Oz 12: The Tin Woodman of Oz by L. Frank Baum
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by his friend Jinjur, so they increased their speed and hurried toward it .

on reaching the place, how ever, they found the house deserted . the front door stood open, but no one was inside . in_the garden surrounding the house were neat rows of bushes bearing cream-puffs and macaroons, some of_which were still green, but others ripe and ready to eat . farther back were fields of caramels, and all the land seemed well cultivated and carefully tended . they looked through_the fields for_the girl farmer, but she was nowhere to_be seen .

" well," finally remarked the little brown bear, " let_us go into_the house and make ourselves at home . that_will_be sure to_please my friend Jinjur, who happens to_be away from home just now . when she returns, she will_be greatly surprised ."

" would she care if I ate some_of_those ripe cream- puffs ? " asked the green monkey .

" no, indeed; Jinjur is very generous . help yourself to all you_want," said the Scarecrow bear .

so Woot gathered alot of_the cream-puffs that were golden yellow and filled with a sweet, creamy substance, and ate until his hunger was satisfied . then he entered the house with_his friends and sat in arocking- chair -- just as he_was accustomed to_do when a boy . the canary perched herself upon_the mantel and daintily plumed her feathers; the tin owl sat on_the back of another chair; the Scarecrow squatted on_his hairy haunches in_the middle of_the room .

"I believe I remember the girl Jinjur," remarked the canary, in her sweet voice ." she_cannot help_us very_much, except to direct us on_our way to Glinda's castle, for she does_not understand magic . but she's a good girl, honest and sensible, and I'll be_glad_to_see her ."

" all our troubles," said the owl with a deep sigh, "arose from my foolish resolve to seek Nimmie Amee and make her empress of_the Winkies, and while i_wish to reproach no one, I_must say that_it_was Woot the wanderer who put the notion into my head ."

" well, for_my part, I_am_glad he_did," responded the canary ." your journey resulted in saving me from_the Giantess, and had you not traveled to_the Yoop valley, i_would still be Mrs Yoop's prisoner . it_is much nicer to_be free, even though I still bear the enchanted form of a canary- bird ."

" do_you_think we_shall ever be_able to_get our proper forms back again ? " asked the green monkey earnestly .

polychrome did_not make reply at once to_this important question, but after a period of thoughtfulness she said:

" I_have_been taught to_believe that_there_is an antidote for every magic charm, yet Mrs Yoop insists that no power can alter her transformations .I realize_that my own fairy magic cannot do_it, although I_have thought that we sky Fairies have more power than is accorded to earth Fairies . the yookoohoo magic is admitted to_be very strange in its workings and different from_the magic usually practiced, but perhaps Glinda or Ozma may understand it better than I . in_them lies our only hope . unless they_can help_us, we_must remain forever as_we_are ."

"A canary- bird on a rainbow wouldn't be so bad," asserted the tin owl, winking and blinking with_his round tin eyes, " so if_you_can manage to_find your rainbow again you_need have little to worry about ."

" that's nonsense, friend chopper," exclaimed Woot ." I_know just how polychrome feels .a beautiful girl is much superior to a little yellow bird, and a boy -- such as i_was -- far better than a green monkey . neither of us can_be happy again unless we recover our rightful forms ."

" I_feel the same way," announced the stuffed bear ." what do_you suppose my friend the patchwork girl would think of me, if she saw me wearing this beastly shape ? "

" she'd laugh till she cried," admitted the tin owl ." for_my part, I'll have to_give up the notion of marrying Nimmie Amee, but I'll try not to let that make me unhappy . if_it's my duty, I'd like to_do my duty, but if magic prevents my getting married I'll flutter along all by_myself and be just as contented ."

their serious misfortunes made them all silent for a time, and as their thoughts were busy in dwelling upon_the evils with_which fate had burdened them, none noticed that Jinjur had suddenly appeared in_the doorway and was looking at them in astonishment . the next moment her astonishment changed to anger, for there, in her best rocking- chair, sat a green monkey .a great shiny owl perched upon another chair and a brown bear squatted upon her parlor rug .Jinjur did_not notice the canary, but she caught up abroomstick and dashed into_the room, shouting as she came:

" get out of here, you wild creatures ! how dare you enter my house ? "

with a blow of her broom she knocked the brown bear over, and_the tin owl tried to fly out of her reach and made a great clatter with_his tin wings . the green monkey was so startled by_the sudden attack that he sprang into_the fireplace -- where there_was fortunately no fire -- and tried to escape by climbing up the chimney . but he_found the opening too small, and so was forced to drop down again . then he crouched trembling in_the fireplace, his pretty green hair all blackened with soot and covered with ashes . from_this position Woot watched to_see what would happen next .

" stop, Jinjur -- stop ! " cried the brown bear, when_the broom again threatened him ."Don't you_know me ? I'm your old friend the Scarecrow ? "

" you're trying to deceive me, you naughty beast ! I_can_see plainly that you_are a bear, and a mighty poor specimen of a bear, too," retorted the girl .

" that's because I'm not properly stuffed," he assured her ." when Mrs Yoop transformed me, she didn't realize i_should_have more stuffing ."

" who_is Mrs Yoop ? " inquired Jinjur, pausing with_the broom still upraised .

"A Giantess in_the Gillikin country ."

"Oh; I begin to understand . and Mrs Yoop transformed you ? you_are really the famous Scarecrow of Oz ."

" i_was, Jinjur . just now I'm as you_see me -- a miserable little brown bear with a poor quality of stuffing . that tin owl is none other_than our dear tin woodman -- nick chopper, the emperor of_the Winkies -- while this green monkey is a nice little boy we recently became acquainted with, Woot the wanderer ."

" and I," said the canary, flying close to Jinjur, "am polychrome, the daughter of_the rainbow, in_the form of a bird ."

" goodness me ! " cried Jinjur, amazed; " that Giantess must_be a powerful sorceress, and as wicked as she_is powerful ."

" she's ayookoohoo," said polychrome ."Fortunately, we managed to escape from her castle, and we_are now on_our way to Glinda the good to_see if she possesses the power to restore us to our former shapes ."

" then I_must beg your pardons; all of you_must forgive me," said Jinjur, putting away the broom ." i_took you to_be alot of wild, unmannerly animals, as was quite natural . you_are very welcome to my home and I'm sorry I haven't the power to help_you out of your troubles . please use my house and all that I_have, as_if it were your own ."

at_this declaration of peace, the bear got upon his feet and_the owl resumed his perch upon_the chair and_the monkey crept out_of_the fireplace .Jinjur looked at Woot critically, and scowled .

" for a green monkey," said she, " you're the blackest creature I ever saw . and you'll get my nice clean room all dirty with soot and ashes . whatever possessed you to jump up the chimney ? "

"I -- i_was scared," explained Woot, somewhat ashamed .

" well, you_need renovating, and_that's what_will happen to_you, right away . come with me ! " she commanded .

" what_are you going to_do ? " asked Woot .

" give_you a good scrubbing," said Jinjur .

now, neither boys nor monkeys relish being scrubbed, so Woot shrank away from_the energetic girl, trembling fearfully . but Jinjur grabbed him by his paw and dragged him out to_the back yard, where, in_spite of_his whines and struggles, she plunged him into a tub of cold water and began to scrub him with a stiff brush and a cake of yellow soap .

this_was the hardest trial that Woot had endured since he became a monkey, but no protest had any influence with Jinjur, who lathered and scrubbed him in a business- like manner and afterward dried him with a coarse towel .

the bear and_the owl gravely watched this operation and nodded approval when Woot's silky green fur shone clear and bright in_the afternoon sun . the canary seemed much amused and laughed a silvery ripple of laughter as she said:

" very_well done, my good Jinjur; I admire your energy and judgment . but I had no idea a monkey could look so comical as_this monkey did while he_was being bathed ."

"I'm not a monkey ! " declared Woot, resentfully; "I'm just a boy in a monkey's shape, that's all ."

" if_you_can explain to_me the difference," said Jinjur, "I'll agree not to wash you again -- that_is, unless you foolishly get into_the fireplace . all persons are usually judged by_the shapes in_which they appear to_the eyes of others . look at me, Woot; what am I ? "

Woot looked at her .

" you're as pretty a girl as I've ever seen," he replied .

Jinjur frowned . that_is, she tried hard to frown .

" come out into_the garden with me," she said, " and I'll give_you some_of_the most delicious caramels you ever ate . they're a new variety, that no one can grow but me, and they_have a heliotrope flavor ."

chapter Twelve

Ozma and Dorothy

in her magnificent palace in_the emerald city, the beautiful girl ruler of all the wonderful land of Oz sat in her dainty boudoir with her friend princess Dorothy beside her .Ozma was studying a roll of manuscript which she had taken from_the royal library, while Dorothy worked at her embroidery and at times stooped to pat a shaggy little black dog that lay at her feet . the little dog's name was Toto, and he_was Dorothy's faithful companion .

to judge Ozma of Oz by_the standards of_our world, you_would think her very young -- perhaps fourteen or fifteen years_of_age -- yet for years she had ruled the land of Oz and had never seemed a bit older . Dorothy appeared much younger than Ozma . she had_been a little girl when first she came to_the land of Oz, and she was a little girl still, and would never seem_to_be a day older while she lived in_this wonderful fairyland .

Oz was not always a fairyland, I_am told . once it_was much like other lands, except it_was shut in by a dreadful desert of sandy wastes that lay all around it, thus preventing its people from all contact with_the rest of_the world .Seeing this isolation, the fairy band of queen Lurline, passing over Oz while on a journey, enchanted the country and so made it a fairyland . and queen Lurline left one of her fairies to rule this enchanted land of Oz, and then passed on and forgot all about_it .

from_that moment no one in Oz ever died . those who were old remained old; those who were young and strong did_not change as years passed them by; the children remained children always, and played and romped to_their hearts' content, while all the babies lived in their cradles and were tenderly cared for and never grew up . so people in Oz stopped counting how old they were in years, for years made no difference in their appearance and could_not alter their station . they_did_not get sick, so there were no doctors among them .Accidents might happen to some, on rare occasions, it_is true, and while no one could die naturally, as other people do, it_was possible that one might_be totally destroyed . such incidents, however, were very unusual, and so seldom was there anything to worry over that_the Oz people were as happy and contented as can_be .

another strange thing about_this fairy land of Oz was_that whoever managed to enter it from_the outside world came under the magic spell of_the place and did_not change in appearance as long as_they lived there . so Dorothy, who now lived with Ozma, seemed just the same sweet little girl she had_been when first she came to_this delightful fairyland .

perhaps all parts of Oz might_not_be called truly delightful, but it_was surely delightful in_the neighborhood of_the emerald city, where Ozma reigned . her loving influence was felt for many miles around, but there were places in_the mountains of_the Gillikin country, and_the forests of_the Quadling country, and perhaps in far- away parts of_the Munchkin and Winkie Countries, where the inhabitants were somewhat rude and uncivilized and had_not yet come under the spell of Ozma's wise and kindly rule . also, when Oz first became a fairyland, it harbored several witches and magicians and sorcerers and necromancers, who were scattered in various parts, but most of_these had_been deprived of_their magic powers, and Ozma had issued a royal edict forbidding anyone in her dominions to work magic except Glinda the good and_the wizard of Oz .Ozma herself, being a real fairy, knew alot of magic, but she only used it to benefit her subjects .

this little explanation will help_you to understand better the story you_are reaching, but most of it_is already known to_those who_are familiar with_the Oz people whose adventures they_have followed in other Oz books .

Ozma and Dorothy were fast friends and were much together . everyone in Oz loved Dorothy almost as_well as_they_did their lovely ruler, for_the little Kansas girl's good

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