Kabumpo in Oz, Ruth Plumly Thompson [the snowy day read aloud TXT] 📗

WHILE Peg and Pompa and the Elegant Elephant eyed the box, Wag, twitching his nose and mumbling very fast under his breath, backed rapidly away. He was not going to run the risk of any more explosions. So anxious was the big rabbit to put a good distance between himself and Glegg’s Mixed Magic, that he never realized that he was backing toward the giant till a sharp thump on the back of the head brought him up short.

Trembling in every hair, Wag looked over his shoulder. Stars! He had run into the terrible, five-toed foot of the giant himself. At first Wag was too terrified to move. But suddenly the hair on the back of his neck bristled erect. He peered at the giant’s foot more attentively. His eyes snapped and, seizing a stout stick that lay near by, he brought it down with all his might on the giant’s toes.

“It’s Ruggedo!” screamed Wag, hopping up and down with rage. “And I’ll pound his curly toes off. I don’t care if he is a giant! I’ll pound his curly toes off!”

The stick whistled through the air and whacked the giant’s toes again.

Now of course we have known all along that the giant was Ruggedo, but it was a great surprise for the rescuers. Ruggedo was bad enough to deal with as a gnome-but a giant Ruggedo! Horrors!

“Stop him! Stop him!” cried Peg Amy, throwing up her hands and scattering the contents of the box of magic in every direction.

“What are you trying to do?” roared Kabumpo, plunging forward. “Get us all trampled on?”

A muffled cry came down from the clouds and, as Kabumpo dragged Wag back by the ear, something flashed through the air and bounced upon the Elegant Elephant’s head. “It’s the Scarecrow!” chattered Wag, wriggling from beneath Kabumpo’s trunk. Kabumpo opened his eyes and peered down at the limp bundle at his feet As he looked the bundle began to pull itself together. It sat up awkwardly and began clutching itself into shape.

“Where’d you come from?” gasped the Elegant Elephant. Without speaking, the Scarecrow waved his hand upward and rose unsteadily to his feet. Then, catching sight of Peg Amy and Pompadore, the Straw Man bowed politely. Meanwhile Wag, seeing that Kabumpo’s attention was diverted, began to sidle back toward Ruggedo.

“Stop!” cried the Scarecrow, running after him. “Are you crazy? Don’t you know Ozma’s palace is on his head? Every time he moves everyone in the palace tumbles about. Was it you who stirred him up and made him spill me out of the window?”

“I’ll wake him up some more, the wicked old scrabble-scratch,” muttered Wag, but Kabumpo jerked him back roughly.

“Great Grump!” choked the Elegant Elephant, shaking Wag in his exasperation. “Here we’ve come all this way to save Princess Ozma and now you want to upset everything.”

“That’s the way to do it,” said the Scarecrow, rolling his eyes wildly.

“Please stop it, Wag,” begged Peg Amy, throwing her wooden arms around the big rabbit’s neck, and as Pompa added his voice to Peg’s, Wag finally threw down his stick.

“Who is that beautiful girl?” asked the Scarecrow of Kabumpo. The Elegant Elephant looked at the Straw Man sharply, to see that he was not poking fun at the Wooden Doll. Finding he was quite serious, he said proudly, “That’s Peg Amy, the best little body in Oz. She’s under my protection,” he added grandly.

Just then Pompa and Peg came over and Wag, who had often seen the Scarecrow in the Emerald City, introduced them all.

“Did I understand you to say you had come to rescue Ozma?” asked the Scarecrow, who could not keep his eyes off the Elegant Elephant.

“Did I understand you to say Ozma’s palace was on Ruggedo’s head?” shuddered Kabumpo, glancing fearfully in the direction of the mountain.

The Scarecrow nodded vigorously and told in a few words of their terrible journey to Ev and their present perilous position. How the palace had gotten on Ruggedo’s head, he admitted was a puzzle to him. Kabumpo and Pompadore listened with amazement, especially to the part where they had threatened Ruggedo with eggs.

“And he’s kept still for two days just on account of eggs?” gasped the Elegant Elephant incredulously.

“Well, no,” admitted the Scarecrow, wrinkling up his forehead. “A little man came flying through the air the first morning and bumped into the palace and instantly everyone except Scraps and me fell asleep. Ruggedo was put to sleep, too; we could hear him snoring.”

“Why, it must have been the Sand Man,” breathed Peg Amy. “I have heard he lived near here.”

Are they asleep now?” asked Pompa, clutching the Scarecrow’s arm. How romantic-thought the Prince of Pumperdinkto rescue and waken a sleeping Princess! But the Scarecrow shook his head. “A few minutes before I fell out they began to wake up and I’d just gone to the window to look for Glinda when Ruggedo gave a howl and ducked his head and here I fell.” The Scarecrow spread his hands eloquently and smiled at Peg.

“Has Glinda been here?” asked Kabumpo jealously.

“Yes,” said the Scarecrow. “She came this morning and she’s been trying all sorts of magic to reduce Ruggedo without harm to the palace.”

“Great Grump! Do you hear that?” Kabumpo rolled his eyes anxiously toward the Prince. “If Glinda’s magic takes effect before ours then where’ll we be! Peg! Where’s the box of Mixed Magic?”

“Would you mind telling me,” burst out the Scarecrow, who had been examining one after another in the party with a puzzled expression, “would you mind telling me how you happened to know about the palace disappearing; how you got across the sandy desert; how you expect to help us; how he” (with a jerk at Wag) “came to be too large; how she” (with a jerk of his thumb at Peg) “came to be alive; and-”

“All in good time; all in good time!” trumpeted Kabumpo testily. “You sound like the Curious Cottabus! The principal thing to do now is to save Ozma. Will Ruggedo stay quiet a little longer?”

“If he’s not disturbed,” said the Scarecrow, with a meaning glance at Wag.

“Well, my hocks and woop soons!” cried the rabbit indignantly. “Isn’t anyone going to punish him? He shook and shook Peg and he meddled with magic and blew up into a giant. He’s run off with the palace. Doesn’t he deserve a pounding?”

“Friend,” said the Scarecrow, “I admire your spirit but my excellent brains tell me that this is a case where an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. But have we the ounce of prevention?”

“Here’s the Question Box,” announced Peg, who had run off at Kabumpo’s first call. “What shall we ask it first?”

“How to save the lovely Princess of Oz,” spoke up Pompa, running his hand over his scorched locks. “Where’s my crown, Kabumpo?”

Kabumpo fished the crown from his pocket and Pompa set it gravely upon his head as Peg asked the Question Box:

“How shall we save the lovely Princess of Oz?”

These maneuvers so astonished the Scarecrow that he lost his balance and fell flat on his nose. When he recovered Peg was clapping her wooden hands and Kabumpo was dancing on three legs.

“You’re as good as married, my boy!” cried Kabumpo, thumping the Prince upon the back.

“What is it? What’s happened?” gasped the Scarecrow.

“Why, the Question Box says to pour three drops of Trick Tea on Ruggedo’s left foot and two on his right and he will then march back to the Emerald City, descend into his cave and, after the palace has settled firmly on its foundations, he will shrink down to his former size,” read Peg Amy, holding the Question Box close to her eyes, for the printing was very small.

“Hurrah!” cried the Scarecrow, throwing up his hat. “Peggy, put the kettle on and we’ll all have some tea But where’d you get all this magic stuff?” he asked immediately after.

“Out of a box of Mixed Magic,” puffed Kabumpo, his little eyes twinkling with anticipation as he watched Peg. First she filled the tiny kettle at a nearby brook; then she lit the little lamp and dropped some of the Trick Tea into the kettle. Bright pink clouds arose from the kettle, as soon as Peg had set it over the flame, and while they waited for it to boil Pompa put another question.

“Has Pumperdink disappeared?” asked the Prince, in a trembling voice.

“N-o,” spelled the Question Box slowly, and Kabumpo settled back with a great sigh of relief.

“I told you everything would be all right if you followed my advice,” said the Elegant Elephant. “Stand up now and try to forget your black eye You are the Prince of Pumperdink and I am the Elegant Elephant of Oz.”

“But why all the ceremony asked the Scarecrow, looking mystified.

Kabumpo only chuckled to himself and, as the Trick Tea was now ready, Peg took the little kettle and began to tip-toe toward Ruggedo.

“I hope it’s red hot,” grumbled Wag resentfully. “He’s getting off easy, the old scrabble-scratch! Getting off! Say, look here!” He gestured violently to Kabumpo). “If Ruggedo returns to the Emerald City with the palace on his head, where does Pompa come in?” He pointed a trembling paw at the Prince, his nose twitching so fast it made the Scarecrow blink.

“Stop!” trumpeted the Elegant Elephant, plunging after Peg Amy. He reached her just in time.

“I’m no better than Pumper,” grunted Kabumpo, mopping his brow with the tail of his robe. “Suppose, after all our hardship, I had allowed Ozma and the palace to get away without giving Pompa a chance to ask her—”

“But we ought to save her as quick as we can,” ventured Peg. “Couldn’t we hurry back to the Emerald City again?”

“It might be too late,” wheezed Kabumpo. “Let-me-see!”

“Hello!” cried the Scarecrow. “Here comes Glinda.” As he spoke the swan chariot of the good Sorceress floated down beside the little party.

“Bother!” groaned Kabumpo, as Glinda stepped out.

“Some strangers,” called the Scarecrow, gleefully running toward Glinda, “some strangers with a box of Mixed Magic trying to help.”

“If we could have a few words with Ozma,” put in the Elegant Elephant hastily, “everything would be all right.”

Glinda looked at Kabumpo gravely. “It’s unlawful to practice magic. You must know that,” said the Sorceress