ed of magic spell.

"So let's forget the horrid strife
That fell upon our peaceful life
And caused distress and pain;
For very soon across the sea
We'll all be sailing merrily
To Pingaree again."

Chapter Twenty Three

The Pearl Kingdom

It was unfortunate that the famous Scarecrow--the most popular person
in all Oz, next to Ozma--was absent at the time of the banquet, for he
happened just then to be making one of his trips through the country;
but the Scarecrow had a chance later to meet Rinkitink and Inga and the
King and Queen of Pingaree and Prince Bobo, for the party remained
several weeks at the Emerald City, where they were royally entertained,
and where both the gentle Queen Garee and the noble King Kitticut
recovered much of their good spirits and composure and tried to forget
their dreadful experiences.

At last, however, the King and Queen desired to return to their own
Pingaree, as they longed to be with their people again and see how well
they had rebuilt their homes. Inga also was anxious to return, although
he had been very happy in Oz, and King Rinkitink, who was happy
anywhere except at Gilgad, decided to go with his former friends to
Pingaree. As for prince Bobo, he had become so greatly attached to King
Rinkitink that he was loth to leave him.

On a certain day they all bade good-bye to Ozma and Dorothy and Glinda
and the Wizard and all their good friends in Oz, and were driven in the
Red Wagon to the edge of the Deadly Desert, which they crossed safely
on the Magic Carpet. They then made their way across the Nome Kingdom
and the Wheeler Country, where no one molested them, to the shores of
the Nonestic Ocean. There they found the boat with the silver lining
still lying undisturbed on the beach.

There were no important adventures during the trip and on their arrival
at the pearl kingdom they were amazed at the beautiful appearance of
the island they had left in ruins. All the houses of the people had
been rebuilt and were prettier than before, with green lawns before
them and flower gardens in the back yards. The marble towers of King
Kitticut's new palace were very striking and impressive, while the
palace itself proved far more magnificent than it had been before the
warriors from Regos destroyed it.

Nikobob had been very active and skillful in directing all this work,
and he had also built a pretty cottage for himself, not far from the
King's palace, and there