When
the wonderful tidings reached
the ears of Queen Jinjur -- how
Mombi the Witch had been captured;
how she had confessed her crime
to Glinda; and how the long-lost
Princess Ozma had been discovered
in no less a personage than the
boy Tip -- she wept real tears
of grief and despair.
"To think," she moaned, "that
after having ruled as Queen,
and lived in a palace, I must
go back to scrubbing floors and
churning butter again! It is
too horrible to think of! I will
never consent!"
So when her soldiers, who spent
most of their time making fudge
in the palace kitchens, counseled
Jinjur to resist, she listened
to their foolish prattle and
sent a sharp defiance to Glinda
the Good and the Princess Ozma.
The result was a declaration
of war, and the very next day
Glinda marched upon the Emerald
City with pennants flying and
bands playing, and a forest of
shining spears, sparkling brightly
beneath the sun's rays.
But when it came to the walls
this brave assembly made a sudden
halt; for Jinjur had closed and
barred every gateway, and the
walls of the Emerald City were
builded high and thick with many
blocks of green marble. Finding
her advance thus baffled, Glinda
bent her brows in deep thought,
while the Woggle-Bug said, in
his most positive tone:
"We
must lay siege
to the city,
and starve it into submission.
It is the only thing we can do."
"Not so," answered the Scarecrow. "We
still have the Gump, and the
Gump can still fly"
The Sorceress turned quickly
at this speech, and her face
now wore a bright smile.
"You are right," she exclaimed, "and
certainly have reason to be proud
of your brains. Let us go to
the Gump at once!"
So they passed through the
ranks of the army until they
came to the place, near the Scarecrow's
tent, where the Gump lay. Glinda
and Princess Ozma mounted first,
and sat upon the sofas. Then
the Scarecrow and his friends
climbed aboard, and still there
was room for a Captain and three
soldiers, which Glinda considered
sufficient for a guard.
Now, at a word from the Princess,
the queer Thing they had called
the Gump flopped its palm-leaf
wings and rose into the air,
carrying the party of adventurers
high above the walls. They hovered
over the palace, and soon perceived
Jinjur reclining in a hammock
in the courtyard, where she was
comfortably reading a novel with
a green cover and eating green
chocolates, confident that the
walls would protect her from
her enemies. Obeying a quick
command, the Gump alighted safely
in this very courtyard, and before
Jinjur had time to do more than
scream, the Captain and three
soldiers leaped out and made
the former Queen a prisoner,
locking strong chains upon both
her wrists.
That act really ended the war;
for the Army of Revolt submitted
as soon as they knew Jinjur to
be a captive, and the Captain
marched in safety through the
streets and up to the gates of
the city, which she threw wide
open. Then the bands played their
most stirring music while Glinda's
army marched into the city, and
heralds proclaimed the conquest
of the audacious Jinjur and the
accession of the beautiful Princess
Ozma to the throne of her royal
ancestors.
At once the men of the Emerald
City cast off their aprons. And
it is said that the women were
so tired eating of their husbands'
cooking that they all hailed
the conquest of Jinjur with Joy.
Certain it is that, rushing one
and all to the kitchens of their
houses, the good wives prepared
so delicious a feast for the
weary men that harmony was immediately
restored in every family.
Ozma's first act was to oblige
the Army of Revolt to return
to her every emerald or other
gem stolen from the public streets
and buildings; and so great was
the number of precious stones
picked from their settings by
these vain girls, that every
one of the royal jewelers worked
steadily for more than a month
to replace them in their settings.
Meanwhile the Army of Revolt
was disbanded and the girls sent
home to their mothers. On promise
of good behavior Jinjur was likewise
released.
Ozma made the loveliest Queen
the Emerald City had ever known;
and, although she was so young
and inexperienced, she ruled
her people with wisdom and Justice.
For Glinda gave her good advice
on all occasions; and the Woggle-
Bug, who was appointed to the
important post of Public Educator,
was quite helpful to Ozma when
her royal duties grew perplexing.
The girl, in her gratitude
to the Gump for its services,
offered the creature any reward
it might name.
"Then," replied the Gump, "please
take me to pieces. I did not
wish to be brought to life, and
I am greatly ashamed of my conglomerate
personality. Once I was a monarch
of the forest, as my antlers
fully prove; but now, in my present
upholstered condition of servitude,
I am compelled to fly through
the air -- my legs being of no
use to me whatever. Therefore
I beg to be dispersed."
So Ozma ordered the Gump taken
apart. The antlered head was
again hung over the mantle-piece
in the hall, and the sofas were
untied and placed in the reception
parlors. The broom tail resumed
its accustomed duties in the
kitchen, and finally, the Scarecrow
replaced all the clotheslines
and ropes on the pegs from which
he had taken them on the eventful
day when the Thing was constructed.
You might think that was the
end of the Gump; and so it was,
as a flying- machine. But the
head over the mantle-piece continued
to talk whenever it took a notion
to do so, and it frequently startled,
with its abrupt questions, the
people who waited in the hall
for an audience with the Queen.
The Saw-Horse, being Ozma's
personal property, was tenderly
cared for; and often she rode
the queer creature along the
streets of the Emerald City.
She had its wooden legs shod
with gold, to keep them from
wearing out, and the tinkle of
these golden shoes upon the pavement
always filled the Queen's subjects
with awe as they thought upon
this evidence of her magical
powers.
"The Wonderful Wizard was never
so wonderful as Queen Ozma," the
people said to one another, in
whispers; "for he claimed to
do many things he could not do;
whereas our new Queen does many
things no one would ever expect
her to accomplish."
Jack Pumpkinhead remained with
Ozma to the end of his days;
and he did not spoil as soon
as he had feared, although he
always remained as stupid as
ever. The Woggle-Bug tried to
teach him several arts and sciences;
but Jack was so poor a student
that any attempt to educate him
was soon abandoned.
After Glinda's army had marched
back home, and peace was restored
to the Emerald City, the Tin
Woodman announced his intention
to return to his own Kingdom
of the Winkies.
"It isn't a very big Kingdom," said
he to Ozma, "but for that very
reason it is easier to rule;
and I have called myself an Emperor
because I am an Absolute Monarch,
and no one interferes in any
way with my conduct of public
or personal affairs. When I get
home I shall have a new coat
of nickel plate; for I have become
somewhat marred and scratched
lately; and then I shall be glad
to have you pay me a visit."
"Thank you," replied Ozma. "Some
day I may accept the invitation.
But what is to become of the
Scarecrow?"
"I shall return with my friend
the Tin Woodman," said the stuffed
one, seriously. "We have decided
never to be parted in the future."
"And I have made the Scarecrow
my Royal Treasurer," explained
the Tin Woodman." For it has
occurred to me that it is a good
thing to have a Royal Treasurer
who is made of money. What do
you think?"
"I think," said the little
Queen, smiling, "that your friend
must be the richest man in all
the world."
"I am," returned the Scarecrow. "but
not on account of my money. For
I consider brains far superior
to money, in every way. You may
have noticed that if one has
money without brains, he cannot
use it to advantage; but if one
has brains without money, they
will enable him to live comfortably
to the end of his days."
"At the same time," declared
the Tin Woodman, "you must acknowledge
that a good heart is a thing
that brains can not create, and
that money can not buy. Perhaps,
after all, it is I who am the
richest man in all the world."
"You are both rich, my friends," said
Ozma, gently; "and your riches
are the only riches worth having
-- the riches of content!"
The End
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