young Graham,
I hope he won't think I'm a ham!
And Telly is a funny man!
I hope he'll be there if he can!
A lovely time we all will spend!
We will not want it e'er to end_!"

She sang in her most dignified manner. Of course, Scraps and dignity are
about as compatible as oil and water, but her words were certainly
fitting to the occasion.

The celebration was a great success. Celebrities from all over Oz were
there. Even the former Good Witch of the North put in an appearance. It
was a celebration of nearly the magnitude of that which had caused the
arrival of the Wicked Witch in the first place, except that there were
no large floats. There had been no time for the Oz folk to construct
any. Besides, it seemed to everyone involved that they would not be
especially apropos under the circumstances.

When the festivities were over, Ozma approached Graham. "Well," she said
in her youthful but queenly voice, "have you enjoyed your little trip to
Oz?"

"Oh, yes!" replied the boy. "And I'm so glad to have met you. Wait until
I tell my little brother about all of this! He'll be so surprised!"

"Graham," replied Ozma, "you can't tell your little brother about any of
the things you've seen here. Even about meeting Dorothy or the
Scarecrow."

"But ..." began the boy.

"Graham," she continued, "Oz is a place that would be very interesting
to some of the people back in America. So long as they know of Oz as
only a fantasy, they will not come to look for us. But our continent and
its surrounding regions are very big. Our territory makes your mortal
continents look like Rhode Island. Because some mortals do not have your
values, and think of no one but themselves or their bank accounts, they
would begin to seriously search out our continent. As it comprises so
much land, they might eventually break through our magical barriers and
invisibility spells--even the spell that diverts them off course
whenever they try to reach us. These barriers have been crossed by
accident in the past, as you know. If a wicked mortal were trying to do
it intentionally, he might find a way."

"But no one has ever done it before," said Graham. "And my brother would
so love to hear about Oz. He'd never do anything bad. I promise."

"I am not doubting the righteousness of your brother. But secrets get
out, and people pass them along. I know this is true. I cannot allow you
to tell anyone back home about Oz being a real place. I want it