"Where next?" asked
the Wizard when they had left
the town of
Fuddlecumjig and the Sawhorse
had started back along the road.
"Why, Ozma laid out this trip," replied
Dorothy, "and she 'vised us to
see the Rigmaroles next, and
then visit the Tin Woodman."
"That sounds good," said the
Wizard. "But what road do we
take to get to the Rigmaroles?"
"I don't know, 'zactly," returned
the little girl; "but it must
be somewhere just southwest from
here."
"Then why need we go way back
to the crossroads?" asked the
Shaggy Man. "We might save a
lot of time by branching off
here."
"There isn't any path," asserted
Uncle Henry.
"Then we'd better go back to
the signposts, and make sure
of our way," decided Dorothy.
But after they had gone a short
distance farther the Sawhorse,
who had overheard their conversation,
stopped and said:
"Here is a
path."
Sure enough, a dim path seemed
to branch off from the road they
were on, and it led across pretty
green meadows and past leafy
groves, straight toward the southwest.
"That looks like a good path," said
Omby Amby. "Why not try it?"
"All right," answered Dorothy. "I'm
anxious to see what the Rigmaroles
are like, and this path ought
to take us there the quickest
way."
No one made any objection to
this plan, so the Sawhorse turned
into the path, which proved to
be nearly as good as the one
they had taken to get to the
Fuddles. As first they passed
a few retired farm houses, but
soon these scattered dwellings
were left behind and only the
meadows and the trees were before
them. But they rode along in
cheerful contentment, and Aunt
Em got into an argument with
Billina about the proper way
to raise chickens.
"I do not care to contradict
you," said the Yellow Hen, with
dignity, "but I have an idea
I know more about chickens than
human beings do."
"Pshaw!" replied Aunt Em. "I've
raised chickens for nearly forty
years, Billina, and I know you've
got to starve 'em to make 'em
lay lots of eggs, and stuff 'em
if you want good broilers."
"Broilers!" exclaimed Billina,
in horror. "Broil my chickens!"
"Why, that's what they're for,
ain't it?" asked Aunt Em, astonished.
"No, Aunt, not in Oz," said
Dorothy. "People do not eat chickens
here. You see, Billina was the
first hen that was ever seen
in this country, and I brought
her here myself. Everybody liked
her an' respected her, so the
Oz people wouldn't any more eat
her chickens than they would
eat Billina."
"Well, I declare," gasped Aunt
Em. "How about the eggs?"
"Oh, if we have more eggs than
we want to hatch, we allow people
to eat them," said Billina. "Indeed,
I am very glad the Oz folks like
our eggs, for otherwise they
would spoil."
"This certainly is a queer
country," sighed Aunt Em.
"Excuse me," called the Sawhorse, "the
path has ended and I'd like to
know which way to go."
They looked around and sure
enough there was no path to be
seen.
"Well," said Dorothy, "we're
going southwest, and it seems
just as easy to follow that direction
without a path as with one."
"Certainly," answered the Sawhorse. "It
is not hard to draw the wagon
over the meadow. I only want
to know where to go."
"There's a forest over there
across the prairie," said the
Wizard, "and it lies in the direction
we are going. Make straight for
the forest, Sawhorse, and you're
bound to go right."
So the wooden animal trotted
on again and the meadow grass
was so soft under the wheels
that it made easy riding. But
Dorothy was a little uneasy at
losing the path, because now
there was nothing to guide them.
No houses were to be seen at
all, so they could not ask their
way of any farmer; and although
the Land of Oz was always beautiful,
wherever one might go, this part
of the country was strange to
all the party.
"Perhaps we're lost," suggested
Aunt Em, after they had proceeded
quite a way in silence.
"Never mind," said the Shaggy
Man; "I've been lost many a time--and
so has Dorothy--and we've always
been found again."
"But we may get hungry," remarked
Omby Amby. "That is the worst
of getting lost in a place where
there are no houses near."
"We had a good dinner at the
Fuddle town," said Uncle Henry, "and
that will keep us from starving
to death for a long time."
"No one ever starved to death
in Oz," declared Dorothy, positively; "but
people may get pretty hungry
sometimes."
The Wizard
said nothing, and he did not
seem especially anxious.
The Sawhorse was trotting along
briskly, yet the forest seemed
farther away than they had thought
when they first saw it. So it
was nearly sundown when they
finally came to the trees; but
now they found themselves in
a most beautiful spot, the wide-spreading
trees being covered with flowering
vines and having soft mosses
underneath them. "This will be
a good place to camp," said the
Wizard, as the Sawhorse stopped
for further instructions.
"Camp!" they
all echoed.
"Certainly," asserted the Wizard. "It
will be dark before very long
and we cannot travel through
this forest at night. So let
us make a camp here, and have
some supper, and sleep until
daylight comes again."
They all looked at the little
man in astonishment, and Aunt
Em said, with a sniff:
"A pretty camp
we'll have, I must say! I suppose
you intend
us to sleep under the wagon."
"And chew grass for our supper," added
the Shaggy Man, laughing.
But Dorothy seemed to have
no doubts and was quite cheerful
"It's lucky we have the wonderful
Wizard with us," she said; "because
he can do 'most anything he wants
to."
"Oh, yes; I forgot we had a
Wizard," said Uncle Henry, looking
at the little man curiously.
"I didn't," chirped
Billina, contentedly.
The Wizard smiled and climbed
out of the wagon, and all the
others followed him.
"In order to camp," said he, "the
first thing we need is tents.
Will some one please lend me
a handkerchief?"
The Shaggy Man offered him
one, and Aunt Em another. He
took them both and laid them
carefully upon the grass near
to the edge of the forest. Then
he laid his own handkerchief
down, too, and standing a little
back from them he waved his left
hand toward the handkerchiefs
and said:
"Tents of canvas,
white as snow, Let me see how
fast you
grow!"
Then, lo and behold! the handkerchiefs
became tiny tents, and as the
travelers looked at them the
tents grew bigger and bigger
until in a few minutes each one
was large enough to contain the
entire party.
"This," said the Wizard, pointing
to the first tent, "is for the
accommodation of the ladies.
Dorothy, you and your Aunt may
step inside and take off your
things."
Every one ran to look inside
the tent, and they saw two pretty
white beds, all ready for Dorothy
and Aunt Em, and a silver roost
for Billina. Rugs were spread
upon the grassy floor and some
camp chairs and a table completed
the furniture.
"Well, well, well! This beats
anything I ever saw or heard
of!" exclaimed Aunt Em, and she
glanced at the Wizard almost
fearfully, as if he might be
dangerous because of his great
powers.
"Oh, Mr. Wizard! How did you
manage to do it?" asked Dorothy.
"It's a trick Glinda the Sorceress
taught me, and it is much better
magic than I used to practice
in Omaha, or when I first came
to Oz," he answered. "When the
good Glinda found I was to live
in the Emerald City always, she
promised to help me, because
she said the Wizard of Oz ought
really to be a clever Wizard,
and not a humbug. So we have
been much together and I am learning
so fast that I expect to be able
to accomplish some really wonderful
things in time."
"You've done it now!" declared
Dorothy. "These tents are just
wonderful!"
"But come and see the men's
tent," said the Wizard. So they
went to the second tent, which
had shaggy edges because it has
been made from the Shaggy Man's
handkerchief, and found that
completely furnished also. It
contained four neat beds for
Uncle Henry, Omby Amby, the Shaggy
Man and the Wizard. Also there
was a soft rug for Toto to lie
upon.
"The third tent," explained
the Wizard, "is our dining room
and kitchen."
They visited that next, and
found a table and dishes in the
dining tent, with plenty of those
things necessary to use in cooking.
The Wizard carried out a big
kettle and set it swinging on
a crossbar before the tent. While
he was doing this Omby Amby and
the Shaggy Man brought a supply
of twigs from the forest and
then they built a fire underneath
the kettle.
"Now, Dorothy," said the Wizard,
smiling, "I expect you to cook
our supper."
"But there is nothing in the
kettle," she cried.
"Are you sure?" inquired
the Wizard.
"I didn't see anything put
in, and I'm almost sure it was
empty when you brought it out," she
replied.
"Nevertheless," said the little
man, winking slyly at Uncle Henry, "you
will do well to watch our supper,
my dear, and see that it doesn't
boil over."
Then the men took some pails
and went into the forest to search
for a spring of water, and while
they were gone Aunt Em said to
Dorothy:
"I believe
the Wizard is fooling us. I
saw the kettle myself,
and when he hung it over the
fire there wasn't a thing in
it but air."
"Don't worry," remarked Billina,
confidently, as she nestled in
the grass before the fire. "You'll
find something in the kettle
when it's taken off--and it won't
be poor, innocent chickens, either."
"Your hen has very bad manners,
Dorothy," said Aunt Em, looking
somewhat disdainfully at Billina. "It
seems too bad she ever learned
how to talk."
There might have been another
unpleasant quarrel between Aunt
Em and Billina had not the men
returned just then with their
pails filled with clear, sparkling
water. The Wizard told Dorothy
that she was a good cook and
he believed their supper was
ready.
So Uncle Henry lifted the kettle
from the fire and poured its
contents into a big platter which
the Wizard held for him. The
platter was fairly heaped with
a fine stew, smoking hot, with
many kinds of vegetables and
dumplings and a rich, delicious
gravy.
The Wizard triumphantly placed
the platter upon the table in
the dining tent and then they
all sat down in camp chairs to
the feast.
There were several other dishes
on the table, all carefully covered,
and when the time came to remove
these covers they found bread
and butter, cakes, cheese, pickles
and fruits--including some of
the luscious strawberries of
Oz.
No one ventured to ask a question
as to how these things came there.
They contented themselves by
eating heartily the good things
provided, and Toto and Billina
had their full share, you may
be sure. After the meal was over,
Aunt Em whispered to Dorothy:
"That may have been magic food,
my dear, and for that reason
perhaps it won't be very nourishing;
but I'm willing to say it tasted
as good as anything I ever et." Then
she added, in a louder voice: "Who's
going to do the dishes?"
"No one, madam," answered the
Wizard. "The dishes have 'done'
themselves."
"La sakes!" ejaculated
the good lady, holding up her
hands
in amazement. For, sure enough,
when she looked at the dishes
they had a moment before left
upon the table, she found them
all washed and dried and piled
up into neat stacks.
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