Dorothy passed several very
happy weeks in the Land of Oz
as the guest of the royal Ozma,
who delighted to please and interest
the little Kansas girl. Many
new acquaintances were formed
and many old ones renewed, and
wherever she went Dorothy found
herself among friends.
One day, however, as she sat
in Ozma's private room, she noticed
hanging upon the wall a picture
which constantly changed in appearance,
at one time showing a meadow
and at another time a forest,
a lake or a village.
"How curious!" she
exclaimed, after watching the
shifting scenes
for a few moments.
"Yes," said Ozma, "that
is really a wonderful invention
in magic. If I wish to see any
part of the world or any person
living, I need only express the
wish and it is shown in the picture."
"May I use it?" asked
Dorothy, eagerly.
"Of course,
my dear."
"Then I'd like to see the old
Kansas farm, and Aunt Em," said
the girl.
Instantly the well remembered
farmhouse appeared in the picture,
and Aunt Em could be seen quite
plainly. She was engaged in washing
dishes by the kitchen window
and seemed quite well and contented.
The hired men and the teams were
in the harvest fields behind
the house, and the corn and wheat
seemed to the child to be in
prime condition. On the side
porch Dorothy's pet dog, Toto,
was lying fast asleep in the
sun, and to her surprise old
Speckles was running around with
a brood of twelve new chickens
trailing after her.
"Everything seems all right
at home," said Dorothy, with
a sigh of relief. "Now I wonder
what Uncle Henry is doing."
The scene in the picture at
once shifted to Australia, where,
in a pleasant room in Sydney,
Uncle Henry was seated in an
easy chair, solemnly smoking
his briar pipe. He looked sad
and lonely, and his hair was
now quite white and his hands
and face thin and wasted.
"Oh!" cried Dorothy, in an
anxious voice, "I'm sure Uncle
Henry isn't getting any better,
and it's because he is worried
about me. Ozma, dear, I must
go to him at once!"
"How can you?" asked
Ozma.
"I don't know," replied Dorothy; "but
let us go to Glinda the Good.
I'm sure she will help me, and
advise me how to get to Uncle
Henry."
Ozma readily agreed to this
plan and caused the Sawhorse
to be harnessed to a pretty green
and pink phaeton, and the two
girls rode away to visit the
famous sorceress.
Glinda received them graciously,
and listened to Dorothy's story
with attention.
"I have the magic belt, you
know," said the little girl. "If
I buckled it around my waist
and commanded it to take me to
Uncle Henry, wouldn't it do it?"
"I think so," replied
Glinda, with a smile.
"And then," continued Dorothy, "if
I ever wanted to come back here
again, the belt would bring me."
"In that you are wrong," said
the sorceress. "The belt has
magical powers only while it
is in some fairy country, such
as the Land of Oz, or the Land
of Ev. Indeed, my little friend,
were you to wear it and wish
yourself in Australia, with your
uncle, the wish would doubtless
be fulfilled, because it was
made in fairyland. But you would
not find the magic belt around
you when you arrived at your
destination."
"What would become of it?" asked
the girl.
"It would be
lost, as were your silver shoes
when you visited
Oz before, and no one would ever
see it again. It seems too bad
to destroy the use of the magic
belt in that way, doesn't it?"
"Then," said Dorothy, after
a moment's thought, "I will give
the magic belt to Ozma, for she
can use it in her own country.
And she can wish me transported
to Uncle Henry without losing
the belt."
"That is a wise plan," replied
Glinda.
So they rode back to the Emerald
City, and on the way it was arranged
that every Saturday morning Ozma
would look at Dorothy in her
magic picture, wherever the little
girl might chance to be. And,
if she saw Dorothy make a certain
signal, then Ozma would know
that the little Kansas girl wanted
to revisit the Land of Oz, and
by means of the Nome King's magic
belt would wish that she might
instantly return.
This having been agreed upon,
Dorothy bade good-bye to all
her friends. Tiktok wanted to
go to Australia; too, but Dorothy
knew that the machine man would
never do for a servant in a civilized
country, and the chances were
that his machinery wouldn't work
at all. So she left him in Ozma's
care.
Billina, on the contrary, preferred
the Land of Oz to any other country,
and refused to accompany Dorothy.
"The bugs and ants that I find
here are the finest flavored
in the world," declared the yellow
hen, "and there are plenty of
them. So here I shall end my
days; and I must say, Dorothy,
my dear, that you are very foolish
to go back into that stupid,
humdrum world again."
"Uncle Henry needs me," said
Dorothy, simply; and every one
except Billina thought it was
right that she should go.
All Dorothy's friends of the
Land of Oz--both old and new--gathered
in a group in front of the palace
to bid her a sorrowful good-bye
and to wish her long life and
happiness. After much hand shaking,
Dorothy kissed Ozma once more,
and then handed her the Nome
King's magic belt, saying:
"Now, dear
Princess, when I wave my handkerchief,
please
wish me with Uncle Henry. I'm
aw'fly sorry to leave you--and
the Scarecrow--and the Tin Woodman--and
the Cowardly Lion--and Tiktok--and--and
everybody--but I do want my Uncle
Henry! So good-bye, all of you."
Then the little girl stood
on one of the big emeralds which
decorated the courtyard, and
after looking once again at each
of her friends, waved her handkerchief.
"No," said Dorothy, "I
wasn't drowned at all. And
I've come
to nurse you and take care of
you, Uncle Henry, and you must
promise to get well as soon as
poss'ble."
Uncle Henry smiled and cuddled
his little niece close in his
lap.
"I'm better already, my darling," said
he.
This is the end of the Project
Gutenberg Edition of Ozma of
Oz
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