Glinda of Oz, Page 4

  CHAPTER 4

  The Magic Tent

  "Well," said Dorothy with a laugh, "that was easier than I expected.It's worth while, sometimes, to be a real fairy. But I wouldn't liketo be that kind, and live in a dreadful fog all the time."

  They now climbed the bank and found before them a delightful plainthat spread for miles in all directions. Fragrant wild flowers werescattered throughout the grass; there were bushes bearing lovelyblossoms and luscious fruits; now and then a group of stately treesadded to the beauty of the landscape. But there were no dwellings orsigns of life.

  The farther side of the plain was bordered by a row of palms, and justin front of the palms rose a queerly shaped hill that towered abovethe plain like a mountain. The sides of this hill were straight up anddown; it was oblong in shape and the top seemed flat and level.

  "Oh, ho!" cried Dorothy; "I'll bet that's the mountain Glinda told usof, where the Flatheads live."

  "If it is," replied Ozma, "the Lake of the Skeezers must be justbeyond the line of palm trees. Can you walk that far, Dorothy?"

  "Of course, in time," was the prompt answer. "I'm sorry we had toleave the Sawhorse and the Red Wagon behind us, for they'd come inhandy just now; but with the end of our journey in sight a trampacross these pretty green fields won't tire us a bit."

  It was a longer tramp than they suspected, however, and night overtookthem before they could reach the flat mountain. So Ozma proposed theycamp for the night and Dorothy was quite ready to approve. She didn'tlike to admit to her friend she was tired, but she told herself thather legs "had prickers in 'em," meaning they had begun to ache.

  Usually when Dorothy started on a journey of exploration or adventure,she carried with her a basket of food, and other things that atraveler in a strange country might require, but to go away with Ozmawas quite a different thing, as experience had taught her. The fairyRuler of Oz only needed her silver wand--tipped at one end with agreat sparkling emerald--to provide through its magic all that theymight need. Therefore Ozma, having halted with her companion andselected a smooth, grassy spot on the plain, waved her wand ingraceful curves and chanted some mystic words in her sweet voice, andin an instant a handsome tent appeared before them. The canvas wasstriped purple and white, and from the center pole fluttered the royalbanner of Oz.

  "Come, dear," said Ozma, taking Dorothy's hand, "I am hungry and I'msure you must be also; so let us go in and have our feast."

  On entering the tent they found a table set for two, with snowy linen,bright silver and sparkling glassware, a vase of roses in the centerand many dishes of delicious food, some smoking hot, waiting tosatisfy their hunger. Also, on either side of the tent were beds, withsatin sheets, warm blankets and pillows filled with swansdown. Therewere chairs, too, and tall lamps that lighted the interior of the tentwith a soft, rosy glow.

  Dorothy, resting herself at her fairy friend's command, and eating herdinner with unusual enjoyment, thought of the wonders of magic. If onewere a fairy and knew the secret laws of nature and the mystic wordsand ceremonies that commanded those laws, then a simple wave of asilver wand would produce instantly all that men work hard andanxiously for through weary years. And Dorothy wished in her kindly,innocent heart, that all men and women could be fairies with silverwands, and satisfy all their needs without so much work and worry, forthen, she imagined, they would have all their working hours to behappy in. But Ozma, looking into her friend's face and reading thosethoughts, gave a laugh and said:

  "No, no, Dorothy, that wouldn't do at all. Instead of happiness yourplan would bring weariness to the world. If every one could wave awand and have his wants fulfilled there would be little to wish for.There would be no eager striving to obtain the difficult, for nothingwould then be difficult, and the pleasure of earning something longedfor, and only to be secured by hard work and careful thought, would beutterly lost. There would be nothing to do, you see, and no interestin life and in our fellow creatures. That is all that makes life worthour while--to do good deeds and to help those less fortunate thanourselves."

  "Well, you're a fairy, Ozma. Aren't you happy?" asked Dorothy.

  "Yes, dear, because I can use my fairy powers to make others happy.Had I no kingdom to rule, and no subjects to look after, I would bemiserable. Also, you must realize that while I am a more powerfulfairy than any other inhabitant of Oz, I am not as powerful as Glindathe Sorceress, who has studied many arts of magic that I know nothingof. Even the little Wizard of Oz can do some things I am unable toaccomplish, while I can accomplish things unknown to the Wizard. Thisis to explain that I am not all-powerful, by any means. My magic issimply fairy magic, and not sorcery or wizardry."

  "All the same," said Dorothy, "I'm mighty glad you could make thistent appear, with our dinners and beds all ready for us."

  Ozma smiled.

  "Yes, it is indeed wonderful," she agreed. "Not all fairies know thatsort of magic, but some fairies can do magic that fills me withastonishment. I think that is what makes us modest and unassuming--thefact that our magic arts are divided, some being given each of us. I'mglad I don't know everything, Dorothy, and that there still are thingsin both nature and in wit for me to marvel at."

  Dorothy couldn't quite understand this, so she said nothing more onthe subject and presently had a new reason to marvel. For when theyhad quite finished their meal table and contents disappeared in aflash.

  "No dishes to wash, Ozma!" she said with a laugh. "I guess you'd makea lot of folks happy if you could teach 'em just that one trick."

  For an hour Ozma told stories, and talked with Dorothy about variouspeople in whom they were interested. And then it was bedtime, and theyundressed and crept into their soft beds and fell asleep almost assoon as their heads touched their pillows.