Oz 03: Ozma of Oz by L. Frank Baum
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Ozma of Oz

a record of her Adventures with Dorothy gale of Kansas, the yellow Hen, the Scarecrow, the tin woodman, Tiktok, the cowardly lion and_the hungry tiger; besides other good people too numerous to mention Faithfully recorded Herein

by L . frank Baum

the author of_the wizard of Oz, the land of Oz, etc .

Contents

-- author's note--
1 . the girl in_the chicken coop
2 . the yellow Hen
3 .Letters in_the sand
4 .Tiktok, the machine man
5 . Dorothy Opens the dinner pail
6 . the Heads of Langwidere
7 .Ozma of Oz to_the rescue
8 . the hungry tiger
9 . the royal family of Ev
10 . the giant with_the hammer
11 . the Nome king
12 . the Eleven Guesses
13 . the Nome king Laughs
14 . Dorothy Tries to_be brave
15 .Billina Frightens the Nome king
16 . purple, green and gold
17 . the Scarecrow Wins the fight
18 . the fate of_the tin woodman
19 . the king of Ev
20 . the emerald city
21 . Dorothy's magic belt

author's note

my friends the children are responsible for_this new "Oz book," as_they were for_the_last one, which_was called the land of Oz . their sweet little letters plead to_know " more about Dorothy"; and_they ask: " what became of_the cowardly lion ? " and " what did Ozma do afterward ? "--meaning, of_course, after she became the ruler of Oz . and some_of_them suggest plots to_me, saying: " please have Dorothy go to_the land of Oz again"; or, " why don't you make Ozma and Dorothy meet, and_have a good_time together ? " indeed, could I_do all that my little friends ask, i_would_be obliged to write dozens of books to satisfy their demands . and i_wish I_could, for I enjoy writing these stories just as_much as_the children say they enjoy reading them .

well, here_is " more about Dorothy," and about our old friends the Scarecrow and_the tin woodman, and about_the cowardly lion, and Ozma, and all the rest of_them; and here, likewise, is a good_deal about some new folks that_are queer and unusual . one little friend, who read this story before it_was printed, said to_me: "Billina is real OZZY, Mr Baum, and so are Tiktok and_the hungry tiger ."

if_this judgment is unbiased and correct, and_the little folks find this new story " real Ozzy," I_shall_be very_glad indeed that i_wrote it . but perhaps I_shall get some more of_those very welcome letters from my readers, telling me just how they like "Ozma of Oz ." I_hope so, anyway .

L . frank BAUM .

MACATAWA, 1907 .

1 . the girl in_the chicken coop

the wind blew hard and joggled the water of_the ocean, sending ripples across its surface . then the wind pushed the edges of_the ripples until they became waves, and shoved the waves around until they became billows . the billows rolled dreadfully high: higher even than_the tops of houses . some_of_them, indeed, rolled as high as_the tops of tall trees, and seemed like mountains; and_the gulfs between_the great billows were like deep valleys .

all this mad dashing and splashing of_the waters of_the big ocean, which the mischievous wind caused without any good reason whatever, resulted in a terrible storm, and a storm on_the ocean is liable to cut many queer pranks and do alot of damage .

at_the_time the wind began to blow, a ship was sailing far out upon_the waters . when_the waves began to tumble and toss and to grow bigger and bigger the ship rolled up and down, and tipped sidewise-- first one_way and then the other-- and was jostled around so roughly that even the sailor- men had to hold fast to_the ropes and railings to_keep themselves from being swept away by_the wind or pitched headlong into_the sea .

and_the clouds were so thick in_the sky that_the sunlight couldn't get through them; so that_the day grew dark as night, which added to_the terrors of_the storm .

the captain of_the ship was not afraid, because he had seen storms before, and had sailed his ship through them in safety; but he_knew that his passengers would_be in danger if_they tried to stay on deck, so he put them all into_the cabin and told them to stay there until after_the storm was over, and to_keep brave hearts and not be scared, and all would_be well with_them .

now, among_these passengers was a little Kansas girl named Dorothy gale, who was going with her uncle Henry to Australia, to visit some relatives they had never before seen . uncle Henry, you_must know, was not very_well, because he had_been working so hard on_his Kansas farm that his health had given way and left him weak and nervous . so he left aunt Em at home to watch after_the hired men and to_take care of_the farm, while he traveled far away to Australia to visit his cousins and_have a good rest .

Dorothy was eager to_go with_him on_this journey, and uncle Henry thought she_would be good company and help cheer him up; so he decided to_take her along . the little girl was quite an experienced traveller, for she had once been carried by a cyclone as far away from home as_the marvelous land of Oz, and she had met with a good_many adventures in_that strange country before she managed to_get back to Kansas again . so she wasn't easily frightened, whatever happened, and when_the wind began to howl and whistle, and_the waves began to tumble and toss, our little girl didn't mind the uproar the least bit .

" of_course we'll have to stay in_the cabin," she said to uncle Henry and_the other passengers, " and keep as quiet as possible until the storm is over . for_the captain says if_we go on deck we_may_be blown overboard ."

no one wanted to risk such an accident as_that, you_may_be_sure; so all the passengers stayed huddled up in_the dark cabin, listening to_the shrieking of_the storm and_the creaking of_the masts and rigging and trying to_keep from bumping into one another when_the ship tipped sidewise .

Dorothy had almost fallen asleep when she was aroused with a start to_find that uncle Henry was missing . she couldn't imagine where he had gone, and as he_was not very strong she began to worry about him, and to fear he_might_have_been careless enough to_go on deck . in_that case he_would_be in great danger unless he instantly came down again .

the fact was_that uncle Henry had gone to lie down in_his little sleeping- berth, but Dorothy did_not know that . she only remembered that aunt Em had cautioned her to_take good care of her uncle, so at once she decided to_go on deck and find him, in_spite of_the fact that_the tempest was now worse than ever, and_the ship was plunging in a really dreadful manner . indeed, the little girl found it_was as_much as she_could do to mount the stairs to_the deck, and as_soon_as she got there the wind struck her so fiercely that_it almost tore away the skirts of her dress . yet Dorothy felt a sort of joyous excitement in defying the storm, and while she held fast to_the railing she peered around through_the gloom and thought she saw the dim form of a man clinging to a mast not far away from her . this might_be her uncle, so she called as loudly as she_could:

" uncle Henry ! uncle Henry ! "

but the wind screeched and howled so madly that she scarce heard her own voice, and_the man certainly failed to hear her, for he_did_not move .

Dorothy decided she_must go to him; so she made a dash forward, during a lull in_the storm, to where a big square chicken- coop had_been lashed to_the deck with ropes . she reached this place in safety, but no sooner had she seized fast hold of_the slats of_the big box in_which_the chickens were kept than_the wind, as_if enraged because the little girl dared to resist its power, suddenly redoubled its fury . with a scream like that of an angry giant it tore away the ropes that held the coop and lifted it high into_the air, with Dorothy still clinging to_the slats . around and over it whirled, this_way and_that, and a few_moments later the chicken- coop dropped far away into_the sea, where the big waves caught it and slid it up- hill to afoaming crest and then down- hill into a deep valley, as_if it were nothing more than a plaything to_keep them amused .

Dorothy had a good ducking, you_may_be_sure, but she didn't lose her presence of mind even for a second . she kept tight hold of_the stout slats and as_soon_as she_could get the water out of her eyes she saw that_the wind had ripped the cover from_the coop, and_the poor chickens were fluttering away in every direction, being blown by_the wind until they looked like feather dusters without handles . the bottom of_the coop was_made of thick boards, so Dorothy found she was clinging to a sort of raft, with sides of slats, which readily bore up her weight . after coughing the water out of her throat and getting her breath again, she managed to climb over the slats and stand upon_the firm wooden bottom of_the coop, which supported her easily enough .

" why, I've got a ship of_my own ! " she thought, more amused than frightened at her sudden change of condition; and then, as_the coop climbed up_to_the top of a big wave, she looked eagerly around for_the ship from_which she had_been blown .

it_was far, far away, by_this_time . perhaps no one on board had yet missed her, or knew of her strange adventure . down into a valley between_the waves the coop swept her, and when she climbed another crest the ship looked like a toy boat, it_was such a long way off . soon it had entirely disappeared in_the gloom, and then Dorothy gave a sigh of regret at parting with uncle Henry and began to wonder what_was going to happen to her next .

just now she was tossing on_the bosom of a big ocean, with nothing to_keep her afloat but a miserable wooden hen- coop that had a plank bottom and slatted sides, through which the water constantly splashed and wetted her through to_the skin ! and there_was nothing to eat when she became hungry-- as she was sure to_do before long-- and no fresh water to drink and no dry clothes to_put on .

" well, I declare ! " she exclaimed, with a laugh ." you're in a pretty fix, Dorothy gale, I_can tell you ! and I haven't the least idea how you're going to_get out of it ! "

as_if to add to her troubles the night was now creeping on, and_the gray clouds overhead changed to inky blackness . but the wind, as_if satisfied at last with its mischievous pranks, stopped blowing this ocean and hurried away to another part of_the world to blow something else; so that_the waves, not being joggled any more, began to quiet down and behave themselves .

it_was lucky for Dorothy, i_think, that_the storm subsided; otherwise, brave though she was, I_fear she might_have perished . many children, in her place, would_have wept and given way to despair; but because Dorothy had encountered so_many adventures and come safely through them it did_not occur to her at_this_time to_be especially afraid . she was wet and uncomfortable, it_is true; but, after sighing that one sigh i_told you of, she managed to recall some of her customary cheerfulness and decided to patiently await whatever her fate might_be .

by and by_the black clouds rolled away and showed a blue sky overhead, with a silver moon shining sweetly in_the middle of it and little stars winking merrily at Dorothy when she looked their way . the coop did_not toss around any more, but rode the waves more gently-- almost like a cradle rocking-- so that_the floor upon_which Dorothy stood was no longer swept by water coming through_the slats .Seeing this, and being quite exhausted by_the excitement of_the past few hours, the little girl decided that sleep would_be the best thing to restore her strength and_the easiest way in_which she_could pass the time . the floor was damp and she was herself wringing wet, but fortunately this_was a warm climate and she did_not feel at all cold .

so she sat down in a corner of_the coop, leaned her back against the slats, nodded at_the friendly stars before she closed her eyes, and was asleep in half a minute .

2 . the yellow Hen

a strange noise awoke Dorothy, who opened her eyes to_find that day had dawned and_the sun was shining brightly in a clear sky . she had_been dreaming that she was back in Kansas again, and playing in_the old barn- yard with_the calves and pigs and chickens all around her; and at first, as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes, she really imagined she was there .

"Kut-kut-kut, ka-daw-kut ! Kut-kut-kut, ka-daw-kut ! "

Ah; here again was_the strange noise that had awakened her . surely it_was ahen cackling ! but her wide- open eyes first saw, through_the slats of_the coop, the blue waves of_the ocean, now calm and placid, and her thoughts flew back to_the past night, so full of danger and discomfort . also she began to remember that she was a waif of_the storm, adrift upon a treacherous and unknown sea .

"Kut-kut-kut, ka-daw-w-w--kut ! "

" what's that ? " cried Dorothy, starting to her feet .

" why, I've just laid an egg, that's all," replied a small, but sharp and distinct voice, and looking around her the little girl discovered a yellow hen squatting in_the opposite corner of_the coop .

" dear me ! " she exclaimed, in surprise; " have_you been here all night, too ? "

" of_course," answered the hen, fluttering her wings and yawning ." when_the coop blew away from_the ship I clung fast to_this corner, with claws

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