CHAPTER 1
The Call to Duty
Glinda, the good Sorceress of Oz, sat in the grand court of her palace, surrounded by her maids of honor â a hundred of the most beautiful girls of the Fairyland of Oz. The palace court was built of rare marbles, exquisitely polished. Fountains tinkled musically here and there; the vast colonnade, open to the south, allowed the maidens, as they raised their heads from their embroideries, to gaze upon a vista of rose-hued fields and groves of trees bearing fruits or laden with sweet-scented flowers. At times one of the girls would start a song, the others joining in the chorus, or one would rise and dance, gracefully swaying to the music of a harp played by a companion. And then Glinda smiled, glad to see her maids mixing play with work.
Presently among the fields an object was seen moving, threading the broad path that led to the castle gate. Some of the girls looked upon this object enviously; the Sorceress merely gave it a glance and nodded her stately head as if pleased, for it meant the coming of her friend and mistress â the only one in all the land that Glinda bowed to.
Then up the path trotted a wooden animal attached to a red wagon, and as the quaint steed halted at the gate there descended from the wagon two young girls, Ozma, Ruler of Oz, and her companion, Princess Dorothy. Both were dressed in simple white muslin gowns, and as they ran up the marble steps of the palace they laughed and chatted as gaily as if they were not the most important persons in the worldâs loveliest fairyland.
The maids of honor had risen and stood with bowed heads to greet the royal Ozma, while Glinda came forward with outstretched arms to greet her guests.
âWeâve just come on a visit, you know,â said Ozma. âBoth Dorothy and I were wondering how we should pass the day when we happened to think weâd not been to your Quadling Country for weeks, so we took the Sawhorse and rode straight here.â
âAnd we came so fast,â added Dorothy, âthat our hair is blown all fuzzy, for the Sawhorse makes a wind of his own. Usually itâs a dayâs journey from the Emârald City, but I donât sâpose we were two hours on the way.â
âYou are most welcome,â said Glinda the Sorceress, and led them through the court to her magnificent reception hall. Ozma took the arm of her hostess, but Dorothy lagged behind, kissing some of the maids she knew best, talking with others, and making them all feel that she was their friend. When at last she joined Glinda and Ozma in the reception hall, she found them talking earnestly about the condition of the people, and how to make them more happy and contented â although they were already the happiest and most contented folks in all the world.
This interested Ozma, of course, but it didnât interest Dorothy very much, so the little girl ran over to a big table on which was lying open Glindaâs Great Book of Records.
This Book is one of the greatest treasures in Oz, and the Sorceress prizes it more highly than any of her magical possessions. That is the reason it is firmly attached to the big marble table by means of golden chains, and whenever Glinda leaves home she locks the Great Book together with five jeweled padlocks, and carries the keys safely hidden in her bosom.
I do not suppose there is any magical thing in any fairyland to compare with the Record Book, on the pages of which are constantly being printed a record of every event that happens in any part of the world, at exactly the moment it happens. And the records are always truthful, although sometimes they do not give as many details as one could wish. But then, lots of things happen, and so the records have to be brief or even Glindaâs Great Book could not hold them all.
Glinda looked at the records several times each day, and Dorothy, whenever she visited the Sorceress, loved to look in the Book and see what was happening everywhere. Not much was recorded about the Land of Oz, which is usually peaceful and uneventful, but today Dorothy found something which interested her. Indeed, the printed letters were appearing on the page even while she looked.
âThis is funny!â she exclaimed. âDid you know, Ozma, that there were people in your Land of Oz called Skeezers?â
âYes,â replied Ozma, coming to her side, âI know that on Professor Wogglebugâs Map of the Land of Oz there is a place marked âSkeezer,â but what the Skeezers are like I do not know. No one I know has ever seen them or heard of them. The Skeezer Country is âway at the upper edge of the Gillikin Country, with the sandy, impassable desert on one side and the mountains of Oogaboo on another side. That is a part of the Land of Oz of which I know very little.â
âI guess no one else knows much about it either, unless itâs the Skeezers themselves,â remarked Dorothy. âBut the Book says: âThe Skeezers of Oz have declared war on the Flatheads of Oz, and there is likely to be fighting and much trouble as the result.ââ
âIs that all the Book says?â asked Ozma.
âEvery word,â said Dorothy, and Ozma and Glinda both looked at the Record and seemed surprised and perplexed.
âTell me, Glinda,â said Ozma, âwho are the Flatheads?â
âI cannot, your Majesty,â confessed the Sorceress. âUntil now I never have heard of them, nor have I ever heard the Skeezers mentioned. In the faraway corners of Oz are hidden many curious tribes of people, and those who never leave their own countries and never are visited by those from our favored part of Oz, naturally are unknown to me. However, if you so desire, I can learn through my arts of sorcery something of the Skeezers and the Flatheads.â
âI wish you would,â answered Ozma seriously. âYou see, Glinda, if these are Oz people they are my subjects and I cannot allow any wars or troubles in the Land I rule, if I can possibly help it.â
âVery well, your Majesty,â said the Sorceress, âI will try to get some information to guide you. Please excuse me for a time, while I retire to my Room of Magic and Sorcery.â
âMay I go with you?â asked Dorothy, eagerly.
âNo, Princess,â was the reply. âIt would spoil the charm to have anyone present.â
So Glinda locked herself in her own Room of Magic and Dorothy and Ozma waited patiently for her to come out again.
In about an hour Glinda appeared, looking grave and thoughtful.
âYour Majesty,â she said to Ozma, âthe Skeezers live on a Magic Isle in a great lake. For that reason â because the Skeezers deal in magic â I can learn little about them.â
âWhy, I didnât know there was a lake in that part of Oz,â exclaimed Ozma. âThe map shows a river running through the Skeezer Country, but no lake.â
âThat is because the person who made the map never had visited that part of the country,â explained the Sorceress. âThe lake surely is there, and in the lake is an island â a Magic Isle â and on that island live the people called the Skeezers.â
âWhat are they like?â inquired the Ruler of Oz.
âMy magic cannot tell me that,â confessed Glinda, âfor the magic of the Skeezers prevents anyone outside of their domain knowing anything about them.â
âThe Flatheads must know, if theyâre going to fight the Skeezers,â suggested Dorothy.
âPerhaps so,â Glinda replied, âbut I can get little information concerning the Flatheads, either. They are people who inhabit a mountain just south of the Lake of the Skeezers. The mountain has steep sides and a broad, hollow top, like a basin, and in this basin the Flatheads have their dwellings. They also are magic-workers and usually keep to themselves and allow no one from outside to visit them. I have learned that the Flatheads number about one hundred people â men, women and children â while the Skeezers number just one hundred and one.â
âWhat did they quarrel about, and why do they wish to fight one another?â was Ozmaâs next question.
âI cannot tell your Majesty that,â said Glinda.
âBut see here!â cried Dorothy, âitâs against the law for anyone but Glinda and the Wizard to work magic in the Land of Oz, so if these two strange people are magic-makers they are breaking the law and ought to be punished!â
Ozma smiled upon her little friend.
âThose who do not know me or my laws,â she said, âcannot be expected to obey my laws. If we know nothing of the Skeezers or the Flatheads, it is likely that they know nothing of us.â
âBut they ought to know, Ozma, and we ought to know. Whoâs going to tell them, and how are we going to make them behave?â
âThat,â returned Ozma, âis what I am now considering. What would you advise, Glinda?â
The Sorceress took a little time to consider this question, before she made reply. Then she said:
âHad you not learned of the existence of the Flatheads and the Skeezers, through my Book of Records, you would never have worried about them or their quarrels. So, if you pay no attention to these peoples, you may never hear of them again.â
âBut that wouldnât be right,â declared Ozma. âI am Ruler of all the Land of Oz, which includes the Gillikin Country, the Quadling Country, the Winkie Country and the Munchkin Country, as well as the Emerald City, and being the Princess of this fairyland it is my duty to make all my people â wherever they may be â happy and content and to settle their disputes and keep them from quarreling. So, while the Skeezers and Flatheads may not know me or that I am their lawful Ruler, I now know that they inhabit my kingdom and are my subjects, so I would not be doing my duty if I kept away from them and allowed them to fight.â
âThatâs a fact, Ozma,â commented Dorothy. âYouâve got to go up to the Gillikin Country and make these people behave themselves and make up their quarrels. But how are you going to do it?â
âThat is what is puzzling me also, your Majesty,â said the Sorceress. âIt may be dangerous for you to go into those strange countries, where the people are possibly fierce and warlike.â
âI am not afraid,â said Ozma, with a smile.
ââTisnât a question of being âfraid,â argued Dorothy. âOf course we know youâre a fairy, and canât be killed or hurt, and we know youâve a lot of magic of your own to help you. But, Ozma dear, in spite of all this youâve been in trouble before, on account of wicked enemies, and it isnât right for the Ruler of all Oz to put herself in danger.â
âPerhaps I shall be in no danger at all,â returned Ozma, with a little laugh. âYou mustnât imagine danger, Dorothy, for one should only imagine nice things, and we do not know that the Skeezers and Flatheads are wicked people or my enemies. Perhaps they would be good and listen to reason.â
âDorothy is right, your Majesty,â asserted the Sorceress. âIt is true we know nothing of these faraway subjects, except that they intend to fight one another, and have a certain amount of magic power at their command. Such folks do not like to submit to interference and they are more likely to resent your coming among them than to rece...