"It is but honest that I should
acknowledge at the beginning of my recital that I was born an ordinary
Woggle-Bug," began the creature, in a frank and friendly tone. "Knowing
no better, I used my arms as well as my legs for walking, and crawled
under the edges of stones or hid among the roots of grasses with no
thought beyond finding a few insects smaller than myself to feed upon.
"The chill nights rendered me
stiff and motionless, for I wore no clothing, but each morning the warm
rays of the sun gave me new life and restored me to activity. A horrible
existence is this, but you must remember it is the regular ordained
existence of Woggle-Bugs, as well as of many other tiny creatures that
inhabit the earth.
|
"But Destiny had
singled me out, humble though I was, for a grander fate! One day
I crawled near to a country school house, and my curiosity being
excited by the monotonous hum of the students within, I made
bold to enter and creep along a crack between two boards until I
reached the far end, where, in front of a hearth of glowing
embers, sat the master at his desk.
"No one noticed so
small a creature as a Woggle-Bug, and when I found that the
hearth was even warmer and more comfortable than the sunshine, I
resolved to establish my future home beside it. So I found a
charming nest between two bricks and hid myself therein for
many, many months.
"Professor Nowitall is,
doubtless, the most famous scholar in the land of Oz, and after
a few days I began to listen to the lectures and discourses he
gave his pupils. Not one of them was more attentive than the
humble, unnoticed Woggle-Bug, and I acquired in this way a fund
of knowledge that I will myself confess is simply marvelous.
That is why I place 'T.E.' Thoroughly Educated upon my cards;
for my greatest pride lies in the fact that the world cannot
produce another Woggle-Bug with a tenth part of my own culture
and erudition."
"I do not blame you,"
said the Scarecrow. "Education is a thing to be proud of. I'm
educated myself. The mess of brains given me by the Great Wizard
is considered by my friends to be unexcelled."
"Nevertheless,"
interrupted the Tin Woodman, "a good heart is, I believe, much
more desirable than education or brains."
"To me," said the
Saw-Horse, "a good leg is more desirable than either."
"Could seeds be
considered in the light of brains?" enquired the Pumpkinhead,
abruptly. |
|
"Keep quiet!" commanded Tip,
sternly.
"Very well, dear father," answered
the obedient Jack.
The Woggle-Bug listened patiently
-- even respectfully -- to these remarks, and then resumed his story.
"I must have lived fully three
years in that secluded school-house hearth," said he, "drinking thirstily of
the ever-flowing fount of limpid knowledge before me."
"Quite poetical," commented the
Scarecrow, nodding his head approvingly.
"But one, day" continued the Bug,
"a marvelous circumstance occurred that altered my very existence and
brought me to my present pinnacle of greatness. The Professor discovered me
in the act of crawling across the hearth, and before I could escape he had
caught me between his thumb and forefinger.
"'My dear children,' said he, 'I
have captured a Woggle-Bug -- a very rare and interesting specimen. Do any
of you know what a Woggle-Bug is?'
"'No!' yelled the scholars, in
chorus.
"'Then,' said the Professor, 'I
will get out my famous magnifying-glass and throw the insect upon a screen
in a highly-magnified condition, that you may all study carefully its
peculiar construction and become acquainted with its *** Suspicious
paragraph end: habits and manner of life.' habits and manner of life.'
"He then brought from a cupboard a
most curious instrument, and before I could realize what had happened I
found myself thrown upon a screen in a highly-magnified state -- even as you
now behold me.
"The students stood up on their
stools and craned their heads forward to get a better view of me, and two
little girls jumped upon the sill of an open window where they could see
more plainly.
"'Behold!' cried the Professor, in
a loud voice, 'this highly-magnified Woggle-Bug; one of the most curious
insects in existence!'
"Being Thoroughly Educated, and
knowing what is required of a cultured gentleman, at this juncture I stood
upright and, placing my hand upon my bosom, made a very polite bow. My
action, being unexpected, must have startled them, for one of the little
girls perched upon the window-sill gave a scream and fell backward out the
window, drawing her companion with her as she disappeared.
"The Professor uttered a cry of
horror and rushed away through the door to see if the poor children were
injured by the fall. The scholars followed after him in a wild mob, and I
was left alone in the school-room, still in a Highly-Magnified state and
free to do as I pleased.
"It immediately occurred to me that
this was a good opportunity to escape. I was proud of my great size, and
realized that now I could safely travel anywhere in the world, while my
superior culture would make me a fit associate for the most learned person I
might chance to meet.
"So, while the Professor picked the
little girls -- who were more frightened than hurt -- off the ground, and
the pupils clustered around him closely grouped, I calmly walked out of the
school-house, turned a corner, and escaped unnoticed to a grove of trees
that stood near"
"Wonderful!" exclaimed the
Pumpkinhead, admiringly.
"It was, indeed," agreed the
Woggle-Bug. "I have never ceased to congratulate myself for escaping while I
was Highly Magnified; for even my excessive knowledge would have proved of
little use to me had I remained a tiny, insignificant insect."
"I didn't know before," said Tip,
looking at the Woggle-Bug with a puzzled expression, "that insects wore
clothes."
"Nor do they, in their natural
state," returned the stranger. "But in the course of my wanderings I had the
good fortune to save the ninth life of a tailor -- tailors having, like
cats, nine lives, as you probably know. The fellow was exceedingly grateful,
for had he lost that ninth life it would have been the end of him; so he
begged permission to furnish me with the stylish costume I now wear. It fits
very nicely, does it not?" and the Woggle-Bug stood up and turned himself
around slowly, that all might examine his person.
"He must have been a good tailor,"
said the Scarecrow, somewhat enviously.
"He was a good-hearted tailor, at
any rate," observed Nick Chopper.
"But where were you going, when you
met us?" Tip asked the Woggle-Bug.
"Nowhere in particular," was the
reply, "although it is my intention soon to visit the Emerald City and
arrange to give a course of lectures to select audiences on the 'Advantages
of Magnification.'"
"We are bound for the Emerald City
now," said the Tin Woodman; "so, if it pleases you to do so, you are welcome
to travel in our company."
The Woggle-Bug bowed with profound
grace.
"It will give me great pleasure,"
said he "to accept your kind invitation; for nowhere in the Land of Oz could
I hope to meet with so congenial a company."
"That is true," acknowledged the
Pumpkinhead. "We are quite as congenial as flies and honey."
"But -- pardon me if I seem
inquisitive -- are you not all rather -- ahem! rather unusual?" asked the
Woggle-Bug, looking from one to another with unconcealed interest.
"Not more so than yourself,"
answered the Scarecrow. "Everything in life is unusual until you get
accustomed to it."
"What rare philosophy!" exclaimed
the Woggle-Bug, admiringly.
"Yes; my brains are working well
today," admitted the Scarecrow, an accent of pride in his voice.
"Then, if you are sufficiently
rested and refreshed, let us bend our steps toward the Emerald City,"
suggested the magnified one.
"We can't," said Tip. "The
Saw-Horse has broken a leg, so he can't bend his steps. And there is no wood
around to make him a new limb from. And we can't leave the horse behind
because the Pumpkinhead is so stiff in his Joints that he has to ride."
"How very unfortunate!" cried the
Woggle-Bug. Then he looked the party over carefully and said:
"If the Pumpkinhead is to ride, why
not use one of his legs to make a leg for the horse that carries him? I
judge that both are made of wood."
"Now, that is what I call real
cleverness," said the Scarecrow, approvingly. "I wonder my brains did not
think of that long ago! Get to work, my dear Nick, and fit the Pumpkinhead's
leg to the Saw-Horse."
Jack was not especially pleased
with this idea; but he submitted to having his left leg amputated by the Tin
Woodman and whittled down to fit the left leg of the Saw-Horse. Nor was the
Saw-Horse especially pleased with the operation, either; for he growled a
good deal about being "butchered," as he called it, and afterward declared
that the new leg was a disgrace to a respectable Saw-Horse.
"I beg you to be more careful in
your speech," said the Pumpkinhead, sharply. "Remember, if you please, that
it is my leg you are abusing."
"I cannot forget it," retorted the
Saw-Horse, "for it is quite as flimsy as the rest of your person."
"Flimsy! me flimsy!" cried Jack, in
a rage. "How dare you call me flimsy?"
"Because you are built as absurdly
as a jumping-jack," sneered the horse, rolling his knotty eyes in a vicious
manner. "Even your head won't stay straight, and you never can tell whether
you are looking backwards or forwards!"
"Friends, I entreat you not to
quarrel!" pleaded the Tin Woodman, anxiously." As a matter of fact, we are
none of us above criticism; so let us bear with each others' faults."
"An excellent suggestion," said the
Woggle-Bug, approvingly. "You must have an excellent heart, my metallic
friend."
"I have," returned Nick, well
pleased. "My heart is quite the best part of me. But now let us start upon
our Journey.
They perched the one-legged
Pumpkinhead upon the Saw-Horse, and tied him to his seat with cords, so that
he could not possibly fall off.
And then, following the lead of the
Scarecrow, they all advanced in the direction of the Emerald City.
Next chapter...
( Old Mombi indulges in Witchcraft )
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