Oz 03: Ozma of Oz by L. Frank Baum
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come here, Billina, and I'll let you out; for Ozma of Oz is here, and has set us free ."

so the yellow hen came to_the door, which Dorothy unlatched for her to_pass through, and_the other chickens silently watched them from their corner without offering to approach nearer .

the girl lifted her friend in her arms and exclaimed:

"Oh, Billina ! how dreadful you look . you've lost alot of feathers, and one of your eyes is nearly pecked out, and your comb is bleeding ! "

" that's nothing," said Billina ." just look at_the speckled rooster ! Didn't I_do him up brown ? "

Dorothy shook her head .

"I don't ' prove of_this, at all," she said, carrying Billina away toward the palace ." it isn't a good thing for_you to 'sociate with those common chickens . they_would soon spoil your good manners, and you wouldn't be respec' able any more ."

"I didn't ask to associate with_them," replied Billina ." it is_that cross old princess who_is to blame . but i_was raised in_the United_States, and I won't allow any_one- horse chicken of_the land of Ev to run over me and put on airs, as long as I_can lift a claw in self- defense ."

" very_well, Billina," said Dorothy ." we won't talk about_it any more ."

soon they came to_the cowardly lion and_the hungry tiger to_whom the girl introduced the yellow Hen .

" glad to meet any friend of Dorothy's," said the lion, politely ." to judge by your present appearance, you_are_not a coward, as I_am ."

" your present appearance makes my mouth water," said the tiger, looking at Billina greedily ." my, my ! how good you_would taste if I_could only crunch you between my jaws . but don't worry . you_would only appease my appetite for a moment; so it isn't worth while to eat you ."

" thank_you," said the hen, nestling closer in Dorothy's arms .

" besides, it wouldn't be right," continued the tiger, looking steadily at Billina and clicking his jaws together .

" of_course not," cried Dorothy, hastily ."Billina is my friend, and you mustn't ever eat her under any circ'mstances ."

"I'll try to remember that," said the tiger; " but I'm a little absent- minded, at times ."

then Dorothy carried her pet into_the drawing- room of_the palace, where Tiktok, being invited to_do_so by Ozma, had seated himself between_the Scarecrow and_the tin woodman . opposite to_them sat Ozma herself and_the princess Langwidere, and beside them there_was a vacant chair for Dorothy .

around this important group was ranged the army of Oz, and as Dorothy looked at_the handsome uniforms of_the Twenty-Seven she said:

" why, they seem_to_be all officers ."

" they_are, all except one," answered the tin woodman ." I_have in my army eight Generals, six Colonels, seven Majors and five Captains, besides one private for_them to command .I'd like to promote the private, for I believe no private should ever be in public life; and I've also noticed that officers usually fight better and_are more reliable than common soldiers . besides, the officers are more important looking, and lend dignity to our army ."

" no_doubt you_are right," said Dorothy, seating herself beside Ozma .

" and now," announced the girlish ruler of Oz, " we_will hold a solemn conference to decide the best manner of liberating the royal family of_this fair land of Ev from their long imprisonment ."

9 . the royal family of Ev

the tin woodman was_the first to address the meeting .

" to_begin with," said he, " word came to our noble and illustrious ruler, Ozma of Oz, that_the wife and ten children--five boys and five girls-- of_the former king of Ev, by name Evoldo, have_been enslaved by_the Nome king and_are held prisoners in_his underground palace . also that there_was no one in Ev powerful enough to release them . naturally our Ozma wished to undertake the adventure of liberating the poor prisoners; but for_a_long_time she_could find no way to cross the great desert between_the two countries . finally she went to a friendly sorceress of_our land named Glinda the good, who heard the story and at once presented Ozma a magic carpet, which would continually unroll beneath our feet and so make a comfortable path for_us to cross the desert . as_soon_as she had received the carpet our gracious ruler ordered me to assemble our army, which I_did . you behold in_these bold warriors the pick of all the finest soldiers of Oz; and, if_we_are obliged to fight the Nome king, every officer as_well as_the private, will battle fiercely unto death ."

then Tiktok spoke .

" why should you fight the Nome king ? " he asked ." he has_done no wrong ."

" no wrong ! " cried Dorothy ."Isn't it wrong to imprison a queen mother and her ten children ? "

" they were sold to_the Nome king by king Ev-ol- do," replied Tiktok ." it was_the king of Ev who did wrong, and when he re-al-ized what he had done he jumped in- to_the sea and drowned him- self ."

" this_is news to_me," said Ozma, thoughtfully ."I had supposed the Nome king was all to blame in_the matter . but, in any case, he_must_be made to liberate the prisoners ."

" my uncle Evoldo was a very wicked man," declared the princess Langwidere ." if he had drowned himself before he sold his family, no one would_have cared . but he sold them to_the powerful Nome king in exchange for a long life, and afterward destroyed the life by jumping into_the sea ."

" then," said Ozma, " he_did_not get the long life, and_the Nome king must give up the prisoners . where are they confined ? "

" no one knows, exactly," replied the princess ." for_the king, whose name is Roquat of_the Rocks, owns a splendid palace underneath the great mountain which_is at_the north end of_this kingdom, and he has transformed the queen and her children into ornaments and bric-a-brac with_which to decorate his rooms ."

"I'd like to_know," said Dorothy, " who this Nome king is ? "

" i_will tell you," replied Ozma ." he_is said to_be the ruler of_the underground world, and commands the rocks and all that_the rocks contain . under his rule are many thousands of_the Nomes, who_are queerly shaped but powerful sprites that labor at_the furnaces and forges of_their king, making gold and silver and other metals which they conceal in_the crevices of_the rocks, so that_those living upon_the earth's surface can only find them with great difficulty . also they make diamonds and rubies and emeralds, which they hide in_the ground; so that_the kingdom of_the Nomes is wonderfully rich, and all we_have of precious stones and silver and gold is what we take from_the earth and rocks where the Nome king has hidden them ."

"I understand," said Dorothy, nodding her little head wisely .

" for_the reason that we often steal his treasures," continued Ozma, " the ruler of_the underground world is_not fond of_those who live upon_the earth's surface, and never appears among us . if we_wish to_see king Roquat of_the Rocks, we_must visit his own country, where he_is all powerful, and therefore it_will_be a dangerous undertaking ."

" but, for_the sake of_the poor prisoners," said Dorothy, " we ought to_do_it ."

" we_shall do_it," replied the Scarecrow, " although it requires alot of courage for_me to_go near to_the furnaces of_the Nome king . for I_am only stuffed with straw, and a single spark of fire might destroy me entirely ."

" the furnaces may also melt my tin," said the tin woodman; " but I_am going ."

" I_can't bear heat," remarked the princess Langwidere, yawning lazily, " so I_shall stay at home . but i_wish you_may_have success in your undertaking, for I_am heartily tired of ruling this stupid kingdom, and I_need more leisure in_which to admire my beautiful heads ."

" we_do_not need you," said Ozma ." for, if with_the aid of_my brave followers I_cannot accomplish my purpose, then it would_be useless for_you to undertake the journey ."

" quite true," sighed the princess ." so, if_you'll excuse me, i_will now retire to my cabinet .I've worn this head quite awhile, and i_want to_change it for another ."

when she had left them ( and you_may_be_sure no one was sorry to_see her go) Ozma said to Tiktok:

" will_you join our party ? "

" I_am the slave of_the girl Dor-oth-y, who rescued me from pris- on," replied the machine ." where she goes i_will go ."

"Oh, I_am going with my friends, of_course," said Dorothy, quickly ."I wouldn't miss the fun for anything . will_you go, too, Billina ? "

" to_be_sure," said Billina in a careless tone . she was smoothing down the feathers of her back and not paying much attention .

" heat is just in her line," remarked the Scarecrow ." if she_is nicely roasted, she will_be better than ever ."

" then" said Ozma, " we_will arrange to start for_the kingdom of_the Nomes at daybreak tomorrow . and, in_the meantime, we_will rest and prepare ourselves for_the journey ."

although princess Langwidere did_not again appear to her guests, the palace servants waited upon_the strangers from Oz and did everything in their power to make_the party comfortable . there were many vacant rooms at their disposal, and_the brave army of twenty-seven was easily provided for and liberally feasted .

the cowardly lion and_the hungry tiger were unharnessed from_the chariot and allowed to roam at will throughout_the palace, where they nearly frightened the servants into fits, although they_did no harm at all . at one_time Dorothy found the little maid Nanda crouching in terror in a corner, with_the hungry tiger standing before her .

" you certainly look delicious," the beast was saying ." will_you kindly give_me permission to eat you ? "

" no, no, no ! " cried the maid in reply .

" then," said the tiger, yawning frightfully, " please to_get me about thirty pounds of tenderloin steak, cooked rare, with a peck of boiled potatoes on_the side, and five gallons of ice- cream for dessert ."

"I--I'll do_the best I_can ! " said Nanda, and she ran away as fast as she_could go .

" are_you so very hungry ? " asked Dorothy, in wonder .

" you_can hardly imagine the size of_my appetite," replied the tiger, sadly ." it seems to_fill my whole body, from_the end of_my throat to_the tip of_my tail . I_am very sure the appetite doesn't fit me, and_is too large for_the size of_my body . some day, when I meet a dentist with a pair of forceps, I'm going to_have it pulled ."

" what, your tooth ? " asked Dorothy .

" no, my appetite," said the hungry tiger .

the little girl spent most of_the afternoon talking with_the Scarecrow and_the tin woodman, who related to her all that had taken place in_the land of Oz since Dorothy had left it . she was much interested in_the story of Ozma, who had_been, when a baby, stolen by a wicked old witch and transformed into a boy . she did_not know that she had ever been a girl until she was restored to her natural form by a kind sorceress . then it_was found that she was_the only child of_the former ruler of Oz, and was entitled to rule in_his place .Ozma had many adventures, however, before she regained her father's throne, and in_these she was accompanied by a pumpkin- headed man, a highly magnified and thoroughly educated Woggle- bug, and a wonderful sawhorse that had_been brought to life by_means of a magic powder . the Scarecrow and_the tin woodman had also assisted her; but the cowardly lion, who ruled the great forest as_the king of Beasts, knew nothing of Ozma until after she became the reigning princess of Oz . then he journeyed to_the emerald city to_see her, and on hearing she was about to visit the land of Ev to set free the royal family of_that country, the cowardly lion begged to_go with her, and brought along his friend, the hungry tiger, as_well .

Having heard this story, Dorothy related to_them her own adventures, and then went out with her friends to_find the sawhorse, which Ozma had caused to_be shod with plates of gold, so_that its legs would_not wear out .

they came upon_the sawhorse standing motionless beside the garden gate, but when Dorothy was introduced to him he bowed politely and blinked his eyes, which were knots of wood, and wagged his tail, which_was only the branch of a tree .

" what a remarkable thing, to_be alive ! " exclaimed Dorothy .

"I quiet agree with_you," replied the sawhorse, in a rough but not unpleasant voice ."A creature like me has no business to live, as_we all know . but it was_the magic powder that did it, so I_cannot justly be blamed ."

" of_course not," said Dorothy ." and you seem_to_be of some use, ' cause I noticed the Scarecrow riding upon your back ."

"Oh, yes; I'm of use," returned the sawhorse; " and I never tire, never have to_be fed, or cared for in any_way ."

" are_you intel'gent ? " asked the girl .

" not very," said the creature ." it would_be foolish to waste intelligence on a common sawhorse, when so_many professors need it . but I_know enough to obey my masters, and to gid-dup, or whoa, when I'm told to . so I'm pretty well satisfied ."

that night Dorothy slept in a pleasant little bed- chamber next to_that occupied by Ozma of Oz, and Billina perched upon_the foot of_the bed and tucked her head under her wing and slept as soundly in_that position as did Dorothy upon her soft cushions .

but before daybreak every_one was awake and stirring, and soon the adventurers were eating a hasty breakfast in_the great dining- room of_the palace .Ozma sat at_the head of a long table, on a raised platform, with Dorothy on her right hand and_the Scarecrow on her left . the Scarecrow did_not eat, of_course; but Ozma placed him near her so_that she might ask his advice about_the journey while she ate .

lower down the table were the twenty-seven warriors of Oz, and at_the end of_the room the lion and_the tiger were eating out of akettle that had_been placed upon_the floor,

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