nd the
curtains showed where it had formerly hung.

[Illustration]

The Troubles of Glinda the Good

[Illustration]

CHAPTER 2

That same morning there was great excitement in the castle of the
powerful Sorceress of Oz, Glinda the Good. This castle, situated in the
Quadling Country, far south of the Emerald City where Ozma ruled, was a
splendid structure of exquisite marbles and silver grilles. Here the
Sorceress lived, surrounded by a bevy of the most beautiful maidens of
Oz, gathered from all the four countries of that fairyland as well as
from the magnificent Emerald City itself, which stood in the place
where the four countries cornered.

It was considered a great honor to be allowed to serve the good
Sorceress, whose arts of magic were used only to benefit the Oz people.
Glinda was Ozma's most valued servant, for her knowledge of sorcery was
wonderful and she could accomplish almost anything that her mistress,
the lovely girl Ruler of Oz, wished her to.

Of all the magical things which surrounded Glinda in her castle there
was none more marvelous than her Great Book of Records. On the pages of
this Record Book were constantly being inscribed--day by day and hour by
hour--all the important events that happened anywhere in the known
world, and they were inscribed in the book at exactly the moment the
events happened. Every adventure in the Land of Oz and in the big
outside world, and even in places that you and I have never heard of,
were recorded accurately in the Great Book, which never made a mistake
and stated only the exact truth. For that reason nothing could be
concealed from Glinda the Good, who had only to look at the pages of the
Great Book of Records to know everything that had taken place. That was
one reason she was such a great Sorceress, for the records made her
wiser than any other living person.

This wonderful book was placed upon a big gold table that stood in the
middle of Glinda's drawing-room. The legs of the table, which were
incrusted with precious gems, were firmly fastened to the tiled floor
and the book itself was chained to the table and locked with six stout
golden padlocks, the keys to which Glinda carried on a chain that was
secured around her own neck.

The pages of the Great Book were larger in size than those of an
American newspaper and although they were exceedingly thin there were so
many of them that they made an enormous, bulky volume. With its gold
cover an