Snip's Great Adventure
The King! Poor Snip, crouched uncomfortably on the narrow sill,
trembled with terror, for this time he was sure Mombi's incantation
had taken effect and had turned King Kinda to a collar button. Mombi
herself seemed as astonished as he. Dropping her hands at her sides,
she peered sharply at the great white goose.
"Well!" wheezed the old witch, blinking her eyes rapidly, "Well, if it
isn't Pajuka, and simple as ever he was!"
"Whose fault is that?" complained the goose bitterly. "Who took away my
elegant figure and gave me this ridiculous shape?"
"You always were a goose," sniffed Mombi. "All you needed was a bill
and feathers. You're one of the best transformations I ever did," she
added proudly. "What are you fussing about anyway?"
"Would _you_ like to be a goose?" asked the bird indignantly. "I should
think you'd be ashamed of yourself, you old Scundermutch!"
"I don't care a waffle what you think," retorted Mombi, "but if you
care to think anything more, be quick about it, for your time has come."
"Time?" puffed the goose. "What time?"
"Dinner time," said Mombi unfeelingly. "You are tired of being a goose.
Well then, you shall be a dinner and I trust you will pan out well!"
"Dinner!" screamed the goose, fluttering all of his feathers. "You
wouldn't dare serve me for dinner. I'm a Prime Minister and you know
it."
"Prime goose, you mean," snickered Mombi, reaching behind the table for
the ax.
Now all this, as you may well imagine, was frightfully interesting to
Snip. Raising himself on his elbow he saw the two glaring furiously at
one another.
"Don't sass me woman!" hissed Pajuka, flapping his wings.
"I'll apple sass you," sneered Mombi. "The sooner you're roasted the
better. You know far too much." She made a snatch at the goose, but
Pajuka, with a quick flounce, freed himself from the crate and soared
into the air.
"Help! Help! This woman is a witch," he honked loudly. "Help! Help!"
"Hush!" raged the old woman, dropping the ax and running to slam the
door. "Do you want to rouse the castle?" It was her turn to be alarmed
now, for in Kimbaloo Mombi enjoyed more privileges than she would
anywhere else, and she was not anxious to have it known that she was a
witch and so be turned out of the kingdom. "Be quiet I tell you," she
wheezed angrily. "What are you making such a racket about?"
"Mombi a witch!" Snip could hardly believe his ears, but frightened
as he was he could not help chuckling. "Who wouldn't make a fuss at
roasting," thought Snip, peering around the edge of the sill to see
what Pajuka would do. The goose had settled on a cupboard high above
Mombi's head.
"Very well," he breathed heavily. "I will be quiet, but now you will
listen to _me_. I demand that you instantly restore my proper shape
or--" He gave a loud squawk that made Mombi leap a foot into the air.
"How can I? How can I?" chattered the witch, wringing her hands. "I've
forgotten all my witchcraft. Do you suppose I'd be here as a cook if I
had my magic powers, you ridiculous old bird!" Snip could see Pajuka's
eyes grow round as buttons at this dismal news.
"What?" wailed the unhappy goose. "Must I continue forever to lead this
simple life? Must I associate with ducks and farmers to the end of my
days?"
"You ought to be glad you're alive at all," mumbled Mombi
uncomfortably. These words had a startling effect on Pajuka.
"Ah!" groaned the goose remorsefully. "Here I've been thinking of
myself when it is the King who matters." And stretching his long neck
he repeated the question that had so alarmed Snip in the first place.
"Woman!" rasped Pajuka hoarsely, "Woman, what have you done with the
King?"
"Not so loud," begged Mombi, raising her stick and glancing uneasily
over her shoulder, as if she half suspected someone were listening.
Then, seeing Pajuka was going to honk again, she added defiantly, "I
don't remember what I did with him!"
Now Snip, who loved King Kinda Jolly with all his heart, was stunned
at this dreadful news. Undecided whether to run for help or stay and
listen, he finally decided to stay and crept close to the inner edge of
the sill.
Pajuka seemed stunned too. "How frightful," choked the goose dolefully,
"how careless of you to mislay the King. How dare you forget?"
"Well, there's no use quarreling about it," grumbled Mombi. "Who cares
anyway? Ozma is Queen now and nobody even remembers there was a King of
Oz!"
"Of Oz!" Snip, between relief at finding nothing had happened to King
Kinda Jolly and shock at the old witch's words, lost his hold on the
window bars and fell straight into Mombi's arms.
"A spy!" shrieked Mombi, beginning to shake him backward and forward.
"A spy!"
"Now who's making a racket," demanded Pajuka triumphantly. "Keep that
up and you'll have the whole castle about our ears. Besides, if he's a
spy, where is his spy glass?"
"Idiot!" hissed Mombi, but she lowered her voice and stopped shaking
Snip. "Why, you're as simple as you look," she muttered contemptuously.
"And you're as wicked," retorted the goose, staring sharply at Snip.
"Let that boy alone or I'll honk my head off." Snip's ears were buzzing
from the shaking and he looked gratefully at Pajuka.
"Do you think I'm going to let him carry his tales to Kinda Jolly? No
sir! Into the soup kettle with him," puffed Mombi, rushing Snip toward
the stove. But at her first step, the white goose flung himself at her
head with such an outcry that she stopped at once.
"Let the boy alone," panted Pajuka. Then, seeing that it was useless to
appeal to Mombi's goodness he began to appeal to her badness. "The King
will reward you generously, if you restore him to the throne," began
Pajuka craftily. "Nothing is to be gained by this quarreling. Let us
put our heads together and find the King of Oz."
Still holding Snip tightly by the wrist, Mombi sank upon a crooked
stool and, half closing her eyes, began to think of the bad old days
before little Ozma was Queen--the bad old days when witches had been
free to practice their arts and she herself was one of the most
powerful witches in the land.
"I'll do it!" declared Mombi suddenly. "But how shall we find him when
I forget what I have done with him?"
"I'd know him anywhere," gulped Pajuka, two tears dropping off the end
of his bill. "Haven't I been hunting him all these years?"
"Yes, but I think he is transformed," muttered Mombi uneasily. "If the
King is not himself how do you expect to recognize him?"
"I'd know him in any shape," insisted the goose. "But try--try to
remember. You turned Ozma to a boy and me to a goose. What did you do
with the King?"
So interested had the two become by this time, they had almost
forgotten the presence of Snip. But Snip was listening with all his
might, his ears fairly tingling with curiosity. The lad, like many
another Gilliken boy, was perfectly familiar with the history of Oz.
For while they gathered buttons in the wood, King Kinda had read them
many a strange chapter from the big purple history books.
Snip knew that Oz was a great oblong Kingdom divided into four parts
with the capital, a splendid Emerald City, in the exact center. The
Northern Land was the Gilliken country and Kimbaloo was but one of
the many kingdoms in that interesting section. The Eastern part of
Oz belonged to the Winkies; the Southern country was the Quadling
Country; while the Western lands belonged to the Munchkins. Snip knew
the names of the rulers of Oz as well as you know the names of the
Presidents--perhaps even better--for as only a part of Oz history
has been written down there have not been so many. The first ruler
mentioned was the famous Wizard of Oz, who had flown to the marvelous
country in a balloon from Omaha. It was the Wizard who had built the
famous Emerald City, and who had given Ozma, the little girl ruler,
into the keeping of an old witch. This witch had already captured
the King, Ozma's father, and very little was known about the royal
gentleman.
The Wizard had ruled Oz for years. At last, desiring to return to
America, he had made the Scarecrow Emperor. This lively man of straw
had held the throne until captured by an ambitious girl named Jinjur,
and her army of girls. But Jinjur was only ruler for a few days and
was herself captured by Glinda, the good sorceress of the South, to
whom the Scarecrow had gone for help. Glinda, looking through her magic
record books, had discovered that Ozma, who had been deposed by the
Wizard, was still in the old witch's clutches. So Glinda had compelled
her to restore Ozma to the throne. The witch had transformed the little
Princess into a boy named Tip, but was forced by Glinda to disenchant
her and amid general rejoicing Ozma was proclaimed Queen of Oz and had
been ruler ever since, while the old witch had been deprived of her
magic powers and banished from the Emerald City forever.
The Wizard of Oz had later returned and become one of Ozma's most
trusted counselors, regretting exceedingly his part in giving her to
the witch. As Snip listened, all of these facts went scurrying through
his head, and while Professor Wogglebug in his history had neglected to
put in the witch's name, looking at the dreadful old woman beside him,
Snip realized with a shudder that Mombi was that witch.
It had been generally supposed that the King, Ozma's father, had been
utterly destroyed by Mombi's magic, but if what Pajuka said were true,
the King in some shape or other was still alive and the rightful ruler
of Oz, while this faithful goose was his prime minister. Snip longed
to run to Kinda Jolly with the amazing news and to warn him against
Mombi herself, but the old hag had him fast by the wrist, so there was
nothing to do but listen. Even this was becoming harder and harder, for
Mombi and Pajuka had lowered their voices to a whisper. Just as Snip
had determined to jerk away and make a run for it, Mombi sprang to her
feet.
"We'll start at once!" she cried determinedly, and jerking off her
cook's cap and without releasing her hold on Snip, she snatched her
peaked witch hat from a low cupboard and set it jauntily on the side of
her head. Then, dragging Snip with her, she began hobbling about the
kitchen, collecting pepper shakers, mustard boxes, spices, herbs and
various other supplies from the shelves. These she tossed quickly into
a basket with a loaf of bread, a cold chicken and some cheese.
"C'mon!" croaked the witch, motioning to Pajuka. "C'mon before anyone
misses us."
"What about the boy?" asked the goose doubtfully.
"Let him carry the basket," snapped the witch.
Thrusting the basket into Snip's hands, Mombi gave him such a glare
that the poor lad's heart dropped into his boots. Then, grabbing him by
the sleeve, she rushed him through the door leading into the kitchen
garden. A high hedge surrounded the garden, so no one saw them go.
The garden ran down to the edge of a gloomy forest. Into this forest
plunged Mombi, Pajuka waddling and flying after her and poor Snip,
casting many longing glances over his shoulder at the dear old castle
of Kimbaloo where life had been so care-free and so merry.
It is one thing to set out on a journey of adventures yourself, but to
be dragged away against your will by a wicked old witch is another pair
of pickles entirely, and though Snip was as brave as the next fellow he
could not keep back his tears at parting from Kinda Jolly, Rosa Merry
and his many gay comrades in the button wood.