was clothed in black velvet, with
many sparkling emerald ornaments decorating his breast; but his bald
head and wrinkled features made him appear more amusing than impressive.

Ozma had been quite curious to meet the famous man who had built the
Emerald City and united the Munchkins, Gillikins, Quadlings and Winkies
into one people; so when they were all four seated at the dinner table
the Princess said:

"Please tell me, Mr. Wizard, whether you called yourself Oz after this
great country, or whether you believe my country is called Oz after
you. It is a matter that I have long wished to enquire about, because
you are of a strange race and my own name is Ozma. No, one, I am sure,
is better able to explain this mystery than you."

"That is true," answered the little Wizard; "therefore it will give me
pleasure to explain my connection with your country. In the first
place, I must tell you that I was born in Omaha, and my father, who was
a politician, named me Oscar Zoroaster Phadrig Isaac Norman Henkle
Emmannuel Ambroise Diggs, Diggs being the last name because he could
think of no more to go before it. Taken altogether, it was a
dreadfully long name to weigh down a poor innocent child, and one of
the hardest lessons I ever learned was to remember my own name. When I
grew up I just called myself O. Z., because the other initials were
P-I-N-H-E-A-D; and that spelled 'pinhead,' which was a reflection on my
intelligence."

"Surely no one could blame you for cutting your name short," said Ozma,
sympathetically. "But didn't you cut it almost too short?"

"Perhaps so," replied the Wizard. "When a young man I ran away from
home and joined a circus. I used to call myself a Wizard, and do
tricks of ventriloquism."

"What does that mean?" asked the Princess.

"Throwing my voice into any object I pleased, to make it appear that
the object was speaking instead of me. Also I began to make balloon
ascensions. On my balloon and on all the other articles I used in the
circus I painted the two initials: 'O. Z.', to show that those things
belonged to me.

"One day my balloon ran away with me and brought me across the deserts
to this beautiful country. When the people saw me come from the sky
they naturally thought me some superior creature, and bowed down before
me. I told them I was a Wizard, and showed them some easy tricks that
amazed them; and when they saw the initials painted on the balloon they
called me Oz."