The Marvelous Land of Oz by L. Frank Baum (life changing books to read TXT) ๐
Description
Four years after writing his immensely popular The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, L. Frank Baum returned to the Land of Oz in this second book of fourteen he wrote about the magical country. Like its predecessor, The Marvelous Land of Oz has delighted children through the years, and has been adapted into stage plays, films, and comics.
A young boy named Tip lives in Gillikin Country in Oz with an old witch named Mombi. When Mombi threatens to turn Tip into a statue, he escapes with his friend Jack, a wooden man with a pumpkin for a head who has been brought to life through magic. He then journeys to the Emerald City, where he embarks upon an exciting adventure, meeting new quirky characters and returning favorites from the first book.
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- Author: L. Frank Baum
Read book online ยซThe Marvelous Land of Oz by L. Frank Baum (life changing books to read TXT) ๐ยป. Author - L. Frank Baum
โAre we going to see this queer King?โ asked Jack, with interest.
โI think we may as well,โ replied the boy; โunless you have something better to do.โ
โOh, no, dear father,โ said the Pumpkinhead. โI am quite willing to go wherever you please.โ
Tip Makes an Experiment in MagicThe boy, small and rather delicate in appearance, seemed somewhat embarrassed at being called โfatherโ by the tall, awkward, pumpkinheaded man, but to deny the relationship would involve another long and tedious explanation; so he changed the subject by asking, abruptly:
โAre you tired?โ
โOf course not!โ replied the other. โBut,โ he continued, after a pause, โit is quite certain I shall wear out my wooden joints if I keep on walking.โ
Tip reflected, as they journeyed on, that this was true. He began to regret that he had not constructed the wooden limbs more carefully and substantially. Yet how could he ever have guessed that the man he had made merely to scare old Mombi with would be brought to life by means of a magical powder contained in an old pepper-box?
So he ceased to reproach himself, and began to think how he might yet remedy the deficiencies of Jackโs weak joints.
While thus engaged they came to the edge of a wood, and the boy sat down to rest upon an old sawhorse that some woodcutter had left there.
โWhy donโt you sit down?โ he asked the Pumpkinhead.
โWonโt it strain my joints?โ inquired the other.
โOf course not. Itโll rest them,โ declared the boy.
So Jack tried to sit down; but as soon as he bent his joints farther than usual they gave way altogether, and he came clattering to the ground with such a crash that Tip feared he was entirely ruined.
He rushed to the man, lifted him to his feet, straightened his arms and legs, and felt of his head to see if by chance it had become cracked. But Jack seemed to be in pretty good shape, after all, and Tip said to him:
โI guess youโd better remain standing, hereafter. It seems the safest way.โ
โVery well, dear father; just as you say,โ replied the smiling Jack, who had been in no wise confused by his tumble.
Tip sat down again. Presently the Pumpkinhead asked:
โWhat is that thing you are sitting on?โ
โOh, this is a horse,โ replied the boy, carelessly.
โWhat is a horse?โ demanded Jack.
โA horse? Why, there are two kinds of horses,โ returned Tip, slightly puzzled how to explain. โOne kind of horse is alive, and has four legs and a head and a tail. And people ride upon its back.โ
โI understand,โ said Jack, cheerfully โThatโs the kind of horse you are now sitting on.โ
โNo, it isnโt,โ answered Tip, promptly.
โWhy not? That one has four legs, and a head, and a tail.โ Tip looked at the sawhorse more carefully, and found that the Pumpkinhead was right. The body had been formed from a tree-trunk, and a branch had been left sticking up at one end that looked very much like a tail. In the other end were two big knots that resembled eyes, and a place had been chopped away that might easily be mistaken for the horseโs mouth. As for the legs, they were four straight limbs cut from trees and stuck fast into the body, being spread wide apart so that the sawhorse would stand firmly when a log was laid across it to be sawed.
โThis thing resembles a real horse more than I imagined,โ said Tip, trying to explain. โBut a real horse is alive, and trots and prances and eats oats, while this is nothing more than a dead horse, made of wood, and used to saw logs upon.โ
โIf it were alive, wouldnโt it trot, and prance, and eat oats?โ inquired the Pumpkinhead.
โIt would trot and prance, perhaps; but it wouldnโt eat oats,โ replied the boy, laughing at the idea. โAnd of course it canโt ever be alive, because it is made of wood.โ
โSo am I,โ answered the man.
Tip looked at him in surprise.
โWhy, so you are!โ he exclaimed. โAnd the magic powder that brought you to life is here in my pocket.โ
He brought out the pepper box, and eyed it curiously.
โI wonder,โ said he, musingly, โif it would bring the sawhorse to life.โ
โIf it would,โ returned Jack, calmlyโ โfor nothing seemed to surprise himโ โโI could ride on its back, and that would save my joints from wearing out.โ
โIโll try it!โ cried the boy, jumping up. โBut I wonder if I can remember the words old Mombi said, and the way she held her hands up.โ
He thought it over for a minute, and as he had watched carefully from the hedge every motion of the old witch, and listened to her words, he believed he could repeat exactly what she had said and done.
So he began by sprinkling some of the magic Powder of Life from the pepper-box upon the body of the sawhorse. Then he lifted his left hand, with the little finger pointing upward, and said: โWeaugh!โ
โWhat does that mean, dear father?โ asked Jack, curiously.
โI donโt know,โ answered Tip. Then he lifted his right hand, with the thumb pointing upward and said: โTeaugh!โ
โWhatโs that, dear father?โ inquired Jack.
โIt means you must keep quiet!โ replied the boy, provoked at being interrupted at so important a moment.
โHow fast I am learning!โ remarked the Pumpkinhead, with his eternal smile.
Tip now lifted both hands above his head, with all the fingers and thumbs spread out, and cried in a loud voice: โPeaugh!โ
Immediately the sawhorse moved, stretched its legs, yawned with its chopped-out mouth, and shook a few grains of the powder off its back. The rest of the powder seemed to have vanished into the body of the horse.
โGood!โ called Jack, while the boy looked on in astonishment. โYou are a very clever sorcerer, dear father!โ
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