Fantasy fiction; Oz (Imaginary place) -- Juvenile fiction
“No! No!” laughed the little flower girl, seizing a long trailing
vine. “I’m just Urtha.” And using the vine as a skipping rope she
flashed up and down the silver paths so swiftly that it made Tatters and
Grampa blink just to follow her dancing steps.
“What are you going to do now that you are alive?” asked Tatters as she
paused for a moment beside him.
“Just going to be happy in this garden,” replied Urtha with a little
shake of her lovely fern hair.
“I wish we could stay too,” sighed Tatters, for he could think of no end
of games he could teach Urtha, and even the Emerald City, he reflected,
could not be lovelier than this enchanted garden. Grampa gave a start at
Tatters’ words and, suddenly recalled to his duty, gathered up his gun
and knapsack.
“It’s been a pleasure to know you, my dear,” said Grampa gallantly,
taking off his cap, “but we’ll have to be marching on now, for we’ve a
long journey before us.”
“Oh!” Urtha gave a little cry of dismay. “Didn’t you grow in the garden
too?” Grampa shook his head and as quickly as he could told her how King
Fumbo had lost his head and how he and Tatters had set out to seek it
and the Prince’s fortune. Urtha was almost as much puzzled over a
fortune as Bill. Indeed, the whole of Grampa’s story was confusing—for
you see it was the first story the little flower maiden had ever heard.
But Prince Tatters and the old soldier interested her tremendously. She
touched Grampa’s medals shyly and could not admire Tatters’ patched and
many colored suit enough. As for Bill, she blew him so many kisses that
the embarrassed weather cock flew and hid himself in an oleander bush.
Saying good-bye to dear little Urtha was a difficult business, but at
last Grampa, with a very determined expression, shouldered his gun and
Tatters reluctantly picked up his red umbrella.
“Come on!” shouted Bill, impatiently sticking his head out of the bush.
“Come on, or we’ll never find the head, the fortune and the Princess.”
As Urtha had not turned out a Princess he had lost all interest in her.
“But I’ll miss you,” sighed Urtha, and drooped so sadly against a tree
that Tatters promptly fell out of line and began to comfort her.
“You won’t miss us,” said Grampa, looking uneasily at his watch, “you
can’t miss people you’ve just met, you know.” The old soldier was faced
with a problem the like of which he had never before encountered, and he
was plainly at a loss to know what to do.
“I’ve known you longer than anyone else. I’ve known you my whole life,”
sighed Urtha wistfully.
“But you’ve only been alive five minutes,” smiled the old soldier
indulgently.
“Why don’t you join the army like I did?” inquired Bill, who was anxious
to be off.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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