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[Illustration: DOROTHY AND THE WIZARD]
[Illustration: PICKING THE PRINCESS.]
DOROTHY AND THE WIZARD IN OZ
BY
L. FRANK BAUM
AUTHOR OF THE WIZARD OF OZ, THE LAND OF OZ, OZMA OF OZ, ETC.
ILLUSTRATED BY JOHN R. NEILL
BOOKS OF WONDER WILLIAM MORROW & CO., INC. NEW YORK
[Illustration]
COPYRIGHT 1908 BY L. FRANK BAUM
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
* * * * *
[Illustration]
DEDICATED TO HARRIET A. B. NEAL.
* * * * *
To My Readers
It's no use; no use at all. The children won't let me stop telling tales
of the Land of Oz. I know lots of other stories, and I hope to tell
them, some time or another; but just now my loving tyrants won't allow
me. They cry: "Oz--Oz! more about Oz, Mr. Baum!" and what can I do but
obey their commands?
This is Our Book--mine and the children's. For they have flooded me with
thousands of suggestions in regard to it, and I have honestly tried to
adopt as many of these suggestions as could be fitted into one story.
After the wonderful success of "Ozma of Oz" it is evident that Dorothy
has become a firm fixture in these Oz stories. The little ones all love
Dorothy, and as one of my small friends aptly states: "It isn't a real
Oz story without her." So here she is again, as sweet and gentle and
innocent as ever, I hope, and the heroine of another strange adventure.
There were many requests from my little correspondents for "more about
the Wizard." It seems the jolly old fellow made hosts of friends in the
first Oz book, in spite of the fact that he frankly acknowledged himself
"a humbug." The children had heard how he mounted into the sky in a
balloon and they were all waiting for him to come down again. So what
could I do but tell "what happened to the Wizard afterward"? You will
find him in these pages, just the same humbug Wizard as before.
There was one thing the children demanded which I found it impossible to
do in this present book: they bade me introduce Toto, Dorothy's little
black dog, who has many friends among my readers. But you will see, when
you begin to read the story, that Toto was in Kansas while Dorothy was
in California, and so she had to start on her adventure without him. In
this book Dorothy had to take her kitten with her instead of her dog;
but in the next Oz book, if I am permitted to write one, I intend to
tell a good deal about Toto's further history.
Princess Ozma, whom I love as much as my readers do, is again introduced
in this story, and so are several of our old friends of Oz. You will
also become acquainted with Jim the Cab-Horse, the Nine Tiny Piglets,
and Eureka, the Kitten. I am sorry the kitten was not as well behaved as
she ought to have been; but perhaps she wasn't brought up properly.
Dorothy found her, you see, and who her parents were nobody knows.
I believe, my dears, that I am the proudest story-teller that ever
lived. Many a time tears of pride and joy have stood in my eyes while I
read the tender, loving, appealing letters that come to me in almost
every mail from my little readers. To have pleased you, to have
interested you, to have won your friendship, and perhaps your love,
through my stories, is to my mind as great an achievement as to become
President of the United States. Indeed, I would much rather be your
story-teller, under these conditions, than to be the President. So you
have helped me to fulfill my life's ambition, and I am more grateful to
you, my dears, than I can express in words.
I try to answer every letter of my young correspondents; yet sometimes
there are so many letters that a little time must pass before you get
your answer. But be patient, friends, for the answer will surely come,
and by writing to me you more than repay me for the pleasant task of
preparing these books. Besides, I am proud to acknowledge that the books
are partly yours, for your suggestions often guide me in telling the
stories, and I am sure they would not be half so good without your
clever and thoughtful assistance.
L. FRANK BAUM
CORONADO, 1908.
LIST OF CHAPTERS
CHAPTER PAGE
1 THE EARTHQUAKE 13
2 THE GLASS CITY 23
3 THE ARRIVAL OF THE WIZARD 41
4 THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM 55
5 DOROTHY PICKS THE PRINCESS 64
6 THE MANGABOOS PROVE DANGEROUS 77
7 INTO THE BLACK PIT AND OUT AGAIN 88
8 THE VALLEY OF VOICES 95
9 THEY FIGHT THE INVISIBLE BEARS 106
10 THE BRAIDED MAN OF PYRAMID MT 120
11 THEY MEET THE WOODEN GARGOYLES 131
12 A WONDERFUL ESCAPE 142
13 THE DEN OF THE DRAGONETTES 160
14 OZMA USES THE MAGIC BELT 172
15 OLD FRIENDS ARE REUNITED 187
16 JIM, THE CAB-HORSE 203
17 THE NINE TINY PIGLETS 217
18 THE TRIAL OF EUREKA, THE KITTEN 231
19 THE WIZARD PERFORMS ANOTHER TRICK 240
20 ZEB RETURNS TO THE RANCH 251
[Illustration]
CHAPTER 1.
THE EARTHQUAKE
The train from 'Frisco was very late. It should have arrived at Hugson's
siding at midnight, but it was already five o'clock and the gray dawn
was breaking in the east when the little train slowly rumbled up to the
open shed that served for the station-house. As it came to a stop the
conductor called out in a loud voice:
"Hugson's Siding!"
At once a little girl rose from her seat and walked to the door of the
car, carrying a wicker suit-case in one hand and a round bird-cage
covered up with newspapers in the other, while a parasol was tucked
under her arm. The conductor helped her off the car and then the
engineer started his train again, so that it puffed and groaned and
moved slowly away up the track. The reason he was so late was because
all through the night there were times when the solid earth shook and
trembled under him, and the engineer was afraid that at any moment the
rails might spread apart and an accident happen to his passengers. So he
moved the cars slowly and with caution.
The little girl stood still to watch until the train had disappeared
around a curve; then she turned to see where she was.
The shed at Hugson's Siding was bare save for an old wooden bench, and
did not look very inviting. As she peered through the soft gray light
not a house of any sort was visible near the station, nor was any person
in sight; but after a while the child discovered a horse and buggy
standing near a group of trees a short distance away. She walked toward
it and found the horse tied to a tree and standing motionless, with its
head hanging down almost to the ground. It was a big horse, tall and
bony, with long legs and large knees and feet. She could count his ribs
easily where they showed through the skin of his body, and his head was
long and seemed altogether too big for him, as if it did not fit. His
tail was short and scraggly, and his harness had been broken in many
places and fastened together again with cords and bits of wire. The
buggy seemed almost new, for it had a shiny top and side curtains.
Getting around in front, so that she could look inside, the girl saw a
boy curled up on the seat, fast asleep.
She set down the bird-cage and poked the boy with her parasol. Presently
he woke up, rose to a sitting position and rubbed his eyes briskly.
"Hello!" he said, seeing her, "are you Dorothy Gale?"
"Yes," she answered, looking gravely at his tousled hair and blinking
gray eyes. "Have you come to take me to Hugson's Ranch?"
"Of course," he answered. "Train in?"
"I couldn't be here if it wasn't," she said.
He laughed at that, and his laugh was merry and frank. Jumping out of
the buggy he put Dorothy's suit-case under the seat and her bird-cage on
the floor in front.
"Canary-birds?" he asked.
"Oh, no; it's just Eureka, my kitten. I thought that was the best way to
carry her."
The boy nodded.
"Eureka's a funny name for a cat," he remarked.
"I named my kitten that because I found it," she explained. "Uncle Henry
says 'Eureka' means 'I have found it.'"
"All right; hop in."
She climbed into the buggy and he followed her. Then the boy picked up
the reins, shook them, and said "Gid-dap!"
The horse did not stir. Dorothy thought he just wiggled one of his
drooping ears, but that was all.
"Gid-dap!" called the boy, again.
The horse stood still.
"Perhaps," said Dorothy, "if you untied him, he would go."
The boy laughed cheerfully and jumped out.
"Guess I'm half asleep yet," he said, untying the horse. "But Jim knows
his business all right--don't you, Jim?" patting the long nose of the
animal.
Then he got into the buggy again and took the reins, and the horse at
once backed away from the tree, turned slowly around, and began to trot
down the sandy road which was just visible in the dim light.
"Thought that train would never come," observed the boy. "I've waited at
that station for five hours."
"We had a lot of earthquakes," said Dorothy. "Didn't you feel the ground
shake?"
"Yes; but we're used to such things in California," he replied. "They
don't scare us much."
[Illustration: DOROTHY POKED THE BOY WITH HER PARASOL.]
"The conductor said it was the worst quake he ever knew."
"Did he? Then it must have happened while I was asleep," he said,
thoughtfully.
"How is Uncle Henry?" she enquired, after a pause during which the horse
continued to trot with long, regular strides.
"He's pretty well. He and Uncle Hugson have been having a fine visit."
"Is Mr. Hugson your uncle?" she asked.
"Yes. Uncle Bill Hugson married your Uncle Henry's wife's sister; so we
must be second cousins," said the boy, in an amused tone. "I work for
Uncle Bill on his ranch, and he pays me six dollars a month and my
board."
"Isn't that a great deal?" she asked, doubtfully.
"Why, it's a great deal for Uncle Hugson, but not for me. I'm a splendid
worker. I work as well as I sleep," he added, with a laugh.
"What is your name?" asked Dorothy, thinking she liked the boy's manner
and the cheery tone of his voice.
"Not a very pretty one," he answered, as if a little ashamed. "My whole
name is Zebediah; but folks just call me 'Zeb.' You've been to
Australia, haven't you?"
"Yes; with Uncle Henry," she answered. "We got to San Francisco a week
ago, and Uncle Henry went right on to Hugson's Ranch for a visit while I
stayed a few days in the city with some friends we had met."
"How long will you be with us?" he asked.
"Only a day. Tomorrow Uncle Henry and I must start back for Kansas.
We've been away for a long time, you know, and so we're anxious to get
home again."
The boy flicked the big, boney horse with his whip and looked
thoughtful. Then he started to say something to his little companion,
but before he could speak the buggy began to sway dangerously from side
to side and the earth seemed to rise up before them. Next minute there
was a roar and a sharp crash, and at her side Dorothy saw the ground
open in a wide crack and then come together again.
"Goodness!" she cried, grasping the iron rail of the seat. "What was
that?"
"That was an awful big quake," replied Zeb, with a white face. "It
almost got us that time, Dorothy."
The horse had stopped short, and stood firm as a rock. Zeb shook the
reins and urged him to go, but Jim was stubborn. Then the boy cracked
his whip and touched the animal's flanks with it, and after a low moan
of protest Jim stepped slowly along the road.
Neither the boy nor the girl spoke again for some minutes. There was a
breath of danger in the very air, and every few moments the earth would
shake violently. Jim's ears were standing erect upon his head and every
muscle of his big body was tense as he trotted toward home. He was not
going very fast, but on his flanks specks of foam began to appear and at
times he would tremble like a leaf.
The sky had grown darker again and the wind made queer sobbing sounds as
it swept over the valley.
Suddenly there was a rending, tearing sound, and the earth split into
another great crack just beneath the spot where the horse was standing.
With a wild neigh of terror the animal fell bodily into the pit, drawing
the buggy and its occupants after him.
Dorothy grabbed fast hold of the buggy top and the boy did the same. The
sudden rush into space confused them so that they could not think.
Blackness engulfed them on every side, and in breathless silence they
waited for the fall to end and crush them against jagged rocks or for
the earth to close in on them again and bury them forever in its
dreadful depths.
The horrible sensation of falling, the darkness and the terrifying
noises, proved more than Dorothy could endure and for a few moments the
little girl lost consciousness. Zeb, being a boy, did not faint, but he
was badly frightened, and clung to the buggy seat with a tight grip,
expecting every moment would be his last.
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