nted to be loved a great deal. It was owned by a girl in Butterfield
who was loved too much, so that the young men quarreled over her, which
made her unhappy. After I had stolen the Magnet from her, only one young
man continued to love the girl, and she married him and regained her
happiness."

"Are you sorry you stole it?" asked the Princess.

"No, your Highness; I'm glad," he answered; "for it has pleased me to be
loved, and if Dorothy had not cared for me I could not have accompanied
her to this beautiful Land of Oz, or met its kind-hearted Ruler. Now
that I'm here, I hope to remain, and to become one of your Majesty's
most faithful subjects."

[Illustration: IN THE ROYAL PALACE OF OZ]

"But in Oz we are loved for ourselves alone, and for our kindness to one
another, and for our good deeds," she said.

"I'll give up the Love Magnet," said the shaggy man, eagerly; "Dorothy
shall have it."

"But every one loves Dorothy already," declared the Wizard.

"Then Button-Bright shall have it."

"Don't want it," said the boy, promptly.

"Then I'll give it to the Wizard, for I'm sure the lovely Princess Ozma
does not need it."

"All my people love the Wizard, too," announced the Princess, laughing;
"so we will hang the Love Magnet over the gates of the Emerald City,
that whoever shall enter or leave the gates may be loved and loving."

"That is a good idea," said the shaggy man; "I agree to it most
willingly."

Those assembled now went in to dinner, which you may imagine was a grand
affair; and afterward Ozma asked the Wizard to give them an exhibition
of his magic.

The Wizard took eight tiny white piglets from an inside pocket and set
them on the table. One was dressed like a clown, and performed funny
antics, and the others leaped over the spoons and dishes and ran around
the table like racehorses, and turned hand-springs and were so
sprightly and amusing that they kept the company in one roar of merry
laughter. The Wizard had trained these pets to do many curious things,
and they were so little and so cunning and soft that Polychrome loved to
pick them up as they passed near her place and fondle them as if they
were kittens.

It was late when the entertainment ended, and they separated to go to
their rooms.

[Illustration]

"To-morrow," said Ozma, "my invited guests will arrive, and you will
find among them some interesting and curious people, I promise you. The
next day will be my birthday, and the fes