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第33章

the lost princess of oz-第33章

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followed him; Toto keeping at the heels of his little



mistress。 Then came the Lion; the Woozy and the



Sawhorse; then Cayke the Cookie Cook and Button…Bright;



then the Lavender Bear carrying the Pink Bear; and



finally the Frogman and the Patchwork Girl; with Hank



the Mule tagging behind。 So it was the Wizard who



caught the first glimpse of the big domed hall; but the



others quickly followed and gathered in a wondering



group just within the entrance。







Upon a raised platform at one side was a heavy table



on which lay Glinda's Great Book of Records; but the



platform was firmly fastened to the floor and the table



was fastened to the platform and the Book was chained



fast to the table  just as it had been when it was



kept in Glinda's palace。 On the wall over the table



hung Ozma's Magic Picture。 On a row of shelves at the



opposite side of the hall stood all the chemicals and



essences of magic and all the magical instruments that



had been stolen from Glinda and Ozma and the Wizard;



with glass doors covering the shelves so that no one



could get at them。







And in a far corner sat Ugu the Shoemaker; his feet



lazily extended; his skinny hands clasped behind his



head。 He was leaning back at his ease and calmly



smoking a long pipe。 Around the magician was a sort of



cage; seemingly made of golden bars set wide apart; and



at his feet  also within the cage  reposed the



long…sought diamond…studded dishpan of Cayke the Cookie



Cook。







Princess Ozma of Oz was nowhere to be seen。







〃Well; well;〃 said Ugu; when the invaders had stood



in silence for a moment; staring about them; 〃this



visit is an expected pleasure; I assure you。 I knew you



were coming and I know why you are here。 You are not



welcome; for I cannot use any of you to my advantage;



but as you have insisted on coming I hope you will make



the afternoon call as brief as possible。 It won't take



long to transact your business with me。 You will ask me



for Ozma; and my reply will be that you may find her 



if you can。〃







〃Sir;〃 answered the Wizard; in a tone of rebuke; 〃you



are a very wicked and cruel person。 I suppose you



imagine; because you have stolen this poor woman's



dishpan and all the best magic in Oz; that you are more



powerful than we are and will be able to triumph over



us。〃







〃Yes;〃 said Ugu the Shoemaker; slowly filling his



pipe with fresh tobacco from a silver bowl that stood



beside him; 〃that is exactly what I imagine。 It will do



you no good to demand from me the girl who was formerly



the Ruler of Oz; because I will not tell you where I



have hidden her and you can't guess in a thousand



years。 Neither will I restore to you any of the magic I



have captured。 I am not so foolish。 But bear this in



mind: I mean to be the Ruler of Oz myself; hereafter;



so I advise you to be careful how you address your



future Monarch。〃







〃Ozma is still Ruler of Oz; wherever you may have



hidden her;〃 declared the Wizard。 〃And bear this in



mind; miserable Shoemaker: We intend to find her and to



rescue her; in time; but our first duty and pleasure



will be to conquer you and then punish you for your



misdeeds。〃







〃Very well; go ahead and conquer;〃 said Ugu。 〃I'd



really like to see how you can do it。〃







Now; although the little Wizard had spoken so boldly;



he had at the moment no idea how they might conquer the



magician。 He had that morning given the Frogman; at his



request; a dose of zosozo from his bottle; and the



Frogman had promised to fight a good fight if it was



necessary; but the Wizard knew that strength alone



could not avail against magical arts。 The toy Bear King



seemed to have some pretty good magic; however; and the



Wizard depended to an extent on that。 But something



ought to be done right away; and the Wizard didn't know



what it was。







While he considered this perplexing question and the



others stood looking at him as their leader; a queer



thing happened。 The floor of the great circular hall;



on which they were standing; suddenly began to tip。



Instead of being flat and level it became a slant; and



the slant grew steeper and steeper until none of the



party could manage to stand upon it。 Presently they all



slid down to the wall; which was now under them; and



then it became evident that the whole vast room was



slowly turning upside down! Only Ugu the Shoemaker;



kept in place by the bars of his golden cage; remained



in his former position; and the wicked magician seemed



to enjoy the surprise of his victims immensely。







First; they all slid down to the wall back of them;



but as the room continued to turn over they next slid



down the wall and found themselves at the bottom of the



great dome; bumping against the big chandelier which;



like everything else; was now upside…down。







The turning movement now stopped and the room became



stationary。 Looking far up; they saw Ugu suspended in



his cage at the very top; which had once been the floor







〃Ah;〃 said he; grinning down at them; 〃the way to



conquer is to act; and he who acts promptly is sure to



win。 This makes a very good prison; from which I am



sure you cannot escape。 Please amuse yourselves in any



way you like; but I must beg you to excuse me; as I



have business in another part of my castle。〃







Saying this; he opened a trap door in the floor of



his cage (which was now over his head) and climbed



through it and disappeared from their view。 The diamond



dishpan still remained in the cage; but the bars kept



it from falling down on their heads。







〃Well; I declare!〃 said the Patchwork Girl; seizing



one of the bars of the chandelier and swinging from it;



〃we must peg one for the Shoemaker; for he has trapped



us very cleverly。〃







〃Get off my foot; please;〃 said the Lion to the



Sawhorse。







〃And oblige me; Mr。 Mule;〃 remarked the Woozy; 〃by



taking your tail out of my left eye。







〃It's rather crowded down here;〃 explained Dorothy;



〃because the dome is rounding and we have all slid into



the middle of it。 But let us keep as quiet as possible



until we can think what's best to be done。〃







〃Dear; dear!〃 wailed Cayke; 〃I wish I had my darling



dishpan;〃 and she held her arms longingly toward it。







〃I wish I had the magic on those shelves up there;〃



sighed the Wizard。







〃Don't you s'pose we could get to it?〃 asked Trot



anxiously。







〃We'd have to fly;〃 laughed the Patchwork Girl。







But the Wizard took the suggestion seriously; and so



did the Frogman。 They talked it over and soon planned



an attempt to reach the shelves where the magical



instruments were。 First the Frogman lay against the



rounding dome and braced his foot on the stem of the



chandelier; then the Wizard climbed over him and lay on



the dome with his feet on the Frogman's shoulders; the



Cookie Cook came next; then Button…Bright climbed to



the woman's shoulders; then Dorothy climbed up; and



Betsy and Trot; and finally the Patchwork Girl; and all



their lengths made a long line that reached far up the



dome but not far enough for Scraps to touch the



shelves。







〃Wait a minute; perhaps I can reach the magic; called



the Bear King; and began scrambling up the bodies of



the others。 But when he came to the Cookie Cook his



soft paws tickled her side so that she squirmed and



upset the whole line。 

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