After the Wizard had wiped
the dampness from his sword
and taken it apart and put
the pieces into their leathern
case again, the man with the
star ordered some of his people
to carry the two halves of
the Sorcerer to the public
gardens.
Jim pricked up his ears when
he heard they were going to
the gardens, and wanted to
join the party, thinking he
might find something proper
to eat; so Zeb put down the
top of the buggy and invited
the Wizard to ride with them.
The seat was amply wide enough
for the little man and the
two children, and when Jim
started to leave the hall the
kitten jumped upon his back
and sat there quite contentedly.
So the procession moved through
the streets, the bearers of
the Sorcerer first, the Prince
next, then Jim drawing the
buggy with the strangers inside
of it, and last the crowd of
vegetable people who had no
hearts and could neither smile
nor frown.
The glass city had several
fine streets, for a good many
people lived there; but when
the procession had passed through
these it came upon a broad
plain covered with gardens
and watered by many pretty
brooks that flowed through
it. There were paths through
these gardens, and over some
of the brooks were ornamental
glass bridges.
Dorothy and Zeb now got out
of the buggy and walked beside
the Prince, so that they might
see and examine the flowers
and plants better.
"Who built these lovely bridges?" asked
the little girl.
"No one built them," answered
the man with the star. "They
grow."
"That's queer," said she. "Did
the glass houses in your city
grow, too?"
"Of course," he replied. "But
it took a good many years for
them to grow as large and fine
as they are now. That is why
we are so angry when a Rain
of Stones comes to break our
towers and crack our roofs."
"Can't you mend them?" she
enquired.
"No;
but they
will grow
together
again, in time, and we must
wait until they do."
They first passed through
many beautiful gardens of flowers,
which grew nearest the city;
but Dorothy could hardly tell
what kind of flowers they were,
because the colors were constantly
changing under the shifting
lights of the six suns. A flower
would be pink one second, white
the next, then blue or yellow;
and it was the same way when
they came to the plants, which
had broad leaves and grew close
to the ground.
When they passed over a field
of grass Jim immediately stretched
down his head and began to
nibble.
"A nice country this is," he
grumbled, "where a respectable
horse has to eat pink grass!"
"It's violet," said
the Wizard,
who was in the buggy.
"Now it's blue," complained
the horse. "As a matter of
fact, I'm eating rainbow grass."
"How does it taste?" asked
the Wizard.
"Not bad at all," said Jim. "If
they give me plenty of it I'll
not complain about its color."
By this time the party had
reached a freshly plowed field,
and the Prince said to Dorothy:
"This
is our
planting-ground."
Several Mangaboos came forward
with glass spades and dug a
hole in the ground. Then they
put the two halves of the Sorcerer
into it and covered him up.
After that other people brought
water from a brook and sprinkled
the earth.
"He will sprout very soon," said
the Prince, "and grow into
a large bush, from which we
shall in time be able to pick
several very good sorcerers."
"Do all your people grow
on bushes?" asked the boy.
"Certainly," was the reply. "Do
not all people grow upon bushes
where you came from, on the
outside of the earth?"
"Not
that I
ever hear
of."
"How
strange!
But if
you will
come with
me to one
of
our folk gardens I will show
you the way we grow in the
Land of the Mangaboos."
It appeared that these odd
people, while they were able
to walk through the air with
ease, usually moved upon the
ground in the ordinary way.
There were no stairs in their
houses, because they did not
need them, but on a level surface
they generally walked just
as we do.
The little party of strangers
now followed the Prince across
a few more of the glass bridges
and along several paths until
they came to a garden enclosed
by a high hedge. Jim had refused
to leave the field of grass,
where he was engaged in busily
eating; so the Wizard got out
of the buggy and joined Zeb
and Dorothy, and the kitten
followed demurely at their
heels.
Inside the hedge they came
upon row after row of large
and handsome plants with broad
leaves gracefully curving until
their points nearly reached
the ground. In the center of
each plant grew a daintily
dressed Mangaboo, for the clothing
of all these creatures grew
upon them and was attached
to their bodies.
The growing Mangaboos were
of all sizes, from the blossom
that had just turned into a
wee baby to the full-grown
and almost ripe man or woman.
On some of the bushes might
be seen a bud, a blossom, a
baby, a half-grown person and
a ripe one; but even those
ready to pluck were motionless
and silent, as if devoid of
life. This sight explained
to Dorothy why she had seen
no children among the Mangaboos,
a thing she had until now been
unable to account for.
"Our people do not acquire
their real life until they
leave their bushes," said the
Prince. "You will notice they
are all attached to the plants
by the soles of their feet,
and when they are quite ripe
they are easily separated from
the stems and at once attain
the powers of motion and speech.
So while they grow they cannot
be said to really live, and
they must be picked before
they can become good citizens."
"How long do you live, after
you are picked?" asked Dorothy.
"That depends upon the care
we take of ourselves," he replied. "If
we keep cool and moist, and
meet with no accidents, we
often live for five years.
I've been picked over six years,
but our family is known to
be especially long lived."
"Do you eat?" asked
the boy.
"Eat!
No, indeed.
We are
quite solid
inside
our bodies,
and have no need to eat, any
more than does a potato."
"But the potatoes sometimes
sprout," said Zeb.
"And sometimes we do," answered
the Prince; "but that is considered
a great misfortune, for then
we must be planted at once."
"Where did you grow?" asked
the Wizard.
"I will show you," was the
reply. "Step this way, please."
He led them within another
but smaller circle of hedge,
where grew one large and beautiful
bush.
"This," said he, "is
the Royal
Bush of
the Mangaboos.
All of our Princes and Rulers
have grown upon this one bush
from time immemorial."
They stood before it in silent
admiration. On the central
stalk stood poised the figure
of a girl so exquisitely formed
and colored and so lovely in
the expression of her delicate
features that Dorothy thought
she had never seen so sweet
and adorable a creature in
all her life. The maiden's
gown was soft as satin and
fell about her in ample folds,
while dainty lace-like traceries
trimmed the bodice and sleeves.
Her flesh was fine and smooth
as polished ivory, and her
poise expressed both dignity
and grace.
"Who is this?" asked
the Wizard,
curiously.
The Prince had been staring
hard at the girl on the bush.
Now he answered, with a touch
of uneasiness in his cold tones:
"She
is the
Ruler destined
to be my successor, for she
is a Royal Princess. When she
becomes fully ripe I must abandon
the sovereignty of the Mangaboos
to her."
"Isn't she ripe now?" asked
Dorothy.
He hesitated.
"Not quite," said he, finally. "It
will be several days before
she needs to be picked, or
at least that is my judgment.
I am in no hurry to resign
my office and be planted, you
may be sure."
"Probably not," declared
the Wizard, nodding.
"This is one of the most
unpleasant things about our
vegetable lives," continued
the Prince, with a sigh, "that
while we are in our full prime
we must give way to another,
and be covered up in the ground
to sprout and grow and give
birth to other people."
"I'm sure the Princess is
ready to be picked," asserted
Dorothy, gazing hard at the
beautiful girl on the bush. "She's
as perfect as she can be."
"Never mind," answered the
Prince, hastily, "she will
be all right for a few days
longer, and it is best for
me to rule until I can dispose
of you strangers, who have
come to our land uninvited
and must be attended to at
once."
"What are you going to do
with us?" asked Zeb.
"That is a matter I have
not quite decided upon," was
the reply. "I think I shall
keep this Wizard until a new
Sorcerer is ready to pick,
for he seems quite skillful
and may be of use to us. But
the rest of you must be destroyed
in some way, and you cannot
be planted, because I do not
wish horses and cats and meat
people growing all over our
country."
"You needn't worry," said
Dorothy. "We wouldn't grow
under ground, I'm sure."
"But why destroy my friends?" asked
the little Wizard. "Why not
let them live?"
"They do not belong here," returned
the Prince. "They have no right
to be inside the earth at all."
"We didn't ask to come down
here; we fell," said Dorothy.
"That is no excuse," declared
the Prince, coldly.
The children looked at each
other in perplexity, and the
Wizard sighed. Eureka rubbed
her paw on her face and said
in her soft, purring voice:
"He
won't need
to destroy
ME, for if I don't get something
to eat pretty soon I shall
starve to death, and so save
him the trouble."
"If he planted you, he might
grow some cat-tails," suggested
the Wizard.
"Oh, Eureka! perhaps we can
find you some milk-weeds to
eat," said the boy.
"Phoo!" snarled the kitten; "I
wouldn't touch the nasty things!"
"You don't need milk, Eureka," remarked
Dorothy; "you are big enough
now to eat any kind of food."
"If I can get it," added
Eureka.
"I'm hungry myself," said
Zeb. "But I noticed some strawberries
growing in one of the gardens,
and some melons in another
place. These people don't eat
such things, so perhaps on
our way back they will let
us get them."
"Never mind your hunger," interrupted
the Prince. "I shall order
you destroyed in a few minutes,
so you will have no need to
ruin our pretty melon vines
and berry bushes. Follow me,
please, to meet your doom."
|