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17. The Royal Chariot Arrives
The neat yellow houses of the Winkies were now to be seen standing here and
there along the roadway, giving the country a more cheerful and civilized look.
They were farm-houses, though, and set far apart; for in the Land of Oz there
were no towns or villages except the magnificent Emerald City in its center.
Hedges of evergreen or of yellow roses bordered the broad highway and the
farms showed the care of their industrious inhabitants. The nearer the
travelers came to the great city the more prosperous the country became, and
they crossed many bridges over the sparkling streams and rivulets that
watered the lands.
As they walked leisurely along the shaggy man said to the Tin Woodman:
"
What sort of a Magic Powder was it that made your friend the Pumpkinhead
live?"
"
It was called the Powder of Life," was the answer; "and it was invented by a
crooked Sorcerer who lived in the mountains of the North Country. A Witch
named Mombi got some of this powder from the crooked Sorcerer and took it
home with her. Ozma lived with the Witch then, for it was before she became
our Princess, while Mombi had transformed her into the shape of a boy. Well,
while Mombi was gone to the crooked Sorcerer's, the boy made this pumpkin-
headed man to amuse himself, and also with the hope of frightening the Witch
with it when she returned. But Mombi was not scared, and she sprinkled the
Pumpkinhead with her Magic Powder of Life, to see if the Powder would work.
Ozma was watching, and saw the Pumpkinhead come to life; so that night she
took the pepper-box containing the Powder and ran away with it and with
Jack, in search of adventures.
"
Next day they found a wooden Saw-Horse standing by the roadside, and
sprinkled it with the Powder. It came to life at once, and Jack Pumpkinhead
rode the Saw-Horse to the Emerald City."
"
What became of the Saw-Horse, afterward?" asked the shaggy man, much
interested in this story.
"
Oh, it's alive yet, and you will probably meet it presently in the Emerald City.
Afterward, Ozma used the last of the Powder to bring the Flying Gump to life;
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