The Magic of Oz Read online

  The Beasts of the Forest of Gugu

  CHAPTER 11

  That was a wonderful gathering of wild animals in the Forest of Gugunext sunrise. Rango, the Gray Ape, had even called his monkey sentinelsaway from the forest edge, and every beast, little and big, was in thegreat clearing where meetings were held on occasions of greatimportance.

  In the center of the clearing stood a great shelving rock, having aflat, inclined surface, and on this sat the stately Leopard Gugu, whowas King of the Forest. On the ground beneath him squatted Bru the Bear,Loo the Unicorn, and Rango the Gray Ape, the King's three Counsellors,and in front of them stood the two strange beasts who had calledthemselves Li-Mon-Eags, but were really the transformations of Ruggedothe Nome, and Kiki Aru the Hyup.

  Then came the beasts--rows and rows and rows of them! The smallestbeasts were nearest the King's rock throne; then there were wolves andfoxes, lynxes and hyenas, and the like; behind them were gathered themonkey tribes, who were hard to keep in order because they teased theother animals and were full of mischievous tricks. Back of the monkeyswere the pumas, jaguars, tigers and lions, and their kind; next thebears, all sizes and colors; after them bisons, wild asses, zebras andunicorns; farther on the rhinoceri and hippopotami, and at the far edgeof the forest, close to the trees that shut in the clearing, was a rowof thick-skinned elephants, still as statues but with eyes bright andintelligent.

  Many other kinds of beasts, too numerous to mention, were there, andsome were unlike any beasts we see in the menageries and zoos in ourcountry. Some were from the mountains west of the forest, and some fromthe plains at the east, and some from the river; but all presentacknowledged the leadership of Gugu, who for many years had ruled themwisely and forced all to obey the laws.

  When the beasts had taken their places in the clearing and the risingsun was shooting its first bright rays over the treetops, King Gugu roseon his throne. The Leopard's giant form, towering above all the others,caused a sudden hush to fall on the assemblage.

  "Brothers," he said in his deep voice, "a stranger has come among us, abeast of curious form who is a great magician and is able to change theshapes of men or beasts at his will. This stranger has come to us, withanother of his kind, from out of the sky, to warn us of a danger whichthreatens us all, and to offer us a way to escape from that danger. Hesays he is our friend, and he has proved to me and to my counsellors hismagic powers. Will you listen to what he has to say to you--to themessage he has brought from the sky?"

  "Let him speak!" came in a great roar from the great company ofassembled beasts.

 

 

  So Ruggedo the Nome sprang upon the flat rock beside Gugu the King, andanother roar, gentle this time, showed how astonished the beasts were atthe sight of his curious form. His lion's face was surrounded by a maneof pure white hair; his eagle's wings were attached to the shoulders ofhis monkey body and were so long that they nearly touched the ground; hehad powerful arms and legs in addition to the wings, and at the end ofhis long, strong tail was a golden ball. Never had any beast beheld sucha curious creature before, and so the very sight of the stranger, whowas said to be a great magician, filled all present with awe and wonder.

  Kiki stayed down below and, half hidden by the shelf of rock, wasscarcely noticed. The boy realized that the old Nome was helplesswithout his magic power, but he also realized that Ruggedo was the besttalker. So he was willing the Nome should take the lead.

  "Beasts of the Forest of Gugu," began Ruggedo the Nome, "my comrade andI are your friends. We are magicians, and from our home in the sky wecan look down into the Land of Oz and see everything that is going on.Also we can hear what the people below us are saying. That is how weheard Ozma, who rules the Land of Oz, say to her people: 'The beasts inthe Forest of Gugu are lazy and are of no use to us. Let us go to theirforest and make them all our prisoners. Let us tie them with ropes, andbeat them with sticks, until they work for us and become our willingslaves.' And when the people heard Ozma of Oz say this, they were gladand raised a great shout and said: 'We will do it! We will make thebeasts of the Forest of Gugu our slaves!'"

  The wicked old Nome could say no more, just then, for such a fierce roarof anger rose from the multitude of beasts that his voice was drowned bythe clamor. Finally the roar died away, like distant thunder, andRuggedo the Nome went on with his speech.

  "Having heard the Oz people plot against your liberty, we watched to seewhat they would do, and saw them all begin making ropes--ropes long andshort--with which to snare our friends the beasts. You are angry, but wealso were angry, for when the Oz people became the enemies of the beaststhey also became our enemies; for we, too, are beasts, although we livein the sky. And my comrade and I said: 'We will save our friends andhave revenge on the Oz people,' and so we came here to tell you of yourdanger and of our plan to save you."

  "We can save ourselves," cried an old elephant. "We can fight."

  "The Oz people are fairies, and you can't fight against magic unless youalso have magic," answered the Nome.

  "Tell us your plan!" shouted the huge Tiger, and the other beasts echoedhis words, crying: "Tell us your plan."

  "My plan is simple," replied Ruggedo. "By our magic we will transformall you animals into men and women--like the Oz people--and we willtransform all the Oz people into beasts. You can then live in the finehouses of the Land of Oz, and eat the fine food of the Oz people, andwear their fine clothes, and sing and dance and be happy. And the Ozpeople, having become beasts, will have to live here in the forest andhunt and fight for food, and often go hungry, as you now do, and have noplace to sleep but a bed of leaves or a hole in the ground. Havingbecome men and women, you beasts will have all the comforts you desire,and having become beasts, the Oz people will be very miserable. That isour plan, and if you agree to it, we will all march at once into theLand of Oz and quickly conquer our enemies."

  When the stranger ceased speaking, a great silence fell on theassemblage, for the beasts were thinking of what he had said. Finallyone of the walrus asked:

  "Can you really transform beasts into men, and men into beasts?"

 

  "He can--he can!" cried Loo the Unicorn, prancing up and down in anexcited manner. "He transformed _me_, only last evening, and he cantransform us all."

  Gugu the King now stepped forward.

  "You have heard the stranger speak," said he, "and now you must answerhim. It is for you to decide. Shall we agree to this plan, or not?"

  "Yes!" shouted some of the animals.

  "No!" shouted others.

  And some were yet silent.

  Gugu looked around the great circle.

  "Take more time to think," he suggested. "Your answer is very important.Up to this time we have had no trouble with the Oz people, but we areproud and free, and never will become slaves. Think carefully, and whenyou are ready to answer, I will hear you."