The Wizard of Oz (Complete Collection)

Author: Baum (Lyman Frank)
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-01-01
Features:
Next, it won’t be too difficult now that they have his guidance: what kind of clothes he was wearing, how to find the rest of him. At this point, everyone focused on the cook, trying piece by piece to see if it fit, and finally they put him together as a whole. As soon as he was put together, he bowed to everyone and said, “I’ll be right in the kitchen to make dinner for you. You’ll find it takes a lot of work to put all the scattered people together, so I suggest you start with Sir Gygelwitz. His name is Larry, a bald, fat man wearing a copper-buttoned blue jacket, a pink vest, and brown pants. His left knee is missing; a few years ago, he was too careless when he scattered and lost it. This made his leg a bit limp, but he got along just fine with half a knee. He is the number one figure in this city of scattered people, and he will welcome you and help you put the others together. While I’m cooking dinner for you, you’d better start with him.”
“We will,” the sorcerer said, “Thank you very much for your guidance, Master Chef.” Aunt Em was the first to find a piece of Sir Gygelwitz. “I find it too boring to put people together like this,” she said. “But since we have nothing to do until dinner is ready, we might as well clear out this junk. Hey, Henry, get busy looking for Larry’s bald head. I’ve already found his pink vest.” Everyone eagerly searched, and Berylina proved to be a great help. This yellow hen had sharp eyes and could lean her head against different pieces around her. She would check the already assembled Sir Gygelwitz to see which piece was needed next and then find it around. So within less than an hour, Mr. Larry stood whole before them.
“Congratulations, my friend,” he said in a cheerful voice. “You are indeed the cleverest among us who have come to see us. I’ve never been put together so quickly in my life. I was always considered a great puzzle.”
“I say,” Dorothy said, “Kansans are always fond of puzzles, and I have some experience with them. But the pictures in the puzzles are flat, while you are three-dimensional, which makes it harder to guess.”
“Thank you, dear,” old Larry replied with great pleasure. “I deeply appreciate the compliment. If I weren’t a true puzzle, it would be pointless to open myself up.”
“Why did you scatter?” Aunt Em asked sharply. “Why can’t you just stay together? Sir Gygelwitz seemed quite unhappy to hear this, but he still replied politely: ‘Madam, you may have noticed that everyone has something special. My special thing is scattering myself. As for yours, it’sto say, but no matter how special you are, I won’t mind.’”
“Well, you’ve got your certificate, Em,” Uncle Henry laughed. “I’m very happy. It’s a strange place, but we can’t be too picky about the people here.”
“If we’re not picky, then we’ll just leave these people scattered,” she retorted, and her words made everyone smile kindly.
Just then, Oompa-Loompa found a hand holding knitting needles. They immediately decided to restore the Knitting Grandmother. She was indeed easier to put together than Mr. Larry. Once she was put together, everyone saw that she was a cheerful old woman who warmly welcomed them.
Dorothy told her that the kangaroo had lost her knitting gloves, and Knitting Grandmother immediately agreed to knit a new pair for the poor kangaroo. Then the cook came in to invite them to dinner, and they saw a delicious meal waiting for them. Sir Gygelwitz sat at the head of the long table, and Knitting Grandmother sat at the other end. The guests spent a pleasant time enjoying the meal.
After dinner, they went to the courtyard outside and put together a few more people. This work was so fun that if the sorcerer hadn’t suggested starting their journey again, they might have spent the whole day in the City of Scattered People.
“But I don’t want to leave these poor people scattered here,” Dorothy said, unsure what to do.
“Oh, don’t worry about us, dear,” old Larry replied. “Almost every day, some Gillikin, Munchkin, or Winkie comes to put us together for fun, so it’s fine for these pieces to stay scattered for a while. But I hope you’ll come back to see us again—we always welcome you, I can guarantee that.”
“Do you never put yourselves together?” Dorothy asked.
“Never,” Larry replied. “Because we don’t have much to guess about each other, it’s not fun at all.”
After saying goodbye to the odd people, they got into the carriage and continued their journey.
“They are truly strange people,” Aunt Em said thoughtfully as they left the City of Scattered People. “But I really can’t see what use they have.”
“They kept us happy for several hours,” the sorcerer replied. “I’d say that’s very useful to us.”
Ojo was overjoyed and said, “Thank you, that’s wonderful.”
The hostess led them to a round-roofed hall at the back of the house, which was the sorcerer’s study. A long row of windows almost covered the walls of the circular hall, so it was very bright. In addition to the front door leading to the next room, there was also a back door. The front row of windows faced a wide bench, and there were also some chairs and benches in the room. At one end stood a large fireplace, with a blue log burning inside, emitting blue flames. Above the fire hung a row of four water jars, all bubbling and steaming violently. The hunchbacked sorcerer was stirring in all four jars at the same time—two with his hands and two with his feet, each foot tied to a long-handled wooden spoon. It turned out that this bent-over person could move his legs and feet just as easily as his arms! Uncle Neech approached to greet his old friend, but he couldn’t shake hands, nor could he pat his feet—his old friend’s hands and feet were all busy stirring. Uncle Neech had no choice but to pat the hunchbacked sorcerer’s bald head and ask, “What’s up?”
“Oh, it’s Tightlips,” Dr. Pipt said without looking up. “He wants to know what I’m brewing. Let me tell you, when I’m done, what I’ve brewed will be the marvelous Powder of Life. Only I, Dr. Pipt, can create such a magical elixir. No matter what is dead, as soon as it’s sprinkled with this powder, it will come back to life. I’ve spent years brewing this magical powder, but I’m happy to tell you that I’m almost there. You don’t know, I’m brewing this for my dear wife, Moraglothe, she has a special use for it and wants to try this powder. Don’t be shy, Uncle Neech, let me finish and we’ll talk properly.”
The hostess accompanied the guests to sit on the wide bench under the windows and said, “To be honest, Dr. Pipt is also a bit foolish. The first time he brewed the Powder of Life, he gave it all to the old witch Mombi. Mombi originally lived in the northern land of the Gillikins. She used a powder called ‘Spring Powder’ to trade with the doctor for the Powder of Life. But this old woman had ill intentions; she tricked the doctor. What Spring Powder? It was completely useless—it didn’t work at all.”
“Then the Powder of Life probably won’t work either,” Ojo said.
“Where do you get that idea? It works perfectly,” the hostess said with great certainty. “As soon as the powder was brewed, we first tested it on our glass cat. Not only did the cat come to life, but it’s still alive today. I don’t know where it’s gone now.”
“A glass cat!” Ojo exclaimed in surprise.
“Yes! With this cat as a companion, it’s quite amusing, but the cat is a bit too proud of herself and doesn’t seem very humble. She also refuses to catch mice,” the doctor’s wife said. “The doctor gave this cat a pink brain, but it turned out that the cat didn’t deserve such a highly developed special function. With this function, she felt that catching mice would be beneath her dignity. She also has a heart as red as blood, but it’s made of jewels—probably a ruby—so her heart is quite cold and ruthless. In my opinion, if the doctor wants to make another glass cat, he shouldn’t give it a brain or a heart. That way, once it comes to life, it won’t refuse to catch mice and will be useful to us.”
“What happened to the old witch Mombi after she got the Powder of Life from the doctor?” Ojo asked.
“She first brought Jack the Pumpkin Man back to life,” the hostess replied. “Jack the Pumpkin Man, you may have heard of him. He currently lives near Emerald City and is very favored by Princess Ozma, the ruler of our Land of Oz.”
“No, I haven’t heard of him,” Ojo said. “I’m afraid you’ll laugh, but I know very little about the Land of Oz. You know, I’ve been living with Uncle Neech since I was a child—he’s called Tightlips, so no one ever told me about it.”
“It’s no wonder they call you Ojo, the Unfortunate,” the hostess said with a tone of sympathy. “The more you know, the luckier you are, because knowledge is the greatest wealth in life.”
“But please tell me, what do you plan to do with the new batch of Powder of Life that Dr. Pipt has just brewed? The doctor said you have a special use for it.”
“So it is,” she replied. “I plan to bring my Raggedy Girl back to life.”
“Ah! The Raggedy Girl? What is that?” Ojo asked, as this sounded even more strange and unusual than the glass cat. There was also something else they paid close attention to: they avoided unpleasant topics, which was why nothing about Ojo and his questions was mentioned at the dinner table that day. However, the Scarecrow still told them about his encounter with the giant leaf that wrapped travelers and about how he completely cut off the shooting thorns of the hedgehog Cess. Hearing about such a great deed, Dorothy and Ozma were delighted, saying that Cess deserved it. They then talked about the Wood-land Man, and everyone agreed that such an extraordinary animal was something they had never seen before—even the living sawhorse could only be compared to it. Ozma had no idea that her kingdom had such a creature, and that there was only one in the world, which had been kept in the forest for many years.
Dorothy said that, in her opinion, the Wood-land Man was a kind and loyal beast. She then added that she didn’t like the glass cat very much.
“But,” the Scarecrow said, “the glass cat should be quite beautiful. If she weren’t so proud and always boasting about her pink brain, she wouldn’t be a terrible companion.”
The sorcerer, who had been eating quietly without a word, now raised his head and said, “The Powder of Life brewed by the hunchbacked sorcerer is indeed remarkable. But Dr. Pipt doesn’t understand the true value of this powder and uses it for such trivial things—it’s truly foolish.”
“I’ll definitely handle this,” Ozma said, her tone quite serious, but she soon smiled slightly and continued in a lighter tone, “I became the ruler of the Land of Oz, and it was thanks to Dr. Pipt’s famous Powder of Life.”
“I’ve never heard this story before,” the Scarecrow said, looking at Ozma with an inquiring gaze.