The Magic of Oz

sun was shooting its first bright rays over the treetops, King Gugu rose on

his throne. The Leopard's giant form, towering above all the others, caused

a sudden hush to fall on the assemblage.

Brothers," he said in his deep voice, "a stranger has come among us, a

beast of curious form who is a great magician and is able to change the

shapes of men or beasts at his will. This stranger has come to us, with

another of his kind, from out of the sky, to warn us of a danger which

threatens us all, and to offer us a way to escape from that danger. He says

he is our friend, and he has proved to me and to my Counselors his magic

powers. Will you listen to what he has to say to you--to the message he has

brought from the sky?"

Let him speak!" came in a great roar from the great company of

assembled beasts.

So Ruggedo the Nome sprang upon the flat rock beside Gugu the King,

and another roar, gentle this time, showed how astonished the beasts were

at the sight of his curious form. His lion's face was surrounded by a mane

of pure white hair; his eagle's wings were attached to the shoulders of his

monkey body and were so long that they nearly touched the ground; he

had powerful arms and legs in addition to the wings, and at the end of his

long, strong tail was a golden ball. Never had any beast beheld such a

curious creature before, and so the very sight of the stranger, who was said

to be a great magician, filled all present with awe and wonder.

Kiki stayed down below and, half hidden by the shelf of rock, was

scarcely noticed. The boy realized that the old Nome was helpless without

his magic power, but he also realized that Ruggedo was the best talker. So

he was willing the Nome should take the lead.

Beasts of the Forest of Gugu," began Ruggedo the Nome, "my

comrade and I are your friends. We are magicians, and from our home in

the sky we can look down into the Land of Oz and see everything that is

going on. Also we can hear what the people below us are saying. That is

how we heard Ozma, who rules the Land of Oz, say to her people: 'The

beasts in the Forest of Gugu are lazy and are of no use to us. Let us go to

their forest and make them all our prisoners. Let us tie them with ropes,