ately, the beasts were willing to allow
Graham and Telly to ride upon their backs. This made the journey go much
more quickly.

In only a couple of days, the green of the city was in sight. In short
order, they got to the front gates which led into this amazing and
phenomenally beautiful capital of Oz. Graham could not conceal his awe
at the sight of the place.

"Home again," said the Hungry Tiger.

"Now we get to go in and see what poor Ozma and the Wizard have been
t-t-turned into!" sighed the Cowardly Lion.

Imby Amby, the Guardian of the Gates, met the trio with a smile of
greeting. "Hello!" he said cheerfully.

"Imby," retorted the Tiger, "will you kindly tell my dear boy here that
our Queen has not been transformed into a gelatin mold?"

"I should hope not!" replied the Guardian. "Last time I saw her, she was
playing checkers with Betsy Bobbin. Seemed to be winning, too."

The Tiger smiled knowingly, then nudged the Lion in a friendly way.
"Come on," he said. "Let's go see our Queen. She will certainly set
things right straightaway."

The trio hurried into the palace and quickly located the young ruler.
She was gaily sipping a cup of herbal tea and having a lively
conversation with the Scarecrow and the Patchwork Girl. As soon as she
saw her two old friends with the strangers, she stopped in mid-sentence.

"What's wrong?" she asked. "You look upset about something."

The Hungry Tiger bowed low before the little girl. "Your Majesty, this
young man, Graham, has come from America and has escaped the clutches of
a very wicked Witch. Surely you remember the parade and the horrible
threat that this Witch spoke!"

"Surely," replied Ozma. The Patchwork Girl impulsively did five
handsprings and landed on the Tiger's broad back, where she proceeded to
recite the following in a sing-song voice:

"_The Wicked Witch was bad, indeed!
Her evil soul was full of greed!
To show her powers she did try,
and on her broomstick she did fly!
She tried to capture everyone;
she thought that it would be such fun!
But clever Ozma and the Wiz
would never let her do this biz!
A wholesome spell has now been cast,
so that old Witch's time is past.
The good old Wizard cast a spell
that changed the Witch into a bell!
She now can make a bathtub ring,
but cannot do another thing!_"

Ozma smiled sweetly. "What Scraps is telling you, in her own spirited
way, is that your Witch was already dealt with a