Oz 13: The Magic of Oz by L. Frank Baum
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own form again--Pyrzqxgl ! "

instantly he was_the wizard of Oz, and after picking up the hickory- nut and_the walnut, and carefully placing them in_his pocket, he ran back to_the big clearing .

Dorothy the Lamb uttered a bleat of delight when she saw her old friend restored to_his natural shape . the others were all there, not having found the goose . the fat Gillikin woman, the Munchkin boy, the rabbit and_the glass Cat crowded around the wizard and asked what had happened .

before he explained anything of_his adventure, he transformed them all-- except, of_course, the glass Cat-- into their natural shapes, and when their joy permitted them to quiet somewhat, he_told how he had by chance surprised the magician's secret and been able to_change the two LI-Mon-Eags into shapes that could_not speak, and therefore would_be unable to help themselves . and_the little wizard showed his astonished friends the hickory- nut and_the walnut to_prove that he had spoken the truth .

" but-- see here ! "-- exclaimed Dorothy ." what has become of_those giant Soldiers who used to_be monkeys ? "

"I forgot all about_them ! " admitted the wizard; " but I suppose they_are still standing there in_the forest ."

15 . the lonesome duck

trot and Cap'n bill stood before_the magic flower, actually rooted to_the spot .

"Aren't you hungry, Cap'n ? " asked the little girl, with a long sigh, for she had_been standing there for hours and hours .

" well," replied the sailor- man, "I ain't sayin' as I couldn't eat, trot-- if a dinner was handy-- but I guess old folks don't get as hungry as young folks do ."

"I'm not sure ' bout that, Cap'n bill," she said thoughtfully ." age might make adiff'rence, but seems to_me size would make a bigger diff'rence .Seeing you're twice as big as me, you ought_to_be twice as hungry ."

" I_hope I_am," he rejoined, " for I_can stand it a while longer . I_do hope the glass Cat will hurry, and I_hope the wizard won't waste time a-comin' to_us ."

trot sighed again and watched the wonderful magic flower, because there_was nothing else to_do . just now a lovely group of pink peonies budded and bloomed, but soon they faded away, and a mass of deep blue lilies took their place . then some yellow chrysanthemums blossomed on_the plant, and when_they had opened all their petals and reached perfection, they gave way to alot of white floral balls spotted with crimson--a flower trot had never seen before .

" but I get awful tired watchin' flowers an' flowers an' flowers," she said impatiently .

" they're might pretty," observed Cap'n bill .

" I_know; and if a person could come and look at_the magic flower just when she felt like it, it would_be a fine thing, but to_have to stand and watch it, whether you_want to or not, isn't so_much fun . i_wish, Cap'n bill, the thing would grow fruit for a while instead of flowers ."

scarcely had she spoken when_the white balls with crimson spots faded away and alot of beautiful ripe peaches took their place . with a cry of mingled surprise and delight trot reached out and plucked a peach from_the bush and began to eat it, finding it delicious .Cap'n bill was somewhat dazed at_the girl's wish being granted so quickly, so before he_could pick a peach they had faded away and bananas took their place ." grab one, Cap'n ! " exclaimed trot, and even while eating the peach she seized a banana with her other hand and tore it from_the bush .

the old sailor was still bewildered . he put out a hand indeed, but he_was too late, for now the bananas disappeared and lemons took their place .

"Pshaw ! " cried trot ." you_can't eat those things; but watch out, Cap'n, for something else ."

Cocoanuts next appeared, but Cap'n bill shook his head .

"Ca'n't crack 'em," he remarked, "' cause we haven't anything handy to smash 'em with ."

" well, take one, anyhow," advised trot; but the cocoanuts were gone now, and a deep, purple, pear- shaped fruit which_was unknown to_them took their place . again Cap'n bill hesitated, and trot said to him:

" you ought_to_have captured a peach and a banana, as I_did . if_you're not careful, Cap'n, you'll miss all your chances . here, I'll divide my banana with_you ."

even as she spoke, the magic plant was covered with big red apples, growing on every branch, and Cap'n bill hesitated no longer . he grabbed with both hands and picked two apples, while trot had only time to secure one before_they were gone .

" it's curious," remarked the sailor, munching his apple, " how these fruits keep good when_you've picked 'em, but dis' pear inter thin air if_they're left on_the bush ."

" the whole thing is curious," declared the girl, " and it couldn't exist in any country but this, where magic is so common . those are limes .Don't pick 'em, for they'd pucker up your mouth and--Ooo ! here come plums ! " and she tucked her apple in her apron pocket and captured three plums-- each_one almost as big as an egg-- before_they disappeared .Cap'n bill got some too, but both were too hungry to fast any longer, so they began eating their apples and plums and let the magic bush bear all sorts of fruits, one after another . the Cap'n stopped once to pick a fine cantaloupe, which he held under his arm, and trot, having finished her plums, got a handful of cherries and an orange; but when almost every sort of fruit had appeared on_the bush, the crop ceased and only flowers, as before, bloomed upon it .

"I wonder why it changed back," mused trot, who was not worried because she had enough fruit to satisfy her hunger .

" well, you only wished it would bear fruit ' for a while,'" said the sailor, " and it did .P'raps if_you'd said ' forever,' trot, it would_have always been fruit ."

" but why should my wish be obeyed ? " asked the girl ."I'm not a fairy or a wizard or any kind of a magic- maker ."

"I guess," replied Cap'n bill, " that_this little island is a magic island, and any folks on_it can tell the bush what to_produce, an' it'll produce it ."

" do_you_think I_could wish for anything else, Cap'n and get it ? " she inquired anxiously .

" what_are you thinkin' of, trot ? "

"I'm thinking of wishing that_these roots on_our feet would disappear, and_let_us free ."

" try it, trot ."

so she tried it, and_the wish had no effect whatever .

" try it yourself, Cap'n," she suggested .

then Cap'n bill made the wish to_be free, with no better result .

" no," said he, " it's no use; the wishes only affect the magic plant; but I'm glad we_can make it bear fruit, ' cause now we_know we won't starve before_the wizard gets to_us ."

" but I'm gett'n' tired standing here so_long," complained the girl ." if I_could only lift one foot, and rest it, I'd feel better ."

" same with me, trot .I've noticed that if_you've got to_do a thing, and can't help yourself, it gets to_be a hardship mighty quick ."

"Folks that_can raise their feet don't appreciate what ablessing it_is," said trot thoughtfully ."I never knew before what fun it_is to raise one foot, an' then another, any_time you feel like it ."

" there's lots o' things folks don't 'preciate," replied the sailor- man ." if somethin' would ' most stop your breath, you'd think breathin' easy was_the finest thing in life . when a person's well, he don't realize how jolly it_is, but when he gets sick he 'members the time he_was well, an' wishes that_time would come back . most folks forget to thank god for givin' 'em two good legs, till they lose one o' 'em, like I_did; and then it's too late, 'cept to praise god for leavin' one ."

" your wooden leg ain't so bad, Cap'n," she remarked, looking at it critically ."Anyhow, it don't take root on a magic island, like our meat legs do ."

"I ain't complainin'," said Cap'n bill ." what's that swimmin' towards us, trot ? " he added, looking over the magic flower and across the water .

the girl looked, too, and then she replied .

" it's a bird of some sort . it's like a duck, only I never saw a duck have so_many colors ."

the bird swam swiftly and gracefully toward the magic isle, and as it drew nearer its gorgeously colored plumage astonished them . the feathers were of many hues of glistening greens and blues and purples, and it had a yellow head with a red plume, and pink, white and violet in its tail . when it reached the isle, it came ashore and approached them, waddling slowly and turning its head first to one side and then to_the other, so as to_see the girl and_the sailor better .

" you're strangers," said the bird, coming to a halt near them, " and you've been caught by_the magic isle and made prisoners ."

" yes," returned trot, with a sigh; " we're rooted . but I_hope we won't grow ."

" you'll grow small," said the bird ." you'll keep growing smaller every day, until bye and bye there'll be nothing left of you . that's the usual way, on_this magic isle ."

" how do_you_know about_it, and who_are you, anyhow ? " asked Cap'n bill .

"I'm the lonesome duck," replied the bird ."I suppose you've heard of me ? "

" no," said trot, " I_can't say I_have . what makes you lonesome ? "

" why, I haven't any family or any relations," returned the duck .

" haven't you any friends ? "

" not a friend . and I've nothing to_do .I've lived a long_time, and I've got to live forever, because I belong in_the land of Oz, where no living thing dies . think of existing year after year, with no friends, no family, and nothing to_do ! can_you wonder I'm lonesome ? "

" why don't you make a few friends, and find something to_do ? " inquired Cap'n bill .

" I_can't make friends because everyone I meet-- bird, beast, or person-- is disagreeable to_me . in_a_few_minutes I_shall_be unable to bear your society longer, and then I'll go away and leave you," said the lonesome duck ." and, as for doing anything, there's no use in_it . all I meet are doing something, so I_have decided it's common and uninteresting and I prefer to remain lonesome ."

"Don't you_have to hunt for your food ? " asked trot .

" no . in my diamond palace, a little way up the river, food is magically supplied me; but I seldom eat, because it_is so common ."

" you_must_be a magician duck," remarked Cap'n bill .

" why so ? "

" well, ordinary ducks don't have diamond palaces an' magic food, like you_do ."

" true; and_that's another reason why I'm lonesome . you_must remember I'm the only duck in_the land of Oz, and I'm not like any_other duck in_the outside world ."

"Seems to_me you like bein' lonesome," observed Cap'n bill .

" I_can't say I like it, exactly," replied the duck, " but since it seems_to_be my fate, I'm rather proud of it ."

" how do_you s' pose a single, solitary duck happened to_be in_the land of Oz ? " asked trot, wonderingly .

"I used to_know the reason, many years_ago, but I've quite forgotten it," declared the duck ." the reason for a thing is never so important as_the thing itself, so there's no use remembering anything but the fact that I'm lonesome ."

"I guess you'd be happier if_you tried to_do something," asserted trot ." if_you_can't do anything for_yourself, you_can do things for others, and then you'd get lots of friends and stop being lonesome ."

" now you're getting disagreeable," said the lonesome duck, " and I_shall_have to_go and leave you ."

" can't you help_us any," pleaded the girl ." if there's anything magic about you, you_might get us out of_this scrape ."

"I haven't any magic strong enough to_get you off the magic isle," replied the lonesome duck ." what magic I possess is very simple, but I_find it enough for_my own needs ."

" if_we_could only sit down a while, we_could stand it better," said trot, " but we_have nothing to sit on ."

" then you_will_have to stand it," said the lonesome duck .

"P'raps you've enough magic to_give us a couple of stools," suggested Cap'n bill .

"A duck isn't supposed to_know what stools are," was_the reply .

" but you're diff' rent from all other ducks ."

" that_is true ." the strange creature seemed to reflect for a moment, looking at them sharply from its round black eyes . then it said: "Sometimes, when_the sun is hot, I grow a toadstool to shelter me from its rays . perhaps you_could sit on toadstools ."

" well, if_they were strong enough, they'd do," answered Cap'n bill .

" then, before I_do I'll give_you a couple," said the lonesome duck, and began waddling about in a small circle . it went around the circle to_the right three times, and then it went around to_the left three times . then it hopped backward three times and forward three times .

" what_are you doing ? " asked trot .

"Don't interrupt . this_is an incantation," replied the lonesome duck, but now it began making a succession of soft noises that sounded like quacks and seemed to mean nothing at all . and it kept up these sounds so_long that trot finally exclaimed:

" can't you hurry up and finish that 'cantation ? if_it takes all summer to_make a couple of toadstools, you're not much of a magician ."

" i_told you not to interrupt," said the lonesome duck, sternly ." if_you get

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