The first thing Dorothy did
was to rush into the embrace
of the Scarecrow, whose painted
face beamed with delight as he
pressed her form to his straw-padded
bosom. Then the Tin Woodman embraced
her--very gently, for he knew
his tin arms might hurt her if
he
squeezed too roughly.
These greetings having been
exchanged, Dorothy took the key
to Tiktok from her pocket and
wound up the machine man's action,
so that he could bow properly
when introduced to the rest of
the company. While doing this
she told them now useful Tiktok
had been to her, and both the
Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman
shook hands with the machine
once more and thanked him for
protecting their friend.
Then Dorothy
asked: "Where
is Billina?"
"I don't know," said the Scarecrow. "Who
is Billina?"
"She's a yellow hen who is
another friend of mine," answered
the girl, anxiously. "I wonder
what has become of her?"
"She is in the chicken house,
in the back yard," said the Princess. "My
drawing-room is no place for
hens."
Without waiting to hear more
Dorothy ran to get Billina, and
just outside the door she came
upon the Cowardly Lion, still
hitched to the chariot beside
the great Tiger. The Cowardly
Lion had a big bow of blue ribbon
fastened to the long hair between
his ears, and the Tiger wore
a bow of red ribbon on his tail,
just in front of the bushy end.
In an instant Dorothy was hugging
the huge Lion joyfully.
"I'm SO glad to see you again!" she
cried.
"I am also glad to see you,
Dorothy," said the Lion. "We've
had some fine adventures together,
haven't we?"
"Yes, indeed," she replied. "How
are you?"
"As cowardly as ever," the
beast answered in a meek voice. "Every
little thing scares me and makes
my heart beat fast. But let me
introduce to you a new friend
of mine, the Hungry Tiger."
"Oh! Are you hungry?" she
asked, turning to the other
beast, who
was just then yawning so widely
that he displayed two rows of
terrible teeth and a mouth big
enough to startle anyone.
"Dreadfully hungry," answered
the Tiger, snapping his jaws
together with a fierce click.
"Then why don't you eat something?" she
asked.
"It's no use," said the Tiger
sadly. "I've tried that, but
I always get hungry again."
"Why, it is the same with me," said
Dorothy. "Yet I keep on eating."
"But you eat harmless things,
so it doesn't matter," replied
the Tiger. "For my part, I'm
a savage beast, and have an appetite
for all sorts of poor little
living creatures, from a chipmunk
to fat babies.
"How dreadful!" said
Dorothy.
"Isn't it, though?" returned
the Hungry Tiger, licking his
lips with his long red tongue. "Fat
babies! Don't they sound delicious?
But I've never eaten any, because
my conscience tells me it is
wrong. If I had no conscience
I would probably eat the babies
and then get hungry again, which
would mean that I had sacrificed
the poor babies for nothing.
No; hungry I was born, and hungry
I shall die. But I'll not have
any cruel deeds on my conscience
to be sorry for."
"I think you are a very good
tiger," said Dorothy, patting
the huge head of the beast.
"In that you are mistaken," was
the reply. "I am a good beast,
perhaps, but a disgracefully
bad tiger. For it is the nature
of tigers to be cruel and ferocious,
and in refusing to eat harmless
living creatures I am acting
as no good tiger has ever before
acted. That is why I left the
forest and joined my friend the
Cowardly Lion."
"But the Lion is not really
cowardly," said Dorothy. "I have
seen him act as bravely as can
be."
"All a mistake, my dear," protested
the Lion gravely. "To others
I may have seemed brave, at times,
but I have never been in any
danger that I was not afraid."
"Nor I," said Dorothy, truthfully. "But
I must go and set free Billina,
and then I will see you again."
She ran around to the back
yard of the palace and soon found
the chicken house, being guided
to it by a loud cackling and
crowing and a distracting hubbub
of sounds such as chickens make
when they are excited.
Something seemed to be wrong
in the chicken house, and when
Dorothy looked through the slats
in the door she saw a group of
hens and roosters huddled in
one corner and watching what
appeared to be a whirling ball
of feathers. It bounded here
and there about the chicken house,
and at first Dorothy could not
tell what it was, while the screeching
of the chickens nearly deafened
her.
But suddenly the bunch of feathers
stopped whirling, and then, to
her amazement, the girl saw Billina
crouching upon the prostrate
form of a speckled rooster. For
an instant they both remained
motionless, and then the yellow
hen shook her wings to settle
the feathers and walked toward
the door with a strut of proud
defiance and a cluck of victory,
while the speckled rooster limped
away to the group of other chickens,
trailing his crumpled plumage
in the dust as he went.
"Why, Billina!" cried Dorothy,
in a shocked voice; "have you
been fighting?"
"I really think I have," retorted
Billina. "Do you think I'd let
that speckled villain of a rooster
lord it over ME, and claim to
run this chicken house, as long
as I'm able to peck and scratch?
Not if my name is Bill!"
"It isn't Bill, it's Billina;
and you're talking slang, which
is very undig'n'fied," said Dorothy,
reprovingly. "Come here, Billina,
and I'll let you out; for Ozma
of Oz is here, and has set us
free."
So the yellow hen came to the
door, which Dorothy unlatched
for her to pass through, and
the other chickens silently watched
them from their corner without
offering to approach nearer.
The girl lifted her friend
in her arms and exclaimed:
"Oh, Billina!
how dreadful you look. You've
lost a lot of
feathers, and one of your eyes
is nearly pecked out, and your
comb is bleeding!"
"That's nothing," said Billina. "Just
look at the speckled rooster!
Didn't I do him up brown?"
Dorothy shook her head.
"I don't 'prove of this, at
all," she said, carrying Billina
away toward the palace. "It isn't
a good thing for you to 'sociate
with those common chickens. They
would soon spoil your good manners,
and you wouldn't be respec'able
any more."
"I didn't ask to associate
with them," replied Billina. "It
is that cross old Princess who
is to blame. But I was raised
in the United States, and I won't
allow any one-horse chicken of
the Land of Ev to run over me
and put on airs, as long as I
can lift a claw in self-defense."
"Very well, Billina," said
Dorothy. "We won't talk about
it any more."
Soon they came to the Cowardly
Lion and the Hungry Tiger to
whom the girl introduced the
Yellow Hen.
"Glad to meet any friend of
Dorothy's," said the Lion, politely. "To
judge by your present appearance,
you are not a coward, as I am."
"Your present appearance makes
my mouth water," said the Tiger,
looking at Billina greedily. "My,
my! how good you would taste
if I could only crunch you between
my jaws. But don't worry. You
would only appease my appetite
for a moment; so it isn't worth
while to eat you."
"Thank you," said
the hen, nestling closer in
Dorothy's
arms.
"Besides, it wouldn't be right," continued
the Tiger, looking steadily at
Billina and clicking his jaws
together.
"Of course not," cried Dorothy,
hastily. "Billina is my friend,
and you mustn't ever eat her
under any circ'mstances."
"I'll try to remember that," said
the Tiger; "but I'm a little
absent-minded, at times."
Then Dorothy carried her pet
into the drawing-room of the
palace, where Tiktok, being invited
to do so by Ozma, had seated
himself between the Scarecrow
and the Tin Woodman. Opposite
to them sat Ozma herself and
the Princess Langwidere, and
beside them there was a vacant
chair for Dorothy.
Around this important group
was ranged the Army of Oz, and
as Dorothy looked at the handsome
uniforms of the Twenty-Seven
she said:
"Why, they
seem to be all officers."
"They are, all except one," answered
the Tin Woodman. "I have in my
Army eight Generals, six Colonels,
seven Majors and five Captains,
besides one private for them
to command. I'd like to promote
the private, for I believe no
private should ever be in public
life; and I've also noticed that
officers usually fight better
and are more reliable than common
soldiers. Besides, the officers
are more important looking, and
lend dignity to our army."
"No doubt you are right," said
Dorothy, seating herself beside
Ozma.
"And now," announced the girlish
Ruler of Oz, "we will hold a
solemn conference to decide the
best manner of liberating the
royal family of this fair Land
of Ev from their long imprisonment."
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