Oz 01: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
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cried, "Oh, my ! " just as_the Scarecrow had done .

then Toto came up, and immediately began to bark, but Dorothy made him be still .

the lion climbed the ladder next, and_the tin woodman came last; but both of_them cried, "Oh, my ! " as_soon_as they looked over the wall . when_they were all sitting in a row on_the top of_the wall, they looked down and saw a strange sight .

before them was a great stretch of country having a floor as smooth and shining and white as_the bottom of a big platter . scattered around were many houses made entirely of china and painted in_the brightest colors . these houses were quite small, the biggest of_them reaching only as high as Dorothy's waist . there were also pretty little barns, with china fences around them; and many cows and sheep and horses and pigs and chickens, all made of china, were standing about in groups .

but the strangest of all were the people who lived in_this queer country . there were milkmaids and shepherdesses, with brightly colored bodices and golden spots all over their gowns; and princesses with most gorgeous frocks of silver and gold and purple; and shepherds dressed in knee breeches with pink and yellow and blue stripes down them, and golden buckles on their shoes; and princes with jeweled crowns upon their heads, wearing ermine robes and satin doublets; and funny clowns in ruffled gowns, with round red spots upon their cheeks and tall, pointed caps . and, strangest of all, these people were all made of china, even to_their clothes, and were so small that_the tallest of_them was no higher than Dorothy's knee .

no one did so_much as look at_the travelers at first, except one little purple china dog with an extra- large head, which came to_the wall and barked at them in a tiny voice, afterwards running away again .

" how shall we get down ? " asked Dorothy .

they found the ladder so heavy they_could_not pull it up, so the Scarecrow fell off the wall and_the others jumped down upon him so that_the hard floor would_not hurt their feet . of_course they took pains not to light on_his head and get the pins in their feet . when all were safely down they picked up the Scarecrow, whose body was quite flattened out, and patted his straw into shape again .

" we_must cross this strange place in_order to_get to_the other side," said Dorothy, " for_it would_be unwise for_us to_go any_other way except due south ."

they began walking through_the country of_the china people, and_the first thing they came to was a china milkmaid milking a china cow . as_they drew near, the cow suddenly gave a kick and kicked over the stool, the pail, and even the milkmaid herself, and all fell on_the china ground with a great clatter .

Dorothy was shocked to_see that_the cow had broken her leg off, and_that the pail was lying in several small pieces, while the poor milkmaid had a nick in her left elbow .

" there ! " cried the milkmaid angrily ." see what you have_done ! my cow has broken her leg, and I_must take her to_the mender's shop and_have it glued on again . what do_you_mean by coming here and frightening my cow ? "

"I'm very sorry," returned Dorothy ." please forgive us ."

but the pretty milkmaid was much too vexed to_make any answer . she picked up the leg sulkily and led her cow away, the poor animal limping on three legs . as she left them the milkmaid cast many reproachful glances over her shoulder at_the clumsy strangers, holding her nicked elbow close to her side .

Dorothy was quite grieved at_this mishap .

" we_must_be very careful here," said the kind-hearted woodman, " or we_may hurt these pretty little people so they_will never get over it ."

a little farther on Dorothy met a most beautifully dressed young princess, who stopped short as she saw the strangers and started to run away .

Dorothy wanted to_see more of_the princess, so she ran after her . but the china girl cried out:

"Don't chase me ! Don't chase me ! "

she had such a frightened little voice that Dorothy stopped and said, " why_not ? "

" because," answered the princess, also stopping, a safe distance away, " if I run I_may fall down and break myself ."

" but could you not be mended ? " asked the girl .

"Oh, yes; but one is never so pretty after being mended, you_know," replied the princess .

"I suppose not," said Dorothy .

" now there_is Mr joker, one_of_our clowns," continued the china lady, " who_is always trying to stand upon his head . he has broken himself so often that he_is mended in a hundred places, and doesn't look at all pretty . here he comes now, so you_can see for_yourself ."

indeed, a jolly little clown came walking toward them, and Dorothy could_see that in_spite of_his pretty clothes of red and yellow and green he_was completely covered with cracks, running every which_way and showing plainly that he had_been mended in many places .

the clown put his hands in_his pockets, and after puffing out his cheeks and nodding his head at them saucily, he_said:

" my lady fair, why do_you stare at poor old Mr joker ? you're quite as stiff and prim as if_you'd eaten up a poker ! "

" be quiet, sir ! " said the princess ." can't you_see these are strangers, and should_be treated with respect ? "

" well, that's respect, I expect," declared the clown, and immediately stood upon his head .

"Don't mind Mr joker," said the princess to Dorothy ." he_is considerably cracked in_his head, and_that makes him foolish ."

"Oh, I don't mind him a bit," said Dorothy ." but you_are so beautiful," she continued, " that I_am_sure I_could love you dearly . won't you let me carry you back to Kansas, and stand you on aunt Em's mantel ? I_could carry you in my basket ."

" that_would make me very unhappy," answered the china princess ." you_see, here in_our country we live contentedly, and can talk and move around as_we please . but whenever any of us are taken away our joints at once stiffen, and we_can only stand straight and look pretty . of_course that_is all that_is expected of us when we_are on mantels and cabinets and drawing- room tables, but our lives are much pleasanter here in_our own country ."

" i_would_not make you unhappy for all the world ! " exclaimed Dorothy ." so I'll just say good-bye ."

" good-bye," replied the princess .

they walked carefully through_the china country . the little animals and all the people scampered out of_their way, fearing the strangers would break them, and after an hour or so the travelers reached the other side of_the country and came to another china wall .

it_was not so high as_the first, however, and by standing upon_the lion's back they all managed to scramble to_the top . then the lion gathered his legs under him and jumped on_the wall; but just as he jumped, he upset a china church with_his tail and smashed it all to pieces .

" that was too bad," said Dorothy, " but really i_think we were lucky in not doing these little people more harm than breaking acow's leg and a church . they_are all so brittle ! "

" they_are, indeed," said the Scarecrow, " and I_am thankful I_am made of straw and cannot_be easily damaged . there_are worse things in_the_world than being aScarecrow ."

21 . the lion Becomes the king of Beasts

after climbing down from_the china wall the travelers found themselves in a disagreeable country, full of bogs and marshes and covered with tall, rank grass . it_was difficult to walk without falling into muddy holes, for_the grass was so thick that_it hid them from sight . however, by carefully picking their way, they got safely along until they reached solid ground . but here the country seemed wilder than ever, and after a long and tiresome walk through_the underbrush they entered another forest, where the trees were bigger and older than any they had ever seen .

" this forest is perfectly delightful," declared the lion, looking around him with joy ." never have I seen a more beautiful place ."

" it seems gloomy," said the Scarecrow .

" not a bit of it," answered the lion ." i_should like to live here all my life . see how soft the dried leaves are under your feet and how rich and green the moss is_that clings to_these old trees . surely no wild beast could wish apleasanter home ."

" perhaps there_are wild beasts in_the forest now," said Dorothy .

"I suppose there_are," returned the lion, " but I_do_not_see any of_them about ."

they walked through_the forest until it became too dark to_go any farther . Dorothy and Toto and_the lion lay down to sleep, while the woodman and_the Scarecrow kept watch over them as usual .

when morning came, they started again . before_they had gone far they heard a low rumble, as of_the growling of many wild animals .Toto whimpered a little, but none_of_the others was frightened, and_they kept along the well-trodden path until they came to an opening in_the wood, in_which were gathered hundreds of beasts of every variety . there were tigers and elephants and bears and wolves and foxes and all the others in_the natural history, and for a moment Dorothy was afraid . but the lion explained that_the animals were holding ameeting, and he judged by their snarling and growling that_they were in great trouble .

as he spoke several of_the beasts caught sight of him, and at once the great assemblage hushed as_if by magic . the biggest of_the tigers came up_to_the lion and bowed, saying:

" welcome, O king of Beasts ! you_have come in good_time to fight our enemy and bring peace to all the animals of_the forest once more ."

" what_is your trouble ? " asked the lion quietly .

" we_are all threatened," answered the tiger, " by a fierce enemy which_has lately come into_this forest . it_is a most tremendous monster, like a great spider, with a body as big as an elephant and legs as long as a tree trunk . it has eight of_these long legs, and as_the monster crawls through_the forest he seizes an animal with a leg and drags it to_his mouth, where he eats it as a spider does a fly . not one of us is safe while this fierce creature is alive, and we had called ameeting to decide how to_take care of ourselves when_you came among us ."

the lion thought for a moment .

" are there any_other lions in_this forest ? " he asked .

" no; there were some, but the monster has eaten them all . and, besides, they were none_of_them nearly so large and brave as_you ."

" if I put an end to your enemy, will_you bow down to_me and obey me as king of_the forest ? " inquired the lion .

" we_will do_that gladly," returned the tiger; and all the other beasts roared with a mighty roar: " we_will ! "

" where is_this great spider of yours now ? " asked the lion .

" yonder, among_the oak trees," said the tiger, pointing with_his forefoot .

" take good care of_these friends of_mine," said the lion, " and_I_will go at once to fight the monster ."

he bade his comrades good-bye and marched proudly away to_do battle with_the enemy .

the great spider was lying asleep when_the lion found him, and it looked so ugly that its foe turned up his nose in disgust . its legs were quite as long as_the tiger had said, and its body covered with coarse black hair . it had a great mouth, with a row of sharp teeth a foot long; but its head was joined to_the pudgy body by a neck as slender as a wasp's waist . this gave the lion a hint of_the best way to attack the creature, and as he_knew it_was easier to fight it asleep than awake, he_gave a great spring and landed directly upon_the monster's back . then, with one blow of_his heavy paw, all armed with sharp claws, he knocked the spider's head from its body .Jumping down, he watched it until the long legs stopped wiggling, when he_knew it_was quite dead .

the lion went back to_the opening where the beasts of_the forest were waiting for him and said proudly:

" you_need fear your enemy no longer ."

then the beasts bowed down to_the lion as their king, and he promised to_come back and rule over them as_soon_as Dorothy was safely on her way to Kansas .

22 . the country of_the Quadlings

the four travelers passed through_the rest of_the forest in safety, and when_they came out from its gloom saw before them a steep hill, covered from top to bottom with great pieces of rock .

" that_will_be a hard climb," said the Scarecrow, " but we_must get over the hill, nevertheless ."

so he led the way and_the others followed . they had nearly reached the first rock when_they heard a rough voice cry out, " keep back ! "

" who_are you ? " asked the Scarecrow .

then a head showed itself over the rock and_the same voice said, " this hill belongs to_us, and we don't allow anyone to cross it ."

" but we_must cross it," said the Scarecrow ." we're going

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