"That"s nothing," declared Dorothy. "I"ve never been "specially proud of myself, but I"d rather be the way I was born than anything else in the whole world."
The Gla.s.s Cat, although it had some disagreeable ways and manners, nevertheless realized that Trot and Cap"n Bill were its friends and so was quite disturbed at the fix it had gotten them into by leading them to the Isle of the Magic Flower. The ruby heart of the Gla.s.s Cat was cold and hard, but still it was a heart, and to have a heart of any sort is to have some consideration for others. But the queer transparent creature didn"t want Trot and Cap"n Bill to know it was sorry for them, and therefore it moved very slowly until it had crossed the river and was out of sight among the trees of the forest. Then it headed straight toward the Emerald City, and trotted so fast that it was like a crystal streak crossing the valleys and plains. Being gla.s.s, the cat was tireless, and with no reason to delay its journey, it reached Ozma"s palace in wonderfully quick time.
"Where"s the Wizard?" it asked the Pink Kitten, which was curled up in the sunshine on the lowest step of the palace entrance.
"Don"t bother me," lazily answered the Pink Kitten, whose name was Eureka.
"I must find the Wizard at once!" said the Gla.s.s Cat.
"Then find him," advised Eureka, and went to sleep again.
The Gla.s.s Cat darted up the stairway and came upon Toto, Dorothy"s little black dog.
"Where"s the Wizard?" asked the Cat.
"Gone on a journey with Dorothy," replied Toto.
"When did they go, and where have they gone?" demanded the Cat.
"They went yesterday, and I heard them say they would go to the Great Forest in the Munchkin Country."
"Dear me," said the Gla.s.s Cat; "that is a long journey."
"But they rode on the Hungry Tiger and the Cowardly Lion," explained Toto, "and the Wizard carried his Black Bag of Magic Tools."
The Gla.s.s Cat knew the Great Forest of Gugu well, for it had traveled through this forest many times in its journeys through the Land of Oz.
And it reflected that the Forest of Gugu was nearer to the Isle of the Magic Flower than the Emerald City was, and so, if it could manage to find the Wizard, it could lead him across the Gillikin Country to where Trot and Cap"n Bill were prisoned. It was a wild country and little traveled, but the Gla.s.s Cat knew every path. So very little time need be lost, after all.
Without stopping to ask any more questions the Cat darted out of the palace and away from the Emerald City, taking the most direct route to the Forest of Gugu. Again the creature flashed through the country like a streak of light, and it would surprise you to know how quickly it reached the edge of the Great Forest.
There were no monkey guards among the trees to cry out a warning, and this was so unusual that it astonished the Gla.s.s Cat. Going farther into the forest it presently came upon a wolf, which at first bounded away in terror. But then, seeing it was only a Gla.s.s Cat, the Wolf stopped, and the Cat could see it was trembling, as if from a terrible fright.
"What"s the matter?" asked the Cat.
"A dreadful Magician has come among us!" exclaimed the Wolf, "and he"s changing the forms of all the beasts--quick as a wink--and making them all his slaves."
The Gla.s.s Cat smiled and said:
"Why, that"s only the Wizard of Oz. He may be having some fun with you forest people, but the Wizard wouldn"t hurt a beast for anything."
"I don"t mean the Wizard," explained the Wolf. "And if the Wizard of Oz is that funny little man who rode a great Tiger into the clearing, he"s been transformed himself by the terrible Magician."
"The Wizard transformed? Why, that"s impossible," declared the Gla.s.s Cat.
"No; it isn"t. I saw him with my own eyes, changed into the form of a Fox, and the girl who was with him was changed to a woolly Lamb."
The Gla.s.s Cat was indeed surprised.
"When did that happen?" it asked.
"Just a little while ago in the clearing. All the animals had met there, but they ran away when the Magician began his transformations, and I"m thankful I escaped with my natural shape. But I"m still afraid, and I"m going somewhere to hide."
With this the Wolf ran on, and the Gla.s.s Cat, which knew where the big clearing was, went toward it. But now it walked more slowly, and its pink brains rolled and tumbled around at a great rate because it was thinking over the amazing news the Wolf had told it.
When the Gla.s.s Cat reached the clearing, it saw a Fox, a Lamb, a Rabbit, a Munchkin boy and a fat Gillikin woman, all wandering around in an aimless sort of way, for they were again searching for the Black Bag of Magic Tools.
The Cat watched them a moment and then it walked slowly into the open s.p.a.ce. At once the Lamb ran toward it, crying:
"Oh, Wizard, here"s the Gla.s.s Cat!"
"Where, Dorothy?" asked the Fox.
"Here!"
The Boy and the Woman and the Rabbit now joined the Fox and the Lamb, and they all stood before the Gla.s.s Cat and speaking together, almost like a chorus, asked: "Have you seen the Black Bag?"
"Often," replied the Gla.s.s Cat, "but not lately."
"It"s lost," said the Fox, "and we must find it."
"Are you the Wizard?" asked the Cat.
"Yes."
"And who are these others?"
"I"m Dorothy," said the Lamb.
"I"m the Cowardly Lion," said the Munchkin boy.
"I"m the Hungry Tiger," said the Rabbit.
"I"m Gugu, King of the Forest," said the fat Woman.
The Gla.s.s Cat sat on its hind legs and began to laugh. "My, what a funny lot!" exclaimed the Creature. "Who played this joke on you?"
"It"s no joke at all," declared the Wizard. "It was a cruel, wicked transformation, and the Magician that did it has the head of a lion, the body of a monkey, the wings of an eagle and a round ball on the end of his tail."
The Gla.s.s Cat laughed again. "That Magician must look funnier than you do," it said. "Where is he now?"
"Somewhere in the forest," said the Cowardly Lion. "He just jumped into that tall maple tree over there, for he can climb like a monkey and fly like an eagle, and then he disappeared in the forest."
"And there was another Magician, just like him, who was his friend,"
added Dorothy, "but they probably quarreled, for the wickedest one changed his friend into the form of a Goose."
"What became of the Goose?" asked the Cat, looking around.