Ozma of Oz o-3 Page 10

  “You don’t understand,” retorted the little monarch, nervously. “Eggs belong only to the outside world – to the world on the earth’s surface, where you came from. Here, in my underground kingdom, they are rank poison, as I said, and we Nomes can’t bear them around.”

  “Well, you’ll have to bear this one around,” declared Billina; “for I’ve laid it.”

  “Where?” asked the King.

  “Under your throne,” said the hen.

  The King jumped three feet into the air, so anxious was he to get away from the throne.

  “Take it away! Take it away at once!” he shouted.

  “I can’t,” said Billina. “I haven’t any hands.”

  “I’ll take the egg,” said the Scarecrow. “I’m making a collection of Billina’s eggs. There’s one in my pocket now, that she laid yesterday.”

  Hearing this, the monarch hastened to put a good distance between himself and the Scarecrow, who was about to reach under the throne for the egg when the hen suddenly cried:

  “Stop!”

  “What’s wrong?” asked the Scarecrow.

  “Don’t take the egg unless the King will allow me to enter the palace and guess as the others have done,” said Billina.

  “Pshaw!” returned the King. “You’re only a hen. How could you guess my enchantments?”

  “I can try, I suppose,” said Billina. “And, if I fail, you will have another ornament.”

  “A pretty ornament you’d make, wouldn’t you?” growled the King. “But you shall have your way. It will properly punish you for daring to lay an egg in my presence. After the Scarecrow is enchanted you shall follow him into the palace. But how will you touch the objects?”

  “With my claws,” said the hen; “and I can speak the word ‘Ev’ as plainly as anyone. Also I must have the right to guess the enchantments of my friends, and to release them if I succeed.”

  “Very well,” said the King. “You have my promise.”

  “Then,” said Billina to the Scarecrow, “you may get the egg.”

  He knelt down and reached underneath the throne and found the egg, which he placed in another pocket of his jacket, fearing that if both eggs were in one pocket they would knock together and get broken.

  Just then a bell above the throne rang briskly, and the King gave another nervous jump.

  “Well, well!” said he, with a rueful face; “the girl has actually done it.”

  “Done what?” asked the Scarecrow.

  “She has made one guess that is right, and broken one of my neatest enchantments. By ricketty, it’s too bad! I never thought she would do it.”

  “Do I understand that she will now return to us in safety?” enquired the Scarecrow, joyfully wrinkling his painted face into a broad smile.

  “Of course,” said the King, fretfully pacing up and down the room. “I always keep my promises, no matter how foolish they are. But I shall make an ornament of the yellow hen to replace the one I have just lost.”

  “Perhaps you will, and perhaps you won’t,” murmured Billina, calmly. “I may surprise you by guessing right.”

  “Guessing right?” snapped the King. “How could you guess right, where your betters have failed, you stupid fowl?”

  Billina did not care to answer this question, and a moment later the doors flew open and Dorothy entered, leading the little Prince Evring by the hand.

  The Scarecrow welcomed the girl with a close embrace, and he would have embraced Evring, too, in his delight. But the little Prince was shy, and shrank away from the painted Scarecrow because he did not yet know his many excellent qualities.

  But there was little time for the friends to talk, because the Scarecrow must now enter the palace. Dorothy’s success had greatly encouraged him, and they both hoped he would manage to make at least one correct guess.

  However, he proved as unfortunate as the others except Dorothy, and although he took a good deal of time to select his objects, not one did the poor Scarecrow guess aright.

  So he became a solid gold card-receiver, and the beautiful but terrible palace awaited its next visitor.

  “It’s all over,” remarked the King, with a sigh of satisfaction; “and it has been a very amusing performance, except for the one good guess the Kansas girl made. I am richer by a great many pretty ornaments.”

  “It is my turn, now,” said Billina, briskly.

  “Oh, I’d forgotten you,” said the King. “But you needn’t go if you don’t wish to. I will be generous, and let you off.”

  “No you won’t,” replied the hen. “I insist upon having my guesses, as you promised.”

  “Then go ahead, you absurd feathered fool!” grumbled the King, and he caused the opening that led to the palace to appear once more.

  “Don’t go, Billina,” said Dorothy, earnestly. “It isn’t easy to guess those orn’ments, and only luck saved me from being one myself. Stay with me and we’ll go back to the Land of Ev together. I’m sure this little Prince will give us a home.”

  “Indeed I will,” said Evring, with much dignity.

  “Don’t worry, my dear,” cried Billina, with a cluck that was meant for a laugh. “I may not be human, but I’m no fool, if I AM a chicken.”

  “Oh, Billina!” said Dorothy, “you haven’t been a chicken in a long time. Not since you – you’ve been – grown up.”

  “Perhaps that’s true,” answered Billina, thoughtfully. “But if a Kansas farmer sold me to some one, what would he call me? – a hen or a chicken!”

  “You are not a Kansas farmer, Billina,” replied the girl, “and you said – ”

  “Never mind that, Dorothy. I’m going. I won’t say good-bye, because I’m coming back. Keep up your courage, for I’ll see you a little later.”

  Then Billina gave several loud “cluck-clucks” that seemed to make the fat little King MORE nervous than ever, and marched through the entrance into the enchanted palace.

  “I hope I’ve seen the last of THAT bird,” declared the monarch, seating himself again in his throne and mopping the perspiration from his forehead with his rock-colored handkerchief. “Hens are bothersome enough at their best, but when they can talk they’re simply dreadful.”

  “Billina’s my friend,” said Dorothy quietly. “She may not always be ‘zactly polite; but she MEANS well, I’m sure.”

  16. Purple, Green, and Gold

  The yellow hen, stepping high and with an air of vast importance, walked slowly over the rich velvet carpets of the splendid palace, examining everything she met with her sharp little eyes.

  Billina had a right to feel important; for she alone shared the Nome King’s secret and knew how to tell the objects that were transformations from those that had never been alive. She was very sure that her guesses would be correct, but before she began to make them she was curious to behold all the magnificence of this underground palace, which was perhaps one of the most splendid and beautiful places in any fairyland.

  As she went through the rooms she counted the purple ornaments; and although some were small and hidden in queer places, Billina spied them all, and found the entire ten scattered about the various rooms. The green ornaments she did not bother to count, for she thought she could find them all when the time came.

  Finally, having made a survey of the entire palace and enjoyed its splendor, the yellow hen returned to one of the rooms where she had noticed a large purple footstool. She placed a claw upon this and said “Ev,” and at once the footstool vanished and a lovely lady, tall and slender and most beautifully robed, stood before her.

  The lady’s eyes were round with astonishment for a moment, for she could not remember her transformation, nor imagine what had restored her to life.

  “Good morning, ma’am,” said Billina, in her sharp voice. “You’re looking quite well, considering your age.”

  “Who speaks?” demanded the Queen of Ev, drawing herself up proudly.

  “Why, my name’s Bill, by rights,” answered the hen, who was
now perched upon the back of a chair; “although Dorothy has put scollops on it and made it Billina. But the name doesn’t matter. I’ve saved you from the Nome King, and you are a slave no longer.”

  “Then I thank you for the gracious favor,” said the Queen, with a graceful courtesy. “But, my children – tell me, I beg of you – where are my children?” and she clasped her hands in anxious entreaty.

  “Don’t worry,” advised Billina, pecking at a tiny bug that was crawling over the chair back. “Just at present they are out of mischief and perfectly safe, for they can’t even wiggle.”

  “What mean you, O kindly stranger?” asked the Queen, striving to repress her anxiety.

  “They’re enchanted,” said Billina, “just as you have been – all, that is, except the little fellow Dorothy picked out. And the chances are that they have been good boys and girls for some time, because they couldn’t help it.”

  “Oh, my poor darlings!” cried the Queen, with a sob of anguish.

  “Not at all,” returned the hen. “Don’t let their condition make you unhappy, ma’am, because I’ll soon have them crowding ’round to bother and worry you as naturally as ever. Come with me, if you please, and I’ll show you how pretty they look.”

  She flew down from her perch and walked into the next room, the Queen following. As she passed a low table a small green grasshopper caught her eye, and instantly Billina pounced upon it and snapped it up in her sharp bill. For grasshoppers are a favorite food with hens, and they usually must be caught quickly, before they can hop away. It might easily have been the end of Ozma of Oz, had she been a real grasshopper instead of an emerald one. But Billina found the grasshopper hard and lifeless, and suspecting it was not good to eat she quickly dropped it instead of letting it slide down her throat.

  “I might have known better,” she muttered to herself, “for where there is no grass there can be no live grasshoppers. This is probably one of the King’s transformations.”

  A moment later she approached one of the purple ornaments, and while the Queen watched her curiously the hen broke the Nome King’s enchantment and a sweet-faced girl, whose golden hair fell in a cloud over her shoulders, stood beside them.

  “Evanna!” cried the Queen, “my own Evanna!” and she clasped the girl to her bosom and covered her face with kisses.

  “That’s all right,” said Billina, contentedly. “Am I a good guesser, Mr. Nome King? Well, I guess!”

  Then she disenchanted another girl, whom the Queen addressed as Evrose, and afterwards a boy named Evardo, who was older than his brother Evring. Indeed, the yellow hen kept the good Queen exclaiming and embracing for some time, until five Princesses and four Princes, all looking very much alike except for the difference in size, stood in a row beside their happy mother.

  The Princesses were named, Evanna, Evrose, Evella, Evirene and Evedna, while the Princes were Evrob, Evington, Evardo and Evroland. Of these Evardo was the eldest and would inherit his father’s throne and be crowned King of Ev when he returned to his own country. He was a grave and quiet youth, and would doubtless rule his people wisely and with justice.

  Billina, having restored all of the royal family of Ev to their proper forms, now began to select the green ornaments which were the transformations of the people of Oz. She had little trouble in finding these, and before long all the twenty-six officers, as well as the private, were gathered around the yellow hen, joyfully congratulating her upon their release. The thirty-seven people who were now alive in the rooms of the palace knew very well that they owed their freedom to the cleverness of the yellow hen, and they were earnest in thanking her for saving them from the magic of the Nome King.

  “Now,” said Billina, “I must find Ozma. She is sure to be here, somewhere, and of course she is green, being from Oz. So look around, you stupid soldiers, and help me in my search.”

  For a while, however, they could discover nothing more that was green. But the Queen, who had kissed all her nine children once more and could now find time to take an interest in what was going on, said to the hen:

  “Mayhap, my gentle friend, it is the grasshopper whom you seek.”

  “Of course it’s the grasshopper!” exclaimed Billina. “I declare, I’m nearly as stupid as these brave soldiers. Wait here for me, and I’ll go back and get it.”

  So she went into the room where she had seen the grasshopper, and presently Ozma of Oz, as lovely and dainty as ever, entered and approached the Queen of Ev, greeting her as one high born princess greets another.

  “But where are my friends, the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman?” asked the girl Ruler, when these courtesies had been exchanged.

  “I’ll hunt them up,” replied Billina. “The Scarecrow is solid gold, and so is Tiktok; but I don’t exactly know what the Tin Woodman is, because the Nome King said he had been transformed into something funny.”

  Ozma eagerly assisted the hen in her quest, and soon the Scarecrow and the machine man, being ornaments of shining gold, were discovered and restored to their accustomed forms. But, search as they might, in no place could they find a funny ornament that might be the transformation of the Tin Woodman.

  “Only one thing can be done,” said Ozma, at last, “and that is to return to the Nome King and oblige him to tell us what has become of our friend.”

  “Perhaps he won’t,” suggested Billina.

  “He must,” returned Ozma, firmly. “The King has not treated us honestly, for under the mask of fairness and good nature he entrapped us all, and we would have been forever enchanted had not our wise and clever friend, the yellow hen, found a way to save us.”

  “The King is a villain,” declared the Scarecrow.

  “His laugh is worse than another man’s frown,” said the private, with a shudder.

  “I thought he was hon-est, but I was mis-tak-en,” remarked Tiktok. “My thoughts are us-u-al-ly cor-rect, but it is Smith & Tin-ker’s fault if they some-times go wrong or do not work prop-er-ly.”

  “Smith & Tinker made a very good job of you,” said Ozma, kindly. “I do not think they should be blamed if you are not quite perfect.”

  “Thank you,” replied Tiktok.

  “Then,” said Billina, in her brisk little voice, “let us all go back to the Nome King, and see what he has to say for himself.”

  So they started for the entrance, Ozma going first, with the Queen and her train of little Princes and Princesses following. Then came Tiktok, and the Scarecrow with Billina perched upon his straw-stuffed shoulder. The twenty-seven officers and the private brought up the rear.

  As they reached the hall the doors flew open before them; but then they all stopped and stared into the domed cavern with faces of astonishment and dismay. For the room was filled with the mail-clad warriors of the Nome King, rank after rank standing in orderly array. The electric lights upon their brows gleamed brightly, their battle-axes were poised as if to strike down their foes; yet they remained motionless as statues, awaiting the word of command.

  And in the center of this terrible army sat the little King upon his throne of rock. But he neither smiled nor laughed. Instead, his face was distorted with rage, and most dreadful to behold.

  17. The Scarecrow Wins the Fight

  After Billina had entered the palace Dorothy and Evring sat down to await the success or failure of her mission, and the Nome King occupied his throne and smoked his long pipe for a while in a cheerful and contented mood.

  Then the bell above the throne, which sounded whenever an enchantment was broken, began to ring, and the King gave a start of annoyance and exclaimed, “Rocketty-ricketts!”

  When the bell rang a second time the King shouted angrily, “Smudge and blazes!” and at a third ring he screamed in a fury, “Hippikaloric!” which must be a dreadful word because we don’t know what it means.

  After that the bell went on ringing time after time; but the King was now so violently enraged that he could not utter a word, but hopped out of his throne and all around t
he room in a mad frenzy, so that he reminded Dorothy of a jumping-jack.

  The girl was, for her part, filled with joy at every peal of the bell, for it announced the fact that Billina had transformed one more ornament into a living person. Dorothy was also amazed at Billina’s success, for she could not imagine how the yellow hen was able to guess correctly from all the bewildering number of articles clustered in the rooms of the palace. But after she had counted ten, and the bell continued to ring, she knew that not only the royal family of Ev, but Ozma and her followers also, were being restored to their natural forms, and she was so delighted that the antics of the angry King only made her laugh merrily.

  Perhaps the little monarch could not be more furious than he was before, but the girl’s laughter nearly drove him frantic, and he roared at her like a savage beast. Then, as he found that all his enchantments were likely to be dispelled and his victims every one set free, he suddenly ran to the little door that opened upon the balcony and gave the shrill whistle that summoned his warriors.

  At once the army filed out of the gold and silver doors in great numbers, and marched up a winding stairs and into the throne room, led by a stern featured Nome who was their captain. When they had nearly filled the throne room they formed ranks in the big underground cavern below, and then stood still until they were told what to do next.

  Dorothy had pressed back to one side of the cavern when the warriors entered, and now she stood holding little Prince Evring’s hand while the great Lion crouched upon one side and the enormous Tiger crouched on the other side.

  “Seize that girl!” shouted the King to his captain, and a group of warriors sprang forward to obey. But both the Lion and Tiger snarled so fiercely and bared their strong, sharp teeth so threateningly, that the men drew back in alarm.

  “Don’t mind them!” cried the Nome King; “they cannot leap beyond the places where they now stand.”

  “But they can bite those who attempt to touch the girl,” said the captain.