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120 pages

English

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pubOne.info thank you for your continued support and wish to present you this new edition. Perhaps I should admit on the title page that this book is "By L. Frank Baum and his correspondents, " for I have used many suggestions conveyed to me in letters from children. Once on a time I really imagined myself "an author of fairy tales, " but now I am merely an editor or private secretary for a host of youngsters whose ideas I am requestsed to weave into the thread of my stories.

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Publié par	Pub One Info
Date de parution	27 septembre 2010
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9782819927440
Langue	English

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0100€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

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The Emerald City of Oz
by
L. Frank Baum
Author of The Road to Oz,
Dorothy and The Wizard in Oz,
The Land of Oz, etc.
Author's Note
Perhaps I should admit on the title page that thisbook is “By L. Frank Baum and his correspondents, ” for I have usedmany suggestions conveyed to me in letters from children. Once on atime I really imagined myself “an author of fairy tales, ” but nowI am merely an editor or private secretary for a host of youngsterswhose ideas I am requestsed to weave into the thread of mystories.
These ideas are often clever. They are also logicaland interesting. So I have used them whenever I could find anopportunity, and it is but just that I acknowledge my indebtednessto my little friends.
My, what imaginations these children have developed!Sometimes I am fairly astounded by their daring and genius. Therewill be no lack of fairy-tale authors in the future, I am sure. Myreaders have told me what to do with Dorothy, and Aunt Em and UncleHenry, and I have obeyed their mandates. They have also given me avariety of subjects to write about in the future: enough, in fact,to keep me busy for some time. I am very proud of this alliance.Children love these stories because children have helped to createthem. My readers know what they want and realize that I try toplease them. The result is very satisfactory to the publishers, tome, and (I am quite sure) to the children.
I hope, my dears, it will be a long time before weare obliged to dissolve partnership.
L. FRANK BAUM.
Coronado, 1910
1. How the Nome King Became Angry
The Nome King was in an angry mood, and at suchtimes he was very disagreeable. Every one kept away from him, evenhis Chief Steward Kaliko.
Therefore the King stormed and raved all by himself,walking up and down in his jewel-studded cavern and getting angrierall the time. Then he remembered that it was no fun being angryunless he had some one to frighten and make miserable, and herushed to his big gong and made it clatter as loud as he could.
In came the Chief Steward, trying not to show theNome King how frightened he was.
“Send the Chief Counselor here! ” shouted the angrymonarch.
Kaliko ran out as fast as his spindle legs couldcarry his fat, round body, and soon the Chief Counselor entered thecavern. The King scowled and said to him:
“I'm in great trouble over the loss of my MagicBelt. Every little while I want to do something magical, and find Ican't because the Belt is gone. That makes me angry, and when I'mangry I can't have a good time. Now, what do you advise? ”
“Some people, ” said the Chief Counselor, “enjoygetting angry. ”
“But not all the time, ” declared the King. “To beangry once in a while is really good fun, because it makes othersso miserable. But to be angry morning, noon and night, as I am,grows monotonous and prevents my gaining any other pleasure inlife. Now what do you advise? ”
“Why, if you are angry because you want to domagical things and can't, and if you don't want to get angry atall, my advice is not to want to do magical things. ”
Hearing this, the King glared at his Counselor witha furious expression and tugged at his own long white whiskersuntil he pulled them so hard that he yelled with pain.
“You are a fool! ” he exclaimed.
“I share that honor with your Majesty, ” said theChief Counselor.
The King roared with rage and stamped his foot.
“Ho, there, my guards! ” he cried. “Ho” is a royalway of saying, “Come here. ” So, when the guards had hoed, the Kingsaid to them:
“Take this Chief Counselor and throw him away. ”
Then the guards took the Chief Counselor, and boundhim with chains to prevent his struggling, and threw him away. Andthe King paced up and down his cavern more angry than before.
Finally he rushed to his big gong and made itclatter like a fire alarm. Kaliko appeared again, trembling andwhite with fear.
“Fetch my pipe! ” yelled the King.
“Your pipe is already here, your Majesty, ” repliedKaliko.
“Then get my tobacco! ” roared the King.
“The tobacco is in your pipe, your Majesty, ”returned the Steward.
“Then bring a live coal from the furnace! ”commanded the King.
“The tobacco is lighted, and your Majesty is alreadysmoking your pipe, ” answered the Steward.
“Why, so I am! ” said the King, who had forgottenthis fact; “but you are very rude to remind me of it. ”
“I am a lowborn, miserable villain, ” declared theChief Steward, humbly.
The Nome King could think of nothing to say next, sohe puffed away at his pipe and paced up and down the room. Finally,he remembered how angry he was, and cried out:
“What do you mean, Kaliko, by being so contentedwhen your monarch is unhappy? ”
“What makes you unhappy? ” asked the Steward.
“I've lost my Magic Belt. A little girl namedDorothy, who was here with Ozma of Oz, stole my Belt and carried itaway with her, ” said the King, grinding his teeth with rage.
“She captured it in a fair fight, ” Kaliko venturedto say.
“But I want it! I must have it! Half my power isgone with that Belt! ” roared the King.
“You will have to go to the Land of Oz to recoverit, and your Majesty can't get to the Land of Oz in any possibleway, ” said the Steward, yawning because he had been on dutyninety-six hours, and was sleepy.
“Why not? ” asked the King.
“Because there is a deadly desert all around thatfairy country, which no one is able to cross. You know that fact aswell as I do, your Majesty. Never mind the lost Belt. You haveplenty of power left, for you rule this underground kingdom like atyrant, and thousands of Nomes obey your commands. I advise you todrink a glass of melted silver, to quiet your nerves, and then goto bed. ”
The King grabbed a big ruby and threw it at Kaliko'shead. The Steward ducked to escape the heavy jewel, which crashedagainst the door just over his left ear.
“Get out of my sight! Vanish! Go away— and sendGeneral Blug here, ” screamed the Nome King.
Kaliko hastily withdrew, and the Nome King stampedup and down until the General of his armies appeared.
This Nome was known far and wide as a terriblefighter and a cruel, desperate commander. He had fifty thousandNome soldiers, all well drilled, who feared nothing but their sternmaster. Yet General Blug was a trifle uneasy when he arrived andsaw how angry the Nome King was.
“Ha! So you're here! ” cried the King.
“So I am, ” said the General.
“March your army at once to the Land of Oz, captureand destroy the Emerald City, and bring back to me my Magic Belt! ”roared the King.
“You're crazy, ” calmly remarked the General.
“What's that? What's that? What's that? ” And theNome King danced around on his pointed toes, he was so enraged.
“You don't know what you're talking about, ”continued the General, seating himself upon a large cut diamond. “Iadvise you to stand in a corner and count sixty before you speakagain. By that time you may be more sensible. ”
The King looked around for something to throw atGeneral Blug, but as nothing was handy he began to consider thatperhaps the man was right and he had been talking foolishly. So hemerely threw himself into his glittering throne and tipped hiscrown over his ear and curled his feet up under him and glaredwickedly at Blug.
“In the first place, ” said the General, “we cannotmarch across the deadly desert to the Land of Oz. And if we could,the Ruler of that country, Princess Ozma, has certain fairy powersthat would render my army helpless. Had you not lost your MagicBelt we might have some chance of defeating Ozma; but the Belt isgone. ”
“I want it! ” screamed the King. “I must have it.”
“Well, then, let us try in a sensible way to get it,” replied the General. “The Belt was captured by a little girlnamed Dorothy, who lives in Kansas, in the United States ofAmerica. ”
“But she left it in the Emerald City, with Ozma, ”declared the King.
“How do you know that? ” asked the General.
“One of my spies, who is a Blackbird, flew over thedesert to the Land of Oz, and saw the Magic Belt in Ozma's palace,” replied the King with a groan.
“Now that gives me an idea, ” said General Blug,thoughtfully. “There are two ways to get to the Land of Oz withouttraveling across the sandy desert. ”
“What are they? ” demanded the King, eagerly.
“One way is OVER the desert, through the air; andthe other way is UNDER the desert, through the earth. ”
Hearing this the Nome King uttered a yell of joy andleaped from his throne, to resume his wild walk up and down thecavern.
“That's it, Blug! ” he shouted. “That's the idea,General! I'm King of the Under World, and my subjects are allminers. I'll make a secret tunnel under the desert to the Land ofOz— yes! right up to the Emerald City— and you will march yourarmies there and capture the whole country! ”
“Softly, softly, your Majesty. Don't go too fast, ”warned the General. “My Nomes are good fighters, but they are notstrong enough to conquer the Emerald City. ”
“Are you sure? ” asked the King.
“Absolutely certain, your Majesty. ”
“Then what am I to do? ”
“Give up the idea and mind your own business, ”advised the General. “You have plenty to do trying to rule yourunderground kingdom. ”
“But I want the Magic Belt— and I'm going to haveit! ” roared the Nome King.
“I'd like to see you get it, ” replied the General,laughing maliciously.
The King was by this time so exasperated that hepicked up his scepter, which had a heavy ball, made from asapphire, at the end of it, and threw it with all his force atGeneral Blug. The sapphire hit the General upon his forehead andknocked him flat upon the ground, where he lay motionless. Then theKing rang his gong and told his guards to drag out the General andthrow him away; which they did.
This Nome King was named Roquat the Red, and no oneloved him. He was a bad man and a powerful monarch, and he hadresolved to destroy the Land of Oz and its magnificent EmeraldCity, to enslave Princess Ozma and little Dorothy and all the Ozpeople, and recov