now weeping
Dorothy and in spite of the kitten's snarls and scratches carried it
away to prison.
"What shall we do now?" asked the Scarecrow, with a sigh, for such a
crime had cast a gloom over all the company.
"I will summon the Court to meet in the Throne Room at three o'clock,"
replied Ozma. "I myself will be the judge, and the kitten shall have a
fair trial."
"What will happen if she is guilty?" asked Dorothy.
"She must die," answered the Princess.
"Nine times?" enquired the Scarecrow.
"As many times as is necessary," was the reply. "I will ask the Tin
Woodman to defend the prisoner, because he has such a kind heart I am
sure he will do his best to save her. And the Woggle-Bug shall be the
Public Accuser, because he is so learned that no one can deceive him."
"Who will be the jury?" asked the Tin Woodman.
[Illustration: PORTRAIT OF THE WIZARD OF OZ.]
"There ought to be several animals on the jury," said Ozma, "because
animals understand each other better than we people understand them.
So the jury shall consist of the Cowardly Lion, the Hungry Tiger, Jim
the Cab-horse, the Yellow Hen, the Scarecrow, the Wizard, Tik-tok the
Machine Man, the Sawhorse and Zeb of Hugson's Ranch. That makes the nine
which the law requires, and all my people shall be admitted to hear the
testimony."
They now separated to prepare for the sad ceremony; for whenever an
appeal is made to law sorrow is almost certain to follow--even in a
fairyland like Oz. But it must be stated that the people of that Land
were generally so well-behaved that there was not a single lawyer
amongst them, and it had been years since any Ruler had sat in judgment
upon an offender of the law. The crime of murder being the most dreadful
crime of all, tremendous excitement prevailed in the Emerald City when
the news of Eureka's arrest and trial became known.
The Wizard, when he returned to his own room, was exceedingly
thoughtful. He had no doubt Eureka had eaten his piglet, but he realized
that a kitten cannot be depended upon at all times to act properly,
since its nature is to destroy small animals and even birds for food,
and the tame cat that we keep in our houses today is descended from the
wild cat of the jungle--a very ferocious creature, indeed. The Wizard
knew that if Dorothy's pet was found guilty and condemned to death the
little girl would be made very unhappy; so, although he grieved over the
piglet's sad fate as much as any of t
|