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98 pages

English

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pubOne.info thank you for your continued support and wish to present you this new edition. Here is a story with a boy hero, and a boy of whom you have never before heard. There are girls in the story, too, including our old friend Dorothy, and some of the characters wander a good way from the Land of Oz before they all assemble in the Emerald City to take part in Ozma's banquet. Indeed, I think you will find this story quite different from the other histories of Oz, but I hope you will not like it the less on that account.

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Publié par	Pub One Info
Date de parution	27 septembre 2010
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9782819929796
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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RINKITINK IN OZ
by
L. Frank Baum
Wherein is recorded the Perilous Quest of
Prince Inga of Pingaree and King
Rinkitink in the Magical
Isles that lie beyond
the Borderland
of Oz
By L. Frank Baum
“Royal Historian of Oz”
Introducing this Story
Here is a story with a boy hero, and a boy of whomyou have never before heard. There are girls in the story, too,including our old friend Dorothy, and some of the characters wandera good way from the Land of Oz before they all assemble in theEmerald City to take part in Ozma's banquet. Indeed, I think youwill find this story quite different from the other histories ofOz, but I hope you will not like it the less on that account.
If I am permitted to write another Oz book it willtell of some thrilling adventures encountered by Dorothy, BetsyBobbin, Trot and the Patchwork Girl right in the Land of Oz, andhow they discovered some amazing creatures that never could haveexisted outside a fairy-land. I have an idea that about the timeyou are reading this story of Rinkitink I shall be writing thatstory of Adventures in Oz.
Don't fail to write me often and give me your adviceand suggestions, which I always appreciate. I get a good manyletters from my readers, but every one is a joy to me and I answerthem as soon as I can find time to do so.
“OZCOT”
at HOLLYWOOD
in CALIFORNIA, 1916.
L. FRANK BAUM
Royal Historian of Oz
Chapter One
The Prince of Pingaree
If you have a map of the Land of Oz handy, you willfind that the great Nonestic Ocean washes the shores of the Kingdomof Rinkitink, between which and the Land of Oz lies a strip of thecountry of the Nome King and a Sandy Desert. The Kingdom ofRinkitink isn't very big and lies close to the ocean, all thehouses and the King's palace being built near the shore. The peoplelive much upon the water, boating and fishing, and the wealth ofRinkitink is gained from trading along the coast and with theislands nearest it.
Four days' journey by boat to the north of Rinkitinkis the Island of Pingaree, and as our story begins here I must tellyou something about this island. At the north end of Pingaree,where it is widest, the land is a mile from shore to shore, but atthe south end it is scarcely half a mile broad; thus, althoughPingaree is four miles long, from north to south, it cannot becalled a very big island. It is exceedingly pretty, however, and tothe gulls who approach it from the sea it must resemble a hugegreen wedge lying upon the waters, for its grass and trees give itthe color of an emerald.
The grass came to the edge of the sloping shores;the beautiful trees occupied all the central portion of Pingaree,forming a continuous grove where the branches met high overhead andthere was just space beneath them for the cosy houses of theinhabitants. These houses were scattered everywhere throughout theisland, so that there was no town or city, unless the whole islandmight be called a city. The canopy of leaves, high overhead, formeda shelter from sun and rain, and the dwellers in the grove couldall look past the straight tree-trunks and across the grassy slopesto the purple waters of the Nonestic Ocean.
At the big end of the island, at the north, stoodthe royal palace of King Kitticut, the lord and ruler of Pingaree.It was a beautiful palace, built entirely of snow-white marble andcapped by domes of burnished gold, for the King was exceedinglywealthy. All along the coast of Pingaree were found the largest andfinest pearls in the whole world.
These pearls grew within the shells of big oysters,and the people raked the oysters from their watery beds, sought outthe milky pearls and carried them dutifully to their King.Therefore, once every year His Majesty was able to send six of hisboats, with sixty rowers and many sacks of the valuable pearls, tothe Kingdom of Rinkitink, where there was a city called Gilgad, inwhich King Rinkitink's palace stood on a rocky headland and served,with its high towers, as a lighthouse to guide sailors to theharbor. In Gilgad the pearls from Pingaree were purchased by theKing's treasurer, and the boats went back to the island laden withstores of rich merchandise and such supplies of food as the peopleand the royal family of Pingaree needed.
The Pingaree people never visited any other land butthat of Rinkitink, and so there were few other lands that knewthere was such an island. To the southwest was an island called theIsle of Phreex, where the inhabitants had no use for pearls. Andfar north of Pingaree— six days' journey by boat, it was said— weretwin islands named Regos and Coregos, inhabited by a fierce andwarlike people.
Many years before this story really begins, ten bigboatloads of those fierce warriors of Regos and Coregos visitedPingaree, landing suddenly upon the north end of the island. Therethey began to plunder and conquer, as was their custom, but thepeople of Pingaree, although neither so big nor so strong as theirfoes, were able to defeat them and drive them all back to the sea,where a great storm overtook the raiders from Regos and Coregos anddestroyed them and their boats, not a single warrior returning tohis own country.
This defeat of the enemy seemed the more wonderfulbecause the pearl-fishers of Pingaree were mild and peaceful indisposition and seldom quarreled even among themselves. Their onlyweapons were their oyster rakes; yet the fact remains that theydrove their fierce enemies from Regos and Coregos from theirshores.
King Kitticut was only a boy when this remarkablebattle was fought, and now his hair was gray; but he remembered theday well and, during the years that followed, his one constant fearwas of another invasion of his enemies. He feared they might send amore numerous army to his island, both for conquest and revenge, inwhich case there could be little hope of successfully opposingthem.
This anxiety on the part of King Kitticut led him tokeep a sharp lookout for strange boats, one of his men patrollingthe beach constantly, but he was too wise to allow any fear to makehim or his subjects unhappy. He was a good King and lived verycontentedly in his fine palace, with his fair Queen Garee and theirone child, Prince Inga.
The wealth of Pingaree increased year by year; andthe happiness of the people increased, too. Perhaps there was noplace, outside the Land of Oz, where contentment and peace weremore manifest than on this pretty island, hidden in the besom ofthe Nonestic Ocean. Had these conditions remained undisturbed,there would have been no need to speak of Pingaree in thisstory.
Prince Inga, the heir to all the riches and thekingship of Pingaree, grew up surrounded by every luxury; but hewas a manly little fellow, although somewhat too grave andthoughtful, and he could never bear to be idle a single minute. Heknew where the finest oysters lay hidden along the coast and was assuccessful in finding pearls as any of the men of the island,although he was so slight and small. He had a little boat of hisown and a rake for dragging up the oysters and he was very proudindeed when he could carry a big white pearl to his father.
There was no school upon the island, as the peopleof Pingaree were far removed from the state of civilization thatgives our modern children such advantages as schools and learnedprofessors, but the King owned several manuscript books, the pagesbeing made of sheepskin. Being a man of intelligence, he was ableto teach his son something of reading, writing and arithmetic.
When studying his lessons Prince Inga used to gointo the grove near his father's palace and climb into the branchesof a tall tree, where he had built a platform with a comfortableseat to rest upon, all hidden by the canopy of leaves. There, withno one to disturb him, he would pore over the sheepskin on whichwere written the queer characters of the Pingarese language.
King Kitticut was very proud of his little son, aswell he might be, and he soon felt a high respect for Inga'sjudgment and thought that he was worthy to be taken into theconfidence of his father in many matters of state. He taught theboy the needs of the people and how to rule them justly, for someday he knew that Inga would be King in his place. One day he calledhis son to his side and said to him:
“Our island now seems peaceful enough, Inga, and weare happy and prosperous, but I cannot forget those terrible peopleof Regos and Coregos. My constant fear is that they will send afleet of boats to search for those of their race whom we defeatedmany years ago, and whom the sea afterwards destroyed. If thewarriors come in great numbers we may be unable to oppose them, formy people are little trained to fighting at best; they surely wouldcause us much injury and suffering. ”
“Are we, then, less powerful than in mygrandfather's day? ” asked Prince Inga.
The King shook his head thoughtfully.
“It is not that, ” said he. “That you may fullyunderstand that marvelous battle, I must confide to, you a greatsecret. I have in my possession three Magic Talismans, which I haveever guarded with utmost care, keeping the knowledge of theirexistence from anyone else. But, lest I should die, and the secretbe lost, I have decided to tell you what these talismans are andwhere they are hidden. Come with me, my son. ”
He led the way through the rooms of the palace untilthey came to the great banquet hall. There, stopping in the centerof the room, he stooped down and touched a hidden spring in thetiled floor. At once one of the tiles sank downward and the Kingreached within the cavity and drew out a silken bag.
This bag he proceeded to open, showing Inga that itcontained three great pearls, each one as big around as a marble.One had a blue tint and one was of a delicate rose color, but thethird was pure white.
“These three pearls, ” said the King, speaking in asolemn, impressive voice, “are the most wonderful the world hasever known. They were gifts to one of my ancestors from the MermaidQueen, a powe