"He's gone! He's gone!" piped up Bitty Bit, who had closed his eyes as soon as Ozma started to speak. "And if I were you, my dear, I would send off that red eagle too. I see him lurking on the edge of our city with an exceedingly fierce light in his eye." So Ozma made another wish, turning the eagle to a harmless sparrow. "And what about Skamperoo?" asked Cheeriobed, King of the Munchkins, who up to this time had not spoken a word. "Should he not be punished in some way?" "I would not bother with old Skamper," advised Bitty Bit with a small chuckle. "Before I agreed to give his white horse those five wishes, I closed my eyes, looked ahead, and discovered that they would all be good wishes. Not only good but wise, and from now on I think you can trust that clever white horse and a little fellow called Pinny Penny to keep their Master out of mischief and Oz." "Well, in that case," sighed Ozma, rather breathless from so much counting, "everything is happily settled." "And in that case," boomed Joe King, gallantly helping his little Queen to her feet, "I suggest we start celebrating all over again, not only the discovery of Oz by mortals, but the saving of Oz as well! I, for one, feel terribly cheated at missing Notta's circus." "So do I! So do I!" exclaimed little Prince Philador, climbing boisterously into Highboy's saddle. "I want to see a circus!" "And so you shall," promised Ozma gaily, "we will start the celebration at exactly the point where we left Oz for Thunder Mountain, and have the tableaux, the pageants, and the picnics all over again." And that, my dear, is exactly what they _did_ do, and everyone, including Bitty Bit, enjoyed himself so much there was not an unhappy person in the Emerald City. And not until the end of the second day did Dorothy remember to tell Ozma the magic secret of the wishing emeralds. "On the sixth count, you wink both eyes," whispered Dorothy, giving Ozma a little hug. "Good night!" "Good gracious, so THAT'S it!" smiled Ozma, comprehending instantly what Dorothy meant. "I suppose Matiah did it in sheer excitement the first time. Well, I have often heard of doing things in the twinkling of an eye, but now we shall really be able to have them that way. No one knows this secret but you and me and a white horse, and no one _must_ ever know it, for wishes are dangerous and cause more unhappiness than joy, so we'll never tell another soul, will we, Dorothy?" "Never!" agreed the little girl, looking solemnly over her shoulder at the safe where Ozma had hidden her new treasure. CHAPTER 20 Back in Skampavia!