ryone loves the
beautiful girl Princess there has never been any disturbance in the
great Throne Room, or anything for the guardians to do but look fierce
and solemn and keep quiet until the Royal Audience is over and the
people go away to their homes.

Of course no one would dare be naughty while the huge Lion and Tiger
crouched beside the throne; but the fact is, the people of Oz are very
seldom naughty. So Ozma's big guards are more ornamental than useful,
and no one realizes that better than the beasts themselves.

One day, after everybody had left the Throne Room except the Cowardly
Lion and the Hungry Tiger, the Lion yawned and said to his friend:

"I'm getting tired of this job. No one is afraid of us and no one pays
any attention to us."

"That is true," replied the big Tiger, purring softly. "We might as well
be in the thick jungles where we were born, as trying to protect Ozma
when she needs no protection. And I'm dreadfully hungry all the time."

"You have enough to eat, I'm sure," said the Lion, swaying his tail
slowly back and forth.

"Enough, perhaps; but not the kind of food I long for," answered the
Tiger. "What I'm hungry for is fat babies. I have a great desire to eat
a few fat babies. Then, perhaps, the people of Oz would fear me and I'd
become more important."

[Illustration]

"True," agreed the Lion. "It would stir up quite a rumpus if you ate but
_one_ fat baby. As for myself; my claws are sharp as needles and strong
as crowbars, while my teeth are powerful enough to tear a person to
pieces in a few seconds. If I should spring upon a man and make chop
suey of him, there would be wild excitement in the Emerald City and the
people would fall upon their knees and beg me for mercy. That, in my
opinion, would render me of considerable importance."

"After you had torn the person to pieces, what would you do next?" asked
the Tiger sleepily.

"Then I would roar so loudly it would shake the earth and stalk away to
the jungle to hide myself, before anyone could attack me or kill me for
what I had done."

"I see," nodded the Tiger. "You are really cowardly."

"To be sure. That is why I am named the Cowardly Lion. That is why I
have always been so tame and peaceable. But I'm awfully tired of being
tame," added the Lion, with a sigh, "and it would be fun to raise a row
and show people what a terrible beast I really am."

The Tiger remained silent for several minutes, thinking deeply as he
slow