"Softly, softly, your Majesty Don't go too fast," warned the General "My Nomes are good fighters, but strong enough to conquer the Emerald City "

" sure ? " asked the King

"Absolutely certain, your Majesty "

"Then what am I ? "

"Give up the idea and mind your own business," advised the General " plenty trying to rule your underground kingdom "

"But the Magic Belt--and I'm going it ! " roared the Nome King

"I'd like you get it," replied the General, laughing maliciously

The King was so exasperated that he picked up his scepter, which had heavy ball, made from sapphire, end of it, and threw it with all his force at General Blug The sapphire hit the General upon his forehead and knocked him flat ground, where he lay motionless Then the King rang his gong and told his guards to drag out the General and throw him away; which

This Nome King was named Roquat the Red, and no one loved him bad man and powerful monarch, and he had resolved to destroy the Land of Oz and its magnificent Emerald City, to enslave Princess Ozma and little Dorothy and all the Oz people, and recover his Magic Belt This same Belt had once enabled Roquat the Red to carry out many wicked plans; but that was before Ozma and her people marched underground cavern and captured it The Nome King forgive Dorothy or Princess Ozma, and he had determined revenged upon them

But they, for their part, know they had so dangerous an enemy Indeed, Ozma and Dorothy had both almost forgotten that such person Nome King yet lived under the mountains Land of Ev--which lay just across the deadly desert south Land of Oz

An unsuspected enemy is doubly dangerous

2 How Uncle Henry Got Into Trouble

Dorothy Gale lived on farm in Kansas, with her Aunt Em and her Uncle Henry not big farm, nor one, because sometimes the rain come crops needed it, and then everything withered and dried up Once cyclone had carried away Uncle Henry's house, obliged to build another; and as poor man he had to mortgage his farm the money new house Then his health became bad and too feeble to work The doctor ordered him sea voyage and he went to Australia and took Dorothy That cost lot of money, too

Uncle Henry grew poorer every year, crops raised farm only bought food family Therefore the mortgage paid At last the banker who had loaned him the money said that if on certain day, his farm taken away

This worried Uncle Henry , for without the farm no way to earn living good man, and worked field as hard as ; and Aunt Em did all the housework, with Dorothy's help Yet seem along

This little girl, Dorothy, was like dozens of little girls She was loving and usually sweet-tempered, and had round rosy face and earnest eyes Life was serious thing to Dorothy, and wonderful thing, too, for she had encountered more strange adventures in her short life than girls of her age

Aunt Em once said she thought the fairies marked Dorothy at her birth, because she had wandered into strange places and had always been protected by some unseen power As for Uncle Henry, he thought his little niece merely dreamer, as her dead mother , for quite believe all the curious stories Dorothy told them Land of Oz, which she had visited think that she tried to deceive her uncle and aunt, but he imagined that she had dreamed all astonishing adventures, and dreams so real to her that she had come them true

Whatever the explanation , certain that Dorothy absent from her Kansas home for several long periods, always disappearing unexpectedly, yet always coming back safe and sound, with amazing tales of where she unusual people she had met Her uncle and aunt listened to her stories eagerly and doubts began little girl had gained lot of experience and wisdom that were unaccountable age, when fairies are supposed no longer to exist

Most of Dorothy's stories were Land of Oz, with its beautiful Emerald City and lovely girl Ruler named Ozma, who most faithful friend little Kansas girl When Dorothy told riches fairy country Uncle Henry would sigh, for that single great emeralds that were so common there would pay all his debts and leave his farm free But Dorothy never brought any jewels home with her, so their poverty became greater every year

banker told Uncle Henry that pay the money in thirty days or leave the farm, the poor man was in despair, as possibly get the money So his wife, Aunt Em, trouble, and she first cried little and then said that brave and best , and go away somewhere and try to earn an honest living But they were getting old and feeble and she feared that take care of Dorothy had formerly done Probably the little girl would also be obliged to work

tell their niece the sad news for , not wishing her unhappy; but one morning the little girl found Aunt Em softly crying while Uncle Henry tried to comfort her Then Dorothy asked them her the matter

" give up the farm, my dear," replied her uncle sadly, "and wander away world to work living "

The girl listened quite seriously, for she known before how desperately poor they were

"We don't mind for ourselves," said her aunt, stroking the little girl's head tenderly; "but we love you as were our own child, and heart-broken that also endure poverty, and work for living have grown big and strong "

"What could to earn money ? " asked Dorothy

" do housework for some one, dear, so handy; or perhaps nurse-maid to little children I'm sure I don't know exactly what do to earn money, but if your uncle and I are able to support you willingly, and to school We fear, though, that much trouble in earning living for ourselves No one wants to employ old people broken down in health, "

Dorothy smiled

"Wouldn't it be funny," she said, " housework in Kansas, when I'm Princess Land of Oz ? "

"A Princess ! " they both exclaimed, astonished

"Yes; Ozma made me Princess , and she has often begged me and live always Emerald City," said the child

Her uncle and aunt looked at her in amazement Then the man said:

" suppose manage to return to your fairyland, my dear ? "

"Oh yes," replied Dorothy; " easily "

"How ? " asked Aunt Em

"Ozma sees me every day at four o'clock, in her Magic Picture She me wherever , no matter what doing And , if I make certain secret sign, she will send Magic Belt, which I once captured Nome King Then, wink of an eye, with Ozma in her palace "

The elder people remained silent for after Dorothy had spoken Finally, Aunt Em said, with another sigh of regret:

"If case, Dorothy, perhaps you'd better go and live Emerald City break our hearts to lose you lives, but better off with your fairy friends seems wisest and best "

"I'm not so sure ," remarked Uncle Henry, shaking his gray head doubtfully "These things all seem real to Dorothy, ; but I'm afraid our little girl won't find her fairyland just what she had dreamed it It would make me very unhappy that she was wandering among strangers unkind to her "

Dorothy laughed merrily speech, and then she became very sober again, for she how all this trouble was worrying her aunt and uncle, and knew that unless she found way to help them their future lives quite miserable and unhappy She knew that help them She had thought of way already Yet she tell them at once what , because ask Ozma's consent before she to carry out her plans

So she only said:

" promise not to worry bit about me, I'll go Land of Oz this very afternoon And I'll make promise, too; that you shall both see me again day comes must leave this farm "

"The day isn't far away, now," her uncle sadly replied " tell you trouble until obliged to, dear Dorothy, so the evil time is near at hand But your fairy friends will home, best , aunt says "

That was why Dorothy went to her little room attic that afternoon, taking with her small dog named Toto The dog had curly black hair and big brown eyes and loved Dorothy very dearly