Oz 07: The Patchwork Girl of Oz by L. Frank Baum
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if_you_will promise not to disturb him you_may come into his workshop and watch him prepare a wonderful charm ."

" thank_you," replied the boy, much pleased ." i_would like to do_that ."

she led the way to a great domed hall at_the back of_the house, which_was the magician's workshop . there_was a row of windows extending nearly around the sides of_the circular room, which rendered the place very light, and there_was a back door in_addition_to_the one leading to_the front part of_the house . before_the row of windows a broad seat was built and there were some chairs and benches in_the room besides . at one end stood a great fireplace, in_which a blue log was blazing with a blue flame, and over the fire hung four kettles in a row, all bubbling and steaming at a great rate . the magician was stirring all four of_these kettles at_the same time, two with_his hands and two with_his feet, to_the latter, wooden ladles being strapped, for_this man was so very crooked that his legs were as handy as his arms .

Unc Nunkie came forward to greet his old friend, but not being able to shake either his hands or his feet, which were all occupied in stirring, he patted the magician's bald head and asked: " what ? "

"Ah, it's the silent one," remarked Dr .Pipt, without looking up, " and he_wants to_know what I'm making . well, when it_is quite finished this compound will_be the wonderful powder of life, which no one knows how to_make but myself . whenever it_is sprinkled on anything, that thing will at once come to life, no matter what it_is . it takes me several years to_make this magic powder, but at_this moment I_am pleased to_say it_is nearly done . you_see, I_am making it for_my good wife Margolotte, who wants to use some of it for a purpose of her own . sit down and make yourself comfortable, Unc Nunkie, and after I've finished my task i_will talk to_you ."

" you_must know," said Margolottte, when_they were all seated together on_the broad window- seat, " that my husband foolishly gave away all the powder of life he first made to old Mombi the witch, who used to live in_the country of_the Gillikins, to_the north of here .Mombi gave to Dr .Pipt a powder of perpetual youth in exchange for_his powder of life, but she cheated him wickedly, for_the powder of youth was no good and could work no magic at all ."

" perhaps the powder of life couldn't either," said Ojo .

" yes; it_is perfection," she declared ." the first lot we tested on_our glass Cat, which not_only began to live but has lived ever_since . she's somewhere around the house now ."

"A glass Cat ! " exclaimed Ojo, astonished .

" yes; she makes a very pleasant companion, but admires herself a little more than is considered modest, and she positively refuses to catch mice," explained Margolotte ." my husband made the cat some pink brains, but they proved to_be too high- bred and particular for acat, so she thinks it_is undignified in her to catch mice . also she has a pretty blood- red heart, but it_is made of stone--a ruby, i_think-- and so is rather hard and unfeeling . i_think the next glass Cat the magician makes will_have neither brains nor heart, for then it_will_not object to catching mice and may prove of some use to_us ."

" what did old Mombi the witch do with_the powder of life your husband gave her ? " asked the boy .

" she brought jack Pumpkinhead to life, for_one_thing," was_the reply ."I suppose you've heard of jack Pumpkinhead . he_is now living near the emerald city and_is a great favorite with_the princess Ozma, who rules all the land of Oz ."

" no; I've never heard of him," remarked Ojo ."I'm afraid I don't know much about_the land of Oz . you_see, I've lived all my life with Unc Nunkie, the silent one, and there_was no one to_tell me anything ."

" that_is one reason you_are Ojo the unlucky," said the woman, in a sympathetic tone ." the more one knows, the luckier he_is, for knowledge is_the greatest gift in life ."

" but tell me, please, what you intend to_do with_this new lot of_the powder of life, which Dr .Pipt is making . he_said his wife wanted it for some especial purpose ."

" so I_do," she answered ." i_want it to bring my patchwork girl to life ."

"Oh ! a patchwork girl ? what_is that ? " Ojo asked, for_this seemed even more strange and unusual than a glass Cat .

" i_think I_must show you my patchwork girl," said Margolotte, laughing at_the boy's astonishment, " for she_is rather difficult to explain . but first i_will tell you that for many years I_have longed for a servant to help me with_the housework and to cook the meals and wash the dishes . no servant will come here because the place is so lonely and out- of- the- way, so my clever husband, the crooked magician, proposed that I make a girl out of some sort of material and he_would make her live by sprinkling over her the powder of life . this seemed an excellent suggestion and at once Dr .Pipt set to work to_make a new batch of_his magic powder . he has_been at it a long, long while, and so I_have_had plenty of_time to make_the girl . yet that task was not so easy as_you_may suppose . at first I couldn't think what to_make her of, but finally in searching through a chest I_came across an old patchwork quilt, which my grandmother once made when she was young ."

" what_is a patchwork quilt ? " asked Ojo .

"A bed- quilt made of patches of different kinds and colors of cloth, all neatly sewed together . the patches are of all shapes and sizes, so a patchwork quilt is a very pretty and gorgeous thing to look at .Sometimes it_is called a' crazy- quilt,' because the patches and colors are so mixed up . we never have used my grandmother's many- colored patchwork quilt, handsome as_it_is, for we Munchkins do_not care for any color other_than blue, so it_has_been packed away in_the chest for about a hundred years . when I_found it, I_said to myself that_it would do nicely for_my servant girl, for when she was brought to life she would_not_be proud nor haughty, as_the glass Cat is, for such a dreadful mixture of colors would discourage her from trying to_be as dignified as_the blue Munchkins are ."

" is blue the only respectable color, then ? " inquired Ojo .

" yes, for aMunchkin . all our country is blue, you_know . but in other parts of Oz the people favor different colors . at_the emerald city, where our princess Ozma lives, green is_the popular color . but all Munchkins prefer blue to anything else and when my housework girl is brought to life she will_find herself to_be of so_many unpopular colors that she'll never dare be rebellious or impudent, as servants are sometimes liable to_be when_they are made the same way their mistresses are ."

Unc Nunkie nodded approval .

" good i-dea," he_said; and_that was a long speech for Unc Nunkie because it_was two words .

" so I cut up the quilt," continued Margolotte, " and made from_it a very_well- shaped girl, which I stuffed with cotton-wadding . i_will show you what a good job I_did," and she went to a tall cupboard and threw open the doors .

then back she came, lugging in her arms the patchwork girl, which she set upon_the bench and propped up so that_the figure would_not tumble over .

chapter three

the patchwork girl

Ojo examined this curious contrivance with wonder . the patchwork girl was taller than he, when she stood upright, and her body was plump and rounded because it had_been so neatly stuffed with cotton .Margolotte had first made the girl's form from_the patchwork quilt and then she had dressed it with a patchwork skirt and an apron with pockets in_it-- using the same gay material throughout . upon_the feet she had sewn a pair of red leather shoes with pointed toes . all the fingers and thumbs of_the girl's hands had_been carefully formed and stuffed and stitched at_the edges, with gold plates at_the ends to_serve as finger-nails .

" she will_have to work, when she comes to life," said Marglotte .

the head of_the patchwork girl was_the most curious part of her . while she waited for her husband to finish making his powder of life the woman had found ample time to complete the head as her fancy dictated, and she realized that a good servant's head must_be properly constructed . the hair was of brown yarn and hung down on her neck in several neat braids . her eyes were two silver suspender-buttons cut from a pair of_the magician's old trousers, and_they were sewed on with black threads, which formed the pupils of_the eyes .Margolotte had puzzled over the ears for some_time, for_these were important if_the servant was to hear distinctly, but finally she had made them out of thin plates of gold and attached them in place by_means of stitches through tiny holes bored in_the metal . gold is_the most common metal in_the land of Oz and_is used for many purposes because it_is soft and pliable .

the woman had cut a slit for_the patchwork girl's mouth and sewn two rows of white pearls in_it for teeth, using a strip of scarlet plush for a tongue . this mouth Ojo considered very artistic and lifelike, and Margolotte was pleased when_the boy praised it . there were almost too many patches on_the face of_the girl for her to_be considered strictly beautiful, for_one cheek was yellow and_the other red, her chin blue, her forehead purple and_the center, where her nose had_been formed and padded, a bright yellow .

" you ought_to_have had her face all pink," suggested the boy .

"I suppose so; but I had no pink cloth," replied the woman ." still, I cannot_see as it matters much, for i_wish my patchwork girl to_be useful rather than ornamental . if I get tired looking at her patched face I_can whitewash it ."

" has she any brains ? " asked Ojo .

" no; I forgot all about_the brains ! " exclaimed the woman ." I_am_glad you reminded me of_them, for it_is_not too late to supply them, by any means . until she_is brought to life I_can do anything I please with_this girl . but I_must_be careful not to_give her too_much brains, and those she has must_be such as are fitted to_the station she_is to occupy in life . in other words, her brains mustn't be very_good ."

" wrong," said Unc Nunkie .

" no; I_am_sure I_am right about_that," returned the woman .

" he means," explained Ojo, " that unless your servant has good brains she won't know how to obey you properly, nor do_the things you ask her to_do ."

" well, that_may_be true," agreed Margolotte; " but, on_the contrary, a servant with too_much brains is sure to_become independent and high- and- mighty and feel above her work . this_is a very delicate task, as I_said, and I_must take care to_give the girl just the right quantity of_the right sort of brains . i_want her to_know just enough, but not too_much ."

with_this she went to another cupboard which_was filled with shelves . all the shelves were lined with blue glass bottles, neatly labeled by_the magician to show what they contained . one whole shelf was marked: " brain furniture," and_the bottles on_this shelf were labeled as follows: " obedience," " cleverness," " judgment," " courage," " ingenuity," " amiability," "Learning," " truth," " poesy," " self Reliance ."

" let me see," said Margolotte; " of_those qualities she must_have ' obedience' first of all," and she took down the bottle bearing that label and poured from_it upon a dish several grains of_the contents ."' amiability' is also good and ' truth .'" she poured into_the dish a quantity from each of_these bottles ." i_think that_will do," she continued, " for_the other qualities are_not needed in a servant ."

Unc Nunkie, who with Ojo stood beside her, touched the bottle marked " cleverness ."

" little," said he .

"A little ' cleverness' ? well, perhaps you_are right, sir," said she, and was about to_take down the bottle when_the crooked magician suddenly called to her excitedly from_the fireplace .

" quick, Margolotte ! come and help me ."

she ran to her husband's side at once and helped him lift the four kettles from_the fire . their contents had all boiled away, leaving in_the bottom of each kettle a few grains of fine white powder . very carefully the magician removed this powder, placing it all together in a golden dish, where he mixed it with a golden spoon . when_the mixture was complete there_was scarcely a handful, all told .

" that," said Dr .Pipt, in a pleased and triumphant tone, " is_the wonderful powder of life, which I alone in_the_world know how to_make . it has taken me nearly six years to_prepare these precious grains of dust, but the little heap on_that dish is worth the price of a kingdom and many a king would give all he has_to possess it . when it has become cooled i_will place it in a small bottle; but meantime I_must watch it carefully, lest a gust of wind blow it away or scatter it ."

Unc Nunkie, Margolotte and_the magician all stood looking at_the marvelous powder, but Ojo was more interested just then in_the patchwork girl's brains .Thinking it both unfair and unkind to deprive her of any good qualities that were handy, the boy took down every bottle on_the shelf and poured some_of_the contents

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