The doorway of the glass palace
was quite big enough for the
horse and buggy to enter, so
Zeb drove straight through
it and the children found themselves
in a lofty hall that was very
beautiful. The people at once
followed and formed a circle
around the sides of the spacious
room, leaving the horse and
buggy and the man with the
star to occupy the center of
the hall.
"Come to us, oh, Gwig!" called
the man, in a loud voice.
Instantly a cloud of smoke
appeared and rolled over the
floor; then it slowly spread
and ascended into the dome,
disclosing a strange personage
seated upon a glass throne
just before Jim's nose. He
was formed just as were the
other inhabitants of this land
and his clothing only differed
from theirs in being bright
yellow. But he had no hair
at all, and all over his bald
head and face and upon the
backs of his hands grew sharp
thorns like those found on
the branches of rose-bushes.
There was even a thorn upon
the tip of his nose and he
looked so funny that Dorothy
laughed when she saw him.
The Sorcerer, hearing the
laugh, looked toward the little
girl with cold, cruel eyes,
and his glance made her grow
sober in an instant.
"Why have you dared to intrude
your unwelcome persons into
the secluded Land of the Mangaboos?" he
asked, sternly.
"'Cause we couldn't help
it," said Dorothy.
"Why did you wickedly and
viciously send the Rain of
Stones to crack and break our
houses?" he continued.
"We didn't," declared
the girl.
"Prove it!" cried
the Sorcerer.
"We don't have to prove it," answered
Dorothy, indignantly. "If you
had any sense at all you'd
known it was the earthquake."
"We
only know
that yesterday
came a Rain of Stones upon
us, which did much damage and
injured some of our people.
Today came another Rain of
Stones, and soon after it you
appeared among us."
"By the way," said the man
with the star, looking steadily
at the Sorcerer, "you told
us yesterday that there would
not be a second Rain of Stones.
Yet one has just occurred that
was even worse than the first.
What is your sorcery good for
if it cannot tell us the truth?"
"My sorcery does tell the
truth!" declared the thorn-covered
man. "I said there would be
but one Rain of Stones. This
second one was a Rain of People-and-Horse-and-Buggy.
And some stones came with them."
"Will there be any more Rains?" asked
the man with the star.
"No,
my Prince."
"Neither
stones
nor people?"
"No,
my Prince."
"Are
you sure?"
"Quite
sure, my
Prince.
My sorcery
tells me
so."
Just then a man came running
into the hall and addressed
the Prince after making a low
bow.
"More wonders in the air,
my Lord," said he.
Immediately the Prince and
all of his people flocked out
of the hall into the street,
that they might see what was
about to happen. Dorothy and
Zeb jumped out of the buggy
and ran after them, but the
Sorcerer remained calmly in
his throne.
Far up in the air was an
object that looked like a balloon.
It was not so high as the glowing
star of the six colored suns,
but was descending slowly through
the air--so slowly that at
first it scarcely seemed to
move.
The throng stood still and
waited. It was all they could
do, for to go away and leave
that strange sight was impossible;
nor could they hurry its fall
in any way. The earth children
were not noticed, being so
near the average size of the
Mangaboos, and the horse had
remained in the House of the
Sorcerer, with Eureka curled
up asleep on the seat of the
buggy.
Gradually the balloon grew
bigger, which was proof that
it was settling down upon the
Land of the Mangaboos. Dorothy
was surprised to find how patient
the people were, for her own
little heart was beating rapidly
with excitement. A balloon
meant to her some other arrival
from the surface of the earth,
and she hoped it would be some
one able to assist her and
Zeb out of their difficulties.
In an hour the balloon had
come near enough for her to
see a basket suspended below
it; in two hours she could
see a head looking over the
side of the basket; in three
hours the big balloon settled
slowly into the great square
in which they stood and came
to rest on the glass pavement.
Then a little man jumped
out of the basket, took off
his tall hat, and bowed very
gracefully to the crowd of
Mangaboos around him. He was
quite an old little man and
his head was long and entirely
bald.
"Why," cried Dorothy, in
amazement, "it's Oz!"
The little man looked toward
her and seemed as much surprised
as she was. But he smiled and
bowed as he answered:
"Yes,
my dear;
I am Oz,
the Great
and Terrible.
Eh? And
you are little Dorothy, from
Kansas. I remember you very
well."
"Who did you say it was?" whispered
Zeb to the girl.
"It's
the wonderful
Wizard
of Oz.
Haven't
you heard
of
him?"
Just then the man with the
star came and stood before
the Wizard.
"Sir," said he, "why
are you
here, in
the Land
of the
Mangaboos?"
"Didn't know what land it
was, my son," returned the
other, with a pleasant smile; "and,
to be honest, I didn't mean
to visit you when I started
out. I live on top of the earth,
your honor, which is far better
than living inside it; but
yesterday I went up in a balloon,
and when I came down I fell
into a big crack in the earth,
caused by an earthquake. I
had let so much gas out of
my balloon that I could not
rise again, and in a few minutes
the earth closed over my head.
So I continued to descend until
I reached this place, and if
you will show me a way to get
out of it, I'll go with pleasure.
Sorry to have troubled you;
but it couldn't be helped."
The Prince had listened with
attention. Said he:
"This
child,
who is
from the
crust of
the earth,
like
yourself, called you a Wizard.
Is not a Wizard something like
a Sorcerer?"
"It's better," replied Oz,
promptly. "One Wizard is worth
three Sorcerers."
"Ah, you shall prove that," said
the Prince. "We Mangaboos have,
at the present time, one of
the most wonderful Sorcerers
that ever was picked from a
bush; but he sometimes makes
mistakes. Do you ever make
mistakes?"
"Never!" declared
the Wizard,
boldly.
"Oh, Oz!" said Dorothy; "you
made a lot of mistakes when
you were in the marvelous Land
of Oz."
"Nonsense!" said
the little
man, turning red--although
just then a ray of violet sunlight
was on his round face.
"Come with me," said the
Prince to him. "I wish to meet
our Sorcerer."
The Wizard did not like this
invitation, but he could not
refuse to accept it. So he
followed the Prince into the
great domed hall, and Dorothy
and Zeb came after them, while
the throng of people trooped
in also.
There sat the thorny Sorcerer
in his chair of state, and
when the Wizard saw him he
began to laugh, uttering comical
little chuckles.
"What an absurd creature!" he
exclaimed.
"He may look absurd," said
the Prince, in his quiet voice; "but
he is an excellent Sorcerer.
The only fault I find with
him is that he is so often
wrong."
"I am never wrong," answered
the Sorcerer.
"Only a short time ago you
told me there would be no more
Rain of Stones or of People," said
the Prince.
"Well,
what then?"
"Here
is another
person
descended
from the air to prove you were
wrong."
"One person cannot be called
'people,'" said the Sorcerer. "If
two should come out of the
sky you might with justice
say I was wrong; but unless
more than this one appears
I will hold that I was right."
"Very clever," said the Wizard,
nodding his head as if pleased. "I
am delighted to find humbugs
inside the earth, just the
same as on top of it. Were
you ever with a circus, brother?"
"No," said
the Sorcerer.
"You ought to join one," declared
the little man seriously. "I
belong to Bailum & Barney's
Great Consolidated Shows--three
rings in one tent and a menagerie
on the side. It's a fine aggregation,
I assure you."
"What do you do?" asked
the Sorcerer.
"I
go up in
a balloon,
usually,
to draw the crowds to the circus.
But I've just had the bad luck
to come out of the sky, skip
the solid earth, and land lower
down than I intended. But never
mind. It isn't everybody who
gets a chance to see your Land
of the Gabazoos."
"Mangaboos," said the Sorcerer,
correcting him. "If you are
a Wizard you ought to be able
to call people by their right
names."
"Oh,
I'm a Wizard;
you may
be sure of that. Just as good
a Wizard as you are a Sorcerer."
"That remains to be seen," said
the other.
"If you are able to prove
that you are better," said
the Prince to the little man, "I
will make you the Chief Wizard
of this domain. Otherwise--"
"What will happen otherwise?" asked
the Wizard.
"I will stop you from living
and forbid you to be planted," returned
the Prince.
"That does not sound especially
pleasant," said the little
man, looking at the one with
the star uneasily. "But never
mind. I'll beat Old Prickly,
all right."
"My name is Gwig," said the
Sorcerer, turning his heartless,
cruel eyes upon his rival. "Let
me see you equal the sorcery
I am about to perform."
He waved a thorny hand and
at once the tinkling of bells
was heard, playing sweet music.
Yet, look where she would,
Dorothy could discover no bells
at all in the great glass hall.
The Mangaboo people listened,
but showed no great interest.
It was one of the things Gwig
usually did to prove he was
a sorcerer.
Now was the Wizard's turn,
so he smiled upon the assemblage
and asked:
"Will
somebody
kindly
loan me
a hat?"
No one did, because the Mangaboos
did not wear hats, and Zeb
had lost his, somehow, in his
flight through the air.
"Ahem!" said the Wizard, "will
somebody please loan me a handkerchief?"
But they had no handkerchiefs,
either.
"Very good," remarked the
Wizard. "I'll use my own hat,
if you please. Now, good people,
observe me carefully. You see,
there is nothing up my sleeve
and nothing concealed about
my person. Also, my hat is
quite empty." He took off his
hat and held it upside down,
shaking it briskly.
"Let me see it," said
the Sorcerer.
He took the hat and examined
it carefully, returning it
afterward to the Wizard.
"Now," said the little man, "I
will create something out of
nothing."
He placed the hat upon the
glass floor, made a pass with
his hand, and then removed
the hat, displaying a little
white piglet no bigger than
a mouse, which began to run
around here and there and to
grunt and squeal in a tiny,
shrill voice.
The people watched it intently,
for they had never seen a pig
before, big or little. The
Wizard reached out, caught
the wee creature in his hand,
and holding its head between
one thumb and finger and its
tail between the other thumb
and finger he pulled it apart,
each of the two parts becoming
a whole and separate piglet
in an instant.
He placed one upon the floor,
so that it could run around,
and pulled apart the other,
making three piglets in all;
and then one of these was pulled
apart, making four piglets.
The Wizard continued this surprising
performance until nine tiny
piglets were running about
at his feet, all squealing
and grunting in a very comical
way.
"Now," said the Wizard of
Oz, "having created something
from nothing, I will make something
nothing again."
With this he caught up two
of the piglets and pushed them
together, so that the two were
one. Then he caught up another
piglet and pushed it into the
first, where it disappeared.
And so, one by one, the nine
tiny piglets were pushed together
until but a single one of the
creatures remained. This the
Wizard placed underneath his
hat and made a mystic sign
above it. When he removed his
hat the last piglet had disappeared
entirely.
The little man gave a bow
to the silent throng that had
watched him, and then the Prince
said, in his cold, calm voice:
"You
are indeed
a wonderful
Wizard, and your powers are
greater than those of my Sorcerer."
"He will not be a wonderful
Wizard long," remarked Gwig.
"Why not?" enquired
the Wizard.
"Because I am going to stop
your breath," was the reply. "I
perceive that you are curiously
constructed, and that if you
cannot breathe you cannot keep
alive."
The little man looked troubled.
"How long will it take you
to stop my breath?" he asked.
"About
five minutes.
I'm going
to begin
now. Watch
me
carefully."
He began making queer signs
and passes toward the Wizard;
but the little man did not
watch him long. Instead, he
drew a leathern case from his
pocket and took from it several
sharp knives, which he joined
together, one after another,
until they made a long sword.
By the time he had attached
a handle to this sword he was
having much trouble to breathe,
as the charm of the Sorcerer
was beginning to take effect.
So the Wizard lost no more
time, but leaping forward he
raised the sharp sword, whirled
it once or twice around his
head, and then gave a mighty
stroke that cut the body of
the Sorcerer exactly in two.
Dorothy screamed and expected
to see a terrible sight; but
as the two halves of the Sorcerer
fell apart on the floor she
saw that he had no bones or
blood inside of him at all,
and that the place where he
was cut looked much like a
sliced turnip or potato.
"Why, he's vegetable!" cried
the Wizard, astonished.
"Of course," said the Prince. "We
are all vegetable, in this
country. Are you not vegetable,
also?"
"No," answered the Wizard. "People
on top of the earth are all
meat. Will your Sorcerer die?"
"Certainly, sir. He is really
dead now, and will wither very
quickly. So we must plant him
at once, that other Sorcerers
may grow upon his bush," continued
the Prince.
"What do you mean by that?" asked
the little Wizard, greatly
puzzled.
"If you will accompany me
to our public gardens," replied
the Prince, "I will explain
to you much better than I can
here the mysteries of our Vegetable
Kingdom."
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