Oz 12: The Tin Woodman of Oz by L. Frank Baum
Section [1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19]
when suddenly an enormous jaguar leaped upon them from a limb and with one blow of_his paw sent the little brown bear tumbling over and over until he_was stopped by a tree- trunk . instantly they all took alarm . the tin owl shrieked: "Hoot -- hoot ! " and flew straight up_to_the branch of a tall tree, although he_could scarcely see where he_was going . the canary swiftly darted to a place beside the owl, and_the green monkey sprang up, caught a limb, and soon scrambled to a high perch of safety .

the jaguar crouched low and with hungry eyes regarded the little brown bear, which slowly got upon its feet and asked reproachfully:

" for goodness' sake, beast, what were you trying to_do ? "

"Trying to_get my breakfast," answered the jaguar with a snarl, " and I believe I've succeeded . you ought to_make a delicious meal -- unless you happen to_be old and tough ."

"I'm worse than that, considered as a breakfast," said the bear, " for I'm only a skin stuffed with straw, and therefore not fit to eat ."

" indeed ! " cried the jaguar, in adisappointed voice; " then you_must_be a magic bear, or enchanted, and I_must seek my breakfast from among your companions ."

with_this he raised his lean head to look up at_the tin owl and_the canary and_the monkey, and he lashed his tail upon_the ground and growled as fiercely as any jaguar could .

" my friends are enchanted, also," said the little brown bear .

" all of_them ? " asked the jaguar .

" yes . the owl is tin, so you couldn't possibly eat him . the canary is a fairy -- polychrome, the daughter of_the rainbow -- and you never could catch her because she_can easily fly out of your reach ."

" there still remains the green monkey," remarked the jaguar hungrily ." he_is neither made of tin nor stuffed with straw, nor can he fly .I'm pretty good at climbing trees, myself, so i_think I'll capture the monkey and eat him for_my breakfast ."

Woot the monkey, hearing this speech from_his perch on_the tree, became much frightened, for he_knew the nature of jaguars and realized they_could climb trees and leap from limb to limb with_the agility of cats . so he at once began to scamper through_the forest as fast as he_could go, catching at a branch with_his long monkey arms and swinging his green body through space to grasp another branch in aneighboring tree, and so on, while the jaguar followed him from below, his eyes fixed steadfastly on_his prey . but presently Woot got his feet tangled in_the lace apron, which he_was still wearing, and_that tripped him in_his flight and made him fall to_the ground, where the jaguar placed one huge paw upon him and said grimly: I've got you, now ! " the fact that_the apron had tripped him made Woot remember its magic powers, and in_his terror he cried out: " open ! " without stopping to consider how this command might save him . but, at_the word, the earth opened at_the exact spot where he lay under the jaguar's paw, and_his body sank downward, the earth closing over it again . the last thing Woot the monkey saw, as he glanced upward, was_the jaguar peering into_the hole in astonishment .

" he's gone ! " cried the beast, with a long- drawn sigh of disappointment; " he's gone, and now I_shall_have no breakfast ."

the clatter of_the tin owl's wings sounded above him, and_the little brown bear came trotting up and asked:

" where is_the monkey ? have_you eaten him so quickly ? "

" no, indeed," answered the jaguar ." he disappeared into_the earth before I_could take one bite of him ! "

and now the canary perched upon a stump, a little way from_the forest beast, and said:

" I_am_glad our friend has escaped you; but, as_it_is natural for a hungry beast to wish his breakfast, i_will try to_give_you one ."

" thank_you," replied the jaguar ." you're rather small for a full meal, but it's kind of you to sacrifice yourself to my appetite ."

"Oh, I don't intend to_be eaten, I assure you," said the canary, " but as I_am a fairy I_know something of magic, and though I_am now transformed into a bird's shape, I_am_sure I_can conjure up a breakfast that_will satisfy you ."

" if_you_can work magic, why don't you break the enchantment you_are under and return to your proper form ? " inquired the beast doubtingly .

"I haven't the power to do_that," answered the canary, " for_Mrs Yoop, the Giantess who transformed me, used a peculiar form of yookoohoo magic that_is unknown to_me . however, she_could_not deprive me of_my own fairy knowledge, so i_will try to_get you a breakfast ."

" do_you_think a magic breakfast would taste good, or relieve the pangs of hunger I now suffer ? " asked the jaguar .

" I_am_sure it would . what would you like to eat ? "

" give_me a couple of fat rabbits," said the beast .

"Rabbits ! no, indeed .I'd not allow you to eat the dear little things," declared polychrome the canary .

" well, three or four squirrels, then," pleaded the jaguar .

" do_you_think me so cruel ? " demanded the canary, indignantly ." the squirrels are my especial friends ."

" how about a plump owl ? " asked the beast ." not a tin one, you_know, but a real meat owl ."

" neither beast nor bird shall you_have," said polychrome in a positive voice .

" give_me a fish, then; there's a river a little way off," proposed the jaguar .

" no living thing shall be sacrificed to feed you," returned the canary .

" then what in_the_world do_you expect me to eat ? " said the jaguar in a scornful tone .

" how would mush- and- milk do ? " asked the canary .

the jaguar snarled in derision and lashed his tail against the ground angrily

" give him some scrambled eggs on toast, Poly," suggested the bear Scarecrow ." he ought to like that ."

" i_will," responded the canary, and fluttering her wings she made a flight of three circles around the stump . then she flew up_to a tree and_the bear and_the owl and_the jaguar saw that upon_the stump had appeared a great green leaf upon_which was a large portion of scrambled eggs on toast, smoking hot .

" there ! " said the bear; " eat your breakfast, friend jaguar, and be content ."

the jaguar crept closer to_the stump and sniffed the fragrance of_the scrambled eggs . they smelled so good that he tasted them, and_they tasted so good that he ate the strange meal in a hurry, proving he had_been really hungry .

"I prefer rabbits," he muttered, licking his chops, " but I_must admit the magic breakfast has filled my stomach full, and brought me comfort . so I'm much obliged for_the kindness, little fairy, and I'll now leave you in peace ."

Saying this, he plunged into_the thick underbrush and soon disappeared, although they_could hear his great body crashing through_the bushes until he_was far distant .

" that was a good way to_get rid of_the savage beast, Poly," said the tin woodman to_the canary; " but I'm surprised that you didn't give our friend Woot a magic breakfast, when_you knew he_was hungry ."

" the reason for_that," answered polychrome, " was_that my mind was so intent on other things that I quite forgot my power to_produce food by magic . but where is_the monkey boy ? "

" gone ! " said the Scarecrow bear, solemnly ." the earth has swallowed him up ."

chapter Nine

the quarrelsome Dragons

the green monkey sank gently into_the earth for a little way and then tumbled swiftly through space, landing on a rocky floor with a thump that astonished him . then he sat up, found that no bones were broken, and gazed around him .

he_seemed to_be in a big underground cave, which_was dimly lighted by dozens of big round discs that looked like moons . they were_not moons, however, as Woot discovered when he had examined the place more carefully . they were eyes . the eyes were in_the heads of enormous beasts whose bodies trailed far behind them . each beast was bigger than an elephant, and three times as long, and there were a dozen or more of_the creatures scattered here and there about_the cavern . on their bodies were big scales, as round as pie-plates, which were beautifully tinted in shades of green, purple and orange . on_the ends of_their long tails were clusters of jewels . around the great, moon- like eyes were circles of diamonds which sparkled in_the subdued light that glowed from_the eyes .

Woot saw that_the creatures had wide mouths and rows of terrible teeth and, from tales he had heard of_such beings, he_knew he had fallen into a cavern inhabited by_the great Dragons that had_been driven from_the surface of_the earth and were only allowed to_come out once in a hundred years to search for food . of_course he had never seen Dragons before, yet there_was no mistaking them, for they were unlike any_other living creatures .

Woot sat upon_the floor where he had fallen, staring around, and_the owners of_the big eyes returned his look, silently and motionless . finally one_of_the Dragons which_was farthest away from_him asked, in a deep, grave voice:

" what_was that ? "

and_the greatest dragon of all, who was just in front of_the green monkey, answered in a still deeper voice:

" it_is some foolish animal from outside ."

" is_it good to eat ? " inquired a smaller dragon beside the great one ."I'm hungry ."

" hungry ! " exclaimed all the Dragons, in a reproachful chorus; and then the great one said chidingly: "Tut- tut, my son ! you've no reason to_be hungry at_this_time ."

" why_not ? " asked the little dragon ."I haven't eaten anything in eleven years ."

"Eleven years is nothing," remarked another dragon, sleepily opening and closing his eyes; "I haven't feasted for eighty-seven years, and I dare not get hungry for a dozen or so years to_come . children who eat between meals should_be broken of_the habit ."

" all I had, eleven years_ago, was a rhinoceros, and_that's not a full meal at all," grumbled the young one ." and, before_that, I had waited sixty- two years to_be fed; so it's no wonder I'm hungry ."

" how old are_you now ? " asked Woot, forgetting his own dangerous position in_his interest in_the conversation .

" why, I'm -- I'm -- how old am I, father ? " asked the little dragon .

" goodness gracious ! what a child to ask questions . do_you_want to_keep me thinking all the time ? Don't you_know that thinking is very bad for Dragons ? " returned the big one, impatiently .

" how old am I, father ? " persisted the small dragon .

" about six hundred and thirty, I believe . ask your mother ."

" no; don't ! " said an old dragon in_the background; " haven't I enough worries, what with being wakened in_the middle of a nap, without being obliged to_keep track of_my children's ages ? "

" you've been fast asleep for over sixty years, mother," said the child dragon ." how long a nap do_you wish ? "

" i_should_have slept forty years longer . and this strange little green beast should_be punished for falling into our cavern and disturbing us ."

"I didn't know you were here, and I didn't know i_was going to_fall in," explained Woot .

" nevertheless, here you_are," said the great dragon, " and you_have carelessly wakened our entire tribe; so it stands to reason you_must_be punished ."

" in what way ? " inquired the green monkey, trembling a little .

" give_me time and I'll think of a way . you're in no hurry, are_you ? " asked the great dragon .

" no, indeed," cried Woot ." take your time .I'd much rather you'd all go to sleep again, and punish me when_you wake up in a hundred years or so ."

" let me eat him ! " pleaded the littlest dragon .

" he_is too small," said the father ." to eat this_one green monkey would only serve to_make you hungry for more, and there_are no more ."

" quit this chatter and let me get to sleep," protested another dragon, yawning in a fearful manner, for when he opened his mouth a sheet of flame leaped forth from_it and made Woot jump back to_get out of_its way .

in_his jump he bumped against the nose of a dragon behind him, which opened its mouth to growl and shot another sheet of flame at him . the flame was bright, but not very hot, yet Woot screamed with terror and sprang forward with a great bound . this_time he landed on_the paw of_the great chief dragon, who angrily raised his other front paw and struck the green monkey a fierce blow .Woot went sailing through_the air and fell sprawling upon_the rocky floor far beyond the place where the dragon tribe was grouped .

all the great beasts were now thoroughly wakened and aroused, and_they blamed the monkey for disturbing their quiet . the littlest dragon darted after Woot and_the others turned their unwieldy bodies in_his direction and followed, flashing from their eyes and mouths flames which lighted up the entire cavern .Woot almost gave himself up for lost, at_that moment, but he scrambled to_his feet and dashed away to_the farthest end of_the cave, the Dragons following more leisurely because they were too clumsy to move fast . perhaps they thought there_was no need of haste, as_the monkey could_not escape from_the cave . but, away up at_the end of_the place, the cavern floor was heaped with tumbled rocks,

Section [1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19]