Oz 13: The Magic of Oz by L. Frank Baum
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fix ? " the little girl inquired .

"I've no_doubt of it," the wizard assured her ." but I_can't tell what sort of magic I_must use until I get to_the place and discover just how they_are enchanted ."

"I've heard of_that magic isle where the wonderful flower grows," remarked the cowardly lion ." long_ago, when I used to live in_the forests, the beasts told stories about_the isle and how the magic flower was placed there to entrap strangers-- men or beasts ."

" is_the flower really wonderful ? " questioned Dorothy .

" I_have heard it_is_the most beautiful plant in_the_world," answered the lion ." I_have never seen it myself, but friendly beasts have told me that they_have stood on_the shore of_the river and looked across at_the plant in_the gold flower- pot and seen hundreds of flowers, of all sorts and sizes, blossom upon it in quick succession . it_is said that if one picks the flowers while they_are in bloom they_will remain perfect for_a_long_time, but if_they_are_not picked they soon disappear and_are replaced by other flowers . that, in my opinion, make_the magic plant the most wonderful in existence ."

" but these are only stories," said the girl ." has any of your friends ever picked a flower from_the wonderful plant ? "

" no," admitted the cowardly lion, " for if any living thing ventures upon_the magic isle, where the golden flower- pot stands, that man or beast takes root in_the soil and cannot get away again ."

" what happens to_them, then ? " asked Dorothy .

" they grow smaller, hour by hour and day by day, and finally disappear entirely ."

" then," said the girl anxiously, " we_must hurry up, or Cap'n bill an' trot will get too small to_be comf' table ."

they were proceeding at a rapid pace during this conversation, for_the hungry tiger and_the cowardly lion were obliged to move swiftly in_order to_keep pace with_the glass Cat . after leaving the forest of Gugu they crossed a mountain range, and then a broad plain, after which they reached another forest, much smaller than that where Gugu ruled .

" the magic isle is in_this forest," said the glass Cat, " but the river is at_the other side of_the forest . there_is no path through_the trees, but if_we keep going east, we will_find the river, and then it_will_be easy to_find the magic isle ."

" have_you ever traveled this_way before ? " inquired the wizard .

" not exactly," admitted the Cat, " but I_know we_shall reach the river if_we go east through_the forest ."

" lead on, then," said the wizard .

the glass Cat started away, and at first it_was easy to_pass between_the trees; but before long the underbrush and vines became thick and tangled, and after pushing their way through these obstacles for a time, our travelers came to a place where even the glass Cat could_not push through .

" we'd better go back and find a path," suggested the hungry tiger .

"I'm s'prised at you," said Dorothy, eyeing the glass Cat severely .

"I'm surprised, myself," replied the Cat ." but it's a long way around the forest to where the river enters it, and i_thought we_could save time by going straight through ."

" no one can blame you," said the wizard, " and i_think, instead of turning back, I_can make a path that_will allow us to_proceed ."

he opened his black bag and after searching among his magic tools drew out a small axe, made of some metal so highly polished that_it glittered brightly even in_the dark forest . the wizard laid the little axe on_the ground and said in acommanding voice:

" chop, little Axe, chop clean and true; a path for_our feet you_must quickly hew . chop till this tangle of jungle is passed; chop to_the east, little Axe-- chop fast ! "

then the little axe began to move and flashed its bright blade right and left, clearing a way through vine and brush and scattering the tangled barrier so quickly that_the lion and_the tiger, carrying Dorothy and_the wizard and_the cage of monkeys on their backs, were able to stride through_the forest at a fast walk . the brush seemed to melt away before them and_the little axe chopped so fast that their eyes only saw atwinkling of_the blade . then, suddenly, the forest was open again, and_the little axe, having obeyed its orders, lay still upon_the ground .

the wizard picked up the magic axe and after carefully wiping it with_his silk handkerchief put it away in_his black bag . then they went on and in a short time reached the river .

" let me see," said the glass Cat, looking up and down the stream, " i_think we_are below the magic isle; so we_must go up the stream until we come to_it ."

so up the stream they traveled, walking comfortably on_the river bank, and after a while the water broadened and a sharp bend appeared in_the river, hiding all below from their view . they walked briskly along, however, and had nearly reached the bend when a voice cried warningly: " look out ! "

the travelers halted abruptly and_the wizard said: " look out for what ? "

" you almost stepped on my diamond palace," replied the voice, and a duck with gorgeously colored feathers appeared before them ."Beasts and men are terribly clumsy," continued the duck in an irritated tone, " and you've no business on_this side of_the river, anyway . what_are you doing here ? "

" we've come to rescue some friends of ours who_are stuck fast on_the magic isle in_this river," explained Dorothy .

" I_know 'em," said the duck ."I've been to_see 'em, and_they're stuck fast, all right . you_may as_well go back home, for no power can save them ."

" this_is_the wonderful wizard of Oz," said Dorothy, pointing to_the little man .

" well, I'm the lonesome duck," was_the reply, as_the fowl strutted up and down to show its feathers to best advantage ."I'm the great forest magician, as any beast can tell you, but even I_have no power to destroy the dreadful charm of_the magic isle ."

" are_you lonesome because you're a magician ? " inquired Dorothy .

" no; I'm lonesome because I_have no family and no friends . but I like to_be lonesome, so please don't offer to_be friendly with me . go away, and try not to step on my diamond palace ."

" where is_it ? " asked the girl .

" behind this bush ."

Dorothy hopped off the lion's back and ran around the bush to_see the diamond palace of_the lonesome duck, although the gaudy fowl protested in a series of low quacks . the girl found, indeed, aglistening dome formed of clearest diamonds, neatly cemented together, with a doorway at_the side just big enough to admit the duck .

" where did you find so_many diamonds ? " asked Dorothy, wonderingly .

" I_know a place in_the mountains where they_are thick as pebbles," said the lonesome duck, " and I brought them here in my bill, one by one and put them in_the river and let the water run over them until they were brightly polished . then I built this palace, and I'm positive it's the only diamond palace in all the world ."

" it's the only_one I_know of," said the little girl; " but if_you live in_it all alone, I don't see why it's any better than a wooden palace, or one of bricks or cobble-stones ."

" you're not supposed to understand that," retorted the lonesome duck ." but I_might tell you, as a matter of education, that a home of any sort should_be beautiful to_those who live in_it, and should_not_be intended to_please strangers . the diamond palace is my home, and I like it . so I don't care a quack whether you like it or not ."

"Oh, but I_do ! " exclaimed Dorothy ." it's lovely on_the outside, but--" then she stopped speaking, for_the lonesome duck had entered his palace through_the little door without even saying good-bye . so Dorothy returned to her friends and_they resumed their journey .

" do_you_think, wizard, the duck was right in saying no magic can rescue trot and Cap'n bill ? " asked the girl in a worried tone of voice .

" no, I don't think the lonesome duck was right in saying that," answered the wizard, gravely, " but it_is possible that their enchantment will_be harder to overcome than I expected .I'll do my best, of_course, and no one can do more than his best ."

that didn't entirely relieve Dorothy's anxiety, but she said nothing more, and soon, on turning the bend in_the river, they came in sight of_the magic isle .

" there they_are ! " exclaimed Dorothy eagerly .

" yes, I_see them," replied the wizard, nodding ." they_are sitting on two big toadstools ."

" that's queer," remarked the glass Cat ." there were no toadstools there when I left them ."

" what a lovely flower ! " cried Dorothy in rapture, as her gaze fell on_the magic plant .

" never mind the flower, just now," advised the wizard ." the most important thing is to rescue our friends ."

by_this_time they had arrived at a place just opposite the magic isle, and now both trot and Cap'n bill saw the arrival of_their friends and called to_them for help .

" how are_you ? " shouted the wizard, putting his hands to_his mouth so they_could hear him better across the water .

" we're in hard luck," shouted Cap'n bill, in reply ." we're anchored here and can't move till you find a way to cut the hawser ."

" what does he mean by_that ? " asked Dorothy .

" we_can't move our feet a bit ! " called trot, speaking as loud as she_could .

" why_not ? " inquired Dorothy .

" they've got roots on 'em," explained trot .

it_was hard to_talk from so great a distance, so the wizard said to_the glass Cat:

" go to_the island and tell our friends to_be patient, for we_have come to save them . it may take a little time to release them, for_the magic of_the isle is new to_me and I_shall_have to experiment . but tell them I'll hurry as fast as I_can ."

so the glass Cat walked across the river under the water to_tell trot and Cap'n bill not to worry, and_the wizard at once opened his black bag and began to_make his preparations .

18 . the magic of_the wizard

he first set up a small silver tripod and placed a gold basin at_the top of it . into_this basin he put two powders--a pink one and a sky- blue one-- and poured over them a yellow liquid from a crystal vial . then he mumbled some magic words, and_the powders began to sizzle and burn and send out a cloud of violet smoke that floated across the river and completely enveloped both trot and Cap'n bill, as_well as_the toadstools on_which they sat, and even the magic plant in_the gold flower- pot . then, after_the smoke had disappeared into air, the wizard called out to_the prisoners:

" are_you free ? "

both trot and Cap'n bill tried to move their feet and failed .

" no ! " they shouted in answer .

the wizard rubbed his bald head thoughtfully and then took some other magic tools from_the bag .

first he placed a little black ball in a silver pistol and shot it toward the magic isle . the ball exploded just over the head of trot and scattered a thousand Sparks over the little girl .

"Oh ! " said the wizard, "I guess that_will set her free ."

but trot's feet were still rooted in_the ground of_the magic isle, and_the disappointed wizard had to_try something else .

for almost an hour he worked hard, using almost every magic tool in_his black bag, and still Cap'n bill and trot were_not rescued .

" dear me ! " exclaimed Dorothy, "I'm 'fraid we'll have to_go to Glinda, after all ."

that made the little wizard blush, for_it shamed him to_think that his magic was not equal to_that of_the magic isle .

"I won't give up yet, Dorothy," he_said, " for I_know alot of wizardry that I haven't yet tried .I don't know what magician enchanted this little island, or what his powers were, but I_do know that I_can break any enchantment known to_the ordinary witches and magicians that used to inhabit the land of Oz . it's like unlocking a door; all you_need is to_find the right key ."

" but 'spose you haven't the right key with_you ." suggested Dorothy; " what then ? "

" then we'll have to make_the key," he answered .

the glass Cat now came back to_their side of_the river, walking under the water, and said to_the wizard: " they're getting frightened over there on_the island because they're both growing smaller every_minute . just now, when I left them, both trot and Cap'n bill were only about half their natural sizes ."

" i_think," said the wizard reflectively, " that I'd better go to_the shore of_the island, where I_can talk to_them and work to better advantage . how did trot and Cap'n bill get to_the island ? "

" on a raft," answered the glass Cat ." it's over there now on_the beach ."

"I suppose you're not strong enough to bring the raft to_this side, are_you ? "

" no; I couldn't move it an inch," said the Cat .

"I'll try to_get it for_you," volunteered the cowardly lion ."I'm dreadfully scared for fear the magic

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