Oz 12: The Tin Woodman of Oz by L. Frank Baum
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majesty . of_course, they_may not be dangerous, but we mustn't take chances . enough accidents happen to_us poor Loons as_it_is, and my advice is to condemn and perforate 'em as quickly as possible ."

" keep your advice to yourself," said the monarch, in apeeved tone ." who's king here, anyhow ? you or me ? "

" we_made you our king because you_have less common sense than_the rest of us," answered Panta loon, indignantly ."I could_have_been king myself, had i_wanted to, but I didn't care for_the hard work and responsibility ."

as he_said this, the big loon strutted back and forth in_the space between_the throne of king Bal and_the prisoners, and_the other Loons seemed much impressed by his Defiance . but suddenly there came a sharp report and Panta loon instantly disappeared, to_the great astonishment of_the Scarecrow, the tin woodman and Woot the wanderer, who saw on_the spot where the big fellow had stood a little heap of flabby, wrinkled skin that looked like a collapsed rubber balloon .

" there ! " exclaimed the king; "I expected that_would happen . the conceited rascal wanted to puff himself up until he_was bigger than_the rest of you, and this_is_the result of_his folly . get the pump working, some of you, and blow him up again ."

" we_will_have to mend the puncture first, your majesty," suggested one_of_the Loons, and_the prisoners noticed that none_of_them seemed surprised or shocked at_the sad accident to Panta .

" all right," grumbled the king ." fetch Til to mend him ."

one_or_two ran away and presently returned, followed by a lady loon wearing huge, puffed- up rubber skirts . also she had a purple feather fastened to a wart on_the top of her head, and around her waist was a sash of fibre- like vines, dried and tough, that looked like strings .

" get to work, Til," commanded king Bal ."Panta has just exploded ."

the lady loon picked up the bunch of skin and examined it carefully until she discovered a hole in one foot . then she pulled a strand of string from her sash, and drawing the edges of_the hole together . she tied them fast with_the string, thus making one of_those curious warts which the strangers had noticed on so_many Loons .Having done this, Til loon tossed the bit of skin to_the other Loons and was about to_go away when she noticed the prisoners and stopped to inspect them .

" dear me ! " said Til; " what dreadful creatures . where did they_come from ? "

" we captured them," replied one_of_the Loons .

" and what_are we going to_do with_them ? " inquired the girl loon .

" perhaps we'll condemn 'em and puncture 'em," answered the king .

" well," said she, still eyeing the "I'm not sure they'll puncture . let's try it, and_see ."

one_of_the Loons ran to_the forest's edge and quickly returned with a long, sharp thorn . he glanced at_the king, who nodded his head in assent, and then he rushed forward and stuck the thorn into_the leg of_the Scarecrow . the Scarecrow merely smiled and said nothing, for_the thorn didn't hurt him at all .

then the loon tried to prick the tin woodman's leg, but the tin only blunted the point of_the thorn .

" just as i_thought," said Til, blinking her purple eyes and shaking her puffy head; but just then the loon stuck the thorn into_the leg of Woot the wanderer, and while it had_been blunted somewhat, it_was still sharp enough to hurt .

"Ouch ! " yelled Woot, and kicked out his leg with so_much energy that_the frail bonds that tied him burst apart . his foot caught the loon -- who was leaning over him -- full on_his puffy stomach, and sent him shooting up into_the air . when he_was high over their heads he exploded with a loud " pop" and_his skin fell to_the ground .

"I really believe," said the king, rolling his spotlike eyes in a frightened way, " that Panta was right in claiming these prisoners are dangerous . is_the pump ready ? "

some_of_the Loons had wheeled a big machine in front of_the throne and now took Panta's skin and began to pump air into_it . slowly it swelled out until the king cried " stop ! "

" no, no ! " yelled Panta, "I'm not big enough yet ." " you're as big as_you're going to_be," declared the king ." before_you exploded you were bigger than_the rest of us, and_that caused you to_be proud and overbearing . now you're a little smaller than_the rest, and you_will last longer and be more humble ."

" pump me up -- pump me up ! " wailed Panta " if_you don't you'll break my heart ."

" if_we_do we'll break your skin," replied the king .

so the Loons stopped pumping air into Panta, and pushed him away from_the pump . he_was certainly more humble than before his accident, for he crept into_the background and said nothing more .

" now pump up the other one," ordered the king .Til had already mended him, and_the Loons set to work to pump him full of air .

during these last few_moments none had paid much attention to_the prisoners, so Woot, finding his legs free, crept over to_the tin woodman and rubbed the bonds that were still around his arms and body against the sharp edge of_the axe, which quickly cut them .

the boy was now free, and_the thorn which the loon had stuck into his leg was lying unnoticed on_the ground, where the creature had dropped it when he exploded .Woot leaned forward and picked up the thorn, and while the Loons were busy watching the pump, the boy sprang to_his feet and suddenly rushed upon_the group .

" pop" -- " pop" -- " pop ! " went three of_the Loons, when_the wanderer pricked them with_his thorn, and at_the sounds the others looked around and saw their danger . with yells of fear they bounded away in all directions, scattering about_the clearing, with Woot the wanderer in full chase . while they_could run much faster than_the boy, they often stumbled and fell, or got in one another's way, so he managed to catch several and prick them with_his thorn .

it astonished him to_see how easily the Loons exploded . when_the air was let out_of_them they were quite helpless .Til loon was one of_those who ran against his thorn and many others suffered the same fate . the creatures could_not escape from_the enclosure, but in their fright many bounded upward and caught branches of_the trees, and then climbed out of reach of_the dreaded thorn .

Woot was getting pretty tired chasing them, so he stopped and came over, panting, to where his friends were sitting, still bound .

" very_well done, my wanderer," said the tin woodman ." it_is evident that we_need fear these puffed- up creatures no longer, so be kind enough to unfasten our bonds and we_will proceed upon our journey ."

Woot untied the bonds of_the Scarecrow and helped him to_his feet . then he freed the tin woodman, who got up without help . looking around them, they saw that_the only loon now remaining within reach was Bal loon, the king, who had remained seated in_his throne, watching the punishment of_his people with a bewildered look in_his purple eyes .

" shall I puncture the king ? " the boy asked his companions .

king Bal must_have overheard the question, for he fumbled with_the cord that fastened him to_the throne and managed to release it . then he floated upward until he reached the leafy dome, and parting the branches he disappeared from sight . but the string that was tied to_his body was still connected with_the arm of_the throne, and_they knew they_could pull his majesty down again, if_they wanted to .

" let him alone," suggested the Scarecrow ." he seems a good enough king for_his peculiar people, and after we_are gone, the Loons will_have something of a job to pump up all those whom Woot has punctured ."

" every_one_of_them ought_to_be exploded," declared Woot, who was angry because his leg still hurt him .

" no," said the tin woodman, " that would_not_be just fair . they were quite right to capture us, because we had no business to intrude here, having been warned to_keep away from Loonville . this_is their country, not ours, and since_the poor things can't get out_of_the clearing, they_can harm no one save those who venture here out of curiosity, as we_did ."

" well said, my friend," agreed tile Scarecrow ." we really had no right to disturb their peace and comfort; so let_us go away ."

they easily found the place where they had forced their way into_the enclosure, so the tin woodman pushed aside the underbrush and started first along the path . the Scarecrow followed next and last came Woot, who looked back and saw that_the Loons were still clinging to_their perches on_the trees and watching their former captives with frightened eyes .

"I guess they're glad_to_see the last of us," remarked the boy, and laughing at_the happy ending of_the adventure, he followed his comrades along the path .

chapter Five

Mrs Yoop, the Giantess

when_they had reached the end of_the path, where they had first seen the warning sign, they set off across the country in an easterly direction . before long they reached Rolling Lands, which were a succession of hills and valleys where constant climbs and descents were required, and their journey now became tedious, because on climbing each hill, they found before them nothing in_the valley below it except grass, or weeds or stones .

up and down they went for hours, with nothing to relieve the monotony of_the landscape, until finally, when_they had topped a higher hill than usual, they discovered a cup- shaped valley before them in_the center of_which stood an enormous castle, built of purple stone . the castle was high and broad and long, but had no turrets and towers . so_far as they_could see, there_was but one small window and one big door on each side of_the great building .

" this_is strange ! " mused the Scarecrow ."I'd no idea such a big castle existed in_this Gillikin country .I wonder who lives here ? "

" it seems to_me, from_this distance," remarked the tin woodman, " that_it's the biggest castle I ever saw . it_is really too big for any use, and no one could open or shut those big doors without a stepladder ."

" perhaps, if_we go nearer, we_shall find out whether anybody lives there or not," suggested Woot ."Looks to_me as_if nobody lived there ."

on they went, and when_they reached the center of_the valley, where the great stone castle stood, it_was beginning to grow dark . so they hesitated as_to what to_do .

" if friendly people happen to live here," said Woot . I_shall_be_glad of a bed; but should enemies occupy the place, I prefer to sleep upon_the ground ."

" and if no one at all lives here," added the Scarecrow, " we_can enter, and take possession, and make ourselves at home ."

while speaking he went nearer to one_of_the great doors, which_was three times as high and broad as any he had ever seen in a house before, and then he discovered, engraved in big letters upon a stone over the doorway, the words:

"YOOP castle"

"Oho ! " he exclaimed; " I_know the place now . this_was probably the home of Mr Yoop, a terrible giant whom I_have_seen confined in a cage, a long way from here . therefore this castle is likely to_be empty and we_may use it in any_way we please ."

" yes, yes," said the tin emperor, nodding; "I also remember Mr Yoop . but how are we to_get into his deserted castle ? the latch of_the door is so_far above our heads that none of us can reach it ."

they considered this problem for a while, and then Woot said to_the tin man:

" if I stand upon your shoulders, i_think I_can unlatch the door ."

" climb up, then," was_the reply, and when_the boy was perched upon_the tin shoulders of nick chopper, he_was just able to reach the latch and raise it .

at once the door swung open, its great hinges making agroaning sound as_if in protest, so Woot leaped down and followed his companions into a big, bare hallway . scarcely were the three inside, however, when_they heard the door slam shut behind them, and this astonished them because no one had touched it . it had closed of_its own accord, as_if by magic . moreover, the latch was on_the outside, and_the thought occurred to each one_of_them that_they were now prisoners in_this unknown castle .

" however," mumbled the Scarecrow, " we_are_not to blame for what cannot_be helped; so let_us push bravely ahead and_see what may_be seen ."

it_was quite dark in_the hallway, now that_the outside door was shut, so as_they stumbled along a stone passage they kept close together, not knowing what danger was likely to befall them .

suddenly a soft glow enveloped them . it grew brighter, until they_could see their surroundings distinctly . they had reached the end of_the passage and before them was another huge door . this noiselessly swung open before them, without the help of anyone, and through_the doorway they observed a big chamber, the walls of_which were lined with plates of pure gold, highly polished .

this room was also lighted, although they_could discover no lamps, and in_the center of it_was a great table at which sat an immense woman . she was clad in silver robes embroidered with gay floral designs, and wore over this splendid raiment a

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