Oz 05: The Road to Oz by L. Frank Baum
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enough to bruise him .

" come on," he_said firmly; " we've got to_get out of here some way," and forward he started again .

the Scoodlers began yelling and throwing their heads in great numbers at our frightened friends . the shaggy man was knocked over again, and so was button- bright, who kicked his heels against the ground and howled as loud as he_could, although he_was not hurt a bit . one head struck Toto, who first yelped and then grabbed the head by an ear and started running away with it .

the Scoodlers who had thrown their heads began to scramble down and run to pick them up, with wonderful quickness; but the one whose head Toto had stolen found it hard to_get it back again . the head couldn't see the body with either pair of_its eyes, because the dog was in_the way, so the headless Scoodler stumbled around over the rocks and tripped on them more than once in its effort to regain its top .Toto was trying to_get outside the rocks and roll the head down the hill; but some_of_the other Scoodlers came to_the rescue of_their unfortunate comrade and pelted the dog with their own heads until he_was obliged to drop his burden and hurry back to Dorothy .

the little girl and_the rainbow's daughter had both escaped the shower of heads, but they saw now that_it would_be useless to_try to run away from_the dreadful Scoodlers .

" we_may as_well submit," declared the shaggy man, in a rueful voice, as he got upon his feet again . he turned toward their foes and asked:

" what do_you_want us to_do ? "

" come ! " they cried, in a triumphant chorus, and at once sprang from_the rocks and surrounded their captives on all sides . one funny thing about_the Scoodlers was they_could walk in either direction, coming or going, without turning around; because they had two faces and, as Dorothy said, " two front sides," and their feet were shaped like the letter T upside down . they moved with great rapidity and there_was something about their glittering eyes and contrasting colors and removable heads that inspired the poor prisoners with horror, and made them long to escape .

but the creatures led their captives away from_the rocks and_the road, down the hill by a side path until they came before a low mountain of rock that looked like a huge bowl turned upside down . at_the edge of_this mountain was a deep gulf-- so deep that when_you looked into_it there_was nothing but blackness below . across the gulf was a narrow bridge of rock, and at_the other end of_the bridge was an arched opening that led into_the mountain .

over this bridge the Scoodlers led their prisoners, through_the opening into_the mountain, which they found to_be an immense hollow dome lighted by several holes in_the roof . all around the circular space were built rock houses, set close together, each with a door in_the front wall . none of_these houses was more than six feet wide, but the Scoodlers were thin people sidewise and did_not need much room . so vast was_the dome that there_was a large space in_the middle of_the cave, in front of all these houses, where the creatures might congregate as in a great hall .

it made Dorothy shudder to_see a huge iron kettle suspended by a stout chain in_the middle of_the place, and underneath the kettle a great heap of kindling wood and shavings, ready to light .

" what's that ? " asked the shaggy man, drawing back as_they approached this place, so that_they were forced to push him forward .

" the soup Kettle ! " yelled the Scoodlers, and then they shouted in_the next breath:

" we're hungry ! "

button- bright, holding Dorothy's hand in one chubby fist and Polly's hand in_the other, was so affected by_this shout that he began to cry again, repeating the protest:

"Don't want to_be soup, I don't ! "

" never mind," said the shaggy man, consolingly; "I ought to_make enough soup to feed them all, I'm so big; so I'll ask them to_put me in_the kettle first ."

" all right," said button- bright, more cheerfully .

but the Scoodlers were_not ready to_make soup yet . they led the captives into a house at_the farthest side of_the cave--a house somewhat wider than_the others .

" who lives here ? " asked the rainbow's daughter . the Scoodlers nearest her replied:

" the queen ."

it made Dorothy hopeful to learn that a woman ruled over these fierce creatures, but a moment later they were ushered by two_or_three of_the escort into agloomy, bare room-- and her hope died away .

for_the queen of_the Scoodlers proved to_be much more dreadful in appearance than any of her people . one side of her was fiery red, with jet- black hair and green eyes and_the other side of her was bright yellow, with crimson hair and black eyes . she wore a short skirt of red and yellow and her hair, instead of being banged, was a tangle of short curls upon_which rested a circular crown of silver-- much dented and twisted because the queen had thrown her head at so_many things so_many_times . her form was lean and bony and both her faces were deeply wrinkled .

" what have we here ? " asked the queen sharply, as our friends were made to stand before her .

" soup ! " cried the guard of Scoodlers, speaking together .

" we're not ! " said Dorothy, indignantly; " we're nothing of_the sort ."

"Ah, but you_will_be soon," retorted the queen, a grim smile making her look more dreadful than before .

" pardon me, most beautiful vision," said the shaggy man, bowing before_the queen politely ." I_must request your serene highness to let_us go our way without being made into soup . for I own the love magnet, and whoever meets me must love me and all my friends ."

" true," replied the queen ." we love you very_much; so_much that we intend to eat your broth with real pleasure . but tell me, do_you_think I_am so beautiful ? "

" you won't be at all beautiful if_you eat me," he_said, shaking his head sadly ." handsome is as handsome does, you_know ."

the queen turned to button- bright .

" do_you_think I'm beautiful ? " she asked .

" no," said the boy; " you're ugly ."

" i_think you're a fright," said Dorothy .

" if you_could_see yourself you'd be terribly scared," added Polly .

the queen scowled at them and flopped from her red side to her yellow side .

" take them away," she commanded the guard, " and at six o'clock run them through_the meat chopper and start the soup kettle boiling . and put plenty of salt in_the broth this_time, or I'll punish the cooks severely ."

" any onions, your majesty ? " asked one_of_the guard .

" plenty of onions and garlic and a dash of red pepper . now, go ! "

the Scoodlers led the captives away and shut them up in one_of_the houses, leaving only a single Scoodler to_keep guard .

the place was a sort of store- house; containing bags of potatoes and baskets of carrots, onions and turnips .

" these," said their guard, pointing to_the vegetables, " we use to flavor our soups with ."

the prisoners were rather disheartened by_this_time, for they saw no way to escape and did_not know how soon it would_be six o'clock and time for_the meatchopper to_begin work . but the shaggy man was brave and did_not intend to submit to such a horrid fate without a struggle .

"I'm going to fight for_our lives," he whispered to_the children, " for if I fail we_will_be no worse off than before, and to sit here quietly until we_are made into soup would_be foolish and cowardly ."

the Scoodler on guard stood near the doorway, turning first his white side toward them and then his black side, as_if he_wanted to show to all of_his greedy four eyes the sight of so_many fat prisoners . the captives sat in a sorrowful group at_the other end of_the room-- except polychrome, who danced back and forth in_the little place to_keep herself warm, for she felt the chill of_the cave . whenever she approached the shaggy man he_would whisper something in her ear, and Polly would nod her pretty head as_if she understood .

the shaggy man told Dorothy and button- bright to stand before him while he emptied the potatoes out of one_of_the sacks . when_this had_been secretly done, little polychrome, dancing near to_the guard, suddenly reached out her hand and slapped his face, the next instant whirling away from_him quickly to rejoin her friends .

the angry Scoodler at once picked off his head and hurled it at_the rainbow's daughter; but the shaggy man was expecting that, and caught the head very neatly, putting it in_the sack, which he tied at_the mouth . the body of_the guard, not having the eyes of_its head to guide it, ran here and there in an aimless manner, and_the shaggy man easily dodged it and opened the door .Fortunately, there_was no one in_the big cave at_that moment, so he_told Dorothy and Polly to run as fast as they_could for_the entrance, and out across the narrow bridge .

"I'll carry button- bright," he_said, for he_knew the little boy's legs were too short to run fast .

Dorothy picked up Toto and then seized Polly's hand and ran swiftly toward the entrance to_the cave . the shaggy man perched button- bright on_his shoulders and ran after them . they moved so quickly and their escape was so wholly unexpected that_they had almost reached the bridge when one_of_the Scoodlers looked out of_his house and saw them .

the creature raised a shrill cry that brought all of_its fellows bounding out_of_the numerous doors, and at once they started in chase . Dorothy and Polly had reached the bridge and crossed it when_the Scoodlers began throwing their heads . one_of_the queer missiles struck the shaggy man on_his back and nearly knocked him over; but he_was at_the mouth of_the cave now, so he set down button- bright and told the boy to run across the bridge to Dorothy .

then the shaggy man turned around and faced his enemies, standing just outside the opening, and as fast as_they threw their heads at him he caught them and tossed them into_the black gulf below . the headless bodies of_the foremost Scoodlers kept the others from running close up, but they also threw their heads in an effort to stop the escaping prisoners . the shaggy man caught them all and sent them whirling down into_the black gulf . among them he noticed the crimson and yellow head of_the queen, and this he tossed after_the others with right good will .

presently every Scoodler of_the lot had thrown its head, and every head was down in_the deep gulf, and now the helpless bodies of_the creatures were mixed together in_the cave and wriggling around in a vain attempt to discover what had become of_their heads . the shaggy man laughed and walked across the bridge to rejoin his companions .

" it's lucky I learned to play base- ball when i_was young," he remarked, " for I caught all those heads easily and never missed one . but come along, little ones; the Scoodlers will never bother us or anyone else any more ."

button- bright was still frightened and kept insisting, "I don't want to_be soup ! " for_the victory had_been gained so suddenly that_the boy could_not realize they were free and safe . but the shaggy man assured him that all danger of_their being made into soup was now past, as_the Scoodlers would_be unable to eat soup for some_time to_come .

so now, anxious to_get away from_the horrid gloomy cave as_soon_as_possible, they hastened up the hillside and regained the road just beyond the place where they had first met the Scoodlers; and you_may_be_sure they were glad to_find their feet on_the old familiar path again .

11 .Johnny Dooit Does it

" it's getting awful rough walking," said Dorothy, as_they trudged along . button- bright gave a deep sigh and said he_was hungry . indeed, all were hungry, and thirsty, too; for they had eaten nothing but the apples since breakfast; so their steps lagged and_they grew silent and weary . at last they slowly passed over the crest of a barren hill and saw before them a line of green trees with a strip of grass at their feet . an agreeable fragrance was wafted toward them .

our travelers, hot and tired, ran forward on beholding this refreshing sight and were_not long in coming to_the trees . here they found a spring of pure bubbling water, around which the grass was full of wild strawberry plants, their pretty red berries ripe and ready to eat . some_of_the trees bore yellow oranges and some russet pears, so the hungry adventurers suddenly found themselves provided with plenty to eat and to drink . they lost no time in picking the biggest strawberries and ripest oranges and soon had feasted to_their hearts' content .Walking beyond the line of trees they saw before them a fearful, dismal desert, everywhere gray sand . at_the edge of_this awful waste was a large, white sign with black letters neatly painted upon it and_the letters made these words:

all PERSONS are warned not to venture upon_this desert

for_the deadly Sands will turn any Living flesh to dust in an instant . beyond this barrier is_the

land of OZ

but no one can

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