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[Illustration: This book belongs to]
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: THERE STOOD THEIR LOVELY GIRL RULER OZMA, OF OZ--]
THE LOST PRINCESS OF OZ
by
L. FRANK BAUM
Author of
The Road to Oz, Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz, The
Emerald City of Oz, The Land of Oz, Ozma of Oz,
The Patchwork Girl of Oz, Tik-Tok of
Oz, The Scarecrow of Oz,
Rinkitink in Oz
[Illustration]
Illustrated by John R. Neill
The Reilly & Lee Co.
Chicago
[Illustration: Copyright 1917 by L. Frank Baum
All Rights Reserved]
[Illustration:
This Book is Dedicated
To My Granddaughter
OZMA BAUM]
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
TO MY READERS
Some of my youthful readers are developing wonderful imaginations. This
pleases me. Imagination has brought mankind through the Dark Ages to its
present state of civilization. Imagination led Columbus to discover
America. Imagination led Franklin to discover electricity. Imagination
has given us the steam engine, the telephone, the talking-machine and
the automobile, for these things had to be dreamed of before they became
realities. So I believe that dreams--day dreams, you know, with your
eyes wide open and your brain-machinery whizzing--are likely to lead to
the betterment of the world. The imaginative child will become the
imaginative man or woman most apt to create, to invent, and therefore to
foster civilization. A prominent educator tells me that fairy tales are
of untold value in developing imagination in the young. I believe it.
Among the letters I receive from children are many containing
suggestions of "what to write about in the next Oz Book." Some of the
ideas advanced are mighty interesting, while others are too extravagant
to be seriously considered--even in a fairy tale. Yet I like them all,
and I must admit that the main idea in "The Lost Princess of Oz" was
suggested to me by a sweet little girl of eleven who called to see me
and to talk about the Land of Oz. Said she: "I s'pose if Ozma ever got
lost, or stolen, ev'rybody in Oz would be dreadful sorry."
That was all, but quite enough foundation to build this present story
on. If you happen to like the story, give credit to my little friend's
clever hint. And, by the way, don't hesitate to write me your own hints
and suggestions, such as result from your own day dreams. They will be
sure to interest me, even if I cannot use them in a story, and the very
fact that you have dreamed at all will give me pleasure and do you good.
For, after all, dear reader, these stories of Oz are just yours and
mine, and we are partners. As long as you care to read them I shall try
to write them, and I've an idea that the next one will relate some
startling adventures of the "Tin Woodman of Oz" and his comrades.
L. FRANK BAUM,
Royal Historian of Oz.
"OZCOT"
at HOLLYWOOD
in CALIFORNIA
1917.
[Illustration: List of Chapters]
1 A Terrible Loss 17
2 The Troubles of Glinda the Good 30
3 The Robbery of Cayke the Cookie Cook 38
4 Among the Winkies 57
5 Ozma's Friends are Perplexed 64
6 The Search Party 73
7 The Merry-Go-Round Mountains 89
8 The Mysterious City 104
9 The High Coco-Lorum of Thi 120
10 Toto Loses Something 137
11 Button-Bright Loses Himself 146
12 The Czarover of Herku 157
13 The Truth Pond 173
14 The Unhappy Ferryman 184
15 The Big Lavender Bear 194
16 The Little Pink Bear 202
17 The Meeting 216
18 The Conference 230
19 Ugu the Shoemaker 237
20 Surprises 245
21 Magic Against Magic 256
22 In the Wicker Castle 265
23 The Defiance of Ugu the Shoemaker 280
24 The Little Pink Bear Speaks Truly 289
25 Ozma of Oz 295
26 Dorothy Forgives 303
[Illustration]
A Terrible Loss
[Illustration]
CHAPTER 1
There could be no doubt of the fact: Princess Ozma, the lovely girl
ruler of the Fairyland of Oz, was lost. She had completely disappeared.
Not one of her subjects--not even her closest friends--knew what had
become of her.
It was Dorothy who first discovered it. Dorothy was a little Kansas girl
who had come to the Land of Oz to live and had been given a delightful
suite of rooms in Ozma's royal palace, just because Ozma loved Dorothy
and wanted her to live as near her as possible, so the two girls might
be much together.
Dorothy was not the only girl from the outside world who had been
welcomed to Oz and lived in the royal palace. There was another named
Betsy Bobbin, whose adventures had led her to seek refuge with Ozma, and
still another named Trot, who had been invited, together with her
faithful companion, Cap'n Bill, to make her home in this wonderful
fairyland. The three girls all had rooms in the palace and were great
chums; but Dorothy was the dearest friend of their gracious Ruler and
only she at any hour dared to seek Ozma in her royal apartments. For
Dorothy had lived in Oz much longer than the other girls and had been
made a Princess of the realm.
Betsy was a year older than Dorothy and Trot was a year younger, yet the
three were near enough of an age to become great playmates and to have
nice times together. It was while the three were talking together one
morning in Dorothy's room that Betsy proposed they make a journey into
the Munchkin Country, which was one of the four great countries of the
Land of Oz ruled by Ozma.
[Illustration]
"I've never been there yet," said Betsy Bobbin, "but the Scarecrow
once told me it is the prettiest country in all Oz."
"I'd like to go, too," added Trot.
"All right," said Dorothy, "I'll go and ask Ozma. Perhaps she will let
us take the Sawhorse and the Red Wagon, which would be much nicer for us
than having to walk all the way. This Land of Oz is a pretty big place,
when you get to all the edges of it."
So she jumped up and went along the halls of the splendid palace until
she came to the royal suite, which filled all the front of the second
floor. In a little waiting room sat Ozma's maid, Jellia Jamb, who was
busily sewing.
"Is Ozma up yet?" inquired Dorothy.
"I don't know, my dear," replied Jellia. "I haven't heard a word from
her this morning. She hasn't even called for her bath or her breakfast,
and it is far past her usual time for them."
"That's strange!" exclaimed the little girl.
"Yes," agreed the maid; "but of course no harm could have happened to
her. No one can die or be killed in the Land of Oz and Ozma is herself a
powerful fairy, and she has no enemies, so far as we know. Therefore I
am not at all worried about her, though I must admit her silence is
unusual."
"Perhaps," said Dorothy, thoughtfully, "she has overslept. Or she may be
reading, or working out some new sort of magic to do good to her
people."
"Any of these things may be true," replied Jellia Jamb, "so I haven't
dared disturb our royal mistress. You, however, are a privileged
character, Princess, and I am sure that Ozma wouldn't mind at all if you
went in to see her."
"Of course not," said Dorothy, and opening the door of the outer chamber
she went in. All was still here. She walked into another room, which was
Ozma's boudoir, and then, pushing back a heavy drapery richly broidered
with threads of pure gold, the girl entered the sleeping-room of the
fairy Ruler of Oz. The bed of ivory and gold was vacant; the room was
vacant; not a trace of Ozma was to be found.
Very much surprised, yet still with no fear that anything had happened
to her friend, Dorothy returned through the boudoir to the other rooms
of the suite. She went into the music room, the library, the laboratory,
the bath, the wardrobe and even into the great throne room, which
adjoined the royal suite, but in none of these places could she find
Ozma.
So she returned to the anteroom where she had left the maid, Jellia
Jamb, and said:
"She isn't in her rooms now, so she must have gone out."
"I don't understand how she could do that without my seeing her,"
replied Jellia, "unless she made herself invisible."
"She isn't there, anyhow," declared Dorothy.
"Then let us go find her," suggested the maid, who appeared to be a
little uneasy.
So they went into the corridors and there Dorothy almost stumbled over a
queer girl who was dancing lightly along the passage.
"Stop a minute, Scraps!" she called. "Have you seen Ozma this morning?"
"Not I!" replied the queer girl, dancing nearer. "I lost both my eyes in
a tussle with the Woozy, last night, for the creature scraped 'em both
off my face with his square paws. So I put the eyes in my pocket and
this morning Button-Bright led me to Aunt Em, who sewed 'em on again. So
I've seen nothing at all to-day, except during the last five minutes. So
of course I haven't seen Ozma."
"Very well, Scraps," said Dorothy, looking curiously at the eyes, which
were merely two round black buttons sewed upon the girl's face.
[Illustration]
There were other things about Scraps that would have seemed curious to
one seeing her for the first time. She was commonly called "The
Patchwork Girl," because her body and limbs were made from a gay-colored
patchwork quilt which had been cut into shape and stuffed with cotton.
Her head was a round ball stuffed in the same manner and fastened to her
shoulders. For hair she had a mass of brown yarn and to make a nose for
her a part of the cloth had been pulled out into the shape of a knob and
tied with a string to hold it in place. Her mouth had been carefully
made by cutting a slit in the proper place and lining it with red silk,
adding two rows of pearls for teeth and a bit of red flannel for a
tongue.
In spite of this queer make-up, the Patchwork Girl was magically alive
and had proved herself not the least jolly and agreeable of the many
quaint characters who inhabit the astonishing Fairyland of Oz. Indeed,
Scraps was a general favorite, although she was rather flighty and
erratic and did and said many things that surprised her friends. She was
seldom still, but loved to dance, to turn handsprings and somersaults,
to climb trees and to indulge in many other active sports.
[Illustration]
"I'm going to search for Ozma," remarked Dorothy, "for she isn't in
her rooms and I want to ask her a question."
"I'll go with you," said Scraps, "for my eyes are brighter than yours
and they can see farther."
"I'm not sure of that," returned Dorothy. "But come along, if you like."
Together they searched all through the great palace and even to the
farthest limits of the palace grounds, which were quite extensive, but
nowhere could they find a trace of Ozma. When Dorothy returned to where
Betsy and Trot awaited her, the little girl's face was rather solemn and
troubled, for never before had Ozma gone away without telling her
friends where she was going, or without an escort that befitted her
royal state.
She was gone, however, and none had seen her go. Dorothy had met and
questioned the Scarecrow, Tik-Tok, the Shaggy Man, Button-Bright, Cap'n
Bill, and even the wise and powerful Wizard of Oz, but not one of them
had seen Ozma since she parted with her friends the evening before and
had gone to her own rooms.
"She didn't say anything las' night about going anywhere," observed
little Trot.
[Illustration]
"No, and that's the strange part of it," replied Dorothy. "Usually
Ozma lets us know of everything she does."
"Why not look in the Magic Picture?" suggested Betsy Bobbin. "That will
tell us where she is, in just one second."
"Of course!" cried Dorothy. "Why didn't I think of that before?" and at
once the three girls hurried away to Ozma's boudoir, where the Magic
Picture always hung.
This wonderful Magic Picture was one of the royal Ozma's greatest
treasures. There was a large gold frame, in the center of which was a
bluish-gray canvas on which various scenes constantly appeared and
disappeared. If one who stood before it wished to see what any
person--anywhere in the world--was doing, it was only necessary to make
the wish and the scene in the Magic Picture would shift to the scene
where that person was and show exactly what he or she was then engaged
in doing. So the girls knew it would be easy for them to wish to see
Ozma, and from the picture they could quickly learn where she was.
Dorothy advanced to the place where the picture was usually protected by
thick satin curtains, and pulled the draperies aside. Then she stared in
amazement, while her two friends uttered exclamations of
disappointment.
The Magic Picture was gone. Only a blank space on the wall behind the
curtains showed where it had formerly hung.
[Illustration]
The Troubles of Glinda the Good
[Illustration]