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第31节

the lost princess of oz-第31节

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Dorothy now realized that Ugu must be treated as an



enemy; so she advanced toward the corner in which he



sat; saying as she went:







〃I am not afraid of you; Mr。 Shoemaker; and I think



you'll be sorry; pretty soon; that you're such a bad



man。 You can't destroy me and I won't destroy you; but



I'm going to punish you for your wickedness。〃







Ugu laughed a laugh that was not nice to hear; and



then he waved his hand。 Dorothy was halfway across the



room when suddenly a wall of glass rose before her and



stopped her progress。 Through the glass she could see



the magician sneering at her because she was a weak



little girl; and this provoked her。 Although the glass



wall obliged her to halt she instantly pressed both



hands to her Magic Belt and cried in a loud voice:







〃Ugu the Shoemaker; by the magic virtues of the Magic



Belt; I command you to become a dove!〃







The magician instantly realized he was being



enchanted; for he could feel his form changing。 He



struggled desperately against the enchantment; mumbling



magic words and making magic passes with his hands。 And



in one way he succeeded in defeating Dorothy's purpose;



for while his form soon changed to that of a gray dove;



the dove was of an enormous size  bigger even than



Ugu had been as a man  and this feat he had been able



to accomplish before his powers of magic wholly



deserted him。







And the dove was not gentle; as doves usually are;



for Ugu was terribly enraged at the little girl's



success。 His books had told him nothing of the Nome



King's Magic Belt; the Country of the Nomes being



outside the Land of Oz。 He knew; however; that he was



likely to be conquered unless he made a fierce fight;



so he spread his wings and rose in the air and flew



directly toward Dorothy。 The Wall of Glass had



disappeared the instant Ugu became transformed。







Dorothy had meant to command the Belt to transform



the magician into a Dove of Peace; but in her



excitement she forgot to say more than 〃dove;〃 and now



Ugu was not a Dove of Peace by any means; but rather a



spiteful Dove of War。 His size made his sharp beak and



claws very dangerous; but Dorothy was not afraid when



he came darting toward her with his talons outstretched



and his sword…like beak open。 She knew the Magic Belt



would protect its wearer from harm。







But the Frogman did not know that fact and became



alarmed at the little girl's seeming danger。 So he gave



a sudden leap and leaped full upon the back of the



great dove。







Then began a desperate struggle。 The dove was as



strong as Ugu had been; and in size it was considerably



bigger than the Frogman。 But the Frogman had eaten the



zosozo and it had made him fully as strong as Ugu the



Dove。 At the first leap he bore the dove to the floor;



but the giant bird got free and began to bite and claw



the Frogman; beating him down with its great wings



whenever he attempted to rise。 The thick; tough skin of



the big frog was not easily damaged; but Dorothy feared



for her champion and by again using the transformation



power of the Magic Belt she made the dove grow small;



until it was no larger than a canary bird。







Ugu had not lost his knowledge of magic when he lost



his shape as a man; and he now realized it was hopeless



to oppose the power of the Magic Belt and knew that his



only hope of escape lay in instant action。 So he



quickly flew into the golden jeweled dishpan he had



stolen from Cayke the Cookie Cook and; as birds can



talk as well as beasts or men in the Fairyland of Oz;



he muttered the magic word that was required and wished



himself in the Country of the Quadlings  which was as



far away from the wicker castle as he believed he could



get。







Our friends did not know; of course; what Ugu was



about to do。 They saw the dishpan tremble an instant



and then disappear; the dove disappearing with it; and



although they waited expectantly for some minutes for



the magician's return; Ugu did not come back again。







〃Seems to me;〃 said the Wizard in a cheerful voice;



〃that we have conquered the wicked magician more



quickly than we expected to。〃







〃Don't say 'we'  Dorothy did it!〃 cried the



Patchwork Girl; turning three somersaults in succession



and then walking around on her hands。 〃Hurrah for



Dorothy!〃







〃I thought you said you did not know how to use the



magic of the Nome King's Belt;〃 said the Wizard to



Dorothy。







〃I didn't know; at that time;〃 she replied; 〃but



afterward I remembered how the Nome King once used the



Magic Belt to enchant people and transform 'em into



ornaments and all sorts of things; so I tried some



enchantments in secret and after a while I transformed



the Sawhorse into a potato…masher and back again; and



the Cowardly Lion into a pussycat and back again; and



then I knew the thing would work all right。〃







〃When did you perform those enchantments?〃 asked the



Wizard; much surprised。







〃One night when all the rest of you were asleep but



Scraps; and she had gone chasing moonbeams。〃







〃Well;〃 remarked the Wizard; 〃your discovery has



certainly saved us a lot of trouble; and we must all



thank the Frogman; too; for making such a good fight。



The dove's shape had Ugu's evil disposition inside it;



and that made the monster bird dangerous。〃







The Frogman was looking sad because the bird's talons



had torn his pretty clothes; but he bowed with much



dignity at this well deserved praise。 Cayke; however;



had squatted on the floor and was sobbing bitterly。







〃My precious dishpan is gone!〃 she wailed。 〃Gone;



just as I had found it again!〃







〃Never mind;〃 said Trot; trying to comfort her; 〃it's



sure to be somewhere; so we'll cert'nly run across it



some day。〃







〃Yes; indeed;〃 added Betsy; 〃now that we have Ozma's



Magic Picture; we can tell just where the Dove went



with your dishpan。〃







They all approached the Magic Picture; and Dorothy



wished it to show the enchanted form of Ugu the



Shoemaker; wherever it might be。 At once there appeared



in the frame of the Picture a scene in the far Quadling



Country; where the Dove was perched disconsolately on



the limb of a tree and the jeweled dishpan lay on the



ground just underneath the limb。







〃But where is the place  how far or how near?〃



asked Cayke anxiously。







〃The Book of Records will tell us that;〃 answered the



Wizard。 So they looked in the Great Book and read the



following:







〃Ugu the Magician; being transformed



into a dove by Princess Dorothy of



Oz; has used the magic of the golden



dishpan to carry him instantly to the



northeast corner of the Quadling



Country。〃











〃That's all right;〃 said Dorothy。 〃Don't worry;



Cayke; for the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman are in



that part of the country; looking for Ozma; and they'll



surely find your dishpan。〃







〃Good gracious!〃 exclaimed Button…Bright; 〃we've



forgot all about Ozma。 Let's find out where the



magician hid her。〃







Back to the Magic Picture they trooped; but when they



wished to see Ozma; wherever she might be hidden; only



a round black spot appeared in the center of the



canvas。







〃I don't see how that can be Ozma!〃 said Dorothy;



much puzzled。







〃It seems to be the best the Magic Picture can do;



however;〃 said the Wizard; no less surprised。 〃If it's



an enchantment; it looks as if the magician had



transformed Ozma into a chunk of pitch。〃



















Chapter Twenty…Four







The Little Pink Bear Speaks Truly











For several minutes they all stood staring at the black



spot on the  canvas of  the Magic Picture; wondering



what it could mean。







〃P'r'aps we'd better ask the little Pink Bear about



Ozma;〃 suggested Trot。







〃Pshaw!〃 said Button…Bright; 〃he don't know



anything。〃







〃He never makes a mistake;〃 declared the King。







〃He did once; surely;〃 said Betsy。 〃But perhaps he



wouldn't make a mistake again。〃







〃He won't have the chance;〃 grumbled the Bear King。







〃We might hear what he has to say;〃 said Dorothy。 〃It



won't do any harm to ask the Pink Bear where Ozma is。〃







〃I will not have him questioned;〃 declared the King;



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