64

VI. The Heads of Langwidere 76

VII. Ozma of Oz to the Rescue 101

VIII. The Hungry Tiger 117

IX. The Royal Family of Ev 128

X. The Giant with the Hammer 141

XI. The Nome King 156

[Illustration]

[Illustration]

XII. The Eleven Guesses 175

XIII. The Nome King Laughs 182

XIV. Dorothy Tries to be Brave 191

XV. Billina Frightens the Nome King 205

XVI. Purple, Green and Gold 216

XVII. The Scarecrow Wins the Fight 226

XVIII. The Fate of the Tin Woodman 235

XIX. The King of Ev 246

XX. The Emerald City 254

XXI. Dorothy's Magic Belt 263

[Illustration]

[Illustration]

Author's Note

My friends the children are responsible for this new "Oz Book," as they
were for the last one, which was called _The Land of Oz_. Their sweet
little letters plead to know "more about Dorothy"; and they ask: "What
became of the Cowardly Lion?" and "What did Ozma do
afterward?"--meaning, of course, after she became the Ruler of Oz. And
some of them suggest plots to me, saying: "Please have Dorothy go to the
Land of Oz again"; or, "Why don't you make Ozma and Dorothy meet, and
have a good time together?" Indeed, could I do all that my little
friends ask, I would be obliged to write dozens of books to satisfy
their demands. And I wish I could, for I enjoy writing these stories
just as much as the children say they enjoy reading them.

Well, here is "more about Dorothy," and about our old friends the
Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman, and about the Cowardly Lion, and Ozma,
and all the rest of them; and here, likewise, is a good deal about some
new folks that are queer and unusual. One little friend, who read this
story before it was printed, said to me: "Billina is _real Ozzy_, Mr.
Baum, and so are Tiktok and the Hungry Tiger."

If this judgment is