Oz 09: The Scarecrow of Oz by L. Frank Baum
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all liked popcorn and_they all were hungry this_morning .

meantime the flakes of "Mo snow" came down so fast that_the number of_them almost darkened the air . the bumpy man was now shoveling quite a distance down the mountain- side, while the path behind him rapidly filled up with fresh- fallen popcorn . suddenly trot heard him call out:

" goodness gracious -- mince pie and pancakes ! -- here_is some one buried in_the snow ."

she ran toward him at once and_the others followed, wading through_the corn and crunching it underneath their feet . the Mo snow was pretty deep where the bumpy man was shoveling and from beneath a great bank of it he had uncovered a pair of feet .

" dear me ! someone has_been lost in_the storm," said Cap'n bill ." I_hope he_is still alive . let's pull him out and_see ."

he_took hold of one foot and_the bumpy man took hold of_the other . then they both pulled and out from_the heap of popcorn came a little boy . he_was dressed in a brown velvet jacket and knickerbockers, with brown stockings, buckled shoes and a blue shirt- waist that had frills down its front . when drawn from_the heap the boy was chewing a mouthful of popcorn and both his hands were full of it . so at first he couldn't speak to_his rescuers but lay quite still and eyed them calmly until he had swallowed his mouthful . then he_said:

" get my cap," and stuffed more popcorn into his mouth .

while the bumpy man began shoveling into_the corn- bank to_find the boy's cap, trot was laughing joyfully and Cap'n bill had a broad grin on_his face . the Ork looked from one to another and asked:

" who is_this stranger ? "

" why, it's button- bright, of_course," answered trot ." if anyone ever finds a lost boy, he_can_make up his mind it's button- bright . but how he ever came to_be lost in_this far- away country is more'n I_can make out ."

" where does he belong ? " inquired the Ork .

" his home used to_be in Philadelphia, i_think; but I'm quite_sure button- bright doesn't belong anywhere ."

" that's right," said the boy, nodding his head as he swallowed the second mouthful .

" everyone belongs somewhere," remarked the Ork .

" not me," insisted button- bright ."I'm half way round the world from Philadelphia, and I've lost my magic umbrella, that used to carry me anywhere .Stands to reason that if I_can't get back I haven't any home . but I don't care much . this_is a pretty good country, trot .I've had lots of fun here ."

by_this_time the mountain ear had secured the boy's cap and was listening to_the conversation with much interest .

" it seems you_know this poor, snow- covered cast- away," he_said .

" yes, indeed," answered trot ." we_made a journey together to sky island, once, and were good friends ."

" well, then I'm glad I saved his life," said the bumpy man .

" much obliged, Mr Knobs," said button- bright, sitting up and staring at him, " but I don't believe you've saved anything except some popcorn that I_might_have eaten had you not disturbed me . it_was nice and warm in_that bank of popcorn, and there_was plenty to eat . what made you dig me out ? and what makes you so bumpy everywhere ? "

" as for_the bumps," replied the man, looking at himself with much pride, " i_was born with_them and I suspect they were a gift from_the fairies . they make me look rugged and big, like the mountain I serve ."

" all right," said button- bright and began eating popcorn again .

it had stopped snowing, now, and great flocks of birds were gathering around the mountain- side, eating the popcorn with much eagerness and scarcely noticing the people at all . there were birds of every size and color, most of_them having gorgeous feathers and plumes .

" just look at them ! " exclaimed the Ork scornfully ."Aren't they dreadful creatures, all covered with feathers ? "

" i_think they're beautiful," said trot, and this made the Ork so indignant that he went back into_the house and sulked .

button- bright reached out his hand and caught a big bird by_the leg . at once it rose into_the air and it_was so strong that_it nearly carried the little boy with it . he let go the leg in a hurry and_the bird flew down again and began to eat of_the popcorn, not being frightened in_the least .

this gave Cap'n bill an idea . he_felt in_his pocket and drew out several pieces of stout string .Moving very quietly, so as_to not alarm the birds, he crept up_to several of_the biggest ones and tied cords around their legs, thus making them prisoners . the birds were so intent on their eating that they_did_not notice what had happened to_them, and when about twenty had_been captured in_this manner Cap'n bill tied the ends of all the strings together and fastened them to a huge stone, so they_could_not escape .

the bumpy man watched the old sailor's actions with much curiosity

" the birds will_be quiet until they've eaten up all the snow," he_said, " but then they_will want to fly away to_their homes . tell me, sir, what_will the poor things do when_they find they_can't fly ? "

" it may worry 'em a little," replied Cap'n bill, " but they're not going to_be hurt if_they take it easy and behave themselves ."

our friends had all made a good breakfast of_the delicious popcorn and now they walked toward the house again . button- bright walked beside trot and held her hand in_his, because they were old friends and he liked the little girl very_much . the boy was not so old as trot, and small as she was he_was half a head shorter in height . the most remarkable thing about button- bright was_that he_was always quiet and composed, whatever happened, and nothing was ever able to astonish him . trot liked him because he_was not rude and never tried to plague her .Cap'n bill liked him because he had found the boy cheerful and brave at all times, and willing to_do anything he_was asked to_do .

when_they came to_the house trot sniffed the air and asked "Don't I smell perfume ? "

" i_think you_do," said the bumpy man ." you smell violets, and_that proves there_is a breeze springing up from_the south . all our winds and breezes are perfumed and for_that reason we_are glad_to_have them blow in_our direction . the south breeze always has a violet odor; the north breeze has_the fragrance of wild roses; the east breeze is perfumed with lilies- of- the- valley and_the west wind with lilac blossoms . so we_need no weathervane to_tell us which_way the wind is blowing . we_have only to smell the perfume and it informs us at once ."

inside the house they found the Ork, and button- bright regarded the strange, birdlike creature with curious interest . after examining it closely for a time he asked:

" which_way does your tail whirl ? "

" either way," said the Ork .

button- bright put out his hand and tried to spin it .

"Don't do_that ! " exclaimed the Ork .

" why_not ? " inquired the boy .

" because it happens to_be my tail, and I reserve the right to whirl it myself," explained the Ork .

" let's go out and fly somewhere," proposed button- bright ." i_want_to_see how the tail works ."

" not now," said the Ork ."I appreciate your interest in me, which I fully deserve; but I only fly when I_am going somewhere, and if I got started I might_not stop ."

" that reminds me," remarked Cap'n bill, " to ask_you, friend Ork, how we_are going to_get away from here ? "

" get away ! " exclaimed the bumpy man ." why don't you stay here ? you won't find any nicer place than Mo ."

" have_you been anywhere else, sir ? "

" no; I_can't say that I_have," admitted the mountain ear .

" then permit me to_say you're no judge," declared Cap'n bill ." but you haven't answered my question, friend Ork . how are we to_get away from_this mountain ? "

the Ork reflected a while before he answered .

" I_might carry one of you -- the boy or the girl -- upon my back," said he, " but three big people are more than I_can manage, although I_have carried two of you for a short distance . you ought not to_have eaten those purple berries so soon ."

"P'r'aps we_did make a mistake," Cap'n bill acknowledged .

" or we_might_have brought some_of_those lavender berries with_us, instead of so_many purple ones," suggested trot regretfully .

Cap'n bill made no reply to_this statement, which showed he_did_not fully agree with_the little girl; but he fell into deep thought, with wrinkled brows, and finally he_said:

" if those purple berries would make anything grow bigger, whether it'd eaten the lavender ones or not, I_could find a way out of_our troubles ."

they_did_not understand this speech and looked at_the old sailor as_if expecting him to explain what he meant . but just then a chorus of shrill cries rose from outside .

" here ! let me go -- let me go ! " the voices seemed to_say ." why are we insulted in_this_way ? mountain ear, come and help_us ! "

trot ran to_the window and looked out .

" it's the birds you caught, Cap'n," she said ."I didn't know they_could talk ."

"Oh, yes; all the birds in Mo are educated to_talk," said the bumpy man . then he looked at Cap'n bill uneasily and added: " won't you let the poor things go ? "

"I'll see," replied the sailor, and walked out to where the birds were fluttering and complaining because the strings would_not allow them to fly away .

" listen to_me ! " he cried, and at once they became still ." we three people who_are strangers in your land want to_go to some other country, and we_want three of you birds to carry us there . we_know we_are asking a great favor, but it's the only way we_can think of -- excep' walkin', an' I'm not much good at_that because I've a wooden leg . besides, trot an' button- bright are too small to undertake a long and tiresome journey . now, tell me: which three of you birds will consent to carry us ? "

the birds looked at one another as_if greatly astonished . then one_of_them replied: " you_must_be crazy, old man . not one of us is big enough to fly with even the smallest of your party ."

"I'll fix the matter of size," promised Cap'n bill ." if three of you_will agree to carry us, I'll make you big an' strong enough to_do_it, so it won't worry you a bit ."

the birds considered this gravely .Living in a magic country, they had no_doubt but that_the strange one- legged man could do what he_said . after a little, one_of_them asked:

" if_you make us big, would we stay big always ? "

" i_think so," replied Cap'n bill .

they chattered a while among themselves and then the bird that had first spoken said: "I'll go, for_one ."

" so will I," said another; and after a pause a third said: "I'll go, too ."

perhaps more would_have volunteered, for_it seemed that for some reason they all longed to_be bigger than they were; but three were enough for Cap'n bill's purpose and so he promptly released all the others, who immediately flew away .

the three that remained were cousins, and all were of_the same brilliant plumage and in size about as large as eagles . when trot questioned them she found they were quite young, having only abandoned their nests a few weeks before . they were strong young birds, with clear, brave eyes, and_the little girl decided they were the most beautiful of all the feathered creatures she had ever seen .

Cap'n bill now took from_his pocket the wooden box with_the sliding cover and removed the three purple berries, which were still in good condition .

" eat these," he_said, and gave one to each of_the birds . they obeyed, finding the fruit very pleasant to taste . in a few seconds they began to grow in size and grew so fast that trot feared they_would never stop . but they finally did stop growing, and then they were much larger than_the Ork, and nearly the size of full- grown ostriches .

Cap'n bill was much pleased by_this result .

" you_can carry us now, all right," said he .

the birds strutted around with pride, highly pleased with their immense size .

"I don't see, though," said trot doubtfully, " how we're going to ride on their backs without falling off ."

" we're not going to ride on their backs," answered Cap'n bill ."I'm going to_make swings for_us to ride in ."

he then asked the bumpy man for some rope, but the man had no rope . he had, however, an old suit of gray clothes which he gladly presented to Cap'n bill, who cut the cloth into strips and twisted it so that_it_was almost as strong as rope . with_this material he attached to each bird a swing that dangled below its feet, and button- bright made a trial flight in one_of_them to_prove that_it_was safe and comfortable . when all this had_been arranged one_of_the birds asked:

" where do_you wish us to_take you ? "

" why, just follow the Ork," said Cap'n bill

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