14

The Winged Monkeys





You will remember there was no road--not even a pathway--

between the castle of the Wicked Witch and the Emerald City.

When the four travelers went in search of the Witch she had seen

them coming, and so sent the Winged Monkeys to bring them to her.

It was much harder to find their way back through the big fields

of buttercups and yellow daisies than it was being carried.

They knew, of course, they must go straight east, toward the rising

sun; and they started off in the right way. But at noon, when the

sun was over their heads, they did not know which was east and

which was west, and that was the reason they were lost in the

great fields. They kept on walking, however, and at night the

moon came out and shone brightly. So they lay down among the

sweet smelling yellow flowers and slept soundly until morning--

all but the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman.



The next morning the sun was behind a cloud, but they started

on, as if they were quite sure which way they were going.



"If we walk far enough," said Dorothy, "I am sure we shall

sometime come to some place."



But day by day passed away, and they still saw nothing before

them but the scarlet fields. The Scarecrow began to grumble a bit.



"We have surely lost our way," he said, "and unless we find it

again in time to reach the Emerald City, I shall never get my brains."



"Nor I my heart," declared the Tin Woodman. "It seems to me I

can scarcely wait till I get to Oz, and you must admit this is a

very long journey."



"You see," said the Cowardly Lion, with a whimper, "I haven't the

courage to keep tramping forever, without getting anywhere at all."



Then Dorothy lost heart. She sat down on the grass and looked

at her companions, and they sat down and looked at her, and Toto

found that for the first time in his life he was too tired to

chase a butterfly that flew past his head. So he put out his

tongue and panted and looked at Dorothy as if to ask what they

should do next.



"Suppose we call the field mice," she suggested. "They could

probably tell us the way to the Emerald City."



"To be sure they could," cried the Scarecrow. "Why didn't we

think of that before?"



Dorothy blew the little whistle she had always carried about

her neck since the Queen of the Mice had given it to her. In a

few minutes they heard the pattering of tiny feet, and many of the

small gray mice came running up to her. Among them was the Queen

herself, who asked, in her squeaky little voice:



"What can I do for my friends?"



"We have lost our way," said Dorothy. "Can you tell us where

the Emerald City is?"



"Certainly," answered the Queen; "but it is a great way off,

for you have had it at your backs all this time." Then she

noticed Dorothy's Golden Cap, and said, "Why don't you use the

charm of the Cap, and call the Winged Monkeys to you? They will

carry you to the City of Oz in less than an hour."



"I didn't know there was a charm," answered Dorothy, in

surprise. "What is it?"



"It is written inside the Golden Cap," replied the Queen of

the Mice. "But if you are going to call the Winged Monkeys we

must run away, for they are full of mischief and think it great

fun to plague us."



"Won't they hurt me?" asked the girl anxiously.



"Oh, no. They must obey the wearer of the Cap. Good-bye!"

And she scampered out of sight, with all the mice hurrying after her.



Dorothy looked inside the Golden Cap and saw some words written

upon the lining. These, she thought, must be the charm, so she read

the directions carefully and put the Cap upon her head.



"Ep-pe, pep-pe, kak-ke!" she said, standing on her left foot.



"What did you say?" asked the Scarecrow, who did not know what

she was doing.



"Hil-lo, hol-lo, hel-lo!" Dorothy went on, standing this time

on her right foot.



"Hello!" replied the Tin Woodman calmly.



"Ziz-zy, zuz-zy, zik!" said Dorothy, who was now standing on

both feet. This ended the saying of the charm, and they heard a

great chattering and flapping of wings, as the band of Winged

Monkeys flew up to them.



The King bowed low before Dorothy, and asked, "What is your command?"



"We wish to go to the Emerald City," said the child, "and we have

lost our way."



"We will carry you," replied the King, and no sooner had he

spoken than two of the Monkeys caught Dorothy in their arms and

flew away with her. Others took the Scarecrow and the Woodman and

the Lion, and one little Monkey seized Toto and flew after them,

although the dog tried hard to bite him.



The Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman were rather frightened at

first, for they remembered how badly the Winged Monkeys had

treated them before; but they saw that no harm was intended, so

they rode through the air quite cheerfully, and had a fine time

looking at the pretty gardens and woods far below them.



Dorothy found herself riding easily between two of the biggest

Monkeys, one of them the King himself. They had made a chair of

their hands and were careful not to hurt her.



"Why do you have to obey the charm of the Golden Cap?" she asked.



"That is a long story," answered the King, with a Winged laugh;

"but as we have a long journey before us, I will pass the time by

telling you about it, if you wish."



"I shall be glad to hear it," she replied.



"Once," began the leader, "we were a free people, living happily

in the great forest, flying from tree to tree, eating nuts and fruit,

and doing just as we pleased without calling anybody master. Perhaps

some of us were rather too full of mischief at times, flying down to

pull the tails of the animals that had no wings, chasing birds, and

throwing nuts at the people who walked in the forest. But we were

careless and happy and full of fun, and enjoyed every minute of the day.

This was many years ago, long before Oz came out of the clouds to rule

over this land.



"There lived here then, away at the North, a beautiful princess,

who was also a powerful sorceress. All her magic was used to help

the people, and she was never known to hurt anyone who was good.

Her name was Gayelette, and she lived in a handsome palace built

from great blocks of ruby. Everyone loved her, but her greatest

sorrow was that she could find no one to love in return, since all

the men were much too stupid and ugly to mate with one so beautiful

and wise. At last, however, she found a boy who was handsome and

manly and wise beyond his years. Gayelette made up her mind that

when he grew to be a man she would make him her husband, so she

took him to her ruby palace and used all her magic powers to

make him as strong and good and lovely as any woman could wish.

When he grew to manhood, Quelala, as he was called, was said to

be the best and wisest man in all the land, while his manly beauty

was so great that Gayelette loved him dearly, and hastened to make

everything ready for the wedding.



"My grandfather was at that time the King of the Winged Monkeys

which lived in the forest near Gayelette's palace, and the old fellow

loved a joke better than a good dinner. One day, just before the wedding,

my grandfather was flying out with his band when he saw Quelala walking

beside the river. He was dressed in a rich costume of pink silk and

purple velvet, and my grandfather thought he would see what he could do.

At his word the band flew down and seized Quelala, carried him in their

arms until they were over the middle of the river, and then dropped him

into the water.



"`Swim out, my fine fellow,' cried my grandfather, `and see if

the water has spotted your clothes.' Quelala was much too wise

not to swim, and he was not in the least spoiled by all his good

fortune. He laughed, when he came to the top of the water, and

swam in to shore. But when Gayelette came running out to him she

found his silks and velvet all ruined by the river.



"The princess was angry, and she knew, of course, who did it.

She had all the Winged Monkeys brought before her, and she said at

first that their wings should be tied and they should be treated

as they had treated Quelala, and dropped in the river. But my

grandfather pleaded hard, for he knew the Monkeys would drown in

the river with their wings tied, and Quelala said a kind word for

them also; so that Gayelette finally spared them, on condition

that the Winged Monkeys should ever after do three times the

bidding of the owner of the Golden Cap. This Cap had been made

for a wedding present to Quelala, and it is said to have cost the

princess half her kingdom. Of course my grandfather and all the

other Monkeys at once agreed to the condition, and that is how it

happens that we are three times the slaves of the owner of the

Golden Cap, whosoever he may be."



"And what became of them?" asked Dorothy, who had been greatly

interested in the story.



"Quelala being the first owner of the Golden Cap," replied

the Monkey, "he was the first to lay his wishes upon us. As his

bride could not bear the sight of us, he called us all to him in

the forest after he had married her and ordered us always to keep

where she could never again set eyes on a Winged Monkey, which we

were glad to do, for we were all afraid of her.



"This was all we ever had to do until the Golden Cap fell into

the hands of the Wicked Witch of the West, who made us enslave the

Winkies, and afterward drive Oz himself out of the Land of the

West. Now the Golden Cap is yours, and three times you have the

right to lay your wishes upon us."



As the Monkey King finished his story Dorothy looked down

and saw the green, shining walls of the Emerald City before them.

She wondered at the rapid flight of the Monkeys, but was glad the

journey was over. The strange creatures set the travelers down

carefully before the gate of the City, the King bowed low to

Dorothy, and then flew swiftly away, followed by all his band.



"That was a good ride," said the little girl.



"Yes, and a quick way out of our troubles," replied the Lion.

"How lucky it was you brought away that wonderful Cap!"

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