The Scarecrow had no need to
sleep; neither had the Tin Woodman
or Tiktok or Jack Pumpkinhead.
So they all wandered out into
the palace grounds and stood
beside the sparkling water of
the Forbidden Fountain until
daybreak. During this time they
indulged in occasional conversation.
"Nothing could make me forget
what I know," remarked the Scarecrow,
gazing into the fountain, "for
I cannot drink the Water of Oblivion
or water of any kind. And I am
glad that this is so, for I consider
my wisdom unexcelled."
"You are cer-tain-ly ve-ry
wise," agreed Tiktok. "For my
part, I can on-ly think by ma-chin-er-y,
so I do not pre-tend to know
as much as you do."
"My tin brains are very bright,
but that is all I claim for them," said
Nick Chopper, modestly. "Yet
I do not aspire to being very
wise, for I have noticed that
the happiest people are those
who do not let their brains oppress
them."
"Mine never worry me," Jack
Pumpkinhead acknowledged. "There
are many seeds of thought in
my head, but they do not sprout
easily. I am glad that it is
so, for if I occupied my days
in thinking I should have no
time for anything else."
In this cheery mood they passed
the hours until the first golden
streaks of dawn appeared in the
sky. Then Ozma joined them, as
fresh and lovely as ever and
robed in one of her prettiest
gowns.
"Our enemies have not yet arrived," said
the Scarecrow, after greeting
affectionately the sweet and
girlish Ruler.
"They will soon be here," she
said, "for I have just glanced
at my Magic Picture, and have
seen them coughing and choking
with the dust in the tunnel."
"Oh, is there dust in the tunnel?" asked
the Tin Woodman.
"Yes; Ozma placed it there
by means of the Magic Belt," explained
the Scarecrow, with one of his
broad smiles.
Then Dorothy came to them,
Uncle Henry and Aunt Em following
close after her. The little girl's
eyes were heavy because she had
had a sleepless and anxious night.
Toto walked by her side, but
the little dog's spirits were
very much subdued. Billina, who
was always up by daybreak, was
not long in joining the group
by the fountain.
The Wizard and the Shaggy Man
next arrived, and soon after
appeared Omby Amby, dressed in
his best uniform.
"There lies the tunnel," said
Ozma, pointing to a part of the
ground just before the Forbidden
Fountain, "and in a few moments
the dreadful invaders will break
through the earth and swarm over
the land. Let us all stand on
the other side of the Fountain
and watch to see what happens."
At once they followed her suggestion
and moved around the fountain
of the Water of Oblivion. There
they stood silent and expectant
until the earth beyond gave way
with a sudden crash and up leaped
the powerful form of the First
and Foremost, followed by all
his grim warriors.
As the leader sprang forward
his gleaming eyes caught the
play of the fountain and he rushed
toward it and drank eagerly of
the sparkling water. Many of
the other Phanfasms drank, too,
in order to clear their dry and
dusty throats. Then they stood
around and looked at one another
with simple, wondering smiles.
The First and Foremost saw
Ozma and her companions beyond
the fountain, but instead of
making an effort to capture her
he merely stared at her in pleased
admiration of her beauty--for
he had forgotten where he was
and why he had come there.
But now the Grand Gallipoot
arrived, rushing from the tunnel
with a hoarse cry of mingled
rage and thirst. He too saw the
fountain and hastened to drink
of its forbidden waters. The
other Growleywogs were not slow
to follow suit, and even before
they had finished drinking the
Chief of the Whimsies and his
people came to push them away,
while they one and all cast off
their false heads that they might
slake their thirst at the fountain.
When the Nome King and General
Guph arrived they both made a
dash to drink, but the General
was so mad with thirst that he
knocked his King over, and while
Roquat lay sprawling upon the
ground the General drank heartily
of the Water of Oblivion.
This rude act of his General
made the Nome King so angry that
for a moment he forgot he was
thirsty and rose to his feet
to glare upon the group of terrible
warriors he had brought here
to assist him. He saw Ozma and
her people, too, and yelled out:
"Why don't
you capture them? Why don't
you conquer Oz, you
idiots? Why do you stand there
like a lot of dummies?"
But the great warriors had
become like little children.
They had forgotten all their
enmity against Ozma and against
Oz. They had even forgotten who
they themselves were, or why
they were in this strange and
beautiful country. As for the
Nome King, they did not recognize
him, and wondered who he was.
The sun came up and sent its
flood of silver rays to light
the faces of the invaders. The
frowns and scowls and evil looks
were all gone. Even the most
monstrous of the creatures there
assembled smiled innocently and
seemed light-hearted and content
merely to be alive.
Not so with Roquat, the Nome
King. He had not drunk from the
Forbidden Fountain and all his
former rage against Ozma and
Dorothy now inflamed him as fiercely
as ever. The sight of General
Guph babbling like a happy child
and playing with his hands in
the cool waters of the fountain
astonished and maddened Red Roquat.
Seeing that his terrible allies
and his own General refused to
act, the Nome King turned to
order his great army of Nomes
to advance from the tunnel and
seize the helpless Oz people.
But the Scarecrow suspected
what was in the King's mind and
spoke a word to the Tin Woodman.
Together they ran at Roquat and
grabbing him up tossed him into
the great basin of the fountain.
The Nome King's body was round
as a ball, and it bobbed up and
down in the Water of Oblivion
while he spluttered and screamed
with fear lest he should drown.
And when he cried out, his mouth
filled with water, which ran
down his throat, so that straightway
he forgot all he had formerly
known just as completely as had
all the other invaders.
Ozma and Dorothy could not
refrain from laughing to see
their dreaded enemies become
as harmless as babies. There
was no danger now that Oz would
be destroyed. The only question
remaining to solve was how to
get rid of this horde of intruders.
The Shaggy Man kindly pulled
the Nome King out of the fountain
and set him upon his thin legs.
Roquat was dripping wet, but
he chattered and laughed and
wanted to drink more of the water.
No thought of injuring any person
was now in his mind.
Before he left the tunnel he
had commanded his fifty thousand
Nomes to remain there until he
ordered them to advance, as he
wished to give his allies time
to conquer Oz before he appeared
with his own army. Ozma did not
wish all these Nomes to overrun
her land, so she advanced to
King Roquat and taking his hand
in her own said gently:
"Who are you?
What is your name?"
"I don't know," he replied,
smiling at her. "Who are you,
my dear?"
"My name is Ozma," she said; "and
your name is Roquat."
"Oh, is it?" he
replied, seeming pleased.
"Yes; you are King of the Nomes," she
said.
"Ah; I wonder what the Nomes
are!" returned the King, as if
puzzled.
"They are underground elves,
and that tunnel over there is
full of them," she answered. "You
have a beautiful cavern at the
other end of the tunnel, so you
must go to your Nomes and say:
'March home!' Then follow after
them and in time you will reach
the pretty cavern where you live."
The Nome King was much pleased
to learn this, for he had forgotten
he had a cavern. So he went to
the tunnel and said to his army:
'March home!' At once the Nomes
turned and marched back through
the tunnel, and the King followed
after them, laughing with delight
to find his orders so readily
obeyed.
The Wizard went to General
Guph, who was trying to count
his fingers, and told him to
follow the Nome King, who was
his master. Guph meekly obeyed,
and so all the Nomes quitted
the Land of Oz forever.
But there were still the Phanfasms
and Whimsies and Growleywogs
standing around in groups, and
they were so many that they filled
the gardens and trampled upon
the flowers and grass because
they did not know that the tender
plants would be injured by their
clumsy feet. But in all other
respects they were perfectly
harmless and played together
like children or gazed with pleasure
upon the pretty sights of the
royal gardens.
After counseling with the Scarecrow
Ozma sent Omby Amby to the palace
for the Magic Belt, and when
the Captain General returned
with it the Ruler of Oz at once
clasped the precious Belt around
her waist.
"I wish all these strange people--the
Whimsies and the Growleywogs
and the Phanfasms--safe back
in their own homes!" she said.
It all happened in a twinkling,
for of course the wish was no
sooner spoken than it was granted.
All the hosts of the invaders
were gone, and only the trampled
grass showed that they had ever
been in the Land of Oz.
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