Oz 08: Tik-Tok of Oz by L. Frank Baum
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her .

"Am I not your friend and playmate ? " she asked .

Dorothy flushed .

" you_know how dearly I love you, Ozma ! " she cried ." but you're so busy ruling all this land of Oz that we_can't always be together ."

" I_know, dear . my first duty is to my subjects, and i_think it would_be a delight to_us all to_have Betsy with_us . there's a pretty suite of rooms just opposite your own where she_can live, and I'll build a golden stall for Hank in_the stable where the sawhorse lives . then we'll introduce the mule to_the cowardly lion and_the hungry tiger, and I'm sure they_will soon become firm friends . but I_cannot very_well admit Betsy and Hank into Oz unless I also admit shaggy's brother ."

" and, unless you admit shaggy's brother, you_will keep out poor shaggy, whom we_are all very fond of," said the wizard .

" well, why_not ad-mit him ? " demanded Tik-Tok .

" the land of Oz is_not a refuge for all mortals in distress," explained Ozma ." I_do_not wish to_be unkind to shaggy man, but his brother has no claim on me ."

" the land of Oz isn't crowded," suggested Dorothy .

" then you advise me to admit shaggy's brother ? " inquired Ozma .

" well, we_can't afford to lose our shaggy man, can we ? "

" no, indeed ! " returned Ozma ." what do_you say, wizard ? "

"I'm getting my magic ready to transport them all ."

" and you, Tik-Tok ? "

" shag-gy's broth-er is a good fel- low, and we_can't spare shag-gy ."

" so, then; the question is settled," decided Ozma ." perform your magic, wizard ! "

he_did so, placing a silver plate upon a small standard and pouring upon_the plate a small quantity of pink powder which_was contained in a crystal vial . then he muttered a rather difficult incantation which the sorceress Glinda the good had taught him, and it all ended in a puff of perfumed smoke from_the silver plate . this smoke was so pungent that_it made both Ozma and Dorothy rub their eyes for a moment .

" you_must pardon these disagreeable fumes," said the wizard ."I assure you the smoke is a very necessary part of_my wizardry ."

" look ! " cried Dorothy, pointing to_the magic picture; " they're gone ! all of_them are gone ."

indeed, the picture now showed the same rocky landscape as before, but the three people and_the mule had disappeared from_it .

" they_are gone," said the wizard, polishing the silver plate and wrapping it in a fine cloth, " because they_are here ."

at_that moment Jellia Jamb entered the room .

" your highness," she said to Ozma, " the shaggy man and another man are in_the waiting room and ask to_pay their respects to_you . shaggy is crying like a baby, but he_says they_are tears of joy ."

" send_them here at once, Jellia ! " commanded Ozma .

" also," continued the maid, "a girl and a small- sized mule have mysteriously arrived, but they don't seem to_know where they_are or how they came here . shall I send_them here, too ? "

"Oh, no ! " exclaimed Dorothy, eagerly jumping up from her chair; "I'll go to meet Betsy myself, for she'll feel awful strange in_this big palace ."

and she ran down the stairs two at_a_time to greet her new friend, Betsy bobbin .

chapter Twenty-Five

the land of love

" well, is 'hee-haw' all you_are able_to_say ? " inquired the sawhorse, as he examined Hank with_his knot eyes and slowly wagged the branch that served him for a tail .

they were in a beautiful stable in_the rear of Ozma's palace, where the wooden sawhorse-- very_much alive-- lived in a gold- paneled stall, and where there were rooms for_the cowardly lion and_the hungry tiger, which were filled with soft cushions for_them to lie upon and golden troughs for_them to eat from .

beside the stall of_the sawhorse had_been placed another for Hank, the mule . this_was not quite so beautiful as_the other, for_the sawhorse was Ozma's favorite steed; but Hank had a supply of cushions for a bed ( which the sawhorse did_not need because he never slept) and all this luxury was so strange to_the little mule that he_could only stand still and regard his surroundings and_his queer companions with wonder and amazement .

the cowardly lion, looking very dignified, was stretched out upon_the marble floor of_the stable, eyeing Hank with a calm and critical gaze, while near by crouched the huge hungry tiger, who seemed equally interested in_the new animal that had just arrived . the sawhorse, standing stiffly before Hank, repeated his question:

" is 'hee-haw' all you_are able_to_say ? "

Hank moved his ears in an embarrassed manner .

" I_have never said anything else, until now," he replied; and then he began to tremble with fright to hear himself talk .

" I_can well understand that," remarked the lion, wagging his great head with aswaying motion ." strange things happen in_this land of Oz, as they_do everywhere else .I believe you came here from_the cold, civilized, outside world, did you not ? "

" I_did," replied Hank ." one minute i_was outside of Oz-- and_the next minute i_was inside ! that was enough to_give_me a nervous shock, as_you_may guess; but to_find myself able to_talk, as Betsy does, is a marvel that staggers me ."

" that_is because you_are in_the land of Oz," said the sawhorse ." all animals talk, in_this favored country, and you_must admit it_is more sociable than to bray your dreadful 'hee-haw,' which nobody can understand ."

"Mules understand it very_well," declared Hank .

"Oh, indeed ! then there_must_be other mules in your outside world," said the tiger, yawning sleepily .

" there_are a great_many in America," said Hank ." are_you the only tiger in Oz ? "

" no," acknowledged the tiger, " I_have many relatives living in_the jungle country; but I_am the only tiger living in_the emerald city ."

" there_are other Lions, too," said the sawhorse; " but I_am the only horse, of any description, in_this favored land ."

" that_is why this land is favored," said the tiger ." you_must understand, friend Hank, that_the sawhorse puts on airs because he_is shod with plates of gold, and because our beloved ruler, Ozma of Oz, likes to ride upon his back ."

"Betsy rides upon my back," declared Hank proudly .

" who_is Betsy ? "

" the dearest, sweetest girl in all the world ! "

the sawhorse gave an angry snort and stamped his golden feet . the tiger crouched and growled . slowly the great lion rose to_his feet, his mane bristling .

" friend Hank," said he, " either you_are mistaken in judgment or you_are willfully trying to deceive us . the dearest, sweetest girl in_the_world is our Dorothy, and_I_will fight anyone-- animal or human-- who dares to deny it ! "

" so will I ! " snarled the tiger, showing two rows of enormous white teeth .

" you_are all wrong ! " asserted the sawhorse in a voice of scorn ." no girl living can compare with my mistress, Ozma of Oz ! "

Hank slowly turned around until his heels were toward the others . then he_said stubbornly:

" I_am not mistaken in my statement, nor will I admit there can_be asweeter girl alive than Betsy bobbin . if_you_want to fight, come on--I'm ready for_you ! "

while they hesitated, eyeing Hank's heels doubtfully, a merry peal of laughter startled the animals and turning their heads they beheld three lovely girls standing just within_the richly carved entrance to_the stable . in_the center was Ozma, her arms encircling the waists of Dorothy and Betsy, who stood on either side of her .Ozma was nearly half a head taller than_the two other girls, who were almost of one size . unobserved, they had listened to_the talk of_the animals, which_was a very strange experience indeed to little Betsy bobbin .

" you foolish beasts ! " exclaimed the ruler of Oz, in a gentle but chiding voice ." why should you fight to defend us, who_are all three loving friends and in no sense rivals ? answer me ! " she continued, as_they bowed their heads sheepishly .

" I_have the right to express my opinion, your highness," pleaded the lion .

" and so have the others," replied Ozma ." I_am_glad you and_the hungry tiger love Dorothy best, for she was your first friend and companion . also I_am pleased that my sawhorse loves me best, for together we_have endured both joy and sorrow .Hank has proved his faith and loyalty by defending his own little mistress; and so you_are all right in one_way, but wrong in another . our land of Oz is a land of love, and here friendship outranks every_other quality . unless you_can all be friends, you_cannot retain our love ."

they accepted this rebuke very meekly .

" all right," said the sawhorse, quite cheerfully; " shake hoofs, friend mule ."

Hank touched his hoof to_that of_the wooden horse .

" let_us be friends and rub noses," said the tiger . so Hank modestly rubbed noses with_the big beast .

the lion merely nodded and said, as he crouched before_the mule:

" any friend of a friend of_our beloved ruler is a friend of_the cowardly lion . that seems to_cover your case . if ever you_need help or advice, friend Hank, call on me ."

" why, this_is as it should_be," said Ozma, highly pleased to_see them so fully reconciled . then she turned to her companions: " come, my dears, let_us resume our walk ."

as_they turned away Betsy said wonderingly:

" do all the animals in Oz talk as we_do ? "

" almost all," answered Dorothy ." there's a yellow Hen here, and she_can talk, and so can her chickens; and there's a pink kitten upstairs in my room who talks very nicely; but I've a little fuzzy black dog, named Toto, who has_been with me in Oz a long_time, and he's never said a single word but ' bow-wow ! '"

" do_you_know why ? " asked Ozma .

" why, he's a Kansas dog; so I s' pose he's different from_these fairy animals," replied Dorothy .

"Hank isn't a fairy animal, any more than Toto," said Ozma, " yet as_soon_as he_came under the spell of_our fairyland he_found he_could talk . it was_the same way with Billina, the yellow Hen whom you brought here at one_time . the same spell has affected Toto, I assure you; but he's a wise little dog and while he_knows everything that_is said to him he prefers not to_talk ."

" goodness me ! " exclaimed Dorothy ."I never s'pected Toto was fooling me all this_time ." then she drew a small silver whistle from her pocket and blew a shrill note upon it .a moment later there_was a sound of scurrying footsteps, and a shaggy black dog came running up the path .

Dorothy knelt down before him and shaking her finger just above his nose she said:

"Toto, haven't I always been good to_you ? "

Toto looked up at her with_his bright black eyes and wagged his tail .

" bow-wow ! " he_said, and Betsy knew at once that meant yes, as_well as Dorothy and Ozma knew it, for there_was no mistaking the tone of Toto's voice .

" that's a dog answer," said Dorothy ." how would you like it, Toto, if I_said nothing to_you but ' bow-wow' ? "

Toto's tail was wagging furiously now, but otherwise he_was silent .

" really, Dorothy," said Betsy, " he_can talk with_his bark and_his tail just as_well as_we_can .Don't you understand such dog language ? "

" of_course I_do," replied Dorothy ." but Toto's got to_be more sociable . see here, sir ! " she continued, addressing the dog, "I've just learned, for_the first time, that you_can say words-- if_you_want to .Don't you_want to, Toto ? "

" woof ! " said Toto, and_that meant " no ."

" not just one word, Toto, to_prove you're as any_other animal in Oz ? "

" woof ! "

" just one word, Toto-- and then you_may run away ."

he looked at her steadily a moment .

" all right . here I go ! " he_said, and darted away as swift as an arrow .

Dorothy clapped her hands in delight, while Betsy and Ozma both laughed heartily at her pleasure and_the success of her experiment . arm in arm they sauntered away through_the beautiful gardens of_the palace, where magnificent flowers bloomed in abundance and fountains shot their silvery sprays far into_the air . and by and by, as_they turned a corner, they came upon shaggy man and_his brother, who were seated together upon a golden bench .

the two arose to bow respectfully as_the ruler of Oz approached them .

" how are_you enjoying our land of Oz ? " Ozma asked the stranger .

" I_am very happy here, your highness," replied shaggy's brother ." also I_am very grateful to_you for permitting me to live in_this delightful place ."

" you_must thank shaggy for_that," said Ozma ." being his brother, I_have_made you welcome here ."

" when_you know brother better," said shaggy earnestly, " you_will_be_glad he has become one of your loyal subjects . I_am just getting acquainted with_him myself and I_find much in_his character to admire ."

leaving the brothers, Ozma and_the girls continued their walk . presently Betsy exclaimed:

" shaggy's brother can't ever be as happy in Oz as I_am . do_you_know, Dorothy, I didn't believe any girl could ever have such a good_time-- anywhere-- as I'm having now ? "

" I_know," answered Dorothy ."I've felt that way myself, lots of times ."

" i_wish," continued Betsy, dreamily, " that every little girl in_the_world could live in_the land of Oz; and every little boy, too ! "

Ozma laughed at_this .

" it_is quite fortunate for_us, Betsy, that your wish cannot_be granted," said she, " for all that army of girls and boys would crowd us so_that we_would_have to move away ."

" yes," agreed Betsy, after a little thought, "I guess that's true ."

the end

the wonderful Oz Books by L . frank Baum

the wizard of OZ
the land of OZ
OZMA of OZ
Dorothy and_the wizard in OZ
the road to OZ
the emerald city of OZ
the patchwork girl of OZ
TIK-TOK of OZ
the SCARECROW of OZ
RINKITINK in OZ
the lost princess of OZ
the tin woodman of OZ
the magic of OZ
GLINDA of OZ

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