Oz 07: The Patchwork Girl of Oz by L. Frank Baum
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ought to_do to save her, another leaf bent down and captured the glass Cat, rolling around the little creature until she was completely hidden, and then straightening up again upon its stem .

" look out," cried the woozy ." run ! run fast, or you_are lost ."

Ojo turned and saw the woozy running swiftly up the road . but the last leaf of_the row of plants seized the beast even as he ran and instantly he disappeared from sight .

the boy had no chance to escape . half a dozen of_the great leaves were bending toward him from different directions and as he stood hesitating one_of_them clutched him in its embrace . in a flash he_was in_the dark . then he_felt himself gently lifted until he_was swaying in_the air, with_the folds of_the leaf hugging him on all sides .

at first he struggled hard to escape, crying out in anger: " let me go ! let me go ! " but neither struggles nor protests had any effect whatever . the leaf held him firmly and he_was a prisoner .

then Ojo quieted himself and tried to_think . despair fell upon him when he remembered that all his little party had_been captured, even as he_was, and there_was none to save them .

" I_might_have expected it," he sobbed, miserably ."I'm Ojo the unlucky, and something dreadful was sure to happen to_me ."

he pushed against the leaf that held him and found it to_be soft, but thick and firm . it_was like a great bandage all around him and he_found it difficult to move his body or limbs in_order to_change their position .

the minutes passed and became hours .Ojo wondered how long one could live in_such a condition and if_the leaf would gradually sap his strength and even his life, in_order to feed itself . the little Munchkin boy had never heard of any person dying in_the land of Oz, but he_knew one could suffer a great deal of pain . his greatest fear at_this_time was_that he_would always remain imprisoned in_the beautiful leaf and never see the light of day again .

no sound came to him through_the leaf; all around was intense silence .Ojo wondered if Scraps had stopped screaming, or if_the folds of_the leaf prevented his hearing her . by and by he thought he heard a whistle, as of some one whistling a tune . yes; it really must_be some one whistling, he decided, for he_could follow the strains of a pretty Munchkin melody that Unc Nunkie used to sing to him . the sounds were low and sweet and, although they reached Ojo's ears very faintly, they were clear and harmonious .

could the leaf whistle, Ojo wondered ? nearer and nearer came the sounds and then they seemed to_be just the other side of_the leaf that was hugging him .

suddenly the whole leaf toppled and fell, carrying the boy with it, and while he sprawled at full length the folds slowly relaxed and set him free . he scrambled quickly to_his feet and found that a strange man was standing before him--a man so curious in appearance that_the boy stared with round eyes .

he_was a big man, with shaggy whiskers, shaggy eyebrows, shaggy hair-- but kindly blue eyes that were gentle as_those of acow . on_his head was a green velvet hat with a jeweled band, which_was all shaggy around the brim . rich but shaggy laces were at his throat; a coat with shaggy edges was decorated with diamond buttons; the velvet breeches had jeweled buckles at_the knees and shags all around the bottoms . on_his breast hung a medallion bearing a picture of princess Dorothy of Oz, and in_his hand, as he stood looking at Ojo, was a sharp knife shaped like a dagger .

"Oh ! " exclaimed Ojo, greatly astonished at_the sight of_this stranger; and then he added: " who has saved me, sir ? "

" can't you_see ? " replied the other, with a smile; "I'm the shaggy man ."

" yes; I_can_see that," said the boy, nodding ." was_it you who rescued me from_the leaf ? "

" none other, you_may_be_sure . but take care, or I_shall_have to rescue you again ."

Ojo gave a jump, for he_saw several broad leaves leaning toward him; but the shaggy man began to whistle again, and at_the sound the leaves all straightened up on their stems and kept still .

the man now took Ojo's arm and led him up the road, past the last of_the great plants, and not till he_was safely beyond their reach did he cease his whistling .

" you_see, the music charms 'em," said he ."Singing or whistling-- it doesn't matter which-- makes 'em behave, and nothing else will .I always whistle as I go by 'em and so they always let me alone . to- day as I went by, whistling, I_saw a leaf curled and knew there_must_be something inside it .I cut down the leaf with my knife and-- out you popped . lucky I passed by, wasn't it ? "

" you were very kind," said Ojo, " and i_thank_you . will_you_please rescue my companions, also ? "

" what companions ? " asked the shaggy man .

" the leaves grabbed them all," said the boy ." there's a patchwork girl and--"

"A what ? "

"A girl made of patchwork, you_know . she's alive and her name is Scraps . and there's a glass Cat--"

" glass ? " asked the shaggy man .

" all glass ."

" and alive ? "

" yes," said Ojo; " she has pink brains . and there's a woozy--"

" what's a woozy ? " inquired the shaggy man .

" why, I--I-- can't describe it," answered the boy, greatly perplexed ." but it's a queer animal with three hairs on_the tip of_its tail that won't come out and--"

" what won't come out ? " asked the shaggy man; " the tail ? "

" the hairs won't come out . but you'll see the woozy, if_you'll please rescue it, and then you'll know just what it_is ."

" of_course," said the shaggy man, nodding his shaggy head . and then he walked back among_the plants, still whistling, and found the three leaves which were curled around Ojo's traveling companions . the first leaf he cut down released Scraps, and on seeing her the shaggy man threw back his shaggy head, opened wide his mouth and laughed so shaggily and yet so merrily that Scraps liked him at once . then he_took off his hat and made her a low bow, saying:

" my dear, you're a wonder . I_must introduce you to my friend the Scarecrow ."

when he cut down the second leaf he rescued the glass Cat, and bungle was so frightened that she scampered away like a streak and soon had joined Ojo, when she sat beside him panting and trembling . the last plant of all the row had captured the woozy, and a big bunch in_the center of_the curled leaf showed plainly where he_was . with_his sharp knife the shaggy man sliced off the stem of_the leaf and as it fell and unfolded out trotted the woozy and escaped beyond the reach of any more of_the dangerous plants .

chapter Eleven

a good friend

soon the entire party was gathered on_the road of yellow bricks, quite beyond the reach of_the beautiful but treacherous plants . the shaggy man, staring first at one and then at_the other, seemed greatly pleased and interested .

"I've seen queer things since I_came to_the land of Oz," said he, " but never anything queerer than this band of adventurers . let_us sit down a while, and_have a talk and get acquainted ."

" haven't you always lived in_the land of Oz ? " asked the Munchkin boy .

" no; I used to live in_the big, outside world . but I_came here once with Dorothy, and Ozma let me stay ."

" how do_you like Oz ? " asked Scraps ."Isn't the country and_the climate grand ? "

" it's the finest country in all the world, even if_it_is a fairyland . and I'm happy every_minute I live in_it," said the shaggy man ." but tell me something about yourselves ."

so Ojo related the story of_his visit to_the house of_the crooked magician, and how he met there the glass Cat, and how the patchwork girl was brought to life and of_the terrible accident to Unc Nunkie and Margolotte . then he_told how he had set out to_find the five different things which the magician needed to_make a charm that_would restore the marble figures to life, one requirement being three hairs from a woozy's tail .

" we_found the woozy," explained the boy, " and he agreed to_give us the three hairs; but we couldn't pull them out . so we had to bring the woozy along with_us ."

" I_see," returned the shaggy man, who had listened with interest to_the story ." but perhaps I, who am big and strong, can pull those three hairs from_the woozy's tail ."

" try it, if_you like," said the woozy .

so the shaggy man tried it, but pull as hard as he_could he failed to_get the hairs out_of_the woozy's tail . so he sat down again and wiped his shaggy face with a shaggy silk handkerchief and said:

" it doesn't matter . if_you_can keep the woozy until you get the rest of_the things you_need, you_can take_the beast and_his three hairs to_the crooked magician and let him find a way to extract 'em . what_are the other things you_are to_find ? "

" one," said Ojo, " is asix-leaved clover ."

" you ought to_find that in_the fields around the emerald city," said the shaggy man ." there_is a law against picking six-leaved clovers, but i_think I_can get Ozma to let you_have one ."

" thank_you," replied Ojo ." the next thing is_the left wing of a yellow butterfly ."

" for_that you_must go to_the Winkie country," the shaggy man declared ."I've never noticed any butterflies there, but that_is_the yellow country of Oz and it's ruled by a good friend of_mine, the tin woodman ."

"Oh, I've heard of him ! " exclaimed Ojo ." he_must_be a wonderful man ."

" so he_is, and_his heart is wonderfully kind .I'm sure the tin woodman will do all in_his power to help_you to save your Unc Nunkie and poor Margolotte ."

" the next thing I_must find," said the Munchkin boy, " is a gill of water from a dark well ."

" indeed ! well, that_is more difficult," said the shaggy man, scratching his left ear in a puzzled way ."I've never heard of a dark well; have_you ? "

" no," said Ojo .

" do_you_know where one may_be found ? " inquired the shaggy man .

" I_can't imagine," said Ojo .

" then we_must ask_the Scarecrow ."

" the Scarecrow ! but surely, sir, ascarecrow can't know anything ."

" most scarecrows don't, I admit," answered the shaggy man ." but this Scarecrow of whom I speak is very intelligent . he claims to possess the best brains in all Oz ."

" better than mine ? " asked Scraps .

" better than mine ? " echoed the glass Cat ." mine are pink, and you_can see 'em work ."

" well, you_can't see the Scarecrow's brains work, but they_do alot of clever thinking," asserted the shaggy man ." if anyone knows where a dark well is, it's my friend the Scarecrow ."

" where does he live ? " inquired Ojo .

" he has a splendid castle in_the Winkie country, near to_the palace of_his friend the tin woodman, and he_is often to_be found in_the emerald city, where he visits Dorothy at_the royal palace ."

" then we_will ask him about_the dark well," said Ojo .

" but what else does this crooked magician want ? " asked the shaggy man .

"A drop of oil from a live man's body ."

"Oh; but there isn't such a thing ."

" that_is what i_thought," replied Ojo; " but the crooked magician said it wouldn't be called for by_the recipe if_it couldn't be found, and therefore I_must search until I_find it ."

" i_wish you good luck," said the shaggy man, shaking his head doubtfully; " but I imagine you'll have a hard job getting a drop of oil from a live man's body . there's blood in a body, but no oil ."

" there's cotton in mine," said Scraps, dancing a little jig .

"I don't doubt it," returned the shaggy man admiringly ." you're a regular comforter and as sweet as patchwork can_be . all you lack is dignity ."

"I hate dignity," cried Scraps, kicking a pebble high in_the air and then trying to catch it as it fell ." half the fools and all the wise folks are dignified, and I'm neither the one nor the other ."

" she's just crazy," explained the glass Cat .

the shaggy man laughed .

" she's delightful, in her way," he_said ."I'm sure Dorothy will_be pleased with her, and_the Scarecrow will dote on her . did you say you were traveling toward the emerald city ? "

" yes," replied Ojo ." i_thought that_the best place to_go, at first, because the six-leaved clover may_be found there ."

"I'll go with_you," said the shaggy man, " and show you the way ."

" thank_you," exclaimed Ojo ." I_hope it won't put you out any ."

" no," said the other, "I wasn't going anywhere in_particular .I've been a rover all my life, and although Ozma has_given me a suite of beautiful rooms in her palace I still get the wandering fever once in a while and start out to roam the country over .I've been away from_the emerald city several weeks, this_time, and now that I've met you and your friends I'm sure it_will interest me to accompany you to_the great city of Oz and introduce you to my friends ."

" that_will_be very nice," said the boy, gratefully .

" I_hope your friends are_not dignified," observed Scraps .

" some are, and some are_not," he answered; " but I never criticise my friends . if_they_are really true friends, they_may_be anything they like, for all of

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