“He’s my Knight Errant, and he’s taken such good care of me,” explained Dorothy eagerly.
“Splendid fellow,” hissed the Cowardly Lion in the Scarecrow’s other painted ear, “if he does talk odds and ends.”
“Any friend of little Dorothy’s is my friend,” said the Scarecrow, shaking hands with Sir Hokus warmly. “But what I want to know is how you all got here.”
“First tell us where we are,” begged the little girl, for the Scarecrow’s silver hat and queue filled her with alarm.
“You are on the Silver Island,” said the Scarecrow slowly. “And I am the Emperor — or his good-for-nothing spirit — and tomorrow,” the Scarecrow glared around wildly, “tomorrow I’ll be eighty-five going on eighty-six.” His voice broke and ended in a barely controlled sob.
“Doubt that,” drawled the Doubtful Dromedary sleepily.
“Eighty-five years old!” gasped Dorothy. “Why, no one in Oz grows any older!”
“We are no longer in Oz.” The Scarecrow shook his head sadly. Then, fixing the group with a puzzled stare, he exclaimed, “But how did you get here?”
“On a wish,” said the Knight in a hollow voice.
“Yes,” said Dorothy, “we’ve been hunting you all over Oz, and at last we came to Wish Way, and I said ‘I wish we were all with the Scarecrow,’ just like that — and next minute — ”
“We fell and fell — and fell — and fell,” wheezed the Comfortable Camel.
“And fell — and fell — and fell — and fell,” droned the Dromedary, “And — ”
“Here you are,” finished the Scarecrow hastily, for the Dromedary showed signs of going on forever.
“Now tell us every single thing that has happened to you,” demanded Dorothy eagerly.
Happy Toko had recognized Dorothy and the Cowardly Lion from the Scarecrow’s description, and he now approached with an arm full of cushions. These he set in a circle on the floor, with one for the Scarecrow in the center, and with a warning finger on his lips placed himself behind his Master.
“Tappy is right!” exclaimed the Scarecrow. “We must be as quiet as possible, for a great danger hangs over me.”
Without more ado, he told them of his amazing fall down the beanstalk; of his adventures on Silver Island; of his sons and grandsons and the Gheewizard’s elixir which would turn him from a lively Scarecrow into an old, old Emperor. All that I have told you, he told Dorothy, up to the very point where his eldest son had bound him to the bean pole and tied up poor, faithful Happy Toko. Happy, it seems, had at last managed to free himself, and they were about to make their escape when Dorothy and her party had fallen into the throne room. The Comfortable Camel and Doubtful Dromedary lis-tened politely at first, but worn out by their exciting adventures, fell asleep in the middle of the story.
Nothing could have exceeded Dorothy’s dismay to learn that the jolly Scarecrow of Oz, whom she had discovered herself, was in reality Chang Wang Woe, Emperor of Silver Island.
“Oh, this spoils everything!” wailed the little girl. (The thought of Oz without the Scarecrow was unthinkable.) “It spoils everything! We were going to adopt you and be your truly family. Weren’t we?”
The Cowardly Lion nodded. “I was going to be your cousin,” he mumbled in a choked voice, “but now that you have a family of your own — ” The lion miserably slunk down beside Dorothy.
Sir Hokus looked fierce and rattled his sword, but he could think of nothing that would help them out of their trouble.
“To-morrow there won’t be any Scarecrow in Oz!” wailed Dorothy. “Oh, dear! Oh, dear!” And the little girl began to cry as if her heart would break.
“Stop! Stop!” begged the Scarecrow, while Sir Hokus awkwardly patted Dorothy on the back. “I’d rather have you for my family any day. I don’t care a Kinkajou for being Emperor, and as for my sons, they are unnatural villains who make my life miserable by telling me how old I am!”
“Just like a poem I once read,” said Dorothy, brightening up:
“You are old, Father William,” the young man said,
“And your hair has become very white,
And yet you incessantly stand on your head!
Do you think, at your age, it is right?”
“That’s it, that’s it exactly!” exclaimed the Scarecrow as Dorothy finished repeating the verse. “‘You are old, Father Scarecrow!’ That’s all I hear. I did stand on my head, too. And Dorothy, I can’t seem to get used to being a grandparent,” added the Scarecrow in a melancholy voice. “It’s turning my straws gray.” He plucked several from his chest and held them out to her. “Why, those little villains don’t even believe in Oz! ‘It’s not on the map, old Grandpapapapapah!’ “ he mumbled, imitating the tones of his little grandsons so cleverly that Dorothy laughed in spite of herself.
“This is what becomes of pride!” The Scarecrow extended his hands expressively. “Most people who hunt up their family trees are in for a fall, and I’ve had mine.”
“But who do you want to be?” asked the Knight gravely. “A Scarecrow in Oz — or the — er — Emperor that you were?”
“I don’t care who I were!” In his excitement, the Scarecrow lost his grammar completely. “I want to be who I am. I want to be myself.”
“But which one?” asked the Cowardly Lion, who was still a bit confused.
“Why, my best self, of course,” said the Scarecrow with a bright smile. The sight of his old friends had quite restored his cheerfulness. “I’ve been here long enough to know that I am a better Scarecrow than an Emperor.”
“Why, how simple it is!” sighed Dorothy contentedly. “Professor Wogglebug was all wrong. It’s not what you were, but what you are — it’s being yourself that counts.”
“By my Halidom, the little maid is right!” said Sir Hokus, slapping his knee in delight. “Let your Gheewizard but try his transformations! Out on him! But what says yon honest henchman?” Happy Toko, although he understood no word of the conversation, had been watching the discussion with great interest. He had been trying to attract the Scarecrow’s attention for some time, but the Knight was the only one who had noticed him.
“What is it, Tappy?” asked the Scarecrow, dropping easily back into Silver Islandish.
“Honored Master, the dawn approaches and with it the Royal Princes and the Grand Gheewizard — and your bride!” Happy paused significantly. The Scarecrow shuddered.
“Let’s go back to Oz!” said the Cowardly Lion uneasily.
The Scarecrow was feeling in the pocket of his old Munchkin suit which he always wore under his robes of state. “Here!” said he, giving a little pill to Happy Toko. “It’s one of Professor Wogglebug’s language pills,” he exclaimed to Dorothy, “and will enable him to speak and understand Ozish.” Happy swallowed the pill gravely.
“Greetings, honorable Ozites!” he said politely as soon as the pill was down. Dorothy clapped her hands in delight, for it was so comfortable to have him speak their own language.
“I could never have stood it here without Tappy Oko!” The Scarecrow looked fondly at his Imperial Punster.
“Queer name he has,” rumbled the Cowardly Lion, looking at Happy Toko as if he had thoughts of eating him.
“Methinks he should be knighted,” rumbled Sir Hokus, beaming on the little Silverman. “Rise, Sir Pudding!”
“The sun will do that in a minute or more, and then, then we shall all be thrown into prison!” wailed Happy Toko dismally.
“We were going to escape in a small boat,” explained the Scarecrow, “but — ” It was not necessary for him to finish. A boat large enough to hold Dorothy, the Cowardly Lion, the Scarecrow, Happy Toko, the camel and the dromedary could not very well be launched in secret.
“Oh, dear!” sighed Dorothy, “If I’d only wished you and all of us back in the Emerald City!”
“You wished very well, Lady Dot,” said the Knight. “When I think of what I was going to wish for — ”
“What were you goin
g to wish, Hokus?” asked the Cowardly Lion curiously.
“For a dragon!” faltered the Knight, looking terribly ashamed.
“A dragon!” gasped Dorothy. “Why, what good would that have done us?”
“Wait!” interrupted the Scarecrow. “I have thought of something! Why not climb my family tree? It is a long, long way, but at the top lies Oz!”
“Grammercy, a pretty plan!” exclaimed Sir Hokus, peering up at the bean pole.
“Wouldn’t that be social climbing?” chuckled Happy Toko, recovering his spirits with a bound. The Cowardly Lion said nothing, but heaved a mighty sigh which no one heard, for they were all running toward the bean pole. It was a good family tree to climb, sure enough, for there were handy little notches in the stalk.
“You go first!” Sir Hokus helped Dorothy up. When she had gone a few steps, the Scarecrow, holding his robes carefully, followed, then honest Happy Toko.
“I’ll go last,” said Sir Hokus bravely, and had just set his foot on the first notch when a hoarse scream rang through the hall.
CHAPTER 19
PLANNING TO FLY FROM THE SILVER ISLAND
It was the Comfortable Camel. Waking suddenly, he found himself deserted. “Oh, where is my dear Karwan Bashi?” he roared dismally. “Come back! Come back!”
“Hush up, can’t you?” rumbled the Cowardly Lion. “Do you want Dorothy and everybody to be thrown into prison on our account? We can’t climb the bean pole and will have to wait here and face it out.”
“But how uncomfortable,” wailed the camel. He began to sob heavily. Dorothy, although highest up the bean pole, heard all of this distinctly. “Oh,” she cried remorsefully, “we can’t desert the Cowardly Lion like this. I never thought about him.”
“Spoken like the dear little Maid you are,” said the Knight. “The good beast never reminded us of it, either. There’s bravery for you!”
“Let us descend at once, I’ll not move a step without the Cowardly Lion!” In his agitation, the Scarecrow lost his balance and fell headlong to the ground, knocking Sir Hokus’s helmet terribly askew as he passed. The others made haste to follow him and were soon gathered gravely at the foot of the beanstalk.
“I’ll have to think of some other plan,” said the Scarecrow, looking nervously at the sky, which showed, through the long windows, the first streaks of dawn. The Comfortable Camel controlled its sobs with difficulty and pressed as close to Sir Hokus as it could. The Doubtful Dromedary was still asleep.
“It would have been a terrible climb,” mused the Scarecrow, thinking of his long, long fall down the pole. “Ah, I have it!”
“What?” asked Dorothy anxiously.
“I wonder I did not think of it before. Ah, my brains are working better! I will abdicate,” exclaimed the Scarecrow triumphantly. “I will abdicate, make a farewell speech, and return with you to Oz!”
“What if they refuse to let your radiant Highness go?” put in Happy Toko tremulously. “What if the Gheewizard should work his magic before you finished your speech?”
“Then we’ll make a dash for it!” said Sir Hokus, twirling his sword recklessly.
“I’m with you,” said the Cowardly Lion huskily, “but you needn’t have come back for me.”
“All right!” said the Scarecrow cheerfully. “And now that everything’s settled so nicely, we might as well enjoy the little time left. Put out the lights, Tappy. Dorothy and I will sit on the throne, and the rest of you come as close as possible.”
Sir Hokus wakened the Doubtful Dromedary and pulled and tugged it across the hall, where it immediately fell down asleep again. The Comfortable Camel ambled about eating the flowers out of the vases. The Cowardly Lion had placed himself at Dorothy’s feet, and Sir Hokus and Happy Toko seated themselves upon the first step of the gorgeous silver throne.
Then, while they waited for morning, Dorothy told the Scarecrow all about the Pokes and Fix City, and the Scarecrow told once again of his victory over the king of the Golden Islands.
“Where is the magic fan now?” asked Dorothy at the end of the story.
The Scarecrow smiled broadly, and feeling in a deep pocket brought out the little fan and also the parasol he had plucked from the beanstalk. “Do you know,” he said smiling, “so much has happened I haven’t thought of them since the battle. I was saving them for you, Dorothy.”
“For me!” exclaimed the little girl in delight. “Let me see them!” The Scarecrow handed them over obligingly, but Happy Toko trembled so violently that he rolled down the steps of the throne.
“I beg of you!” He scrambled to his feet and held up his hands in terror. “I beg of you, don’t open that fan!”
“She’s used to magic, Tappy. You needn’t worry,” said the Scarecrow easily.
“Of course I am,” said Dorothy with great dignity. “But this’ll be mighty useful if anyone tries to conquer Oz again. We can just fan ‘em away.”
Dorothy pulled a hair from the Cowardly Lion’s mane, and winding it around the little fan, put it carefully in the pocket of her dress. The parasol she hung by its ribbon to her arm.
“Perhaps Ozma will look in the Magic Picture and wish us all back again,” said the little girl after they had sat for a time in silence.
“I doubt it.” The Dromedary stirred and mumbled in its sleep.
“Singular beast, that!” ejaculated the Knight. “Doubting never gets one anywhere.”
“Hush!” warned the Scarecrow. “I hear footsteps!”
“Come here.” Sir Hokus called hoarsely to the camel, who was eating a paper lantern at the other end of the room. The beast ran awkwardly over to the throne, and swallowing the lantern with a convulsive gulp, settled down beside the dromedary.
“Whatever happens, we must stick together,” said the Knight emphatically. “Ah — !”
Dorothy held fast to the Scarecrow with one hand and to the throne with the other. The sun had risen at last. There was a loud crash of drums and trumpets, a rush of feet, and into the hall marched the most splendid company Dorothy had seen in her whole life of adventures.
CHAPTER 20
DOROTHY UPSETS THE CEREMONY OF THE ISLAND
“A caravan!” whistled the Comfortable Camel, lurching to his feet. “How nice!”
“I doubt that!” The dromedary’s eyes flew open, and he stared sleepily at the magnificent procession of Silver Islanders.
First came the musicians, playing their shining silver trumpets and flutes. The Grand Chew Chew and General Mugwump followed, attired in brilliant silk robes of state. Then came the three Princes, glittering with jeweled chains and medals, and the fifteen little Princes, like so many silver butterflies in their satin kimonas. Next appeared a palanquin bearing the veiled Princess Orange Blossom, followed by a whole company of splendid courtiers and after them as many of the everyday Silver Islanders as the hall would hold. There was a moment of silence. Then the whole assemblage, contrary to the Scarecrow’s edict, fell upon their faces.
“My!” exclaimed Dorothy, impressed in spite of herself. “Are you sure you want to give up all this?”
“Great Emperor, beautiful as the sun, wise as the stars, and radiant as the clouds, the Ceremony of Restoration is about to begin!” quavered the Grand Chew Chew, rising slowly. Then he paused, for he was suddenly confused by the strange company around the Scarecrow’s throne.
“Treachery!” hissed the eldest Prince to the others. “We left him tied to the bean pole. Ancient Papa Scarecrow needs watching! Who are these curious objects he has gathered about him, pray?”
Now by some magic which even I cannot explain, the people from Oz found they could understand all that was being said. When Dorothy heard herself called an object and saw the wicked faces of the three Princes and the stupid little grandsons, she no longer wondered at the Scarecrow’s decision.
The Scarecrow himself bowed calmly. “First,” said he cheerfully, “let me introduce my friends and visitors from Oz.”
The Silver Islander
s, who really loved the Scarecrow, bowed politely as he called out the names of Dorothy and the others. But the three Silver Princes scowled and whispered indignantly among themselves.
“I am growing very wroth!” choked Sir Hokus to the Cowardly Lion.
“Let the ceremony proceed!” called the eldest Prince harshly, before the Scarecrow had finished his introductions. “Let the proper body of his Serene Highness be immediately restored. Way for the Grand Gheewizard! Way for the Grand Gheewizard!”
“One moment,” put in the Scarecrow in a dignified voice. “I have something to say.” The Silver Islanders clapped loudly at this, and Dorothy felt a bit reassured. Perhaps they would listen to reason after all and let the Scarecrow depart peacefully. How they were ever to escape if they didn’t, the little girl could not see.
“My dear children,” began the Scarecrow in his jolly voice, “nothing could have been more wonderful than my return to this lovely island, but in the years I have been away from you I have changed very much, and I find I no longer care for being Emperor. So with your kind permission, I will keep the excellent body I now have and will abdicate in favor of my eldest son and return with my friends to Oz. For in Oz I really belong.”
A dead silence followed the Scarecrow’s speech — then perfect pandemonium.
“No! No! You are a good Emperor! We will not let you go!” shrieked the people. “You are our honorable little Father. The Prince shall be Emperor after you have peacefully returned to your ancestors, but not now. No! No! We will not have it!”
“I feared this!” quavered Happy Toko.
“It is not the Emperor, but the Scarecrow who speaks!” shrilled the Grand Chew Chew craftily. “He knows not what he says. But after the transformation — Ah, you shall see!”
The company calmed down at this. “Let the ceremony proceed! Way for the Grand Gheewizard!” they cried exultantly.
“Chew Chew,” wailed the Scarecrow, “you’re off the track!” But it was too late. No one would listen.
Complete Works of L. Frank Baum Page 210
