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"I never thought of that!" said Dorothy joyfully. "It's just

the thing. I'll go at once for the Golden Cap."

When she brought it into the Throne Room she spoke the magic

words, and soon the band of Winged Monkeys flew in through the

open window and stood beside her.

"This is the second time you have called us," said the Monkey

King, bowing before the little girl. "What do you wish?"

"I want you to fly with me to Kansas," said Dorothy.

But the Monkey King shook his head.

"That cannot be done," he said. "We belong to this country alone,

and cannot leave it. There has never been a Winged Monkey in Kansas yet,

and I suppose there never will be, for they don't belong there. We shall

be glad to serve you in any way in our power, but we cannot cross the desert.

Good-bye."

And with another bow, the Monkey King spread his wings and

flew away through the window, followed by all his band.

Dorothy was ready to cry with disappointment. "I have wasted

the charm of the Golden Cap to no purpose," she said, "for the

Winged Monkeys cannot help me."

"It is certainly too bad!" said the tender-hearted Woodman.

The Scarecrow was thinking again, and his head bulged out so

horribly that Dorothy feared it would burst.

"Let us call in the soldier with the green whiskers," he said,

"and ask his advice."

So the soldier was summoned and entered the Throne Room

timidly, for while Oz was alive he never was allowed to come

farther than the door.

"This little girl," said the Scarecrow to the soldier,

"wishes to cross the desert. How can she do so?"

"I cannot tell," answered the soldier, "for nobody has ever

crossed the desert, unless it is Oz himself."

"Is there no one who can help me?" asked Dorothy earnestly.

"Glinda might," he suggested.

"Who is Glinda?" inquired the Scarecrow.

"The Witch of the South. She is the most powerful of all the

Witches, and rules over the Quadlings. Besides, her castle stands

on the edge of the desert, so she may know a way to cross it."

"Glinda is a Good Witch, isn't she?" asked the child.

"The Quadlings think she is good," said the soldier, "and she

is kind to everyone. I have heard that Glinda is a beautiful woman,

who knows how to keep young in spite of the many years she has lived."

"How can I get to her castle?" asked Dorothy.

"The road is straight to the South," he answered, "but it is

said to be full of dangers to travelers. There are wild beasts in

the woods, and a race of queer men who do not like strangers to

cross their country. For this reason none of the Quadlings ever

come to the Emerald City."

The soldier then left them and the Scarecrow said:

"It seems, in spite of dangers, that the best thing Dorothy

can do is to travel to the Land of the South and ask Glinda to

help her. For, of course, if Dorothy stays here she will never

get back to Kansas."

"You must have been thinking again," remarked the Tin Woodman.

"I have," said the Scarecrow.

"I shall go with Dorothy," declared the Lion, "for I am

tired of your city and long for the woods and the country again.

I am really a wild beast, you know. Besides, Dorothy will need

someone to protect her."

"That is true," agreed the Woodman. "My axe may be of service

to her; so I also will go with her to the Land of the South."

"When shall we start?" asked the Scarecrow.

"Are you going?" they asked, in surprise.

"Certainly. If it wasn't for Dorothy I should never have had brains.

She lifted me from the pole in the cornfield and brought me to the

Emerald City. So my good luck is all due to her, and I shall never

leave her until she starts back to Kansas for good and all."

"Thank you," said Dorothy gratefully. "You are all very kind

to me. But I should like to start as soon as possible."

"We shall go tomorrow morning," returned the Scarecrow. "So

now let us all get ready, for it will be a long journey."

19. Attacked by the Fighting Trees

The next morning Dorothy kissed the pretty green girl good-bye,

and they all shook hands with the soldier with the green whiskers,

who had walked with them as far as the gate. When the Guardian of

the Gate saw them again he wondered greatly that they could leave

the beautiful City to get into new trouble. But he at once

unlocked their spectacles, which he put back into the green box,

and gave them many good wishes to carry with them.

"You are now our ruler," he said to the Scarecrow;

"so you must come back to us as soon as possible."

"I certainly shall if I am able," the Scarecrow replied;

"but I must help Dorothy to get home, first."

As Dorothy bade the good-natured Guardian a last farewell she said:

"I have been very kindly treated in your lovely City, and

everyone has been good to me. I cannot tell you how grateful I am."

"Don't try, my dear," he answered. "We should like to keep

you with us, but if it is your wish to return to Kansas, I hope

you will find a way." He then opened the gate of the outer wall,

and they walked forth and started upon their journey.

The sun shone brightly as our friends turned their faces

toward the Land of the South. They were all in the best of spirits,

and laughed and chatted together. Dorothy was once more filled with

the hope of getting home, and the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman were

glad to be of use to her. As for the Lion, he sniffed the fresh air

with delight and whisked his tail from side to side in pure joy at

being in the country again, while Toto ran around them and chased

the moths and butterflies, barking merrily all the time.

"City life does not agree with me at all," remarked the Lion,

as they walked along at a brisk pace. "I have lost much flesh

since I lived there, and now I am anxious for a chance to show the

other beasts how courageous I have grown."

They now turned and took a last look at the Emerald City.

All they could see was a mass of towers and steeples behind the

green walls, and high up above everything the spires and dome

of the Palace of Oz.

"Oz was not such a bad Wizard, after all," said the Tin

Woodman, as he felt his heart rattling around in his breast.

"He knew how to give me brains, and very good brains, too,"

said the Scarecrow.

"If Oz had taken a dose of the same courage he gave me,"

added the Lion, "he would have been a brave man."

Dorothy said nothing. Oz had not kept the promise he made her,

but he had done his best, so she forgave him. As he said, he was

a good man, even if he was a bad Wizard.

The first day's journey was through the green fields and

bright flowers that stretched about the Emerald City on every side.

They slept that night on the grass, with nothing but the stars

over them; and they rested very well indeed.

In the morning they traveled on until they came to a thick wood.

There was no way of going around it, for it seemed to extend to the

right and left as far as they could see; and, besides, they did not

dare change the direction of their journey for fear of getting lost.

So they looked for the place where it would be easiest to get into

the forest.

The Scarecrow, who was in the lead, finally discovered a big

tree with such wide-spreading branches that there was room for the

party to pass underneath. So he walked forward to the tree, but

just as he came under the first branches they bent down and twined

around him, and the next minute he was raised from the ground and

flung headlong among his fellow travelers.

This did not hurt the Scarecrow, but it surprised him, and he

looked rather dizzy when Dorothy picked him up.

"Here is another space between the trees," called the Lion.

"Let me try it first," said the Scarecrow, "for it doesn't hurt

me to get thrown about." He walked up to another tree, as he spoke,

but its branches immediately seized him and tossed him back again.

"This is strange," exclaimed Dorothy. "What shall we do?"