Oz 13: The Magic of Oz by L. Frank Baum
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his plans, so he leaned over the rock and shouted: " stop, Kiki-- stop ! "

Kiki would_not stop, however . instead, he transformed the Nome into a goose, to Ruggedo's horror and dismay . but the hungry tiger had witnessed all these transformations, and he_was watching to_see which of_those present was to blame for_them . when Ruggedo spoke to Kiki, the hungry tiger knew that he was_the magician, so he_made a sudden spring and hurled his great body full upon_the form of_the LI-Mon-Eag crouching against the rock .Kiki didn't see the tiger coming because his face was still in_the hollow, and_the heavy body of_the tiger bore him to_the earth just as he_said "Pyrzqxgl ! " for_the fifth time .

so now the tiger which_was crushing him changed to a rabbit, and relieved of_its weight, Kiki sprang up and, spreading his eagle's wings, flew into_the branches of a tree, where no beast could easily reach him . he_was not an instant too quick in doing this, for Gugu the king had crouched on_the rock's edge and was about to spring on_the boy .

from_his tree Kiki transformed Gugu into a fat Gillikin woman, and laughed aloud to_see how the woman pranced with rage, and how astonished all the beasts were at their king's new shape .

the beasts were frightened, too, fearing they_would share the fate of Gugu, so a stampede began when Rango the gray Ape sprang into_the forest, and Bru the bear and Loo the unicorn followed as quickly as they_could . the elephants backed into_the forest, and all the other animals, big and little, rushed after them, scattering through_the jungles until the clearing was far behind . the monkeys scrambled into_the trees and swung themselves from limb to limb, to avoid being trampled upon by_the bigger beasts, and_they were so quick that_they distanced all the rest .a panic of fear seemed to_have overtaken the forest people and_they got as far away from_the terrible magician as_they possibly could .

but the transformed ones stayed in_the clearing, being so astonished and bewildered by their new shapes that they_could only look at one another in adazed and helpless fashion, although each_one was greatly annoyed at_the trick that had_been played on him .

" who_are you ? " the Munchkin boy asked the rabbit; and " who_are you ? " the fox asked the Lamb; and " who_are you ? " the rabbit asked the fat Gillikin woman .

"I'm Dorothy," said the woolly Lamb .

"I'm the wizard," said the fox .

"I'm the cowardly lion," said the Munchkin boy .

"I'm the hungry tiger," said the rabbit .

"I'm Gugu the king," said the fat woman .

but when_they asked the goose who he_was, Ruggedo the Nome would_not tell them .

"I'm just a goose," he replied, " and what i_was before, I_cannot remember ."

13 . the loss of_the black bag

Kiki Aru, in_the form of_the LI-Mon-Eag, had scrambled into_the high, thick branches of_the tree, so no one could_see him, and there he opened the wizard's black bag, which he had carried away in_his flight . he_was curious to_see what the wizard's magic tools looked like, and hoped he_could use some_of_them and so secure more power; but after he had taken the articles, one by one, from_the bag, he had to admit they were puzzles to him . for, unless he understood their uses, they were of no value whatever .Kiki Aru, the Hyup boy, was no wizard or magician at all, and could do nothing unusual except to use the magic word he had stolen from_his father on mount munch . so he hung the wizard's black bag on a branch of_the tree and then climbed down to_the lower limbs that he might see what the victims of_his transformations were doing .

they were all on top of_the flat rock, talking together in tones so low that Kiki could_not hear what they said .

" this_is certainly a misfortune," remarked the wizard in_the fox's form, " but our transformations are a sort of enchantment which_is very easy to break-- when_you know how and_have the tools to_do_it with . the tools are in my black bag; but where is_the bag ? "

no one knew that, for none had seen Kiki Aru fly away with it .

" let's look and_see if_we_can find it," suggested Dorothy the Lamb .

so they left the rock, and all of_them searched the clearning high and low without finding the bag of magic Tools . the goose searched as earnestly as_the others, for if he_could discover it, he meant to hide it where the wizard could never find it, because if_the wizard changed him back to_his proper form, along with_the others, he_would then be recognized as Ruggedo the Nome, and they_would send_him out_of_the land of Oz and so ruin all his hopes of conquest .

Ruggedo was not really sorry, now that he thought about_it, that Kiki had transformed all these Oz folks . the forest beasts, it_was true, had_been so frightened that they_would now never consent to_be transformed into men, but Kiki could transform them against their will, and once they were all in human forms, it would_not_be impossible to induce them to conquer the Oz people .

so all was not lost, thought the old Nome, and_the best thing for him to_do was to rejoin the Hyup boy who had the secret of_the transformations . so, having made sure the wizard's black bag was not in_the clearing, the goose wandered away through_the trees when_the others were_not looking, and when out of_their hearing, he began calling, "Kiki Aru ! Kiki Aru ! quack-- quack ! Kiki Aru ! "

the boy and_the woman, the fox, the Lamb, and_the rabbit, not being able to_find the bag, went back to_the rock, all feeling exceedingly strange .

" where's the goose ? " asked the wizard .

" he_must_have run away," replied Dorothy ."I wonder who he_was ? "

" i_think," said Gugu the king, who was_the fat woman, " that_the goose was_the stranger who proposed that we_make war upon_the Oz people . if_so, his transformation was merely a trick to deceive us, and he has now gone to join his comrade, that wicked LI-Mon-Eag who obeyed all his commands ."

" what shall we_do now ? " asked Dorothy ." shall we go back to_the emerald city, as_we_are, and then visit Glinda the good and ask her to break the enchantments ? "

" i_think so," replied the wizard fox ." and we_can take Gugu the king with_us, and_have Glinda restore him to_his natural shape . but I hate to leave my bag of magic Tools behind me, for without it I_shall lose much of_my power as a wizard . also, if I go back to_the emerald city in_the shape of a fox, the Oz people will think I'm a poor wizard and will lose their respect for_me ."

" let_us_make still another search for your tools," suggested the cowardly lion, " and then, if_we fail to_find the black bag anywhere in_this forest, we_must go back home as_we_are ."

" why did you come here, anyway ? " inquired Gugu .

" we wanted to borrow a dozen monkeys, to use on Ozma's birthday," explained the wizard ." we were going to_make them small, and train them to_do tricks, and put them inside Ozma's birthday cake ."

" well," said the forest king, " you_would_have to_get the consent of Rango the gray Ape, to do_that . he commands all the tribes of monkeys ."

"I'm afraid it's too late, now," said Dorothy, regretfully ." it_was a splendid plan, but we've got troubles of_our own, and I don't like being alamb at all ."

" you're nice and fuzzy," said the cowardly lion .

" that's nothing," declared Dorothy ."I've never been ' specially proud of myself, but I'd rather be the way i_was born than anything else in_the whole world ."

the glass Cat, although it had some disagreeable ways and manners, nevertheless realized that trot and Cap'n bill were its friends and so was quite disturbed at_the fix it had gotten them into by leading them to_the isle of_the magic flower . the ruby heart of_the glass Cat was cold and hard, but still it_was a heart, and to_have a heart of any sort is to_have some consideration for others . but the queer transparent creature didn't want trot and Cap'n bill to_know it_was sorry for_them, and therefore it moved very slowly until it had crossed the river and was out of sight among_the trees of_the forest . then it headed straight toward the emerald city, and trotted so fast that_it_was like a crystal streak crossing the valleys and plains . being glass, the cat was tireless, and with no reason to delay its journey, it reached Ozma's palace in wonderfully quick time .

" where's the wizard ? " it asked the pink kitten, which_was curled up in_the sunshine on_the lowest step of_the palace entrance .

"Don't bother me," lazily answered the pink kitten, whose name was eureka .

" I_must find the wizard at once ! " said the glass Cat .

" then find him," advised eureka, and went to sleep again .

the glass Cat darted up the stairway and came upon Toto, Dorothy's little black dog .

" where's the wizard ? " asked the Cat .

" gone on a journey with Dorothy," replied Toto .

" when did they go, and where have they gone ? " demanded the Cat .

" they went yesterday, and I heard them say they_would go to_the great forest in_the Munchkin country ."

" dear me," said the glass Cat; " that_is a long journey ."

" but they rode on_the hungry tiger and_the cowardly lion," explained Toto, " and_the wizard carried his black bag of magic Tools ."

the glass Cat knew the great forest of Gugu well, for_it had traveled through_this forest many_times in its journeys through_the land of Oz . and it reflected that_the forest of Gugu was nearer to_the isle of_the magic flower than_the emerald city was, and so, if_it could manage to_find the wizard, it could lead him across the Gillikin country to where trot and Cap'n bill were prisoned . it_was a wild country and little traveled, but the glass Cat knew every path . so very little time need be lost, after all .

without stopping to ask any more questions the Cat darted out_of_the palace and away from_the emerald city, taking the most direct route to_the forest of Gugu . again the creature flashed through_the country like a streak of light, and it would surprise you to_know how quickly it reached the edge of_the great forest .

there were no monkey guards among_the trees to cry out awarning, and this_was so unusual that_it astonished the glass Cat . going farther into_the forest it presently came upon a wolf, which at first bounded away in terror . but then, seeing it_was only a glass Cat, the wolf stopped, and_the Cat could_see it_was trembling, as_if from a terrible fright .

" what's the matter ? " asked the Cat .

"A dreadful magician has_come among us ! " exclaimed the wolf, " and he's changing the forms of all the beasts-- quick as a wink-- and making them all his slaves ."

the glass Cat smiled and said:

" why, that's only the wizard of Oz . he_may_be having some fun with_you forest people, but the wizard wouldn't hurt a beast for anything ."

"I don't mean the wizard," explained the wolf ." and if_the wizard of Oz is_that funny little man who rode a great tiger into_the clearing, he's been transformed himself by_the terrible magician ."

" the wizard transformed ? why, that's impossible," declared the glass Cat .

" no; it isn't . I_saw him with my own eyes, changed into_the form of a fox, and_the girl who was with_him was changed to a woolly Lamb ."

the glass Cat was indeed surprised .

" when did that happen ? " it asked .

" just a little while ago in_the clearing . all the animals had met there, but they ran away when_the magician began his transformations, and I'm thankful I escaped with my natural shape . but I'm still afraid, and I'm going somewhere to hide ."

with_this the wolf ran on, and_the glass Cat, which knew where the big clearing was, went toward it . but now it walked more slowly, and its pink brains rolled and tumbled around at a great rate because it_was thinking over the amazing news the wolf had told it .

when_the glass Cat reached the clearing, it saw a fox, aLamb, a rabbit, aMunchkin boy and a fat Gillikin woman, all wandering around in an aimless sort of way, for they were again searching for_the black bag of magic Tools .

the Cat watched them a moment and then it walked slowly into_the open space . at once the Lamb ran toward it, crying:

"Oh, wizard, here's the glass Cat ! "

" where, Dorothy ? " asked the fox .

" here ! "

the boy and_the woman and_the rabbit now joined the fox and_the Lamb, and_they all stood before_the glass Cat and speaking together, almost like a chorus, asked: " have_you seen the black bag ? "

" often," replied the glass Cat, " but not lately ."

" it's lost," said the fox, " and we_must find it ."

" are_you the wizard ? " asked the Cat .

" yes ."

" and who_are these others ? "

"I'm Dorothy," said the Lamb .

"I'm the cowardly lion," said the Munchkin boy .

"I'm the hungry tiger," said the rabbit .

"I'm Gugu, king of_the forest," said the fat woman .

the glass Cat sat on its hind legs and began to laugh ." my, what a funny lot ! " exclaimed the creature ." who played this joke on you ? "

" it's no joke at all," declared the wizard ." it_was a cruel, wicked transformation, and_the magician that did it has_the head of a lion, the body of a monkey, the wings of an eagle and a

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