Oz 03: Ozma of Oz by L. Frank Baum
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contact with_the deadly, life-destroying sands of_the desert .

Dorothy knew at once it_was a magic carpet she beheld, and her heart beat high with hope and joy as she realized she was soon to_be rescued and allowed to greet her dearly beloved friends of Oz-- the Scarecrow, the tin woodman and_the cowardly lion .

indeed, the girl felt herself as good as rescued as_soon_as she recognized those in_the procession, for she well knew the courage and loyalty of her old comrades, and also believed that any others who came from their marvelous country would prove to_be pleasant and reliable acquaintances .

as_soon_as_the last bit of desert was passed and all the procession, from_the beautiful and dainty Ozma to_the last soldier, had reached the grassy meadows of_the land of Ev, the magic carpet rolled itself together and entirely disappeared .

then the chariot driver turned her lion and tiger into a broad roadway leading up_to_the palace, and_the others followed, while Dorothy still gazed from her tower window in eager excitement .

they came quite close to_the front door of_the palace and then halted, the Scarecrow dismounting from_his saw- horse to approach the sign fastened to_the door, that he might read what it said .

Dorothy, just above him, could keep silent no longer .

" here I_am ! " she shouted, as loudly as she_could ." here's Dorothy ! "

" Dorothy who ? " asked the Scarecrow, tipping his head to look upward until he nearly lost his balance and tumbled over backward .

" Dorothy gale, of_course . your friend from Kansas," she answered .

" why, hello, Dorothy ! " said the Scarecrow ." what in_the_world are_you doing up there ? "

" nothing," she called down, " because there's nothing to_do . save me, my friend-- save me ! "

" you seem_to_be quite safe now," replied the Scarecrow .

" but I'm a prisoner .I'm locked in, so_that I_can't get out," she pleaded .

" that's all right," said the Scarecrow ." you_might_be worse off, little Dorothy . just consider the matter . you_can't get drowned, or be run over by aWheeler, or fall out of an apple- tree . some folks would think they were lucky to_be up there ."

" well, I don't," declared the girl, " and i_want to_get down immed'i'tly and_see you and_the tin woodman and_the cowardly lion ."

" very_well," said the Scarecrow, nodding ." it shall be just as_you say, little friend . who locked you up ? "

" the princess Langwidere, who_is a horrid creature," she answered .

at_this Ozma, who had_been listening carefully to_the conversation, called to Dorothy from her chariot, asking:

" why did the princess lock you up, my dear ? "

" because," exclaimed Dorothy, "I wouldn't let her have my head for her collection, and take an old, cast- off head in exchange for_it ."

" I_do_not blame you," exclaimed Ozma, promptly ." i_will_see the princess at once, and oblige her to liberate you ."

"Oh, thank_you very, very_much ! " cried Dorothy, who as_soon_as she heard the sweet voice of_the girlish ruler of Oz knew that she_would soon learn to love her dearly .

Ozma now drove her chariot around to_the third door of_the wing, upon_which the tin woodman boldly proceeded to knock .

as_soon_as_the maid opened the door Ozma, bearing in her hand her ivory wand, stepped into_the hall and made her way at once to_the drawing- room, followed by all her company, except the lion and_the tiger . and_the twenty-seven soldiers made such a noise and a clatter that_the little maid Nanda ran away screaming to her mistress, whereupon the princess Langwidere, roused to great anger by_this rude invasion of her palace, came running into_the drawing- room without any assistance whatever .

there she stood before_the slight and delicate form of_the little girl from Oz and cried out;--

" how dare you enter my palace unbidden ? leave this room at once, or i_will bind you and all your people in chains, and throw you into my darkest dungeons ! "

" what a dangerous lady ! " murmured the Scarecrow, in a soft voice .

" she seems a little nervous," replied the tin woodman .

but Ozma only smiled at_the angry princess .

" sit down, please," she said, quietly ." I_have traveled a long way to_see you, and you_must listen to what I_have to_say ."

" must ! " screamed the princess, her black eyes flashing with fury-- for she still wore her no .17 head ." must, to_me ! "

" to_be_sure," said Ozma ." I_am ruler of_the land of Oz, and I_am powerful enough to destroy all your kingdom, if I so wish . yet I_did_not come here to_do harm, but rather to free the royal family of Ev from_the thrall of_the Nome king, the news having reached me that he_is holding the queen and her children prisoners ."

Hearing these words, Langwidere suddenly became quiet .

" i_wish you_could, indeed, free my aunt and her ten royal children," said she, eagerly ." for if_they were restored to_their proper forms and station they_could rule the kingdom of Ev themselves, and that_would save me alot of worry and trouble . at present there_are at_least ten minutes every day that I_must devote to affairs of state, and i_would like to_be_able to_spend my whole time in admiring my beautiful heads ."

" then we_will presently discuss this_matter," said Ozma, " and try to_find a way to liberate your aunt and cousins . but first you_must liberate another prisoner-- the little girl you_have locked up in your tower ."

" of_course," said Langwidere, readily ."I had forgotten all about her . that was yesterday, you_know, and a princess cannot_be expected to remember today what she did yesterday . come with me, and_I_will release the prisoner at once ."

so Ozma followed her, and_they passed up the stairs that led to_the room in_the tower .

while they were gone Ozma's followers remained in_the drawing- room, and_the Scarecrow was leaning against a form that he had mistaken for a copper statue when a harsh, metallic voice said suddenly in_his ear:

" get off my foot, please . you_are scratch-ing my pol-ish ."

"Oh, excuse me ! " he replied, hastily drawing back ." are_you alive ? "

" no," said Tiktok, " I_am on-ly a MA- chine . but I_can think and speak and act, when I_am pro-per-ly wound up . just now my AC-tion is run down, and Dor-o- thy has_the key to_it ."

" that's all right," replied the Scarecrow ." Dorothy will soon be free, and then she'll attend to your works . but it must_be a great misfortune not to_be alive .I'm sorry for_you ."

" why ? " asked Tiktok .

" because you_have no brains, as I_have," said the Scarecrow .

"Oh, yes, I_have," returned Tiktok ." I_am fit-ted with smith & tin-ker's im- proved Com-bi-na-tion steel Brains . they_are what make me think . what sort of brains are_you fit-ted with ? "

"I don't know," admitted the Scarecrow ." they were given to_me by_the great wizard of Oz, and I didn't get a chance to examine them before he put them in . but they work splendidly and my conscience is very active . have_you a conscience ? "

" no," said Tiktok .

" and no heart, I suppose ? " added the tin woodman, who had_been listening with interest to_this conversation .

" no," said Tiktok .

" then," continued the tin woodman, " I_regret to_say that you_are greatly inferior to my friend the Scarecrow, and to myself . for we_are both alive, and he has brains which do_not need to_be wound up, while I_have an excellent heart that_is continually beating in my bosom ."

"I con-grat-u- late you," replied Tiktok ." I_can- not help be-ing your in-fer-i- or for I_am amere MA- chine . when I_am wound up I_do my du-ty by go-ing just as my MA- chin-er-y is made to_go . you_have no i-de-a how full of MA- chin-er-y I_am ."

" I_can guess," said the Scarecrow, looking at_the machine man curiously ." some day I'd like to_take you apart and_see just how you_are made ."

" do_not do_that, I beg of you," said Tiktok; " for you_could_not put me to-geth-er a- gain, and my use-ful-ness would_be de-stroyed ."

"Oh ! are_you useful ? " asked the Scarecrow, surprised .

"Ve-ry," said Tiktok .

" in_that case," the Scarecrow kindly promised, "I won't fool with your interior at all . for I_am a poor mechanic, and might mix you up ."

" thank_you," said Tiktok .

just then Ozma re- entered the room, leading Dorothy by_the hand and followed closely by_the princess Langwidere .

8 . the hungry tiger

the first thing Dorothy did was to rush into_the embrace of_the Scarecrow, whose painted face beamed with delight as he pressed her form to_his straw- padded bosom . then the tin woodman embraced her-- very gently, for he_knew his tin arms might hurt her if he squeezed too roughly .

these greetings having been exchanged, Dorothy took the key to Tiktok from her pocket and wound up the machine man's action, so_that he_could bow properly when introduced to_the rest of_the company . while doing this she told them how useful Tiktok had_been to her, and both the Scarecrow and_the tin woodman shook hands with_the machine once more and thanked him for protecting their friend .

then Dorothy asked: " where is Billina ? "

"I don't know," said the Scarecrow ." who_is Billina ? "

" she's a yellow hen who_is another friend of_mine," answered the girl, anxiously ."I wonder what has become of her ? "

" she_is in_the chicken house, in_the back yard," said the princess ." my drawing- room is no place for hens ."

without waiting to hear more Dorothy ran to_get Billina, and just outside the door she came upon_the cowardly lion, still hitched to_the chariot beside the great tiger . the cowardly lion had a big bow of blue ribbon fastened to_the long hair between his ears, and_the tiger wore a bow of red ribbon on_his tail, just in front of_the bushy end .

in an instant Dorothy was hugging the huge lion joyfully .

"I'm so glad_to_see you again ! " she cried .

" I_am also glad_to_see you, Dorothy," said the lion ." we've had some fine adventures together, haven't we ? "

" yes, indeed," she replied ." how are_you ? "

" as cowardly as ever," the beast answered in a meek voice ." every little thing scares me and makes my heart beat fast . but let me introduce to_you a new friend of_mine, the hungry tiger ."

"Oh ! are_you hungry ? " she asked, turning to_the other beast, who was just then yawning so widely that he displayed two rows of terrible teeth and a mouth big enough to startle anyone .

"Dreadfully hungry," answered the tiger, snapping his jaws together with a fierce click .

" then why don't you eat something ? " she asked .

" it's no use," said the tiger sadly ."I've tried that, but I always get hungry again ."

" why, it_is_the same with me," said Dorothy ." yet I keep on eating ."

" but you eat harmless things, so it doesn't matter," replied the tiger ." for_my part, I'm a savage beast, and_have an appetite for all sorts of poor little living creatures, from a chipmunk to fat babies ."

" how dreadful ! " said Dorothy .

"Isn't it, though ? " returned the hungry tiger, licking his lips with_his long red tongue ." fat babies ! Don't they sound delicious ? but I've never eaten any, because my conscience tells me it_is wrong . if I had no conscience i_would probably eat the babies and then get hungry again, which would mean that I had sacrificed the poor babies for nothing . no; hungry i_was born, and hungry I_shall die . but I'll not have any cruel deeds on my conscience to_be sorry for ."

" i_think you_are a very_good tiger," said Dorothy, patting the huge head of_the beast .

" in_that you_are mistaken," was_the reply ." I_am a good beast, perhaps, but adisgracefully bad tiger . for it_is_the nature of tigers to_be cruel and ferocious, and in refusing to eat harmless living creatures I_am acting as no good tiger has ever before acted . that_is why I left the forest and joined my friend the cowardly lion ."

" but the lion is_not really cowardly," said Dorothy ." I_have_seen him act as bravely as can_be ."

" all a mistake, my dear," protested the lion gravely ." to others I_may_have seemed brave, at times, but I_have never been in any danger that i_was not afraid ."

" nor I," said Dorothy, truthfully ." but I_must go and set free Billina, and then i_will_see you again ."

she ran around to_the back yard of_the palace and soon found the chicken house, being guided to_it by a loud cackling and crowing and adistracting hubbub of sounds such as chickens make when_they are excited .

something seemed to_be wrong in_the chicken house, and when Dorothy looked through_the slats in_the door she saw a group of hens and roosters huddled in one corner and watching what appeared to_be awhirling ball of feathers . it bounded here and there about_the chicken house, and at first Dorothy could_not tell what it_was, while the screeching of_the chickens nearly deafened her .

but suddenly the bunch of feathers stopped whirling, and then, to her amazement, the girl saw Billina crouching upon_the prostrate form of a speckled rooster . for an instant they both remained motionless, and then the yellow hen shook her wings to settle the feathers and walked toward the door with a strut of proud Defiance and a cluck of victory, while the speckled rooster limped away to_the group of other chickens, trailing his crumpled plumage in_the dust as he went .

" why, Billina ! " cried Dorothy, in a shocked voice; " have_you been fighting ? "

"I really think I_have," retorted Billina ." do_you_think I'd let that speckled villain of a rooster lord it over me, and claim to run this chicken house, as long as I'm able to peck and scratch ? not if_my name is bill ! "

" it isn't bill, it's Billina; and you're talking slang, which_is very undig'n'fied," said Dorothy, reprovingly ." come

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