Fantasy fiction; Oz (Imaginary place) -- Juvenile fiction
"Not much," confessed Philador ruefully. "We've lost High Boy and we
haven't time to go back and--"
"The Good Witch's thinking cap is gone too," mourned the Medicine Man,
clapping his hand to his head. "We'll have to do our own thinking
hereafter." Herby opened his medicine chest and peered in, and
presently he was crunching away at one of his remedies. When Philador,
who had been looking about, called that he was ready to start, the
Medicine Man came almost cheerfully.
"We still have the jumping rope," he reminded the little boy happily.
"And we still have the lunch basket and we're over the first mountain."
Philador nodded soberly and wondered what Herby had been taking to
make him so cheerful. For his part, he could not help thinking that
their fall had been most unfortunate. Without the thinking cap how were
they to know which direction to take, and without High Boy's long legs
to help them how were they ever to reach the Emerald City in time?
Ahead loomed a still higher mountain. Sighing deeply he trudged along
the rocky little path, his head down and the lunch basket trailing
listlessly from his hand.
"If we'd only stayed in the castle," he mused sorrowfully, "this never
would have happened." Herby did not answer but quietly passed him a
small round box. "Comfort pills. Will cure any trouble that hasn't
happened," announced the label. Absently the little Prince took two and
handed the box back. As he popped the pills into his mouth, there was a
joyful snort and stamp behind them. It was the King's horse, and with
outspread arms Philador ran to meet him.
"Why didn't you wait for me?" whinnied High Boy, lowering himself down
to the little boy's height and looking reproachfully into his eyes.
"I've been looking for you all over the mountain."
"The storm came up and blew us away," explained Philador hastily.
"Did you put your umbrellas down?" asked High Boy, nodding amiably to
the Medicine Man.
"Why should we put them down?" questioned Herby, puckering up his
forehead, "It was raining!"
"Of course it was raining. Wasn't I there too, but you must know that
in our country, the storms come up and the thing to do is to put your
umbrella down and jump in it. Like this," explained High Boy, swinging
his umbrella tail expertly under his telescope legs and standing calmly
in the center of it. "Then when the rain comes, you don't get wet or
blown away. Always put your umbrella down when a storm comes up," he
finished, jumping out of his umbrella and swinging it back into place.
Philador was too surprised to make any remark, but Herby, delighted to
see the King's famous steed, put his foot into the stirrup and pulled
up into the saddle.
"Do you know the way to the Emerald City?" he asked breathlessly.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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