Oz 03: Ozma of Oz by L. Frank Baum
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learned from experience to_pass the time patiently and quietly, since all their friends who were made of flesh had to sleep and did_not like to_be disturbed .

when_the chief steward had left them alone the Scarecrow remarked, sadly:

" I_am in great sorrow over the loss of_my old comrade, the tin woodman . we_have_had many dangerous adventures together, and escaped them all, and now it grieves me to_know he has become an ornament, and_is lost to_me forever ."

" he_was al-ways an or-na-ment to so-ci-e-ty," said Tiktok .

" true; but now the Nome king laughs at him, and calls him the funniest ornament in all the palace . it_will hurt my poor friend's pride to_be laughed at," continued the Scarecrow, sadly .

" we_will make rath-er ab- surd or-na-ments, our-selves, to-mor- row," observed the machine, in_his monotonous voice .

just then Dorothy ran into their room, in a state of great anxiety, crying:

" where's Billina ? have_you seen Billina ? is she here ? "

" no," answered the Scarecrow .

" then what has become of her ? " asked the girl .

" why, i_thought she was with_you," said the Scarecrow ." yet I_do_not remember seeing the yellow hen since she picked up the crumbs of cake ."

" we_must_have left her in_the room where the king's throne is," decided Dorothy, and at once she turned and ran down the hall to_the door through which they had entered . but it_was fast closed and locked on_the other side, and_the heavy slab of rock proved to_be so thick that no sound could pass through it . so Dorothy was forced to return to her chamber .

the cowardly lion stuck his head into her room to_try to console the girl for_the loss of her feathered friend .

" the yellow hen is well able to_take care of herself," said he; " so don't worry about her, but try to_get all the sleep you_can . it_has_been a long and weary day, and you_need rest ."

"I'll prob'ly get lots of rest tomorrow, when I become an orn'ment," said Dorothy, sleepily . but she lay down upon her couch, nevertheless, and in_spite of all her worries was soon in_the land of dreams .

14 . Dorothy Tries to_be brave

meantime the chief steward had returned to_the throne room, where he_said to_the king:

" you_are a fool to waste so_much time upon these people ."

" what ! " cried his majesty, in so enraged a voice that_it awoke Billina, who was asleep under his throne ." how dare you call me a fool ? "

" because I like to_speak the truth," said the steward ." why didn't you enchant them all at once, instead of allowing them to_go one by one into_the palace and guess which ornaments are the queen of Ev and her children ? "

" why, you stupid rascal, it_is more fun this_way," returned the king, " and it serves to_keep me amused for_a_long_time ."

" but suppose some_of_them happen to guess aright," persisted the steward; " then you_would lose your old ornaments and these new ones, too ."

" there_is no chance of_their guessing aright," replied the monarch, with a laugh ." how could they know that_the queen of Ev and her family are all ornaments of a royal purple color ? "

" but there_are no other purple ornaments in_the palace," said the steward .

" there_are many_other colors, however, and_the purple ones are scattered throughout_the rooms, and_are of many different shapes and sizes . take my word for_it, steward, they_will never think of choosing the purple ornaments ."

Billina, squatting under the throne, had listened carefully to all this talk, and now chuckled softly to herself as she heard the king disclose his secret .

" still, you_are acting foolishly by running the chance," continued the steward, roughly; " and it_is still more foolish of you to transform all those people from Oz into green ornaments ."

" I_did that because they came from_the emerald city," replied the king; " and I had no green ornaments in my collection until now . i_think they_will look quite pretty, mixed with_the others .Don't you ? "

the steward gave an angry grunt .

" have your own way, since you_are the king," he growled ." but if_you come to grief through your carelessness, remember that i_told you so . if I wore the magic belt which enables you to work all your transformations, and gives you so_much other power, I_am_sure i_would make a much wiser and better king than you_are ."

"Oh, cease your tiresome chatter ! " commanded the king, getting angry again ." because you_are my chief steward you_have an idea you_can scold me as_much as_you please . but the very next_time you become impudent, i_will send_you to work in_the furnaces, and get another Nome to_fill your place . now follow me to my chamber, for I_am going to bed . and_see that I_am wakened early tomorrow morning . i_want to enjoy the fun of transforming the rest of_these people into ornaments ."

" what color will_you make_the Kansas girl ? " asked the steward .

" gray, i_think," said his majesty .

" and_the Scarecrow and_the machine man ? "

"Oh, they shall be of solid gold, because they_are so ugly in real life ."

then the voices died away, and Billina knew that_the king and_his steward had left the room . she fixed up some of her tail feathers that were_not straight, and then tucked her head under her wing again and went to sleep .

in_the morning Dorothy and_the lion and tiger were given their breakfast in their rooms, and afterward joined the king in_his throne room . the tiger complained bitterly that he_was half starved, and begged to_go into_the palace and become an ornament, so_that he_would no longer suffer the pangs of hunger .

" haven't you had your breakfast ? " asked the Nome king .

"Oh, I had just a bite," replied the beast ." but what good is a bite, to a hungry tiger ? "

" he ate seventeen bowls of porridge, a platter full of fried sausages, eleven loaves of bread and twenty- one mince pies," said the steward .

" what more do_you_want ? " demanded the king .

"A fat baby . i_want a fat baby," said the hungry tiger ."A nice, plump, juicy, tender, fat baby . but, of_course, if I had one, my conscience would_not allow me to eat it . so I'll have to_be an ornament and forget my hunger ."

" impossible ! " exclaimed the king ."I'll have no clumsy beasts enter my palace, to overturn and break all my pretty nick-nacks . when_the rest of your friends are transformed you_can return to_the upper world, and go about_your business ."

" as for_that, we_have no business, when our friends are gone," said the lion ." so we_do_not care much what becomes of us ."

Dorothy begged to_be allowed to_go first into_the palace, but Tiktok firmly maintained that_the slave should face danger before_the mistress . the Scarecrow agreed with_him in_that, so the Nome king opened the door for_the machine man, who tramped into_the palace to meet his fate . then his majesty returned to_his throne and puffed his pipe so contentedly that a small cloud of smoke formed above his head .

Bye and bye he_said:

"I'm sorry there_are so few of you left . very_soon, now, my fun will_be over, and then for amusement I_shall_have nothing to_do but admire my new ornaments ."

" it seems to_me," said Dorothy, " that you_are_not so honest as_you pretend to_be ."

" how's that ? " asked the king .

" why, you_made us think it would_be easy to guess what ornaments the people of Ev were changed into ."

" it_is easy," declared the monarch, " if one is a good guesser . but it appears that_the members of your party are all poor guessers ."

" what_is Tiktok doing now ? " asked the girl, uneasily .

" nothing," replied the king, with a frown ." he_is standing perfectly still, in_the middle of a room ."

"Oh, I expect he's run down," said Dorothy ."I forgot to wind him up this_morning . how_many guesses has he_made ? "

" all that he_is allowed except one," answered the king ." suppose you go in and wind him up, and then you_can stay there and make your own guesses ."

" all right," said Dorothy .

" it_is my turn next," declared the Scarecrow .

" why, you don't want to_go away and leave me all alone, do_you ? " asked the girl ." besides, if I go now I_can wind up Tiktok, so_that he_can_make his last guess ."

" very_well, then," said the Scarecrow, with a sigh ." run along, little Dorothy, and may good luck go with_you ! "

so Dorothy, trying to_be brave in_spite of her fears, passed through_the doorway into_the gorgeous rooms of_the palace . the stillness of_the place awed her, at first, and_the child drew short breaths, and pressed her hand to her heart, and looked all around with wondering eyes .

yes, it_was a beautiful place; but enchantments lurked in every nook and corner, and she had_not yet grown accustomed to_the wizardries of_these fairy countries, so different from_the quiet and sensible common-places of her own native land .

slowly she passed through several rooms until she came upon Tiktok, standing motionless . it really seemed, then, that she had found a friend in_this mysterious palace, so she hastened to wind up the machine man's action and speech and thoughts .

" thank_you, Dor-oth-y," were his first words ." I_have now one more guess to_make ."

"Oh, be very careful, Tiktok; won't you ? " cried the girl .

" yes . but the Nome king has us in_his power, and he has set a trap for_us . I_fear we_are all lost ." he answered .

" I_fear so, too," said Dorothy, sadly .

" if smith & tin-ker had giv-en me a guess-ing clock- work at-tach-ment," continued Tiktok, " I_might_have de-fied the Nome king . but my thoughts are plain and sim-ple, and are_not of much use in this_case ."

" do_the best you_can," said Dorothy, encouragingly, " and if_you fail i_will watch and_see what shape you_are changed into ."

so Tiktok touched a yellow glass vase that had daisies painted on one side, and he spoke at_the same time the word "Ev ."

in a flash the machine man had disappeared, and although the girl looked quickly in every direction, she_could_not tell which of_the many ornaments the room contained had a moment before been her faithful friend and servant .

so all she_could do was to accept the hopeless task set her, and make her guesses and abide by_the result .

" it can't hurt very_much," she thought, " for I haven't heard any of_them scream or cry out-- not even the poor officers . dear me ! I wonder if uncle Henry or aunt Em will ever know I_have become an orn'ment in_the Nome king's palace, and must stand forever and ever in one place and look pretty--'cept when I'm moved to_be dusted . it isn't the way i_thought I'd turn out, at all; but I s' pose it can't be helped ."

she walked through all the rooms once more, and examined with care all the objects they contained; but there were so_many, they bewildered her, and she decided, after all, as Ozma had done, that_it could_be only guess work at_the best, and_that the chances were much against her guessing aright .

timidly she touched an alabaster bowl and said: "Ev ."

" that's one failure, anyhow," she thought ." but how am I to_know which thing is enchanted, and which_is not ? "

next she touched the image of a purple kitten that stood on_the corner of a mantel, and as she pronounced the word "Ev" the kitten disappeared, and a pretty, fair-haired boy stood beside her . at_the same time a bell rang somewhere in_the distance, and as Dorothy started back, partly in surprise and partly in joy, the little one exclaimed:

" where am I ? and who_are you ? and what has happened to_me ? "

" well, I declare ! " said Dorothy ."I've really done it ."

" done what ? " asked the boy .

" saved myself from being an ornament," replied the girl, with a laugh, " and saved you from being forever a purple kitten ."

"A purple kitten ? " he repeated ." there_is no such thing ."

" I_know," she answered ." but there_was, a minute ago .Don't you remember standing on a corner of_the mantel ? "

" of_course not . I_am a prince of Ev, and my name is Evring," the little one announced, proudly ." but my father, the king, sold my mother and all her children to_the cruel ruler of_the Nomes, and after_that I remember nothing at all ."

"A purple kitten can't be 'spected to remember, Evring," said Dorothy ." but now you_are yourself again, and I'm going to_try to save some of your brothers and sisters, and perhaps your mother, as_well . so come with me ."

she seized the child's hand and eagerly hurried here and there, trying to decide which object to_choose next . the third guess was another failure, and so was_the fourth and_the fifth .

little Evring could_not imagine what she was doing, but he trotted along beside her very willingly, for he liked the new companion he had found .

Dorothy's further quest proved unsuccessful; but after her first disappointment was over, the little girl was filled with joy and thankfulness to_think that after all she had_been able to save one member of_the royal family of Ev, and could restore the little prince to_his sorrowing country . now she might return to_the terrible Nome king in safety, carrying with her the prize she had won in_the person of_the fair-haired boy .

so she retraced her steps until she found the entrance to_the palace, and as she approached, the massive doors of rock opened of_their own accord, allowing both Dorothy and Evring to_pass the portals and enter

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