The Magic of Oz

by L. Frank Baum

  The Lonesome Duck

  CHAPTER 15

  Trot and Cap'n Bill stood before the Magic Flower, actually rooted tothe spot.

  "Aren't you hungry, Cap'n?" asked the little girl, with a long sigh, forshe had been standing there for hours and hours.

  "Well," replied the sailor-man, "I ain't sayin' as I couldn't _eat_,Trot--if a dinner was handy--but I guess old folks don't get as hungryas young folks do."

  "I'm not sure 'bout that, Cap'n Bill," she said thoughtfully. "Age_might_ make a difference, but seems to me _size_ would make a biggerdifference. Seeing you're twice as big as me, you ought to be twice ashungry."

  "I hope I am," he rejoined, "for I can stand it a while longer. I dohope the Glass Cat will hurry, and I hope the Wizard won't waste timea-comin' to us."

  Trot sighed again and watched the wonderful Magic Flower, because therewas nothing else to do. Just now a lovely group of pink peonies buddedand bloomed, but soon they faded away, and a mass of deep blue liliestook their place. Then some yellow chrysanthemums blossomed on theplant, and when they had opened all their petals and reached perfection,they gave way to a lot of white floral balls spotted with crimson--aflower Trot had never seen before.

  "But I get awful tired watchin' flowers an' flowers an' flowers," shesaid impatiently.

  "They're mighty pretty," observed Cap'n Bill.

  "I know; and if a person could come and look at the Magic Flower justwhen she felt like it, it would be a fine thing, but to _have to_ standand watch it, whether you want to or not, isn't so much fun. I wish,Cap'n Bill, the thing would grow fruit for a while instead of flowers."

  Scarcely had she spoken when the white balls with crimson spots fadedaway and a lot of beautiful ripe peaches took their place. With a cry ofmingled surprise and delight Trot reached out and plucked a peach fromthe bush and began to eat it, finding it delicious. Cap'n Bill wassomewhat dazed at the girl's wish being granted so quickly, so before hecould pick a peach they had faded away and bananas took their place."Grab one, Cap'n!" exclaimed Trot, and even while eating the peach sheseized a banana with her other hand and tore it from the bush.

  The old sailor was still bewildered. He put out a hand indeed, but hewas too late, for now the bananas disappeared and lemons took theirplace.

  "Pshaw!" cried Trot. "You can't eat those things; but watch out, Cap'n,for something else."

  Cocoanuts next appeared, but Cap'n Bill shook his head.

  "Ca'n't crack 'em," he remarked, "'cause we haven't anything handy tosmash 'em with."

  "Well, take one, anyhow," advised Trot; but the cocoanuts were gone now,and a deep, purple, pear-shaped fruit which was unknown to them tooktheir place. Again Cap'n Bill hesitated, and Trot said to him:

  "You ought to have captured a peach and a banana, as I did. If you'renot careful, Cap'n, you'll miss all your chances. Here, I'll divide mybanana with you."

  Even as she spoke, the Magic Plant was covered with big red apples,growing on every branch, and Cap'n Bill hesitated no longer. He grabbedwith both hands and picked two apples, while Trot had only time tosecure one before they were gone.

  "It's curious," remarked the sailor, munching his apple, "how thesefruits keep good when you've picked 'em, but dis'pear inter thin air ifthey're left on the bush."

  "The whole thing is curious," declared the girl, "and it couldn't existin any country but this, where magic is so common. Those are limes.Don't pick 'em, for they'd pucker up your mouth and--Ooo! here comeplums!" and she tucked her apple in her apron pocket and captured threeplums--each one almost as big as an egg--before they disappeared. Cap'nBill got some too, but both were too hungry to fast any longer, so theybegan eating their apples and plums and let the magic bush bear allsorts of fruits, one after another. The Cap'n stopped once to pick afine cantaloupe, which he held under his arm, and Trot, having finishedher plums, got a handful of cherries and an orange; but when almostevery sort of fruit had appeared on the bush, the crop ceased and onlyflowers, as before, bloomed upon it.

 

  "I wonder why it changed back," mused Trot, who was not worried becauseshe had enough fruit to satisfy her hunger.

  "Well, you only wished it would bear fruit 'for a while,'" said thesailor, "and it did. P'raps if you'd said 'forever,' Trot, it would havealways been fruit."

  "But why should _my_ wish be obeyed?" asked the girl. "I'm not a fairyor a wizard or any kind of a magic-maker."

  "I guess," replied Cap'n Bill, "that this little island is a magicisland, and any folks on it can tell the bush what to produce, an' it'llproduce it."

  "Do you think I could wish for anything else, Cap'n, and get it?" sheinquired anxiously.

  "What are you thinkin' of, Trot?"

  "I'm thinking of wishing that these roots on our feet would disappear,and let us free."

  "Try it, Trot."

  So she tried it, and the wish had no effect whatever. "Try it yourself,Cap'n," she suggested.

  Then Cap'n Bill made the wish to be free, with no better result.

  "No," said he, "it's no use; the wishes only affect the Magic Plant; butI'm glad we can make it bear fruit, 'cause now we know we won't starvebefore the Wizard gets to us."

  "But I'm gett'n' tired standing here so long," complained the girl. "IfI could only lift one foot, and rest it, I'd feel better."

  "Same with me, Trot. I've noticed that if you've got to do a thing, andcan't help yourself, it gets to be a hardship mighty quick."

  "Folks that can raise their feet don't appreciate what a blessing itis," said Trot thoughtfully. "I never knew before what fun it is toraise one foot, an' then another, any time you feel like it."

  "There's lots o' things folks don't 'preciate," replied the sailor-man."If somethin' would 'most stop your breath, you'd think breathin' easywas the finest thing in life. When a person's well, he don't realize howjolly it is, but when he gets sick he 'members the time he was well, an'wishes that time would come back. Most folks forget to thank God forgivin' 'em two good legs, till they lose one o' 'em, like I did; andthen it's too late, 'cept to praise God for leavin' one."

  "Your wooden leg ain't so bad, Cap'n," she remarked, looking at itcritically. "Anyhow, it don't take root on a Magic Island, like our meatlegs do."

  "I ain't complaining" said Cap'n Bill. "What's that swimmin' towards us,Trot?" he added, looking over the Magic Flower and across the water.

  The girl looked, too, and then she replied.

  "It's a bird of some sort. It's like a duck, only I never saw a duckhave so many colors."

  The bird swam swiftly and gracefully toward the Magic Isle, and as itdrew nearer its gorgeously colored plumage astonished them. The featherswere of many hues of glistening greens and blues and purples, and it hada yellow head with a red plume, and pink, white and violet in its tail.When it reached the Isle, it came ashore and approached them, waddlingslowly and turning its head first to one side and then to the other, soas to see the girl and the sailor better.

  "You're strangers," said the bird, coming to a halt near them, "andyou've been caught by the Magic Isle and made prisoners."

  "Yes," returned Trot, with a sigh; "we're rooted. But I hope we won'tgrow."

  "You'll grow small," said the Bird. "You'll keep growing smaller everyday, until bye and bye there'll be nothing left of you. That's the usualway, on this Magic Isle."

  "How do you know about it, and who are you, anyhow?" asked Cap'n Bill.

 

  "I'm the Lonesome Duck," replied the bird. "I suppose you've heard ofme?"

  "No," said Trot, "I can't say I have. What makes you lonesome?"

  "Why, I haven't any family or any relations," returned the Duck.

  "Haven't you any friends?"

  "Not a friend. And I've nothing to do. I've lived a long time, and I'vegot to live forever, because I belong in the Land of Oz, where no livingthing dies. Think of existing year after year, w
ith no friends, nofamily, and nothing to do! Can you wonder I'm lonesome?"

  "Why don't you make a few friends, and find something to do?" inquiredCap'n Bill.

  "I can't make friends because everyone I meet--bird, beast or person--isdisagreeable to me. In a few minutes I shall be unable to bear yoursociety longer, and then I'll go away and leave you," said the LonesomeDuck. "And, as for doing anything, there's no use in it. All I meet aredoing something, so I have decided it's common and uninteresting and Iprefer to remain lonesome."

  "Don't you have to hunt for your food?" asked Trot.

  "No. In my diamond palace, a little way up the river, food is magicallysupplied me; but I seldom eat, because it is so common."

  "You must be a Magician Duck," remarked Cap'n Bill.

  "Why so?"

  "Well, ordinary ducks don't have diamond palaces an' magic food, likeyou do."

  "True; and that's another reason why I'm lonesome. You must remember I'mthe only Duck in the Land of Oz, and I'm not like any other duck in theoutside world."

  "Seems to me you _like_ bein' lonesome," observed Cap'n Bill.

  "I can't say I like it, exactly," replied the Duck, "but since it seemsto be my fate, I'm rather proud of it."

  "How do you s'pose a single, solitary Duck happened to be in the Land ofOz?" asked Trot, wonderingly.

  "I used to know the reason, many years ago, but I've quite forgottenit," declared the Duck. "The reason for a thing is never so important asthe thing itself, so there's no use remembering anything but the factthat I'm lonesome."

  "I guess you'd be happier if you tried to do something," asserted Trot."If you can't do anything for yourself, you can do things for others,and then you'd get lots of friends and stop being lonesome."

  "Now you're getting disagreeable," said the Lonesome Duck, "and I shallhave to go and leave you."

  "Can't you help us any," pleaded the girl. "If there's anything magicabout you, you might get us out of this scrape."

  "I haven't any magic strong enough to get you off the Magic Isle,"replied the Lonesome Duck. "What magic I possess is very simple, but Ifind it enough for my own needs."

  "If we could only sit down a while, we could stand it better," saidTrot, "but we have nothing to sit on."

  "Then you will have to stand it," said the Lonesome Duck.

  "P'raps you've enough magic to give us a couple of stools," suggestedCap'n Bill.

  "A duck isn't supposed to know what stools are," was the reply.

  "But you're different from all other ducks."

  "That is true." The strange creature seemed to reflect for a moment,looking at them sharply from its round black eyes. Then it said:"Sometimes, when the sun is hot, I grow a toadstool to shelter me fromits rays. Perhaps you could sit on toadstools."

  "Well, if they were strong enough, they'd do," answered Cap'n Bill.

  "Then, before I go I'll give you a couple," said the Lonesome Duck, andbegan waddling about in a small circle. It went around the circle to theright three times, and then it went around to the left three times. Thenit hopped backward three times and forward three times.

  "What are you doing?" asked Trot.

  "Don't interrupt. This is an incantation," replied the Lonesome Duck,but now it began making a succession of soft noises that sounded likequacks and seemed to mean nothing at all. And it kept up these sounds solong that Trot finally exclaimed:

  "Can't you hurry up and finish that 'cantation? If it takes all summerto make a couple of toadstools, you're not much of a magician."

  "I told you not to interrupt," said the Lonesome Duck, sternly. "If youget _too_ disagreeable, you'll drive me away before I finish thisincantation."

  Trot kept quiet, after the rebuke, and the Duck resumed the quackymuttering. Cap'n Bill chuckled a little to himself and remarked to Trotin a whisper: "For a bird that ain't got anything to do, this LonesomeDuck is makin' consider'ble fuss. An' I ain't sure, after all, astoadstools would be worth sittin' on."

  Even as he spoke, the sailor-man felt something touch him from behindand, turning his head, he found a big toadstool in just the right placeand of just the right size to sit upon. There was one behind Trot, too,and with a cry of pleasure the little girl sank back upon it and foundit a very comfortable seat--solid, yet almost like a cushion. Even Cap'nBill's weight did not break his toadstool down, and when both wereseated, they found that the Lonesome Duck had waddled away and was nowat the water's edge.

  "Thank you, ever so much!" cried Trot, and the sailor called out: "Muchobliged!"

  But the Lonesome Duck paid no attention. Without even looking in theirdirection again, the gaudy fowl entered the water and swam gracefullyaway.