



Produced by Anthony Matonac and Paul Selkirk.









TIK-TOK OF OZ


by

L. FRANK BAUM



  To Louis F. Gottschalk,
  whose sweet and dainty melodies
  breathe the true spirit of fairyland,
  this book is affectionately dedicated



To My Readers

The very marked success of my last year's fairy book, "The Patchwork
Girl of Oz," convinces me that my readers like the Oz stories "best of
all," as one little girl wrote me. So here, my dears, is a new Oz story
in which is introduced Ann Soforth, the Queen of Oogaboo, whom Tik-Tok
assisted in conquering our old acquaintance, the Nome King. It also
tells of Betsy Bobbin and how, after many adventures, she finally
reached the marvelous Land of Oz.

There is a play called "The Tik-Tok Man of Oz," but it is not like this
story of "Tik-Tok of Oz," although some of the adventures recorded in
this book, as well as those in several other Oz books, are included in
the play. Those who have seen the play and those who have read the
other Oz books will find in this story a lot of strange characters and
adventures that they have never heard of before.

In the letters I receive from children there has been an urgent appeal
for me to write a story that will take Trot and Cap'n Bill to the Land
of Oz, where they will meet Dorothy and Ozma. Also they think
Button-Bright ought to get acquainted with Ojo the Lucky. As you know,
I am obliged to talk these matters over with Dorothy by means of the
"wireless," for that is the only way I can communicate with the Land of
Oz. When I asked her about this idea, she replied: "Why, haven't you
heard?" I said "No." "Well," came the message over the wireless, "I'll
tell you all about it, by and by, and then you can make a book of that
story for the children to read."

So, if Dorothy keeps her word and I am permitted to write another Oz
book, you will probably discover how all these characters came together
in the famous Emerald City. Meantime, I want to tell all my little
friends--whose numbers are increasing by many thousands every
year--that I am very grateful for the favor they have shown my books
and for the delightful little letters I am constantly receiving. I am
almost sure that I have as many friends among the children of America
as any story writer alive; and this, of course, makes me very proud and
happy.

L. Frank Baum.

"OZCOT"
  at HOLLYWOOD
    in CALIFORNIA,
      1914.




LIST OF CHAPTERS

   1 - Ann's Army
   2 - Out of Oogaboo
   3 - Magic Mystifies the Marchers
   4 - Betsy Braves the Bellows
   5 - The Roses Repulse the Refugees
   6 - Shaggy Seeks His Stray Brother
   7 - Polychrome's Pitiful Plight
   8 - Tik-Tok Tackles a Tough Task
   9 - Ruggedo's Rage is Rash and Reckless
  10 - A Terrible Tumble Through a Tube
  11 - The Famous Fellowship of Fairies
  12 - The Lovely Lady of Light
  13 - The Jinjin's Just Judgment
  14 - The Long-Eared Hearer Learns by Listening
  15 - The Dragon Defies Danger
  16 - The Naughty Nome
  17 - A Tragic Transformation
  18 - A Clever Conquest
  19 - King Kaliko
  20 - Quox Quietly Quits
  21 - A Bashful Brother
  22 - Kindly Kisses
  23 - Ruggedo Reforms
  24 - Dorothy is Delighted
  25 - The Land of Love




TIK-TOK of OZ




Chapter One

Ann's Army


"I won't!" cried Ann; "I won't sweep the floor. It is beneath my
dignity."

"Some one must sweep it," replied Ann's younger sister, Salye; "else we
shall soon be wading in dust. And you are the eldest, and the head of
the family."

"I'm Queen of Oogaboo," said Ann, proudly. "But," she added with a
sigh, "my kingdom is the smallest and the poorest in all the Land of
Oz."

This was quite true. Away up in the mountains, in a far corner of the
beautiful fairyland of Oz, lies a small valley which is named Oogaboo,
and in this valley lived a few people who were usually happy and
contented and never cared to wander over the mountain pass into the
more settled parts of the land. They knew that all of Oz, including
their own territory, was ruled by a beautiful Princess named Ozma, who
lived in the splendid Emerald City; yet the simple folk of Oogaboo
never visited Ozma. They had a royal family of their own--not
especially to rule over them, but just as a matter of pride. Ozma
permitted the various parts of her country to have their Kings and
Queens and Emperors and the like, but all were ruled over by the lovely
girl Queen of the Emerald City.

The King of Oogaboo used to be a man named Jol Jemkiph Soforth, who for
many years did all the drudgery of deciding disputes and telling his
people when to plant cabbages and pickle onions. But the King's wife
had a sharp tongue and small respect for the King, her husband;
therefore one night King Jol crept over the pass into the Land of Oz
and disappeared from Oogaboo for good and all. The Queen waited a few
years for him to return and then started in search of him, leaving her
eldest daughter, Ann Soforth, to act as Queen.

Now, Ann had not forgotten when her birthday came, for that meant a
party and feasting and dancing, but she had quite forgotten how many
years the birthdays marked. In a land where people live always, this is
not considered a cause for regret, so we may justly say that Queen Ann
of Oogaboo was old enough to make jelly--and let it go at that.

But she didn't make jelly, or do any more of the housework than she
could help. She was an ambitious woman and constantly resented the fact
that her kingdom was so tiny and her people so stupid and
unenterprising. Often she wondered what had become of her father and
mother, out beyond the pass, in the wonderful Land of Oz, and the fact
that they did not return to Oogaboo led Ann to suspect that they had
found a better place to live. So, when Salye refused to sweep the floor
of the living room in the palace, and Ann would not sweep it, either,
she said to her sister:

"I'm going away. This absurd Kingdom of Oogaboo tires me."

"Go, if you want to," answered Salye; "but you are very foolish to
leave this place."

"Why?" asked Ann.

"Because in the Land of Oz, which is Ozma's country, you will be a
nobody, while here you are a Queen."

"Oh, yes! Queen over eighteen men, twenty-seven women and forty-four
children!" returned Ann bitterly.

"Well, there are certainly more people than that in the great Land of
Oz," laughed Salye. "Why don't you raise an army and conquer them, and
be Queen of all Oz?" she asked, trying to taunt Ann and so to anger
her. Then she made a face at her sister and went into the back yard to
swing in the hammock.

Her jeering words, however, had given Queen Ann an idea. She reflected
that Oz was reported to be a peaceful country and Ozma a mere girl who
ruled with gentleness to all and was obeyed because her people loved
her. Even in Oogaboo the story was told that Ozma's sole army consisted
of twenty-seven fine officers, who wore beautiful uniforms but carried
no weapons, because there was no one to fight. Once there had been a
private soldier, besides the officers, but Ozma had made him a
Captain-General and taken away his gun for fear it might accidentally
hurt some one.

The more Ann thought about the matter the more she was convinced it
would be easy to conquer the Land of Oz and set herself up as Ruler in
Ozma's place, if she but had an Army to do it with. Afterward she could
go out into the world and conquer other lands, and then perhaps she
could find a way to the moon, and conquer that. She had a warlike
spirit that preferred trouble to idleness.

It all depended on an Army, Ann decided. She carefully counted in her
mind all the men of her kingdom. Yes; there were exactly eighteen of
them, all told. That would not make a very big Army, but by surprising
Ozma's unarmed officers her men might easily subdue them. "Gentle
people are always afraid of those that bluster," Ann told herself. "I
don't wish to shed any blood, for that would shock my nerves and I
might faint; but if we threaten and flash our weapons I am sure the
people of Oz will fall upon their knees before me and surrender."

This argument, which she repeated to herself more than once, finally
determined the Queen of Oogaboo to undertake the audacious venture.

"Whatever happens," she reflected, "can make me no more unhappy than my
staying shut up in this miserable valley and sweeping floors and
quarreling with Sister Salye; so I will venture all, and win what I
may."

That very day she started out to organize her Army.

The first man she came to was Jo Apple, so called because he had an
apple orchard.

"Jo," said Ann, "I am going to conquer the world, and I want you to
join my Army."

"Don't ask me to do such a fool thing, for I must politely refuse Your
Majesty," said Jo Apple.

"I have no intention of asking you. I shall command you, as Queen of
Oogaboo, to join," said Ann.

"In that case, I suppose I must obey," the man remarked, in a sad
voice. "But I pray you to consider that I am a very important citizen,
and for that reason am entitled to an office of high rank."

"You shall be a General," promised Ann.

"With gold epaulets and a sword?" he asked.

"Of course," said the Queen.

Then she went to the next man, whose name was Jo Bunn, as he owned an
orchard where graham-buns and wheat-buns, in great variety, both hot
and cold, grew on the trees.

"Jo," said Ann, "I am going to conquer the world, and I command you to
join my Army."

"Impossible!" he exclaimed. "The bun crop has to be picked."

"Let your wife and children do the picking," said Ann.

"But I'm a man of great importance, Your Majesty," he protested.

"For that reason you shall be one of my Generals, and wear a cocked hat
with gold braid,