L. Frank Baum - Oz 37 Read online

  The Magical Mimics In Oz - Oz 37 L. Frank Baum

  BY JACK SNOW

  Reilly & Lee edition, copyright 1946

  CHAPTER 1

  TOTO CARRIES A MESSAGE

  “Toto,” called Princess Ozma of Oz as a small, black dog trotted down the corridor past the open door of her study in theRoyalPalaceof the Emerald City. “Toto, will you do me a favor?”

  “Certainly,” answered the little dog, his bright eyes regarding the Princess questioningly. “What can I do for your Majesty?”

  Ozma smiled. “I wonder if you would go to Dorothy’s rooms and ask her to join me here as soon as possible.”

  “That’ll be easy, Ozma,” said Toto. “I was just on my way to see Dorothy. It’s time for our morning romp in the garden.”

  “Well,” laughed Ozma, “I shall keep Dorothy for only a few minutes, then she can join you in the garden for your play.”

  “Thank you, Ozma,” replied Toto as he turned and trotted down the corridor leading to Dorothy’s suite of rooms.

  As the little dog disappeared, the smile slowly faded from Ozma’s face, and the lovely little ruler of the world’s most beautiful fairyland looked unusually serious.

  The truth was that Ozma was thinking of events that had happened many years

  before in the history of the Land of Oz. Not always had Oz been a fairy

  realm. In those olden times Oz had been nothing more than a remarkably

  beautiful country of rolling plains, wooded hills and rich farmlands.

  Indeed, Oz had not been so much different from our ownUnited States,

  except that it was surrounded on all sides by a Deadly Desert. It was this desert which prevented curious men from the great outside world

  from finding their way to Oz. For the fumes and gasses that rose from the

  shifting sands of the desert were deadly poison to all living things, and

  for a human to have set foot on the desert would have meant instant and terrible death. Consequently, all living things avoided the Deadly Desert, and it is no wonder that Oz was so entirely secluded and went unnoticed by the rest of the world for so many long years.

  Meanwhile, the Oz people were happy and contented, living their simple, carefree lives without worries or troubles. The soil of Oz was fertile and the people naturally industrious, so there was always an abundance of everything for everyone. Hence destructive and terrible wars were unknown in Oz, even in the olden days.

  One fine day Queen Lurline, Ruler of all the fairies in the world, chanced to be flying over the Land of Oz with her fairy band. She was greatly impressed with the beauty of the hidden country. The Fairy Queen paused, flying in wide circles over the peaceful land. Here was a country so entirely beautiful and charming that it deserved to be a fairy realm. Queen Lurline sought out the King of this favored land and found him to be an old man with no son or daughter to whom he could pass on his crown. With great joy the old King accepted the tiny baby fairy whom Queen Lurline placed in his care. When the baby fairy attained her full age of girlhood (no fairy ever appears to be older than a young girl of fourteen or fifteen), she was to be crowned Princess Ozma of Oz. >From the time of Lurline’s visit, Oz became a fairyland, abounding in enchantments and strange happenings. Indeed, several of the inhabitants of Oz fell to studying the magic arts and became witches and magicians, very nearly preventing Ozma from becoming the rightful ruler of the fairyland. Ozma was fully aware that she was a member of Queen Lurline’s fairy band,

  and she was justly proud of her immortal heritage. She knew, too, that she owed allegiance to the powerful Fairy Queen, and that was the reason she appeared so thoughtful this morning as she awaited Princess Dorothy. Ozma’s reverie was broken by a gentle rap on the open door. Looking up, she saw Dorothy standing in the doorway.

  “Come in, my dear,” said Ozma. “There is something I must discuss with you.” CHAPTER 2

  OZMA AND GLINDA GO AWAY

  “What is it, Ozma?” Dorothy asked as she sat down beside her friend. “Dorothy,” Ozma began, thoughtfully, “you have heard me tell the story of how the good Queen Lurline left me here as a baby to become the Ruler of the Land of Oz.”

  “Of course, Ozma, and how you were stolen by old Mombi, the witch, andFF20

  C4”

  “Yes,” interrupted Ozma, smiling, “all that is true, but the important fact is that now the day has arrived when I must answer the summons of the great Fairy Queen. You see,” continued the girlish ruler seriously, “every 200 years all the members of Queen Lurline’s fairy band gather for a Grand Council in the beautifulForestofBurzee, which lies just across the Deadly Desert to the South of Oz.”

  “Isn’t that the forest where Santa Claus was found as an infant and adopted by the Forest Nymphs?” asked Dorothy eagerly.

  “Yes,” replied Ozma, “Burzee is indeed a famous forest. For untold centuries its cool groves have been the meeting place of Queen Lurline and her subjects. They gather to discuss and plan the work they will do during the

  next two centuries. In the old days,” Ozma’s voice was musing and thoughtful as she continued, “when mankind was simpler and gentler of nature, it was easier for the fairies to do their good works and to aid the helpless humans. But today few humans believe in fairies.” “The children do,” Dorothy suggested.

  “Yes,” said Ozma, “but unfortunately as the children grow older and become men and women, they forget all they ever knew about fairies. I wish,” she added wistfully, “that the men and women of the world would keep a bit of their childhood with them. They would find it a valuable thing.” “When will you be going, Ozma?” Dorothy asked softly. “Tomorrow morning,” Ozma replied. “and so important is this meeting that I have asked Glinda the Good to accompany me, although she is not a member of Queen Lurline’s fairy band.”

  “Ozma,” said Dorothy seriously, her chin cupped in her hand, “there is one thing I have often wondered about. What did Queen Lurline do $$after&& she left you here to become the Ruler of Oz?”

  “There is a story,” Ozma began with a faraway look in her eyes, “that after she made Oz a fairyland, Queen Lurline flew away to the Land of the Phanfasms, that strange realm lying southeast of Oz across the Deadly Desert and bordering the Kingdom of the Nomes.”

  “I remember the Phanfasms,” Dorothy nodded. “They are the wicked creatures who came with the Nome King through his tunnel under the Deadly Desert to conquer Oz.”

  “Yes, and thanks to the wisdom of our famous Scarecrow, we were able to render them harmless,” Ozma recalled with a smile.

  “Did Queen Lurline go to see the Phanfasms after she left Oz?” asked Dorothy.

  “No,” replied Ozma. “It seems that instead of going toMountPhantastico, where the Phanfasms dwell, Queen Lurline flew to the second of the twin peaks C4 toMountIlluso, home of the dread Mimics.”

  “I don’t remember hearing about the Mimics before. Just who are they, Ozma?” asked Dorothy with interest.

  “Not a great deal is known about them,” replied Ozma seriously, “and what we do know is so unpleasant that the Mimics are avoided as a subject of conversation. They are not humans, nor are they immortals. Like the Phanfasms, to whom they are closely related, they belong to the ancient race of Erbs C4 creatures who inhabited the Earth long before the coming of mankind. Both the Mimics and the Phanfasms hate all humans and immortals, for they feel that mankind, aided by the immortals, has stolen the world from them.”

  “They don’t sound very nice to me,” said Dorothy with a shudder. “Why did Queen Lurline go to see such dreadful creatures?”

  Ozma’s voice was grave as she answered. “Queen Lurline knew that the Mimics bitterly hated all that was good
and happy and just in the world. The wise Queen fully realized that now that Oz was so beautiful and favored and its people so happy and contented a fairy folk, the Mimics would lose no time in seeking to bring unhappiness to Oz. It was to prevent this that Queen Lurline paid her visit to Mount Illuso.” “And did she succeed?” asked Dorothy.

  “Yes, my dear,” replied Ozma. “Queen Lurline placed a fairy spell on the Mimics to make it impossible for them to attack the inhabitants of Oz. But

  let’s not discuss the unpleasant Mimics any further,” Ozma concluded. “Thanks to good Queen Lurline we don’t even have to think about the creatures. Let us return to our conversation about you.” “About me?” asked Dorothy.

  “Yes,” replied Ozma. “Can’t you guess why I asked you to see me this particular morning?”

  “Why, to tell me about the trip you and Glinda are planning,” said Dorothy. “And something more, too,” continued Ozma. “Who do you think will rule the Emerald City and the Land of Oz while both Glinda and I are absent?” “I suppose either the Little Wizard or the Scarecrow,” ventured Dorothy, remembering that in the past both the Wizard and the Scarecrow had ruled the Land of Oz.

  “No,” replied Ozma calmly. “You, Dorothy, will be the ruler of the Emerald City and the Land of Oz in my absence.”

  “I?” cried Dorothy. “Oh, Ozma, I’m only a little girl! I don’t know the first thing about ruling!”

  “You are a Princess of Oz,” stated Ozma with dignity. “I shall appoint the Wizard as your Counselor and Advisor. With his wisdom and your honesty of heart and sweetness of nature, I am confident the Land of Oz will be well ruled.”

  Dorothy was silent, considering.

  “Come, my dear,” said Ozma with a smile. “I shall be gone only three short days. I am sure once you have become accustomed to the idea, you will enjoy the novel experience of being a real ruler, so do not worry.”

  Rising from the divan, Ozma concluded, “I must go now to inform the

  Courtiers and Lords and Ladies of my journey. I will instruct them in the regular affairs of state to be carried on in my absence, so that you will not be annoyed with these routine matters.”

  Ozma kissed Dorothy on the cheek, and the two girls left the room arm in arm, parting a few minutes later as Ozma went about making preparations for her journey.20Dorothy joined Toto, who was waiting patiently for her in the lovely gardens of the Royal Palace.

  The little dog quickly noticed that his mistress was not nearly so carefree in her play as usual, but seemed more serious and thoughtful. He wondered if this had anything to do with her conversation with Ozma, but since Dorothy didn’t mention the subject to him and seemed to be so busy with her own thoughts, Toto, being a wise little dog, refrained from troubling her with questions.

  Dorothy had a long talk with the Wizard later in the day. The little man

  pointed out that Dorothy’s duties as ruler would be very slight, so well

  governed was Oz and so well behaved were the Oz people. Nevertheless,

  Dorothy was greatly cheered and relieved when the Wizard promised to help

  her should any problem arise that she found troubling. Ozma’s time was so entirely taken up with affairs of state and the many

  preparations for her absence from her beloved country that Dorothy saw

  nothing of the girlish ruler during the remainder of the day. The morning of Ozma and Glinda’s departure dawned bright and clear, with the

  sunlight shining brilliantly on the beautiful City of Emeralds. Breakfast

  had been over for several hours when Glinda the Good Sorceress arrived from

  her castle far to the South in the Quadling Country of the Land of Oz.

  Glinda and Ozma went immediately to the Royal Throne Room, where the famous

  Oz personages waited to witness their departure.

  At exactly 10 o’clock, Princess Ozma seated herself in her Emerald Throne, while the stately Glinda stood at her right. Before them was as strange and impressive an assemblage of Nobles, Courtiers and old friends as ever gathered together in any fairy realm.

  Among those present were: the famous Scarecrow of Oz with his highly polished companion Nick Chopper, the nickel-plated Tin Woodman; comical Jack Pumpkinhead astride the wooden Sawhorse, who was Ozma’s personal steed and earliest companion; Scraps, the jolly Patchwork Girl; sweet little Trot and her faithful sailor friend, grizzled old Cap’n Bill; Betsy Bobbin and her mule Hank; the cheerful Shaggy Man, looking shaggier than ever; the Highly Magnified and Thoroughly Educated Woggle Bug wearing his wisest expression for this important occasion; the stately Cowardly Lion, who was one of Dorothy’s oldest friends, and his companion, the Hungry Tiger, who longed to devour fat babies but never did because his conscience wouldn’t permit him to; that strange creature the Woozy, whose eyes flashed real fire when he became angry; Button Bright, the boy from Philadelphia, who had been Dorothy’s companion on several wonderful adventures; Ojo the Lucky and his Unc Nunkie; Dorothy’s beloved Aunt Em and Uncle Henry; and of course the Little Wizard and many more.

  Ozma stood before her throne and raised her hand. Immediately silence settled over the assemblage in the vast Throne Room. “As you all know,” the Princess said, “Glinda and I are about to attend an important Fairy Conference in the distant Forest of Burzee. We shall be gone from Oz for a period of three days. During that time, Princess Dorothy

  will be your sovereign and ruler.”

  Ozma removed her dainty fairy wand from the folds of her gown and lifted it into the air. For a moment she smiled on all, then, with a graceful wave of the wand and before the onlookers realized what was happening, both she and Glinda had vanished.

  But Dorothy knew that even at that moment Queen Lurline was greeting the lovely Ozma and the stately Glinda in the depths of the enchanted Forest of Burzee.

  CHAPTER 3

  MOUNT ILLUSO

  On that faraway day those many years ago, when Queen Lurline had left the baby Ozma to become the ruler of Oz, Queen Lurline did not pause, for she knew the most important part of her work was still to be done. If the Land of Oz was to be the happy fairyland she hoped it would be, she must protect it from the evil of the Mimics.

  With this thought in mind, the good Queen left Oz and flew straight to the bleak land of the Phanfasms. Signalling to one of her Fairy Maidens to accompany her, Queen Lurline flew down to grim Mount Illuso, home of the dread Mimics.

  Pausing at the entrance to the great hollow mountain, Queen Lurline bade her fairy companion await her return. Then, taking the precaution to make herself invisible to the eyes of the Mimics, the Fairy Queen stepped into the enchanted Mountain.

  The sight that met her eyes caused even the good Queen Lurline to chill and falter momentarily on the rocky ledge on which she stood. Above her rose

  the vast, cavernous walls of the hollow mountain. Spread out below were the corridors burrowed into the rock by the Mimics. In dark caverns deep below these corridors the monsters made their homes. All of this scene was lighted by flaming torches set at intervals in the walls of the cavern. The torches flared red, casting lurid, flickering shadows and adding to the weird unreality of the scene. As Queen Lurline gazed, the Mimics were moving through the rough-hewn corridors or flying through the air. The most unusual thing about the creatures was their strange habit of constantly changing their shapes. They shifted restlessly from one form to another. Since they were creatures of evil, the shapes they assumed were all forms of the blackest evil and dread. Even as Queen Lurline watched, fascinated by the strange spectacle, the Mimics shifted and changed and flitted from one loathsome shape to another. A monster bird with leathery wings and a horned head dropped to the ground, and in another second assumed the squat body of a huge toad with the head of a hyena, snarling with laughter. A crawling red lizard all of ten feet in length turned into a giant butterfly with black wings and the body of a serpent. A great, green bat with wicked talons alighted on a ledge not far from Queen Lurline an
d in an instant changed to a mammoth, hairy creature with the body of a huge ape and the head of an alligator. The good Queen shuddered in spite of herself. What she had seen had only served to strengthen her resolution to protect the Oz people for all time against the Mimics. Immediately she began weaving a powerful incantation. In a few minutes the enchantment was complete. Queen Lurline breathed a sigh of relief, for she knew that the Mimics were now powerless to harm any

  of the fairy inhabitants of the Land of Oz.

  Queen Lurline was well aware that the Mimics’ strange habit of changing their shapes was the least of their evil characteristics. Much more dreadful was the power possessed by these creatures to $$steal&& the shapes of both mortals and immortals. A Mimic accomplished this simply by casting himself on the shadow of his victim. Instantly the Mimic arose, a perfect double in outward appearance of the person whose shadow he had stolen. As for the unfortunate victim, he fell into a spell of enchantment, unable to move or speak but conscious of all that was taking place about him. No wonder Queen Lurline sighed with relief when she thought that her powerful magic had made the Oz people secure against the dread evil of the Mimics! Queen Lurline slipped from the cavern through the stone portal of Mount Illuso. For a moment she paused, breathing deeply and gratefully of the fresh air. But she must not tarry now. She still had other important work to do here. When she returned to her fairy companion, Queen Lurline gave her brief instructions concerning the important part she was to play at Mount Illuso in the coming years. Then they both spread their fairy wings and flew straight to the very summit of the hollow mount.

  CHAPTER 4

  THE MIMICS MEAN MISCHIEF

  On the same morning that Ozma and Glinda left the Land of Oz for the Forest of Burzee, events of equal importance were happening in Mount Illuso, home of the Mimics. The Mimics were ruled over by two sovereigns C4 King Umb and Queen Ra. It is a question which was the more wicked and dangerous of this pair. King Umb was bold and brutal, while his wife, Queen Ra, was clever and cunning. Together they made a fitting combination to rule so wicked a horde as the Mimics.