Glinda of Oz Read online

  Produced by Chris Curnow, Joseph Cooper, Matthew Wheatonand the Online Distributed Proofreading Team athttps://www.pgdp.net

  GLINDA OF OZ

  In which are related the Exciting Experiences of Princess Ozma of Oz, and Dorothy, in their hazardous journey to the home of the Flatheads, and to the Magic Isle of the Skeezers, and how they were rescued from dire peril by the sorcery of Glinda the Good.

  BY

  L. FRANK BAUM

  "Royal Historian of Oz"

  ILLUSTRATED BY JOHN R. NEILL

  This Book is Dedicated to

  My Son Robert Stanton Baum

  TO OUR READERS

  Glinda the Good, lovely Sorceress of the Land of Oz and friend ofPrincess Ozma and Dorothy, has lots of personal acquaintances who wantto know more about her. So, in the new Oz story, Mr. L. Frank Baum,Royal Historian of Oz, has written a whole book about how Glinda andthe Wizard worked with all their might to save the Princess andDorothy from the dire dangers which threatened them when they wentamong the warring tribes of the Flatheads and Skeezers.

  The wicked Queen Coo-ee-oh, a vain and evil witch, was really to blamefor all the trouble. She surely succeeded in getting every one on themagic, glass-domed island of the Skeezers into amazing difficulties.When Mr. Baum tells you how worried everybody in the Land of Oz feltabout the Princess Ozma and Dorothy and what wonderful sorcery Glindahad to perform to save them, you'll be thrilled with excitement andadmiration. He reveals the most hidden mysteries of magic.

  Mr. Baum did his best to answer all the letters from his smallearth-friends before he had to leave them, but he couldn't answerquite all, for there were very many. In May, nineteen hundrednineteen, he went away to take his stories to the little child-soulswho had lived here too long ago to read the Oz stories for themselves.

  We are sorry he could not stay here and we are sad to tell you this ishis last complete story. But he left some unfinished notes about thePrincess Ozma and Dorothy and the Oz people and we promise that someday we will put them all together like a picture puzzle and give youmore stories of the wonderful Land of Oz.

  Cordially, your friends, The Publishers.

  LIST OF CHAPTERS

  1 The Call of Duty 2 Ozma and Dorothy 3 The Mist Maidens 4 The Magic Tent 5 The Magic Stairway 6 Flathead Mountain 7 The Magic Isle 8 Queen Coo-ee-oh 9 Lady Aurex 10 Under Water 11 The Conquest of the Skeezers 12 The Diamond Swan 13 The Alarm Bell 14 Ozma's Counsellors 15 The Great Sorceress 16 The Enchanted Fishes 17 Under the Great Dome 18 The Cleverness of Ervic 19 Red Reera, the Yookoohoo 20 A Puzzling Problem 21 The Three Adepts 22 The Sunken Island 23 The Magic Words 24 Glinda's Triumph

  Glinda of Oz]

  CHAPTER 1

  The Call to Duty

  Glinda, the good Sorceress of Oz, sat in the grand court of herpalace, surrounded by her maids of honor--a hundred of the mostbeautiful girls of the Fairyland of Oz. The palace court was built ofrare marbles, exquisitely polished. Fountains tinkled musically hereand there; the vast colonnade, open to the south, allowed the maidens,as they raised their heads from their embroideries, to gaze upon avista of rose-hued fields and groves of trees bearing fruits or ladenwith sweet-scented flowers. At times one of the girls would start asong, the others joining in the chorus, or one would rise and dance,gracefully swaying to the music of a harp played by a companion. Andthen Glinda smiled, glad to see her maids mixing play with work.

  Presently among the fields an object was seen moving, threading thebroad path that led to the castle gate. Some of the girls looked uponthis object enviously; the Sorceress merely gave it a glance andnodded her stately head as if pleased, for it meant the coming of herfriend and mistress--the only one in all the land that Glinda bowedto.

  Then up the path trotted a wooden animal attached to a red wagon, andas the quaint steed halted at the gate there descended from the wagontwo young girls, Ozma, Ruler of Oz, and her companion, PrincessDorothy. Both were dressed in simple white muslin gowns, and as theyran up the marble steps of the palace they laughed and chatted asgaily as if they were not the most important persons in the world'sloveliest fairyland.

  The maids of honor had risen and stood with bowed heads to greet theroyal Ozma, while Glinda came forward with outstretched arms to greether guests.

  "We've just come on a visit, you know," said Ozma. "Both Dorothy and Iwere wondering how we should pass the day when we happened to thinkwe'd not been to your Quadling Country for weeks, so we took theSawhorse and rode straight here."

  "And we came so fast," added Dorothy, "that our hair is blown allfuzzy, for the Sawhorse makes a wind of his own. Usually it's a day'sjourney from the Em'rald City, but I don't s'pose we were two hours onthe way."

  "You are most welcome," said Glinda the Sorceress, and led themthrough the court to her magnificent reception hall. Ozma took the armof her hostess, but Dorothy lagged behind, kissing some of the maidsshe knew best, talking with others, and making them all feel that shewas their friend. When at last she joined Glinda and Ozma in thereception hall, she found them talking earnestly about thecondition of the people, and how to make them more happy andcontented--although they were already the happiest and most contentedfolks in all the world.

  This interested Ozma, of course, but it didn't interest Dorothy verymuch, so the little girl ran over to a big table on which was lyingopen Glinda's Great Book of Records.

  This Book is one of the greatest treasures in Oz, and the Sorceressprizes it more highly than any of her magical possessions. That is thereason it is firmly attached to the big marble table by means ofgolden chains, and whenever Glinda leaves home she locks the GreatBook together with five jeweled padlocks, and carries the keys safelyhidden in her bosom.

  I do not suppose there is any magical thing in any fairyland tocompare with the Record Book, on the pages of which are constantlybeing printed a record of every event that happens in any part of theworld, at exactly the moment it happens. And the records are alwaystruthful, although sometimes they do not give as many details as onecould wish. But then, lots of things happen, and so the records haveto be brief or even Glinda's Great Book could not hold them all.

  Glinda looked at the records several times each day, and Dorothy,whenever she visited the Sorceress, loved to look in the Book and seewhat was happening everywhere. Not much was recorded about the Land ofOz, which is usually peaceful and uneventful, but today Dorothy foundsomething which interested her. Indeed, the printed letters wereappearing on the page even while she looked.

  "This is funny!" she exclaimed. "Did you know, Ozma, that there werepeople in your Land of Oz called Skeezers?"

  "Yes," replied Ozma, coming to her side, "I know that on ProfessorWogglebug's Map of the Land of Oz there is a place marked 'Skeezer,'but what the Skeezers are like I do not know. No one I know has everseen them or heard of them. The Skeezer Country is 'way at the upperedge of the Gillikin Country, with the sandy, impassable desert on oneside and the mountains of Oogaboo on another side. That is a part ofthe Land of Oz of which I know very little."

  "I guess no one else knows much about it either, unless it's theSkeezers themselves," remarked Dorothy. "But the Book says: 'TheSkeezers of Oz have declared war on the Flatheads of Oz, and there islikely to be fighting and much trouble as the result.'"

  "Is that all the Book says?" asked Ozma.

  "Every word," said Dorothy, and Ozma and Glinda both looked at theRecord and seemed surprised and perplexed.

  "Tell me, Glinda," said Ozma, "who are the Flatheads?"

  "I cannot, your Majesty," confessed the Sorceress. "Until now I neverhave heard of them, nor have I ever heard the Skeezers mentioned. I
nthe faraway corners of Oz are hidden many curious tribes of people,and those who never leave their own countries and never are visited bythose from our favored part of Oz, naturally are unknown to me.However, if you so desire, I can learn through my arts of sorcerysomething of the Skeezers and the Flatheads."

  "I wish you would," answered Ozma seriously. "You see, Glinda, ifthese are Oz people they are my subjects and I cannot allow any warsor troubles in the Land I rule, if I can possibly help it."

  "Very well, your Majesty," said the Sorceress, "I will try to get someinformation to guide you. Please excuse me for a time, while I retireto my Room of Magic and Sorcery."

  "May I go with you?" asked Dorothy, eagerly.

  "No, Princess," was the reply. "It would spoil the charm to haveanyone present."

  So Glinda locked herself in her own Room of Magic and Dorothy and Ozmawaited patiently for her to come out again.

  In about an hour Glinda appeared, looking grave and thoughtful.

  "Your Majesty," she said to Ozma, "the Skeezers live on a Magic Islein a great lake. For that reason--because the Skeezers deal inmagic--I can learn little about them."

  "Why, I didn't know there was a lake in that part of Oz," exclaimedOzma. "The map shows a river running through the Skeezer Country, butno lake."

  "That is because the person who made the map never had visited thatpart of the country," explained the Sorceress. "The lake surely isthere, and in the lake is an island--a Magic Isle--and on that islandlive the people called the Skeezers."

  "What are they like?" inquired the Ruler of Oz.

  "My magic cannot tell me that," confessed Glinda, "for the magic ofthe Skeezers prevents anyone outside of their domain knowing anythingabout them."

  "The Flatheads must know, if they're going to fight the Skeezers,"suggested Dorothy.

  "Perhaps so," Glinda replied, "but I can get little informationconcerning the Flatheads, either. They are people who inhabit amountain just south of the Lake of the Skeezers. The mountain hassteep sides and a broad, hollow top, like a basin, and in this basinthe Flatheads have their dwellings. They also are magic-workers andusually keep to themselves and allow no one from outside to visitthem. I have learned that the Flatheads number about one hundredpeople--men, women and children--while the Skeezers number just onehundred and one."

  "What did they quarrel about, and why do they wish to fight oneanother?" was Ozma's next question.

  "I cannot tell your Majesty that," said Glinda.

  "But see here!" cried Dorothy, "it's against the law for anyone butGlinda and the Wizard to work magic in the Land of Oz, so if these twostrange people are magic-makers they are breaking the law and ought tobe punished!"

  Ozma smiled upon her little friend.

  "Those who do not know me or my laws," she said, "cannot be expectedto obey my laws. If we know nothing of the Skeezers or the Flatheads,it is likely that they know nothing of us."

  "But they _ought_ to know, Ozma, and _we_ ought to know. Who's goingto tell them, and how are we going to make them behave?"

  "That," returned Ozma, "is what I am now considering. What would youadvise, Glinda?"

  The Sorceress took a little time to consider this question, before shemade reply. Then she said:

  "Had you not learned of the existence of the Flatheads and theSkeezers, through my Book of Records, you would never have worriedabout them or their quarrels. So, if you pay no attention to thesepeoples, you may never hear of them again."

  "But that wouldn't be right," declared Ozma. "I am Ruler of all theLand of Oz, which includes the Gillikin Country, the QuadlingCountry, the Winkie Country and the Munchkin Country, as well as theEmerald City, and being the Princess of this fairyland it is my dutyto make all my people--wherever they may be--happy and content and tosettle their disputes and keep them from quarreling. So, while theSkeezers and Flatheads may not know me or that I am their lawfulRuler, I now know that they inhabit my kingdom and are my subjects, soI would not be doing my duty if I kept away from them and allowed themto fight."

  "That's a fact, Ozma," commented Dorothy. "You've got to go up to theGillikin Country and make these people behave themselves and make uptheir quarrels. But how are you going to do it?"

  "That is what is puzzling me also, your Majesty," said the Sorceress."It may be dangerous for you to go into those strange countries, wherethe people are possibly fierce and warlike."

  "I am not afraid," said Ozma, with a smile.

  "'Tisn't a question of being 'fraid," argued Dorothy. "Of course weknow you're a fairy, and can't be killed or hurt, and we know you've alot of magic of your own to help you. But, Ozma dear, in spite of allthis you've been in trouble before, on account of wicked enemies, andit isn't right for the Ruler of all Oz to put herself in danger."

  "Perhaps I shall be in no danger at all," returned Ozma, with a littlelaugh. "You mustn't _imagine_ danger, Dorothy, for one should onlyimagine nice things, and we do not know that the Skeezers andFlatheads are wicked people or my enemies. Perhaps they would be goodand listen to reason."

  "Dorothy is right, your Majesty," asserted the Sorceress. "It is truewe know nothing of these faraway subjects, except that they intend tofight one another, and have a certain amount of magic power at theircommand. Such folks do not like to submit to interference and they aremore likely to resent your coming among them than to receive youkindly and graciously, as is your due."

  "If you had an army to take with you," added Dorothy, "it wouldn't beso bad; but there isn't such a thing as an army in all Oz."

  "I have one soldier," said Ozma.

  "Yes, the soldier with the green whiskers; but he's dreadful 'fraid ofhis gun and never loads it. I'm sure he'd run rather than fight. Andone soldier, even if he were brave, couldn't do much against twohundred and one Flatheads and Skeezers."

  "What then, my friends, would you suggest?" inquired Ozma.

  "I advise you to send the Wizard of Oz to them, and let him informthem that it is against the laws of Oz to fight, and that you commandthem to settle their differences and become friends," proposed Glinda."Let the Wizard tell them they will be punished if they refuse to obeythe commands of the Princess of all the Land of Oz."

  Ozma shook her head, to indicate that the advice was not to hersatisfaction.

  "If they refuse, what then?" she asked. "I should be obliged to carryout my threat and punish them, and that would be an unpleasant anddifficult thing to do. I am sure it would be better for me to gopeacefully, without an army and armed only with my authority as Ruler,and plead with them to obey me. Then, if they prove obstinate I couldresort to other means to win their obedience."

  "It's a ticklish thing, anyhow you look at it," sighed Dorothy. "I'msorry now that I noticed the Record in the Great Book."

  "But can't you realize, my dear, that I must do my duty, now that I amaware of this trouble?" asked Ozma. "I am fully determined to go atonce to the Magic Isle of the Skeezers and to the enchanted mountainof the Flatheads, and prevent war and strife between theirinhabitants. The only question to decide is whether it is better forme to go alone, or to assemble a party of my friends and loyalsupporters to accompany me."

  "If you go I want to go, too," declared Dorothy. "Whatever happensit's going to be fun--'cause all excitement is fun--and I wouldn'tmiss it for the world!"

  Neither Ozma nor Glinda paid any attention to this statement, for theywere gravely considering the serious aspect of this proposedadventure.

  "There are plenty of friends who would like to go with you," said theSorceress, "but none of them would afford your Majesty any protectionin case you were in danger. You are yourself the most powerful fairyin Oz, although both I and the Wizard have more varied arts of magicat our command. However, you have one art that no other in all theworld can equal--the art of winning hearts and making people love tobow to your gracious presence. For that reason I believe you canaccomplish more good alone than with a large number of subjects inyour train."

  "I believe that also," agre
ed the Princess. "I shall be quite able totake care of myself, you know, but might not be able to protect othersso well. I do not look for opposition, however. I shall speak to thesepeople in kindly words and settle their dispute--whatever it maybe--in a just manner."

  "Aren't you going to take _me_?" pleaded Dorothy. "You'll need _some_companion, Ozma."

  The Princess smiled upon her little friend.

  "I see no reason why you should not accompany me," was her reply."Two girls are not very warlike and they will not suspect us of beingon any errand but a kindly and peaceful one. But, in order to preventwar and strife between these angry peoples, we must go to them atonce. Let us return immediately to the Emerald City and prepare tostart on our journey early tomorrow morning."

  Glinda was not quite satisfied with this plan, but could not think ofany better way to meet the problem. She knew that Ozma, with all hergentleness and sweet disposition, was accustomed to abide by anydecision she had made and could not easily be turned from her purpose.Moreover she could see no great danger to the fairy Ruler of Oz in theundertaking, even though the unknown people she was to visit provedobstinate. But Dorothy was not a fairy; she was a little girl who hadcome from Kansas to live in the Land of Oz. Dorothy might encounterdangers that to Ozma would be as nothing but to an "Earth child" wouldbe very serious.

  The very fact that Dorothy lived in Oz, and had been made a Princessby her friend Ozma, prevented her from being killed or suffering anygreat bodily pain as long as she lived in that fairyland. She couldnot grow big, either, and would always remain the same little girlwho had come to Oz, unless in some way she left that fairyland or wasspirited away from it. But Dorothy was a mortal, nevertheless, andmight possibly be destroyed, or hidden where none of her friends couldever find her. She could, for instance, be cut into pieces, and thepieces, while still alive and free from pain, could be widelyscattered; or she might be buried deep underground, or "destroyed" inother ways by evil magicians, were she not properly protected. Thesefacts Glinda was considering while she paced with stately tread hermarble hall.

  Finally the good Sorceress paused and drew a ring from her finger,handing it to Dorothy.

  "Wear this ring constantly until your return," she said to the girl."If serious danger threatens you, turn the ring around on your fingeronce to the right and another turn to the left. That will ring thealarm bell in my palace and I will at once come to your rescue. But donot use the ring unless you are actually in danger of destruction.While you remain with Princess Ozma I believe she will be able toprotect you from all lesser ills."

  "Thank you, Glinda," responded Dorothy gratefully, as she placed thering on her finger. "I'm going to wear my Magic Belt which I took fromthe Nome King, too, so I guess I'll be safe from anything the Skeezersand Flatheads try to do to me."

  Ozma had many arrangements to make before she could leave her throneand her palace in the Emerald City, even for a trip of a few days, soshe bade good-bye to Glinda and with Dorothy climbed into the RedWagon. A word to the wooden Sawhorse started that astonishing creatureon the return journey, and so swiftly did he run that Dorothy wasunable to talk or do anything but hold tight to her seat all the wayback to the Emerald City.