and about our old friends the
Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman, and about the Cowardly Lion, and Ozma,
and all the rest of them; and here, likewise, is a good deal about some
new folks that are queer and unusual. One little friend, who read this
story before it was printed, said to me: "Billina is REAL OZZY, Mr.
Baum, and so are Tiktok and the Hungry Tiger."

If this judgment is unbiased and correct, and the little folks find
this new story "real Ozzy," I shall be very glad indeed that I wrote
it. But perhaps I shall get some more of those very welcome letters
from my readers, telling me just how they like "Ozma of Oz." I hope
so, anyway.

L. FRANK BAUM.

MACATAWA, 1907.

1. The Girl in the Chicken Coop

The wind blew hard and joggled the water of the ocean, sending ripples
across its surface. Then the wind pushed the edges of the ripples
until they became waves, and shoved the waves around until they became
billows. The billows rolled dreadfully high: higher even than the tops
of houses. Some of them, indeed, rolled as high as the tops of tall
trees, and seemed like mountains; and the gulfs between the great
billows were like deep valleys.

All this mad dashing and splashing of the waters of the big ocean,
which the mischievous wind caused without any good reason whatever,
resulted in a terrible storm, and a storm on the ocean is liable to cut
many queer pranks and do a lot of damage.

At the time the wind began to blow, a ship was sailing far out upon the
waters. When the waves began to tumble and toss and to grow bigger and
bigger the ship rolled up and down, and tipped sidewise--first one way
and then the other--and was jostled around so roughly that even the
sailor-men had to hold fast to the ropes and railings to keep
themselves from being swept away by the wind or pitched headlong into
the sea.

And the clouds were so thick in the sky that the sunlight couldn't get
through them; so that the day grew dark as night, which added to the
terrors of the storm.

The Captain of the ship was not afraid, because he had seen storms
before, and had sailed his ship through them in safety; but he knew
that his passengers would be in danger if they tried to stay on deck,
so he put them all into the cabin and told them to stay there until
after the storm was over, and to keep brave hearts and not be scared,
and all would be well with them.

Now, among these passengers was a little Kansas girl named