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CHAPTER 2 - THE TROUBLES OF GLINDA THE GOOD
That same morning there was great excitement in the castle of the powerful
Sorceress of Oz, Glinda the Good. This castle, situated in the Quadling
Country, far south of the Emerald City where Ozma ruled, was a splendid
structure of exquisite marbles and silver grilles. Here the Sorceress lived,
surrounded by a bevy of the most beautiful maidens of Oz, gathered from all
the four countries of that fairyland as well as from the magnificent Emerald
City itself, which stood in the place where the four countries cornered. It was
considered a great honor to be allowed to serve the good Sorceress, whose arts
of magic were used only to benefit the Oz people. Glinda was Ozma's most
valued servant, for her knowledge of sorcery was wonderful, and she could
accomplish almost anything that her mistress, the lovely girl Ruler of Oz,
wished her to.
Of all the magical things which surrounded Glinda in her castle, there was
none more marvelous than her Great Book of Records. On the pages of this
Record Book were constantly being inscribed, day by day and hour by hour,
all the important events that happened anywhere in the known world, and
they were inscribed in the book at exactly the moment the events happened.
Every adventure in the Land of Oz and in the big outside world, and even in
places that you and I have never heard of, were recorded accurately in the
Great Book, which never made a mistake and stated only the exact truth. For
that reason, nothing could be concealed from Glinda the Good, who had only
to look at the pages of the Great Book of Records to know everything that had
taken place. That was one reason she was such a great Sorceress, for the
records made her wiser than any other living person.
This wonderful book was placed upon a big gold table that stood in the middle
of Glinda's drawing room. The legs of the table, which were incrusted with
precious gems, were firmly fastened to the tiled floor, and the book itself was
chained to the table and locked with six stout golden padlocks, the keys to
which Glinda carried on a chain that was secured around her own neck. The
pages of the Great Book were larger in size than those of an American
newspaper, and although they were exceedingly thin, there were so many of
them that they made an enormous, bulky volume. With its gold cover and
gold clasps, the book was so heavy that three men could scarcely have lifted
it. Yet this morning when Glinda entered her drawing room after breakfast,
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