Fantasy fiction; Oz (Imaginary place) -- Juvenile fiction
"Kerry! Kerry!" wailed the faithful Ox, and falling to his knees,
Nox began to snort and blubber in real earnest. Handy, hurrying
after him into the small stuffy cell, saw a handsome boy in hunting
costume standing motionless and silent as a statue in the center of
a great shimmering violet bubble. Without thinking or reasoning, or
even stopping to consult the Ox, the Goat Girl flung out all her arms
toward the solitary figure, her iron hand puncturing the bubble with a
deafening pop.
"Why, hello Nox!" The Little King stepped calmly out of the misty
vapor, all that was left of the wizard's bubble. "Where's your other
horn? And who is this jolly looking girl?"
WHO, indeed? There was so much to be told and explained, even with
Handy and Nox talking as fast as they could and taking turns, it took
almost an hour to tell the story of their journey from Keretaria to the
Silver Mountain and their awful experiences with the Wizard of Wutz.
Kerry himself remembered nothing since he had started out on the
hunting expedition. He listened with angry exclamations and bounces
as Nox related the tale of King Kerr's treachery and the sad state of
affairs in Keretaria. "And I've been shut up in this bubble for two
years!" mourned the little King, looking round the dismal cell with a
shudder. "Why it makes my head ache just to think of it!"
"Mine, too," agreed Handy, clapping Nox's left horn in place. "But
it's almost over now, my lad. If we can just find some way out of this
mountain, I'll settle old King Kerr and his High Boys, not to speak of
this woozling wizard!"
Placing Kerry on Nox's back, Handy looked nervously out the door of
the Lower. At sight of the winding stair Nox gave a great groan and
shudder. "I'll never climb those steps again!" he declared, planting
his feet stubbornly. "Never! Where's that silver hammer, m'lass? Give
it a tap and see what the dwarf can do for us? Wutz and Ruggedo are too
busy with their wicked plans to bother us now."
"I wouldn't be too sure of that," muttered the Goat Girl. Nevertheless,
she pulled out the hammer and tapped it lightly on the floor.
"Well, what's wanted?" yawned Himself, appearing instantly and in the
exact spot the hammer had struck.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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