The Magic of Oz by Lyman Frank Baum (8 ebook reader txt) đ
- Author: Lyman Frank Baum
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âButâsee here!ââexclaimed Dorothy. âWhat has become of those Giant Soldiers who used to be monkeys?â
âI forgot all about them!â admitted the Wizard; âbut I suppose they are still standing there in the forest.â
15. The Lonesome DuckTrot and Capân Bill stood before the Magic Flower, actually rooted to the spot.
âArenât you hungry, Capân?â asked the little girl, with a long sigh, for she had been standing there for hours and hours.
âWell,â replied the sailor-man, âI ainât sayinâ as I couldnât EAT, Trotâif a dinner was handyâbut I guess old folks donât get as hungry as young folks do.â
âIâm not sure âbout that, Capân Bill,â she said thoughtfully. âAge MIGHT make a diffârence, but seems to me SIZE would make a bigger diffârence. Seeing youâre twice as big as me, you ought to be twice as hungry.â
âI hope I am,â he rejoined, âfor I can stand it a while longer. I do hope the Glass Cat will hurry, and I hope the Wizard wonât waste time a-cominâ to us.â
Trot sighed again and watched the wonderful Magic Flower, because there was nothing else to do. Just now a lovely group of pink peonies budded and bloomed, but soon they faded away, and a mass of deep blue lilies took their place. Then some yellow chrysanthemums blossomed on the plant, and when they had opened all their petals and reached perfection, they gave way to a lot of white floral balls spotted with crimsonâa flower Trot had never seen before.
âBut I get awful tired watchinâ flowers anâ flowers anâ flowers,â she said impatiently.
âTheyâre might pretty,â observed Capân Bill.
âI know; and if a person could come and look at the Magic Flower just when she felt like it, it would be a fine thing, but to HAVE TO stand and watch it, whether you want to or not, isnât so much fun. I wish, Capân Bill, the thing would grow fruit for a while instead of flowers.â
Scarcely had she spoken when the white balls with crimson spots faded away and a lot of beautiful ripe peaches took their place. With a cry of mingled surprise and delight Trot reached out and plucked a peach from the bush and began to eat it, finding it delicious. Capân Bill was somewhat dazed at the girlâs wish being granted so quickly, so before he could pick a peach they had faded away and bananas took their place. âGrab one, Capân!â exclaimed Trot, and even while eating the peach she seized a banana with her other hand and tore it from the bush.
The old sailor was still bewildered. He put out a hand indeed, but he was too late, for now the bananas disappeared and lemons took their place.
âPshaw!â cried Trot. âYou canât eat those things; but watch out, Capân, for something else.â
Cocoanuts next appeared, but Capân Bill shook his head.
âCaânât crack âem,â he remarked, ââcause we havenât anything handy to smash âem with.â
âWell, take one, anyhow,â advised Trot; but the cocoanuts were gone now, and a deep, purple, pear-shaped fruit which was unknown to them took their place. Again Capân Bill hesitated, and Trot said to him:
âYou ought to have captured a peach and a banana, as I did. If youâre not careful, Capân, youâll miss all your chances. Here, Iâll divide my banana with you.â
Even as she spoke, the Magic Plant was covered with big red apples, growing on every branch, and Capân Bill hesitated no longer. He grabbed with both hands and picked two apples, while Trot had only time to secure one before they were gone.
âItâs curious,â remarked the sailor, munching his apple, âhow these fruits keep good when youâve picked âem, but disâpear inter thin air if theyâre left on the bush.â
âThe whole thing is curious,â declared the girl, âand it couldnât exist in any country but this, where magic is so common. Those are limes. Donât pick âem, for theyâd pucker up your mouth andâOoo! here come plums!â and she tucked her apple in her apron pocket and captured three plumsâeach one almost as big as an eggâbefore they disappeared. Capân Bill got some too, but both were too hungry to fast any longer, so they began eating their apples and plums and let the magic bush bear all sorts of fruits, one after another. The Capân stopped once to pick a fine cantaloupe, which he held under his arm, and Trot, having finished her plums, got a handful of cherries and an orange; but when almost every sort of fruit had appeared on the bush, the crop ceased and only flowers, as before, bloomed upon it.
âI wonder why it changed back,â mused Trot, who was not worried because she had enough fruit to satisfy her hunger.
âWell, you only wished it would bear fruit âfor a while,ââ said the sailor, âand it did. Pâraps if youâd said âforever,â Trot, it would have always been fruit.â
âBut why should MY wish be obeyed?â asked the girl. âIâm not a fairy or a wizard or any kind of a magic-maker.â
âI guess,â replied Capân Bill, âthat this little island is a magic island, and any folks on it can tell the bush what to produce, anâ itâll produce it.â
âDo you think I could wish for anything else, Capân and get it?â she inquired anxiously.
âWhat are you thinkinâ of, Trot?â
âIâm thinking of wishing that these roots on our feet would disappear, and let us free.â
âTry it, Trot.â
So she tried it, and the wish had no effect whatever.
âTry it yourself, Capân,â she suggested.
Then Capân Bill made the wish to be free, with no better result.
âNo,â said he, âitâs no use; the wishes only affect the Magic Plant; but Iâm glad we can make it bear fruit, âcause now we know we wonât starve before the Wizard gets to us.â
âBut Iâm gettânâ tired standing here so long,â complained the girl. âIf I could only lift one foot, and rest it, Iâd feel better.â
âSame with me, Trot. Iâve noticed that if youâve got to do a thing, and canât help yourself, it gets to be a hardship mighty quick.â
âFolks that can raise their feet donât appreciate what a blessing it is,â said Trot thoughtfully. âI never knew before what fun it is to raise one foot, anâ then another, any time you feel like it.â
âThereâs lots oâ things folks donât âpreciate,â replied the sailor-man. âIf somethinâ would âmost stop your breath, youâd think breathinâ easy was the finest thing in life. When a personâs well, he donât realize how jolly it is, but when he gets sick he âmembers the time he was well, anâ wishes that time would come back. Most folks forget to thank God for givinâ âem two good legs, till they lose one oâ âem, like I did; and then itâs too late, âcept to praise God for leavinâ one.â
âYour wooden leg ainât so bad, Capân,â she remarked, looking at it critically. âAnyhow, it donât take root on a Magic Island, like our meat legs do.â
âI ainât complaininâ,â said Capân Bill. âWhatâs that swimminâ towards us, Trot?â he added, looking over the Magic Flower and across the water.
The girl looked, too, and then she replied.
âItâs a bird of some sort. Itâs like a duck, only I never saw a duck have so many colors.â
The bird swam swiftly and gracefully toward the Magic Isle, and as it drew nearer its gorgeously colored plumage astonished them. The feathers were of many hues of glistening greens and blues and purples, and it had a yellow head with a red plume, and pink, white and violet in its tail. When it reached the Isle, it came ashore and approached them, waddling slowly and turning its head first to one side and then to the other, so as to see the girl and the sailor better.
âYouâre strangers,â said the bird, coming to a halt near them, âand youâve been caught by the Magic Isle and made prisoners.â
âYes,â returned Trot, with a sigh; âweâre rooted. But I hope we wonât grow.â
âYouâll grow small,â said the Bird. âYouâll keep growing smaller every day, until bye and bye thereâll be nothing left of you. Thatâs the usual way, on this Magic Isle.â
âHow do you know about it, and who are you, anyhow?â asked Capân Bill.
âIâm the Lonesome Duck,â replied the bird. âI suppose youâve heard of me?â
âNo,â said Trot, âI canât say I have. What makes you lonesome?â
âWhy, I havenât any family or any relations,â returned the Duck.
âHavenât you any friends?â
âNot a friend. And Iâve nothing to do. Iâve lived a long time, and Iâve got to live forever, because I belong in the Land of Oz, where no living thing dies. Think of existing year after year, with no friends, no family, and nothing to do! Can you wonder Iâm lonesome?â
âWhy donât you make a few friends, and find something to do?â inquired Capân Bill.
âI canât make friends because everyone I meetâbird, beast, or personâis disagreeable to me. In a few minutes I shall be unable to bear your society longer, and then Iâll go away and leave you,â said the Lonesome Duck. âAnd, as for doing anything, thereâs no use in it. All I meet are doing something, so I have decided itâs common and uninteresting and I prefer to remain lonesome.â
âDonât you have to hunt for your food?â asked Trot.
âNo. In my diamond palace, a little way up the river, food is magically supplied me; but I seldom eat, because it is so common.â
âYou must be a Magician Duck,â remarked Capân Bill.
âWhy so?â
âWell, ordinary ducks donât have diamond palaces anâ magic food, like you do.â
âTrue; and thatâs another reason why Iâm lonesome. You must remember Iâm the only Duck in the Land of Oz, and Iâm not like any other duck in the outside world.â
âSeems to me you LIKE beinâ lonesome,â observed Capân Bill.
âI canât say I like it, exactly,â replied the Duck, âbut since it seems to be my fate, Iâm rather proud of it.â
âHow do you sâpose a single, solitary Duck happened to be in the Land of Oz?â asked Trot, wonderingly.
âI used to know the reason, many years ago, but Iâve quite forgotten it,â declared the Duck. âThe reason for a thing is never so important as the thing itself, so thereâs no use remembering anything but the fact that Iâm lonesome.â
âI guess youâd be happier if you tried to do something,â asserted Trot. âIf you canât do anything for yourself, you can do things for others, and then youâd get lots of friends and stop being lonesome.â
âNow youâre getting disagreeable,â said the Lonesome Duck, âand I shall have to go and leave you.â
âCanât you help us any,â pleaded the girl. âIf thereâs anything magic about you, you might get us out of this scrape.â
âI havenât any magic strong enough to get you off the Magic Isle,â replied the Lonesome Duck. âWhat magic I possess is very simple, but I find it enough for my own needs.â
âIf we could only sit down a while, we could stand it better,â said Trot, âbut we have nothing to sit on.â
âThen you will have to stand it,â said the Lonesome Duck.
âPâraps youâve enough magic to give us a couple of stools,â suggested Capân Bill.
âA duck isnât supposed to know what stools are,â was the reply.
âBut youâre diffârent from all other ducks.â
âThat is true.â The strange creature seemed to reflect for a moment, looking at them sharply from its
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