t.

Old Ruggedo quickly recovered his wits and muttered to himself: "This
boy is the goose, although it is I who wear the goose's shape. I will
be gentle with him now, and fierce with him when I have him in my
power." Then he said aloud to Kiki:

"Well, hereafter I will be content to acknowledge you the master. You
bungled things, as I said, but we can still conquer Oz."

"How?" asked the boy.

"First give me back the shape of the Li-Mon-Eag, and then we can talk
together more conveniently," suggested the Nome.

"Wait a moment, then," said Kiki, and climbed higher up the tree.
There he whispered the Magic Word and the Goose became a Li-Mon-Eag, as
he had been before.

"Good!" said the Nome, well pleased, as Kiki joined him by dropping
down from the tree. "Now let us find a quiet place where we can talk
without being overheard by the beasts."

So the two started away and crossed the forest until they came to a
place where the trees were not so tall nor so close together, and among
these scattered trees was another clearing, not so large as the first
one, where the meeting of the beasts had been held. Standing on the
edge of this clearing and looking across it, they saw the trees on the
farther side full of monkeys, who were chattering together at a great
rate of the sights they had witnessed at the meeting.

The old Nome whispered to Kiki not to enter the clearing or allow the
monkeys to see them.

"Why not?" asked the boy, drawing back.

"Because those monkeys are to be our army--the army which will conquer
Oz," said the Nome. "Sit down here with me, Kiki, and keep quiet, and
I will explain to you my plan."

Now, neither Kiki Aru nor Ruggedo had noticed that a sly Fox had
followed them all the way from the tree where the Goose had been
transformed to the Li-Mon-Eag. Indeed, this Fox, who was none other
than the Wizard of Oz, had witnessed the transformation of the Goose
and now decided he would keep watch on the conspirators and see what
they would do next.

A Fox can move through a forest very softly, without making any noise,
and so the Wizard's enemies did not suspect his presence. But when
they sat down by the edge of the clearing, to talk, with their backs
toward him, the Wizard did not know whether to risk being seen, by
creeping closer to hear what they said, or whether it would be better
for him to hide himself until they moved on again.

While he considered this question he discovered n