L. Frank Baum_Oz 12 (16 page)

"I've been taught a little fairy magic, but I've never before been
asked to mend tin legs with it, so I'm not sure I can help you. It all
depends on the good will of my unseen fairy guardians, so I'll try, and
if I fail, you will be no worse off than you are now."

She danced around the circle again, and then laid both hands upon the
twisted tin leg and sang in her sweet voice:

"Fairy Powers, come to my aid!
This bent leg of tin is made;
Make it straight and strong and true,
And I'll render thanks to you."

"Ah!" murmured Captain Fyter in a glad voice, as she withdrew her hands
and danced away, and they saw he was standing straight as ever, because
his leg was as shapely and strong as it had been before his accident.

The Tin Woodman had watched Polychrome with much interest, and he now
said:

"Please take the dent out of my side, Poly, for I am more crippled than
was the Soldier."

So the Rainbow's Daughter touched his side lightly and sang:

"Here's a dent by accident;
Such a thing was never meant.
Fairy Powers, so wondrous great,
Make our dear Tin Woodman straight!"

"Good!" cried the Emperor, again standing erect and strutting around to
show his fine figure. "Your fairy magic may not be able to accomplish
all things, sweet Polychrome, but it works splendidly on tin. Thank you
very much."

"The hay—the hay!" pleaded the Scarecrow's head.

"Oh, yes; the hay," said Woot. "What are you waiting for, Captain
Fyter?"

At once the Tin Soldier set to work cutting hay with his sword and in a
few minutes there was quite enough with which to stuff the Scarecrow's
body. Woot and Polychrome did this and it was no easy task because the
hay packed together more than straw and as they had little experience
in such work their job, when completed, left the Scarecrow's arms and
legs rather bunchy. Also there was a hump on his back which made Woot
laugh and say it reminded him of a camel, but it was the best they
could do and when the head was fastened on to the body they asked the
Scarecrow how he felt.

"A little heavy, and not quite natural," he cheerfully replied; "but
I'll get along somehow until we reach a straw-stack. Don't laugh at me,
please, because I'm a little ashamed of myself and I don't want to
regret a good action."

They started at once in the direction of Mount Munch, and as the
Scarecrow proved very clumsy in his movements, Woot took one of his
arms and the Tin Woodman the other and so helped their friend to walk
in a straight line.

And the Rainbow's Daughter, as before, danced ahead of them and behind
them and all around them, and they never minded her odd ways, because
to them she was like a ray of sunshine.

The Land of the Munchkins is full of surprises, as our travelers had
already learned, and although Mount Munch was constantly growing larger
as they advanced toward it, they knew it was still a long way off and
were not certain, by any means, that they had escaped all danger or
encountered their last adventure.

The plain was broad, and as far as the eye could see, there seemed to
be a level stretch of country between them and the mountain, but toward
evening they came upon a hollow, in which stood a tiny blue Munchkin
dwelling with a garden around it and fields of grain filling in all the
rest of the hollow.

They did not discover this place until they came close to the edge of
it, and they were astonished at the sight that greeted them because
they had imagined that this part of the plain had no inhabitants.

"It's a very small house," Woot declared. "I wonder who lives there?"

"The way to find out is to knock on the door and ask," replied the Tin
Woodman. "Perhaps it is the home of Nimmie Amee."

"Is she a dwarf?" asked the boy.

"No, indeed; Nimmie Amee is a full sized woman."

"Then I'm sure she couldn't live in that little house," said Woot.

"Let's go down," suggested the Scarecrow. "I'm almost sure I can see a
straw-stack in the back yard."

They descended the hollow, which was rather steep at the sides, and
soon came to the house, which was indeed rather small. Woot knocked
upon a door that was not much higher than his waist, but got no reply.
He knocked again, but not a sound was heard.

"Smoke is coming out of the chimney," announced Polychrome, who was
dancing lightly through the garden, where cabbages and beets and
turnips and the like were growing finely.

"Then someone surely lives here," said Woot, and knocked again.

Now a window at the side of the house opened and a queer head appeared.
It was white and hairy and had a long snout and little round eyes. The
ears were hidden by a blue sunbonnet tied under the chin.

"Oh; it's a pig!" exclaimed Woot.

"Pardon me; I am Mrs. Squealina Swyne, wife of Professor Grunter Swyne,
and this is our home," said the one in the window. "What do you want?"

"What sort of a Professor is your husband?" inquired the Tin Woodman
curiously.

"He is Professor of Cabbage Culture and Corn Perfection. He is very
famous in his own family, and would be the wonder of the world if he
went abroad," said Mrs. Swyne in a voice that was half proud and half
irritable. "I must also inform you intruders that the Professor is a
dangerous individual, for he files his teeth every morning until they
are sharp as needles. If you are butchers, you'd better run away and
avoid trouble."

"We are not butchers," the Tin Woodman assured her.

"Then what are you doing with that axe? And why has the other tin man
a sword?"

"They are the only weapons we have to defend our friends from their
enemies," explained the Emperor of the Winkies, and Woot added:

"Do not be afraid of us, Mrs. Swyne, for we are harmless travelers. The
tin men and the Scarecrow never eat anything and Polychrome feasts only
on dewdrops. As for me, I'm rather hungry, but there is plenty of food
in your garden to satisfy me."

Professor Swyne now joined his wife at the window, looking rather
scared in spite of the boy's assuring speech. He wore a blue Munchkin
hat, with pointed crown and broad brim, and big spectacles covered his
eyes. He peeked around from behind his wife and after looking hard at
the strangers, he said:

"My wisdom assures me that you are merely travelers, as you say, and
not butchers. Butchers have reason to be afraid of me, but you are
safe. We cannot invite you in, for you are too big for our house, but
the boy who eats is welcome to all the carrots and turnips he wants.
Make yourselves at home in the garden and stay all night, if you like;
but in the morning you must go away, for we are quiet people and do not
care for company."

"May I have some of your straw?" asked the Scarecrow.

"Help yourself," replied Professor Swyne.

"For pigs, they're quite respectable," remarked Woot, as they all went
toward the straw-stack.

"I'm glad they didn't invite us in," said Captain Fyter. "I hope I'm
not too particular about my associates, but I draw the line at pigs."

The Scarecrow was glad to be rid of his hay, for during the long walk
it had sagged down and made him fat and squatty and more bumpy than at
first.

"I'm not specially proud," he said, "but I love a manly figure, such as
only straw stuffing can create. I've not felt like myself since that
hungry Hip-po ate my last straw."

Polychrome and Woot set to work removing the hay and then they selected
the finest straw, crisp and golden, and with it stuffed the Scarecrow
anew. He certainly looked better after the operation, and he was so
pleased at being reformed that he tried to dance a little jig, and
almost succeeded.

"I shall sleep under the straw-stack tonight," Woot decided, after he
had eaten some of the vegetables from the garden, and in fact he slept
very well, with the two tin men and the Scarecrow sitting silently
beside him and Polychrome away somewhere in the moonlight dancing her
fairy dances.

At daybreak the Tin Woodman and the Tin Soldier took occasion to polish
their bodies and oil their joints, for both were exceedingly careful of
their personal appearance. They had forgotten the quarrel due to their
accidental bumping of one another in the invisible country, and being
now good friends the Tin Woodman polished the Tin Soldier's back for
him and then the Tin Soldier polished the Tin Woodman's back.

For breakfast the Wanderer ate crisp lettuce and radishes, and the
Rainbow's Daughter, who had now returned to her friends, sipped the
dewdrops that had formed on the petals of the wild-flowers.

As they passed the little house to renew their journey, Woot called out:

"Good-bye, Mr. and Mrs. Swyne!"

The window opened and the two pigs looked out.

"A pleasant journey," said the Professor.

"Have you any children?" asked the Scarecrow, who was a great friend of
children.

"We have nine," answered the Professor; "but they do not live with us,
for when they were tiny piglets the Wizard of Oz came here and offered
to care for them and to educate them. So we let him have our nine tiny
piglets, for he's a good Wizard and can be relied upon to keep his
promises."

"I know the Nine Tiny Piglets," said the Tin Woodman.

"So do I," said the Scarecrow. "They still live in the Emerald City,
and the Wizard takes good care of them and teaches them to do all sorts
of tricks."

"Did they ever grow up?" inquired Mrs. Squealina Swyne, in an anxious
voice.

"No," answered the Scarecrow; "like all other children in the Land of
Oz, they will always remain children, and in the case of the tiny
piglets that is a good thing, because they would not be nearly so cute
and cunning if they were bigger."

"But are they happy?" asked Mrs. Swyne.

"Everyone in the Emerald City is happy," said the Tin Woodman. "They
can't help it."

Then the travelers said good-bye, and climbed the side of the basin
that was toward Mount Munch.

On this morning, which ought to be the last of this important journey,
our friends started away as bright and cheery as could be, and Woot
whistled a merry tune so that Polychrome could dance to the music.

On reaching the top of the hill, the plain spread out before them in
all its beauty of blue grasses and wildflowers, and Mount Munch seemed
much nearer than it had the previous evening. They trudged on at a
brisk pace, and by noon the mountain was so close that they could
admire its appearance. Its slopes were partly clothed with pretty
evergreens, and its foot-hills were tufted with a slender waving
bluegrass that had a tassel on the end of every blade. And, for the
first time, they perceived, near the foot of the mountain, a charming
house, not of great size but neatly painted and with many flowers
surrounding it and vines climbing over the doors and windows.

It was toward this solitary house that our travelers now directed their
steps, thinking to inquire of the people who lived there where Nimmie
Amee might be found.

There were no paths, but the way was quite open and clear, and they
were drawing near to the dwelling when Woot the Wanderer, who was then
in the lead of the little party, halted with such an abrupt jerk that
he stumbled over backward and lay flat on his back in the meadow. The
Scarecrow stopped to look at the boy.

"Why did you do that?" he asked in surprise.

Woot sat up and gazed around him in amazement.

"I—I don't know!" he replied.

The two tin men, arm in arm, started to pass them when both halted and
tumbled, with a great clatter, into a heap beside Woot. Polychrome,
laughing at the absurd sight, came dancing up and she, also, came to a
sudden stop, but managed to save herself from falling.

Everyone of them was much astonished, and the Scarecrow said with a
puzzled look:

"I don't see anything."

"Nor I," said Woot; "but something hit me, just the same."

"Some invisible person struck me a heavy blow," declared the Tin
Woodman, struggling to separate himself from the Tin Soldier, whose
legs and arms were mixed with his own.

"I'm not sure it was a person," said Polychrome, looking more grave
than usual. "It seems to me that I merely ran into some hard substance
which barred my way. In order to make sure of this, let me try another
place."

She ran back a way and then with much caution advanced in a different
place, but when she reached a position on a line with the others she
halted, her arms outstretched before her.

"I can feel something hard—something smooth as glass," she said, "but
I'm sure it is not glass."

"Let me try," suggested Woot, getting up; but when he tried to go
forward, he discovered the same barrier that Polychrome had encountered.

"No," he said, "it isn't glass. But what is it?"

"Air," replied a small voice beside him. "Solid air; that's all."

They all looked downward and found a sky-blue rabbit had stuck his head
out of a burrow in the ground. The rabbit's eyes were a deeper blue
than his fur, and the pretty creature seemed friendly and unafraid.

"Air!" exclaimed Woot, staring in astonishment into the rabbit's blue
eyes; "whoever heard of air so solid that one cannot push it aside?"

"You can't push this air aside," declared the rabbit, "for it was made
hard by powerful sorcery, and it forms a wall that is intended to keep
people from getting to that house yonder."

"Oh; it's a wall, is it?" said the Tin Woodman.

"Yes, it is really a wall," answered the rabbit, "and it is fully six
feet thick."

"How high is it?" inquired Captain Fyter, the Tin Soldier.

"Oh, ever so high; perhaps a mile," said the rabbit.

"Couldn't we go around it?" asked Woot.