Fantasy fiction; Oz (Imaginary place) -- Juvenile fiction
“You’re all hungry, that’s what’s the matter,” chuckled the Wooden Doll.
“When you’ve had some supper you’ll be just as anxious to find the
Princess of Sun Top Mountain as you were to find Ozma. Here’s the Winkie
Country now, and there’s a star for good luck.”
Peg waved toward the green fields with one hand and toward the clouds
with the other. It was dusk now and just one star twinkled cheerily in
the sky.
“I’ll set you down, but I’m not going away,” said the Runaway Country
determinedly, “for if that little old gnome doesn’t turn up I’m going to
catch you all again.”
“Ozma never forgets. She’ll keep her promise,” said Peg. “And you must
do just as she told you to do for she has some powerful magic and can
send you right back to where you came from.”
“Can she?” gulped the Country anxiously.
“You might wait a while, though,” suggested Pompa darkly. “After I’ve
seen this new Princess a Runaway Country might be a very good thing.”
“Well, you can’t expect her to marry you if you talk that way,” said Peg
warningly, as the Country came to a stop in a huge field of daisies.
“I’ll wait,” it said hopefully, as the four travelers swung themselves
down.
“I wonder if we are in the North Central part,” murmured Peg Amy,
looking around anxiously. Now it happened the Country had crossed the
Deadly Desert slantwise and although none of the party knew it they were
scarcely a mile from Sun Top Mountain.
“I see a garden!” cried Wag, twitching his nose hungrily. “Come on,
Prince, let’s find some supper.” With head down and dragging his feet,
Pompa followed Wag. Kabumpo began jerking snappishly at some tree tops
and Peg Amy sat down to think.
“I wish,” thought the Wooden Doll, looking up at the bright star, “I
wish I might have asked the box one little question.” Peg Amy looked so
solemn that Kabumpo stopped eating and regarded her anxiously.
“What’s the matter?” asked the Elegant Elephant gruffly, for he quite
counted on Peg’s cheerfulness.
“I was thinking about it again,” admitted Peg apologetically. “About
being alive before. I’m sure I was alive before I was a doll, Kabumpo. I
think I was a person, like Pompa,” she continued softly.
“You’re much better as you are,” said the Elegant Elephant uneasily, for
it had just occurred to him that the Magic Mirror would tell Peg who she
was as well as the Question Box. But should he let her look in it? That
was the question. Poor, tired old Kabumpo shifted from one foot to the
other as he tried to make up his mind. Two huge drops of perspiration
ran down his trunk. What good would it do? he reasoned finally. Suppose
it told something awful! It couldn’t change her and it might make her
unhappy. No, he would not let Peg look in the mirror.
“How would you like to have this pearl bracelet?” he asked in an
embarrassed voice.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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