THE LOST KEY

OF OZ

Rough Draft/Outline

By

LESLIE ISABELLE FRANK

Founded on and continuing the Famous Oz Stories

By

L. FRANK BAUM

RUTH PLUMLY THOMPSON

&

JOHN R. NEILL

"Royal Historians of Oz"

Lodestone Press

Boston

The Lost Key of Oz

Copyright 1999 by

Lodestone Press

Printed in the United States of America by

Lodestone Press

Arlington Massachusetts

2000

'Neath these rolling waves of green

Lie treasures quite unseen

A mermaid's castle hidden in the deep

A wooden whale that likes to leap

All this and more

You shall see

As this book

Is read to thee

LIST OF CHAPTERS

Prologue

1 - The Secret Glade

2 - Puff-puff and Bluebell

3 - The Secret Gate

4 - Glimpee in Oz

5 - The Terrible Telebubbles

6 - The Mixed-up Cavern

7 - Davy Jones' Locker

8 - An Octopus' Garden

9 - The Undersea Palace

10 - The Sea of Green

11 - The Ice-Cream Pirates of Oz

12 - The Royal Navy of Oz

13 - The Crescent Moon

14 - The Wall of Water

15 - The Sea of Pink

16 - The Burning Desert

17 - The Castle in the Air

18 - The City of Emeralds

19 - Ozymandius of Oz

20 - The Shifting Sands

21 - Glimpee's Dilemma

22 - Just Say Oz

Prologue

5,000 Years Ago

Once upon a time, there was a beautiful kingdom of rolling hills and lusucious woodlands which lay in the middle of an emerald green sea. This land and its people were watched over and ruled by a kindly young man — Prince Ozymandius.

One day, Ozymandius was strolling through the gardens of the brand new Royal Palace when his good friend, the fairy Lurline, flew down from the sky to say hello.

(Describe appearances?)

"Hello, Ozymandius," she said.

"Hello, Lurline," said Prince Ozymandius. "How are you today?"

"I'm doing very well," replied Lurline, "thank you for asking. How is your staff working?"

"Extremely well. Thank you again for such an amazing gift."

"You're welcome. And the key?"

"It is safely hidden, and will remain so."

"Good. And how are you? You seem a bit nervous."

"Well, it looks like it's finally happened," he replied, "They're going to crown me king tomorrow - I hope I'll be a good one."

"I am sure that you will be — they couldn't have made a better choice." said Lurline with a smile. "After all that you've done for this land, you truly deserve it. I wouldn't be surprised if they ended up naming this entire country after you some day."

"Perhaps, but I couldn't have done any of it without you, Lurline. They should really be making you queen, instead of making me king. And there still remains one crucial task yet to complete."

"I have the utmost faith in your abilities. Besides, I have obligations elsewhere and am not able to be queen here. But I will continue to help when I can."

"Thank you. I am eternally in your debt."

"As I am in yours. Goodbye, Ozymandius."

"Goodbye Lurline."

And with that, Lurline flew back up into the sky and home to the land of the fairies.

Ozymandius then rapped the ground with the end of his magic staff and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

(Mention Ozlanteans someplace?)

Chapter One

The Secret Gate

Glimpee was a young boy who lived on the edge of the forest with his Aunt Blimpee. Early one morning, Glimpee decided to take a stroll through the woods. He would often do this on nice days, and today was particularly beautiful. The sky was clear, it was neither too hot nor too cold, and there was a light breeze blowing softly through the leaves.

He packed himself a lunch of watercress sandwiches, put on his favorite blue tunic and walking hat, and set out down one of the many paths through the woods.

Glimpee walked with a spring in his step and breathed in the crisp morning air. The birds in the trees were singing and the sun was smiling down on him.

As he walked, he marveled at the many different types of trees and flowers that were in bloom. He could make out ferns in the underbrush and as he continued further down the path, the ferns started to get larger and larger. The woods was hilly and sometimes the path would wind one way around a hill, and sometimes the other way around a hill. Occasionaly, the path would go straight up the side of a hill and then down the other side.

He began to notice that not only did the ferns get larger, but that the trees were getting larger as well. When he had first entered the forest, he could have easily put his arms all the way around the trunks of the trees if he had desired, but that he could barely get his arms even half way around the trees in this part of the woods. The flowers in this part of the forest were as tall as his waist.

He realized that he was in a part of the woods that he had never been in before. Glimpee was often discovering new parts of the forest on his walks and appreciated discovering new wonders of the woods.

He strolled down a small hill and caught the music of a bubbling brook off to his right. He turned off the path and walked downhill through the ferns towards it. After a brief walk, he came across a small stream that was just a tad too wide for him to step across. He followed it downstream, enjoying the sound of the water running over and around the small rocks that were in the stream.

He eventually came to a place where the stream widened out into a small pool in the middle of a glade. There was a set of rocks that were close enough together for him to use as stepping stones across the water so he decided to try crossing the stream here. He stepped out onto the first rock. It was firm beneath his foot, so he continued following them out into the pool. The water here was very shallow and the bed of the stream was covered with small pebbles of many different colors. About halfway across, Glimpee caught a glimpse of something glittering beneath the water. At first he thought it was a fish, but it didn't move. He continued to step from stone to stone and when he came to the glimmer, he stopped to see if he could discover what it was.

He bent down to reach into the water. As he did so, his hat almost fell off, but he managed to grab ahold of it in time and held it onto his head. "Whew!" he exclaimed, "I sure am glad I didn't lose my hat."

He reached into the water again, more carefully this time. It was slightly chilly but not so much that it hurt. He brushed some of the pebbles away with his hand and saw something golden amongst the pebbles and small rocks. He picked it up, pulled it out of the water, and examined it. It was a key.

Glimpee was very excited. He had never found a key before! It was a skeleton key, golden in color, about 4 inches long with a strange design on the (handle?) that consisted of a circle with three lines in it. Two of these lines went straight across the circle and the third one was slanted and connected the first two at opposite ends.

"This looks important," he said to himself. "I'd better try to find whoever lost it so that I can return it to its proper owner."

He dried the key on his tunic and put it in his pocket along with the two buttons and short piece of string that he already had.

He continued crossing to the over side of the stream. Once he was across, he turned around to admire the glade.

He had been walking for most of the morning. He was tired and hungry, so he decided to sit down and eat one of his sandwiches. He found a nice shady spot beneath a mushroom taller than he was, so he sat down on a bed of moss under it and unwrapped a sandwich.

He bit into it. The watercress was nice and crisp, just the way he liked it. He chewed the bite and swallowed it. He continued eating and as he did so, he took the opportunity to look around him some more. The mushroom that he was under was green with huge purple spots on it and the mushroom's hat was sufficiently wide enough that Glimpee was completely in the shade. The ferns here were luscious and the breeze blowing through them made them brush together and produce a light whisper that almost sounded like a chorus of voices. The fragrance from the flowers was very sweet and reminded Glimpee of wildflower honey and of freshly-cut hay.

He finished his sandwich and was very full. The sun was high in the sky, almost directly overhead, and Glimpee was exhausted from his long walk.

He lay down on the soft moss and stared up at the bottom of the mushroom's hat. He could see stripes radiating out from the mushroom's trunk and slowly his eyes closed and he fell into a deep slumber as his exhaustion caught up with him.

Chapter Two

Puff-puff and Bluebell

Glimpee was awakened by the sound of very light laughter. The sun was now lower in the sky, but there were still at least a few hours of daylight left. Glimpee looked around for the source of the laughing, but he didn't see anybody. He heard it again and realized that it was coming from the nearest edge of the glade, from the direction of an unusually large tree.

He stood up and walked across the grass to the tree. He looked to one side, then to the other, and then turned in a complete circle, looking all around him in every direction as he turned. He didn't see anyone anywhere.

He heard the laughter again, much closer this time. It was above him. He looked up and saw two birds flying in circles around each other. One of the birds was a robin and the other was a bluejay. Glimpee had never heard birds laugh before, but the sound certainly seemed to be coming from them. They were obviously playing. First the robin would fly around the bluejay, then the bluejay would fly around the robin, and then they would both fly in loop-the-loops. As they played, they flew lower and Glimpee could see that each of the two birds had a very small rider on their back. Each rider looked like a normal person in every way, except that they were only one or two inches tall. They were laughing as they rode the birds and Glimpee realized that they had been the source of the sounds that had woken him.

"Hello," said Glimpee.

At this, the two birds zipped lower and lower, flying very quickly in circles around Glimpee until they reached the ground. Once they landed at Glimpee's feet, the two riders each hopped off them and they took back to the skies.

"Thank you!" called one of the tiny people as she waved to the departing birds.

"Yes, thank you!" called out the other.

Now that they weren't in the air but were standing motionless on the ground, Glimpee could make out the appearance of these very small people. They were each slightly under two inches tall. The first was clothed all in blue, wearing a blue-bell flower on her head as an ornate hat. The other was dressed in brown and he wore a pointed cloth hat of the same color.

"Hello. I'm Blue-bell," replied the one with the blue-bell hat, as she smiled and shyly looked at the ground.

"And I'm Puff-puff," announced the other. "Who are you?"

"I'm Glimpee." said Glimpee.

"I've never seen anyone as big as you before!" said Puff-puff, as he leaned way over backwards and looked up to try to see all the way to the top of Glimpee's head. "Where do you come from?"

"I live outside the forest," answered Glimpee."and up until now, I was the smallest person I'd ever seen. But I think you two are certainly the smallest people I've ever seen."

"We're not people, we're elves." explained Puff-puff.

"And for elves, we're just the right size." added Bluebell.

...

"I help put the dew on in the morning, but now I'm playing."

...

Glimpee put his hands in his pocket and as he did so, he accidently touched the golden key he had found and remembered that it might be important.

"Do you know of anyone who's lost a key?" he asked them.

Puff-puff thought a moment and then answered, "I don't have any keys. As a matter of fact, I don't know of anyone who would have a key. We don't use them," he explained.

"Why do you ask?" inquired Blue-bell.

Glimpee pulled the key out of his pocket to show it to them. When Puff-puff and Bluebell saw the key, their eyes got wider and wider and rounder and rounder.

"That's a big person's key!" exclaimed Blue-bell.

"And it's made out of gold!" declared Puff-puff.

"Whose is it it?" asked Blue-bell.

"And where did you get it?" asked Puff-puff.

"I just found it in the middle of that pool," explained Glimpee as he pointed towards the clear blue water. "It was very shiny, so I picked it up. I thought maybe you knew who might have lost it, because I'd like to return it to its owner."

At this, Puff-puff and Bluebell each grew silent and looked at each other.

"That key is much too large and heavy for any elven person to be able to carry it," said Puff-puff.

"And you're the first big person that's ever been here in this glade." said Blue-bell.

"We have no idea how it could have ended up in that pool, or who might have lost it." announced Puff-puff.

"May I see it up close?" asked Bluebell.

Glimpee lowered the key to the ground and held it upright in front of Bluebell. It was twice as tall as she was. She leaned back to look up at the top of it and declared, "why, that says 'OZ" on it!"

"Oz?" asked Glimpee, "what's that?"

"Oz is a magical fairyland," explained Puff-puff.

Glimpee picked up the key, closed his hand around it, and put his hand in his pocket.

"Really?" he asked, "I've never heard of it. Where is it?"

"I've never been there myself," said Puff-puff.

"Neither have I." put in Bluebell.

"But we've heard a lot about it," added Puff-puff, "It's somewhere very far away. It's an enchanted land populated by many marvelous beings. It's ruled by a kind and loving queen whose only concern is for the happiness of her subjects. It's very difficult to find as it's surrounded on all sides by an impassable desert which is surrounded by a vast beautiful ocean."

He asks them what it is, tell more about it.

They tell him more

"It sounds like a wonderful place," replied Glimpee. "I sure wish I could see it someday."

At that moment, they all heard a loud CRACK through the trees. It was so loud that it almost blew Glimpee's hat off his head.

Chapter Three

The Secret Gate

"What was that noise?" asked Glimpee in surprise as he quickly let go of the key in his pocket and reached up to grip his walking-hat, "it almost blew my hat off!"

"I don't know," replied Puff-puff as he turned to walk into the woods, "but I'm going to find out."

Glimpee let go of his hat and both he and Bluebell followed the puffed-up elf as he strutted off. The trees in this part of the woods were very tall and their foliage formed a canopy far above them as they walked. Glimpee could hear the wind blowing through the leaves overhead. As they continued on, they came to a part of the forest where there were large boulders scattered about, many covered with moss. Some of the boulders stuck partially out of the ground and had trees growing on top of them, the roots winding their way down the boulders into the ground.

Puff-puff suddenly came to a halt.

"Wow!" he exclaimed as he pointed ahead, "There it is!"

Directly ahead of them was a small pyramid sticking out of the ground. It, too, was made of stone. On the side facing them was what looked to be an entrance. The opening had no door and was surrounded by inscritptions on all sides in an ornate script that they could neither recognize nor read. Engraved directly above the portal was a circle with three lines in it. Two of these lines went straight across the circle and the third one was slanted and connected the first two at opposite ends.

"That rock never had a doorway in it before!" declared Bluebell, "How did it get there?"

"I don't know," answered Puff-puff, "but it's here now."

"In wonder what's inside," said Glimpee.

"It looks dark," responded Bluebell nervously, "I think we shouldn't go in."

Puff-puff walked all the way around the pyramid, examining it very carefully as he did so. "The rest of it is the same as it's always been," he announced. "Only the doorway is new."

"Has that writing always been there?" asked Glimpee.

"Yup," responded Puff-puff.

"I think that opening has something to do with your key!" declared Bluebell.

"Maybe," responded Glimpee.

"Well," she replied, "both the key and the doorway appeared on the same day and nothing like either of them has ever been seen in the forest before. I think they're related somehow."

"There's only one way to find out," decided Puff-puff, "we'll have to just go in and see."

So he and Glimpee stepped inside the pyramind. Bluebell hesitated a moment and then followed the both of them.

Chapter Four

Glimpee in Oz

Bluebell found Puff-puff and Glimpee just inside the doorway, standing at the top of a wide staircase that spiralled down out of site.

"What is it?" she asked.

"It's a staircase," responded Puff-puff.

Glimpee looked around the chamber and noticed that the walls seemed to be made of stone blocks that were so close together that no mortar was visible between them. He started down the staircase to see what lay below when Bluebell said, "Puff-puff,"

"You're right, Bluebell." responded Puff-puff, "Glimpee, Bluebell and I are going to return to the glade. Do you want to some back with us?"

Glimpee hesitated a moment before replying, "I'm going to see where this stairway leads."

"OK," said Puff-puff, "it was very nice to meet you."

"I enjoyed meeting the both of you as well," responded Glimpee.

"Bye-bye!" said Bluebell, "be careful!"

"I will," said Glimpee, "Bye!"

Puff-puff and Bluebell turned around and walked out of the pyramid's interior. Glimpee turned back to the staircase and continued walking down it. After a short while, he realized that he had gone farther than there was room for inside the pyramid. Either the pyramid as seen from outside was the top portion of something much larger, which he was still in, or else the passageway had left the pyramid and continued on by itself underground.

Eventually, the stairway flattened out and became a corridor. Glimpee continued walking until he reached a fork. There had originally been three passages at this fork — one passage continued to the left and another to the right — but the roof on the middle passage had caved in and buried it. He stopped for a moment to think which way to go. The two remaining passages seemed identical. As he stood there pondering, he suddenly thought he heard a very distant "bump" sound from somewhere down the right-hand passage. He was curious what the noise could be, so he chose that corridor and continued down it to try to discover the source of the puzzling sound.

After a brief walk, the passage splintered into three separate corridors. Glimpee picked the one on the right and continued down it. It curved sharply and Glimpee discovered himself at another three-way fork. This time he picked the middle passage and continued down it. It twisted sharply and Glimpee again found himself at a three-way fork identical in appearance to the previous two.

He chose a direction at random and after a short walk through another twisty passage, he found himself at another identical three-way fork. He was beginning to feel a bit lost, but he knew that he hadn't travelled too far just yet. He picked another passage and continued down it. After another small twist, he found himself at a three-way fork again. He sat down to think.

After a minute or two, he heard a "bump" again, this time much closer. It was coming from one of the passages, so he stood up to look down it.

He heard another "bump," much closer this time. He couldn't see past the curve in the passageway, so he slowly stepped closer until he was right at the bend. He strained to listen, but couldn't hear anything else. So he set off right down the corridor to find out what had caused the noise.

As soon as he passed the bend, he sprawled, arms and legs akimbo, as he had suddenly walked right into someone else coming from the other direction. The force of the impact almost knocked his hat from his head, but he managed to grab onto it in time to keep it from flying off. The two of them had met so quickly and with neither one noticing the other that they had gotten all tangled up.

"Please excuse me," said Glimpee, "I didn't notice that you were there."

"Quite all right," replied a voice, "I was entirely engrossed and didn't notice you, either."

Glimpee stood up and noticed that he had been talking with a small horse.

"I didn't know that horses could talk," he said.

"I'm not a horse," replied the mule, "I'm a mule."

"Oh," said Glimpee, "I'm sorry, I didn't know. My name is Glimpee. What's yours?"

"Mewel," responded the mule, "and don't worry about it, it's a very common mistake."

"What are you doing way down here?"

"I'm searching for my master. Many years ago, my master, Simon. P. Lunker, bought me to carry his tools for him. He's a gold miner, and he and I came down here to search for precious metals in the rocks of the walls. We got separated one day and I've been searching for him in these twisty little passages ever since. I've searched every single one of them sixty three times."

"I hope you find him," responded Glimpee.

"So do I. Why are you down here?"

"I think I'm lost. I'm trying to find the owner of this key," said Glimpee. He reached into his pocket and pulled it out, showing it to the mule. "Did you lose a key like this?"

"Certainly not," responded Mewel, "mules have no use for keys."

"Can you help me find my way out of here?" asked Glimpee.

"Yes," responded the mule, "but I need to find Mr. Lunker first."

"Well," reasoned Glimpee, "if you've already searched every single one of these passages sixty three times without finding him, perhaps he's somewhere else."

"That makes sense...." said Mewel as he cocked his head at the boy, first to one side and then to the other, "alright, I'll show you the way out of here. Follow me."

Glimpee followed the mule. They quickly came to another three-way fork. Without stopping, Mewel gave a little hop and then walked down the left passage. It turned sharply and Glimpee found that they were now back at the original fork at the end of the corridor he had first come down.

"This right hand passage leads back to the maze," explained Mewel, "The main passage in the middle has been blocked off like this ever since Mr. Lunker and I first arrived. I have no idea where the left hand passage leads."

He gave another little hop and then the two of them set off down the left hand passage.

Chapter Five

The Terrible Telebubbles

Glimpee and Mewel walked down the narrow passageway and as they did so, the surface became bumpy and uneven. The surface rose and fell, and the passage curved in one direction and then back in the other.

After walking for a while, Glimpee noticed a sign posted on one of the walls.

"Look!" he announced to Mewel, "there's a sign."

The sign appeared very old and worn down. Most of the paint was gone, but Glimpee could just make out the words:

BEWARE THE TERRIBLE TELEBUBBLES

"I wonder what that means?" he asked.

"Whatever it means, it doesn't sound good to me. I think we should turn back."

"But you've never been down this passage before, and Mr. Lunker might be here."

"That's true," agreed Mewel, "I guess we should continue. Anyways, that sign looks pretty old. I'm sure that whatever it intended to warn people about is long gone."

So they continued walking.

The light in the passageway started to get dim and they could begin to hear voices ahead of them.

"What are those voices saying?" asked Glimpee.

"I'm not sure," replied Mewel, "there seem to be a lot of them, but I can't quite make out any individual one."

The passageway turned again and there was a faint blue glow coming from somewhere ahead of them.

They continued on and reached a dead-end in the corridor. It widened out to form a large underground cavern. There were a number of black spheres widely scattered about here and there. Each one was about ten feet in diameter and had a large rectangular opening on one side which gave off the blue glow. They heard a chaotic mix of voices all speaking at once, but again, they were unable to make out what any of them were saying or where the voices were coming from.

"Greetings," suddenly said one of the spheres loudly and clearly, "Welcome to Televille!"

They turned to face the voice and found themselves face-to-face with one of the black spheres. Its rectangular mouth was open and glowed blue; and its two antennae slowly waved back and forth.

Mewel's knees began to knock against each other.

"Who are you?" asked Glimpee.

"We're telebubbles," responded the sphere as it took a step closer, "the bringers of happiness!"

A few of the other telebubbles began to slowly move about as Mewel asked, "Bringers of happiness? What do you mean?"

The telebubble took another step towards them and opened its mouth wide, "Just take a look!" it responded.

Glimpee and Mewel peered inside and saw that inside the sphere was a small round room containing an overstuffed comfy lounge chair. The chair was empty. There was a cacophony of voices coming from the glowing blue walls. The voices got louder and closer and Glimpee caught a couple of phrases like, "But how could you? Don't you like me?" and "Don't touch that dial!" As he looked at the glowing walls, he started to forget who he was, where he was, and his questions about where his key came from and who it belonged to.

He shook his head to clear it and stepped back from the telebubble. Mewel's knees had stopped shaking.

"Why don't you step inside?" asked the telebubble, "you'll love it."

"I don't think I want to," responded Glimpee as some of the telebubbles continued to slowly move towards the pair.

"But you have to be in a telebubble to be happy!" exclaimed the sphere. By this time, a dozen or so telebubbles had made a circle around Mewel and Glimpee, surrounding them.

None of the other telebubbles had moved.

"This is for your own good!" declared one of the telebubbles as it open its mouth wide and leaned over Glimpee.

Without warning, Mewel sprung into action. He ran at the telebubble, turned around, and kicked it over with his hind legs. Before any of the other telebubbles had realized what was happening, Mewel spun in a circle and kicked over the remaining eleven. While they were all dazed, he lowered his head and said to Glimpee "Quick! Hop on my back and we'll outrun them!"

The second that Glimpee got on Mewel's back, the mule quickly ran away from the telebubbles. He ran with with such speed that the wind almost blew the boy's hat away, but Glimpee managed to grab ahold of it before it could fly off.

When they reached one of the walls of the cavern, they realized this this was not really a dead-end. There were a number of small, low passages leading away from televille. The passages had been too small and far away to have been seen from the center of the room.

Mewel lowered his head again and Glimpee got off of the mule's back. "Thank you for the ride," he said, "but I'm very glad to be standing on the ground again."

"We'd better leave before those bubble-heads come after us," said Mewel, "Which passage do you think we should take?"

Glimpee stepped forward and examined the passages. He thought for a moment and then pointed at one of the smaller ones.

"This one." he decided.

Chapter Six

The Mixed-up Cavern

Glimpee and Mewel walked quickly away from Televille, through the underground passageway that the boy had chosen. The corridor was narrow and Glimpee walked in front with Mewel right behind him.

"Well," said Mewel, recalling his recent harrowing experiences with the telebubbles, "I've never seen anything like that before."

"It seemed familiar somehow," answered Glimpee.

"Not to me!" exclaimed the mule.

As they continued walking, the passageway got a little wider and taller, until there was enough room for the two of them to walk side-by-side. The pasage curved to one side up ahead of them.

Suddenly, Mewel stopped and his ears perked up. "I hear something!" he declared.

Glimpee stopped to listen and heard a light "TAP-TAP-TAP" down the passageway in front of them.

"I recognize that sound!" announced the mule as he ran on ahead.

Glimpee trotted after the mule. When he turned the corner, he saw an old man, with wild hair and a beard, wearing a one piece coverall. The man was bent down low, using a small hammer to tap bits of rock off the wall.

Mewel ran up to the man and said, "Simon!"

The old man looked up, dropped his hammer in surprise, and threw both arms around the mule as he said, "Mewel! And just where have you been hiding yourself all this time?"

"Me? I've been looking for you! Where have you been?"

"Why, I've been right here, looking for rare metals and jewels, just like always. Who's your friend?" he asked as he noticed Glimpee approach them.

"This is Glimpee," responded Mewel, "and if it wasn't for him, I'd never have found you."

"Well, fancy that. Looks like I'm indebted to you, youngster. Any friend of Mewel's and all that," he said as he reached down to shake the boy's hand, "I'm S. P. Lunker — my friends call me Simon. Pleased to meet you."

"I'm very pleased to meet you, sir," answered Glimpee.

"Glimpee's lost and is trying to find his way outside," interrupted the mule, "do you think we can help him?"

"Most certainly," responded Simon, "I've been in these caverns for years and know my way around them like I know my way around the back of my hand! What did you happen to be doing down here in the first place, Glimpee?"

"I'm trying to find the owner of this key," answered Glimpee as he reached in his pocket and pulled out his key. "Did you lose it?" he asked the old man.

"Well, I've lost a great many things in my time — including my best friend and luggage carrier, Mewel here! But I'm pretty certain that I've never had a key..." responded Simon. He trailed off as his mind wandered back and he tried to remember the days before he had come underground.

"But enough of that," he continued, "if we're going to show you the way out, we'd better get going!"

With that, he spun around and marched off. "Come on!" he called back over his shoulder, "it's this way!"

Glimpee and Mewel followed after him, hurrying to catch up.

"He always walks fast like this," explained Mewel to Glimpee, "that's why I lost him in the first place."

"I sure hope that we don't run into any more of those telebubbles..." said Glimpee worriedly as he and Mewel walked up next to Simon.

"Telebubbles?" said the old man, "Don't worry about them! They're just full of hot air. Myself, I just ignore them and they pretty much leave me alone."

Almost loses hat.

a cavern where everything in it moves towards storage compartments slowly or towards (warmer?) temperatues — a mix-up room. Mewel finds way out? Mewel's older Simon P. Lunker spelunker companion turns out to be an older version of Glimpee from the future (not stated) who remembers these events happening? Or some other character who is an older version from future who remembers what's happening.

Maybe they cross a crystal bridge instead? Spans chasm with river far beneath it — where later Davy + Glimpee will be travelling.

Chapter Seven

Davy Jones' Locker

Underground lake w/ Davy Jones in it — underwater passage connects to Nonestic.

Glimpee looked around the cavern and heard a hollow voice say, "Hello. Are you a pirate?"

Glimpee looked around again. First he turned all the way around in a complete circle one way but didn't see anybody. Then he turned all the way around in a complete circle the other way, but again he didn't see anybody. He looked up and he looked down but couldn't find anyone.

"No, I'm not." replied Glimpee. "Where are you? I can't find you."

"Right here," replied the voice.

It seemed to be coming from the direction of the wooden structure out in the water. Glimpee looked at the house-boat again and realized that the section facing him was now very similar to a face. Two droopy wooden eyelids opened to reveal a pair of port-holes where eyes would be. A deck with a brass railing was attached right where a mouth would be. He began to suspect that it wasn't really a house-boat at all.

"Hello," Glimpee said. "My name is Glimpee. Who are you?"

"My name is Davy Jones," replied Davy.

"What are you?" asked Glimpee, "you seem to be very large."

"Well, it's all relative, really. For a wooden whale, I'm just the right size. Are you certain that you're not a pirate?"

"Yes, I'm certain," answered Glimpee, "Why do you ask?"

"I don't like pirates. They're always trying to steal my pies, ..,.., and other assorted baked goods. Well, they're not mine really, I just deliver them. But I have a responsibility to keep them from pirates and to make sure that they get delivered safely.

"I've only met one pirate whom I liked, and that's because he's an Ex-Pirate. As a matter of fact, he's saved my wooden skin on quite a number of occasions."

"Did you happen to lose a key?" asked Glimpee.

mahogany sides, door on side to cabin with bunks. The bunks have timers that tilt you out onto floor. Not sure if we'll use these. Lockers in bunk.

Mewel stays behind. He has found S.P. Lunker with Glimpee's help, and they stay to mine for more (....) Davy is taking a break from his job of transporting baked goods. Glimpee is hungry, Davy offers him some cake, cookies, and biscuits from his locker.

Chapter Eight

An Octopus' Garden

While still undersea, Davy & Glimpee find an octopus' garden (don't call it that) and meet an octopus (or a village of octopi?)

A sea-horse named Hip O. Campus

Almost loses hat.

Chapter Nine

The Undersea Palace

Mermaids underwater — catch glimpses or rumors of first (refer to earlier), meet later

First travel through undersea city to get to undersea palace. The palace has the city around it.

Chapter Ten

The Sea of Green

Davy reaches an above-water island called Pedloe Island, Glimpee meets Brown Bleegum, Davy has to go back to work. He doesn't want his deliveries to be late.

Bleegum has a bottomless lunchpail — ie always has a lunch in it.

Chapter Eleven

The Ice Cream Pirates of Oz

Glimpee and Brown Bleegum sat crosslegged on opposite corners of the raft. The raft seemed to finally be stable and Glimpee breathed a sigh of relief.

He noticed that Brown Bleegum was peering off into the distance, behind Glimpee's left shoulder. Glimpee turned his head and looked behind him to see what Bleegum was looking at. He saw what seemed to be a large ship, with two masts, off in the distance.

It was heading directly towards them.

"Pirates!" Brown Bleegum declared.

"How can you tell?" asked Glimpee.

"They're the only ones who travel in these waters, and I recognize their colors." replied Bleegum.

The boat was approaching them quickly, and as Glimpee turned again to face the ship, he could see a black pennant displaying the skull-and-crosbones flying from the tallest mast. The ship was lined with portholes and each one had a cannon pointing out of it, directly at them.

When the ship was so close that Glimpee though the raft would be split in two, it suddenly veared to go around them.

As it passed, Bleegum and Glimpee saw a horde of rough-looking pirates jumping up and down and shaking their fists or waving their swords. One particularly ugly one-eyed man peered at them from over the side of the ship and bellowed, "Prepare to be boarded! And don't even try to hide your ice cream! We can sniff it out!"

The ship zipped on by them and started to come about. When it was half way turned, and Glimpee could see the entire length of it, a cannonball suddenly zoomed over his head from behind him and went right through the Jolly Roger on the pirate ship, leaving a perfectly circular hole where the skull-and-crossbones had been. The cannonball flew by so close to Glimpee's head that the wind from it almost blew off his hat. He had managed to grab ahold of it in time to hold it onto his head. "Whew!" he exclaimed, "I sure am glad I didn't lose my hat."

Glimpee turned and saw a huge three-masted ship with a single cannon on its deck. From the top of the middle mast flew the green and white banner of Oz.

"Lay to, you jack-snaped lubbers!" stormed a voice from the ship. "There'll be no ice cream for you tonight!"

The source of this edict was a queer looking grizzly man wearing a tri-cornered hat and a long satin coat and breeches, standing next to the cannon holding a blazing stick.

"Make one move and I'll blow your ship into tiny pieces!"

Bleegum smiled.

"We're saved," he announced. "It's the Royal Navy."

Chapter Twelve

The Royal Navy of Oz

"Allow me to introduce myself: Admiral Samuel Salt, Royal Navy of Oz, Royal Explorer of Oz, and Royal Ex-pirate of Oz, at your service."

"Oh, I've discovered a few new lands throughout the Seven Seas of Oz, some habitable and some not. Most of them have since been colonized by denizens from Central Oz."

"First mate Winkle!"

"Arrrr!"

"See to the Rusty Bucket."

"Arrrr,"

Describle Winkle and what he does going over to the Bucket.

"Second mate Blinkle!"

"Arrrr!"

"Take the wheel and keep 'er sou-sou-west — I'm going below with our guests."

"Arrrr,"

...

(later, below)

The main cabin of the Cresecent Moon was a cheery place indeed after Glimpee's and Bleegum's trials and tribulations on their raft and their harrowing experience with the Ice Cream Pirates. There were cushiony red couches under the portholes; easy chairs and tables clamped to the floor to keep them from shifting, a ship's clock hanging on the wall, and lanterns suspended from the rafters.

There was a huge fireplace at one end of the cabin and every visible remaining space on the walls was covered with pictures of pirate ships, ancient sailing vessels, and roughly drawn maps and charts of strange and curious islands.

Glimpee ran to the nearest wall to examine the pictures.

"Many years ago, I was a pirate myself. In fact, some of those pirate ships used to be my own vessels, or ships that I served on," explained Admiral Salt, "but others are vessels that I've captured since I've decided to become an ex-pirate and am now the Royal Navy."

...

"Can you take us to Oz?"

"You're already in Oz, lad. I can't take you to Central Oz, where the famed Emerald City and what-not is, but I can take you as far as the coast. From there, you'll be able to take an ozoplane over the Deadly Desert, straight to the Emerald City itself, smack-dab in the middle of Central Oz."

The Emerald City?

"The Emerald City is home to the most kindest and most thoughtful ruler in the world, Queen Ozma of Oz. The great Wizard is her most trusted advisor and Chief Magician of the Realm. On special occasions the powerful sorceress Glinda is always ready to help. All they think of is how to make everybody happy. You'll soon see for yourself, lad."

"Second mate Blinkle!"

"Arrrr!"

"Lay in a new course due east — we're heading home for a bit."

"Arrrr,"

Samuel Salt welcomes Glimpee and Bleegum on board, yields the wheel to Winkle, the other ship to Blinkle, and takes the guests to his cabin. Relates his Saga. (and the expansion of Oz outward from Central Oz to include the entire continent and many of the islands. )

Salt relates his history as Discoverer, how he has helped Oz to expand out to these islands, and the fleet of airships the wizard invented to cross the Deadly Desert.

Now looking for a way to inhabit the desert.

"I've heard of parrots that talk, but never of any that said anything." (about Flapdoodle)

... Winkle: abrupt and crusty "Go away, you!"

After dinner, Samuel Salt leaned back in his chair and lustily let forth with an old sea-chanty:

"Old Ozymandius

He did demand of us

All our toys and things!

But of his works,

Not one still lurks,

So we are free to sing!"

"What's that song about?" asked Glimpy.

"Oh, no one knows anymore, lad. It's just an old jim-cracker rhyme used to pass the time. I've picked up countless chanties in ports all over the boundless realms of the Nonestic. This here is one of my favorites:

"Blow high — blow low —

'Tis a salt sea life for me —

With a good ship's crew I'll sail the blue

With a good ship going free — ee — ee!

With a good ship going free!"

"Of course," he continued, "ever since I've added magic automation to the Crescent Moon, I haven't needed any more crew than two. I can just push a button or press a digitator to raise the sails, another to lower the sails, and once I lay in a course at the helm, it stays laid-in until I see fit to change it! But Winkle and Blinkle are two of the finest sailors that have ever served with me. Don't know what I'd ever do without 'em.

"But enough about me! How came ye to be cast adrift in the Nonestic?"

Glimpee tells his story.

"And I've been trying to find out who lost this key so that I can return it to them. Did you lose a key?"

"Not that I can recall, lad. What's it look like?"

Glimpee took the key out of his pocket it handed it to Admiral Salt. Samuel held it up close to one eye, squinted his other eye shut, and peered at it intently. "Hmm," he announced, "it seems to me I may have seen that key someplace before. Now where was it..." He thought for a bit, tapping his forefinger against the tabletop as it helped him to think.

"Well," he proclaimed as he handed the key back to Glimpee, "it seems to me that the best thing to do is to take both you and your key straight to Queen Ozma herself at the Emerald City. She'll certainly know what's to be done."

"The Emerald City!" exclaimed Glimpee, "Oh boy!"

Chapter Thirteen

The Crescent Moon

Sail to the coast — spend time on deck, describing weather + sea, learning sea legs? — in the riggint. See Captain Salt in Oz for dialogue and descriptions of ship, etc. Describe the ship (inside and out). Salt mentions balloon sails.

Chapter Fourteen

The Wall of Water

"What's a waterwall?"

"It's like a waterfall, lad, only it doesn't!"

Sail up the waterwall. People living on top.

The people here had fish tails from the waist down. At first, Glimpee thought that they were mermaids and mermen, until he noticed that they also had large feathery wings instead of arms. They would swim along in the water and then suddenly leap out, unfold their wings, and fly about without warning.

Meravians.

"Welcome to Meravia. May peace and joy be with you. Would you like to fly with us?"

"I'd like to, but I don't know how to fly."

"It's simple. Just leap into the air and flap your wings."

"But I don't have any wings."

"No wings? What a shame."

At that, the meravian flew on.

"Don't worry, lad. I always fly with the meravians, whenever I'm here," announced Admiral Salt. As he said this, he pushed one of the sail controls and the sails of the Crescent Moon inflated like giant balloons. The ship rose out of the water and the meravians flew around, above, and below it. One of the magical beings laughed and flew close by Glimpee, so close that the breeze almost blew Glimpee's hat off his head. Glimpee managed to grab ahold of it just in time to stop it from flying away.

1/2 fish, 1/2 person - fish half live under water, person half above

water? At top of waterwall? Or maybe top half has wings - 1/2 in

water, 1/2 in air (since wall is tall and birds are high)

Chapter Fifteen

The Sea of Pink

Long trip down the wall.

As they sailed down the wall, Glimpee saw a cloudbank in front of them. Since they were sailing straight down the wall, passing through the clouds was very much like sailing through a wall of fog. Once they were in the clouds, Admiral Salt and Glimpee could barely see each other through the haze. Contrary to Glimpee's expectations, the haze was a light pink.

"Don't worry, lad." proclaimed Admiral Salt, "The clouds in these parts are always pink. We're crossing from the emerald green Nonestic Ocean to the pink waters of the Nonentic Sea."

Once the ship passed through the cloud layer, there was only a short trip further down the water until they reached the bottom of the wall. As the ship righted itself and continued on, a small breeze almost blew Glimpee's hat off his head, but he managed to grab it in time and stopped it from blowing away. The ship continued on, rapidly leaving the waterwall behind them.

Glimpee looked out over the prow of the Crescent Moon at the bright pink water all around them and, in spite of the clouds overhead, was overcome with joy.

"I feel tickled pink!"

"And well you should, lad. Most oceans are blue and put people in a blue funk, but the pink Nonentic has always been a happy ocean and shares it's joy with anyone lucky enough to visit it," explained Admiral Salt.

The wind came up from behind them and the ship sailed smoothly and quickly on the smooth waters, swaying lightly.

Glimpee closed his eyes and leaned out over the edge of the ship, enjoying the wind on his face, when all of a sudden he felt a drop of water fall right on his nose. He stood back up straight, opened his eyes, and saw that it was raining.

"Take a taste, lad," smiled Samuel Salt.

Glimpee stuck out his tongue and caught a raindrop on it.

"It tastes like lemonade!" he exclaimed.

"Not just any lemonade, lad. The rain in the Nonentic is always pink lemonade, one of the best flavors there is. It's guaranteed to leave you in the pink." He opened a cabinet beneath the bulwark and pulled out two glasses, handing one of them to Glimpee. "Here you go lad — see if you can collect some more."

Samuel Salt held his glass straight out in front of him. "Like this," he announced.

Glimpee held his own glass out and watched it slowly collect drops of the delicious pink lemonade.

"First mate Winkle!" stormed Admiral Salt.

Winkle came up from bellow wearing a storm hat and slicker.

"Arrr!" he replied.

"Bring up a pitcher from the kitchen. We'll be having lemonade with our supper."

"Arrr," responded Winkle as he stomped back down the hatchway.

"He's one of the best I've ever served with, but he's not much of a talker. No good seaman is." said Admiral Salt.

"Do we have much longer until we get to land?" asked Glimpee.

"Not at all lad. We've maybe an hour or two of sailing until we'll reach the shore. From there, you'll be just in time to catch the last Ozoship of the day to the Emerald City. I'd take you there myself, but we need to return to the Nonestic to stop those pirates. Rest assured, you'll be in excellent hands. I know the pilot personally."

Winkle returned from below and sullenly stood next the the pair, holding the pitcher in front of him with both hands.

"Good man, Winkle! Just collect one pitcher of that delicious pink lemonade, and we'll be all set for supper!"

Winkle glowered at the pair of them but said nothing.

Samuel Salt and Glimpee stood on the deck, enjoying the air and the light rain, continuing to collect their glasses of lemonade. The ship sailed on. After a few minutes, the two glasses were full and Admiral Salt and Glimpee each drank deeply from their glasses.

"Ahhh!" declared Samuel Salt, "That's the finest lemonade that I've ever tasted!"

"It certainly is delicious," agreed Glimpee.

Winkle said nothing. He stood still, letting the pitcher of lemonade continue to fill from the rain. Once it was finally full, the rain stopped and the clouds started to clear.

Directly ahead of them, Glimpee spotted a rainbow.

"Look!" he exclaimed as he pointed towards it, "a rainbow!"

"Yes, lad, it's a beautiful sight. At the rate we're going, we should reach it in fairly short order."

Sure enough, he was right. For as the Crescent Moon continued onward, it got closer and closer to the rainbow. Eventually Glimpee could make out shimmering female figures dancing lightly up and down the rainbow.

"Who are they?" he asked.

"Those are the Rainbow King's daughters, lad, the rainbow fairies themselves. Take a good look -- one doesn't often get to see them," replied Admiral Salt.

Glimpee watched the dancers with fascination as the Crescent Moon approached the rainbow. As the ship sailed past it, one of the maidens waved to them and called out, "Good afternoon, Samuel!"

"Good afternoon, lady Polychrome," replied the Admiral as he gave a wave in return, "your dance is more beautiful than ever."

"Thank you," she replied as she continued dancing and the Crescent Moon passed on, leaving the rainbow behind them.

The sun finally broke through the clouds and the rainbow began to fade. As it did so, the maidens ran up it and their colors merged with that of the rainbow until both it and them could no longer be seen.

Samual Salt finished his lemonade in one gulp while Glimpee took another small sip from his own glass.

Chapter Sixteen

The Burning Desert

A handsome young wearing a bright green suit quickly walked up a spiral staircase in tall green tower in a green castle.

At the very top floor, he faced a locked door. "Open up!" he announced as he pounded on the door,"it's me!"

"No need to pound me," said the door as it opened for him, "I could tell who it was."

The young man stepped inside and strode across the room towards a complex control panel on the opposite wall. As he passed the clock, it said, "Good afternoon, Mister Nine."

"Good afternoon," he responded.

He walked up to an eyepiece and peered through it.

"Hmmm," he told the clock, "everything seems to be normal."

He looked a bit more and then suddenly jumped back in alarm.

"Jumping Tadpoles!" he declared, "it's actually moving! The Wizard must be informed!"

He sat down at the control desk, put on a pair of headphones, and placed a large microphone on the desk in front of him.

The Wizard of Oz himself was at that very moment many miles away in one of his hot air balloons, far above the ground, flying south towards the palace of Glinda the Good. As he was operating the controls of his balloon, he suddenly heard a voice boom out of the air, "THIS IS THE VOICE OF NUMBER NINE."

"Ah," he replied, "Good to hear from you Mister Nine. How are things today?"

"That's why I'm contacting you. I'm afraid that things aren't very well at all. Can you come up to the laboratory?"

"I'm on my way to Glinda's and if I turned back now, I wouldn't get home until after dark. What seems to be the problem?"

"There have been more developments with the desert," responded the voice of Number Nine.

--

The Crescent Moon drew smoothly alongside a long dock on the shore of the land of Ev. Glimpee and Admiral Salt stood on deck

"There it is, lad," said Admiral Salt

At coast, take an elevator at the station to the landing platform high in the air. (or better yet, use the Crescent Moon's balloon sails)

"The Crescent Moon still has some tricks in her!" (prior to balloon sails inflating and take-off)

"The old Crescent Moon's still got some tricks in her, lad!"

"Just call me Percy the Personality Pilot, kid!"

""So you're a visitor to Oz, huh?" said Percy, "just like Princess Dorothy. Why, she came here a hundred years ago and ended up liking the place so much that she moved in permanently."

"A hundred years! Wow. She must be very old."

"Not at all. No one in Oz ever ages, kid, unless they want to."

"Never ages?" Glimpee thought about this for a while, and then asked, "but what about babies?"

"Babies age, of course. People only age when they want to, but babies always want to be older. But once they're old enough to want to be young, they'll stop aging. No no one ever dies of old age in Oz."

"So if no one ever ages in Oz," asked Glimpee, "and no one ever dies, is that why there are more people? Is that why Oz has needed to expand past the desert and into the islands?"

"I'm not sure, kid. Maybe. But really, Oz is such a fun and exciting place that everyone who ever visits just wants to stay and live here," explained Captain Percy. He continued to look out the viewscreen as he adjusted the ship's flight and thought for a bit. Then he turned back to Glimpee and said, "But I'm not certain if there's any specific reason why Oz has needed to expand." He turned back to the controls and with a sigh announced, "Boy, it seems like this trip gets longer every time I fly it."

CUT TO:

The Wiz and Glinda at the edge of the desert, trying to halt the progress. Some dialogue and description. They slow it, but are unable to halt it. Magic is more powerful than anything they've ever encountered before. They see and Ozoplane pass overhead, then head to the Emerald City to confer with Ozma.

Chapter Seventeen

The Castle in the Air

(or Maybe The Royal College?)

Back to Glimpee and Percy. Ozoplane makes a stop at an Air Castle.

Sky Island, Skyle of Un, Umbrella Island, Stratovania (other sky lands seen on trip?)

The Air Castle is HM Wogglebug's castle from Runaway in Oz

Nuna a cloud maiden (polychrome visiting?)

Hat almost blows off

Glimpee asks how Oz became a fairy land — someone tells him that the Fairy Queen Lurline enchanted it many years ago.

Chapter Eighteen

The City of Emeralds

Green glow in the distance from the Emerald City - it is rosy-fingered dawn on one side of the Ozoplane and emerald-fingered on the other.

Much traffic in and out of Central Oz. See flying chariot drawn by two swans fly towards palace.

When they get to the city, it is wonderous to behold. Describe it. Emeralds everywhere. Many Ozoplanes and hot-air balloons in the air. (Or maybe just the Wiz's hot air balloon) Refer to Neill's Wonder City for descriptions.

Ozoplane docks at the Ozoport

Only one hot air balloon is docked at the Emerald City central Ozoport — it is the Wizard's.

Toby, Ozma's bodyguard from Forbidden Fountain, is there to escort them. Rakish hat and long handlebar mustache. Royal green uniform with a poppy embroidered on each sleeve and a belt with a gold buckle supporting a silver hilted sword.

Scalawagons to palace

see murals consisting of scenes from history of oz and other pictures painted on walls. (also see people painting because history still happening?)

"So it wasn't my imagination! The trip across the Desert really is longer every time!" said Percy, "and that explains why the shack was in the desert. No one had moved it, the desert snuck up underneath it!"

"According to the Great Book of Records, this boy Glimpee holds the key to our dilemma."

It would be good to show issues of the Ozmapolitan somewhere — maybe on the Ozoplanes or in the Air Castle, but if they were to announce that the sands were still expanding (which is supposed to be a surprise), how would we fit it in the story?

Chapter Nineteen

Ozymandius of Oz

Ozymandius appears in a puff of smoke — does his thing & complements everyone on doing a great job (Ozma) then disappears again. Explains how to use key, what is happening with the Sand)

Toby jumped in front of Ozma in order to protect her. "Do not fear, Toby." annonced Ozma, "this man is not here to harm us."

"Ozymandius!" proclaimed Glinda, "You've returned at last."

"Returned?" asked the robed figure, "I didn't know that I was away. I wonder where I was?" Ozymandius looked around the throne room and then asked, "Where's Pastoria?"

"My name is Ozma," announced Ozma as she stood up from the throne, "Pastoria has retired from his royal duties and I now rule Oz. I have done so for nearly one hundred years."

"And you've done a wonderful job. That's why I had to return."

"Return?" asked Ozma, "What do you mean? I've never seen you before. Who are you?"

"My name is Ozymandius. I, too, once ruled this land. I was the first. Many many years ago, long before anyone had ever heard of the land of Oz, the fairy Lurline and I rendered these lands habitable and put in place many enchantments to protect it and its people.

"I originally created the Shifting Sands and the Deadly Desert as one of those protections. When the Kingdom of Oz was young, it needed protection against invasion from those in the outlying lands who wished to conquer it and enslave its people. But now that Oz has finally expanded beyond the boundary of the Desert, its people have not only settled in those outlying lands but in the Nonestic Islands as well. People are travelling across the Desert on a regular basis and there is at last peace among all the various lands. The Desert is no longer needed and the time has finally come to turn it off.

"Far to the north, in the heart of the Desert, you will find an enormous statue warning off intruders. Using the key which the young Glimpitarius holds, you will be able to turn off the deadly sands from there.

"Good luck - I have the utmost faith in you."

Ozymandius then rapped the ground with the end of his magic staff and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"Glimpitarius? Who's that?" asked Glimpee.

"You are." replied Glinda. "According to the Great Book of Records, your given name is Glimpitarius."

Chapter Twenty

The Shifting Sands

Ozma finds statue with her magic picture. Only the base of the statue with Ozymandius' feet are still intact. There is only the base, but they decide that this must be the statue that Ozymandius referred to.

They fly there in Glinda's chariot. (Wiz's balloon not fast enough)

Nope — Only Wiz and Glimpee go, they take Wiz's balloon. On this balloon trip, during a conversation, a gust of wind finally blows Glimpee's hat off — it blows it to the statue.

Wizard has his black bag of magical tools.

"Hmm...", noted the Wizard as he peered downward, "I'm certain that those feet are around here somwhere." As the Wizard spoke, a particularly strong gust rose from the desert and blew Glimpee's hat clean off his head. "Ahh!" Glimpee declared as it rose higher and higher, "my hat!" He and the wizard watched it as it spiralled up. About twenty feet up from the balloon, it stopped rising, paused for a moment, then flew back down to one side of the basket and floated, motionless, just out of Glimpee's reach. "My hat! We have to get it." The hat was very close to Glimpee and the Wizard, but try as they might, neither one was able to reach it. (guides them to statue)

(Previous comments: "Whew! I'm glad I didn't lose my hat! I need it!"

Ozma watches the trip on the Magic Picture.

Or maybe Wiz announces first about his shoes (only fit Glimpee) so Glimpee is transported there via the wish-belt. He was also the one who found the key, so after some discussion about other people who might go, Glimpee was settled on.

The statue is facing north.

Wiz has a prototype of his new invention, sand-proof shoes (uses same elevating principle as the Ozoplane).

They only fit Glimpee, so he's got to do it.

"My name is Ozymandius, the Great and Terrible,

Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair

Lest shall ye (you?) become as dust!"

(for you shall become dust?)

They theorize that the threatening inscription was used to frighten people.

He finds key-hole in base of statue, uses key and turns off desert.

Inscription becomes:

"Ozymandius, Founder of Oz,

Behold these lands and rejoice!"

Sands dissolve into base, restoring statue to full figure of Ozymandius. Beautiful and luscious hills, dales, woods and streams are left.

Chapter Twenty One

Glimpee's Dilemma

Jelia Jamb's big scene — organizing the preparation of (and also helping prepare) the banquet in the kitchen — describe ozzy dishes and some ozzian ways in which they are prepared.

There were three Palace Chefs and each had a staff of cooks. Chef Jeff was in charge of Soups and Sauces, one was in charge of Elegant Entrees, and one was in charge of Pastries and Desserts.

To the Wizard's right sat a young man dressed in a similar jacket but with two large brass buttons. "I'm Number Nine," he told Glimpee, "the Wizard's apprentice and assistant. I hope to someday become as good a Wonder Worker as the ol' Wiz himself!"

In addidtion to the standard Emerald City (oz) celebrities, everyone that Glimpee met in his travels is here — Mr. S.P. Lunker, Mewel, Davy Jones, Bleegum, Winkle, Blinkle, Admiral Salt, Percy, etc. Not Puff-puff and Bluebell. At banquet, everyone makes an entrance — start with smallest or least impressive, end with Davy Jones — the biggest!

Samuel Salt brings enough pitchers of Nonentic pink lemonade so that there's plenty for everyone. The transformed Mombi (from Lucky Bucky) is also here.

Simon P. Lunker and Mewel.

Big celebration banquet/feast. "What would you like for dessert?" Glimpee cannot decide what to have for dessert.

"It all sounds scrumptious! But I don't think I could eat everything. Oh, I just can't decide what to have."

Chapter Twenty Two

Just Say Oz

After deliberation and remembering seeing Ozcream shops in Emerald City,

"I think I'd (sure) like to try some ozcream, please." (different flavor with every bite)

The New Chroncles of Oz continue in

The Saga of Samuel Salt

The Oz Books of L. Frank Baum:

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

The Marvelous Land of Oz

Ozma of Oz

Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz

The Road to Oz

The Emerald City of Oz

The Patchwork Girl of Oz

Tik-Tok of Oz

The Scarecrow of Oz

Rinkitink in Oz

The Lost Princess of Oz

The Tin Woodman of Oz

The Magic of Oz

Glinda of Oz

The Oz Books of Ruth Plumly Thompson:

The Royal Book of Oz

Kabumpo in Oz

The Cowardly Lion of Oz

Grampa in Oz

The Lost King of Oz

The Hungry Tiger of Oz

The Gnome King of Oz

The Giant Horse of Oz

Jack Pumpkinhead of Oz

The Yellow Knight of Oz

Pirates in Oz

The Purple Prince of Oz

Ojo in Oz

Speedy in Oz

The Wishing Horse of Oz

Captain Salt in Oz

Handy Mandy in Oz

The Silver Princess in Oz

Ozoplaning with the Wizard of Oz

The Oz Books of John R. Neill:

The Wonder City of Oz

The Scalawagons of Oz

Lucky Bucky in Oz

The Runaway in Oz