Page 1 The Exploding Birthday Cake 15 2 Picking a Proper Princess 30 3 Kabumpo and Pompa Disappear 44 4 The Curious Cottabus Appears 50 5 In the City of The Figure Heads 62 6 Ruggedo’s History In Six Rocks 78 7 Sir Hokus And The Giants 95 8 Woe in the Emerald City 105 9 Mixed Magic Makes Mischief 114 10 Peg and Wag to the Rescue 132 11 The King of the Illumi Nation 145 12 The Delicious Sea of Soup 160 13 On the Road to Ev 174 14 Terror in Ozma’s Palace 188 15 The Sand Man Takes a Hand 205 16 Kabumpo Vanquishes The Twigs 211 17 Meeting the Runaway Country 226 18 Prince Pompadore Proposes 240 19 Ozma Takes Things in Hand 255 20 The Proper Princess is Found 267 21 How It All Came About 281 22 Ruggedo’s Last Rock 292 [Illustration: Princess Ozma, of Oz] [Illustration: (unlabelled)] Chapter 1 The Exploding Birthday Cake “The cake, you chattering Chittimong! Where is the cake? Stirem, Friem, Hashem, _where_ is the cake?” cried Eejabo, chief footman in the palace of Pumperdink, bouncing into the royal pantry. The three cooks, too astonished for speech, and with staring eyes, pointed to the center table. The great, gorgeous birthday cake was gone, though not two seconds before it had been placed on the table by Hashem himself. “It was my m-m-asterpiece,” sobbed Hashem, tearing off his cap and throwing his apron over his head. “Help! Robbers! Thieves!” cried Stirem and Friem, running to the window. Here _was_ a howdedo. The trumpets blowing for the celebration to begin and the best part of the celebration gone! “We’ll all be dipped for this!” wailed Eejabo, flinging open the second best china closet so violently that three silver cups and a pewter mug tumbled out. Just then there was a scream from Hashem, who had removed the apron from his head. “Look!” he shrieked. “There it is!”