Oz 07: The Patchwork Girl of Oz by L. Frank Baum
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he_said ." it_is all I_can give_you, but I_am_sure you_will_find friends on_your journey who_will assist you in your search . take care of_the patchwork girl and bring her safely back, for she ought to_prove useful to my wife . as for_the glass Cat-- properly named bungle-- if she bothers you I now give_you my permission to break her in two, for she_is_not respectful and does_not obey me . I_made a mistake in giving her the pink brains, you_see ."

then Ojo went to Unc Nunkie and kissed the old man's marble face very tenderly .

"I'm going to_try to save you, Unc," he_said, just as if_the marble image could hear him; and then he shook the crooked hand of_the crooked magician, who was already busy hanging the four kettles in_the fireplace, and picking up his basket left the house .

the patchwork girl followed him, and after them came the glass Cat .

chapter Six

the journey

Ojo had never traveled before and so he only knew that_the path down the mountainside led into_the open Munchkin country, where large numbers of people dwelt .Scraps was quite new and not supposed to_know anything of_the land of Oz, while the glass Cat admitted she had never wandered very far away from_the magician's house . there_was only_one path before them, at_the beginning, so they_could_not miss their way, and for a time they walked through_the thick forest in silent thought, each_one impressed with_the importance of_the adventure they had undertaken .

suddenly the patchwork girl laughed . it_was funny to_see her laugh, because her cheeks wrinkled up, her nose tipped, her silver button eyes twinkled and her mouth curled at_the corners in a comical way .

" has something pleased you ? " asked Ojo, who was feeling solemn and joyless through thinking upon his uncle's sad fate .

" yes," she answered ." your world pleases me, for_it's a queer world, and life in_it is queerer still . here am I, made from an old bedquilt and intended to_be a slave to Margolotte, rendered free as air by an accident that none of you_could foresee . I_am enjoying life and seeing the world, while the woman who_made me is standing helpless as a block of wood . if_that isn't funny enough to laugh at, I don't know what_is ."

" you're not seeing much of_the world yet, my poor, innocent Scraps," remarked the Cat ." the world doesn't consist wholly of_the trees that_are on all sides of us ."

" but they're part of it; and aren't they pretty trees ? " returned Scraps, bobbing her head until her brown yarn curls fluttered in_the breeze ."Growing between_them I_can_see lovely ferns and wild-flowers, and soft green mosses . if_the rest of your world is half as beautiful I_shall_be_glad I'm alive ."

"I don't know what the rest of_the world is like, I'm sure," said the cat; " but I mean to_find out ."

" I_have never been out_of_the forest," Ojo added; " but to_me the trees are gloomy and sad and_the wild-flowers seem lonesome . it must_be nicer where there_are no trees and there_is room for lots of people to live together ."

"I wonder if any of_the people we_shall meet will_be as splendid as I_am," said the patchwork girl ." all I_have_seen, so_far, have pale, colorless skins and clothes as blue as_the country they live in, while I_am of many gorgeous colors-- face and body and clothes . that_is why I_am bright and contented, Ojo, while you_are blue and sad ."

" i_think I_made a mistake in giving you so_many sorts of brains," observed the boy ." perhaps, as_the magician said, you_have an overdose, and_they may not agree with_you ."

" what had you to_do with my brains ? " asked Scraps .

"A lot," replied Ojo ." old Margolotte meant to_give_you only a few-- just enough to_keep you going-- but when she wasn't looking I added a good_many more, of_the best kinds I_could find in_the magician's cupboard ."

" thanks," said the girl, dancing along the path ahead of Ojo and then dancing back to_his side ." if a few brains are good, many brains must_be better ."

" but they ought_to_be evenly balanced," said the boy, " and I had no time to_be careful . from_the way you're acting, I guess the dose was badly mixed ."

"Scraps hasn't enough brains to hurt her, so don't worry," remarked the cat, which_was trotting along in a very dainty and graceful manner ." the only brains worth considering are mine, which are pink . you_can see 'em work ."

after walking a long_time they came to a little brook that trickled across the path, and here Ojo sat down to rest and eat something from_his basket . he_found that_the magician had given him part of a loaf of bread and a slice of cheese . he broke off some_of_the bread and was surprised to_find the loaf just as large as it_was before . it was_the same way with_the cheese: however much he broke off from_the slice, it remained exactly the same size .

"Ah," said he, nodding wisely; " that's magic .Dr .Pipt has enchanted the bread and_the cheese, so it_will last me all through my journey, however much I eat ."

" why do_you put those things into your mouth ? " asked Scraps, gazing at him in astonishment ." do you_need more stuffing ? then why don't you use cotton, such as I_am stuffed with ? "

"I don't need that kind," said Ojo .

" but a mouth is to_talk with, isn't it ? "

" it_is also to eat with," replied the boy ." if I didn't put food into my mouth, and eat it, i_would get hungry and starve .

"Ah, I didn't know that," she said ." give_me some ."

Ojo handed her a bit of_the bread and she put it in her mouth .

" what next ? " she asked, scarcely able to_speak .

" chew it and swallow it," said the boy .

Scraps tried that . her pearl teeth were unable to chew the bread and beyond her mouth there_was no opening . being unable to swallow she threw away the bread and laughed .

" I_must get hungry and starve, for I_can't eat," she said .

" neither can I," announced the cat; " but I'm not fool enough to_try . can't you understand that you and I are superior people and not made like these poor humans ? "

" why should I understand that, or anything else ? " asked the girl ."Don't bother my head by asking conundrums, I beg of you . just let me discover myself in my own way ."

with_this she began amusing herself by leaping across the brook and back again .

" be careful, or you'll fall in_the water," warned Ojo .

" never mind ."

" you'd better . if_you get wet you'll be soggy and can't walk . your colors might run, too," he_said .

"Don't my colors run whenever I run ? " she asked .

" not in_the way I mean . if_they get wet, the reds and greens and yellows and purples of your patches might run into each_other and become just a blur-- no color at all, you_know ."

" then," said the patchwork girl, "I'll be careful, for if I spoiled my splendid colors i_would cease to_be beautiful ."

"Pah ! " sneered the glass Cat, " such colors are_not beautiful; they're ugly, and in bad taste . please notice that my body has no color at all .I'm transparent, except for_my exquisite red heart and my lovely pink brains-- you_can see 'em work ."

"Shoo--shoo--shoo ! " cried Scraps, dancing around and laughing ." and your horrid green eyes, miss bungle ! you_can't see your eyes, but we_can, and I_notice you're very proud of what little color you_have .Shoo, miss bungle, shoo--shoo--shoo ! if_you were all colors and many colors, as I_am, you'd be too stuck up for anything ." she leaped over the cat and back again, and_the startled bungle crept close to a tree to escape her . this made Scraps laugh more heartily than ever, and she said:

" whoop-te-doodle-doo ! the cat has lost her shoe . her tootsie's bare, but she don't care, so what's the odds to_you ? "

" dear me, Ojo," said the cat; "don't you_think the creature is a little bit crazy ? "

" it may_be," he answered, with a puzzled look .

" if she continues her insults I'll scratch off her suspender- button eyes," declared the cat .

"Don't quarrel, please," pleaded the boy, rising to resume the journey ." let_us be good comrades and as happy and cheerful as possible, for we_are likely to meet with plenty of trouble on_our way ."

it_was nearly sundown when_they came to_the edge of_the forest and saw spread out before them a delightful landscape . there were broad blue fields stretching for miles over the valley, which_was dotted everywhere with pretty, blue domed houses, none of_which, however, was very near to_the place where they stood . just at_the point where the path left the forest stood a tiny house covered with leaves from_the trees, and before this stood aMunchkin man with an axe in_his hand . he_seemed very_much surprised when Ojo and Scraps and_the glass Cat came out_of_the woods, but as_the patchwork girl approached nearer he sat down upon a bench and laughed so hard that he_could_not speak for_a_long_time .

this man was awoodchopper and lived all alone in_the little house . he had bushy blue whiskers and merry blue eyes and_his blue clothes were quite old and worn .

" mercy me ! " exclaimed the woodchopper, when at last he_could stop laughing ." who_would think such a funny harlequin lived in_the land of Oz ? where did you come from, crazy- quilt ? "

" do_you_mean me ? " asked the patchwork girl .

" of_course," he replied .

" you misjudge my ancestry .I'm not a crazy- quilt; I'm patchwork," she said .

" there's no difference," he replied, beginning to laugh again ." when my old grandmother sews such things together she calls it a crazy- quilt; but I never thought such a jumble could come to life ."

" it was_the magic powder that did it," explained Ojo .

"Oh, then you_have come from_the crooked magician on_the mountain . I_might_have known it, for-- well, I declare ! here's a glass cat . but the magician will get in trouble for_this; it's against the law for anyone to work magic except Glinda the good and_the royal wizard of Oz . if_you people-- or things-- or glass spectacles-- or crazy- quilts-- or whatever you_are, go near the emerald city, you'll be arrested ."

" we're going there, anyhow," declared Scraps, sitting upon_the bench and swinging her stuffed legs .

" if any of us takes a rest, we'll be arrested sure, and get no restitution ' cause the rest we_must endure ."

" I_see," said the woodchopper, nodding; " you're as crazy as_the crazy- quilt you're made of ."

" she really is crazy," remarked the glass Cat ." but that isn't to_be wondered at when_you remember how_many different things she's made of . for_my part, I'm made of pure glass-- except my jewel heart and my pretty pink brains . did you notice my brains, stranger ? you_can see 'em work ."

" so I_can," replied the woodchopper; " but I_can't see that_they accomplish much .a glass cat is a useless sort of thing, but a patchwork girl is really useful . she makes me laugh, and laughter is_the best thing in life . there_was once awoodchopper, a friend of_mine, who was_made all of tin, and I used to laugh every time I_saw him ."

"A tin woodchopper ? " said Ojo ." that_is strange ."

" my friend wasn't always tin," said the man, " but he_was careless with_his axe, and used to chop himself very badly . whenever he_lost an arm or a leg he had it replaced with tin; so after a while he_was all tin ."

" and could he chop wood then ? " asked the boy .

" he_could if he didn't rust his tin joints . but one day he met Dorothy in_the forest and went with her to_the emerald city, where he_made his fortune . he_is now one_of_the favorites of princess Ozma, and she has_made him the emperor of_the Winkies-- the country where all is yellow ."

" who_is Dorothy ? " inquired the patchwork girl .

"A little maid who used to live in Kansas, but is now a princess of Oz . she's Ozma's best friend, they say, and lives with her in_the royal palace ."

" is Dorothy made of tin ? " inquired Ojo .

" is she patchwork, like me ? " inquired Scraps .

" no," said the man; " Dorothy is flesh, just as I_am . I_know of only_one tin person, and_that is nick chopper, the tin woodman; and there_will never be but one patchwork girl, for any magician that sees you_will refuse to_make another one like you ."

"I suppose we_shall see the tin woodman, for we_are going to_the country of_the Winkies," said the boy .

" what for ? " asked the woodchopper .

" to_get the left wing of a yellow butterfly ."

" it_is a long journey," declared the man, " and you_will go through lonely parts of Oz and cross rivers and traverse dark forests before_you get there ."

"Suits me all right," said Scraps ."I'll get a chance to_see the country ."

" you're crazy, girl . better crawl into a rag- bag and hide there; or give yourself to some little girl to play with . those who travel are likely to meet trouble; that's why I stay at home ."

the woodchopper then invited them all to stay the night at his little hut, but they were anxious to_get on and so left him and continued along the path, which_was broader, now, and more distinct .

they expected to reach some other house before it grew dark, but the twilight was brief and Ojo soon began to fear they had made a mistake in leaving the woodchopper .

" I_can scarcely see the path," he_said at last ." can you_see it, Scraps ? "

"

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