m no wizard, and no fairy, but
if you do as I say, we needn't fear these people at all."

"What is your thought, my dear?" asked Ozma.

"Well," replied the girl, "here is this Fountain of the Water of
Oblivion, and that's what put the notion into my head. When the Wizard
speaks that ter'ble word that will change 'em back to their real forms,
he can make 'em dreadful thirsty, too, and we'll put a cup right here
by the fountain, so it'll be handy. Then they'll drink the water and
forget all the magic they ever knew--and everything else, too."

"That's not a bad idea," said the Wizard, looking at Dorothy
approvingly.

"It's a very GOOD idea," declared Ozma. "Run for a cup, Dorothy."

So Dorothy ran to get a cup, and while she was gone the Wizard said:

"I don't know whether the real forms of these magicians are those of
men or beasts. If they're beasts, they would not drink from a cup but
might attack us at once and drink afterward. So it might be safer for
us to have the Cowardly Lion and the Hungry Tiger here to protect us if
necessary."

Ozma drew out a silver whistle which was attached to a slender gold
chain and blew upon the whistle two shrill blasts. The sound, though
not harsh, was very penetrating, and as soon as it reached the ears of
the Cowardly Lion and the Hungry Tiger, the two huge beasts quickly
came bounding toward them. Ozma explained to them what the Wizard was
about to do, and told them to keep quiet unless danger threatened. So
the two powerful guardians of the Ruler of Oz crouched beside the
fountain and waited.

Dorothy returned and set the cup on the edge of the fountain. Then the
Wizard placed the hickory-nut beside the fountain and said in a solemn
voice:

"I want you to resume your natural form, and to be very
thirsty--Pyrzqxgl!"

In an instant there appeared, in the place of the hickory-nut, the form
of Kiki Aru, the Hyup boy. He seemed bewildered, at first, as if
trying to remember what had happened to him and why he was in this
strange place. But he was facing the fountain, and the bubbling water
reminded him that he was thirsty. Without noticing Ozma, the Wizard
and Dorothy, who were behind him, he picked up the cup, filled it with
the Water of Oblivion, and drank it to the last drop.

He was now no longer thirsty, but he felt more bewildered than ever,
for now he could remember nothing at all--not even his name or where he
came from. He looked around the beautiful