THE TROUBLES OF GLINDA THE GOOD
That same morning there was great excitement in the castle of the
powerful Sorceress of Oz, Glinda the Good. This castle, situated in the
Quadling Country, far south of the Emerald City where Ozma ruled, was a
splendid structure of exquisite marbles and silver grilles. Here the
Sorceress lived, surrounded by a bevy of the most beautiful maidens of
Oz, gathered from all the four countries of that fairyland as well as
from the magnificent Emerald City itself, which stood in the place
where the four countries cornered. It was considered a great honor to
be allowed to serve the good Sorceress, whose arts of magic were used
only to benefit the Oz people. Glinda was Ozma’s most valued servant,
for her knowledge of sorcery was wonderful, and she could accomplish
almost anything that her mistress, the lovely girl Ruler of Oz, wished
her to.
Of all the magical things which surrounded Glinda in her castle, there
was none more marvelous than her Great Book of Records. On the pages of
this Record Book were constantly being inscribed, day by day and hour
by hour, all the important events that happened anywhere in the known
world, and they were inscribed in the book at exactly the moment the
events happened. Every adventure in the Land of Oz and in the big
outside world, and even in places that you and I have never heard of,
were recorded accurately in the Great Book, which never made a mistake
and stated only the exact truth. For that reason, nothing could be
concealed from Glinda the Good, who had only to look at the pages of
the Great Book of Records to know everything that had taken place. That
was one reason she was such a great Sorceress, for the records made her
wiser than any other living person.
This wonderful book was placed upon a big gold table that stood in the
middle of Glinda’s drawing room. The legs of the table, which were
incrusted with precious gems, were firmly fastened to the tiled floor,
and the book itself was chained to the table and locked with six stout
golden padlocks, the keys to which Glinda carried on a chain that was
secured around her own neck. The pages of the Great Book were larger in
size than those of an American newspaper, and although they were
exceedingly thin, there were so many of them that they made an
enormous, bulky volume. With its gold cover and gold clasps, the book
was so heavy that three men could scarcely have lifted it. Yet this
morning when Glinda entered her drawing room after breakfast, the good
Sorceress was amazed to discover that her Great Book of Records had
mysteriously disappeared.
Advancing to the table, she found the chains had been cut with some
sharp instrument, and this must have been done while all in the castle
slept. Glinda was shocked and grieved. Who could have done this wicked,
bold thing? And who could wish to deprive her of her Great Book of
Records?
The Sorceress was thoughtful for a time, considering the consequences
of her loss. Then she went to her Room of Magic to prepare a charm that
would tell her who had stolen the Record Book. But when she unlocked
her cupboard and threw open the doors, all of her magical instruments
and rare chemical compounds had been removed from the shelves. The
Sorceress has now both angry and alarmed. She sat down in a chair and
tried to think how this extraordinary robbery could have taken place.
It was evident that the thief was some person of very great power, or
the theft could not have been accomplished without her knowledge. But
who, in all the Land of Oz, was powerful and skillful enough to do this
awful thing? And who, having the power, could also have an object in
defying the wisest and most talented Sorceress the world has ever
known?
Glinda thought over the perplexing matter for a full hour, at the end
of which time she was still puzzled how to explain it. But although her
instruments and chemicals were gone, her KNOWLEDGE of magic had not
been stolen, by any means, since no thief, however skillful, can rob
one of knowledge, and that is why knowledge is the best and safest
treasure to acquire. Glinda believed that when she had time to gather
more magical herbs and elixirs and to manufacture more magical
instruments, she would be able to discover who the robber was and what
had become of her precious Book of Records.
“Whoever has done this,” she said to her maidens, “is a very foolish
person, for in time he is sure to be found out and will then be
severely punished.”
She now made a list of the things she needed and dispatched messengers
to every part of Oz with instructions to obtain them and bring them to
her as soon as possible. And one of her messengers met the little
Wizard of Oz, who was seated on the back of the famous live Sawhorse
and was clinging to its neck with both his arms, for the Sawhorse was
speeding to Glinda’s castle with the velocity of the wind, bearing the
news that Royal Ozma, Ruler of all the great Land of Oz, had suddenly
disappeared and no one in the Emerald City knew what had become of her.
“Also,” said the Wizard as he stood before the astonished Sorceress,
“Ozma’s Magic Picture is gone, so we cannot consult it to discover
where she is. So I came to you for assistance as soon as we realized
our loss. Let us look in the Great Book of Records.”
“Alas,” returned the Sorceress sorrowfully, “we cannot do that, for the
Great Book of Records has also disappeared!”