You will remember there was
no road--not even a pathway--
between the castle of the Wicked
Witch and the Emerald City. When
the four travelers went in search
of the Witch she had seen them
coming, and so sent the Winged
Monkeys to bring them to her.
It was much harder to find their
way back through the big fields
of buttercups and yellow daisies
than it was being carried. They
knew, of course, they must go
straight east, toward the rising
sun; and they started off in
the right way. But at noon, when
the sun was over their heads,
they did not know which was east
and which was west, and that
was the reason they were lost
in the great fields. They kept
on walking, however, and at night
the moon came out and shone brightly.
So they lay down among the sweet
smelling yellow flowers and slept
soundly until morning-- all but
the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman.
The next morning the sun was
behind a cloud, but they started
on, as if they were quite sure
which way they were going.
"If we walk far enough," said
Dorothy, "I am sure we shall
sometime come to some place."
But day by day passed away,
and they still saw nothing before
them but the scarlet fields.
The Scarecrow began to grumble
a bit.
"We have surely lost our way," he
said, "and unless we find it
again in time to reach the Emerald
City, I shall never get my brains."
"Nor I my heart," declared
the Tin Woodman. "It seems to
me I can scarcely wait till I
get to Oz, and you must admit
this is a very long journey."
"You see," said the Cowardly
Lion, with a whimper, "I haven't
the courage to keep tramping
forever, without getting anywhere
at all."
Then Dorothy lost heart. She
sat down on the grass and looked
at her companions, and they sat
down and looked at her, and Toto
found that for the first time
in his life he was too tired
to chase a butterfly that flew
past his head. So he put out
his tongue and panted and looked
at Dorothy as if to ask what
they should do next.
"Suppose we call the field
mice," she suggested. "They could
probably tell us the way to the
Emerald City."
"To be sure they could," cried
the Scarecrow. "Why didn't we
think of that before?"
Dorothy blew the little whistle
she had always carried about
her neck since the Queen of the
Mice had given it to her. In
a few minutes they heard the
pattering of tiny feet, and many
of the small gray mice came running
up to her. Among them was the
Queen herself, who asked, in
her squeaky little voice:
"What can I
do for my friends?"
"We have lost our way," said
Dorothy. "Can you tell us where
the Emerald City is?"
"Certainly," answered the Queen; "but
it is a great way off, for you
have had it at your backs all
this time." Then she noticed
Dorothy's Golden Cap, and said, "Why
don't you use the charm of the
Cap, and call the Winged Monkeys
to you? They will carry you to
the City of Oz in less than an
hour."
"I didn't know there was a
charm," answered Dorothy, in
surprise. "What is it?"
"It is written inside the Golden
Cap," replied the Queen of the
Mice. "But if you are going to
call the Winged Monkeys we must
run away, for they are full of
mischief and think it great fun
to plague us."
"Won't they hurt me?" asked
the girl anxiously.
"Oh, no. They must obey the
wearer of the Cap. Good-bye!" And
she scampered out of sight, with
all the mice hurrying after her.
Dorothy looked inside the Golden
Cap and saw some words written
upon the lining. These, she thought,
must be the charm, so she read
the directions carefully and
put the Cap upon her head.
"Ep-pe, pep-pe, kak-ke!" she
said, standing on her left foot.
"What did you say?" asked
the Scarecrow, who did not
know what
she was doing.
"Hil-lo, hol-lo, hel-lo!" Dorothy
went on, standing this time on
her right foot.
"Hello!" replied
the Tin Woodman calmly.
"Ziz-zy, zuz-zy, zik!" said
Dorothy, who was now standing
on both feet. This ended the
saying of the charm, and they
heard a great chattering and
flapping of wings, as the band
of Winged Monkeys flew up to
them.
The King bowed
low before Dorothy, and asked, "What
is your command?"
"We wish to go to the Emerald
City," said the child, "and we
have lost our way."
"We will carry you," replied
the King, and no sooner had he
spoken than two of the Monkeys
caught Dorothy in their arms
and flew away with her. Others
took the Scarecrow and the Woodman
and the Lion, and one little
Monkey seized Toto and flew after
them, although the dog tried
hard to bite him.
The Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman
were rather frightened at first,
for they remembered how badly
the Winged Monkeys had treated
them before; but they saw that
no harm was intended, so they
rode through the air quite cheerfully,
and had a fine time looking at
the pretty gardens and woods
far below them.
Dorothy found herself riding
easily between two of the biggest
Monkeys, one of them the King
himself. They had made a chair
of their hands and were careful
not to hurt her.
"Why do you have to obey the
charm of the Golden Cap?" she
asked.
"That is a long story," answered
the King, with a Winged laugh; "but
as we have a long journey before
us, I will pass the time by telling
you about it, if you wish."
"I shall be glad to hear it," she
replied.
"Once," began the leader, "we
were a free people, living happily
in the great forest, flying from
tree to tree, eating nuts and
fruit, and doing just as we pleased
without calling anybody master.
Perhaps some of us were rather
too full of mischief at times,
flying down to pull the tails
of the animals that had no wings,
chasing birds, and throwing nuts
at the people who walked in the
forest. But we were careless
and happy and full of fun, and
enjoyed every minute of the day.
This was many years ago, long
before Oz came out of the clouds
to rule over this land.
"There lived
here then, away at the North,
a beautiful princess,
who was also a powerful sorceress.
All her magic was used to help
the people, and she was never
known to hurt anyone who was
good. Her name was Gayelette,
and she lived in a handsome palace
built from great blocks of ruby.
Everyone loved her, but her greatest
sorrow was that she could find
no one to love in return, since
all the men were much too stupid
and ugly to mate with one so
beautiful and wise. At last,
however, she found a boy who
was handsome and manly and wise
beyond his years. Gayelette made
up her mind that when he grew
to be a man she would make him
her husband, so she took him
to her ruby palace and used all
her magic powers to make him
as strong and good and lovely
as any woman could wish. When
he grew to manhood, Quelala,
as he was called, was said to
be the best and wisest man in
all the land, while his manly
beauty was so great that Gayelette
loved him dearly, and hastened
to make everything ready for
the wedding.
"My grandfather
was at that time the King of
the Winged Monkeys
which lived in the forest near
Gayelette's palace, and the old
fellow loved a joke better than
a good dinner. One day, just
before the wedding, my grandfather
was flying out with his band
when he saw Quelala walking beside
the river. He was dressed in
a rich costume of pink silk and
purple velvet, and my grandfather
thought he would see what he
could do. At his word the band
flew down and seized Quelala,
carried him in their arms until
they were over the middle of
the river, and then dropped him
into the water.
"`Swim out,
my fine fellow,' cried my grandfather,
`and see
if the water has spotted your
clothes.' Quelala was much too
wise not to swim, and he was
not in the least spoiled by all
his good fortune. He laughed,
when he came to the top of the
water, and swam in to shore.
But when Gayelette came running
out to him she found his silks
and velvet all ruined by the
river.
"The princess
was angry, and she knew, of
course, who did
it. She had all the Winged Monkeys
brought before her, and she said
at first that their wings should
be tied and they should be treated
as they had treated Quelala,
and dropped in the river. But
my grandfather pleaded hard,
for he knew the Monkeys would
drown in the river with their
wings tied, and Quelala said
a kind word for them also; so
that Gayelette finally spared
them, on condition that the Winged
Monkeys should ever after do
three times the bidding of the
owner of the Golden Cap. This
Cap had been made for a wedding
present to Quelala, and it is
said to have cost the princess
half her kingdom. Of course my
grandfather and all the other
Monkeys at once agreed to the
condition, and that is how it
happens that we are three times
the slaves of the owner of the
Golden Cap, whosoever he may
be."
"And what became of them?" asked
Dorothy, who had been greatly
interested in the story.
"Quelala being the first owner
of the Golden Cap," replied the
Monkey, "he was the first to
lay his wishes upon us. As his
bride could not bear the sight
of us, he called us all to him
in the forest after he had married
her and ordered us always to
keep where she could never again
set eyes on a Winged Monkey,
which we were glad to do, for
we were all afraid of her.
"This was all
we ever had to do until the
Golden Cap fell
into the hands of the Wicked
Witch of the West, who made us
enslave the Winkies, and afterward
drive Oz himself out of the Land
of the West. Now the Golden Cap
is yours, and three times you
have the right to lay your wishes
upon us."
As the Monkey King finished
his story Dorothy looked down
and saw the green, shining walls
of the Emerald City before them.
She wondered at the rapid flight
of the Monkeys, but was glad
the journey was over. The strange
creatures set the travelers down
carefully before the gate of
the City, the King bowed low
to Dorothy, and then flew swiftly
away, followed by all his band.
"That was a good ride," said
the little girl.
"Yes, and a quick way out of
our troubles," replied the Lion. "How
lucky it was you brought away
that wonderful Cap!"
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