THE SCARECROW STUDIES THE SILVER ISLAND
Two days had passed since the Scarecrow had fallen into his Kingdom.
He was not finding his royal duties as pleasant as he had
anticipated. The country was beautiful enough, but being Emperor of
the Silver Islands was not the simple affair that ruling Oz had been.
The pigtail on the back of his hat was terribly distracting, and he
was always tripping over his kimono, to which he could not seem to
accustom himself. His subjects were extremely quarrelsome, always
pulling one another's queues or stealing fruit, umbrellas, and silver
polish. His ministers, the Grand Chew Chew, the Chief Chow Chow, and
General Mugwump, were no better, and keeping peace in the palace took
all the Scarecrow's cleverness.
In the daytime he tried culprits in the royal court, interviewed his
seventeen secretaries, rode out in the royal palanquin, and made
speeches to visiting princes. At night he sat in the great silver
salon and by the light of the lanterns studied the Book of
Ceremonies. His etiquette, the Grand Chew Chew informed him, was
shocking. He was always doing something wrong, dodging the Imperial
Umbrella, speaking kindly to a palace servant, or walking unattended
in the gardens.
The royal palace itself was richly furnished, and the Scarecrow had
more than five hundred robes of state. The gardens, with their
sparkling waterfalls, glowing orange trees, silver temples, towers
and bridges, were too lovely for words. Poppies, roses, lotus and
other lilies perfumed the air, and at night a thousand silver
lanterns turned them to a veritable fairyland.
The grass and trees were green as in other lands, but the sky as
always full of tiny silver clouds, the waters surrounding the island
were of a lovely liquid silver, and as all the houses and towers were
of this gleaming metal, the effect was bewildering and beautiful.
But the Silver Islanders themselves were too stupid to appreciate
this beauty. "And what use is it all when I have no one to enjoy it
with me," sighed the Scarecrow. "And no time to _play!"_
In Oz no one thought it queer if Ozma, the little Queen, jumped rope
with Dorothy or Betsy Bobbin, or had a quiet game of croquet with the
palace cook. But here, alas, everything was different. If the
Scarecrow so much as ventured a game of ball with the gardener's boy,
the whole court was thrown into an uproar. At first, the Scarecrow
tried to please everybody, but finding that nothing pleased the
people in the palace, he decided to please himself.
"I don't care a kinkajou if I am the Emperor, I'm going to talk to
whom I please!" he exclaimed on the second night, and shaking his
glove at a bronze statue, he threw the Book of Ceremonies into the
fountain. The next morning, therefore, he ascended the throne with
great firmness. Immediately, the courtiers prostrated themselves, and
the Scarecrow's arms and legs blew about wildly.
"Stand up at once," puffed the Scarecrow when he had regained his
balance.
"You are giving me nervous prostration. Chew, kindly issue an edict
forbidding prostrations. Anyone caught bowing in my presence again
shall lose--" the courtiers looked alarmed "--his pigtail!" finished
the Scarecrow.
"And now, Chew, you will take my place, please. I am going for a walk
with Tappy Oko."
The Grand Chew Chew's mouth fell open with surprise, but seeing the
Scarecrow's determined expression, he dared not disobey, and he
immediately began making strange marks on a long, red parchment.
Happy Toko trembled as the Scarecrow Emperor took his arm, and the
courtiers stared at one another in dismay as the two walked quietly
out into the garden.
Nothing happened, however, and Tappy, regaining his composure, took
out a little silver flute and started a lively tune.
"I had to take matters into my own hands, Tappy," said the Scarecrow,
listening to the music with a pleased expression. "Are there any
words to that song?"
"Yes, illustrious and Supreme Sir!"
Two spoons went down a Por-ce-Lane,
To meet a China saucer,
A 'talking China in a way
To break a white man's jaw, Sir!
sang Happy, and finished by standing gravely on his head.
"Your Majesty used to be very fond of this song," spluttered Happy.
(It is difficult to speak while upside down, and if you don't think
so, try it!)
"Ah!" said the Scarecrow, beginning to feel more cheerful, "Tell me
something about myself and my family, Tappy Oko."
"Happy Toko, if it pleases your Supreme Amiability," corrected the
little silver man, somersaulting to a standstill beside the
Scarecrow.
"It does and it doesn't," murmured the Scarecrow. "There is something
about you that reminds me of a pudding, and you tapped the drum,
didn't you? I believe I shall call you Tappy Oko, if you don't mind!"
The Scarecrow seated himself on a silver bench and motioned for the
Imperial Punster to sit down beside him. Tappy Oko sat down
fearfully, first making sure that he was not observed.
"Saving your Imperial Presence, this is not permitted," said Tappy
uneasily.
"Never mind about my Imperial Presence," chuckled the Scarecrow.
"Tell me about my Imperial Past."
"Ah!" said Tappy Oko, rolling up his eyes, "You were one of the most
magnificent and magnanimous of monarchs."
"Was I?" asked the Scarecrow in a pleased voice.
"You distributed rice among the poor, and advice among the rich, and
fought many glorious battles," continued the little man. "I composed
a little song about you. Perhaps you would like to hear it?"
The Scarecrow nodded, and Tappy, throwing back his head, chanted with
a will:
Chang Wang Woe did draw the bow--
And twist the queues of a thousand foe!
"In Oz," murmured the Scarecrow reflectively as Tappy finished, "I
twisted the necks of a flock of wild crows--that was before I had my
excellent brains, too. Oh, I'm a fighting man, there's no doubt about
it. But tell me, Tappy, where did I meet my wife?"
"In the water!" chuckled Tappy Oko, screwing up his eyes.
"Never!" The Scarecrow looked out over the harbor and then down at
his lumpy figure.
"Your Majesty forgets you were then a man like me--er--not stuffed
with straw, I mean," exclaimed Happy, looking embarrassed. "She was
fishing," continued the little Punster, "when a huge silver fish
became entangled in her line. She stood up, the fish gave a mighty
leap and pulled her out of the boat. Your Majesty, having seen the
whole affair from the bank, plunged bravely into the water and,
swimming out, rescued her, freed the fish, and in due time made her
your bride. I've made a song about that, also."
"Let's hear it," said the Scarecrow. And this is what Happy sung:
Tsing Tsing, a Silver Fisher's daughter,
Was fishing in the silver water.
The moon shone on her silver hair
And there were fishes everywhere!
Then came a mighty silver fish,
It seized her line and with a swish
Of silver fins upset her boat.
Tsing Tsing could neither swim nor float.
She raised her silver voice in fear
And who her call of help should hear
But Chang Wang Woe, the Emperor,
Who saved and married her, what's more!
"Did I really?" asked the Scarecrow, feeling quite flattered by
Happy's song.
"Yes," said Happy positively, "and invited me to the wedding, though
I was only a small boy."
"Was Chew Chew there?" The Scarecrow couldn't help wondering how the
old Nobleman had taken his marriage with a poor fisherman's daughter.
Happy chuckled at the memory. "He had a Princess all picked out for
you," he confided merrily:
And there he stood in awful pride
And scorned the father of the bride!
"Hoh!" roared the Scarecrow, falling off the bench. "That's the
Ozziest thing I've heard since I landed in the Silver Islands. Tappy,
my boy, I believe we are going to be friends! But let's forget the
past and think of the present!"
The Scarecrow embraced his Imperial Punster on the spot. "Let's find
something jolly to do," he suggested.
"Would your Extreme Highness care for kites?" asked Happy. "'Tis a
favorite sport here!"
"Would I! But wait, I will disguise myself." Hiding his royal hat
under the bench, he put on Happy Toko's broad-rimmed peasant hat. It
turned down all 'round and almost hid his face. Then he turned his
robe inside out and declared himself ready.
They passed through a small silver town before they reached the field
where the kites were to be flown, and the Scarecrow was delighted
with its picturesque and quaint appearance. The streets were narrow
and full of queer shops. Silver lanterns and little pennants hung
from each door, the merchants and maidens in their gay sedans and the
people afoot made a bright and lively picture.
"If I could just live here instead of in the palace," mused the
Scarecrow, pausing before a modest rice shop. It is dangerous to stop
in the narrow streets, and Happy jerked his master aside just in time
to prevent his being trodden on by a huge camel. It sniffed at the
Scarecrow suspiciously, and they were forced to flatten themselves
against a wall to let it pass. Happy anxiously hurried the Emperor
through the town, and they soon arrived at the kite flying field. A
great throng had gathered to watch the exhibition, and there were
more kites than one would see in a lifetime here. Huge fish, silver
paper dragons, birds--every sort and shape of kite was tugging at its
string, and hundreds of Silver Islanders--boys, girls and grown-ups--
were looking on.
"How interesting," said the Scarecrow, fascinated by a huge dragon
that floated just over his head. "I wish Dorothy could see this, I do
indeed!"
But the dragon kite seemed almost alive, and horrors! Just as it
swooped down, a hook in the tail caught in the Scarecrow's collar,
and before Happy Toko could even wink, the Emperor of the Silver
Islands was sailing towards the clouds. The Scarecrow, as you must
know, weighs almost nothing, and the people shouted with glee, for
they thought him a dummy man and part of the performance. But Happy
Toko ran after the kite as fast as his fat little legs would carry
him.
"Alas, alas, I shall lose my position!" wailed Happy Toko, quite
convinced that the Scarecrow would be dashed to pieces on the rocks.
"Oh, putty head that I am to set myself against the Grand Chew Chew!"
The Scarecrow, however, after recovering from the first shock, began
to enjoy himself. Holding fast to the dragon's tail, he looked down
with great interest upon his dominions. Rocks, mountains, tall silver
pagodas, drooping willow trees, flashed beneath him. Truly a
beautiful island! His gaze strayed over the silver waters surrounding
the island, and he was astonished to see a great fleet sailing into
the harbor--a great fleet of singular vessels with silken sails.
"What's this?" thought the Scarecrow. But just then the dragon kite
became suddenly possessed. It jerked him up, it jerked him down, and
shook him this way and that. His hat flew off, his arms and legs
whirled wildly, and pieces of straw began to float downward. Then the
hook ripped and tore through his coat and, making a terrible slit in
his back, came out. Down, down, down flashed the Scarecrow and landed
in a heap on the rocks. Poor Happy Toko rushed toward him with
streaming eyes.
"Oh radiant and immortal Scarecrowcus, what have they done to you?"
he moaned, dropping on his knees beside the flimsy shape of the
Emperor.
"Merely knocked out my honorable stuffing," mumbled the Scarecrow.
"Now Tappy, my dear fellow, will you just turn me over? There's a
rock in my eye that keeps me from thinking."
Happy Toko, at the sound of a voice from the rumpled heap of
clothing, gave a great leap.
"Is there any straw about?" asked the Scarecrow anxiously. "Why don't
you turn me over?"
"It's his ghost," moaned Happy Toko, and because he dared not disobey
a royal ghost, he turned the Scarecrow over with trembling hands.
"Don't be alarmed," said the Scarecrow, smiling reassuringly. "I'm
not breakable like you meat people. A little straw will make me good
as new. A little straw--straw, do you hear?" For Happy's pigtail was
still on end, and he was shaking so that his silver shoes clattered
on the rocks.
"I command you to fetch straw!" cried the Scarecrow at last, in an
angry voice. Happy dashed away.
When he returned with an arm full of straw, the Scarecrow managed to
convince him that he was quite alive. "It is impossible to kill a
person from Oz," he explained proudly, "and that is why my present
figure is so much more satisfactory than yours. I do not have to eat
or sleep and can always be repaired. Have you some safety pins?"
Happy produced several and under the Scarecrow's direction stuffed
out his chest and pinned up his rents.
"Let us return," said the Scarecrow. "I've had enough pleasure for
one day, and can't you sing something, Tappy?" Running and fright had
somewhat affected Happy's voice, but he squeaked out a funny little
song, and the two, keeping time to the tune, came without further
mishap to the Imperial gardens. Happy had just set the royal hat upon
the Scarecrow's head and brushed off his robes when a company of
courtiers dashed out of the palace door and came running toward them.
"Great Cornstarch!" exclaimed the Scarecrow, sitting heavily down on
the silver bench. "What's the matter now? Here are all the Pig-heads
on the Island, and look how old Chew Chew is puffing!"
"One would expect a Chew Chew to puff," observed Happy slyly. "One
would--" But he got no further, for the whole company was upon them.
"Save us! Save us!" wailed the courtiers, forgetting the royal edict
and falling on their faces.
"What from?" asked the Scarecrow, holding fast to the silver bench.
"The King--the King of the Golden Islands!" shrieked the Grand Chew
Chew.
"Ah yes!" murmured the Scarecrow, frowning thoughtfully. "Was that
his fleet coming into the harbor?"
The Grand Chew Chew jumped up in astonishment. "How could your
Highness see the fleet from here?" he stuttered.
"Not from here--there," said the Scarecrow, pointing upward and
winking at Happy Toko. "My Highness goes very high, you see!"
"Your Majesty does not seem to realize the seriousness of the
matter," choked the Grand Chew Chew. "He will set fire to the island
and make us all slaves." At this, the courtiers began banging their
heads distractedly on the grass.
"Set fire to the island!" exclaimed the Scarecrow, jumping to his
feet. "Then peace to _my_ ashes! Tappy, will you see that they are sent
back to Oz?"
"Save us! Save us!" screamed the frightened Silvermen.
"The prophecy of the beanstalk has promised that you would save us.
You are the Emperor Chang Wang Woe," persisted the Grand Chew Chew,
waving his long arms.
"Woe is me," murmured the Scarecrow, clasping his yellow gloves. "But
let me think."