B ROVER OF OZ

B ROVER OF OZ

by Sandy Stuart Shaller

Prologue

In the Emerald City of OZ, in the royal palace of Princess Ozma beloved ruler of the marvelous land of OZ, sleep was deep and undisturbed for the Princess and the many fortunate friends of the Princess who had their own rooms in the splendid royal palace.

One permanent resident of the royal palace, was the wonderful Wizard of OZ, often called by his nickname, Oz. It was no wonder that the wizard favored a short nickname, since his full name would almost take up an entire paragraph by itself. It was Oscar Zoroaster Phadrig Isaac Norman Henkle Emmannuel Ambroise Diggs. Imagine having to put that on your homework every night!

Oz was generally a sound sleeper, but his wizarding skills made him wonderfully sensitive to unusual vibrations in the atmosphere. Oz tossed and turned in his green coverlet catching glimpses of dreams, but unable to fall into deep, untroubled sleep. Finally, he gave it up, put on his green slippers and dressing gown and left his luxurious rooms to pace through the

vast hallways of the palace.

Someone is not having a good night’s sleep, Oz murmured to himself. I can feel their distress and it is causing me distress. Oz was extremely sensitive to other people, especially when they were unhappy or in trouble, and now he was trying to track down who was suffering so he might use his powers or his gentle empathy to help them.

I’m happy to feel that it’s not our dear Princess Dorothy, Oz thought as he passed Dorothy’s suite of rooms that were right next to Ozma’s own beautiful suite.

“Tisn’t Ozma or little Dorothy”, Oz whispered, “or Toto,” he chuckled. Toto was Dorothy’s little black terrier; he had been along with her on her first visit to the Land of OZ, when a cyclone carried her house there.

The Wizard continued down the hallway. He passed rooms that belonged to Jellia Jamb, the head maid of the palace, rooms belonging to Trot and her constant companion, the old sailor Cap’n Bill.They are sleeping peacefully,Oz was happy to note.

He passed down the hallway that had rooms for the inhabitants of the palace who were not made of flesh and blood. Among them was Scraps, the Patchwork Girl who looked like a life-sized doll made out of a crazy quilt. Scraps had been brought to life by a sorcerer named Dr. Pipt who created the powder of ife. Scraps had endless energy and didn’t need to sleep, but she was perfectly content spending the night hours reading book after book.

I could spend many pages listing all the inhabitants of the royal palace and telling you how the Wizard didn’t find any of them restless or troubled and this would be a very dull introduction to my story. However, the Wizard had just passed the room that currently belonged to a new citizen of OZ, a young boy from Kansas named Brian Gale Butler and his parents, and was moving toward the next door, when a wave of trouble washed over him. Oz froze and looked at name on the beautiful brass \plate on the door:

“B Rover.”

B was a musician and skilled swordsman who had recently fallen in with Brian and his unique friend Shadow. The three of them were instrumental in saving OZ from an invading army of Nomes who attacked in an air balloon called the Astonishing Bellairobubble.

B Dreaming

Oz knew that strong, disturbing feelings were both destructive and important. They could reveal deep problems, but they could also harm the delicate balance of the person experiencing them.

I never like to use my magic to pry into people’s secret thoughts, but this feels like an emergency. We don’t want anything to hurt our new friend and hero, B Rover.

The Wizard put one hand on the nameplate and at once, the Wizard’s mind opened like a window and B’s dream flowed into it.

A young boy, and a man wearing a crown and a short beard, had swords, and it looked as if the man wearing the crown was teaching the boy the art of swordsmanship. The Wizard chuckled, because the boy didn’t seem to need much instruction. He darted about like a little dragonfly touching the man with the tip of his blade on different parts of his body.The man looked delighted with the boy’s expertise. He laughed and finally caught the boy in a hug.

The scene changed and now the boy was sitting on the bottom step of a dais. On the top, on matching thrones, sat the bearded man and a beautiful, crowned woman. They both smiled down at the boy who was playing a mandolin. The music coming from the instrument was so beautiful and touching that the Wizard had to sniffle and wipe away a tear. The boy was singing as he played and the words were:

“I care not for jewels or goblets of gold,

I dreams of friendships that never grow old.

Peace to our kingdom and

days of delight,

May Coventry be always a welcoming sight.”

The dreamer’s thoughts became a flurry of images in which the Wizard learned that the King and Queen were the boy’s parents and they ruled over a tiny kingdom called Coventry that existed in a remote valley in the Quadling Country. The boy and his parents had come to the town of Coventry from afar and settled there as farmers. The family had endeared themselves to the citizens of Coventry through their kindness, generosity and forward-thinking ideas that were instrumental in leading the country to greater prosperity than it had ever known. So beloved was the family that the citizens of Coventry pleaded with them to make Coventry into a kingdom with the boy’s parents as King and Queen.

Then Oz was back in the throne room with the boy talking to his parents. As they spoke, Oz learned that the king’s name was Rondahl, the Queen’s was Galala, and the boy’s name was Brandy. The family’s last name was Rover.

“Rover!” the Wizard said aloud. “Of course! This boy is the younger self of our friend B Rover who was pivotal, along with young Brian Gale Butler, in planning the strategy that defeated the Nome/Goblin attack on OZ. I wonder why he goes by his first initial. I think Brandy is a delightful name.” Oz pondered a moment, “But perhaps he doesn’t feel that way. Heaven knows that I can’t stand my paragraph-long name!”

The Wizard realized how little they knew about B and his history, but he was to find out quite a bit more. The dreamer’s mind opened new scenes to the Wizard. It was still the throne room, but now someone new was standing before the King, Queen and their son, Brandy.

“I am Malmagnus,” declared a man dressed all in black with a cloak and hair that looked a little like an upside down version of the cyclone that carried Dorothy’s houses to OZ.

“I am descended from the line of Lurline, the fairy that first made OZ into an enchanted land,” Malmagnus told the King and Queen. His voice rose and fell almost like a melody. Neither of my parents inherited the fairy queen’s powers, but I was the fortunate favorite,” Malmagnus said. He sounded very conceited about it.

Hmm, the Wizard thought. I never heard that Lurline had any family, but I suppose it’s possible, but Malmagnus seems a very pompous character. And why does he talk in that sing-song voice. It’s almost as if he was….” Oz froze. He knew a great deal about how a voice could be used to weave an enchantment over the listener. Is that what he’s doing?

“Having heard of your delightful little kingdom,” Malmagnus said. “I thought I might lend my special abilities to make it even more of a wonder land for all who live here.”

Malmagnus went on at length telling the King and Queen about his many powers and how he longed to delight the children of Coventry with his simple magic.

The scene changed and there was Malmagnus doing a puppet show where he used his magic to make the marionettes move without strings. They acted out stories of knights, and princesses, witches and warlocks, dragons and Nomes, to the enthusiastic delight of the children of Coventry. The children’s especial favorite marionette was a hilarious version of Ruggedo, the one-time Nome King and one of theworst troublemakers in both the Land of OZ and in the land of Ev on the far side of the Deadly Desert. Malmagnus’ marionette was always making trouble, just like the real Ruggedo, but it always resulted in him being foiled in his evil schemes in some uproarious way.The children fell about laughing when the Ruggedo marionette was chased by a giant spider, while Malmagnus raised one eyebrow in satisfaction.

In another memory, OZ saw the boy, Brandy, watching one of Malmagnus’s magical marionette shows. However, Oz saw that Brandy was mostly watching Malmagnus and the boy had a distrustful look on his young face.

Once again, the scene changed, and Oz was back in the simple throne room where the King and Queen were meeting with Malmagnus again. Time had passed and Brandy was now sixteen or seventeen years old. He was standing between his parents thrones, and Malmagnus’s face was filled with rage.

Oz noticed that the mandolin that the boy always carried was hung around his shoulder so as to be out of his way, and that his other hand rested on the pommel of his sword.

“You are exiled from Coventry, Malmagnus,” said Galala. “Your crime is using transformations on several citizens of Coventry.”

“They disrespected me!” snarled Malmagnus. “They deserved to be punished. Besides, you ordered me to change them back and I…I considered what you wanted and decided that I wanted to restore them.”

“You know the rules of Coventry,” the King said, ignoring Malmagnus’s interpretation of events, “and the laws of the Land of OZ.”

“Beware, Rondahl and Galala,” Malmagnus hissed, and his voice had gotten so quiet that the Wizard could scarcely hear the words.

“I have done much for Coventry,” Malmagnus said, “and I do not expect punishment as a reward for the trifling act of transformation.”

“Perhaps Glinda the Good would like to hear your sentiments on transformations,” Galala said. “Perhaps you have told her that you dabble in a magic which she herself has forbidden.”

Malmagnus growled and suddenly switched his gaze from the King and Queen to the boy holding the handle of his sword.

Brandy’s face wore a fixed, serious expression which didn’t change when the sorcerer narrowed his eyes and stared at him.

“Your son is still young. I have yet to tutor him in the magic that I possess. It is possible, given his musical talent and ability with the blade, that he might contain just the right mind that could be trained to perform enchantments. Think of the gifts that would bring to Coventry.” Malmagnus’s voice had taken on that oily and ingratiating tone Oz had heard him use before.

Brandy stared directly into Malmagnus’s face and quietly said, “What I wish to learn, I can learn from my parents. They know how to rule a country with the lightest of touches and how to win respect through acts of kindness, simplicity, community and generosity. I don’t need magic to learn those things.”

A horrible grimace disfigured Malmagnus’s face and he lost control and began shouting. “You are as stupid, short-sighted and cowardly as your parents!”

Brandy slowly drew his sword. “You would be wise, Malmagnus to be silent if you cannot speak with respect.” Although his voice was calm, his cheeks were flushed.

The King and Queen had never needed guards in their tiny throne room, but now King Rondahl drew his own sword and stood up from his throne and stepped down from the dais so that he stood between his son and Malmagnus. “Get your belongings. I will ask one of the palace guards to help you. You must be beyond the borders of Coventry before dark.”

“I need no help!” the sorcerer growled.

“Nevertheless, a guard will be with you until you have left the boundaries of Coventry.”

Malmagnus’s face turned the color of a pearple, a delicious, and very juicy, fruit of a dark purple color. The color looked excellent on the fruit, but it not on Malmagnus’ face. He opened his mouth to say something, but the Queen interrupted him.

“Beware. If you don’t leave peacefully, we have messengers all ready to travel to Glinda’s palace and the Emerald City to alert Glinda and her majesty Ozma of OZ, of your actions.”

Malmagnus looked about to explode. Instead, he smiled and bowed. “As your majesties wish,” he said cordially, although Oz thought he sounded as if the words were choking him.

Silently he left the King and Queen, and it was then that B Rover woke up.

Continued in: Chapter One: Lurline’s Lyre

Chapter One: Lurline’s Lyre

The Wizard made a quick decision. It’s not fair that I have used my wizardry to visit B’s private dreams. I hope I can explain why I did that; he is such a wonderful new friend.

Oz knocked at B’s door and the now-familiar voice of B Rover said, “Please come in,” Oz opened the door.

“Good morning, B. Are you busy? May I take a little of your time?”

B Rover grinned. “I’m not busy at all. I’ve just washed up and gotten dressed in this outfit I found in my closet. How did the Princess know my exact measurements, or my taste in clothes?” B was dressed in a dark green doublet and scarlet britches which were a perfect complement to the doublet. The collar of the doublet was trimmed with carolites, a beautiful and rare gemstone that added just the right amount of sparkle to B’s outfit.

“Ozma always wants her guests and friends to be comfortable in the royal palace and, I suspect, that as a powerful fairy giving them pleasing garments that fit well is no problem at all.”

B smiled. “I feel so honored to be a guest here. The rooms that the Princess has let me use are so beautiful and comfortable. Come have a seat in this very comfortable sitting area. Oh, and is may I call you Oz”

“Of course! Of course!” the Wizard said at once. My full name would take way too long to say.”

B led the Wizard to a seating area. All of the rooms in the royal palace had a bed chamber, a seating area and, of course, a private bathroom. The Wizard and B took seats on facing sides of a round table made of green marble. There was a pitcher of delicious juice on the table and B, delighted to play host to the famous Wizard of OZ, poured him a goblet of the drink and one for himself.

Oz thanked him, took a sip of his drink and said, “I hope you slept well.”

“That bed is even softer than the bed I had in my parents’ home, but sadly, my sleep is often troubled with dreams of sad events of the past.

Oz rubbed his long chin with his thumb and forefinger. “Ah, yes, your past. Speaking of that, I had a most surprising night,” Oz proceeded to tell B about how he had been awakened by very strong feelings of distress coming from someone in the palace, and how he had crept through the hall to see if he could help whoever was in distress. “I finally came to your door and it as there that I found the source of the disturbances.” Oz hesitated, as B had moved forward in his seat with increasing interest. “I am able to visit the dreams of those who are suffering, and so I tiptoed, so to speak, into your dreams and memories.”

B frowned, “I don’t know whether to feel that my privacy has been violated or grateful for your concern.”

“Oh please,” Oz said waving his arms about in distress “I understand your feeling about privacy, and your right to have that, but what I saw and felt is just between the two of us. And I would like to help you.”

B looked at the Wizard. Besides being a famous wizard, he was such a friendly man, and he had been an excellent part of the battle with the Astonishing Bellairobubble.

“I’m sorry,” B said, “you are highly regarded in OZ, and I do trust you.” B held out his hand and Oz took it at once.

“May I ask a question about your past?”

B picked up his mandolin which had a surprising way of always being close to hand. He stroked the strings and then sang:

I have found many friends in OZ,

And everyone is tried and true.

You are the Wizard and loved by all,

I will share my story with you.”

“Quite amazing!” Oz said. “How do you just come up with those songs extemporaneously?”

“I don’t know,” said B, his cheeks reddening. “They just seem to come to me.”

Oz pulled on the tiny goatee he was cultivating, “Amazing!” he said again, and then he told B Rover all that he had seen in his dreams.

As he finished his narrative, Oz asked, “Did Malmagnus leave peacefully?”

“I wasn’t there when he left,” B said. “My father knew that I was upset by Malmagnus, and he suggested that I take my mandolin and sword and go for a walk. So, that’s what I did. The forest of the Fighting Trees, who no longer fight, is one of my favorite places to go. There are wonderful apples growing there and the trees are happy to share them with me in return for a song or two on my mandolin.” B strummed his mandolin and played a few chords of a very pretty tune. It conjured up images of branches waving in the breeze and tiny rivulets of water flowing around their thirsty roots from an underground spring.

“Even if the trees were still eager for a fight, I have no doubt that your wonderful music would lull them into a state of happy congeniality.”

“I was away from home only an hour or two,” B said, and his face took on a look of great sadness. “But, when I walked home, Coventry was gone. Nothing of our little kingdom remained; there was just a large field with the pressed grass outlines of where our buildings stood.”

The Wizard could easily imagine what must have been B Rover’s shock and sense of loss when he saw all this, and sympathetic tears filled his eyes and ran down his cheeks. He got out of his seat and put an arm around B’s shoulders.

“It was Malmagnus,” B said. “I know it. I could feel the traces of his foul magic in the air. I have been wandering through OZ hoping to find where Malmagnus has hidden Coventry, my parents, and our people.” He paused and then added in a low voice, “I wonder if it still exists at all.”

“It’s very hard to completely destroy something here in OZ,” said the Wizard. “I might be wrong, I’ve been wrong in the past, but I have the strongest sense that Coventry, and all its inhabitants are alive and well…” he paused, “…somewhere! Our challenge is going to be to find where that somewhere is.”

B was staring down at the floor and looked lost in thought.. After a moment, he looked up at Oz and said, “I wasn’t completely honest about why I left Coventry the day Malmagnus left and our kingdom disappeared. I wasn’t just going for a walk because I was upset about Malmagnus. I left because I was looking for something.” He paused and then almost whispered to the Wizard, “Have you heard ofLurline’s Lyre?”

The Wizard sank back and almost fell into his seat. “Yes,” he said, “but I’ve never heard anyone except Ozma speak of it before. Do you know the story of Lurline and her importance in OZ history?”

“Yes, my mother and father used to read me stories from an old book that had tales about Lurline and her fairy band,” B said. “One of the stories

told how the fairy band were flying over a beautiful country surrounded by a terrible desert, the Deadly Desert,” B added. ”In the story, they said that Lurline thought OZ was so beautiful that she used her magic to enchant it and make it a fairy country.”

“Yes,” said the Wizard. “I heard that story from Ozma herself. Lurline told her that she played a magic lyre and sang a secret song to the land that gifted it with magic and enchantment as you said. This all happened long before my balloon carried me to OZ.”

“OZ history is so interesting and mysterious,” B said. He had gotten up and was walking and thinking. “Another of the stories was about a baby girl that Lurline was protecting. The baby was a fairy and after she enchanted OZ, Lurline gave the baby to someone in OZ and asked him to care for her.”

MOMBI

“Hmm,” said Oz, “I know that story very well.That fairy infant, who was destined to be the ruler of OZ, was given into the care of a man who was currently the ruler of OZ and didn’t want anyone to take that position awayfrom him, so he gave the child to a wicked woman named Mombi.Mombi secretly practiced forbidden forms of magic, such as transformation, but told everyone that she was only a poor old woman who made home remedies.The terrible man begged Mombi to hide the child, so no one would ever be able to find her.”

The Wizard paused, and a terrible look of grief fell over his face. “The Old Woman had her own reasons for taking the baby,” Oz continued, “and agreed to raise the child. She performed the forbidden act of transformation and turned the infant Ozma into a boy who Mombi named Tippetarius. She raised the boy as her servant and was very cruel to him. It was only after the boy was ten years of age, and escaped from Mombi to have exciting adventures with the Tin Woodman, the Scarecrow, and Jack Pumpkinhead that he discovered the truth of his identity. It was Glinda the Good who forced Mombi to restore the boy to his true form: Ozma of OZ.”

TIP OZMA

“That’s a remarkable story,” said B, “I don’t know why I never heard the whole tale before. B’s hand dropped to his sword and his face took on a look of great anger. “Who was that terrible man who gave an innocent baby to a vile Wicked Witch? He deserves to be severely punished.”

“Then draw your sword,” said the Wizard. He tore his shirt opened and bared his chest, “and bury your sword here.” He tapped his chest as tears fell from his eyes.

“What?!” B almost dropped his sword in surprise. “You!? You gave Ozma to a Witch. I don’t believe it! You are one of Princess Ozma’s closeat friends and confidents.”

“Even so,” said Oz, drawing his sleeve across his wet cheek. “It was I who did that terrible deed, and all because I had only been in OZ a relatively short time and still believed, as many do in the world outside of OZ, that power is the most important thing to possess.”

What followed was a longer story, in which Oz told of building the Emerald City with its future citizens, and then how he sent Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, and the Lion into danger when he asked them to kill the Wicked Witch of the West if they wanted him to grant their special requests.

“I had no magic to send Dorothy home to Kansas or to give the Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Lion the things they wanted most, but I was terribly afraid of the Wicked Witches of OZ. Dorothy’s house had killed the Witch of the East and now there was only the Witch of the West to threaten my power. So you see, I was once a terrible man and a humbug to boot.”

B understood that what the Wizard had done was awful, but he had learned his lesson and become a very different man Ozma was the ruler of OZ as Lurline intended, and Dorothy and her friends had all gotten their hearts’ desire, so surely the Wizard could be forgiven. He had done so much good since those far away days.

“But what became of Lurline’s Lyre?” B said. “It seems that the story has taken us a long way from that mystery. Why would Lurline choose to hide such a magical devise after using it to create a wonderful fairyland like OZ?”

“I don’t know,” said the Wizard. He buttoned his shirt and then held up one finger, “Perhaps, the lyre only had one charm in it and once Lurline had used it to enchant the Land of OZ it was of no use to her.”

B nodded his head, but then he looked up and said, “But it was a lyre, and even if it had no more magic it was still a useful musical instrument.” His hand traveled to his own precious mandolin. “Perhaps Lurline had another reason for leaving the lyre here in OZ.”

“Perhaps you’re right, friend Brandy…”

“Please,” B said, putting his hand on the Wizard’s arm. “I have always preferred to be just B.”

“B is a neat and unique name. I will only call you that. Friend B, what do you say to our going down to breakfast while we consider your next move. Ozma will be there and we can get her council as well as Dorothy’s and the others.” The Wizard suddenly took off his top hat and hit himself on top of his head. “What is the matter with me,” he said. “You can ask Ozma to look into her magic picture which can show you where anyone, or anything is. She’ll ask it to show her where Coventry is.”

“What a wonderful idea!” B said joyfully and, taking the Wizard’s arm, he said, “you must never refer to yourself, or think of yourself, as a terrible man. You are a wonderful man and a wonderful wizard.”

The Wizard smiled and whispered, “It isn’t pleasant, but I think it’s helpful to remember the things we did that we are ashamed of. It keeps us from doing them again.”

This was so wise, that all B could do was smile and nod. And so, the two headed down to have breakfast with the hope that the Magic Picture would help B and show him Coventry’s location.

(continued in Chapter 2: The Coventry Conundrum

Chapter 2: The Coventry Conundrum

It was a beautiful day, and sunlight streamed from all the windows on the east side of the palace. As the Wizard and B headed down to breakfast, they found themselves walking through long rectangles of sunlight as they moved down a spiral staircase toward the main floor where breakfast was waiting for them.

“Mmm,” B said, pausing to close his eyes and taking in the delicious smells coming from the dining room below. “I smell coffee. I must admit that I am committed to coffee. I didn’t know if they had that magical beverage in the Emerald City. We were very fortunate to have coffee trees farmers in Coventry.”

“I believe that there are excellent coffee orchards in each of the four countries of OZ. The trees are very generous with their beans and in some orchards, the trees use their very clever branch fingers to pick the beans for the bean farmers; isn’t that kind of them? But come along, my friend, I can’t wait to devour the sources of these wonderful fragrances.”

‘Agreed,” said B, grinning broadly, and they hurried down the staircase.

****

“It’s the Wizard and B,” a young boy’s voice cried out, and Brian leapt from his seat next to Dorothy and ran to greet the two men as they entered the dining room. B stooped to catch Brian’s outstretched arms in a hug. As Brian pulled B toward the table, where he had saved a seat for him, B

noticed that Brian was still wearing the silver shoes that had been given to Princess Dorothy by the Good Witch of the North and which, through a wonderful work of magic, had been left to Brian by a duplicate Dorothy who was the boy’s grandmother.

“Oz, the Scarecrow saved a seat for you right across the table from us,” Dorothy said, pointing to the lively, and highly intelligent, Scarecrow.

“Mm, this is a feast,” B said, putting one arm around Brian while greeting the boys’ mother and father who were sitting on the other side of him. Because of his service to OZ, in the battle with the Astonishing Bellairobubble, Brian and his mother and father, Elaine and Glenn, had been given a home in the Land of OZ. Brian’s father, was working on a way that the four countries of OZ and the Emerald City could all be linked for quick communication. He had been given a workshop adjacent to the Wizard’s capacious laboratory in one of the palace’s tower chambers.. Brian’s mother, who had been a librarian in Kansas, was thrilled to be the librarian of the huge library in the royal palace. Elaine had already proposed programs in the library for the children who lived in the Emerald City.

Brian had enjoyed a wonderful adventure when he’d used the silver shoes to carry him to the wonderful land of OZ. The boy had traveled quite a bit and made some astonishing friends. The first was a living Shadow who turned out to the be the other half of a magical man named Thorstat Moratry. Shadow had gone to Noland, on the far side of the Deadly Desert with Thorstat since it was their job to ensure that the Goblins, Nomes and Trolls, who had a bad habit of stirring up mischief, were behaving themselves. Brian and Shadow were very close, and Shadow had promised to return to OZ very soon. The second friend he had met was B Rover a minstrel and swordsman who had first become a great friend to Brian and Shadow and then

instrumental in the battle with the Astonishing Bellairobubble.

` Many different conversations went on around the table, for this was the first community breakfast after the successful battle with the invading army of Goblins and the former Nome King, Ruggedo. B was especially enjoying the cavorting of Scraps, the Patchwork girl. Scarps was an adult sized doll that had been brought to life by the Powder of Life created by Dr. Pipt. Scraps had gotten a very zestful amount of the powder. She sprang atop the table and began reciting a poem.

Breakfast is a wonderful meal for those who love

to eat,

They stuff and stuff their tummies full - a trick I can’t

repeat.

Bacon, eggs and waffles too It must be quite a treat,

But I am made of quilted stuff and not of hungry meat.

There was vigorous applause following this recitation and a very polite Princess Ozma suggested that perhaps Scraps might do her recitations from the floor and not the top of the breakfast table. Scraps bowed low to the ruler of OZ and gave an astonishing leap over the Tin Woodman’s head and landed on the tip of the toes of one patchwork foot and spun in two circles before bounding to another spot behind Jack Pumpkinhead’s seat. Jack had been manufactured by Ozma when she was still a boy named Tippetarius (Tip for short). Jack and Scraps were very good friends. Neither was made for eating, but Jack liked to sit at the table and be part of the ‘meat’ community while Scraps preferred her lively dancing and acrobatics.

B, who had been enjoying the food on his plate during Scraps’ poetic performance, now turned to the Princess Ozma. “Your majesty,” B began, “I have a boon to ask.” B related his family history which included Malmagnus, his exile, and the disappearance of Coventry. “The Wizard suggested that perhaps your Magic Picture might show me where Coventry is.”

“An excellent idea,” Ozma said. “As soon as we have finished our meal, let’s adjourn to the chamber where the Magic Picture hangs and request that it show us where Coventry is.” Ozma paused and looked thoughtful for a moment and then added, “I believe that I shall also ask the Magic Picture to show us where this terrible magician, Malmagnus is. It isn’t safe to allow a dangerous user of magic to roam at large. He should be arrested and held accountable for his crimes.”

Brian turned to B and said, “I’m so sorry about your mom and dad and your country. It sounds like a wonderful place, but I’ll bet Princess Ozma can help find it.”

“And take care of that malicious Malmagnus,” the Patchwork Girl called out from across the room. She had excellent hearing and amazingly strong patchwork lungs. “If I ever come across that sorcerer, I’ll pummel him into sorcerous sausages.” Scraps doubled up her soft hands into fists that wouldn’t hurt anyone, but might succeed in knocking them down.

Are you wondering why B didn’t ask Ozma to also look for Lurline’s Lyr? I’m wondering the same thing but have you ever noticed that when you are focused on one very large problem you just might forget about a much less worrisome one. Finding Coventry, was B’s priority. Stopping Malmagnus from making more mischief was next, and Lurline’s Lyr slipped off the bucket list.

Breakfast ended with Scraps pleading to offer one final poem before they all adjourned. Following Ozma’s request, she performed this parting poem from the floor, but she danced most entertainingly while reciting:

There’s always adventures in the Land of OZ,

Hardly a day passes without a few.

We’ve scarcely defeated the Bellair balloon,

Before we have another two.

We must find the Land of Coventry,

Where our B’s parents may still abide,

And that horrible, terrible Malmagnus,

Must be caught and accused and tried.

OZ is meant for larks and joy,

And not for wickedness and gloom,

So off we go on a new adventure,

Be quick, be nimble, and zoom!

As Scraps completed her poem, she enacted the last word and did, indeed, zoom across the floor out of the dining room. This became the signal for everyone to rise and begin another wonderful day in the Emerald City. As Ozma rose, followed by Dorothy, B, the Wizard and Brian, Brian paused to give his mom and dad a hug as they were eager to begin their work in the palace, Elaine to the library and Glenn to his workshop in the Wizard’s tower.

The Magic Picture was hung behind a curtain in Ozma’s private boudoir. As the party of five arrived, Ozma pulled a great woven rope that opened the curtain and revealed the magic picture. As she and Dorothy stood before this famous magical device, the Wizard, B and Brian saw only the painting of a pretty countryside. Then Ozma quietly asked, “Please reveal the place where the land of Coventry now lies.”

Everyone took a breath and held it as they waited for the magic picture to change and reveal Coventry’s location..

The picture of the pretty countryside seemed to melt away, and in its place was a great, dark forest. The trees grew thickly and close together with their branches tangled from one tree to the next. It seemed impossible that a country, even a small one such as Coventry, could be made to fit in a place like that.

“What are we looking at, Ozma?” Dorothy asked. “Do you know what that forest?”

“I believe we are seeing the forest of Gugu which lies in the central western part of the Gillikin Country. It is one of the large and least explored forests in all of OZ. Part of it is ruled by a leopard whose name is also the name of the wood. His part of this great forest is filled with cruel animals, but the rest, which is quite extensive, has yet to be thoroughly explored. I am surprised that the Magic Picture could pinpoint a spot. However, I wonder how Coventry could fit in such a great tangle.”

“Could it be because it is invisible?” Brian asked.

“Invisible wouldn’t mean that the size of Coventry has changed,” Ozma said. “Unless,” she added slowly, “part of the magic that made it invisible also changed the size of the entire kingdom.”

Brain asked B, “Is it possible that Coventry is still in the same place it was before and just invisible?

B shook his head and put a hand on Brian’s shoulder, “That’s an excellent thought,” he said, “but unless it’s invisible and untouchable, it can’t be in the same spot it was before. I walked every inch of the space trying to find it.”

“Then it must have been moved from the Quadling Country to the Gillikin Country,” Ozma said. “The Magic Picture is almost never mistaken. Somehow, B, your country is in the Forest of Gugu, but some sort of enchantment has made it fit amidst the tangle.”

Everyone was silent trying to figure out what they should do next. B broke the silence. “I know what I must do,” he said. “I must journey to this forest in the Gillikin Country and do my best to find Coventry there.”

“Can I go with you?” Two voices asked at precisely the same moment, making Ozma laugh. It was Dorothy and Brian. They looked at each other wide-eyed. Dorothy giggled and said, “After all we are related. Why shouldn’t a grandmother,” she touched her chest, “and her grandson not share the same idea.” Dorothy giggled and squeezed Brian’s hand

“Before anyone starts on this mission,” Ozma said, “I think you should visit Glinda the Good and see if her Book of Records can offer you more detailed information about Coventry and where, and how, it is in the Forest of Gugu.”

This time four people nodded at the same time: B, Dorothy, Brian and the Wizard. “An excellent idea,” the Wizard said, “and clearly we are in agreement.”

“When can we start off?” B said. “You can imagine how much I long to find my parents and the rest of the inhabitants of Coventry. Who knows how frightened they must be with all that’s happened to them.”

“Of course we can imagine that,” Dorothy said, and she took hold of B’s hand and held it.

“I have a suggestion,” Ozma said. “I can have the sawhorse and the chariot ready for you in a few moments. After you visit Glinda, and before you consider heading out to the Gillikin Country, come back to the Emerald City, and I will have traveling packs made ready for you. You will want food, changes of clothing and some other tools if you are going to venture into the Forest of Gugu.”

“You are very kind to have preparations made for us,” B said. “ And I have my sword,” his face deeply serious when he said it. “The forest of Gugu sounds like a potentially dangerous place.”

Ozma smiled, stepped forward and rising on tip-toe, kissed B on the cheek, “You were instrumental in saving OZ, I regard you as a dear friend and ally. I also agree that having your sword on this expedition may be a very wise plan.”

In a shorter time than you might imagine, B, Brian, Dorothy, and the Wizard were in the chariot as the

Sawhorse, the fastest animal in OZ, was speeding them toward the Country of the Quadlings and the palace of Glinda the Good.

“After we visit Glinda and return to the Emerald City,” Brian said to B, “I will ask my mom and dad if I can go with you to find Coventry. I’m sure they will give me permission.”

“I don’t need to ask Aunt Em and Uncle Henry,” Dorothy said, “They are used to me going off on adventures. When we lived in Kansas, and after my first adventure in OZ, I kept finding my way back here. Uncle Henry and Aunt Em used to be so worried, but eventually I they decided that I had some good fairy looking out for me, because I always came home safely. Dorothy pointed to a small silvery spot on her forehead. “That’s where the Good Witch of the North kissed me when the cyclone carried Toto and me to OZ. She said it would protect me, and so far it seems to have worked. I wish I could share the kiss with all of you, but maybe a don’t have to. If I’m with you, and I’m safe, then maybe you will be too.”

The Wizard listened to all this and then frowned, “I’m afraid that I can’t go on this adventure,” he said. “I have other matters that I must attend to when we return to Emerald City.” Dorothy studied the Wizard’s face. She knew him very well, and she thought that she detected a look on his face that suggested that he might be keeping a secret. Hmm, Dorothy thought, the Wizard is being very mysterious, but I guess we’ll find out what it’s all about when he’s good and ready to let us know.

The four companions had to put on the chariot’s seat belts, because the Sawhorse went so fast that it seemed as if his hooves never touched the ground. The countryside sailed by at such a speed that the companions only caught glimpses of houses, communities, forests, and other bits of landscape. In an astonishing short time, the countryside took on a reddish hue, and they knew that they had entered the Country of the Quadlings. Shortly after that, they glimpsed the rosy red towers of Glinda’s palace. Soon after, the Sawhorse slowed down and B, the Wizard, Brian and Dorothy saw a line of the young women that were part of Glinda’s arms standing at attention and guarding the entrance.

“Here ya are,” the Sawhorse announced in his slightly raspy voice, and good luck to you.”

“Do you want to come in with us?” Dorothy asked.

“Nope,” said the Sawhorse, “I’ll be very content to wait here until you’re ready to return to the Emerald City.”

Our friends unbuckled their seat belts and climbed out of the chariot. They all went up to the Sawhorse and thanked him. He listened and didn’t say anything back.

Dorothy went up to one of the girl soldiers and greeted her, “We’re all here to see Glinda the Good.”

The guard Dorothy had addressed gave a little bow and smiled, “Welcome, Princess Dorothy. We were expecting you and the great Wizard of Oz. Our royal Sorceress has already read of your visit in her Book of Records.”

“These are new friends,” Dorothy said, and she introduced Brian and B Rover. Brian is my…um…grandson and B is Brian’s loyal friend and a great defender of the Land of OZ.”

The soldier looked very surprised when Brian was introduced as the young princess’ grandson, but outside of her eyes opening very wide, she only bowed and said, “Welcome, I was one of the soldiers sent to Emerald City when the Nomes attacked, so I heard about your valor in the battle.” Brian blushed and B gave a little bow. The soldier then turned and opened one of the two large doors that led into the royal palace.

They all thanked the soldier as they entered the door. Waiting inside was another girl dressed in a similar costume to the red vest and pink dress of the soldier, except that she wore no military hat. “Welcome,” the young woman said, bowing at the waist. “Princess Dorothy, our famous Wizard, Brian Gale Butler, and B Rover. You are all honored guests. My name is Ladora. Please, follow me.”

“She knew who we were,” Brian said to B.

B simply nodded, but his eyes twinkled with pleasure.

They were led through an entry hall that was almost as wonderful as the palace in Emerald City. There were statues along the walls honoring famous women of OZ and the surrounding countries.

“Look!” said Brian excitedly, “there you are Dorothy right next to the Princess Ozma.”

Dorothy nodded. She had seen this gallery many times before, but she smiled at Brian’s delight. “And who are those two?” he asked.

“That is Locasta, the good witch of the north; she’s also known as Tattypoo, and the one next to her is Queen Zixi of Ix. Ix lies on the other side of the Deadly Desert.”

There wasn’t time to find out the identity of all the statues, because they passed through this grand entrance and Ladora led them down a hallway on the left side of a grand stairway leading to upper levels of the palace.

The hallway had a large, curved wall that was covered by a bookshelf filled with books right up to the tall ceiling. Just beyond this were double doors. Ladora opened the door and said, “This is our great hall of records where you will meet with Glinda and her assistant Adric.

Dorothy, Brian, D, and the Wizard entered into a world of books. Brian, who was an avid reader, stared wide-eyed at the thousands of volumes curling around and about on mammoth bookshelves within this huge chamber and in the center of the room was the largest volume Brian or B had ever seen. It was lying on a huge podium with a strong lip to support the opened book, and seated in front of it was the beautiful ruler of the Quadling Country, Glinda the Good.

“I’m so glad that you are here,” Glinda said rising from her seat. She already knew Brian and B having met them on the day of the battle with the Astonishing Bellairobubble, and the Wizard and Dorothy were old friends.

Glinda embraced Dorothy and Oz and then surprised B and Brian by embracing them as well. “Our great strategists and heroes of the battle,” Glinda said. “I know why you are here. Adric!” she called.

A young man who looked to be no more than sixteen years old stepped out from a corridor of books with several volumes under his arm. “Well, hello,” he said cheerfully. “I’m Adric. I know the Princess Dorothy and the famous Wizard, but I don’t think we’ve met.” He stepped up to Brian and B and Dorothy quickly introduced them.

“Adric is my excellent assistant,” Glinda said, smiling at the boy whose thick red hair was carefully combed with a sharp part and one lock of hair that fell over his forehead. “I daresay he knows more about the books in my collection than I do, and Adric also keeps a close eye on my Book of Records.”

Glinda a gestured to the large podium she had been sitting in front of on which lay the enormous volume then had all seen when they entered the chamber.

Glinda turned to B Rover and said, “Ozma has already contacted me, by magic of course, with your story, B. Let’s see what my Book of Records can tell us about your parents and lost country of Coventry. Adric, will you please show our friends?”

While Glinda had been speak, Adric brought additional seats so everyone could join him at the book of records. Adric took the seat that Glinda had previously occupied and began leafing through the pages, “It’s very peculiar,” he said, “here…” he pointed at a page, and Dorothy, Brian, Oz and B all craned from their chair, “…it tells about the arrival of B’s family in the Quadling Country by means of a Rainbow that stretched from Noland on the other side of the Deadly Desert to here In the Quadling Country.” Adric rifled through more pages, “And here it tells about your parents being asked to be rulers of Coventry.” B squinted at the tiny letters of the page and managed to read only a few of the words, “…Galala and Rondahl were crowned Queen and King and greatly cheered by the citizens of Coventry.”

“Your family was highly honored, Mr. Rover,” Adric said.

“Just call me B,” the minstrel/warrior said. “Does the book tell what happened to Coventry and where it is now?”

Adric nodded and turned more pages, “Here,” he said, “it tells that Malmagnus was banished and that Malmagnus wishpered a word to make Coventry invisible and send it to the Forest of Gugu.”

“What was the word?” the Wizard asked at once.

Adric looked sadly at Oz, “It doesn’t tell the word that Malmagnus used to enchant Coventry and send it to Gugu. It must be a word that is under a spell itself.”

Brian looked up at B, and saw that he looked very disappointed.

“We saw the forest in Ozma’s magic picture. It looked very dense and tangly,” Dorothy said. “Does the book say what part of the forest the town is hidden in and how to find it?”

Adric looked sad. “It doesn’t tell that,” he said. “

Glinda, who had been silent, said, “It is very unusual for a magic word to be ensorceled so that the word cannot be known. I only know of one place where such a word might exist.”

“Where is that?” Oz asked.

“In the Land of the Munchkins there is a mountain fittingly called Mount Munch. At the top of the mountain lives a small community of people called the Hyups who are proficient in magic. They are custodians of a word that allows a user to do transformations. However, since transformations are strictly forbidden in OZ, this word is carefully guarded so that none of the Hyups know the word. One Hyup whose name is Kiki Aru discovered that word and used it to conspire with Ruggedo, the Nome King,” and here Adric rolled his eyes, “to conquer the Land of OZ yet again! I think it was Ruggedo’s third disastrous attempt. When that plan failed, Kiki was made to drink from the Fountain of Oblivion so that all evil intentions left him, along with his memory of the magic word/ It rendered him harmless, and now no one know the dangerous word. Unless….” Adric paused and tapped the Book of Records, “…unless Malmagnus somehow found the word.”

“Is it possible that Malmagnus might have been a Hyup,” B said at once. “Even if he wasn’t, he might have journeyed to Mount Munch and somehow discovered that magic word. How else could he have transformed Coventry into an invisible land and then hid it in the Forest of Gugu.” B turned to Glinda. “Do you think if I traveled to Mount Munch and met with the Hyups that they would have more information. At the very least they could tell me if someone like Malmagnus visited them.”

“I think it would be worth the trip, but you need to know some of the difficulties. Let’s have some refreshments while we discuss this further.”

As impatient as B felt, he realized that his companions might be ready for something to eat and drink, so he contained his impatience and followed Glinda to a room adjacent to the library where they were all surprised to see a table already prepared for a sumptuous tea.

Brian’s eyes grew big as they took seats around a round table covered with sandwiches, salad, cakes and cookies, a pot of tea, and a large pitcher of iced lemonade. One everyone had helped themselves and was eating and sipping, Glinda continued with what she wanted to share.

“Mount Munch is not an easy mountain to climb. Its sides are very steep so that the Munchkins who live at the top seldom attempt to b down and Munchkins living below almost never try to climb up.’

‘At the top of Mount Munch there is a wide saucer-shaped depression that contains the entire Hyup community. Despite all our talk of magic, the Hyups are hard-working farm people who grow grain and vegetable and raise livestock and possess no personal magic power. Due to the steepness of their mountain, they almost never come down to interact with the rest of OZ.”

TIK TOK

“I have an idea,” said Dorothy. “What if we fly to the top of Mount Munch in one of the Scalawagons^[1]”

“Excellent idea, my dear Dorothy,” Oz said, clapping his hands. “Why I should have thought of that myself.”

Everyone at the gathering was experienced in flying a Scalawagon as they had been used to battle the Astonishing Bellairobubble.

“I am certain that the Hyups will absolutely refuse to tell you the word of transformation,” Glinda said, “but I have another plan.” She turned to B. “My friend,” she said, “do you have anything that belonged to your mother or father?”

B thought for a moment and felt in his pocket and then suddenly said, “Ouch!” He withdrew his hand from the pocket and sucked his fingertip, them he laughed. “Yes, I do.” He carefully went into the pocket again and carefully withdrew a spool of thread with a needle stuck through it. “My dear mother always said it was wise to carry a needle and thread, because you never knew when you might need it to repair an embarrassing rip in your clothing.” He turned a little red at the memory of exactly what his mother had said and laughed.

“May I hold it for a moment?” Glnda asked.

B carefully placed the spool in the sorceress’ outstretched palm. Glinda smiled and passed her hands over the spool and needle three times while her lips moved silently. Then she handed it back to B. “If you throw out the spool, while keeping hold of the end of the thread, it will endeavor to roll back to your mother.”

“But what if the spool runs out of thread before it reaches B’s mom?” Brian asked.

Glinda smiled and looked at the young boy, “It won’t,” she said softly and with a glint in her eye.

“Oh,” whispered Brain, “it’s magic.”

Glinda’s smile broadened.

B patted the boy’s shoulder, but said, “What if the Hyups won’t give us the magic word, so that even if the thread leads us through the Forest of Gugu to Coventry the land still invisible. What do we do then?”

“Spells of invisibility are intended to keep something hidden,” Glinda said. “One of the simplest ways to break the spell is to find the hidden object. Discovery is often the counterspell that breaks its power.”

This sounded hopeful, and B turned to his companions. “Well, my friends, this sounds like quite an undertaking. I shall of course be making the attempt, but I don’t expect any of you to feel that you need accompany me.”

Dorothy and Brian turned to each other. They knew that Oz would not be part of the expedition, but after giving each other a knowing grin they turned back to B. “Don’t think that you’re going to get rid of Brian and me,” the Princess Dorothy said boldly. “You are stuck with us, dear B.”

B grinned broadly, “I cannot imagine two people I’d rather be stuck with.” He reached out and wrapped his arms around both children and hugged them.

“Lovely,” said Glinda. “More than any magic spell in OZ or any other fairy land, “love is the most powerful magic of all.”

Chapter 3: The Giant Umbrella and its Passenger

Glinda’s Pick-a-Pack was a gift that any traveler or hiker would love to have. B, Dorothy and Brian felt so free as they got ready for their trip.

Tik-Tok had greeted them when they got back to the Emerald City with their Scalawagon. Tik Tok was a remarkable clockwork man whohad been manufactured by Smith and Tinker. Tik Tok had wind up keys on his back that kept his thinking, speaking and moving operating properly.When he spoke, Tik Tok’s voice had the interesting, if somewhat monotonous tones, of a ticking clock.

“Hel-lo, Pin-cess Dor-o-thy,” he said, his eyelid clicking up and down as he spoke. “Here is your Scala-wagon, and it is in pr…ob…scizwa….”

“Oh dear,” said Dorothy, “his speech needs winding.” Dorothy rushed around to Tik Tok’s back and made sure that all his functions were fully wound.

“Thank you, Prin-cess. That feel so much bet-ter. As I was say-ing, your Scala-wagon is all rea-dy for you and Bri-an and Mr. Ro-ver. If you’ll ex-cuse me, I must re-turn to the fac-to-ry.”

B wanted to tell Tik Tok that he could just call him B, but he knew the mechanical man was in a hurry so he took out a red handkerchief and polished a smudge on Tik Tok’s shoulder instead. The mechanical man’s head turned as his eyes looked down at what B was doing. “Thank you ve-ry much, Mis-ter Ro-ver.”

“You’re very welcome Tik Tok and please call me B.”

“B,” said Tik Tok, “a let-ter of the al-pha-bet and the name of a ve-ry

thought-ful friend.”

B smiled and Tik Tok touched a small button his round waist and vanished.

“What just happened?” Brian said.

Dorothy laughed, “Oz installed a transportation device on Tik Tok to help him return to the Scalawagon factory quickly. I’ve seen it in action before.”

“There are always surprising new things in OZ,” Brian said happily.

B grabbed his mandolin filled with inspiration for a quick, but tuneful song.

“Oh, the Tik Tok man is a marvelous clock,

His workings are something to see,

He can think, he can walk and he even can talk,

Just as long as you wind up each key.”

Dorothy and Brian both clapped while B took a little bow and said, “Short and sweet, is best when you’re getting ready for an adventure.”

The children agreed and Dorothy gave Brian a hug, “Isn’t it exciting? I love adventures.”

“Me too,” said Brian. “Life was never exciting in Kansas, but it sure is exciting here in OZ.”

“Let’s go and wash up before we start out,” said B, “but let’s be quick and meet back at our Scalawagon within an hour.”

“It won’t take me an hour to wash up,” Brian chuckled.

“Hm,” said B, “with a wicked smile. Perhaps your Uncle B should go with you to make sure you do a thorough job.”

Brian grinned and said, “Uncle B, I promise to do an outstanding wash up. You can check when we meet.”

B winked at Brian, and they all headed to their rooms in the palace.

As soon as they disappeared, a head peeked out from behind a beautiful, green and lush Quiveeka tree. A colorful figure emerged and soundlessly crept to the Scalawagon and opened the small trunk in the back of the vehicle. It was a small compartment that Dorothy or Brian would have had trouble trying to fit in, but this person had the ability to squash itself into even smaller spaces. It was tricky trying to close the trunk’s door, but the person found a small groove that was the inside part of the handle you used to open the hatch when you were outside the Scalawagon. Soon the hatch was closed and the person inside chuckled and waited.

Jellia Jamb, the famous Royal Palace maid and often hostess, interrupted our friends’ pre-trip preparations to knock at their doors and tell them that Ozma wanted to speak to them before they left. “She’ll be waiting for you outside where your Scalawagon Is parked.

B loved hearing Jellia speak in her charming squeaky voice. He wrote a note, which he tucked into his shirt pocket, to see if he might compose a poem or song in praise of her.

When they left the palace there was amazed at the crowd that had gathered around the Scalawagon. Princess Ozma was standing beside the Scalawagon and beaming as if she were a bright light. “Word of your embarking on an adventure seems to have spread,” Ozma said. “The people are here, because they care about you and want to wish you well. Dorothy, dear, do you want to say anything to the crowd?’

Dorothy’s eyes opened wide and she whispered, “I don’t know what to say about the kind of adventure we’re heading into.” She turned to Brian, “Do you want to say anything?”

Brian shook his head. “I’m not shy, but I don’t know what to say.”

B strummed his mandolin and without being prompted, he started to sing:

“We’re off to solve a mystery, it’s mystical, it’s history,

We don’t know what we’re going to find,

But we’re on our way today, olay,

We’re on our way today.

When we return, we hope to tell,

That what we found went very well,

In fact we hope you’ll think it swell,

As we set out today.

We’re nearly on our way,

So let’s all shout ‘Hooray.”

“Hooray, hooray, hooray,

Please won’t you shout hooray?”

At once the crowd got the message and cheered, HOORAY! HOORAY! HOORAY very loudly and exuberantly.

Ozma drew Brian, Dorothy and B aside, and, the crowd silently dispersed.

“That was wonderful,” Ozma told B, whose face was flushed from his performance. “I wish you all a wonderful, safe and successful trip. I also want to assure you that we will be keeping track of you in the Magic Picture and in Glinda’s Book of Records. She turned to B and said, “I believe that you will find your country of Coventry, but – perhaps – the road may be bumpy in places.”

B smiled, “Only the most interesting roads have bumps, and rocky parts, how else would you appreciate the meadows and fields?”

“That was very wise,” Dorothy said, taking B’s arm and giving it a squeeze.

“Are we ready to go everybody?” Brian said. Dorothy and B nodded and the little party climbed aboard the Scalawagon. It was a roomy vehicle with four seats in the front and eight sweets in the back, having two rows of seats facing each other.

Dorothy sat between B and Brian with B in the driver’s seat. Dorothy said softly to B, “You can just tell the head at the top of the Scalawagon where you want it to take us.”

B arched an eyebrow and nodded, “I think I’d rather just do the driving…if that’s alright with you two.”

Both Dorothy and Brian were fine with it, and the Scalawagon began to move when a loud barking made B put on the brakes. A little black dog ran up to the car and put its front paws up on the door. Dorothy reached down from the window and lifted Toto into the Scalawagon. Toto was Dorothy’s well known dog who had been with her on her first cyclonic visit to OZ and on several other trips. “Toto, do you want to come with us?” Dorothy asked. The little dog shook his head and then said in a high squeaky voice, “No thank you, Dorothy. I just wanted to say a proper goodbye.” Dorothy kissed Toto on his nose and he licked her in response. “I’m busy with the Cowardly Lion and Hungry Tiger. We’re helping Wannawin Batlles plant a rose garden.”

“I’m sure Ozma will like that very much. You have a wonderful time and I’ll see you soon, but maybe not for a few days.”

Toto looked a little worried for a moment, but he licked Dorothy again and then hopped out of the window and raced around to the back of the royal palace.

“Well, I guess we are finally, really on our way,” said Dorothy. B touched the drive pedal and without further event they drove to the gates of Emerald City, were waved on their way by the Guardian of the Gates, and got on the yellow brick road which would take them to the Munchkin Country and from there to Mount Munch, their first stop.

They had not been driving very long when Brian said, “I’m a little hungry. Does anyone else want a snack?”

“I’d love a piece of fruit,” B said.

“I’d like that too,” said Dorothy, “an apple with rosy cheeks.”

“Yep, an apple would hit the spot,” said B.

Brian climbed onto his knees and reached into the back where the Pick-A-Pack sat on one of the seats. “May I please have three apples Mr. Pick-A-Pack?” Brian put his hand in the back pack and immediately found three large, red apples with shiny red cheeks. “Thank you,” said Brian and turned around to hand out two of the apples.

“You were very smart to thank the Pick-A-Pack, Brian,” Dorothy said. Magical objects have a special life of their own and its always a good idea to let them know how you appreciate them.”

“I do appreciate the Pick-A-Pack;” Brian said, “this apple is…” There was a loud bump from somewhere behind him. and Brian turned around thinking that the Pick-A-Pack might have fallen to the floor. He craned over the seat. No, it was still right where they put it.

There was another BUMP! It was louder this time.

“Do Scalawagons get flat tires?” B asked Dorothy.

“I never heard of them getting one,” she answered, “and that thump sounded like it came from behind us.”

BUMP! BUMP! BUMP! And after the series of bumps., a muffled voice was heard, “Let me out of here!”

“Stop the Scalawagon!” Dorothy said to B. “I know that voice.”

As soon as B had stopped the Scalawagon, Dorothy who was sitting next to the door climbed out followed by Brian and then B.

“Look,” said Dorothy. She pointed at a small handle, “I didn’t know that the Scalawagon had a trunk!”.

Now, much louder, the voice said,

“Being in a trunk is a bore,

If I was meat by bones would be sore.

Open up the lid and let me out,

I don’t want to lie here and just scream and shout.”

“Scraps!” Dorothy shouted at the trunk. She grabbed the handle and discovered that the underside of the handle had another handle. When Dorothy pressed it the trunk popped opened.

“Oh my goodness!” said Dorothy. “Scraps you’re all flattened out.”

Brian and B stared at what looked like a large rag doll squoshed to fit in the small space of the trunk.

“Help me get out of here!” Scraps pleaded. “My hands are under my head…I think…and I don’t know where my poor feet have got to.”
It took the combined efforts of B, Brian and Dorothy to carefully free the Patchwork Girl, from the small trunk. Somehow she had gotten her arms tucked up under her head, and her legs were folded under her and up her back.

When they got her out, she looked like a patchwork box.

“Oh my goodness,” said Dorothy. “I think I once got a present from the Sears catalog that was shaped just exactly like you, Scraps.”

The Patchwork Girl groaned, “I don’t want to spend the rest of my life as a pages from the Spears catalog. Please fold out my arms and legs, I’ll be my old self again.”

B held the Patckwork girl in his strong arms, while Brian and Dorothy slowly and gently unfolded her arms and then her legs.

“Do you think you can stand on your own, Scraps?” B asked, supporting Scraps who looked like she could use an iron to get out all the folds and wrinkled in her patchwork quilt body.

“Oh, yes. Of course!” she said, and then, “OOPS!” as soon as B released his hold, the Patcwork Girl folded in half and then collapsed.

It took about five minutes of helping her stretch and walk about and then she was as good as new. To prove it, Scraps stood on her hands and then did three cartwheels in a row.

“As sprightly as a sparrow,

As nimble as a deer.

I can dance and leap about,

Without landing on my rear.”

B, Brian and Dorothy laughed and then Scraps explained why she had hidden in the small trunk of the Scalawagon. “I crave adventure, and you’ll be happy to have me with you.” She put one patchwork finger to her head, “Dr. Pipt, the crooked magician made me to be a servant to his wife Margolotte, but my good friend Ojo the Munchkin boy sneakily gave me a magical concoction that made me much to clever to be a servant. So here I am,ready to help you.”

B Rover looked at his two companions. “We don’t want to head back to Emerald City, and I think after the excellent role she played in the battle with the Astonishing Bellairobubble that she’ll be a great companion. Besides, anyone who can rhyme as quickly as she can, must have double distilled, superior brains.”

“I agree,” said Brain, who thought the Patchwork girl was a marvelous and unique friend to have.

“We are all agreed,” said Dorothy. “Welcome aboard Scraps.”

They climbed into the Scalawagon, Scraps stretching out across three of the seats in the back and began patting herself into her usual rounded shape. “Onward to adventure!” she said as the patting went on.

“Onward,” the friends in the front scene chorused and they were once again on the move.

***

B taught Dorothy, Brian amd Scraps a travel song that he had composed on his mandolin. It was so catchy that the children learned it quickly and Scraps, who was a compulsive rhymer learned it quickest of all. Soon, all four friends were singing it joyously even without the accompaniment of B’s mandolin which was in the back seat.

Traveling down the road, traveling down the road,

You never know who you will meet when traveling down the road.

In sun or rain you sing your song, it makes the time fly by,

And if you cannot sing on key, at least you give it a try.

Though only four lines, it was amazing how our friends found ways to make it different each time they sang it. After singing it at least ten times, they turned it into a round with each singer starting the song after the singer before them finished the first “Travling down the road.” Then they played with changing the mood of the song. It went from a jolly road song, to a sort of sad song sung much more slowly and dramatically. Singing a song. that was so obviously meant to be sung in a jolly way, as if it were sad, had them in hysterics so that they could hardly get through it.

By the time they had sung the song at least twenty-five time, they noticed that the land around them had taken on a bluish tint

“We’re approaching Munchkin Land,” Dorothy announced and just as she said it, a large sign appeared at the side of the road:

WELCOME TO THE

LAND

OF

THE

MUNCHKINS

The sign showed a picture of a Munchkin boy and Dorothy was quick to point out that it was in fact a picture of Brian dressed in the clothes of the famous Munchkin boy, Ojo the Lucky. “I’ll bet they thought that it was a picture of Ojo; you two look so much alike.”

“I wore that outfit the first day I arrived in Emerald City,” Brian said, but I don’t know how I could have gotten on that sign. Maybe that is Ojo.”

Dorothy shook her head, “You two look very much alike,” Dorothy said. “But I remember you in that exact pose when you were about to get into your Scalawagon.”

They left the sign behind and were soon passing the round little houses, with a chimney on each side, that were a favorite design of houses in both Munchkinland and in the Emerald City.

Children playing outside, stopped to wave at the passing Scalawagon and its passengers.

“Look! It’s Princes Dorothy!” one little girl pointed out. That lead to a chorus of children shouting, “Hello, Princess Dorothy.” Some spotted Scraps in the back seat and got very excited. “It’s the famous Patckwork Girl,” a boy shouted, and this lead to a ‘Hip Hip Hooray!’ cheer for Scraps.

B, Dorothy, Brian, and Scraps were delighted with their welcome and waved out of the window until the sky seemed to darken and the next moment there was a terrible scream, and some of the younger children ran inside while the older children stood and looked up at the sky.

“What are they looking aaa….” Brian broke off mid-word as something that sounded like the clattering of children’s wooden blocks if they were tossed down a flight of stairs, got louder until CLAKETY BANG!
whatever it was landed right on the roof of the Scalawagon. At the same time Brian leaned out the window and said, “A huge black umbrella just landed on the ground. I think that’s what made the sky get so…” Brian gasped and pulled his head out of the window as another head looked in….

…

B stopped the Scalawagon as Brian and

Dorothy slid close to B Rover. B, for his part, reached down to the sword he had put at the side of the Scalawagon near his feet.

“Well, hulloo!” said the strange head. “Fancy

meeting you here.”

“You’re a skel…a skele…a skelebone,” Brian

said nervously. “I mean skeleton. How can you talk without a body and lungs.”

“Magic!” said the skeletal creature. “I was put together by a boy named Speedy and his Uncle Billy and then a geyser went off and blew us up to Umbrella Island. Speedy and I decided that the geyser must have had some magic. That’s where I came from just now; Umbrella Island. I parachutted down with one of Waddy’s science inventions.”

“You’re a…a…dinosaur, aren’t you?” Brian asked.

“My name is Terrybubble. That’s the name you gave me,” the creature said looking at Brian. “Don’t you remember, Speedy?”

Brian looked around at Dorothy and B. “Why does everyone think I’m someone that I’m not? I’m not Speedy,” the boy said to Terrybubble. “I’m Brian,” but I read a book called “Speedy in OZ” and you were in it, Terrybubble. But, I thought it was a made up story.”

“It might have been made up, but so am I…made up out of bones. Are you sure you aren’t Speedy? You look just like him.”

Brian remembered a picture of Speedy in his scout uniform and realized that he was dressed in almost the identical outfit. When Brian had read the book, his dad had commented that Brian looked a lot like the boy in the book.

Hmm, Brian thought. First I look like Ojo, and now I look like Speedy. I wonder wha othert OZ person I’ll wind up looking like.

“I might look like Speedy,” Brian said to Terrybubble, “but I promise that I’m not him. I’m just Brian.”

“Hello, Just Brian. I like your name. I’m Terrybubble. Oh, you knew that already. What are you sitting in that I landed on the top of?”

B had climbed out of the Scalawagon and could now see the entire dinosaur skeleton dropped over the roof of the car. Terrybubble was so big that his chest and part of his legs lay oin the roof while his arms, the rest of his legs, and his long tail trailed down the sides and back of the Scalawagon.

“Climb down, Terrybubble, so we can all be properly introduced and find out how we can help you,” B said.

As the dinosaur skeleton rattled off the roof and stood at its full, and very inmpressive height, Dorothy, Brian and Scraps also climbed out of the Scalawagon.

The dinosaur had picked up his umbrella and stood at his full height which was at least three times as tall as the Scalawagon.

‘You said that you came down from some island in the sky,” B said. “Is that right?”

“Yupsy daisy, just like this!” Terrybubble held up the large umbrella. “I was looking down the side of Umbrella Island hoping to see my boy Speedy, and I slipped off and came parachutting down. It’s a lucky thing that I was holding the umbrella that Waddy the Umbrella Island Scientist and Wizard gave to me. Otherwise, I might have crashed and just been a pile of bones.” Terrybubble shuddered at the though, and his bone played a clinking little bit of music.

Terrybubble put a skeletal fist on one hip, grinned, which was a scary thing to see a dinosaur skull do, and recited:

“A pile of bones might cause quite a fright

But this dinofriend is a lovable sight.

When all of those rattling bones are all mine,

They aren’t horrific; they’re rather devine!

“Do you like the way I rhymed ‘devine,’ with ‘all mine?’” Terry asked

B poursed his lips as if he wasn’t really sure how great the rhyme was and said, “It worked.”

“Well, what do you know,” said Scraps, “the old dino can make a poem.”

“I love poetry,” Terrybubble said as he claspsed his bony hands together in a prayerful pose.

“Seems to me, we have a lot of poets here today,” Dorothy said. “What are we going to do with Terry?” She turned to the dinosaur, “Can that scientifically magic umbrella take you back to your island in the sky?” She looked up as she said this, but saw nothing but blue sky above and a few clouds.

Terrybubble looked up too and shook his head. “Nope, Waddy’s umbrellas make good parachuticles, but they can only take you one wa and I already came that way. It wouldn’t help if they could carry me up, because Umbrella Island is always on the move and heaven and clouds above only know where it is now.”

“Whatever shall we do?” Dorothy said. “If we go back to the Emerald City, Ozma would help Terrybubble, but then we’d have to start out all over again. Maybe when they miss me, they’ll come back this way. By the by, where am I?”

“You’re in the Land of OZ,” Dorothy said.

“THE LAND OF OZ!” Terry exclaimed. “I was here before to stop a terrible giant named Loxo. It was a wonderful adventure.” He turned to Brian and added sadly, “Speedy was with me for that adventure.”

Brian felt sorry that he wasn’t Speedy, because the dinosaur looked sad every time he mentioned that boy. Speedy must be a grown up man by now, Brian thought and it made him feel sad. He stood beside Terrybubble and took hold of one of the dinosaur’s bony fingers.

The dinosaur looked down and an expression of total delight came over the bony features. “Well, isn’t that nice of you,” he chortled.

“Can’t we take Terry with us?” Brian said. “A great big fellow like him might come in handy.”

“I’m very handy,” said Terrybubble waggling his free hand as a demonstration.

Dorothy laughed and Scraps, who was standing on her head looking at the dinosaur upside down, asked, “Can you run fast, Terrybubble?”

“Like the wind,” the dinosaur answered.

“If we were in danger,” Scraps went on, “Terry could put us all in his huge rib cage and do his wind run. I bet he’d leave any danger far behind.”

“That’s a very good point,” B said, “but how is he going to travel with us. He’s huge.”

“I’m also very foldable,” Terry said. “I have lots and lots of joints and I’m bendable like anything. Watch.”

B, Scraps, Dorothy and Brian watched in surprise as Terry seemed to fold and slither his bones into the Scalawagon in seconds. There he was all folded on three seat in the back, with his umbrella on the floor, and plenty of room left over for passengers in the three other seats.

“Well that seems to settle the matter,” B said. “But I do have an important question. How do we find Mount Munch? Isn’t the Munchkin Country a large place?”

“It is,” Dorothy said, having traveled through it when she first came to OZ, “but I know who to ask.” She looked up at the roof of the Scalawagon with the head mounted at the top.“The head is part of the car, but it can answer questions and give directions.“Please,” Dorothy said, “can you tell us how we get to Mount Munch from here?”

The head didn’t move, but its eyes turned down to Dorothy, “Even better than that, I’ll take you there. Climb aboard and make yourselves comfortable. It won’t be a short ride. In fact you might want to stop for the night. Mount Munch is located on the extreme eastern edge of OZ. One side of the mountain actually touches the Deadly Desert, but don’t worry. I’ll fly you up to the top when we get there and take you safely down on the OZ side when you’re ready to leave.”

“We won’t have any trouble camping for the night. Our friend the Pick-a-Pack will have everything we’ll need for a cozy sleep in a large tent,” B said.

“I’ve never slept in a tent before,” Terry said. “Is it something you wear?”

Dorothy laughed, “No, Terrybubble, it’s like a portable room that you set up and sleep in.”

“I don’t sleep, but I’m used to curling up and being quiet when Speedy used to go to sleep. Brian, can I curl up at your feet?”

“Of course you can, Terry,” said the boy.

Terrybubble was so delighted at the answer that he reached down and gave Brian a very careful hug. “I learned to hug un-bone-ily when I traveled with Speedy. He was very breakable.”

“We all are,” B said, gesturing at Dorothy and himself. “With the possible exception of Scraps.”

“I don’t mind hard hubs because I can be squashed and then plump back to my usual shape.”

“Then let’s be tenting off,” said the happy dinosaur.

“Fasten your seat belts,” said the Scalawagon head, “I’m going to go as fast as is safe in Munchkin Land. We don’t want to get a ticket.”

“They have tickets in OZ?” Brian asked Dorothy in surprise.

“Hmm. I guess so, but I’ve never known anyone who got one. We’re sure you’ll drive safely,” Dorothy called out to the head and one everyone was seated, with Terrybubble draping one arm over the seat so his fingertips could just touch Brian’s shoulder, they were once more on their way.

(continued in Chapter 4: Mount Munch)

^[1] Flying cars manufactured by the Wizard and Tik Tok the clockwork man.

Chapter 4: Mount Much

For a long while, as the Scalawagon traveled down the yellow brick road, its passengers were treated to the sight of farmlands, the happy looking round houses, and men, women, and children who came out to wave at them.

“It makes me feel very dythrambic when those little people come out to wave at us. It’s so jolly of them,” Terrybubble enthused.

“Terry,” Brian said, “what does dythrambic mean?”

“Terrybubble’s head craned over Scraps, reclining on her seats, and peered over at Brian. “When I was a young dinosaur in the Valley of Virtula, we often played games. One of the games was called Mesozoic tag. Someone picked up a rock and threw it, and if it hit another dinosaur in the head, we all celebrated.”

“Yikes!” Brian said. “Didn’t it hurt the dinosaur who got hit with the rock?”

“Not a bit,” said Terry. “We had very hard heads. As I was saying, when it hit a dinosaur we all cheered and danced as wildly with excitement as we could. That was called being dythrambic. It’s being excited and happy all at the same time.”

“I felt dythrambic when the silver shoes first carried me to OZ,” Brian said grinning broadly. He held up a foot, so Terrybubble could see the shoe.”But I don’t remember if I danced about,” he grinned. “But I might have!”

After that, everyone had an urge to relate a time when they felt particularly dythrambic. This was interrupted as B brought the Scalawagon to a halt in front of a sign that read,

“Welcome to the legendary site of Princess Dorothy’s first arrival in OZ.

The farmhouse that carried her to OZ is a landmark, because it put an end to the Wicked Witch of the East (By virtue of landing on her) and thus freed the Munchkins from bondage.”

“Can we stop here for a few moments?” Dorothy asked. “I’ve never come back to visit my old home…” she paused as her eyes tried to see beyond the sign to the old farmhouse, “…and I’d like to go inside for a minute.”

“Of course,” B said and smiled. The Scalawagon was pulled up beside a tree and everyone got out. Without anyone saying a word, B, Brian, Scraps and Terry, walked just as far as the other side of the sign and then stayed there to allow Dorothy privacy as she visited her old home. Although there were several houses surrounding the area, no Munchkins were in sight.

***

The door of the farmhouse hung at an angle supported by only one of its hinges. As Dorothy stepped inside, all the color of the beautiful Munchkin country, with its bright flowers and green meadows, disappeared. The one room farmhouse was as gray as Dorothy remembered it. It had once been painted, in the days before an infant Dorothy was orphaned and came to live with her Uncle Henry and Aunt Em, but by the time she did, the hot Kansas sun had baked all the color from the house.

In one corner, Dorothy saw her bed leaning against one wall. For most of the ride at the top of the cyclone, Dorothy had held Toto on that bed. On the other side of the room, Aunt Em and Uncle Henry’s bed lay at an angle from the wall, the result of the house’s hard landing.

Dorothy took a step toward the center of the room and looked at the square hole in the floor. This had been the entrance to the storm cellar where Aunt Em and Uncle Henry had gone to seek shelter from the cyclone. Dorothy had been following them, but Toto, terribly frightened, had hid under Dorothy’s bed. As she hurried to catch him, and follow her Aunt and Uncle, the cyclone, which had now become two cyclones, came together with the old house right in the center. The pressure of the two tornados pushed the house up off the ground and sent it spinning away and up to the top of the powerful funnel that carried it through the air and miles, and miles, away from the Kansas prairie.

That terrible ride through the air, never knowing if the house would suddenly be dropped, was something Dorothy would never forget. She had also never forgotten the moment when the cyclone wore itself out and the house began to drop until it landed with a terrific bump. After recovering from the shock, Dorothy had put on her sunbonnet, gathered Toto, a basket in which she had put bread and butter, and stepped out into the most beautiful country she had ever seen, the Country of the Munchkins. After the bleak, gray world of the Kansas prairie, Dorothy had been dazzled by the beauty of the countryside. The Munchkins had been very kind to her and grateful that her house had landed on the Wicked Witch of the East and freed them from the bondage she kept them in. They had wanted Dorothy to stay and live among them, but as beautiful as the country was, Dorothy had only one desire; and that was to return home to Uncle Henry and Aunt Em as soon as possible.

Dorothy stood in the middle of the room and thought about how much she had missed her Aunt and Uncle and how overjoyed she was when, after many days, many adventures, and meeting her dear friends the Scarecrow, the Tin Man and the Cowardly Lion, she had finally been carried home by the silver shoes that had once belonged to the Witch of the East.

Aunt Em and Uncle Henry were her only family at that time, and she would always love them dearly, but now there was Brian Gale Butler living in OZ. Dorothy realized, for the first time since the young boy had arrived, that there was no one in the world to whom she was more closely related than Brian. They were as close as brother and sister, as parent and child, as grandparent and grandchild.

Outside the farmhouse the little Scalawagon group had waited in silence. Even the acrobatic Patchwork Girl and the dythrambic old fossil waited quietly. It was as if the silent contemplation that Dorothy had entered into had spilled out to them.

Now there was a sudden change in the group as Dorothy stood in the doorway of the old house. Her eyebrows were lifted and her wide eyes fixed on Brian. She walked quickly up to him and wrapped her arms around the boy just as that other Kansas Dorothy had done. Brian was surprised but not startled. What was a surprise to the boy, was that for a moment Dorothy’s embrace felt exactly like the kind of hugs that Grandma Dorothy always gave him. Dorothy was crying quietly, and Brian felt her tears against his cheek. It affected the little boy deeply, and he hugged her back.

“I love you very much,” Dorothy whispered in Brian’s ear, remembering who she had been to Brian.

“I love you too,” Brian whispered, and then Dorothy releaed all but one

of Brian’s hands which she gave a squeeze. He squeezed back and then their hands fell.

“Are you ready to continue our trip?” B asked Dorothy.

“I’m ready now,” Dorothy said. “Thank you all for giving me this time.”

The members of the waiting party all muttered something kind as they prepared to climb back into the Scalawagon. However, they were not to leave for a little time yet. For just then, the doors of the Munchkin houses opened and Munchkins, adults and children, emerged to welcome Dorothy and the well-known Patchwork Girl to their country.

At first, parents stepped back at the sight of Terrybubble and many children hid behind their parents.

“Don’t be afraid,” Dorothy said laughing, “this is our friend Terrybubble. He is a lovely fellow from prehistoric times and the Yellowstone National Park back in my old country. He is very dythrambic. Show them Terry.”

Terrybubble never minded being the center of attention, and he began a very clackety dance with much kicking up of bony heels and knocking together of elbows and knees. It all had its own unique rhythm and everyone applauded when Terry stopped.,

The little Munchkins were delighted and were soon climbing all over Terrybubble. Some even found their way into his rib cage. A bearded Munchkin fiddler played, The Munchkin Gallop” on his violin and now everyone was dancing. B dozey-doed with Scraps, and Brian and Dorothy followed suite.

Abruptly the music stopped and there was a little chorus of “ooh” and “aah” as a bright light appeared in front of Dorothy’s old home and a familiar little figure stepped out of the light. It was Locasta Tattypoo, the good witch of the North and a great friend of the Munchkins and Dorothy.

Locasta waved at the gathered Munchkins and then went up to Dorothy. “My darling girl, it is wonderful to see you again.” She embraced Dorothy and then gave the Patchwork girl a hug. “Scraps, how are you?”

“Flexible as ever,” said the Patchwork Girl and she turned three cartwheels to prove it. “Introduce me to your interesting friends?” Locasta said, looking toward B, Brian and Terrybubble.

Dorothy started to introduce Brian, but Locasta interrupted saying, “Of course, I’ve heard all about Brian and your very special relationship. She walked up to Brian and surprised him by kissing him on the forehead as she had once done to Dorothy. “Welcome to OZ, Dorothy’s special relation.”

“Thank you,” said Brian, his face very warm and red.

“And you are the great B Rover,” Locasta said, taking one of B’s hands and holding it for a moment. We all know of your gallant efforts in the battle with the terrible Bellairobubble, and now I hear that you’re searching for your lost country and family.”

“How do you know all of this?” B said smiling.

Locasta put one finger to the side of her nose and said, “I’m a Witch.” Then she chuckled and added, “OZ may be a large country, but news travels very quickly here. I can’t tell you where your country is hidden, for I do not know, but I do want to give you something to help you on your quest.” She took hold of B’s face and tipped it down. Then standing on tip toe, Locasta kissed B’s forehead as she had done to Brian. “My kiss will keep you safe from harm,” she said. “And now, I’m sure you want to be on your way.”

“Thank you, Locasta,” said Dorothy, embracing the Witch once more before she climbed into the Scalawagon followed by Brian.

Terry did his folding routine and disappeared into the back seat, but he put his head out the window and called, “Goodbye, big and little Munchkins. I hope to see you again. Be dythrambic!” The little Munchkins immediately became very dythrambic.

B climbed into the driver’s seat and the Patchwork Girl dived in and sprawled across her seats in the back.

‘Goodbyes’ were called from the windows as the Scalawagon started to roll away. Brian saw Locasta vanish back into a bright glow, and Dorothy looked again at the old gray house as it disappeared behind them.

***

Brian took his seat next to Dorothy and they shared silent thoughts and eventually a secret smile.

“Are we ready for our flight to Mount Munch?” B asked.

“READY!” everyone shouted and Scraps added, “I might just have to turn a somersault of excitement right here in the back. Watch out, Terry, I don’t want to dislodge one of your ribs.” The somersault was accomplished without any rearranging of the old dino’s skeleton, and B called out to the Scalawagon head, “If you would be so kind, we’re ready for you to pilot us to the base of Mount Munch!”

“It will be my pleasure,” said the accommodating head.

It was always exciting when the Scalawagon sped up and then suddenly lifted off the ground and began to climb high enough so that it wouldn’t have to deal with the tops of trees. Unlike a ride in an airplane, the Scalawagon felt more like a ride in an amusement park. There you were in little red car high up in the air. You could stick your head out of the widow and feel the wind blowing in your face. This was exactly what Brian did for a while, until he pulled his head back in and said, “Woosh! That feels good until it feels kind of scary.”

Dorothy wanted to get that feeling too, so they switched seats and after a short while, Dorothy also pulled her head back in and said, “My goodness, I looked down and then I felt very dizzy. I think I’ll just stay in the car and look straight ahead.”

Scraps seemed to be in her glory up in the air. She not only stuck her head out of the window but managed to get her whole upper body out so that her upper half wriggled and waggled in the breeze. Good old Terrybubble kept a fast grip on Scraps’ legs for fear that the wind might tug all of her out of the window.

“Good for you, Terry,” said B, “but I think it might be a good idea to pull Scraps back in before something unexpected happens and we only have half a Patchwork girl in the Scalawagon.”

This sounded so horrific that Terrybubble gave Scraps such a strong yank that they both wound up on the floor.

“That was terrific fun,” Scraps said enthusiastically. “Let’s do it again.”

“NO!” came the spontaneous chorus of Terry, B, Dorothy and Brian.

Scraps was so surprised that she didn’t even argue the matter. She actually sat quite demurely for about fifteen minutes before she suggested that they start a game entitled “Name the Famous Ozian.” Everyone took a turn and gave the group three clues to help them guess the Famous Ozian that a member of the group was thinking of. Whoever guessed correctly took the next turn.

Scraps started off the game and gave these three clues:

1. Crows

2. Crunchy

3. Smart

Dorothy and Brian answered almost at the same time, “The

Scarecrow!”

Dorothy yielded to Brian who said:

1. a true friend

2. could be lost in the night

3. a twin

This time it was B who guessed right away, “Shadow!” he said and smiled. He knew that the unique Shadow was Brian’s especial friend as they had traveled together when the boy first arrived in OZ wearing the silver shoes. The ‘twin’ clue was a reference to Thorstat Moriarty who was Shadow’s other half and partner. Together, the two made sure that nomes, goblins and trolls in both OZ and the countries on the other side of the deadly desert were behaving themselves and were not, as the nomes had often done, plotting how to conquer the Land of OZ.

B thought for a moment and then said:

1. a key to success

2. as round as a copper kettle

3. as much a mechanic as a mechanical

The third clue was a dead giveaway and Dorothy, Brian and Scraps all

Shouted, “TIK TOK!”

Dorothy and Brian yielded to Scraps who yielded to Terrybubble who was having trouble thinking of someone since he was not a resident of OZ. Silently, the three humans and the Patchwork Girl worried that Terry would be at a loss to think of an OZ person, however the old fossil suddenly grinned and asked:

1. as bright as a penny

2. as loyal as a Tryxnopotox (Terry explained that a Tryxnopotox was a very friendly and honorable plant eater and member of the Mesozoic era.”

3. an outstanding apprentice inventor

Everyone was silent as they thought of all the OZ famous characters

that might fit the descriptors. As Brian was thinking, he looked down at his khaki-colored shorts and a connection flashed into his mind. He smiled. He was pretty sure that he knew the person Terrybubble had in mind. Although he didn’t live in OZ, he had visited it twice and was the hero of two OZ books.

“Is it Speedy?” Brian asked. ²

Terrybubble clapped hiss hand bones together which sounded like castanets, “You guessed correctly. It’s dear old Speedy.”

Nobody argued about Terrybubble’s questionable choice of character. Everyone just clapped at Brian’s answer and the game went rollicking along.

It didn’t last for the entire trip to Mount Munch and was soon replaced by another game and then petered out to friendly discussion. By that time, the sun had begun to move down in the sky.

“Mr. Scalawagon,” B called out of his window. “How much longer until we reach Mount Munch?”

“No longer,” said the head on top of the car. “I’m about to start our descent. Would you like me to land in an open area or a more concealed spot?”

“That’s a good question,” the Patchwork Girl offered. “My opinion is that we may not want to be visible until we want to be.”

“I agree,” said B, “what about the rest of you?”

“It’s wise to be cautious,” Brian offered. Dorothy nodded and the Patchwork girl rhymed:

“Concealment is a wise idea,

When you don’t know what might lurk near.”

“Excellent!” declared B and Terrybubble quickly said, “I have a rhyme too.”

Dythrambic keeps you safe and limber,

It helps you hide from falling timber!

There was a pause as everyone tried to decide whether there might be falling timber in a forest and if being dythrambic might help you move quickly away from it, Scraps just decided to applaud. Her cotton hands didn’t make much noise, but the rest of the company observed her and followed suit.

“That was a very dythrambic rhyme,” Dorothy giggled.

B and Brian chorused, “Yes! Dythrambic!”

Terrybubble’s skeletal face took on a terrifying grin to show how pleased he was.

The Scalawagon had settled in a grove that was both pretty and a good place to set up camp for the night.

“The Munchkin Country is considered a very safe place,” Dorothy said, “but we don’t know much about the people who live at the base of Mount Munch or on its lower slopes. After all, Dr. Pipt lives on one of the lower slopes of Mount Munch and he used to be something of a troublemaker. Supposedly, his magic has been taken away, but you can’t be too careful with people who create powders of life,”

“Especially if they try to use that powder to create servants, or should I save slaves, to do all the work for his lazy wife, Margolotte.” Scraps had a right to be cross. She had been constructed to be of those brainless servants. “If it hadn’t been for Ojo, the Munchkin boy, who sneakily gave me ,more intelligence than Dr. Pipt intended I would have been stuck working for Margolotte until my stitches came undone. Fortunately, I used my brains to run away and say goodbye to a life of servitude.”

“Oh, and didn’t Dr. Pipt accidentally turn Ojo’s Uncle and Margolotte, into stone statues with something called the Liquid of Petrification?” Brian added, “I got that from my OZ books. Dr. Pipt did it by accident, but he wasn’t supposed to be using magic when it happened.”

“That’s right,” Dorothy said. “Happily, the Wizard was able to use his magic to break the spell.”

“The head of the Scalawagon interrupted this interesting conversation, “The Blue Forest is a nice place,” it said, “and it’s not far from the base of Mount Munch. I think you’ll find it very pleasant indeed.”

“You are very helpful,” B called out the window. “Have you got a name?”

The Head was silent for a moment thinking that over, and fhen said, “Hmm, A Name. I’ve never thought of that before, but No, none of us have any names.”

“How would you like the name Topper?” B asked. “It’s a jolly name and it perfectly describes your place on the Scalawagon.”

There were only a few seconds of consideration before the head said, “I like Topper very much. Do you think it would be too uppity for me to ask to be called Mr. Topper?”

“My dear Mr. Topper, sometimes you just can’t help being uppity,” B said pointing to the sky with a big grin. The others chuckled and B said, “We’d be delighted to call you Mr. Topper.”

“They never knew if Mr. Topper understood B’s ‘uppity’ pun, but he looked perfectly cheerful when they landed and everyone had gotten out of their seats. Terrybubble was tall enough so that he could easily see Mr. Topper. “Thank you for a very smooth and delightful ride; it wasn’t dythrambic, but it was quite Sklyoopish.”

Perhaps Mr. Topper knew the meaning of ‘Sklyoopish, for he never asked Terry what it meant, and Terry was content that the word would make sense to everybody. After all, it made perfect sense to him!

“One thing!” Mr. Topper called out to his passengers, “There have been rumors of robbers in the Blue Forest. These rumors are several years old, but I thought it best to warn you.”

“Thank you very much,” said B, his hand straying to his sword hilt. “We will be on our guard.”

Mr. Topper had landed the Scalawagon under the trees in a little grove he found which was also near a flowing stream. B was glad to have the car close at hand in case they needed to make a quick getaway.

Thanks to the magic Pick-A-Pack, they soon formed a pleasant campsite with two large tents close together. One for those individuals who needed sleep and one for those who could sit up all night and chat. Food was, likewise, only a necessity for B, Dorothy and Brian, although Terrybubble claimed that the sight of food made him remember hunger, but it was only memory and he had no appetite inside his skeletal tummy. Scraps was better off, she had no memory of appetite to torment her and no need for food. She only had a need to use her endless supply of energy and exercise her quick mind.

B, Brian, and Dorothy were delighted that the Pick-A-Pack could provide them with anything they wanted including food items.

As it got darker, the humans invited Scraps and Terry to join them in their large tent for some music.

“I hope you aren’t sick of the sound of my mandolin,” B said hopefully.

“No, I love it,” Brian said enthusiastically.

“It’s beautiful, B, and you play so wonderfully,” Dorothy added.

B’s face turned a little pink as he strummed and extemporaneously composed a song for the occasion.

As a dark blue blanket sweeps across the sky,

And stars come a-twinkling overhead.

It is time to rest and dream sweet things,

As you’re tucked in your soft, warm bed.

Float gently on the stream of a dream,

May your thoughts all be happy and bright

Row your dream boat till the sun breaks through,

To waken you with its sweet light.

Brian and Dorothy began to yawn half-way through B’s beautiful tune and restful lyrics. Scraps poked Terrybubble and whispered, “They need to sleep, poor things, let’s go to our tent.” She took his large, boney hand and led him out of the tent and into their own.

“Are they really going to sleep now?” Terry asked Scraps.

“Definitely,” the Patchwork Girl said, “but I’m never sleepy and find nighttime a nuisance.”

“I felt the same way when I was with Speedy, but I curled up at the foot of his bed and felt comfortable spending the night like that. Do you think Brian would be okay if I curled up at his feet? He looks so much like Speedy.” “Hmm,” said Scraps, putting one finger to her head. “I think it would be a good idea to ask Brian first.”

Terrybubble, started to get up at once with the intent of going to the other tent and asking Brian, but Scraps pulled at his arm. “Not now,” she suggested. “Ask him tomorrow. I suspect that before this adventure is over, you’ll have plenty of opportunities to curl up at his feet if Brian agrees. Let’s go outside and we can be dythrambic in the light of the moon. We don’t want to be too close to the large tent; humans are easily awakened by noise, and your bones tend to clatter noisily when you’re dythrambic.”

“They do!” said Terry in surprise. “Hmm! I never noticed!”

Scraps chuckled and led the dinosaur out into the moonlight and toward the nearby stream. “This should be far enough away for me to caper and you to ‘dythram’ without disturbing them. Let’s take turns. I’ll sit under this tree and watch you be dythrambic and then we’ll switch places and so pass an entertaining night.”

“What a splenditherious idea,” said Terry.

Scraps sat down and Terry began to jump about and do most interesting things such as making his tail into an arch and rocking back and form on it as if it were a rocking chair. Then he used it as a spring to launch himself into a ‘standing on his head’ position. Suddenly, Terry stopped and pointed at some trees.

“Who’s that?” he asked as a figure with a large blunderbuss stepped out from behind a tree.

(to be continued in Chapter 5: The Magic of Bini Aru

² The Yellow Knight of OZ and Speedy in OZ

Chapter 5: Bini Aru

“Hello!” said Terrybubble, in the jolliest voice imaginable.

Scraps turned to Terry and used her hands to push her forehead into a scowl. “Don’t say ‘Hello’ to him,” she said, “he is pointing a gun at us.”Then Scraps turned to the stranger, “Ree Alla Bad, why on OZ are you pointing a gun at me? Have you forgotten our adventures together?”

The gun was lowered at once, and the man smiled at Scraps and an unusually sedate Terrybubble. He carefully put his gun into a thick belt he wore around his waist and then hurried to give Scraps a big hug.

“Oh, my stuffing will be all out of shape,” Scraps said, “but I can easily pat myself back; and, besides, hugs are good,”

Ree Alla Bad released Scraps and said, “Please call me Ree. My full name is just a mouth full. And who is this awesome animated skeletal structure?”

Terrybubble went into a long explanation that concluded with how he came to life due to a magical geyser in Yellowstone Park and was blown to Umbrella Island in the sky along with his best friend, Speedy. “I was looking for Speedy,” the old dino sniffed, “when I fell off the edge of Umbrella Island

and floated to OZ with the magic umbrella created by Waddy the Wizard ofUmbrella Island.”

WADDY

“Are you still living in a cottage in the Blue Munchkin Forest with Ojo, Unc Nunkie and Mrs. Ree?” Scraps asked.

“I was, but yesterday Ojo went outside to gather apples from our orchard. We were going to have fun making pies, apple sauce, apple dumplings, and as many other apple dishes as we could think of, but Ojo didn’t return. Of course, I went outside and searched and searched, but I couldn’t find a trace. Ojo has a habit of finding adventures, as you well know, Scraps, but I’m afraid that he may have been kidnapped again, so I decided to head over to Mount Munch to consult one of the sorcerers who live there.”

“Ojo used to know Dr. Pipt and his wife Margolotte, but I think Dr. Pipt no longer practices magic since Ozma and Glinda outlawed it except for the Wonderful Wizard of OZ and a few very sorcerers who are completely loyal to Princess Ozma and the throne of OZ.”

“True,” Ree said, “but I have also heard that Dr. Pipt still has some of his former magical devices. Whether he uses them or not, I hope to discover. There is also a former magic user named Bini Aru at the top of Mount Munch.”

Scraps turned three cartwheels and was about to tell Ree about B Rover and why they were at the base of Mount Munch. However, while Scraps, Ree and Terry had been conversing, B, who was a light sleeper, had awakened and hearing Scraps speaking to a stranger, silently woke Dorothy and Brian. “Get dressed,” he whispered, “something is going on out there.”

Dorothy quickly changed from the nightgown she’d gotten from the Pick-A-Pack and Brian asked it for clothes and was surprised when it gave him the classic blue Munchkin outfit that consisted of knee length knickerbockers that tied at the knee, knee socks, a shirt, vest, and wide, round collar much like clowns often wear in American circuses. A wide brimmed hat, rimmed with bells, and topped with a tall point finished the outfit. The one part of the Munchkin costume that Brian didn’t wear were the customary shoes with turned up toes. Instead, Brian wore the silver shoes which never wore out and always fitted perfectly.

By this time Dorothy, had put on her dress and her crown and was ready.

B who had dressed much quicker than the two children, put a finger to his lips and said, “You two stay in the tent until I call you. If, for any reason, I don’t, or can’t call you, use the silver shoes and magic belt to take you back to Emerald City.”

B held his sword, with the blade down and stepped out. Ree’s eyes darted to the blade and he raised his gun once more. In response, B raised his sword. Terrybubble instantly stepped between the two men. “We don’t want that,” the Dino-skeleton said in his most serious voice. “You are both very nice humans so lower your weapons.”

The two men obliged, and Scraps stood on her head, restless from standing still too long, and in that position explained who Ree was, who his son was, and why he was here.

B called into the tent, “You two can come out.” He turned to Ree and said, “Get ready, I have a boy traveling with me who will look very familiar to you.”

Ree frowned, not understanding what B meant by that, but in the next second Dorothy and Brian (in his Munchkin outfit) stepped out of the tent. Ree’s face lit up, “Ojo, you scared the life out of me. I’m so glad to find you!” Ree hurried over and caught Brian in a hug and then lifted the boy off the ground.” Brian’s eyes grew large with surprise, but he began to understand when Ree calls him Ojo and then, still holding him at arm’s length, began scolding him for running off without telling him anything.

Scraps doubled over with laughter at this scene of mistaken identity, but Terry was angry. He doubled his bony fists and said, “I shall get dythrambic all over you, Ree, if you don’t instantly put our Brian down.”

“Brian?! Why this is my own son…” Ree paused and stared hard at the boy in his arms. Then he slowly put Brian down. He stared at him closely. “You...you really aren’t Ojo are you? “

“No,” said Brian who tried not to giggle.

“But the resemblance is uncanny!” Ree breathed.

Dorothy moved to Ree, who recognized her at once. “Princess Dorothy,” Ree said and bowed.

“This boy is Brian Gale Butler my very close relative from Kansas. He’s come to live in OZ with his mother and father. We already know that he has an uncanny resemblance to Ojo and, we’ve learned, from our friend Terrybubble here, that Brian also looks very much like another boy named Speedy who visited OZ twice. Just like you, Ree, we are wondering how it is that the boys are almost mirror images of one another. Dorothy paused and then introduced the other members of the party, “This is our close friend B Rover.”

Ree introduced himself once again and repeats the story of Ojo’s disappearance and why he came to Mount Munch. “Why are you all here?” he asked.

Being cautious, since B didn’t yet know Ree well, he simply said, “We have business on Mount Much.” B points out the almost completely hidden Scalawagon capped in shadow under trees near the tent. “This is an invention of the Wizard of OZ and the famous Tik Tok. It can carry us up to the top of Mount Munch.”

“I don’t suppose it’s possible,” Ree said, rubbing the goatee on his chin and then tweaking the ends of his lustrous mustache, “that I might accompany you in the Scalawagon to the top of Mount Much. My Ojo has a way of turning up in the most unexpected places and it almost always involves magic.”

“We seem to be collecting coincidences on this adventure,” Dorothy said. “First, we have Brian’s turning up in OZ with his amazing resemblance to Ojo and Speedy. Then we meet you, Ree, and discover that you are searching for your son who happens to be Ojo. In my many adventures here in OZ, I’ve learned that coincidences often lead to important revelations. Dorothy turned to B Rover and said, “B, I think we should allow Ree to accompany us to the Land of the Hyups at the top of Mount Munch.”

B considered and then smiled. “I agree, Dorothy, and I agree with what you said about coincidences.” B stepped up to Ree and put out his hand. The two men shook, and when they were done, B said, “Who would like some breakfast?”

Once again, the invaluable Pick-A-Pack provided a steaming hot breakfast for everyone, with the exception of Scraps and Terrybubble, to enjoy. The two non-eaters decided to go off and be dythrambic and poetic on their own. Before they left, Scraps stood on her head and offered a short recitation.

We do a fine job of collecting friends,

But who can say where the collecting

ends.

Adventures are strange, and mysterious

And unpredictable,

And once you get involved in one

You find yourself unsticktable.

Scraps and Terry bounded off, and the others helped themselves to the wonderful food that the Pick-A-Pack provided. Dorothy and Brian had pancakes with apple slices. B Rover had eggs sunny side up and toast with marmalade. Ree had hot cereal with maple syrup and chopped nuts. Both men had coffee while Dorothy and Brian had steaming hot chocolate decorated with floating marshmallows.

During breakfast, Ree shared a terrible story that Dorothy had never heard even though her dearest friend Ozma of OZ entered into it.

“My real name is Ree Alla Bad,” Ree began, “and I was once crown prince of a country called Sebania, a tiny kingdom in the south of the Munchkin Country. I had a beautiful wife named Isomere. When she was pregnant with Ojo, a Munchkin magician named Mooj came to Sebania and after first pretending to be a friend used his magic to exile me and hold my beloved wife a prisoner threatening to harm her if I ever returned.

In my despair at losing my kingdom, my wife, and my unborn son, I joined an outlaw band under the name of Realbad. It was ten years later that, by another strange coincidence, I found my son, Ojo. He had been captured by a wandering band of tricksters who also held a bear named Snufferbux, in captivity. Snufferbux was very kind to Ojo, and eventually my band of robbers rescued Ojo and Snufferbux. I had no idea that Ojo was my son, now ten years old, until Ozma of OZ and the Wonderful Wizard became involved. Ozma transformed Mooj into a drop of water and sent him into the Nonestic Ocean on the other side of the Deadly Desert. My kingdom was restored, but since Ozma was now total ruler of OZ, we left Sebania as a small part of the northern Munchkin Country and went to live with my Unc Nunkie first in the Emerald City and then in the Blue Forest. Now, I’m hoping that one of the former wizards of Mount Munch, Dr. Pipt or Bini Aru, might know where my boy is. I know that they are no longer allowed to practice sorcery, but they might have some magic appliance that can tell me where Ojo is.”

Dorothy nodded. “Unfortunately, many former witches and wizards disobeyed Ozma and Glinda’s edict against practicing magic, so it’s very possible that Dr. Pipt or Bini Aru might be able to help you.”

By this time, everyone had finished breakfast. “I suggest,” B said, “that we all ask the Pick-A-Pack to make us a lunch box; after all we don’t know where we’ll be when we get hungry again.”

“That’s a wonderful idea,” Brian said. The little boy gazed over at Ree and thought about how much he must be missing his son, so he went over to where Ree was still sitting and said, “If you tell me what you might like for lunch, I’ll ask the Pick-A-Pack to make your lunch bag along with mine.”

Ree looked up at Brian, who so resembled his Ojo that the man’s eyes began to water. He sniffed the tears away and patted Brian’s cheek. “That would be very kind of you, Brian.” Ree told the boy what he would like and Brian hurried over to where Dorothy and B Rover were ordering their lunches. In short order, they were all outfitted with lunches and B summoned Scraps and Terrybubble since they were ready to board the Scalawagon.

“Mr. Topper,” B said once everyone was seated. “We’re ready to make the trip to the land of the Hyups.”

“I see we have a new passenger,” Mr. Topper said. “Welcome Mr. Ree Alla Bad.” Ree wondered where the voice was coming from and Scraps quickly told him about the Scalawagon’s talking head.

“Amazing,” said Ree, “but then again we are fortunate to live in a magical country.”

The Scalawagon backed out of the forest, turned around, and after a short drive in the direction of Mount Munch the Scalawagon suddenly lifted up off the ground. Even though Dorothy, B Rover, Brian, and the Patchwork girl had all experienced the thrill of flying in a Scalawagon when they’d battled the Astonishing Bellairobubble, they still caught their breath as it began to fly. Ree’s eyes opened wide and he looked out the window and watched the forest below begin to shrink beneath them.

“I hope everyone is comfortable,” Mr. Topper called out to his passengers.

Ree called out the window, “That was a very smooth take off, Mr. Topper thank you.”

“Enjoy the ride,” Mr. Topper said. “It will only take a few minutes to reach the top.”

Brian, who was sitting next to the window suddenly said, “Look! I can see one oddly shaped house on the side of the mountain.”

Everyone tried to see what Brian was pointing at.

“That’s the home of Dr. Pipt, the Crooked Magician,” Scraps said. “That’s where I was made,” she said directly to Ree. “And that’s where your son Ojo gave me enhanced brains and lots of whimsy.

Ojo gave me whimsy which keeps me bright

and gay,

It also gave me common sense and so I

Ran away.

Scraps went on to say that she had been created to be a servant to Dr. Pipt’s wife Margolotte. “But that was not the life for me,”she sang

“We are about to land,” said Mr. Topper.

Everyone had been listening to Scraps’ poem and story, but now they looked out at the unusual Land of the Hyups.

“Mr. Topper,” B called out, “would you mind driving around the top of the mountain, so we can have a chance to see the country before we land?”

“Of course,” said the pleasant, accommodating Head, and the tour began.

The top of Mount Munch was shaped like a giant, deep saucer. The cliffs on the sides of the Hyups’ community were much too steep for anyone to visit this interesting land without a Scalawagon to carry them to the top of Mount Munch.

The passengers looked down on open fields of grain, hoed rows of green and orange vegetables. Flowing brooks traced interesting lines throughout the saucer-shaped community, and along these streams grew trees that were dotted with different fruits. The homes of the Hyups, unlike the round tops of the Munchkins who lived below the mountain, looked more like cottages with peaked rooves.

“I wonder if the elevated condition on top of Mount Munch makes this style of house more durable than the round Munchkin homes,” Brian said.

“Hmm,” B said, “what an interesting observation, Brian. My guess is that you’re right. This high up, rain would be felt more intensely, and a peaked roof allows the water to run off easily.”

“Let me know when you’d like to land,” the voice of Mr. Topper broke in.

B looked at his fellow passengers and asked, “Ready?”

“I’m always ready,” said Scraps, and Terrybubble chuckled and said, “This ride has made me feel extra dythrambic.”

“Better to be a little sedate and calm, so we don’t startle the Hyups,” B suggested and then he had an idea. “Brian, I wonder if it might not be a good idea if you let the Hyups think you are Ojo. We know that Ojo knew Dr. Pipt and that might make a bond with Bini Aru if we get to meet him.”

“What a good idea,” Dorothy said. Then she turned to Ree, “Would that be alright with you, Ree?”

“That would be fine. If we get to see Bini Aru, we can tell him the truth about Brian’s resemblance and still ask him if he can help me find the real Ojo.”

This decided, Brian tapped B on the shoulder, “Maybe we should land next to that large looking house at the top of the dish. “It’s so much bigger than the other homes; maybe someone of importance lives there.”

“Did you hear Brian’s suggestion, Mr. Topper,” B called out.

“Yes indeed,” said the head and the Scalawagon began its descent.

Hyup men, women and children gathered below. Many of them had spotted the flying car and were intensely curious both about the amazing vehicle and the unique experience of visitors to their community.

Brian was the first person to hop out of the Scalawagon, and he bowed and tipped his pointed hat to the crowd. “How do you do?” he said. “My name is Ojo the Lucky.”

The Scalawagon passengers disembarked. The moment Terrybubble folded himself out of the back seat there was a great sensation in the crowd. Some people “Oohed” and “Aahed,” at the spectacle, but some children, and not a few adults, screamed and ran back into their houses.

Thinking quickly, as she usually did, Scraps took attention away from Terry by doing a few cartwheels and then a couple of somersaults. She then rhymed:

Don’t be embarrassed and don’t you stray,

Terrybubble won’t cause your hair to turn gray.

He is dythrambic and loaded with delight,

He’s also very friendly though he might look a fright.

That, plus Terrybubble waving at all the crowd, proved just enough to put everyone at ease. In a moment, a number of Hyup children rushed forward to touch the Friendly Fossil and some even climbed up to sit on his back. Word spread and those who had fled the scene now came back out to enjoy the unique visitors.

“What delightful children,” Terry said, and tickled a few of them with a bony finger that sent them into delighted gales of laughter.

The gathered crowd suddenly parted and a woman stepped through the gap. Brian tapped Dorothy and whispered, “She came out of the big house.”

“Welcome, strangers. I am Kaydee Tweddie, the Mayor of the Hyups. We haven’t gotten a visitor in a very long time. We would like to welcome you, but first I must know the reason for your visit in the strange red car.”

“We have urgent matters to discuss with Bini Aru,” B said. “We know that he is no longer a sorcerer, but he has wisdom that may be able to help us.”

Mayor Tweedie frowned as if the mere mention of Bini Aru disturbed her. Seeing this expression, Brian decided that it was time for him to be Ojo. He had taken off his tall pointed Munchkin hat, which was much too tall to wear in the Scalawagon, and when he put it on Mayor Tweedie’s face seemed to change as she reconsidered the boy, his hat and his clothing.

“Ms. Mayor Tweddie,” Brian said, “My Unc Nunkie was good friends with Dr. Pipt, and he and I visited his house on the side of Mount Munch. Dr. Pipt was a good friend of Bini Aru, and we’d like to pay our respects, besides getting his advice.”

B, Dorothy, Scraps and Ree waited anxiously to hear what the Mayor’s response would be. They didn’t have to wait long.

“The famous Ojo of OZ,” Mayor Tweedie said and dipped her head at the boy as a sign of respect. “You and your Unc Nunkie are very well known to the Hyup community. Although our knowledge of what goes on below Mount Munch is limited, the royal Ozma’s eagle often visits our community to deliver important messages from her highness, and one of those messages celebrated your reunion with your father.”

Brian smiled a little; he had read about Ozma’s eagle in one of his OZ books ^[1] and had hoped that it was all true; he was delighted to find that it was. Once Mayor Tweedie had mentioned Ojo’s father, Ree moved next to Brian and put his arm around the boy hugging him to his side.

“I am very proud of my son, Ojo,” Ree said. “I am his loving father Ree Alla Bad, but please call me Ree.” The Major gave Ree a small bow which he returned, then B Rover formally introduced the rest of the group. Dorothy had already been spotted by the Hyups and there was a lot of whispering about a visit from one of the Princesses of OZ.

Once again Brian stepped forward and said, “If you would be so kind as to show us the way to Bini Aru’s home. We would be very grateful and would tell Princess Ozma how kind and helpful you are.”

“That would be fine,” Mayor Tweedie finally said, her frown disappearing. “Bini no longer practices any form of magic and abides by Ozma of OZ’s ruling, but he is a wise man and may still be able to help you. Come with me.”

The Mayor lead them down a road beside which a bright stream rippled and made delightful little splishing sounds. It curved around a field divided into two parts. One part had neat rows of vegetables, and the other half was an orchard of beautiful trees laden with fruits. They followed a silvery stream which, like a silver thread, led them right to the cozy-looking little house of Bini Aru. The house was nestled among trees that grew close as if protecting the dwelling. The front of the house had a little porch with rocking chairs on it and flowerpots spotted all about. The house was three stories tall. Each floor had its own pointed roof and each window, on each of the stories, had its own shingled roof. The top of the third floor had a very tall roof which came to a point like a witch’s hat and was also covered with bright red shingles. The total effect was to make the house look very cozy and a little mysterious.

“I will leave you now,” Mayor Tweedie said. She gave the group another small bow and said, “Princess Dorothy, I hope you will give my best regards to the royal Ozma, and tell her that I was very happy to facilitate your visit to our Hyup community.”

Dorothy thought that she had already made this clear, but since the Mayor needed that to be reinforced Dorothy said,“I certain will,” and smiled warmly at the Mayor.

“It was lovely to meet you all,” the Mayor said, eyeing each of the group and looking slightly uneasy as her gaze fell on Terrybubble. When he waved at her, she moved-rather quickly-back up the path.

Terry smiled, “The Mayor must be feeling very dythrambic, she scooted away like a Protoceratops with a Velociraptor after it.”

“Perhaps she had work to attend to,” B said quickly. “After all a mayor is generally a very busy person.”

Terry nodded, and Scraps pushed Brian. “Go ahead, Ojo,” she giggled. “Knock at the door of your old friend Bini.”

Brian blushed, “I never said he was my old friend.” But, nevertheless, the boy went up the porch and knocked at the former sorcerer’s door.

There was a sound of someone moving with quick steps inside the house; and then the door opened. Since no one in OZ grows any older than they’d like, and then stops, Bini appeared to be a sprightly grandfatherly Hyup with blue eyes that were round and sparkled like the eyes of a young boy. There was something about those round, bright eyes that gave you the feeling that Bini Aru was both a wise and inquisitive person.

B Rover, as leader of the group, stepped forward, “Hello Mr. Aru. My name is B Rover, and I think you might know Ojo and his father Ree Alla Bad. Ojo’s Unc Nunkie was good friends of Dr. Pipt.” Ree stepped forward to shake Bini Aru’s hand and Brian thought, I don’t like lying about who I am, but I guess it’s for a very good cause, so I just have to carry on being Ojo for a while.

B Rover went on to introduce the rest of their company. “I am B Rover, once crown prince of Coventry, and we are honored to have the Princess Dorothy of OZ traveling with us.

Bini offered Dorothy a respectful bow. “Ah, Princess Dorothy,” he said. “I have long hoped to make your acquaintance, and I see you are wearing…” the bright blue eyes opened a little wider, “… the famous magic belt.”

Dorothy wondered if Bini Aru knew about the magic belt from the days when he practiced magic or whether Ozma’s eagle had carried the story of how she had rescued the belt from the Gnome King.

“And these are the rest of our friends,” B Rover said and he introduced Scraps. “She was brought to life by your friend Dr. Pipt, and Terrybubble…” Bini Aru stared at the enormous, living dinosaur skeleton, “… was brought to life by a magical geyser in the United State, and carried to Umbrella Island with his dear friend, a boy named Speedy.”

“Yes,” said Terry, “and I miss Speedy every minute of every day.” The fossil sniffled which was quite an accomplishment considering the limitations of his bony nose. Then he brightened up and said to Bini Aru, “Do you happen to know Speedy. He looks very much like Ojo.”

“I’m afraid I don’t,” Bini said. “I’ve never heard that name before.”

Terrybubble’s head drooped and he mumbled, “Oh, Speedy, where can you be?”

Scraps put one hand on Terry’s shoulder bone and said to Bini Aru, “Terry, here, won’t fit in your door, so I’ll just stay outside with him and we’ll just enjoy your lovely garden.”

The others went inside and quickly found that Bini Aru’s house looked extremely cozy. There were plump armchairs in his living room and bookshelves all about brimming with brightly colored volumes. There were also neat stacks of books beside every chair as if inviting guests to settle and begin reading.

“Have you actually reads all these books?” B Rover asked Bini Aru.

“Several times,” the former sorcerer said casually, “but I don’t look at them anymore. They are mostly books about the magic arts and have no further interest for me.”

Bini invited them all to sit and asked the reason for their visit. B said, “We know that you no longer practice magic, but we thought that, perhaps, you might still be able to offer some advice about two serious problems we have.”

B went on to tell Bini Aru about Coventry and Malmagnus and their current quest to find the lost kingdom. “We wondered Bini Aru, if you might be able to assist us in our quest. Perhaps you’ve heard of Malmagnus since you once practiced magic as he still does, contrary to the laws of Ozma of OZ and Glinda the Good.”

“I have never heard of Malmagnus, but it seems very coincidental…”

The friends exchanged quick glances at that familiar word. “…that a magician named Mooj once tried to take over Sebania and that a wizard with the slightly similar name of Malmagnus did the same terrible trick to your Coventry.” Bini tapped his cheekbone with one finger. “You wouldn’t think that they could possibly be the same person, especially since Mooj was turned into a drop of water and was banished to the Nonestic Ocean. Nevertheless, it is extremely curious that two differentmen tried the same terrible trick with two different countries. However, in the history of OZ, there seems to have been several evil-doers, Mombi the Witch was one and Ruggedo the Nome King was another, who were vanquished only to return to cause more trouble before being permanently defeated.”

“Permanently doesn’t seem very permanent in OZ,” Brian said.

When we leave you, we plan to journey to the Forest of Gugu where Malmagnus has hidden Coventry,” B said. “Is there anything you might be able to tell us to help us on our adventure? Could you possibly tell us, or show us, the word that might be able to transform Coventry back to its original size and visibility.”

Bini’s eyes opened wide and he began to tremble. “I cannot do that. I obey the royal Ozma and Glinda the Good. I no longer practice magic. My son, Kiki, once disobeyed and caused a great deal of trouble as a result. However, I hear that he has since reformed and, at Ozma’s gracious will, now works as a gardener in the Royal Palace in the Emerald City. However, I can give you something which might help you if you used it at just the right moment. Come with me.”

Bini Aru led them out of his living room, down a short hallway that ended in a great oak door covered with tiny carvings of trees and birds and strange little creatures. The door had a large lock on it that Bini touched. The lock dropped off and the door opened. They followed Bini down a stairwell into a room lit by round lamps hanging from the wooden ceiling. The room was round and had a large circular table in the center. On the table was a box that both Dorothy and Brian could have climbed into with ease. At Bini’s touch, the box opened and as far as the friends could see, it was filled with nothing but darkness. Bini reached into the box and withdrew a butterfly net that was at least three times the size of the box.

“How did it fit in there?” Brian asked.

Bini opened his eyes wide, gave his head a little shake and put one finger over his lips. Both B Rover and Ree nodded their heads in understanding. Brian looked over at Dorothy who smiled and nodded her head at him. He knew that Bini was signaling that there was magic at work, perhaps old magic before Ozma’s and Glinda’s law, and they mustn’t speak of it.

Bini handed the net to B and said, “I never practice magic, but this box contains some utensils that were created before Ozma’s and Glinda’s edict. I never use them myself.

The forest of Gugu is a very dangerous place, and you must be very careful when you enter it. But, if you find Malmagnus, you must quickly throw this net over him. The net will instantly absorb all of his power and render him an ordinary man. When that happens, the spell on Coventry will be broken. and you will have little difficulty finding your kingdom.”

“How can we thank you?” B asked.

“When you return to the Emerald City, will you find my son Kiki and tell him that his father sends his love?”

“I surely will,” Dorothy said. “Kiki is a good boy now, and an excellent gardener. Perhaps, if you would like to, you can come and visit Kiki yourself. I’m sure that Princess Ozma would welcome you.”

“Perhaps someday,” Bini said and offered a weak smile. B put his hand on the former sorcerer’s shoulder and patted it. “If our mission is successful, we’ll tell Ozma how helpful you were, but that you didn’t do any magic,” he added quickly.

“We don’t want to take any more of your valuable time,” B said, “but

we have an admission and a question.” B turned to Brian and the boy stepped forward at once knowing what he needed to do.

“I know that I look like the famous Ojo the Lucky, and I’m dressed in Munchkin costume, but my name is Brian David Butler and I’m only recently arrived in OZ. Our friend Ree…” Brian turned to Ree and he stepped forward and put an arm around Brian’s shoulder in a supportive way. “…our friend Ree has something important to ask you.”

Ree stepped forward and told Bini about the real Ojo and his disappearance. It only took a moment for Ree to tell his story and ask Bini if he could help in any way, but when he was done, Bini stood in silence with his finger once more across his lips. He stood that way so long that Brian found himself quietly hoping from one foot to another as he grew nervous with waiting.

Finally, Bini lowered his finger and said, “I don’t know where your boy Ojo might be, but…” he paused, “…you have told me several stories and they are all about the most amazing coincidences.” Bini took a notebook out of the dark box and laid it on the table. He also reached in and took out a long pen that had the blue feather of a Munchkin Guronji bird at the end of it.

He held out the pen to Dorothy and said, “Write down all the coincidental events that have happened to you, so far, in this adventure that you’re all engaged in.

There was silence in the room as Dorothy started writing. Dorothy numbered each of the items and then rolled up what turned out to be a long list.

“Keep that list with you,” Bini said, “I think you will find it helpful.”

Bini led them to his front door, and once they got there he said, “I have enjoyed your visit. I don’t have much company, so if you ever visit the Hyups again I hope you will come and see me.”

Dorothy took a step forward and gave Bini a hug, “You are a very kind man,” she said. “If we fly up here again, we will certainly come and see you.”

Outside, Terry and Scraps were busy entertaining a little Hypup girl named Shippina and her brother, Dobie. Shippina was dancing with Scraps and Dobie was shrieking with laughter as Terry swung him up onto his back and then danced a jig with the boy bouncing about, holding tightly to Terry’s tailbackbone and laughing merrily.

Shippina and Dobie begged the Patchwork Girl and Terrybubble to stay and come live with them. Terrybubble was very touched and hugged each child very gently. Scraps’ hugs were deliciously plushy, and the children waved goodbye as our friends headed up the slope to the top of the dish-shaped Hyup land where their Scalawagon awaited them. As they climbed in, Dorothy tucked her list into the Pick-A-Pack.

“I suggest that we fly down from Mount Munch and have a good lunch before we decide what we want to do next.”

“Are we going to visit Dr. Pipt?” Ree asked. “Perhaps he know something about Ojo.”

“Let make that the first thing we talk about,” B said, then he called out the window, “Mr. Topper, will you take us down to the bottom of Mount Munch and to some private spot where we can settle and have our lunch and a good talk.”

“I am at your service, Sir Rover,” Mr. Topper said in a most respectful voice, and with that the Scalawagon rose straight up and headed away from the Country of the Hyups.

(to be continued in Ch. 6: A Cyclotronic Delivery)

^[1] As told about in THE MAGIC OF OZ by L. Frank Baum