The Magic of Oz

by L. Frank Baum

  The Fountain of Oblivion

  CHAPTER 23

  The morning after the birthday fete, as the Wizard and Dorothy werewalking in the grounds of the palace, Ozma came out and joined them,saying:

  "I want to hear more of your adventures in the Forest of Gugu, and howyou were able to get those dear little monkeys to use in Dorothy'sSurprise Cake."

  So they sat down on a marble bench near to the fountain of the Water ofOblivion, and between them Dorothy and the Wizard related theiradventures.

  "I was dreadfully fussy while I was a woolly lamb," said Dorothy, "forit didn't feel good, a bit. And I wasn't quite sure, you know, that I'dever get to be a girl again."

  "You might have been a woolly lamb yet, if I hadn't happened to havediscovered that Magic Transformation Word," declared the Wizard.

  "But what became of the walnut and the hickory-nut into which youtransformed those dreadful beast magicians?" inquired Ozma.

  "Why, I'd almost forgotten them," was the reply; "but I believe they arestill here in my pocket."

  Then he searched in his pockets and brought out the two nuts and showedthem to her.

  Ozma regarded them thoughtfully.

  "It isn't right to leave any living creatures in such helpless forms,"said she. "I think, Wizard, you ought to transform them into theirnatural shapes again."

  "But I don't know what their natural shapes are," he objected, "for ofcourse the forms of mixed animals which they had assumed were notnatural to them. And you must not forget, Ozma, that their natures werecruel and mischievous, so if I bring them back to life they might causeus a great deal of trouble."

  "Nevertheless," said the Ruler of Oz, "we must free them from theirpresent enchantments. When you restore them to their natural forms wewill discover who they really are, and surely we need not fear any twopeople, even though they prove to be magicians and our enemies."

  "I am not so sure of that," protested the Wizard, with a shake of hisbald head. "The one bit of magic I robbed them of--which was the word oftransformation--is so simple, yet so powerful, that neither Glinda nor Ican equal it. It isn't all in the word, you know, it's the way the wordis pronounced. So if the two strange magicians have other magic of thesame sort, they might prove very dangerous to us, if we liberated them."

  "I've an idea!" exclaimed Dorothy. "I'm no wizard, and no fairy, but ifyou do as I say, we needn't fear these people at all."

  "What is your thought, my dear?" asked Ozma.

  "Well," replied the girl, "here is this fountain of the Water ofOblivion, and that's what put the notion into my head. When the Wizardspeaks that ter'ble word that will change 'em back to their real forms,he can make 'em dreadful thirsty, too, and we'll put a cup right here bythe fountain, so it'll be handy. Then they'll drink the water and forgetall the magic they ever knew--and everything else, too."

  "That's not a bad idea," said the Wizard, looking at Dorothyapprovingly.

  "It's a very _good_ idea," declared Ozma. "Run for a cup, Dorothy."

  So Dorothy ran to get a cup, and while she was gone the Wizard said:

  "I don't know whether the real forms of these magicians are those of menor beasts. If they're beasts, they would not drink from a cup but mightattack us at once and drink afterward. So it might be safer for us tohave the Cowardly Lion and the Hungry Tiger here to protect us ifnecessary."

  Ozma drew out a silver whistle which was attached to a slender goldchain and blew upon the whistle two shrill blasts. The sound, though notharsh, was very penetrating, and as soon as it reached the ears of theCowardly Lion and the Hungry Tiger, the two huge beasts quickly camebounding toward them. Ozma explained to them what the Wizard was aboutto do, and told them to keep quiet unless danger threatened. So the twopowerful guardians of the Ruler of Oz crouched beside the fountain andwaited.

 

  Dorothy returned and set the cup on the edge of the fountain. Then theWizard placed the hickory-nut beside the fountain and said in a solemnvoice:

  "I want you to resume your natural form, and to be verythirsty--Pyrzqxgl!"

  In an instant there appeared, in the place of the hickory-nut, the formof Kiki Aru, the Hyup boy. He seemed bewildered, at first, as if tryingto remember what had happened to him and why he was in this strangeplace. But he was facing the fountain, and the bubbling water remindedhim that he was thirsty. Without noticing Ozma, the Wizard and Dorothy,who were behind him, he picked up the cup, filled it with the Water ofOblivion, and drank it to the last drop.

  He was now no longer thirsty, but he felt more bewildered than ever, fornow he could remember nothing at all--not even his name or where he camefrom. He looked around the beautiful garden with a pleased expression,and then, turning, he beheld Ozma and the Wizard and Dorothy regardinghim curiously and the two great beasts crouching behind them.

  Kiki Aru did not know who they were, but he thought Ozma very lovely andDorothy very pleasant. So he smiled at them--the same innocent, happysmile that a baby might have indulged in, and that pleased Dorothy, whoseized his hand and led him to a seat beside her on the bench.

  "Why, I thought you were a dreadful magician," she exclaimed, "andyou're only a boy!"

  "What is a magician?" he asked, "and what is a boy?"

  "Don't you know?" inquired the girl.

  Kiki shook his head. Then he laughed.

  "I do not seem to know anything," he replied.

 

  "It's very curious," remarked the Wizard. "He wears the dress of theMunchkins, so he must have lived at one time in the Munchkin Country. Ofcourse the boy can tell us nothing of his history or his family, for hehas forgotten all that he ever knew."

  "He seems a nice boy, now that all the wickedness has gone from him,"said Ozma. "So we will keep him here with us and teach him our ways--tobe true and considerate of others."

  "Why, in that case, it's lucky for him he drank the Water of Oblivion,"said Dorothy.

  "It is indeed," agreed the Wizard. "But the remarkable thing, to me, ishow such a young boy ever learned the secret of the Magic Word ofTransformation. Perhaps his companion, who is at present this walnut,was the real magician, although I seem to remember that it was this boyin the beast's form who whispered the Magic Word into the hollow tree,where I overheard it."

  "Well, we will soon know who the other is," suggested Ozma. "He mayprove to be another Munchkin boy."

  The Wizard placed the walnut near the fountain and said, as slowly andsolemnly as before:

  "I want you to resume your natural form, and to be verythirsty--Pyrzqxgl!"

  Then the walnut disappeared and Ruggedo the Nome stood in its place. Healso was facing the fountain, and he reached for the cup, filled it, andwas about to drink when Dorothy exclaimed:

  "Why, it's the old Nome King!"

  Ruggedo swung around and faced them, the cup still in his hand.

 

  "Yes," he said in an angry voice, "it's the old Nome King, and I'm goingto conquer all Oz and be revenged on you for kicking me out of mythrone." He looked around a moment, and then continued: "There isn't anegg in sight, and I'm stronger than all of you people put together! Idon't know how I came here, but I'm going to fight the fight of mylife--and I'll win!"

  His long white hair and beard waved in the breeze; his eyes flashed hateand vengeance, and so astonished and shocked were they by the suddenappearance of this old enemy of the Oz people that they could only stareat him in silence and shrink away from his wild glare.

  Ruggedo laughed. He drank the water, threw the cup on the ground andsaid fiercely:

  "And now--and now--and--"

  His voice grew gentle. He rubbed his forehead with a puzzled air andstroked his long beard.

  "What was I going to say?" he asked, pleadingly.

  "Don't you remember?" said the Wizard.

  "No; I've forgotten."

  "Who _are_ you?" ask
ed Dorothy.

  He tried to think. "I--I'm sure I don't know," he stammered.

  "Don't you know who _we_ are, either?" questioned the girl.

  "I haven't the slightest idea," said the Nome.

  "Tell us who this Munchkin boy is," suggested Ozma.

  Ruggedo looked at the boy and shook his head.

  "He's a stranger to me. You are all strangers. I--I'm a stranger tomyself," he said.

  Then he patted the Lion's head and murmured, "Good doggie!" and the Liongrowled indignantly.

 

  "What shall we do with him?" asked the Wizard, perplexed.

  "Once before the wicked old Nome came here to conquer us, and then, asnow, he drank of the Water of Oblivion and became harmless. But we senthim back to the Nome Kingdom, where he soon learned the old evil waysagain."

  "For that reason," said Ozma, "we must find a place for him in the Landof Oz, and keep him here. For here he can learn no evil and will alwaysbe as innocent of guile as our own people."

  And so the wandering ex-King of the Nomes found a new home, a peacefuland happy home, where he was quite content and passed his days ininnocent enjoyment.

  THE END]

  _The Oz Books_ BY L. FRANK BAUM "Royal Historian of Oz"

  _The Wizard of Oz_ [Originally published as _The Wonderful Wizard of Oz_]

  It is in this book that Oz is "discovered." A little Kansasgirl--Dorothy Gale--is carried in her house to Oz when a cyclone whisksit through the sky. As the house lands in the Munchkin Country (one ofthe four great countries of Oz) it destroys a wicked witch and sendsDorothy off on her first adventure in Oz. She finds the Scarecrow, meetsthe Tin Woodman and the Cowardly Lion, melts a second wicked witch witha pail of water and finds her way home. Since this book appeared ahalf-century ago, we have learned many marvelous things about the Landof Oz.

  _The Land of Oz_ [Originally published as _The Marvelous Land of Oz_]

  This sequel to _The Wizard of Oz_ deals entirely with the early historyof Oz. No one from the United States or any other part of the "greatoutside world" appears in it. It takes its readers on a series ofincredible adventures with Tip, a small boy who runs away from oldMombi, the witch, taking with him Jack Pumpkinhead and the woodenSaw-Horse. The Scarecrow is King of the Emerald City until he, Tip,Jack, and the Tin Woodman are forced to flee the royal palace when it isinvaded by General Jinjur and her army of rebelling girls. _The Land ofOz_ ends with an amazing surprise, and from that moment on Ozma isprincess of all Oz.

  _Ozma of Oz_

  Few of the Oz books are as crowded with exciting Oz happenings as thisone. Not only does it bring Dorothy back to Oz on her second visit, butit introduces Dorothy to Ozma, relates Ozma's first important adventure,and introduces for the first time such famous Oz characters as Tik-Tok,the mechanical man, Billina the hen, the Hungry Tiger, and--_the NomeKing_! Most of the adventures in this book take place outside Oz, in theLand of Ev and the Nome Kingdom. Scarcely a page fails to quiver withexcitement, magic and adventure.

  _Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz_

  Of course, everyone always predicted it would happen! And in this bookit does--the Wizard comes back to Oz to stay. Best of all, he comes withDorothy, who is having adventure number three that leads her to Oz, thistime via a California earthquake. In this book we meet Dorothy's pinkkitten, Eureka, whose manners need adjusting badly, and two good friendswho we are sorry did not remain in Oz--Jim the cabhorse, and Zeb,Dorothy's young cousin, who works on a ranch as a hired boy.

  _The Road to Oz_

  We like to think of this volume as "The Party Book of Oz." Almosteveryone loves a party, and when Ozma has a birthday party with notablesfrom every part of fairyland attending--well! It is just like attendingOzma's party in person. You meet the famous of Oz, and lots of others,such as Queen Zixi of Ix, John Dough, Chick the Cherub, the Queen ofMerryland, Para Bruin the rubber bear and--best of all--Santa Claushimself! Of course there are lots of adventures on that famous road toOz before the party, during which Dorothy, on her way to Oz for thefourth time, meets such heart-warming characters as the Shaggy Man,Button-Bright, and lovely Polychrome, daughter of the rainbow.

  _The Emerald City of Oz_

  Here is a "double" story of Oz. While Dorothy, her Aunt Em and UncleHenry experience the events that lead to their going to Oz to make theirhome in the Emerald City, the wicked Nome King is plotting to conquer Ozand enslave its people. Later we go with Dorothy and her friends in theRed Wagon on a grand tour of Oz that is simply packed with excitementand events. While this transpires, we learn also of the Nome King'selaborate preparations to conquer Oz. As Dorothy and her friends returnto the Emerald City, the Nome King and his hordes of warriors are aboutto invade it. How Oz is saved is an ending that will amaze and delightyou.

  _The Patchwork Girl of Oz_

  Here, the Patchwork Girl is brought to life by Dr. Pipt's magic Powderof Life. From that moment on the action never slows down in thisexciting book. It tells of Ojo's quest for the strange ingredientsnecessary to brew a magic liquid that will release his Unk Nunkie from aspell--the spell cast by the Liquid of Petrefaction, which has turnedhim into a marble statue. In addition to the Patchwork Girl, Ojo and UnkNunkie, this book introduces those famous Oz creatures, the Woozy, andBungle the glass cat. Oz certainly has become a merrier, happier landsince the Patchwork Girl came to life, and this is the book that tellshow Scraps came to be made, how she was brought to life, and all abouther early adventures.

  _Tik-Tok of Oz_

  For the second time a little girl from the United States comes to Oz.Betsy Bobbin is shipwrecked in the Nonestic Ocean with her friend Hankthe mule. The two drift to shore in the Rose Kingdom on a fragment ofwreckage. Betsy meets the Shaggy Man and accompanies him to the NomeKingdom, where Shaggy hopes to release his brother, a prisoner of theNome King. On their way to the Nome Kingdom, one fascinating adventurefollows another. They meet Queen Ann Soforth of Oogaboo and her army,and lovely Polychrome, who had lost her rainbow again; they rescueTik-Tok from a well; and are dropped through a Hollow Tube to the otherside of the world where they meet Quox, the dragon. You'll find it oneof the most exciting of all the Oz books.

  _The Scarecrow of Oz_

  This is the Oz book which L. Frank Baum considered his best. It startsquietly enough with Trot and Cap'n Bill rowing along a shore of thePacific Ocean to visit one of the many caves near their home on theCalifornia coast. Suddenly, a mighty whirlpool engulfs them. The oldsailorman and the little girl are miraculously saved and regainconsciousness to find themselves in a sea cavern. (To this day, Trotasserts she felt mermaid arms about her during those terrible momentsunder water.) From here on, one perilous adventure crowds in uponanother. In Jinxland they meet the Scarecrow who takes charge of thingsonce Cap'n Bill is transformed into a tiny grasshopper with a woodenleg. An exciting royal reception greets the adventurers upon theirreturn to the Emerald City.

  _Rinkitink in Oz_

  Prince Inga of Pingaree is the boy hero of this fine story ofperil-filled adventure in the islands of the Nonestic Ocean. KingRinkitink provides comic relief, and by the time you reach the finalpage you will love this fat, jolly little king. Bilbil the goat, withhis surly disposition, provides a fine contrast to Rinkitink's merrimentand Prince Inga's bravery and courage in the face of danger. Some maysay that the three magic pearls are the real heroes of this story, butthe pearls would have been of little use to King Kitticut and QueenGaree if Prince Inga hadn't used them wisely and courageously.

  _The Lost Princess of Oz_

  Talk about _Button-Bright_ getting lost
--_Ozma_ is almost as bad! Thisis actually the second time Ozma has been lost. As you know, once shewas "lost" for many years. But in this book she is lost for only a shorttime. As soon as it is discovered that the ruler of Oz is lost--and withher all the important magical instruments in Oz--search parties, one foreach of the four countries of Oz, set out to find her. We follow theadventures of the party headed by Dorothy and the Wizard, who exploreunknown parts of the Winkie Country in search of Ozma. How Ozma isfound, and where she has been, will surprise you. Frogman, a newcharacter, is introduced in this book.

  _The Tin Woodman of Oz_

  Woot the Wanderer causes this chapter of Oz history to transpire. WhenWoot wanders into the splendid tin castle of Nick Chopper, the TinWoodman and Emperor of the Winkies, he meets the Scarecrow, who isvisiting his old friend. The Tin Woodman tells Woot the story of how hehad once been a flesh-and-blood woodman in love with a maiden namedNimmie Aimee. Woot suggests that since the Tin Woodman now has a kindand loving heart, it is his duty to find Nimmie Aimee and make herEmpress of the Winkies. The Scarecrow agrees, so the three set off tosearch for the girl. No less surprising than the adventures encounteredon the journey is Nimmie Aimee's reception of her former suitor.

  _The Magic of Oz_

  Old Ruggedo, the former Nome King, comes to Oz for the second time, andmakes more trouble than he did on his first visit. Ruggedo never givesup the idea of conquering Oz, and this time he has the advantage ofbeing in the country without Ozma's knowledge. Also, he has the magicand somewhat grudging help of Kiki Aru, the Munchkin boy who isillegally practicing the art. If you like magic, then this is a book foryou. There's magic on every page, and everyone in the story eventuallyis transformed into something else, or bewitched in one way or another.Even the wild animals in the great Forest of Gugu do not escape.

  _Glinda of Oz_

  This is the last Oz book written by L. Frank Baum. It is one of the bestin the series, with Dorothy, Ozma, and Glinda in an adventure that takesthem to an amazing crystal-domed city on an enchanted island. Thisisland is situated in a lake in the Gillikin Country. Ozma and Glindaare confronted by powerful magic and determined enemies. For a timeDorothy and Ozma are prisoners in the crystal-domed city which is ableto submerge below the surface of the lake. Few of the Oz books equalthis one in suspense and mystery--a story that is truly "out of thisworld."

 

  Back Cover]

  Transcriber's Notes

  --Copyright notice provided as in the original--this e-text is public domain in the country of publication.

  --Silently corrected palpable typos; left non-standard spellings and dialect unchanged.

  --In the text versions, delimited italics text in _underscores_ (the HTML version reproduces the font form of the printed book.)