The woman thought about this during the time that Cayke and the Frogman
ate their breakfast. When they had finished, she said, "Where are you
going next?"
"We have not decided," answered the Cookie cook.
"Our plan," explained the Frogman in his important way, "is to travel
from place to place until we learn where the thief is located and then
to force him to return the dishpan to its proper owner."
"The plan is all right," agreed the woman, "but it may take you a long
time before you succeed, your method being sort of haphazard and
indefinite. However, I advise you to travel toward the east."
"Why?" asked the Frogman.
"Because if you went west, you would soon come to the desert, and also
because in this part of the Winkie Country no one steals, so your time
here would be wasted. But toward the east, beyond the river, live many
strange people whose honesty I would not vouch for. Moreover, if you
journey far enough east and cross the river for a second time, you will
come to the Emerald City, where there is much magic and sorcery. The
Emerald City is ruled by a dear little girl called Ozma, who also rules
the Emperor of the Winkies and all the Land of Oz. So, as Ozma is a
fairy, she may be able to tell you just who has taken your precious
dishpan. Provided, of course, you do not find it before you reach her."
"This seems to be to be excellent advice," said the Frogman, and Cayke
agreed with him.
"The most sensible thing for you to do," continued the woman, "would be
to return to your home and use another dishpan, learn to cook cookies
as other people cook cookies, without the aid of magic. But if you
cannot be happy without the magic dishpan you have lost, you are likely
to learn more about it in the Emerald City than at any other place in
Oz."
They thanked the good woman, and on leaving her house faced the east
and continued in that direction all the way. Toward evening they came
to the west branch of the Winkie River and there, on the riverbank,
found a ferryman who lived all alone in a little yellow house. This
ferryman was a Winkie with a very small head and a very large body. He
was sitting in his doorway as the travelers approached him and did not
even turn his head to look at them.
"Good evening," said the Frogman.
The ferryman made no reply.
"We would like some supper and the privilege of sleeping in your house
until morning," continued the Frogman. "At daybreak, we would like
some breakfast, and then we would like to have you row us across the
river."
The ferryman neither moved nor spoke. He sat in his doorway and looked
straight ahead. "I think he must be deaf and dumb," Cayke whispered to
her companion. Then she stood directly in front of the ferryman, and
putting her mouth close to his ear, she yelled as loudly as she could,
"Good evening!"
The ferryman scowled.
"Why do you yell at me, woman?" he asked.
"Can you hear what I say?" asked in her ordinary tone of voice.
"Of course," replied the man.
"Then why didn't you answer the Frogman?"
"Because," said the ferryman, "I don't understand the frog language."
"He speaks the same words that I do and in the same way," declared
Cayke.
"Perhaps," replied the ferryman, "but to me his voice sounded like a
frog's croak. I know that in the Land of Oz animals can speak our
language, and so can the birds and bugs and fishes; but in MY ears,
they sound merely like growls and chirps and croaks."
"Why is that?" asked the Cookie Cook in surprise.
"Once, many years ago, I cut the tail off a fox which had taunted me,
and I stole some birds' eggs from a nest to make an omelet with, and
also I pulled a fish from the river and left it lying on the bank to
gasp for lack of water until it died. I don't know why I did those
wicked things, but I did them. So the Emperor of the Winkies--who is
the Tin Woodman and has a very tender tin heart--punished me by denying
me any communication with beasts, birds or fishes. I cannot understand
them when they speak to me, although I know that other people can do
so, nor can the creatures understand a word I say to them. Every time
I meet one of them, I am reminded of my former cruelty, and it makes me
very unhappy."
"Really," said Cayke, "I'm sorry for you, although the Tin Woodman is
not to blame for punishing you."
"What is he mumbling about?" asked the Frogman.
"He is talking to me, but you don't understand him," she replied. And
then she told him of the ferryman's punishment and afterward explained
to the ferryman that they wanted to stay all night with him and be fed.
He gave them some fruit and bread, which was the only sort of food he
had, and he allowed Cayke to sleep in a room of his cottage. But the
Frogman he refused to admit to his house, saying that the frog's
presence made him miserable and unhappy. At no time would he look
directly at the Frogman, or even toward him, fearing he would shed
tears if he did so; so the big frog slept on the riverbank where he
could hear little frogs croaking in the river all the night through.
But that did not keep him awake; it merely soothed him to slumber, for
he realized how much superior he was to them.
Just as the sun was rising on a new day, the ferryman rowed the two
travelers across the river--keeping his back to the Frogman all the
way--and then Cayke thanked him and bade him goodbye and the ferryman
rowed home again.
On this side of the river, there were no paths at all, so it was
evident they had reached a part of the country little frequented by
travelers. There was a marsh at the south of them, sandhills at the
north, and a growth of scrubby underbrush leading toward a forest at
the east. So the east was really the least difficult way to go, and
that direction was the one they had determined to follow.
Now the Frogman, although he wore green patent-leather shoes with ruby
buttons, had very large and flat feet, and when he tramped through the
scrub, his weight crushed down the underbrush and made a path for Cayke
to follow him. Therefore they soon reached the forest, where the tall
trees were set far apart but were so leafy that they shaded all the
spaces between them with their branches. "There are no bushes here,"
said Cayke, much pleased, "so we can now travel faster and with more
comfort."
CHAPTER 15
THE BIG LAVENDER BEAR
It was a pleasant place to wander, and the two travelers were
proceeding at a brisk pace when suddenly a voice shouted, "Halt!"
They looked around in surprise, seeing at first no one at all. Then
from behind a tree there stepped a brown, fuzzy bear whose head came
about as high as Cayke's waist--and Cayke was a small woman. The bear
was chubby as well as fuzzy; his body was even puffy, while his legs
and arms seemed jointed at the knees and elbows and fastened to his
body by pins or rivets. His ears were round in shape and stuck out in
a comical way, while his round, black eyes were bright and sparkling as
beads. Over his shoulder the little brown bear bore a gun with a tin
barrel. The barrel had a cork in the end of it, and a string was
attached to the cork and to the handle of the gun. Both the Frogman
and Cayke gazed hard at this curious bear, standing silent for some
time. But finally the Frogman recovered from his surprise and
remarked, "It seems to me that you are stuffed with sawdust and ought
not to be alive."
"That's all you know about it," answered the little Brown Bear in a
squeaky voice. "I am stuffed with a very good quality of curled hair,
and my skin is the best plush that was ever made. As for my being
alive, that is my own affair and cannot concern you at all, except that
it gives me the privilege to say you are my prisoners."
"Prisoners! Why do you speak such nonsense?" the Frogman angrily. "Do
you think we are afraid of a toy bear with a toy gun?"
"You ought to be," was the confident reply, "for I am merely the sentry
guarding the way to Bear Center, which is a city containing hundreds of
my race, who are ruled by a very powerful sorcerer known as the
Lavender Bear. He ought to be a purple color, you know, seeing he is a
King, but he's only light lavender, which is, of course, second cousin
to royal purple. So unless you come with me peaceably as my prisoners,
I shall fire my gun and bring a hundred bears of all sizes and colors
to capture you."
"Why do you wish to capture us?" inquired the Frogman, who had listened
to his speech with much astonishment.
"I don't wish to, as a matter of fact," replied the little Brown Bear,
"but it is my duty to, because you are now trespassing on the domain of
His Majesty, the King of Bear Center. Also, I will admit that things
are rather quiet in our city just now, and the excitement of your
capture, followed by your trial and execution, should afford us much
entertainment."
"We defy you!" said the Frogman.
"Oh no, don't do that," pleaded Cayke, speaking to her companion. "He
says his King is a sorcerer, so perhaps it is he or one of his bears
who ventured to steal my jeweled dishpan. Let us go to the City of the
Bears and discover if my dishpan is there."
"I must now register one more charge against you," remarked the little
Brown Bear with evident satisfaction. "You have just accused us of
stealing, and that is such a dreadful thing to say that I am quite sure
our noble King will command you to be executed."
"But how could you execute us?" inquired the Cookie Cook.
"I've no idea. But our King is a wonderful inventor, and there is no
doubt he can find a proper way to destroy you. So tell me, are you
going to struggle, or will you go peaceably to meet your doom?"
It was all so ridiculous that Cayke laughed aloud, and even the
Frogman's wide mouth curled in a smile. Neither was a bit afraid to go
to the Bear City, and it seemed to both that there was a possibility
they might discover the missing dishpan. So the Frogman said, "Lead
the way, little Bear, and we will follow without a struggle."
"That's very sensible of you, very sensible indeed," declared the Brown
Bear. "So for-ward, MARCH!" And with the command he turned around and
began to waddle along a path that led between the trees.
Cayke and the Frogman, as they followed their conductor, could scarce
forbear laughing at his stiff, awkward manner of walking, and although
he moved his stuffy legs fast, his steps were so short that they had to
go slowly in order not to run into him. But after a time they reached a
large, circular space in the center of the forest, which was clear of
any stumps or underbrush. The ground was covered by a soft, gray moss,
pleasant to tread upon. All the trees surrounding this space seemed to
be hollow and had round holes in their trunks, set a little way above
the ground, but otherwise there was nothing unusual about the place and
nothing, in the opinion of the prisoners, to indicate a settlement.
But the little Brown Bear said in a proud and impressive voice
(although it still squeaked), "This is the wonderful city known to fame
as Bear Center!"
"But there are no houses, there are no bears living here at all!"
exclaimed Cayke.
"Oh indeed!" retorted their captor, and raising his gun he pulled the
trigger. The cork flew out of the tin barrel with a loud "pop!" and at
once from every hole in every tree within view of the clearing appeared
the head of a bear. They were of many colors and of many sizes, but
all were made in the same manner as the bear who had met and captured
them.
At first a chorus of growls arose, and then a sharp voice cried, "What
has happened, Corporal Waddle?"
"Captives, Your Majesty!" answered the Brown Bear. "Intruders upon our
domain and slanderers of our good name."
"Ah, that's important," answered the voice.
Then from out the hollow trees tumbled a whole regiment of stuffed
bears, some carrying tin swords, some popguns and others long spears
with gay ribbons tied to the handles. There were hundreds of them,
altogether, and they quietly formed a circle around the Frogman and the
Cookie Cook, but kept at a distance and left a large space for the
prisoners to stand in. Presently, this circle parted, and into the
center of it stalked a huge toy bear of a lovely lavender color. He
walked upon his hind legs, as did all the others, and on his head he
wore a tin crown set with diamonds and amethysts, while in one paw he
carried a short wand of some glittering metal that resembled silver but
wasn't.
"His Majesty the King!" Corporal Waddle, and all the bears bowed low.
Some bowed so low that they lost their balance and toppled over, but
they soon scrambled up again, and the Lavender King squatted on his
haunches before the prisoners and gazed at them steadily with his
bright, pink eyes.
CHAPTER 16
THE LITTLE PINK BEAR
"One Person and one Freak," said the big Lavender Bear when he had
carefully examined the strangers.
"I am sorry to hear you call poor Cayke the Cookie Cook a Freak,"
remonstrated the Frogman.
"She is the Person," asserted the King. "Unless I am mistaken, it is
you who are the Freak."
The Frogman was silent, for he could not truthfully deny it.
"Why have you dared intrude in my forest?" demanded the Bear King.
"We didn't know it was your forest," said Cayke, "and we are on our way
to the far east, where the Emerald City is."
"Ah, it's a long way from here to the Emerald City," remarked the King.
"It is so far away, indeed, that no bear among us has even been there.
But what errand requires you to travel such a distance?"
"Someone has stolen my diamond-studded gold dishpan," explained Cayke,
"and as I cannot be happy without it, I have decided to search the
world over until I find it again. The Frogman, who is very learned and
wonderfully wise, has come with me to give me his assistance. Isn't it
kind of him?"
The King looked at the Frogman.
"What makes you so wonderfully wise?" he asked.
"I'm not," was the candid reply. "The Cookie Cook and some others in
the Yip Country think because I am a big frog and talk and act like a
man that I must be very wise. I have learned more than a frog usually
knows, it is true, but I am not yet so wise as I hope to become at some
future time."
The King nodded, and when he did so, something squeaked in his chest.
"Did Your Majesty speak?" asked Cayke.
"Not just then," answered the Lavender Bear, seeming to be somewhat
embarrassed. "I am so built, you must know, that when anything pushes
against my chest, as my chin accidentally did just then, I make that
silly noise. In this city it isn't considered good manners to notice.
But I like your Frogman. He is honest and truthful, which is more than
can be said of many others. As for your late lamented dishpan, I'll
show it to you."
With this he waved three times the metal wand which he held in his paw,
and instantly there appeared upon the ground midway between the King
and Cayke a big, round pan made of beaten gold. Around the top edge
was a row of small diamonds; around the center of the pan was another
row of larger diamonds; and at the bottom was a row of exceedingly
large and brilliant diamonds. In fact, they all sparkled
magnificently, and the pan was so big and broad that it took a lot of
diamonds to go around it three times.
Cayke stared so hard that her eyes seemed about to pop out of her head.
"O-o-o-h!" she exclaimed, drawing a deep breath of delight.
"Is this your dishpan?" inquired the King.
"It is, it is!" cried the Cookie Cook, and rushing forward, she fell on
her knees and threw her arms around the precious pan. But her arms
came together without meeting any resistance at all. Cayke tried to
seize the edge, but found nothing to grasp. The pan was surely there,
she thought, for she could see it plainly; but it was not solid; she
could not feel it at all. With a moan of astonishment and despair, she
raised her head to look at the Bear King, who was watching her actions
curiously. Then she turned to the pan again, only to find it had
completely disappeared.
"Poor creature!" murmured the King pityingly. "You must have thought,
for the moment, that you had actually recovered your dishpan. But what
you saw was merely the image of it, conjured up by means of my magic.
It is a pretty dishpan, indeed, though rather big and awkward to
handle. I hope you will some day find it."
Cayke was grievously disappointed. She began to cry, wiping her eyes
on her apron. The King turned to the throng of toy bears surrounding
him and asked, "Has any of you ever seen this golden dishpan before?"
"No," they answered in a chorus.
The King seemed to reflect. Presently he inquired, "Where is the
Little Pink Bear?"
"At home, Your Majesty," was the reply.
"Fetch him here," commanded the King.
Several of the bears waddled over to one of the trees and pulled from
its hollow a tiny pink bear, smaller than any of the others. A big,
white bear carried the pink one in his arms and set it down beside the
King, arranging the joints of its legs so that it would stand upright.
This Pink Bear seemed lifeless until the King turned a crank which
protruded from its side, when the little creature turned its head
stiffly from side to side and said in a small, shrill voice, "Hurrah
for the King of Bear Center!"
"Very good," said the big Lavender Bear. "He seems to be working very
well today. Tell me, my Pink Pinkerton, what has become of this lady's
jeweled dishpan?"
"U-u-u," said the Pink Bear, and then stopped short.
The King turned the crank again.
"U-g-u the Shoemaker has it," said the Pink Bear.
"Who is Ugu the Shoemaker?" demanded the King, again turning the crank.
"A magician who lives on a mountain in a wickerwork castle," was the
reply.
"Where is the mountain?" was the next question.
"Nineteen miles and three furlongs from Bear Center to the northeast."
"And is the dishpan still at the castle of Ugu the Shoemaker?" asked
the King.
"It is."
The King turned to Cayke.
"You may rely on this information," said he. "The Pink Bear can tell
us anything we wish to know, and his words are always words of truth."
"Is he alive?" asked the Frogman, much interested in the Pink Bear.
"Something animates him when you turn his crank," replied the King. "I
do not know if it is life or what it is or how it happens that the
Little Pink Bear can answer correctly every question put to him. We
discovered his talent a long time ago, and whenever we wish to know
anything--which is not very often--we ask the Pink Bear. There is no
doubt whatever, madam, that Ugu the Magician has your dishpan, and if
you dare to go to him, you may be able to recover it. But of that I am
not certain."
"Can't the Pink Bear tell?" asked Cayke anxiously.
"No, for that is in the future. He can tell anything that HAS
happened, but nothing that is going to happen. Don't ask me why, for I
don't know."
"Well," said the Cookie Cook after a little thought, "I mean to go to
this magician, anyhow, and tell him I want my dishpan. I wish I knew
what Ugu the Shoemaker is like."
"Then I'll show him to you," promised the King. "But do not be
frightened. It won't be Ugu, remember, but only his image." With
this, he waved his metal wand, and in the circle suddenly appeared a
thin little man, very old and skinny, who was seated on a wicker stool
before a wicker table. On the table lay a Great Book with gold clasps.
The Book was open, and the man was reading in it. He wore great
spectacles which were fastened before his eyes by means of a ribbon
that passed around his head and was tied in a bow at the neck. His hair
was very thin and white; his skin, which clung fast to his bones, was
brown and seared with furrows; he had a big, fat nose and little eyes
set close together.
On no account was Ugu the Shoemaker a pleasant person to gaze at. As
his image appeared before them, all were silent and intent until
Corporal Waddle, the Brown Bear, became nervous and pulled the trigger
of his gun. Instantly, the cork flew out of the tin barrel with a loud
"pop!" that made them all jump. And at this sound, the image of the
magician vanished.
"So THAT'S the thief, is it?" said Cayke in an angry voice. "I should
think he'd be ashamed of himself for stealing a poor woman's diamond
dishpan! But I mean to face him in his wicker castle and force him to
return my property."
"To me," said the Bear King reflectively, "he looked like a dangerous
person. I hope he won't be so unkind as to argue the matter with you."
The Frogman was much disturbed by the vision of Ugu the Shoemaker, and
Cayke's determination to go to the magician filled her companion with
misgivings. But he would not break his pledged word to assist the
Cookie Cook, and after breathing a deep sigh of resignation, he asked
the King, "Will Your Majesty lend us this Pink Bear who answers
questions that we may take him with us on our journey? He would be
very useful to us, and we will promise to bring him safely back to you."
The King did not reply at once. He seemed to be thinking.
"PLEASE let us take the Pink Bear," begged Cayke. "I'm sure he would
be a great help to us."
"The Pink Bear," said the King, "is the best bit of magic I possess,
and there is not another like him in the world. I do not care to let
him out of my sight, nor do I wish to disappoint you; so I believe I
will make the journey in your company and carry my Pink Bear with me.
He can walk when you wind the other side of him, but so slowly and
awkwardly that he would delay you. But if I go along, I can carry him
in my arms, so I will join your party. Whenever you are ready to
start, let me know."
"But Your Majesty!" exclaimed Corporal Waddle in protest, "I hope you
do not intend to let these prisoners escape without punishment."
"Of what crime do you accuse them?" inquired the King.
"Why, they trespassed on your domain, for one thing," said the Brown
Bear.
"We didn't know it was private property, Your Majesty," said the Cookie
Cook. "And they asked if any of us had stolen the dishpan!" continued
Corporal Waddle indignantly. "That is the same thing as calling us
thieves and robbers and bandits and brigands, is it not?"
"Every person has the right to ask questions," said the Frogman.
"But the Corporal is quite correct," declared the Lavender Bear. "I
condemn you both to death, the execution to take place ten years from
this hour."
"But we belong in the Land of Oz, where no one ever dies," Cayke
reminded him.
"Very true," said the King. "I condemn you to death merely as a matter
of form. It sounds quite terrible, and in ten years we shall have
forgotten all about it. Are you ready to start for the wicker castle
of Ugu the Shoemaker?"
"Quite ready, Your Majesty."
"But who will rule in your place while you are gone?" asked a big
Yellow Bear.
"I myself will rule while I am gone," was the reply.
"A King isn't required to stay at home forever, and if he takes a
notion to travel, whose business is it but his own? All I ask is that
you bears behave yourselves while I am away. If any of you is naughty,
I'll send him to some girl or boy in America to play with."
This dreadful threat made all the toy bears look solemn. They assured
the King in a chorus of growls that they would be good. Then the big
Lavender Bear picked up the little Pink Bear, and after tucking it
carefully under one arm, he said, "Goodbye till I come back!" and
waddled along the path that led through the forest. The Frogman and
Cayke the Cookie Cook also said goodbye to the bears and then followed
after the King, much to the regret of the little Brown Bear, who pulled
the trigger of his gun and popped the cork as a parting salute.
CHAPTER 17
THE MEETING
While the Frogman and his party were advancing from the west, Dorothy
and her party were advancing from the east, and so it happened that on
the following night they all camped at a little hill that was only a
few miles from the wicker castle of Ugu the Shoemaker. But the two
parties did not see one another that night, for one camped on one side
of the hill while the other camped on the opposite side. But the next
morning, the Frogman thought he would climb the hill and see what was
on top of it, and at the same time Scraps, the Patchwork Girl, also
decided to climb the hill to find if the wicker castle was visible from
its top. So she stuck her head over an edge just as the Frogman's head
appeared over another edge, and both, being surprised, kept still while
they took a good look at one another.
Scraps recovered from her astonishment first, and bounding upward, she
turned a somersault and landed sitting down and facing the big Frogman,
who slowly advanced and sat opposite her. "Well met, Stranger!" cried
the Patchwork Girl with a whoop of laughter. "You are quite the
funniest individual I have seen in all my travels."
"Do you suppose I can be any funnier than you?" asked the Frogman,
gazing at her in wonder.
"I'm not funny to myself, you know," returned Scraps. "I wish I were.
And perhaps you are so used to your own absurd shape that you do not
laugh whenever you see your reflection in a pool or in a mirror."
"No," said the Frogman gravely, "I do not. I used to be proud of my
great size and vain of my culture and education, but since I bathed in
the Truth Pond, I sometimes think it is not right that I should be
different from all other frogs."
"Right or wrong," said the Patchwork Girl, "to be different is to be
distinguished. Now in my case, I'm just like all other Patchwork Girls
because I'm the only one there is. But tell me, where did you come
from?"
"The Yip Country," said he.
"Is that in the Land of Oz?"
"Of course," replied the Frogman.
"And do you know that your Ruler, Ozma of Oz, has been stolen?"
"I was not aware that I had a Ruler, so of course I couldn't know that
she was stolen."
"Well, you have. All the people of Oz," explained Scraps, "are ruled by
Ozma, whether they know it or not. And she has been stolen. Aren't you
angry? Aren't you indignant? Your Ruler, whom you didn't know you
had, has positively been stolen!"
"That is queer," remarked the Frogman thoughtfully. "Stealing is a
thing practically unknown in Oz, yet this Ozma has been taken, and a
friend of mine has also had her dishpan stolen. With her I have
traveled all the way from the Yip Country in order to recover it."
"I don't see any connection between a Royal Ruler of Oz and a dishpan!"
declared Scraps.
"They've both been stolen, haven't they?"
"True. But why can't your friend wash her dishes in another dishpan?"
asked Scraps.
"Why can't you use another Royal Ruler? I suppose you prefer the one
who is lost, and my friend wants her own dishpan, which is made of gold
and studded with diamonds and has magic powers."
"Magic, eh?" exclaimed Scraps. "THERE is a link that connects the two
steals, anyhow, for it seems that all the magic in the Land of Oz was
stolen at the same time, whether it was in the Emerald City of in
Glinda's castle or in the Yip Country. Seems mighty strange and
mysterious, doesn't it?"
"It used to seem that way to me," admitted the Frogman, "but we have
now discovered who took our dishpan. It was Ugu the Shoemaker."
"Ugu? Good gracious! That's the same magician we think has stolen
Ozma. We are now on our way to the castle of this Shoemaker."
"So are we," said the Frogman.
"Then follow me, quick! And let me introduce you to Dorothy and the
other girls and to the Wizard of Oz and all the rest of us."
She sprang up and seized his coatsleeve, dragging him off the hilltop
and down the other side from that whence he had come. And at the foot
of the hill, the Frogman was astonished to find the three girls and the
Wizard and Button-Bright, who were surrounded by a wooden Sawhorse, a
lean Mule, a square Woozy, and a Cowardly Lion. A little black dog ran
up and smelled at the Frogman, but couldn't growl at him.
"I've discovered another party that has been robbed," shouted Scraps as
she joined them. "This is their leader, and they're all going to Ugu's
castle to fight the wicked Shoemaker!"
They regarded the Frogman with much curiosity and interest, and finding
all eyes fixed upon him, the newcomer arranged his necktie and smoothed
his beautiful vest and swung his gold-headed cane like a regular dandy.
The big spectacles over his eyes quite altered his froglike countenance
and gave him a learned and impressive look. Used as she was to seeing
strange creatures in the Land of Oz, Dorothy was amazed at discovering
the Frogman. So were all her companions. Toto wanted to growl at him,
but couldn't, and he didn't dare bark. The Sawhorse snorted rather
contemptuously, but the Lion whispered to the wooden steed, "Bear with
this strange creature, my friend, and remember he is no more
extraordinary than you are. Indeed, it is more natural for a frog to
be big than for a Sawhorse to be alive."
On being questioned, the Frogman told them the whole story of the loss
of Cayke's highly prized dishpan and their adventures in search of it.
When he came to tell of the Lavender Bear King and of the Little Pink
Bear who could tell anything you wanted to know, his hearers became
eager to see such interesting animals.
"It will be best," said the Wizard, "to unite our two parties and share
our fortunes together, for we are all bound on the same errand, and as
one band we may more easily defy this shoemaker magician than if
separate. Let us be allies."
"I will ask my friends about that," replied the Frogman, and he climbed
over the hill to find Cayke and the toy bears. The Patchwork Girl
accompanied him, and when they came upon the Cookie Cook and the
Lavender Bear and the Pink Bear, it was hard to tell which of the lot
was the most surprised.
"Mercy me!" cried Cayke, addressing the Patchwork Girl. "However did
you come alive?"
Scraps stared at the bears.
"Mercy me!" she echoed, "You are stuffed, as I am, with cotton, and you
appear to be living. That makes me feel ashamed, for I have prided
myself on being the only live cotton-stuffed person in Oz."
"Perhaps you are," returned the Lavender Bear, "for I am stuffed with
extra-quality curled hair, and so is the Little Pink Bear."
"You have relieved my mind of a great anxiety," declared the Patchwork
Girl, now speaking more cheerfully. "The Scarecrow is stuffed with
straw and you with hair, so I am still the Original and Only
Cotton-Stuffed!"
"I hope I am too polite to criticize cotton as compared with curled
hair," said the King, "especially as you seem satisfied with it."
Then the Frogman told of his interview with the party from the Emerald
City and added that the Wizard of Oz had invited the bears and Cayke
and himself to travel in company with them to the castle of Ugu the
Shoemaker. Cayke was much pleased, but the Bear King looked solemn. He
set the Little Pink Bear on his lap and turned the crank in its side
and asked, "Is it safe for us to associate with those people from the
Emerald City?"
And the Pink Bear at once replied,
"Safe for you and safe for me;
Perhaps no others safe will be."
"That 'perhaps' need not worry us," said the King, "so let us join the
others and offer them our protection."
Even the Lavender Bear was astonished, however, when on climbing over
the hill he found on the other side the group of queer animals and the
people from the Emerald City. The bears and Cayke were received very
cordially, although Button-Bright was cross when they wouldn't let him
play with the Little Pink Bear. The three girls greatly admired the
toy bears, and especially the pink one, which they longed to hold.
"You see," explained the Lavender King in denying them this privilege,
"he's a very valuable bear, because his magic is a correct guide on all
occasions, and especially if one is in difficulties. It was the Pink
Bear who told us that Ugu the Shoemaker had stolen the Cookie Cook's
dishpan."
"And the King's magic is just as wonderful," added Cayke, "because it
showed us the Magician himself."
"What did he look like?" inquired Dorothy.
"He was dreadful!"
"He was sitting at a table and examining an immense Book which had
three golden clasps," remarked the King.
"Why, that must have been Glinda's Great Book of Records!" exclaimed
Dorothy. "If it is, it proves that Ugu the Shoemaker stole Ozma, and
with her all the magic in the Emerald City."
"And my dishpan," said Cayke.
And the Wizard added, "It also proves that he is following our
adventures in the Book of Records, and therefore knows that we are
seeking him and that we are determined to find him and reach Ozma at
all hazards."
"If we can," added the Woozy, but everybody frowned at him.
The Wizard's statement was so true that the faces around him were very
serious until the Patchwork Girl broke into a peal of laughter.
"Wouldn't it be a rich joke if he made prisoners of us, too?" she said.
"No one but a crazy Patchwork Girl would consider that a joke,"
grumbled Button-Bright.
And then the Lavender Bear King asked, "Would you like to see this
magical shoemaker?"
"Wouldn't he know it?" Dorothy inquired.
"No, I think not."
Then the King waved his metal wand and before them appeared a room in
the wicker castle of Ugu. On the wall of the room hung Ozma's Magic
Picture, and seated before it was the Magician. They could see the
Picture as well as he could, because it faced them, and in the Picture
was the hillside where they were not sitting, all their forms being
reproduced in miniature. And curiously enough, within the scene of the
Picture was the scene they were now beholding, so they knew that the
Magician was at this moment watching them in the Picture, and also that
he saw himself and the room he was in become visible to the people on
the hillside. Therefore he knew very well that they were watching him
while he was watching them.
In proof of this, Ugu sprang from his seat and turned a scowling face
in their direction; but now he could not see the travelers who were
seeking him, although they could still see him. His actions were so
distinct, indeed, that it seemed he was actually before them. "It is
only a ghost," said the Bear King. "It isn't real at all except that
it shows us Ugu just as he looks and tells us truly just what he is
doing."
"I don't see anything of my lost growl, though," said Toto as if to
himself.
Then the vision faded away, and they could see nothing but the grass
and trees and bushes around them.
CHAPTER 18
THE CONFERENCE
"Now then," said the Wizard, "let us talk this matter over and decide
what to do when we get to Ugu's wicker castle. There can be no doubt
that the Shoemaker is a powerful Magician, and his powers have been
increased a hundredfold since he secured the Great Book of Records, the
Magic Picture, all of Glinda's recipes for sorcery, and my own black
bag, which was full of tools of wizardry. The man who could rob us of
those things and the man with all their powers at his command is one
who may prove somewhat difficult to conquer, therefore we should plan
our actions well before we venture too near to his castle."
"I didn't see Ozma in the Magic Picture," said Trot. "What do you
suppose Ugu has done with her?"
"Couldn't the Little Pink Bear tell us what he did with Ozma?" asked
Button-Bright.
"To be sure," replied the Lavender King. "I'll ask him." So he turned
the crank in the Little Pink Bear's side and inquired, "Did Ugu the
Shoemaker steal Ozma of Oz?"
"Yes," answered the Little Pink Bear.
"Then what did he do with her?" asked the King.
"Shut her up in a dark place," answered the Little Pink Bear.
"Oh, that must be a dungeon cell!" cried Dorothy, horrified. "How
dreadful!"
"Well, we must get her out of it," said the Wizard. "That is what we
came for, and of course we must rescue Ozma. But how?"
Each one looked at some other one for an answer, and all shook their
heads in a grave and dismal manner. All but Scraps, who danced around
them gleefully. "You're afraid," said the Patchwork Girl, "because so
many things can hurt your meat bodies. Why don't you give it up and go
home? How can you fight a great magician when you have nothing to
fight with?" Dorothy looked at her reflectively. |
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