into_the land of Oz and_see everything that_is going on . also we_can hear what the people below us are saying . that_is how we heard Ozma, who rules the land of Oz, say to her people: ' the beasts in_the forest of Gugu are lazy and_are of no use to_us . let_us go to_their forest and make them all our prisoners . let_us tie them with ropes, and beat them with sticks, until they work for_us and become our willing slaves .' and when_the people heard Ozma of Oz say this, they were glad and raised a great shout and said: ' we_will do_it ! we_will make_the beasts of_the forest of Gugu our slaves ! '"

the wicked old Nome could_say no more, just then, for such a fierce roar of anger rose from_the multitude of beasts that his voice was drowned by_the clamor . finally the roar died away, like distant thunder, and Ruggedo the Nome went on with_his speech .

"Having heard the Oz people plot against your liberty, we watched to_see what they_would do, and saw them all begin making ropes--ropes long and short-- with_which to snare our friends the beasts . you_are angry, but we also were angry, for when_the Oz people became the enemies of_the beasts they also became our enemies; for we, too, are beasts, although we live in_the sky . and my comrade and I_said: ' we_will save our friends and_have revenge on_the Oz people,' and so we came here to_tell you of your danger and of_our plan to save you ."

" we_can save ourselves," cried an old elephant ." we_can fight ."

" the Oz people are fairies, and you_can't fight against magic unless you also have magic," answered the Nome .

" tell us your plan ! " shouted the huge tiger, and_the other beasts echoed his words, crying: " tell us your plan ."

" my plan is simple," replied Ruggedo ." by our magic we_will transform all you animals into men_and_women-- like the Oz people-- and we_will transform all the Oz people into beasts . you_can then live in_the fine houses of_the land of Oz, and eat the fine food of_the Oz people, and wear their fine clothes, and sing and dance and be happy . and_the Oz people, having become beasts, will_have to live here in_the forest and hunt and fight for food, and often go hungry, as_you now do, and_have no place to sleep but a bed of leaves or a hole in_the ground .Having become men_and_women, you beasts will_have all the comforts you_desire, and having become beasts, the Oz people will_be very miserable . that_is our plan, and if_you agree to_it, we_will all march at once into_the land of Oz and quickly conquer our enemies ."

when_the stranger ceased speaking, a great silence fell on_the assemblage, for_the beasts were thinking of what he had said . finally one_of_the walruses asked:

" can_you really transform beasts into men, and men into beasts ? "

" he_can-- he_can ! " cried Loo the unicorn, prancing up and down in an excited manner ." he transformed me, only last evening, and he_can transform us all ."

Gugu the king now stepped forward .

" you_have heard the stranger speak," said he, " and now you_must answer him . it_is for_you to decide . shall we agree to_this plan, or not ? "

" yes ! " shouted some_of_the animals .

" no ! " shouted others .

and some were yet silent .

Gugu looked around the great circle .

" take more time to_think," he suggested ." your answer is very_important . up_to_this_time we_have_had no trouble with_the Oz people, but we_are proud and free, and never will become slaves . think carefully, and when_you_are ready to answer, i_will hear you ."

12 .Kiki uses his magic

then arose a great confusion of sounds as all the animals began talking to_their fellows . the monkeys chattered and_the bears growled and_the voices of_the jaguars and lions rumbled, and_the wolves yelped and_the elephants had to trumpet loudly to_make their voices heard . such a hubbub had never been known in_the forest before, and each beast argued with_his neighbor until it seemed the noise would never cease .

Ruggedo the Nome waved his arms and fluttered his wings to_try to_make them listen to him again, but the beasts paid no attention . some wanted to fight the Oz people, some wanted to_be transformed, and some wanted to_do nothing at all .

the growling and confusion had grown greater than ever when in a flash silence fell on all the beasts present, the arguments were hushed, and all gazed in astonishment at a strange sight .

for into_the circle strode a great lion-- bigger and more powerful than any_other lion there-- and on_his back rode a little girl who smiled fearlessly at_the multitude of beasts . and behind the lion and_the little girl came another beast--a monstrous tiger, who bore upon his back a funny little man carrying a black bag . right past the rows of wondering beasts the strange animals walked, advancing until they stood just before_the rock throne of Gugu .

then the little girl and_the funny little man dismounted, and_the great lion demanded in a loud voice:

" who_is king in_this forest ? "

" I_am ! " answered Gugu, looking steadily at_the other ." I_am Gugu the leopard, and I_am king of_this forest ."

" then I greet your majesty with great respect," said the lion ." perhaps you_have heard of me, Gugu . I_am called the ' cowardly lion,' and I_am king of all Beasts, the world over ."

Gugu's eyes flashed angrily .

" yes," said he, " I_have heard of you . you_have long claimed to_be king of Beasts, but no beast who_is a coward can_be king over me ."

" he isn't a coward, your majesty," asserted the little girl, " he's just cowardly, that's all ."

Gugu looked at her . all the other beasts were looking at her, too .

" who_are you ? " asked the king .

" me ? Oh, I'm just Dorothy," she answered .

" how dare you come here ? " demanded the king .

" why, I'm not afraid to_go anywhere, if_the cowardly lion is with me," she said ." I_know him pretty well, and so I_can trust him . he's always afraid, when we get into trouble, and_that's why he's cowardly; but he's a terrible fighter, and_that's why he isn't a coward . he doesn't like to fight, you_know, but when he has_to, there isn't any beast living that_can conquer him ."

Gugu the king looked at_the big, powerful form of_the cowardly lion, and knew she spoke the truth . also the other Lions of_the forest now came forward and bowed low before_the strange lion .

" we welcome your majesty," said one ." we_have known you many years_ago, before_you went to live at_the emerald city, and we_have seen you fight the terrible Kalidahs and conquer them, so we_know you_are the king of all Beasts ."

" it_is true," replied the cowardly lion; " but I_did_not come here to rule the beasts of_this forest .Gugu is king here, and I believe he_is a good king and just and wise .I come, with my friends, to_be the guest of Gugu, and I_hope we_are welcome ."

that pleased the great leopard, who said very quickly:

" yes; you, at_least, are welcome to my forest . but who_are these strangers with_you ? "

" Dorothy has introduced herself," replied the lion, " and you_are_sure to like her when_you know her better . this man is_the wizard of Oz, a friend of_mine who_can do wonderful tricks of magic . and here_is my true and tried friend, the hungry tiger, who lives with me in_the emerald city ."

" is he always hungry ? " asked Loo the unicorn .

" I_am," replied the tiger, answering the question himself ." I_am always hungry for fat babies ."

" can't you find any fat babies in Oz to eat ? " inquired Loo, the unicorn .

" there_are plenty of_them, of_course," said the tiger, " but unfortunately I_have such a tender conscience that_it won't allow me to eat babies . so I'm always hungry for 'em and never can eat 'em, because my conscience won't let me ."

now of all the surprised beasts in_that clearing, not one was so_much surprised at_the sudden appearance of_these four strangers as Ruggedo the Nome . he_was frightened, too, for he recognized them as his most powerful enemies; but he also realized that they_could_not know he was_the former king of_the Nomes, because of_the beast's form he wore, which disguised him so effectually . so he_took courage and resolved that_the wizard and Dorothy should_not defeat his plans .

it_was hard to_tell, just yet, what the vast assemblage of beasts thought of_the new arrivals . some glared angrily at them, but more of_them seemed to_be curious and wondering . all were interested, however, and_they kept very quiet and listened carefully to all that was said .

Kiki Aru, who had remained unnoticed in_the shadow of_the rock, was at first more alarmed by_the coming of_the strangers than even Ruggedo was, and_the boy told himself that unless he acted quickly and without waiting to ask_the advice of_the old Nome, their conspiracy was likely to_be discovered and all their plans to conquer and rule Oz be defeated .Kiki didn't like the way Ruggedo acted either, for_the former king of_the Nomes wanted to_do everything his own way, and made the boy, who alone possessed the power of transformations, obey his orders as_if he were a slave .

another thing that disturbed Kiki Aru was_the fact that a real wizard had arrived, who was said to possess many magical powers, and this wizard carried his tools in a black bag, and was_the friend of_the Oz people, and so would probably try to_prevent war between_the beasts of_the forest and_the people of Oz .

all these things passed through_the mind of_the Hyup boy while the cowardly lion and Gugu the king were talking together, and_that was why he now began to_do several strange things .

he had found a place, near to_the point where he stood, where there_was a deep hollow in_the rock, so he put his face into_this hollow and whispered softly, so he_would_not_be heard:

" i_want the wizard of Oz to_become a fox--Pyrzqxgl ! "

the wizard, who had stood smilingly beside his friends, suddenly felt his form change to_that of a fox, and_his black bag fell to_the ground .Kiki reached out an arm and seized the bag, and_the fox cried as loud as it could:

" treason ! there's a traitor here with magic powers ! "

everyone was startled at_this cry, and Dorothy, seeing her old friend's plight, screamed and exclaimed: " mercy me ! "

but the next instant the little girl's form had changed to_that of alamb with fleecy white wool, and Dorothy was too bewildered to_do anything but look around her in wonder .

the cowardly lion's eyes now flashed fire; he crouched low and lashed the ground with_his tail and gazed around to discover who the treacherous magician might_be . but Kiki, who had kept his face in_the hollow rock, again whispered the magic word, and_the great lion disappeared and in_his place stood a little boy dressed in Munchkin costume . the little Munchkin boy was as angry as_the lion had_been, but he_was small and helpless .

Ruggedo the Nome saw what_was happening and was afraid Kiki would spoil all his plans,

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