Ozma of Oz Page 9

  The Hungry Tiger

  The first thing Dorothy did was to rush into the embrace of theScarecrow, whose painted face beamed with delight as he pressed her formto his straw-padded bosom. Then the Tin Woodman embraced her--verygently, for he knew his tin arms might hurt her if he squeezed tooroughly.

  These greetings having been exchanged, Dorothy took the key to Tiktokfrom her pocket and wound up the machine man's action, so that he couldbow properly when introduced to the rest of the company. While doingthis she told them now useful Tiktok had been to her, and both theScarecrow and the Tin Woodman shook hands with the machine once more andthanked him for protecting their friend.

  Then Dorothy asked: "Where is Billina?"

  "I don't know," said the Scarecrow. "Who is Billina?"

  "She's a yellow hen who is another friend of mine," answered the girl,anxiously. "I wonder what has become of her?"

  "She is in the chicken house, in the back yard," said the Princess. "Mydrawing-room is no place for hens."

  Without waiting to hear more Dorothy ran to get Billina, and justoutside the door she came upon the Cowardly Lion, still hitched to thechariot beside the great Tiger. The Cowardly Lion had a big bow of blueribbon fastened to the long hair between his ears, and the Tiger wore abow of red ribbon on his tail, just in front of the bushy end.

  In an instant Dorothy was hugging the huge Lion joyfully.

  "I'm _so_ glad to see you again!" she cried.

  "I am also glad to see you, Dorothy," said the Lion. "We've had somefine adventures together, haven't we?"

  "Yes, indeed," she replied. "How are you?"

  "As cowardly as ever," the beast answered in a meek voice. "Every littlething scares me and makes my heart beat fast. But let me introduce toyou a new friend of mine, the Hungry Tiger."

  "Oh! Are you hungry?" she asked, turning to the other beast, who wasjust then yawning so widely that he displayed two rows of terrible teethand a mouth big enough to startle anyone.

  "Dreadfully hungry," answered the Tiger, snapping his jaws together witha fierce click.

  "Then why don't you eat something?" she asked.

  "It's no use," said the Tiger sadly. "I've tried that, but I always gethungry again."

  "Why, it is the same with me," said Dorothy. "Yet I keep on eating."

  "But you eat harmless things, so it doesn't matter," replied the Tiger."For my part, I'm a savage beast, and have an appetite for all sorts ofpoor little living creatures, from a chipmonk to fat babies.

  "How dreadful!" said Dorothy.

  "Isn't it, though?" returned the Hungry Tiger, licking his lips with hislong red tongue. "Fat babies! Don't they sound delicious? But I've nevereaten any, because my conscience tells me it is wrong. If I had noconscience I would probably eat the babies and then get hungry again,which would mean that I had sacrificed the poor babies for nothing. No;hungry I was born, and hungry I shall die. But I'll not have any crueldeeds on my conscience to be sorry for."

  "I think you are a very good tiger," said Dorothy, patting the huge headof the beast.

  "In that you are mistaken," was the reply. "I am a good beast, perhaps,but a disgracefully bad tiger. For it is the nature of tigers to becruel and ferocious, and in refusing to eat harmless living creatures Iam acting as no good tiger has ever before acted. That is why I leftthe forest and joined my friend the Cowardly Lion."

  THE HUNGRY TIGER]

  "But the Lion is not really cowardly," said Dorothy. "I have seen himact as bravely as can be."

  "All a mistake, my dear," protested the Lion gravely. "To others I mayhave seemed brave, at times, but I have never been in any danger that Iwas not afraid."

  "Nor I," said Dorothy, truthfully. "But I must go and set free Billina,and then I will see you again."

  She ran around to the back yard of the palace and soon found the chickenhouse, being guided to it by a loud cackling and crowing and adistracting hubbub of sounds such as chickens make when they areexcited.

  Something seemed to be wrong in the chicken house, and when Dorothylooked through the slats in the door she saw a group of hens androosters huddled in one corner and watching what appeared to be awhirling ball of feathers. It bounded here and there about the chickenhouse, and at first Dorothy could not tell what it was, while thescreeching of the chickens nearly deafened her.

  But suddenly the bunch of feathers stopped whirling, and then, to heramazement, the girl saw Billina crouching upon the prostrate form of aspeckled rooster. For an instant they both remained motionless, and thenthe yellow hen shook her wings to settle the feathers and walked towardthe door with a strut of proud defiance and a cluck of victory, whilethe speckled rooster limped away to the group of other chickens,trailing his crumpled plumage in the dust as he went.

  "Why, Billina!" cried Dorothy, in a shocked voice; "have you beenfighting?"

  "I really think I have," retorted Billina. "Do you think I'd let thatspeckled villain of a rooster lord it over _me_, and claim to run thischicken house, as long as I'm able to peck and scratch? Not if my nameis Bill!"

  "It isn't Bill, it's Billina; and you're talking slang, which is veryundig'n'fied," said Dorothy, reprovingly. "Come here, Billina, and I'lllet you out; for Ozma of Oz is here, and has set us free."

  So the yellow hen came to the door, which Dorothy unlatched for her topass through, and the other chickens silently watched them from theircorner without offering to approach nearer.

  The girl lifted her friend in her arms and exclaimed:

  "Oh, Billina! how dreadful you look. You've lost a lot of feathers, andone of your eyes is nearly pecked out, and your comb is bleeding!"

  "That's nothing," said Billina. "Just look at the speckled rooster!Didn't I do him up brown?"

  Dorothy shook her head.

  "I don't 'prove of this, at all," she said, carrying Billina away towardthe palace. "It isn't a good thing for you to 'sociate with those commonchickens. They would soon spoil your good manners, and you wouldn't berespec'able any more."

  "I didn't ask to associate with them," replied Billina. "It is thatcross old Princess who is to blame. But I was raised in the UnitedStates, and I won't allow any one-horse chicken of the Land of Ev to runover me and put on airs, as long as I can lift a claw in self-defense."

  "Very well, Billina," said Dorothy. "We won't talk about it any more."

  Soon they came to the Cowardly Lion and the Hungry Tiger to whom thegirl introduced the Yellow Hen.

  "Glad to meet any friend of Dorothy's," said the Lion, politely. "Tojudge by your present appearance, you are not a coward, as I am."

  "WHY, BILLINA!" CRIED DOROTHY; "HAVE YOU BEEN FIGHTING?"]

  "Your present appearance makes my mouth water," said the Tiger, lookingat Billina greedily. "My, my! how good you would taste if I could onlycrunch you between my jaws. But don't worry. You would only appease myappetite for a moment; so it isn't worth while to eat you."

  "Thank you," said the hen, nestling closer in Dorothy's arms.

  "Besides, it wouldn't be right," continued the Tiger, looking steadilyat Billina and clicking his jaws together.

  "Of course not," cried Dorothy, hastily. "Billina is my friend, and youmustn't ever eat her under any circ'mstances."

  "I'll try to remember that," said the Tiger; "but I'm a littleabsent-minded, at times."

  Then Dorothy carried her pet into the drawing-room of the palace, whereTiktok, being invited to do so by Ozma, had seated himself between theScarecrow and the Tin Woodman. Opposite to them sat Ozma herself and thePrincess Langwidere, and beside them there was a vacant chair forDorothy.

  Around this important group was ranged the Army of Oz, and as Dorothylooked at the handsome uniforms of the Twenty-Seven she said:

  "Why, they seem to be all officers."

  "They are, all except one," answered the Tin Woodman. "I have in my Armyeight Generals, six Colonels, seven Majors and five Captains, besidesone private for them to command. I'd like to promote the private, for Ibelieve no private s
hould ever be in public life; and I've also noticedthat officers usually fight better and are more reliable than commonsoldiers. Besides, the officers are more important looking, and lenddignity to our army."

  "No doubt you are right," said Dorothy, seating herself beside Ozma.

  "And now," announced the girlish Ruler of Oz, "we will hold a solemnconference to decide the best manner of liberating the royal family ofthis fair Land of Ev from their long imprisonment."