Fantasy fiction; Oz (Imaginary place) -- Juvenile fiction
"Why, there's Kabumpo!" cried Ozma and then, catching her first glimpse
of the tailor without ears, she sank limply into a chair and began to
fan herself with a doily. "Everything, everything's so queer," murmured
the little Queen, looking appealingly at Betsy and Trot.
"Fetch the Green Book of Magic from the library," ordered the Wizard,
giving Sir Hokus a push. "Fetch the book and I will put an end to this
nonsense!"
Sir Hokus made haste to obey and, before Dorothy could explain all that
had happened or introduce her friends, the Knight came back with the
green book.
"Here, give me my ears," cried the tailor, who had missed most of the
excitement. Snatching them from Humpy, he clapped them quickly in place
and turned toward the Wizard. The Wizard looked slightly cross-eyed
from astonishment, but swallowing quickly and, determined not to delay
the King's restoration another minute, began to flip over the leaves of
the book.
"This is it, Incantation No. 980!" panted the little man joyfully.
"Two ought to be eaten before seven."
"That's not an incantation, that's Humpy's number," cried Dorothy,
pulling out the white tag on the dummy's collar.
"Why, that's what Mombi tried," put in Snip anxiously. "Look out!
Something else awful will happen!"
But the Wizard waved them impatiently aside and, throwing the royal
robe he had carried all the way from Morrow about Humpy's shoulders,
pushed him down upon the throne.
"All but seven leave the room," he ordered crisply and after a short
delay the order was carried out. The seven who remained watched tensely
as the Wizard approached the stuffed King. Popping two small crackers
into his mouth, he gazed fixedly at the dummy. "I command you to
assume your natural shape," choked the Wizard, throwing up his arms
impressively.
"The King's himself! Long live the King!" shrieked Pajuka, falling flat
upon his bill.
Everyone crowded forward to see what happened to Humpy--but the dummy
remained as he was.
"Why he's not changed at all," cried Scraps scornfully, and the Patch
Work Girl was perfectly right. Except for a slight slump to the left,
Humpy had not even changed his position.
"Two ought to be eaten before seven! Two ought to be eaten before
seven!" muttered the Wizard, beginning to pace anxiously up and down.
"Two what?" asked Snip. "Are you sure you've eaten the right thing?
Mombi swallowed buttons."
"Well, I'm no ostrich and the foot note says two of anything," answered
the little man, keeping his place in the book with his forefinger and
gazing at the dummy in exasperation.
CHAPTER 20
The Lost King Is Found
The Wizard of Oz was puzzled and mortified. His magic seemed to be no
magic at all. The little man was silent. He could think of nothing but
his failure.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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